I :! - ' ' 
 
GEFT OF 
 

c 
 
THE 
 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
THE HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FORTY 
 
 OR 
 
 THE STORY OF THE FORTY 
 MORNS AND EVES 
 
 WRITTEN IN TURKISH 
 
 BY SHEYKH-ZADA 
 
 DONE INTO ENGLISH 
 
 BY E. j. w. jGiBB M.R.A.S. 
 
 Membre de la Societe Asiatique de Paris, Author of " Ottoman Poems,' 
 Translator of "The Story of Jewad," &c. 
 
 LONDON 
 GEORGE REDWAY 
 
 MDCCCLXXXVI 
 
TO 
 
 W. A. CLOUSTON ESQ. 
 
 AT WHOSE SUGGESTION THIS TRANSLATION WAS MADE 
 
 I DEDICATE THESE 
 
 PAGES. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 [HE following translation of the 
 celebrated Turkish Romance 
 generally known as the History 
 of the Forty Vezirs, has been 
 made from a printed but undated text procured 
 a few years ago in Constantinople. The MS. 
 version, of which this copy, which I shall call 
 the Const. Text, is an impression, has been 
 dedicated to a Sultan Mustafa ; but there is 
 nothing to indicate which of the four Ottoman 
 monarchs who bore that name is intended. 
 The fact of him being styled simply Sultan 
 Mustafa would lead us to imagine that the first 
 Emperor so called must be meant ; as in the 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 case of any of the others, some such addition as 
 his father's name or one of the words, Second, 
 Third or Fourth, would be absolutely necessary to 
 distinguish him from his predecessor or predeces- 
 sors of the same name. Sultan Mustafa I reigned 
 from 1617 to 1618, and again from 1622 to 
 1623. It will thus be seen that this edition of 
 the text is, even at the earliest, by no means an 
 old one. That from which extracts were pub- 
 lished by Belletete about the beginning of the 
 present century, is clearly much older, and 
 appears to represent a very early, if not the 
 original, Turkish version of the work.* The 
 style in which it is written is very antiquated, 
 obsolete words and archaic expressions meeting 
 us at every turn. It is dedicated to Sultan 
 Murad, the son of Muhammed, the son of 
 Bayezld, i. e. Murad II (the father of Muham- 
 med II, the conqueror of Constantinople), whose 
 reign extended from 1421 to 1451. 
 
 * Contes Turcs en langue turque, extraits du Roman intitul^ 
 Les Quarante Vizirs, par feu M. Belletete, Paris, 1812. The 
 extracts consist of the Dedication or Preface, the prefatory Story 
 of Sultan Mahmud, the Introduction, forty out of the eighty 
 subordinate Stories, and the Conclusion. 
 
PREFACE. ix 
 
 Of the Ottoman author or compiler, who 
 calls himself simply Sheykh-zada (=Sheykh- 
 born, i.e. Child of the Sheykh), nothing appears 
 to be known. He states in his Dedication that 
 the work is a translation from the Arabic ; but 
 it is not very clear from his words, as published 
 by Belletete, whether the title which he there 
 mentions is that of the Arab original or of the 
 Turkish translation : probably it is intended for 
 both. He says, " Now, by reason of this, 
 Sheykh-zada hath written out (lit. made a fair 
 copy of) this book, named Hikayetu-Erbaftna- 
 Sabakin we Mesa (=The Story of the Forty 
 Morns and Eves), for the Sultan of the age."* 
 The popular Turkish title of the work, Qirq 
 Vezir Tarlkhi (=he History of the Forty 
 Vezirs), which alone is given as the name of the 
 Romance in the Const. Text, nowhere occurs 
 in the Paris edition.f According to Dr. Behr- 
 
 * Bu sebebden Sheykh-zada Sultan-i ' asr ichun bu Hikayetu- 
 Erba'ina Sabahin we Mesa adlu kitab beyaza geturdi. For 
 1 asr=2ige, Belletete has J//jr=Egypt, which makes nonsense. 
 
 t It appears, however, on the title-page, the work of the 
 French editor, travestied thus : Qirq Vezirin ve Qirq Khatunin 
 Hikayetlert=T}\Q Stories of the Forty Vezirs and of the Forty 
 Ladies. 
 
x PREFACE. 
 
 nauer, who five-and-thirty years ago published 
 an excellent German version from a MS. pre- 
 served in the Royal Library at Dresden,* a 
 certain Ahmed the Egyptian made an inde- 
 pendent but abridged Turkish translation of 
 the Romance, a MS. of which is to be seen in 
 the Municipal Library of Leipzig. 
 
 By the courtesy of Dr. Rost I have been 
 favoured with the loan of a manuscript of 
 the Forty Vezirs belonging to the Library 
 of the India Office (No. 3,211). Unhappily, 
 this copy, which begins with the prefatory 
 Story of Sultan Mahmud,t contains no 
 D edication whatever, and, consequently, affords 
 no information as to the origin and title of 
 the book, the name of the author or that of 
 his patron. The copyist has, moreover, omitted 
 to mention the year in which he transcribed the 
 work ; so that it is impossible to ascertain the 
 date of the volume. Its style is pretty much 
 
 * Die Vierzig Veziere oder Weisen Meister, ein altmorgen- 
 landischer Sittenroman aus dem Ttirkischen iibertragen von 
 Dr. Walter Fr. Adolf Behrnauer, Leipzig, 1851. 
 
 t This prefatory Story of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, which 
 forms no part of the Romance of the Forty Vezirs, properly so- 
 called, seems nevertheless to occur in every edition. 
 
PREFACE. xi 
 
 the same as that of the Const. Text ; but it 
 deals somewhat less in detail than the latter. 
 Belletete's volume is fuller than either ; but it 
 is extremely carelessly printed, teeming with 
 typographical errors, doubly vexatious in an 
 edition of an archaic text.* 
 
 While there is little difference, save in minor 
 details, such as the names of towns, the profes- 
 sions of the characters, and so forth, between 
 the several versions of those among the sub- 
 ordinate stories that are common to two or 
 more of these texts (including Behrnauer's 
 Translation, which may be taken as correctly 
 representing the Dresden MS.), there is a vast 
 difference in the selection of such stories given 
 
 * While these pages were passing through the press I ex- 
 amined two MSS. of the Forty Vezirs preserved in the British 
 Museum (Add. 7882 and Or. 20). Both are dedicated to 
 Murad II, but in the first-mentioned the name of Ahmed-i 
 MisrI=Ahmed the Egyptian is substituted for that of Sheykh- 
 zada. While it shows no variations of any moment, this MS., 
 far from being an abridgment, is fuller in point of detail than 
 any other text of the work that has come under my notice. 
 Neither MS. yields any story that is not to be found in the 
 present volume. It is possible that Sheykh-zada and Ahmed-i 
 MisrI may be one and the same person, whose full name would 
 then be Sheykh-zada Ahmed-i MisrI Ahmed Sheykh-son of 
 Egypt (or Cairo). 
 
xii PREFACE. 
 
 in each. Indeed, the Forty Vezirs may be 
 called, as the Thousand and One Nights has 
 been, " rather a vehicle for stories, partly fixed 
 and partly arbitrary, than a collection fairly 
 deserving from its constant identity with itself 
 the name of a distinct work." Thus the total 
 number of subordinate stories in a complete 
 text ought to be eighty (one for each of the 
 Vezirs, and a corresponding, or rather counter- 
 acting, one each night for the Lady), but of 
 those that I have seen, the Const. Text alone 
 has this number ; Belletete's edition, being but 
 a selection, has only the half; while the India 
 Office MS. omits four, and the Dresden MS. 
 two, for no very palpable reason.* These four 
 texts yield a total of one hundred and ten dis- 
 tinct stories, of which I have translated all save 
 three (whereof more anon), placing in an Appen- 
 dix such as do not occur in the Const. Text, 
 which, as already stated, serves as the ground- 
 work of my Translation. I have, however, 
 given Belletete's Dedication, as representing 
 
 * Details are shown in the Comparative Table in Appen- 
 dix C. 
 
PREFACE. xiii 
 
 that of the original work, instead of the one in 
 which occurs the name of Sultan Mustafa, and 
 in which, I should add, nothing is said as to the 
 work being a translation from the Arabic, and 
 no mention is made of Sheykh-zada or any 
 other writer. As the order, even of those 
 stories that are common to all the texts, varies 
 greatly in each, such titles as the First Vezir's 
 Story, the Lady's Second Story, &c., are in- 
 sufficient to particularize the several tales. I 
 have therefore, in the Table of Contents, 
 labelled each story with a number, and so 
 obtained a clear and simple means of reference. 
 By this plan I have been enabled to show at a 
 glance in the Comparative Table in Appendix C, 
 not only the stories that are found in the several 
 texts, but the order in which they occur in each. 
 An incomplete translation of the History of 
 the Forty Vezirs made by Petis de la Croix, a 
 French orientalist who died in 1713, was found 
 among that author's papers and published in 
 1722, under the title of UHistoire de la Sultane 
 de P^rse et des Visirs. This fragment, which 
 first brought our Romance under the notice of 
 
xiv PREFACE. 
 
 European scholars, omitting the Dedication and 
 the prefatory Story of Sultan Mahmud, begins 
 with the Introduction, and contains nineteen of 
 the subordinate stories. All the nineteen occur 
 in the Const. Text ; but so great are the varia- 
 tions that appear in many of them in De la 
 Croix that I have thought it advisable to discuss 
 them elsewhere.* As far as translation goes, 
 this French version represents the Turkish 
 original (such as I have seen it) about as faith- 
 fully as Galland's celebrated production does 
 the Arabic Thousand and One Nights. Turned 
 into English, and published in 1809, it forms the 
 " Turkish Tales " to which Dunlop refers in his 
 History of Fiction, and which, up till now, has 
 remained the sole representative of the History 
 of the Forty Vezirs in our language. It is rather 
 unfortunate that De la Croix has not translated 
 the Dedication of his text ; but, as he says that 
 the Romance is the work of Ch6c Zade (i. e. 
 Sheykh-zada), preceptorf to Amurath II (i. e. 
 
 * In Appendix B. 
 
 t There seems to be no authority for the statement that 
 Sheykh-zada held the office of preceptor to Murad II. 
 
PREFACE. xv 
 
 Murad II), and that the book is entitled Arbain 
 Nasa (i. e. [Hikayetu] Erba'Ina [Sabahin we] 
 Mesa), it does not appear to have differed 
 essentially from that printed by Belletete and 
 now translated. 
 
 Of Dr. Behrnauer's Translation I have 
 already spoken, and need only add that it is a 
 most scholarly piece of work, and, so far as it 
 goes, leaves nothing to be desired ; but being 
 simply a German version of the Dresden MS. 
 it contains only seventy-eight of the hundred 
 and ten stories which I have collected from 
 various texts and printed in the present volume. 
 
 The frame of the History of the Forty Vezirs 
 the story of the King who, misled by the 
 false accusations of his baffled and revengeful 
 wife, orders the execution of his innocent son, a 
 crime from committing which he is diverted by 
 the wise advice of his chief councillor, only to be 
 urged to it again at night by the Queen, to be 
 restrained again by the words of his second 
 councillor, to be incited to it once more by the 
 Queen, and so on, tossed to and fro, till each of 
 his councillors has in turn done his duty and the 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 guilt of the wicked Queen is at last made clear 
 this has been shown by Mr. W. A. Clouston, 
 t in the Introduction to his Book of Sindibad, to 
 have been among the best known and most 
 popular of romances during many ages and in 
 many widely separated lands. Judging from 
 the present state of our knowledge, it would 
 appear that this story arose in early times in 
 India, whence in the sixth century it passed to 
 Persia, thence to be spread over all the West. 
 Thus we have Syriac Sindban, Greek Syntipas, 
 Hebrew Sandabar, Neo-Persian Sindibad, 
 French Dolopathos, English Seven Wise 
 Masters, and a host of others. But in all these 
 the number of vezirs, sages, masters, or what- 
 ever local usage has caused the advisers of the 
 king to be termed, is limited to seven. In the 
 Turkish version alone, so far as we know, are 
 there forty councillors ; for, if any copies of the 
 Arabic original, from which the Ottoman writers 
 profess to have made their translations are still 
 extant, these copies have hitherto eluded the 
 search of European scholars.* 
 
 * Those readers who are desirous of going into the question 
 
PREFACE. xvii 
 
 Of the hundred and ten subordinate stories I 
 have collected, some possess considerable merit, 
 others again have little or none, while many of 
 both classes are inappropriate enough to the 
 occasion on which they are supposed to be 
 related ; several, indeed, being in one text put 
 into the mouth of a Vezir, which are, in another, 
 attributed to the Lady. Probably not one 
 among them is original; many are quite familiar 
 to us in other dresses, and the student of fiction 
 will be able to point out several variants of the 
 greater number. Considering my task as simply 
 that of a collector and translator, I have made 
 no attempt to trace these stories, through 
 the many lands where they have become local- 
 ized, back to the fountain-head in India, or 
 wherever else it may be. To do this work as it 
 ought to be done would demand a far more 
 intimate and extensive acquaintance with popu- 
 lar fiction than I can pretend to, and may safely 
 
 of the origin of this cycle of romance are referred to Mr. Clous- 
 ton's Book of Sipdibad(i884), where they will find the subject 
 fully discussed ; also to the same scholar's forthcoming work on 
 "Popular Tales and Fictions : their Migrations and Transforma- 
 tions," in which the most recent information will be embodied. 
 
xviii PREFACE. 
 
 be left in the hands of those eminent scholars 
 who are now making a special study of the 
 origin and spread of " old world tales." I may, 
 however, be permitted to mention a few variants 
 that have occured to me during the course of 
 my work : [3]* finds a parallel in the Thousand 
 and One Nights, and in the Book of Sindibad ; 
 [7] in the Talmud ; [8] in Poggio ; [16] in the 
 Baytal Pachisi ; [i8<] in Rabelais; [22] in the 
 Contes Devots ; part of [25] in the Voyages of 
 Sindbad the Sailor ; [28] in Straparola ; [34] in 
 the Fabliau des Trois Larrons by Jehan de 
 Boves, and in Straparola; [3 5#J in the Thousand 
 and One Nights; [37] in Galland's Story of 
 Prince Codadad (for Khuda-dad=God-given : 
 Theodore, Nathanael, &c.) ; [38] in Poggio 
 and -#Lsop ; [39] in the Gesta Romanorum; [44] 
 in the Kath&-Sarit-Sagara,the Book of Sindibad, 
 the Cento Novelle Antiche, the Contes Devots, 
 and the Gesta Romanorum ; part of [45] in 
 Cinthio, and the Ballad of the Heir of Linne; 
 part of [46] in the Story of the Second Calender 
 
 * The figures in brackets indicate the stories as numbered in 
 the Table of Contents. 
 
PREFACE. xix 
 
 in the Thousand and One Nights, and in the 
 Mabinogion; [53] in Machiavelli's Story of Bel- 
 phegor, in Straparola, and Brevio ; [57] in the 
 Decameron, and the Bahar-i Danish ; [58] in 
 the Gesta Romanorum, and the Vies des Peres ; 
 [60] in the Story of Vikram, King of Ujjayn ; 
 [74] in the Bakhtyar-Nama ; [77] in Straparola ; 
 [87] in the Book of Sindibad ; [93] in ^Esop 
 and the Anvar-i Suhayli ; [94] . in the Hito- 
 padesha, and the Anvar-i Suhayli; [108] in 
 the Gulistan ; and so on. 
 
 Some of these tales are still current in 
 Turkey; thus [180], that of the three youths 
 who misunderstood the enigmatic counsels of 
 their father, is given, very slightly modified, as 
 a popular story in the Memoirs of Mr. Barker, 
 who was for many years British Consul at 
 Aleppo. But there is nothing peculiarly 
 Turkish in any of them ; indeed, many of the ^ 
 
 incidents narrated would have been impossible 
 in the Turkish society of any period. 
 
 The Romance of the Forty Vezirs is, like all the 
 other members of the same family, Eastern and 
 Western, Hindu, Muhammedan and Christian, 
 
xx PREFACE. 
 
 a fierce satire on the fair sex. Stories that told 
 against women were very popular everywhere 
 during the Middle Ages, though, perhaps, they 
 enjoyed a yet greater share of public favour in 
 Europe than in Asia. We all recollect how 
 Jankyn, clerk of Oxenford and fifth husband to 
 the immortal Wyf of Bath, used to gloat over 
 his book of tales of the wickedness of wives. 
 The most striking characteristic of the old 
 French Fabliaux is the bitterness and ribaldry 
 with which they scoff at female weaknesses. 
 The reader must not then imagine that he finds 
 portrayed in this collection of tales the Eastern 
 as opposed to the Western estimate of woman.* 
 What he does find is the medieval as opposed 
 to the modern estimate of her ; and he will find 
 the same, only painted in far stronger colours, if 
 he turns to the European popular story-books 
 of the period. 
 
 Being productions of a more outspoken age, 
 many of the following tales are, as was to be 
 
 * The modern Eastern, or at least Turkish, estimate of 
 woman may be found in the works of such writers as Kemal, 
 Ekrem, and 'Abd-ul-Haqq Hamid. 
 
PREFACE. xxi 
 
 expected, of a character that is contrary to the 
 taste of the present time. I have, however, 
 omitted nothing in this book ; but in the case 
 of a few isolated passages and of three entire 
 stories, the nature of which is such as to pre- 
 clude the possibility of their publication in these 
 days, I have been content to print the original 
 transliterated into the Roman alphabet, but un- 
 translated. The three stories in question are very 
 similar in character in many of the Fabliaux, and 
 I have little doubt that variants of them exist in 
 one or more of the many collections of these 
 tales. All such matters, it should be added, 
 are as offensive to the modern Ottoman as to 
 the modern English reader. 
 
 It only remains for me to say that I have 
 made the Translation as literal as possible, 
 adopting a simple style as being best suited 
 to represent the quaint old-fashioned character 
 of the original, which, notwithstanding what 
 the writer says in the Dedication (the only 
 high-flown piece in the whole book), is much 
 less encumbered with literary conceits and 
 verbal adornments than are most works due 
 
xxii PREFACE. 
 
 to the pens of Ottoman authors of the olden 
 time. 
 
 April 1886. E. J. W. G. 
 
 Since writing the above, I have purchased from 
 Mr. Quaritch two MSS. of the Forty Vezirs. 
 The first of these, which was transcribed in 
 A.H. 1010 (A.D. 1601), offers no new stories; 
 but the second, which is undated, yields two. 
 These have been translated and printed at the 
 end of Appendix A, thus raising the total num- 
 ber of tales in this volume to one hundred and 
 twelve. Unhappily, some leaves are lost from 
 the beginning of both MSS., the first remaining 
 page of the one commencing with the prefatory 
 Story of Sultan Mahmud ; that of the other, 
 with the Lady's Second Story. Of the hundred 
 and twelve subordinate tales now collected, 
 thirty-eight are common to all the five fairly 
 complete texts I have seen (the Const. Text, 
 the India Office MS., Behrnauer's translation of 
 the Dresden MS., and the two Quaritch MSS.); 
 two are peculiar to the Const. Text, four to the 
 India Office MS., four to the Dresden MS., and 
 two to the Quaritch MS. No. II. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 (Figures within Brackets, thus [i], are introduced for the Purpose of 
 numbering the several Stories for Reference.) 
 
 PAGE 
 
 DEDICATION TO SULTAN MURAD II . . i 
 
 THE STORY OF SULTAN MAHMUD . . .5 
 
 EPITOME . . . . . 7 
 
 INTRODUCTION . . . . . .8 
 
 THE FIRST VEZiR's STORY [i]. Sheykh Shihab-ud-Dm 
 makes the King of Egypt, who refuses to believe in the 
 Ascension of Muhammed, experience the adventures of 
 seven years in a single moment. The king in revenge 
 causes the sheykh to be put to death while in a state of 
 ceremonial impurity . . . . .16 
 
 THE LADY'S FIRST STORY [2]. There are two kings, of 
 whom one brings up his son rigorously but well, while 
 the other indulges his in every whim ; the latter kills his 
 father and plays the tyrant towards his people, who call 
 in the first king's son and aid him to obtain possession 
 of their country and conquer their tyrannical sovereign, 
 who is put to death . . . . .27 
 
xxiv TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 ' THE SECOND VEZIR'S STORY [3]. A khoja has a parrot 
 which tells him that during his absence his wife enter- 
 tains her lover. On being reprimanded by her husband, 
 the lady plays a trick by means of which the parrot loses 
 credit with the khoja . . . . -33 
 
 THE LADY'S SECOND STORY [4]. A sickly prince is cured 
 by a physician who, having learned from the queen that 
 the boy's real father is a Turkman, causes him to be 
 fed with food proper to that people . . -37 
 
 THE THIRD VEZIR'S STORY [5]. (a) An aged king, feeling 
 he is about to die and unable to decide to which of his 
 three sons to leave the throne, causes each to rule for 
 three days in succession, whereupon the youngest is 
 chosen by the people, (b) The old king causes his own 
 obsequies to be performed before his death . . 41 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRD STORY [6]. A powerful king, who 
 makes war upon a weak neighbour, is five times defeated 
 and at length slain by the latter, who follows the counsels 
 of a wise vezir . . . . . -55 
 
 THE FOURTH VEZIR'S STORY [7]. (a) Moses slays Og the 
 son of Anak, king of the ' Adis. (b) Afterwards he in- 
 vades the country of Balaam the son of Beor, who, pre- 
 vailed upon by his wife, curses Moses so that he wanders 
 forty years in the wilderness ; wherefore, at the prayer of 
 Moses, Balaam dies an infidel . . . .64 
 
 THE LADY'S FOURTH STORY [8]. A certain king, who is 
 desirous of seeing Khizr, gives a poor man much wealth 
 on condition that he shows him the prophet within three 
 years ; at the end of which time, the poor man, having 
 failed in his engagement, is brought before the king, ac- 
 companied by Khizr in disguise, who tells the king the 
 origin of his vezirs from the several punishments they 
 suggest for the poor man . . . . .69 
 
 THE FIFTH VEZIR'S STORY [9]. A certain vezir, who 
 receives frequent visits from Khizr, retires from his 
 office, whereon Khizr ceases to visit him. On Khizr once 
 again appearing, he asks the reason of this, and is told 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. xxv 
 
 PAGE 
 
 by the prophet that only so long as he attends to his duty 
 
 is there any connection between them . . -73 
 
 THE LADY'S FIFTH STORY [10]. A Moorish magician, 
 being enamoured of a boy, teaches him certain charms 
 whereby he may have access to a buried treasure after 
 learning which the boy seeks to kill the Moor and remain 
 sole master of the treasure . . . 76 
 
 THE SIXTH VEZIR'S STORY [u]. A tailor and his wife 
 make an agreement that whichever survives the other 
 shall not marry again, but continue to mourn as long as 
 life lasts. The woman dies, and the tailor is discovered 
 by Jesus weeping over her tomb. Jesus restores her to 
 life, and, while the tailor is gone to fetch her clothes, she 
 goes away with the prince of the country, who happens 
 to pass by. When the tailor finds her, she denies him 
 and persuades the prince to put him to death, whereupon 
 Jesus appears and, telling the truth, causes the woman 
 to die again and the tailor to be released . . .82 
 
 THE LADY'S SIXTH STORY [12]. The son of a robber is 
 adopted by a king ; when he grows up, he falls in love 
 with the king's daughter, runs off with her, kills the king 
 and turns robber . . . . . -87 
 
 THE SEVENTH VEZIR'S STORY [13]. A king, who is de- 
 sirous of having soldiers without pay, is shown by a 
 learned vezir how it is impossible to procure such . 92 
 
 THE LADY'S SEVENTH STORY [14]. Solomon sends the 
 sfmurgh to bring the sparrow to his court ; but the latter, 
 being beside his mate, vaunts and brags and refuses to 
 obey the prophet and his messenger . . -97 
 
 THE EIGHTH VEZIR'S STORY [15]. A certain vezir per- 
 ceives by a sign that his good fortune has reached its 
 highest point, and, consequently, prepares for adversity ; 
 a year afterwards he learns by another sign that his evil 
 fortune has reached its lowest point, and, consequently, 
 prepares for prosperity . . . . .100 
 
 THE LADY'S EIGHTH STORY [16]. A king, dying, tells 
 his three sons where he has hidden a vase of jewels. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 On his death they fail to find it, and, knowing that one 
 of themselves must have taken it, go before the cadi that 
 he may judge between them. He finds out the thief by 
 telling a story of a girl, whose bridegroom having allowed 
 her to keep an appointment with her lover, is nobly 
 treated by her lover and by a robber whom she meets . 105 
 THE NINTH VEZIR'S STORY [17]. A slave-girl spills some 
 food over the Khalif Harun-er-Reshld when he is in a 
 wrathful mood. As he is about to kill her, she turns 
 away his anger and incites him to generous deeds by an 
 apposite quotation from the Koran . . . 1 1 1 
 
 THE LADY'S NINTH STORY [18]. (<i) A dying king gives 
 enigmatic counsels to his three sons, which they, not 
 understanding aright, misapply. () A dervish shows 
 them their error by telling them a story of a monk and a 
 dervish who conversed before a king by making signs 
 with their hands, and who, while they thought they 
 understood each other, did not really do so . .114 
 
 THE TENTH VEZIR'S STORY [19]. An Egyptian prince 
 finds at Mekka the purse of a khoja, who, when his pro- 
 perty is freely restored to him, prays that the prince may 
 become master of his wife and all his possessions, which 
 eventually happens . . . . . .122 
 
 THE LADY'S TENTH STORY [20]. A merchant, dying, 
 leaves an allowance to each of his sons, which they 
 squander, and so are reduced to beggary ; whereupon 
 the merchants, fearing their bad example, persuade the 
 king to put them to death ; they save themselves by show- 
 ing the king that their father commended them to money 
 rather than to God . . . . . -130 
 
 THE ELEVENTH VEZIR'S STORY [21]. A king, while 
 drunk, orders his favourite, the son of his vezir, to be put 
 to death ; the boy is, however, saved by his father, and 
 on the king repenting is restored to him . . . 133 
 
 - THE LADY'S ELEVENTH STORY [22]. Barslsa, a devotee, 
 tempted by Satan, violates and murders a king's daughter 
 who is sent to him that his prayers may cure her of an 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 illness. When he is being hanged, Satan persuades him 
 
 to worship him, and then mocks him and leaves him . 138 
 
 THE TWELFTH VEZIR'S STORY [23]. By feigning to 
 understand the language of birds, Ayaz induces Sultan 
 Mahmud to restore all the ruined places in his em- 
 pire . .144 
 
 THE LADY'S TWELFTH STORY [24]. A weaver pretends 
 to a king that he can weave a turban such that only those 
 born in wedlock can see. The king orders him to do 
 so, and for a time he manages to deceive the king and 
 his vezirs ....... 148 
 
 THE THIRTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY [25]. A prince, whose 
 ruling star is afflicted during thirty years, wanders for 
 that period in strange countries suffering many hardships 
 and dangers ; at length, at the end of that term, he be- 
 comes a king and is reunited to his sons whom he had 
 lost . . . . . . . . isr 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTEENTH STORY [26]. A king, who is 
 childless, having requested a dervish to pray for him, and 
 sent a ram to the convent, by and bye gets a son ; on a 
 second occasion he sends a horse and gets another son, 
 and on a third he sends a mule and gets a third son. 
 The first son turns out brave, the second sagacious, and 
 the third stubborn . . . . . .163 
 
 THE FOURTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY [27]. The angels in 
 Heaven speak slightingly of the children of Adam, where- 
 upon God endows with human passions Harut and 
 Marut, two of their number chosen by themselves, and 
 sends them down to earth to be tempted. They commit 
 all manner of evil, and are punished by being hanged 
 head downward in a well at Babylon till the Resurrection- 
 Day . . . . . . . .167 
 
 -THE LADY'S FOURTEENTH STORY [28], Certain opium- 
 eaters enter a tomb to eat, but forget to shut the gate. 
 They begin to quarrel as to who shall get up and close it, 
 and agree that he who speaks first shall do so. Dogs 
 come in and eat up their food and bite one of them, who 
 
xxviii TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 cries out, and is thereupon told by the others to shut the 
 gate, though there is now no use in doing so . .171 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY [29]. A king whose son 
 dies of an unknown malady, has him cut open and dis- 
 covers a bone on the top of his heart ; this he gets made 
 into a knife-handle which he leaves one day in a water- 
 melon where it melts. Having thus found out what would 
 have cured his son, he dies of grief for not having known 
 it earlier . . . . . . . 1 73 
 
 THE LADY'S FIFTEENTH STORY [30]. Luqman the sage, 
 being called to cure a sick king, says his recovery can 
 only be effected by the slaughter of the prince. He pre- 
 tends to kill him before the king, who recovers through 
 his delight at finding his son is not really slain . . 17$ 
 
 THE SIXTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY [31]. A dervish, who 
 diverts a king with verses and stories, receives a hint to 
 go away, but by a witty answer induces the king to let 
 him remain . . . . . . . 179 
 
 THE LADY'S SIXTEENTH STORY [32]. Hasan of May- 
 mand, having been dismissed from the vezirate by Sultan 
 Mahmiid, overhears some children playing, and from a 
 speech made by one of these prepares a petition which 
 is the cause of his being reinstated in office . .188 
 
 THE SEVENTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY [33]. During a famine 
 in Mekka, a woman, who has a store of wheat, offers to 
 give some to a youth if he will commit adultery with her. 
 He, having resolved to mutilate himself, feigns to consent, 
 when he finds a way of escape and has ten camel-loads 
 of wheat miraculously bestowed on him . . .191 
 
 THE LADY'S SEVENTEENTH STORY [34]. A young sharper 
 buys a sequin's worth of sweetmeats from a confectioner 
 and then steals the sequin, whereupon the confectioner 
 manages by a trick to recover the coin from the sharper, 
 who gets it again by another trick ; the confectioner 
 recovers it a second time, and is once more wheedled out 
 of it by the sharper. . . 194 
 
 THE EIGHTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY [35]. (a) A man clad in 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. xxix 
 
 PAGE 
 
 black and riding on a black ass comes to Sultan Mah- 
 miid's court and asks for some money, on being refused 
 which, he insults the king who, pleased at his boldness, 
 bestows a gift on him . . . . .198 
 
 (ti). A khoja, who refuses to buy his beard from an 
 abdal, is finally induced to give the latter a hundred 
 aspres by a jest that he makes .... 200 
 
 THE LADY'S EIGHTEENTH STORY [36]. A young cobbler, 
 going from Orfa to Aleppo, rescues a girl, who by and bye 
 employs him to kill her faithless lover, who had attempted 
 to slay her. She turns out to be the king's daughter and 
 is eventually married to the cobbler . . . 203 
 
 THE NINETEENTH VEZIR'S STORY [37]. Hasan of Basra 
 attends the mourning ceremony on the anniversary of 
 the death of a king's son, and is so affected thereby that 
 he abandons the world and turns dervish . . ' .213 
 
 THE LADY'S NINETEENTH STORY [38]. An old gardener, 
 having mounted his son upon an ass, is going to his 
 garden, when he is met by certain persons who jeer at 
 him ; he then makes the boy get down and mounts him- 
 self, when certain others jeer at him ; next he makes the 
 boy get up before, and then behind, him, always with 
 the same result ; at length, both go on foot and thus 
 reach the garden . . . . . .218 
 
 THE TWENTIETH VEZIR'S STORY [39]. A king buys from 
 a dervish a word of counsel, which is in the end the 
 means of saving his life ..... 220 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTIETH STORY [40]. A whole encamp- 
 ment is plunged into mourning by believing the word of 
 children ....... 224 
 
 THE TWENTY-FIRST VEZIR'S STORY [41]. A king's wife 
 shuts up her lover in a chest and then tells her husband 
 what she has done. When he is about to open the chest, 
 she deceives him by a false speech, and makes him crave 
 her pardon for having doubted her fidelity . . 227 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY-FIRST STORY [42]. An abdal rides 
 out hawking with a king, but, being ignorant of the sport, 
 
xxx TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 makes a stupid mistake which angers the king, who is, 
 however, appeased by a jest that the abdal makes . 230 
 
 THE TWENTY-SECOND VEZIR'S STORY [43]. A king who 
 is about to hang an abdal who loves his son, sees himself 
 in a vision consigned to Hell, after which he is more 
 lenient in his dealings ..... 233 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY-SECOND STORY [44]. A certain noble 
 who is envious of the king's favourite courtier, plays the 
 latter a trick which causes the king to give him a note 
 ordering his death. The envious man meets the cour- 
 tier, and, thinking the note to be an order for a gift, 
 asks and gets it from him, and so is put to death in his 
 stead .... . 239 
 
 THE TWENTY-THIRD VEZIR'S STORY [45]. A merchant 
 tells his son that should he ever come to want he is to 
 hang himself from a certain ring in the ceiling. After 
 his father's death, the youth, having wasted all his sub- 
 stance, does as he was told, when the ceiling gives 
 way and he discovers much gold hidden there. He re- 
 forms ; and, after a time, he buys from a snake-charmer 
 a serpent which proves to be the princess of the jinn, for 
 whose ransom he obtains a magic mirror which enables 
 him to carry off the daughter of the king of his country. 
 The king gets possession, through witches, of the youth, 
 the mirror and the princess. The youth is freed from 
 the king's prison by the mice who are in fear of his cat, 
 and recovers the princess and mirror ; but again loses 
 them to the witches, by whom he is himself killed . 244 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY-THIRD STORY [46]. A youth, ap- 
 prentice to a geomancer, displeases his master, who 
 seeks to punish him. They both assume form after 
 form, till at length the youth gets the victor}' and kills 
 his master ....... 253 
 
 THE TWENTY-FOURTH VEZIR'S STORY [47]. A sharper 
 and a thief are, unknown to one another, husband to the 
 same woman. They discover their position and ask the 
 woman which of them she will choose to keep ; she says 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. xxxi 
 
 PAGE 
 
 she will choose him who performs the cleverest trick. 
 They each perform a sharping trick, and that of the 
 thief being judged the better, he gets the woman . 257 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY-FOURTH STORY [48]. A king, by 
 way of jest, gives his favourite courtier in winter an order 
 on his treasurer for six loads of snow ; the courtier keeps 
 the order till summer, and then, as the officer cannot 
 give him so much snow at that season, gets its pecuniary 
 value from him instead ..... 266 
 
 THE TWENTY-FIFTH VEZIR'S STORY [49]. Khalid ibn- 
 Walid by his wise words converts a monk and a whole 
 tribe of Christians to Islam .... 269 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY-FIFTH STORY [50]. A man of 
 Khorasan who is a braggart is put to shame before a 
 party of strangers by his son .... 276 
 
 THE TWENTY-SIXTH VEZIR'S STORY [51]. A poor man 
 in Cairo, having given all his substance to the master by 
 whom his son was taught the Koran, is reduced to want, 
 when he is warned in a dream that his portion is in 
 Damascus. Upon repairing thither, he gets a loaf ; and 
 then, in consequence of another dream, returns to Cairo, 
 where it is revealed to him to dig in the ground under 
 his house. He does so, and finds a jar full of sequins ; 
 these he takes to the king who, causing the inscription to 
 be read, finds that they are a divine gift to the poor man 
 in reward of his virtue, to whom he thereupon restores 
 them ....... 278 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY-SIXTH STORY [52], A youth who 
 is being entertained by a young lady, hears her father 
 coming, and, while endeavouring to escape into a cellar, 
 falls down a flight of steps and is killed . . . 285 
 
 - THE TWENTY-SEVENTH VEZIR'S STORY [53] A young 
 woodman has a scolding wife who falls into a pit where 
 an * ifrlt lives. The next day, when the woodman goes 
 to rescue her, he pulls out the * ifrlt instead, who to 
 reward him for delivering him from such a scold, pro- 
 mises to possess the king's daughter and not to leave her 
 
xxxii TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 till the woodman conjure him. He does so, and the 
 king, grateful for his daughter's cure, marries her to the 
 woodman. The ' ifrit, who is in love with a neighbouring 
 king's daughter, annoys her much, whereupon her father 
 sends for the woodman to cure her, who frightens away 
 the 'ifrit by saying that his first wife is coming . . 288 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY-SEVENTH STORY [54]. The fleas 
 send a deputation to Solomon, who is dissuaded from 
 granting their request by a scant-bearded man ; for which 
 reason the fleas have ever since borne an especial grudge 
 against such as are scant-bearded .... 295 
 
 THE TWENTY-EIGHTH VEZIR'S STORY [55]. A thief who 
 enters the cell of a devotee to steal, is so changed by 
 passing a night with the holy man that he is immediately 
 made one of the Forty ..... 298 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY-EIGHTH STORY [56]. Avicenna 
 agrees to free Aleppo from mice provided the king does 
 not laugh at what he sees. By means of a charm he 
 makes the mice march in procession out of the city, but 
 when they are partially out, the king, unable to resist, 
 laughs at the sight, whereupon the charm is broken . .300 
 
 THE TWENTY-NINTH VEZIR'S STORY [57]. A woman, 
 having agreed with her leman to play a trick on her 
 husband, goes out next day with the latter, to whom she 
 gives a sweetmeat which she says makes those who eat 
 it see double. They both eat it, whereupon she climbs a 
 tree and cries down to her husband that he has a woman 
 with him ; the husband climbs next, and seeing his wife 
 with her leman, attributes it to the sweetmeat . . 303 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY-NINTH STORY [58]. In order to 
 reprove his presumption, Moses is sent to learn wisdom 
 of Khizr. While they are journeying together, the latter 
 injures a boat belonging to innocent men, slays an 
 unoffending child, and builds up a bowing wall in a 
 village the inhabitants whereof were inhospitable ; he 
 tells Moses the reasons for these actions and then dis- 
 misses him ....... 306 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. xxxiii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE THIRTIETH VEZIR'S STORY [59]. A quarrel about 
 the price of a goat leads to a bloody war between two 
 Arab tribes . . . . . . .311 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTIETH STORY [60]. A king who has 
 learned a charm whereby he can enter other bodies, 
 teaches the same to his vezir, who takes advantage of his 
 knowledge to enter the body of the king. The latter, in 
 the form of a parrot, after settling a dispute between a 
 merchant and a harlot, is sold to the queen, and by and 
 bye recovers his own body'and kills the vezir . . 313 
 
 THE THIRTY-FIRST VEZIR'S STORY [61]. A blind man 
 discovers by inference a box of jewels that the Khalif 
 Reshid had lost . . . . . .319 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-FIRST STORY [62]. There are in 
 Cesarea two cadis, enemies to one another. Certain 
 persons slander one of them to the king, who banishes 
 him, whereupon his rival solicits and obtains his pardon. 321 
 
 THE THIRTY-SECOND VEZIR'S STORY [63]. The Sultan 
 of Egypt, thinking his wife alone is discontented while 
 she lacks for nothing, asks his vezirs and nobles con- 
 cerning their wives, and finds that they are all in the 
 same way ....... 3 2 3 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-SECOND STORY [64]. Fuzayl, being 
 told by his son that one heart cannot contain two loves, 
 tears from his heart the love for his son . . 325 
 
 THE THIRTY-THIRD VEZIR'S STORY [65]. A youth, going 
 to a certain city to see a beautiful woman of whom he 
 has heard, sees certain strange sights on the road, which 
 are parabolically interpreted to him by an elder whom he 
 meets at the city gate. On his still asking for the woman, 
 the elder smites him, whereupon he opens his eyes in 
 Hell 327 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-THIRD STORY [66]. A boy, who 
 complains of getting too little food, frowardly kicks over 
 the pot when a large quantity is brought to him, and is 
 consequently cursed by his parents 33 
 
 THE THIRTY-FOURTH VEZIR'S STORY [67]. A Persian 
 
xx.xiv TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 merchant whose wife attempts to kill him, is saved by a 
 dog. To punish her, he makes her always eat out of the 
 same dish with the dog . . . . 33 1 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-FOURTH STORY [68]. A king pre- 
 sents a famous falcon to a noble who greatly admired it, 
 and in return the noble places his sons and warriors at 
 the king's disposal ... . . 333 
 
 THE THIRTY-FIFTH VEZIR'S STORY [69]. A certain man, 
 by jumping when his wife tells him, has his ankle put out 
 of joint ; and by jumping again, when she tells him not, 
 is healed . . . . . . .337 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-FIFTH STORY [70]. A king's son 
 refuses to learn his lesson because he has taken a fancy 
 to try how many lamps he can break at one stroke ; on 
 his whim being gratified, he studies again as before . 338 
 
 THE THIRTY-SIXTH VEZIR'S STORY [71]. A dervish who 
 hides himself in a robber's cave, releases a captive whom 
 the robbers bring in. The captive, after killing all the 
 robbers, is near falling a victim to the resentment of their 
 leader's mistress, but is saved by his own people, who 
 put the woman to death ..... 340 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-SIXTH STORY [72], Sultan 'Ala-ud- 
 Dln, while going alone through the madhouse, is pre- 
 vailed upon by one of the madmen to set him free and 
 give him a knife. He is then compelled by the madman 
 to clean out a filthy place with his own hands on pain of 
 death, and at length is delivered by the appearance of 
 the keeper . . 345 
 
 THE THIRTY-SEVENTH VEZIR'S STORY [73]. Satan con- 
 trives that Adam and Eve eat his son in the form of a 
 kid, so that the latter may tempt them from within while 
 he himself does so from without . . . 348 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-SEVENTH STORY [74]. Two vezirs, 
 who are envious of a third, contrive by bribing the pages 
 to make the king put him to death. By and bye the king, 
 overhearing the pages quarrelling about the bribe, learns 
 the truth . . . . . . .351 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. xxxv 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE THIRTY-EIGHTH VEZIR'S STORY [75]. A merchant 
 of Cairo boils down the offspring of his slave-girl to make 
 poison ; she, in revenge, puts some of the poison into his 
 food, so that he dies (untranslated) . . -353 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-EIGHTH STORY [76]. While Noah 
 is building the ark, the unbelievers fill it with filth ; to 
 punish them, God sends on them an itch which can only 
 be cured by being rubbed with that filth, which they 
 consequently remove. One of Noah's sons, refusing to 
 enter the ark, is drowned . . . . 355 
 
 THE THIRTY-NINTH VEZIR'S STORY [77]. A certain 
 shepherd is by reason of his truthfulness made master of 
 the horse. The vezirs, being envious, desire to make 
 him lie before the king ; so the grand vezir's daughter 
 goes and persuades him to kill the king's favourite horse 
 and advises him say it turned ill and died. When she is 
 gone he takes counsel of his cap, and resolves to tell the 
 truth, which he does and gains yet higher favour with the 
 king 358 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-NINTH STORY [78]. An elder 
 declares his ass to be wiser than the king's vezirs, in 
 that he always avoids the hole wherein he once stumbled, 
 while they are ever desirous of office, though it has occa- 
 sioned the death of many of their fellows . . 363 
 
 THE FORTIETH VEZIR'S STORY [79]. A tailor's wife 
 plays him false, and deceives him with a lying story 
 (untranslated) ...... 366 
 
 THE LADY'S FORTIETH STORY [80], A Sultan of Egypt 
 whose son revolts and drives him from the throne, 
 recovers his kingdom through the aid of a vezir whom he 
 had formerly deposed ..... 368 
 
 CONCLUSION . . . . . . ,374 
 
 APPENDIX A STORIES OCCURRING IN OTHER TEXTS 
 
 THAN THAT FROM WHICH THE TRANSLATION HAS 
 BEEN MADE. 
 
xxxvi TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 FROM BELLETETE'S VOLUME OF EXTRACTS. 
 
 THE NINTH VEZIR'S STORY [81]. A Turkman while 
 ploughing discovers a treasure ; in doubt as to whether 
 to tell his wife, he tries her, and finds she cannot keep a 
 secret. A smith, to whom he gives some of the gold to 
 make into a ploughshare, tries to cheat him, and the king, 
 instead of restoring it all to him, keeps the greater part, 
 so that finally the Turkman dies of vexation . . 379 
 
 THE TENTH VEZIR'S STORY [82]. One Friday a man, 
 whose garden needs watering, and whose turn it is to 
 grind at the mill, determines to attend mosque rather 
 than look after his worldly business. He is rewarded by 
 finding on his return that his garden has been sufficiently 
 watered by a neighbour next door watering his, and that 
 his grain has been ground by another man in mistake for 
 his own . . . . . . . 381 
 
 THE ELEVENTH VEZIR'S STORY [83]. A king's daughter 
 falls in love with one of the palace attendants, and has 
 no peace until she has passed a night with him . .381 
 
 THE LADY'S EIGHTEENTH STORY [84]. A foolish boy, 
 who is sent to a minstrel to be taught music, does not know 
 that there are occasions on which he should not chant . 383 
 
 FROM THE INDIA OFFICE MS. 
 
 THE LADY'S FIRST STORY [85]. A king has a foolish 
 son, whom he gives to a master to be instructed. On 
 the completion of his education he is brought before his 
 father, but returning a foolish answer to a question, is 
 sent back to his teacher ..... 384 
 
 THE SECOND VEZIR'S STORY [86]. Samson, being 
 betrayed by his wife to the misbelievers, is by them 
 mutilated ; but on being made whole again by Gabriel, 
 he takes his revenge by destroying the palace of the 
 infidel king ...... 384 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRD STORY [87]. A witch, whose son is 
 
TABLE OF CONTENT*. xxxvii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 swept away by a river, leaps into the stream seeking to 
 save him, the result being that both are drowned . 386 
 
 THE SEVENTH VEZIR'S STORY [88]. A certain woman 
 plays a trick upon a merchant, by borrowing money from 
 him on the security of a worthless gown, which he believes 
 to be one of value. On his complaining to the governor, 
 the latter suggests to him a trick whereby his money is 
 recovered, and the woman found and punished . . 386 
 
 THE LADY'S SEVENTH STORY [89]. A carpenter's appren- 
 tice, who vaunts that he is more skilful than his master, 
 is, on being brought to the test, baffled and put to shame 889 
 
 THE NINTH VEZIR'S STORY [90]. Kay-Qubad has a 
 prudish wife, who, having fallen in love with a slave-boy, 
 is found by her husband in a compromising position, and 
 put to shame ...... 390 
 
 THK LADY'S NINTH STORY [91]. A rogue stops the 
 pilgrims from making the ablution at the Zemzem well by 
 means of a lying story . . . . . 391 
 
 THE THIRTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY [92]. Abraham, being 
 about to offer up Ishmael as a sacrifice, is prevented 
 from doing so by the knife refusing to cut his son's 
 throat. . . . . . .391 
 
 THE LADY'S FIFTEENTH STORY [93]. A devotee, who is 
 supplied by a friend with a daily allowance of oil and 
 honey, preserves the greater portion thereof in a jar. 
 When the jar has become full he determines to sell it in 
 the bazaar, and buy with the price a few sheep, which 
 will multiply, and be the means of his growing rich. But 
 in the bazaar he accidentally breaks the jar, and all the 
 contents are lost ...... 393 
 
 THE SIXTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY [94]. The wife of a 
 carpenter, while entertaining her lover, becomes aware 
 of the arrival of her husband, and contrives that the 
 latter overhears a speech she makes to her gallant, which 
 drives resentment from his mind . . . 394 
 
 THE LADY'S SIXTEENTH STORY [95]. A certain man, on 
 the death of his wife, sends his four sons to make arrange- 
 
xxxviii TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 ments for the burial. They forget their messages, and 
 begin to play, and so keep the funeral party waiting, 
 whereupon their father curses them in his displeasure, 
 and they are changed into various animals . . 395 
 
 THE NINETEENTH VEZIR'S STORY [96], Cain, on being 
 refused his twin sister in marriage, slays his brother Abel, 
 to whom she was given. .... 395 
 
 THE TWENTY-THIRD VEZIR'S STORY [97]. David, being 
 in love with the wife of Uriah, contrives that the latter is 
 slain in battle, whereupon he is reproved by two angels 
 from the Lord ...... 396 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY- NINTH STORY [98]. A certain 
 youth is taken into the service of a king on account of 
 his manly bearing ; but on the day of battle he proves a 
 coward, notwithstanding his brave appearance . . 396 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-FIRST STORY [99]. A khoja and a 
 Frank play at chess together, and the former is on the 
 point of giving up the game, and so losing all his posses- 
 sions, when his slave-girl indicates to him that he has 
 still a chance. He then sees what he should do, and 
 defeats the Frank, who loses all his money . . 397 
 
 THE THIRTY-SECOND VEZIR'S STORY [100]. A gardener, 
 who catches a thief in his garden, refrains from beating 
 him at his entreaty, and, having himself shortly afterwards 
 fallen into a den of robbers, is saved from death by the 
 same thief . . . . . . .398 
 
 THE THIRTY-FOURTH VEZIR'S STORY [101]. A certain 
 sheep-owner always kills the lamb of one of his ewes 
 which lambs early, which so grieves her that she throws 
 herself from a rock, and is killed .... 399 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-FOURTH STORY [102]. A Persian 
 khoja plays a trick upon a Baghdad khoja and his son 
 (untranslated) . ... 399 
 
 THE THIRTY-SIXTH VEZIR'S STORY [103]. A youth who 
 possesses a book on the wiles of women is being enter- 
 tained by a lady, when her husband arrives. The woman 
 hides her lover in the closet, and by a clever trick gets 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. xxxix 
 
 PAGE 
 
 rid of her husband ; she then brings out the youth, and 
 tells him to add this story to his book . . .401 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-SEVENTH STORY [104]. The son of 
 a vezir murders one of his father's slave-girls who will not 
 comply with his wishes ..... 403 
 
 FROM BEHRNAUER'S GERMAN TRANSLATION. 
 
 THE LADY'S SECOND STORY [105]. A king, who inquires 
 of his councillors as to what will profit him in the world 
 to come, is advised by them to seize every opportunity of 
 doing good ....... 403 
 
 THE LADY'S FIFTEENTH STORY (PART 2) [106]. An opium- 
 eater is aggrieved at a jest made by his three companions, 
 and leaves them ...... 404 
 
 THE LADY'S SEVENTEENTH STORY [107]. A water-ousel, 
 determining to defend her little ones against a snake, is 
 herself killed, without saving them . . . 404 
 
 THE THIRTY-SECOND VEZIR'S STORY [108]. A sick 
 king, who purchases a boy from his parents in order to 
 kill him, and thereby effect his own cure, is induced by a 
 speech of the boy to spare him, whereon he is restored to 
 health ....... 405 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-SECOND STORY [109]. A charitable 
 woman is divorced by her niggard husband for giving food 
 to a beggar. She marries again ; her first husband is 
 reduced to beggary, and her second turns out to be the 
 mendicant she had formerly relieved . . 406 
 
 THE THIRTY-THIRD VEZIR'S STORY [no]. . A sagacious 
 merchant, who devises a stratagem which brings him 
 under the favourable notice of the king, is made grand 
 vezir, and eventually succeeds to the throne . . 407 
 
 FROM THE QUARITCH MS. No. II. 
 THE THIRTIETH VEZIR'S STORY [in]. A sheykh, seek- 
 ing among his disciples for a companion for a journey, 
 rejects those who offer to serve him, and accepts one wrr 
 promises to correct him ..... 409 
 
xl TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE THIRTY-THIRD VEZIR'S STORY [112]. The disciples 
 of Sheykh Ahmed Yesev have a custom of tempting 
 strangers, and punishing such as yield, which they are 
 finally forbidden by their master in a vision . .410 
 
 APPENDIX B. VARIATIONS OCCURRING IN THE TRANS- 
 LATION BY PETIS DE LA CROIX. . . .411 
 
 APPENDIX C COMPARATIVE TABLE SHOWING THE 
 STORIES FOUND IN THE DIFFERENT TEXTS AND THE 
 ORDER IN WHICH THEY OCCUR. . . .418 
 
THE 
 
 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. 
 
 RAISES and lauds unbounded 
 are due to that Creator (glori- 
 fied be His glory ! exalted be 
 His power !) at the contem- 
 plation of whose greatness the 
 eye of the understanding and the vision of the 
 soul are mazed, and at the foot of the hill of the 
 perfectness of whose sempiternity the farthest 
 limit of the thoughts and the bourne of the 
 perception of all creatures are dazed. And 
 thanksgiving to that gracious One, to the com- 
 passing of the favour of whose graciousness the 
 girdle of speech were strait : To the truth of 
 the ray of whose beauty one may not win by 
 that lantern, the lamp in the glass of the sight 
 of the intellect ; and the voice of the herald of 
 
 B 
 
2- JfSSTOXY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 whose grandeur may not be heard in the portico 
 of 'the' "ear, b'f yet on the tower of imagination : 
 The ocean of whose knowledge compasseth all 
 things known, of essential and of attributive, of 
 special and of general, seeing that "With Him 
 are the keys of the unseen : none knoweth them 
 save He :"* And reverence is due to 'Him, 
 seeing that " Then exalted be God, the King, 
 the Truth ; there is no god but He :"t And the 
 trust of all the faithful, and the confessors, and 
 the trusters, and the strivers is this hope, seeing 
 that " Say, By the grace of God and by His 
 mercy :"J Save His pure self none is worthy 
 the attribute of Oneness, the praise of Unity, 
 seeing that " And your God is One God:" 
 And all perfectness of felicity's wonders is of 
 constancy in service at His threshold, seeing 
 that " Then flee to God :"|| And in the spirits 
 of all those passed away the light of His aid is 
 manifest, seeing that " So take firm hold of 
 the rope of God altogether:"^" And the praise 
 of all praisers is from the beginning of His work, 
 seeing that " Verily, your Lord is God who 
 created the heavens and the earth,"** even to 
 the end of His words, seeing that " Dwelling 
 
 * Koran, vi. 59. t Ib. xxiii. 117. Ib. x. 59. Ib. ii. 158. 
 j| Ib. li. 50. " IF Ib. iii. 98. ** Ib. vii. 52, and x. 3. 
 
 I 
 
D ED 1C A TION. 3 
 
 therein for aye, so long as dure the heavens 
 and the earth."* And be greetings limitless and 
 salutations boundless shed on yon pure tomb, 
 yon odorous sepulchre, to wit, that of Mu- 
 hammed Mustafa (the peace of God on him, 
 and the blessing !), and be they shed upon his 
 Friends and Household! 
 
 To proceed : Now (through) the decree of 
 Divine Providence and the haps of empery 
 (there reigneth) the magnificent Sultan, the most 
 great Monarch, the Sovereign of the earth, the 
 Shadow of God over the believers, the Glorifier 
 of the world and the Faith, the Aidance of 
 Islam and the Muslims, the Proof, the Com- 
 mander of the Faithful, the Sultan, the son of 
 the Sultan, MURAD, the son of Muhammed the 
 son of Bayezld, the Khan God aid his friends 
 and crush his foes ! God lengthen his life ! 
 
 He's the Quarry of all justice, as the Mine of Grace him view : 
 The Shadow of the Lord, the Proof, Commander of the True. 
 
 For these ensigns of his glory are flashed to 
 all regions of the earth and all corners of the 
 world. Now, this is incumbent, that they of 
 religion and full assurance do by righteous 
 prayers and abounding lauds aid the majesty of 
 his empire, and that, according to the strength 
 
 * Koran, xi. 109, no. 
 B 2 
 
4 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 of their power and the measure of their ability, 
 they offer gifts at the threshold of glory. Those 
 gifts may be of the manner of the offerings of 
 the world, or of the matter of knowledge. 
 Now, it is not so worthy that majesty if those 
 gifts be of the gear of the world ; by two proofs : 
 the first is this, that a call hath been given to 
 his majesty from the manifestation of the case 
 and the divulgement of might and power, seeing 
 that" What God hath given me is better 
 than what He hath given you."* The second 
 proof is this, that the world is little, seeing that 
 " Say, The enjoyment of the world is little." t 
 Now, it is not according to reason to bring a 
 little thing to the King's majesty. So by these 
 conclusive proofs it is become known that the 
 gifts worthy that majesty were books on the 
 matter of wisdom. Now, by reason of this, 
 SHEYKH-ZADA hath written this book named 
 Hikayetu-Erba'lna-Sabahin wa Mesa, " THE 
 STORY OF THE FORTY MORNS AND EVES." In 
 the Arabian tongue it was a story bare of 
 elegance and of the ornaments of speech. Now, 
 we have bedecked it in every becoming place 
 with verses of the Koran, and Traditions, { and 
 
 * Koran, xxvii. 36. t Ib. iv. 79. 
 
 $ Hadls-i Sherlf, the traditional sayings of the Prophet 
 Muhammed. 
 
STOK Y OF SUL TAN MAHMUD. 5 
 
 with couplets and stanzas, with flowery expres- 
 sions and heart-expanding graces, and have 
 made it, bride-like, a fair, heart-resting sight for 
 the eyes of the beholders of the outer and the 
 inner, to the end that the King, bidding it be 
 read, may hear on what wise were the stones 
 of those by-gone monarchs, and know how that 
 this tyrant Sphere hath crushed certain amongst 
 them under foot. 
 
 To proceed : One day when that just king, 
 Sultan Mahmud the son of Sebuktekin,* was 
 conversing with his vezirs, some of those 
 ministers, radiant of understanding, made men- 
 tion of kings who had come into the world 
 and departed, and died and passed away. And 
 that Sultan, praiseworthy of disposition and 
 auspicious of action, asked what were the names 
 of those kings. And a vezir replied, " It is so 
 long a time since those kings passed to the 
 Palace of the Hereafter, that the name of not 
 one in a thousand is known ; it is only said, ' at 
 such and such a time there was a king.' " 
 Then said the Sultan, " Do ye contrive me a 
 plan that my name shall be remembered in the 
 
 * Mahmud the son of Sebuktekln, the famous conqueror of 
 India, ruled at Ghaznl from A.M. 388 to 421 ; A.D. 998 to 1030. 
 
6 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 palace of the earth, and my fame be celebrated 
 till the Resurrection Day." The vezirs said, 
 " Though you should set about the building of 
 a great palace, in the course of ages it would 
 fall in ruins, and your name should not dure ; 
 neither would it be mentioned in other lands, 
 and so your fame should not be celebrated." 
 And they all said different things, but nothing 
 was deemed suitable. Now Sultan Mahmud 
 had a favourite attendant named Ayaz who was 
 exceeding resourceful, and at length he said, 
 " Let a book be written in the name of my king, 
 that it may remain until the Resurrection Day, 
 and pass from land to land, and be read ; and 
 by means of that book will the noble name of 
 my king be remembered even till the end of 
 time, and mentioned with blessings." The 
 vezirs too deemed this suggestion befitting and 
 this plan beseeming, and approved it. Sultan 
 Mahmud had there an all-accomplished, learned 
 and intelligent master, by name Firdausi of 
 Tus. Him did the Sultan command, and he 
 caused him to write in his name the book of 
 the Shah-Nama, which consists of sixty thousand 
 couplets ; and for every couplet he granted him 
 a sequin. For that reason shall the name of 
 Sultan Mahmud dure till the Resurrection Day 
 and be mentioned with blessings. 
 
EPITOME. 
 
 It is related that the wife of a great king 
 unjustly accused his son, by another mother, of 
 an act of treachery against his father ; and that 
 that king was wroth, and for forty mornings 
 caused his son to be led forth to be slain ; and 
 that that king had forty vezirs, all of whom 
 were peerless in the sea of understanding, and 
 in thoughtfulness and sagacity, and full ' of 
 plans and devices ; and that when the king 
 each morning caused his son to be led forth for 
 execution, these vezirs gave the king counsel, 
 and each morning a vezir, telling a story, 
 calmed the king's heart and turned away his 
 wrath, and saved the prince from his hand ; 
 and again, that each night that crafty lady, let- 
 ting not the king rest, ever incited him to the 
 slaughter of the prince, and with enticing and be- 
 guiling words, repeated each night a story to the 
 king, and made his understanding forsake him ; 
 and that through the words of that crafty lady, 
 every morning for forty days he caused his son 
 to be led into his presence to be slain ; and that 
 the vezirs by each telling a story delivered him. 
 After forty days the innocence of the prince was 
 manifested and the falsehood and calumny of the 
 crafty lady disclosed ; and she received her due, 
 
8 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 and the prince was greatly loved and esteemed 
 before his father when the truth of his affair 
 was known. The adventures of the king, and 
 the lady and the prince, and his governor and 
 the forty vezirs, and what befell between them, 
 will be related ; and the stories told by the vezirs 
 in the forty days, and by the lady in the forty 
 nights will be set forth and narrated. " With 
 God is grace : how excellent a Friend is He ! " 
 
 They tell in history books, that there was in 
 Persia a great king, whose name was Khanqln, 
 and in the grasp of whose possession were the 
 Seven Climes, As he was gracious and able 
 and sagacious, kingliness and the bases of em- 
 pire were present in him. God Most High had 
 given him a fair son, by whose beauty the 
 people of the world were bewildered. Whoso- 
 ever looked upon his loveliness would say, " Is 
 it magic, this ?"* and he who beheld his tall 
 figure would exclaim, "This is no mortal !"t 
 Fair was his beauty and charming was his self, 
 and desired of lovers. Moreover, his were 
 accomplishments and perfections ; he had no 
 rival in the reading of science, or in penmanship, 
 
 * Koran, Hi. 15. t Ib. xii. 31. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 or in archery, or in horsemanship ; and his fair 
 character was talked of and celebrated among 
 high and low. The king, too, whenever he 
 saw him. experienced a hundred thousand 
 pleasures, and looked upon him as the source 
 of his life. The mother of this youth was of 
 the lovely ones of China.* One day she fell ill, 
 and at length, no remedy availing, she was 
 received into Mercy. Thereupon, after some 
 time had passed, his father married the daughter 
 of a great king and brought her to his palace. 
 After a while this lady fell in love with the 
 prince. For a long time she hid her love in 
 her heart, and, saying in herself, "He is my 
 step-son, what help for it ! " she disclosed it not. 
 But when, day after day, she looked upon his 
 beauty, she was no longer able to bear with 
 patience the fire of love, and, bringing into the 
 field the wallet of craft, she was busy night and 
 day with stratagems. Now the king had given 
 the prince to a governor to be taught the 
 sciences of astronomy and astrology, and the 
 boy was night and day occupied acquiring them. 
 One day the governor looked at the youth's 
 horoscope, and perceived there was a space of 
 
 * Not necessarily a Chinese woman, simply a beauty ; China 
 and Chinese Tartary being regarded as pre-eminent for the 
 beauty of their women. 
 
io HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 forty days in most sinister aspect. Did he say 
 a word about this, he would be pointing out a 
 great calamity ; so he was exceeding grieved, 
 and his heart was contracted. But he said to 
 the prince, " I have this day looked at thy 
 horoscope and seen a most sinister aspect ; such 
 is it, my life,* that thou must obey the command 
 and decree of God Most High, and observe my 
 injunction, else thou shalt die." The prince 
 heard these words of his governor and his colour 
 changed, and he said to his teacher, " Order 
 what thou wilt: command is thine." Quoth the 
 teacher, " O son, the way of averting this 
 calamity is thus stated in the book : for the 
 space of forty days thou shalt not speak one 
 word though a naked sword be above thy 
 head." Then he bade the prince bear in mind 
 certain of the Holy Names and blessed litanies, 
 and sent him to his father. The governor 
 thereupon hid in a vault and concealed himself. f 
 When the prince came to his father, the latter 
 said to him, " My son, what hast thou read and 
 written this day ? " but the prince gave no 
 answer to his father. Again quoth the king, 
 " O my life, what does thy master ?" again he 
 
 * A term of endearment. 
 
 t Probably he was afraid lest the king should put him to death 
 for giving such bad news. 
 
INTR OD UC TION. 1 1 
 
 gave no answer. Again his father said, " O 
 life of my life, what has befallen thee ? Why 
 dost thou not speak ?" Again he gave no 
 answer. Then said the king to his son's 
 guardian, " The boy is sad 'to day, take him 
 to his mother, may-be that his heart will ex- 
 pand." Then the guardian took the youth to the 
 lady and said, " Lady, this youth is sad, he has 
 not uttered one syllable to his father this day, 
 therefore has he sent him to thee, that per- 
 adventure he may speak beside his mother." 
 The lady was glad and said, " Clear the house, 
 go, be off; that I may learn somewhat of the 
 prince, and banish his sadness and grief." 
 When she was alone with the youth the lady 
 threw her arm round his neck, and said, " O my 
 life, ah my lord, what has befallen thee that thy 
 heart is thus sad, and that thou art disconsolate 
 and mournful ? Whatever thy father possesses 
 is in my hand ; if thou wilt make thy heart one 
 with mine, and act according to my words, I 
 will turn away thy sadness." To her too the 
 prince gave no answer. Again said the lady, 
 " Thou art a grown-up youth, I too am a young 
 lady ; thy father is a decrepit old man, with 
 neither thought nor discernment, night and day 
 he knows not one art ; if thou wilt assure me, 
 and swear to me, and accept me as thy legal 
 
12 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 wife, I will make shift to kill thy father and 
 make thee king in his stead. First, I swear by 
 God, and for God, and in God, that I speak 
 these words from the bottom of my heart and 
 from my very soul, and that I will not falsify 
 these words ; do thou likewise assure me, and 
 swear to me that I may act accordingly." The 
 prince answered not a word. Quoth the lady, 
 " O dearer than my life, should thou ask how I 
 will kill thy father ; lo, in the treasury are many 
 kinds of poisons, of one of which if a person 
 eat, he turns ill and after three months dies. 
 The people will not know the cause of his 
 death, and will not suspect that he has eaten 
 poison. They will say he but took ill, and will 
 doubtless make thee king. Should thou say I 
 am thy step-mother and wonder how thou art 
 to marry me, the way is this : send me off to 
 my own country, and while yet on the road, 
 send someone after me who shall come in the 
 guise of a robber and pounce upon us by night 
 and seize me ; so it will be said that robbers 
 have seized me. Then buy me as a slave-girl 
 from that man. and make me thy wife ; so none 
 will know." But the prince answered her not at 
 all, and spake not. Then the lady grew 
 desperate at his not speaking, and her patience 
 was exhausted, and she said, "O my soul, O my 
 
INTR OD UCTION. 1 3 
 
 gliding angel, why wilt thou not speak to me ?" 
 And she put her arm round his neck and drew 
 him to her and made to kiss him. And the 
 prince was wroth, and he smote the lady's 
 mouth with the back of his hand, so that her 
 mouth filled with blood. When she saw this 
 conduct the fire of anger blazed up in the hearth 
 of her breast, and the sparks from the fumes of 
 her pride gained her heart, and she cried, " Out 
 on thee ! fool ! boy ! I sought to raise thee to 
 the throne and make thee king, and thou didst 
 strike me thus ; now will I speak to thy father 
 that he shall hew thee in pieces, small even as 
 thine ear." And she dishevelled her hair and 
 smeared the four sides of her robe with the 
 blood of her mouth and sat down, sad and 
 tearful, feeble and wailing. Then the youth 
 went to his private apartments. After a time 
 the king came to the harem, thinking to inquire 
 of the lady concerning the affair of the prince, 
 and he saw her seated besmeared with red 
 blood. And the king marvelled at this sight, 
 and said to the lady, "What is this matter? 
 explain to me/' She said, " O king, that 
 degenerate son of thine ! God forbid that he be 
 son of thine !" " What is the matter ?" said the 
 king. The lady replied, " I saw that degenerate 
 youth that he was sad, and I cleared the palace 
 
H HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 that I might banish his sadness, and I said to 
 him. ' My son, why art thou sad ? ' Then he 
 stretched forth his hand and made to do me 
 wrong, but I prevented him. Then he said to 
 me, ' Why dost thou flee me ? if thou wilt be my 
 mistress and make thy heart one with mine, and 
 assure me thereof, it is my intention to kill my 
 father and make thee my wife ; and the riches, 
 and the country, and the throne, and the king- 
 dom will be ours ? ' But I consented not, and 
 he desired to kill me that I might not make 
 known this matter to the king. And I cried 
 out for the saving of my life, and he left me in 
 this plight and went away. Now, O king, 
 know of a surety that he purposes evil against 
 thee, and see to the saving of thine own life, 
 else crown and throne will go from thy hands ; 
 so ere he kill thee do thou kill him that thou 
 be secure from his wickedness." When the 
 king heard these words from the lady he was 
 wroth, and that night sleep came not to his eyes. 
 In the early morning he went forth and sat 
 upon his throne, and caused the prince to 
 be brought before him, that he might order 
 the executioner to smite off his head. The 
 courtiers who were beside him got the execu- 
 tioner to delay, and at once sent word to the 
 vezirs. As soon as they knew what was 
 
INTR OD UC TION. 1 5 
 
 happening, the whole Forty Vezirs came with all 
 speed to the presence of the king, and said, " O 
 king, how has the prince this day thus merited 
 the anger of the king ?" The king related to the 
 vezirs the events that had taken place, where- 
 upon the Grand Vezir said, " Slay not thy son, 
 trusting on the woman's word ; do not a deed 
 beyond the ordinance of God and the law of the 
 Messenger :* and there is no permission in the 
 law for one to act on a woman's word. If there 
 were witnesses that the prince had done this 
 thing to the lady, then were command the 
 king's ; but spill not blood unjustly, that after- 
 ward thou suffer not regret and remorse. They 
 have said that whatsoever oppression there be 
 in a country it is incumbent on him who is 
 king to banish it ; where then were room for 
 kings to do deeds beyond the law and spill 
 blood unjustly ? If they be negligent in the 
 matter of banishing oppression, God Most High 
 will visit and afflict them with four sorts of 
 troubles : firstly, He will make their life short ; 
 secondly, He will let the enemy prevail against 
 them ; thirdly, He will give the enemy aid and 
 victory ; and fourthly, on the Resurrection Day 
 He will be wroth with them and consign them 
 
 * The Prophet Muhammed. 
 
1 6 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 to the torment of Hell. He then is wise who 
 will not for a five-day's life lose the Hereafter, 
 and is not heedless. And, moreover, the Holy 
 Messenger (peace on him !) when going to per- 
 form the ablution would first of all perform it 
 with sand ; the Companions asked, ' O Apostle 
 of God, is it lawful to perform the sand-ablution 
 when there is water ? ' The most noble Be- 
 loved of God replied, * I fear lest death let me 
 not reach the water.' Now, O king, be not 
 presumptuous through worldly fortune and king- 
 ship, and consent not to a deed contrary to the 
 law, and ruin not thy Hereafter, trusting in the 
 woman's word. For by reason of the craft of 
 woman has many a head been cut off; and the 
 Blessed Messenger hath said, ' Whatsoever mis- 
 fortunes befall my people will befall them 
 through women.' Peradventure my king has 
 not heard the story of the murdered Sheykh 
 Shihab-ud-Din ; if it be thy high command I 
 shall relate it." The king said, " Relate the 
 story that I may hear it and learn its incidents." 
 Quoth the vezir, 
 
 THE FIRST VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " One day the doctors of the law were as- 
 sembled in the council of the king of Egypt and 
 were talking over the details of the Ascension. 
 
THE FIRST VEZIR'S STORY. 17 
 
 They said, ' The Most Noble Apostle made the 
 Ascension and God Most High showed him the 
 Seven Heavens, the Eight Paradises, and the 
 Seven Hells, and spake with him ninety thou- 
 sand words; and when he returned to his place 
 he found his bed still warm, and the water had 
 not wholly run out of an ewer which had been 
 upset beside him, so he straightway raised the 
 ewer from the ground/* The king of Egypt 
 marvelled thereat and said, * These words which 
 ye speak are remote from reason ; the depth of 
 each of the Seven Heavens is a five-hundred 
 years' journey, and the distance between each is 
 a five-hundred years' journey, yet ye say that he 
 traversed the Heavens and the Eight Paradises, 
 and the Seven Hells, and conversed to the ex- 
 tent of ninety thousand words and came back 
 again and found his bed warm and his ewer not 
 empty that is remote from reason.' Although 
 they insisted with him that God Most High was 
 almighty, it was in vain. When the assembly 
 broke up, news of this reached Sheykh Shihab- 
 
 * Concerning the Mi'raj, or Ascension, of Muhammed, his 
 vision in which he saw himself transported to Heaven, the com- 
 mentators tell many wonderful stories, of which the above is an 
 example. All that the Koran says, is : " Celebrated be the Glory 
 of Him who transported His servant by night from the Sacred 
 Temple to the Remote Temple, whose precinct We have blessed, 
 that We might show him of Our signs." xvii. i. 
 
1 8 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 ud-Din. So he arose and came to the palace 
 and shook hands with the king and sat down. 
 The king entreated the sheykh with great con- 
 sideration and respect, and said, * O sheykh, there 
 was no need for your coming here ; if you had 
 but given us a hint we should have gone to visit 
 you: what need thus to weary your feet and 
 endure fatigue?' The sheykh replied, 'O king, 
 I have come this day to have somewhat of par- 
 ticular conversation with you/ Then quoth 
 the king, ' Welcome, and fair welcome ! ' Now 
 there were in the pavilion where the king was 
 sitting four windows which gave upon the desert. 
 The sheykh said, ' O king, let them shut the 
 windows for a little.' So the king ordered 
 them to be shut ; and after they had conversed 
 for about an hour, the sheykh said, ' Order that 
 they open one of them.' When they had opened 
 one the king looked out and saw that the plain 
 was all full of armed soldiers, so that though the 
 stars in the sky might be reckoned, these could 
 not be numbered. They came on, their horses 
 pressing each against the other, and when the 
 king saw thus great an army on such wise, his 
 senses fled from him, and he cried out, ' What 
 manner of host is this? quick, go see!' The 
 sheykh said, ' My king, fear not, sit quiet in thy 
 place, it is nothing.' Then the king ordered them 
 
THE FIRST VEZIFS STORY. 19 
 
 to shut that window ; then they opened it again 
 and the king looked and saw nothing. One of the 
 windows likewise gave upon the city ; the sheykh 
 told them to open it, and the king looked and saw 
 that a fire was raging in the City of Cairo, and 
 the flames were rising into the air. The king 
 cried out, saying, ' What fire is this ?' The 
 sheykh replied, ' Have patience ; for this there is 
 good reason.' Another window gave upon the 
 river, it also they opened ; and the king saw that 
 the River Nile had overflowed and was ap- 
 proaching, so that he feared exceedingly for the 
 fury of the water. ' Help, O sheykh! ' he cried, 
 so the sheykh ordered them to shut that window. 
 The other window looked fair upon the plain ; it 
 also they opened, and the king saw that all that 
 plain from end to end was become a garden, 
 wherein were running streams, and fruits, and all 
 manner of flowers, and parrots and turtle-doves 
 and nightingales warbling a place like Paradise. 
 When the king saw this he said, * O sheykh, let 
 them not shut this window for a time, that we 
 may enjoy it ;' and he looked on marvelling for 
 about an hour. The sheykh let open again the 
 shut windows, and nothing was visible. Then 
 he bade bring a tub and fill it with water ; and 
 the king told them to obey, so they brought it. 
 The sheykh said, * O king, hold about thee a 
 
 c 2 
 
20 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 towel, and plunge once into this water, then come 
 out and sit down, and I will show thee a wonder.' 
 Then the king held about him a towel and went 
 into the tub and plunged in it, and when he 
 put out his head he saw himself on the skirt 
 of a trackless mountain by the sea-shore. Then 
 was the king bewildered, and he cried, " Dost 
 thou see ? the sheykh, he has by magic cast me 
 into the desert and seized my throne!' Thus 
 thinking, he looked about and saw some persons 
 cutting wood on the mountain. He went up to 
 them and saluted them, and they returned the 
 salute and asked, 'What man art thou ?' The 
 king said, * I am a merchant ; the ship in which 
 I was sank in the sea, I laid hold of a plank and 
 was saved, and am come here/ Then had they 
 compassion on him, and each of them gave him 
 some old garment, and they clothed him. The 
 king said to them, ' Who are ye and whence are 
 ye ? ' They replied, ' Behind this mountain is a 
 city, we belong to it.' Then the king went with 
 them to that city, and while he was wandering 
 through the bazaar he happened on the shop of 
 an aged farrier. The farrier said to him, * O 
 youth, whence art thou come ?' And the king 
 again declared that he was a merchant whose ship 
 had sunk, and that he had managed to save him- 
 self ; and he asked for advice. The old man said, 
 
THE FIRST VEZIFS STORY. 21 
 
 'As thou art a stranger, go sit at the door of the 
 bath, and ask of every woman that comes out if 
 she have a husband, and according to the 
 custom of this city, whatsoever woman says to 
 thee that she has no husband shall be thy wife.' 
 So the poor king went and sat at the door of 
 the bath and asked the ladies that came out ; 
 but they each answered, ' I have a husband/ and 
 went away. Of a sudden a lady attended by 
 several servants came out, and when he said to 
 her, ' Hast thou a husband?' she replied, 'No,' 
 and passed on. Afterward one of that lady's 
 servants returned and took the king and brought 
 him to her. She said, ' By the command of God 
 I am become thy wife ; ' and the king was thank- 
 ful for that event. He lived seven years with 
 that lady and had two sons and a daughter. At 
 length all her means were used up and they had 
 nothing left to eat, and the lady said to him, ' O 
 man, go earn something that we and our children 
 may live.' Then the king was sad, and he went 
 to the farrier and told him how things stood with 
 him, and the farrier asked him if he knew any 
 trade. The king replied that he knew none, so 
 the farrier put a few pence into his hand and 
 said, ' Go buy a rope and sit among the porters, 
 and he whose load thou earnest will give thee two 
 or three pence, and so thou shalt live.' The king 
 
22 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 did as the farrier told him, and, having no other 
 resource, was for some days a porter and carried 
 loads. When he took up the loads the rope 
 would cut his shoulders, and he would think on 
 the estate he had enjoyed and weep. One day, 
 while strolling along, he came upon the sea- 
 shore. Now ablution had become necessary for 
 the king, so he went into the water and plunged 
 in it, and when he put his head out he beheld 
 himself in his own palace, and the sheykh was 
 sitting looking at him.* He said, ' O sheykh, 
 dost thou fear not God, and art thou not 
 ashamed before the Messenger ? ' The sheykh 
 replied, ' O king, wherefore art thou angry ? thou 
 didst draw thy head for a moment under the water 
 and didst straightway put it out again ; dost not 
 believe ? see thy servants standing there, ask 
 them.' When he asked his servants they replied 
 as the sheykh had said. The king was amazed 
 and said, ' For seven years have I wandered 
 afar from my throne what know ye ? ' And he 
 determined to slay the sheykh. The sheykh 
 
 * This trick of making one imagine that he has in a few 
 seconds experienced adventures that seem to have lasted over 
 a long period appears to have been a favourite one with the 
 dervishes. Several instances of it occur in the tales of 'All 'Aziz 
 that I have published under the title of "The Story of Jewad." 
 It may have been effected by means of some intoxicating pre- 
 paration like hashish. 
 
THE FIRST VEZIR'S STORY. 23 
 
 perceived this determination and said, ' O king, 
 what is there in this ? lo, I too will go in.' So 
 he held the towel about him and plunged into 
 the water that was in the tub. The king signed 
 to the executioner to strike off the sheykh's head 
 without mercy as soon as he should put it out. 
 But when the sheykh put his head under the 
 water he found himself in the land of Syria ; and 
 he wrote a letter to the king, saying, ' O king, 
 thou and I are slaves and creatures : thou drew- 
 est thy head under the water for a moment and 
 ere thou didst put it out again, the space of 
 seven years and all those troubles appeared to 
 thee. Thou wonderest that God Most High 
 should have shewn His Apostle the eighteen 
 thousand worlds, and that the Apostle on his 
 return should have found his bed warm, and that 
 the water should not have run out of the ewer ; 
 and thou deniest the Ascension of that Apostle ; 
 therefore have I done to thee this deed, that thou 
 doubt not nor question the might of God Most 
 High.' When the king read this letter his faith 
 was strengthened; but he forgot not the sufferings 
 he had endured through the sheykh, so he wrote 
 a letter to the governor of Syria asking him to 
 seize the sheykh and cut off his head and send 
 it to him. The letter reached the governor of 
 Syria, and as the sheykh lived in a cave without 
 
24 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 the city, he sent men thither to seize and be- 
 head him. When they drew near the cave a 
 boundless host with weapons and horses ap- 
 peared to them, so that they were unable to go 
 in to the sheykh. They informed the king of 
 this circumstance. So the king consulted with 
 his vezirs, and the vezirs said, ' The plan is this: 
 that we feign friendship with the sheykh, and 
 send him some boys and slave-girls, and with 
 them a crafty woman whom we shall instruct to 
 ask the sheykh, when she is alone with him, 
 what time he is impotent in prayer ; that time 
 she will find some means to kill him.' So the 
 king wrote a friendly letter to the sheykh and, 
 manifesting great affection, sent him with show 
 of much regard youths and girls like houris,* 
 and with them a crafty and wily woman. By the 
 divine decree the sheykh was off his guard, and 
 he passed some nights with the girls and was 
 pleased with them. Once when that crafty 
 sorceress was talking with the sheykh, she asked, 
 ' Is there a time when thou art impotent in 
 these prayers ? ' The sheykh replied, ' Speak not 
 such words ; ' but woman is a devil, and she per- 
 sisted, so the sheykh said, * When in a state of 
 
 * This word is properly hurl, and should be pronounced hooree, 
 not howri, the ou having its French sound, as our form houri 
 was introduced through that language. 
 
THE FIRST VEZIR'S STORY. 25 
 
 ceremonial impurity I am impotent/ Straight- 
 way the woman sent word to the governor of 
 Syria, saying, ' On such and such a night the 
 sheykh will approach the girls, do thou send men 
 to seize him.' On that night the sheykh ap- 
 proached the girls, and when he left them he 
 went, according to his wont, to perform the ablu- 
 tion. But that night the crafty woman had 
 thrown the water that was in the jugs into the 
 desert, so that they were all empty, and when the 
 sheykh sought to wash he could find no water. 
 The woman said, ' I shall fetch water,' and went 
 out, when she told the men who were waiting, 
 and they entered straightway. When the sheykh 
 saw them he knew what had happened, and said, 
 4 Resignation to destiny ;' and taking in his 
 hands two candles that were burning in the can- 
 dlestick, he began to turn round. The men who 
 had come struck him with their swords and 
 martyred him."* 
 
 " Now, O king, know what sort of persons 
 have perished through the wiles of women. 
 Beware, slay not thy son in obedience to the 
 woman's word, or afterward thou shalt be sorry." 
 The king heard these words of the vezir, and 
 his advice seemed good to him, and he caused 
 
 * See Appendix B, Note I. 
 
26 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 the prince to be brought and said to him, " How 
 was thy affair with the lady ? " But the prince 
 gave no answer, and sought for his governor, 
 but he was not to be found. Quoth the vezir, 
 "O king, defer this matter till the morrow, perad- 
 venture the truth of it may be made manifest." 
 So the king sent the prince to the prison, and 
 went himself to the chase. 
 
 When it was evening he came to the palace 
 and entered the harem, and the lady came up to 
 him and asked, "How died thy son?" The 
 king replied, " To-day have I deferred it and 
 sent him to the prison." Quoth the lady, " O 
 king, do not thus defer, spare him not till the 
 morrow, for from crookedness straightness 
 comes not. The sages have said that a man's 
 darling enemies are two the one riches, the 
 other children. O king, is not that degenerate 
 son of thine an enemy, who stretched forth his 
 hand to his step-mother and went about to slay 
 thee ? I tended him as a bird tends her young 
 ones, and now that he has become a man he 
 has dealt thus treacherously by thee and me. 
 Well have they said : 
 
 For many a day did I with care a puppy rear and tend, 
 Which, when he grew a dog, did turn and fierce my feet did rend. 
 
 Now, O king, this youth is like a vicious dog, 
 he has bitten both thee and me ; judge then how 
 
THE LADY'S FIRST STORY. 27 
 
 he will deal by others. The story of this youth 
 will be even as that of the king's son who was 
 unequalled in evil practices ; mayhap my king 
 has not heard it." The king said, " Tell me 
 that story, let me hear it." Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S FIRST STORY. 
 
 " Thus relate they: There was in the palace of 
 the world a great king, and he had one son, a 
 leveling of the earth. Him he had given to a 
 master, and he was busy acquiring knowledge 
 and good conduct. For the same purpose the 
 king had appointed the youth a governor perfect 
 in good conduct ; and he had thus ordered the 
 master and the governor, ' If the boy do an un- 
 gracious act, beat him without mercy ; if ye beat 
 him not, ye will regret it/ So the teacher used 
 to beat him for a slight fault, and the king would 
 send him to prison and let him remain for a day 
 and a night hungry and thirsty. When the 
 king was asked, ' Why dost thou thus?' he 
 would answer, ' He too will be king after me 
 and have to beat many men and put them in 
 prison ; let him now taste what is each pain so 
 that when he rules he will know the plight of 
 the wretched and have compassion and mercy 
 toward the poor, and his reign will be on justice. 
 For that the lover who has not endured pain 
 
28 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 knows not the value of delight, for that the 
 sufferer knows the sufferer's plight, let him now 
 endure pain, so that, having acquired instruc- 
 tion and humility and good conduct and know- 
 ledge, he may be profitable both to himself and 
 to us and be favoured by God with grace and 
 mercy and by the people with blessing.' Now 
 this king had feud with another great king who 
 likewise had a son who read with a teacher. 
 But that king ever warned his teacher and 
 governor thus, ' Be it not that anyone strike my 
 son or say a word to vex his heart, else will I 
 give him his reward.' And as he much im- 
 pressed this on them, no one dared say a word 
 to the boy. Although his vezirs used to say, 
 ' Do not act thus with regard to the youth,' the 
 king paid no heed at all. Now the youth ac- 
 quired as many evil habits as were in the world, 
 and when he grew older he began to seize the 
 nobles' sons and daughters, and whosoever said 
 a word to him he killed. The people were in 
 despair and they complained to the king, and 
 the king would scold him and say, ' Now leave 
 off this ;' but it was no avail. At length one 
 night the youth struck his father with a dagger 
 where he lay and slew him ; and on the morrow 
 he ascended the throne and was king. And 
 through his cruelty he spilt much blood unjustly, 
 
THE LADY'S FIRST STORY. 29 
 
 and day and night he left not to do evil. When 
 he was drunk there was no rescue from his hand 
 for the wives and sons of the nobles ; and he 
 would take a bow and arrows and pierce the 
 breasts of the nobles who sat and stood around 
 him, though they were guiltless, and make the 
 arrow stand out behind their backs. Then he 
 would say to those who sat by, * Have not I 
 done well?' He would seize him who said, 
 ' Nay/ and strip him naked and bind his two 
 hands behind his back and lash him to a post, 
 then taking a long awl in his hand, he would 
 pierce the face and throat and breast and belly 
 of that noble, and with such tortures kill him. 
 And his custom was ever to kill men unjustly. 
 On market-days he would mount his horse and 
 go toward the market, and while the throng of 
 people were marketing he would shoot at them 
 with arrows from an open space, and ere they 
 could all flee away and disperse he would have 
 slain many men. The nobles and the poor were 
 in despair through him, and they would hurl 
 thousands of curses at his father, ' Why did he 
 not teach this youth good conduct when he was 
 little, and punish him by way of correction that 
 now he too might know the plight of the 
 afflicted!' At length the nobles and the sub- 
 jects and the poor consulted together, and they 
 
30 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 secretly wrote this letter to the king who had 
 taught his son good conduct and knowledge : 
 ' Protection and protection ! delay not, O king, 
 but send thy son with some troops against this 
 tyrant king. When he arrives we will turn 
 from this tyrant and go unto thy son and obey 
 him and assist him, and we will seize this tyrant 
 and make him over to thy son, and this country 
 shall be thy son's ; for we hear of the justice and 
 equity of thy son. O king, for the love of God 
 Most High, aid us.' When the letter arrived 
 and the king had read and understood it, he 
 straightway sent his son with some troops to 
 the country of that tyrant king. When the army 
 came, the people of the country turned away 
 from that tyrant and made over their lands to 
 the newly come king's son, and they seized the 
 tyrant and brought him before the prince. The 
 prince commanded them to bind his two hands 
 behind his back, and gave him to a man whose 
 father he had killed, spying, ' Even as he killed 
 thy father, so do thou kill him.' Then that 
 youth took an awl and stabbed the tyrant once 
 or twice so that he cried, * For the love of God 
 grant me respite for a moment, I have some- 
 what to say to you.' So they granted him 
 respite, and he said, 'O God! O God ! what have I 
 done on earth ! had I known that the bitterness 
 
THE LADY'S FIRST STORY. 31 
 
 of death was such, I had struck none even with a 
 rod. A thousand times cursed be my father that 
 he taught me not good conduct when little, and 
 punished me not, beating me and scolding me, 
 that I too might have known what was the 
 bitterness of death, then had not I hurt any, and 
 through my good conduct would he be alive and 
 I not a prey to this torment ; nor should I have 
 killed those many Muslims with such torments.' 
 And when he made entreaty, ' Kill me not with 
 this torment,' the executioner came and smote 
 off his head from his body. And the prince be- 
 came king of that country by reason of good 
 conduct and through the blessings of his educa- 
 tion by his father and mother and master ; and 
 he acted with such justice and equity that they 
 called that kingdom the Kingdom of the Ser- 
 vant of the Protector. And that unhappy one, 
 in that he learned not good conduct, first slew 
 his father and then perished himself." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 this youth too has adopted the way of that tyrant. 
 Dost not thou see that though thou speakest to 
 him, he respects not thy word and gives no 
 answer ? In that he has not been beaten by his 
 master has he now learned profitless knowledge ; 
 lo, he has rebelled against thee and turned traitor 
 and gone about to slay thee, and stretched forth 
 
32 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 his hand to me ; can there be a greater crime 
 than that ? Lo, I have aided thee to thy life and 
 given thee word ; if thy life be needful for thee, 
 kill the youth and be free from anxiety, else 
 know of a surety that neither thyself nor thy 
 kingdom will remain, all will be destroyed." 
 When the king heard these enticing and beguil- 
 ing words of the lady fear for his life took pos- 
 session of him, and he said, " On the morrow will 
 I smite off his head." And they went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning and the world was bright, 
 the king sat upon his throne and ordered the 
 executioner that he brought the youth, and then 
 he said, "Kill!" whereupon the Second Vezir 
 came forward and said, " O king, follow not, 
 without deliberation, the words of the evil. God 
 Most High knoweth that whoso stirreth up the 
 sea of trouble and setteth fire to the provender 
 and stores is unjust ; for they have said that it is 
 incumbent on kings that they act not on anyone's 
 word, neither fall before his spells, nor believe 
 calumny, so that they be not afterward regret- 
 ful nor suffer remorse, even as they say in this 
 couplet : 
 
 A weakling, when he should decide, doth aye let pass his chance ; 
 So that when gone, it turneth round against him from behind. 
 
 And as God Most High hath spoken in this verse, 
 'Say, Shall those who know be deemed equal 
 
THE SECOND VEZIFS STORY. 33 
 
 with those who know not ? '* Now, O king, look 
 thou to these deeds ; for in the latter times shall 
 those who lie to one's face abound, even as saith 
 the Apostle (peace on him !), ' Verily, before the 
 Hour are mighty liars, be ye ware of them.' O 
 king, it beseems thee to be not heedless, for 
 many are the lies and tricks of women, so that 
 if one of them but look at her great toe, she 
 will hatch every day two-and-seventy different 
 plots and tricks. And the stories of the craft 
 and cunning of women are many, if the king 
 command, I will display one mote from the sun- 
 beam and one drop from the ocean." The king 
 said, " Tell on, let us hear." The vezir said, 
 
 THE SECOND VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " There was in Hindustan a khoja f who had 
 a beautiful wife. That woman had (God fore- 
 fend the listeners !) a youthful lover. One day 
 the khoja bought a parrot which knew well 
 how to speak ; and whenever it would speak, the 
 khoja's heart reaped a hundred thousand joys 
 and delights. One day the khoja went to a 
 certain place and came not that night to his 
 
 * Koran, xxxix. 12. 
 
 t A khoja is a master of a household, also a teacher ; in the 
 former acceptation it is somewhat equivalent to the old English 
 " goodman." 
 
 D 
 
34 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 house. Forthwith the woman brought the 
 youth to the house, and that night passed they 
 in fun and frolic, and, joining soul to soul and 
 heart to heart, both reaped their desires. The 
 parrot watched this their secret from the cage, 
 and when it was morning the youth went 
 away and the khoja returned. As soon as it 
 saw the khoja, the parrot said, ' O khoja, this 
 night till morning the lady was with a youth, 
 eating, and drinking, and kissing, and clipping ; 
 lo, the youth is gone.' When the khoja heard 
 these words he said to his wife, ' Out on thee, 
 wife! who is that youth ?' The woman replied, 
 * What manner of speech is this ? dost thou 
 believe the word of a bird and act thereon ?' 
 And she fell to chattering and babbling, and 
 convinced the khoja, and gave the lie to the 
 parrot. One day the khoja again went to a 
 certain place, and the woman, according to her 
 wont, got the youth whom she told what the 
 parrot had said to the khoja. The youth said, 
 4 Henceforward there can be no more frolic with 
 thee, this parrot is a hindrance to us, and will 
 make us disgraced before the world.' Quoth 
 the woman, * My lord, be not dismayed, see 
 what a trick I will play the parrot.' And she 
 ordered the slave-girls and they brought a 
 sieve, an earthenware jar, some water, and a 
 
THE SECOND VEZIFS STORY. 35 
 
 piece of bullock hide. They put the hide over 
 the parrot's cage, and one of the girls struck on 
 it with a stick every now and again, while 
 another sprinkled water through the seive upon 
 the parrot, and a third put a looking-glass into the 
 jar which ever and anon she opened and closed 
 before the cage. So again the woman and the 
 youth made merry till the morning. When it 
 was morning the youth went away and the 
 khoja came ; and as soon as the parrot saw 
 him, it said, ' Khoja, this night the lady and the 
 youth ate and drank and made merry till the 
 morning ; but much did the rain rain and the 
 thunder roar and the lightning flash.' Then 
 quoth the lady, ' Dost thou see the parrot's lies ? 
 did the rain rain, or the thunder roar, or the 
 lightning flash this night ?' ' Nay,' said the 
 khoja. ' And thou believedst the lie spoken by 
 the bird,' quoth the woman. And the poor 
 khoja's trust was destroyed by this trick ; and 
 as often as he went away the woman invited 
 that youth and made merry with him. And the 
 parrot ever said so, but the khoja would not 
 believe, and the woman would make mock of 
 the parrot's words, and split the khoja's head 
 by saying, ' And thou didst libel me on this 
 thing's word ! ' ' 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for 
 D 2 
 
36 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 that thou mayst know that craft and trickery 
 such as this abound in women. Beware, slay 
 not thy son, trusting to the woman's word ; and 
 act not till thy son recover his speech and make 
 known his affair, and until it be evident where 
 is the truth, or it will hurt the present and the 
 Hereafter of the king. And the hurt of his 
 present will be this, the source of his life, his 
 only son, will be lost to him ; and the hurt of 
 his Hereafter will be this, that having spilt blood 
 unjustly, he will have done great sin, and will 
 inevitably enter Hell. O king, this were better, 
 that we have patience until the governor be 
 found ; belike he may know of the not speaking 
 of the prince, and of his every affair." The 
 king found the vezir's words good ; and sent 
 the prince to the prison, and went himself to 
 the chase. 
 
 When it was evening he returned from the 
 chase and went to the lady, who rose to greet 
 him, and they sat down. After the repast the 
 lady said, " Hast thou this day finished the 
 affair of that thy degenerate son ?" The king 
 replied, " To-day likewise they let me not alone, 
 so I have sent him back to the prison." Quoth 
 the lady, " O king, comply not with the words 
 of the vezirs, and be not negligent. ' Refuge 
 is in God Most High!' Now that youth has 
 
THE LADY'S SECOND STORY. 37 
 
 made for the throne ; if it pass into his hands, 
 he will sow the seed of tyranny and oppression." 
 Quoth the king, " To-day my vezir requested 
 yM^^at could I do ?" The lady said, " God 
 forbid that he be true son of thine ; the story of 
 this youth resembles that of a certain king, 
 which mayhap my king has not heard." The 
 king said, " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the 
 lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S SECOND STORY. 
 
 " Thus relate they : There was a great king 
 who had a sickly son, whom all the physicians 
 of that country had tried to cure, but in vain. 
 At length the physicians were reduced to 
 despair, when from another country came a 
 skilful leech, and the king summoned him, and 
 they took him to the boy. The physician felt 
 the boy's pulse and looked at the colour of his 
 face and said, * If it please God Most High, I 
 will make this boy whole ; but I would that 
 you take me to his mother, I have a question 
 to ask of her, and would converse with her 
 privately ; for the affairs of a child should be 
 asked of his father and mother, but his mother 
 knows yet better than his father.' Then the 
 king commanded that they left the physician 
 alone with his wife. The physician said, ' O 
 
38 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 lady, I have a word to ask of thee, but speak 
 the truth if thou wish that the boy become 
 well, and if thou speak not the truth the blood 
 of the boy will be on thy head, for he will not 
 recover ; and this word shall remain between 
 thee and me.' And he protested with many 
 oaths and swore that it would be so, and said, 
 ' O lady, my word to thee is this, and speak the 
 truth, whose is the boy ?' Said the lady, ' O 
 physician, what word is this thou speakest ? 
 who could enter the king's harem ?' Then 
 swore the physician by God and the Apostle, 
 saying, ' Speak the truth of it, be not guilty of 
 the boy's blood ; this word shall remain between 
 me and thee.' And the physician swore and 
 protested, and the lady refused, till the physi- 
 cian rose from his seat and was about to go, 
 when the lady caught hold of his skirt and said, 
 ' Sit down ; thou hast sworn much to me ; what 
 use to hide from the people a thing known unto 
 God ? " And God Most High is the Hearer, the 
 Observant." O master, the truth of it is this, the 
 king has nor son nor daughter ; neither by me 
 nor by the other ladies has he any child at all 
 to take the throne after him. I saw that some 
 stranger would seize the throne after the king, 
 and I made merry with a youth, and this boy is 
 the issue.' Quoth the physician, ' What sort of 
 
THE LADY'S SECOND STORY. 39 
 
 youth is that youth? ' The lady said, ' He is 
 of the Turkmans.' Then the physician went 
 to the king and said, ' With the aid of God 
 I will make thy son whole, for I have asked 
 his mother, and know whence is his sickness. 
 Now, O king, order that they cook some por- 
 ridge * in the kitchen, and make ready a little 
 curds and whey* and some brewis.'* So the king 
 ordered and they prepared the whole of them. 
 And the physician made the boy eat* them 
 before the king, and all the leeches and physi- 
 cians that were present looked one at the other 
 and said, * We have laboured thus long a time 
 with all manner of drugs, and have been unable 
 to restore this boy to health, see this fool who 
 would cure him with such odd stuffs.' When 
 the boy had filled himself with these foods he 
 came to himself a little. For three days the 
 physician gave him these dishes, and he became 
 all whole. And the king bestowed much wealth 
 upon the physician." 
 
 " Now, O king, God forbid that this be true 
 son of thine ; if thou slay him not and he 
 escape, he will bring about much evil ; yea, for 
 that he is evil he will slay thee." The king 
 
 * Tarkhana, yoghurt, ///*/, favourite dishes of the wandering 
 Turkman tribes ; so, perhaps, their natural food. The trans- 
 lations are, of course, only approximate. 
 
40 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 heard these beguiling words of the lady, and 
 his heart was troubled, and he said, " To-day 
 is past, to-morrow will I kill him." And they 
 went to bed and slept. 
 
 Early in the morning the king sat upon his 
 throne and caused the youth to be brought 
 before him, and ordered the executioner thus, 
 " Kill !" Whereupon the Third Vezir came for- 
 ward and said, <( O king, destroy not the prince 
 off-hand on the word of the woman ; for the 
 Holy Apostle hath said, ' Precipitation is from 
 the Devil and deliberation is from the Merciful.' 
 And wise is he who thinks a thousand times 
 over everything he does ; even as one, when a 
 thorn has run into his foot, takes his foot upon 
 his knee and moistens it many times with his 
 mouth, and picks out the thorn with the point 
 of a needle after many a difficulty and bearing 
 much pain, for till it be taken out he has no 
 rest. And the prince is the darling of the 
 king's heart, and the light of his eyes, and the 
 source of his life ; and he is the support and 
 asylum of the people of the world ; and this is 
 incumbent upon us in this matter, that we en- 
 deavour to set it right. For they have said 
 that if anyone see wrongness in any act of a 
 king and warn not the king, he must be rec- 
 koned of the crew of rebels and traitors. 
 
THE THIRD VEZIR'S STORY. 41 
 
 O servant of the prince, to work ! up then and strive thou hard ! 
 That thou may be near unto him and in his favour high. 
 Thou know'st his nature, and thou shouldest counsel him aright, 
 Else, by the Lord ! a traitor thou, and from the Truth dost fly. 
 
 And wise is he who looks at the beginning 
 and end of an affair, like as that king took 
 counsel with his sons and his vezirs and the 
 elders of the country, and was prospered alike 
 in the world and the Hereafter. And that story 
 is a fair story ; if the king grant leave I will re- 
 late it." The king said, " Tell on." Quoth the 
 vezir, 
 
 THE THIRD VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " There was of old time in the palace of the 
 world a great king, such that the world was 
 under his rule. He had lived enjoying sove- 
 reignty for a hundred and twenty years in the 
 palace of the world, and was grown old and 
 knew that in the near future he would be given 
 to drink of the potion of death. And the king 
 had three moon-faced* sons and likewise three 
 able and skilful vezirs. One day quoth the 
 king to his vezirs, ' The end of this my life 
 draws nigh ; the natural life of man is a hundred 
 and twenty years, after that not an old man 
 remains. Now I have reached that state and 
 
 * i.e., beautiful. 
 
42 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 the affair is thus, I wish to appoint one of my 
 sons to my place, and, leaning my back against 
 the wall of abdication, take rest. Which of 
 my sons do ye deem worthy of the throne ?' 
 The vezirs said, ' O king, long be thy life ; a 
 person's good and bad are not known till he 
 have been proved ; for two things are the touch- 
 stone of a man ; the first is wine, the second, 
 office ; in these two things is a person's manful- 
 ness apparent and manifest. This were best, 
 for nine days let these thy three sons enjoy the 
 throne and sovereignty, and with this touchstone 
 let the king prove them ; whatever be the cha- 
 racter of each of them, it will appear ; for the 
 rest, let the king order accordingly.' When the 
 king heard these words from the vezirs they 
 seemed right good to his heart, and he com- 
 manded that each son should sit for three days 
 on the throne and exercise sovereignty, and de- 
 clared that he would allow whatever they should 
 annul or appoint, and whatever they should grant 
 from the treasury, and whatever justice or op- 
 pression they might show, and that no one 
 should say aught. Then the eldest son of the 
 king sat upon the throne and directed the 
 government, and he practised justice and equity 
 on such wise as cannot be described. He loved 
 the doctors and turned from the foolish, and 
 
THE THIRD VEZIR'S STORY. 43 
 
 gave the high offices to the learned, and with- 
 drew from listening to things forbidden and 
 what was vain, and strove much in well-doing. 
 Then the king, to prove the judgment of his 
 son, sent him three persons from prison, one 
 was a murderer, and one a thief, and one an 
 adulterer ; and with them he sent the complain- 
 ants. When they came before the prince the 
 complainants stated their case and the witnesses 
 bore witness that these three persons were in- 
 deed guilty, and that these words were no 
 calumny against them, but true. When the 
 prince knew how the case was, he said, ' On a 
 man's coming into the world he is the blood of 
 his father's and mother's hearts ; and, after bear- 
 ing these many troubles and afflictions, a man in 
 forty years becomes mature ; so it is not well to 
 slay him in a minute, as God Most High will 
 in the Hereafter surely punish him in Hell.' And 
 he made them vow that henceforward they would 
 do no such deeds, and set all three at liberty. 
 And for the whole three days he ruled with 
 justice. On the fourth day the turn came to 
 the middle son, and he likewise sat upon the 
 throne and directed the government. He 
 abased the learned and promoted the foolish ; 
 and adopted as habit wine and music, and as pro- 
 fession avarice and meanness. Brief, he was the 
 
44 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 opposite of his elder brother. According to the 
 custom, they sent to him too three criminals. 
 When the prince heard how the case was he said, 
 ' Men like these are the thorns of the country ;' 
 and he ordered that the three of them perished. 
 When he too had ruled for three days, the turn 
 came to the youngest prince, and he likewise sat 
 upon the throne and directed the government. 
 He gave to the doctors the posts suitable to the 
 doctors, and to the learned the high offices, and to 
 the strong and impetuous young heroes, military 
 fiefs, and to the champions, feudal domains ; and 
 he registered their pay. He honoured each of 
 them according to his position, and abased the un- 
 mannerly. Brief, he put each one in his proper 
 place, like a string of pearls ; and he left not his 
 gate unlocked lest the foe should triumph over 
 him. The king again sent three culprits from 
 the prison that he might try his judgment. 
 When they were present the servants informed 
 him, and he said, ' Bring them one by one/ 
 Then when the witnesses had borne witness that 
 the man had indeed committed murder, the 
 prince said, ' Murder is of two kinds, the one 
 intentional, the other accidental ; and the in- 
 tentional is also of two kinds, the first when 
 a person strikes another with an iron instrument 
 and kills him, him it is needful to put to death 
 
THE THIRD VEZIRS STORY. 45 
 
 in retaliation ; and they have written in the Book 
 of Dues that if one person strike another with 
 a stick and kill him, or if he throw him into a 
 fire, then the fine for blood and the expiation 
 alike become necessary. And the other too is 
 accidental, when the expiation is incumbent, and 
 he is culpable, but the fine for blood does not be- 
 come necessary. And that is accidental when a 
 person shoots an arrow at a deer, and it glances 
 and hits a man and kills him ; as God Most High 
 hath said, "Then whoso killeth a believer by mis- 
 chance, then (the expiation is) the freeing of a 
 
 believer from bondage but if he find 
 
 not (the means of doing so), then a fast for two 
 consecutive months."*' Then the prince asked 
 and learned that he had murdered intentionally ; 
 so they executed him. After that they brought 
 the thief; and the prince said, * If anyone, sane 
 and of age, steal ten minted dirhems of silver, his 
 hand must be cut off, as also if he steal one dinar 
 of gold, even as saith the Apostle (peace on him!), 
 "No cutting save for a dinar or ten dirhems." 
 When one thus commits theft his right hand 
 must be cut off at the wrist ; if he commit theft 
 again, his left hand must be cut off; if he commit 
 it a third time, his right foot must be cut off; and 
 
 * Koran, iv. 94. 
 
46 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 if he commit it yet again, he must be put in 
 prison till he repent.' Then the prince caused 
 the man to receive the due of his crime. After 
 that they brought him who had committed 
 adultery, his case also they exposed, and they 
 gave him the due of his sin conformably to the 
 law. The nine days were completed, and the 
 king assembled his vezirs and said, ' Lo, ye have 
 seen the rule of my three sons, which of them is 
 worthy the throne ? ' Quoth the first vezir, ' O 
 king, thy eldest son is worthy.' Quoth the 
 second vezir, 'Thy middle son is worthy/ Quoth 
 the third vezir, ' Thy youngest son is worthy.' 
 When the king heard these words of the vezirs 
 his doubts were not removed ; and he said, ' O 
 vezirs, the words of the three of ye are contrary 
 each to other.' And forthwith he commanded 
 the people of the country that on the morrow 
 they should all come out to the plain. The next 
 day the whole of the folk were assembled on the 
 plain ; then the king rose on his feet and said, 
 ' O people, do not to-morrow on the Resurrec- 
 tion Day seize hold of my collar and say, " Thou 
 hast oppressed us," and so wrest from me my 
 meritorious acts and render me confounded and 
 ashamed. Now be ye kind and look not at my 
 kingship and know that before God Most High 
 there is none meaner or more abject than my- 
 
THE THIRD VEZIR'S STORY. 47 
 
 self/ And he wept full bitterly. And the rich 
 and poor assembled there wept all of them to- 
 gether. Then turning again, the king said, ' O 
 friends, lo, my time is at hand ; do ye absolve me 
 for the Hereafter. I have three sons, whichever 
 of them ye wish, him will I seat upon the throne. 
 If he be just, ye will enjoy rest and bless me, 
 and I shall be at rest in the place where I lie ; 
 but if he be cruel, ye will not have rest neither 
 shall I have rest.' The people said, * May the 
 king's life endure full many a year ! may God 
 Most High be well pleased with our king ! We 
 are well pleased with our king ; whatever we 
 may have against our king, let him be absolved. 
 We are pleased with whichever son he see 
 worthy the throne ; but since the king has given 
 the choice into our hands, let him seat his 
 youngest son upon the throne. He is wise as 
 well as learned and skilled in the affairs of the 
 world ; if the king see fit, the wise is worthy the 
 seat of honour, as this has come down in the 
 traditions, "A wise youth taketh precedence of a 
 foolish elder." For the rest, the king knows.' 
 Then the king went to the palace and ordered 
 that they adorned the throne, and the grandees 
 of the state came, and all were present. Then 
 he took his youngest son by the hand and made 
 to seat him on the throne, when his brothers 
 
48 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 came forward and said, ' O father, all the folk 
 say that he is accomplished and wise and that 
 he knows well the law and the government ; now 
 we have some questions to ask of him, which if 
 he answer, we also will contentedly resign to him 
 the throne and stand in his presence with folded 
 hands;* but if not, the crown and throne indeed 
 become him not/ The king said to his youngest 
 son, 'What sayest thou ?' He replied, ' What- 
 soever their questions be, let them ask them.' 
 They said, 'What is meant by Sultan?' He 
 answered, ' By Sultan is meant one who has 
 certificate and warrant, that we obey the com- 
 mand and ordinance of God Most High : the 
 Sultan is the shadow of God on the earth/ And 
 they asked, ' To whom is it worthy to be king by 
 birth ?' He answered, ' First the king's lineage 
 must be manifest, then his descent must be per- 
 fect, then he must observe the habits of the just 
 monarchs.' They said, 'Who is just ?' He an- 
 swered, ' The just is he who transgresses not the 
 law.' They said, 'Who is unjust ?' He replied, 
 ' He who rather than obey the law, brings in 
 innovations of his own, so that it may be easy to 
 amass wealth with oppression/ They said, 'What 
 manner of persons should kings appoint vezirs ? ' 
 
 * As servants do. 
 
THE THIRD VEZIR'S STORY. 49 
 
 He answered, ' They should appoint those per- 
 sons in whom are two characteristics, the first 
 of which is that they be endowed with prudence 
 and resource, and the second that they be wise 
 and accomplished ; for learning in a man is a 
 second understanding/ They said, 'How many 
 sorts of people are needful to kings ?' He 
 answered, ' Four kinds of people ; the first, 
 skilful vezirs ; the second, valiant warriors ; the 
 third, an accomplished scribe who is perfect in 
 Arabic and Persian and the science of writing ; 
 and the fourth, a clever physician who is most 
 able in the science of philosophy.' They said, 
 ' How many different things ought always to be 
 in the thoughts of a king ?' He answered, 
 1 Four different things ; the first, to do justice to 
 the people ; the second, to use aright the money 
 that is in the treasury ; the third, to distribute 
 offices properly ; and the fourth, to be not neg- 
 ligent concerning enemies.' They said, ' How 
 many different traits should the king adopt as 
 his wont ?' He answered, ' Four ; the first is a 
 smiling face ; the second, a sweet speech ; the 
 third, generosity ; and the fourth, mercy to the 
 poor.' They said, ' How many kinds of cour- 
 tiers are needful to the king?' He answered, 
 ' Four classes are requisite ; first, the wise ; 
 second, the learned ; third, the valiant cham- 
 
 E 
 
50 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 pions ; and fourth, musicians : from the wise 
 he will learn the law, from the learned he 
 will acquire the sciences, from the valiant 
 champions he will acquire chivalry, and by 
 the musicians will his heart be expanded' 
 They said, ' Of which class should the king con- 
 sider himself one ?' He answered, * Let him 
 consider himself of the great sheykhs who have 
 reached God, for it will cause him to be just/ 
 Then he turned to his brothers and said, ' O my 
 brothers, ye have put these many questions to 
 me and I have answered the whole of them 
 to the best of my power : I too have a question.' 
 So they said to him, 'Ask on.' Quoth he, 
 ' What do the kings of the world resemble, and 
 what do their agents resemble, and what do the 
 people resemble, and what do the king's enemies 
 resemble, and what do the sheykhs resemble ? ' 
 Then they both bent their heads and pondered. 
 After a time the prince again said, ' This is 
 no time for pondering ; lo, there the question ; 
 lo, there the throne.' Quoth they, ' We are un- 
 equal to this question.' Then the king took his 
 youngest son by the hand and seated him on 
 the throne and said, ' O son, may God ever aid 
 thee and may thy foes be overthrown !' Then 
 all the nobles of the State and the people came 
 and said, 'May the throne be blessed!' And 
 
THE THIRD VEZIRS STORY. 51 
 
 they made him king over them. Then the king 
 said, ' O son, do thou answer the question thou 
 puttest to thy brethren, that we may hear/ 
 Quoth the prince, ' O my father, this world re- 
 sembles a pasture, and these people resemble 
 the sheep that wander in that pasture, and the 
 king resembles their shepherd, and the owner 
 of the sheep is God Most High, and the nobles 
 resemble that shepherd's dogs, and the enemy 
 resembles the wolf, and the sheykhs and the 
 wise resemble the guardians appointed by God 
 Most High over the shepherd, who forbid the 
 shepherd by the order of God Most High 
 whenever he would do evil to the sheep. O 
 father, in very truth I am a feeble shepherd, I 
 see the sheep, and I perceive that even while 
 we say, " Let not them come and hurt the sheep/' 
 we become ourselves partners with the wolf. 
 Should the Owner of the sheep ask us about , 
 His lambs, woe, woe to us !' And he wept full 
 bitterly. The princes acknowledged the sove- 
 reignty of their younger brother. Then the 
 king took up a handful of dust and put it on his 
 eye and said, ' O eye, how long a time is it I 
 have been king, and how great wealth have I 
 amassed and brought before thee by this much 
 oppression and justice, and thou wast never 
 satisfied ! And with how many beauties have I 
 
 E 2 
 
52 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 made merry and enjoyed the best of what they 
 had till thou hast lost all pleasure in taking it ! 
 And how many delicacies have I eaten and how 
 many sherbets have I drunk, and thou art not 
 content! Why then didst thou not look to 
 these affairs and see not ? True is it what they 
 say, " Nought fills the eye save a handful of 
 dust." Woe, woe, to us ! ' And he wept. And 
 all the nobles assembled there were moved to 
 pity and they wept together. Then the king 
 arose and went to his oratory and gave himself 
 up to devotion. After some time the king laid 
 his head upon the pillow of death and felt that 
 his life had touched its end, and he said, ' Do 
 now before my eyes that which ye should do 
 when I am dead, that I may see it.' Then they 
 laid the king upon his throne in the palace. 
 And they scattered sifted dust below the castle 
 and cut up strips of damask and strewed them 
 with dust. And all the slave-girls put on black 
 and dishevelled their hair and scattered dust 
 upon their heads and began to weep together, 
 crying, 'Alas! woe! alas!' so that hearts were 
 rent. Then came the vezirs who likewise fell 
 to weeping together and exclaiming, ' Shall a 
 king so just as this be found ?' After that they 
 ordered that they brought a coffin with great 
 reverence ; then the three princes, when they saw 
 
THE THIRD VEZIR'S STORY. 53 
 
 the coffin, wept blood in place of tears and cried, 
 1 This is the horse our father rideth now !' And 
 they adorned it with jewels and placed upon it 
 a jewel -set crown and held over it the royal 
 parasol. Then four great lords came and took 
 hold of the frame of the coffin and bare it away. 
 And before the coffin went the sheykhs singing 
 chants and hymns. And the devotees held 
 copies of the Sacred Volume before them ; 
 and great nobles and nobles' sons marched in 
 front. Before them were a hundred sweet- 
 voiced dirge-singers who wept and cried, ' Ah ! 
 woe ! alas ! ' And from one side they scattered 
 gold and silver and jewels on the coffin ; and 
 there were some ten thousand horsemen with 
 golden saddles and broken stirrups and snapped 
 bows. And behind these was an array of slave- 
 girls, all clad in black, whose wails and cries 
 rose to the heavens. When the king saw those 
 things he sighed and ordered that they took him 
 down from the throne ; and he turned and said, 
 ' While yet alive I have seen my death.' And 
 he took a handful of earth and threw it on his 
 head and said, ' Earth, though this long sove- 
 reignty has been mine, I have done no righteous 
 deed which will endure.' And again, * O vezirs, 
 I would that ye endow for me.' Thereupon the 
 vezirs wrote what amounted to ten thousand 
 
54 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 aspres a day ; and they founded free kitchens and 
 colleges, and they settled the revenues of certain 
 towns and villages on the free kitchens. When 
 the business of the endowments was finished, they 
 brought the sections of the Koran, and to each 
 section-reader they gave five sequins ; and to 
 each of the devotees and dervishes they gave 
 five hundred sequins.* Then they brought the 
 food, and all the plates were of gold or silver ; 
 and to all before whom they placed a dish they 
 said, ' Thine be food and plate.' When the 
 banquet too was finished they freed all the male 
 and female slaves ; and three days later the king 
 departed for the Abiding Home."f 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 the king may, like that sovereign, enquire, and 
 act conformably to the words of the vezirs and 
 the people, and in compliance with the com- 
 mand of the law, that he be not a prey in the 
 world tp remorse and in the Hereafter to tor- 
 ment." And he kissed the ground and made 
 intercession for the prince. When the king 
 heard of these wondrous events from the vezir, 
 he perceived how the world had no stability and 
 
 * In the time of Murad II. an aspre was worth about 2^d. stg. 
 Turkish sequins were not struck till the time of his successor, 
 Muhammed II., when they were equivalent to about 125. 6d. 
 Foreign gold coins, especially Venetian, were used previously. 
 
 t See Appendix B, Note II. 
 
THE LADY'S THIRD STORY. 55 
 
 he sighed and sent the youth to the prison and 
 went himself to the chase. 
 
 When it was evening he returned and came 
 to the palace, and went in to the lady who rose 
 to greet him, and they sat down. After the 
 repast the lady began to speak about the youth 
 and asked concerning him. Quoth the king, "I 
 have again sent him to the prison." The lady 
 said, "This matter which has happened is no light 
 matter, but thou art negligent and wouldst act 
 upon everyone's word ; and they have said that 
 the negligent person is not exempt from one of 
 three conditions ; either he is a fool, or he is 
 ignorant, or fortune has turned its face from 
 him. O king, the negligent does no perfect 
 deed ; be not negligent, for to be negligent in 
 this affair is madness. O king, this thy story 
 resembles that of another king, upon whom five 
 times fell the enemy by reason of his negligence ; 
 but mayhap my king has not heard that story." 
 The king said, " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth 
 the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRD STORY. 
 
 " There was of old time a king, and he had 
 an enemy greater than himself. One day that 
 hostile king assembled a mighty host and came 
 against that weak king. The latter, having no 
 
56 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 other resource, assembled all his army and went 
 forth to meet him. Although he much besought 
 that strong king and said, ' War is not a good 
 thing, come, consent not to this calamity, make 
 not thyself guilty of the blood of so many 
 Muslims;' and mentioned how the Holy Apostle 
 hath said, * If two Muslims fight against each 
 other with swords or other implements of war, 
 and one kill the other, both the killer and the 
 killed shall enter Hell ;' and made many and 
 many an excuse, it was in vain. When the king 
 saw that all his entreaty was of no avail with the 
 enemy, he perceived that it was necessary to find 
 some plan to avert this evil. Now the king had 
 three skilful vezirs, these he summoned to give 
 counsel. He said, *O my vezirs, what is your 
 advice in this matter ?' The chief vezir came 
 forward and said, * My king, in the present cir- 
 cumstances the military might of our enemy is 
 great ; most assuredly are we unable to oppose 
 him. Now the best way were this, that we put 
 off the battle and return to our country ; he will 
 certainly come after us, but we will enter into a 
 strong castle and rest there till that time when 
 fortune will surely turn toward us likewise; 
 thus are the affairs of the world, now gladness, 
 now woe.' He likewise asked the second vezir, 
 ' What is thy advice, let us see ? ' So he said, 
 
THE LADY'S THIRD STORY. 57 
 
 ' O my king, all that the first vezir has said is 
 wise ; but it is never allowable to show weak- 
 ness before the enemy, for inasmuch as thou 
 displayest weakness will he become strong ; so 
 if now thou shun battle and flee, thou wilt be 
 giving him opportunity. Wise is he who, al- 
 though the enemy appear overwhelming, fears 
 not death and gives the foe no answer but the 
 sword/ Then said the king to the third vezir, 
 ' What is thine advice in this matter ?' The 
 vezir answered, ' O king, manliness is of ten 
 parts, nine of which are stratagem and one of 
 which is strength ; and by stratagem is the 
 affair of enemies ever finished, for they have 
 said that the affair which one stratagem finishes 
 a hundred thousand soldiers cannot finish. If 
 the king will be guided by this humble one, 
 to-night of a sudden we will attack the enemy 
 and fall upon his camp, and, if it please God 
 Most High, we will cut off the heads of many 
 of them/ The king approved this stratagem 
 of the vezir, so when it was midnight and the 
 enemy was negligent they fell upon his camp 
 from every side, and slaughtered the foes till 
 morning, and their king fled to his own country. 
 So was this weak king victorious, and he re- 
 turned to his own land. But that fugitive king 
 went to his country and assembled an army, 
 
58 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZ1RS. 
 
 and again marched against this king. Then 
 the weak king, having no other resource, went 
 forth to meet him, and they pitched opposite 
 each other. The weak king said to his vezirs, 
 ' What is your advice this time, let us see ?' 
 Then quoth the third vezir, ' O king, we shall 
 again finish our affair by stratagem/ ''Said the 
 king, ' What stratagem shall we use ? they will 
 be very watchful this night.' The vezir replied, 
 ' Stratagem is not one ; let them keep watch 
 till morning, we shall this time employ another 
 stratagem.' Quoth the king, ' Speak on, let us 
 see.' The vezir said, ' We will hide in ambush 
 two thousand strong impetuous youths ; and as 
 soon as it is morning we will go out against the 
 enemy and fight a little, then we will appear to 
 flee, and they shall follow after thinking to fall 
 upon us ; and when the foremost of the host 
 reaches us we will turn and fight with them and 
 cut them down. Thereupon our soldiers who are 
 in ambush will rush into the field and take the 
 hostile army in the centre ; and, if it please God 
 Most High, we will strike hard with our swords 
 and seize their leaders, and take their flags, and 
 tear in pieces their ensigns ; and in this way 
 will we overcome the foe.' The king liked this 
 plan of the vezir, and by this stratagem they 
 sabred the foe and were again victorious. And 
 
THE LADY'S THIRD STORY. 59 
 
 the king returned smiling to his country. The 
 other strong king in the greatness of his wrath 
 cried out, ' What means this that thus weak a 
 king routs my army and puts me to flight on 
 this wise ! God Most High gives victory to 
 whom He will !' Then he assembled an army 
 of which he, himself, knew not the number, and 
 went against that poor weak king. They gave 
 the king word, and he, having no other resource, 
 went forth again, and they pitched opposite each 
 other. Again the weak king questioned his 
 vezirs. Then the third vezir said, ' O my king, 
 our affair is finished by stratagem.' Quoth the 
 king, * What stratagem shall we employ ?' The 
 vezir said, 'O king, let us send an adroit heads- 
 man, who will go and by some stratagem kill 
 him ; and when the head goes the foot is not 
 steady.' The king approved the vezir's words, 
 and sent a headsman with a dagger, who went 
 and somehow made shift to smite that strong 
 king that he well nigh slew him, and then took 
 flight. But while he was fleeing they caught 
 him and hewed him in pieces. When they 
 saw their king that he had reached the bounds 
 of death, they said, ' There is no fighting in 
 such plight ;' and they fled, bearing their king. 
 They came to their country and appointed a 
 physician, and after some days the wound got 
 
60 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 better. And that king again assembled a host 
 and came against the poor weak king. The 
 latter, having no other resource, went forth to 
 meet him and again sought counsel of his 
 vezirs. The third vezir said, ' O my king, our 
 affair is finished by stratagem.' The king 
 asked, * What stratagem wilt thou employ this 
 time ?' The vezir said, * This time let us send 
 an ambassador and offer some money and 
 some slave-girls and say, " We submit to thee." 
 And we will give poison to one of the slave- 
 girls we send, and tell her to give it to the king 
 to eat when she finds an opportunity ; and in 
 this way will we gain the victory over him/ 
 The king deemed the vezir's words good, and by 
 that stratagem they poisoned that king. And 
 this king mounted and attacked his army, 
 and, as when the head goes the foot is not 
 steady, it was beaten. They took their king, 
 and, after a thousand stratagems, conveyed him 
 to a castle and tended him, and at length he 
 recovered. Again he assembled an army, and 
 again they went against that weak king. So 
 the latter, having no other resource, again went 
 forth to meet him. He summoned his vezirs 
 and asked advice. Again the third vezir said, 
 ' O king, our affair is finished by stratagem.' 
 Quoth the king, * Give advice.' The vezir said, 
 
THE LADY'S THIRD STORY. 61 
 
 1 O king, this time he comes with great caution, 
 and has posted men on the roads and at the 
 stations who seize on every one who passes. 
 If the king deem good, we will write a letter 
 and address it to his vezirs and great nobles, 
 and it shall be on this wise : " After greeting : 
 Be it not concealed that your letter has come 
 and all that you say is understood. Long life 
 and health to you ! We indeed hoped it from 
 you. Now let me see you. Display manliness 
 and valour. Seize him on the road and bring 
 him to me, and that country shall be yours ; 
 such and such a place to so and so, and such 
 and such a district to so and so." Then we 
 will seal it, and split a staff and put it therein, 
 and give it to a man and send him to them. 
 They will find the staff and take it to the king, 
 who will undoubtedly read it, and look upon 
 those vezirs and nobles as traitors, and mur- 
 murings will arise among them and they will 
 split into parties. And by this stratagem we 
 will again find relief.' The king did so. And 
 in that way they brought the letter to that king, 
 and as soon as he had read it, fear for his life 
 fell upon him. Then he turned back and went 
 to his country and seized those vezirs and 
 nobles and slew them. At length all the nobles 
 turned from him and wrote a letter and sent it 
 
62 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 to this king, and it was thus : ' For the love of 
 God come against this tyrant, and we will aid 
 thee.' When the king had read the letter he 
 assembled an army and went to that country, 
 and on the battle-day all the nobles came and 
 submitted to him, and they seized the other king 
 and surrendered him. So he took that country 
 through stratagem ; and because that strong king 
 was negligent he lost his country and his head, 
 for they slew him." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 my king may know and not be negligent, and 
 lose not life and kingdom through the stratagem 
 of that unworthy youth." When the king heard 
 this story from the lady he was wroth, and said, 
 " To-morrow will I slay him." And they went 
 to bed. 
 
 When it was morning and the sun showed 
 his face from behind the castle of Qaf,* and 
 illumined the world with light, the king came 
 and sat upon his throne, and commanded the 
 executioner that he brought the youth and he 
 gave the word, " Smite off his head." Then 
 the Fourth Vezir came forward and said, " O my 
 king, it is not seemly in kings to hasten in all 
 
 * Qaf is the name of a fabled mountain-chain, formerly sup- 
 posed to encircle the world ; "the castle " is simply a metaphor 
 for the mountain-peaks. 
 
HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 63 
 
 things with precipitancy ; above all the spilling 
 of blood unjustly is deemed by the wise most 
 blameworthy and hateful. They have declared 
 that the trials of a king are four : one is haste ; 
 another, trusting to wrong ; another, considering 
 not the end of matters ; and another, negligence. 
 Haste is that which disappoints those who seek 
 good and profit for themselves ; wrong is that 
 which brings about wars and uses armies un- 
 justly and does evil things ; considering not the 
 end of matters is that which employs hurry 
 instead of deliberation ; and negligence is that 
 which inclines to music, and lust, and taking 
 counsel of women. And they have said, * Let 
 one take counsel of a woman and do the 
 opposite of what she says ; ' even as spake the 
 Holy Apostle (peace on him !) 'Consult them and 
 do clear contrary/ * In compliance with this 
 Tradition the king must not obey the woman's 
 word ; and through the words of women have 
 many men suffered remorse and fallen under 
 the wrath of God. And the story of Balaam, 
 the son of Beor,f is a strange story; if the king 
 grant leave, I will relate it." The king said, 
 " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
 * This famous speech is usually attributed to 'Omar, the 
 second Khalif. 
 
 t Bal'am-bin-Ba'ur. 
 
64 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 THE FOURTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " One day Moses (peace on him !) went 
 against a tribe, and they were of the people of 
 'Ad, and they called their chief Og the son of 
 Anak.* One day Moses (peace on him !) by 
 command of God summoned these to the Faith, 
 and resolved to fight and war with them if they 
 were not obedient. So Moses (peace on him !) 
 assembled four hundred and four-score thousand 
 men and proceeded against the 'Adls. When 
 they were come near the 'Adis, he sent twelve 
 men as ambassadors to that tribe. Now Og 
 had gone out to look about and he saw the 
 twelve men coming, so he put the whole of them 
 into his sack and slung it over his shoulder and 
 turned back and went away. He brought them 
 to his tribe the 'Adls and said, ' See the host of 
 the Messenger Moses which is come seeking to 
 make war with us ;' and he held the mouth of 
 the sack downward and the twelve men rolled 
 out. And that tribe saw them that they were 
 small of stature, for their own stature was twice 
 that of these. And they all made mock of 
 them and laughed at them ; but they killed 
 them not, but sent them back. They returned 
 
 * 'Uj-bin-'Unuq. He is said, in the Talmud, to have been a 
 monstrous giant. The 'Adls, we are told, were from 60 to 
 100 cubits high. Compare Numbers, xin, 33. 
 
THE FOURTH VEZIFS STORY. 65 
 
 and told these things to Saint Moses, and fear 
 fell upon all the host. Then Saint Moses 
 (peace on him !) took his rod in his hand and 
 went against that tribe of ' Ad. Og the son of 
 Anak saw that Moses (peace on him !) was him- 
 self coming, and straightway he went and pulled 
 up a rock like a mountain and put it on his head, 
 and went that he might cast it upon the host of 
 Moses (peace on him!). But God Most High 
 commanded an angel that he went in the like- 
 ness of a bird and smote that rock with his 
 beak and clave it, and thereupon it passed like a 
 circle of cursers down before the face of Og. 
 And straightway Saint Moses came up, and his 
 stature grew to forty cubits, and his rod to forty 
 cubits, and he leaped up forty cubits, and smote 
 Og on the heel with his rod ; and God Most 
 High slew Og. Then Saint Moses (peace on 
 him !) returned to his people and gave them 
 tidings of Og being slain ; and they were all 
 glad. Then Saint Moses passed thence and 
 made for the country of Sheykh Balaam the 
 son of Beor. When he was come nigh, they 
 brought word to the sheykh that Saint Moses was 
 coming against him with many warriors. Where- 
 upon the sheykh's disciples said, ' O sheykh, 
 if that host come into our land, it will lay waste 
 all our land ; thou must find some help for this/ 
 
 F 
 
66 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 Then were they silent. The sheykh said, 'What 
 should we do ?' They answered, * Curse him.' 
 The sheykh said, 'He is a Messenger ; I cannot 
 curse him/ And howsoever much they urged 
 the sheykh, it was in vain. Now the sheykh 
 had a cunning brawling wife ; her they besought, 
 saying, ' Speak to the sheykh, and we will give 
 thee much money.' The woman answered, ' I 
 will manage it.' When the sheykh came to his 
 house he desired to take counsel of his wife ; 
 she said, 'Curse him.' The sheykh replied, ' He 
 is a Messenger; how can I curse him?' The 
 woman persisted so that the sheykh was con- 
 strained to lift up his hands and curse him. 
 His curse was heard ; and Saint Moses, who was 
 fourteen leagues distant, remained for forty 
 years in the wilderness ; even as God Most 
 High saith in His Word, ' For forty years shall 
 they wander about in the earth.'* Then Saint 
 Moses knew that there was some reason for 
 this, and he prayed and humbled himself before 
 God Most High, and said, ' My God, send him 
 who is the cause of our thus wandering, from 
 the world to the Hereafter without the Faith.' 
 His prayer was accepted at the Court of God, 
 and that sheykh went from the world to the Here - 
 
 * Koran, v. 29. 
 
THE FOURTH VEZIR'S STORY. 67 
 
 after without the Faith by reason of a woman ; 
 even as God Most High hath said, 'And his like- 
 ness was as the likeness of a dog.' " * 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for 
 that these many men have been cast forth from 
 the Court of God for following the words of 
 women. Then is it incumbent on the king that 
 he judgeaccordingiy,so that he become not a prey 
 to remorse ; for too late repentance profits not. 
 Beware and beware, slay not the prince on the 
 woman's word." And he kissed the ground 
 and made intercession for the prince for that 
 day. When the king heard this story from the 
 vezir, he sent the prince to the prison and went 
 himself to the chase. 
 
 When it was evening the king came to the 
 palace, and the lady rose to greet him, and they 
 sat down. After the repast the lady again 
 began to speak about the youth, and the king 
 said, " This day too my vezirs would not let me 
 be, so I have sent him to the prison." Quoth 
 the lady, " I know all the plot of those 
 vezirs, day by day each of them plans some ' 
 trick or wile ; they purpose to discredit me with 
 thee, so they say that women are lacking in 
 understanding, and that by reason thereof they 
 
 * Koran, vii. 175. See Appendix B, Note III. 
 F 2 
 
68 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 are plotters and liars. These words of theirs 
 are false, do not assail the truth ; for these see 
 me, that my trust in my king is strong. Yet I 
 am aware of their case and their hurtful deeds ; 
 and for that I would defend my king from their 
 craft and malice, are they enemies to me. An 
 thou desire, my king, I shall say no more; and 
 they may do whatsoever they will. But all 
 these are of single tongue and single aim, and I 
 fear they will bring some calamity upon thee 
 and some evil upon me ; and afterward thou 
 shalt repent, but it will avail not. My king, 
 thou hast assembled some men of low birth and 
 made them vezirs and confided all thy affairs to 
 them, and thou thinkest them honest ; Heaven 
 forefend they should be honest when some of them 
 are the sons of cooks, and some of bakers, and 
 some of butchers ; it is even as when Khizr* (peace 
 on him !) showed another king the origin of his 
 vezirs, but mayhap my king has not heard that 
 story." The king said, " Tell on, let us hear." 
 Quoth the lady, 
 
 * A mysterious being, of the number of the Prophets, who 
 appears to and aids Muslims in distress ; he is frequently men- 
 tioned in Muhammedan fiction, where he plays a part similar to 
 that of Elijah in the Talmud. 
 
THE LADY'S FOURTH STORY. 69 
 
 LADY'S FOURTH STORY. 
 
 " There was in the palace of the world a king 
 who was very desirous of seeing Khizr (peace 
 on him !) ; and he would ever say, ' If there be 
 anyone who will show me Khizr, I will give 
 him whatsoever he may wish.' Now there was 
 at that time a man poor of estate ; and from the 
 greatness of his poverty he said in himself, ' Let 
 me go and bespeak the king that if he provide 
 for me during three years I will show him Khizr; 
 by three years either I shall be dead or the king 
 will be dead, or he will forgive me my fault, or 
 I shall on somewise win to escape : and in this 
 way shall I make merry for a time.' So he 
 went to the king and spake those words to him. 
 The king said, ' An thou show him not then, I 
 will kill thee ;' and that poor man consented. 
 Then the king let give him much wealth and 
 money, and the poor man took that wealth and 
 money and went to his house. Three years he 
 spent in merriment and delight, and he rested 
 at ease till the term was accomplished. At the 
 end of the time he fled and hid himself in a 
 trackless place, and he began to quake for fear. 
 Of a sudden he saw a personage with white 
 raiment and shining face who saluted him. 
 The poor man returned the salutation, and the 
 
70 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 radiant being asked, ' Why art thou thus sad ?' 
 but he gave no answer. Again the radiant 
 being asked him and sware to him, saying, ' Do 
 indeed tell to me thy plight that I may find thee 
 some remedy.' So that hapless one narrated 
 his story from its beginning to its end ; and the 
 radiant being said, * Come, I will go with thee to 
 the king and I will answer for thee ;' so they 
 arose. Now the king wanted that hapless one ; 
 and, while they were going, some of the king's 
 officers who were seeking met them, and they 
 straightway seized the poor man and brought 
 him to the king. Quoth the king, 'Lo, the three 
 years are accomplished ; come now show me 
 Khizr.' That poor man said, ' My king, grace 
 and bounty are the work of kings ; forgive my 
 sin.' Quoth the king, ' I made a pact ; till I have 
 killed thee I shall not have fulfilled it !' And 
 he looked to his chief vezir and said, ' How 
 should this be done ?' Quoth the vezir, ' This 
 man should be hewn in many pieces, and these 
 hung up on butcher's hooks, that others may see 
 and lie not before the king.' Said that radiant 
 being, ' True spake the vezir ; all things return 
 to their origin.' Then the king looked to the 
 second vezir and said, ' What sayest thou ?' 
 He replied, ' This man should be boiled in a 
 cauldron.' Said that radiant being, ' True spake 
 
THE LADY'S FOURTH STORY. 71 
 
 the vezir ; all things return to their origin.' 
 The king looked to the third vezir and said, 
 * What sayest thou ?' The vezir replied, ' This 
 man should be hewn in small pieces and baked 
 in an oven.' Again said that elder, ' True spake 
 the vezir ; all things return to their origin.' 
 Then quoth the king to the fourth vezir, ' Let us 
 see, what sayest thou ?' The vezir replied, ' O 
 king, the wealth thou gavest this poor creature 
 was for the love of Khizr (peace on him !). 
 He, thinking to find him, accepted it ; now that 
 he has not found him he seeks pardon ; this were 
 befitting, that thou set free this poor creature for 
 the love of Khizr.' Said that elder, 'True spake 
 the vezir ; all things return to their origin.' 
 Then the king said to the elder, * O elder, all 
 my vezirs have said different things, contrary 
 the one to the other, and thou hast said con- 
 cerning each of them, "True spake the vezir ; all 
 things return to their origin." What is the 
 reason thereof ?' That elder replied, ' O king, 
 thy first vezir is a butcher's son, therefore did 
 he draw to his origin ; thy second vezir is a 
 cook's son, he likewise proposed a punishment 
 as became his origin ; thy third vezir is a 
 baker's son, he likewise proposed a punishment 
 as became his origin ; but thy fourth vezir is of 
 gentle birth, compassion therefore becomes his 
 
72 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 origin ; so he had compassion on that hapless 
 one and sought to do good and counseled libera- 
 tion. O king, all things draw to their origin.'* 
 And he gave the king much counsel and at last 
 said, 'Lo, I am Khizr!' and vanished. Then 
 the king went forth from his palace, but could 
 see no sign or trace of that radiant elder ; and 
 he said, * I much longed to see Khizr (peace on 
 him !) ; praise be to God, I have attained there- 
 to, and he has told me the origin of my vezirs.' 
 And he commanded that they gave that poor 
 man much wealth."f 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 thou mayst know that thy vezirs are of low 
 origin, and that fidelity will not proceed from 
 them. In this matter too their words tally 
 with their origin ; lose not the opportunity, 
 for to spare an enemy is great folly." The 
 king heard this story from the lady, and said, 
 " To-morrow will I roll up the scroll of his life." 
 And they went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning and the world, like to him 
 who had won to Khizr, was illumined with light, 
 the king sat upon his throne and commanded 
 
 * Compare Boethius thus translated by Chaucer : All thynges 
 seken ayen to hir propre course, and all thynges rejoysen on hir 
 retourninge agayne to hir nature. 
 
 t See Appendix B, Note IV. 
 
THE FIFTH VEZIR' S STORY. 73 
 
 the executioner that he brought the youth, and 
 he gave the word, " Smite off his head." There- 
 upon the Fifth Vezir came forward and said, u O 
 king of the world, slay not the prince thus 
 hastily, and cast not to the winds the counsels 
 of these many vezirs ; for as they take pearls from 
 the sea and string them, so do these string their 
 words ; they are speakers such that Mercury in 
 the sky could not match their suggestions. O 
 king, the reason of that which thy vezirs have 
 said to thee is this, that the Apostle (peace on 
 him !} hath said that whoso seeth his king do 
 an act contrary to the law, and hindereth him 
 not therefrom, hath departed from the Canon. 
 Now, O king, deem not the words of thy vezirs 
 mistaken ; it is even as they have said, ' Let him 
 who would see Khizr in the flesh, look upon a 
 wise, accomplished and learned vezir.' And 
 again, ' If one seek to do a righteous deed, let 
 him arrange the affair of some poor creature 
 with a king.' Mayhap the king has not heard 
 the story of Khizr and a vezir." The king said, 
 " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
 THE FIFTH VEZIR' s STORY. 
 
 " There was, of old time, a king who had an 
 experienced vezir ; and Khizr (peace on him !) 
 would ever come to that vezir. One day the 
 
74 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 vezir looked upon the affairs of the world, how 
 they abode not with anyone ; and he with- 
 drew from the vezirship, and chose the corner 
 of retirement, and gave himself up to worship. 
 A long time passed, and Khizr (peace on him !) 
 never once came to him. The vezir marvelled 
 and said, * Why does not Khizr (peace on him !) 
 come to me ? Now ought he to come every 
 day.' Then he said, * There must indeed be 
 some reason for this.' Thereupon he saw that 
 Khizr had appeared, and he said, ' O Khizr, 
 while I was vezir thou didst ever come to me, 
 is it for that I have withdrawn from the world 
 that thou comest not now ?' Khizr (peace on 
 him !) replied, ' O vezir, outwardly thou didst 
 perform the duties of vezir, inwardly I did ; 
 therefore was there a bond between us ; 
 now thou hast withdrawn therefrom, and that 
 bond is gone from between us, so I come not 
 to thee.' When the vezir heard these words 
 . from Khizr, he went and asked back the vezir- 
 ship, and he received it, and Khizr (peace on 
 him !) came to him as before and ceased not." 
 
 " O king, I have told this story for that the 
 king may hearken to the vezirs' words and 
 follow them, and pass his life in happiness. 
 Beware, O king, be not over hasty in this affair, 
 that afterward thou suffer not remorse." When 
 
HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 75 
 
 the king heard this story from the vezir, he 
 sent the prince to the prison and went himself 
 to the chase, and that day he took much game. 
 In the evening he came to the palace, and 
 the lady rose to greet him, and they sat down. 
 After the repast the lady asked about the 
 youth ; the king said, " This day again such an 
 one of my vezirs made intercession for him, and 
 I sent him to the prison.'' Quoth the lady, " O 
 rny king, how good were it, could he be re- 
 formed by such conduct ; but this youth is 
 incapable of reform ; for he resembles that 
 snake which first stings his mother as she bears 
 him and kills her, and then stings his father 
 and kills him. God Most High will take ven- 
 geance on him ; and his eyes will be blinded as 
 though he had looked upon an emerald.* If a 
 drop of an April shower fall upon a snake it 
 becomes poison, but if it fall into an oyster it 
 becomes a pearl ; f and if the Koran, great of 
 glory, fall upon a believer's heart, it is faith and 
 knowledge. And it is notorious that whoever 
 nurses a snake falls at last a prey to its poison. 
 A certain man formed a friendship with a snake 
 and used every day to bring it a portion of 
 
 * The emerald was supposed to have the effect of blinding 
 snakes when they looked upon it. 
 
 t There is an Eastern myth to that effect. 
 
76 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 food. He went to the snake's hole and laid it 
 there, and the snake would put its head out 
 of its hole and eat that food, and when it was 
 satisfied it would frolic about, and that man 
 would play with it. One day he came and saw 
 that the snake was out of its place and quite 
 stiff from cold ; * O poor thing,' he said, and 
 took and put it in his bosom. When the snake 
 got warm it at once raised its head and stang 
 that unhappy man, and killed him, and fled and 
 entered its hole. And thus have they said, 
 that if one foster a swine, that brute will not 
 leave off till in the end it hurt him. It is even 
 as the story of that sherbet-seller and the 
 Moor." Said the king, " Tell on, let us hear." 
 Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S FIFTH STORY. 
 
 " There was of old time in a great city a 
 sherbet-seller, and he had a son, a leveling of 
 the age, who was so fair that he seemed a 
 second Joseph ;* and he used to sell sherbet 
 in the shop. The folk would come to gaze 
 upon this youth's beauty, and they would give 
 a sequin for each cup of sherbet, and drain it ; 
 and whenever they drank a cup they would say 
 
 * Joseph is the type of youthful beauty. 
 
THE LADY'S FIFTH STORY. 77 
 
 it was the water of life. Now one day a 
 swarthy Moor came to that country ; and as 
 soon as he saw the youth, the hapless Moor's 
 power of speech left him, and he could not stir 
 one step from where he stood, but leaned 
 against the opposite wall bewildered. After a 
 time he recovered his understanding, and, rising 
 and falling like one drunk, he came up as best 
 he could to the youth, and gave a sequin and 
 drank a cup of sherbet, and went away. For a 
 time he came every day and drank cups of sherbet 
 at a sequin each, and looked on the beauty of the 
 youth. One day the youth told this thing to 
 his father, and his father perceived that the 
 Moor was ravished with the boy, and said, ' O 
 my son, bring that Moor to the house to- 
 morrow, and let us see what manner of man he 
 is.' The next day when the Moor came to the 
 youth, he invited him to his house, and took 
 him and went to his father. After they had 
 eaten, the father of the boy asked of the Moor's 
 case and dwelling. The Moor saw what his 
 intention was, and answered, ' I have no dwell- 
 ing, I am a stranger/ The boy's father said, 
 ' Thou art a stranger ; we will give thee a 
 dwelling, stay with us.' The Moor was glad 
 and counted it a boon to his soul ; even as they 
 have said, ' The loved one's ward is Paradise.' 
 
78 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 So they showed the Moor a dwelling. He 
 abode for some days, and gradually his love 
 for the boy increased ; and one day he showed 
 him a precious stone, and said, ' An thou let me 
 take one kiss of thee, I will give thee this 
 stone.' With a thousand graces the boy con- 
 sented, and the Moor gave him the stone and 
 kissed him, and said, ' My life, my master, I 
 love thee from heart and soul, flee me not ; I 
 know a talisman which will open before thee ; 
 if thou wilt come with me I will open it, and 
 give thee so much gold that thou shalt never 
 again know poverty.' The youth told this 
 thing to his father, and his father gave him 
 leave ; so the Moor took him, and they went 
 without the city ; and he brought him to a ruin. 
 Now there was a well there, full to the mouth 
 with water ; and the Moor wrote on a piece of 
 paper and laid it on the well, and thereupon all 
 the water vanished from the well. The Moor 
 and the boy descended to the bottom of the well, 
 and saw a locked door. The Moor wrote a 
 charm and fastened it on the lock, and it 
 opened forthwith. They went in and saw a 
 negro holding in one hand a great stone to 
 throw upon anyone who entered. The Moor 
 repeated a charm and blew upon the negro, 
 and the negro laid the stone that was in his 
 
THE LADY'S FIFTH STORY. 79 
 
 hand upon the ground, and let them pass. 
 They went on and saw a dome of crystal, and 
 at the door of the domed building were two 
 dragons, who stood facing one the other with 
 open mouths like caverns. When they came 
 near, these flew at them, but the Moor repeated 
 a charm and blew on them, and they vanished. 
 Then the door of the domed building opened 
 and they went in, and they saw that in one 
 corner thereof was gold, in another corner 
 silver, in another corner all manner of jewels, 
 and in another corner was raised a throne upon 
 black earth, and on that throne was a coffin, 
 and in that coffin lay a renowned man dead. 
 Upon his breast was a gold tablet, and on that 
 tablet was written : ' I was a king, and I ruled 
 the whole earth, and whithersoever I went in 
 this world I conquered. I had many many 
 champions and great wealth and treasure. Some 
 little of the wealth I owned I gathered here. 
 Me too Death spared not ; but made me even 
 as though I had not come into the world. Now, 
 O thou who seest me in this plight, take warn- 
 ing by me, and remember my soul in prayer, 
 and be not presumptuous through the wealth of 
 this world for a few days' life/ And that was all. 
 Then the Moor and the youth took as much 
 as they desired of the gold and silver and pre- 
 
8o HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 cious stones and black earth, which was the 
 Philosopher's Stone, and went out. The Moor 
 repeated a charm and blew upon the well, and 
 it was again all full of water ; and he went back 
 with the boy to their house, and they gave 
 themselves up to mirth and merriment. Day 
 and night they ceased not therefrom an instant. 
 One day the boy asked the Moor to teach him 
 the charms he had repeated in the talisman. 
 The Moor consented, and instructed him for 
 many days and taught him. One day, of a 
 sudden, the boy said to his father, ' O father, I 
 have learned the whole of the charms for the 
 talisman, so we have no longer any need of the 
 Moor ; let us poison him/ But his father con- 
 sented not, and said, ' Let us turn him away ; 
 let him go elsewhither/ Quoth the youth, 
 ' The turning away of him would not do ; he is 
 a great master, he might do us an injury, so let 
 us poison him ere he play us some trick ; and I 
 will take as much gold and silver as is needful 
 ^ from that buried treasure/ The Moor heard 
 him and knew that fairness purposed foulness, 
 and he straightway disappeared from there/'* 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 the king may know that no good has ever hap- 
 
 * See Appendix B, Note V. 
 
HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 81 
 
 t/^ 
 
 pened to anyone from youths. Yea, O king, 
 be not negligent, kill the youth, else the affair 
 will end in evil." When the king heard this 
 story from the lady he was wroth and said, 
 " On the morrow will I slay him." And they 
 went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king sat upon his 
 throne and caused the youth to be brought, and 
 commanded the executioner, " Smite off his 
 head." The Sixth Vezir came forward and said, 
 " O king of the world, beware, act not on any- 
 one's word till the crime be proved against the 
 prince ; for the Resurrection is at hand, and 
 lying and cunning and craft abound. The wise 
 man is he who turns off sin and evil that he 
 may not afterward begin to bite upon the 
 finger with regret and remorse and be repentant, 
 and who takes the woful by the hand and gives 
 happiness to the unhappy, and who repulses 
 not him who comes to his door, but sees his 
 needs and provides for him, and who never lets 
 himself be deceived by a woman's word ; for 
 these laugh in one's face. Mayhap my king 
 has not heard the story of the tailor youth and 
 the woman." The king said, " Tell on, let us 
 hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
82 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 THE SIXTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " Thus relate they : In the time of Saint 
 Jesus (peace on him !) there was a tailor youth 
 who had a fair wife, and they greatly loved one 
 another. One day they made a pact that if the 
 woman died first, her husband should take no 
 other wife, but throw his arms round her tomb- 
 stone, and weep till morning ; and if the youth 
 died first, the woman should do likewise. By 
 the decree of God the woman died. After the 
 tailor had wept and lamented he buried her, 
 and fulfilled his pact, and threw his arms round 
 his wife's tombstone and wept. And he con- 
 stantly kept watch over the grave. One day 
 Jesus (peace on him !) when passing by that 
 place, saw a youth weeping and embracing a 
 tombstone, and he went up to him and asked 
 why he wept. The youth related all. Then 
 Jesus (peace on him !) prayed, and the woman 
 became alive, and came forth from the grave in 
 her shroud. And Jesus (peace on him !) pro- 
 ceeded on his way. The youth said, ' One 
 cannot go thus in a shroud ; wait thou here a 
 moment till I go and fetch clothes from the 
 house ; then thou shalt put on these clothes, and 
 \ve will go together.' And he went quickly to 
 the house, leaving the woman there. Suddenly 
 
THE SIXTH VEZIFS STORY. 83 
 
 the son of the king of that country passed that 
 spot, and saw a fair woman sitting wrapped in 
 a shroud. As soon as the prince saw that 
 women he fell in love with her from heart and 
 soul, and he said to her, 'Who art thou ?' She 
 answered, ' I am a stranger ; a robber has 
 stripped me.' Thereupon the prince ordered 
 his servants to take the woman to the palace, 
 and clothe her in clean garments. When the 
 youth returned with the clothes he found not 
 the woman there, and he cried and asked of the 
 passers-by. No one had seen her. The poor 
 man, asking and asking, met the prince's ser- 
 vants. These asked the tailor why he wept. 
 He replied, ' For a time my wife was dead ; 
 but now, praise be to God, she is become alive 
 through the prayer of the Messenger Jesus ; I 
 went to fetch her clothes, but she has disap- 
 peared : therefore do I weep/ They answered, 
 ' The prince sent that lady to the palace this 
 day.' Thereupon the tailor went before the 
 prince and complained, saying, ' The woman 
 thou hast taken is my wife.' The prince asked 
 the lady, she denied and said, ' This is the 
 robber who stripped me of my clothes and 
 made off; praise be to God, if thou kill him 
 now, thou shalt gain great reward.' The prince 
 commanded that they bound both the tailor's 
 
 G 2 
 
84 PI IS TORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS, 
 
 hands behind his back. Although the poor 
 tailor cried aloud, it was no avail ; they put a 
 rope round his neck and led him to the gallows. 
 Then they perceived Saint Jesus on the road, 
 and they waited. When he came near he asked 
 of their case, and they told him. Then he bade 
 them stop and went himself to the prince ; they 
 called the woman, and he said, ' This woman is 
 the wife of yonder youth ; I prayed and she 
 became alive.' When the woman saw the 
 Messenger she was unable to deny, but spake 
 the truth. Jesus (peace on him!) prayed again, 
 and that woman died ; and the youth was 
 rescued from the abyss wherein to he had fallen, 
 and he repented of his having wept so long a 
 
 time." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for 
 that thou mayst know that the inclinations of 
 women are ever to works of evil, craft, and 
 wickedness." And he kissed the ground and 
 made intercession for the prince's life. When 
 the king heard this story from the vezir he sent 
 the prince to the prison, and went himself to 
 the chase. 
 
 In the evening he returned from the chase 
 and came to the palace, and the lady rose to 
 greet him, and they sat down. After the repast 
 the lady fell to speaking about the youth. The 
 
HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 85 
 
 king said, " To-day such an one of my vezirs 
 made intercession for him, so I have again sent 
 him to the prison." Quoth the lady, " O king, 
 thou dost not believe my words ; but at length, 
 in the near future, some hurt will befall thee 
 from the youth ; for this night I saw a vision, 
 which it is, as it were, a duty on me to tell my 
 kinof, and incumbent on thee to hear." Said 
 
 O' 
 
 the king, " Tell on, let us hear." The lady 
 said, " This night thou wast holding in thy hand 
 a golden ball, and that ball was adorned and 
 set round with rubies and jewels, and its bril- 
 liancy lit up the world ; and thou wast playing, 
 throwing up the ball and catching it in thy 
 hand. And this youth was sitting by thy side 
 watching, and ever and anon he asked for the 
 ball, but thou gavest him it not. Of a sudden, 
 while thou wast heedless, he snatched the ball, 
 and for that thou hadst not given it him when 
 he had asked was he angry, and he struck the 
 ball upon a stone, so that it was shattered in 
 pieces. And I was grieved, and I went and 
 picked up the fragments of the ball, and gave 
 them into thy hand, and thou didst look upon 
 those fragments and didst marvel, and with that 
 I awoke." Quoth the king, " What may the 
 interpretation of this vision be ? " The lady 
 said, " I interpreted this dream : that ball is thy 
 
86 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 kingdom ; and this youth's snatching it from thy 
 hand is this, that this youth came to me and 
 said, ' I wish to kill my father and sit upon the 
 throne, and I desire to make thee my wife ; 
 and all the men of the kingdom have turned to 
 me, and now the kingdom is wholly mine, do 
 thou likewise submit to me ?' Had I submitted 
 to him, ere now he had killed thee and accom- 
 plished his affair. Ah ! the fortune and auspi- 
 ciousness of my king averted it. And his 
 striking the ball upon the stone is this, that if 
 he had become king after thee, he would have 
 utterly ruined the kingdom. And my going and 
 picking up the fragments and giving them to 
 the king is this, that for that I obeyed not the 
 youth, but came and told the king, he seized 
 him, and the kingdom remained in his hand. 
 But had not I done so, know of a surety that 
 ere now the kingdom would have passed from 
 thy hand ; yea, thy life, too, would have gone. 
 That is the interpretation of the dream. O 
 king, the story of this degenerate youth re- 
 sembles that of a certain king's son ; mayhap 
 my king has not heard it." The king said, "Tell 
 on, let us hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
7 HE LADY'S SIXTH STORY. 87 
 
 THE LADY'S SIXTH STORY. 
 
 " In the palace of the world there was a king 
 in whose country was a robber, such that none 
 could escape from his hands. And in that 
 king's country was a great khoja. That khoja 
 and his wife were travelling with some money, 
 when of a sudden, while they were on the road 
 they met that robber. He forthwith stripped 
 them and made them naked and took them 
 captives. He put their clothes in the cave 
 which he had chosen for his dwelling, and 
 bound both the khoja's hands behind his back 
 and laid him in a corner ; and then he gave 
 himself up to mirth and merriment with the 
 woman. A time passed thus, and the woman 
 conceived by the robber. After seven or eight 
 months the robber released the khoja and his 
 wife. So these went forth from the cave, and 
 saying, ' There is nor strength nor power save in 
 God, the High, the Mighty,' they set their faces 
 in a certain direction, and fared on till one day 
 they entered a city. And they took a dwelling 
 in that city and settled there. When the 
 woman's time was come she gave birth to a 
 boy ; but as they knew that the boy was the 
 robber's, they would not accept him, and they 
 laid him at the door of the mosque. The king 
 
88 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 of that country happened to pass by and asked 
 concerning him, and the people who were 
 present answered that his parents had no means 
 of bringing- him up and so had left him there. 
 Now the king had no son, and he took pity on 
 this child and adopted him and made him his 
 son, and said, ' If God give him life and he die 
 not, he shall sit on the throne after me and 
 be king.' So they took the boy and brought 
 him to the palace, and appointed him a nurse, 
 and made him clothes of all manner of stuffs. 
 Day by day he grew, and when he had 
 reached his seventh year he was a moon- 
 faced boy, such that he who looked upon 
 his countenance desired to look thereon again. 
 And the king appointed a teacher and a 
 governor for the boy, and he learned science 
 and good-conduct. When he had reached his 
 twelfth year he had acquired sciences and 
 accomplishments. After that, they instructed 
 him in horsemanship ; that too he acquired in a 
 few days. And every day he would go into 
 the square and take a ball and play ; and all the 
 world marvelled at his beauty and dexterity, 
 and the king felt delight as often as he looked 
 upon him. Now the king had also a daughter 
 peerless in beauty. In the course of a few 
 years this girl grew up and reached the age of 
 
THE LADY'S SIXTH STORY. 89 
 
 puberty, and the boy fell in love with her. He 
 would brood over this, saying, * Alas ! would she 
 were not my sister, that I might marry her.' 
 Now the boy was a valiant youth, such that the 
 king's emirs and vezirs applauded his valour ; 
 and he overcame the king's enemies who were 
 round about, and made them subject to his 
 father ; and no one could stand before his 
 sword. The king had betrothed his daughter 
 to another king's son, and when the time was 
 come they wished to take the girl from the king. 
 And the king commanded that they should make 
 ready ; and thereupon the youth, to make clear 
 what was in his heart, asked a legist this ques- 
 tion, ' If a person have a garden and the fruit of 
 that garden ripen, should that person eat it or 
 another ?' The legist replied, * It were better 
 that person should eat it than another.' Now 
 the prince had a learned companion, and that 
 companion knew the prince's desire ; for science 
 is of three kinds : one the science of the Faith, 
 another the science of physiognomy, and another 
 the science of the body ; but unless there be the 
 science of physiognomy, other science avails not. 
 Straightway that companion said, ' O prince, if 
 there be in that garden you ask of, a fruit for- 
 bidden by God Most High, it were better 
 that the owner eat it not ; but if God Most 
 
90 HISTORY OF THE PORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 High have not forbidden it, then is it lawful for 
 that person to eat it.' Quoth the prince, 'Thou 
 knowest not as much as a legist ; yon man is a 
 legist ; I look to his decision/ And he arose 
 and went to his sister's palace, and that hour he 
 took his sister and went forth the city, and made 
 for another city. Then the slave-girls with great 
 crying informed the king, and thereupon the 
 king's senses forsook him, and he commanded, 
 'Let the soldiers forthwith mount their horses and 
 pursue the youth and seize him.' Straightway the 
 soldiers mounted and went after the youth ; and 
 the king said, 'From the low born fidelity comes 
 not;' and he repented him of his having taken him 
 to son. The king and the soldiers appeared 
 behind the youth, and the latter sprang into a 
 hiding-place. And while the king and the 
 soldiers were passing he slew the king from 
 that hiding-place ; and when the soldiers saw 
 that the king was slain they each one fled in a 
 different direction, and were scattered in con- 
 fusion. And the youth took the girl and went 
 to a city and took a house therein, and made her 
 his wife ; and he adopted the whole of what 
 had been his father's business, and turned 
 robber." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story, for 
 that thou mayst know that the desire of this 
 
HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 91 
 
 degenerate youth is to kill his father as that 
 low born one slew his, and even as that youth 
 took his sister does this one wish to take his 
 mother ; the rest the king knows." When the 
 king heard this strange thing from the lady, he 
 said, " On the morrow will I slay him." And 
 they went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king went and sat 
 upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be 
 brought and commanded the executioner, "Smite 
 off his head." Whereupom the Seventh Vezir 
 came forward and said, " O king of the world, 
 first look to the end of every business thou 
 undertakest and then act accordingly ; for on 
 the day of battle it is needful first to think of 
 the way of retreat and then to set to, so that 
 when it is ' or fate or state/ one may save 
 his life. They have said, ' On the day of 
 strife be not far from the nobles : in the chase 
 and the palace go not near them ;' and ' He is 
 profitable in the councils of a king, who in the 
 day of security looks to the matters of war and 
 the provision of weapons, and stints not money 
 to the troops that these on the day of battle 
 may be lavish with their lives in the king's 
 cause/ It is incumbent on the king that he 
 kill those who flee when they see the enemy 
 (and after that the foes) ; for they resemble those 
 
92 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 who give up a stronghold to the adversary. And 
 they have said that a good scribe and a man 
 who knows the science of the sword are very 
 needful for a king ; for with the pen is wealth 
 collected, and with the sword are countries taken. 
 Mayhap the king has not heard the story of a 
 certain king and a vezir." The king said, " Tell 
 on, let us hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
 THE SEVENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " There was in the palace of the world a king 
 and he had two vezirs, one of whom was wise 
 and learned and one of whom was foolish and 
 ignorant. On the king's taking counsel of them 
 concerning the management of the affairs of the 
 state, the ignorant vezir said, * O king, expend 
 not money, give not money to the soldiers and 
 warriors, or if thou give, give little ; and let him 
 who will stay, stay ; and let him who will not 
 stay, go. When thou hast money on the battle- 
 day, many will be soldiers to thee : where the 
 honey is, there surely come the flies.' His words 
 seemed good to the king, who one day said to 
 the learned vezir, ' Get me a few men who will 
 be content with little pay.' On the vezir's re- 
 plying, ' Men without pay are not to be had,' 
 the king said, ' I shall have money when any- 
 thing befalls, and shall find many men.' Quoth 
 
THE SEVENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 93 
 
 the vezir, ' So be it, I shall find men for the king 
 who will take no pay and stir not day or night 
 from his gate.' The king was glad and said, 
 * Get them, let us see.' The vezir went and 
 found a painter and brought him, and he painted 
 a large room in the palace so that the four walls 
 of that room were covered with pictured figures of 
 men, and he decked all the figures with arms and 
 implements of war, he depicted a mounted and 
 armed host standing rank on rank. When it 
 was completed the vezir called the king, and 
 the king arose and went with him to that wall 
 of pictures, and he showed the king the whole 
 of them. The king looked and said, 'What 
 are these pictures ? why hast thou ranged these 
 here rank on rank?' The vezir replied, 'O 
 king, thou desiredst of me men without pay ; 
 lo, these youths want no pay ; so they will serve 
 the king.' The king said, * There is no life in 
 these ; how can they serve ?' The vezir an- / 
 swered, * O king, if lifeless pictures will not 
 serve, no more will payless soldiers serve. Fief 
 and pay are as the life of the soldier ; when 
 thou givest not a man his fief or pay, it is as 
 though thou tookest away his life ; judge if a 
 lifeless man could serve.' Again, ' O king, if a 
 paid army be not needful for thee, these will 
 suffice ; but living men require to eat and drink. 
 
94 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 If they get no pay they will not sacrifice their 
 lives in the cause of the king or face the enemy ; 
 but they will hate the king and turn from him 
 and evil will befall the king ; but if the king be 
 bountiful they will obey. Thus a noble had a 
 young steward who used to serve him. One 
 day the noble asked the youth his name. He 
 replied, " God on thee, my name is Wittol." 
 Said the noble, " Can anyone be so called ?" 
 The youth answered, " Anyhow it is my nick- 
 name, never mind." So they used to call that 
 youth Wittol so long as he was at that noble's 
 gate. One day he went from that noble's gate 
 to another's. One day that noble in whose ser- 
 vice he had been happened to meet him, when 
 he cried out, " Ho Wittol, how art thou ?" The 
 youth replied, " O noble, say not so again, or thou 
 shalt see." The noble said, "My life, thou didst 
 tell me Wittol was thy name ; why art thou now 
 angered ?" The youth answered, " Then did I 
 serve thee, and thou bestowedest on me worlds 
 of bounties, so though thou calledst me Wittol, 
 it offended me not ; but now I never get a 
 favour from this man that he should call me so." 
 Quoth the noble, " He who called thee so just 
 now was I, not he ; yet thou wast angered with 
 me." The youth replied, " God forbid I should 
 be angered with thee ; but if to-morrow the 
 
THE SEVENTH VEZIR' S STORY. 95 
 
 other were to hear that word from thee, he too 
 would wish to use it ; now was I angered lest 
 he should call me so." : Then that vezir laid a 
 dish of honey before the king ; as it was night 
 no flies came to it. And the vezir said, ' They 
 say that where there is honey, thither will the flies 
 surely flock ; lo, here is honey, where are the 
 flies ?' Quoth the king, ' It is night, therefore 
 they come not/ * The vezir said, ' My king, it 
 is necessary to give soldiers money at the proper 
 time ; for bringing out money on the battle-day 
 is like bringing out honey at night/ When the 
 king heard these words from the vezir he was 
 ashamed ; but he greatly applauded the vezir, 
 and thenceforth did whatsoever he advised." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 thou mayst know that attendants and servants 
 are needful for kings, and that masters of device 
 and resource are requisite. Kings should take 
 counsel of their vezirs in such matters that no 
 defect may mar their fortune in the world or 
 the Hereafter. Now the prince is thy support 
 and asylum, and all the folk, high and low, ask 
 why he is fettered with the bonds of woe and a 
 prisoner of the dungeon. And slaying the 
 prince were like slaying the vezirs and all the 
 world. Who would sit on the throne after thee 
 that should know our circumstances ? All the 
 
96 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 grandees of the empire and lords of the state 
 and noble seyyids would be cast down, and 
 scattered to the winds and ruined. This woman 
 is a woman lacking in religion and understand- 
 ing ; to give ear to and thus countenance those 
 who are so lacking is not worthy our king." 
 And he kissed the ground and begged for 
 the prince. So the king sent him to the prison. 
 Having returned from the chase, the king 
 went to the palace, and the lady rose to greet 
 him, and they passed on and sat down. After 
 the repast the lady again asked for news of the 
 youth. The king answered, " To-day too I 
 have sent him to the prison." The lady said, 
 " Thou art a wise and just king ; we will talk 
 together this night and see whether or no by 
 principle, by the Law, and by custom, thou dost 
 sin in, thus vexing my heart. O king, there are 
 many rights between husband and wife. First, 
 the husband's right over the wife is this, that 
 if he have a hurt in the bottom of his tooth, she 
 must lick that hurt and cleanse his tooth ;* 
 another is, if his heart desire solacement of love, 
 she must, even though kneading dough with 
 tucked-up sleeves, submit to him, ere she wash 
 her hands. But the wife's right over the hus- 
 
 * i.e. tend him in every illness, whatever it may be, to the 
 best of her power. 
 
 
THE LADY'S SEVENTH STORY. 97 
 
 band is ; first, that he leave her not naked or 
 hungry or bid her work out of doors, and that 
 he vex not her heart and she innocent, and that 
 he deny her not money. For women's words 
 and skirts are short, and they are slaves and 
 helpless before men, therefore should the latter 
 cherish them and heed not though they be some- 
 times froward, but caress them. And they have 
 said that it is better to give a woman a handful 
 of words than a skirtful of money. Mayhap 
 the king has not heard the story of the sparrow 
 and his mate." The king said, " Relate it, let 
 us hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S SEVENTH STORY. 
 
 " There was in the blessed service of Saint 
 Solomon (peace on him!) a little sparrow whose 
 many tricks and gambols were ever pleasing to 
 Saint Solomon. One day Saint Solomon saw 
 not the sparrow by him, and he commanded the 
 simurgh* bird to go fetch the sparrow wherever 
 he might find him. For a long time the sparrow 
 had not gone to his mate, and his mate had up- 
 braided him, saying, ' For this long time thou 
 
 * A fabulous bird of great size. Solomon, it should be said, 
 according to the Talmudic and Koranic legends, was acquainted 
 with the language of beasts and birds, with whom he used often 
 to converse. 
 
 H 
 
98 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 hast left me and been with Solomon ; dost thou 
 love him more than me, or dost thou fear him ? 
 tell me.' The sparrow answered, * By God, I 
 would not give thee for the world : I am come 
 but once to earth and shall not come again ; I go 
 to Solomon for diversion, I have no dread of 
 him.' While he was talking with many such 
 vaunts and boasts, the simurgh arrived in haste 
 and heard the sparrow bragging and said 
 harshly, ' Up, let us off; Saint Solomon wants 
 thee.' Then the sparrow, being beside his mate, 
 plucked up courage and replied, * Off, begone, I 
 will not go.' The simurgh said, * I will indeed 
 take thee.' The sparrow answered, ' Off with 
 thee, get thee hence, or I will seize thee and rend 
 thee in twain.' Quoth the simurgh, ' Until I 
 take thee with me I will not budge from here.' 
 Yet the sparrow heeded not, and the simurgh 
 waited awhile, but the sparrow would not go. 
 Again said the simurgh to the sparrow, ' O my 
 life, give me an answer.' Quoth the sparrow, ' I 
 tell thee begone from here ; if thou speak again, 
 my heart will bid me do somewhat else ; but no, 
 I will not slay thee. Off, begone, or I will do thee 
 some hurt, and then go to Solomon's palace and 
 smite it with my foot, and overturn it from its 
 foundations and pull it down about his head ; 
 now then, away fool, off, begone the road thou 
 
THE LADY'S SEVENTH STORY. 99 
 
 earnest. Thou chatterest here and sayest not, 
 " This is the sparrow's harem ; he is ill.'" And 
 he gave the simurgh a kick such that the latter 
 knew not where it touched him, but he flew 
 thence and reported the sparrow's words to Saint 
 Solomon. Solomon said, ' When the sparrow 
 spake these words where was he ?' 'His mate 
 was there,' answered the simurgh. Then quoth 
 Solomon (peace on him!), ' There is no harm in 
 one thus boasting and bragging in his own 
 house before his wife. Though every stone of this 
 my palace was raised by the toil of these many 
 demons, still wonder not at his saying when 
 beside his wife that he could shatter it with 
 one foot.' And this was pleasing to Solomon 
 (peace on him!), and when the sparrow came he 
 made him of his boon-companions."* 
 
 " O king, I have told this story for that thou 
 mayst know that one should thus love his wife 
 and vex not her little heart, so that his wife may 
 have nought against him. And God Most High 
 has given thee understanding; weigh my words 
 in the balance of understanding, and try them on 
 the touchstone of the heart ; if they stand not the 
 test, I shall speak no more. I tell thee that this 
 youth has stretched forth his hand to me and 
 
 * See Appendix B, Note VI. 
 H 2 
 
loo HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIR S. 
 
 has been treacherous, and has moreover pur- 
 posed against thy life ; can there be greater 
 crimes than these ? O king, beware, be not neg- 
 ligent in this matter; for there is fear and danger 
 for thy life and kingdom." When the king heard 
 these beguiling words of the lady he said, " On 
 the morrow will I make an end of his affair." 
 And they went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king sat upon his 
 throne and commanded the executioner that he 
 brought the youth, and he said, " Smite off his 
 head." Whereupon the Eighth Vezir came for- 
 ward and said, " O king of the world, slay not 
 the prince on the woman's word. One should 
 be forgiving; above all, as no man is exempt 
 from sin ; for they have said that humanity is 
 composed of forgetfulness. A man falls some- 
 times through the intrigues of an enemy and 
 sometimes through the maleficence of the cruel 
 Sphere ; or else he attains prosperity and falls 
 into adversity. Mayhap the king has not heard 
 the story of a certain vezir." The king said, 
 " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
 THE EIGHTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " Of old time there was a king, and he had an 
 experienced and learned vezir. One day the 
 latter went to the bath, and while he was sitting 
 
THE EIGHTH VEZIR S STQKV. T oi 
 
 beside the basin, his ring fell from his finger into 
 the water ; and it sank not 'm tKe water, but 
 floated on the surface. Whenever the vezir saw y 
 this he sent men to his house and treasury, say- 
 ing, ' Go quickly, and hide in a certain place 
 whatsoever I have in the treasury of gold and 
 silver or rubies and jewels ; for now is the king 
 about to seize me.' Then they went and acted 
 according to his order. And as the vezir was 
 coming out from the bath, men from the king 
 arrived and seized him ; and they put him in 
 prison and took possession of whatever he had 
 in his house and treasury. One day, after the 
 vezir had been imprisoned for a certain time, his 
 heart longed for a conserve of pomegranate pips, v 
 and he ordered the gaoler, saying, ' Make me 
 ready a conserve and bring it, for my heart doth 
 greatly desire it/ Now the king had forbidden 
 that dish, and the gaoler was afraid and made it 
 not. And the vezir's desire increased and he 
 begged it of all who came to him, but no one 
 made it and brought it through fear of the king. 
 Brief, the vezir lay for a year in prison and 
 longed for that dish, but no one found means 
 to bring him it. One day the gaoler made 
 shift to cook that dish and bring it to the vezir. 
 As soon as the vezir saw it he was glad ; and 
 they put it before him, but ere he had stretched 
 
las' A JS6[t1)fp*0& THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 /plityhj^:hanxi:tO;it,'.tWo mice, that were struggling 
 * with* ea'c'h'ofhef ''above, fell into the dish, and the 
 food became unclean. Thereupon the vezir said, 
 4 It is good ;' and he arose and commanded his 
 servants, saying, * Go, furnish the mansion, put 
 that wealth you hid back into its proper place ; 
 my king is about to take me from prison and 
 make me vezir.' Then his retainers went and 
 did as he had commanded. Hereupon came a 
 man from the king who took the vezir from the 
 prison and brought him before the king. Then 
 said the king to comfort the vezir's heart, ' I put 
 thee in prison seemingly to afflict thee ; but 
 really that thou mightest know, from experienc- 
 ing imprisonment, speedily to intercede for the 
 men whom I cast into gaol.' Quoth the vezir, 
 ' Nearness to a sultan is a burning fire : whatso- 
 ever conduct be observed toward me by the king 
 is pleasant teaching.' The king was pleased and 
 commanded that they brought a robe of honour, 
 and he put it on him and made him again vezir. 
 Then when the vezir was come to his mansion 
 his retainers and others asked him, saying, 
 ' Whence knewest thou of the king's being about 
 to imprison thee and seize thy wealth, and 
 whence knewest thou of his being about to take 
 thee out and make thee vezir ?' The vezir re- 
 plied, * While in the bath my ring fell into the 
 
THE EIGHTH VEZIR'S STORY. 103 
 
 water and sank not, so I knew that my fortune 
 had reached its perfection, and that what follows 
 every perfection is declension, therefore did I so 
 command ; and for a whole year, while I was in 
 prison, I longed for a dish of pomegranate pips, 
 at length I got it, and mice polluted it so that I 
 could not eat it, so I knew that my misfortune 
 was complete and that my former estate was 
 returned. And I was glad.'" 
 
 "Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 the king may likewise know that every perfec- 
 tion has its declension. Until now the prince 
 and the vezirs were safe and esteemed before 
 the king. Now he knows not in what malefic 
 sign our stars may be imprisoned. A woman 
 has rendered us despicable before the king and 
 has bound him about with craft and wiles, so 
 that these many learned and sagacious vezirs are 
 impotent against her incitements; even as it 
 is clear that when a fool throws a stone down 
 a well a wise man is powerless to get it up again. 
 O king, haste not in this affair; too late repentance 
 profits not; for the prince is like a young bird 
 that can neither fly nor flee, grant him a few 
 days' respite, haply this difficulty may be solved; 
 and there is a reason for his not speaking. He 
 is ever as a prisoner in thy hand ; afterward, if 
 thou will, kill him; if thou will, free him." And 
 
104 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 he kissed the ground and begged for the prince. 
 When the king heard this story from the vezir 
 the fire that was in his heart was increased ten- 
 fold and the tears poured from his eyes ; and 
 he sent the prince to the prison and mounted 
 for the chase with his own cares. 
 
 When the king returned he entered the 
 palace, and the lady rose to greet him, and 
 they sat down. After the repast the lady 
 asked for news of the youth. The king said, 
 " To-day too such an one of my vezirs made in- 
 tercession for him, and I sent him to the prison." 
 Quoth the lady, " O king, I have given thee 
 this much counsel, and it has produced no effect 
 upon thee. It is as though a physician treated 
 a sick man, and the treatment was without 
 result, and that physician was powerless and 
 attempted no other treatment, but left off ; for if 
 he treated that sick man again, he would kill 
 him: Now, I too am powerless to speak to 
 thee. I should say, ' I will speak no more nor 
 waste my breath in vain ;' still my heart pities 
 thee, for the king's realm and life will be 
 destroyed. My head, too, will fall ; for that I am 
 in the same peril with the king do I speak. It 
 is even as once when they cut off a person's 
 hand and he uttered no sound ; afterward he 
 saw someone whose hand had been cut off, and 
 
THE LADY'S EIGHTH STORY. 105 
 
 he wailed aloud and wept. Those who were 
 present wondered and asked, saying, * O man, 
 when thy hand was cut off thou didst not 
 weep ; why weepest thou now ?' That person 
 answered, * By God, then, when they cut off my 
 hand, I saw that there was not among you one 
 who had met the like, and I said in myself that 
 if I wept each of you would speak ill of me, for 
 ye knew not the pain of it ; now that I have 
 found a companion in my plight do I weep, for 
 he knows the anguish I have suffered/ Now, 
 O king, thy head and my head are like to fall ; 
 if the king know not my plight, who should 
 know it ? Mayhap my king has not heard the 
 story of the three princes and the cadi." The king 
 said, " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S EIGHTH STORY. 
 
 "In the palace of the world there was a king 
 and he had three sons. One day this king laid 
 his head on the pillow of death and called those 
 sons to his side, and spake privately with them. 
 He said, * In such and such a corner of the 
 palace I have hidden a vase full of pearls and 
 jewels and diverse gems ; when I am dead do 
 ye wash me well and bury me, then go and 
 take that vase from its place and divide its 
 contents.' The king lay for three days, and 
 
io6 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 on the fourth day he drained the wine of death 
 and set forth for the Abiding Home. When 
 the princes had buried their father according to 
 his injunctions, they came together and went 
 and beheld that in the place of those jewels the 
 winds blew. Now the princes began to dispute, 
 and they said, * Our father told this to us three 
 in private, this trick has been played by one of 
 us/ And the three of them went to the cadi, 
 and told their complaint. The cadi listened 
 and then said to them, * Come, I will tell you a 
 story, and after that I will settle your dispute. 
 Once, in a certain city, a youth and a girl loved 
 each other, and that girl was betrothed to 
 another youth. When the lover was alone 
 with that girl he said, " O my life, now thou 
 comest to me and I am happy with thee ; to- 
 morrow when thou art the bride of thy be- 
 trothed, how will be my plight ?" The girl 
 said, "My master, do not grieve; that night when 
 I am bride, until I have come to thee and seen 
 thee, I will not give the bridegroom his desire." 
 And they made a pact to that end. Brief, 
 when the bridal night arrived, the girl and the 
 youth went apart ; and when all the people 
 were dispersed and the place was clear of 
 others, the girl told the bridegroom of the pact 
 between her and the stricken lover, and be- 
 
THE LADY'S EIGHTH STORY. 107 
 
 sought leave to fulfil it. Whenever the bride- 
 groom heard these words from the bride he 
 said, " Go, fulii thy plight and come again in 
 safety." So the bride went forth, but while on 
 the road she met a robber. The robber looked 
 at her attentively, and saw that she was a 
 beautiful girl like the moon of fourteen nights , 
 never in his life had he seen such a girl, and 
 upon her was endless gold, and she was 
 covered with diverse jewels such as cannot be 
 described. Thereupon the bridle of choice )( 
 slipped from the robber's hands ; and as the 
 hungry wolf springs upon the sheep, so did the 
 robber spring upon that girl. Straightway the 
 girl began to sigh, and the robber felt pity and 
 questioned her. So the bride related to the 
 robber her story from its beginning to its end, 
 whereupon the robber exclaimed, " That is no 
 common generosity ! nor shall I do any hurt or 
 evil thing to her." Then said he to the girl, 
 " Come, I will take thee to thy lover." And 
 he took her and led to her lover's door and 
 said, " Now go in and be with thy lover." 
 Then the girl knocked at the door, and that 
 youth, who lay sighing, heard the knocking and 
 went with haste and said, " Who is that ?" 
 The girl answered, " Open the door ; lo, I have 
 kept my plight, nor have I broken it, I am 
 
io8 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 come to thee." The youth opened the door 
 and came to the girl and said, " O my life, my 
 mistress, welcome, and fair welco^me ! how hast 
 thou done it ?" She replied, " The folk assem- 
 bled and gave me to the bridegroom, then all 
 dispersed and each went his way. And I ex- 
 plained my case to the bridegroom and he gave 
 me leave. While on the road I met a robber, 
 and that robber wished to stretch forth his 
 hand to me, but I wept and told him of my 
 plight with thee, and he had pity and brought 
 me to the door and left me, and has gone 
 away." When the youth heard these things 
 from the girl he said, " Since the bridegroom is 
 thus generous, and has given thee leave to 
 fulfil thy plight with me, and sent thee to me, 
 there were no generosity in me did I stretch 
 forth my hand to thee and deal treacherously ; 
 from this day be thou my sister ; go, return to thy 
 husband." And he sent her off. When the 
 girl went out she saw that robber standing by 
 the door ; and he walked in front of her, and 
 conducted her to the bridegroom's door. And 
 the girl went in, and the robber departed to his 
 own affairs. While the bridegroom was mar- 
 velling the bride entered, and the bridegroom 
 leaped up and took the bride's hands in his, 
 and they sat upon the bed. And the bride- 
 
THE LADY'S EIGHTH STORY. 109 
 
 groom turned and asked her news of the bride ; 
 and she told all her adventures from their 
 beginning to their end. And the bridegroom 
 was pleased,* and they both attained their de- 
 sire. God grant to all of us our desire. 
 Amen.' Then quoth the cadi, 'O my sons, 
 which of those showed manliness and gene- 
 rosity in this matter ?' The eldest youth said, 
 ' The bridegroom, who, while she was his 
 lawful bride, and when he had spent thus much 
 upon her, and was about to gain his desire, gave 
 the girl leave. What excellent generosity did 
 he display !' The middle youth said, * The 
 generosity was that lover's, who, while there 
 was so much love between them, had patience 
 when they were alone in the night and she so 
 fair of form and in such splendid dress, and 
 sent her back. What excellent generosity : can 
 there be greater than this !' Then asked he of the 
 youngest boy, 'O you, what say you ?' Quoth he, 
 ' O ye, what say ye ? when one hunting in the 
 night met thus fair a beauty, a torment of the 
 world, a fresh rose ; above all, laden with these 
 many jewels, and yet coveted her not but took 
 her to her place. What excellent patience, what 
 excellent generosity !' When the cadi heard 
 
 * Or, as the text has it, Guwegi baqdi qizin bakiriyeti 
 bozilmamish. 
 
i io HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 these words of the youngest boy he said, * O 
 prince, the jewels are with thee ; for the lover 
 praised the lover ; and the trustful, the trustful ; 
 and the robber, the robber.' The prince was 
 unable to deny it, and he took the jewels from 
 his breast and laid them before the cadi."* 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for 
 that thou mayst know that in that I am true I 
 would aid my king ; and that the vezirs, in that 
 they are traitors, would aid the traitor prince. 
 And they are forty men, each one of them a 
 wonder of the world, while as for me, I am but 
 one and a woman, lacking in understanding : the 
 rest the king knows." When the king heard 
 these enticing and beguiling words of the lady 
 he said, " Grieve not, to-morrow will I kill 
 him/' And they went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king sat upon his 
 throne and thus commanded the executioner, 
 " Smite off the head of that traitor youth." 
 Whereupon the Ninth Vezir came forward and 
 said, " O king of the world, beware, slay not thy 
 son on the woman's word, and be not heedless 
 of the import of this verse which God Most 
 High hath spoken in His Word: 'And the 
 stiflers of wrath, and the pardoners of men ; 
 
 * See Appendix B, Note VII. 
 
THE NINTH VEZIRS STORY. in 
 
 and God loveth the beneficent : '* that is they 
 are His peculiar servants. And the Holy 
 Apostle (peace on him !) hath said, ' Whoso 
 bridleth his anger, he having power to avenge, 
 God will call him on the Resurrection-Day 
 over the heads of the creatures that He may 
 give him to choose from the houris which he 
 pleaseth : ' that is he shall surely enter Paradise. 
 Let one pardon him who has wronged him and 
 forgive his servants their misdeeds, that God 
 Most High may pardon him and be beneficent 
 to him ; even as saith the Apostle (peace on 
 him !) ' The proclaimer shall proclaim on the 
 Resurrection- Day : Where are they whose 
 reward is (incumbent) upon God : none shall 
 rise save him who hath forgiven.' Mayhap the 
 king has not heard the story of Harun-er- 
 Reshidf and the slave-girl." The king said, 
 " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
 THE NINTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " Once the Khalif Harun-er-Reshid sat upon 
 his throne of estate ; and the people of the city 
 of Baghdad were late in coming to salute him. 
 Therefore was the Khalif exceeding wroth, 
 
 * Koran, iii. 128. 
 
 t The celebrated Khalif of Baghdad, and hero of so many of 
 the stories in the Thousand and One Nights. 
 
112 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 and he thus commanded the chamberlains, 
 * Whoso comes now do ye turn off and cast into 
 prison.' And they seized and cast into prison 
 all of the grandees of the city who came. For 
 three days the Khalif went not out, neither 
 spake with anyone; but sat full of fury : who 
 could have dared to address a word to him ? 
 While in this state he desired to eat, and he 
 ordered one of the slave-girls to bring food. 
 She brought it before him, but while laying 
 down the dish, she was careless and spilt some 
 part of it over the Khalif. Forthwith the 
 Khalif rose in wrath and was about to hew the 
 girl in pieces, when she said, ' O Khalif, God 
 Most High saith in His Glorious Word, " And 
 the stiflers of wrath." ' * Straightway the 
 Khalif s wrath was calmed. Again saith the 
 slave -girl, " ' And the pardoners of men." ' * 
 Quoth the Khalif, 1 1 have forgiven the crimes 
 of all the criminals who may be in prison.' 
 Again said the slave-girl, ' " And God loveth 
 the beneficent."' * Quoth the Khalif, ' God 
 be witness that I have with my own wealth 
 freed thee and as many un freed male and 
 female slaves as I have, and that this day I 
 have for the love of God given the half of all 
 
 * Koran, iii. 128. 
 
THE NINTH VEZIRS STORY. 113 
 
 my wealth to the poor in alms.' After that 
 he let bring into his presence all the prisoners 
 who were in the gaol and begged absolution 
 of them ; and as he had attained to the import 
 of that noble verse, he put on each of them a 
 robe of honour, and devoted himself to justice 
 and equity. And now whoso mentions him 
 doth add, * The mercy of God on him !' "* 
 
 " O king, I have told this story for that I 
 have seen this day that thy wrath was great, 
 I would that thou pardon the prince and grant 
 
 him his life and so do a meritorious deed ; and 
 
 
 
 in this matter, beyond doubt and beyond un- 
 certainty, thou shalt become deserving of the 
 mercy and Paradise of God Most High." And 
 he kissed the ground and begged for the 
 prince. When the king heard this story from 
 the vezir he sent the youth to the prison and 
 mounted for the chase. 
 
 That day he found no game and returned 
 in wrath to the palace. Again the lady rose 
 to greet him and they sat down. After the 
 repast the lady began to speak of the youth. 
 The king said, " Look, my mistress, now all 
 is over, and my prince is still upon thy 
 
 * D'Herbelot relates the same story in his Bibliotheque 
 Orientale, but substitutes Hasan son of 'All, the Prophet's son- 
 in-law, for Harun-er-Reshid. 
 
114 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 tongue ; to-day too one of my vezirs begged for 
 him and I sent him to the prison." The lady 
 saw that the king was vexed and said, " My 
 king, be kind, be not vexed with me ; for I 
 know that soon no good will befall thee from 
 that youth, for he is very covetous of wealth 
 and kingship, and the covetous is ever balked. 
 I saw him without understanding and without 
 discretion ; he knows neither his words nor 
 himself; he is even as the sons of that king 
 who took the metaphorical words of their father 
 as literal, and at length lost what wealth was in 
 their hands. Mayhap my king has not heard 
 that story." The king said, " Tell on, let us 
 hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S NINTH STORY. 
 
 " There was in the palace of the world a 
 great king, and he had three sons. One day 
 that king laid his head upon the pillow of 
 death and called his sons before him and said, 
 ' O my sons, my life has reached its end ; I have 
 counsel to give you, which when I am dead do 
 ye observe.' His sons replied, ' On our heads 
 be it ; speak, father/ To his eldest son he 
 said, * Build thou a house in every city/ And 
 to his middle son, ' Marry thou a virgin every 
 night.' And to his youngest son, ' Whenever 
 
THE LADY'S NINTH STORY. 115 
 
 thou eatest, eat honey and butter.' The king 
 lived not long after giving these injunctions, 
 but died. The eldest son fell to building a 
 house in every city ; the middle son married a 
 virgin every night, and on the morrow gave 
 her her dower and sent her to her father's 
 house ; and the youngest son, whenever he ate, 
 mixed honey and butter and ate it. A long 
 time passed on this wise ; we may say that 
 though the middle and the youngest sons spent 
 money, they at least had pleasure for it ; but 
 that bewildered and senseless eldest son spent 
 this much money, and if the buildings he raised 
 were fit for habitation, still they pointed to 
 folly. One day a wise man asked them, ' Why 
 do ye thus ?' The princes answered, 'By God, 
 our father thus enjoined us.' The wise man 
 said, * Your father's injunctions were not thus, 
 but ye have not understood his riddles. And 
 there is a tale suitable to this your plight, I 
 will tell it you ; afterward I will teach you 
 your father's riddles.' The princes said, 
 4 Pray do so.' Quoth the wise man, 'Once 
 there was a king who always exacted tribute 
 from the infidels. One day those infidels 
 assembled their monks and said, "Let us find 
 some trick which the king will be unable to 
 understand, that thereby we may escape from 
 
 I 2 
 
ii6 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 this tribute : now do ye each think of some 
 plan." Thereupon they dispersed and went 
 away. After a time a monk came to the 
 infidel who was their chief and said, " I shall 
 go to them and put to them a question, and 
 if they can answer it we will give them 
 tribute." So the unbelieving king gave that 
 monk a little money and sent him. One day 
 he entered the realms of Islam, and the event 
 was reported to the king, who said, " Our 
 learned men of the Faith will surely answer 
 an infidel without the Faith ; let him come." 
 They brought him into the presence of the 
 king ; and the king straightway assembled 
 his doctors and pious men and grandees. 
 Then the king said, " O monk, now what is 
 thy question ; speak, let us see ? " The monk 
 first opened the five fingers of his hand and 
 held the palm opposite the folk, then he let 
 the five fingers droop downward, and said, 
 " What means that ? know ye ? " And all the 
 doctors were silent and began to ponder, and 
 they reflected, saying, " What riddles can these 
 riddles be ? There is no such thing in the 
 Commentaries or the Traditions." Now there 
 was there a learned wanderer, and forthwith 
 he came forward and asked leave of the king 
 that he might answer. The king gladly gave 
 
THE LADY'S NINTH STORY. 117 
 
 leave ; then that wanderer came forward and 
 said to the monk, " What is thy question ? 
 what need for the doctors ? poor I can 
 answer." Then the monk came forward and 
 opened his hand and held it so before the 
 deryish ; straightway the dervish closed his fist 
 and held it opposite the monk. Then the monk 
 let his five fingers droop downward ; the dervish 
 opened his fist and held his five fingers upward. 
 When the monk saw these signs of the dervish, 
 he said, " That is the answer," and gave up 
 the money he had brought. But the king 
 knew not what these riddles meant, and he 
 took the dervish apart and asked him. The 
 dervish replied, " When he opened his fingers 
 and held his hand so to me, it meant, 'now I 
 strike thee so on the face ;' so I showed him 
 my fist, which meant, ' I strike thy throat with 
 my fist ;' he turned and let his fingers droop 
 downward, which meant, ' thou dost so, then I 
 strike lower and seize thy throat with my 
 hand ;' and my raising my fingers upward meant, 
 ' if thou seekest to seize my throat, I too shall 
 grasp thy throat from underneath ;' so we 
 fought with one another by signs." Then the 
 king called the monk and said, " Thou madest 
 signs with the dervish, but what meant those 
 signs ?" The monk replied, " I held my five 
 
u8 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 fingers opposite him, that meant, ' the five times 
 ye do worship, is it right ?' The dervish pre- 
 sented his fist, which meant, * it is right.' Then 
 I held my fingers downward, which meant, 
 1 why does the rain come down from heaven ? ' 
 The dervish held his fingers upward, which 
 meant, * the rain falls down from heaven that 
 the grass may spring up from the earth.' Now 
 such are the answers to those questions in our 
 books." Then he returned to his country. 
 And the king knew that the dervish had 
 not understood the monk's riddles ; but the 
 king was well pleased for that he had done 
 what was suitable ; and he bestowed on the 
 dervish a portion of the money which the 
 monk had left. O princes, ye have not under- 
 stood your father's riddles and ye have wasted 
 your wealth in vain.' The princes said, ' What 
 meant our father's riddles ?' He replied, 
 4 Firstly, when he said, " Build thou a house 
 in every city," he meant, " gain thou a friend in 
 every city, so that when thou goest to a city the 
 house of the friend thou hast gained may be 
 thine." Secondly, when he said, " Embrace 
 thou a virgin whenever thou embracest," he 
 meant, " be moderate in thy pleasures that thou 
 mayst enjoy them the more." Thirdly, when 
 he said, " Whenever thou eatest, eat honey and 
 
THE LADY'S NINTH STORY. 119 
 
 butter," he meant, " never when thou eatest, eat 
 to repletion ; but eat so that if it be but dry 
 bread thou eatest, it will be to thee as honey 
 and butter." When the princes heard the 
 words of the wise dervish they knew that their 
 father's signs to them were so, and not that 
 which they had done ; and they left off doing 
 those things." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for 
 that with youths is no discretion, but in them 
 ignorance and heedlessness abound. Though 
 thou through understanding have compassion 
 on him, yet will he have none on thee ; it will 
 be even as when one day Saint Bayezld of 
 Bestam* saw a mangy dog, and through pity 
 took it and laid it in a place and tended it 
 many days till it became well, whereon it bit 
 his foot. Bayezld said, ' O dog, this is the 
 return for the kindness I did thee that thou 
 bitest me.' God Most High gave speech to 
 that dog, and it said, * O Bayezld, is not the 
 proverb well known, " A man acts as a man ; a | 
 dog, as a dog " ? ' Methinks, O king, that in 
 that youth must be an evil vein : for if kindness 
 be to kindness, never so long as he lived could 
 
 * Bayezld of Bestam was a famous saint who, according to 
 Ibn-Khallikan, died in 261 or 264 (A.D. 875 or 878). 
 
120 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 that unworthy one have cast on me an envious 
 glance ; above all, never could he have sought 
 to slay my king, his father, the source of his 
 being. I, where am I ? Take warning." 
 And she incited the king with very many evil 
 words, so that he was afraid and said, " Grieve 
 not, to-morrow will I slay him." And they 
 went to bed, and that night was grievous to the 
 king. 
 
 Scarce was it morning and had the sun 
 shown forth the riddle of the whiteness of 
 dawn, like as that dervish showed to the king's 
 sons the riddles of their father, and illumined 
 the world with light, ere the king sat upon 
 his throne and caused the youth to be brought 
 and ordered the executioner, " Smite off his 
 head." Then the Tenth Vezir came forward 
 and said, " O king of the world, every king 
 desires that whithersoever he go he may 
 triumph and conquer ; and that the earth be 
 subject to his hand ; and that whoso comes to 
 his gate hoping, may find that which he seeks ; 
 and that the heart of none be vexed. When 
 in the country of a king despairing hearts are 
 many, that host of despairing hearts gathers 
 _ together and utterly destroys another gay host. 
 Thus it becomes the greatness and glory of 
 kings, that when they see a beast under a 
 
HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 121 
 
 heavy load they have compassion on that beast ; 
 even as it was when an ass came, dragging itself 
 along, to the chain of the justice of Nushirvan 4 
 the Just* Straightway the king caused it to 
 be brought into his presence, and he saw it to 
 be a lean and worn black ass, whose back 
 was broken, with bearing loads. When the 
 king saw that animal in such plight his heart 
 bled, and he laid his hand on the beast's face 
 and wept full bitterly and said, ' See ye how 
 this poor creature has been oppressed in my 
 kingdom ?' And he called for a physician 
 and said to him, * Go, tend the wounds of this 
 beast, and give it abundance to eat, and wrap 
 round it a good horse-cloth that it be at ease.' 
 Now, it is incumbent on kings that they 
 have compassion on the unhappy and the weak, 
 and pity them, and believe not plotters and 
 liars, nor trust their evil wicked words ; and 
 such folk are very many. Mayhap my king 
 has not heard the story of the king's son of 
 Egypt and the crafty woman." The king 
 said, " Relate it, let us hear." Quoth the 
 vezir, 
 
 * One of the most famous kings of pre-Islamitic Persia, he 
 reigned from A.D. 531 to 579. 
 
122 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 THE TENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 '* In the city of Cairo there was a king and he 
 had two sons. One day he reflected on the doings 
 of the cruel Sphere and saw how the world was 
 without constancy and remained not to king nor 
 yet to beggar, but trod all under foot. At length 
 he bethought him how it would not endure for 
 himself either ; and hetook his younger son and 
 made him apprentice to a master tailor, and said, 
 1 After all, a trade is needful for a man ; and they 
 have said that the least knowledge of a trade is 
 better than a hundred thousand sequins/ So in 
 a short while the prince became a tailor such 
 that there was not in the city of Cairo one who 
 could ply his scissors and needle. One day 
 the king passed to the Abiding Home, and his 
 elder son became king. His brother the tailor, 
 fearing for his head, fled and went to the Ka'ba.* 
 While making the circumambulation,f his foot 
 struck against something hard, he looked and 
 saw a girdle and took it up and bound it round 
 his loins, and continued the circumambulation. 
 After a while he saw a khoja who had a stone 
 in either hand and who was beating his breast 
 
 * The Cubical (House), i.e., the Sacred Temple at Mekka. 
 t One of the ceremonies performed by the pilgrims at Mekka. 
 
THE TENTH VEZIFS STORY. 123 
 
 with these stones and crying, ' Ah woe ! alas ! I 
 had hidden in that girdle all the wealth I have 
 gained from my youth ; whatever Muslim has 
 found it, let him give it me for the love of God 
 and the honour of the Ka'ba, and the half of it 
 shall be lawful for him as his mother's milk/ 
 When the prince saw and heard him he knew 
 that that girdle was his, and he said in his heart, 
 * What has this much wealth and the kingdom 
 of my father done for me ? and what should 
 this do for me ? I shall not let this poor man 
 weep ; I shall give it him/ And he went round 
 and came before the khoja and said, * O khoja, I 
 have found that girdle of thine ; lo, it is round 
 my loins/ The khoja clung fast to the prince, 
 and the prince said, ' What reward wilt thou give 
 me? lo, the girdle is round my loins/ Then the 
 khoja took the prince and brought him to his 
 own tent ; and the prince loosed the girdle from 
 his loins and laid it before the khoja, and the 
 khoja took it and clasped it to his heart. Then 
 he brake the seal and poured out what was in it ; 
 and the prince saw it to be full of precious stones. 
 Tfre khoja divided these stones into three heaps 
 and said, ' O youth, wilt thou take one heap 
 with my good-will, or two without it ? ' The 
 prince replied, * Give me one heap with thy 
 good-will/ Then the khoja divided one of 
 
I2 4 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 those heaps into two and said, * Which of them 
 wilt thou take with my good-will ? ' Again 
 the prince made choice of a heap. At length 
 the khoja said, ' Youth, wouldest thou have 
 these remaining jewels, or wouldest thou that we 
 go and that I pray for thee under the Golden 
 Spout?'* The prince answered, 'Wealth perishes, 
 but prayers endure ; do thou bless me, I have 
 relinquished all these riches.' And they went, 
 and he held up his hands and said to the prince, 
 ' Say thou, "Amen." So the youth raised up 
 his hands and the khoja began to pray. He 
 repeated many prayers in himself, and the prince 
 said, 'Amen/ The khoja drew his hands down 
 his face and said, * O youth, I have prayed much 
 for thee ; now go, and may thy end be good.' 
 The prince went away ; but after a little he 
 thought in himself, 'If I go now to Cairo my 
 brother will kill me, let me go along with this 
 khoja to Baghdad/ So he went back to the 
 khoja and said, ' O khoja, I would go with thee 
 to Baghdad ; take me that I may serve thee on 
 the road/ So the khoja took him ; and the 
 prince was in the khoja's service, and they entered 
 Baghdad and lighted at the khoja's dwelling. 
 
 * For a description of it see Capt. Burton's Pilgrimage, 
 vol. in, p. 164. 
 
THE TENTH VEZIFS STORY. 125 
 
 For some days the prince abode there, then he 
 said to the khoja, * I may not stay here thus 
 idling ; I have a trade, I am a master tailor, if 
 thou hast any tailor friend, pray take me to him 
 that he may give me some work to do/ Now 
 the khoja had a tailor friend, and he straightway 
 took the prince and brought him to the shop of 
 that tailor and commended him to him, and the 
 tailor consented. Then the prince sat down and 
 his master cut out cloth for a robe and gave it 
 him ; now the prince had checkmated the Cairo 
 tailors, where then were those of Baghdad ? 
 The prince sewed that robe and returned it, 
 and the master took it and looked at it and saw 
 that it was a beautiful robe, made so that in all 
 his life he had not seen the like of it, and he 
 said, 'A thousand times well-done, youth/ This 
 news spread among the masters, and they all 
 came to that shop and saw it and admired ; and 
 this prince became very famous in that country. 
 The work in that master's shop was now 
 increased tenfold, and customers in like mea- 
 sure. One day that khoja had a quarrel with 
 his wife, and in the greatness of his heat the 
 words of the triple divorce passed his lips. 
 Then he repented and would have got back 
 his wife, and his wife also was willing. They 
 sought a legal decision, but the mufti said, * It 
 
126 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 may not be without an intermediary.' * The 
 khoja bethought him whom he could get for 
 intermediary when the prince came into his 
 mind, and he said in himself, * That stranger 
 youth is he ; I shall make him intermediary.' 
 So he married the woman to the prince. When 
 it was evening he took him and put him into a 
 dark house with the lady ; but the lady made 
 shift to light a candle, and as soon as she saw 
 the prince she fell in love with him with all her 
 heart. And the prince, as soon as he saw her, 
 fell in love with her with all his heart. Then 
 these two moons came together, and, after 
 making merry, the lady showed the prince 
 sumptuous stuffs, and countless gold, and 
 precious stones, such as the tale and number of 
 them cannot be written, and she said, ' O my 
 life, all this wealth is mine, it is my inheritance 
 from my mother and my father, and all the 
 wealth too that that khoja has is mine ; if 
 thou will not dismiss me to-morrow, but accept 
 me as thy legal wife, all this wealth is thine.' 
 The prince consented to this proposal, and the 
 woman said, ' O youth, when the khoja comes 
 to-morrow he will say, " Come, let us go to the 
 cadi ; " say thou, " Why should we go to the 
 
 * Such as is required by the Muhammedan law in case of a 
 triple divorce- 
 
THE TENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 127 
 
 cadi ?" If he say, " Divorce the woman," do 
 thou reply, " By God, it were shame in us to 
 take a wife and then divorce her." And he 
 will be unable to find any answer thereto/ The 
 prince was glad and accepted the lady's advice. 
 When it was morning the khoja came and 
 knocked at the door, and the prince went forth 
 and kissed the khoja's hand. The khoja 
 said, ' Come, let us go to the cadi ; ' the prince 
 answered, ' Why should we go to the cadi ? ' 
 Quoth the khoja, 'Divorce the woman/ The 
 prince replied, ' By God, it were mighty shame 
 in us to divorce the woman ; I will not divorce 
 her.' The khoja exclaimed, 'Ah youth, what 
 word is that ? I trusted thee, thinking thee an 
 upright youth, why speakest thou thus ? ' The 
 prince answered, ' Is not this which I have 
 said the commandment of God and the word 
 of the Apostle ? ' The khoja looked and saw 
 that there was no help ; he wished to go to the 
 cadi, but the folk said to him, ' Khoja, now that 
 woman is his, she is pleased with him and he 
 is pleased with her, they cannot be divorced by 
 force/ The khoja was filled with grief and 
 said, ' He shall not be questioned concerning 
 what He doth ; ' * and he ceased from trying. 
 
 * Koran, xxi. 23. 
 
128 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 He fell ill from his rage and became bedridden ; 
 then he called the prince and said to him, * Hast 
 thou any knowledge of what I prayed for thee 
 under the Golden Spout ? ' The prince replied, 
 'I know nought of it/ The khoja said, 'Although 
 I would have prayed otherwise, this came upon 
 my tongue : " My God, apportion to this youth 
 my wealth, my sustenance, and my wife." O 
 youth, would I had not taken from thee yon 
 girdle ! O youth, my wife was my existence, 
 now that too is become thine. Now let these 
 sitting here be witnesses that when I am dead 
 all that I possess belongs to thee." Three 
 days afterward he died ; he perished through 
 grief for that scheming woman ; and the prince 
 became possessor of his wealth." * 
 
 " O king, I have told this story for that thou 
 mayst know that fidelity comes not from women, 
 and that their love is not to be trusted. When 
 they cannot help it, they are obedient to their 
 husbands, and, fearing the rod of the law, they 
 wrap their feet in their skirts and sit quiet, other- 
 wise they would ruin the world with craft 
 and trickery. Now, O king, act not on the 
 woman's word." From seven places he per- 
 formed the salutation due to kings, and begged 
 
 * See Appendix B, Note VIII. 
 
HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 129 
 
 for the prince's life. The king heard this story 
 from the vezir, and that day, too, he sent his 
 son to the prison, and went himself to the chase. 
 When it was evening, the king returned from 
 the chase and came to the palace, and the lady 
 rose to greet him, and they sat down. After 
 the repast, the lady brought about an oppor- 
 tunity, and began upon the youth. The king 
 said, "To-day such an one of my vezirs made 
 intercession for him, and I have sent him to the 
 prison." Quoth the lady, " These vezirs are 
 all of them traitors to thee, and they are schemers 
 and plotters. Each of them says words con- 
 cerning me which if he heard, no true man would 
 bear ; a man's wife is equal with his life. All 
 the people marvel at thee, and say thou hast no 
 sense of honour. But these vezirs have be- 
 witched thee. Thy lies, too, are many ; every 
 night thou sayest, ' I will kill this youth ; ' then 
 thou killest him not, and falsifiest thy words. 
 O king, through truth is one acceptable both to 
 God and man. O king, no good will come from 
 a youth like this ; it were better such a son did 
 not remain after thee than that he did remain. 
 Mayhap my king has not heard the story of a 
 certain merchant." The king said, " Tell on ; 
 let us hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
 K 
 
130 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 THE LADY'S TENTH STORY. 
 
 " There was of old time a great merchant, and 
 he had two sons. One day the merchant laid 
 his head on the pillow of death, and he called 
 his sons before him, and brought together some 
 wise persons, and said, ' Muslims, if it please 
 God Most High, these boys will live for many 
 years ; reckon at the rate of a hundred years 
 from to-day, and allow to each of them a daily 
 grant of a thousand aspres, and whatever the 
 sum may amount to, that sum will I give them, 
 that after me they may stand in need of no one 
 till they die, but pass their lives in ease in this 
 transient world/ Then they reckoned up, and 
 he gave them much money ; and a few days 
 afterward he passed to the Abiding Home. The 
 sons buried their father, and then began to waste 
 that money. Their father's friends gave them 
 much advice, but they would not accept it. One 
 of them would enter the shop of a confectioner 
 and buy up all the sweetmeats that were therein, 
 and load porters with them, and take them to 
 the square of the city, and cry out, ' This is 
 spoil ! ' and the folk would scramble for them, 
 and he would laugh. And his business was 
 ever thus. The other youth would buy wine 
 and meat, and enter a ship with some flattering 
 
THE LADY'S TENTH STORY. 131 
 
 buffoons, and eat and drink and make merry ; 
 and when he was drunk he would mix up gold 
 and silver coins before him, and throw them by 
 handfuls into the sea, and their flashing into the 
 water pleased him, and he would laugh. And 
 his business likewise was ever thus. By reason 
 of these follies, the wealth of both of them came 
 to an end in little time, in such wise that they 
 were penniless, so that they sat by the way and 
 begged. At length the merchants, their father's 
 friends, came together, and went to the king 
 and said, * The sons of such and such a mer- 
 chant are fallen a prey to a plight like this ; if 
 they be not disgraced now, to-morrow will our 
 sons also act like them. Do thou now put them 
 to death, for the love of God, that they may be 
 an example, and that others may not act as they.' 
 Then the king commanded that they brought 
 them both into his presence, and the king said 
 to them, ' O unhappy ones, what plight is this 
 plight in which ye are ? Where is the heads- 
 man ? ' And he ordered them to be killed. 
 They said, * O king, be not wroth at our having 
 fallen into this plight, and kill us not ; our father 
 is the cause of our being thus, for he com- 
 mended us not to God Most High, but com- 
 mended us to money ; and the end of the child 
 who is commended to money is thus.' Their 
 
 K 2 
 
132 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 words seemed good to the king, and he said, 
 ' By God, had ye not answered thus, I had cleft 
 ye in twain/ And then he bestowed on each 
 of them a village." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have related this story for 
 that among youths there is nor shame nor 
 honour, neither is there zeal for friend or foe. 
 Beware and beware, be not negligent, ere the 
 youth kill thee do thou kill him, else thou shalt 
 perish." When the king heard this story from 
 the lady he said, " On the morrow will I kill 
 him." And they went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning, and the darkness of 
 night, like the wealth of that merchant, was 
 scattered, the king sat upon his throne and 
 commanded the executioner, saying, " Smite off 
 the youth's head." Then the Eleventh Vezir 
 came forward and said, " O king of the world, 
 hurry not in this affair, and whatsoever thou 
 doest, do according to the command of God 
 and the word of the Apostle ; and the Holy 
 Apostle hath said that when the Resurrection 
 is near, knowledge will vanish and ignorance 
 will increase and the spilling of blood will be 
 oft. O king, leave not the Law, and spill not 
 blood unjustly on thine own account, and pity the 
 innocent ; for they have said that whoso taketh 
 a fallen one by the hand to raise him shall be 
 
THE ELEVENTH VEZIR S STORY. 133 
 
 happy ; but whoso, having the power, raiseth 
 him not shall himself burn in the fire of regret. 
 Mayhap the king has not heard the story of a 
 certain king and a vezir's son." The king 
 said, " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
 THE ELEVENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " Of old time there was a king, and that 
 king had a sage vezir. God Most High had 
 given that vezir a son ; and the people of the 
 world were bewildered at the beauty of that 
 boy. And the king loved him so that he 
 could not endure to be a moment without 
 seeing him, and he never parted from him. So 
 his parents yearned for the boy, but what avail ? 
 they had needs have patience through fear of the 
 king. One day, the king while drunk entered 
 the palace and saw this boy playing with 
 another page, and thereupon was he wroth 
 and he commanded the executioner, ' Smite off 
 the head of this degenerate boy.' And they 
 dragged the boy out. Thereupon word was 
 sent to the vezir, and he came straightway, 
 and crying, * My life ! my son ! ' went up to the 
 headsman and said, ' O headsman, now is the 
 king drunk and senseless and he knows not 
 the words he says ; if thou kill the boy to- 
 night, to-morrow the king will not spare thee ; 
 
134 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 but will kill thee likewise/ The headsman 
 said, ' How should we do ? he said to me, 
 " Quick, smite off his head and bring it." 
 The vezir answered, ' Go to the prison and 
 smite off the head of some man meriting death, 
 and bring it ; at this time the king has not his 
 senses and will believe it/ And he gave the 
 headsman much gold. The headsman took the 
 sequins and was glad, and went forthwith to 
 the prison and smote off the head of a robber 
 and brought it to the king. The king was 
 pleased and gave the headsman a robe of 
 honour. And the vezir took the boy and 
 brought him to his own house and hid him 
 there. When it was morning and the king's 
 senses returned, he asked for the boy, and they 
 said, ' This night thou didst command the 
 executioner that he smote off the boy's head/ 
 As soon as the king heard this he fell senseless 
 and his understanding forsook him. After a 
 while his understanding returned and he sat 
 beating his knees and he fell a- weeping. Then 
 the vezir, feigning not to know, came before the 
 king and said, ' O king, what plight is this ? ' 
 Quoth the king, ' O vezir, where is that source 
 of my life ? where is that spring of my soul ?' 
 The vezir said, * O king, whom meanest thou ? ' 
 The king replied, ' Thy son, who was the joy 
 
THE ELEVENTH VEZIR S STORY. 135 
 
 of my heart.' And he cried and wept beyond 
 control, and the vezir rent his collar and wailed 
 and lamented. For two months the one 
 business of the king was sighing and crying ; 
 during the nights he would not sleep till dawn 
 for weeping, and he would say, ' My God, shall 
 I never behold his face ? mayhap I shall behold 
 it at the Resurrection. To me henceforth life 
 is not beseeming.' Mad words like these 
 would he utter. And he ceased from eating 
 and drinking, and retired from the throne and 
 sought a private house and wept ever, and it 
 wanted little but he died. When the vezir 
 saw this, he one day decked out the boy like a 
 flower and took him and went to the private 
 place where the king dwelt. He left the boy 
 at the door and went in himself and saw that 
 the king had bowed his head in adoration and 
 was praying to God and weeping and thus 
 saying, ' My God, henceforth is life unlawful 
 for me, do Thou in Thy mercy take my soul ; ' 
 and he was lamenting, recalling the darling 
 fashions of the boy. The vezir heard this wail 
 of the king and said, 'O king, how thou 
 weepest ! thou hast forsaken manhood and art 
 become a by-word in the world.' The king 
 replied, * Henceforth advice profits me not ; lo, 
 begone.' Quoth the vezir, 'O king, if God 
 
136 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 Most High took pity on thee and brought the 
 boy to life, wouldst thou forgive his fault ? and 
 what wouldst thou give to him who brought 
 thee news thereof ? * The king said, * O would 
 that it could be so! all the wealth that I have 
 in my treasury would I give to him who brought 
 me news thereof, and my kingdom would I 
 give to the boy ; and I should be content to 
 look from time to time on the boy's face.' 
 Then the vezir beckoned to the boy and he came 
 in, and went and kissed the king's hand. As 
 soon as the king saw the boy his senses 
 forsook him, and the vezir sprinkled rose-water 
 on the king's face and withdrew. When the 
 king's senses returned he saw the boy beside 
 him and he thought that his soul had gone and 
 returned. When it was morning the vezir came 
 before the king, and the king said, ' As thou 
 hast brought the boy to me whole, go, all 
 that is in my treasury is thine.' The vezir 
 answered, ' O king of the world, rather is the 
 wealth which is in my treasury thine ; we are 
 both of us the meanest of the king's slaves. 
 May God (glorified and exalted be He!) grant 
 fortune to our king and long life ! We too 
 shall live in thy felicity.' The king was 
 glad at the words of the vezir, and bestowed 
 many towns and villages on the son of the 
 
HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 137 
 
 vezir, and offered up many sacrifices, and gave 
 away much alms." 
 
 " O king, I have told this story for that the 
 king may take profit and not do a deed with- 
 out reflection, that he be not afterward re- 
 pentant, like that king, and suffer not bitter 
 regret and remorse. That king suffered so 
 great regret and remorse for a vezir's son, yet 
 this one is the darling of thine own heart. The 
 rest the king knows. Beware, O king, slay 
 not the prince on the woman's word." And he 
 kissed the ground and made intercession for 
 the prince for that day. So the king sent the 
 youth to the prison and went himself to the 
 chase. 
 
 When it was evening the king returned 
 from the chase and came to the palace, and the 
 lady rose to greet him, and they sat down. 
 After the repast the lady commenced to speak 
 about the youth. The king said, " To-day too 
 such an one of my vezirs made intercession for 
 him and I sent him to the prison." The lady 
 said, " O king, three things are the signs of 
 folly ; the first is to put off to-day's business 
 till to-morrow, the second is to speak words 
 foolishly, and the third is to act upon senseless 
 words. O king, whatsoever thy vezirs say, 
 that thou believest straightway and actest upon. 
 
138 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 Satan is of a surety entered into these thy 
 vezirs and into thy boy ; in whose heart soever he 
 plants the love of office or of wealth, him in the 
 end does he leave without the Faith. Mayhap 
 the king has not heard the story of the devotee 
 Barslsa." The king said, " Tell on, let us 
 hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S ELEVENTH STORY. 
 
 " Of old time there was a devotee called 
 Barslsa who had worshipped in his cell for a 
 hundred years, standing up in prayer during the 
 night and fasting during the day, and not an 
 hour did he cease from devotion. The people 
 of the age believed in him, so that for one word 
 of his they would give their lives, and some of 
 them were his disciples and some were his 
 friends. Whatever sick person he breathed on 
 and prayed over was restored to health. He 
 was one whose prayers were answered, and his 
 miracles were evident. A daughter of the king 
 of that Clime was sick and the physicians were 
 powerless to cure her. At length the king said, 
 ' Go, take her to Barslsa, the devotee, that he 
 may pray over her, haply she may be cured.' 
 So the eunuchs took the girl and brought her to 
 Barslsa. Barslsa saw the girl that she was a 
 lady of wondrous beauty, and his heart inclined 
 
THE LADY'S ELEVENTH STORY. 139 
 
 unto her. That same hour Satan tempted him, 
 and the flesh overcame him. Satan said, ' O 
 sheykh, when shall an opportunity such as 
 this, and a beauty such as this be in thy power 
 again ?' The sheykh said in his heart, ' How 
 shall I make shift to accomplish my desire ?' 
 Quoth Satan, ' Thou must say to the eunuchs 
 who came with the girl, " Let the girl remain 
 here this night ; do ye go ; and when it is near 
 morning I shall pray over her that she may find 
 health, then come ye and take her and go your 
 ways." They will not question thy words, but 
 leave the girl and go ; and from night till morn 
 thou canst make merry with her. When it is 
 near morning, pray over her that she may find 
 health ; and they will come and take the girl ; 
 and the girl will go, and she will not say, " The 
 sheykh did so by me ; " and even if she do, 
 none will believe her. And the pleasure thou 
 hast had will be thine.' So the sheykh, reflect- 
 ing not on the end thereof, how that his face 
 would be black in the world and the Hereafter, 
 said to the eunuchs, ' Leave the girl here this 
 night, and go your ways.' The eunuchs told the 
 king, and the king said, ' What evit would come 
 from the sheykh ? let her stay.' As soon as it 
 was night, Satan came and said, 'O sheykh, 
 how- sittest thou still ? into whose hand comes 
 
I 4 o HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 a beauty like this ? up, make merry with her.' 
 The poor sheykh's veins began to throb and he 
 could not drive from his heart the whisperings 
 of Satan, and the cruel flesh overcame him. So 
 he arose and took to him the girl, and kissed 
 her and embraced her.* No sooner was the 
 passion of the sheykh fulfilled than he repented 
 him of what he had done. Thereupon Satan 
 appeared before him and said, ' O sheykh, when 
 the king sees his daughter in this plight his 
 killing thee is certain.' Said the sheykh, ' What 
 can I do ? ' Satan answered, ' Kill the girl, and 
 bury her in a secret place ; and if they come in 
 the morning and ask for the girl, say thou, " I 
 prayed over her, and she became well and is 
 gone." And they will believe thy words and go 
 and search in vain, and, finding her not, will 
 leave off; and thou shalt escape.' The sheykh 
 gave way to the tempting of Satan, and slew 
 the girl and buried her in a corner of his cell. 
 When it was morning the eunuchs came from the 
 king and asked for the girl. The sheykh said, 
 * Early in the morning I prayed over her and 
 she found health, and went out and is not re- 
 turned.' The eunuchs searched every corner of 
 the city, but found her not. Then Satan, taking 
 
 * 'Aqibet qizin muhr-i bekaretin bozdi, adds the original. 
 
THE LADY'S ELEVENTH STORY. 141 
 
 the form of an old man, came and said to the 
 eunuchs, ' What seek ye ? ' The eunuchs re- 
 plied, * We want the girl.' Satan related to 
 them all the evils, one by one, which the sheykh 
 had done to the girl and said, ' If ye believe 
 not, go, see, she is buried in such and such a 
 corner of the cell.' They went quickly and dug 
 up that place as Satan had told them, and took 
 out the girl. And they seized the sheykh and 
 took him with the girl before the king. When 
 the king saw his daughter in this plight he 
 sighed and wept. And he brought together 
 the doctors and sheykhs of that Clime and told 
 them the foul deeds of the sheykh, and they all 
 marvelled and gave leave for his execution. 
 The king said, ' Hang ye him.' When they 
 raised the sheykh on the gallows, Satan came 
 before him and said, ' O sheykh, if I save thee 
 from this evil, wilt thou call me God and adore 
 me ? ' The sheykh said, ' I will.' Then quoth 
 Satan, ' Adore me now with thine eyes and eye- 
 brows.' And the sheykh adored Satan with the 
 corner of his eye ; but it availed not, and they 
 hanged him. And Satan said, ' There is one who 
 has turned thee from the Path and in the end 
 has made thy life to go ; and thou hast abandoned 
 the Faith, and art not delivered.' And he spat 
 in his face and vanished. Now, such a sheykh, 
 
I 4 2 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 whose prayers had been answered, was in the end, 
 by Satan the accursed, turned from the Path and 
 left in this wise." 
 
 " O king, I have told this story that thou 
 mayst know that, Satan seeing how he led astray 
 a devotee like that, is surely able to deceive 
 thy son and thy vezirs. And they have said 
 that Satan has three different snares, each 
 subtler than the other : when a believer seeks 
 to found charitable buildings, he comes and says, 
 ' Why dost thou waste thy substance ? when old 
 age comes upon thee, how will be thy case ? ' 
 or, ' After thee thy sons will be orphans, will 
 not they need the means of livelihood ? ' If the 
 believer pass that snare, then Satan comes and 
 says, ' If thou wilt build such things, build but 
 little;' or, 'If thou wilt make free-kitchen or 
 bridge, make a little one and endow it scantly.' 
 If he pass that too and turn away, Satan says, 
 1 If thou wilt build such, speak to the folk that 
 they may know that it is thou who hast done 
 it.' So that it may be hypocrisy, and the good 
 may be rendered of none effect. Now, O king, 
 the works of these are ever evil ; Satan has 
 turned these altogether to himself. Beware, 
 have great heed of them ; for they have aimed 
 at thy life and wealth." When the king heard 
 these beguiling words of the lady he said, " On 
 
HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 143 
 
 the morrow will I slay him." And they went 
 to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king came and sat 
 upon his throne and caused them to bring the 
 prince and ordered the executioner, " Smite off 
 his head." Whereupon the Twelfth Vezir came 
 forward and said, " O king, the counsel of the 
 Kings of the East is, ' Tell not secrets to women 
 and confide not thy business to them.' And 
 beware of avarice, for the avaricious shall not 
 enter Paradise. The Holy Apostle hath said, 
 ' The avaricious man shall not enter Paradise, 
 even though he be a devotee.' Love not the 
 avaricious. And women are lacking in honesty; 
 it is not worthy of kings to give their free- 
 will into a woman's hands and reject the 
 counsel of these many vezirs. O king, the 
 hostility of the learned and wise is better than 
 the friendship of foolish persons. The time 
 may be when much evil may arise from the 
 true words of the foolish, and much good 
 may arise from the untrue words of the wise. 
 The learned have said that that falsehood 
 which betters one's affair is before that truth 
 which ruins his affair. And the Holy Apostle 
 hath said, ' That person who says what is 
 untrue and so makes peace between two 
 persons, does better than if he spake the truth.' 
 
144 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 There is a story suitable to this." The king 
 said, " Relate, let us hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
 TWELFTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 "Sultan Mahmud* had a favourite vezir 
 called Ayaz. One day a dervish came to Ayaz 
 and said, ' For the love of God get somewhat 
 for me from the king.' Ayaz answered, ' To- 
 morrow the king will go to the chase, do thou 
 come before the king and pray and say, " O 
 king, I know the language of birds." If the 
 king ask me, I shall answer and get somewhat 
 for thee from the king/ So on the morrow the 
 dervish did so. Ayaz was by the king's side 
 and he said, ' O king, give me this dervish that 
 I may learn the language of birds.' The king 
 answered, * Take him, let him bide with thee/ 
 Ayaz said, ' O king, give this dervish some little 
 thing that may be an allowance to him till thy 
 slave learn the language of birds.' So the 
 king gave the dervish a daily allowance of a 
 gold sequin. For a time the dervish abode 
 with Ayaz ; and after that, Ayaz went before 
 the king and said, ' O king, I have learned the 
 language of birds from the dervish.' And he 
 caused them to give the dervish much wealth ; 
 
 * Sultan Mahmud of GhaznI. 
 
THE TWELFTH VEZIRS STORY. 145 
 
 and the dervish went away. One day Sultan 
 Mahmud went to the chase with Ayaz. While 
 on the road the king saw that there were two 
 trees growing, one on either side of the way, 
 and upon each an owl was perched, and these 
 were screaming across to each other. The king 
 said, ' O Ayaz, thou sayest that thou knowest 
 the language of birds ; what are these birds 
 saying ? Listen and tell me.' Ayaz listened 
 for a little while and then said, ( O king, this bird 
 has a son and this other has a daughter, and this 
 one wants the other's daughter for his son, and 
 the other wants five hundred ruined villages 
 and towns as dower for his daughter, and this 
 one answers, " What is five hundred villages ! 
 since Sultan Mahmud is king over this Clime, if 
 thou wish a thousand I shall give thee them." 
 Sultan Mahmud heard this answer from Ayaz 
 and said, ' Am I such a tyrant that in my time 
 towns and villages are ruined ? ' And he 
 straightway ordered that they restored all the 
 ruined towns and villages in his country. So 
 by reason of that untruth he set about acting 
 with justice ; and now, whenever his name is re- 
 called, they say, ' The mercy of God on him !'" 
 " O king, I have related this story for that 
 the king may know that because Sultan Mahmud 
 believed his vezir's words and acted accordingly, 
 
 L 
 
146 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 beside gaining great reward in Heaven, he will 
 be remembered till the Resurrection. So what 
 beseems the king is this, that in every instance 
 he act according to his vezir's words. If any 
 hurt befall the king, be the condition that he 
 smite off the heads of the whole of us forty 
 vezirs." And all the vezirs said, " We agree to 
 this." And they kissed the ground and made 
 intercession for the prince. When the king 
 heard this story from the vezir he sent the 
 prince to the prison and himself mounted for 
 the chase. 
 
 When it was evening the king returned to 
 the palace from the chase, and the lady rose to 
 greet him, and they sat down. After the repast, 
 the lady began to speak about the youth. The 
 king said, " This day too, such an one of my 
 vezirs made intercession for him and I sent 
 him to the prison." The lady said, " Dost thou 
 see how thou believest me not ? Lo, now all 
 of them are allied, they wish to release this 
 youth from thy hand and set him free, that 
 afterward when they find an opportunity they 
 may finish their affair. O king, this night I had 
 a dream ; without doubt or uncertainty God 
 Most High hath made manifest to me the 
 treachery of these, it is even as the Holy Apostle 
 hath said, ' The dream is the inspiration of the 
 
HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 147 
 
 believer.' O king, this night I saw in my dream 
 that thou wast seated on thy throne, when a 
 poisonous dragon appeared before thee ; I 
 counted and it had forty heads, each of which 
 was poison-smeared, and behind it crept an 
 untold innumerable host of snakes. And they 
 came on till that dragon took the king and 
 his throne in its mouth, but it could not swallow 
 them and so put them out again. Three times it 
 tried thus, and at length, unable to avail, it 
 gathered into one place all the venom that was in 
 its forty heads, when, while it was making to 
 shower that over the king, I cried out from 
 opposite, * O king, the dragon is about to shower 
 venom over thee.' And I cried so that I awoke 
 through fear." Then was the king afraid, and 
 he said, " What may the interpretation of this 
 dream be ? " The lady answered, " O king, the 
 interpretation of this dream is clear ; that dragon 
 is this youth, and those forty heads are thy 
 vezirs, each one of whom is full of poison, and 
 that host of snakes is the rabble who follow 
 them ; that dragon which three times sought to 
 swallow thee is again this youth who purposed 
 evil against thee, and his succeeding not is his 
 being feeble, and his making to shower over 
 thee the poison that was in those his forty heads 
 is the forty vezirs' being one, and his wishing 
 
 L 2 
 
148 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 to slay thee by their aid ; and my crying out is 
 my saying" every day, ' O king, have great care.' 
 That is the interpretation of this my vision. O 
 king, be thou ware of these, take my counsel ; 
 every day thou sayest, * I will kill him ;' yet 
 thou killest him not. My story with thee re- 
 sembles the story of a certain king and a 
 weaver." The king said, " Relate it, let us 
 hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S TWELFTH STORY. 
 
 " Of old time there was a great king. One 
 day a man came before him and said, ' My 
 king, I shall weave a turban such that one 
 born in wedlock will see it, while the bastard 
 will see it not.' The king marvelled and ordered 
 that that weaver should weave that turban ; and 
 the weaver received an allowance from the king 
 and tarried a long while. One day he folded 
 up this side and that side of a paper and brought 
 it and laid it before the king and said, ' O king, 
 I have woven that turban.' So the king opened 
 the paper and saw that there was nothing ; and 
 all the vezirs and nobles who stood there looked 
 on the paper and saw nothing. Then the king 
 said in his heart, * Dost thou see ? I am then 
 a bastard ;' and he was sad. And he thought, 
 ' Now, the remedy is this, that I say it is a goodly 
 
THE LADY'S TWELFTH STORY. 149 
 
 turban and admire it, else will I be put to shame 
 
 before the folk.' And he said ' Blessed be God! 
 
 O master, it is a goodly turban, I like it much.' 
 
 Then that weaver youth said, 'O king, let them 
 
 bring a cap that I may wind the turban for the 
 
 king.' They brought a cap, and the weaver 
 
 youth laid that paper before him and moved his 
 
 hands as though he wound the turban, and he 
 
 put it on the king's head. All the nobles who 
 
 were standing there said, * Blessed be it ! O 
 
 king, how fair, how beautiful a turban ! ' and they 
 
 applauded it much. Then the king rose and 
 
 went with two vezirs into a private room and 
 
 said, ' O vezirs, I am then a bastard ; I see not 
 
 the turban.' Quoth the vezirs, ' O king, we too 
 
 see it not.' At length they knew of a surety that 
 
 the turban had no existence, and that that weaver 
 
 had thus played a trick for the sake of money." 
 
 " O king,- thou too sayest, ' On the morrow 
 
 will I kill him ; I will do this and I will do 
 
 that;' and yet there is nothing. O king, I had 
 
 that dream this night, there is no doubt that 
 
 it is as I have interpreted. O king, if the 
 
 king's life and throne go, who knows what they 
 
 will do to hapless me ?" And she began to 
 
 weep. When the king saw the lady thus 
 
 weeping his heart was pained and he said, " On 
 
 the morrow I will indeed refuse the words of 
 
150 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 whichsoever of my vezirs makes intercession 
 for him, and I will indeed kill the youth ; for, 
 according to the dream thou hast had, this is 
 no light affair." And they went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king came and sat 
 upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be 
 brought and commanded the executioner, 
 " Smite off his head." Whereupon the Thir- 
 teenth Vezir came forward and sought to make 
 
 o 
 
 intercession, but the king was wroth and said, 
 " Be silent, speak not." Thereupon the vezir 
 drew a paper from his breast and said, " For 
 God's sake read this paper, then thou wilt 
 know." Then the king looked at the paper 
 and saw that there was written thereon, * O 
 king, yesterday I looked at the astrolabe ; for 
 forty days is the prince's ruling star in very evil 
 aspect, such that the prince may even lose his 
 head/ Then all the forty vezirs came forward 
 at once and said, " O king, for the love of God 
 and the honour of Muhammed Mustafa, for the 
 forty days have patience and slay not the 
 prince ; thereafter it is certain that this affair 
 will be made clear, and when its origin is known 
 must each one receive his due." Then said the 
 vezir, " There is a story suitable to this ; if the 
 king grant leave I will tell it." The king said, 
 " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
THE THIRTEENTH VEZIFS STORY. 151 
 
 THE THIRTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 " There was in the palace of the world a 
 great king and he ruled over the Seven Climes. 
 But he had neither son nor daughter, and he 
 was ever offering sacrifices in the way of God. 
 One day God Most High accepted his sacrifice 
 and bestowed on him from His bounty a fair 
 son who was in his time a second Joseph. So 
 the king was glad, and that day he held a high 
 feast, and at that feast he gave robes of honour 
 and money to many men. After that he 
 assembled the astrologers and made them cast 
 the prince's horoscope ; and the astrologers 
 looked the one at the other and were bewild- 
 ered and confounded. Then the king said, 
 4 What see ye that ye stand looking the one at 
 the other ?' The astrologers replied, ' O king 
 of the world, we have cast the .prince's horo- 
 scope ; and in the astrolabe and the Jamesb- 
 Nama they thus rule, that from his thirtieth 
 year to his sixtieth the prince's ruling star is 
 afflicted so that he shall wander in strange lands, 
 with tribulation and pain for his companions : 
 " None .... knoweth the unseen save God." '* 
 After the king had heard these things from the 
 astrologers, at times his heart would be sad and 
 
 * Koran, xxvii. 66 
 
1 52 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 at times he would plunge into the ocean of 
 deliberation. Saying, ' God knows the end of 
 the boy/ he began to train up the prince. 
 When the latter entered his seventh year he 
 appointed him a teacher, and he passed some 
 years in acquiring reading and writing. When 
 he was become a young man his father got for 
 him a king's daughter ; and after a time the 
 prince had two sons. These children, too, in a 
 little time acquired knowledge ; and from time 
 to time they would go out a-pleasuring with 
 their father. One day the prince's heart de- 
 sired a sea-voyage, and he commanded that 
 they prepared a ship, and with his children and 
 forty slaves and attendants he entered the ship. 
 For many days they sailed the sea full pleas- 
 antly. But there was there a Prankish corsair 
 filled with infidels, and they encountered 
 the prince's ship and straightway flung their 
 grappling-irons, and took captive the prince 
 and his two sons and forty servants, and went 
 off. They took 'the prince and the forty men 
 and sold them to the cannibal negroes ; but the 
 two boys they sold not, but kept by them. 
 The negroes fed up the prince and the men 
 with delicate and delicious foods, and every day 
 they took one of them to their king's kitchen 
 and cut his throat, and cooked him at the fire 
 
THE THIRTEENTH VEZIFS STORY. 153 
 
 and ate him. When they had eaten the forty men, 
 the prince's turn came, him too they took and 
 brought to the kitchen that they might cut his 
 throat. The prince perceived that plight, and 
 he entreated God in his heart to give him 
 strength, and he burst the fetters that were 
 round his wrists and, striking about with the 
 chains that were in his hands, he slipped through 
 them and rushed out. While he was running 
 on, a vast forest appeared before him, he entered 
 it, and although the negroes searched for him they 
 could not find him. Then he came out thence 
 and fared on many stages till one day he came 
 to a great city. The people crying, ' He is an 
 enemy/ rushed upon him. And the prince 
 exclaimed, ' O Lord ! what tribulation is this ! ' 
 and fought with them. Word was brought to 
 their king, and he came and saw that the prince 
 was fighting like a dragon. When the king 
 saw the prince's valour he admired it, and said 
 to his soldiers who were there, ' Let no one 
 attack the stranger.' Then the soldiers dis- 
 persed, and the king took the prince and went 
 to the palace. He prepared a suit of clothes, 
 and sent him to the bath, and caused his head 
 to be shaven and made him put on those clothes, 
 and brought him back to the palace. The king 
 said, ' Come, remain by me, I have a daughter, 
 
154 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 I will give her thee.' The prince consented ; 
 so they gave him the king's daughter ; and he 
 remained there two years and his lot was right 
 pleasant. One day the prince's wife died ; now 
 this was their custom, they had a great deep 
 pit, and if a man died they put his wife with 
 him alive into that pit, and if a woman died 
 they did the same with her husband ; and they 
 let down along with them a loaf of bread and a 
 pitcher of water, and covered over the pit with 
 a great stone. So they brought the prince and 
 his wife with a loaf of bread and a pitcher of 
 water to that pit, and, saying, ' It is our custom/ 
 lowered both of them into the pit and placed 
 that great stone over them. When the prince 
 saw himself in such case he was bewildered and 
 said, * My God ! what plight is this ! ' and he 
 prayed to God. And he searched the inside of 
 the pit carefully and saw a fair girl seated there, 
 and he asked her, * What manner of girl art 
 thou ?' She replied, * I am a young bride ; they 
 have put me into this pit with my husband.' 
 And the prince examined the pit, and saw 
 it to be all full of the bodies of men, some 
 of which were decayed and some of which 
 were writhing in the agonies of death ; and 
 dread overcame the prince. Of a sudden, 
 while he was seated, a rustling sound came from 
 
THE THIRTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 155 
 
 one part of the pit ; the prince knew that it was 
 some beast, and he arose and went with the girl 
 straight to that place, and he found the passage 
 through which that beast had come in. They 
 went for a time through that passage, and at 
 length came out on the skirt of a mountain on 
 the bank of a great river. And they were glad 
 thereat, and thanked God much. And there 
 they found a boat, and they gathered fruit from 
 that mountain and filled the boat, and they both 
 entered the boat and went along with the cur- 
 rent of the river. That river grew wider day 
 by day ; but it passed underneath a great 
 mountain. When they came near to the tunnel 
 under that mountain they could not govern the 
 boat, and the water took the boat and bore it 
 under the mountain. When the prince saw 
 this he exclaimed, * My God ! O Lord ! what 
 tribulation is this too ! how shall we escape 
 from this !' Helpless they sat in the boat ; now 
 the water dashed the boat against the rocks, 
 now it made it fly down precipices, and now 
 the mountain became low and pushed the boat 
 under the water ; and they, never ceasing, 
 emptied the water out of the boat. They knew 
 not at all whither the boat was going, neither 
 did they know whether it was night or day. 
 For a long time they were a prey to that an- 
 
156 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 guish ; and scarce a spark of life remained in 
 their bodies when, at length, after a hundred 
 thousand perils, their boat came out from under 
 the mountain on to the surface of the earth. 
 They were glad, and they drew their boat to 
 the shore and got out of it, and took fruits from 
 the trees that were there, and ate them. While 
 standing there they saw a great white vaulted 
 building, the dome whereof was of crystal. The 
 prince and the girl went up to it, and they saw 
 that it was a great castle, and that the domed 
 building was within the castle, and on the door 
 of the castle was written, 'O thou who wouldst 
 open this door, O thou who desirest to over- 
 come this talisman, bring a five-footed animal 
 and kill it before here, that the bolts of this 
 talisman may be opened thereby/ The prince 
 marvelled and said, ' Is there in the world a five- 
 footed animal ? ' and he wondered. And they 
 sat by the gate of the castle and lice tormented 
 them, and they began to louse themselves. The 
 prince killed a louse, and straightway the bolts 
 of the castle fell, and they knew that the said 
 five-footed animal was the louse. Then they 
 both entered by a door, and they saw a garden, 
 such that of every tree which is in the world 
 there was therein ; and ripe fruits were hanging 
 there and running streams were flowing. And 
 
THE THIRTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 157 
 
 the prince felt a longing for those fruits and he 
 went to pluck one of them that he might eat it, 
 when he saw that those trees were of gold and 
 their fruits of silver and jewels, and that precious 
 stones were lying at the foot of the trees, scat- 
 tered like pebbles in a brook. They passed 
 through and came to that dome, it was fashioned 
 of crystal, they entered by a silver door and saw 
 that within that dome was another dome all of 
 pure gold. It too they entered and saw yet ano- 
 ther dome, all the walls and the top of which 
 were of ruby, built after the fashion of Paradise. 
 They entered it and saw a throne upon which 
 was a coffin made of jewels, and at the head of 
 the coffin was a tablet whereon was written : 
 ' O son of Adam, who comest hither and seest 
 me, know thou that I was a king, and that all the 
 world was in my hands, and my wealth was be- 
 yond bounds or computation. Men and demons 
 and fairies and jinn were my warriors; and I 
 lived in the world for a thousand years, and I 
 never said, " I shall die;" and I made not any 
 preparation against death. One day, of a sudden, 
 I fell sick, and I knew of a surety that I was 
 about to die, and I commanded that this dome 
 was built in three days, and I made it a sepulchre 
 for myself. And by my head are two fountains ; 
 drink, and pray for me.' And the prince saw 
 
158 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 those two fountains and drank ; and from one of 
 them flowed sugared sherbet and from the other 
 milk. And they drank of both of them and re- 
 mained a long while by that grave, and they 
 nourished themselves on the milk and drank of 
 the sherbet. At length they found some vases, 
 and they took of the milk and the sherbet and 
 the jewels and the gold, and filled their boat with 
 them, and again set forth on their voyage. After 
 they had gone for a time the wind drove their 
 boat upon an island, and they went forth from the 
 boat to look for fruit on the mountain that they 
 might eat. Of a sudden a body of men came 
 and seized them ; and the prince saw these that 
 they had no heads, their mouths were in their 
 breasts and their eyes in their shoulders, and 
 their speech, when they spake together, was as 
 the chirping of birds. And they took the two 
 and brought them to their king ; and they re- 
 mained there prisoners a long time. At length 
 one day they found an opportunity and escaped, 
 and again they entered their boat and sailed for 
 a long time upon the sea. Brief, the prince 
 wandered for thirty years upon the seas, some- 
 times happening among nine-headed men, and 
 sometimes among bird-headed, and sometimes 
 falling among elephant-headed folk, and some- 
 times among ox-headed, and then escaping ; 
 
THE THIRTEENTH VEZItfS STORY. 159 
 
 and each of them inflicted different torments on 
 the prince. Still God Most High opened a way 
 and he escaped. And he saw these strange and 
 wondrous creatures, and he marvelled. At length, 
 through the grace of God (glorified and exalted 
 be He !), the wind drove the prince's ship before 
 a city, and he saw that the inhabitants of that 
 country were all men, and he came out. When 
 these saw the prince they cried, 'He is a spy,' 
 and seized him and bound his arms behind his 
 back, and tied a rope round his neck, and took 
 him alongside a horse, and said, ' Our lord has 
 put down: when ships come from the sea and 
 touch at our country, seize their spies and take 
 them to our king.' And the prince exclaimed, 
 ' What tribulation is this too ! how to go along- 
 side a horse ! ' And while he was praying in 
 his heart they reached the city. And they took 
 the prince in this plight to their king. When the 
 king saw the prince he asked, ' What manner of 
 man art thou ?' The prince said, ' Many mar- 
 vellous things have befallen me;' and he re- 
 lated his adventures from their beginning to their 
 end. When the king heard his story he loosed 
 the prince's bands and took him to his side and 
 clad him in sumptuous robes of honour. The 
 prince asked for the jewels that were in his ship. 
 The king bade bring them and said, ' O prince, I 
 
160 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 know thy kingdom, and I heard that the Franks 
 had taken thee ; and I know thy father too. 
 Come, go not away, stay ; I have a daughter, I 
 will give her thee, and we shall live pleasantly 
 together.' The prince replied, * O king, when I 
 was born of my mother, my father caused my 
 horoscope to be cast, and the astrologers thus 
 ruled, that my life was afflicted for thirty years ; 
 mayhap if I took the king's daughter, some evil 
 might befall the king's daughter by reason of my 
 affliction ; I may not consent.' Then the king 
 brought the astrologers and made them cast the 
 prince's horoscope. The astrologers gave good 
 news, saying, * Glad tidings be to thee, those 
 thirty afflicted years are passed, now his ruling 
 star has entered the sign of good fortune.' The 
 prince was exceeding glad and joyful. There- 
 upon the king commanded that they made ready 
 a festival, and he gave his daughter to the prince, 
 and he greatly honoured and reverenced him. 
 After some time the king died, and the prince 
 became king in his stead. One day when he was 
 seated on his throne they said, ' O king, a Frank 
 has come with much merchandise ; if the king 
 grant leave, he will bring his merchandise.' The 
 king replied, ' There is leave, let him bring it.' 
 And the Frank brought his merchandise before 
 the king. The king saw his two sons at the 
 
THE THIRTEENTH VEZIRS STORY. 161 
 
 Frank's side, then the blood of love boiled, and 
 the affection of paternity yearned for them ; and 
 he asked that Frank, 'Are these youths thine ? ' 
 The Frank answered, ' They are my slaves/ 
 The king said, T will buy them/ And he took 
 the youths to a place apart and said, ' Where did 
 this Frank get you ? ' Then they related their 
 adventures from their beginning to their end ; 
 and the king knew of a certainty that they were 
 his own sons, and he pressed them to his heart 
 and kissed each of them on the eyes, and said, 
 ' I am your father/ Then the king arose ; and 
 they killed the Frank with a thousand tor- 
 ments."* 
 
 " O king, I have told this story for that the 
 king may know that haps such as this often 
 befall princes. Their happy fortune passes 
 into the sign of inauspiciousness, and they be- 
 come a prey to a thousand tribulations and dis- 
 tresses, so that even gold turns into black earth 
 in their hands, and all their friends become 
 enemies to them. Afterward the malefic aspect 
 gives place to prosperity and auspiciousness, 
 then everyone is their friend. O king, this 
 youth's ruling star is likewise afflicted for a few 
 days. Beware, O king, until the days of the 
 
 * See Appendix B, Note IX. 
 M 
 
1 62 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 malefic aspect be fulfilled, slay not the youth, 
 else afterward thou wilt be repentant, and too 
 late repentance profits not. The rest the king 
 knows." When the king heard this story from 
 the vezir he asked for the youth's governor, but 
 he could not be found. So again he sent the 
 youth to the prison and went himself to the 
 chase. 
 
 When it was evening the king returned from 
 the chase and came to the palace, and the lady 
 rose to greet him, and they sat down. After 
 the repast the lady again began to speak about 
 the youth. The king said, " To-day also such 
 an one of my vezirs made intercession for him 
 and I sent him to the prison." And he related 
 to the lady that story which the vezir had told. 
 Then said the lady, " O king, the reason of 
 these vezirs stirring up trouble is that they wish 
 to sow enmity between thee and me. Beware, 
 O king, go not by the words of these, but follow 
 well my words, that thy present state and thy 
 Hereafter may be happy. When God Most 
 High decrees good between husband and wife 
 He gives mildness and accord. And, moreover, 
 O king, be it good news to thee, a week ago 
 did I conceive by thee ; till now I have not told 
 thee, but now I have told thee and do thou 
 believe it true." And the king believed it. 
 
THE LADYS THIRTEENTH STORY. 163 
 
 Then she continued, " O king, lo, these vezirs 
 say that this youth's star has fallen into a 
 malefic aspect. His star became afflicted what 
 time he made for thy life and thy kingdom and 
 for me. God Most High aided us and afflicted 
 his star and brought down his head." And the 
 lady was glad and said, " Thy true son is he 
 that is in my womb ; that youth is without doubt 
 base-born. Mayhap the king has not heard the 
 story of him who had no sons." The king said, 
 " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTEENTH STORY. 
 
 " There was in the palace of the world a great 
 king, and he had neither son nor daughter. 
 And there was in his country a sheykh whose 
 prayers were answered. One day the king, 
 while conversing with the sheykh, said, ' O 
 sheykh, God Most High has given me no son ; 
 do thou strive in prayer that God Most High 
 give me a son.' The sheykh replied, ' Send an 
 offering to the convent that the dervishes may 
 eat, and we shall pray for thee ; God Most 
 High is a gracious King, He will give thee a 
 son/ Now the king had a golden-ankleted fat 
 ram that was valiant in fight ; and he sent that 
 ram to the sheykh's convent with some loads of 
 
 M 2 
 
164 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 rice and honey and oil. That night the der- 
 vishes ate and were pleased ; and the sheykh 
 sent of that meat in an earthen bowl to the 
 king, saying, ' Let him desire a son and eat of 
 the dervishes' portion.' Then the dervishes 
 danced, after which they prayed and besought 
 of God a son for the king. By the divine de- 
 cree the king's wife conceived that night, and in a 
 short time she brought forth a moon-faced boy. 
 The king was delighted, and called the people 
 of the country to the feast; and he took the prince 
 and laid him on the sheykh's skirt, and he be- 
 stowed many gifts on the sheykh's convent. 
 One day, some time after that, when the king 
 was conversing with the sheykh, he said, ' O 
 sheykh, what if thou were to pray and beseech 
 of God another son for me ?' The sheykh 
 replied, ' The favours of God are many ; to pray 
 is ours, to give is His ; send then an offering 
 to the dervishes.' Now the king had a favour- 
 ite plump horse, that sent he forthwith to the 
 convent. The devotees cut its throat and 
 roasted it, and again sent an earthen bowl of it 
 to the king. They ate the rest themselves, and 
 prayed and besought of God a son for the king. 
 By the divine decree the lady again conceived, 
 and in a short time she brought forth a moon- 
 faced boy. And the king was delighted and 
 
THE LADY'S THIRTEENTH STORY. 165 
 
 sent many gifts to the dervishes. Some time 
 afterward the king requested the sheykh to 
 beg of God yet another son. The sheykh 
 said, ' To pray is ours, to give is God's ; send 
 again an offering to the devotees.' Now the 
 king had a good mule, that sent he to the con- 
 vent. The devotees sold that mule and took 
 its price and therewith prepared a confection. 
 And they sent a bowl of that too to the king. 
 After the dance they prayed and besought of 
 God a son for the king. Again the king's wife 
 conceived and gave birth to a moon-faced boy. 
 And the king was glad and sent many gifts to 
 the dervishes. When the king's sons grew up, 
 the eldest turned out very valiant ; the second 
 proved swift of foot and accomplished and pos- 
 sessed of understanding and sagacity ; but the 
 youngest was ill-omened and ill-natured, and 
 oppressed men, and wounded and wasted the 
 hearts of many poor creatures with the sword 
 of his tongue. And the king was sore grieved 
 because of him. One day while conversing with 
 the sheykh he complained of his youngest son 
 and said, * O sheykh, would that we had not 
 besought of God that youngest boy/ The 
 sheykh replied, ' O king, why art thou grieved ? 
 thou art thyself the cause of that youth being 
 thus.' The king asked, ' How am I the cause?' 
 
1 66 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 The sheykh answered, ' First thou gavest in 
 the cause of God a ram among beasts, and God 
 Most High hath given thee a ram among men*; 
 then thou gavest in the cause of God a courser 
 of the plain of earth among beasts, and God 
 Most High hath given thee a courser of the 
 plain of glory and fortune and understanding 
 and accomplishments among men ; and after 
 that thou gavest in the cause of God an ill- 
 omened and base-born brute among beasts, 
 and God hath given thee such an one among 
 men. O king, he who sows barley reaps not 
 wheat.' In the end the king got no rest until he 
 had killed the youth." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 the king may know that from this ill-omened, 
 base-born one no good will come. They have 
 said that the base-born are of two classes ; 
 the one the fruit of adultery, the other the fruit 
 of an unlawful morsel. This thy son is with- 
 out doubt of one of these two sets ; lo, thy true- 
 born offspring is about to come into existence." 
 When the king heard these beguiling words of 
 the lady he said, " On the morrow will I kill 
 the youth, be not sad." And they went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king came and sat 
 
 * The ram is a type of courage. 
 
THE FOURTEENTH VEZIR S STORY. 167 
 
 upon his throne and ordered the executioner 
 that he brought the youth, and he said, " Smite 
 off his head." The Fourteenth Vezir came 
 forward and said, " O king of the world, it is 
 not seemly to kill the prince in compliance with 
 the woman's word, for the angels that are in 
 Heaven are not safe against woman's wiles ; 
 such is the story of Harut and Marut ; mayhap 
 my king has not heard it." The king said, 
 " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
 THE FOURTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " They have related that what time God 
 Most High said to the angels, ' I will place a 
 vicegerent upon earth,' the angels said, * Thou 
 wilt make a vicegerent, and they will do evil on 
 the earth and shed blood ; we celebrate Thy 
 praise.' The glorious answer proceeded from 
 God Most High, ' Ye know not what I know/ 
 Then God Most High brought Adam from the 
 world of non-existence into the world of being ; 
 and Adam's children multiplied and did evil 
 and shed blood. And the angels said, ' O our 
 Lord, Thou hast created Adam ; and his children 
 commit adultery and do evil and shed blood/ 
 God Most High replied, ' O my angels, had I 
 given to you the passions I have given to them, 
 ye too would have done all manner evil and 
 
1 68 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 wrought works of wickedness.' They said, 
 * We celebrate the praise of God ; far be it that 
 we should do evil like the sons of Adam.' 
 Then said God Most High, * Which among 
 you is the most devout and austere, that I may 
 give him passions such as I have given the 
 sons of Adam and send him down to earth, that 
 ye may see what he will do and what he will 
 not do?' Then the angels chose Harut and 
 Marut; and God Most High gave them pas- 
 sions like the passions of men and sent them 
 down to earth. When these came down from 
 Heaven to earth they went to a house and 
 became guests. In that house there was a 
 woman, a leveling of the age ; and they both 
 of them were ravished with that woman as soon 
 as ever they saw her. The woman also inclined 
 to them and showed love toward them, so that 
 they stayed with the woman that night and 
 sought to make merry with her. The woman 
 said, * If ye wish, I am content ; bring wine that 
 we may sit and drink and make merry to- 
 gether.' They asked, ' What is wine ?' The 
 woman rose from her place and went and 
 brought wine to them, and they sat and drank. 
 And when they were drunk their passions over- 
 came them and they sought to stretch forth the 
 hand to the woman. She said, ' I have a 
 
THE FOURTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 169 
 
 husband ; if he come and see you here, he will 
 leave whole nor you nor me/ They asked, 
 1 What is a husband ? what do they call a 
 husband ?' The woman replied, ' He is coming 
 now, as soon as he comes do ye smite him and 
 kill him that I may be subject to you.' They 
 both agreed thereto ; and when that woman's 
 husband came to the house they smote him 
 and slew him. God Most High said to the 
 angels, ' Have ye seen your devout ones, how 
 they have committed adultery and shed blood 
 and drunk wine and done evil ?' The angels 
 were ashamed and bowed their heads and said, 
 ' Our Lord, Thou knowest, and we know not as 
 Thou knowest.' And God Most High turned 
 that woman's form into a star and placed it in 
 the sky; and what they now call the star Venus 
 is -that woman. Then God Most High offered 
 Harut and Marut the choice between the tor- 
 ment of the world and the torment of the Here- 
 after. They said, ' O God, not the torment of 
 the Hereafter, torment us in the world ; for the 
 world is transient and its torment ends, but the 
 torment of the Hereafter is enduring and ends 
 not.' Then God Most High commanded so 
 that, after they had performed the evening wor- 
 ship, they hanged those two angels in the well 
 at Babylon with their heads downward ; and 
 
170 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 they must suffer that torment till the Resurrec- 
 tion Day by reason of a woman." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 the king may know that the angels are not safe 
 from the craft and trickery of women ; where 
 then were the prince ? Then is it incumbent on 
 the king that he beware of following the 
 woman's word and that he grant the prince his 
 this day's life." The king heard this story 
 from the vezir and he sent the youth to the 
 prison and went himself to the chase. 
 
 When it was evening the king came to the 
 palace, and the lady rose to greet him, and they 
 passed on and sat down. After the repast the 
 lady commenced to speak about the youth. 
 The king said, " To-day too such an one of my 
 vezirs made intercession for him and I sent him 
 to the prison." The lady said, " O king, to-day 
 I caused the astrologers to be brought and 
 made them cast the horoscope of that which is 
 in my womb, to see whether it be male or 
 female ; and they answered, 'It is male, and 
 will be exceeding fortunate, just and glorious/ 
 Now, O king, this is thy fortunate son ; leave 
 that unworthy one, there will no good come to 
 thee from him. Beware, O king, be not negli- 
 gent in this affair, that thy story resemble not 
 the story of those opium-eaters." The king 
 
THE LADY'S FOURTEENTH STORY. 171 
 
 said, " Tell that story, let us hear it." Quoth 
 the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S FOURTEENTH STORY. 
 
 " Certain opium-eaters, while walking abroad, 
 found a sequin ; they said, ' Let us go to a cook 
 and buy food and eat.' So they went and 
 entered a cook-shop and said, ' Master, give 
 us a sequin's worth of food.' The cook pre- 
 pared all manner of foods and loaded a porter 
 with them ; and the opium-eaters took him 
 without the city where there was a tomb,* 
 whereinto they entered and sat down, and the 
 porter laid down the food and went away. The 
 opium-eaters fell to eating of the food, when, of 
 a sudden, one of them said, * The gate is open, 
 stay, do one of you shut the gate, else other 
 opium-eaters will come and trouble us ; even 
 though they be friends they will do the deeds 
 of foes.' One of them replied, ' Go thou and 
 shut the gate,' and they fell a-quarrelling. At 
 length one said, ( Come, let us agree that who- 
 soever of us first speak or laugh shall rise and 
 make fast the gate.' They all agreed to this 
 proposal, and left the food and sat quite still. 
 
 * A tomb enclosed by four walls. 
 
172 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 Suddenly a bitch and fifteen dogs came in ; not 
 one of the opium-eaters stirred or spake, for if 
 one spake he must needs rise and shut the 
 gate ; so they spake not. The dogs made an 
 end of the food and ate it all up. Just then 
 another dog leaped in from without, but no 
 food remained. Now one of the opium-eaters 
 had partaken of everything, and some of the 
 food remained about his mouth and on his 
 beard. That new-come dog licked up the 
 morsels of food that were on the opium-eater's 
 breast, and while he was licking up those about 
 his mouth he took his lip for a piece of meat 
 and bit it. The opium-eater stirred not, for he 
 said in himself, 'They will bid me shut the gate ;' 
 but to ease his soul he muttered, ' Ough ! ' in- 
 wardly cursing the dog. When the other opium- 
 eaters heard, him make that noise they said, 
 * Rise, fasten the gate.' He replied, ' 'After loss, 
 attention ; ' now that the food is gone and my 
 lip is wounded, what profit in shutting the 
 gate ? Through negligence and folly ye have 
 let this great good slip from your hands.' And 
 crying, ' Woe ! alas ! ' they went each in a dif- 
 ferent direction." 
 
 " O king, I have told this story for that the 
 king may not be repentant at the last moment." 
 When the king heard this story from the lady 
 
THE FIFTEENTH VEZIRS STORY. 173 
 
 he said, " To-morrow will I kill him." And 
 they went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king went forth 
 and sat upon his throne, and he caused the 
 youth to be brought and commanded the exe- 
 cutioner, " Kill." When the Fifteenth Vezir 
 came forward and said, 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " There was in the palace of the world a 
 famous king and God Most High had given 
 him a son. After some time the son became 
 afflicted with a heartburn, and he would ever 
 complain of his heart. The king brought 
 together all the physicians that were to be got, 
 and they treated the boy's ailment ; but it was 
 in vain, the physicians were powerless. As 
 often as the boy said, ' Father, my heart/ the 
 king would say, * Son, my heart aches more 
 than thy heart ;' and the king was afflicted at 
 his pain. At length the boy died. After the 
 dismay, the king came up by the boy and said, 
 ' Cut him open that I may see what pain was in 
 his heart.' When they had cut open the boy 
 the king saw that a bone had grown on the top 
 of his heart. The king ordered that they took 
 out that bone and then buried the boy ; and the 
 king caused that bone to be made into the 
 
174 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 handle of a knife. One day they placed a 
 water-melon before the king ; the king cut the 
 melon with that knife and ate some of it, and he 
 stuck the knife into the remains of the melon 
 and left it. Then the king caused the chess 
 things to be brought and he began to play ; 
 afterward he went to take up the knife when he 
 saw that the part of the handle which had pene- 
 trated into the melon was melted and had 
 vanished. As soon as the king saw this he 
 exclaimed, ' Dost thou see ? the cure for my 
 son's sickness was water-melon ; and I knew it 
 not.' And his heart was grieved thereat, and 
 he began to weep, and said, * Son, it has gone 
 from thy heart and come into my heart ; would 
 that thou hadst not come to earth ! ' Arid at 
 length that king died of anguish of soul." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 thou mayst beware and slay not thy child on 
 the woman's word, lest thou too die of anguish 
 of soul." And he kissed the ground and made 
 intercession for the prince. When the king 
 heard this story from the vezir he sent the 
 youth to the prison and went himself to the 
 chase. 
 
 When it was evening the king returned from 
 the chase and came to the palace, and the lady 
 rose to greet him, and they passed on and sat 
 
THE LADY'S FIFTEENTH STORY. 175 
 
 down. After the repast the lady began to speak 
 about the youth. The king said, " This day 
 also such an one of my vezirs made intercession 
 for him and I sent him to the prison." The lady 
 said, " O king, this youth is a dragon, until he 
 be killed thou shalt not be safe from his malice ; 
 it is even as it was with a certain king who 
 until he had killed his son could not escape from 
 his pain ; mayhap the king has not heard that 
 story. 5 ' Then the king said, " Tell on, let us 
 hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S FIFTEENTH STORY. 
 
 " They have related that a great king was 
 wroth with Luqman,* and commanded that they 
 lowered him into a pit and closed up the 
 mouth of the pit with a great stone. By 
 Luqman the sage was a pill, of the bigness 
 of a walnut, which he had made by his science. 
 He ever smelled it, and his hunger was satisfied 
 and his thirst was quenched ; and for a long 
 time he remained in that pit. The king who 
 imprisoned him died, and his son became king 
 in his stead. And sickness seized upon this 
 king ; and the physicians treated him, but he 
 grew no better, and his trouble increased upon 
 
 * A legendary sage. He here pretends to kill the boy, that 
 the king may recover through joy on finding his son alive. 
 
1 76 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 him. They were helpless and said, ' O king, 
 had Luqman been alive he could have cured 
 thy pain.' Then said the king, * What manner 
 of man was Luqman ? ' They replied, ' Thy 
 father was wroth with him and put him into 
 the pit ; by now his bones are rotten. But 
 Luqman was a man such that God Most High 
 hath mentioned him in the noble Koran; such a 
 sage has never come to earth.' The king said, 
 ' If it be so, open the pit, belike he has in 
 some way saved himself.' They went and 
 opened that pit and went down and saw him 
 sitting there, and they came and told the king. 
 The king said, ' Quick, go bring him.' They 
 went to pull him out of the pit, when Luqman 
 said, ' If the king wish me, wrap me in cotton 
 and draw me out ; and bring to me a virgin 
 every night.' They did so, and after forty 
 days he arose and came before the king, and 
 he saw the king lying without strength. After 
 praising and lauding him, he asked of the king's 
 trouble and felt his pulse, and said, ' O king, 
 thou hast a hard sickness.' Then he asked, 
 " Has the king a son ? ' They replied, ' He 
 has.' Luqman said, * O king, until the throat 
 of thy son be cut and his blood rubbed on thy 
 body, this thy pain will not leave thee.' The 
 king answered, ' O Luqman, thou art thyself a 
 
THE LADY'S FIFTEENTH STORY. 177 
 
 great man ; I will consent to my own death, 
 but I will not consent to my son's.' Quoth 
 Luqman, ' O king, I have told thee the cure ; 
 the rest thou knowest.' And he arose and 
 went away. After some days the king's trouble 
 increased, and he called Luqman to his side 
 and said, ' O Luqman, is there no other remedy?' 
 Luqman answered, ' O king, there is no cure 
 save the cutting of thy son's throat.' The 
 king's soul came up to his throat through that 
 trouble. Quoth Luqman, * O king, when thou 
 art well, sons will not be lacking thee.' Then 
 said the king, * Now get the boy and cut his 
 throat in a distant place that mine eyes see it 
 not.' Luqman said, ' There is no good if it be 
 done in another place, it is needful that it be 
 done before thine eyes.' Then they gave the 
 boy into Luqman's hands. And Luqman bound 
 the boy's hands and feet, and cunningly tied a 
 bladder filled with blood round the boy's throat, 
 and laid him down before the king. Then he 
 took a diamond knife in his hand and said, ' O 
 king, now look, see how I cut the prince's 
 throat.' When the king's two eyes were fixed 
 on the boy, he struck against the boy's throat 
 with the knife and the blood gushed out. When 
 the king saw the blood on the boy's throat he 
 sighed ; and when Luqman saw him he thanked 
 
 N 
 
178 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 God. And straightway he raised the boy from 
 the ground and kissed his two eyes ; and 
 Luqman said, ' O king, I could find no other 
 way to turn off thy sickness than this trick.' 
 Then the king greatly applauded Luqman and 
 bestowed upon him much wealth." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 until the king have killed his son, he too will have 
 no security from trouble." When the kingheard this 
 story from the lady he was wroth and said, " To- 
 morrow will I kill him." And they went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king went and sat 
 upon his throne and he caused the youth to be 
 brought and ordered the executioner, " Smite off 
 his head/' The Sixteenth Vezir came forward 
 and said, " O king of the world, it is not 
 beseeming thy glory that thou castest to the 
 waters the words of the vezirs ; for men are 
 either good or bad concerning the king, whatso- 
 ever they say, the king is informed thereof, 
 and the king is given word of evil or hurt about 
 to be, and all that goes on without is known to 
 the king, that he may make preparation accor- 
 dingly. It is even as in the Tradition, ' Speak 
 to men according to their understanding.' May- 
 hap my king has not heard the story of the 
 dervish and the king." The king said, " Tell 
 on, let us hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
THE SIXTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 179 
 
 THE SIXTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " There was in a palace of the world a king 
 and his name was Aydin (light). One day a 
 dervish came before him and spake pleasantly 
 with fair discretion ; and whatsoever they asked, 
 he answered the whole of it, and his every word 
 seemed good to the king. The king said, ' O 
 dervish, go not away, let us spend this evening 
 together.' The dervish blessed him and said, 
 ' On head and eye.' Now it was then very cold. 
 So the king took the dervish, and they went to 
 the palace and sat down. The king ordered 
 that they laid wood upon the fire-place and set 
 light to it, whereupon the dervish repeated these 
 verses 
 
 1 Take in winter fire from garden-land ; 
 Take the goblet from the drunken band ; 
 Should there no leveling for cup-bearer be, 
 Take from orange-breasted damsel's hand.' 
 
 As these verses seemed right good to the 
 king, he wrote them in his album ; and he said to 
 the dervish, 'Tell some merry story/ Quoth 
 the dervish, ' O king, once there was a king, and 
 by him there was a devotee. One day they said 
 to the king, " Yon devotee is a Rafizl.*" The 
 king, to try him, one day asked that devotee, " O 
 
 * An adherent of the Shl'a sect, which acknowledges 'All, but 
 rejects Abu-Bekr, 'Othman and 'Omar as lawful Khalifs. 
 
 N 2 
 
i8o HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 devotee, lovest thou Saint Abu Bekr the 
 True?" The devotee replied, " Nay." He 
 said, " Lovest thou Saint 'Omar ? " He answered, 
 "Nay." "Then lovest thou Saint 'Othman ?" 
 He answered, " Nay, nay." " Then lovest thou 
 Saint 'All the Approved ? " He answered 
 " Nay." Thereupon the king's difficulties from 
 being one became two, and he thought and said 
 in himself, "If this devotee were a Rafizi, he 
 would love Saint 'All, though he loved not the 
 other Noble Companions our Lords ; if he were 
 a SunnI, he would love all of the Four Chosen 
 Friends our Lords." And he turned and said 
 to the devotee, " Thou lovest none of the 
 Glorious Companions, whom then lovest thou ? " 
 The devotee replied, " There is at the gate of 
 the bazaar a leveling of the age ; lo, that is 
 whom I love." The king was pleased with this 
 jest of the devotee and gave him many gifts/ 
 And that dervish told stories such as this to 
 the king, and he amused the king with many 
 jests. That night they ate and drank, and 
 when their converse was finished, drowsiness 
 came upon the king, and he would have lain 
 down, but the devotee was at ease and would 
 not rise and go. The slaves thought to say to 
 the devotee, ' Arise and go,' but they feared the 
 king and were silent. The king too wished 
 
THE SIXTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 181 
 
 that the devotee might perceive by his discre- 
 tion that he should arise ; but where was that 
 discretion ? The king looked, but it was not. 
 Then he called to his servants, ' Strike the 
 fagot that the glow (ishiq) may go out.' The 
 servants understood not and remained still. 
 Thereupon the devotee said, ' Why wait ye ? 
 Strike the log that the light (aydin) may spring 
 up/ Now the king's name was Aydin (light) 
 and the devotee's name was Ishiq (glow).* The 
 king said, ' I sent thee off with a fagot, that is 
 struck thee with a fagot, but thou didst strike me 
 with a log.' The devotee said, ' My king, thou 
 didst not strike me with a fagot, neither did I 
 strike my king with a log ; so do thou rest on 
 the one side of the hearth and I shall rest on 
 the other.' And the king was pleased with 
 these words of the devotee ; and they lay down 
 and rested." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 thou mayst know that a certain freedom is usual 
 with the accomplished. Now there are no 
 learned men equal to these forty vezirs of my 
 king, each one of whom utters these many good 
 sayings and fair words ; and indeed the good or 
 bad of these has many a time been tried. And 
 
 * So the point of this story turns upon an untranslatable pun. 
 
1 82 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 what is incumbent upon my king is this, that he 
 listen not to the words of these inattentively 
 nor cast them to the winds." The king said, 
 " This demand leaves me in bewilderment. 
 Our Lord the Apostle of God hath said con- 
 cerning women, that they are enemies to you, 
 but that one of them is needful to each of you. 
 And God Most High hath said in His Glorious 
 Word, ' Your wealth and your children are but 
 a trial.'* Now I ask these affairs of this youth 
 and he answers not at all ; and so long as he will 
 not speak, will my difficulty remain unsolved. 
 Thus it seems to me that this youth has done 
 this wantonness, and therefore cannot speak." 
 When the vezir saw this much consideration on 
 the part of the king he said, " My king, in 
 every thing the mysterious workings of God 
 Most High are many ; let not my king regard 
 the not speaking of the youth. One day will 
 he speak indeed ; yea, there is also in that noble 
 verse concerning children, ' And God : with 
 Him is great reward.'"* And he kissed the 
 ground and made intercession for the prince. 
 And the king sent the youth to the prison and 
 went himself to the chase. That day, when they 
 were hunting, a deer rose, and the hounds pur- 
 
 * Koran, viii. 128, and Ixiv. 15. 
 
HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 183 
 
 sued it, and all the attendants pushed their 
 horses after that deer, and the king too pushed 
 on. Each one went in a different direction, and 
 the king was left alone. When it was evening 
 there was with him no attendant nor anyone ; 
 the king looked and there was none, and he 
 said, " There is in this some divine working." 
 And straightway he disguised himself and 
 pushed on and came to a village and was guest 
 in a shepherd's house. 
 
 On the morrow he rose betimes, and while he 
 was watching the sheep and lambs, he looked and 
 saw a lamb that had lost its mother. Seeking 
 about, it went up to a sheep, and that sheep 
 butted at the lamb, and the lamb fell. It rose 
 again and went to another sheep ; and that 
 sheep likewise butted at the lamb. The king 
 asked this from the shepherd, " Why do these 
 sheep butt at that lamb ?" The shepherd said, 
 " To-day this lamb's mother died ; these, being not 
 its mother, receive it not." Then the king sighed 
 in his soul and said in his heart, "May God Most 
 High leave not a servant of His an orphan." 
 
 Let us to our story : The attendants re- 
 turned to the city, and each one turned his 
 horse's head straight to the palace. They 
 arrived at the castle, and one of them called out 
 and learned the circumstance (of the king's 
 
1 84 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 absence) from the watchmen ; so they went to 
 look for news of the king. On the other hand 
 the watchmen informed the grand vezir of the 
 matter ; and straightway the grand vezir com- 
 manded that all of those watchmen were secured 
 in prison,* and he himself walked about the city 
 till morning. He sent a vezir to the king's 
 attendants, saying, " Go tell the attendants that 
 they publish not this affair, and do thou go with 
 the whole of them to seek the king." On her 
 part, the lady looked and the time passed and 
 the king came not, and she caused the grand 
 vezir to be questioned ; the vezir sent word to 
 her, " This night there is a great council ; our 
 king will not go in." The vezir questioned the 
 king's attendants ; and while they were going 
 to the place where they had left the king, the 
 king himself set out from the village where he 
 was and came to the place where the attendants 
 had dispersed. The attendants saw the king, 
 and brought word to the vezir ; so the vezir 
 pushed on his horse and came up to the king. 
 The king said in his heart, " These will have 
 enthroned the prince and sent this vezir to me ; 
 now is he coming to give me the sherbet ; O 
 how the lady's words were true !" The vezir 
 
 * To prevent their spreading the report of the king's dis- 
 appearance. 
 
HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 185 
 
 saw from the king's countenance that he was 
 thinking thus, and he came up quickly to him, 
 and kissed the ground before the king, and said, 
 " My king, what plight is this plight ? Is it 
 beseeming to remain without at such a time ? 
 Above all, as the prince has been these many 
 days imprisoned, everyone says that the king's 
 senses have well nigh left him." Thereupon 
 the king said, " Have ye taken the prince from 
 prison ?" The vezir replied, " Nay, my king ; 
 the grand vezir secured in prison the watchmen 
 who had learned of my king's remaining out in 
 the evening from the attendants who came to 
 the gate ; and he sent me and the attendants to 
 seek my king." The king's mind was some- 
 what comforted, but his heart would not believe. 
 Then the vezir perceived that the king's heart 
 was not at ease and he said to the king, " My 
 king, thy grand vezir sent me hither in the 
 evening ; to learn the events of to-day are my 
 eyes now on the road." And he kissed the ground 
 and was silent. The king said, " If we went 
 on now it were too quick ; but let an attendant 
 go and inform the vezir of the affair." They 
 sent on an attendant ; and that day, when it was 
 evening, the king came to the palace and found 
 everything in its proper place, and his heart 
 was again at rest concerning his vezir. 
 
1 86 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 After the repast he entered the harem. The 
 lady had rubbed a dye upon her eyes and made 
 them red, and she rose to greet the king as if 
 weeping ; and the king passed on and sat in 
 his place. When coffee and sherbets had 
 been drunk she asked of the haps of the 
 night, and the king related the events to her. 
 She said, " O king, the thing thou hast done 
 might be in two ways ; the one, of purpose, to 
 distinguish between friend and foe ; the other, 
 by chance. In this instance thou hast passed 
 the evening outside by chance, and thy heart is 
 at ease for that thy vezirs have done no un- 
 seemly deed. But, my king, beware, trust not 
 these vezirs ; for they would make the youth 
 king. Praise be to God ! thou art well, but 
 they still watch their opportunity ; and this 
 youth has no dread of thee, thou hast brought 
 him up full insolent ; that is not good. And 
 they have said that if a person treat thee as a 
 brother, do thou treat him as a master and 
 deem him great. Kings are like fire ; if thou 
 be a lion, thou must be on thy guard against 
 the fire, even as lions are on their guard against 
 fire. There is a fable suitable to this : The 
 lynxes go along with the lion, but they go not 
 close to him. One day they asked one of them, 
 ' Thou goest along with the lion ; why goest 
 
HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 187 
 
 thou not near to him ?' He replied, ' Firstly, 
 the lion hunts beasts and I eat his leavings ; 
 secondly, when an enemy comes against me I 
 go to him and take refuge ; as these two things 
 are good for me I go along with him. And 
 the reason of my going not near is this, that his 
 glory is that of a render, one day it might be 
 that he should rend me like the leopard ; there- 
 fore go I not near him/ Wise is he who acts 
 before kings like the lynx ; for nearness to the 
 sultan is a burning fire. Even as the lynx is 
 content with and eats the lion's leavings, must 
 the wise man be content with the king's leav- 
 ings ; else, if he stretch forth his hand to the 
 morsel that is in the king's mouth the plight 
 of him who stretches forth his hand is notorious. 
 If an enemy appear, it is needful to take refuge 
 with the king ; so one must ever be between 
 dread and entreaty, and must measure his 
 words. A word is like an arrow that has left 
 the bow, when once it leaves the mouth it 
 returns not again. Mayhap my king has not 
 heard the story of Sultan Mahmud* and 
 Hasan of Maymand.f" The king said, " Tell 
 on, let us hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
 * Sultan Mahmud, the son of Sebuktekm, of Ghazm. 
 
 t Hasan of Maymand was a minister, not of Sultan Mahmud, 
 but of that monarch's father. Hasan's son, Ahmed, was Mah- 
 mud's vezir. 
 
1 88 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 THE LADY'S SIXTEENTH STORY. 
 
 " A word was the cause of Sultan Mahmud 
 dismissing his vezir Hasan of Maymand, and 
 confiscating all his property and banishing him. 
 So what could Hasan of Maymand do but yield 
 consent to misfortune and bear calamity with 
 patience ? One day, during his exile, while he 
 was passing along a street, a group of children 
 were playing, one was prince and one was vezir. 
 The prince got angry and wished to banish the 
 vezir and confiscate his property. The child 
 who was vezir said, ' Art thou just or art thou 
 a tyrant ?' The prince answered, ' I am just/ 
 Then said the vezir, * Thou art just ; well, when 
 I came to thee I was young, and I have spent 
 my life in thy service and gained my property ; 
 now thou confiscatest my property and takest 
 away my office, I now ask back from thee my 
 life that I have spent in thy service ; if thou be 
 just, it is right that thou give me my life.' The 
 prince was silent and made that child vezir 
 again. Hasan of Maymand liked the child's 
 words, and straightway he went and composed 
 a petition and sent it to Sultan Mahmud. 
 When the petition arrived they took it and 
 gave it to the king. The king read it, and 
 when he perceived its import, he straightway 
 
THE LADY'S SIXTEENTH STORY. 189 
 
 ordained that he was pardoned and reinstated 
 in his office. So he was dismissed by one word 
 and reinstated by one word." 
 
 11 O king, I deemed this story suitable in that 
 a master of speech comes not readily to hand ; 
 and a master of speech is one who knows 
 the speech that ought to be spoken. For 
 speech is of two kinds ; one kind is truth, 
 another kind is folly. A wise man distinguishes 
 between the speech of a sage and the speech of 
 a fool. A sage speaks with understanding, but a 
 fool speaks with trickery. The man who distin- 
 guishes not between these is like a beast, for a 
 beast knows only when it is hungry and when it 
 is full. Now this thy degenerate son has made 
 for thy life and thy throne; this is beseeming, that 
 thou give him neither grace nor time. Thou must 
 kill him to-morrow, else he will slay thee." 
 When the king heard this story from the lady 
 he said, " To-morrow will I finish his affair." 
 And they rose and went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning and the sun shed 
 light (aydin) and, like the words of the king and 
 the dervish, the glow (ishiq) appeared, and the 
 world was illuminated with radiance, the happy- 
 fortuned king passed and sat upon his throne, 
 and he caused the executioner to bring the 
 youth and commanded, " Smite off his head." 
 
190 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 The Seventeenth Vezir came forward and said, 
 " O king of the world, haste not in slaying the 
 prince ; both sides of the question are not yet 
 known, 'kill him not until the accused and the 
 accuser come together. At present he is innocent 
 and much cruelty has been done him ; and this 
 calamity has befallen those who are in thy 
 service. If thou forgive, all the troubles brought 
 upon him will be forgotten : and the Holy 
 Apostle hath said, 'Verily, God will not re- 
 quire of my people that whereto their passions 
 have urged them, if they have not spoken it 
 or done it.' If thou slay the prince, on the 
 Resurrection Day God Most High will ask of 
 thee if thou killedst thy son in accordance with 
 the Law; how wilt thou answer Him, if the sin 
 be the woman's ? For they have said that the 
 lust of man is as one and that of woman as nine ; 
 for Gabriel (peace on him !) brought to our 
 father Saint Adam (peace on him !) ten apples 
 and said, ' Adam, these apples are lust ; beware, 
 let not Eve eat them, eat the whole of them 
 thyself.' Adam (peace on him !) ate one of 
 them, then as some wondrous sight appeared in 
 the alleys of Paradise, he gave the nine of them 
 in charge to Eve and warned her, saying, ' Take 
 heed, eat them not/ and went off. When Eve 
 was alone, Satan came and tempted her, and 
 
THE SEVENTEENTH VEZIFS STORY. 191 
 
 Eve ate those nine apples. Therefore is the 
 lust of man one and the lust of woman nine. 
 There is a story on the greatness of woman's 
 lust, if the king grant leave I will relate it." 
 The king said, " Relate it, let us hear." Quoth 
 the vezir, 
 
 THE SEVENTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " One year there was a famine in Mekka the 
 Revered. And there was there a woman, and 
 she had much wheat which she sold. A youth 
 came and asked wheat from her. The 
 woman admired that youth and was ravished 
 with him, and she said to him, ' The wheat is 
 finished.' What could the youth do ? His 
 strength and power were gone through hunger, 
 and he began to beseech the woman. Then the 
 woman with a thousand airs and graces said to 
 the youth, ' I will present thee with a load of 
 the wheat I am about to eat myself, if thou will 
 come and make merry with me.' The youth 
 said, ' We take refuge in God. God forbid that 
 I should commit that sin in this most holy spot, 
 or in any other place/ The woman answered, 
 ' Come, make merry with me, else shall I now call 
 out, " This youth has come and broken into my 
 house and seeks to do me wrong," and so put 
 thee to shame before the world.' The youth was 
 
192 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 bewildered and said in himself, ' See what an 
 evil has befallen me ! if I do this, to-morrow on 
 the Day of Retribution how shall I answer God 
 Most High ? And if I do it not, she will put 
 me to shame before the world.' He pondered 
 a while and then determined to go into a 
 chamber of that house and there geld himself; 
 and he went into that house with that purpose. 
 He looked and saw that the wall of that 
 chamber was cracked and that there was a 
 way of escape. So the youth went out that 
 way, and he saw ten camels standing, all laden 
 with loads of wheat, and they had no master. 
 The youth knew them to be the gift of God 
 Most High, and he took them and led them 
 to his house. And the woman was longing for 
 the youth, so she went into the chamber but 
 could find neither sign nor trace of him ; and 
 night and day was she oppressed with sorrow. 
 If anyone fear God Most High, God Most 
 High will not leave him in straits, but will give 
 him untold good." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 thou mayst know that overpowering passion 
 such as that abounds in women. Refuge in 
 God ! may the wiles of woman hurt not the 
 prince too. Now, in this affair it is incumbent 
 on the king that he hurry not, but enquire dili- 
 
HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 193 
 
 gently." And he made intercession with the 
 king for the prince for that day. When the 
 king heard this story from the vezir he sent the 
 youth to the prison and mounted for the chase. 
 The grand vezir sought to prevent him, but he 
 was unable. And that day he found his way 
 with difficulty in the evening. 
 
 He came to the palace, and the lady rose to 
 greet him, and they sat down. After the repast 
 the lady began to talk ; now day and night the 
 lady's thoughts were taken up with the youth, so 
 she asked about him. The king answered, 
 " To-day also such an one of my vezirs made 
 intercession for him and I sent him to the 
 prison." The lady said, " O king, Hippocrates 
 the sage hath said, ' Be eager in the search for 
 thy faults because of thine enemy.' And Plato 
 the sage hath said, ' Let whoso desireth that 
 his friends be glad and his foes confounded 
 endeavour to abandon his faults/ Thus a man 
 went to a friend of his and said, ' Such and such 
 a man speaks ill of me/ The friend replied, 
 * Go thou and shame that man by good deeds.' 
 He said, ' He spake ill of thee likewise.' The 
 other answered, ' Let be, vex me not ; he 
 doth blot out my .sin,' and he left him. Now, 
 thus do the vezirs bring forward my sins before 
 the king ; but, praise be to God ! I am free from 
 
 o 
 
194 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 all sin. Then, if thy life be needful for thee, 
 leave not the youth alive, for he is a sharper. 
 His story resembles the story of a certain 
 sharper ; mayhap my king has not heard it." 
 The king said, " Relate it, let us hear." Quoth 
 the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S SEVENTEENTH STORY. 
 
 " Of old time there were in the city of 
 Baghdad forty sharpers, and one among them a 
 youth. One night, when these were talking 
 together, their chief pulled out a sequin and laid 
 it on the ground in the middle of them and said, 
 1 Which of you can go and buy a sequin's worth 
 of sweetmeats and bring back both sweetmeats 
 and sequin ? ' None answered. Then the 
 youth rose and took the sequin and went with 
 some young men to a confectioner's shop, 
 bought the sweetemats, gave the sequin, and 
 sent the sweetmeats away with those young 
 men. The youth stole the sequin from the 
 place where the confectioner had put it, and 
 went out into the street. The confectioner saw 
 that the sequin was gone and knew that the 
 youth had stolen it, so he took two jugs in his 
 hand and went and arrived before the youth at 
 the door of the house where his fellows dwelt. 
 He stood there, and the youth came across ; 
 
THE LADY'S SEVENTEENTH STORY. 195 
 
 then the confectioner said, * Youth, hast thou 
 stolen the sequin ? ' The youth, thinking him 
 to be of his fellows, replied, ' I have stolen 
 it/ The other said, * Come, give it me and do 
 thou fill these jugs.' The youth gave him the 
 sequin, took the jugs, and went to the river ; 
 and the confectioner took the sequin and made 
 for his own house. When the youth had filled 
 the jugs he returned, and the sharpers, as soon 
 as they saw him, said, ' Where is the sequin ? ' 
 The youth perceived that it was the confec- 
 tioner who had been at the door, and he 
 straightway ran off, and ere the confectioner 
 had reached his house he arrived there, and 
 disguising himself as a woman, stood behind the 
 door. W T hen the confectioner came, the youth 
 said, * Why standest thou there ? the ass has 
 broken loose and gone out into the street ; go, 
 catch it and bring it.' The confectioner thought 
 the speaker was his wife and saying, * Take this 
 sequin,' gave it him. The youth took the sequin 
 and went off. The confectioner went and saw 
 no ass and he returned and said to his wife, ' I 
 have not found it.' His wife asked, ' What hast 
 thou not found ? ' The confectioner answered, 
 1 The ass.' His wife said, ' Fellow, art thou 
 mad ? who asked thee about the ass ? or dost 
 thou make mock of me ? ' The confectioner 
 
 o 2 
 
196 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 replied, * My life, why should I make mock of 
 thee ? it seems to me it is thou who art mad.' 
 His wife said, ' How am I mad?' The con- 
 fectioner said, ' Give me that sequin I gave 
 thee.' His wife answered, * I have no know- 
 ledge of the sequin/ Then the confectioner 
 perceived that it was the work of the sharper, 
 so he took a pitcher in his hand, and ran and 
 came to the sharper's door. The youth had not 
 yet returned. He saw the youth coming and he 
 went forward and said to him, * Well, youth, 
 hast thou contrived to get the sequin this time?' 
 The youth said, ' I have got it.' Then the con- 
 fectioner said, ' Come, let me see it.' The 
 youth gave it him, and the confectioner said, 
 ' Take this pitcher and get a little water in it 
 and bring it.' The youth took the pitcher, got 
 water in it, and returned. He saw that there 
 was no one, and perceived that it had been the 
 confectioner again. He went quickly and 
 entered the confectioner's house, and saw that 
 the confectioner and his wife were lying 
 sleeping. He stripped himself and slipped in 
 between them, and, after waiting a little, said to 
 the confectioner, ' Come, husband, where didst 
 thou put the sequin ? I shall hide it that the 
 sharper will not get it if he come again.' The 
 confectioner said, ' It is under the pillow.' 
 
HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 197 
 
 Thereupon the youth took it from under the 
 pillow, and, before the sharpers had lain down, 
 he returned and placed the sequin on the 
 ground in the middle of them, and related to 
 them the events that had happened. They all 
 applauded him and said, ' Bravo, such sharping 
 is in none of us.' ' 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 the king may know that cunning like to this 
 abounds in youths. Beware, be not deceived 
 by the youth's gentleness, or afterward thou 
 shalt be repentant, and too late repentance 
 profits not." When the king heard these en- 
 ticing and beguiling w r ords of the lady he said, 
 " On the morrow will I kill him, be not sad." 
 And they went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning and the sun had 
 appeared, like as the ten camels laden with 
 wheat appeared to that youth in Mekka for his 
 fearing God Most High, and the world was 
 illumined with radiance, the king came and 
 sat upon his throne, and he caused the youth 
 to be brought and commanded the execu- 
 tioner, " Smite off his head." The Eighteenth 
 Vezir came forward and said, " O king of the 
 world, two things are indeed incumbent upon 
 kings ; the first is to have pity on the folk, and 
 the second is to have mercy in the time of wrath. 
 
198 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 Long will' be the life of the king who is thus, 
 and God Most High will protect him from all 
 calamities. It is even as said Our Lord the 
 Holy Apostle of God, ' Be merciful to those 
 upon the earth that the Dwellers in Heaven 
 may have mercy upon you.' And the friends 
 of a king who is generous are many, and he 
 triumphs over his enemies, and is of the host 
 of the Prophets and the Saints. And there is 
 a story of Sultan Mahmud suitable to this ; if 
 the king grant leave, I will relate it." The 
 king said, " Relate, let us hear." Quoth the 
 vezir, 
 
 THE EIGHTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " One day while Sultan Mahmud the son of 
 Sebuktekln was hunting, he got separated from 
 his soldiers, and he saw some one going along 
 in a trackless place. He pushed on and came 
 up to that man and saluted him and said, ' O 
 man, whence art thou and what is thy origin ? 
 The man replied, ' From the kingdom ; and my 
 origin my mother knows.' Then the Sultan 
 saw that he was wrapped up in black clothes and 
 mounted on a black ass ; and the king asked, 
 ' Whither goest thou now ? ' That man replied, 
 1 I go to Sultan Mahmud.' The king said, 
 ' What is thy desire of the Sultan ? ' The man 
 
THE EIGHTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 199 
 
 answered, ' I want ten thousand aspres of him ; 
 I have a debt, perchance he may give it me 
 and I shall be freed from my debt.' The 
 Sultan said, ' If he give it not, how wilt thou 
 act ? ' The man replied, ' If he will not give 
 ten thousand, let him give one thousand/ 
 Again the Sultan said, ' If he will not give even 
 one thousand, what wilt thou do ? ' The man 
 replied, ' If he will not give a thousand aspres, let 
 him give a hundred aspres/ The Sultan said, 
 ' If he will not give even that, what wilt thou 
 do ?' Then the fellow replied, ' If he will not 
 give even a hundred aspres, I shall say, Bu qara 
 eskegimin durt ayaghi 'avretinin ferjine !* and 
 shall turn and go.' The king wondered at this 
 man's self and words. After a little he met his 
 soldiers and went to his palace and sat upon his 
 throne and thus commanded the grand cham- 
 berlain, ' A man clad in black and mounted on 
 a black ass will come, give him leave to enter.' 
 The next day, early in the morning, that man 
 came, and the grand chamberlain took him and 
 brought him into the king's presence. When 
 he saw the king he knew that it was he whom 
 he had seen yesterday, and straightway he 
 prayed for the king and asked ten thousand 
 
 * I have thought it best to leave the uncivil remark of the 
 owner of the black ass in the inimitable simplicity of the original. 
 
200 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 aspres. The king said, ' May God give it 
 thee/ The man said, ' Give one thousand 
 aspres.' Again the king answered, ' May God 
 give it thee/ The man said, * Let it be a 
 hundred aspres.' Again the king answered, 
 'May God give it thee.' Then the man said, 
 ' Be thou well ; the black ass is tied at the 
 door/ Thereupon a courtier* said, ' The king 
 has bestowed nothing on thee ; let the black 
 ass be/ The man said, ' If he has not, then 
 it means, eshegimin durt ayaghi 'avretinin 
 ferjine ! And I shall be off/ But his boldness 
 pleased the king who said, * This poor man's 
 desire is but to be delivered from distress and 
 find rest, as he got no boon from us he mounts 
 his ass and goes/ And this remained as a 
 proverb, ' The black ass is tied at the door.' 
 However, he bestowed on him somewhat." 
 
 " And this story resembles it : A certain 
 khoja was going from Hindustan to Baghdad, 
 and while on the road he thus thought, * When 
 I enter the city of Baghdad what goods should 
 1 buy ? ' Anyhow he entered Baghdad, and 
 there was there a naked abdalf who had 
 
 * In Belletete this courtier is said to be FirdausI of Tus, and 
 he is made to tell Mahmud the following story of the khoja and 
 the abdal, for which the Sultan rewards him with 'a purse of 
 gold. 
 
 t A kind of religious mendicant. 
 
THE EIGHTEENTH VEZIFS STORY. 201 
 
 plucked out his beard and put it in a piece of 
 paper. He came up to the khoja and said, ' I 
 have heard, O khoja, that thou hast come to 
 buy goods ; I have something, buy it.' And 
 he gave the paper into the khoja's hand. The 
 khoja took it and opened it and saw in it the hairs 
 of the beard, and he said, 'What shall I do with 
 this ? ' The abdal said, ' Take it, and give the 
 money/ The khoja answered, * I shall not give 
 money for this.' The abdal said, 'Why wilt 
 thou not give money ? that is indeed a beard ; 
 is it not worth a hundred aspres ? ' The khoja 
 replied, ' It is not.' The abdal said, ' Let it be 
 ten aspres ; is it not worth that ? ' The khoja 
 answered, * It is not.' The abdal said, 4 Let it 
 be five aspres ; is it not worth that ? ' The 
 khoja said, ' It is not.' Then said the abdal, 'A 
 beard is not worth five aspres ; why then dost 
 thou carry one ? shave it off and let it go/ 
 The khoja was pleased with this jest of the 
 abdal and gave him a hundred aspres." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told these stories for 
 that the king may know that it is needful for 
 kings to raise the fallen and bestow favours on 
 the poor." And he kissed the ground and made 
 intercession for the prince. When the king heard 
 these stories from the vezir he sent the prince 
 to the prison and went himself to the chase. 
 
202 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 When it was evening the king returned from 
 the chase and came to the palace, and the lady 
 rose to greet him, and they sat down. After 
 the repast the lady asked for news about the 
 youth. The king said, " To-day likewise such 
 an one of my vezirs made intercession for him 
 and I sent him to the prison/' The lady said, 
 " O king, think not thou this youth would 
 maintain thy place after thee and observe the 
 ordinances of kings. To exercise sovereignty 
 is a hard work. I know that he is no true 
 man ; he watches his opportunity, and one 
 day he will slay thee and shed blood, and then 
 they will kill him too. Moreover, family and 
 descent are needful for one ; he who is not of 
 family cannot exercise sovereignty. And one's 
 nature must be good. There are men of family 
 and descent who are yet themselves of evil nature; 
 for there is not honey in every bee nor a pearl in 
 every oyster. Then this youth's nature is evil ; 
 he has not the qualities of a king ; his work 
 would ever be wickedness and he would do 
 wrong to those who do good. It is like the 
 story of a certain merchant's son ; mayhap my 
 king has not heard it." The king said, " Tell 
 on, let us hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
THE LADY'S EIGHTEENTH STORY. 203 
 
 THE LADY'S EIGHTEENTH STORY. 
 
 " There was of old time a cobbler in the city 
 of Orfa. One day he saw a dervish passing, 
 the seams of whose shoes had given way. The 
 cobbler said, ' Dervish, come, sit down till I sew 
 up the seams of thy shoes and patch the holes/ 
 The dervish answered, * If thou hast a remedy, 
 apply it to the hole in my heart.' The cobbler 
 gave him his right hand and he came and sat 
 down ; and the cobbler gave him food to eat 
 and sewed up the holes in his shoes and said, 
 ' O dervish, I too wish to journey ; what 
 counsel dost thou give me ? ' The dervish 
 answered, ' I have three counsels ; see thou 
 keep them : my first is this, set not out on 
 the journey till thou have found a good fellow- 
 traveller ; for the Apostle of God hath said, 
 " The companion, then the road." My second 
 is this, light not in a waterless place. My 
 third is this, enter great cities when the sun 
 is rising.' Then he went his way. After some 
 days the cobbler found some suitable fellow- 
 travellers and set out. While they were on the 
 road, one day in the afternoon a city appeared 
 before them. The cobbler youth asked, ' What 
 city is this city ? ' The companions answered, 
 ' It is the city of Aleppo.' The youth said, 
 
204 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 1 To-day it is near evening ; I shall not enter 
 the city to-day.' Howsoever the companions 
 urged him, it was no use ; so at length they left 
 him and went on. The youth went and lighted 
 on the bank of a stream and remained there 
 that night. Now there were tombs near the 
 youth ; and when it was midnight he saw two 
 men coming from the city carrying something 
 which they laid in the graveyard, and then they 
 went away. Then the youth went up to that 
 grave, and, striking a light with a flint and 
 steel, lit a candle ; he saw that they had laid 
 there a new coffin, and that from the four sides 
 of that coffin streams of blood were running. 
 The cobbler youth opened the lid of the coffin 
 and looked to see what he might see ; there 
 was a body bathed in blood, the garments were 
 of massive gold embroidery and on the finger 
 was a ring in which a stone glittered. The 
 youth coveted the ring and took hold of it that he 
 might pull it off, whereupon the body raised its 
 head and said, * O youth, fearest thou not God 
 that thou wouldst take my ring ? ' Then the 
 youth saw that it was a girl like the moon of 
 fourteen nights, a torment of the age, like a 
 lovely rose ; and he said, ' What is this plight ? ' 
 The girl said, ^ Now is not the time for ques- 
 tions ; if thou be able, relieve me ; and after- 
 
THE LADY'S EIGHTEENTH STORY. 205 
 
 ward I will help thine affairs/ Straightway the 
 youth pulled off his outer robe and tore it in 
 pieces and bound up the girl's wounds and laid 
 her in a place. When it was morning he took 
 her on his back and brought her into the city 
 and placed her in a cell in a certain place; and to 
 all who asked of her he said, ' She is my sister ; 
 passion came upon me and I brought this plight 
 upon this poor creature, and she innocent/ 
 The youth tended the girl's wounds and in the 
 course of a month or two she became well. 
 One day she went to the bath, and when she 
 returned she asked the youth for inkhorn, reed, 
 and paper. The youth brought them and 
 placed them before her. The girl wrote a 
 letter and gave it into the youth's hands ; 
 and therein was written thus : ' Thou who art 
 Khoja Dibab, the superintendent of the bazaar, 
 give the bearer of this letter a hundred sequins 
 and send him to me ; and disclose nothing to 
 my father of my health or my death ; if thou 
 do, thou shalt reflect well upon the issue/ She 
 sealed it and said, ' Go, give this letter to a khoja 
 who sits in such and such a place in the bazaar, 
 and take whatever he gives thee and bring it/ 
 The youth took that letter and went to the bazaar 
 and asked, and they showed him to him, and 
 he gave the letter into his hand. When the 
 
206 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 khoja opened the letter and read it, he kissed 
 it and raised it to his head, and straightway 
 drew forth a purse of gold and gave it to the 
 youth. The youth brought it and laid it before 
 the girl. The girl said, ' Go, take a house, and 
 buy with what is over clothes for thee and* me/ 
 The youth went and took a house and bought 
 sumptuous clothes and brought them to the 
 girl. And they arose and went to that house 
 which they had taken. Again she wrote a 
 letter which she gave to the youth who took it 
 to the khoja, who this time gave him two 
 purses which he took to the girl. She said to 
 him, ' Go, my youth, and buy some provisions 
 and furniture for the house.' And the youth 
 went and bought them. Then the girl got 
 another purse of sequins, and she said to the 
 youth, ' Go, buy thyself horses and arms and 
 male slaves and female slaves/ And the youth 
 went and bought them, and he brought them 
 and gave them to the girl, and he said, ' Now 
 tell me what are these matters/ The girl 
 answered, ' Now is not the time, by and bye/ 
 Gradually the girl built palaces there and in- 
 creased the number of her male slaves and 
 female slaves, and whenever she gave the youth 
 a letter he went and got two or three purses of 
 gold from that khoja. One day the girl gave 
 
STORY. 207 
 
 the youth a purse of gold and said, * In the 
 bazaar is a youth they call Ghazanfer Agha ; 
 now go and find him, and ask of him some 
 precious stuff, and he will show it thee, and 
 whatever price he ask for it, give him the double 
 thereof, and take and bring it.' So the youth 
 went and found him, and sat a while and talked 
 with him ; and whatever the price of it was he 
 gave the double, and took it ; and Ghazanfer 
 Agha marvelled at this. The youth returned and 
 gave it to the girl, and again he asked of these 
 matters, but the girl said that this too was not 
 the time. And she took out a purse of jewels 
 and gave it to the youth and said, ' Take these 
 jewels and go to Ghazanfer Agha and ask him 
 to put a value on them, and take them out and 
 lay them before him, and see what he will say 
 to thee ; and when putting the jewels back into 
 the purse present him with three of them/ So 
 she sent him off. The youth said, * I shall go ; 
 but when I come back tell me the things that 
 have befallen thee.' He went and did as the 
 girl had said. When Ghazanfer Agha saw 
 these gifts he said to the youth, ' O youth, thou 
 hast made us ashamed ; pray be troubled to 
 come once to our house and honour us that we 
 may show our affection/ The youth replied, 
 ' What though it be so ; to-morrow I shall go. 
 
208 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 And he bade him farewell and he came and 
 told the girl, and the girl said, ' Go to-morrow ; 
 but when thou enterest his house look not to 
 this side nor that side, but look straight before 
 thee/ And thus did she warn him. When it 
 was morning the youth arose ; and Ghazanfer 
 Agha looked and saw the youth coming and he 
 said, ' Welcome !' and took him and led him to 
 his house. And the youth looked at nothing, 
 but passed on and sat down ; and Ghazanfer 
 Agha treated and entertained that youth with 
 all manner of delicious foods, and then sent him 
 away. And the youth came and told the girl, 
 and she said, ' Go again to-morrow and talk 
 with him, and when thou risest, do thou too invite 
 him ; and be not jealous/ And the youth re- 
 flected and said in his heart, ' This Ghazanfer 
 Agha must be the friend of this girl ; anyhow 
 we shall see ; whatever God does He does well/ 
 In the morning he went and invited him, and 
 then came to the girl and gave her word and 
 said, ' Tell me and let me hear of the matters of 
 that night/ The girl answered, * Now is not 
 the time ; go and get these things which are 
 needful/ The youth went and got them and 
 brought them and gave her them and said, ' Lo, 
 I have brought them ; tell me/ The girl said, 
 ' Now is the guest coming, it cannot be ; by and 
 
THE LADY'S EIGHTEENTH STORY. 209 
 
 bye I will tell thee.' When Ghazanfer Agha 
 came the youth gave the girl word and she said, 
 ' Go and meet him, and lead him and bring him 
 here.' The youth said in his heart, ' This is 
 not without reason ; but wait, we shall see/ 
 And he led him respectfully, and he entered and 
 sat down with the girl. After that, came foods 
 and they ate and drank and made merry till the 
 evening. Then the girl sent word and the 
 youth came in, and she said, * Take care, be it 
 not that thou lettest Ghazanfer Agha leave this 
 evening.' And the youth said, ' What is this of 
 thee that thou dost not dismiss him ?' The girl 
 answered, ' I will tell thee afterward.' The 
 youth said in his heart, ' I shall slay the two of 
 you this night.' And he went out. When it 
 was night Ghazanfer Agha asked leave to go 
 away, but the youth would not let him, and 
 Ghazanfer Agha saw that it was not to be, so 
 he remained ; and they brought out a clean 
 coverlet and mattress and made a bed for him. 
 And Ghazanfer Agha Jay down, and the youth 
 lay down with the girl, but he slept not that he 
 might watch the girl. When it was midnight 
 the girl arose and the youth saw her, but he 
 made no sound, and the girl went up close to 
 Ghazanfer Agha. The youth, unable to en- 
 dure it any longer, rose from his place and 
 
 p 
 
210 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 said fiercely to the girl, ' What seekest thou 
 there ? ' The girl saw that the youth spake 
 angrily and she took him by the hand and drew 
 him to a place apart and said, ' I am about to 
 slay this Ghazanfer Agha.' The youth said, 
 ' What is the reason of it ? ' The girl replied, 
 4 The reason of it is this : I am the daughter of 
 the king of this land, and this youth was a 
 butcher's apprentice. One day, when going to 
 the bath, I met this youth selling meat upon 
 the road ; as soon as I saw him I fell in love 
 with him, and the bird, my heart, was taken, so 
 that I was without rest and could not remain 
 quiet. I saw there was no help for it, so I got 
 him by force of money, and sometimes I went 
 to his house, and sometimes I had him brought 
 in disguise to my palace. One night I went in 
 disguise to his house, and I saw him sitting con- 
 versing with a gipsy harlot, and I got angry 
 and I cursed the two of them. This youth was 
 wont to use the dagger, and he gave me many 
 wounds, and thought me dead .and put me in a 
 coffin and sent me with two men who laid me 
 in that tomb thou sawest. Praise be to God ! 
 my time was not yet ; thou didst come to me 
 like Khizr : now, do thou kill him.' The youth 
 said, * I shall kill him. Wilt thou marry me 
 according to the Ordinance of God ? ' She 
 
THE LADY'S EIGHTEENTH STORY. 211 
 
 answered, ' I will not marry thee ; but the vezir 
 has a daughter fairer than I, her will I get for 
 thee.' Then the youth smote him and killed 
 him. The girl said, ' In the morning go to my 
 father and give him good news ; and go to-night 
 and bring here all the possessions of this youth.' 
 The youth said, ' To-morrow thy father will 
 bring them.' When it was morning the youth 
 went and gave the good news to the king. And 
 the king sent slave-girls who brought the girl 
 to the palace. And her mother was glad when 
 she saw her safe and sound.* And they con- 
 fiscated the property of Ghazanfer Agha and 
 bestowed it on that youth. But what would 
 the youth do with the wealth ? his desire was 
 the girl. The king's vezirs said, * My king, it 
 were right if thou give the girl to the youth.' 
 The king answered, ' It is my desire too ; for 
 when my daughter disappeared and we sought 
 but could not find her, I made a promise, saying, 
 that to him who brought good news of my 
 daughter I should give her ; but the girl does 
 not wish it.' The vezirs said, ' My king, our 
 daughters are thine ; make this youth thy client; 
 whichever girl thou pleasest, give her to him/ 
 
 * The original is somewhat more explicit here : Validesi 
 qizin muhrini teftish eyledi, chun imihrini muhrlu buldi, qizin 
 iki guzinden updi. 
 
 P 2 
 
212 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 The king said, ' I shall make a proposal ;' and 
 he went and spake with her mother. And the 
 girl's mother went to her and with difficulty 
 persuaded her ; and then sent word to the king. 
 That hour they performed the marriage cere- 
 mony, and the king made the youth a vezir ; 
 and they lived for a long time in joyance and 
 delight." 
 
 " O king, I have told this story for that thou 
 mayst know that thy son will not accept counsel, 
 but purposes for thy life. Because that cobbler 
 youth accepted the words of the saints he 
 attained to fortune ; and that butcher's appren- 
 tice, for that he was a fool, wounded his bene- 
 factress, the king's daughter; and if the girl had 
 not killed him, he would have made her disgraced 
 before the world. Do thou then, O king, take 
 profit by the tale ; beware, spare not this foolish 
 youth, but kill him ; else thou shalt be repentant." 
 When the king heard this story from the lady 
 he said, " To-morrow will I kill him." And they 
 went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning and the sun had appeared, 
 like as appeared the kindness shown by the 
 king's daughter to the butcher's apprentice, and 
 the world was illumined with light, the king 
 passed and sat upon his throne, and he caused 
 the youth to be brought and commanded the 
 
THE NINETEENTH VEZIR' S STORY. 213 
 
 executioner, " Smite off his head." The Nine- 
 teenth Vezir came forward and said, " O king, 
 beware, hurry not in this matter, look to the 
 thought of the Hereafter and the way of the 
 Law. The Apostle (peace on him !) saith, 
 ' God Most High maketh wise in the Truth him 
 to whom He wisheth to do good.' According to 
 this Sacred Tradition, what is befitting the king 
 is this, that he transgress not the bounds of God. 
 The truth is this, that in this matter the prince 
 is sinless. O king, when can one obtain a son ? 
 Slay not thy prince, or grief for thy son will be 
 full hard, and in the end thou shalt be unable 
 to endure it. There is a story suitable to this ; 
 if the king grant leave I will relate it." The 
 king said, " Relate it, let us hear." Quoth the 
 vezir, 
 
 THE NINETEENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " Hasan of Basra* (the mercy of God on 
 him !) was in his first estate a seller of jewels. 
 One day he rose up to trade, and came before a 
 king and transacted business, and then he trans- 
 acted business with the vezir. The vezir said, 
 ' To-day we go to a pageant at a certain 
 
 * Hasan of Basra was a very pious and learned man. He 
 died in no (A.D. 728). 
 
214 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 place ; wilt thou come with us ? ' Hasan 
 answered, ' Yea, I shall go/ When the vezir 
 and the king had mounted their steeds, they 
 brought a horse for Hasan likewise, and they 
 all went out of the gate and came to a plain. 
 Hasan saw that in the middle of that plain was 
 a" white pavilion, the dome of which reared its 
 head into the air. Then they went up close to 
 that pavilion and all of them alighted. From 
 another side came a procession of people ; 
 Hasan of Basra saw that it was a party of 
 doctors and holy men who were carrying their 
 lecterns and copies of the Sacred Volume. 
 They came and entered that pavilion and recited 
 the Koran with sweet voice ; then they came 
 and walked three times round that dome, and 
 then stood at the door and said, ' O prince, 
 what can we ? were there release to thy sweet 
 soul by reading of the Koran, we would, all of 
 us, cease not therefrom day or night ; but it is 
 the decree of that Almighty King ; there is no 
 avail for His command save acquiescence and 
 patience/ And they went away. After them 
 came white-bearded elders and devotees reciting 
 chants, and they walked three times round that 
 dome, and then stood at the door and said, ' O 
 prince, what can we ? were there release to thy 
 sweet soul by chant and prayer, we would, all 
 
THE NINETEENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 215 
 
 of us, devote ourselves to chant and prayer ; but 
 what profit ? it is the decree of that Almighty 
 King ; there is no avail therefor save resigna- 
 tion.' And they went away. After them came 
 many moon-faced damsels, in the hand of each 
 of whom was a golden dish filled full of all 
 manner of jewels, and they walked three times 
 round that dome, and then stood at the door and 
 said, ' O prince, what can we ? were there 
 release to thy sweet soul by the giving of 
 riches, we would give all these jewels, and 
 we ourselves would become slaves ; but what 
 avail ? it is the decree of that Almighty 
 King, and He hath no need of such things ; 
 there is no help for His decree save patience.' 
 And they went away. After them came an 
 innumerable army which surrounded that dome, 
 rank on rank, and they said, ' O prince, were 
 there release to thy sweet soul by battle, night 
 and day would we, all of us, do battle in thy cause; 
 but what avail ? it is the decree of that Almighty 
 King ; there is no help therefor but patience and 
 resignation.' And they went away. After them 
 came the king the father of that prince, and the 
 vezirsand the nobles, and they walked three times 
 round that dome, and then stood at the door, and 
 the king said, * O light of my eyes, darling of 
 my heart, were there release to thy sweet soul 
 
216 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 to be found by science, I had found it by means 
 of the learned ; or were it by gifts and bounties, 
 I had assembled all my army and made war and 
 attained it ; but what avail ? decree is God's. He 
 is in want of nought ; there is no help save 
 patience and acquiescence in His judgment.' 
 And he wept full bitterly, and all the nobles and 
 vezirs wept likewise. When Hasan of Basra saw 
 these things he asked the vezir, ' What plight is 
 this plight ? ' The vezir said, ' O Hasan, our 
 king had a son : he was in beauty a second 
 Joseph ; and in writing, reading, chivalry, and 
 all accomplishments he had no rival ; and as he 
 was the king's only child he loved him very 
 much. One day Death spared him not, and he 
 passed to the Abiding Home. After the wailing 
 and dismay, as there was no help save patience 
 under the heavenly decree, they brought him 
 and buried him in this dome. And once every 
 year they come and thus visit the tomb.' When 
 Hasan of Basra heard these words from the 
 vezir and saw these things with his eyes, wealth 
 and riches went forth from his eye and heart ; 
 and he abandoned the whole of them and turned 
 dervish and donned the khirqa * ; and now, 
 when his name is mentioned, they add, ' The 
 mercy of God on him ! ' 
 
 * The dervish's cloak. 
 
HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 217 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 the king may know that grief for children is 
 full bitter. As yet thou hast not felt it, and may 
 God Most High not show it thee thus through 
 him. O king, slay not the prince, else after- 
 ward thou shalt be repentant and shalt sigh 
 and groan until thou die." And he made inter- 
 cession for the prince for that day. When the 
 king heard this story from the vezir compassion 
 came into his heart, and he sent the youth to the 
 prison and went himself to the chase. 
 
 When it was evening the king returned from 
 the chase and came to the palace, and again the 
 lady rose to greet him, and she sat with the 
 king. After the repast the lady asked for news 
 of the youth. The king said, " To-day like- 
 wise such an one of my vezirs made intercession 
 for him, and I have sent him again to the 
 prison." The lady said, " O king, why dost thou 
 leave my counsel and act according to thine 
 own understanding? Hast not thou heard these 
 words they have said concerning the heedless : 
 ' Whoso is presumptuous through reason is 
 abased.' And the sages have said that eight 
 things bring disgrace upon a man : the first is 
 going to dine at a place without invitation, 
 the second is interfering between another and 
 his wife, the third is giving ear to every one's 
 
218 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 words, the fourth is slighting the king, the fifth 
 is setting one's self above a great man, the sixth 
 is speaking to those who listen not to one's 
 words, the seventh is begging a favour of an 
 avaricious and indifferent person, and the eighth 
 is going to the enemies' gate. Now, O king, 
 those vezirs interfere between thee and me. 
 Beware, act not according to their words. They 
 have said that he who acts according to a 
 stranger's word will divorce his wife. Their 
 words are many ; and they are forty vezirs, and 
 each one of them for this long time is plan- 
 ning wiles. Mayhap my king has not heard the 
 story of the old gardener and his son." The 
 king said, " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the 
 lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S NINETEENTH STORY. 
 
 "In the by-gone time an old gardener had 
 mounted his son upon an ass and was proceeding 
 to the garden, himself on foot. They met some 
 men who said, ' See this old pederast, how he 
 has mounted the boy upon the ass ; and is him- 
 self running alongside.' Whenever the old man 
 heard this he made the boy alight and mounted 
 himself. Again they met some other folk, these 
 likewise said, ' Look at this heartless old man, 
 he rides the ass himself and makes the poor 
 
THE LADY'S NINETEENTH STORY, 219 
 
 child go on foot.' Whenever the old man heard 
 this he took his son up in front of him. Then 
 some people saw them and said, ' See this old 
 pederast, how he has taken the boy up in front of 
 him.' The old man heard this, and he put his 
 son up behind him. Again certain folks saw 
 them and said, ' See this old catamite, how he 
 has taken the boy up behind him.' The old man 
 knew not what to do, so he put his son down 
 and alighted himself and drove the ass before 
 them. The garden was near, and both of them 
 were on foot, and they reached the garden 
 before meeting with any others." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story that thou 
 mayst know that no one in the world can escape 
 the tongue of the folk. Each one says a 
 different thing. It is even as when a boil came 
 out on the foot of a certain king who showed it 
 to someone and said, ' Come, look at this boil ; 
 is it ripe or unripe ? ' He looked and said, ' It is 
 ripe.' Then he showed it to another person, 
 and he said, ' It is unripe.' Then the king said, 
 ' We cannot get sure information concerning 
 even one foot.' Do thou too, O king, go by no 
 one's word, lose not the opportunity ; no good 
 will come to thee from this youth." When the 
 king heard this story from the lady he said, " To- 
 morrow will I kill him." Arid they went to bed. 
 
220 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 When it was morning the king came and sat 
 upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be 
 brought and ordered the executioner, " Smite off 
 his head." TheTwentiethVezircameforwardand 
 said, " O king of the world, I will speak a good 
 word to thee : all these vezirs who have spoken 
 these many words are well-wishers to thee. The 
 Holy Apostle of God hath said, ' Whoso hath 
 believed in God and the Last Day ; when he 
 witnesseth to aught, let him speak with good 
 or let him be silent/ Now, what is best for thee 
 in this thy affair is this, as all thy vezirs say, 
 ' Slay not the prince/ I too say, have patience, 
 else the end of this will be care and sorrow. 
 Mayhap the king has not heard the story of a 
 certain king." The king said, " Tell on, let us 
 hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
 THE TWENTIETH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " Of old time there was a great king. One 
 day, when returning from the chase, he saw a 
 dervish sitting by the way, crying, ' I have a 
 piece of advice ; to him who will give me a 
 thousand sequins I will tell it/ When the king 
 heard these words of the dervish he drew in his 
 horse's head and halted, and he said to the 
 dervish, ' What is thy counsel ? ' The dervish 
 replied, ' Bring the sequins and give me them 
 
THE TWENTIETH VEZIFS STORY. 221 
 
 that I may tell my counsel.' The king ordered 
 that they counted a thousand sequins into the 
 dervish's lap. The dervish said, ' O king, my 
 advice to thee is this, whenever thou art about 
 to do a deed, consider the end of that deed, and 
 then act.' The nobles who were present 
 laughed together at these words and said, ' Any- 
 one knows that/ But the king rewarded that 
 poor man. He was greatly pleased with the 
 words of the dervish and commanded that they 
 wrote them on the palace gate and other places. 
 Now that king had an enemy, a great king ; and 
 this hostile king was ever watching his oppor- 
 tunity ; but he could find no way save this, he 
 said in himself, ' Let me go and promise the 
 king's barber some worldly good and give him a 
 poisoned lancet ; some day when the king is sick 
 he can bleed him with that lancet/ So he 
 disguised himself, and went and gave the 
 barber a poisoned lancet and ten thousand 
 sequins. And the barber was covetous and 
 undertook to bleed the king with that lancet 
 what time it should be needful. One day the 
 king was sick, and he sent word to the barber to 
 come and bleed him. Thereupon the barber 
 took that poisoned lancet with him and went. 
 The attendants prepared the basin, and the 
 barber saw written on the rim of the basin, 
 
222 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 ' Whenever thou art about to perform a deed, 
 think on the end thereof.' When the barber saw 
 this he said in himself, ' I am now about to bleed 
 the king with this lancet and doubtless he will 
 perish, then they will not leave me alive, but 
 will inevitably kill me ; after I am dead what use 
 will these sequins be to me?' And he took up 
 that lancet and put it in its place and drew out 
 another lancet that he might bleed the king. 
 When he took his arm a second time, the king 
 said, ' Why didst thou not bleed me with the 
 first lancet ? ' The barber answered, ' O king, 
 there was some dust on its point.' Then the 
 king said, ' I saw it, it is not the treasury lancet ; 
 there is some secret here, quick, tell it, else I 
 will slay thee.' When the barber saw this 
 importunity, he related the story from beginning 
 to end and how he had seen the writing on the 
 basin and changed his intention. The king put 
 a robe of honour on the barber and let him keep 
 the sequins which his enemy had given him. 
 And the king said, ' The dervish's counsel is 
 worth not one thousand sequins but a hundred 
 thousand sequins.' ' 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 the king may know that it is as when the dervish 
 said, ' Whatsoever deed thou doest, consider the 
 end thereof, then act.' If thou slay the prince, 
 
HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 223 
 
 at last thou shalt be repentant. The rest the 
 king knows." And he made intercession for 
 the prince. When the king heard these words 
 from the vezir he sent the prince to the prison 
 and himself mounted for the chase. 
 
 When it was evening the kin^ returned from 
 
 o o 
 
 the chase and came to the palace, and the lady 
 rose to greet him, and they sat down. After 
 the repast the lady again asked for news of the 
 youth. The king said, " To-day such an one 
 of my vezirs made intercession for him and I 
 sent him to the prison." The lady said, " O 
 king, it is related of the Khalif Ma'mun* that 
 he said, ' Four things are hurtful to kings ; the 
 first is the nobles being negligent, the second is 
 the ministers being envious, the third is the 
 mean being bold, and the fourth is the vezirs 
 being treacherous.' And the Moorish sages 
 say, ' In nobles there is no friendship, in liars 
 there is no fidelity, in the envious there is no 
 peace, in the indifferent there is no generosity, 
 and in the evil-natured there is no greatness/ 
 O king, these thy vezirs are, like thy traitor 
 son, liars and evil-natured. Thou believest the 
 words of these. The story of thee and this 
 youth altogether resembles the story of those 
 
 * El-Ma'mun, the son of Harun-er-Rashld, was proclaimed 
 khalif in 198 (A.D. 813) ; he died in 218 (A.D. 833). 
 
224 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 Turkman children." The king said, " Tell 
 that story, let us hear it." Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTIETH STORY. 
 
 " Certain Turkmans from an encampment 
 went one day into a city. When they were 
 returning from the city to the encampment they 
 were an hungered, and when they were come 
 near they ate some bread and onions at a 
 spring-head. The juice of the onions went 
 into the Turkmans' eyes, and the tears came 
 forth from their eyes. Now the children of the 
 Turkmans had gone out to meet them, and they 
 saw that the tears were streaming from their 
 fathers' eyes and they thought that some one of 
 them had died in the city. So without asking 
 and without knowing, they ran back and came 
 to the encampment and said to their mothers, 
 ' One of ours is dead in the city, our fathers are 
 coming weeping.' All the women and children 
 of that encampment came forth to meet them, 
 weeping together. The Turkmans who were 
 coming from the city thought that one of theirs 
 had died in the encampment ; so were they with- 
 out knowledge one of the other, and they raised 
 a weeping and crying together such that it can- 
 not be described. At length the elders of the 
 camp stood up in the midst and said, 'May all 
 
THE LADY'S TWENTIETH STORY. 225 
 
 ye remain whole ; the command is God's, there 
 is none other help than patience.' And they 
 questioned them. The Turkmans who were 
 coming from the city asked, ' Who is dead in 
 the encampment ?' The others said, * No one 
 is dead in the encampment ; who has died in 
 the city ? ' Those coming from the city an- 
 swered, ' No one has died in the city.' They 
 said, ' Then for whom are we wailing and 
 lamenting ? ' At length they perceived that all 
 this tumult arose from their thus trusting the 
 words of children." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for 
 that the king may know that confusion like to 
 that is brought about by youths. What I know 
 is this, if thou slay not the youth he will slay 
 thee." When the king heard these words from 
 the lady he said, " To-morrow will I kill him." 
 And they went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king came and sat 
 upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be 
 brought and ordered the executioner, <k Smite off 
 his head." The Twenty- First Vezir came for- 
 ward and said, " O king of the world, yesterday, 
 when reading in a book, I saw that they had 
 written that there was a great king in the land 
 of Hindustan, and in his time there was a work 
 on wisdom, and they laded three camels with 
 
 Q 
 
226 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 it and brought it to him. One day the king- 
 said to the sages, ' Abridge this book for me, 
 that I may study it.' Then all the sages of 
 Hind came together and collected the necessary 
 words from that work and made a book. When 
 the king read it he was pleased. And the 
 words that they wrote were these : ' O king, be 
 not presumptuous, being deceived by the world; 
 for the world showeth itself like a fair woman and 
 fondleth men in its bosom ; and when they are 
 asleep and heedless, of a sudden it woundeth 
 and slayeth them. Knowing of a surety that 
 it is thus, have care if it offer itself to thee, 
 that thou keep thyself from it, so that thou be 
 prosperous. And expend what thou gainest of 
 wealth in the way of God Most High, and 
 guard against iniquity, and show forth thy name 
 through generosity, and abandon avarice. O 
 king, the light of the world is darkness, and its 
 newness is oldness, and its being is non-being. 
 O king, strive that thou save thyself from it ; 
 and incline not to the amassing of unlawful 
 wealth, for it will pass from thy hand and be a 
 woe to thee. Strive to collect wealth law- 
 fully, and expend it on good works, and show 
 thyself just among the folk to the utmost of thy 
 power, that all the people of the world may 
 love thee, and that thou be secured against the 
 
THE TWENTY-FIRST VEZIR'S STORY. 227 
 
 punishment of God Most High. And guard 
 thy Faith for the Hereafter. And love not 
 women and tell not them thy secrets. O king, 
 be not deceived by womankind ; for in body are 
 they weak, but in guile are they strong.' Now, 
 O king, these counsels are exceeding good 
 counsels, and it behoves the king to keep them; 
 and their saying is true that women are weak 
 in body but strong in guile. Mayhap the king 
 has not heard what befell a certain king with a 
 woman." The king said, " Relate it, let us 
 hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
 THE TWENTY-FIRST VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " There was in the palace of the world a 
 great king, and he had a beautiful wife, such 
 that many a soul dangled in the tresses on her 
 cheek. That lady had a secret affair with a 
 youth, and she used to hide the youth in a 
 chest in the palace. One day that youth said 
 to the lady, ' If the king were aware of this our 
 work, he would slay the two of us/ The lady 
 said, ' Leave that thought, I can do so that I 
 shall hide thee in the chest and say to the king, 
 " Lo, my lover is lying in this chest ;" and then, 
 when the king is about to kill thee, I shall 
 make him repentant by one word.' While the 
 youth and the lady were saying these words, 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 the king came, and the lady straightway put 
 
 the youth into the chest and locked it. The 
 
 king said, ' Why lockest thou that chest thus 
 
 hastily? What is in the chest?' The lady 
 
 answered, ' By God, it is my lover ; I saw thee 
 
 coming and I put him into the chest and locked 
 
 it.' Then was the king wroth, and he bared 
 
 his sword and thought to slay him who was in 
 
 the chest, when the lady said, ' O king, art thou 
 
 mad, where is gone thine understanding ? Am 
 
 I mad that I should advance a strange man to 
 
 thy couch and then say to thee, " Lo, he is in 
 
 the chest ? " In truth, I wondered if thou were 
 
 sincere in thy trust of me, and I tried thee, and 
 
 now I know that thou thinkest evil concerning 
 
 me/ And she ceased and sat in a corner. Then 
 
 did the king repent him of what he had done ; 
 
 and he begged and besought of his wife, saying, 
 
 4 Forgive me.' And he gave her many things, 
 
 and craved pardon for his fault. When the 
 
 king had gone out from the harem into the 
 
 palace the lady took that youth forth of the 
 
 chest and said, ' Didst thou see what a trick I 
 
 played the king ? ' And they gave themselves 
 
 up to mirth and merriment." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for 
 that the king may know that guile and trickery 
 such as this abound in women. O king, be- 
 
HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 229 
 
 ware, slay not the prince on the woman's word, 
 else afterward thou shalt be repentant, and 
 too late repentance profits not." And he made 
 intercession for the prince for that day. When 
 the king heard this story from the vezir he 
 sent the prince to the prison and himself 
 mounted for the chase. 
 
 When it was evening the king returned from 
 the chase and came to the palace, and the lady 
 rose to greet him, and they sat down. After 
 the repast the lady again began to speak about 
 the youth. The king said, "To-day too such an 
 one of my vezirs made intercession for him and 
 I sent him to the prison." The lady said, " O 
 king, this youth is ignoble. It is even as when 
 God Most High told N.oah (peace on him!) of 
 the impurity of his son : said God Most High, 
 * He is not of thy family ; verily, it is a work 
 that is not right.' * Then it is known that if a 
 person follow not the way of his father, and be 
 not endowed with the nature of his father, 
 he cannot be called a lawful son. There- 
 fore, when the wise see a fault in others they 
 hinder and cover it, and if they see that fault in 
 themselves they strive to banish it far from 
 them. There is no help for the ignoble that he 
 
 * Koran, xi. 48. 
 
230 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 should follow the path of the noble. Mayhap 
 the king has not heard the story of a certain 
 abdal and a king." The king said, " Tell on, 
 let us hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY-FIRST STORY. 
 
 " There was of old time a great king, and 
 there was by him an abdal. One day the king 
 mounted for the chase, and the abdal said, ' O 
 king, I am able for soldiering and hunting ; 
 give me too horse and gear and bird, that I 
 may go forth with thee to ride about and hunt.' 
 So the king gave the abdal a horse and gear, 
 and gave him a falcon on his wrist, and took 
 him along with him to the chase, and they went 
 off. While they were riding, the king saw a 
 bird go into a bush, and he said to the abdal, 
 6 Go, cast the falcon at the bird/ And the king 
 stood to look on. The abdal went up close to 
 the bush with the falcon, and a man stirred the 
 bush, and the bird came out and flew off. The 
 king said to the abdal, * The bird is away, 
 throw off the falcon/ And the abdal threw off 
 the falcon from his wrist without slipping the 
 leash, and he swung it round and round his 
 head. The king shouted, ' Out on thee ! 
 throw off the falcon ! ' The abdal said, ' O 
 king, I have thrown it off, what am I to do ? ' 
 
THE LADY'S TWENTY-FIRST STORY. 231 
 
 But he left not to swing- the falcon round his 
 
 o 
 
 head. The king shouted, * Out on thee ! let 
 the falcon go ! ' And the abdal let go the leash ; 
 but the falcon's eyes were darkened from its 
 having been turned round, and it could not fly, 
 and fell to the ground. And the king was 
 angry and ill-pleased. Then the abdal said, ' O 
 king, wherefore art thou angry ? thou saidest, 
 " Throw off the falcon," and I threw it off; 
 then thou saidest, " Let it go," and I let it go ; 
 this falcon knows not how to fly : what fault is 
 mine ? ' These words of the abdal were plea- 
 sant to the king and he fainted from laughing ; 
 and he perceived how no good comes from any- 
 thing ignoble." * 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for 
 that the king may know that no good comes 
 from the ignoble man who follows not the path 
 of his father and mother. Beware, O king, be 
 not negligent in the affair of this youth, or in 
 the end some hurt will befall thee from him ; 
 the rest thou knowest." When the king heard 
 this story from the lady he said, " On the mor- 
 row will I kill the youth." And they went to bed. 
 
 * The point of this story is lost in the translation. To let fly 
 a falcon at game, is, in Turkish, to swing a falcon ; the king says 
 to the abdal, " Swing the falcon," meaning, let it fly at the bird ; 
 but the abdal understands him literally, and swings the falcon 
 round his head. 
 
232 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 When it was morning the king came and sat 
 upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be 
 brought and commanded the executioner, 
 " Smite off his head." The Twenty-Second 
 Vezir came forward and said, " O king of the 
 world, the Holy Apostle of God (God Most 
 High bless and save him !) hath said, ' Verily, 
 God is with the prince so long as he acteth 
 justly ; but when he oppresseth, He maketh 
 him over to his lust, then He letteth loose upon 
 him Satan.' And the Apostle (peace on him !) 
 hath likewise said, ' O ye : and tyranny, verily, 
 it ruineth your hearts.' Now, O king, in com- 
 pliance with these Traditions guard thee well 
 against tyranny. A man does many deeds 
 which he knows not to be tyranny till on the 
 Resurrection- Day they appear before him like 
 mountains, and he shall repent, crying, * Woe 1 
 Alas ! ' Perchance in this world heedlessness 
 may have bound up his eyes so that he has not 
 seen it ; even as they have said in this couplet : 
 
 At length, when the dust clears away, them shalt see 
 If horse 'tis, or ass, that is ridden by thee. 
 
 Now, O king, there is a fable for this, the 
 story of a king who would not believe until he 
 saw the Gathering and the Resurrection in a 
 vision." The king said, " Tell that story, let 
 me hear it." Quoth the vezir, 
 
THE TWENTY-SECOND VEZIR'S STORY. 233 
 
 THE TWENTY-SECOND VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " There was of old time a great king, and he 
 had a fair son, such that those who looked on 
 his face were bewildered and confounded, and 
 many persons were known to have love of him. 
 By reason thereof the prince went about with a 
 veil ; and whensoever he went to walk sergeants 
 would scatter the folk who were within eye- 
 shot, and in that way they shed the guiltless 
 blood of many lovers and cast them like moths 
 into the flame. And the king's headsman 
 would march alongside the prince, and whoso 
 looked at the prince and sighed or looked long 
 at his face, him they killed* without mercy. 
 Now there was an abdal who loved the prince 
 from his heart, and every time the prince went 
 out to walk the abdal would run before him. 
 They cried to the abdal, ' Stop ! go not ! * and 
 they would ever strike him and say, ' We will 
 kill thee.' But the abdal heeded not ; and they 
 slew him not, saying, ' He is a dervish/ One 
 day in the week the prince went out into the 
 square and played ball on horseback ; and he 
 rode so swiftly that the beholders were amazed. 
 And the folk stood rank on rank at the distance 
 of a bowshot from the square and looked at the 
 
234 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 prince playing with ball and mall, and wondered 
 at his fleetness and beauty. That abdal 
 entered the square and rolled like a ball in 
 front of the prince's horse, and they cursed him 
 and beat him, but he would not go away. They 
 told the king of this matter, and the king 
 said, ' Hang ye him.' Now the king's vezir 
 was present there, and he said, * Thou hast spilt 
 this much blood unjustly ; to-morrow, on the 
 Resurrection-Day, when God Most High is 
 Judge and asks thee of these sins, what answer 
 wilt thou give ? ' Quoth the king, * O vezir, 
 who knows ? who has gone thither and seen 
 with his eyes and come back ? It is but a 
 word that they say and then cease.' And he 
 denied the Resurrection. And he laid his head 
 upon his pillow and slept, and forthwith he saw 
 in his dream that the Resurrection was come, 
 and the Bridge of Es-Sirat* was raised, and the 
 gates of Paradise were opened, and the fires of 
 Hell were burning and were become red-hot, 
 and mankind was in troops, some of which they 
 led to Paradise and some to Hell. And they 
 of Paradise were in Paradise with the houris 
 
 * Es-Sirat = * The Path.' The allegorical Bridge by which 
 admittance is gained to Heaven is so called ; the Path, of course, 
 being the True Faith and the righteous life that it demands ; 
 but here taken as a literal bridge. 
 
THE TWENTY-SECOND VEZIFS STORY. 235 
 
 and the youths in the midst of gardens, and in 
 their hands was pure wine, and on the banks of 
 streams ripened all manner of fruits, and whatso- 
 ever fruit a man desired, a branch thereof came 
 and bent before him, and he took it, and a fruit 
 grew at the place where he was about to eat, and 
 the damsels and youths of Paradise left not to 
 give them of the wines of Paradise ; and the 
 king saw them of Paradise rejoicing in this 
 fashion. And the demons laid hold of them of 
 Hell and threw them into boiling pitch and 
 tormented them so that it cannot be described, 
 and their wailing and lamenting rose to the 
 Empyrean. Their hearts were on fire, and 
 when they besought a draught of water, in 
 place of water they gave them of the zaqqum,* 
 which when they swallowed, all their entrails and 
 the flesh of their faces were torn in pieces; and 
 the king saw them tormented in this fashion, and 
 would have fled from himself by reason of his 
 fear. Then they brought the king too into the 
 presence of God Most High and they weighed 
 his good deeds and his sins, and his good deeds 
 showed little and his sins much ; and they sent 
 him to Hell. While the king was going to 
 
 * Ez-zaqqum is the name of a foreign tree with a very bitter 
 fruit, and is metaphorically used in the Koran to denote the 
 food of the wicked in Hell. 
 
236 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 Hell, a voice cried behind him, ' If in the world 
 thou had had compassion on those that loved 
 Us, would We now have had mercy upon thee/ 
 When they took the king to Hell a demon 
 came before him and laid hold of the king and 
 said, ' Art not thou he who denied Heaven 
 and Hell, and would not believe ? ' And he 
 plunged him into a cauldron of pitch, so that the 
 king thought they flayed him, and with the 
 pain thereof he awoke. The vezir was by him, 
 and the king told him one by one all these signs 
 which he had seen, and said, ' Quick, go fetch 
 that abdal.' And he sent the prince too after 
 him. Now when the executioners brought the 
 hapless abdal to the gallows he said, * For the 
 love of God give me a moment's grace that I 
 may make the ablution and perform the two- 
 bow prayer ; then whatsoever ye will do, do.' 
 So they gave him grace, and he made a fair 
 ablution and performed the two-bow prayer, 
 and he rubbed his face upon the ground and 
 said, ' My God, Thou art the Knower of the 
 Unseen ; I am without sin in this matter ; 
 needful was it either not to have given the 
 king's son this much fair beauty, or not to have 
 given me this love. Now Thou hast given to 
 the prince fair beauty and to me love ; and lo, 
 they are about to slay me for that I love the 
 
THE TWENTY- SECOND VEZIRS STORY. 237 
 
 beauty Thou hast created. O my God, free- 
 will placed not the love of the prince in me ; 
 at least show me once again his fair beauty, 
 then take my soul.' And the abdal rubbed his 
 face in the dust and prayed at the Court of 
 God (glorified and exalted be He !) While he 
 was in this plight the vezir and the prince 
 arrived, and when the vezir saw the dervish in 
 such case he pitied him and said to the prince, 
 ' Go, raise the captive of the love of thee from 
 the earth, and take his head upon thy knee, 
 and with thy handkerchief wipe the tears from 
 his eyes and the dust from his face.' Then the 
 prince dismounted from his horse and took the 
 abdal's head upon his knee, and, saying, ' Weep 
 not, abdal,' he wiped with his handkerchief the 
 tears from his eyes and the dust from his face. 
 When the abdal looked on the face of him who 
 was wiping away his tears and saw that he was 
 the prince, he sighed once and groaned and gave 
 up his soul to God. Then the vezir and the 
 prince marvelled at this thing, and they told 
 the king. And when the king heard their words, 
 exceeding great pity came upon him, and he 
 attended the funeral of the abdal and buried him 
 by the side of his own tomb, and he wrote this 
 upon the stone : ' This is a martyr of love : he 
 died for love of us, so he is of us.' Thereafter 
 
238 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 the king said nothing to the lovers of his son the 
 prince ; and the prince began to deal kindly with 
 those who were captives of the love of him." 
 
 " O king, I have told this story for that the 
 king may know that there will be a going 
 before God Most High with neck bound like a 
 prisoner, and may reflect and guard against 
 tyranny ; and that he may know that whoso 
 does good deeds shall enjoy eternal delight in 
 Paradise, and that whoso does evil deeds shall 
 go to Hell ; and that he may act accordingly. 
 For the life of this world is but as an hour ; 
 dispossess not thyself of eternal delight for the 
 sake of an hour. It is even as saith the 
 Apostle (peace on him !), ' The world is an 
 hour; pass it in worship/ ' And he kissed the 
 ground and made intercession for the prince. 
 When the king heard this story from the vezir 
 he sent the prince to the prison and went him- 
 self to the chase. 
 
 When it was evening the king returned from 
 the chase and came to the palace, and the lady 
 rose to greet him, and she sat with the king. 
 After the repast the lady asked for news of the 
 youth. The king said, " To-day too such an 
 one of my vezirs made intercession for him and 
 I sent him to the prison." The lady said, 
 " Well have they said that Fortune must be 
 
THE LADY'S TWENTY-SECOND STORY. 239 
 
 blamed, but the fault must not be blamed. It is 
 even as they have said : 
 
 1 We ever blame our fortune, yet the blame with us doth lie ; 
 It is not from our fortune the blame that comes us nigh.' 
 
 Now, O king, the signs of good are not in 
 thy vezirs ; their works are ever evil and 
 treachery, and they are men of pride and 
 avarice and envy. And the treachery they 
 work against thee doth not suffice them, by me 
 too they deal treacherously, and they envy me ; 
 for they see that if the king were to follow my 
 words and slay the youth, I should be honoured 
 before the king, and that by reason of my 
 truthfulness the king would ever take counsel 
 of me, and that they would remain unhonoured ; 
 therefore do they envy me. O king, God 
 Most High doth bring things right. Mayhap 
 the king has not heard the story of the courtier 
 of a certain king." The king said, " Tell on, 
 let us hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY-SECOND STORY. 
 
 " There was of old time a great king, and 
 there was one by him who ever said, ' O king, 
 whatsoever thou doest, thou doest for thyself; 
 be it good or be it evil.' And the king loved 
 him much, and he ever grew in esteem before 
 the king. Now one day one of the envious 
 
2 4 o HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 went before the king and said, ' O king, thou 
 thus much honourest and favourest such an one, 
 but he is an ingrate toward the king ; he says 
 (God forefend the listeners !) that the king has 
 the disease of leprosy. If the king believe me 
 not, let him call him to-morrow, and when he 
 comes near the king's breath, let him see how 
 he avoids the king.' When it was morning 
 that envious man cooked a Tartar pie seasoned 
 with garlic ; and he went and found that man 
 and took him to his house and set before him 
 that Tartar pie seasoned with garlic, and sundry 
 other foods all seasoned with garlic. They ate 
 together and afterward went to the king's 
 divan. The envious man said to the courtier, 
 ' If the king speak to thee a word in private, 
 take care that thou let him not perceive the 
 smell of the garlic ; for the king likes it not. 
 And if he call thee to his side, hold thy sleeve 
 to thy mouth that the smell come not forth 
 from thy mouth.' Then they went and stood 
 in the divan, and the king beckoned to the 
 courtier, and called him to him, and said, ' Come, 
 I have somewhat to whisper in thine ear.' 
 When the courtier came near the king, he held 
 his sleeve to his mouth and stood a little way 
 off that the smell might not reach the king. 
 The king said in his heart, ' What they said 
 
THE LADY'S TWENTY-SECOND STORY. 241 
 
 about this man is then true/ As for the 
 courtier, he said in his heart, * God grant the 
 smell of the garlic may not reach the king.' 
 So they were both of them without knowledge 
 one of the other. Thereupon the king wrote an 
 order and gave it into the hand of that courtier 
 and said, ' Take this note and carry it to the 
 chief magistrate, and keep whatever gift he 
 bestows on thee/ So the courtier took the 
 note and went out ; when he met that envious 
 man. The envious man asked, 'Whither goest 
 thou ? ' The courtier answered, ' The king 
 gave me a note and said, " Go take it to the 
 chief magistrate and keep whatever gift he 
 bestows on thee/' Quoth that envious man, 
 1 Thou wilt always merit the king's favours ; 
 but he never asks for us ; do thou at least give 
 me this note ; and shall not it be that we will 
 recompense thee ? ' So the courtier reflected 
 and said in himself, ' This man gave us a 
 dinner, doubtless he looks for something from 
 us.' And he presented that envious man with 
 the note and said, ' Take this note and go to 
 the chief magistrate and to thy luck.' The 
 envious man took the note and went to the 
 chief magistrate, and the latter took the note 
 and read it. And the king had written, ' Seize 
 him who gives this note into thy hand, and 
 
 R 
 
242 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 spare him not, but flay him alive and stuff his 
 skin with grass and set it up on my road, that 
 when I pass now I may see it there.' Straight- 
 way the chief magistrate commanded his 
 servants, ' Seize this wretch and slay him.' 
 Then the envious man saw how the matter was 
 and he began to cry out, * The king did not 
 give this note to me, he gave it to another man; 
 I am come by mistake.' But it was no avail ; 
 the servants flayed him alive and stuffed his 
 skin with grass and set it up on the king's road. 
 An hour afterward the king disguised himself 
 and went out, and as he was walking he came 
 there, and he saw that it was not the skin of 
 the courtier as he had commanded, but that of 
 the man who had defamed the courtier to him. 
 Thereupon he wondered and passed on, and he 
 ordered them to bring the courtier ; and they 
 straightway found him and brought him. The 
 king said, ' I called thee to my side this day 
 and desired to say somewhat in thine ear, and 
 thou didst hold thy sleeve to thy mouth and 
 didst stand a little way off; what was the 
 reason ?' The courtier answered, ' Such and 
 such a noble had made a feast for me and 
 given me to eat food seasoned with garlic ; and 
 I covered my mouth with my sleeve and stood 
 a little way off lest the smell might annoy thee.' 
 
THE LADYS TWENTY-SECOND STORY. 243 
 
 Then was he silent. The king said, * What 
 didst thou with that note I gave thee ? ' The 
 courtier replied, ' O king, when I took that 
 note and went out I met that man, and he 
 questioned me, and I said that it was a letter 
 with a gift for an answer from my king to the 
 chief magistrate. And that man begged it of 
 me much, and I was ashamed by reason of the 
 garlic feast, and gave it him ; if thou believe 
 not, let him be brought, and ask him/ When 
 the king heard these words from the courtier he 
 said, ' Whatsoever a person does he does for 
 himself ; true then is their saying, " The 
 wicked has found his due." Go thou and be at 
 
 ease.' 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for 
 that the king may know that they thus envy 
 every hapless one, but I take refuge in God 
 Most High. Lo, thou shalt see how God 
 Most High will tread them under foot. Ah, 
 beware, O king, be not heedless of the youth ; 
 for they have said that the heedless head 
 looks well at the can tie." * When the king 
 heard this tale from the lady he said, " To- 
 morrow will I slay him." And they went to bed, 
 
 When it was morning the king came and sat 
 
 * i.e. When it is cut off and fastened by the enemy to his 
 saddle. 
 
 R 2 
 
244 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 upon his throne, and he caused the executioner 
 to bring the youth and commanded him, 
 " Smite off his head." The Twenty-Third 
 Vezir came forward and said, " O king of the 
 world, the Holy Apostle (peace on him !) hath 
 said, ' One hour of doing justice is better than 
 the worship of seventy years, and one hour of 
 acting cruelly undoeth the worship of seventy 
 years.' O king, despise not the Law, that on 
 the Resurrection-Day thou mayst be of the 
 host of the just kings. And countenance not 
 women, for in them guile and craft abound. 
 Mayhap the king has not heard the story of 
 that khoja and his son." The king said, " Tell 
 on, let us hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
 THE TWENTY-THIRD VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " There was of old time a great merchant, 
 and he had a son. One day he took his son 
 and went to a house and said, ' O son, I have a 
 charge to thee.' The youth said, 'On head and 
 eye ! ' * The khoja continued, ' O son, after I 
 am dead, if thou waste not the wealth I leave, 
 so long as thou livest thou shalt enjoy happiness 
 and delight with heart at ease ; but if thou 
 waste it, see that thou go not and beg of any- 
 
 * i.e. I am ready to obey. 
 
THE TWENTY-THIRD VEZIR'S STORY. 245 
 
 one, but get a rope and hang thyself from this 
 wooden ring.' The youth swore to obey. 
 After a time the merchant was received into 
 Mercy. And the youth in a short time wasted 
 the wealth with flatterers, and he stood in 
 need of a red florin. First of all, the flatterers 
 turned from him, and whenever they saw him 
 they said, ' Fool ! ' and reviled him. At last 
 the youth grew weary of life, and one day, while 
 he was sitting idle, his father's charge came into 
 his mind. Thereupon he went and got a rope 
 and came and entered that house, and he 
 fastened one end of the rope to the wooden 
 ring his father had spoken of, and tied the 
 other end round his neck, and he had put a 
 stool under his feet, and he threw himself from 
 that stool. When he did this, the ring gave 
 way and a piece of the boarding came down and 
 the youth fell to the ground. Now that place 
 had been filled full of gold and jewels, and these 
 poured down. Then the youth knew that his 
 father's charge to hang himself was because of 
 this wealth. So he gathered together his 
 senses and repented of what he had done, and 
 he again devoted himself to commerce. One 
 day he meant to go out into the plain, and he 
 went forth from the city, and while he was 
 going along he met with a snake-charmer, who 
 
246 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZ1RS. 
 
 had gathered a number of snakes, and was 
 playing. Now among these was a white snake, 
 very gentle and sad ; and he bought that 
 snake, and got from the man the charm that the 
 snake might do him no hurt. And he took it 
 to his house, and he would ever divert himself 
 with it. One day that snake shook itself and 
 became a fair girl ; and when the youth saw 
 this he wondered and asked of the girl, ' What 
 is this plight ? ' The girl answered, ' I am 
 the king's daughter of the jinn ; in the early 
 spring, while I was wandering about in the 
 meadows, that snake-charmer met me and pro- 
 nounced a spell over me and blew upon me, 
 and I had no power to move or resume my 
 original form. Now is that snake-charmer 
 dead, and his magic is impotent ; and I have 
 resumed my own form. Come, take me to my 
 city and sell me to my father and mother. If 
 they say to thee, " What price shall we give 
 thee ? " ask for the Chinese mirror. They will 
 offer thee something else ; but say thou to 
 them, "If ye will give me that mirror, there is 
 your daughter, take her ; if not, lo, I shall go 
 away." And they will of necessity give thee 
 that mirror and take me from thee/ The youth 
 said, ' What is the virtue of that mirror ? ' The 
 girl answered, ' Its virtue is this, that if thou 
 
THE TWENTY-THIRD VEZIRS STORY. 247 
 
 take that mirror in thy hand and say, " O 
 mirror, by the Names of God that are upon 
 thee, take me to such and such a place ;" and 
 shut thine eyes, thou wilt find thyself in that 
 place when thou openest them.' Then the girl 
 said to the youth, ' Shut thine eyes ;' and after 
 a time she said, ' Open thine eyes ;' and he 
 opened them and saw himself upon a mountain. 
 In the plain below that mountain he saw a 
 mighty city, the pinnacles of the towers and 
 battlements whereof were even with the clouds; 
 and when the youth saw the city he marvelled. 
 Then the youth and the girl went to that city, 
 and he sent the girl to her mother. When 
 the girl's mother saw her she began to weep 
 and asked of her circumstances ; and the girl 
 related the whole of them one by one. Then 
 the mother wished to take the girl and go to 
 their house, but the girl said, ' I promised the 
 youth, saying, " Take me to my mother, and 
 she will buy me from thee for a price ;" if I 
 now go with thee, the youth will be displeased/ 
 The girl's mother asked the youth, ' O youth, 
 what wishest thou for this girl ? ' The youth 
 answered^ ' I wish the Chinese mirror.' The 
 woman went and said to the girl's father, ' A 
 youth has brought our daughter ; but he wishes 
 the mirror as her price.' Thereupon the father 
 
248 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIKS. 
 
 took the mirror and came, and he gave it to 
 the youth and took the girl. The youth said, 
 ' O mirror, by the Names of God that are upon 
 thee, take me to my own house.' And he 
 shut his eyes ; and when he opened them again 
 he found himself in his own house. Now the 
 king of that land had a fair daughter, and this 
 youth had fallen in love with her without 
 having seen her, having heard of her beauty. 
 One night he took down the mirror and gave 
 the oath and said, ' Take me before the king's 
 daughter;' and he closed his eyes. He opened 
 them again and found himself before the girl. 
 They saluted each other, and the girl said, 
 * My father will find out, and he will spare nor 
 thee nor me.' The youth answered, * Shut 
 thine eyes, I will send thee away.' Quoth the 
 girl, * Do thou too come with me.' Thereupon 
 they both shut their eyes, and he gave the oath 
 to the mirror, and they found themselves upon 
 the bed in the girl's room. The girl said, 
 ' Who art thou ? ' The. youth told her that 
 he was a merchant's son. After some time the 
 girl said, 'Let us go to thy house.' There- 
 upon they gave the oath to the mirror and shut 
 their eyes and they found themselves in the 
 youth's house ; and they made merry in that 
 house. When it was morning the girl's father 
 
THE TWENTY-THIRD VEZIR'S STORY. 249 
 
 was told that she had disappeared, and for a 
 time, sighing and lamenting, he searched all 
 about and around, but found her not. After a 
 time, he found some crafty witches, and related 
 the affair to them and sent them in every direc- 
 tion ; and each one of them devoted herself to 
 search and quest in a different quarter. Now 
 one of the witches came to the city where the 
 girl was, and while she was going through all 
 the houses and examining them, of a sudden 
 she looked from a window and saw the girl, and 
 she knew her to be the king's daughter. When 
 it was night she entered that house through her 
 magic power ; now the youth had hung up the 
 Chinese mirror on the wall, she saw it and 
 knew its virtue through her magic power, and 
 she took it and went to the girl's side and gave 
 the oath to the Chinese mirror and said, 'Quick, 
 take me and this girl to the king's palace.' As 
 to the youth, he was asleep. The sorceress 
 shut her eyes and opened them again and found 
 herself and the girl in the palace ; and she gave 
 the girl and the mirror to the king. The king 
 placed the mirror in his treasury and sent the 
 girl to the harem, and he sent those witches as 
 spies to seize the youth. We go to the youth : 
 When it was morning he arose from sleep and 
 found not the girl by his side, and the mirror 
 
250 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 too was not in its place, and he said in himself, 
 ' This trick cannot be the girl's ; for she herself 
 desired me ; it must be that a witch has come 
 from her father and done these deeds/ Having 
 no other resource, sighing and wailing, he set out 
 for the city. One day he entered the city, and 
 one of the witches, while prowling about spying, 
 met him. Thereupon she ran to the king and 
 informed him. And the king sent men who 
 found the youth and seized him, and brought 
 him into the presence of the king. The king 
 said, ' Out on thee, degenerate youth, what 
 work is this work thou hast done ? I am a 
 king, and thou doest so by me ; I will slay thee 
 with a torment such that thou shalt be an 
 example.' Now the king had a deep pit, and 
 he used to put those with whom he was very 
 wroth into that deep pit, so that at length they 
 perished therein. Then he commanded that 
 they should imprison him in that pit, and give 
 him no bread, that he might perish of hunger 
 therein. Now the youth had a little cat and a 
 little dog ; and these had come with him. 
 And when the men were gone the little dog 
 scraped and scraped till he made a hole, and 
 the little cat went down through that hole and 
 came before the youth. Now the inside of 
 that pit was all full of mice, so that they ate up 
 
THE TWENTY-THIRD VEZIRS STORY. 251 
 
 the men who fell therein. As soon as they 
 saw the youth they rushed upon him, and the 
 little cat saw this thing, and it straightway slew 
 some of them. The mice saw that the cat 
 gave them no mercy, but killed them, and they 
 could not resist and took to flight ; and not a 
 mouse did dare so much as show its head out 
 of its hole. Then the mice informed their 
 nobles of these things, and the nobles said, 
 ' Go and ask, and give that man whatever he 
 wants that he may take away that brute from 
 over us/ The mice came and said so to the 
 youth ; and by command of the youth they dug 
 a tunnel, large enough for a man to pass 
 through, up to the king's palace. Then they 
 told the youth, and he arose and went to the 
 palace and found the girl and asked for the 
 mirror. The girl told him it was in the trea- 
 sury; then he ordered the mice that they opened 
 a tunnel to the treasury also ; and the youth went 
 in and took the mirror and came back to the 
 girl, and they went to his country. Early on 
 the morrow the slave-girls looked and saw not 
 the girl, and they told their lady ; and the lady 
 sent word to the king. The king forthwith 
 called the witches and said, 'In the evening the 
 youth again stole the mirror and my daughter 
 and is fled ; go, and where ye find him this 
 
252 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 time, there slay him, and bring me my daugh- 
 ter and the mirror.' The witches hastened and 
 found the youth and slew him ; and they took 
 the girl and the mirror and brought them and 
 made them over to the king. So that in the 
 end that youth lost his life through women." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 the king may know that sorcery and witchcraft 
 like to this abound in women. Beware, go not 
 by the woman's word, slay not the prince who 
 is fair even as the moon, that afterward thou 
 suffer not regret and remorse." And he kissed 
 the ground and made intercession for the prince. 
 When the king heard this story from the vezir 
 he sent the prince to the prison and himself 
 mounted for the chase. 
 
 When it was evening the king returned from 
 the chase and came to the palace, and the lady 
 rose to greet him, and they sat down. After 
 the repast the lady again began to speak about 
 the youth. The king said, " To-day too such 
 an one of my vezirs made intercession for him, 
 and I sent him to the prison." The lady said, 
 " O king, dost thou know that this youth will 
 slay thee, for he has learned craft from his 
 master, and with craft and magic he will bind 
 thy mouth and tongue, and ever watch his oppor- 
 tunity ; and thy affair will be like the story of 
 
THE LADY'S TWENTY-THIRD STORY. 253 
 
 the geomancer and his apprentice ; mayhap my 
 king has not heard it." The king said, " Tell 
 on, let us hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY-THIRD STORY. 
 
 "It is related that there was a woman in the 
 city of Cairo, and that woman had a worthless 
 son, who, no matter to what trade she put him, 
 did no good. One day the woman said to the 
 youth, ' My son, what trade shall I give thee ? ' 
 The youth replied, ' Take me along with thee, 
 let us go ; and whatever trade I like, to that do 
 thou give me/ And that woman and her son 
 went to the bazaar, and while they were walking 
 about they saw a geomancer, and the youth ob- 
 served that geomancer and liked him. There- 
 upon the woman made him over to him, and the 
 geomancer took the youth and began to show 
 him the principles of geomancy. After some 
 days the master said to the youth, ' To-morrow 
 I will become a ram ; sell me, but take heed and 
 give not my rope.' The youth said, ' Very good.' 
 The master became a ram, and the youth took 
 him and led him to the bazaar and sold him for 
 a thousand aspres ; but he gave not the rope, 
 but took it away with him, and returned. When 
 it was evening his master appeared. After some 
 days the master said, ' Now, youth, to-morrow 
 
254 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 I will become a horse ; take and sell me, but 
 take heed and give not my headstall.' And he 
 became a horse, and the youth took him and 
 sold him but gave not the headstall ; and he 
 took the money and went to his own house. 
 When it was evening his master came to his 
 house and saw the youth was not there, and he 
 said, ( He will come in the morning/ and went 
 to bed. On the other hand, the youth went to 
 his mother and said, * O mother, to-morrow I 
 will become a dove ; sell me, but take heed and 
 give not my key/ And he became a dove with- 
 out peer ; and the woman put the dove up to 
 auction, and the bidders began to raise their 
 bids at the rate of five piastres. But this dove 
 which spake in the language of the people of 
 that city acquired such fame as cannot be de- 
 scribed. Now as every one was speaking of 
 the qualities of this dove, his master heard and 
 came, and as soon as he saw him he knew him 
 to be the youth, and he said, ' Out on thee, mis- 
 begotten wretch, thou doest a deed like this and 
 I whole, now see what I will do to thee.' And 
 he went and bought him from the woman. The 
 woman said, ' I will not give the key. 5 Quoth 
 the master, ' Take fifty piastres more, and go 
 and buy another key such as thou pleasest.' 
 And he gave her the whole sum ; and the woman 
 
THE LADY'S TWENTY-THIRD STORY. 255 
 
 was greedy and took it, and drew the key from 
 her girdle and threw it on the ground. As soon 
 as the key fell, it became a pigeon and began to 
 fly, and the master became a hawk and pursued 
 the pigeon. While these were flying along, the 
 king was seated in the plain taking his pleasure ; 
 and the youth looked and saw no escape, and 
 he became a red rose and fell in front of the 
 king. And the king wondered and said, 'What 
 means a rose out of season ? ' and he took it in 
 his hand. Then the master became a minstrel, 
 and he came to the king's party with a mandolin 
 in his hand and sang a stave with a sweet voice. 
 And the king marvelled and said to the minstrel, 
 ' What desirest thou from me ? ' The minstrel 
 answered, ' What I desire from thee is the rose 
 that is in thy hand.' The king said, ' The rose 
 came to me from God ; ask something else.' 
 The minstrel was silent ; then he sang another 
 stave, and again the king said, ' What desirest 
 thou from me ? ' Again the minstrel asked the 
 rose ; and this time the king stretched out his 
 hand to give it him, whereupon the rose fell to 
 the ground and became millet. Then the 
 minstrel became a cock, and began to pick up 
 the millet. One grain of the millet was hidden 
 under the king's knee ; and that grain became a 
 man and seized the cock and tore off its head. 
 
256 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 And the king" and the nobles wondered, and 
 they asked the youth of these matters, and he 
 explained them to them." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 thou mayst know that even as that youth slew 
 his master, so will this degenerate youth slay 
 thee. And after thee he will never show me a 
 good day ; sooth, without thee the world were 
 unlawful for me, thou art my care ; be thou but 
 well, then let me be thy sacrifice." When the 
 king heard this story from the lady he said, 
 " On the morrow will I slay him." And they 
 went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king came and sat 
 upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be 
 brought and ordered the executioner, " Smite off 
 his head." Whereupon the Twenty-Fourth Vezir 
 came forward and said, "O king of the world, 
 obey not the lust of the flesh and incline not to 
 women and slay not thy darling, but have mercy. 
 Let not dust alight on your glorious heart 
 through the words I have spoken ; Our Lord 
 the Holy Apostle hath said, * Speak the truth 
 even though it be bitter.' O king, the stories 
 of the guile and craft of women are many ; 
 mayhap my king has not heard the story of 
 Delia the Crafty." The king said, " Relate, let 
 us hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
THE TWENTY-FOURTH VEZIRS STORY. 257 
 
 THE TWENTY- FOURTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " There was of old time, in the city of Cairo, 
 a cunning woman called Delia the Crafty.* 
 And that woman had two husbands, each of 
 whom thought the woman was his. And for a 
 long time the woman had been wife to both of 
 them ; but neither of these two men was aware of 
 the circumstance of the other. And one of them 
 was by profession a sharper, and the other was 
 a thief; and they were both pupils of the woman. 
 One day the thief took some stuff he had stolen 
 to the bazaar and there sold it. The man to 
 whom he had given it met the rightful owner 
 of the stuff, who cried, ' Praise be to God ! the 
 clue has appeared, the rest of my stuff is with 
 thee ; quick, tell me/ The man replied, ' Know 
 the words thou utterest and then speak, I bought 
 this stuff with money ; while thou, by thus 
 speaking, wouldst have this stuff from me/ 
 The thief saw these and hastened to his house 
 and said to his wife, 'Wife, my thieving has 
 been found out ; give me some bread that I 
 may go to another place till this disturbance has 
 quieted down.' The woman brought a pie and 
 
 * Perhaps a reminiscence of Delilah the Crafty in the Thou- 
 sand and One Nights : see the Villon Society's Translation, 
 vol. vi. p. 234. 
 
 S 
 
258 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 a sheep tail, and cut the pie in halves and the 
 tail in halves,* and gave a half of each to the 
 thief. The thief took them and started. After 
 a time the sharper came suddenly in and said, 
 ' Wife, to-day my sharping has been found out ; 
 give me some bread, for I may not be seen 
 here for a few days, but must go to another 
 place.' So the woman gave the sharper the 
 remaining halves of the thief's pie and tail ; and 
 he took them and started. Now the thief, who 
 had gone first, reached a pleasant spring and a 
 pleasant shade, and he sat down by that pleasant 
 fountain-head and took out the pie and the tail 
 and thought to eat them. Thereupon the 
 sharper too suddenly appeared ; and he like- 
 wise seated himself by the edge of the spring 
 and took out his pie and tail to eat them. The 
 thief said, ' Brother, come, let us eat together.' 
 So the sharper came, and he looked at his own 
 pie and he looked at the thief's pie, and he saw 
 that they resembled one another ; and they 
 laid them together, and they were one pie. 
 And they laid the two pieces of tail together 
 likewise, and they saw it to be one tail. And 
 the sharper wondered and said, ' Brother, be 
 there no shame in asking ; whence comest thou ?' 
 
 * Some of the Asiatic sheep have enormous tails. 
 
THE TWENTY-FOURTH VEZIFS STORY. 259 
 
 The robber answered, ' I come from Cairo.' 
 Quoth the sharper, * Where is your house ? ' 
 The thief replied, ' In Cairo; my house is the 
 house of Delia the Crafty, and that woman is 
 my wife/ The sharper said, ' That house is 
 my house and that woman is my wife, and I 
 dwell there these many years ; why liest thou 
 now ? ' The thief said, ' Out on thee, man, art 
 thou mad or art thou jesting ? she is my wedded 
 wife these many years.' And the quarrel in- 
 creased between them. Then said the sharper, 
 ' There is no use of quarrelling here ; come, let 
 us go to the woman and ask her which of us it 
 is ; then will it be known and clear.' So they 
 both arose and went to the woman. As soon 
 as the woman saw them she knew what had 
 happened ; and she showed each of them a 
 place, and sat down opposite them. The 
 sharper said, ' Out on thee. woman, whose wife 
 art thou ? ' The woman answered, ' By God, 
 till now was I the wife of both of you ; but 
 henceforth he of you whose feats are the greater 
 shall be my husband. I have taught many feats 
 to each of you ; and to whichever of you per- 
 forms the greater feat will I be true wife.' And 
 they both agreed to this proposal. The sharper 
 said, ' To-day will I go a-sharping ; afterward 
 do thou perform thy feat.' Then the sharper 
 
 S 2 
 
260 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 and the thief arose and went to the bazaar. 
 The sharper saw that a Frank put a thousand 
 sequins into a purse, put the purse into his 
 bosom, and went to the bazaar. Forthwith the 
 sharper followed the Frank, and in the miclst 
 of the bazaar he went close up to him and 
 cunningly stole his money from his breast. 
 Then he went to a hidden place, and took out 
 nine of the sequins, and drew from his finger a 
 silver ring on which his name was written and 
 put it into the purse, and came and put it back 
 into the Frank's breast. And the thief saw all 
 these deeds. Then the sharper went round and 
 came before the Frank and laid hold of him and 
 struck him several times and cried, * Out on 
 thee, accursed, why didst thou take my purse 
 with my gold ? ' The Frank cried, ' Off to 
 thine own business, begone, leave me, who art 
 thou ? I do not even know thee/ The sharper 
 said, ' It is not needful for thee to know me ; 
 come, let us go to the tribunal.' The Frank 
 consented and they went together ; and the 
 sharper made his complaint, and the cadi asked 
 the Frank, ' How many are thy sequins ? ' The 
 Frank replied, ' There are a thousand sequins/ 
 Then he asked the sharper, ' How many were 
 thy sequins ?' He answered, * There are nine 
 hundred and ninety-one sequins, and my silver 
 
THE TWENTY-FOURTH VEZIR'S STORY. 261 
 
 ring with my name engraved thereon is likewise 
 in the purse.' The cadi took the purse and 
 counted, and there were exactly nine hundred 
 and ninety-one sequins in it, and the ring too 
 was in it. Then they smote the Frank some 
 blows and gave the sequins to the sharper. 
 And the sharper took them and went with the 
 thief to the woman, and the woman said, ' Lo, 
 the sharper has performed a feat the like of 
 which no one has heard till this moment.' 
 When it was night the thief took a lasso and 
 went with the sharper to the king's palace. 
 The thief threw the lasso and scaled the wall 
 by means of it, and then pulled up the sharper. 
 Then they got down and went to the treasury 
 and the thief pulled out many different keys, 
 and he opened the door and entered the treasury 
 and said to the sharper, ' Load thyself with 
 as much gold as thou canst carry.' So the 
 sharper loaded himself and they came out. 
 Then they went to the goose-house, and the 
 thief caught a goose and cut its throat and lit a 
 fire and thrust it on a spit and he said to the 
 sharper, ' Turn it.' And he himself made 
 straight for the king's bed-chamber. The 
 sharper said, ' What doest thou ? ' The thkf 
 replied, ' I am going to lay before the king thy 
 feat and mine, and we shall see which of our 
 
262 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 feats is the greater, and whether the woman 
 becomes me or becomes thee.' The sharper 
 said, ' Come, for the love of God let us go ; I 
 give up the woman, let her be thine.' The 
 thief replied, ' Thou sayest so now, but to- 
 morrow thou wilt repent ; but when the King 
 has given judgment then thou wilt assent.' 
 And he went and hid himself behind the door, 
 and he saw a slave rubbing the king's feet and 
 chewing a piece of mastic in his mouth and now 
 he slept and now he woke. Very gently the 
 thief hid himself below the bed, and he pushed 
 the end of a horse's hair into the boy's mouth, 
 and the youth chewed the hair along with the 
 mastic. When he was yawning and his mouth 
 was open, the thief pulled the hair and filched 
 the mastic from his mouth. The boy opened 
 his eyes and looked for the mastic on this side 
 and that side, but found it not. When a little 
 time had passed the boy fell asleep and the 
 thief held a strong drug to his nose, and the 
 boy was altogether bereft of his senses. Then 
 the thief took him and hung him up by the 
 girdle from the ceiling, like a lamp, and he 
 began himself to rub the king's feet. And the 
 sharper saw these things from the door. The 
 king stirred and the thief said very gently, 
 * My king, if thou desire, I will relate a story/ 
 
THE TWENTY-FOURTH VEZIRS STORY. 263 
 
 The king said, ' Tell on, let us hear.' The 
 thief began and recounted all that had happened 
 between himself and the sharper; and every now 
 and then he said to the sharper, who sat outside 
 and was roasting the goose, ' Turn away, the 
 goose is burning.' And he recounted how he 
 had entered his treasury with the sharper, and 
 how the sharper sat without roasting the goose, 
 and how he had himself by a trick filched the 
 mastic from the boy's mouth ; brief, he detailed 
 all that had happened, whatever it was. And as 
 he was speaking the sharper was trembling and 
 making signs to say, * Come, let us go ; ' but 
 the thief said to him, * Turn away, the goose is 
 burning.' Then he looked to the king and 
 said, ' O king, is the feat of the sharper greater, 
 or is that of the robber greater ; and which of 
 them is the woman becoming ? ' The king 
 said, ' The feat of the thief is the greater, and 
 the woman is his.' Then the thief rubbed the 
 king's feet a little more, and when the king 
 was asleep he rose very gently and came to the 
 sharper and said, ' Didst thou hear how the 
 king said, " The woman is the thief's ? " The 
 sharper answered, * I heard.' Then said the 
 thief, ' Whose is the woman ? ' The sharper 
 replied, ' She is thine.' The thief said, ' Thou 
 liest ; I shall go and ask the king again.' The 
 
264 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 sharper said, ' By God, let it be ; come, let us go ; 
 if thou wish, not the woman only, but I myself 
 will be thy slave.' Then they arose and brought 
 the wealth to the woman and recounted to her 
 these things. The woman applauded them and 
 chose the thief for her husband. Now, * turn 
 away, the gouse is burning,' has remained 
 famous in the language. When it was morning 
 the king arose from sleep and called the boy, 
 but there was no one ; he waited a while and 
 saw that no one came, and he was wroth and 
 rose from the bed and his eye fell upon the boy 
 hanging from the ceiling. He took him down 
 and saw that his senses were gone, and he called 
 the attendants and they restored the boy to his 
 senses. He questioned the boy, but he knew 
 nothing ; then he said in himself, ' That then 
 was the robber who told me the story and 
 rubbed my feet.' And he went and sat upon 
 his throne, and he said, 'Summon the vezirs 
 and emirs that they come.' Thereupon were 
 they summoned and straightway they assembled, 
 and the king related to them the events of the 
 night. And they all wondered, and they turned 
 and said to the king, ' This thief must be found.' 
 Straightway the king commanded and they 
 caused the criers to proclaim in the city, ' Let 
 him who has done this deed come before me, 
 
THE TWENTY-FOURTH VEZIR'S STORY. 265 
 
 and, by the truth of God, there shall be to him nor 
 hurt nor harm from me ; and the wealth which 
 he has taken from my treasury shall be lawful 
 for him, and I will give him as much again.' 
 The thief gave ear and saw that the king had 
 sworn, and he trusted him and came forward ; 
 and the criers took the thief and came into the 
 king's presence. And they told the king, and 
 the king questioned the thief, and the thief 
 said, * O king, whether thou kill or whether 
 thou pardon ; I have done this deed.' The 
 king said, ' What is the cause of thy doing 
 thus ? ' And the thief related the cause from 
 its beginning to its end. The king applauded 
 the thief and granted him the wealth he had 
 taken, and also appointed him an allowance and 
 ordained that the woman should be his. As 
 the thief had thus attained the royal favour and 
 bounty he vowed repentance from heart and 
 soul, and married that woman, and was for a 
 long time a servant in the king's service." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 the king may know that wiles such as this 
 abound in women ; beware, slay not thy child 
 on the woman's word, else thou shalt be re- 
 pentant, and too late repentance profits not." 
 And he made intercession for the prince for 
 that day. When the king heard this story 
 
266 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 from the vezir he sent the youth to the prison 
 and went himself to the chase. 
 
 When it was evening the king returned from 
 the chase and came to the palace, and the lady 
 rose to greet him, and they sat down. After 
 the repast the lady again asked for news of the 
 youth. The king said, " To-day also such an 
 one of my vezirs made intercession for him 
 and I sent him to the prison." The lady said, 
 " Thus do the vezirs divert thee ; and thou too 
 takest the seeming for the real, and delayest ; 
 while they watch their opportunity. Take 
 heed, be not negligent, these are many, thou art 
 but one, and I am a woman who speaks the 
 truth of it. Now there is a story suitable to 
 this ; if there be permission from my king I will 
 tell it." The king said, " Tell on, what is it ? " 
 Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY-FOURTH STORY. 
 
 " My king, thus relate they : Once upon a 
 time there was a king, and that king had a 
 courtier. One day the king, by way of jest, 
 gave him a note and ordered him thus, ' Give 
 this note to the chief magistrate and take what- 
 ever he gives thee.' Now, as it was winter 
 then, the weather was very cold. So the 
 courtier took the note and went out, and he 
 
THE LADY'S TWENTY-FOURTH STORY. 267 
 
 gave it to someone and made him open and 
 read it. There was written in it, ' Thou shalt 
 give the courtier six loads of snow.' The 
 courtier hid the note and delivered it not, and 
 he returned and came into the king's presence. 
 The king asked the courtier, ' Hast thou taken 
 the charge I ordered to the chief magistrate ? ' 
 The courtier replied, * I take it in the days of 
 the king's fortune ; ' and passed on to other 
 subjects. The courtier waited till the days of 
 summer came, when he took the note and gave 
 it to the chief magistrate. He read it and 
 there was written, ' Thou shalt give the 
 courtier six loads of snow.' The chief magis- 
 trate said, ' Whence can I give this much snow 
 in such a season ? ' The courtier said, ' The 
 king has thus commanded ; though the snow 
 cannot be found, its price can be found.' The 
 chief magistrate consented, and he counted out 
 and made over to him the whole of the price of 
 it. Then he laid it before the king, and the 
 king applauded the courtier, and it seemed 
 right good to him, and he bestowed many gifts 
 on the courtier." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for 
 that thou mayst know that as that courtier 
 waited for his opportunity, so does this de- 
 generate youth wait for his. Be not negligent, 
 
268 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 slay him, else his slaying thee is certain." And 
 she was silent. And the king said, " To- 
 morrow will I slay him." And they went to 
 bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king came and sat 
 upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be 
 brought and ordered the executioner, " Smite 
 off his head." The Twenty-Fifth Vezir came 
 forward and said, " O king of the world, 
 now are the prince's hands bound and is his 
 heart wounded, and yet he guiltless, under thy 
 authority. So it beseems thee not to abandon 
 generosity and moderation and to withdraw from 
 the fear of God and destroy the prince. It is 
 even as when one day they asked the Holy 
 Apostle, ' What is the root of the Faith, and 
 what is its head, and what is its life, and what 
 is its heart, and what is its seed, and what is its 
 leaf, and what is its place, and what is its 
 fruit ? ' The Apostle (peace on him !) replied, 
 * The root of the Faith is the grace of God, 
 and its head is the Word of the Profession, and 
 its life is the Koran, and its heart is sincerity, 
 and its place is the believer's heart, and its 
 seed is knowledge, and its leaf is piety, and its 
 branch is the fear of God, and its core is 
 modesty and generosity, and its fruit is thanking 
 God; even as He saith in His Glorious Word, 
 
THE TWENTY-FIFTH VEZIR'S STORY. 269 
 
 " If ye render thanks, surely indeed will I give 
 you increase." ' * O king, be thankful for the 
 glory and empire which God Most High has 
 given thee, and act with moderation and 
 generosity ; for moderation and generosity are 
 half the Faith, and they are the bark of the 
 tree of the Faith, so that yon monk through 
 his acting with generosity and moderation 
 was decked with the robe of honour of the 
 Faith, and his end was well in Either World ; 
 mayhap my king has not heard it." The 
 king said, " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the 
 vezir, 
 
 THE TWENTY-FIFTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 "It has come down in the records that when 
 the Apostle (peace on him !) was returning from 
 the Holy War against the Greeks, while he was 
 proceeding on the way with the Noble Com- 
 panions, they lighted at a certain place. Khalid 
 ibn-Walid t had gone off on some business, and 
 when he returned the Apostle (peace on him !) 
 had removed thence with his host and gone 
 away. So Khalid ibn-Walid came and found 
 not the host. Thereabout the road lost itself; 
 
 * Koran, xiv. 7. 
 
 t The famous general of Muhammed, who was surnamed, by 
 reason of his valour, the Sword of God. 
 
270 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 so he ascended a high hill, and he saw behind 
 that hill many people assembled, and in their 
 midst they had raised a pulpit. So Khalid came 
 down and went up to them, and asked them, 
 saying, * What people are ye, and of what tribe 
 are ye, and what number of warriors are ye, and 
 what is your meaning in being gathered here 
 together ? ' They replied, ' We are of such and 
 such a tribe, and our multitude is now seventy 
 thousand persons, and our purpose in being 
 gathered here is, that there is a monk of ours in 
 a cave in this hill, and he preaches to us and 
 exhorts us once in the year, and we go away 
 sufficiently exhorted by his exhortation till the 
 next year ; to-day is the year complete, and he 
 will surely come forth now and preach to us.' 
 Khalid said in his heart, ' This were right, that 
 I go not until I have seen this monk.' And he 
 got down from his beast. After a time a man 
 came forth in black garments, and all that people 
 humbled themselves, and he ascended the pulpit 
 and sat down. Then he said, ' O people, I will 
 not preach to you this day.' They said, ' Where- 
 fore?' He answered, 'For this, that there is 
 among you a man of the People of Muhammed.' 
 They all looked one at the other. No one re- 
 cognized Khalid, for he had on clothes like their 
 clothes, and he knew their language. The monk 
 
THE TWENTY-FIFTH VEZIRS STORY. 271 
 
 said, ' Do ye remain in your places ; I will find 
 him.' And they all sat down. And the monk 
 said, ' O man, we know not where thou art 
 seated, but God Most High knoweth ; for the 
 sake of that Faith thou holdest and if thou love 
 Muhammed, wheresoever thou art, stand upon 
 thy feet that I may see thee.' Khalid thought, 
 ' If I rise now, these will tear me in pieces.' The 
 monk repeated his words. Then Khalid said 
 in himself, 'If I had a thousand lives, they 
 should all be a sacrifice in the way of the Faith 
 and the cause of Muhammed (peace on him !) ' 
 And he stood upon his feet in the place where 
 he was. The multitude saw him and knew he 
 was of the People of Muhammed, and they 
 rushed upon him to kill him. The monk cried 
 out, ' Sit still in your places ; it were not gene- 
 rosity or moderation to kill one man surrounded 
 by seventy thousand.' And as soon as he had 
 spoken this, the people sat still in their places. 
 The monk said, ' Come near.' And Khalid 
 went to the foot of the pulpit. The monk said, 
 ' Art thou of the great of the Companions of the 
 Messenger, or art thou of the least ? ' Khalid 
 answered, * I am not merely of these great ones, 
 there is none higher than I ; and I am not 
 merely of these least ones, there is none lower 
 than I.' The monk said, 'What knowest thou 
 
272 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 of learning?' Khalid replied, 'I know that 
 which will suffice me/ The monk said, ' If I 
 ask thee a thing wilt thou answer ? ' Khalid 
 said, ' If I know what thou askest I will answer.' 
 The monk said, ' And if thou knowest not ? ' 
 Khalid replied, * If I know not, there were no 
 shame/ Quoth the monk, ' I have heard that 
 your Muhammed says that of whatever God 
 Most High has created in Paradise, He has 
 created the like in the world. I believe not 
 this. There is a tree in Paradise which they 
 call the Tuba, its roots are above in the air, and 
 there is not a place in Paradise where its 
 branches are not. What is its like in the 
 world ?' Khalid replied, ' Its like in the world 
 is the sun, which is itself in the sky, yet when 
 it is midway in the heaven there remains not a 
 house or hill, but in all places are its rays/ The 
 monk said, ' Fair answer hast thou given/ 
 Again the monk asked, 'Your Muhammed says 
 that there are four rivers in Paradise, one of 
 wine, one of honey, one of milk, and one of 
 water ; and that all of these come forth from 
 one channel and flow on and yet are not mixed. 
 What is the like of that in the world ? ' Khalid 
 said, ' Dost thou not see ? God Most High has 
 created four different waters in the bodies of the 
 children of Adam in the space of a span, and 
 
THE TWENTY-FIFTH VEZIFS STORY. 273 
 
 they come forth yet mix not one with the other ; 
 one is the water of the ear which is bitter, and 
 one is the water of the eye which is salt, and one 
 is the water of the nose which smells, and one is 
 the water that runs from the mouth, and it is 
 sweet.' The monk said, ' Well hast thou done ! 
 fair answer hast thou given ! ' Again the monk 
 asked, ' Your Muhammed says there is a throne 
 in Paradise, the height of which is a five hundred 
 years' journey ; and whenever a saint would 
 mount upon it, that throne bows down and that 
 man mounts, and then it rises again. What is 
 its like in the world ? ' Khalid replied, * Its like 
 in the world is the camel ; dost thou not see 
 that while the camel is thus great, when a child 
 takes hold of its headstall and pulls its head 
 down and gets upon its neck, as the camel raises 
 up its head again, he mounts upon its back ? ' 
 The monk said, 'Good answer hast thou given/* 
 And he made to ask him another question, when 
 Khalid said, ' Act with moderation ; thou hast 
 asked me these questions ; I too have a question 
 to ask of thee.' The monk said, * Ask what 
 
 * The original has in addition the following question and 
 answer : Rahib cyder, 'Muhammediniz, " Jennetde ekl u shurb 
 var^tebewul u taghawuut yoq dir:" derimish^ Dunyade anin 
 misli ne dirf deal. Khalid eytdi, * Ana rahmindaki chojuq 
 dir; ana rahminda janlu ekl u shurb ider, tebevvul u taghawut 
 itmez ; eger itse, anasi helak olur : ' dedi. Rahib ^ ' Guzel jewab 
 verdin:' dedi. 
 
274 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 thou wilt.' Khalid said, ' What is the Key of 
 Paradise ? tell me.' The monk replied, 'To be- 
 lieve in Jesus (peace on him !) ' Khalid said, 
 1 By the God of Jesus, speak the truth of it.' 
 When he had thus sworn, the monk turned and 
 said to the people, ' O people, what time we 
 sware to this man he feared us, therefore was 
 his oath not binding on him. Now has he like- 
 wise sworn to us, and he wishes from us the 
 truth, yet we have no fear of him. Now it were 
 beseeming generosity to give this man a true 
 answer ; I would that ye follow me now/ They 
 cried, ' We all are followers of thee.' Then the 
 monk said, ' O people, one true word is better 
 than a thousand lies ; I have seen and read in 
 our books that the Key of Paradise is, " There is 
 no god save God : Muhammed is the Apostle 
 of God ; " that is, whoso pronounces in the world 
 the Word of the Profession will enter Paradise.' 
 And he turned and said, ' O people, be ye wit- 
 nesses that I have believed in the Faith of 
 Muhammed.' And he said, ' I testify that there 
 is no god save God, and I testify that Muham- 
 med is His Servant and His Apostle.' When 
 the people heard this they all entered the Truth, 
 and went with Khalid to the presence of the 
 Apostle ; and they enjoyed great happiness, 
 serving the Apostle of God." 
 
HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 275 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for 
 that the king may know that if there be not 
 generosity in a man, it is an indication of the 
 imperfectness of his Faith. What were be- 
 seeming the king's generosity is this, that he slay 
 not the prince, who as yet has not eaten of the 
 fruit of the orchard of life, and whose eyes have 
 not yet rested on the pleasure-ground of the 
 world." And he made intercession with the 
 king for the prince for that day. When the 
 king heard this story from the vezir he sent the 
 prince to the prison and himself mounted for 
 the chase. 
 
 When it was evening the king returned from 
 the chase and came to the palace, and the lady 
 rose to greet him, and they sat down. After the 
 repast the lady again asked for news of the 
 youth. The king said, " To-day too such an 
 one of my vezirs made intercession for him and 
 I let him off." The lady said, " O king, many 
 people will indeed be brought to shame through 
 this youth ; it is even as the story of that man 
 of Khorasan ; mayhap my king has not heard 
 it." The king said, " Tell on, let us hear." 
 Quoth the lady, 
 
 T 2 
 
276 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY-FIFTH STORY. 
 
 " Once upon a time there was a man of 
 Khorasan who was poor, and who, when con- 
 versing with his neighbours, used to boast and 
 brag and say, ' I did this thing and I did that 
 thing to them of Khorasan/ So the neighbours 
 saw that he was a boastful braggart, and they 
 would make him talk and divert themselves. 
 Early one day this man of Khorasan rose from 
 his place, took a piece of bread, rubbed some 
 grease on it, and ate it ; and that grease made 
 greasy his moustachios. He arose and came 
 up to the khojas of the neighbours, wiping his 
 moustachios and cleaning his teeth with a tooth- 
 pick, and sat down. The khojas said to him, 
 i To-day thou hast had some new kind of 
 savoury dish.' The man of Khorasan replied, 
 ' To-day they prepared no sweetmeats but such 
 and such a thing, and no meat save some frit- 
 ters ; I ate them ; lo, these are all the savoury 
 dishes I have had.' And he began to brag, and 
 said, * To-day my soul is weary, I shall go and 
 mount the gray horse, and go out of the city 
 and make the horse gallop a bit, that my spirits 
 may recover.' Just then his son came in at the 
 door, and said to his father, ' To-day the cat 
 has eaten the grease in that spoon wherewith 
 
THE LADY'S TWENTY-FIFTH STORY. 277 
 
 thou greasest thy moustachios every day/ The 
 man of Khorasan said, * Go, take some more 
 from the jar.' The boy said, * I know of no 
 grease in our house save that in the spoon ; 
 where is even a jug, let alone a jar?' The 
 man of Khorasan said, ' Hast thou watered the 
 gray horse ? ' The boy answered, ' I have 
 come to this age and have never seen even an ass 
 in our house ; where is the horse ? ' And he left. 
 And the man of Khorasan arose in confusion 
 from that party and went away ; and the khojas 
 began to smile behind him. And when the 
 man of Khorasan got to his house he reviled 
 his son and scolded him." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for 
 that my king may know that there is no polite- 
 ness or modesty in youths, and may learn that in 
 some way or other they bring about disgrace, 
 and that he may bear in mind this story. 
 There is no remedy save the killing of this 
 youth, or one day he will indeed bring thee to 
 shame and will slay thee. Ah ! I speak to my 
 king as I know and understand ; the rest my 
 king knows." When the king heard this 
 story from the lady he said, " To-morrow will 
 I slay him." And they arose and went to 
 bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king came and sat 
 
278 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 upon his throne, and he caused them to bring 
 the youth and ordered the executioner, " Smite 
 off his head." The Twenty-Sixth Vezir came 
 forward and said, " O king of the world, the 
 word of this woman is not better than the word 
 of these vezirs. If the king put aside the word 
 of these many vezirs, men of understanding, 
 and go by the word of the woman, my fear is 
 that he will be of the rebels against God Most 
 High. O king, if thou respect not these vezirs, 
 at least respect their learning, that God Most 
 High shut thee not out from respect in the 
 world and in the Hereafter. Mayhap the king 
 has not heard the story of Nu'man." The 
 king said, " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the 
 vezir, 
 
 THE TWENTY-SIXTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " There was of old time in the city of Cairo 
 a man called Nu'man, and he had a son. One 
 day when this boy's time to learn to read was 
 fully come he took him to a school and gave 
 to a teacher. This Nu'man was exceeding 
 poor, so that he followed the calling of a water- 
 seller, and in this way he supported his wife and 
 child. When the teacher had made the boy 
 read through the Koran, he told the boy to 
 fetch him his present. So the boy came and 
 
THE TWENTY-SIXTH VEZIRS STORY. 279 
 
 told his father. His father said, * O son, the 
 Koran is the Word of God Most High, we 
 have nothing worthy of it ; there is our camel 
 with which I follow my trade of water-seller, 
 take it at least and give it to thy teacher.' The 
 boy took the camel and brought it to his 
 teacher. But that day his father could gain no 
 money, and that night his wife and his son and 
 himself remained hungry. Now his wife was a 
 great scold, and when she saw this thing she 
 said, * Out on thee, husband, art thou mad ? 
 Where are thy senses gone ? Thou hadst a 
 camel, and by means of it we made shift to live, 
 and now thou hast taken and given it in a 
 present ; would that that boy had not been 
 born, or that thou hadst not sent him to read ; 
 what is he and what his reading ? ' And she 
 made so much noise and clamour that it cannot 
 be described. Nu'man saw this thing, and he 
 bowed down his head, and from the greatness of 
 his distress he fell asleep. In his dream a 
 radiant elder, white-bearded and clad in white 
 raiment, came and said, ' O Nu'man, thy portion 
 is in Damascus ; go, take it.' Just then 
 Nu'man awoke and he saw no one, and he 
 arose and said, ' Is the vision Divine or is it 
 Satanic ? ' While saying this, he again fell 
 asleep, and again he sa|v it. Brief, the elder 
 
280 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 appeared three times to him that night in his 
 dream and said, * Indeed is thy provision in 
 Damascus ; delay not, go to Damascus and take 
 it.' When it was morning Nu'man spake to 
 his wife of the vision ; his wife said, ' Thou 
 gavest away our camel and didst leave us 
 hungry, and now thou canst not abide our 
 complaints and wishest to run off; I fear thou 
 wilt leave thy child and me here and go off.' 
 Nu'man said, ' My life, I will not run off.' 
 Quoth the woman, * I will not bide, I will not 
 bide ; where thou goest I too will go with thee.' 
 Nu'man sware that he would not run off, and 
 the woman was persuaded and let him go. So 
 Nu'man went forth ; and one day he entered 
 Damascus, and he went in through the gate of 
 the Amawi Mosque. That day someone had 
 baked bread in an oven and was taking it to 
 his house ; when he saw Nu'man opposite him 
 and knew him to be a stranger, he gave him a 
 loaf. Nu'man took it and ate it, and lay down 
 through fatigue and fell asleep. That elder 
 again came to him in his vision and said, ' O 
 Nu'man, thou hast received thy provision ; 
 delay not, go back to thy house/ Nu'man 
 awoke and was amazed and said, ' Then our 
 bearing this much trouble and weariness was 
 for a loaf.' And he ^returned. One day he 
 
THE TWENTY-SIXTH VEZIKS STORY. 281 
 
 entered his house, and the woman looked and 
 saw there was nothing in his hand ; and 
 Nu'man told her. When the woman learned 
 that Nu'man had brought nothing, she turned 
 and said, ' Out on thee, husband, thou art 
 become mad, thou art a worthless man ; had 
 thy senses been in thy head, thou hadst not 
 given away our camel, the source of our 
 support, and left us thus friendless and hungry 
 and thirsty ; not a day but thou doest some 
 mad thing.' And she complained much. And 
 Nu'man's heart was broken by the weariness of 
 the road and the complaining of the woman, 
 and he fell asleep. Again in his vision that 
 elder came and said, ' O Nu'man, delay not, 
 arise, dig close by thee, thy provision is there, 
 take it.' But Nu'man heeded not. Three 
 times the elder appeared to him in his dream 
 and said, ' Thy provision is indeed close by 
 thee ; arise, take it.' So Nu'man, unable to 
 resist, arose and took a pick-axe and shovel 
 and began to dig where his head had lain. 
 The woman made mock of Nu'man and said, 
 6 Out on thee, man ; the half of the treasure 
 revealed to thee is mine/ Nu'man replied, 
 ' So be it ; but I am weary, come thou and dig 
 a bit that I may take breath a little.' The 
 woman said, ' Thou art not weary now ; when 
 
282 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 thou art weary I will help.' Nu'man went on ; 
 and when he had dug as deep as half the 
 height of a man, a marble slab appeared. The 
 woman saw the marble and, saying in herself, 
 ' This is not empty/ she asked the pick-axe 
 from Nu'man. Nu'man said, ' Have patience a 
 little longer/ The woman said, * Thou art 
 weary/ Nu'man replied, ' Now am I rested.' 
 Quoth the woman, * I am sorry for thee, thou 
 dost not know kindness.' While thus talking 
 they saw that one side of that marble was 
 pierced and that there was a hole. Thereupon 
 grew Nu'man eager, and he pulled the marble 
 from its place, and below it was a well and a 
 ladder. He caught hold of the ladder and 
 went down and saw a royal vase filled full with 
 red gold, and he called out to the woman, 
 
 * Come here/ Thereupon the woman descended 
 likewise and saw the vase of gold, and she 
 threw her arms round Nu'man's neck and said, 
 
 * O my noble little husband ! Blessed be God, 
 for thy luck and thy fortune.' Nu'man took up 
 some of these sequins, and the woman said, 
 'What wilt thou do?' Nu'man replied, 'I 
 shall take these to our king and tell him that 
 there is a vase full of them, and that an elder 
 came to me in my dream and told me, and I 
 shall say, " Take them all ; and, if thou wilt, 
 
THE TWENTY-SIXTH VEZIFS STORY. 283 
 
 bestow on me a few of them that I and my wife 
 may eat and drink, and in our comfort may 
 bless and praise thee." ' Quoth the woman, 
 ( My life, husband, speak not to our king now, 
 so that all of them may remain ours and we 
 shall have ease of heart.' Nu'man listened not, 
 but took them and laid them before the king. 
 The king said, ' What is this ? ' Nu'man 
 answered, ' O king, I found them in thy 
 ground.' And he told of the elder's coming 
 in his dream and of there being a vase full of 
 them, and said, ' O king, send a slave of thine, 
 and he will return ; and I shall accept the 
 king's alms, whatever it may be.' The king 
 said to a scribe, ' Come, read this, let us see 
 from whose time it has remained.' When the 
 scribe took the sequin into his hand he saw 
 that there was written on the one side of it, 
 ' This is an alms from before God to Nu'man/ 
 Then the scribe turned over the other side and 
 saw that it was thus written on that side, ' By 
 reason of his respect toward the Koran.' 
 When the scribe had read the inscriptions to 
 the king, the king said, * What is thy name ? ' 
 He replied, ' My name is Nu'man.' The king 
 caused all these sequins to be read, and the 
 writing on the whole of them was the same. 
 The king said, ' Go ye an4 bring some from 
 
284 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 the bottom of the vase.' And they went and 
 brought some from the bottom of the vase, 
 and they read them, and they all bore the 
 inscription of the first. And the king wondered 
 and said, ' Go, poor man, God Most High has 
 given it thee, on my part too be it lawful for thee ; 
 come, take these sequins also.' So Nu'man 
 took them and went to his house, and he took 
 out the sequins that were in the vase ; and 
 he enjoyed delight in the world until he died, 
 and in the Hereafter he attained a lofty station. 
 And all this felicity was for his respect to the 
 glorious Koran." 
 
 " O king, I have told this story for that the 
 king may know that God Most High respects 
 him who respects learning and the learned. So 
 it is incumbent on the king that he respect the 
 learning of the prince for he is of the learned 
 and the learning of these vezirs, that he may 
 gain the respect of God Most High in the world 
 and in the Hereafter." And he made interces- 
 sion for the prince for that day. When the 
 king heard this story from the vezir he sent the 
 prince to the prison and went himself to the chase. 
 
 When it was evening the king returned from 
 the chase and came to the palace, and the lady 
 rose to greet him, and they sat down. After 
 the repast the lady asked for news of the youth. 
 
THE LADY'S TWENTY-SIXTH STORY. 285 
 
 The king said, " To-day too such an one of my 
 vezirs made intercession for him and I sent him 
 to the prison." The lady said, " O king, my 
 words have no effect on thee ; and hast thou 
 not heard that when the Holy Apostle (peace 
 on him !) would draw forth his head from the 
 ocean of the mysteries of God, and come from 
 flight in the world of the Godhead to the world 
 of humanity, he would call to Saint 'Ayisha, 
 saying, ' O Humayra ! '* that is to say, ' Speak 
 to me, O 'Ayisha ;' and would find such plea- 
 sure in the sight of her and in her words ? He 
 who was the Seal of the Prophets thus respected 
 his wife and yearned to hear her voice ; and 
 thou art of his People, O king, yet these my 
 words go in at thy one ear and come out at 
 thy other. The affair of this youth resembles 
 the story of the son and daughter of those two 
 merchants ; mayhap my king has not heard it." 
 The king said, " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth 
 the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY-SIXTH STORY. 
 
 " In Damascus the Noble there was a great 
 merchant, and he had a son, a second Joseph. 
 
 * Humayra means Rosina, little rosy-cheeks. Muhammed 
 used so to address his youthful wife, 'Ayisha ; his tenderness in 
 doing so is often alluded to by Muslim writers, e.g. Dr. Red- 
 house's Mesnevi) p. 144. 
 
286 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZ1RS. 
 
 One day, while the boy was passing through a 
 certain quarter, he of a sudden passed before 
 the door of another great merchant, and he 
 looked up to the windows and saw a girl who 
 brought to mind the moon of fourteen nights, a 
 distracter of the world, a second Zuleykha ; and 
 she was looking down from above upon the 
 merchant's son. When their eyes met each 
 other, they both of them fell in love one with 
 the other, from heart and soul. Thereupon the 
 girl threw down an apple from above, and the 
 merchant's son caught it in his hands and let it 
 not touch the ground. Now the girl's mother 
 was gone to the bath, and as the girl was alone 
 in the house she had got wearied, and the fancy 
 to be like a bride had come into her mind, and 
 she had put on whatever she possessed of costly 
 dresses and jewels ; and as they met each other 
 when she was thus covered with gold and orna- 
 ments, they loved each the other forthwith. 
 Saying in herself, ' When will such an oppor- 
 tunity occur ? ' the girl came down and opened 
 the door and took the boy in and quickly shut 
 the door behind him, and snatched some kisses, 
 and then they went upstairs. On both sides 
 the fires of love flamed forth and they gave 
 themselves up to enjoyment. Of a sudden the 
 girl's father arrived and knocked at the door. 
 
THE LADY'S TWENTY-SIXTH STORY. 287 
 
 Then the boy's senses came into his head and 
 he said, 'Mercy, my lamb, what shall I do now?' 
 The girl said, ' There is a cellar in the garden ; 
 go and hide in that cellar for the present.' So 
 the boy went off. Now one descended into 
 that cellar by a flight of forty steps ; and in that 
 the boy was senseless and without discretion, 
 he was going down hurriedly, when his foot 
 slipped, and he fell down the forty steps and 
 was killed." 
 
 Now, O king, this thy son is likewise without 
 sense ; and from him without sense comes no 
 good either to himself or to others, his works 
 are ever evil. Beware, be not negligent, kill this 
 youth, else he will slay thee." When the king 
 heard this story from the lady he said, "On the 
 morrow will I kill him." And they went to 
 bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king sat upon his 
 throne, and he caused the youth to be brought 
 and ordered the executioner, " Smite off his 
 head." The Twenty-Seventh Vezir came for- 
 ward and said, " O king of the world, it is in- 
 cumbent on kings to be not ashamed to ask of 
 things they know not; for he who is forward in 
 gaining knowledge will enter Paradise. A wise 
 man is he who asks another even of what he 
 knows, so that they may make him know what 
 
288 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 he knows not. And a foolish man is he who 
 knows not and finds not one who does know 
 and is ashamed to ask. O king, thou believest 
 not in us ; in thy city are many wise men and 
 learned, ask them, and if this deed be not sin, 
 we will speak no more. Otherwise, beware of 
 going by the woman's word and slaying thy 
 son. All fly, being weak, from the wiles and 
 wickedness of women. Mayhap my king has 
 not heard the story of that woodman/' The 
 king said, " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the 
 vezir, 
 
 THE TWENTY-SEVENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 There was of old time in a city a young 
 woodman, and he had a wild scolding wife. 
 This woman always took from the woodman 
 whatever he earned, so that there never re- 
 mained an aspre in his hand. Sometimes at 
 night his food was salt and he would say, ' The 
 food thou hast cooked to-night is salt.' Then 
 the next night she would put no salt in the 
 food, and cook it without salt ; and if he said, 
 * This has no salt,' she put in much salt, so that 
 he could not eat. One day the woodman con- 
 cealed a little money from his wife that he 
 might buy a rope ; and when it was night the 
 woman found the money in the woodman's 
 
THE TWENTY-SEVENTH VEZIRS STORY. 289 
 
 breast and said, ' Thou hast a secret doxy other 
 than me ; thou art taking money to give her/ 
 The youth sware, but the woman would not 
 believe. The woodman said, ' O my life, I kept 
 it to buy a rope.' The woman answered, ' May 
 they hang thee with that rope.' The woodman 
 said, 'Why dost thou thus curse me?' She 
 replied, ' The curse I have uttered against thee is 
 but little.' Brief, they had a great quarrel, and the 
 woodman beat the woman. That night passed 
 somehow, and when it was morning the wood- 
 man arose and took one of the beasts, and was 
 setting out for the mountain, when he said to 
 the woman, ' Have care that thou take not the 
 other beast to come after me.' Thereupon the 
 woman ran and mounted the other beast and 
 went to the mountain behind her husband and 
 said, ' When thou art without me who knows 
 what thou doest ? ' The woodman saw that the 
 woman was coming but he said nothing and 
 went to the mountain, and the woman went with 
 him. The woodman began to cut wood ; and 
 when the woman was roaming about the moun- 
 tain she came to the mouth of a pit. The 
 woodman saw that the woman was looking at 
 the mouth of the pit and he cried out, ' Take care, 
 come back from the pit mouth.' But the woman 
 went nearer it. Again the woodman cried out,, 
 
 u 
 
290 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 ' I tell thee to come back, and thou goest nearer ; 
 come away back/ The woman said, ' I shall 
 go yet nearer/ And she took a step forward 
 and put down her foot. Now the stone beneath 
 her was not fast, and she slipped and fell into 
 the pit. As the woodman could do nothing he 
 paid no heed, but laded the beasts and went to 
 his house. That night passed and on the mor- 
 row he again took the beasts and went to the 
 mountain. Saying, ' Let me go and see this 
 woman,' he went to the pit mouth and looked, 
 but the woman was not visible. His heart was 
 pained and he let down the rope and cried, * O 
 wife, seize this rope that I may pull thee up.' 
 He felt the rope heavy and, taking courage, 
 pulled, and he saw an 'ifrlt* had caught hold of 
 the rope. The woodman was afraid, but the 
 'ifrlt said, 'Fear not, may God Most High be 
 pleased with thee ; thou hast rescued me from 
 a torment from which I could not have come of 
 myself till the Resurrection.' The woodman 
 said, * In what manner of torment wast thou ?' 
 The 'ifrit replied, ' For a long time this pit has 
 been my dwelling ; yesterday a scolding ill- 
 starred woman fell upon me, she got upon my 
 head and held me fast by the ears and left 
 
 * A kind of demon. 
 
THE TWENTY-SEVENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 291 
 
 me not till now. But now thou didst come and let 
 down the rope and cry, "Seize the rope ;"and she 
 let me go, but caught not the rope. Praise be to 
 God ! I have escaped and am saved. Now I 
 would reward thee for the kindness thou hast done 
 me/ And he pulled forth three leaves and gave 
 them to the youth and said/ Now I will go and 
 possess the daughter of the king of this land and, 
 whatsoever remedy they apply, I will not leave 
 her till thou come, and put one of these leaves 
 in water and rub that water on the girl's face ; 
 then will I go, and the king will confer many 
 favours on thee.' So the youth took these leaves 
 from the 'ifrit's hand and, paying no heed to the 
 woman, went to his house. Our story goes to the 
 'ifrit : The 'ifrit went straight thence to the palace 
 of the king, and possessed his daughter. They 
 sent word to the king, saying, ' The girl has lost 
 her senses, and is lying sighing and wailing, cry- 
 ing, "O my head !" The king came and saw that 
 his daughter was seized with a pain in her head 
 and was sighing and crying, and he forthwith ap- 
 pointed a physician ; but the physician did no 
 good. He appointed another physician, he too 
 did no good. Brief, there were some ten phy- 
 sicians, bt^lhey did no good. When the girl saw 
 her father she cried, ' Mercy, father, my head !' 
 The father said, * My child, when thou criest, say- 
 
 u 2 
 
292 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 ing, " My head !" my head and my heart suffer 
 more than thine ; but what can I do ? I will get an 
 astrologer for thee/ And he began to summon 
 those skilled in astrology, and many such came 
 and busied themselves with various treatments 
 and occult cures. Our story goes to the young 
 woodman : The 'ifrit had given the youth those 
 leaves and instructed him as to what should 
 happen, but the youth did not believe him and 
 paid no heed. One day a man came from the 
 king's city and brought an imperial order, and 
 it was thus : ' My daughter is ill ; I have ap- 
 pointed these many physicians and these many 
 astrologers, but without avail. To whatever 
 skilful master comes and cures her, if he be a 
 Muslim, I will give my daughter, if she but 
 recover ; and if he be an infidel, I will give a 
 world of gifts/ And it was signed. There- 
 upon the woodman came and said, ' I will go 
 and, with the permission of God, will treat her 
 that she recover/ So they straightway gave 
 over the young woodman to the man who had 
 come ; and they set out at once. One day they 
 entered the king's domains ; and they gave the 
 king word and he ordered, saying, ' Let him 
 come quickly/ So they took him before him, 
 and the king ordered that they brought the girl, 
 and the young woodman acted according to the 
 
THE TWENTY-SEVENTH VEZIFS STORY. 293 
 
 'ifrit's instructions, and the girl recovered. So 
 the king gave him his daughter and made him 
 his son-in-law. Now this king had a friend, 
 another king ; and that 'ifrit loved his daughter, 
 and he ever annoyed the girl. When that king 
 heard that this other king's daughter had got 
 well, he sent a man and begged for the king's 
 son-in-law that he might cure his daughter. So 
 the king sent him, and he went before the girl 
 and saw that the demon was there. When the 
 demon saw the youth he said, ' See, I did thee 
 a kindness ; I love this girl ; art thou come to take 
 her too from my hand ? Lo, I will go and take 
 that girl from thy hand.' And he was exceed- 
 ing angry. The youth was bewildered through 
 fear of him and said, ' I am not come here for the 
 girl ; but that woman in the pit was my wife, I 
 left her in the pit that I might escape from her, 
 but she has now got out and, go where I will, 
 she will not leave me. I have fled from her and 
 am come hither to thee ; she too is coming in 
 now.' As soon as the demon heard him say the 
 words, ' She too is coming in now,' he said, ' Mercy, 
 has she come here too ? This place is no longer *^ 
 lawful for me.' And he left the king's daughter and 
 went away ; and the king's daughter recovered." 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for 
 that the king may know that even a demon is 
 
294 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 powerless against the iniquity and evil deeds of 
 women, and flies away ; where then were the 
 prince ? For these many days have the king 
 and the prince, and high and low, been powerless 
 in the hands of a woman ; one must judge by 
 this what a woman can do." And he made 
 intercession with the king for the prince for that 
 day. When the king heard this story from the 
 vezir he sent the prince to the prison and went 
 himself to the chase. 
 
 When it was evening the king returned from 
 the chase and came to the palace, and the lady 
 rose to greet him, and they sat down. After 
 the repast the lady again asked for news of the 
 youth. The king said, " To-day such an one of 
 my vezirs made intercession for him, and he led 
 me astray, little remained but I blasphemed ; and 
 for that I am ashamed among the vezirs, my 
 countenance fell to the ground ; till I had let 
 off the youth this day I escaped not from their 
 hands." The lady said, " O king, this youth 
 knows much ; all the vezirs are his faithful 
 friends. Take care, some hurt will befall thee 
 from the youth. Mayhap the king has not 
 heard the story of those fleas and the scant- 
 beard." The king said, " Tell on, let us hear." 
 Quoth the lady, 
 
THE LADY'S TWENTY-SEVENTH STORY. 295 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY-SEVENTH STORY. 
 
 " One day the fleas came together and said, 
 ' The sons of Adam catch us and rub us between 
 their fingers and kill us ; why do they thus 
 torture us by rub rubbing, and kill us ? Let us 
 go to Saint Solomon the Messenger and com- 
 plain, and say, " Let them kill us as they do 
 lice." So they agreed to this and chose some 
 from among them to send before Solomon as 
 complainants ; and they warned these much, 
 saying, * If there be a scant-bearded man in the 
 presence of Solomon (peace on him !), take care 
 and make not the complaint ; for scant-beards 
 know much and would make him give judgment 
 contrary to our complaint.' So these fleas set 
 out and came into the presence of Saint Solomon^ 
 and passed their eyes over the companions who 
 were standing there. There was there a person 
 with the appearance of a youth, and they, 
 thinking him a youth, said in themselves, 
 ' There is no scant-beard in this assembly.' 
 Then they said to Saint Solomon, ' O Prophet 
 of God, when the sons of Adam catch lice they 
 do not rub them between their fingers, but kill 
 them forthwith ; why when they catch us do 
 they first rub us between their fingers and then 
 kill us ? Henceforth, even as they kill lice, so 
 
296 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 let them kill us.' Then Saint Solomon looked 
 to those who were present in the assembly, 
 whereupon that youth arose from his place and 
 said, ' O Prophet of God, when we find lice they 
 do not move but remain stock-still, therefore do 
 we kill them between our nails without rubbing ; 
 but when we find fleas they jump from here to 
 there and from there to here, so that even one 
 of them is caught with difficulty; for that they 
 annoy us twice, do we inflict on them an addi- 
 tional torment/ Then quoth Saint Solomon to 
 the fleas, 'What say ye?' The fleas replied, 
 4 We too will remain stock-still like lice ; only 
 let them kill us also without rubbing.' Saint 
 Solomon said to the youth, ' Lo, these are about 
 to remain stock-still like lice/ Quoth the 
 youth, ' Very good ; let them give a surety/ 
 Said Saint Solomon to the fleas, ' Give a surety/ 
 The fleas answered, ' Our glory is to jump ; we 
 shall become surety to no man/ Saint Solomon 
 said, ' Since ye will not give a surety, even as 
 they killed you heretofore, so let them kill you 
 still/ Then the fleas went out, and they asked, 
 ' Is that a youth ?' They answered the fleas, 
 ' That is not a youth, but a scant-beard/ So 
 they came and told their party of these things ; 
 and they all agreed that until the Resurrection 
 they should go about and wander in search of 
 
THE LADY'S TWENTY-SEVENTH STORY. 297 
 
 scant-beards, and, where they found them, press 
 upon them and eat them and drink their blood 
 and kill them. And from that time have they 
 continued to seek out scant-bearded men and 
 eat them ; and the cause of this hatred was that 
 scant-beard with the appearance of a youth." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 the king may know that this youth too is in 
 form a youth but in nature a scant-beard ; so be 
 prepared lest thou fall into a maze like the 
 fleas." When the king heard this story from 
 the lady he said, " On the morrow will I see to 
 his affair." And they went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king went and sat 
 upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be 
 brought and ordered the executioner, " Smite 
 off his head." The Twenty-Eighth Vezir came 
 forward and said, " O king of the world, go not 
 by the woman's word, for the Holy Apostle 
 hath thus said, ' Whoso loveth one with a perfect 
 love shall rise along with him to-morrow on the 
 Resurrection-Day.' This is beseeming the king, 
 that he love the learned and these many vezirs ; 
 for from the learned and the accomplished vezirs 
 comes no evil. Mayhap my king has not heard 
 the story of the devotee and the thief." The 
 king said, " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the 
 vezir, 
 
298 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 THE TWENTY-EIGHTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " They relate that there was in the city of 
 Baghdad a devotee, and this devotee had a cell 
 where he was always occupied in worship. One 
 day someone, when passing by there, called out 
 the devotee and gave him some money. The 
 devotee accepted it ; and he took that money 
 and went to the bazaar and bought a little honey 
 and gave away the rest of the money to the 
 poor. Now a thief watched him and said in 
 his heart, ' There must be much money with 
 this devotee.' And he followed behind the 
 devotee, and the devotee entered his cell. The 
 thief too slipped in and hid himself in a corner. 
 When it was evening the devotee lit his lamp 
 and occupied himself with worship ; and the 
 thief watched in his place, saying, ' The devotee 
 will go to sleep.' But as to the devotee, his 
 intention was not to fall asleep, and the thief 
 became repentant of his ever having come, and 
 said, ' I see this devotee is the favourite of God 
 Most High ; if this time I escape from him, I 
 shall repent and thieve no more.' After a time 
 someone came and knocked at the door, and 
 the devotee rose and went to the door, and the 
 thief stood ready to slip out and run off when 
 the door was opened. But the devotee opened 
 
THE TWENTY-EIGHTH VEZIRS STORY. 299 
 
 the door so little that a man could scarce 
 squeeze through, and he asked that person. 
 That person said, * The Forty* have sent me ; 
 they salute thee. This night one of us has 
 gone to the mercy of God Most High, and they 
 would seat thee in his place.' The devotee 
 said, * Let them excuse me ; there is a man 
 here in my stead, take him and let them accept 
 him.' Thereupon he laid hold of the thief and 
 made him over to that person and said, * Lo, 
 take him in my stead.' And forthwith the thief 
 repented and sought pardon. So through his 
 passing one night in the cell of that devotee he 
 became of the Forty." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for 
 that the king may know that the advantage of 
 staying and abiding with the righteous, and 
 likewise with the learned, is great. Since these 
 many learned men say that the prince is guilt- 
 less, spare thou the prince's life for this day." 
 When the king heard this story from the vezir 
 he sent the prince to the prison and went himself 
 to the chase. 
 
 That day, too, when it was evening, he came 
 to the palace, and the lady rose to greet him, 
 
 * That is the Rijal-i Ghayb, " The Unseen Ones," a set of 
 forty mysterious and devout beings who wander over the earth 
 ready to impart spiritual aid to those who seek it. 
 
300 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 and they sat down. After the repast the lady 
 again began to speak about the youth. The 
 king said, " To-day too such an one of my 
 vezirs made intercession for him and I have 
 again sent him to the prison." The lady said, 
 " O king, that youth made free with me ; I tell 
 it thee and thou shuttest thine eyes to it and 
 listenest not; what means this ? Had I been 
 an evil woman, ere now were thy body lying in 
 the earth. Since I have been thus true to thee, 
 this beseems thee, that thou see to my right. 
 Thou favourest this youth now and sendest 
 him to the prison, but in the end shalt thou 
 repent even as repented that king who would 
 not accept the counsel of Avicenna."* The 
 king said, " Relate that story, let us hear." 
 Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY- EIGHTH STORY. 
 
 " In the city of Aleppo there was a king. 
 As mice abounded in that city the people com- 
 plained of them every day. One day, while 
 the king was conversing with Avicenna, they 
 touched upon the mice. The king said, ' O 
 Avicenna, everyone complains of these mice ; 
 
 * This famous philosopher was born in Bukhara in 373 (A.D. 
 983), and died at Hamadan in 427 (A.D. 1036). 
 
THE LAD Y'S TWENTY-EIGHTH STOR Y. 301 
 
 would that we could find some remedy for them 
 that everyone might be at ease.' Avicenna 
 answered, ' I will do that to them that not a 
 single one of them remain in this city ; but with 
 this condition, that thou stand at the city gate, 
 and beware, whatever wonder thou see, that 
 thou laugh not.' The king consented and was 
 glad. Straightway he ordered that they pre- 
 pared his horse, and he mounted and went to 
 the gate. Avicenna, on his part, stood in a 
 street and repeated a charm and called the 
 mice. One of the mice came, and he caught it 
 and killed it and put it in a coffin and made 
 four mice bear that coffin, while he repeated 
 the charm and began to strike his hands one 
 against the other ; and these four mice began to 
 march slowly along. And all the mice that 
 were in the city attended that funeral, so that 
 the streets were filled full of them. They came 
 to the gate where the king was standing, some 
 of them before the coffin and some of them 
 behind. And while the king was looking on, 
 he saw these mice with the coffin on their 
 shoulders, and, unable to resist, he laughed. 
 Thereupon, as soon as he laughed, as many of 
 the mice as were without the gate did all die, 
 but as many as were within the gate did all 
 disperse and run off inside. Avicenna said, 
 
302 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 1 O king, if thou had kept my counsel and not 
 laughed, not a single mouse would have remained 
 in this city, but they would all of them have 
 gone out and died ; and everyone would have 
 been at ease/ And the king repented of his 
 having laughed ; but what could he do ? Too 
 late repentance profits not." 
 
 " Now, O king, thou art about to forgive 
 what this degenerate youth has done to us ; but 
 he will not forgive thee, but will surely hurt 
 thee and me and many poor creatures." When 
 the king heard these beguiling words of the 
 lady he said, " To-morrow will I see to him." 
 And they arose and went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king arose and sat 
 upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be 
 brought and ordered the executioner, " Smite 
 off his head." The Twenty-Ninth Vezir came 
 forward and said, " O king of the world, one of 
 the kings of Hind, when he laid his head on 
 the pillow of death, said to his son, ' O darling 
 of my heart, I will give thee a letter of charges ; 
 act according to its injunctions/ And he drew 
 forth a packet of written papers and gave it to 
 his son and said, ' O my son, I have proved 
 these much, and have passed my earthly life 
 with comfort, and I hope from God Most High 
 that my Hereafter may be happy also. If the 
 
THE TWENTY-NINTH VEZIFS STORY. 303 
 
 world and the Hereafter be needful for thee 
 likewise, act according to these counsels.' So 
 the youth took and read them, and there was 
 written : * Do good to him who doth good to 
 thee ; do good to him too who doth evil to 
 thee ; supply the need of him who asketh a 
 need of thee ; love the folk as much as in 
 thee lieth ; take heed that thou cast no one's 
 fault in his face ; speak not the word which will 
 grieve ; if thy neighbour be sick, ask after him ; 
 think of others what thou thinkest of thyself; 
 be not treacherous ; let thy love be alway with 
 the good ; never interrupt a person and speak 
 to others ; talk not with him who loveth thee 
 not ; when with a great man speak not before 
 he doth ; ever guard thee against hypocrites 
 and evil women, and trust them not.' If thou 
 do the contrary to these, thy story will resemble 
 the story of that miserable wretch. But may- 
 hap my king has not heard that story." The 
 king said, " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the 
 vezir, 
 
 THE TWENTY-NINTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " There was in the palace of the world a 
 grocer, and he had a wife, a beauty of the age ; 
 and that woman had a leman. One day this 
 woman's leman said, * If thy husband found us 
 
304 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 out, he would not leave either of us sound.' 
 The woman said, ' I am able to manage that I 
 shall make merry with thee before my husband's 
 eyes.' The youth said, ' Such a thing cannot 
 be/ The woman replied, ' In such and such a 
 place there is a great tree, to-morrow I will go 
 a-pleasuring with my husband to the foot of 
 that tree ; do thou hide thyself in a secret place 
 near that tree, and when I make a sign to thee, 
 come.' As her leman went off, her husband 
 came. The woman said, * Fellow, my soul 
 would go a-pleasuring with thee to-morrow 
 to such and such a tree.' The fellow replied, 
 * So be it.' When it was morning the woman 
 and her husband went to that tree. The 
 woman said, * They say that he who eats this 
 sweetmeat sees single things as though they 
 were double.' And she ate some and gave her 
 husband some to eat. Half-an-hour afterward 
 the woman climbed up the tree and turned and 
 looked down and began, ' May thou be blind ! 
 may thou get the like from God ! fellow, what 
 deed is this deed thou doest ? Is there anyone 
 who has ever done this deed ? Thou makest 
 merry with a strange woman under the eyes of 
 thy wife ; quick, divorce me.' And she cried 
 out. Her husband said, * Out on thee, woman, 
 hast thou turned mad ? there is no one by me.' 
 
THE TWENTY-NINTH VEZIFS STORY. 305 
 
 Quoth the woman, ' Be silent, unblushing, 
 shameless fellow ; lo, the woman is with thee, 
 and thou deniest.' Her husband said, * Come 
 down/ She replied, ' I will not come down so 
 long as that woman is with thee/ Her husband 
 began to swear protesting, and the woman came 
 down and said to him, * Where is that harlot ? 
 quick, show her me, else thou shalt know/ 
 Again the fellow sware, and the woman said, 
 ' Can it then be the work of the sweetmeat ? ' 
 The fellow said, ' May be/ Quoth the woman, 
 ' Do thou too go up and look down on me, and 
 let us see/ Her husband clutched the tree and, 
 while he was climbing, the woman signed to her 
 leman. The fellow looked down and saw the 
 woman making merry with a youth. This time 
 the fellow cried out, ' Away with thee, out on 
 thee, shameless youth/ The woman said, ' Thou 
 liest/ But the fellow could not endure it and 
 began to come down, and the youth ran off." 
 
 " Now, O king, know that such tricks abound 
 in women ; rule by a woman's word is not 
 lawful." And he kissed the ground and made 
 intercession for the prince. When the king 
 heard this story from the vezir he sent the 
 youth to the prison and went himself to the 
 chase. 
 
 That day, too, he found the evening draw in 
 x 
 
306 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 and he returned from the chase and came to 
 the palace, and the lady rose to greet him, and 
 they sat down. After the repast the lady began 
 to speak about the youth. The king said, 
 " To-day too such an one of my vezirs made 
 intercession for him and I sent him to the 
 prison." The lady said, " O king, thou delayest 
 much the affair of this unworthy youth ; what 
 is thy desire in this much compassionating him ? 
 What I know is that this youth is of the set of 
 that youth whom Khizr (peace on him !) killed ; 
 but mayhap my king has not heard." The 
 king said, " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the 
 lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY-NINTH STORY. 
 
 " One day when Saint Moses (peace on him !) 
 was exhorting and preaching to his people, they 
 said to him, * Who among all this assembly of 
 beings is the wisest ? ' Saint Moses answered, 
 * I am the wisest.' For that he said not, ' God 
 Most High is the wisest,' a voice cried to him, 
 ' O Moses, at the Confluence of the Two Seas 
 is a servant of Mine who is wiser than thou ; 
 go, see him.' Thus God Most High reproved 
 him. Then Saint Moses prayed, saying, c My 
 God, how shall I find that Thy servant ? ' God 
 Most High said, ' Take a fish, and wherever it 
 
t 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY-NINTH STORY. 307 
 
 becomes alive and goes into the water, there 
 
 find him.' So Saints Moses and Joshua the son 
 
 of Nun took a fish and set out ; and at the 
 
 Confluence of the Two Seas they found a stone ; 
 
 and they made that stone their pillow, and lay 
 
 clown. And the fish became alive and went 
 
 into the sea. When they awoke, Joshua saw 
 
 that the fish had become alive and gone into the 
 
 water ; but it came not into his mind to tell 
 
 Saint Moses. So they arose from thence and 
 
 went on that day and that night. Then Saint 
 
 Moses grew weary, and he sat down in a place 
 
 and said to Joshua the son of Nun, ' Bring the 
 
 mid-day meal and let us eat.' Joshua said, 'At 
 
 that place where we lay, the fish became alive 
 
 and went into the water ; and Satan caused me 
 
 to forget to tell thee.' And Moses (peace on 
 
 him !) marvelled, and they arose from thence and 
 
 returned and came to that stone, and they saw 
 
 a man sitting there. Saint Moses wenf forward 
 
 and saluted that man, and Khizr (peace on 
 
 him !) returned the salutation, and turned and 
 
 said to Moses (peace on him !), 'Who art thou ? ' 
 
 Moses (peace on him !) replied, ' I am Moses, 
 
 and I am come that I may learn wisdom of 
 
 thee.' Khizr (peace on him!) said, 'Thou wilt 
 
 be unable to have patience with my dealings.' 
 
 Moses (peace on him !) answered, ' If it please 
 
 X 2 
 
308 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 God, I shall have patience/ Khizr (peace on 
 him !) said, ' If thou wilt be my companion, ask 
 nothing of me.' Moses (peace on him !) said, 
 1 1 shall not.' Then they both arose and set out, 
 and they came to the sea-shore and entered a 
 ship. While on the way, Khizr (peace on him !) 
 tore up a plank of that ship ; and Moses (peace 
 on him !) said, ' O Khizr, these took nothing 
 from us and carried us in their ship, now thou 
 makest a hole in their ship ; wishest thou to 
 sink it ? ' Khizr (peace on him !) said, ' O 
 Moses, did I not say to thee that thou couldst 
 not have patience ? ' Moses (peace on him !) 
 replied, ' O Khizr, hold me excused ; I will not 
 speak again.' While they were thus talking, a 
 little sparrow came and took up some water 
 from the sea in his beak, and Khizr (peace on 
 him !) said, * O Moses, thy knowledge and my 
 knowledge are not as much in the sight of God 
 Most High as the water this sparrow has taken 
 from the sea in his beak.' Then they came 
 forth from the ship and went to a village ; and 
 they saw some children playing. And Khizr 
 (peace on him !) went and smote one of them 
 and slew him. Moses (peace on him !) said, ' O 
 Khizr, wherefore didst thou slay that child un- 
 justly?' Khizr (peace on him!) replied, 'O 
 Moses, did I not say to thee that thou couldst 
 
THE LADY'S TWENTY-NINTH STORY. 309 
 
 not have patience ? ' Moses (peace on him !) 
 said, ' Hold me excused ; it passed from my 
 mind ; if I ask again, bear me no longer com- 
 pany.' They passed and came to another 
 village ; and in that village they would give 
 them no food. While they were going along 
 they saw in a street a bowing wall which was 
 like to fall down. Khizr (peace on him !) took 
 and built up that wall. And Moses (peace 
 on him !) said, ' O Khizr, in this village they 
 would give us neither lodging nor bread ; yet 
 thou hast built up their wall without hire.' 
 Khizr (peace on him !) said, * Now is our part- 
 ing with thee ; but I will explain these questions 
 to thee. The owners of that ship to which I 
 did damage are poor friendless men ; and there 
 is a king who is seizing upon all ships, but 
 because a plank of that one is broken he will 
 not seize upon it, so its owners will be able to 
 support themselves.* The two parents of the 
 boy whom I slew are believers ; had the boy 
 grown up, he would have become a rebel against 
 God Most High, so I slew him that his evil 
 might not touch his father and his mother and 
 many others, and that he might not die in 
 unbelief. And beneath this wall which I have 
 
 * They could easily repair the slight damage. 
 
3io HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 built up is a buried treasure, its owners are two 
 orphans ; had it fallen down now, that treasure 
 would have been lost to them ; but when these 
 orphans are grown up, the wall will fall down, 
 and while they are building it they will find that 
 treasure ; therefore did I build it up.' And 
 Khizr (peace on him !) went in one direction, 
 and Moses (peace on him !) went in another."* 
 
 " Now, O king, even as Khizr (peace on 
 him !) slew that youth that he might not rebel 
 and his evil touch his father and his mother and 
 many poor creatures, so do thou kill this tyrant 
 youth, else thou shalt be repentant." When the 
 king heard these beguiling words of the lady 
 he said, " To morrow will I slay him." And 
 they went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king came and sat 
 upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be 
 brought and ordered the executioner, " Smite 
 off his head." The Thirtieth Vezir came for- 
 ward and said, " O king of the world, beware 
 and beware, hurry not in this work, for hurry is 
 the work of Satan. Our Lord the Apostle of 
 God hath said that even as the blood courseth 
 in a man's veins, so courseth Satan. This is 
 
 * All this stoiy is an amplification of a passage in the 
 eighteenth chapter of the Koran. 
 
THE THIRTIETH VEZIR'S STORY. 311 
 
 incumbent on my king, that he hasten not in 
 this affair, for women are devils ; and they have 
 said that many heads were cut off in the two 
 tribes by reason of a woman ; but mayhap my 
 king has not heard it." The king said, " Tell 
 on, let us hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
 THE THIRTIETH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " It is thus related : An Arab of the tribe of 
 the Bern-' Aqil took a goat to a city with the pur- 
 pose of selling it. An Arab of the tribe of the 
 Benl-Nefir wished to buy that goat. The owner 
 of the goat wanted eight baghdadis as the price, 
 the purchaser offered six. The owner of the 
 goat sware he would divorce his wife if he gave 
 it for an aspre less than eight baghdadis, and 
 the purchaser sware he would divorce his if 
 he gave an aspre more than six. Then the 
 two of them began to quarrel. The Arab who 
 wished to buy took up a stone and threw it at 
 the owner of the goat ; it hit his head which 
 broke like a rotten gourd. His kinsfolk heard 
 this and they came and smote that other man, 
 and killed the killer. As a man of each tribe 
 had been slain, they fell one upon the other. 
 Every one came on his horse with his arms to 
 the field, and they began to fight with each 
 other, so that hills of slain arose and blood 
 
312 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 flowed in streams. At length the tribe of the 
 Beni-'Aqil was victorious, and put to flight the 
 tribe of the Beni-Nefir. That tribe went to 
 the prince of the Abyssinians and asked help. 
 So the prince of Abyssinia gave them two 
 hundred horsemen ; and the Neflr prince again 
 fell upon the 'Aqil prince, and they began to 
 fight one with another. At length the fortune 
 of the 'Aqil prince was changed into disaster, 
 and the Beni-Nefir army returned with victory 
 and triumph." 
 
 " Now, O king, be it known to thee that for 
 that an Arab mentioned the divorcing of his 
 wife heads went off and the wealth and lives of 
 many were lost ; and the two lands were ruined 
 because of women. And this day I, thy slave, 
 make intercession for the prince." And he 
 kissed the ground. And the king sent the 
 prince to the prison and himself mounted for 
 the chase. 
 
 When it was evening he returned and came 
 to the palace, and the lady rose to greet him, 
 and they sat down. After the repast the lady 
 again asked of the youth. The king said, " To- 
 day too such an one of my vezirs made inter- 
 cession for him, and I sent him to the prison." 
 The lady said, " O king, deem not those vezirs 
 friends to thee ; they watch their opportunity. 
 
THE LADY'S THIRTIETH STORY. 313 
 
 Thy story is like the story of that king and the 
 vezir." The king said, " Relate that story, let 
 us hear it." Quoth the lady, 
 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTIETH STORY. 
 
 " In the palace of the world there was a king. 
 One day a dervish came before that king and 
 said, ' O king, I know a charm on repeating 
 which I can enter into whatever body I please.' 
 The king forthwith ordered that they brought a 
 goose, and he turned and said to the dervish, 
 ' Canst thou enter the body of this goose ? ' 
 The dervish repeated the charm and entered 
 the body of that goose, and the dervish's body 
 remained lifeless. When the king saw that 
 thing he wondered. Then the dervish repeated 
 that charm, and he again entered his own frame. 
 And the king learned that charm from the 
 dervish. One day the king went to the chase 
 with the vezir ; they had taken a deer, when the 
 king who was by the vezir's side repeated that 
 charm and entered the body of the deer, and he 
 frisked about for a time ; and his own frame 
 remained lifeless. The king again repeated the 
 charm and re-entered his frame. The vezir 
 saw these things and marvelled, and he asked 
 the king, saying, ' Where learnedst thou this ? ' 
 The king replied, ' I learned it from a dervish.' 
 
314 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 The vezir begged and entreated the king, saying, 
 ' Teach me that charm.' As the king was in 
 the most generous humour he taught the vezir 
 that charm ; and when the vezir had learned 
 that charm from the king he began to watch his 
 opportunity. One day the king and the vezir 
 went out in disguise, and while they were walk- 
 ing about they saw a dead parrot lying at the 
 foot of a tree. Quoth the vezir, * O king, canst 
 thou enter the body of this parrot ? ' The king 
 forthwith recited that charm and entered the 
 body of the parrot, and he flew off and perched 
 upon a tree. Then the vezir forthwith repeated 
 that charm and entered the king's body, and he 
 taught that charm to a slave of his and made 
 him go into his body. And the king remained 
 in the parrot's body on that tree, and as soon 
 as he saw the vezir thus, he repented of his 
 having taught him the charm ; but what avail, 
 what could he do ? Now the king had a great 
 garden, and he flew off and went to that garden, 
 and sad and sorrowful perched on the branch of 
 a tree and sat pondering. Our story goes to 
 the vezir. When the vezir entered the king's 
 body he pushed on and went into the harem ; 
 and when he went up to the queen he desired 
 to make merry with her. The lady looked, this 
 was the king, but he had not a trace of the airs 
 
THE LADY'S THIRTIETH STORY. 315 
 
 or love-tricks or manners of the king ; and she 
 wondered and feigned to be sick ; and she would 
 not let the king near her couch.* So the vezir 
 waited, saying in himself, * I shall have patience 
 for to-day and to-night ; she will get well, then 
 shall I make merry.' When the night was 
 turned to morning the lady saw that there was 
 not in him a trace of the king's nature, and she 
 said in herself, ' By God, this is not the king.' 
 And she feigned to be yet more sick and began 
 to watch how it would end. Our story goes to 
 the king. The king said, ' There is no profit in 
 brooding sadly here ;' and he said with eloquent 
 speech to the gardener, ' O gardener, take me 
 and carry me to the bazaar and sell me, and 
 may my price be lawful for thee, only give me 
 not for less than a thousand sequins/ The 
 gardener put the parrot in a cage and took it to 
 the city, and every one saw that it was a saga- 
 cious parrot ; and they all wondered at the 
 eloquence of the parrot. Now there was in that 
 city a woman who received a thousand sequins 
 from every person who passed a night with her. 
 One night that woman saw in a dream that she 
 was making merry till the morning with a mer- 
 
 * In Belletete's text the lady, while wondering at the alteration 
 in the king's manner, complies at once with the vezir's wishes. 
 
3i6 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 chant. When it was morning she awoke, and 
 she arose and went to that merchant and said, 
 ' O merchant, this night I made merry with thee 
 in my dream till morning ; a night's intercourse 
 with me is a thousand sequins ; now fetch and 
 give me the thousand sequins.' Quoth the 
 merchant, ' Why should I give them ? ' The 
 woman said, ' For that I made merry with thee.' 
 The merchant said, * Thou didst not/ And the 
 woman began a great quarrel and summoned 
 the merchant to the tribunal. So they arose, 
 and while they were going to the tribunal they 
 met the parrot. The parrot gave ear and heard 
 their quarrel and said, ' Come here, let us see, 
 what is your quarrel ? ' So they came up to the 
 parrot, and many people were present there, and 
 they recounted all the events one by one. The 
 parrot listened and turned to the merchant and 
 said, * Go, bring a thousand sequins and a mirror.' 
 The merchant went and brought a thousand 
 sequins in a purse and a mirror. The parrot 
 placed the purse with the sequins opposite the 
 mirror so that the reflection of the purse was 
 seen in the mirror. All those who were present 
 looked on. The parrot said to that woman, 
 ' What wantest thou of the merchant ? ' She 
 replied, ' I want my due, a thousand sequins.' 
 The parrot said, * Come, take the thousand 
 
THE LADY'S THIRTIETH STORY. 317 
 
 sequins that are in the mirror.' The woman 
 said, ' How ? There are no sequins in the 
 mirror.' The parrot said, ' These are they in 
 the rouleau.' The woman replied, ' That rouleau 
 is the reflection of the rouleau outside.' The 
 parrot said, ' The due of thy making merry with 
 the merchant in thy dream is as that which is 
 seen in the mirror ; if thou are content with thy 
 due, take it ; if not, thou hast no further due.' 
 All those who were present applauded this 
 judgment of the parrot ; and the lady was 
 ashamed and went away. Then said they who 
 were present to the merchant, ' Buy thou this 
 parrot for ten sequins of full weight.' And the 
 merchant asked the gardener, and the gardener 
 wished a thousand sequins. So this story 
 reached the king's chief lady, and she said, * Can 
 a parrot like this be found ? ' And she sent the 
 thousand sequins and bought the parrot and 
 hung up the cage before the palace. In the 
 evening the vezir entered the harem, and he 
 came up to the chief lady and said, ' Till now I 
 have been without thee, for thou wast sick ; but 
 art thou not yet well ? ' The lady answered, ' I 
 am not going to get better ; off, begone.' So 
 the vezir went and made merry with the other 
 girls ; but the chief lady would not let him near 
 her. As for the parrot, he sighed and wailed. 
 
3i8 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 One day the vezir said to the chief lady, ' I 
 know a charm which when I repeat I can enter 
 whatever body I please.' The chief lady said, 
 ( Enter the body of one of the slave-girls that 
 are here.' The vezir answered, ' It cannot be a 
 living one, it must be a lifeless form/ The lady 
 said, * There is a slaughtered goose in the 
 kitchen ; let them bring that, and enter it that I 
 may see.' So she called out and they brought 
 it. The vezir repeated that charm and entered 
 the body of the goose and walked about crying, 
 1 Quack ! quack ! ' And the king's body re- 
 mained empty. Forthwith the parrot repeated 
 that charm and entered the king's body, and 
 straightway he seized the goose by the neck 
 and dashed it against the wall and killed it. 
 And the lady marvelled and saw that it was the 
 king himself, and she asked him of these things. 
 And the king explained to her the whole of 
 them." 
 
 u Now, O king, I have told this story for 
 that the king may know that there is no trusting 
 in vezirs ; they have not found an opportunity 
 and so seem weak. Be thou ready, what time 
 they look for the youth it is in their hands to 
 slay thee. O king, kill this youth that this evil 
 touch not thee and me, else the very opposite is 
 certain." When the king heard this story from 
 
THE THIRTY-FIRST VEZIR'S STORY. 319 
 
 the lady dread fell upon his heart and he said, 
 " O lady, what am I ? Neither does my heart 
 approve the acts of these ; on the morrow I will 
 kill the youth." And they went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king went and sat 
 upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be 
 brought and ordered the executioner, " Smite 
 off his head." The Thirty-First Vezir came 
 forward and said, " O king of the world, go not 
 by the woman's word ; it is a calumny against 
 the prince. Mayhap the king has not heard 
 the story of the blind man and the khalif." 
 The king said, " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth 
 the vezir, 
 
 THE THIRTY-FIRST VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " In the time of the Khalif Reshid there was 
 a blind man, and if anyone lost anything he 
 would find it. One day a box belonging to the 
 khalif was lost, and it was filled full inside with 
 rubies and turkises. They told the khalif of 
 this blind man ; and he said, * Bring him.' So 
 they brought him. The khalif said, ' A thing 
 of ours is lost, find it then ; and say what is the 
 thing that is lost.' The blind man pondered a 
 little, then he felt about him with his hands, and 
 a date-stone came into his hand. He said, ' O 
 king, what is lost is then a box ; and so there 
 
320 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 are a few pearls and a few turkises and a few 
 rubies in it.' The khalif said, ' Who has taken 
 it?' The blind man answered, 'It is the 
 groom/ The khalif asked, ' Where has he put 
 it ?' The blind man said, ' He has laid it in 
 the well.' Now there was a well in the khalif's 
 palace ; and they made a man go down the 
 well, and he brought up the box from the well. 
 The khalif wondered at the blind man's thus 
 knowing, and he said, * O sheykh, how marvel- 
 lously hast thou known of this lost thing ! ' 
 The blind man said, * I knew it by inference ; 
 when thou saidest to me that a thing was lost, 
 I felt about me and found a date-stone, and I 
 knew therefrom that a box would be of that 
 form ; the flowers of the date resemble pearls, 
 I knew therefrom that there were pearls in the 
 box ; its leaves resemble turkises,* these too 
 were there ; and its fruit is sometimes yellow 
 and sometimes red, but it is mostly red, rubies 
 were there. And when thou askedst me who 
 was the thief, a horse neighed below, and I knew 
 that he was the groom. And when thou askedst 
 me where he had put it, someone cried out, " He 
 has brought the water from the well," and from 
 
 * Blue and green being regarded as variations of one 
 colour. 
 
THE LADY'S THIRTY-FIRST STORY. 321 
 
 that I knew that he had laid it in the well.' 
 The khalif greatly applauded and admired the 
 sagacity of the blind man." 
 
 " Now, O king, these many vezirs of thine 
 speak not their words idly. Slay not the prince, or 
 at last the fire thereof shall not leave thy heart, 
 and night and day thou shalt burn in the fire of 
 sighs." And he kissed the ground and made 
 intercession for the prince. When the king 
 heard this story from the vezir he sent the youth 
 to the prison and himself mounted for the chase. 
 
 When it was evening he returned from the 
 chase and came to the palace, and the lady rose 
 to greet him, and they sat down. After the 
 repast the lady again began to speak about the 
 youth. The king said, " To-day too such an 
 one of my vezirs made intercession for him, and 
 I again sent him to the prison." The lady 
 .said, " O king, this youth has trodden under 
 foot the honour of many, and has given thy 
 dignity and worth to the tongue of reproach 
 Mayhap my king has not heard the story of 
 that cadi." The king said, i{ Tell on, let us 
 hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-FIRST STORY. 
 
 "In the city of Cesarea were two cadis ; and 
 they loved not one another, but were ever at 
 
 Y 
 
322 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 enmity. One clay certain people said to the 
 king of that country, * Cadi Such-an-one is a 
 lover of thy son ; day and night he watches his 
 opportunity and says, " Would that I could see 
 him alone." ' The king was wroth, and ordered 
 that they banished that cadi. Straightway they 
 told the other cadi, ' To-day of a sudden the 
 king grew wroth with that cadi, thine adversary, 
 and deposed and banished him.' Forthwith 
 this cadi mounted his horse and went before 
 the king, he performed the ceremonies of salu- 
 tation and asked permission of the king and 
 said, ' My king, give me leave that I may go 
 from this city.' The king said, ' Why wouldst 
 thou go ? What has happened to thee ? ' The 
 cadi replied, ' I have heard that they said to the 
 king that Cadi Such-an-one is a lover of the 
 prince and watches his opportunity; and that 
 slanderers caused my king to be wroth and made 
 him depose and banish him. Now I am a lover 
 of the king and I am also a lover of the prince ; 
 to-morrow slanderers will come and say this 
 and that concerning me, and cause my king to 
 be wroth, and he will depose and banish me 
 too. So now, ere thou art wroth with me, I 
 would go/ The king said, ' With what would 
 thy heart now be pleased ? ' Straightway the 
 cadi kissed the ground and said, ' It would be 
 
THE THIRTY-SECOND VEZIRS STORY. 323 
 
 very pleased did thou pardon that cadi and 
 appoint him again to his place/ So the king 
 pardoned the cadi and appointed him again to 
 his place." 
 
 " Now, O king, know that a wise foe is better 
 than a foolish friend. This youth is a foolish 
 youth, and by reason of that is my honour thus 
 gone. I may not look on the blessed beauty 
 of my king because of my shame. Each one 
 of the vezirs says some different thing. God 
 Most High knows that I am my king's friend ; 
 I would not that a calamity should come down 
 on thee. Knowing this much, I have spoken 
 these words without selfish aim. Slay the 
 youth, else afterward he will slay thee without 
 mercy." When the king heard these beguiling 
 words of the lady he said, " To-morrow will I 
 see to him." And they went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king came and sat 
 upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be 
 brought, and ordered the executioner, " Smite 
 off his head." The Thirty-Second Vezir came 
 forward and said, 
 
 THE THIRTY-SECOND VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " One day while the Sultan of Egypt was 
 sitting with his vezirs and nobles in the place 
 of the divan, his fancy led him to talk of woman- 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 kind. He asked one of his nobles, ' How art 
 thou with thy wife ? ' The noble answered, ' O 
 king", of whatsoever gifts and bounties I receive 
 from my king every year, I spend the half on 
 my wife, yet, when all is done, she complains, 
 saying, " What hast thou spent on me these 
 many years ? " Then he asked his vezir, * And 
 ye ; how are ye ? ' The vezir said, ' Whatso- 
 ever wealth I gain under your royal shadow, it 
 all passes through her hands ; she keeps what 
 she wishes and gives away what she wishes not ; 
 yet, when all is done, she complains, saying, 
 " What good have I seen from thee ? " Then 
 he asked all his vezirs, and each one of them 
 complained in some manner of his wife. The 
 king said, ' I used to think my wife alone in 
 this matter, but they seem then all the same ; 
 my lady is in lack of nothing, yet, when all is 
 done, she complains, saying, " What have I ? " 
 
 " Now, O king, know that no one is satisfied 
 with a woman ; do not thou then slay the youth 
 on the woman's word. Make not a woman ruler 
 over thee, destroy not thine own comfort, act 
 not that thou shalt continue in wailing and 
 lamentation." And he made intercession for 
 the prince. When this story was heard from 
 the vezir the king sent the youth to the prison 
 and went himself to the chase. 
 
THE LADY'S THIRTY-SECOND STORY. 325 
 
 When it was evening the king returned from 
 the chase, and the lady rose to greet him, and 
 they sat down. After the repast the lady began 
 to speak about the youth. The king said, " To- 
 day such an one of my vezirs made intercession 
 for him, and I sent him to the prison." The 
 lady said, "O king of the world, tear from thy 
 heart the love of the youth that the love of 
 God Most High may come therein, and that 
 kingship may be secured to thee in the world 
 and the Hereafter. Mayhap the king has not 
 heard the story of Fuzayl." * ^ The king said, 
 " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-SECOND STORY. 
 
 " One day Fuzayl (the mercy of God on him !) 
 took his son upon his knee, and while he was 
 fondling him, the boy looked in his father's face 
 and said, ' Father, lovest thou me ? ' Fuzayl 
 answered, ' My son, I love thee.' Then the boy 
 said, ' Lovest thou God ? ' Fuzayl answered, 
 * Son, I love Him.' The boy said, ' Father, can 
 two loves be contained in one heart ? ' When 
 Fuzayl heard these words from the boy he knew 
 that they were not merely the boy's words, but 
 
 * Fuzayl was a pious Muslim who received his education from 
 the Imam Ja'fer-i Sadiq ; he died at Mekka in 187 (A.D. 803). 
 
326 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 an inspiration from before God. Straightway 
 he put his son from his knee on to the ground, 
 and he tore from his heart his love for his son, 
 and filled it with the love of God Most High. 
 And now, whenever his name is mentioned, they 
 say, ' The mercy of God on him ! ' 
 
 " Now, O king, until thou too likewise tear 
 from thy heart love for the youth, thou canst not 
 love God Most High. If thou wish to be king 
 in the world and the Hereafter, kill this un- 
 worthy youth." When the king heard this tale 
 from the lady he said, " To-morrow will I kill 
 him." And they went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king came and sat 
 upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be 
 brought and ordered the executioner, " Smite off 
 his head." The Thirty-Third Vezir came for- 
 ward and said, " O king of the world, the cruelty 
 toward the prince has been great ; if it be as 
 punishment to the prince, it will suffice. Beware, 
 go not by the woman's word, slay not the prince, 
 or in the end thou shalt be repentant. And 
 through the wiles of women have many of the 
 people of Paradise become deserving of Hell. 
 If the king grant leave I will relate a story 
 suitable to this." The king said, " Tell on, let 
 us hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
THE THIRTY-THIRD VEZIR'S STORY. 327 
 
 THE THIRTY-THIRD VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 "In the olden time there was a youth, and they 
 told him that in a certain city was a wondrous 
 fair woman who had no like in beauty in any 
 place. The youth fell in love with her without 
 having seen her, and he set out for the city 
 where the woman was. While he was journey- 
 ing on the road, he saw some folk sowing wheat ; 
 and after an hour that seed ripened and was 
 cut, whereupon they burned it with fire. And 
 the youth wondered at them. He went on 
 further and saw a man grasping a stone and 
 trying to lift it, but he could not lift it ; then he 
 put another stone on the top of that stone, and 
 he was able to lift them a little ; then he put yet 
 another stone on that, and this time, when he had 
 laid the three stones together, he lifted them up 
 and bare them off. And he wondered at this 
 too. He went on further and saw some people 
 mounted on a sheep, and there was one mounted 
 above them, and there were some others who 
 sought to mount but could not. And the youth 
 marvelled at these also. And he passed on and 
 came to the city where that woman was ; and 
 he saw an elder seated at the gate of that city. 
 The youth saluted him, and he returned the 
 salutation and asked, saying, 'Wherefore art 
 
328 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 thou come here ? ' The youth replied, ' They 
 say that in this city is a beautiful woman ; I am 
 come to see her/ The elder said, 'What hast 
 thou seen of wonders on the road thou earnest ? ' 
 He replied, ' I have seen many wonders, things 
 greatly to be marvelled at/ The elder said, 
 1 Tell them that I may hear/ So the youth re- 
 lated all that he had seen. He asked, ' Knowest 
 thou what those were ? ' The youth said, ' Nay/ 
 The elder said, ' They who sowed the seed and, 
 when it had reached perfection, burned it, are 
 those persons who perform a good deed and 
 then go and act with hypocrisy and say to the 
 passers-by, " Now have I done a good deed ;" 
 and so burn it with their tongues and make it 
 nought. And that man who could not carry the 
 stone and put two other stones on it and then 
 carried them, is he who commits a sin ; at first 
 it feels very heavy ; he does it again, then it feels 
 lighter than the first time ; he does it yet again, 
 and this time he gets used to it and it feels not 
 heavy at all, whereupon he takes it and bears it 
 wheresoever he will. And those people mounted 
 on the sheep, and the man over them, and those 
 others who sought to mount but were unable : 
 that sheep is the world, and those mounted on 
 that sheep are the rich men, and he mounted 
 over them is their prince, and those who were 
 
THE THIRTY-THIRD VEZIR'S STORY. 329 
 
 unable to mount are the poor.' When the youth 
 heard these words from the elder he applauded 
 them much and said, ' O elder, since thou hast 
 thus known these, thou must know of that 
 woman; tell me wherever she be/ The elder 
 said, ' Thou hast got all these my counsels and 
 seen these many examples yet thou hast not 
 awakened from heedlessness and hast asked for 
 an unlawful woman.' And he smote him a blow 
 on the face, and straightway the youth's senses 
 left him. After a time he opened his eyes and 
 he found himself in Hell." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for that 
 the king may know that there are many youths 
 whose faces will be black before God Most 
 High by reason of women. O king, beware, 
 slay not the prince on the woman's word, or 
 afterward thou shalt suffer remorse." And he 
 made intercession for the prince for that day. 
 And the king yielded to him and sent the 
 prince to the prison and went himself to the 
 chase. 
 
 When it was evening the king returned from 
 the chase and came to the palace, and the lady 
 rose to greet him, and they sat down. After 
 the repast the lady began to speak about the 
 youth. The king said, " To-day too such an 
 one of my vezirs made intercession for him and 
 
330 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 I sent him to the prison." The lady said, " O 
 king, in some among youths devilry and evil- 
 nature abound, and there is a story suitable to 
 this ; mayhap my king has not heard it." The 
 king said, " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the 
 lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-THIRD STORY. 
 
 " Once upon a time a certain man had a 
 naughty son who would ever cry for the least 
 thing, and whenever they cooked food and gave 
 it him he would cry and say, ' Ye have given 
 me too little ; I am not filled.' They cooked a 
 large pot of food and filled a great dish with it 
 and gave it to the boy. Whereupon the boy 
 kicked it with his foot and spilt it, and went and 
 sat down. His mother said, ' Out on thee, that 
 shouldst eat poison ; when I give thee sufficient 
 quantity thou sayest it is too little, and if I give 
 thee much thou sayest it is too much ; why hast 
 thou now spilt all this food ? ' Thereupon the 
 boy lay down on the ground and rolled and 
 began to cry. At length his father and mother 
 were helpless with him, and cursed him, saying, 
 ' Son, may God take thy life ! ' 
 
 " Now, O king, since thou wilt not slay this 
 youth, may God take his life and may all the 
 world escape from his wickedness." When the 
 
THE THIRTY-FOURTH VEZIR'S STORY. 331 
 
 king heard this story from the lady he saicl, 
 " To-morrow will I see to him." And they 
 went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king went and sat 
 upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be 
 brought, and ordered the executioner, " Smite 
 off his head." The Thirty-Fourth Vezir came 
 forward and said, " O king of the world, kings 
 are shepherds on the earth, the rest are the 
 sheep ; slay not now thy son on the woman's 
 word, or to-morrow, on the Resurrection-Day, 
 when the Owner of the sheep will ask of thee 
 the plight of the lambs, thou wilt find it hard to 
 answer. And it is well known that the treachery 
 and wickedness of women are great. Mayhap 
 the king has not heard the story of the Persian 
 and his wife." The king said, " Tell on, let us 
 hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
 THE THIRTY-FOURTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 "In the land of Persia there was a merchant, 
 and that merchant's wealth was exceeding great. 
 One night a guest came to the merchant's house 
 and lodged there. The merchant brought some 
 food and they sat down. The guest saw in a 
 corner a dog and a fair woman eating out of 
 one dish ; and he wondered exceedingly and 
 
332 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 asked the merchant. The merchant said, 
 * Their plight is not spoken of.' But the guest 
 entreated and begged him to tell. Then the 
 merchant said, ' This woman is my slave -girl 
 whom I bought with my money. I made her 
 my wife and loved her as my life, so that all I 
 had was in her hands. I had a black slave. 
 Now these struck up a friendship ; and as to 
 me, I knew not of it. One day they agreed to 
 slay me. One day the woman said to me, 
 " Come, I would go with thee to a certain place ; 
 there is a matter, we will see to it." And she 
 took me and brought me to a quiet place where 
 they had pitched a tent. Now that slave was 
 therein ; and he came out suddenly, and they 
 bore me down that they might kill me. I had 
 always fed this dog, and he followed me and was 
 come along with me, and when he saw me in 
 this plight he ran and seized that slave from 
 behind and pulled him and drew him off me. 
 I too found strength and opportunity, and I 
 made to seize the woman, but she fled off. I 
 killed the slave, but, as my love was with the 
 woman, I could not bring myself to kill her. 
 For that this dog was the cause of my safety do 
 I thus honour him ; and to disgrace and abase 
 the woman do I thus keep the two of them 
 together and feed them.' " 
 
THE LADY'S THIRTY-FOURTH STORY. 333 
 
 " Now, O king, the learned have said that 
 there is no trusting in three things ; the first is 
 a woman, the second is a horse, and the third is 
 a sword. Beware, O king, slay not the prince 
 on the woman's word, else afterward thou wilt 
 be repentant. And grant to me, your slave, 
 the prince's life for to-day." When the king 
 heard this story from the vezir he sent the 
 youth to the prison and went himself to the 
 chase. 
 
 When it was evening he returned and came 
 to the palace, and the lady rose to greet him, 
 and they sat down. After the repast the lady 
 began to speak about the youth. The king 
 said, " To-day such an one of my vezirs made 
 intercession for him and I sent him to the 
 prison." The lady said, " I am from heart and 
 soul my king's sincere friend. What is beseem- 
 ing the king is this, that he impute not my 
 words to selfish interest, but accomplish them ; 
 and there is a story suitable to this, if there be 
 permission I will relate it." The king said, 
 " Relate, let us hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-FOURTH STORY. 
 
 " There was in the palace of the world a 
 king, and that king had a falcon, which, when- 
 ever he launched it at a quarry, used to take 
 
334 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 two animals at once. There was a noble of 
 that country, and his name was Emir Sarim. 
 He heard of this accomplishment of that falcon, 
 and he arose to see it, and came to that city and 
 went before the king. And the king honoured 
 that noble in the highest degree. After some 
 days that noble brought about a fitting oppor- 
 tunity, and told how they praised the falcon and 
 how he longed to see it. The king ordered 
 that on the morrow they went forth to the 
 chase ; and he launched the falcon several times, 
 and on each occasion it took two animals at 
 once ; and Emir Sarim wondered exceedingly. 
 Then quoth the king to that noble, ' Is the falcon 
 deserving of the praise ? ' Emir Sarim replied, 
 1 Yea, and of greater.' The king said, ' Take 
 this falcon, I have given it to thee, let it be 
 thine.' So Emir Sarim rejoiced and accepted 
 it. And he bowed down his head and pondered, 
 and after a while he raised his head and said, 
 * O king, I cannot find anything worthy to give 
 my king in return for this falcon ; but I have 
 twelve sons and a thousand valiant and famous 
 warriors, let them all be my king's.' And in 
 this way did the worth of the falcon increase ; 
 for at first it used to catch two birds, but now 
 it caught twelve youths and a thousand valiant 
 warriors. And these words came pleasant to 
 
THE LADY'S THIRTY-FOURTH STORY. 335 
 
 the king, and he bestowed much wealth on 
 Emir Sarim." 
 
 " Now, O king, what is befitting kings is this, 
 that they accomplish the words of those that 
 wish them well ; and I love my king from heart 
 and soul. It is needful then to see to that 
 unworthy youth." When the king heard this 
 story from the lady, he said, " Do not thou be 
 troubled, to-morrow I will slay him." And they 
 went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king went forth 
 and sat upon his throne, and he said, u Where 
 is the youth and where the executioner ? " 
 When they had brought the youth and the 
 executioner, the Thirty-Fifth Vezir came for- 
 ward and said, " O king, mercy, by thy head 
 and by God, thou hast sinned. I would read 
 and expound the Koran before the king ; if the 
 king give me not leave, he will sin ; and if he 
 listen not to my reading and follow not its 
 meaning, it will be error itself." Then the king 
 said, " I ask pardon of God ; we hear and obey." 
 Quoth the vezir, " God Most High saith in His 
 ancient Word, 'Say: If ye love God, then 
 follow me : God will love you and forgive you 
 your sins ; for God is Forgiving, Merciful.'* O 
 
 * Koran, iii. 29. 
 
336 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 king, the reason of the revelation of this verse 
 was this, the hypocrites came and said to the 
 Apostle, ' O Apostle of God, we love thee, thou 
 art the true Apostle of God.' And when they 
 went forth they said, ' God forbid ! again God 
 forbid ! he is a mighty liar and a sorcerer and a 
 soothsayer and a madman/ And God Most 
 High thus addressed His Beloved, 'O Beloved, 
 say to them : If ye really love God follow me ; 
 and God Most High will love you too and 
 forgive your sins ; for God Most High is For- 
 giving, Merciful.' O king, that man who is a 
 believer and an Unitarian must love God Most 
 High and follow His Apostle ; and to follow 
 him is to observe whatever he said or did. 
 Now the Apostle saith concerning women, 
 1 They are lacking in understanding and 
 religion;' so it beseems not the king to act 
 contrary to the Apostle's word and go by the 
 word of the woman. And the Apostle also 
 saith, ' Consult them and do the contrary.' O 
 king, the wise man is he who in compliance with 
 this Sacred Tradition never trusts the love and 
 friendship of women or acts according to their 
 words. And there is a story suitable to this ; 
 if the king grant leave I will relate it." The 
 king said, " Relate, let us hear." Quoth the 
 vezir, 
 
THE THIRTY-FIFTH VEZIRS STORY. 337 
 
 THE THIRTY-FIFTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " Once upon a time a man went on to the roof 
 of his house and repaired it, and when he was 
 about to come down he called to his wife, 'Ho! 
 wife, how shall I come down ?' The woman 
 answered, ' The roof is free, what would hap- 
 pen ? thou art a young man, jump down.' The 
 youth jumped down, and his ankle was put out 
 of joint, and for a whole year he was bedridden, 
 and his ankle came not back to its place. The 
 next year the youth again went on to the roof 
 and repaired it ; then he turned and called to his 
 wife, ' Ho ! wife, how shall I come down ?' The 
 woman said, ' Jump not, thine ankle has not yet 
 come to its place ; come down gently.' The 
 youth said, ' The other time, for that I followed 
 thy words and not those of the Apostle, was my 
 ankle put out of joint and it has not yet come to 
 its place ; now shall I follow the words of the 
 Apostle and do the contrary to what thou sayest.' 
 And he jumped down, and straightway his ankle 
 came to its place." 
 
 And he kissed the ground and made interces- 
 sion for the prince. When the king heard this 
 story from the vezir he sent the youth to the 
 prison and went himself to the chase. 
 
 When it was evening he returned and came to 
 z 
 
338 HISTORY OF 7W FORTY VKZIRS. 
 
 the palace, and the lady rose to greet him, and 
 they sat down. After the repast the lady began 
 to speak about the youth. The king said, " To- 
 day too such an one of my vezirs made interces- 
 sion for him and I sent him to the prison." The 
 lady said, "O king, why didst thou not kill the 
 youth to-day? When youths take a thing into 
 their heads their hearts are never at rest until they 
 accomplish it. Mayhap my king has not heard 
 the story of a certain king's son." The king 
 said, " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY- FIFTH STORY. 
 
 "In the palace of the world there was a king, 
 and he had a son, who read the Koran and les- 
 sons in a school and whose intelligence pleased 
 his master. One day the boy could not do his 
 lesson; the teacher did not give him another 
 lesson, but said, ' Go, study thy lesson/ It was 
 the same on the second day and the third day. 
 When the master saw this he told his father, 
 and his father said, ' O son, why wilt not thou 
 study thy lesson?' The boy replied, ' One day 
 I passed through the bazaar and saw hung up in 
 a shop very many lamps, row upon row ; and 
 this came into my heart : if they were to give me 
 a stick into my hand and I were to strike once 
 at those lamps with all my might, I wonder how 
 
THE LADY'S THIRTY-FIFTH STORY. 339 
 
 many I should break. Since that time I have 
 not learned my lesson, for my mind has been 
 always at the breaking of the lamps.' The king 
 gave him a stick and sent him and a teacher and 
 a servant to the shop, and ordered that they 
 should pay for as many lamps as were destroyed. 
 So they went off and came to that shop and said 
 to the prince, ' Now, strike, letus see/ And the 
 prince struck a blow with the stick at those 
 lamps with all his might and he destroyed many 
 lamps, and those present cried, * The blessing 
 of God on the prince ; he has broken these many 
 lamps!'* Then they satisfied the shopkeeper. 
 As the prince's longing was gone and his whim 
 gratified, he again began to read and study his 
 lessons as heretofore." 
 
 " O king, I have told this story for that the 
 king may know that a youth must needs accom- 
 plish that whereon he resolves. And there is 
 an evil resolve in the heart of this youth, he 
 has determined on the king's throne and life. 
 O king, beware, be not negligent, or this youth 
 will slay thee in the end, know thou that for 
 certain." When the king heard this story from 
 the lady he said, " To-morrow will I kill him." 
 And they went to bed. 
 
 * He is so clever to break such a number at one stroke. 
 Z 2 
 
340 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 When it was morning the king went and sat 
 upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be 
 brought and ordered the executioner, " Smite off 
 his head." The Thirty-Sixth Vezir came for- 
 ward and said, " O king of the world, slay not 
 the prince according to the woman's word ; for 
 the craft and mischief of women are great, and 
 it is needful ever to guard against their mischief. 
 Mayhap my king has not heard the story of a 
 certain merchant youth." The king said, " Tell 
 on, let us hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
 THE THIRTY-SIXTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 4 ' Of old time there was a dervish who, while he 
 was wandering about, slept a night at a certain vil- 
 lage. In the morning the villagers said to the der- 
 vish, ' O dervish, there are robbers on the road 
 which leads from the right side of the village ; take 
 heed and go not by that road, but go by the left/ 
 When the morn was high the dervish went that 
 road where the robbers were ; he said, ' I am a 
 dervish ; what of mine can they take ? ' When it 
 was near afternoon he came to a certain place 
 and saw a palace, and he opened the gate and 
 went inside, and he saw that there was no one 
 there, and he waited till the evening. There 
 was no one coming or going on any side, so he 
 went and lay down. When it was midnight a 
 
THE THIRTY-SIXTH VEZIRS STORY. 341 
 
 noise arose and the dervish was afraid. There 
 was some horse dung in a corner, and he buried 
 himself in that, so that he was all covered, 
 save that his two eyes could see. The door 
 opened and the dervish saw forty mounted men, 
 and one by them whose hands were bound and 
 round whose neck they had fastened a rope and 
 whom they were thus dragging. They said, 
 ' Has then anyone come this day ? ' And they 
 went through the palace but saw no one. They 
 tied that bound youth to a pillar, and lit a fire, and 
 cooked food and took it and ate and drank ; 
 and when they were drunk they lay down and 
 slept. The dervish arose from the place where 
 he was and asked of the youth whose hands 
 were bound concerning these things. The youth 
 replied, ' Dervish, this is no time for questions ; 
 deliver me from this/ So the dervish delivered 
 that youth. Thereupon the youth went and 
 took a dagger in his hand and slew all of those 
 thieves. Then he took a candle and put it into 
 a lantern and gave it into the dervish's hand 
 and said, * Take this lantern, but cover it with 
 thy cloak that it may not give light without.' So 
 the dervish took it and hid it and they went 
 forth thence and came to a ruined city, and they 
 went to the fire-room of a bath and entered it 
 through a certain place. There was there a 
 
342 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 beautiful room, and the youth said to the dervish, 
 ' Bring out the lantern that our eyes may see.' 
 The dervish displayed the lantern and they saw 
 a girl sleeping with a youth, and the other 
 youth smote him who was lying with the girl 
 and slew him. The girl awoke from sleep and 
 said to that youth, ' Now thou hast slain him ; 
 what answer wilt thou give his comrades to-mor- 
 row ?' The youth answered, ' Be at ease, I have 
 slain them too.' Then the youth took the der- 
 vish and they entered the treasury of those rob- 
 bers, and the dervish saw that on one side of 
 that treasury lay heaped-up gold and on one side 
 white silver. The youth said, ' Dervish, go, get 
 two of those robbers' horses and lade them with 
 this money, and take it off and go.' The dervish 
 said, ' Youth, what deed is this deed thou hast 
 done ?' The youth answered, ' There is a farm 
 of mine at four leagues' distance from this place ; 
 and these were forty-one robbers, and every year 
 they came upon me, seeking to seize me ; but 
 with the leave of God Most High I used to 
 scatter the whole of them. While they were 
 prowling about yesterday I, having gone apart 
 from my own men, had come to a meadow, 
 when sleep overcame me and I lay down, and 
 while my men were waiting, these discovered 
 me and seized me while asleep and bound me 
 
THE THIRTY-SIXTH VEZIR'S STORY. 343 
 
 and took me and brought me to that palace. 
 Now, praise be to God ! thou art the means ; 
 thou didst deliver me ; and I slew the whole of 
 them and am delivered from their evil.' And he 
 gave the dervish much wealth and said, ' Take 
 this wealth and these horses, be all of them 
 thine ; and go to a thousand such places. Now 
 do my men seek me, go and tell them that they 
 come and find me here.' So the dervish mounted 
 and set off. As the youth had been without 
 sleep during the night he said to the girl, * Make 
 ready food,' and he lay down to sleep. The 
 girl said in her heart, ' Wretch, mayst thou be 
 hanged by thy neck ! Thou hast slain my hus- 
 band and all these his comrades ; I fear nought 
 from thee.' And she put a drug into the food. 
 The youth awoke from sleep and found the food 
 ready, and he ate it and he passed from himself 
 and became senseless. The girl took and 
 dragged him and threw him into a pit and 
 covered up the mouth of it. The dervish went 
 and found that youth's men and told them, and 
 these men thanked him. And they said to the 
 dervish, ' Come, let us go, show us our master.' 
 The dervish turned back and took these men 
 and went, and they saw the girl seated but the 
 youth was not there. These asked the woman, 
 'Where is our master?' The woman replied, 
 
344 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 * He mounted in the morning and went forth to 
 hunt and has not returned.' They waited a while 
 and saw that their master came not, and they 
 again asked the woman. She again replied, * I 
 know not, he has not come back.' Then they 
 seized the woman and bound her firmly and 
 tortured her ; and she said, * I imprisoned him/ 
 and showed them the pit. They drew the 
 youth out of the pit and said, ' Why didst thou 
 put him into the pit ? ' The woman answered, 
 
 * I have a youthful lernan ; w r hen my first lord 
 went out to rob, that youth would come and be 
 with me, if he were my lord all were well with 
 me ; I saw only this man as a hindrance and I 
 sought to slay him, for I wished to take my 
 young leman and this wealth and go to another 
 place and give myself up to pleasure.' All who 
 were standing there cursed that woman and then 
 they committed her soul to Hell. So because 
 there was not truth in her did she fall a prey to 
 this retribution." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have related this story for 
 that the king may know that there is no gene- 
 rosity or piety in women. They are lust- 
 worshippers and traitors ; and in a thousand of 
 them there is not one true. O king, beware, 
 slay not the prince on the woman's word, or 
 afterward thou shalt be repentant ; and too late 
 
THE LADY'S THIRTY-SIXTH STORY. 345 
 
 repentance profits not, and the cut-off head 
 grows not again." And he made intercession 
 for the prince for that day. When the king 
 heard this story from the vezir he sent the 
 youth to the prison and went himself to the 
 chase. 
 
 When it was evening he returned and came 
 to the palace, and the lady rose to greet him, 
 and they sat down. After the repast the lady 
 asked about the youth. The king said, " To- 
 day too such an one of my vezirs made inter- 
 cession for him, and I sent him to the prison." 
 The lady said, " O king, be not negligent, there 
 is no trusting youths ; one day will it be that 
 he will slay thee, and secure the throne. 
 Mayhap my king has not heard the story of 
 Sultan ' Ala-ud-Dm." * The king said, " Tell 
 on, let us hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-SIXTH STORY. 
 
 " There was in Qonya a king whose name 
 was 'Ala-ud-Dln. One day he went alone to 
 the madhouse to learn the state of the madmen 
 who were there. While he was going round, a 
 youth from among them saw the king, and said, 
 
 * 'Ala-ud-Dln Key-Qubad the Seljuql, Sultan of Rum, died 
 in 636 (A.D. 1238-9). 
 
346 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VF/JRS. 
 
 1 Welcome, O king of the world ; I came a 
 stranger to this city, my father and my mother 
 are in such and such a town. To-day it is twenty- 
 three days that I am here ; each one of the 
 comers and the goers says something. What can 
 I do ? The keeper of the madhouse coveted me, 
 and has imprisoned me here, and will not give 
 me leave to go to my father and mother. For 
 the love of God and the Apostle, deliver me 
 from this ! ' When the youth spake these 
 sensible words to the king, the latter said, 'See, 
 such deeds occur in my day, and they oppress 
 the poor.' And he wept, and freed the youth. 
 When the youth was freed, he looked, and saw 
 a knife by the king's side, and he said to the 
 king, 4 My king, I am a master cutler, show me 
 that knife, let me examine it ; I shall make thee 
 a knife as an offering.' So the king drew the 
 knife from its sheath, and gave it to the youth. 
 When the youth got the knife, he stood at the 
 door of the madhouse, and cried, ' Out on thee, 
 wretch, is it right thou shouldst imprison a set 
 of poor creatures here, saying they are mad ? 
 And every day comes another wretch who 
 beats the whole of them ? Now, quick, throw 
 out this filth with thine own hands, or I will 
 rip thee open.' The king's senses well nigh 
 left him, and he straightway began to throw 
 
THE LADY'S THIRTY-SIXTH STORY. 347 
 
 that filth out of the window. While he was 
 throwing it out, the keeper of the madhouse 
 came in ; and as soon as the youth saw him, he 
 threw the knife from his hand, and ran and 
 came up to the king, and said, ' O king, for 
 God's sake leave me not, the man who always 
 beats us has come ; lo, this is he.' When the 
 keeper saw the king he was confounded, and 
 asked of the circumstances ; and the king told 
 him all that had happened. The keeper quickly 
 bound the youth, and brought water for the 
 king, who washed his hands and face, and went 
 out, and vowed never again to go alone to the 
 madhouse, or follow the words of a madman." 
 
 " Now, O king, this youth too is mad, it is 
 needful to guard against him ; be it not that 
 any hurt reach thee from him." When the 
 king heard these insinuating words from the 
 lady, he said, " To-morrow will I slay him." 
 And they went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning, the king came and sat 
 upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be 
 brought, and ordered the executioner, " Kill ! " 
 The Thirty-Seventh Vezir came forward and 
 said, " O king of the world, hurry not in this 
 matter. Satan mixes himself up with men ; 
 now he has entered into thy heart, and tempted 
 thee. Mayhap my king has not heard the 
 
348 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 story of Eve and Satan." The king said, 
 " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
 THE THIRTY-SEVENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " From that time when Satan was cursed 
 and driven from Paradise by reason of Adam 
 (peace on him !) he pursued him with hatred, 
 and sought to take vengeance. He had a son 
 named Khannas ; * and he made him assume 
 the form of a kid, and took him before our 
 mother Eve, and said, ' Let this kid remain by 
 thee ; I shall come now and fetch it.' Eve 
 said, ' By reason of thee have we come forth 
 from Paradise ; art thou come now again ? ' 
 Satan replied, * If they drove you from Para- 
 dise, they have driven me thence too ; one 
 must pass from the past.' And he left the kid, 
 and went off. Saint Adam came and saw the 
 kid, and he said, ' Whose kid is this ? ' Eve 
 answered, ' Satan has left it, and gone off ; he 
 said, " I will come now and fetch it." Saint 
 Adam (peace on him!) was wroth, and he killed 
 the kid, and threw it into the desert, and went 
 away. Satan came and said, ' Where is the 
 kid ? ' Eve said, ' Adam came and killed the 
 kid, and threw it into the desert.' Satan cried 
 
 * The word khannas means " tempting to backslide." 
 
77/7: THIRTY-SEVENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 349 
 
 out, 'Khannas!' The kid said, ' Here I am, 
 father.' And it became alive, and went up to 
 him. Again Satan left it, and went off; for 
 though Eve entreated him, saying, * Take it, 
 and go,' he would not take it. Saint Adam 
 came and saw the kid, and asked about it, and 
 Eve told him what had happened. Adam said, 
 ' Why didst thou keep that accursed one's kid?' 
 And he was angry with Eve ; and he cut the 
 kid into many pieces, and threw each piece in a 
 different direction, and went away. Again 
 Satan came and asked, and Eve told him 
 what had happened. Again Satan cried, ' O 
 Khannas ! ' And it answered, ' Here I am, 
 father.' And it became alive, and went up to 
 him. Again Satan left it, and went off; and 
 though Eve said many times, ' Leave it 'not,' 
 it was no avail, for Satan vanished. Again 
 Adam came and saw the kid, and this time he 
 smote Eve : and people have beaten their wives ( 
 since that time. Adam seized the kid, and cut 
 its throat, and cooked it, and he and Eve ate it; 
 then he went away. Again Satan came and 
 asked, ' Where is the kid ? ' Eve said, ' This 
 time was Adam wroth, and he cut its throat, 
 and cooked it, and we both of us ate it.' Satan 
 again cried, ' O Khannas ! ' This time it 
 answered from Eve's belly, ' Here I am, father.' 
 
350 HISTORY OI- THE f-ORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 Satan said, ' My son, thou hast found thy best 
 place ; let us tempt the sons of Adam, thou 
 from within, and I from without, till the Resur- 
 rection, and urge them to many sins, and make 
 them deserving of Hell.' ' 
 
 " Now, O king, be it known to thee that even 
 as the blood runs in the body and veins of man, 
 so runs Satan tempting him. Till thorough 
 enquiry have been made, slay not the youth, else 
 afterward thou shalt burn in the fire of re- 
 morse." When the king heard this story from 
 the vezir he sent the prince to the prison and 
 went himself to the chase. 
 
 When it was evening he returned and came 
 to the palace, and the lady rose to greet him, 
 and they sat down. After the repast the lady 
 asked about the youth. The king said, " To- 
 day too such an one of my vezirs made inter- 
 cession for him and I sent him to the prison." 
 The lady said, " O king, trust not the words of 
 the vezirs ; if thou do so, many a poor one will 
 be abased and degraded through their ven- 
 geance. Mayhap my king has not heard the 
 story of a certain king." The king said, " Tell 
 on, let us hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
THE LADY'S THIRTY-SEVENTH STORY. 351 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-SEVENTH STORY. 
 
 " In the palace of the world there was a king, 
 and that king had three vezirs ; but there was 
 rivalry between these. Two of them day and 
 night incited the king against the third, saying, 
 4 He is a traitor.' But the king believed them 
 not. At length they promised the pages much 
 gold and instructed them thus : ' When the king 
 has lain down, ere he has yet fallen asleep, do 
 ye feign to think him asleep and, while talking 
 with each other, say at a fitting time, " I have 
 heard from such an one that yon vezir says this 
 and that concerning the king, and that he hates 
 him ; many people say that vezir is an enemy to 
 our king." So they did thus ; and when the 
 king heard them he said in his heart, ' What 
 those vezirs said is then true ; lo, the very pages 
 have heard somewhat ; it must indeed have 
 some foundation ; till now I believed not the 
 vezirs, but it is then true.' And the king 
 executed that hapless vezir. The vezirs were 
 glad and they gave the pages the gold they had 
 promised. So these took it and went to a 
 private place and, while they were dividing it, 
 one of them said, ' I spake the first ; I want 
 more.' The other said, ' If I had not said he 
 was an enemy to our king, the king would not 
 
352 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 have killed him ; I shall take more.' And while 
 they were quarrelling with one another, the 
 king passed by there and he listened attentively 
 to their words, and when he learned of the 
 matters he said, ' Dost thou see ? they have by 
 a trick made us kill that hapless vezir.' And he 
 was repentant." 
 
 " Now, O king, these thy vezirs are leagued 
 likewise ; we shall see what that unworthy 
 youth has promised them. Now if thou slay 
 him" not to-morrow, he will slay thee " When 
 the king heard this story from the lady he said, 
 " To-morrow will I kill him." And they went 
 to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king went and sat 
 upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be 
 brought and ordered the executioner, " Smite 
 off his head." The Thirty-Eighth Vezir came 
 forward and said, " O king of the world, be it 
 not that a grief come to the heart of my king 
 through our counsel ; for the Holy Apostle of 
 God hath said, ' If one see any of you do aught 
 reprovable, assuredly let him hinder him ; if it 
 be possible by the tongue, but if that be power- 
 less, let him hinder him with the heart.' Now, 
 to act according to this Tradition is incumbent 
 upon all of us ; so let us counsel the king and 
 hinder as much as in us lies the wickedness of 
 
THE THIRTY- EIGHTH VEZIR'S STORY. 353 
 
 Satan. Beware, slay not the prince on the word 
 of the woman, for in such guile and craft 
 abound. Mayhap my king has not heard the, 
 story of a certain merchant and his slave-girl." 
 The king said, " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth 
 the vezir, 
 
 THE THIRTY-EIGHTH VEZIR'S STORY.* 
 
 " Shuyle riwayet iderler ki: Misr shehrinde 
 bir bazirgan var idi. Bir gun bir jariye satun 
 alub khanesine geturdi. Khanesinde bir may- 
 muni var idi ; get^trub, jariyeye chekdi. Jariye 
 eyder, * Bazirgan, bu ne hal dir ?' Bazirgan 
 eyder, ' Buna bir gez ram ol, sent azad ideyim? 
 Jariye dakhi na-char muqayyed olmadi ; hamile 
 qaldi. Vaqti geldikde, bir oghlan doghurdi, 
 jemi' a^zasi adam shekllu, ilia maymun gibi bir 
 qoyrughi var idi. Bazirgan ve jariye bu oghlanin 
 terbiyesine meshghul oldilar. Oghlan besh alti 
 ayliq oldi. Bir gun bazirgan bir biyuk qazghan 
 suddoldirub, altina muhkem atesh yaqub ; qayna- 
 diqda. ol oghlani tutub qazghanin ichine braqdi. 
 Jariye feryade bashladi ; bazirgan cyder, ' Sus, 
 feryad itmc ; var, malimdan azad ol ':' deyub, 
 chiqardi. Jariyeye bir miqdar alttm dakhi verdi. 
 
 * For reasons stated in the Preface this story is left 
 untranslated. 
 
 A A 
 
354 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 Dunub, qazghani uyle qaynatdi ki kick kemugi 
 dakhi qalmadi. Jariye bu tarafdan gunlinden 
 .bazirgana waftr kin eyleyub, ' Jigerim nasl 
 yaqdin zse, ben dakhi seni yaqarim : ' deyub, 
 fursat guzetmege bashladi. Bazirgan qazghani 
 indirub, bir biri uzrine yedi tas qoyub, qazghanin 
 uzrine gelen kefi alub, yedi tasdan suzub, yedinji 
 tasda olan kefi alub, bir shishe ichine qoyub, 
 braqdi. Jariyeye, ' Yemek hazir eyle : ' deyub, 
 tashra chiqdi. Jariye dakhi y erne k pis hirub, bir 
 qab ichine ol zehirden qarishdirub, hazir eyledi. 
 Bazirgangeldi, ununegeturub, siniyi qoyub, kendi 
 bir bujagha chekihib, oturdi. Bazirgan ol 
 ta'amdan bir qashiq alub aghzina qoydighi gibi, 
 zehir oldighin bihib, jariyeye elindeki qashighi 
 firlatdi. Qashiqdan bir nokhud qader zehirli 
 ta'am jariyenin eline doqimib, doqindighi yer 
 siyah eyledi. Bazirgan bu tarafda sim siyah 
 ohib, shishdi, tuhtm gibi oldi ve helak oldi. Jariye 
 dakhi 'ilaj idnb iyu oldi ; baqi qalan zehir i 
 saqlayub, talib olanlara bey' eyledi" 
 
 " Now, O king, such guile and craft abound 
 in women ; it is needful ever to guard against 
 their fraud." And he made intercession for the 
 prince. When the king heard this story from 
 the vezir he sent the youth to the prison and 
 went himself to the chase. 
 
 When it was evening the king returned and 
 
THE LADY'S THIRTY-EIGHTH STORY. 355 
 
 came to the palace, and the lady rose to greet 
 him, and they sat down. After the repast the 
 lady began to speak about the youth. The 
 king said, " To-day too such an one of my 
 vezirs made intercession for him, and I sent 
 him to the prison." The lady said, " O king of 
 the world, take care, go by no one's word ; for 
 this youth is a depraved youth. Mayhap my 
 king has not heard the story of the Messenger 
 Noah's son." The king said, " Tell on, let us 
 hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-EIGHTH STORY. 
 
 "The great commentators thus comment on 
 the glorious Koran of God Most High. They 
 relate that when God Most High addressed 
 Saint Noah, he went to his people and ever 
 called his people to the Faith, saying, ' I am 
 the Apostle of God Most High; own me for 
 Apostle and serve God and abandon iniquity, 
 else God Most High will visit you with bitter 
 torment and send the Flood/ But they accepted 
 him not and listened not to his words. Then 
 Saint Noah complained to God Most High. 
 And God Most High said, ' O Noah, fit thou 
 out a ship, and put the people of thy house into 
 that ship ; for I will surely send the Flood.' 
 And Gabriel (peace on him !) came and taught 
 A A 2 
 
356 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 him, and they built the ship, and it was finished. 
 Noah (peace on him !) sought to take his family 
 into the ship, when the unbelievers came and 
 filled the ship with filth, and God Most High 
 sent upon them an itch, and they could not 
 become whole. At length one of these un- 
 believers went to the ship and the filth touched 
 a part of him, and it was made whole of the itch. 
 And he took and rubbed it on all his limbs, and 
 that ailment left him. He forthwith told the 
 rest of the unbelievers, and they all came and 
 cleansed the ship of the filth ; and, according to 
 one account seven times, and according to an- 
 other seventy times, did they wash themselves 
 with it ; and they rubbed the water of it on their 
 boils and they were made whole. Then Saint 
 Noah put his family into the ship, and he put in 
 of every animal a pair. And Saint Noah had 
 three sons ; one was Ham and one was Shem 
 and one was Japheth ; and two of them entered 
 the ship and one of them entered not, but turned 
 to the unbelievers. And that son asked Saint 
 Noah; and he learned how the Flood was to be, 
 and he went and built a dome of glass, and took 
 there a sufficient quantity of bread and water, 
 and entered and sat down. Forty days was 
 the Flood ; and the water stood forty cubits 
 above the highest mountain. At length it 
 
THE LADY'S THIRTY-EIGHTH STORY. 357 
 
 abated ; but that rebel youth was drowned in 
 the glass building."* 
 
 " O king, when the son of a Messenger was 
 thus, how should be the plight of others ? And 
 thy son is such a rebel ; overthrow him, or at 
 last thou shalt be repentant." When the king 
 heard this story from the lady he said, " To- 
 morrow will I slay the youth." And they went 
 to bed. 
 
 When it was morning the king went and sat 
 upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be 
 brought and ordered the executioner, " Smite 
 off his head." The Thirty-Ninth Vezir came 
 foward and said, " O king of the world, it is 
 incumbent to act with deliberation and con- 
 sultation in this matter ; for God Most High 
 hath enjoined consultation in His glorious 
 Koran. If the king will hearken to the words 
 of these his slaves, my word is this, slay not the 
 prince on the woman's word that afterward thou 
 be not repentant. And there is a story suitable 
 to this, if my king grant leave I will relate it." 
 The king said, " Relate, let us hear." Quoth 
 the vezir, 
 
 * The part of this story about Noah's son is an amplification 
 of a passage in the eleventh chapter of the Koran. 
 
358 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 THE THIRTY-NINTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " There was of old time a great king, and he 
 had a shepherd who was exceeding leal and 
 upright and truthful of speech, so that his quali- 
 ties were ever spoken of before the king. And 
 by reason thereof the king at length took that 
 shepherd to his side and clad him in a robe of 
 honour and made him master of the horse. The 
 other vezirs envied him, and they tried him 
 many times, but found not in him aught save 
 truthfulness. Now one night when the grand 
 vezir was speaking of this thing in his harem, 
 his daughter said, ' If I get that shepherd to tell 
 a lie before the king, what will ye say ? ' Quoth 
 the vezir, ' There is leave for thee ; see and 
 make him lie somehow.' Now the girl was 
 exceeding crafty and cunning, and she was also 
 exceeding fair. And she arose and dressed 
 herself and girt herself so that she was covered 
 with pearls and jewels, and she rubbed surma 
 and antimony on her eyelids and eyelashes, 
 so that she became like the moon of fourteen 
 nights. And whoso saw her was bewildered, 
 and had an infidel seen her he would have 
 turned Muslim. And she went forth and came 
 to the room of the master of the horse and 
 knocked at the door. The master of the horse 
 
THE THIRTY-NINTH VEZ1RS STORY. 359 
 
 said, * Who art thou ? ' The girl answered, 
 
 * Come, open the door, out on thee, cruel ! ' 
 And the master of the horse opened the door 
 and looked, and when he saw the girl his senses 
 well nigh forsook him, and he knew not what 
 he did, and he forthwith embraced the girl and 
 took her in. So the girl began with all manner 
 of airs and graces, and the hapless shepherd 
 sought to make merry with her. The girl said, 
 
 * My soul longs for horse's flesh.' The master 
 of the horse said, ' Can such thing be ? I will 
 give thee fattened horse to eat.' Quoth the girl, 
 
 * My desire is to try thee ; let me see, lovest 
 thou me ?' The master of the horse answered, 
 4 When I saw thee my senses left me, I am mad 
 for love of thee ; if thou wish I will give thee 
 my life.' The girl said, * What know I ? I 
 believe it not.' Quoth the master of the horse, 
 ' By God, I love thee.' The girl asked, ' Dost 
 thou now love me ? ' The master of the horse 
 replied, ' I love thee.' The girl said, ' For my 
 sake cut the throat of that bay horse.' The 
 master of the horse answered, ' That horse is 
 the king's most favourite horse ; what answer 
 shall I give afterward ? ' The girl arose and 
 clung to the neck of the master of the horse 
 and said, ' My life, my master, do what I ask 
 thee, kill him now ; if the king question 
 
 
360 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 thou canst say he turned sick and died.' The 
 free-will of the master of the horse passed from 
 his hand, and he went and slew the horse, and 
 came back and made merry with the girl. And 
 he said, ' Stay here/ The girl answered, * To- 
 morrow will my father seek me.' He asked, 
 'Who is thy father?' The girl said, ' He is 
 the grand vezir/ The master of the horse said, 
 1 O what shall we do ? ' The girl replied, ' Be 
 thou but well, I will come to thee every night/ 
 So the master of the horse agreed, and the girl 
 went away. When it was morning the master 
 of the horse was distraught, on the one hand 
 by love for the girl, and on the pther by fear of 
 the king, and he said in himself, ' This secret 
 must be divulged to no one, still is it needful to 
 take counsel thereon ; let me take counsel of 
 my cap/ And he pulled his cap from his head 
 and set it on the ground, and made believe it 
 was the king, and went out. Then he turned 
 and came in politely, and even as he would 
 salute the king, so saluted he his cap, and he 
 remained standing on his feet. He said, as 
 from the king, ' O master of the horse, saddle 
 that bay horse, to-day I go to the chase/ He 
 turned and said, as from himself, ' In the evening 
 the bay horse turned sick and ate not his feed, 
 but left not to lie down and rise up, and about 
 
THE THIRTY-NINTH VEZIR'S STORY. 361 
 
 midnight he became restive and died.' Then 
 he turned again, and said, as from the king, 
 * What sayest thou ? Only yesterday that horse 
 was sound ; is he dead to-day already ? Let 
 them look if there be any knife-wound.' And 
 they went and saw that the horse's throat had 
 been cut, and came and told. As it was clear 
 he would be put to shame, this way pleased not 
 the master of the horse. He said, ' This time 
 let me speak the truth, and see how it would 
 be.' And he went out and came in again, and 
 said, as from the king, ' Master of the horse, 
 go saddle the bay horse, to-day I would go 
 forth to the chase.' Then he turned and said, 
 as from himself, 'O king, this night when I was 
 in my room, a fair girl like the moon of fourteen 
 nights came and clung to my neck, and said to 
 me, " Kill that bay horse for my sake, and I 
 will submit to thee." And I had never seen one 
 thus lovely in my life, and my choice and free- 
 will passed from my hands, and I went and 
 killed the bay horse.' Then he said, as from 
 the king, ' What girl was that girl ? Does any 
 one so ungratefully by his benefactor for a girl ? ' 
 He turned and said, as from himself, 'She clung 
 to my neck, and caressed me with many pretty 
 airs, and my power left me ; but it came into 
 my mind, and I asked her with pain whose 
 
362 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 daughter she was, and she said she was the 
 daughter of the grand vezir. If she had asked 
 my life then, I would have given it ; where then 
 was the bay horse ? ' And he sprang from the 
 ground, and said, ' Here my head, here the 
 sword ! ' And he thought that it was clear there 
 were here either death or protection, and it 
 pleased him! And he went forth and came to 
 the king, and that day he asked about the 
 horses ; and he told the king the truth of it. 
 And it came pleasant to the king, and he said, 
 ' Out on thee ; had it been I, I too had given 
 not only the bay horse, but my life.' And he 
 was exceeding pleased at his having spoken the 
 truth, and he put on him a robe of honour, 
 and got for him the vezir's daughter. So by 
 reason of his speaking true and straightforward 
 his face was white and his work was right before 
 the king, and he became son-in-law to the vezir, 
 and at length was he vezir himself. Now the 
 well known proverb has remained, in case when 
 there is none of whom to take counsel : ' Place 
 before thee the cap that is on thy head, and 
 take counsel of it/ ' 
 
 " O king, I have told this story for that the 
 king may know that counsel is incumbent. 
 Accepting the words of the wise points the way 
 to eternal felicity. To go by the words of the 
 
THE LADY'S THIRTY-NINTH STORY. 363 
 
 woman would be to be like that grand vezir, a 
 plotter." And he kissed the ground, and made 
 intercession for the prince for that day. When 
 the king heard this story from the vezir, he sent 
 the youth to the prison, and went himself to 
 the chase. 
 
 When it was evening the king returned, and 
 came to the palace, and the lady rose to greet 
 him, and they sat down. After the repast, 
 the lady began to speak about the youth. 
 The king said, " To-day such an one of my 
 vezirs made intercession for him, and I sent 
 him to the prison." The lady said, " O king, I 
 see thee very fickle ; now thou turnest to the 
 vezirs ; thou abidest not by one speech ; thou 
 art ever changing. Such is great shame to 
 kings. One must go steadfastly by the words 
 of one person ; they have said, ' Be at war or 
 be at peace/ So, O king, do not thou be always 
 changing. There is not one worthy among 
 these vezirs. Mayhap my king has not heard 
 the story of a certain king." The king said, 
 " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-NINTH STORY. 
 
 " There was of old time a king, and there 
 was in his city a wise elder, and that elder had 
 an ass, and he would ever say, ' My ass is wiser 
 
364 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 than the king's vezirs.' One day these words 
 reached the king's ears, and he caused that 
 elder to be brought, and said, ' Why utterest 
 thou thus meaningless a speech, O unworthy 
 elder ? ' And he was angry. The elder said, 
 ' O king, I have greatly tried the meaning of 
 this speech ; if the king give leave I will speak 
 it/ The king said, 'Speak on.' The elder 
 said, ' O king, one day I was crossing a bridge 
 with my ass, when suddenly the ass's foot went 
 into a hole, and he fell, and with a thousand 
 difficulties I delivered him. Ever since, when 
 he comes to that bridge, he goes not near that 
 hole, but passes it at a distance. O king, though 
 thou ever seizest thy vezirs, and takest their 
 wealth, and dismissest them, and killest some of 
 them, still they never draw their feet from the 
 hole of thy fury and displeasure, and are over- 
 thrown. So thou seest they fear not at all, and 
 those who come after them fall into that hole, 
 and are bound in the prison of the king's anger. 
 My ass learned by once falling, and never again 
 has gone near that hole ; but thy vezirs will not 
 take warning by one another, and they throw 
 themselves into the hole of danger. In such 
 circumstances, is my ass wiser than thy vezirs, 
 or is he not ? ' When the king and the nobles 
 heard these words of the elder they all deemed 
 
THE LADY'S THIRTY NINTH STORY. 365 
 
 them true, and they gave him a robe of honour, 
 and sent him back to his house." 
 
 " O king, I have told this story for that the 
 king may know that it does not follow of neces- 
 sity that vezirs are wise ; it is a favour of God 
 Most High who giveth it ; otherwise, how should 
 they be wise ? Beware, O king, go not by the 
 words of the vezirs ; let not the opportunity 
 slip from thy hand." When the king heard these 
 enticing and beguiling words of the lady, he 
 said, " Surely on the morrow will I kill him." 
 And they went to bed. 
 
 When it was morning, the king came and sat 
 upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be 
 brought, and ordered the executioner, " Smite 
 off his head." The Fortieth Vezir came forward 
 and said, " O king of the world, they have said 
 that by four things are works accomplished : 
 the first is, associating with the able ; the second 
 is, guarding against enemies ; the third is, 
 taking counsel of the wise ; and the fourth is, 
 getting help from friends. Now it is incumbent 
 on the king that he take counsel of the wise, 
 and gain the friendship of them. O king, we 
 have heard or seen no evil thing from the 
 prince's mouth or deeds; while the wiles and lies 
 of women are notorious, and they are lust- 
 worshippers. Mayhap my king has not heard 
 
366 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 the story of that tailor's wife." The king said, 
 " Tell on, let us hear." Quoth the vezir, 
 
 THE FORTIETH VEZIR'S STORY.* 
 
 " Zeman-i sabiqda bir terzinin bir mahbuba 
 
 'avreti var idi. Bir gun l avret jariyesin pamuq 
 
 atdirmaq ichun hallaja gunderdi. Jariye hallaj 
 
 dukkanine vardi, qaftani pamuq atdirmagha 
 
 verdi. Hallaj atariken jariyeye zekerin gusterdi. 
 
 Jariye utanub beru yanindan ute yanina gechdi. 
 
 Bu dolaninja, hallaj dakhi zekerin ol yana 
 
 gechurdi ; jariye ol yaninda dakhi uyle gurdi. 
 
 Gelub, qadinina eytdi, ' Ol vardighim hallajin 
 
 iki zekeri var : ' dedi. Khatnn eytdi, ' Var, ol 
 
 hallaja suyle, " Seni qadinim ister, geje gelsun" 
 
 deyu, suyle : ' dedi. Jariye gelub, ol khaberi 
 
 hallaja suyledi. Hallaj dakhi, geje olinja, ol 
 
 ma' hud olan mahalla gelub, hazir oldi. 'Avret 
 
 tashra chiqdi, hallaj He bulishub, eytdi, 'Ben 
 
 qojamla yatarken, gel, benimle bulish : ' dedi. 
 
 Chun geje yarusi oldi, hallaj varub, 'avreti 
 
 uyandirdi. ' Avret qolay yatdi ; hallaj ise mesh- 
 
 ghul oldi. 'Avret gurdi ki kenduye dakhil olan 
 
 zeker bir dir, ' Hay, janim hallaj, ikisi He eyle : ' 
 
 dedi. Aheste aheste suylerken, eri uyandi ; 
 
 ' " Ikisi He" dedigin ne dir?' deyub, 'avretin 
 
 * See footnote to the Thirty-Eighth Vezir's Story, p. 353 ante. 
 
THE FORTIETH VEZIR>S STORY. 367 
 
 ferjine el eyledi. Hallajin zekeri eline geldi ; 
 hallaj geru chekindi, zekeri herifin elinden sirildi, 
 chiqdi. Heman hallaj qachdi. Herif eytdi, 
 l Bre l avret ! ol " Ikisi He" dedigin ne idi?' 
 dedi. 'Avret eytdi, ' Ey qoja, duskimde gurdim 
 sen bir denize dushmishsin, bir elinle yuzersin, 
 " Meded ! boghuldim !" deyu, chaghirirsin ; ben 
 kenarden, " Ikisi He yuz ! " deyu chaghirdim ; 
 sen dakhi iki elinle yuzmege bashladin / dedi. 
 A ndan qojasi eytdi, ' 'A vret, ben dakhi kendumi 
 deryada oldighim shundan bildim ki, elime bir 
 yash baliq geldi, sonra sirilub, chiqdi, qachdi ; 
 sen gerchek suylersin :' deyub, 'avretina evvel- 
 kinden ziyade muhabbet eyledi" 
 
 '* Now, O king, I have told this story for 
 that the king may know that tricks like to these 
 and all manner of craftiness abound in women. 
 Beware, slay not the prince on the woman's 
 word, or afterward thou shalt be repentant." 
 And he kissed the ground, and made inter- 
 cession for the prince for that day. And the 
 king granted it, and sent the youth to the 
 prison, and went himself to the chase. 
 
 When it was evening the king returned from 
 the chase and came to the palace, and the lady 
 rose to greet him, and they sat down. After 
 the repast the lady asked for news of the 
 youth. The king said, " To-day too such an one 
 
368 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 of my vezirs made intercession for him and I 
 sent him to the prison." The lady said, " O 
 king, be it known that not one of those vezirs 
 is thy friend ; God knows what pact they have 
 with the youth. Mayhap the king has not heard 
 what befel between the Sultan of Egypt and his 
 vezirs." The king said, " Tell on, let us hear." 
 Quoth the lady, 
 
 THE LADY'S FORTIETH STORY. 
 
 " There was of old time in the city of Cairo 
 a great Sultan, and he had a youthful son. 
 And that youth made a pact with the vezirs, 
 saying, * If ye make me Sultan, I will give you 
 leave to do whatever ye may please.' When 
 they had agreed to this, he sowed enmity 
 between the king and the vezirs and nobles ; 
 and each of them rose in revolt in a different 
 quarter, and they took the youth for their 
 chief, and waged war and did battle with the 
 king. The king could not overcome them, 
 and at length they made the youth king. 
 They began to feast with the new king every 
 day, and to accomplish their desires. And the 
 king's father saw that the purpose of the 
 vezirs and the youth was evil, and he calle^ 
 a confidant, and one night they fled in disguise 
 and entered a cave ; and for seven days and 
 
THE LAD YS FOR TIE TH S TOR V. 369 
 
 seven nights the king went not forth from that 
 cave. The new king heard of his father 
 having fled, and he and the vezirs began to 
 seek him and to send out criers, who pro- 
 claimed, ' Whoso seizes my father and brings 
 him to me, him will I honour.' And the old 
 king and his courtier went forth from the cave 
 and came to a village, and were guests of 
 an old woman in that village ; and that old 
 woman sowed seed. And she bestirred herself 
 to entertain them, and brought them a mat, and 
 they sat down. The king was hungry, and he 
 pulled out a sequin and gave it to the old 
 woman, and said, * Mother, go, fetch us food 
 that we may eat/ The woman said, * What will 
 ye do with a sequin's worth of food ? ' The 
 king replied, ' No harm, fetch it.' And the 
 woman went and brought all manner of delicacies 
 and set them before the king. And they sat 
 down and ate. After the repast they began to 
 talk with the woman ; and the woman said, 
 1 What youths be ye ? ' The king said, ' We 
 are of the servants of the fugitive king ; we are 
 seeking our master.' The woman said, * I fear 
 that ye too are followers of that unworthy 
 youth, and would seize the king and take him/ 
 The king asked, * Does that unworthy youth 
 seek his father ? ' The woman replied, ' Does 
 
 B B 
 
370 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 he seek him ? what means that ? Those traitor 
 vezirs and nobles every day cause criers to 
 proclaim, " To him who seizes and brings that 
 fugitive Sultan we will give the lordship of 
 whatever place he may wish ; but of him who 
 conceals him, or in whose house he is found, are 
 the head and family gone." When the king 
 heard these words from the woman his soul was 
 troubled, and he said to her, 'And are the nobles 
 also submissive to the youth ? ' The woman 
 answered, ' He has deposed many nobles, and 
 appointed other nobles ; these new nobles are 
 all of them submissive to him.' The king said, 
 ' Is there any of those old nobles whom thou 
 knowest ? ' The woman replied, ' There is a 
 vezir who was deposed by the fugitive Sultan ; 
 I go about his house on business I know him.' 
 As soon as the king heard this he turned and 
 said to his confidant, ' What sayest thou, shall I 
 tell this woman that I am the Sultan ? ' The 
 confidant replied, * Command is the king's.' The 
 Sultan turned and said to the woman, ' O 
 mother, I have a secret ; if I tell it tbee, canst 
 thou keep it ? ' The woman said, ' I will give 
 my head, but I will not give your secret.' The 
 king made the woman swear, and then said, l O 
 mother, dost thou know me who I am ? ' She 
 answered, ' Nay.' Then the king said, * Lo, I 
 
THE LADY'S FORTIETH STORY. 371 
 
 am the fugitive Sultan ; be it not that this word 
 escape thy mouth.' When the woman heard 
 this the blood went from her face, and she fell 
 at the king's feet. The king said, ' Hast thou 
 son or daughter ? ' She replied, ' I have a son.' 
 The king said, ' If God Most High seat me on 
 my throne, I will give thy son whatever lord- 
 ship he please.' The woman bowed down and 
 fell at the king's feet. Then the king said to 
 her, ' Go now to the house of that vezir, and 
 call him to a private place and salute him from 
 me, and say, ' ' The king is now seated in my 
 house and wants thee, be it not that thou 
 flinchest and comest not." When it was evening 
 the woman went to the vezir's house, and took 
 the vezir to a private place, and gave him the 
 king's greeting, and told him all and how that 
 he was sitting in her house. The vezir was 
 glad, and he said, ' Do thou now be off, I too 
 will come now ; ' and he sent her away. The 
 woman came and told these things to the king. 
 After a little he saw the vezir in the dress of 
 an Arab, and he came and fell at the king's 
 feet and mourned and wept. The king said, 
 * O vezir, I wronged thee and took thy wealth 
 and deposed thee ; ah ! the past is past, the 
 gone is gone. Befriend me as much as in thee 
 lies, and if God Most High raise me to my 
 
 B B 2 
 
372 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZ1RS. 
 
 throne, I know the honour I will do thee/ 
 The vezir said, * O king, if thou tookest my 
 wealth, it was thine own wealth ; if thou didst 
 depose me, I was thy slave and had done 
 wrong ; thou didst well. Now this is the way, 
 that thou follow my words and lay aside king- 
 ship till our plan be accomplished ; if afterward 
 thou art wroth with me, then command ; now 
 let us work.' The king said, * Do what thou 
 wilt ; now is not the time for words/ The 
 vezir said, * O king, arise and take my lamp in 
 thine hand, and go on through the desert before 
 thee till thou comest to my house ; if any one 
 see thee he will think thee my man and recog- 
 nise thee not.' The king took the vezir's lamp 
 in his hand, and they went on and passed 
 through the bazaars of Cairo, and came to the 
 vezir's house ; and the vezir prepared a private 
 room for the king. The king remained there 
 some days, and the vezir secretly sent word to 
 all the great nobles who had been deposed, and 
 assembled them. And one night he brought, 
 them to the king and reconciled them, and said, 
 ' On the morrow be ye ready and show zeal 
 each one of you for his estate.' That night they 
 gathered together all the disbanded soldiers who 
 were there ; and when it was morning they beat 
 the kettledrums on every side, and ere those 
 
THE LADY'S FORTIETH STORY. 373 
 
 traitor nobles and vezirs had arisen they put 
 many of them to the sword ; and they seized 
 the king's son and all the rest of his vezirs, and 
 brought them before the king. And the king 
 executed the whole of them, slaying each of 
 them with a different torment. , Thenceforth 
 he sat upon his throne with tranquillity of 
 heart, and enjoyed happiness and delight." 
 
 " Now, O king, I have told this story for 
 that the king may know that vezirs are not to 
 be altogether trusted ; and be thou ready, for 
 these vezirs purpose evil against the king, and 
 the like of this story shall befall thee. I have 
 watched for my king and told him. And I know 
 of a surety that they have made a pact if left 
 till the morrow to seat the youth upon the 
 throne, and to seize thee and to give thee into 
 the youth's hands. God knows what will happen 
 to ill-fortuned me. Woe is me!" And she wept 
 full bitterly. When the king heard this story 
 from the lady, and beheld this plight, he believed 
 the lady's words, and held them to be true ; and 
 fear for his life fell upon the king. He said, "O 
 lady, weep not ; on the morrow will I seize the 
 whole of the vezirs, and, after I have put the 
 youth to death, I will give to each of them, one 
 by one, his due." When the lady heard these 
 words from the king she was glad, and said, " O 
 
374 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 king, when thoti hast slain the whole of them, 
 appoint nobles vezirs in their stead, and then lean 
 thy back against the wall of retirement, and give 
 thyself up to mirth and merriment : till thou hast 
 done thus thou shalt not be at ease." And 
 the king consented to this proposal, and they 
 passed that night till the morning conversing. 
 
 When it was morning the king was wrathful 
 and he came and sat upon his throne, and he said, 
 "Where is the youth ? let him come." They 
 brought him, and the king said, " Ask ye him 
 if he confesses to the charge of his mother." 
 Thereupon the grand vezir said, " Let him come 
 before you and be asked, and it will be well ; 
 bring him, let us ask him." The king com- 
 manded that they brought him, and he said, 
 " Youth, speak ; how hast thou done by thy 
 mother ? " The youth was silent. The king 
 turned and said, " Be not silent, there is leave 
 to thee, speak." The youth was silent. Again 
 the grand vezir said, " Perchance his governor 
 might make him tell." Straightway the king 
 commanded that they should bring his governor; 
 and they sought him but found him not, and 
 came and told the king. The king said, " This 
 day it is needful to make manifest my justice ; 
 let the executioner come." He came ; and the 
 
CONCLUSION. 375 
 
 king commanded, saying, " Take the youth and 
 all those vezirs ; and kill them." And they took 
 the whole of them from the presence of the 
 king ; and they made clean the judgment-square 
 and sprinkled it with sand. And they made 
 the vezirs sit down by tens, and they brought 
 the youth too. Then the executioner set the 
 prince upon his knees and bound his eyes, and 
 he drew his sword from its scabbard and bared 
 it, and said, " Is there leave, O king ? In thy 
 glory is my arm strong and my sword keen. 
 The cut-off head grows not again, and too late 
 repentance profits not." And he went twice 
 round the divan and asked leave of the king ; 
 and the king commanded him, saying, " Smite 
 off his head." The executioner went round the 
 divan once more, and as he was again asking 
 leave of the king, the bearer of glad tidings 
 came, crying, "The prince's governor comes!" 
 The king said, " Quick, seize and bring him." 
 Forthwith the slaves brought the governor, not 
 letting his feet touch the ground. When the 
 king saw the governor he was wroth, and said, 
 " Kill him !" The governor said, " O king, 
 wherefore art thou angry ? If it be thy desire 
 to make the youth speak, bring him and let him 
 speak." Quoth the king, "Is it thou who saidest 
 to the youth, 'Speak not'?" The governor 
 
376 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 answered, "Yea." The king said, "Why?" 
 The governor said, " O king of the world, I 
 saw the prince's ruling star in the astrolabe that 
 for forty days it was in evil aspect, such evil 
 aspect that if he uttered the least word he 
 should perish, but that if he spake not he should 
 escape. I taught him a Name, and charged him 
 straitly that he should not speak the least word. 
 Now is the time accomplished, and I am come ; 
 command that they bring him, and I shall give 
 him leave to speak." The king commanded 
 that they brought the youth, and the governor 
 said, " My prince, be my life a ransom for thy 
 father and for thee ! Praise be to God ! the 
 evil aspect of thy star is accomplished ; loose 
 thy nightingale tongue and speak ; what is this 
 plight ? " Straightway the youth said, " In the 
 name of God ! " And he related what befel him 
 with the lady from its beginning to its end ; and 
 then he fell upon the ground and began to 
 weep. And the king put his finger to his 
 mouth and wondered. And the members of 
 the divan marvelled at this deed of the woman, 
 and they said, " The prince's words are with 
 reason and truth, and such like trickery comes 
 from womankind." Then the king asked the 
 slave-girls, and they bare witness that they had 
 been behind the wall and had heard the thing, 
 
CONCLUSION. 377 
 
 and that the prince spake truly. And the king 
 saw that the right was the prince's, and he 
 repented him of what he had done. And he 
 besought pardon, and kissed the prince's two 
 eyes, and pressed him to his heart and wept full 
 bitterly. And straightway he commanded that 
 they brought the vezirs ; and the king made 
 many excuses to them, and clad each of them 
 in sumptuous robes, and bestowed boundless 
 gifts and favours upon them, and begged 
 forgiveness of all of them. And the vezirs said, 
 " My king, whatsoever ' cruelty and injustice 
 thou hast done us, be it all forgiven thee ; our 
 fear was lest thou should slay the prince, acting 
 on the woman's word ; for our vezirship is by 
 the health and safety of our king and our prince ; 
 and their existence is a mercy to the world ; 
 after they were perished the perishing of the 
 whole of us were a thing assured." And they 
 all kissed the ground together, and asked for 
 retribution on the woman. And the king com- 
 manded that they brought a wild ass ; and they 
 took the lady to the square of judgment and , 
 set her upon that ass, and bound her fast to 
 his tail and legs, and took her forth to the 
 desert. And they smote the ass with a whip, 
 and the ass began to gallop and the woman fell * 
 from his back to the ground ; and the wild ass 
 
378 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS. 
 
 looked, and when he saw the woman behind him 
 he shied and ran off. And the woman was torn 
 into pieces small even as her ear, and left upon 
 the shrubs and stones. Thus that which she 
 had purposed against the prince befel herself. 
 The sires say, " Wish good that good may come 
 to thee : if thou dig a pit for another, dig it 
 deep ; for it is like thou shalt fall therein thyself ; 
 then thou needest not trouble trying to get out." 
 And from that time has the saying been 
 among the folk, " May I see thee on the ass !" 
 After that the king summoned all the vezirs and 
 the nobles and the commonalty, and he made a 
 great feast with all manner of minstrels and 
 music, and for forty days and forty nights they 
 feasted and made merry gratefully. And then 
 they lived for many years, and did justice and 
 dealt with equity. 
 
 May God Most High associate all of us with 
 the good and true, and keep us safe from the 
 guile of crafty women. Amen. 
 
 As his object in writing these example-fraught 
 stories, and presenting and offering them to the 
 view of the public, is to draw down benedic- 
 tions on himself, it is prayed and entreated that 
 the author be remembered with a blessing. 
 
 THE END. 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 Stories occurring in other Texts than that from which 
 the foregoing Translation has been made. 
 
 FROM BELLETETE'S VOLUME OF EXTRACTS. 
 THE NINTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 HEY have told that while a certain Turkman was 
 ploughing, his ploughshare of a sudden caught in 
 something, so that though the oxen pulled, they were 
 unable to drag it up. So the Turkman turned up 
 the earth with the point of his goad, and saw that 
 the ploughshare had caught in a ring. He loosed his oxen, and 
 fetched from the house a hoe and shovel, and dug, and saw that 
 that ring was fastened with lead to a marble slab. Then put- 
 ting forth his strength, he raised the slab, and saw that under- 
 neath a flight of seven steps led down. So he went down these 
 steps, and saw forty royal jars standing in a row, the lid of each 
 of which was of gold. On the lids of some were ruby sheep 
 with their lambs, on those of others swine with their pigs, and 
 on those of others peafowl with their chicks. On each one was 
 something, and in the mouth of everything was a jewel, like a 
 lamp at night. So the Turkman went and opened the lid of 
 each one, and he saw them all to be filled full of Diocletian 
 
380 APPENDIX A. 
 
 florins ; * and he searched those forty jars from top to bottom 
 and he saw that they stood bound round with chains of gold. 
 When the Turkman saw all this, he was amazed and bewildered. 
 Then he came out and put the slab back into its place, and 
 arranged the earth so that it was not noticeable. Then he stood 
 and thought, ' How shall I spend all this, and to whom shall I 
 tell this secret ? If I tell it to my wife, will she be able to keep 
 it?' Then he said, ' Ah ! I shall first try her, and see.' He 
 went to the house, and said, ' Ha, wife, something has hap- 
 pened to me to-day ! I shall tell thee, but see thou tell it to 
 no one.' His wife said, ' May it be good ; I shall tell no one.' 
 Quoth the Turkman, ' While I was ploughing in the field, I was 
 ware of something, and I looked down and a crow rose up and 
 flew away ; I know not what it may portend.' His wife said, 
 1 May it be good ! ' That day passed, and the next day the 
 ploughman heard the folk saying that ten crows had flown out 
 of such and such an one ; and on the day following he heard that 
 it was a hundred crows ; and he knew that there was no telling 
 his secret to his wife. And he said, ' If I tell her of the treasure, 
 one will become a hundred on the stranger's tongue ; and the 
 treasure and my head will both go from me.' So he told it not 
 to his wife, but said in himself, { Some craft is needful here.' So 
 he went and took three tiles of gold from the treasure and 
 carried them to the smith, and said, ' Fashion me a ploughshare 
 of this iron and give it me.' When the smith saw it he was 
 glad, and the Turkman went away. After some days he came 
 back and asked for the iron ; the smith gave him a ploughshare 
 fashioned of black iron. The Turkman said, ' My iron was 
 yellow, while this is black ;' and they quarrelled, till at length 
 they haled both of them before the king. They laid before the 
 Turkman iron, copper, silver and gold, and said, ' Which of 
 these was it like ? ' The Turkman pointed out the gold and 
 said, ' My iron was like this.' Then the king upbraided the smith, 
 and they put him to the torture, so that at length he was com- 
 
 * Any ancient gold coin was called Daqyanos altitni = Diocletian 
 sequin, or, as here, Daqyanos filuri. 
 
STOAIES FROM BELLETETKS EXTRACTS, 381 
 
 pelled to give the gold to the king. The king gave one tile to 
 the Turkman. Therefore the Turkman for a long time kept 
 the treasure hidden from his household, till at length, through 
 fear of his wife, he was unable to enjoy any rest, and he died ; 
 and the treasure still remains in its place." 
 
 THE TENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " They have told that there was once an aged gardener who 
 was also an ass-driver. One Friday he found it was necessary 
 to water his garden, on that day too he had grain in the mill 
 and it was his turn to grind it, and on that day too the turn for 
 the Friday-worship* came round ; so that that man was bewil- 
 dered and confounded, and he knew not which of these things 
 he ought to do. At length, having remembered that the Apostle, 
 whenever he was in doubt about a matter, used to do that of 
 it which bare most on the Hereafter, he left the other things and 
 went to the mosque. When he arose from worship and came 
 to his house, he saw that his ass was standing ready harnessed. 
 He went to his garden, and he saw that some one else had been 
 watering his own garden, and that the water had trickled through 
 and watered his garden. He went to the mill, and saw his flour 
 ground. He asked, ' Who ground this flour ? ' The miller said, 
 ' A man, thinking it was his own grain, ground it, then he saw 
 that it was thine, then he ground his own ; take thou thy flour and 
 go. 3 Then that man knew of a surety that whoso strives in the 
 way of God will not be shut out from the world or the Hereafter." 
 
 THE ELEVENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " They have told that in the palace of the world was a great 
 king who had a daughter rare of beauty, such that the fame of 
 her beauty had gone forth to all lands. One day that girl of a 
 sudden fell in love with a youth from among the king's servants, 
 so that she was night and day without rest for the love of him. 
 Love for the youth grew ever more and more masterful in the 
 girl, so that she left off to eat and drink and sleep, and her 
 
 * It is scarcely necessary to remind the reader that Friday is the 
 Muhammedan Sabbath. 
 
382 APPENDIX A. 
 
 tulip-hued face was turned to saffron, and her occupation was 
 ever sighing and wailing. Every day her nurse said, * Daughter, 
 art thou not well ? What ails thee ? For thine occupation is 
 ever sighing ; what secret hast thou ? Hide it not from me ; 
 belike I could find a remedy.' But the girl answered nothing. 
 One day, unable to bear the fire of love, she said, ' O nurse, why 
 should we hide it from thee ? I love such and such a servant 
 of my father ; if thou canst not bring me to union with him, I 
 shall die.' So that night the nurse put on trousers like the 
 night watchman, and with this disguise entered the sleeping- 
 chamber of the youth ; and she gave him an intoxicating drug, 
 and took him and brought him to the girl. So the girl got 
 ready all things needful for a carouse, and spread beds of silk 
 and satin, and put down embroidered cushions, and then laid 
 the youth on them. And she fetched strong vinegar and dropped 
 it on his face. The youth sneezed and sat up, and looked and 
 saw seated by his side a beauty whose like he had never seen 
 in the world. And he saw the palace, the beds and the cushions, 
 such as he had never seen in his life. Quoth the youth, ' Seest 
 thou, I have died and they have borne me away and laid me in 
 Paradise.' Then the girl put her arm round the youth's neck 
 and said, ' O my life, master, for this long time have I been 
 without rest for the love of thee.' When the youth heard these 
 words from the girl, he said, * O life of my life, what place is 
 this, and thou, whose soul art thou ? ' The girl said, ' Eat the 
 fruit and ask not of the tree.' So the youth loved the girl with 
 a thousand hearts and souls, and he put his arms round her neck 
 and they began to kiss and clip one another. Then the nurse 
 went out and watched the door.* The girl fetched wine of the 
 hue of the Judas-tree, and put a cup into the youth's hand, and 
 the youth quaffed it to the girl's love, then he filled it and handed 
 it to her. First he snatched a kiss from the girl, then she from 
 him. Then the girl quaffed the cup to the youth's love. After 
 they had sat playing thus for a while, they both stripped naked, 
 
 * Before going out she gives her young mistress the prudent advice, 
 ' Muhrin saqla? 
 
S TORIES FR OM BELLE TE TES EXTRA C TS. 383 
 
 like pearls, and went into the bed, and the girl took the youth 
 to her bosom, and the youth took the girl in his arms, and thus 
 were they lip to lip and breast to breast, as though the two of 
 them were but one soul. Now the girl would suck, like the 
 parrot, the sugared sherbet of the youth's lips, and now the 
 youth would drink, like Khizr, the water of life from the girl's. 
 All that night till dawn the girl cooled her .liver, burnt by her 
 longing for the youth, with the water of union.* When morning 
 was near they slept a little, and straightway the nurse came in and 
 gave the youth the drug, and carried him back again to his own 
 place. When the youth awoke he found himself in his own 
 place, and he knew not whether what he had seen were a dream. 
 And the king's daughter in a little while regained her health." 
 
 THE LADY'S EIGHTEENTH STORY. 
 
 " They have told that in bygone times there was a king, and 
 he had a skilful minstrel. One day a certain person gave to the 
 latter a little boy that he might teach him the science of music. 
 The boy abode a long time by him, and, though the master 
 instructed him, he succeeded not in learning; and the master 
 could make nothing of him. He arranged a scale and said, 
 ' Whatsoever thou sayest to me, say in this scale.' So whatsoever 
 the boy said, he used to say in that scale; and the master likewise 
 answered him in that scale. Now one day a spark of fire fell on 
 the master's turban. The boy saw it and chanted, ' O master, 
 I see something, shall I say it or no ?' and he went over the 
 whole scale. Then the master chanted, * O boy, what dost thou 
 see, speak ? ' and he too went over all that the boy had gone 
 over. Then the turn came to the boy, and he chanted, ' O 
 master, a spark has fallen on thy turban and it is burning.' The 
 master straightway tore off his turban and cast it on the ground, 
 and saw that it was burning. He blew out the fire on this side 
 and that, and took it in his hand, and said to the boy, ' What 
 time for chanting is this ! everything is good in its own place;' 
 and he admonished him." 
 
 * As with the Elizabethan poets, the liver was supposed to be the 
 seat of passion. 
 
384 APPENDIX A. 
 
 FROM THE INDIA OFFICE MS. 
 THE LADY'S FIRST STORY. 
 
 " They have told that there was in the palace of the world a 
 great king, and that king had a son who was feeble of under- 
 standing. Now the king found a cunning master who was learned 
 in all the sciences, and he caused him to be brought before him, 
 and, telling him of his son's case, asked of him a remedy for the 
 evil. The sage said, * O king, this is an easy matter ; in a little 
 time will I make him a master of discretion.' The king was 
 glad, and bestowed gifts and favours on the sage, and made over 
 to him his son. Now the sage taught him for a season, and in- 
 structed him in knowledge ; and he made the boy familiar with 
 every science. And the boy grew learned and accomplished, 
 so that all the world marvelled at his words. One day his 
 master took him, and brought him before the king, and said, 
 ' O king of the world, lo, I have made thy son to excel in every 
 science.' And the king his father was glad and said, ' O my 
 son, were I to hold a certain thing hidden in my hand, couldst 
 thou guess what it was ? ' He replied, ' Yea, I could.' Then 
 the king secretly took his ring from his ringer, and held it in his 
 hand, and said, ' What is it that I have in my hand ? ' The boy 
 thought for a little while, then said, * O father, that thing in its 
 first estate was in the hills.' The king said in his heart, ' Aye, 
 he knows ; the mines are in the hills.' The boy continued, ' It 
 is a round flat thing. It must be a mill-stone.' Then was the 
 king ashamed before the nobles and the lords, and he said, ' O 
 son, could a mill-stone be hidden in any man's hand ? ' And 
 saying to the master, ' Take him away and teach him,' he sent 
 him off." 
 
 THE SECOND VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " One day the Apostle (peace on him !) was seated in the 
 mosque, expounding the chapter, 'Verily, We have sent it down,'* 
 when he came to the story of the Messenger Samson. Quoth 
 
 * Koran, xcvii. i. Samson is never mentioned in the Koran. 
 
STORIES FROM THE INDIA OFFICE MS. 385 
 
 the Apostle (peace on him !), * They say that Samson was a 
 Messenger who warred for a thousand months in the cause of 
 God Most High. He had his dwelling in a high hill ; and in 
 the daytime he would come down from the hill and war, and 
 when it was evening he would return to the hill and sleep 
 beside his wife. The misbelievers were powerless against 
 Samson ; and they agreed among themselves, saying, " Let us 
 give money to his wife, that she may bind him and deliver him 
 to us." So they took a dish filled with gold, and went to his 
 wife, and said, " Bind thy husband with this rope, and deliver 
 him to us, and this dish with the gold therein shall be thine." 
 When the woman saw so much money, she coveted it, and said, 
 " So be it ; " and she took the rope. Samson came back from 
 fighting ; and he was weary, and he lay down and slept. And 
 the woman came and bound fast his hands with that rope ; and 
 she said in herself, " This man is a Messenger, belike he may 
 break this rope : " and, wishing to try if it were so, she wakened 
 Samson. He, seeing that his hands were bound, said, " Who 
 bound my hands ?" His wife answered, " I bound them ; but 
 what matter ? thou art a Messenger, pull and break the rope." 
 So Samson put forth his strength, and strained and strained, 
 and the rope brake ; and he lay down again and slept. And 
 the woman went and said to the misbelievers, " He has broken 
 the rope." So they gave her chains, and again she bound him 
 and wakened him to try him. Samson saw that his hands were 
 bound again, and he said, " Who has bound me ? " She replied, 
 " I bound thee to try thee." Samson again put forth his strength, 
 and the chains were broken in pieces. And Jthe woman was 
 amazed, and said, " O Prophet of God, with what must one bind 
 thee ? " Samson answered, " Nought but thy hair can avail." 
 Now the woman had two tresses of hair ; these she cut off and 
 bound round his hands, and then wakened him again. Samson 
 saw that his hands were bound, and he said, " Who has bound 
 me again ? " The woman answered, " She who has ever bound 
 thee has bound thee ; pull, strain." Then she let these mis- 
 believers, who were lying hidden, know ; and they came forth 
 and seized Samson and bare him to their city. And they 
 
 CC 
 
386 APPENDIX A. 
 
 cut off his two hands and his two feet, and left him in a certain 
 place, and went away. And Samson (peace on him !) said, 
 " My God, give me again my hands and my feet, that I may war 
 in Thy cause." Then Gabriel (peace on him !) came and touched 
 him with his wing, and Samson was made whole again. The 
 palace of their king was supported by a single column ; and 
 that palace was filled full of misbelievers. And Samson went 
 and pulled down that column, and the palace fell to the ground, 
 and as many misbelievers as were therein were killed. And 
 Samson began again to war, and he ceased not from warring 
 until that he was martyred.' Then did the Companions of the 
 Prophet (peace on him !) envy the Messenger Samson his war- 
 ring for a thousand months ; so God (glorified and exalted be 
 He !) sent down this verse, 'The Night of Power is better than 
 a thousand months ; ' * that is to say, that the. merit of doing 
 worship all the Night of Power until the dawn is greater than 
 that of warring for a thousand months." 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRD STORY. 
 
 " They have told that there was once a witch, and she had a 
 little boy. One day, while the witch was working witchery, her 
 little boy was playing beside her in a river. The water caught 
 the boy and swept him into a hole. When the witch saw her 
 boy in this plight, she threw herself after him into the river. 
 The stream swept her likewise into that hole ; so that they both 
 perished." f 
 
 THE SEVENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " They have told that there was in the city of Cairo a crafty 
 woman. One day she made a broidered gown into a bundle and 
 
 * Koran, xcvii. 3. The ' Night of Power ' is the most excellent night 
 in all the year ; on it the divine decrees for the ensuing twelvemonth 
 are issued to the executive angels ; but unfortunately there is some 
 doubt as to when it really falls ; it is, however, generally believed to be 
 one of the nights towards the close of Ramazan. 
 
 f This somewhat feeble tale, which is designed to show how a too 
 fond parent may lose his life through the frowardness of his son, is one 
 of the very few stories belonging to the Sindibad cycle that occur in the 
 Forty Vezirs. See Mr. Clouston's Book of Sindibad, pp. 37 and 144. 
 
STORIES FROM THE INDIA OFFICE MS. 387 
 
 gave it into the hands of one of her slave-girls, whom she made 
 follow her to the bazaar, where she got into the shop of a mer- 
 chant, and there seated herself. The merchant said, * My lady, 
 what is thy need ? ' Then the lady took the gown and laid it 
 before the merchant, and when the merchant had opened the 
 bundle and seen the gown, she said, ' Let this gown remain with 
 thee in pledge, and do thou give me such and such a sum, and 
 when our matters are arranged I shall bring back the money and 
 get away the gown.' The merchant turned not from the words 
 of the woman, neither could he withstand her fashions, so he 
 straightway gave her such and such a sum, and, taking the 
 gown, laid it by. The woman took the money and went away, 
 but after a little she came back and said, ' Give me the gown 
 and take the money, that there be no trouble to thee.' So the 
 merchant gave her the bundle with the gown, and took the 
 money and laid it by him. The woman took the gown and went 
 to a place apart ; there she took that gown out of the bundle 
 and put in its place another gown not worth an aspre. Then she 
 tied up her bundle and went again before the merchant and said, 
 1 O merchant, we have troubled thee much ; the money has 
 again become needful ; pray, give it ; here is the gown.' And 
 she laid the bundle before the merchant, who took it without 
 opening or looking at it, and gave the woman the money. And 
 the woman took the money and went to her house, and she 
 made merry, feasting. On his part the merchant saw that 
 one month passed, that two months passed, and yet the lady 
 came not ; and disquiet increased within him, and he spake of 
 this matter to one of his friends. That man said, ' Fetch the 
 gown and let me see it.' When they opened the bundle they 
 saw that the gown was not worth an aspre, and the merchant 
 perceived that the woman was a trickstress. And he arose and 
 went before 'the governor and told all that had befallen him. 
 The governor said, ' That woman has played a trick on thee ; 
 but this is the city of Cairo, and here tricks are many. Now I 
 too will teach thee a trick ; and if she be not found by this trick, 
 then is there no help.' ' Grace, my lord,' quoth the merchant, 
 clasping the knees of the governor. The latter said, * Go to- 
 
 C C 2 
 
388 APPENDIX A. 
 
 night and carry to thy house whatever thou hast in thy shop, 
 and tear up some of the boards about thy shop ; and early on 
 the morrow go to thy shop, and begin to cry and lament, saying, 
 " Last night have they broken into my shop and taken away 
 whatever was therein ; that vexed me not, but there was in 
 my shop a costly gown belonging to a lady, that too have they 
 taken, and now if the lady come and bring the money and ask 
 her gown, how shall I answer her ? " ' So the merchant went and 
 did this. And it was noised abroad in the city of Cairo that they 
 had that night broken into the shop of such and such a merchant 
 and stolen all his goods, but that he was not grieved because of 
 his own property, but because of a costly gown he had in pledge 
 that belonged to a lady, which also they had taken and gone off. 
 * God give them their due ! ' said the folk. That lady heard 
 this news, and she was glad, and she took the sum she had 
 received from the merchant, and said to her handmaids, ' Get 
 ready, let us go to the merchant, and give him the money, and ask 
 back the gown. If he say, "The gown has been stolen, I will give 
 its value," we shall say the gown was worth ten times a hundred 
 thousand aspres ; and we shall get at least four or five hundred 
 thousand aspres.' So they went straight to that merchant, and 
 she saluted him, and beckoned to her slave-girls, and one of 
 them produced the money and laid it before the merchant. The 
 lady said, * O merchant, see, I have brought the money ; give 
 me my gown.' The merchant answered, ' I have let the gown 
 be stolen ; what am I to do ? ' Quoth the woman, ' I know 
 nought of that ; I want the gown.' Then the merchants and 
 neighbours came about them and said, ' O lady, the gown has 
 been lost ; name its value : take a portion of it and remit a 
 portion of it.' The lady answered, 'O merchants, ye saw not 
 the gown ; I bought that gown, and I gave for it not less than 
 ten times a hundred thousand aspres ; think on that, and judge ; 
 let him give the gown, or let him give its price.' When the 
 merchants had besought her, the lady said, 'One hundred 
 thousand of them, two hundred thousand of them, yea, five 
 hundred thousand of them have I forgiven him for your sakes ; 
 let him give the rest.' Then they arose and went before the 
 
STORIES FROM THE INDIA OFFICE MS. 389 
 
 governor of the city ; and the merchant said, ' My lord, this 
 woman came and left a gown with me in pledge, and got such 
 and such a sum, and went away. For some months she came 
 not. Now have they plundered my shop, and the gown has 
 been lost with my own possessions. No lie can be spoken in 
 thy noble presence. Order and command are thine.' Then 
 the woman began to cry out, ' I want my gown or its worth in 
 money. 5 The governor said, ' O lady, look at this poor wretch ; 
 this is a case for ruth.' And he made a sign to the merchant, 
 who went out and fetched the gown, and came back, saying, 
 * Good news, my lord ; I have found the gown ; ' and he laid 
 it before the governor. The latter opened the bundle, and 
 seeing that the gown was worth nothing, exclaimed, * Out on 
 thee, whore of the age, thou settest the city of Cairo in an 
 uproar ! ' And he straightway commanded that they stripped 
 the woman, and tied a stone about her neck ; and he sent her 
 to turn fish in the river Nile." 
 
 THE LADY'S SEVENTH STORY. 
 
 " They have told that there was in the palace of the world a 
 king, and he had by him a master carpenter, who was such a 
 master that there was not his equal in the world. He had an 
 unworthy apprentice, who one day went before the king and 
 said, ' I am greater than my master ; it were beseeming the 
 king that he honour me as he honours him.' Then the king 
 called the master and the apprentice together into his presence 
 to prove them. The master said, ' O king, I have a plan ; let 
 each of us take a piece of wood and go into a dark place ; and 
 the skill of whichever of us cut the wood will then be known.' 
 They agreed thereto. So the master took an adze and a piece 
 of wood, and went into that dark place. And he struck, and he 
 struck again, and he struck yet again, and then he came out, 
 and all the folk saw (what he had done) and applauded and 
 commended him. Then the apprentice struck, but at his second 
 stroke he cut all his fingers ; and so was he put to shame before 
 the king and the people." 
 
390 APPENDIX A. 
 
 THE NINTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " They have told that Kay-Qubad* had a devout and pious 
 wife, who was so modest that she could not endure the mention 
 of men, but ever spake of their uncleanness. The king was 
 an-angered by her words, and he sought to make trial of her. 
 Now the king had a fair young slave-boy who was exceeding 
 ready at service. One day the king gave this boy to his wife. 
 Now he had said to the boy, ' If, when alone with this lady, thou 
 canst lead her astray by sweet and witty speeches, I will give 
 thee whatsoever thou mayst desire.' So the boy served for some 
 days before the lady, till one day he said some witty thing. 
 The woman said nothing. Some days afterward the boy again 
 made a jest. When the lady smiled at these words of the boy, 
 he knew that love had entered into her heart. One day he 
 pressed the lady's hand and laid his own upon her arm. The 
 woman said, ' Out on thee, boy, dost thou really love me ? ' 
 The boy answered, ' Dost thou doubt it ? I await thy bidding 
 with heart and soul.' The lady said, ' Be it not that thou tell 
 this secret to anyone ; if thou lovest me, I love thee a thousand 
 times more.' Whenever the boy heard these words of the lady, 
 he let go her arm and embraced her neck and began to kiss 
 her ; and the lady likewise began to kiss him. Then they 
 parted, and the boy ran and told these secrets to the king. The 
 king said, * It is not true ; I believe it not.' The boy answered, 
 * I will show thee this thing before thine own eyes.' The king 
 asked, ' If it be so, what is thy plan ? ' The boy replied, ' I 
 shall now hide thee in the closet, and thou shalt see with thine 
 eyes and believe.' So he hid the king in the closet. And the 
 lady came again and embraced the boy, and while they were 
 kissing and clipping, the king came forth from the closet, and 
 said, * Out on thee, modest whore ! ' And the woman was put 
 to shame." 
 
 * The first sovereign of the KayanI (Achoemenian) dynasty, the 
 second line of pre-Muhammedan Persian kings. The Dejoces of Greek 
 writers is thought to represent this prince. 
 
STORIES FROM THE INDIA OFFICE MS. 391 
 
 THE LADY'S NINTH STORY. 
 
 " They have told that a rogue went to the Ka'ba,* and as he 
 was going about among the pilgrims, he said in himself, ' How 
 may I show off my roguery in this place ? ' Just then he came 
 before the Zemzem well,t and he saw that some of the pilgrims 
 were drinking of it, and some were making the ablution at it. 
 As soon as the rogue saw this, he tucked up his skirt and ran 
 forward, crying, ' Ho, men, a camel polluted this well to-night ; 
 the ablution cannot be made at this well.' J So the pilgrims 
 drew back their hands from the well ; and the rogue said 
 in himself, ' I have accomplished my affair ; ' and he went 
 away." 
 
 THE THIRTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " It has come down in the Commentaries that when God 
 Most High said, (as it is written in His Ancient Word,) ' Ye 
 cannot attain to righteousnsss until ye give away of what ye 
 love ; ' the Messenger Abraham heard this saying, and sacri- 
 ficed to God veiy many camels and sheep. But God Most 
 High said, ' Give what thou lovest.' And Abraham answered, 
 ' My God, what I love is my son Ishmael.' And he desired to 
 sacrifice him to God Most High ; || and he went before his 
 mother and said, ' O lady, to-day they have bidden me to a 
 wedding-feast ; stain IshmaeFs hands and feet and hair with 
 hinna,1F that I may take him with me to-morrow when I go.' So 
 that night his mother stained his hands and feet and hair with 
 hinna, and on the morrow she decked him out like a flower, and 
 gave him over to his father. And the Messenger Ishmael 
 
 * The Sacred Temple at Mekka, see p. 122. 
 
 f The sacred well in the Temple at Mekka, said to be that which 
 appeared to Hagar. For a description of it, see Sir R. F. Burton's 
 Pilgrimage, vol. fii. 
 
 J Pure water being, of course, required. 
 
 Koran, tii. 86. 
 
 || That Ishmael, and not Isaac, was Abraham's intended victim, is 
 the general Muslim belief ; but the point is disputed. 
 As is done on state occasions in the East. 
 
392 APPENDIX A. 
 
 (peace on him !) ran before his father, playing as they went 
 along ; and the tears flowed like a stream from the eyes of 
 Abraham (peace on him !) ; and his heart was torn in pieces. 
 Unable to bear it, he said, ' O son, walk behind me.' So Ishmael 
 (peace on him !) walked behind ; and Satan (a curse on him !) 
 came before him and said, 'O Ishmael, whither goest thou?' 
 Ishmael answered, ' I go with my father to a wedding.' Satan 
 said, * What a wedding ! thy father is taking thee to cut thy 
 throat.' Ishmael replied, 'Begone, O accursed, what have I 
 done to my father that he should slay me ? ' And he took a stone 
 in his hand and cast it at Satan, and Satan fled. But he went 
 about and came by another way and said, ' O Ishmael, thou art 
 a little boy, and I have pity for thee ; know of a surety that thy 
 father is taking thee to slay thee.' And again Ishmael took a 
 stone and cast it at Satan, saying, ' Begone, O accursed ; ' and 
 Satan fled. But he came again by yet another way and said, 
 ' By God, thy father is taking thee to slay thee.' Ishmael ( peace 
 on him !) answered, ' O accursed, what have I done to my father ? 
 why should he cut my throat ? ' Satan replied, ' God Most High 
 desired thee of thy father in sacrifice.' Ishmael answered, 
 ' Since I am worthy to be a sacrifice to God, ought not I to be 
 content ? ' And he smote Satan with a stone, and struck out 
 one of his eyes. When they reached the place, Abraham (peace 
 on him !) said, * O son, knowest thou wherefore I have brought 
 thee hither?' Ishmael (peace on him!) answered, 'I know, 
 father ; I have a charge to thee, which do thou fulfil, and then 
 accomplish what thou pleasest. O father, bind fast my two 
 hands, lest in the bitterness of death my hands should clutch at 
 thee, and thou, unable to proceed, should not draw down the 
 knife, and so we should both be guilty. And bind my two eyes, 
 lest when my eyes meet thy eyes thou strike not fair with the 
 knife.' So Abraham observed these charges ; and he took the 
 knife in his hand, and the tears were running from his eyes, and 
 he said, * My God, I gave my wealth and my flocks to Thee, 
 and they were not accepted ; lo, I have brought Ishmael, the 
 darling of my heart, to sacrifice him to Thee ; do Thou accept 
 him.' Then saying, ' In the name of God,' he pressed the knife 
 
STORIES FROM THE INDIA OFFICE MS. 393 
 
 against IshmaePs throat. Saying, * God is greatest/ he sought 
 to draw it down, but the knife would not cut Ishmael's throat. 
 He marvelled at this, and pressed it down again, and again it 
 would not cut. Saying, ' Knife, wilt not thou cut?' he tried it 
 on his hand, and saw it to be like a diamond. Again he pressed 
 it down, but it cut not. Then was Abraham (peace on him !) 
 wroth. There was there a marble rock ; he struck the knife 
 against that, and the knife sank into that rock, as it had been 
 puff-paste. When the Messenger Abraham saw this, he mar- 
 velled and said, ' O blessed knife, thou canst not cut that tender 
 throat of Ishmael ; how cuttest thou this hard rock?' God 
 Most High gave a heart to that knife, and it said, ' O Abraham, 
 wherefore dost thou rage ? God Most High said to me, " Be it 
 not that thou cut a single hair of Ishmael, else shall I never 
 deliver thee from hell." ' Then God Most High said, ' O Abra- 
 ham, thou hast verified the vision ; ' * and He gave him a ram 
 from Heaven, and set Ishmael the Messenger free."t 
 
 THE LADY'S FtFTEENTH STORY. 
 
 "They relate that there was a devotee in the province of 
 Fars,J and that this devotee had a friend who loved him exceed- 
 ingly. And that man was by trade a grocer, and sold oil and 
 honey ; and every day he gave the devotee a sufficient quantity 
 of oil and honey. The devotee ate a little of it and put the rest 
 into a jar, and kept that jar in a corner of his house. One day 
 the jar became full, and the devotee said in himself, ' Now shall 
 I take this oil and honey and sell it ; and I shall buy five head 
 of sheep with the money ; and these sheep with their lambs will 
 in time become a flock ; and I shall grow very rich, and wear 
 new clothes, and marry a virgin ; and I shall have a son by her, 
 and I shall teach him all things polite.' Then he took his 
 staff in his hand, and put the jar on his head, and went to the 
 bazaar; but as he was leaning his staff against the wall he 
 
 * Koran, xxxvii. 105. t See Koran, xxxvii. 97-111. 
 
 J A province in the south of Persia. 
 
 The word edeb means alike polite manners and polite learning. 
 
394 APPENDIX A. 
 
 forgot the jar, and it struck against the wall, so that it was 
 broken, and all that oil and honey ran down his beard." 
 
 THE SIXTEENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " They relate that there was a carpenter, and he had a beau- 
 tiful wife ; and that woman was a harlot. And the carpenter 
 misdoubted of his wife, and from time to time he would watch 
 her, but he could never learn anything for certain. One day 
 her husband the carpenter said to her, ' I go to such and such a 
 place ; to-night I shall remain there ; do thou keep well the 
 house.' And he mounted his horse and went away. And the 
 woman was glad, and she sent word to her lover, and that night 
 the two of them met together and made merry, and then went 
 to bed. When it was midnight the carpenter returned to his 
 house, and he went in and saw his wife in this case. Then he 
 went softly and hid himself under the bedstead, that he might 
 hear how they should converse together. But the woman knew 
 that her husband was come, and she said to the youth in a low 
 voice, * My husband is come and is lying under the bedstead ; 
 it has now become needful to find some shift, otherwise he will 
 slay the two of us. Now do thou ask me aloud whether I love 
 my husband or thyself the better.' So the youth asked her. 
 And the woman said, ' Leave these words ; they are not worthy of 
 thee.' The youth repeated them through his fear. The woman 
 answered, ' Women do these deeds through the stress of lust ; 
 but when their lust is passed, they regard as strangers those per- 
 sons with whom they may have made merry. If not, then may 
 that woman see no good who loves not her husband a thousand- 
 fold better than herself, and would not sacrifice her life for 
 him ! ' When the carpenter heard this answer, his esteem for 
 his wife increased, and the wretch said in himself, ' I have been 
 disquieted through my own evil thoughts, imagining she did not 
 love me.' At length the youth arose from his place and went 
 away, and the carpenter came softly and laid himself there, and 
 the woman looked on the ground, as it were for shame. And 
 the carpenter said, ' I should now have hewn that youth in 
 pieces, but I knew that thy love for me was steadfast, and I had 
 
STORIES FROM THE INDIA OFFICE MS. 395 
 
 ruth on thee, for I knew thee worthy of me ; so pray for me, for 
 I have been grievously troubled concerning thee.' Thus did the 
 woman accomplish all her affairs." 
 
 THE LADY'S SIXTEENTH STORY. 
 
 " It is related that a certain man had four sons. One day 
 the mother of these died. And the funeral assembly came 
 together. And they sent one son for the shroud, and one for 
 the bier, and one for the grave-digger, and one to point out the 
 grave. And the folk sat awaiting them. But each of the boys 
 who had been sent began to play where he had gone, and each 
 forgot his father's message. After the people had waited a long 
 time they became weary, and began to look in the face of that 
 man. Then the father of these boys raised up his hand, and 
 cursed them, saying, * May God Most High never bring you 
 again from that business whereunto ye went ! ' And for that 
 they honoured not their father, but played, God Most High 
 changed their forms, and turned him who had gone for the 
 shroud into a spider, and him who had gone to point out the 
 grave into a blind mole, and him who had gone for the bier into 
 a woodpecker, and him who had gone for the grave-digger 
 into a gnat. And all this for honouring not their father, but 
 playing." 
 
 THE NINETEENTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " It is related that when our mother Eve bare Cain and Abel, 
 she bare a daughter along with each. God Most High com- 
 manded the Messenger Adam, saying, ' For the sake of their 
 offspring, give to Cain the girl born with Abel, and give to Abel 
 the girl born with Cain.' The Messenger Adam did so. Now 
 the girl born with Cain was exceeding fair ; and Cain said, ' O 
 father, let the girl born with him be his, and let the girl born 
 with me be mine.' Adam answered, ' God Most High com- 
 manded otherwise.' But Cain loved that girl exceedingly ; so 
 he went and slew Abel. Thus because of a woman was blood 
 first shed upon the ground." * 
 
 * This traditional story does not occur in the Koran. 
 
396 APPENDIX A. 
 
 THE TWENTY-THIRD VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " They have told that there was in the time of the Messenger 
 David a noble named Uriah. And that noble had a beautiful 
 wife. And the Messenger David loved that woman ; but he 
 feared her husband. One day the Messenger David sent that 
 noble to a perilous fight ; and by the divine decree Uriah was 
 there martyred. The Messenger David sought to take that 
 woman, though he had already ninety-nine wives. And God 
 Most High sent to him two angels in the likeness of men. And 
 these angels came before the Messenger David, and one of them 
 said, ' O Prophet of God, this is my brother, and he has ninety- 
 nine sheep, and I have but one sheep, and he seeks to take that 
 one sheep from me by force.' The Messenger David answered, 
 ' Assuredly he does thee wrong in coveting thy one sheep while 
 he has these many.' Then he said to the elder brother, 'Where- 
 fore seekest thou to take his one sheep, coveting it ? now will I 
 give thee thy due.' Then that angel said to him, ' O thou, 
 though thou hast ninety-nine wives, yet didst thou send Uriah 
 into the front of the battle and cause him to be martyred, and 
 now thou seekest to take his wife.' Then straightway the Mes- 
 senger David knew these to be angels, and he was ashamed, for 
 he knew that though he had ninety-nine wives he yet sought to 
 take the wife of Uriah. And he bowed his face to the ground 
 and wept, so that by reason of his tears the grass grew in the 
 place where he lay. And he lamented. And he raised not his 
 head, but wept, until God commanded him to raise his head."* 
 
 THE LADY'S TWENTY-NINTH STORY. 
 
 " They have told that there was a king, who one day went 
 out to ride, and while he was going along, he saw a youth 
 whose stature was that of a man and whose favour was right 
 goodly. He said in his heart, ' Where shall I find a youth like 
 this ? He is indeed a man to fight the foe. I shall give him 
 horse and harness, and appoint him a wage ; maybe sometime 
 
 * See Koran, xxxviii. 20-24. 
 
STORIES FROM THE INDIA OFFICE MS. 397 
 
 he will be profitable to us.' So he gave him horse and harness, 
 and appointed him a wage ; and he was ever by the king, and 
 whithersoever the king went he went with him. It chanced that 
 an enemy arose ; so the king called up his army and went 
 against him, and they had a great battle. But the youth abode 
 still on his horse by the king's side. The king said to him, 
 ' Charge thou likewise, and go into the battle.' The youth 
 answered, ' O king, in my one hand I hold the bridle, in my 
 other I hold my gear ; with what hand could I fight the foe ? ' 
 These words seemed right pleasant to the king ; and he saw 
 that manhood comes not with beard and whiskers." 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-FIRST STORY. 
 
 " They relate that in the city of Tabriz was a khoja, and he 
 had exceeding great riches and many possessions ; and he was 
 a mighty player at the chess. One day a Frank came, and he 
 likewise had much wealth, and he likewise played at the chess. 
 The Frank said to the khoja, ' Let us play for gold.' The khoja 
 consented, and they played for gold, and that day the Frank 
 won many sequins. On the morrow the khoja won many 
 sequins. And thus, now the khoja, and now the Frank, would 
 win great victories one of the other. At length the Frank, 
 having many times won the game of the khoja, got all his 
 wealth. Now the khoja had a slave-girl named Dil-aram, who 
 wrote a fair hand and knew well the chess. The Frank said to 
 the khoja, * O khoja, lo, I have overcome thee, and all of thy 
 wealth have I won at thy hands ; come, let us play yet another 
 game ; lo, I have in my pocket five thousand sequins, do thou 
 stake thy slave-girl Dil-aram ;* and let us see which is the 
 winner.' The khoja agreed to this and they set out the chess 
 things ; and they began to play, moving the pawns one against 
 the other. Now Dil-aram came and watched their game from 
 the window. This time the Frank drove the khoja into a 
 corner and shut up all the ways, so that no place was left where 
 
 * The MS. has "do thou stake five thousand sequins;" but the 
 above, from Behrnauer, is doubtless the true reading. 
 
398 APPENDIX A. 
 
 he might move, for had he moved never so little he would have 
 been checkmated ; and he was confounded and bewildered. 
 Dil-aram saw the combination from the window and how that 
 by sacrificing two pieces her master could checkmate the Frank. 
 But the khoja saw it not, and sought to give up the game. And 
 Dil-aram saw this from over against them, and straightway she 
 turned her face from the window and cried, ' Stay and check- 
 mate. 3 And the khoja pondered, and he saw the combination 
 and checkmated the Frank. Thereafter was the khoja suc- 
 cessful at the play, and he won all that the Frank had, so that 
 the Frank fled back empty-handed to Frankland." 
 
 THE THIRTY-SECOND VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " They relate that a certain man in the city of Cairo had 
 charge over a garden. One day he caught a thief in the garden, 
 and sought to beat him. The thief said to him, ' Come, beat 
 me not ; one day I shall be profitable to thee ; for the great 
 have said, " Cast a good deed on the sea, and one day it shall 
 be profitable to thee." ' * So the gardener beat him not, but let 
 him go. One day the gardener went into the city, and as he 
 was walking about, a woman came and said to him, ' Come 
 along.' So the gardener followed her. And the woman went 
 on till she entered a house, when she said to the gardener, 
 ' Come in.' And the woman turned and locked the door, and 
 they passed through three or four doors, and again she turned 
 and locked these doors. When they had gone through yet 
 another door, the gardener beheld some ten or fifteen young 
 robbers seated eating and drinking. Their chief said to one of 
 them, ' Go, kill the fellow.' So he arose from his place and 
 drew his sword that he might kill him, when he looked and saw 
 that he was the youth who had seized him in the garden, but 
 had not beaten him. And he was an-angered with that woman, 
 and said, ' I have but one friend in the world ; wherefore hast 
 thou brought him ? ' Then he turned and said to the gardener, 
 
 * cf. Cast thy bread upon the waters ; for thou shall find it after 
 many days. Ecclesiastes, ii. I. 
 
STORIES FROM THE INDIA OFFICE MS. 399 
 
 ' Hadst thou beaten me with thy stick, I had now smitten thee 
 with my sword.' And he set the gardener free, and sent him 
 away." 
 
 THE THIRTY-FOURTH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " They have told that there was once a sheep-owner who had 
 many sheep. Among these was one very gentle ewe which 
 lambed before any of the others. Every year the owner of the 
 sheep took her lamb as a gift to the ruler ; and as he was 
 greedy of money, he ever took from that ewe her lambkin 
 before its time. So one year she lambed, and the fellow took 
 from her her lamb as before. And the ewe saw that her lamb 
 was going, and she bleated and followed after it. They beat 
 her back, but could not drive her from her little one ; so the 
 owner of the sheep seized her and bound her, and cut the lamb's 
 throat, and then let the ewe loose. The poor ewe ran away, 
 and went and cast herself from a high rock, and was dashed in 
 pieces. And they went and cut her open, and they saw that 
 her liver * was all pierced with holes ; that for every lamb there 
 was a hole in her vitals." 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-FOURTH STORY.! 
 
 " Naql iderler ki bir khoja var idi. Ghayet He mahbub bir 
 oghli var idi, shuyle guzel idi ki guren kishi hayran olurdi. 
 Bu khoja oghlini ghayet saqlardi; bir yere chiqarmazdi, "ve 
 doninin baghini muhrlerdi. Qachan bir minarede ezan oqumish- 
 lar, ' Nichun buyle chaghirirlar ?' deyu, soraridi. Khoja dakhi 
 dedi ki, i Bir adam ulmish, ani defn iderler] deridi. Oghlan 
 dakhi bu suze inanurdi. Bu oghlanin husni l Ajemde siiylenurdi; 
 ve ^Ajemden bir khoja bu oghlanin 'ashqina mal ve eshyasi ile 
 Baghdada gelub, bu oghlanin babasi ile dost olub, da'ima 
 oghlanin yttsine baqub, nerede durdughin tefettush iderdi. Chun 
 
 * The liver was regarded by old writers as the seat of the passions, 
 see p. 383. 
 
 t For reasons stated in the Preface this story is left untranslated. 
 
400 APPENDIX A. 
 
 khoja bildi kim ol khass khazinede oghlan saqlu durur, ay da bir 
 kerre yuzin gurmek mushkil dir. Bir gun khoja oghlanin 
 babasina eytdi, l Ben filan yere gidejek oldum; benim bir 
 sandughim var dir, neqadar qimetlu nesnem var ise, jumle 
 ol sanduq ichine qoyub, sana gundereyim; sen dakhi alub, 
 ani oghlunun oldughi khazinede saqlaj dedikde, khoja dakhi, 
 ' Bash uzrine] deyub, ichine ke?idi girejegi qader bir sanduq 
 yapdirdi. Andan ichine sherab kebab bezm alati tamam 
 dukdi. Andan khidmetkarina eytdi, ' Var, bir hammal getur, 
 bu sandughi Jilan khojanin qonaghina getur ; " Efendim gun- 
 derdi, sizde emanet dursun" deyub, buraghub, gel; yine ertesi, 
 " Efendim sandughi ister," deyub, al, gel] dedi. Pes khidmetkar 
 hammala gitdi ; khoja kendini sanduq ichine pinhan eyledi ; 
 oghlan sandughi hammala yukledub, khojanin khanesine geturub, 
 buraghub, gitdi. Chun geje oldu, khoja sanduqda?i tashra 
 chiqdi, gurdi ki oghlanin bashi ujinde sheirfedan He mum 
 yanar, bir mah-peyker jame-i kh,ab ichinde yatub ; khoja buni 
 gurinje, hayran olub, ' Fe-tabareka ''llahu ahsenu V khaliqin ' * 
 dedi. Pes khoja sherab kebab mejlisi hazir eyledi ; aheste varub, 
 oghlani uyandirdi. Oghlan yerinden durub, suhbete araste 
 idub, eytdi, ' Bunda neye geldin ? ' deyu, sordi. Khoja fi V hal 
 qadehi doldirub, oghlana sondi, ''Buni sana kim oldughim 
 bildireyim] deytib, oghlana yalvarub, unine altun dukdi. Oghlan 
 dakhi qadehi alub, ichdi. Chun uch durt qadeh oghlana ichirdi, 
 oghlanin ruyi lale-reng olub, mest olub, khoja He suhbete bash- 
 ladi. Ol geje khoja sabaha degin beraber 'ishret idub, her ne 
 muradi var ise, hasil eyledi. Chun sabah oldi, khoja yine san- 
 dugha girdi; khidmetkar gelub, sandughi hammala yukledub, 
 khanesine geturdi. Oghlanin babasi ertesi otururken yine mtf- 
 ezzin ezan verdi. Fi V hal oghlan eytdi, ' Behey baba, yuf- 
 1 allenen oghlan ulur, anin ichun bu harifburaya chiqar baghirir ; 
 bu geje beni yuf"allediler, nichun ben ulmedim f ' dedikde, babasi 
 oghlanin aghizina ivurub l uyle suz suyleme, ' ayb dir] dedi. 
 Andan sandughin nichun geldigin bildi" 
 
 * Koran, xxiii. 14. 
 
STORIES FROM THE INDIA OFFICE MS. 401 
 THE THIRTY-SIXTH VEZIR'S SECOND STORY. 
 
 'They have told that one day a smooth-faced youth was 
 going along a road with a book in his hand. A woman was 
 looking from a window, and her heart was taken with that 
 youth, and she said to him, * What is that in thy hand?' The 
 youth answered, ' This book is called The Wiles of Women? 
 The beauty replied, ' I never heard the name thou sayest ; but, 
 my lord, might not it be that thou tarry a little while, that we 
 may converse together ? Our house is empty, and all is ready 
 for a carouse.' Now the youth was a mighty wencher, so he 
 inclined to her and said, * I obey thy bidding.' So the lady 
 sent a slave-girl who opened the door ; and the youth entered 
 and went upstairs and beheld a room furnished with all things 
 needful for a carouse. And the lady came forward to greet him, 
 and she took him to her side, and they sat down. Then the 
 beauty said to the youth, ' Welcome, and fair welcome ! ' and she 
 played all manner of love-tricks. And she took a goblet of rosy 
 wine in her hand and presented it to the youth, and he took it 
 and drank it, and they began to make merry. After a time 
 some one knocked at the door ; one of the slave-girls ran to 
 open it, and straightway she came back, crying, ' Alas ! the 
 master has come.' The lady said, * What shall we do ! If he 
 come, welcome to him, let him come.' Then turning to the 
 youth, she said, ' My life, my husband, the master of the house, 
 has come ; do thou go into this closet, and rest there for a little 
 time ; he will sit here for a short space and then go away/ 
 The youth consented, and entered the closet and lay down, and 
 his senses forsook him for fear. Then the husband came in 
 and he saw all things needful for a carouse spread out, and 
 many dainties on the table, and he addressed to his wife 
 mocking words like these, ' Lady, what mean these preparations 
 that thou hast spread here without fear ? For whom are these ? 
 Or is there some stranger here ? for if so, I will go away and 
 leave you to enjoy yourselves.' The lady answered, * My 
 honoured lord, the truth of the affair is this : I, thy handmaid, 
 was seated at the window, looking out, when a youth passed 
 
 D D 
 
402 APPENDIX A. 
 
 with a book in his hand, which he was reading as he went along. 
 And I put my head out of the window and asked him, saying, 
 " My lord, what is that in thy hand ? " The youth answered, 
 " This is called The Wiles of Women" And my heart inclined 
 to him, and I sent one to bring him in. And he consented, and 
 raised us from the dust,* and honoured our house by his 
 entrance. And I, thy handmaid, was bold, and I set out the 
 things needful for a carouse. And I welcomed him and took 
 him to my side, and he drank a goblet or two of wine at my 
 hand, and gladdened my heart. And when we had begun to 
 make merry thou earnest with all honour ; but the youth was 
 abashed as soon as he beheld thee, and, unable to abide because 
 of his shame, he went into this closet, where he is now lying.' 
 The youth heard these words from within and he gave up hope 
 of his life. And the husband heard these words of the woman, 
 and he knew not what to do unto her, and cried in wrath, ' Out 
 on thee, accursed, what words are these thou thus speakest 
 without fear? Dost thou commit this lewdness in my house?' 
 And he arose and went up to the lady to beat her. And straight- 
 way the woman took the key of the closet from her pocket and 
 gave it into her husband's hand, and said, ' Yad-est? \ Now the 
 night before they had eaten a fowl, and they had taken *. yad-est 
 over the merry-thought. So the husband straightway laid down 
 the key, and said, ' Out on thee, cruel, with how strange a trick 
 hast thou deceived me ! ' And he was ashamed and went away ; 
 and she cried out after him, ' I know not the half of what I 
 shall do to thee.' I Then she opened the closet and saw the 
 youth lying senseless, and she sprinkled rose-water on his face 
 
 * i.e. honoured us by accepting our invitation. 
 
 f In the Turkish yad-est, a kind of game which has much in common 
 with our Philopena, the merry-thought of a fowl takes the place of the 
 two-kerneled almond ; neither player must accept anything from the 
 other without immediately saying yad-est (=it is remembered) ; should 
 he forget to do so, the other, on repeating these words, becomes 
 entitled to some sort of forfeit. Here the husband, who has taken a 
 yad-est with his wife, is led by the latter to imagine that she has made 
 those preparations and invented that story in order to take him by sur- 
 prise, and so win the forfeit. 
 
 J i.e. I am going to think upon some heavy forfeit to make thee pay. 
 
STORIES FROM BEHRNAUER'S TRANSLATION. 403 
 
 and brought him to himself. And the youth opened his eyes, 
 and said, * Out on thee, cruel, how strange a work hast thou 
 wrought ; thou hast well-nigh taken my head.' The lady 
 answered, ' What ails thee ? There is nothing ; come, let us 
 make merry.' The youth replied, ' Mercy, if thou lovest God, 
 be gracious ; this much suffices ; give me leave to go away.' 
 The woman saw that the youth could not abide for fear, so she 
 said, * O youth, when thou art gone, pray write this story on 
 the margins of that book thou callest The Wiles of Women." 1 "* 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-SEVENTH STORY. 
 
 " Thus relate they : A certain vezir had an unworthy son, 
 whose parents were powerless to restrain his wickedness. And 
 this vezir had a fair slave-girl whom he loved exceedingly. 
 And the boy likewise was in love with that slave-girl, and he 
 would ever give her money and clothes ; but she would in no 
 wise obey him ; and he saw that she would not yield to him. 
 One day he watched and found an opportunity, and urged the 
 slave-girl. He saw that she would not obey him, so he straight- 
 way drew a knife and slew her. And his father got word, but he 
 could not bring himself to kill the boy. And the slave-girl went 
 from the world guiltless." 
 
 FROM BEHRNAUER'S GERMAN TRANSLATIONS 
 THE LADY'S SECOND STORY. 
 
 " There was of old time a king who gathered the learned 
 about him. He said to them, 'What manner of work must I 
 do in this world that I may find it for myself in the World to 
 come ? ' The learned answered, ' From a place whence nought 
 can be taken, take nought ; and in a place where nought can be 
 
 * This tale bears some resemblance to the Twenty-First Vezir's 
 Story, p. 227. 
 
 f Not having seen any of the following stories (except the second) in 
 Turkish, I have had to content myself with translating from Behrnauer's 
 German. 
 
 D D 2 
 
404 APPENDIX A. 
 
 given, give nought ; and let not the favourable opportunity 
 escape thee ; that is, do a good and righteous work when it is 
 in thy power and the opportunity therefor is in thy hands. 
 Life keeps troth with no man.' The king said, ' Who can do 
 that ? ' The learned answered, ' That man can, who strives after 
 the grace of God, and shuns anger.' " 
 
 THE LADY'S FIFTEENTH STORY (PART II.)* 
 
 " O king, thy plight is likewise even as that which I shall 
 relate to thee of those four opium-eaters. 
 
 " At the foot of a mountain, by the side of a great river, these 
 seated themselves and began to eat. Of a sudden one of them 
 conceived a quaint fancy, and said, ' What if this flowing stream 
 were oil!' Another said, 'What if this hill were rice !' A third 
 said, ' What if the two of them were cooked ! Then should we 
 eat them ! ' When the fourth heard these words, he said, ' Ye 
 have begun to eat without saying to me, " Stretch forth." f Is 
 that good-fellowship ? ' And he left the food and arose, and 
 was aggrieved, and went away. When the other opium-eaters 
 heard this speech, they said, 'A curse on opium-eating !' And 
 they were sorrowful." 
 
 THE LADY'S SEVENTEENTH STORY. 
 
 " It is related that one day there were young fledgelings in 
 the nest of a little water-ousel. She always rejoiced exceedingly 
 when she looked upon them ; for she had for a long while 
 patiently borne pain and want, waiting and watching over her 
 eggs, thinking on these, like a woman in childbed. One day 
 while she was twittering with her little ones and playing herself 
 with them, a dragon set his jaws against her nest. When the 
 little ones saw him they were troubled and clung fast to their 
 parents. These parents would have flown away, but they could 
 not abandon their nest. They went against the snake, that he 
 
 * This story is given by Belletete as well ; in translating I have 
 followed sometimes him, sometimes Behrnauer. 
 
 f That is : Stretch forth thy hand to the food and help thyself. 
 
STORIES FROM BEHRNAUER'S TRANSLATION. 405 
 
 might not devour their little ones. But the snake first devoured 
 them, and afterwards their nestlings." 
 
 THE THIRTY-SECOND VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " It is related that there was of old time a king from whose 
 foot there issued a wasting sweat, such that no remedy could be 
 found therefor. The physicians came together and agreed that 
 the body of an Indian boy must be split open and the king's foot 
 thrust therein ; ' Such,' they declared, * is the only remedy for this 
 evil. 3 They sought long, but no such boy could be found ; until 
 at length they went to an Indian wedded pair who dwelt in the 
 city, and they discovered the sought-for boy with them. The 
 king caused the parents to come before him, and offered them 
 gold, and said, ' Sell me your boy.' They answered, ' O king, 
 what can we do ? We need it sore to-day, for we have nought ; 
 well, we shall take the gold and leave the boy to thee ; God 
 will surely give us another boy.' Therewith they made over the 
 boy to the king, took the gold, and went away. The boy was 
 brought before the king that his body might be split open. Then 
 began the boy to laugh. They asked him, * Why in all the 
 world laughest thou who shouldest weep ? ' He answered, 
 * Why should not I now laugh ? When a boy falls into need 
 or danger, he flies to his father ; if that avails not, he flies 
 to his mother ; if that avails not, he flies to the magistrate ; 
 if that too avails not, he flies to the great and mighty autho- 
 rities and kings. Now, indeed, my parents sell me to the 
 king, and he is about to kill me for the healing of his pain, 
 so that thereby he may be delivered in this present life ; 
 but what will he say in that other World in his justification 
 before the Majesty of the Most High? Now, have I found 
 no tenderness in my mother, nor any affection in my father, 
 nor yet any justice or equity in the king ; whom then shall 
 I implore ? I fly for refuge to that God who is an almighty 
 Avenger : for all the injustice wrought against me, He will 
 surely take me in charge, and cause to be bestowed on me my 
 full right ! ' When the king heard this, fear fell upon him, so 
 that love for the boy was kindled in his soul, and he set him 
 
406 APPENDIX A. 
 
 free. Through strong emotion he shed warm tears, whereof 
 the physicians took and rubbed upon the sore on his foot. And 
 straightway God Most High vouchsafed to him recovery, and 
 he was made whole again." 
 
 THE LADY'S THIRTY-SECOND STORY. 
 
 " It is related that there was of old time a rich merchant who 
 was very niggard. He had an exceeding good wife who was 
 truly devoted to him, and w r as, at the same time, very generous. 
 Though he would always command her, saying, ' Give no one 
 anything from my. house, and do no one aught of good,' she 
 paid no heed thereto, and ever gave a mite to the poor. One day 
 the merchant swore that he would repudiate her, saying, ' If 
 thou bestow any alms from my house, I will divorce thee from 
 me for ever.' Once there befell a great famine. A beggar came 
 to the door ; the woman brought out three little butter-cakes 
 and gave them to the beggar, who took the cakes and went 
 away. The merchant saw him when he was leaving the house, 
 and went after him, and asked, * Ho beggar, whence hast thou 
 these three cakes ? ' The beggar answered, ' They gave me 
 them at that house there,' and he pointed to the merchant's 
 house. The merchant opened the door, rushed angrily in, and 
 struck his wife so that he broke her arm. As the divorce was 
 now accomplished, they parted from one another. The woman 
 went forth from the city and journeyed to another place. There 
 she abode for a long time as a widow,* then she married again. 
 As a punishment for his niggardise, her first husband, the nig- 
 gard merchant, lost all his money and his substance, and became 
 very poor. Ashamed by reason of his disgrace, he journeyed 
 forth from the city, and came begging to the door of his first 
 wife, and begged, saying, 'An alms ; may God repay it you.' 
 The woman asked her husband, ' Shall I give him some bread ? ' 
 The man answered, ' No, he is a stranger beggar ; we shall 
 make him come in that he may eat with us.' Forthwith they 
 made him come in, and he seated himself by the edge of the 
 
 * So the German has it : als Wittwe. 
 
STORIES FROM BEHRNAUERS TRANSLATION. 407 
 
 table. The woman looked at him, drew back her hand, and ate 
 not. The man asked, ' What ails thee ?' The woman answered, 
 ' The beggar who is seated here was erewhile my husband.' 
 The man asked, * How was the case between you?' The 
 woman answered, ' He was then a merchant and had much 
 money and substance ; but he was niggard, and swore that he 
 would surely divorce me if ever I bestowed aught from our 
 house in alms. Now one day I gave three little butter-cakes to 
 a beggar, who took them and went away. Soon afterwards came 
 this man in wrath into the house, and he struck me and broke 
 my arm, and drove me forth from the house. I came into this 
 city. It was my lot to marry thee.' The man said, ' O wife, 
 thy story is wonderful ; but my story is yet more wonderful 
 than thine.' The woman asked, 'How so?' Her husband 
 answered, ' That beggar who then came to thy door, and to 
 whom thou gavest the three little butter-cakes, was I ; at that 
 time I was poor and needy, but yet generous. It was my wont 
 to share what I had gathered with the poor and the orphans. 
 Thou art not suited to him, but to me ; therefore has God freed 
 thee from him and given thee to me. He so ordered it, that I 
 should stand in need of thy help ; and so I then went a beggar 
 to thy door. When a man's wife is good and truly devoted to 
 her husband, she avails to the preserving of his abiding happi- 
 ness, if he but follow her words.' " 
 
 THE THIRTY-THIRD VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 "It is related that there was of old time a great merchant who 
 was very sagacious and clear-sighted, and who had journeyed 
 through the world as a trader and had looked at it needfully. 
 At length he determined to fix his dwelling in the place which 
 should please him best. So he went one day into a city, the 
 people, customs, water and air whereof were agreeable to him, 
 in order to take up his abode therein. He thought in himself, 
 ' How shall I set about it, that there be in this city no greater 
 or more learned man than myself, so that the folk here may 
 obey me ? ' Thereupon he sent a public crier through the city, 
 
408 APPENDIX A. 
 
 whom he bade proclaim as follows : * Let every poor and needy 
 one who is without substance go to such and such a merchant 
 and get for himself money.' When the folk heard this, they 
 went, and the merchant dealt out money among them, and he 
 wrote bonds for them, thus : ' When the king of this city dies, 
 give me back my money.' Thereon was the fame of this spread 
 abroad, and it reached the king's ears. He learned that a 
 merchant was come who had distributed money among the folk 
 and set the king's decease as the time for repayment. When 
 the king heard this, it pleased him not, and he was wroth and 
 caused that merchant to be straightway dragged before him. 
 When they had brought him, the king asked him, ' Why hast 
 thou set my death as the time for the repayment of thy money? ' 
 The merchant answered, ' Long be the king's reign ! For that 
 I love thee have I so done.' The king asked, ' How so ? ' The 
 merchant answered, ' My lord and king, God Most High has 
 created the soul of man greedy ; its inborn nature is niggardise 
 and covetousness ; fain would it ever take, but never give. 
 Therefore did I say, " Give me back my money when the king 
 dies." So now will the folk pray God, saying, " O Lord, 
 lengthen our king's life ! Long may he live ! " And God Most 
 High will hear and grant this pious wish of every one of them, 
 and the king's life will be long, and I shall have offered up my 
 substance in a work well pleasing unto God. 3 When the king 
 heard this, he let give the merchant a sheep, and said, ' Go, 
 fodder this sheep ; give him richest fodder and water, and deny 
 him nought. Forty days long let him gorge and guzzle in full 
 delight. From day to day will the flesh of the sheep melt away 
 and be lost in fat, yet for all that will he devour his fodder and 
 gulp his water.' Having said these words, he appointed forty 
 men to watch the merchant ; of whom twenty were to keep 
 watch by day, and twenty by night, lest the merchant should 
 beat or cudgel that sheep, or should leave him hungry or thirsty. 
 The merchant took the sheep, led him to his house, placed him 
 there in an underground chamber, and bound him fast by one 
 foot with a rope to a strong pole. And he brought thither a 
 wolf which he had bought, and bound him up in another corner of 
 
STORIES FROM THE QUARITCH MS. NO. II. 409 
 
 the cellar ; and they were separated by but a thin partition. 
 When he had given the sheep fodder to gorge and water to 
 guzzle for the whole tale of days, he took away the partition. 
 As soon as the wolf beheld the sheep, he rushed toward him, 
 seeking to devour him. The poor sheep dashed himself hither 
 and thither for fear of the wolf ; gorging and guzzling profited 
 him not, and daily his flesh shrank, until at length, when forty 
 days were past, he was grown all lean and could no more stir 
 from his place. They now took the sheep to the king, and he 
 asked those men whom he had appointed as watch, ' What has 
 the merchant done to the sheep ? ' They told the story of the 
 sheep and the wolf. Then the king perceived the sagacity of 
 the merchant, and he put on him a robe of honour, and made 
 him his grand vezir. He performed the duties of this office 
 with great integrity and justice, and after the death of the king 
 he ascended the throne, and all the princes and feudatories 
 swore fealty to him." 
 
 FROM THE QUARITCH MS. NO. II. 
 THE THIRTIETH VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " In the ranks of the sheykhs there was a sheykh who had 
 about him a company of disciples clad in rags. One day, 
 while seated in his convent talking with his disciples, the 
 sheykh said, ' I purpose to go on a two or three days' journey, 
 and I seek a dervish who will come and serve me and bear me 
 company. 3 A dervish arose and said, ' O sheykh, if thou will 
 accept me, I shall gird up my loins. 3 Quoth the sheykh, * After 
 what fashion wouldst thou serve me by the way ? 3 He answered, 
 ' I should carry thine ewer and thy prayer-mat, and bear thee 
 company. 3 Quoth the sheykh, 'Sit down, I need no companion 
 like to thee. 3 Then the dervish sat down in his place. Again 
 quoth the sheykh, 'Ho dervishes, I desire one to come and bear 
 me company. 3 So another dervish arose and said, ' O sheykh, I 
 shall bear thee company. 3 Quoth the sheykh, * After what fashion 
 wouldst thou bear me company? 3 He answered, 'I should carry 
 thy staff, and when thou lightest I should spread thy rug. 3 Quoth 
 
410 APPENDIX A. 
 
 the sheykh, ' Sit down, neither canst thou bear me company.' 
 Again the sheykh said, ' O cherishers of the aged, I seek one to 
 bear me company on this journey.' Then an abdal took his 
 crook in his hand and came forward and said, ' O sheykh, I 
 shall bear thee company.' Quoth the sheykh, 'After what 
 fashion wouldst thou bear me company ? ' He answered, ' O 
 sheykh, when I see thee stray from the path, I shall with this 
 hook draw thee back into the way.' Quoth the sheykh, ' I have 
 indeed found my companion ; this is indeed the companion that 
 I sought. Gird up thy loins and let us go.' " 
 
 THE THIRTY-THIRD VEZIR'S STORY. 
 
 " They have told that in Tartary the chiliarch Sheykh Ahmed 
 (the mercy of God on him !) had ninety thousand times ten 
 thousand families.* Among his disciples this was, it is said, a 
 custom : If a dervish traveller became the guest of one of them, 
 they would entreat him kindly, and when night was come, 
 would send to his side a maid or matron with her bed and 
 pillow. If that dervish heeded her not, they would hold him 
 for a saint (and retain him) ; but if he played any love-trick 
 with her, they would give him a piece of clothing and send him 
 off. To whatever convent he might go, they would do thus to 
 that dervish ; for that Sheykh Ahmed Yesevi had said to them, 
 ' Every dervish who eateth not of that your morsel, know ye 
 that he is I, know ye my words ; and that dervish who eateth 
 thereof, he is no dervish.' Thus had he said. Therefore did 
 they so, until that dervish came to their chief convent, and they 
 would there see the clothes that he had on. When morning 
 was come, after worship, they would take him and would 
 publicly deliver him to God.t Until one night the sheykh 
 appeared to them in a dream, and forbade them this practice, 
 and said, ' Feast him not with a spoon, neither put out his eye 
 with the handle thereof.' " 
 
 * i.e. convents of dervishes of his order. 
 
 f This probably means that they would strangle him. 
 
VARIATIONS IN DE LA CROIX' S TRANSLATION. 411 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 VARIATIONS OCCURRING IN THE TRANSLATION 
 BY PETIS DE LA CROIX. 
 
 [The edition of the text from which Petis de la Croix made 
 his incomplete translation of this Romance appears to have 
 differed considerably from any of those that have come under 
 my notice. For while there is but little difference between the 
 versions of a single story found in the Constantinople Text, the 
 India Office MS., Belletete, or Behrnauer, the same story 
 often appears in De la Croix with many important variations 
 and amplifications, and, occasionally, with lengthy additions. 
 Consequently, the variations mentioned in the following notes 
 are to be understood as being peculiar to the Translation of 
 De la Croix, none of the other versions bearing the least 
 trace of them. Although I have thought it advisable to 
 indicate all the important points wherein the stories as 
 rendered by the old French orientalist differ from the same 
 tales as given elsewhere, it would not perhaps be very safe to 
 lay any great stress on these variations, with Galland's Mille et 
 Une Nuits before us, as an example of the manner in which the 
 translators of those days thought themselves at liberty to deal 
 with the texts they took in hand. I may say that the king to 
 whom the stories are told is by De la Croix named Hafikin ;* 
 by Belletete, Shah Hafiqm ; by the Constantinople Text and 
 the India Office MS., Shah Khanqln. These forms are all 
 meaningless, and Behrnauer is doubtless correct in writing the 
 name Shah-i-Khafiqayn=King of the Two Horizons, i.e. East 
 and West, i.e. the whole world. The wicked step-mother and the 
 silent prince, who are nameless in all the other versions, are 
 called by De la Croix, Canzada (for Khan-zada= Khan-born, i.e. 
 Child of the Khan) and Nourgehan (for Nur-i-Jihan=Light o' 
 the World), respectively.] 
 
 * In the English translation of De la Croix's work, this appears as 
 Hasikin, the printer having mistaken the f for a long s. 
 
412 APPENDIX B. 
 
 NOTE I. (The First Vezir's Story [i].) The conclusion of this 
 story is very different in Petis de la Croix ; according to his 
 version, when the men come in to kill the sheykh they are 
 seized with terror at beholding him whirling round with the 
 lighted candles in his hands, and, fancying he is about to work 
 some fatal spell, rush out. The sheykh thereon bolts the door, 
 gets some water, performs the ablution, and so regains his 
 powers. He immediately takes the form of the woman and 
 makes her assume his, then summoning back the men, he gets 
 them to arrest the woman whom they imagine to be the sheykh 
 himself. They are then carried before the governor who, under 
 the same mistake, causes the woman to be beheaded, whereon 
 the sheykh again performs the double transformation, and, 
 having upbraided the governor for his servility and cruelty, 
 disappears. 
 
 NOTE II. (The Third Vezir's Story [5].) In De la Croix's 
 version, this story, which figures there as that of the Fourth 
 Vezir, ends with [5 a] the recognition of the youngest prince as 
 king in his father's stead ; [5 b~\ all that portion dealing with the 
 old king having his own obsequies performed before his death 
 being tacked on to the beginning of what is in the Const. Text 
 the Lady's Eighth Story [16] (see Note VII.) 
 
 NOTE III. (The Fourth Vezir's Story [7].) This story which is 
 the Lady's Seventh in De la Croix, ends there with [7 a] the 
 victory of Moses over Og ; [7 b~] the portion about Balaam 
 being omitted. 
 
 NOTE IV. (The Lady's Fourth Story [8].) An incident, omitted 
 in the other versions, is given by De la Croix at the be- 
 ginning of this story. The poor man (here called a Sufi, i.e. 
 a mystic philosopher or devotee,) goes to the palace of the 
 king (here said to be Harun-er-Reshid) and demands a present 
 of a thousand sequins. Being called into the royal presence 
 and asked what he means by making such a demand, he says 
 that he is a very poor man, destitute of the means of life, and 
 that last night he complained to God of His injustice in heaping 
 all manner of good things on the king who was no better than 
 his neighbours, while such as he were denied the barest 
 
VARIATIONS IN DE LA CROIX' S TRANSLATION. 413 
 
 necessities. A voice from heaven, he adds, rebuked him for 
 decrying the king and told him to go and put the royal 
 generosity to the proof, when he would find the sovereign as 
 superior to other men in liberality as he was in fortune. 
 Harun, pleased with his wit, gives him the thousand sequins ; 
 and it is after all this money is spent that he promises to show 
 Khizr to the king for three years' keep. 
 
 NOTE V. (The Lady's Fifth Story [10].) In De la Croix, the 
 youth does not wish to play the magician false, but is con- 
 strained by his mother-in-law to enter into a plot which she 
 and her husband have formed for his murder. Before carrying 
 out their design, they all three descend into the hoard and load 
 themselves with treasures ; but as they turn to come back, the 
 youth remembers that though he has learned the charms for 
 gaining entrance into the vault, he has not acquired those 
 necessary for getting out again, whereon the negro and the 
 dragons rush forward and tear the three would-be murderers in 
 pieces. 
 
 NOTE VI. (The Lady's Seventh Story [14].) The version of 
 this story given by De la Croix differs widely from that in the 
 present translation. The following is an epitome of the 
 former : Solomon has at his court a bird whose beautiful 
 gridelin feathers and many accomplishments have quite won 
 his heart. One day this bird leaves the court and goes to the 
 wood where his mate resides. As soon as the latter sees him, 
 she begins to upbraid him for his devotion to the court and 
 long-continued absence, and in her rage she dashes at her own 
 eggs and destroys all except one, which the male bird manages 
 to protect till her fury is appeased. In due time a little bird is 
 born who is even more beautiful than his father, having a 
 yellow head, a blue neck, a white body, violet wings, and a red 
 tail. Meanwhile Solomon grows anxious for Gridelin's return, 
 and sends two red birds of the same sort to fetch him. After 
 a while these birds find him and try to induce him to accompany 
 them by a feigned tale to the effect that Solomon, annoyed at 
 his absence, has begun to use the birds unkindly and drive 
 them from court, so that the condition of his fellows can only 
 
4 i4 APPENDIX B. 
 
 be bettered by his return. Gridelin replies that freedom is 
 better than service at a court, and advises them to remain away 
 from the prophet. The messengers, seeing their fiction has no 
 effect, confess that Solomon has sent them, whereon Gridelin is 
 much grieved as the king has shown him many favours ; but he 
 cannot return, having promised his mate to remain with her. 
 He resolves to send his son Violet to make his apology, who, 
 returning with the red birds, is well received ; but as he has 
 not Gridelin's wit, Solomon is not satisfied and threatens him 
 with perpetual imprisonment unless he brings his father back. 
 He agrees to do so, and goes off and tells his father that 
 Solomon is very angry and is sending his fowlers to take him, 
 at the same time he offers to lead him to a place of safety. 
 Gridelin goes with his son who takes him straight to where 
 Solomon's people are lying in wait to secure him. " Hence, O 
 king," quoth the lady, "thou mayst learn the treachery of 
 sons." 
 
 NOTE VII. (The Lady's Eighth Story [16].) As already stated 
 (Note II.) [5 b~\ the account of the aged king having his own 
 obsequies performed while he is yet alive, which in the other 
 versions forms the latter portion of the Third Vezir's Story [5], 
 is in De la Croix prefixed to [16] the tale of the Three Princes 
 and the Stolen Jewels, it being there said to be the father of 
 those youths who conceives and carries out that strange fancy. 
 
 NOTE VIII. (The Tenth Vezir's Story [19].) De la Croix's 
 version of this story gives a great deal of additional matter. 
 Some time after he has fallen heir to the khoja's belongings, the 
 prince is amazed on returning home one evening to find his 
 house empty and all his wife's treasures gone. The cadi, 
 suspecting him of having murdered his wife, throws him into 
 prison, whence he is not delivered until he has given up all his 
 remaining possessions. Thus finding himself once more 
 destitute, he returns to the service of the tailor in whose em- 
 ployment he had formerly been. One day he meets in the 
 street a man whom he recognises as a tailor he had known in 
 Cairo. This man falls at his feet and salutes him as King of 
 Egypt, telling him that his brother is dead, that the people 
 
VARIATIONS IN DE LA CROIX'S TRANSLATION. 415 
 
 desire him as their sovereign, and that he himself has come 
 forth to seek him. The prince accompanies the man back to 
 Cairo, where he is made king ; his first desire is to appoint the 
 tailor grand vezir, but this honour the latter prudently declines, 
 asking to be made court tailor instead. One day the cadi 
 comes to the king and says that he has got three murderers, 
 one of whom declares that he is innocent and yet deserves to 
 die. The king orders this man to be brought, and as soon as 
 he sees him, knows him to be one of the slaves who had served 
 him in Baghdad. On being asked by the king what he means 
 by saying that he is innocent and yet deserves to die, the 
 prisoner answers that he had a good master in Baghdad whose 
 wife fell in love with him, and induced him to elope with her 
 one day when her husband was out and when she had sent all 
 the other slaves away on different errands. While they were 
 journeying towards Basra, they alighted near a castle, the lord 
 of which, who was nephew to the King of Basra, happening to 
 pass by, was smitten by the lady's charms, and carried her off, 
 giving his attendants orders to beat away the slave should he 
 prove importunate. So the latter came to Cairo where he saw 
 a murder committed, and the two assassins running towards 
 him just as the watch came up, all three were taken together. 
 "And so," he adds, "though I am innocent of the murder, I 
 deserve to die for my treachery towards my master." The 
 king, however, pardons him because of his repentance. One 
 evening, some little time after, when the king is going in 
 disguise through the streets, he hears the shrieks of a woman 
 issuing from one of the houses. He and his attendants force 
 their way in and find a woman lying naked on the floor with 
 two slaves whipping her and a young man looking on. The 
 king at once recognises in her the khoja's wife whom he 
 had married, but feigning not to know her, asks the young 
 man why he is treating the woman so cruelly. He, having 
 been told who the speaker is, says that he is the King of 
 Basra's nephew, and that the woman is his wife whom he found 
 in- the desert attended by a slave, when she told him she was 
 flying from an aged man whom her father had forced her to 
 
416 APPENDIX B. 
 
 marry, and besought him to slay the attendant slave. He, how- 
 ever, merely drove the latter away, and then married the lady 
 whom he treated with all kindness ; but he had just learned 
 that she had proposed to one of his slaves to kill him and then 
 marry her. The slave, however, being faithful, had informed 
 him, and he was determined to punish her by thus whipping 
 her every night. But the king says that this punishment is not 
 sufficient and orders her to be thrown into the Nile. 
 
 NOTE IX. (The Thirteenth Vezir's Story [25].) There are 
 considerable differences in this story as given by De la Croix, 
 the most noteworthy of which is the much more prominent part 
 assigned to the lady whom the prince meets in the sepulchral 
 pit. She is called Dil-aram, the Princess of Georgia, and tells 
 her story to the prince who is styled the Prince of Carizme 
 (for Kharezm) while they are sitting outside the enchanted 
 palace, to the effect that she was betrothed to a foreign king, 
 but while voyaging to his dominions, suffered shipwreck upon 
 the shores of the people who bury the living survivor with the 
 dead consort (here called the Samsard* and said to be a 
 race of dog-headed men), where she had to marry a husband 
 on whose death she had shared the usual fate of widows and 
 widowers. On making their way into the palace, instead of 
 finding a coffin and inscription, they discover an aged man 
 seated on a sofa with a crown of emeralds on his head. This 
 old man, who receives them kindly, tells them that he was the 
 Emperor of China, that he is a great philosopher and magician, 
 and, having discovered the philosopher's stone, which is the 
 elixir of life, he caused the jinn to build him this palace where 
 he intends to live for ever. They reside with him for a time, 
 and the princess has two sons by the prince ; but at length she 
 grows tired of the monotonous life and desires to depart. The 
 prince consents ; and when they tell the old emperor that they 
 
 * Perhaps for Sumatra : describing the islands near Java, Sir John 
 Maundeville says, " Aftre this Yle, men gon be See to another Yle, 
 that is clept Calonak : and it is a fair Lond and a plentifous of Codes. 
 .... And zif a man, that is maryed, dye in that Contree, men bnryen 
 his Wyf with him alle quyk." 
 
VARIATIONS IN DE LA CROIX'S TRANSLATION. 417 
 
 are about to leave, but will return again, the latter, knowing 
 that they will not keep their promise, is so grieved that he 
 employs his. magic power to bring about his own death. No 
 sooner is he dead than the palace vanishes ; and the prince and 
 princess embark with their sons in the boat in which they had 
 come ; but they are captured by pirates who, putting the prince 
 ashore on an island, sail away with his wife and children. The 
 prince here finds himself among a headless people whose 
 mouths are in their breasts and whose eyes are in their 
 shoulders ; these, being at war with a neighbouring race who 
 have birds' heads, make the prince commander of their armies. 
 He gains a complete victory over the bird-headed men, who are 
 all either slain or captured and eaten by their headless enemies. 
 As a reward, the headless king compels the prince to marry his 
 daughter ; but on the nuptial night a jinn, who is enamoured of 
 the bride, carries both her and her husband off, and leaves the 
 latter on a neighbouring island. He there finds an old man 
 who turns out to be one of the astrologers who had cast his 
 horoscope, and who tells him that his father is dead and is 
 succeeded by a new king whose ill-feeling towards the wise men 
 has caused the latter to leave his dominions. He himself had 
 settled in that island, attracted by the fame of the just and good 
 government of its queen. He takes the prince to introduce him 
 to this sovereign whom he finds to be his wife Dil-aram, the 
 piratical vessel which she was on board having been wrecked 
 in a storm, though she herself and her two sons had managed 
 to reach the shore of an island. The king, an old man of 
 ninety, had been much pleased with her, formally married her, 
 and at his death bequeathed to her his kingdom. Thus the 
 prince is at last happily reunited with his wife and children, the 
 thirty years during which his star was afflicted being now past. 
 
 E E 
 
4 i8 
 
 APPENDIX C. 
 
 APPENDIX C. 
 
 COMPARATIVE TABLE SHOWING THE STORIES FOUND IN 
 
 THE DIFFERENT TEXTS AND THE ORDER IN 
 
 WHICH THEY OCCUR. 
 
 [The Figures indicate the Stories as numbered in the Table of Contents. 
 Where no Figure is given, no Story occurs in the Text] 
 
 
 1 
 
 1. 
 
 b 
 
 3 
 
 .c 1 "" 1 
 2 d 
 
 x 1 "* 
 % o 
 
 a 
 
 STORIES. 
 
 \ O 
 
 1 
 
 i* 
 
 
 ~v <"'3 
 
 
 1 
 
 f 
 
 i 
 
 H 
 
 k 
 
 ^ 
 
 55 
 
 First Vezir ... 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 , 
 
 i 
 
 Lacuna 
 
 I I 
 
 Lady's First 
 
 2 
 
 85 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 do. 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 Second Vezir 
 
 3 
 
 86 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 do. 
 
 3 
 
 77 
 
 Lady's Second - 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 105 
 
 
 4 
 
 Q 
 
 12 
 
 Third Vezir - 
 
 $a,t> 
 
 i 
 
 5M 
 
 s<*,t 
 
 5M 
 
 5 a, b ii 
 
 Lady's Third 
 
 6 
 
 87 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 6 8 14 
 
 Fourth Vezir 
 
 -ja,b 
 
 27 
 
 7 a ->b 
 
 7, b 
 
 7,*j 9 
 
 5^ 
 
 Lady's Fourth - 
 
 8 
 
 30 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 8 12 i8rt,0 
 
 Fifth Vezir - 
 
 9 
 
 4i 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 9 13 
 
 19 
 
 Lady's Fifth 
 
 10 
 
 i8a 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 10 16 
 
 23 
 
 Sixth Vezir - 
 
 ii 
 
 77 
 
 ii 
 
 ii 
 
 ii 
 
 17 
 
 22 
 
 Lady's Sixth 
 
 12 
 
 58 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 i8tf, 
 
 8 
 
 Seventh Vezir 
 
 13 
 
 88 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 19 
 
 21 
 
 Lady's Seventh - 
 
 14 
 
 89 
 
 14 
 
 14 
 
 14 
 
 77 
 
 T a 
 
 Eighth Vezir 
 
 15 
 
 7 a, b 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 23 
 
 10 
 
 Lady's Eighth - 
 
 16 
 
 10 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 24 
 
 5^,16 
 
 Ninth Vezir- 
 
 17 
 
 90 
 
 17 
 
 17 
 
 17 
 
 Si 
 
 25 
 
 Lady's Ninth 
 
 i8, 
 
 91 
 
 18 a,b 
 
 i8a, 
 
 180, 
 
 26 
 
 26 
 
 Tenth Vezir- 
 
 19 
 
 19 
 
 88 
 
 88 
 
 88 
 
 82 
 
 39* 
 
 Lady's Tenth 
 
 20 
 
 So 
 
 77 
 
 77 
 
 77 
 
 28.106 
 
 
 Eleventh Vezir - 
 
 21 
 
 83 
 
 19 
 
 19 
 
 19 
 
 83 
 
 
 Lady's Eleventh - 
 
 22 
 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 
 36 
 
 
 Twelfth Vezir 
 
 23 
 
 21 
 
 21 
 
 21 
 
 i 
 
 31 
 
 
 * Petis de la Croix's Translation breaks off at the end of the Tenth Vezir's Story. 
 
APPENDIX C. 
 
 419 
 
 
 t| 
 
 | 
 
 
 
 A* :' S 
 
 OJ 
 
 c3 
 
 STOKIES. 
 
 H 
 
 
 
 y 
 
 3 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 o *o 
 
 J* I 5 * 
 
 | 
 
 S'g 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 1 
 
 &g 
 
 cti 
 
 3 
 
 0,0 
 
 Lady's Twelfth - 
 
 24 
 
 22 
 
 22 
 
 22 
 
 2.20 
 
 38 
 
 
 Thirteenth Vezir - 
 
 25 
 
 92 
 
 23 
 
 23 
 
 35^ 
 
 
 Lady's Thirteenth 
 
 26 
 
 4 6 
 
 24 
 
 24 
 
 
 40 
 
 
 Fourteenth Vezir- 
 
 27 
 
 59 
 
 25 
 
 25 
 
 41 
 
 
 Lady's Fourteenth 
 
 28 
 
 29 
 
 26 
 
 26 
 
 
 42 
 
 
 Fifteenth Vezir - 
 
 29 
 
 23 
 
 79 
 
 79 
 
 23 
 
 47 
 
 
 Lady's Fifteenth - 
 
 30 
 
 93 
 
 28.106 
 
 28.106 
 
 93 
 
 44 
 
 
 Sixteenth Vezir - 
 
 3 1 
 
 94 
 
 49 
 
 49 
 
 94 
 
 53 
 
 
 Lady's Sixteenth - 
 
 32 
 
 95 
 
 56 
 
 56 
 
 95 
 
 70 
 
 
 Seventeenth Vezir 
 
 33 
 
 
 81 
 
 81 
 
 31 
 
 57 
 
 
 Lady's Seventeenth - 
 
 34 
 
 62 
 
 107 
 
 107 
 
 62 
 
 78 
 
 
 Eighteenth Vezir- 
 
 35 M 
 
 33 
 
 82 
 
 82 
 
 33 
 
 61 
 
 
 Lady's Eighteenth 
 
 36 
 
 34 
 
 46 
 
 46 34 
 
 84 
 
 
 Nineteenth Vezir- 
 
 37 
 
 96 
 
 83 
 
 83 96 
 
 65 
 
 
 Lady's Nineteenth 
 
 38 
 
 76 
 
 29 
 
 29 
 
 76 
 
 60 
 
 
 Twentieth Vezir - 
 
 39 
 
 73 
 
 3 1 
 
 31 
 
 73 
 
 63 
 
 
 Lady's Twentieth 
 
 40 
 
 36 
 
 32 
 
 32 
 
 36 
 
 80* 
 
 
 Twenty-first Vezir 
 
 4i 
 
 37 
 
 33 
 
 33 
 
 37 
 
 
 
 Lady's Twenty-first 
 
 42 
 
 38 
 
 34 
 
 34 
 
 38 
 
 
 
 Twenty-second Vezir - 
 
 43 
 
 39 
 
 35 *,* 
 
 35 M 
 
 39 
 
 
 
 Lady's Twenty-second- 
 
 44 
 
 40 
 
 36 
 
 36 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 Twenty-third Vezir 
 
 45 97 
 
 37 
 
 27 
 
 97 
 
 
 
 Lady's Twenty-third - 
 
 46 72 
 
 38 
 
 30 
 
 72 
 
 
 
 Twenty-fourth Vezir - 
 
 47 79 
 
 39 
 
 92 79 
 
 
 
 Lady's Twenty-fourth - 
 
 48 
 
 28 
 
 40 
 
 95 
 
 28 
 
 
 
 Twenty-fifth Vezir 
 
 49 
 
 49 
 
 4i 
 
 37 
 
 49 
 
 
 
 Lady's Twenty-fifth - 
 
 50 
 
 42 
 
 42 
 
 38 
 
 42 
 
 
 
 Twenty-sixth Vezir 
 
 51 
 
 55 
 
 43 
 
 39 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 Lady's Twenty-sixth - 
 
 52 
 
 56 
 
 44 
 
 40 
 
 56 
 
 
 
 Twenty-seventh Vezir - 
 
 53 
 
 81 
 
 45 
 
 41 81 
 
 
 
 * Belletete's selection of Stories ends with what he makes the Lady's Twentieth ; 
 
 ie adds, however, the Conclusion of the Romance. 
 
420 
 
 APPENDIX C. 
 
 STORIES. 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 j 
 
 |d 
 
 m 
 g~ 
 
 . 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 . I 
 
 
 s 
 
 a 
 
 1 
 
 &% 
 
 s 
 
 M 
 
 ^ 
 
 Lady's Twenty-seventh 
 
 54 
 
 70 
 
 70 
 
 42 
 
 107 
 
 
 
 Twenty-eighth Vezir - 
 
 55 
 
 47 
 
 47 
 
 43 
 
 75 
 
 
 
 Lady's Twenty-eighth - 
 
 56 
 
 78 
 
 78 
 
 44 
 
 44 
 
 
 
 Twenty-ninth Vezir 
 
 57 
 
 51 
 
 51 
 
 45 
 
 45 
 
 
 
 Lady's Twenty-ninth - 
 
 58 
 
 98 
 
 98 
 
 70 
 
 70 
 
 
 
 Thirtieth Vezir 
 
 59 
 
 53 
 
 53 
 
 47 
 
 in 
 
 
 
 Lady's Thirtieth - 
 
 60 
 
 48 
 
 84 
 
 78 
 
 48 
 
 
 
 Thirty-first Vezir - 
 
 61 
 
 57 
 
 57 
 
 51 
 
 47 
 
 
 
 Lady's Thirty-first 
 
 62 
 
 99 
 
 99 
 
 98 
 
 68 
 
 
 
 Thirty-second Vezir - 
 
 63 
 
 100 
 
 1 08 
 
 53 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 Lady's Thirty-second - 
 
 64 
 
 66 
 
 109 
 
 84 
 
 66 
 
 
 
 Thirty-third Vezir 
 
 65 
 
 
 I 10 
 
 57 
 
 112 
 
 
 
 Lady's Thirty-third - 
 
 66 
 
 
 
 99 
 
 99 
 
 
 
 Thirty-fourth Vezir 
 
 67 
 
 101 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lady's Thirty-fourth - 
 
 68 
 
 102 
 
 54 
 
 54 
 
 54 
 
 
 
 Thirty-fifth Vezir- 
 
 69 
 
 
 101 
 
 101 
 
 101 
 
 
 
 Lady's Thirty-fifth 
 
 70 
 
 
 102 
 
 102 
 
 102 
 
 
 
 Thirty-sixth Vezir 
 
 
 57,103 
 
 61 
 
 61 
 
 61 
 
 
 
 Lady's Thirty-sixth 
 
 72 
 
 64 
 
 64 
 
 64 
 
 64 
 
 
 
 Thirty-seventh Vezir - 
 
 73 
 
 65 
 
 65 
 
 65 
 
 65 
 
 
 
 Lady's Thirty-seventh - 
 
 74 
 
 104 
 
 104 
 
 104 
 
 104 
 
 
 
 Thirty-eighth Vezir 
 
 75 
 
 7i 
 
 71 
 
 7i 
 
 71 
 
 
 
 Lady's Thirty-eighth - 
 
 76 
 
 60 
 
 60 
 
 60 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 Thirty-ninth Vezir 
 
 77 
 
 67 
 
 67 
 
 67 
 
 67 
 
 
 
 Lady's Thirty-ninth - 
 
 78 
 
 74 
 
 74 
 
 74 
 
 74 
 
 
 
 Fortieth Vezir - 
 
 79 
 
 63 
 
 63 
 
 63 
 
 63 
 
 
 
 Lady's Fortieth - 
 
 80 
 
 80 
 
 80 
 
 80 
 
 80 
 
 
 
 In the Quaritch MS. No. I, between the Lady's Twenty-fourth Story and th< 
 Twenty-fifth Vezir's, are inserted the following eight stories, attributed to " a certah 
 one from among the Vezirs " and the lady alternately: 73, 76, 58, 89, 90, 50, 59, 62. 
 Similarly, in the Quaritch MS. No. II, between the Lady's Twelfth Story and tl 
 Fifteenth Vezir's, appear the undermentioned eighteen tales, likewise attributed to 
 undefined Vezir and the lady alternately: 21, 22, 82, 46, 83, 29, 35 a, b, 32, 41, 42,] 
 43, 78,51,98, 53,84, 57,24- 
 
 Dry den Press: J. Davy & Sons, 137, Long Acre, London. 
 
Jl 
 
 FROM 
 
 's fttblicaiion0 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, 
 15, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON. 
 
 1887. 
 
15, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN, 
 
 LONDON, May, 1887. 
 
 12?wo., doth, 2,s>. 
 
 Nature and Law. 
 
 AN ANSWER TO 
 
 Professor Drummonds " Natural Law in the 
 Spiritual World." 
 
 "i' Nature and Law ' is an answer to Professor Drummond's ' Natural Law in 
 the Spiritual World,' by one who modestly withholds his name. The writer 
 is with the Professor when he remarks ' No one who feels the universal 
 necessity of a religion can stand idly by while the intellect of the age is slowly 
 divorcing itself from it ;' he approves the intention, but objects to the method. 
 The Professor sought to materialise the future world, and to establish an 
 identity between this imperfect terrestrial sphere in act and deed with the 
 unknown future spiritual world. His critic traces all the laws of earth to a 
 celestial source, without thereby identifying the celestial and terrestrial. 
 Who but Time can decide between the two?" Sunday Times. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
 A NEW NOVELIST. 
 
 Fifine : 
 
 A NOVEL. 
 
 BY 
 
 ALFRED T. STORY. 
 
 2 Vols., 21s. 
 
 " The account of the various families is most amusing. Soon after Fifine's 
 arrival her husband reappears, and begins to persecute her ; but she is saved 
 by a clever stratagem of the Professor's, one that we do not remember having 
 previously come across in a novel. It would not be fair to spoil the interest 
 of this story by even hinting how Fifine is relieved from her husband, and 
 how all ends happily. If the author will only change his style and be content 
 to use plain language, he bids fair to be successful in writing novels." 
 Saturday Beview. 
 
 " Exhibiting genuine ability." Scotsman. 
 
 " Readers will be glad that the morally unpleasant portions of the book are 
 briefly narrated." Scotsman. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
MR. REDWAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 Post Svo., cloth. Price 10*. Qd. 
 
 The Life of Philippus Theophrastus, Bombast of 
 Hohenheim, 
 
 KNOWN BY THE NAME OP 
 
 Paracelsus, 
 
 And the substance of his teachings concerning Cosmology, 
 
 Anthropology, Pneumatology, Magic and Sorcery, Medicine, 
 
 Alchemy and Astrology, Theosophy and Philosophy, 
 
 Extracted and translated from his rare and extensive works and 
 from some unpublished Manuscripts, 
 
 BY 
 FRANZ HARTMANN, M.D., 
 
 AUTHOR OF ' ' MAGIC," ETC. 
 
 " Paracelsus was a high priest among mystics and alchemists, he left behind 
 him one hundred and six treatises upon medical and occult subjects, which 
 are likely to be read by the curious as long as mysticism remains a necessary 
 study for whoever would trace the developments of civilization. 
 
 " From some considerable acquaintance with the writings of Paracelsus, we 
 can say that Dr. Hartmann has made his excerpts from them with a good 
 deal of skill. Students, indeed, should be grateful for this book, despite its 
 setting of Theosophical nonsense ; since to read one of Bombast's Latin or 
 German treatises is a very stiff exercise indeed, unless you are well versed in 
 his very recondite terminology. 
 
 "Dr. Hartmann has compiled a very full and accurate glossary of occult 
 terms, which will be of great use to future readers of Paracelsus ; and for so 
 much he is to be thanked. 
 
 "Dr. Hartmann quotes some of his recipes for transmuting metals and 
 producing the ' electrum magicum.' But Paracelsus is the most transcendental 
 of European mystics, and it is not always easy to know when he is writing 
 allegorically and when practically. Dr. Hartmann says he has tried these 
 prescriptions and found them all right ; but he warns the uninitiated against 
 running the risk of blowing themselves up in the endeavour to follow the 
 master's instructions. 
 
 " Paracelsus held firmly to the belief of some of the hermetic writers of 
 the Middle Ages, that it is perfectly pessible to create human beings by 
 alchemical means ; and he even gives directions (in his treatise ' De Natura 
 Rerum ') for the production of homunculi. 
 
 ' On the whole, however, Dr. Hartmann has produced a very amusing book 
 and a book which will have some permanent value to the student of the 
 occult." St. James' 8 Gazette. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
MR. REDWAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 Monthly, One Shilling. 
 
 Walford's Antiquarian Magazine 
 
 AND 
 
 Bibliographical Re-view. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 G. W. REDWAY, F.B.Hist.S. 
 
 %* Volumes I. to A'., Now Beady, price 7s. 6d. each. 
 
 The following are the Contents of the Four Numbers published this year. 
 ARTICLES : Domesday Book Frostiana Some Kentish Proverbs The Litera- 
 ture of Almanacks " Madcap Harry " and Sir John Popham Tom Coryate 
 and his Crudities Notes on John Wilkes and Boswell's Life of Johnson- 
 Rarities in the Locker-Lampson Collection A Day with the late Mr. Edward 
 Solly The Defence of England in the 16th Century The Ordinary from Mr. 
 Thomas Jenyns' Booke of Armes A Forgotten Cromwellian Tomb Visitation 
 of the Monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII. The Rosicrucians The 
 Seiliere Library A Lost Work Sir Bevis of Hampton More Kentish Pro- 
 verbs Cromwell and the Saddle Letter of Charles I. Recent Discoveries at 
 Rome Folk-Lore of British Birds An Old Political Broadside. Notes for 
 Coin Collectors Higham Priory Byways of Periodical Literature How to 
 Trace a Pedigree The Curiosities of Ale The Books and Bookmen of Read- 
 ing The Language of the Law Words, Idioms, etc., of the Vulgar Notes on 
 Old Chelsea The Romans in Cumbria. 
 
 COLLECTANEA. Early Italian Prints Tercentenary of the Potato Chaucer 
 Discovery Sir John Soane's Museum Copyright in Government Publications 
 Pausanias The Loan of Manuscripts Paper Making in 1588 Portraits of 
 Charles Dickens Hopton Castle A very Ancient Watch The Value of 
 Antiquarian Study Curious Forestry Privilege A " Factory "Thimbles 
 Old and New Mrs. Glasse's Cookery Book A Bucks Estate Chalfont St. 
 Giles Greek Coins Shakespearian Literature Geography in the Sixteenth 
 Century Welsh Place Names Japanese Art Duelling in 1760 Shelleyana 
 English Archers Oriental Porcelain South Italian Folk-lore Serpent-lore 
 Modern Witches The Domesday Plough A Bishop of the Olden Time- 
 Historical Treasures in the Upsala Cathedral The Witches Ladder Old 
 Prayer- Book A Relic of James II. Pontefract and Ripon Old Shoes Love 
 ChaVms County Families A Roman Fire Brigade Parish Registers 
 Border Raiding Peasant Proprietors Queen Mary's Tree The Turks and 
 Persians as Book-lovers Epitaph of John Ruskin's Parents Quakers 
 "Yankee" and the "Stars and Stripes" Gipsies The Royal Academy 
 ChigweU Church, Essex Printers' Errors A Village Club An Historical 
 Fishery A Survival A Cock Match Early Publishing- Pancakes at West- 
 minster School The Ai-chbishop's Palace at Croydon The Art of the Saracens 
 in Egypt The Early Custody of Domesday Book. 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. The late Bishop Hannington's Ancestry A Reader of 
 Curious Books Throwing the Dart in Cork Harbour The De la Poles The 
 Family of John Hampden The " Olla Podrida " and T. Monro Life of 
 Bertram Montflchet Magdalen College, Oxford Book Bound in a Murderer's 
 Skin A Foi-gotten Society Latin Verses by Dr. Johnson " Merchet " and 
 the " Jus Primse Noctis " Hanna, Hanet, and Wallace Another Book Bound 
 in a Murderer's Skin -Iiumorous Portrait of Charles Dickens Beating Boys 
 at Parish Boundaries Destruction of National Antiquities. 
 REVIEWS OBITUARY MEMOIRS MEETINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES NEWS AND 
 NOTES. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
MR. REDWAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 t&F THE ATHENAEUM says : " Admirers of Thackeray may 
 be grateful for a reprint of ' Sultan Stork.' " 
 
 In large 8vo., uniform with the New " Standard" Edition 
 of Thackeray's Works. Price 10s. 6d. 
 
 Sultan Stork, 
 
 AND OTHER STORIES AND SKETCHES. 
 
 BY 
 WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY (1829-44). 
 
 Now first collected, to which is added the Bibliography of 
 THACKERAY, revised and considerably enlarged. 
 
 "The remains of Thackeray are now in the hands of the resurrectionists. 
 Writers in the Athencvum have been gloating over them, and Mr. George 
 Red way, a London publisher of peculiar and quaint literature, has issued a 
 handsome volume of Thackerayau fragments." GUisgoio Herald. 
 
 " Thackeray collectors, however, have only to be told that none of the pieces 
 now printed appear in the two volumes recently issued by Messrs. Smith, 
 Elder, and Co., in order to make them desire their possession. They will also 
 welcome the revision of the Bibliography, since it now presents a complete 
 list, arranged in chronological order, of Thackeray's published writings in 
 prose and verse, and also of his sketches and drawings." Daily Chronicle. 
 
 '"Sultan Stork' which purports to be told by Scheherazade on the 
 
 thousand and second of the 'Arabian Nights,' is undoubtedly the work of 
 Mr. Thackeray, and is quite pretty and funny enough to have found a place 
 in his collected miscellanies. ' Dickens in France ' is as good in its way as 
 Mr. Thackeray's analysis of Alexander Dumas' ' Kean' in the 'Paris Sketch- 
 Book.' .... There are other slight sketches in this volume which are 
 evidently by Mr. Thackeray, and several of his obiter dicta in them are worth 
 preserving. .... We do not assume to fix Mr. Thackeray's rank or to 
 appraise his merits as an art critic. We only know that, in our opinion, few 
 of his minor writings are so pleasant to read as his shrewd and genial com- 
 ments on modern painters and paintings.'' Saturday Review. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 Just published, 32 pages, wrapper. Price Is. 
 
 The New Illumination 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWARD MAITLAND, 
 
 AUTHOR OP "THE PILGRIM AND THE SHRINE." 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
MR. REDWAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 In post ito. Illustrated with Engravings on Wood. Most chastely 
 bound in white vellum. Price 10s. 6d. 
 
 ASTROLOGY THEOLOGIZED. 
 
 The Spiritual Hermeneutics of 
 Astrology and Holy Writ. 
 
 BEING 
 
 A Treatise upon the Influence of the Stars on Man, and on the 
 Art of Ruling them by the Law of Grace. 
 
 REPRINTED PROM THE ORIGINAL OF 1649. 
 With a Prefatory Essay on Bible Hermeneutics. 
 
 BY 
 ANNA KINGSFORD, M.D., Paris. 
 
 " It is well for Dr. Anna Kingsford that she was not born into the sidereal 
 world four hundred years ago. Had that been her sorry fate, she would 
 assuredly have been burned at the stake for her preface to ' Astrology Theo- 
 logized.' It is a very long preface more than half the length of the treatise 
 it introduces ; it contains some of the finest flowers of Theosophical philosophy, 
 and of course makes very short work of Christianity."^. James's Gazette. 
 
 " Mrs. Kingsford, amid many things which we do not understand, and some 
 few which we think we comprehend afar off, gives a more detailed analysis of 
 ghosts than we remember to have met with in any of the ancient hermetic 
 writers." St. James's Gazette. 
 
 " The only pleasing features of the book are the reproductions of a number 
 of beautiful symbolical figures with which it is illustrated. That on p. 28, 
 representing Christ surrounded by an elliptical glory and carried up to heaven 
 by angels, is taken from an illuminated manuscript of the fourteenth century 
 in the Bibliotheque Royale ; and the figure of the Virgin in an aureole, on p. 94, 
 is from a tenth-century illuminated manuscript in the same library. Some 
 of the figures here reprodued are among the finest things in Christian 
 iconography."^. James's Gazette. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
MR. REDWAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 In demy 8vo., cloth. Price 10s. 6d. 
 
 The Mysteries of Magic ; 
 
 A DIGEST OF 
 
 The Writings of Eliphas Levi. 
 
 WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL ESSAY 
 
 BY 
 
 ARTHUR EDWARD WAITE. 
 
 Eliphas Levi, who died in 1865, and whose real name was Alphonse Louis 
 Constant, ranks, beyond controversy, as the prince of the French adepts. 
 His writings contain a revelation of the Grand Secret and a lucid interpreta- 
 tion of the theory of the Astral Light, which is the great Magical Agent. His 
 philosophy of miracles is of lasting value and interest, and absolutely indis- 
 pensable to all students of occultism. It establishes a harmony between 
 religion and science based on a rational explanation of all prodigies. Eliphas 
 Levi revealed for the first time to the modern world the arcanum of will- 
 power in the operations of transcendental magic, and he was also the 
 originator of a new departure in Kabbalistic Exegesis. In the present digest, 
 the information on the various branches of esoteric science, which is scattered 
 over six large volumes of the French originals, has been diligently collated, 
 and the translation carefully made. 
 
 " A very curious book." Time. 
 
 "To the rapidly-extending catalogue of remarkable books published by 
 Mr. George Redway, of London, an important addition has been made by the 
 issue of a digest of the writings of Eliphas Levi. Many people, we dare say, 
 will consider the volume to be ' full of nonsense,' but it is really a very 
 curious and improving work, going over a vast space of ground, and present- 
 ing a great deal of matter that is worth thinking over. The author has earned 
 a title to be heard. As a contribution to what is called ' occult science,' the 
 present book will, of course, find a welcome from many readers, among those 
 especially whose passion it is to grope for the unseen, and to these the varied 
 contents will give delight. The matter contained in Mr. Waite's volume is 
 wonderfully varied, and much of it worth reading, even by those who do not 
 believe in magic of any kind, black or white." Glasgow Herald. 
 
 <; Mr. Waite has rendered an important service to English students of occult 
 science by the preparation of his digest of the works of Eliphas Levi. One 
 would rather have welcomed so profoundly philosophical a volume under some 
 simpler name less calculated to alienate the sympathies of a cultivated world 
 at large. True magic the science of the Magi is in reality nothing less than 
 spiritual knowledge, and the name is strictly appropriate, of course, in its 
 loftiest significance, to the grand philosophy of the ancient ' Wisdom-Keligion' 
 which Eliphas Levi partly unveils. We have merely objected, in passing, to 
 the title of Mr. Waite's book, in so far as it may to some extent lessen its 
 acceptability to a generation not yet generally ripe to understand it, but 
 from the midst of which it may still be possible, by the presentation of occult 
 truth in a certain way.to attract more advanced minds into the path of spiritual 
 inquiry. No determined student of Natxire's higher mysteries, setting out 
 from the standpoint of modern European culture, can afford to remain 
 ignorant of Eliphas Levi's works. But to study them in the original is a 
 wearisome task, if for no other reason, on account of their aggregate length. 
 The present single volume is a digest of half a dozen books enumerated by the 
 
MR. RED WAYS PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 THE MYSTERIES OF MAGIC continued. 
 
 present author in a ' biographical and critical essay ' with which he prefaces 
 his undertaking. These are the Doyme vt Rltuel de In Haute Magic, the His to ire 
 de la, Magie, the Clefdes Grands Mysteres, the Sorcier de Meudon, the Philosophic 
 Occn/tc, and the Science des Esprits. To attack the whole series which, 
 indeed, it might be difficult to obtain now in a complete form would be a 
 bold undertaking, but Mr. Waite has endeavoured to give his readers the 
 essence of the whole six books in a relatively compact compass." Mr. A. P. 
 SINNETT, in Light, 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 In small 8vo., cloth. Price 5s. 
 
 Mountaineering Below the Snow- 
 Line ; 
 
 Or, The Solitary Pedestrian in Snowdonia and Elsewhere. 
 
 BY 
 M. PATEBSON. 
 
 WITH ETCHINGS BY MACKANESS. 
 
 Vanity Fair says : " Mr. Paterson writes charmingly of a charming subject, 
 He is a cultured and an athletic man, and tells of the climbs he has done in 
 nervous, descriptive English. He confesses to some partiality for getting 
 along alone, but he is evidently not a churl, and he opens the store of his 
 experiences under the snow-line in Wales, Cumberland, Scotland, and Norway 
 with a skill which will make his wanderings acceptable to a much larger 
 number of people than can ever climb mountains themselves." 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
 Small tto., Illustrated, doth. Price 5s. 
 
 Famous Frosts and Frost Fairs in 
 Great Britain, 
 
 Chronicled from the Earliest to the Present Time. 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM ANDREWS, F.R.Hist.S. 
 
 Only 400 copies printed. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
10 MR. RED WAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 " The interest of this compilation is naturally not to be compared to that 
 aroused by the ever-fresh 'Thousand and One Nights ;' but it has had high 
 reputation among particular admirers, and the gentleman to whom we are 
 indebted for this English version apparently the most complete in any lan- 
 guage of Western Europe merits the thanks of the reading public for the 
 work performed." Athena- Km. 
 
 About 500 pages, crown 8vo., cloth. Price 10s. Qd. 
 
 The History of the Forty Vezirs ; 
 
 OR, 
 
 The Story of the Forty Morns and Eves. 
 
 Written in Turkish by SHEYKH-ZADA, and now done into English 
 by E. J. W. GIBB, M.RA.S. 
 
 " A delightful addition to the wealth of Oriental stories available to English 
 readers is ' The History of the Forty Vezirs ' (Redway), done into English by 
 Mr. E. J. W. Gibb, from the Turkish of Sheykh-Zada. The collection com- 
 prises 112 stories. To the forty told by the Lady and those of the forty Vezirs, 
 Mr. Gibb has added four from BelletGte, twenty from a MS. in the India 
 Office, six from Dr. Behrnauer's translation, and two from a MS. recently 
 purchased by Mr. Quaritch. The results of collation are admirally summarised 
 in a comparative table that analyses the contents of the various texts. In the 
 preface Mr. Gibb deals with the bibliography of the French and German ver- 
 sions, and indicates some of the more interesting parallels suggested by those 
 old stories in the ' Gesta Romanorum,' the ' Decameron,' the ' Thousand and 
 One Nights,' the ' Mabinogion,' and other treasures of old-world fable. In 
 short, Mr. Gibb has considerately done everything to help the reader to an 
 intelligent appreciation of this charming book." Saturday Review. 
 
 " In my opinion the version is definite and final. The style is light and 
 pleasant, with the absolutely necessary flavour of quaintness ; and the notes, 
 though short and few, are sufficient and satisfactory. Mr. Gibb does not write 
 only ad clerum ; and thus he has been obliged to ' leave in the obscurity of an 
 Eastern language ' three whole tales (pp. 353, 366, and 399), No. 2 being ex- 
 ceedingly witty and fescennine. He has the good sense, when he supplants n 
 broad joke by a banal English phrase, to subjoin in a note the original Turkish 
 (pp. 109, 140, 199, 215, and 382). Yet some of the -novelle. are highly spiced 
 enough : see the amorous princess in the Eleventh Wazir's story (pp. 381-3) ; 
 and the truly Turkish and unspeakable version of modest .ZEsop's ' Country- 
 man and his Son.' Of the less Milesian I would especially commend the 
 story of the Venus-star and the magical angels, Harut and Marut (p. 1C7) : thu 
 explanation of the proverb, 'Take counsel of the cap that is on thy head ' 
 (p. 362), and the Thirty-seventh Wazir's tale, showing why ' men have beaten 
 their wives since the days of Saint Adam ' (p. 349). Sir RICHARD F. BURTON, 
 in The Academy. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
MR. REDWAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 11 
 
 In large crown Svo., handsomely printed in borders with original 
 
 headpieces, on a special make of toned paper, and bound in bext 
 
 cloth, the cover designed by MATTHEW BELL. Price 10s. Qd. 
 
 Sea Song and River Rhyme 
 
 From Chaucer to Tennyson. 
 
 SELECTED AND EDITED BY 
 
 ESTELLE DAVENPORT ADAMS. 
 
 With a New Poem by ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE. 
 Illustrated with Twelve Original Etchings. 
 
 " Mr. Swinburne's new patriotic song, ' A Word for the Navy,' is as fiery in 
 its denunciation of those he believes to be antagonistic to the welfare of the 
 country as was his lyric with which he startled the readers of the Times one 
 morning. ' ' A thenesum. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
 In post 8vo., with numerous plates coloured and plain, cloth. 
 Price 7s. Qd. 
 
 Geometrical Psychology ; 
 
 OR, 
 
 The Science of Representation. 
 
 Being the Theories and Diagrams of B. W. BETTS 
 
 EXPLAINED BY 
 
 LOUISA S. COOK. 
 
 " His attempt (B. W. Betts') seems to have taken a similar direction to 
 that of George Boole in logic, with the difference that, whereas Boole's expres- 
 sion of the Laws of Thought is algebraic, Betts expresses mind-growth geome- 
 trically ; that is to say, his growth-formula} are expressed in numerical series, 
 of which each can be pictured to the eye in a corresponding curve. When the 
 series are thus represented, they are found to resemble the forms of leaves and 
 flowers." Extract from " Symbolic Methods of Study," by Mary Boole. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
12 MR. RED WAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 A few copies only remain of the following important work, by the 
 author of " The Rosier ucians." 
 
 Phallicism : 
 
 Its connection with the Rosicrucians and the Gnostics, and its 
 Foundation in Buddhism. 
 
 BY 
 
 HARGRAVE JENNINGS, 
 
 AUTHOR OP "THE ROSICRUCIANS." 
 
 Demy 8vo., cloth. 
 
 " This book is written ad clerum, and appeals to the scholar only, and not to 
 the multitude. It is a masterly and exhaustive account of that worship of the 
 creative powers of nature which, under various names, has prevailed among all 
 the nations of antiquity and of mediaeval times, alike in Egypt and India, in 
 Italy and Gaul, among the Israelites of old, and among the primitive 
 inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland .... a most valuable auxiliary to 
 all who care to pursue such a subject of inquiry, a subject for which Mr. 
 Jennings is the better fitted on account of his long and intimate acquaintance 
 with the Rosicrucians, their tenets, and their practices." A nti<iuarian Magazine 
 and Bibliographer. 
 
 " Unpleasant as this subject is, we are quite prepared to agree that in its 
 
 scientific aspect, as a form of human worship, it has considerable importance 
 
 . . . Mr. Jennings deals almost entirely with the subjective part of his 
 
 inquiry, and he has evidently made a considerable amount of research into the 
 
 literature of early religions He has produced something which is, at 
 
 all events, worth the attention of the student of comparative psychology." 
 Antisjuary. 
 
 " This book. . . is profoundly learned, and gives evidence on each page of 
 deep thought, intense powers of research, clear and unmistakable reasoning, 
 and thorough mastership of the subject. The appendix also contains much 
 very curious matter which will interest those who desire to study the subject 
 under all its different aspects and bearings." Reliquary. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
MR. RED WAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 13 
 
 In demy 8m, cloth. Price 10s. Qd. 
 
 Incidents in the Life 
 
 OF 
 
 Madame Blavatsky, 
 
 Compiled from Information supplied by her Relatives and Friends, 
 
 AND EDITED BY 
 
 A. P. SINNETT. 
 
 With a Portrait reproduced from an Original Painting by HERMANN 
 SGHMIECHEN. 
 
 " Mr. Sinnett's memoir is fluently written, and is free from unsympathetic 
 scepticism. Theosophists will find both edification and interest in the book ; 
 and the general student of science will profit more or less by having his atten- 
 tion called to, etc " Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 " Mr. Sinnett, however, offers on all the disputed points explanations which 
 will be perfectly satisfactory to those who do not agree with the committee of 
 the Psychical Society." Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 ' ' For any credulous friend who revels in such stories I can recommend 
 ' Incidents in the Life of Madame Blavatsky.' I READ EVERY LINE OF THE 
 
 BOOK WITH MUCH INTEREST." Truth. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
 " An admirable study of a primitive belief and custom. One of the utmost 
 importance in considering the growth of civilization." 
 
 Large post 8vo., cloth, uncut. Price 7s. Qd. 
 
 The Blood Covenant : 
 
 A Primitive Rite and its Bearings on Scripture. 
 
 BY 
 
 H. CLAY TBUMBULL, D.D. 
 
 "A profound interest will be aroused by the keenness and clearness of 
 vision, no less than by the wealth of learning, by means of which he follows 
 a line of research, tracing through this one rite the cannibalism of savages to 
 a religious impulse not essentially different in its symbolical aspect from one 
 of the most vital principles of Christianity. In the details of the work will 
 be found much to attract the attention of the curious. Its fundamental and 
 essential value, however, is for the student of religious ; and all such will be 
 grateful to Dr. Trumbull for this solid, instructive, and enlightening work." 
 Scotsman, March 14th. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
14 MR. REDWAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 HINTS TO COLLECTORS 
 
 OP ORIGINAL EDITIONS OF 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 William Makepeace Thackeray, 
 
 BY 
 
 CHARLES PLUMPTRE JOHNSON. 
 
 Printed on hand-made paper and bound in vellum. 
 Crown 8vo. , 6s. 
 
 " .... A guide to those who are great admirers of Thackeray, and are col- 
 lecting first editions of his works. The dainty little volume, bound in parch- 
 ment and printed on hand-made paper, is very concise and convenient in form ; 
 on each page is an exact copy of the title-page of the work mentioned thereon, 
 a collation of pages and illustrations, useful hints on the differences in editions, 
 
 with other matters indispensable to collectors Altogether it 
 
 represents a large amount of labour and experience." The Spectator. 
 
 " . . . . Mr. Johnson has evidently done his work with so much loving care 
 that we feel entire confidence in his statements. The prices that he has 
 affixed in every case form a valuable feature of the volume, which has been 
 produced in a manner worthy of its subject-matter." The Academy. 
 
 ' ' The list of works which Mr. Johnson supplies is likely to be of high interest 
 to Thackeray collectors. His preliminary remarks go beyond this not very 
 narrow circle, and have a value for all collectors of modern works." Note 
 and Queries. 
 
 " .... It is choicely printed at the Chiswick Press ; and the author, Mr. 
 Charles Plumptre Johnson, treats the subject with evident knowledge and 
 enthusiasm. . . . It is not a Thackeray Bibliography, but a careful and 
 minute description of the first issues, with full collations and statement of 
 the probable cost. . . . Mr. Johnson addresses collectors, but is in addition 
 a sincere admirer of the greatest satirist of the century." Book Lore. 
 
 GEORGE RED WAY, YORK STREET, CO VENT GARDEN. 
 
MR. RED WAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 15 
 
 HINTS TO COLLECTORS 
 
 OP ORIGINAL EDITIONS OP 
 THE WORKS OP 
 
 Charles Dickens 
 
 BY 
 
 CHARLES PLUMPTRE JOHNSON. 
 
 Printed on hand-made, paper, and bound in vellum. 
 Crown 8vo., 6s. 
 
 " Enthusiastic admirers of Dickens are greatly beholden to Mr. C. P. John- 
 son for his useful and interesting ' Hints to Collectors of Original Editions of 
 the Works of Charles Dickens ' (Redway). The book is a companion to the 
 similar guide to collectors of Thackeray's first editions, is compiled with the 
 like care, and produced with the like finish and taste." The Saturday Review. 
 
 " This is a sister volume to the ' Hints to Collectors of First Editions of 
 Thackeray,' which we noticed a month or two ago. The works of Dickens, 
 with a few notable ' Dickensiana,' make up fifty-eight numbers .... and 
 Mr. Johnson has further augmented the present volume with a list of thirty- 
 six plays founded on Dickens's works, and another list of twenty-three 
 published portraits of Dickens. As we are unable to detect any slips in his 
 work, we must content ourselves with thanking him for the correctness of 
 his annotations. It is unnecessary to repeat our praise of the elegant format 
 of these books " The Academy. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 In crown 8vo., cloth. Price 5s. 
 
 The History of Tithes. 
 
 BY 
 
 H. W. CLARKE. 
 
 " We have no hesitation in saying that he has produced the best book of 
 moderate size yet published for the purpose of enabling an ordinary reader to 
 
 thoroughly understand the origin and history of this ancient impost 
 
 The author gives a great deal of interesting information concerning the 
 planting and growth of Christianity in these islands, the origin of parishes, 
 
 and the founding and endowment of parish churches Mr. Clarke 
 
 declares himself in his book to be a member of the Church of England. He 
 thus writes in no spirit of hostility to her. But he rightly uses very plain 
 language in giving his opinion on the wilful distortion of facts by Church 
 
 writers aiming to defend their Church No one who wishes thoroughly 
 
 to understand the history of tithes should be without this book. It will well 
 repay perusal as a book of ecclesiastical history apart from its special object. 
 Literary World, March 25th. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
16 MR. RED WAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 Handsomely printed and tastefully bound, 436 pages, 
 large crown 8vo. , cloth extra, Is. 6d. 
 
 Essays in the Study of Folk-Songs. 
 
 BY 
 
 THE COUNTESS EVELYN MARTINENGO-CESARESCO. 
 
 'A pleasant volume on a pleasant topic. . . . The Countess, with her 
 sincere enthusiasm for what is simple, passionate, and sensuous in folk-song, 
 and with her lucid and unaffected style, well understands the mode in which 
 the educated collector should approach the shy singers or story-tellers of 
 Europe. . . . Her introduction is perhaps, to the scientific student of popular 
 culture, the best part of her book. . . . Next to her introduction, perhaps 
 her article on ' Death in Folk- Poetry ' is the most serviceable essay in the 
 volume. . . . ' Folk Lullabies ' is perhaps the most pleasant of the remaining 
 essays in the admirable volume, a volume remarkable for knowledge, sym- 
 pathy, and good taste." Extracts from a page notice in the Saturday Review, 
 April 24, 1886. 
 
 " This is a very delightful book, full of information and thoughtful sugges- 
 tions. It deals principally with the Folk-songs of Southern peoples, Venetian, 
 Sicilian, Armenian, Provence, and Greek Songs of Calabria, but there are 
 several essays devoted to the general characteristics of Folk-Poetry, such as 
 the influence of Nature, the Inspiration of Death, the idea of fate, the nume- 
 rous songs connected with the rites of May, Folk-Lullabies, and Folk-Dirges. 
 There is also an interesting essay on what is called the White Paternoster, and 
 Children's Rhyming Prayers. This is one of the most valuable, and certainly 
 one of the most interesting, books which have been written on a subject which 
 has of late years been exciting an ever-increasing attention, and which in 
 volves many important problems connected with the early history of the 
 human race." Standard. 
 
 " ' Folk-Songs,' traditional popular ballads, are as tempting to me as King 
 Charles's head to Mr. Dick. But interesting as the topic of the origin and 
 diffusion and literary merit of these poems may be poems much the same in 
 all European countries they are rather caviare to the general. The Countess 
 Martinengo-Cesaresco is, or should be, a well-known authority among special 
 students of this.branch of literature, to whom I heartily commend her 'Essays 
 in the Study of Folk-Songs.' The Countess is, perhaps, most familiar with 
 Southern volksleider, as of Greece, Italy, and Sicily. Her book is a treasure- 
 house of Folk-lore of various kinds, and the matter is handled with much 
 poetic appreciation and a good deal of learning." Daily News. 
 
 "A kind of popular introduction to the study of Folk-lore." St. James's 
 Gazette. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
MR. REDWAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 17 
 
 In crown 8vo., in French grey wrapper. Price Qs. 
 A few copies on Large Paper. Price 10s. Qd. 
 
 The Bibliography of Swinburne ; 
 
 A BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST, ARRANGED IN CHRONOLOGICAL 
 
 ORDER, OF THE PUBLISHED WRITINGS 
 
 IN VERSE AND PROSE 
 
 OF 
 
 ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE 
 
 (1857-1884). 
 
 This Bibliography commences with the brief-lived College Magazine, to 
 which Mr. SWINBURNE was one of the chief contributors when an under- 
 graduate at Oxford in 1857-8. Besides a careful enumeration and description 
 of the first editions of all his separately published volumes and pamphlets in 
 verse and prose, the original appearance is duly noted of every poem, prose 
 article, or letter, contributed to any journal or magazine (e.g., Once a Week, 
 The Spectator, The Comhill Magazine, The Morning Star, The Fortnightly Review, 
 The Examiner, The Dark Blue, The Academy, The Athenaeum, The Taller, 
 Belgravia, The Gentleman's Magazine, La Republique des Lettres, Le Rappel, The 
 Glasgoio University Magazine, The Daily Telegraph, etc., etc.), whether collected 
 or uncollected. Among other entries will be found a remarkable novel, 
 published in instalments, and never issued in a separate form, and several 
 productions in verse not generally known to be from Mr. SWINBURNE'S pen. 
 The whole forms a copious, and it is believed approximately complete, record 
 of a remarkable and brilliant literary career, extending already over a quarter 
 of a century. 
 
 * * ONLY 250 COPIES PRINTED. 
 
 GEORGE RED WAY, YORK STREET. COVENT GARDEN. 
 
18 
 
 ME. REDWAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 Post free, price 3d. 
 
 The Literature of Occultism and 
 Archaeology. 
 
 Being a Catalogue of Books ON SALE relating to 
 
 Ancient Worships. 
 
 Magic and Magicians. 
 
 Astrology. 
 
 Mysteries. 
 
 Alchemy. 
 
 Mithraic Worship. 
 
 Animal Magnetism. 
 
 Mesmerism. 
 
 Anthropology. 
 
 Mythology. 
 
 Arabic. 
 
 Metaphysics. 
 
 Assassins. 
 
 Mysticism. 
 
 Antiquities. 
 
 Neo-platonism. 
 
 Ancient History. 
 
 Orientalia. 
 
 Behmen and the Mystics. 
 
 Obelisks. 
 
 Buddhism. 
 
 Oracles. 
 
 Clairvoyance. 
 
 Occult Sciences. 
 
 Cabeiri. 
 
 Philology. 
 
 China. 
 
 Persian. 
 
 Coins. 
 
 Parsees. 
 
 Druids. 
 
 Philosophy. 
 
 Dreams and Visions. 
 
 Physiognomy. 
 
 Divination. 
 
 Palmistry and Handwriting. 
 
 Divining Rod. 
 
 Phrenology. 
 
 Demonology. 
 
 Psychoneurology. 
 
 Ethnology. 
 
 Psychometry. 
 
 Egypt. 
 
 Prophets. 
 
 Fascination. 
 
 Rosicrucians. 
 
 Flagellants. 
 
 Round Towers. 
 
 Freemasonry. 
 
 Rabbinical. 
 
 Folk -Lore. 
 
 Spiritualism. 
 
 Gnostics. 
 
 Skeptics, Jesuits, Christians and 
 
 Gems. 
 
 Quakers. 
 
 Ghosts. 
 
 Sibylls. 
 
 Hindus. 
 
 Symbolism. 
 
 Hieroglyphics and Secret Writ- 
 
 Serpent Worship. 
 
 ing. 
 
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 Somnambulism. 
 
 Hermetic. 
 
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 India and the Hindus. 
 
 Tombs. 
 
 Kabbala. 
 
 Theosophical. 
 
 Koran. 
 
 Theology and Criticism. 
 
 Miracles. 
 
 Witchcraft. 
 
 Mirabilaries. 
 
 
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19 
 
 In crown 8vo. , cloth. Price 7s. &d. 
 
 Theosophy, Religion, and Occult 
 Science. 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY S. OLCOTT, 
 
 PRESIDENT OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 WITH GLOSSARY OF INDIAN TERMS AND INDEX, 
 
 "This book, to which we can only allot an amount of space quite incom- 
 mensurate with its intrinsic interest, is one that will appeal to the prepared 
 student rather than to the general reader. To anyone who has previously made 
 the acquaintance of such books as Mr. Sinnett's ' Occult World,' and ' Esoteric 
 Buddhism," or has in other ways familiarised himself with the doctrines of 
 the so-called Theosophical Society or Brotherhood, these lectures of Colonel 
 Olcott's will be rich in interest and suggestiveness. The American officer is 
 a person of undoubted social position and unblemished personal reputation, 
 and his main object is not to secure belief in the reality of any ' phenomena,' 
 not to win a barren reputation for himself as a thaumaturgist or wonder- 
 worker, but to win acceptance for one of the oldest philosophies of nature 
 and human life a philosophy to which of late years the thinkers of the 
 West have been turning with noteworthy curiosity and interest. Of course, 
 should the genuineness of the phenomena in question be satisfactorily estab- 
 lished, there would undoubtedly be proof that the Eastern sages to whom 
 Colonel Olcott bears witness do possess a knowledge of the laws of the 
 physical universe far wider and more intimate than that which has been 
 laboriously acquired by the inductive science of the West ; but the theosophy 
 expounded in this volume is at once a theology, a metaphysic, and a socio- 
 logy, in which mere marvels, as such, occupy a quite subordinate and unim- 
 portant position. We cannot now discuss its claims, and we will not pro 
 nounce any opinion upon them ; we will only say that Colonel Olcott's 
 volume deserves and will repay the study of all readers for whom the bye- 
 ways of speculation have an irresistible charm." Manchester Examiner. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN, 
 
20 MR. REDWAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 Now ready, at all Booksellers', and at Smith's Railway Bookstalls. 
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 Burma : 
 
 As it Was, As it Is, and As it Will be. 
 
 BY 
 
 J. G. SCOTT ("Shway Yoe "). 
 
 Crown 8vo., cloth. 
 
 ' ' Before going to help to govern them, Mr. Scott has once more written on 
 the Burmese . . . Mr. Scott claims to have covered the whole ground, to 
 show Burma as it was, is, and will be ; and as there is nobody competent to 
 criticise him except himself, we shall not presume to say how far he has suc- 
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 " Shway Yoe is a graphic writer ... no one can supply this information 
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MR. RED WAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 21 
 
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 "As the original copy of the Westminster is now excessively rare, this 
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 44 
 
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 Phiz ' (Hablot Knight Browne) : 
 
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 With a Portrait and numerous Illustrations. 
 BST A few copies only remain. 
 
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22 MR. RED WAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 In preparation. 
 NEW TRANSLATION OF "THE HEPTAMERON." 
 
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 OR, 
 
 Tales and Novels of Margaret, Queen of Navarre, 
 
 Now first done completely into English prose and verse, from the 
 original French, by ARTHUR MACHEN. 
 
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 " Mr. Nesfield's name as an author is established on such a pleasantly sound 
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 when experience is just beginning to teach him a few wholesome lessons, is as 
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MR. REDWAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 544 pages, crown 8vo., green cloth boards, price Is. 6d. (Only 500 
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 Dickensiana. 
 
 A Bibliography of the Literature relating to CHAKLES DICKENS 
 and his Writings. 
 
 Compiled by FRED. G. KITTON, author of " ' Phiz ' (Hablot K. 
 Browne), a Memoir," and "John Leech, Artist and Humourist." 
 With a Portrait of "Boz," from a Drawing by SAMUEL LAURENCE. 
 
 " This book is honestly what it pretends to be, and nothing more. It is a 
 comprehensive catalogue of all the writings of Mr. Charles Dickens, and of a 
 good quantity of books written about him. It also contains copious extracts 
 from reviews of his works and from sermons on his character. The criticisms 
 are so various, and some of them are so much at variance with others, that 
 the reader of them can complain of nothing less than a lack of material on 
 which to form his judgment, if he has not formed it already, on the claim of 
 Mr. Dickens to occupy a front place in the rank of English classics. Asser- 
 tions, if not arguments, are multiplied on either side." Saturday Review. 
 
 "Mr. Fred. G. Kitton .... has done his work with remarkable thorough- 
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 " DICKENSIANA." 
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 Compiled by F. G. KITTON." Punch. 
 
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 In the press. 
 MR. SWINBURNE'S NEW POEM. 
 
 A Word for the Navy, 
 
 BY 
 
 ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE. 
 
 Edition limited to 250 copies, each numbered. 
 
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24 MR. RED WAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 Transactions of the London 
 Lodge of the Theosophical 
 Society : 
 
 Nos. 1 and 2. Out of print. 
 
 No. 3. On the Higher Aspect of Theosophic Studies. By 
 
 MOHINI M. CHATTERJI. 
 No. 4. A Synopsis of Baron Du Prel's " Philosophic der Mystik." 
 
 By BERTRAM KEIGHTLEY. 
 No. 5. A Paper on Reincarnation. By Miss ARUNDALE. And 
 
 other Proceedings. 
 
 No. 6. The Theosophical Movement. By A. P. SINNETT. 
 No. 7. The Higher Self. By A. P. SINNETT. 
 No. 8. The Theosophical Society and its Work. By MOHINI 
 
 M. CHATTERJI. 
 
 No. 9. A Paper on Krishna. By MOHINI M. CHATTERJI. 
 No. 10. On Mesmerism. By A. P. SINNETT. 
 No. 11. Theosophy in the Works of Richard Wagner. By W. 
 
 ASHTON ELLIS. 
 
 Nos. 3 to 11, and each succeeding number as issued, may be had, 
 price One Shilling. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
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 Sithron, the Star Stricken. 
 
 Translated (Ala bereket Allah) from an ancient Arabic Manuscript. 
 
 BY 
 
 SALEM BEN TJZAIR, of Bassora. 
 
 "This very remarkable book, ' Sithron,' ... is a bold, pungent, audacious 
 satire upon the ancient religious belief of the Jews. ... No one can read the 
 book without homage to the force, the tenderness, and the never-failing skill 
 of its writer." St. James's Gazette. 
 
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MR. REDWAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 25 
 
 In demy Svo., choicely printed. Cloth or Japanese parchment. 
 Price 7s. Gd. 
 
 Primitive Symbolism 
 
 As Illustrated in Phallic Worship ; or, The Reproductive 
 Principle, 
 
 BY 
 
 The late HODDER M. WESTROPP. 
 
 With an Introduction by MAJOR-GENERAL FORLONG, Author of 
 "Rivers of Life." 
 
 "This work is a multum in parvo of the growth and spread of Phallicism, as 
 we commonly call the worship of nature or fertilizing powers. I felt, when 
 solicited to enlarge and illustrate it on the sudden death of the lamented 
 author, that it would be desecration to touch so complete a compendium by 
 one of the most competent and soundest thinkers who have written on this 
 world-wide faith. None knew better or saw more clearly than Mr. Westropp 
 that in this oldest symbolism and worship lay the foundations of all the 
 goodly systems we call Religions." J. G. R. FORLONG. 
 
 " A well-selected repertory of facts illustrating this subject, which should 
 be read by all who are interested in the study of the growth of religions." 
 
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 Immodesty in Art. 
 
 An Expostulation and Suggestion in a Letter to Sir Frederick 
 Leighton. 
 
 BY 
 FREDERICK GEORGE LEE, LL.D., F.S.A. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET. COVENT GARDEN. 
 
26 MR. RED WAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 Fii *m'dl Svo., han Isomdy printed on antique paper, and tastefully 
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 Pope Joan 
 
 (THE FEMALE POPE). 
 
 A Historical Study. Translated from the Greek of Emmanuel 
 Rhoidis, with Preface by 
 
 CHARLES HASTINGS COLLETTE. 
 
 "When Dr. Dollinger wrote to the effect that 'the subject of Pope Joan 
 has not yet lost interest,' he said no more than the truth. The probability is 
 that the topic will always have its attractions for the lovers of the curiosities 
 of history. Mr. Baring-Gould has declared that ' the whole story of Pope 
 Joan is fabulous, and rests on not a single historical foundation ;' but others 
 are Tiot so firmly convinced in the matter, and at all times there are those 
 
 who are anxious to investigate singular traditions Rhoidis discusses 
 
 the topic with much learning and ingenuity, and Mr. Collette's introduction 
 is full of information." Globe. 
 
 " It is interesting enough, and is accompanied by curious illustrations." - 
 Notes and Queries. 
 
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 NOW READY. 
 
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 History of the Rosicrucians. 
 
 FOUNDED ON THEIR OWN MANIFESTOES, 
 
 AND ON FACTS AND DOCUMENTS COLLECTED FROM THE WRITINGS OF 
 
 INITIATED MEMBERS. 
 BY 
 
 ARTHUR EDWARD WAITE, 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 " The Mysteries of Magic : a Digest of the Writings of Eliphas Levi." 
 
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MR. RED WAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 27 
 
 Demy ISmo., 200 pages, cloth, uncut. Price 2s. 
 
 Welle risms 
 
 " Pickwick " and " Master Humphrey s Clock" 
 
 Selected by CHARLES F. RIDEAL. 
 
 EDITED, WITH AN INTRODUCTION, BT 
 
 CHARLES KENT, 
 
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 "Some write well, but he writes Weller." Epigram on Dickens. 
 
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 THE 
 
 " Occult World Phenomena," 
 
 AND 
 
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 BY 
 
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 AUTHOR OP "THE OCCULT WORLD," "ESOTERIC BUDDHISM," ETC. 
 With a Protest by MADAME BLAVATSKY. 
 
 " An interesting addition to the fast-expanding literature of Theosophy." 
 Literary World. 
 
 " All who are interested in Theosophy should read it." Glasgow Herald. 
 
 " Mr. Sinnett scores some points against his adversary, and his pamphlet is to 
 be followed by some memoirs of Madame Blavatsky, which may contain further 
 refutations. Madame Blavatsky herself appends to the pamphlet a brief and 
 indignant denial of the grave charges which have been made against her." 
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 BY 
 
 GERTRUDE M. GEORGE. 
 
 With a Critical Introduction by RICHARD HERNE SHEPHERD. 
 
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 character. . . . The dramatis personce .... are in reality strongly in- 
 dividual, and surprise one with their inconsistencies just as real human 
 beings do. . . . There is something powerful in the way in which the reader 
 is made to feel both the reality and the untrustworthiness of his (the hero's) 
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 Low Down, 
 
 Wayside Thoughts in Ballad and other Verse. 
 
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 larly pathetic and mournful ; others, though in serious guise, are permeated 
 by quaint humour ; and all of them are of considerable merit. From the 
 variety and excellence of the contents of this bundle of poetical effusions, it 
 is likely to attract a great number of readers, and many passages in it are 
 particularly suitable for recitation." Army and Navy Gazette, Aug. 14, 1886. 
 
 " But ' Low Down,' as it is called, has the distinction of being multi- 
 coloured, each sheet of eight pages consisting of paper of a special hue. To 
 turn over the leaves is, in fact, to enjoy a sort of kaleidoscopic effect, a glimpse 
 of a literary rainbow. Moreover, to complete the peculiarity of the thing, the 
 various poems are printed, apparently at haphazard, in large or small type, as 
 the case may be. There are those, perhaps, who would take such jokes too 
 seriously, and bring them solemnly to the bar of taste, there to be as solemnly 
 condemned. But that is scarcely the right spirit in which to regard them. 
 There is room in life for the quaint and curious as well as for the neat and 
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MR. REDWAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 29 
 
 Monthly, "2s.; Yearly Subscription, 20s. 
 
 The Theosophist : 
 
 A Magazine of Oriental Philosophy, Art, Literature and Occultism. 
 
 CONDUCTED BY 
 
 H. P. BLAVATSKY. 
 
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 ' ' Theosophy has suddenly risen to importance. . . . The movement im- 
 plied by the term Theosophy is one that cannot be adequately explained in 
 a few words . . . those interested in the movement, which is not to be 
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 which Mr. Ingram declines, very properly, we think, to accept the history 
 as entirely genuine. Much curious information is collected in this essay. 
 Then follows the poem itself, with the various readings, and then its after- 
 history ; and after these ' Isadore,' by Albert Pike, a composition which 
 undoubtedly suggested the idea of ' The Raven ' to its author. Several trans- 
 lations are given, two in French, one in prose, the other in rhymed verse ; 
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 Spectator. 
 
 " There is no more reliable authority on the subject of Edgar Allan Poe 
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 BY 
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 and a delicious parody of scholastic logic." Literary World. 
 
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 Posthumous Humanity: 
 
 A STUDY OF PHANTOMS. 
 
 BY 
 
 ADOLPHE D'ASSIEB, 
 
 MEMBER OF THE BORDEAUX ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 
 
 TRANSLATED AND ANNOTATED BT 
 
 HENRY S. OLCOTT, 
 
 PRESIDENT OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 Only authorized translation. 
 
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MR. RED WAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 31 
 
 EBEIEZER JOIES'S POEMS. 
 
 In post 8vo., cloth, old style. Price 5s. 
 
 Studies of Sensation and Event. 
 
 Poems by EBENKZER JONES. 
 Edited, Prefaced, and Annotated by RICHARD HERNE SHEPHERD. 
 
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 quarian Study. 
 
 BY 
 
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 MEMBER OF THE YORKSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND TOPOGRAPICAL 
 ASSOCIATION. 
 
 " It forms a useful and entertaining guide to a beginner in historical 
 researches." Notes and Queries. 
 
 "The author has laid it before the public in a most inviting, intelligent, 
 and intelligible form, and offers every incentive to the study in every depart- 
 ment, including Ancient Records, Manorial Court-Rolls, Heraldry, Painted 
 Glass, Mural Paintings, Pottery, Church Bells, Numismatics, Folk-Lore, etc., 
 to each of which the attention of the student is directed. The pamphlet is 
 printed on a beautiful modern antique paper, appropriate to the subject of 
 the work." Brighton Exo.mlner. 
 
 " Mr. Batty, who is one of those folks Mr. Dobson styles 'gleaners after 
 time,' has clearly and concisely summed up, in the space of a few pages, all 
 the various objects which may legitimately be considered to come within the 
 scope of antiquarian study." Academy. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
32 MR REDWAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 An Edition de luxe, in demy I8mo. Price Is. 
 
 Confessions of an English Hachish 
 Eater. 
 
 "There is a sort of bizarre attraction in this fantastic little book, with its 
 weird, unhealthy imaginations." Whitehall Re-view. 
 
 " Imagination or some other faculty plays marvellous freaks in this little 
 book." '-Lloyd's Weekly. 
 
 "A weird little book. . . . The author seems to have been delighted with 
 his dreams, and .... carefully explains how hachish may be made from 
 the resin of the common hemp plant. "--Daily Chronicle. 
 
 "To be added to the literature of what is, after all, a very undesirable 
 subject. Weak minds may generate a morbid curiosity if stimulated in this 
 direction." Bradford Observer. 
 
 " The stories told by our author have a decidedly Oriental flavour, and we 
 would not be surprised if some foolish individuals did endeavour to procure 
 some of the drug, with a view to experience the sensation described by the 
 writer of this clever brochure." Edinburgh Courant. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
 NEWLY-DISCOYERED POEM BY CHABLES LAMB,, 
 
 Beauty and the Beast ; 
 
 OR, 
 
 A Rough Outside with a Gentle Heart. 
 
 By CHARLES LAMB. Now first reprinted from the Original 
 Edition of 1811, with Preface and Notes 
 
 BY 
 
 RICHARD HERNE SHEPHERD. 
 
 Only 100 Copies printed. 
 
 Fcap. 8vo., printed on handsome paper at the Chiswick Press, 
 archment by Burn to form a con- 
 to " Tamerlane." Price 10s. 6d. 
 
 and bound in parchment by Burn to form a companion volume 
 to " Tamerla 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
MR. REDWAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 33 
 
 THE ONLY PUBLISHED BIOGEAPHY OF JOHN LEECH. 
 
 An edition de luxe in demy ISwio. Price Is. 
 
 John Leech, 
 
 ARTIST AND HUMOURIST. 
 A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 BY 
 FBED. G. KITTON. 
 
 New Edition, revised. 
 
 " In the absence of a fuller biography we cordially welcome Mr. Kitton's 
 interesting little sketch." Notes and Queries. 
 
 " The multitudinous admirers of the famous artist will find this touching 
 monograph well worth careful reading and preservation." Daily Chronicle. 
 
 " The very model of what such a memoir should be." Graphic. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
 Fourth Edition, newly revised, in demy 8vo., with Illustrative Plates. 
 Price Is. 
 
 The Handbook of Palmistry. 
 
 BY 
 
 ROSA BAUGHAN, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "INDICATIONS OF CHARACTER IN HANDWRITING." 
 
 " It possesses a certain literary interest, for Miss Baughan shows the con- 
 nection between palmistry and the doctrines of the Kabbala." Graphic. 
 
 " Miss Rosa Baughan, for many years known as one of the most expert 
 proficients in this branch of science, has as much claim to consideration as 
 any writer on the subject." Sussex Daily News. 
 
 ' ' People who wish to believe in palmistry, or the science of reading charac- 
 ter from the marks of the hand," says the Daily News, in an article devoted 
 to the discussion of this topic, "will be interested in a handbook of the 
 subject by Miss Baughan, published by Mr. Redway." 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVEXT GARDEN. 
 
34 MR. REDWAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 Fourth Edition. With Engraved Frontispiece. In crown 8vo., 5s. 
 
 Cosmo de' Medici: 
 
 An Historical Tragedy. And other Poems. 
 
 BY 
 RICHARD HENGIST HORNE, 
 
 Author of " Orion." 
 
 " Tliis tragedy is the work of a poet and not of a playwright. Many of the 
 scenes abound iu vigour and tragic intensity. If the structure of the drama 
 challenges comparison with the masterpieces of the Elizabethan stage, it is at 
 least not unworthy of the models which have inspired it." Times. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
 Edition limited to 500 copies, handsomely printed on antique paper 
 and tastefully bound. Price 7s. 6d. 
 
 THE ASTROLOGER'S GUIDE. 
 
 Anima Astrologiae ; 
 
 OR, 
 
 A Guide for Astrologers. 
 
 Being the One Hundred and Forty-six Considerations of the 
 Astrologer, GUIDO BONATUS, translated from the Latin by Henry 
 Coley, together with the choicest Aphorisms of the Seven Seg- 
 ments of JEROM CARDAN, of Milan, edited by William Lilly 
 (1675) ; now first republished from the original edition with 
 Notes and Preface 
 
 BY 
 W. C. ELDON SERJEANT. 
 
 " Mr. Serjeant deserves the thanks of all who are interested in astrology for 
 
 rescuing this important work from oblivion The growing interest in 
 
 mystical science will lead to a revival of astrological study, and advanced 
 students will find this book an indispensable addition to their libraries. The 
 book is well got up and printed." Theosophist. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN 
 
MR. RED WAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 35 
 
 FIFTH THOUSAND. 
 
 An Edition de luxe, in demy 18mo. 
 
 Bound infancy cloth, uncut edges. Price 2s. 
 
 Tobacco Talk and Smokers' Gossip. 
 
 An Amusing Miscellany of Fact and Anecdote relating to 
 
 " The Great Plant " in all its Forms and Uses, including 
 
 a Selection from Nicotian Literature. 
 
 " One of the best books of gossip we have met for some time. ... It is 
 literally crammed full from beginning to end of its 148 pages with well-selected 
 anecdotes, poems, and excerpts from tobacco literature and history." Graphic. 
 
 "The smoker should be grateful to the compilers of this pretty little 
 volume. ... No smoker should be without it, and anti-tobacconists have 
 only te turn over its leaves to be converted."- Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 "Something to please smokers ; and non-smokers may be interested in 
 tracing the effect of tobacco the fatal, fragrant herb on our literature." 
 Literary World. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
 The Handbook of Physiognomy. 
 
 BY 
 
 ROSA BAUGHAN. 
 
 Demy Svo. , wrapper, price Is. 
 
 "The merit of her book consists in the admirable clearness of her descrip- 
 tions effaces. So vivid is the impression produced by them that she is able 
 to dispense with illustrations, the reader using the faces of his acquaintances 
 for that purpose. The classification, too, is good, although the astrological 
 headings may be regarded by the profane as fanciful. Physiognomy may now 
 be scientifically studied by means of composite photography. "Pall Mall 
 Gazette. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
3G MR. REDWAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 NE\V NOVEL BY MR. A. P. SINNETT, 
 Author of " Karma,", etc. 
 
 In 2 vols., crown 8vo., cloth. 
 Published at 21*. Now offered at 10s. Gd. 
 
 United. 
 
 BY 
 
 A. P. SINNETT. 
 
 " Mr. Sinnett's previous works on c Esoteric Buddhism ' and 'Tbo Occult 
 World ' in some way prepare the reader for the marvellous psychological 
 phenomena with which 'the present volumes abound, and which cannot fail 
 to have an irresistible charm for all those who love the byways of specula- 
 tion." Literary World. 
 
 " There is, nevertheless, a weird attractiveness about ' United ' which makes 
 even the non-believer in theosophy loth to put 1 down the book when once 
 he has taken it up ; while to the lovers of occult phenomena it will prove 
 irresistibly fascinating." Literary World. 
 
 "Literary ability is evident throughout the book." St. James's Gazette. 
 
 " Mr. Sinnett has produced a novel, turning on psychic, mesmeric, and 
 magnetic causes operating on English men and women of ordinary and very 
 extraordinary types, and he has succeeded in making it of special interest for 
 spiritualists, and readable by common people." The Lady. 
 
 " It is even doubtful whether Mr. Sinnett will win one genuine convert to 
 occultism by ' United '; but those who are occult already will take his power- 
 ful romance to their hearts ; will pour out libations before him, and loudly 
 cry ' Well done !' " Court and Society Review. 
 
 " Over this thrice-silly subject the author has expended some most excellent 
 writing, ideas that equal in breadth and strength some of those of our best 
 writers, pure English, and undeniable grammar." The Whitehall Review. 
 
 " It would be difficult to point to a more earnest writer than Mr. Sinnett, and 
 
 all he says invariably carries force and weight The book has a power of 
 
 its own which compels respect, and Mr. Sinnett is so much the same as he 
 always is, so eager and sincere in expounding the mysteries in which he is a 
 fervent believer, that one seems to be inspired with some of the curious 
 
 fascination of his teaching In spite of all the improbable and weird 
 
 fancies which have to be accepted by the student of the occult religion, it 
 should always be borne in mind that its tenets are eminently elevating and 
 
 beautiful ; that it appeals to the best side of our nature But all is 
 
 vague confusion to the uninitiated, and it has to be reluctantly admitted that 
 if attracted one is sadly dazzled by the perusal of such a couple of volumes as 
 ' United.' The purpose of ' United ' is a good one ; it is written with marked 
 ability, and the story is pleasantly related in the happy vein of a character- 
 istic author." Morning Advertiser, Dec. 81st, 1886. 
 
 GEORGE RED WAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
MR. REDWAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 37 
 
 Small 4to., with Illustrations, bound in vegetable parchment. 
 Price 10s. 6d. 
 
 The 
 
 Virgin of the World. 
 
 BY HERMES MERCURIUS TRISMEGISTUS. 
 
 A Treatise on INITIATIONS, or ASCLEPIOS ; the DEFI- 
 NITIONS of ASCLEPIOS ; FRAGMENTS of the 
 WRITINGS of HERMES. 
 
 TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY THE AUTHORS OF "THE PERFECT 
 WAY." 
 
 With an Introduction to " The Virgin of the World " by A. K., 
 and an Essay on " The Hermetic Books " by E. M. 
 
 "It will be a most interesting study for every occultist to compare the 
 doctrines of the ancient Hermetic philosophy with the teaching of the 
 Vedantic and Buddhist systems of religious thought. The famous books of 
 Hermes seem to occupy, with reference to the Egyptian religion, the same 
 position which the Upanishads occupy in Aryan religious literature." 
 The Theosophist, November, 1885. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
 The Path: 
 
 A Magazine devoted to the Brotherhood of Humanity, Theosophy 
 
 in America, and the Study of Occult Science, Philosophy, 
 
 and Aryan Literature. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 WILLIAM a JUDGE. 
 
 (Published under the auspices of The Aryan Theosophical Society 
 of New York.) 
 
 Monthly. Subscription, 10s. per annum. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COYEXT GARDEN. 
 
38 MR. RED WAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 In crown 8i'0., cloth, price 10s. 6d. 
 
 Myths, Scenes, and Worthies 
 of Somerset. 
 
 BY 
 
 MBS, E. BOGEB. 
 
 Twenty-four pages, wrapper, price 3d. 
 
 An Omitted Incident 
 in the "Great Naval War of 1887." 
 
 BY 
 
 LIEUT. -COLONEL W. HOPE, V.C. 
 
 Crown 8vo., picture cover, Is. 
 
 Dreams of the Derby : 
 
 TOGETHER WITH MANY 
 
 Curious Tips and Omens for other Races, 
 
 Now first collected and arranged for the printer. 
 
 BY 
 
 FOBTUNATUS. 
 
 Fcap. 8vo., cloth. 
 
 The Love Affair : 
 
 A DRAMA OF AN ANCIENT DEMOCRACY, 
 
 In Five Acts, with Six Tableaux. 
 
 BY 
 W. W. ALDBED, 
 
 AUTHOR OP "A LOST CAUSE." 
 
MR. RED WAY'S PUBLICATIONS. 39 
 
 Small crown &vo., cloth, 5s. 
 
 Ambulance Sermons : 
 
 BEING A SEKIES OF 
 
 Popular Essays on Medical and Allied Subjects. 
 
 BY 
 
 J. A. AUSTIN, M.D. 
 
 Demy 8vo., cloth. 
 
 The Life, Times, and Writings of 
 Thomas Cranmer, D.D., 
 
 THE FIRST REFORMING ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. 
 BY 
 
 CHARLES HASTINGS COLLETTE. 
 
 To be published shortly, handsomely printed and bound in one vol. 
 Small demy 8vo., price 10s. 6d. 
 
 The Kabala Denudata 
 
 (Translated into English), 
 
 CONTAINING THE FOLLOWING BOOKS OF THE ZOHAB : 
 
 1 . The Book of Concealed Mystery. 
 
 2. The Greater Holy Assembly. 
 
 3. The Lesser Holy Assembly. 
 
 Collated with the original Hebrew and the Latin text of Knorr 
 de Rosenroth's " Kabala Denudata," 
 
 BY 
 S. LIDDELL M. MATHERS. 
 
 GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Ambulance Sermons .. 
 Astrology llieologized 
 Anatomy of Tobacco .. 
 A ntinuarian Study .. 
 Astrologer's Guide 
 Archceoloqy and Occultism . . 
 Adams, F. W. L 
 Adams, Mrs. Davenport . . 
 Andrews, W 
 Arundale, Miss 
 
 PAGE 
 
 .. 30 
 .. 7 
 .. 30 
 .. 31 
 .. 34 
 .. 18 
 .. 30 
 .. 11 
 .. 9 
 .. 24 
 
 Linton.W. J. . 31 
 Lilly 34 
 
 Leolinus Siiuriensis 30 
 Low Down 28 
 Literature of Occultism and Arch- 
 (eoloc/y . . . . 18 
 
 Leicester . .... 30 
 Lee, F. G 25 
 Love Affair, Ihe 38 
 
 Martinengo-Cesaresco, Countess.. 10 
 Maitland, E 6,37 
 Mathers 39 
 
 Baughan, Rosa 
 Blavatsky, H. P 
 
 33, 35 
 13, 27 
 20 
 
 Machen, A 22 
 Mountaineering below the Snoivline 9 
 Mysteries of Magic S 
 
 fesfield, H. W 22 
 ew Illumination 
 ature and Law 3 
 
 Occult World Phenomena .. ..27 
 Olcott, H.S 19, :'.(> 
 Occultism and Archeology .. . . 18 
 
 "Phiz" 21 
 Physiognomy 35 
 Primitive Symbolism 25 
 Palmistry 33 
 Panton J E 2(J 
 
 Batty, John 
 Boger, Mrs. E 
 Bonatus 
 Browne. HablSt K 
 Betts B W 
 
 .. 31 
 
 .. 38 
 .. 34 
 .. 21 
 . 11 
 
 Beauty and the Beast 32 
 Blood Covenant 13 
 
 Cosmo de' Medici 34 
 Curate's Wife, The 26 
 Confessions of an English Hachish 
 Eater .. ..32 
 
 rruikshank, George 
 Church, W. E 
 
 .. 21 
 
 .. 21 
 
 
 .. 34 
 
 Cook, Miss Louisa S 
 Collette, C. H 
 Chatter.ji, Mohini M 
 Clarke, H. W 
 
 .. 11 
 
 20, 39 
 .. 24 
 .. 15 
 
 
 
 Poe .. -'it 
 Paterson M 9 
 
 
 . 15 
 
 Path. The .. 37 
 Phallicism 12 
 Posthumous Humanity .. .. "'> 
 
 Raven, Th,e 29 
 Kedway, G W 5 
 
 Dickensiana 
 Dreams of the Derby .. 
 Drummond 
 
 Eliphas Levi's Writings 
 Ellis, W. A 
 
 .. 23 
 
 .. 38 
 .. 3 
 
 .. 8 
 .. 24 
 
 Regular Pickle, A . . . . 22 
 Rideal, C. F 27 
 Rosicrucians, History of .. . . 26 
 
 Salem Ben Uzair 24 
 Sultan Stork 
 Sheykh-Zada l 
 
 Forlong, Major-General J. G. R. 
 Forty yezirs 
 Folk-Songs 
 Fifine 
 
 .. 25 
 .. 10 
 .. 16 
 .. S 
 g 
 
 Geometrical Psychology 
 George, G. M. 
 
 .. 11 
 
 .. 28 
 
 Swinburne, A. C 11,17,23 
 Sinnett, A. P 13,27,36 
 Spiritual Hermencuti'-s .. .. 7 
 Sea Song and River llhyme .. 11 
 Shepherd, R.H 28,31,331 
 Swinburne, Bibliography of ..IT 
 Sithron . 24 
 
 Gibb.E.J. W 
 
 Hints to Collectors 
 Heptamcron .. .. .. 
 Hope, Lieut. -Colonel W. . . 
 Horne R H 
 
 .. 10 
 14, 15 
 .. 22 
 .. 38 
 34 
 
 Scott, J. G 20 
 Studies of Sensation and Event .. 31 
 Serjeant, W. C. Eldon .. .. M 
 Story, A. T 
 Theosophy, Religion, and Occult 
 Science .19 
 Tobacco Talk :f> 
 Theosophist, The 2 
 Two Tramps . . 28 
 
 Hartmann, F 
 Hermes 
 History of Tithes 
 
 Immodesty in Art 
 Ingram, John H 
 Inr-Ments in the Life of H. 
 Blavatsky 
 
 Johnson, C. P 
 Jones, Ebenezer 
 Jones, Sumner 
 Judge, W. Q 
 Jennings, Hargrave 
 
 Keightlev B 
 
 .. 4 
 
 .. 39 
 .. 15 
 
 ,. 25 
 
 P. w 
 
 .. 13 
 
 14, 15 
 .. 31 
 .. 31 
 .. 37 
 .. 12 
 
 24 
 
 Transactions L. L. T. S. .. . 24 
 Thackeray 6,14,21 
 Trumbull . 13 
 
 United 36 
 Valley of Sorek 28 
 
 Kitton, F. G 21 
 Kabala Denudata 
 Kent, Charles . . 
 Kingsford, Mrs. Anna, M.D. 
 
 Lamb 
 
 , 23, 33 
 .. 39 
 .. 27 
 7,37 
 .. 32 
 
 Virgin of the World 37 
 
 Walford's Antiquarian .. .. ( 
 Westropp, H. M. . 2& 
 
 Wellerism* 27 
 \Vaite, A. E 18 26 
 Word for the Nacu 23 
 
 L%* .: .: .: .. 
 
 .. 33 
 
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