{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_3437/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_3437","id":"gutenberg_3437","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3437","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Adventure","Category: Classics of Literature","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Fairy tales","Tales -- Arab countries"],"text":"*******************************************************************\nTHIS EBOOK WAS ONE OF PROJECT GUTENBERG'S EARLY FILES PRODUCED AT A\nTIME WHEN PROOFING METHODS AND TOOLS WERE NOT WELL DEVELOPED. THERE\nIS AN IMPROVED EDITION OF THIS TITLE WHICH MAY BE VIEWED AS EBOOK\n(#52564) at https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52564\n*******************************************************************\n\n\n\n\nThis etext was produced by J.C. Byers. Proofreaders were: J.C. Byers,\nNorm Wolcott, Dianne Doefler and Charles Wilson.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BOOK OF THE\n THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT\n\n\n\nA Plain and Literal Translation\n\nof the Arabian Nights Entertainments\n\n\nTranslated and Annotated by\n Richard F. Burton \n\n\n\nVOLUME THREE\n\n\nPrivately Printed By The Burton Club\n\n\n\n                    Inscribed to the Memory\n\n\n                               of\n\n\n                            A Friend\n\n\n                              Who\n\n\n            During A Friendship of Twenty-Six Years\n\n\n                    Ever Showed Me The Most\n\n\n                      Unwearied Kindness,\n\n\n                    Richard Monckton Milnes\n\n\n                        Baron Houghton.\n\n\n\nContents of the Third Volume\n\n\n The Tale of King Omar Bin Al-Nu'uman and His Sons Sharrkan and Zau Al-Makan (cont)\n aa. Continuation of the Tale of Aziz and Azizah\n b. Tale of the Hashish Eater\n c. Tale of Hammad the Badawi\n 10. The Birds and Beasts and the Carpenter\n 11. The Hermits\n 12. The Water-Fowl and the Tortoise\n 13. The Wolf and the Fox\n a. Tale of the Falcon and the Partridge\n 14. The Mouse and the Ichneumon\n 15. The Cat and the Crow\n 16. The Fox and the Crow\n a. The Flea and the Mouse\n b. The Saker and the Birds\n c. The Sparrow and the Eagle\n 17. The Hedgehog and the Wood Pigeons\n a. The Merchant and the Two Sharpers\n 18. The Thief and His Monkey\n a. The Foolish Weaver\n 19. The Sparrow and the Peacock\n 20. Ali Bin Bakkar and Shams Al-Nahar\n 21. Tale of Kamar Al-Zaman\n\n\n\nThe Book Of The\n\nTHOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Night\nShahrazad continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Aziz\npursued to Taj al-Muluk: Then I entered the flower garden and made for\nthe pavilion, where I found the daughter of Dalilah the Wily One,\nsitting with head on knee and hand to cheek.  Her colour was changed\nand her eyes were sunken; but, when she saw me, she exclaimed, \"Praised\nbe Allah for thy safety!\" And she was minded to rise but fell down for\njoy.  I was abashed before her and hung my head; presently, however, I\nwent up to her and kissed her and asked, \"How knewest thou that I\nshould come to thee this very night?\" She answered, \"I knew it not!  By\nAllah, this whole year past I have not tasted the taste of sleep, but\nhave watched through every night, expecting thee; and such hath been my\ncase since the day thou wentest out from me and I gave thee the new\nsuit of clothes, and thou promisedst me to go to the Hammam and to come\nback!  So I sat awaiting thee that night and a second night and a third\nnight; but thou camest not till after so great delay, and I ever\nexpecting thy coming; for this is lovers' way. And now I would have\nthee tell me what hath been the cause of thine absence from me the past\nyear long?\" So I told her.  And when she knew that I was married, her\ncolour waxed yellow, and I added, \"I have come to thee this night but I\nmust leave thee before day.\" Quoth she, \"Doth it not suffice her that\nshe tricked thee into marrying her and kept thee prisoner with her a\nwhole year, but she must also make thee swear by the oath of divorce,\nthat thou wilt return to her on the same night before morning, and not\nallow thee to divert thyself with thy mother or me, nor suffer thee to\npass one night with either of us, away from her? How then must it be\nwith one from whom thou hast been absent a full year, and I knew thee\nbefore she did?  But Allah have mercy on thy cousin Azizah, for there\nbefel her what never befel any and she bore what none other ever bore\nand she died by thy ill usage; yet 'twas she who protected thee against\nme.  Indeed, I thought thou didst love me, so I let thee take thine own\nway; else had I not suffered thee to go safe in a sound skin, when I\nhad it in my power to clap thee in jail and even to slay thee.\" Then\nshe wept with sore weeping and waxed wroth and shuddered in my face\nwith skin bristling[FN#1] and looked at me with furious eyes.  When I\nsaw her in this case I was terrified at her and my side muscles\ntrembled and quivered, for she was like a dreadful she Ghul, an ogress\nin ire, and I like a bean over the fire. Then said she, \"Thou art of no\nuse to me, now thou art married and hast a child; nor art thou any\nlonger fit for my company; I care only for bachelors and not for\nmarried men:[FN#2] these profit us nothing Thou hast sold me for yonder\nstinking armful; but, by Allah, I will make the whore's heart ache for\nthee, and thou shalt not live either for me or for her!\" Then she cried\na loud cry and, ere I could think, up came the slave girls and threw me\non the ground; and when I was helpless under their hands she rose and,\ntaking a knife, said, \"I will cut thy throat as they slaughter he\ngoats; and that will be less than thy desert, for thy doings to me and\nthe daughter of thy uncle before me.\" When I looked to my life and\nfound myself at the mercy of her slave women, with my cheeks dust\nsoiled, and saw her sharpen the knife, I made sure of death.\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted\nsay.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir Dandan\nthus continued his tale to Zau al-Makan: Then quoth the youth Aziz to\nTaj al-Muluk, Now when I found my life at the mercy of her slave women\nwith my cheeks dust soiled, and I saw her sharpen the knife, I made\nsure of death and cried out to her for mercy.  But she only redoubled\nin ferocity and ordered the slave girls to pinion my hands behind me,\nwhich they did; and, throwing me on my back, she seated herself on my\nmiddle and held down my head.  Then two of them came up and squatted on\nmy shin bones, whilst other two grasped my hands and arms; and she\nsummoned a third pair and bade them beat me.  So they beat me till I\nfainted and my voice failed.  When I revived, I said to myself, \"\n'Twere easier and better for me to have my gullet slit than to be\nbeaten on this wise!\" And I remembered the words of my cousin, and how\nshe used to say to me, \"Allah, keep thee from her mischief!\"; and I\nshrieked and wept till my voice failed and I remained without power to\nbreathe or to move.  Then she again whetted the knife and said to the\nslave girls, \"Uncover him.\" Upon this the Lord inspired me to repeat to\nher the two phrases my cousin had taught me, and had bequeathed to me,\nand I said, \"O my lady, dost thou not know that Faith is fair, Unfaith\nis foul?\" When she heard this, she cried out and said, \"Allah pity\nthee, Azizah, and give thee Paradise in exchange for thy wasted youth! \nBy Allah, of a truth she served thee in her life time and after her\ndeath, and now she hath saved thee alive out of my hands with these two\nsaws.  Nevertheless, I cannot by any means leave thee thus, but needs\nmust I set my mark on thee, to spite yonder brazen faced piece, who\nhath kept thee from me.\" There upon she called out to the slave women\nand bade them bind my feet with cords and then said to them, \"Take seat\non him!\" They did her bidding, upon which she arose and fetched a pan\nof copper and hung it over the brazier and poured into it oil of\nsesame, in which she fried cheese.[FN#3] Then she came up to me (and I\nstill insensible) and, unfastening my bag trousers, tied a cord round\nmy testicles and, giving it to two of her women, bade them trawl at it.\n They did so, and I swooned away and was for excess of pain in a world\nother than this.  Then she came with a razor of steel and cut off my\nmember masculine,[FN#4] so that I remained like a woman: after which\nshe seared the wound with the boiling and rubbed it with a powder, and\nI the while unconscious.  Now when I came to myself, the blood had\nstopped; so she bade the slave girls unbind me and made me drink a cup\nof wine. Then said she to me, \"Go now to her whom thou hast married and\nwho grudged me a single night, and the mercy of Allah be on thy cousin\nAzizah, who saved thy life and never told her secret love!  Indeed,\nhaddest thou not repeated those words to me, I had surely slit thy\nweasand.  Go forth this instant to whom thou wilt, for I needed naught\nof thee save what I have just cut off; and now I have no part in thee,\nnor have I any further want of thee or care for thee.  So begone about\nthy business and rub thy head[FN#5] and implore mercy for the daughter\nof thine uncle!\" Thereupon she kicked me with her foot and I rose,\nhardly able to walk; and I went, little by little, till I came to the\ndoor of our house.  I saw it was open, so I threw myself within it and\nfell down in a fainting fit; whereupon my wife came out and lifting me\nup, carried me into the saloon and assured herself that I had become\nlike a woman.  Then I fell into a sleep and a deep sleep; and when I\nawoke, I found myself thrown down at the garden gate,\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir Dandan\npursued to King Zau al-Makan, The youth Aziz thus continued his story\nto Taj al-Muluk: When I awoke and found myself thrown down at the\ngarden gate, I rose, groaning for pain and misery, and made my way to\nour home and entering, I came upon my mother weeping for me, and\nsaying, \"Would I knew, O my son, in what land art thou?\" So I drew near\nand threw myself upon her, and when she looked at me and felt me, she\nknew that I was ill; for my face was coloured black and tan.  Then I\nthought of my cousin and all the kind offices she had been wont to do\nme, and I learned when too late that she had truly loved me; so I wept\nfor her and my mother wept also Presently she said to me, \"O my son,\nthy sire is dead.\" At this my fury against Fate redoubled, and I cried\ntill I fell into a fit.  When I came to myself, I looked at the place\nwhere my cousin Azizah had been used to sit and shed tears anew, till I\nall but fainted once more for excess of weeping; and I ceased not to\ncry and sob and wail till midnight, when my mother said to me, \"Thy\nfather hath been dead these ten days.\" \"I shall never think of any one\nbut my cousin Azizah,\" replied I; \"and indeed I deserve all that hath\nbefallen me, for that I neglected her who loved me with love so dear.\"\nAsked she, \"What hath befallen thee?\" So I told her all that had\nhappened and she wept awhile, then she rose and set some matter of meat\nand drink before me.  I ate a little and drank, after which I repeated\nmy story to her, and told her the whole occurrence; whereupon she\nexclaimed, \"Praised be Allah, that she did but this to thee and forbore\nto slaughter thee!\" Then she nursed me and medicined me till I regained\nmy health; and, when my recovery was complete, she said to me, \"O my\nson, I will now bring out to thee that which thy cousin committed to me\nin trust for thee; for it is thine.  She swore me not to give it thee,\ntill I should see thee recalling her to mind and weeping over her and\nthy connection severed from other than herself; and now I know that\nthese conditions are fulfilled in thee.\" So she arose, and opening a\nchest, took out this piece of linen, with the figures of gazelles\nworked thereon, which I had given to Azizah in time past; and taking it\nI found written therein these couplets,\n\n\"Lady of beauty, say, who taught thee hard and harsh design, *\n     To slay with longing Love's excess this hapless lover thine?\nAn thou fain disremember me beyond our parting day, * Allah will\n     know, that thee and thee my memory never shall tyne.\nThou blamest me with bitter speech yet sweetest 'tis to me; *\n     Wilt generous be and deign one day to show of love a sign?\nI had not reckoned Love contained so much of pine and pain; *\n     And soul distress until I came for thee to pain and pine\nNever my heart knew weariness, until that eve I fell * In love\n     wi' thee, and prostrate fell before those glancing eyne!\nMy very foes have mercy on my case and moan therefor; * But thou,\n     O heart of Indian steel, all mercy dost decline.\nNo, never will I be consoled, by Allah, an I die, * Nor yet\n     forget the love of thee though life in ruins lie!\"\n\nWhen I read these couplets, I wept with sore weeping and buffeted my\nface; then I unfolded the scroll, and there fell from it an other\npaper.  I opened it and behold, I found written therein, 'Know, O son\nof my uncle, that I acquit thee of my blood and I beseech Allah to make\naccord between thee and her whom thou lovest; but if aught befal thee\nthrough the daughter of Dalilah the Wily, return thou not to her\nneither resort to any other woman and patiently bear thine affliction,\nfor were not thy fated life tide a long life, thou hadst perished long\nago; but praised be Allah who hath appointed my death day before thine!\n My peace be upon thee; preserve this cloth with the gazelles herein\nfigured and let it not leave thee, for it was my companion when thou\nwas absent from me;\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nsaying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir Dandan\npursued to King Zau al-Makan, And the youth Aziz continued to Taj\nal-Muluk: So I read what my cousin had written and the charge to me\nwhich was, \"Preserve this cloth with the gazelles and let it not leave\nthee, for it was my companion when thou west absent from me and, Allah\nupon thee!  if thou chance to fall in with her who worked these\ngazelles, hold aloof from her and do not let her approach thee nor\nmarry her; and if thou happen not on her and find no way to her, look\nthou consort not with any of her sex.  Know that she who wrought these\ngazelles worketh every year a gazelle cloth and despatcheth it to far\ncountries, that her report and the beauty of her broidery, which none\nin the world can match, may be bruited abroad.  As for thy beloved, the\ndaughter of Dalilah the Wily, this cloth came to her hand, and she used\nto ensnare folk with it, showing it to them and saying, 'I have a\nsister who wrought this.' But she lied in so saying, Allah rend her\nveil!  This is my parting counsel; and I have not charged thee with\nthis charge, but because I know[FN#6] that after my death the world\nwill be straitened on thee and, haply, by reason of this, thou wilt\nleave thy native land and wander in foreign parts, and hearing of her\nwho wrought these figures, thou mayest be minded to fore gather with\nher.  Then wilt thou remember me, when the memory shall not avail thee;\nnor wilt thou know my worth till after my death.  And, lastly, learn\nthat she who wrought the gazelles is the daughter of the King of the\nCamphor Islands and a lady of the noblest.\" Now when I had read that\nscroll and understood what was written therein, I fell again to\nweeping, and my mother wept because I wept, and I ceased not to gaze\nupon it and to shed tears till night fall.  I abode in this condition a\nwhole year, at the end of which the merchants, with whom I am in this\ncafilah, prepared to set out from my native town; and my mother\ncounseled me to equip myself and journey with them, so haply I might be\nconsoled and my sorrow be dispelled, saying, \"Take comfort and put away\nfrom thee this mourning and travel for a year or two or three, till the\ncaravan return, when perhaps thy breast may be broadened and thy heart\nheartened.\" And she ceased not to persuade me with endearing words,\ntill I provided myself with merchandise and set out with the caravan. \nBut all the time of my wayfaring, my tears have never dried; no, never!\n and at every halting place where we halt, I open this piece of linen\nand look on these gazelles and call to mind my cousin Azizah and weep\nfor her as thou hast seen; for indeed she loved me with dearest love\nand died, oppressed by my unlove.  I did her nought but ill and she did\nme nought but good.  When these merchants return from their journey, I\nshall return with them, by which time I shall have been absent a whole\nyear: yet hath my sorrow waxed greater and my grief and affliction were\nbut increased by my visit to the Islands of Camphor and the Castle of\nCrystal.  Now these islands are seven in number and are ruled by a\nKing, by name Shahriman,[FN#7] who hath a daughter called Duny\u00e1;[FN#8]\nand I was told that it was she who wrought these gazelles and that this\npiece in my possession was of her embroidery.  When I knew this, my\nyearning redoubled and I burnt with the slow fire of pining and was\ndrowned in the sea of sad thought; and I wept over myself for that I\nwas become even as a woman, without manly tool like other men, and\nthere was no help for it.  From the day of my quitting the Camphor\nIslands, I have been tearful eyed and heavy hearted, and such hath been\nmy case for a long while and I know not whether it will be given me to\nreturn to my native land and die beside my mother or not; for I am sick\nfrom eating too much of the world.  Thereupon the young merchant wept\nand groaned and complained and gazed upon the gazelles; whilst the\ntears rolled down his cheeks in streams and he repeated these two\ncouplets,\n\n\"Joy needs shall come,\" a prattler 'gan to prattle: *\n     \"Needs cease thy blame!\" I was commoved to rattle:\n'In time,' quoth he: quoth I ' 'Tis marvellous!  *\n     Who shall ensure my life, O cold of tattle!'\"[FN#9]\n\nAnd he repeated also these,\n\n\"Well Allah weets that since our severance day *\n     I've wept till forced to ask of tears a loan:\n'Patience!  (the blamer cries): thou'lt have her yet!' *\n     Quoth I, 'O blamer where may patience wone?'\"\n\nThen said he, \"This, O King!  is my tale: hast thou ever heard one\nstranger?\" So Taj al-Muluk marvelled with great marvel at the young\nmerchant's story, and fire darted into his entrails on hearing the name\nof the Lady Dunya and her loveliness.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir Dandan\ncontinued to Zau al-Makan: Now when Taj al-Muluk heard the story of the\nyoung merchant, he marvelled with great marvel and fire darted into his\nentrails on hearing the name of the Lady Dunya who, as he knew, had\nembroidered the gazelles; and his love and longing hourly grew, so he\nsaid to the youth, \"By Allah, that hath befallen thee whose like never\nbefel any save thyself, but thou hast a life term appointed, which thou\nmust fulfil; and now I would fain ask of thee a question.\" Quoth Aziz,\n\"And what is it?\" Quoth he, \"Wilt thou tell me how thou sawest the\nyoung lady who wrought these gazelles?\" Then he, \"O my lord, I got me\naccess to her by a sleight and it was this.  When I entered her city\nwith the caravan, I went forth and wandered about the garths till I\ncame to a flower garden abounding in trees, whose keeper was a\nvenerable old man, a Shaykh stricken in years.  I addressed him,\nsaying, 'O ancient sir, whose may be this garden?' and he replied, 'It\nbelongs to the King's daughter, the Lady Dunya.  We are now beneath her\npalace and, when she is minded to amuse herself, she openeth the\nprivate wicket and walketh in the garden and smelleth the fragrance of\nthe flowers.' So I said to him, 'Favour me by allowing me to sit in\nthis garden till she come; haply I may enjoy a sight of her as she\npasseth.' The Shaykh answered, 'There can be no harm in that.'\nThereupon I gave him a dirham or so and said to him, Buy us something\nto eat.' He took the money gladly and opened door and, entering\nhimself, admitted me into the garden, where we strolled and ceased not\nstrolling till we reached a pleasant spot in which he bade me sit down\nand await his going and his returning.  Then he brought me somewhat of\nfruit and, leaving me, disappeared for an hour; but after a while he\nreturned to me bringing a roasted lamb, of which we ate till we had\neaten enough, my heart yearning the while for a sight of the lady.\nPresently, as we sat, the postern opened and the keeper said to me,\n'Rise and hide thee.' I did so; and behold, a black eunuch put his head\nout through the garden wicket and asked, 'O Shaykh, there any one with\nthee?' 'No,' answered he; and the eunuch said, 'Shut the garden gate.'\nSo the keeper shut the gate, and lo!  the Lady Dunya came in by the\nprivate door. When I saw her, methought the moon had risen above the\nhorizon and was shining; I looked at her a full hour and longed for her\nas one athirst longeth for water.  After a while she withdrew and shut\nthe door; whereupon I left the garden and sought my lodging, knowing\nthat I could not get at her and that I was no man for her, more\nespecially as I was become like a woman, having no manly tool: moreover\nshe was a King's daughter and I but a merchant man; so; how could I\nhave access to the like of her or\u2014 to any other woman?  Accordingly,\nwhen these my companions made ready for the road, I also made\npreparation and set out with them, and we journeyed towards this city\ntill we arrived at the place ere we met with thee. Thou askedst me and\nI have answered; and these are my adventures and peace be with thee!\"\nNow when Taj al-Muluk heard that account, fires raged in his bosom and\nhis heart and thought were occupied love for the Lady Dunya; and\npassion and longing were sore upon him.  Then he arose and mounted\nhorse and, taking Aziz with him, returned to his father's capital,\nwhere he settled him in a separate house and supplied him with all he\nneeded in the way of meat and drink and dress. Then he left him and\nreturned to his palace, with the tears trickling down his cheeks, for\nhearing oftentimes standeth instead of seeing and knowing.[FN#10]  And\nhe ceased not to be in this state till his father came in to him and\nfinding him wan faced, lean of limb and tearful eyed, knew that\nsomething had occurred to chagrin him and said, \"O my son, acquaint me\nwith thy case and tell me what hath befallen thee, that thy colour is\nchanged and thy body is wasted.  So he told him all that had passed and\nwhat tale he had heard of Aziz and the account of the Princess Dunya;\nand how he had fallen in love of her on hearsay, without having set\neyes on her.  Quoth his sire, \"O my son, she is the daughter of a King\nwhose land is far from ours: so put away this thought and go in to thy\nmother's palace.\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nsaying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Thirtieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir Dandan\ncontinued to Zau al-Makan: And the father of Taj al-Muluk spake to him\non this wise, \"O my son, her father is a King whose land is far from\nours: so put away this thought and go into thy mother's palace where\nare five hundred maidens like moons, and whichsoever of them pleaseth\nthee, take her; or else we will seek for thee in marriage some one of\nthe King's daughters, fairer than the Lady Dunya.\" Answered Taj\nal-Muluk, \"O my father, I desire none other, for she it is who wrought\nthe gazelles which I saw, and there is no help but that I have her;\nelse I will flee into the world and the waste and I will slay myself\nfor her sake.\" Then said his father, \"Have patience with me, till I\nsend to her sire and demand her in marriage, and win thee thy wish as I\ndid for myself with thy mother.  Haply Allah will bring thee to thy\ndesire; and, if her parent will not consent, I will make his kingdom\nquake under him with an army, whose rear shall be with me whilst its\nvan shall be upon him.\" Then he sent for the youth Aziz and asked him,\n\"O my son, tell me dost thou know the way to the Camphor Islands?\" He\nanswered \"Yes\"; and the King said, \"I desire of thee that thou fare\nwith my Wazir thither.\" Replied Aziz, \"I hear and I obey, O King of the\nAge!\"; where upon the King summoned his Minister and said to him,\n\"Devise me some device, whereby my son's affair may be rightly managed\nand fare thou forth to the Camphor Islands and demand of their King his\ndaughter in marriage for my son, Taj al-Muluk.\" The Wazir replied,\n\"Hearkening and obedience.\" Then Taj al-Muluk returned to his dwelling\nplace and his love and longing redoubled and the delay seemed endless\nto him; and when the night darkened around him, he wept and sighed and\ncomplained and repeated this poetry,\n\n\"Dark falls the night: my tears unaided rail * And fiercest\n     flames of love my heart assail:\nAsk thou the nights of me, and they shall tell * An I find aught\n     to do but weep and wail:\nNight long awake, I watch the stars what while * Pour down my\n     cheeks the tears like dropping hail:\nAnd lone and lorn I'm grown with none to aid; * For kith and kin\n     the love lost lover fail.\"\n\nAnd when he had ended his reciting he swooned away and did not recover\nhis senses till the morning, at which time there came to him one of his\nfather's eunuchs and, standing at his head, summoned him to the King's\npresence.  So he went with him and his father, seeing that his pallor\nhad increased, exhorted him to patience and promised him union with her\nhe loved.  Then he equipped Aziz and the Wazir and supplied them with\npresents; and they set out and fared on day and night till they drew\nnear the Isles of Camphor, where they halted on the banks of a stream,\nand the Minister despatched a messenger to acquaint the King of his\narrival.  The messenger hurried forwards and had not been gone more\nthan an hour, before they saw the King's Chamberlains and Emirs\nadvancing towards them, to meet them at a parasang's distance from the\ncity and escort them into the royal presence. They laid their gifts\nbefore the King and became his guests for three days.  And on the\nfourth day the Wazir rose and going in to the King, stood between his\nhands and acquainted him with the object which induced his visit;\nwhereat he was perplexed for an answer inasmuch as his daughter\nmisliked men and disliked marriage.  So he bowed his head groundwards\nawhile, then raised it and calling one of his eunuchs, said to him, \"Go\nto thy mistress, the Lady Dunya, and repeat to her what thou hast heard\nand the purport of this Wazir's coming.\" So the eunuch went forth and\nreturning after a time, said to the King, \"O King of the Age, when I\nwent in to the Lady Dunya and told her what I had heard, she was wroth\nwith exceeding wrath and rose at me with a staff designing to break my\nhead; so I fled from her, and she said to me 'If my Father force me to\nwed him, whomsoever I wed I will slay.' Then said her sire to the Wazir\nand Aziz, \"Ye have heard, and now ye know all!  So let your King wot of\nit and give him my salutations and say that my daughter misliketh men\nand disliketh marriage.\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Thirty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Shahriman\nthus addressed the Wazir and Aziz, \"Salute your King from me and inform\nhim of what ye have heard, namely that my daughter misliketh marriage.\"\nSo they turned away unsuccessful and ceased not faring on till they\nrejoined the King and told him what had passed; whereupon he commanded\nthe chief officers to summon the troops and get them ready for marching\nand campaigning.  But the Wazir said to him, \"O my liege Lord, do not\nthus: the King is not at fault because, when his daughter learnt our\nbusiness, she sent a message saying, 'If my father force me to wed,\nwhomsoever I wed I will slay and myself after him.' So the refusal\ncometh from her.\" When the King heard his Minister's words he feared\nfor Taj al-Muluk and said, \"Verily if I make war on the King of the\nCamphor Islands and carry off his daughter, she will kill herself and\nit will avail me naught.\" Then he told his son how the case stood, who\nhearing it said, \"O my father, I cannot live without her; so I will go\nto her and contrive to get at her, even though I die in the attempt,\nand this only will I do and nothing else.\" Asked his father, \"How wilt\nthou go to her?\" and he answered, \"I will go in the guise of a\nmerchant.\"[FN#11] Then said the King, \"If thou need must go and there\nis no help for it, take with thee the Wazir and Aziz.\" Then he brought\nout money from his treasuries and made ready for his son merchandise to\nthe value of an hundred thousand dinars.  The two had settled upon this\naction; and when the dark hours came Taj al-Muluk and Aziz went to\nAziz's lodgings and there passed that night, and the Prince was heart\nsmitten, taking no pleasure in food or in sleep; for melancholy was\nheavy upon him and he was agitated with longing for his beloved.  So he\nbesought the Creator that he would vouch safe to unite him with her and\nhe wept and groaned and wailed and began versifying,\n\n\"Union, this severance ended, shall I see some day?  * Then shall\n     my tears this love lorn lot of me portray.\nWhile night all care forgets I only minded thee, * And thou didst\n     gar me wake while all forgetful lay.\"\n\nAnd when his improvising came to an end, he wept with sore weeping and\nAziz wept with him, for that he remembered his cousin; and they both\nceased not to shed tears till morning dawned, whereupon Taj al-Muluk\nrose and went to farewell his mother, in travelling dress.  She asked\nhim of his case and he repeated the story to her; so she gave him fifty\nthousand gold pieces and bade him adieu; and, as he fared forth, she\nput up prayers for his safety and for his union with his lover and his\nfriends.  Then he betook himself to his father and asked his leave to\ndepart.  The King granted him permission and, presenting him with other\nfifty thousand dinars, bade set up a tent for him without the city and\nthey pitched a pavilion wherein the travellers abode two days.  Then\nall set out on their journey. Now Taj al-Muluk delighted in the company\nof Aziz and said to him, \"O my brother, henceforth I can never part\nfrom thee.\" Replied Aziz, \"And I am of like mind and fain would I die\nunder thy feet: but, O my brother, my heart is concerned for my\nmother.\" \"When we shall have won our wish,\" said the Prince, \"there\nwill be naught save what is well!\" Now the Wazir continued charging Taj\nal-Muluk to be patient, whilst Aziz entertained him every evening with\ntalk and recited poetry to him and diverted him with histories and\nanecdotes.  And so they fared on diligently night and day for two whole\nmonths, till the way became tedious to Taj al-Muluk and the fire of\ndesire redoubled on him; and he broke out,\n\n\"The road is lonesome; grow my grief and need, * While on my\n     breast love fires for ever feed:\nGoal of my hopes, sole object of my wish!  * By him who moulded\n     man from drop o' seed,\nI bear such loads of longing for thy love, * Dearest, as weight\n     of al Shumm Mounts exceed:\nO 'Lady of my World'[FN#12] Love does me die; * No breath of life\n     is left for life to plead;\nBut for the union hope that lends me strength, * My weary limbs\n     were weak this way to speed.\"\n\nWhen he had finished his verses, he wept (and Aziz wept with him) from\na wounded heart, till the Minister was moved to pity by their tears and\nsaid, \"O my lord, be of good cheer and keep thine eyes clear of tears;\nthere will be naught save what is well!\" Quoth Taj al-Muluk, \"O Wazir,\nindeed I am weary of the length of the way.  Tell me how far we are yet\ndistant from the city.\" Quoth Aziz, \"But a little way remaineth to us.\"\nThen they continued their journey, cutting across river vales and\nplains, words and stony wastes, till one night, as Taj al-Muluk was\nsleeping, he dreamt that his beloved was with him and that he embraced\nher and pressed her to his bosom; and he awoke quivering, shivering\nwith pain, delirious with emotion, and improvised these verses,\n\n\"Dear friend, my tears aye flow these cheeks adown, *\n     With longsome pain and pine, my sorrow's crown:\nI plain like keening woman child bereft, *\n     And as night falls like widow dove I groan:\nAn blow the breeze from land where thou cost wone, *\n     I find o'er sunburnt earth sweet coolness blown.\nPeace be wi' thee, my love, while zephyr breathes, *\n     And cushat flies and turtle makes her moan.\"\n\nAnd when he had ended his versifying, the Wazir came to him and said,\n\"Rejoice; this is a good sign: so be of good cheer and keep thine eyes\ncool and clear, for thou shalt surely compass thy desire.\" And Aziz\nalso came to him and exhorted him to patience and applied himself to\ndivert him, talking with him and telling him tales.  So they pressed\non, marching day and night, other two months, till there appeared to\nthem one day at sunrise some white thing in the distance and Taj\nal-Muluk said to Aziz, \"What is yonder whiteness?\" He replied, \"O my\nlord!  yonder is the Castle of Crystal and that is the city thou\nseekest.\" At this the Prince rejoiced, and they ceased not faring\nforwards till they drew near the city and, as they approached it, Taj\nal-Muluk joyed with exceeding joy, and his care ceased from him.  They\nentered in trader guise, the King's son being habited as a merchant of\nimportance; and repaired to a great Khan, known as the Merchants'\nLodging.  Quoth Taj al-Muluk to Aziz, \"Is this the resort of the\nmerchants?\"; and quoth he, \"Yes; 'tis the Khan wherein I lodged\nbefore.\" So they alighted there and making their baggage camels kneel,\nunloaded them and stored their goods in the warehouses.[FN#13] They\nabode four days for rest; when the Wazir advised that they should hire\na large house.  To this they assented and they found them a spacious\nhouse, fitted up for festivities, where they took up their abode, and\nthe Wazir and Aziz studied to devise some device for Taj al-Muluk, who\nremained in a state of perplexity, knowing not what to do.  Now the\nMinister could think of nothing but that he should set up as a merchant\non 'Change and in the market of fine stuffs; so he turned to the Prince\nand his companion and said to them, \"Know ye that if we tarry here on\nthis wise, assuredly we shall not win our wish nor attain our aim; but\na something occurred to me whereby (if Allah please!) we shall find our\nadvantage.\" Replied Taj al-Muluk and Aziz, \"Do what seemeth good to\nthee, indeed there is a blessing on the grey beard; more specially on\nthose who, like thyself, are conversant with the conduct of affairs: so\ntell us what occurreth to thy mind.\" Rejoined the Wazir \"It is my\ncounsel that we hire thee a shop in the stuff bazar, where thou mayst\nsit to sell and buy.  Every one, great and small, hath need of silken\nstuffs and other cloths; so if thou patiently abide in thy shop, thine\naffairs will prosper, Inshallah!  more by token as thou art comely of\naspect.  Make, however, Aziz thy factor and set him within the shop, to\nhand thee the pieces of cloth and stuffs.\" When Taj al-Muluk heard\nthese words, he said, 'This rede is right and a right pleasant\nrecking.\" So he took out a handsome suit of merchant's weed, and,\nputting it on, set out for the bazar, followed by his servants, to one\nof whom he had given a thousand dinars, wherewith to fit up the shop. \nThey ceased not walking till they came to the stuff market, and when\nthe merchants saw Taj al-Muluk's beauty and grace, they were confounded\nand went about saying, \"Of a truth Rizw\u00e1n[FN#14] hath opened the gates\nof Paradise and left them unguarded, so that this youth of passing\ncomeliness hath come forth.\" And others, \"Peradventure this is one of\nthe angels.\" Now when they went in among the traders they asked for the\nshop of the Overseer of the market and the merchants directed them\nthereto.  So they delayed not to repair thither and to salute him, and\nhe and those who were with him rose to them and seated them and made\nmuch of them, because of the Wazir, whom they saw to be a man in years\nand of reverend aspect; and viewing the youths Aziz and Taj al-Muluk in\nhis company, they said to one another, \"Doubtless our Shaykh is the\nfather of these two youths.\" Then quoth the Wazir, \"Who among you is\nthe Overseer of the market?\" \"This is he,\" replied they; and behold, he\ncame forward and the Wazir observed him narrowly and saw him to be an\nold man of grave and dignified carriage, with eunuchs and servants and\nblack slaves.  The Syndic greeted them with the greeting of friends and\nwas lavish in his attentions to them: then he seated them by his side\nand asked them, \"Have ye any business which we[FN#15] may have the\nhappiness of transacting?\" The Minister answered, \"Yes; I am an old\nman, stricken in years, and have with me these two youths, with whom I\nhave travelled through every town and country, entering no great city\nwithout tarrying there a full year, that they might take their pleasure\nin viewing it and come to know its citizens.  Now I have visited your\ntown intending to sojourn here for a while; so I want of thee a\nhandsome shop in the best situation, wherein I may establish them, that\nthey may traffic and learn to buy and sell and give and take, whilst\nthey divert themselves with the sight of the place, and be come\nfamiliar with the usages of its people.\" Quoth the Overseer, \"There is\nno harm in that;\" and, looking at the two youths, he was delighted with\nthem and affected them with a warm affection.  Now he was a great\nconnoisseur of bewitching glances, preferring the love of boys to that\nof girls and inclining to the sour rather than the sweet of love.  So\nhe said to himself, \"This, indeed, is fine game.  Glory be to Him who\ncreated and fashioned them out of vile water!\"[FN#16] and rising stood\nbefore them like a servant to do them honour.  Then he went out and\nmade ready for them a shop which was in the very midst of the Exchange;\nnor was there any larger or better in the bazar, for it was spacious\nand handsomely decorated and fitted with shelves of ivory and ebony\nwood.  After this he delivered the keys to the Wazir, who was dressed\nas an old merchant, saying, \"Take them, O my lord, and Allah make it a\nblessed abiding place to thy two sons!\" The Minister took the keys and\nthe three returning to the Khan where they had alighted, bade the\nservants transport to the shop all their goods and stuffs.\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted\nsay.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Thirty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Wazir\ntook the shop keys, he went accompanied by Taj al-Muluk and Aziz to the\nKhan, and they bade the servants transport to the shop all their goods\nand stuffs and valuables of which they had great store worth treasures\nof money.  And when all this was duly done, they went to the shop and\nordered their stock in trade and slept there that night.  As soon as\nmorning morrowed the Wazir took the two young men to the Hammam bath\nwhere they washed them clean; and they donned rich dresses and scented\nthemselves with essences and enjoyed themselves to the utmost.  Now\neach of the youths was passing fair to look upon, and in the bath they\nwere even as saith the poet,\n\n\"Luck to the Rubber, whose deft hand o'erdies *\n     A frame begotten twixt the lymph and light:[FN#17]\nHe shows the thaumaturgy of his craft, *\n     And gathers musk in form of camphor dight.\"[FN#18]\n\nAfter bathing they left; and, when the Overseer heard that they had\ngone to the Hammam, he sat down to await the twain, and presently they\ncame up to him like two gazelles; their cheeks were reddened by the\nbath and their eyes were darker than ever; their faces shone and they\nwere as two lustrous moons or two branches fruit laden.  Now when he\nsaw them he rose forthright and said to them, \"O my sons, may your bath\nprofit you always!\"[FN#19] Where upon Taj al-Muluk replied, with the\nsweetest of speech, \"Allah be bountiful to thee, O my father; why didst\nthou not come with us and bathe in our company?\" Then they both bent\nover his right hand and kissed it and walked before him to the shop, to\nentreat him honourably and show their respect for him, for that he was\nChief of the Merchants and the market, and he had done them kindness in\ngiving them the shop.  When he saw their hips quivering as they moved,\ndesire and longing redoubled on him; and he puffed and snorted and he\ndevoured them with his eyes, for he could not contain himself,\nrepeating the while these two couplets,\n\n\"Here the heart reads a chapter of devotion pure; *\n     Nor reads dispute if Heaven in worship partner take:\nNo wonder 'tis he trembles walking 'neath such weight!  *\n     How much of movement that revolving sphere must\n     make.[FN#20]\"\n\nFurthermore he said,\n\n\"I saw two charmers treading humble earth.  *\n     Two I must love an tread they on mine eyes.\"\n\nWhen they heard this, they conjured him to enter the bath with them a\nsecond time.  He could hardly believe his ears and hastening thither,\nwent in with them.  The Wazir had not yet left the bath; so when he\nheard of the Overseer's coming, he came out and meeting him in the\nmiddle of the bath hall invited him to enter.  He refused, whereupon\nTaj al-Muluk taking him by the hand walked on one side and Aziz by the\nother, and carried him into a cabinet; and that impure old man\nsubmitted to them, whilst his emotion increased on him.  He would have\nrefused, albeit this was what he desired; but the Minister said to him,\n\"They are thy sons; let them wash thee and cleanse thee.\" \"Allah\npreserve them to thee!\" exclaimed the Overseer, \"By Allah your coming\nand the coming of those with you bring down blessing and good luck upon\nour city!\" And he repeated these two couplets,\n\n\"Thou camest and green grew the hills anew; *\n     And sweetest bloom to the bridegroom threw,\nWhile aloud cried Earth and her earth-borns too *\n     'Hail and welcome who comest with grace to endue.'\"\n\nThey thanked him for this, and Taj al-Muluk ceased not to wash him and\nto pour water over him and he thought his soul in Paradise.  When they\nhad made an end of his service, he blessed them and sat by the side of\nthe Wazir, talking but gazing the while on the youths.  Presently, the\nservants brought them towels, and they dried themselves and donned\ntheir dress.  Then they went out, and the Minister turned to the Syndic\nand said to him, \"O my lord!  verily the bath is the Paradise[FN#21] of\nthis world.\" Replied the Overseer, \"Allah vouchsafe to thee such\nParadise, and health to thy sons and guard them from the evil eye! Do\nye remember aught that the eloquent have said in praise of the bath.?\"\nQuoth Taj al-Muluk, \"I will repeat for thee a pair of couplets;\" and he\nrecited,\n\nThe life of the bath is the joy of man's life,[FN#22] *\n     Save that time is short for us there to bide:\nA Heaven where irksome it were to stay; *\n     A Hell, delightful at entering-tide.\"\n\nWhen he ended his recital, quoth Aziz, \"And I also remember two\ncouplets in praise of the bath.\" The Overseer said, \"Let me hear them,\"\nso he repeated the following,\n\n\"A house where flowers from stones of granite grow, *\n     Seen at its best when hot with living lows:\nThou deem'st it Hell but here, forsooth, is Heaven, *\n     And some like suns and moons within it show.\"\n\nAnd when he had ended his recital, his verses pleased the Overseer and\nhe wondered at his words and savoured their grace and fecundity and\nsaid to them, \"By Allah, ye possess both beauty and eloquence.  But now\nlisten to me, you twain!\" And he began chanting, and recited in song\nthe following verses,\n\n\"O joy of Hell and Heaven!  whose tormentry *\n     Enquickens frame and soul with lively gree:\nI marvel so delightsome house to view, *\n     And most when 'neath it kindled fires I see:\nSojourn of bliss to visitors, withal *\n     Pools on them pour down tears unceasingly.\"\n\nThen his eye-sight roamed and browsed on the gardens of their beauty\nand he repeated these two couplets,\n\n\"I went to the house of the keeper-man; *\n     He was out, but others to smile began:\nI entered his Heaven[FN#23] and then his Hell;[FN#24] *\n     And I said 'Bless M\u00e1lik[FN#25] and bless Rizw\u00e1n.' \"[FN#26]\n\nWhen they heard these verses they were charmed, and the Over seer\ninvited them to his house; but they declined and returned to their own\nplace, to rest from the great heat of the bath.  So they took their\nease there and ate and drank and passed that night in perfect solace\nand satisfaction, till morning dawned, when they arose from sleep and\nmaking their lesser ablution, prayed the dawn- prayer and drank the\nmorning draught.[FN#27] As soon as the sun had risen and the shops and\nmarkets opened, they arose and going forth from their place to the\nbazar opened their shop, which their servants had already furnished,\nafter the handsomest fashion, and had spread with prayer rugs and\nsilken carpets and had placed on the divans a pair of mattresses, each\nworth an hundred dinars. On every mattress they had disposed a rug of\nskin fit for a King and edged with a fringe of gold; and a-middlemost\nthe shop stood a third seat still richer, even as the place required. \nThen Taj al-Muluk sat down on one divan, and Aziz on another, whilst\nthe Wazir seated himself on that in the centre, and the servants stood\nbefore them.  The city people soon heard of them and crowded about\nthem, so that they sold some of their goods and not a few of their\nstuffs; for Taj al-Muluk's beauty and loveliness had become the talk of\nthe town.  Thus they passed a trifle of time, and every day the people\nflocked to them and pressed upon them more and more, till the Wazir,\nafter exhorting Taj al-Muluk to keep his secret, commended him to the\ncare of Aziz and went home, that he might commune with himself alone\nand cast about for some contrivance which might profit them. \nMeanwhile, the two young men sat talking and Taj al-Muluk said to Aziz,\n\"Haply some one will come from the Lady Dunya.\" So he ceased not\nexpecting this chance days and nights, but his heart was troubled and\nhe knew neither sleep nor rest; for desire had got the mastery of him,\nand love and longing were sore upon him, so that he renounced the\nsolace of sleep and abstained from meat and drink; yet ceased he not to\nbe like the moon on the night of fullness.  Now one day as he sat in\nthe shop, behold, there came up an ancient woman.\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Thirty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir Dandan\ncontinued to Zau al-Makan: Now one day as Taj al-Muluk sat in his shop,\nbehold, there appeared an ancient woman, who came up to him followed by\ntwo slave girls.  She ceased not advancing till she stood before the\nshop of Taj al-Muluk and, observing his symmetry and beauty and\nloveliness, marvelled at his charms and sweated in her petticoat\ntrousers, exclaiming, \"Glory to Him who created thee out of vile water,\nand made thee a temptation to all beholders!\" And she fixed her eyes on\nhim and said, \"This is not a mortal, he is none other than an angel\ndeserving the highest respect.\"[FN#28] Then she drew near and saluted\nhim, whereupon he returned her salute and rose to his feet to receive\nher and smiled in her face (all this by a hint from Aziz); after which\nhe made her sit down by his side and fanned her with a fan, till she\nwas rested and refreshed. Then she turned to Taj al-Muluk and said, \"O\nmy son!  O thou who art perfect in bodily gifts and spiritual graces;\nsay me, art thou of this country?\" He replied, in voice the sweetest\nand in tone the pleasantest, \"By Allah, O my mistress, I was never in\nthis land during my life till this time, nor do I abide here save by\nway of diversion.\" Rejoined she, \"May the Granter grant thee all honour\nand prosperity!  And what stuffs hast thou brought with thee?  Show me\nsomething passing fine; for the beauteous should bring nothing but what\nis beautiful.\" When he heard her words, his heart fluttered and he knew\nnot their inner meaning; but Aziz made a sign to him and he replied, \"I\nhave everything thou canst desire and especially I have goods that\nbesit none but Kings and King's daughters; so tell me what stuff thou\nwantest and for whom, that I may show thee what will be fitting for\nhim.\" This he said, that he might learn the meaning of her words; and\nshe rejoined, \"I want a stuff fit for the Princess Dunya, daughter of\nKing Shahriman.\" Now when the Prince heard the name of his beloved, he\njoyed with great joy and said to Aziz, \"Give me such a parcel.\" So Aziz\nbrought it and opened it before Taj al-Muluk who said to the old woman,\n\"Select what will suit her; for these goods are to be found only with\nme.\" She chose stuffs worth a thousand dinars and asked, \"How much is\nthis?\"; and she ceased not the while to talk with him and rub what was\ninside her thighs with the palm of her hand. Answered Taj al-Muluk,\n\"Shall I haggle with the like of thee about this paltry price?  Praised\nbe Allah who hath acquainted me with thee!\" The old woman rejoined,\n\"Allah's name be upon thee! I commend thy beautiful face to the\nprotection of the Lord of the Daybreak.[FN#29] Beautiful face and\neloquent speech!  Happy she who lieth in thy bosom and claspeth thy\nwaist in her arms and enjoyeth thy youth, especially if she be\nbeautiful and lovely like thyself!\" At this, Taj al-Muluk laughed till\nhe fell on his back and said to himself, \"O Thou who fulfillest desires\nhuman by means of pimping old women!  They are the true fulfillers of\ndesires!\" Then she asked, \"O my son, what is thy name?\" and he\nanswered, \"My name is Taj al-Muluk, the Crown of Kings.\" Quoth she,\n\"This is indeed a name of Kings and King's sons and thou art clad in\nmerchant's clothes.\" Quoth Aziz, \"for the love his parents and family\nbore him and for the value they set on him, they named him thus.\"\nReplied the old woman, \"Thou sayest sooth, Allah guard you both from\nthe evil eye and the envious, though hearts be broken by your charms!\"\nThen she took the stuffs and went her way; but she was amazed at his\nbeauty and stature and symmetry, and she ceased not going till she\nfound the Lady Dunya and said to her, \"O my mistress!  I have brought\nthee some handsome stuffs.\" Quoth the Princess, \"Show me that same\";\nand the old woman, \"O apple of my eye, here it is, turn it over and\nexamine it.\" Now when the Princess looked at it she was amazed and\nsaid, \"O my nurse, this is indeed handsome stuff: I have never seen its\nlike in our city.\" \"O my lady,\" replied the old nurse, \"he who sold it\nme is handsomer still.  It would seem as if Rizwan had left the gates\nof Paradise open in his carelessness, and as if the youth who sold me\nthis stuff had come bodily out of Heaven.  I would he might sleep this\nnight with thee and might lie between thy breasts.[FN#30] He hath come\nto thy city with these precious stuffs for amusement's sake, and he is\na temptation to all who set eyes on him.\" The Princess laughed at her\nwords and said, \"Allah afflict thee, O pernicious old hag! Thou dotest\nand there is no sense left in thee.\" Presently, she resumed, \"Give me\nthe stuff that I may look at it anew.\" So she gave it her and she took\nit again and saw that its size was small and its value great.  It\npleased her, for she had never in her life seen its like, and she\nexclaimed, \"By Allah, this is a handsome stuff!\" Answered the old\nwoman, \"O my lady, by Allah! if thou sawest its owner thou wouldst know\nhim for the handsomest man on the face of the earth.\" Quoth the Lady\nDunya, \"Didst thou ask him if he had any need, that he might tell us\nand we might satisfy it?\" But the nurse shook her head and said, \"The\nLord keep thy sagacity!  By Allah, he hath a want, may thy skill not\nfail thee.  What!  is any man free from wants?\" Rejoined the Princess,\n\"Go back to him and salute him and say to him, 'Our land and town are\nhonoured by thy visit and, if thou have any need, we will fulfil it to\nthee, on our head and eyes.' \"  So the old woman at once returned to\nTaj al-Muluk, and when he saw her his heart jumped for joy and gladness\nand he rose to his feet before her and, taking her hand, seated her by\nhis side.  As soon as she was rested, she told him what Princess Dunya\nhad said; and he on hearing it joyed with exceeding joy; his breast\ndilated to the full; gladness entered his heart and he said to himself,\n\"Verily, I have my need.\" Then he asked the old woman, \"Haply thou wilt\ntake her a message from me and bring me her answer?\"; and she answered,\n\"I hear and I obey.\" So he said to Aziz, \"Bring me ink-case and paper\nand a brazen pen.\" And when Aziz brought him what he sought, he hent\nthe pen in hand and wrote these lines of poetry,\n\n\"I write to thee, O fondest hope!  a writ *\n     Of grief that severance on my soul cloth lay:\nSaith its first line, 'Within my heart is [owe!' *\n     Its second, 'Love and Longing on me prey!'\nIts third, 'My patience waste is, fades my life!' *\n     Its fourth, 'Naught shall my pain and pine allay!'\nIts fifth, 'When shall mine eyes enjoy thy sight?' *\n     Its sixth, 'Say, when shall dawn our meeting-day?' \"\n\nAnd, lastly, by way of subscription he wrote these words. \"This letter\nis from the captive of captivation * prisoned in the hold of longing\nexpectation * wherefrom is no emancipation * but in anticipation and\nintercourse and in unification * after absence and separation. * For\nfrom the severance of friends he loveth so fain * he suffereth love\npangs and pining pain. *\" Then his tears rushed out, and he indited\nthese two couplets,\n\n\"I write thee, love, the while my tears pour down; *\n     Nor cease they ever pouring thick and fleet:\nYet I despair not of my God, whose grace *\n     Haply some day will grant us twain to meet.\"\n\nThen he folded the letter[FN#31] and sealed it with his signet ring and\ngave it to the old woman, saying, \"Carry it to the Lady Dunya.\" Quoth\nshe, \"To hear is to obey;\" whereupon he gave her a thousand dinars and\nsaid to her, \"O my mother!  accept this gift from me as a token of my\naffection.\" She took both from him and blessed him and went her way and\nnever stinted walking till she went in to the Lady Dunya.  Now when the\nPrincess saw her she said to her, \"O my nurse, what is it he asketh of\nneed that we may fulfil his wish to him?\" Replied the old woman, \"O my\nlady, he sendeth thee this letter by me, and I know not what is in it;\"\nand handed it to her.  Then the Princess took the letter and read it;\nand when she understood it, she exclaimed, \"Whence cometh and whither\ngoeth this merchant man that he durst address such a letter to me?\" And\nshe slapt her face saying, \"'Whence are we that we should come to\nshopkeeping?  Awah!  Awah!  By the lord, but that I fear Almighty Allah\nI had slain him;\" and she added, \"Yea, I had crucified[FN#32] him over\nhis shop door!\" Asked the old woman, \"What is in this letter to vex thy\nheart and move thy wrath on this wise?  Doth it contain a complaint of\noppression or demand for the price of the stuff?\" Answered the\nPrincess, \"Woe to thee!  There is none of this in it, naught but words\nof love and endearment.  This is all through thee: otherwise whence\nshould this Satan[FN#33] know me?\" Rejoined the old woman, \"o my lady,\nthou sittest in thy high palace and none may have access to thee; no,\nnot even the birds of the air.  Allah keep thee, and keep thy youth\nfrom blame and reproach!  Thou needest not care for the barking of\ndogs, for thou art a Princess, the daughter of a King.  Be not wroth\nwith me that I brought thee this letter, knowing not what was in it;\nbut I opine that thou send him an answer and threaten him with death\nand forbid him this foolish talk; surely he will abstain and not do the\nlike again.\" Quoth the Lady Dunya, \"I fear that, if I write to him, he\nwill desire me the more.\" The old woman returned \"When he heareth thy\nthreats and promise of punishment, he will desist from his\npersistence.\" She cried, \"Here with the ink case and paper and brazen\npen;\" and when they brought them she wrote these couplets,\n\n\"O thou who for thy wakeful nights wouldst claim my love\n     to boon, * For what of pining thou must feel and\n     tribulation!\nDost thou, fond fool and proud of sprite, seek meeting with the\n     Moon? * Say, did man ever win his wish to take in arms the\n     Moon?\nI counsel thee, from soul cast out the wish that dwells\n     therein, * And cut that short which threatens thee with\n     sore risk oversoon:\nAn to such talk thou dare return, I bid thee to expect *\n     Fro' me such awful penalty as suiteth froward loon:\nI swear by Him who moulded man from gout of clotted\n     blood,[FN#34] * Who lit the Sun to shine by day and lit\n     for night the moon,\nAn thou return to mention that thou spakest in thy pride, *\n     Upon a cross of tree for boon I'll have thee crucified!\"\n\nThen she folded the letter and handing it to the old woman said, \"Give\nhim this and say him, 'Cease from this talk!' \" \"Hearkening and\nobedience,\" replied she, and taking the letter with joy, returned to\nher own house, where she passed the night; and when morning dawned she\nbetook herself to the shop of Taj al-Muluk whom she found expecting\nher.  When he saw her, he was ready to fly[FN#35] for delight, and when\nshe came up to him, he stood to her on his feet and seated her by his\nside.  Then she brought out the letter and gave it to him, saying,\n\"Read what is in this;\" adding \"When Princess Dunya read thy letter she\nwas angry; but I coaxed her and jested with her till I made her laugh,\nand she had pity on thee and she hath returned thee an answer.\" He\nthanked her for her kindness and bade Aziz give her a thousand gold\npieces: then he perused the letter and understanding it fell to weeping\na weeping so sore that the old woman's heart was moved to ruth for him,\nand his tears and complaints were grievous to her. Presently she asked\nhim, \"O my son, what is there in this letter to make thee weep?\"\nAnswered he, \"She hath threatened me with death and crucifixion and she\nforbiddeth me to write to her, but if I write not my death were better\nthan my life.  So take thou my answer to the letter and let her work\nher will.\" Rejoined the old woman, \"By the life of thy youth, needs\nmust I risk my existence for thee, that I may bring thee to thy desire\nand help thee to win what thou hast at heart!\" And Taj al-Muluk said,\n\"Whatever thou dost, I will requite thee for it and do thou weigh it in\nthe scales of thy judgement, for thou art experienced in managing\nmatters, and skilled in reading the chapters of the book of intrigue:\nall hard matters to thee are easy doings; and Allah can bring about\neverything.\" Then he took a sheet of paper and wrote thereon these\nimprovised couplets,\n\n\"Yestre'en my love with slaughter menaced me, *\n     But sweet were slaughter and Death's foreordain\u010dd:\nYes, Death is sweet for lover doomed to bear *\n     Long life, rejected, injured and constrain\u010dd:\nBy Allah!  deign to visit friendless friend!  *\n     Thy thrall am I and like a thrall I'm chain\u010dd:\nMercy, O lady mine, for loving thee!  *\n     Who loveth noble soul should be assain\u010dd.\"\n\nThen he sighed heavy sighs and wept till the old woman wept also and\npresently taking the letter she said to him, \"Be of good cheer and cool\neyes and clear; for needs must I bring thee to thy wish.\"\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Taj al-Muluk\nwept the old woman said to him, \"Be of good cheer and cool eyes and\nclear; for needs must I bring thee to thy wish.\" Then she rose and left\nhim on coals of fire; and returned to Princess Dunya, whom she found\nstill showing on her changed face rage at Taj al-Muluk's letter.  So\nshe gave her his second letter, whereat her wrath redoubled and she\nsaid, \"Did I not say he would desire us the more?\" Replied the old\nwoman, \"What thing is this dog that he should aspire to thee?\" Quoth\nthe Princess, \"Go back to him and tell him that, if he write me after\nthis, I will cut off his head.\" Quoth the nurse, \"Write these words in\na letter and I will take it to him that his fear may be the greater.\"\nSo she took a sheet of paper and wrote thereon these couplets,\n\n\"Ho thou, who past and bygone risks regardest with uncare! *\n     Thou who to win thy meeting prize dost overslowly fare!\nIn pride of spirit thinkest thou to win the star Soha[FN#36]? *\n     Albe thou may not reach the Moon which shines through\n     upper air?\nHow darest thou expect to win my favours, hope to clip *\n     Upon a lover's burning breast my lance like shape and rare?\nLeave this thy purpose lest my wrath come down on thee some\n     day, * A day of wrath shall hoary turn the partings of\n     thy hair!\"\n\nThen she folded the letter and gave it to the old woman, who took it\nand repaired to Taj al-Muluk.  And when he saw her, he rose to his feet\nand exclaimed, \"May Allah never bereave me of the blessing of thy\ncoming!\" Quoth she, \"Take the answer to thy letter.\" He took it and\nreading it, wept with sore weeping and said, \"I long for some one to\nslay me at this moment and send me to my rest, for indeed death were\neasier to me than this my state!\" Then he took ink case and pen and\npaper and wrote a letter containing these two couplets,\n\n\"O hope of me!  pursue me not with rigour and disdain: *\n     Deign thou to visit lover wight in love of thee is drowned;\nDeem not a life so deeply wronged I longer will endure; * My soul\n     for severance from my friend divorced this frame unsound.\"\n\nLastly he folded the letter and handed it to the old woman, saying, \"Be\nnot angry with me, though I have wearied thee to no purpose.\" And he\nbade Aziz give her other thousand ducats, saying, \"O my mother, needs\nmust this letter result in perfect union or utter severance.\" Replied\nshe, \"O my son, by Allah, I desire nought but thy weal; and it is my\nobject that she be thine, for indeed thou art the shining moon, and she\nthe rising sun.[FN#37] If I do not bring you together, there is no\nprofit in my existence; and I have lived my life till I have reached\nthe age of ninety years in the practice of wile and intrigue; so how\nshould I fail to unite two lovers, though in defiance of right and\nlaw?\" Then she took leave of him having comforted his heart, and ceased\nnot walking till she went in to the Lady Dunya.  Now she had hidden the\nletter in her hair: so when she sat down by the Princess she rubbed her\nhead and said, \"O my lady, maybe thou wilt untwist my hair knot, for it\nis a time since I went to the Hammam.\" The King's daughter bared her\narms to the elbows and, letting down the old woman's locks, began to\nloose the knot of back hair; when out dropped the letter and the Lady\nDunya seeing it, asked, \"What is this paper?\" Quoth the nurse, \"As I\nsat in the merchant's shop, this paper must have stuck to me: give it\nto me that I may return it to him; possibly it containeth some account\nwhereof he hath need.\" But the Princess opened it and read it and, when\nshe understood it, she cried out, \"This is one of thy manifold tricks,\nand hadst thou not reared me, I would lay violent hands on thee this\nmoment!  Verily Allah hath afflicted me with this merchant: but all\nthat hath befallen me with him is on thy head.  I know not from what\ncountry this one can have come: no man but he would venture to affront\nme thus, and I fear lest this my case get abroad, more by token as it\nconcerneth one who is neither of my kin nor of my peers.\" Rejoined the\nold woman \"None would dare speak of this for fear of thy wrath and for\nawe of thy sire; so there can be no harm in sending him an answer.\"\nQuoth the Princess, \"O my nurse, verily this one is a perfect Satan!\nHow durst he use such language to me and not dread the Sultan's rage. \nIndeed, I am perplexed about his case: if I order him to be put to\ndeath, it were unjust; and if I leave him alive his boldness will\nincrease.\" Quoth the old woman, \"Come, write him a letter; it may be he\nwill desist in dread.\" So she called for paper and ink case and pen and\nwrote these couplets,\n\n\"Thy folly drives thee on though long I chid, *\n     Writing in verse: how long shall I forbid?\nFor all forbiddal thou persistest more, *\n     And my sole grace it is to keep it hid;\nThen hide thy love nor ever dare reveal, *\n     For an thou speak, of thee I'll soon be rid\nIf to thy silly speech thou turn anew, *\n     Ravens shall croak for thee the wold amid:\nAnd Death shall come and beat thee down ere long, *\n     Put out of sight and bury 'neath an earthen lid:\nThy folk, fond fool!  thou'lt leave for thee to mourn, *\n     And through their lives to sorrow all forlorn.\"\n\nThen she folded the letter and committed it to the old woman, who took\nit and returning to Taj al-Muluk, gave it to him.  When he read it, he\nknew that the Princess was hard hearted and that he should not win\naccess to her; so he complained of his case to the Wazir and besought\nhis counsel.  Quoth the Minister, \"Know thou that naught will profit\nthee save that thou write to her and invoke the retribution of Heaven\nupon her.\" And quoth the Prince, \"O my brother, O Aziz, do thou write\nto her as if my tongue spake, according to thy knowledge.\" So Aziz took\na paper and wrote these couplets,\n\n\"By the Five Shaykhs,[FN#38] O Lord, I pray deliver me; *\n     Let her for whom I suffer bear like misery:\nThou knowest how I fry in flaming lowe of love, *\n     While she I love hath naught of ruth or clemency:\nHow long shall I, despite my pain, her feelings spare? *\n     How long shall she wreak tyranny o'er weakling me?\nIn pains of never ceasing death I ever grieve: *\n     O Lord, deign aid; none other helping hand I see.\nHow fain would I forget her and forget her love! *\n     But how forget when Love garred Patience death to dree?\nO thou who hinderest Love to 'joy fair meeting tide *\n     Say!  art thou safe from Time and Fortune's jealousy?\nArt thou not glad and blest with happy life, while I *\n     From folk and country for thy love am doomed flee?\"\n\nThen Aziz folded the letter and gave it to Taj al-Muluk, who read it\nand was pleased with it.  So he handed it to the old woman, who took it\nand went in with it to Princess Dunya.  But when she read it and\nmastered the meaning thereof, she was enraged with great rage and said,\n\"All that hath befallen me cometh by means of this ill omened old\nwoman!\" Then she cried out to the damsels and eunuchs, saying, \"Seize\nthis old hag, this accursed trickstress and beat her with your\nslippers!\" So they came down upon her till she swooned away; and, when\nshe came to herself, the Princess said to her, \"By the Lord!  O wicked\nold woman, did I not fear Almighty Allah, I would slay thee.\" Then\nquoth she to them, \"Beat her again\" and they did so till she fainted a\nsecond time, whereupon she bade them drag her forth and throw her\noutside the palace door. So they dragged her along on her face and\nthrew her down before the gate; but as soon as she revived she got up\nfrom the ground and, walking and sitting by turns, made her way home. \nThere she passed the night till morning, when she arose and went to Taj\nal-Muluk and told them all that had occurred.  He was distressed at\nthis grievous news and said, \"O my mother, hard indeed to us is that\nwhich hath befallen thee, but all things are according to fate and\nman's lot.\" Replied she, \"Be of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool and\nclear, for I will not give over striving till I have brought thee and\nher together, and made thee enjoy this wanton who hath burnt my skin\nwith beating.\" Asked the Prince \"Tell me what caused her to hate men;\"\nand the old woman answered, \"It arose from what she saw in a dream.\"\n\"And what was this dream?\" \"'Twas this: one night, as she lay asleep,\nshe saw a fowler spread his net upon the ground and scatter wheat grain\nround it.  Then he sat down hard by, and not a bird in the\nneighbourhood but flocked to his toils.  Amongst the rest she beheld a\npair of pigeons, male and female; and, whilst she was watching the net,\nbehold, the male bird's foot caught in the meshes and he began to\nstruggle; whereupon all the other birds took fright and flew away.  But\npresently his mate came back and hovered over him, then alighted on the\ntoils unobserved by the fowler, and fell to pecking with her beak and\npulling at the mesh in which the male bird's foot was tangled, till she\nreleased the toes and they flew away together.  Then the fowler came\nup, mended his net and seated himself afar off. After an hour or so the\nbirds flew back and the female pigeon was caught in the net; whereupon\nall the other birds took fright and scurried away; and the male pigeon\nfled with the rest and did not return to his mate, but the fowler came\nup and took the female pigeon and cut her throat.  The Princess awoke,\ntroubled by her dream, and said, 'All males are like this pigeon,\nworthless creatures: and men in general lack grace and goodness to\nwomen.'\" When the old woman had ended her story, the Prince said to\nher, \"O my mother, I desire to have one look at her, though it be my\ndeath; so do thou contrive me some contrivance for seeing her.\" She\nreplied, \"Know then that she hath under her palace windows a garden\nwherein she taketh her pleasure; and thither she resorteth once in\nevery month by the private door.  After ten days, the time of her thus\ngoing forth to divert herself will arrive; so when she is about to\nvisit the garden, I will come and tell thee, that thou mayst go thither\nand meet her.  And look thou leave not the garden, for haply, an she\nsee thy beauty and Loveliness, her heart will be taken with love of\nthee, and love is the most potent means of union.\" He said, \"I hear and\nobey;\" whereupon he and Aziz arose and left the shop and, taking the\nold woman with them, showed her the place where they lodged.  Then said\nTaj al- Muluk to Aziz, \"O my brother, I have no need of the shop now,\nhaving fulfilled my purpose of it; so I give it to thee with all that\nis in it; for that thou hast come abroad with me and hast left thy\nnative land for my sake.\" Aziz accepted his gift and then they sat\nconversing, while the Prince questioned him of the strange adventures\nwhich had befallen him, and his companion acquainted him with the\nparticulars thereof.  Presently, they went to the Wazir and, reporting\nto him Taj al-Muluk's purpose, asked him, \"What is to be done?\" \"Let us\ngo to the garden,\" answered he.  So each and every donned richest\nclothes and went forth, followed by three white slaves to the garden,\nwhich they found thick with thickets and railing its rills.  When they\nsaw the keeper sitting at the gate, they saluted him with the Salam and\nhe returned their salute.  Then the Wazir gave him an hundred gold\npieces, saying, \"Prithee, take this small sum and fetch us somewhat to\neat; for we are strangers and I have with me these two lads whom I wish\nto divert.\"[FN#39] The Gardener took the sequins and said to them,\n\"Enter and amuse yourselves in the garden, for it is all yours; and sit\ndown till I bring you what food you require.\" So he went to the market\nwhile the Wazir and Taj al-Muluk and Aziz entered the garden.  And\nshortly after leaving for the bazar the Gardener returned with a\nroasted lamb and cotton white bread, which he placed before them, and\nthey ate and drank; thereupon he served up sweetmeats, and they ate of\nthem, and washed their hands and sat talking.  Presently the Wazir said\nto the garth keeper, \"Tell me about this garden: is it thine or dost\nthou rent it?\" The Shaykh replied, \"It doth not belong to me, but to\nour King's daughter, the Princess Dunya.\" \"What be thy monthly wages?\"\nasked the Wazir and he answered, \"One diner and no more.\" Then the\nMinister looked round about the garden and, seeing in its midst a\npavilion tall and grand but old and disused, said to the keeper, \"O\nelder, I am minded to do here a good work, by which thou shalt remember\nme.  Replied the other, \"O my lord, what is the good work thou wouldest\ndo?\" \"Take these three hundred diners,\" rejoined the Wazir When the\nKeeper heard speak of the gold, he said, \"O my lord, whatso thou wilt,\ndo!\" So the Wazir gave him the monies, saying, \"Inshallah, we will make\na good work in this place!\" Then they left him and returned to their\nlodging, where they passed the night; and when it was the next day, the\nMinister sent for a plasterer and a painter and a skilful goldsmith\nand, furnishing them with all the tools they wanted, carried them to\nthe garden, where he bade them whitewash the walls of the pavilion and\ndecorate it with various kinds of paintings. Moreover he sent for gold\nand lapis lazuli[FN#40] and said to the painter, \"Figure me on the\nwall, at the upper end of this hall, a man fowler with his nets spread\nand birds falling into them and a female pigeon entangled in the meshes\nby her bill.\" And when the painter had finished his picture on one\nside, the Wazir said, \"Figure me on the other side a similar figure and\nrepresent the she pigeon alone in the snare and the fowler seizing her\nand setting the knife to her neck; and draw on the third side wall, a\ngreat raptor clutching the male pigeon, her mate, and digging talons\ninto him.\" The artist did his bidding, and when he and the others had\nfinished the designs, they received their hire and went away.  Then the\nWazir and his companions took leave of the Gardener and returned to\ntheir place, where they sat down to converse.  And Taj al-Muluk said to\nAziz, \"O my brother, recite me some verses: perchance it may broaden my\nbreast and dispel my dolours and quench the fire flaming in my heart.\"\nSo Aziz chanted with sweet modulation these couplets,\n\n\"Whate'er they say of grief to lovers came, *\n     I, weakling I, can single handed claim:\nAn seek thou watering spot,[FN#41] my streaming eyes *\n     Pour floods that thirst would quench howe'er it flame\nOr wouldest view what ruin Love has wrought *\n     With ruthless hands, then see this wasted frame.\"\n\nAnd his eyes ran over with tears and he repeated these couplets also,\n\n\"Who loves not swan-neck and gazelle-like eyes, *\n     Yet claims to know Life's joys, I say he lies:\nIn Love is mystery, none avail to learn *\n     Save he who loveth in pure loving wise.\nAllah my heart ne'er lighten of this love, *\n     Nor rob the wakefulness these eyelids prize.\"\n\nThen he changed the mode of song and sang these couplets:\n\n\"Ibn S\u00edn\u00e1[FN#42] in his Canon cloth opine *\n     Lovers' best cure is found in merry song:\nIn meeting lover of a like degree, *\n     Dessert in garden, wine draughts long and strong:\nI chose another who of thee might cure *\n     While Force and Fortune aided well and long\nBut ah! I learnt Love's mortal ill, wherein *\n     Ibn Sina's recipe is fond and wrong.\"\n\nAfter hearing them to the end, Taj al-Muluk was pleased with his verses\nand wondered at his eloquence and the excellence of his recitation,\nsaying, \"Indeed, thou hast done away with somewhat of my sorrow.\" Then\nquoth the Wazir \"Of a truth, there occurred to those of old what\nastoundeth those who hear it told.\" Quoth the Prince, \"If thou canst\nrecall aught of this kind, prithee let us hear thy subtle lines and\nkeep up the talk.\" So the Minister chanted in modulated song these\ncouplets,\n\n\"Indeed I deemed thy favours might be bought *\n     By gifts of gold and things that joy the sprite\nAnd ignorantly thought thee light-o'-love, *\n     When can thy love lay low the highmost might;\nUntil I saw thee choosing one, that one *\n     Loved with all favour, crowned with all delight:\nThen wot I thou by sleight canst ne'er be won *\n     And under wing my head I hid from sight\nAnd in this nest of passion made my wone, *\n     Wherein I nestle morning, noon and night.\"\n\nSo far concerning them; but as regards the old woman she remained shut\nup from the world in her house, till it befel that the King's daughter\nwas taken with a desire to divert herself in the garden.  Now she had\nnever been wont so to do save in company with her nurse; accordingly\nshe sent for her and made friends with her and soothed her sorrow,\nsaying, \"I wish to go forth to the garden, that I may divert myself\nwith the sight of its trees and Fruits, and broaden my breast with the\nscent of its flowers.\" Replied the old woman, \"I hear and obey; but\nfirst I would go to my house, and soon I will be with thee.\" The\nPrincess rejoined, \"Go home, but be not long absent from me.\" So the\nold woman left her and, repairing to Taj al-Muluk, said to him, \"Get\nthee ready and don thy richest dress and go to the garden and find out\nthe Gardener and salute him and then hide thyself therein.\" \"To hear is\nto obey\" answered he; and she agreed with him upon a signal, after\nwhich she returned to the Lady Dunya.  As soon as she was gone, the\nWazir and Aziz rose and robed Taj al-Muluk in a splendid suit of royal\nraiment worth five thousand diners, and girt his middle with a girdle\nof gold set with gems and precious metals.  Then they repaired to the\ngarden and found seated at the gate the Keeper who, as soon as he saw\nthe Prince, sprang to his feet and received him with all respect and\nreverence, and opening the gate, said, \"Enter and take thy pleasure in\nlooking at the garden.\" Now the Gardener knew not that the King's\ndaughter was to visit the place that day; but when Taj al-Muluk had\nbeen a little while there, he heard a hubbub and ere he could think,\nout issued the eunuchs and damsels by the private wicket.  The Gardener\nseeing this came up to the Prince, informed him of her approach and\nsaid to him, \"O my lord, what is to be done?  The Princess Dunya, the\nKing's daughter, is here.\" Replied the Prince, \"Fear not, no harm shall\nbefal thee; for I will hide me somewhere about the garden.\" So the\nKeeper exhorted him to the utmost prudence and went away.  Presently\nthe Princess entered the garden with her damsels and with the old\nwoman, who said to herself, \"If these eunuchs stay with us, we shall\nnot attain our end.\" So quoth she to the King's daughter, \"O my lady, I\nhave somewhat to tell thee which shall ease thy heart.\" Quoth the\nPrincess, \"Say what thou hast to say.\" \"O my lady, rejoined the old\nwoman, \"thou hast no need of these eunuchs at a time like the present;\nnor wilt thou be able to divert thyself at thine ease, whilst they are\nwith us; so send them away;\" and the Lady Dunya replied, \"Thou speakest\nsooth\" Accordingly she dismissed them and presently began to walk\nabout, whilst Taj al-Muluk looked upon her and fed his eyes on her\nbeauty and loveliness (but she knew it not); and every time he gazed at\nher he fainted by reason of her passing charms.[FN#43] The old woman\ndrew her on by converse till they reached the pavilion which the Wazir\nhad bidden be decorated, when the Princess entered and cast a glance\nround and perceived the picture of the birds the fowler and the pigeon;\nwhereupon she cried, \"Exalted be Allah!  This is the very counterfeit\npresentment of what I saw in my dream.\" She continued to gaze at the\nfigures of the birds and the fowler with his net, admiring the work,\nand presently she said, \"O my nurse, I have been wont to blame and hate\nmen, but look now at the fowler how he hath slaughtered the she bird\nwho set free her mate; who was minded to return to her and aid her to\nescape when the bird of prey met him and tore him to pieces.\" Now the\nold woman feigned ignorance to her and ceased not to occupy her in\nconverse, till they drew near the place where Taj al-Muluk lay hidden.\nThereupon she signed to him to come out and walk under the windows of\nthe pavilion, and, as the Lady Dunya stood looking from the casement,\nbehold, her glance fell that way and she saw him and noting his beauty\nof face and form, said to the old woman, \"O my nurse, whence cometh\nyonder handsome youth?\" Replied the old woman, \"I know nothing of him\nsave that I think he must be some great King's son, for he attaineth\ncomeliness in excess and extreme loveliness.\" And the Lady Dunya fell\nin love with him to distraction; the spells which bound her were loosed\nand her reason was overcome by his beauty and grace; and his fine\nstature and proportions strongly excited her desires sexual.  So she\nsaid, \"O my nurse!  this is indeed a handsome youth;\" and the old woman\nreplied, \"Thou sayest sooth, O my lady,\" and signed to Taj al-Muluk to\ngo home.  And though desire and longing flamed in him and he was\ndistraught for love, yet he went away and took leave of the Gardener\nand returned to his place, obeying the old woman and not daring to\ncross her.  When he told the Wazir and Aziz that she had signed him to\ndepart, they exhorted him to patience, saying, \"Did not the ancient\ndame know that there was an object to be gained by thy departure, she\nhad not signalled thee to return home.\" Such was the case with Taj\nal-Muluk, the Wazir and Aziz but as regards the King's daughter, the\nLady Dunya, desire and passion redoubled upon her; she was overcome\nwith love and longing and she said to her nurse, \"I know not how I\nshall manage a meeting with this youth, but through thee.\" Exclaimed\nthe old woman, \"I take refuge with Allah from Satan the stoned!  Thou\nwho art averse from men!  How cometh it then that thou art thus\nafflicted with hope and fear of this young man?  Yet, by Allah, none is\nworthy of thy youth but he.\" Quoth the Lady Dunya, \"O my nurse, further\nmy cause and help me to foregather with him, and thou shalt have of me\na thousand diners and a dress of honour worth as much more: but if thou\naid me not to come at him, I am a dead woman in very sooth.\" Replied\nthe ancient dame, \"Go to thy palace and leave me to devise means for\nbringing you twain together.  I will throw away my life to content you\nboth!\" So the Lady Dunya returned to her palace, and the old woman\nbetook herself to Taj al-Muluk who, when he saw her, rose to receive\nher and entreated her with respect and reverence making her sit by his\nside.  Then she said, \"The trick hath succeeded,\" and told him all that\nhad passed between herself and the Princess.  He asked her, \"When is\nour meeting to be?\"; and she answered, \"Tomorrow.\" So he gave her a\nthousand diners and a dress of like value, and she took them and\nstinted not walking till she returned to her mistress, who said to her,\n\"O my nurse!  what news of the be loved?\" Replied she, \"I have learnt\nwhere he liveth and will bring him to thee tomorrow.\" At this the\nPrincess was glad and gave her a thousand diners and a dress worth as\nmuch more, and she took them and returned to her own place, where she\npassed the night till morning.  Then she went to Taj al-Muluk and\ndressing him in woman's clothes, said to him, \"Follow me and sway from\nside to side[FN#44] as thou steppest, and hasten not thy pace nor take\nheed of any who speaketh to thee.\" And after thus charging him she went\nout, and the Prince followed her in woman's attire and she continued to\ncharge and encourage him by the way, that he might not be afraid; nor\nceased they walking till they came to the Palace-gate.  She entered and\nthe Prince after her, and she led him on, passing through doors and\nvestibules, till they had passed seven doors.[FN#45] As they approached\nthe seventh, she said to him, \"Hearten thy heart and when I call out to\nthee and say, 'O damsel pass on!' do not slacken thy pace, but advance\nas if about to run.  When thou art in the vestibule, look to thy left\nand thou wilt see a saloon with doors: count five doors and enter the\nsixth, for therein is thy desire.\" Asked Taj al-Muluk, \"And whither\nwilt thou go?\"; and she answered, \"Nowhere shall I go except that\nperhaps I may drop behind thee, and the Chief Eunuch may detain me to\nchat with him.\" She walked on (and he behind her) till she reached the\ndoor where the Chief Eunuch was stationed and he, seeing Taj al-Muluk\nwith her dressed as a slave girl, said to the old woman, \"What business\nhath this girl with thee?\" Replied she, \"This is a slave girl of whom\nthe Lady Dunya hath heard that she is skilled in different kinds of\nwork and she hath a mind to buy her.\" Rejoined the Eunuch, \"I know\nneither slave girls nor anyone else; and none shall enter here without\nmy searching according to the King's commands.\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Chamberlain\nEunuch cried to the old woman, \"I know neither slave girl nor anyone\nelse; and none shall enter here without my searching him according to\nthe King's commands.\" Then quoth she, feigning to be angry, \"I thought\nthee a man of sense and good breeding; but, if thou be changed, I will\nlet the Princess know of it and tell her how thou hinderest her slave\ngirl;\" and she cried out to Taj al-Muluk, saying, \"Pass on, O damsel!\"\nSo he passed on into the vestibule as she bade him, whilst the Eunuch\nwas silent and said no more.  The Prince counted five doors and entered\nthe sixth where he found the Princess Dunya standing and awaiting him. \nAs soon as she saw him, she knew him and clasped him to her breast, and\nhe clasped her to his bosom.  Presently the old woman came in to them,\nhaving made a pretext to dismiss the Princess's slave girls for fear of\ndisgrace; and the Lady Dunya said to her, \"Be thou our door keeper!\" So\nshe and Taj al- Muluk abode alone together and ceased not kissing and\nembracing and twining leg with leg till dawn.[FN#46] When day drew\nnear, she left him and, shutting the door upon him, passed into another\nchamber, where she sat down as was her wont, whilst her slave women\ncame in to her, and she attended to their affairs and conversed with\nthem.  Then she said to them, \"Go forth from me now, for I wish to\namuse myself in privacy.\" So they withdrew and she betook herself to\nTaj al-Muluk, and the old woman brought them food, of which they ate\nand returned to amorous dalliance till dawn.  Then the door was locked\nupon him as on the day before; and they ceased not to do thus for a\nwhole month.  This is how it fared with Taj al-Muluk and the Lady\nDunya; but as regards the Wazir and Aziz when they found that the\nPrince had gone to the Palace of the King's daughter and there delayed\nall the while, they concluded that he would never return from it and\nthat he was lost for ever; and Aziz said to the Wazir, \"O my father,\nwhat shall we do?\" He replied, \"O my son, this is a difficult matter,\nand except we return to his sire and tell him, he will blame us\ntherefor.\" So they made ready at once and forthright set out for the\nGreen Land and the Country of the Two Columns, and sought Sulayman\nShah's capital.  And they traversed the valleys night and day till they\nwent in to the King, and acquainted him with what had befallen his son\nand how from the time he entered the Princess's Palace they had heard\nno news of him.  At this the King was as though the Day of Doom had\ndawned for him and regret was sore upon him, and he proclaimed a Holy\nWar[FN#47] throughout his realm.  After which he sent forth his host\nwithout the town and pitched tents for them and took up his abode in\nhis pavilion, whilst the levies came from all parts of the kingdom; for\nhis subjects loved him by reason of his great justice and beneficence. \nThen he marched with an army walling the horizon, and departed in quest\nof his son. Thus far concerning them; but as regards Taj al-Muluk and\nthe Lady Dunya the two remained as they were half a year's time, whilst\nevery day they redoubled in mutual affection; and love and longing and\npassion and desire so pressed upon Taj al Muluk, that at last he opened\nhis mind and said to her, \"Know, O beloved of my heart and vitals, that\nthe longer I abide with thee, the more love and longing and passion and\ndesire increase on me, for that I have not yet fulfilled the whole of\nmy wish.\" Asked she, \"What then wouldst thou have, O light of my eyes\nand fruit of my vitals?  If thou desire aught beside kissing and\nembracing and entwining of legs with legs, do what pleaseth thee; for,\nby Allah, no partner hath any part in us.\"[FN#48] But he answered \"It\nis not that I wish: I would fain acquaint thee with my true story. \nKnow, then, that I am no merchant, nay, I am a King the son of a King,\nand my father's name is the supreme King Sulayman Shah, who sent his\nWazir ambassador to thy father, to demand thee in marriage for me, but\nwhen the news came to thee thou wouldst not consent.\" Then he told her\nhis past from first to last, nor is there any avail in a twice told\ntale, and he added, \"And now I wish to return to my father, that he may\nsend an ambassador to thy sire, to demand thee in wedlock for me, so we\nmay be at ease.\" When she heard these words, she joyed with great joy\nbecause it suited with her own wishes, and they passed the night on\nthis understanding.  But it so befel by the decree of Destiny that\nsleep overcame them that night above all nights and they remained till\nthe sun had risen.  Now at this hour, King Shahriman was sitting on his\ncushion of estate, with his Emirs and Grandees before him, when the\nSyndic of the goldsmiths presented himself between his hands, carrying\na large box.  And he advanced and opening it in presence of the King,\nbrought out therefrom a casket of fine work worth an hundred thousand\ndiners, for that which was therein of precious stones, rubies and\nemeralds beyond the competence of any sovereign on earth to procure.\nWhen the King saw this, he marvelled at its beauty; and, turning to the\nChief Eunuch (him with whom the old woman had had to do), said to him,\n\"O Kafur,[FN#49] take this casket and wend with it to the Princess\nDunya.\" The Castrato took the casket and repairing to the apartment of\nthe King's daughter found the door shut and the old woman lying asleep\non the threshold; whereupon said he, \"What!  sleeping at this hour?\"\nWhen the old woman heard the Eunuch's voice she started from sleep and\nwas terrified and said to him, \"Wait till I fetch the key.\" Then she\nwent forth and fled for her life.  Such was her case; but as regards\nthe Epicene he, seeing her alarm, lifted the door off its hinge\npins,[FN#50] and entering found the Lady Dunya with her arms round the\nneck of Taj al-Muluk and both fast asleep.  At this sight he was\nconfounded and was preparing to return to the King, when the Princess\nawoke, and seeing him, was terrified and changed colour and waxed pale,\nand said to him, \"O Kafur, veil thou what Allah hath veiled!\"[FN#51]\nBut he replied, \"I cannot conceal aught from the King\"; and, locking\nthe door on them, returned to Shahriman, who asked him, \"Hast thou\ngiven the casket to the Princess?\" Answered the Eunuch, \"Take the\ncasket, here it is for I cannot conceal aught from thee.  Know that I\nfound a handsome young man by the side of the Princess and they two\nasleep in one bed and in mutual embrace.\" The King commanded them to be\nbrought into the presence and said to them, \"What manner of thing is\nthis?\" and, being violently enraged, seized a dagger and was about to\nstrike Taj al-Muluk with it, when the Lady Dunya threw herself upon him\nand said to her father, \"Slay me before thou slayest him.\" The King\nreviled her and commended her to be taken back to her chamber: then he\nturned to Taj al-Muluk and said to him, \"Woe to thee! whence art thou? \nWho is thy father and what hath emboldened thee to debauch my\ndaughter?\" Replied the Prince, \"Know, O King, that if thou put me to\ndeath, thou art a lost man, and thou and all in thy dominions will\nrepent the deed.\" Quoth the King, \"How so?\"; and quoth Taj al-Muluk\n\"Know that I am the son of King Sulayman Shah, and ere thou knowest it,\nhe will be upon thee with his horse and foot.\" When King Shahriman\nheard these words he would have deferred killing Taj al-Muluk and would\nrather have put him in prison, till he should look into the truth of\nhis words; but his Wazir said to him, \"O King of the Age, it is my\nopinion that thou make haste to slay this gallows bird who dares\ndebauch the daughters of Kings.\" So the King cried to the headsman,\n\"Strike off his head; for he is a traitor.\" Accordingly, the herdsman\ntook him and bound him fast and raised his hand to the Emirs, signing\nto consult them, a first and a second signal, thinking thereby to gain\ntime in this matter;[FN#52] but the King cried in anger to him, \"How\nlong wilt thou consult others?  If thou consult them again I will\nstrike off thine own head.;' So the headsman raised his hand till the\nhair of his armpit showed' and was about to smite his neck,\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted\nsay.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the headsman\nraised his hand to smite off his head when behold, loud cries arose and\nthe folk closed their shops; whereupon the King said to the headsman,\n\"Wait awhile,\" and despatched one to learn the news.  The messenger\nfared forth and presently returned and reported, \"I saw an army like\nthe dashing sea with its clashing surge: and their horses curvetting\ntill earth trembleth with the tramp; and I know no more of them.\" When\nthe King heard this, he was confounded and feared for his realm lest it\nshould be torn from him; so he turned to his Minister and said, \"Have\nnot any of our army gone forth to meet this army?\" But ere he had done\nspeaking, his Chamberlains entered with messengers from the King who\nwas approaching, and amongst them the Wazir who had accompanied Taj\nal-Muluk.  They began by saluting the King, who rose to receive them\nand bade them draw near, and asked the cause of their coming; whereupon\nthe Minister came forward from amongst them and stood before him and\nsaid \"Know that he who hath come down upon thy realm is no King like\nunto the Kings of yore and the Sultans that went before.\" \"And who is\nhe?\" asked Shahriman, and the Wazir answered, \"He is the Lord of\njustice and loyalty, the bruit of whose magnanimity the caravans have\nblazed abroad, the Sultan Sulayman Shah, Lord of the Green Land and the\nTwo Columns and the Mountains of Ispahan; he who loveth justice and\nequity, and hateth oppression and iniquity.  And he saith to thee that\nhis son is with thee and in thy city; his son, his heart's very core\nand the fruit of his loins, and if he find him in safety, his aim is\nwon and thou shalt have thanks and praise; but if he have been lost\nfrom thy realm or if aught of evil have befallen him, look thou for\nruin and the wasting of thy reign! for this thy city shall become a\nwold wherein the raven shall croak.  Thus have I done my errand to thee\nand peace be with thee!\" Now when King Shahriman heard from the\nmessenger these words, his heart was troubled and he feared for his\nkingdom: so he cried out for his Grandees and Ministers, Chamberlains\nand Lieutenants; and, when they appeared, he said to them, \"Woe to you!\n Go down and search for the youth.\" Now the Prince was still under the\nheadsman's hands, but he was changed by the fright he had undergone. \nPresently, the Wazir, chancing to glance around, saw the Prince on the\nrug of blood and recognised him; so he arose and threw himself upon\nhim, and so did the other envoys. Then they proceeded to loose his\nbonds and they kissed his hands and feet, whereupon Taj al-Muluk opened\nhis eyes and, recognising his father's Wazir and his friend Aziz, fell\ndown a fainting for excess of delight in them.  When King Shahriman\nmade sure that the coming of this army was indeed because of this\nyouth, he was confounded and feared with great fear; so he went up to\nTaj al- Muluk and, kissing his head, said to him, \"O my son, be not\nwroth with me, neither blame the sinner for his sin; but have\ncompassion on my grey hairs, and waste not my realm.\" Whereupon Taj\nal-Muluk drew near unto him and kissing his hand, replied, \"No harm\nshall come to thee, for indeed thou art to me as my father; but look\nthat nought befal my beloved, the Lady Dunya!\" Rejoined the King, \"O my\nlord!  fear not for her; naught but joy shall betide her;\" and he went\non to excuse himself and made his peace with Sulayman Shah's Wazir to\nwhom he promised much money, if he would conceal from the King what he\nhad seen.  Then he bade his Chief Officers take the Prince with them\nand repair to the Hammam and clothe him in one of the best of his own\nsuits and bring him back speedily.  So they obeyed his bidding and bore\nhim to the bath and clad him in the clothes which King Shahriman had\nset apart for him; and brought him back to the presence chamber. When\nhe entered the King rose to receive him and made all his Grandees stand\nin attendance on him.  Then Taj al-Muluk sat down to converse with his\nfather's Wazir and with Aziz, and he acquainted them with what had\nbefallen him; after which they said to him, \"During that delay we\nreturned to thy father and gave him to know that thou didst enter the\npalace of the Princess and didst not return therefrom, and thy case\nseemed doubtful to us. But when thy sire heard of this he mustered his\nforces; then we came to this land and indeed our coming hath brought to\nthee relief in extreme case and to us great joy.\" Quoth he, \"Good\nfortune hath attended your every action, first and last.\" While this\nwas doing King Shahriman went in to his daughter Princess Dunya, and\nfound her wailing and weeping for Taj al-Muluk. Moreover, she had taken\na sword and fixed the hilt in the ground and had set the point to the\nmiddle of her heart between her breasts; and she bent over the blade\nsaying, \"Needs must I slay myself and not survive my beloved.\" When her\nfather entered and saw her in this case, he cried out to her, saying,\n\"O Princess of kings' daughters, hold thy hand and have ruth on thy\nsire and the folk of thy realm!\" Then he came up to her and continued,\n\"Let it not be that an ill thing befal thy father for thy sake!\" And he\ntold her the whole tale that her lover was the son of King Sulayman\nShah and sought her to wife and he added, \"The marriage waiteth only\nfor thy consent.\" Thereat she smiled and said, \"Did I not tell thee\nthat he was the son of a Sultan?  By Allah, there is no help for it but\nthat I let him crucify thee on a bit of wood worth two pieces of\nsilver!\" Replied the King, \"O my daughter, have mercy on me, so Allah\nhave mercy on thee!\" Rejoined she, \"Up with you and make haste and go\nbring him to me without delay.\" Quoth the King, \"On my head and eyes be\nit!\"; and he left her and, going in hastily to Taj al-Muluk, repeated\nher words in his ear.[FN#53] So he arose and accompanied the King to\nthe Princess, and when she caught sight of her lover, she took hold of\nhim and embraced him in her father's presence and hung upon him and\nkissed him, saying, \"Thou hast desolated me by thine absence!\" Then she\nturned to her father and said, \"Sawest thou ever any that could do hurt\nto the like of this beautiful being, who is moreover a King, the son of\na King and of the free born,[FN#54] guarded against ignoble deeds?\"\nThere upon King Shahriman went out shutting the door on them with his\nown hand; and he returned to the Wazir and to the other envoys of\nSulayman Shah and bade them inform their King that his son was in\nhealth and gladness and enjoying all delight of life with his beloved.\nSo they returned to King Sulayman and acquainted him with this;\nwhereupon King Shahriman ordered largesse of money and vivers to the\ntroops of King Sulayman Shah; and, when they had conveyed all he had\ncommanded, he bade be brought out an hundred coursers and an hundred\ndromedaries and an hundred white slaves and an hundred concubines and\nan hundred black slaves and an hundred female slaves; all of which he\nforwarded to the King as a present.  Then he took horse, with his\nGrandees and Chief Officers, and rode out of the city in the direction\nof the King's camp.  As soon as Sultan Sulayman Shah knew of his\napproach, he rose and advanced many paces to meet him.  Now the Wazir\nand Aziz had told him all the tidings, whereat he rejoiced and cried,\n\"Praise be to Allah who hath granted the dearest wish of my son!\" Then\nKing Sulayman took King Shahriman in his arms and seated him beside\nhimself on the royal couch, where they conversed awhile and had\npleasure in each other's conversation.  Presently food was set before\nthem, and they ate till they were satisfied; and sweetmeats and dried\nfruits were brought, and they enjoyed their dessert.  And after a while\ncame to them Taj al-Muluk, richly dressed and adorned, and when his\nfather saw him, he stood up and embraced him and kissed him.  Then all\nwho were sitting rose to do him honour; and the two Kings seated him\nbetween them and they sat conversing a while, after which quoth King\nSulayman Shah to King Shahriman, \"I desire to have the marriage\ncontract between my son and thy daughter drawn up in the presence of\nwitnesses, that the wedding may be made public, even as is the custom\nof Kings.\" \"I hear and I obey,\" quoth King Shahriman and thereon\nsummoned the Kazi and the witnesses, who came and wrote out the\nmarriage contract between Taj al-Muluk and the Lady Dunya.  Then they\ngave bakhshish[FN#55] of money and sweetmeats; and lavished incense and\nessences; and indeed it was a day of joy and gladness and all the\ngrandees and soldiers rejoiced therein.  Then King Shahriman proceeded\nto dower and equip his daughter; and Taj al-Muluk said to his sire, \"Of\na truth, this young man Aziz is of the generous and hath done me a\nnotable service, having borne weariness with me; and he hath travelled\nwith me and hath brought me to my desire.  He ceased never to show\nsufferance with me and exhort me to patience till I accomplished my\nintent; and now he hath abided with us two whole years, and he cut off\nfrom his native land.  So now I purpose to equip him with merchandise,\nthat he may depart hence with a light heart; for his country is\nnearhand.\" Replied his father, \"Right is thy rede;\" so they made ready\nan hundred loads of the richest stuffs and the most costly, and Taj\nal-Muluk presented them with great store of money to Aziz, and\nfarewelled him, saying, \"O my brother and my true friend!  take these\nloads and accept them from me by way of gift and token of affection,\nand go in peace to thine own country.\" Aziz accepted the presents and\nkissing the ground between the hands of the Prince and his father bade\nthem adieu.  Moreover, Taj al-Muluk mounted and accompanied him three\nmiles on his homeward way as a proof of amity, after which Aziz\nconjured him to turn back, saying, \"By Allah, O my master, were it not\nfor my mother, I never would part from thee!  But, good my lord!  leave\nme not without news of thee.\" Replied Taj al-Muluk, \"So be it!\" Then\nthe Prince returned to the city and Aziz journeyed on till he came to\nhis native town; and he entered it and ceased not faring till he went\nin to his mother and found that she had built him a monument in the\nmidst of the house and used to visit it continually.  When he entered,\nhe saw her with hair dishevelled and dispread over the tomb, weeping\nand repeating these lines,\n\n\"Indeed I'm strong to bear whate'er befal; *\n     But weak to bear such parting's dire mischance:\nWhat heart estrangement of the friend can bear? *\n     What strength withstand assault of severance?\"\n\nThen sobs burst from her breast, and she recited also these couplets,\n\n\"What's this?  I pass by tombs, and fondly greet *\n     My friends' last homes, but send they no reply:\nFor saith each friend, 'Reply how can I make *\n     When pledged to clay and pawned to stones I lie?\nEarth has consumed my charms and I forget *\n     Thy love, from kith and kin poor banisht I.' \"\n\nWhile she was thus, behold, Aziz came in to her and when she saw him,\nshe fell down, fainting for very joy.  He sprinkled water on her face\ntill she revived and rising, took him in her arms and strained him to\nher breast, whilst he in like manner embraced her.  Then he greeted her\nand she greeted him, and she asked the reason of his long absence,\nwhereupon he told her all that had befallen him from first to last and\ninformed her how Taj al-Muluk had given him an hundred loads of monies\nand stuffs.  At this she rejoiced, and Aziz abode with his mother in\nhis native town, weeping for what mishaps had happened to him with the\ndaughter of Dalilah the Wily One, even her who had castrated[FN#56]\nhim. Such was the case with Aziz; but as regards Taj al-Muluk he went\nin unto his beloved, the Princess Dunya, and abated her maidenhead.\nThen King Shahriman proceeded to equip his daughter for her journey\nwith her husband and father in law, and bade bring them provaunt and\npresents and rarities.  So they loaded their beasts and set forth,\nwhilst King Shahriman escorted them, by way of farewell, three days'\njourney on their way, till King Shah Sulayman conjured him to return. \nSo he took leave of them and turned back, and Taj al-Muluk and his wife\nand father fared for wards night and day, with their troops, till they\ndrew near their capital.  As soon as the news of their coming spread\nabroad, the folk decorated for them the city,\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Shah\nSulayman drew near his capital, the folk decorated the city for him and\nfor his son.  So they entered in state and the King, sitting on his\nthrone with his son by his side, gave alms and largesse and loosed all\nwho were in his jails.  Then he held a second bridal for his son, and\nthe sound of the singing women and players upon instruments was never\nsilent for a whole month, and the tire women stinted not to adorn the\nLady Dunya and display her in various dresses; and she tired not of the\ndisplaying nor did the women weary of gazing on her.  Then Taj\nal-Muluk, after having foregathered awhile with his father and mother,\ntook up his sojourn with his wife, and they abode in all joyance of\nlife and in fairest fortune, till there came to them the Destroyer of\nall delights.[FN#57] Now when the Wazir Dandan had ended the tale of\nTaj al-Muluk and the Lady Dunya, Zau al-Makan said to him, \"Of a truth,\nit is the like of thee who lighten the mourner's heart and who deserve\nto be the boon companions of Kings and to guide their policy in the\nright way.\" All this befel and they were still besieging\nConstantinople, where they lay four whole years, till they yearned\nafter their native land; and the troops murmured, being weary of vigil\nand besieging and the endurance of fray and foray by night and by day. \nThen King Zau al-Makan summoned Rustam and Bahram and Tarkash, and when\nthey were in presence bespoke them thus, \"Know that we have lain here\nall these years and we have not won to our wish; nay, we have but\ngained increase of care and concern; for indeed we came, thinking to\ntake our man bote for King Omar bin al-Nu'uman and in so doing my\nbrother Sharrkan was slain; so is our sorrow grown to sorrows twain and\nour affliction to afflictions twain.  All this came of the old woman\nZat al-Dawahi, for it was she who slew the Sultan in his kingdom and\ncarried off his wife, the Queen Sophia; nor did this suffice her, but\nshe must put another cheat on us and cut the throat of my brother\nSharrkan and indeed I have bound myself and sworn by the solemnest\noaths that there is no help but I take blood wit from her.  What say\nye?  Ponder my address and answer me.\" Then they bowed their heads and\nanswered, \"It is for the Wazir Dandan to opine.\" So the Minister came\nforward and said, \"Know O King of the Age!  it booteth us nought to\ntarry here; and 'tis my counsel that we strike camp and return to our\nown country, there to abide for a certain time and after that we should\nreturn for a razzia upon the worshippers of idols.\" Replied the King,\n\"This rede is right, for indeed the folk weary for a sight of their\nfamilies, and I am an other who is also troubled with yearning after my\nson Kanmakan and my brother 's daughter Kuzia Fakan, for she is in\nDamascus and I know not how is her case.\" When the troops heard this\nreport, they rejoiced and blessed the Wazir Dandan.  Then the King bade\nthe crier call the retreat after three days.  They fell to preparing\nfor the march, and, on the fourth day, they beat the big drums and\nunfurled the banners and the army set forth, the Wazir Danden in the\nvan and the King riding in the mid battle, with the Grand Chamberlain\nby his side; and all journeyed without ceasing, night and day, till\nthey reached Baghdad city.  The folk rejoiced in their return, and care\nand fear ceased from them whilst the stay at homes met the absentees\nand each Emir betook him to his own house.  As for Zau al-Makan he\nmarched up to the Palace and went in to his son Kanmakan, who had now\nreached the age of seven; and who used to go down to the weapon plain\nand ride.  As soon as the King was rested of his journey, he entered\nthe Hammam with his son, and returning, seated himself on his sofa of\nstate, whilst the Wazir Dandan took up his station before him and the\nEmirs and Lords of the realm presented themselves and stood in\nattendance upon him.  Then Zau al-Makan called for his comrade, the\nFireman, who had befriended him in his wanderings; and, when he came\ninto presence, the King rose to do him honour and seated him by his\nside.  Now he had acquainted the Wazir with all the kindness and good\nturns which the Stoker had done him; and he found that the wight had\nwaxed fat and burly with rest and good fare, so that his neck was like\nan elephant's throat and his face like a dolphin's belly.  Moreover, he\nwas grown dull of wit, for that he had never stirred from his place; so\nat first he knew not the King by his aspect.  But Zau al-Makan came up\nto him smiling in his face, and greeted him after the friendliest\nfashion, saying, \"How soon hast thou forgotten me?\" With this the\nFireman roused himself and, looking steadfastly at Zau al-Makan, made\nsure that he knew him; whereupon he sprang hastily to his feet and\nexclaimed, \"O my friend, who hath made thee Sultan?\" Then Zau al- Makan\nlaughed at him and the Wazir, coming up to him expounded the whole\nstory to him and said, \"In good sooth he was thy brother and thy\nfriend; and now he is King of the land and needs must thou get great\ngood of him.  So I charge thee, if he say, 'Ask a boon of me,' ask not\nbut for some great thing; for thou art very dear to him.\" Quoth the\nFireman, \"I fear lest, if I ask of him aught, he may not choose to give\nit or may not be able to grant it.\" Quoth the Wazir, \"Have no care;\nwhatsoever thou askest he will give thee.\" Rejoined the Stoker, \"By\nAllah, I must at once ask of him a thing that is in my thought: every\nnight I dream of it and implore Almighty Allah to vouchsafe it to me.\"\nSaid the Wazir, \"Take heart; by Allah, if thou ask of him the\ngovernment of Damascus, in place of his brother, he would surely give\nit thee and make thee Governor.\" With this the Stoker rose to is feet\nand Zau al-Makan signed to him to sit; but he refused, saying, \"Allah\nforfend!  The days are gone by of my sitting in thy presence.' Answered\nthe Sultan, \"Not so, they endure even now.  Thou west in very deed the\ncause that I am at present alive and, by Allah, whatever thing most\ndesired thou requirest of me, I will give that same to thee.  But ask\nthou first of Allah, and then of me!\" He said, \"O my lord, I fear\"\n\"Fear not,\" quoth the Sultan He continued, \"I fear to ask aught and\nthat thou shouldst refuse it to me and it is only\" At this the King\nlaughed and replied, \"If thou require of me the half of my kingdom I\nwould share it with thee: so ask what thou wilt and leave talking.\"\nRepeated the Fireman \"I fear\" \"Don't fear,\" quoth the King.  He went\non, \"I fear lest I ask a thing and thou be not able to grant it.\" Upon\nthis the Sultan waxed wroth and cried, \"Ask what thou wilt.\" Then said\nhe, \"I ask, first of Allah and then of thee, that thou write me a\npatent of Syndicate over all the Firemen of the baths in the Holy City,\nJerusalem.\" The Sultan and all present laughed and Zau al-Makan said,\n\"Ask something more than this.\" He replied, \"O my lord, said I not I\nfeared that thou wouldst not choose to give me what I should ask or\nthat thou be not able to grant it?\" Therewith the Wazir signed him with\nhis foot once and twice and thrice, and every time he began, \"I ask of\nthee\" Quoth the Sultan, \"Ask and be speedy.\" So he said, \"I ask thee to\nmake me Chief of the Scavengers in the Holy City of Jerusalem, or in. \nDamascus town.\" Then all those who were present fell on their backs\nwith laughter and the Wazir beat him; whereupon he turned to the\nMinister and said to him, \"What art thou that thou shouldest beat me? \n'Tis no fault of mine: didst thou not thyself bid me ask some important\nthing?\" And he added, \"Let me go to my own land.\" With this, the Sultan\nknew that he was jesting and took patience with him awhile; then turned\nto him and said, \"O my brother, ask of me some important thing,\nbefitting our dignity.\" So the Stoker said, \"O King of the Age, I ask\nfirst of Allah and then of thee, that thou make me Viceroy of Damascus\nin the place of thy brother;\" and the King replied, \"Allah granteth\nthee this.\" Thereupon the Fireman kissed ground before him and he bade\nset him a chair in his rank and vested him with a viceroy's habit. \nThen he wrote him a patent and sealed it with his own seal, and said to\nthe Wazir Dandan, \"None shall go with him but thou; and when thou\nmakest the return journey, do thou bring with thee my brother's\ndaughter, Kuzia Fakan.\" \"Hearken ing and obedience,\" answered the\nMinister; and, taking the Fire man, went down with him and made ready\nfor the march. Then the King appointed for the Stoker servants and\nsuite, and gave him a new litter and a princely equipage and said to\nthe Emirs, \"Whoso loveth me, let him honour this man and offer him a\nhandsome present.\" So each and every of the Emirs brought him his gift\naccording to his competence; and the King named him Zibl Kh\u00e1n,[FN#58]\nand conferred on him the honourable surname of al- Muj\u00e1hid.[FN#59] As\nsoon as the gear was ready, he went up with the Wazir Dandan to the\nKing, that he might take leave of him and ask his permission to depart.\n The King rose to him and embraced him, and charged him to do justice\nbetween his subjects and bade him make ready for fight against the\nInfidels after two years. Then they took leave of each other and the\nKing,[FN#60] the Fighter for the Faith highs Zibl Khan, having been\nagain exhorted by Zau al-Makan to deal fairly with his subjects, set\nout on his journey, after the Emirs had brought him Mamelukes and\neunuchs, even to five thousand in number, who rode after him.  The\nGrand Chamberlain also took horse, as did Bahram, captain of the\nDaylamites, and Rustam, captain of the Persians, and Tarkash, captain\nof the Arabs, who attended to do him service; and they ceased not\nriding with him three days' journey by way of honour. Then, taking\ntheir leave of him, they returned to Baghdad and the Sultan Zibl Khan\nand the Wazir Dandan fared on, with their suite and troops, till they\ndrew near Damascus.  Now news was come, upon the wings of birds, to the\nnotables of Damascus, that King Zau al-Makan had made Sultan over\nDamascus a King named Zibl Khan and surnamed Al-Mujahid; so when he\nreached the city he found it dressed in his honour and everyone in the\nplace came out to gaze on him.  The new Sultan entered Damascus in a\nsplendid progress and went up to the citadel, where he sat down upon\nhis chair of state, whilst the Wazir Dandan stood in attendance on him,\nto acquaint him with the ranks of the Emirs and their stations. Then\nthe Grandees came in to him and kissed hands and called down blessings\non him.  The new King, Zibl Khan, received them graciously and bestowed\non them dresses of honour and various presents and bounties; after\nwhich he opened the treasuries and gave largesse to the troops, great\nand small.  Then he governed and did justice and proceeded to equip the\nLady Kuzia Fakan, daughter of King Sharrkan, appointing her a litter of\nsilken stuff. Moreover he furnished the Wazir Dandan equally well for\nthe return journey and offered him a gift of coin but he refused,\nsaying, \"Thou art near the time appointed by the King, and haply thou\nwilt have need of money, or after this we may send to seek of thee\nfunds for the Holy War or what not.\" Now when the Wazir was ready to\nmarch, Sultan al-Mujahid mounted to bid the Minister farewell and\nbrought Kuzia Fakan to him, and made her enter the litter and sent with\nher ten damsels to do her service. Thereupon they set forward, whilst\nKing \"Fighter for the Faith\" returned to his government that he might\norder affairs and get ready his munitions of war, awaiting such time as\nKing Zau al- Makan should send a requisition to him.  Such was the case\nwith Sultan Zibl Khan, but as regards the Wazir Dandan, he ceased not\nfaring forward and finishing off the stages, in company with Kuzia\nFakan till they came to Ruhbah[FN#61] after a month's travel and thence\npushed on, till he drew near Baghdad.  Then he sent to announce his\narrival to King Zau al-Makan who, when he heard this, took horse and\nrode out to meet him.  The Wazir Dandan would have dismounted, but the\nKing conjured him not to do so and urged his steed till he came up to\nhis side.  Then he questioned him of Zibl Khan highs Al-Mujahid,\nwhereto the Wazir replied that he was well and that he had brought with\nhim Kuzia Fakan the daughter of his brother.  At this the King rejoiced\nand said to Dandan, \"Down with thee and rest thee from the fatigue of\nthe journey for three days, after which come to me again.\" Replied the\nWazir \"With joy and gratitude,\" and betook himself to his own house,\nwhilst the King rode up to his Palace and went in to his brother's\ndaughter, Kuzia Fakan, a girl of eight years old.  When he saw her, he\nrejoiced in her and sorrowed for her sire; then he bade make for her\nclothes and gave her splendid jewelry and ornaments, and ordered she be\nlodged with his son Kanmakan in one place.  So they both grew up the\nbrightest of the people of their time and the bravest; but Kuzia Fakan\nbecame a maiden of good sense and understanding and knowledge of the\nissues of events, whilst Kanmakan approved him a generous youth and\nfreehanded, taking no care in the issue of aught.  And so they\ncontinued till each of them attained the age of twelve. Now Kuzia Fakan\nused to ride a horseback and fare forth with her cousin into the open\nplain and push forward and range at large with him in the word; and\nthey both learnt to smite with swords and spike with spears.  But when\nthey had reached the age of twelve, King Zau al-Makan, having completed\nhis preparations and provisions and munitions for Holy War, summoned\nthe Wazir Dandan and said to him, \"Know that I have set mind on a\nthing, which I will discover to thee, and I want shine opinion thereon;\nso do thou with speed return me a reply.\" Asked the Wazir, \"What is\nthat, O King of the Age?\"; and the other answered, \"I am resolved to\nmake my son Kanmakan Sultan and rejoice in him in my lifetime and do\nbattle before him till death overtake me.  What reckest thou of this?\"\nThe Wazir kissed the ground before the King and replied, \"Know, O King\nand Sultan mine, Lord of the Age and the time!  that which is in thy\nmind is indeed good, save that it is now no tide to carry it out, for\ntwo reasons; the first, that thy son Kanmakan is yet of tender years;\nand the second, that it often befalleth him who maketh his son King in\nhis life time, to live but a little while thereafterward.[FN#62]  And\nthis is my reply.\" Rejoined the King, \"Know, O Wazir that we will make\nthe Grand Chamberlain guardian over him, for he is now one of the\nfamily and he married my sister, so that he is to me as a brother.\"\nQuoth the Wazir, \"Do what seemeth good to thee: we have only to obey\nthine orders.\" Then the King sent for the Grand Chamberlain whom they\nbrought into the presence together with the Lords of the realm and he\nsaid to them, \"Ye know that this my son Kanmakan is the first cavalier\nof the age, and that he hath no peer in striking with the sword and\nlunging with the lance; and now I appoint him to be Sultan over you and\nI make the Grand Chamberlain, his uncle, guardian over him.\" Replied\nthe Chamberlain, \"I am but a tree which thy bounty hath planted\"; and\nZau al-Makan said, \"O Chamberlain, verily this my son Kanmakan and my\nniece Kuzia Fakan are brothers' children; so I hereby marry her to him\nand I call those present to witness thereof.\" Then he made over to his\nson such treasures as no tongue can describe, and going in to his\nsister, Nuzhat al-Zaman, told her what he had done, whereat she was a\nglad woman and said, \"Verily the twain are my children: Allah preserve\nthee to them and keep thy life for them many a year!\" Replied he, \"O my\nsister, I have accomplished in this world all my heart desired and I\nhave no fear for my son!  yet it were well thou have an eye on him, and\nan eye on his mother.\" And he charged the Chamberlain and Nuzhat\nal-Zaman with the care of his son and niece and wife, and this he\ncontinued to do nights and days till he fell sick and deemed surely\nthat he was about to drink the cup of death; so he took to his bed,\nwhilst the Chamberlain busied himself with ordering the folk and realm.\n At the end of the year, the King summoned his son Kanmakan and the\nWazir Dandan and said, \"O my son, after my death this Wazir is thy\nsire; for know that I am about to leave this house of life transitory\nfor the house of eternity.  And indeed I have fulfilled my will of this\nworld; yet there remaineth in my heart one regret which may Allah\ndispel through and by thy hands.\" Asked his son, \"What regret is that,\nO my father?\" Answered Zau al-Makan, \"O my son, the sole regret of me\nis that I die without having avenged thy grandfather, Omar bin\nal-Nu'uman, and thine uncle, Sharrkan, on an old woman whom they call\nZat al-Dawahi; but, if Allah grant thee aid, sleep not till thou take\nthy wreak on her, and so wipe out the shame we have suffered at the\nInfidel's hands; and beware of the old hag's wile and do what the Wazir\nDandan shall advise thee; because he from old time hath been the pillar\nof our realm.\" And his son assented to what he said. Then the King's\neyes ran over with tears and his sickness redoubled on him; whereupon\nhis brother in law, the Chamberlain took charge over the country and,\nbeing a capable man, he judged and bade and forbade for the whole of\nthat year, while Zau al-Makan was occupied with his malady.  And his\nsickness was sore upon him for four years, during which the Chief\nChamberlain sat in his stead and gave full satisfaction to the commons\nand the nobles; and all the country blessed his rule. Such was the case\nwith Zau al-Makan and the Chamberlain, but as regards the King's son,\nhe busied himself only with riding and lunging with lance and shooting\nwith shaft, and thus also did the daughter of his uncle, Kuzia Fakan;\nfor he and she were wont to fare forth at the first of the day and\nreturn at nightfall, when she would go in to her mother, and he would\ngo in to his mother whom he ever found sitting in tears by the head of\nhis father's couch.  Then he would tend his father all night long till\ndaybreak, when he would go forth again with his cousin according to\ntheir wont.  Now Zau al-Makan's pains and sufferings were lonesome upon\nhim and he wept and began versifying with these couplets,\n\n\"Gone is my strength, told is my tale of days *\n     And, lookye!  I am left as thou dost see:\nIn honour's day most honoured wont to be, *\n     And win the race from all my company\nWould Heaven before my death I might behold *\n     My son in seat of empire sit for me\nAnd rush upon his foes, to take his wreak *\n     With sway of sword and lance lunged gallantly:\nIn this world and the next I am undone, *\n     Except the Lord vouchsafe me clemency.\"\n\nWhen he had ended repeating these verses, he laid his head on his\npillow and closed his eyes and slept.  Then saw he in his sleep one who\nsaid to him, \"Rejoice, for thy son shall fill the lands with justest\nsway; and he shall rule them and him shall the lieges obey.\"; Then he\nawoke from his dream gladdened by the good tidings he had seen, and\nafter a few days, Death smote him, and because of his dying great grief\nfell on the people of Baghdad, and simple and gentle mourned for him. \nBut Time passed over him, as though he had never been[FN#63] and\nKanmakan's estate was changed; for the people of Baghdad set him aside\nand put him and his family in a place apart.  Now when his mother saw\nthis, she fell into the sorriest of plights and said, \"There is no help\nbut that I go to the Grand Chamberlain, and I must hope for the aidance\nof the Subtle, the All-Wise!\" Then she rose from her place and betook\nherself to the house of the Chamberlain who was now become Sultan, and\nshe found him sitting upon his carpet.  So she went in to his wife,\nNuzhat al-Zaman, and wept with sore weeping and said unto her, \"Verily\nthe dead hath no friend!  May Allah never bring you to want as long as\nyour age and the years endure, and may you cease not to rule justly\nover rich and poor. Thine ears have heard and thine eyes have seen all\nthat was ours of kingship and honour and dignity and wealth and fair\nfortune of life and condition; and now Time hath turned upon us, and\nfate and the world have betrayed us and wrought in hostile way with us,\nwherefore I come to thee craving thy favours, I from whom favours were\ncraved: for when a man dieth, women and maidens are brought to\ndespisal.\" And she repeated these couplets,\n\n\"Suffice thee Death such marvels can enhance, *\n     And severed lives make lasting severance:\nMan's days are marvels, and their stations are *\n     But water-pits[FN#64] of misery and mischance.\nNaught wrings my heart save loss of noble friends, *\n     Girt round by rings of hard, harsh circumstance.\"\n\nWhen Nuzhat al-Zaman heard these words, she remembered her brother, Zau\nal-Makan, and his son Kanmakan, and, making her draw near to her and\nshowing her honour, she said, \"Verily at this moment, by Allah, I am\ngrown rich and thou art poor; now by the Lord!  we did not cease to\nseek thee out, but we feared to wound thy heart lest thou shouldest\nfancy our gifts to thee an alms gift.  Withal, whatso weal we now enjoy\nis from thee and thy husband; so our house is thy house and our place\nthy place, and thine is all our wealth and what goods we have belong to\nthee.\" Then she robed her in sumptuous robes and set apart for her a\nplace in the Palace adjoining her own; and they abode therein, she and\nher son, in all delight of life.  And Nuzhat al-Zaman clothed him also\nin Kings' raiment and gave to them both especial handmaids for their\nservice.  After a little, she related to her husband the sad case of\nthe widow of her brother, Zau al-Makan, whereat his eyes filled with\ntears and he said, \"Wouldest thou see the world after thee, look thou\nupon the world after other than thyself.  Then entreat her honourably\nand enrich her poverty.\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen It was the One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Nuzhat\nAl-Zaman related to her husband the sad case of the widow of her\nbrother, Zau al-Makan, the Chamberlain said, \"Entreat her honourably\nand enrich her poverty.\" Thus far concerning Nuzhat al-Zaman and her\nconsort and the relict of Zau al-Makan; but as regards Kanmakan and his\ncousin Kuzia Fakan, they grew up and flourished till they waxed like\nunto two fruit-laden boughs or two shining moons; and they reached the\nage of fifteen.  And she was indeed the fairest of maids who are\nmodestly veiled, lovely faced with smooth cheeks graced, and slender\nwaist on heavy hips based; and her shape was the shaft's thin line and\nher lips were sweeter than old wine and the nectar of her mouth as it\nwere the fountain Salsab\u00edl[FN#65]; even as saith the poet in these two\ncouplets describing one like her,\n\n\"As though ptisane of wine on her lips honey dew *\n     Dropt from the ripened grapes her mouth in clusters grew\nAnd, when her frame thou doublest, and low bends her vine, *\n     Praise her Creator's might no creature ever knew.\"\n\nOf a truth Allah had united in her every charm: her shape would shame\nthe branch of waving tree and the rose before her cheeks craved lenity;\nand the honey dew of her lips of wine made jeer, however old and clear,\nand she gladdened heart and beholder with joyous cheer, even as saith\nof her the poet,\n\n\"Goodly of gifts is she, and charm those perfect eyes, *\n     With lashes shaming Kohl and all the fair ones Kohl'd[FN#66]\nAnd from those eyne the glances pierce the lover's heart, *\n     Like sword in M\u00edr al-Mumin\u00edna Ali's hold.\"\n\nAnd (the relator continueth) as for Kanmakan, he became unique in\nloveliness and excelling in perfection no less; none could even him in\nqualities as in seemliness and the sheen of velour between his eyes was\nespied, testifying for him while against him it never testified.  The\nhardest hearts inclined to his side; his eyelids bore lashes black as\nby Kohl; and he was of surpassing worth in body and soul.  And when the\ndown of lips and cheeks began to sprout bards and poets sang for him\nfar and near,\n\n\"Appeared not my excuse till hair had clothed his cheek, *\n     And gloom o'ercrept that side-face (sight to stagger!)\nA fawn, when eyes would batten on his charms, *\n     Each glance deals thrust like point of Khanjar-dagger.\"\n\nAnd saith another,\n\n\"His lovers' souls have drawn upon his cheek *\n     An ant that perfected its rosy light:\nI marvel at such martyrs Laz\u00e1-pent *\n     Who yet with greeny robes of Heaven are dight.''[FN#67]\n\nNow it chanced one holiday, that Kuzia Fakan fared forth to make\nfestival with certain kindred of the court, and she went surrounded by\nher handmaids.  And indeed beauty encompassed her, the roses of her\ncheeks dealt envy to their mole; from out her smiling lips levee\nflashed white, gleaming like the chamomile[FN#68]; and Kanmakan began\nto turn about her and devour her with his sight, for she was the moon\nof resplendent light. Then he took heart and giving his tongue a start\nbegan to improvise,\n\n\"When shall the disappointed heart be healed of severance, *\n     And lips of Union smile at ceasing of our hard mischance?\nWould Heaven I knew shall come some night, and with it surely\n     bring * Meeting with friend who like myself endureth\n     sufferance.\"[FN#69]\n\nWhen Kuzia Fakan heard these couplets, she showed vexation and\ndisapproval and, putting on a haughty and angry air, said to him, \"Dost\nthou name me in thy verse, to shame me amongst folk?  By Allah, if thou\nturn not from this talk, I will assuredly complain of thee to the Grand\nChamberlain, Sultan of Khorasan and Baghdad and lord of justice and\nequity; that disgrace and punishment may befal thee!\" Kanmakan made no\nreply for anger but he returned to Baghdad; and Kuzia Fakan also\nreturned to her palace and complained of her cousin to her mother, who\nsaid to her, \"O my daughter, haply he meant thee no harm, and is he\naught but an orphan?  Withal, he said nought of reproach to thee; so\nbeware thou tell none of this, lest perchance it come to e Sultan's\nears and he cut short his life and blot out his name and make it even\nas yesterday, whose memory hath passed away.\" However, Kanmakan's love\nfor Kuzia Fakan spread abroad in Baghdad, so that the women talked of\nit.  Moreover, his breast became straitened and his patience waned and\nhe knew not what to do, yet he could not hide his condition from the\nworld.  Then longed he to give vent to the pangs he endured, by reason\nof the lowe of separation; but he feared her rebuke and her wrath; so\nhe began improvising,\n\n\"Now is my dread to incur reproaches, which *\n     Disturb her temper and her mind obscure,\nPatient I'll bear them; e'en as generous youth his case to\n     cure.'' * Beareth the burn of brand his case to\n     cure.\"[FN#70]\n\nAnd Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted\nsay.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Grand\nChamberlain became Sultan they named him King S\u00e1s\u00e1n; and after he had\nassumed the throne he governed the people in righteous way.  Now as he\nwas giving audience one day, Kanmakan's verses came to his knowledge. \nThereupon he repented him of the past and going in to his wife Nuzhat\nal-Zaman, said to her, \"Verily, to join Halfah grass and fire,[FN#71]\nis the greatest of risks, and man may not be trusted with woman, so\nlong as eye glanceth and eyelid quivereth.  Now thy brother's son,\nKanmakan, is come to man's estate and it behoveth us to forbid him\naccess to the rooms where anklets trinkle, and it is yet more needful\nto forbid thy daughter the company of men, for the like of her should\nbe kept in the Harim.\" Replied she, \"Thou sayest sooth, O wise King!\"\nNext day came Kanmakan according to his wont; and, going in to his aunt\nsaluted her.  She returned his salutation and said to him, \"O my son! \nI have some what to say to thee which I would fain leave unsaid; yet I\nmust tell it thee despite my inclination.\" Quoth he, \"Speak;\" and quoth\nshe, Know then that thy sire the Chamberlain, the father of Kuzia\nFakan, hath heard of the verses thou madest anent her, and hath ordered\nthat she be kept in the Harim and out of thy reach; if therefore, O my\nson, thou want anything from us, I will send it to thee from behind the\ndoor; and thou shalt not look upon Kuzia Fakan nor shalt thou return\nhither from this day forth.\" When he heard this he arose and withdrew\nwith out speaking a single word; and, betaking himself to his mother\nrelated what his aunt had said.  She observed, \"This all cometh of\nthine overtalking.  Thou knowest that the news of thy passion for Kuzia\nFakan is noised abroad and the tattle hath spread everywhere how thou\neatest their food and thereafter thou courtest their daughter.\"\nRejoined he, \"And who should have her but I?  She is the daughter of my\nfather's brother and I have the best of rights to her.\" Retorted his\nmother, \"These are idle words.  Be silent, lest haply thy talk come to\nKing Sasan's ears and it prove the cause of thy losing her and the\nreason of thy ruin and increase of thine affliction. They have not sent\nus any supper to-night and we shall die an hungered; and were we in any\nland but this, we were already dead of famine or of shame for begging\nour bread.\" When Kanmakan heard these words from his mother, his\nregrets redoubled; his eyes ran over with tears and he complained and\nbegan improvising,\n\n\"Minish this blame I ever bear from you: *\n     My heart loves her to whom all love is due:\nAsk not from me of patience jot or little, *\n     Divorce of Patience by God's House!  I rue:\nWhat blamers preach of patience I unheed; *\n     Here am I, love path firmly to pursue!\nIndeed they bar me access to my love, *\n     Here am I by God's ruth no ill I sue!\nGood sooth my bones, whenas they hear thy name, *\n     Quail as birds quailed when Nisus o'er them flew:[FN#72]\nAh! say to them who blame my love that I *\n     Will love that face fair cousin till I die.\"\n\nAnd when he had ended his verses he said to his mother, \"I have no\nlonger a place in my aunt's house nor among these people, but I will go\nforth from the palace and abide in the corners of the city.\" So he and\nhis mother left the court; and, having sought an abode in the\nneighbourhood of the poorer sort, there settled; but she used to go\nfrom time to time to King Sasan's palace and thence take daily bread\nfor herself and her son.  As this went on Kuzia Fakan took her aside\none day and said to her, \"Alas, O my naunty, how is it with thy son?\"\nReplied she, \"O my daughter, sooth to say, he is tearful-eyed and heavy\nhearted, being fallen into the net of thy love.\" And she repeated to\nher the couplets he had made; whereupon Kuzia Fakan wept and said, \"By\nAllah!  I rebuked him not for his words, nor for ill-will to him, but\nbecause I feared for him the malice of foes.  Indeed my passion for him\nis double that he feeleth for me; my tongue may not describe my\nyearning for him; and were it not for the extravagant wilfulness of his\nwords and the wanderings of his wit, my father had not cut off from him\nfavours that besit, nor had decreed unto him exclusion and prohibition\nas fit.  However, man's days bring nought but change, and patience in\nall case is most becoming: peradventure He who ordained our severance\nwill vouchsafe us reunion!\" And she began versifying in these two\ncouplets,\n\n\"O son of mine uncle!  same sorrow I bear, *\n     And suffer the like of thy cark and thy care\nYet hide I from man what I suffer for pine; *\n     Hide it too, and such secret to man never bare!\"\n\nWhen his mother heard this from her, she thanked her and blessed her:\nthen she left her and acquainted her son with what she had said;\nwhereupon his desire for her increased and he took heart, being eased\nof his despair and the turmoil of his love and care. And he said, \"By\nAllah, I desire none but her!\"; and he began improvising,\n\n\"Leave this blame, I will list to no flout of my foe! *\n     I divulged a secret was told me to keep:\nHe is lost to my sight for whose union I yearn, *\n     And I watch all the while he can slumber and sleep.\"\n\nSo the days and nights went by whilst Kanmakan lay tossing upon coals\nof fire,[FN#73] till he reached the age of seventeen; and his beauty\nhad waxt perfect and his wits were at their brightest. One night, as he\nlay awake, he communed with himself and said, \"Why should I keep\nsilence till I waste away and see not my lover?  Fault have I none save\npoverty; so, by Allah, I am resolved to remove me from this region and\nwander over the wild and the word; for my position in this city is a\ntorture and I have no friend nor lover therein to comfort me; wherefore\nI am determined to distract myself by absence from my native land till\nI die and take my rest after this shame and tribulation.\" And he began\nto improvise and recited these couplets,\n\n\"Albeit my vitals quiver 'neath this ban; *\n     Before the foe myself I'll ne'er unman!\nSo pardon me, my vitals are a writ *\n     Whose superscription are my tears that ran:\nHeigh ho!  my cousin seemeth Houri may *\n     Come down to earth by reason of Rizwan:\n'Scapes not the dreadful sword lunge of her look *\n     Who dares the glancing of those eyne to scan:\nO'er Allah's wide spread world I'll roam and roam, *\n     And from such exile win what bread I can\nYes, o'er broad earth I'll roam and save my soul, *\n     All but her absence bear ing like a man\nWith gladsome heart I'll haunt the field of fight, *\n     And meet the bravest Brave in battle van!\"\n\nSo Kanmakan fared forth from the palace barefoot and he walked in a\nshort sleeved gown, wearing on his head a skull cap of felt[FN#74]\nseven years old and carrying a scone three days stale, and in the deep\nglooms of night betook himself to the portal of al-Arij of Baghdad. \nHere he waited for the gate being opened and when it was opened, he was\nthe first to pass through it; and he went out at random and wandered\nabout the wastes night and day.  When the dark hours came, his mother\nsought him but found him not; whereupon the world waxt strait upon her\nfor all that it was great and wide, and she took no delight in aught of\nweal it supplied.  She looked for him a first day and a second day and\na third day till ten days were past, but no news of him reached her. \nThen her breast became contracted and she shrieked and shrilled,\nsaying, \"O my son!  O my darling!  thou hast revived my regrets. \nSufficed not what I endured, but thou must depart from my home?  After\nthee I care not for food nor joy in sleep, and naught but tears and\nmourning are left me.  O my son, from what land shall I call thee?  And\nwhat town hath given thee refuge?\" Then her sobs burst out, and she\nbegan repeating these couplets,\n\n\"Well learnt we, since you left, our grief and sorrow to\n     sustain, * While bows of severance shot their shafts in\n     many a railing rain:\nThey left me, after girthing on their selles of corduwayne *\n     To fight the very pangs of death while spanned they sandy\n     plain:\nMysterious through the nightly gloom there came the moan of\n     dove; * A ring dove, and replied I, 'Cease thy plaint, how\n     durst complain?'\nIf, by my life, her heart, like mine, were full of pain and\n    pine * She had not decks her neck with ring nor sole with\n     ruddy stain.[FN#75]\nFled is mine own familiar friend, bequeathing me a store *\n     Of parting pang and absence ache to suffer evermore.\"\n\nThen she abstained from food and drink and gave herself up to excessive\ntear shedding and lamentation.  Her grief became public property far\nand wide and all the people of the town and country side wept with her\nand cried, \"Where is thine eye, O Zau al- Makan?\" And they bewailed the\nrigours of Time, saying, \"Would Heaven we knew what hath befallen\nKanmakan that he fled his native town, and chased himself from the\nplace where his father used to fill all in hungry case and do justice\nand grace?\" And his mother redoubled her weeping and wailing till the\nnews of Kanmakan's departure came to King Sasan.\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Fortieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that came to King\nSasan the tidings of the departure of Kanmakan, through the Chief Emirs\nwho said to him, \"Verily he is the son of our Sovran and the seed of\nKing Omar bin al-Nu'uman and it hath reached us that he hath exiled\nhimself from the land.\" When King Sasan heard these words, he was wroth\nwith them and ordered one of them to be hanged by way of silencing him,\nwhereat the fear of him fell upon the hearts of all the other Grandees\nand they dared not speak one word.  Then he called to mind all the\nkindness that Zau al-Makan had done him, and how he had charged him\nwith the care of his son; wherefore he grieved for Kanmakan and said,\n\"Needs must I have search made for him in all countries.\" So he\nsummoned Tarkash and bade him choose an hundred horse and wend with\nthem in quest of the Prince.  Accordingly he went out and was absent\nten days, after which he returned and said, \"I can learn no tidings of\nhim and have hit on no trace of him, nor can any tell me aught of him.\"\nUpon this King Sasan repented him of that which he had done by the\nPrince; whilst his mother abode in unrest continual nor would patience\ncome at her call: and thus passed over her twenty days in heaviness\nall.  This is how it fared with these; but as regards Kanmakan, when he\nleft Baghdad, he went forth perplexed about his case and knowing not\nwhither he should go: so he fared on alone through the desert for three\ndays and saw neither footman nor horseman; withal, his sleep fled and\nhis wakefulness redoubled, for he pined after his people and his\nhomestead.  He ate of the herbs of the earth and drank of its flowing\nwaters and siesta'd under its trees at hours of noontide heats, till he\nturned from that road to another way and, following it other three\ndays, came on the fourth to a land of green leas, dyed with the hues of\nplants and trees and with sloping valley sides made to please,\nabounding with the fruits of the earth.  It had drunken of the cups of\nthe cloud, to the sound of thunders rolling loud and the song of the\nturtle-dove gently sough'd, till its hill slopes were brightly verdant\nand its fields were sweetly fragrant.  Then Kanmakan recalled his\nfather's city Baghdad, and for excess of emotion he broke out into\nverse,\n\n\"I roam, and roaming hope I to return; *\n     Yet of returning see not how or when:\nI went for love of one I could not win, *\n     Nor way of 'scaping ills that pressed could ken.\"\n\nWhen he ended his recital he wept, but presently he wiped away his\ntears and ate of the fruits of the earth enough for his present need. \nThen he made the Wuzu-ablution and prayed the ordained prayers which he\nhad neglected all this time; and he sat resting in that place through\nthe livelong day.  When night came he slept and ceased not sleeping\ntill midnight, when he awoke and heard a human voice declaiming these\ncouplets,\n\n\"What's life to me, unless I see the pearly sheen *\n     Of teeth I love, and sight that glorious mien?\nPray for her Bishops who in convents reign, *\n     Vying to bow before that heavenly queen.\nAnd Death is lighter than the loved one's wrath, *\n     Whose phantom haunts me seen in every scene:\nO joy of cup companions, when they meet, *\n     And loved and lover o'er each other lean!\nE'en more in time of spring, the lord of flowers, *\n     When fragrant is the world with bloom and green:\nDrainer of vine-juice!  up wi' thee, for now *\n     Earth is a Heaven where sweet waters flow.[FN#76]\"\n\nWhen Kanmakan heard these distichs his sorrows surged up; his tears ran\ndown his cheeks like freshets and flames of fire darted into his heart.\n So he rose to see who it was that spake these words, but saw none for\nthe thickness of the gloom; whereupon passion increased on him and he\nwas frightened and restlessness possessed him.  He descended from his\nplace to the sole of the valley and walked along the banks of the\nstream, till he heard the same voice sighing heavy sighs and reciting\nthese couplets,\n\n\"Tho' 'tis thy wont to hide thy love perforce, *\n     Yet weep on day of parting and divorce!\nTwixt me and my dear love were plighted vows; *\n     Pledge of reunion, fonder intercourse:\nWith joy inspires my heart and deals it rest *\n     Zephyr, whose coolness doth desire enforce.\nO Sa'ad\u00e1,[FN#77] thinks of me that anklet wearer? *\n     Or parting broke she troth without remorse?\nAnd say!  shall nights foregather us, and we *\n     Of suffered hardships tell in soft discourse?\nQuoth she, 'Thou'rt daft for us and fey'; quoth I, *\n     ' 'Sain thee!  how many a friend hast turned to corse!'\nIf taste mine eyes sweet sleep while she's away, *\n     Allah with loss of her these eyne accurse.\nO wounds in vitals mine!  for cure they lack *\n     Union and dewy lips' sweet theriack.\"[FN#78]\n\nWhen Kanmakan heard this verse again spoken by the same voice yet saw\nno one, he knew that the speaker was a lover like unto himself,\ndebarred from union with her who loved him; and he said to himself,\n\"'Twere fitting that this man should lay his head to my head and become\nmy comrade in this my strangerhood.\"[FN#79] Then he hailed the speaker\nand cried out to him, saying, \"O thou who farest in sombrest night,\ndraw near to me and tell me thy tale haply thou shalt find me one who\nwill succour thee in thy sufferings.\" And when the owner of the voice\nheard these words, he cried out, \"O thou that respondest to my\ncomplaint and wouldest hear my history, who art thou amongst the\nknights? Art thou human or Jinni?  Answer me speedily ere thy death\ndraw near for I have wandered in this desert some twenty days and have\nseen no one nor heard any voice but thy voice.\" At these words Kanmakan\nsaid to himself, \"This one's case is like my case, for I, even I, have\nwandered twenty days, nor during my wayfare have I seen man or heard\nvoice:\" and he added, \"I will make him no answer till day arise.\" So he\nwas silent, and the voice again called out to him, saying, \"O thou that\ncallest, if thou be of the Jinn fare in peace and, if thou be man, stay\nawhile till the day break stark and the night flee with the dark.\" The\nspeaker abode in his place and Kanmakan did likewise and the twain in\nreciting verses never failed, and wept tears that railed till the light\nof day began loom and the night departed with its gloom. Then Kanmakan\nlooked at the other and found him to be of the Badawi Arabs, a youth in\nthe flower of his age; clad in worn clothes and bearing in baldrick a\nrusty sword which he kept sheathed, and the signs of love longing were\napparent on him.  He went up to him and accosted him and saluted him,\nand the Badawi returned the salute and greeted him with courteous\nwishes for his long life, but somewhat despised him, seeing his tender\nyears and his condition, which was that of a pauper.  So he said to\nhim, \"O youth, of what tribe art thou and to whom art thou kin among\nthe Arabs; and what is thy history that thou goest by night, after the\nfashion of knights?  Indeed thou spakest to me in the dark words such\nas are spoken of none but doughty cavaliers and lion- like warriors;\nand now I hold thy life in hand.  But I have compassion on thee by\nreason of thy green years; so I will make thee my companion and thou\nshalt go with me, to do me service.\" When Kanmakan heard him speak\nthese unseemly words, after showing him such skill in verse, he knew\nthat he despised him and would presume with him; therefore he answered\nhim with soft and well- chosen speech, saying, \"O Chief of the Arabs,\nleave my tenderness of age and tell me why thou wanderest by night in\nthe desert reciting verses.  Thou talkest, I see, of my serving thee;\nwho then art thou and what moved thee to talk this wise?\" Answered he,\n\"Hark ye, boy!  I am Sabb\u00e1h, son of Ramm\u00e1h bin Hum\u00e1m.[FN#80] My people\nare of the Arabs of Syria and I have a cousin, Najmah highs, who to all\nthat look on her brings delight.  And when my father died I was brought\nup in the house of his brother, the father of Najmah; but as soon I\ngrew up and my uncle's daughter became a woman, they secluded her from\nme and me from her, seeing that I was poor and without money in pouch. \nThen the Chiefs of the Arabs and the heads of the tribes rebuked her\nsire, and he was abashed before them and consented to give me my\ncousin, but upon condition that I should bring him as her dower fifty\nhead of horses and fifty dromedaries which travel ten days[FN#81]\nwithout a halt and fifty camels laden with wheat and a like number\nladen with barley, together with ten black slaves and ten handmaids.\nThus the weight he set upon me was beyond my power to bear; for he\nexacted more than the marriage settlement as by law established. So\nhere am I, travelling from Syria to Irak, and I have passed twenty days\nwith out seeing other than thyself; yet I mean to go to Baghdad that I\nmay ascertain what merchant men of wealth and importance start thence. \nThen will I fare forth in their track and loot their goods, and I will\nslay their escort and drive off their camels with their loads.  But\nwhat manner of man art thou?\" Replied Kanmakan, \"Thy case is like unto\nmy case, save that my evil is more grievous than thine ill; for my\ncousin is a King's daughter and the dowry of which thou hast spoken\nwould not content her people, nor would they be satisfied with the like\nof that from me.\" Quoth Sabbah, \"Surely thou art a fool or thy wits for\nexcess of passion are gathering wool!  How can thy cousin be a King's\ndaughter?  Thou hast no sign of royal rank on thee, for thou art but a\nmendicant.\" Re joined Kanmakan, \"O Chief of the Arabs, let not this my\ncase seem strange to thee; for what happened, happened;[FN#82] and if\nthou desire proof of me, I am Kanmakan, son of King Zau al-Makan, son\nof King Omar bin al-Nu'uman Lord of Baghdad and the realm Khorasan; and\nFortune banned me with her tyrant ban, for my father died and my\nSultanate was taken by King Sasan. So I fled forth from Baghdad\nsecretly, lest I be seen of any man, and have wandered twenty days\nwithout any but thyself to scan.  So now I have discovered to thee my\ncase, and my story is as thy story and my need as thy need.\" When\nSabbab heard this, he cried out, \"O my joy, I have attained my desire! \nI will have no loot this day but thy self; for since thou art of the\nseed of Kings and hast come out in beggar's garb, there is no help but\nthy people will seek thee; and, if they find thee in any one's power,\nthey will ransom thee with monies galore.  So show me thy back, O my\nlad, and walk before me.\" Answered Kanmakan, \"O brother of the Arabs,\nact not on this wise, for my people will not buy me with silver nor\nwith gold, not even with a copper dirham; and I am a poor man, having\nwith me neither much nor little, so cease then to be upon this track\nand take me to thy comrade.  Fare we forth for the land of Irak and\nwander over the world, so haply we may win dower and marriage portion,\nand we may seek and enjoy our cousins' kisses and embraces when we come\nback.\" Hearing this, Sabbah waxed angry; his arrogance and fury\nredoubled and he said, \"Woe to thee!  Dost thou bandy words with me, O\nvilest of dogs that be? Turn thee thy back, or I will come down on thee\nwith clack!\" Kanmakan smiled and answered, \"Why should I turn my back\nfor thee?  Is there no justice in thee?  Dost thou not fear to bring\nblame upon the Arab men by driving a man like myself captive, in shame\nand disdain, before thou hast proved him on the plain, to know if he be\na warrior or of cowardly strain?\" Upon this Sabbah laughed and replied,\n\"By Allah, a wonder!  Thou art a boy in years told, but in talk thou\nart old. These words should come from none but a champion doughty and\nbold: what wantest thou of justice?\" Quoth Kanmakan, \"If thou wilt have\nme thy captive, to wend with thee and serve thee, throw down thine arms\nand put off thine outer gear and come on and wrestle with me; and\nwhichever of us throw his opponent shall have his will of him and make\nhim his boy.\" Then Sabbah laughed and said, \"I think this waste of\nbreath de noteth the nearness of thy death.\" Then he arose and threw\ndown his weapon and, tucking up his skirt, drew near unto Kanmakan who\nalso drew near and they gripped each other.  But the Badawi found that\nthe other had the better of him and weighed him down as the quintal\ndownweighs the diner; and he looked at his legs firmly planted on the\nground, and saw that they were as two minarets[FN#83] strongly based,\nor two tent-poles in earth encased, or two mountains which may not he\ndisplaced.  So he acknowledged himself to be a failure and repented of\nhaving come to wrestle with him, saying in himself, \"Would I had slain\nhim with my weapon!\" Then Kanmakan took hold of him and mastering him,\nshook him till the Badawi thought his bowels would burst in his belly,\nand he broke out, \"Hold thy hand, O boy!\" He heeded not his words, but\nshook him again and, lifting him from the ground, made with him towards\nthe stream, that he might throw him therein: where upon the Badawi\nroared out, saying, \"O thou valiant man, what wilt thou do with\nme?\"[FN#84] Quoth he, \"I mean to throw thee into this stream: it will\nbear thee to the Tigris. The Tigris will bring thee to the river Isa\nand the Isa will carry thee to the Euphrates, and the Euphrates will\nland thee in shine own country; so thy tribe shall see thee and know\nthy manly cheer and how thy passion be sincere.\" Then Sabbah cried\naloud and said, \"O Champion of the desert lair, do not with me what\ndeed the wicked dare but let me go, by the life of thy cousin, the\njewel of the fair!\" Hearing this, Kanmakan set him on the ground, but\nwhen he found him self at liberty, he ran to his sword and targe and\ntaking them up stood plotting in himself treachery and sudden assault\non his adversary.[FN#85] The Prince kenned his intent in his eye and\nsaid to him, \"I con what is in thy heart, now thou hast hold of thy\nsword and thy targe.  Thou hast neither length of hand nor trick of\nwrestling, but thou thinkest that, wert thou on thy mare and couldst\nwheel about the plain, and ply me with thy skene, I had long ago been\nslain.  But I will give thee thy requite, so there may be left in thy\nheart no despite; now give me the targe and fall on me with thy\nwhinger; either thou shalt kill me or I shall kill thee.\" \"Here it is,\"\nanswered Sabbah and, throwing him the targe, bared his brand and rushed\nat him sword in hand; Kanmakan hent the buckler in his right and began\nto fend himself with it, whilst Sabbah struck at him, saying at each\nstroke, \"This is the finishing blow!\" But it fell harmless enow, for\nKanmakan took all on his buckler and it was waste work, though he did\nnot reply lacking the wherewithal to strike and Sabbah ceased not to\nsmite at him with his sabre, till his arm was weary.  When his opponent\nsaw this, he rushed upon him and, hugging him in his arms, shook him\nand threw him to the ground.  Then he turned him over on his face and\npinioned his elbows behind him with the baldrick of his sword, and\nbegan to drag him by the feet and to make for the river.  Thereupon\ncried Sabbah, \"What wilt thou do with me, O youth, and cavalier of the\nage and brave of the plain where battles rage?\" Answered he, \"Did I not\ntell thee that it was my intent to send thee by the river to thy kin\nand to thy tribe, that thy heart be not troubled for them nor their\nhearts be troubled for thee, and lest thou miss thy cousin's\nbride-feast!\" At this Sabbah shrieked aloud and wept and screaming\nsaid, \"Do not thus, O champion of the time's braves!  Let me go and\nmake me one of thy slaves!\" And he wept and wailed and began reciting\nthese verses,\n\n\"I'm estranged fro' my folk and estrangement's long: *\n     Shall I die amid strangers?  Ah, would that I kenned!\nI die, nor my kinsman shall know where I'm slain, *\n     Die in exile nor see the dear face of my friend!\"\n\nThereupon Kanmakan had compassion on him and said, \"Make with me a\ncovenant true and swear me an oath to be a comrade as due and to bear\nme company wheresoever I may go.\" \"'Tis well,\" replied Sabbah and swore\naccordingly.  Then Kanmakan loosed him and he rose and would have\nkissed the Prince's hand; but he forbade him that.  Then the Badawi\nopened his scrip and, taking out three barley scones, laid them before\nKanmakan and they both sat down on the bank of the stream to\neat.[FN#86]  When they had done eating together, they made the lesser\nablution and prayed; after which they sat talking of what had befallen\neach of them from his people and from the shifts of Time.  Presently\nsaid Kanmakan, \"Whither dost thou now intend?\" Replied Sabbah, \"I\npurpose to repair to Baghdad, thy native town, and abide there, until\nAllah vouchsafe me the marriage portion.\" Rejoined the other, \"Up then\nand to the road!  I tarry here.\" So the Badawi farewelled him and took\nthe way for Baghdad, whilst Kanmakan remained behind, saying to\nhimself, \"O my soul, with what face shall I return pauper- poor?  Now\nby Allah, I will not go back empty handed and, if the Almighty please,\nI will assuredly work my deliverance.\" Then he went to the stream and\nmade the Wuzu-washing and when prostrating he laid his brow in the dust\nand prayed to the Lord, saying, \"O Allah!  Thou who sendest down the\ndew, and feedest the worm that homes in the stone, I beseech Thee\nvouchsafe me my livelihood of Thine Omnipotence and the Grace of Thy\nbenevolence!\" Then he pronounced the salutation which closes prayer;\nyet every road appeared closed to him.  And while he sat turning right\nand left, behold, he espied a horseman making towards him with bent\nback and reins slack.  He sat up right and after a time reached the\nPrince; and the stranger was at the last gasp and made sure of death,\nfor he was grievously wounded when he came up; the tears streamed down\nhis cheeks like water from the mouths of skins, and he said to\nKanmakan, \"O Chief of the Arabs, take me to thy friendship as long as I\nlive, for thou wilt not find my like; and give me a little water though\nthe drinking of water be harmful to one wounded, especially whilst the\nblood is flowing and the life with it.  And if I live, I will give thee\nwhat shall heal thy penury and thy poverty: and if I die, mayst thou be\nblessed for thy good intent.\" Now under that horseman was a stallion,\nso noble a Rabite[FN#87] the tongue fails to describe him; and as\nKanmakan looked at his legs like marble shafts, he was seized with a\nlonging and said to himself, \"Verily the like of this stallion[FN#88]\nis not to be found in our time.\" Then he helped the rider to alight and\nentreated him in friendly guise and gave him a little water to swallow;\nafter which he waited till he had taken rest and addressed him, saying,\n\"Who hath dealt thus with thee?\" Quoth the rider, \"I will tell thee the\ntruth of the case. I am a horse thief and I have busied myself with\nlifting and snatching horses all my life, night and day, and my name is\nGhassan, the plague of every stable and stallion.  I heard tell of this\nhorse, that he was in the land of Roum, with King Afridun, where they\nhad named him Al-Kat\u00fal and surnamed him Al Majn\u00fan.[FN#89] So I\njourneyed to Constantinople for his sake and watched my opportunity and\nwhilst I was thus waiting, there came out an old woman, one highly\nhonoured among the Greeks, and whose word with them is law, by name Zat\nal-Dawahi, a past mistress in all manner of trickery.  She had with her\nthis steed and ten slaves, no more, to attend on her and the horse; and\nshe was bound for Baghdad and Khorasan, there to seek King Sasan and to\nsue for peace and pardon from ban.  So I went out in their track,\nlonging to get at the horse,[FN#90] and ceased not to follow them, but\nwas unable to come by the stallion, because of the strict guard kept by\nthe slaves, till they reached this country and I feared lest they enter\nthe city of Baghdad.  As I was casting about to steal the stallion lo!\na great cloud of dust arose on them and walled the horizon.  Presently\nit opened and disclosed fifty horsemen, gathered together to waylay\nmerchants on the highway, and their captain, by name Kahrdash, was a\nlion in daring and dash; a furious lion who layeth knights flat as\ncarpets in battle-crash.\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Forty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the wounded rider\nspake thus to Kanmakan, \"Then came out the same Kahrdash, and fell on\nthe old woman and her men and bore down upon them bashing them, nor was\nit long before they bound her and the ten slaves and bore off their\ncaptives and the horse, rejoicing. When I saw this, I said to myself,\n'My pains were in vain nor did I attain my gain.' However, I waited to\nsee how the affair would fare, and when the old woman found herself in\nbonds, she wept and said to the captain, Kahrdash, 'O thou doughty\nChampion and furious Knight, what wilt thou do with an old woman and\nslaves, now that thou hast thy will of the horse?' And she beguiled him\nwith soft words and she sware that she would send him horses and\ncattle, till he released her and her slaves.  Then he went his way, he\nand his comrades, and I followed them till they reached this country;\nand I watched them, till at last I found an opportunity of stealing the\nhorse, whereupon I mounted him and, drawing a whip from my wallet,\nstruck him with it.  When the robbers heard this, they came out on me\nand surrounded me on all sides and shot arrows and cast spears at me,\nwhilst I stuck fast on his back and he fended me with hoofs and\nforehand,[FN#91] till at last he bolted out with me from amongst them\nlike unerring shaft or shooting star.  But in the stress and stowre I\ngot sundry grievous wounds and sore; and, since that time, I have\npassed on his back three days without tasting food or sleeping aught,\nso that my strength is down brought and the world is become to me as\nnaught.  But thou hast dealt kindly with me and hast shown ruth on me;\nand I see thee naked stark and sorrow hath set on thee its mark, yet\nare signs of wealth and gentle breeding manifest on thee.  So tell me,\nwhat and whence art thou and whither art thou bound?\" Answered the\nPrince, \"My name is Kanmakan, son of Zau al-Makan, son of King Omar bin\nal-Nu'uman. When my father died and an orphan lot was my fate, a base\nman seized the throne and became King over small and great.\" Then he\ntold him all his past from first to last; and the horse thief said to\nhim for he pitied him, \"By Allah, thou art one of high degree and\nexceeding nobility, and thou shalt surely attain estate sublime and\nbecome the first cavalier of thy time. If thou can lift me on horseback\nand mount thee behind me and bring me to my own land, thou shalt have\nhonour in this world and a reward on the day of band calling to\nband,[FN#92] for I have no strength left to steady myself; and if this\nbe my last day, the steed is thine alway, for thou art worthier of him\nthan any other.\" Quoth Kanmakan, By Allah, if I could carry thee on my\nshoulders or share my days with thee, I would do this deed without the\nsteed! For I am of a breed that loveth to do good and to succour those\nin need; and one kindly action in Almighty Allah's honour averteth\nseventy calamities from its doer.  So make ready to set out and put thy\ntrust in the Subtle, the All- Wise.\" And he would have lifted him on to\nthe horse and fared forward trusting in Allah Aider of those who seek\naid, but the horse thief said, \"Wait for me awhile.  Then he closed his\neyes and opening his hands, said I testify that there is no god but the\nGod, and I testify that Mohammed is the Apostle of God!\" And he added,\n\"O glorious One, pardon me my mortal sin, for none can pardon mortal\nsins save the Immortal!\" And he made ready for death and recited these\ncouplets,\n\n\"I have wronged mankind, and have ranged like wind *\n     O'er the world, and in wine-cups my life has past:\nI've swum torrent course to bear off the horse; *\n     And my guiles high places on plain have cast.\nMuch I've tried to win and o'er much my sin, *\n     And Katul of my winnings  is most and last:\nI had hoped of this steed to gain wish and need, *\n     But vain was the end of this journey vast.\nI have stolen through life, and my death in strife *\n     Was doomed by the Lord who doth all forecast\nAnd I've toiled these toils to their fatal end *\n     For an orphan, a pauper sans kith or friend!\"\n\nAnd when he had finished his verses he closed his eyes and opened his\nmouth; then with a single death-rattling he left this world. Thereupon\nKanmakan rose and dug a grave and laid him in the dust; after which he\nwent up to the steed and kissed him and wiped his face and joyed with\nexceeding joy, saying, \"None hath the fellow of this stallion; no, not\neven King Sasan.\" Such was the case with Kanmakan; but as regards King\nSasan, presently news came to him that the Wazir Dandan had thrown off\nhis allegiance, and with him half the army who swore that they would\nhave no King but Kanmakan: and the Minister had bound the troops by a\nsolemn covenant and had gone with them to the Islands of India and to\nBerber-land and to Black-land;[FN#93] where he had levied armies from\nfar and near, like unto the swollen sea for fear and none could tell\nthe host's van from its rear.  And the Minister was resolved to make\nfor Baghdad and take the kingdom in ward and slay every soul who dare\nretard, having sworn not to return the sword of war to its sheath, till\nhe had made Kanmakan King.  When this news came to Sasan, he was\ndrowned in the sea of appal, knowing that the whole state had turned\nagainst him, great and small; and his trouble redoubled and his care\nbecame despair.  So he opened his treasuries and distributed his monies\namong his officers; and he prayed for Kanmakan's return, that he might\ndraw his heart to him with fair usage and bounty; and make him\ncommander of those troops which ceased not being faithful to him, so\nmight he quench the sparks ere they became a flame.  Now when the news\nof this reached Kanmakan by the merchants, he returned in haste to\nBaghdad on the back of the aforesaid stallion, and as King Sasan sat\nperplexed upon his throne he heard of the coming of Kanmakan; whereupon\nhe despatched all the troops and head-men of the city to meet him. So\nall who were in Baghdad fared forth and met the Prince and escorted him\nto the palace and kissed the thresholds, whilst the damsels and the\neunuchs went in to his mother and gave her the fair tidings of his\nreturn.  She came to him and kissed him between the eyes, but he said\nto her, \"O mother mine, let me go to my uncle King Sasan who hath\noverwhelmed me with weal and boon.\" And while he so did, all the\npalace-people and head-men marvelled at the beauty of the stallion and\nsaid, \"No King is like unto this man.\" So Kanmakan went in to King\nSasan and saluted him as he rose to receive him; and, kissing his hands\nand feet, offered him the horse as a present.  The King greeted him,\nsaying, \"Well come and welcome to my son Kanmakan!  By Allah, the world\nhath been straitened on me by reason of thine absence, but praised be\nAllah for thy safety!\" And Kanmakan called down blessings on him.  Then\nthe King looked at the stallion, Al-Katul highs, and knew him for the\nvery horse he had seen in such and such a year whilst beleaguering the\nCross-worshippers of Constantinople with Kanmakan's sire, Zau al-\nMakan, that time they slew his uncle Sharrkan.  So he said to the\nPrince, \"If thy father could have come by this courser, he would have\nbought it with a thousand blood horses: but now let the honour return\nto the honourable.  We accept the steed and we give him back to thee as\na gift, for to him thou hast more right than any wight, being\nknightliest of knights.\" Then King Sasan bade bring forth for him\ndresses of honour and led horses and appointed to him the chief lodging\nin the palace, and showed him the utmost affection and honour, because\nhe feared the issue of the Wazir Dandan's doings. At this Kanmakan\nrejoiced and shame and humiliation ceased from him.  Then he went to\nhis house and, going to his mother, asked, \"O my mother, how is it with\nthe daughter of my uncle?\" Answered she, \"By Allah, O my son, my\nconcern for thine absence hath distracted me from any other, even from\nthy beloved; especially as she was the cause of thy strangerhood and\nthy separation from me.\" Then he complained to her of his case, saying,\n\"O my mother, go to her and speak with her; haply she will vouchsafe me\nher sight to see and dispel from me this despondency.\" Replied his\nmother, \"Idle desires abase men's necks; so put away from thee this\nthought that can only vex; for I will not wend to her nor go in to her\nwith such message.' Now when he heard his mother's words he told her\nwhat said the horse-thief concerning Zat al-Dawahi, how the old woman\nwas then in their land purposing to make Baghdad, and added, \"It was\nshe who slew my uncle and my grandfather, and needs must I avenge them\nwith man-bote, that our reproach be wiped out.\" Then he left her and\nrepaired to an old woman, a wicked, whorish, pernicious beldam by name\nSa'ad\u00e1nah and complained to her of his case and of what he suffered for\nlove of his cousin Kuzia Fakan and begged her to go to her and win her\nfavour for him.  \"I hear and I obey,\" answered the old hag and leaving\nhim betook herself to Kuzia Fakan's palace, that she might intercede\nwith her in his behalf.  Then she returned to him and said, \"Of a truth\nKuzia Fakan saluteth thee and promiseth to visit thee this night about\nmidnight.\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Forty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the old\nwoman came to Kanmakan and said, \"Of a truth the daughter of thine\nuncle saluteth thee and she will visit thee this night about midnight;\"\nhe rejoiced and sat down to await the fulfilment of his cousin's\npromise.  But before the hour of night she came to him, wrapped in a\nveil of black silk, and she went in to him and aroused him from sleep,\nsaying, \"How canst thou pretend to love me, when thou art sleeping\nheart-free and in complete content?\" So he awoke and said, \"By Allah, O\ndesire of my heart, I slept not but in the hope that thine image might\nvisit my dreams!\" Then she chid him with soft words and began\nversifying in these couplets,\n\n\"Hadst thou been leaf in love's loyalty, *\n     Ne'er haddest suffered sleep to seal those eyne:\nO thou who claimest lover-loyalty, *\n     Treading the lover's path of pain and pine!\nBy Allah, O my cousin, never yet *\n     Did eyes of lover sleep such sleep indign.\"\n\nNow when he heard his cousin's words, he was abashed before her and\nrose and excused himself.  Then they embraced and complained to each\nother of the anguish of separation; and they ceased not thus till dawn\nbroke and day dispersed itself over the horizon; when she rose\npreparing to depart.  Upon this Kanmakan wept and sighed and began\nimprovising these couplets,\n\n\"O thou who deignest come at sorest sync, *\n     Whose lips those teeth like necklaced pearls enshrine'\nI kissed him[FN#94] thousand times and clips his waist, *\n     And spent the night with cheek to cheek close li'en\nTill to depart us twain came dawning day, *\n     Like sword edge drawn from sheath in radiant line.\"\n\nAnd when he ended his poetry, Kuzia Fakan took leave of him and\nreturned to her palace.  Now certain of her damsels became aware of her\nsecret, and one of these slave girls disclosed it to King Sasan, who\nwent into Kuzia Fakan and, drawing his sabre upon her, would have slain\nher: but her mother Nuzhat al-Zaman entered and said to him, \"By Allah,\ndo her no harm, for if thou hurt her, the report will be noised among\nthe folk and thou shalt become a reproach amongst the Kings of the age!\n Know thou that Kanmakan is no son of adultery, but a man of honour and\nnobility, who would not do aught that could shame him, and she was\nreared with him.  So be not hasty; for verily the report is spread\nabroad, among all the palace-people and all the folk of Baghdad, how\nthe Wazir Dandan hath levied armies from all countries and is on his\nway hither to make Kanmakan King.\" Quoth Sasan, \"By Allah, needs must I\ncast him into such calamity that neither earth shall support him nor\nsky shall shadow him!  I did but speak him fair and show him favour\nbecause of my lieges and my lords, lest they incline to him; but right\nsoon shalt thou see what shall betide.\" Then he left her and went out\nto order the affairs of the realm. Such, then, was the case with King\nSasan; but as regards Kanmakan, on the next day he came in to his\nmother and said, \"O my mother!  I am resolved to ride forth a raiding\nand a looting: and I will cut the road of caravans and lift horses and\nflocks, negroes and white slaves and, as soon as I have collected great\nstore and my case is bettered galore, I will demand my cousin Kuzia\nFakan in marriage of my uncle Sasan.\" Replied she, \"O my son, of a\ntruth the goods of men are not ready to hand like a scape-camel;[FN#95]\nfor on this side of them are sword-strokes and lance-lungings and men\nthat eat the wild beast and lay countries waste and chase lynxes and\nhunt lions.\" Quoth he, Heaven forefend that I turn back from my\nresolve, till I have won to my will!  Then he despatched the old woman\nto Kuzia Fakan, to tell her that he was about to set out in quest of a\nmarriage settle ment befitting her, saying to the beldam, \"Thou needs\nmust pray her to send me an answer.\" \"I hear and I obey,\" replied the\nold woman and going forth, presently returned with Kuzia Fakan's reply,\nwhich was, \"She will come to thee at midnight.\" So he abode awake till\none half of the night was passed, when restlessness get hold on him,\nand before he was aware she came in to him, saying, \"My life be thy\nransom from wakefulness!\" and he sprang up to receive her, exclaiming,\n\"O desire of my heart, my life be thy redemption from all ills and\nevils!\" Then he acquainted her, with his intent, and she wept: but he\nsaid, \"Weep not, O daughter of my uncle; for I beseech Him who decreed\nour separation to vouchsafe us reunion and fair understanding.\" Then\nKanmakan, having fixed a day for departure, went in to his mother and\ntook leave of her, after which came he down from his palace and threw\nthe baldrick of his sword over his shoulder and donned turband and\nface-veil; and mounting his horse, Al-Katul, and looking like the moon\nat its full, he threaded the streets of Baghdad, till he reached the\ncity gate.  And behold, here he found Sabbah bin Rammah coming out of\ntown; and his comrade seeing him, ran to his stirrup and saluted him.\nHe returned his salutation, and Sabbah asked him, \"O my brother, how\ncamest thou by this good steed and this sword and clothes, whilst I up\nto present time have gotten nothing but my sword and target?\" Answered\nKanmakan, \"The hunter returneth not but with quarry after the measure\nof his intention.  A little after thy departure, fortune came to me: so\nnow say, wilt thou go with me and work thine intent in my company and\njourney with me in this desert?\" Replied Sabbah, \"By the Lord of the\nKa'abah, from this time forth I will call thee naught but 'my lord'!\"\nThen he ran on before the horse, with his sword hanging from his neck\nand his budget between his shoulder blades, and Kanmakan rode a little\nbehind him; and they plunged into the desert, for a space of four days,\neating of the gazelles and drinking water of the springs. On the fifth\nday they drew near a high hill, at whose foot was a\nspring-encampment[FN#96] and a deep running stream; and the knolls and\nhollows were filled with camels and cattle and sheep and horses, and\nlittle children played about the pens and folds. When Kanmakan saw\nthis, he rejoiced at the sight and his breast was filled with delight;\nso he addressed himself to fight, that he might take the camels and the\ncattle, and said to Sabbah, \"Come, fall with us upon this loot, whose\nowners have left it unguarded here, and do we battle for it with near\nand far, so haply may fall to our lot of goods some share.\" Replied\nSabbah, \"O my lord, verily they to whom these herds belong be many in\nnumber; and among them are doughty horsemen and fighting footmen; and\nif we venture lives in this derring do we shall fall into danger great\nand neither of us will return safe from this bate; but we shall both be\ncut off by fate and leave our cousins desolate.\" Then Kanmakan laughed\nand knew that he was a coward; so he left him and rode down the rise,\nintent on rapine, with loud cries and chanting these couplets,\n\n\"Oh a valiant race are the sons of Nu'um\u00e1n, *\n     Braves whose blades shred heads of the foeman-clan![FN#97]\nA tribe who, when tried in the tussle of war, *\n     Taketh prowess stand in the battle-van:\nIn their tents safe close gaberlunzie's eyne, *\n     Nor his poverty's ugly features scan:\nAnd I for their aidance sue of Him *\n     Who is King of Kings and made soul of man.\"\n\nThen he rushed upon the she-camels like a he-camel in rut and drove all\nbefore him, sheep and cattle, horses and dromedaries. Therewith the\nslaves ran at him with their blades so bright and their lances so long;\nand at their head rode a Turkish horseman who was indeed a stout\nchampion, doughty in fray and in battle chance and skilled to wield the\nnut-brown lance and the blade with bright glance.  He drove at\nKanmakan, saying, \"Woe to thee! Knewest thou to whom these herds belong\nthou hadst not done this deed.  Know that they are the goods of the\nband Grecian, the champions of the ocean and the troop Circassian; and\nthis troop containeth none but valiant wights numbering an hundred\nknights, who have cast off the allegiance of every Sultan.  But there\nhath been stolen from them a noble stallion, and they have vowed not to\nreturn hence without him.\" Now when Kanmakan heard these words, he\ncried out, saying, \"O villain, this I bestride is the steed whereof ye\nspeak and after which ye seek, and ye would do battle with me for his\nsake' So come out against me, all of you at once, and do you dourest\nfor the nonce!\" Then he shouted between the ears of Al-Katul who ran at\nthem like a Ghul; whereupon Kanmakan let drive at the Turk[FN#98] and\nran him through the body and threw him from his horse and let out his\nlife; after which he turned upon a second and a third and a fourth, and\nalso of life bereft them.  When the slaves saw this, they were afraid\nof him, and he cried out and said to them, \"Ho, sons of whores, drive\nout the cattle and the stud or I will dye my spear in your blood.\" So\nthey untethered the beasts and began to drive them out; and Sabbah came\ndown to Kanmakan with loud voicing and hugely rejoicing; when lo! there\narose a cloud of dust and grew till it walled the view, and there\nappeared under of it riders an hundred, like lions an-hungered. Upon\nthis Sabbah took flight, and fled to the hill's topmost height, leaving\nthe assailable site, and enjoyed sight of the fight, saying, \"I am no\nwarrior; but in sport and jest I delight.\"[FN#99] Then the hundred\ncavaliers made towards Kanmakan and surrounded him on all sides, and\none of them accosted him, saying, \"Whither goest thou with this loot?\"\nQuoth he, \"I have made it my prize and am carrying it away; and I\nforbid you from it, or come on to the combat, for know ye that he who\nis before you is a terrible lion and an honourable champion, and a\nsword that cutteth wherever it turneth!\" When the horseman heard these\nwords, he looked at Kanmakan and saw that he was a knight like a\nmane-clad lion in might, whilst his face was as the full moon rising on\nits fourteenth night, and velour shone from between his eyes.  Now that\nhorseman was the captain of the hundred horse, and his name was\nKahrdash; and when he saw in Kanmakan the perfection of cavalarice with\nsurpassing gifts of comeliness, his beauty reminded him of a beautiful\nmistress of his whose name was F\u00e1tin.[FN#100]  Now she was one of the\nfairest of women in face, for Allah had given her charms and grace and\nnoble qualities of all kinds, such as tongue faileth to explain and\nwhich ravish the hearts of men.  Moreover, the cavaliers of the tribe\nfeared her prowess and all the champions of that land stood in awe of\nher high spirit; and she had sworn that she would not marry nor let any\npossess her, except he should conquer her in combat (Kahrdash being one\nof her suitors); and she said to her father, \"None shall approach me,\nsave he be able to deal me over throw in the field and stead of war\nthrust and blow.  Now when this news reached Kahrdash, he scorned to\nfight with a girl, fearing reproach; and one of his intimates said to\nhim, \"Thou art complete in all conditions of beauty and goodliness; so\nif thou contend with her, even though she be stronger than thou, thou\nmust needs overcome her; for when she seeth thy beauty and grace, she\nwill be discomfited before thee and yield thee the victory; for verily\nwomen have a need of men e'en as thou heedest full plain.\" Nevertheless\nKahrdash refused and would not contend with her, and he ceased not to\nabstain from her thus, till he met from Kanmakan that which hath been\nset down.  Now he took the Prince for his beloved Fatin and was afraid;\nalbeit indeed she loved him for what she had heard of his beauty and\nvelour; so he went up to him and said, \"Woe to thee,[FN#101]  O Fatin! \nThou comest here to show me thy prowess; but now alight from thy steed,\nthat I may talk with thee, for I have lifted these cattle and have\nfoiled my friends and waylaid many a brave and man of knightly race,\nall for the sake of thy beauty of form and face, which are without\npeer.  So marry me now, that Kings' daughters may serve thee and thou\nshalt become Queen of these countries.\" When Kanmakan heard these\nwords, the fires of wrath flamed up in him and he cried out, \"Woe to\nthee, O Persian dog! Leave Fatin and thy trust and mistrust, and come\nto cut and thrust, for eftsoon thou shalt lie in the dust;\" and so\nsaying, he began to wheel about him and assail him and feel the way to\nprevail.  But when Kahrdash observed him closely he knew him for a\ndoughty knight and a stalwart in fight; and the error of his thought\nbecame manifest to him, whenas he saw the green down on his cheeks\ndispread like myrtles springing from the heart of a rose bright-red. \nAnd he feared his onslaught and quoth he to those with him, \"Woe to\nyou! Let one of you charge down upon him and show him the keen sword\nand the quivering spear; for know that when many do battle with one man\nit is foul shame, even though he be a kemperly wight and an invincible\nknight.\" Upon this, there ran at Kanmakan a horseman like a lion in\nfight, mounted on a black horse with hoofs snow-white and a star on his\nforehead, the bigness of a dirham, astounding wit and sight, as he were\nAbjar, which was Antar's destrier, even as saith of him the poet,\n\n\"The courser chargeth on battling foe, *\n     Mixing heaven on high with the earth down low:[FN#102]\nAs though the Morning had blazed his brow, *\n     And he rends her vitals as quid pro quo.\"\n\nHe rushed upon Kanmakan, and they wheeled about awhile, giving blows\nand taking blows such as confound the sprite and dim the sight; but\nKanmakan was the first to smite the foe a swashing blow, that rove\nthrough turband and iron skull cap and reached his head, and he fell\nfrom his steed with the fall of a camel when he rolleth over.  Then a\nsecond came out to him and offered battle, and in like guise a third, a\nfourth and a fifth, and he did with them all as he had done with the\nfirst.  Thereupon the rest at once rushed upon him, for indeed they\nwere roused by rage and wild with wrath; but it was not long before he\nhad pierced them all with the point of his spear.  When Kahrdash saw\nthese feats of arms, he feared death; for he knew that the youth was\nstoutest of heart and concluded that he was unique among knights and\nbraves; and he said to Kanmakan, \"I waive my claim to thy blood and I\npardon thee the blood of my comrades: so take what thou wilt of the\ncattle and wend thy ways, for thy firmness in fight moveth my ruth and\nlife is better for thee than death.\" Replied Kanmakan, \"Thou lackest\nnot of the generosity of the noble!  but leave this talk and run for\nthy life and reck not of blame nor think to get back the booty; but\ntake the straight path for thine own safety.\" Thereupon Kahrdash waxed\nexceeding wroth, and rage moved him to the cause of his death; so he\nsaid to Kanmakan, \"Woe to thee, an thou knew who I be, thou wouldst not\nwield these words in the open field.  I am the lion to bash known as\nKahrdash, he who spoileth great Kings and waylayeth all travellings and\nseizeth the merchants' preciousest things. And the steed under thee is\nthat I am seeking; and I call upon thee to tell me how thou camest by\nhim and hast him in thy keeping.\" Replied Kan makan, \"Know thou that\nthis steed was being carried to my uncle King Sasan, under the escort\nof an ancient dame high in rank attended by ten slaves, when thou\nfellest upon her and tookest the horse from her; and I have a debt of\nblood against this old woman for the sake of my grandfather King Omar\nbin al Nu'uman and my uncle King Sharrkan.' \"Woe to thee!\" quoth\nKahrdash, \"who is thy father, O thou that hast no lawful mother?\" Quoth\nhe, \"Know that I am Kanmakan, bin Zau al-Makan, son of Omar bin\nal-Nu'uman.\" But when Kahrdash heard this address he said, \"Thy\nperfection cannot be denied, nor yet the union in thee of knightly\nvirtue and seemlihead,\" and he added, \"Fare in peace, for thy father\nshowed us favour.\" Rejoined Kanmakan, \"By Allah, I will not deign to\nhonour thee, O wretch I disdain, so far as to overcome thee in battle\nplain!\" Upon this the Badawi waxed wroth and they drove at each other,\nshouting aloud, whilst their horses pricked their ears and raised their\ntails.[FN#103]  And they ceased not clashing together with such a crash\nthat it seemed to each as if the firmament were split in sunder, and\nthey continued to strive like two rams which butt, smiting and\nexchanging with their spears thrust and cut.  Presently Kahrdash foined\nat Kanmakan; but he evaded it and rejoined upon him and so pierced him\nthrough the breast that the spearhead issued from his back. Then he\ncollected the horses and the plunder, and he cried out to the slaves,\nsaying, \"Up and be driving as hard as ye may!\" Hearing this, down came\nSabbah and, accosting Kanmakan, said to him, \"Right well hast thou\ndight, O Knight of the age! Verily I prayed Allah for thee and the Lord\nheard my prayer.\" Then he cut off Kahrdash's head and Kanmakan laughed\nand said, \"Woe to thee, O Sabbah!  I thought thee a rider fain of\nfight.\" Quoth the Badawi, \"Forget not thy slave in the division of the\nspoil, so haply therewith I may marry my cousin Najmah.\" Answered\nKanmakan, \"Thou shalt assuredly share in it, but now keep watch over\nthe booty and the slaves.\" Then he set out for his home and he ceased\nnot journeying night and day till he drew near Baghdad city, and all\nthe troops heard of Kanmakan, and saw what was his of loot and cattle\nand the horse-thief's head on the point of Sabbah's spear.  Also (for\nhe was a noted highwayman) the merchants knew Kahrdash's head and\nrejoiced, saying, \"Allah hath rid mankind of him!\"; and they marvelled\nat his being slain and blessed his slayer.  Thereupon all the people of\nBaghdad came to Kanmakan, seeking to know what adventures had befallen\nhim, and he told them what had passed, whereupon all men were taken\nwith awe of him and the Knights and champions feared him.  Then he\ndrove his spoil under the palace walls; and, planting the spear heel,\non whose point was Kahrdash's head, over against the royal gate, gave\nlargesse to the people of Baghdad, distributing horses and camels, so\nthat all loved him and their hearts inclined to him. Presently he took\nSabbah and lodged him in a spacious dwelling and gave him a share of\nthe loot; after which he went in to his mother and told her all that\nhad befallen him in his last journey.  Meanwhile the news of him\nreached the King, who rose from his levee and, shutting himself up with\nhis chief officers, said to them, \"Know ye that I desire to reveal to\nyou my secret and acquaint you with the hidden facts of my case.  And\nfurther know that Kanmakan will be the cause of our being uprooted from\nthis kingdom, our birth place; for he hath slain Kahrdash, albeit he\nhad with him the tribes of the Kurds and the Turks, and our affair with\nhim will end in our destruction, seeing that the most part of our\ntroops are his kinsmen and ye weet what the Wazir Dandan hath done; how\nhe disowneth me, after all I have shown him of favours; and after being\nfaithful he hath turned traitor. Indeed it hath reached me that he hath\nlevied an army in the provinces and hath planned to make Kanmakan\nSultan, for that the Sultanate was his father's and his grandfather's;\nand assuredly he will slay me without mercy.\" Now when the Lords of the\nRealm heard from him these words, they replied, \"O King, verily this\nman.[FN#104] is unequal to this, and did we not know him to have been\nreared by thee, not one of us would approve of him.  And know thou that\nwe are at thy commandment; if thou desire his death, we will do him\ndie; and if thou wilt remove him, we will remove him.\" Now when King\nSasan heard this, he said, \"Verily, to slay him were wise; but needs\nmust ye swear an oath to it.\" So all sware to slay Kanmakan without\ngiving him a chance; to the end that, when the Wazir Dandan should come\nand hear of his death, his force might be weakened and he fail of his\ndesign. When they had made this compact and covenant with trim, the\nking honoured them with the highest honours and presently retired to\nhis own apartments.  But the officers deserted him and the troops\nrefused their service and would neither mount nor dismount until they\nshould espy what might befal, for they saw that most of the army was\nwith the Wazir Dandan. Presently, the news of these things came to\nKuzia Fakan and caused her much concern; so that she sent for the old\nwoman who was wont to carry messages between her and her cousin, and\nwhen she came, bade her go to him and warn him of the plot.  Whereto he\nreplied, \"Bear my salutation to the daughter of my uncle and say to\nher, 'Verily the earth is of Allah (to whom belong Might and Majesty!),\nand He giveth it as heritage to whomsoever of His servants He willeth.'\nHow excellent is the saying of the sayer,\n\n'Allah holds Kingship!  Whoso seeks without Him victory *\n     Shall be cast out, with soul condemned to Hell of low\n     degree:\nHad I or any other man a finger breadth of land, *\n     The rule were changed and men a twain of partner gods would\n     see.' \"\n\nThen the old woman returned to Kuzia Fakan and told her his reply and\nacquainted her that he abode in the city.  Meanwhile, King Sasan\nawaited his faring forth from Baghdad, that he might send after him\nsome who would slay him; till it befel one morning that Kanmakan went\nout to course and chase, accompanied by Sabbah, who would not leave him\nnight or day.  He caught ten gazelles and among them one that had\ntender black eyes and turned right and left: so he let her go and\nSabbah said to him, \"Why didst thou free this gazelle?\" Kanmakan\nlaughed and set the others free also, saying, \"It is only humane to\nrelease gazelles that have young, and this one turned not from side to\nside, save to look for her fawns: so I let her go and released the\nothers in her honour.\" Quoth Sabbah, \"Do thou release me, that I may go\nto my people.\" At this Kanmakan laughed and smote him with the spear\nbutt on the breast, and he fell to the ground squirming like a snake. \nWhilst they were thus doing, behold, they saw a dust cloud spireing\nhigh and heard the tramp of horses; and presently there appeared under\nit a plump of knights and braves.  Now the cause of their coming was\nthis.  Some of his followers had acquainted King Sasan with Kanmakan's\ngoing out to the chase; so he sent for an Emir of the Daylamites,\ncalled J\u00e1mi' and twenty of his horsemen; and gave them money and bade\nthem slay Kanmaken. So when they drew near the Prince, they charged\ndown upon him and he met them in mid-charge and killed them all, to the\nlast man. And behold, King Sasan took horse and riding out to meet his\npeople, found them all slain, whereat he wondered and turned back; when\nlo!  the people of the city laid hands on him and bound him straitly. \nAs for Kanmakan after that adventure, he left the place behind him and\nrode onward with Sabbah the Badawi. And the while he went, lo!  he saw\na youth sitting at the door of a house on his road and saluted him. \nThe youth returned his greeting and, going into the house, brought out\ntwo platters, one full of soured milk and the other of brewis swimming\nin clarified butter; and he set the platter before Kanmakan, saying\n\"Favour us by eating of our victual.\" But he refused and quoth the\nyoung man to him, \"What aileth thee, O man, that thou wilt not eat?\"\nQuoth Kanmakan, \"I have a vow upon me.\" The youth asked, \"What is the\ncause of thy vow?\", and Kanmakan answered, \"Know that King Sasan seized\nupon my kingdom like a tyrant and an enemy, although it was my father's\nand my grand father's before me; yet he became master of it by force\nafter my father's death and took no count of me, by reason of my tender\nyears.  So I have bound myself by a vow to eat no man's victual till I\nhave eased my heart of my foe.\" Rejoined the youth, \"Rejoice, for Allah\nhath fulfilled thy vow.  Know that he hath been prisoned in a certain\nplace and methinks he will soon die.\" Asked Kanmakan, \"In what house is\nhe confined?\" \"Under yon high dome,\" answered the other.  The Prince\nlooked and saw the folk entering and buffeting Sasan, who was suffering\nthe agonies of the dying.  So he arose and went up to the pavilion and\nnoted what was therein; after which he returned to his place and,\nsitting down to the proferred victual, ate what sufficed him and put\nthe rest in his wallet.  Then he took seat in his own place and ceased\nnot sitting till it was dark night and the youth, whose guest he was\nslept; when he rose and repaired to the pavilion wherein Sasan was\nconfined.  Now about it were dogs guarding it, and one of them sprang\nat him; so he took out of his budget a bit of meat and threw it to him.\n He ceased not casting flesh to the dogs till he came to the pavilion\nand, making his way to where King Sasan was, laid his hand upon his\nhead; whereupon he said in a loud voice, \"Who art thou?\" He replied, \"I\nam Kanmakan whom thou stravest to kill; but Allah made thee fall into\nthine evil device.  Did it not suffice thee to take my kingdom and the\nkingdom of my father, but thou must purpose to slay me?\"[FN#105]  And\nSasan swore a false oath that he had not plotted his death and that the\nbruit was untrue.  So Kanmakan forgave him and said to him, \"Follow\nme.\" Quoth he, \"I cannot walk a single step for weakness.\" Quoth\nKanmakan, \"If the case be thus we will get us two horses and ride\nforth, I and thou, and seek the open.\" So he did as he said, and he\ntook horse with Sasan and rode till day break, when they prayed the\ndawn prayer and fared on, and ceased not faring till they came to a\ngarden, where they sat down and talked.  Then Kanmakan rose to Sasan\nand said, \"Is aught left to set thy heart against me?\" \"No, by Allah!\"\nreplied Sasan.  So they agreed to return to Baghdad and Sabbah the\nBadawi said, \"I will go before you, to give folk the fair tidings of\nyour coming.\" Then he rode on in advance, acquainting women and men\nwith the good news; so all the people came out to meet Kanmakan with\ntabrets and pipes; and Kuzia Fakan also came out, like the full moon\nshining in all her splendour of light through the thick darkness of the\nnight.  So Kanmakan met her, and soul yearned to soul and body longed\nfor body.  There was no talk among the people of the time but of\nKanmakan; for the Knights bore witness of him that he was the most\nvaliant of the folk of the age and said, \"It is not right that other\nthan Kanmakan should be our Sultan, but the throne of his grandfather\nshall revert to him as it began.\" Meanwhile Sasan went in to his wife,\nNuzhat al-Zaman, who said to him, \"I hear that the folk talk of nothing\nbut Kanmakan and attribute to him such qualities as tongue never can.\"\nHe replied, \"Hearing of a man is not like seeing a man.  I have seen\nhim, but have noted in him none of the attributes of perfection.  Not\nall that is heard is said; but folk ape one another in extolling and\ncherishing him, and Allah maketh his praises to run on the lips of men,\nso that there incline to him the hearts of the people of Baghdad and of\nthe Wazir Dandan, that perfidious and treacherous man; who hath levied\ntroops from all lands and taketh to himself the right of naming a King\nof the country; and who chooseth that it shall be under the hand of an\norphan ruler whose worth is naught.\" Asked Nuzhat al-Zaman, \"What then\nis it that thou purposest to do?\"; and the King answered, \"I mean to\nkill him, that the Wazir may be baulked of his intent and return to his\nallegiance, seeing nothing for it but my service.\" Quoth she, \"In good\nsooth perfidy with strangers is a foul thing and how much more with\nkith and kin!  The righteous deed to do would be to marry him to thy\ndaughter Kuzia Fakan and give heed to what was said of old time,\n\n'An Fate some person 'stablish o'er thy head, *\n     And thou being worthier her choice upbraid,\nYet do him honour due to his estate; *\n     He'll bring thee weal though far or near thou vade:\nNor speak thy thought of him, else shalt thou be *\n     Of those who self degrade from honour's grade:\nMany Har\u00edms are lovelier than the Bride, *\n     But Time and Fortune lent the Bride their aid.'\"\n\nWhen Sasan heard these her words and comprehended what her verse\nintended, he rose from her in anger and said, \"Were it not that thy\ndeath would bring on me dishonour and disgrace, I would take off thy\nhead with my blade and make an end of thy breath.\" Quoth she, \"Why art\nthou wroth with me?  I did but jest with thee.\" Then she rose to him\nand bussed his head and hands, saying, \"Right is thy foresight, and I\nand thou will cast about for some means to kill him forthright.\" When\nhe heard this, he was glad and said, \"Make haste and contrive some\ndeceit to relieve me of my grieving: for in my sooth the door of device\nis straitened upon me!\" Replied she, \"At once I will devise for thee to\ndo away his life.\" \"How so?\" asked he; and she answered, \"By means of\nour female slave the so-called B\u00e1k\u00fan.\" Now this Bakun was past mistress\nin all kinds of knavery and was one of the most pestilent of old women,\nin whose religion to abstain from wickedness was not lawful; she had\nbrought up Kuzia Fakan and Kanmakan who had her in so great affection\nthat he used to sleep at her feet.  So when King Sasan heard his wife\nname her, he said, \"Right is this recking\"; and, sending for the old\nwoman, told her what had passed and bade her cast about to kill\nKanmaken, promising her all good.  Replied she, \"Thy bidding shall be\nobeyed; but I would have thee, O my lord, give me a dagger[FN#106]\nwhich hath been tempered in water of death, that I may despatch him the\nspeedilier for thee.\" Quoth Sasan, \"And welcome to thee!\"; and gave her\na hanger that would devance man's destiny.  Now this slave women had\nheard stories and verses and had learned by rote great store of strange\nsayings and anecdotes: so she took the dagger and went out of the room,\nconsidering how she could compass his doom. Then she repaired to\nKanmakan, who was sitting and awaiting news of tryst with the daughter\nof his uncle, Kuzia Fakan; so that night his thought was taken up with\nher and the fires of love for her raged in his heart.  And while he was\nthus, behold, the slave woman, Bakun, went in to him and said, \"Union\ntime is at hand and the days of disunion are over and gone.\" Now when\nhe heard this he asked, \"How is it with Kuzia Fakan?\"; and Bakun\nanswered, \"Know that her time is wholly taken up with love of thee.\" At\nthis he rose and doffing his outer clothes put them on her and promised\nher all good.  Then said she, \"Know that I mean to pass this night with\nthee, that I may tell thee what talk I have heard and console thee with\nstories of many passion distraughts whom love hath made sick.\" \"Nay,\"\nquoth he, \"rather tell me a tale that will gladden my heart and gar my\ncares depart.\" \"With joy and good will,\" answered she; then she took\nseat by his side (and that poniard under her dress) and began to say:\n\"Know thou that the pleasantest thing my ears ever heard was\n\n\nThe Tale of the Hashish Eater.\n\nA certain man loved fair women, and spent his substance on them, till\nhe became so poor that nothing remained to him; the world was\nstraitened upon him and he used to go about the market- streets begging\nhis daily bread.  Once upon a time as he went along, behold, a bit of\niron nail pierced his finger and drew blood; so he sat down and wiping\naway the blood, bound up his finger.  Then he arose crying out, and\nfared forwards till he came to a Hammam and entering took off his\nclothes, and when he looked about him he found it clean and empty.  So\nhe sat him down by the fountain-basin, and ceased not pouring water on\nhis head, till he was tired.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Forty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the man sat down\nby the fountain basin and ceased not pouring water on his head till he\nwas tired. Then he went out to the room in which was the cistern of\ncold water; and seeing no one there, he found a quiet corner and taking\nout a piece of Hash\u00edsh,[FN#107] swallowed it.  Presently the fumes\nmounted to his brain and he rolled over on to the marble floor.  Then\nthe Hashish made him fancy that a great lord was shampooing him and\nthat two slaves stood at his head, one bearing a bowl and the other\nwashing gear and all the requisites of the Hammam. When he saw this, he\nsaid in himself, \"Meseemeth these here be mistaken in me; or else they\nare of the company of us Hashish-eaters.\"[FN#108]  Then he stretched\nout his legs and he imagined that the bathman said to him, \"O my\nmaster, the time of thy going up to the Palace draweth near and it is\nto-day thy turn of service.\" At this he laughed and said to himself,\n\"As Allah willeth,[FN#109] O Hashish!\" Then he sat and said nothing,\nwhilst the bathman arose and took him by the hand and girt his middle\nwith a waist-cloth of black silk, after which the two slaves followed\nhim with the bowls and gear, and they ceased not escorting him till\nthey brought him into a cabinet, wherein they set incense and perfumes\na-burning.  He found the place full of various kinds of fruits and\nsweet-scented flowers, and they sliced him a watermelon and seated him\non a stool of ebony, whilst the bathman stood to wash him and the\nslaves poured water on him; after which they rubbed him down well and\nsaid, \"O our lord, Sir Wazir, health to thee forever!\" Then they went\nout and shut the door on him; and in the vanity of phantasy he arose\nand removed the waist-cloth from his middle, and laughed till he well\nnigh fainted.  He gave not over laughing for some time and at last\nquoth he to himself, \"What aileth them to address me as if I were a\nMinister and style me Master, and Sir?  Haply they are now blundering;\nbut after an hour they will know me and say, This fellow is a beggar;\nand take their fill of cuffing me on the neck.\" Presently, feeling hot\nhe opened the door, whereupon it seemed to him that a little white\nslave and an eunuch came in to him carrying a parcel.  Then the slave\nopened it and brought out three kerchiefs of silk, one of which he\nthrew over his head, a second over his shoulders and a third he tied\nround his waist.  Moreover, the eunuch gave him a pair of bath-\nclogs,[FN#110] and he put them on; after which in came white slaves and\neunuchs and sup ported him (and he laughing the while) to the outer\nhall, which he found hung and spread with magnificent furniture, such\nas be seemeth none but kings; and the pages hastened up to him and\nseated him on the divan.  Then they fell to kneading him till sleep\novercame him; and he dreamt that he had a girl in his arms.  So he\nkissed her and set her between his thighs; then, sitting to her as a\nman sitteth to a woman,[FN#111] he took yard in hand and drew her\ntowards him and weighed down upon her, when lo!  he heard one saying to\nhim, \"Awake, thou ne'er-do-well!  The noon hour is come and thou art\nstill asleep.\" He opened his eyes and found him self lying on the merge\nof the cold-water tank, amongst a crowd of people all laughing at him;\nfor his prickle was at point and the napkin had slipped from his\nmiddle.  So he knew that all this was but a confusion of dreams and an\nillusion of Hashish and he was vexed and said to him who had aroused\nhim, \"Would thou hadst waited till I had put it in!\" Then said the\nfolk, \"Art thou not ashamed, O Hashish-eater, to be sleeping stark\nnaked with stiff standing tool?\" And they cuffed him till his neck was\nred.  Now he was starving, yet forsooth had he savoured the flavour of\npleasure in his dream.  When Kanmakan heard the bondwoman's tale, he\nlaughed till he fell backward and said to Bakun, \"O my nurse, this is\nindeed a rare story and a delectable; I never heard the like of this\nanecdote.  Say me! hast more?\" \"Yes,\" replied she, and she ceased not\nto tell him merry adventures and laughable absurdities, till sleep\novercame him.  Then she sat by his head till the most part of the night\nwas past, when she said to herself, \"It is time to profit by the\noccasion.\" So she sprang to her feet and unsheathed the hanger and\nrushing up to Kanmakan, was about to cut his throat when behold, his\nmother came in upon the twain.  As soon as Bakun saw her, she rose in\nrespect and advanced to meet her, and fear get hold of her and she fell\na- trembling, as if he had the ague.  When his mother looked at her she\nmarvelled to see her thus and aroused her son, who awoke and found her\nsitting at his head.  Now the cause of her coming was that Kuzia Fakan\noverheard the conversation and the concert to kill Kanmakan, and she\nsaid to his mother, \"O wife of my uncle, go to thy son, ere that wicked\nwhore Bakun murther him;\" and she told her what had passed from first\nto last.  So she fared forth at once, and she thought of naught and\nstayed not for aught till she went in to her son at the very moment\nwhen Bakun was about to slay him in his sleep.  When he awoke, he said\nto his mother, \"O my mother, indeed thou comest at a good time, for\nnurse Bakun hath been with me this night.\" Then he turned to Bakun and\nasked her, \"By my life! knowest thou any story better than those thou\nhast told me?\" She answered, \"And where is what I have told thee\ncompared with what I will tell thee?; but however better it be, it must\nbe told at another time.\" Then she rose to depart, hardly believing, in\nher escape albeit he said, \"Go in peace!\" for she perceived by her\ncunning that his mother knew what had occurred. So she went her way;\nwhereupon his mother said to him, \"O my son, blessed be this night, for\nthat Almighty Allah hath delivered thee from this accursed woman.\" \"And\nhow so?\" enquired he, and she told him the story from beginning to end.\n Quoth he, \"O my mother, of a truth the live man findeth no slayer, and\nthough slain he shall not die; but now it were wiser that we depart\nfrom amongst these enemies and let Allah work what He will.\" So, when\nday dawned he left the city and joined the Wazir Dandan, and after his\ndeparture, certain things befel between King Sasan and Nuzhat al-Zaman,\nwhich compelled her also to quit the city and join herself to them; and\npresently they were met by all the high officers of King Sasan who\ninclined to their party.  Then they sat in counsel together devising\nwhat they should do, and at last all agreed upon a razzia into the land\nof Roum there to take their revenge for the death of King Omar bin\nal-Nu'uman and his son Sharrkan.  So they set out with this in tent\nand, after sundry adventures (which it were tedious to tell as will\nappear from what follows), they fell into the hands of R\u00famz\u00e1n, King of\nthe Greeks.  Next morning, King Rumzan caused Kanmakan and the Wazir\nDandan and their company to be brought before him and, when they came,\nhe seated them at his side, and bade spread the tables of food.  So\nthey ate and drank and took heart of grace, after having made sure of\ndeath, when they were summoned to the King's presence; and they had\nsaid to one another, \"He hath not sent for us but to slay us.\" And when\nthey were comforted the King said, \"In truth I have had a dream, which\nI related to the monks, and they said, \"None can expound it to thee\nsave the Wazir Dandan.\" Quoth the Minister, \"Weal it was thou didst see\nin thy dream, O King of the age!\" Quoth the King, \"O Wazir, I dreamt\nthat I was in a pit which seemed a black well where multitudes were\ntormenting me; and I would have risen, but when springing up I fell on\nmy feet and could not get out of that same pit.  Then I turned and saw\ntherein a girdle of gold and I stretched out my hand to take it; but\nwhen I raised it from the ground, I saw it was two girdles.  So I girt\nmy middle with them both and behold, the girdles became one girdle; and\nthis, O Wazir, is my dream and what I saw when my sleep was deepest.\"\nSaid Dandan, \"O our Lord the Sultan!  know that this thy dream denoteth\nthou hast a brother or a brother's son or an uncle's son or other near\nkinsman of thy flesh and blood whom thou knowest not; withal he is of\nthe noblest of you all.\" Now when the King heard these words he looked\nat Kanmakan and Nuzhat al-Zaman and Kuzia Fakan and the Wazir Dandan\nand the rest of the captives and said to himself, \"If I smite these\npeople's necks, their troops will lose heart for the destruction of\ntheir chiefs and I shall be able to return speedily to my realm, lest\nthe Kingship pass out of my hands.\" So having determined upon this he\ncalled the Sworder and bade him strike off Kanmakan's head upon the\nspot and forthright, when lo!  up came Rumzan's nurse and said to him,\n\"O auspicious King, what purposest thou?\" Quoth he, \"I purpose\nslaughtering these prisoners who are in my power; and after that I will\nthrow their heads among their men: then will I fall upon them, I and\nall my army in one body, and kill all we can kill and rout the rest: so\nwill this be the decisive action of the war and I shall return speedily\nto my kingdom ere aught of accident befal among my subjects.\" When the\nnurse heard these words, she came up to him and said in the Frankish\ntongue, \"How canst thou prevail upon thyself to slay thine own\nbrother's son, and thy sister, and thy sister's daughter?\" When he\nheard this language, he was wroth with exceeding wrath and said to her,\n\"O accursed woman, didst thou not tell me that my mother was murthered\nand that my father died by poison?  Didst thou not give me a jewel and\nsay to me, 'Of a truth this jewel was thy father's?' Why didst thou not\ntell me the truth?\" Replied she, \"All that I told thee is true, but my\ncase and thy case are wonderful and my history and thy his tory are\nmarvellous.  My name is Marjanah and thy mother's name was Abrizah: and\nshe was gifted with such beauty and loveliness and velour that proverbs\nwere made of her, and her prowess was renowned among men of war.  And\nthy father was King Omar bin al- Nu'uman, Lord of Baghdad and Khorasan,\nwithout doubt or double dealing or denial.  He sent his son Sharrkan on\na razzia in company with this very Wazir Dandan; and they did all that\nmen can.  But Sharrkan, thy brother, who had preceded the force,\nseparated himself from the troops and fell in with thy mother Queen\nAbrizah in her palace; and we happened to have sought a place apart in\norder to wrestle, she and I and her other damsels. He came upon us by\nchance while we were in such case, and wrestled with thy mother, who\novercame him by the power of her splendid beauty and by her prowess. \nThen she entertained him five days in her palace, till the news of this\ncame to her father, by the old woman Shawahi, surnamed Zat al-Dawahi,\nwhereupon she embraced Al-Islam at the hands of Sharrkan, and he took\nher and carried her by stealth to Baghdad, and with her myself and\nRayh\u00e1nab and twenty other damsels, all of us having, like her, followed\nthe True Faith.  When we came into the presence of thy Father, the King\nOmar bin al-Nu'uman, and he saw thy mother, Queen Abrizah, he fell in\nlove with her and going in unto her one night, had connection with her,\nand she conceived by him and became with child of thee. Now thy mother\nhad three jewels which she presented to thy father; and he gave one of\nthem to his daughter, Nuzhat al-Zaman, another to thy brother, Zau al-\nMakan, and the third to thy brother Sharrkan.  This last thy mother\ntook from Sharrkan and kept it for thee.  But as the time of her\ndelivery drew near she yearned after her own people and disclosed to me\nher secret; so I went to a black slave called Al- Ghazban; and, privily\ntelling him our case, bribed him to go with us.  Accordingly the negro\ntook us and fled the city with us, thy mother being near her time.  But\nas we approached a desert place on the borders of our own country, the\npangs of labour came upon thy mother.  Then the slave proved himself a\nlustful villain and approaching her sought of her a shameful thing;\nwhereupon she cried out at him with a loud cry, and was sore affrighted\nat him. In the excess of her fright she gave birth to thee at once, and\nat that moment there arose, in the direction of our country, a\ndust-cloud which towered and flew till it walled the view. Thereupon\nthe slave feared for his life; so he smote Queen Abrizah with his sword\nand slew her in his fury; then mounting his horse he went his way. \nSoon after his going, the dust lifted and discovered thy grandfather,\nKing Hardub, Lord of Gr\u0107cia-land, who, seeing thy mother (and his\ndaughter) lying slain on the plain, was sorely troubled with a distress\nthat redoubled, and questioned me of the manner of her death and the\ncause of her secretly quitting her father's realm.  So I told him all\nthat had passed, first and last; and this is the cause of the feud\nbetween the people of the land of the Greeks and the people of the city\nof Baghdad.  Then we bore off thy murthered mother and buried her; and\nI took thee and reared thee, and hung about thy neck the jewel which\nwas with Queen Abrizah.  But, when being grown up thou camest to man's\nestate, I dared not acquaint thee with the truth of the matter, lest\nsuch information stir up a war of blood revenge between you.  More\nover, thy grandfather had enjoined me to secrecy, and I could not\ngainsay the commandment of thy mother's father, Hardub, King of the\nGreeks.  This, then, is the cause of my concealment and the reason why\nI forbore to inform thee that thy father was King Omar bin al-Nu'uman;\nbut when thou camest to the throne, I told thee what thou knowest; and\nI durst not reveal to thee the rest till this moment, O King of the\nAge! So now I have discovered to thee my secret and my proof, and I\nhave acquainted thee with all I know; and thou reckest best what is in\nthy mind.\" Now all the captives had heard the slave woman Marjanah,\nnurse to King Rumzan, speaking as she spake; when Nuzhat al-Zaman,\nwithout stay or delay, cried out, saying, \"This King Rumzan is my\nbrother by my father, King Omar bin al-Nu'uman, and his mother was\nQueen Abrizah, daughter of King Hardub, Lord of the Greeks; and I know\nthis slave-woman Marjanah right well.\" With this, trouble and\nperplexity got hold upon Rumzan and he caused Nuzhat al-Zaman to be\nbrought up to him forthright.  When he looked upon her, blood yearned\nto blood and he questioned her of his history.  She told him the tale\nand her story tallied with that of Marjanah, his nurse; whereupon the\nKing was assured that he was, indeed and without a doubt, of the people\nof Irak; and that King Omar bin al-Nu'uman was his father.  So without\nlosing time he caused his sister to be unpinioned, and Nuzhat al-Zaman\ncame up to him and kissed his hands, whilst her eves ran over with\ntears.  The King west also to see her weeping, and brotherly love\npossessed him and his heart yearned to his brother's son Sultan\nKanmakan.  So he sprang to his feet and, taking the sword from the\nSworder's hands (whereat the captives made sure of death), he caused\nthem to be set close to him and he cut their bonds with the blade and\nsaid to his nurse Marjanah, \"Explain the matter to this company, even\nas thou hast explained it to me.\" Replied she, \"O King, know that this\nShayth is the Wazir Dandan and he is the best of witnesses to my story,\nseeing that he knoweth the facts of the case.\" Then she turned to the\ncaptives and repeated the whole story to them on the spot and\nforthright, and in presence of the Kings of the Greeks and the Kings of\nthe Franks; whereupon Queen Nuzhat al-Zaman and the Wazir Dandan and\nall who were prisoners with them confirmed her words.  When Marjanah,\nthe bond-woman, had finished, chancing to look at Sultan Kanmakan she\nsaw on his neck the third jewel, fellow to the two which were with\nQueen Abrizah; and, recognising it, she cried so loud a cry, that the\npalace re-echoed it and said to the King, \"O my son, know that now my\ncertainty is still more assured, for this jewel that is about the neck\nof yonder captive is the fellow to that I hung to thy neck; and, these\nbeing the two, this captive is indeed thy brother's son, Kanmakan.\"\nThen the slave women Marjanah turned to Kanmakan and said to him, \"Let\nme see that jewel, O King of the Age!\"; so he took it from his neck and\nhanded it to her.  Then she asked Nuzhat al-Zaman of the third jewel\nand she gave it to her; and when the two were in her hand she delivered\nthem to King Rumzan, and the truth and proof were made manifest to him;\nand he was assured that he was indeed Sultan Kanmakan's uncle and that\nhis father was King Omar bin al- Nu'uman.  So he rose at once and on\nthe spot and, going up to the Wazir Dandan, threw his arms round his\nneck; then he embraced King Kanmakan and the twain cried a loud cry for\nexcess of joy. The glad news was blazed abroad without delay; and they\nbeat the tabrets and cymbals, whilst the shawms sounded and the people\nheld high festival.  The armies of Irak and Syria heard the clamour of\nrejoicing among the Greeks; so they mounted to the last man, and King\nZibl Khan also took horse saying to himself, \"Would I knew what can be\nthe cause of this clamour and rejoicing in the army of the Franks and\nthe Greeks!\" Then the army of Irak dight itself for fight and advanced\ninto the plain and place of cut and foin.  Presently, King Rumzan\nturned him round and saw the army deployed and in preparing for battle\nemployed, so he asked the cause thereof and was told the state of the\ncase. Thereupon he bade his niece and brother's daughter, Kuzia Fakan,\nreturn at once and forthright to the troops of Syria and Irak and\nacquaint them with the plight that had betided and how it was come to\nlight that King Rumzan was uncle to Sultan Kanmakan.  She set out,\nputting away from her sorrows and troubles and, coming to King Zibl\nKhan,[FN#112] saluted him and told him all that had passed of the good\naccord, and how King Rumzan had proved to be her uncle and uncle of\nKanmakan.  And when she went in to him she found him tearful eyed, in\nfear for the captive Emirs and Princes; but when he heard what had\npassed, from first to last, the Moslem's sadness was abated and they\njoyed with the more gladness.  Then King Zibl Khan and all his officers\nand his retinue took horse and followed Princess Kuzia Fakan till they\nreached the pavilion of King Rumzan; and when entering they found him\nsitting with his nephew, Sultan Kanmakan.  Now he had taken counsel\nwith the Wazir Dandan concerning King Zibl Khan and had agreed to\ncommit to his charge the city of Damascus of Sham and leave him King\nover it as he before had been while they themselves entered Irak. \nAccordingly, they confirmed him in the vice royalty of Damascus of\nSyria, and bade him set out at once for his government; so he fared\nforth with his troops and they rode with him a part of the way to bid\nhim farewell.  Then they returned to their own places whereupon, the\ntwo armies foregathered and gave orders for the march upon Irak; but\nthe Kings said one to other, \"Our hearts will never be at rest nor our\nwrath cease to rage till we have taken our wreak of the old woman\nShawahi, surnamed Zat al-Dawahi, and wiped away our shame and blot upon\nour honour.\" Thereupon King Rumzan and his nephew set out, surrounded\nby their Nobles and Grandees; and indeed Kanmakan rejoiced in his\nuncle, King Rumzan, and called down blessings on nurse Marjanah who had\nmade them known to each other.  They fared on and ceased not faring\ntill they drew near their home Baghdad, and when the Chief Chamberlain,\nSasan, heard of their approach, he came out to meet them and kissed the\nhand of King Rumzan who bestowed on him a dress of honour.  Then the\nKing of Roum sat down on the throne and seated by his side his nephew\nSultan Kanmakan, who said to him, \"O my uncle, this Kingdom befitteth\nnone but thee.\" Replied Rumzan, \"Allah be my refuge and the Lord forbid\nthat I should supplant thee in thy Kingdom!\" Upon this the Wazir Dandan\ncounselled them to share the throne between the two, ruling each one\nday in turn; and with this they were well satisfied.\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Forty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the two Kings\nagreed each to rule one day in turn: then made they feasts and offered\nsacrifices of clean beasts and held high festival; and they abode thus\nawhile, whilst Sultan Kanmakan spent his nights with his cousin Kuzia\nFakan.  And after that period, as the two Kings sat rejoicing in their\ncondition and in the happy ending of their troubles, behold, they saw a\ncloud of dust arise and tower till it walled the world from their eyes.\n And out of it came a merchant shrieking and crying aloud for succour\nand saying, \"O Kings of the Age!  how cometh it that I woned safely in\nthe land of the Infidels and I am plundered in your realm, though it be\nthe biding place of justice[FN#113] and peace?\" Then King Rumzan went\nup to him and questioned him of his case and he replied, \"I am a\nmerchant and, like other merchants, I have been long absent from my\nnative land, travelling in far countries for some twenty years; and I\nhave a patent of exemption from the city of Damascus which the Viceroy,\nKing Sharrkan (who hath found mercy) wrote me, for the cause that I had\nmade him gift of a slave-girl.  Now as I was drawing near my home,\nhaving with me an hundred loads of rarities of Hind, when I brought\nthem near Baghdad, which be the seat of your sovereignty and the place\nof your peace and your justice, out there came upon me wild Arabs and\nKurds[FN#114] in band gathered together from every land; and they slew\nmy many and they robbed my money and this is what they have done me.\"\nThen the trader wept in presence of King Rumzan, saying that he was an\nold man and infirm; and he bemoaned himself till the King felt for him\nand had compassion on him; and likewise did King Kanmakan and they\nswore that they would sally forth upon the thieves.  So they set out\namid an hundred horse, each reckoned worth thou sands of men, and the\nmerchant went before them to guide them in the right way; and they\nceased not faring on all that day and the livelong night till\ndawnbreak, when they came to a valley abounding in rills and shady with\ntrees.  Here they found the foray dispersed about the valley, having\ndivided that merchant's bales among them; but there was yet some of the\ngoods left.  So the hundred horsemen fell upon them and surrounded them\non all sides, and King Rumzan shouted his war cry, and thus also did\nhis nephew Kanmakan, and ere long they made prize of them all, to the\nnumber of near three hundred horsemen, banded together of the refuse of\nrascality.[FN#115] They took what they could find of the merchant's\ngoods and, binding them tightly, brought them to Baghdad, where King\nRumzan and his nephew, King Kanmakan, sat down together on one throne\nand, passing the prisoners in review before them, questioned them of\ntheir case and their chiefs.  They said, \"We have no chiefs but these\nthree men and it was they who gathered us together from all corners and\ncountries.\" The Kings said to them, \"Point out to us your headmen!\";\nand, when this was done, they bade lay hands on the leaders and set\ntheir comrades free, after taking from them all the goods in their\npossession and restoring them to the merchant, who examined his stuffs\nand monies and found that a fourth of his stock was missing.  The Kings\nengaged to make good the whole of his loss, where upon the trader\npulled out two letters, one in the handwriting of Sharrkan, and the\nother in that of Nuzhat al-Zaman; for this was the very merchant who\nhad bought Nuzhat al-Zaman of the Badawi, when she was a virgin, and\nhad forwarded her to her brother Sharrkan; and that happened between\nthem which happened.[FN#116] Hereupon King Kanmakan examined the\nletters and recognised the handwriting of his uncle Sharrkan, and,\nhaving heard the history of his aunt, Nuzhat al- Zaman, he went in to\nher with the second letter written by her to the merchant who had lost\nthrough her his monies; Kanmakan also told her what had befallen the\ntrader from first to last.  She knew her own handwriting and,\nrecognising the merchant, despatched to him guest gifts and commended\nhim to her brother and nephew, who ordered him largesse of money and\nblack slaves and pages to wait on him; besides which Nuzhat al-Zaman\nsent him an hundred thousand dirhams in cash and fifty loads of\nmerchandise and presented to him other rich presents.  Then she sent\nfor him and when he came, she went up to him and saluted him and told\nhim that she was the daughter of King Omar bin al- Nu'uman and that her\nbrother was King Rumzan and that King Kanmakan was her nephew.\nThereupon the merchant rejoiced with great joy, and congratulated her\non her safety and on her re- union with her brother, and kissed her\nhands thanking her for her bounty, and said to her, \"By Allah!  a good\ndeed is not lost upon thee!\" Then she withdrew to her own apartment and\nthe trader sojourned with them three days, after which he took leave of\nthem and set out on his return march to the land of Syria.  Thereupon\nthe two Kings sent for the three robber chiefs who were of the highway\nmen, and questioned them of their case, when one of them came forward\nand said, \"Know ye that I am a Badawi who am wont to lie in wait, by\nthe way, to snatch small children[FN#117] and virgin girls and sell\nthem to merchants; and this I did for many a year until these latter\ndays, when Satan incited me to join yon two gallows birds in gathering\ntogether all the riff-raff of the Arabs and other peoples, that we\nmight plunder merchandise and waylay merchants.\" Said the Kings, \"Tell\nus the rarest of the adventures that have befallen thee in kidnapping\nchildren and maidens.\" Replied he, \"O Kings of the Age, the strangest\nthing that happened to me was that one day, two-and-twenty years ago, I\nsnatched a girl who belonged to the Holy City; she was gifted with\nbeauty and comeliness, despite that she was but a servant and was clad\nin threadbare clothes, with a piece of camlet-cloth on her head.  So I\nentrapped her by guile as she came out of the caravanserai; and at that\nvery hour mounting her on a camel, made off with her, thinking to carry\nher to my own people in the Desert and there set her to pasture the\ncamels and gather their droppings in the valley.  But she wept with so\nsore a weeping that after coming down upon her with blows, I took her\nand carried her to Damascus city where a merchant saw her with me and,\nbeing astounded at her beauty and marvelling at her accomplishments,\nwished to buy her of me and kept on bidding me more and more for her,\ntill at last I sold her to him for an hundred thousand dirhams.  After\nselling her I heard her display prodigious eloquence; and it reached me\nthat the merchant clothed her in handsome gear and presented her to the\nViceroy of Damascus, who gave him three times the price which he had\npaid to me, and this price, by my life!  was but little for such a\ndamsel. This, O Kings of the Age, is the strangest thing that ever\nbefel me.\" When the two Kings heard her story they wondered thereat,\nbut when Nuzhat al-Zaman heard what the Badawi related, the light\nbecame darkness before her face and she cried out and said to her\nbrother Rumzan, \"Sure and sans doubt this is the very Badawi who\nkidnapped me in the Holy City Jerusalem!\" Then she told them all that\nshe had endured from him in her stranger hood of hardship, blows,\nhunger, humiliation, contempt, adding, \"And now it is lawful for me to\nslay him.\" So saying she seized a sword and made at him to smite him;\nand behold, he cried out and said, \"O Kings of the Age, suffer her not\nto slay me, till I shall have told you the rare adventures that have\nbetided me.\" And her nephew Kanmakan said to her, \"O my aunt, let him\ntell us his tale, and after that do with him as thou wilt.\" So she held\nher hand and the Kings said to him, \"Now let us hear thy history.\"\nQuoth he, \"O Kings of the Age, if I tell you a rare tale will ye pardon\nme?\" \"Yes,\" answered they.  Then the Badawi robber-chief began,\n\n\nThe Tale of Hammad the Badawi.\n\nAnd he said:\u2014Know ye that a short while ago, I was sore wakeful one\nnight and thought the morn would never dawn; so, as soon as it was\nbreak of day I rose, without stay or delay; and, slinging over my\nshoulder my sword, mounted horse and set my lance in rest.  Then I rode\nout to sport and hunt and, as I went along, a company of men accosted\nme and asked me whither I was bound I told them and they said, \"We will\nkeep thee company.\" So we all fared on together, and, whilst we were\nfaring, lo and behold!  up started an ostrich and we gave her chase,\nbut she escaped our pursuit and spreading wings ceased not to fly\nbefore us (and we following by sight) till she lost us in a desert\nwherein there was neither grass nor water, nor heard we aught therein\nsave hiss of snake and wail of Jinn and howl of Ghul; and when we\nreached that place the ostrich disappeared nor could we tell whether\nshe had flown up into the sky or into the ground had gone down.  Then\nwe turned our horses' heads and thought to return; but found that to\nretrace our steps at that time of burning heat would be toilsome and\ndangerous; for the sultry air was grievous to us, so that we thirsted\nwith sore thirst and our steeds stood still.  We made sure of death;\nbut while we were in this case we suddenly espied from afar a spacious\nmead where gazelles were frisking Therein was a tent pitched and by the\ntent side a horse tethered and a spear was planted with head glittering\nin the sun.[FN#118] Upon this our hearts revived after we had\ndespaired, and we turned our horses' heads towards that tent making for\nthe meadow and the water which irrigated it; and all my comrades fared\nfor it and I at their head, and we ceased not faring till we reached\nthe mead.  Then we alighted at the spring and watered our beasts. But I\nwas seized with a fever of foolish curiosity and went up to the door of\nthat tent, wherein I saw a young man, without hair on his cheeks, who\nfellowed the new moon; and on his right hand was a slender-waisted\nmaid, as she were a willow-wand.  No sooner did I set eyes on her than\nlove get hold upon my heart and I saluted the youth, who returned my\ngreeting.  Then said I, \"O my brother, tell me who thou art and what to\nthee is this damsel sitting by thy side?\"[FN#119]  Thereupon the youth\nbent his head groundwards awhile, then raised it and replied, \"Tell me\nfirst who thou art and what are these horsemen with thee?\" Answered I,\n\"I am Hammad son of al-Fazari, the renowned knight, who is reckoned\namong the Arabs as five hundred horse.  We went forth from our place\nthis morning to sport and chase and were overcome by thirst; so I came\nto the door of this tent, thinking haply to get of thee a draught of\nwater.\" When he heard these my words, he turned to the fair maiden and\nsaid, \"Bring this man water and what food there is ready.\" So she arose\ntrailing her skirts, whilst the golden bangles tinkled on her ankles\nand her feet stumbled in her long locks, and she disappeared for a\nlittle while.  Presently she returned bearing in her right hand a\nsilver vessel full of cold water and in her left hand a bowl brimming\nwith milk and dates, together with some flesh of wild cattle. But I\ncould take of her nor meat nor drink for the excess of my passion, and\nI applied to her these two couplets, saying,\n\n\"It was as though the sable dye[FN#120] upon her palms, *\n     Were raven perching on a swathe of freshest snow;\nThou seest Sun and Moon conjoined in her face, *\n     While Sun fear-dimmed and Moon fright-pallid show.\"\n\nAfter I had eaten and drunk I said to the youth, \"Know thou, O Chief of\nthe Arabs, that I have told thee in all truth who and what I am, and\nnow I would fain have thee do the like by me and tell me the truth of\nthy case.\" Replied the young man, \"As for this damsel she is my\nsister.\" Quoth I, \"It is my desire that thou give me her to wife of thy\nfree will: else will I slay thee and take her by force.\" Upon this, he\nbowed his head groundwards awhile, then he raised his eyes to me and\nanswered, \"Thou sayest sooth in avouching thyself a renowned knight and\nfamed in fight and verily thou art the lion of the desert; but if ye\nall attack me treacherously and slay me in your wrath and take my\nsister by force, it will be a stain upon your honour.  An you be, as ye\naver, cavaliers who are counted among the Champions and reck not the\nshock of foray and fray, give me a little time to don my armour and\nsling on my sword and set lance in rest and mount war steed.  Then will\nwe go forth into the field of fight, I and you; and, if I conquer you,\nI will kill you to the last man; but if you overcome me and slay me,\nthis damsel, my sister, is yours.\" Hearing such words I replied, \"This\nis only just, and we oppose it not.\" Then I turned back my horse's head\n(for my love for the damsel waxed hotter and hotter) and returned to my\ncompanions, to whom I set forth her beauty and loveliness as also the\ncomeliness of the young man who was with her, together with his velour\nand strength of soul and how he had avouched himself a match for a\nthousand horse. Moreover, I described to my company the tent and all\nthe riches and rarities therein and said to them, \"Know ye that this\nyouth would not have cut himself off from society and have taken up his\nabode alone in this place, were he not a man of great prowess: so I\npropose that whoso slayeth the younker shall take his sister.\" And they\nsaid, \"This contenteth us.\" Then my company armed themselves and\nmounting, rode to the tent, where we found that the young man had\ndonned his gear and backed his steed; but his sister ran up to him (her\nveil being drenched with tears), and took hold of his stirrup and cried\nout, saying, \"Alas!\" and, \"Woe worth the day!\" in her fear for her\nbrother, and recited these couplets,\n\n\"To Allah will I make my moan of travail and of woe, *\n     Maybe Il\u00e1h of Arsh[FN#121] will smite their faces with\n     affright:\nFain would they slay thee, brother mine, with purpose\n     felon-fell; * Albe no cause of vengeance was, nor fault\n     forewent the fight.\nYet for a rider art thou known to those who back the steed, *\n     And twixt the East and West of knights thou art the prowess\n     knight:\nThy sister's honour thou shalt guard though little might be\n     hers, * For thou'rt her brother and for thee she sueth\n     Allah's might:\nThen let not enemy possess my soul nor 'thrall my frame, *\n     And work on me their will and treat thy sister with\n     despight.\nI'll ne'er abide, by Allah's truth, in any land or home *\n     Where thou art not, though dight it be with joyance and\n     delight\nFor love and yearning after thee myself I fain will slay, *\n     And in the gloomy darksome tomb spread bed upon the clay.\"\n\nBut when her brother heard her verse he wept with sore weeping and\nturned his horse's head towards his sister and made this answer to her\npoetry,\n\n\"Stand by and see the derring-do which I to-day will show, *\n     When meet we and I deal them blows that rend and cleave and\n     split;\nE'en though rush out to seek a bout the lion of the war, *\n     The stoutest hearted brave of all and eke the best in wit;\nTo him I'll deal without delay a Sa'alabiyan blow,[FN#122] *\n     And dye my cane-spear's joint in blood by wound of foe\n     bespit:\nIf all I beat not off from thee, O sister, may this frame *\n     Be slain, and cast my corpse to birds, for so it would\n     befit:\nYes, for thy dearest sake I'll strike my blows with might and\n     main, * And when we're gone shall this event in many a book\n     be writ.\"\n\nAnd when he had ended his verse, he said, \"O my sister, give ear to\nwhat I shall enjoin on thee\"; whereto she replied, \"Hearkening and\nobedience.\" Quoth he, \"If I fall, let none possess thy person;\" and\nthereupon she buffeted her face and said, \"Allah forbid, O my brother,\nthat I should see thee laid low and yield myself to thy foe!\" With this\nthe youth put out his hand to her and withdrew her veil from her face,\nwhereupon it shone forth as the sun shineth out from the white clouds. \nThen he kissed her between the eyes and bade her farewell; after which\nhe turned to us and said, \"Holla, Knights!  Come ye as guests or crave\nye cuts and thrusts?  If ye come to us as your hosts, rejoice ye in the\nguest rite; and, if ye covet the shining moon, come ye out against me,\nknight by knight, into this plain and place of fight.\" There upon\nrushed out to him a doughty rider and the young man said to him, \"Tell\nme thy name and thy father's name, for I am under an oath not to slay\nany whose name tallies with mine and whose father's name is that of my\nfather; and if this be the case with thee, I will give thee up the\nmaid.\" Quoth the horseman, \"My name is Bil\u00e1l;\"[FN#123] and the young\nman answered him, saying,\n\n\"Thou liest when speaking of 'benefits,' while *\n     Thou comest to front with shine evillest will\nAn of prowess thou'rt prow, to my words give ear, *\n     I'm he who make' champions in battle-field reel\nWith keen blade, like the horn of the cusped moon, *\n     So 'ware thrust the, shall drill through the duress hill!\"\n\nThen they charged down, each at each, and the youth thrust his\nadversary in the breast so that the lance head issued from his back. \nWith tints, another came out, and the youth cried,\n\n\"Ho thou hound, who art rotten with foulness in grain,[FN#124] *\n     What high meed is there easy for warrior to gain?\n'Tis none save the lion of strain purest pure *\n     Who uncareth for life in the battle plain!\"\n\nNor was it long before the youth left him drowned in his blood and\ncried out, \"Who will come forth to me?\" So a third horse man rushed out\nupon the youth and began saying,\n\n\"To thee come I forth with my heart a-flame, *\n     And summon my friends and my comrades by name:\nWhen thou slewest the chief of the Arabs this day, *\n     This day thou remainest the pledge of my claim.\"\n\nNow when the youth heard this he answered him in these words,\n\n\"Thou liest, O foulest of Satans that are, *\n     And with easings calumnious thou comest to war\nThis day thou shalt fall by a death dealing point *\n     Where the lances lunge and the scymitars jar!\"\n\nThen he so foined him in the breast that the spear-point issued from\nhis back and he cried out, saying, \"Ho!  will none come out? So a\nfourth fared forwards and the youth asked him his name and he answered,\n\"My name is Hil\u00e1l, the New Moon.\" And the youth began repeating,\n\n\"Thou hast failed who would sink me in ruin sea, *\n     Thou who camest in malice with perfidy:\nI, whose verses hast heard from the mouth of me, *\n     Will ravish thy soul though unknown to thee.\"\n\nThen they drave at each other and delivered two cuts, but the youth's\nstroke devanced that of the rider his adversary and slew him: and thus\nhe went on to kill all who sallied out against him. Now when I saw my\ncomrades slain, I said to myself, \"If I go down to fight with him, I\nshall not be able to prevail against him; and, if I flee, I shall\nbecome a byword of shame among the Arabs.\" But the youth gave me no\ntime to think, for he ran at me and dragged me from my saddle and\nhurled me to the ground.  I fainted at the fall and he raised his sword\ndesigning to cut off my head; but I clung to his skirts, and he lifted\nme in his hand as though I were a sparrow.  When the maiden saw this,\nshe rejoiced in her brother's prowess and coming up to him, kissed him\nbetween the eyes. Then he delivered me to her, saying, \"Take him and\nlook to him and entreat him hospitably, for he is come under our rule.\"\nSo she took hold of the collar of my hauberk[FN#125] and led me away by\nit as one would lead a dog. Then she did off her brother's coat of mail\nand clad him in a robe, and set for him a stool of ivory, on which he\nsat down; and she said to him, \"Allah whiten thy honour and prevent\nfrom thee the shifts of fortune!\" And he answered her with these\ncouplets,\n\n\"My sister said, as saw she how I stood *\n     In fight, when sun-rays lit my knightlihood\n'Allah assain thee for a Brave of braves *\n     To whom in vale bow lions howso wood!'\nQuoth I, 'Go ask the champions of my case, *\n     When feared the Lords of war my warrior mood!\nMy name is famed for fortune and for force, *\n     And soared my spirit to such altitude,'\nHo thou, Hamm\u00e1d, a lion hast upstirred, *\n     Shall show thee speedy death like viper brood.\"\n\nNow when I heard his verse, I was perplexed as to my case and\nconsidering my condition and how I was become a captive, I was lowered\nin my own esteem.  Then I looked at the damsel, his sister, and seeing\nher beauty I said to myself, \"'Tis she who caused all this trouble\";\nand I fell a-marvelling at her loveliness till the tears streamed from\nmy eyes and I recited these couplets,\n\n\"Dear friend!  ah leave thy loud reproach and blame; *\n     Such blame but irks me yet may not alarm:\nI'm clean distraught for one whom saw I not *\n     Without her winning me by winsome charm\nYestreen her brother crossed me in her love, *\n     A Brave stout-hearted and right long of arm.\"\n\nThen the maiden set food before her brother and he bade me eat with\nhim, whereat I rejoiced and felt assured that I should not be slain. \nAnd when he had ended eating, she brought him a flagon of pure wine and\nhe applied him to it till the fumes of the drink mounted to his head\nand his face flushed red. Then he turned to me and said, \"Woe to thee,\nO Hammad!  dost thou know me or not?\" Replied I, \"By thy life, I am\nrich in naught save ignorance!' Quoth he, \"O Hammad, I am 'Abb\u00e1d bin\nTam\u00edm bin Sa'labah and indeed Allah giveth thee thy liberty and leadeth\nthee to a happy bride and spareth thee confusion.\" Then he drank to my\nlong life and gave me a cup of wine and I drank it off; and presently\nhe filled me a second and a third and a fourth, and I drained them all;\nwhile he made merry with me and swore me never to betray him.  So I\nsware to him one thousand five hundred oaths that I would never deal\nperfidiously with him at any time, but that I would be a friend and a\nhelper to him. Thereupon he bade his sister bring me ten suits of silk,\nso she brought them and laid them on my person, and this dress I have\non my body is one of them. Moreover, he made bring one of the best of\nhis she- dromedaries[FN#126] carrying stuffs and provaunt, he bade her\nalso bring a sorrel horse, and when they were brought he gave the whole\nof them to me.  I abode with them three days, eating and drinking, and\nwhat he gave me of gifts is with me to this present.  At the end of the\nthree days he said to me, \"O Hammad, O my brother, I would sleep awhile\nand take my rest and verily I trust my life to thee; but, if thou see\nhorsemen making hither, fear not, for know that they are of the Banu\nSa'labah, seeking to wage war on me.\" Then he laid his sword under his\nhead-pillow and slept; and when he was drowned in slumber Iblis tempted\nme to slay him; so I arose in haste, and drawing the sword from under\nhis head, dealt him a blow that made his head fall from his body. But\nhis sister knew what I had done, and rushing out from within the tent,\nthrew herself on his corpse, rending her raiment and repeating these\ncouplets,\n\n\"To kith and kin bear thou sad tidings of our plight; *\n     From doom th' All-wise decreed shall none of men take\n     flight:\nLow art thou laid, O brother!  strewn upon the stones, *\n     With face that mirrors moon when shining brightest bright!\nGood sooth, it is a day accurst, thy slaughter-day *\n     Shivering thy spear that won the day in many a fight!\nNow thou be slain no rider shall delight in steed, *\n     Nor man child shall the breeding woman bring to light.\nThis morn Hamm\u00e1d uprose and foully murthered thee, *\n     Falsing his oath and troth with foulest perjury.\"\n\nWhen she had ended her verse she said to me, \"O thou of accursed\nforefathers, wherefore didst thou play my brother false and slay him\nwhen he purposed returning thee to thy native land with provisions; and\nit was his intent also to marry thee to me at the first of the month?\"\nThen she drew a sword she had with her, and planting the hilt in the\nearth, with the point set to her breast, she bent over it and threw\nherself thereon till the blade issued from her back and she fell to the\nground, dead.  I mourned for her and wept and repented when repentance\navailed me naught. Then I arose in haste and went to the tent and,\ntaking whatever was light of load and weighty of worth, went my way;\nbut in my haste and horror I took no heed of my dead comrades, nor did\nI bury the maiden and the youth.  And this my tale is still more\nwondrous than the story of the serving-girl I kidnapped from the Holy\nCity, Jerusalem.  But when Nuzhat al-Zaman heard these words from the\nBadawi, the light was changed in her eyes to night.\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Forty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Nuzhat\nal-Zaman heard these words from the Badawi, the light was changed in\nher eyes to night, and she rose and drawing the sword, smote Hammad the\nArab between the shoulder-blades so that the point issued from the\napple of his throat.[FN#127] And when all present asked her, 'Why hast\nthou made haste to slay him;\" she answered, \"Praised be Allah who hath\ngranted me in my life tide to avenge myself with mine own hand!\" And\nshe bade the slaves drag the body out by the feet and cast it to the\ndogs.  Thereupon they turned to the two prisoners who remained of the\nthree; and one of them was a black slave, so they said to him, What is\nthy name, fellow?  Tell us the truth of thy case.\" He replied, \"As for\nme my name is Al-Ghazb\u00e1n,\" and acquainted them what had passed between\nhimself and Queen Abrizah, daughter of King Hardub, Lord of Greece, and\nhow he had slain her and fled. Hardly had the negro made an end of his\nstory, when King Rumzan struck off his head with his scymitar, saying,\nPraise to Allah who gave me life!  I have avenged my mother with my own\nhand.\" Then he repeated to them what his nurse Marjanah had told him of\nthis same slave whose name was Al-Ghazban; after which they turned to\nthe third prisoner.  Now this was the very camel- driver[FN#128] whom\nthe people of the Holy City, Jerusalem, hired to carry Zau al-Makan and\nlodge him in the hospital at Damascus of Syria; but he threw him down\non the ashes midden and went his way.  And they said to him, \"Acquaint\nus with thy case and tell the truth.\" So he related to them all that\nhad happened to him with Sultan Zau al-Makan; how he had been carried\nfrom the Holy City, at the time when he was sick, till they made\nDamascus and he had been thrown into the hospital; how also the\nJerusalem folk had paid the cameleer money to transport the stranger to\nDamascus, and he had taken it and fled after casting his charge upon\nthe midden by the side of the ash-heap of the Hammam.  But when he\nended his words, Sultan Kanmakan took his sword forthright and cut off\nhis head, saying, \"Praised be Allah who hath given me life, that I\nmight requite this traitor what he did with my father, for I have heard\nthis very story from King Zau al-Makan himself.\" Then the Kings said\neach to other, \"It remaineth only for us to wreak our revenge upon the\nold woman Shawahi, yclept Zat al-Dawahi, because she is the prime cause\nof all these calamities and cast us into adversity on this wise. Who\nwill deliver her into our hands that we may avenge ourselves upon her\nand wipe out our dishonour?\" And King Rumzan said, \"Needs must we bring\nher hither.\" So without stay or delay he wrote a letter to his\ngrandmother, the aforesaid ancient woman, giving her to know therein\nthat he had subdued the kingdoms of Damascus and Mosul and Irak, and\nhad broken up the host of the Moslems and captured their princes,\nadding, \"I desire thee of all urgency to come to me, bringing with thee\nQueen Sophia, daughter of King Afridun, and whom thou wilt of the\nNazarene chiefs, but no armies; for the country is quiet and wholly\nunder our hand.\" And when she read the letter and recognised the\nhandwriting of King Rumzan, she rejoiced with great joy and forthright\nequipping herself and Queen Sophia, set out with their attendants and\njourneyed, without stopping, till they drew near Baghdad. Then she\nforesent a messenger to acquaint the King of her arrival, whereupon\nquoth Rumzan, \"We should do well to don the habit of the Franks and\nfare forth to meet the old woman, to the intent that we may be assured\nagainst her craft and perfidy.\" Whereto Kanmakan replied, \"Hearing is\nconsenting.\" So they clad themselves in Frankish clothes and, when\nKuzia Fakan saw them, she exclaimed, \"By the truth of the Lord of\nWorship, did I not know you, I should take you to be indeed Franks!\"\nThen they sallied forth with a thousand horse, King Rumzan riding on\nbefore them, to meet the old woman.  As soon as his eyes fell on hers,\nhe dismounted and walked towards her and she, recognizing him,\ndismounted also and embraced him, but he pressed her ribs with his\nhands, till he well nigh broke them.  Quoth she, \"What is this, O my\nson?\" But before she had done speaking, up came Kanmakan and Dandan;\nand the horsemen with them cried out at the women and slaves and took\nthem all prisoners.  Then the two Kings returned to Baghdad, with their\ncaptives, and Rumzan bade them decorate the city which they did for\nthree days, at the end of which they brought out the old woman Shawahi,\nhighs Zat al- Dawahi, with a peaked red turband of palm-leaves on her\nhead, diademed with asses' dung and preceded by a herald proclaiming\naloud, \"This is the reward of those who presume to lay hands on Kings\nand the sons of Kings!\" Then they crucified her on one of the gates of\nBaghdad; and, when her companions saw what befel her, all embraced in a\nbody the faith of Al-Islam. As for Kanmakan and his uncle Rumzan and\nhis aunt Nuzhat al-Zaman and the Wazir Dandan, they marvelled at the\nwonderful events that had betided them and bade the scribes chronicle\nthem in books that those who came after might read.  Then they all\nabode for the remainder of their days in the enjoyment of every solace\nand comfort of life, till there overtook them the Destroyer of all\ndelights and the Sunderer of all societies.  And this is the whole that\nhath come down to us of the dealings of fortune with King Omar bin\nal-Nu'uman and his sons Sharrkan and Zau al-Makan and his son's son\nKanmakan and his daughter Nuzhat al-Zaman and her daughter Kuzia Fakan.\n Thereupon quoth Shahryar to Shahrazad, \"I desire that thou tell me\nsomewhat about birds;\" and hearing this Dunyazad said to her sister, \"I\nhave never seen the Sultan light at heart all this while till the\npresent night, and his pleasure garreth me hope that the issue for thee\nwith him may be a happy issue.\" Then drowsiness overcame the Sultan, so\nhe slept;[FN#129]\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the approach of day and\nceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Forty-sixth Night,\n\nShahrazad began to relate, in these words, the tale of\n\n\nTHE BIRDS AND BEASTS AND THE CARPENTER[FN#130]\n\nQuoth she, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that in times of yore\nand in ages long gone before, a peacock abode with his wife on the\nseashore. Now the place was infested with lions and all manner wild\nbeasts, withal it abounded in trees and streams. So cock and hen were\nwont to roost by night upon one of the trees, being in fear of the\nbeasts, and went forth by day questing food. And they ceased not thus\nto do till their fear increased on them and they searched for some\nplace wherein to dwell other than their old dwelling place; and in the\ncourse of their search behold, they happened on an island abounding in\nstreams and trees. So they alighted there and ate of its fruits and\ndrank of its waters. But whilst they were thus engaged, lo! up came to\nthem a duck in a state of extreme terror, and stayed not faring\nforwards till she reached the tree whereon were perched the two\npeafowl, when she seemed re assured in mind. The peacock doubted not\nbut that she had some rare story; so he asked her of her case and the\ncause of her concern, whereto she answered, \"I am sick for sorrow, and\nmy horror of the son of Adam:[FN#131] so beware, and again I say beware\nof the sons of Adam!\" Rejoined the peacock, \"Fear not now that thou\nhast won our protection.\" Cried the duck, \"Alhamdolillah! glory to God,\nwho hath done away my cark and care by means of you being near! For\nindeed I come of friendship fain with you twain.\" And when she had\nended her speech the peacock's wife came down to her and said, \"Well\ncome and welcome and fair cheer! No harm shall hurt thee: how can son\nof Adam come to us and we in this isle which lieth amiddlemost of the\nsea? From the land he cannot reach us neither can he come against us\nfrom the water. So be of good cheer and tell us what hath betided thee\nfrom the child of Adam.\" Answered the duck, \"Know, then, O thou peahen,\nthat of a truth I have dwelt all my life in this island safely and\npeacefully, nor have I seen any disquieting thing, till one night, as I\nwas asleep, I sighted in my dream the semblance of a son of Adam, who\ntalked with me and I with him. Then I heard a voice say to me, 'O thou\nduck, beware of the son of Adam and be not imposed on by his words nor\nby that he may suggest to thee; for he aboundeth in wiles and guiles;\nso beware with all wariness of his perfidy, for again I say, he is\ncrafty and right cunning even as singeth of him the poet,\n\n     He'll offer sweetmeats with his edg\u010dd tongue, *\n         And fox thee with the foxy guile of fox.\n\nAnd know thou that the son of Adam circumventeth the fishes and draweth\nthem forth of the seas; and he shooteth the birds with a pellet of\nclay[FN#132] and trappeth the elephant with his craft. None is safe\nfrom his mischief and neither bird nor beast escapeth him; and on this\nwise have I told thee what I have heard concerning the son of Adam.' So\nI awoke, fearful and trembling and from that hour to this my heart hath\nnot known gladness, for dread of the son of Adam, lest he surprise me\nunawares by his wile or trap me in his snares. By the time the end of\nthe day overtook me, my strength was grown weak and my spunk failed me;\nso, desiring to eat and drink, I went forth walking, troubled in spirit\nand with a heart ill at ease. Now when I reached yonder mountain I saw\na tawny lion whelp at the door of a cave, and sighting me he joyed in\nme with great joy, for my colour pleased him and my gracious shape; so\nhe cried out to me saying, 'Draw nigh unto me.' I went up to him and he\nasked me, 'What is thy name, and what is thy nature?' Answered I, 'My\nname is Duck, and I am of the bird kind;' and I added, 'But thou, why\ntarriest thou in this place till this time?' Answered the whelp, 'My\nfather the lion hath for many a day warned me against the son of Adam,\nand it came to pass this night that I saw in my sleep the semblance of\na son of Adam.' And he went on to tell me the like of that I have told\nyou. When I heard these words, I said to him, 'O lion, I take asylum\nwith thee, that thou mayest kill the son of Adam and be steadfast in\nresolve to his slaughter; verily I fear him for myself with extreme\nfear and to my fright affright is added for that thou also dreadest the\nson of Adam, albeit thou art Sultan of savage beasts.' Then I ceased\nnot, O my sister, to bid the young lion beware of the son of Adam and\nurge him to slay him, till he rose of a sudden and at once from his\nstead and went out and he fared on, and I after him and I noted him\nlashing flanks with tail. We advanced in the same order till we came to\na place where the roads forked and saw a cloud of dust arise which,\npresently clearing away, discovered below it a runaway naked ass, now\ngalloping and running at speed and now rolling in the dust. When the\nlion saw the ass, he cried out to him, and he came up to him in all\nhumility. Then said the lion, 'Harkye, crack brain brute! What is thy\nkind and what be the cause of thy coming hither?' He replied, 'O son of\nthe Sultan! I am by kind an ass\u2014 Asinus Caballus\u2014and the cause of my\ncoming to this place is that I am fleeing from the son of Adam.' Asked\nthe lion whelp, 'Dost thou fear then that he will kill thee?' Answered\nthe ass, 'Not so, O son of the Sultan, but I dread lest he put a cheat\non me and mount upon me; for he hath a thing called Pack saddle, which\nhe setteth on my back; also a thing called Girths which he bindeth\nabout my belly; and a thing called Crupper which he putteth under my\ntail, and a thing called Bit which he placeth in my mouth: and he\nfashioneth me a goad[FN#133] and goadeth me with it and maketh me run\nmore than my strength. If I stumble he curseth me, and if I bray, he\nrevileth me;[FN#134] and at last when I grow old and can no longer run,\nhe putteth on me a panel[FN#135] of wood and delivereth me to the water\ncarriers, who load my back with water from the river in skins and other\nvessels, such as jars, and I cease not to wone in misery and abasement\nand fatigue till I die, when they cast me on the rubbish-heaps to the\ndogs. So what grief can surpass this grief and what calamities can be\ngreater than these calamities?' Now when I heard, O peahen, the ass's\nwords, my skin shuddered, and became as gooseflesh at the son of Adam;\nand I said to the lion whelp, 'O my lord, the ass of a verity hath\nexcuse and his words add terror to my terror.' Then quoth the young\nlion to the ass, 'Whither goest thou?' Quoth he, 'Before sunrise I\nespied the son of Adam afar off, and fled from him; and now I am minded\nto flee forth and run without ceasing for the greatness of my fear of\nhim, so haply I may find me a place of shelter from the perfidious son\nof Adam.' Whilst the ass was thus discoursing with the lion whelp,\nseeking the while to take leave of us and go away, behold, appeared to\nus another cloud of dust, whereat the ass brayed and cried out and\nlooked hard and let fly a loud fart[FN#136]. After a while the dust\nlifted and discovered a black steed finely dight with a blaze on the\nforehead like a dirham round and bright;[FN#137] handsomely marked\nabout the hoof with white and with firm strong legs pleasing to sight\nand he neighed with affright. This horse ceased not running till he\nstood before the whelp, the son of the lion who, when he saw him,\nmarvelled and made much of him and said, 'What is thy kind, O majestic\nwild beast and wherefore freest thou into this desert wide and vast?'\nHe replied, O lord of wild beasts, I am a steed of the horse kind, and\nthe cause of my running is that I am fleeing from the son of Adam.' The\nlion whelp wondered at the horse's speech and cried to him Speak not\nsuch words for it is shame to thee, seeing that thou art tall and\nstout. And how cometh it that thou fearest the son of Adam, thou, with\nthy bulk of body and thy swiftness of running when I, for all my\nlittleness of stature am resolved to encounter the son of Adam and,\nrushing on him, eat his flesh, that I may allay the affright of this\npoor duck and make her dwell in peace in her own place? But now thou\nhast come here and thou hast wrung my heart with thy talk and turned me\nback from what I had resolved to do, seeing that, for all thy bulk, the\nson of Adam hath mastered thee and hath feared neither thy height nor\nthy breadth, albeit, wert thou to kick him with one hoof thou wouldst\nkill him, nor could he prevail against thee, but thou wouldst make him\ndrink the cup of death.' The horse laughed when he heard the whelps\nwords and replied, 'Far, far is it from my power to overcome him, O\nPrince. Let not my length and my breadth nor yet my bulk delude thee\nwith respect to the son of Adam; for that he, of the excess of his\nguile and his wiles, fashioneth me a thing called Hobble and applieth\nto my four legs a pair of ropes made of palm fibres bound with felt,\nand gibbeteth me by the head to a high peg, so that I being tied up\nremain standing and can neither sit nor lie down. And when he is minded\nto ride me, he bindeth on his feet a thing of iron called\nStirrup[FN#138] and layeth on my back another thing called Saddle,\nwhich he fasteneth by two Girths passed under my armpits. Then he\nsetteth in my mouth a thing of iron he calleth Bit, to which he tieth a\nthing of leather called Rein; and, when he sitteth in the saddle on my\nback, he taketh the rein in his hand and guideth me with it, goading my\nflanks the while with the shovel stirrups till he maketh them bleed. So\ndo not ask, O son of our Sultan, the hardships I endure from the son of\nAdam. And when I grow old and lean and can no longer run swiftly, he\nselleth me to the miller who maketh me turn in the mill, and I cease\nnot from turning night and day till I grow decrepit. Then he in turn\nvendeth me to the knacker who cutteth my throat and flayeth off my hide\nand plucketh out my tail, which he selleth to the sieve maker; and he\nmelteth down my fat for tallow candles.' When the young lion heard the\nhorse's words, his rage and vexation redoubled and he said, 'When didst\nthou leave the son of Adam? Replied the horse, 'At midday and he is\nupon my track.' Whilst the whelp was thus conversing with the horse lo!\nthere rose a cloud of dust and, presently opening out, discovered below\nit a furious camel gurgling and pawing the earth with his feet and\nnever ceasing so to do till he came up with us. Now when the lion whelp\nsaw how big and buxom he was, he took him to be the son of Adam and was\nabout to spring upon him when I said to him, 'O Prince, of a truth this\nis not the son of Adam, this be a camel, and he seemeth to fleeing from\nthe son of Adam.' As I was thus conversing, O my sister, with the lion\nwhelp, the camel came up and saluted him; whereupon he returned the\ngreeting and said, 'What bringeth thee hither?' Replied he, 'I came\nhere fleeing from the son of Adam.' Quoth the whelp, 'And thou, with\nthy huge frame and length and breadth, how cometh it that thou fearest\nthe son of Adam, seeing that with one kick of thy foot thou wouldst\nkill him?' Quoth the camel, 'O son of the Sultan, know that the son of\nAdam hath subtleties and wiles, which none can withstand nor can any\nprevail against him, save only Death; for he putteth into my nostrils a\ntwine of goat's hair he calleth Nose- ring,[FN#139] and over my head a\nthing he calleth Halter; then he delivereth me to the least of his\nlittle children, and the youngling draweth me along by the nose ring,\nmy size and strength notwithstanding. Then they load me with the\nheaviest of burdens and go long journeys with me and put me to hard\nlabour through the hours of the night and the day. When I grow old and\nstricken in years and disabled from working, my master keepeth me not\nwith him, but selleth me to the knacker who cutteth my throat and\nvendeth my hide to the tanners and my flesh to the cooks: so do not ask\nthe hardships I suffer from the son of Adam.' 'When didst thou leave\nthe son of Adam?' asked the young lion; and he answered, 'At sundown,\nand I suppose that coming to my place after my departure and not\nfinding me there, he is now in search of me: wherefore let me go, O son\nof the Sultan, that I may flee into the wolds and the wilds.' Said the\nwhelp, 'Wait awhile, O camel, till thou see how I will tear him, and\ngive thee to eat of his flesh, whilst I craunch his bones and drink his\nblood.' Replied the camel, 'O King's son, I fear for thee from the\nchild of Adam, for he is wily and guilefull.' And he began repeating\nthese verses:\u2014\n\n    'When the tyrant enters the lieges' land, *\n          Naught remains for the lieges but quick remove!'\n\nNow whilst the camel was speaking with the lion whelp, behold, there\nrose a cloud of dust which, after a time, opened and showed an old man\nscanty of stature and lean of limb; and he bore on his shoulder a\nbasket of carpenter's tools and on his head a branch of a tree and\neight planks. He led little children by the hand and came on at a\ntrotting pace,[FN#140] never stopping till he drew near the whelp. When\nI saw him, O my sister, I fell down for excess of fear; but the young\nlion rose and walked forward to meet the carpenter and when he came up\nto him, the man smiled in his face and said to him, with a glib tongue\nand in courtly terms, 'O King who defendeth from harm and lord of the\nlong arm, Allah prosper thine evening and thine endeavouring and\nincrease thy valiancy and strengthen thee! Protect me from that which\nhath distressed me and with its mischief hath oppressed me, for I have\nfound no helper save only thyself.' And the carpenter stood in his\npresence weeping and wailing and complaining. When the whelp heard his\nsighing and his crying he said, 'I will succour thee from that thou\nfearest. Who hath done thee wrong and what art thou, O wild beast,\nwhose like in my life I never saw, nor ever espied one goodlier of form\nor more eloquent of tongue than thou? What is thy case?' Replied the\nman, 'O lord of wild beasts, as to myself I am a carpenter; but as to\nwho hath wronged me, verily he is a son of Adam, and by break of dawn\nafter this coming night[FN#141] he will be with thee in this place.'\nWhen the lion whelp heard these words of the carpenter, the light was\nchanged to night before his sight and he snorted and roared with ire\nand his eyes cast forth sparks of fire. Then he cried out saying, 'By\nAllah, I will assuredly watch through this coming night till dawn, nor\nwill I return to my father till I have won my will.' Then he turned to\nthe carpenter and asked, 'Of a truth I see thou art short of step and I\nwould not hurt thy feelings for that I am generous of heart; yet do I\ndeem thee unable to keep pace with the wild beasts: tell me then\nwhither thou goest?' Answered the carpenter, 'Know that I am on my way\nto thy father's Wazir, the lynx; for when he heard that the son of Adam\nhad set foot in this country he feared greatly for himself and sent one\nof the wild beasts on a message for me, to make him a house wherein he\nshould dwell, that it might shelter him and fend off his enemy from\nhim, so not one of the sons of Adam should come at him. Accordingly I\ntook up these planks and set forth to find him.' Now when the young\nlion heard these words he envied the lynx and said to the carpenter,\n'By my life there is no help for it but thou make me a house with these\nplanks ere thou make one for Sir Lynx! When thou hast done my work, go\nto him and make him whatso he wisheth.' The carpenter replied, 'O lord\nof wild beasts, I cannot make thee aught till I have made the lynx what\nhe desireth: then will I return to thy service and build thee a house\nas a fort to ward thee from thy foe.' Exclaimed the lion whelp, By\nAllah, 'I will not let thee leave this place till thou build me a house\nof planks.' So saying he made for the carpenter and sprang upon him,\nthinking to jest with him, and cuffed him with his paw knocking the\nbasket off his shoulder; and threw him down in a fainting fit,\nwhereupon the young lion laughed at him and said, 'Woe to thee, O\ncarpenter, of a truth thou art feeble and hast no force; so it is\nexcusable in thee to fear the son of Adam.' Now when the carpenter fell\non his back, he waxed exceeding wroth; but he dissembled his wrath for\nfear of the whelp and sat up and smiled in his face, saying, 'Well, I\nwill make for thee the house.' With this he took the planks he had\nbrought and nailed together the house, which he made in the form of a\nchest after the measure of the young lion. And he left the door open,\nfor he had cut in the box a large aperture, to which he made a stout\ncover and bored many holes therein. Then he took out some newly wrought\nnails and a hammer and said to the young lion, 'Enter the house through\nthis opening, that I may fit it to thy measure.' Thereat the whelp\nrejoiced and went up to the opening, but saw that it was strait; and\nthe carpenter said to him, 'Enter and crouch down on thy legs and\narms!' So the whelp did thus and entered the chest, but his tail\nremained outside. Then he would have drawn back and come . out; but the\ncarpenter said to him, 'Wait patiently a while till I see if there be\nroom for thy tail with thee.' The young lion did as he was bid when the\ncarpenter twisted up his tail and, stuffing it into the chest, whipped\nthe lid on to the opening and nailed it down; whereat the whelp cried\nout and said, 'O carpenter, what is this narrow house thou hast made\nme? Let me out, sirrah!' But the carpenter answered, 'Far be it, far be\nit from thy thought! Repentance for past avails naught, and indeed of\nthis place thou shalt not come out.' He then laughed and resumed,\n'Verily thou art fallen into the trap and from thy duress there is no\nescape, O vilest of wild beasts!' Rejoined the whelp, 'O my brother,\nwhat manner of words are these thou addresses\" to me?' The carpenter\nreplied 'know, O dog of the desert! that thou hast fa]len into that\nwhich thou fearedst: Fate hath upset thee, nor shall caution set thee\nup. ' When the whelp heard these words, O my sister, he knew that this\nwas indeed the very son of Adam, against whom he had been warned by his\nsire in waking state and by the mysterious Voice in sleeping while; and\nI also was certified that this was indeed he without doubt; wherefore\ngreat fear of him for myself seized me and I withdrew a little apart\nfrom him and waited to see what he would do with the young lion. Then I\nsaw, O my sister, the son of Adam dig a pit in that place hard by the\nchest which held the whelp and, throwing the box into the hole, heap\ndry wood upon it and burn the young lion with fire. At this sight, O\nsister mine, my fear of the son of Adam redoubled and in my affright I\nhave been these two days fleeing from him.\" But when the peahen heard\nfrom the duck this story,\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Forty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the peahen\nheard from the duck this story, she wondered with exceeding wonder and\nsaid to her, \"O my sister, here thou art safe from the son of Adam, for\nwe are in one of the islands of the sea whither there is no way for the\nson of Adam; so do thou take up thine abode with us till Allah make\neasy thy case and our case. Quoth the duck, \"I fear lest some calamity\ncome upon me by night, for no runaway can rid him of fate by flight.\"\nRejoined the peahen, \"Abide with us, and be like unto, us;\" and ceased\nnot to persuade her, till she yielded, saying, \"O my sister, thou\nknowest how weak is my resistance; but verily had I not seen thee here,\nI had not remained.\" Said the peahen, \"That which is on our\nforeheads[FN#142] we must indeed fulfil, and when our doomed day\ndraweth near, who shall deliver us? But not a soul departeth except it\nhave accomplished its predestined livelihood and term. Now the while\nthey talked thus, a cloud of dust appeared and approached them, at\nsight of which the duck shrieked aloud and ran down into the sea,\ncrying out, \"Beware! beware! though flight there is not from Fate and\nLot!\"[FN#143] After awhile the dust opened out and discovered under it\nan antelope; whereat the duck and the peahen were reassured and the\npeacock's wife said to her companion, \"O my sister, this thou seest and\nwouldst have me beware of is an antelope, and here he is, making for\nus. He will do us no hurt, for the antelope feedeth upon the herbs of\nthe earth and, even as thou art of the bird kind, so is he of the beast\nkind. Be there fore of good cheer and cease care taking; for care\ntaking wasteth the body.\" Hardly had the peahen done speaking, when the\nantelope came up to them, thinking to shelter him under the shade of\nthe tree; and, sighting the peahen and the duck, saluted them and said,\n'I came to this island to-day and I have seen none richer in herbage\nnor pleasanter for habitation.\" Then he besought them for company and\namity and, when they saw his friendly behaviour to them, they welcomed\nhim and gladly accepted his offer. So they struck up a sincere\nfriendship and sware thereto; and they slept in one place and they ate\nand drank together; nor did they cease dwelling in safety, eating and\ndrinking their fill, till one day there came thither a ship which had\nstrayed from her course in the sea. She cast anchor near them and the\ncrew came forth and dispersed about the island. They soon caught sight\nof the three friends, antelope, peahen and duck, and made for them;\nwhereupon the peahen flew up into the tree and thence winged her way\nthrough air; and the antelope fled into the desert, but the duck abode\nparalyzed by fear. So they chased her till they caught her and she\ncried out and said, \"Caution availed me naught against Fate and Lot!';\nand they bore her off to the ship. Now when the peahen saw what had\nbetided the duck, she removed from the island, saying, \"I see that\nmisfortunes lie in ambush for all. But for yonder ship, parting had not\nbefallen between me and this duck, because she was one of the truest of\nfriends.\" Then she flew off and rejoined the antelope, who saluted her\nand gave her joy of her safety and asked for the duck, to which she\nreplied, \"The enemy hath taken her, and I loathe the sojourn of this\nisland after her.\" Then she wept for the loss of the duck and began\nrepeating,\n\n     \"The day of parting cut my heart in twain:*\n          In twain may Allah cut the parting-day!\n\nAnd she spake also this couplet,\n\n     \"I pray some day that we reunion gain, *\n         So may I tell him Parting's ugly way.\"\n\nThe antelope sorrowed with great sorrow, but dissuaded the peahen from\nher resolve to remove from the island. So they abode there together\nwith him, eating and drinking, in peace and safety, except that they\nceased not to mourn for the loss of the duck; and the antelope said to\nthe peahen, \"O my sister, thou seest how the folk who came forth of the\nship were the cause of our severance from the duck and of her\ndestruction; so do thou beware of them and guard thyself from them and\nfrom the wile of the son of Adam and his guile.\" But the peahen\nreplied, I am assured that nought caused her death save her neglecting\nto say Subhan' Allah, glory to God; indeed I often said to her,\n'Exclaim thou, 'Praised be Allah, and verily I fear for thee, because\nthou neglectest to laud the Almighty; for all things created by Allah\nglorify Him on this wise, and whoso neglecteth the formula of\npraise[FN#144] him destruction waylays.'\" When the antelope heard the\npeahen's words he exclaimed, \"Allah make fair thy face!\" and betook\nhimself to repeating the formula of praise, and ceased not there from a\nsingle hour. And it is said that his form of adoration was as follows,\n\"Praise be to the Requiter of every good and evil thing, the Lord of\nMajesty and of Kings the King!\" And a tale is also told on this wise of\n\n\nThe Hermits.\n\nA certain hermit worshipped on a certain mountain, whither resorted a\npair of pigeons; and the worshipper was wont to make two parts of his\ndaily bread,\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the worshipper\nwas wont to make two parts of his daily bread, eating one half himself\nand giving the other to the pigeon pair. He also prayed for them both\nthat they might be blest with issue so they increased and multiplied\ngreatly. Now they resorted only to that mountain where the hermit was,\nand the reason of their fore- gathering with the holy man was their\nassiduity in repeating \"Praised be Allah!\" for it is recounted that the\npigeon[FN#145] in praise, \"Praised be the Creator of all Creatures, the\nDistributor of daily bread, the Builder of the heavens and Dispreader\nof the earths!\" And that couple ceased not to dwell together in the\nhappiest of life, they and their brood till the holy man died, when the\ncompany of the pigeons was broken up and they dispersed among the towns\nand villages and mountains. Now it is told that on a certain other\nmountain there dwelt a shepherd, a man of piety and good sense and\nchastity; and he had flocks of sheep which he tended, and he made his\nliving by their milk and wool. The mountain which gave him a home\nabounded in trees and pasturage and also in wild beasts, but these had\nno power over his flocks; so he ceased not to dwell upon that highland\nin full security, taking no thought to the things of the world, by\nreason of his beatitude and his assiduity in prayer and devotion, till\nAllah ordained that he should fall sick with exceeding sickness.\nThereupon he betook himself to a cavern in the mountain and his sheep\nused to go out in the morning to the pasturage and take refuge at night\nin the cave. But Allah Almighty, being minded to try him and prove his\npatience and his obedience, sent him one of His angels, who came in to\nhim in the semblance of a fair woman and sat down before him. When the\nshepherd saw that woman seated before him, his flesh shuddered at her\nwith horripilation[FN#146] and he said to her, 'O thou woman, what was\nit invited thee to this my retreat? I have no need of thee, nor is\nthere aught betwixt me and thee which calleth for thy coming in to me.\"\nQuoth she, \"O man, cost thou not behold my beauty and loveliness and\nthe fragrance of my breath; and knowest thou not the need women have of\nmen and men of women? So who shall forbid thee from me when I have\nchosen to be near thee and desire to enjoy thy company? Indeed, I come\nto thee willingly and do not withhold myself from thee, and near us\nthere is none whom we need fear; and I wish to abide with thee as long\nas thou sojournest in this mountain, and be thy companion and thy true\nfriend. I offer myself to thee, for thou needest the service of woman:\nand if thou have carnal connection with me and know me, thy sickness\nshall be turned from thee and health return to thee; and thou wilt\nrepent thee of the past for having foresworn the company of women\nduring the days that are now no more. In very sooth, I give thee good\nadvice: so incline to my counsel and approach me.\" Quoth the shepherd,\n\"Go out from me, O woman deceitful and perfidious! I will not incline\nto thee nor approach thee. I want not thy company nor wish for union\nwith thee; he who coveteth the coming life renounceth thee, for thou\nseducest mankind, those of past time and those of present time. Allah\nthe Most High lieth in wait for His servants and woe unto him who is\ncursed with thy company!\" Answered she, \"O thou that errest from the\ntruth and wanderest from the way of reason, turn thy face to me and\nlook upon my charms and take thy full of my nearness, as did the wise\nwho have gone before thee. Indeed, they were richer than thou in\nexperience and sharper of wit; withal they rejected not, as thou\nrejectest, the enjoyment of women; nay, they took their pleasure of\nthem and their company even as thou renouncest them, and it did them no\nhurt in things temporal or things spiritual. Wherefore do thou recede\nfrom thy resolve and thou shalt praise the issue of thy case.\" Rejoined\nthe shepherd, \"All thou sayest I deny and abhor, and all thou offerest\nI reject: for thou art cunning and perfidious and there is no honesty\nin thee nor is there honour. How much of foulness hidest thou under thy\nbeauty, and how many a pious man hast thou seduced from his duty and\nmade his end penitence and perdition? Avaunt from me, O thou who\ndevotest thyself to corrupt others!\" Thereupon, he threw his goat's\nhair cloak over his head that he might not see her face, and betook\nhimself to calling upon the name of his Lord. And when the angel saw\nthe excellence of his submission to the Divine Will, he went out from\nhim and ascended to heaven. Now hard by the hermit's hill was a village\nwherein dwelt a pious man, who knew not the other's station, till one\nnight he heard in a dream a Voice saying to him, \"In such a place near\nto thee is a devout man: go thou to him and be at his command!\" So when\nmorning dawned he set out to wend thither, and what time the heat was\ngrievous upon him, he came to a tree which grew beside a spring of\nrunning water. So he sat down to rest in the shadow of that tree and \nbehold, he saw beasts and birds coming to that fount to drink, but when\nthey caught sight of the devotee sitting there, they took fright and\nfled from before his face. Then said he, \"There is no Majesty and there\nis no Might save in Allah! I rest not here but to the hurt of these\nbeasts and fowls.\" So he arose, blaming him self and saying, \"Verily my\ntarrying here this day hath wronged these animals, and what excuse have\nI towards my Creator and the Creator of these birds and beasts for that\nI was the cause of their flight from their drink and their daily food\nand their place of pasturage? Alas for my shame before my Lord on the\nday when He shall avenge the hornless sheep on the sheep with\nhorns!''[FN#147] And he wept and began repeating these couplets,\n\n\"Now an, by Allah, unto man were fully known *\n     Why he is made, in careless sleep he ne'er would wone:\nFirst Death, then cometh Wake and dreadful Day of Doom, *\n     Reproof with threats sore terror, frightful malison.\nBid we or else forbid we, all of us are like *\n     The Cave companions[FN#148] when at length their sleep was\n     done.\"\n\nThen he again wept for that he had driven the birds and beasts from the\nspring by sitting down under the tree, and he fared on till he came to\nthe shepherd's dwelling and going in, saluted him. The shepherd\nreturned his salutation and embraced him, weeping and saying, \"What\nhath brought thee to this place where no man hath ever yet come to me.\"\nQuoth the other devotee, \"I saw in my sleep one who described to me\nthis thy stead and bade me repair to thee and salute thee: so I came,\nin obedience to the commandment.\" The shepherd welcomed him, rejoicing\nin his company and the twain abode upon that mountain, worshipping\nAllah with the best of worship; and they ceased not serving their Lord\nin the cavern and living upon the flesh and milk of their sheep, having\nclean put away from them riches and children and what not, till the\nCertain, the Inevitable became their lot. And this is the end of their\nstory. Then said King Shahyrar, \"O Shahrazad, thou wouldst cause me to\nrenounce my kingdom and thou makest me repent of having slain so many\nwomen and maidens. Hast thou any bird stories?\" \"Yes,\" replied she, and\nbegan to tell the\n\n\nTALE OF THE WATER FOWL AND THE TORTOISE.\n\nIt is related by truthful men, O King, that a certain bird flew high up\nfirmament wards and presently lit on a rock in the midst of water which\nwas running. And as he sat there, behold, the current carried to him\nthe carcass of a man, and lodged it against the rock, for being swollen\nit floated. The bird, which was a water fowl, drew near and examining\nit, found that it was the dead body of a son of Adam and saw in it sign\nof spear and stroke of sword. So he said to himself, \"I presume that\nthis man who hath been slain was some evil doer, and that a company\nbanded themselves together against him and put him to death and were at\npeace from him and his evil doing.\" And as he continued marvelling at\nthis, suddenly the vultures and kites came down upon the carcass from\nall sides and get round it; which when the water fowl saw, he feared\nwith sore affright and said, \"I cannot abide here any longer.\" So he\nflew away in quest of a place where he might wone, till that carcass\nshould come to an end and the birds of prey leave it; and he stayed not\nin his flight, till he found a river with a tree in its midst. So he\nalighted on the tree, troubled and distraught and sore grieved for\ndeparting from his birth place, and said to himself, \"Verily sorrows\ncease not to follow me: I was at my ease when I saw that carcass, and\nrejoiced therein with much joy, saying, 'This is a gift of daily bread\nwhich Allah hath dealt to me:' but my joy became annoy and my gladness\nturned to sadness, for the ravenous birds, which are like lions, seized\nupon it and tare it to pieces and came between me and my prize So how\ncan I hope to be secure from misfortune in this world, or put any trust\ntherein? Indeed, the proverb saith,'The world is the dwelling of him\nwho hath no dwelling': he who hath no wits is cozened by it and\nentrusteth it with his wealth and his child and his family and his\nfolk; and whoso is cozened ceaseth not to rely upon it, pacing proudly\nupon earth until he is laid under earth and the dust is cast over his\ncorpse by him who of all men was dearest to him and nearest. But naught\nis better for generous youth than patience under its cares and\nmiseries. I have left my native place and it is abhorrent to me to quit\nmy brethren and friends and loved ones.\" Now whilst he was thus musing\nlo! a male tortoise descended into the river and, approaching the water\nfowl, saluted him, saying, \"O my lord, what hath exiled thee and driven\nthee so far from thy place?\" Replied the water fowl, \"The descent of\nenemies thereon; for the wise brooketh not the neighbourhood of his\nfoe; and how well saith the poet,\n\nWhenas on any land the oppressor doth alight, * There's nothing left\nfor those, that dwell therein, but flight.'''[FN#149]\n\nQuoth the tortoise, \"If the matter be as thou sayest and the case as\nthou describest, I will not leave thee nor cease to stand before thee,\nthat I may do thy need and fulfil thy service; for it is said that\nthere is no sorer desolation than that of him who is an exile, cut off\nfrom friends and home; and it is also said that no calamity equalleth\nthat of severance from the good; but the best solace for men of\nunderstanding is to seek companionship in strangerhood and be patient\nunder sorrows and adversity. Wherefore I hope that thou wilt approve of\nmy company, for I will be to thee a servant and a helper.\" Now when the\nwater fowl heard the tortoise's words he answered, \"Verily, thou art\nright in what thou sayest for, by my life, I have found grief and pain\nin separation, what while I have been parted from my place and sundered\nfrom my brethren and friends; seeing that in severance is an admonition\nto him who will be admonished and matter of thought for him who will\ntake thought. If the generous youth find not a companion to console\nhim, weal is forever cut off from him and ill is eternally established\nwith him; and there is nothing for the sage but to solace himself in\nevery event with brethren and be constant in patience and endurance:\nindeed these two are praiseworthy qualities, and both uphold one under\ncalamities and vicissitudes of the world and ward off startling sorrows\nand harrowing cares, come what will.\" Rejoined the tortoise, \"Beware of\nsorrow, for it will spoil thy life and waste thy manliness.\" And the\ntwo gave not over conversing till the bird said, \"Never shall I cease\nfearing the shifts of time and vicissitudes of events.\" When the\ntortoise heard this, he came up to him and, kissing him between the\neyes, said to him, \"Never may the company of the birds cease to be\nblest in thee and through thee, and find wisdom in thy good counsel!\nHow shalt thou be burdened with care and harm?\" And he went on to\ncomfort the water fowl and soothe his terrors till he became reassured.\nThen he flew to the place where the carcass was and found on arriving\nthere the birds of prey gone, and they had left nothing of the body but\nbones; whereupon he returned to the tortoise and acquainted him with\nthe fact that the foe had disappeared from his place, saying, \"Know\nthat of a truth I long for return homewards to enjoy the society of my\nfriends; for the sage cannot endure separation from his native place.\"\nSo they both went thither and found naught to affright them; whereupon\nthe water fowl began repeating,\n\n\"And haply whenas strait descends on lot of generous youth *\n     Right sore, with Allah only lies his issue from annoy:\nHe's straitened, but full oft when rings and meshes straitest\n     clip, * He 'scapes his strait and joyance finds, albe I see\n     no joy.\"\n\nSo the twain abode in that island; and while the water fowl was\nenjoying a life of peace and gladness, suddenly Fate led thither a\nhungry falcon, which drove its talons into the bird's belly and killed\nhim, nor did caution avail him when his term of life was ended. Now the\ncause of his death was that he neglected to use the formula of praise,\nand it is said that his form of adoration was as follows, \"Praised be\nour Lord in that He ordereth and ordaineth; and praised be our Lord in\nthat He enricheth and impoverisheth!\" Such was the waterfowl's end and\nthe tale of the ravenous birds. And when it was finished quoth the\nSultan, \"O Shahrazad, verily thou overwhelmest me with admonitions and\nsalutary instances. Hast thou any stories of beasts?\" \"Yes,\" answered\nshe, and began to tell the\n\n\nTALE OF THE WOLF AND THE FOX.[FN#150]\n\nKnow, O King, that a fox and a wolf once cohabited in the same den,\nharbouring therein together by day and resorting thither by night; but\nthe wolf was cruel and oppressive to the fox. They abode thus awhile,\ntill it so befel that the fox exhorted the wolf to use gentle dealing\nand leave off his ill deeds, saying, \"If thou persist in thine\narrogance, belike Allah will give the son of Adam power over thee, for\nhe is past master in guile and wile; and by his artifice he bringeth\ndown the birds from the firmament and he haleth the mighty fish forth\nof the flood-waters: and he cutteth the mountain and transporteth it\nfrom place to place. All this is of his craft and wiliness: wherefore\ndo thou betake thyself to equity and fair dealing and leave frowardness\nand tyranny; and thou shalt fare all the better for it.\" But the wolf\nwould not accept his counsel and answered him roughly, saying, \"What\nright hast thou to speak of matters of weight and importance?\" And he\ndealt the fox a cuff that laid him senseless; but, when he revived, he\nsmiled in the wolf's face and, excusing himself for his unseemly\nspeech, repeated these two couplets,\n\n\"If any sin I sinned, or did I aught *\n     In love of you, which hateful mischief wrought;\nMy sin I sore repent and pardon sue; *\n     So give the sinner gift of pardon sought.\"\n\nThe wolf accepted his excuse and held his hand from further\nill-treatment, saying, \"Speak not of whatso concerneth thee not, lest\nthou hear what will please thee not.\" Answered the fox, \"To hear is to\nobey!\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Forty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the wolf to\nthe fox, \"Speak not of whatso concerneth thee not, lest thou hear what\nwill please thee not!\" Answered the fox, \"To hear is to obey! I will\nabstain henceforth from what pleaseth thee not; for the sage saith,\n'Have a care that thou speak not of that whereof thou art not asked;\nleave that which concerneth thee not for that which concerneth thee,\nand by no means lavish good counsel on the wrongous, for they will\nrepay it to thee with wrong.'\" And reflecting on the words of the wolf\nhe smiled in his face, but in his heart he meditated treachery against\nhim and privily said, \"There is no help but that I compass the\ndestruction of this wolf.\" So he bore with his injurious usage, saying\nto himself, \"Verily insolence and evil-speaking are causes of perdition\nand cast into confusion, and it is said, 'The insolent is shent and the\nignorant doth repent; and whose feareth, to him safety is sent':\nmoderation marketh the noble and gentle manners are of gains the\ngrandest. It behoveth me to dissemble with this tyrant and needs must\nhe be cast down.\" Then quoth he to the wolf, \"Verily, the Lord\npardoneth his erring servant and relenteth towards him, if he confess\nhis offences; and I am a weak slave and have offended in presuming to\ncounsel thee. If thou knewest the pain that befel me by thy buffet,\nthou wouldst ken that even the elephant could not stand against it nor\nendure it: but I complain not of this blow's hurt, because of the joy\nand gladness that hath betided me through it; for though it was to me\nexceeding sore yet was its issue of the happiest. And with sooth saith\nthe sage, 'The blow of the teacher is at first right hurtful, but the\nend of it is sweeter than strained honey.'\" Quoth the wolf, \"I pardon\nthine offence and I cancel thy fault; but beware of my force and avow\nthyself my thrall; for thou hast learned my severity unto him who\nshoweth his hostility!\" Thereupon the fox prostrated himself before the\nwolf, saying, \"Allah lengthen thy life and mayst thou never cease to\noverthrow thy foes!\" And he stinted not to fear the wolf and to wheedle\nhim and dissemble with him. Now it came to pass that one day, the fox\nwent to a vineyard and saw a breach in its walls; but he mistrusted it\nand said to himself, \"Verily, for this breach there must be some cause\nand the old saw saith, 'Whoso seeth a cleft in the earth and shunneth\nit not and is not wary in approaching it, the same is self-deluded and\nexposeth himself to danger and destruction.' Indeed, it is well known\nthat some folk make the figure of a fox in their vineyards; nay, they\neven set before the semblance grapes in plates, that foxes may see it\nand come to it and fall into perdition. In very sooth I regard this\nbreach as a snare and the proverb saith, 'Caution is one half of\ncleverness.' Now prudence requireth that I examine this breach and see\nif there be aught therein which may lead to perdition; and coveting\nshall not make me cast myself into destruction.\" So he went up to the\nhole and walked round it right warily, and lo! it was a deep pit, which\nthe owner of the vineyard had dug to trap therein the wild beasts which\nlaid waste his vines. Then he said to himself, \"Thou hast gained, for\nthat thou hast refrained!\"; and he looked and saw that the hole was\nlightly covered with dust and matting. So he drew back from it saying,\n\"Praised be Allah that I was wary of it! I hope that my enemy, the\nwolf, who maketh my life miserable, will fall into it; so will the\nvineyard be left to me and I shall enjoy it alone and dwell therein at\npeace.\" Saying thus, he shook his head and laughed a loud laugh and\nbegan versifying,\n\n     \"Would Heaven I saw at this hour *\n          The Wolf fallen down in this well,\n     He who anguisht my heart for so long, *\n          And garred me drain eisel and fel!\n     Heaven grant after this I may live *\n          Free of Wolf for long fortunate spell\n     When I've rid grapes and vineyard of him, *\n          And in bunch-spoiling happily dwell.\"\n\nHis verse being finished he returned in haste to the wolf and said to\nhim, \"Allah hath made plain for thee the way into the vineyard without\ntoil and moil. This is of thine auspicious fortune; so good luck to\nthee and mayest thou enjoy the plentiful plunder and the profuse\nprovaunt which Allah hath opened up to thee without trouble!\" Asked the\nwolf, \"What proof hast thou of what thou assertest?\": and the fox\nanswered, \"I went up to the vineyard and found that the owner was dead,\nhaving been torn to pieces by wolves: so I entered the orchard and saw\nthe fruit shining upon the trees.\" The wolf doubted not the fox's\nreport and his gluttony gat hold of him; so he arose and repaired to\nthe cleft, for that greed blinded him; whilst the fox falling behind\nhim lay as one dead, quoting to the case the following couplet,\n\n\"For Layla's[FN#151] favour dost thou greed? But, bear in mind *\n     Greed is a yoke of harmful weight on neck of man.\"\n\nAnd when the wolf had reached the breach the fox said, \"Enter the\nvineyard: thou art spared the trouble of climbing a ladder, for the\ngarden-wall is broken down, and with Allah it resteth to fulfil the\nbenefit.\" So the wolf went on walking and thought to enter the\nvineyard; but when he came to the middle of the pit-covering he fell\nthrough; whereupon the fox shook for joy and gladness; his care and\nconcern left him and he sang out for delight and improvised these\ncouplets,\n\n     \"Fortune had mercy on the soul of me, *\n          And for my torments now shows clemency,\n     Granting whatever gift my heart desired, *\n          And far removing what I feared to see:\n     I will, good sooth, excuse her all her sins *\n          She sinned in days gone by and much sinned she:\n     Yea, her injustice she hath shown in this, *\n          She whitened locks that were so black of blee:\n     But now for this same wolf escape there's none, *\n          Of death and doom he hath full certainty.\n     Then all the vineyard comes beneath my rule, *\n          I'll brook no partner who's so fond a fool.\"\n\nThen the fox looked into the cleft and, seeing the wolf weeping in\nrepentance and sorrow for himself, wept with him; whereupon the wolf\nraised his head to him and asked, \"Is it of pity for me thou weepest, O\nFather of the Fortlet[FN#152]?\" Answered the fox, \"No, by Him who cast\nthee into this pit! I weep for the length of thy past life and for\nregret that thou didst not fall into the pit before this day; for hadst\nthou done so before I foregathered with thee, I had rested and enjoyed\nrepose: but thou wast spared till the fulfilment of thine allotted term\nand thy destined time.\" Then the wolf said to him as one jesting, \"O\nevil-doer, go to my mother and tell her what hath befallen me; haply\nshe may devise some device for my release.\" Replied the fox, \"Of a\ntruth thou hast been brought to destruction by the excess of thy greed\nand thine exceeding gluttony, since thou art fallen into a pit whence\nthou wilt never escape. Knowest thou not the common proverb, O thou\nwitless wolf, 'Whoso taketh no thought as to how things end, him shall\nFate never befriend nor shall he safe from perils wend.\" \"O Reynard,\"\nquoth the wolf, \"thou was wont to show me fondness and covet my\nfriendliness and fear the greatness of my strength. Hate me not\nrancorously because of that I did with thee; for he who hath power and\nforgiveth, his reward Allah giveth; even as saith the poet,\n\n     'Sow kindness-seed in the unfittest stead; *\n          'Twill not be wasted whereso thou shalt sow:\n     For kindness albe buried long, yet none *\n          Shall reap the crop save sower who garred it grow.'\"\n\nRejoined the fox, \"O witlessest of beasts of prey and stupidest of the\nwild brutes which the wolds overstray! Hast thou forgotten thine\narrogance and insolence and tyranny, and thy disregarding the due of\ngoodfellowship and thy refusing to be advised by what the poet saith?\n\n     'Wrong not thy neighbour e'en if thou have power; *\n          The wronger alway vengeance-harvest reaps:\n     Thine eyes shall sleep, while bides the wronged on wake *\n          A-cursing thee; and Allah's eye ne'er sleeps.'\"\n\n\"O Abu 'l-Hosayn,\" replied the wolf, \"twit me not with my past sins;\nfor forgiveness is expected of the generous and doing kind deeds is the\ntruest of treasures. How well saith the poet,\n\n     'Haste to do kindness while thou hast much power, *\n          For at all seasons thou hast not such power.'\"\n\nAnd he ceased not to humble himself before the fox and say, \"Haply,\nthou canst do somewhat to deliver me from destruction.\" Replied the\nfox, \"O thou wolf, thou witless, deluded, deceitful trickster! hope not\nfor deliverance, for this is but the just reward of thy foul dealing\nand its due retaliation.\" Then he laughed with chops wide open and\nrepeated these two couplets,\n\n     \"No longer beguile me, *\n          Thou'lt fail of thy will!\n     What can't be thou seekest; *\n          Thou hast sown so reap Ill!\"\n\nQuoth the wolf, \"O gentlest of ravenous beasts, I fain hold thee too\nfaithful to leave me in this pit.\" Then he wept and complained and,\nwith tears streaming from his eyes, recited these two couplets,\n\n     \"O thou whose favours have been out of compt, *\n          Whose gifts are more than may be numbered!\n     Never mischance befel me yet from time *\n          But that I found thy hand right fain to aid.\"\n\n\"O thou ninny foe,\" quoth the fox, \"how art thou reduced to humiliation\nand prostration and abjection and submission, after insolence and pride\nand tyranny and arrogance! Verily, I kept company with thee only for\nfear of thy fury and I cajoled thee without one hope of fair treatment\nfrom thee: but now trembling is come upon thee and vengeance hath\novertaken thee.\" And he repeated these two couplets,\n\n     \"O thou who seekest innocence to 'guile, *\n          Thou'rt caught in trap of thine intentions vile:\n     Now drain the draught of shamefullest mischance, *\n          And be with other wolves cut off, thou scroyle!\"\n\nReplied the wolf, \"O thou clement one, speak not with the tongue of\nenemies nor look with their eyes; but fulfil the covenant of fellowship\nwith me, ere the time of applying remedy cease to be. Rise and make\nready to get me a rope and tie one end of it to a tree; then let the\nother down to me, that I may lay hold of it, so haply I shall from this\nmy strait win free, and I will give thee all my hand possesseth of\nwealth and fee.\" Quoth the fox, \"Thou persistest in conversation\nconcerning what will not procure thy liberation. Hope not for this, for\nthou shalt never, never get of me wherewithal to set thee at liberty;\nbut call to mind thy past misdeeds and the craft and perfidy thou didst\nimagine against me and bethink thee how near thou art to being stoned\nto death. For know that thy soul is about the world to quit and cease\nin it and depart from it; so shalt thou to destruction hie and ill is\nthe abiding-place thou shalt aby!\"[FN#153] Rejoined the wolf, \"O Father\nof the Fortlet, hasten to return to amity and persist not in this\nrancorous enmity. Know that whoso from ruin saveth a soul, is as if he\nhad quickened it and made it whole; and whoso saveth a soul alive, is\nas if he had saved all mankind.[FN#154] Follow not frowardness, for the\nwise forbid it: and it were most manifest frowardness to leave me in\nthis pit draining the agony of death and dight to look upon mine own\ndoom, whenas it lieth in thy power to deliver me from my stowre. So do\nthy best to release me and deal with me benevolently.\" Answered the\nfox, \"O thou base and barbarous wretch, I compare thee, because of the\nfairness of thy professions and expressions, and the foulness of thy\nintentions and thy inventions to the Falcon and the Partridge.\" Asked\nthe wolf, \"How so?\"; and the fox began to tell\n\n\nThe Tale of the Falcon[FN#155] and the Partridge.[FN#156]\n\nOnce upon a time I entered a vineyard to eat of its grapes; and, whilst\nso doing behold, I saw a falcon stoop upon a partridge and seize him;\nbut the partridge escaped from the seizer and, entering his nest, hid\nhimself there. The falcon followed apace and called out to him, saying,\n\"O imbecile, I saw thee an-hungered in the wold and took pity on thee;\nso I picked up for thee some grain and took hold of thee that thou\nmightest eat; but thou fleddest from me; and I wot not the cause of thy\nflight, except it were to put upon me a slight. Come out, then, and\ntake the grain I have brought thee to eat and much good may it do thee,\nand with thy health agree.\" When the partridge heard these words, he\nbelieved and came out to him, whereupon the falcon struck his talons\ninto him and seized him. Cried the partridge, \"Is this that which thou\ntoldest me thou hadst brought me from the wold, and whereof thou badest\nme eat, saying, 'Much good may it do thee, and with thy health agree?'\nThou hast lied to me, and may Allah cause what thou eatest of my flesh\nto be a killing poison in thy maw!\" So when the falcon had eaten the\npartridge, his feathers fell off and his strength failed and he died on\nthe spot. \"Know, then, O wolf!\" (pursued the fox), \"that he who diggeth\nfor his brother a pit himself soon falleth into it, and thou first\ndeceivedst me in mode unfit.\" Quoth the wolf, \"Spare me this discourse\nnor saws and tales enforce, and remind me not of my former ill course,\nfor sufficeth me the sorry plight I endure perforce, seeing that I am\nfallen into a place, in which even my foe would pity me, much more a\ntrue friend. Rather find some trick to deliver me and be thou thereby\nmy saviour. If this cause thee trouble, remember that a true friend\nwill undertake the sorest travail for his true friend's sake and will\nrisk his life to deliver him from evil; and indeed it hath been said,\n'A leal friend is better than a real brother.' So if thou stir thyself\nto save me and I be saved, I will forsure gather thee such store as\nshall be a provision for thee against want however sore; and truly I\nwill teach thee rare tricks whereby to open whatso bounteous vineyards\nthou please and strip the fruit-laden trees.\" Rejoined the fox,\nlaughing, \"How excellent is what the learned say of him who aboundeth\nin ignorance like unto thee!\" Asked the wolf, \"What do the wise men\nsay?\" And the fox answered, \"They have observed that the gross of body\nare gross of mind, far from intelligence and nigh unto ignorance. As\nfor thy saying, O thou stupid, cunning idiot! that a true friend should\nundertake sore travail for his true friend's sake, it is sooth as thou\nsayest, but tell me, of thine ignorance and poverty of intelligence,\nhow can I be a true friend to thee, considering thy treachery. Dost\nthou count me thy true friend? Nay, I am thy foe who joyeth in thy woe;\nand couldst thou trow it, this word were sorer to thee than slaughter\nby shot of shaft. As for thy promise to provide me a store against want\nhowever sore and teach me tricks, to plunder whatso bounteous vineyards\nI please, and spoil fruit-laden trees, how cometh it, O guileful\ntraitor, that thou knowest not a wile to save thyself from destruction?\nHow far art thou from profiting thyself and how far am I from accepting\nthy counsel! If thou have any tricks, make shift for thyself to save\nthee from the risk, wherefrom I pray Allah to make thine escape far\ndistant! So look, O fool, if there be any trick with thee; and\ntherewith save thyself from death ere thou lavish instruction upon thy\nneighbours. But thou art like a certain man attacked by a disease, who\nwent to another diseased with the same disease, and said to him, 'Shall\nI heal thee of thy disease?' Replied the sick man, 'Why dost thou not\nbegin by healing thyself?' So he left him and went his way. And thou, O\nignorant wolf, art like this; so stay where thou art and under what\nhath befallen thee be of good heart!\" When the wolf heard what the fox\nsaid, he knew that from him he had no hope of favour; so he wept for\nhimself, saying, \"Verily, I have been heedless of my weal; but if Allah\ndeliver me from this ill I will assuredly repent of my arrogance\ntowards those who are weaker than I, and will wear woollens[FN#157] and\ngo upon the mountains, celebrating the praises of Almighty Allah and\nfearing His punishment. And I will withdraw from the company of other\nwild beasts and forsure will I feed the poor fighters for the Faith.\"\nThen he wept and wailed, till the heart of the fox softened when he\nheard his humble words and his professions of penitence for his past\ninsolence and arrogance. So he took pity upon him and sprang up\njoyfully and, going to the brink of the breach, squatted down on his\nhind quarters and let his tail hang in the hole; whereupon the wolf\narose and putting out his paw, pulled the fox's tail, so that he fell\ndown in the pit with him. Then said the wolf, \"O fox of little mercy,\nwhy didst thou exult in my misery, thou that wast my companion and\nunder my dominion? Now thou art fallen into the pit with me and\nretribution hath soon overtaken thee. Verily, the sages have said, 'If\none of you reproach his brother with sucking the dugs of a bitch, he\nalso shall suck her.' And how well quoth the poet,\n\n     'When Fortune weighs heavy on some of us, *\n          And makes camel kneel by some other one,[FN#158]\n     Say to those who rejoice in our ills: \u2014Awake! *\n          The rejoicer shall suffer as we have done!'\n\nAnd death in company is the best of things;[FN#159] wherefore I will\ncertainly and assuredly hasten to slay thee ere thou see me slain.\"\nSaid the fox to himself, \"Ah! Ah! I am fallen into the snare with this\ntyrant, and my case calleth for the use of craft and cunning; for\nindeed it is said that a woman fashioneth her jewellery for the day of\ndisplay, and quoth the proverb, 'I have not kept thee, O my tear, save\nfor the time when distress draweth near.' And unless I make haste to\ncircumvent this prepotent beast I am lost without recourse; and how\nwell saith the poet,\n\n     'Make thy game by guile, for thou'rt born in a Time *\n          Whose sons are lions in forest lain;\n     And turn on the leat[FN#160] of thy knavery *\n          That the mill of subsistence may grind thy grain;\n     And pluck the fruits or, if out of reach, *\n          Why, cram thy maw with the grass on plain.'\"\n\nThen said the fox to the wolf, \"Hasten not to slay me, for that is not\nthe way to pay me and thou wouldst repent it, O thou valiant wild\nbeast, lord of force and exceeding prowess! An thou accord delay and\nconsider what I shall say, thou wilt ken what purpose I proposed; but\nif thou hasten to kill me it will profit thee naught and we shall both\ndie in this very place.\" Answered the wolf \"O thou wily trickster, what\ngarreth thee hope to work my deliverance and thine own, that thou\nprayest me to grant thee delay? Speak and propound to me thy purpose.\"\nReplied the fox, \"As for the purpose I proposed, it was one which\ndeserveth that thou guerdon me handsomely for it; for when I heard thy\npromises and thy confessions of thy past misdeeds and regrets for not\nhaving earlier repented and done good; and when I heard thee vowing,\nshouldst thou escape from this strait, to leave harming thy fellows and\nothers; forswear the eating of grapes and of all manner fruits; devote\nthyself to humility; cut thy claws and break thy dog-teeth; don\nwoollens and offer thyself as an offering to Almighty Allah, then\nindeed I had pity upon thee, for true words are the best words. And\nalthough before I had been anxious for thy destruction, whenas I heard\nthy repenting and thy vows of amending should Allah vouchsafe to save\nthee, I felt bound to free thee from this thy present plight. So I let\ndown my tail, that thou mightest grasp it and be saved. Yet wouldest\nthou not quit thy wonted violence and habit of brutality; nor soughtest\nthou to save thyself by fair means, but thou gavest me a tug which I\nthought would sever body from soul, so that thou and I are fallen into\nthe same place of distress and death. And now there is but one thing\ncan save us and, if thou accept it of me, we shall both escape; and\nafter it behoveth thee to fulfil the vows thou hast made and I will be\nthy veritable friend.\" Asked the wolf, \"What is it thou proposest for\nmine acceptance?\" Answered the fox, \"It is that thou stand up at full\nheight till I come nigh on a level with the surface of the earth. Then\nwill I give a spring and reach the ground; and, when out of the pit, I\nwill bring thee what thou mayst lay hold of, and thus shalt thou make\nthine escape.\" Rejoined the wolf, \"I have no faith in thy word, for\nsages have said, 'Whoso practiseth trust in the place of hate, erreth;'\nand, 'Whoso trusteth in the untrustworthy is a dupe; he who re-trieth\nhim who hath been tried shall reap repentance and his days shall go\nwaste; and he who cannot distinguish between case and case, giving each\nits due, and assigneth all the weight to one side, his luck shall be\nlittle and his miseries shall be many.' How well saith the poet,\n\n     'Let thy thought be ill and none else but ill; *\n          For suspicion is best of the worldling's skill:\n     Naught casteth a man into parlous place *\n          But good opinion and (worse) good-will!'\n\nAnd the saying of another,\n\n     'Be sure all are villains and so bide safe; *\n          Who lives wide awake on few Ills shall light:\n     Meet thy foe with smiles and a smooth fair brow, *\n          And in heart raise a host for the battle dight!'\n\nAnd that of yet another,[FN#161]\n\n     'He thou trusted most is thy worst unfriend; *\n          'Ware all and take heed with whom thou wend:\n     Fair opinion of Fortune is feeble sign; *\n          So believe her ill and her Ills perpend!'\"\n\nQuoth the fox, \"Verily mistrust and ill opinion of others are not to be\ncommended in every case; nay trust and confidence are the\ncharacteristics of a noble nature and the issue thereof is freedom from\nstress of fear. Now it behoveth thee, O thou wolf, to devise some\ndevice for thy deliverance from this thou art in, and our escape will\nbe better to us both than our death: so quit thy distrust and rancour;\nfor if thou trust in me one of two things will happen; either I shall\nbring thee something whereof to lay hold and escape from this case, or\nI shall abandon thee to thy doom. But this thing may not be, for I am\nnot safe from falling into some such strait as this thou art in, which,\nindeed, would be fitting punishment of perfidy. Of a truth the adage\nsaith, 'Faith is fair and faithlessness is foul.'[FN#162] So it\nbehoveth thee to trust in me, for I am not ignorant of the haps and\nmishaps of the world; and delay not to contrive some device for our\ndeliverance, as the case is too close to allow further talk.\" Replied\nthe wolf, \"For all my want of confidence in thy fidelity, verily I knew\nwhat was in thy mind and that thou wast moved to deliver me whenas thou\nheardest my repentance, and I said to myself, 'If what he asserteth be\ntrue, he will have repaired the ill he did; and if false, it resteth\nwith the Lord to requite him.' So, look'ee, I have accepted thy\nproposal and, if thou betray me, may thy traitorous deed be the cause\nof thy destruction!\" Then the wolf stood bolt upright in the pit and,\ntaking the fox upon his shoulders, raised him to the level of the\nground, whereupon Reynard gave a spring from his back and lighted on\nthe surface of the earth. When he found himself safely out of the cleft\nhe fell down senseless and the wolf said to him, \"O my friend! neglect\nnot my case and delay not to deliver me.\" The fox laughed with a loud\nhaw-haw and replied, \"O dupe, naught threw me into thy hands save my\nlaughing at thee and making mock of thee; for in good sooth when I\nheard thee profess repentance, mirth and gladness seized me and I\nfrisked about and made merry and danced, so that my tail hung low into\nthe pit and thou caughtest hold of it and draggedst me down with thee.\nAnd the end was that Allah Almighty delivered me from thy power. Then\nwhy should I be other than a helper in thy destruction, seeing that\nthou art of Satan's host? I dreamt yesterday that I danced at thy\nwedding and I told my dream to an interpreter who said to me, 'Verily\nthou shalt fall into imminent deadly danger and thou shalt escape\ntherefrom.' So now I know that my falling into thy hand and my escape\nare the fulfillment of my dream, and thou, O imbecile, knowest me for\nthy foe; so how couldest thou, of thine ignorance and unintelligence,\nnurse desire of deliverance at my hands, after all thou hast heard of\nharsh words from me; and wherefore should I attempt thy salvation\nwhenas the sages have said, 'In the death of the wicked is rest for\nmankind and a purge for the earth'? But, were it not that I fear to\nbear more affliction by keeping faith with thee than the sufferings\nwhich follow perfidy, I had done mine endeavour to save thee.\" When the\nwolf heard this, he bit his forehand for repentance. \u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Fiftieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the wolf\nheard the fox's words he bit his forehand for repentance. Then he gave\nthe fox fair words, but this availed naught and he was at his wits' end\nfor what to do; so he said to him in soft, low accents, \"Verily, you\ntribe of foxes are the most pleasant people in point of tongue and the\nsubtlest in jest, and this is but a joke of thine; but all times are\nnot good for funning and jesting.\" The fox replied, \"O ignoramus, in\ngood sooth jesting hath a limit which the jester must not overpass; and\ndeem not that Allah will again give thee possession of me after having\nonce delivered me from thy hand.\" Quoth the wolf, \"It behoveth thee to\ncompass my release, by reason of our brotherhood and good fellowship;\nand, if thou release me, I will assuredly make fair thy recompense.\"\nQuoth the fox, \"Wise men say, 'Take not to brother the wicked fool, for\nhe will disgrace thee in lieu of gracing thee; nor take to brother the\nliar for, if thou do good, he will conceal it; and if thou do ill he\nwill reveal it.' And again, the sages have said, 'There is help for\neverything but death: all may be warded off, except Fate.' As for the\nreward thou declarest to be my due from thee, I compare thee herein\nwith the serpent which fled from the charmer.[FN#163] A man saw her\naffrighted and said to her, 'What aileth thee, O thou serpent?' Replied\nshe, 'I am fleeing from the snake-charmer, for he seeketh to trap me\nand, if thou wilt save me and hide me with thee, I will make fair thy\nreward and do thee all manner of kindness.' So he took her, incited\nthereto by lust for the recompense and eager to find favour with\nHeaven, and set her in his breastpocket. Now when the charmer had\npassed and had wended his way and the serpent had no longer any cause\nto fear, he said to her, 'Where is the reward thou didst promise me?\nBehold, I have saved thee from that thou fearedest and soughtest to\nfly.' Replied she, 'Tell me in what limb or in what place shall I\nstrike thee with my fangs, for thou knowest we exceed not that\nrecompense.' So saying, she gave him a bite whereof he died. And I\nliken thee, O dullard, to the serpent in her dealings with that man.\nHast thou not heard what the poet saith?\n\n     'Trust not to man when thou hast raised his spleen *\n          And wrath, nor that 'twill cool do thou misween:\n     Smooth feels the viper to the touch and glides *\n          With grace, yet hides she deadliest venene.'\"\n\nQuoth the wolf, \"O thou glib of gab and fair of face, ignore not my\ncase and men's fear of me; and well thou weetest how I assault the\nstrongly walled place and uproot the vines from base. Wherefore, do as\nI bid thee, and stand before me even as the thrall standeth before his\nlord.\" Quoth the fox, \"O stupid dullard who seekest a vain thing, I\nmarvel at thy folly and thy front of brass in that thou biddest me\nserve thee and stand up before thee as I were a slave bought with thy\nsilver; but soon shalt thou see what is in store for thee, in the way\nof cracking thy sconce with stones and knocking out thy traitorous\ndog-teeth.\" So saying the fox clomb a hill overlooking the vineyard and\nstanding there, shouted out to the vintagers; nor did he give over\nshouting till he woke them and they, seeing him, all came up to him in\nhaste. He stood his ground till they drew near him and close to the pit\nwherein was the wolf; and then he turned and fled. So the folk looked\ninto the cleft and, spying the wolf, set to pelting him with heavy\nstones, and they stinted not smiting him with stones and sticks, and\nstabbing him with spears, till they killed him and went away. Thereupon\nthe fox returned to that cleft and, standing over the spot where his\nfoe had been slain, saw the wolf dead: so he wagged his head for very\njoyance and began to recite these couplets,\n\n     \"Fate the Wolf's soul snatched up from wordly stead; *\n          Far be from bliss his soul that perished!\n     Abu Sirhan![FN#164] how sore thou sought'st my death; *\n          Thou, burnt this day in fire of sorrow dread:\n     Thou'rt fallen into pit, where all who fall *\n          Are blown by Death-blast down among the dead.\"\n\nThenceforward the aforesaid fox abode alone in the vineyard unto the\nhour of his death secure and fearing no hurt. And such are the\nadventures of the wolf and the fox. But men also tell a\n\n\nTALE OF THE MOUSE AND THE ICHNEUMON[FN#165]\n\nA mouse and an ichneumon once dwelt in the house of a peasant who was\nvery poor; and when one of his friends sickened, the doctor prescribed\nhim husked sesame.  So the hind sought of one of his comrades sesame to\nbe husked by way of healing the sick man; and, when a measure thereof\nwas given to him, he carried it home to his wife and bade her dress it.\n So she steeped it and husked it and spread it out to dry.  Now when\nthe ichneumon saw the grain, she went up to it and fell to carrying it\naway to her hole, and she toiled all day, till she had borne off the\nmost of it. Presently, in came the peasant's wife and, seeing much of\nthe grain gone, stood awhile wondering; after which she sat down to\nwatch and find out who might be the intruder and make him account for\nher loss.  After a while, out crept the ichneumon to carry off the\ngrain as was her wont, but spying the woman seated there, knew that she\nwas on the watch for her and said in her mind, \"Verily, this affair is\nlike to end blameably; and sore I fear me this woman is on the look-out\nfor me, and Fortune is no friend to who attend not to issue and end: so\nthere is no help for it but that I do a fair deed, whereby I may\nmanifest my innocence and wash out all the ill-doings I have done.\"  So\nsaying, she began to take the sesame out of her hole and carry it forth\nand lay it back upon the rest.  The woman stood by and, seeing the\nichneumon do thus, said to herself, \"Verily this is not the cause of\nour loss, for she bringeth it back from the hole of him who stole it\nand returneth it to its place; and of a truth she hath done us a\nkindness in restoring us the sesame, and the reward of those who do us\ngood is that we do them the like good.  It is clear that it is not she\nwho stole the grain; but I will not cease my watching till he fall into\nmy hands and I find out who is the thief.\"  The ichneumon guess what\nwas in her mind, so she went to the mouse and said to her, \"O my\nsister, there is no good in one who observeth not the claims of\nneighborship and who showeth no constancy in friendship.\"  The mouse\nreplied, \"Even so, O my friend, and I delight in thee and in they\nneighborhood; but what be the motive of this speech?\"  Quoth the\nichneumon, \"The house- master hath brought home sesame and hath eaten\nhis fill of it, he and his family, and hath left much; every living\nbeing hath eaten of it and, if thou take of it in they turn, thou art\nworthier thereof than any other.\"  This pleased the mouse and she\nsqueaked for joy and danced and frisked her ears and tail, and greed\nfor the grain deluded her; so she rose at once and issuing forth of her\nhome, saw the sesame husked and dry, shining with whiteness, and the\nwoman sitting at watch and ward.  The mouse, taking no thought to the\nissue of the affair (for the woman had armed herself with a cudgel),\nand unable to contain herself, ran up to the sesame and began turning\nit over and eating of it; whereupon the woman smote her with that club\nand cleft her head: so the cause of her destruction were her greed and\nheedlessness of consequences.  Then said the Sultan, \"O Shahrazad, by\nAllah! this be a goodly parable!  Say me, hast thou any story bearing\non the beauty of true friendship and the observance of its duty in time\nof distress and rescuing from destruction?\"  Answered she:\u2014Yes, it hath\nreached me that they tell a tale of\n\n\nTHE CAT[FN#166] AND THE CROW\n\nOnce upon a time, a crow and a cat lived in brotherhood; and one day as\nthey were together under a tree, behold, they spied a leopard making\ntowards them, and they were not aware of his approach till he was close\nupon them.  The crow at once flew up to the tree-top; but the cat abode\nconfounded and said to the crow, \"O my friend, hast thou no device to\nsave me, even as all my hope is in thee?\"  Replied the crow, \"Of very\ntruth it behoveth brethren, in case of need, to cast about for a device\nwhen peril overtaketh them, and how well saith the poet,\n\n     A friend in need is he who, ever true, *\n     For they well-doing would himself undo:\n     One who when Fortune gars us parting rue *\n     Victimeth self reunion to renew.'\"\n\nNow hard by that tree were shepherds with their dogs; so the crow flew\ntowards them and smote the face of the earth with his wings, cawing and\ncrying out. Furthermore he went up to one of the dogs and flapped his\nwings in his face and flew up a little way, whilst the dog ran after\nhim thinking to catch him. Presently, one of the shepherds raised his\nhead and saw the bird flying near the ground and lighting alternately;\nso he followed him, and the crow ceased not flying just high enough to\nsave himself and to throw out the dogs; and yet tempting them to follow\nfor the purpose of tearing him to pieces.  But as soon as they came\nnear him, he would fly up a little; and so at last he brought them to\nthe tree, under which was the leopard.  And when the dogs saw him they\nrushed upon him and he turned and fled.  Now the leopard thought to eat\nthe cat who was saved by the craft of his friend the crow.  This story,\nO King, showeth that the friendship of the Brothers of Purity[FN#167]\ndelivereth and saveth from difficulties and from falling into mortal\ndangers.  And they also tell a tale of\n\n\nTHE FOX AND THE CROW\n\nA Fox once dwelt in a cave of a certain mountain and, as often as a cub\nwas born to him and grew stout, he would eat the young one, for he had\ndied of hunger, had he instead of so doing left the cub alive and bred\nit by his side and preserved and cherished his issue.  Yet was this\nvery grievous to him.  Now on the crest of the same mountain a crow had\nmade his nest, and the fox said to himself, \"I have a mind to set up a\nfriendship with this crow and make a comrade of him, that he may help\nme to my daily bread; for he can do in such matters what I cannot.\"  So\nhe drew near the crow's home and, when he came within sound of speech,\nhe saluted him and said, \"O my neighbour, verily a true-believer hath\ntwo claims upon his true-believing neighbour, the right of\nneighbourliness and the right of Al-Islam, our common faith; and know,\nO my friend, that thou art my neighbour and thou hast a claim upon me\nwhich it behoveth me to observe, the more that I have long been thy\nneighbour.  Also, there be implanted in my breast a store of love to\nthee, which biddeth me speak thee fair and obligeth me to solicit thy\nbrothership.  What sayest thou in reply?\"  Answered the crow, \"Verily,\nthe truest speech is the best speech; and haply thou speakest with thy\ntongue that which is not in thy heart; so I fear lest thy brotherhood\nbe only of the tongue, outward, and thy enmity be in the heart, inward;\nfor that thou art the Eater and I the Eaten, and faring apart were\napter to us than friendship and fellowship.  What, then, maketh thee\nseek that which thou mayst not gain and desire what may not be done,\nseeing that I be of the bird-kind and thou be of the beast-kind? \nVerily, this thy proffered brotherhood[FN#168] may not be made, neither\nwere it seemly to make it.\" Rejoined the fox, \"Of a truth whoso knoweth\nthe abiding-place of excellent things, maketh better choice in what he\nchooseth therefrom, so perchance he may advantage his brethren; and\nindeed I should love to wone near thee and I have sued for thine\nintimacy, to the end that we may help each other to our several\nobjects; and success shall surely wait upon our amity.  I have a many\ntales of the goodliness of true friendship, which I will relate to thee\nif thou wish the relating.\"  Answered the crow, \"Thou hast my leave to\nlet me hear thy communication; so tell thy tale, and relate it to me\nthat I may hearken to it and weigh it and judge of thine intent\nthereby.\"  Rejoined the fox, \"Hear then, O my friend, that which is\ntold of a flea and a mouse and which beareth out what I have said to\nthee.\"  Asked the crow, \"How so?\" and the fox answered:\u2014They tell this\ntale of\n\n\nThe Flea and the Mouse\n\nOnce upon a time a mouse dwelt in the house of a merchant who owned\nmuch merchandise and great stories of monies.  One night, a flea took\nshelter in the merchant's carpet-bed and, finding his body soft, and\nbeing thirsty drank of his blood.  The merchant was awakened by the\nsmart of the bite and sitting up called to his slave-girls and serving\nmen.  So they hastened to him and, tucking up their sleeves, fell to\nsearching for the flea; but as soon as the bloodsucker was aware of the\nsearch, he turned to flee and coming on the mouse's home, entered it. \nWhen the mouse saw him, she said to him, \"What bringeth thee in to me,\nthou who art not of my nature nor of my kind, and who canst not be\nassured of safety from violence or of not being expelled with roughness\nand ill usage?\"  Answered the flea, \"Of a truth, I took refuge in thy\ndwelling to save me from slaughter; and I have come to thee seeking thy\nprotection and on nowise coveting thy house; nor shall any mischief\nbetide thee from me to make thee leave thy home.  Nay I hope right soon\nto repay thy favours to me with all good and then shalt thou see and\npraise the issue of my words.\" And when the mouse heard the speech of\nthe flea, - And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Fifty-first Night\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the mouse\nheard the words of the flea, she said, \"If the case be as thou dost\nrelate and describe, then be at thine ease here; for naught shall befal\nthee save the rain of peace and safety; nor shall aught betide thee but\nwhat shall joy thee and shall not annoy thee, nor shall it annoy me.  I\nwill lavish on thee my affections without stint; and do not thou regret\nhaving lost the merchant's blood nor lament for thy subsistence from\nhim, but be content with what sustenance thou canst obtain; for indeed\nthat is the safer for thee.  And I have heard, O flea, that one of the\ngnomic poets saith as follows in these couplets,\n\nI have fared content in my solitude *\n     With wate'er befel, and led life of ease,\nOn a water-draught and a bite of bread, *\n     Coarse salt and a gown of tattered frieze:\nAllah might, an He pleased, give me easiest life, *\n     But with whatso pleaseth Him self I please.'\"\n\nNow when the flea heard these words of the mouse, he rejoined, \"I\nhearken to thy charge and I submit myself to obey thee, nor have I\npower to gainsay thee, till life be fulfilled in this righteous\nintention.\"  Replied the mouse, \"Pure intention sufficeth to sincere\naffection.\"  So the tie of love arose and was knitted between them\ntwain, and after this, the flea used to visit the merchant's bed by\nnight and not exceed in his diet, and house him by day in the hole of\nthe mouse.  Now it came to pass one night, the merchant brought home\ngreat store of dinars and began to turn them over.  When the mouse\nheard the chink of the coin, she put her head out of her hole and fell\nto gazing at it, till the merchant laid it under his pillow and went to\nsleep, when she said to the flea, \"Seest thou not the proffered\noccasion and the great good fortune? Hast thou any device to bring us\nto our desire of yonder dinars?  Quoth the flea, \"Verily, it is not\ngood that one strives for aught, unless he be able to win his will;\nbecause, if he lack ability thereto, he falleth into that which he\nshould avoid and he attaineth not his wish by reason of his weakness,\nalbeit he use all power of cunning, like the sparrow which picketh up\ngrain and falleth into the net and is caught by the fowler.  Thou hast\nno strength to take the dinars and to transport them out of this house,\nnor have I force sufficient to do this; I the contrary, I could not\ncarry a single ducat of them; so what hast thou to do with them?\" \nQuoth the mouse, \"I have made me for my house these seventy openings,\nwhence I may go out at my desire, and I have set apart a place strong\nand safe, for things of price; and if thou can contrive to get the\nmerchant out of the house, I doubt not of success, an so be that Fate\naid me.\"  Answered the flea, \"I will engage to get him out of the house\nfor thee;\" and, going to the merchant's bed, bit him a fearful bite,\nsuch as he had never before felt, then fled to a place of safety, where\nhe had no fear of the man.  So the merchant awoke and sought for the\nflea, but finding him not, lay down again on his other side.  Then the\nflea bit him a second time more painfully than before.  So he lost\npatience and, leaving his bed, went out and lay down on the bench\nbefore his door and slept there and woke not till the morning. \nMeanwhile the mouse came out and fell to carrying the dinars into her\nhole, till she left not a single one; and when day dawned the merchant\nbegan to suspect the folk and fancy all manner of fancies.  And\n(continued the fox) know thou, O wise and experienced crow with the\nclear-seeing eyes, that I tell thee this only to the intent that thou\nmayst reap the recompense of thy kindness to me, even as the mouse\nreaped the reward of her kindness to the flea; for see how he repaid\nher and requited her with the goodliest of requitals.  Said the crow,\n\"It lies with the benefactor to show benevolence or not to show it; nor\nis it incumbent on us to entreat kindly one who seeketh a connection\nthat entaileth separation from kith and kin.  If I show thee favour who\nart my foe by kind, I am the cause of cutting myself off from the\nworld; and thou, O fox, art full of wiles and guiles.  Now those whose\ncharacteristics are craft and cunning, must not be trusted upon oath;\nand whoso is not to be trusted upon oath, in him there is no good\nfaith.  The tidings lately reached me of thy treacherous dealing with\none of thy comrades, which was a wolf; and how thou didst deceive him\nuntil thou leddest him into destruction by thy perfidy and stratagems;\nand this thou diddest after he was of thine own kind and thou hadst\nlong consorted with him: yet didst thou not spare him; and if thou\ncouldst deal thus with thy fellow which was of thine own kind, how can\nI have trust in they truth and what would be thy dealing with thy foe\nof other kind than thy kind? Nor can I compare thee and me but with the\nsaker and the birds.\"  \"How so?\" asked the fox.  Answered the crow,\nthey relate this tale of\n\n\nThe Saker[FN#169] and the Birds.\n\nThere was once a saker who was a cruel tyrant\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Fifty-second Night\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the crow pursued,\n\"They relate that there was once a saker who was a cruel tyrant in the\ndays of his youth, so that the raveners of the air and the scavengers\nof the earth feared him, none being safe from his mischief; and many\nwere the haps and mishaps of his tyranny and his violence, for this\nsaker was ever in the habit of oppressing and injuring all the other\nbirds.  As the years passed over him, he grew feeble and his force\nfailed him, so that he was often famished; but his cunning waxed\nstronger with the waning of his strength and redoubled in his endeavour\nand determined to be present at the general assembly of the birds, that\nhe might eat of their orts and leavings; so in this manner he fed by\nfraud instead of feeding by fierceness and force.  And out, O fox, art\nlike this:  if thy might fail thee, thy sleight faileth thee not; and I\ndoubt not that thy seeking my society is a fraud to get thy food; but I\nam none of those who fall to thee and put fist into thy fist;[FN#170]\nfor that Allah hath vouchsafed force to my wings and caution to my mind\nand sharp sight to my eyes; and I know that whoso apeth a stronger than\nhe, wearieth himself and haply cometh to ruin. Wherefore I fear for\nthee lest, if thou ape a stronger than thyself, there befal thee what\nbefel the sparrow.\"  Asked the fox, \"What befel the sparrow?\" Allah\nupon thee, tell me his tale.\"  And the crow began to relate the story\nof\n\n\nThe Sparrow and the Eagle\n\nI have heard that a sparrow was once flitting over a sheep-fold, when\nhe looked at it carefully and behold, he saw a great eagle swoop down\nupon a newly weaned lamb and carry it off in his claws and fly away. \nThereupon the sparrow clapped his wings and said, \"I will do even as\nthis one did;\" and he waxed proud in his own conceit and mimicked a\ngreater than he.  So he flew down forthright and lighted on the back of\na fat ram with a thick fleece that was become matted by his lying in\nhis dung and stale till it was like woollen felt.  As soon as the\nsparrow pounced upon the sheep's back he flapped his wings to fly away,\nbut his feet became tangled in the wool and, however hard he tried, he\ncould not set himself free.  While all this was doing the shepherd was\nlooking on, having seen what happened first with the eagle and\nafterwards with the sparrow; so he came up to the wee birdie in a rage\nand seized him.  Then he plucked out his wing- feathers and, tying his\nfeet with a twine, carried him to his children and threw him to them. \n\"What is this?\" asked one of them; and he answered, \"This is he that\naped a greater than himself and came to grief.\"  \"Now thou, O fox, art\nlike this and I would have thee beware of aping a greater than thou,\nlest thou perish.  This is all I have to say to thee; so fare from me\nin peace!\"  When the fox despaired of the crow's friendship, he turned\naway, groaning for sorrow and gnashing teeth upon teeth in his\ndisappointment; and the crow, hearing the sound of weeping and seeing\nhis grief and profound melancholy, said to him, \"O fox, what dole and\ndolour make thee gnash thy canines?\"  Answered the fox, \"I gnash my\ncanines because I find thee a greater rascal than myself;\" and so\nsaying he made off to his house and ceased not to fare until he reached\nhis home.  Quoth the Sultan, \"O Shahrazad, how excellent are these thy\nstories, and how delightsome!  Hast thou more of such edifying tales?\" \nAnswered she:\u2014They tell this legend concerning\n\n\nTHE HEDGEHOG AND THE WOOD-PIGEONS\n\nA hedgehog once too up his abode by the side of a date-palm, whereon\nroosted a wood-pigeon and his wife that had built their next there and\nlived a life of ease and enjoyment.  So he said to himself, \"This\npigeon-pair eateth of the fruit of the date tree and I have no means of\ngetting at it; but needs must I find some fashion of tricking them. \nUpon this he dug a hole at the foot of the palm tree and took up his\nlodgings there, he and his wife; moreover, he built an oratory beside\nthe hole and went into retreat there and made a show of devotion and\nedification and renunciation of the world.  The male pigeon saw him\npraying and worshipping, and his heart was softened towards him for his\nexcess of devoutness; so he said to him, \"How many years hast thou been\nthus?\" Replied the hedgehog, \"During the last thirty years.\"  \"What is\nthy food?\" \"That which falleth from the palm- tree.\"  \"And what is thy\nclothing?\" \"Prickles! and I profit by their roughness.\"  \"And why hast\nthou chosen this for place rather than another?\"  \"I chose it and\npreferred it to all others that I might guide the erring into the right\nway and teach the ignorant!\"  \"I had fancied thy case,\" quoth the\nwood-pigeon, \"other than this, but now I yearn for that which is with\nthee.\" Quoth the hedgehog, \"I fear lest thy deed contradict thy word\nand thou be even as the husbandman who, when the seed-season came,\nneglected to sow, saying, Verily I dread lest the days bring me not to\nmy desire and by making hast to sow I shall only waste my substance!'\nWhen harvest-time came and he saw the folk earing their crops, he\nrepented him of what he had lost by his tardiness and he died of\nchagrin and vexation.\" Asked the wood-pigeon, \"What then shall I do\nthat I may be freed from the bonds of the world and cut myself loose\nfrom all things save the service of my Lord?\" Answered the hedgehog,\n\"Betake thee to preparing for the next world and content thyself with a\npittance of provision.\" Quoth the pigeon, \"How can I do this, I that am\na bird and unable to go beyond the date-tree whereon is my daily bread?\n And even could I do so, I know of no other place wherein I may wone.\"\nQuoth the hedgehog, \"Thou canst shake down of the fruit of the\ndate-tree what shall suffice thee and thy wife for a year's provaunt;\nthen do ye take up your abode in a nest under the trunk, that ye may\nprayerfully seek to be guided in the right way, and then turn thou to\nwhat thou hast shaken down and transport it all to thy home and store\nit up against what time the dates fail; and when the fruits are spent\nand the delay is longsome upon you, address thyself to total\nabstinence.\" Exclaimed the pigeon, \"Allah requite thee with good for\nthe righteous intention wherewith thou hast reminded me of the world to\ncome and hast directed me into the right way!\"  Then he and his wife\nworked hard at knocking down the dates, till nothing was left on the\npalm-tree, whilst the hedgehog, finding whereof to eat, rejoiced and\nfilled his den with the fruit, storing it up for his subsistence and\nsaying in his mind, \"When the pigeon and his wife have need of their\nprovision, they will seek it of me and covet what I have, relying upon\nthy devoutness and abstinence; and, from what they have heard of my\ncounsels and admonitions, they will draw near unto me. Then will I make\nthem my prey and eat them, after which I shall have the place and all\nthat drops from the date-tree to suffice me.\" presently, having shaken\ndown the fruits, the pigeon and his wife descended from the tree-top\nand finding that the hedgehog had removed all the dates to his own\nplace, said to him, \"O hedgehog! thou pious preacher and of good\ncounsel, we can find no sign of the dates and know not on what else we\nshall feed.\"  Replied the hedgehog, \"Probably the winds have carried\nthem away; but the turning from the provisions to the Provider is of\nthe essence of salvation, and He who the mouth-corners cleft, the mouth\nwithout victual hath never left.\"  And he gave not over improving the\noccasion to them on this wise, and making a show of piety and cozening\nthem with fine words and false until they put faith in him and accepted\nhim and entered his den and had no suspicion of his deceit.  Thereupon\nhe sprang to the door and gnashed his teeth, and the wood-pigeon,\nseeing his perfidy manifested, said to him, \"What hath to-night to do\nwith yester-night? Knowest thou not that there is a Helper for the\noppressed?  Beware of craft and treachery, lest that mishap befal thee\nwhich befel the sharpers who plotted against the merchant.\"  \"What was\nthat?\" asked the hedgehog.  Answered the pigeon:\u2014I have heard tell this\ntale of\n\n\nThe Merchant and the Two Shapers\n\nIn a city called Sindah there was once a very wealthy merchant, who\nmade ready his camel-loads and equipped himself with goods and set out\nwith his outfit for such a city, purposing to sell it there.  Now he\nwas followed by two sharpers, who had made up into bales what\nmerchandise they could get; and, giving out to the merchant that they\nalso were merchants, wended with him by the way.  So halting at the\nfirst halting-place they agreed to play him false and take all he had;\nbut at the same time, each inwardly plotted foul play to the other,\nsaying in his mind, \"If I can cheat my comrade, times will go well with\nme and I shall have all these goods for myself.\"  So after planning\nthis perfidy, one of them took food and putting therein poison, brought\nit to his fellow; the other did the same and they both ate of the\npoisoned mess and they both died. Now they had been sitting with the\nmerchant; so when they left him and were long absent from him, he\nsought for tidings of them and found the twain lying dead; whereby he\nknew that they were sharpers who had plotted to play him foul, but\ntheir foul play had recoiled upon themselves.  So the merchant was\npreserved and took what they had.  Then quoth the Sultan, \"O Shahrazad,\nverily thou hast aroused me to all whereof I was negligent!  So\ncontinue to edify me with these fables.\"  Quoth she:\u2014It hath reached\nme, O King, that men tell this tale of\n\n\nTHE THIEF AND HIS MONKEY[FN#171]\n\nA certain man had a monkey and that man was a thief, who never entered\nany of the street-markets of the city wherein he dwelt, but he made off\nwith great profit.  Now it came to pass one day that he saw a man\noffering for sale worn clothes, and he went calling them in the market,\nbut none bid for them and all to whom he showed them refused to buy of\nhim.  Presently the thief who had the monkey saw the man with the\nragged clothes set them in a wrapper and sit down to rest for\nweariness; so he made the ape sport before him to catch his eye and,\nwhilst he was busy gazing at it, stole the parcel from him.  Then he\ntook the ape and made off to a lonely place, where he opened the\nwrapper and, taking out the old clothes, folded them in a piece of\ncostly stuff. This he carried to another bazar and exposed for sale\ntogether with what was therein, making it a condition that it should\nnot be opened, and tempting the folk with the lowness of the price he\nset on it.  A certain man saw the wrapper and its beauty pleased him;\nso he bought the parcel on these terms and carried it home, doubting\nnot that he had done well.  When his wife saw it she asked, \"What is\nthis?\" and he answered, \"It is costly stuff, which I have bought at\nlowest price, meaning to sell it again and take the profit.\"  Rejoined\nshe, \"O dupe, would this stuff be sold under its value, unless it had\nbeen stolen?  Dost thou not know that whoso buyeth aught without\nexamining it, falleth into error and becometh like unto the weaver?\" \nQuoth he, \"And what is the story of the weaver?\"; and quoth she:\u2014I have\nheard this take of\n\n\nThe Foolish Weaver\n\nThere was once in a certain village a weaver who worked hard but could\nnot earn his living save by overwork.  Now it chanced that one of the\nrichards of the neighbourhood made a marriage feast and invited the\nfolk thereto: the weaver also was present and found the guests, who\nwore rich gear, served with delicate viands and made much of by the\nhouse-master for what he saw of their fine clothes.  So he said in his\nmind, \"If I change this my craft for another craft easier to compass\nand better considered and more highly paid, I shall amass great store\nof money and I shall buy splendid attire, so I may rise in rank and be\nexalted in men's eyes and become even with these.\"  Presently, he\nbeheld one of the mountebanks, who was present at the feast, climbing\nup to the top of a high and towering wall and throwing himself down to\nthe ground and alighting on his feet.  Whereupon the waver said to\nhimself, \"Needs must I do as this one hath done, for surely I shall not\nfail of it.\"  So he arose and swarmed upon the wall and casting himself\ndown, broke his neck against the ground and died forthright.  \"Now I\ntell thee this that thou sayst get thy living by what way thou knowest\nand thoroughly understandest, lest peradventure greed enter into thee\nand thou lust after what is not of thy condition.\"  Quoth the woman's\nhusband, \"Not every wise man is saved by his wisdom, nor is every fool\nlost by his folly.  I have seen it happen to a skilful charmer, well\nversed in the ways of serpents, to be struck by the fangs of a\nsnake[FN#172] and killed, and others prevail over serpents who had no\nskill in them and no knowledge of their ways.\"  And he went contrary to\nhis wife and persisted in buying stolen goods below their value till he\nfell under suspicion and perished therefor: even as perished the\nsparrow in the tale of\n\n\nTHE SPARROW AND THE PEACOCK\n\nThere was once upon a time a sparrow, that used every day to visit a\ncertain king of the birds and ceased not to wait upon him in the\nmornings and not to leave him till the evenings, being the first to go\nin and the last to go out. One day, a company of birds chanced to\nassemble on a high mountain and one of them said to another, \"Verily,\nwe are waxed many, and many are the differences between us, and there\nis no help for it but we have a king to look into our affairs; so shall\nwe all be at one and our differences will disappear.\" Thereupon up came\nthat sparrow and counselled them to choose for King the peacock (that\nis, the prince he used to visit).  So they chose the peacock to their\nKing and he, become their sovereign, bestowed largesse upon them and\nmade the sparrow his secretary and Prime Minister.  Now the sparrow was\nwont by times to quit his assiduous serve in the presence and look into\nmatters in general.  So one day he absented himself at the usual time,\nwhereat the peacock was sore troubled; and, while things stood thus, he\nreturned and the peacock said to him, \"What hath delayed thee, and thou\nthe nearest to me of all my servants and the dearest of all my\ndependents?\" replied the sparrow, \"I have seen a thing which is\ndoubtful to me and whereat I am affrighted.\"  Asked the peacock, \"What\nwas it thou sawest?\"; and the sparrow answered, \"I saw a man set up a\nnet, hard by my nest, peg down its pegs, strew grain in its midst and\nwithdraw afar off.  And I sat watching what he would do when behold,\nfate and fortune drave thither a crane and his wife, which fell into\nthe midst of the net and began to cry out; whereupon the fowler rose up\nand took them.  This troubled me, and such is the reason for my absence\nfrom thee, O King of the Age, but never again will I abide in that nest\nfor fear of the net.\"  Rejoined the peacock, \"Depart not thy dwelling,\nfor against fate and lot forethought will avail the naught.\"  And the\nsparrow obeyed his bidding and said, \"I will forthwith arm myself with\npatience and forbear to depart in obedience to the King.\" So he ceased\nnot taking care of himself, and carrying food to his sovereign, who\nwould eat what sufficed him and after feeding drink his water and\ndismiss the sparrow.  Now one day as he was looking into matters, lo\nand behold! he saw two sparrows fighting on the ground and said in his\nmind, \"How can I, who am the King's Wazir, look on and see sparrows\nfighting in my neighbourhood?  By Allah, I must make peace between\nthem!\"  So he flew down to reconcile them; but the fowler cast the net\nover the whole number and the sparrow happened to be in their very\nmidst.  Then the fowler arose and took him and gave him to his comrade,\nsaying, \"Take care of him, \" I never saw fatter or finer.\"  But the\nsparrow said to himself, \"I have fallen into that which I feared and\nnone but the peacock inspired me with false confidence.  It availed me\nnaught to beware of the stroke of fate and fortune, since even he who\ntaketh precaution may never flee from destiny. And how well said the\npoet in this poetry,\n\n     \"Whatso is not to be shall ne'er become; *\n     No wise! and that to be must come to pass;\n     Yea it shall come to pass at time ordained, *\n     And th' Ignoramus[FN#173] aye shall cry Alas!'\"\n\nWhereupon quoth the King, \"O Shahrazad, recount me other of these\ntales!\"; and quoth she, \"I will do so during the coming night, if life\nbe granted to by the King whom Allah bring to honour!\"\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Fifty-third Night,\n\nShe said:\u2014I will relate the\n\n\nTALE OF ALI BIN BAKKAR AND OF SHAMS AL-NAHAR.\n\nIt hath reached me, O august King, that in days of yore and in times\nand ages long gone before, during the Caliphate of Harun al-Rashid,\nthere was a merchant who named his son Ab\u00fa al-Hasan[FN#174] Ali bin\nT\u00e1hir; and the same was great of goods and grace, while his son was\nfair of form and face and held in favour by all folk. He used to enter\nthe royal palace without asking leave, for all the Caliph's concubines\nand slave-girls loved him, and he was wont to be companion with\nAl-Rashid in his cups and recite verses to him and tell him curious\ntales and witty. Withal he sold and bought in the merchants' bazar, and\nthere used to sit in his shop a youth named Ali bin Bakk\u00e1r, of the sons\nof the Persian Kings[FN#175] who was formous of form and symmetrical of\nshape and perfect of figure, with cheeks red as roses and joined\neyebrows; sweet of speech, laughing-lipped and delighting in mirth and\ngaiety. Now it chanced one day, as the two sat talking and laughing\nbehold, there came up ten damsels like moons, every one of them\ncomplete in beauty and loveliness, and elegance and grace; and amongst\nthem was a young lady riding on a she-mule with a saddle of brocade and\nstirrups of gold. She wore an outer veil of fine stuff, and her waist\nwas girt with a girdle of gold-embroidered silk; and she was even as\nsaith the poet,\n\n     \"Silky her skin and silk that zoned waist; *\n          Sweet voice; words not o'er many nor too few:\n     Two eyes quoth Allah 'Be,' and they became; *\n          And work like wine on hearts they make to rue:\n     O love I feel! grow greater every night: *\n          O solace! Doom-day bring our interview.\"\n\nAnd when the cort\u010dge reached Abu al-Hasan's shop, she alighted from her\nmule, and sitting down on the front board,[FN#176] saluted him, and he\nreturned her salam. When Ali bin Bakkar saw her, she ravished his\nunderstanding and he rose to go away; but she said to him, \"Sit in thy\nplace. We came to thee and thou goest away: this is not fair!\" Replied\nhe, \"O my lady, by Allah, I flee from what I see; for the tongue of the\ncase saith,\n\n     'She is a sun which towereth high a-sky; *\n          So ease thy heart with cure by Patience lent:\n     Thou to her skyey height shalt fail to fly; *\n          Nor she from skyey height can make descent.'\"\n\nWhen she heard this, she smiled and asked Abu al-Hasan, \"What is the\nname of this young man?\"; who answered, \"He is a stranger;\" and she\nenquired, \"What countryman is he?\"; whereto the merchant replied, \"He\nis a descendant of the Persian Kings; his name is Ali son of Bakkar and\nthe stranger deserveth honour.\" Rejoined she, \"When my damsel comes to\nthee, come thou at once to us and bring him with thee, that we may\nentertain him in our abode, lest he blame us and say, 'There is no\nhospitality in the people of Baghdad'; for niggardliness is the worst\nfault a man can have. Thou hearest what I say to thee and, if thou\ndisobey me, thou wilt incur my displeasure and I will never again visit\nthee or salute thee.\" Quoth Abu al-Hasan, \"On my head and my eyes:\nAllah preserve me from thy displeasure, fair lady!\" Then she rose and\nwent her way. Such was her case; but as regards Ali bin Bakkar he\nremained in a state of bewilderment. Now after an hour the damsel came\nto Abu al-Hasan and said to him, \"Of a truth my lady Shams al-Nah\u00e1r,\nthe favourite of the Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid,\nbiddeth thee to her, thee and thy friend, my lord Ali bin Bakkar.\" So\nhe rose and, taking Ali with him, followed the girl to the Caliph's\npalace, where she carried them into a chamber and made them sit down.\nThey talked together awhile, when behold, trays of food were set before\nthem, and they ate and washed their hands. Then she brought them wine,\nand they drank deep and made merry; after which she bade them rise and\ncarried them into another chamber, vaulted upon four columns, furnished\nafter the goodliest fashion with various kinds of furniture, and\nadorned with decorations as it were one of the pavilions of Paradise.\nThey were amazed at the rarities they saw; and, as they were enjoying a\nreview of these marvels, suddenly up came ten slave-girls, like moons,\nswaying and swimming in beauty's pride, dazzling the sight and\nconfounding the sprite; and they ranged themselves in two ranks as if\nthey were of the black-eyed Brides of Paradise. And after a while in\ncame other ten damsels, bearing in their hands lutes and divers\ninstruments of mirth and music; and these, having saluted the two\nguests, sat down and fell to tuning their lute-strings. Then they rose\nand standing before them, played and sang and recited verses: and\nindeed each one of them was a seduction to the servants of the Lord.\nWhilst they were thus busied there entered other ten damsels like unto\nthem, high-bosomed maids and of an equal age, with black-eyes and\ncheeks like the rose, joined eyebrows and looks languorous; a very\nfascination to every faithful wight and to all who looked upon them a\ndelight; clad in various kinds of coloured silks, with ornaments that\namazed man's intelligence. They took up their station at the door, and\nthere succeeded them yet other ten damsels even fairer than they, clad\nin gorgeous array, such as no tongue can say; and they also stationed\nthemselves by the doorway. Then in came a band of twenty damsels and\namongst them the lady, Shams al-Nahar hight, as she were the moon among\nthe stars swaying from side to side, with luring gait and in beauty's\npride. And she was veiled to the middle with the luxuriance of her\nlocks, and clad in a robe of azure blue and a mantilla of silk\nembroidered with gold and gems of price; and her waist was girt with a\nzone set with various kinds of precious stones. She ceased not to\nadvance with her graceful and coquettish swaying, till she came to the\ncouch that stood at the upper end of the chamber and seated herself\nthereon. But when Ali bin Bakkar saw her, he versified with these\nverses,\n\n     \"Source of mine evils, truly, she alone 's, *\n          Of long love-longing and my groans and moans;\n     Near her I find my soul in melting mood, *\n          For love of her and wasting of my bones.\"\n\nAnd finishing his poetry he said to Abu al-Hasan, \"Hadst thou Dealt\nmore kindly with me thou haddest forewarned me of these things ere I\ncame hither, that I might have made up my mind and taken patience to\nsupport what hath befallen me.\" And he wept and groaned and complained.\nReplied Abu al-Hasan, \"O my brother, I meant thee naught but good; but\nI feared to tell thee this, lest such transport should betide thee as\nmight hinder thee from foregathering with her, and be a stumbling-block\nbetween thee and her. But be of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool and\nclear;[FN#177] for she to thee inclineth and to favour thee designeth.\"\nAsked Ali bin Bakkar, \"What is this young lady's name?\" Answered Abu\nal-Hasan, \"She is hight Shams al-Nahar, one of the favourites of the\nCommander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, and this is the palace of\nthe Caliphate.\" Then Shams al-Nahar sat gazing upon the charms of Ali\nbin Bakkar and he upon hers, till both were engrossed with love for\neach other. Presently she commanded the damsels, one and all, to be\nseated, each in her rank and place, and all sat on a couch before one\nof the windows, and she bade them sing; whereupon one of them took up\nthe lute and began caroling,\n\n\"Give thou my message twice * Bring clear reply in trice!\nTo thee, O Prince of Beau * -ty[FN#178] with complaint I rise:\nMy lord, as heart-blood dear * And Life's most precious prize!\nGive me one kiss in gift * Or loan, if thou devise:\nAnd if thou crave for more * Take all that satisfies.[FN#179]\nThou donn'st me sickness-dress * Thee with health's weed I\n     bless.\"\n\nHer singing charmed Ali bin Bakkar, and he said to her, \"Sing me more\nof the like of these verses.\" So she struck the strings and began to\nchaunt these lines,\n\n     \"By stress of parting, O beloved one, *\n          Thou mad'st these eyelids torment- race to run:\n     Oh gladness of my sight and dear desire, *\n          Goal of my wishes, my religion!\n     Pity the youth whose eyne are drowned in tears *\n          Of lover gone distraught and clean undone.\"\n\nWhen she had finished her verses, Shams al-Nahar said to another\ndamsel, \"Let us hear something from thee!\" So she played a lively\nmeasure and began these couplets,\n\n     \"His[FN#180] looks have made me drunken, not his wine; *\n          His grace of gait disgraced sleep to these eyne:\n     Dazed me no cup, but cop with curly crop; *\n          His gifts overcame me not the gifts of vine:\n     His winding locks my patience-clue unwound: *\n          His robed beauties robbed all wits of mine.\"\n\nWhen Shams Al-Nahar heard this recital from the damsel, she sighed\nheavily and the song pleased her. Then she bade another damsel sing; so\nshe took the lute and began chanting,\n\n     \"Face that with Sol in Heaven lamping vies; *\n          Youth-tide's fair fountain which begins to rise;\n     Whose curly side-beard writeth writ of love, *\n          And in each curl concealeth mysteries:\n     Cried Beauty, 'When I met this youth I knew *\n          'Tis Allah's loom such gorgeous robe supplies.'\"\n\nWhen she had finished her song, Ali bin Bakkar said to the slave-maiden\nnearest him, \"Sing us somewhat, thou O damsel.\" So she took the lute\nand began singing,\n\n     \"Our trysting-time is all too short *\n          For this long coyish coquetry:\n     How long this 'Nay, Nay!' and 'Wait, wait?' *\n          This is not old nobility!\n     And now that Time deigns lend delight *\n          Profit of th' opportunity.\"\n\nWhen she ended, Ali bin Bakkar followed up her song with flowing tears;\nand, as Shams al-Nahar saw him weeping and groaning and complaining,\nshe burned with love-longing and desire; and passion and transport\nconsumed her. So she rose from the sofa and came to the door of the\nalcove, where Ali met her and they embraced with arms round the neck,\nand fell down fainting in the doorway; whereupon the damsels came to\nthem and carrying them into the alcove, sprinkled rose-water upon them\nboth. When they recovered, they found not Abu al-Hasan who had hidden\nhimself by the side of a couch, and the young lady said, \"Where is Abu\nal-Hasan?\" So he showed himself to her from beside the couch and she\nsaluted him, saying, \"I pray Allah to give me the means of requiting\nthee, O kindest of men!\" Then she turned to Ali bin Bakkar and said to\nhim, \"O my lord, passion hath not reached this extreme pass with thee\nwithout my feeling the like; but we have nothing to do save to bear\npatiently what calamity hath befallen us.\" Replied he, \"By Allah, O my\nlady, union with thee may not content me nor gazing upon thee assuage\nthe fire thou hast lighted, nor shall leave me the love of thee which\nhath mastered my heart but with the leaving of my life.\" So saying, he\nwept and the tears ran down upon his cheeks like thridded pearls; and\nwhen Shams al-Nahar saw him weep, she wept for his weeping. But Abu\nal-Hasan exclaimed, \"By Allah, I wonder at your case and am confounded\nat your condition; of a truth, your affair is amazing and your chance\ndazing. What! this weeping while ye are yet together: then how will it\nbe what time ye are parted and far separated?\" And he continued,\n\"Indeed, this is no tide for weeping and wailing, but a season for\nmeeting and merry-making; rejoice, therefore, and take your pleasure\nand shed no more tears!\" Then Shams al-Nahar signed to a slave-girl,\nwho arose and presently returned with handmaids bearing a table, whose\ndishes of silver were full of various rich viands. They set the table\nbefore the pair and Shams al-Nahar began to eat[FN#181] and to place\ntid-bits in the mouth of Ali bin Bakkar; and they ceased not so doing\ntill they were satisfied, when the table was removed and they washed\ntheir hands. Then the waiting-women fetched censers with all manner of\nincense, aloe-wood and ambergris and mixed scents; and\nsprinkling-flasks full of rose-water were also brought and they were\nfumigated and perfumed. After this the slaves set on vessels of graven\ngold, containing all kinds of sherbets, besides fruits fresh and dried,\nthat heart can desire and eye delight in; and lastly one brought a\nflagon of carnelion full of old wine. Then Shams al-Nahar chose out ten\nhandmaids to attend on them and ten singing women; and, dismissing the\nrest to their apartments, bade some of those who remained strike the\nlute. They did as she bade them and one of them began to sing,\n\n     \"My soul to him who smiled back my salute, *\n          In breast reviving hopes that were no mo'e:\n     The hand o' Love my secret brought to light, *\n          And censor's tongues what lies my ribs below:[FN#182]\n     My tear-drops ever press twixt me and him, *\n          As though my tear-drops showing love would flow.\"\n\nWhen she had finished her singing, Shams al-Nahar rose and, filling a\ngoblet, drank it off, then crowned it again and handed it to Ali bin\nBakkar;\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Fifty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Shams al-Nahar\nfilled a goblet and handed it to Ali bin Bakkar; after which she bade\nanother damsel sing; and she began singing these couplets,\n\n     \"My tears thus flowing rival with my wine, *\n          Pouring the like of what fills cup to brink:[FN#183]\n     By Allah wot I not an run these eyne *\n          Wi' wine, or else it is of tears I drink.\"\n\nAnd when she ended her recitation, Ali bin Bakkar drained his cup and\nreturned it to Shams al-Nahar. She filled it again and gave it to Abu\nal-Hasan who tossed it off. Then she took the lute, saying, \"None shall\nsing over my cup save myself;\" so she screwed up the strings and\nintoned these verses,\n\n\"The tears run down his cheeks in double row, *\n     And in his breast high flameth lover-lowe:\nHe weeps when near, a-fearing to be far; *\n     And, whether far or near, his tear-drops flow.\"\n\nAnd the words of another,\n\n\"Our life to thee, O cup-boy Beauty-dight! *\n     From parted hair to calves; from black to white:\nSol beameth from thy hands, and from thy lips *\n     Pleiads, and full Moon through thy collar's night,[FN#184]\nGood sooth the cups, which made our heads fly round, *\n     Are those thine eyes pass round to daze the sight:\nNo wonder lovers hail thee as full moon *\n     Waning to them, for self e'er waxing bright:\nArt thou a deity to kill and quicken, *\n     Bidding this fere, forbidding other wight?\nAllah from model of thy form made Beau *\n     -ty and the Zephyr scented with thy sprite.\nThou art not of this order of human *\n     -ity but angel lent by Heaven to man.\"\n\nWhen Ali bin Bakkar and Abu al-Hasan and those present heard Shams\nal-Nahar's song, they were like to fly for joy, and sported and\nlaughed; but while they were thus enjoying themselves lo! up came a\ndamsel, trembling for fear and said, \"O my lady, the Commander of the\nFaithful's eunuchs are at the door, Af\u00edf and Masr\u00far and Marj\u00e1n[FN#185]\nand others whom wot I not.\" When they heard this they were like to die\nwith fright, but Shams al-Nahar laughed and said, \"Have no fear!\" Then\nquoth she to the damsel, \"Keep answering them whilst we remove hence.\"\nAnd she caused the doors of the alcove to be closed upon Ali and Abu\nal-Hasan, and let down the curtains over the entrance (they being still\nwithin); after which she shut the door of the saloon and went out by\nthe privy wicket into the flower-garden, where she seated herself on a\ncouch she had there and made one of the damsels knead her feet.[FN#186]\nThen she dismissed the rest of her women to their rooms and bade the\nportress admit those who were at the door; whereupon Masrur entered, he\nand his company of twenty with drawn swords. And when they saluted her,\nshe asked, \"Wherefore come ye?\"; whereto they answered, \"The Commander\nof the Faithful saluteth thee. Indeed he is desolated for want of thy\nsight; he letteth thee know that this be to him a day of joy and great\ngladness and he wisheth to seal his day and complete his pleasure with\nthy company at this very hour. So say, wilt go to him or shall he come\nto thee?\" Upon this she rose and, kissing the earth, replied, \"I hear\nand I obey the commandment of the Prince of True Believers!\" Then she\nsummoned the women guards of her household and other slave-damsels, who\nlost no time in attending upon her and made a show of obeying the\nCaliph's orders. And albeit everything about the place was in\nreadiness, she said to the eunuchs, \"Go to the Commander of the\nFaithful and tell him that I await him after a little space, that I may\nmake ready for him a place with carpets and other matters.\" So they\nreturned in haste to the Caliph, whilst Shams al-Nahar, doffing her\nouter gear, repaired to her lover, Ali bin Bakkar, and drew him to her\nbosom and bade him farewell, whereat he wept sore and said, \"O my lady,\nthis leave-taking will cause the ruin of my very self and the loss of\nmy very soul; but I pray Allah grant me patience to support the passion\nwherewith he hath afflicted me!\" Replied she, \"By Allah, none shall\nsuffer perdition save I; for thou wilt fare forth to the bazar and\nconsort with those that shall divert thee, and thy life will be sound\nand thy love hidden forsure; but I shall fall into trouble and\ntristesse nor find any to console me, more by token that I have given\nthe Caliph a tryst, wherein haply great peril shall betide me by reason\nof my love for thee and my longing for thee and my grief at being\nparted from thee. For with what tongue shall I sing and with what heart\nshall I present myself before the Caliph? and with what speech shall I\ncompany the Commander of the Faithful in his cups? and with what eyes\nshall I look upon a place where thou art absent? and with what taste\nshall I drink wine of which thou drinkest not?\" Quoth Abu al-Hasan, \"Be\nnot troubled but take patience and be not remiss in entertaining the\nCommander of the Faithful this night, neither show him any neglect, but\nbe of good heart.\" Now at this juncture, behold, up came a damsel, who\nsaid to Shams al-Nahar, \"O my lady, the Caliph's pages are come.\" So\nshe hastily rose to her feet and said to the maid, \"Take Abu al-Hasan\nand his friend and carry them to the upper balcony[FN#187] giving upon\nthe garden and there leave them till darkness come on; when do thou\ncontrive to carry them forth.\" Accordingly the girl led them up to the\nbalcony and, locking the door upon them both, went her way. As they sat\nlooking on the garden lo! the Caliph appeared escorted by near an\nhundred eunuchs, with drawn swords in hand and girt about with a score\nof damsels, as they were moons, all clad in the richest of raiment and\non each one's head was a crown set with jewels and rubies; while each\ncarried a lighted flambeau. The Caliph walked in their midst, they\nencompassing him about on all sides, and Masrur and Af\u00edf and\nWas\u00edf[FN#188] went before him and he bore himself with a graceful gait.\nSo Shams al-Nahar and her maidens rose to receive him and, meeting him\nat the garden-door, kissed ground between his hands; nor did they cease\nto go before him till they brought him to the couch whereon he sat\ndown, whilst all the waiting-women who were in the garden and the\neunuchs stood before him and there came fair handmaids and concubines\nholding in hand lighted candles and perfumes and incense and\ninstruments of mirth and music. Then the Sovereign bade the singers sit\ndown, each in her place, and Shams al-Nahar came up and, seating\nherself on a stool by the side of the Caliph's couch, began to converse\nwith him; all this happening whilst Abu al-Hasan and Ali bin Bakkar\nlooked on and listened, unseen of the King. Presently the Caliph fell\nto jesting and toying with Shams al-Nahar and both were in the highest\nspirits, glad and gay, when he bade them throw open the garden\npavilion. So they opened the doors and windows and lighted the tapers\ntill the place shone in the season of darkness even as the day. Then\nthe eunuchs removed thither the wine-service and (quoth Abu al-Hasan)\n\"I saw drinking-vessels and rarities whose like mine eyes never beheld,\nvases of gold and silver and all manner of noble metals and precious\nstones, such as no power of description can describe, till indeed it\nseemed to me I was dreaming, for excess of amazement at what I saw!\"\nBut as for Ali bin Bakkar, from the moment Shams al-Nahar left him, he\nlay strown on the ground for stress of love and desire; and, when he\nrevived, he fell to gazing upon these things that had not their like\nand saying to Abu al-Hasan, \"O my brother, I fear lest the Caliph see\nus or come to know of our case; but the most of my fear is for thee.\nFor myself, of a truth I know that I am about to be lost past recourse,\nand the cause of my destruction is naught but love and longing and\nexcess of desire and distraction, and disunion from my beloved after\nunion with her; but I beseech Allah to deliver us from this perilous\npredicament.\" And they ceased not to look out of the balcony on the\nCaliph who was taking his pleasure, till the banquet was spread before\nhim, when he turned to one of the damsels and said to her, \"O\nGhar\u00e1m,[FN#189] let us hear some of thine enchanting songs.\" So she\ntook the lute and tuning it, began singing,\n\n\"The longing of a Bedouin maid, whose folks are far away, *\n     Who yearns after the willow of the Hejaz and the\n     bay,[FN#190]\u2014\nWhose tears, when she on travellers lights, might for their water\n     serve * And eke her her passion, with its heat, their\n     bivouac-fire purvey,\u2014\nIs not more fierce nor ardent than my longing for my love, *\n     Who deems that I commit a crime in loving him\n     alway.\"[FN#191]\n\nNow when Shams al-Nahar heard these verses she slipped off the stool\nwhereon she sat and fell to the earth fainting and became insensible to\nthe world around her; upon which the damsels came and lifted her up.\nAnd when Ali bin Bakkar saw this from the balcony he also slipped down\nsenseless, and Abu al-Hasan said, \"Verily Fate hath divided love-desire\nequally upon you twain!\"[FN#192] As he spoke lo! in came the damsel who\nhad led them up to the balcony and said to him, \"O Abu al-Hasan, arise\nthou and thy friend and come down, for of a truth the world hath waxed\nstrait upon us and I fear lest our case be discovered or the Caliph\nbecome aware of you; unless you descend at once we are dead ones.\"\nQuoth he, \"And how shall this youth descend with me seeing that he hath\nno strength to rise?\" Thereupon the damsel began sprinkling rose-water\non Ali bin Bakkar till he came to his senses, when Abu al-Hasan lifted\nhim up and the damsel made him lean upon her. So they went down from\nthe balcony and walked on awhile till the damsel opened a little iron\ndoor, and made the two friends pass through it, and they came upon a\nbench by the Tigris' bank. Thereupon the slave-girl clapped her\nhands[FN#193] and there came up a man with a little boat to whom said\nshe, \"Take up these two young men and land them on the opposite side.\"\nSo both entered the boat and, as the man rowed off with them and they\nleft the garden behind them, Ali bin Bakkar looked back towards the\nCaliph's palace and the pavilion and the grounds; and bade them\nfarewell with these two couplets,\n\n     \"I offered this weak hand as last farewell, *\n          While to heart-burning fire that hand is guided:\n     O let not this end union! Let not this *\n          Be last provision for long road provided!\"\n\nThereupon the damsel said to the boatman, \"Make haste with them both.\"\nSo he plied his oars deftly (the slave-girl being still with them);\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawning day and ceased saying her permitted\nsay.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the boatman rowed\nthem towards the other bank till they reached it and landed, whereupon\nshe took leave of them, saying, \"It were my wish not to abandon you,\nbut I can go no farther than this.\" Then she turned back, whilst Ali\nbin Bakkar lay prostrate on the ground before Abu al-Hasan and by no\nmanner of means could he rise, till his friend said to him, \"Indeed\nthis place is not sure and I fear lest we lose our lives in this very\nspot, by reason of the lewd fellows who infest it and highwaymen and\nmen of lawlessness.\" Upon this Ali bin Bakkar arose and walked a little\nbut could not continue walking. Now Abu al-Hasan had friends in that\nquarter; so he made search for one of them, in whom he trusted, and who\nwas of his intimates, and knocked at the door. The man came out quickly\nand seeing them, bade them welcome and brought them into his house,\nwhere he seated them and talked with them and asked them whence they\ncame. Quoth Abu al-Hasan, \"We came out but now, being obliged thereto\nby a person with whom I had dealings and who hath in his hands dirhams\nof mine. And it reached me that he designed to flee into foreign parts\nwith my monies; so I fared forth to-night in quest of him, taking with\nme for company this youth, Ali bin Bakkar; but, when we came hoping to\nsee the debtor, he hid from us and we could get no sight of him.\nAccordingly we turned back, empty-handed without a doit, but it was\nirksome to us to return home at this hour of the night; so weeting not\nwhither to go, we came to thee, well knowing thy kindness and wonted\ncourtesy.\" \"Ye are welcome and well come!\" answered the host, and\nstudied to do them honour; so the twain abode with him the rest of\ntheir night and as soon as the daylight dawned, they left him and made\ntheir way back without aught of delay to the city. When they came to\nthe house of Abu al-Hasan, he conjured his comrade to enter; so they\nwent in and lying down on the bed, slept awhile. As soon as they awoke,\nAbu al-Hasan bade his servants spread the house with rich carpets,\nsaying in his mind, \"Needs must I divert this youth and distract him\nfrom thinking of his affliction, for I know his case better than\nanother.\" Then he called for water for Ali bin Bakkar who, when it was\nbrought, rose up from his bed and making his ablutions, prayed the\nobligatory prayers which he had omitted for the past day and\nnight[FN#194]; after which he sat down and began to solace himself by\ntalking with his friend. When Abu al-Hasan saw this, he turned to him\nand said, \"O my lord, it were fitter for thy case that thou abide with\nme this night, so thy breast may be broadened and the distress of\nlove-longing that is upon thee be dispelled and thou make merry with\nus, so haply the fire of thy heart may thus be quenched.\" Ali replied,\n\"O my brother, do what seemeth good to thee; for I may not on any wise\nescape from what calamity hath befallen me; so act as thou wilt.\"\nAccordingly, Abu al-Hasan arose and bade his servants summon some of\nthe choicest of his friends and sent for singers and musicians who\ncame; and meanwhile he made ready meat and drink for them; so they sat\neating and drinking and making merry through the rest of the day till\nnightfall. Then they lit the candles, and the cups of friendship and\ngood fellowship went round amongst them and the time passed pleasantly\nwith them. Presently, a singing-woman took the lute and began singing,\n\n\"I've been shot by Fortune, and shaft of eye *\n     Down struck me and parted from fondest friend:\nTime has proved him foe and my patience failed, *\n     Yet I ever expected it thus would end.\"\n\nWhen Ali bin Bakkar heard her words, he fell to the earth in a swoon\nand ceased not lying in his fainting fit till day-break; and Abu\nal-Hasan despaired of him. But, with the dawning, he came to himself\nand sought to go home; nor could his friend hinder him, for fear of the\nissue of his affair. So he made his servants bring a she-mule and,\nmounting Ali thereon, carried him to his lodgings, he and one of his\nmen. When he was safe at home, Abu al-Hasan thanked Allah for his\ndeliverance from that sore peril and sat awhile with him, comforting\nhim; but Ali could not contain himself, for the violence of his love\nand longing. So Abu al-Hasan rose to take leave of him and return to\nhis own place.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to\nsay her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Abu al-Hasan\nrose to take leave of him, Ali son of Bakkar exclaimed, \"O my brother,\nleave me not without news.\" \"I hear and obey,\" replied the other; and\nforthwith went away and, repairing to his shop, opened it and sat there\nall day, expecting news of Shams al-Nahar. But none came. He passed the\nnight in his own house and, when dawned the day, he walked to Ali bin\nBakkar's lodging and went in and found him thrown on his bed, with his\nfriends about him and physicians around him prescribing something or\nother, and the doctors feeling his pulse. When he saw Abu al-Hasan\nenter he smiled, and the visitor, after saluting him, enquired how he\ndid and sat with him till the folk withdrew, when he said to him, \"What\nplight is this?\" Quoth Ali bin Bakkar, \"It was bruited abroad that I\nwas ill and my comrades heard the report; and I have no strength to\nrise and walk so as to give him the lie who noised abroad my sickness,\nbut continue lying strown here as thou seest. So my friends came to\nvisit me; say, however, O my brother, hast thou seen the slave-girl or\nheard any news of her?\" He replied, \"I have not seen her, since the day\nwe parted from her on Tigris' bank;\" and he presently added, \"O my\nbrother, beware thou of scandal and leave this weeping.\" Rejoined Ali,\n\"O my brother, indeed, I have no control over myself;\" and he sighed\nand began reciting,\n\n\"She gives her woman's hand a force that fails the hand of me, *\n     And with red dye on wrist she gars my patience fail and\n     flee:\nAnd for her hand she fears so sore what shafts her eyes\n     discharge, * She's fain to clothe and guard her hand with\n     mail-ring panoply:[FN#195]\nThe leach in ignorance felt my pulse the while to him I cried, *\n     'Sick is my heart, so quit my hand which hath no malady:'\nQuoth she to that fair nightly vision favoured me and fled, *\n     'By Allah picture him nor add nor 'bate in least degree!'\nReplied the Dream, 'I leave him though he die of thirst,'\n     I cry, * 'Stand off from water-pit and say why this\n     persistency.'\nRained tear-pearls her Narcissus-eyes, and rose on cheek belit *\n     She made my sherbet, and the lote with bits of hail she\n     bit.\"[FN#196]\n\nAnd when his recital was ended he said, \"O Abu al-Hasan, I am smitten\nwith an affliction from which I deemed myself in perfect surety, and\nthere is no greater ease for me than death.\" Replied he, \"Be patient,\nhaply Allah will heal thee!\" Then he went out from him and repairing to\nhis shop opened it, nor had he sat long, when suddenly up came the\nhandmaid who saluted him. He returned her salam and looking at her, saw\nthat her heart was palpitating and that she was in sore trouble and\nshowed signs of great affliction: so he said to her, \"Thou art welcome\nand well come! How is it with Shams al-Nahar?\" She answered, \"I will\npresently tell thee, but first let me know how doth Ali bin Bakkar.\" So\nhe told her all that had passed and how his case stood, whereat she\ngrieved and sighed and lamented and marvelled at his condition. Then\nsaid she, \"My lady's case is still stranger than this; for when you\nwent away and fared homewards, I turned back, my heart beating hard on\nyour account and hardly crediting your escape. On entering I found her\nlying prostrate in the pavilion, speaking not nor answering any, whilst\nthe Commander of the Faithful sat by her head not knowing what ailed\nher and finding none who could make known to him aught of her ailment.\nShe ceased not from her swoon till midnight, when she recovered and the\nPrince of the Faithful said to her, 'What harm hath happened to thee, O\nShams al-Nahar, and what hath befallen thee this night?' Now when she\nheard the Caliph's words she kissed his feet and said, 'Allah make me\nthy ransom, O Prince of True Believers! Verily a sourness of stomach\nlighted a fire in my body, so that I lost my senses for excess of pain,\nand I know no more of my condition.' Asked the Caliph, 'What hast thou\neaten to-day?'; and she answered, 'I broke my fast on something I had\nnever tasted before.' Then she feigned to be recovered and calling for\na something of wine, drank it, and begged the Sovereign to resume his\ndiversion. So he sat down again on his couch in the pavilion and the\nsitting was resumed, but when she saw me, she asked me how you fared. I\ntold her what I had done with you both and repeated to her the verses\nwhich Ali bin Bakkar had composed at parting-tide, whereat she wept\nsecretly, but presently held her peace. After awhile, the Commander of\nthe Faithful ordered a damsel to sing, and she began reciting,\n\n     'Life has no sweet for me since forth ye fared; *\n          Would Heaven I wot how fare ye who forsake:\n     'Twere only fit my tears were tears of blood, *\n          Since you are weeping for mine absence sake.'\n\nBut when my lady heard this verse she fell back on the sofa in a\nswoon,\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Fifty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the slave-girl\ncontinued to Abu al-Hasan, \"But when my lady heard this verse, she fell\nback on the sofa in a swoon, and I seized her hand and sprinkled\nrose-water on her face, till she revived, when I said to her, 'O my\nlady, expose not thyself and all thy palace containeth. By the life of\nthy beloved, be thou patient!' She replied, 'Can aught befal me worse\nthan death which indeed I seek, for by Allah, my ease is therein?'\nWhilst we were thus talking, another damsel sang these words of the\npoet,\n\n     'Quoth they, 'Maybe that Patience lend thee ease!' *\n          Quoth I, 'Since fared he where is Patience' place?\n     Covenant he made 'twixt me and him, to cut *\n          The cords of Patience at our last embrace!'[FN#197]\n\nAnd as soon as she had finished her verse Shams al-Nahar swooned away\nonce more, which when the Caliph saw, he came to her in haste and\ncommanded the wine to be removed and each damsel to return to her\nchamber. He abode with her the rest of the night, and when dawned the\nday, he sent for chirurgeons and leaches and bade them medicine her,\nknowing not that her sickness arose from love and longing. I tarried\nwith her till I deemed her in a way of recovery, and this is what kept\nme from thee. I have now left her with a number of her body-women, who\nwere greatly concerned for her, when she bade me go to you two and\nbring her news of Ali bin Bakkar and return to her with the tidings.\"\nWhen Abu al-Hasan heard her story, he marvelled and said, \"By Allah, I\nhave acquainted thee with his whole case; so now return to thy\nmistress; and salute her for me and diligently exhort her to have\npatience and say to her, 'Keep thy secret!'; and tell her that I know\nall her case which is indeed hard and one which calleth for nice\nconduct.\" She thanked him and taking leave of him, returned to her\nmistress. So far concerning her; but as regards Abu al-Hasan, he ceased\nnot to abide in his shop till the end of the day, when he arose and\nshut it and locked it and betaking himself to Ali bin Bakkar's house\nknocked at the door. One of the servants came out and admitted him; and\nwhen Ali saw him, he smiled and congratulated himself on his coming,\nsaying, \"O Abu al-Hasan, thou hast desolated me by thine absence this\nday; for indeed my soul is pledged to thee during the rest of my time.\"\nAnswered the other, \"Leave this talk! Were thy healing at the price of\nmy hand, I would cut it off ere thou couldst ask me; and, could I\nransom thee with my life, I had already laid it down for thee. Now this\nvery day, Shams al-Nahar's handmaid hath been with me and told me that\nwhat hindered her coming ere this was the Caliph's sojourn with her\nmistress; and she acquainted me with everything which had betided her.\"\nAnd he went on to repeat to him all that the girl had told him of Shams\nal-Nahar; at which Ali bin Bakkar lamented sore and wept and said to\nhim, \"Allah upon thee, O my brother, help me in this affliction and\nteach me what course I shall take. Moreover, I beg thee of thy grace to\nabide with me this night, that I may have the solace of thy society.\"\nAbu al-Hasan agreed to this request, replying that he would readily\nnight there; so they talked together till even-tide darkened, when Ali\nbin Bakkar groaned aloud and lamented and wept copious tears, reciting\nthese couplets,\n\n     \"Thine image in these eyne, a-lip thy name, *\n          My heart thy home; how couldst thou disappear?\n     How sore I grieve for life which comes to end, *\n          Nor see I boon of union far or near.\"\n\nAnd these the words of another,\n\n\"She split my casque of courage with eye-swords that sorely\n     smite; * She pierced my patience' ring-mail with her shape\n     like cane-spear light:\nPatched by the musky mole on cheek was to our sight displayed *\n     Camphor set round with ambergris, light dawning through the\n     night.[FN#198]\nHer soul was sorrowed and she bit carnelion stone with pearls *\n     Whose unions in a sugared tank ever to lurk unite:[FN#199]\nRestless she sighed and smote with palm the snows that clothe her\n     breast, * And left a mark whereon I looked and ne'er beheld\n     such sight,\nPens, fashioned of her coral nails with ambergris for ink, *\n     Five lines on crystal page of breast did cruelly indite:\nO swordsmen armed with trusty steel! I bid you all beware *\n     When she on you bends deadly glance which fascinates the\n     sprite:\nAnd guard thyself, O thou of spear! whenas she draweth near *\n     To tilt with slender quivering shape, likest the nut-brown\n     spear.\"\n\nAnd when Ali bin Bakkar ended his verse, he cried out with a great cry\nand fell down in a fit. Abu al-Hasan thought that his soul had fled his\nbody and he ceased not from his swoon till day- break, when he came to\nhimself and talked with his friend, who continued to sit with him till\nthe forenoon. Then he left him and repaired to his shop; and hardly had\nhe opened it, when lo! the damsel came and stood by his side. As soon\nas he saw her, she made him a sign of salutation which he returned; and\nshe delivered to him the greeting message of her mistress and asked,\n\"How doth Ali bin Bakkar?\" Answered he, \"O handmaid of good, ask me not\nof his case nor what he suffereth for excess of love-longing; he\nsleepeth not by night neither resteth he by day; wakefulness wasteth\nhim and care hath conquered him and his condition is a consternation to\nhis friend.\" Quoth she, \"My lady saluteth thee and him, and she hath\nwritten him a letter, for indeed she is in worse case than he; and she\nentrusted the same to me, saying, 'Do not return save with the answer;\nand do thou obey my bidding.' Here now is the letter, so say, wilt thou\nwend with me to him that we may get his reply?\" \"I hear and obey,\"\nanswered Abu al-Hasan, and locking his shop and taking with him the\ngirl he went, by a way different from that whereby he came, to Ali bin\nBakkar's house, where he left her standing at the door and walked\nin.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu al-Hasan went\nwith the girl to the house of Ali son of Bakkar, where he left her\nstanding at the door and walked in to his great joy. And Abu al-Hasan\nsaid to him, \"The reason of my coming is that such an one hath sent his\nhandmaid to thee with a letter, containing his greeting to thee and\nmentioning therein that the cause of his not coming to thee was a\nmatter that hath betided him. The girl standeth even now at the door:\nshall she have leave to enter?\"; and he signed to him that it was Shams\nal-Nahar's slave-girl. Ali understood his signal and answered, \"Bring\nher in,\" and when he saw her, he shook for joy and signed to her, \"How\ndoth thy lord?; Allah grant him health and healing!\" \"He is well,\"\nanswered she and pulling out the letter gave it to him. He took it and\nkissing it, opened and read it; after which he handed it to Abu\nal-Hasan, who found these verses written therein,\n\n     \"This messenger shall give my news to thee; *\n          Patience what while my sight thou canst not see:\n     A lover leav'st in love's insanity, *\n          Whose eyne abide on wake incessantly:\n     I suffer patience-pangs in woes that none *\n          Of men can medicine;\u2014such my destiny!\n     Keep cool thine eyes; ne'er shall my heart forget, *\n          Nor without dream of thee one day shall be.\n     Look what befel thy wasted frame, and thence *\n          Argue what I am doomed for love to dree!\n\n\"And afterwards[FN#200]: Without fingers[FN#201] I have written to\nthee, and without tongue I have spoken to thee * to resume my case, I\nhave an eye wherefrom sleeplessness departeth not * and a heart whence\nsorrowful thought stirreth not * It is with me as though health I had\nnever known * nor in sadness ever ceased to wone * nor spent an hour in\npleasant place * but it is as if I were made up of pine and of the pain\nof passion and chagrin * Sickness unceasingly troubleth * and my\nyearning ever redoubleth * desire still groweth * and longing in my\nheart still gloweth * I pray Allah to hasten our union * and dispel of\nmy mind the confusion * And I would fain thou favour me * with some\nwords of thine * that I may cheer my heart in pain and repine *\nMoreover, I would have thee put on a patience lief, until Allah\nvouchsafe relief * And His peace be with thee.\"[FN#202] When Ali bin\nBakkar had read this letter he said in weak accents and feeble voice,\n\"With what hand shall I write and with what tongue shall I make moan\nand lament? Indeed she addeth sickness to my sickness and draweth death\nupon my death!\" Then he sat up and taking in hand ink-case and paper,\nwrote the following reply, \"In the name of Allah, the Compassionating,\nthe Compassionate![FN#203] Thy letter hath reached me, O my lady, and\nhath given ease to a sprite worn out with passion and love-longing, and\nhath brought healing to a wounded heart cankered with languishment and\nsickness; for indeed I am become even as saith the poet,\n\n     'Straitened bosom; reveries dispread; *\n          Slumberless eyelids; body wearied;\n     Patience cut short; disunion longsomest; *\n          Reason deranged and heart whose life is fled!'\n\nAnd know that complaining is unavailing; but it easeth him whom\nlove-longing disordereth and separation destroyeth and, with repeating,\n'Union,' I keep myself comforted and how fine is the saying of the poet\nwho said,\n\n     'Did not in love-plight joys and sorrows meet, *\n          How would the message or the writ be sweet?'\"\n\nWhen he had made an end of this letter, he handed it to Abu al-Hasan,\nsaying, \"Read it and give it to the damsel.\" So he took it and read it\nand its words stirred his soul and its meaning wounded his vitals. Then\nhe committed it to the girl, and when she took it Ali bin Bakkar said\nto her, \"Salute thy lady for me and acquaint her with my love and\nlonging and how passion is blended with my flesh and my bones; and say\nto her that in very deed I need a woman who shall snatch me from the\nsea of destruction and save me from this dilemma; for of a truth\nFortune oppresseth me with her vicissitudes; and is there any helper to\nfree me from her turpitudes?\" And he wept and the damsel wept for his\nweeping. Then she took leave of him and went forth and Abu al-Hasan\nwent out with her and farewelled her. So she ganged her gait and he\nreturned to his shop, which he opened and sat down there, as was his\nwont;\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Fifty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu al-Hasan\nfarewelled the slave-girl and returned to his shop which he opened and\nsat down there according to his custom; but as he tarried, he found his\nheart oppressed and his breast straitened, and he was perplexed about\nhis case. So he ceased not from melancholy the rest of that day and\nnight, and on the morrow he betook himself to Ali bin Bakkar, with whom\nhe sat till the folk withdrew, when he asked him how he did. Ali began\nto complain of desire and to descant upon the longing and distraction\nwhich possessed him, and repeated these words of the poet.\n\n     \"Men have 'plained of pining before my time, *\n          Live and dead by parting been terrified:\n     But such feelings as those which my ribs immure *\n          I have never heard of, nor ever espied.\"\n\nAnd these of another poet,\n\n     \"I have borne for thy love what never bore *\n          For his fair, Kays the 'Daft one'[FN#204] hight of old:\n     Yet I chase not the wildlings of wold and wild *\n          Like Kays, for madness is manifold.\"\n\nThereupon quoth Abu al-Hasan, \"Never did I see or hear of one like unto\nthee in thy love! When thou sufferest all this transport and sickness\nand trouble being enamoured of one who returneth thy passion, how would\nit be with thee if she whom thou lovest were contrary and contumelious,\nand thy case were discovered through her perfidy?\" \"And Ali the son of\nBakkar\" (says Abu al-Hasan) \"was pleased with my words and he relied\nupon them and he thanked me for what I had said and done. I had a\nfriend\" (continued Abu al-Hasan), \"to whom I discovered my affair and\nthat of Ali and who knew that we were intimates; but none other than he\nwas acquainted with what was betwixt us. He was wont to come to me and\nenquire how Ali did and after a little, he began to ask me about the\ndamsel; but I fenced him off, saying, 'She invited him to her and there\nwas between him and her as much as can possibly take place, and this is\nthe end of their affair; but I have devised me a plan and an idea which\nI would submit to thee.'\" Asked his friend, \"And what is that?\"\nAnswered Abu al-Hasan, \"I am a person well known to have much dealing\namong men and women, and I fear, O my brother, lest the affair of these\ntwain come to light and this lead to my death and the seizure of my\ngoods and the rending of my repute and that of my family. Wherefore I\nhave resolved to get together my monies and make ready forthright and\nrepair to the city of Bassorah and there abide, till I see what cometh\nof their case, that none may know of me; for love hath lorded over both\nand correspondence passeth between them. At this present their\ngo-between and confidante is a slave-girl who hath till now kept their\ncounsel, but I fear lest haply anxiety get the better of her and she\ndiscover their secret to some one and the matter, being bruited abroad,\nmight bring me to great grief and prove the cause of my ruin; for I\nhave no excuse to offer my accusers.\" Rejoined his friend, \"Thou hast\nacquainted me with a parlous affair, from the like of which the wise\nand understanding will shrink with fear. Allah avert from thee the evil\nthou dreadest with such dread and save thee from the consequences thou\napprehendest! Assuredly thy recking is aright.\" So Abu al-Hasan\nreturned to his place and began ordering his affairs and preparing for\nhis travel; nor had three days passed ere he made an end of his\nbusiness and fared forth Bassorah-wards. His friend came to visit him\nthree days after but finding him not, asked of him from the neighbours\nwho answered, \"He set out for Bassorah three days ago, for he had\ndealings with its merchants and he is gone thither to collect monies\nfrom his debtors; but he will soon return.\" The young man was\nconfounded at the news and knew not whither to wend; and he said in his\nmind, \"Would I had not parted from Abu al-Hasan!\" Then he bethought him\nof some plan whereby he should gain access to Ali bin Bakkar; so he\nwent to his lodging, and said to one of his servants, \"Ask leave for me\nof thy lord that I may go in and salute him.\" The servant entered and\ntold his master and presently returning, invited the man to walk in. So\nhe entered and found Ali bin Bakkar thrown back on the pillow and\nsaluted him. Ali returned his greeting and bade him welcome; whereupon\nthe young man began to excuse himself for having held aloof from him\nall that while and added, \"O my lord, between Abu al-Hasan and myself\nthere was close friendship, so that I used to trust him with my secrets\nand could not sever myself from him an hour. Now it so chanced that I\nwas absent three days' space on certain business with a company of my\nfriends; and, when I came back and went to him, I found his shop locked\nup; so I asked the neighbours about him and they replied, 'He is gone\nto Bassorah.' Now I know he had no surer friend than thou; so, by\nAllah, tell me what thou knowest of him.\" When Ali bin Bakkar heard\nthis, his colour changed and he was troubled and answered, \"I never\nheard till this day of his departure and, if the case be as thou\nsayest, weariness is come upon me.\" And he began repeating,\n\n     \"For joys that are no more I wont to weep, *\n          While friends and lovers stood by me unscattered;\n     This day when disunited me and them *\n          Fortune, I weep lost loves and friendship shattered.\"\n\nThen he hung his head ground-wards in thought awhile and presently\nraising it and looking to one of his servants, said, \"Go to Abu\nal-Hasan's house and enquire anent him whether he be at home or\njourneying abroad. If they say, 'He is abroad'; ask whither he be\ngone.\" The servant went out and returning after a while said to his\nmaster, \"When I asked for Abu al-Hasan, his people told me that he was\ngone on a journey to Bassorah; but I saw a damsel standing at the door\nwho, knowing me by sight, though I knew her not, said to me, 'Art thou\nnot servant to Ali bin Bakkar?' 'Even so,' answered I; and she\nrejoined, 'I bear a message for him from one who is the dearest of all\nfolk to him.' So she came with me and she is now standing at the door.\"\nQuoth Ali bin Bakkar, \"Bring her in.\" The servant went out to her and\nbrought her in, and the man who was with Ali looked at her and found\nher pretty. Then she advanced to the son of Bakkar and saluted him.\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted\nsay,\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Sixtieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the\nslave-girl came in to Ali bin Bakkar, she advanced to him and saluted\nhim and spake with him secretly; and from time to time during the\ndialogue he exclaimed with an oath and swore that he had not talked and\ntattled of it. Then she took leave of him and went away. Now Abu\nal-Hasan's friend was a jeweller,[FN#205] and when she was gone, he\nfound a place for speech and said to Ali bin Bakkar, \"Doubtless and\nassuredly the Caliph's household have some demand upon thee or thou\nhast dealings therewith?\" \"Who told thee of this?\" asked Ali; and the\njeweller answered, \"I know it by yonder damsel who is Shams al-Nahar's\nslave-girl; for she came to me a while since with a note wherein was\nwritten that she wanted a necklace of jewels; and I sent her a costly\ncollar.\" But when Ali bin Bakkar heard this, he was greatly troubled,\nso that the jeweller feared to see him give up the ghost, yet after a\nwhile he recovered himself and said, \"O my brother, I conjure thee by\nAllah to tell me truly how thou knowest her.\" Replied he, \"Do not press\nthis question upon me;\" and Ali rejoined, \"Indeed, I will not turn from\nthee till thou tell me the whole truth.\" Quoth the jeweller, \"I will\ntell thee all, on condition that thou distrust me not, and that my\nwords cause thee no restraint; nor will I conceal aught from thee by\nway of secret but will discover to thee the truth of the affair,\nprovided that thou acquaint me with the true state of thy case and the\ncause of thy sickness.\" Then he told him all that had passed from first\nto last between Abu al-Hasan and himself, adding, \"I acted thus only\nout of friendship for thee and of my desire to serve thee;\" and assured\nhim that he would keep his secret and venture life and good in his\nservice. So Ali in turn told him his story and added, \"By Allah, O my\nbrother, naught moved me to keep my case secret from thee and from\nothers but my fear lest folk should lift the veils of protection from\ncertain persons.\" Rejoined the jeweller, \"And I desired not to\nforegather with thee but of the great affection I bear thee and my zeal\nfor thee in every case, and my compassion for the anguish thy heart\nendureth from severance. Haply I may be a comforter to thee in the room\nof my friend, Abu al-Hasan, during the length of his absence: so be\nthou of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool and clear.\" Thereupon Ali\nthanked him and repeated these couplets,\n\n     \"An say I, 'Patient I can bear his faring,' *\n          My tears and sighings give my say the lie;\n     How can I hide these tears that course adown *\n          This plain, my cheek, for friend too fain to fly?\"\n\nThen he was silent awhile, and presently said to the jeweller \"Knowest\nthou what secret the girl whispered to me?\" Answered he, \"Not I, by\nAllah, O my lord!\" Quoth Ali, \"She fancied that I directed Abu al-Hasan\nto go to Bassorah and that I had devised this device to put a stop to\nour correspondence and consorting. I swore to her that this was on\nnowise so; but she would not credit me and went away to her mistress,\npersisting in her injurious suspicions; for she inclined to Abu\nal-Hasan and gave ear to his word.\" Answered the young jeweller, \"O my\nbrother, I understood as much from the girl's manner; but I will win\nfor thee thy wish, Inshallah!\" Rejoined Ali bin Bakkar, \"Who can be\nwith me in this and how wilt thou do with her, when she shies and flies\nlike a wildling of the wold?\" Cried the jeweller \"By Allah, needs must\nI do my utmost to help thee and contrive to scrape acquaintance with\nher without exposure or mischief!\" Then he asked leave to depart and\nAli bin Bakkar said, \"O my brother, mind thou keep my counsel;\" and he\nlooked at him and wept. The jeweller bade him good-bye and fared\nforth.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Sixty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the jeweller bade\nhim good-bye and fared forth not knowing what he should do to win for\nhim his wishes; and he ceased not walking, while over-musing the\nmatter, till he spied a letter lying in the road. He took it up and\nlooked at its direction and superscription, then read it and behold, it\nran:\u2014\"From the least worthy of lovers to the most worthy of beloveds.\"\nSo he opened it and found these words written therein,\n\n\"A messenger from thee came bringing union-hope, *\n     But that he erred somehow with me the thought prevailed;\nSo I rejoiced not; rather grew my grief still more; *\n     Weeting my messenger of wits and wit had failed.\n\n\"But afterwards: Know, O my lord! that I ken not the reason why our\ncorrespondence between thee and me hath been broken off: but, if the\ncruelty arise from thy part, I will requite it with fidelity, and if\nthy love have departed, I will remain constant to my love of the\nparted, for I am with thee even as says the poet,\n\n'Be proud; I'll crouch! Bully; I'll bear! Despise; I'll pray! *\n     Go; I will come! Speak; I will hear! Bid; I'll obey!'\"\n\nAs he was reading lo! up came the slave-girl, looking right and left,\nand seeing the paper in the jeweller's hand, said to him, \"O my master,\nthis letter is one I let fall.\" He made her no answer, but walked on,\nand she walked behind him, till he came to his house, when he entered\nand she after him, saying, \"O my master, give me back this letter, for\nit fell from me.\" Thereon he turned to her and said, \"O handmaid of\ngood, fear not neither grieve, for verily Allah the Protector loveth\nthose who protect; but tell me in truthful way thy case, as I am one\nwho keepeth counsel. I conjure thee by an oath not to hide from me\naught of thy lady's affairs; for haply Allah shall help me to further\nher wishes and make easy by my hand that which is hard.\" When the\nslave-girl heard these words she said, \"O my lord, indeed a secret is\nnot lost whereof thou art the secretist; nor shall any affair come to\nnaught for which thou strivest. Know that my heart inclineth to thee\nand would interest thee with my tidings, but do thou give me the\nletter.\" Then she told him the whole story, adding, \"Allah is witness\nto whatso I say.\" Quoth he, \"Thou hast spoken truly, for I am\nacquainted with the root of the matter.\" Then he told her his tale of\nAli bin Bakkar and how he had learned his state of mind; and related to\nher all that had passed from first to last, whereat she rejoiced; and\nthey two agreed that she should take the letter and carry it to Ali and\nreturn and acquaint the jeweller with all that happened. So he gave her\nthe letter and she took it and sealed it up as it was before, saying,\n\"My mistress Shams al-Nahar gave it to me sealed; and when he hath read\nit and given me its reply, I will bring it to thee.\" Then she took\nleave and repaired to Ali bin Bakkar, whom she found waiting, and gave\nhim the letter. He read it and writing a paper by way of reply, gave it\nto her; and she carried it to the jeweller, who tore asunder the\nseal[FN#206] and read it and found written therein these two couplets,\n\n\"The messenger, who kept our commerce hid, *\n     Hath failed, and showeth wrath without disguise;[FN#207]\nChoose one more leal from your many friends *\n     Who, truth approving, disapproves of lies.\n\n\"To proceed: Verily, I have not entered upon perfidy * nor have I\nabandoned fidelity * I have not used cruelty * neither have I out off\nlealty * no covenant hath been broken by me * nor hath love-tie been\nsevered by me * I have not parted from penitence * nor have I found\naught but misery and ruin after severance * I know nothing of that thou\navouchest * nor do I love aught but that which thou lovest * By Him who\nknoweth the secret of hidden things none discover *I have no desire\nsave union with my lover * and my one business is my passion to conceal\n* albeit with sore sickness I ail. * This is the exposition of my case\nand now all hail!\" When the jeweller read this letter and learnt its\ncontents he wept with sore weeping, and the slave-girl said to him,\n\"Leave not this place till I return to thee; for he suspecteth me of\nsuch and such things, in which he is excusable; so it is my desire to\nbring about a meeting between thee and my mistress, Shams al-Nahar,\nhowsoever I may trick you to it. For the present I left her prostrate,\nawaiting my return with the reply.\" Then she went away and the jeweller\npassed the night with a troubled mind. And when day dawned he prayed\nhis dawn-prayer and sat expecting the girl's coming; and behold, she\ncame in to him rejoicing with much joy and he asked her, \"What news, O\ndamsel?\" She answered, \"After leaving thee I went to my mistress and\ngave her the letter written by Ali bin Bakkar; and, when she read it\nand understood it, she was troubled and confounded; but I said to her,\n'O my lady, have no fear of your affair being frustrated by Abu\nal-Hasan's disappearance, for I have found one to take his place,\nbetter than he and more of worth and a good man to keep secrets.' Then\nI told her what was between thyself and Abu al-Hasan and how thou\ncamest by his confidence and that of Ali bin Bakkar and how that note\nwas dropped and thou camest by it; and I also showed her how we\narranged matters betwixt me and thee.\" The jeweller marvelled with much\nwonder, when she resumed, \"And now my mistress would hear whatso thou\nsayest, that she may be assured by thy speech of the covenants between\nthee and him; so get thee ready to go with me to her forthwith.\" When\nthe jeweller heard the slave-girl's words, he saw that the proposed\naffair was grave and a great peril to brave, not lightly to be\nundertaken or suddenly entered upon, and he said to her, \"O my sister,\nverily, I am of the ordinary and not like unto Abu al-Hasan; for he\nbeing of high rank and of well-known repute, was wont to frequent the\nCaliph's household, because of their need of his merchandise. As for\nme, he used to talk with me and I trembled before him the while. So, if\nthy mistress would speak with me, our meeting must be in some place\nother than the Caliph's palace and far from the abode of the Commander\nof the Faithful; for my common sense will not let me consent to what\nthou proposest.\" On this wise he refused to go with her and she went on\nto say that she would be surety for his safety, adding, \"Take heart and\nfear no harm!\" and pressed him to courage till he consented to\naccompany her; withal, his legs bent and shivered and his hands\nquivered and he exclaimed, \"Allah forbid that I should go with thee!\nIndeed, I have not strength to do this thing!\" Replied she, \"Hearten\nthy heart, if it be hard for thee to go to the Caliph's palace and thou\ncanst not muster up courage to accompany me, I will make her come to\nthee; so budge not from thy place till I return to thee with her.\" Then\nthe slave-girl went away and was absent for a while, but a short while,\nafter which she returned to the jeweller and said to him, \"Take thou\ncare that there be with thee none save thyself, neither man-slave nor\ngirl-slave.\" Quoth he, \"I have but a negress, who is in years and who\nwaiteth on me.\"[FN#208] So she arose and locked the door between his\nnegress and the jeweller and sent his man-servants out of the place;\nafter which she fared forth and presently returned, followed by a lady\nwho, entering the house, filled it with the sweet scent of her\nperfumes. When the jeweller saw her, he sprang up and set her a couch\nand a cushion; and she sat down while he seated himself before her. She\nabode awhile without speaking till she had rested herself, when she\nunveiled her face and it seemed to the jeweller's fancy as if the sun\nhad risen in his home. Then she asked her slave-girl, \"Is this the man\nof whom thou spakest to me?\" \"Yes,\" answered she; whereupon the lady\nturned to the jeweller and said to him, \"How is it with thee?\" Replied\nhe, \"Right well! I pray Allah for thy preservation and that of the\nCommander of the Faithful.\" Quoth she, \"Thou hast moved us to come to\nthee and possess thee with what we hold secret.\" Then she questioned\nhim of his household and family; and he disclosed to her all his\ncircumstance and his condition and said to her, \"I have a house other\nthan this; and I have set it apart for gathering together my friends\nand brethren; and there is none there save the old negress, of whom I\nspoke to thy handmaid.\" She asked him on what wise he came first to\nknow how the affair began and the matter of Abu al-Hasan and the cause\nof his way-faring: accordingly he told her all he knew and how he had\nadvised the journey. Thereupon she bewailed the loss of Abu al-Hasan\nand said to the jeweller, \"Know, O such an one,[FN#209] that men's\nsouls are active in their lusts and that men are still men; and that\ndeeds are not done without words nor is end ever reached without\nendeavour. Rest is won only by work.\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Sixty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Shams al-Nahar\nthus addressed the jeweller, \"Rest is gained only by work and success\nis gendered only by help of the generous. Now I have acquainted thee\nwith our affair and it is in thy hand to expose us or to shield us; I\nsay no more, because thy generosity requireth naught. Thou knowest that\nthis my handmaiden keepeth my counsel and therefore occupieth high\nplace in my favour; and I have selected her to transact my affairs of\nimportance. So let none be worthier in thy sight than she and acquaint\nher with thine affair; and be of good cheer, for on her account thou\nart safe from all fear, and there is no place shut upon thee but she\nshall open it to thee. She shall bring thee my messages to Ali bin\nBakkar and thou shalt be our intermediary.\" So saying, she rose,\nscarcely able to rise, and fared forth, the jeweller faring before her\nto the door of her house, after which he returned and sat down again in\nhis place, having seen of her beauty and heard of her speech what\ndazzled him and dazed his wit, and having witnessed of her grace and\ncourtesy what bewitched his sprite. He sat musing on her perfections\ntill his mind waxed tranquil, when he called for food and ate enough to\nkeep soul and body together. Then he changed his clothes and went out;\nand, repairing to the house of the youth Ali bin Bakkar, knocked at the\ndoor. The servants hastened to admit him and walked before him till\nthey had brought him to their master, whom he found strown upon his\nbed. Now when he saw the jeweller, he said to him, \"Thou hast tarried\nlong from me, and that hath heaped care upon my care.\" Then he\ndismissed his servants and bade the doors be shut; after which he said\nto the jeweller, \"By Allah, O my brother, I have not closed my eyes\nsince the day I saw thee last; for the slave-girl came to me yesterday\nwith a sealed letter from her mistress Shams al-Nahar;\" and went on to\ntell him all that had passed with her, adding, \"By the Lord, I am\nindeed perplexed concerning mine affair and my patience faileth me: for\nAbu al-Hasan was a comforter who cheered me because he knew the\nslave-girl.\" When the jeweller heard his words, he laughed; and Ali\nsaid, \"Why dost thou laugh at my words, thou on whose coming I\ncongratulated myself and to whom I looked for provision against the\nshifts of fortune?\" Then he sighed and wept and repeated these\ncouplets,[FN#210]\n\n     \"Full many laugh at tears they see me shed *\n          Who had shed tears an bore they what I bore;\n     None feeleth pity for th' afflicted's woe, *\n          Save one as anxious and in woe galore:\n     My passion, yearning, sighing, thought, repine *\n          Are for me cornered in my heart's deep core:\n     He made a home there which he never quits, *\n          Yet rare our meetings, not as heretofore:\n     No friend to stablish in his place I see; *\n          No intimate but only he and \u2014he.\"\n\nNow when the jeweller heard these lines and understood their\nsignificance, he wept also and told him all that had passed betwixt\nhimself and the slave-girl and her mistress since he left him. And Ali\nbin Bakkar gave ear to his speech, and at every word he heard his\ncolour shifted from white to red and his body grew now stronger and\nthen weaker till the tale came to an end, when he wept and said, \"O my\nbrother, I am a lost man in any case: would mine end were nigh, that I\nmight be at rest from all this! But I beg thee, of thy favour, to be my\nhelper and comforter in all my affairs till Allah fulfil whatso be His\nwill; and I will not gainsay thee with a single word.\" Quoth the\njeweller, \"Nothing will quench thy fire save union with her whom thou\nlovest; and the meeting must be in other than this perilous place.\nBetter it were in a house of mine where the girl and her mistress met\nme; which place she chose for herself, to the intent that ye twain may\nthere meet and complain each to other of what you have suffered from\nthe pangs of love.\" Quoth Ali bin Bakkar, \"O good Sir, do as thou wilt\nand with Allah be thy reward!; and what thou deemest is right do it\nforthright: but be not long in doing it, lest I perish of this\nanguish.\" \"So I abode with him (said the jeweller) that night\nconversing with him till the morning morrowed,\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Sixty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the jeweller\ncontinued:\u2014\"So I abode with him that night conversing with him till the\nmorning morrowed, when I prayed the dawn-prayers and, going out from\nhim, returned to my house. Hardly had I settled down when the damsel\ncame up and saluted me; and I returned her salutation and told her what\nhad passed between myself and Ali bin Bakkar, and she said, 'Know that\nthe Caliph hath left us and there is no one in our place and it is\nsafer for us and better.' Replied I, 'Sooth thou sayest; yet is it not\nlike my other house which is both fitter and surer for us;' and the\nslave-girl rejoined 'Be it as thou seest fit. I am now going to my lady\nand will tell her what thou sayest and acquaint her with all thou hast\nmentioned.' So she went away and sought her mistress and laid the\nproject before her, and presently returned and said to me, 'It is to be\nas thou sayest: so make us ready the place and expect us.' Then she\ntook out of her breast-pocket a purse of dinars and gave this message,\n'My lady saluteth thee and saith to thee, 'Take this and provide\ntherewith what the case requireth.' But I swore that I would accept\nnaught of it; so she took the purse and returning to her mistress, told\nher, 'He would not receive the money, but gave it back to me.' 'No\nmatter,' answered Shams al-Nahar. As soon as the slave-girl was gone\"\n(continued the jeweller), \"I arose and betook myself to my other house\nand transported thither all that was needful, by way of vessels and\nfurniture and rich carpets; and I did not forget china vases and cups\nof glass and gold and silver; and I made ready meat and drink required\nfor the occasion. When the damsel came and saw what I had done, it\npleased her and she bade me fetch Ali bin Bakkar; but I said, 'None\nshall bring him save thou.' Accordingly she went to him and brought him\nback perfectly dressed and looking his best. I met him and greeted him\nand then seated him upon a divan befitting his condition, and set\nbefore him sweet-scented flowers in vases of china and vari-coloured\nglass.[FN#211] Then I set on a tray of many-tinted meats such as\nbroaden the breast with their sight, and sat talking with him and\ndiverting him, whilst the slave-girl went away and was absent till\nafter sundown-prayers, when she returned with Shams al-Nahar, attended\nby two maids and none else. Now as soon as she saw Ali bin Bakkar and\nhe saw her, he rose and embraced her, and she on her side embraced him\nand both fell in a fit to the ground. They lay for a whole hour\ninsensible; then, coming to themselves, they began mutually to complain\nof the pains of separation. Thereupon they drew near to each other and\nsat talking charmingly, softly, tenderly; after which they somewhat\nperfumed themselves and fell to thanking me for what I had done for\nthem. Quoth I, 'Have ye a mind for food?' 'Yes,' quoth they. So I set\nbefore them a small matter of food and they ate till they were\nsatisfied and then washed their hands; after which I led them to\nanother sitting-room and brought them wine. So they drank and drank\ndeep and inclined to each other; and presently Shams al-Nahar said to\nme, 'O my master, complete thy kindness by bringing us a lute or other\ninstrument of mirth and music that the measure of our joy may be fully\nfilled.' I replied, 'On my head and eyes!' and rising brought her a\nlute, which she took and tuned; then laying it in her lap she touched\nit with a masterly touch, at once exciting to sadness and changing\nsorrow to gladness; after which she sang these two couplets,\n\n     'My sleeplessness would show I love to bide on wake; *\n          And would my leanness prove that sickness is my make:\n     And tear-floods course adown the cheeks they only scald; *\n          Would I knew union shall disunion overtake!'\n\nThen she went on to sing the choicest and most affecting poesy to many\nand various modes, till our senses were bewitched and the very room\ndanced with excess of delight and surprise at her sweet singing; and\nneither thought nor reason was left in us. When we had sat awhile and\nthe cup had gone round amongst us, the damsel took the lute and sang to\na lively measure these couplets,\n\nMy love a meeting promised me and kept it faithfully, *\n     One night as many I shall count in number and degree:\nO Night of joyance Fate vouchsafed to faithful lovers tway, *\n     Uncaring for the railer loon and all his company!\nMy lover lay the Night with me and clipt me with his right, *\n     While I with left embraced him, a-faint for ecstasy;\nAnd hugged him to my breast and sucked the sweet wine of his\n     lips, * Full savouring the honey-draught the honey-man sold\n     to me.'\n\nWhilst we were thus drowned in the sea of gladness\" (continued the\njeweller) \"behold, there came in to us a little maid trembling and\nsaid, 'O my lady, look how you may go away for the folk have found you\nout and have surrounded the house; and we know not the cause of this!'\nWhen I heard her words, I arose startled and lo! in rushed a slave-girl\nwho cried, 'Calamity hath come upon you.' At the same moment the door\nwas burst open and there rushed in upon us ten men masked in kerchiefs\nwith hangers in their hands and swords by their sides, and as many more\nbehind them. When I saw this, the world was straitened on me for all\nits wideness, and I looked to the door but saw no issue; so I sprang\nfrom the terrace into the house of one of my neighbours and there hid\nmyself. Thence I found that folk had entered my lodgings and were\nmaking a mighty hubbub; and I concluded that the Caliph had got wind of\nus and had sent his Chief of the Watch to seize us and bring us before\nhim. So I abode confounded and ceased not remaining in my place,\nwithout any possibility of quitting it till midnight. And presently the\nhouse-master arose, for he had heard me moving, and he feared with\nexceeding great fear of me; so he came forth from his room with drawn\nbrand in hand and made at me, saying, 'Who is this in my house?' Quoth\nI, 'I am thy neighbour the jeweller;' and he knew me and retired. Then\nhe fetched a light and coming up to me, said, 'O my brother, indeed\nthat which hath befallen thee this night is no light matter to me.' I\nreplied, 'O my brother, tell me who was in my house and entered it\nbreaking in my door; for I fled to thee not knowing what was to do.' He\nanswered, 'Of a truth the robbers who attacked our neighbours yesterday\nand slew such an one and took his goods, saw thee on the same day\nbringing furniture into this house; so they broke in upon thee and\nstole thy goods and slew thy guests.' Then we arose\" (pursued the\njeweller), \"I and he, and repaired to my house, which we found empty\nwithout a stick remaining in it; so I was confounded at the case and\nsaid to myself, 'As for the gear I care naught about its loss, albeit I\nborrowed part of the stuff from my friends and it hath come to grief;\nyet is there no harm in that, for they know my excuse in the plunder of\nmy property and the pillage of my place. But as for Ali bin Bakkar and\nthe Caliph's favourite concubine, I fear lest their case get bruited\nabroad and this cause the loss of my life.' So I turned to my neighbour\nand said to him, 'Thou art my brother and my neighbour and wilt cover\nmy nakedness; what then dost thou advise me to do?' The man answered,\n'What I counsel thee to do is to keep quiet and wait; for they who\nentered thy house and took thy goods have murdered the best men of a\nparty from the palace of the Caliphate and have killed not a few of the\nwatchmen: the government officers and guards are now in quest of them\non every road and haply they will hit upon them, whereby thy wish will\ncome about without effort of thine.'\" The jeweller hearing these words\nreturned to his other house, that wherein he dwelt,\u2014and Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the jeweller\nheard these words he returned to his other house wherein he dwelt, and\nsaid to himself, \"Indeed this that hath befallen me is what Abu\nal-Hasan feared and from which he fled to Bassorah. And now I have\nfallen into it.\" Presently the pillage of his pleasure-house was noised\nabroad among the folk, and they came to him from all sides and places,\nsome exulting in his misfortune and others excusing him and condoling\nwith his sorrow; whilst he bewailed himself to them and for grief\nneither ate meat nor drank drink. And as he sat, repenting him of what\nhe had done, behold one of his servants came in to him and said, \"There\nis a person at the door who asketh for thee; and I know him not.\" The\njeweller went forth to him and saluted him who was a stranger; and the\nman whispered to him, \"I have somewhat to say between our two selves.\"\nThereupon he brought him in and asked him, \"What hast thou to tell me?\"\nQuoth the man, \"Come with me to thine other house;\" and the jeweller\nenquired, \"Dost thou then know my other house?\" Replied the other, \"I\nknow all about thee and I know that also whereby Allah will dispel thy\ndolours.\" \"So I said to myself\" (continued the jeweller) \"'I will go\nwith him whither he will;' and went out and walked on till we came to\nmy second house; and when the man saw it he said to me, 'It is without\ndoor or doorkeeper, and we cannot possibly sit in it; so come thou with\nme to another place.' Then the man continued passing from stead to\nstead (and I with him) till night overtook us. Yet I put no question to\nhim of the matter in hand and we ceased not to walk on, till we reached\nthe open country. He kept saying, 'Follow me,' and quickened his pace\nto a trot, whilst I trotted after him heartening my heart to go on,\nuntil we reached the river, where he took boat with me, and the boatman\nrowed us over to the other bank. Then he landed from the boat and I\nlanded after him: and he took my hand and led me to a street which I\nhad never entered in all my days, nor do I know in what quarter it was.\nPresently the man stopped at the door of a house, and opening it\nentered and made me enter with him; after which he locked the door with\nan iron padlock,[FN#212] and led me along the vestibule, till he\nbrought me in the presence of ten men who were as though they were one\nand the same man; they being brothers. We saluted them\" (continued the\njeweller) \"and they returned our greeting and bade us be seated; so we\nsat down. Now I was like to die for excess of weariness; but they\nbrought me rose-water and sprinkled it on my face; after which they\ngave me a sherbet to drink and set before me food whereof some of them\nate with me. Quoth I to myself, 'Were there aught harmful in the food,\nthey would not eat with me.' So I ate, and when we had washed our\nhands, each of us returned to his place. Then they asked me, 'Dost thou\nknow us?' and I answered, 'No! nor in my life have I ever seen you;\nnay, I know not even him who brought me hither.' Said they, 'Tell us\nthy tidings and lie not at all.' Replied I, 'Know then that my case is\nwondrous and my affair marvellous; but wot ye anything about me?' They\nrejoined, 'Yes! it was we took thy goods yesternight and carried off\nthy friend and her who was singing to him.' Quoth I, 'Allah let down\nHis veil over you! Where be my friend and she who was singing to him?'\nThey pointed with their hands to one side and replied, 'Yonder, but, by\nAllah, O our brother, the secret of their case is known to none save to\nthee, for from the time we brought the twain hither up to this day, we\nhave not looked upon them nor questioned them of their condition,\nseeing them to be persons of rank and dignity. Now this and this only\nit was that hindered our killing them: so tell us the truth of their\ncase and thou shalt be assured of thy safety and of theirs.' When I\nheard this\" (continued the jeweller) \"I almost died of fright and\nhorror, and I said to them, 'Know ye, O my brethren, that if generosity\nwere lost, it would not be found save with you; and had I a secret\nwhich I feared to reveal, none but your breasts would conceal it.' And\nI went on exaggerating their praises in this fashion, till I saw that\nfrankness and readiness to speak out would profit me more than\nconcealing facts; so I told them all that had betided me to the very\nend of the tale. When they heard it, they said, 'And is this young man\nAli Bakkar-son and this lady Shams al-Nahar?' I replied, 'Yes.' Now\nthis was grievous to them and they rose and made their excuses to the\ntwo and then they said to me, 'Of what we took from thy house part is\nspent, but here is what is left of it.' So speaking, they gave me back\nmost of my goods and they engaged to return them to their places in my\nhouse, and to restore me the rest as soon as they could. My heart was\nset at ease till they split into two parties, one with me and the other\nagainst me; and we fared forth from that house and such was my case.\nBut as regards Ali bin Bakkar and Shams al-Nahar; they were well-nigh\ndying for excess of fear, when I went up to them and saluting them,\nasked, 'What happened to the damsel and the two maids, and where be\nthey gone?', and they answered only, 'We know nothing of them.' Then we\nwalked on and stinted not till we came to the river-bank where the\nbarque lay; and we all boarded it, for it was the same which had\nbrought me over on the day before. The boatman rowed us to the other\nside; but hardly had we landed and taken seat on the bank to rest, when\na troop of horse swooped down on us like eagles and surrounded us on\nall sides and places, whereupon the robbers with us sprang up in haste\nlike vultures, and the boat put back for them and took them in and the\nboatman pushed off into mid-stream, leaving us on the river bank,\nunable to move or to stand still. Then the chief horseman said to us,\n'Whence be ye!'; and we were perplexed for an answer, but I said\"\n(continued the jeweller), \"'Those ye saw with us are rogues; we know\nthem not. As for us, we are singers, and they intended taking us to\nsing for them, nor could we get free of them, save by subtlety and soft\nwords; so on this occasion they let us go, their works being such as\nyou have seen.' But they looked at Shams al-Nahar and Ali bin Bakkar\nand said to me, 'Thou hast not spoken sooth but, if thy tale be true,\ntell us who ye are and whence ye are; and what be your place and in\nwhat quarter you dwell.' I knew not what to answer them, but Shams\nal-Nahar sprang up and approaching the Captain of the horsemen spoke\nwith him privily, whereupon he dismounted from his steed and, setting\nher on horse-back, took the bridle and began to lead his beast. And two\nof his men did the like with the youth, Ali bin Bakkar, and it was the\nsame with myself. The Commandant of the troop ceased not faring on with\nus, till they reached a certain part of the river bank, when he sang\nout in some barbarous jargon[FN#213] and there came to us a number of\nmen with two boats. Then the Captain embarked us in one of them (and he\nwith us) whilst the rest of his men put off in the other, and rowed on\nwith us till we arrived at the palace of the Caliphate where Shams\nal-Nahar landed. And all the while we endured the agonies of death for\nexcess of fear, and they ceased not faring till they came to a place\nwhence there was a way to our quarter. Here we landed and walked on,\nescorted by some of the horsemen, till we came to Ali bin Bakkar's\nhouse; and when we entered it, our escort took leave of us and went\ntheir way. We abode there, unable to stir from the place and not\nknowing the difference between morning and evening; and in such case we\ncontinued till the dawn of the next day. And when it was again\nnightfall, I came to myself and saw Ali bin Bakkar and the women and\nmen of his household weeping over him, for he was stretched out without\nsense or motion. Some of them came to me and thoroughly arousing me\nsaid, 'Tell us what hath befallen our son and say how came he in this\nplight?' Replied I, 'O folk, hearken to me!'\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the jeweller\nanswered them, \"'O folk, hearken to my words and give me no trouble and\nannoyance! but be patient and he will come to and tell you his tale for\nhimself.' And I was hard upon them and made them afraid of a scandal\nbetween me and them, but as we were thus, behold, Ali bin Bakkar moved\non his carpet-bed, whereat his friends rejoiced and the stranger folk\nwithdrew from him; but his people forbade me to go away. Then they\nsprinkled rose-water on his face and he presently revived and sensed\nthe air; whereupon they questioned him of his case, and he essayed to\nanswer them but his tongue could not speak forthright and he signed to\nthem to let me go home. So they let me go, and I went forth hardly\ncrediting my escape and returned to my own house, supported by two men.\nWhen my people saw me thus, they rose up and set to shrieking and\nslapping their faces; but I signed to them with my hand to be silent\nand they were silent. Then the two men went their way and I threw\nmyself down on my bed, where I lay the rest of the night and awoke not\ntill the forenoon, when I found my people gathered round me and saying,\n'What calamity befel thee, and what evil with its mischief did fell\nthee?' Quoth I 'Bring me somewhat to drink.' So they brought me drink,\nand I drank of it what I would and said to them, 'What happened,\nhappened.' Thereupon they went away and I made my excuses to my\nfriends, and asked if any of the goods that had been stolen from my\nother house had been returned. They answered, 'Yes! some of them have\ncome back; by token that a man entered and threw them down within the\ndoorway and we saw him not.' So I comforted myself and abode in my\nplace two days, unable to rise and leave it; and presently I took\ncourage and went to the bath, for I was worn out with fatigue and\ntroubled in mind for Ali bin Bakkar and Shams al-Nahar, because I had\nno news of them all this time and could neither get to Ali's house nor,\nout of fear for my life, take my rest in mine own. And I repented to\nAlmighty Allah of what I had done and praised Him for my safety.\nPresently my fancy suggested to me to go to such and such a place and\nsee the folk and solace myself; so I went on foot to the cloth-market\nand sat awhile with a friend of mine there. When I rose to go, I saw a\nwoman standing over against me; so I looked at her, and lo! it was\nShams al-Nahar's slave-girl. When I saw her, the world grew dark in my\neyes and I hurried on. She followed me, but I was seized with affright\nand fled from her, and whenever I looked at her, a trembling came upon\nme whilst she pursued me, saying. 'Stop, that I may tell thee\nsomewhat!' But I heeded her not and never ceased walking till I reached\na mosque, and she entered after me. I prayed a two-bow prayer, after\nwhich I turned to her and, sighing, said, 'What cost thou want?' She\nasked me how I did, and I told her all that had befallen myself and Ali\nbin Bakkar and besought her for news of herself. She answered, 'Know\nthat when I saw the robbers break open thy door and rush in, I was in\nsore terror, for I doubted not but that they were the Caliph's officers\nand would seize me and my mistress and we should perish forthwith: so\nwe fled over the roofs, I and the maids; and, casting ourselves down\nfrom a high place, came upon some people with whom we took refuge; and\nthey received us and brought us to the palace of the Caliphate, where\nwe arrived in the sorriest of plights. We concealed our case and abode\non coals of fire till nightfall, when I opened the river-gate and,\ncalling the boatman who had carried us the night before, said to him,\n'I know not what is become of my mistress; so take me in the boat, that\nwe may go seek her on the river: haply I shall chance on some news of\nher. Accordingly he took me into the boat and went about with me and\nceased not wending till midnight, when I spied a barque making towards\nthe water gate, with one man rowing and another standing up and a woman\nlying prostrate between them twain. And they rowed on till they reached\nthe shore when the woman landed, and I looked at her, and behold, it\nwas Shams al-Nahar. Thereupon I got out and joined her, dazed for joy\nto see her after having lost all hopes of finding her alive.'\" \u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted\nsay.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Sixty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the slave-girl\nwent on telling the jeweller, \"'I was dazed for joy to see her, after\nhaving lost all hopes of finding her alive. When I came up to her, she\nbade me give the man who had brought her thither a thousand gold\npieces; and we carried her in, I and the two maids, and laid her on her\nbed; where she passed that night in a sorely troubled state; and, when\nmorning dawned, I forbade the women and eunuchs to go in to her, or\neven to draw near her for the whole of that day; but on the next she\nrevived and somewhat recovered and I found her as if she had come out\nof her grave. I sprinkled rose-water upon her face and changed her\nclothes and washed her hands and feet; nor did I cease to coax her,\ntill I brought her to eat a little and drink some wine, though she had\nno mind to any such matter. As soon as she had breathed the fresh air\nand strength began to return to her, I took to upbraiding her, saying,\n'O my lady, consider and have pity on thyself; thou seest what hath\nbetided us: surely, enough and more than enough of evil hath befallen\nthee; for indeed thou hast been nigh upon death. She said, 'By Allah, O\ngood damsel, in sooth death were easier to me than what hath betided\nme; for it seemed as though I should be slain and no power could save\nme. When the robbers took us from the jeweller's house they asked me,\nWho mayest thou be? and hearing my answer, 'I am a singing girl, they\nbelieved me. Then they turned to Ali bin Bakkar and made enquiries\nabout him, 'And who art thou and what is thy condition?; whereto he\nreplied, 'I am of the common kind. So they took us and carried us\nalong, without our resisting, to their abode; and we hurried on with\nthem for excess of fear; but when they had us set down with them in the\nhouse, they looked hard at me and seeing the clothes I wore and my\nnecklaces and jewellery, believed not my account of myself and said to\nme, 'Of a truth these necklaces belong to no singing-girl; so be\nsoothfast and tell us the truth of thy case. I returned them no answer\nwhatever, saying in my mind, 'Now will they slay me for the sake of my\napparel and ornaments; and I spoke not a word. Then the villains turned\nto Ali bin Bakkar, asking, 'And thou, who art thou and whence art thou?\nfor thy semblance seemeth not as that of the common kind. But he was\nsilent and we ceased not to keep our counsel and to weep, till Allah\nsoftened the rogues' hearts to pity and they said to us, 'Who is the\nowner of the house wherein we were?' We answered, 'Such an one, the\njeweller; whereupon quoth one of them, 'I know him right well and I wot\nthe other house where he liveth and I will engage to bring him to you\nthis very hour. Then they agreed to set me in a place by myself and Ali\nbin Bakkar in a place by himself, and said to us, 'Be at rest ye twain\nand fear not lest your secret be divulged; ye are safe from us.\nMeanwhile their comrade went away and returned with the jeweller, who\nmade known to them our case, and we joined company with him; after\nwhich a man of the band fetched a barque, wherein they embarked us all\nthree and, rowing us over the river, landed us with scant ceremony on\nthe opposite bank and went their ways. Thereupon up came a horse-patrol\nand asked us who we were; so I spoke with the Captain of the watch and\nsaid to him, 'I am Shams al-Nahar, the Caliph's favourite; I had\ndrunken strong wine and went out to visit certain of my acquaintance of\nthe wives of the Wazirs, when yonder rogues came upon me and laid hold\nof me and brought me to this place; but when they saw you, they fled as\nfast as they could. I met these men with them: so do thou escort me and\nthem to a place of safety and I will requite thee as I am well able to\ndo. When the Captain of the watch heard my speech, he knew me and\nalighting, mounted me on his horse; and in like manner did two of his\nmen with Ali bin Bakkar. So I spoke to her' (continued the handmaid)\n'and blamed her doings, and bade her beware, and said to her, 'O my\nlady, have some care for thy life!' But she was angered at my words and\ncried out at me; accordingly I left her and came forth in quest of\nthee, but found thee not and dared not go to the house of Ali bin\nBakkar; so stood watching for thee, that I might ask thee of him and\nwot how it goes with him. And I pray thee, of thy favour, to take of me\nsome money, for thou hast doubtless borrowed from thy friends part of\nthe gear and as it is lost, it behoveth thee to make it good with\nfolk.' I replied, 'To hear is to obey! go on;' and I walked with her\ntill we drew near my house, when she said to me, 'Wait here till I come\nback to thee.'\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to\nsay her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Sixty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that after the\nslave-girl had addressed the jeweller, \"'Wait here till I come back to\nthee!' she went away and presently returned with the money, which she\nput\" (continued the jeweller) \"into my hand, saying, 'O my master, in\nwhat place shall we meet?' Quoth I, 'I will start and go to my house at\nonce and suffer hard things for thy sake and contrive how thou mayst\nwin access to him, for such access is difficult at this present.' Said\nshe, 'Let me know some spot, where I shall come to thee,' and I\nanswered, 'In my other house, I will go thither forthright and have the\ndoors mended and the place made safe again, and henceforth we will meet\nthere.' Then she took leave of me and went her way, whilst I carried\nthe money home, and counting it, found it five thousand dinars. So I\ngave my people some of it and to all who had lent me aught I made good\ntheir loss, after which I arose and took my servants and repaired to my\nother house whence the things had been stolen; and I brought builders\nand carpenters and masons who restored it to its former state.\nMoreover, I placed my negress-slave there and forgot the mishaps which\nhad befallen me. Then I fared forth and repaired to Ali bin Bakkar's\nhouse and, when I reached it, his slave-servants accosted me, saying,\n'Our lord calleth for thee night and day, and hath promised to free\nwhichever of us bringeth thee to him; so they have been wandering about\nin quest of thee everywhere but knew not in what part to find thee. Our\nmaster is by way of recovering strength, but at times he reviveth and\nat times he relapseth; and whenever he reviveth he nameth thee, and\nsaith, 'Needs must ye bring him to me, though but for the twinkling of\nan eye;' and then he sinketh back into his torpor.' Accordingly\"\n(continued the jeweller) \"I accompanied the slave and went in to Ali\nbin Bakkar; and, finding him unable to speak, sat down at his head,\nwhereupon he opened his eyes and seeing me, wept and said, 'Welcome and\nwell come!' I raised him and making him sit up, strained him to my\nbosom, and he said, 'Know, O my brother, that, from the hour I took to\nmy bed, I have not sat up till now: praise to Allah that I see thee\nagain!' And I ceased not to prop him and support him until I made him\nstand on his feet and walk a few steps, after which I changed his\nclothes and he drank some wine: but all this he did for my\nsatisfaction. Then, seeing him somewhat restored, I told him what had\nbefallen me with the slave-girl (none else hearing me), and said to\nhim, 'Take heart and be of good courage, I know what thou sufferest.'\nHe smiled and I added, 'Verily nothing shall betide thee save what\nshall rejoice thee and medicine thee.' Thereupon he called for food,\nwhich being brought, he signed to his pages, and they withdrew. Then\nquoth he to me, 'O my brother, hast thou seen what hath befallen me?';\nand he made excuses to me and asked how I had fared all that while. I\ntold him everything that had befallen me, from beginning to end,\nwhereat he wondered and calling his servants, said, 'Bring me such and\nsuch things.' They brought in fine carpets and hangings and, besides\nthat, vessels of gold and silver, more than I had lost, and he gave\nthem all to me; so I sent them to my house and abode with him that\nnight. When the day began to yellow, he said to me, 'Know thou that as\nto all things there is an end, so the end of love is either death or\naccomplishment of desire. I am nearer unto death, would I had died ere\nthis befel!; and had not Allah favoured us, we had been found out and\nput to shame. And now I know not what shall deliver me from this my\nstrait, and were it not that I fear Allah, I would hasten my own death;\nfor know, O my brother, that I am like bird in cage and that my life is\nof a surety perished, choked by the distresses which have befallen me;\nyet hath it a period stablished firm and an appointed term.' And he\nwept and groaned and began repeating,\n\n     'Enough of tears hath shed the lover-wight, *\n          When grief outcast all patience from his sprite:\n     He hid the secrets which united us, *\n          But now His eye parts what He did unite!'\"\n\nWhen he had finished his verses, the jeweller said to him, \"O my lord,\nI now intend returning to my house.\" He answered, \"There be no harm in\nthat; go and come back to me with news as fast as possible, for thou\nseest my case.\" \"So I took leave of him\" (continued the jeweller) \"and\nwent home, and hardly had I sat down, when up came the damsel, choked\nwith long weeping. I asked, 'What is the matter'?; and she answered, 'O\nmy lord, know then that what we feared hath befallen us; for, when I\nleft thee yesterday and returned to my lady, I found her in a fury with\none of the two maids who were with us the other night, and she ordered\nher to be beaten. The girl was frightened and ran away; but, as she was\nleaving the house, one of the door-porters and guards of the gate met\nher and took her up and would have sent her back to her mistress.\nHowever, she let fall some hints, which were a disclosure to him; so he\ncajoled her and led her on to talk, and she tattled about our case and\nlet him know of all our doings. This affair came to the ears of the\nCaliph, who bade remove my mistress, Shams al-Nahar, and all her gear\nto the palace of the Caliphate; and set over her a guard of twenty\neunuchs. Since then to the present hour he hath not visited her nor\nhath given her to know the reason of his action, but I suspect this to\nbe the cause; wherefore I am in fear for my life and am sore troubled,\nO my lord, knowing not what I shall do, nor with what contrivance I\nshall order my affair and hers; for she hath none by her more trusted\nor more trustworthy than myself.'\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Sixty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the slave-girl\nthus addressed the jeweller, \"'And in very sooth my lady hath none by\nher more trusted or more trustworthy in matter of secrecy than myself.\nSo go thou, O my master, and speed thee without delay to Ali bin\nBakkar; and acquaint him with this, that he may be on his guard and\nward; and, if the affair be discovered, we will cast about for some\nmeans whereby to save our lives.' On this\" (continued the jeweller), \"I\nwas seized with sore trouble and the world grew dark in my sight for\nthe slave-girl's words; and when she was about to wend, I said to her,\n'What reckest thou and what is to be done?' Quoth she, 'My counsel is\nthat thou hasten to Ali bin Bakkar, if thou be indeed his friend and\ndesire to save him; thine be it to carry him this news at once without\naught of stay and delay, or regard for far and near; and mine be it to\nsniff about for further news.' Then she took her leave of me and went\naway: so I rose and followed her track and, betaking myself to Ali bin\nBakkar, found him flattering himself with impossible expectations. When\nhe saw me returning to him so soon, he said, 'I see thou hast come back\nto me forthwith and only too soon.' I answered, 'Patience, and cut\nshort this foolish connection and shake off the pre-occupation wherein\nthou art, for there hath befallen that which may bring about the loss\nof thy life and good.' Now when he heard this, he was troubled and\nstrongly moved; and he said to me, 'O my brother, tell me what hath\nhappened.' Replied I, 'O my lord, know that such and such things have\nhappened and thou art lost without recourse, if thou abide in this thy\nhouse till the end of the day.' At this, he was confounded and his soul\nwell-nigh departed his body, but he recovered himself and said to me,\n'What shall I do, O my brother, and what counsel hast thou to offer.'\nAnswered I, 'My advice is that thou take what thou canst of thy\nproperty and whom of thy slaves thou trustest, and flee with us to a\nland other than this, ere this very day come to an end.' And he said,\n'I hear and I obey.' So he rose, confused and dazed like one in\nepilepsy, now walking and now falling, and took what came under his\nhand. Then he made an excuse to his household and gave them his last\ninjunctions, after which he loaded three camels and mounted his beast;\nand I did likewise. We went forth privily in disguise and fared on and\nceased not our wayfare the rest of that day and all its night, till\nnigh upon morning, when we unloaded and, hobbling our camels, lay down\nto sleep. But we were worn with fatigue and we neglected to keep watch,\nso that there fell upon us robbers, who stripped us of all we had and\nslew our slaves, when these would have beaten them off, leaving us\nnaked and in the sorriest of plights, after they had taken our money\nand lifted our beasts and disappeared. As soon as they were gone, we\narose and walked on till morning dawned, when we came to a village\nwhich we entered, and finding a mosque took refuge therein for we were\nnaked. So we sat in a corner all that day and we passed the next night\nwithout meat or drink; and at day-break we prayed our dawn-prayer and\nsat down again. Presently behold, a man entered and saluting us prayed\na two-bow prayer, after which he turned to us and said, 'O folk, are ye\nstrangers?' We replied, 'Yes: the bandits waylaid us and stripped us\nnaked, and we came to this town but know none here with whom we may\nshelter.' Quoth he, 'What say ye? will you come home with me?' And\"\n(pursued the jeweller) \"I said to Ali bin Bakkar, 'Up and let us go\nwith him, and we shall escape two evils; the first, our fear lest some\none who knoweth us enter this mosque and recognise us, so that we come\nto disgrace; and the second, that we are strangers and have no place\nwherein to lodge.' And he answered helplessly, 'As thou wilt.' Then the\nman said to us again, 'O ye poor folk, give ear unto me and come with\nme to my place,' and I replied, 'Hearkening and obedience;' whereupon\nhe pulled off a part of his own clothes and covered us therewith and\nmade his excuses to us and spoke kindly to us. Then we arose and\naccompanied him to his house and he knocked at the door, whereupon a\nlittle slave-boy came out and opened to us. The host entered and we\nfollowed him;[FN#214] when he called for a bundle of clothes and\nmuslins for turbands, and gave us each a suit and a piece; so we\ndressed and turbanded ourselves and sat us down. Presently, in came a\ndamsel with a tray of food and set it before us, saying, 'Eat.' We ate\nsome small matter and she took away the tray: after which we abode with\nour host till nightfall, when Ali bin Bakkar sighed and said to me,\n'Know, O my brother, that I am a dying man past hope of life and I\nwould charge thee with a charge: it is that, when thou seest me dead,\nthou go to my parent[FN#215] and tell her of my decease and bid her\ncome hither that she may be here to receive the visits of condolence\nand be present at the washing of my corpse, and do thou exhort her to\nbear my loss with patience.' Then he fell down in a fainting fit and,\nwhen he recovered he heard a damsel singing afar off and making verses\nas she sang. Thereupon he addressed himself to give ear to her and\nhearken to her voice; and now he was insensible, absent from the world,\nand now he came to himself; and anon he wept for grief and mourning at\nthe love which had befallen him. Presently, he heard the damsel who was\nsinging repeat these couplets,\n\n     'Parting ran up to part from lover-twain *\n          Free converse, perfect concord, friendship fain:\n     The Nights with shifting drifted us apart, *\n          Would heaven I wot if we shall meet again:\n     How bitter after meeting 'tis to part, *\n          May lovers ne'er endure so bitter pain!\n     Death-grip, death-choke, lasts for an hour and ends, *\n          But parting-tortures aye in heart remain:\n     Could we but trace where Parting's house is placed, *\n          We would make Parting eke of parting taste!'\n\nWhen Ali son of Bakkar heard the damsel's song, he sobbed one sob and\nhis soul quitted his body. As soon as I saw that he was dead\"\n(continued the jeweller), \"I committed his corpse to the care of the\nhouse-master and said to him 'Know thou, that I am going to Baghdad, to\ntell his mother and kinsfolk, that they may come hither and conduct his\nburial.' So I betook myself to Baghdad and, going to my house, changed\nmy clothes; after which I repaired to Ali bin Bakkar's lodging. Now\nwhen his servants saw me, they came to me and questioned me of him, and\nI bade them ask permission for me to go in to his mother. She gave me\nleave; so I entered and saluting her, said, 'Verily Allah ordereth the\nlives of all creatures by His commandment and when He decreeth aught,\nthere is no escaping its fulfilment; nor can any soul depart but by\nleave of Allah, according to the Writ which affirmeth the appointed\nterm.'[FN#216] She guessed by these words that her son was dead and\nwept with sore weeping, then she said to me, 'Allah upon thee! tell me,\nis my son dead?' I could not answer her for tears and excess of grief,\nand when she saw me thus, she was choked with weeping and fell to the\nground in a fit. As soon as she came to herself she said to me, 'Tell\nme how it was with my son.' I replied, 'May Allah abundantly compensate\nthee for his loss!' and I told her all that had befallen him from\nbeginning to end. She then asked, 'Did he give thee any charge?'; and I\nanswered, 'Yes,' and told her what he had said, adding, 'Hasten to\nperform his funeral.' When she heard these words, she swooned away\nagain; and, when she recovered, she addressed herself to do as I\ncharged her. Then I returned to my house; and as I went along musing\nsadly upon the fair gifts of his youth, behold, a woman caught hold of\nmy hand;\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the jeweller thus\ncontinued:\u2014\"A woman caught hold of my hand; and I looked at her and lo!\nit was the slave-girl who used to come from Shams al-Nahar, and she\nseemed broken by grief. When we knew each other we both wept and ceased\nnot weeping till we reached my house, and I said to her, 'Knowest thou\nthe news of the youth, Ali bin Bakkar?' She replied, 'No, by Allah!';\nso I told her the manner of his death and all that had passed, whilst\nwe both wept; after which quoth I to her, 'How is it with thy\nmistress?' Quoth she, 'The Commander of the Faithful would not hear a\nsingle word against her; but, for the great love he bore her, saw all\nher actions in a favourable light, and said to her, 'O Shams al-Nahar,\nthou art dear to me and I will bear with thee and bring the noses of\nthy foes to the grindstone. Then he bade them furnish her an apartment\ndecorated with gold and a handsome sleeping-chamber, and she abode with\nhim in all ease of life and high favour. Now it came to pass that one\nday, as he sat at wine according to his custom, with his favourite\nconcubines in presence, he bade them be seated in their several ranks\nand made Shams al-Nahar sit by his side. But her patience had failed\nand her disorder had redoubled upon her. Then he bade one of the\ndamsels sing: so she took a lute and tuning it struck the chords, and\nbegan to sing these verses,\n\n'One craved my love and I gave all he craved of me, *\n     And tears on cheek betray how 'twas I came to yield:\nTear-drops, meseemeth, are familiar with our case, *\n     Revealing what I hide, hiding what I revealed:\nHow can I hope in secret to conceal my love, *\n     Which stress of passion ever showeth unconcealed:\nDeath, since I lost my lover, is grown sweet to me; *\n     Would I knew what their joys when I shall quit the field!\n\nNow when Shams al-Nahar heard these verses sung by the slave-girl, she\ncould not keep her seat; but fell down in a fainting-fit whereupon the\nCaliph cast the cup from his hand and drew her to him crying out; and\nthe damsels also cried out, and the Prince of True Believers turned her\nover and shook her, and lo and behold! she was dead. The Caliph grieved\nover her death with sore grief and bade break all the vessels and\ndulcimers[FN#217] and other instruments of mirth and music which were\nin the room; then carrying her body to his closet, he abode with her\nthe rest of the night. When the day broke, he laid her out and\ncommanded to wash her and shroud her and bury her. And he mourned for\nher with sore mourning, and questioned not of her case nor of what\ncaused her condition. And I beg thee in Allah's name' (continued the\ndamsel) 'to let me know the day of the coming of Ali bin Bakkar's\nfuneral procession that I may be present at his burial.' Quoth I, 'For\nmyself, where thou wilt thou canst find me; but thou, where art thou to\nbe found, and who can come at thee where thou art?' She replied, 'On\nthe day of Shams al-Nahar's death, the Commander of the Faithful freed\nall her women, myself among the rest;[FN#218] and I am one of those now\nabiding at the tomb in such a place.' So I rose and accompanied her to\nthe burial-ground and piously visited Shams al-Nahar's tomb; after\nwhich I went my way and ceased not to await the coming of Ali bin\nBakkar's funeral. When it arrived, the people of Baghdad went forth to\nmeet it and I went forth with them: and I saw the damsel among the\nwomen and she the loudest of them in lamentation, crying out and\nwailing with a voice that rent the vitals and made the heart ache.\nNever was seen in Baghdad a finer funeral than his; and we ceased not\nto follow in crowds till we reached the cemetery and buried him to the\nmercy of Almighty Allah; nor from that time to this have I ceased to\nvisit the tombs of Ali son of Bakkar and of Shams al-Nahar. This, then,\nis their story, and Allah Almighty have mercy upon them!\"[FN#219] And\nyet is not their tale (continued Shahrazad) more wonderful than that of\nKing Shahriman. The King asked her \"And what was his tale?\"\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted\nsay.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Seventieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, as regards the\n\n\nTALE OF KAMAR AL-ZAMAN.\n\nThat there was in times of yore and in ages long gone before a King\ncalled Shahrim\u00e1n,[FN#220] who was lord of many troops and guards, and\nofficers, and who reigned over certain islands, known as the Kh\u00e1lid\u00e1n\nIslands,[FN#221] on the borders of the land of the Persians. But he was\nstricken in years and his bones were wasted, without having been\nblessed with a son, albeit he had four wives, daughters of Kings, and\nthreescore concubines, with each of whom he was wont to lie one night\nin turn.[FN#222]  This preyed upon his mind and disquieted him, so that\nhe complained thereof to one of his Wazirs, saying, \"Verily I fear lest\nmy kingdom be lost when I die, for that I have no son to succeed me.\"\nThe Minister answered, \"O King, peradventure Allah shall yet bring\nsomething to pass; so rely upon the Almighty and be instant in prayer.\nIt is also my counsel that thou spread a banquet and invite to it the\npoor and needy, and let them eat of thy food; and supplicate the Lord\nto vouchsafe thee a son; for perchance there may be among thy guests a\nrighteous soul whose prayers find acceptance; and thereby thou shalt\nwin thy wish.\" So the King rose, made the lesser ablution, and prayed a\ntwo-bow prayer,[FN#223] then he cried upon Allah with pure intention;\nafter which he called his chief wife to bed and lay with her\nforthright. By grace of God she conceived and, when her months were\naccomplished, she bore a male child, like the moon on the night of\nfulness. The King named him Kamar al-Zam\u00e1n,[FN#224] and rejoiced in him\nwith extreme joy and bade the city be dressed out in his honour; so\nthey decorated the streets seven days, whilst the drums beat and the\nmessengers bore the glad tidings abroad. Then wet and dry nurses were\nprovided for the boy and he was reared in splendour and delight, until\nhe reached the age of fifteen. He grew up of surpassing beauty and\nseemlihead and symmetry, and his father loved him so dear that he could\nnot brook to be parted from him day or night. One day he complained to\na certain of his Ministers anent the excess of his love for his only\nchild, saying, \"O thou the Wazir, of a truth I fear for my son, Kamar\nal-Zaman, the shifts and accidents which befal man and fain would I\nmarry him in my life-time.\" Answered the Wazir, \"O King, know thou that\nmarriage is one of the most honourable of moral actions, and thou\nwouldst indeed do well and right to marry thy son in thy lifetime, ere\nthou make him Sultan.\" On this quoth the King, \"Hither with my son\nKamar al-Zaman;\" so he came and bowed his head to the ground in modesty\nbefore his sire. \"O Kamar al Zaman,\" said King Shahriman, \"of a truth I\ndesire to marry thee and rejoice in thee during my lifetime.\" Replied\nhe, \"O my father, know that I have no lust to marry nor cloth my soul\nincline to women; for that concerning their craft and perfidy I have\nread many books and heard much talk, even as saith the poet,\n\n'Now, an of women ask ye, I reply:\u2014*\n     In their affairs I'm versed a doctor rare!\nWhen man's head grizzles and his money dwindles, *\n     In their affections he hath naught for share.'\n\nAnd another said:\u2014\n\n'Rebel against women and so shalt thou serve Allah the more; *\n     The youth who gives women the rein must forfeit all hope to\n     soar.\nThey'll baulk him when seeking the strange device, Excelsior, *\n     Tho' waste he a thousand of years in the study of science\n     and lore.' \"\n\nAnd when he had ended his verses he continued, \"O my father, wedlock is\na thing whereto I will never consent; no, not though I drink the cup of\ndeath.\" When Sultan Shahriman heard these words from his son, light\nbecame darkness in his sight and he grieved thereat with great\ngrief.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Seventy-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when King\nShahriman heard these words from his son, the light became darkness in\nhis sight and he grieved over his son's lack of obedience to his\ndirections in the matter of marriage; yet, for the great love he bore\nhim, he was unwilling to repeat his wishes and was not wroth with him,\nbut caressed him and spake him fair and showed him all manner of\nkindness such as tendeth to induce affection. All this, and Kamar\nal-Zaman increased daily in beauty and loveliness and amorous grace;\nand the King bore with him for a whole year till he became perfect in\neloquence and elegant wit. All men were ravished with his charms; and\nevery breeze that blew bore the tidings of his gracious favour; his\nfair sight was a seduction to the loving and a garden of delight to the\nlonging, for he was honey-sweet of speech and the sheen of his face\nshamed the full moon; he was a model of symmetry and blandishment and\nengaging ways; his shape was as the willow-wand or the rattan- cane and\nhis cheeks might take the place of rose or red anemone. He was, in fine\nthe pink of perfection, even as the poet hath said of him,\n\n\"He came and cried they, 'Now be Allah blest! *\n     Praise Him that clad that soul in so fair vest!'\nHe's King of Beauty where the beauteous be; *\n     All are his Ryots,[FN#225] all obey his hest:\nHis lip-dew's sweeter than the virgin honey; *\n     His teeth are pearls in double row close press:\nAll charms are congregate in him alone, *\n     And deals his loveliness to man unrest.\nBeauty wrote on those cheeks for worlds to see *\n     'I testify there is none good but He.'\"[FN#226]\n\nWhen the year came to an end, the King called his son to him and said,\n\"O my son, wilt thou not hearken to me?\" Whereupon Kamar al-Zaman fell\ndown for respect and shame before his sire and replied, \"O my father,\nhow should I not hearken to thee, seeing that Allah commandeth me to\nobey thee and not gain-say thee?\" Rejoined King Shahriman, \"O my son,\nknow that I desire to marry thee and rejoice in thee whilst yet I live,\nand make thee King over my realm, before my death.\" When the Prince\nheard his sire pronounce these words he bowed his head awhile, then\nraised it and said, \"O my father, this is a thing which I will never\ndo; no, not though I drink the cup of death! I know of a surety that\nthe Almighty hath made obedience to thee a duty in religion; but, Allah\nupon thee! press me not in this matter of marriage, nor fancy that I\nwill ever marry my life long; for that I have read the books both of\nthe ancients and the moderns, and have come to know all the mischiefs\nand miseries which have befallen them through women and their endless\nartifices. And how excellent is the saying of the poet,\n\n'He whom the randy motts entrap *\n     Shall never see deliverance!\nThough build he forts a thousand-fold, *\n     Whose mighty strength lead-plates enhance,[FN#227]\nTheir force shall be of no avail; *\n     These fortresses have not a chance!\nWomen aye deal in treachery *\n     To far and near o'er earth's expanse\nWith fingers dipt in Henna-blood *\n     And locks in braids that mad the glance;\nAnd eyelids painted o'er with Kohl *\n     They gar us drink of dire mischance.'\n\nAnd how excellently saith another,\n\n'Women, for all the chastity they claim, *\n     Are offal cast by kites where'er they list:\nThis night their talk and secret charms are shine, *\n     That night another joyeth calf and wrist:\nLike inn, whence after night thou far'st at dawn, *\n     And lodges other wight thou hast not wist.'\"[FN#228]\n\nNow when King Shahriman heard these his son's words and learnt the\nimport of his verses and poetical quotations, he made no answer, of his\nexcessive love for him, but redoubled in graciousness and kindness to\nhim. He at once broke up the audience and, as soon as the seance was\nover, he summoned his Minister and taking him apart, said to him, \"O\nthou the Wazir! tell me how I shall deal with my son in the matter of\nmarriage.\"- -And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted stay.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Seventy-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King summoned\nhis Minister; and, taking him apart, said to him, \"O thou the Wazir,\ntell me what I shall do with my son in the matter of marriage. Of a\ntruth I took counsel with thee thereon and thou didst counsel me to\nmarry him, before making him King. I have spoken with him of wedlock\ntime after time and he still gainsaid me; so do thou, O Wazir,\nforthright advise me what to do.\" Answered the Minister, \"O King, wait\nanother year and, if after that thou be minded to speak to him on the\nmatter of marriage, speak not to him privily, but address him on a day\nof state, when all the Emirs and Wazirs are present with the whole of\nthe army standing before thee. And when all are in crowd then send for\nthy son, Kamar al-Zaman, and summon him; and, when he cometh, broach to\nhim the matter of marriage before the Wazirs and Grandees and Officers\nof state and Captains; for he will surely be bashful and daunted by\ntheir presence and will not dare to oppose thy will.\" Now when King\nShahriman heard his Wazir's words, he rejoiced with exceeding joy,\nseeing success in the project, and bestowed on him a splendid robe of\nhonour. Then he took patience with his son another year, whilst, with\nevery day that passed over him, Kamar al-Zaman increased in beauty and\nloveliness, and elegance and perfect grace, till he was nigh twenty\nyears old. Indeed Allah had clad him in the cloak of comeliness and had\ncrowned him with the crown of completion: his eye-glance was more\nbewitching than H\u00e1r\u00fat and Mar\u00fat[FN#229] and the play of his luring\nlooks more misleading than T\u00e1gh\u00fat;[FN#230] and his cheeks shone like\nthe dawn rosy-red and his eyelashes stormed the keen-edged blade: the\nwhiteness of his brow resembled the moon shining bright, and the\nblackness of his locks was as the murky night; and his waist was more\nslender than the gossamer[FN#231]  and his back parts than two sand\nheaps bulkier, making a Babel of the heart with their softness; but his\nwaist complained of the weight of his hips and loins; and his charms\nravished all mankind, even as one of the poets saith in these couplets,\n\n\"By his eyelash tendril curled, by his slender waist I swear,\nBy the dart his witchery feathers, fatal hurtling through the\n     air;\nBy the just roundness of his shape, by his glances bright and\n     keen\nBy the swart limping of his locks, and his fair forehead shining\n     sheen;\nBy his eyebrows which deny that she who looks on them should\n     sleep,\nWhich now commanding, now forbidding, o'er me high dominion keep;\nBy the roses of his cheek, his face as fresh as myrtle wreath\nHis tulip lips, and those pure pearls that hold the places of his\n     teeth;\nBy his noble form, which rises featly turned in even swell\nTo where upon his jutting chest two young pomegranates seem to\n     dwell\nBy his supple moving hips, his taper waist, the silky skin,\nBy all he robbed Perfection of, and holds enchained his form\n     within;\nBy his tongue of steadfastness, his nature true, and excellent,\nBy the greatness of his rank, his noble birth, and high descent,\nMusk from my love her savour steals, who musk exhales from every\n     limb\nAnd all the airs ambergris breathes are but the Zephyr's blow\n     o'er him.\nThe sun, methinks, the broad bright sun, as low before my love\n     should quail\nAs would my love himself transcend the paltry paring of his\n     nail!\"[FN#232]\n\nSo King Shahriman, having accepted the counsel of his Wazir, waited for\nanother year and a great festival,\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Seventy-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Shahriman having\naccepted the counsel of his Wazir, waited for another year and a great\nfestival, a day of state when the audience hall was filled with his\nEmirs and Wazirs and Grandees of his reign and Officers of State and\nCaptains of might and main. Thereupon he sent for his son Kamar\nal-Zaman who came, and kissing the ground before him three times, stood\nin presence of his sire with his hands behind his back the right\ngrasping the left.[FN#233]  Then said the King to him, \"Know O my son,\nthat I have not sent for thee on this occasion and summoned thee to\nappear before this assembly and all these officers of estate here\nawaiting our orders save and except that I may lay a commandment on\nthee, wherein do thou not disobey me; and my commandment is that thou\nmarry, for I am minded to wed thee to a King's daughter and rejoice in\nthee ere I die.\" When the Prince heard this much from his royal sire,\nhe bowed his head groundwards awhile, then raising it towards his\nfather and being moved thereto at that time by youthful folly and\nboyish ignorance, replied, \"But for myself I will never marry; no, not\nthough I drink the cup of death! As for thee, thou art great in age and\nsmall of wit: hast thou not, twice ere this day and before this\noccasion, questioned me of the matter of marriage and I refused my\nconsent? Indeed thou dotest and are not fit to govern a flock of\nsheep!\" So saying Kamar al-Zaman unclasped his hands from behind his\nback and tucked up his sleeves above his elbows before his father,\nbeing in a fit of fury; moreover, he added many words to his sire,\nknowing not what he said in the trouble of his spirits. The King was\nconfounded and ashamed, for that this befel in the presence of his\ngrandees and soldier-officers assembled on a high festival and a state\noccasion; but presently the majesty of Kingship took him, and he cried\nout at his son and made him tremble. Then he called to the guards\nstanding  before him and said, \"Seize him!' So they came forward and\nlaid hands on him and, binding him, brought him before his sire, who\nbade them pinion his elbows behind his back and in this guise make him\nstand before the presence. And the Prince bowed down his head for fear\nand apprehension, and his brow and face were beaded and spangled with\nsweat; and shame and confusion troubled him sorely. Thereupon his\nfather abused him and reviled him and cried, \"Woe to thee, thou son of\nadultery and nursling of abomination![FN#234]  How durst thou answer me\non this wise before my captains and soldiers? But hitherto none hath\nchastised thee,\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nsaying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Seventy-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Shahriman\ncried out to his son Kamar al-Zaman, \"How durst thou answer me on this\nwise before my captains and soldiers? But hitherto none hath chastised\nthee. Knowest thou not that this deed thou hast done were a disgrace to\nhim had it been done by the meanest of my subjects?\" And the King\ncommanded his Mamelukes to loose his elbow bonds and imprison him in\none of the bastions of the citadel. So they took the Prince and thrust\nhim into an old tower, wherein there was a dilapidated saloon and in\nits middle a ruined well, after having first swept it and cleansed its\nfloor-flags and set therein a couch on which they laid a mattress, a\nleathern rug and a cushion; and then they brought a great lanthorn and\na wax candle, for that place was dark, even by day. And lastly the\nMamelukes led Kamar al-Zaman thither, and stationed an eunuch at the\ndoor. And when all this was done, the Prince threw himself on the\ncouch, sad-spirited, and heavy- hearted; blaming himself and repenting\nof his injurious conduct to his father, whenas repentance availed him\nnaught, and saying, \"Allah curse marriage and marriageable and married\nwomen, the traitresses all! Would I had hearkened to my father and\naccepted a wife! Had I so done it had been better for me than this\njail.\" This is how it fared with him; but as regards King Shahri man,\nhe remained seated on his throne all through the day until sundown;\nthen he took the Minister apart and said to him \"Know thou, O Wazir,\nthat thou and thou only west the cause of all this that hath come to\npass between me and my son by the advice thou west pleased to devise;\nand so what dost thou counsel me to do now?\" Answered he, \"O King,\nleave thy son in limbo for the space of fifteen days: then summon him\nto thy presence and bid him wed; and assuredly he shall not gainsay\nthee again.\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Seventy-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir, said\nto King Shahriman, \"Leave thy son in limbo for the space of fifteen\ndays; then summon him to thy presence and bid him wed; and assuredly he\nshall not gainsay thee again.\" The King accepted the Wazir's opinion\nand lay down to sleep that night troubled at heart concerning his son;\nfor he loved him with dearest love because he had no other child but\nthis; and it was his wont every night not to sleep, save after placing\nhis arm under his son's neck. So he passed that night in trouble and\nunease on the Prince 's account, tossing from side to side, as he were\nlaid on coals of Artemisia-wood[FN#235]: for he was overcome with\ndoubts and fears and sleep visited him not all that livelong night; but\nhis eyes ran  over with tears and he began repeating, ;\n\n\"While slanderers slumber, longsome is my night; *\n     Suffice thee a heart so sad in parting-plight;\nI say, while night in care slow moments by, *\n     'What! no return for thee, fair morning light?'\"\n\nAnd the saying of another,\n\n\"When saw I Pleiad-stars his glance escape *\n     And Pole star draught of sleep upon him pour;\nAnd the Bier-daughters[FN#236] wend in mourning dight, *\n     I knew that morning was for him no more!\"\n\nSuch was the case with King Shahriman; but as regards Kamar al- Zaman,\nwhen the night came upon him the eunuch set the lanthorn before him and\nlighting the wax-candle, placed it in the candlestick; then brought him\nsomewhat of food. The Prince ate a little and continually reproached\nhimself for his unseemly treatment of his father, saying to himself, \"O\nmy soul, knowest thou not that a son of Adam is the hostage of his\ntongue, and that a man's tongue is what casteth him into deadly\nperils?\" Then his eyes ran over with tears and he bewailed that which\nhe had done, from anguished vitals and aching heart, repenting him with\nexceeding repentance of the wrong wherewith he had wronged his father\nand repeating,\n\n\"Fair youth shall die by stumbling of the tongue: *\n     Stumble of foot works not man's life such wrong:\nThe slip of lip shall oft smite off the head, *\n     While slip of foot shall never harm one long.\"\n\nNow when he had made an end of eating, he asked for the wherewithal to\nwash his hands and when the Mameluke had washed them clean of the\nremnants of food, he arose and made the Wuzu-ablution and prayed the\nprayers of sundown and nightfall, conjoining them in one; after which\nhe sat down.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say\nher permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Hundred and Seventy-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Prince\nKamar al-Zaman had prayed (conjoining them in one) the prayers of\nsundown and nightfall, he sat down on the well and began reciting the\nKoran, and he repeated \"The Cow,\" the \"House of Imr\u00e1n,\" and \"Y. S.;\"\n\"The Compassionate,\" \"Blessed be the King,\" \"Unity\" and \"The two\nTalismans''[FN#237]; and he ended with blessing and supplication and\nwith saying, \"I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the stoned.\"[FN#238] \nThen he lay down upon his couch which was covered with a mattress of\nsatin from al- Ma'adin town, the same on both sides and stuffed with\nthe raw silk of Irak; and under his head was a pillow filled with\nostrich-down And when ready for sleep, he doffed his outer clothes and\ndrew off his bag-trousers and lay down in a shirt of delicate stuff\nsmooth as wax; and he donned a head-kerchief of azure Mar\u00e1zi[FN#239]\ncloth; and at such time and on this guise Kamar al-Zaman was like the\nfull-orbed moon, when it riseth on its fourteenth night. Then, drawing\nover his head a coverlet of silk, he fell asleep with the lanthorn\nburning at his feet and the wax-candle over his head, and he ceased not\nsleeping through the first third of the night, not knowing what lurked\nfor him in the womb of the Future, and what the Omniscient had decreed\nfor him. Now, as Fate and Fortune would have it, both tower and saloon\nwere old and had been many years deserted; and there was therein a\nRoman well inhabited by a Jinniyah of the seed of Iblis[FN#240] the\nAccursed, by name Maym\u00fanah, daughter of Al- Dimiry\u00e1t, a renowned King\nof the J\u00e1nn.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Seventy-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the name of the\nJinniyah in question was Maymunah, daughter of Al-Dimiryat; a renowned\nKing of the Jann. And as Kamar al-Zaman continued sleeping till the\nfirst third of the night, Maymunah came up out of the Roman well and\nmade for the firmament, thinking to listen by stealth to the converse\nof the angels; but when she reached the mouth of the well, she saw a\nlight shining in the tower, contrary to custom; and having dwelt there\nmany years without seeing the like, she said to herself, \"Never have I\nwitnessed aught like this\"; and, marvelling much at the matter,\ndetermined that there must be some cause therefor. So she made for the\nlight and found the eunuch sleeping within the door; and inside she saw\na couch spread, whereon was a human form with the wax-candle burning at\nhis head and the lanthorn at his feet, and she wondered to see the\nlight and stole towards it little by little. Then she folded her wings\nand stood by the bed and, drawing back the coverlid, discovered Kamar\nal-Zaman's face. She was motionless for a full hour in admiration and\nwonderment; for the lustre of his visage outshone that of the candle;\nhis face beamed like a pearl with light; his eyelids were languorous\nlike those of the gazelle; the pupils of his eyes were intensely black\nand brilliant[FN#241]; his cheeks were rosy red; his eye-brows were\narched like bows and his breath exhaled a scent of musk, even as saith\nof him the poet,\n\n\"I kissed him: darker grew those pupils,[FN#242] which *\n     Seduce my soul, and cheeks flushed rosier hue;\nO heart, if slanderers dare to deem there be *\n     His like in chasms, Say 'Bring him hither, you!' \"\n\nNow when Maymunah saw him, she pronounced the formula of\npraise,[FN#243] and said, \"Blessed be Allah, the best of Creators!\";\nfor she was of the true-believing Jinn; and she stood awhile gazing on\nhis face, exclaiming and envying the youth his beauty and loveliness.\nAnd she said in herself, \"By Allah! I will do no hurt to him nor let\nany harm him; nay, from all of evil will I ransom him, for this fair\nface deserveth not but that folk should gaze upon it and for it praise\nthe Lord. Yet how could his family find it in their hearts to leave him\nin such desert place where, if one of our M\u00e1rids came upon him at this\nhour, he would assuredly slay him.\" Then the Ifritah Maymunah bent over\nhim and kissed him between the eyes, and presently drew back the sheet\nover his face which she covered up; and after this she spread her wings\nand soaring into the air, flew upwards. And after rising high from the\ncircle of the saloon she ceased not winging her way through air and\nascending skywards till she drew near the heaven of this world, the\nlowest of the heavens. And behold, she heard the noisy flapping of\nwings cleaving the welkin and, directing herself by the sound, she\nfound when she drew near it that the noise came from an Ifrit called\nDahnash. So she swooped down on him like a sparrow-hawk and, when he\nwas aware of her and knew her to be Maymunah, the daughter of the King\nof the Jinn, he feared her and his side-muscles quivered; and he\nimplored her forbearance, saying, I conjure thee by the Most Great and\nAugust Name and by the most noble talisman graven upon the seal-ring of\nSolomon, entreat me kindly and harm me not!\" When she heard these words\nher heart inclined to him and she said, \"Verily, thou conjurest me, O\naccursed, with a mighty conjuration. Nevertheless, I will not let thee\ngo, till thou tell me whence thou comest at this hour.\" He replied, \"O\nPrincess, Know that I come from the uttermost end of China-land and\nfrom among the Islands, and I will tell thee of a wonderful thing I\nhave seen this night. If thou kind my words true, let me wend my way\nand write me a patent under thy hand and with thy sign manual that I am\nthy freedman, so none of the Jinn-hosts, whether of the upper who fly\nor of the lower who walk the earth or of those who dive beneath the\nwaters, do me let or hindrance.\" Rejoined Maymunah, \"And what is it\nthou hast seen this night, O liar, O accursed! Tell me without leasing\nand think not to escape from my hand with falses, for I swear to thee\nby the letters graven upon the bezel of the seal-ring of Solomon David\nson (on both of whom be peace!), except thy speech be true, I will\npluck out thy feathers with mine own hand and strip off thy skin and\nbreak thy bones!\" Quoth the Ifrit Dahnash son of Shamh\u00farish[FN#244] the\nFlyer, \"I accept, O my lady, these conditions.\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Seventy-eight Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Dahnash spoke\nthus to Maymunah, \"I accept, O my lady, these conditions.\" Then he\nresumed, \"Know, O my mistress, that I come to-night from the Islands of\nthe Inland Sea in the parts of China, which are the realms of King\nGhay\u00far, lord of the Islands and the Seas and the Seven Palaces. There I\nsaw a daughter of his, than whom Allah hath made none fairer in her\ntime: I cannot picture her to thee, for my tongue would fail to\ndescribe her with her due of praise; but I will name to thee a somewhat\nof her charms by way of approach. Now her hair is like the nights of\ndisunion and separation and her face like the days of union and\ndelectation; and right well hath the poet said when picturing her,\n\n'She dispread the locks from her head one night, *\n     Showing four fold nights into one night run\nAnd she turned her visage towards the moon, *\n     And two moons showed at moment one.'\n\nShe hath a nose like the edge of the burnished blade and cheeks like\npurple wine or anemones blood-red: her lips as coral and carnelian\nshine and the water of her mouth is sweeter than old wine; its taste\nwould quench Hell's fiery pain. Her tongue is moved by wit of high\ndegree and ready repartee: her breast is a seduction to all that see it\n(glory be to Him who fashioned it and finished it!); and joined thereto\nare two upper arms smooth and rounded; even as saith of her the poet\nAl-Walah\u00e1n,[FN#245]\n\n'She hath wrists which, did her bangles not contain, *\n     Would run from out her sleeves in silvern rain.'\n\nShe hath breasts like two globes of ivory, from whose brightness the\nmoons borrow light, and a stomach with little waves as it were a\nfigured cloth of the finest Egyptian linen made by the Copts, with\ncreases like folded scrolls, ending in a waist slender past all power\nof imagination; based upon back parts like a hillock of blown sand,\nthat force her to sit when she would fief stand, and awaken her, when\nshe fain would sleep, even as saith of her and describeth her the poet,\n\n'She hath those hips conjoined by thread of waist, *\n     Hips that o'er me and her too tyrannise\nMy thoughts they daze whene'er I think of them, *\n     And weigh her down whene'er she would uprise.'[FN#246]\n\nAnd those back parts are upborne by thighs smooth and round and by a\ncalf like a column of pearl, and all this reposeth upon two feet,\nnarrow, slender and pointed like spear-blades,[FN#247]  the handiwork\nof the Protector and Requiter, I wonder how, of their littleness, they\ncan sustain what is above them. But I cut short my praises of her\ncharms fearing lest I be tedious.\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Ifrit Dahnash\nbin Shamhurish said to the Ifritah Maymunah, \"Of a truth I cut short my\npraises fearing lest I be tedious.\" Now when Maymunah heard the\ndescription of that Princess and her beauty and loveliness, she stood\nsilent in astonishment; whereupon Dahnash resumed, \"The father of this\nfair maiden is a mighty King, a fierce knight, immersed night and day\nin fray and fight; for whom death hath no fright and the escape of his\nfoe no dread, for that he is a tyrant masterful and a conqueror\nirresistible, lord of troops and armies and continents and islands, and\ncities and villages, and his name is King Ghayur, Lord of the Islands\nand of the Seas and of the Seven Palaces. Now he loveth his daughter,\nthe young maiden whom I have described to thee, with dearest love and,\nfor affection of her, he hath heaped together the treasures of all the\nkings and built her therewith seven palaces, each of a different\nfashion; the first of crystal, the second of marble, the third of China\nsteel, the fourth of precious stones and gems of price, the fifth of\nporcelain and many-hued onyxes and ring bezels, the sixth of silver and\nthe seventh of gold. And he hath filled the seven palaces with all\nsorts of sumptuous furniture, rich silken carpets and hangings and\nvessels of gold and silver and all manner of gear that kings require;\nand hath bidden his daughter to abide in each by turns for a certain\nseason of the year; and her name is the Princess Budur.[FN#248]  Now\nwhen her beauty became known and her name and fame were bruited abroad\nin the neighbouring countries, all the kings sent to her father to\ndemand her of him in marriage, and he consulted her on the matter, but\nshe disliked the very word wedlock with a manner of abhorrence and\nsaid, O my father, I have no mind to marry; no, not at all; for I am a\nsovereign Lady and a Queen suzerain ruling over men, and I have no\ndesire for a man who shall rule over me. And the more suits she\nrefused, the more her suitors' eagerness increased and all the\nRoyalties of the Inner Islands of China sent presents and rarities to\nher father with letters asking her in marriage. So he pressed her again\nand again with advice on the matter of espousals; but she ever opposed\nto him refusals, till at last she turned upon him angrily and cried, 'O\nmy father, if thou name matrimony to me once more, I will go into my\nchamber and take a sword and, fixing its hilt in the ground, will set\nits point to my waist; then will I press upon it, till it come forth\nfrom my back, and so slay myself.' Now when the King heard these her\nwords, the light became darkness in his sight and his heart burned for\nher as with a flame of fire, because he feared lest she should kill\nherself; and he was filled with perplexity concerning her affair and\nthe kings her suitors. So he said to her 'If thou be determined not to\nmarry and there be no help for it abstain from going and coming in and\nout.' Then he placed her in a house and shut her up in a chamber,\nappointing ten old women as duennas to guard her, and forbade her to go\nforth to the Seven Palaces; moreover, he made it appear that he was\nincensed against her, and sent letters to all the kings, giving them to\nknow that she had been stricken with madness by the Jinns; and it is\nnow a year since she hath thus been secluded.\" Then continued the Ifrit\nDahnash, addressing the Ifritah Maymunah, \"And I, O my lady go to her\nevery night and take my fill of feeding my sight on her face and I kiss\nher between the eyes: yet, of my love to her, I do her no hurt neither\nmount her, for that her youth is fair and her grace surpassing: every\none who seeth her jealouseth himself for her. I conjure thee,\ntherefore, O my lady, to go back with me and look on her beauty and\nloveliness and stature and perfection of proportion; and after, if thou\nwilt, chastise me or enslave me; and win to thy will, for it is shine\nto bid and to forbid.\" So saying, the Ifrit Dahnash bowed his head\ntowards the earth and drooped his wings downward; but Maymunah laughed\nat his words and spat in his face and answered, \"What is this girl of\nwhom thou pratest but a potsherd wherewith to wipe after making\nwater?[FN#249]  Faugh! Faugh! By Allah, O accursed, I thought thou\nhadst some wondrous tale to tell me or some marvellous news to give me.\nHow would it be if thou were to sight my beloved? Verily, this night I\nhave seen a young man, whom if thou saw though but in a dream, thou\nwouldst be palsied with admiration and spittle would flow from thy\nmouth.\" Asked the Ifrit, \"And who and what is this youth?\"; and she\nanswered, \"Know, O Dahnash, that there  hath befallen the young man the\nlike of what thou tellest me befel thy mistress; for his father pressed\nhim again and again to marry, but he refused, till at length his sire\nwaxed wroth at being opposed and imprisoned him in the tower where I\ndwell: and I came up to-night and saw him.\" Said Dahnash, \"O my lady,\nshew me this youth, that I may see if he be indeed handsomer than my\nmistress, the Princess Budur, or not; for I cannot believe that the\nlike of her liveth in this our age.\" Rejoined Maymunah, \"Thou liest, O\naccursed, O most ill-omened of Marids and vilest of Satans![FN#250] \nSure am I that the like of my beloved is not in this world.\"\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted\nsay.\n\nWhen It was the One Hundred and Eightieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Ifritah\nMaymunah spake thus to the Ifrit Dahnash, \"Sure am I that the like of\nmy beloved is not in this world! Art thou mad to fellow thy beloved\nwith my beloved?\" He said, \"Allah upon thee, O my lady, go back with me\nand look upon my mistress, and after I will with thee and look upon thy\nbeloved.\" She answered, \"It must needs be so, O accursed, for thou art\na knavish devil; but I will not go with thee nor shalt thou come with\nme, save upon condition of a wager which is this. If the lover thou\nlovest and of whom thou boastest so bravely, prove handsomer than mine\nwhom I mentioned and whom I love and of whom I boast, the bet shall be\nshine against me; but if my beloved prove the handsomer the bet shall\nbe mine against thee.\" Quoth Dahnash the Ifrit, \"O my lady, I accept\nthis thy wager and am satisfied thereat; so come with me to the\nIslands.\" Quoth Maymunah; \"No! for the abode of my beloved is nearer\nthan the abode of shine: here it is under us; so come down with me to\nsee my beloved and after we will go look upon thy mistress.\" \"I hear\nand I obey,\" said Dahnash. So they descended to earth and alighted in\nthe saloon which the tower contained; then Maymunah stationed Dahnash\nbeside the bed and, putting out her hand, drew back the silken coverlet\nfrom Kamar al-Zaman's face, when it glittered and glistened and\nshimmered and shone like the rising sun. She gazed at him for a moment,\nthen turning sharply round upon Dahnash said, \"Look, O accursed, and be\nnot the basest of madmen; I am a maid, yet my heart he hath waylaid.\"\nSo Dahnash looked at the Prince and long continued gazing steadfastly\non him then, shaking his head, said to Maymunah, \"By Allah, O my lady,\nthou art excusable; but there is yet another thing to be considered,\nand this is, that the estate female differeth from the male. By Allah's\nmight, this thy beloved is the likest of all created things to my\nmistress in beauty and loveliness and grace and perfection; and it is\nas though they were both cast alike in the mould of seemlihead.\" Now\nwhen Maymunah heard these words, the light became darkness in her sight\nand she dealt him with her wing so fierce a buffet on the head as\nwell-nigh made an end of him. Then quoth she to him, \"I conjure thee,\nby the light of his glorious countenance, go at once, O accursed, and\nbring hither thy mistress whom thou lovest so fondly and foolishly, and\nreturn in haste that we may lay the twain together and look on them\nboth as they lie asleep side by side; so shall it appear to us which be\nthe goodlier and more beautiful of the two. Except thou obey me this\nvery moment, O accursed, I will dart my sparks at thee with my fire and\nconsume thee; yea, in pieces I will rend thee and into the deserts cast\nthee, that to stay at home and wayfarer an example thou be!\" Quoth\nDahnash, \"O my lady, I will do thy behests, for I know forsure that my\nmistress is the fairer and the sweeter.\" So saying the If rit flew away\nand Maymunah flew with him to guard him. They were absent awhile and\npresently returned, bearing the young lady, who was clad in a shift of\nfine Venetian silk, with a double edging of gold and purfled with the\nmost exquisite of embroidery having these couplets worked upon the ends\nof the sleeves,\n\n\"Three matters hinder her from visiting us, in fear *\n     Of hate-full, slandering envier and his hired spies:\nThe shining light of brow, the trinkets' tinkling voice, *\n     And scent of essences that tell whene'er she tries:\nGi'en that she hide her brow with edge of sleeve, and leave *\n     At home her trinketry, how shall her scent\n     disguise?''[FN#251]\n\nAnd Dahnash and Maymunah stinted not bearing that young lady till they\nhad carried her into the saloon and had laid her beside the youth Kamar\nal-Zaman.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Eighty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Ifrit Dahnash\nand the Ifritah Maymunah stinted not bearing Princess Budur till they\ndescended and laid her on the couch beside Kamar al- Zaman. Then they\nuncovered both their faces, and they were the likest of all folk, each\nto other, as they were twins or an only brother and sister; and indeed\nthey were a seduction to the pious, even as saith of them the poet\nAl-Mub\u00edn,\n\n\"O heart! be not thy love confined to one, *\n     Lest thou by doting or disdain be undone:\nLove all the fair, and thou shalt find with them *\n     If this be lost, to thee that shall be won.\"\n\nAnd quoth another,\n\n\"Mine eyes beheld two lying on the ground; *\n     Both had I loved if on these eyne they lay!\"\n\nSo Dahnash and Maymunah gazed on them awhile, and he said, \"By Allah, O\nmy lady, it is good! My mistress is assuredly the fairer.\" She replied,\n\"Not so, my beloved is the fairer; woe to thee, O Dahnash! Art blind of\neye and heart that lean from fat thou canst not depart? Wilt thou hide\nthe truth? Dost thou not see his beauty and loveliness and fine stature\nand symmetry? Out on thee, hear what I purpose to say in praise of my\nbeloved and, if thou be a lover true to her thou dost love, do thou the\nlike for her thou Lovest.\" Then she kissed Kamar al-Zaman again and\nagain between the eyes and improvised this ode,\n\n\"How is this? Why should the blamer abuse thee in his pride?\nWhat shall console my heart for thee, that art but slender bough?\n\nA Nature Kohl'd[FN#252] eye thou hast that witcheth far and wide;\nFrom pure platonic love[FN#253] of it deliverance none I trow!\n\nThose glances, fell as plundering Turk, to heart such havoc deal\nAs never havocked scymitar made keenest at the curve.\n\nOn me thou layest load of love the heaviest while I feel\nSo feeble grown that under weight of chemisette I swerve.\n\nMy love for thee as wottest well is habit, and my lowe\nIs nature; to all others false is all the love I tender:\n\nNow were my heart but like to shine I never would say No;\nOnly my wasted form is like thy waist so gracious slender:\n\nOut on him who in Beauty's robe for moon like charms hath fame,\nAnd who is claimed by mouth of men as marvel of his tribe!\n\n'Of man what manner may he be' (ask they who flyte and blame)\n'For whom thy heart is so distressed?' I only cry 'Describe!'\n\nOh stone-entempered heart of him! learn of his yielding grace\nAnd bending form to show me grace and yielding to consent.\n\nOh my Prince Beautiful, thou hast an Overseer in place[FN#254]\nWho irketh me, and eke a Groom whose wrong cloth ne'er relent.\n\nIndeed he lieth who hath said that all of loveliness\nWas pent in Joseph: in thy charms there's many and many a Joe!\n\nThe Genii dread me when I stand and face to face address;\nBut meeting thee my fluttering heart its shame and terror show.\n\nI take aversion semblance and I turn from thee in fright,\nBut more aversion I assume, more love from me dost claim;\n\nThat hair of jetty black! That brow e'er raying radiant light! Those\neyne wherein white jostles black![FN#255]  That dearling dainty frame!\"\n\nWhen Dahnash heard the poesy which Maymunah spake in praise of her\nbeloved, he joyed with exceeding joy and marvelled with excessive\nwonderment.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say\nher permitted say\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Eighty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Ifrit\nDahnash heard the poesy which Maymunah spake in praise of her beloved,\nhe shook for exceeding joy and said, \"Thou hast celebrated thy beloved\nin song and thou hast indeed done well in praise of him whom thou\nlovest! And there is no help for it but that I also in my turn do my\nbest to enfame my mistress, and recite somewhat in her honour.\" Then\nthe Ifrit went up to the Lady Budur; and' kissing her between the eyes,\nlooked at Maymunah and at his beloved Princess and recited the\nfollowing verses, albeit he had no skill in poesy,\n\n\"Love for my fair they chide in angry way; *\n     Unjust for ignorance, yea unjustest they!\nAh lavish favours on the love mad, whom *\n     Taste of thy wrath and parting woe shall slay:\nIn sooth for love I'm wet with railing tears, *\n     That rail mine eyelids blood thou mightest say:\nNo marvel what I bear for love, 'tis marvel *\n     That any know my \"me\" while thou'rt away:\nUnlawful were our union did I doubt *\n     Thy love, or heart incline to other May.\"\n\nAnd eke these words:\u2014\n\n\"I feed eyes on their stead by the valley's side, *\n     And I'm slain and my slaver[FN#256] aside hath tried:\nGrief-wine have I drunken, and down my cheeks *\n     Dance tears to the song of the camel-guide:\nFor union-blessing I strive though sure, *\n     In Budur and Su'ad all my bliss shall bide:[FN#257]\nWot I not which of three gave me most to 'plain, *\n     So hear them numbered ere thou decide:\nThose Sworders her eyne, that Lancer her fig- *\n     -ure, or ring-mail'd Locks which her forehead hide.\nQuoth she (and I ask of her what so wights *\n     Or abide in towns or in desert ride[FN#258] )\nTo me, 'In thy heart I dwell, look there!' *\n     Quoth I, 'Where's my heart ah where? ah where?'\"\n\nWhen Maymunah heard these lines from the Ifrit, she said, \"Thou hast\ndone well, O Dahnash! But say thou which of the two is the handsomer?\"\nAnd he answered, \"My mistress Budur is handsomer than thy beloved!\"\nCried Maymunah, \"Thou liest, O accursed. Nay, my beloved is more\nbeautiful than shine!\" But Dahnash persisted, \"Mine is the fairer.\" And\nthey ceased not to wrangle and challenge each other's words till\nMaymunah cried out at Dahnash and would have laid violent hands on him,\nbut he humbled himself to her and, softening his speech, said, \"Let not\nthe truth be a grief to thee, and cease we this talk, for all we say is\nto testify in favour of our lovers; rather let each of us withdraw the\nclaim and seek we one who shall judge fairly between us which of the\ntwo be fairer; and by his sentence we will abide.\" \"I agree to this,\"\nanswered she and smote the earth with her foot, whereupon there came\nout of it an Ifrit blind of an eye, humpbacked and scurvy-skinned, with\neye-orbits slit up and down his face.[FN#259] On his head were seven\nhorns and four locks of hair fell to his heels; his hands were\npitchfork-like and his legs mast-like and he had nails as the claws of\na lion, and feet as the hoofs of the wild ass.[FN#260]  When that If\nrit rose out of the earth and sighted Maymunah, he kissed the ground\nbefore her and, standing with his hands clasped behind him, said, \"What\nis thy will, O my mistress, O daughter of my King?\"[FN#261] She\nreplied, \"O Kashkash, I would have thee judge between me and this\naccursed Dahnash.\" And she made known to him the matter, from first to\nlast, whereupon the Ifrit Kashkash looked at the face of the youth and\nthen at the face of the girl; and saw them lying asleep, embraced, each\nwith an arm under the other's neck, alike in beauty and loveliness and\nequal in grace and goodliness. The Marid gazed long upon them,\nmarvelling at their seemlihead; and, after carefully observing the\ntwain, he turned to Maymunah and Dahnash, and reseated these couplets.\n\n\"Go, visit her thou lovest, and regard not\nThe words detractors utter, envious churls\nCan never favour love. Oh! sure the Merciful\nNe'er made a thing more fair to look upon,\nThan two fond lovers in each others' arms,\nSpeaking their passion in a mute embrace.\nWhen heart has turned to heart, the fools would part them\nStrike idly on cold steel. So when thou'st found\nOne purely, wholly shine, accept her true heart,\nAnd live for her alone. Oh! thou that blamest\nThe love-struck for their love, give o'er thy talk,\nHow canst thou minister to a mind diseased?\"[FN#262]\n\nThen he turned again to Maymunah and Dahnash and said to them, \"By\nAllah, if you will have the truth, I tell you fairly the twain be equal\nin beauty, and loveliness and perfect grace and goodliness, nor can I\nmake any difference between them on account of their being man and\nwoman. But I have another thought which is that we wake each of them in\nturn, without the knowledge of the other, and whichever is the more\nenamoured shall be held inferior in seemlihead and comeliness.\" Quoth\nMaymunah, \"Right is this recking,\" and quoth Dahnash, \"I consent to\nthis.\" Then Dahnash changed himself to the form of a flea and bit Kamar\nal-Zaman, whereupon he started from sleep in a fright.\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Eighty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Dahnash changed\nhimself to the form of a flea and bit Kamar al-Zaman who started from\nsleep in a fright and rubbed the bitten part, his neck, and scratched\nit hard because of the smart. Then turning sideways, he found lying by\nhim something whose breath was sweeter than musk and whose skin was\nsofter than cream. Hereat marvelled he with great marvel and he sat up\nand looked at what lay beside him; when he saw it to be a young lady\nlike an union pearl, or a shining sun, or a dome seen from afar on a\nwell built wall; for she was five feet tall, with a shape like the\nletter Alif[FN#263], bosomed high and rosy checked; even as saith of\nher the poet,\n\n\"Four things which ne'er conjoin, unless it be *\n     To storm my vitals and to shed my blood:\nBrow white as day and tresses black as night *\n     Cheeks rosy red and lips which smiles o'erflood.\"\n\nAnd also quoth another,\n\n\"A Moon she rises, Willow wand she waves, *\n     Breathes Ambergris, and gazes, a Gazelle:\nMeseems that sorrow woes my heart and wins *\n     And, when she wendeth hastes therein to dwell!\"\n\nAnd when Kamar al-Zaman saw the Lady Budur, daughter of King Ghayur,\nand her beauty and comeliness, she was sleeping clad in a shift of\nVenetian silk, without her petticoat-trousers, and wore on her head a\nkerchief embroidered with gold and set with stones of price: her ears\nwere hung with twin earrings which shone like constellations and round\nher neck was a collar of union pearls, of size unique, past the\ncompetence of any King. When he saw this, his reason was confounded and\nnatural heat began to stir in him; Allah awoke in him the desire of\ncoition and he said to himself, \"Whatso Allah willeth, that shall be,\nand what He willeth not shall never be!\" So saying, he put out his hand\nand, turning her over, loosed the collar of her chemise; then arose\nbefore his sight her bosom, with its breasts like double globes of\nivory; whereat his inclination for her redoubled and he desired her\nwith exceeding hot desire, He would have awakened her but she would not\nawake, for Dahnash had made her sleep heavy; so he shook her and moved\nher, saying, \"O my beloved, awake and look on me; I am Kamar al-Zaman.\"\nBut she awoke not, neither moved her head; where-upon he considered her\ncase for a long hour and said to himself, \"If I guess aright, this is\nthe damsel to whom my father would have married me and these three\nyears past I have refused her; but Inshallah!\u2014God willing\u2014as soon as it\nis dawn, I will say to him, 'Marry me to her, that I may enjoy\nher.'\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Kamar al- Zaman\nsaid to himself, \"By Allah, when I see dawn I will say to my sire,\n'Marry me to her that I may enjoy her'; nor will I let half the day\npass ere I possess her and take my fill of her beauty and loveliness.\"\nThen he bent over Budur to buss her, whereat the Jinniyah Maymunah\ntrembled and was abashed and Dahnash, the Ifrit, was like to fly for\njoy. But, as Kamar al- Zaman was about to kiss her upon the mouth, he\nwas ashamed before Allah and turned away his head and averted his face,\nsaying to his heart, \"Have patience.\" Then he took thought awhile and\nsaid, \"I will be patient; haply my father when he was wroth with me and\nsent me to this jail, may have brought my young lady and made her lie\nby my side to try me with her, and may have charged her not to be\nreadily awakened when I would arouse her, and may have said to her,\n'Whatever thing Kamar al-Zaman do to thee, make me ware thereof'; or\nbelike my sire standeth hidden in some stead whence (being himself\nunseen) he can see all I do with this young lady; and to morrow he will\nscold me and cry, 'How cometh it that thou sayest, I have no mind to\nmarry; and yet thou didst kiss and embrace yonder damsel?' So I will\nwithhold myself lest I be ashamed before my sire; and the right and\nproper thing to do is not to touch her at this present, nor even to\nlook upon her, except to take from her somewhat which shall serve as a\ntoken to me and a memorial of her; that some sign endure between me and\nher.\" Then Kamar al-Zaman raised the young lady's hand and took from\nher little finger a seal-ring worth an immense amount of money, for\nthat its bezel was a precious jewel and around it were graven these\ncouplets,\n\n\"Count not that I your promises forgot, *\n     Despite the length of your delinquencies\nBe generous, O my lord, to me inclining; *\n     Haply your mouth and cheeks these lips may kiss:\nBy Allah, ne'er will I relinquish you *\n     Albe you will transgress love's boundaries.\"\n\nThen Kamar al-Zaman took the seal-ring from the little finger of Queen\nBudur and set it on his own; then, turning his back to her, went to\nsleep.[FN#264] When Maymunah the Jinniyah saw this, she was glad and\nsaid to Dahnash and Kashkash, \"Saw ye how my beloved Kamar al-Zaman\nbore himself chastely towards this young lady? Verily, this was of the\nperfection of his good gifts; for observe you twain how he looked on\nher and noted her beauty and loveliness, and yet embraced her not\nneither kissed her nor put his hand to her, but turned his back and\nslept.\" Answered they, \"Even so!\" Thereupon Maymunah changed herself\ninto a flea and entering into the raiment of Budur, the loved of\nDahnash, crept up her calf and came upon her thigh and, reaching a\nplace some four carats[FN#265] below her navel, there bit her.\nThereupon she opened her eyes and sitting up in bed, saw a youth lying\nbeside her and breathing heavily in his sleep, the loveliest of\nAlmighty Allah's creatures, with eyes that put to shame the fairest\nHouris of Heaven; and a mouth like Solomon's seal, whose water was\nsweeter to the taste and more efficacious than a theriack, and lips the\ncolour of coral-stone, and cheeks like the blood red anemone, even as\nsaith one, describing him in these couplets,\n\n\"My mind's withdrawn from Zaynab and Naw\u00e1r[FN#266] *\n     By rosy cheeks that growth of myrtle bear;\nI love a fawn, a tunic-vested boy, *\n     And leave the love of bracelet-wearing Fair:\nMy mate in hall and closet is unlike *\n     Her that I play with, as at home we pair.\nOh thou, who blam'st my flight from Hind and Zaynab, *\n     The cause is clear as dawn uplighting air!\nWould'st have me fare[FN#267] a slave, the thrall of thrall, *\n     Cribbed, pent, confined behind the bar and wall?\"\n\nNow when Princess Budur saw him, she was seized by a transport of\npassion and yearning and love-longing,\u2014And Shahrazad per ceived the\ndawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Eighty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Princess\nBudur saw Kamar al-Zaman she was forthwith seized with a transport of\npassion and yearning and love longing, and she said to herself, \"Alas,\nmy shame! This is a strange youth and I know him not. How cometh he to\nbe lying by my side on one bed?\" Then she looked at him a second time\nand, noting his beauty and loveliness, said, \"By Allah, he is indeed a\ncomely youth and my heart[FN#268] is well-nigh torn in sunder with\nlonging for him! But alas, how am I shamed by him! By the Almighty, had\nI known it was this youth who sought me in marriage of my father, I had\nnot rejected him, but had wived with him and enjoyed his loveliness!\"\nThen she gazed in his face and said, \"O my lord and light of mine eyes,\nawake from sleep and take thy pleasure in my beauty and grace.\" And she\nmoved him with her hand; but Maymunah the Jinniyah let down sleep upon\nhim as it were a curtain, and pressed heavily on his head with her\nwings so that Kamar al-Zaman awoke not. Then Princess Budur shook him\nwith her hands and said, \"My life on thee, hearken to me; awake and up\nfrom thy sleep and look on the narcissus and the tender down thereon,\nand enjoy the sight of naked waist and navel; and touzle me and tumble\nme from this moment till break of day! Allah upon thee, O my lord, sit\nup and prop thee against the pillow and slumber not!\" Still Kamar\nal-Zaman made her no reply but breathed hard in his sleep. Continued\nshe, \"Alas! Alas! thou art insolent in thy beauty and comeliness and\ngrace and loving looks! But if thou art handsome, so am I handsome;\nwhat then is this thou dost? Have they taught thee to flout me or hath\nmy father, the wretched old fellow,[FN#269] made thee swear not to\nspeak to me to-night?\" But Kamar al-Zaman opened not his mouth neither\nawoke, whereat her passion for him redoubled and Allah inflamed her\nheart with love of him. She stole one glance of eyes that cost her a\nthousand sighs: her heart fluttered, and her vitals throbbed and her\nhands and feet quivered; and she said to Kamar al-Zaman \"Talk to me, O\nmy lord! Speak to me, O my friend! Answer me, O my beloved, and tell me\nthy name, for indeed thou hast ravished my wit!\" And during all this\ntime he abode drowned in sleep and answered her not a word, and\nPrincess Budur sighed and said, \"Alas! Alas! why art thou so proud and\nself satisfied?\" Then she shook him and turning his hand over, saw her\nseal-ring on his little finger, whereat she cried a loud cry, and\nfollowed it with a sigh of passion and said, \"Alack! Alack! By Allah,\nthou art my beloved and thou lovest me! Yet thou seemest to turn thee\naway from me out of coquetry, for all, O my darling, thou camest to me,\nwhilst I was asleep and knew not what thou didst with me, and tookest\nmy seal-ring; and yet I will not pull it off thy finger.\" So saying,\nshe opened the bosom of his shirt and bent over him and kissed him and\nput forth her hand to him, seeking somewhat that she might take as a\ntoken, but found nothing. Then she thrust her hand into his breast and,\nbecause of the smoothness of his body, it slipped down to his waist and\nthence to his navel and thence to his yard, whereupon her heart ached\nand her vitals quivered and lust was sore upon her, for that the desire\nof women is fiercer than the desire of men,[FN#270] and she was ashamed\nof her own shamelessness. Then she plucked his seal-ring from his\nfinger, and put it on her own instead of the ring he had taken, and\nbussed his inner lips and hands, nor did she leave any part of him\nunkissed; after which she took him to her breast and embraced him and,\nlaying one of her hands under his neck and the other under his arm-pit,\nnestled close to him and fell asleep by his side.\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One hundred and Eighty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Princess\nBudur fell asleep by the side of Kamar al-Zaman, after doing that which\nshe did, quoth Maymunah to Dahnash, Night thou, O accursed, how proudly\nand coquettishly my beloved bore himself, and how hotly and\npassionately thy mistress showed herself to my dearling? There can be\nno doubt that my beloved is handsomer than shine; nevertheless I pardon\nthee.\" Then she wrote him a document of manumission and turned to\nKashkash and said, \"Go, help Dahnash to take up his mistress and aid\nhim to carry her back to her own place, for the night waneth apace and\nthere is but little left of it.\" \"I hear and I obey;\" answered\nKashkash. So the two Ifrits went forward to Princess Budur and\nupraising her flew away with her; then, bearing her back to her own\nplace, they laid her on her bed, whilst Maymunah abode alone with Kamar\nal-Zaman, gazing upon him as he slept, till the night was all but\nspent, when she went her way. As soon as morning morrowed, the Prince\nawoke from sleep and turned right and left, but found not the maiden by\nhim and said in his mind, \"What is this business? It is as if my father\nwould incline me to marriage with the damsel who was with me and have\nnow taken her away by stealth, to the intent that my desire for wedlock\nmay redouble.\" Then he called out to the eunuch who slept at the door,\nsaying, \"Woe to thee, O damned one, arise at once!\" So the eunuch rose,\nbemused with sleep, and brought him basin and ewer, whereupon Kamar\nal-Zaman entered the water closet and did his need;[FN#271] then,\ncoming out made the Wuzu-ablution and prayed the dawn-prayer, after\nwhich he sat telling on his beads the ninety-and-nine names of Almighty\nAllah. Then he looked up and, seeing the eunuch standing in service\nupon him, said, \"Out on thee, O Saw\u00e1b! Who was it came hither and took\naway the young lady from my side and I still sleeping?\" Asked the\neunuch, 'O my lord, what manner of young lady?\" \"The young lady who lay\nwith me last night,\" replied Kamar al-Zaman. The eunuch was startled at\nhis words and said to him, \"By Allah, there hath been with thee neither\nyoung lady nor other! How should young lady have come in to thee, when\nI was sleeping in the doorway and the door was locked? By Allah, O my\nlord, neither male nor female hath come in to thee!\" Exclaimed the\nPrince, \"Thou liest, O pestilent slave!: is it of thy competence also\nto hoodwink me and refuse to tell me what is become of the young lady\nwho lay with me last night and decline to inform me who took her away?\"\nReplied the eunuch (and he was affrighted at him), \"By Allah, O my\nlord, I have seen neither young lady nor young lord!\" His words only\nangered Kamar al-Zaman the more and he said to him, \"O accursed one, my\nfather hath indeed taught thee deceit! Come hither.\" So the eunuch came\nup to him, and the Prince took him by the collar and dashed him to the\nground; whereupon he let fly a loud fart[FN#272]  and Kamar al-Zaman,\nkneeling upon him, kicked him and throttled him till he fainted away.\nThen he dragged him forth and tied him to the well-rope, and let him\ndown like a bucket into the well and plunged him into the water, then\ndrew him up and lowered him down again. Now it was hard winter weather,\nand Kamar al-Zaman ceased not to plunge the eunuch into the water and\npull him up again and douse him and haul him whilst he screamed and\ncalled for help; and the Prince kept on saying \"By Allah, O damned one,\nI will not draw thee up out of this well till thou tell me and fully\nacquaint me with the story of the young lady and who it was took her\naway, whilst I slept.\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One and Eighty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Kamar al- Zaman\nsaid to the eunuch, \"By Allah! I will not draw thee up out of this well\nuntil thou tell me the story of the young lady and who it was took her\naway whilst I slept.\" Answered the eunuch, after he had seen death\nstaring him in the face; \"O my lord, let me go and I will relate to\nthee the truth and the whole tale.\" So Kamar al-Zaman pulled him up out\nof the well, all but dead for suffering, what with cold and the pain of\ndipping and dousing, drubbing and dread of drowning. He shook like cane\nin hurricane, his teeth were clenched as by cramp and his clothes were\ndrenched and his body befouled and torn by the rough sides of the well:\nbriefly he was in a sad pickle. Now when Kamar al-Zaman saw him in this\nsorry plight, he was concerned for him; but, as soon as the eunuch\nfound himself on the floor, he said to him, \"O my lord, let me go and\ndoff my clothes and wring them out and spread them in the sun to dry,\nand don others; after which I will return to thee forthwith and tell\nthee the truth of the matter.\" Answered the Prince, \"O rascal slave!\nhadst thou not seen death face to face, never hadst thou confessed to\nfact nor told me a word; but go now and do thy will, and then come back\nto me at once and tell me the truth.\" Thereupon the eunuch went out,\nhardly crediting his escape, and ceased not running, stumbling and\nrising in his haste, till he came in to King Shahriman, whom he found\nsitting at talk with his Wazir of Kamar al-Zaman's case. The King was\nsaying to the Minister, \"I slept not last night, for anxiety concerning\nmy son, Kamar al-Zaman and indeed I fear lest some harm befal him in\nthat old tower. What good was there in imprisoning him?\" Answered the\nWazir, \"Have no care for him. By Allah, no harm will befal him! None at\nall! Leave him in prison for a month till his temper yield and his\nspirit be broken and he return to his senses.\" As the two spoke behold,\nup rushed the eunuch, in the aforesaid plight, making to the King who\nwas troubled at sight of him; and he cried \"O our lord the Sultan!\nVerily, thy son's wits are fled and he hath gone mad, he hath dealt\nwith me thus and thus, so that I am become as thou seest me, and he\nkept saying, 'A young lady lay with me this night and stole away\nsecretly whilst I slept. Where is she?' And he insisteth on my letting\nhim know where she is and on my telling him who took her away. But I\nhave seen neither girl nor boy: the door was locked all through the\nnight, for I slept before it with the key under my head, and I opened\nto him in the morning with my own hand. When King Shahriman heard this,\nhe cried out, saying, \"Alas, my son!;\" and he was enraged with sore\nrage against the Wazir, who had been the cause of all this case and\nsaid to him, \"Go up, bring me news of my son and see what hath befallen\nhis mind.\" So the Wazir rose and, stumbling over his long skirts, in\nhis fear of the King's wrath, hastened with the slave to the tower. Now\nthe sun had risen and when the Minister came in to Kamar al-Zaman, he\nfound him sitting on the couch reciting the Koran; so he saluted him\nand seated himself by his side, and said to him, \"O my lord, this\nwretched eunuch brought us tidings which troubled and alarmed us and\nwhich incensed the King.\" Asked Kamar al-Zaman, \"And what hath he told\nyou of me to trouble my father? In good sooth he hath troubled none but\nme.\" Answered the Wazir, \"He came to us in fulsome state and told us of\nthee a thing which Heaven forfend; and the slave added a lie which it\nbefitteth not to repeat, Allah preserve thy youth and sound sense and\ntongue of eloquence, and forbid to come from thee aught of offense!\"\nQuoth the Prince, \"O Wazir, and what thing did this pestilent slave say\nof me?\" The Minister replied, \"He told us that thy wits had taken leave\nof thee and thou wouldst have it that a young lady lay with thee last\nnight, and thou west instant with him to tell thee whither she went and\nthou diddest torture him to that end.\" But when Kamar al-Zaman heard\nthese words, he was enraged with sore rage and he said to the Wazir,\n\"'Tis manifest to me in very deed that you people taught the eunuch to\ndo as he did.\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to\nsay her per misted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Eighty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Kamar\nal-Zaman heard the words of the Wazir he was enraged with sore rage and\nsaid to him, \"'Tis manifest to me in very deed that you people taught\nthe eunuch to do as he did and forbade him to tell me what became of\nthe young lady who lay with me last night. But thou, O Wazir, art\ncleverer than the eunuch, so do thou tell me without stay or delay,\nwhither went the young lady who slept on my bosom last night; for it\nwas you who sent her and bade her steep in my embrace and we lay\ntogether till dawn; but, when I awoke, I found her not. So where is she\nnow?\" Said the Wazir, \"O my lord Kamar al-Zaman, Allah's name encompass\nthee about! By the Almighty, we sent none to thee last night, but thou\nlayest alone, with the door locked on thee and the eunuch sleeping\nbehind it, nor did there come to thee young lady or any other. Regain\nthy reason, O my lord, and stablish thy senses and occupy not thy mind\nwith vanities.\" Rejoined Kamar al-Zaman who was incensed at his words,\n\"O Wazir, the young lady in question is my beloved, the fair one with\nthe black eyes and rosy cheeks, whom I held in my arms all last night.\"\nSo the Minister wondered at his words and asked him, \"Didst thou see\nthis damsel last night with shine own eyes on wake or in sleep?\"\nAnswered Kamar al-Zaman, \"O ill- omened old man, dost thou fancy I saw\nher with my ears? Indeed, I saw her with my very eyes and awake, and I\ntouched her with my hand, and I watched by her full half the night,\nfeeding my vision on her beauty and loveliness and grace and tempting\nlooks. But you had schooled her and charged her to speak no word to me;\nso she feigned sleep and I lay by her side till dawn, when I awoke and\nfound her gone.\" Rejoined the Wazir, \"O my lord Kamar al- Zaman, haply\nthou sawest this in thy sleep; it must have been a delusion of dreams\nor a deception caused by eating various kinds of food, or a suggestion\nof the accursed devils.\" Cried the Prince, \"O pestilent old man! wilt\nthou too make a mock of me and tell me this was haply a delusion of\ndreams, when that eunuch confessed to the young lady, saying, 'At once\nI will return to thee and tell thee all about her?'\" With these words,\nhe sprang up and rushed at the Wazir and gripped hold of his beard\n(which was long[FN#273]) and, after gripping it, he twisted his hand in\nit and haling him off the couch, threw him on the floor. It seemed to\nthe Minister as though his soul departed his body for the violent\nplucking at his beard; and Kamar al-Zaman ceased not kicking the Wazir\nand basting his breast and ribs and cuffing him with open hand on the\nnape of his neck till he had well-nigh beaten him to death. Then said\nthe old man in his mind, \"Just as the eunuch-slave saved his life from\nthis lunatic youth by telling him a lie, thus it is even fitter that I\ndo likewise; else he will destroy me. So now for my lie to save myself,\nhe being mad beyond a doubt.\" Then he turned to Kamar al-Zaman and\nsaid, \"O my lord, pardon me; for indeed thy father charged me to\nconceal from thee this affair of the young lady; but now I am weak and\nweary and wounded with funding; for I am an old man and lack strength\nand bottom to endure blows. Have, therefore, a little patience with me\nand I will tell thee all and acquaint thee with the story of the young\nwoman.\" When the Prince heard this, he left off drubbing him and said,\n\"Wherefore couldst thou not tell me the tale until after shame and\nblows? Rise now, unlucky old man that thou art, and tell me her story.\"\nQuoth the Wazir, \"Say, dost thou ask of the young lady with the fair\nface and perfect form?\" Quoth Kamar al-Zaman, \"Even so! Tell me, O\nWazir, who it was that led her to me and laid her by my side, and who\nwas it that took her away from me by night; and let me know forthright\nwhither she is gone, that I myself may go to her at once. If my father\ndid this deed to me that he might try me by means of that beautiful\ngirl, with a view to our marriage, I consent to wed her and free myself\nof this trouble; for he did all these dealings with me only because I\nrefused wedlock. But now I consent and I say again, I consent to\nmatrimony: so tell this to my father, O Wazir, and advise him to marry\nme to that young lady; for I will have none other and my heart loveth\nnone save her alone. Now rise up at once and haste thee to my father\nand counsel him to hurry on our wedding and bring me his answer within\nthis very hour.\" Rejoined the Wazir, \"'Tis well!\" and went forth from\nhim, hardly believing himself out of his hands. Then he set off from\nthe tower, walking and tripping up as he went, for excess of fright and\nagitation, and he ceased not hurrying till he came in to King\nShahriman.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Eighty-nineth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir, fared\nforth from the tower, and ceased not running till he came in to King\nShahriman, who said to him as he sighted him, \"O thou Wazir, what man\nhath brought thee to grief and whose mischief hath treated thee in way\nunlief; how happeneth it that I see thee dumb foundered and coming to\nme thus astounded?\" Replied the Wazir, \"O King! I bring thee good\nnews.\" \"And what is it?\" quoth Shahriman, and quoth the Wazir, \"Know\nthat thy son Kamar al- Zaman's wits are clean gone and that he hath\nbecome stark mad.\" Now when the King heard these words of the Minister,\nlight became darkness in his sight and he said, \"O Wazir, make clear to\nme the nature of his madness.\" Answered the Wazir, \"O my lord, I hear\nand I obey.\" Then he told him that such and such had passed and\nacquainted him with all that his son had done; whereupon the King said\nto him, \"Hear, O Wazir, the good tidings which I give thee in return\nfor this thy fair news of my son's insanity; and it shall be the\ncutting off of thy head and the forfeiture of my favour, O most\nill-omened of Wazirs and foulest of Emirs! for I feel that thou hast\ncaused my son's disorder by the wicked advice and the sinister counsel\nthou hast given me first and last. By Allah, if aught of mischief or\nmadness have befallen my son I will most assuredly nail thee upon the\npalace dome and make thee drain the bitterest draught of death!'' Then\nhe sprang up and, taking the Wazir, with him, fared straight for the\ntower and entered it. And when Kamar al-Zaman saw the two, he rose to\nhis father in haste from the couch whereon he sat and kissing his hands\ndrew back and hung down his head and stood before him with his arms\nbehind him, and thus remained for a full hour. Then he raised his head\ntowards his sire; the tears gushed from his eyes and streamed down his\ncheeks and he began repeating,\n\n\"Forgive the sin 'neath which my limbs are trembling,\nFor the slave seeks for mercy from his master;\nI've done a fault, which calls for free confession,\nWhere shall it call for mercy, and forgiveness?''[FN#274]\n\nWhen the King heard this, he arose and embraced his son, and kissing\nhim between the eyes, made him sit by his side on the couch; then he\nturned to the Wazir, and, looking on him with eyes of wrath, said, \"O\ndog of Wazirs, how didst thou say of my son such and such things and\nmake my heart quake for him?\" Then he turned to the Prince and said, \"O\nmy son, what is to-day called?\" He answered, \"O my father, this day is\nthe Sabbath, and to morrow is First day: then come Second day, Third,\nFourth, Fifth day and lastly Friday.\"[FN#275] Exclaimed the King, \"O my\nson, O Kamar al-Zaman, praised be Allah for the preservation of thy\nreason! What is the present month called in our Arabic?\" \"Z\u00fa'l\nKa'adah,\" answered Kamar al-Zaman, \"and it is followed by Z\u00fa'l hijjah;\nthen cometh Muharram, then Safar, then Rab\u00ed'a the First and Rab\u00ed'a the\nSecond, the two Jam\u00e1d\u00e1s, Rajab, Sha'aban, Ramaz\u00e1n and Shaww\u00e1l.\" At this\nthe King rejoiced exceedingly and spat in the Wazir's face, saying, \"O\nwicked old man, how canst thou say that my son is mad? And now none is\nmad but thou.\" Hereupon the Minister shook his head and would have\nspoken, but bethought himself to wait awhile and see what might next\nbefal. Then the King said to his child, \"O my son, what words be these\nthou saddest to the eunuch and the Wazir, declaring, 'I was sleeping\nwith a fair damsel this night?'[FN#276] What damsel is this of whom\nthou speakest?\" Then Kamar al-Zaman laughed at his father's words and\nreplied, \"O my father, know that I can bear no more jesting; so add me\nnot another mock or even a single word on the matter, for my temper\nhath waxed short by that you have done with me. And know, O my father,\nwith assured knowledge, that I consent to marry, but on condition that\nthou give me to wife her who lay by my side this night; for I am\ncertain it was thou sentest her to me and madest me in love with her\nand then despatchedst a message to her before the dawn and tookest her\naway from beside me.\" Rejoined the King, \"The name of Allah encompass\nthee about, O my son, and be thy wit preserved from witlessness!\"\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted\nsay.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Ninetieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth King\nShahriman to his son Kamar al-Zaman, \"The name of Allah encompass thee\nabout, O my son, and be thy wit preserved from witlessness! What thing\nbe this young lady whom thou fanciest I sent to thee last night and\nthen again that I sent to withdraw her from thee before dawn? By the\nLord, O my son, I know nothing of this affair, and Allah upon thee,\ntell me if it be a delusion of dreaming or a deception caused by\nindisposition. For verily thou layest down to sleep last night with thy\nmind occupied anent marriage and troubled with the talk of it (Allah\ndamn marriage and the hour when I spake of it and curse him who\ncounselled it!); and without doubt or diffidence I can say that being\nmoved in mind by the mention of wedlock thou dreamedst that a handsome\nyoung lady embraced thee and didst fancy thou sawest her when awake.\nBut all this, O my son, is but an imbroglio of dreams.\" Replied Kamar\nal-Zaman, \"Leave this talk and swear to me by Allah, the All creator,\nthe Omniscient; the Humbler of the tyrant Caesars and the Destroyer of\nthe Chosroes, that thou knowest naught of the young lady nor of her\nwoning-place.\" Quoth the King, \"By the Might of Allah Almighty, the God\nof Moses and Abraham, I know naught of all this and never even heard of\nit; it is assuredly a delusion of dreams thou hast seen in sleep.' Then\nthe Prince replied to his sire, \"I will give thee a self evident proof\nthat it happened to me when on wake.\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Ninety-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Kamar al Zamar\nsaid to his sire, \"I will give thee a self-evident proof that this\nhappened to me when on wake. Now let me ask thee, did it ever befal any\nman to dream that he was battling a sore battle and after to awake from\nsleep and find in his hand a sword-blade besmeared with blood? Answered\nthe King, \"No, by Allah, O my son, this hath never been.\" Rejoined\nKamar al-Zaman, \"I will tell thee what happened to me and it was this.\nMeseemed I awoke from sleep in the middle of the past night and found a\ngirl lying by my side, whose form was like mine and whose favour was as\nmine. I embraced her and turned her about with my hand and took her\nseal- ring, which I put on my finger, and she pulled off my ring and\nput it on hers. Then I went to sleep by her side, but refrained from\nher for shame of thee, deeming that thou hadst sent her to me,\nintending to tempt me with her and incline me to marriage, and\nsuspecting thee to be hidden somewhere whence thou couldst see what I\ndid with her. And I was ashamed even to kiss her on the mouth for thy\naccount, thinking over this temptation to wedlock; and, when I awoke at\npoint of day, I found no trace of her, nor could I come at any news of\nher, and there befel me what thou knowest of with the eunuch and with\nthe Wazir. How then can this case have been a dream and a delusion,\nwhen the ring is a reality? Save for her ring on my finger I should\nindeed have deemed it a dream; but here is the ring on my little\nfinger: look at it, O King, and see what is its worth.\" So saying he\nhanded the ring to his father, who examined it and turned it over, then\nlooked to his son and said, \"Verily, there is in this ring some mighty\nmystery and some strange secret. What befel thee last night with the\ngirl is indeed a hard nut to crack, and I know not how intruded upon us\nthis intruder. None is the cause of all this posher save the Wazir;\nbut, Allah upon thee, O my son, take patience, so haply the Lord may\nturn to gladness this thy grief and to thy sadness bring complete\nrelief: as quoth one of the poets,\n\n'Haply shall Fortune draw her rein, and bring *\n     Fair chance, for she is changeful, jealous, vain:\nStill I may woo my want and wishes win, *\n     And see on heels of care unfair, the fain.'\n\nAnd now, O my son, I am certified at this hour that thou art not mad;\nbut thy case is a strange one which none can clear up for thee save the\nAlmighty.\" Cried the Prince, \"By Allah, O my father, deal kindly with\nme and seek out this young lady and hasten her coming to me; else I\nshall die of woe and of my death shall no one know.\" Then he betrayed\nthe ardour of his passion; and turned towards his father and repeated\nthese two couplets,\n\n\"If your promise of personal call prove untrue, *\n     Deign in vision to grant me an interview:\nQuoth they, 'How can phantom[FN#277] appear to the sight *\n     Of a youth, whose sight is fordone, perdue?'\"\n\nThen, after ending his poetry, Kamar al-Zaman again turned to his\nfather, with submission and despondency, and shedding tears in flood,\nbegan repeating these lines.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Ninety-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Kamar\nal-Zaman had repeated to his father these verses, he wept and\ncomplained and groaned from a wounded heart; and added these lines,\n\n\"Beware that eye glance which hath magic might; *\n     Wherever turn those orbs it bars our flight:\nNor be deceived by low sweet voice, that breeds *\n     A fever festering in the heart and sprite:\nSo soft that silky skin, were rose to touch it *\n     She'd cry and tear-drops rain for pain and fright:\nDid Zephyr e'en in sleep pass o'er her land, *\n     Scented he'd choose to dwell in scented site:\nHer necklets vie with tinkling of her belt; *\n     Her wrists strike either wristlet dumb with spite:\nWhen would her bangles buss those rings in ear, *\n     Upon the lover's eyne high mysteries 'light:\nI'm blamed for love of her, nor pardon claim; *\n     Eyes are not profiting which lack foresight:\nHeaven strip thee, blamer mine! unjust art thou; *\n     Before this fawn must every eye low bow.\"[FN#278]\n\nAfter which he said, \"By Allah, O my father, I cannot endure to be\nparted from her even for an hour.\" The King smote hand upon hand and\nexclaimed, \"There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah,\nthe Glorious, the Great! No cunning contrivance can profit us in this\naffair.\" Then he took his son by the hand and carried him to the\npalace, where Kamar al-Zaman lay down on the bed of languor and the\nKing sat at his head, weeping and mourning over him and leaving him\nnot, night or day, till at last the Wazir came in to him and said, \"O\nKing of the age and the time, how long wilt thou remain shut up with\nthy son and hide thyself from thy troops. Haply, the order of thy realm\nmay be deranged, by reason of shine absence from thy Grandees and\nOfficers of State. It behoveth the man of understanding, if he have\nvarious wounds in his body, to apply him first to medicine the most\ndangerous; so it is my counsel to thee that thou remove thy son from\nthis place to the pavilion which is in the palace overlooking the sea;\nand shut thyself up with him there, setting apart in every week two\ndays, Thursday and Monday, for state receptions and progresses and\nreviews. On these days let shine Emirs and Wazirs and Chamberlains and\nViceroys and high Officials and Grandees of the realm and the rest of\nthe levies and the lieges have access to thee and submit their affairs\nto thee; and do thou their needs and judge among them and give and take\nwith them and bid and forbid. And the rest of the week thou shalt pass\nwith thy son, Kamar al-Zaman, and cease not thus doing till Allah shall\nvouchsafe relief to you twain. Think not, O King, that thou art safe\nfrom the shifts of Time and the strokes of Change which come like a\ntraveller in the night; for the wise man is ever on his guard and how\nwell saith the poet,\n\n'Thou deemedst well of Time when days went well, *\n     And fearedst not what ills might bring thee Fate:\nThe Nights so fair and restful cozened thee, *\n     For peaceful Nights bring woes of heavy weight.\nOh children of mankind whom Time befriends, *\n     Beware of Time's deceits or soon or late!'''[FN#279]\n\nWhen the Sultan heard his Wazir's words he saw that they were right and\ndeemed his counsel wise, and it had effect upon him for he feared lest\nthe order of the state be deranged; so he rose at once and bade\ntransport his son from his sick room to the pavilion in the palace\noverlooking the sea. Now this palace was girt round by the waters and\nwas approached by a causeway twenty cubits wide. It had windows on all\nsides commanding an ocean- view; its floor was paved with\nparti-coloured marbles and its ceiling was painted in the richest\npigments and figured with gold and lapis-lazuli. They furnished it for\nKamar al-Zaman with splendid upholstery, embroidered rugs and carpets\nof the richest silk; and they clothed the walls with choice brocades\nand hung curtains bespangled with gems of price. In the midst they set\nhim a couch of juniper[FN#280]-wood inlaid with pearls and jewels, and\nKamar al-Zaman sat down thereon, but the excess of his concern and\npassion for the young lady had wasted his charms and emaciated his\nbody; he could neither eat nor drink nor sleep; and he was like a man\nwho had been sick twenty years of sore sickness. His father seated\nhimself at his head, grieving for him with the deepest grief, and every\nMonday and Thursday he gave his Wazirs and Emirs and Chamberlains and\nViceroys and Lords of the realm and levies and the rest of his lieges\nleave to come up to him in that pavilion. So they entered and did their\nseveral service and duties and abode with him till the end of the day,\nwhen they went their ways and the King returned to his son in the\npavilion whom he left not night nor day; and he ceased not doing on\nthis wise for many days and nights. Such was the case with Kamar\nal-Zaman, son of King Shahriman; but as regards Princess Budur,\ndaughter of King Ghayur, Lord of the Isles and the Seven Palaces, when\nthe two Jinns bore her up and laid her on her bed, she slept till\ndaybreak, when she awoke and sitting upright looked right and left, but\nsaw not the youth who had lain in her bosom. At this her vitals\nfluttered, her reason fled and she shrieked a loud shriek which awoke\nall her slave girls and nurses and duennas. They flocked in to her; and\nthe chief of them came forward and asked, \"What aileth thee, O my\nlady?\" Answered the Princess, \"O wretched old woman, where is my\nbeloved, the handsome youth who lay last night in my bosom? Tell me\nwhither he is gone.\" Now when the duenna heard this, the light\nstarkened in her sight and she feared from her mischief with sore\naffright, and said to her, \"O my Lady Budur, what unseemly words are\nthese?\" Cried the Princess, \"Woe to thee pestilent crone that thou art!\nI ask thee again where is my beloved, the goodly youth with the shining\nface and the slender form, the jetty eyes and the joined eyebrows, who\nlay with me last night from supper-tide until near daybreak?\" She\nrejoined \"By Allah, O my lady, I have seen no young man nor any other.\nI conjure thee, carry not this unseemly jest too far lest we all lose\nour lives; for perhaps the joke may come to thy father's ears and who\nshall then deliver us from his hand?\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Ninety-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the duenna\nbespake the Lady Budur in these words, \"Allah upon thee, O my lady!\ncarry not this unseemly jest too far; for perhaps it may come to thy\nfather's ears, and who shall then deliver us from his hand?\" The\nPrincess rejoined, \"In very sooth a youth lay with me last night, one\nof the fairest-faced of men.\" Exclaimed the duenna, \"Heaven preserve\nthy reason! indeed no one lay with thee last night.\" Thereupon the\nPrincess looked at her hand and, finding Kamar al-Zaman's seal-ring on\nher finger in stead of her own, said to her, \"Woe to thee, thou\naccursed! thou traitress! wilt thou lie to me and tell me that none lay\nwith me last night and swear to me a falsehood in the name of the\nLord?\" Replied the duenna, \"By Allah, I do not lie to thee nor have I\nsworn falsely.\" Then the Princess was incensed by her words and,\ndrawing a sword she had by her, she smote the old woman with it and\nslew her;[FN#281] whereupon the eunuch and the waiting-women and the\nconcubines cried out at her, and ran to her father and, without stay or\ndelay, acquainted him with her case. So the King went to her, and asked\nher, \"O my daughter, what aileth thee?\"; and she answered, \"O my\nfather, where is the youth who lay with me last night?\" Then her reason\nfled from her head and she cast her eyes right and left and rent her\nraiment even to the skirt. When her sire saw this, he bade the women\nlay hands on her; so they seized her and manacled her, then putting a\nchain of iron about her neck, made her fast to one of the\npalace-windows and there left her.[FN#282] Thus far concerning Princess\nBudur; but as regards her father, King Ghayur, the world was straitened\nupon him when he saw what had befallen his daughter, for that he loved\nher and her case was not a little grievous to him. So he summoned on it\nthe doctors and astrologers and men skilled in talisman- writing and\nsaid to them, \"Whoso healeth my daughter of what ill she hath, I will\nmarry him to her and give him half of my kingdom; but whoso cometh to\nher and cureth her not, I will strike off his head and hang it over her\npalace-gate.\" Accordingly, all who went in to her, but failed to heal\nher, he beheaded and hung their heads over the palace-gates, till he\nhad beheaded on her account forty doctors and crucified forty\nastrologers; wherefor the general held aloof from her, all the\nphysicians having failed to medicine her malady; and her case was a\npuzzle to the men of science and the adepts in cabalistic characters.\nAnd as her longing and passion redoubled and love and distraction were\nsore upon her, she poured forth tears and repeated these couplets,\n\n\"My fondness, O my moon, for thee my foeman is, *\n     And to thy comradeship the nights my thought compel:\nIn gloom I bide with fire that flames below my ribs, *\n     Whose lowe I make comparison with heat of Hell:\nI'm plagued with sorest stress of pine and ecstasy; *\n     Nor clearest noon tide can that horrid pain dispel.\"\n\nThen she sighed and repeated these also,\n\n\"Salams fro' me to friends in every stead; *\n     Indeed to all dear friends do I incline:\nSalams, but not salams that bid adieu; *\n     Salams that growth of good for you design:\nI love you dear, indeed, nor less your land, *\n     But bide I far from every need of mine!\"\n\nAnd when the Lady Budur ceased repeating her poetry, she wept till her\neyes waxed sore and her cheeks changed form and hue, and in this\ncondition she continued three years. Now she had a foster-brother, by\nname Marzaw\u00e1n,[FN#283] who was travelling in far lands and absent from\nher the whole of this time. He loved her with an exceeding love,\npassing the love of brothers; so when he came back he went in to his\nmother and asked for his sister, the Princess Budur. She answered him,\n\"O my son, thy sister hath been smitten with madness and hath passed\nthese three years with a chain of iron about her neck; and all the\nphysicians and men of science have failed of healing her.\" When\nMarzawan heard these words he said, \"I must needs go in to her;\nperadventure I may discover what she hath, and be able to medicine\nher;\" and his mother replied, \"Needs must thou visit her, but wait till\nto morrow, that I may contrive some thing to suit thy case.\" Then she\nwent a-foot to the palace of the Lady Budur and, accosting the eunuch\nin charge of the gates, made him a present and said to him, \"I have a\ndaughter, who was brought up with thy mistress and since then I married\nher; and, when that befel the Princess which befel her, she became\ntroubled and sore concerned, and I desire of thy favour that my\ndaughter may go in to her for an hour and look on her; and then return\nwhence she came, so shall none know of it.\" Quoth the eunuch, \"This may\nnot be except by night, after the King hath visited his child and gone\naway; then come thou and thy daughter.\" So she kissed the eunuch's hand\nand, returning home, waited till the morrow at nightfall; and when it\nwas time she arose and sought her son Marzawan and attired him in\nwoman's apparel; then, taking his hand in hers, led him towards the\npalace, and ceased not walking with him till she came upon the eunuch\nafter the Sultan had ended his visit to the Princess. Now when the\neunuch saw her, he rose to her, and said, \"Enter, but do not prolong\nthy stay!\" So they went in and when Marzawan beheld the Lady Budur in\nthe aforesaid plight, he saluted her, after his mother had doffed his\nwoman's garb: then he took out of their satchel books he had brought\nwith him; and, lighting a wax- candle, he began to recite certain\nconjurations Thereupon the Princess looked at him and recognising him,\nsaid, \"O my brother, thou hast been absent on thy travels' and thy news\nhave been cut off from us.\" He replied, \"True! but Allah hath brought\nme back safe and sound, I am now minded to set out again nor hath aught\ndelayed me but the news I hear of thee; wherefore my heart burned for\nthee and I came to thee, so haply I may free thee of thy malady.\" She\nrejoined, O my brother, thinkest thou it is madness aileth me?\" \"Yes.\"\nanswered he, and she said, \"Not so, by Allah! 'tis even as saith the\npoet,\n\n'Quoth they 'Thou rav'st on him thou lov'st': quoth I, *\n     'The sweets of love are only for th' insane!'\nLove never maketh Time his friend befriend; *\n     Only the Jinn-struck wight such boon can gain:\nWell! yes, I'm mad: bring him who madded me *\n     And, if he cure m: madness, blame restrain!'\"\n\nThen she let Marzawan know that she was love-daft and he said \"Tell me\nconcerning thy tale and what befel thee: haply there may be in my hand\nsomething which shall be a means of deliverance for thee.\"\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of da, and ceased saying her permitted\nsay.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Ninety-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Marzawar thus\naddressed Princess Budur, \"Tell me concerning thy tale and what befel\nthee: haply Allah may inspire me with a means of deliverance for thee.\"\nQuoth she, \"O my brother, hear my story which is this. One night I\nawoke from sleep, in the last third of the night[FN#284] and, sitting\nup, saw by my side the handsomest of youths that be, and tongue faileth\nto describe him, for he was as a willow-wand or an Indian rattan-cane.\nSo methought it was my father who had done on this wise in order\nthereby to try me, for that he had consulted me concerning wedlock,\nwhen the Kings sought me of him to wife, and I had refused. It was this\nthough withheld me from arousing him, for I feared that, if I did aught\nof embraced him, he would peradventure inform my father of m, doings.\nBut in the morning, I found on my finger his seal-ring, in place of my\nown which he had taken. And, O my brother, m, heart was seized with\nlove of him at first sight; and, for the violence of my passion and\nlonging, I have never savoured the taste of sleep and have no\noccupation save weeping alway and repeating verses night and day. And\nthis, O my brother, is my story and the cause of my madness.\" Then she\npoured forth tears and repeated these couplets,\n\n\"Now Love hast banished all that bred delight; *\n     With that heart-nibbling fawn my joys took flight:\nLightest of trifles lover's blood to him *\n     Who wastes the vitals of the hapless wight!\nFor him I'm jealous of my sight and thought; *\n     My heart acts spy upon my thought and sight:\nThose long-lashed eyelids rain on me their shafts *\n     Guileful, destroying hearts where'er they light:\nNow, while my portion in the world endures, *\n     Shall I behold him ere I quit world-site?\nWhat bear I for his sake I'd hide, but tears *\n     Betray my feelings to the spy's despight.\nWhen near, our union seemeth ever far; *\n     When far, my thoughts to him aye nearest are.\"\n\nAnd presently she continued, \"See then, O my brother, how thou mayest\naid me in mine affliction.\" So Marzawan bowed his head ground-wards\nawhile, wondering and not knowing what to do, then he raised it and\nsaid to her, \"All thou hast spoken to me I hold to be true, though the\ncase of the young man pass my understanding: but I will go round about\nall lands and will seek for what may heal thee; haply Allah shall\nappoint thy healing to be at my hand. Meanwhile, take patience and be\nnot disquieted.\" Thereupon Marzawan farewelled her, praying that she\nmight be constant and left her repeating these couplets,\n\n\"Thine image ever companies my sprite, *\n     For all thou'rt distant from the pilgrim's sight:\nBut my heart-wishes e'er attract thee near: *\n     What is the lightning's speed to Thought's swift flight?\nThen go not thou, my very light of eyes *\n     Which, when thou'rt gone, lack all the Kohl of light.\"\n\nThen Marzawan returned to his mother's house, where he passed the\nnight. And when the morrow dawned, having equipped himself for his\njourney, he fared forth and ceased not faring from city to city and\nfrom island to island for a whole month, till he came to a town named\nAl-Tayrab.[FN#285] Here he went about scenting news of the townsfolk,\nso haply he might light on a cure for the Princess's malady, for in\nevery capital he entered or passed by, it was reported that Queen\nBudur, daughter of King Ghayur, had lost her wits. But arriving at\nAl-Tayrab city, he heard that Kamar al-Zaman, son of King Shahriman,\nwas fallen sick and afflicted with melancholy madness. So Marzawan\nasked the name of the Prince's capital and they said to him, \"It is on\nthe Islands of Khalidan and it lieth distant from our city a whole\nmonth's journey by sea, but by land it is six months' march.\" So he\nwent down to the sea in a ship which was bound for the Khalidan Isles,\nand she sailed with a favouring breeze for a whole month, till they\ncame in sight of the capital; and there remained for them but to make\nthe land when, behold, there came out on them a tempestuous wind which\ncarried away the masts and rent the canvas, so that the sails fell into\nthe sea and the ship capsized, with all on board,\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Ninety-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the ship\ncapsized with all on board, each sought his own safety; and as for\nMarzawan the set of the sea carried him under the King's palace,\nwherein was Kamar al-Zaman. And by the decree of destiny it so happened\nthat this was the day on which King Shahriman gave audience to his\nGrandees and high officers, and he was sitting, with his son's head on\nhis lap, whilst an eunuch fanned away the flies; and the Prince had not\nspoken neither had he eaten nor drunk for two days, and he was grown\nthinner than a spindle.[FN#286] Now the Wazir was standing respectfully\na-foot near the latticed window giving on the sea and, raising his\neyes, saw Marzawan being beaten by the billows and at his last gasp;\nwhereupon his heart was moved to pity for him, so he drew near to the\nKing and moving his head towards him said, \"I crave thy leave, O King,\nto go down to the court of the pavilion and open the water-gate that I\nmay rescue a man who is at the point of drowning in the sea and bring\nhim forth of danger into deliverance; peradventure, on this account\nAllah may free thy son from what he hath!\" The King replied, \"O thou\nWazir, enough is that which hath befallen my son through thee and on\nshine account. Haply, if thou rescue this drowning man, he will come to\nknow our affairs, and look on my son who is in this state and exult\nover me; but I swear by Allah, that if this half-drowned wretch come\nhither and learn our condition and look upon my son and then fare forth\nand speak of our secrets to any, I will assuredly strike off thy head\nbefore his; for thou, O my Minister art the cause of all that hath\nbetided us, first and last. Now do as thou wilt.\" Thereupon the Wazir\nsprang up and, opening the private pastern which gave upon the sea,\ndescended to the causeway; then walked on twenty steps and came to the\nwater where he saw Marzawan nigh unto death. So he put out his hand to\nhim and, catching him by his hair, drew him ashore in a state of\ninsensibility, with belly full of water and eyes half out of his head.\nThe Wazir waited till he came to himself, when he pulled off his wet\nclothes and clad him in a fresh suit, covering his head with one of his\nservants' turbands; after which he said to him, Know that I have been\nthe means of saving thee from drowning: do not thou requite me by\ncausing my death and shine own.\"\u00c4And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Wazir\ndid to Marzawan what he did, he thus addressed him Know that I have\nbeen the cause of saving thee from drowning so requite me not by\ncausing my death and shine own.\" Asked Marzawan, And how so?\"; and the\nWazir answered, \"Thou art at this hour about to go up and pass among\nEmirs and Wazirs all of them silent and none speaking, because of Kamar\nal-Zaman the son of the Sultan.\" Now when Marzawan heard the name of\nKamar al-Zaman, he knew that this was he whom he had heard spoken of in\nsundry cities and of whom he came in search, but he feigned ignorance\nand asked the Wazir, \"And who is Kamar al-Zaman? Answered the Minister,\n\"He is the son of Sultan Shahriman and he is sore sick and lieth strown\non his couch restless alway, eating not nor drinking neither sleeping\nnight or day; indeed he is nigh upon death and we have lost hope of his\nliving and are certain that he is dying. Beware lest thou look too long\non him, or thou look on any other than that where thou settest thy\nfeet: else thou art a lost man, and I also.\" He replied, \"Allah upon\nthee, O Wazir, I implore thee, of thy favour, acquaint me touching this\nyouth thou describest, what is the cause of the condition in which he\nis.\" The Wazir replied, \"I know none, save that, three years ago, his\nfather required him to wed, but he refused; whereat the King was wroth\nand imprisoned him. And when he awoke on the morrow, he fancied that\nduring the night he had been roused from sleep and had seen by his side\na young lady of passing loveliness, whose charms tongue can never\nexpress; and he assured us that he had plucked off her seal-ring from\nher finger and had put it on his own and that she had done likewise;\nbut we know not the secret of all this business. So by Allah, O my son,\nwhen thou comest up with me into the palace, look not on the Prince,\nbut go thy way; for the Sultan's heart is full of wrath against me.\" So\nsaid Marzawan to himself, \"By Allah; this is the one I sought!\" Then he\nfollowed the Wazir up to the palace, where the Minister seated himself\nat the Prince's feet; but Marzawan found forsooth nothing to do but go\nup to Kamar al-Zaman and stand before him at gaze. Upon this the Wazir,\ndied of affright in his skin, and kept looking at Marzawan and\nsignalling him to wend his way; but he feigned not to see him and gave\nnot over gazing upon Kamar al- Zaman, till he was well assured that it\nwas indeed he whom he was seeking,\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Marzawan\nlooked upon Kamar al-Zaman and knew that it was indeed he whom he was\nseeking, he cried, \"Exalted be Allah, Who hath made his shape even as\nher shape and his complexion as her complexion and his cheek as her\ncheek!'' Upon this Kamar al-Zaman opened his eyes and gave earnest ear\nto his speech; and, when Marzawan saw him inclining to hear, he\nrepeated these couplets[FN#287],\n\n\"I see thee full of song and plaint and love's own ecstasy;\nDelighting in describing all the charms of loveliness:\n\nArt smit by stroke of Love or hath shaft-shot wounded thee?\nNone save the wounded ever show such signals of distress!\n\nHo thou! crown the wine cup and sing me singular\nPraises to Sulaym\u00e1, Al-Rab\u00e1b, Tan'oum addrest;[FN#288]\n\nGo round the grape-vine sun[FN#289] which for mansion hath a jar;\nWhose East the cup boy is, and here my mouth that opes for West.\n\nI'm jealous of the very clothes that dare her sides enroll\nWhen she veils her dainty body of the delicatest grace:\n\nI envy every goblet of her lips that taketh toll\nWhen she sets the kissing cup on that sweetest kissing-place.\n\nBut deem not by the keen-edged scymitar I'm slain\u2014\nThe hurts and harms I dree are from arrows of her eyes.\n\nI found her finger tips, as I met her once again,\nDeep-reddened with the juice of the wood that ruddy dyes;[FN#290]\n\nAnd cried, 'Thy palms thou stainedst when far away was I\nAnd this is how thou payest one distracted by his pine!'\n\nQuoth she (enkindling in my heart a flame that burned high\nSpeaking as one who cannot hide of longing love the sign),\n\n'By thy life, this is no dye used for dyeing; so forbear\nThy blame, nor in charging me with falsing Love persist!\n\nBut when upon our parting-day I saw thee haste to fare,\nThe while were bared my hand and my elbow and my wrist;\n\n'I shed a flood of blood-red tears and with fingers brushed away; Hence\nblood-reddened were the tips and still blood-red they remain.'\n\nHad I wept before she wept, to my longing-love a prey,\nBefore repentance came, I had quit my soul of pain;\n\nBut she wept before I wept and I wept to see her care\nAnd I said, 'All the merit to precedent;'[FN#291]\n\nBlame me not for loving her, now on self of Love I swear\nFor her sake, for her only, these pains my soul torment.\n\nShe hath all the lere of Lukm\u00e1n[FN#292] and Y\u00fasuf's beauty lief;\nSweet singer David's voice and Maryam's chastity:\n\nWhile I've all Jacob's mourning and Jonah's prison-grief,\nAnd the sufferings of Job and old Adam's history:\n\nYet kill her not, albeit of my love for her I die;\nBut ask her why my blood to her was lawful. ask her why?\"\n\nWhen Marzawan recited this ode, the words fell upon Kamar al- Zaman's\nheart as freshness after fever and returning health; and he sighed and,\nturning his tongue in his mouth, said to his sire, \"O my father, let\nthis youth come and sit by my side.\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Ninety-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Kamar al- Zaman\nsaid to his sire, \"O my father, allow this youth to come and sit by my\nside.\" Now when the King heard these words from his son, he rejoiced\nwith exceeding joy, though at the first his heart had been set against\nMarzawan and he had determined that the stranger's head needs must be\nstricken off: but when he heard Kamar al-Zaman speak, his anger left\nhim and he arose and drawing Marzawan to him, seated him by his son and\nturning to him said, \"Praised be Allah for thy safety!\" He replied,\n\"Allah preserve thee! and preserve thy son to thee!\" and called down\nblessings on the King. Then the King asked, \"From what country art\nthou?\"; and he answered, \"From the Islands of the Inland Sea, the\nkingdom of King Ghayur, Lord of the Isles and the Seas and the Seven\nPalaces.\" Quoth King Shahriman, \"Maybe thy coming shall be blessed to\nmy son and Allah vouchsafe to heal what is in him.\" Quoth Marzawan,\n\"Inshallah, naught shall be save what shall be well!\" Then turning to\nKamar al-Zaman, he said to him in his ear unheard of the King and his\ncourt, 'O my lord! be of good cheer, and hearten thy heart and let\nshine eyes be cool and clear and, with respect to her for whose sake\nthou art thus, ask not of her case on shine account. But thou keptest\nthy secret and fellest sick, while she told her secret and they said\nshe had gone mad; so she is now in prison, with an iron chain about her\nneck, in most piteous plight; but, Allah willing, the healing of both\nof you shall come from my hand.\" Now when Kamar al-Zaman heard these\nwords, his life returned to him and he took heart and felt a thrill of\njoy and signed to his father to help him sit up; and the King was like\nto fly for gladness and rose hastily and lifted him up. Presently, of\nhis fear for his son, he shook the kerchief of dismissal[FN#293]; and\nall the Emirs and Wazirs withdrew; then he set two pillows for his son\nto lean upon, after which he bade them perfume the palace with saffron\nand decorate the city, saying to Marzawan, \"By Allah, O my son, of a\ntruth shine aspect be a lucky and a blessed!\" And he made as much of\nhim as he might and called for food, and when they brought it, Marzawan\ncame up to the Prince and said, \"Rise, eat with me.\" So he obeyed him\nand ate with him, and all the while the King invoked blessings on\nMarzawan and said, \"How auspicious is thy coming, O my son!\" And when\nthe father saw his boy eat, his joy and gladness redoubled, and he went\nout and told the Prince's mother and all the household. Then he spread\nthroughout the palace the good news of the Prince's recovery and the\nKing commanded the decoration of the city and it was a day of high\nfestival. Marzawan passed that night with Kamar al-Zaman, and the King\nalso slept with them in joy and delight for his son's recovery.\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted\nsay.\n\nWhen it was the One Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Shahriman\nalso passed that night with them in the excess of his joy for his son's\nrecovery. And when the next morning dawned, and the King had gone away\nand the two young men were left alone, Kamar al-Zaman told his story\nfrom beginning to end to Marzawan who said, \"In very sooth I know her\nwith whom thou didst foregather; her name is the Princess Budur and she\nis daughter to King Ghayur.\" Then he related to him all that had passed\nwith the Princess from first to last and acquainted him with the\nexcessive love she bore him, saying, \"All that befel thee with thy\nfather hath befallen her with hers, and thou art without doubt her\nbeloved, even as she is shine; so brace up thy resolution and take\nheart, for I will bring thee to her and unite you both anon and deal\nwith you even as saith the poet,\n\n\"Albe to lover adverse be his love, *\n     And show aversion howso may he care;\nYet will I manage that their persons[FN#294] meet, *\n     E'en as the pivot of a scissor pair.\"\n\nAnd he ceased not to comfort and solace and encourage Kamar al- Zaman\nand urged him to eat and drink till he ate food and drank wine, and\nlife returned to him and he was saved from his ill case; and Marzawan\ncheered him and diverted him with talk and songs and stories, and in\ngood time he became free of his disorder and stood up and sought to go\nto the Hammam.[FN#295] So Marzawan took him by the hand and both went\nto the bath, where they washed their bodies and made them clean.\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted\nsay.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundredth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Kamar\nal-Zaman, son of King Shahriman, went to the Hammam, his father in his\njoy at this event freed the prisoners, and presented splendid dresses\nto his grandees and bestowed large alm-gifts upon the poor and bade\ndecorate the city seven days. Then quoth Marzawan to Kamar al-Zaman,\n\"Know, O my lord, that I came not from the Lady Budur save for this\npurpose, and the object of my journey was to deliver her from her\npresent case; and it remaineth for us only to devise how we may get to\nher, since thy father cannot brook the thought of parting from thee. So\nit is my counsel that to-morrow thou ask his leave to go abroad\nhunting. Then do thou take with thee a pair of saddle-bags full of\nmoney and mount a swift steed, and lead a spare horse, and I will do\nthe like, and say to thy sire, 'I have a mind to divert myself with\nhunting the desert and to see the open country and there to pass one\nnight.' Suffer not any servant to follow us, for as soon as we reach\nthe open country, we will go our ways.\" Kamar al- Zaman rejoiced in\nthis plan with great joy and cried, \"It is good.\" Then he stiffened his\nback and, going in to his father, sought his leave and spoke as he had\nbeen taught, and the King consented to his going forth a-hunting and\nsaid, \"O my son, blessed be the day that restoreth thee to health! I\nwill not gainsay thee in this; but pass not more than one night in the\ndesert and return to me on the morrow; for thou knowest that life is\nnot good to me without thee, and indeed I can hardly believe thee to be\nwholly recovered from what thou hadst,[FN#296] because thou art to me\nas he of whom quoth the poet,\n\n'Albe by me I had through day and night *\n     Solomon's carpet and the Chosroes' might,\nBoth were in value less than wing of gnat, *\n     Unless these eyne could hold thee aye in sight.'\"[FN#297]\n\nThen the King equipped his son Kamar al-Zaman and Marzawan for the\nexcursion, bidding make ready for them four horses, together with a\ndromedary to carry the money and a camel to bear the water and belly\ntimber; and Kamar al-Zaman forbade any of his attendants to follow him.\nHis father farewelled him and pressed him to his breast and kissed him,\nsaying, \"I ask thee in the name of Allah, be not absent from me more\nthan one night, wherein sleep will be unlawful to me, for I am even as\nsaith the poet,\n\n'Thou present, in the Heaven of heavens I dwell; *\n     Bearing shine absence is of hells my Hell:\nPledged be for thee my soul! If love for thee *\n     Be crime, my crime is of the fellest fell.\nDoes love-lowe burn thy heart as burns it mine, *\n     Doomed night and day Gehenna-fire to smell?'\"\n\nAnswered Kamar al-Zaman, \"O my father, Inshallah, I will lie abroad but\none night!\" Then he took leave of him, and he and Marzawan mounted and\nleading the spare horses, the dromedary with the money and the camel\nwith the water and victual, turned their faces towards the open\ncountry;\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawning day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and First Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Kamar al- Zaman\nand Marzawan fared forth and turned their faces towards the open\ncountry; and they travelled from the first of the day till nightfall,\nwhen they halted and ate and drank and fed their beasts and rested\nawhile; after which they again took horse and ceased not journeying for\nthree days, and on the fourth they came to a spacious tract wherein was\na thicket. They alighted in it and Marzawan, taking the camel and one\nof the horses, slaughtered them and cut off their flesh and stripped\ntheir bones. Then he doffed from Kamar al-Zaman his shirt and trousers\nwhich he smeared with the horse's blood and he took the Prince's coat\nwhich he tore to shreds and befouled with gore; and he cast them down\nin the fork of the road. Then they ate and drank and mounting set\nforward again; and, when Kamar al- Zaman asked why this was done, and\nsaid, \"What is this O my brother, and how shall it profit us?\";\nMarzawan replied, \"Know that thy father, when we have outstayed the\nsecond night after the night for which we had his leave, and yet we\nreturn not, will mount and follow in our track till he come hither;\nand, when he happeneth upon this blood which I have spilt and he seeth\nthy shirt and trousers rent and gore-fouled, he will fancy that some\naccident befel thee from bandits or wild-beasts, so he will give up\nhope of thee and return to his city, and by this device we shall win\nour wishes.\" Quoth Kamar al-Zaman, \"By Allah, this be indeed a rare\ndevice! Thou hast done right well.''[FN#298] Then the two fared on days\nand nights and all that while Kamar al-Zaman did naught but complain\nwhen he found himself alone, and he ceased not weeping till they drew\nnear their journeys end, when he rejoiced and repeated these verses,\n\n\"Wilt tyrant play with truest friend who thinks of thee each\n     hour, * And after showing love-desire betray indifference?\nMay I forfeit every favour if in love I falsed thee, *\n     If thee I left, abandon me by way of recompense:\nBut I've been guilty of no crime such harshness to deserve, *\n     And if I aught offended thee I bring my penitence;\nOf Fortune's wonders one it is thou hast abandoned me, *\n     But Fortune never wearieth of showing wonderments.\"\n\nWhen he had made an end of his verses, Marzawan said to him, \"Look!\nthese be King Ghayur's Islands;\" whereat Kamar al-Zaman joyed with\nexceeding joy and thanked him for what he had done, and kissed him\nbetween the eyes and strained him\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Marzawan\nsaid \"Look! these be the Islands of King Ghayur;\" Kamar al-Zaman joyed\nwith exceeding joy and thanked him for what he had done and kissed him\nbetween the eyes and strained him to his bosom. And after reaching the\nIslands and entering the city they took up their lodging in a khan,\nwhere they rested three days from the fatigues of their wayfare; after\nwhich Marzawan carried Kamar al-Zaman to the bath and, clothing him in\nmerchant's gear, provided him with a geomantic tablet of gold,[FN#299]\nwith a set of astrological instruments and with an astrolabe of silver,\nplated with gold. Then he said to him, \"Arise, O my lord, and take thy\nstand under the walls of the King's palace and cry out, 'I am the ready\nReckoner; I am the Scrivener; I am he who weeteth the Sought and the\nSeeker; I am the finished man of Science; I am the Astrologer\naccomplished in experience! Where then is he that seeketh?' As soon as\nthe King heareth this, he will send after thee and carry thee in to his\ndaughter the Princess Budur, thy lover; but when about going in to her\ndo thou say to him, 'Grant me three days' delay, and if she recover,\ngive her to me to wife; and if not, deal with me as thou dealest with\nthose who forewent me.' He will assuredly agree to this, so as soon as\nthou art alone with her, discover thyself to her; and when she seeth\nthee, she will recover strength and her madness will cease from her and\nshe will be made whole in one night. Then do thou give her to eat and\ndrink. and her father, rejoicing in her recovery, will marry thee to\nher and share his kingdom with thee; for he hath imposed on himself\nthis condition and so peace be upon thee.\" Now when Kamar al-Zaman\nheard these words he exclaimed, \"May I never lack thy benefits!\", and,\ntaking the set of instruments aforesaid, sallied forth from the\ncaravanserai in the dress of his order. He walked on till he stood\nunder the walls of King Ghayur's palace, where he began to cry out,\nsaying, \"I am the Scribe, I am the ready Reckoner, I am he who knoweth\nthe Sought and the Seeker; I am he who openeth the Volume and summeth\nup the Sums;[FN#300] who Dreams can expound whereby the sought is\nfound! Where then is the seeker?\" Now when the city people heard this,\nthey flocked to him, for it was long since they had seen Scribe or\nAstrologer, and they stood round him and, looking upon him, they saw\none in the prime of beauty and grace and perfect elegance, and they\nmarvelled at his loveliness, and his fine stature and symmetry.\nPresently one of them accosted him and said, \"Allah upon thee, O thou\nfair and young, with the eloquent tongue! incur not this affray; nor\nthrow thy life away in thine ambition to marry the Princess Budur. Only\ncast shine eyes upon yonder heads hung up; all their owners have lost\ntheir lives in this same venture.\" Yet Kamar al-Zaman paid no heed to\nthem, but cried out at the top of his voice, saying, \"I am the Doctor,\nthe Scrivener! I am the Astrologer, the Calculator!\" And all the\ntownsfolk forbade him from this, but he regarded them not at all,\nsaying in his mind, \"None knoweth desire save whoso suffereth it.\" Then\nhe began again to cry his loudest, shouting, \"I am the Scrivener, I am\nthe Astrologer!\"\u2014And Shahrazad per ceived the dawn of day and ceased to\nsay her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Kamar al- Zaman\nin no wise heeded the words of the citizens, but continued to cry out,\n\"I am the Calculator! I am the Astrologer!\" Thereupon all the townsfolk\nwere wroth with him and said to him, \"Thou art nothing but an imbecile,\nsilly, self-willed lad! Have pity on shine own youth and tender years\nand beauty and loveliness.\" But he cried all the more, \"I am the\nAstrologer, I am the Calculator! Is there any one that seeketh?\" As he\nwas thus crying and the people forbidding him, behold, King Ghayur\nheard his voice and the clamour of the lieges and said to his Wazir,\n\"Go down and bring me yon Astrologer.\" So the Wazir, went down in\nhaste, and taking Kamar al-Zaman from the midst of the crowd led him up\nto the King; and when in the presence he kissed the ground and began\nversifying,\n\n\"Eight glories meet, all, all conjoined in thee, *\n     Whereby may Fortune aye thy servant be:\nLere, lordliness, grace, generosity; *\n     Plain words, deep meaning, honour, victory!\"\n\nWhen the King looked upon him, he seated him by his side and said to\nhim, \"By Allah, O my son, an thou be not an astrologer, venture not thy\nlife nor comply with my condition; for I have bound myself that whoso\ngoeth in to my daughter and healeth her not of that which hath befallen\nher I will strike off his head; but whoso healeth her him I will marry\nto her. So let not thy beauty and loveliness delude thee: for, by\nAllah! and again, by Allah! If thou cure her not, I will assuredly cut\noff thy head.\" And Kamar al-Zaman replied, \"This is thy right; and I\nconsent, for I wot of this ere came I hither.\" Then King Ghayur took\nthe Kazis to witness against him and delivered him to the eunuch,\nsaying, \"Carry this one to the Lady Budur.\" So the eunuch took him by\nthe hand and led him along the passage; but Kamar al-Zaman outstripped\nhim and pushed on before, whilst the eunuch ran after him, saying, \"Woe\nto thee! Hasten not to shine own ruin: never yet saw I astrologer so\neager for his proper destruction; but thou weetest not what calamities\nare before thee.\" Thereupon Kamar al-Zaman turned away his face from\nthe eunuch,\u2014And Shah razed perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the eunuch\nthus addressed Kamar al-Zaman, \"Patience, and no indecent hurry!\"; the\nPrince turned away his face and began repeating these couplets,\n\n\"A Sage, I feel a fool before thy charms; *\n     Distraught, I wot not what the words I say:\nIf say I 'Sun,' away thou dost not pass *\n     From eyes of me, while suns go down with day:\nThou hast completed Beauty, in whose praise *\n     Speech-makers fail, and talkers lose their way.\"\n\nThen the eunuch stationed Kamar al-Zaman behind the curtain of the\nPrincess's door and the Prince said to him, \"Which of the two ways will\nplease thee more, treat and cure thy lady from here or go in and heal\nher within the curtain?\" The eunuch marvelled at his words and\nanswered, \"An thou heal her from here it were better proof of thy\nskill.\" Upon this Kamar al-Zaman sat down behind the curtain and,\ntaking out ink case, pen and paper, wrote the following: \"This is the\nwrit of one whom passion swayeth,* and whom longing waylayeth * and\nwakeful misery slayeth * one who despaireth of living * and looketh for\nnaught but dying * with whose mourning heart * nor comforter nor helper\ntaketh part * One whose sleepless eyes * none succoureth from anxieties\n* whose day is passed in fire * and his night in torturing desire *\nwhose body is wasted for much emaciation * and no messenger from his\nbeloved bringeth him consolation.\" And after this he indited the\nfollowing couplets,\n\n\"I write with heart devoted to thy thought, *\n     And eyelids chafed by tears of blood they bled;\nAnd body clad, by loving pine and pain, *\n     In shirt of leanness, and worn down to thread,\nTo thee complain I of Love's tormentry, *\n     Which ousted hapless Patience from her stead:\nA toi! show favour and some mercy deign, *\n     For Passion's cruel hands my vitals shred.\"\n\nAnd beneath his lines he wrote these cadenced sentences, \"The heart's\npain is removed * by union with the beloved * and whomso his lover\npaineth * only Allah assaineth! * If we or you have wrought deceit *\nmay the deceiver win defeat! * There is naught goodlier than a lover\nwho keeps faith * with the beloved who works him scathe.\" Then, by way\nof subscription, he wrote, \"From the distracted and despairing man *\nwhom love and longing trepan * from the lover under passion's ban * the\nprisoner of transport and distraction * from this Kamar al-Zaman * son\nof Shahriman * to the peerless one * of the fair Houris the pearl-union\n* to the Lady Budur * daughter of King Al Ghayur * Know thou that by\nnight I am sleepless * and by day in distress * consumed with\nincreasing wasting and pain * and longing and love unfain * abounding\nin sighs * with tear flooded eyes * by passion captive ta'en * of\nDesire the slain * with heart seared by the parting of us twain * the\ndebtor of longing bane, of sickness cup-companion * I am the sleepless\none, who never closeth eye * the slave of love, whose tears run never\ndry * for the fire of my heart is still burning * and never hidden is\nthe flame of my yearning.\" Then on the margin Kamar al-Zaman wrote this\nadmired verse,\n\n\"Salem from graces hoarded by my Lord *\n     To her, who holds my heart and soul in hoard!\"\n\nAnd also these,\n\n\"Pray'ee grant me some words from your lips, belike *\n     Such mercy may comfort and cool these eyne:\nFrom the stress of my love and my pine for you, *\n     I make light of what makes me despised, indign:\nAllah guard a folk whose abode was far, *\n     And whose secret I kept in the holiest shrine:\nNow Fortune in kindness hath favoured me *\n     Thrown on threshold dust of this love o' mine:\nBy me bedded I looked on Bud\u00far, whose sun *\n     The moon of my fortunes hath made to shine.\"\n\nThen, having affixed his seal-ring to the missive, he wrote these\ncouplets in the place of address,\n\n\"Ask of my writ what wrote my pen in dole, *\n     And hear my tale of misery from this scroll;\nMy hand is writing while my tears down flow, *\n     And to the paper 'plains my longing soul:\nMy tears cease not to roll upon this sheet, *\n     And if they stopped I'd cause blood-gouts to roll.\"\n\nAnd at the end he added this other verse,\n\n\"I've sent the ring from off thy finger bore *\n     I when we met, now deign my ring restore!\"\n\nThen Kamar al-Zaman set the Lady Budur's ring inside the letter and\nsealed it and gave it to the eunuch, who took it and went in with it to\nhis mistress.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say\nher permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Kamar al- Zaman,\nafter setting the seal-ring inside the epistle, gave it to the eunuch\nwho took it and went in with it to his mistress; and, when the Lady\nBudur opened it, she found therein her own very ring. Then she read the\npaper and when she understood its purport and knew that it was from her\nbeloved, and that he in person stood behind the curtain, her reason\nbegan to fly and her breast swelled for joy and rose high; and she\nrepeated these couplets,\n\n\"Long, long have I bewailed the sev'rance of our loves, *\n     With tears that from my lids streamed down like burning\n     rain;\nAnd vowed that, if the days deign reunite us two, *\n     My lips should never speak of severance again:\nJoy hath o'erwhelmed me so that, for the very stress *\n     Of that which gladdens me to weeping I am fain.\nTears are become to you a habit, O my eyes, *\n     So that ye weep as well for gladness as for pain.''[FN#301]\n\nAnd having finished her verse, the Lady Budur stood up forthwith and,\nfirmly setting her feet to the wall, strained with all her might upon\nthe collar of iron, till she brake it from her neck and snapped the\nchains. Then going forth from behind the curtain she threw herself on\nKamar al-Zaman and kissed him on the mouth, like a pigeon feeding its\nyoung.[FN#302] And she embraced him with all the stress of her love and\nlonging and said to him, \"O my lord do I wake or sleep and hath the\nAlmighty indeed vouchsafe] us reunion after disunion? Laud be to Allah\nwho hath our loves repaired, even after we despaired!\" Now when the\neunuch saw her in this case, he went off running to King Ghayur and,\nkissing the ground before him, said, \"O my lord, know that this\nAstrologer is indeed the Shaykh of all astrologers, who are fools to\nhim, all of them; for verily he hath cured thy daughter while standing\nbehind the curtain and without going in to her.\" Quoth the King, \"Look\nwell to it, is this news true?\" Answered the eunuch, \"O my lord, rise\nand come and see for thyself how she hath found strength to break the\niron chains and is come forth to the Astrologer, kissing and embracing\nhim.\" Thereupon the King arose and went in to his daughter who, when\nshe saw him, stood up in haste and covered her head,[FN#303] and\nrecited these two couplets,\n\n\"The toothstick love I not; for when I say, *\n     'Siw\u00e1k,'[FN#304] I miss thee, for it sounds 'Siw\u00e1-ka'.\nThe caper-tree I love; for when I say, *\n     'Ar\u00e1k'[FN#305] it sounds I look on thee, 'Ar\u00e1-ka.'\"\n\nThereupon the King was so transported for joy at her recovery that he\nfelt like to fly and kissed her between the eyes, for he loved her with\ndearest love; then, turning to Kamar al-Zaman, he asked him who he was,\nand said, \"What countryman art thou?\" So the Prince told him his name\nand rank, and informed him that he was the son of King Shahriman, and\npresently related to him the whole story from beginning to end; and\nacquainted him with what happened between himself and the Lady Budur;\nand how he had taken her seal-ring from her finger and had placed it on\nhis own; whereat Ghayur marvelled and said, \"Verily your story\ndeserveth in books to be chronicled, and when you are dead and gone age\nafter age be read.\" Then he summoned Kazis and witnesses forthright and\nmarried the Lady Budur to Prince Kamar al-Zaman; after which he bade\ndecorate the city seven days long. So they spread the tables with all\nmanner of meats, whilst the drums beat and the criers anounced the glad\ntidings, and all the troops donned their richest clothes; and they\nilluminated the city and held high festival. Then Kamar al-Zaman went\nin to the Lady Budur and the King rejoiced in her recovery and in her\nmarriage; and praised Allah for that He had made her to fall in love\nwith a goodly youth of the sons of Kings. So they unveiled her and\ndisplayed the bride before the bridegroom; and both were the living\nlikeness of each other in beauty and comeliness and grace and\nlove-allurement. Then Kamar al-Zaman lay with her that night and took\nhis will of her, whilst she in like manner fulfilled her desire of him\nand enjoyed his charms and grace; and they slept in each other's arms\ntill the morning. On the morrow, the King made a wedding-feast to which\nhe gathered all comers from the Islands of the Inner and Outer Seas,\nand he spread the tables with choicest viands nor ceased the\nbanquetting for a whole month. Now when Kamar al-Zaman had thus\nfulfilled his will and attained his inmost desire, and whenas he had\ntarried awhile with the Princess Budur, he bethought him of his father,\nKing Shahriman, and saw him in a dream, saying, \"O my son, is it thus\nthou dealest with me?\" and recited in the vision these two couplets,\n\n\"Indeed to watch the darkness-moon he blighted me, *\n     And to star-gaze through longsome night he plighted me:\nEasy, my heart! for haply he'll unite with thee; *\n     And patience, Sprite! with whatso ills he dight to thee.\"\n\nNow after seeing his father in the dream and hearing his re preaches,\nKamar al-Zaman awoke in the morning, afflicted and troubled, whereupon\nthe Lady Budur questioned him and he told her what he had seen.\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted\nsay.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Kamar\nal-Zaman acquainted the Lady Budur with what he had seen in his dream,\nshe and he went in to her sire and, telling him what had passed,\nbesought his leave to travel. He gave the Prince the permission he\nsought; but the Princess said, \"O my father, I cannot bear to be parted\nfrom him.\" Quoth Ghayur, her sire, \"Then go thou with him,\" and gave\nher leave to be absent a whole twelvemonth and afterwards to visit him\nin every year once; so she kissed his hand and Kamar al-Zaman did the\nlike. Thereupon King Ghayur proceeded to equip his daughter and her\nbridegroom for the journey, and furnished them with outfit and\nappointments for the march; and brought out of his stables horses\nmarked with his own brand, blood-dromedaries[FN#306] which can journey\nten days without water, and prepared a litter for his daughter, besides\nloading mules and camels with victual; moreover, he gave them slaves\nand eunuchs to serve them and all manner of travellinggear; and on the\nday of departure, when King Ghayur took leave of Kamar al-Zaman, he\nbestowed on him ten splendid suits of cloth of gold embroidered with\nstones of price, together with ten riding horses and ten she-camels,\nand a treasury of money;[FN#307] and he charged him to love and cherish\nhis daughter the Lady Budur. Then the King accompanied them to the\nfarthest limits of his Islands where, going in to his daughter Budur in\nthe litter, he kissed her and strained her to his bosom, weeping and\nrepeating,\n\n\"O thou who wooest Severance, easy fare! *\n     For love-embrace belongs to lover-friend:\nFare softly! Fortune's nature falsehood is, *\n     And parting shall love's every meeting end.\"\n\nThen leaving his daughter, he went to her husband and bade him farewell\nand kissed him; after which he parted from them and, giving the order\nfor the march he returned to his capital with his troops. The Prince\nand Princess and their suite fared on without stopping through the\nfirst day and the second and the third and the fourth, nor did they\ncease faring for a whole month till they came to a spacious champaign,\nabounding in pasturage, where they pitched their tents; and they ate\nand drank and rested, and the Princess Budur lay down to sleep.\nPresently, Kamar al-Zaman went in to her and found her lying asleep\nclad in a shift of apricot-coloured silk that showed all and\neverything; and on her head was a coif of gold-cloth embroidered with\npearls and jewels. The breeze raised her shift which laid bare her\nnavel and showed her breasts and displayed a stomach whiter than snow,\neach one of whose dimples would contain an ounce of benzoin-\nointment.[FN#308] At this sight, his love and longing redoubled, and he\nbegan reating,\n\n\"An were it asked me when by hell-fire burnt, *\n     When flames of heart my vitals hold and hem,\n'Which wouldst thou chose, say wouldst thou rather them, *\n     Or drink sweet cooling draught?' I'd answer, 'Them!' \"\n\nThen he put his hand to the band of her petticoat-trousers and drew it\nand loosed it, for his soul lusted after her, when he saw a jewel, red\nas dye-wood, made fast to the band. He untied it and examined it and,\nseeing two lines of writing graven thereon, in a character not to be\nread, marvelled and said in his mind, \"Were not this bezel something to\nher very dear she had not bound it to her trousers-band nor hidden it\nin the most privy and precious place about her person, that she might\nnot be parted from it. Would I knew what she cloth with this and what\nis the secret that is in it.\" So saying, he took it and went outside\nthe tent to look at it in the light,\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day, and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when he took the\nbezel to look at it in the light, the while he was holding it behold, a\nbird swooped down on him and, snatching the same from his hand, flew\noff with it and then lighted on the ground. There-upon Kamar al-Zaman\nfearing to lose the jewel, ran after the bird; but it flew on before\nhim, keeping just out of his reach, and ceased not to draw him on from\ndale to dale and from hill to hill, till the night starkened and the\nfirmament darkened, when it roosted on a high tree. So Kamar al-Zaman\nstopped under the tree confounded in thought and faint for famine and\nfatigue, and giving himself up for lost, would have turned back, but\nknew not the way whereby he came, for that darkness had overtaken him.\nThen he exclaimed, \"There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in\nAllah, the Glorious the Great!\"; and laying him down under the tree\n(whereon was the bird) slept till the morning, when he awoke and saw\nthe bird also wake up and fly away. He arose and walked after it, and\nit flew on little by little before him, after the measure of his\nfaring; at which he smiled and said, \"By Allah, a strange thing!\nYesterday, this bird flew before me as fast as I could run, and to-day,\nknowing that I have awoke tired and cannot run, he flieth after the\nmeasure of my faring. By Allah, this is wonderful! But I must needs\nfollow this bird whether it lead me to death or to life; and I will go\nwherever it goeth, for at all events it will not abide save in some\ninhabited land.[FN#309] So he continued to follow the bird which\nroosted every night upon a tree; and he ceased not pursuing it for a\nspace of ten days, feeding on the fruits of the earth and drinking of\nits waters. At the end of this time, he came in sight of an inhabited\ncity, whereupon the bird darted off like the glance of the eye and,\nentering the town, disappeared from Kamar al-Zaman, who knew not what\nit meant or whither it was gone; so he marvelled at this and exclaimed,\n\"Praise be to Allah who hath brought me in safety to this city!\" Then\nhe sat down by a stream and washed his hands and feet and face and\nrested awhile; and, recalling his late easy and pleasant life of union\nwith his beloved and contrasting it with his present plight of trouble\nand fatigue and distress and strangerhood and famine and severance, the\ntears streamed from his eyes and he began repeating these cinquains,\n\n\"Pain had I hid thy handwork, but it showed, *\n     Changed sleep for wake, and wake with me abode:\nWhen thou didst spurn my heart I cried aloud *\n     Pate, hold thy hand and cease to gird and goad:\n          In dole and danger aye my sprite I spy!\n\nAn but the Lord of Love were just to me, *\n     Sleep fro' my eyelids ne'er were forced to flee.\nPity, my lady, one for love o' thee *\n     Prom his tribes darling brought to low degree:\n          Love came and doomed Wealth beggar-death to die.\n\nThe railers chide at thee: I ne'er gainsay, *\n     But stop my ears and dumbly sign them Nay:\n'Thou lov'st a slender may,' say they; I say, *\n     'I've picked her out and cast the rest away:'\n          Enough; when Fate descends she blinds man's\n          eye!\"[FN#310]\n\nAnd as soon as he had finished his poetry and had taken his rest, he\nrose and walked on little by little, till he entered the city.\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted\nsay.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that as soon as Kamar\nal-Zaman had finished his poetry and had taken his rest, he arose and\nentered the city-gate[FN#311] not knowing whither he should wend. He\ncrossed the city from end to end, entering by the land-gate, and ceased\nnot faring on till he came out at the sea- gate, for the city stood on\nthe sea-shore. Yet he met not a single one of its citizens. And after\nissuing from the land-gate he fared forwards and ceased not faring till\nhe found himself among the orchards and gardens of the place; and,\npassing among the trees presently came to a garden and stopped before\nits door; where-upon the keeper came out to him and saluted him. The\nPrince returned his greeting and the gardener bade him welcome, saying,\n\"Praised be Allah that thou hast come off safe from the dwellers of\nthis city! Quick, come into the garth, ere any of the townfolk see\nthee.\" Thereupon Kamar al-Zaman entered that garden, wondering in mind,\nand asked the keeper, \"What may be the history of the people of this\ncity and who may they be?\" The other answered, \"Know that the people of\nthis city are all Magians: but Allah upon thee, tell me how thou camest\nto this city and what caused thy coming to our capital.\" Accordingly\nKamar al-Zaman told the gardener all that had befallen him from\nbeginning to end, whereat he marvelled with great marvel and said,\n\"Know, O my son, that the cities of Al-Islam lie far from us; and\nbetween us and them is a four months' voyage by sea and a whole twelve\nmonths' journey by land. We have a ship which saileth every year with\nmerchandise to the nearest Moslem country and which entereth the seas\nof the Ebony Islands and thence maketh the Khalidan Islands, the\ndominions of King Shahriman.\" Thereupon Kamar al- Zaman considered\nawhile and concluded that he could not do better than abide in the\ngarden with the gardener and become his assistant, receiving for pay\none fourth of the produce. So he said to him, \"Wilt thou take me into\nthy service, to help thee in this garden?\" Answered the gardener, \"To\nhear is to consent;\" and began teaching him to lead the water to the\nroots of the trees. So Kamar al-Zaman abode with him, watering the\ntrees and hoeing up the weeds and wearing a short blue frock which\nreached to his knees. And he wept floods of tears; for he had no rest\nday or night, by reason of his strangerhood and he ceased not to repeat\nverses upon his beloved, amongst others the following couplets,\n\n\"Ye promised us and will ye not keep plight? *\n     Ye said a say and shall not deed be dight?\nWe wake for passion while ye slumber and sleep; *\n     Watchers and wakers claim not equal right:\nWe vowed to keep our loves in secrecy, *\n     But spake the meddler and you spoke forthright:\nO friend in pain and pleasure, joy and grief, *\n     In all case you, you only, claim my sprite!\nMid folk is one who holds my prisoned heart; *\n     Would he but show some ruth for me to sight.\nNot every eye like mine is wounded sore, *\n     Not every heart like mine love-pipings blight:\nYe wronged me saying, Love is wrongous aye *\n     Yea! ye were right, events have proved that quite.\nForget they one love-thralled, whose faith the world *\n     Robs not, though burn the fires in heart alight:\nIf an my foeman shall become my judge, *\n     Whom shall I sue to remedy his despight?\nHad not I need of love nor love had sought, *\n     My heart forsure were not thus love-distraught.\"\n\nSuch was the case with Kamar al-Zaman; but as regards his wife, the\nLady Budur, when she awoke she sought her husband and found him not:\nthen she saw her petticoat-trousers undone, for the band had been\nloosed and the bezel lost, whereupon she said to herself, \"By Allah,\nthis is strange! Where is my husband? It would seem as if he had taken\nthe talisman and gone away, knowing not the secret which is in it.\nWould to Heaven I knew whither can he have wended! But it must needs\nhave been some extraordinary matter that drew him away, for he cannot\nbrook to leave me a moment. Allah curse the stone and damn its hour!\"\nThen she considered awhile and said in her mind, \"If I go out and tell\nthe varlets and let them learn that my husband is lost they will lust\nafter me: there is no help for it but that I use stratagem. So she rose\nand donned some of her husband's clothes and riding- boots, and a\nturband like his, drawing one corner of it across her face for a\nmouth-veil.[FN#312] Then, setting a slave-girl in her litter, she went\nforth from the tent and called to the pages who brought her Kamar\nal-Zaman's steed; and she mounted and bade them load the beasts and\nresume the march. So they bound on the burdens and departed; and she\nconcealed her trick, none doubting but she was Kamar al-Zaman, for she\nfavoured him in face and form; nor did she cease journeying, she and\nher suite, days and nights, till they came in sight of a city\noverlooking the Salt Sea, where they pitched their tents without the\nwalls and halted to rest. The Princess asked the name of the town and\nwas told, \"It is called the City of Ebony; its King is named Arman\u00fas,\nand he hath a daughter Hay\u00e1t al-Nuf\u00fas[FN#313] hight,\"\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Lady\nBudur halted within sight of the Ebony City to take her rest, King\nArmanus sent a messenger, to learn what King it was who had encamped\nwithout his capital; so the messenger, coming to the tents, made\ninquiry anent their King, and was told that she was a King's son who\nhad lost the way being bound for the Khalidan Islands; whereupon he\nreturned to King Armanus with the tidings; and, when the King heard\nthem, he straightway rode out with the lords of his land to greet the\nstranger on arrival. As he drew near the tents the Lady Budur came to\nmeet him on foot, whereupon the King alighted and they saluted each\nother. Then he took her to the city and, bringing her up to the palace,\nbade them spread the tables and trays of food and commanded them to\ntransport her company and baggage to the guess house. So they abode\nthere three days; at the end of which time the King came in to the Lady\nBudur. Now she had that day gone to the Hammam and her face shone as\nthe moon at its full, a seduction to the world and a rending of the\nveil of shame to mankind; and Armanus found her clad in a -suit of\nsilk, embroidered with gold and jewels; so he said to her, 'O my son,\nknow that I am a very old man, decrepit withal, and Allah hath blessed\nme with no child save one daughter, who resembleth thee in beauty and\ngrace; and I am now waxed unfit for the conduct of the state. She is\nshine, O my son; and, if this my land please thee and thou be willing\nto abide and make thy home here, I will marry thee to her and give thee\nmy kingdom and so be at rest.\" When Princess Budur heard this, she\nbowed her head and her forehead sweated for shame, and she said to\nherself. \"How shall I do, and I a woman? If I refuse and depart from\nhim, I cannot be safe but that haply send after me troops to slay me;\nand if I consent, belike I shall be put to shame. I have lost my\nbeloved Kamar al-Zaman and know not what is become of him; nor can I\nescape from this scrape save by holding my peace and consenting and\nabiding here, till Allah bring about what is to be.\" So she raised her\nhead and made submission to King Armanus, saying, \"Hearkening and\nobedience!\"; whereat he rejoiced and bade the herald make proclamation\nthroughout the Ebony Islands to hold high festival and decorate the\nhouses. Then he assembled his Chamberlains and Nabobs, and Emirs and\nWazirs and his officers of state and the Kazis of the city; and,\nformally abdicating his Sultanate, endowed Budur therewith and invested\nher in all the vestments of royalty. The Emirs and Grandees went in to\nher and did her homage, nothing doubting but that she was a young man,\nand all who looked on her bepissed their bag-trousers, for the excess\nof her beauty and loveliness. Then, after the Lady Budur had been made\nSultan and the drums had been beaten in announcement of the glad event,\nand she had been ceremoniously enthroned, King Armanus proceeded to\nequip his daughter Hayat al-Nufus for marriage, and in a few days, they\nbrought the Lady Budur in to her, when they seemed as it were two moons\nrisen at one time or two suns in conjunction. So they entered the\nbridal-chamber and the doors were shut and the curtains let down upon\nthem, after the attendants had lighted the wax-candles and spread for\nthem the carpet-bed. When Budur found herself alone with the Princess\nHayat al-Nufus, she called to mind her beloved Kamar al-Zaman and grief\nwas sore upon her. So she wept for his absence, and estrangement and\nshe began repeating,\n\n\"O ye who fled and left my heart in pain low li'en, *\n     No breath of life if found within this frame of mine:\nI have an eye which e'er complains of wake, but lo! *\n     Tears occupy it would that wake content these eyne!\nAfter ye marched forth the lover 'bode behind; *\n     Question of him what pains your absence could design!\nBut for the foods of tears mine eyelids rail and rain, *\n     My fires would flame on high and every land calcine.\nTo Allah make I moan of loved ones lost for aye, *\n     Who for my pine and pain no more shall pain and pine:\nI never wronged them save that over love I nurst: *\n     But Love departs us lovers into blest and curst.\"\n\nAnd when she had finished her repeating, the Lady Budur sat down beside\nthe Princess Hayat al-Nufus and kissed her on the mouth; after which\nrising abruptly, she made the minor ablution and betook herself to her\ndevotions; nor did she leave praying till Hayat al-Nufus fell asleep,\nwhen she slips into bed and lay with her back to her till morning. And\nwhen day had broke the King and Queen came in to their daughter and\nasked her how she did. whereupon she told them what she had seen, and\nrepeated to them the verses she had heard. Thus far concerning Hayat\nal-Nufus and her father; but as regards Queen Budur she went forth and\nseated herself upon the royal throne and all the Emirs and Captains and\nOfficers of state came up to her and wished her joy of the kingship,\nkissing the earth before her and calling down blessings upon her. And\nshe accosted them with smiling face and clad them in robes of honour,\naugmenting the fiefs of the high officials and giving largesse to the\nlevies; wherefore all the people loved her and offered up prayers for\nthe long endurance of her reign, doubting not but that she was a man.\nAnd she ceased not sitting all day in the hall of audience, bidding and\nforbidding; dispensing justice, releasing prisoners and remitting the\ncustoms-dues, till nightfall, when she withdrew to the apartment\nprepared for her. Here she found Hayat al-Nufus seated, so she sat down\nby her side and, clapping her on the back, coaxed and caressed her and\nkissed her between the eyes, and fell to versifying in these couplets,\n\n\"What secret kept I these my tears have told, *\n     And my waste body must my love unfold:\nThough hid my pine, my plight on parting day *\n     To every envious eye my secret sold:\nO ye who broke up camp, you've left behind *\n     My spirit wearied and my heart a-cold:\nIn my hearts core ye dwell, and now these eyne *\n     Roll blood-drops with the tears they whilome rolled:\nThe absent will I ransom with my soul; *\n     All can my yearning for their sight behold:\nI have an eye whose babe,[FN#314] for love of thee, *\n     Rejected sleep nor hath its tears controlled.\nThe foeman bids me patient bear his loss, *\n     Ne'er may mine ears accept the ruth he doled!\nI tricks their deme of me, and won my wish *\n     Of Kamar al-Zaman's joys manifold:\nHe joins all perfect gifts like none before, *\n     Boasted such might and main no King of old:\nSeeing his gifts, Bin Z\u00e1'idah's[FN#315] largesse *\n     Forget we, and Mu'\u00e1wiyah mildest-soul'd:[FN#316]\nWere verse not feeble and o'er short the time *\n     I had in laud of him used all of rhyme.\"\n\nThen Queen Budur stood up and wiped away her tears and, making the\nlesser ablution,[FN#317] applied her to pray: nor did she give over\npraying till drowsiness overcame the Lady Hayat al- Nufus and she\nslept, whereupon the Lady Budur came and lay by her till the morning.\nAt daybreak, she arose and prayed the dawn- prayer; and presently\nseated herself on the royal throne and passed the day in ordering and\ncounter ordering and giving laws and administering justice. This is how\nit fared with her; but as regards King Armanus he went in to his\ndaughter and asked her how she did; so she told him all that had\nbefallen her and repeated to him the verses which Queen Budur had\nrecited, adding, \"O my father, never saw I one more abounding in sound\nsense and modesty than my husband, save that he cloth nothing but weep\nand sigh.\" He answered, \"O my daughter, have patience with him yet this\nthird night, and if he go not in unto thee and do away thy maidenhead,\nwe shall know how to proceed with him and oust him from the throne and\nbanish him the country.\" And on this wise he agreed with his daughter\nwhat course he would take.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Tenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when King Armanus\nhad agreed with his daughter on this wise and had determined what\ncourse he would take and night came on, Queen Budur arose from the\nthrone of her kingdom and betaking herself to the palace, entered the\napartment prepared for her. There she found the wax-candles lighted and\nthe Princess Hayat al-Nufus seated and awaiting her; whereupon she\nbethought her of her husband and what had betided them both of sorrow\nand severance in so short a space; she wept and sighed and groaned\ngroan upon groan, and began improvising these couplets,\n\n\"News of my love fill all the land, I swear, *\n     As suns on Ghaz\u00e1[FN#318]-wold rain heat and glare:\nSpeaketh his geste but hard its sense to say; *\n     Thus never cease to grow my cark and care:\nI hate fair Patience since I loved thee; *\n     E'er sawest lover hate for love to bear?\nA glance that dealt love-sickness dealt me death, *\n     Glances are deadliest things with torments rare:\nHe shook his love locks down and bared his chin, *\n     Whereby I spied his beauties dark and fair:\nMy care, my cure are in his hands; and he *\n     Who caused their dolour can their dole repair:\nHis belt went daft for softness of his waist; *\n     His hips, for envy, to uprise forbear:\nHis brow curl-diademed is murky night; *\n     Unveil 't and lo! bright Morn shows brightest light.\"\n\nWhen she had finished her versifying, she would have risen to pray,\nbut, lo and behold! Hayat al-Nufus caught her by the skirt and clung to\nher saying, \"O my lord, art thou not ashamed before my father, after\nall his favour, to neglect me at such a time as this?\" When Queen Budur\nheard her words, she sat down in the same place and said, \"O my\nbeloved, what is this thou sayest?\" She replied, \"What I say is that I\nnever saw any so proud of himself as thou. Is every fair one so\ndisdainful? I say not this to incline thee to me; I say it only of my\nfear for thee from King Armanus; because he purposeth, unless thou go\nin unto me this very night, and do away my maidenhead, to strip thee of\nthe kingship on the morrow and banish thee his kingdom; and\nperadventure his excessive anger may lead him to slay thee. But I, O my\nlord, have ruth on thee and give thee fair warning; and it is thy right\nto reck.\"[FN#319] Now when Queen Budur heard her speak these words, she\nbowed her head ground-wards awhile in sore perplexity and said in\nherself, \"If I refuse I'm lost; and if I obey I'm shamed. But I am now\nQueen of all the Ebony Islands and they are under my rule, nor shall I\never again meet my Kamar al- Zaman save in this place; for there is no\nway for him to his native land but through the Ebony Islands. Verily, I\nknow not what to do in my present case, but I commit my care to Allah\nwho directeth all for the best, for I am no man that I should arise and\nopen this virgin girl.\" Then quoth Queen Budur to Hayat al- Nufus, \"O\nmy beloved, that I have neglected thee and abstained from thee is in my\nown despite.\" And she told her her whole story from beginning to end\nand showed her person to her, saying, \"I conjure thee by Allah to keep\nmy counsel, for I have concealed my case only that Allah may reunite me\nwith my beloved Kamar al- Zaman and then come what may.\"\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Eleventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Lady\nBudur acquainted Hayat al-Nufus with her history and bade her keep it\nsecret, the Princess heard her with extreme wonderment and was moved to\npity and prayed Allah to reunite her with her beloved, saying, \"Fear\nnothing, O my sister; but have patience till Allah bring to pass that\nwhich must come to pass:\" and she began repeating,\n\n\"None but the men of worth a secret keep;\nWith worthy men a secret's hidden deep;\nAs in a room, so secrets lie with me,\nWhose door is sealed, lock shot and lost the key.\"[FN#320]\n\nAnd when Hayat al-Nufus had ended her verses, she said, \"O my sister,\nverily the breasts of the noble and brave are of secrets the grave; and\nI will not discover shine.\" Then they toyed and embraced and kissed and\nslept till near the Mu'ezzin's call to dawn prayer, when Hayat al-Nufus\narose and took a pigeon-poult,[FN#321] and cut its throat over her\nsmock and besmeared herself with its blood. Then she pulled off her\npetticoat-trousers and cried aloud, where-upon her people hastened to\nher and raised the usual lullilooing and outcries of joy and gladness.\nPresently her mother came in to her and asked her how she did and\nbusied herself about her and abode with her till evening; whilst the\nLady Budur arose with the dawn, and repaired to the bath and, after\nwashing herself pure, proceeded to the hall of audience, where she sat\ndown on her throne and dispensed justice among the folk. Now when King\nArmanus heard the loud cries of joy, he asked what was the matter and\nwas informed of the consummation of his daughter's marriage; whereat he\nrejoiced and his breast swelled with gladness and he made a great\nmarriage-feast whereof the merry-making lasted a long time. Such was\ntheir case: but as regards King Shahriman it was on this wise. After\nhis son had fared forth to the chase accompanied by Marzawan, as before\nrelated, he tarried patiently awaiting their return at nightfall; but\nwhen his son did not appear he passed a sleepless night and the dark\nhours were longsome upon him; his restlessness was excessive, his\nexcitement grew upon him and he thought the morning would never dawn.\nAnc when day broke he sat expecting his son and waited till noon, but\nhe came not; whereat his heart forebode separation and was fired with\nfears for Kamar al-Zaman; and he cried, \"Alas! my son!\" and he wept\ntill his clothes were drenched with tears, and repeated with a beating\nheart,\n\n\"Love's votaries I ceased not to oppose, *\n     Till doomed to taste Love's bitter and Love's sweet:\nI drained his rigour-cup to very dregs, *\n     Self humbled at its slaves' and freemen's feet:\nFortune had sworn to part the loves of us; *\n     She kept her word how truly, well I weet!\"\n\nAnd when he ended his verse, he wiped away his tears and bade his\ntroops make ready for a march and prepare for a long expedition. So\nthey all mounted and set forth, headed by the Sultan, whose heart burnt\nwith grief and was fired with anxiety for his son Kamar al-Zaman; and\nthey advanced by forced marches. Now the King divided his host into six\ndivisions, a right wing and a left wing, a vanguard and a rear\nguard;[FN#322] and bade them rendezvous for the morrow at the\ncross-roads. Accordingly they separated and scoured the country all the\nrest of that day till night, and they marched through the night and at\nnoon of the ensuing day they joined company at the place where four\nroads met. But they knew not which the Prince followed, till they saw\nthe sign of torn clothes and sighted shreds of flesh and beheld blood\nstill sprinkled by the way and they noted every piece of the clothes\nand fragment of mangled flesh scattered on all sides. Now when King\nShahriman saw this, he cried from his heart-core a loud cry, saying,\n\"Alas, my son!\"; and buffeted his face and plucks his beard and rent\nhis raiment, doubting not but his son was dead. Then he gave himself up\nto excessive weeping and wailing, and the troops also wept for his\nweeping, all being assured that Prince Kamar al-Zaman had perished.\nThey threw dust on their heads, and the night surprised them shedding\ntears and lamenting till they were like to die. Then the King with a\nheart on fire and with burning sighs spake these couplets,\n\n\"Chide not the mourner for bemourning woe; *\n     Enough is yearning every Ill to show:\nHe weeps for stress of sorrow and of pain, *\n     And these to thee best evidence his lowe:\nHappy![FN#323] of whom Love sickness swore that ne'er *\n     Should cease his eye lids loving tears to flow:\nHe mourns the loss of fairest, fullest Moon, *\n     Shining o'er all his peers in glorious glow:\nBut death made drink a brimming cup, what day *\n     He fared from natal country fain to go:\nHis home left he and went from us to grief; *\n     Nor to his brethren could he say adieu:\nYea, his loss wounded me with parting pangs, *\n     And separation cost me many a throe:\nHe fared farewelling, as he fared, our eyes; *\n     Whenas his Lord vouch-safed him Paradise.\"\n\nAnd when King Shahriman had ended his verses, he returned with the\ntroops to his capital,\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Twelfth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when King\nShahriman had ended his verses, he returned with the troops to his\ncapital, giving up his son for lost, and deeming that wild beasts or\nbanditti had set upon him and torn him to pieces; and made proclamation\nthat all in the Khalidan Islands should don black in mourning for him.\nMoreover, he built, in his memory, a pavilion, naming it House of\nLamentations; and on Mondays and Thursdays he devoted himself to the\nbusiness of the state and ordering the affairs of his levies and\nlieges; and the rest of the week he was wont to spend in the House of\nLamentations, mourning for his son and bewailing him with elegiac\nverses,[FN#324] of which the following are some:\u2014\n\n\"My day of bliss is that when thou appearest; *\n     My day of bale[FN#325] is that whereon thou farest:\nThough through the night I quake in dread of death; *\n     Union wi' thee is of all bliss the dearest.\"\n\nAnd again he said,\n\n\"My soul be sacrifice for one, whose going *\n     Afflicted hearts with sufferings sore and dread:\nLet joy her widowed term[FN#326] fulfil, for I *\n     Divorced joy with the divorce thrice-said.\"[FN#327]\n\nSuch was the case with King Shahriman; but as regards Queen Budur\ndaughter of King Ghayur, she abode as ruler in the Ebony Islands,\nwhilst the folk would point to her with their fingers, and say, \"Yonder\nis the son-in-law of King Armanus.\" And every night she lay with Hayat\nal-Nufus, to whom she lamented her desolate state and longing for her\nhusband Kamar al-Zaman; weeping and describing to her his beauty and\nloveliness, and yearning to enjoy him though but in a dream: And at\ntimes she would repeat,\n\n\"Well Allah wots that since my severance from thee, *\n     I wept till forced to borrow tears at usury:\n'Patience!' my blamer cried, 'Heartsease right soon shalt see!' *\n     Quoth I, 'Say, blamer, where may home of Patience be?'\"\n\nThis is how it fared with Queen Budur; but as regards Kamar al- Zaman,\nhe abode with the gardener in the garden for no short time, weeping\nnight and day and repeating verses bewailing the past time of enjoyment\nand delight; whilst the gardener kept comforting him and assuring him\nthat the ship would set sail for the land of the Moslems at the end of\nthe year. And in this condition he continued till one day he saw the\nfolk crowding together and wondered at this; but the gardener came in\nto him and said, \"O my son, give over work for this day nor lead water\nto the trees; for it is a festival day, whereon folk visit one another.\nSo take thy rest and only keep shine eye on the garden, whilst I go\nlook after the ship for thee; for yet but a little while and I send\nthee to the land of the Moslems.\" Upon this, he went forth from the\ngarden leaving to himself Kamar al-Zaman, who fell to musing upon his\ncase till his heart was like to break and the tears streamed from his\neyes. So he wept with excessive weeping till he swooned away and, when\nhe recovered, he rose and walked about the garden, pondering what Time\nhad done with him and bewailing the long endurance of his estrangement\nand separation from those he loved. As he was thus absorbed in\nmelancholy thought, his foot stumbled and he fell on his face, his\nforehead striking against the projecting root of a tree; and the blow\ncut it open and his blood ran down and mingled with his tears Then he\nrose and, wiping away the blood, dried his tears and bound his brow\nwith a piece of rag; then continued his walk about the garden engrossed\nby sad reverie. Presently, he looked up at a tree and saw two birds\nquarrelling thereon, and one of them rose up and smote the other with\nits beak on the neck and severed from its body its head, wherewith it\nflew away, whilst the slain bird fell to the ground before Kamar\nal-Zaman. As it lay, behold, two great birds swooped down upon it\nalighting, one at the head and the other at the tail, and both drooped\ntheir wings and bowed their bills over it and, extending their necks\ntowards it, wept. Kamar al-Zaman also wept when seeing the birds thus\nbewail their mate, and called to mind his wife and father, And\nShahrazed perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted\nsay.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Thirteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Kamar al- Zaman\nwept and lamented his separation from spouse and sire, when he beheld\nthose two birds weeping over their mate. Then he looked at the twain\nand saw them dig a grave and therein bury the slain bird; after which\nthey flew away far into the firmament and disappeared for a while; but\npresently they returned with the murtherer-bird and, alighting on the\ngrave of the murthered, stamped on the slayer till they had done him to\ndeath. Then they rent his belly and tearing out his entrails, poured\nthe blood on the grave of the slain[FN#328]: moreover, they stripped\noff his skin and tare his flesh in pieces and, pulling out the rest of\nthe bowels, scattered them hither and thither. All this while Kamar\nal-Zaman was watching them wonderingly; but presently, chancing to look\nat the place where the two birds had slain the third, he saw therein\nsomething gleaming. So he drew near to it and noted that it was the\ncrop of the dead bird. Whereupon he took it and opened it and found the\ntalisman which had been the cause of his separation from his wife. But\nwhen he saw it and knew it, he fell to the ground a-fainting for joy;\nand, when he revived, he said, \"Praised be Allah! This is a foretaste\nof good and a presage of reunion with my beloved.\" Then he examined the\njewel and passed it over his eyes[FN#329]; after which he bound it to\nhis forearm, rejoicing in coming weal, and walked about till nightfall\nawaiting the gardener's return; and when he came not, he lay down and\nslept in his wonted place. At daybreak he rose to his work and, girding\nhis middle with a cord of palm- fibre, took hatchet and basket and\nwalked down the length of the garden, till he came to a carob-tree and\nstruck the axe into its roots. The blow rang and resounded; so he\ncleared away the soil from the place and discovered a trap-door and\nraised it.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\nWhen It was the Two Hundred and Fourteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Kamar\nal-Zaman raised the trap-door, he found a winding stair, which he\ndescended and came to an ancient vault of the time of Ad and\nTham\u00fad,[FN#330] hewn out of the rock. Round the vault stood many brazen\nvessels of the bigness of a great oil-jar which he found full of\ngleaming red gold: whereupon he said to himself, \"Verily sorrow is gone\nand solace is come!\" Then he mounted from the souterrain to the garden\nand, replacing the trap-door as it was before, busied himself in\nconducting water to the trees till the last of the day, when the\ngardener came back and said to him, \"O my son, rejoice at the good\ntidings of a speedy return to thy native land: the merchants are ready\nequipped for the voyage and the ship in three days' time will set sail\nfor the City of Ebony, which is the first of the cities of the Moslems,\nand after making it, thou must travel by land a six months' march till\nthou come to the Islands of Khalidan, the dominions of King Shahriman.\"\nAt this Kamar al-Zaman rejoiced and began repeating,\n\n\"Part not from one whose wont is not to part from you; *\n     Nor with your cruel taunts an innocent mortify:\nAnother so long parted had ta'en heart from you, *\n     And had his whole condition changed,\u2014but not so I.\"\n\nThen he kissed the gardener's hand and said, \"O my father, even as thou\nhast brought me glad tidings, so I also have great good news for thee,'\nand told him anent his discovery of the vault; whereat the gardener\nrejoiced and said, \"O my son, fourscore years have I dwelt in this\ngarden and have never hit on aught whilst thou, who hast not sojourned\nwith me a year, hast discovered this thing; wherefore it is Heaven's\ngift to thee, which shall end thy crosses and aid thee to rejoin thy\nfolk and foregather with her thou lovest.\" Quoth Kamar al-Zaman, \"There\nis no help but it must be shared between me and thee.\" Then he carried\nhim to the underground-chamber and showed him the gold, which was in\ntwenty jars: he took ten and the gardener ten, and the old man said to\nhim, \"O my son, fill thyself leather bottles[FN#331] with the\nsparrow-olives[FN#332] which grow in this garden, for they are not\nfound except in our land; and the merchants carry them to all parts.\nLay the gold in the bottles and strew it over with olives: then stop\nthem and cover them and take them with thee in the ship.\" So Kamar\nal-Zaman arose without stay or delay and took fifty leather bottles and\nstored in each somewhat of the gold, and closed each one after placing\na layer of olives over the gold; and at the bottom of one of the\nbottles he laid the talisman. Then sat he down to talk with the\ngardener, confident of speedy reunion with his own people and saying to\nhimself, \"When I come to the Ebony Islands I will journey thence to my\nfather's country and enquire for my beloved Budur. Would to Heaven I\nknew whether she returned to her own land or journeyed on to my\nfather's country or whether there befel her any accident by the way.\"\nAnd he began versifying,\n\n\"Love in my breast they lit and fared away, *\n     And far the land wherein my love is pent:\nFar lies the camp and those who camp therein; *\n     Par is her tent-shrine, where I ne'er shall tent.\nPatience far deaf me when from me they fled; *\n     Sleep failed mine eyes, endurance was forspent:\nThey left and with them left my every joy, *\n     Wending with them, nor find I peace that went:\nThey made these eyes roll down love tears in flood, *\n     And lacking them these eyne with tears are drent.\nWhen my taste spins once again would see them, *\n     When pine and expectation but augment,\nIn my heart's core their counterfeits I trace, *\n     With love and yearning to behold their grace.\"\n\nThen, while he awaited the end of the term of days, he told the\ngardener the tale of the birds and what had passed between them;\nwhereat the hearer wondered; and they both lay down and slept till the\nmorning. The gardener awoke sick and abode thus two days; but on the\nthird day, his sickness increased on him, till they despaired of his\nlife and Kamar al-Zaman grieved with sore grief for him. Meanwhile\nbehold, the Master and his crew came and enquired for the gardener;\nand, when Kamar al-Zaman told them that he was sick, they asked, \"Where\nbe the youth who is minded to go with us to the Ebony Islands?\" \"He is\nyour servent and he standeth before you!\" answered the Prince and bade\nthem carry the bottles of olives to the ship; so they transported them,\nsaying, \"Make haste, thou, for the wind is fair;\" and he replied, \"I\nhear and obey.\" Then he carried his provaunt on board and, returning to\nbid the gardener farewell, found him in the agonies of death; so he sat\ndown at his head and closed his eyes, and his soul departed his body;\nwhereupon he laid him out and committed him to the earth unto the mercy\nof Allah Almighty. Then he made for the ship but found that she had\nalready weighed anchor and set sail; nor did she cease to cleave the\nseas till she disappeared from his sight. So he went back to whence he\ncame heavy-hearted with whirling head; and neither would he address a\nsoul nor return a reply; and reaching the garden and sitting down in\ncark and care he threw dust on his head and buffeted his cheeks.\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted\nsay.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Fifteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the ship\nsped on her course, Kamar al-Zaman returned to the garden in cark and\ncare; but- anon he rented the place of its owner and hired a man to\nhelp him in irrigating the trees. Moreover, he repaired the trap-door\nand he went to the underground chamber and bringing the rest of the\ngold to grass, stowed it in other fifty bottles which he filled up with\na layer of olives. Then he enquired of the ship and they told him that\nit sailed but once a year, at which his trouble of mind redoubled and\nhe cried sore for that which had betided him, above all for the loss of\nthe Princess Budur's talisman, and spent his nights and days weeping\nand repealing verses. Such was his case; but as regards the ship she\nsailed with a favouring wind till she reached the Ebony Islands. Now by\ndecree of destiny, Queen Budur was sitting at a lattice-window\noverlooking the sea and saw the galley cast anchor upon the strand. At\nthis sight, her heart throbbed and she took horse with the Chamberlains\nand Nabobs and, riding down to the shore, halted by the ship, whilst\nthe sailors broke bulk and bore the bales to the storehouses; after\nwhich she called the captain to her presence and asked what he had with\nhim. He answered \"O King, I have with me in this ship aromatic drugs\nand cosmetics and healing powders and ointments and plasters and\nprecious metals and rich stuffs and rugs of Yemen leather, not to be\nborne of mule or camel, and all manner of otters and spices and\nperfumes, civet and ambergris and camphor and Sumatra aloes-wood, and\ntamerinds[FN#333] and sparrow-olives to boot, such as are rare to find\nin this country.\" When she heard talk of sparrow- olives her heart\nlonged for them and she said to the ship-master, \"How much of olives\nhast thou?\" He replied, \"Fifty bottles full, but their owner is not\nwith us, so the King shall take what he will of them.\" Quoth she,\n\"Bring them ashore, that I may see them.'' Thereupon he called to the\nsailors, who brought her the fifty bottles; and she opened one and,\nlooking at the olives, said to the captain, \"I will take the whole\nfifty and pay you their value, whatso it be.\" He answered, \"By Allah, O\nmy lord, they have no value in our country; moreover their shipper\ntarried behind us, and he is a poor man.\" Asked she, \"And what are they\nworth here?\" and he answered \"A thousand dirhams.\" \"I will take them at\na thousand,\" she said and bade them carry the fifty bottles to the\npalace. When it was night, she called for a bottle of olives and opened\nit, there being none in the room but herself and the Princess Hayat\nal-Nufus. Then, placing a dish before her she turned into it the\ncontents of the jar, when there fell out into the dish with the olives\na heap of red gold; and she said to the Lady Hayat al-Nufus, \"This is\nnaught but gold!\" So she sent for the rest of the bottles and found\nthem all full of precious metal and scarce enough olives to fill a\nsingle jar. Moreover, she sought among the gold and found therein the\ntalisman, which she took and examined and behold, it was that which\nKamar al- Zaman had taken from off the band of her petticoat trousers.\nThereupon she cried out for joy and slipped down in a swoon;\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted\nsay.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Sixteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when King Budur\nsaw the talisman she cried out for joy and slipped down in a swoon; and\nwhen she recovered she said to herself, \"Verily, this talisman was the\ncause of my separation from my beloved Kamar al-Zaman; but now it is an\nomen of good.\" Then she showed it to Hayat al-Nufus and said to her,\n\"This was the cause of disunion and now, please Allah, it shall be the\ncause of reunion.\" As soon as day dawned she seated herself on the\nroyal throne and sent for the ship-master, who came into the presence\nand kissed the ground before her. Quoth she, \"Where didst thou leave\nthe owner of these olives?\" Quoth he, \"O King of the age, we left him\nin the land of the Magians and he is a gardener there.\" She rejoined,\n\"Except thou bring him to me, thou knowest not the harm which awaiteth\nthee and thy ship.\" Then she bade them seal up the magazines of the\nmerchants and said to them, \"Verily the owner of these olives hath\nborrowed of me and I have a claim upon him for debt and, unless ye\nbring him to me, I will without fail do you all die and seize your\ngoods.\" So they went to the captain and promised him the hire of the\nship, if he would go and return a second time, saying, \"Deliver us from\nthis masterful tyrant.\" Accordingly the skipper embarked and set sail\nand Allah decreed him a prosperous voyage, till he came to the Island\nof the Magians and, landing by night, went up to the garden. Now the\nnight was long upon Kamar al-Zaman, and he sat, bethinking him of his\nbeloved, and bewailing what had befallen him and versifying,\n\n\"A night whose stars refused to run their course, *\n     A night of those which never seem outworn:\nLike Resurrection-day, of longsome length[FN#334] *\n     To him that watched and waited for the morn.\"\n\nNow at this moment, the captain knocked at the garden-gate, and Kamar\nal-Zaman opened and went out to him, whereupon the crew seized him and\nwent down with him on board the ship and set sail forthright; and they\nceased not voyaging days and nights, whilst Kamar al-Zaman knew not why\nthey dealt thus with him; but when he questioned them they replied,\n\"Thou hast offended against the Lord of the Ebony Islands, the\nson-in-law of King Armanus, and thou hast stolen his monies, miserable\nthat thou art!\" Said he, \"By Allah! I never entered that country nor do\nI know where it is!\" However, they fared on with him, till they made\nthe Ebony Islands and landing, carried him up to the Lady Budur, who\nknew him at sight and said, \"Leave him with the eunuchs, that they may\ntake him to the bath.\" Then she relieved the merchants of the embargo\nand gave the captain a robe of honour worth ten thousand pieces of\ngold; and, after returning to the palace, she went in that night to the\nPrincess Hayat al-Nufus and told her what had passed, saying, \"Keep\nthou my counsel, till I accomplish my purpose, and do a deed which\nshall be recorded and shall be read by Kings and commoners after we be\ndead and gone.\" And when she gave orders that they bear Kamar al-Zaman\nto the bath, they did so and clad him in a royal habit so that, when he\ncame forth, he resembled a willow-bough or a star which shamed the\ngreater and lesser light[FN#335] and its glow, and his life and soul\nreturned to his frame. Then he repaired to the palace and went in to\nthe Princess Budur; and when she saw him she schooled her heart to\npatience, till she should have accomplished her purpose; and she\nbestowed on him Mamelukes and eunuchs, camels and mules. Moreover, she\ngave him a treasury of money and she ceased not advancing him from\ndignity to dignity, till she made him Lord High Treasurer and committed\nto his charge all the treasures of the state; and she admitted him to\nfamiliar favour and acquainted the Emirs with his rank and dignity. And\nall loved him, for Queen Budur did not cease day by day to increase his\nallowances. As for Kamar al-Zaman, he was at a loss anent the reason of\nher thus honouring him; and he gave gifts and largesse out of the\nabundance of the wealth; and he devoted himself to the service of King\nArmanus; so that the King and all the Emirs and people, great and\nsmall, adored him and were wont to swear by his life. Nevertheless, he\never marvelled at the honour and favour shown him by Queen Budur and\nsaid to himself, \"By Allah, there needs must be a reason for this\naffection! Peradventure, this King favoureth me not with these\nimmoderate favours save for some ill purpose and, therefore, there is\nno help but that I crave leave of him to depart his realm.\" So he went\nin to Queen Budur and said to her, \"O King, thou hast overwhelmed me\nwith favours, but it will fulfil the measure of thy bounties if thou\ntake from me all thou hast been pleased to bestow upon me, and permit\nme to depart.\" She smiled and asked, \"What maketh thee seek to depart\nand plunge into new perils, whenas thou art in the enjoyment of the\nhighest favour and greatest prosperity?\" Answered Kamar al- Zaman, \"O\nKing, verily this favour, if there be no reason for it, is indeed a\nwonder of wonders, more by token that thou hast advanced me to\ndignities such as befit men of age and experience, albeit I am as it\nwere a young child.\" And Queen Budur rejoined, \"The reason is that I\nlove thee for shine exceeding loveliness and thy surpassing beauty; and\nif thou wilt but grant me my desire of thy body, I will advance thee\nyet farther in honour and favour and largesse; and I will make thee\nWazir, for all thy tender age even as the folk made me Sultan over them\nand I no older than thou; so that nowadays there is nothing strange\nwhen children take the head and by Allah, he was a gifted man who said,\n\n'It seems as though of Lot's tribe were our days, *\n     And crave with love to advance the young in years.'\"[FN#336]\n\nWhen Kamar al-Zaman heard these words, he was abashed and his cheeks\nflushed till they seemed a-flame; and he said, \"I need not these\nfavours which lead to the commission of sin; I will live poor in wealth\nbut wealthy in virtue and honour.\" Quoth she, \"I am not to be duped by\nthy scruples, arising from prudery and coquettish ways; and Allah bless\nhim who saith,\n\n'To him I spake of coupling, but he said to me, *\n     How long this noyous long persistency?'\nBut when gold piece I showed him, he cried, *\n     'Who from the Almighty Sovereign e'er shall flee?'\"\n\nNow when Kamar al-Zaman, heard these words and understood her verses\nand their import, he said, \"O King, I have not the habit of these\ndoings, nor have I strength to bear these heavy burthens for which\nelder than I have proved unable; then how will it be with my tender\nage?\" But she smiled at his speech and retorted, \"Indeed, it is a\nmatter right marvellous how error springeth from the disorder of man's\nintendiment!! Since thou art a boy, why standest thou in fear of sin or\nthe doing of things forbidden, seeing that thou art not yet come to\nyears of canonical responsibility; and the offences of a child incur\nneither punishment nor reproof? Verily, thou hast committed thyself to\na quibble for the sake of contention, and it is thy duty to bow before\na proposal of fruition, so henceforward cease from denial and coyness,\nfor the commandment of Allah is a decree foreordained:[FN#337] indeed,\nI have more reason than thou to fear falling and by sin to be misled;\nand well inspired was he who said,\n\n'My prickle is big and the little one said, *\n     'Thrust boldly in vitals with lion-like stroke!\nThen I, ' 'Tis a sin!; and he, 'No sin to me! *\n     So I had him at once with a counterfeit poke.\"[FN#338]\n\nWhen Kamar al-Zaman heard these words, the light became darkness in his\nsight and he said, \"O King, thou hast in thy household fair women and\nfemale slaves, who have not their like in this age: shall not these\nsuffice thee without me? Do thy will with them and let me go!\" She\nreplied, \"Thou sayest sooth, but it is not with them that one who\nloveth thee can heal himself of torment and can abate his fever; for,\nwhen tastes and inclinations are corrupted by vice, they hear and obey\nother than good advice. So leave arguing and listen to what the poet\nsaith,\n\n'Seest not the bazar with its fruit in rows? *\n     These men are for figs and for sycamore[FN#339] those!'\n\nAnd what another saith,\n\n'Many whose anklet rings are dumb have tinkling belts, *\n     And this hath all content while that for want must wail:\nThou bidd'st me be a fool and quit thee for her charms; *\n     Allah forfend I leave The Faith, turn Infidel!\nNay, by thy rights of side-beard mocking all her curls, *\n     Nor mott nor maid[FN#340] from thee my heart shall spell.'\n\nAnd yet another,\n\n'O beauty's Union! love for thee's my creed, *\n     Free choice of Faith and eke my best desire:\nWomen I have forsworn for thee; so may *\n     Deem me all men this day a shaveling friar.'[FN#341]\n\nAnd yet another,\n\n'Even not beardless one with girl, nor heed *\n     The spy who saith to thee ''Tis an amiss!'\nFar different is the girl whose feet one kisses *\n     And that gazelle whose feet the earth must kiss.'\n\nAnd yet another,\n\n'A boy of twice ten is fit for a King!'\n\nAnd yet another,\n\n'The penis smooth and round was made with anus best to match it, * Had\nit been made for cunnus' sake it had been formed like hatchet!'\n\nAnd yet another said,\n\n'My soul thy sacrifice! I chose thee out *\n     Who art not menstruous nor oviparous:\n Did I with woman mell, I should beget *\n     Brats till the wide wide world grew strait for us.'\n\nAnd yet another,\n\n'She saith (sore hurt in sense the most acute *\n     For she had proffered what did not besuit),\n'Unless thou stroke as man should swive his wife *\n     Blame not when horns thy brow shall incorn\u016fte!\nThy wand seems waxen, to a limpo grown, *\n     And more I palm it, softer grows the brute!'\n\nAnd yet another,\n\n'Quoth she (for I to lie with her forbore), *\n     'O folly-following fool, O fool to core:\nIf thou my coynte for Kiblah[FN#342] to thy coigne *\n     Reject, we'll shall please thee more.'[FN#343]\n\nAnd yet another,\n\n'She proffered me a tender coynte *\n     Quoth I 'I will not roger thee!'\nShe drew back, saying, 'From the Faith *\n     He turns, who's turned by Heaven's decree![FN#344]\nAnd front wise fluttering, in one day, *\n     Is obsolete persistency!'\nThen swung she round and shining rump *\n     Like silvern lump she showed me!\nI cried: 'Well done, O mistress mine! *\n     No more am I in pain for thee;\nO thou of all that Allah oped[FN#345] *\n     Showest me fairest victory!'\n\nAnd yet another,\n\n'Men craving pardon will uplift their hands; *\n     Women pray pardon with their legs on high:\nOut on it for a pious, prayerful work! *\n     The Lord shall raise it in the depths to lie.'\"[FN#346]\n\nWhen Kamar al-Zaman heard her quote this poetry, and was certified that\nthere was no escaping compliance with what willed she, he said, \"O King\nof the age, if thou must needs have it so, make covenant with me that\nthou wilt do this thing with me but once, though it avail not to\ncorrect thy depraved appetite, and that thou wilt never again require\nthis thing of me to the end of time; so perchance shall Allah purge me\nof the sin.\" She replied \"I promise thee this thing, hoping that Allah\nof His favour will relent towards us and blot out our mortal offence;\nfor the girdle of heaven's forgiveness is not indeed so strait, but it\nmay compass us around and absolve us of the excess of our heinous sins\nand bring us to the light of salvation out of the darkness of error;\nand indeed excellently well saith the poet,\n\n'Of evil thing the folk suspect us twain; *\n     And to this thought their hearts and souls are bent:\nCome, dear! let's justify and free their souls *\n     That wrong us; one good bout and then\u2014repent!'''[FN#347]\n\nThereupon she made him an agreement and a covenant and swore a solemn\noath by Him who is Self-existent, that this thing should befal betwixt\nthem but once and never again for all time, and that the desire of him\nwas driving her to death and perdition. So he rose up with her, on this\ncondition, and went with her to her own boudoir, that she might quench\nthe lowe of her lust, saying, \"There is no Majesty, and there is no\nMight save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! This is the fated decree\nof the All- powerful, the All-wise!\"; and he doffed his bag-trousers,\nshamefull and abashed, with the tears running from his eyes for stress\nof affright. Thereat she smiled and making him mount upon a couch with\nher, said to him, \"After this night, thou shalt see naught that will\noffend thee.\" Then she turned to him bussing and bosoming him and\nbending calf over calf, and said to him, \"Put thy hand between my\nthighs to the accustomed place; so haply it may stand up to prayer\nafter prostration.\" He wept and cried, \"I am not good at aught of\nthis,\" but she said, \"By my life, an thou do as I bid thee, it shall\nprofit thee!\" So he put out his hand, with vitals a-fire for confusion,\nand found her thighs cooler than cream and softer than silk. The\ntouching of them pleasured him and he moved his hand hither and\nthither, till it came to a dome abounding in good gifts and movements\nand shifts, and said in himself, \"Perhaps this King is a\nhermaphrodite,[FN#348] neither man nor woman quite;\" so he said to her,\n\"O King, I cannot find that thou hast a tool like the tools of men;\nwhat then moved thee to do this deed?\" Then loudly laughed Queen Budur\ntill she fell on her back,[FN#349] and said, \"O my dearling, how\nquickly thou hast forgotten the nights we have lain together!\" Then she\nmade herself known to him, and he knew her for his wife, the Lady\nBudur, daughter of King al-Ghayur, Lord of the Isles and the Seas. So\nhe embraced her and she embraced him, and he kissed her and she kissed\nhim; then they lay down on the bed of pleasure voluptuous, repeating\nthe words of the poet,\n\n\"When his softly bending shape bid him close to my embrace *\n     Which clips him all about like the tendrils of the vine\nAnd shed a flood of softness on the hardness of his heart, *\n     He yielded though at first he was minded to decline;\nAnd dreading lest the railer's eye should light upon his form, *\n     Came armoured with caution to baffle his design:\nHis waist makes moan of hinder cheeks that weigh upon his feet *\n     Like heavy load of merchandise upon young camel li'en;\nGirt with his glances scymitar which seemed athirst for blood, *\n     And clad in mail of dusky curls that show the sheeniest\n     shine,\nHis fragrance wafted happy news of footstep coming nigh, *\n     And to him like a bird uncaged I flew in straightest line:\nI spread my cheek upon his path, beneath his sandal-shoon, *\n     And lo! the stibium[FN#350] of their dust healed all my hurt\n     of eyne.\nWith one embrace again I bound the banner of our loves[FN#351] *\n     And loosed the knot of my delight that bound in bonds\n     malign:\nThen bade I make high festival, and straight came flocking in *\n     Pure joys that know not grizzled age[FN#352] nor aught of\n     pain and pine:\nThe full moon dotted with the stars the lips and pearly teeth *\n     That dance right joyously upon the bubbling face of wine:\nSo in the prayer-niche of their joys I yielded me to what *\n     Would make the humblest penitent of sinner most indign.\nI swear by all the signs[FN#353] of those glories in his face *\n     I'll ne'er forget the Chapter entituled Al-Ikhlas.\"[FN#354]\n\nThen Queen Budur told Kamar al-Zaman all that had befallen her from\nbeginning to end and he did likewise; after which he began to upbraid\nher, saying, \"What moved thee to deal with me as thou hast done this\nnight?\" She replied, \"Pardon me! for I did this by way of jest, and\nthat pleasure and gladness might be increased.\" And when dawned the\nmorn and day arose with its sheen and shone, she sent to King Armanus,\nsire of the Lady Hayat al-Nufus, and acquainted him with the truth of\nthe case and that she was wife to Kamar al-Zaman. Moreover, she told\nhim their tale and the cause of their separation, and how his daughter\nwas a virgin, pure as when she was born. He marvelled at their story\nwith exceeding marvel and bade them chronicle it in letters of gold.\nThen he turned to Kamar al-Zaman and said, \"O King's son, art thou\nminded to become my son-in-law by marrying my daughter?\" Replied he, \"I\nmust consult the Queen Budur, as she hath a claim upon me for benefits\nwithout stint.\" And when he took counsel with her, she said, \"Right is\nthy recking; marry her and I will be her handmaid; for I am her debtor\nfor kindness and favour and good offices, and obligations manifold,\nespecially as we are here in her place and as the King her father hath\nwhelmed us with benefits.\"[FN#355] Now when he saw that she inclined to\nthis and was not jealous of Hayat al-Nufus, he agreed with her upon\nthis matter.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Seventeenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Kamar al- Zaman\nagreed with his wife, Queen Budur, upon this matter and told King\nArmanus what she had said; whereat he rejoiced with great joy. Then he\nwent out and, seating himself upon his chair of estate, assembled all\nthe Wazirs, Emirs, Chamberlains and Grandees, to whom he related the\nwhole story of Kamar al-Zaman and his wife, Queen Budur, from first to\nlast; and acquainted them with his desire to marry his daughter Hayat\nal-Nufus to the Prince and make him King in the stead of Queen Budur.\nWhereupon said they all, \"Since he is the husband of Queen Budur, who\nhath been our King till now, whilst we deemed her son-in-law to King\nArmanus, we are all content to have him to Sultan over us; and we will\nbe his servants, nor will we swerve from his allegiance.\" So Armanus\nrejoiced hereat and, summoning Kazis and witnesses and the chief\nofficers of state, bade draw up the contract of marriage between Kamar\nal-Zaman and his daughter, the Princess Hayat al-Nufus. Then he held\nhigh festival, giving sumptuous marriage-feasts and bestowing costly\ndresses of honour upon all the Emirs and Captains of the host; moreover\nhe distributed alms to the poor and needy and set free all the\nprisoners. The whole world rejoiced in the coming of Kamar al-Zaman to\nthe throne, blessing him and wishing him endurance of glory and\nprosperity, renown and felicity; and, as soon as he became King, he\nremitted the customs-dues and released all men who remained in gaol.\nThus he abode a long while, ordering himself worthily towards his\nlieges; and he lived with his two wives in peace, happiness, constancy\nand content, lying the night with each of them in turn. He ceased not\nafter this fashion during many years, for indeed all his troubles and\nafflictions were blotted out from him and he forgot his father King\nShahriman and his former estate of honour and favour with him. After a\nwhile Almighty Allah blessed him with two boy children, as they were\ntwo shining moons, through his two wives; the elder whose name was\nPrince Amjad,[FN#356] by Queen Budur, and the younger whose name was\nPrince As'ad by Queen Hayat al-Nufus; and this one was comelier than\nhis brother. They were reared in splendour and tender affection, in\nrespectful bearing and in the perfection of training; and they were\ninstructed in penmanship and science and the arts of government and\nhorsemanship, till they attained the extreme accomplishments and the\nutmost limit of beauty and loveliness; both men and women being\nravished by their charms. They grew up side by side till they reached\nthe age of seventeen, eating and drinking together and sleeping in one\nbed, nor ever parting at any time or tide; wherefore all the people\nenvied them. Now when they came to man's estate and were endowed with\nevery perfection, their father was wont, as often as he went on a\njourney, to make them sit in his stead by turns in the hall of\njudgement; and each did justice among the folk one day at a time. But\nit came to pass, by confirmed fate and determined lot, that love for\nAs'ad (son of Queen Hayat al-Nufus) rose in the heart of Queen Budur,\nand that affection for Amjad (son of Queen Budur) rose in the heart of\nQueen Hayat al-Nufus.[FN#357] Hence it was that each of the women used\nto sport and play with the son of her sister-wife, kissing him and\nstraining him to her bosom, whilst each mother thought that the other's\nbehaviour arose but from maternal affection. On this wise passion got\nthe mastery of the two women's hearts and they became madly in love\nwith the two youths, so that when the other's son came in to either of\nthem, she would press him to her breast and long for him never to be\nparted from her; till, at last, when waiting grew longsome to them and\nthey found no path to enjoyment, they refused meat and drink and\nbanished the solace of sleep. Presently, the King fared forth to course\nand chase, bidding his two sons sit to do justice in his stead, each\none day in turn as was their wont.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Eighteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King fared\nforth to sport and hunt, bidding his two sons sit to do justice in his\nstead, each one day by turn, as was their wont. Now Prince Amjad sat in\njudgement the first day, bidding and forbidding, appointing and\ndeposing, giving and refusing; and Queen Hayat al-Nufus, mother of\nAs'ad, wrote to him a letter suing for his favour and discovering to\nhim her passion and devotion; altogether put tiny off the mask and\ngiving him to know that she desired to enjoy him. So she took a scroll\nand thereon indited these cadences, \"From the love deranged * the\nsorrowful and estranged * whose torment is prolonged for the longing of\nthee! * Were I to recount to thee the extent of my care * and what of\nsadness I bear * the passion which my heart cloth tear * and all that I\nendure for weeping and unrest * and the rending of my sorrowful breast\n* my unremitting grief * and my woe without relief * and all my\nsuffering for severance of thee * and sadness and love's ardency * no\nletter could contain it; nor calculation could compass it * Indeed\nearth and heaven upon me are strait; and I have no hope and no trust\nbut what from thee I await * Upon death I am come nigh * and the\nhorrors of dissolution I aby * Burning upon me is sore * with parting\npangs and estrangement galore * Were I to set forth the yearnings that\npossess me more and more * no scrolls would suffice to hold such store\n* and of the excess of my pain and pine, I have made the following\nlines:- -\n\nWere I to dwell on heart-consuming heat, *\n     Unease and transports in my spins meet,\nNothing were left of ink and reeden pen *\n     Nor aught of paper; no, not e'en a sheet.\n\nThen Queen Hayat al-Nufus wrapped up her letter in a niece of costly\nsilk scented with musk and ambergris; and folded it up with her silken\nhair-strings[FN#358] whose cost swallowed down treasures laid it in a\nhandkerchief and gave it to a eunuch bidding him bear it to Prince\nAmjad.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Nineteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that she gave her\nmissive to the eunuch in waiting and bade him bear it to Prince Amjad.\nAnd that eunuch went forth ignoring what the future hid for him (for\nthe Omniscient ordereth events even as He willeth); and, going in to\nthe Prince, kissed the ground between his hands and handed to him the\nletter. On receiving the kerchief he opened it and, reading the epistle\nand recognizing its gist he was ware that his father's wife was\nessentially an adulteress and a traitress at heart to her husband, King\nKamar al-Zaman. So he waxed wroth with exceeding wrath and railed at\nwomen and their works, saying, \"Allah curse women, the traitresses, the\nimperfect in reason and religion!\"[FN#359] Then he drew his sword and\nsaid to the eunuch, \"Out on thee, thou wicked slave! Dost thou carry\nmessages of disloyalty for thy lord's wife? By Allah, there is no good\nin thee, O black of hue and heart, O foul of face and Nature's\nforming!\" So he smote him on the neck and severed his head from his\nbody; then, folding the kerchief over its contents he thrust it into\nhis breast pocket and went in to his own mother and told her what had\npassed, reviling and reproaching her, and saying, \"Each one of you is\nviler than the other; and, by Allah the Great and Glorious, did I not\nfear ill-manneredly to transgress against the rights of my father,\nKamar al-Zaman, and my brother, Prince As'ad, I would assuredly go in\nto her and cut off her head, even as I cut off that of her eunuch!\"\nThen he went forth from his mother in a mighty rage; and when the news\nreached Queen Hayat al-Nufus of what he had done with her eunuch, she\nabused him[FN#360] and cursed him and plotted perfidy against him. He\npassed the night, sick with rage, wrath and concern; nor found he\npleasure in meat, drink or sleep. And when the next morning dawned\nPrince As'ad fared forth in his turn to rule the folk in his father's\nstead, whilst his mother, Hayat al-Nufus, awoke in feeble plight\nbecause of what she had heard from Prince Amjad concerning the\nslaughter of her eunuch. So Prince As'ad sat in the audience-chamber\nthat day, judging and administering justice, appointing and deposing,\nbidding and forbidding, giving and bestowing. And he ceased not thus\ntill near the time of afternoon-prayer, when Queen Budur sent for a\ncrafty old woman and, discovering to her what was in her heart, wrote a\nletter to Prince As'ad, complaining of the excess of her affection and\ndesire for him in these cadenced lines, \"From her who perisheth for\npassion and love-forlorn * to him who in nature and culture is\ngoodliest born * to him who is conceited of his own loveliness * and\nglories in his amorous grace * who from those that seek to enjoy him\naverteth his face * and refuseth to show favour unto the self abasing\nand base * him who is cruel and of disdainful mood * from the lover\ndespairing of good * to Prince As'ad * with passing beauty endowed *\nand of excelling grace proud * of the face moon bright * and the brow\nflower-white * and dazzling splendid light * This is my letter to him\nwhose love melteth my body * and rendeth my skin and bones! * Know that\nmy patience faileth me quite * and I am perplexed in my plight *\nlonging and restlessness weary me * and sleep and patience deny\nthemselves to me * but mourning and watching stick fast to me * and\ndesire and passion torment me * and the extremes of languor and\nsickness have sheet me * Yet may my life be a ransom for thee * albeit\nthy pleasure be to slay her who loveth thee * and Allah prolong the\nlife of thee * and preserve thee from all infirmity!\" And after these\ncadences she wrote these couplets,\n\n\"Fate hath commanded I become thy fere, *\n     O shining like full moon when clearest clear!\nAll beauty dost embrace, all eloquence; *\n     Brighter than aught within our worldly sphere:\nContent am I my torturer thou be: *\n     Haply shalt alms me with one lovely leer!\nHappy her death who dieth for thy love! *\n     No good in her who holdeth thee unclear!\"\n\nAnd also the following couplets,\n\n\"Unto thee, As'ad! I of passion-pangs complain; *\n     Have ruth on slave of love so burnt with flaming pain:\nHow long, I ask, shall hands of Love disport with me, *\n     With longings, dolour, sleepliness and bale and bane?\nAnon I 'plain of sea in heart, anon of fire *\n     In vitals, O strange case, dear wish, my fairest fain!\nO blamer, cease thy blame, and seek thyself to fly *\n     From love, which makes these eyne a rill of tears to rain.\nHow oft I cry for absence and desire, Ah grief! *\n     But all my crying naught of gain for me shall gain:\nThy rigours dealt me sickness passing power to bear, *\n     Thou art my only leach, assain me an thou deign!\nO chider, chide me not in caution, for I doubt *\n     That plaguey Love to thee shall also deal a bout.\"\n\nThen Queen Budur perfumed the letter-paper with a profusion of\nodoriferous musk and, winding it in her hairstrings which were of Iraki\nsilk, with pendants of oblong emeralds, set with pearls and stones of\nprice, delivered it to the old woman, bidding her carry it to Prince\nAs'ad.[FN#361] She did so in order to pleasure her, and going in to the\nPrince, straightway and without stay, found him in his own rooms and\ndelivered to him the letter in privacy; after which she stood waiting\nan hour or so for the answer. When As'ad had read the paper and knew\nits purport, he wrapped it up again in the ribbons and put it in his\nbosom-pocket: then (for he was wrath beyond all measure of wrath) he\ncursed false women and sprang up and drawing his sword, smote the old\ntrot on the neck and cut off her pate. Thereupon he went in to his\nmother, Queen Hayat al-Nufus, whom he found lying on her bed in feeble\ncase, for that which had betided her with Prince Amjad, and railed at\nher and cursed her; after which he left her and fore-gathered with his\nbrother, to whom he related all that had befallen him with Queen Budur,\nadding, \"By Allah, O my brother, but that I was ashamed before thee, I\nhad gone in to her forthright and had smitten her head off her\nshoulders!\" Replied Prince Amjad, \"By Allah, O my brother, yesterday\nwhen I was sitting upon the seat of judgement, the like of what hath\nbefallen thee this day befel me also with thy mother who sent me a\nletter of similar purport.\" And he told him all that had passed,\nadding, \"By Allah, O my brother, naught but respect for thee withheld\nme from going in to her and dealing with her even as I dealt with the\neunuch!\" They passed the rest of the night conversing and cursing\nwomankind, and agreed to keep the matter secret, lest their father\nshould hear of it and kill the two women. Yet they ceased not to suffer\ntrouble and foresee affliction. And when the morrow dawned, the King\nreturned with his suite from hunting and sat awhile in his chair of\nestate; after which he sent the Emirs about their business and went up\nto his palace, where he found his two wives lying a-bed and both\nexceeding sick and weak. Now they had made a plot against their two\nsons and concerted to do away their lives, for that they had exposed\nthemselves before them and feared to be at their mercy and dependent\nupon their forbearance. When Kamar al-Zaman saw them on this wise, he\nsaid to them, \"What aileth you?\" Whereupon they rose to him and kissing\nhis hands answered, perverting the case and saying \"Know, O King, that\nthy two sons, who have been reared in thy bounty, have played thee\nfalse and have dishonoured thee in the persons of thy wives.\" Now when\nhe heard this, the light became darkness in his sight, and he raged\nwith such wrath that his reason fled: then said he to them, \"Explain me\nthis matter.\" Replied Queen Budur, \"O King of the age, know that these\nmany days past thy son As'ad hath been in the persistent habit of\nsending me letters and messages to solicit me to lewdness and adultery\nwhile I still forbade him from this, but he would not be forbidden;\nand, when thou wentest forth to hunt, he rushed in on me, drunk and\nwith a drawn sword in his hand, and smiting my eunuch, slew him. Then\nhe mounted on my breast, still holding the sword, and I feared lest he\nshould slay me, if I gainsaid him, even as he had slain my eunuch; so\nhe took his wicked will of me by force. And now if thou do me not\njustice on him, O King, I will slay myself with my own hand, for I have\nno need of life in the world after this foul deed.\" And Queen Hayat\nal-Nufus, choking with tears, told him respecting Prince Amjad a story\nlike that of her sister-wife.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Twentieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Queen Hayat\nal-Nufus told her husband, King Kamar al-Zaman, a story like that of\nher sister in wedlock, Budur, and, quoth she, \"The same thing befel me\nwith thy son Amjad;\" after which she took to weeping and wailing and\nsaid, \"Except thou do me justice on him I will tell my father, King\nArmanus.\" Then both women wept with sore weeping before King Kamar\nal-Zaman who, when he saw their tears and heard their words, concluded\nthat their story was true and, waxing wroth beyond measure of wrath,\nwent forth thinking to fall upon his two sons and put them to death. On\nhis way he met his father- in-law, King Armanus who, hearing of his\nreturn from the chase, had come to salute him at that very hour and,\nseeing him with naked brand in hand and blood dripping from his\nnostrils, for excess of rage, asked what ailed him. So Kamar al-Zaman\ntold him all that his sons Amjad and As'ad had done and added, \"And\nhere I am now going in to them to slay them in the foulest way and make\nof them the most shameful of examples.\" Quoth King Armanus (and indeed\nhe too was wroth with them), \"Thou dost well, O my son, and may Allah\nnot bless them nor any sons that do such deed against their father's\nhonour. But, O my son, the sayer of the old saw saith, 'Whoso looketh\nnot to the end hath not Fortune to friend.' In any case, they are thy\nsons, and it befitteth not that thou kill them with shine own hand,\nlest thou drink of their death-agony,[FN#362] and anon repent of having\nslain them whenas repentance availeth thee naught. Rather do thou send\nthem with one of thy Mamelukes into the desert and let him kill them\nthere out of thy sight, for, as saith the adage, 'Out of sight of my\nfriend is better and pleasanter.'[FN#363] And when Kamar al-Zaman heard\nhis father-in-law's words, he knew them to be just; so he sheathed his\nsword and turning back, sat down upon the throne of his realm. There he\nsummoned his treasurer, a very old man, versed in affairs and in\nfortune's vicissitudes, to whom he said, \"Go in to my sons, Amjad and\nAs'ad; bind their hands behind them with strong bonds, lay them in two\nchests and load them upon a mule. Then take horse thou and carry them\ninto mid desert, where do thou kill them both and fill two vials with\ntheir blood and bring the same to me in haste.\" Replied the treasurer,\n\"I hear and I obey,\" and he rose up hurriedly and went out forthright\nto seek the Princes; and, on his road, he met them coming out of the\npalace-vestibule, for they had donned their best clothes and their\nrichest; and they were on their way to salute their sire and give him\njoy of his safe return from his going forth to hunt. Now when he saw\nthem, he laid hands on them, saying, \"Omy sons, know ye that I am but a\nslave commanded, and that your father hath laid a commandment on me;\nwill ye obey his commandment?\" They said, \"Yes\"; whereupon he went up\nto them and, after pinioning their arms, laid them in the chests which\nhe loaded on the back of a mule he had taken from the city. And he\nceased not carrying them into the open country till near noon, when he\nhalted in a waste and desolate place and, dismounting from his mare,\nlet down the two chests from the mule's back. Then he opened them and\ntook out Amjad and As'ad; and when he looked upon them he wept sore for\ntheir beauty and loveliness; then drawing his sword he said to them,\n\"By Allah, O my lords, indeed it is hard for me to deal so evilly by\nyou; but I am to be excused in this matter, being but a slave\ncommanded, for that your father King Kamar al-Zaman hath bidden me\nstrike off your heads.\" They replied, \"O Emir, do the King's bidding,\nfor we bear with patience that which Allah (to Whom be Honour, Might\nand Glory!) hath decreed to us; and thou art quit of our blood.\" Then\nthey embraced and bade each other farewell, and As'ad said to the\ntreasurer, \"Allah upon thee, O uncle, spare me the sight of my\nbrother's death-agony and make me not drink of his anguish, but kill me\nfirst, for that were the easier for me.\" And Amjad said the like and\nentreated the treasurer to kill him before As'ad, saying, \"My brother\nis younger than I; so make me not taste of his anguish. And they both\nwept bitter tears whilst the treasurer wept for their weeping;\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted\nsay.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Twenty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the treasurer\nwept for their weeping; then the two brothers embraced and bade\nfarewell and one said to the other, \"All this cometh of the malice of\nthose traitresses, my mother and thy mother; and this is the reward of\nmy forbearance towards thy mother and of thy for bearance towards my\nmother! But there is no Might and there is no Majesty save in Allah,\nthe Glorious, the Great! Verily, we are Allah's and unto Him we are\nreturning.\"[FN#364] And As'ad em braced his brother, sobbing and\nrepeating these couplets,\n\n\"O Thou to whom sad trembling wights in fear complain! *\n     O ever ready whatso cometh to sustain!\nThe sole resource for me is at Thy door to knock, *\n     At whose door knock an Thou to open wilt not deign?\nO Thou whose grace is treasured in the one word, Be![FN#365] *\n     Favour me, I beseech, in Thee all weals contain.\"\n\nNow when Amjad heard his brother's weeping he wept also and pressing\nhim to his bosom repeated these two couplets,\n\n\"O Thou whose boons to me are more than one! *\n     Whose gifts and favours have nor count nor bound!\nNo stroke of all Fate's strokes e'er fell on me, *\n     But Thee to take me by the hand I found.\"\n\nThen said Amjad to the treasurer, \"I conjure thee by the One,\nOmnipotent, the Lord of Mercy, the Beneficent! slay me before my\nbrother As'ad, so haply shall the fire be quencht in my heart's core\nand in this life burn no more.\" But As'ad wept and exclaimed, \"Not so:\nI will die first;\" whereupon quoth Amjad, \"It were best that I embrace\nthee and thou embrace me, so the sword may fall upon us and slay us\nboth at a single stroke.\" Thereupon they embraced, face to face and\nclung to each other straitly, whilst the treasurer tied up the twain\nand bound them fast with cords, weeping the while. Then he drew his\nblade and said to them, \"By Allah, O my lords, it is indeed hard to me\nto slay you! But have ye no last wishes that I may fulfil or charges\nwhich I may carry out, or message which I may deliver?\" Replied Amjad,\n\"We have no wish; and my only charge to thee is that thou set my\nbrother below and me above him, that the blow may fall on me first, and\nwhen thou hast killed us and returnest to the King and he asketh thee,\n'What heardest thou from them before their death?'; do thou answer,\n'Verily thy sons salute thee and say to thee, Thou knewest not if we\nwere innocent or guilty, yet hast thou put us to death and hast not\ncertified thyself of our sin nor looked into our case.' Then do thou\nrepeat to him these two couplets,\n\n'Women are Satans made for woe o' men; *\n     I fly to Allah from their devilish scathe:\nSource of whatever bale befel our kind, *\n     In wordly matters and in things of Faith.'\"\n\nContinued Amjad, \"We desire of thee naught but that thou repeat to our\nsire these two couplets.\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was ad the Two Hundred and Twenty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Amjad added,\nspeaking to the treasurer, \"We desire of thee naught but that thou\nrepeat to our sire these two couplets which thou hast just now heard;\nand I conjure thee by Allah to have patience with us, whilst I cite to\nmy brother this other pair of couplets.\" Then he wept with sore weeping\nand began,\n\n\"The Kings who fared before us showed *\n     Of instances full many a show:\nOf great and small and high and low *\n     How many this one road have trod!\"\n\nNow when the treasurer heard these words from Amjad, he wept till his\nbeard was wet, whilst As'ad's eyes brimmed with tears and he in turn\nrepeated these couplets,\n\n\"Fate frights us when the thing is past and gone; *\n     Weeping is not for form or face alone[FN#366]:\nWhat ails the Nights?[FN#367] Allah blot out our sin, *\n     And be the Nights by other hand undone!\nEre this Zubayr-son[FN#368] felt their spiteful hate, *\n     Who fled for refuge to the House and Stone:\nWould that when Kh\u00e1rijah was for Amru slain[FN#369] *\n     They had ransomed Ali with all men they own.\"\n\nThen, with cheeks stained by tears down railing he recited also these\nverses,\n\n\"In sooth the Nights and Days are charactered *\n     By traitor falsehood and as knaves they lie;\nThe Desert-reek[FN#370] recalls their teeth that shine; *\n     All horrid blackness is their K of eye:\nMy sin anent the world which I abhor *\n     Is sin of sword when sworders fighting hie.\"\n\nThen his sobs waxed louder and he said,\n\n\"O thou who woo'st a World[FN#371] unworthy, learn *\n     'Tis house of evils, 'tis Perdition's net:\nA house where whoso laughs this day shall weep *\n     The next: then perish house of fume and fret!\nEndless its frays and forays, and its thralls *\n     Are ne'er redeemed, while endless risks beset.\nHow many gloried in its pomps and pride, *\n     Till proud and pompous did all bounds forget,\nThen showing back of shield she made them swill[FN#372] *\n     Full draught, and claimed all her vengeance debt.\nFor know her strokes fall swift and sure, altho' *\n     Long bide she and forslow the course of Fate:\nSo look thou to thy days lest life go by *\n     Idly, and meet thou more than thou hast met;\nAnd cut all chains of world-love and desire *\n     And save thy soul and rise to secrets higher.\"\n\nNow when As'ad made an end of these verses, he strained his brother\nAmjad in his arms, till they twain were one body, and the treasurer,\ndrawing his sword, was about to strike them, when behold, his steed\ntook fright at the wind of his upraised hand, and breaking its tether,\nfled into the desert. Now the horse had cost a thousand gold pieces and\non its back was a splendid saddle worth much money; so the treasurer\nthrew down his sword, and ran after his beast.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Twenty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when his horse\nran away, the treasurer ran after it in huge concern, and ceased not\nrunning to catch the runaway till it entered a thicket. He followed it\nwhilst it dashed through the wood, smiting the earth with its hoofs\ntill it raised a dust-cloud which towered high in air; and snorting and\npuffing and neighing and waxing fierce and furious. Now there happened\nto be in this thicket a lion of terrible might; hideous to sight, with\neyes sparkling light: his look was grim and his aspect struck fright\ninto man's sprite. Presentry the treasurer turned and saw the lion\nmaking towards him; but found no way of escape nor had he his sword\nwith him. So he said in himself, \"There is no Majesty and there is no\nMight save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! This strait is come upon\nme for no other cause but because of Amjad and As'ad; and indeed this\njourney was unblest from the first!\" Meanwhile the two Princes were\ngrievously oppressed by the heat and grew sore athirst, so that their\ntongues hung out and they cried for succour, but none came to their\nrelief and they said, \"Would to Heaven we had been slain and were at\npeace from this pain! But we know not whither the horse hath fled, that\nthe treasurer is gone and hath left us thus pinioned. If he would but\ncome back and do us die, it were easier to us than this torture to\naby.\" Said As'ad, \"O my brother, be patient, and the relief of Allah\n(extolled and exalted be He!) shall assuredly come to us; for the horse\nstarted not away save of His favour towards us, and naught irketh us\nbut this thirst.\" Upon this he stretched and shook himself and strained\nright and left, till he burst his pinion-bonds; then he rose and\nunbound his brother and catching up the Emir's sword, said, \"By Allah,\nwe will not go hence, till we look after him and learn what is become\nof him.\" Then they took to following on the trail till it led them to\nthe thicket and they said to each other, \"Of a surety, the horse and\nthe treasurer have not passed out of this wood.\" Quoth As'ad, \"Stay\nthou here, whilst I enter the thicket and search it;\" and Amjad\nreplied, \"I will not let thee go in alone: nor will we enter it but\ntogether; so if we escape, we shall escape together and if we perish,\nwe shall perish together.\" Accordingly both entered and found that the\nlion had sprang upon the treasurer, who lay like a sparrow in his grip,\ncalling upon Allah for aid and signing with his hands to Heaven. Now\nwhen Amjad saw this, he took the sword and, rushing upon the lion,\nsmote him between the eyes and laid him dead on the ground. The Emir\nsprang up, marvelling at this escape and seeing Amjad and As'ad, his\nmaster's sons, standing there, cast himself at their feet and\nexclaimed, \"By Allah, O my lords, it were intolerable wrong in me to do\nyou to death. May the man never be who would kill you! Indeed, with my\nvery life, I will ransom you.\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was  the Two Hundred and Twenty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the\ntreasurer to Amjad and As'ad, \"With my life will I ransom you both!\"\nThen he hastily rose and, at once embracing them, enquired how they had\nloosed their bonds and come thither; whereupon they told him how the\nbonds of one of them had fallen loose and he had unbound the other,\nwhereto they were helped by the purity of their intentions, and how\nthey had tracked his trail till they came upon him. So he thanked them\nfor their deed and went with them forth of the thicket; and, when they\nwere in the open country, they said to him, \"O uncle, do our father's\nbidding.\" He replied, \"Allah forbid that I should draw near to you with\nhurt! But know ye that I mean to take your clothes and clothe you with\nmine; then will I fill two vials with the lion's blood and go back to\nthe King and tell him I have out vou to death. But as for you two, fare\nye forth into the lands, for Allah's earth is wide; and know, O my\nlords, that it paineth me to part from you.\" At this, they all fell\na-weeping; then the two youths put off their clothes and the treasurer\nhabited them with his own. Moreover he made two parcels of their dress\nand, filling two vials with the lion's blood, set the parcels before\nhim on his horse's back. Presently he took leave of them and, making\nhis way to the city, ceased not faring till he went in to King Kamar\nal-Zaman and kissed the ground between his hands. The King saw him\nchanged in face and troubled (which arose from his adventure with the\nlion) and, deeming this came of the slaughter of his two sons, rejoiced\nand said to him, \"Hast thou done the work?\" \"Yes, O our lord,\" replied\nthe treasurer and gave him the two parcels of clothes and the two vials\nfull of blood. Asked the King, \"What didst thou observe in them; and\ndid they give thee any charge?\" Answered the treasurer, \"I found them\npatient and resigned to what came down upon them and they said to me,\n'Verily, our father is excusable; bear him our salutation and say to\nhim, 'Thou art quit of our killing. But we charge thee repeat to him\nthese couplets,\n\n'Verily women are devils created for us. We seek refuge with God from\nthe artifice of the devils. They are the source of all the misfortunes\nthat have appeared among mankind in the affairs of the world and of\nreligion.'''[FN#373]\n\nWhen the King heard these words of the treasurer, he bowed his head\nearthwards, a long while and knew his sons' words to mean that they had\nbeen wrongfully put to death. Then he bethought himself of the perfidy\nof women and the calamities brought about by them; and he took the two\nparcels and opened them and fell to turning over his sons' clothes and\nweeping,\u2014And Shahrazed perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when King Kamar\nla-Zaman opened the two bundles and fell to turning over his sons'\nclothes and weeping, it so came to pass that he found, in the pocket of\nhis son As'ad's raiment, a letter in the hand of his wife enclosing her\nhair strings; so he opened and read it and understanding the contents\nknew that the Prince had been falsely accused and wrongously. Then he\nsearched Amjad's parcel of dress and found in his pocket a letter in\nthe handwriting of Queen Hayat al-Nufus enclosing also her\nhair-strings; so he opened and read it and knew that Amjad too had been\nwronged; whereupon he beat hand upon hand and exclaimed, \"There is no\nMajesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! I\nhave slain my sons unjustly.\" And he buffeted his face, crying out,\n\"Alas, my sons! Alas, my long grief!\" Then he bade them build two tombs\nin one house, which he styled \"House of Lamentations,\" and had graved\nthereon his sons' names; and he threw himself on Amjad's tomb, weeping\nand groaning and lamenting, and improvised these couplets,\n\n\"O moon for ever set this earth below, *\n     Whose loss bewail the stars which stud the sky!\nO wand, which broken, ne'er with bend and wave *\n     Shall fascinate the ravisht gazer's eye;\nThese eyne for jealousy I 'reft of thee, *\n     Nor shall they till next life thy sight descry:\nI'm drowned in sea of tears for insomny *\n     Wherefore, indeed in S\u00e1hirah-stead[FN#374] I lie.\"\n\nThen he threw himself on As'ad's tomb, groaning and weeping and\nlamenting and versifying with these couplets,\n\n\"Indeed I longed to share unweal with thee, *\n     But Allah than my will willed otherwise:\nMy grief all blackens 'twixt mine eyes and space, *\n     Yet whitens all the blackness from mine eyes:[FN#375]\nOf tears they weep these eyne run never dry, *\n     And ulcerous flow in vitals never dries:\nRight sore it irks me seeing thee in stead[FN#376] *\n     Where slave with sovran for once levelled lies.\"\n\nAnd his weeping and wailing redoubled; and, after he had ended his\nlamentations and his verse, he forsook his friends and intimates, and\ndenying himself to his women and his family, cut himself off from the\nworld in the House of Lamentations, where he passed his time in weeping\nfor his sons. Such was his case; but as regards Amjad and As'ad they\nfared on into the desert eating of the fruits of the earth and drinking\nof the remnants of the rain for a full month, till their travel brought\nthem to a mountain of black flint[FN#377] whose further end was\nunknown; and here the road forked, one line lying along the midway\nheight and the other leading to its head. They took the way trending to\nthe top and gave not over following it five days, but saw no end to it\nand were overcome with weariness, being unused to walking upon the\nmountains or elsewhere.[FN#378] At last, despairing of coming to the\nlast of the road, they retraced their steps and, taking the other, that\nled over the midway heights,\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Princes Amjad and\nAs'ad returned from the path leading to the Mountain- head and took\nthat which ran along the midway heights, and walked through all that\nday till nightfall, when As'ad, weary with much travel, said to Amjad,\n\"O my brother, I can walk no farther, for I am exceeding weak.\" Replied\nAmjad, \"O my brother, take courage! May be Allah will send us relief.\"\nSo they walked on part of the night, till the darkness closed in upon\nthem, when As'ad became weary beyond measure of weariness and cried\nout, \"O my brother, I am worn out and spent with walking,\" and threw\nhimself upon the ground and wept. Amjad took him in his arms and walked\non with him, bytimes sitting down to rest till break of day, when they\ncame to the mountain-top and found there a stream of running water and\nby it a pomegranate-tree and a prayer-niche.[FN#379] They could hardly\nbelieve their eyes when they saw it; but, sitting down by that spring,\ndrank of its water and ate of the fruit of that granado-tree; after\nwhich they lay on the ground and slept till sunrise, when they washed\nand bathed in the spring and, eating of the pomegranates, slept again\ntill the time of mid-afternoon prayer. Then they thought to continue\ntheir journey, but As'ad could not walk, for both his feet were\nswollen. So they abode there three days till they were rested, after\nwhich they set out again and fared on over the mountain days and\nnights, tortured by and like to die of thirst, till they sighted a city\ngleaming afar off, at which they rejoiced and made towards it. When\nthey drew near it, they thanked Allah (be His Name exalted!) and Amjad\nsaid to As'ad, \"O my brother, sit here, whilst I go to yonder city and\nsee what it is and whose it is and where we are in Allah's wide world,\nthat we may know through what lands we have passed in crossing this\nmountain, whose skirts had we followed, we had not reached this city in\na whole year. So praised be Allah for safety!\" Replied As'ad, \"By\nAllah, O my brother, none shall go down into that city save myself, and\nmay I be thy ransom! If thou leave me alone, be it only for an hour, I\nshall imagine a thousand things and be drowned in a torrent of anxiety\non shine account, for I cannot brook shine absence from me.\" Amjad\nrejoined, \"Go then and tarry not. So As'ad took some gold pieces, and\nleaving his brother to await him, descended the mountain and ceased not\nfaring on till he entered the city. As he threaded the streets he was\nmet by an old man age-decrepit, whose beard flowed down upon his breast\nand forked in twain;[FN#380] he bore a walking-staff in his hand and\nwas richly clad, with a great red turband on his head. When As'ad saw\nhim, he wondered at his dress and his mien; nevertheless, he went up to\nhim and saluting him said, \"Where be the way to the market, O my\nmaster?\" Hearing these words the Shaykh smiled in his face and replied,\n\"O my son, meseemeth thou art a stranger?\" As'ad rejoined, \"Yes, I am a\nstranger.\"\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Shaykh who\nmet As'ad smiled in his face and said to him, \"O my son, meseemeth thou\nart a stranger?\" and As'ad replied, \"Yes, I am a stranger.\" Then\nrejoined the old man, \"Verily, thou gladdenest our country with thy\npresence, O my son, and thou desolatest shine own land by reason of\nshine absence. What wantest thou of the market?\" Quoth As'ad, \"O uncle,\nI have a brother, with whom I have come from a far land and with whom I\nhave journeyed these three months; and, when we sighted this city, I\nleft him, who is my elder brother, upon the mountain and came hither,\npurposing to buy victual and what else, and return therewith to him,\nthat we might feed thereon.\" Said the old man, \"Rejoice in all good, O\nmy son, and know thou that to-day I give a marriage-feast, to which I\nhave bidden many guests, and I have made ready plenty of meats, the\nbest and most delicious that heart can desire. So if thou wilt come\nwith me to my place, I will give thee freely all thou lackest without\nasking thee a price or aught else. Moreover I will teach thee the ways\nof this city; and, praised be Allah, O my son, that I, and none other\nhave happened upon thee.\" \"As thou wilt,\" answered As'ad, \"do as thou\nart disposed, but make haste, for indeed my brother awaiteth me and his\nwhole heart is with me.\" The old man took As'ad by the hand and carried\nhim to a narrow lane, smiling in his face and saying, \"Glory be to Him\nwho hath delivered thee from the people of this city!\" And he ceased\nnot walking till he entered a spacious house, wherein was a saloon and\nbehold, in the middle of it were forty old men, well stricken in years,\ncollected together and forming a single ring as they sat round about a\nlighted fire, to which they were doing worship and prostrating\nthemselves.[FN#381] When As'ad saw this, he was confounded and the hair\nof his body stood on end though he knew not what they were; and the\nShaykh said to them, \"O Elders of the Fire, how blessed is this day!\"\nThen he called aloud, saying, \"Hello, Ghazb\u00e1n!\" Whereupon there came\nout to him a tall black slave of frightful aspect, grim-visaged and\nflat nosed as an ape who, when the old man made a sign to him, bent\nAs'ad's arms behind his back and pinioned them; after which the Shaykh\nsaid to him, \"Let him down into the vault under the earth and there\nleave him and say to my slave girl Such-an-one, 'Torture him night and\nday and give him a cake of bread to eat morning and evening against the\ntime come of the voyage to the Blue Sea and the Mountain of Fire,\nwhereon we will slaughter him as a sacrifice.'\" So the black carried\nhim out at another door and, raising a flag in the floor, discovered a\nflight of twenty steps leading to a chamber[FN#382] under the earth,\ninto which he descended with him and, laying his feet in irons, gave\nhim over to the slave girl and went away. Meanwhile, the old men said\nto one another, \"When the day of the Festival of the Fire cometh, we\nwill sacrifice him on the mountain, as a propitiatory offering whereby\nwe shall pleasure the Fire.\" Presently the damsel went down to him and\nbeat him a grievous beating, till streams of blood flowed from his\nsides and he fainted; after which she set at his head a scone of bread\nand a cruse of brackish water and went away and left him. In the middle\nof the night, he revived and found himself bound and beaten and sore\nwith beating: so he wept bitter tears; and recalling his former\ncondition of honour and prosperity, lordship and dominion, and his\nseparation from his sire and his exile from his native land.\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted\nsay,\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Twenty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when As'ad found\nhimself bound and beaten and sore with beating he recalled his whilome\ncondition of honour and prosperity and dominion and lordship, and he\nwept and groaned aloud and recited these couplets,\n\n\"Stand by the ruined stead and ask of us; *\n     Nor deem we dwell there as was state of us:\nThe World, that parter, hath departed us; *\n     Yet soothes not hate-full hearts the fate of us:\nWith whips a cursed slave girl scourges us, *\n     And teems her breast with rancorous hate of us:\nAllah shall haply deign to unpart our lives, *\n     Chastise our foes, and end this strait of us.\"\n\nAnd when As'ad had spoken his poetry, he put out his hand towards his\nhead and finding there the crust and the cruse full of brackish water\nhe ate a bittock, just enough to keep life in him, and drank a little\nwater, but could get no sleep till morning for the swarms of\nbugs[FN#383] and lice. As soon as it was day, the slave girl came down\nto him and changed his clothes, which were drenched with blood and\nstuck to him, so that his skin came off with the shirt; wherefor he\nshrieked aloud and cried, \"Alas!\" and said, \"O my God, if this be Thy\npleasure, increase it upon me! O Lord, verily Thou art not unmindful of\nhim that oppresseth me; do Thou then avenge me upon him!\" And he\ngroaned and repeated the following verses,\n\n\"Patient, O Allah! to Thy destiny *\n     I bow, suffice me what Thou deign decree:\nPatient to bear Thy will, O Lord of me, *\n     Patient to burn on coals of Ghaz\u00e1-tree:\nThey wrong me, visit me with hurt and harm; *\n     Haply Thy grace from them shall set me free:\nFar be's, O Lord, from thee to spare the wronger *\n     O Lord of Destiny my hope's in Thee!\"\n\nAnd what another saith,\n\n\"Bethink thee not of worldly state, *\n     Leave everything to course of Fate;\nFor oft a thing that irketh thee *\n     Shall in content eventuate;\nAnd oft what strait is shall expand, *\n     And what expanded is wax strait.\nAllah will do what wills His will *\n     So be not thou importunate!\nBut 'joy the view of coming weal *\n     Shall make forget past bale and bate.\"\n\nAnd when he had ended his verse, the slave-girl came down upon him with\nblows till he fainted again; and, throwing him a flap of bread and a\ngugglet of saltish water, went away and left him sad and lonely, bound\nin chains of iron, with the blood streaming from his sides and far from\nthose he loved. So he wept and called to mind his brother and the\nhonours he erst enjoyed.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that As'ad called to\nmind his brother and the honours he erst enjoyed; so he wept and\ngroaned and complained and poured forth tears in floods and improvised\nthese couplets,\n\n\"Easy, O Fate! how long this wrong, this injury, *\n     Robbing each morn and eve my brotherhood fro' me?\nIs't not time now thou deem this length sufficiency *\n     Of woes and, O thou Heart of Rock, show clemency?\nMy friends thou wrongedst when thou madst each enemy *\n     Mock and exult me for thy wrongs, thy tyranny:\nMy foeman's heart is solaced by the things he saw *\n     In me, of strangerhood and lonely misery:\nSuffice thee not what came upon my head of dole, *\n     Friends lost for evermore, eyes wan and pale of blee?\nBut must in prison cast so narrow there is naught *\n     Save hand to bite, with bitten hand for company;\nAnd tears that tempest down like goodly gift of cloud, *\n     And longing thirst whose fires weet no satiety.\nRegretful yearnings, singulfs and unceasing sighs, *\n     Repine, remembrance and pain's very ecstacy:\nDesire I suffer sore and melancholy deep, *\n     And I must bide a prey to endless phrenesy:\nI find me ne'er a friend who looks with piteous eye, *\n     And seeks my presence to allay my misery:\nSay, liveth any intimate with trusty love *\n     Who for mine ills will groan, my sleepless malady?\nTo whom moan I can make and, peradventure, he *\n     Shall pity eyes that sight of sleep can never see?\nThe flea and bug suck up my blood, as wight that drinks *\n     Wine from the proffering hand of fair virginity:\nAmid the lice my body aye remindeth me *\n     Of orphan's good in K\u00e1zi's claw of villainy:\nMy home's a sepulchre that measures cubits three, *\n     Where pass I morn and eve in chained agony:\nMy wines are tears, my clank of chains takes music's stead, *\n     Cares my dessert of fruit and sorrows are my bed.\"\n\nAnd when he had versed his verse and had prosed his prose, he again\ngroaned and complained and remembered he had been and how he had been\nparted from his brother. Thus far concerning him; but as regards his\nbrother Amjad, he awaited As'ad till mid-day yet he returned not to\nhim: whereupon Amjad's vitals fluttered, the pangs of parting were sore\nupon him and he poured forth abundant tears,\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Thirtieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Amjad\nawaited his brother As'ad till mid-day and he returned not to him,\nAmjad's vitals fluttered; the pangs of parting were sore upon him and\nhe poured forth abundant tears, exclaiming, \"Alas, my brother! Alas, my\nfriend! Alas my grief! How I feared me we should be separated!\" Then he\ndescended from the mountain-top with the tears running down his cheeks;\nand, entering the city, ceased not walking till he made the market. He\nasked the folk the name of the place and concerning its people and they\nsaid, \"This is called the City of the Magians, and its citizens are\nmostly given to Fire-worshipping in lieu of the Omnipotent King.\" Then\nhe enquired of the City of Ebony and they answered, \"Of a truth it is a\nyear's journey thither by land and six months by sea: it was governed\nerst by a King called Armanus; but he took to son- in-law and made King\nin his stead a Prince called Kamar al-Zaman distinguished for justice\nand munificence, equity and benevolence.\" When Amjad heard tell of his\nfather, he groaned and wept and lamented and knew not whither to go.\nHowever, he bought a something of food and carried it to a retired spot\nwhere he sat down thinking to eat; but, recalling his brother, he fell\na- weeping and swallowed but a morsel to keep breath and body together,\nand that against his will. Then he rose and walked about the city,\nseeking news of his brother, till he saw a Moslem tailor sitting in his\nshop so he sat down by him and told him his story; whereupon quoth the\ntailor, \"If he have fallen into the hands of the Magians, thou shalt\nhardly see him again: yet it may be Allah will reunite you twain. But\nthou, O my brother,\" he continued wilt thou lodge with me?\" Amjad\nanswered, \"Yes\"; and the tailor rejoiced at this. So he abode with him\nmany days, what while the tailor comforted him and exhorted him to\npatience and taught him tailoring, till he became expert in the craft.\nNow one day he went forth to the sea-shore and washed his clothes;\nafter which he entered the bath and put on clean raiment; then he\nwalked about the city, to divert himself with its sights and presently\nthere met him on the way a woman of passing beauty and loveliness,\nwithout peer for grace and comeliness. When she saw him she raised her\nface-veil and signed to him by moving her eyebrows and her eyes with\nluring glances, and versified these couplets,\n\n\"I drooped my glance when seen thee on the way *\n     As though, O slim-waist! felled by Sol's hot ray:\nThou art the fairest fair that e'er appeared, *\n     Fairer to-day than fair of yesterday:[FN#384]\nWere Beauty parted, a fifth part of it *\n     With Joseph or a part of fifth would stay;\nThe rest would fly to thee, shine ownest own; *\n     Be every soul thy sacrifice, I pray!\"\n\nWhen Amjad heard these her words, they gladdened his heart which\ninclined to her and his bowels yearned towards her and the hands of\nlove sported with him; so he sighed to her in reply and spoke these\ncouplets,\n\n\"Above the rose of cheek is thorn of lance;[FN#385] *\n     Who dareth pluck it, rashest chevisance?\nStretch not thy hand towards it, for night long *\n     Those lances marred because we snatched a glance!\nSay her, who tyrant is and tempter too *\n     (Though justice might her tempting power enhance):\u2014\nThy face would add to errors were it veiled; *\n     Unveiled I see its guard hath best of chance!\nEye cannot look upon Sol's naked face; *\n     But can, when mist-cloud dims his countenance:\nThe honey-hive is held by honey-bee;[FN#386] *\n     Ask the tribe-guards what wants their vigilance?\nAn they would slay me, let them end their ire *\n     Rancorous, and grant us freely to advance:\nThey're not more murderous, an charge the whole *\n     Than charging glance of her who wears the mole.\"\n\nAnd hearing these lines from Amjad she sighed with the deepest sighs\nand, signing to him again, repeated these couplets,\n\n\"'Tis thou hast trodden coyness path not I: *\n     Grant me thy favours for the time draws nigh:\nO thou who makest morn with light of brow, *\n     And with loosed brow-locks night in lift to stye!\nThine idol-aspect made of me thy slave, *\n     Tempting as temptedst me in days gone by:\n'Tis just my liver fry with hottest love: *\n     Who worship fire for God must fire aby:\nThou sellest like of me for worthless price; *\n     If thou must sell, ask high of those who buy.\"\n\nWhen Amjad heard these her words he said to her, \"Wilt thou come to my\nlodging or shall I go with thee to shine?\" So she hung her head in\nshame to the ground and repeated the words of Him whose Name be\nexalted, \"Men shall have the pre-eminence above women, because of those\nadvantages wherein Allah hath caused the one of them to excel the\nother.\"[FN#387] Upon this, Amjad took the hint.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Thirty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Amjad took the\nwoman's hint and understood that she wished to go with him whither he\nwas going; he felt himself bounder to find a place wherein to receive\nher, but was ashamed to carry her to the house of his host, the tailor.\nSo he walked on and she walked after him, and the two ceased not\nwalking from street to street and place to place, till she was tired\nand said to him, \"O my lord, where is thy house?\" Answered he, \"Before\nus a little way.\" Then he turned aside into a handsome by-street,\nfollowed by the young woman, and walked on till he came to the end,\nwhen he found it was no thoroughfare and exclaimed, \"There is no\nMajesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!\"\nThen raising his eyes, he saw, at the upper end of the lane a great\ndoer with two stone benches; but it was locked. So Amjad sat down on\none of the benches and she on the other; and she said to him, \"O my\nlord, wherefore waitest thou?\" He bowed his head awhile to the ground\nthen raised it and answered, \"I am awaiting my Mameluke who hath the\nkey; for I bade him make me ready meat and drink and flowers, to deck\nthe wine-service against my return from the bath.\" But he said to\nhimself, \"Haply the time will be tedious to her and she will go about\nher business, leaving me here, when I will wend my own way.\" However,\nas soon as she was weary of long waiting, she said, \"O my lord, thy\nMameluke delayeth; and here are we sitting in the street;\" and she\narose and took a stone and went up to the lock. Said Amjad, \"Be not in\nhaste, but have patience till the servant come.\" However, she hearkened\nnot to him, but smote the wooden bolt with the stone and broke it in\nhalf, whereupon the door opened. Quoth he, \"What possessed thee to do\nthis deed?\" Quoth she, \"Pooh, pooh, my lord! what matter it? Is not the\nhouse thy house and thy place?\" He said, \"There was no need to break\nthe bolt.\" Then the damsel entered, to the confusion of Amjad, who knew\nnot what to do for fear of the people of the house; but she said to\nhim, \"Why dost thou not enter, O light of mine eyes and core of my\nheart?\" Replied he, \"I hear and obey; but my servant tarrieth long and\nI know not if he have done aught of what I bade him and specially\nenjoined upon him, or not.\" Hereupon he entered, sore in fear of the\npeople of the house, and found himself in a handsome saloon with four\ndais'd recesses, each facing other, and containing closets and raised\nseats, all bespread with stuffs of silk and brocade; and in the midst\nwas a jetting fountain of costly fashion, on whose margin rested a\ncovered tray of meats, with a leather tablecloth hanging up and\ngem-encrusted dishes, full of fruits and sweet- scented flowers. Hard\nby stood drinking vessels and a candlestick with a single wax-candle\ntherein; and the place was full of precious stuffs and was ranged with\nchests and stools, and on each seat lay a parcel of clothes upon which\nwas a purse full of monies, gold and silver. The floor was paved with\nmarble and the house bore witness in every part to its owner's fortune.\nWhen Amjad saw all this, he was confounded at his case and said to\nhimself, \"I am a lost man! Verily we are Allah's and to Allah we are\nreturning!\" As for the damsel, when she sighted the place she rejoiced\nindeed with a joy nothing could exceed, and said to him, \"By Allah, O\nmy lord, thy servant hath not failed of his duty; for see, he hath\nswept the place and cooked the meat and set on the fruit; and indeed I\ncome at the best of times.\" But he paid no heed to her, his heart being\ntaken up with fear of the house- folk; and she said, \"Fie, O my lord, O\nmy heart! What aileth thee to stand thus?\" Then she sighed and, giving\nhim a buss which sounded like the cracking of a walnut, said, \"O my\nlord, an thou have made an appointment with other than with me, I will\ngird my middle and serve her and thee. Amjad laughed from a heart full\nof rage and wrath and came forwards and sat down, panting and saying to\nhimself, \"Alack, mine ill death and doom when the owner of the place\nshall return!\" Then she seated herself by him and fell to toying and\nlaughing, whilst Amjad sat careful and frowning, thinking a thousand\nthoughts and communing with himself, \"Assuredly the master of the house\ncannot but come, and then what shall I say to him? he needs must kill\nme and my life will be lost thus foolishly.\" Presently she rose and,\ntucking up her sleeves, took a tray of food on which she laid the cloth\nand then set it before Amjad and began to eat, saying, \"Eat, O my\nlord.\" So he came forward and ate; but the food was not pleasant to\nhim; on the contrary he ceased not to look towards the door, till the\ndamsel had eaten her fill, when she took away the tray of the meats\nand, setting on the dessert, fell to eating of the dried fruits. Then\nshe brought the wine service and opening the jar, filled a cup and\nhanded it to Amjad, who took it from her hand saying to him self, ' Ah,\nah! and well away, when the master of the house cometh and seeth me!\";\nand he kept his eyes fixed on the threshold, even with cup in hand.\nWhile he was in this case, lo! in came the master of the house, who was\na white slave, one of the chief men of the city, being Master of the\nHorse[FN#388] to the King. He had fitted up this saloon for his\npleasures, that he might make merry therein and be private with whom he\nwould, and he had that day bidden a youth whom he loved and had made\nthis entertainment for him. Now the name of this slave was\nBah\u00e1dur,[FN#389] and he was open of hand, generous, munificent and fain\nof alms-giving and charitable works.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it wad the Two Hundred and Thirty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Bahadur, the\nMaster of the Horse and the owner of the house, came to the door of the\nsaloon and found it open, he entered slowly and softly and looking in,\nwith head advanced and out stretched neck, saw Amjad and the girl\nsitting before the dish of fruit and the wine-jar in front of them. Now\nAmjad at that moment had the cup in his hand and his face turned to the\ndoor; and when his glance met Bahadur's eyes his hue turned pale yellow\nand his side-muscles quivered, so seeing his trouble Bahadur signed to\nhim with his finger on his lips, as much as to say, \"Be silent and come\nhither to me.\" Whereupon he set down the cup and rose and the damsel\ncried, \"Whither away?\" He shook his head and, signing to her that he\nwished to make water, went out into the passage barefoot. Now when he\nsaw Bahadur he knew him for the master of the house; so he hastened to\nhim and, kissing his hands, said to him, \"Allah upon thee, O my lord,\nere thou do me a hurt, hear what I have to say.\" Then he told him who\nhe was from first to last and acquainted him with what caused him to\nquit his native land and royal state, and how he had not entered his\nhouse of his free will, but that it was the girl who had broken the\nlock-bolt and done all this.[FN#390] When Bahadur heard his story and\nknew that he was a King's son, he felt for him and, taking compassion\non him, said, \"Hearken to me, O Amjad, and do what I bid thee and I\nwill guarantee thy safety from that thou fearest; but, if thou cross\nme, I will kill thee.\" Amjad replied, \"Command me as thou wilt: I will\nnot gainsay thee in aught; no, never, for I am the freedman of thy\nbounty.\" Rejoined Bahadur, \"Then go back forthwith into the saloon, sit\ndown in thy place and be at peace and at shine ease; I will presently\ncome in to thee, and when thou seest me (remember my name is Bahadur)\ndo thou revile me and rail at me, saying, 'What made thee tarry till so\nlate?' And accept no excuse from me; nay, so far from it, rise and beat\nme; and, if thou spare me, I will do away thy life. Enter now and make\nmerry and whatsoever thou seekest of me at this time I will bring thee\nforthwith; and do thou spend this night as thou wilt and on the morrow\nwend thy way. This I do in honour of thy strangerhood, for I love the\nstranger and hold myself bounder to do him devoir.\" So Amjad kissed his\nhand, and, returning to the saloon with his face clad in its natural\nwhite and red, at once said to the damsel, \"O my mistress, thy presence\nhath gladdened this shine own place and ours is indeed a blessed\nnight.\" Quoth the girl, \"Verily I see a wonderful change in thee, that\nthou now welcomest me so cordially!\" So Amjad answered, \"By Allah, O my\nlady, methought my servant Bahadur had robbed me of some necklaces of\njewels, worth ten thousand diners each; however, when I went out but\nnow in concern for this, I sought for them and found them in their\nplace. I know not why the slave tarrieth so long and needs must I\npunish him for it.\" She was satisfied with his answer, and they sported\nand drank and made merry and ceased not to be so till near sundown,\nwhen Bahadur came in to them, having changed his clothes and girt his\nmiddle and put on shoes, such as are worn of Mamelukes. He saluted and\nkissed the ground; then held his hands behind him and stood, with his\nhead hanging down, as one who confesseth to a fault. So Amjad looked at\nhim with angry eyes and asked, \"Why hast thou tarried till now, O most\npestilent of slaves?\" Answered Bahadur, \"O my lord, I was busy washing\nmy clothes and knew not of thy being here; for our appointed time was\nnightfall and not day-tide.\" But Amjad cried out at him, saying, \"Thou\nliest, O vilest of slaves! By Allah, I must needs beat thee.\" So he\nrose and, throwing Bahadur prone on the ground, took a stick and beat\nhim gently; but the damsel sprang up and, snatching the stick from his\nhand, came down upon Bahadur so lustily, that in extreme pain the tears\nran from his eyes and he ground his teeth together and called out for\nsuccour; whilst Amjad cried out to the girl \"Don't\"; and she cried out,\n\"Let me satisfy my anger upon him!\" till at last he pulled the stick\nout of her hand and pushed her away. So Bahadur rose and, wiping away\nhis tears from his cheeks, waited upon them the while, after which he\nswept the hall and lighted the lamps; but as often as he went in and\nout, the lady abused him and cursed him till Amjad was wroth with her\nand said, \"For Almighty Allah's sake leave my Mameluke; he is not used\nto this.\" Then they sat and ceased not eating and drinking (and Bahadur\nwaiting upon them) till midnight when, being weary with service and\nbeating, he fell asleep in the midst of the hall and snored and\nsnorted; whereupon the damsel, who was drunken with wine, said to\nAmjad, \"Arise, take the sword hanging yonder and cut me off this\nslave's head; and, if thou do it not, I will be the death of thee!\"\n\"What possesseth thee to slay my slave?\" asked Amjad; and she answered,\n\"Our joyaunce will not be complete but by his death. If thou wilt not\nkill him, I will do it myself.\" Quoth Amjad, \"By Allah's rights to\nthee, do not this thing!\" Quoth she, \"It must perforce be;\" and, taking\ndown the sword, drew it and made at Bahadur to kill him; but Amjad said\nin his mind, \"This man hath entreated us courteously and sheltered us\nand done us kindness and made himself my slave: shall we requite him by\nslaughtering him? This shall never be!\" Then he said to the woman, \"If\nmy Mameluke must be killed, better I should kill him than thou.\" So\nsaying, he took the sword from her and, raising his hand, smote her on\nthe neck and made her head fly from her body. It fell upon Bahadur who\nawoke and sat up and opened his eyes, when he saw Amjad standing by him\nand in his hand the sword dyed with blood, and the damsel lying dead.\nHe enquired what had passed, and Amjad told him all she had said,\nadding, \"Nothing would satisfy her but she must slay thee; and this is\nher reward.\" Then Bahadur rose and, kissing the Prince's hand, said to\nhim, \"Would to Heaven thou hadst spared her! but now there is nothing\nfor it but to rid us of her without stay or delay, before the\nday-break.\" Then he girded his loins and took the body, wrapped it in\nan Ab\u00e1-cloak and, laying it in a large basket of palm-leaves, he\nshouldered it saying, \"Thou art a stranger here and knowest no one: so\nsit thou in this place and await my return till day-break. If I come\nback to thee, I will assuredly do thee great good service and use my\nendeavours to have news of thy brother; but if by sunrise I return not,\nknow that all is over with me; and peace be on thee, and the house and\nall it containeth of stuffs and money are shine.\" Then he fared forth\nfrom the saloon bearing the basket; and, threading the streets, he made\nfor the salt sea, thinking to throw it therein: but as he drew near the\nshore, he turned and saw that the Chief of Police and his officers had\nranged themselves around him; and, on recognising him, they wondered\nand opened the basket, wherein they found the slain woman. So they\nseized him and laid him in bilboes all that night till the morning,\nwhen they carried him and the basket, as it was, to the King and\nreported the case. The King was sore enraged when he looked upon the\nslain and said to Bahadur, \"Woe to thee! Thou art always so doing; thou\nkillest folk and castest them into the sea and takest their goods. How\nmany murders hast thou done ere this?\" Thereupon Bahadur hung his\nhead.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two  Hundred and Thirty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Bahadur hung down\nhis head groundwards before the King, who cried out at him, saying,\n\"Woe to thee! Who killed this girl?\" He replied, \"O my lord! I killed\nher, and there is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the\nGlorious, the Great!\"[FN#391] So the King in his anger, commanded to\nhang him; and the hangman went down with him by the King's commandment,\nand the Chief of Police accompanied him with a crier who called upon\nall the folk to witness the execution of Bahadur, the King's Master of\nthe Horse; and on this wise they paraded him through the main streets\nand the market-streets. This is how it fared with Bahadur; but as\nregards Amjad, he awaited his host's return till the day broke and the\nsun rose, and when he saw that he came not, he exclaimed, \"There is no\nMajesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!\nWould I knew what is become of him?\" And, as he sat musing behold, he\nheard the crier proclaiming Bahadur's sentence and bidding the people\nto see the spectacle of his hanging at midday; whereat he wept and\nexclaimed, \"Verily, we are Allah's and to Him we are returning! He\nmeaneth to sacrifice himself unjustly for my sake, when I it was who\nslew her. By Allah, this shall never be!\" Then he went from the saloon\nand, shutting the door after him, hurriedly threaded the streets till\nhe overtook Bahadur, when he stood before the Chief of Police and said\nto him, \"O my lord, put not Bahadur to death, for he is innocent. By\nAllah, none killed her but I.\" Now when the Captain of Police heard\nthese words, he took them both and, carrying them before the King,\nacquainted him with what Amjad had said; whereupon he looked at the\nPrince and asked him, \"Didst thou kill the damsel?\" He answered, \"Yes\"\nand the King said, \"Tell me why thou killedst her, and speak the\ntruth.\" Replied Amjad, \"O King, it is indeed a marvellous event and a\nwondrous matter that hath befallen me: were it graven with needles on\nthe eye-corners, it would serve as a warner to whoso would be warned!\"\nThen he told him his whole story and informed him of all that had\nbefallen him and his brother, first and last; whereat the King was much\nstartled and surprised and said to him, \"Know that now I find thee to\nbe excusable; but list, O youth! Wilt thou be my Waz\u00edr?\" \"Hearkening\nand obedience,\" answered Amjad whereupon the King bestowed magnificent\ndresses of honour on him and Bahadur and gave him a handsome house,\nwith eunuchs and officers and all things needful, appointing him\nstipends and allowances and bidding him make search for his brother\nAs'ad. So Amjad sat down in the seat of the Wazirate and governed and\ndid justice and invested and deposed and took and gave. Moreover, he\nsent out a crier to cry his brother throughout the city, and for many\ndays made proclamation in the main streets and market-streets, but\nheard no news of As'ad nor happened on any trace of him. Such was his\ncase; but as regards his brother, the Magi ceased not to torture As'ad\nnight and day and eve and morn for a whole year's space, till their\nfestival drew near, when the old man Bahram[FN#392] made ready for the\nvoyage and fitted out a ship for himself.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Bahram, the\nMagian, having fitted out a ship for the voyage, took As'ad and put him\nin a chest which he locked and had it transported on board. Now it so\ncame to pass that, at the very time of shipping it, Amjad was standing\nto divert himself by looking upon the sea; and when he saw the men\ncarrying the gear and shipping it, his heart throbbed and he called to\nhis pages to bring him his beast. Then, mounting with a company of his\nofficers, he rode down to the sea-side and halted before the Magian's\nship, which he commended his men to board and search. They did his\nbidding, and boarded the vessel and rummaged in every part, but found\nnothing; so they returned and told Amjad, who mounted again and rode\nback. But he felt troubled in mind; and when he reached his place and\nentered his palace, he cast his eyes on the wall and saw written\nthereon two lines which were these couplets,\n\n\"My friends! if ye are banisht from mine eyes, *\n     From heart and mind ye ne'er go wandering:\nBut ye have left me in my woe, and rob *\n     Rest from my eyelids while ye are slumbering.\"\n\nAnd seeing them Amjad thought of his brother and wept. Such was his\ncase; but as for Bahram, the Magian, he embarked and shouted and bawled\nto his crew to make sail in all haste. So they shook out the sails and\ndeparted and ceased not to fare on many days and nights; and, every\nother day, Bahram took out As'ad and gave him a bit of bread and made\nhim drink a sup of water, till they drew near the Mountain of Fire.\nThen there came out on them a storm-wind and the sea rose against them,\nso that the ship was driven out of her course till she took a wrong\nline and fell into strange waters; and, at last they came in sight of a\ncity builded upon the shore, with a castle whose windows overlooked the\nmain. Now the ruler of this city was a Queen called Marj\u00e1nah, and the\ncaptain said to Bahram, \"O my lord, we have strayed from our course and\ncome to the island of Queen Marjanah, who is a devout Moslemah; and, if\nshe know that we are Magians, she will take our ship and slay us to the\nlast man. Yet needs must we put in here to rest and refit.\" Quoth\nBahram, \"Right is thy recking, and whatso thou seest fit that will I\ndo!\" Said the ship master, \"If the Queen summon us and question us, how\nshall we answer her?\"; and Bahram replied, \"Let us clothe this Moslem\nwe have with us in a Mameluke's habit and carry him ashore with us, so\nthat when the Queen sees him, she will suppose and say, 'This is a\nslave.' As for me I will tell her that I am a slave-dealer[FN#393] who\nbuys and sells white slaves, and that I had with me many but have sold\nall save this one, whom I retained to keep my accounts, for he can read\nand write.\" And the captain said \"This device should serve.\" Presently\nthey reached the city and slackened sail and cast the anchors; and the\nship lay still, when behold, Queen Marjanah came down to them, attended\nby her guards and, halting before the vessel, called out to the\ncaptain, who landed and kissed the ground before her. Quoth she, \"What\nis the lading of this thy ship and whom hast thou with thee?\"\" Quoth\nhe, \"O Queen of the Age, I have with me a merchant who dealeth in\nslaves.\" And she said, \"Hither with him to me\"; whereupon Bahram came\nashore to her, with As'ad walking behind him in a slave's habit, and\nkissed the earth before her. She asked, \"What is thy condition?\"; and\nhe answered, \"I am a dealer in chattels.\" Then she looked at As'ad and,\ntaking him for a Mameluke, asked him, \"What is thy name, O youth?\" He\nanswered, \"Dost thou ask my present or my former name?\" \"Hast thou then\ntwo names?\" enquired she, and he replied (and indeed his voice was\nchoked with tears), \"Yes; my name aforetime was Al-As'ad, the most\nhappy, but now it is Al- Mu'tarr\u2014Miserrimus.\" Her heart inclined to him\nand she said, \"Canst thou write?\" \"Yes,'' answered he, and she gave him\nink- case and reed-pen and paper and said to him, \"Write somewhat that\nI may see it.\" So he wrote these two couplets,\n\n\"What can the slave do when pursued by Fate, *\n     O justest Judge! whatever be his state?[FN#394]\nWhom God throws hand bound in the depths and says, *\n     Beware lest water should thy body wet?\"[FN#395]\n\nNow when she read these lines, she had ruth upon him and said to\nBahram, \"Sell me this slave.\" He replied, \"O my lady, I cannot sell\nhim, for I have parted with all the rest and none is left with me but\nhe.\" Quoth the Queen, \"I must need have him of thee, either by sale or\nway of gift.\" But quoth Bahram, \"I will neither sell him nor give him.\"\nWhereat she was wroth and, taking As'ad by the hand, carried him up to\nthe castle and sent to Bahram, saying, \"Except thou set sail and depart\nour city this very night, I will seize all thy goods and break up thy\nship.\" Now when the message reached the Magian, he grieved with sore\ngrief and cried, \"Verily this voyage is on no wise to be commended.\"\nThen he arose and made ready and took all he needed and awaited the\ncoming of the night to resume his voyage, saying to the sailors,\n\"Provide yourselves with your things and fill your water-skins, that we\nmay set sail at the last of the night.\" So the sailors did their\nbusiness and awaited the coming of darkness. Such was their case; but\nas regards Queen Marjanah, when she had brought As'ad into the castle,\nshe opened the casements overlooking the sea and bade her handmaids\nbring food. They set food before As'ad and herself and both ate, after\nwhich the Queen called for wine.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Queen\nMarjanah bade her handmaids bring wine and they set it before her, she\nfell to drinking with As'ad. Now, Allah (be He extolled and exalted!)\nfilled her heart with love for the Prince and she kept filling his cup\nand handing it to him till his reason fled; and presently he rose and\nleft the hall to satisfy a call of nature. As he passed out of the\nsaloon he saw an open door through which he went and walked on till his\nwalk brought him to a vast garden full of all manner fruits and\nflowers; and, sitting down under a tree, he did his occasion. Then he\nrose and went up to a jetting fountain in the garden and made the\nlesser ablution and washed his hands and face, after which he would\nhave risen to go away; but the air smote him and he fell back, with his\nclothes undone and slept, and night overcame him thus. So far\nconcerning him; but as concerns Bahram, the night being come, he cried\nout to his crew, saying, \"Set sail and let us away!\"; and the'\nanswered, \"We hear and obey, but wait till we fill our water- skins and\nthen we will set sail.\" So they landed with their water skins and went\nround about the castle, and found nothing but garden-walls: whereupon\nthey climbed over into the garden and followed the track of feet, which\nled them to the fountain; and there they found As'ad lying on his back.\nThey knew him and were glad to find him; and, after filling their\nwater-skins, they bore him off and climbed the wall again with him and\ncarried him back in haste to Bahram to whom they said, \"Hear the good\ntidings of thy winning thy wish; and gladden thy heart and beat thy\ndrums and sound thy pipes; for thy prisoner, whom Queen Marjanah took\nfrom thee by force, we have found and brought back to thee\"; and they\nthrew As'ad down before him. When Bahram saw him, his heart leapt for\njoy and his breast swelled with gladness. Then he bestowed largesse on\nthe sailors and bade them set sail in haste. So they sailed forthright,\nintending to make the Mountain of Fire and stayed not their course till\nthe morning. This is how it fared with them; but as regards Queen\nMarjanah, she abode awhile, after As'ad went down from her, awaiting\nhis return in vain for he came not; thereupon she rose and sought him,\nyet found no trace of him. Then she bade her women light flambeaux and\nlook for him, whilst she went forth in person and, seeing the garden-\ndoor open, knew that he had gone thither. So she went out into the\ngarden and finding his sandals lying by the fountain, searched the\nplace in every part, but came upon no sign of him; and yet she gave not\nover the search till morning. Then she enquired for the ship and they\ntold her, \"The vessel set sail in the first watch of the night\";\nwherefor she knew that they had taken As'ad with them, and this was\ngrievous to her and she was sore an-angered. She bade equip ten great\nships forthwith and, making ready for fight, embarked in one of the ten\nwith her Mamelukes and slave-women and men-at-arms, all splendidly\naccoutred and weaponed for war. They spread the sails and she said to\nthe captains, \"If you overtake the Magian's ship, ye shall have of me\ndresses of honour and largesse of money; but if you fail so to do, I\nwill slay you to the last man.\" Whereat fear and great hope animated\nthe crews and they sailed all that day and the night and the second day\nand the third day till, on the fourth they sighted the ship of Bahram,\nthe Magian, and before evening fell the Queen's squadron had surrounded\nit on all sides, just as Bahram had taken As'ad forth of the chest and\nwas beating and torturing him, whilst the Prince cried out for help and\ndeliverance, but found neither helper nor deliverer: and the grievous\nbastinado sorely tormented him. Now while so occupied, Bahram chanced\nto look up and, seeing himself encompassed by the Queen's ships, as the\nwhite of the eye encompasseth the black, he gave himself up for lost\nand groaned and said, \"Woe to thee, O As'ad! This is all out of thy\nhead.\" Then taking him by the hand he bade his men throw him overboard\nand cried, \"By Allah I will slay thee before I die myself!\" So they\ncarried him along by the hands and feet and cast him into the sea and\nhe sank; but Allah (be He extolled and exalted!) willed that his life\nbe saved and that his doom be deferred; so He caused him to sink and\nrise again and he struck out with his hands and feet, till the Almighty\ngave him relief, and sent him deliverance; and the waves bore him far\nfrom the Magian's ship and threw him ashore. He landed, scarce\ncrediting his escape, and once more on land he doffed his clothes and\nwrung them and spread them out to dry; whilst he sat naked and weeping\nover his condition, and bewailing his calamities and mortal dangers,\nand captivity and stranger hood. And presently he repeated these two\ncouplets,\n\n\"Allah, my patience fails: I have no ward; *\n     My breast is straitened and clean cut my cord;\nTo whom shall wretched slave of case complain *\n     Save to his Lord? O thou of lords the Lord!\"\n\nThen, having ended his verse, he rose and donned his clothes but he\nknew not whither to go or whence to come; so he fed on the herbs of the\nearth and the fruits of the trees and he drank of the streams, and\nfared on night and day till he came in sight of a city; whereupon he\nrejoiced and hastened his pace; but when he reached it,\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\nWhen it Was the Two Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when he reached\nthe city the shades of evening closed around him and the gates were\nshut. Now by the decrees of Pate and man's lot this was the very city\nwherein he had been a prisoner and to whose King his brother Amjad was\nMinister. When As'ad saw the gate was locked, he turned back and made\nfor the burial-ground, where finding a tomb without a door, he entered\ntherein and lay down and fell asleep, with his face covered by his long\nsleeve.[FN#396] Meanwhile, Queen Marjanah, coming up with Bahram's\nship, questioned him of As'ad. Now the Magian, when Queen Marjanah\novertook him with her ships, baffled her by his artifice and gramarye;\nswearing to her that he was not with him and that he knew nothing of\nhim. She searched the ship, but found no trace of her friend, so she\ntook Bahram and, carrying him back to her castle, would have put him to\ndeath, but he ransomed himself from her with all his good and his ship;\nand she released him and his men. They went forth from her hardly\nbelieving in their deliverance, and fared on ten days' journey till\nthey came to their own city and found the gate shut, it being eventide.\nSo they made for the burial-ground, thinking to lie the night there\nand, going round about the tombs, as Fate and Fortune would have it,\nsaw the building wherein As'ad lay wide open; whereat Bahram marvelled\nand said, \"I must look into this sepulchre.\" Then he entered and found\nAs'ad lying in a corner fast asleep, with his head covered by his\nsleeve; so he raised his head, and looking in his face, knew him for\nthe man on whose account he had lost his good and his ship, and cried,\n\"What! art thou yet alive?\" Then he bound him and gagged him without\nfurther parley, and carried him to his house, where he clapped heavy\nshackles on his feet and lowered him into the underground dungeon\naforesaid prepared for the tormenting of Moslems, and he bade his\ndaughter by name Bost\u00e1n,[FN#397] torture him night and day, till the\nnext year, when they would again visit the Mountain of Fire and there\noffer him up as a sacrifice. Then he beat him grievously and locking\nthe dungeon door upon him, gave the keys to his daughter. By and by,\nBostan opened the door and went down to beat him, but finding him a\ncomely youth and a sweet-faced with arched brows and eyes black with\nnature's Kohl,[FN#398] she fell in love with him and asked him, \"What\nis thy name?\" \"My name is As'ad,\" answered he; whereat she cried,\n\"Mayst thou indeed be happy as thy name,[FN#399] and happy be thy days!\nThou deservest not torture and blows, and I see thou hast been\ninjuriously entreated.\" And she comforted him with kind words and\nloosed his bonds. Then she questioned him of the religion of Al-Islam\nand he told her that it was the true and right Faith and that our lord\nMohammed had approved himself by surpassing miracles[FN#400] and signs\nmanifest, and that fire-worship is harmful and not profitable; and he\nwent on to expound to her the tenets of Al-Islam till she was persuaded\nand the love of the True Faith entered her heart. Then, as Almighty\nAllah had mixed up with her being a fond affection for As'ad, she\npronounced the Two Testimonies[FN#401] of the Faith and became of the\npeople of felicity. After this, she brought him meat and drink and\ntalked with him and they prayed together: moreover, she made him\nchicken stews and fed him therewith, till he regained strength and his\nsickness left him and he was restored to his former health. Such things\nbefel him with the daughter of Bahram, the Magian; and so it happened\nthat one day she left him and stood at the house-door when behold, she\nheard the crier crying aloud and saying, \"Whoso hath with him a\nhandsome young man, whose favour is thus and thus, and bringeth him\nforth, shall have all he seeketh of money; but if any have him and deny\nit, he shall be hanged over his own door and his property shall be\nplundered and his blood go for naught.\" Now As'ad had acquainted Bostan\nbint Bahram with his whole history: so, when she heard the crier, she\nknew that it was he who was sought for and, going down to him, told him\nthe news. Then he fared forth and made for the mansion of the Wazir,\nwhom, when As'ad saw, exclaimed, \"By Allah, this Minister is my brother\nAmjad!\" Then he went up (and the damsel walking behind him) to the\nPalace, where he again saw his brother, and threw himself upon him;\nwhereupon Amjad also knew him and fell upon his neck and they embraced\neach other, whilst the Wazir's Mamelukes dismounted and stood round\nthem. They lay awhile insensible and, when they came to themselves,\nAmjad took his brother and carried him to the Sultan, to whom he\nrelated the whole story, and the Sultan charged him to plunder Bahram's\nhouse.\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\nWhen it was the Two Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Sultan\nordered Amjad to plunder Bahram's house and to hang its owner. So Amjad\ndespatched thither for that purpose a company of men, who sacked the\nhouse and took Bahram and brought his daughter to the Wazir by whom she\nwas received with all honour, for As'ad had told his brother the\ntorments he had suffered and the kindness she had done him. Thereupon\nAmjad related in his turn to As'ad all that had passed between himself\nand the damsel; and how he had escaped hanging and had become Wazir;\nand they made moan, each to other, of the anguish they had suffered for\nseparation. Then the Sultan summoned Bahram and bade strike off his\nhead; but he said, \"O most mighty King, art thou indeed resolved to put\nme to death?\" Replied the King, \"Yes, except thou save thyself by\nbecoming a Moslem.\" Quoth Bahram, \"O King, bear with me a little\nwhile!\" Then he bowed his head groundwards and presently raising it\nagain, made pro fession of The Faith and islamised at the hands of the\nSultan. They all rejoiced at his conversion and Amjad and As'ad told\nhim all that had befallen them, whereat he wondered and said, \"O my\nlords, make ready for the journey and I will depart with you and carry\nyou back to your father's court in a ship.\" At this they rejoiced and\nwept with sore weeping but he said, \"O my lords, weep not for your\ndeparture, for it shall reunite you with those you love, even as were\nNi'amah and Naomi.\" \"And what befel Ni'amah and Naomi?\" asked they.\n\"They tell,\" replied Bahram, \"(but Allah alone is All knowing) the\nfollowing tale of\n\nEnd of Vol. 3\n\n                    Arabian Nights, Volume 3\n                           Footnotes\n\n[FN#1] This \"horripilation,\" for which we have the poetical term\n\"goose-flesh,\" is often mentioned in Hindu as in Arab literature.\n\n[FN#2] How often we have heard this in England!\n\n[FN#3] As a styptic.  The scene in the text has often been enacted in\nEgypt where a favourite feminine mode of murdering men is by beating\nand bruising the testicles.  The Fellahs are exceedingly clever in\ninventing methods of manslaughter.  For some years bodies were found\nthat bore no outer mark of violence, and only Frankish inquisitiveness\ndiscovered that the barrel of a pistol had been passed up the anus and\nthe weapon discharged internally Murders of this description are known\nin English history; but never became popular practice.\n\n[FN#4] Arab. \"Zakar,\" that which betokens masculinity.  At the end of\nthe tale we learn that she also gelded him; thus he was a \"Sandal),\" a\nras\u00e9.\n\n[FN#5] See vol. i. p. 104. {see Volume 1, Note 188}\n\n[FN#6] The purity and intensity of her love had attained to a something\nof prophetic strain.\n\n[FN#7] Lane corrupts this Persian name to Sh\u00e1h Zem\u00e1n (i. 568).\n\n[FN#8] i.e. the world, which includes the ideas of Fate, Time,\nChance.\n\n[FN#9] Arab. \"B\u00e1rid,\" silly, noyous, contemptible; as in the proverb\n\n     Two things than ice are colder cold:\u2014\n     An old man young, a young man old.\n\nA \"cold-of-countenance\"=a fool: \"May Allah make cold thy face!\"=may it\nshow want and misery. \"By Allah, a cold speech!\"=a silly or abusive\ntirade (Pilgrimage, ii. 22).\n\n[FN#10] The popular form is, \"often the ear loveth before the eye.\"\n\n[FN#11] Not the first time that royalty has played this prank, nor the\nlast, perhaps.\n\n[FN#12] i.e. the Lady Dunya.\n\n[FN#13] These magazines are small strongly-built rooms on the ground\nfloor, where robbery is almost impossible.\n\n[FN#14] Lit. \"approbation,\" \"benediction\"; also the Angel who keeps the\nGates of Paradise and who has allowed one of the Ghilm\u00e1n (or Wuld\u00e1n)\nthe boys of supernatural beauty that wait upon the Faithful, to wander\nforth into this wicked world.\n\n[FN#15] In Europe this would be a plurale majestatis, used only by\nRoyalty. In Arabic it has no such significance, and even the lower\norders apply it to themselves; although it often has a soup\u00e7on of \"I\nand thou.\"\n\n[FN#16] Man being an \"extract of despicable water\" (Koran xxxii. 7) ex\nspermate genital), which Mr. Rodwell renders \"from germs of life,\"\n\"from sorry water.\"\n\n[FN#17] i.e. begotten by man's seed in the light of salvation\n(N\u00far al-hud\u00e1).\n\n[FN#18] The rolls of white (camphor-like) scarf-skin and sordes which\ncome off under the bathman's glove become by miracle of Beauty, as\nbrown musk. The Rubber or Shampooer is called in Egypt \"Mukayyis\"\n(vulgarly \"Mukayyis\u00e1ti\") or \"bagman,\" from his \"K\u00eds,\" a bag-glove of\ncoarse woollen stuff. To \"Johnny Raws\" he never fails to show the\nlittle rolls which come off the body and prove to them how unclean they\nare, but the material is mostly dead scarf-skin\n\n[FN#19] The normal phrase on such occasions (there is always a\n\"dovetail\" de rigueur) \"Allah give thee profit!\"\n\n[FN#20] i.e. We are forced to love him only, and ignore giving him a\nrival (referring to Koranic denunciations of \"Shirk,\" or attributing a\npartner to Allah, the religion of plurality, syntheism not polytheism):\nsee, he walks tottering under the weight of his back parts wriggling\nthem whilst they are rounded like the revolving heavens.\n\n[FN#21] Jannat al-Na'\u00edm (Garden of Delight); the fifth of the seven\nParadises made of white diamond; the gardens and the plurality being\nborrowed from the Talmud. Mohammed's Paradise, by the by, is not a\ngreater failure than Dante's. Only ignorance or pious fraud asserts it\nto be wholly sensual; and a single verse is sufficient refutation:\n\"Their prayer therein shall be 'Praise unto thee, O. Allah!' and their\nsalutation therein shall be 'Peace!' and the end of their prayer shall\nbe, 'Praise unto God, the Lord of all creatures\"' (Koran x. 10-11). See\nalso lvi. 24- 26. It will also be an intellectual condition wherein\nknowledge will greatly be increased (lxxxviii viii. 17-20). Moreover\nthe Moslems, far more logical than Christians, admit into Paradise the\nso-called \"lower animals.\"\n\n[FN#22] Sed vitam faciunt balnea, vine, Venus! The Hammam to Easterns\nis a luxury as well as a necessity; men sit there for hours talking\nchiefly of money and their prowess with the fair; and women pass half\nthe day in it complaining of their husbands' over-amativeness and\ncontrasting their own chaste and modest aversion to camel congress.\n\n[FN#23] The frigidarium or cold room, coolness being delightful to the\nArab.\n\n[FN#24] The calidarium or hot room of the bath.\n\n[FN#25] The Angel who acts door-keeper of Hell; others say he specially\npresides over the torments of the damned (Koran xliii. 78).\n\n[FN#26] The Door-keeper of Heaven before mentioned who, like the Guebre\nZamiy\u00e1d has charge of the heavenly lads and lasses, and who is often\ncharged by poets with letting them slip.\n\n[FN#27] Lane (i. 616), says \"of wine, milk, sherbet, or any other\nbeverage.\" Here it is wine, a practice famed in Persian poetry,\nespecially by Hafiz, but most distasteful to a European stomach. We\nfind the Mu allakah of Imr al-Keys noticing \"our morning draught.\" Nott\n(Hafiz) says a \"cheerful cup of wine in the morning was a favourite\nindulgence with the more luxurious Persians. And it was not uncommon\namong the Easterns, to salute friend by saying.\"May your morning\npotation be agreeable to you!\" In the present day this practice is\nconfined to regular debauchees.\n\n[FN#28] Koran xii. 31. The words spoken by Zulaykh\u00e1's women friends and\ndetractors whom she invited to see Beauty Joseph.\n\n[FN#29] A formula for averting fascination. Koran, chaps. cxiii. 1.\n\"Falak\" means \"cleaving\" hence the breaking forth of light from\ndarkness, a \"wonderful instance of the Divine power.\"\n\n[FN#30] The usual delicate chaff.\n\n[FN#31] Such letters are generally written on a full-sized sheet of\npaper (\"notes\" are held slighting in the East) and folded till the\nbreadth is reduced to about one inch. The edges are gummed, the ink,\nmuch like our Indian ink, is smeared with the finger upon the signet\nring; the place where it is to be applied is slightly wetted with the\ntongue and the seal is stamped across the line of junction to secure\nprivacy. I have given a specimen of an original love-letter of the kind\nin \"Scinde, or the Unhappy Valley,\" chaps. iv.\n\n[FN#32] Arab. \"Salb\" which may also mean hanging, but the usual term\nfor the latter in The Nights is \"shanak.\" Crucifixion, abolished by the\nsuperstitious Constantine, was practised as a servile punishment as\nlate as the days of Mohammed Ali Pasha the Great e malefactors were\nnailed and tied to the patibulum or cross-piece without any sup\npedaneum or foot-rest and left to suffer tortures from flies and sun,\nthirst and hunger. They often lived three days and died of the wounds\nmortifying and the nervous exhaustion brought on by cramps and\nconvulsions. In many cases the corpses were left to feed the kites and\ncrows; and this added horror to the death. Moslems care little for mere\nhanging. Whenever a fanatical atrocity is to be punished, the\nmalefactor should be hung in pig-skin, his body burnt and the ashes\npublicly thrown into a common cesspool.\n\n[FN#33] Arab \"Shayt\u00e1n\" the insolent or rebellious one is a common\nterm of abuse. The word I. Koramc, and borrowed as usual from the\nJews. \"Satan\" occurs four times in the O.T. of which two are in\nJob where, however, he is a subordinate angel.\n\n[FN#34] Arab. \"Alak\" from the Koran xxii. 5. \" O men\u2026consider that we\nfirst created you of dust (Adam); afterwards of seed (Rodwell's \"moist\ngerms of life\"); afterwards of a little coagulated (or clots of)\nblood.\" It refers to all mankind except Adam, Eve and Isa. Also chaps.\nxcvi. 2, which, as has been said was probably the first composed at\nMeccah. Mr. Rodwell (v. 10) translates by 'Servant of God\" what should\nbe \"Slave of Allah,\" alluding to Mohammed's original name Abdullah. See\nmy learned friend Aloys Sprenger, Leben, etc., i.155.\n\n[FN#35] The Hindus similarly exaggerate: \"He was ready to leap out of\nhis skin in his delight\" (Katha, etc., p. 443).\n\n[FN#36] A star in the tail of the Great Bear, one of the \"Ban\u00e1t\nal-Na'ash,\" or a star close to the second. Its principal use is to act\nfoil to bright Sohayl (Canopus) as in the beginning of J\u00e1m\u00ed's\nLayla-Majn\u00fan:\u2014\n\n     To whom Thou'rt hid, day is darksome night:\n     To whom shown, Soh\u00e1 as Sohayl is bright.\n\nSee also al-Hariri (xxxii. and xxxvi.). The saying, \"I show her Soha\nand she shows me the moon\" (A. P. i. 547) arose as follows. In the\nIgnorance a beautiful Amazon defied any man to take her maidenhead; and\na certain Ibn al-Ghazz won the game by struggling with her till she was\nnearly senseless. He then asked her, \"How is thine eye-sight: dost thou\nsee Soha?\" and she, in her confusion, pointed to the moon and said,\n\"That is it!\"\n\n[FN#37] The moon being masculine (lupus) and the sun feminine.\n\n[FN#38] The \"five Shaykhs\" must allude to that number of Saints whose\nnames are doubtful; it would be vain to offer conjectures. Lane and his\n\"Sheykh\" (i. 617) have tried and failed.\n\n[FN#39] The beauties of nature seem always to provoke hunger in\nOrientals, especially Turks, as good news in Englishmen.\n\n[FN#40] Pers. \"L\u00e1juward\": Arab. \"L\u00e1zuward\"; prob. the origin of our\n\"azure,\" through the Romaic           and the Ital. azzurro; and, more\nevidently still, of lapis lazuli, for which do not see the\nDictionaries.\n\n[FN#41] Arab. \"Maurid.\" the desert-wells where caravans drink: also the\nway to water wells.\n\n[FN#42] The famous Avicenna, whom the Hebrews called Aben Sina. The\nearly European Arabists, who seem to have learned Arabic through\nHebrew, borrowed their corruption, and it long kept its place in\nSouthern Europe.\n\n[FN#43] According to the Hindus there are ten stages of love- sickness:\n(1) Love of the eyes (2) Attraction of the Manas or mind; (3) Birth of\ndesire; (4) Loss of sleep; (5) Loss of flesh; (6) Indifference to\nobjects of sense; (7) Loss of shame, (8) Distraction of thought (9)\nLoss of consciousness; and (10) Death.\n\n[FN#44] We should call this walk of \"Arab ladies\" a waddle: I have\nnever seen it in Europe except amongst the trading classes of Trieste,\nwho have a \"wriggle\" of their own.\n\n[FN#45] In our idiom six doors.\n\n[FN#46] They refrained from the highest enjoyment, intending to marry.\n\n[FN#47] Arab. \"Jih\u00e1d,\" lit. fighting against something; Koranically,\nfighting against infidels non- believers in Al-lslam (chaps. Ix. 1).\nBut the \"Muj\u00e1hid\u00fan\" who wage such war are forbidden to act aggressively\n(ii. 186). Here it is a war to save a son.\n\n[FN#48] The lady proposing extreme measures is characteristic:\nEgyptians hold, and justly enough, that their women are more amorous\nthan men.\n\n[FN#49] \"O Camphor,\" an antiphrase before noticed. The vulgar also say\n\"Y\u00e1 Talj\u00ed\"=O snowy (our snowball), the polite \"Ya Ab\u00fa Sumrah !\" =O\nfather of brownness.\n\n[FN#50] i.e. which fit into sockets in the threshold and lintel and act\nas hinges. These hinges have caused many disputes about how they were\nfixed, for instance in caverns without moveable lintel or threshold.\nBut one may observe that the upper projections are longer than the\nlower and that the door never fits close above, so by lifting it up the\ninferior pins are taken out of the holes. It is the oldest form and the\nonly form known to the Ancients. In Egyptian the hinge is called\nAkab=the heel, hence the proverb Wakaf' al-b\u00e1b al\u00e1 'akabin; the door\nstandeth on its heel; i.e. every thing in proper place.\n\n[FN#51] Hence the addresses to the Deity: Y\u00e1 S\u00e1tir and Y\u00e1 Satt\u00e1r- -Thou\nwho veilest the sins of Thy Servants! said e.g., when a woman is\nfalling from her donkey, etc.\n\n[FN#52] A necessary precaution, for the headsman who would certainly\nlose his own head by overhaste.\n\n[FN#53] The passage has also been rendered, \"and rejoiced him by what\nhe said\" (Lane i, 600).\n\n[FN#54] Arab. \"Hurr\"=noble, independent (opp. to 'Abd=a servile) often\nused to express anim\u0107 nobilitas as         in Acts xvii. 11; where the\nBerans were \"more noble\" than the Thessalonians. The Princess means\nthat the Prince would not lie with her before marriage.\n\n[FN#55] The Persian word is now naturalized as Anglo-Egypeian.\n\n[FN#56] Arab. \"khassat hu\" = removed his testicles, gelded him.\n\n[FN#57] Here ends the compound tale of Taj al-Muluk cum Aziz plus\nAzizah, and we return to the history of King Omar's sons.\n\n[FN#58] \"Zibl\" popularly pronounced Zabal, means \"dung.\" Khan is\n\"Chief,\" as has been noticed; \"Zabb\u00e1l,\" which Torrens renders literally\n\"dung-drawer,\" is one who feeds the Hammam with bois- de-vache, etc.\n\n[FN#59] i.e one who fights the Jih\u00e1d or \"Holy War\": it is equivalent to\nour \"good knight.\"\n\n[FN#60] Arab. \"Malik.\" Azud al Daulah, a Sultan or regent under the\nAbbaside Caliph Al-T\u00e1'i li 'llah (regn. A.H. 363-381) was the first to\ntake the title of \"Malik.\" The latter in poetry is still written Mal\u00edk.\n\n[FN#61] A townlet on the Euphrates, in the \"awwal Sh\u00e1m,\" or frontier of\nSyria.\n\n[FN#62] i.e., the son would look to that.\n\n[FN#63] A characteristic touch of Arab pathos, tender and true.\n\n[FN#64] Arab. \"Mawarid\" from \"ward\" = resorting to pool or water- pit\n(like those of \"Gakd\u00fal\") for drinking, as opposed to \"Sadr\"=returning\nafter having drunk at it. Hence the \"S\u00e1dir\" (part. act.) takes\nprecedence of the \"W\u00e1rid\" in Al-Hariri (Ass. of the Badawi).\n\n[FN#65] One of the fountains of Paradise (Koran, chaps. Ixxvi.): the\nword lit. means \"water flowing pleasantly down the throat.\" The same\nchapter mentions \"Zanjab\u00edl,\" or the Ginger-fount, which to the Infidel\nmind unpleasantly suggests \"ginger pop.\"\n\n[FN#66] Arab. \"Takh\u00edl\" = adorning with Kohl.\n\n[FN#67] The allusions are far-fetched and obscure as in Scandinavian\npoetry. Mr. Payne (ii. 314) translates \"Naml\" by \"net.\" I understand\nthe ant (swarm) creeping up the cheeks, a common simile for a young\nbeard. The lovers are in the Laz\u00e1 (hell) of jealousy etc., yet feel in\nthe Na'\u00edm (heaven) of love and robe in green, the hue of hope, each\nexpecting to be the favoured one.\n\n[FN#68] Arab. \"Ukhuw\u00e1n,\" the classical term. There are two chamomiles,\nthe white (B\u00e1b\u00fanaj) and the yellow (Kays\u00fan), these however are Syrian\nnames and plants are differently called in almost every Province of\nArabia\n\n[FN#69] In nomadic life the parting of lovers happens so frequently\nthat it become. a stock topic in poetry and often, as here, the lover\ncomplains of parting when he is not parted. But the gravamen lies in\nthe word \"Wasl\" which may mean union, meeting, reunion Or coition. As\nKa'ab ibn Zuhayr began his famous poem with \"Su'\u00e1d hath departed,\" 900\nimitators (says Al-Siyuti) adopted the N\u00e1sib or address to the beloved\nand Su'ad came to signify a cruel, capricious mistress.\n\n[FN#70] As might be expected from a nation of camel-breeders actual\ncautery which can cause only counter-irritation, is a favourite\nnostrum; and the Hadis or prophetic saying is \"Akhir al-daw\u00e1 (or\nal-tibb) al-Kayy\" = cautery is the end of medicine- cure; and \"Fire and\nsickness cannot cohabit.\" Most of the Badawi bear upon their bodies\ngrisly marks Of this heroic treatment, whose abuse not unfrequently\nbrings on gangrene. The Hadis (Burckhardt, Proverbs, No. 30) also means\n\"if nothing else avail, take violent measures.\n\n[FN#71] The Spaniards have the same expression: \"Man is fire and woman\nis tinder.\"\n\n[FN#72] Arab. \"B\u00e1shik\" from Persian \"B\u00e1shah\" (accipiter Nisus) a fierce\nlittle species of sparrow-hawk which I have described in \"Falconry in\nthe Valley of the Indus\" (p. 14, etc.).\n\n[FN#73] Lit. \"Coals (fit) for frying pan.\"\n\n[FN#74] Arab. \"Libdah,\" the sign of a pauper or religious mendicant. He\nis addressed \"Y\u00e1 Abu libdah!\" (O father of a felt calotte!)\n\n[FN#75] In times of mourning Moslem women do not use perfumes or dyes,\nlike the Henna here alluded to in the pink legs and feet of the dove.\n\n[FN#76] Koran, chaps. ii. 23. The idea is repeated in some forty\nKoranic passages.\n\n[FN#77] A woman's name, often occurring. The \"daughters of Sa'ada\" are\nzebras, so called because \"they resemble women in beauty and graceful\nagility.\"\n\n[FN#78] Arab. \"Tiry\u00e1k\" from Gr.                   a drug against\nvenomous bites. It was compounded mainly of treacle, and that of\nBaghdad and Ir\u00e1k was long held sovereign. The European equivalent,\n\"Venice treacle,\" (Theriaca Andromachi) is an electuary containing many\nelements. Badawin eat for counter- poison three heads of garlic in\nclarified butter for forty days. (Pilgrimage iii 77 )\n\n[FN#79] Could Cervantes have read this? In Algiers he might easily have\nheard it recited by the tale-tellers. Kanmakan is the typical Arab\nKnight, gentle and valiant as Don Quixote Sabb\u00e1h is the Grazioso, a\n\"Beduin\" Sancho Panza. In the \"Romance of Antar\" we have a similar\ncontrast with Ocab who says: \"Indeed I am no fighter: the sword in my\nhand-palm chases only pelicans ;\" and, \"whenever you kill a satrap,\nI'll plunder him.\"\n\n[FN#80] i.e. The Comely, son of the Spearman, son of the Lion, or\nHero.\n\n[FN#81] Arab. \"Ush\u00e1ri.\" Old Purchas (vi., i. 9) says there are three\nkinds of camels (1 ) Huguin (=Hejin) of tall stature and able to carry\n1,000 lbs. (2) Bechete (=Bukhti) the two-humped Bactrian before\nmentioned and, (3) the Raguahill (Rah\u00edl) small dromedaries unfit for\nburden but able to cover a hundred miles in a day. The \"King of\nTimbukhtu\" (not \"Bukhtu's well\" pop. Timbuctoo) had camels which reach\nSegelmesse (Sijalmas) or Darha, nine hundred miles in eight days at\nmost. Lyon makes the Maherry (also called El-Heirie=Mahri) trot nine\nmiles an hour for a long time. Other travellers in North Africa report\nthe Sabayee (Saba'i=seven days weeder) as able to get over six hundred\nand thirty miles (or thirty-five caravan stages=each eighteen miles) in\nfive to seven days. One of the dromedaries in the \"hamlah\" or caravan\nof Mr. Ensor (Journey through Nubia and Darfoor\u2014a charming book)\ntravelled one thousand one hundred and ten miles in twenty- seven days.\nHe notes that his beasts were better with water every five to seven\ndays, but in the cold season could do without drink for sixteen. I\nfound in Al-Hijaz at the end of August that the camels suffered much\nafter ninety hours without drink (Pilgrimage iii. 14). But these were\n\"J\u00fadi\" fine-haired animals as opposed to \"Khaw\u00e1r\" (the Khow\u00e1s of\nChesney, p. 333), coarse-haired, heavy, slow brutes which will not\nstand great heat.\n\n[FN#82] i.e. Fortune so willed it (euphemistically).\n\n[FN#83] The \"minaret\" being feminine is usually compared with a fair\nyoung girl. The oldest minaret proper is supposed to have been built in\nDamascus by the Ommiade Caliph (No. X.) Al-Walid A.H. 86-96 (=705-715).\nAccording to Ainsworth (ii. 113) the second was at Kuch Hisar in\nChaldea.\n\n[FN#84] None of the pure Badawi can swim for the best of reasons, want\nof waters.\n\n[FN#85] The baser sort of Badawi is never to be trusted: he is a\ntraitor born, and looks upon fair play as folly or cowardice. Neither\noath nor kindness can bind him: he unites the cruelty of the cat with\nthe wildness of the wolf. How many Englishmen have lost their lives by\nnot knowing these elementary truths! The race has not changed from the\ndays of Mandeville (A.D. 1322) whose \"Arabians, who are called Bedouins\nand Ascopards (?), are right felonious and foul, and of a cursed\nnature.\" In his day they \"carried but one shield and one spear, without\nother arm :\" now, unhappily for travellers, they have matchlocks and\nmost tribes can manufacture a something called by courtesy gunpowder.\n\n[FN#86] Thus by Arab custom they become friends.\n\n[FN#87] Our classical term for a noble Arab horse.\n\n[FN#88] In Arab. \"Khayl\" is=horse; Husan, a stallion; Hud\u00fad, a brood\nstallion; Faras, a mare (but sometimes used as a horse and meaning\n\"that tears over the ground\"), Jiy\u00e1d a steed (noble); Kad\u00edsh, a nag\n(ignoble); Mohr a colt and Mohrah, a filly. There are dozens of other\nnames but these suffice for conversation\n\n[FN#89] Al-Kat\u00fal, the slayer; Al-Majn\u00fan, the mad; both high compliments\nin the style inverted.\n\n[FN#90] This was a highly honourable exploit, which would bring the\ndoer fame as well as gain.\n\n[FN#91] This is a true and life-like description of horse- stealing in\nthe Desert: Antar and Burckhardt will confirm every word. A noble Arab\nstallion is supposed to fight for his rider and to wake him at night if\nhe see any sign of danger. The owner generally sleeps under the belly\nof the beast which keeps eyes and ears alert till dawn.\n\n[FN#92] Arab. \"Yaum al tan\u00e1di,\" i.e. Resurrection-day.\n\n[FN#93] Arab. \"Bil\u00e1d al-S\u00fadan\"=the Land of the Blacks, negro- land,\nwhence the slaves came, a word now fatally familiar to English ears.\nThere are, however, two regions of the same name, the Eastern upon the\nUpper Nile and the Western which contains the Niger Valley, and each\nconsiders itself the Sudan. And the reader must not confound the Berber\nof the Upper Nile, the Berderino who acts servant in Lower Egypt, with\nthe Berber of Barbary: the former speaks an African language; the\nlatter a \"Semitic\" (Arabic) tongue.\n\n[FN#94] \"Him\" for \"her.\"\n\n[FN#95] Arab. \"S\u00e1ibah,\" a she-camel freed from labour under certain\nconditions amongst the pagan Arabs; for which see Sale (Prel. Disc.\nsect. v.).\n\n[FN#96] Arab. \"Marba'.\" In early spring the Badawi tribes leave the\nRasm or wintering-place (the Turco-Persian \"Kishl\u00e1k\") in the desert,\nwhere winter-rains supply them, and make for the Yayl\u00e1k, or\nsummer-quarters, where they find grass and water. Thus the great Ruwala\ntribe appears regularly every year on the eastern slopes of the\nAnti-Libanus (Unexplored Syria, i. 117), and hence the frequent\n\"partings.\"\n\n[FN#97] This \"renowning it\" and boasting of one's tribe (and oneself)\nbefore battle is as natural as the war-cry: both are intended to\nfrighten the foe and have often succeeded. Every classical reader knows\nthat the former practice dates from the earliest ages. It is still\ncustomary in Arabia during the furious tribal fights, the duello on a\nmagnificent scale which often ends in half the combatants on either\nside being placed hors-de- combat. A fair specimen of \"renowning it\" is\nAmr\u00fa's Suspended Poem with its extravagant panegyric of the Taghlab\ntribe (p. 64, \"Arabian Poetry for English Readers,\" etc., by W. A.\nClouston, Glasgow: privately printed MDCCCLXXXI.; and transcribed from\nSir William Jones's translation).\n\n[FN#98] The \"Turk\" appeared soon amongst the Abbaside Caliphs. Mohammed\nwas made to prophecy of them under the title Ban\u00fa Kant\u00farah, the latter\nbeing a slave-girl of Abraham. The Imam Al- Shafi'i (A.H. 195=A.D. 810)\nis said to have foretold their rule in Egypt where an Ottoman defended\nhim against a donkey-boy. (For details see Pilgrimage i. 216 ) The\nCaliph Al-Mu'atasim bi'llah (A.D. 833-842) had more than 10,000 Turkish\nslaves and was the first to entrust them with high office; so his Arab\nsubjects wrote of him:\u2014\n\n     A wretched Turk is thy heart's desire;\n     And to them thou showest thee dam and sire.\n\nHis successor Al-W\u00e1sik (Vathek, of the terrible eyes) was the first to\nappoint a Turk his Sultan or regent. After his reign they became\npraetorians and led to the downfall of the Abbasides.\n\n[FN#99] The Persian saying is \"First at the feast and last at the\nfray.\"\n\n[FN#100] i.e. a tempter, a seducer.\n\n[FN#101] Arab. \"Wayl-ak\" here probably used in the sense of\n\"Wayh-ak\" an expression of affectionate concern.\n\n[FN#102] Firdausi, the Homer of Persia, affects the same magnificent\nexaggeration. The trampling of men and horses raises such a dust that\nit takes one layer (of the seven) from earth and adds it to the (seven\nof the) Heavens. The \"blaze\" on the stallion's forehead (Arab.\n\"Ghurrah\") is the white gleam of the morning.\n\n[FN#103] A noted sign of excitement in the Arab blood horse, when the\ntail looks like a panache covering the hind-quarter.\n\n[FN#104] i.e. Prince Kanmakan.\n\n[FN#105] The \"quality of mercy\" belongs to the noble Arab, whereas the\nignoble and the Bada win are rancorous and revengeful as camels.\n\n[FN#106] Arab. \"Khanjar,\" the poison was let into the grooves and\nhollows of the poniard.\n\n[FN#107] The Pers. \"Bang\", Indian \"Bhang\", Maroccan \"Fas\u00fakh\" and S.\nAfrican \"Dakh\u00e1.\" (Pilgrimage i. 64.) I heard of a \"Hashish- orgie\" in\nLondon which ended in half the experimentalists being on their sofas\nfor a week. The drug is useful for stokers, having the curious property\nof making men insensible to heat. Easterns also use it for \"Ims\u00e1k\"\nprolonging coition of which I speak presently.\n\n[FN#108] Arab. \"Hashsh\u00e1sh\u00edn;\" whence De Sacy derived \"Assassin.\" A\nnotable effect of the Hashish preparation is wildly to excite the\nimagination, a kind of delirium imaginans sive phantasticum .\n\n[FN#109] Meaning \"Well done!\" Mashallah (M\u00e1 sh\u00e1a 'llah) is an\nexclamation of many uses, especially affected when praising man or\nbeast for fear lest flattering words induce the evil eye.\n\n[FN#110] Arab. \"Kabk\u00e1b\" vulg. \"Kubk\u00e1b.\" They are between three and ten\ninches high, and those using them for the first time in the slippery\nHammam must be careful.\n\n[FN#111] Arab. \"Majlis\"=sitting. The postures of coition,\nethnologically curious and interesting, are subjects so extensive that\nthey require a volume rather than a note. Full information can be found\nin the Ananga-ranga, or Stage of the Bodiless One, a treatise in\nSanskrit verse vulgarly known as Koka Pandit from the supposed author,\na Wazir of the great Rajah Bhoj, or according to others, of the\nMaharajah of Kanoj. Under the title Lizzat al-Nis\u00e1 (The Pleasures\u2014or\nenjoying\u2014of Women) it has been translated into all the languages of the\nMoslem East, from Hindustani to Arabic. It divides postures into five\ngreat divisions: (1) the woman lying supine, of which there are eleven\nsubdivisions; (2) lying on her side, right or left, with three\nvarieties; (3) sitting, which has ten, (4) standing, with three\nsubdivisions, and (5) lying prone, with two. This total of twenty-\nnine, with three forms of \"Purush\u00e1yit,\" when the man lies supine (see\nthe Abbot in Boccaccio i. 4), becomes thirty-two, approaching the\nFrench quarante fa\u00e7ons. The Upavishta, majlis, or sitting postures,\nwhen one or both \"sit at squat\" somewhat like birds, appear utterly\nimpossible to Europeans who lack the pliability of the Eastern's limbs.\nTheir object in congress is to avoid tension of the muscles which would\nshorten the period of enjoyment. In the text the woman lies supine and\nthe man sits at squat between her legs: it is a favourite from Marocco\nto China. A literal translation of the Ananga range appeared in 1873\nunder the name of K\u00e1ma-Sh\u00e1stra; or the Hindoo Art of Love (Ars Amoris\nIndica); but of this only six copies were printed. It was re-issued\n(printed but not published) in 1885. The curious in such matters will\nconsult the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (London, privately printed,\n1879) by Pisanus Fraxi (H. S. Ashbee).\n\n[FN#112] i.e. Le Roi Crotte.\n\n[FN#113] This seems to be a punning allusion to Baghdad, which in\nPersian would mean the Garden (b\u00e1gh) of Justice (d\u00e1d). See\n\"Biographical Notices of Persian Poets\" by Sir Gore Ouseley,\nLondon, Oriental Translation Fund, 1846\n\n[FN#114] The Kardoukhoi (Carduchi) of Xenophon; also called (Strabo\nxv.) \"K\u00e1rdak\u00eds, from a Persian word signifying manliness,\" which would\nbe \"Kardak\"=a doer (of derring do). They also named the Montes Gord\u0107i\nthe original Ararat of Xisisthrus- Noah's Ark. The Kurds are of Persian\nrace, speaking an old and barbarous Iranian tongue and often of the\nShi'ah sect. They are born bandits, highwaymen, cattle-lifters; yet\nthey have spread extensively over Syria and Egypt and have produced\nsome glorious men, witness Sultan Sal\u00e1h al-Din (Saladin) the Great.\nThey claim affinity with the English in the East, because both races\nalways inhabit the highest grounds they can find.\n\n[FN#115] These irregular bands who belong to no tribe are the most\ndangerous bandits in Arabia, especially upon the northern frontier.\nBurckhardt, who suffered from them, gives a long account of their\ntreachery and utter absence of that Arab \"pundonor\" which is supposed\nto characterise Arab thieves.\n\n[FN#116] An euphemistic form to avoid mentioning the incestuous\nmarriage.\n\n[FN#117] The Arab form of our \"Kinchin lay.\"\n\n[FN#118] These are the signs of a Shaykh's tent.\n\n[FN#119] These questions, indiscreet in Europe, are the rule throughout\nArabia, as they were in the United States of the last generation.\n\n[FN#120] Arab. \"Khiz\u00e1b\" a paste of quicklime and lamp-black kneaded\nwith linseed oil which turns the Henna to a dark olive. It is hideously\nugly to unaccustomed eyes and held to be remarkably beautiful in Egypt.\n\n[FN#121] i.e. the God of the Empyrean.\n\n[FN#122] A blow worthy of the Sa'alabah tribe to which he belonged.\n\n[FN#123] i.e. \"benefits\"; also the name of Mohammed's Mu'ezzin, or\ncrier to prayer, who is buried outside the J\u00e1biah gate of Damascus.\nHence amongst Moslems, Abyssinians were preferred as mosque-criers in\nthe early ages of Al-Islam. Egypt chose blind men because they were\nabundant and cheap; moreover they cannot take note of what is doing on\nthe adjoining roof terraces where women and children love to pass the\ncool hours that begin and end the day. Stories are told of men who\ncounterfeited blindness for years in order to keep the employment. In\nMoslem cities the stranger required to be careful how he appeared at a\nwindow or on the gallery of a minaret: the people hate to be overlooked\nand the whizzing of a bullet was the warning to be off. (Pilgrimage\niii. 185.)\n\n[FN#124] His instinct probably told him that this opponent was a low\nfellow but such insults are common when \"renowning it.\"\n\n[FN#125] Arab. \"Dare' \" or \"Dira',\" a habergeon, a coat of ring- mail,\nsometimes worn in pairs. During the wretched \"Sudan\" campaigns much\nna\u010fve astonishment was expressed by the English Press to hear of\nwarriors armed cap-\u0155-pie in this armour like medieval knights. They did\nnot know that every great tribe has preserved, possibly from Crusading\ntimes, a number of hauberks, even to hundreds. I have heard of only one\nEnglish traveller who had a mail jacket made by Wilkinson of Pall Mall,\nimitating in this point Napoleon III. And (according to the\nBanker-poet, Rogers) the Duke of Wellington. That of Napoleon is said\nto have been made of platinum-wire, the work of a Pole who received his\nmoney and an order to quit Paris. The late Sir Robert Clifton (they\nsay) tried its value with a Colt after placing it upon one of his\ncoat-models or mannequins. It is easy to make these hauberks\narrow-proof or sword-proof, even bullet-proof if Arab gunpowder be\nused: but against a modern rifle-cone they are worse than worthless as\nthe fragments would be carried into the wound. The British serjeant was\nright in saying that he would prefer to enter battle in his shirt: and\nhe might even doff that to advantage and return to the primitive custom\nof man\u2014gymnomachy.\n\n[FN#126] Arab. \"Jamal\" (by Badawin pronounced \"Gamal\" like the Hebrew)\nis the generic term for \"Camel\" through the Gr.        : \"Ibl\" is also\nthe camel-species but not so commonly used. \"Haj\u00edn\" is the dromedary\n(in Egypt, \"Dal\u00fal\" in Arabia), not the one- humped camel of the\nzoologist (C. dromedarius) as opposed to the two-humped (C.\nBactrianus), but a running i.e. a riding camel. The feminine is N\u00e1kah\nfor like mules females are preferred. \"Bakr\" (masc.) and \"Bakrah\"\n(fem.) are camel-colts. There are hosts of special names besides those\nwhich are general. Mr. Censor is singular when he states (p.40) \"the\nmale (of the camel) is much the safer animal to choose ;\" and the\ncustom of t e universal Ease disproves his assertion. Mr. McCoan\n(\"Egypt as it is\") tells his readers that the Egyptian camel has two\nhumps, in fact, he describes the camel as it is not.\n\n[FN#127] So, in the Romance of Dalhamah (Z\u00e1t al-Himmah, the heroine the\nhero Al-Gundubah (\"one locust-man\") smites off the head of his mother's\nservile murderer and cries, I have taken my blood-revenge upon this\ntraitor slave'\" (Lane, M. E. chaps. xx iii.)\n\n[FN#128] This gathering all the persons upon the stage before the\ncurtain drops is highly artistic and improbable.\n\n[FN#129] He ought to have said his dawn prayers.\n\n[FN#130] Here begins what I hold to be the oldest subject matter in The\nNights, the apologues or fables proper; but I reserve further remarks\nfor the Terminal Essay. Lane has most objectionably thrown this and\nsundry of the following stories into a note (vol. ii., pp. 53-69).\n\n[FN#131] In beast stories generally when man appears he shows to\ndisadvantage.\n\n[FN#132] Shakespeare's \"stone bow\" not Lane's \"cross-bow\" (ii. 53).\n\n[FN#133] The goad still used by the rascally Egyptian donkey-boy is a\nsharp nail at the end of a stick; and claims the special attention of\nsocieties for the protection of animals.\n\n[FN#134] \"The most ungrateful of all voices surely is the voice of\nasses\" (Koran xxxi. 18); and hence the \"braying of hell\" (Koran\nIxvii.7). The vulgar still believe that the donkey brays when seeing\nthe Devil. \"The last animal which entered the Ark with Noah was the Ass\nto whose tail Iblis was clinging. At the threshold the ass seemed\ntroubled and could enter no further when Noah said to him:\u2014\"Fie upon\nthee! come in.\" But as the ass was still troubled and did not advance\nNoah cried:\u2014\"Come in, though the Devil be with thee!\", so the ass\nentered and with him Iblis. Thereupon Noah asked:\u2014\"O enemy of Allah who\nbrought thee into the Ark ?\", and Iblis answered:\u2014\"Thou art the man,\nfor thou saidest to the ass, come in though the Devil be with thee!\"\n(Kit\u00e1b al-Unw\u00e1n fi Mak\u00e1id al-Nisw\u00e1n quoted by Lane ii. 54).\n\n[FN#135] Arab. \"Rihl,\" a wooden saddle stuffed with straw and matting.\nIn Europe the ass might complain that his latter end is the sausage. In\nEngland they say no man sees a dead donkey: I have seen dozens and,\nunfortunately, my own.\n\n[FN#136] The English reader will not forget Sterne's old mare. Even\nAl-Hariri, the prince of Arab rhetoricians, does not distain to use\n\"pepedit,\" the effect being put for the cause\u2014terror. But Mr. Preston\n(p. 285) and polite men translate by \"fled in haste\" the Arabic farted\nfor fear.\"\n\n[FN#137] This is one of the lucky signs and adds to the value of the\nbeast. There are some fifty of these marks, some of them (like a spiral\nof hair in the breast which denotes that the rider is a cuckold) so\nill-omened that the animal can be bought for almost nothing. Of course\ngreat attention is paid to colours, the best being the dark rich bay\n(\"red\" of Arabs) with black points, or the flea-bitten grey (termed\nAzrak=blue or Akhzar=green) which whitens with age. The worst are dun,\ncream coloured, piebald and black, which last are very rare. Yet\naccording to the Mishk\u00e1t al- Mas\u00e1bih (Lane 2, 54) Mohammed said, The\nbest horses are black (dark brown?) with white blazes (Arab. \"Ghurrah\")\nand upper lips; next, black with blaze and three white legs (bad,\nbecause white- hoofs are brittle):next, bay with white blaze and white\nfore and hind legs.\" He also said, \"Prosperity is with sorrel horses;\"\nand praised a sorrel with white forehead and legs; but he dispraised\nthe \"Shik\u00e1l,\" which has white stockings (Arab. \"Muhajjil\") on alternate\nhoofs (e.g. right hind and left fore). The curious reader will consult\nLady Anne Blunt's \"Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates, with some Account\nof the Arabs and their Horses\" (1879); but he must remember that it\ntreats of the frontier tribes. The late Major Upton also left a book\n\"Gleanings from the Desert of Arabia\" (1881); but it is a marvellous\nproduction deriving e.g. Khayl (a horse generically) from Kohl or\nantimony (p. 275). What the Editor was dreaming of I cannot imagine. I\nhave given some details concerning the Arab horse especially in\nAl-Yaman, among the Z\u00fa Mohammed, the Z\u00fa Husayn and the Banu Yam in\nPilgrimage iii. 270. As late as Marco Polo's day they supplied the\nIndian market via Aden; but the \"Eye o Al-Yaman\" has totally lost the\nhabit of exporting horses.\n\n[FN#138] The shovel-iron which is the only form of spur.\n\n[FN#139] Used for the dromedary: the baggage-camel is haltered.\n\n[FN#140] Arab. \"Harwalah,\" the pas gymnastique affected when\ncircumambulating the Ka'abah (Pilgrimage iii. 208).\n\n[FN#141] \"This night\" would be our \"last night\": the Arabs, I repeat,\nsay \"night and day,\" not \"day and night.\"\n\n[FN#142] The vulgar belief is that man's fate is written upon his\nskull, the sutures being the writing.\n\n[FN#143] Koran ii. 191.\n\n[FN#144] Arab. \"Tasb\u00edh\"=saying, \"Subh\u00e1n' Allah.\" It also means a rosary\n(Egypt. Sebhah for Subhah) a string of 99 beads divided by a longer\nitem into sets of three and much fingered by the would- appear pious.\nThe professional devotee carries a string of wooden balls the size of\npigeons' eggs.\n\n[FN#145] The pigeon is usually made to say, ' \"Wahhid\u00fa Rabba-kumu\n''llazi khalaka-kum, yaghfiru lakum zamba-kum\" = \"Unify (Assert the\nUnity of) your Lord who created you; so shall He forgive your sin!\" As\nmight be expected this \"language\" is differently interpreted.\nPigeon-superstitions are found in all religions and I have noted\n(Pilgrimage iii, 218) how the Hindu deity of Destruction- reproduction,\nthe third Person of their Triad, Shiva and his Spouse (or active\nEnergy), are supposed to have dwelt at Meccah under the titles of\nKapoteshwara (Pigeon-god) and Kapotesh\u00ed (Pigeon-goddess).\n\n[FN#146] I have seen this absolute horror of women amongst the\nMonks of the Coptic Convents.\n\n[FN#147] After the Day of Doom, when men's actions are registered, that\nof mutual retaliation will follow and all creatures (brutes included)\nwill take vengeance on one another.\n\n[FN#148] The Comrades of the Cave, famous in the Middle Ages of\nChristianity (Gibbon chaps. xxxiii.), is an article of faith with\nMoslems, being part subject of chapter xviii., the Koranic Surah termed\nthe Cave. These Rip Van Winkle-tales begin with Endymion so famous\namongst the Classics and Epimenides of Crete who slept fifty-seven\nyears; and they extend to modern days as La Belle au Bois dormant. The\nSeven Sleepers are as many youths of Ephesus (six royal councillors and\na shepherd, whose names are given on the authority of Ali); and,\naccompanied by their dog, they fled the persecutions of Dakian\u00fas (the\nEmperor Decius) to a cave near Tars\u00fas in Natolia where they slept for\ncenturies. The Caliph Mu'awiyah when passing the cave sent into it some\nexplorers who were all killed by a burning wind. The number of the\nsleepers remains uncertain, according to the Koran (ibid. v. 21) three,\nfive or seven and their sleep lasted either three hundred or three\nhundred and nine years. The dog (ibid. v. 17) slept at the\ncave-entrance with paws outstretched and, according to the general, was\ncalled \"Katmir\" or \"Kitmir;\" but Al-Rak\u00edm (v. 8) is also applied to it\nby some. Others hold this to be the name of the valley or mountain and\nothers of a stone or leaden tablet on which their names were engraved\nby their countrymen who built a chapel on the spot (v. 20). Others\nagain make the Men of Al-Rak\u00edm distinct from the Cave-men, and believe\n(with Bayz\u00e1wi) that they were three youths who were shut up in a grotto\nby a rock-slip. Each prayed for help through the merits of some good\ndeed: when the first had adjured Allah the mountain cracked till light\nappeared; at the second petition it split so that they saw one another\nand after the third it opened. However that may be, Kitmir is one of\nthe seven favoured animals: the others being the Hudhud (hoopoe) of\nSolomon (Koran xxii. 20); the she-camel of S\u00e1lih (chaps. Ixxxvii.); the\ncow of Moses which named the Second Surah; the fish of Jonah; the\nserpent of Eve, and the peacock of Paradise. For Koranic revelations of\nthe Cave see the late Thomas Chenery (p. 414 The Assemblies of\nAl-Hariri: Williams and Norgate, 1870) who borrows from the historian\nTabari.\n\n[FN#149] These lines have occurred in Night cxlvi.: I quote Mr.\nPayne by way of variety.\n\n[FN#150] The wolf (truly enough to nature) is the wicked man without\nredeeming traits; the fox of Arab folk-lore is the cunning man who can\ndo good on occasion. Here the latter is called \"Sa'alab\" which may, I\nhave noted, mean the jackal; but further on \"Father of a Fortlet\"\nrefers especially to the fox. Herodotus refers to the gregarious Canis\nAureus when he describes Egyptian wolves as being \"not much bigger than\nfoxes\" (ii. 67). Canon Rawlinson, in his unhappy version, does not\nperceive that the Halicarnassian means the jackal and blunders about\nthe hyena.\n\n[FN#151] The older \"Leila\" or \"Leyla\": it is a common name and is here\napplied to woman in general. The root is evidently \"layl\"=nox, with,\nprobably, the idea, \"She walks in beauty like the night.\"\n\n[FN#152] Arab. Abu 'l-Hosayn; his hole being his fort (Unexplored\nSyria, ii. 18).\n\n[FN#153] A Koranic phrase often occurring.\n\n[FN#154] Koran v. 35.\n\n[FN#155] Arab. \"B\u00e1z\u00ed,\" Pers. \"B\u00e1z\" (here Richardson is wrong s.v.); a\nterm to a certain extent generic, but specially used for the noble\nPeregrine (F. Peregrinator) whose tiercel is the Sh\u00e1h\u00edn (or \"Royal\nBird\"). It is sometimes applied to the goshawk (Astur palumbarius)\nwhose proper title, however, is Shah-b\u00e1z (King-hawk). The Peregrine\nextends from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin and the best come from the\ncolder parts: in Iceland I found that the splendid white bird was\nsometimes trapped for sending to India. In Egypt \"Bazi\" is applied to\nthe kite or buzzard and \"Hidyah\" (a kite) to the falcon (Burckhardt's\nProv. 159, 581 and 602). Burckhardt translates \"Hid\u00e1yah,\" the Egyptian\ncorruption, by \"an ash-grey falcon of the smaller species common\nthroughout Egypt and Syria.\"\n\n[FN#156] Arab. \"Hijl,\" the bird is not much prized in India because it\nfeeds on the roads. For the Shinn\u00e1r (caccabis) or magnificent partridge\nof Midian as large as a pheasant, see \"Midian Revisted\" ii. 18.\n\n[FN#157] Arab. \"S\u00faf;\" hence \"S\u00fafi,\"=(etymologically) one who wears\nwoollen garments, a devotee, a Santon; from      =wise; from     \n=pure, or from Saf\u00e1=he was pure. This is not the place to enter upon\nsuch a subject as \"Tasawwuf,\" or Sufyism; that singular reaction from\narid Moslem realism and materialism, that immense development of\ngnostic and Neo-platonic transcendentalism which is found only\ngerminating in the Jewish and Christian creeds. The poetry of\nOmar-i-Khayy\u00e1m, now familiar to English readers, is a fair specimen;\nand the student will consult the last chapter of the Dabistan \"On the\nreligion of the Sufiahs.\" The first Moslem Sufi was Abu H\u00e1shim of\nKufah, ob. A. H. 150=767, and the first Convent of Sufis called\n\"Takiyah\" (Pilgrimage i. 124) was founded in Egypt by Saladin the\nGreat.\n\n[FN#158] i.e. when she encamps with a favourite for the night.\n\n[FN#159] The Persian proverb is \"Marg-i-amboh jashni d\u00e1red\"\u2014death in a\ncrowd is as good as a feast.\n\n[FN#160] Arab. \"Kan\u00e1t\", the subterranean water-course called in Persia\n\"Ky\u00e1riz.\" Lane (ii. 66) translates it \"brandish around the spear (Kan\u00e1t\nis also a cane-lance) of artifice,\" thus making rank nonsense of the\nline. Al-Hariri uses the term in the Ass. of the Banu Haram where\n\"Kan\u00e1t\" may be a pipe or bamboo laid underground.\n\n[FN#161] From Al-Tughr\u00e1i, the author of the L\u00e1miyat al-Ajam, the \"Lay\nof the Outlander;\" a Kasidah (Ode) rhyming in L\u00e1m (the letter \"l\" being\nthe r\u00e1wi or binder). The student will find a new translation of it by\nMr. J. W. Redhouse and Dr. Carlyle's old version (No. liii.) in Mr.\nClouston's \"Arabian Poetry.\" Muyid al-Din al-Hasan Abu Ismail nat.\nIspahan ob. Baghdad A.H. 182) derived his surname from the Tughr\u00e1,\ncypher or flourish (over the \"Bismillah\" in royal and official papers)\ncontaining the name of the prince. There is an older \"Lamiyat al-Arab\"\na pre-Islamitic L-poem by the \"brigand-poet\" Shanfara, of whom Mr. W.\nG. Palgrave has given a most appreciative account in his \"Essays on\nEastern Questions,\" noting the indomitable self-reliance and the\nabsolute individualism of a mind defying its age and all around it.\nAl-Hariri quotes from both.\n\n[FN#162] The words of the unfortunate Az\u00edzah, vol. ii., p. 323.\n\n[FN#163] Arab. \"H\u00e1w\u00ed\"=a juggler who plays tricks with snakes: he is\nmostly a Gypsy. The \"recompense\" the man expects is the golden treasure\nwhich the ensorcelled snake is supposed to guard. This idea is as old\nas the Dragon in the Garden of the Hesperides\u2014and older.\n\n[FN#164] The \"Father of going out (to prey) by morning\"; for dawn is\ncalled Zanab Sirh\u00e1n the Persian Dum-i-gurg=wolf's tail, i.e. the first\nbrush of light; the Zodiacal Light shown in morning. Sirh\u00e1n is a\nnickname of the wolf\u2014Gaunt Grim or Gaffer Grim, the German Isengrin or\nEisengrinus (icy grim or iron grim) whose wife is Hersent, as Richent\nor Hermeline is Mrs. Fox. In French we have lopez, luppe, leu, e.g.\n\nVenant \u0155 la queue, leu, leu,\n\ni.e. going in Indian file. Hence the names D'Urf\u00e9 and Saint-Loup. In\nScandinavian, the elder sister of German, Ulf and in German (where the\nJews were forced to adopt the name) Wolff whence \"Guelph.\" He is also\nknown to the Arabs as the \"sire of a she-lamb,\" the figure metonymy\ncalled \"Kunyat bi 'l-Zidd\" (lucus a non lucendo), a patronymic or\nby-name given for opposition and another specimen of \"inverted speech.\"\n\n[FN#165] Arab. \"Bint' Ar\u00fas\" = daughter of the bridegroom, the\nHindustani Mungus (vulg. Mongoose); a well-known weasel-like rodent\noften kept tame in the house to clear it of vermin. It is supposed to\nknow an antidote against snake-poison, as the weasel eats rue before\nbattle (Pliny x. 84; xx. 13). In Modern Egypt this viverra is called\n\"Kitt (or Katt) Far'aun\" = Pharaoh's cat: so the Percnopter becomes\nPharaoh's hen and the unfortunate (?) King has named a host of things,\nalive and dead. It was worshipped and mummified in parts of Ancient\nEgypt e.g. Heracleopolis, on account of its antipathy to serpents and\nbecause it was supposed to destroy the crocodile, a feat with \u0106lian and\nothers have overloaded with fable. It has also a distinct antipathy to\ncats. The ichneumon as a pet becomes too tame and will not leave its\nmaster: when enraged it emits an offensive stench. I brought home for\nthe Zoological Gardens a Central African specimen prettily barred.\nBurckhardt (Prov. 455) quotes a line:\u2014\n\n   Rakas' Ibn Irsin wa zamzama l-Nimsu,\n   (Danceth Ibn Irs whileas Nims doth sing)\n\nand explains Nims by ichneumon and Ibn Irs as a \"species of small\nweasel or ferret, very common in Egypt: it comes into the house, feeds\nupon meat, is of gentle disposition although not domesticated and full\nof gambols and frolic.\"\n\n[FN#166] Arab. \"Sinnaur\" (also meaning a prince). The common name is\nKitt which is pronounced Katt or Gatt; and which Ibn Dorayd pronounces\na foreign word (Syriac?). Hence, despite Freitag, Catus (which Isidore\nderives from catare, to look for) = gatto, chat, cat, an animal unknown\nto the Classics of Europe who used the mustela or putorius vulgaris and\ndifferent species of viverr\u0107. The Egyptians, who kept the cat to\ndestroy vermin, especially snakes, called it Mau, Mai, Miao\n(onomatopoetic): this descendent of the Felis maniculata originated in\nNubia; and we know from the mummy pits and Herodotus that it was the\nsame species as ours. The first portraits of the cat are on the\nmonuments of \"Beni Hasan,\" B.C. 2500. I have ventured to derive the\nfamiliar \"Puss\" from the Arab. \"Biss (fem. :Bissah\"), which is a\ncongener of Pasht (Diana), the cat-faced goddess of Bubastis\n(Pi-Pasht), now Zag\u00e1zig. Lastly, \"tabby (brindled)-cat\" is derived from\nthe Att\u00e1bi (Prince Attab's) quarter at Baghdad where watered silks were\nmade. It is usually attributed to the Tibbie, Tibalt, Tybalt, Thibert\nor Tybert (who is also executioner), various forms of Theobald in the\nold Beast Epic; as opposed to Gilbert the gib-cat, either a tom-cat or\na gibbed (castrated) cat.\n\n[FN#167] Arab. \"Ikhw\u00e1n al-Saf\u00e1,\" a popular term for virtuous friends\nwho perfectly love each other in all purity: it has also a mystic\nmeaning. Some translate it \"Brethren of Sincerity,\" and hold this\nbrotherhood to be Moslem Freemasons, a mere fancy (see the Mesnevi of\nMr. Redhouse, Trubner 1881). There is a well-known Hindustani book of\nthis name printed by Prof. Forbes in Persian character and translated\nby Platts and Eastwick.\n\n[FN#168] Among Eastern men there are especial forms for \"making\nbrotherhood.\" The \"Munhbol\u00e1-bh\u00e1i\" (mouth-named brother) of India is\nwell-known. The intense \"associativeness\" of these races renders\nisolation terrible to them, and being defenceless in a wild state of\nsociety has special horrors. Hence the origin of Caste for which see\nPilgrimage (i. 52). Moslems, however, cannot practise the African rite\nof drinking a few drops of each other's blood. This, by the by, was\nalso affected in Europe, as we see in the Gesta Romanoru, Tale lxvii.,\nof the wise and foolish knights who \"drew blood (to drink) from the\nright arm.\"\n\n[FN#169] The F. Sacer in India is called \"Laghar\" and tiercel \"Jaghar.\"\nMr. T.E. Jordan (catalogue of Indian Birds, 1839) says it is rare; but\nI found it the contrary. According to Mr. R. Thompson it is flown at\nkites and antelope: in Sind it is used upon night-heron (nyctardea\nnycticorax), floriken or Hobara (Otis aurita), quail, partridge, curlew\nand sometimes hare: it gives excellent sport with crows but requires to\nbe defended. Indian sportsmen, like ourselves, divide hawks into two\norders: the \"Siy\u00e1h-chasm,\" or black-eyed birds, long-winged and noble;\nthe \"Gul\u00e1bi-chasm\" or yellow-eyed (like the goshawk) round-winged and\nignoble.\n\n[FN#170] i.e. put themselves at thy mercy.\n\n[FN#171] I have remarked (Pilgrimage iii.307) that all the popular\nape-names in Arabic and Persian, Sa'ad\u00e1n, Maym\u00fan, Sh\u00e1di, etc., express\npropitiousness\u2014probably euphemistically applied to our \"poor relation.\"\n\n[FN#172] The serpent does not \"sting\" nor does it \"bite;\" it strikes\nwith the poison-teeth like a downward stab with a dagger. These fangs\nare always drawn by the jugglers but they grow again and thus many\nlives are lost. The popular way of extracting the crochets is to grasp\nthe snake firmly behind the neck with one hand and with the other to\ntantalise it by offering and withdrawing a red rag. At last the animal\nis allowed to strike it and a sharp jerk tears out both eye-teeth as\nrustics used to do by slamming a door. The head is then held downwards\nand the venom drains from its bag in the shape of a few drops of\nslightly yellowish fluid which, as conjurers know, may be drunk without\ndanger. The patient looks faint and dazed, but recovers after a few\nhours and feels as if nothing had happened. In India I took lessons\nfrom a snake-charmer but soon gave up the practice as too dangerous.\n\n[FN#173] Arab. \"Akh al-Jah\u00e1lah\" = brother of ignorance, an Ignorantin;\none \"really and truly\" ignorant; which is the value of \"Ahk\" in such\nphrases as a \"brother of poverty,\" or, \"of purity.\"\n\n[FN#174] Lane (ii. 1) writes \"Abu-l-Hasan;\" Payne (iii. 49) \"Aboulhusn\"\nwhich would mean \"Father of Beauty (Husn)\" and is not a Moslem name.\nHasan (beautiful) and its dimin. Husayn, names now so common, were (it\nis said), unknown to the Arabs, although Hass\u00e1n was that of a Tobba\nKing, before the days of Mohammed who so called his two only grandsons.\nIn Anglo-India they have become \"Hobson and Jobson.\" The Bresl. Edit.\n(ii. 305) entitles this story \"Tale of Abu 'l Hasan the Att\u00e1r (druggist\nand perfumer) with Ali ibn Bakk\u00e1r and what befel them with the handmaid\n(=j\u00e1riyah) Shams al-Nah\u00e1r.\"\n\n[FN#175] i.e. a descendant, not a Prince.\n\n[FN#176] The Arab shop is a kind of hole in the wall and buyers sit\nupon its outer edge (Pilgrimage i. 99).\n\n[FN#177] By a similar image the cham\u0107leon is called Ab\u00fa Kurrat=Father\nof coolness; because it is said to have the \"coldest\" eye of all\nanimals and insensible to heat and light, since it always looks at the\nsun.\n\n[FN#178] This dividing the hemistich words is characteristic of certain\ntales; so I have retained it although inevitably suggesting:\u2014\n\nI left Matilda at the U- niversity of Gottingen.\n\n[FN#179] These na\u010fve offers in Eastern tales mostly come from the true\nseducer\u2014Eve. Europe and England especially, still talks endless\nabsurdity upon the subject. A man of the world may \"seduce\" an utterly\ninnocent (which means an ignorant) girl. But to \"seduce\" a married\nwoman! What a farce!\n\n[FN#180] Masculine again for feminine: the lines are as full of\nword-plays, vulgarly called puns, as Sanskrit verses.\n\n[FN#181] The Eastern heroine always has a good appetite and eats well.\nThe sensible Oriental would infinitely despise that maladive Parisienne\nin whom our neighbours delight, and whom I long to send to the\nHospital.\n\n[FN#182] i.e. her rivals have discovered the secret of her heart.\n\n[FN#183] i.e. blood as red as wine.\n\n[FN#184] The wine-cup (sun-like) shines in thy hand; thy teeth are\nbright as the Pleiads and thy face rises like a moon from the darkness\nof thy dress-collar.\n\n[FN#185] The masculine of Marj\u00e1nah (Morgiana) \"the she coral-branch ;\"\nand like this a name generally given to negroes. We have seen white\napplied to a blackamoor by way of metonomy and red is also connected\nwith black skins by way of fun. A Persian verse says :\n\n\"If a black wear red, e'en an ass would grin.\"\n\n[FN#186] Suggesting that she had been sleeping.\n\n[FN#187] Arab. \"Raushan,\" a window projecting and latticed: the word is\norig. Persian: so Raushan\u00e1 (splendour)=Roxana. It appears to me that\nthis beautiful name gains beauty by being understood.\n\n[FN#188] The word means any servant, but here becomes a proper name.\n\"Was\u00edfah\" usually= a concubine.\n\n[FN#189] i.e. eagerness, desire, love-longing.\n\n[FN#190] Arab. \"Rind,\" which may mean willow (oriental), bay or aloes\nwood: Al-Asma'i denies that it ever signifies myrtle.\n\n[FN#191] These lines occur in Night cxiv.: by way of variety I give\n(with permission) Mr. Payne's version (iii. 59).\n\n[FN#192] Referring to the proverb \"Al-Khauf maks\u00fam\"=fear (cowardice) is\nequally apportioned: i.e. If I fear you, you fear me.\n\n[FN#193] The fingers of the right hand are struck upon the palm of the\nleft.\n\n[FN#194] There are intricate rules for \"joining\" the prayers; but this\nis hardly the place for a subject discussed in all religious treatises.\n(Pilgrimage iii. 239.)\n\n[FN#195] The hands being stained with Henna and perhaps indigo in\nstripes are like the ring rows of chain armour. See Lane's illustration\n(Mod. Egypt, chaps. i.).\n\n[FN#196] She made rose-water of her cheeks for my drink and she bit\nwith teeth like grains of hail those lips like the lotus-fruit, or\njujube: Arab. \"Unnab\" or \"Nabk,\" the plum of the Sidr or Zizyphus\nlotus.\n\n[FN#197] Meaning to let Patience run away like an untethered camel.\n\n[FN#198] i.e. her fair face shining through the black hair. \"Camphor\"\nis a favourite with Arab poets: the Persians hate it because connected\nin their minds with death; being used for purifying the corpse. We read\nin Burckhardt (Prov. 464) \"Singing without siller is like a corpse\nwithout Han\u00fat\"\u2014this being a mixture of camphor and rose-water sprinkled\nover the face of the dead before shrouded. Similarly Persians avoid\nspeaking of coffee, because they drink it at funerals and use tea at\nother times.\n\n[FN#199] i.e. she is angry and bites her carnelion lips with pearly\nteeth.\n\n[FN#200] Arab. \"Wa ba'ad;\" the formula which follows \"Bismillah\"\u2014In the\nname of Allah. The French translate it or sus, etc. I have noticed the\nlegend about its having been first used by the eloquent Koss, Bishop of\nNajran.\n\n[FN#201] i.e. Her mind is so troubled she cannot answer for what she\nwrites.\n\n[FN#202] The Bul. Edit. (i. 329) and the Mac. Edit. (i. 780) give to\nShams al-Nahar the greater part of Ali's answer, as is shown by the\nCalc. Edit. (230 et seq.) and the Bresl. Edit. (ii. 366 et seq.) Lane\nmentions this (ii. 74) but in his usual perfunctory way gives no\npaginal references to the Calc. or Bresl.; so that those who would\nverify the text may have the displeasure of hunting for it.\n\n[FN#203] Arab. \"Bi'smi 'll\u00e1hi' r-Rahm\u00e1ni'r-Rah\u00edm.\" This auspicatory\nformula was borrowed by Al-Islam not from the Jews but from the Guebre\n\"Ba n\u00e1m-i-Yezd\u00e1n bakhsh\u00e1ishgar-i-d\u00e1d\u00e1r!\" (in the name of\nYezdan-God\u2014All-generous, All-just!). The Jews have, \"In the name of the\nGreat God;\" and the Christians, \"In the name of the Father, etc.\" The\nso-called Sir John Mandeville begins his book, In the name of God,\nGlorious and Almighty. The sentence forms the first of the Koran and\nheads every chapter except only the ninth, an exception for which\nrecondite reasons are adduced. Hence even in the present day it begins\nall books, letters and writings in general; and it would be a sign of\nInfidelity (i.e. non-Islamism) to omit it. The difference between\n\"Rahm\u00e1n\" and \"Rah\u00edm\" is that the former represents an accidental\n(compassionating), the latter a constant quality (compassionate). Sale\ntherefore renders it very imperfectly by \"In the name of the most\nmerciful God;\" the Latinists better, \"In nomine Dei misericordis,\nclementissimi\" (Gottwaldt in Hamza Ispahanensis); Mr. Badger much\nbetter, \"In the name of God, the Pitiful, the Compassionate\"\u2014whose only\nfault is not preserving the assonance: and Maracci best, \"In nomine Dei\nmiseratoris misericordis.\"\n\n[FN#204] Arab. Majn\u00fan (i.e. one possessed by a Jinni) the well-known\nmodel lover of Layla, a fictitious personage for whom see D'Herbelot\n(s. v. Megnoun). She was celebrated by Abu Mohammed Nizam al-Din of\nGanjah (ob. A.H. 597=1200) pop. known as Niz\u00e1mi, the caustic and\naustere poet who wrote:\u2014\n\n   The weals of this world are the ass's meed!\n   Would Nizami were of the ass's breed.\n\nThe series in the East begins chronologically with Y\u00fasuf and Zulaykh\u00e1\n(Potiphar's wife) sung by J\u00e1mi (nat. A.H. 817=1414); the next in date\nis Khusraw and Shirin (also by Nizami); Farhad and Shirin; and Layla\nand Majnun (the Night-black maid and the Maniac-man) are the last. We\nare obliged to compare the lovers with \"Romeo and Juliet,\" having no\ncorresponding instances in modern days: the classics of Europe supply a\nhost as Hero and Leander, Theagenes and Charicleia, etc. etc.\n\n[FN#205] The jeweller of Eastern tales from Marocco to Calcutta, is\nalmost invariably a rascal: here we have an exception.\n\n[FN#206] This must not be understood of sealing-wax, which, however, is\nof ancient date. The Egyptians (Herod. ii. 38) used \"sealing earth\" (  \n         ) probably clay, impressed with a signet (         ); the\nGreeks mud-clay ( ); and the Romans first cretula and then wax\n(Beckmann). Medi\u0107val Europe had bees-wax tempered with Venice\nturpentine and coloured with cinnabar or similar material. The modern\nsealing-wax, whose distinctive is shell-lac, was brought by the Dutch\nfrom India to Europe; and the earliest seals date from about A.D. 1560.\nThey called it Ziegel-lak, whence the German Siegel-lack, the French\npreferring cire-\u0155-cacheter, as distinguished from cire-\u0155-sceller, the\nsofter material. The use of sealing-wax in India dates from old times\nand the material, though coarse and unsightly, is still preferred by\nAnglo-Indians because it resists heat whereas the best English softens\nlike pitch.\n\n[FN#207] Evidently referring to the runaway Abu al-Hasan, not to the\nshe-Mercury.\n\n[FN#208] An unmarried man is not allowed to live in a respectable\nquarter of a Moslem city unless he takes such precaution. Lane (Mod.\nEgypt. passim) has much to say on this point; and my excellent friend\nthe late Professor Spitta at Cairo found the native prejudice very\ntroublesome.\n\n[FN#209] Arab. \"Y\u00e1 ful\u00e1n\"=O certain person (fulano in Span. and\nPort.) a somewhat contemptuous address.\n\n[FN#210] Mr. Payne remarks, \"These verses apparently relate to\nAboulhusn, but it is possible that they may be meant to refer to\nShemsennehar.\" (iii. 80.)\n\n[FN#211] Arab. and Pers \"Bul\u00far\" (vulg. billaur) retaining the venerable\ntradition of the Belus- river. In Al-Hariri (Ass. of Halw\u00e1n) it means\ncrystal and there is no need of proposing to translate it by onyx or to\nidentify it with the Greek         , the beryl.\n\n[FN#212] The door is usually shut with a wooden bolt.\n\n[FN#213] Arab. \"Rit\u00e1nah,\" from \"Ratan,\" speaking any tongue not\nArabic, the allusion being to foreign mercenaries, probably\nTurks. In later days Turkish was called Muwalla', a pied horse,\nfrom its mixture of languages.\n\n[FN#214] This is the rule; to guard against the guet-apens.\n\n[FN#215] Arab. \"W\u00e1lidati,\" used when speaking to one not of the family\nin lieu of the familiar \"Ummi\"=my mother. So the father is W\u00e1lid=the\nbegetter.\n\n[FN#216] This is one of the many euphemistic formul\u0107 for such\noccasions: they usually begin \"May thy head live.\" etc.\n\n[FN#217] Arab. \"K\u00e1n\u00fan,\" an instrument not unlike the Austrian zither;\nit is illustrated in Lane (ii. 77).\n\n[FN#218] This is often done, the merit of the act being transferred to\nthe soul of the deceased.\n\n[FN#219] The two amourists were martyrs; and their amours, which appear\nexaggerated to the Western mind, have many parallels in the East. The\nstory is a hopeless affair of love; with only one moral (if any be\nwanted) viz., there may be too much of a good thing. It is given very\nconcisely in the Bul. Edit. vol. i.; and more fully in the Mac. Edit.\naided in places by the Bresl. (ii. 320) and the Calc. (ii. 230).\n##\n[FN#220] Lane is in error (vol. ii. 78) when he corrects this to \"Sh\u00e1h\nZem\u00e1n\"; the name is fanciful and intended to be old Persian, on the\n\"weight\" of Kahram\u00e1n. The Bul. Edit. has by misprint \"Shahram\u00e1n.\"\n\n[FN#221] The \"topothesia\" is worthy of Shakespeare's day. \"Kh\u00e1lid\u00e1n\" is\nevidently a corruption of \"Kh\u00e1lidat\u00e1ni\" (for Kh\u00e1lid\u00e1t), the Eternal, as\nIbn Wardi calls the Fortunate Islands, or Canaries, which owe both\ntheir modern names to the classics of Europe. Their present history\ndates from A.D. 1385, unless we accept the Dieppe-Rouen legend of Labat\nwhich would place the discovery in A.D. 1326. I for one thoroughly\nbelieve in the priority on the West African Coast, of the gallant\ndescendants of the Northmen.\n\n[FN#222] Four wives are allowed by Moslem law and for this reason. If\nyou marry one wife she holds herself your equal, answers you and \"gives\nherself airs\"; two are always quarrelling and making a hell of the\nhouse; three are \"no company\" and two of them always combine against\nthe nicest to make her hours bitter. Four are company, they can quarrel\nand \"make it up\" amongst themselves, and the husband enjoys comparative\npeace. But the Moslem is bound by his law to deal equally with the\nfour, each must have her dresses her establishment and her night, like\nher sister wives. The number is taken from the Jews (Arbah Turim Ev.\nHazaer, i.) \"the wise men have given good advice that a man should not\nmarry more than four wives.\" Europeans, knowing that Moslem women are\ncloistered and appear veiled in public, begin with believing them to be\nmere articles of luxury, and only after long residence they find out\nthat nowhere has the sex so much real liberty and power as in the\nMoslem East. They can possess property and will it away without the\nhusband's leave: they can absent themselves from the house for a month\nwithout his having a right to complain; and they assist in all his\ncounsels for the best of reasons: a man can rely only on his wives and\nchildren, being surrounded by rivals who hope to rise by his ruin. As\nregards political matters the Circassian women of Constantinople really\nrule the Sultanate and there soignez la femme! is the first lesson of\ngetting on in the official world.\n\n[FN#223] This two-bow prayer is common on the bride-night; and at all\ntimes when issue is desired.\n\n[FN#224] The older Camaralzaman=\"Moon of the age.\" Kamar is the moon\nbetween her third and twenty-sixth day: Hil\u00e1l during the rest of the\nmonth: Badr (plur. Bud\u00far whence the name of the Princess) is the full\nmoon.\n\n[FN#225] Arab \"Ra'\u00e1y\u00e1\" plur. of 'Ra'\u00edyat\" our Anglo-Indian Ryot, lit. a\nliege, a subject; secondarily a peasant, a Fellah.\n\n[FN#226] Another audacious parody of the Moslem \"testification\" to the\none God, and to Mohammed the Apostle.\n\n[FN#227] Showing how long ago forts were armed with metal plates which\nwe have applied to war-ships only of late years.\n\n[FN#228] The comparison is abominably true\u2014in the East.\n\n[FN#229] Two fallen angels who taught men the art of magic. They are\nmentioned in the Koran (chaps. ii.), and the commentators have\nextensively embroidered the simple text. Popularly they are supposed to\nbe hanging by their feet in a well in the territory of Babel, hence the\nfrequent allusions to \"Babylonian sorcery\" in Moslem writings; and\nthose who would study the black art at head-quarters are supposed to go\nthere. They are counterparts of the Egyptian Jamnes and Mambres, the\nJannes and Jambres of St. Paul (2 Tim. iii. 8).\n\n[FN#230] An idol or idols of the Arabs (Allat and Ozza) before Mohammed\n(Koran chaps. ii. 256). Etymologically the word means \"error\" and the\ntermination is rather Hebraic than Arabic.\n\n[FN#231] Arab. \"Khayt hamay\u00e1n\" (wandering threads of vanity), or\nMukh\u00e1t al-Shaytan (Satan's snivel),=our \"gossamer\"=God's summer\n(Mutter Gottes Sommer) or God's cymar (?).\n\n[FN#232] These lines occur in Night xvii.; so I borrow from\nTorrens (p. 163) by way of variety.\n\n[FN#233] A posture of peculiar submission; contrasting strongly with\nthe attitude afterwards assumed by Prince Charming.\n\n[FN#234] A mere term of vulgar abuse not reflecting on either parent: I\nhave heard a mother call her own son, \"Child of adultery.\"\n\n[FN#235] Arab. \"Ghaz\u00e1,\" the Artemisia (Euphorbia ?) before noticed. If\nthe word be a misprint for Ghad\u00e1 it means a kind of Euphorbia which,\nwith the Ar\u00e1k (wild caper-tree) and the Daum palm (Crucifera thebiaca),\nis one of the three normal growths of the Arabian desert (Pilgrimage\niii. 22).\n\n[FN#236] Arab. \"Ban\u00e1t al-Na'ash,\" usually translated daughters of the\nbier, the three stars which represent the horses in either Bear,\n\"Charles' Wain,\" or Ursa Minor, the waggon being supposed to be a bier.\n\"Ban\u00e1t\" may be also sons, plur. of Ibn, as the word points to\nirrational objects. So Job (ix. 9 and xxxviii. 32) refers to U. Major\nas \"Ash\" or \"Aysh\" in the words, \"Canst thou guide the bier with its\nsons?\" (erroneously rendered \"Arcturus with his sons\") In the text the\nlines are enigmatical, but apparently refer to a death parting.\n\n[FN#237] The Chapters are: 2, 3, 36, 55, 67 and the two last\n(\"Daybreak\" cxiii. and \"Men\" cxiv.), which are called Al-Mu'izzat\u00e1ni\n(vulgar Al-Mu'izzatayn), the \"Two Refuge-takings or Preventives,\"\nbecause they obviate enchantment. I have translated the two latter as\nfollows:\u2014\n\n\"Say:\u2014Refuge I take with the Lord of the Day-break *\n     from mischief of what He did make *\n     from mischief of moon eclipse-showing *\n     and from mischief of witches on cord-knots blowing *\n     and from mischief of envier when envying.\"\n\n\"Say:\u2014Refuge I take with the Lord of men *\n     the sovran of men *\n     the God of men *\n     from the Tempter, the Demon *\n     who tempteth in whisper the breasts of men *\n     and from Jinnis and (evil) men.\"\n\n[FN#238] The recitations were N\u00e1filah, or superogatory, two short\nchapters only being required and the taking refuge was because he slept\nin a ruin, a noted place in the East for Ghuls as in the West for\nghosts.\n\n[FN#239] Lane (ii. 222) first read \"M\u00faroozee\" and referred it to the\nMur\u00faz tribe near Herat he afterwards (iii. 748) corrected it to\n\"Marwazee,\" of the fabric of Marw (Margiana) the place now famed for\n\"Mervousness.\" As a man of Rayy (Rhages) becomes R\u00e1z\u00ed (e.g. Ibn F\u00e1ris\nal-Raz\u00ed), so a man of Marw is Mar\u00e1zi, not Mur\u00fazi nor M\u00e1rwazi. The\n\"Mikna' \" was a veil forming a kind of \"respirator,\" defending from\nflies by day and from mosquitos, dews and draughts by night. Easterns\nare too sensible to sleep with bodies kept warm by bedding, and heads\nbared to catch every blast. Our grandfathers and grandmothers did well\nto wear bonnets-de-nuit, however ridiculous they may have looked.\n\n[FN#240] Iblis, meaning the Despairer, is called in the Koran (chaps.\nxviii. 48) \"One of the genii (Jinnis) who departed from the command of\nhis Lord.\" Mr. Rodwell (in loco) notes that the Satans and Jinnis\nrepresent in the Koran (ii. 32, etc.) the evil-principle and finds an\nadmixture of the Semitic Satans and demons with the \"Genii from the\nPersian (Babylonian ?) and Indian (Egyptian ?) mythologies.\"\n\n[FN#241] Of course she could not see his eyes when they were shut; nor\nis this mere Eastern inconsequence. The writer means, \"had she seen\nthem, they would have showed,\" etc.\n\n[FN#242] The eyes are supposed to grow darker under the influence of\nwine and sexual passion.\n\n[FN#243] To keep off the evil eye.\n\n[FN#244] Like Dahnash this is a fanciful P. N., fit only for a Jinni.\nAs a rule the appellatives of Moslem \"genii\" end in\u00fas (oos), as Tarn\u00fas,\nHuliy\u00e1nus, the Jewish in\u2014nas, as Jattunas; those of the Tars\u00e1 (the\n\"funkers\" i.e. Christians) in\u2014d\u00fas, as Sid\u00fas, and the Hindus in\u2014t\u00fas, as\nNakt\u00fas (who entered the service of the Prophet Shays, or Seth, and was\nconverted to the Faith). The King of the Genii is Malik Katsh\u00e1n who\ninhabits Mount Kaf; and to the west of him lives his son-in-law, Abd\nal-Rahman with 33,000 domestics: these names were given by the Apostle\nMohammed. \"Baktan\u00fas\" is lord of three Moslem troops of the wandering\nJinns, which number a total of twelve bands and extend from Sind to\nEurope. The Jinns, Divs, Peris (\"fairies\") and other pre-Adamitic\ncreatures were governed by seventy-two Sultans all known as Sulayman\nand the last I have said was J\u00e1n bin J\u00e1n. The angel H\u00e1ris was sent from\nHeaven to chastise him, but in the pride of victory he also revolted\nwith his followers the Jinns whilst the Peris held aloof. When he\nrefused to bow down before Adam he and his chiefs were eternally\nimprisoned but the other Jinns are allowed to range over earth as a\nsecurity for man's obedience. The text gives the three orders. flyers.\nwalkers and divers.\n\n[FN#245] i.e. distracted (with love); the Lakab, or poetical name, of\napparently a Spanish poet.\n\n[FN#246] Nothing is more \"anti-pathetic\" to Easterns than lean hips and\nflat hinder-cheeks in women and they are right in insisting upon the\ncharacteristic difference of the male and female figure. Our modern\nsculptors and painters, whose study of the nude is usually most\nperfunctory, have often scandalised me by the lank and greyhound-like\nfining off of the frame, which thus becomes rather simian than human.\n\n[FN#247] The small fine foot is a favourite with Easterns as well as\nWesterns. Ovid (A.A.) is not ashamed \"ad teneros Oscula (not basia or\nsuavia) ferre pedes.\" Ariosto ends the august person in\n\n          Il breve, asciutto, e ritondetto piece,\n          (The short-sized, clean-cut, roundly-moulded foot).\n\nAnd all the world over it is a sign of \"blood,\" i.e. the fine nervous\ntemperament.\n\n[FN#248] i.e. \"full moons\": the French have corrupted it to\n\"Badoure\"; we to \"Badoura.\" winch is worse.\n\n[FN#249] As has been said a single drop of urine renders the clothes\nceremoniously impure, hence a Stone or a handful of earth must be used\nafter the manner of the torche-cul. Scrupulous Moslems, when squatting\nto make water, will prod the ground before them with the point o f\nstick or umbrella, so as to loosen it and prevent the spraying of the\nurine.\n\n[FN#250] It is not generally known to Christians that Satan has a wife\ncalled Aww\u00e1 (\"Haww\u00e1\" being the Moslem Eve) and, as Adam had three sons,\nthe Tempter has nine, viz., Zu 'l-baysun who rules in bazars. Wassin\nwho prevails in times of trouble. Awan who counsels kings; Haffan\npatron of wine-bibbers; Marrah of musicians and dancers; Masbut of\nnews-spreaders (and newspapers ?); Dulh\u00e1n who frequents places of\nworship and interferes with devotion. Dasim, lord of mansions and\ndinner tables, who prevents the Faithful saying \"Bismillah\" and\n\"Inshallah,\" as commanded in the Koran (xviii. 23), and Lak\u00eds, lord of\nFire worshippers (Herklots, chap. xxix. sect. 4).\n\n[FN#251] Strong perfumes, such as musk (which we Europeans dislike and\nsuspect), are always insisted upon in Eastern poetry, and Mohammed's\npredilection for them is well known. Moreover the young and the\nbeautiful are held (justly enough) to exhale a natural fragrance which\nis compared with that of the blessed in Paradise. Hence in the\nMu'allakah of Imr al-Keys:\u2014\n\nBreathes the scent of musk when they rise to rove, *\n     As the Zephyr's breath with the flavour o'clove.\n\nIt is made evident by dogs and other fine-nosed animals that every\nhuman being has his, or her, peculiar scent which varies according to\nage and health. Hence animals often detect the approach of death.\n\n[FN#252] Arab. \"Kahl\u00e1.\" This has been explained. Mohammed is said to\nhave been born with \"Kohl'd eyes.\"\n\n[FN#253] Haw\u00e1 al-'uzr\u00ed, before noticed (Night cxiv.).\n\n[FN#254] These lines, with the N\u00e1zir (eye or steward), the H\u00e1jib (Groom\nof the Chambers or Chamberlain) and Joseph, are also repeated from\nNight cxiv. For the Nazir see Al-Hariri (Nos. xiii. and xxii.)\n\n[FN#255] The usual allusion to the H\u00far (Houris) from \"Hangar,\" the\nwhite and black of the eye shining in contrast. The Persian Magi also\nplaced in their Heaven (Bihisht or Minu) \"Huran,\" or black-eyed nymphs,\nunder the charge of the angel Zamiy\u00e1d.\n\n[FN#256] In the first hemistich, \"bi-shitt 'it w\u00e1dy\" (by the\nwady-bank): in the second, \"wa shatta 'l w\u00e1dy\" (\"and my slayer\"\u2014 i.e.\nw\u00e1dy act. part. of wady, killing\u2014\"hath paced away\").\n\n[FN#257] The double entendre is from the proper names Bud\u00far and Su'\u00e1d\n(Beatrice) also meaning \"auspicious (or blessed) full moons.\"\n\n[FN#258] Arab. \"H\u00e1zir\" (also Ahl al-hazer, townsmen) and B\u00e1di, a\nBadawi, also called \"Ahl al-Wabar,\" people of the camel's hair (tent)\nand A'ar\u00e1b (Nomadic) as opposed to Arab (Arab settled or not). They\nstill boast with Ibn Abbas, cousin of Mohammed, that they have\nkerchiefs (not turbands) for crowns, tents for houses, loops for walls,\nswords for scarves and poems for registers or written laws.\n\n[FN#259] This is a peculiarity of the Jinn tribe when wearing hideous\nforms. It is also found in the Hindu Rakshasa.\n\n[FN#260] Which, by the by, are small and beautifully shaped. The animal\nis very handy with them, as I learnt by experience when trying to\n\"Rareyfy\" one at Bayrut.\n\n[FN#261] She being daughter of Al-Dimiry\u00e1t, King of the Jinns.\nMr. W. F. Kirby has made him the subject of a pretty poem.\n\n[FN#262] These lines have occurred in Night xxii. I give\nTorrens's version (p. 223) by way of variety.\n\n[FN#263] Arab. \"K\u00e1mat Alfiyyah,\" like an Alif, the first of the Arabic\nalphabet, the Heb. Aleph. The Arabs, I have said, took the flag or\nwater leaf form and departed very far from the Egyptian original (we\nknow from Plutarch that the hieroglyphic abecedarium began with \"a\"),\nwhich was chosen by other imitators, namely the bull's head, and which\nin the cursive form, especially the Phnician, became a yoke. In\nnumerals \"Alif\" denotes one or one thousand. It inherits the\ntraditional honours of Alpha (as opposed to Omega) and in books,\nletters and writings generally it is placed as a monogram over the\n\"Bismillah,\" an additional testimony to the Unity. (See vol. i. p. 1.)\nIn medi\u0107val Christianity this place of honour was occupied by the\ncross: none save the wildest countries have preserved it, but our\nvocabulary still retains Criss' (Christ-)cross Row, for horn-book, on\naccount of the old alphabet and nine digits disposed in the form of a\nLatin cross. Hence Tickell (\"The Horn-book\"):\n\n        \u2014\u2014Mortals ne'er shall know\n          More than contained of old the Chris'-cross Row.\n\n[FN#264] The young man must have been a demon of chastity.\n\n[FN#265] Arab. \"Kir\u00e1t\" from          i.e. bean, the seed of the Abrus\nprecatorius, in weight=two to three (English) grains; and in length=one\nfinger-breadth here; 24 being the total. The Moslem system is evidently\nborrowed from the Roman \"as\" and \"uncia.\"\n\n[FN#266] Names of women.\n\n[FN#267] Arab. \"Amsa\" (lit. he passed the evening) like \"asbaha\" (he\nrose in the morning) \"Azh\u00e1\" (he spent the forenoon) and \"bata\" (he\nspent the night), are idiomatically used for \"to be in any state, to\ncontinue\" without specification of time or season.\n\n[FN#268] Lit. \"my liver ;\" which viscus, and not the heart, is held the\nseat of passion, a fancy dating from the oldest days. Theocritus says\nof Hercules, \"In his liver Love had fixed a wound\" (Idyl. xiii.). In\nthe Anthologia \"Cease, Love, to wound my liver and my heart\" (lib.\nvii.). So Horace (Odes, i. 2); his Latin Jecur and the Persian \"Jigar\"\nbeing evident congeners. The idea was long prevalent and we find in\nShakespeare:\u2014\n\n          Alas, then Love may be called appetite,\n          No motion of the liver but the palate.\n\n[FN#269] A marvellous touch of nature, love ousting affection; the same\ntrait will appear in the lover and both illustrate the deep Italian\nsaying, \"Amor discende, non ascende.\" The further it goes down the\nstronger it becomes as of grand-parent for grand-child and vice versa.\n\n[FN#270] This tenet of the universal East is at once fact and unfact.\nAs a generalism asserting that women's passion is ten times greater\nthan man's (Pilgrimage, ii. 282), it is unfact. The world shows that\nwhile women have more philoprogenitiveness, men have more amativeness;\notherwise the latter would not propose and would nurse the doll and\nbaby. Pact, however, in low-lying lands, like Persian Mazanderan versus\nthe Plateau; Indian Malabar compared with Mar\u00e1tha-land; California as\nopposed to Utah and especially Egypt contrasted with Arabia. In these\nhot damp climates the venereal requirements and reproductive powers of\nthe female greatly exceed those of the male; and hence the\ndissoluteness of morals would be phenomenal, were it not obviated by\nseclusion, the sabre and the revolver. In cold-dry or hot-dry\nmountainous lands the reverse is the case; hence polygamy there\nprevails whilst the low countries require polyandry in either form,\nlegal or illegal (i,e. prostitution) I have discussed this curious\npoint of \"geographical morality\" (for all morality is, like conscience,\nboth geographical and chronological), a subject so interesting to the\nlawgiver, the student of ethics and the anthropologist, in \"The City of\nthe Saints \" But strange and unpleasant truths progress slowly,\nespecially in England.\n\n[FN#271] This morning evacuation is considered, in the East, a sine qu\u00e2\nnon of health; and old Anglo-Indians are unanimous in their opinion of\nthe \"bard fajar\" (as they mispronounce the dawn-clearance). The natives\nof India, Hind\u00fas (pagans) and Hind\u00eds (Moslems), unlike Europeans,\naccustom themselves to evacuate twice a day, evening as well as\nmorning. This may, perhaps, partly account for their mildness and\neffeminacy; for:\u2014\n\nC'est la constipation qui rend l'homme rigoureux.\n\nThe English, since the first invasion of cholera, in October, 1831, are\na different race from their costive grandparents who could not dine\nwithout a \"dinner-pill.\" Curious to say the clyster is almost unknown\nto the people of Hindostan although the barbarous West Africans use it\ndaily to \"wash 'um belly,\" as the Bonney-men say. And, as Sonnini notes\nto propose the process in Egypt under the Beys might have cost a\nFrankish medico his life.\n\n[FN#272] The Egyptian author cannot refrain from this characteristic\npolissonnerie; and reading it out is always followed by a roar of\nlaughter. Even serious writers like Al- Hariri do not, as I have noted,\ndespise the indecency.\n\n[FN#273] \"'Long beard and little wits,\" is a saying throughout the East\nwhere the Kausaj (= man with thin, short beard) is looked upon as\ncunning and tricksy. There is a venerable Joe Miller about a\nschoolmaster who, wishing to singe his long beard short, burnt it off\nand his face to boot:\u2014which reminded him of the saying. A thick beard\nis defined as one which wholly conceals the skin; and in ceremonial\nablution it must be combed out with the fingers till the water reach\nthe roots. The Sunnat, or practice of the Prophet, was to wear the\nbeard not longer than one hand and two fingers' breadth. In Persian\n\"K\u00faseh\" (thin beard) is an insulting term opposed to \"Khush-r\u00edsh,\" a\nwell-bearded man. The Iranian growth is perhaps the finest in the\nworld, often extending to the waist; but it gives infinite trouble,\nrequiring, for instance, a bag when travelling. The Arab beard is often\ncomposed of two tufts on the chin-sides and straggling hairs upon the\ncheeks; and this is a severe mortification, especially to Shaykhs and\nelders, who not only look upon the beard as one of man's\ncharacteristics, but attach a religious importance to the appendage.\nHence the enormity of Kamar al-Zaman's behaviour. The Persian festival\nof the vernal equinox was called Kusehnish\u00edn (Thin-beard sitting). An\nold man with one eye paraded the streets on an ass with a crow in one\nhand and a scourge and fan in the other, cooling himself, flogging the\nbystanders and crying heat! heat! (garm\u00e1! garm\u00e1!). For other\nparticulars see Richardson (Dissertation, p. Iii.). This is the Italian\nGiorno delle Vecchie, Thursday in Mid Lent, March 12 (1885),\ncelebrating the death of Winter and the birth of Spring.\n\n[FN#274] I quote Torrens (p. 400) as these lines have occurred in\nNight xxxviii.\n\n[FN#275] Moslems have only two names for week days, Friday,\nAl-Jum'ah or meeting-day, and Al-Sabt, Sabbath day, that is\nSaturday. The others are known by numbers after Quaker fashion\nwith us, the usage of Portugal and Scandinavia.\n\n[FN#276] Our last night.\n\n[FN#277] Arab. \"Tayf\"=phantom, the nearest approach to our \"ghost,\"\nthat queer remnant of Fetishism imbedded in Christianity; the\nphantasma, the shade (not the soul) of tile dead. Hence the accurate\nNiebuhr declares, \"apparitions (i.e., of the departed) are unknown in\nArabia.\" Haunted houses are there tenanted by Ghuls, Jinns and a host\nof supernatural creatures; but not by ghosts proper; and a man may live\nyears in Arabia before he ever hears of the \"Tayf.\" With the Hindus it\nis otherwise (Pilgrimage iii. 144). Yet the ghost, the embodied fear of\nthe dead and of death is common, in a greater or less degree, to all\npeoples; and, as modern Spiritualism proves, that ghost is not yet\nlaid.\n\n[FN#278] Mr. Payne (iii. 133) omits the lines which are \u0155propos de rein\nand read much like \"nonsense verses.\" I retain them simply because they\nare in the text.\n\n[FN#279] The first two couplets are the quatrain (or octave) in\nNight xxxv.\n\n[FN#280] Arab. \"Ar'ar,\" the Heb. \"Aroer,\" which Luther and the A.\nV. translate \"heath.\" The modern Aramaic name is \"Lizz\u00e1b\"\n(Unexplored Syria. i. 68).\n\n[FN#281] In the old version and the Bresl. Edit. (iii. 220) the\nPrincess beats the \"Kahram\u00e1nah,\" but does not kill her.\n\n[FN#282] 'This is still the popular Eastern treatment of the insane.\n\n[FN#283] Pers. \"Marz-b\u00e1n\" = Warden of the Marches, Margrave. The\nfoster-brother in the East is held dear as, and often dearer than, kith\nand kin.\n\n[FN#284] The moderns believe most in the dawn-dream.\n          \u2014Quirinus\n\nPost mediam noctem visus, quum somnia vera.\n          (Horace Sat. i. 10, 33,)\n\n[FN#285] The Bresl. Edit. (iii. 223) and Galland have \"Torf:\"\nLane (ii. 115) \"El-Tarf.\"\n\n[FN#286] Arab. \"Maghzal ;\" a more favourite comparison is with a tooth\npick. Both are used by Nizami and Al-Hariri, the most \"elegant\" of Arab\nwriters.\n\n[FN#287] These form a Kas\u00eddah, Ode or Elegy= rhymed couplets numbering\nmore than thirteen: If shorter it is called a \"Ghazal.\" I have not\nthought it necessary to preserve the monorhyme.\n\n[FN#288] Sulaym\u00e1 dim. of Salm\u00e1= any beautiful woman Rab\u00e1b = the viol\nmostly single stringed: Tan'oum=she who is soft and gentle. These\nfictitious names are for  his old flames.\n\n[FN#289] i.e. wine. The distich is highly fanciful and the conceits\nwould hardly occur to a\n\n[FN#290] Arab. \"Andam,\" a term applied to Brazil-wood (also called\n\"Bakkam\") and to \"dragon's blood,\" but not, I think, to tragacanth, the\n\"goat's thorn,\" which does not dye. Andam is often mentioned in The\nNights.\n\n[FN#291] The superior merit of the first (explorer, etc.) is a lieu\ncommun with Arabs. So Al-Hariri in Preface quotes his predecessor:\u2014\n\n          Justly of praise the price I pay;\n          The praise is his who leads the way.\n\n[FN#292] There were two Lukmans, of whom more in a future page.\n\n[FN#293] This symbolic action is repeatedly mentioned in The\nNights.\n\n[FN#294] Arab. \"Shakhs\"=a person, primarily a dark spot. So\n\"Saw\u00e1d\"=blackness, in Al-Hariri means a group of people who darken the\nground by their shade.\n\n[FN#295] The first bath after sickness, I have said, is called\n\"Ghusl al-Sihhah,\"\u2014the Washing of Health.\n\n[FN#296] The words \"malady\" and \"disease\" are mostly avoided during\nthese dialogues as ill-omened words which may bring on a relapse.\n\n[FN#297] Solomon's carpet of green silk which carried him and all his\nhost through the air is a Talmudic legend generally accepted in\nAl-Islam though not countenanced by the Koran. chaps xxvii. When the\n\"gnat's wing\" is mentioned, the reference is to Nimrod who, for\nboasting that he was lord of all, was tortured during four hundred\nyears by a gnat sent by Allah up his ear or nostril.\n\n[FN#298] The absolute want of morality and filial affection in the\nchaste young man is supposed to be caused by the violence of his\npassion, and he would be pardoned because he \"loved much.\"\n\n[FN#299] I have noticed the geomantic process in my \"History of Sindh\"\n(chaps. vii.). It is called \"Zarb al-Ram!\" (strike the sand, the French\nsay \"frapper le sable\") because the rudest form is to make on the\nground dots at haphazard, usually in four lines one above the other:\nthese are counted and, if even-numbered, two are taken ( ** ); if odd\none ( * ); and thus the four lines will form a scheme say  *     * * *\n*     * This is  repeated three times, producing the same number of\nfigures; and then the combination is sought in an explanatory table or,\nif the practitioner be expert, he pronounces off-hand. The Nights speak\nof a \"Takht Raml\" or a board, like a schoolboy's slate, upon which the\ndots are inked instead of points in sand. The moderns use a \"Kura'h,\"\nor oblong die, upon whose sides the dots, odd and even, are marked; and\nthese dice are hand-thrown to form the e figure. By way of complication\nGeomancy is mixed up with astrology and then it becomes a most\ncomplicated kind of ariolation and an endless study. \"Napoleon's Book\nof Fate,\" a chap-book which appeared some years ago, was Geomancy in\nits simplest and most ignorant shape. For the rude African form see my\nMission to Dahome, i. 332, and for that of Darfour, pp. 360-69 of\nShaykh Mohammed's Voyage before quoted.\n\n[FN#300] Translators understand this of writing marriage contracts; I\ntake it in a more general sense.\n\n[FN#301] These lines are repeated from Night Ixxv.: with Mr. Payne's\npermission I give his rendering (iii. 153) by way of variety.\n\n[FN#302] The comparison is characteristically Arab.\n\n[FN#303] Not her \"face\": the head, and especially the back of the head,\nmust always be kept covered, even before the father.\n\n[FN#304] Arab. \"Siw\u00e1k\"=a tooth-stick; \"Siw\u00e1-ka\"=lit. other than thou.\n\n[FN#305] Arab. \"Ar\u00e1k\"=tooth stick of the wild caper-tree; \"Ar\u00e1-ka\"\nlit.=I see thee. The capparis spinosa is a common desert-growth and the\nsticks about a span long (usually called Misw\u00e1k), are sold in\nquantities at Meccah after being dipped in Zemzem water. In India many\nother woods are used, date-tree, Salvadora, Achyrantes, phyllanthus,\netc. Amongst Arabs peculiar efficacy accompanies the tooth-stick of\nolive, \"the tree springing from Mount Sinai\" (Koran xxiii. 20); and\nMohammed would use no other, because it prevents decay and scents the\nmouth. Hence Koran, chaps. xcv. 1. The \"Misw\u00e1k\" is held with the unused\nend between the ring-finger and minimus, the two others grasp the\nmiddle and the thumb is pressed against the back close to the lips.\nThese articles have long been sold at the Medical Hall near the\n\"Egyptian Hall,\" Piccadilly. They are better than our unclean\ntooth-brushes because each tooth gets its own especial rubbing' not a\ngeneral sweep; at the same time the operation is longer and more\ntroublesome. In parts of Africa as well as Asia many men walk about\nwith the tooth-stick hanging by a string from the neck.\n\n[FN#306] The \"Mehari,\" of which the Algerine-French speak, are the\ndromedaries bred by the Mahrah tribe of Al-Yaman, the descendants of\nMahrat ibn Haydan. They are covered by small wild camels (?) called\nAl-H\u00fash, found between Oman and Al-Shihr: others explain the word to\nmean \"stallions of the Jinns \" and term those savage and supernatural\nanimals, \"Naj\u00e1ib al-Mahriyah\"nobles of the Mahrah.\n\n[FN#307] Arab. \"Khaznah\"=a thousand purses; now about \u01415000. It denotes\na large sum of money, like the \"Badrah,\" a purse containing 10,000\ndirhams of silver (Al-Hariri), or 80,000 (Burckhardt Prov. 380);\nwhereas the \"Nis\u00e1b\" is a moderate sum of money, gen. 20 gold dinars=200\nsilver dirhams.\n\n[FN#308] As The Nights show, Arabs admire slender forms; but the hips\nand hinder cheeks must be highly developed and the stomach fleshy\nrather than lean. The reasons are obvious. The Persians who exaggerate\neverything say e.g. (Husayn V\u00e1iz in the Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhayli):\u2014\n\n          How paint her hips and waist ? Who saw\n          A mountain (Koh) dangling to a straw (k\u00e1h)?\n\nIn Antar his beloved Abla is a tamarisk (T. Orientalis). Others compare\nwith the palm-tree (Solomon), the Cypress (Persian, esp. Hafiz and\nFirdausi) and the Ar\u00e1k or wild Capparis (Arab.).\n\n[FN#309] Ubi aves ibi angel). All African travellers know that a few\nbirds flying about the bush, and a few palm-trees waving in the wind,\ndenote the neighbourhood of a village or a camp (where angels are\nscarce). The reason is not any friendship for man but because food,\nanimal and vegetable, is more plentiful Hence Albatrosses, Mother\nCarey's (Mater Cara, the Virgin) chickens, and Cape pigeons follow\nships.\n\n[FN#310] The stanza is called Al-Mukhammas=cinquains; the quatrains and\nthe \"bob,\" or \"burden\" always preserve the same consonance. It ends\nwith a Koranic lieu commun of Moslem morality.\n\n[FN#311] Moslem port towns usually have (or had) only two gates. Such\nwas the case with Bayrut, Tyre, Sidon and a host of others; the\nfaubourg-growth of modern days has made these obsolete. The portals\nmuch resemble the entrances of old Norman castles\u2014Arques for instance.\n(Pilgrimage i. 185.)\n\n[FN#312] Arab. \"Lis\u00e1m\"; before explained.\n\n[FN#313] i.e. Life of Souls (persons, etc.).\n\n[FN#314] Arab. \"Ins\u00e1nu-h\u00e1\"=her (i.e. their) man: i.e. the babes of the\neyes: the Assyrian Ishon, dim. of Ish=Man; which the Hebrews call\n\"B\u00e1bat\" or \"Bit\" (the daughter) the Arabs \"Bubu (or Hadakat) al-Aye\";\nthe Persians \"Mardumak-i-chashm\" (mannikin of the eye); the Greeks     \nand the Latins pupa, pupula, pupilla. I have noted this in the Lyricks\nof Camoens (p. 449).\n\n[FN#315] Ma'an bin Z\u00e1'idah, a soldier and statesman of the eighth\ncentury.\n\n[FN#316] The mildness of the Caliph Mu'\u00e1wiyah, the founder of the\nOmmiades, proverbial among the Arabs, much resembles the \"meekness\" of\nMoses the Law-giver, which commentators seem to think has been foisted\ninto Numbers xii. 3.\n\n[FN#317] Showing that there had been no consummation of the marriage\nwhich would have demanded \"Ghusl,\" or total ablution, at home or in the\nHammam.\n\n[FN#318] I have noticed this notable desert-growth.\n\n[FN#319] 'The \"situation\" is admirable, solution appearing so difficult\nand catastrophe imminent.\n\n[FN#320] This quatrain occurs in Night ix.: I have borrowed from\nTorrens (p. 79) by way of variety.\n\n[FN#321] The belief that young pigeon's blood resembles the virginal\ndischarge is universal; but the blood most resembling man's is that of\nthe pig which in other points is so very human. In our day Arabs and\nHindus rarely submit to inspection the nuptial sheet as practiced by\nthe Israelites and Persians. The bride takes to bed a white kerchief\nwith which she staunches the blood and next morning the stains are\ndisplayed in the Harem. In Darfour this is done by the bridegroom.\n\"Prima Venus debet esse cruenta,\" say the Easterns with much truth, and\nthey have no faith in our complaisant creed which allows the\nhymen-membrane to disappear by any but one accident.\n\n[FN#322] Not meaning the two central divisions commanded by the\nKing and his Wazir.\n\n[FN#323] Ironic\u010d.\n\n[FN#324] Arab. \"Rasy\"=praising in a funeral sermon.\n\n[FN#325] Arab. \"Man\u00e1y\u00e1,\" plur. of \"Maniyat\" = death. Mr. R. S. Poole\n(the Academy, April 26, 1879) reproaches Mr. Payne for confounding\n\"Muniyat\" (desire) with \"Maniyat\" (death) but both are written the same\nexcept when vowel-points are used.\n\n[FN#326] Arab. \"Iddat,\" alluding to the months of celibacy which,\naccording to Moslem law, must be passed by a divorced woman before she\ncan re-marry.\n\n[FN#327] Arab. \"Tal\u00e1k bi'l-Sal\u00e1sah\"=a triple divorce which cannot be\nrevoked; nor can the divorcer re-marry the same woman till after\nconsummation with another husband. This subject will continually recur.\n\n[FN#328] An allusion to a custom of the pagan Arabs in the days of\nignorant Heathenism The blood or brain, soul or personality of the\nmurdered man formed a bird called Sady or H\u00e1mah (not the Hum\u00e1 or Hum\u00e1i,\nusually translated \"phnix\") which sprang from the head, where four of\nthe five senses have their seat, and haunted his tomb, crying\ncontinually, \"Usk\u00fani!\"=Give me drink (of the slayer's blood) ! and\nwhich disappeared only  when the vendetta was accomplished. Mohammed\nforbade the belief. Amongst the Southern Slavs the cuckoo is supposed\nto be the sister of a murdered man ever calling or vengeance.\n\n[FN#329] To obtain a blessing and show how he valued it.\n\n[FN#330] Well-known tribes of proto-historic Arabs who flourished\nbefore the time of Abraham: see Koran (chaps. xxvi. et passim). They\nwill be repeatedly mentioned in The Nights and notes.\n\n[FN#331] Arab. \"Amt\u00e1r\"; plur. of \"Matr,\" a large vessel of leather or\nwood for water, etc.\n\n[FN#332] Arab. \"As\u00e1f\u00edr\u00ed,\" so called because they attract sparrows\n(as\u00e1f\u00edr) a bird very fond of the ripe oily fruit. In the Romance of\n\"Antar\" As\u00e1f\u00edr camels are beasts that fly like birds in fleetness. The\nreader must not confound the olives of the text with the hard unripe\nberries (\"little plums pickled in stale\") which appear at English\ntables, nor wonder that bread and olives are the beef-steak and\npotatoes of many Mediterranean peoples It is an excellent diet, the\nhighly oleaginous fruit supplying the necessary carbon,\n\n[FN#333] Arab. \"Tamer al-Hindi\"=the \"Indian-date,\" whence our word\n\"Tamarind.\" A sherbet of the pods, being slightly laxative, is much\ndrunk during the great heats; and the dried fruit, made into small\nround cakes, is sold in the bazars. The traveller is advised not to\nsleep under the tamarind's shade, which is infamous for causing ague\nand fever. In Sind I derided the \"native nonsense,\" passed the night\nunder an \"Indian date-tree\" and awoke with a fine specimen of ague\nwhich lasted me a week.\n\n[FN#334] Moslems are not agreed upon the length of the Day of Doom when\nall created things, marshalled by the angels, await final judgment; the\ndifferent periods named are 40 years, 70, 300 and 50,000. Yet the trial\nitself will last no longer than while one may milk an ewe, or than \"the\nspace between two milkings of a she-camel.\" This is bringing down\nHeaven to Earth with a witness; but, after all, the Heaven of all\nfaiths, including \"Spiritualism,\" the latest development, is only an\nearth more or less glorified even as the Deity is humanity more or less\nperfected.\n\n[FN#335] Arab. \"Al-Kamar\u00e1ni,\" lit. \"the two moons.\" Arab rhetoric\nprefers it to \"Shams\u00e1ni,\" or {`two suns,\" because lighter (akhaff), to\npronounce. So, albeit Omar was less worthy than Abu-Bakr the two are\ncalled \"Al-Omar\u00e1ni,\" in vulgar parlance, Omarayn.\n\n[FN#336] Alluding to the angels who appeared to the Sodomites in the\nshape of beautiful youths (Koran xi.).\n\n[FN#337] Koran xxxiii. 38.\n\n[FN#338] \"Niktu-hu taklidan\" i.e. not the real thing (with a woman). It\nmay also mean \"by his incitement of me.\" All this scene is written in\nthe worst form of Persian-Egyptian blackguardism, and forms a curious\nanthropological study. The \"black joke\" of the true and modest wife is\ninimitable.\n\n[FN#339] Arab. \"Jam\u00edz\" (in Egypt \"Jammayz\") = the fruit of the true\nsycomore (F. Sycomorus) a magnificent tree which produces a small\ntasteless fig, eaten by the poorer classes in Egypt and by monkeys. The\n\"T\u00edn\" or real fig here is the woman's parts; the \"mulberry- fig,\" the\nanus. Martial (i. 65) makes the following distinction:\u2014\n\n          Dicemus ficus, quas scimus in arbore nasci,\n          Dicemus ficos, Caeciliane, tuos.\n\nAnd Modern Italian preserves a difference between fico and fica.\n\n[FN#340] Arab. \"Gh\u00e1niyat Az\u00e1r\u00e1\" (plur. of Azr\u00e1 = virgin): the former is\nproperly a woman who despises ornaments and relies on \"beauty\nunadorned\" (i.e. in bed).\n\n[FN#341] \"Nihil usitatius apud monachos, cardinales, sacrificulos,\"\nsays Johannes de la Casa Beneventius Episcopus, quoted by Burton Anat.\nof Mel. lib. iii. Sect. 2; and the famous epitaph on the Jesuit,\n\n          Ci-git un Jesuite:\n          Passant, serre les fesses et passe vite!\n\n[FN#342] Arab. \"Kiblah\"=the fronting-place of prayer, Meccah for\nMoslems, Jerusalem for Jews and early Christians. See Pilgrimage (ii.\n321) for the Moslem change from Jerusalem to Meccah and ibid. (ii. 213)\nfor the way in which the direction was shown.\n\n[FN#343] The Koran says (chaps. ii.): \"Your wives are your tillage: go\nin therefore unto your tillage in what manner so ever ye will.\" Usually\nthis is understood as meaning in any posture, standing or sitting,\nlying, backwards or forwards. Yet there is a popular saying about the\nman whom the woman rides (vulg. St. George, in France, le Postillon);\n\"Cursed be who maketh woman Heaven and himself earth!\" Some hold the\nKoranic passage to have been revealed in confutation of the Jews, who\npretended that if a man lay with his wife backwards, he would beget a\ncleverer child. Others again understand it of preposterous venery,\nwhich is absurd: every ancient law-giver framed his code to increase\nthe true wealth of the people\u2014population\u2014and severely punished all\nprocesses, like onanism, which impeded it. The Persians utilise the\nhatred of women for such misuse when they would force a wive to demand\na divorce and thus forfeit her claim to Mahr (dowry); they convert them\ninto catamites till, after a month or so, they lose all patience and\nleave the house.\n\n[FN#344] Koran lit 9: \"He will be turned aside from the Faith (or\nTruth) who shall be turned aside by the Divine decree;\" alluding, in\nthe text, to the preposterous venery her lover demands.\n\n[FN#345] Arab. \"Fut\u00fah\" meaning openings, and also victories, benefits.\nThe lover congratulates her on her mortifying self in order to please\nhim.\n\n[FN#346] \"And the righteous work will be exalt\": (Koran xxxv. 11)\napplied ironically.\n\n[FN#347] A prolepsis of Tommy Moore:\u2014\n\n          Your mother says, my little Venus,\n          There's something not quite right between us,\n               And you're in fault as much as I,\n          Now, on my soul, my little Venus,\n          I swear 'twould not be right between us,\n               To let your mother tell a lie.\n\nBut the Arab is more moral than Mr. Little. as he purposes to repent.\n\n[FN#348] Arab. \"Khunsa\" flexible or flaccid, from Khans=bending\ninwards, i.e. the mouth of a water-skin before drinking. Like\nMukhannas, it is also used for an effeminate man, a passive sodomite\nand even for a eunuch. Easterns still believe in what Westerns know to\nbe an impossibility, human beings with the parts and proportions of\nboth sexes equally developed and capable of reproduction; and Al-Islam\neven provides special rules for them (Pilgrimage iii. 237). We hold\nthem to be Buffon's fourth class of (duplicate) monsters belonging\nessentially to one or the other sex, and related to its opposite only\nby some few characteristics. The old Greeks dreamed, after their\nfashion, a beautiful poetic dream of a human animal uniting the\ncontradictory beauties of man and woman. The duality of the generative\norgans seems an old Egyptian tradition, at least we find it in Genesis\n(i. 27) where the image of the Deity is created male and female, before\nman was formed out of the dust of the ground (ii. 7). The old tradition\nfound its way to India (if the Hindus did not borrow the idea from the\nGreeks); and one of the forms of Mahadeva, the third person of their\ntriad, is entitled \"Ardhan\u00e1r\u00ed\"=the Half-woman, which has suggested to\nthem some charming pictures. Europeans, seeing the left breast\nconspicuously feminine, have indulged in silly surmises about the\n\"Amazons.\"\n\n[FN#349] This is a mere phrase for our \"dying of laughter\": the queen\nwas on her back. And as Easterns sit on carpets, their falling back is\nvery different from the same movement off a chair.\n\n[FN#350] Arab. \"Ismid,\" the eye-powder before noticed.\n\n[FN#351] When the Caliph (e.g. Al-T\u00e1'i li'llah) bound a banner to a\nspear and handed it to an officer, he thereby appointed him Sultan or\nViceregent.\n\n[FN#352] Arab. \"Sh\u00e1ib al-ingh\u00e1z\"=lit. a gray beard who shakes head in\ndisapproval.\n\n[FN#353] Arab. \"Ay\u00e1t\" = the Hebr. \"Ototh,\" signs, wonders or\nKoranic verses.\n\n[FN#354] The Chapter \"Al-Ikhl\u00e1s\" i.e. clearing (oneself from any faith\nbut that of Unity) is No. cxii. and runs thus:\u2014\n\n          Say, He is the One God!\n                The sempiternal God,\n           He begetteth not, nor is He begot,\n                And unto Him the like is not.\n\nIt is held to be equal in value to one-third of the Koran, and is daily\nused in prayer. Mr. Rodwell makes it the tenth.\n\n[FN#355] The Lady Budur shows her noble blood by not objecting to her\nfriend becoming her Zarrat (sister-wife). This word is popularly\nderived from \"Zarar\"=injury; and is vulgarly pronounced in Egypt\n\"Durrah\" sounding like Durrah = a parrot (see Burckhardt's mistake in\nProv. 314). The native proverb says, \"Ayshat al-durrah murrah,\" the\nsister-wife hath a bitter life. We have no English equivalent; so I\ntranslate indifferently co-wife, co-consort, sister-wife or sister in\nwedlock.\n\n[FN#356] Lane preserves the article \"El-Amjad\" and \"El-As'ad;\" which is\nas necessary as to say \"the John\" or \"the James,\" because neo-Latins\nhave \"il Giovanni\" or \"il Giacomo.\" In this matter of the article,\nhowever, it is impossible to lay down a universal rule: in some cases\nit must be preserved and only practice in the language can teach its\nuse. For instance, it is always present in Al-Bahrayn and al-Yaman; but\nnot necessarily so with Irak and Najd.\n\n[FN#357] It is hard to say why this ugly episode was introduced.\nIt is a mere false note in a tune pretty enough.\n\n[FN#358] The significance of this action will presently appear.\n\n[FN#359] An \"Had\u00eds.\"\n\n[FN#360] Arab. \"Sabb\" = using the lowest language of abuse. chiefly\nconcerning women-relatives and their reproductive parts.\n\n[FN#361] The reader will note in the narration concerning the two\nQueens the parallelism of the Arab's style which recalls that of the\nHebrew poets. Strings of black silk are plaited into the long locks (an\n\"idiot-fringe\" being worn over the brow) because a woman is cursed \"who\njoineth her own hair to the hair of another\" (especially human hair).\nSending the bands is a sign of affectionate submission; and, in\nextremes\" cases the hair itself is sent.\n\n[FN#362] i.e., suffer similar pain at the spectacle, a phrase often\noccurring.\n\n[FN#363] i.e., when the eye sees not, the heart grieves not.\n\n[FN#364] i.e., unto Him we shall return, a sentence recurring in almost\nevery longer chapter of the Koran.\n\n[FN#365] Arab. \"Kun,\" the creative Word (which, by the by, proves the\nKoran to be an uncreated Logos); the full sentence being \"Kun fa k\u00e1na\"\n= Be! and it became. The origin is evidently, \"And God said, Let there\nbe light: and there was light\" (Gen. i. 3); a line grand in its\nsimplicity and evidently borrowed from the Egyptians, even as Yahveh\n(Jehovah) from \"Ankh\"=He who lives (Brugsch Hist. ii. 34).\n\n[FN#366] i.e. but also for the life and the so-called \"soul.\"\n\n[FN#367] Arab. \"Lay\u00e1li\"=lit. nights which, I have said, is often\napplied to the whole twenty-four hours. Here it is used in the sense of\n\"fortune\" or \"fate ;\" like \"days\" and \"days and nights.\"\n\n[FN#368] Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr a nephew of Ayishah, who had rebuilt\nthe Ka'abah in A.H. 64 (A.D. 683), revolted (A.D. 680) against Yezid\nand was proclaimed Caliph at Meccah. He was afterwards killed (A.D.\n692) by the famous or infamous Hajj\u00e1j general of Abd al-Malik bin\nMarwan, the fifth Ommiade, surnamed \"Sweat of a stone\" (skin-flint) and\n\"Father of Flies,\" from his foul breath. See my Pilgrimage, etc. (iii.\n192-194), where are explained the allusions to the Ka'abah and the holy\nBlack Stone.\n\n[FN#369] These lines are part of an elegy on the downfall of one of the\nMoslem dynasties in Spain, composed in the twelfth century by Ibn Abdun\nal-Andal\u00fasi. The allusion is to the famous conspiracy of the Kh\u00e1rijites\n(the first sectarians in Mohammedanism) to kill Ah, Mu'awiyah and Amru\n(so written but pronounced \"Amr\") al-As, in order to abate intestine\nfeuds m Al-Islam. Ali was slain with a sword-cut by Ibn Muljam a name\never damnable amongst the Persians; Mu'awiyah escaped with a wound and\nKharijah, the Chief of Police at Fustat or old Cairo was murdered by\nmistake for Amru. After this the sectarian wars began.\n\n[FN#370] Arab. \"Sar\u00e1b\"= (Koran, chaps. xxiv.) the reek of the Desert,\nbefore explained. It is called \"Lama,\" the shine, the loom, in\nAl-Hariri. The world is compared with the mirage, the painted eye and\nthe sword that breaks in the sworder's hand.\n\n[FN#371] Arab. \"Duny\u00e1,\" with the common alliteration \"d\u00e1niyah\" (=Pers.\n\"d\u00fan\"), in prose as well as poetry means the things or fortune of this\nlife opp. to \"Akhirah\"=future life.\n\n[FN#372] Arab. \"Walgh,\" a strong expression primarily denoting the\nlapping of dogs; here and elsewhere \"to swill, saufen.\"\n\n[FN#373] The lines are repeated from Night ccxxi. I give Lane's version\n(ii. 162) by way of contrast and\u2014warning.\n\n[FN#374] \"S\u00e1hirah\" is the place where human souls will be gathered on\nDoom-day: some understand by it the Hell Sa'\u00edr (No. iv.) intended for\nthe Sabians or the Devils generally.\n\n[FN#375] His eyes are faded like Jacob's which, after weeping for\nJoseph, \"became white with mourning\" (Koran, chaps. xxi.). It is a\nstock comparison.\n\n[FN#376] The grave.\n\n[FN#377] Arab. \"Saww\u00e1n\" (popularly pronounced Suw\u00e1n) =\"Syenite\" from\nSyrene; generally applied to silex, granite or any hard stone.\n\n[FN#378] A proceeding fit only for thieves and paupers: \"Alpinism\" was\nthen unknown. \"You come from the mountain\" (al-Jabal) means, \"You are a\nclod-hopper\"; and \"I will sit upon the mountain\"=turn anchorite or\nmagician. (Pilgrimage i. 106.)\n\n[FN#379] Corresponding with wayside chapels in Catholic countries. The\nMoslem form would be either a wall with a prayer niche (Mibr\u00e1b)\nfronting Meccah-wards or a small domed room. These little oratories are\noften found near fountains, streams or tree-clumps where travellers\nwould be likely to alight. I have described one in Sind (\"Scinde or the\nUnhappy Valley\" i. 79), and have noted that scrawling on the walls is\neven more common in the East than in the West; witness the monuments of\nold Egypt bescribbled by the Greeks and Romans. Even the paws of the\nSphinx are covered with such graffiti; and those of Ipsambul or Abu\nS\u00edmbal have proved treasures to epigraphists.\n\n[FN#380] In tales this characterises a Persian; and Hero Rustam is\nalways so pictured.\n\n[FN#381] The Parsis, who are the representatives of the old Guebres,\nturn towards the sun and the fire as their Kiblah or point of prayer;\nall deny that they worship it. But, as in the case of saints' images,\nwhile the educated would pray before them for edification (Labia) the\nignorant would adore them (Dulia); and would make scanty difference\nbetween the \"reverence of a servant\" and the \"reverence of a slave.\"\nThe human sacrifice was quite contrary to Guebre, although not to\nHindu, custom; although hate and vengeance might prompt an occasional\nmurder.\n\n[FN#382] These oubliettes are common in old eastern houses as in the\nmedieval Castles of Europe, and many a stranger has met his death in\nthem. They are often so well concealed that even the modern inmates are\nnot aware of their existence.\n\n[FN#383] Arab. \"Bakk\"; hence our \"bug\" whose derivation (like that of\n\"cat\" \"dog\" and \"hog\") is apparently unknown to the dictionaries,\nalways excepting M. Littr\u00e9's.\n\n[FN#384] i.e. thy beauty is ever increasing.\n\n[FN#385] Alluding, as usual, to the eye-lashes, e.g.\n\nAn eyelash arrow from an eyebrow bow.\n\n[FN#386] Lane (ii. 168) reads:\u2014\"The niggardly female is protected by\nher niggardness;\" a change of \"Nah\u00edlah\" (bee-hive) into \"Bakh\u00edlah\" (she\nskin flint).\n\n[FN#387] Koran iv. 38. The advantages are bodily strength,\nunderstanding and the high privilege of Holy War. Thus far, and thus\nfar only, woman amongst Moslems is \"lesser\n\n[FN#388] Arab. \"Amir Y\u00e1kh\u00far,\" a corruption of \"Akhor\"=stable\n(Persian).\n\n[FN#389] A servile name in Persian, meaning \"the brave,\" and a title of\nhonour at the Court of Delhi when following the name. Many English\nofficers have made themselves ridiculous (myself amongst the number) by\nhaving it engraved on their seal-rings, e.g. Brown S\u00e1hib Bah\u00e1dur. To\nwrite the word \"Behadir\" or \"Bah\u00e1dir\" is to adopt the wretched Turkish\ncorruption.\n\n[FN#390] \"Jerry Sneak\" would be the English reader's comment; but in\nthe East all charges are laid upon women.\n\n[FN#391] Here the formula means \"I am sorry for it, but I couldn't help\nit.\"\n\n[FN#392] A noble name of the Persian Kings (meaning the planet\nMars) corrupted in Europe to Varanes.\n\n[FN#393] Arab. \"Jall\u00e1b,\" one of the three muharram\u00e1t or forbiddens, the\nH\u00e1rik al-hajar (burner of stone) the K\u00e1ti' al-shajar (cutter of trees,\nwithout reference to Hawarden N. B.) and the B\u00e1yi' al-bashar (seller of\nmen, vulg. Jall\u00e1b). The two former worked, like the Italian Carbonari,\nin desert places where they had especial opportunities for crime.\n(Pilgrimage iii. 140.) None of these things must be practiced during\nPilgrimage on the holy soil of Al-Hijaz\u2014not including Jeddah.\n\n[FN#394] The verses contain the tenets of the Murjiy sect which\nattaches infinite importance to faith and little or none to works. Sale\n(sect. viii.) derives his \"Morgians\" from the \"Jabrians\" (Jabari), who\nare the direct opponents of the \"Kadarians\" (Kadari), denying free will\nand free agency to man and ascribing his actions wholly to Allah. Lane\n(ii. 243) gives the orthodox answer to the heretical question:\u2014\n\nWater could wet him not if God please guard His own; *\n     Nor need man care though bound of hands in sea he's thrown:\nBut if His Lord decree that he in sea be drowned; *\n     He'll drown albeit in the wild and wold he wone.\n\nIt is the old quarrel between Predestination and Freewill which cannot\nbe solved except by assuming a Law without a Lawgiver.\n\n[FN#395] Our proverb says: Give a man luck and throw him into the sea.\n\n[FN#396] As a rule Easterns, I repeat, cover head and face when\nsleeping especially in the open air and moonlight. Europeans find the\npractice difficult, and can learn it only by long habit.\n\n[FN#397] Pers. = a flower-garden. In Galland, Bahram has two daughters,\nBostama and Cavam a. In the Bres. Edit. the daughter is \"Bostan\" and\nthe slave-girl \"Kaw\u00e1m.\"\n\n[FN#398] Arab. \"Kah\u00edl\"=eyes which look as if darkened with antimony:\nhence the name of the noble Arab breed of horses \"Kuhaylat\" (Al-Ajuz,\netc.).\n\n[FN#399] \"As'ad\"=more (or most) fortunate.\n\n[FN#400] This is the vulgar belief, although Mohammed expressly\ndisclaimed the power in the Koran (chaps. xiii. 8), \"Thou art\ncommissioned to be a preacher only and not a worker of miracles.\"\n\"Signs\" (Arab. Ay\u00e1t) may here also mean verses of the Koran, which the\nApostle of Allah held to be his standing miracles. He despised the\ncommon miracula which in the East are of everyday occurrence and are\nheld to be easy for any holy man. Hume does not believe in miracles\nbecause he never saw one. Had he travelled in the East he would have\nseen (and heard of) so many that his scepticism (more likely that\ntestimony should be false than miracles be true) would have been based\non a firmer foundation. It is one of the marvels of our age that whilst\ntwo-thirds of Christendom (the Catholics and the \"Orthodox\" Greeks)\nbelieve in \"miracles\" occurring not only in ancient but even in our\npresent days, the influential and intelligent third (Protestant)\nabsolutely \"denies the fact.\"\n\n[FN#401] Arab. \"Al-Shah\u00e1dat\u00e1ni\"; testifying the Unity and the\n\nApostleship.","title":"The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night \u2014 Volume 03 (of 10)","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":158056}