{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_3448/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_3448","id":"gutenberg_3448","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3448","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Classics of Literature","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Fairy tales","Tales -- Arab countries"],"text":"SUPPLEMENTAL\n                             NIGHTS\n                  To The Book Of The Thousand\n                   And One Nights With Notes\n                      Anthropological And\n                          Explanatory\n\n                               By\n                       Richard F. Burton\n\n                          VOLUME FOUR\n              Privately Printed By The Burton Club\n\n\n\n                 To William H. Chandler, Esq,.\n                   Pembroke College, Oxford.\n\nMy Dear Mr. Chandler,\n\n     As without your friendly and generous aid this volume could\nnever have seen the light, I cannot resist the temptation of\ninscribing it to you-\u2013and without permission, for your modesty\nwould have refused any such acknowledgment.\n\n                    I am, ever,\n                         Yours sincerely,\n                              Richard F. Burton.\n\nTrieste, March 10th, 1888.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n               Contents of the Fourteenth Volume.\n\n\n\n1.   Story of the Sultan of Al-Yaman and His Three Sons\n2.   Story of the Three Sharpers\n     a.   The Sultan Who Fared Forth in the Habit of a Darwaysh\n     b.   History of Mohammed, Sultan of Cairo\n     c.   Story of the First Lunatic\n     d.   Story of the Second Lunatic\n     e.   Story of the Sage and the Scholar\n     f.   The Night-Adventure of Sultan Mohammed of Cairo with\n          the Three Foolish\n          Schoolmasters\n     g.   Story of the Broke-Back Schoolmaster\n     h.   Story of the Split-Mouthed Schoolmaster\n     i.   Story of the Limping Schoolmaster\n     j.   Story of the Three Sisters and Their Mother the\n          Sultanah\n3.   History of the Kazi Who Bare a Babe\n4.   Tale of the Kazi and the Bhang-Eater\n     a.   History of the Bhang-Eater and His Wife\n     b.   How Drummer Abu Kasim Became a Kazi\n     c.   Story of the Kazi and His Slipper\n     d.   Tale of Mahmud the Persian and the Kurd Sharper\n     e.   Tale of the Sultan and the Poor Man Who Brought To Him\n          Fruit\n     f.   The Fruit-Seller's Tale\n     g.   Tale of the Sultan and His Three Sons and the\n          Enchanting Bird\n     h.   Adventure of the Fruit-Seller and the Concubine\n     i.   Story of the King of Al-Yaman and His Three Sons and\n          the Enchanting Bird\n     j.   History of the First Larrikin\n     k.   History of the Second Larrikin\n     l.   History of the Third Larrikin\n     m.   Story of a Sultan of Al-Hind and His Son Mohammed\n     n.   Tale of the Fisherman and His Son\n     o.   Tale of the Third Larrikin Concerning Himself\n5.   History of Abu Niyyah and Abu Niyyatayn\nAppendix A: - Inepti\u00e6 Bodleian\u00e6\nAppendix B: - The Three Untranslated Tales in Mr. E. J. W. Gibb's\n\"Forty Vezirs\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                   The Translator's Foreword.\n\n\n\nAs my first and second volumes (Supplemental) were composed of\ntranslated extracts from the Breslau Edition of The Nights, so\nthis tome and its successor (vols. iv. and v.) comprise my\nversion from the (Edward) Wortley Montague Codex immured in the\nold Bodleian Library, Oxford.\n\nAbsence from England prevents for the present my offering a\nsatisfactory description of this widely known manuscript; but I\nmay safely promise that the hiatus shall be filled up in vol. v.,\nwhich is now ready for the press.\n\nThe contents of the Wortley Montague text are not wholly\nunfamiliar to Europe. In 1811 Jonathan Scott, LL.D. Oxon. (for\nwhom see my vols. i., ix. and x. 434), printed with Longmans and\nCo. his \"Arabian Nights Entertainments\" in five substantial\nvolumes 8vo, and devoted a sixth and last to excerpts entitled\n\n                             TALES\n               SELECTED FROM THE MANUSCRIPT COPY\n                             OF THE\n                          1001 NIGHTS\n\n       BROUGHT TO EUROPE BY EDWARD WORTLEY MONTAGUE, ESQ.\n\n                   Translated from the Arabic\n                    BY JONATHAN SCOTT, LL.D.\n\nUnfortunately for his readers Scott enrolled himself amongst the\nacolytes of Professor Galland, a great and original genius in the\nline Raconteur, and a practical Orientalist whose bright example\nwas destined to produce disastrous consequences. The Frenchman,\nhowever unscrupulous he might have been about casting down and\nbuilding up in order to humour the dead level of Gallican bon\ngo\u00fbt, could, as is shown by his \"Aladdin,\" translate literatim\nand verbatim when the story-stuff is of the right species and\nacceptable to the average European taste. But, as generally\nhappens in such cases, his servile suite went far beyond their\nmaster and model. Petis de la Croix (\"Persian and Turkish\nTales\"), Chavis and Cazotte (\"New Arabian Nights\"), Dow (\"In\u00e1yatu\nllah\") and Morell (\"Tales of the Genii\"), with others manifold\nwhose names are now all but forgotten, carried out the Gallandian\nliberties to the extreme of licence and succeeded in producing a\nbranchlet of literature, the most vapid, frigid and insipid that\ncan be imagined by man,?a bastard Europeo-Oriental,\npseudo-Eastern world of Western marionettes garbed in the gear\nwhich Asiatic are (or were) supposed to wear, with sentiments and\nopinions, manners and morals to match; the whole utterly lacking\nlife, local colour, vraisemblance, human interest. From such\nabortions, such monstrous births, libera nos, Domine!\n\nAnd Scott out-gallanded Galland:?\n\nDiruit, \u00e6dificat, mutat quadrata rotundis.\n\nIt is hard to quote a line which he deigned textually to\ntranslate. He not only commits felony on the original by\nabstracting whole sentences and pages ad libitum, but he also\nthrusts false goods into his author's pocket and patronises the\nunfortunate Eastern story-teller by foisting upon him whatever\nhe, the \"translator and traitor,\" deems needful. On this point no\nmore need be said: the curious reader has but to compare any one\nof Scott's \"translations\" with the original or, for that matter,\nwith the present version.\n\nI determined to do that for Scott which Lane had done partly and\nimperfectly, and Payne had successfully and satisfactorily done\nfor Galland. But my first difficulty was about the text. It was\nimpossible to face without affright the prospect of working for\nmonths amid the discomforts and the sanitary dangers of Oxford's\nlearned atmosphere and in her obsolete edifices the Bodleian and\nthe Radcliffe. Having ascertained, however, that in the so-called\n\"University\" not a scholar could be found to read the text, I was\ninduced to apply for a loan?not to myself personally for I\nshould have shunned the responsibility?but in the shape of a\ntemporary transfer of the seven-volumed text, tome by tome, to\nthe charge of Dr. Rost, the excellent Librarian of the India\nOffice.\n\nMy hopes, however, were fated to be deferred. Learned bodies,\nCurators and so forth, are ponderous to move and powerless to\nchange for\n\n          The trail of the slow-worm is over them all.\n\nMy official application was made on September 13th, 1886. The\ntardiest steps were taken as if unwillingly and, when they could\nno longer decently be deferred, they resulted in the curtest and\nmost categorical but not most courteous of refusals, under\ncircumstances of peculiar disfavour, on November 1st of the same\nyear. Here I shall say no more: the correspondence has been\nrelegated to Appendix A. My subscribers, however, will have no\nreason to complain of these \"Inepti\u00e6 Bodleian\u00e6.\" I had pledged\nmyself in case of a loan \"not to translate Tales that might be\ndeemed offensive to propriety:\" the Curators have kindly set me\nfree from that troublesome condition and I thank them therefor.\n\nMeanwhile I had not been idle. Three visits to Oxford in\nSeptember and October had enabled me to reach the DIVth Night.\nBut the laborious days and inclement evenings, combined with the\nunsanitary state of town and libraries?the Bodleian and the\nRotunda?brought on a serious attack of \"lithiasis\" as it is now\ncalled, and prostrated me for two months, until it was time to\nleave England en route for my post.\n\nUnder these circumstances my design threatened to end in failure.\nAs often befalls to men out of England, every move ventured by me\nmenaced only check-mate. I began by seeking a copyist at Oxford,\none who would imitate the text as an ignoramus might transcribe\nmusic: an undergraduate volunteered for the task and after a few\ndays dropped it in dumb disgust. The attempt was presently\nrepeated by a friend with the unsatisfactory result that three\nwords out of four were legible. In London several Easterns were\ndescribed as able and willing for the work; but they also were\nfound wanting; one could not be trusted with the MS. and another\nwas marriage-mad. Photography was lastly proposed, but\nconsiderations of cost seemed to render it unavailable. At last,\nwhen matters were at the worst, the proverbial amendment\nappeared. Mr. Chandler, whose energetic and conscientious\nopposition to all \"Bodleian loans,\" both of books and of\nmanuscripts, had mainly caused the passing of the prohibitory\nstatute, came forward in the most friendly and generous way: with\nno small trouble to himself he superintended the \"sun- pictures,\"\neach page of the original being reduced to half-size, and he\ninsisted upon the work being done wholly and solely at his own\nexpense. I know not how to express my gratitude.\n\nThe process was undertaken by Mr. Percy Notcutt, of Kingsbury and\nNotcutt, 45, St. George's Place, Knightsbridge, and the four\nhundred and odd pages were reproduced in most satisfactory style.\n\nBeing relegated to a port-town which never possessed even an\nArabic lexicon, I have found some difficulty with the Wortley\nMontague MS. as it contains a variety of local words unknown to\nthe common dictionaries. But I have worked my best to surmount\nthe obstacle by consulting many correspondents, amongst whom may\nbe mentioned the name of my late lamented friend, the Reverend\nGeorge Percy Badger; and, finally, by submitting my proofs to the\ncorrections and additions of the lexicologist Dr. Steingass.\n\nAppendix B will require no apology to the numerous admirers of\nMr. E. J. W. Gibb's honest and able work, \"The History of the\nForty Vezirs\" (London, Redway, MDCCCLXXXVI). The writer in a book\nintended for the public was obliged to leave in their original\nTurkish, and distinguished only by italics, three \"facetious\"\ntales which, as usual, are some of the best in the book. These\nhave been translated for me and I offer them to my readers on\naccount of their curious analogies with many in The Nights.\n\nRichard F. Burton.\n\nTRIESTE, April 10th, 1888.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                      Supplemental Nights\n\n                       To The Book Of The\n\n                  Thousand Nights And A Night\n\n\n\n\n\n\n   Story of the Sultan of Al-Yaman and His three Sons.[FN#1]\n\n\n\n\nThere was erewhile in the land of Al-Yaman a man which was a\nSultan and under him were three Kinglets whom he overruled. He\nhad four children; to wit, three sons and a daughter: he also\nowned wealth and treasures greater than reed can pen or page may\ncontain; as well as animals such as horses and camels, sheep and\nblack cattle; and he was held in awe by all the sovrans. But when\nhis reign had lasted for a length of time, Age[FN#2] brought with\nit ailments and infirmities and he became incapable of faring\nforth his Palace to the Divan, the hall of audience; whereupon he\nsummoned his three sons to the presence and said to them, \"As for\nme, 'tis my wish to divide among you all my substance ere I die,\nthat ye may be equal in circumstance and live in accordance with\nwhatso I shall command.\" And they said, \"Hearkening and\nobedience.\" Then quoth the Sultan, \"Let the eldest of you become\nsovereign after me: let the cadet succeed to my moneys and\ntreasures[FN#3] and as for the youngest let him inherit my\nanimals of every kind. Suffer none to transgress against other;\nbut each aid each and assist his co-partner.\" He then caused them\nto sign a bond and agreement to abide by his bequeathal; and,\nafter delaying a while, he departed to the mercy of Allah.\nThereupon his three sons got ready the funeral gear and whatever\nwas suited to his estate for the mortuary obsequies such as\ncerements and other matters: they washed the corpse and\nenshrouded it and prayed over it: then, having committed it to\nthe earth they returned to their palaces where the Wazirs and the\nLords of the Land and the city-folk in their multitudes, high and\nlow, rich and poor, flocked to condole with them on the loss of\ntheir father. And the news of his decease was soon bruited abroad\nin all the provinces; and deputations from each and every city\ncame to offer condolence to the King's sons. These ceremonies\nduly ended, the eldest Prince demanded that he should be seated\nas Sultan on the stead of his sire in accordance with the\npaternal will and testament; but he could not obtain it from his\ntwo brothers as both and each said, \"I will become ruler in room\nof my father.\" So enmity and disputes for the government now\narose amongst them and it was not to be won by any; but at last\nquoth the eldest Prince, \"Wend we and submit ourselves to the\narbitration of a Sultan of the tributary sultans; and let him to\nwhom he shall adjudge the realm take it and reign over it.\" Quoth\nthey \"'Tis well!\" and thereto agreed, as did also the Wazirs; and\nthe three set out without suite seeking the capital of one of the\nsubject Sovrans.??And Shahr\u00e1z\u00e1d[FN#4] was surprised by the dawn\nof day[FN#5] and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say.\nThen quoth her sister Duny\u00e1z\u00e1d, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister\nmine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is\nthis compared with that I would relate to you on the coming\nnight, an the King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the\nnext night and that was\n\n             The Three Hundred and Thirtieth Night,\n\nDuny\u00e1z\u00e1d said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deed fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the three\nPrinces fared seeking a Sultan of the sultans who had been under\nthe hands of their sire, in order that they might take him to\narbitrator. And they stinted not faring till the middle way, when\nbehold, they came upon a mead abounding in herbage and in\nrain-water lying sheeted.[FN#6] So they sat them down to rest and\nto eat of their victual, when one of the brothers, casting his\neye upon the herbage, cried, \"Verily a camel hath lately passed\nthis way laden half with Halw\u00e1-sweetmeats and half with\nH\u00e1miz-pickles.\"[FN#7] \"True,\" cried the second, \"and he was blind\nof an eye.\" Exclaimed the third, \"'Tis sooth; and indeed he hath\nlost his tail.\" Hardly, however, had they ended their words when\nlo! the owner of the camel came upon them (for he had overheard\ntheir speech and had said to himself, \"By Allah, these three\nfellows have driven off my property, inasmuch as they have\ndescribed the burthen and eke the beast as tail-less and\none-eyed\"), and cried out, \"Ye three have carried away my\ncamel!\"[FN#8] \"By Allah we have not seen him,\" quoth the Princes,\n\"much less have we touched him;\" but quoth the man, \"By the\nAlmighty, who can have taken him except you? and if you will not\ndeliver him to me, off with us, I and you three, to the Sultan.\"\nThey replied, \"By all manner of means; let us wend to the\nSovran.\" So the four hied forth, the three Princes and the\nCameleer, and ceased not faring till they reached the capital of\nthe King. There they took seat without the wall to rest for an\nhour's time and presently they arose and pushed into the city and\ncame to the royal Palace. Then they craved leave of the\nChamberlains, and one of the Eunuchs caused them enter and\nsignified to the sovereign that the three sons of Such-and-such a\nSultan had made act of presence. So he bade them be set before\nhim and the four went in and saluted him, and prayed for him and\nhe returned their salams. He then asked them, \"What is it hath\nbrought you hither and what may ye want in the way of enquiry?\"\nNow the first to speak was the Cameleer and he said, \"O my lord\nthe Sultan; verily these three men have carried off my camel by\nproof of their own speech.\"?And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then\nquoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O\nsister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where\nis this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming\nnight an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the\nnext night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Thirty-first Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nCameleer came forward between the Sultan's hands and said, \"O my\nlord, verily these men have carried away the camel which\nbelongeth to me,[FN#9] for they have indeed described him and the\nburthen he bore! And I require of our lord the Sultan that he\ntake from these wights and deliver to me the camel which is mine\nas proved by their own words.\" Presently asked the Sultan, \"What\nsay ye to the claims of this man and the camel belonging to him?\"\nHereto the Princes made answer, \"By Allah, O King of the Age, we\nhave not seen the camel, much less have we stolen him.\" Thereupon\nthe Cameleer exclaimed, \"O my lord, I heard yonder one say that\nthe beast was blind of an eye; and the second said that he was\ntail-less, and the third said that half his load was of sour\nstuff and the other half was of sweet stuff.\" They replied,\n\"True, we spake these words;\" and the Sultan cried to them, \"Ye\nhave purloined the beast by this proof.\" They rejoined, \"No, by\nAllah, O my lord. We sat us in such a place for repose and\nrefreshment and we remarked that some of the pasture had been\ngrazed down, so we said, 'This is the grazing of a camel; and he\nmust have been blind of one eye as the grass was eaten only on\none side.' But as for our saying that he was tail-less, we noted\nthe droppings lying heaped[FN#10] upon the ground which made us\nagree that the tail must have been cut off, it being the custom\nof camels at such times to whisk their tails and scatter the dung\nabroad. So 'twas evident to us that the camel had lost his tail.\nBut as for our saying that the load was half Halw\u00e1 and half\nH\u00e1miz, we saw on the place where the camel had knelt the flies\ngathering in great numbers while on the other were none: so the\ncase was clear to us (as flies settle on naught save the sugared)\nthat one of the panniers must have contained sweets and the other\nsours.\" Hearing this the Sultan said to the Cameleer, \"O man,\nfare thee forth and look after thy camel; for these signs and\ntokens prove not the theft of these men, but only the power of\ntheir intellect and their penetration.\"[FN#11] And when the\nCameleer heard this, he went his ways. Presently the Sultan\ncleared a place in the Palace and allotted to it the Princes for\ntheir entertainment: he also directed they be supplied with a\nbanquet and the eunuchs did his bidding. But when it was eventide\nand supper was served up, the trio sat down to it purposing to\neat; the eldest, however, having hent in hand a bannock of bread\nexclaimed, \"By Allah, verily this cake was baked by a woman in\nblood, to wit, one with the menses.\" The cadet tasting a bit of\nkid exclaimed, \"This kid was suckled by a bitch\"; and the\nyoungest exclaimed, \"Assuredly this Sultan must be a son of\nshame, a bastard.\" All this was said by the youths what while the\nSultan had hidden himself in order to hear and to profit by the\nPrinces' words. So he waxed wroth and entered hastily crying, \"What\nbe these speeches ye have spoken?\" They replied, \"Concerning all\nthou hast heard enquire within and thou wilt find it wholly\ntrue.\" The Sultan then entered his women's apartments and after\ninquisition found that the woman who had kneaded the bread was\nsick with her monthly courses. He then went forth and summoned\nthe head-shepherd and asked him concerning the kid he had\nbutchered. He replied, \"By Allah, O my lord, the nanny-goat that\nbare the kid died and we found none other in milk to suckle him;\nbut I had a bitch that had just pupped and her have I made\nnourish him.\" The Sultan lastly hent his sword in hand and\nproceeded to the apartments of the Sult\u00e1nah-mother and cried, \"By\nAllah, unless thou avert my shame[FN#12] we will cut thee down\nwith this scymitar! Say me whose son am I?\" She replied, \"By\nAllah, O my child, indeed falsehood is an excuse, but fact and\ntruth are more saving and superior. Verily thou art the son of a\ncook!\"?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell\nsilent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister\nDunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I would relate to you on the coming night, an the King\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n           The Three Hundred and Thirty-second Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nSultan's mother said to him, \"Verily thou art a cook's son. Thy\nsire could not beget boy-children and I bare him only a single\ndaughter. But it so fortuned that the kitchener's wife lay in of\na boy (to wit, thyself); so we gave my girl-babe to the cook and\ntook thee as the son of the Sultan, dreading for the realm after\nthy sire's death.\" The King went forth from his mother in\nastonishment at the penetration of the three youths and, when he\nhad taken seat in his Palace, he summoned the trio and as soon as\nthey appeared he asked them; \"Which of you was it that said, 'She\nwho kneaded the bread was in blood'?\" Quoth the eldest, \"That was\nI;\" and quoth the King, \"What led thee to suspect that she was\nmenstruous?\" He replied, \"O my lord, when I took the bannock and\nbroke off a bittock, the flour fell out in lumps.[FN#13] Now had\nthe kneader been well, her strength of hand would have remained\nand the bread would have been wrought by all the veins; but, when\nthe blood came, her powers were minished for women's force is in\ntheir hands; and as soon as the monthly period cometh upon them\ntheir strength is lost. Their bodies contain three hundred and\nsixty veins all lying hard by one another and the blood of the\ncatamenia floweth from them all; hence their force becometh\nfeebleness. And this was my proof of the woman which was\nmenstruous.\" Quoth the Sultan, \"'Tis well. We accept as certain\nthy saying upon this evidence, for it is agreeable to man's\nunderstanding nor can any challenge it; this being from the power\nof insight into the condition of womankind. And we are assured of\nits soothfastness, for 'tis evident to us without concealment.\nBut which is he who said of the kid's meat that the beast was\nsuckled by a bitch? What proof had he of this? How did he learn\nit and whence did his intelligence discover it to him?\" Now when\nthe deceased Sultan's second son heard these words, he made\nanswer. \"I, O King of the Age, am he who said that say!\" The King\nreplied, \"'Tis well;\" and the Prince resumed, \"O my lord, that\nwhich showed me the matter of the meat which was to us brought is\nas follows. I found the fat of the kid all hard by the bone, and\nI knew that the beast had sucked bitch's milk; for the flesh of\ndogs lieth outside and their fat is on their bones, whereas in\nsheep and goats the fat lieth upon the meat. Such, then, was my\nproof wherein there is nor doubt nor hesitation; and when thou\nshalt have made question and inquiry thou wilt find this to be\nfact.\" Quoth the Sultan, \"'Tis well; thou hast spoken truth and\nwhatso thou sayest is soothfast. But which is he who declared\nthat I am a bastard and what was his proof and what sign in me\nexposed it to him?\" Quoth the youngest Prince, \"I am he who said\nit;\" and the Sultan rejoined, \"There is no help but that thou\nprovide me with a proof.\" The Prince rejoined, \"'Tis well!\"?And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased\nsaying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How\nsweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and\ndelectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I\nwould relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Thirty-third Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nyoungest Prince said to the Sultan, \"O my lord, I have evidence\nthat thou art the son of a cook and a base-born, in that thou\ndidst not sit at meat with us and this was mine all-sufficient\nevidence. Every man hath three properties which he inheriteth at\ntimes from his father, at times from his maternal uncle and at\ntimes from his mother.[FN#14] From his sire cometh generosity or\nniggardness; from his uncle courage or cowardice; from his mother\nmodesty or immodesty; and such is the proof of every man.\" Then\nquoth to him the Sultan, \"Sooth thou speakest; but say me, men\nwho like you know all things thoroughly by evidence and by your\npowers of penetration, what cause have they to come seeking\narbitration at my hand? Beyond yours there be no increase of\nintelligence. So fare ye forth from me and manage the matter\namongst yourselves, for 'tis made palpable to me by your own\nwords that naught remaineth to you save to speak of mysterious\nsubjects;[FN#15] nor have I the capacity to adjudge between you\nafter that which I have heard from you. In fine an ye possess any\ndocument drawn up by your sire before his decease, act according\nto it and contrary it not.\" Upon this the Princes went forth from\nhim and made for their own country and city and did as their\nfather had bidden them do on his death-bed. The eldest enthroned\nhimself as Sultan; the cadet assumed possession and management of\nthe moneys and treasures and the youngest took to himself the\ncamels and the horses and the beeves and the muttons. Then each\nand every was indeed equal with his co-partner in the gathering\nof good. But when the new year came, there befel a drought among\nthe beasts and all belonging to the youngest brother died nor had\nhe aught of property left: yet his spirit brooked not to take\nanything from his brethren or even to ask of them aught. This\nthen is the Tale of the King of Al-Yaman in its entirety; yet is\nthe Story of the Three Sharpers[FN#16] more wondrous and\nmarvellous than that just recounted.?And Shahrazad was surprised\nby the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her\npermitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy\nstory, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth\nshe, \"And where is this compared with that I would relate to you\non the coming night, an the King suffer me to survive.\" Now when\nit was the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will! It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating;\" and she began\nto recount\n\n\n\n\n            THE STORY OF THE THREE SHARPERS.[FN#17]\n\n\n\nSaying, \"Verily their adventure is wondrous and their actions\ndelightsome and marvellous,\" presently adding?There were in time\nof yore three Sharpers who were wont every day in early morning\nto prowl forth and to prey, rummaging[FN#18] among the mounds\nwhich outlay the city. Therein each would find a silver bit of\nfive parahs or its equivalent, after which the trio would for-\ngather and buy whatso sufficed them for supper: they would also\nexpend two Nusfs[FN#19] upon Bast,[FN#20] which is Bhang, and\npurchase a waxen taper with the other silver bit. They had hired\na cell in the flank of a Wak\u00e1lah, a caravanserai without the\nwalls, where they could sit at ease to solace themselves and eat\ntheir Hash\u00edsh after lighting the candle and enjoy their\nintoxication and consequent merriment till the noon o' night.\nThen they would sleep, again awaking at day-dawn when they would\narise and seek for spoil, according to their custom, and ransack\nthe heaps where at times they would hit upon a silverling of five\ndirhams and at other times a piece of four; and at eventide they\nwould meet to spend together the dark hours, and they would\nexpend everything they came by every day. For a length of time\nthey pursued this path until, one day of the days, they made for\nthe mounds as was their wont and went round searching the heaps\nfrom morning to evening without finding even a half-parah;\nwherefore they were troubled and they went away and nighted in\ntheir cell without meat or drink. When the next day broke they\narose and repaired for booty, changing the places wherein they\nwere wont to forage; but none of them found aught; and their\nbreasts were straitened for lack of a find of dirhams wherewith\nto buy them supper. This lasted for three full-told and following\ndays until hunger waxed hard upon them and vexation; so they said\none to other, \"Go we to the Sultan and let us serve him with a\nsleight, and each of us three shall claim to be a past master of\nsome craft: haply Allah Almighty may incline his heart uswards\nand he may largesse us with something to expend upon our\nnecessities.\" Accordingly all three agreed to do on this wise and\nthey sought the Sultan whom they found in the palace-garden. They\nasked leave to go in to him, but the Chamberlains refused\nadmission: so they stood afar off unable to approach the\npresence. Then quoth they one to other, \"'Twere better we fall to\nand each smite his comrade and cry aloud and make a\nclamour,[FN#21] and as soon as he shall hear us he will send to\nsummon us.\" Accordingly they jostled one another and each took to\nfrapping his fellow, making the while loud outcries. The Sultan\nhearing this turmoil said, \"Bring me yonder wights;\" and the\nChamberlains and Eunuchs ran out to them and seized them and set\nthem between the hands of the Sovran. As soon as they stood in\nthe presence he asked them, \"What be the cause of your wrath one\nagainst other?\" They answered, \"O King of the Age, we are past\nmasters of crafts, each of us weeting an especial art.\" Quoth the\nSultan, \"What be your crafts?\" and quoth one of the trio, \"O our\nlord, as for my art I am a jeweller by trade.\" The King\nexclaimed, \"Passing strange! a sharper and a jeweller:[FN#22]\nthis is a wondrous matter.\" And he questioned the second?And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased\nsaying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How\nsweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and\ndelectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I\nwould relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night which was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Sultan\nasked the second Sharper saying, \"And thou, the other, what may\nbe thy craft?\" He answered, \"I am a genealogist[FN#23] of the\nhorse-kind.\" So the King glanced at him in surprise and said to\nhimself, \"A sharper yet he claimeth an astounding knowledge!\"\nThen he left him and put the same question to the third who said\nto him, \"O King of the Age, verily my art is more wondrous and\nmarvellous than aught thou hast heard from these twain: their\ncraft is easy but mine is such that none save I can discover the\nright direction thereto or know the first of it from the last of\nit.\" The Sultan enquired of him, \"And what be thy craft?\" Whereto\nhe replied, \"My craft is the genealogy of the sons of Adam.\"\nHearing these words the Sovran wondered with extreme wonderment\nand said in himself, \"Verily He informeth with His secrets the\nhumblest of His creatures! Assuredly these men, an they speak\ntruth in all they say and it prove soothfast, are fit for naught\nexcept kingship. But I will keep them by me until the occurrence\nof some nice contingency wherein I may test them; then, if they\napprove themselves good men and trustworthy of word, I will leave\nthem on life; but if their speech be lying I will do them die.\"\nUpon this he set apart for them apartments and rationed them with\nthree cakes of bread and a dish of roast meat[FN#24] and set over\nthem his sentinels dreading lest they fly. This case continued\nfor a while till behold, there came to the Sultan from the land\nof 'Ajam a present of rarities, amongst which were two gems\nwhereof one was clear of water and the other was clouded of\ncolour.[FN#25] The Sultan hent them in hand for a time and fell\nto considering them straitly for the space of an hour; after\nwhich he called to mind the first of the three Sharpers, the\nself-styled jeweller, and cried, \"Bring me the jeweller-man.\"\nAccordingly they went and brought him and set him before the\nSovran who asked him, \"O man, art thou a lapidary?\" And when the\nSharper answered \"Yes\" he gave him the clear-watered stone,\nsaying, \"What may be the price of this gem?\"?And Shahrazad was\nsurprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say\nher permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is\nthy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\"\nQuoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I would relate\nto you on the coming night, an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\"\nNow when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nSharper took the jewel in hand and turned it rightwards and\nleftwards and considered the outside and pried into the inside;\nafter which he said to the Sultan, \"O my lord, verily this gem\ncontaineth a worm[FN#26] bred within the heart thereof.\" Now when\nthe King heard these words he waxed wroth with exceeding wrath\nand commanded the man's head to be stricken off, saying, \"This\njewel is clear of colour and free of flaw or other default; yet\nthou chargest it falsely with containing a worm!\" Then he\nsummoned the Linkman[FN#27] who laid hands on the Sharper and\npinioned his elbows and trussed up his legs[FN#28] like a camel's\nand was about to smite his neck when behold, the Wazir entered\nthe presence and, seeing the Sovran in high dudgeon and the\nSharper under the scymitar, asked what was to do. The Sultan\nrelated to him what had happened when he drew near to him and\nsaid, \"O my lord, act not after this fashion! An thou determine\nupon the killing of yonder man, first break the gem and, if thou\nfind therein a worm, thou wilt know the wight's word to have been\nveridical; but an thou find it sound then strike off his head.\"\n\"Right is thy rede,\" quoth the King: then he took in hand the gem\nand smote it with his mace[FN#29] and when it brake behold, he\nfound therein the worm amiddlemost thereof. So he marvelled at\nthe sight and asked the man, \"What proved to thee that it\nharboured a worm?\" \"The sharpness of my sight,\" answered the\nSharper. Then the Sultan pardoned him and, admiring his power of\nvision, addressed his attendants saying, \"Bear him back to his\ncomrades and ration him with a dish of roast meat and two cakes\nof bread.\" And they did as he bade them. After some time, on a\nday of the days, there came to the King the tribute of 'Ajam-land\naccompanied with presents amongst which was a colt whose robe\nblack as night[FN#30] showed one shade in the sun and another in\nthe shadow. When the animal was displayed to the Sultan he fell\nin love with it and set apart for it a stall and solaced himself\nat all times by gazing at it and was wholly occupied with it and\nsang its praises till they filled the whole country side.\nPresently he remembered the Sharper who claimed to be a\ngenealogist of the horse-kind and bade him be summoned. So they\nfared forth and brought him and set him between the hands of the\nSovran who said to him, \"Art thou he who knoweth the breed and\ndescent of horses?\" \"Yea verily,\" said the man. Then cried the\nKing, \"By the truth of Him who set me upon the necks of His\nservants and who sayeth to a thing 'Be' and it becometh, an I\nfind aught of error or confusion in thy words, I will strike off\nthy head.\" \"Hearkening and obedience,\" quoth the Sharper. Then\nthey led him to the colt that he might consider its genealogy. He\ncalled aloud to the groom[FN#31]?And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say.\nThen quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy\ntale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she,\n\"And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on\nthe coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it\nwas the next night and that was\n\n          The Three Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nSharper called aloud to the stirrup-holder and when they brought\nhim he bade the man back the colt for his inspection. So he\nmounted the animal and made it pace to the right and to the left\ncausing it now to prance and curvet and then to step leisurely,\nwhile the connoisseur looked on and after a time quoth he to the\ngroom, \"'Tis enough!\" Then he went in to the presence and stood\nbetween the hands of the King who enquired, \"What hast thou seen\nin the colt, O Kashmar?\"[FN#32] Replied the Sharper, \"By Allah, O\nKing of the Age, this colt is of pure and noble blood on the side\nof the sire: its action is excellent and all its qualities are\npraiseworthy save one; and but for this one it had been perfect\nin blood and breed nor had there been on earth's face its fellow\nin horseflesh. But its blemish remaineth a secret.\" The Sultan\nasked, \"And what is the quality which thou blamest?\" and the\nSharper answered, \"Its sire was noble, but its dam was of other\nstrain: she it was that brought the blemish and if thou, O my\nlord, allow me I will notify it to thee.\" \"'Tis well, and needs\nmust thou declare it,\" quoth the Sultan. Then said the Sharper,\n\"Its dam is a buffalo-cow.\"[FN#33] When the King heard these\nwords he was wroth with wrath exceeding and he bade the Linkman\ntake the Sharper and behead him, crying, \"O dog! O accursed! How\ncan a buffalo-cow bear a horse?\" The Sharper replied, \"O my lord,\nthe Linkman is in the presence; but send and fetch him who\nbrought thee the colt and of him make enquiry. If my words prove\ntrue and rightly placed, my skill shall be stablished; but an\nthey be lies let my head pay forfeit for my tongue. Here standeth\nthe Linkman and I am between thy hands: thou hast but to bid him\nstrike off my head!\" Thereupon the King sent for the owner and\nbreeder of the colt and they brought him to the presence.?And\nShahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and\nceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth the sister Dunyazad,\n\"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and\ndelectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I\nwould relate to you on the coming night, an the Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Sultan\nsent for the owner and breeder of the colt and asked him saying,\n\"Tell me the truth anent the blood of this colt. Didst thou buy\nit or breed it so that it was a rearling of thy homestead?\" Said\nhe, \"By Allah, O King of the Age, I will speak naught which is\nnot sooth, for indeed there hangeth by this colt the strangest\nstory: were it graven with graver-needles upon the eye-corners it\nhad been a warning to whoso would be warned. And this it is. I\nhad a stallion of purest strain whose sire was of the steeds of\nthe sea;[FN#34] and he was stabled in a stall apart for fear of\nthe evil eye, his service being entrusted to trusty servants. But\none day in springtide the Syce took the horse into the open and\nthere picquetted him when behold, a buffalo-cow walked into the\nenclosed pasture where the stallion was tethered, and seeing her\nhe brake his heel-ropes and rushed at her and covered her. She\nconceived by him and when her days were completed and her\nthrowing-time came she suffered sore pains and bare yonder colt.\nAnd all who have seen it or have heard of it were astounded,\"\nsaid he, presently adding, \"by Allah, O King of the Age, had its\ndam been of the mare-kind the colt would have had no equal on\nearth's surface or aught approaching it.\" Hereat the Sultan took\nthought and marvelled; then, summoning the Sharper he said to him\nwhen present, \"O man, thy speech is true and thou art indeed a\ngenealogist in horseflesh and thou wottest it well. But I would\nknow what proved to thee that the dam of this colt was a\nbuffalo-cow?\" Said he, \"O King, my proof thereof was palpable nor\ncan it be concealed from any wight of right wits and intelligence\nand special knowledge; for the horse's hoof is round whilst the\nhooves of buffaloes are elongated and duck-shaped,[FN#35] and\nhereby I kenned that this colt was a jumart, the issue of a\ncow-buffalo.\" The Sultan was pleased with his words and said,\n\"Ration him with a plate of roast meat and two cakes of bread;\"\nand they did as they were bidden. Now for a length of time the\nthird Sharper was forgotten till one day the Sultan bethought him\nof the man who could explain the genealogy of Adam's sons. So he\nbade fetch him and when they brought him into the presence he\nsaid, \"Thou art he that knowest the caste and descent of men and\nwomen?\" and the other said, \"Yes.\" Then he commanded the Eunuchs\ntake him to his wife[FN#36] and place him before her and cause\nhim declare her genealogy. So they led him in and set him\nstanding in her presence and the Sharper considered her for a\nwhile looking from right to left; then he fared forth to the\nSultan who asked him, \"What hast thou seen in the Queen?\"\nAnswered he, \"O my lord, I saw a somewhat adorned with loveliness\nand beauty and perfect grace, with fair stature of symmetrical\ntrace and with modesty and fine manners and skilful case; and she\nis one in whom all good qualities appear on every side, nor is\naught of accomplishments or knowledge concealed from her and\nhaply in her centre all desirable attributes. Natheless, O King\nof the Age, there is a curious point that dishonoureth her from\nthe which were she free none would outshine her of all the women\nof her generation.\" Now when the Sultan heard the words of the\nSharper, he sprang hastily to his feet and clapping hand upon\nhilt bared his brand and fell upon the man purposing to slay\nhim;?And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell silent and\nceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,\n\"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable\nand delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that\nI would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Sultan\nfell upon the Sharper with his sword purposing to slay him; but\nthe Chamberlains and the Eunuchs prevented him saying, \"O our\nlord, kill him not until his falsehood or his fact shall have\nbeen made manifest to thee.\" The Sultan said to him, \"What then\nappeared to thee in my Queen?\" \"He[FN#37] is ferly fair,\" said\nthe man, \"but his mother is a dancing-girl, a gypsey.\"[FN#38] The\nfury of the King increased hereat and he sent to summon the\ninmates of his Harem and cried to his father-in-law, \"Unless thou\nspeak me sooth concerning thy daughter and her descent and her\nmother I\"?[FN#39] He replied, \"By Allah, O King of the Age,\nnaught saveth a man save soothfastness! Her mother indeed was a\nGh\u00e1ziyah: in past time a party of the tribe was passing by my\nabode when a young maid strayed from her fellows and was lost.\nThey asked no questions concerning her; so I lodged her and bred\nher in my homestead till she grew up to be a great girl and the\nfairest of her time. My heart would not brook her wiving with any\nother; so I wedded her and she bare me this daughter whom thou, O\nKing, hast espoused.\" When the Sultan heard these words the flame\nin his heart was quenched[FN#40] and he wondered at the subtlety\nof the Sharper man; so he summoned him and asked him saying, \"O\nwily one, tell me what certified to thee that my Queen had a\ndancing girl, a gypsey, to mother?\" He answered, \"O King of the\nAge, verily the Ghaziyah race hath eye-balls intensely black and\nbushy brows whereas other women than the Ghaziyah have the\nreverse of this.\" On such wise the King was convinced of the\nman's skill and he cried, \"Ration him with a dish of roast meat\nand two scones.\" They did as he bade and the three Sharpers\ntarried with the Sultan a long time till one day when the King\nsaid to himself, \"Verily these three men have by their skill\nsolved every question of genealogy which I proposed to them:\nfirst the jeweller proved his perfect knowledge of gems; secondly\nthe genealogist of the horse-kind showed himself as skilful, and\nthe same was the case with the genealogist of mankind, for he\ndiscovered the origin of my Queen and the truth of his words\nappeared from all quarters. Now 'tis my desire that he do the\nsame with me that I also may know my provenance.\" Accordingly\nthey set the man between his hands and he said to him, \"O fellow,\nhast thou the power to tell me mine origin?\" Said the Sharper,\n\"Yes, O my lord, I can trace thy descent, but I will so do only\nupon a condition; to wit, that thou promise me safety[FN#41]\nafter what I shall have told thee; for the saw saith, 'Whilst\nSultan sitteth on throne 'ware his despite, inasmuch as none may\nbe contumacious when he saith 'Smite.'\" Thereupon the Sultan told\nhim, \"thou hast a promise of immunity, a promise which shall\nnever be falsed.\"?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day\nand fell silent, and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth\nher sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and\nhow enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this\ncompared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an\nthe Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night,\nand that was\n\n             The Three Hundred and Fortieth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Sultan\npledged his word for the safety of the Sharper with the customary\nkerchief[FN#42] and the man said, \"O King of the Age, whenas I\nacquaint thee with thy root and branch, let it be between us\ntwain lest these present hear us.\" \"Wherefore O man?\" asked the\nSultan, and the Sharper answered, \"O my lord, Allah of Allmight\nhath among His names 'The Veiler';\"[FN#43] wherefore the King\nbade his Chamberlains and Eunuchs retire so that none remained in\nthe place save those two. Then the Sharper came forward and said,\n\"O my lord, thou art a son of shame and an issue of adultery.\" As\nsoon as the King heard these words his case changed and his\ncolour waxed wan and his limbs fell loose:[FN#44] he foamed at\nthe mouth;[FN#45] he lost hearing and sight; he became as one\ndrunken without wine and he fell fainting to the ground. After a\nwhile he recovered and said to the Sharper, \"Now by the truth of\nHim who hath set me upon the necks of His servants, an thy words\nbe veridical and I ascertain their sooth by proof positive, I\nwill assuredly abdicate my Kingdom and resign my realm to thee,\nbecause none deserveth it save thou and it becometh us least of\nall and every. But an I find thy speech lying I will slay thee.\"\nHe replied, \"Hearing and obeying;\" and the Sovran, rising up\nwithout stay or delay, went inside to his mother with grip on\nglaive, and said to her, \"By the truth of Him who uplifted the\nlift above the earth, an thou answer me not with the whole truth\nin whatso I ask thee, I will cut thee to little bits with this\nblade.\" She enquired, \"What dost thou want with me?\" and he\nreplied, \"Whose son am I, and what may be my descent?\" She\nrejoined, \"Although falsehood be an excuse, fact and truth are\nsuperior and more saving. Thou art indeed the very son of a cook.\nThe Sultan that was before thee took me to wife and I cohabited\nwith him a while of time without my becoming pregnant by him or\nhaving issue; and he would mourn and groan from the core of his\nheart for that he had no seed, nor girl nor boy; neither could he\nenjoy aught of sweet food or sleep. Now we had about the Palace\nmany caged birds; and at last, one day of the days, the King\nlonged to eat somewhat of poultry, so he went into the court and\nsent for the Kitchener to slaughter[FN#46] one of the fowls; and\nthe man applied himself to catching it. At that time I had taken\nmy first bath after the monthly ailment and quoth I to myself,\n'If this case continue with the King he will perish and the\nKingdom pass from us.' And the Shaytan tempted me to that which\ndispleased Allah\"?And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nfell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her\nsister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister\nmine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is\nthis compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night\nan the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next\nnight and that was\n\n            The Three Hundred and Forty-first Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Queen\ncontinued, \"And Satan tempted me and made the sin fair in my\nsight. So I went up to the Kitchener, attired and adorned as I\nwas in my finest apparel and I fell a-jesting with him and\nprovoking him and disporting with him till his passions were\nexcited by me: so he tumbled me at that very hour, after which he\narose and slaughtered one of the birds and went his ways. Then I\nbade the handmaids sprinkle water on the fowl and clean it and\ncook it; and they did my bidding. After a while symptoms of\npregnancy declared themselves in me and became evident; and when\nthe King heard that his Queen was with child, he waxed gladsome\nand joyful and gave alms and scattered gifts and bestowed robes\nupon his Officers of State and others till the day of my delivery\nand I bare a babe?which is thyself. Now at that time the Sultan\nwas hunting and birding and enjoying himself about the gardens\nall of his pleasure at the prospect of becoming a father; and\nwhen the bearer of good news went to him and announced the birth\nof a man-child he hurried back to me and forthright bade them\ndecorate the capital and he found the report true; so the city\nadorned itself for forty days in honour of its King. Such is my\ncase and my tale.\"[FN#47] Thereupon the King went forth from her\nto the Sharper and bade him doff his dress and when this had been\ndone he doffed his own raiment and habited the man in royal gear\nand hooded him with the Taylas\u00e1n[FN#48] and asked him saying,\n\"What proof hast thou of my being a son of adultery?\" The Sharper\nanswered, \"O my lord, my proof was thy bidding our being\nrationed, after showing the perfection of our skill, with a dish\nof roast meat and two scones of bread; whereby I knew thee to be\nof cook's breed, for the Kings be wont in such case to make\npresents of money and valuables, not of meat and bread as thou\ndidst, and this evidenced thee to be a bastard King.\" He replied,\n\"Sooth thou sayest,\" and then robed him with the rest of his\nrobes including the Kalansuwah or royal head-dress under the\nhood[FN#49] and seated him upon the throne of his estate.?And\nShahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and\nceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,\n\"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and\ndelectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I\nwould relate to you on the coming night, an the Sovran suffer me\nto survive.\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Forty-second Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Sultan\nenthroned the Sharper upon the throne of estate and went forth\nfrom him after abandoning all his women to him and assumed the\ngarb of a Darwaysh who wandereth about the world and formally\nabdicated his dominion to his successor. But when the Sharper-\nking saw himself in this condition, he reflected and said to\nhimself, \"Summon thy whilome comrades and see whether they\nrecognize thee or not.\" So he caused them be set before him and\nconversed with them; then, perceiving that none knew him he\ngifted them and sent them to gang their gait. And he ruled his\nrealm and bade and forbade and gave and took away and was\ngracious and generous to each and every of his lieges; so that\nthe people of that region who were his subjects blessed him and\nprayed for him. Such was the case with the Sharper; but as for\n\n\n\n\nThe Sultan who Fared Forth in the Habit of a\nDarwaysh,[FN#50]\n\n\n\nHe ceased not wayfaring, as become a wanderer, till he came to\nCairo[FN#51] city whose circuit was a march of two and a half\ndays and which then was ruled by her own King Mohammed hight. He\nfound the folk in safety and prosperity and good ordinance; and\nhe solaced himself by strolling about the streets to the right\nand left and he diverted his mind by considering the crowds and\nthe world of men contained in the capital, until he drew near the\npalace when suddenly he sighted the Sultan returning from the\nchase and from taking his pleasure. Seeing this the Darwaysh\nretired to the wayside, and the King happening to glance in that\ndirection, saw him standing and discerned in him the signs of\nformer prosperity. So he said to one of his suite, \"Take yon man\nwith thee and entertain him till I send for him.\" His bidding\nbeing obeyed he entered the Palace and, when he had rested from\nthe fatigues of the way, he summoned the Fak\u00edr to the presence\nand questioned him of his condition, saying, \"Thou, from what\nland art thou?\" He responded, \"O my lord, I am a beggar man;\" and\nthe other rejoined, \"There is no help but that thou tell me what\nbrought thee hither.\" The Darwaysh retorted, \"O my lord, this may\nnot be save in privacy,\" and the other exclaimed, \"Be it so for\nthee.\" The twain then arose and repaired to a retired room in the\nPalace and the Fakir recounted to the Sultan all that had\nbefallen him since the loss of his kingship and also how he, a\nSultan, had given up the throne of his realm and had made himself\na Darwaysh. The Sovran marvelled at his self-denial in yielding\nup the royal estate and cried, \"Laud be to Him who degradeth and\nupraiseth, who honoureth and humbleth by the wise ordinance of\nHis All-might,\" presently adding, \"O Darwaysh, I have passed\nthrough an adventure which is marvellous; indeed 'tis one of the\nWonders of the World[FN#52] which I needs must relate to thee nor\nfrom thee withhold aught thereof.\" And he fell to telling?And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased\nsaying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How\nsweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and\ndelectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I\nwould relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n            The Three Hundred and Forty-third Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the King\nfell to telling the beggar man\n\n\n\n\nThe History of Mohammed, Sultan of Cairo.\n\n\n\nI began my career in the world as a Darwaysh, an asker, owning\nnaught of the comforts and conveniences of life, till at length,\none day of the days, I became possessor of just ten\nsilverlings[FN#53] (and no more) which I resolved to expend upon\nmyself. Accordingly I walked into the Bazar purposing to purchase\nsomewhat of provaunt. While I was looking around, I espied a man\npassing by and leading in an iron chain a dog-faced baboon and\ncrying \"Haraj![FN#54] this ape is for sale at the price of ten\nfaddahs.\" The folk jibed at the man and jeered at his ape; but\nquoth I to myself, \"Buy this beast and expend upon it the ten\nsilverlings.\" Accordingly I drew near the seller and said to him,\n\"Take these ten faddahs;\" whereupon he took them and gave me the\nape which I led to the cell wherein I dwelt. Then I opened the\ndoor and went in with my bargain but began debating in my mind\nwhat to do and said, \"How shall I manage a meal for the baboon\nand myself?\" While I was considering behold, the beast was\nsuddenly transformed, and became a young man fair of favour who\nhad no equal in loveliness and stature and symmetric grace,\nperfect as the moon at full on the fourteenth night; and he\naddressed me saying, \"O Shaykh Mohammed, thou hast bought me with\nten faddahs, being all thou hadst and art debating how we shall\nfeed, I and thou.\" Quoth I, \"What art thou?\" and quoth he, \"Query\nme no questions, concerning whatso thou shalt see, for good luck\nhath come to thee.\" Then he gave me an Ashrafi[FN#55] and said,\n\"Take this piece of gold and fare thee forth to the Bazar and get\nus somewhat to eat and drink.\" I took it from him and repairing\nto the market purchased whatso food our case required; then\nreturning to the cell set the victual before him and seated\nmyself by his side. So we ate our sufficiency and passed that\nnight, I and he, in the cell, and, when Allah caused the morn to\ndawn, he said to me, \"O man, this room is not suitable to us: hie\nthee and hire a larger lodging.\" I replied, \"To hear is to obey;\"\nand, rising without stay or delay, went and took a room more\nroomy in the upper part of the Wak\u00e1lah.[FN#56] Thither we\nremoved, I and the youth, and presently he gave me ten dinars\nmore and said, \"Go to the Bazar and buy thee furniture as much as\nis wanted.\" Accordingly, I went forth and bought what he ordered\nand on my return I found before him a bundle containing a suit of\nclothes suitable for the Kings. These he gave to me desiring that\nI hie me to the Hammam and don them after bathing, so I did his\nbidding and washed and dressed myself and found in each pocket of\nthe many pockets an hundred gold pieces; and presently when I had\ndonned the dress I said to myself, \"Am I dreaming or wide\nawake?\"[FN#57] Then I returned to the youth in the room and when\nhe saw me he rose to his feet and commended my figure and seated\nme beside him. Presently he brought up a bigger bundle and bade\nme take it and repair to the Sultan of the City and at the same\ntime ask his daughter in marriage for myself.?And Shahrazad was\nsurprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say\nher permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is\nthy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\"\nQuoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I would relate\nto you on the coming night, an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\"\nNow when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Forty-fourth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Sultan\nof Cairo continued:[FN#58]?So I took it and repaired with it to\nthe King of that city, and a slave whom the youth had bought bore\nthe bundle. Now when I approached the Palace I found thereabout\nthe Chamberlains and Eunuchs and Lords of the Land: so I drew\nnear them and when they saw me in that suit they approved my\nappearance and questioned me saying, \"What be thy business and\nwhat dost thou require?\" I replied, \"My wish is to have audience\nof the King,\" and they rejoined, \"Wait a little while till we\nobtain for thee his permission.\" Then one of the ushers went in\nand reported the matter to the Sultan who gave orders to admit\nme; so the man came out and led me within and on entering the\npresence I salamed to the Sovran and wished him welfare and\npresently set before him the bundle, saying, \"O King of the Age,\nthis be in the way of a gift which besitteth my station not thine\nestate.\" The Sultan bade the package be spread out, and he looked\ninto it and saw a suit of royal apparel whose like he never had\nowned. So he was astonished at the sight and said in his mind,\n\"By Allah, I possess naught like this, nor was I ever master of\nso magnificent a garment;\" presently adding, \"It shall be\naccepted, O Shaykh, but needs must thou have some want or\nrequisition from me.\" I replied, \"O King of the Age, my wish is\nto become thy connection through that lady concealed and pearl\nunrevealed, thy daughter.\" When the Sultan heard these words, he\nturned to his Wazir and said, \"Counsel me as to what I should do\nin the matter of this man?\" Said he, \"O King of the Age, show him\nthy most precious stone and say him, 'An thou have a jewel\nevening this one it shall be my daughter's marriage-dowry.'\" The\nKing did as he was advised, whereat I was wild with wonderment\nand asked him, \"An I bring thee such a gem wilt thou give me the\nPrincess?\" He answered, \"Yea, verily!\" and I took my leave\nbearing with me the jewel to the young man who was awaiting me in\nthe room.[FN#59] He enquired of me, \"Hast thou proposed for the\nPrincess?\" and I replied, \"Yes: I have spoken with the Sultan\nconcerning her, when he brought out this stone, saying to me, 'An\nthou have a jewel evening this one, it shall be my daughter's\nmarriage dowry;' nor hath the Sultan power to false his word.\"\nThe youth rejoined, \"This day I can do naught, but to-morrow\n(Inshallah!) I will bring thee ten jewels like it and these thou\nshalt carry and present to the Sovran.\" Accordingly when the\nmorning dawned he arose and fared forth and after an hour or so\nhe returned with ten gems which he gave me. I took them and\nrepaired with them to the Sultan and, entering the presence, I\npresented to him all the ten. When he looked upon the precious\nstones he wondered at their brilliant water and turning to the\nWazir again asked him how he should act in this matter. Replied\nthe Minister, \"O King of the Age, thou requiredst of him but one\njewel and he hath brought thee ten; 'tis therefore only right and\nfair to give him thy daughter.\"?And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then\nquoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O\nsister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where\nis this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming\nnight an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the\nnext night and that was\n\n            The Three Hundred and Forty-fifth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nMinister said to the Monarch, \"Give him thy daughter.\"\nAccordingly the Sultan summoned the Kazis and the Efendis[FN#60]\nwho wrote out the marriage-contract between me and the Princess.\nThen I returned to the youth who had remained in the room and\ntold him all that had occurred when he said, \"'Twere best to\nconclude the wedding-ceremony and pay the first visit to thy\nbride at once; but thou shalt on no wise consummate the nuptials\nuntil I bid thee go in unto her, after somewhat shall have been\ndone by me.\" \"Hearing and obeying,\" replied I; and, when the\nnight of going in[FN#61] came, I visited the Sultan's daughter\nbut sat apart from her by the side of the room during the first\nnight and the second and the third; nor did I approach her\nalthough every day her mother came and asked her the usual\nquestion[FN#62] and she answered, \"He hath never approached me.\"\nSo she grieved with sore grief for that 'tis the wont of\nwomankind, when a maid is married and her groom goeth not in unto\nher, to deem that haply folk will attribute it to some matter\nwhich is not wholly right. After the third night the mother\nreported the case to her father who cried, \"This night except he\nabate her pucelage I will slay him!\" The tidings reached my bride\nwho told all to me, so I repaired to the young man and acquainted\nhim therewith. He cried, \"When thou shalt visit her say, 'By\nAllah, I will not enjoy thee unless thou give me the\namulet-bracelet hanging to thy right shoulder.'\" I replied, \"To\nhear is to obey;\" and, when I went in to her at nightfall, I\nasked her, \"Dost thou really desire me to futter thee?\" She\nanswered, \"I do indeed;\" so I rejoined, \"Then give me the\namulet-bracelet hanging over thy right shoulder.\" She arose\nforthright and unbound it and gave it to me, whereupon I bled her\nof the hymeneal blood[FN#63] and going to the young man gave him\nthe jewel. Then I returned to my bride and slept by her side till\nthe morning when I awoke and found myself lying outstreched in my\nown caravanserai-cell. I was wonderstruck and asked myself, \"Am I\non wake or in a dream?\" and I saw my whilome garments, the\npatched gabardine[FN#64] and tattered shirt alone with my little\ndrum;[FN#65] but the fine suit given to me by the youth was not\non my body nor did I espy any sign of it anywhere. So with fire\nburning in my heart after what had befallen me, I wandered about\ncrowded sites and lone spots and in my distraction I knew not\nwhat to do, whither to go or whence to come; when lo and behold!\nI found sitting in an unfrequented part of the street a\nMaghrabi,[FN#66] a Barbary man, who had before him some written\nleaves and was casting omens for sundry bystanders. Seeing this\nstate of things, I came forward and drew near him and made him a\nsalam which he returned; then, after considering my features\nstraitly, he exclaimed, \"O Shaykh, hath that Accursed done it and\ntorn thee from thy bride?\" \"Yes,\" I replied. Hereupon he said to\nme, \"Wait a little while,\" and seated me beside him; then, as\nsoon as the crowd dispersed he said, \"O Shaykh, the baboon which\nthou boughtest for ten silver bits and which was presently\ntransformed into a young man of Adam's sons, is not a human of\nthe sons of Adam but a Jinni who is enamoured of the Princess\nthou didst wed. However, he could not approach her by reason of\nthe charmed bracelet hanging from her right shoulder, wherefore\nhe served thee this sleight and won it and now he still weareth\nit. But I will soon work his destruction to the end that Jinnkind\nand mankind may be at rest from his mischief; for he is one of\nthe rebellious and misbegotten imps who break the law of our lord\nSolomon (upon whom be the Peace!).\" Presently the Maghrabi took a\nleaf and wrote upon it as it were a book.?And Shahrazad was\nsurprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say\nher permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is\nthy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\"\nQuoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I would relate\nto you on the coming night, an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\"\nNow when it was the next night and that was\n\n            The Three Hundred and Forty-sixth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nMaghrabi wrote a writ and signed his name within and sealed it;\nafter which he handed it to me saying, \"O Shaykh, take this\nmissive and hie thee herewith to a certain spot where thou must\nwait and observe those who pass by. Hearten thy heart and when\nthou shalt see approaching thee a man attended by a numerous\ntrain, present to him this scroll for 'tis he who will win for\nthee thy wish.\" I took the note from the Barbary man and fared\nforth to the place which he had described and ceased not faring\ntill I reached it after travelling all that night and half the\nnext day; then I sat down until darkness set in to await whatso\nmight befal me. When a fourth part of the night had passed, a\ndazzling glare of lights suddenly appeared from afar advancing\ntowards me; and as it shone nearer, I made out men bearing\nflambeaux[FN#67] and lanthorns, also a train of attendants\nbefitting the Kings. They looked on and considered me whilst my\nheart fluttered with fear, and I was in sore affright. But the\nprocession defiled and drew off from before me, marching two\nafter two, and presently appeared the chief cort\u00e8ge wherein was a\nSultan[FN#68] of the J\u00e1nn. As he neared me I heartened my heart\nand advanced and presented to him the letter which he, having\nhalted, opened and read aloud; and it was:?\"Be it known to thee,\nO Sultan of the Jann, that the bearer of this our epistle hath a\nneed which thou must grant him by destroying his foe; and if\nopposition be offered by any we will do the opponent die. An thou\nfail to relieve him thou wilt know to seek from me relief for\nthyself.\" When the King of the Jann had read the writ and had\nmastered its meaning and its mysteries, he forthwith called out\nto one of his serjeants[FN#69] who at once came forward and bade\nhim bring into his presence without delay such-and-such a Jinni\nwho by his spells had wrought round the daughter of the Cairene\nSultan. The messenger replied, \"Hearing and obeying,\" and\ndeparted from him and disappearing was absent an hour or\nthereabouts; after which he and others returned with the Jinni\nand set him standing before the King who exclaimed, \"Wherefore,  O\nAccurst, hast thou wrought ill to this man and done on this wise\nand on that wise?\" He replied, \"O my lord, all came of my\nfondness for the Princess who wore a charm in her armlet which\nhindered my approaching her and therefore I made use of this man\nto effect my purpose. I became master of the talisman and won my\nwish but I love the maiden and never will I harm her.\" Now when\nthe Sultan heard these words he said, \"Thy case can be after one\nof two fashions only. Either return the armlet that the man may\nbe reunited with his wife and she with her husband as whilome\nthey were; or contrary me and I will command the headsman strike\nthy neck.\" Now when the Jinni heard this speech (and 'twas he who\nhad assumed the semblance of a dog-faced baboon), he refused and\nwas rebellious to the King and cried, \"I will not return the\narmlet nor will I release the damsel, for none can possess her\nsave myself.\" And having spoken in this way he attempted to\nflee.?And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell silent\nand ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister\nDunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n           The Three Hundred and Forty-seventh Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale, that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the M\u00e1rid\nwould fain have fled from before the King of the Jann, but the\nSovran bade other Marids and more forceful arrest him; so they\nseized him and pinioned him and bound him in chains and collar\nand dragged him behind the King of the Jann till the latter had\nreached his place and had summoned him and had taken from him the\narmlet. Then the Sultan gave order for him to be slain and they\nslew him. When this was done, I prayed for the charm-armlet and I\nrecovered it after the Marid's death; they also restored to me my\nfine suit. So I proceeded to the city which I entered, and as\nsoon as the guards and courtiers saw me, they cried out for joy\nand said, \"This is the son-in-law of the Sultan who was lost!\"\nHereat all the lieges hurried up to me and received me with high\nrespect and greeted me. But after entering the Palace I proceeded\nforthright till I reached the apartment set apart by them for\nmyself and my spouse whom I found in a deep sleep and stupefied,\nas it were; a condition in which she had lain ever since I took\nfrom her the talismanic armlet. So I replaced the jewel upon her\nright shoulder and she awoke and arose and ordered herself;\nwhereat her father and family and the Lords of the Land and all\nthe folk joyed with exceeding joy. After this we lived together\nin all happiness till the death of her sire who, having no son,\nnamed me his successor so that I became what I am. Now when the\nDarwaysh-Sultan heard all this he was astounded at what happeneth\nin this world of marvels and miracles; upon which I said to him,\n\"O my brother wonder not; for whatso is predetermined shall\nperforce be carried out. But thou needs must become my Wazir;\nbecause thou art experienced in rule and governance and, since\nwhat time my sire-in-law the Sultan died, I have been perplexed\nin my plight being unable to find me a Minister who can\nadminister the monarchy. So do thou become my Chief Counsellor in\nthe realm.\" Thereupon the Darwaysh replied, \"Hearkening and\nobedience.\" The Sultan then robed him in a sumptuous robe of\nhonour and committed to him his seal-ring and all other matters\npertinent to his office, at the same time setting apart for him a\npalace, spacious of corners, which he furnished with splendid\nfurniture and wadded carpets and vaiselle and other such matters.\nSo the Wazir took his seat of office and held a Divan or Council\nof State forthright and commanded and countermanded, and bade and\nforbade according as he saw just and equitable; and his fame for\nequity and justice was dispread abroad; insomuch that whoever\nhad a cause or request or other business he would come to the\nWazir for ordering whatso he deemed advisable. In this condition\nhe continued for many years till, on a day of the days, the\nSultan's mind was depressed. Upon this he sent after the Minister\nwho attended at his bidding, when he said, \"O Wazir, my heart is\nheavy!\" \"Enter then,\" replied the Minister, \"O King, into thy\ntreasury of jewels and rubies and turn them over in thy hands and\nthy breast will be broadened.\" The Sultan did accordingly but it\ntook no effect upon his ennui; so he said, \"O Wazir, I cannot win\nfree of this melancholic humour and nothing pleasureth me in my\npalace; so let us fare forth, I and thou, in disguise.\" \"Hearing\nis obeying,\" quoth the Minister. The twain then retired into a\nprivate chamber to shift their garb and habited themselves as\nDarwayshes, the Darwayshes of Ajam-land, and went forth and\npassed through the city right and left till they reached a\nM\u00e1rist\u00e1n, a hospital for lunatics.[FN#70] Here they found two\nyoung men, one reading the Koran[FN#71] and the other hearkening\nto him, both being in chains like men Jinn-mad; and the Sultan\nsaid in his mind, \"By Allah, this is a marvel-case,\" and bespake\nthe men asking, \"Are ye really insane?\" They answered saying,\n\"No, by Allah; we are not daft but so admirable are our\nadventures that were they graven with needle-gravers upon the\neye-corners they had been warners to whoso would be warned.\"\n\"What are they?\" quoth the King, and quoth they, \"Each of us, by\nAllah, hath his own story;\" and presently he who had been reading\nexclaimed, \"O King of the Age, hear my tale.\"?And Shahrazad was\nsurprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say\nher permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is\nthy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\"\nQuoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I would relate\nto you on the coming night, an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\"\nNow when it was the next night, and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the youth\nbegan relating to the Sultan\n\n\n\n\nThe Story of the First Lunatic.[FN#72]\n\n\n\nI was a merchant and kept a shop wherein were Hindi goods of all\nkinds and colours, highmost priced articles; and I sold and\nbought with much profit. I continued in this condition a while of\ntime till one day of the days as I, according to my custom, was\nsitting in my shop an old woman came up and gave me the good\nmorning and greeted me with the salam. I returned her salute when\nshe seated her upon the shopboard and asked me saying, \"O master,\nhast thou any pieces of choice Indian stuffs?\" I replied, \"O my\nmistress, I have with me whatso thou wantest;\" and she rejoined,\n\"Bring me forth one of them.\" Accordingly I arose and fetched her\na Hindi piece of the costliest price and placed it in her hands.\nShe took it and examining it was greatly pleased by its beauty\nand presently said to me, \"O my lord, for how much is this?\" Said\nI, \"Five hundred dinars;\" whereupon she pulled forth her purse\nand counted out to me the five hundred gold pieces. Then she took\nthe stuff and went her ways; and I, O our lord the Sultan, had\nsold to her for five hundred sequins a piece of cloth worth at\ncost price three hundred and fifty gold pieces. She came to me\nagain, O my lord, on the next day and asked me for another piece;\nso I rose up and brought her the bundle and she paid me once more\nfive hundred dinars: then she took up her bargain and ganged her\ngait. She did the same, O my lord, on the third and the fourth\nday and so on to the fifteenth, taking a piece of stuff from me\nand paying me regularly five hundred golden pieces for each\nbargain. On the sixteenth behold, she entered my shop as was her\nwont, but she found not her purse; so she said to me, \"O\nKhw\u00e1jah,[FN#73] I have left my purse at home.\" Said I, \"O my\nlady, an thou return 'tis well and if not thou art welcome to\nit.\" She sware she would not take it and I, on the other hand,\nsware her to carry it off as a token of love and\nfriendship.[FN#74] Thereupon debate fell between us, and I, O our\nlord the Sultan, had made muchel of money by her and, had she\ntaken two pieces gratis, I would not have asked questions anent\nthem. At last she cried, \"O Khwajah, I have sworn an oath and\nthou hast sworn an oath, and we shall never agree except thou\nfavour me by accompanying me to my house so thou mayest receive\nthe value of the stuff, when neither of us will have been\nforsworn: therefore lock up thy shop lest anything be lost in\nthine absence.\" Accordingly I bolted my door and went with her, O\nour lord the Sultan, and we ceased not walking, conversing the\nwhile we walked, I and she, until we neared her abode when she\npulled out a kerchief from her girdle and said, \"'Tis my desire\nto bind this over thine eyes.\" Quoth I, \"For what cause?\" and\nquoth she, \"For that on our way be sundry houses whose doors are\nopen and the women are sitting in the vestibules of their homes,\nso that haply thy glance may alight upon some one of them,\nmarried or maid, and thy heart become engaged in a love-affair\nand thou abide distraught, because in this quarter of the town be\nmany fair faces, wives and virgins, who would fascinate even a\nreligious, and therefore we are alarmed for thy peace of mind.\"\nUpon this I said in myself, \"By Allah, this old woman is able of\nadvice;\" and I consented to her requirement, when she bound the\nkerchief over my eyes and blindfolded me. Then we walked on till\nwe came to the house she sought; and when she rapped with the\ndoor-ring a slave-girl came out and opening the door let us in.\nThe old body then approached me and unbound the kerchief from\nover my eyes; whereupon I looked around me, holding myself to be\na captive, and I found me in a mansion having sundry separate\napartments in the wings and 'twas richly decorated resembling the\npalaces of the Kings.?And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth\nher sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O\nsister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And\nwhere is this com- pared with that I would relate to you on the\ncoming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was\nthe next night and that was\n\n            The Three Hundred and Forty-ninth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the youth\npursued:?By Allah, O our lord the Sultan, of that house I never\nsaw the fellow. She then bade me hide within a room and I did her\nbidding in a corner place where beside me I beheld heaped\ntogether and cast down in that private site all the pieces of\nstuff which the ancient dame had purchased of me. Seeing this I\nmarvelled in my mind and lo! appeared two damsels as they were\nmoons and came down from an upper story till they stood on the\nground-floor; after which they cut a piece of cloth into twain\nand each maiden took one and tucked up her sleeves. They then\nsprinkled the court of that palace with water of the rose and of\nthe orange-flower,[FN#75] wiping the surface with the cloth and\nrubing it till it became as silver; after which the two girls\nretired into an inner room and brought out some fifty\nchairs[FN#76] which they set down, and placed over each seat a\nrug[FN#77] with cushions of brocade. They then carried in a\nlarger chair of gold and placed upon it a carpet with cushions of\norfrayed work and after a time they withdrew. Presently, there\ndescended from the staircase, two following two, a host of\nmaidens in number till they evened the chairs and each one of\nthem sat down upon her own, and at last suddenly appeared a young\nlady in whose service were ten damsels, and she walked up to and\nthey seated her upon the great chair. When I beheld her, O my\nlord the Sultan, my right senses left me and my wits fled me and\nI was astounded at her loveliness and her stature and her\nsymmetric grace as she swayed to and fro in her pride of beauty\nand gladsome spirits amongst those damsels and laughed and\nsported with them. At last she cried aloud, \"O mother mine!\" when\nthe ancient dame answered her call and she asked her, \"Hast thou\nbrought the young man?\" The old woman replied, \"Yes, he is\npresent between thy hands;\" and the fair lady said, \"Bring him\nhither to me!\" But when I heard these words I said to myself,\n\"There is no Majesty and there is no Might, save in Allah, the\nGlorious, the Great! Doubtless when this damsel shall have\ndiscovered my being in such hiding place she will bid them do me\ndie.\" The old woman then came forwards to me and led me before\nthe young lady seated on the great chair; and, when I stood in\nher presence, she smiled in my face and saluted me with the salam\nand welcomed me; after which she signed for a seat to be brought\nand when her bidding was obeyed set it close beside her own. She\nthen commanded me to sit and I seated me by her side.?And\nShahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and\nceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,\n\"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and\ndelectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I\nwould relate to you on the coming night, an the Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n             The Three Hundred and Fiftieth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the youth\npursued:?She seated me beside her, O our lord the Sultan, and\nfell to talking and joking with me for an hour or so when she\nsaid, \"O youth, what sayest thou of me and of my beauty and my\nloveliness? Would Heaven that I could occupy thy thought and\nplease thee so that I might become to thee wife and thou be to me\nman.\" When I heard these her words I replied, \"O my lady, how\ndare I presume to attain such honour? Indeed I do not deem myself\nworthy to become a slave between thy hands.\" Hereupon said she,\n\"Nay, O young man, my words have in them nor evasion nor\nalteration; so be not disheartened or fearful of returning me a\nreply, for that my heart is fulfilled of thy love.\" I now\nunderstood, O our lord the Sultan, that the damsel was desirous\nof marrying me; but I could not conceive what was the cause\nthereof or who could have given her intelligence concerning me.\nShe continued to enjoy herself in the gladsomest way till at\nlength I was emboldened to say to her, \"O my lady, an thy words\nto me be after the fashion of thy will, remember the proverb,\n'When a kindness is to be done, this is its time.'\" \"By Allah, O\nyouth, there cannot be a more fortunate day than this present.\"\n\"O my lady, what shall I apportion to thee for dowry?\" \"The dowry\nhath been paid to me in the value of the stuffs which thou\nentrustedst to this ancient dame who is my mother!\" \"That cannot\nsuffice.\" \"By Allah, naught shall be added; but, O youth, 'tis my\nintention forthright to send after the Kazi and his Assessors\nand I will choose me a trustee[FN#78] that they may tie together\nus twain without delay; and thou shalt come in to me this coming\nevening. But all such things be upon one condition.\" \"And what\nmay be thy condition?\" \"This, that thou swear never to address or\nto draw near any woman save myself.\" And I, O our lord the\nSultan, being unmarried and eager to possess so beautiful a\nbride, said to her, \"This be thine; and I will never contrary\nthee by word or by deed.\" She then sent to summon the Kazi and\nhis witnesses and appointed an agent; upon which they knotted the\nknot. After the marriage ceremony was ended she ordered\ncoffee[FN#79] and sherbets and gave somewhat of dirhams to the\nKazi and a robe of honour to her trustee; and this done, all went\ntheir several ways. I was lost in astonishment and said in my\nmind, \"Do I dream or am I on wake?\" She then commanded her\ndamsels to clear the Hammam-bath and cleanse it and fill it\nafresh and get ready towels and waist-cloths and silken\nnapkins[FN#80] and scented woods and essences, as virgin\nambergris and ottars and perfumes of vari-coloured hues and\nkinds. And when they had executed her orders, she ordered the\nEunuchry standing in her service to take me and bear me to the\nBath, largessing each one with a sumptuous dress. They led me\ninto a Hammam which had been made private and I saw a place\ntongue is powerless to portray. And as we arrived there they\nspread vari-coloured carpets upon which I sat me down and doffed\nwhat clothing was upon me: then I entered the hot rooms and smelt\ndelicious scents diffused from the sides of the hall,\nsandal-wood, Comorin lign-aloes and other such fragrant\nsubstances. Here they came up to me and seated me, lathering me\nwith perfumed soaps and shampoo'd me till my body became\nsilver-bright; when they fetched the metal tasses and I washed\nwith water luke-warm after which they brought me cold water\nmingled with rose water and I sprinkled it over me. After this\nthey supplied me with silken napkins and drying-towels of\npalm-fibre[FN#81] wherewith I rubbed me and then repaired to the\ncool room outside the calidarium[FN#82] where I found a royal\ndress. The Eunuchry arrayed me therein and after fumigating me\nwith the smoke of lign-aloes served up somewhat of\nconfections[FN#83] and coffee and sherbets of sundry sorts; so I\ndrank after eating the Ma'jun. About eventide I left the Baths\nwith all the Eunuchry in attendance on me and we walked till we\nentered the Palace and they led me into a closet spread with\nkingly carpets and cushions. And behold, she came up to me\nattired in a new habit more sumptuous than that I had seen her\nwearing erewhile.?And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nfell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her\nsister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister\nmine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is\nthis compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night\nan the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next\nnight and that was\n\n            The Three Hundred and Fifty-first Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the youth\ncontinued:?And I, O our lord the Sultan, went into the closet\nand behold, she met me wearing a habit of the most sumptuous: so\nwhen I sighted her she seemed to me from the richness of her\nornaments like an enchanted hoard wherefrom the talisman had been\nnewly removed. She sat down beside me and bent lovingly over me\nand I rose up for I could no longer contain my passion and\nwrought that work which was to be worked.[FN#84] Presently she\nagain disappeared but soon returned in vestments even richer than\nthe last and she did with me as before and I embraced her once\nmore. In short, O our lord the Sultan, we ceased not dwelling\ntogether, I and she, in joyaunce and enjoyment, laughter and\ndisport and delicious converse for a space of twenty days. At the\nend of this time I called to mind my lady-mother, and said to the\ndame I had espoused, \"O my lady, 'tis long since I have been\nabsent from home and 'tis long since my parent hath seen me or\nwotteth aught concerning me: needs must she be pining and\ngrieving for my sake. So do thou give me leave to visit her and\nlook after my mother and also after my shop.\" Quoth she, \"No harm\nin that: thou mayst visit thy mother daily and busy thyself about\nthy shop-business; but this ancient dame (my mother) is she who\nmust lead thee out and bring thee back.\" Whereto I replied, \"'Tis\nwell.\" Upon this the old woman came in and tied a kerchief over\nmy eyes according to custom and fared forth with me till we\nreached the spot where she had been wont to remove the bandage.\nHere she unbound it saying, \"We will expect thee to-morrow about\nnoontide and when thou comest to this place, thou shalt see me\nawaiting thee.\" I left her and repaired to my mother whom I found\ngrieving and weeping at my absence; and upon seeing me she rose\nup and threw her arms round my neck with tears of joy. I said,\n\"Weep not, O my mother, for the cause of my absence hath been a\ncertain matter which be thus and thus.\" I then related to her my\nadventure and she on hearing it was rejoiced thereby and\nexclaimed, \"O my son, may Allah give thee gladness; but I pray\nthee solace me[FN#85] at least every two days with a visit that\nmy longing for thee may be satisfied.\" I replied, \"This shall be\ndone;\" and thenceforth, O our lord the Sultan, I went to my shop\nand busied myself as was my wont till noontide, when I returned\nto the place appointed and found the old woman awaiting me. Nor\ndid I ever fare forth from the mansion without her binding my\neyes with the kerchief which she loosed only when we reached my\nown house; and whenever I asked her of this she would answer, \"On\nour way be sundry houses whose doors are open and the women\nsitting in the vestibules of their homes, so that haply thy\nglance may alight upon some one of them, matron or maid: all\nsniff up love like water,[FN#86] and we fear for thee lest thy\nheart be netted in the net of amours.\" For thirty days, a whole\nmonth, I continued to go and come after this fashion but, O our\nlord the Sultan, at all times and tides I was drowned in thought\nand wondered in my mind, saying, \"What chance caused me forgather\nwith this damsel? What made me marry her? Whence this wealth\nwhich is under her hand? How came I to win union with her?\" For I\nknew not the cause of all this. Now, on a day of the days, I\nfound an opportunity of being private with one of her black slave\ngirls[FN#87] and questioned her of all these matters that\nconcerned her mistress. She replied, \"O my lord, the history of\nmy lady is marvellous; but I dare not relate it to thee in fear\nlest she hear thereof and do me die.\" So I said to her, \"By\nAllah, O handmaid of good, an thou wilt say me sooth I will veil\nit darkly for in the keeping of secrets there is none like\nmyself: nor will I reveal it at any time.\" Then I took oath of\nsecrecy when she said, \"O my lord,\"?And Shahrazad was surprised\nby the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her\npermitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy\nstory, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth\nshe, \"And where is this compared with that I would relate to you\non the coming night, an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now\nwhen it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Fifty-second Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the youth\ncontinued:?Then the handmaiden said to me, \"O my lord, my lady\nwent forth one day of the days to the Hammam with the object of\npleasuring and of diverting herself, for which purpose she made\ngoodly preparation including gifts and presents,[FN#88] matters\nworth a mint of money.[FN#89] After leaving the baths she set out\nupon an excursion to eat the noon-day meal in a flower garden\nwhere she enjoyed herself with exceeding joy and enjoyment,\neating and drinking till the evening; and when she designed to\ndepart she collected the fragments of the feast and distributed\nthem amongst the mean and the mesquin. On her return she passed\nthrough the Bazar-street wherein standeth thy shop, and it was a\nFriday when thou wast sitting, adorned with thy finest dress, in\nconverse with the nearest neighbour. And suddenly as she fared\nby, she beheld thee in such state and her heart was stricken with\nsore stroke of love albeit none of us observed her condition and\nwhat affection she had conceived for thee. However, no sooner had\nshe reached her palace than her melancholy began to grow upon her\nwith groans and her cark and care, and her colour left her: she\nate and drank little and less and her sleep forsook her and her\nframe was sorely enfeebled till at last she took to her bed. Upon\nthis her mother went to summon a learned man[FN#90] or a\nmediciner that he might consider the condition of her daughter\nand what sickness had gotten about her: she was absent for an\nhour and returned with an ancient dame who took seat beside her\nand putting forth her hand felt the patient's pulse. But she\ncould perceive in her no bodily ailment or pain, upon which the\nold woman understood her case, but she durst not bespeak her of\nit nor mention to her mother that the girl's heart was distraught\nby love. So she said, 'There is no harm to thee! and (Inshallah!)\nto-morrow I will return hither to thee and bring with me a\ncertain medicine.' She then went forth from us and leading the\nmother to a place apart, said to her, 'O my lady, Allah upon\nthee, pardon me for whatso I shall mention and be thou convinced\nthat my words are true and keep them secret nor divulge them to\nany.' The other replied, 'Say on and fear not for aught which\nhath become manifest to thee of my daughter's unweal: haply Allah\nwill vouchsafe welfare.' She rejoined, 'Verily, thy daughter hath\nno bodily disorder or malady of the disease kind but she is in\nlove and there can be no cure for her save union with her\nbeloved.' Quoth the mother, 'And how about the coming of her\nsweetheart? This is a matter which may not be managed except thou\nshow us some contrivance whereby to bring this youth hither and\nmarry him to her. But contrivance is with Allah.' Then the old\nlady went her ways forthright and the girl's mother sought her\ndaughter and said to her after kindly fashion, 'O my child, as\nfor thee thy disorder is a secret and not a bodily disease. Tell\nme of him thou requirest and fear naught from me; belike Allah\nwill open to us the gate of contrivance whereby thou shalt win\nto thy wish.' Now when the maiden heard these words she was\nabashed before her parent and kept silence, being ashamed to\nspeak; nor would she return any reply for the space of twenty\ndays. But during this term her distraction increased and her\nmother ceased not to repeat the same words, time after time, till\nit became manifest to the parent that the daughter was madly in\nlove with a young man; so at last quoth she, 'Describe him to\nme.' Quoth the other, 'O mother mine, indeed he is young of years\nand fair of favour; also he woneth in such a Bazar, methinks on\nits southern side.' Therewith the dame arose without stay or\ndelay and fared forth to find the young man and 'tis thyself, O\nyouth! And when the mother saw thee she took from thee a piece of\ncloth and brought it to her daughter and promised thou shouldst\nvisit her. Thence- forwards she ceased not repeating her calls to\nthee for the period thou wottest well until by her cunning she\nbrought thee hither; and that happened which happened and thou\ndidst take the daughter to wife. Such is her tale and beware lest\nthou reveal my disclosure.\" \"No, by Allah,\" replied I. Then the\nlunatic resumed speaking to the Sultan:?O my lord, I continued\nto cohabit with her for the space of one month, going daily to\nsee my mother and to sell in my shop and I returned to my wife\nevery evening blindfolded and guided as usual by my\nmother-in-law. Now one day of the days as I was sitting at my\nbusiness, a damsel came into the Bazar-street?And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her\npermitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and\ntasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and\ndelectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I\nwould relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n            The Three Hundred and Fifty-third Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the youth\ncontinued:?A damsel came into the Bazar-street bearing the image\nof a cock made of precious ore and crusted with pearls and rubies\nand other gems; and she offered it to the goodmen[FN#91] of the\nmarket for sale. So they opened the biddings at five hundred\ndinars and they ceased not contending[FN#92] thereanent till the\nprice went up to nine hundred and fifty gold pieces. All this\ntime and I looked on nor did I interfere by speaking a syllable\nor by adding to the biddings a single bit of gold. At last, when\nnone would offer aught more, the girl came up to me and said, \"O\nmy lord, all the gentlemen have increased their biddings for the\ncock; but thou hast neither bidden nor heartened my heart by one\nkind word.\" Quoth I, \"I have no need thereof;\" and quoth she, \"By\nAllah, needs must thou bid somewhat more than the others.\" I\nreplied, \"Since there is no help for it, I will add fifty dinars\nwhich will fill up the thousand.\" She rejoined, \"Allah gar thee\ngain!\"[FN#93] So I fared into my shop to fetch the money, saying\nin my mind, \"I will present this curiosity to my Har\u00edm: haply\n'twill pleasure her.\" But when I was about, O my lord the Sultan,\nto count out the thousand ducats, the damsel would not accept\naught of me but said, \"I have a request to make of thee, O youth!\nto wit, that I may take one kiss from thy cheek.\" I asked her,\n\"For what purpose?\" and she answered, \"I want one kiss of thy\ncheek which shall be the price of my cock, for I need of thee\nnaught else.\" I thought to myself, \"By Allah, a single kiss of my\ncheek for the value of a thousand sequins were an easy price;\"\nand I gave my consent thereto, O my lord. Then she came up to me\nand leaned over me and bussed my cheek, but after the kiss she\nbit me with a bite which left its mark:[FN#94] then she gave me\nthe cock and went her ways in haste. Now when it was noon I made\nfor my wife's house and came upon the old woman awaiting me at\nthe customed stead and she bound the kerchief over my eyes and\nafter blindfolding them fared with me till we reached our home\nwhen she unbound it. I found my wife sitting in the saloon\ndressed from head to foot in cramoisy[FN#95] and with an ireful\nface, whereupon I said to myself, \"O Saviour,[FN#96] save me!\" I\nthen went up to her and took out the cock which was covered with\npearls and rubies, thinking that her evil humour would vanish at\nthe sight of it and said, \"O my lady, accept this cock for 'tis\ncurious and admirable to look upon; and I bought it to pleasure\nthee.\" She put forth her hand and taking it from me examined it\nby turning it rightwards and leftwards; then exclaimed, \"Didst\nthou in very sooth buy this on my account?\" Replied I, \"By Allah,\nO my lady, I bought it for thee at a thousand gold pieces.\"\nHereupon she shook her head at me, O my lord the Sultan, and\ncried out after a long look at my face, \"What meaneth that bite\non thy cheek?\" Then with a loud and angry voice she called to her\nwomen who came down the stairs forthright bearing the body of a\nyoung girl with the head cut off and set upon the middle of the\ncorpse;[FN#97] and I looked and behold, it was the head of the\ndamsel who had sold me the cock for a kiss and who had bitten my\ncheek. Now my wife had sent her with the toy by way of trick,\nsaying to her, \"Let us try this youth whom I have wedded and see\nif he hold himself bound by his plighted word and pact or if he\nbe false and foul.\" But of all this I knew naught. Then she cried\na second cry and behold, up came three handmaids bearing with\nthem three cocks like that which I had brought for her and she\nsaid, \"Thou bringest me this one cock when I have these three\ncocks; but inasmuch as, O youth, thou hast broken the covenant\nthat was between me and thee, I want thee no more: go forth! wend\nthy ways forthright!\" And she raged at me and cried to her\nmother, \"Take him away!\"[FN#98]?And Shahrazad was surprised by\nthe dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted\nsay. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O\nsister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And\nwhere is this compared with that I would relate to you on the\ncoming night, an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it\nwas the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Fifty-fourth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Youth\ncontinued to the King:?Hereupon the old woman, O my lord, hent\nme by the hand and bound the kerchief over my eyes as was her\nwont and led me to the customed place when she loosed the bandage\nsaying, \"Begone!\" and disappeared. But I, O my lord, became like\na madman and ran through the streets as one frantic crying, \"Ah\nher loveliness! Ah her stature! Ah her perfect grace! Ah her\nornaments!\" Hereupon the folk seeing me and hearing me say these\nwords shouted out, \"Yonder is a lunatic;\" so they seized me\nperforce and jailed me in the madhouse as thou hast seen me, O\nour lord the Sultan. They say, \"This man is Jinn-mad;\" but, by\nAllah, I am no maniac, O my lord, and such is my tale. Hereat the\nKing marvelled and bowed his brow groundwards for a while in deep\nthought over this affair: then he raised his head and turning to\nhis Minister said, \"O Wazir, by the truth of Him who made me\nruler of this realm, except thou discover the damsel who married\nthis youth, thy head shall pay forfeit.\" The Wazir was consterned\nto hear the case of the young man; but he could not disobey the\nroyal commandment so he said, \"Allow me three days of delay, O\nour lord the Sultan;\" and to this much of grace the King\nconsented. Then the Wazir craved dismissal and would have taken\nthe Youth with him; when the Sultan cried, \"As soon as thou shalt\nhave hit upon the house, the young man will go into it and come\nforth it like other folk.\" He replied, \"Hearkening and\nobedience.\" So he took the Youth and went out with aching head\nand giddy as a drunken man, perplexed and unknowing whither he\nshould wend; and he threaded the city streets from right to left\nand from east to west, tarrying at times that he might privily\nquestion the folk. But naught discovered itself to him and he\nmade certain of death. In this condition he continued for two\ndays and the third till noontide, when he devised him a device\nand said to the Youth, \"Knowest thou the spot where the old woman\nwas wont to blindfold thine eyes?\" He replied, \"Yes.\" So the\nMinister walked on with him till the young man exclaimed, \"Here,\n'tis this!\"[FN#99] The Wazir then said, \"O Youth, knowest thou\nthe door-ring wherewith she was wont to rap and canst thou\ndistinguish its sound?\" He said \"I can.\" Accordingly, the Wazir\ntook him and went the round of all the houses in that quarter and\nrapped with every door-ring asking him, \"Is't this?\" and he would\nanswer, \"No.\" And the twain ceased not to do after such fashion\nuntil they came to the door where the appointment had taken place\nwithout risk threatened;[FN#100] and the Wazir knocked hard at it\nand the Youth, hearing the knock, exclaimed, \"O my lord, verily\nthis be the ring without question or doubt or uncertainty.\" So\nthe Minister knocked again with the same knocker and the\nslave-girls threw open the door and the Wazir, entering with the\nyouth, found that the palace belonged to the daughter of the\nSultan who had been succeeded by his liege lord.[FN#101] But when\nthe Princess saw the Minister together with her spouse, she\nadorned herself and came down from the Harem and salam'd to him.\nThereupon he asked her, \"What hath been thy business with this\nyoung man?\" So she told him her tale from first to last and he\nsaid, \"O my lady, the King commandeth that he enter and quit the\npremises as before and that he come hither without his eyes being\nbandaged with the kerchief.\" She obeyed and said, \"The\ncommandments of our lord the Sultan shall be carried out.\" Such\nwas the history of that youth whom the Sultan heard reading the\nKoran in the M\u00e1rist\u00e1n, the public madhouse: but as regards the\nsecond Lunatic who sat listening, the Sultan asked him, \"And\nthou, the other, what be thy tale?\" So he began to relate the\n\n\n\n\nStory of the Second Lunatic.[FN#102]\n\n\n\n\"O my lord,\" quoth the young man, \"my case is marvellous, and\nhaply thou wilt desire me to relate it in order continuous;\" and\nquoth the Sultan, \"Let me hear it.\"?And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say.\nThen quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy\ntale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she,\n\"And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on\nthe coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it\nwas the next night and that was\n\n            The Three Hundred and Fifty-fifth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the second\nyouth said:?O my lord the Sultan, I am by calling a merchant man\nand none of the guild was younger, I having just entered my\nsixteenth year. Like my fellows I sold and bought in the Bazar\nevery day till, one day of the days, a damsel came up to me and\ndrew near and handed to me a paper which I opened; and behold, it\nwas full of verses and odes in praise of myself, and the end of\nthe letter contained the woman's name professing to be enamoured\nof me. When I read it I came down from my shopboard, in my folly\nand ignorance, and putting forth my hand seized the girl and beat\nher till she swooned away.[FN#103] After this I let her loose and\nshe went her ways and then I fell into a brown study saying to\nmyself, \"Would Heaven I wot whether the girl be without relations\nor if she have kith and kin to whom she may complain and they\nwill come and bastinado me.\" And, O our lord the Sultan, I\nrepented of what I had done whenas repentance availed me naught\nand this lasted me for twenty days. At the end of that time as I\nwas sitting in my shop according to my custom, behold, a young\nlady entered and she was sumptuously clad and sweetly scented and\nshe was even as the moon in its fullness on the fourteenth night.\nWhen I gazed upon her my wits fled and my sane senses and right\njudgment forsook me and I was incapable of attending to aught\nsave herself. She then came up and said, \"O youth, hast thou by\nthee a variety of metal ornaments?\" and said I, \"O my lady, of\nall kinds thou canst possibly require.\" Hereupon she wished to\nsee some anklets which I brought out for her, when she put forth\nher feet to me and showing me the calves of her legs said, \"O my\nlord, try them on me.\" This I did. Then she asked for a\nnecklace[FN#104] and I produced one when she unveiled her bosom\nand said, \"Take its measure on me:\" so I set it upon her and she\nsaid, \"I want a fine pair of bracelets,\" and I brought to her a\npair when, extending her hands and displaying her wrists to me\nshe said, \"Put them on me.\" I did so and presently she asked me,\n\"What may be the price of all these?\" when I exclaimed, \"O my\nlady, accept them from me in free gift;\" and this was of the\nexcess of my love to her, O King of the Age, and my being wholly\nabsorbed in her. Then quoth I to her, \"O my lady, whose daughter\nart thou?\" and quoth she, \"I am the daughter of the Shaykh\nal-Isl\u00e1m.\"[FN#105] I replied, \"My wish is to ask thee in marriage\nof thy father,\" and she rejoined, \"'Tis well: but, O youth, I\nwould have thee know that when thou askest me from my sire he\nwill say, 'I have but one daughter and she is a cripple and\ndeformed even as Sat\u00edh was.[FN#106] Do thou, however, make answer\nthat thou art contented to accept her and if he offer any\nremonstrance cry, 'I'm content, content!'\" I then enquired, \"When\nshall that be?\" and she replied, \"Tomorrow about undurn\nhour[FN#107] come to our house and thou wilt find my sire, the\nShaykh al-Islam, sitting with his companions and intimates. Then\nask me to wife.\" So we agreed upon this counsel and on the next\nday, O our lord the Sultan, I went with several of my comrades\nand we repaired, I and they, to the house of the Shaykh al-Islam,\nwhom I found sitting with sundry Grandees about him. We made our\nsalams which they returned and they welcomed us and all entered\ninto friendly and familiar conversation. When it was time for the\nnoon-meal the tablecloth[FN#108] was spread and they invited us\nto join them, so we dined with them and after dinner drank\ncoffee. I then stood up saying, \"O my lord, I am come hither to\nsue and solicit thee for the lady concealed and the pearl\nunrevealed, thy daughter.\" But when the Shaykh al-Islam heard\nfrom me these words he bowed his head for awhile groundwards?And\nShahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and\nceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,\n\"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and\ndelectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I\nwould relate to you on the coming night, an the Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n            The Three Hundred and Fifty-sixth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the youth\nresumed:?Now when the Shaykh al-Islam heard from me those words\nhe bowed his brow groundwards for a while in deep thought\nconcerning the case of his daughter who was a cripple and\nwondrously deformed. For the damsel who had told me of her had\nplayed me a trick and served me a sleight, I all the time knowing\nnothing about her guile. Presently he raised his head and said to\nme, \"By Allah, O my son, I have a daughter but she is helpless.\"\nQuoth I, \"I am content;\" and quoth he, \"An thou take her to wife\nafter this description, 'tis on express condition that she be not\nremoved from my house and thou also shalt pay her the first visit\nand cohabit with her in my home.\" I replied, \"To hear is to\nobey;\" being confident, O King of the Age, that she was the\ndamsel who had visited my shop and whom I had seen with my own\neyes. Thereupon the Shaykh al-Islam married his daughter to me\nand I said in my mind, \"By Allah, is it possible that I am become\nmaster of this damsel and shall enjoy to my full her beauty and\nloveliness?\" But when night fell they led me in procession to the\nchamber of my bride; and when I beheld her I found her as hideous\nas her father had described her, a deformed cripple. At that\nmoment all manner of cares mounted my back and I was full of fury\nand groaned with grief from the core of my heart; but I could not\nsay a word, for that I had accepted her to wife of my own free\nwill and had declared myself contented in presence of her sire.\nSo I took seat silently in a corner of the room and my bride in\nanother, because I could not bring myself to approach her, she\nbeing unfit for the carnal company of man and my soul could not\naccept cohabitation with her. And at dawntide, O my lord the\nSultan, I left the house and went to my shop which I opened\naccording to custom and sat down with my head dizzy like one\ndrunken without wine; when lo! there appeared before me the young\nlady who had caused happen to me that mishap. She came up and\nsalam'd to me but I arose with sullenness and abused her and\ncried, \"Wherefore, O my lady, hast thou put upon me such a piece\nof work?\" She replied, \"O miserable,[FN#109] recollect such a day\nwhen I brought thee a letter and thou after reading it didst come\ndown from thy shop and didst seize me and didst trounce me and\ndidst drive me away.\" I replied, \"O my lady, prithee pardon me\nfor I am a true penitent;\" and I ceased not to soften her with\nsoothing[FN#110] words and promised her all weal if she would but\nforgive me. At last she deigned excuse me and said, \"There is no\nharm for thee; and, as I have netted thee, so will I unmesh\nthee.\" I replied, \"Allah! Allah![FN#111] O my lady, I am under\nthy safeguard;\" and she rejoined, \"Hie thee to the Agh\u00e1 of the\nJan\u00e1kilah,[FN#112] the gypsies, give him fifty piastres and say\nhim, 'We desire thee to furnish us with a father and a mother and\ncousins and kith and kin, and do thou charge them to say of me,\nThis is our cousin and our blood relation.' Then let him send\nthem all to the house of the Shaykh al-Islam and repair thither\nhimself together with his followers, a party of drummers and a\nparcel of pipers. When they enter his house and the Shaykh shall\nperceive them and exclaim, 'What's this we've here?' let the Agha\nreply, 'O my lord, we be kinsmen with thy son-in-law and we are\ncome to gladden his marriage with thy daughter and to make merry\nwith him.' He will exclaim, 'Is this thy son a gypsey musician?'\nand do thou explain, saying, 'Aye, verily I am a Jankali;' and he\nwill cry out to thee, 'O dog, thou art a gypsey and yet durst\nthou marry the daughter of the Shaykh al-Islam?' Then do thou\nmake answer, 'O my lord, 'twas my ambition to be ennobled by\nthine alliance and I have espoused thy daughter only that the\nmean name of Jankali may pass away from me and that I may be\nunder the skirt of thy protection.'\" Hereat, O my lord the\nSultan, I arose without stay and delay and did as the damsel bade\nme and agreed with the Chiefs of the Gypsies for fifty\npiastres.[FN#113] On the second day about noon lo and behold! all\nthe Jan\u00e1kilah met before the house of the Shaykh al-Islam and\nthey, a tom-toming and a-piping and a-dancing, crowded into the\ncourtyard of the mansion.?And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then\nquoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O\nsister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where\nis this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming\nnight an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the\nnext night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Fifty-seventh Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the youth\ncontinued:?So the Jan\u00e1kilah entered the house of the Shaykh\nal-Islam all a-drumming and a-dancing. Presently the family came\nout and asked, \"What is to do? And what be this hubbub?\" The\nfellows answered, \"We are gypsey-folk and our son is in your\nhouse having wedded the daughter of the Shaykh al-Islam.\" Hearing\nthese words the family went up and reported to its head, and he,\nrising from his seat, descended to the courtyard which he found\nfull of Jankalis. He enquired of them their need and they told\nhim that the youth, their kinsman, having married the daughter of\nthe house, they were come to make merry at the bride-feast. Quoth\nthe Shaykh, \"This indeed be a sore calamity that a gypsey should\nespouse the daughter of the Shaykh al-Islam. By Allah, I will\ndivorce her from him.\" So he sent after me, O our lord the\nSultan, and asked me saying, \"What is thy breed and what wilt\nthou take to be off with thyself?\" Said I, \"A Jankali; and I\nmarried thy daughter with one design namely to sink the mean name\nof a gypsey drummer in the honour of connection and relationship\nwith thee.\" He replied, \"'Tis impossible that my daughter can\ncohabit with thee: so up and divorce her.\" I rejoined, \"Not so: I\nwill never repudiate her.\" Then we fell to quarrelling but the\nfolk interposed between us and arranged that I should receive\nforty purses[FN#114] for putting her away. And when he paid me\nthe moneys I gave her the divorce and took the coin and went to\nmy shop, rejoicing at having escaped by this contrivance. On the\nnext day, behold, came the damsel who had taught me the sleight\nand saluted me and wished me good morning. I returned her salam\nand indeed, O our lord the Sultan, she was a model of beauty and\nloveliness, stature and symmetrical grace and my heart was\nenmeshed in her love for the excess of her charms and the limpid\nflow of her speech and the sweetness of her tongue. So I said to\nher, \"And when this promise?\" and said she, \"I am the daughter of\nSuch-andsuch, a cook in such a quarter; and do thou go ask me in\nmarriage of him.\" So I rose up with all haste and went to her\nfather and prayed that he would give her to me. And presently I\nwedded her and went in unto her and found her as the full moon of\nthe fourteenth night and was subjugated by her seemlihead. Such,\nthen, is the adventure which befel me; but, O my lord the Sultan,\nthe Story of the Sage Such-an-one and his Scholar is more\nwonderful and delectable; for indeed 'tis of the marvels of the\nage and among the miracles which have been seen by man. Thereupon\nthe Sovran bade him speak, and the Second Lunatic proceeded to\nrecount the\n\n\n\n\nStory of the Sage and the Scholar.[FN#115]\n\n\n\nThere was in times of yore and in ages long gone before a learned\nman who had retired from the world secluding himself in an upper\ncell of a Cathedral-mosque, and this place he left not for many\ndays save upon the most pressing needs. At last a beautiful boy\nwhose charms were unrivalled in his time went in to him and\nsalam'd to him. The Shaykh returned the salute and welcomed him\nwith the fairest welcome and courteously entreated him seating\nhim beside himself. Then he asked him of his case and whence he\ncame and the boy answered, \"O my lord, question me not of aught\nnor of my worldly matters, for verily I am as one who hath fallen\nfrom the heavens upon the earth[FN#116] and my sole object is the\nhonour of tending thee.\" The Sage again welcomed him and the boy\nserved him assiduously for a length of time till he was twelve\nyears old. Now on one day of the days[FN#117] the lad heard\ncertain of his fellows saying that the Sultan had a daughter\nendowed with beauty whose charms were unequalled by all the\nPrincesses of the age. So he fell in love with her by\nhearsay.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell\nsilent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister\nDunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I would relate to you on the coming night, an the\nSovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night, and\nthat was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the lad\nwho served the Sage fell in love with the Sultan's daughter by\nhearsay. Presently he went in to his master and told him thereof\nadding, \"O my lord, verily the King hath a daughter beautiful and\nlovesome and my soul longeth to look upon her an it be only a\nsingle look.\" The Shaykh asked him saying, \"Wherefore, O my son?\nWhat have the like of us to do with the daughters of Sovrans or\nothers? We be an order of eremites and selfcontained and we fear\nthe Kings for our own safety.\" And the Sage continued to warn the\nlad against the shifts of Time and to divert him from his intent;\nbut the more words he uttered to warn him and to deter him, the\nmore resolved he became to win his wish, so that he abode\ncontinually groaning and weeping. Now this was a grievous matter\nto the good Shaykh who loved him with an exceeding love passing\nall bounds; and when he saw him in this condition he exclaimed,\n\"There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the\nGlorious, the Great.\" And his heart was softened and he had ruth\nupon the case of his scholar and pitied his condition, and at\nlast said to him, \"O my son, dost thou truly long to look but a\nsingle look at the Sultan's daughter?\" Quoth he, \"Yes, O my\nlord,\" and quoth the other, \"Come hither to me.\" Accordingly he\ncame up to him and the Shaykh produced a Kohl-pot and applied the\npowder to one of his scholar's eyes, who behold, forthright\nbecame such that all who saw him cried out, \"This is a\nhalf-man.\"[FN#118] Then the Sage bade him go about the city and\nthe youth obeyed his commands and fared forth; but whenas the\nfolk espied him they cried out, \"A miracle! a miracle! this be a\nhalf-man!\" And the more the youth walked about the streets the\nmore the folk followed him and gazed upon him for diversion and\nmarvelled at the spectacle; and as often as the great men of the\ncity heard of him they sent to summon him and solaced themselves\nwith the sight and said, \"Laud to the Lord! Allah createth whatso\nHe wisheth and commandeth whatso He willeth as we see in the\nfashioning of this half-man.\" The youth also looked freely upon\nthe Harims of the Grandees, he being fairer than any of them; and\nthis case continued till the report reached the Sultan who bade\nhim be brought into the presence, and on seeing him marvelled at\nthe works of the Almighty. Presently the whole court gathered\ntogether to gaze at him in wonderment and the tidings soon\nreached the Queen who sent an Eunuch to fetch him and introduce\nhim into the Serraglio. The women all admired the prodigy and the\nPrincess looked at him and he looked at her; so his fascination\nincreased upon him and he said in his secret soul, \"An I wed her\nnot I will slay myself!\" After this the youth was dismissed by\nthe Sultan's Harim and he, whose heart burned with love for the\nKing's daughter, returned home. The Shaykh asked him, \"Hast thou,\nO my son, seen the Princess?\" and he answered, \"I have, O my\nmaster; but this one look sufficeth me not, nor can I rest until\nI sit by her side and fill myself with gazing upon her.\" Quoth\nhe, \"O my child, we be an ascetic folk that shun the world nor\nhave we aught to do with enmeshing ourselves in the affairs of\nthe Sultan, and we fear for thee, O my son.\" But the youth\nreplied, \"O my lord, except I sit by her side and stroke her neck\nand shoulders with these my hands, I will slay myself.\" Hereupon\nthe Sage said in his mind, \"I will do whatso I can for this good\nyouth and perchance Allah may enable him to win his wish.\" He\nthen arose and brought out the Kohl-pot and applied the powder to\nhis scholar's either eye; and, when it had settled therein, it\nmade him invisible to the ken of man. Then he said, \"Go forth, O\nmy son, and indulge thy desire; but return again soon and be not\nabsent too long.\" Accordingly the youth hastened to the Palace\nand entering it looked right and left, none seeing him the while,\nand proceeded to the Harem where he seated himself beside the\ndaughter of the Sultan. Still none perceived him until, after a\ntime, he put forth his hand and softly stroked her neck. But as\nsoon as the Princess felt the youth's touch, she shrieked a loud\nshriek heard by all ears in the Palace and cried \"I seek refuge\nwith Allah from Satan the stoned!\" At this proceeding on the\ngirl's part all asked her saying, \"What is to do with thee?\"\nWhereto she answered, \"Verily some Satan hath this instant\ntouched me on the neck.\" Upon this her mother was alarmed for her\nand sent for her nurse[FN#119] and when informed of what had\nbefallen the girl the old woman said, \"If there be aught of\nSatans here naught is so sovereign a specific to drive them away\nand keep them off as the smoke of camel's dung.\"[FN#120] Then she\narose and brought thereof a quantity which was thrown into the\nfire and presently it scented and pervaded the whole apartment.\nAll this and the Youth still sat there without being seen. But\nwhen the dung-smoke thickened, his eyes brimmed and he could not\nbut shed tears, and the more smoke there was the more his eyes\nwatered and big drops flowed till at last all the Kohl was washed\noff and trickled down with the tears. So he became visible\na-middlemost the royal Harem; and, when the dames descried him,\nall shrieked one shriek, each at other, upon which the Eunuchry\nrushed in; then, finding the young man still seated there, they\nlaid hands upon him and haled him before the Sultan to whom they\nreported his crime and how he had been caught lurking in the\nKing's Serraglio a-sitting beside the Princess. Hearing this, the\nSovran bade summon the Headsman and committed to him the criminal\nbidding him take the youth and robe him in a black habit\nbepatched with flamecolour;[FN#121] then, to set him upon a camel\nand, after parading him through Cairo city and all the streets,\nto put him to death. Accordingly the executioner took the\nYouth.?And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell silent\nand ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister\nDunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n            The Three Hundred and Fifty-ninth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nLinkman took the youth and fared forth with him from the palace:\nthen he looked at him and found him fair of form and favour, a\nsans peer in loveliness, and he observed that he showed no fear\nnor shrinking from death. So he had pity upon him and his heart\nyearned to him and he said in his mind, \"By Allah, attached to\nthis young man is a rare history.\" Then he brought a leathern\ngown which he put upon him, and the flamey black habit which he\npassed over his arms: and setting him upon a camel as the Sultan\nhad commanded, at last carried him in procession crying out the\nwhile, \"This is the award and the least award of him who\nviolateth the Harem of the King;\" and he threaded the streets\ntill they came to the square before the great Mosque wherein was\nthe Shaykh. Now as all the folk were enjoying the spectacle, the\nSage looked out from the window of his cell and beheld the\ncondition of his scholar. He was moved to ruth and reciting a\nspell he summoned the J\u00e1nn and bade them snatch the young man off\nthe camel's back with all care and kindness and bring him to his\ncell; and he also commanded an 'Aun of the 'Auns[FN#122] to seize\nsome oldster and set him upon the beast in lieu of the Youth.\nThey did as he bid them for that he had taken fealty of the J\u00e1nn\nand because of his profound studies in the Notaricon[FN#123] and\nevery branch of the art magical. And when all the crowd saw the\nyouth suddenly transformed into a grey-beard they were\nawe-stricken and cried, \"Alhamdolillah?laud to the Lord?the\nyoung man hath become an old man!\" They then looked again and\nbehold, they saw a person well-known amongst the lieges, one who\nhad long been wont to sell greens and colocasia at the hostelry\ngate near the Cathedral-mosque. Now the headsman noting this case\nwas confounded with sore affright; so he returned to the palace\nwith the oldster seated on the camel and went in to the Sultan\nfollowed by all the city-folk who were gazing at the spectacle.\nThen he stood before the King and the eunuchry and did homage and\nprayed for the Sovran and said, \"O our lord the Sultan, verily\nthe Youth hath vanished, and in lieu of him is this Shaykh well\nknown to the whole city.\" Hearing these words the King was\nstartled; sore fear entered his heart and he said to himself,\n\"Whoso hath been able to do this deed can do e'en more: he can\ndepose me from my kingship or he can devise my death.\" So his\naffright increased and he was at a loss how to contrive for such\ncase. Presently he summoned his Minister and when he came into\nthe presence said to him, \"O Wazir, advise me how to act in the\naffair of this Youth and what measures should be taken.\" The\nMinister bowed his brow groundwards in thought for a while, then\nraising it he addressed the Sultan and said, \"O King of the Age,\nthis be a thing beyond experience, and the doer must be master of\na might we comprehend not and haply he may work thee in the\nfuture some injury and we fear from him for thy daughter.\nWherefore the right way is that thou issue a royal autograph and\nbid the Crier go round about the city and cry saying, 'Let him\nwho hath wrought this work appear before the King under promise\nof safety and again safety?safety on the word of a Sultan which\nshall never be falsed.' Should the Youth then surrender himself,\nO King of the Age, marry him to thy daughter when perhaps his\nmind may be reconciled to thee by love of her. He hath already\ncast eyes upon her and he hath seen the inmates of thy Harem\nunrobed, so that naught can save their honour but his being\nunited with the Princess.\" Hereupon the Sultan indited an\nautographic rescript and placed it in the Crier's hands even as\nthe Wazir had counselled: and the man went about the streets\nproclaiming, \"By Command of the just King! whoso hath done this\ndeed let him discover himself and come to the Palace under\npromise of safety and again safety, the safety of\nsovereigns?safety on the word of a Sultan which shall never be\nfalsed.\" And the Crier ceased not crying till in fine he reached\nthe square fronting the great Mosque. The Youth who was standing\nthere heard the proclamation and returning to his Shaykh said, \"O\nmy lord, the Crier hath a rescript from the Sultan and he crieth\nsaying, 'Whoso hath done this deed let him discover himself and\ncome to the Palace under promise of safety and again\nsafety?safety on the word of a Sultan which shall never be\nfalsed.' And, I must go to him perforce.\" Said the Sage, \"O my\nson, why shouldst thou do on such wise? Hast thou not already\nsuffered thy sufficiency?\" But the young man exclaimed, \"Nothing\nshall prevent my going;\" and at this the Shaykh replied, \"Go\nthen, O my son, and be thy safeguarding with the Living, the\nEternal.\" Accordingly, the Youth repaired to the Hammam and\nhaving bathed attired himself in the richest attire he owned,\nafter which he went forth and discovered himself to the Crier who\nled him to the Palace and set him before the Sovran. He salamed\nto the Sultan and did him obeisance and prayed for his long life\nand prosperity in style the most eloquent, and proffered his\npetition in verse the most fluent. The Sultan looked at him (and\nhe habited in his best and with all of beauty blest), and the\nroyal mind was pleased and he enquired saying, \"Who art thou, O\nYouth?\" The other replied, \"I am the Half-man whom thou sawest\nand I did the deed whereof thou wottest.\" As soon as the King\nheard this speech he entreated him with respect and bade him sit\nin the most honourable stead, and when he was seated the twain\nconversed together. The Sultan was astounded at his speech and\nthey continued their discourse till they touched upon sundry\ndisputed questions of learning, when the Youth proved himself as\nsuperior to the Sovran as a dinar is to a dirham: and to whatever\nniceties of knowledge the monarch asked, the young man returned\nan all-sufficient answer, speaking like a book. So the Sultan\nabode confounded at the eloquence of his tongue and the purity of\nhis phrase and the readiness of his replies; and he said in his\nmind, \"This Youth is as worthy to become my daughter's mate as\nshe is meet to become his helpmate.\" Then he addressed him in\nthese words, \"O Youth, my wish is to unite thee with my daughter\nand after thou hast looked upon her and her mother none will\nmarry her save thyself.\" The other replied, \"O King of the Age, I\nam ready to obey thee, but first I must take counsel of my\nfriends.\" The King rejoined, \"No harm in that: hie thee home and\nask their advice.\" The Youth then craved leave to retire and\nrepairing to his Shaykh,?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn\nof day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then\nquoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister\nmine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is\nthis compared with that I would relate to you on the coming\nnight, an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the\nnext night and that was\n\n             The Three Hundred and Sixtieth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Youth\nthen craved leave to retire and, repairing to his Shaykh,\ninformed him of what had passed between himself and the Sultan\nand said to him, \"'Tis also my wish, O my lord, to marry his\ndaughter.\" The Sage replied, \"There be no fault herein if it be\nlawful wedlock: fare thee forth and ask her in marriage.\" Quoth\nthe Youth, \"But I, O my lord, desire to invite the King to visit\nus;\" and quoth the Sage, \"Go invite him, O my son, and hearten\nthy heart.\" The Youth replied, \"O my lord, since I first came to\nthee and thou didst honour me by taking me into thy service, I\nhave known none other home save this narrow cell wherein thou\nsittest, never stirring from it by night or by day. How can we\ninvite the King hither?\" The Sage rejoined, \"O my son, do thou go\ninvite him relying upon Allah, the Veiler who veileth all things,\nand say to him, 'My Shaykh greeteth thee with the salam and\ninviteth thee to visit him next Friday.'\" Accordingly, the Youth\nrepaired to the King and saluted him and offered his service and\nblessed him with most eloquent tongue and said, \"O King of the\nAge, my Shaykh greeteth thee and sayeth to thee, 'Come eat thy\npottage[FN#124] with us next Friday,'\" whereto the Sultan\nreplied, \"Hearing is consenting.\" Then the Youth returned to the\nSage and waited upon him according to custom, longing the while\nfor the coming of Friday. On that day the Sage said to the Youth,\n\"O my son, arise with me and I will show thee what house be ours,\nso thou mayst go fetch the King.\" Then he took him and the two\nwalked on till they came upon a ruin in the centre of the city\nand the whole was in heaps, mud, clay, and stones. The Sage\nlooked at it and said, \"O my son, this is our mansion; do thou\nhie thee to the King and bring him hither.\" But the Youth\nexclaimed, \"O my lord, verily this be a ruinous heap! How then\ncan I invite the Sultan and bring him to such an ill place? This\nwere a shame and a disgrace to us.\" Quoth the Sage, \"Go and dread\nthou naught.\" Upon this the Youth departed saying in himself, \"By\nAllah, my Shaykh must be Jinn-mad and doubtless he confoundeth in\nhis insanity truth and untruth.\" But he stinted not faring till\nhe reached the Palace and went in to the Sultan whom he found\nexpecting him; so he delivered the message, \"Deign honour us, O\nmy lord, with thy presence.\"[FN#125] Hereupon the King arose\nwithout stay or delay and took horse, and all the lords of the\nland also mounted, following the Youth to the place where he told\nthem his Shaykh abode. But when they drew near it they found a\nroyal mansion and eunuchry standing at the gates in costliest\ngear as if robed from a talismanic hoard. When the young man saw\nthis change of scene, he was awe-struck and confounded in such\nway that hardly could he keep his senses, and he said to himself,\n\"But an instant ago I beheld with mine own eyes this very place a\nruinous heap: how then hath it suddenly become on this same site\na Palace such as belongeth not to our Sultan? But I had better\nkeep the secret to myself.\" Presently the King alighted as also\ndid his suite, and entered the mansion, and whenas he inspected\nit he marvelled at the splendour of the first apartment, but the\nmore narrowly he looked the more magnificent he found the place,\nand the second more sumptuous than the first. So his wits were\nbewildered thereat till he was ushered into a spacious speak-room\nwhere they found the Shaykh sitting on one side of the\nchamber[FN#126] to receive them. The Sultan salam'd to him\nwhereupon the Sage raised his head and returned his greeting but\ndid not rise to his feet. The King then sat him down on the\nopposite side when the Shaykh honoured him by addressing him and\nwas pleased to converse with him on various themes; all this\nwhile the royal senses being confounded at the grandeur around\nhim and the rarities in that Palace. Presently the Shaykh said to\nhis Scholar, \"Knock thou at this door and bid our breakfast be\nbrought in.\" So the young man arose and rapped and called out,\n\"Bring in the breakfast;\" when lo! the door was opened and there\ncame out of it an hundred Mamelukes[FN#127] of the Book, each\nbearing upon his head a golden tray, whereon were set dishes of\nprecious metals; and these, which were filled with\nbreakfast-meats of all kinds and colours, they ranged in order\nbefore the Sultan. He was surprised at the sight for that he had\nnaught so splendid in his own possession; but he came forwards\nand ate, as likewise did the Shaykh and all the courtiers until\nthey were satisfied. And after this they drank coffee and\nsherbets, and the Sultan and the Shaykh fell to conversing on\nquestions of lore: the King was edified by the words of the Sage\nwho on his part sat respectfully between the Sovran's hands. Now\nwhen it was well nigh noon, the Shaykh again said to his Scholar,\n\"Knock thou at that door and bid our noonday-meal be brought in.\"\nHe arose and rapped and called out, \"Bring in the dinner;\" when\nlo! the door opened of itself and there came out of it an hundred\nwhite slaves all other than the first train and each bearing a\ntray upon his head. They spread the Sufrah-cloth before the\nSultan and ranged the dishes, and he looked at the plates and\nobserved that they were of precious metals and stones; whereat he\nwas more astonished than before and he said to himself, \"In very\ndeed this be a miracle!\" So all ate their sufficiency when basins\nand ewers, some of gold and others of various noble ores, were\nborne round and they washed their hands, after which the Shaykh\nsaid, \"O King, at how much hast thou valued for us the dower of\nthy daughter?\" The Sovran replied, \"My daughter's dower is\nalready in my hands.\" This he said of his courtesy and respect,\nbut the Shaykh replied, \"Marriage is invalid save with a dower.\"\nHe then presented to him a mint of money and the tie of wedlock\nwas duly tied; after which he rose and brought for his guest a\npelisse of furs such as the Sultan never had in his treasury and\ninvested him therewith and he gave rich robes to each and every\nof his courtiers according to their degree. The Sultan then took\nleave of the Shaykh and accompanied by the Scholar returned to\nthe Palace.?And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell\nsilent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister\nDunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n            The Three Hundred and Sixty-first Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Sultan\ntook with him the Scholar and they fared till they reached the\ncitadel and entered the Palace, during which time the King was\npondering the matter and wondering at the affair. And when night\ncame he bade them get ready his daughter that the first visit\nmight be paid to her by the bridegroom. They did his bidding and\ncarried the Youth in procession to her and he found the apartment\nbespread with carpets and perfumed with essences; the bride,\nhowever, was absent. So he said in his mind, \"She will come\npresently albeit now she delayeth;\" and he ceased not expecting\nher till near midnight, whilst the father and the mother said,\n\"Verily the young man hath married our daughter and now sleepeth\nwith her.\" On this wise the Youth kept one reckoning and the\nSultan and his Harem kept another till it was hard upon dawn?all\nthis and the bridegroom watched in expectation of the bride. Now\nwhen the day brake, the mother came to visit her child expecting\nto see her by the side of her mate; but she could not find a\ntrace of her, nor could she gather any clear tidings of her.\nAccordingly she asked the Youth, her son-in-law, who answered\nthat since entering the apartment he had expected his bride but\nshe came not to him nor had he seen a sign of her. Hereupon the\nQueen shrieked and rose up calling aloud upon her daughter, for\nshe had none other child save that one. The clamour alarmed the\nSultan who asked what was to do and was informed that the\nPrincess was missing from the Palace and had not been seen after\nshe had entered it at eventide. Thereupon he went to the Youth\nand asked him anent her, but he also told him that he had not\nfound her when the procession led him into the bridal chamber.\nSuch was the case with these; but as regards the Princess, when\nthey conducted her to the bridal room before the coming of the\nbridegroom, a Jinni[FN#128] of the M\u00e1rids, who often visited the\nroyal Harem, happened to be there on the marriage-night and was\nso captivated by the charms of the bride that he took seat in a\ncorner, and upon her entering and before she was ware snatched\nher up and soared with her high in air. And he flew with her till\nhe reached a pleasant place of trees and rills some three months'\njourney from the city, and in that shady place he set her down.\nBut he wrought her no bodily damage and every day he would bring\nher whatso she wanted of meat and drink and solaced her by\nshowing her the rills and trees. Now this Jinni had changed his\nshape to that of a fair youth fearing lest his proper semblance\naffright her, and the girl abode in that place for a space of\nforty days. But the father, after failing to find his daughter,\ntook the Youth and repaired to the Shaykh in his cell, and he was\nas one driven mad as he entered and complained of the loss of his\nonly child. The Shaykh hearing these words dove into the depths\nof meditation for an hour: then he raised his head and bade them\nbring before him a chafing-dish of lighted charcoal. They fetched\nall he required and he cast into the fire some incenses over\nwhich he pronounced formul\u00e6 of incantation, and behold! the\nworld was turned topsy-turvy and the winds shrieked and the earth\nwas canopied by dust-clouds whence descended at speed winged\ntroops bearing standards and colours.[FN#129] And amiddlemost of\nthem appeared three Sultans of the J\u00e1nn all crying out at once,\n\"Labbayka! Labbayk! Adsumus, hither we speed to undertake thy\nneed.\" The Shaykh then addressed them, saying, \"My commandment is\nthat forthright ye bring me the Jinni who hath snatched away the\nbride of my son,\" and they said, \"To hear is to obey,\" and at\nonce commanded fifty of their dependent Jinns to reconduct the\nPrincess to her chamber and to hale the culprit before them.\nThese orders were obeyed: they disappeared for an hour or so and\nsuddenly returned, bringing the delinquent Jinni in person; but\nas for the Sultan's daughter, ten of them conveyed her to her\nPalace, she wotting naught of them and not feeling aught of fear.\nAnd when they set the Jinni before the Shaykh, he bade the three\nSultans of the Jann burn him to death and so they did without\nstay or delay. All this was done whilst the Sovran sat before the\nShaykh, looking on and listening and marvelling at the obedience\nof that host and its Sultans and their subjection and civil\ndemeanour in presence of the Elder. Now as soon as the business\nended after perfectest fashion, the Sage recited over them a\nspell and all went their several ways; after which he bade the\nKing take the Youth and conduct him to his daughter. This bidding\nwas obeyed and presently the bridegroom abated the maidenhead of\nthe bride, what while her parents renewed their rejoicings over\nthe recovery of their lost child. And the Youth was so enamoured\nof the Princess that he quitted not the Harem for seven\nconsecutive days. On the eighth the Sultan was minded to make a\nmarriage-banquet and invited all the city-folk to feast for a\nwhole month and he wrote a royal rescript and bade proclaim with\nfull publicity that, according to the commands of the King's\nmajesty, the wedding-feast should continue for a month, and that\nno citizen, be he rich or be he poor, should light fire or trim\nlamp in his own domicile during the wedding of the Princess; but\nthat all must eat of the royal entertainment until the expiry of\nthe f\u00eate. So they slaughtered beeves and stabbed camels in the\nthroat and the kitcheners and carpet-spreaders were commanded to\nprepare the stables, and the officers of the household were\nordered to receive the guests by night and by day. Now one night\nKing Mohammed of Cairo said to his Minister, \"O Wazir, do thou\ncome with me in changed costume and let us thread the streets and\ninspect and espy the folk: haply some of the citizens have\nneglected to appear at the marriage-feast.\" He replied, \"To hear\nis to obey.\" So the twain after exchanging habits for the gear of\nPersian Darwayshes went down to the city and there took place\n\n\n\n\nThe Night-Adventure of Sultan Mohammed of Cairo.[FN#130]\n\n\n\nThe Sultan and the Wazir threaded the broadways of the city and\nthey noted the houses and stood for an hour or so in each and\nevery greater thoroughfare, till they came to a lane, a\ncul-de-sac wherethrough none could pass, and behold, they hit\nupon a house containing a company of folk. Now these were\nconversing and saying, \"By Allah, our Sultan hath not acted\nwisely nor hath he any cause to be proud, since he hath made his\ndaughter's bride-feast a vanity and a vexation and the poor are\nexcluded therefrom. He had done better to distribute somewhat of\nhis bounty amongst the paupers and the mesquin, who may not enter\nhis palace nor can they obtain aught to eat.\" Hearing this the\nSultan said to the Wazir, \"By Allah, needs must we enter this\nplace;\" and the Minister replied, \"Do whatso thou willest.\"\nAccordingly the King went up to the door and knocked, when one\ncame out and asked, \"Who is at the door?\" The Sultan answered,\n\"Guests;\" and the voice rejoined, \"Welcome to the guests;\" and\nthe door was thrown open. Then they went in till they reached the\nsitting-room where they found three men of whom one was lame, the\nsecond was broken-backed and the third was split-mouthed.[FN#131]\nAnd all three were sitting together in that place. So he asked\nthem, \"Wherefore sit ye here, ye three, instead of going to the\nPalace?\" and they answered him, \"O Darwaysh, 'tis of the weakness\nof our wits!\" The King then turned to his Minister and said,\n\"There is no help but thou must bring these three men into my\npresence, as soon as the wedding-f\u00eates be finished, that I may\nenquire into what stablished their imbecility.\"?And Shahrazad\nwas surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to\nsay her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet\nis thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\"\nQuoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I would relate\nto you on the coming night, an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\"\nNow when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Sixty-second Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Sultan\nsaid to the Wazir, \"Needs must thou bring these three men into my\npresence, as soon as the wedding-f\u00eates be finished, and we will\nenquire into what proved their imbecility.\" Then quoth the King\nto them, \"Wherefore fare ye not, ye three, and eat of the royal\nbanquet day by day?\" and quoth they, \"O Darwaysh, we are crippled\nfolk who cannot go and come, for this be grievous to us; but, an\nthe Sultan would assign to us somewhat of victual, and send it\nhither, we would willingly eat thereof.\" He rejoined, \"What\nknoweth the Sultan that ye sit in this place?\" and they retorted,\n\"Ye be Darwayshes who enter everywhere: so when ye go in to him,\ntell him our tale; haply shall Almighty Allah incline his heart\nuswards.\" The King asked them, \"Be you three ever sitting\ntogether in this stead?\" and they answered, \"Yea, verily: we\nnever leave one another by night or by day.\" Then the King and\nthe Minister rose up and having presented them with a few silvers\ntook leave and departed. Now it was midnight when they reached a\ntenement wherein sat three girls with their mother spinning and\neating; and each one appeared fairer than her fellows, and at\ntimes they sang and then they laughed and then they talked. The\nSultan said to the Wazir, \"There is no help but we enter to these\ndamsels;\" whereto the Minister replied \"What have we to do with\ngoing near them? Let them be as they are!\" The Sultan, however,\nrejoined, \"Needs must we enter,\" and the Wazir retorted,\n\"Hearkening and obedience;\" and he rapped at the door when one of\nthe sisterhood cried out, \"Who knocketh in this gloom of the\nnight?\" The Minister answered, \"We are two Darwayshes, guests and\nstrangers;\" and the girl rejoined, \"We are maidens with our\nmother and we have no men in our house who can admit you; so fare\nye to the marriage-feast of the Sultan and become ye his guests.\"\nThe Minister continued, \"We are foreigners and we know not the\nway to the Palace and we dread lest the Chief of Police happen\nupon us and apprehend us at this time o' night. We desire that\nyou afford us lodging till daylight when we will go about our\nbusiness and you need not expect from us aught save respect and\nhonourable treatment.\" Now when the mother heard this, she pitied\nthem and bade one daughter open the door. So the damsel threw it\nopen and the Sultan and Wazir entered and salam'd and sat down to\nconverse together; but the King gazed upon the sisters and\nmarvelled at their beauty and their loveliness, and said in his\nmind, \"How cometh it that these maidens dwell by themselves\nunmated and they in such case?\" So quoth he to them, \"How is it\nye lack husbands, you being so beautiful, and that ye have not a\nman in the house?\" Quoth the youngest, \"O Darwaysh, hold thy\ntongue[FN#132] nor ask us of aught, for our story is wondrous and\nour adventures marvellous. But 'ware thy words and shorten thy\nspeech; verily hadst thou been the Sultan and thy companion the\nWazir an you heard our history haply ye had taken compassion upon\nour case.\" Thereupon the King turned to the Minister and said,\n\"Up with us and wend we our ways; but first do thou make sure of\nthe place and affix thy mark upon the door.\" Then the twain rose\nup and fared forth but the Wazir stood awhile and set a sign upon\nthe entrance and there left his imprint; after which the twain\nreturned to the Palace. Presently the youngest sister said to her\nmother, \"By Allah, I fear lest the Darwayshes have made their\nmark upon our door to the end that they may recognise it by day;\nfor haply the twain may be the King and his Minister.\" \"What\nproof hast thou of this?\" asked the mother, and the daughter\nanswered, \"Their language and their questioning which were naught\nsave importunity!\" And saying this she went to the door where she\nfound the sign and mark. Now besides the two houses to the right\nand to the left were fifteen doors, so the girl marked them all\nwith the same mark set by the Wazir.[FN#133] But when Allah had\ncaused the day to dawn, the King said to the Minister, \"Go thou\nand look at the sign and make sure of it.\" The Wazir went as he\nwas commanded by the Sultan, but he found all the doors marked in\nthe same way, whereat he marvelled and knew not nor could he\ndistinguish the door he sought. Presently he returned and\nreported the matter of the door-marks to the King who cried, \"By\nAllah, these girls must have a curious history! But when the\nbride-feast is finished we will enquire into the case of the\nthree men who are weak-witlings and then we will consider that of\nthe damsels who are not.\" As soon as the thirtieth feast-day\npassed by, he invested with robes of honour all the Lords of his\nland and the high Officers of his estate and matters returned to\ntheir customed course. Then he sent to summon the three men who\nhad professed themselves weak of wits and they were brought into\nthe presence, each saying of himself, \"What can the King require\nof us?\" When they came before him he bade them be seated and they\nsat; then he said to them, \"My requirement is that ye relate to\nme proofs of the weakness of your minds and the reason of your\nmaims.\" Now the first who was questioned was he of the broken\nback, and when the enquiry was put to him he said, \"Deign to\nfavour me with an answer O our Lord the Sultan, on a matter which\npassed through my mind.\" He replied, \"Speak out and fear not!\" So\nthe other enquired, \"How didst thou know us and who told thee of\nus and of our weakly wits?\" Quoth the King, \"'Twas the Darwaysh\nwho went in to you on such a night;\" and quoth the broken-backed\nman, \"Allah slay all the Darwayshes who be tattlers and\ntale-carriers!\" Thereupon the Sultan turned to the Wazir and\nlaughing said, \"We will not reproach them for aught: rather let\nus make fun of them,\" adding to the man, \"Recite, O Shaykh.\" So\nhe fell to telling\n\n\n\n\nThe Story of the Broke-Back Schoolmaster.[FN#134]\n\n\n\nI began life, O King of the Age, as a Schoolmaster and my case\nwas wondrous.?And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell\nsilent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister\nDunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n            The Three Hundred and Sixty-third Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Shaykh\ncontinued.?I began life, O my lord, as a Schoolmaster, and my\ntale with the boys was wondrous. They numbered from sixty to\nseventy, and I taught them to read and I inculcated due\ndiscipline and ready respect esteeming these a part of liberal\neducation; nor did I regard, O King of the Age, the vicissitudes\nof Time and Change; nay, I held them with so tight a rein that\nwhenever the boys heard me sneeze[FN#135] they were expected to\nlay down their writing-tablets and stand up with their arms\ncrossed and exclaim, \"Allah have ruth upon thee, O our lord!\"\nwhereto I would make reply, \"Allah deign pardon us and you!\" And\nif any of the lads failed or delayed to join in this prayer I was\nwont to bash him with a severe bashing. One day of the days they\nasked leave to visit the outskirts of the town for liberty and\npleasuring[FN#136] and when I granted it they clubbed their\npittances for a certain sum of money to buy them a noonday meal.\nSo we went forth to the suburbs and there found verdure and\nwater, and we enjoyed ourselves that day with perfect enjoyment\nuntil mid-afternoon when we purposed to return homewards.\nAccordingly, the boys collected their belongings and laded them\nupon an ass and we walked about half-way when behold, the whole\nparty, big and little, stood still and said to me, \"O our lord,\nwe are athirst and burning with drowthiness, nor can we stir from\nthis spot and if we leave it without drinking we shall all die.\"\nNow there was in that place a draw-well, but it was deep and we\nhad nor pitcher nor bucket nor aught wherein to draw water and\nthe scholars still suffered from exceeding thirst. We had with\nus, however, cooking-gear such as chauldrons and platters; so I\nsaid to them, \"O boys, whoso carrieth a cord or hath bound his\nbelongings with one let him bring it hither!\" They did my bidding\nand I tied these articles together and spliced them as strongly\nas I could: then said I to the lads, \"Bind me under the\narm-pits.\" Accordingly they made me fast by passing the rope\naround me and I took with me a chauldron, whereupon they let me\ndown bucket-wise into the well till I reached the water. Then I\nloosed the bandage from under my armpits and tied it to the\nchauldron which I filled brim-full and shook the rope for a\nsignal to the boys above. They haled at the vessel till they\npulled it up and began drinking and giving drink; and on this\nwise they drew a first chauldron and a second and a third and a\nfourth till they were satisfied and could no more and cried out\nto me, \"We have had enough, quite enough.\" Hereupon I bound the\nbandage under my armpits, as it was when I went down, and I shook\nit as a signal and they haled me up till I had well-nigh reached\nthe kerbstone of the well when a fit of sneezing seized me and I\nsneezed violently. At this all let go their hold and carrying\ntheir arms over their breasts, cried aloud, \"Allah have ruth upon\nthee, O our lord!\" but I, as soon as they loosed hold, fell into\nthe depths of the well and brake my back. I shrieked for excess\nof agony and all the boys ran on all sides screaming for aid till\nthey were heard by some wayfaring folk; and these haled at me and\ndrew me out. They placed me upon the ass and bore me home: then\nthey brought a leach to medicine me and at last I became even as\nthou seest me, O Sultan of the Age. Such, then, is my story\nshowing the weakness of my wits; for had I not enjoined and\nenforced over-respect the boys would not have let go their hold\nwhen I happened to sneeze nor would my back have been broken.\n\"Thou speakest sooth, O Shaykh,\" said the Sultan, \"and indeed\nthou hast made evident the weakness of thy wit.\" Then quoth he to\nthe man who was cloven of mouth. \"And thou, the other, what was\nit split thy gape?\" \"The weakness of my wit, O my lord the\nSultan,\" quoth he, and fell to telling the\n\n\n\n\nStory of the Split-Mouthed Schoolmaster.[FN#137]\n\n\n\nI also began life, O King of the Age, as a Schoolmaster and had\nunder my charge some eighty boys. Now I was strict with such\nstrictness that from morning to evening I sat amongst them and\nwould never dismiss them to their homes before sundown. But 'tis\nknown to thee, O our lord the King, that boys' wits be short\nafter the measure of their age, and that they love naught save\nplay and forgathering in the streets and quarter. Withal, I took\nno heed of this and ever grew harder upon them till one day all\nmet and with the intervention of the eldest Monitor they agreed\nand combined to play me a trick. He arranged with them that next\nmorning none should enter the school until he had taught them,\neach and every, to say as they went in, \"Thy safety, O our lord,\nhow yellow is thy face!\" Now the first who showed himself was the\nMonitor and he spoke as had been agreed; but I was rough with him\nand sent him away; then a second came in and repeated what the\nfirst had said; then a third and then a fourth, until ten boys\nhad used the same words. So quoth I to myself, \"Ho, Such-an-one!\nthou must be unwell without weeting it:\" then I arose and went\ninto the Harem and lay down therein when the Monitor, having\ncollected from his school-fellows some hundred-and-eighty\nNusfs,[FN#138] came in to me and cried, \"Take this, O our lord,\nand expend the money upon thy health.\" Thereupon I said to\nmyself, \"Ho, Such-an-one! every Thursday[FN#139] thou dost not\ncollect sixty Faddahs from the boys,\" and I cried to him, \"Go,\nlet them forth for a holiday.\" So he went and dismissed them from\nschool to the playground. On the next day he collected as much as\non the first and came in to me and said, \"Expend these moneys, O\nour lord, upon thy health.\" He did the same on the third day and\nthe fourth, making the boys contribute much coin and presenting\nit to me; and on such wise he continued till the tenth day, when\nhe brought the money as was his wont. At that time I happened to\nhold in my hand a boiled egg which I purposed eating, but on\nsighting him I said in myself, \"An he see thee feeding he will\ncut off the supplies.\" So I crammed the egg into my chops?And\nShahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and\nceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,\n\"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and\ndelectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I\nwould relate to you on the coming night, an the Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah, upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nSchoolmaster said to himself, \"If the Monitor see me eating the\negg now in thy hand he will cut off the supplies and assert thee\nto be sound.\" So (continued he) I crammed the egg into my chops\nand clapped my jaws together. Hereupon the lad turned to me and\ncried, \"O my lord, thy cheek is much swollen;\" and I, \"'Tis only\nan imposthume.\" But he drew a whittle[FN#140] forth his sleeve\nand coming up to me seized my cheek and slit it, when the egg\nfell out and he said, \"O my lord, this it was did the harm and\nnow 'tis passed away from thee.\" Such was the cause of the\nsplitting of my mouth, O our lord the Sultan. Now had I cast away\ngreed of gain and eaten the egg in the Monitor's presence, what\ncould have been the ill result? But all this was of the weakness\nof my wit; for also had I dismissed the boys every day about\nmid-afternoon, I should have gained naught nor lost aught\nthereby. However the Dealer of Destiny is self-existent, and this\nis my case. Then the Sultan turned to the Wazir and laughed and\nsaid, \"The fact is that whoso schooleth boys is weak of wit;\" and\nsaid the other, \"O King of the Age, all pedagogues lack\nperceptives and reflectives; nor can they become legal witnesses\nbefore the Kazi because verily they credit the words of little\nchildren without evidence of the speech being or factual or\nfalse. So their reward in the world to come must be\nabounding!\"[FN#141] Then the Sultan asked the limping man,\nsaying, \"And thou, the other, what lamed thee?\" So he began to\ntell\n\n\n\n\nThe Story of the Limping Schoolmaster.[FN#142]\n\n\n\nMy tale, O my lord the Sultan, is marvellous and 'twas as\nfollows. My father was by profession a schoolmaster and, when he\nfared to the ruth of Almighty Allah, I took his place in the\nschool and taught the boys to read after the fashion of my sire.\nNow over the schoolroom was an upper lattice whereto planks had\nbeen nailed and I was ever casting looks at it till one chance\nday I said to myself, \"By Allah, this lattice thus boarded up\nneeds must contain hoards or moneys or manuscripts which my\nfather stored there before his decease; and on such wise I am\ndeprived of them.\" So I arose and brought a ladder and lashed it\nto another till the two together reached the lattice and I clomb\nthem holding a carpenter's adze[FN#143] wherewith I prized up the\nplanks until all were removed. And behold, I then saw a large\nfowl, to wit, a kite,[FN#144] setting upon her nestlings. But\nwhen she saw me she flew sharply in my face and I was frightened\nby her and thrown back; so I tumbled from the ladder-top to the\nground and brake both knee-caps. Then they bore me home and\nbrought a leach to heal me; but he did me no good and I fell into\nmy present state. Now this, O our lord the Sultan, proveth the\nweakness of my wit and the greatness of my greed; for there is a\nsaw amongst men that saith \"Covetise aye wasteth and never\ngathereth: so 'ware thee of covetise.\" Such, O lord of the Age\nand the Time, is my tale. Hereupon the King bade gifts and\nlargesse be distributed to the three old schoolmasters, and when\nhis bidding was obeyed they went their ways. Then the Sultan\nturned to the Minister and said, \"O Wazir, now respecting the\nmatter of the three maidens and their mother, I would have thee\nmake enquiry and find out their home and bring them hither; or\nlet us go to them in disguise and hear their history, for indeed\nit must he wonderful. Otherwise how could they have understood\nthat we served them that sleight by marking their door and they\non their part set marks of like kind upon all the doors of the\nquarter that we might lose the track and touch of them. By Allah,\nthis be rare intelligence on the part of these damsels; but we, O\nWazir, will strive to come upon their traces.\" Then the Minister\nfared forth, after changing his dress and demeanour, and walked\nto the quarter in question, but found all the doors similarly\nmarked. So he was sore perplext concerning his case and fell to\nquestioning all the folk wont to pass by these doors but none\ncould give him any information; and he walked about sore\ndistraught until even-tide, when he returned to the Sultan\nwithout aught of profit. As he went in to the presence, his liege\nlord asked him saying, \"What bringest thou of tidings?\" and he\nanswered, \"O King, I have not found the property,[FN#145] but\nthere passed through my mind a stratagem which, an we carry it\nout, peradventure shall cause us to happen upon the maidens.\"\nQuoth the Sultan, \"What be that?\" and quoth he, \"Do thou write me\nan autograph-writ and give it to the Crier that he may cry about\nthe city, 'Whoso lighteth wick after supper-tide shall have his\nhead set under his heels.'\" The Sultan rejoined, \"This thy rede\nis right.\" Accordingly, on the next day the King wrote his letter\nand gave it to the Crier bidding him fare through the city and\nforbid the lighting of lamps after night-prayers; and the man\ntook the royal rescript and set it in a green bag. Then he went\nforth and cried about the street saying, \"According to the\ncommandment of our King, the Lord of prosperity and Master of the\nnecks of God's servants, if any light wick after night-prayers\nhis head shall be set under his heels, his good shall be spoiled\nand his women shall be cast into jail.\" And the Crier stinted not\ncrying through the town during the first day and the second and\nthe third, until he had gone round the whole place; nor was there\na citizen but who knew the ordinance. Now the King waited\npatiently till after the proclamation of the third day; but on\nthe fourth night he and his Minister went down from the palace in\ndisguise after supper-tide to pry about the wards and espy into\nthe lattices of the several quarters. They found no light till\nthey came to the ward where the three damsels lived, and the\nSultan, happening to glance in such a direction, saw the gleam of\na lamp in one of the tenements. So he said to the Wazir, \"Ho!\nthere is a wick alight.\" Presently they drew near it and found\nthat it was within one of the marked houses; wherefore they came\nto a stand and knocked at the door,?And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say.\nThen quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy\ntale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she,\n\"And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on\nthe coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it\nwas the next night and that was\n\n            The Three Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the\nSultan and the Wazir stood over against the door behind which was\nthe light and knocked at it, the youngest of the sisters cried\nout, \"Who is at the door?\" and they replied, \"Guests and\nDarwayshes.\" She rejoined, \"What can you want at this hour and\nwhat can have belated you?\" And they, \"We be men living in a\nKhan; but we have lost our way thither and we fear to happen upon\nthe Chief of Police. So of your bountiful kindness open ye to us\nand house us for the remnant of the night; and such charity shall\ngain you reward in Heaven.\" Hereto the mother added, \"Go open to\nthem the door!\" and the youngest of the maidens came forward and\nopened to them and admitted them. Then the parent and her\nchildren rose up and welcomed them respectfully and seated them\nand did them honour and set before them somewhat of food which\nthey ate and were gladdened. Presently the King said, \"O damsels,\nye cannot but know that the Sultan proclaimed forbiddal of\nwick-burning; but ye have lighted your lamps and have not obeyed\nhim when all the citizens have accepted his commandment.\" Upon\nthis the youngest sister accosted him saying, \"O Darwaysh, verily\nthe Sultan's order should not be obeyed save in commandments\nwhich be reasonable; but this his proclamation forbidding lights\nis sinful to accept; and indeed the right direction[FN#146]\nwherein man should walk is according to Holy Law which saith, 'No\nobedience to the creature in a matter of sin against the\nCreator.' The Sultan (Allah make him prevail!) herein acteth\nagainst the Law and imitateth the doings of Satan. For we be\nthree sisters with our mother, making four in the household, and\nevery night we sit together by lamp-light and weave a half-pound\nweight of linen web[FN#147] which our mother taketh in the\nmorning for sale to the Bazar and buyeth us therewith half a\npound of raw flax and with the remainder what sufficeth us of\nvictual.\" The Sultan now turned to his Minister and said, \"O\nWazir, this damsel astonisheth me by her questions and answers.\nWhat case of casuistry can we propose to her and what disputation\ncan we set up? Do thou contrive us somewhat shall pose and\nperplex her.\" \"O my lord,\" replied the Wazir, \"we are here in the\nguise of Darwayshes and are become to these folk as guests: how\nthen can we disturb them with troublesome queries in their own\nhome?\" Quoth the Sultan, \"Needs must thou address them;\" so the\nWazir said to the girl, \"O noble one, obedience to the royal\norders is incumbent upon you as upon all lieges.\" Said she,\n\"True, he is our Sovran; but how can he know whether we be\nstarving or full-fed?\" \"Let us see,\" rejoined the Wazir, \"when he\nshall send for you and set you before the presence and question\nyou concerning your disobeying his orders, what thou wilt say?\"\nShe retorted, \"I would say to the Sultan, 'Thou hast contraried\nHoly Law.'\" At this the Minister resumed, \"An he ask thee sundry\nquestions wilt thou answer them?\" and she replied, \"Indeed I\nwill.\" Hereat the Minister turned to the King and said, \"Let us\nleave off question and answer with this maiden on points of\nconscience and Holy Law and ask if she understand the fine arts.\"\nPresently the Sultan put the question when she replied, \"How\nshould I not understand them when I am their father and their\nmother?\" Quoth he, \"Allah upon thee, O my lady, an thou wouldst\nfavour us, let us hear one of thine airs and its words.\" So she\nrose and retired but presently returning with a lute sat down and\nset it upon her lap and ordered the strings and smote it with a\nmasterly touch: then she fell to singing amongst other verses\nthese ordered couplets:?\n\n\"Do thou good to men and so rule their necks: * Long reigns who\n     by benefit rules mankind:\nAnd lend aid to him who for aidance hopes: * For aye grateful is\n     man with a noble mind:\nWho brings money the many to him will incline * And money for\n     tempting of man was designed:\nWho hindereth favour and bounties, ne'er * Or brother or friend\n     in creation shall find:\nWith harsh looks frown not in the Sage's face; * Disgusteth the\n     freeman denial unkind:\nWho frequenteth mankind all of good unknow'th: * Man is lief of\n     rebellion, of largesse loath.\"\n\nWhen the Sultan heard these couplets, his mind was distraught and\nhe was perplext in thought; then turning to his Wazir, he said,\n\"By Allah, these lines were surely an examination of and an\nallusion to our two selves; and doubtless she weeteth of us that\nI am the Sultan and thou art the Wazir, for the whole tenor of\nher talk proveth her knowledge of us.\" Then he turned to the\nmaiden and said, \"Right good are thy verse and thy voice, and thy\nwords have delighted us with exceeding delight.\" Upon this she\nsang the following two couplets:?\n\n\"Men seek for them sorrow, and toil * Thro' long years as they\n     brightly flow;\nBut Fate, in the well like the tank[FN#148] * Firm-fixt, ruleth\n     all below.\"\n\nNow as soon as the Sultan heard these last two couplets he made\ncertain that the damsel was aware of his quality. She did not\nleave off her lute-playing till near daylight, when she rose and\nretired and presently brought in a breakfast befitting her degree\n(for indeed she was pleased with them); and when she had served\nit up they ate a small matter which sufficed them. After this she\nsaid, \"Inshallah, you will return to us this night before\nsupper-tide and become our guests;\" and the twain went their ways\nmarvelling at the beauty of the sisters and their loveliness and\ntheir fearlessness in the matter of the proclamation; and the\nSultan said to the Wazir, \"By Allah, my soul inclineth unto that\nmaiden.\" And they stinted not walking until they had entered the\npalace. But when that day had gone by and evening drew nigh, the\nMonarch made ready to go, he and the Minister, to the dwelling of\nthe damsels?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and\nfell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her\nsister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran\nsuffer me to survive.\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n            The Three Hundred and Sixty-sixth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the King\nand the Councillor made ready to go to the dwelling of the\ndamsels taking with them somewhat of gold pieces, the time being\nhalf an hour after set of sun; and presently they repaired to the\nhouse of the sisters whither they had been invited on the past\nnight. So they rapped at the door when the youngest maiden came\nto it and opened and let them in: then she salam'd to them and\ngreeted them and entreated them with increased respect saying,\n\"Welcome to our lords the Darwayshes.\" But she eyed them with the\neye of the physiognomist[FN#149] and said in herself, \"Verily\nthese two men are on no wise what they seem and, unless my\ncaution and intelligence and power of knowledge have passed away\nfrom me, this must be the Sultan and that his Wazir, for grandeur\nand majesty are evident on them.\" Then she seated them and\naccosted them even more pleasantly and set before them supper,\nand when they had eaten enough, she brought basins and ewers for\nhandwashing and served up coffee causing them to enjoy themselves\nand to give and take in talk till their pleasure was perfect. At\nthe time of night-orisons they arose and, after performing the\nWuz\u00fa-ablution, prayed, and when their devotions were ended the\nSultan hent in hand his purse and gave it to the youngest sister\nsaying, \"Expend ye this upon your livelihood.\" She took the bag\nwhich held two thousand dinars and kissed his right hand, feeling\nyet the more convinced that he must be the Sultan: so she proved\nher respect by the fewness of her words as she stood between his\nhands to do him service. Also she privily winked at her sisters\nand mother and said to them by signs, \"Verily this be the Monarch\nand that his Minister.\" The others then arose and followed suit\nas the sister had done, when the Sultan turned to the Wazir and\nsaid, \"The case is changed: assuredly they have comprehended it\nand ascertained it;\" presently adding to the girl, \"O damsel, we\nbe only Darwaysh folk and yet you all stand up in our service as\nif we were sovrans. I beseech you do not on this wise.\" But the\nyoungest sister again came forwards and kissed the ground before\nhim and blessed him and recited this couplet:\n\n\"Fair fate befal thee to thy foe's despite: * White be thy days\n     and his be black as night.[FN#150]\n\nBy Allah, O King of the Age, thou art the Sultan and that is the\nMinister.\" The Sovran asked, \"What cause hast thou for supposing\nthis?\" and she answered, \"From your grand demeanour and your\nmajestic mein; for such be the qualities of Kings which cannot be\nconcealed.\" Quoth the Monarch, \"Thou hast spoken sooth; but, tell\nme, how happeneth it that you wone here without men protectors?\"\nand quoth she, \"O my lord the King, our history is wondrous and\nwere it graven with graver-needles upon the eye-corners it were a\nwarning to whoso would be warned.\" He rejoined, \"What is it?\" and\nshe began the\n\n\n\n\n      Story of the Three Sisters and Their Mother.[FN#151]\n\n\n\nI and my sisters and my mother are not natives of this city but\nof a capital in the land Al-Ir\u00e1k where my father was Sovran\nhaving troops and guards, Wazirs and Eunuch-chamberlains; and my\nmother was the fairest woman of her time insomuch that her beauty\nwas a proverb throughout each and every region. Now it chanced\nthat when I and my sisters were but infants, our father would set\nout to hunt and course and slay beasts of raven and take his\npleasure in the gardens without the city. So he sent for his\nWazir and appointed and constituted him Viceregent in his stead\nwith full authority to command and be gracious to his lieges:\nthen he got him ready and marched forth and the Viceroy entered\nupon his office. But it happened that it was the hot season and\nmy mother betook herself to the terrace-roof of the palace in\norder to smell the air and sniff up the breeze. At that very\nhour, by the decree of the Decreer, the Wazir was sitting in the\nKiosk or roofed balcony hanging to his upper mansion and holding\nin hand a mirror; and, as he looked therein, he saw the\nreflection of my mother, a glance of eyes which bequeathed him a\nthousand sighs. He was forthright distracted by her beauty and\nloveliness and fell sick and took to his pillow. Presently a\nconfidential nurse came in and feeling his pulse, which showed no\nmalady, said to him, \"No harm for thee! thou shalt soon be well\nnor ever suffer from aught of sorrow.\" Quoth he, \"O my nurse,\ncanst thou keep a secret?\" and quoth she, \"I can.\" Then he told\nher all the love he had conceived for my mother and she replied,\n\"This be a light affair nor hath it aught of hindrance: I will\nmanage for thee such matter and I will soon unite thee with her.\"\nThereupon he packed up for her some of the most sumptuous dresses\nin his treasury and said, \"Hie thee to her and say, 'The Wazir\nhath sent these to thee by way of love-token and his desire is\neither that thou come to him and converse, he and thou, for a\ncouple of hours,[FN#152] or that he be allowed to visit thee.'\"\nThe nurse replied with \"Hearkening and obedience,\" and fared\nforth and found my mother (and we little ones were before her)\nall unknowing aught of that business. So the old woman saluted\nher and brought forwards the dresses, and my mother arose and\nopening the bundle beheld sumptuous raiment and, amongst other\nvaluables, a necklace of precious stones. So she said to the\nnurse, \"This is indeed ornamental gear, especially the collar;\"\nand said the nurse, \"O my lady, these are from thy slave the\nWazir by way of love-token, for he doteth on thee with extreme\ndesire and his only wish is to forgather with thee and converse,\nhe and thou, for a couple of hours, either in his own place or in\nthine whither he will come.\" Now when my mother heard these words\nfrom the nurse she arose and drew a scymitar which lay hard by\nand of her angry hastiness made the old woman's head fall from\nher body and bade her slave-girls pick up the pieces and cast\nthem into the common privy of the palace. So they did her bidding\nand wiped away the blood. Now the Wazir abode expecting his nurse\nto return to him but she returned not; so next day he despatched\nanother handmaid who went to my mother and said to her, \"O my\nlady, our lord the Wazir sent thee a present of dress by his\nnurse; but she hath not come back to him.\" Hereupon my mother\nbade her Eunuchs take the slave and strangle her, then cast the\ncorpse into the same house of easement where they had thrown the\nnurse. They did her bidding; but she said in her mind, \"Haply the\nWazir will return from the road of unright:\" and she kept his\nconduct a secret. He however fell every day to sending\nslave-girls with the same message and my mother to slaying each\nand every, nor deigned show him any signs of yielding. But she, O\nour lord the Sultan, still kept her secret and did not acquaint\nour father therewith, always saying to herself, \"Haply the Wazir\nwill return to the road of right.\" And behold my father presently\ncame back from hunting and sporting and pleasuring, when the\nLords of the land met him and salam'd to him, and amongst them\nappeared the Minister whose case was changed. Now some years\nafter this, O King of the Age, our sire resolved upon a\nPilgrimage to the Holy House of Meccah?And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted\nsay. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is\nthy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable.\" Quoth\nshe, \"And where is this compared with that I would relate to you\non the coming night an the sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when\nit was the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Sixty-seventh Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night.\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nyoungest sister continued to the Sultan:?So our sire, O King of\nthe Age, resolved upon a Pilgrimage to the Holy House of Meccah\nand stablished the same Wazir Viceregent in his stead to deal\ncommandment and break off and carry out. So he said in his heart,\n\"Now have I won my will of the Sultan's Harem.\" So the King gat\nhim ready and fared forth to Allah's Holy House after committing\nus to the charge of his Minister. But when he had been gone ten\ndays, and the Wazir knew that he must be far from the city where\nhe had left behind him me and my sisters and my mother, behold,\nan Eunuch of the Minister's came in to us and kissed ground\nbefore the Queen and said to her \"Allah upon thee, O my lady,\npity my lord the Wazir, for his heart is melted by thy love and\nhis wits wander and his right mind; and he is now become as one\nannihilated. So do thou have ruth upon him and revive his heart\nand restore his health.\" Now when my mother heard these words,\nshe bade her Eunuchs seize that Castrato and carry him from the\nroom to the middle of the Divan-court and there slay him; but she\ndid so without divulging her reasons. They obeyed her bidding;\nand when the Lords of the land and others saw the body of a man\nslain by the eunuchry of the palace, they informed the Wazir,\nsaying, \"What hateful business is this which hath befallen after\nthe Sultan's departure?\" He asked, \"What is to do?\" and they told\nhim that his Castrato had been slain by a party of the palace\neunuchry. Thereupon he said to them, \"In your hand abideth\ntestimony of this whenas the Sultan shall return and ye shall\nbear witness to it.\" But, O King, the Wazir's passion for our\nmother waxed cool after the deaths of the nurse and the\nslave-girls and the eunuch; and she also held her peace and spake\nnot a word there anent. On this wise time passed and he sat in\nthe stead of my sire till the Sultan's return drew near when the\nMinister dreaded lest our father, learning his ill deeds, should\ndo him die. So he devised a device and wrote a letter to the King\nsaying, \"After salutation be it known to thee that thy Harem hath\nsent to me, not only once but five several times during thine\nabsence, soliciting of me a foul action, to which I refused\nconsent and replied, By Allah, however much she may wish to\nbetray my Sovran, I by the Almighty will not turn traitor; for\nthat I was left by thee guardian of the realm after thy\ndeparture.\" He added words upon words; then he sealed the scroll\nand gave it to a running courier with orders to hurry along the\nroad. The messenger took it and fared with it to the Sultan's\ncamp when distant eight days' journey from the capital; and,\nfinding him seated in his pavilion,[FN#153] delivered the writ.\nHe took it and opened it and read it and when he understood its\nsecret significance, his face changed, his eyes turned backwards\nand he bade his tents be struck for departure. So they fared by\nforced marches till between him and his capital remained only two\nstations. He then summoned two Chamberlains with orders to forego\nhim to the city and take my mother and us three girls a day's\ndistance from it and there put us to death. Accordingly, they led\nus four to the open country purposing to kill us, and my mother\nknew not what intent was in their minds until they reached the\nappointed spot. Now the Queen had in times past heaped alms-deeds\nand largesse upon the two Chamberlains, so they held the case to\nbe a grievous and said each to other, \"By Allah we cannot\nslaughter them; no, never!\" Then they told my mother of the\nletter which the Wazir had written to our father saying\nsuch-and-such, upon which she exclaimed, \"He hath lied, by Allah,\nthe arch-traitor; and naught happened save so-and-so.\" Then she\nrelated to them all she had done with the exactest truth. The men\nsaid, \"Sooth thou hast spoken;\" then arising without stay or\ndelay they snared a gazelle and slaughtered it and filled with\nits blood four flasks; after which they broiled some of the flesh\nover the embers and gave it to my mother that we might satisfy\nour hunger. Presently they farewelled us saying, \"We give you in\ncharge of Him who never disappointed those committed to His\ncare;\" and, lastly, they went their ways leaving us alone in the\nwild and the wold. So we fell to eating the desert-grasses and\ndrinking of the remnants of the rain, and we walked awhile and\nrested awhile without finding any city or inhabited region; and\nwe waxed tired, O King of the Age, when suddenly we came upon a\nspot on a hill-flank abounding in vari-coloured herbs and fair\nfountains. Here we abode ten days and behold, a caravan drew near\nus and encamped hard by us, but they did not sight us for that we\nhid ourselves from their view until night fell. Then I went to\nthem and asked of sundry eunuchs and ascertained that there was a\ncity at the distance of two days' march from us; so I returned\nand informed my mother who rejoiced at the good tidings. As soon\nas it was morn the caravan marched off, so we four arose and\nwalked all that day through at a leisurely pace, and a second day\nand so forth; until, on the afternoon of the fifth, a city rose\nbefore our sight fulfilling all our desires[FN#154] and we\nexclaimed, \"Alhamdolillah, laud be to the Lord who hath empowered\nus to reach it.\" We ceased not faring till sunset when we entered\nit and we found it a potent capital. Such was our case and that\nof our mother;[FN#155] but as regards our sire the Sultan, as he\ndrew near his home after the return-journey from the Hajj, the\nLords of the land and the Chiefs of the city flocked out to meet\nhim, and the town-folk followed one another like men riding on\npillions[FN#156] to salute him, and the poor and the mesquin\ncongratulated him on his safety and at last the Wazir made his\nappearance. The Sultan desired to be private with the\nMinister?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell\nsilent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister\nDunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n           The Three Hundred and Sixty-eighth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the King\ndesired to be private with the Minister and when they were left\nalone he said, \"O Wazir, how was it between thee and that Harim\nof mine?\" Said the other, \"O King of the Age, she sent to me not\nonly once but five several times and I refrained from her and\nwhatsoever eunuch she despatched I slew, saying, Haply she may\ncease so doing and abandon her evil intent. But she did not\nrepent, so I feared for thine honour and sent to acquaint thee\nwith the matter.\" The Sultan bowed his head groundwards for a\nwhile, then raising it he bade summon the two Chamberlains whom\nhe had sent to slay his wife and three children. On their\nappearing he asked them, \"What have you done in fulfilling my\ncommandment?\" They answered, \"We did that which thou badest be\ndone,\" and showed him the four flasks they had filled with the\nblood and said, \"This be their blood, a flask-full from each.\"\nThe Sultan hent them in hand and mused over what had taken place\nbetween him and his wife of love and affection and union; so he\nwept with bitter weeping and fell down in a fainting fit. After\nan hour or so he recovered and turning to the Wazir said, \"Tell\nme, hast thou spoken sooth?\" and the other replied, \"Yes, I\nhave.\" Then the Sultan addressed the two Chamberlains and asked\nthem, \"Have ye put to death my daughters with their mother?\" But\nthey remained silent nor made aught of answer or address. So he\nexclaimed, \"What is on your minds that ye speak not?\" They\nrejoined, \"By Allah, O King of the Age, the honest man cannot\ntell an untruth for that lying and leasing are the\ncharacteristics of hypocrites and traitors.\" When the Wazir heard\nthe Chamberlains' speech his colour yellowed, his frame was\ndisordered and a trembling seized his limbs, and the King turned\nto him and noted that these symptoms had been caused by the words\nof the two officials. So he continued to them, \"What mean ye, O\nChamberlains, by your saying that lies and leasing are the\ncharacteristics of hypocrites and traitors? Can it be that ye\nhave not put them to death? And as ye claim to be true men either\nye have killed them and ye speak thus or you are liars. Now by\nHim who hath set me upon the necks of His lieges, if ye declare\nnot to me the truth I will do you both die by the foulest of\ndeaths.\" They rejoined, \"By Allah, O King of the Age, whenas thou\nbadest us take them and slay them, we obeyed thy bidding and they\nknew not nor could they divine what was to be until we arrived\nwith them at the middlemost and broadest of the desert; and when\nwe informed them of what had been done by the Wazir, thy Harem\nexclaimed, 'There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in\nAllah, the Glorious, the Great. Verily we are Allah's and unto\nHim are we returning. But an ye kill us you will kill us\nwrongfully and ye wot not wherefor. By the Lord, this Wazir hath\nfoully lied and hath accused us falsely before the Almighty.' So\nwe said to her, O King of the Age, 'Inform us of what really took\nplace,' and said the mother of the Princesses, 'Thus and thus it\nhappened.' Then she fell to telling us the whole tale from first\nto last of the nurse who was sent to her and the handmaids and\nthe Eunuch.\"[FN#157] Hereupon the Sultan cried, \"And ye, have ye\nslain them or not?\" and the Chamberlains replied, \"By Allah, O\nKing of the Age, whenas the loyalty of thy Harem was made\nmanifest to us we snared a gazelle and cut its throat and filled\nthese four flasks with its blood; after which we broiled some of\nthe flesh upon the embers and offered it to thy Harem and her\nchildren saying to them, 'We give thee in charge to Him who never\ndisappointeth those committed to His care,' and we added, 'Your\ntruth shall save you.' Lastly we left them in the midmost of the\nwaste and we returned hither.\" When the Sultan heard these words\nhe turned to the Wazir and exclaimed, \"Thou hast estranged from\nme my wife and my children;\" but the Minister uttered not a word\nnor made any address and trembled in every limb like one\nafflicted with an ague. And when the King saw the truth of the\nChamberlains and the treachery of the Minister he bade fuel be\ncollected and set on fire and they did his bidding. Then he\ncommanded them to truss up the Wazir, hand tied to foot, and bind\nhim perforce upon a catapult[FN#158] and cast him into the middle\nof the fiery pyre which made his bones melt before his flesh.\nLastly he ordered his palace to be pillaged, his good to be\nspoiled and the women of his Harem to be sold for slaves. After\nthis he said to the Chamberlains, \"You must know the spot wherein\nyou left the Queen and Princesses;\" and said they, \"O King of the\nAge, we know it well; but when we abandoned them and returned\nhome they were in the midst of the wolds and the wilds nor can we\nsay what befel them or whether they be now alive or dead.\" On\nthis wise fared it with them; but as regards us three maidens and\nour mother, when we entered the city?And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say.\nThen quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy\ntale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable?\" Quoth she,\n\"And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on\nthe coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it\nwas the next night and that was\n\n            The Three Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nyoungest sister continued her tale:?So when we three maidens and\nour mother entered the city about sunset I the youngest said to\nthem, \"We be three Princesses and a Queen-mother: so we cannot\nshow ourselves in this our condition and needs must we lodge us\nin a Khan: also 'tis my rede that we should do best by donning\nboys' dress.\" All agreeing hereto we did accordingly and,\nentering a Caravanserai, hired us a retired chamber in one of the\nwings. Now every day we three fared forth to service and at\neventide we forgathered and took what sufficed us of sustenance;\nbut our semblance had changed with the travails of travel and all\nwho looked at us would say, These be lads. In this plight we\npassed the space of a year full-told till, one day of the days,\nwe three fared forth to our chares, as was our wont, and behold,\na young man met us upon the way and turning to me asked, \"O lad,\nwilt thou serve in my house?\" Quoth I, \"O my uncle,[FN#159] I\nmust ask advice,\" and quoth he, \"O my lad, crave counsel of thy\nmother and come and serve in our home.\" He then looked at my\nsisters and enquired, \"Be these thy comrades, O lad?\" and I\nreplied \"No, they are my brothers.\" So we three went to our\nmother in the Khan and said to her, \"This young man wisheth to\nhire the youngest of us for service,\" and said she, \"No harm in\nthat.\" Thereupon the youth arose and taking me by the hand guided\nme to his home and led me in to his mother and his wife, and when\nthe ancient dame saw me, her heart was opened to me. Presently\nquoth the young man to his parent, \"I have brought the lad to\nserve in our house and he hath two brothers and his mother\ndwelling with them.\" Quoth she, \"May it be fortunate to thee, O\nmy son.\"[FN#160] So I tarried there serving them till sunset and\nwhen the evening-meal was eaten, they gave me a dish of meat and\nthree large bannocks of clean bread. These I took and carried to\nmy mother whom I found sitting with my sisters and I set before\nthem the meat and bread; but when my parent saw this she wept\nwith sore weeping and cried, \"Time hath overlooked us; erst we\ngave food to the folk and now the folk send us food.\" And cried\nI, \"Marvel not at the works of the Creator; for verily Allah hath\nordered for us this and for others that and the world endureth\nnot for any one;\" and I ceased not soothing my mother's heart\ntill it waxed clear of trouble and we ate and praised Almighty\nAllah. Now every day I went forth to serve at the young man's\nhouse and at eventide bore to my mother and sisters their\nsufficiency of food for supper,[FN#161] breakfast and dinner; and\nwhen the youth brought eatables of any kind for me I would\ndistribute it to the family. And he looked well after our wants\nand at times he would supply clothing for me and for the youths,\nmy sisters, and for my parent; so that all hearts in our lodgings\nwere full of affection for him. At last his mother said, \"What\nneed is there for the lad to go forth from us every eventide and\npass the night with his people? Let him lie in our home and every\nday about afternoon-time carry the evening meal to his mother and\nbrothers and then return to us and keep me company.\" I replied,\n\"O my lady, let me consult my mother, to whom I will fare\nforthright and acquaint her herewith.\" But my parent objected\nsaying, \"O my daughter, we fear lest thou be discovered, and they\nfind thee out to be a girl.\" I replied, \"Our Lord will veil our\nsecret;\" and she rejoined, \"Then do thou obey them.\" So I lay\nwith the young man's mother nor did any divine that I was a maid,\nalbeit from the time when I entered into that youth's service my\nstrength and comeliness had increased. At last, one night of the\nnights, I went after supper to sleep at my employer's and the\nyoung man's mother chanced to glance in my direction when she saw\nmy loosed hair which gleamed and glistened many-coloured as a\npeacock's robe. Next morning I arose and gathering up my locks\ndonned the T\u00e1kiyah[FN#162] and proceeded, as usual, to do service\nabout the house never suspecting that the mother had taken notice\nof my hair. Presently she said to her son, \"'Tis my wish that\nthou buy me a few rose-blossoms which be fresh.\" He asked, \"To\nmake conserve?\" and she answered, \"No.\" Then he enquired;\n\"Wherefore wantest thou roses?\" and she replied, \"By Allah, O my\nson, I wish therewith to try this our servant whom I suspect to\nbe a girl and no boy; and under him in bed I would strew\nrose-leaves, for an they be found wilted in the morning he is a\nlad, and if they remain as they were he is a lass.\"[FN#163] So he\nfared forth and presently returned to his mother with the\nrose-blossoms; and, when the sleeping-hour came, she went and\nplaced them in my bed. I slept well and in the morning when I\narose she came to me and found that the petals had not changed\nfor the worse; nay, they had gained lustre. So she made sure that\nI was a girl.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and\nfell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her\nsister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n            The Three Hundred and Seventieth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the damsel\ncontinued:?So the young man's mother made certain that her\nservant lad was a virgin lass. But she concealed her secret from\nher son and was kind to me and showed me respect and, of the\ngoodness of her heart, sent me back early to my mother and\nsisters. Now one day of the days the youth came home about noon\nas was his wont; and he found me with sleeves tucked up to the\nelbows engaged in washing a bundle of shirts and turbands; and I\nwas careless of myself so he drew near me and noted my cheeks\nthat flushed rosy red and eyes which were as those of the thirsty\ngazelle and my scorpion locks hanging adown my side face. This\ntook place in summertide; and when he saw me thus his wits were\ndistraught and his sound senses were as naught and his judgment\nwas in default: so he went in to his parent and said to her, \"O\nmy mother, indeed this servant is no boy, but a maiden girl and\nmy wish is that thou discover for me her case and make manifest\nto me her condition and marry me to her, for that my heart is\nfulfilled of her love.\" Now by the decree of the Decreer I was\nprivily listening to all they said of me; so presently I arose,\nafter washing the clothes and what else they had given me; but my\nstate was changed by their talk and I knew and felt certified\nthat the youth and his mother had recognised me for a girl. I\ncontinued on this wise till eventide when I took the food and\nreturned to my family and they all ate till they had eaten\nenough, when I told them my adventure and my conviction. So my\nmother said to me, \"What remaineth for us now to do?\" and said I,\n\"O my mother, let us arise, we three, before night shall set in\nand go forth ere they lock the Khan upon us;[FN#164] and if the\ndoor-keeper ask us aught let us answer, 'We are faring to spend\nthe night in the house of the youth where our son is serving.'\"\nMy mother replied, \"Right indeed is thy rede.\" Accordingly, all\nfour of us went forth at the same time and when the porter asked,\n\"This is night-tide and whither may ye be wending?\" we answered,\n\"We have been invited by the young man whom our son serveth for\nhe maketh a Septena-festival[FN#165] and a bridal-feast: so we\npurpose to night with him and return a-morn.\" Quoth he, \"There is\nno harm in that.\" So we issued out and turned aside and sought\nthe waste lands, the Veiler veiling us, and we ceased not walking\ntill the day brake and we were sore a-wearied. Then we sat for\nrest till the rise of sun and when it shone we four sprang up and\nstrave with our wayfare throughout the first day and the second\nand the third until the seventh. (Now all this was related to\nMohammed the Sultan of Cairo and his Wazir by the youngest\nPrincess and they abode wondering at her words.) On the seventh\nday we reached this city and here we housed ourselves; but to\nthis hour we have no news of our sire after the Minister was\nburnt nor do we know an he be whole or dead. Yet we yearn for\nhim: so do thou, of thine abundant favour, O King of the Age, and\nthy perfect beneficence, send a messenger to seek tidings of him\nand to acquaint him with our case, when he will send to fetch us.\" Here she ceased speaking and the Monarch and Minister both\nwondered at her words and exclaimed, \"Exalted be He who decreeth\nto His servants severance and reunion.\" Then the Sultan of Cairo\narose without stay or delay and wrote letters to the King of\nAl-Ir\u00e1k, the father of the damsels, telling him that he had taken\nthem under his safeguard, them and their mother, and gave the\nwrit to the Shaykh of the Cossids[FN#166] and appointed for it a\nrunning courier and sent him forth with it to the desert. After\nthis the King took the three maidens and their mother and carried\nthem to his Palace where he set apart for them an apartment and\nhe appointed for them what sufficed of appointments. Now, as for\nthe Cossid who fared forth with the letter, he stinted not\nspanning the waste for the space of two months until he made the\ncity of the bereaved King of Al-Ir\u00e1k, and when he asked for the\nroyal whereabouts they pointed out to him a pleasure-garden. So\nhe repaired thither and went in to him, kissed ground before him,\noffered his services, prayed for him and lastly handed to him the\nletter. The King took it and brake the seal and opened the\nscroll; but when he read it and comprehended its contents, he\nrose up and shrieked a loud shriek and fell to the floor in a\nfainting fit. So the high officials flocked around him and raised\nhim from the ground, and when he recovered after an hour or so\nthey questioned him concerning the cause of this. He then related\nto them the adventures of his wife and children; how they were\nstill in the bonds of life whole and hearty; and forthright he\nordered a ship to be got ready for them and stored therein gifts\nand presents for him who had been the guardian of his Queen and\nher daughters. But he knew not what lurked for them in the\nfuture. So the ship sailed away, all on board seeking the desired\ncity, and she reached it without delay, the winds blowing light\nand fair. Then she fired the cannon of safe arrival[FN#167] and\nthe Sultan sent forth to enquire concerning her,?And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her\npermitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and\ntasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and\ndelectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I\nwould relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Seventy-first Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Sultan\nmade enquiries concerning that ship, when behold! the\nRais[FN#168] came forth from her to the land and accosting the\nKing handed to him the letter and acquainted him with the arrival\nof the gifts and presents. Whereupon he bade all on board her\ncome ashore and be received in the guest-house for a space of\nthree days until the traces of travel should disappear from them.\nAfter that time the Sultan gat ready whatso became his high\ndegree of offerings evening those despatched to him by the father\nof the damsels and stowed them in the vessel, where he also\nembarked as much of victual and provaunt as might suffice for all\nthe voyagers. On the fourth day after sunset the damsels and\ntheir mother were borne on board and likewise went the master\nafter they had taken leave of the King and had salam'd to him and\nprayed for his preservation. Now in early morning the breeze blew\nfree and fair so they loosed sail and made for the back[FN#169]\nof the sea and voyaged safely for the first day and the second.\nBut on the third about mid-afternoon a furious gale came out\nagainst them; whereby the sails were torn to tatters and the\nmasts fell overboard; so the crew made certain of death, and the\nship ceased not to be tossed upwards and to settle down without\nmast or sail till midnight, all the folk lamenting one to other,\nas did the maidens and their mother, till the wreck was driven\nupon an island and there went to pieces. Then he whose life-term\nwas short died forthright and he whose life-term was long\nsurvived; and some bestrode planks and others butts and others\nagain bulks of timber whereby all were separated each from other.\nNow the mother and two of the daughters clomb upon planks they\nchanced find and sought their safety; but the youngest of the\nmaidens, who had mounted a keg,[FN#170] and who knew nothing of\nher mother and sisters, was carried up and cast down by the waves\nfor the space of five days till she landed upon an extensive\nsea-board where she found a sufficiency to eat and drink. She sat\ndown upon the shore for an hour of time until she had taken rest\nand her heart was calmed and her fear had flown and she had\nrecovered her spirits: then she rose and paced the sands, all\nunknowing whither she should wend, and whenever she came upon\naught of herbs she would eat of them. This lasted through the\nfirst day and the second till the forenoon of the third, when lo\nand behold! a Knight advanced towards her, falcon on fist and\nfollowed by a greyhound. For three days he had been wandering\nabout the waste questing game either of birds or of beasts, but\nhe happened not upon either when he chanced to meet the maiden,\nand seeing her said in his mind, \"By Allah, yon damsel is my\nquarry this very day.\" So he drew near her and salam'd to her and\nshe returned his salute; whereupon he asked her of her condition\nand she informed him of what had betided her; and his heart was\nsoftened towards her and taking her up on his horse's crupper he\nturned him homewards. Now of this youngest sister (quoth\nShahrazad) there is much to say, and we will say it when the tale\nshall require the telling. But as regards the second Princess,\nshe ceased not floating on the plank for the space of eight days,\nuntil she was borne by the set of the sea close under the walls\nof a city; but she was like one drunken with wine when she\ncrawled up the shore and her raiment was in rags and her colour\nhad wanned for excess of affright. However, she walked onwards at\na slow pace till she reached the city and came upon a house of\nlow stone walls. So she went in and there finding an ancient dame\nsitting and spinning yarn, she gave her good evening and the\nother returned it adding, \"Who art thou, O my daughter, and\nwhence comest thou?\" She answered, \"O my aunt, I'm fallen from\nthe skies and have been met by the earth: thou needest not\nquestion me of aught, for my heart is clean molten by the fire of\ngrief. An thou take me in for love and kindness 'tis well and if\nnot I will again fare forth on my wanderings.\" When the old woman\nheard these words she compassioned the maiden and her heart felt\ntender towards her, and she cried, \"Welcome to thee, O my\ndaughter, sit thee down!\" Accordingly she sat her down beside her\nhostess and the two fell to spinning yarn whereby to gain their\ndaily bread: and the old dame rejoiced in her and said, \"She\nshall take the place of my daughter.\" Now of this second Princess\n(quoth Shahrazad) there is much to say and we will say it when\nthe tale shall require the telling. But as regards the eldest\nsister, she ceased not clinging to the plank and floating over\nthe sea till the sixth day passed, and on the seventh she was\ncast upon a stead where lay gardens distant from the town six\nmiles. So she walked into them and seeing fruit close-clustering\nshe took of it and ate and donned the cast-off dress of a man she\nfound nearhand. Then she kept on faring till she entered the town\nand here she fell to wandering about the Bazars till she came to\nthe shop of a Kun\u00e1fah[FN#171]-maker who was cooking his\nvermicelli; and he, seeing a fair youth in man's habit, said to\nher, \"O younker, wilt thou be my servant!\" \"O my uncle,\" she\nsaid, \"I will well;\" so he settled her wage each day a quarter\nfarthing,[FN#172] not including her diet. Now in that town were\nsome fifteen shops wherein Kunafah was made. She abode with the\nconfectioner the first day and the second and the third to the\nfull number of ten, when the traces of travel left her and fear\ndeparted from her heart, and her favour and complexion were\nchanged for the better and she became even as the moon, nor could\nany guess that the lad was a lass. Now it was the practice of\nthat man to buy every day half a quartern[FN#173] of flour and\nuse it for making his vermicelli; but when the so-seeming youth\ncame to him he would lay in each morning three quarterns; and the\ntownsfolk heard of this change and fell to saying, \"We will never\ndine without the Kunafah of the confectioner who hath in his\nhouse the youth.\" This is what befel the eldest Princess of whom\n(quoth Shahrazad) there is much to say and we will say it when\nthe tale shall require the telling. But as regards the\nQueen-mother,?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and\nfell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her\nsister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n          The Three Hundred and Seventy-second Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that as regards\nthe mother of the maidens, when the ship broke up under them and\nshe bestrode the bulk of timber, she came upon the Rais in his\nboat manned by three of the men; so he took her on board and they\nceased not paddling for a space of three days when they sighted a\nlofty island which fulfilled their desire, and its summit towered\nhigh in air. So they made for it till they drew near it and\nlanded on a low side-shore where they abandoned their boat; and\nthey ceased not walking through the rest of that day and those\nthat followed till one day of the days behold, a dust-cloud\nsuddenly appeared to them spireing up to the skies. They fared\nfor it and after a while it lifted, showing beneath it a host\nwith swords glancing and lance-heads' gleams lancing and war\nsteeds dancing and prancing, and these were ridden by men like\nunto eagles and the host was under the hands of a Sultan around\nwhom ensigns and banners were flying. And when this King saw the\nRais and the sailors and the woman following, he wheeled his\ncharger themwards to learn what tidings they brought and rode up\nto the strangers and questioned them; and the castaways informed\nthem that their ship had broken up under them. Now the cause of\nthis host's taking the field was that the King of Al-Irak, the\nfather of the three maidens, after he appointed the ship and saw\nher set out, felt uneasy at heart, presaging evil, and feared\nwith sore fear the shifts of Time. So he went forth, he and his\nhigh Officials and his host, and marched adown the longshore\ntill, by decree of the Decreer, he suddenly and all unexpectedly\ncame upon his Queen who was under charge of the ship's captain.\nPresently, seeing the cavalcade and its ensigns the Rais went\nforward and recognising the King hastened up to him and kissed\nhis stirrup and his feet. The Sultan turned towards him and knew\nhim; so he asked him of his state and the Rais answered by\nrelating all that had befallen him. Thereupon the King commanded\nhis power to alight in that place and they did so and set up\ntheir tents and pavilions. Then the Sultan took seat in his\nSh\u00e1miy\u00e1nah[FN#174] and bade them bring his Queen and they brought\nher, and when eye met eye the pair greeted each other fondly and\nthe father asked concerning her three children. She declared that\nshe had no tidings of them after the shipwreck and she knew not\nwhether they were dead or alive. Hereat the King wept with sore\nweeping and exclaimed, \"Verily we are Allah's and unto Him we are\nreturning!\" after which he gave orders to march from that place\nupon his capital. Accordingly they stinted not faring for a space\nof four days till they reached the city and he entered his\ncitadel-palace. But every time and every hour he was engrossed in\npondering the affair of the three Princesses and kept saying,\n\"Would heaven I wot are they drowned or did they escape the sea;\nand, if they were saved, Oh, that I knew whether they were\nscattered or abode in company one with other and whatever else\nmay have betided them!\" And he ceased not brooding over the issue\nof things and kept addressing himself in speech; and neither meat\nwas pleasant to him nor drink. Such were his case and adventure;\nbut as regards the youngest sister whenas she was met by the\nKnight and seated upon the crupper of his steed, he ceased not\nriding with her till he reached his city and went into his\ncitadel-palace. Now the Knight was the son of a Sultan who had\nlately deceased, but a usurper had seized the reins of rule in\nhis stead and Time had proved a tyrant to the youth, who had\ntherefore addicted himself to hunting and sporting. Now by the\ndecree of the Decreer he had ridden forth to the chase where he\nmet the Princess and took her up behind him, and at the end of\nthe ride, when he returned to his mother, he was becharmed by her\ncharms; so he gave her in charge to his parent and honoured her\nwith the highmost possible honour and felt for her a growing\nfondness even as felt she for him. And when the girl had tarried\nwith them a month full-told she increased in beauty and\nloveliness and symmetrical stature and perfect grace; then, the\nheart of the youth was fulfilled with love of her and on like\nwise was the soul of the damsel who, in her new affection, forgot\nher mother and her sisters. But from the moment that maiden\nentered his Palace the fortunes of the young Knight amended and\nthe world waxed propitious to him nor less did the hearts of the\nlieges incline to him; so they held a meeting and said, \"There\nshall be over us no Sovran and no Sultan save the son of our late\nKing; and he who at this present ruleth us hath neither great\nwealth nor just claim to the sovereignty.\" Now all this benefit\nwhich accrued to the young King was by the auspicious coming of\nthe Princess. Presently the case was agreed upon by all the\ncitizens of the capital that on the morning of the next day they\nwould make him ruler and depose the usurper.?And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her\npermitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and\ntasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and\ndelectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I\nwould relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Seventy-third Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\ncitizens in early morning held a meeting whereat were present the\nLords of the land and the high Officials, and they went in to the\nusurping Sultan determined to remove and depose him. But he\nrefused and forswore consent, saying, \"By Allah, such thing may\nnot be except after battle and slaughter.\" Accordingly they fared\nforth and acquainted the young King who held the matter grievous\nand was overridden by cark and care: however he said to them, \"If\nthere must perforce be fighting and killing, I have treasures\nsufficient to levy a host.\" So saying he went away and\ndisappeared; but presently he brought them the moneys which they\ndistributed to the troops. Then they repaired to the Mayd\u00e1n, the\nfield of fight outside the city, and on like guise the usurping\nSultan rode out with all his power. And when the two opposing\nhosts were ranged in their forces, each right ready for the fray,\nthe usurper and his men charged home upon the young King and\neither side engaged in fierce combat and sore slaughter befel.\nBut the usurper had the better of the battle and purposed to\nseize the young King amidst his many when, lo and behold!\nappeared a Knight backing a coal-black mare; and he was armed\ncap-\u00e0-pie in a coat of mail, and he carried a spear and a mace.\nWith these he bore down upon the usurper and shore off his right\nforearm so that he fell from his destrier, and the Knight seeing\nthis struck him a second stroke with the sword and parted head\nfrom body. When his army saw the usurper fall, all sought safety\nin flight and sauve qui peut; but the army of the young King came\nup with them and caused the scymitar to fall upon them so that\nwere saved of them only those to whom length of life was\nforeordained. Hereupon the victors lost no time in gathering the\nspoils and the horses together; but the young King stood gazing\nat the Knight and considering his prowess; yet he failed to\nrecognise him and after an hour or so the stranger disappeared\nleaving the conqueror sorely chafed and vexed for that he knew\nhim not and had failed to forgather with him. After this the\nyoung King returned from the battle-field with his band playing\nbehind him and he entered the seat of his power, and was raised\nby the lieges to the station of his sire. Those who had escaped\nthe slaughter dispersed in all directions and sought safety in\nflight and the partizans who had enthroned the young King\nthronged around him and gave him joy as also did the general of\nthe city, whose rejoicings were increased thereby. Now the coming\nof the aforesaid Knight was a wondrous matter. When the rightful\nKing made ready for battle the Princess feared for his life and,\nbeing skilled in the practice of every weapon, she escaped the\nnotice of the Queen-dowager and after donning her war-garb and\nbattle-gear she went forth to the stable and saddled her a mare\nand mounted her and pushed in between the two armies. And as soon\nas she saw the usurper charge down upon the young King as one\ndetermined to shed his life's blood, she forestalled him and\nattacked him and tore out the life from between his ribs. Then\nshe returned to her apartment nor did any know of the deed she\nhad done. Presently, when it was eventide the young King entered\nthe Palace after securing his succession to royalty; but he was\nstill chafed and vexed for that he knew not the Knight. His\nmother met him and gave him joy of his safety and his accession\nto the Sultanate, whereto he made reply, \"Ah! O my mother, my\nlength of days was from the hand of a horseman who suddenly\nappearing joined us in our hardest stress and aided me in my\nstraitest need and saved me from Death.\" Quoth she, \"O my son,\nhast thou recognised him?\" and quoth he, \"'Twas my best desire to\ndiscover him and to stablish him as my Wazir, but this I failed\nto do.\" Now when the Princess heard these words she laughed and\nrejoiced and still laughing said, \"To whoso will make thee\nacquainted with him what wilt thou give?\" and said he, \"Dost thou\nknow him?\" So she replied, \"I wot him not\" and he rejoined, \"Then\nwhat is the meaning of these thy words?\" when she answered him in\nthese prosaic rhymes:[FN#175]?\n\n\"O my lord, may I prove thy sacrifice * Nor exult at thy sorrows\n     thine enemies!\nCould unease and disease by others be borne * The slave should\n     bear load on his lord that lies:\nI'll carry whatever makes thee complain * And be my body the\n     first that dies.\"\n\nWhen he heard these words he again asked, \"Dost thou know him?\"\nand she answered, \"He? Verily we wot him not;\"[FN#176] and\nrepeated the saying to him a second time: withal he by no means\nunderstood her. So quoth she, \"How canst thou administer the\nSultanate and yet fail to comprehend my simple words? For indeed\nI have made the case clear to thee.\" Hereupon he fathomed the\nsecret of the saying and flew to her in his joy and clasped her\nto his bosom and kissed her upon the cheeks. But his mother\nturned to him and said, \"O my son, do not on this wise, for\neverything hath its time and season;\"?And Shahrazad was\nsurprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say\nher permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is\nthy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\"\nQuoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I would relate\nto you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\"\nNow when it was the next night and that was\n\n          The Three Hundred and Seventy-fourth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nSultan's mother said, \"O my son, everything hath its time and\nseason; and whoso hurrieth a matter before opportunity befit\nshall be punished with the loss of it.\" But he replied, \"By\nAllah, O my mother, thy suspicion be misplaced: I acted thus only\non my gratitude to her, for assuredly she is the Knight who came\nto my aidance and who saved me from death.\" And his mother\nexcused him. They passed that night in converse and next day at\nnoontide the King sought the Divan in order to issue his\ncommandments; but when the assembly filled the room and became as\na garden of bloom the Lords of the land said to him, \"O King of\nthe Age, 'twere not suitable that thou become Sultan except thou\ntake to thee a wife; and Alhamdolillah?laud to the Lord who hath\nset thee on the necks of His servants and who hath restored the\nrealm to thee as successor of thy sire. There is no help but that\nthou marry.\" Quoth he, \"To hear is to consent;\" then he arose\nwithout stay or delay and went in to his mother and related to\nher what had happened. Quoth she, \"O my son, do what becometh\nthee and Allah prosper thy affairs!\" He said to her, \"O my\nmother, retire thou with the maiden and persuade her to marriage\nfor I want none other and I love not aught save herself,\" and\nsaid she, \"With joy and gladness.\" So he went from her and she\narose and was private with the damsel when she addressed her, \"O\nmy lady, the King desireth to wed thee and he wanteth none other\nand he seeketh not aught save thee.\" But the Princess hearing\nthis exclaimed, \"How shall I marry, I who have lost my kith and\nkin and my dear ones and am driven from my country and my\nbirth-place? This were a proceeding opposed to propriety! But if\nit need must be and I have the fortune to forgather with my\nmother and sisters and father, then and then only it shall take\nplace.\" The mother replied, \"Why this delay, O my daughter? The\nLords of the land have stood up against the King in the matter of\nmarriage, and in the absence of espousals we fear for his\ndeposition. Now maidens be many and their relations long to see\neach damsel wedded to my son and become a Queen in virtue of her\nhusband's degree: but he wanteth none other and loveth naught\nsave thyself. Accordingly, an thou wouldst take compassion on him\nand protect him by thy consent from the insistence of the\nGrandees, deign accept him to mate.\" Nor did the Sultan's mother\ncease to speak soothing words to the maiden and to gentle her\nwith soft language until her mind was made up and she gave\nconsent.[FN#177] Upon this they began to prepare for the ceremony\nforthright, and summoned the Kazi and witnesses who duly knotted\nthe knot of wedlock and by eventide the glad tidings of the\nespousals were bruited abroad. The King bade spread bride-feasts\nand banqueting tables and invited his high Officials and the\nGrandees of the kingdom and he went in to the maiden that very\nnight and the rejoicings grew in gladness and all sorrows ceased\nto deal sadness. Then he proclaimed through the capital and all\nthe burghs that the lieges should decorate the streets with rare\ntapestries and multiform in honour of the Sultanate. Accordingly,\nthey adorned the thoroughfares in the city and its suburbs for\nforty days and the rejoicings increased when the King fed the\nwidows and the Fakirs and the mesquin and scattered gold and\nrobed and gifted and largessed till all the days of decoration\nwere gone by. On this wise the sky of his estate grew clear by\nthe loyalty of the lieges and he gave orders to deal justice\nafter the fashion of the older Sultans, to wit, the Chosro\u00ebs and\nthe C\u00e6sars; and this condition endured for three years, during\nwhich Almighty Allah blessed him by the Princess with two\nmen-children as they were moons. Such was the case with the\nyoungest Princess; but as regards the cadette, the second\nsister,?And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell silent\nand ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister\nDunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n           The Three Hundred and Seventy-fifth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that as regards\nthe case of the cadette, the second damsel, when she was adopted\nto daughter by the ancient dame she fell to spinning with her and\nliving by the work of their hands. Now there chanced to govern\nthat city a B\u00e1sh\u00e1[FN#178] who had sickened with a sore sickness\ntill he was near unto death; and the wise men and leaches had\ncompounded for him of medicines a mighty matter which, however,\navailed him naught. At last the tidings came to the ears of the\nPrincess who lived with the old woman and she said to her, \"O my\nmother, I desire to prepare a tasse of broth and do thou bear it\nto the Basha and let him drink of it; haply will Almighty Allah\nvouchsafe him a cure whereby we shall gain some good.\" Said the\nother, \"O my daughter, and how shall I obtain admittance and who\nshall set the broth before him?\" The maiden replied, \"O my\nmother, at the Gate of Allah Almighty!\"[FN#179] and the dame\nrejoined, \"Do thou whatso thou willest.\" So the damsel arose and\ncooked a tasse of broth and mingled with it sundry hot spices\nsuch as pimento[FN#180] and she had certain leaflets taken from\nthe so-called Wind-tree,[FN#181] whereof she inserted a small\nportion deftly mingling the ingredients. Then the old woman took\nit and set forth and walked till she reached the Basha's mansion\nwhere the servants and eunuchs met her and asked her of what was\nwith her. She answered, \"This is a tasse of broth which I have\nbrought for the Basha that he drink of it as much as he may\nfancy: haply Almighty Allah shall vouchsafe healing to him.\" They\nwent in and reported that to the Basha who exclaimed, \"Bring her\nto me hither.\" Accordingly, they led her within and she offered\nto him the tasse of broth, whereupon he rose and sat upright and\nremoved the cover from the cup which sent forth a pleasant\nsavour: so he took it and sipped of it a spoonful and a second\nand a third, when his heart opened to her and he drank of it till\nhe could no more. Now this was in the forenoon and after\nfinishing the soup he gave the old woman a somewhat of dinars\nwhich she took and returned therewith to the damsel rejoicing,\nand handed to her the gold pieces. But the Basha immediately\nafter drinking the broth felt drowsy and he slept a restful sleep\ntill mid-afternoon and when he awoke health had returned to his\nframe beginning from the time he drank. So he asked after the\nancient dame and sent her word to prepare for him another tasse\nof broth like the first; but they told him that none knew her\ndwelling-place. Now when the old woman returned home the maiden\nasked her whether the broth had pleased the Basha or not; and she\nsaid that it was very much to his liking; so the girl got ready a\nsecond portion but without all the stronger ingredients[FN#182]\nof the first. Then she gave it to the dame who took it and went\nforth with it and whilst the Basha was asking for her behold, up\nshe came and the servants took her and led her in to the\nGovernor. On seeing her he rose and sat upright and called for\nother food and when it was brought he ate his sufficiency, albeit\nfor a length of time he could neither rise nor walk. But from the\nhour he drank all the broth he sniffed the scent of health and he\ncould move about as he moved when hale and hearty. So he asked\nthe old dame saying, \"Didst thou cook this broth?\" and she\nanswered, \"O my lord, my daughter made it and sent me with it to\nthee.\" He exclaimed, \"By Allah this maiden cannot be thy\ndaughter, O old woman; and she can be naught save the daughter of\nKings. But bid her every day at morning-tide cook me a tasse of\nthe same broth.\" The other replied, \"To hear is to obey,\" and\nreturned home with this message to the damsel who did as the\nBasha bade the first day and the second to the seventh day. And\nthe Basha waxed stronger every day and when the week was ended he\ntook horse and rode to his pleasure-garden. He increased\ncontinually in force and vigour till, one day of the days, he\nsent for the dame and questioned her concerning the damsel who\nlived with her; so she acquainted him with her case and what\nthere was in her of beauty and loveliness and perfect grace.\nThereupon the Basha fell in love with the girl by hearsay and\nwithout eye-seeing[FN#183]:?And Shahrazad was surprised by the\ndawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say.\nThen quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister\nmine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is\nthis compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night\nan the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next\nnight and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Seventy-sixth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Basha\nfell in love with the girl by hearsay and without eye-seeing: so\nhe changed his habit and donning a dress of Darwaysh-cut left his\nmansion and threaded the streets passing from house to house\nuntil he reached that of the old woman. He then knocked at the\nentrance and she came behind it and asked \"Who's at the door?\" \"A\nDarwaysh and a stranger,\" answered he, \"who knoweth no man in\nthis town and who is sore anhungered.\" Now the ancient dame was\nby nature niggardly and she had lief put him off, but the damsel\nsaid to her, \"Turn him not away,\" and quoting \"Honour to the\nforeigner is a duty,\" said, \"So do thou let him in.\" She admitted\nhim and seated him when the maiden brought him a somewhat of food\nand stood before him in his service. He ate one time and ten\ntimes he gazed at the girl until he had eaten his sufficiency\nwhen he washed his hands and rising left the house and went his\nways. But his heart flamed with love of the Princess and he was\ndeeply enamoured of her and he ceased not walking until he\nreached his mansion whence he sent for the old woman. And when\nthey brought her, he produced a mint of money and a sumptuous\ndress in which he requested and prayed her to attire the damsel:\nthen the old woman took it and returned to her proteg\u00e9e, saying\nto herself, \"By Allah, if the girl accept the Basha and marry him\nshe will prove sensible as fortunate; but an she be not content\nso to do I will turn her out of my door.\" When she went in she\ngave her the dress and bade her don it, but the damsel refused\ntill the old woman coaxed her and persuaded her to try it on. Now\nwhen the dame left the Basha, he privily assumed a woman's habit\nand followed in her footsteps; and at last he entered the house\nclose behind her and beheld the Princess in the sumptuous dress.\nThen the fire of his desire flamed higher in his heart and he\nlacked patience to part from her, so he returned to his mansion\nwith mind preoccupied and vitals yearning. Thither he summoned\nthe old woman and asked her to demand the girl in marriage and\nwas instant with her and cried, \"No help but this must be.\"\nAccordingly she returned home and acquainted the girl with what\nhad taken place adding, \"O my daughter, verily the Basha loveth\nthee and his wish is to wed thee: he hath been a benefactor to\nus, and thou wilt never meet his like; for that he is deeply\nenamoured of thee and the byword saith, 'Reward of lover is\nreturn of love.'\" And the ancient dame ceased not gentling her\nand plying her with friendly words till she was soothed and gave\nconsent. Then she returned to the Basha and informed him of her\nsuccess, so he joyed with exceeding joy, and without stay or\ndelay bade slaughter beeves and prepare bridal feasts and spread\nbanquets whereto he invited the notables of his government: after\nwhich he summoned the Kazi who tied the knot and he went in to\nher that night. And of the abundance of his love he fared not\nforth from her till seven days had sped; and he ceased not to\ncohabit with her for a span of five years during which Allah\nvouchsafed to him a man-child by her and two daughters. Such was\nthe case with the cadette Princess; but as regards the eldest\nsister, when she entered the city in youth's attire she was\naccosted by the Kun\u00e1fah-baker and was hired for a daily wage of a\nM\u00edd\u00ed of silver besides her meat and drink in his house. Now 'twas\nthe practice of that man every day to buy half a quartern of\nflour and thereof make his vermicelli; but when the so-seeming\nyouth came to him he would buy and work up three quarterns; and\nall the folk who bought Kunafah of him would flock to his shop\nwith the view of gazing upon the beauty and loveliness of the\nYouth and said, \"Exalted be He who created and perfected what He\nwrought in the creation of this young man!\" Now by the decree of\nthe Decreer the baker's shop faced the lattice-windows of the\nSultan's Palace and one day of the days the King's daughter\nchanced to look out at the window and she saw the Youth standing\nwith sleeves tucked up from arms which shone like ingots[FN#184]\nof silver. Hereat the Princess fell in love with the Youth,?And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased\nsaying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How\nsweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and\ndelectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I\nwould relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n          The Three Hundred and Seventy-seventh Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the\nSultan's daughter looked out at the window she fell in love with\nthe youth, and she knew not how to act that she might forgather\nwith him: so desire afflicted her and extreme fondness and\npresently she took to her pillow all for her affection to that\nyoung man. Thereupon her nurse went in to her and found her lying\nupon the carpet-bed a-moaning and a-groaning \"Ah!\" So she\nexclaimed, \"Thy safety from all whereof thou hast to complain!\"\nThen she took her hand and felt her pulse but could find in it no\nsymptoms of sickness bodily, whereupon she said, \"O my lady, thou\nhast no unease save what eyesight hath brought thee.\" She\nreplied, \"O my mother, do thou keep sacred my secret, and if thy\nhand can reach so far as to bring me my desire, prithee do so;\"\nand the nurse rejoined, \"O my lady, like me who can keep a\nsecret? therefore confide to me thy longing and Allah vouchsafe\nthee thy dearest hope.\" Said the Princess, \"O my mother, my heart\nis lost to the young man who worketh in the vermicelli-baker's\nshop and if I fail to be united with him I shall die of grief.\"\nThe nurse replied, \"By Allah, O my lady, he is the fairest of his\nage and indeed I lately passed by him as his sleeves were tucked\nup above his forearms and he ravished my wits: I longed to accost\nhim but shame overcame me in presence of those who were round\nhim, some buying Kunafah and others gazing on his beauty and\nloveliness, his symmetric stature and his perfect grace. But I, O\nmy lady, will do thee a service and cause thee forgather with him\nere long.\" Herewith the heart of the Princess was solaced and she\npromised the nurse all good. Then the old woman left her and fell\nto devising how she should act in order to bring about a meeting\nbetween her and the youth or carry him into the Palace. So she\nwent to the baker's shop and bringing out an Ashrafi[FN#185] said\nto him, \"Take, O Master, this gold piece and make me a\nplatter[FN#186] of vermicelli meet for the best and send it for\nme by this Youth who shall bring it to my home that be near hand:\nI cannot carry it myself.\" Quoth the baker in his mind, \"By\nAllah, good pay is this gold piece and a Kunafah is worth ten\nsilverlings; so all the rest is pure profit.\" And he replied, \"On\nmy head and eyes be it, O my lady;\" and taking the Ashrafi made\nher a plate of vermicelli and bade his servant bear it to her\nhouse. So he took it up and accompanied the nurse till she\nreached the Princess's palace when she went in and seated the\nYouth in an out-of-the-way closet. Then she repaired to her\nnursling and said, \"Rise up, O my lady, for I have brought thee\nthy desire.\" The Princess sprang to her feet in hurry and flurry\nand fared till she came to the closet; then, going in she found\nthe Youth who had set down the Kunafah and who was standing in\nexpectation of the nurse's return that he and she might wend\nhomewards. And suddenly the Sultan's daughter came in and bade\nthe Youth be seated beside her, and when he took seat she clasped\nhim to her bosom of her longing for him and fell to kissing him\non the cheeks and mouth ever believing him to be a male\nmasculant, till her hot desire for him was quenched.[FN#187] Then\nshe gave to him two golden dinars and said to him, \"O my lord and\ncoolth of my eyes, do thou come hither every day that we may take\nour pleasure, I and thou.\" He said, \"To hear is to obey,\" and\nwent forth from her hardly believing in his safety, for he had\nlearnt that she was the Sultan's daughter, and he walked till he\nreached the shop of his employer to whom he gave the twenty\ndinars. Now when the baker saw the gold, affright and terror\nentered his heart and he asked his servant whence the money came;\nand, when told of the adventure, his horror and dismay increased\nand he said to himself, \"An this case of ours continue, either\nthe Sultan will hear that this youth practiseth upon his\ndaughter, or she will prove in the family way and 'twill end in\nour deaths and the ruin of our country. The lad must quit this\nevil path.\" Thereupon quoth he to the Youth, \"From this time\nforwards do thou cease faring forth thereto,\" whereat quoth the\nother, \"I may not prevent myself from going and I dread death an\nI go not.\" So the man cried, \"Do whatso may seem good to thee.\"\nAccordingly, the Princess in male attire fell to going every\nmorning and meeting the Sultan's daughter, till one day of the\ndays she went in and the twain sat down and laughed and enjoyed\nthemselves, when lo and behold! the King entered. And as soon as\nhe espied the youth and saw him seated beside his daughter, he\ncommanded him be arrested and they arrested him;?And Shahrazad\nwas surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to\nsay her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet\nis thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\"\nQuoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I would relate\nto you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\"\nNow when it was the next night and that was\n\n          The Three Hundred and Seventy-eighth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the\nSultan entered and saw the youth sitting beside his daughter he\ncommanded him to be arrested and they arrested him; they also\nseized the Princess and bound her forearms to her sides with\nstraitest bonds. Then the King summoned the Linkman and bade him\nsmite off both their heads: so he took them and went down with\nthem to the place of execution. But when the tidings reached the\nKun\u00e1f\u00e1ni he shut up shop without stay and delay and fled.\nPresently the Sultan said in his mind, \"Fain would I question the\nYouth touching his object in entering hither, and ask him who\nconducted him to my daughter and how he won access to her.\"\nAccordingly he sent to bring back the twain and imprisoned them\ntill night-fall: then he went in to his Harem and caused his\ndaughter's person to be examined, and when they inspected her she\nproved to be a pure maid. This made the King marvel, for he\nsupposed that the Youth must have undone her maidenhead;[FN#188]\nso he sent for him to the presence, and when he came he\nconsidered him and found him fairer even than his daughter; nay,\nfar exceeding her in beauty and loveliness. So he cried, \"By\nAllah this be a wondrous business! Verily my daughter hath excuse\nfor loving this Youth nor to my judgment doth she even him in\ncharms: not the less this affair is a shame to us, and the\nfoulest of stains and needs must the twain be done to death\nto-morrow morning!\" Herewith he commanded the jailer to take the\nYouth and to keep him beside him and he shut up the girl with her\nnurse. The jailer forthwith led his charge to the jail; but it so\nhappened that its portal was low; and, when the Youth was ordered\nto pass through it, he bent his brow downwards for easier\nentrance, when his turband struck against the lintel and fell\nfrom his head. The jailer turned to look at him, and behold, his\nhair was braided and the plaits being loosed gleamed like an\ningot of gold. He felt assured that the youth was a maiden so he\nreturned to the King in all haste and hurry and cried, \"Pardon, O\nour lord the Sultan!\" \"Allah pardon us and thee;\" replied the\nKing, and the man rejoined, \"O King of the Age, yonder Youth is\nno boy; nay, he be a virgin girl.\" Quoth the Sultan, \"What sayest\nthou?\" and quoth the other, \"By the truth of Him who made thee\nruler of the necks of His worshippers, O King of the Age, verily\nthis is a maiden.\" So he bade the prison-keeper bring her and set\nher in his presence and he returned with her right soon, but now\nshe paced daintily as the gazelle and veiled her face, because\nshe saw that the jailer had discovered her sex. The King then\ncommanded them carry her to the Harem whither he followed her and\npresently, having summoned his daughter, he questioned her\nconcerning the cause of her union with the so-seeming Youth.\nHerewith she related all that had happened with perfect truth: he\nalso put questions to the Princess in man's habit, but she stood\nabashed before him and was dumb, unable to utter a single word.\nAs soon as it was morning, the Sultan asked of the place where\nthe Youth had dwelt and they told him that he lodged with a\nKun\u00e1fah-baker, and the King bade fetch the man, when they\nreported that he had fled. However, the Sultan was instant in\nfinding him, so they went forth and sought him for two days when\nthey secured him and set him between the royal hands. He enquired\ninto the Youth's case and the other replied, \"By Allah, O King of\nthe Age, between me and him were no questionings and I wot not\nwhence may be his origin.\" The Monarch rejoined, \"O man, thou\nhast my plighted word for safety, so continue thy business as\nbefore and now gang thy gait.\" Then he turned to the maiden and\nrepeated his enquiries, when she made answer saying, \"O my lord,\nmy tale is wondrous and my adventures marvellous.\" \"And what may\nthey be?\" he asked her.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn\nof day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then\nquoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O\nsister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where\nis this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming\nnight an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the\nnext night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nPrincess said to the Sultan, \"In very sooth my tale is passing\nstrange,\" and he besought her to recount it. So she began to\ndisclose the whole of her history and the adventures which had\nbefallen her and her sisters and their mother; especially of the\nshipwreck in middle-most ocean and of her coming to land; after\nwhich she told the affair of the Wazir burnt by her sire, that\ntraitor who had separated children from father and, brief, all\nthat had betided them from first to last. Hearing her soft speech\nand her strange story the Sultan marvelled and his heart inclined\nherwards; then he gave her in charge to the Palace women and\nconferred upon her favours and benefits. But when he looked upon\nher beauty and loveliness, her brilliancy and perfect grace he\nfell deeply in love with her, and his daughter hearing the\naccidents which had happened to the Princess's father cried, \"By\nAllah, the story of this damsel should be chronicled in a book,\nthat it become the talk of posterity and be quoted as an instance\nof the omnipotence of Allah Almighty; for He it is who parteth\nand scattereth and re-uniteth.\" So saying she took her and\ncarried her to her own apartment where she entreated her\nhonourably; and the maiden, after she had spent a month in the\nPalace, showed charms grown two-fold and even more. At last one\nday of the days, as she sat beside the King's daughter in her\nchamber about eventide, when the sun was hot after a sultry\nsummer day and her cheeks had flushed rosy red, behold, the\nSultan entered passing through the room on his way to the Harem\nand his glance undesignedly[FN#189] fell upon the Princess who\nwas in home gear, and he looked a look of eyes that cost him a\nthousand sighs. So he was astounded and stood motionless knowing\nnot whether to go or to come; and when his daughter sighted him\nin such plight she went up to him and said, \"What hath betided\nthee and brought thee to this condition?\" Quoth he, \"By Allah,\nthis girl hath stolen my senses from my soul: I am fondly\nenamoured of her and if thou aid me not by asking her in marriage\nand I fail to wed her 'twill make my wits go clean bewildered.\"\nThereupon the King's daughter returned to the damsel and drawing\nnear her said, \"O my lady and light of my eyes, indeed my father\nhath seen thee in thy deshabille and he hath hung[FN#190] all his\nhopes upon thee, so do not thou contrary my words nor the counsel\nI am about to offer thee.\" \"And what may that be, O my lady?\"\nasked she, and the other answered, \"My wish is to marry thee to\nmy sire and thou be to him wife and he be to thee man.\" But when\nthe maiden heard these words she wept with bitter weeping till\nshe sobbed aloud and cried, \"Time hath mastered us and decreed\nseparation: I know nothing of my mother and sisters and father,\nan they be dead or on life, and whether they were drowned or came\nto ground; then how should I enjoy a bridal f\u00eate when they may be\nin mortal sadness and sorrow?\" But the other ceased not to soothe\nher and array fair words against her and show her fondly\nfriendship till her soul consented to wedlock. Presently the\nother brought out to her what habit befitted the occasion still\ncomforting her heart with pleasant converse,[FN#191] after which\nshe carried the tidings to her sire. So he sent forthright to\nsummon his Lords of the reign and Grandees of the realm and the\nknot was tied between them twain; and, going in unto her that\nnight, he found her a hoard wherefrom the spell had freshly been\ndispelled; and of his longing for her and his desire to her he\nabode with her two se'nnights never going forth from her or by\nnight or by day. Hereat the dignitaries of his empire were sore\nvexed for that their Sultan ceased to appear at the Divan and\ndeal commandment between man and man, and his daughter went in\nand acquainted him therewith. He asked her how long he had\nabsented himself and she answered saying, \"Knowest thou how long\nthou hast tarried in the Palace?\" whereto he replied, \"Nay.\"\n\"Fourteen whole days,\" cried she, whereupon he exclaimed, \"By\nAllah, O my daughter, I thought to myself that I had spent with\nher two days and no more.\" And his daughter wondered to hear his\nwords. Such was the case of the cadette Princess; but as regards\nthe King, the father of the damsel, when he forgathered with the\nmother of his three daughters and she told him of the shipwreck\nand the loss of her children he determined to travel in search of\nthe three damsels, he and the Wazir habited as Darwayshes.?And\nShahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and\nceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,\n\"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and\ndelectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I\nwould relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n             The Three Hundred and Eightieth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Sultan\nresolved to travel in search of his children (the three damsels)\nhe and his Wazir habited as Darwayshes. So leaving the government\nin charge of his wife he went forth and the twain in their search\nfirst visited the cities on the seaboard beginning with the\nnearest; but they knew not what was concealed from them in the\nworld of the future. They stinted not travelling for the space of\na month till they came to a city whose Sultan had a place hight\nAl-Dijlah[FN#192] whereupon he had built a Palace. The Darwayshes\nmade for it and found the King sitting in his Kiosque[FN#193]\naccompanied by two little lads, the elder eight years old and the\nsecond six. They drew near to him and saluting him offered their\nservices and blessed him, wishing him length of life as is the\nfashion when addressing royalties; and he returned their\ngreetings and made them draw near and showed them kindness; also,\nwhen it was eventide he bade his men serve them with somewhat of\nfood. On the next day the King fared forth to Tigris-bank and sat\nin his Kiosque together with the two boys. Now the Darwayshes had\nhired them a cell in the Khan whence it was their daily wont to\nissue forth and wander about the city asking for what they\nsought; and this day they again came to the place wherein sat the\nSultan and they marvelled at the fair ordinance of the Palace.\nThey continued to visit it every day till one day of the days the\ntwo went out, according to their custom, and when entering the\nPalace one of the King's children, which was the younger, came up\nto them and fell to considering them as if he had forgotten his\nown existence. This continued till the Darwayshes retired to\ntheir cell in the caravanserai whither the boy followed them to\ncarry out the Secret Purpose existing in the All-knowledge of\nAllah. And when the two sat down the Sultan's son went in to them\nand fell to gazing upon them and solacing himself with the sight,\nwhen the elder Darwaysh clasped him to his bosom and fell to\nkissing his cheeks, marvelling at his semblance and at his\nbeauty; and the boy in his turn forgot his father and his mother\nand took to the old man. Now whenas night fell the Sultan retired\nhomewards fancying that his boy had foregone him to his mother\nwhile the Sult\u00e1nah fancied that her child was with his father,\nand this endured till such time as the King had entered the\nHarem. But only the elder child was found there so the Sultan\nasked, \"Where is the second boy?\" and the Queen answered, \"Day by\nday thou takest them with thee to Tigris-bank and thou bringest\nthem back; but to-day only the elder hath returned.\" Thereupon\nthey sought him but found him not and the mother buffeted her\nface in grief for her child and the father lost his right senses.\nThen the high Officials fared forth to search for their King's\nson and sought him from early night to the dawn of day, but not\nfinding him they deemed that he had been drowned in Tigris-water.\nSo they summoned all the fishermen and divers and caused them to\ndrag the river for a space of four days. All this time and the\nboy abode with the Darwayshes, who kept saying to him, \"Go to thy\nfather and thy mother;\" but he would not obey them and he would\nsit with the Fakirs upon whom all his thoughts were fixed while\ntheirs were fixed upon him. This lasted till the fifth day when\nthe door-keeper unsummoned entered the cell and found the\nSultan's son sitting with the old men; so he went out hurriedly\nand repairing to the King cried, \"O my Sovran, thy boy is with\nthose Darwayshes who were wont daily to visit thee.\" Now when the\nSultan heard the porter's words, he called aloud to his Eunuchs\nand Chamberlains and gave them his orders; when they ran a race,\nas it were, till they entered upon the holy men and carried them\nfrom their cell together with the boy and set all four[FN#194]\nbefore the Sultan. The King exclaimed, \"Verily these Darwayshes\nmust be spies and their object was to carry off my boy;\" so he\ntook up his child and clasped him to his bosom and kissed him\nagain and again of his yearning fondness to him, and presently he\nsent him to his mother who was well-nigh frantic. Then he\ncommitted the two Fakirs (with commands to decapitate them) to\nthe Linkman who took them and bound their hands and bared their\nheads and fell to crying, \"This be his reward and the least of\nawards who turneth traitor and kidnappeth the sons of the Kings;\"\nand as he cried all the citizens great and small flocked to the\nspectacle. But when the boy heard the proclamation, he went forth\nin haste till he stood before the elder Darwaysh who was still\nkneeling upon the rug of blood and threw himself upon him at full\nlength till the Grandees of his father forcibly removed him. Then\nthe executioner stepped forward purposing to strike the necks of\nthe two old men and he raised his sword hand till the dark hue of\nhis arm-pit showed[FN#195] and he would have dealt the blow when\nthe boy again made for the elder Fakir and threw himself upon him\nnot only once but twice and thrice, preventing the Sworder's\nstroke and abode clinging to the old man. The Sultan cried, \"This\nDarwaysh is a Sorcerer:\" but when the tidings reached the\nSultanah, the boy's mother, she exclaimed, \"O King, needs must\nthis Darwaysh have a strange tale to tell, for the boy is wholly\nabsorbed in him. So it is not possible to slay him on this wise\ntill thou summon him to the presence and question him: I also\nwill listen to him behind the curtain and thus none shall hear\nhim save our two selves.\" The King did her bidding and commanded\nthe old man to be brought: so they took him from under the sword\nand set him before the King?And Shahrazad was surprised by the\ndawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say.\nThen quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy\ntale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she,\n\"And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on\nthe coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it\nwas the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Eighty-first Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that at the\nKing's bidding they took up the Fakir who was still kneeling\nunder the glaive and set him before the King who bade him be\nseated. And when he sat him down the Sultan commanded all who\nwere in the presence of Eunuchs and Chamberlains to withdraw, and\nthey withdrew leaving the Sovran with the old religious. But the\nsecond Darwaysh still knelt in his bonds under the sword of the\nSworder who, standing over against his head, kept looking for the\nroyal signal to strike. Then cried the King, \"O Mendicant, what\ndrove thee to take my son, the core of my heart?\" He replied, \"By\nAllah, O King, I took him not for mine own pleasure; but he would\nnot go from me and I threatened him, withal he showed no fear\ntill this destiny descended upon us.\" Now when the Sultan heard\nthese words his heart softened to the old man and he pitied him\nwhile the Sultanah who sat behind the curtain fell to weeping\naloud. Presently the King said, \"O Darwaysh, relate to us thy\nhistory, for needs must it be a singular;\" but the old man began\nto shed tears and said, \"O King of the Age, I have a marvellous\nadventure which were it graven with needle-gravers upon the\neye-corners were a warning to whoso would be warned.\" The Sultan\nwas surprised and replied, \"What then may be thy history, O\nMendicant?\" and the other rejoined, \"O King of the Age, I will\nrecount it to thee.\"[FN#196] Accordingly he told him of his\nkingship and the Wazir tempting his wife and of her slaying the\nnurse, the slave-girls, and the Eunuch; but when he came to this\npoint the Sultanah ran out in haste and hurry from behind the\ncurtain and rushing up to the Darwaysh threw herself upon his\nbosom. The King seeing this marvelled and in a fury of jealousy\nclapped hand to hilt crying to the Fakir, \"This be most unseemly\nbehaviour!\" But the Queen replied, \"Hold thy hand, by Allah, he\nis my father and I am his loving daughter;\" and she wept and\nlaughed alternately[FN#197] all of the excess of her joy. Hereat\nthe King wondered and bade release the second religious and\nexclaimed, \"Sooth he spake who said:?\n\nAllah joineth the parted when think the twain * With firmest\n     thought ne'er to meet again.\"\n\nThen the Sultanah began recounting to him the history of her sire\nand specially what befel him from his Wazir; and he, when he\nheard her words, felt assured of their truth. Presently he bade\nthem change the habits of her father and of his Wazir and dress\nthem with the dress of Kings; and he set apart for them an\napartment and allotted to them rations of meat and drink; so\nextolled be He who disuniteth and reuniteth! Now the Sultanah in\nquestion was the youngest daughter of the old King who had been\nmet by the Knight when out hunting, the same that owed all his\nfair fortunes to her auspicious coming. Accordingly the father\nwas assured of having found the lost one and was delighted to\nnote her high degree; but after tarrying with her for a time he\nasked permission of his son-in-law to set out in quest of her two\nsisters and he supplicated Almighty Allah to reunite him with the\nother twain as with this first one. Thereupon quoth the Sultan,\n\"It may not be save that I accompany thee, for otherwise haply\nsome mishap of the world may happen to thee.\" Then the three sat\ndown in council debating what they should do and in fine they\nagreed to travel, taking with them some of the Lords of the land\nand Chamberlains and Nabobs. They made ready and after three days\nthey marched out of the city?And Shahrazad was surprised by the\ndawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say.\nThen quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister\nmine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is\nthis compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night\nan the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next\nnight and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Eighty-second Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the old\nKing marched forth the city accompanied by his son-in-law and his\nWazir after the Sultan had supplied his own place by a\nVice-regent who would carry out his commandments. Then they\nturned to travelling in quest of the two lost daughters and\nstinted not their wayfare for a space of twenty days, when they\ndrew near a city lofty of base, and, finding a spacious camping\nplain, thereon pitched their tents. The time was set of sun, so\nthe cooks applied themselves to getting ready the evening meal\nand when supper was served up all ate what sufficed them, and it\nwas but little because of the travails of travel, and they\nnighted in that site until morn was high. Now the ruler of that\ncity was a Sultan mighty of might, potent of power and exceeding\nin energy; and he was surprised to hear a Chamberlain report to\nhim saying, \"O King of the Age, after an eventless night early\nthis morning we found outside thy capital tents and pavilions\nwith standards and banners planted overagainst them and all this\nafter the fashion of the Kings.\" The Sovran replied, \"There is no\nhelp but that to these creations of Allah some requirement is\nhere: however, we will learn their tidings.\" So he took horse\nwith his Grandees and made for the ensigns and colours, and\ndrawing near he noted gravity and majesty in the array and\neunuchs and followers and serving-men standing ready to do duty.\nThen he dismounted and walked till he approached the bystanders\nwhom he greeted with the salam. They salam'd in return and\nreceived him with most honourable reception and highmost respect\ntill they had introduced him into the royal Shahmiy\u00e1nah; when the\ntwo Kings rose to him and welcomed him and he wished them long\nlife in such language as is spoken by Royalties; and all sat down\nto converse one with other. Now the Lord of the city had warned\nhis people before he fared forth that dinner must be prepared; so\nwhen it was mid-forenoon the Farr\u00e1sh-folk[FN#198] spread the\ntables with trays of food and the guests came forward, one and\nall, and enjoyed their meal and were gladdened. Then the dishes\nwere carried away for the servants and talk went round till\nsun-set, at which time the King again ordered food to be brought\nand all supped till they had their sufficiency. But the Sultan\nkept wondering in his mind and saying, \"Would Heaven I wot the\ncause of these two Kings coming to us!\" and when night fell the\nstrangers prayed him to return home and to revisit them next\nmorning. So he farewelled them and fared forth. This lasted three\ndays, during which time he honoured them with all honour, and on\nthe fourth he got ready for them a banquet and invited them to\nhis Palace. They mounted and repaired thither when he set before\nthem food; and as soon as they had fed, the trays were removed\nand coffee and confections and sherbets were served up and they\nsat talking and enjoying themselves till supper-tide when they\nsought permission to hie campwards. But the Sultan of the city\nsware them to pass the night with him; so they returned to their\nsession till the father of the damsels said, \"Let each of us tell\na tale that our waking hours may be the more pleasant.\" \"Yes,\"\nthey replied and all agreed in wishing that the Sultan of the\ncity would begin. Now by the decree of the Decreer the\nlattice-window of the Queen opened upon the place of session and\nshe could see them and hear every word they said. He began, \"By\nAllah I have to relate an adventure which befel me and 'tis one\nof the wonders of our time.\" Quoth they, \"And what may it\nbe?\"?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell\nsilent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister\nDunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n           The Three Hundred and Eighty-third Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Sultan\nof the city said:?In such a year I had a malady which none\navailed to medicine until at last an old woman came to me bearing\na tasse of broth which when I drank caused health return to me.\nSo I bade her bring me a cupful every day and I drank it till,\nafter a time, I chanced to ask her who made that broth and she\nanswered that it was her daughter. And one day I assumed a\ndisguise and went to the ancient dame's house and there saw the\ngirl who was a model of beauty and loveliness, brilliancy,\nsymmetric stature and perfect grace, and seeing her I lost my\nheart to her, and asked her to wife. She answered, \"How can I\nwed; I separated from my sisters and parents and all unknowing\nwhat hath become of them?\" Now when the father of the damsels\nheard these words, tears rolled down his cheeks in rills and he\nremembered his two lost girls and wept and moaned and complained,\nthe Sultan looking on in astonishment the while; and when he went\nto his Queen he found her lying in a fainting fit. Hereupon he\ncried out her name and seated her and she on coming to exclaimed,\n\"By Allah, he who wept before you is my very father: by Him who\ncreated me I have no doubt thereof!\" So the Sultan went down to\nhis father-in-law and led him up to the Harem, and the daughter\nrose and met him and they threw their arms round each other's\nnecks, and fondly greeted each other. After this the old King\npassed the night relating to her what had befallen him while she\nrecounted to him whatso hath betided her, from first to last,\nwhereupon their rejoicings increased and the father thanked\nAlmighty Allah for having found two of his three children. The\nold King and his sons-in-law and his Wazir ceased not to enjoy\nthemselves in the city, eating and drinking[FN#199] and making\nmerry for a space of two days when the father asked aidance of\nhis daughters' husbands to seek his third child that the general\njoy might be perfected. This request they granted and resolved to\njourney with him; so they made their preparations for travel and\nissued forth the city together with sundry Lords of the land and\nhigh Dignitaries, all taking with them what was required of\nrations. Then travelling together in a body they faced the march.\nThis was their case; but as regards the third daughter (she who\nin man's attire had served the Kun\u00e1fah-baker), after being\nmarried to the Sultan his love for her and desire to her only\nincreased and she cohabited with him for a length of time. But\none day of the days she called to mind her parents and her kith\nand kin and her native country, so she wept with sorest weeping\ntill she swooned away and when she recovered she rose without\nstay or delay and taking two suits of Mameluke's habits patiently\nawaited the fall of night. Presently she donned one of the\ndresses and went down to the stables where, finding all the\ngrooms asleep, she saddled her a stallion of the noblest strain\nand clinging to the near side mounted him. Then, having\nsupplicated the veiling of the Veiler, she fared under cover of\nthe glooms for her own land, all unweeting the way, and when\nnight gave place to day she saw herself amidst mountains and\nsands; nor did she know what she should do. However she found on\na hill-flank some remnants of the late rain which she drank;\nthen, loosing the girths of her horse she gave him also to drink\nand she was about to take her rest in that place when, lo and\nbehold! a lion big of bulk and mighty of might drew near her and\nhe was lashing his tail[FN#200] and roaring thunderously.?And\nShahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and\nceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,\n\"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and\ndelectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I\nwould relate to you on the coming night, an the Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the\nlion advanced to spring upon the Princess who was habited as a\nMameluke, and rushed to rend her in pieces, she, seeing her\nimminent peril, sprang up in haste and bared her blade and met\nhim brand in hand saying, \"Or he will slay me or I slay him.\" But\nas she was hearty of heart she advanced till the two met and fell\nto fight and struck each at other, but the lion waxed furious and\ngnashed his tusks, now retreating and now circuiting around her\nand then returning to front his foe purposing to claw her, when\nshe heartened her heart and without giving ground she swayed her\nsabre with all the force of her forearm and struck the beast\nbetween the eyes and the blade came out gleaming between his\nthighs and he sank on earth life-forlore and weltering in his\ngore. Presently she wiped her scymitar and returned it to its\nsheath; then, drawing a whittle she came up to the carcass\nintending to skin it for her own use, when behold, there towered\nfrom afar two dust-clouds, one from the right and the other from\nthe left, whereat she withdrew from flaying the lion's fell and\napplied herself to looking out. Now by the decree of the Decreer\nthe first dust-cloud approaching her was that raised by the host\nof her father and his sons-in-law who, when they drew near all\nstood to gaze upon her and consider her, saying in wonderment one\nto other, \"How can this white slave (and he a mere lad) have\nslain this lion single-handed? Wall\u00e1hi, had that beast charged\ndown upon us he had scattered us far and wide, and haply he had\ntorn one of us to pieces. By Allah, this matter is marvellous!\"\nBut the Mameluke looked mainly at the old King whom he knew to be\nhis sire for his heart went forth to him. Meanwhile the second\ndust-cloud approached until those beneath it met the others who\nhad foregone them, and behold, under it was the husband of the\ndisguised Princess and his many. Now the cause of this King\nmarching forth and coming thither was this. When he entered the\nPalace intending for the Harem, he found not his Queen, and he\nfared forth to seek her and presently by the decree of the\nDecreer the two hosts met at the place where the lion had been\nkilled. The Sultan gazed upon the Mameluke and marveiled at his\nslaying the monster and said to himself, \"Now were this white\nslave mine I would share with him my good and stablish him in my\nkingdom.\" Herewith the Mameluke came forward and flayed the lion\nof his fell and gutted him; then, lighting a fire he roasted\nsomewhat of his flesh until it was sufficiently cooked all gazing\nupon him the while and marvelling at the heartiness of his heart.\nAnd when the meat was ready, he carved it and setting it upon a\nSufrah[FN#201] of leather said to all present, \"Bismillah, eat,\nin the name of Allah, what Fate hath given to you!\" Thereupon all\ncame forward and fell to eating of the lion's flesh except the\nPrincess's husband who was not pleased to join them and said, \"By\nAllah, I will not eat of this food until I learn the case of this\nyouth.\"[FN#202] Now the Princess had recognised her spouse from\nthe moment of his coming, but she was concealed from him by her\nMameluke's clothing; and he disappeared time after time then\nreturned to gaze upon the white slave, eyeing now his eyes now\nhis sides and now the turn of his neck and saying privily in his\nmind, \"Laud to the Lord who created and fashioned him! By Allah\nthis Mameluke is the counterpart of my wife in eyes and nose, and\nall his form and features are made likest-like unto hers. So\nextolled be He who hath none similar and no equal!\" He was\ndrowned in this thought but all the rest ate till they had eaten\nenough; then they sat down to pass the rest of their day and\ntheir night in that stead. When it was dawn each and every craved\nleave to depart upon his own business; but the Princess's husband\nasked permission to wander in quest of her while the old King,\nthe father of the damsels, determined to go forth with his two\nsons-in-law and find the third and last of his lost daughters.\nThen the Mameluke said to them, \"O my lords, sit we down, I and\nyou, for the rest of the day in this place and to-morrow I will\ntravel with you.\" Now the Princess for the length of her\nwanderings (which began too when she was a little one) had\nforgotten the semblance of her sire; but when she looked upon the\nold King her heart yearned unto him and she fell to talking with\nhim, while he on his part whenever he gazed at her felt a like\nlonging and sought speech of her. So the first who consented to\nthe Mameluke's proposal was the sire whose desire was naught save\nto sit beside her; then the rest also agreed to pass the day\nreposing in that place, for that it was a pleasant mead and a\nspacious, garnished with green grass and bright with bourgeon and\nblossom. So they took seat there till sundown when each brought\nout what victual he had and all ate their full and then fell to\nconversing; and presently said the Princess, \"O my lords, let\neach of you tell us a tale which he deemeth strange.\" Her father\nbroke in saying, \"Verily this rede be right and the first to\nrecount will be I, for indeed mine is a rare adventure.\" Then he\nbegan his history telling them that he was born a King and that\nsuch-and-such things had befallen him and so forth until the end\nof his tale; and the Princess hearing his words was certified\nthat he was her sire. So presently she said, \"And I too have a\nstrange history.\"?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day\nand fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth\nher sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O\nsister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where\nis this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming\nnight an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the\nnext night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Eighty-fifth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nPrincess in Mameluke's habit said, \"And I too have a strange\nhistory.\" Then she fell to relating all that had betided her from\nthe very beginning to that which hath before been described; and\nwhen her father heard it he felt assured that she was his\ndaughter. So he arose and threw himself upon her and embraced her\nand after he veiled her face with a kerchief was with him, and\nher husband exclaimed, \"Would to Heaven that I also could\nforgather with my wife.\" Quoth she, \"Inshallah, and that soon,\"\nand she inclined to him after kindly fashion and said to herself,\n\"Indeed this be my true husband.\" Herewith all resolved to march\nfrom that stead and they departed, the Princess's spouse still\nunknowing that she was his wife; and they stinted not faring till\nthey entered the Sultan's city and all made for the Palace. Then\nthe Princess slipped privily into the Harem without the knowledge\nof her mate and changed her semblance, when her father said to\nher husband, \"Hie thee to the women's apartment: haply Allah may\nshow to thee thy wife.\" So he went in and found her sitting in\nher own apartment and he marvelled as he espied her and drew near\nher and threw his arms round her neck of his fond love to her and\nasked her concerning her absence. Thereupon she told him the\ntruth saying, \"I went forth seeking my sire and habited in a\nMameluke's habit and 'twas I slew the lion and roasted his flesh\nover the fire, but thou wouldest not eat thereof.\" At these words\nthe Sultan rejoiced and his rejoicings increased and all were in\nthe highmost of joy and jolliment; he and her father with the two\nother sons-in-law, and this endured for a long while. But at last\nall deemed it suitable to revisit their countries and capitals\nand each farewelled his friends and the whole party returned safe\nand sound to their own homes.[FN#203] Now when it was the next\nnight and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night,\n\nShahrazad began to relate\n\n\n\n\n         THE STORY OF THE KAZI WHO BARE A BABE.[FN#204]\n\n\n\nIt hath been related that in Tar\u00e1bulus-town[FN#205] of Syria was\na K\u00e1z\u00ed appointed under orders of the Caliph H\u00e1r\u00fan al-Rash\u00edd to\nadjudge law-suits and dissolve contracts and cross-examine\nwitnesses; and after taking seat in his Mahkamah[FN#206] his\nrigour and severity became well known to all men. Now this judge\nkept a black hand-maiden likest unto a buffalo-bull and she\ncohabited with him for a lengthened while; for his nature was\never niggardly nor could anyone wrest from him half a Faddah or\nany alms-gift or aught else; and his diet was of biscuit[FN#207]\nand onions. Moreover, he was ostentatious as he was miserly: he\nhad an eating-cloth bordered with a fine bell fringe,[FN#208] and\nwhen any person entered about dinner-time or supper-tide he would\ncry out, \"O handmaid, fetch the fringed table-cloth;\" and all who\nheard his words would say to themselves, \"By Allah, this must\nneeds be a costly thing.\" Presently one day of the days his\nassessors and officers said to him, \"O our lord the Kazi, take to\nthyself a wife, for yon negress becometh not a dignitary of thy\ndegree.\" Said he, \"An this need be, let any who hath a daughter\ngive her to me in wedlock and I will espouse her.\" Herewith quoth\none present, \"I have a fair daughter and a marriageable,\" whereto\nquoth the Kazi, \"An thou wouldst do me a favour this is the\ntime.\" So the bride was fitted out and the espousals took place\nforthright and that same night the Kazi's father-in-law came to\nhim and led him in to his bride saying in his heart, \"I am now\nconnected with the Kazi.\" And he took pleasure in the thought for\nhe knew naught of the judge's stinginess and he could not suppose\nbut that his daughter would be comfortable with her mate and\nwell-to-do in the matter of diet and dress and furniture. Such\nwere the fancies which occurred to him; but as for the Kazi, he\nlay with the maid and abated her maidenhead; and she in the\nmorning awaited somewhat wherewith to break her fast and waited\nin vain. Presently the Kazi left her and repaired to his court-\nhouse whither the city folk came and gave him joy of his marriage\nand wished him good morning, saying in themselves, \"Needs must he\nmake a mighty fine bride feast.\" But they sat there to no purpose\nuntil past noon when each went his own way privily damning the\njudge's penuriousness. As soon as they were gone he returned to\nhis Harem and cried out to his black wench, \"O handmaiden, fetch\nthe fringed table-cloth;\" and his bride hearing this rejoiced,\nsaying to herself, \"By Allah, his calling for this cloth\nrequireth a banquet which befitteth it, food suitable for the\nKings.\" The negress arose and faring forth for a short time\nreturned with the cloth richly fringed and set upon it a Kursi-\nstool,[FN#209] and a tray of brass whereon were served three\nbiscuits and three onions. When the bride saw this, she prayed in\nher heart saying, \"Now may my Lord wreak my revenge upon my\nfather!\" but her husband cried to her, \"Come hither, my girl,\"\nand the three sat down to the tray wherefrom each took a biscuit\nand an onion. The Kazi and the negress ate all their portions,\nbut the bride could not swallow even a third of the hard bread\napportioned to her; so she rose up, heartily cursing her father's\nambition in her heart. At supper-tide it was the same till the\nstate of things became longsome to her and this endured\ncontinuously for three days, when she was ready to sink with\nhunger. So she sent for her sire and cried aloud in his face. The\nKazi hearing the outcries of his bride asked, \"What is to do?\"\nwhereupon they informed him that the young woman was not in love\nwith this style of living.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the\ndawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say.\nThen quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister\nmine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is\nthis compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night\nan the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next\nnight and that was\n\n          The Three Hundred and Eighty-seventh Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the bride\nwas not in love with the Kazi's mode of living; so he took her\nand cut off her nose and divorced her, falsely declaring that she\nhad behaved frowardly. On the next day he proposed for another\nwife and married her and entreated her in like fashion as the\nfirst; and when she demanded a divorce, he shredded off her\nnostrils and put her away; and whatever woman he espoused he\nstarved by his stinginess and tortured with hunger, and when any\ndemanded a divorce he would chop off her nose on false presences\nand put her away without paying aught either of her marriage\nsettlement or of the contingent dowry. At last the report of that\nKazi's avarice came to the ears of a damsel of Mosul-city, a\nmodel of beauty and loveliness who had insight into things hidden\nand  just judgment and skilful contrivance. Thereupon, resolved\nto avenge her sex, she left her native place and journeyed till\nshe made Tarabulus; and by the decree of the Decreer at that very\ntime the judge, after a day spent in his garden, purposed to\nreturn home so he mounted his mule and met her half-way between\nthe pleasance and the town. He chanced to glance at her and saw\nthat she was wondrous beautiful and lovely, symmetrical and\ngraceful and the spittle ran from his mouth wetting his\nmustachios; and he advanced and accosting her said, \"O thou noble\none, whence comest thou hither?\" \"From behind me!\" \"Connu. I knew\nthat; but from what city?\" \"From Mosul.\" \"Art thou single and\nsecluded or femme couverte with a husband alive?\" \"Single I am\nstill!\" \"Can it be that thou wilt take me and thou become to me\nmate and I become to thee man?\" \"If such be our fate 'twill take\nplace and I will give thee an answer to-morrow;\" and so saying\nthe damsel went on to Tarabulus. Now the Kazi after hearing her\nspeech felt his love for her increase; so next morning he sent to\nask after her, and when they told him that she had alighted at a\nKhan, he despatched to her the negress his concubine with a party\nof friends to ask her in marriage, notifying that he was Kazi of\nthe city. Thereupon she demanded a dower of fifty dinars and\nnaming a deputy caused the knot be knotted and she came to him\nabout evening time and he went in to her. But when it was the\nsupper-hour he called as was his wont to his black handmaiden\nsaying \"Fetch the fringed table-cloth,\" and she fared forth and\nfetched it bringing also three biscuits and three onions, and as\nsoon as the meal was served up all three sat down to it, the\nKazi, the slave-girl, and the new bride. Each took a biscuit and\nan onion and ate them up and the bride exclaimed \"Allah requite\nthee with wealth. By Allah, this be a wholesome supper.\" When the\njudge heard this he was delighted with her and cried out,\n\"Extolled be the Almighty for that at last He hath vouchsafed to\nme a wife who thanketh the Lord for muchel or for little!\" But he\nknew not what the Almighty had decreed to him through the wile\nand guile, the malice and mischief of women. Next morning the\nKazi repaired to the Mahkamah and the bride arose and solaced\nherself with looking at the apartments, of which some lay open\nwhilst others were closed. Presently she came to one which was\nmade fast by a door with a wooden bolt and a padlock of iron: she\nconsidered it and found it strong but at the threshold was a\nfissure about the breadth of a finger; so she peeped through and\nespied gold and silver coins heaped up in trays of brass which\nstood upon Kursi-stools and the nearest about ten cubits from the\ndoor. She then arose and fetched a long wand, the mid-rib of a\ndate-palm,[FN#210] and arming the end with a lump of leaven she\npushed it through the chink under the door and turned it round\nand round upon the money-trays as if sewing or writing. At last\ntwo dinars stuck to the dough and she drew them through the\nfissure and returned to her own chamber; then, calling the\nnegress, she gave her the ducats saying, \"Go thou to the Bazar\nand buy us some mutton and rice and clarified butter; and do thou\nalso bring us some fresh bread and spices and return with them\nwithout delay.\" The negress took the gold and went to the market,\nwhere she bought all that her lady bade her buy and speedily came\nback, when the Kazi's wife arose and cooked a notable meal, after\nwhich she and the black chattel ate whatso they wanted. Presently\nthe slave brought basin and ewer to her lady and washed her hands\nand then fell to kissing her feet, saying, \"Allah feed thee, O my\nlady, even as thou hast fed me, for ever since I belonged to this\nKazi I have lacked the necessaries of life.\" Replied the other,\n\"Rejoice, O handmaiden, for henceforth thou shalt have every day\nnaught but the bestest food of manifold kinds;\" and the negress\nprayed Allah to preserve her and thanked her. At noon the Kazi\nentered and cried, \"O handmaid fetch the fringed cloth,\" and when\nshe brought it he sat down and his wife arose and served up\nsomewhat of the food she had cooked and he ate and rejoiced and\nwas filled and at last he asked, \"Whence this provision?\" She\nanswered, \"I have in this city many kinsfolk who hearing of my\ncoming sent me these meats and quoth I to myself, When my lord\nthe Kazi shall return home he shall make his dinner thereof.\" On\nthe next day she did as before and drawing out three ducats\ncalled the slave-girl and gave her two of them bidding her go to\nthe Bazar and buy a lamb ready skinned and a quantity of rice and\nclarified butter and greens and spices and whatso was required\nfor dressing the dishes. So the handmaid went forth rejoicing,\nand bought all her lady had ordered and forthwith returned when\nher mistress fell to cooking meats of various kinds and lastly\nsent to invite all her neighbours, women and maidens. When they\ncame she had got ready the trays garnished with dainty\nfood[FN#211] and served up to them all that was suitable and they\nate and enjoyed themselves and made merry. Now this was about\nmid-forenoon, but as mid-day drew near they went home carrying\nwith them dishes full of dainties which they cleared and washed\nand sent back till everything was returned to its place.?And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased\nsaying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How\nsweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and\ndelectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I\nwould relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Eighty-eighth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the guests\nof the Kazi's wife fared from her before turn of sun; and, when\nit was noon, behold, the Kazi entered his Harem and said, \"O\nhand-maiden, fetch the fringed tablecloth,\" when the wife arose\nand set before him viands of various sorts. He asked whence they\ncame and she answered saying, \"This is from my maternal aunt who\nsent it as a present to me.\" The judge ate and was delighted and\nabode in the Harem till set of sun. But his wife ceased not daily\nto draw money from his hoard and to expend it upon entertaining\nher friends and gossips, and this endured for a whole year. Now\nbeside her mansion dwelt a poor woman in a mean dwelling and\nevery day the wife would feed her and her husband and babes;\nmoreover she would give them all that sufficed them. The woman\nwas far gone with child and the other charged her saying, \"As\nsoon as 'tis thy time to be delivered, do thou come to me for I\nhave a mind to play a prank upon this Kazi who feareth not Allah\nand who, whenever he taketh to himself a wife, first depriveth\nher of food till she is well nigh famished, then shreddeth off\nher nose under false pretences and putteth her away taking all\nher belongings and giving naught of dower either the precedent or\nthe contingent.\" And the poor woman replied, \"To hear is to\nobey.\" Then the wife persisted in her lavish expenditure till her\nneighbour came to her already overtaken by birth-pains, and these\nlasted but a little while when she was brought to bed of a boy.\nHereupon the Kazi's wife arose and prepared a savoury dish called\na Bays\u00e1rah,[FN#212] the base of which is composed of beans and\ngravied mallows[FN#213] seasoned with onions and garlic. It was\nnoon when her husband came in and she served up the dish; and he\nbeing anhungered ate of it and ate greedily and at supper time he did likewise. But he was not accustomed to a Baysarah, so as soon as night came on his paunch began to swell; the wind bellowed in his bowels; his stress was such that he could not be more distressed and he roared out in his agony. Herewith his wife ran in and cried to him, \"No harm shall befal thee, O my lord!\" and so saying she passed her hand over his stomach and presently exclaimed \"Extolled be He, O my lord; verily thou art pregnant and a babe is in thy belly.\"?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Eighty-ninth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Kazi's\nwife came up to him and passing her palm over his paunch\npresently cried, \"Extolled be He, O my lord: verily thou art\npregnant and a babe is in thy belly.\" Quoth the Kazi, \"How shall\na man bear a child?\" and quoth she, \"Allah createth whatso He\nwilleth.\" And as they two sat at talk the flatulence and belly-\nache increased and violent colic[FN#214] set in and the torments\nwaxed still more torturing. Then the wife rose up and disappeared\nbut presently she returned with her pauper neighbour's newly-born\nbabe in her sleeve, its mother accompanying it: she also brought\na large basin of copper and she found her husband rolling from\nright to left and crying aloud in his agony. At last the\nqualms[FN#215] in his stomach were ready to burst forth and the\nrich food to issue from his body, and when this delivery was near\nhand the wife privily set the basin under him like a close stool\nand fell to calling upon the Holy Names and to shampooing and\nrubbing down his skin while she ejaculated, \"The name of Allah be\nupon thee!\"[FN#216] But all this was of her malice. At last the\nprima via opened and the Kazi let fly, whereat his wife came\nquickly behind and setting the babe upon its back gently pinched\nit so that it began to wail, and said, \"O man, Alhamdolillah,?\nlaud to the Lord, who hath so utterly relieved thee of thy\nburthen,\" and she fell to muttering Names over the newborn. Then\nquoth he, \"Have a care of the little one and keep it from cold\ndraughts;\" for the trick had taken completely with the Kazi and\nhe said in his mind, \"Allah createth whatso He willeth: even men\nif so predestined can bring forth.\" And presently he added, \"O\nwoman, look out for a wet nurse to suckle him;\" and she replied,\n\"O my lord, the nurse is with me in the women's apartments.\" Then\nhaving sent away the babe and its mother she came up to the Kazi\nand washed him and removed the basin from under him and made him\nlie at full length. Presently after taking thought he said, \"O\nwoman, be careful to keep this matter private for fear of the\nfolk who otherwise might say, 'Our Kazi hath borne a babe.' \" She\nreplied, \"O my lord, as the affair is known to other than our two\nselves how can we manage to conceal it?\" and after she resumed,\n\"O my husband, this business can on no wise be hidden from the\npeople for more than a week or at most till next month.\" Herewith\nhe cried out, \"O my calamity; if it reach the ears of folk and\nthey say, 'Our Kazi hath borne a babe,' then what shall we do?\"\nHe pondered the matter until morning when he rose before daylight\nand, taking some provaunt secretly, made ready to depart the\ncity, saying, \"O Allah, suffer none to see me!\" Then, after\ngiving his wife charge of the house and bidding her take care of\nhis effects and farewelling her, he went forth secretly from her\nand journeyed that day and a second and a third until the\nseventh, when he entered Damascus of Syria where none knew him.\nBut he had no spending money for he could not persuade himself to\ntake even a single dinar from his hoard and he had provided\nhimself with naught save the meagrest provision. So his condition\nwas straitened and he was compelled to sell somewhat of his\nclothes and lay out the price upon his urgent needs; and when the\ncoin was finished he was forced to part with other portions of\nhis dress till little or nothing of it remained to him. Then, in\nhis sorest strait, he went to the Shaykh of the Masons and said\nto him, \"O master, my wish is to serve in this\nindustry;''[FN#217] and said he, \"Welcome to thee.\" So the Kazi\nworked through every day for a wage of five Faddahs. Such was his\ncase; but as regards his wife,?And Shahrazad was surprised by\nthe dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted\nsay. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is\nthy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth\nshe, \"And where is this compared with that I would relate to you\non this coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now\nwhen it was the next night and that was\n\n             The Three Hundred and Ninetieth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the\nKazi went forth from his wife she threw a sherd[FN#218] behind\nhim and muttered, \"Allah never bring thee back from thy journey.\"\nThen she arose and threw open the rooms and noted all that was in\nthem of moneys and moveables and vaiselle and rarities, and she\nfell to feeding the hungry and clothing the naked and doling alms\nto Fakirs saying, \"This be the reward of him who mortifieth the\ndaughters of folk and devoureth their substance and shreddeth off\ntheir nostrils.\" She also sent to the women he had married and\ndivorced, and gave them of his good the equivalent of their\ndowers and a solatium for losing their noses. And every day she\nassembled the goodwives of the quarter and cooked for them\nmanifold kinds of food because her spouse the Kazi was possessed\nof property approaching two Khaznahs[FN#219] of money, he being\never loath to expend what his hand could hend and unprepared to\npart with aught on any wise, for the excess of his niggardness\nand his greed of gain. Nor did she cease from so doing for a\nlength of time until suddenly she overheard folk saying, \"Our\nKazi hath borne a babe.\" And such bruit spread abroad and was\nreported in sundry cities, nor ceased the rumour ere it reached\nthe ears of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid in Baghdad city. Now\nhearing it he marvelled and cried, \"Extolled be Allah! this hap,\nby the Lord, never can have happened save at the hand of some\nwoman, a wise and a clever at contrivance; nor would she have\nwrought after such fashion save to make public somewhat erst\nproceeding from the Kazi, either his covetous intent or his high-handedness in commandment. But needs must this goodwife be\nsummoned before me and recount the cunning practice she hath\npracticed;?Allah grant her success in the prank she hath played\nupon the Judge.\" Such was her case; but as concerns the Kazi, he\nabode working at builders' craft till his bodily force was\nenfeebled and his frame became frail; so presently quoth he to\nhimself, \"Do thou return to thy native land, for a long time hath\nnow passed and this affair is clean forgotten.\" Thereupon he\nreturned to Tarabulus, but as he drew near thereto he was met\noutside the city by a bevy of small boys who were playing at\nforfeits, and lo and behold! cried one to his comrades, \"O lads,\ndo ye remember such and such a year when our Kazi was brought to\nbed?\"[FN#220] But the Judge hearing these words returned\nforthright to Damascus by the way he came, saying to himself,\n\"Hie thee not save to Baghdad city for 'tis further away than\nDamascus!\" and set out at once for the House of Peace. However he\nentered it privily, because he was still in the employ of the\nPrince of True Believers, Harun al-Rashid; and, changing\nsemblance and superficials, he donned the dress of a Persian\nDarwaysh and fell to walking about the streets of the capital.\nHere met he sundry men of high degree who showed him favour, but\nhe could not venture himself before the Caliph albe sundry of the\nsubjects said to him, \"O Darwaysh, why dost thou not appear in\nthe presence of the Commander of the Faithful? Assuredly he would\nbestow upon thee many a boon, for he is a true Sultan; and,\nspecially, an thou panegyrise him in poetry, he will largely add\nto his largesse.\" Now by the decree of Destiny the viceregent of\nAllah upon His Earth had commanded the Kazi's wife be brought\nfrom Tarabulus: so they led her into the presence and when she\nhad kissed ground before him and salam'd to him and prayed for\nthe perpetuity of his glory and his existence, he asked her anent\nher husband and how he had borne a child and what was the prank\nshe had played him and in what manner she had gotten the better\nof him. She hung her head groundwards awhile for shame nor could\nshe return aught of reply for a time, when the Commander of the\nFaithful said to her, \"Thou hast my promise of safety and again\nsafety, the safety of one who betrayeth not his word.\" So she\nraised her head and cried, \"By Allah, O King of the Age, the\nstory of this Kazi is a strange\"?And Shahrazad was surprised by\nthe dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted\nsay. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O\nsister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And\nwhere is this compared with that I would relate to you on the\ncoming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was\nthe next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Ninety-first Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that quoth the\nKazi's wife, \"By Allah, O King of the Age, the story of this Kazi\nis a strange and of the wonders of the world and 'tis as follows.\nMy spouse is so niggardly of nature and greedy of gain that\nwhatso wife he weddeth he starveth her with hunger and, whenas\nshe loseth patience, he shreddeth her nostrils and putteth her\naway, taking all her good and what not. Now this case continued\nfor a while of time. Also he had a black slave-wench and a fine\neating-cloth and when dinner-time came he would cry, O handmaid,\nfetch the fringed table-cloth! whereupon she would bring it and\ngarnish it with three biscuits and three onions, one to each\nmouth. Presently accounts of this conduct came to me at Mosul,\nwhereupon I removed me to Tar\u00e1bulus, and there played him many a\nprank amongst which was the dish of Baysar by me seasoned with an\nover quantity of onions and garlic and such spices as gather wind\nin the maw and distend it like a tom-tom and breed\nborborygms.[FN#221] This I gave him to eat and then befel that\nwhich befel. So I said to him, Thou art in the family way and\ntricked him, privily bringing into the house a new-born babe.\nWhen his belly began to drain off I set under him a large metal\nbasin and after pinching the little one I placed it in the\nutensil and recited Names over it. Presently quoth he, Guard my\nlittle stranger from the draught and bring hither a wet-nurse;\nand I did accordingly. But he waxed ashamed of the birth and in\nthe morning he fared forth the city nor knew we what Allah had\ndone with him. But as he went I bespake him with the words which\nthe poet sang when the Ass of Umm Amr[FN#222] went off:?\n\nAss and Umm Amr bewent their way; * Nor Ass nor Umm Amr returned\n     for aye,\n\nand then I cited the saying of another:?\n\nWhen I forced him to fare I bade him hie, * Where Umm\n     Kash'am[FN#223] caused her selle to fly.\"\n\nNow as the Caliph Harun al-Rashid heard these words he laughed so\nhearty a laugh that he fell backwards and bade the goodwife\nrepeat her history till he waxed distraught for excess of\nmerriment, when lo and behold! a Darwaysh suddenly entered the\npresence. The wife looked at her husband and recognised him; but\nthe Caliph knew not his Kazi, so much had time and trouble\nchanged the Judge's cheer. However, she signalled to the\nCommander of the Faithful that the beggar was her mate and he\ntaking the hint cried out, \"Welcome to thee, O Darwaysh, and\nwhere be the babe thou barest at Tarabulus?\" The unfortunate\nreplied, \"O King of the Age, do men go with child?\" and the\nPrince of True Believers rejoined, \"We heard that the Kazi bare a\nbabe and thou art that same Kazi now habited in Fakir's habit.\nBut who may be this woman thou seest?\" He made answer \"I wot\nnot;\" but the dame exclaimed, \"Why this denial, O thou who\nfearest Allah so little? I conjure thee by the life of the King\nto recount in his presence all that betided thee.\" He could deny\nit no longer so he told his tale before the Caliph, who laughed\nat him aloud; and at each adventure the King cried out, \"Allah\nspare thee and thy child, O Kazi!\" Thereupon the Judge explained\nsaying, \"Pardon, O King of the Age, I merit even more than what\nhath betided me.\"?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day\nand fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth\nher sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O\nsister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where\nis this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming\nnight an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the\nnext night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Ninety-second Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that quoth the\nKazi to the King, \"I deserve even more than what hath betided me\nfor my deeds were unrighteous, O Ruler of the Time. But now the\ntwain of us be present between thy hands; so do thou, of thy\ngenerous grace and the perfection of thy beneficence, deign\nreconcile me unto my wife and from this moment forwards I repent\nbefore the face of Allah nor will I ever return to the condition\nI was in of niggardise and greed of gain. But 'tis for her to\ndecide and on whatever wise she direct me to act, therein will I\nnot gainsay her; and do thou vouchsafe to me the further favour\nof restoring me to the office I whilome held.\" When the Prince of\nTrue Believers, Harun al-Rashid, heard the Kazi's words he turned\nto the Judge's wife and said, \"Thou also hast heard what thy mate\nhath averred: so do thou become to him what thou wast before and\nthou hast command over all which thy husband requireth.\" She\nreplied, \"O King of the Age, even as thou hast the advantage of\nknowing, verily the Heavens and the son of Adam change not; for\nthat man's nature is never altered except with his existence nor\ndoth it depart from him save when his life departeth. However, an\nhe speak the truth let him bind himself by a deed documented\nunder thy personal inspection and thine own seal; so that if he\nbreak his covenant the case may be committed to thee.\" The Caliph\nrejoined, \"Sooth thou sayest that the nature of Adam's son is\nallied to his existence;\" but the Kazi exclaimed, \"O our lord the\nSultan, bid write for me the writ even as thou hast heard from\nher mouth and do thou deign witness it between us twain.\"\nThereupon the King reconciled their differences and allotted to\nthem a livelihood which would suffice and sent them both back to\nTarabulus-town. This is all that hath come down to us concerning\nthe Kazi who bare a babe: yet 'tis as naught compared with the\ntale of the Bhang-eaters, for their story is wondrous and their\nadventures delectable and marvellous. \"What may it be?\" asked\nShahryar; so Shahrazad began to recount\n\n\n\n\n                  THE TALE OF THE KAZI AND THE\n                      BHANG-EATER.[FN#224]\n\n\n\nThere was a certain eater of Bhang?And Shahrazad was surprised\nby the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her\npermitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy\nstory, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth\nshe, \"And where is this compared with that I would relate to you\non the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?\" Now when\nit was the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Ninety-third Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that there was\na certain eater of Bhang whose wont it was every day to buy three\nFaddahs' worth of hemp and he would eat one third thereof in the\nmorning and a second at noon and the rest about sundown. He was\nby calling a fisherman; and regularly as dawn appeared he would\ntake hook and line and go down to the river a-fishing; then he\nwould sell of his catch a portion, expending half a Faddah on\nbread and eat this with the remaining part of the fish broiled.\nHe would also provide himself day by day with a waxen taper and\nlight it in his cell and sit before it, taking his pleasure and\ntalking to himself after his large dose of Bhang. In such\ncondition he abode a while of time until one fine spring-night,\nabout the middle of the month when the moon was shining\nsheeniest, he sat down to bespeak himself and said, \"Ho,\nSuch-an-one! hie thee forth and solace thy soul with looking at\nthe world, for this be a time when none will espy thee and the\nwinds are still.\" Herewith he went forth intending for the river;\nbut as soon as he issued from his cell-door and trod upon the\nsquare, he beheld the moonbeams bestrown upon the surface and,\nfor the excess of his Bhang, his Fancy said to him, \"By Allah,\nsoothly the stream floweth strong and therein needs must be much\nstore of fish. Return, O Such-an-one, to thy cell, bring hook and\nline and cast them into these waters; haply Allah our Lord shall\nvouchsafe thee somewhat of fish, for men say that by night the\nfisherwight on mighty fine work shall alight.\" He presently\nbrought out his gear and, having baited the hook, made a cast\ninto the moonlit square, taking station in the shadow of the\nwalls where he believed the river bank to be. Then he\nbobbed[FN#225] with his hook and line and kept gazing at the\nwaters, when behold! a big dog sniffed the bait and coming up to\nit swallowed the hook till it stuck in his gullet.[FN#226] The\nbeast feeling it prick his throttle yelped with pain and made\nmore noise every minute, rushing about to the right and the left:\nso the line was shaken in the man's hand and he drew it in, but\nby so doing the hook pierced deeper and the brute howled all the\nlouder; and it was pull Bhang-eater and pull cur. But the man\ndared not draw near the moonlight, holding it to be the river, so\nhe tucked up his gown to his hip-bones, and as the dog pulled\nmore lustily he said in his mind, \"By Allah this must be a mighty\nbig fish and I believe it to be a ravenous.\"[FN#227] Then he\ngripped the line firmly and haled it in but the dog had the\nbetter of him and dragged him to the very marge of the moonlight;\nso the fisherman waxed afraid and began to cry, \"Alack! Alack!\nAlack![FN#228] To my rescue ye braves![FN#229] Help me for a\nmonster of the deep would drown me! Y\u00e1llah, hurry ye, my fine\nfellows, hasten to my aid!\" Now at that hour people were enjoying\nthe sweets of sleep and when they heard these unseasonable\noutcries they flocked about him from every side and accosting him\nasked, \"What is it? What maketh thee cry aloud at such an hour?\nWhat hath befallen thee?\" He answered, \"Save me, otherwise a\nriver-monster will cause me fall into the stream and be drowned.\"\nThen, finding him tucked up to the hips, the folk approached him\nand enquired, \"Where is the stream of which thou speakest?\" and\nhe replied, \"Yonder's the river; be ye all blind?\" Thereat they\nunderstood that he spoke of the moonbeams, whose sheen was\ndispread upon earth, deeming it a river-surface, and they told\nhim this; but he would not credit them and cried, \"So ye also\ndesire to drown me; be off from me! our Lord will send me other\nthan you to lend me good aid at this hour of need.\" They replied,\n\"O well-born one, this be moonshine;\" but he rejoined, \"Away from\nme, ye low fellows,[FN#230] ye dogs!\" They derided him and the\nangrier he grew the more they laughed, till at last they said one\nto other, \"Let us leave him and wend our ways,\" and they quitted\nhim in such condition?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of\nday and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then\nquoth her Sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O\nsister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where\nis this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming\nnight an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the\nnext night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Ninety-fourth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the folk\nwho flocked to the assistance of the Bhang-eater left him in such\ncondition, he crying aloud in affright, the dog being now before\nhim in a phrenzy of pain for the hook sticking in his gullet and\nbeing unable to rid himself of it, while the man dreaded to draw\nnear the moonshine, still deeming (albeit he stood upon terra\nfirma) that he was about to step into the stream. So he hugged\nthe wall shadow which to him represented the river-bank. In this\ncase he continued until day brake and light shone and the to-ing\nand fro-ing of the folk increased; withal he remained as he was,\ncrying out for affright lest he be drowned. Suddenly a Kazi rode\nby him and seeing him with gown kilted up and the hound hanging\non to the hook, asked, \"What may be the matter with thee, O man?\"\nHe answered saying, \"O my lord, I dread lest I be drowned in this\nstream, whither a monster of the deep is a-dragging me.\" The\njudge looked at him and knew him for a Bhang-eater, so he\ndismounted from his monture and cried to one of his attendants,\n\"Catch hold of yon dog and unhook him!\" Now this Kazi was also\none who was wont to use Hash\u00edsh; so quoth he to himself, \"By\nAllah, take this fellow with thee and feed him in thy house and\nmake a mocking-stock of him; and, as each night cometh on do thou\nand he eat together a portion of the drug and enjoy each other's\ncompany.\" Accordingly he took him and carrying him to his\nquarters seated him in a private stead until nightfall when the\ntwain met and supped together; then they swallowed a large dose\nof Bhang and they lit candles and sat in their light to enjoy\nthemselves.[FN#231] Presently from excess of the drug they became\nas men Jinn-mad, uttering words which befit not to intend or to\nindite,[FN#232] amongst which were a saying of the Bhang-eater to\nthe Kazi, \"By Allah, at this season I'm as great as the King;\"\nand the Judge's reply, \"And I also at such time am as great as\nthe Basha, the Governor.\" Thereupon quoth to him the Bhang-eater,\n\"I'm high above thee and if the King would cut off the Governor's\nhead what would happen to hinder him?\" And quoth the Kazi, \"Yea,\nverily; naught would hinder him; but 'tis the customs of Kings to\nappoint unto Governors a place wherein they may deal\ncommandment.\" Then they fell to debating the affairs of the\nGovernment and the Sultanate, when by decree of the Decreer the\nSultan of the city went forth his palace that very night,\naccompanied by the Wazir (and the twain in disguise); and they\nceased not traversing the town till they reached the house\nwherein sat the Bhang-eater and the Kazi. So they stood at the\ndoor and hear their talk from first to last when the King turned\nto the Minister and asked, \"What shall we do with these two\nfellows?\" \"Be patient, O King of the Age,\" answered the Wazir,\n\"until they make an end of their talk, after which whatso thou\nwilt do with them that will they deserve.\" \"True indeed,\"[FN#233]\nquoth the ruler, \"nevertheless, instead of standing here let us\ngo in to them.\" Now that night the boon-companions had left the\ndoor open forgetting to padlock it; so the visitors entered and\nsalam'd to them and they returned the greeting and rose to them\nand bade them be seated. Accordingly they sat down and the Sultan\nsaid to the Bhang-eater, \"O man, fearest thou not aught from the\nSovran, thou and thy friend; and are ye sitting up until this\nhour?\" He replied, \"The Sultan himself often fareth forth at such\nuntimely time, and as he is a King even so am I, and yonder man\nis my Basha: moreover, if the ruler think to make japery of us,\nwe are his equals and more.\" Thereupon the Sultan turned to his\nWazir and said by signals, \"I purpose to strike off the heads of\nthese fellows;\" and said the Minister in the same way, \"O King,\nneeds must they have a story, for no man with his wits in his\nhead would have uttered such utterance. But patience were our\nbestest plan.\" Then cried the Bhang-eater to the Sultan, \"O man,\nwhenever we say a syllable, thou signallest to thine associate.\nWhat is it thou wouldst notify to him and we not understanding\nit? By Allah, unless thou sit respectfully in our presence we\nwill bid our Basha strike off thy pate!\"?And Shahrazad was\nsurprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say\nher permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is\nthy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\"\nQuoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I would relate\nto you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\"\nNow when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Ninety-fifth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the\nSultan heard the Bhang-eater's words he waxed the more furious\nand would have arisen and struck off his head; but the Wazir\nwinked at him and whispered, \"O King of the Age, I and thou are\nin disguise and these men imagine that we are of the commons: so\nbe thou pitiful even as Almighty Allah is pitiful and willeth not\nthe punishment of the sinner. Furthermore, I conceive that the\ntwain are eaters of Hash\u00edsh, which drug when swallowed by man,\ngarreth him prattle of whatso he pleaseth and chooseth, making\nhim now a Sultan then a Wazir and then a merchant, the while it\nseemeth to him that the world is in the hollow of his hand.\"\nQuoth the Sultan, \"And what may be thy description of Hash\u00edsh?\"\nand quoth the Wazir, \"'Tis composed of hemp leaflets, whereto\nthey add aromatic roots and somewhat of sugar: then they cook it\nand prepare a kind of confection which they eat;[FN#234] but\nwhoso eateth it (especially an he eat more than enough), talketh\nof matters which reason may on no wise represent. If thou wouldst\nknow its secret properties, on the coming night (Inshallah!) we\nwill bring some with us and administer it to these two men; and\nwhen they eat it the dose will be in addition to their ordinary.\"\nAfter this the Sultan left them and went forth, when the\nBhang-eater said to the Kazi, \"By Allah, this night we have\nenjoyed ourselves and next night (if Allah please!) we will enjoy\nourselves yet more.\" The other replied, \"Yes, but I fear from the\nSultan, lest he learn our practice and cut off our heads.\" \"Who\nshall bring the Sovran to us?\" asked the other: \"he is in his\npalace and we are in our own place; and, granting he come, I will\ndivert him by recounting an adventure which befel me.\" The Kazi\nanswered, \"Have no dread of the Sultan; for he may not fare forth\na-nights single-handed; nay, what while he issueth forth he must\nbe escorted by his high officials.\" Now when the next night fell,\nthe Kazi brought the Hashish which he divided into two halves,\neating one himself and giving the other to his companion; and\nboth swallowed their portions after supper and then lit the waxen\ntapers and sat down to take their pleasure.[FN#235] Suddenly the\nSultan and his Wazir came in upon them during the height of their\nenjoyment, and the visitors were habited in dress other than\nbefore, and they brought with them a quantity of Bhang-confection\nand also some conserve of roses: so they handed a portion of the\nfirst to the revellers, which these accepted and ate, while they\nthemselves swallowed the conserve, the others supposing it to be\nHashish like what they had eaten. Now when they had taken an\noverdose, they got into a hurly-burly of words and fell to saying\nthings which can neither be intended nor indited, and amongst\nthese they exclaimed, \"By Allah, the Sultan is desposed and we\nwill rule in his stead and deal commandment to his reign.\" The\nother enquired, \"And if the Sultan summon us what wilt thou say\nto him?\" \"By Allah, I will tell him a tale which befel myself and\ncrave of him ten Faddahs wherewithal to buy Bhang!\" \"And hast\nthou any skill in tale-telling?\" \"In good sooth I have!\" \"But how\nwilt thou despose the Sultan and reign in his stead?\" \"I will say\nto him 'Be off!' and he will go.\" \"He will strike thy neck.\"\n\"Nay, the Sultan is pitiful and will not punish me for my words.\"\nSo saying the Bhang-eater arose and loosed the inkle of his\nbag-trowsers, then approaching the Sultan he drew forth his\nprickle and proceeded to bepiss him:[FN#236] but the King took\nflight as the other faced him, and fled before him, he\npursuing.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and\nfell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her\nsister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister\nmine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is\nthis compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night\nan the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next\nnight and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nBhang-eater holding up his bag-trowsers ran after the Sultan\npurposing to bepiss him and caught up the fugitive at the doorway\nwhen he fell over the threshold and began a-piddling upon his own\nclothes. In like manner the Kazi attempted to bepiss the Wazir\nand ran after him to the entrance, where he also fell upon the\nBhang-eater and took to making water over him. So the Bhang-eater\nand the Kazi lay each bewraying other, and the Sultan and the\nWazir stood laughing at then and saying, \"By Allah, too much\nHashish injureth man's wits;\" and presently they left and went\ntheir ways returning to their palaces. But the two drunkards\nceased not lying in their own water till day broke; and when the\nfumes of the drug had left heir brains, they arose and found\nthemselves dripping and befouled with their own filth. Thereupon\neach said to other, \"What be this cross hath betided us?\"\nPresently they arose and washed themselves and their clothes;\nthen sitting down together they said, \"None did this deed by us\nsave and except the two fellows who were with us; and who knoweth\nwhat they were, or citizens of this city or strangers; for 'twas\nthey brought the intoxicant which we ate and it bred a madness in\nour brains. Verily 'twas they did the mischief; but, an they come\nto us a third time, needs must we be instant with them and learn\nfrom them an they be foreigners or folk of this city: we will\nforce them to confess, but if they hide them from us we will turn\nthem out.\" On the next night they met again and the two sat down\nand ate a quantity of Hashish after they had supped: and they lit\nthe waxen tapers and each of them drank a cup of coffee.[FN#237]\nPresently their heads whirled round under the drug and they sat\ndown to talk and enjoy themselves when their drunkenness said to\nthem, \"Up with you and dance.\" Accordingly they arose and danced,\nwhen behold, the Sultan and his Wazir suddenly came in upon them\nand salam'd to them: so they returned the salutation but\ncontinued the saltation. The new comers considered them in this\ncondition and forthwith the King turned to the Minister and said,\n\"What shall we do with them?\" Said the other, \"Patience until\ntheir case come to end in somewhat whereof we can lay hold.\" Then\nthey chose seats for themselves and solaced them with the\nspectacle, and the dancers kept on dancing until they were tired\nand were compelled to sit down and take their rest. Presently the\nBhang-eater looked at the Sultan and exclaimed, \"You, whence are\nyou?\" and he replied, \"We be foreigner folk and never visited\nthis city before that night when we met you; and as we heard you\nmaking merry we entered to partake of your merriment.\" On this\nwise the device recoiled upon the Bhang-eater and presently the\nKing asked them, saying, \"Fear ye not lest the Sultan hear of\nyou, and ye in this condition which would cause your disgrace at\nhis hands?\" The Bhang-eater answered, \"The Sultan! What tidings\nof us can he have? He is in the royal Palace and we in our place\nof Bhang-eating.\" The Sovran rejoined, \"Why not go to him! Belike\nhe will gift you and largesse you;\" but the Bhang-eater retorted,\n\"We fear his people lest they drive us away.\" Whereto quoth the\nKing, \"They will not do on such wise and if thou require it we\nwill write thee a note to his address, for we know him of old\ninasmuch as both of us learned to read in the same school.\"\n\"Write thy writ,\" quoth the other to the Sultan who after\ninditing it and sealing it placed it in their hands and presently\nthe two visitors departed. Then the Bhang-eater and the Kazi sat\ntogether through the night until daylight did appear when the\nfumes of the Hashish had fled their brains and the weather waxed\nfine and clear. So they said, each to other, \"Let us go to the\nSultan,\" and the twain set out together and walked till they\nreached the square facing the Palace. Here, finding a crowd of\nfolk, they went up to the door and the Bhang-eater drew forth his\nletter and handed it to one of the Sultan's suite, who on reading\nit fell to the ground and presently rising placed it upon his\nhead.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell\nsilent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister\nDunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n          The Three Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nofficer who took the letter caused the Bhang-eater and his\ncomrade enter the presence, and the Sultan catching sight of them\ncommanded them to be seated in a private stead where none other\nman was. His bidding was obeyed; and at noon-tide he sent them a\ntray of food for dinner and also coffee; and the same was done at\nsundown. But as soon as supper-tide came the Sultan prayed and\nrecited sections of Holy Writ, as was his wont, until two hours\nhad passed when he ordered the twain be summoned; and when they\nstood in the presence and salam'd to him and blessed him the King\nreturned their salute and directed them to be seated. Accordingly\nthey sat down and quoth the Sultan to the Bhang-eater, \"Where be\nthe man who gave you the writ?\" Quoth the other, \"O King of the\nAge, there were two men who came to use and said, 'Why go ye not\nto the King? Belike he will gift you and largesse you.' Our reply\nwas, 'We know him not and we fear lest his folk drive us away.'\nSo one of them said to us, 'I will write thee a note to his\naddress for we know him of old, inasmuch as both of us learned to\nread in the same school.' Accordingly he indited it and sealed it\nand gave it to us; and coming hither we found his words true and\nnow we are between his hands.\" The Sultan enquired, \"Was there\nany lack of civility to the strangers on your part?\" and they\nreplied, \"None, save our questioning them and saying, 'Whence\ncome ye?' whereto they rejoined, 'We be strangers.' Beyond this\nthere was nothing unpleasant; nothing at all.\" \"Whither went\nthey?\" asked the King and the other answered, \"I wot not.\" The\nSultan continued, \"Needs must thou bring them to me for 'tis long\nsince I saw them;\" and the other remarked, \"O King of the Age, if\nagain they come to our place we will seize them and carry them\nbefore thee even perforce, but in case they come not, we have no\nmeans to hand.\" Quoth the King, \"An thou know them well, when\nthou catchest sight of them they cannot escape thee,\" and quoth\nthe other, \"Yea, verily.\" Then the Sultan pursued, \"What did ye\nwith the twain who came before them and ye wanted to bepiss\nthem?\" Now when the Bhang-eater heard these words his colour\npaled and his case changed, his limbs trembled and he suspected\nthat the person which he had insulted was the Sultan; whereupon\nthe King turned towards him and seeing in him signs of\ndiscomfiture asked, \"What is in thy mind, O Bhang-eater? What\nhath befallen thee?\" The other arose forthright and kissing\nground cried, \"Pardon, O King of the Age, before whom I have\nsinned.\" The Sovran asked, \"How didst thou know this?\" and he\nanswered, \"Because none other was with us and news of us goeth\nnot out of doors; so needs must thou have been one of the twain\nand he who wrote the writ was thyself; for well we know that the\nkings read not in schools. Thou and thy friend did come in\ndisguise to make merry at our expense; therefore pardon us, O\nKing of the Age, for mercy is a quality of the noble, and\nAlmighty Allah said, 'Whoso pardoneth and benefitteth his reward\nis with Allah,' and eke He said, 'And the stiflers of wrath and\nthe pardoners of mankind and Allah loveth the doers of\ngood'.\"[FN#238] Herewith the Sultan smiled and said, \"No harm\nshall befal thee, O Bhang-eater! Thine excuse is accepted and thy\ndefault pardoned, but, O thou clever fellow, hast thou no tale to\ntell us?\" He replied, \"O King of the Age, I have a story touching\nmyself and my wife which, were it graven with needle-gravers upon\nthe eye-corners were a warning to whoso would be warned. But I\nstrave against her on my own behalf, withal she overcame me and\ntyrannised over me by her contrivance.\" \"What is it?\" asked the\nKing; so the man began to relate the\n\n\n\n\nHistory of the Bhang-Eater and his Wife.\n\n\n\nIn the beginning of my career I owned only a single bull and\npoverty confused my wits.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the\ndawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say.\nThen quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy\ntale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she,\n\"And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on\nthe coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it\nwas the next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Ninety-eighth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good-will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nBhang-eater said to the Sultan:?I had no property save a single\nbull and poverty confused my wits. So I resolved to sell\nRoger[FN#239] and going to the Bazar stood therein expecting\nsomeone to buy it, but none came to me until the last of the day.\nAt that time I drove it forth and dragged it off till we reached\nhalf-way to my home, where I came upon a tree and sat down to\nrest in the cool shade. Now I had somewhat of Bhang with me, also\na trifle of bread which I brought out and ate, and after I drank\na draught of water from the spring. Presently the Bhang began to\nwobble in my brains and behold a bird in the tree-top which men\ncall a Magpie[FN#240] fell a-cawing, so I said to her, \"Thou, O\nMother of Solomon, hast thou a mind to buy the bull?\" and she\ncawed again. I continued, \"Whatso price ever thou settest upon\nthe bull, at that will I cede it to thee.\" Again a croak and I,\n\"Haply thou hast brought no money?\" Another croak and cried I,\n\"Say the word and I will leave the bull with thee till next\nFriday when thou wilt come and pay me its price.\" But she still\ncawed and I, whenever she opened beak, O King of the Age, fancied\nthat she bespake me and wanted the bull. But all this was of the\nexcess of my Bhang which kept working in my brains and I mistook\nthe croaking for her conversing. Accordingly I left with her the\nbull bound to the tree and turned towards my village; and, when I\nwent in to my wife, she asked me anent the bull and I told her of\nmy selling it to the Mother of Solomon. \"Who may she be?\" asked\nmy rib, and I replied, \"She dwelleth in yonder tree;\" whereat my\nspouse rejoined \"Allah compensate thee with welfare.\" So I\nawaited patiently the appointed term; then, after swallowing\nsomewhat of Bhang, I repaired to the tree and sat beneath it\nwhen, lo and behold! the pie cawed and I cried to her, \"Hast thou\nbrought the coin?\" A second caw! Then said I, \"Come hither and\nbring me the money.\" A third caw! Hereat I waxed wroth and arose\nand taking up a bittock of brick I threw it at her as she sat\nperched upon the tree, whereupon she flew off and alit upon an\n'old man'[FN#241] of clay hard by. So it occurred to my mind, \"By\nAllah, the Mother of Solomon biddeth me follow her and recover\nthe value of the bull from yonder 'old man.'\" Presently I went up\nto it and digging therein suddenly came upon a crock[FN#242] full\nof gold wherefrom I took ten ashrafis, the value of the bull, and\nreturned it to its place, saying, \"Allah ensure thy weal, O\nMother of Solomon.\" Then I walked back to my village and went in\nto my wife and said, \"By Allah, verily the Mother of Solomon is\nof the righteous! Lookye, she gave me these ten golden ducats to\nthe price of our Roger.\" Said my wife, \"And who may be the Mother\nof Solomon?\" and I told her all that had befallen me especially\nin the matter of the crock of gold buried in the 'old man.' But\nafter she heard my words she tarried until sundown; then, going\nto the land-mark she dug into it and carrying off the crock\nbrought it home privily. But I suspected her of so doing and said\nto her, \"O woman, hast thou taken the good of the Mother of\nSolomon (and she of the righteous) after we have received from\nher the price of our Roger out of her own moneys? And hast thou\ngone and appropriated her property? By Allah, an thou restore it\nnot to its stead even as it was, I will report to the Wali that\nmy wife hath happened upon treasure-trove.\" And so saying I went\nforth from her. Then she arose and got ready somewhat of dough\nfor cooking with flesh-meat and, sending for a fisherman, bade\nhim bring her a few fishes fresh-caught and all alive, and taking\nthese inside the house she drew sweet water and sprinkled them\ntherewith, and lastly she placed the dough and meat outside the\nhouse ready for nightfall. Presently I returned and we supped, I\nand she; but 'twas my firm resolve to report my wife's find to\nthe Chief of Police. We slept together till midnight when she\nawoke me saying, \"O man, I have dreamed a dream, and this it is,\nthat the sky hath rained down drink and meat and that the fishes\nhave entered our house.\" I replied to her of my folly and the\novermuch Bhang which disported in my head, \"Let us get up and\nlook.\" So we searched the inside of the house and we found the\nfishes, and the outside where we came upon the doughboy and\nflesh-meat; so we fell to picking it up, I and she, and broiling\nit and eating thereof till morning. Then said I, \"Do thou go and\nreturn the moneys of Solomon's Mother to their own place.\" But\nshe would not and flatly refused.?And Shahrazad was surprised by\nthe dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted\nsay. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O\nsister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And\nwhere is this compared with that I would relate to you on the\ncoming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was\nthe next night and that was\n\n           The Three Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nBhang-eater continued:?I said to my wife, \"Do thou go and return\nthe moneys of Solomon's Mother to their own place;\" but she would\nnot and flatly refused. Then I repeated[FN#243] my words but\nwithout avail, so I flew into a fury and leaving her ceased not\ntrudging till I found the Wali and said to him, \"O my lord, my\nwife Such-an-one hath hit upon a hoard and 'tis now with\nher.\"[FN#244] The Chief of Police asked, \"O man, hast thou seen\nit?\" and I answered, \"Yes.\" So he sent a body of his followers to\nbring her before him and when she came said to her, \"O woman,\nwhere is the treasure trove?\" Said she, \"O my lord, this report\nis a baseless;\" whereupon the Chief of Police bade her be led to\njail. They did his bidding and she abode in the prison a whole\nday, after which the Wali summoned her and repeated his words to\nher adding, \"An thou bring not the hoard I will slay thee and\ncast thy corpse into the bogshop[FN#245] of the Hammam.\" The\nwoman (my wife) rejoined, \"O my lord, I never found aught;\" and\nwhen he persisted threatening her with death she cried, \"O my\nlord, wherefore oppress me on this wise and charge such load of\nsin upon thine own neck? I never came upon treasure at all, at\nall!\" The Chief of Police retorted, \"My first word and my last\nare these:?Except thou bring the treasure trove I will slay thee\nand cast thee into the jakes.\" Herewith quoth she, \"O my lord,\nask my husband where it was I hit upon the hoard and at what\ntime, by day or by night,\" and the Wali's men cried, \"By Allah,\nthese her words are just and right, nor is therein aught of\nharm.\" So he sent to summon me and asked me, \"O man, when did thy\nwife hit upon the hoard?\" I answered, \"O my lord, she found it on\nthe night when the skies rained drink and food and fishes.\" Now\nwhen the Wali heard my words he said to me, \"O man, the skies are\nnot wont to shed aught save rainwater; and a man in his right\nwits speaketh not such speech as this.\" Said I, \"By the life of\nthy head, O my lord, they did rain all three of them;\" but the\nofficers cried, \"O my lord, verily this man be Jinn-mad and his\nwife who telleth plain truth is wronged by him: the fellow\ndeserveth confining in the M\u00e1rist\u00e1n.\"[FN#246] Accordingly the\nChief of Police bade the men set the woman free and let her wend\nher ways and seize me and throw me into the madhouse. They did\nhis bidding and I remained there the first day and the second\ntill the third when my wife said to herself, \"There is no Majesty\nand there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! By\nthe Lord, needs must I go and relieve my husband from Bedlam and\ncharge him never again to speak of that treasure trove.\" So she\ncame to the Maristan and entering said to me, \"Ho, Such-an-one,\nif any ask of thee saying, 'What do the skies rain?'[FN#247] do\nthou make answer, 'They rain water!' Furthermore if they inquire\nof thee, 'Do they ever rain drink and food and fishes?' reply\nthou, 'This is clean impossible, nor can such thing ever take\nplace!' Then haply they will say to thee, 'How many days are in\nthe week?' and do thou say, 'Seven days and this day be such a\nday!' Lastly have a guard on thyself when speaking.\" I rejoined,\n\"'Tis well, and now hie thee forth and buy me half a faddah's\nworth of Bhang, for during these days I have not eaten aught\nthereof.\" So she went and bought me somewhat of food and of Hashish.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n                   The Four Hundredth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nBhang-eater's wife fared forth and brought back somewhat of food\nand of Hashish: then returning to the Maristan (he continued) she\ngave both to me and I ate of them, after which I said to her,\n\"Let us up and be off!\" whereto she, \"And when we go to the Wali\nwhat wilt thou say?\" Then the Bhang wrought in the brains and I\ncried, \"O bawd,[FN#248] O my nice young lady, well thou wottest\nthat the skies did rain flesh and drink and fishes! Why then\ndidst thou not tell the truth before the Chief of Police?\"\nThereupon the Manager of the Madhouse cried to me, \"O fellow,\nthis is the babble of madmen!\" and I, \"By Allah, I ate of them\nboiled; and doubtless the same kind of rain fell in your house.\"\nThe other exclaimed, \"There be nor doubt nor hesitation anent the\ninsanity of one who sayeth such say!\" Now all this was related by\nthe Bhang-eater to the Sultan who marvelled and asked him, \"What\ncould have made thee go to the Manager and recount to him such\nabsurdities?\" But the Bhang-eater resumed, saying, \"I dwelt in\nthe Maristan twenty days until at last having no Bhang to eat I\ncame to my senses and confessed that the skies shed only\nrain-water, that the week containeth seven days and that this day\nbe such-and-such; in fact I discoursed like a man in his right\nmind. So they discharged me and I went my ways.\" But when the\nKazi heard this tale he cried out to the Sultan, \"O King of the\nAge, my story is still more wondrous than this, which is only a\nprank played by a wife. My name was originally Ab\u00fa K\u00e1sim\nal-Tamb\u00fari[FN#249] and I was appointed Kazi after a neat thing I\ndid, and if thou, O our lord the Sultan, desire to be told of the\nadventures which befel me and of the clever trick wherefor they\nmade me a judge, deign give thy commandment and I will commence\nit.\" Quoth the Sultan, \"Recount to us why and where they entitled\nthee Kazi,\" and the judge began to relate\n\n\n\n\nHow Drummer Abu Kasim Became a Kazi.\n\n\n\nThere was once, O King of the Age, a merchant and a man of\nBassorah who went about trading with eunuchs and slave-boys and\nwho bore his goods in bales[FN#250] from Bassorah to Ajam-land\nthere to sell them and to buy him other merchandise for vending\nin Syria. On this wise he tarried a long while until one year of\nthe years he packed up his property, as was his wont, and fared\nforth with it to Persia. But at that time there fortuned to be a\nfamine and when he arrived at one of the cities of the Ajam-land,\nwhere formerly the traders bought his goods, on this occasion\nnone of them would come near him. In such case he continued a\nlong while till at last a Khw\u00e1jah appeared before him, a man who\nowned abundant riches in Persia, but his home was distant three\ndays from the place. The visitor asked saying, \"O Bassorite, wilt\nthou sell me thy stock-in-trade?\" whereto the other answered,\n\"And how? Of course I'll sell it!\" So the buyer opened the gate\nof bidding and offered such-and-such; but the Bassorah man cried,\n\"Allah openeth.\" Then the purchaser added somewhat and the seller\nrejoined, \"Give me yet more?\" At last the buyer exclaimed, \"I\nwill give nothing more than 'Anaught';\"[FN#251] and the seller\naccepted the offer saying, \"May Allah grant us gain!\" Thereupon\nthe Persian Khwajah took over all the goods from the vendor and\nnext day the twain met to settle money-matters. Now I, O King of\nthe Age, happened to be abiding in that city. The seller received\nfrom the buyer payment in full nor did anything remain; but\nafter, the Bassorah man said to his customer, \"Thou still owest\nme the 'Anaught,' which thou must hand over to me.\" The other\nreplied jeeringly, \"And the 'Anaught' is a naught; to wit, no\nthing;\" but the Bassorite rejoined, \"Here with that 'Anaught'!\"\nUpon this a violent ruffle befel between them, the cause was\ncarried before the King and payment was required in the Divan,\nfor the Bassorite still demanded from the purchaser his\n\"Anaught.\" The Sultan asked, \"And what be this 'Anaught'?\" and\nthe Bassorah man answered, \"I wot not, O King of the Age;\"\nwhereat the Sultan marvelled.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the\ndawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say.\nThen quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister\nmine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is\nthis compared with that I would relate to you on the coming\nnight, an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the\nnext night and that was\n\n               The Four Hundred and First Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Sultan\nmarvelled at the action of this Bassorite and his saying, \"Give\nme my 'Anaught!'\" Presently the tidings of that cause reached me,\nO King; so I went to the Divan which was thronged with folk and\nall present kept saying, \"How would it be if this 'Anaught' were\na fraud or a resiliation of the contract?\" Thereupon the Sultan\nexclaimed, \"Whoso shall settle this case, to him verily will I be\nbountiful.\" So I came forward, O King of the Age, thinking of a\nconceit and kissed ground and said to him, \"I will conclude this\ncause,\" and he rejoined, \"An thou determine it and dispose of it\nI will give thee largesse; but if not, I will strike off thy\nhead.\" I rejoined, \"To hear is to obey.\" Then I bade them bring a\nlarge basin which could hold a skinful of water and ordered them\nfill it; after which I called out to the Bassorite, \"Draw near,\"\nand he drew near. Then I cried to the claimant, \"Close thy fist!\"\nand he did accordingly, and again I commanded him to close it and\nto keep it tight closed. He obeyed my bidding and I continued\n\"Dip thy neave into the basin,\" and he dipped it. Presently I\nasked, \"Is thy hand in the water and thy fist closed?\" and he\nreplied, \"It is.\" Then said I, \"Withdraw it,\" and he withdrew it,\nand I cried, \"Open thy neave,\" and he opened it. Then I asked,\n\"What thing hast thou found therein?\" and he answered, \"A naught;\" whereupon I cried to him, \"Take thine 'Anaught' and wend thy ways.\" Hereupon the Sultan said to the Bassorite, \"Hast thou\ntaken thine 'Anaught,' O man?\" and said he \"Yes.\" Accordingly the\nKing bade him gang his gait. Then the Sultan gifted me with\ncostly gifts and named me Kazi; and hence, O King of the Age, is\nthe cause of the title in the case of one who erst was Abu Kasim\nthe Drummer. Hereat quoth the Sultan, \"Relate to us what rare\naccident befel thee in thy proper person.\" So the judge began to\nrecount\n\n\n\n\nThe Story of the Kazi and his Slipper.\n\n\n\nOnce upon a time, O King of the Age, I had a slipper which hardly\nbelonged to its kind nor ever was there seen a bigger. Now one\nday of the days I waxed aweary of it and sware to myself that I\nwould never wear it any more; so in mine anger I flung it away\nand it fortuned to fall upon the flat roof of a Khw\u00e1jah's house\nwhere the stucco was weakest. Thence it dropped through, striking\na shelf that held a number of phials full of the purest\nrose-water and the boarding yielded breaking all the bottles and\nspilling their contents. The house-folk heard the breakage\nringing and rattling; so they crowded one after other to discover\nwhat had done the damage and at last they found my papoosh\nsprawling amiddlemost the room. Then they made sure that the\nshelf had not been broken except by the violence of that slipper,\nand they examined it when, behold, the house-master cried,\nsaying, \"This be the papoosh of Abu Kasim the Drummer.\" Hereupon\nhe took it and carried it to the Governor who summoned me and set\nme before him; then he made me responsible for the phials and\nwhatso was therein and for the repairing of the terrace-roof and\nupraising it again. And lastly he handed to me the slipper which\nwas exceedingly long and broad and heavy and, being cruel old it\nshowed upwards of an hundred and thirty patches nor was it\nunknown to any of the villagers. So I took it and fared forth\nand, being anangered with the article, I resolved to throw it\ninto some dark hole or out-of-the-way place; ?And Shahrazad was\nsurprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say\nher permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and\ntasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and\ndelectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I\nwould relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n               The Four Hundred and Second Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Abu Kasim\nthe Drummer continued to the Sultan; I resolved to throw it into\nsome dark hole or out-of-the-way place; and presently I came to\nthe watercloset of the Hammam and cast it into the conduit\nsaying, \"Now shall none ever see it again; nor shall I be\ntroubled with its foul aspect for the rest of my life.\" Then I\nreturned home and abode there the first day and the second, but\nabout noon on the third a party of the Governor's men came and\nseized me and bore me before him; and no sooner did he see me\nthan he cried out, \"Throw him!\" Accordingly they laid me out at\nfullest length and gave me an hundred cuts with a scourge[FN#252]\nwhich I bore stoutly and presently said, \"O my Sultan,[FN#253]\nwhat be the cause of this fustigation and wherefor do they\noppress me?\" Said he, \"O man, the conduit[FN#254] of the jakes\nattached to the Mosque was choked by thy slipper and the flow,\nunable to pass off, brimmed over, whereby sundry houses belonging\nto the folk were wrecked.\"[FN#255] I replied, \"O my lord, can a\nslipper estopp the flowing of a water that feedeth a Hammam?\"\nThereupon the Governor said to me, \"Take it away and if any find\nit in his place and again bring me a complaint thereanent, I will\ncut off thy head.\" So they haled me away after tossing my slipper\nto me, and I repaired to the Efendi[FN#256] of the town and said\nto him, \"O our lord, I have a complaint against this Papoosh\nwhich is not my property nor am I its owner: prithee do thou\nwrite me a deed to such purport between me and the Slipper and\nall who pass down this road.\" The Efendi replied, \"O man, how\nshall I write thee a deed between thee and thy Papoosh, which is\na senseless thing? Nay, take it thyself and cut it up and cast it\ninto some place avoided of the folk.\" Accordingly I seized it and\nhacked it with a hatchet into four pieces which I threw down in\nthe four corners of the city, saying to myself the while, \"By\nAllah, I shall nevermore in my life hear any further of its\nadventures;\" and walked away barefoot. But I had thrown one bit\nunder a bridge that crossed a certain of the small canals; and\nthe season was the dries, wherefore it collected a heap of sand\nwhich rose thereupon, and raised the pile higher until the\narchway was blocked up by a mound. Now when the N\u00edl[FN#257]\nflooded and reached that archway the water was dammed up and\nceased running so the townsfolk said, \"What may be the matter?\nThe Nile-inundation hath reached the bridge but cannot pass under\nit. Come let us inspect the archway.\" They did so and presently\ndiscovered the obstacle; to wit, the mound before the arch which\nobstructed the waterway; whereupon a party kilted their clothes\nand waded into the channel that they might clear it. But when\nthey came to the mound-base they found my quarter-slipper, and\nthey exclaimed with one cry, \"This be the Papoosh of Abu Kasim\nthe Drummer!\" But as soon as the tidings reached me, I fared\naway, flying from that town, and while so doing was met by a\ncomrade, yonder Bhang-eater; so we agreed that we would travel\ntogether and he companied me till we came to this city, e'en as\nthou seest us, O our lord the Sultan.\" Thereupon the King said to\nthem, \"Do ye twain abide with me amongst my servants; but I have\na condition with you which is that ye be righteous in your\nservice and that ye be ready to join my s\u00e9ance every night after\nsupper-tide.\" Then he cautioned them against disobedience and\nquoth he, \"Be ye not deluded by becoming my companions nor say to\nyourselves, We be the assessors of the King; for that the byword\ndeclareth: Whenas the King sitteth beware of his severity, and be\nnot refractory whenever he shall say to thee 'Do.'\" They agreed\nto this condition and each whispered his mate, \"Do thou have a\ncare to act righteously!\" Then they left the King nor did they\nsee him again till one day of the days when behold, a Khwajah\nappeared before the Sultan?And Shahrazad was surprised by the\ndawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say.\nThen quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister\nmine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is\nthis compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night\nan the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next\nnight and that was\n\n               The Four Hundred and Third Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that one day of\nthe days, behold a Khwajah appeared before the Sultan and said,\n\"'Tis not lawful in Allah's sight, O King of the Age, that a\nBhang-eater should propose to dishonour me in the person of my\ndaughter and load me with infamy amongst His worshippers saying\nthe while, \"I am of the King's suite.'\" Now the cause of the\nmerchant's complaint was as follows. One day of the days the\nBhang-eater was passing by under the latticed window of the\nKhwajah's home when by decree of the Decreer, the daughter of the\nhouse was looking out at the casement and was solacing herself by\nobserving all who walked the street. Perchance the Bhang-eater's\nglance fell upon the maiden and that sight of eyes entailed a\nthousand sighs, so he said to himself, \"By Allah, if I meet not\nthis maiden, although it be only once, I shall die of a broken\nheart nor shall any one know of my death.\" He then took to\npassing under the window every day and to gazing upwards and to\ntarrying there from morning-tide to set of sun; but the more he\nlooked the less he saw of her because Fortune which was fair to\nhim the first time had now turned foul. So he continued in this\ncondition for a while, coming every day to look at the lattice\nand seeing naught. Presently his case became strait and ill\nhealth entered his frame for love to the merchant's daughter; and\nby reason of its excess he betook himself to his pillow turning\nand tossing right and left and crying, \"O her eyes! O her\nloveliness! O her stature! O her symmetrical grace!\" But as he\nwas repeating these words behold, an old woman came in to him\nand, seeing his concern and chagrin, accosted him and said, \"No\nharm to thee!\" Quoth he, \"Ah, my reverend mother, unless thou\ncome to my aid I perish,\" and quoth she, \"What is upon thy mind?\"\nSo he disclosed to her all he felt of fondness and affection for\nthe Khwajah's daughter and she rejoined. \"Thou wilt never win to\nthy wish in this matter except through me.\" Then she left him and\nrepaired to her own place, pondering the wiles of women, till she\nentered her house and there she donned a woolen robe and hung\nthree rosaries around her neck, after which she hent a palm-staff\nin hand and set out for the merchant's quarters. She ceased not\nwalking till she reached the place and entered in her garb of a\nreligious mendicant[FN#258] crying out, \"Allah, there is no god\nbut the God! extolled be Allah! Allah be with you all!\" When the\ngirl, whose name was Sitt al-Husn?the Lady of Beauty?heard\nthese words she met her, hoping for a blessing, and saying, \"O my\nmother, pray for me!\" and the old woman responded, \"The name of\nAllah be upon thee! Allah be thy safeguard!\"[FN#259] Then she sat\ndown and the damsel came and took seat beside her; so likewise\ndid the girl's mother and both sought a blessing from her and\nconversed together till about noon when she arose and made the\nWuz\u00fa-ablution and span out her prayers, whilst those present\nexclaimed, \"By Allah this be a pious woman!\" When her orisons\nwere ended they served up dinner to her; but she said, \"I'm\nfasting;\" whereat they increased in love and belief herwards and\ninsisted upon her abiding with them until sunset that she might\nbreak her fast within their walls. On such wise she acted but it\nwas all a fraud. Then they persisted in keeping her for the\nnight; so she nighted with them, and when it was morn she arose\nand prayed and mumbled words, some intelligible and others not to\nbe understanded of any, while the household gazed upon her and,\nwhenever she would move from place to place, supported her with\ntheir hands under her armpits. At last, when it was mid-forenoon\nshe fared forth from them albeit their intent was not to let her\ndepart. But early on the next day she came in to them and all met\nher with greetings and friendly reception, kissing her hands and\nbussing her feet; so she did as she had done on the first day and\nin like guise on the third while they showed her increased honour\nand worship. On the fourth day she came to them, as was her wont,\nand they prayed her be seated; however she refused and said, \"I\nhave a daughter whom I am about to marry and the bridal\nfestivities will be in my house; but I come to you at this hour\nto let you know my desire that Sitt al-Husn may accompany me and\nbe present at my girl's wedding-feast and thus she will gain a\nblessing.\" Her mother replied, \"We dread lest somewhat befal\nher,\" but the ancient woman rejoined, \"Fear not for her as the\nHallows[FN#260] are with her!\" Thereupon cried the girl, \"There\nis no help but that I accompany her and be present at her\ndaughter's wedding ceremony and enjoy the spectacle and take my\npleasure.\" The mother said, \"'Tis well;\" and the old trot added,\n\"I will go and return within this moment.\" So saying, she went\noff as one aweary to the house of the Bhang-eater and told him\nwhat she had done; then she returned to the maiden whom she found\ndrest and decorated and looking her best. So she took the girl\nand fared forth with her?And Shahrazad was surprised by the\ndawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say.\nThen quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy\ntale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she,\n\"And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on\nthe coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it\nwas the next night and that was\n\n               The Four Hundred and Fourth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nancient woman took the girl and fared forth with her and led her\nto the Bhang-eater's house and brought her in to him who, seeing\nher in all her beauty and loveliness, arose forthright and his\nwits fled him and he drew near to her of his excessive love\nherwards. Therewith the \"Lady of Beauty\" understood that the old\nwoman was an accursed procuress who had beguiled her in order to\nbring her and the man together. So of her cleverness and clear\nintelligence she said to her lover, \"O my brave, whoso expecteth\na visit of his beloved getteth ready somewhat of meat and\nsomewhat of fruit and somewhat of wine, that their pleasure may\nbe perfected; and, if thou purpose love-liesse we will pass the\nnight in this place.\" Quoth the Bhang-eater, \"By Allah, O my\nlady, thou speakest sooth but what shall we do at such hour as\nthis?\" and quoth she, \"Hie thee to the market-street and bring\nall whereof I spoke.\" Said he, \"Hearkening and obedience,\" and\nsaid she, \"I will sit down, I and this my mother in this place,\nthe while thou goest and comest.\" He rejoined, \"A sensible\nsaying!\" and forthright he was right gladsome nor knew what was\nprepared for him in the hidden future. Now as soon as he went the\ndamsel arose and without making aught of noise locked the door\nclosely upon herself and the old trot: then she wandered about\nthe rooms and presently came upon a butcher's chopper[FN#261]\nwhich she seized. Hereupon tucking up her sleeves above her\nelbows, in the firmness of her heart she drew near the old crone\nuntil she was hard by her right and so clove her skull asunder\nthat she fell weltering in her blood and her ghost fled her\nflesh. After this the damsel again went about the house and all\nworth the taking she took, leaving whatso was unworthy, till she\nhad collected a number of fine robes which the man had brought\ntogether after he had become a cup-companion of the Sultan; and,\nlastly, she packed the whole in a sheet[FN#262] and went forth\ntherewith. Now the season was morning but The Veiler veiled her\nand none met her on the way until she reached her home and went in to her mother whom she found awaiting her and saying, \"By Allah, to-day my girl hath tarried long at the bridal\nfestivities of the Ascetic's daughter.\" And behold Sitt al-Husn\ncame in to her carrying a large sheet stuffed with raiment, and\nas her mother saw her agitated and in disorder she questioned her\nof her case and of what was packed in the bundle. But the girl,\nwho returned no reply and could not speak one syllable for the\nemotion caused by the slaughter of the ancient woman, fell to the\nground in a fit. Her swoon endured from noon until eventide, her\nmother sitting at her head the while and sorrowing for her\ncondition. But about set of sun behold, in came her father who\nfound his daughter aswoon; so he questioned his wife who began by\nrecounting to him what they had noted in the old woman of prayer\nand display of devotion and how she had told them, \"I have a\ndaughter whom I am about to marry and the bridal festivities will\nbe in my house.\" \"And,\" pursued the mother, \"she invited us to\nvisit her; so at undurntide I sent with her the girl; who at\nnoontide came back bringing somewhat wrapped up and bundled,\nwhich be this. But when she entered the house she fell to the\nfloor in a fainting fit and she is even as thou seest; nor do I\nknow what befel her.\" Then the father rose up and besprinkled\nsomewhat of water upon her face which revived her and she said,\n\"Where am I?\" whereto said he, \"Thou art with us.\" And when she\nhad recovered and returned to her senses, and her condition was\nas before the swoon, she told them of the old woman and her ill\ndesigns and of her death and lastly how the clothes had been\nbrought by herself from the house of the Bhang-eater. As soon as\nher sire had heard her words, he set out from his home and sought\nthe Sultan.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and\nfell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her\nsister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n               The Four Hundred and Fifth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that whilst the\nSultan was sitting behold, the Khwajah came in and complained to\nhim of the Bhang-eater, whereupon he ordered a company to go\nfetch the accused and they went off and found him not. So they\nreturned and reported accordingly. Such was the cause of the\nKhwajah coming to the King and such was the case with them; but\nas regards the Bhang-eater, when he went off rejoicing to the\nBazar in order to buy whatso the merchant's daughter had asked\nhim, he brought many a thing wherewith he returned to his\nlodging. However as he returned he beheld the old woman\nslaughtered and weltering in her blood and he found nothing at\nall of the choice articles wherewith his house was fulfilled; so\nhe fell to quoting this couplet:[FN#263]?\n\n\"'Twas as a hive of bees that greatly thrived; * But, when the\n     bee-swarm fled, 'twas clean unhived.\"\n\nAnd when he beheld that condition of things he turned from his\nhome in haste and without stay or delay left it about the hour of\nmid-afternoon and fared forth from the city. There he found a\ncaravan bound to some bourne or other, so he proceeded therewith\nhardly believing in his own safety and he ceased not accompanying\nthe Cafilah[FN#264] for the space of five days till it made the\ncity the travellers sought, albeit he was fatigued and footsore\nfrom the stress of hardships and weariness he had endured. So he\nentered the place and wandered about until he found a Khan\nwherein he hired him a cell by way of nighting-stead and every\nday he would go forth to seek service for wages whereby he might\nmake a livelihood. Now one day of the days a woman met him face\nto face on the highway and said to him, \"Dost thou do service?\"\nand said he, \"Indeed I do, O my lady.\" She continued, \"There is a\nwall about my place which I desire to level and build another in\nlieu thereof for that 'tis old and very old.\" He replied to her,\n\"'Tis well,\" and she took him and repaired with him to her house\nand showing him the wall in question handed to him a pickaxe and\nsaid, \"Break it down as much as thou art able be it for two or\nthree days, and heap up the stones in one place and the dried mud\nin another.\" He replied, \"Hearkening and obedience;\" after which\nshe brought to him somewhat of food and of water and he ate and\ndrank and praised Almighty Allah. After this he rose and began\nbreaking down the wall and he ceased not working and piling up\nthe stones and the dried mud until it was sunset time when the\nwoman paid him to his wage ten faddahs and added a something of\nfood which he took and turned towards his own cell. As soon as it\nwas the second day he repaired to the house of the woman who\nagain gave him somewhat to break his fast and he fell to felling\nthe wall even as he had done on the first day and he worked till\nnoon; but when it was midday and all the household was asleep, lo\nand behold! he found in the middle of the foundation a\ncrock[FN#265] full of gold. So he opened it and considered its\ncontents whereat he was rejoiced and he went forth without\nleisure or loss of time seeking his own cell and when he reached\nit he locked himself within for fear lest any look upon him. Then\nhe opened the crock and counted therein one hundred dinars which\nhe pouched in his purse and stowed away in his breast-pocket.\nPresently he returned, as he was, to break down the rest of the\nwall and whilst he was trudging along the highway suddenly he\nsighted a box surrounded by a crowd of whom none knew what might\nbe its contents and its owner was crying out, \"For an hundred\ngold pieces!\" Thereupon the Bhang-eater went forwards saying to\nhimself, \"Buy thee yonder box for the hundred dinars and thy luck\nbe thy lot, for it there be inside of it aught of wonderful 'tis\nwell, and if otherwise thou shalt stand by thy bad bargain.\" So\nhe drew near the broker[FN#266] and said to him, \"This box for\nhow much?\"[FN#267] and the other answered, \"For an hundred gold\ndinars!\" But when he questioned him as to its contents the man\nreplied, \"I know not; whoso taketh it his luck be his lot.\"\nThereupon he brought out to him the hundred ducats and the broker\nmade over to him the box which he charged upon his shoulders and\ncarried off to his cell. There arrived he bolted himself in and\nopened the coffer wherein he found a white slave-girl which was a\nmodel of beauty and loveliness and stature and perfect grace: but\nshe was like one drunken with wine. So he shook her but she was\nnot aroused when he said to himself, \"What may be the story of\nthis handmaiden?\" and he was never tired of looking upon her\nwhile she was in that condition and he kept saying to himself,\n\"Would Heaven I wot and she be on life or in death; withal I see\nher breath coming and going.\" Now when it was about midnight, the\nhandmaiden revived and looking around and about her, cried,\n\"Where am I?\" and said the Bhang-eater, \"Thou, O my lady, art in\nmy home;\" whereby she understood what had befallen her?And\nShahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and\nceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,\n\"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable\nand delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that\nI would relate to you on the coming night, an the Sovran suffer\nme to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n               The Four Hundred and Sixth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nhandmaiden understood what had befallen her at the hands of her\nenemies. Now the cause thereof was that the Sultan of that city\nhad bought him for concubine one K\u00fat al-Kul\u00fab,[FN#268] or\nHeart's-food hight, and she became to him the liefest of all the\nwomen he before had, amongst whom his wife, the daughter of his\nuncle, had been preferred; but all fell into the rank of the\ncommon and from the time he bought the new handmaid he was wholly\noccupied with her love and he never went near the other inmates\nof his Harem, not even his cousin. So they were filled with\nexceeding jealousy against Heart's-food the new comer. Now one\nday of the days the Sultan went forth to hunt and bird and enjoy\nthe occasion and solace himself in the gardens together with the\nLords of his land, and they rode on till they found themselves\namiddlemost of the waste pursuing their quarry. But when two days\nhad passed, his wife together with the women which were\nconcubines arose and invited all the neighbourhood whereamong was\nKut al-Kulub, and she spread for them a sumptuous banquet and\nlavished upon the new comers all manner of attentions and the\nwife began to play with her rival and to disport with her until\nit was thought that she loved none in the assembly save\nHeart's-food; and on such wise she continued to cheer her and\nsolace her and gambol with her and make her laugh until the trays\nwere laid and the meats were dispread and all the guests came\nforward and fell to eating and drinking. Thereupon the King's\ncousin-wife brought a plate seasoned with Bhang and set it before\nthe concubine who had no sooner eaten it and it had settled in\nher stomach than she trembled as with sudden palsy and fell to\nthe ground without power of motion. Then the Queen bade place her\nin a box and having locked her therein sent for one who was\nShaykh of the Brokers and committed to him the coffer saying, \"Do\nthou sell it for an hundred gold pieces whilst it is locked and\nfast locked and suffer not any open it, otherwise we will work\nfor the cutting off of thy hands.\" He replied, \"To hear is to\nobey;\" and took up the box and went with it to the market-street\nwhere he said to the brokers, \"Cry for sale this coffer at an\nhundred dinars and if any attempt to open it, open it not to any\nby any manner of means.\" So they took their station and made\nauction of it for an hundred gold pieces, when by the decree of\nDestiny the Bhang-eater passed down the street exulting in his\nhundred dinars which he had found in the crock while levelling\nthe wall belonging to the woman. Thereupon he came up and having\npaid the price required carried off his coffer saying in his\nmind, \"My luck is my livelihood.\" After this he went to his own\ncell and opened it and found there the handmaid in condition as\nthough drunken with wine. Such is the history of that concubine\nKut al-Kulub and she fell not into the hand of the Bhang-eater\nsave by the wile and guile of the Sultan's cousin-wife. But when\nshe recovered from her fainting fit and gazed around and\nunderstood what had befallen her she concealed her secret and\nsaid to the man, \"Verily this thy cell becometh us not;\" and, as\nshe had somewhat of gold pieces with her and a collar of jewels\naround her neck worth a thousand dinars, she brought out for him\nsome money and sent him forth to hire for them a house in the\nmiddle of the quarter beffiting great folk and when this was done\nshe had herself transported thither. Then she would give him\nevery day spending-money to buy whatso she ever required and she\nwould cook the delicatest dishes fit for the eating of the Kings\nwherewith she fed herself and her owner. This continued for\ntwenty days when suddenly the Sultan returned from his hunting\nparty and as soon as he entered his palace he asked for Kut\nal-Kulub?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and\nfell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her\nsister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I should relate to you on the coming night, an the\nSovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and\nthat was\n\n              The Four Hundred and Seventh Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that as soon as\nthe Sultan returned from the chase he asked after Kut al-Kuluh\nfrom his exceeding desire to her, and the daughter of his uncle\ntold him the tidings saying, \"By Allah, O King of the Age, three\ndays after the time thou faredst forth there came upon her malaise and malady wherein she abode six days and then she deceased to the mercy of Almighty Allah.\" He exclaimed, \"There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Verily we are the Almighty's and unto Him shall we return.\" Then befel him the extreme of grief and straitness of breast and he passed that night in exceeding cark and care for Kut al-Kulub. And when it was morning he sent after the Wazir and summoned him between his hands and bade him go forth to the Tigris-bank and there approve some place whereon he might build a palace which should command all the roads. The Minister replied, \"Hearkening and obeying;\" and hied to do his lord's bidding taking with him architects[FN#269] and others, and having found a piece of level ground he ordered them to measure an hundred ells of length for the building by a breadth of seventy cubits. Presently he sent for surveyors and master-masons whom he commanded to make ready every requisite for the work, of ashlar and lime and lead; also to dig trenches for the base of the walls. Then they fell to laying the foundations, and the builders and handicraftsmen began to pile the stones and prepare the loads while the Wazir stood by them bidding and forbidding. Now when it was the third day, the Sultan went forth the Palace to look at the masons and artizans who were working at the foundations of his new edifice. And as soon as he had inspected it, it pleased him, so he said to the Wazir, \"Wall\u00e1hi! none would befit this palace save and except Kut al-Kulub, when 'twould have been full of significance;\" and so saying he wept with sore weeping at the remembrance of her. Quoth the Wazir to him, \"O King of the Age, have patience when calamity afflicteth thee, even as said one of them with much meaning, anent long-suffering:?\n\n'Be patient under weight of wrath and blow of sore calamities: *\n     The Nights compressed by Time's embrace gravid\u00e6 miras gerunt\n     res.'\"[FN#270]\n\nThen quoth the Sultan, \"'Tis well, O Wazir, I know that patience\nis praiseworthy and fretfulness is blameworthy, for indeed quoth\nthe poet:?\n\nWhen Time shall turn on thee, have patience for 'tis best of\n     plight: * Ease shall pursue unease and naught but suffrance\n     make it light;'\n\nand by Allah, O Wazir, human nature is never free from sad\nthought and remembrance. Verily that damsel pleased me and I\ndelighted in her; nor can I ever think to find one like her in\nbeauty and loveliness.\" Thereupon the Wazir fell to guiding the\nSultan with fair words until his breast was broadened and the two\nbegan to solace themselves by inspecting the masons. After this\nthe Sultan would go forth every morning for solace to Tigris-bank\nand tidings reached the ears of Kut al-Kulub that her lord was\nengaged on building a riverine palace, whereupon she said to the\nBhang-eater, \"Day by day we expend money upon our condition, and\nour outgoing is without incoming, so 'twere but right that each\nmorning thou fare and work with the workmen who are edifying a\nmansion for the Sultan, inasmuch as the folk declare that he is\nof temper mild and merciful and haply thou shalt gain from him\nprofit and provision.\" \"O my lady,\" he replied, \"by Allah, I have\nno patience to part with thee or to be far from thee;\" and he\nsaid so because he loved her and she loved him, for that since\nthe time he had found her locked in the box and had looked upon\nher he had never required of her her person and this was indeed\nfrom his remembrance, for he bore in mind but too well what had\nbefallen him from the Khwajah's daughter. And she on her side\nused to say, \"'Tis a wondrous thing that yon Bhang-eater never\nasketh me aught nor draweth nigh me seeing that I be a captive of\nhis right hand.\" So she said to him, \"Assuredly thou dost love\nme?\" and said he, \"How can it be otherwise when thou art the\nblood of my life and the light of mine eyes?\" \"O light of mine\neyes,\" she replied, \"take this necklace and set it in thy\nbreast-pocket and go work at the Sultan's palace, and as often as\nthou shalt think of me, do thou take it out and consider it and\nsmell it and it shall be as if thou wert to see me.\" Hearing this\nhe obeyed her and went forth till he reached the palace where he\nfound the builders at work and the Sultan and the Wazir sitting\nin a Kiosk hard by overseeing the masons and the workmen; ?And\nShahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and\nceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,\n\"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable\nand delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that\nI would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n               The Four Hundred and Eighth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the\nBhang-eater joined the masons he saw the Sultan and Wazir\noverseeing them; and, as soon as the King sighted him, he opened\nhis breast to him and said, \"O man, wilt thou also do work?\" and\nsaid the other, \"Yes.\" So he bade him labour with the builders\nand he continued toiling till hard upon noon-tide, at which time\nhe remembered his slave-girl and forthright he bowed his head\nupon his bosom-pocket and he sniffed thereat. The Wazir saw him\nso doing and asked him, \"What is the meaning of thy sniffing at\nwhat is in thy poke?\" and he answered him, \"No matter.\" However\nthe Minister espied him a second time occupied in like guise and\nquoth he to the Sultan, \"Look, O King of the Age, at yon labourer\nwho is hiding something in his pocket and smelling thereat.\"\n\"Haply,\" responded the Sovran, \"there is in his pouch something\nhe would look at.\" However when the Sultan's glance happened to\nfall that way he beheld the Bhang-eater sniffing and smelling at\nhis poke, so he said to the Wazir, \"Wall\u00e1hi! Verily this\nworkman's case is a strange.\" Hereupon both fixed their eyes upon\nhim and they saw him again hiding somewhat in his pouch and\nsmelling at it. The Wazir cried, \"Verily this fellow is\na-fizzling and he boweth his head toward his breast in order that\nhe may savour his own farts.\"[FN#271] The Sultan laughed and\nsaid, \"By Allah, if he do on this wise 'tis a somewhat curious\nmatter, or perhaps, O Wazir, he have some cause to account for\nit; at any rate do thou call out to him and ask him.\" So the\nWazir arose and drawing near to him asked him saying, \"Ho, this\none![FN#272] every time thou fizzlest thou smellest and sniffest\nat thy fizzlings;\" whereto answered the workman, \"Wag not thy\ntongue with these words seeing thou art in the presence of a King\nglorious of degree.\" Quoth the Minister, \"What is the matter with\nthee in this case that thou art sniffing at thy pocket?\" and\nquoth the labourer, \"Verily my beloved is in my pouch.\" The Wazir\nwondered hereat and reported the same to the Sultan who cried,\n\"Return to him and say, 'Is it possible that thou display to us\nthy beloved who is in thy breast-pocket?'\" So he returned to him\nand said, \"Show us what there is in thy pouch.\" Now the origin of\nthis necklace was that the King had bought it for Kut al-Kulub at\nthe price of a thousand dinars and the damsel had given it to the\nBhang-eater with the sole object that the Sultan might look upon\nit and thereby be directed unto her and might learn the reason of\nher disappearance and her severance from him. Hereupon the man\nbrought out to them the necklace from his breastpocket and the\nSultan on seeing it at once recognised it and wondered how it had\nfallen into the hands of that workman; accordingly he asked who\nwas its owner and the other answered, \"It belongeth to the\nhandmaid whom I bought with an hundred dinars.\" Quoth the Sultan\nto him, \"Is it possible[FN#273] thou invite us to thy quarters\nthat we may look upon this damsel;\" and quoth the other, \"Would\nyou look upon my slave-girl and not be ashamed of yourselves?\nHowever I will consult her, and if she be satisfied therewith we\nwill invite you.\" They said to him, \"This be a rede that is right\nand an affair which no blame can excite.\" When the day had\nreached its term the masons and workmen were dismissed after they\nhad taken their wage; but as for the Bhang-eater the Sultan gave\nhim two gold pieces and set him free about sunset tide; so he\nfared to his handmaid and informed her of what had befallen him\nfrom the King, adding, \"He hath indeed looked upon the necklace\nand hath asked me to invite him hither as well as the Wazir.\"\nQuoth she, \"No harm in that; but to-morrow (Inshallah!) do thou\nbring all we require for a state occasion of meats and drinks,\nand let me have them here by noon-tide, so they may eat the early\nmeal. But when he shall ask to buy me of thee compose thy mind\nand say thou, 'No,' when he will reply to thee, 'Give me this\ndamsel in free gift.' Hereat do thou say, 'She is a present from\nme to thee'; because indeed I am his slave and bought with his\nmoney for one thousand and five hundred dinars; and thou hadst\nnever become my lord save through my foes who devised a device\nagainst me and who sold me when thou boughtest me. However the\nhour of thy prosperity hath now come.\" And when morning morrowed\nshe gave him five gold pieces and said to him, \"Bring for me\nthings that be such and such,\" and said he, \"Hearing and\nobedience.\" So he went to the market-street where he purchased\nall the supplies wherewith she had charged him and returned to\nher forthright. Hereupon she arose and tucking up her sleeves\nprepared meats that befitted the King and likewise she got ready\ncomfits and the daintiest of dainties and sherbets and she\ntempered the pastilles and she besprinkled the room with\nrosewater and looked to the furniture of the place. About midday\nshe sent to the Sultan and the Wazir with notice that she was\nready; so the Bhang-eater repaired to the Palace and having gone\nin to the presence said, \"Have the kindness!\"[FN#274] The twain\narose without more ado and hied with him privily till they\nreached his house and entered therein.?And Shahrazad was\nsurprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say\nher permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is\nthy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\"\nQuoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I should relate\nto you on the coming night, an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\"\nNow when it was the next night and that was\n\n               The Four Hundred and Ninth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Sultan\nand the Wazir entered the place wherein were the Bhang-eater and\nthe damsel, and took their seats. Now the meats were ready and\nthey served up to them the trays and the dishes, when they fell\nto and were cheered by the sumptuous viands until they had eaten\nafter the measure of their sufficiency. And when their hands were\nwashed, the confections and sherbet and coffee were set before\nthem, so they ate and were satisfied and gladdened and made\nmerry. After this quoth the Sultan to the Bhang-eater, \"Where is\nthe damsel?\" and quoth the man, \"She is here,\" whereat he was\ncommanded to bring her. Accordingly he went off and led her in\nand as soon as the King sighted her he recognised her and ordered\nher owner to make her over to him and said when he did so, \"O\nman, wilt thou sell to me this damsel?\" But the other kissed\nground before him and replied, \"O King of the Age, she is from me\na free gift to thee;\" and quoth the Sultan, \"She is accepted from\nthee, O Shaykh, and do thou come and bring her thyself to the\nPalace about sundown-time.\" He replied, \"To hear is to obey.\" And\nat the hour named he took the damsel and ceased not faring with\nher till he brought her to the Serai,[FN#275] where the Eunuchry\nmet her and took her and carried her in to the Sultan. But as\nsoon as she entered she nestled in his bosom and he threw his\narms round her neck and kissed her of his excessive desire to\nher. Then he asked her saying, \"This man who purchased thee, hath\nhe any time approached thee?\" whereto she answered, \"By Allah, O\nKing, from the time he bought me in the box which he opened and\nfound me alive therein until this present never hath he looked\nupon my face, and as often as I addressed him he would bow his\nbrow earthwards.\" Quoth the Sultan, \"By Allah, this wight\ndeserveth an aidance for that he paid down for thee an hundred\ndinars and he hath presented thee in free gift to me.\" Now when\nmorrowed the morning the King sent after the Bhang-eater and\nsummoned him between his hands and bestowed upon him one thousand\nfive hundred dinars with a suit of royal raiment, after which he\npresented to him, by way of honourable robe,[FN#276] a white\nslave-girl. He also set apart for him an apartment and made him\none of his boon companions. So look thou, O hearer,[FN#277] how\nit happened to this Bhang-eater from the Khwajah's daughter and\nhis love herwards; how he failed to win her and how he gained of\nblows whatso he gained; and after what prosperity befel him from\nthe part of Kut al-Kulub. And ever afterwards when the Sultan\nwould ride out for disport or for the hunt and chase he would\ntake the man with him. Presently of the perfection of his\nprosperity this Bhang-eater fully mastered the affairs of the\nkingdom, both its income and its outgo, and his knowledge\nembraced all the regions and cities which were under the rule of\nhis lord. Furthermore, whenever he would counsel the King, his\nadvice was found to be in place and he was consulted upon all\nState affairs, and whenever he heard of any business he\nunderstood its inner as well as its outer meaning until the\nSultan and the Wazir both sought rede of him, and he would point\nout to them the right and unright, and that which entaileth\ntrouble and no trouble, when they could fend it off and overthrow\nit or by word or by deed of hand. Now one day of the many days\nthe King was in a certain of his gardens a-solacing himself with\nthe sights when his heart and stomach became full of pain and he\nfell ill and his illness grew upon him, nor did he last four days\nere he departed to the mercy of Allah Almighty. As he had no\nissue, either son or daughter, the country remained without a\nKing for three days, when the Lords of the land forgathered and\nagreed upon a decision, all and some, that they would have no\nKing or Sultan save the Wazir and that the man the Bhang-eater\nshould be made Chief Councillor. So they agreed upon this matter\nand their words went forth to the Minister who at once took\noffice. After this he gave general satisfaction and lavished alms\non the mean and miserable, also on satisfaction and lavished alms\non the mean and miserable, also on the widows and orphans, when\nhis fame was bruited abroad and it dispread far and wide till men\nentitled him the \"Just Wazir\" and in such case he governed for a\nwhile of time.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day\nand fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth\nher sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O\nsister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where\nis this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming\nnight an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the\nnext night and that was\n\n               The Four Hundred and Tenth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Wazir\ngoverned for a while of time with all justice of rule so that the\ncaravans spread abroad the name and fame of him throughout every\ncity and all the countries. Presently there befel him an affair\nbetween two women which were sister-wives to one man.[FN#278] Now\nthese had conceived by him in the same month and when the time of\ntheir pregnancy had passed, the twain were delivered in the same\nplace at the same hour and the midwife was one and the same. One\nbrought forth a babe but it was a daughter which incontinently\ndied and the other a man-child who lived. The women quarrelled\nand fought about the boy-babe and both of them said, \"This is my\nchild;\" and there befel between them exceeding contention and\nexcessive hostility. So they carried their cause before the\ndivines and the Olema and the head men of the place, yet did none\nof them know how to decide between the twain and not a few of the\nfolk said, \"Let each woman take the child to her for a month,\"\nwhilst others declared that they might keep it between them at\nall times, whilst of the women one said, \"'Tis well: this be my\nboy!\" and the other declared, \"'Tis well, this be my son!\" nor\ncould any point out to which of the women the boy belonged. So\nthe town's people were gathered together and said, \"None can\ndetermine this dispute except the Just Wazir;\" and they agreed\nupon this, so that the husband of the two women and sundry of his\nassociates arose and took the twain of them and travelled with\nthem to hear the Minister's judgment. Also the Olema and the\ngreat men of the place declared \"By Allah, we also needs must\ntravel with the party and produce the two women and be present at\nthe Just Wazir's judgment.\" So they all assembled and followed\nafter the two adversaries, nor did they cease travelling until\nthey entered the city where the Minister abode. There they\ndelayed for rest during one day and on the second they all joined\none another and went in to the Wazir and recounted to him the\ncase of the two women. Hearing this he bowed his brow groundwards\nand presently raising it he cried, \"Bring me two eggs and void\nthem of their contents and see that the shells be clean empty.\"\nThen he commanded that each of the women drain somewhat of milk\nfrom her nipple into the egg-shell till she had filled it. They\ndid accordingly and set before him the egg-shells brimful when he\nsaid, \"Bring me a pair of scales.\"[FN#279] After this he placed\nboth eggs in the balance-pan and raising it aloft from its\nrounded stead perceived that one was weighty and the other was\nlight. Quoth he, \"The milk of the woman in this egg is the\nheavier and she is the mother of the boy-babe whereas the other\nbare the girl-child and we know not an it be alive or dead.\"\nHereat the true mother of the boy held her peace but the other\nwailed aloud and said, \"'Tis well: still this be my babe!\"\nThereupon quoth the Wazir, \"I am about to take the boy and hew\nhim in halves whereof I will give one to each of you twain.\" But\nthe true mother arose and cried out, \"No! O my lord, do not on\nthis wise: I will forfeit my claim for Allah's sake;\" while the\nother one exclaimed, \"All this is right good!\" Now all the folk\nof the city who were then standing by heard these words and\nlooked on; but when this order was pronounced and the woman was\nsatisfied and declared, \"I will take half the boy,\" the Wazir\ngave orders forthright that they seize her and hang her; so they\nhanged her and he gave the babe to the right mother. Then said\nthey to him, \"O our lord, how was it proved to thee that the boy\nwas the child of this one?\" and he said, \"It became evident to me\nfrom two sides; in the first place because her milk was the\nheavier, so that I knew that the boy was her boy, and secondly\nwhen I commanded, 'Let us cut the boy in half,' the real mother\nconsented not to this and the matter was hard upon her because\nthe child was a slice of her liver, and she said to herself, 'His\nlife is better than his death, even though my sister-wife take\nhim, at any rate I shall be able to look upon him.' But the\nsecond woman designed only to gratify her spite whether the boy\ndied or not and to harm her sister-wife; so when I saw that she\nwas contented to have the babe killed, I knew that it was right\nto do her die.\" Then all who were present of the Lords of the\nland and the Olema and divines and notables wondered at the\njudgment and exclaimed, \"By Allah, well done,[FN#280] O Wazir of\nthe realm.\" Now this history of the Minister's perspicacity and\npenetration was spread abroad and all folk went from his presence\nand everyone who had wives that had borne girls took somewhat of\nmilk from the women and went to each and every of those who had\nborne boys and took from them milk in the same quantity as the\nWazir had taken, and weighted it in the scales, when they found\nthat the mothers of males produced milk that was not equal to,\nnay it weighed two-fold that of those who bare girls. Hereupon\nthey said, \"It is not right that we call this Minister only the\nJust Wazir;\" and all were agreed that he should be titled \"The\nWazir-wise-in-Allah-Almighty;\"[FN#281] and the reason whereof was\nthe judgment which he passed in the cause between the two women.\nNow after this it befel him to deliver a decision more wondrous\nthan the former.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day\nand fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth\nher sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I should relate to you on the coming night an the\nSovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and\nthat was\n\n              The Four Hundred and Eleventh Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that to the\nWazir-wise-in-Almighty-Allah there befel between his hands a\nstrange matter which was as follows. As he was sitting one day of\nthe days there came in to him unexpectedly two men, of whom one\nled a cow and a little colt whilst the second had with him a mare\nand a little calf. Now the first who came forward was the owner\nof the mare and quoth he, \"O my lord, I have a claim upon this\nman.\" Quoth the Minister, \"What be thy claim?\" And the plaintiff\ncontinued, \"I was going a-morn to the meadow for pasture and with\nme was my mare followed by her young one, her little colt, when\nyonder man met me upon the road and the colt began to play and to\nthrow up gravel with its hoofs as is the wont of horse-flesh and\ndraw near to the cow. Hereupon this man came up and seized it and\nsaid, 'This colt is the offspring of my cow,' and so saying he\ntook it away and he gave me his calf, crying, 'Take this which be\nthe issue of thy mare.'\" So the Wazir turning to the master of\nthe cow asked, \"O man, what sayest thou concerning what thy\ncomrade hath spoken?\" and the other answered, \"O my lord, in very\ndeed this colt is the produce of my cow and I brought it up by\nhand.\" Quoth the Wazir, \"Is it right that black cattle should\nbring forth horses and that horses should bear cows? indeed the\nintelligence of an intelligent man may not compass this;\" and\nquoth the other, \"O my lord, Allah createth whatso He willeth and\nmaketh kine to produce horses and horses to produce kine.\"\nHereupon the Minister said to him, \"O Shaykh, when thou seest a\nthing before thee and lookest thereon canst thou speak of it in\nthe way of truth?\" And the other assented. Then the Wazir\ncontinued addressing the two men, \"Wend your ways at this time\nand on the morrow be present here at early morn and let it be at\na vacant hour.\" Accordingly they forthright went forth, and the\nnext day early the two men came to the divan of the Wazir who set\nbefore them a she-mouse he had provided and called for a sack\nwhich he filled with earth. And as the men stood between his\nhands he said, \"Wait ye patiently without speaking a word;\" so\nthey held their peace and presently he bade them set the sack and\nthe mouse before him and he ordered the men to load the sack upon\nthe mouse. Both cried, \"O our lord, 'tis impossible that a mouse\ncan carry a sack full of earth,\" when he answered, \"How then can\na cow bear a colt? and when a mouse shall be able to bear a sack\nthen shall a cow bear a colt.\" All this and the Sultan was\nlooking out at the latticed window listening and gazing. Hereupon\nthe Wazir gave an order that the master of the mare take her colt\nand the master of the cow carry off her calf; after which he bade\nthem go about their business.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the\ndawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say.\nThen quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy\ntale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she,\n\"And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on\nthe coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it\nwas the next night and that was\n\n              The Four Hundred and Twelfth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nSultan, whose Minister was the Wazir-wise-in-Allah-Almighty, on a\ncertain day summoned his Chief Councillor and when he came said\nto him, \"Verily my breast is straitened and I am beset by unease,\nso I desire to hear something which may broaden my bosom;\" and\nsaid the other, \"O King of the age, by Allah, I have a friend who\nis named Mahm\u00fad the 'Ajami and that man is a choice spirit and he\nhath all kind of rare tales and strange anecdotes and wondrous\nhistories and marvellous adventures.\" Said the Sultan, \"There is\nno help but that thou summon him to us hither and let us hear\nfrom him somewhat.\" So the Wazir sent after the Persian and when\nthe man stood in the presence said to him, \"Verily the Sultan\nhath summoned thee.\" He replied, \"Hearing and obeying,\" when he\nwas taken and set before the Sovran and as he entered he saluted\nhim with the salams of the Caliphs and blessed him and prayed for\nhim.[FN#282] The King returned his greeting and after seating him\nsaid to him, \"O Mahamud, at this moment my breast is indeed\nstraitened and I have heard of thee that thou hast a store of\nrare stories which I would that thou cause me hear[FN#283] and\nlet it be somewhat sweet of speech which shall banish my cark and\nmy care and the straitness of my breast.\" Hereto the other\nreplied, \"Hearing and obeying;\" and began to relate the\n\n\n\n\nTale of Mahmud the Persian and the Kurd Sharper.[FN#284]\n\n\n\n*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *\n                                *\n\n\n\nThe Sultan was delighted with the 'Ajami's relation and largessed\nhim two thousand pieces of gold; after which he returned to his\npalace and took seat upon his Divan when suddenly a poor man\nappeared before him carrying a load of fruit and greens and\ngreeted him and prayed for him and expressed a blessing which the\nSultan returned and bade him fair welcome. After which he asked,\n\"What hast thou with thee, O Shaykh?\" and the other answered, \"O\nKing of the Age, I have an offering to thee of fresh greens and\nfirstfruits;\" and the King rejoined, \"It is accepted.\" Thereupon\nthe man placed them between his royal hands and stood up, and the\nKing having removed the cover[FN#285] found under it a portion of\nordinary cucumbers and sundry curling cucumbers and bundles of\nrose-mallows[FN#286] which had been placed before him. So he took\nthereof some little matter and ate it and was much pleased and\nbade the Eunuchry bear the rest into the Harem. They carried out\nhis commands and the women also were delighted and having eaten\nsomewhat they distributed the remainder to the slave-girls. Then\nsaid they, \"By Allah, this man, the fruit-owner, deserveth\nBakhsh\u00edsh;\"[FN#287] so they sent to him by the Eunuch one hundred\ngold pieces whereto the Sultan added twain, so the whole of his\ngain was three hundred dinars. But the Sultan was much pleased\nwith the man and a part of the care which he felt was lightened\nto him, whereupon asked he, \"O Shaykh, knowest thou aught of\nboon-companionship with the Kings?\" to which the other answered,\n\"Yes;\" for he was trim of tongue and ready of reply and sweet of\nspeech. Presently the Sultan continued, \"O Shaykh, for this\npresent go back to thy village and give to thy wife and family\nthat which Allah hath made thy lot.\" Accordingly the man went\nforth and did as the King bade him; after which he returned in a\nshort time and went into the presence about set of sun when he\nfound his liege lord at supper. The King bade him sit to the\ntrays which he did and he ate after the measure of his\nsufficiency, and again when the Sultan looked upon him he was\npleased with him. And when the hour of night-prayers came all\nprayed together;[FN#288] then the King invited him to sit down as\na cup-companion and commanded him to relate one of his\ntales.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell\nsilent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister\nDunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I should relate to you on the coming night an the\nSovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and\nthat was\n\n            The Four Hundred and Seventeenth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the man\ntook seat as a boon-companion of the King, and began to relate\n\n\n\n\nThe Tale of the Sultan and His Sons and the Enchanting Bird.[FN#289]\n\n\n\nIt is told anent a man, one of the Kings of Orient-land, that he\nhad three sons, of whom the eldest one day of the days heard the\nfolk saying, \"In such a place there is a bird hight the shrilling\nPhilomelet,[FN#290] which transmews everyone who comes to it into\na form of stone. Now when the heir apparent heard this report he\nwent to his father and said, \"'Tis my desire to fare forth and to\nget that marvellous bird;\" and said the father, \"O my son, thou\nwouldst work only to waste thy life-blood and to deprive us of\nthee; for that same bird hath ruined Kings and Sultans, not to\nspeak of Bashas and Sanj\u00e1ks,[FN#291] men in whose claws[FN#292]\nthou wouldst be as nothing.\" But the son replied, \"Needs must I\ngo and if thou forbid my going I will kill myself.\" So quoth his\nfather, \"There is no Majesty and no Might save in Allah, the\nGlorious, the Great;\" and saith the son, \"Affects are affected\nand steps are sped towards a world that is vile and distributed\ndaily bread.\"[FN#293] Then he said to him, \"O my child, set out\nupon thy journey and mayest thou win to thy wish.\" Hereupon they\nprepared for him somewhat of victual and he went forth on his\nwayfare. But before departing he took off his seal-ring from his\nfinger and gave it to his second brother saying, \"O my brother,\nan this signet press hard upon thy little finger do thou know and\nmake certain that mishap hath happened to me.\" So the second\nPrince took it and put it upon his minim finger, after which the\neldest youth farewelled his father and his mother and his\nbrothers and the Lords of the land and departed seeking the city\nwherein the Bird woned. He ceased not travelling by nights and\ndays, the whole of them, until he reached the place wherein was\nthe bird Philomelet whose habit it was to take station upon his\ncage between mid-afternoon and sunset, when he would enter it to\npass the night. And if any approached him with intent of\ncapturing him, he would sit afar from the same and at set of sun\nhe would take station upon the cage and would cry aloud speaking\nin a plaintive voice, \"Ho thou who sayest to the mean and\nmesquin, 'Lodge!'[FN#294] Ho thou who sayest to the sad and\nsevered, 'Lodge!' Ho thou who sayest to the woeful and doleful,\n'Lodge!'\" Then if these words were grievous to the man standing\nbefore him and he make reply \"Lodge!\" ere the words could leave\nhis lips the Bird would take a pinch of dust from beside the cage\nand hovering over the wight's head would scatter it upon him and\nturn him into stone. At length arrived the youth who had resolved\nto seize the Bird and sat afar from him till set of sun: then\nPhilomelet came and stood upon his cage and cried, \"Ho thou who\nsayest to the mean and mesquin, 'Lodge!' Ho thou who sayest to\nthe sad and severed, 'Lodge!' Ho thou who sayest to the woeful\nand the doleful, 'Lodge!'\" Now the cry was hard upon the young\nPrince and his heart was softened and he said, \"Lodge!\" This was\nat the time when the sun was disappearing, and as soon as he\nspake the word the Bird took a somewhat of dust and scattered it\nupon the head of the youth, who forthright became a stone. At\nthat time his brother was sitting at home in thought concerning\nthe wanderer, when behold, the signet squeezed his finger and he\ncried, \"Verily my brother hath been despoiled of life and done to\ndeath!\"?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell\nsilent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister\nDunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n             The Four Hundred and Eighteenth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the second\nPrince, when the signet squeezed his little finger, cried out\nsaying, \"My brother, by Allah, is ruined and lost; but needs must\nI also set forth and look for him and find what hath befallen\nhim.\" Accordingly he said to his sire, \"O my father, 'tis my\ndesire to seek my brother;\" and the old King answered, \"Why, O my\nson, shouldst thou become like thy brother, both bereaving us of\nyour company?\" But the other rejoined, \"There is no help for that\nnor will I sit at rest till I go after my lost one and espy what\nhath betided him.\" Thereupon his sire gave orders for his journey\nand got ready what would suffice him of victual, and he departed,\nbut before he went he said to his youngest brother, \"Take thou\nthis ring and set it upon thy little finger, and if it press hard\nthereupon do thou understand and be certified that my life's\nblood is shed and that I have perished.\" After this he farewelled\nthem and travelled to the place of the Enchanting Bird, and he\nceased not wayfaring for whole days and nights and nights and\ndays until he arrived at that stead. Then he found the bird\nPhilomelet and sat afar from him till about sundown when he took\nstation upon his cage and began to cry, \"Ho thou who sayest to\nthe mean and mesguin, 'Lodge!' Ho thou who sayest to the sad and\nsevered, 'Lodge!' Ho thou who sayest to the woeful and doleful,\n'Lodge!'\" Now this cry of the Bird was hard upon the young Prince\nand he had no sooner pronounced the word \"Lodge!\" than the\nPhilomelet took up somewhat of dust beside his cage and scattered\nit upon him, when forthright he became a stone lying beside his\nbrother. Now the youngest of the three Princes was sitting at\nmeat with his sire when suddenly the signet shrank till it was\nlike to cut off his finger; so he rose forthright to his feet and\nsaid, \"There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah,\nthe Glorious, the Great.\" Quoth his father, \"What is to do with\nthee, O my son?\" and quoth he, \"By Allah, my brother is ruined\nand wasted, so needs must I also fare forth and look after the\ntwain of them.\" Exclaimed his sire, \"Why, O my son, should you\nthree be cut off?\" but the other answered, \"Needs must I do this,\nnor can I remain after them without going to see what hath\nbetided them, and either we three shall return in safety and\nsecurity or I also shall become one of them.\" So the father bade\nthem prepare for his journey and after they had got ready for him\na sufficiency of provision he farewelled him and the youth set\nout. But when he departed from his sire the old man and his wife\nfilleted their brows with the fillets of sorrow[FN#295] and they\nfell to weeping by night and by day. Meanwhile the youth left not\nwayfaring till he reached the stead of the Bird and the hour was\nmid-afternoon, when he found his brothers ensorcelled to stones,\nand about sunset he sat down at the distance from Philomelet who\ntook station upon his cage and began to cry, \"Ho thou who sayest\nto the mean and mesquin, 'Lodge!' Ho thou who sayest to the sad\nand severed, 'Lodge!'\" together with many words and instances of\nthe same kind. But the Prince hardened his heart nor would speak\nthe word, and albeit the Bird continued his cry none was found to\nanswer him. Now when the sun evanished and he had kept up his\nappeal in vain he went into the cage, whereupon the youngest of\nthe Princes arose and running up shut the door upon him. Quoth\nthe Bird, \"Thou hast done the deed, O son of the Sultan,\" and the\nyouth replied, \"Relate to me whatso thou hast wrought in magic to\nthese creations of God.\" Replied Philomelet, \"Beside thee lie two\nheaps of clay whereof one is white and the other blue: this is\nused in sorcery and that to loose the spells.\"?And Shahrazad was\nsurprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say\nher permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is\nthy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\"\nQuoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I should relate\nto you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\"\nNow when it was the next night and that was\n\n             The Four Hundred and Twentieth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Bird\nsaid to the youngest son of the Sultan, \"By the side of my cage\nare two heaps of clay, this blue and that white; and the first is\nthe material for sorcery whilst the second looseth the spell.\"\nHereupon the youth approached them and finding the mounds took\nsomewhat of the white and scattered it upon the stones and cried,\n\"Be ye returned unto your olden shapes;\" and, as he did so, each\nand every of the stones became men as they had been. Now amongst\nthem were sundry sons of the Sultans, also the children of Kings\nand Wazirs and Bashas and Lords of the land, and of the number\ntwo were the elder brothers of the young Prince: so they salamed\nto him and all congratulated one another to their safety. After\nthis one came forward to the youth and said to him, \"Verily this\nplace is a city, all and some of whose folk are ensorcelled.\" So\nhe took a somewhat of clay from the white and entered the\nstreets, where, finding the case as described to him, he fell to\nsifting the clay upon them and they were transmewed from statutes\nof stone into the shapes of Adam's sons. Then, at last, the sons\nof that city rose one and all and began offering to the Prince\ngifts and rarities until he had of them a mighty matter. But when\nhis brothers saw that he had become master of the bird Philomelet\nand his cage, and all these presents and choice treasures, they\nwere filled with envy of him[FN#296] and said each to other, \"How\nshall our brother win him all this and we abide with him in\nservile condition, especially when we hie us homewards and return\nto our own land? And will not folk say that the salvation of the\ntwo elder brothers was by the hand of the youngest? But we cannot\nendure such disgrace as this!\" So envy entered them and in their\njealousy they planned and plotted the death of their cadet, who\nknew not that was in their minds or whatso was hidden from him in\nthe Limbo of Secrets. And when they had wrought their work the\nyoungest Prince arose and bade his pages and eunuchs lade the\nloads upon the camels and mules and, when they had done his\nbidding, they all set forth on the homewards march. They\ntravelled for whole days and nights till they drew near their\ndestination and the youngest Prince bade his attendants seeks an\nopen place wherein they might take repose, and they said,\n\"Hearkening and obedience.\" But when they came upon it they found\na well builded of stone, and the brothers said to the cadet,\n\"This be a place befitting the rest by reason of this well being\nhere; for the water thereof is sweet and good for our drink and\ntherefifth we can supply our folk and our beasts.\" Replied the\nyouth, \"This is what we desire.\" So they set up their tents hard\nby that well, and when the camp was pitched they let prepare the\nevening meal, and as soon as it was sun-set-tide they spread the\ntrays and supped their sufficiency until presently night came\ndown upon them. Now the youngest Prince had a bezel'd signet-ring\nwhich he had taken from the bird Philomelet, and he was so\ncareful thereof that he never slept without it. But his brothers\nawaited until he was drowned in sleep, when coming softly upon\nhim they pinioned him and carried him off and cast him into the\nwell without anyone knowing aught thereof. Then as soon as\nmorning morrowed the two eldest Princes arose and commanded the\nattendants to load, but these said to them, \"Where be our lord?\"\nand said the others, \"He is sleeping in the Takhtraw\u00e1n.\" So the\ncamel men arose and loaded the loads and the litter and the two\nPrinces sent forwards to the King their sire a messenger of glad\ntidings who when he found him informed him of the fair news.\nAccordingly he and all his Lords took horse and rode forth to\nmeet his sons upon the road that he might salam to them and give\nthem joy of their safe return. Now he chanced in their train to\ncatch sight of the caged bird which is called \"the shrilling\nPhilomelet,\" and he rejoiced thereat and asked them, \"How did ye\nbecome masters of him?\" Then he enquired anent their\nbrother.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell\nsilent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister\nDunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n           The Four Hundred and Twenty-second Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night.\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Sultan\nenquired of the two elder sons concerning their younger brother\nand they said, \"We made ourselves masters of the Bird and we have\nbrought him hither and we know nothing about our cadet.\" However,\nthe King who loved his youngest with exceeding love put the\nquestion, \"Have ye not looked after him and have ye not been in\nhis company?\" whereto they answered saying, \"A certain wayfarer\ndeclared to have seen him on some path or other.\" When the father\nheard this from them he cried, \"There is no Majesty and there is\nno Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great;\" and he fell to\nstriking palm upon palm.[FN#297] On this wise it befel these, but\nas regards the case of their brother, when they cast him into the\nwell he awoke from his sleep and he felt himself falling into the\ndepths, so he cried, \"I take refuge with the All-sufficient Words\nof Allah[FN#298] from the mischief He hath created.\" And by the\nblessing of these Holy Names he reached the sole of the well\nwithout aught of harm or hurt. Here finding himself pinioned, he\nstrained upon his bonds and loosed them; but the well was deep of\nbottom and he came upon an arched recess, so he sat in it and\nexclaimed, \"Verily we are Allah's and to Him we are returning and\nI who wrought for them such work[FN#299] am rewarded with the\ncontrary thereof; withal the power is unto Allah.\" And suddenly\nhe heard the sound of speaking at some little distance beside\nhim, and the voice was saying, \"O Black of Head, who hath come\namongst us?\" and his comrade responded, \"By Allah, this youth is\nthe son of the Sultan and his best beloved, and the same hath\nreleased his brothers from sorcery and was carrying them to their\nhomes when they played him false and cast him into this well.\nHowever, he hath a signet-ring with a bezel which if he rub\n'twill bespeak him with whatso he desireth, and will do what he\nmay wish.\" So the Prince said in his mind, \"I bid the Servant of\nthis Ring to take me out;\" after which he rubbed it and the Jinni\nappeared and cried, \"Yea verily, O son of the Sultan, what is it\nthou requirest of me?\"?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn\nof day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then\nquoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister\nmine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is\nthis compared with that I should relate to you on the coming\nnight an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the\nnext night and that was\n\n            The Four Hundred and Twenty-third Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nRing-bezel said to him, \"What dost thou require of me?\" and said\nthe Prince, \"I demand that thou hoist me out of the well: and\nthis done that thou summon for me an host with Pages and Eunuchs\nand tents and pavilions and ensigns and banners.\" Whereto the\nother replied, \"Present.\"[FN#300] Then he brought him forth the\nwell and the youth found hard by it all he needed, so he bade\nthem load their belongings upon the beasts and when this was done\nhe set out seeking the city of his sire. And as he drew so near\nit that it was within shot of eye, he alighted there upon a broad\nplain and ordered them to pitch the camp. Accordingly they set up\nthe tents and the sitting pavilions while the Farr\u00e1shes fell to\nsprinkling water upon the ground afront the abodes and to setting\nup the ensigns and colours whilst the band of kettledrums went\ndub-a-dub and the trumpets blared tantaras. The cooks also began\nat once to prepare the evening meal. Now when the city-folk saw\nthis pomp and circumstance, they held in their minds that the new\ncomer was some Sultan approaching to take their town; so they\ngathered together and went in to their own King and informed him\nthereof. But he, having heard their words, felt his heart melt\nand his vitals throb and a certain joy penetrate into his heart,\nso he said, \"Praise to the Lord, there hath entered into my heart\na certain manner of pleasure, albeit I know not what may be the\ncase and Allah hath said in his Holy Book, 'We have heard good\nnews.'\"[FN#301] Hereupon he and the Lords of his land took horse\nand rode till they reached the front of the pavilions where the\nKing dismounted from his steed. Now the Prince his younger son\nwas dressed in a habit that might have belonged to a hidden\nHoard, and when he saw his father he recognised him, so he rose\nand met him and kissed his hands, but his sire knew him not by\nreason of the case the youth was in, so he supposed him to be a\nstrange Sultan. Presently, the Prince asked him, \"Where be thy\nyoungest son?\" and the King hearing this fell down a-fainting,\nbut, soon recovering from his swoon, he said, \"Verily my son hath\nwasted the blood of his life and hath become food for wild\nbeasts.\" Hereupon the youth laughed aloud and cried, \"By Allah,\nthy son hath not suffered aught from the shifts and changes of\nthe World, and he is still in the bonds of life, safe and sound;\nnor hath there befallen him anything of harm whatever.\" \"Where is\nhe?\" quoth the father: \"He standeth between thy hands,\" quoth the\nson. So the Sultan looked at him and straightly considering him\nfound that it was his very son who was bespeaking him, and of his\ndelight he threw his arms around his neck and fell with him\naswoon to the ground. This lasted for a full-told hour; but when\nhe recovered from his fainting he asked his son what had betided\nhim, so he told all that had befallen, to wit how he had become\nmaster of the Enchanting Bird Philomelet and also of the magical\nclay wherewith he had besprinkled his brethren and others of the\ncity-folk who had been turned to stone, all and some, and how\nthey had returned to the shapes whilome they wore. Moreover he\nrecounted to him the presents and offerings which had been made\nto him and also how, when they arrived at a certain place, his\nbrothers had pinioned him and cast him into the well. And ere he\nfinished speaking, lo and behold! the two other Princes came in\nand when they looked upon his condition and noted the state of\nprosperity he was in, surrounded as he was by all manner of weal,\nthey felt only increase of envy and malice. But as soon as their\nsire espied them he cried, \"Ye have betrayed me in my son and\nhave lied to me and, by Allah, there is no retribution for you on\nmy part save death;\" and hereupon the Sultan bade do them die.\nThen the youngest Prince made intercession for his brethren and\nsaid, \"O my sire, whoso doeth a deed shall meet its deserts,\" and\nthus he obtained their pardon. So they passed that night one and\nall in camp and when morning morrowed they loaded and returned to\nthe city and all were in the most pleasurable condition. Now when\nthe King heard this tale from the owner of the fruit it pleased\nhim and he rejoiced therein and said, \"By Allah, O Shaykh, indeed\nthat hath gone from us which we had of cark and care; and in good\nsooth this history deserveth that it be written with water of\ngold upon the pages of men's hearts.\" Replied the other, \"By\nAllah, O King of the Age, this adventure is marvellous, but I\nhave another more wondrous and pleasurable and delectable than\nany thou hast yet heard.\" Quoth the Sultan, \"Needs must thou\nrepeat it to us,\" and quoth the fruit-seller, \"Inshallah?God\nwilling?I will recite it to thee on the coming night.\" Hereupon\nthe Sultan called for a hand-maiden who was a model of beauty and\nloveliness and stature and perfect grace and from the time of his\nbuying her he never had connection with her nor had he once slept\nwith her, and he gave her in honourable gift to the reciter. Then\nhe set apart for them both an apartment with its furniture and\nappurtenances and the slave-girl rejoiced greatly thereat. Now\nwhen she went in to her new lord she donned her best of dresses\nso he lay down beside her and sought carnal copulation, but his\nprickle would not stand erect, as was its wont, although he knew\nnot the cause thereof.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn\nof day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then\nquoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O\nsister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where\nis this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming\nnight an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the\nnext night and that was\n\n            The Four Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nprickle of the Fruiterer would not stand to the handmaid as was\nthe wont thereof, so he cried, \"Verily this is a wondrous\nbusiness.\" Then the girl fell to rubbing it up and to toying\ntherewith, her object being to stablish an erection. But the\narticle in question grew not and remained limp, whereupon she\nsaid, \"O my lord, Allah increase the progress of thy pego!\"\nThereupon she arose and opened a bag wherefrom she drew out\nkerchiefs and dried aromatic herbs[FN#302] such as are scattered\nupon corpses; and she also brought a gugglet of water. Presently\nshe fell to washing the prickle as it were a dead body, and after\nbathing it she shrouded it with a kerchief: then she cried upon\nher women and they all bewept the untimely fate of his yard which\nwas still clothed in the kerchief.[FN#303] And when morning\nmorrowed the Sultan sent after the man and summoned him and said\nto him, \"How passed thy night?\" So he told him all that had\nbetided him, and concealed from him naught; and when the Sultan\nheard this account from him he laughed at him on such wise that\nfrom excess of merriment he well nigh fell upon his back and\ncried, \"By Allah, if there be such cleverness in that girl, she\nbecometh not any save myself.\" Accordingly he sent to fetch her\nas she stood and left the furniture of the place wholly and\nentirely to the owner of the fruit. And when this was done the\nSultan made of him a boon-companion for that day from morning to\nevening and whenever he thought of the handmaid's doings he\nordered the man to repeat the tale and he laughed at him and\nadmired the action of the slave-girl with the Limpo. When\ndarkness came on they prayed the night-prayer and they supped and sat down to converse and to tell anecdotes.[FN#304] Thereupon the King said to the Fruiterer, \"Relate us somewhat of that thou hast heard anent the Kings of old;\" and said the other, \"Hearing and obeying,\" and forthwith began the\n\n\n\n\nStory of the King of Al-Yaman and his Three Sons.\n\n\n\nIt is related that there was a Sultan in the land of Al-Yaman who\nhad three male children, two of them by one mother and a third by\nanother. Now that King used to dislike this second wife and her\nson, so he sent her from him and made her, together with her\nchild, consort with the handmaids of the kitchen, never asking\nafter them for a while of time. One day the two brothers-german\nwent in to their sire and said to him, \"'Tis the desire of us to\ngo forth a-hunting and a-chasing,\" whereto their father replied,\n\"And have ye force enough for such sport?\" They said, \"Yea,\nverily, we have!\" when he gave to each of them a horse with its\nfurniture of saddle and bridle, and the twain rode off together.\nBut as soon as the third son (who together with his mother had\nbeen banished to the kitchen) heard that the other two had gone\nforth to hunt, he went to his mother and cried, \"I also would\nfain mount and away to the chase like my brethren.\" His mother\nresponded, saying, \"O my son, indeed I am unable to buy thee a\nhorse or aught of the kind;\" so he wept before her and she\nbrought him a silvern article, which he took and fared forth with\nit to the bazar, and there, having sold it for a gold piece, he\nrepaired to a neighbouring mill and bought him a lame garron.\nAfter this he took a bittock of bread; and, backing the beast\nwithout saddle or bridle, he followed upon the footsteps of his\nbrothers through the first day and the second, but on the third\nhe took the opposite route. Presently he reached a Wady, when\nbehold, he came across a string[FN#305] of pearls and emeralds\nwhich glittered in the sunlight, so he picked it up and set it\nupon his head and he fared onwards singing for very joy. But when\nhe drew near the town he was met by his two brothers who seized\nhim and beat him and, having taken away his necklace, drove him\nafar from them. Now he was much stronger and more beautiful than\nthey were, but as he and his mother had been cast off by the\nKing, he durst not offer aught of resistance.[FN#306] Now the two\nbrothers having taken the necklace from him went away joyful, and\nrepairing to their father, showed him the ornament and he\nrejoiced in them and hending it in his hand marvelled thereat.\nBut the youngest son went to his mother with his heart well nigh\nbroken. Then the Sultan said to his two sons, \"Ye have shown no\ncleverness herein until ye bring me the wearer of this necklace.\"\nThey answered, \"Hearkening and obedience, and we will set out to\nfind her.\"?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and\nfell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her\nsister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she \"And where is this compared\nwith that I should relate to you on the coming night an the King\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n           The Four Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the sons\nof the Sultan made them ready for the march whereby they might\nbring back the bird to whom the necklace belonged. So they took\nthem a sufficiency of provision and, farewelling their father,\nset out for the city wherein they judged the bird might be. Such\nwas their case; but as regards their unhappy brother, when he\nheard the news of their going he took with him a bittock of bread\nand having bidden adieu to his mother mounted his lame garron and\nfollowed upon the traces of his brethren for three days.\nPresently he found himself in the midst of the wild and the wold,\nand he ceased not faring therethrough till he came to a city\nwhose folk were all weeping and wailing and crying and keening.\nSo he accosted an aged man and said to him, \"The Peace be upon\nthee!\" and when the other returned his salam and welcomed him he\nasked saying, \"O my uncle, tell me what causeth these groans and\nthis grief?\" The other replied, \"O my son, verily our city is\ndomineered over by a monstrous Lion who every year cometh about\nthis time and he hath already done on such wise for forty and\nthree years. Now he expecteth every twelvemonth as he appeareth\nto be provided with a damsel arrayed and adorned in all her\nfinery, and if he chance to come as is his wont and find her not\nhe would assault the city and destroy it. So before the season of\nhis visit they cast lots upon the maidens of the place and whomso\nthese befal, her they decorate and lead forth to a place without\nthe walls that the monster may take her. And this year the sort\nhath fallen upon the King's daughter.\"[FN#307] When the youth\nheard these words he held his peace and, having taken seat by the\nold man for an hour or so, he arose and went forth to the place\nwhere the Lion was wont to appear and he took his station there,\nwhen behold, the daughter of the King came to him and right heavy\nwas she of heart. But as she found the youth sitting there, she\nsalam'd to him and made friendship with him and asked, \"What\nbrought thee to this stead?\" Answered he, \"That which brought\nthee brought me also.\" Whereto quoth she, \"Verily at this hour\nthe Lion shall come to seize me, but as soon as he shall see me\nhe will devour thee before me, and thus both of us shall lose our\nlives; so rise up and depart and save thyself, otherwise thou\nwilt become mere wasted matter in the belly of the beast.\" \"By\nAllah, O my lady,\" quoth he, \"I am thy sacrifice at such a moment\nas this!\" And as they were speaking, suddenly the world was\nturned topsy-turvy,[FN#308] and dust-clouds and\nsand-devils[FN#309] flew around and whirlwinds began to play\nabout them, and lo and behold! the monster made his appearance;\nand as he approached he was lashing his flanks with his tail like\nthe sound of a kettle-drum. Now when the Princess espied him, the\ntears poured down her cheeks, whereat the youth sprang to his\nfeet in haste, and unsheathing his sword, went forth to meet the\nfoe, who at the sight of him gnashed his tusks at him. But the\nKing's son met him bravely, springing nimbly from right to left,\nwhereat the Lion raged furiously, and with the design to tear him\nlimb from limb, made a rush at the youth, who smote him with all\nthe force of his forearm and planted between his eyes a sway of\nscymitar so sore that the blade came out flashing between his\nthighs, and he fell to the ground slain and bleeding amain. When\nthe Princess saw this derring-do of her defender, she rejoiced\ngreatly and fell to wiping with her kerchief the sweat from his\nbrow; and the youth said to her, \"Arise and do thou fare to thy\nfamily.\" \"O my lord, and O light of mine eyes!\" said she, \"we\ntwain together will wend together as though we were one flesh;\"\nbut he rejoined, \"This is on no wise possible.\" Then he arose\nfrom beside her and ceased not faring until he had entered the\ncity, where he rested himself beside a shop. She also sprang up,\nand faring homewards, went in to her father and mother, showing\nsigns of sore sorrow. When they saw her, their hearts fluttered\nwith fear lest the monster should attack the town and destroy it,\nwhereupon she said to them, \"By Allah, the Lion hath been slain\nand lieth there dead.\" They asked her saying, \"What was it killed\nhim?\" and she answered, \"A handsome youth fair of favour,\" but\nthey hardly believed her words and both went to visit the place,\nwhere they found the monster stone-dead. The folk of the city,\none and all, presently heard this fair news, and their joy grew\ngreat, when the Sultan said to his daughter, \"Thou! knowest thou\nthe man who slew him?\" to which she answered, \"I know him.\" But\nas all tidings of the youth were cut off, the King let proclaim\nabout the city.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day\nand fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth\nher sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O\nsister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where\nis this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming\nnight an the King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next\nnight and that was\n\n            The Four Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night.\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the King\nlet proclaim through the city how none should oppose him or delay\nto obey his bidding; nay, that each and every, great and small,\nshould come forth and pass before the windows of his daughter's\npalace. Accordingly the Crier went abroad and cried about the\ncity to that purport, bidding all the lieges muster and defile in\nfront of the Princess's windows; and they continued so doing for\nthree full-told days, while she sat continually expecting to\nsight the youth who had slain the lion, but to no purpose. At\nlast never a soul remained who had not passed in the review, so\nthe Sultan asked, \"Is there anyone who hath absented himself?\"\nand they answered, \"There is none save a stranger youth who\ndwelleth in such and such a place.\" \"Bring him hither!\" cried the\nKing, \"and command him to pass muster,\" when the others hastened\nto fetch him; and as soon as he drew near the window, behold, a\nkerchief was thrown upon him.[FN#310] Then the Sultan summoned\nhim, and he, when standing in the presence, saluted and made\nobeisance and blessed the Sovran with the blessings fit for the\nCaliphs. The Sultan was pleased thereat and said, \"Art thou he\nwho slew the Lion?\" and said the other, \"I did.\" Hereupon quoth\nthe King, \"Ask a favour of me, that I grant it to thee;\" and\nquoth the Youth, \"I pray of Allah and then of our lord the Sultan\nthat he marry me to his daughter.\" But the King continued, \"Ask\nof me somewhat of wealth,\" and all the Lords of the land\nexclaimed, \"By Allah, he deserveth the Princess who saved her\nfrom the Lion and slew the beast.\" Accordingly the King bade the\nmarriage-knot be tied, and let the bridegroom be led in\nprocession to the bride, who rejoiced in him with extreme joy,\nand he abated her maidenhead and the two lay that night together.\nBut the Prince arose about the latter hours without awaking his\nbride, and withdrawing her seal-ring from her finger, passed his\nown thereupon and wrote in the palm of her hand, \"I am\n'Al\u00e1edd\u00edn,[FN#311] son of King Such-and-such, who ruleth in the\ncapital of Al-Hind, and, given thou love me truly, do thou come\nto me, otherwise stay in thy father's house.\" Then he went forth\nwithout awaking her and fared through wilds and wolds for a term\nof ten days, travelling by light and by night, till he drew near\na certain city which was domineered over by an Elephant. Now this\nbeast would come every year and take from the town a damsel; and\non this occasion it was the turn of the Princess, daughter to the\nKing who governed that country. But as the youth entered the\nstreets he was met by groans and moans and crying and keening; so\nhe asked thereanent and was answered that the Elephant was\npresently approaching to seize the maiden and devour her.[FN#312]\nHe asked, \"To what stead cometh he?\" and they pointed out to him\na place without the city whereto he repaired and took his seat.\nSuddenly the Princess presented herself before him a-weeping and\nwith tears down her cheeks a-creeping, when he said to her, \"O my\nlady, there is no harm for thee.\" Said she, \"O youth, by Allah!\nthou wastest thy life to no purpose and seekest thy death without\ncause, so rise up and save thyself, for the Elephant will be here\nthis very hour.\" And behold, the beast came up to the heart of\nthe waste and he was raising a dust-cloud and trumpeting with\nrage[FN#313] and lashing flanks with tail. But when he arrived at\nthe wonted place he was confronted by the youth who, with heart\nstronger than granite, hastened to fall upon him[FN#314] and\nfatigued him and dealt blows without cease; and, when the\nElephant charged down upon him, he met the monster with a stroke\nbetween the eyes dealt with all the force of his forearm, and the\nblade came flashing out from between his thighs, when the beast\nfell to the ground slain and weltering in his blood amain.\nThereupon, in the stress of her joy, the Princess arose hurriedly\nand walked towards the youth?And Shahrazad was surprised by the\ndawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say.\nThen quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister\nmine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is\nthis compared with that I should relate to you on the coming\nnight an the King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next\nnight and that was\n\n             The Four Hundred and Thirtieth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nPrincess walked hurriedly towards the youth and in the stress of\nher joy she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him between\nthe eyes and cried, \"O my lord, may thy hands never palsied grow\nnor exult over thee any foe!\" Said he to her, \"Return to thy\npeople!\" and said she, \"There is no help but that I and thou fare\ntogether.\" But he replied, \"This matter is not the right rede,\"\nand he went from her at a double quick pace, saying, \"O Allah,\nmay none see me!\" until he entered the city and presently seating\nhim beside a tailor's shop fell to conversing with its owner.\nPresently the man said, \"There is no Majesty and there is no\nMight save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great: by this time the\ndaughter of the King will have been seized by the Elephant and\ntorn to pieces and devoured, and she the mainstay of her mother\nand her father.\" And behold loud lullilooing[FN#315] flew about\nthe city and one began exclaiming, \"Verily the Elephant which is\nwont to come hither year by year hath been slaughtered by a man\nquite young in years, and the Sultan hath sent a Crier to cry\namongst the crowds, 'Let the slayer of the beast come into the\npresence and crave a boon and marry the maiden.'\" So quoth the\nYouth to the tailor, \"What is to do?\" and the other informed him\nof the truth of the report, whereupon he asked, \"If I go to the\nKing will he give her to me?\" Answered the tailor, \"Who art thou\nthat thou shouldest intermarry with the daughter of the King?\"\nand the Prince rejoined, \"We will go and bespeak him and lie to\nhim saying, I am he who slew the monster.\" But the other\nretorted, \"O Youth, thou art willingly and wilfully going to thy\ndeath, for an thou lie to him he will assuredly cut off thy\nhead.\" Presently the Prince, who was listening to the Crier, said\nto his companion, \"Up with thee and come with us that thou mayest\nlook upon my execution;\" and cried the other, \"Why so, O thou\ntrue-born son?\"[FN#316] whereto the Youth replied, \"Needs must I\ndo this!\" Hereupon he and the man arose and went till they came\nto the palace of the Sultan, where they craved leave to enter,\nbut were forbidden by the Chamberlain, when lo and behold! the\nPrincess looked out from the lattice and saw the Prince together\nwith the tailor. So she threw the kerchief upon his head and\ncried aloud, \"By Allah, here he be, and 'tis none but he who slew\nthe Elephant and who saved me from him.\" Hereat the tailor fell\nto wondering at the youth, but when the King saw that his\ndaughter had thrown the kerchief upon him, he presently sent to\nsummon him between his hands and asked him how it happened, and\nheard from him the truth of the tale. Then said he, \"By Allah,\nverily my daughter was lost, so that this youth well deserveth\nher.\" Thereupon he tied the marriage tie between the twain and\nthe youth after wedding her went to her in procession and did\naway her pucelage, and lay the night with her. And presently when\nday was nigh, the young Prince arose and seeing her slumbering\nwrote in the palm of her hand, \"I am Such-and-such, the son of\nsuch a King in Such-and-such a capital; and if thou love me\ntruly, come to find me, or otherwise stay in thy father's house.\"\nThen without awaking her he fared forth to the city of the\nEnchanting Bird and ceased not cutting athwart the wilds and the\nwolds throughout the nights and the days till he arrived at the\nplace wherein dwelt the Bird Philomelet whereto the necklace\nbelonged. And she was the property of the Princess the daughter\nto the Sovran whose seat was in that capital, and it was the\ngreatest of cities and its King was the grandest of the Kings.\nWhen he entered the highways he leant against the shop of an\nOilman to whom he said, \"The Peace be upon you,\" and the other\nreturned his salutation and seated him beside himself, and the\ntwo fell to conversing. Presently the Prince asked him, \"O my\nlord, what canst thou tell me concerning a certain Bird and her\nowner?\" and the other made answer, \"I know nothing but of oil and\nof honey and of clarified butter, whereof whatever thou requirest\nI will give to thee.\" Quoth the youth, \"This is no reply to my\nquestion,\" and quoth the oilman, \"I know not nor regard aught\nsave what is by me in my shop.\" So the Prince rising from beside\nhim left him and went forth to continue his search; but whenever\nhe asked concerning the Bird and its owner, the folk changed the\nsubject and returned him no reply save, \"We know not.\" This\nlasted until he accosted a man well stricken in years, whose age\nwas nigh to an hundred; and he was sitting alone at one side of\nthe city; so the Youth walked up to him and salam'd; and, after the other returned his greeting and kindly welcomed him and\nseated him near him, the two fell a-talking together, and the\nPrince asked him, \"O my uncle, what canst thou tell me concerning\nthe Bird whose necklet is of precious stones, and what concerning\nthe owner thereof?\" The aged man held his peace for awhile and\npresently exclaimed, \"O my son, why ask me of this? O my\nchild,[FN#317] verily the Kings and sons of the Kings have sought\nher in marriage but could not avail; indeed and the lives of\nfolks manifold have been wasted upon her. How, then, canst thou\nhope to win her? Nevertheless, O my son, go and buy thee seven\nlambs and slaughter them and skin them, after which do thou roast\nthem and cut them in halves; for she hath seven doors at each\nwhereof standeth as warder a rending Lion; and at the eighth\nwhich guardeth the maiden and the Bird are posted forty slaves\nwho at all times are there lying. And now I leave thee to thy\nluck, O my son.\" But when the Prince heard these words he asked\nhis aidance of the Shaykh and went forth from him?And Shahrazad\nwas surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased\nsaying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How\nsweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable\nand delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that\nI would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was,\n\n           The Four Hundred and Thirty-second Night.\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Prince\ncraved for the prayers of the Shaykh, who blessed him. Then he\nwent forth from him and bought of the lambs what he had been\ncharged to buy, and these he slaughtered and skinned and roasted\nand he cut each and every into two halves. He waited until night\ndescended with its darkness and ceased the to-ing and fro-ing of\nfolk, when he arose and walked to the place pointed out and there\nhe found the Lion whose shape and size equaled the stature of a\nfull-grown bull. He threw to him half a lamb and the beast\nallowed him to pass through that door, and it was the same with\nthe other entrances, all seven of them, until he reached the\neighth. Here he found the forty slaves who were bestrewn on the\nground bedrowned in sleep; so he went in with soft tread and\npresently he came upon the Bird Philomelet in a cage encrusted\nwith pearls and precious stones and he saw the Princess who owned\nhim lying asleep upon a couch. Hereat he wrote upon the palm of\nher hand, \"I am Such-and-such, son to the King Such-and-such, of\nsuch a city; and I have come in upon thee and beheld thee bared\nwhilst thou wast sleeping, and I have also taken away the Bird.\nHowever, an thou love me and long for me, do thou come to me in\nmine own city.\" Then he seized the Bird to his prize and fared\nforth and what he did with the Lions coming that he did when\ngoing out. The Veiler[FN#318] veiled him, and he went forth the\ncity and met not a single soul, and he ceased not faring the\nlivelong night till next morning did appear, when he hid in a\nplace seeking repose and he ate somewhat of victual. But as soon as\nthe daylight shone bright, he arose and continued his journey,\npraying Allah for protection on his wayfare, till it was\nmid-afternoon: then he found, like an oasis in the middle of the\nwaste, certain pastures of the wild Arabs and as he drew near the\nowner met him and salam'd to him and greeted him and blessed him.\nSo he lay that night with them till dawn when the Shaykh of the\nencampment who had heard of the stranger came to him and welcomed\nhim and found him a youth fair of form and favour and saw by his\nside the Enchanting Bird in its cage. He recognised it and\nwondered at the young man's derring-do and cried, \"Subhana 'llah?praise be to God?who hath committed his secret unto the\nweakliest of His creation![FN#319] Verily this Bird hath caused\non its account to be slain many of the Wazirs and the Kings and\nthe Sultans, yet hath yonder lad mastered it and carried it away.\nThis however is by virtue of his good fortune.\" Then the old man\nhad compassion on him and gave him a horse that he had by him\ntogether with somewhat of provaunt. The Prince took them from him\nand returning to his march traversed the wilds and the wolds for\ndays and nights, all of them; and he continued in that case when\nhe drew near his father's capital which rose within eye-shot. And\nas he walked on without heed, behold, his brethren met him and\nconfronted him and fell upon him and, having taken away the\nEnchanting Bird, reviled him and beat him and shook him off and\ndrove him away. Then they entered the city and sought their sire\nwho received them with fair reception and greeted them and\nrejoiced in them; after which they presented him with the Bird\nPhilomelet, and said, \"Here we bring him to thee and there befel\nus through his account much toil and trouble.\" But their brother\nwho had really won the prize went to his mother in sadness of\nheart?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell\nsilent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister\nDunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I should relate to you on the coming night an the King\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas,\n\n            The Four Hundred and Thirty-third Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the young\nPrince who had brought the Bird and whom his brothers had beaten\nand robbed of his prize, went to his mother in sadness of heart\nand shedding tears. Quoth she, \"What is thy case and what hath\nbefallen thee?\" So he told her what had betided him and she said,\n\"Sorrow not, O my son; the course of the right shall be made\nmanifest.\" Then she quieted him and soothed his heart. This is\nwhat happened to these persons; but as regards the Princess, the\nowner of the Bird, when she awoke at dawn of day and opened her\neyes, she found her favourite gone and as her glance fell upon\nthe things about her, suddenly she saw something written in the\npalm of her hand. But as soon as she had read it and comprehended\nits purport, she cried aloud with a mighty grievous cry which\ncaused the palace-women to flock around,[FN#320] and her father\nto ask what was to do but none could explain it because no one\nknew. So the Sultan arose forthright and, going in to his\ndaughter, found her buffeting her face for the sake of her Bird\nand asked her, \"What is to do with thee?\" So she informed him of\nwhat had befallen her, adding, \"Verily he who came into my bower\nand discovered me bare and looked upon me and wrote upon the palm\nof my hand, him I am determined to have and none other save that\none.\" Quoth her father, \"O my daughter, many sons of the Wazirs\nand the Kings have sought the bird and have failed; and now do\nthou suppose that he hath died;\" but quoth the Princess, \"I\ndesire none save the man who found me in sleep and looked upon\nme, and he is the son of King So-and-so, reigning in such a\ncapital.\" Said her father, \"Then how standeth the case?\" and said\nshe, \"Needs must I thank him and seek his city and marry him, for\nassuredly amongst the sons of the Kings, all of them, none can be\nfairer or more delightsome than he who hath craftily devised this\nentrance to me in so guarded a stead as this. How then can anyone\nbe his peer?\"[FN#321] Hereupon her father bade muster the forces\nwithout the city and he brought out for his daughter rarities and\npresents and mule-litters, and they pitched the tents and after\nthree days they loaded the loads for travel. Then they fared for\nwhole days and nights until they drew near the city wherein the\nyouth had slain the Elephant and had saved the daughter of the\nKing. So the Sultan set up his encampment with its tents and\npavilions hard by the walls, to the end that all might take their\nrest, but when the King of the City saw this he rode forth to\nvisit the stranger, and after greeting asked him the cause of his\ncoming with such a host. The Sultan apprised him of what had\nhappened to his daughter, how she had lost the Enchanting Bird,\nalso how the youth had come into her bower and had written a writ\nupon the palm of her hand. But when the King heard from him this\naccount he knew and was certified that it was the same Prince who\nhad also slain the Elephant and who had on such wise saved his\ndaughter's life; so he said to the Sultan, \"Verily he who took\nthe Bird belonging to thy Princess hath also married my daughter,\nfor he hath done such-and-such deeds.\" After which he related to\nhim the slaughter of the Elephant and all that had happened from\nbeginning to end. Now as soon as the Sultan heard these words he cried, \"By\nAllah my daughter is excusable and she hath shown her insight\nand her contrivance;\" and presently he arose and going in to her\nrelated what he had heard from the King of the City, and she\nwondered at the tale of the youth's adventures and the killing of\nthe Elephant. They nighted in that stead and the tidings soon\nreached the ears of the youth's wife, the Princess who had been\nsaved from the Elephant, and she said to her sire, \"I also needs\nmust go to him and forgather with him.\" Hereupon the King her\nfather bade muster his troops together with the Lords of the land\nwithout the city beside the host of the chief Sultan, and on the\nsecond day both Sovrans bade the loads be loaded for the march.\nWhen their bidding was obeyed the twain set out together and\ntravelled for days and nights until they drew near to the capital\nof the King where the youth had slain the Lion, and they pitched\ntheir tents in its neighbourhood. Presently the Sovran of that\ncapital came out and greeted them and asked them the cause of\ntheir coming; so they informed him of their adventures from\ncommencement to conclusion; and he, when certified of the truth\nof this tale, returned to inform his daughter thereof.?And\nShahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and\nceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,\n\"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n            The Four Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night.\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the third\nKing informed his daughter of the certainty of the tidings, and\nshe also exclaimed, \"Needs must I as well as they set out to seek\nhim and forgather with him.\" So her father returned to the Sultan\nand the King and told them of the adventures of the youth, and\nhow he was the cause of his daughter's salvation from the Lion\nwhich he had slain; and when the twain heard his words they\nmarveled and cried, \"By Allah, verily this youth is fortunate in\nall his doings: would Heaven we knew how be his condition with\nhis father and whether he is loved or he is loathed.\" Then the\nthree fell to talking of the Prince's qualities, and presently\nthe third King arose and gave orders for gathering together the\nLords of his land and his army, and he brought out for his\ndaughter mule-litters, and gat ready all she might require of\nrarities and offerings. Then the three Kings gave orders to load\nthe beasts and fared together, taking with them their three\ndaughters who, whenever they conversed together used to praise\nthe high gifts of the Prince and she who was the mistress of the\nBird would say, \"Ye twain have forgathered with him;\" and the\nothers would answer, \"We passed with him no more than a single\nnight;\" after which they would relate to her the slaughter of the\nLion and the Elephant. So she wondered and cried, \"By Allah!\nverily he is auspicious of fortune. And they ceased not to be in\nsuch case for whole days and nights, and nights and days,\nthroughout the length of the journey till they drew near the\nfar-famed[FN#322] city which was the bourne of their wayfare and\nthe object of their wishes. Now this happened about sunset-tide,\nso the three Kings who had alighted together bade their tents and\npavilions be set up, and when their behest was obeyed, each and\nevery of the three commanded that the firemen and the linkmen\nlight up their torches and cressets, and they did so, one and\nall, until that Wady was illumined as by the sheen of day. But\nwhen the city folk saw what was done by the three Kings, their\nhearts quaked and their flesh quivered, and they cried, \"Verily\nfor the mighty hosts of these Kings there needs must be a cause\nof coming.\" However the strangers nighted in sight until morn\ngrew light, when the three Sovrans forgathered, and sent a\nmessenger with an invite to the Lord of the city, who on\nreceiving him, exclaimed, \"Hearkening and obedience!\" Then\nmounting without stay or delay he rode forth till he reached the\nstrangers' camp, where he alighted and went in and greeted them;\nand they, on similar guise, arose to him and wished him long\nlife, and seated him and fell to conversing with him for a\nfull-told hour. But he was whelmed in the ocean of thought, and\nhe kept saying to himself, \"Would Heaven I knew what be the cause\nof the Kings coming to this my country.\" However, the four\nSovrans continued to converse until the noon-tide hour, when the\ntrays were dispread for them, and the tables were laid with\nsumptuous meats in platters and chargers of precious metal, the\nvery basins and ewers being of virgin gold. But when the King of\nthat city beheld this he marveled, and said in his mind, \"By\nAllah, there is not with me aught of rarities like these.\" As\nsoon as they had ended eating what sufficed them, water was\nbrought to them and they washed their hands, after which they\nwere served with confections and coffee and sherbets. Anon the\nthree Kings said to their guest, \"Thou, hast thou any children?\"\nand said he, \"Yes, I have two sons.\" Quoth they, \"Summon them\nbefore us that we may look upon them;\" so he sent and bade them\nmake act of presence. The Princes donned their finest dresses and\nperfumed themselves; then they took horse and rode until they had\nreached their father's palace. But the three Princesses stood to\nlook at them, and she who was the owner of the Bird Philomelet\nasked of the two others, saying, \"Is he amongst these twain?\" and\nthey answered, \"Nay, he is not.\" She exclaimed, \"By Allah, both\nof them be fine men,\" and the others cried, \"Indeed, our husband\nis far fairer and finer than they.\" But when the Kings saw the\ntwo brothers they said to their sire, \"Verily our need is not\nwith them.\"?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and\nfell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her\nsister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I should relate to you on the coming night an the King\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas,\n\n           The Four Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the two\nKings said to the lord of the city, \"Verily our need is not in\nthis pair of youths,\" and the third King added, \"By Allah, indeed\nthese two young men be fair of favour,\" for that he had not seen\nthe Prince who had taken his daughter's Bird Philomelet.\nPresently the two asked the father saying, \"Thou, is there by\nthee no issue other than these two?\" and said he, \"Yes, I have a\nson, but I have cast him out and I have placed his mother amongst\nthe handmaids of the kitchen.\" \"Send to fetch him,\" quoth they;\nso he dispatched a messenger to bring him into the presence. And\nhe came, withal he was without any finery of dress; but as soon\nas the two damsels saw him they communed concerning him and he\ninclined to them and went into their pavilion, when they rose to\nhim and threw their arms round his neck and kissed him between\nhis eyes. Hereupon the mistress of the Bird said to the two\nothers, \"Be this he?\" and said they, \"Yes;\" so she also arose and\nkissed his hand. But when he had finished greeting them he at\nonce went forth to the assembled Kings, who stood up in honour to\nhim and welcomed him and greeted him; and when his father saw\nthat case he wondered with great wonderment. Then the youth took\nseat afar from his brothers and addressed them, saying, \"Which of\nthe twain was first to take the necklace?\" And they held their\npeace. He resumed speech and said to them, \"Which of you killed\nthe Lion and which of you slew the Elephant and which of you\nembraved his heart and going into the bower of the august damsel,\ndaughter to this Sultan, carried off her Bird Philomelet?\" But\nthey answered him never a syllable and were far from offering a\nreply. So he resumed, \"Wherefore did you fall upon me and beat me\nand take away the Enchanting Bird, when I was able to slay you\nboth? Yet to everything is its own time and this my father had\nbanished me and banished my mother nor did he give her aught of\nwhat became her.\" Saying these words the youth fell upon his two\nbrethren with his sword and striking a single stroke he slew the\ntwain, after which he would have assaulted his sire, and put him\nto death. However the three Kings forbade him and presently he\nwhose daughter owned the Bird put an end to this by insisting\nupon the marriage-tie with him being tied. So he went in unto her\nthat very night and the three damsels became his acknowledged\nspouses. After this his father gave command that his mother be\nadmitted into the Palace and he honoured her and banished the\nparents of his two elder sons for he was assured that their cadet\nhad done such derring-do by slaying the Lion and the Elephant and\nby bringing into the presence Philomelet the Enchanting Bird and\nhe was certified that the deed had been done by none other. So he\nset apart a palace for the young Prince and his three Princesses\nand he gave him a commandment and their joys ever increased. And\nlastly the three Kings ceased not abiding in that place for forty\ndays after which they devised their departure.?And Shahrazad was\nsurprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying\nher permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and\ntasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and\ndelectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I\nwould relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to\nsurvive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was,\n\n           The Four Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the three\nKings desired, one and all of them, to depart and return to their\ncountries and their capitals; and their son-in-law presented them\nwith gifts and rarities, whereupon they blessed him and went\ntheir ways. After this the young Prince, who had become Sovran\nand Sultan, took seat upon the throne of his realm and by the\nreign he was obeyed and the servants of Allah for him prayed.\nPresently on a day of the days he inclined to the hunt and the\nchase, so he went off with his suite till they found themselves\nin the middle of the wildest of wolds where the ruler came upon\nan underground cavern. He proposed to enter therein, when his\nfollowers prevented him and behold, a man came to him from the\ndesert showing the signs of wayfare and carrying a somewhat of\nwater and victual and his garments were all threadbare. The King\nenquired of him saying, \"Whence hast thou come and wither art\nthou going?\" and the other replied, \"We be three in this antre\nwho have fled our country; and whenever we require aught of meat\nand drink, one of us fareth forth to fetch what will suffice us\nof provision for ten days.\" \"And what is the cause of your flying\nyour native land?\" asked the King, and the other answered,\n\"Verily our tale is wondrous and our adventures are joyous and\nmarvellous.\" Hereupon quoth the King, \"Wall\u00e1hi, we will not quit\nthis spot till such time as we shall have heard your histories;\nand let each one of you three recount to us what befell him, so\nthat we hear it from his own mouth.\" Hereupon the King commanded\nsundry of his suite to set forth home and the rest to abide\nbeside him; and he sent a Chamberlain of the Chamberlains that he\nmight go bring from the city somewhat of victual and water and\nwax candles and all the case required, saying the while to\nhimself, \"Verily the hearing of histories is better than hunting\nand birding, for haply they may solace and gladden the hearts of\nmen.\"[FN#323] So the Chamberlain went forth and, after an absence\nof an hour or so he returned bringing all the King had commanded;\nupon which he and the suite brought in the Larrikin[FN#324]\ntogether with his two companions until they led them to the\npresence and seated the three together. All this while none of\nthe vagabonds knew that the personage before them was King of the\ncity. So they fell to conversing until the next night came on\nwhen the Sovran bade them tell their tales of themselves and what\nhad befallen each and every of them. They replied, \"Hearkening\nand obedience;\" and the foremost of them began to recite the\n\n\n\n\nHistory of the First Larrikin.\n\n\n\nVerily, O King, my tale is a rare and it is e'en as follows:?I\nhad a mother of whose flocks the World had left her but a single\nkid, and we owned ne'er another. Presently we determined to sell\nit; and, having so done, we bought it with its price a young\ncalf, which we brought up for a whole year till it grew fat and\nfull-sized. Then my mother said to me, \"Take yon calf and go sell\nit;\" so I went forth with it to the Bazar, and I saw that not one\nwas like it, when behold, a body of vagabonds,[FN#325] who\nnumbered some forty, looked at the beast, and it pleased them; so\nthey said one to other, \"Let us carry this away and cut its\nthroat and flay it.\" Then one of them, as all were standing afar\noff, came near me and said, \"O youth, wilt thou sell this kid?\"\nand quoth I, \"O my uncle, verily this is a calf and not a kid;\"\nand the other rejoined, \"Art thou blind? This is a kid.\" Cried I,\n\"A calf!\" So he asked, \"Wilt thou take from me a dollar?\"[FN#326]\nand I answered, \"Nay, O my uncle!\" Thereupon he went away from\nme, and another came after him and said, \"O youth, wilt thou sell\nthis kid?\" and said I, \"This is a calf,\" and quoth he \"This is a\nkid,\" and reviled me the while I held my peace. Again quoth he,\n\"Wilt thou take for this a dollar?\" but I was not satisfied\ntherewith, and they ceased not to wrangle with me, one after\nother, each coming up and saying, \"O youth, wilt thou sell this\nkid?\" At last their Shaykh[FN#327] accosted me and cried, \"Wilt\nthou sell it?\" and I rejoined, \"There is no Majesty save in\nAllah! I will sell it on one condition, to wit, that I take from\nthee its tail.\" Replied to me[FN#328] the Shaykh of the\nVagabonds, \"Thou shalt take the tail when we have slaughtered\nit;\" then, paying me a dollar, he led off the beast, and returned\nto his own folk. Presently they killed it and flayed it, when I\ntook the tail and hastened back to my mother. She said to me,\n\"Hast thou sold the calf?\" and said I, \"Yes, I have sold it, and\nhave taken a dollar and the calf's tail.\" \"And what wilt thou do\nfor the tail?\" asked she; and I answered, \"I will do him\nbrown[FN#329] who took it from me saying, This is a kid, and I\nwill serve him a sleight which shall get out of him to its price\nten times one hundred.\"[FN#330] With these words I arose and,\ntaking the tail, I flayed it and studded it with nails and bits\nof glass, and I asked of my mother a maiden's dress, which she\nbrought me; and presently I covered my face with a\nBurka'-veil[FN#331] and I adorned me and perfumed myself and I\ngirded my loins underneath my clothes with the tail of that calf.\nThen went I forth like a virgin girl till I reached the barrack\nof those blackguards, when I found that they had cooked the whole\ncalf and naught of it remained undressed, and they had prepared\nto spread the table and were about sitting down to supper. Then I\nwent[FN#332] in to them and said, \"The Peace be upon you,\" and\nthey rose to me in a body of their joy, and returned my greetings\nand said, \"By Allah, our night is a white one.\" So I entered to\nthem and supped with them, and they all inclined to me, and their\nmustachios wagged in token that they would disport with me. But\nwhen darkness came on they said, \"This night is for our Shaykh,\nbut after this each one of us shall take her for his own\nnight.\"?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day, and fell\nsilent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister\nDunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I should relate to you on the coming night an the King\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n            The Four Hundred and Forty-first Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nvagabonds said, \"Each one of us shall take her to him for a night\nafter the Shaykh,\" and so saying they left me and went their\nways. Then the Chief fell to chatting with me and he was in high\nspirits, when suddenly my glance fell upon a rope hanging from\nthe ceiling of that barrack and I cried, \"O Shaykh!\" whereto he\nreplied, \"Yes, O my lady and light of mine eyes.\" Said I to him,\n\"What may be this cord thus suspended?\" and said he, \"This is\ncalled 'hanging-gear'; and, when any of ours requireth\nchastisement from my associates, we hoist him up by this rope and\nwe bash him.\" Quoth I, \"Hang me up and let me see how 'tis done,\"\nbut quoth he, \"Heaven forfend, O my lady! I will hang myself in\nthy stead and thou shalt look upon me.\" Hereat he arose and tied\nhimself tight and cried, \"Haul up this rope and make it fast in\nsuch a place!\" I did his bidding and bound it right firmly and\nleft him hanging in the air. Presently he cried, \"Let go the\ncord,\" and replied I, \"O Shaykh, first let me enoy the\nspectacle.\" Then I stripped him of all his clothing and drawing\nforth the calf's tail which was studded with nails and glass\nsplinters, I said to him, \"O Shaykh, is this the tail of a kid or\nof a calf?\" \"What woman art thou?\" asked he, and I answered, \"I\nam the owner of the calf;\" and then, tucking up my two sleeves to\nthe elbows, I beat him till I stripped him of his skin and he\nlost his senses and he had no breath wherewith to speak.\nThereupon I arose and fell to searching the hall, where I found\nsundry valuables amongst which was a box, so I opened it and came\nupon three hundred gold pieces and a store of reals[FN#333] and\nsilverlings and jadids.[FN#334] I laid hands on the whole of it\nand bore off somewhat of the most sumptuous dresses; and, having\nwrapped them all up in a sheet, I carried them away; and about\ndawn I went in to my mother and cried, \"Take thee to the price of\nthe calf, which I have received from the purchaser.\" But when the\nday was high and the sun waxed hot the whole troop of the Shaykh\ncollected and said, \"Verily our Elder hath slept till the undurn\nhour;\" and one of them declared, \"'Tis from enjoying so much\npleasure and luxury, he and the girl; and doubtless their night\nhath been a white[FN#335] night.\" So they ceased not talking\ntogether and each of them had his word until the noon was high,\nwhen certain of them said, \"Come with us and let us rouse him\nfrom sleep:\" and, saying thus, all went to the door of the hall\nand opened it. Hereupon they found their Shaykh hanging up and\nhis body bleeding profusely;[FN#336] so they asked him, \"What\nhath befallen thee?\" and he answered in a weak voice, \"Verily\nthat girl is no girl at all, but she is the youth who owned the\ncalf.\" They replied, \"By Allah, there is no help but that we\nseize him and slay him;\" whereto the Elder said, \"Loose me and\nlead me to the Hammam that I may wash clean my skin of all this\nblood.\" Then they let him down and after mounting him upon a\ndonkey they bore him to the baths. Hereat I went to the\nslaughter-house and and covered my body with bullocks' blood and\nstuck to it pledgets of cotton so that I became like one sorely\ndiseased and I repaired to the same Hammam propped upon a staff\nand required admittance. They refused me saying, \"The Shaykh of\nthe Vagabonds is now in the baths nor may anyone go in to him.\"\nQuoth I to them, \"I am a man with a malady,\" whereto quoth one of\nthem, \"This is a poor wight, so let him come within.\" Accordingly\nI entered and found the Chief alone, whereupon I drew forth the\ntail and asked him, \"O Shaykh, is this the tail of a calf or a\nkid?\" \"Who art thou?\" said he, and I said, \"I am the owner of the\ncalf;\" after which I fell to beating him with the tail until his\nbreath was clean gone. Then I left him and went forth from the\nHammam by another door so as to avoid his followers.?And\nShahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and\nceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,\n\"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I should relate to you on the coming night an the King\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n            The Four Hundred and Forty-second Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the youth,\nthe owner of the calf, after beating the Shaykh of the Vagabonds\nwith a sore bashing within the Bath went forth by the back door.\nWhereupon (continued the Larrikin) the followers of the Chief\nwent in and they found him at his last breath and moaning from\nthe excess of blows. Quoth they, \"What is the matter with thee?\"\nand quoth he, \"That man with a malady who came into the Hammam is\nnone other but the owner of the calf and he hath killed me.\" So\nthey took him up and carried him from the place and he said to\nthem, \"Do ye bear me outside the city and set up for me a tent\nand lay me therein, after which do ye gather round about me and\nnever leave me at all.\" Hereat they mounted him upon an ass and\nbore him to the place he described and, pitching a tent, set him\ntherein and all sat around him. Presently the tidings reached me,\nwhereupon I changed my clothes for a disguise and drew near the\ntent whereabouts I found a Badawi-man feeding his sheep. So I\nsaid to him, \"O Badawi, take this ducat and draw near yonder tent\nand call aloud, saying, 'I am the owner of the calf;' after which\nmake off with thy life for an they catch thee they will slay\nthee.\" \"By Allah,\" quoth the Arab, \"even if they rode their best\nmares none of them could come up with me!\" So I took charge of\nthe sheep while the Badawi approaching the tent cried in his\nloudest voice, \"By Allah, I am the owner of the calf.\" Hearing\nthis the vagabonds sprang to their feet as one body and drew\ntheir weapons and rushed after the Badawi; but, when he had run\nsome distance from the tent with all the men behind him, I went\nin and drawing from below my clothes the tail of the calf said,\n\"O Shaykh, is this the tail of a calf or a kid?\" The Elder asked,\n\"Art thou not he who cried out, I am the owner of the calf?\" and\nI answered, \"No, I am not,\" and came down upon him with the tail\nand beat him until he could no longer breathe. Then I took the\nproperties belonging to his party and wrapping them in a sheet\ncarried them off and quitting the place I went in to my mother\nand said to her, \"Take them to the worth of the calf.\" Now those\nwho had run after the Badawi ceased not pursuing him, yet could\nnone of them come up with him and when they were tired they\nreturned from the chase and stinted not walking until they\nentered the tent. There they found the Shaykh breathless nor\ncould he move save to make signs; so they sprinkled a little\nwater upon his face; and the life returned to him and he said to\nthem, \"Verily the owner of the calf came to me and beat me till\nhe killed me and the wight who cried, 'I am the owner of the\ncalf' is an accomplice of his.\" Thereupon all waxed furious and\nthe Elder said to them, \"Bear me home and give out that your\nShakyh is deceased; after which do you bathe my body and carry me\nto the cemetery and bury me by night and next morning disinter me\nso that the owner of this calf may hear that I am dead and leave\nme in peace. Indeed as long as I continue in this condition he\nwill devise for me device after device and some day will come into me and kill me downright.\" They did what their Shaykh bade\nthem and began crying and keening and saying, \"Verily our Chief\nis deceased,\" so that the report was bruited abroad that the\nShaykh of the Vagabonds had died. But I, the owner of the calf,\nsaid to myself, \"By Allah, an he be dead, they will assuredly\nmake for him some mourning ceremony.\" Now when they had washed\nhim and shrouded him and carried him out upon the bier, and were\nproceeding to the graveyard that they might bury him, and had\nreached half way to it, lo and behold! I joined the funeral train\nand suddenly walking under the coffin with a sharp\npacking-needle[FN#337] in hand,?And Shahrazad was surprised by\nthe dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted\nsay. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O\nsister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable.\" Quoth she, \"And\nwhere is this compared with that I should relate to you on the\ncoming night an the King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was\nthe next night and that was\n\n            The Four Hundred and Forty-third Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that I walked\nunder the bier packing-needle in hand, and thrust it into the\nShaykh of the Vagabonds, whereat he cried out and sprang up and\nsat upright upon his shell.[FN#338] Now when the King heard this\ntale he laughed and was cheered and the Larrikin resumed:?By\nAllah, when I thrust the needle into him and he sat upright in\nhis coffin all the folk fell to wondering and cried, \"Verily the\ndead hath come to life.\" Hereupon, O my lord, my fear waxed great\nand I said to myself, \"All adventures are not like one another:\nhaply the crowd[FN#339] will recognise me and slay me.\" So I went\nforth the city and came hither. Cried the King, \"Of a truth, this\ntale is marvellous;\" when the second Larrikin exclaimed, \"By\nAllah, O my lord, my tale is rarer and stranger than this, for\nindeed therein I did deeds worthy of the Jinn-mad and amongst the\nmany tricks that came from my hand I died and was buried and I\ndevised a device whereby they drew me from my tomb.\" Quoth the\nKing, \"Wall\u00e1hi, if thy tale be more wondrous than that which\nforewent it I needs must reward thee with somewhat. But now tell\nus of what betided thee.\" So the man began to relate the\n\n\n\n\nHistory of the Second Larrikin.\n\n\n\nI was living, O my lord, under the same roof with my father's\nwife and I had with me some bundles of sesame cobs, but no great\nquantity, which I stored in a little basket hanging up in the\ngreat ceiling-vault of our house. Now one day of the days a party\nof merchants, numbering five or so, together with their head man,\ncame to our village and began asking for sesame; and they\nhappened to meet me on the road hard by our place, so they put me\nthe same question. I asked them, \"Do you want much of it?\" and\nthey answered, \"We require[FN#340] about an hundred\nardabbs.\"[FN#341] Quoth I, \"By me is a large quantity thereof;\"\nand quoth they, \"Have the kindness to show us the\nmuster;\"[FN#342] whereto I rejoined, \"Upon the head and the eye!\"\nHereat I led them into the room wherein the basket was suspended\nwith a few cobs of sesame (there being none other) and I went up\nby an outside staircase to the top of the vault, which I pierced,\nand putting forth my hand, took up a palm-full and therewith\nreturned to them and showed the specimen. They saw that the\nsesame was clean grain, and said one to other, \"This house is\nnaught but full to the vault,[FN#343] for had there been a small\nquantity there he would have opened the door and shown us the\nheaps.\" Hereupon I conversed with them and settled the price and\nthey paid me as earnest money for an hundred ardabbs of sesame\nsix hundred reals. I took the coin and gave it to the wife of my\nfather, saying to her, \"Cook for us a supper that shall be\ntoothsome.\" Then I slaughtered for her five chickens and charged\nher that, after she should have cooked the supper, she must\nprepare for us a pot of Bays\u00e1rah[FN#344] which must be slab and\nthick. She did as I bade her and I returned to the merchants and\ninvited them to sup with us and night in our house. Now when\nsunset time came I brought them in for the evening meal and they\nsupped and were cheered, and as soon as the hour for night-prayer\nhad passed I spread for them sleeping-gear and said to them, \"O\nour guests, be careful of yourselves lest the wind come forth\nfrom your bellies, for with me dwelleth the wife of my father,\nwho disgusteth fizzles and who dieth if she hear a fart.\" After\nthis they slept soundly from the stress of their fatigue and were\noverwhelmed with slumber; but when it was midnight, I took the\npot of Baysarah and approached them as they still slumbered and I\nbesmeared[FN#345] their backsides with the Baysarah and returned\nand slept until dawn of day in my own stead hard beside them. At\nthis time all five were awake, and as each one arose before his\ncompanions he sensed a somewhat soft below him and putting forth\nhis hand felt his bum bewrayed[FN#346] with the stuff, and said\nto his neighbour, \"Ho, such an one, I have skited!\" and the other\nsaid, \"I also have conskited myself;\" and then all said together, \"We have skited.\" But when I heard this, O my lord, I arose\nforthwith and cried out saying, \"Haste ye to my help, O ye folk,\nfor these guests have killed my father's wife.\"?And Shahrazad\nwas surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased\nsaying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How\nsweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable\nand delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that\nI should relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n            The Four Hundred and Forty-fifth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale, that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that quoth the\nsecond Larrikin to the King:?O my lord, I cried out saying, \"The\nguests have slain the wife of my father.\" But when they heard me\nthe merchants arose and ran away, each following other, so I\nrushed after them, shouting aloud, \"Ye have killed my father's\nwife,\" till such time as they had disappeared from sight. Then\nsaid I to myself, \"Inshallah! they will never more come back.\"\nBut after they had disappeared for a whole year they returned and\ndemanded their coin, to wit, six hundred reals; and I, when the\ntidings reached me, feigned myself dead and ordered my father's\nwife to bury me in the cemetery and I took to my grave a portion\nof charcoal and a branding-iron. Now when the five merchants came\nand asked after me the folk said, \"He hath deceased and they have\ngraved him in his grave;\" whereupon the creditors cried, \"By\nAllah, there is no help but that we go and piss upon his fosse.\"\nNow I had made a crevice in the tomb[FN#347] and I had lighted\nthe charcoal and I had placed the branding-iron ready till it\nbecame red hot and, when they came to piddle upon my grave, I\ntook the iron and branded their hinder cheeks with sore branding,\nand this I did to one and all till the five had suffered in the\nflesh. Presently they departed to their own country, when my\nfather's wife came and opened the tomb and drew me forth and we\nreturned together to our home. After a time, however, the news\nreached these merchants in their towns that I was living and\nhearty, so they came once more to our village and demanded of the\nGovernor that I be given up to them. So the rulers sent for and\nsummoned me, but when the creditors made a claim upon me for six\nhundred reals, I said to the Governor, \"O my lord, verily these\nfive fellows were slaves to my sire in bygone-times.\" Quoth the\nruler, \"Were ye then in sooth chattels to his sire?\" and said\nthey to me, \"Thou liest!\" Upon this I rejoined, \"Bare their\nbodies; and, if thou find a mark thereupon, they be my father's\nserviles, and if thou find no sign then are my words false.\" So\nthey examined them and they found upon the rumps of the five,\nmarks of the branding-iron, and the Governor said, \"By Allah, in\ngood sooth he hath told the truth and you five are the chattels\nof his father.\" Hereupon began dispute and debate between us, nor\ncould they contrive aught to escape from me until they paid me\nthree hundred reals in addition to what I had before of them.\nWhen the Sultan heard these words from the Larrikin he fell to\nwondering and laughing at what the wight had done and he said,\n\"By Allah, verily thy deed is the deed of a vagabond who is a\npast-master in fraud.\" Then the third Larrikin spoke and said,\n\"By Allah, in good sooth my story is more marvellous and wondrous\nthan the tales of this twain, for that none (methinketh) save I\ncould have done aught of the kind.\" The King asked him, \"And what\nmay be thy story?\" so he began to relate\n\n\n\n\nThe Tale of the Third Larrikin.\n\n\n\nO my lord, I was once an owner of herds whereof naught remained\nto me but a single bull well advanced in years and unhealthy of\nflesh and of hide; and when I sought to sell him to the butchers\nnone was willing to buy him of me, nor even to accept him as a\ngift. So I was disgusted with the beast and with the idea of\neating him; and, as he could not be used either to grind[FN#348]\nor to plough, I led him into a great courtyard, where I\nslaughtered him and stripped off his hide. Then I cut the flesh\ninto bittocks?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and\nfell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her\nsister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I should relate to you on the coming night an the King\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n           The Four Hundred and Forty-seventh Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nwhilome owner of the bull said to the King:?O my lord, I cut his\nflesh into bittocks and went forth and cried aloud upon the dogs\nof the quarter, when they all gathered together nor did one\nremain behind. Then I caused them to enter the court and having\nbolted the door gave to each dog a bit of the meat weighing half\na pound.[FN#349] So all ate and were filled, after which I shut\nthem up in the house which was large, for a space of three days\nwhen, behold, the folk came seeking their tykes and crying,\n\"Whither can the curs have gone?\" So I related how I had locked\nthem up within the house and hereupon each man who had a hound\ncame and took it away. Then quoth I, \"Thy dog hath eaten a full\npound of flesh,\" and I took from each owner six faddahs and let\nhim have his beast until I had recovered for the meat of that\nbull a sum of two thousand faddahs.[FN#350] At last of these dogs\nthere remained to me but one unclaimed and he had only a single\neye and no owner. So I took up a staff and beat him and he ran\naway and I ran after him to catch him until he came upon a house\nwith the door open and rushed within. Now by the decree of the\nDecreer it so happened that the mistress of the house had a man\nliving with her who was one-eyed and I ran in and said to her,\n\"Bring out the one-eyed that is with thee,\" meaning the dog. But\nwhen the house mistress heard me say, \"Bring out the one-eyed,\"\nshe fancied that I spoke of her mate, so knowing naught about the\nmatter of the tyke she came up to me and cried, \"Allah upon thee,\nO my lord, do thou veil what Allah hath veiled and rend not our\nreputation and deal not disgrace to us;\"[FN#351] presently\nadding, \"Take this bangle from me and betray us not.\" So I took\nit and left her and went my ways, after which she returned to the\nhouse and her heart was heaving and she found that her man had\nbeen in like case ever since he heard me say, \"Bring out the\none-eyed.\" So I went away carrying off the bracelet and fared\nhomeward. But when she looked about the room, lo and behold! she\nespied the one-eyed dog lying in a corner and, as soon as she\ncaught sight of him, she was certified that I had alluded to the\nbeast. So she buffeted her face and regretted the loss of her\nbangle and following me she came up and said to me, \"O my lord, I\nhave found the one-eyed dog, so do thou return with me and take\nhim;\" whereat  I had pity upon the woman and restored to her the\nornament. However, when this had befallen me, fear possessed my\nheart lest she denounce me, and I went away from my village and\ncame to this place where the three of us forgathered and have\nlived ever since. When the King had given ear to this story he\nwas cheered and said, \"By Allah, verily the adventures of you\nthree are wondrous, but my desire of you is to know if any of you\nhave heard aught of the histories of bygone Sultans; and, if so,\nlet him relate them to me. First, however, I must take you into\nthe city that you may enjoy your rest.\" \"O my lord,\" quoth they,\n\"who art thou of the citizens?\" and quoth he, \"I am the King of\nthis country, and the cause of my coming hither was my design to\nhunt and chase and the finding you here hath diverted me\ntherefrom.\" But when they heard his words, they forthwith rose to\ntheir feet and did him obeisance saying, \"Hearing and obeying,\"\nafter which the three repaired with him to the city. Here the\nKing commanded that they set apart for them an apartment and\nappointed to them rations of meat and drink and invested them\nwith robes of honour; and they remained in company one with other\ntill a certain night of the nights when the Sultan summoned them\nand they made act of presence between his hands and the season\nwas after the King had prayed the Isha[FN#352] prayers. So he\nsaid to them, \"I require that each and every of you who knoweth\nan history of the Kings of yore shall relate it to me,\" whereat\nsaid one of the four, \"I have by me such a tale.\" Quoth the King,\n\"Then tell it to us;\" when the first Larrikin began to relate the\n\n\n\n\nStory of a Sultan of Al-Hind and his Son Mohammed.[FN#353]\n\n\n\nThere was in days of yore a King in the land of Al-Hind, who\nreigned over wide dominions (and praise be to Him who ruleth the\nworlds material and spiritual!), but this Sultan had nor daughter\nnor son. So once upon a time he took thought and said, \"Glory to\nThee! no god is there save Thyself, O Lord; withal Thou hast not\nvouchsafed to me a child either boy or girl.\" On the next day he\narose a-morn wholly clad in clothes of crimson hue,[FN#354]?And\nShahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and\nceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,\n\"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I should relate to you on the coming night an the King\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n            The Four Hundred and Forty-ninth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the King\nof Al-Hind arose a-morn wholly clad in clothes of crimson hue,\nand the Wazir, coming into the Divan, found him in such case. So\nhe salam'd to him and blessed him with the blessing due to\nCaliphs, and said to him, \"O King of the Age, doth aught irk thee\nthat thou art robed in red?\" whereto he replied, \"O Wazir, I have\nrisen with my heart gript hard.\" Said the other, \"Go into thy\ntreasury of moneys and jewels and turn over thy precious ores,\nthat thy sorrow be dispersed.\" But said the Sultan, \"O Wazir,\nverily all this world is a transitory, and naught remaineth to\nany save to seek the face of Allah the Beneficent: withal the\nlike of me may never more escape from cark and care, seeing that\nI have lived for this length of time and that I have not been\nblessed with or son or daughter, for verily children are the\nornament of the world.\" Hereupon a wight dark of hue, which was a\nTakr\u00fari[FN#355] by birth, suddenly appeared before the Sultan and\nstanding between his hands said to him, \"O King of the Age, I\nhave by me certain medicinal roots the bequeathal of my forbears\nand I have heard that thou hast no issue; so an thou eat somewhat\nthereof haply shall they gladden thy heart.\" \"Where be these\nsimples?\" cried the King, whereat the Takruri man drew forth a\nbag and brought out from it somewhat that resembled a confection\nand gave it to him with due injunctions. So when it was\nnight-time the Sultan ate somewhat of it and then slept with his\nwife who, by the Omnipotence of Allah Almighty, conceived of him\nthat very time. Finding her pregnant the King was rejoiced\nthereat and fell to distributing alms to the Fakirs and the\nmesquin and the widows and the orphans, and this continued till\nthe days of his Queen's pregnancy were completed. Then she bare a\nman-child fair of face and form, which event caused the King\nperfect joy and complete; and on that day when the boy was named\nMahommed,[FN#356] Son of the Sultan, he scattered full half his\ntreasury amongst the lieges. Then he bade bring for the babe\nwet-nurses who suckled him until milktime ended, when they weaned\nhim, after which he grew every day in strength and stature till\nhis age reached his sixth year. Hereupon his father appointed for\nhim a Divine to teach him reading and writing and the Koran and\nall the sciences, which he mastered when his years numbered\ntwelve. And after this he took to mounting horses and learning to\nshoot with shafts and to hit the mark, up to the time when he\nbecame a knight who surpassed all other knights. Now one day of\nthe days Prince Mohammed rode off a-hunting, as was his wont,\nwhen lo and behold! he beheld a fowl with green plumage wheeling\naround him in circles and rocketing in the air and seeing this he\nwas desirous to bring it down with an arrow. But he found this\nimpossible so he ceased not following the quarry with intent to\ncatch it but again he failed and it flew away from his ken;\nwhereat he was sore vexed and he said to himself, \"Needs must I\nseize this bird,\" and he kept swerving to the right and the left\nin order to catch sight of it but he saw it not. This endured\nuntil the end of day when he returned to the city and sought his\nfather and his mother, and when they looked upon him they found\nhis case changed and they asked him concerning his condition, so\nhe related to them all about the bird and they said to him, \"O\nour son, O Mohammed, verily the creations of Allah be curious and\nhow many fowls are like unto this, nay even more wondrous.\" Cried\nhe, \"Unless I catch her[FN#357] I will wholly give up eating.\"\nNow when morning dawned he mounted according to his custom and\nagain went forth to the chase; and presently he pushed into the\nmiddle of the desert when suddenly he saw the bird flying in air\nand he pushed his horse to speed beneath her and shot at her a\nshaft with the intent to make her his prey, but again was unable\nto kill the bird. He persisted in the chase from sunrise until\nsundown when he was tired and his horse was aweary, so he turned\nhim round purposing a return city-wards, when behold, he was met\nin the middle of the road by an elderly man who said to him, \"O\nson of the Sultan, in very sooth thou art fatigued and on like\nwise is thy steed.\" The Prince replied, \"Yes,\" and the Elder\nasked him, \"What is the cause thereof?\" Accordingly he told him\nall anent the bird and the Shaykh replied to him, \"O my son, an\nthou absent thyself and ride for a whole year in pursuit of\nyonder fowl thou wilt never be able to take her; and, O my child,\nwhere is this bird![FN#358] I will now inform thee that in a City\nof the Islands hight of Camphor there is a garden wide of sides\nwherein are many of such fowls and far fairer than this, and of\nthem some can sing and others can speak with human speech; but, O\nmy son, thou art unable to reach that city. However, if thou\nleave this bird and seek another of the same kind, haply I can\nshow thee one and thou wilt not weary thyself any more.\" When\nMohammed, Son of the Sultan, heard these words from the Elder he\ncried, \"By Allah, 'tis not possible but that I travel to that\ncity.\" Hereupon he left the Shaykh and returned to his own home,\nbut his heart was engrossed with the Capital of the Camphor\nIslands, and when he went in to his sire, his case was troubled.\nThe father asked him thereof and he related to him what the\noldster had said. \"O my son,\" quoth the sire, \"cast out this\naccident from thy heart and weary not thy soul, inasmuch as whoso\nwould seek an object he cannot obtain, shall destroy his own life\nfor the sake thereof and furthermore he shall fail of his gain.\nBetter therefore thou set thy heart at rest[FN#359] and weary\nthyself no more.\" Quoth the Son, \"Wall\u00e1hi, O my sire, verily my\nheart is hung to yonder fowl and specially to the words of the\nElder; nor is it possible to me to sit at home until I shall have\nreached the city of the Camphor Islands and I shall have gazed\nupon the gardens wherein such fowls do wone.\" Quoth his father,\n\"But why, O my child, wouldst thou deprive us of looking upon\nthee?\" And quoth the son, \"There is no help but that I\ntravel.\"?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell\nsilent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister\nDunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I should relate to you on the coming night an the King\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n            The Four Hundred and Fifty-second Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Mohammed\nthe Son of the Sultan cried, \"Needs must I travel, otherwise I\nwill slay myself.\" \"There is no Majesty and there is no Might,\"\nquoth the father, \"save in Allah the Glorious, the Great; and\nsaith the old saw, 'The chick is unsatisfied till the crow see it\nand carry it off.'\"[FN#360] Thereupon the King gave orders to get\nready provisions and other matters required for the Prince's\nwayfare, and he sent with him an escort of friends and servants,\nafter which the youth took leave of his father and mother and he\nwith his many set forth seeking the Capital of the Camphor\nIslands. He ceased not travelling for the space of an entire\nmonth till he arrived at a place wherein three highways forked,\nand he saw at the junction a huge rock whereon were written three\nlines. Now the first read, \"This is the road of safe chance,\" and\nthe second, \"This is the way of repentance;\" and the third, \"This\nis the path whereon whoso paceth shall return nevermore.\" When\nthe Prince perused these inscriptions he said to himself, \"I will\ntread the path whereon whoso paceth shall nevermore return.\" Then\nhe put his trust in Allah, and he travelled over that way for a\nspace of days a score, when suddenly he came upon a city deserted\nand desolate, nor was there a single created thing therein and it\nwas utterly in ruins. So he alighted beside it and, as a flock of\nsheep accompanied his suite, he bade slaughter five lambs and\ncommanded the cooks to prepare of them delicate dishes and to\nroast one of them whole and entire. They did his bidding, and\nwhen the meats were cooked he ordered the trays be spread in that\nsite and, as soon as all was done to his satisfaction, he\npurposed sitting down to food, he and his host, when suddenly an\n'Aun[FN#361] appeared coming from the ruined city. But when\nPrince Mohammed beheld him he rose to him in honour saying,\n\"Welcome and fair welcome to him who of 'Auns is the head, and to\nthe brethren friend true-bred,[FN#362] and the Haunter of this\nstead;\" and he satisfied him with the eloquence of his tongue and\nthe elegance of his speech. Now this 'Aun had hair that overhung\neither eye and fell upon his shoulders, so the Prince brought out\nhis scissors[FN#363] and trimmed his locks clearing them away\nfrom his face, and he pared his nails which were like talons, and\nfinally let bathe his body with warm water. Then he served up to\nhim the barbecue of lamb which he caused to be roasted whole for\nthe use of the Jinni and bade place it upon the tray, so the\nHaunter ate with the travellers and was cheered by the Prince's\nkindness and said to him, \"By Allah, O my lord Mohammed, O thou\nSon of the Sultan, I was predestined to meet thee in this place\nbut now let me know what may be thy need.\" Accordingly the youth\ninformed him of the city of the Camphor Islands and of the garden\ncontaining the fowls which he fared to seek, and of his design in\nwayfaring thither to bring some of them away with him. But when\nthe 'Aun heard from him these words, he said to him, \"O thou Son\nof the Sultan, that site is a far cry for thee, nor canst thou\never arrive thereat unless assisted, seeing that its distance\nfrom this place be a march of two hundred years for a diligent\ntraveller. How then canst thou reach it and return from it?\nHowever, the old saw saith, O my son, 'Good for good and the\nbeginner is worthier, and ill for ill and the beginner is\nunworthier.'[FN#364] Now thou hast done to me a kindly deed and I\n(Inshallah!) will requite thee with its match and will reward\nthee with its mate; but let whatso is with thee of companions and\nslaves and beasts and provisions abide in this site and we will\ngo together, I and thou, and I will win for thee thy wish even as\nthou hast wrought by me a kindly work.\" Hereupon the Prince left\nall that was with him in that place and the 'Aun said to him, \"O\nson of the Sultan, come mount upon my shoulders.\" The youth did\naccordingly, after he had filled his ears with cotton, and the\n'Aun rose from earth and towered in air and after the space of an\nhour he descended again and the rider found himself in the\ngrounds about the capital of the Camphor Islands. So he\ndismounted from the Jinni's shoulders and looked about that wady\nwhere he espied pleasant spots and he descried trees and blooms\nand rills and birds that trilled and shrilled with various notes.\nThen quoth the 'Aun to him, \"Go forth to yonder garden and thence\nbring thy need;\" so he walked thither and, finding the gates wide\nopen, he passed in and fell to solacing himself with looking to\nthe right and the left. Presently he saw bird-cages suspended and\nin them were fowls of every kind, to each two, so he walked up to\nthem and whenever he noted a bird that pleased him he took it and\ncaged it till he had there six fowls and of all sorts twain. Then\nhe designed to leave the garden when suddenly a keeper met him\nface to face at the door crying aloud, \"A thief! a thief!\" Hereat\nall the other gardeners rushed up and seized him, together with\nthe cage, and carried him before the King, the owner of that\ngarden and lord of that city. They set him in the presence\nsaying, \"Verily we found this young man stealing a cage wherein\nbe fowls and in good sooth he must be a thief.\" Quoth the Sultan,\n\"Who misled thee, O Youth, to enter my grounds and trespass\nthereon and take of my birds?\" Whereto the Prince returned no\nreply. So the Sultan resumed, \"By Allah, thou hast wilfully\nwasted thy life, but, O Youngster, an it be thy desire to take my\nbirds and carry them away, do thou go and bring me from the\ncapital of the Isles of the S\u00fad\u00e1n[FN#365] bunches of grapes which\nare clusters of diamonds and emeralds, when I will give thee over\nand above these six fowls six other beside.\" So the Prince left\nhim and going to the 'Aun informed him of what had befallen him,\nand the other cried, \"'Tis easy, O Mohammed;\" and mounting him\nupon his shoulders flew with him for the space of two hours and\npresently alighted. The youth saw himself in the lands\nsurrounding the capital of the Sudan Islands which he found more\nbeautiful than the fair region he had left; and he designed\nforthright to approach the garden containing great clusters of\ndiamonds and emeralds, when he was confronted by a Lion in the\nmiddle way. Now it was the wont of this beast yearly to visit\nthat city and to pounce upon everything he met of women as well\nas of men; so seeing the Prince he charged down upon him,\ndesigning to rend him limb from limb?And Shahrazad was surprised\nby the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her\npermitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and\ntasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and\ndelectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I\nshould relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to\nsurvive?\" Now when it was the next night, and that was\n\n            The Four Hundred and Fifty-fifth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale, that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Lion\ncharged down upon Mohammed, Son of the Sultan, designing to rend\nhim in pieces, but he confronted him and unsheathing his scymitar\nmade it glitter in the sunshine[FN#366] and pressed him close and\nbashed him with brand between his eyes so that the blade came\nforth gleaming from between his thighs. Now by doom of Destiny\nthe daughter of the Sultan was sitting at the latticed window of\nher belvedere and was looking at her glass and solacing herself,\nwhen her glance fell upon the King's son as he was smiting the\nLion. So she said to herself, \"May thy hand never palsied grow\nnor exult over thee any foe!\" But the Prince after slaying the\nLion left the body and walked into the garden whose door had been\nleft open and therein he found that all the trees were of\nprecious metal bearing clusters like grapes of diamonds and\nemeralds. So he went forwards and plucked from those trees six\nbunches which he placed within a cage, when suddenly he was met\nby the keeper who cried out, \"A thief! a thief!\" and when joined\nby the other gardeners seized him and bore him before the Sultan\nsaying, \"O my lord, I have come upon this youth who was\nred-handed in robbing yonder clusters.\" The King would have slain\nhim forth-right, but suddenly there came to him a gathering of\nthe folk who cried, \"O King of the Age, a gift of good\nnews!\"[FN#367] Quoth he, \"Wherefore?\" and quoth they, \"Verily the\nLion which was wont hither to come every year and to pounce upon\nall that met him of men and of women and of maidens and of\nchildren, we have found him in such a place clean slain and split\ninto twain.\" Now the Sultan's daughter was standing by the\nlattice of the belvedere which was hard by the Divan of her sire\nand was looking at the youth who stood before the King and was\nawaiting to see how it would fare with him. But when the folk\ncame in and reported the death of the Lion, the Sultan threw\naside the affair of the youth of his joy and delight and fell to\nasking, \"Who was it slew the beast?\" and to saying, \"Wall\u00e1hi! By\nthe rights of my forbears in this kingdom,[FN#368] let him who\nkilled the monster come before me and ask of me a boon which it\nshall be given to him; nay, even if he demand of me a division of\nall my good he shall receive that same.\" But when he had heard of\nall present that the tidings were true then the city-folk\nfollowed one another in a line and went in to the Sultan and one\nof them said, \"I have slain the Lion.\" Said the King, \"And how\nhast thou slain him; and in what manner hast thou been able to\nprevail over and master him?\" Then he spake with him\nsoftly[FN#369] and proved him and at last so frightened him that\nthe man fell to the ground in his consternation; when they\ncarried him off and the King declared, \"This wight lieth!\" All\nthis and Mohammed, the Son of the Sultan, was still standing and\nlooking on and when he heard the man's claim he smiled. Suddenly\nthe King happening to glance at him saw the smile and was\nastounded and said in his mind, \"By Allah, this Youth is a\nwondrous for he smileth he being in such case as this.\" But\nbehold, the King's daughter sent an eunuch to her father and he\ndelivered the message, when the King arose and went into his\nHarem and asked her, \"What is in thy mind and what is it thou\nseekest?\" She answered, \"Is it thy desire to know who slew the\nLion that thou mayest largesse him?\" and he rejoined, saying, \"By\nvirtue of Him who created His servants and computeth their\nnumbers,[FN#370] when I know him and am certified of his truth my\nfirst gift to him shall be to wed thee with him and he shall\nbecome to me son-in-law were he in the farthest of lands.\"\nRetorted she, \"By Allah, O my father, none slew the Lion save the\nyoung man who entered the garden and carried off the clusters of\ngems, the youth whom thou art minded to slay.\" When he heard\nthese words from his daughter, the King returned to the Divan and\nbade summon Mohammed the Son of the Sultan, and when they set him\nbetween his hands he said to him, \"O Youth, thou hast indemnity\nfrom me and say me, art thou he who slew the Lion?\" The other\nanswered, \"O King, I am indeed young in years; how then shall I\nprevail over a Lion and slaughter him, when, by Allah, in all my\nborn days I never met even with a hyena much less than a lion?\nHowever, O King of the Age, an thou largesse me with these\nclusters of gems and give them to me in free gift, I will wend my\nways, and if not my luck will be with Allah!\" Rejoined the King,\n\"O Youth, speak thou sooth and fear not!\" Here he fell to\nsoothing him with words and solacing him and gentling him, after\nwhich he threatened him with his hand, but Mohammed the Son of\nthe Sultan raised his neave swiftlier than the lightning and\nsmote the King and caused him swoon. Now there was none present\nin the Divan save Mohammed and the Monarch, who after an hour\ncame to himself and said, \"By Allah, thou art he who slew the\nLion!\" Hereupon he robed him with a robe of honour and, summoning\nthe Kazi, bade tie the marriage-tie with his daughter; but quoth\nthe young man, \"O King of the Age, I have a counsel to consult,\nafter which I will return to thee.\" Quoth the King, \"Right rede\nis this same and a matter not to blame.\" Accordingly the Prince\nrepaired to the 'Aun in the place where he had left him and\nrelated to him all that had betided himself, and of his intended\nmarriage with the King's daughter, whereupon said the Jinni,\n\"Condition with him that if thou take her to wife thou shalt\ncarry her along with thee to thine own country.\" The youth did\nhis bidding and returned to the King who said, \"There is no harm\nin that,\" and the marriage-knot was duly knotted. Then the\nbridegroom was led in procession to his bride with whom he\nremained a full month of thirty days, after which he craved leave\nto fare for his own motherland.?And Shahrazad was surprised by\nthe dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted\nsay. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O\nsister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And\nwhere is this compared with that I should relate to you on the\ncoming night an the King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was\nthe next night and that was\n\n           The Four Hundred and Fifty-seventh Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Mohammed\nSon of the Sultan craved leave to return to his own motherland,\nwhen his father-in-law gave him an hundred clusters of the\ndiamantine and smaragdine grapes, after which he farewelled the\nKing and taking his bride fared without the city. Here he found\nexpecting him the 'Aun, who, after causing them to fill their\nears with cotton, shouldered him, together with his wife, and\nthen flew with them through the firmament for two hours or so and\nalighted with them near the capital of the Camphor Islands.\nPresently Mohammed the Son of the Sultan took four clusters of\nthe emeralds and diamonds, and going in to the King laid them\nbefore him and drew him back. The Sultan gazed upon them and\nmarvelled and cried, \"Wall\u00e1hi! doubtless this youth be a Magician\nfor that he hath covered a space of three hundred years in\nthree[FN#371] of coming and going, and this is amongst the\ngreatest of marvels.\" Presently he resumed, saying, \"O Youth,\nhast thou reached the city of the Sudan?\" and the other replied,\n\"I have.\" The King continued, \"What is its description and its\nfoundation and how are its gardens and its rills?\" So he informed\nhim of all things required of him and the Sultan cried, \"By\nAllah, O Youth, thou deservest all thou askest of me.\" \"I ask for\nnothing,\" said the Prince, \"save the birds,\" and the King, \"O\nYouth, there is with us in our town a Vulture which cometh every\nyear from behind Mount K\u00e1f and pounceth upon the sons of this\ncity and beareth them away and eateth them on the heads of the\nhills. Now an thou canst master this monster-fowl and slay that\nsame I have a daughter whom I will marry to thee.\" Quoth the\nPrince, \"I have need of taking counsel;\" and returned to the 'Aun\nto inform him thereof when behold, the Vulture made its\nappearance. But as soon as the Jinni espied it, he flew and made\nfor it, and caught it up; then, smiting it with a single stroke\nof his hand, he cut it in two and presently he returned and\nsettled down upon the ground. Then, after a while, he went back\nto Mohammed, the Son of the Sultan, and said to him, \"Hie thee to\nthe King and report to him the slaughter of the Vulture.\" So he\nwent and entering the presence reported what had taken place,\nwhereupon the Sultan with his lords of the land mounted[FN#372]\ntheir horses, and, going to the place, found the monster killed,\nand cut into two halves. Anon the King returned, and leading\nPrince Mohammed with him bade knit the marriage-knot with his\ndaughter and caused him to pay her the first visit. He tarried\nbeside her for a full-told month after which he asked leave to\ntravel and to seek the city of his first spouse, carrying with\nhim the second. Hereupon the King his father-in-law presented to\nhim ten cages, each containing four birds of vari-coloured coats\nand farewelled him. After which he fared forth and left the city,\nand outside it he found the 'Aun awaiting him and the Jinni\nsalam'd to the Prince and congratulated him in what he had won of\ngifts and prizes. Then he arose high in air, bearing Mohammed and\nhis two brides and all that was with them, and he winged his way\nfor an hour or so until he alighted once more at the ruined city.\nHere he found the Prince's suite of learned men, together with\nthe b\u00e2t-beasts and their loads[FN#373] and everything other even\nas he had left it. So they sat down to take their rest when the\n'Aun said, \"O Mohammed, O Son of the Sultan, I have been\npredestined to thee in this site whither thou wast fated to come;\nbut I have another and a further covenant to keep wherewith I\nwould charge thee.\" \"What is that?\" quoth he, and quoth the 'Aun,\n\"Verily thou shalt not depart this place until thou shalt have\nlaved me and shrouded me and graved[FN#374] me in the ground;\"\nand so saying he shrieked a loud shriek and his soul fled his\nflesh. This was grievous to the son of the King and he and his\nmen arose and washed him and shrouded him and having prayed over\nhim buried him in the earth. After this the Prince turned him to\ntravel, so they laded the loads and he and his set forth\nintending for their families and native land. They journeyed\nduring the space of thirty days till they reached the fork of the\nhighway whereat stood the great rock, and here they found tents\nand pavilions and a host nor did they know what this mighty many\nmight mean. Now the father, when his son left him, suffered from\nstraitness of breast and was sore perplexed as to his affair and\nhe wot not what to do; so he bade make ready his army and\ncommanded the lords of the land to prepare for the march and all\nset out seeking his son and determined to find tidings of him.\nNor did they cease faring till they reached the place where the\nroad forked into three and on the first rock they saw written the\nthree lines?\"This is the road of safe chance;\" and \"This is the\nway of repentance;\" and \"This is the path whereon whoso paceth\nshall return nevermore.\" But when the father read it he was posed\nand perplext as to the matter and he cried, \"Would Heaven I knew\nby which road of these three my son Mohammed may have travelled;\"\nand as he was brooding over this difficulty?And Shahrazad was\nsurprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying\nher permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and\ntasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and\ndelectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I\nshould relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to\nsurvive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n            The Four Hundred and Fifty-ninth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that as the\nSultan was brooding over this difficulty lo and behold! his son\nMohammed appeared before him by the path which showed written,\n\"This is the path whereon whoso passeth shall nevermore return.\"\nBut when the King saw him, and face confronted face, he arose and\nmet him and salam'd to him giving him joy of his safety; and the\nPrince told him all that had befallen him from beginning to\nend?how he had not reached those places save by the All-might of\nAllah, and how he had succeeded in winning his wish by meeting\nwith the 'Aun. So they nighted in that site and when it was\nmorning they resumed their march, all in gladness and happiness\nfor that the Sultan had recovered his son Mohammed. They ceased\nnot faring a while until they drew near their native city when\nthe bearers of good tidings ran forward announcing the arrival of\nthe Sultan and his son and, hereupon the houses were decorated in\nhonour of the Prince's safe return and crowds came out to meet\nthem till such time as all had entered the city-walls, after\nwhich their joys increased and their annoy fell from them. And\nthis is the whole of the tale told by the first Larrikin. Now\nwhen the Sultan heard it he marvelled at what had befallen the\nchief adventurer therein, when the second Larrikin spoke saying\n\"I have by me a tale, a marvel of marvels, and which is a delight\nto the hearer and a diversion to the reader and to the reciter.\"\nQuoth the Sovran, \"What may that be, O Shaykh?\" and the man fell\nto relating the\n\n\n\n\n\n\n               Tale of the Fisherman and his Son\n\n\n\nThey tell that whilome there was a Fisherman, a poor man with a\nwife and family, who every day was wont to take his net and go\ndown to the river a-fishing for his daily bread which is\ndistributed. Then he would sell a portion of his catch and buy\nvictual and the rest he would carry to his wife and children that\nthey might eat. One day of the many days he said to his son who\nwas growing up to a biggish lad, \"O my child, come forth with me\nthis morning, haply All-Mighty Allah may send us somewhat of\nlivelihood by thy footsteps;\" and the other answered, \"'Tis well,\nO my father.\" Hereupon the Fisherman took his son and his net and\nthey twain went off together till they arrived at the river-bank,\nwhen quoth the father, \"O my boy I will throw the net upon the\nluck of thee.\" Then he went forward to the water and standing\nthereby took his net and unfokled it so that it spread when\nentering the stream, and after waiting an hour or so he drew it\nin and found it heavy of weight; so he cried, \"O my son, bear a\nhand\" and the youth came up and lent him aidance in drawing it\nin. And when they had haled it to shore they opened it and found\na fish of large size and glittering with all manner of colours.\nQuoth the father, \"O my son, by Allah, this fish befitteth not\nany but the Caliph; do thou therefore abide with it till I go and\nfetch a charger wherein to carry it as an offering for the Prince\nof True Believers.\" The youth took his seat by the fish and when\nhis father was afar off he went up to her and said, \"Doubtless\nthou hast children and the byword saith, Do good and cast it upon\nthe waters.\" Then he took up the fish and setting her near the\nriver besprinkled[FN#375] her and said, \"Go thou to thy children,\nthis is even better than being eaten by the Caliph.\" But having\nthrown the fish into the stream, his fear of his father grew\nstrong upon him, so he arose and without stay or delay fled his\nvillage; and he ceased not flying till he reached the Land of\nAl-Ir\u00e1k whose capital was under a King wide of dominions (and\npraise be to the King of all kingdoms!). So he entered the\nstreets and presently he met a baker-man who said to him, \"O my\nson, wilt thou serve?\" whereto he replied, \"I will serve, O\nuncle.\" The man settled with him for a wage of two silver nusfs a\nday together with his meat and his drink, and he remained working\nwith him for a while of time. Now one day of the days behold, he\nsaw a lad of the sons of that city carrying about a cock with the\nintention of vending it, when he was met by a Jew who said to\nhim, \"O my child, wilt thou sell this fowl?\" and the other said,\n\"I will.\" Quoth the Jew, \"For ten faddahs?\" and quoth the youth,\n\"Allah openeth!\" Said the other, \"For twenty faddahs?\" and the\nlad, \"Allah veileth!\"[FN#376] Then the Jew fell to increasing his\noffer for the cock until he reached a full dinar.?And Shahrazad\nwas surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to\nsay her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet\nis thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\"\nQuoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I should relate\nto you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?\" Now\nwhen it was the next night and that was\n\n            The Four Hundred and Sixty-first Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Jew\nraised his bid for the cock till he reached a gold piece when the\nlad said, \"Here with it.\" So the man gave him the dinar and took\nfrom him the fowl and slaughtered it forthright. Then he turned\nto a boy, one of his servants, and said to him, \"Take this cock\nand carry it home and say to thy mistress, 'Pluck it, but open it\nnot until such time as I shall return.'\" And the servant did his\nbidding. But when the Fisherman's son who was standing hard by\nheard these words and saw the bargain, he waited for a while and\nas soon as the servant had carried off the fowl, he arose and\nbuying two cocks at four faddahs he slaughtered them and repaired\nwith them to the house of the Jew. Then he rapped at the door and\nwhen the mistress came out to him he bespoke her saying, \"The\nhouse master saith to thee, 'Take these two silvers and send me\nthe bird which was brought to thee by the servant boy.'\"[FN#377]\nQuoth she, \"'Tis well,\" so he gave her the two fowls and took\nfrom her the cock which her husband had slaughtered. Then he\nreturned to the bakery, and when he was private he opened the\nbelly of the cock and found therein a signet-ring with a\nbezel-gem which in the sun showed one colour and in the shade\nanother. So he took it up and hid it in his bosom, after which he\ngutted the bird and cooked it in the furnace and ate it.\nPresently the Jew having finished his business, returned home and\nsaid to his wife, \"Bring me the cock.\" She brought him the two\nfowls and he seeing them asked her, \"But where be the first\ncock?\" And she answered him, \"Thou thyself sentest the boy with\nthese two birds and then orderedst him to bring thee the first\ncock.\" The Jew held his peace but was sore distressed at heart,\nso sore indeed that he came nigh to die and said to himself,\n\"Indeed it hath slipped from my grasp!\" Now the Fisherman's son\nafter he had mastered the ring waited until the evening evened\nwhen he said, \"By Allah, needs must this bezel have some\nmystery;\" so he withdrew into the privacy of the furnace and\nbrought it out from his bosom and fell a-rubbing it. Thereupon\nthe Slave of the Ring appeared and cried, \"Here I\nstand[FN#378] between thy hands.\" Then the Fisherman's son said\nto himself, \"This indeed is the perfection of good fortune,\" and\nreturned the gem to his breast-pocket as it was. Now when morning\nmorrowed the owner of the bakery came in and the youth said to\nhim, \"O my master, I am longing for my people and my native land\nand 'tis my desire to fare and look upon them and presently I\nwill return to thee.\" So the man paid him his wage, after which\nhe left him and walked from the bakery till he came to the Palace\nof the Sultan where he found near the gate well nigh an hundred\nheads which had been cut off and there suspended; so he leaned\nfor rest against the booth of a sherbet-seller and asked its\nowner, \"O master, what is the cause of all these heads being hung\nup?\" and the other answered, \"O my son, inquire not, anent what\nhath been done.\" However when he repeated the question the man\nreplied, \"O my son, verily the Sultan hath a daughter, a model of\nbeauty and loveliness, of symmetric stature and perfect grace, in\nfact likest a branch of the Rattan-palm;[FN#379] and whoso cometh\never to seek her in marriage her father conditioneth with him a\ncondition.\" Cried the Fisherman's son, \"What may be that\ncondition?\" and the other replied, \"There is a great mound of\nashes under the latticed windows of the Sultan's palace, and\nwhoso wisheth to take his daughter to wife he maketh a covenant\nwith him that he shall carry off that heap. So the other accepted\nthe agreement with only the proviso that he should have forty\ndays' grace and he consented that, an he fail within that time,\nhis head be cut off.\" \"And the heap is high?\" quoth the\nFisherman's son. \"Like a hill,\" quoth the other. Now when the\nyouth had thoroughly comprehended what the sherbet-seller had\ntold him, he farewelled him and left him; then, going to a Khan,\nhe hired him a cell and taking seat therein for a time he\npondered how he should proceed, for he was indeed fearful yet was\nhis heart hanging to the love of the Sultan's daughter. Presently\nhe brought out his ring, and rubbed it, when the voice of the\nSlave cried to him, \"Here I stand between thy hands and what\nmayst thou require of me?\" Said the other, \"I want a suit of\nkingly clothes;\" whereat without delay a bundle was set before\nhim and when he opened it he found therein princely gear. So he\ntook it and rising without loss of time he went into the Hammam\nand caused himself to be soaped and gloved and thoroughly washed,\nafter which he donned the dress and his case was changed into\nother case?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and\nfell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her\nsister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister\nmine, and enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is\nthis compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night\nan the King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night\nand that was\n\n            The Four Hundred and Sixty-third Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the\nson of the Fisherman came forth the Bath-house and donned his\nfine dress, his was changed into other case and he appeared\nbefore the folk in semblance of the sons of Kings. Presently he\nwent to the Sultan's palace and entering therein made his salam\nand, blushing for modesty, did his obeisance and blessed the\nSultan with the blessing due to Caliphs. His greetings were\nreturned and the King welcomed him and after that looked at him,\nand finding him after princely fashion, asked him, \"What is thy\nneed, O Youth, and what requirest thou?\" Answered the other, \"I\nseek connection with thy house, and I come desirous of betrothal\nwith the lady concealed and the pearl unrevealed, which is thy\ndaughter.\" \"Art thou able to perform the condition, O Youth?\"\nasked the King; \"For I want neither means nor moneys nor precious\nstones nor other possession; brief, none other thing save that\nthou remove yon mound of ashes from beneath the windows of my\npalace.\" Upon this he bade the youth draw near him and when he\nobeyed threw open the lattice; and, showing him the hillock that\nstood underneath it, said, \"O Youth, I will betroth to thee my\ndaughter an thou be pleased to remove this heap; but if thou\nprove thee unable so to do I will strike off thy head.\" Quoth the\nFisherman's son, \"I am satisfied therewith,\" presently adding, \"A\ndelay![FN#380] grant me the term of forty days.\" \"I have allowed\nthy request to thee,\" said the King and wrote a document bearing\nthe testimony of those present, when cried the youth, \"O King,\nbid nail up thy windows and let them not be unfastened until the\nfortieth day shall have gone by.\" \"These words be fair,\" quoth\nthe Sultan, and accordingly he gave the order. Hereat the youth\nwent forth from him whereupon all present in the palace cried, \"O\nthe pity of it, that this youngster should be done to die; indeed\nthere were many stronger than he, yet none of them availed to\nremove the heap.\" In this way each and every said his say, but\nwhen the Fisherman's son returned to his cell (and he was\nthoughtful concerning his life and perplext as to his affair) he\ncried, \"Would Heaven I knew whether the Ring hath power to carry\nit off.\" Then shutting himself up in his cell he brought out the\nsignet from his breast-pocket and rubbed it, and a Voice was\nheard to cry, \"Here I stand (and fair befal thy command) between\nthy hands. What requirest thou of me, O my lord?\" The other\nreplied, \"I want thee to remove the ash-heap which standeth under\nthe windows of the royal palace, and I demand that thou lay out\nin lieu thereof a garden wide of sides in whose middlemost must\nbe a mansion tall and choice-builded of base, for the special\ndomicile of the Sultan's daughter; furthermore, let all this be\ndone within the space of forty days.\" \"Aye ready,\" quoth the\nJinni, \"to do all thou desirest.\" Hereupon the youth felt his\naffright assuaged and his heart rightly directed; and after this\nhe would go every day to inspect the heap and would find one\nquarter of it had disappeared, nor did aught of it remain after\nthe fourth morning for that the ring was graved with the\ncabalistic signs of the Cohens[FN#381] and they had set upon the\nwork an hundred Marids of the Jann that they might carry out the\nwishes of any who required aught of them. And when the mound was\nremoved they dispread in its site a garden wide of sides in whose\nmidst they edified a palace choice-builded of base, and all this\nwas done within the space of fifteen days, whilst the Fisherman's\nson ever repaired thither and inspected the work. But when he had\nperfected his intent he entered to the Sultan and kissing ground\nbetween his hands and having prayed for his glory and permanence,\nsaid, \"O King of the Age, deign open the lattices of thy Palace!\"\nSo he went to them and threw them open when lo and behold, he\nfound in lieu of the mound a mighty fine garden wherein were\ntrees and rills and blooms and birds hymning the praises of their\nCreator; moreover he saw in that garden a palace, an edifice\nchoice-builded of base which is not to be found with any King or\nKaysar. Seeing this he wondered at the circumstance and his wits\nwere wildered and he was perplext as to his affair; after which\nhe sent for the Minister and summoned him and said, \"Counsel me,\nO Wazir, as to what I shall do in the case of this youth and in\nwhat way shall I fend him from me.\" Replied the Councillor, \"How\nshall I advise thee, seeing that thou madest condition with him\nthat should he fail in his undertaking thou wouldst strike off\nhis head? Now there is no contrivance in this matter and there is\nnaught to do save marrying him with the girl.\" By these words the\nKing was persuaded and caused the knot to be knotted and bade\nthem lead the bridegroom in procession to the bride, after which\nthe youth set her in the garden-palace and cohabited with her in\nall joy and enjoyment and pleasure and disport. On this wise\nfared it with them; but as regards the case of the Jew, when he\nlost the cock he went forth in sore disappointment like unto one\nJinn-mad; and neither was his sleep sound and good nor were meat\nand drink pleasant food, and he ceased not wandering about till\nthe Fates threw him into that garden. Now he had noted in past\ntime that a huge heap of ashes stood under the palace-windows and\nwhen he looked he cried, \"Verily, the youth hath been here and\nall this work is the work of the signet-ring, for that none other\nthan the M\u00e1rids of the J\u00e1nn could remove such a hillock.\" So\nsaying, the Jew returned to his place, where he brought out a\nparcel of fine pearls and some few emeralds and specimens of\ncoral and other precious minerals, and set them as for sale in a\ntray. Then he approached the palace which was builded in the\ngarden and cried out saying, \"The pearls! and the emeralds! and\nthe corals! and various kinds of fine jewels!\" and he kept up\nthis cry.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and\nfell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her\nsister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared\nwith that I should relate to you on the coming night an the King\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n            The Four Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Jew\nfell to hawking about his minerals and crying them for sale\nbeside the garden-palace and the Sultan's daughter hearing him\nexclaimed, \"O Handmaid, bring me that which is for sale with this\nJew.\" So the girl went down and said to the man, \"What hast thou\nby thee?\" and said the other, \"Precious stones.\" Quoth she, \"Wilt\nthou sell them for gold?\" and quoth he, \"No, O my lady, I will\nsell them for nothing save for rings which must be old.\"[FN#382]\nAccordingly she returned and herewith acquainted her lady who\nsaid, \"By Allah, my Lord hath in his pencase[FN#383] an old\nworn-out ring, so do thou go and bring it to me while he\nsleepeth.\" But she knew not what was hidden for her in the Secret\nPurpose, nor that which was fated to be her Fate. So presently\nshe brought out of the pencase the bezel-ring afore-mentioned and\ngave it to the handmaid who took it and faring outside the house\nhanded it to the Jew, and he received it with extreme joy and in\nturn presented to her the tray with all thereon. Then he went\nforth the city and set out on a voyage to the Seven Islands which\nare not far from the earth-surrounding Ocean;[FN#384] and when he\narrived thither he landed upon a sea-holm and travelled to the\nmiddle-most thereof. Anon he took seat, and presently brought out\nthe signet-ring and rubbed it, when the slave appeared and cried,\n\"Here I stand and between thy hands, what is it thou needest of\nme?\" \"I require of thee,\" quoth the Jew, \"to transport hither the\nbower of the Sultan's daughter and to restore the ash-heap to the\nstead it was in whilome under the lattice of the King's Palace.\"\nNow ere night had passed away both Princess and Palace were\ntransported to the middlemost of the island; and when the Jew\nbeheld her his heart flamed high for the excess of her beauty and\nloveliness. So he entered her bower and fell to conversing with\nher, but she would return to him no reply and, when he would have\napproached her, she started away in disgust. Hereupon, seeing no\nsigns of conquest, the Jew said in his mind, \"Let her wax\naccustomed to me and she will be satisfied,\" and on this wise he\ncontinued to solace her heart. Now as regards the son of the\nFisherman his sleep had extended deep into the forenoon and when\nthe sun burnt upon his back he arose and found himself lying on\nthe ash-heap below the Palace, so he said to himself, \"Up and\naway, otherwise the Sultan will look out of the window and will\nbehold this mound returned to its place as it was before, and he\nwill order thy neck to be smitten.\" So he hurried him forth\nhardly believing in his escape, and he ceased not hastening his\npace until he came to a coffee-house, which he entered; and there\nhe took him a lodging and used to lie the night, and to rise\namorn. Now one day of the days behold, he met a man who was\nleading about a dog and a cat and a mouse[FN#385] and crying them\nfor sale at the price of ten faddahs; so the youth said in his\nmind, \"Let me buy these at their cheap price;\" and he called\naloud to the man and having given him the ten silverlings took\naway his purchase. After this he would fare every day to the\nslaughter-house and would buy for them a bit of tripe or liver\nand feed them therewith, but ever and anon he would sit down and\nponder the loss of the Ring and bespeak himself and say, \"Would\nHeaven I wot that which Allah Almighty hath done with my Ring and\nmy Palace and my bride the Sultan's daughter!\" Now the dog and\nthe cat and the mouse heard him, and one day of the days as,\naccording to his custom, he took them with him and led them to\nthe slaughter-house and bought a meal of entrails and gave\nsomewhat to each that it might eat thereof, he sat down in sad\nthought and groaned aloud and sorrow prevailed upon him till he\nwas overcome by sleep. The season was the mid-forenoon[FN#386]\nand the while he slumbered and was drowned in drowsiness, the Dog\nsaid to the Cat and the Mouse, \"O brethren mine, in very deed\nthis youth, who hath bought us for ten faddahs, leadeth us every\nday to this stead and giveth us our rations of food. But he hath\nlost his Ring and the Palace wherein was his bride, the daughter\nof the Sultan; so let us up and fare forth and seek therefor and\ndo ye twain mount upon my back so that we can overwander the seas\nand the island-skirts.\" They did as he bade them and he walked\ndown with them to the waters and swam with them until they found\nthemselves amiddlemost the main; nor did he cease swimming with\nthem for about a day and a night until the morning morrowed and\nthey saw from afar a somewhat that glittered. So they made for it\ntill they drew near, when they saw that it was the Palace in\nquestion, whereat the Dog continued swimming till such time as he\ncame ashore and dismounted the Cat and the Mouse. Then he said to\nthem, \"Let us abide here.\"?And Shahrazad was surprised by the\ndawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say.\nThen quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy\ntale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth\nshe, \"And where is this compared with that I should relate to you\non the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?\" Now when\nit was the next night and that was\n\n           The Four Hundred and Sixty-seventh Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Dog\nsaid to the Cat and the Mouse, \"I will abide and await you here,\nand do ye twain fare into the Palace, where the Cat shall take\nher station upon the crenelles over the lattice window and the\nMouse shall enter the mansion and roam about and search through\nthe rooms until she come upon the Ring required.\" So they did the\nDog's bidding and sought the places he had appointed to them and\nthe Mouse crept about but found naught until she approached the\nbedstead and beheld the Jew asleep and the Princess lying afar\noff. He had been longsome in requiring of her her person and had\neven threatened her with slaughter, yet he had no power to\napproach her nor indeed had he even looked upon the form of her\nface. Withal the Mouse ceased not faring about until she\napproached the Jew, whom she discovered sleeping upon his back\nand drowned in slumber for the excess of his drink that weighed\nhim down. So she drew near and considered him and saw the Ring in\nhis mouth below his tongue whereat she was perplext how to\nrecover it; but presently she went forth to a vessel of oil and\ndipping her tail therein approached the sleeper and drew it over\nhis nostrils, whereat he sneezed with a sneeze so violent that\nthe Ring sprang from between his jaws and fell upon the side of\nthe bedstead. Then she seized it in huge joy and returning to the\nCat said to her, \"Verily the prosperity of our lord hath returned\nto him.\" After this the twain went back to the Dog whom they\nfound expecting them, so they marched down to the sea and mounted\nupon his back and he swam with them both, all three being in the\nhighest spirits. But when they reached the middle of the main,\nquoth the Cat to the Mouse, \"Pass the Ring to me that I may carry\nit awhile;\" and the other did so, when she placed it in her chops\nfor an hour of time. Then quoth the Dog to them, \"Ye twain have\ntaken to yourselves charge of the Ring, each of you for a little\ntime, and I also would do likewise.\" They both said to him, \"O\nour brother, haply 'twill fall from thy mouth;\" but said he to\nthem, \"By Allah, an ye give it not to me for a while I will drown\nyou both in this very place.\" Accordingly the two did in their\nfear as the Dog desired and when he had set it in his chops it\ndropped therefrom into the abyss of the ocean; seeing which all\nrepented thereat and they said, \"Wasted is our work we have\nwrought.\" But when they came to land they found their lord\nsleeping from the excess of his cark and his care, and so the\ntrio stood on the shore and were sorrowing with sore sorrow, when\nbehold, there appeared to them a Fish strange of semblance who\nsaid to them, \"Take ye this Signet-ring and commit it to your\nlord, the son of the Fisherman, and when giving it to him say,\n'Since thou diddest a good deed and threwest the Fish into the\nsea thy kindness shall not be for naught; and, if it fail with\nthe Creature, it shall not fail with Allah the Creator.' Then do\nye inform him that the Fish which his father the Fisher would\nhave presented to the King and whereupon he had mercy and\nreturned her to the waters, that Fish am I, and the old saw\nsaith, 'This for that, and tit for tat is its reward!'\" Hereupon\nthe Dog took the Signet-ring and the other two went up with him\nto their lord and awaking him from sleep returned to him his\nRing. But when he saw it he became like one Jinn-mad from the\nexcess of his joy and the three related to him the affair of the\nSignet; how they had brought it away from the Jew and how it had\ndropped from the Dog's mouth into the abyss of the sea and lastly\nhow the Fish who had found it brought it back to them declaring\nthat it was she whom his sire had netted and whom the son had\nreturned to the depths. Cried he, \"Alham-dolillah\"?Glory be to\nthe Lord?who caused us work this weal and requited us for our\nkindness;\" after which he took the Signet and waited until night\nhad nighted. Then he repaired to the mount which was under the\nSultan's Palace and brought out the Ring and rubbed it, when the\nSlave appeared and cried to him, \"Here I stand (and fair befal\nthy command!) between thy hands: what is it needest thou and\nrequirest thou of me?\" The other replied, \"I demand that thou\ncarry off for me this mound.\"?And Shahrazad was surprised by the\ndawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say.\nThen quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister\nmine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is\nthis compared with that I should relate to you on the coming\nnight an the King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next\nnight and that was\n\n            The Four Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Son of\nthe Fisherman bade the Slave of the Ring remove the mound and\nreturn the garden as whilome it was and restore the Palace\ncontaining the Jew and the Sultan's daughter. Nor did that hour\npass before everything was replaced in its proper stead. Then the\nYouth went up to the saloon where he found the Jew recovered from\nhis drunkenness and he was threatening the Princess and saying,\n\"Thou! for thee there is no escape from me.\" But cried she, \"O\ndog, O accurst, joy from my lord is well nigh to me.\" Hearing\nthese words the Youth fell upon the Jew and dragging him along by\nhis neck, went down with him and bade them light a furious fire,\nand so they did till it flamed and flared; after which he\npinioned his enemy and caused him to be cast therein when his\nbones were melted upon his flesh. Then returning to the Palace he\nfell to blaming the Sultan's daughter for the matter of the Ring,\nand asking her, \"Why didst thou on this wise?\" She answered,\n\"From Fate there is no flight, and Alhamdolillah?praise to the\nLord?who after all that befel us from the Jew hath brought us\ntogether once more.\" Now all that happened from the Jew and the\nreturn of the Sultan's daughter and the restoring of the Palace\nand the death of his deceiver remained unknown to the Sultan, and\nhere is an end to my history. And when the second Larrikin held\nhis peace quoth the King, \"Allah quicken thee for this story; by\nthe Almighty 'tis wondrous, and it delighteth the hearer and\nrejoiceth the teller.\" Then cried the third Larrikin, \"I also\nhave by me an history more marvelous than these two; and, were it\nwritten in water of gold upon the pages of men's hearts, it were\nworthy thereof.\" Quoth the King, \"O Larrikin, if it prove\nstranger and rarer than these I will surely largesse thee.\"\nWhereupon quoth he, \"O King of the Age, listen to what I shall\nrelate,\" and he fell to telling the\n\n\n\n\nTale of the Third Larrikin Concerning Himself.\n\n\n\nIn my early years I had a cousin, the daughter of my paternal\nuncle, who loved me and I loved her whilst her father loathed me.\nSo one day she sent to me saying, \"Do thou fare forth and demand\nme in marriage from my sire;\" and, as I was poor and her father\nwas a wealthy merchant, she sent me to her dowry fifty gold\npieces which I took; and, accompanied by four of my comrades, I\nwent to the house of my father's brother and there arrived I went\nwithin. But when he looked upon me his face showed wrath and my\nfriends said to him, \"Verily, thy nephew seeketh in marriage the\ndaughter of his uncle;\" and as soon as he heard these words he\ncried aloud at them and reviled me and drave me from his doors.\nSo I went from him well nigh broken-hearted and I wept till I\nreturned to my mother who cried, \"What is to do with thee, O my\nson!\" I related to her all that had befallen me from my uncle and\nshe said to me, \"O my child, to a man who loveth thee not thou\ngoest, forsooth, to ask his daughter in marriage!\" Whereto I\nreplied, \"O mother mine, she sent a message bidding me so do and\nverily she loveth me.\" Quoth my mother, Take patience, O my son!\"\nI heartened my heart, and my parent promised me all welfare and\nfavour from my cousin; moreover she was thinking of me at all\ntimes and presently she again sent to me and promised me that she\nnever would love any other. Then behold, a party of folk repaired\nto her father and asked her to wife of him and prepared to take\nher away. But when the tidings reached her that her parent\npurposed marrying her to one of those people, she sent to me\nsaying, \"Get thee ready for this midnight and I will come to\nthee.\" When night was at its noon she appeared, carrying a pair\nof saddle-bags wherein was a somewhat of money and raiment, and\nshe was leading a she-mule belonging to her father whereupon her\nsaddle-bags were packed. \"Up with us,\" she cried, so I arose with\nher in that outer darkness and we went forth the town forthright\nand the Veiler veiled us, nor did we stint faring till morning\nwhen we hid ourselves in fear lest we be overtaken. And when the\nnext night fell we made ready and set out again, but we knew not\nwhither we were wending, for the Predestinator existeth and what\nis decided for us is like Destiny. At last we came to a wide and\nopen place where the heat smote us, and we sat down under a tree\nto smell the air. Presently sleep came upon me and I was drowned\nin slumber from the excess of my toil and travail, when suddenly\na dog-faced baboon came up to the daughter of my uncle?And\nShahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and\nceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,\n\"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable !\" Quoth she, \"And where is this\ncompared with that I should relate to you on the coming night an\nthe King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night\nand that was\n\n           The Four Hundred and Seventy-first Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\" She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the\nLarrikin continued his tale saying to the King:?And as I was\ndrowned in slumber a dog-faced baboon came up to the daughter of\nmy uncle and assaulted her and knew her carnally; then, having\ntaken her pucelage he ran away,[FN#387] but I knew nothing\nthereof from being fast asleep. Now when I awoke I found my\ncousin was changed of case and her colour had waxed pale and she\nwas in saddest condition; so I asked her and she told me all that\nhad betided her and said to me, \"O son of my uncle, from Fate\nthere is no flight, even as saith one of those who knoweth:?\n\n'And when death shall claw with his firm-fixt nail * I saw that\n     spells[FN#388] were of scant avail.'\n\nAnd one of them also said:?\n\n'When God would execute His will in anything On one endowed with\n     sight, hearing and reasoning,\nHe stops his ears and blinds his eyes and draws his will From\n     him, as one draws out the hairs to paste that cling;\nTill, His decrees fulfilled, He gives him back his wit, That\n     therewithal he may receive admonishing.'\"[FN#389]\n\nThen she spake concerning the predestination of the Creator till\nshe could say no more thereof. Presently we departed that stead\nand we travelled till we came to a town of the towns frequented\nby merchants, where we hired us a lodging and furnished it with\nmats and necessaries. Here I asked for a Kazi and they pointed\nout to me one of them amongst the judges of the place whom I\nsummoned with two of his witnesses; then I made one of them\ndeputy[FN#390] for my cousin and was married to her and went in\nunto her and I said to myself, \"All things depend upon Fate and\nLot.\" After that I tarried with her for a full told year in that\nsame town, a disease befel her and she drew nigh unto death.\nHereat quoth she to me, \"Allah upon thee, O son of my uncle, when\nI shall be dead and gone and the Destiny of Allah shall come upon\nthee and drive thee to marry again, take not to wife any but a\nvirgin-girl or haply do thou wed one who hath known man but\nonce;[FN#391] for by Allah, O my cousin, I will say thee nothing\nbut sooth when I tell thee that the delight of that dog-faced\nbaboon who deflowered me hath remained with me ever\nsince.\"[FN#392] So saying she expired[FN#393] and her soul fled\nforth her flesh. I brought to her a woman who washeth the dead\nand shrouded her and buried her; and after her decease I went\nforth from the town until Time bore me along and I became a\nwanderer and my condition was changed and I fell into this case.\nAnd no one knew me or aught of my affairs till I came and made\nfriends with yonder two men. Now the King hearing these words\nmarvelled at his adventure and what had betided him from the\nShifts of Time and his heart was softened to him and he largessed\nhim and his comrades and sent them about their business. Then\nquoth one of the bystanders to the King, \"O Sultan, I know a tale\nstill rarer than this;\" and quoth the King, \"Out with it;\"\nwhereat the man began to relate\n\n\n\n\n               THE HISTORY OF ABU NIYYAH AND ABU\n                       NIYYATAYN[FN#394]\n\n\n\nIt is recounted that in Mosel was a king and he was Lord of\nmoneys and means and troops and guards.  Now in the beginning of\nhis career his adventures were strange for that he was not of\nroyal rank or race, nor was he of the sons of Kings but\nprosperity met him because of the honesty of his manners and\nmorals.  His name was Abu Niyyah, the single-minded?and he was\nso poor that he had naught of worldly weal, so quoth he to\nhimself, \"Remove thee from this town and haply Allah will widen\nthy means of livelihood inasmuch as the byword saith, \u2018Travel, for indeed much of the joys of life are in travelling.'\"  So he fixed his mind upon removal from the town; and, having very few\narticles of his own, he sold them for a single dinar which he\ntook and fared forth from his place of birth seeking another\nstead.  Now when journeying he sighted following him a man who\nwas also on the move and he made acquaintance with him and the\ntwo fell to communing together upon the road.  Each of the twain\nwished to know the name of his comrade and Abu Niyyah asked his\nfellow, saying, \"O my brother, what may be thy name?\" whereto the\nother answered, \"I am called Abu Niyyatayn?the two-minded.\"\n\"And I am Abu Niyyah!\" cried the other, and his fellow-traveller\nquestioned him, saying, \"Hast thou with thee aught of money?\"\nWhereto he replied, \"I have with me a single Ashrafi and no\nmore.\"  Quoth the other, \"But I have ten gold pieces, so do thou\nhave a care of them and the same will be eleven.\"  Abu Niyyah\naccepted the charge and they went upon the road together and as\noften as they entered a town they nighted therein for a single\nnight or two and in the morning they departed therefrom.  This\ncontinued for a while of time until they made a city which had\ntwo gates and Abu Niyyah forewent his fellow through one of the\nentrances and suddenly heard an asker which was a slave begging\nand saying, \"O ye beneficent, O doers of good deeds, an alms\nshall bring ten-fold.\"  And, as the chattel drew near[FN#395] and\nAbu Niyyah noted his words, his heart was softened and he gave\nhim his single Ashrafi; whereupon his comrade looked upon him and\nasked, \"What hast thou doled to him?\"  Answered he, \"An Ashrafi;\"\nand quoth the other, \"Thou hast but a single gold piece while I\nhave ten;\" so he took the joint stock from him and left him and\nwent his way.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and\nfell silent and ceased to say her permitted say.  Then quoth her\nsister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\"  Quoth she, \"And where is this\ncompared with that I should relate to you on the coming night an\nthe King suffer me to survive?\"  Now when it was the next night\nand that was\n\n            The Four Hundred and Seventy-third Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish thy tale that we may cut short the\nwatching of this our latter night!\"  She replied, \"With love and\ngood will!\"  It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director,\nthe right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of\ndeeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the man Abu\nNiyyatayn took from Abu Niyyah the ten Ashrafis[FN#396] and said\nto him, \"The gold piece belonging to thee thou hast given to the\nasker;\" then, carrying away the other ten he left him and went\nabout his business.  Now Abu Niyyah had with him not a single\ncopper neither aught of provaunt so he wandered about the town to\nfind a Cathedral-mosque and seeing one he went into it and made\nthe Wuzu-ablution and prayed that which was incumbent on him of\nobligatory prayers.  Then he seated himself to rest until the\nhour of the sunset devotions and he said to himself \"Ho, Such-an-\none! this be a time when no one knoweth thee; so go forth and\nfare round about the doors and have a heed, haply Allah Almighty\nour Lord shall give thee somewhat of daily bread thou shalt eat\nblessing the creator.\"  Hereupon he went forth the Mosque and\nwandered through the nearest quarter, when behold, he came upon a\nlofty gate and a well adorned; so he stood before it and saw a\nslave lad coming out therefrom and bearing on his head a platter\nwherein was a pile of broken bread and some bones, and the boy\nstood there and shook the contents of the platter upon the\nground.  Abu Niyyah seeing this came forward and fell to picking\nup the orts of bread and ate them and gnawed the flesh from\nsundry of the bones until he was satisfied and the slave diverted\nhimself by looking on.  After that he cried, \"Alhamdolillah?\nGlory be to God!\"[FN#397] and the chattel went upstairs to his\nmaster and said, \"O my lord, I have seen a marvel!\"  Quoth the\nother, \"And what may that be?\" and quoth the servile, \"I found a\nman standing at our door and he was silent and spoke not a word;\nbut when he saw me throwing away the remnants[FN#398] of our\neating-cloth he came up to them and fell to devouring bittocks of\nthe bread and to breaking the bones and sucking them, after which\nhe cried, \u00c2\u2018Alhamdolillah.'\"  Said the master, \"O my good slave,\ndo thou take these ten Ashrafis and give them to the man;\" so the\nlad went down the stair and was half-way when he filched one of\nthe gold-pieces and then having descended he gave the nine.\nHereupon Abu Niyyah counted them and finding only nine, said,\n\"There wanted one Ashrafi, for the asker declared, An almsdeed\nbringeth tenfold, and I gave him a single gold piece.\"  The\nhouse-master heard him saying, \"There wanteth an Ashrafi,\" and he\nbade the slave call aloud to him and Abu Niyyah went upstairs to\nthe sitting room, where he found the owner, a merchant of repute,\nand salam'd to him.  The other returned his greeting and said,\n\"Ho fellow!\" and the other said \"Yes,\" when the first resumed,\n\"The slave, what did he give thee?\"  \"He gave me,\" said Abu\nNiyyah, \"nine Ashrafis;\" and the house-master rejoined,\n\"Wherefore didst thou declare, There faileth me one gold piece?\nHast thou a legal claim of debt upon us for an Ashrafi, O thou\nscanty of shame?\"  He answered, \"No, by Allah, O my lord; my\nintent was not that but there befel me with a man which was a\nbeggar such-and-such matter.\"  Hereupon the merchant understood\nhis meaning and said to him, \"Do thou sit thee down here and pass\nthe night with us.\"  So Abu Niyyah seated himself by his side and\nnighted with the merchant until the morning.  Now this was the\nseason for the payment of the poor-rates,[FN#399] and that\nmerchant was wont to take the sum from his property by weight of\nscales, so he summoned the official weigher who by means of his\nbalance computed the account and took out the poor-rate and gave\nthe whole proceeds to Abu Niyyah.  Quoth he, \"O my lord, what\nshall I do with all this good, especially as thou hast favoured\nme with thy regard?\"  \"No matter for that,\" quoth the other; so\nAbu Niyyah went forth from the presence of his patron and hiring\nhimself a shop fell to buying what suited him of all kinds of\nmerchandise such as a portion of coffee-beans and of pepper and\nof tin;[FN#400] and stuffs of Al-Hind, together with other\nmatters, saying to himself, \"Verily this shop is the property of\nthy hand.\"  So he sat there selling and buying and he was in the\neasiest of life and in all comfort rife for a while of time when\nbehold, his quondam companion, Abu Niyyatayn was seen passing\nalong the market-street.  His eyes were deep[FN#401] sunken and\nhe was propped upon a staff as he begged and cried, \"O good folk,\nO ye beneficent, give me an alms for the love of Allah!\"  But\nwhen his sometime associate, Abu Niyyah looked upon him, he knew\nhim and said to the slave whom he had bought for his service, \"Go\nthou and bring me yonder man.\"  Hereat the chattel went and\nbrought him and Abu Niyyah seated him upon the shop-board and\nsent his servile to buy somewhat of food and he set it before Abu\nNiyyatayn who ate till he was filled.  After this the wanderer\nasked leave to depart but the other said to him, \"Sit thou here,\nO Shaykh; for thou art my guest during the coming night.\"\nAccordingly he seated himself in the shop till the hour of\nsundown, when Abu Niyyah took him and led him to his lodging\nwhere the slave served up the supper-tray and they ate till they\nhad eaten their sufficiency.  Then they washed their hands and\nabode talking together till at last quoth Abu Niyyah, \"O my\nbrother, hast thou not recognised me?\" to which the other\nresponded, \"No, by Allah, O my brother.\"  Hereupon said the\nhouse-master, \"I am thy whilome comrade Abu Niyyah, and we came\ntogether, I and thou, from such-and-such a place to this city.\nBut I, O my brother, have never changed mine intent[FN#402] and\nall thou seest with me of good, the half thereof belongeth to\nthee.\"  When it was morning tide he presented him with the moiety\nof all he possessed of money and means and opened for him a shop\nin the Bazar by the side of his own and Abu Niyyatayn fell to\nselling and buying, and he and his friend Abu Niyyah led the most\njoyous of lives.  This endured for a while of time until one day\nof the days when quoth Abu Niyyatayn to Abu Niyyah, \"O my\nbrother, we have exhausted our sitting in this city, so do thou\ntravel with us unto another.\"  Quoth Abu Niyyah, \"Why, O my\nbrother, should we cease abiding here in comfort when we have\ngained abundance of wealth and moveables and valuables and we\nseek naught save a restful life?\"  However Abu Niyyatayn ceased\nnot to repeat his words to him and persist in his purpose and\nreiterate his demand, till Abu Niyyah was pleased with the idea\nof travelling?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and\nfell silent and ceased saying her permitted say.  Then quoth her\nsister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister\nmine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\"  Quoth she, \"And where\nis this compared with that I should relate to you on the coming\nnight and the King suffer me to survive?\"  Now when it was the\nnext night and that was\n\n\n            The Four Hundred and Seventy-fifth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\"  She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\"  It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Abu Niyyah\nwas pleased with the idea of travelling companied with Abu\nNiyyatayn: so they got themselves ready and loaded a caravan of\ncamels and mules and went off from that city and travelled for a\nspace of twenty days.  At last they came to a camping-ground\nabout sunset-hour and they alighted therein seeking rest and a\nnighting stead, and next morning when they arose they sought\nwhere they could fodder and water their cattle.  Now the only\nplace they found was a well and one said to other, \"Who will\ndescend therein and draw for us drink?\"  Cried Abu Niyyah, \"I\nwill go down\" (but he knew not what was fated to him in the\nEternal Purpose), and so saying he let himself down by the rope\ninto the well and filled for them the water-buckets till the\ncaravan had its sufficiency.  Now Abu Niyyatayn for the excess of\nhis envy and hatred was scheming in his heart and his secret soul\nto slay Abu Niyyah, and when all had drunk he cut the cord and\nloaded his beasts and fared away leaving his companion in the\nwell, for the first day and the second until the coming of night.\nSuddenly two 'Ifrits forgathered in that well and sat down to\nconverse with each other, when quoth the first, \"What is to do\nwith thee and how is thy case and what mayest thou be?\"  Quoth\nhis fellow, \"By Allah, O my brother, I am satisfied with extreme\nsatisfaction and I never leave the Sultan's daughter at all at\nall.\"  The second Ifrit asked, \"And what would forbid thee from\nher?\" and he answered, \"I should be driven away by somewhat of\nwormwood-powder scattered beneath the soles of her feet during\nthe congregational prayers of Friday.\"  Then quoth the other, \"I\nalso, by Allah, am joyful and exulting in the possession of a\nHoard of jewels buried without the town near the Azure Column\nwhich serveth as bench-mark.\"[FN#403]  \"And what,\" asked the other to his friend, \"would expel thee therefrom and expose the jewels to the gaze of man?\" whereto he answered, \"A white cock in his tenth month[FN#404] slaughtered upon the Azure Column would drive me away from the Hoard and would break the Talisman when the gems would be visible to all.\"  Now as soon as Abu Niyyah had heard the words of the two Ifrits, they arose and departed from the well; and it was the morning hour when, behold, a caravan was\npassing by that place, so the travellers halted seeking a drink\nof water.  Presently they let down a bucket which was seized by\nAbu Niyyah and as he was being drawn up they cried out and asked,\n\"What art thou, of Jinn-kind or of man-kind?\" and he answered, \"I\nam of the Sons of Adam.\"  Hereupon they drew him up from the pit\nand questioned him of his case and he said, \"I have fallen into\nit and I am sore ahungered.\"  Accordingly they gave him somewhat\nto eat and he ate and travelled with them till they entered a\ncertain city and it was on First day.[FN#405]  So they passed\nthrough the market streets which were crowded and found the\npeople in turmoil and trouble;[FN#406] and as one enquired the\ncause thereof he was answered, \"Verily the Sultan hath a\nbeautiful daughter who is possessed and overridden by an 'Ifrit,\nand whoso of the physicians would lay[FN#407] the Spirit and is\nunable or ignorant so to do, the King taketh him and cutteth off\nhis head and hangeth it up before his palace.  Indeed of late\ndays a student came hither, a youth who knew nothing of expelling\nthe Evil One, and he accepted the task and the Sultan designeth\nto smite his neck at this very hour; so the people are flocking\nwith design to divert themselves at the decapitation.\"  Now when\nAbu Niyyah heard these words he rose without stay or delay and\nwalked in haste till he came into the presence of the Sultan whom\nhe found seated upon his throne and the Linkman standing with his\nscymitar brandished over the head of the young student and\nexpecting only the royal order to strike his neck.  So Abu Niyyah\nsalam'd to him and said, \"O King of the Age, release yonder youth\nfrom under the sword and send him to thy prison, for if I avail\nto laying the Spirit and driving him from thy daughter thou shalt\nhave mercy upon yonder wight, and if I fail thou wilt shorten by\nthe head me as well as him.\"  Hereupon the King let unbind the\nyouth and sent him to jail; then he said to Abu Niyyah, \"Wouldst\nthou go at once to my daughter and unspell her from the Jinni?\"\nBut the other replied, \"No, O King, not until Meeting-day[FN#408]\nat what time the folk are engaged in congregational prayers.\"\nNow when Abu Niyyah had appointed the Friday, the King set apart\nfor his guest an apartment and rationed him with liberal\nrations.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell\nsilent and ceased to say her permitted say.  Then quoth her\nsister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how\nenjoyable and delectable!\"  Quoth she, \"And where is this\ncompared with that I should relate to you on the coming night an\nthe King suffer me to survive?\"  Now when it was the next night\nand that was\n\n\n          The Four Hundredth and Seventy-seventh Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\"  She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\"   It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Abu Niyyah\nhaving appointed the Sultan for Meeting-day, when he would\nunsorcel the Princess, waited till the morning dawned.  Then he\nwent forth to the Bazar and bought him a somewhat of\nwormwood[FN#409] for a silvern Nusf and brought it back, and, as\nsoon as the time of congregational prayers came, the Sultan went\nforth to his devotions and gave orders that Abu Niyyah be\nadmitted to his daughter whilst the folk were busy at their\ndevotions.  Abu Niyyah repaired to his patient, and scattered the\nAbsinthium beneath the soles of her feet, when, lo, and behold!\nshe was made whole, and she groaned and cried aloud, \"Where am\nI?\"  Hereat the mother rejoiced and whoso were in the Palace;\nand, as the Sultan returned from the Mosque, he found his\ndaughter sitting sane and sound, after they had dressed her and\nperfumed her and adorned her, and she met him with glee and\ngladness.  So the two embraced and their joy increased, and the\nfather fell to giving alms and scattering moneys amongst the\nFakirs and the miserable and the widows and orphans, in gratitude\nfor his daughter's recovery.  Moreover he also released the\nstudent youth and largessed him, and bade him gang his gait.\nAfter this the King summoned Abu Niyyah into the presence and\nsaid to him, \"O young man, ask a boon first of Allah and then of\nme and let it be everything thou wishest and wantest.\"  Quoth the\nother, \"I require of thee to wife the damsel from whom I drove\naway the Spirit,\" and the King turning to his Minster said,\n\"Counsel me, O Wazir.\"  Quoth the other, \"Put him off until the\nmorrow;\" and quoth the Sultan, \"O youth, come back to me hither\non the morning of the next day.\"  Hereupon Abu Niyyah was\ndismissed the presence, and betimes on the day appointed he came\nto the Sultan and found the Wazir beside him hending in hand a\ngem whose like was not to be found amongst the Kings.  Then he\nset it before the Sultan and said to him, \"Show it to the Youth\nand say to him, The dowry of the Princess, my daughter, is a\njewel like unto this.\"  But whilst Abu Niyyah was standing\nbetween his hands the King showed him the gem and repeated to him\nthe words of the Wazir, thinking to himself that it was a pretext\nfor refusing the youth, and saying in his mind, \"He will never be\nable to produce aught like that which the Wazir hath brought.\"\nHereupon Abu Niyyah asked, \"An so be I bring thee ten equal to\nthis, wilt thou give me the damsel?\" and the King answered, \"I\nwill.\"  The youth went from him when this was agreed upon and\nfared to the Market Street, where he bought him a white cock in\nits tenth month, such as had been described by the 'Ifrit, whose\nplume had not a trace of black or red feathers but was of the\npurest white.  Then he fared without the town and in the\ndirection of the setting sun until he came to the Azure Column,\nwhich he found exactly as he had heard it from the Jinni, and\ngoing to it, he cut the throat of the cock thereupon, when all of\na sudden the earth gaped and therein appeared a chamber full of\njewels sized as ostrich eggs.  That being the Hoard, he went\nforth and brought with him ten camels, each bearing two large\nsacks, and returning to the treasure-room, he filled all of these\nbags with gems and loaded them upon the beasts.  Presently he\nentered to the Sultan with his string of ten camels and, causing\nthem to kneel in the court-yard of the Divan, cried to him, \"Come\ndown, O King of the Age, and take the dowry of thy daughter.\"  So\nthe Sultan turned towards him and, looking at the ten camels,\nexclaimed, \"By Allah, this Youth is Jinn-mad; yet will I go down\nto see him.\"  Accordingly he descended the staircase to the place\nwhere the camels had been made kneel, and when the sacks had\nbeen unloaded and as the King came amongst them, the bags were\nopened and were found full of jewels greater and more glorious\nthan the one was with him.  Hereupon the Sultan was perplext and\nhis wits were bewildered, and he cried to the Wazir, \"Wall\u00e1hi!\nI think that all the Kings of the Earth in its length and its\nbreadth have not one single gem the like of these: but say me how\nshall I act, O Wazir?\"  The Minister replied, \"Give him the\ngirl.\"?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell\nsilent and ceased saying her permitted say.  Then quoth her\nsister Dunyazad, \"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister\nmine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\"  Quoth she, \"And where\nis this compared with that I should relate to you on the coming\nnight, an the King suffer me to survive?\"  Now when it was the\nnext night and that was\n\n\n            The Four Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\"  She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\"  It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Wazir\nsaid to the King, \"Give him the girl.\"  Hereupon the marriage-tie\nwas tied and the bridegroom was led in to the bride, and either\nrejoiced mightily in his mate,[FN#410] and was increased their\njoy and destroyed was all annoy.  Now Abu Niyyah was a favourite\nof Fortune, so the Sultan appointed him the government during\nthree days of every week, and he continued ruling after that\nfashion for a while of time.  But one day of the days, as he was\nsitting in his pleasaunce, suddenly the man Abu Niyyatayn passed\nbefore him leaning on a palm-stick, and crying, \"O ye beneficent,\nO ye folk of good!\"  When Abu Niyyah beheld him he said to his\nChamberlain, \"Hither with yonder man;\" and as soon as he was\nbrought he bade them lead him to the Hammam and dress him in a\nnew habit.  They did his bidding and set the beggar before his\nwhilome comrade who said to him, \"Dost thou know me?\"  \"No, O my\nlord,\" said the other; and he, \"I am thy companion of old whom\nthou wouldst have left to die in the well; but I, by Allah, never\nchanged my intent, and all that I own in this world I will give\nunto thee half thereof.\"  And they sat in converse for a while of\ntime, until at last quoth the Double-minded one, \"Whence camest thou by all this?\" and quoth he, \"From the well wherein thou threwest me.\"  Hereupon from the excess of his envy and malice Abu Niyyatayn said to Abu Niyyah, \"I also will go down that well and what to thee was given the same shall be given to me.\"  Then he left him and went forth from him, and he ceased not faring until he made the place.  Presently he descended, and having reached the bottom, there sat until the hour of nightfall, when behold! the two 'Ifrits came and, taking seat by the well-mouth, salam'd each to other.  But they had no force nor contrivance and both were as weaklings; so said one of them, \"What is thy case, O my brother, and how is thy health?\" and said the other, \"Ah me, O my brother, since the hour that I was with thee in this place on such a night, I have been cast out of the Sultan's daughter, and until this tide I have been unable to approach her or indeed at any other time.\"  Said his comrade, \"I also am like thee, for the Hoard hath gone forth from me, and I have waxed feeble.\"[FN#411] Then cried the twain, \"By Allah, the origin of our losses is from this well, so let us block it up with stones.\"  Hereupon the twain arose and brought with them crumbling earth and pebbles,[FN#412] and threw it down the well when it fell upon Abu Niyyatayn, and his bones were crushed upon his flesh.[FN#413] Now\nhis comrade, Abu Niyyah, sat expecting him to return, but he came\nnot, so he cried, \"Wall\u00e1hi! needs must I go and look for him in\nyonder well and see what he is doing.\"  So he took horse and\nfared thither and found the pit filled up; so he knew and was\ncertified that his comrade's intent had been evil, and had cast\nhim into the hands of death.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the\ndawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say.\nThen quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How sweet is thy story, O sister\nmine, and how enjoyable and delectable!\"  Quoth she, \"And where\nis this compared with that I should relate to you on the coming\nnight, an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\"  Now when it was the\nnext night and that was\n\n\n              The Four Hundred and Eightieth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nother than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short\nthe watching of this our latter night!\"  She replied, \"With love\nand good will!\"  It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the\ndirector, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting\nand of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Abu Niyyah\nknew and was certified of his comrade Abu Niyyatayn being dead,\nso he cried aloud, \"There is no Majesty and there is no Might\nsave in Allah the Glorious, the Great.  O Allah mine, do thou\ndeliver me from envy, for that it destroyeth the envier and haply\njealousy may lead to frowardness against the Lord (glorified be\nHis Glory!);\" and so saying he returned to the seat of his\nkingdom.  Now the Sultan's daughter his spouse had two sisters,\nboth married,[FN#414] and she after the delay of a year or so\nproved with child, but when her tale of days was told and her\ndelivery was nearhand her father fell sick and his malady grew\nupon him.  So he summoned the Lords of his court and his kingdom\none and all, and he said, \"In very deed this my son-in-law shall\nafter my decease become my successor;\" and he wrote a writ to\nthat purport and devised to him the realm and the reign before\nhis demise; nor was there long delay ere the old King departed to\nthe ruth of Allah and they buried him.  Hereupon trouble arose\nbetween his two other sons-in-law who had married the Princesses\nand said they, \"We were connected with him ere this man was and\nwe are before him in our claim to the kingdom.\"  Thereupon said\nthe Wazir, \"This rede is other than right, for that the old King\nbefore his decease devised his country to this one and also write\nit in his will and testament: here therefor ye are opposing him,\nand the result will be trouble and repentance.\"  And when the\nMinister spoke on such wise they kept to their houses.  Presently\nthe wife of Abu Niyyah bare him a babe, her two sisters being\npresent at her accouchement; and they gave to the midwife an\nhundred gold pieces and agreed upon what was to be done.  So when\nthe babe was born they put in his place a pup and taking the\ninfant away sent it by a slave-girl who exposed it at the gate of\nthe royal garden.  Then they said and spread abroad, \"Verily, the\nSultan's wife hath been delivered of a doglet,\" and when the\ntidings came to Abu Niyyah's ears he exclaimed, \"Verily this also\nis a creation of Allah Almighty's:\" so they clothed the pup and\ntended it with all care.  Anon the wife became pregnant a second\ntime and when her days were fulfilled she bare a second babe\nwhich was the fairest of its time and the sisters did with it as\nthey had done with the first and taking the infant they exposed\nhim at the door of the garden.  Then they brought to the mother\nanother dog-pup in lieu of her babe, saying, \"Verily the Queen\nhath been delivered a second time of a doglet.\"  Now in this wise\nit fared with them: but as regards the two infants which were\ncast away at the garden gate the first was taken up by the\nGardener whose wife, by decree of the Decreer, had become a\nmother on that very same night; so the man carried away the\ninfant he found exposed and brought the foundling home and the\nwoman fell to suckling it.  After the third year the Gardener\nwent forth one day of the days and happening upon the second\ninfant in similar case he bore it also back to his wife who began\nto suckle it and wash it and tend it and nurse it, till the twain\ngrew up and entered into their third and fourth years.  The\nSultan had in the meantime been keeping the two pups which he\ndeemed to have been brought forth by his wife until the Queen\nbecame in the family-way for the third time.  Hereupon the Sultan\nsaid, \"By Allah, 'tis not possible but that I be present at and\nwitness her accouchement;\" and the while she was bringing forth\nhe sat beside her.  So she was delivered of a girl-child, in whom\nthe father rejoiced with great joy and bade bring for her wet-\nnurses who suckled her for two years until the milk time was\npast.[FN#415]  This girl grew up till she reached the age of four\nyears and she could distinguish between her mother and her father\nwho, whenever he went to the royal garden would take her with\nhim.  But when she beheld the Gardener's two boys she became\nfamiliar with them and would play with them; and, as each day\nended, her father would carry her away from the children and lead\nher home, and this parting was grievous to her and she wept right\nsore.  Hereat the Sultan would take also the boys with her until\nsleep prevailed over her, after which he would send the twain\nback to their sire the Gardener.  But Abu Niyyah the Sultan would\never wonder at the boys and would exclaim, \"Praise be to Allah,\nhow beautiful are these dark-skinned children!\"  This endured\nuntil one day of the days when the King entered into the garden\nand there found that the two beautiful boys[FN#416] had taken\nsome clay and were working it into the figures of horses and\nsaddles and weapons of war and were opening the ground and making\na water-leat;[FN#417] so the Sultan wondered thereat time after\ntime for that he ever found them in similar case.  And he\nmarvelled the more because whenever he looked upon them his heart\nwas opened to both and he yearned to the twain and he would give\nthem some gold pieces although he knew not the cause of his\naffection.  Now one day he entered the garden, as was his wont, and he came upon the two boys of whom one was saying, \"I am the Sultan!\" and the other declaring, \"I am the Wazir!\"  He wondered at their words and forthwith summoned the Gardener and asked him concerning the lads, and lastly quoth he to him, \"Say me sooth and fear naught from me.\"  Quoth the other, \"By Allah, O King of the Age, albe falsehood be saving, yet is soothfastness more saving and most saving; and indeed as regards these children the elder was found by me exposed at the gateway of the royal garden on such a night of such a year, and I came upon the second in the very same place; so I carried them to my wife who suckled them and tended them and they say to her, 'O mother,' and they say to me, 'O father.'\" Hereupon Abu Niyyah the King returned home and\nsummoning the midwife asked her, saying, \"By the virtue of my\npredecessors in this kingdom, do thou tell me the truth\nconcerning my spouse, whether or no she was delivered of two dog-\npups,\" and she answered, \"No, by Allah, O King of the Age, verily\nthe Queen bare thee two babes like full moons and the cause of\ntheir exposure before the garden gate was thy wife's two sisters\nwho envied her and did with her these deeds whereof she was not\naware.\"[FN#418]  Hereupon cried Abu Niyyah, \"Alhamdolillah?Glory\nbe to God who hat brought about this good to me and hath united\nme with my children, and soothfast is the say, \u00c2\u2018Whoso doeth an\naction shall be requited of his Lord and the envious wight hath\nno delight and of his envy he shall win naught save\ndespight.'\"[FN#419]  Then the King of Mosul, being a man of good\nintent, did not put to death his wife's sisters and their\nhusbands, but banished them his realm, and he lived happily with\nhis Queen and children until such time as the Destroyer of\ndelights and the Severer of societies came to him and he deceased\nto the mercy of Almighty Allah.\n\n\n\n\n                       END OF VOLUME XIV.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                          Appendix A.\n\n\n\n                       INEPTI\u00c6 BODLEIAN\u00c6.\n\n\n\nThe reader will not understand this allusion (Foreword, p. ix.)\nwithout some connaissance de cause. I would apologise for\ndeforming the beautiful serenity and restfulness of The Nights by\npersonal matter of a tone so jarring and so discordant a sound,\nthe chatter and squabble of European correspondence and\ncontention; but the only course assigned to me perforce is that\nof perfect publicity. The first part of the following papers\nappeared by the editor's kindness in \"The Academy\" of November\n13, 1886. How strange the contrast of \"doings\" with \"sayings,\" if\nwe compare the speech reported to have been delivered by Mr.\nLibrarian Nicholson at the opening of the Birmingham Free Public\nCentral Lending and Reference Libraries, on June 1, 1882:?\n\n\"As for the Bodleian, I claim your sympathies, not merely because\nwe are trying to do as much for our readers as you are for yours,\nbut because, if the building which you have opened to-day is the\nnewest free public library in the world, the building which I\nleft earlier in the morning is the oldest free public library in\nthe world. (No!) I call it a free public library because any\nBirmingham artizan who came to us with a trustworthy\nrecommendation might ask to have the rarest gem in our collection\nplaced before him, and need have no fear of asking in vain; and\nbecause, if a trusty Birmingham worker wanted the loan of a MS.\nfor three months, it would be lent to the Central Free Library\nfor his use.\" See Twentieth and Twenty-first Annual Reports of\nthe Free Libraries Committee (Borough of Birmingham), 1883.\n\nAnd now to my story. The play opens with the following letter:?\n\nNo. I.\n\n23, DORSET STREET, PORTMAN SQUARE,\nSept. 13, 1886.\n\n\"Sir,\n\n\"I have the honour to solicit your assistance in the following\nmatter:?\n\n\"Our friend Dr. Steingass has kindly consented to collaborate\nwith me in re-translating from the Wortley Montague MS. of the\nBodleian Library, Oxford, the tales originally translated in vol.\nvi. of Dr. Jonathan Scott's 'Arabian Nights.' Dr. Steingass\ncannot leave town, and I should find it very inconvenient to live\nat Oxford during the work, both of us having engagements in\nLondon. It would be a boon to us if the Curators of the Bodleian\nwould allow the MS. to be transferred, volume by volume, to the\nIndia Office, and remain under the custody of the Chief\nLibrarian?yourself. The whole consists of seven volumes, and we\nwould begin with vols. iii. and iv. I may note that the\ntranslated tales (as may be seen by Scott's version) contain\nnothing indelicate or immoral; in fact the whole MS. is\nexceptionally pure. Moreover, the MS., as far as I can learn, is\nnever used at Oxford. I am the more anxious about this matter as\nthe November fogs will presently drive me from England, and I\nwant to end the extracts ere winter sets in, which can be done\nonly by the co-operation of Dr. Steingass.\n\nI have the honour to be, sir,\n\nYours obediently,\n(Signed) RICHARD F. BURTON.\"\n\n\"DR. R. ROST,\nChief Librarian, India Office.\"\n\nAs nearly a month had elapsed without my receiving any reply, I\ndirected the following to the Vice-Chancellor of the University,\nRev. Dr. Bellamy:?\n\nNo. II.\n\nATHEN\u00c6UM CLUB, PALL MALL,\nOct. 13, 1886.\n\n\"Sir,\n\n\"I have the honour to submit to you the following details:?\n\n\"On September 13, 1886, I wrote to Dr. Rost, Chief Librarian,\nIndia Office, an official letter requesting him to apply to the\nCurators of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, for the temporary\ntransfer of an Arabic Manuscript, No. 522 (the Wortley Montague\ntext of the Arabian Nights) to the library of the India Office,\nthere to be kept under special charge of the Chief Librarian.\nThere being seven volumes, I wanted only one or two at a time. I\nundertook not to keep them long, and, further, I pledged myself\nnot to translate tales that might be deemed offensive to\npropriety.\n\n\"Thus, I did not apply for a personal loan of the MS. which,\nindeed, I should refuse on account of the responsibility which it\nwould involve. I applied for the safe and temporary transfer of a\nwork, volume by volume, from one public library to another.\n\n\"My official letter was forwarded at once by Dr. Rost, but this\nwas the only expeditious step. On Saturday, September 25, the\nCurators could form no quorum; the same thing took place on\nSaturday, October 9; and there is a prospect that the same will\ntake place on Saturday, October 23.\n\n\"I am acquainted with many of the public libraries of Europe, but\nI know of none that would throw such obstacles in the way of\nstudents.\n\n\"The best authorities inform me that until June, 1886, the\nsignatures of two Curators enabled a student to borrow a book or\na manuscript; but that since June a meeting of three Curators has\nbeen required; and that a lesser number does not form a quorum.\n\n\"May I be permitted to suggest that the statute upon the subject\nof borrowing books and manuscripts urgently calls for revision?\n\nI have the honour to be, sir,\n\nYours obediently,\n(Signed) RICHARD F. BURTON.\n\n\"THE VICE-CHANCELLOR, OXFORD.\"\n\nThe Curators presently met and the following was the highly\nunsatisfactory result which speaks little for \"Bodleian\" kindness\nor courtesy:?\n\nNo. III.\n\nMonday, Nov. 1, 1886.\n\n\"DEAR SIR RICHARD BURTON,\n\n\"The Curators considered your application on Saturday, Oct. 30,\nafternoon, and the majority of them were unwilling to lend the\nMS[FN#420]\n\nYours very truly,\n(Signed) EDWARD B. NICHOLSON.\"\n\nLearning through a private source that my case had been made an\nunpleasant exception to a long-standing rule of precedent, and\nfurthermore that it had been rendered peculiarly invidious by an\nact of special favour,[FN#421] I again addressed the\nVice-Chancellor, as follows:?\n\nNo. IV.\n\n23, DORSET STREET, PORTMAN SQUARE,\nNovember 3rd, 1886.\n\n\"Sir,\n\n\"I have the honour to remind you that, on October 13, I\ncommunicated with you officially requesting a temporary transfer\nof the Wortley Montague manuscript (Arabian Nights) from the\nBodleian Library to the personal care of the Librarian, India\nOffice.\n\n\"To this letter I received no reply. But on November 1, I was\ninformed by Mr. Librarian Nicholson that the Curators had\nconsidered my application on Saturday, October 30, and that the\nmajority of them were unwilling to lend the manuscript.\n\n\"The same Curators at the same meeting allowed sundry manuscripts\nfor the use of an Indian subject to be sent to the India Office.\n\n\"I cannot but protest against this invidious proceeding, and I\nwould willingly learn what cause underlies it.\n\n\"1. It cannot be the importance of the manuscript, which is one\nof the meanest known to me?written in a schoolmaster character,\na most erroneous, uncorrected text, and valuable only for a few\nnew tales.\n\n\"2. It cannot be any consideration of public morals, for I\nundertook (if the loan were granted) not to translate tales which\nmight be considered offensive to strict propriety.\n\n\"3. It cannot be its requirement for local use. The manuscript\nstands on an upper shelf in the manuscript room, and not one man\nin the whole so-called 'University' can read it.\n\nI have the honour to be, sir,\n\nYours obediently,\nRICHARD F. BURTON.\"\n\n\"THE VlCE-CHANCELLOR, OXFORD.\"\n\nIn due time came the reply:?\n\nNo. V.\n\nST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, OXFORD,\nNovember 6th, 1886.\n\n\"Dear Sir,\n\n\"I will remove from your mind the belief that I treated your\nformer letter with discourtesy.\n\n\"I may say, that it did not appear to me to contain any question\nor request which I could answer. You informed me that you had\nmade formal application in September for a loan of MSS., and your\nletter was to complain of the delay in considering this request.\nYou told me that you had learned from the Librarian the cause of\nthe delay (the want of a quorum), and that he had intimated that\nthere would probably be no meeting formed before October 30th.\n\n\"You complained of this, and suggested that the statute\nregulating the lending of the Bodleian books should be speedily\nrevised.\n\n\"As I had no power to make a quorum, nor to engage that your\nsuggestion should be adopted; and as your letter made no demand\nfor any further information, I thought it best to reserve it for\nthe meeting of the 30th, when I communicated it to the Curators.\n\n\"I will lay the letter (dated November 3rd), with which you have\nfavoured me, before the next meeting of the Curators.\n\nI beg to remain,\n\nYours faithfully,\n(Signed) J. BELLAMY.\"\n\n\"SIR R. F. BURTON.\"\n\nTo resume this part of the subject.\n\nThe following dates show that I was kept waiting six weeks before\nbeing finally favoured with the curtest of refusals:\n\nApplication made on September 13th, and sent on.\n\nOn Saturday, September 25th, Curators could not form quorum, and\ndeferred next meeting till Saturday, October 9th.\n\nSaturday, October 9th. Again no quorum; and yet it might easily\nhave been formed, as three Curators were on or close to the spot.\n\nSaturday, October 23rd. Six Curators met and did nothing.\n\nSaturday, October 30th. Curators met and refused me the loan of\nMS.\n\nMy letter addressed to the Vice-Chancellor was read, and notice\nwas given for Saturday (December 3rd, 1886) of a motion, \"That\nthe MS. required by Sir R. F. Burton be lent to him\"?and I was\nnot to be informed of the matter unless the move were successful.\nOf course it failed. One of the Curators (who are the delegates\nand servants of Convocation) was mortally offended by my letter\nto \"The Academy,\" and showed the normal smallness of the official\nmind by opposing me simply because I told the truth concerning\nthe laches of his \"learned body.\"\n\nMeanwhile I had addressed the following note to the Most\nHonourable the Chancellor of the University.[FN#422]\n\n23, DORSET STREET, PORTMAN SQUARE,\nNovember 30th, 1886.\n\n\"MY LORD,\n\n\"I deeply regret that the peculiar proceedings of the Bodleian\nLibrary, Oxford, necessitate a reference to a higher authority\nwith the view of eliciting some explanation.\n\n\"The correspondence which has passed between the Curators of the\nBodleian Library and myself will be found in the accompanying\nprinted paper.\n\n\"Here it may be noticed that the Committee of the Orientalist\nCongress, Vienna, is preparing to memorialise H.M.'s Secretary of\nState, praying that Parliament will empower the British Museum to\nlend out Oriental MSS. under proper guarantees. The same measure\nhad been proposed at the Leyden Congress of 1883; and thus an\nextension, rather than a contraction of the loan-system has found\nfavour with European savants.[FN#423]\n\n\"I believe, my Lord, that a new statute upon the subject of the\nBodleian loans of books and MSS. is confessedly required, and\nthat it awaits only the initiative of the Chancellor of the\nUniversity, without whose approval it cannot be passed.\n\nI have, &c.,\n(Signed) RICHARD F. BURTON.\"\n\n\"THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE CHANCELLOR.\"\n\nMy object being only publicity I was not disappointed by the\nfollowing reply:?\n\nHATFIELD HOUSE, HATFIELD, HERTS,\nDecember 1st, 1886.\n\n\"DEAR SIR RICHARD,\n\n\"I beg to acknowledge your letter of the 30th of November with\nenclosure.\n\n\"I have, however, no power over the Bodleian Library, and,\ntherefore, I am unable to assist you.\n\nYours, very truly,\n(Signed) SALISBURY.\"\n\n\"SIR RICHARD F. BURTON, K.C.M.G.\"\n\nOn January 29, 1887, there was another \"Bodleian Meeting,\" all\nthe Curators save one being present and showing evident symptoms\nof business. The last application on the list of loans entered on\nthe Agenda paper ran thus:?\n\nV MS. Bodl. Vols. 550-556 to the British Museum (the 7 vols.\nsuccessively) for the use of Mr. F. F. Arbuthnot's Agent.\n\n[The MS. lately refused to Sir R. Burton. Mr. Arbuthnot wishes to\nhave it copied.]\n\nIt was at once removed by the Regius Professor of Divinity (Dr.\nInce) and carried nem. con. that, until the whole question of\nlending Bodleian books and MSS. then before Council, be\ndefinitely settled, no applications be entertained; and thus\nProfessor Van Helton, Bernard Kolbach and Mr. Arbuthnot were\ndoomed, like myself, to be disappointed.\n\nOn January 31, 1887, a hebdomadal Council was called to\ndeliberate about a new lending statute for submission to\nConvocation; and an amendment was printed in the \"Oxford\nUniversity Gazette.\" It proposed that the Curators by a vote of\ntwo-thirds of their body, and at least six forming a quorum,\nmight lend books or MSS. to students, whether graduates or not;\nsubject, when the loans were of special value, to the consent of\nConvocation. Presently the matter was discussed in \"The Times\"\n(January 25th; April 28th; and May 31st), which simply re-echoed\nthe contention of Mr. Chandler's vigorous pamphlets.[FN#424]\nDespite the letters of its correspondent \"F. M. M.\" (May 6th,\n1887), a \"host in himself,\" who ought to have added the authority\nof his name to the sensible measures which he propounded, the\nleading journal took a sentimental view of \"Bodley's incomparable\nlibrary\" and strongly advocated its being relegated to\ncomparative inutility.\n\nOn May 31, 1887, an amendment practically forbidding all loans\ncame before the House. In vain Professor Freeman declared that a\nbook is not an idol but a tool which must wear out sooner or\nlater. To no purpose Bodley's Librarian proved that of 460,000\nprinted volumes in the collection only 460 had been lent out, and\nof these only one had been lost. THE AMENDMENT FORBIDDING THE\nPRACTICE OF LENDING WAS CARRIED BY 106 VOTES TO 60.\n\nPersonally I am not dissatisfied with this proceeding. It is\nretrograde legislation befitting the days when books were chained\nto the desks. It suffers from a fatal symptom?the weakness of\nextreme measures. And the inevitable result in the near future\nwill be a strong reaction: Convocation will presently be\ncompelled to adopt some palliation for the evil created by its\nown folly.\n\nThe next move added meanness to inertness. I do not blame Mr. E.\nB. Nicholson, Bodley's Librarian, because he probably had orders\nto write the following choice specimen:\n\n30/3/1887.\n\n\"DEAR SIR RICHARD BURTON,\n\n\"I have received two vols. of four (read six) 'Supplemental\nNights' with a subscription form. If a Bodleian MS. is to be\ncopied for any volume, I must stipulate that that volume be\nsupplied to us gratis. Either my leave or that of the Curators is\nrequired for the purpose of copying for publication, and I have\nno doubt that they would make the same stipulation. I feel sure\nyou would in any case not propose to charge us for such a volume,\nbut until I hear from you I am in a difficulty as to how to reply\nto the subscription form I have received.\n\nYours faithfully,\n(Signed) E. B. NICHOLSON,\nLibrarian.\"\n\nThe able and energetic papers, two printed and one published by\nMr. H. W. Chandler, of Pembroke College, Oxford, clearly prove\nthe following facts:?\n\n1. That on June 20, 1610, a Bodleian Statute peremptorily forbade\nany books or manuscripts being taken out of the Library.\n\n2. That, despite the peremptory and categorical forbiddance by\nBodley, Selden, and others, of lending Bodleian books and MSS.,\nloans of both have for upwards of two centuries formed a\nprecedent.\n\n3. That Bodley's Statute (June 20th, An. 1610) was formally and\nofficially abrogated by Convocation on May 22nd, 1856;\nConvocation retaining the right to lend.\n\n4. That a \"privileged list\" of (113) borrowers presently arose\nand is spoken of as a normal practice:?sicut mos fuit, says the\nStatute (Tit. xx. iii. \u00c2\u00a7 11) of 1873; and, lastly,\n\n5. That loans of MSS. and printed books have for years been\nauthorised to approved public libraries.\n\nAfter these premises I proceed to notice other points bearing\nupon the subject which, curious to say, are utterly neglected or\nrather ignored by Mr. Chandler and \"The Times.\" Sir Thomas Bodley\nnever would have condemned students to study in the Bodleian had\nhe known the peines fortes et dures to which in these days they\nare thereby doomed. \"So picturesque and so peculiar is its\nconstruction,\" says a writer, \"that it ensures the maximum of\ninefficiency and discomfort.\" The whole building is a model of\nwhat a library ought not to be. It is at once over solid and\nricketty: room for the storage of books is wanted, and its wooden\nstaircases, like touchwood or tinder, give one the shudders to\nthink of fire. True, matches and naked lights are forbidden in\nthe building; but all know how these prohibitions are regarded by\nthe public, and it is dreadful to think of what might result from\na lucifer dropped at dark upon the time-rotten planks. The\nreading public in the XIXth century must content itself with\nboxes or stalls, like those of an old-fashioned tavern or\ncoffee-house of the humbler sort wherein two readers can hardly\nfind room for sitting back to back. The atmosphere is unpleasant\nand these mean little cribs, often unduly crowded, are so dark\nthat after the 1st October the reading-room must be closed at 3\np.m. What a contrast are the treasures in the Bodleian with their\nmean and miserable surroundings and the way in which the public\nis allowed to enjoy them. The whole establishment calls urgently\nfor reform. Accommodation for the books is wanted; floor and\nwalls will hardly bear the weight which grows every year at an\nalarming ratio?witness the Novel-room. The model Bodleian would\nbe a building detached and isolated, the better to guard its\npriceless contents, and containing at least double the area of\nthe present old and obsolete Bibliotheca. An establishment of the\nkind was proposed in 1857; but unfortunately, the united wisdom\nof the University preferred new \"Examination Schools\" for which\nthe old half-ruinous pile would have been sufficiently well\nfitted. The \"Schools,\" however, were for the benefit of the\nexaminers; erg\u00f2 the scandalous sum of \u00a3100,000 (some double the\namount) was wasted upon the well-nigh useless Gothic humbug in\nHigh Street, and thus no money was left for the prime want of the\ncity. After some experience of public libraries and reading-rooms\non the Continent of Europe I feel justified in asserting that the\nBodleian in its present condition is a disgrace to Oxford; indeed\na dishonour to letters in England.\n\nThe Bodleian has a succursale, the Radcliffe, which represents\nsimply a step from bad to worse. The building was intended for an\nespecial purpose, the storage of books, not for a salle de\nlecture. Hence the so-called \"Camera\" is a most odious\ninstitution, a Purgatory to readers. It is damp in the wet season\nfrom October to May; stuffy during the summer heats and a cave of\nEolus in windy weather: few students except the youngest and\nstrongest, can support its changeable and nerve-depressing\natmosphere. Consequently the Camera is frequented mainly by the\ntownsfolk, a motley crew who there study their novels and\nalmanacs and shamefully misuse the books.[FN#425] In this\nbuilding lights, forbidden by the Bodleian, are allowed; it opens\nat 10 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m.. and the sooner it reverts to\nits original office of a book-dep\u00f4t the better.\n\nBut the Bodleian-Radcliffe concern is typical of the town; and, if that call for reform, so emphatically does\n\n          \"Oxford, that scarce deserves the name of land.\"\n\nFrom my childhood I had heard endless tirades and much of what is\nnow called \"blowing\" about this ancient city, and my youth\n(1840-42) suffered not a little disappointment. The old place,\nstill mostly resembling an overgrown monastery-village, lies in\nthe valley of the Upper Thames, a meadowland drained by two\nditches; the bigger or Ise, classically called the Isis, and the\nlesser the Charwell. This bottom is surrounded by high and\nhealthy uplands, not as the guide-books say \"low scarce-swelling\nhills that softly gird the old town;\" and these keep off the\nwinds and make the riverine valley, with its swamped meads and\nwater-meadows, more fenny and feverish even than Cambridge. The\nheights and woods bring on a mild deluge between October 1st and\nMay 1st; the climate is rainy as that of Shap in Westmoreland\n(our old home) and, as at Fernando Po and Singapore, the rain it\nraineth more or less every day during one half of the year. The\nplace was chosen by the ancient Britons for facility of water\ntransport, but men no longer travel by the Thames and they have\nnaturally neglected the older road. Throughout England, indeed a\ngreat national work remains to be done. Not a river, not a\nrivulet, but what requires cleaning out and systematic excavation\nby \u00e9l\u00e9vateurs and other appliances of the Suez Canal. The\nchannels filled up by alluvium and choked by the American weed,\nare now raised so high that the beds can no longer act as drains:\nat Oxford for instance the beautiful meadows of Christ Church are\nlittle better than swamps and marshes, the fittest homes for\nTertiana, Quartana and all the fell sisterhood: a blue fog broods\nover the pleasant site almost every evening, and a thrust with\nthe umbrella opens up water. This is the more inexcusable as the\nremedy would be easy and by no means costly: the river-mud, if\nthe ignorant peasants only knew the fact, forms the best of\nmanures; and this, instead of being deposited in spoil-heaps on\nthe banks for the rain to wash back at the first opportunity,\nshould be carried by tram-rails temporarily laid down and be\nspread over the distant fields, thus almost paying for the dredge\nworks. Of course difficulties will arise: the management of the\nThames is under various local \"Boards,\" and each wooden head is\nable and aye ready to show its independence and ill temper at the\nsacrifice of public interests to private fads.\n\nHence the climate of Oxford is detestable. Strong undergraduates\ncannot withstand its nervous depression and the sleeplessness\narising from damp air charged with marsh gases and bacteria. All\nstudents take time to become acclimatized here, and some are\nnever acclimatized at all. And no wonder, when the place is\ndrained by a fetid sewer of greenish yellow hue containing per\n10,000, 245 parts of sewage. The only tolerable portion of the\nyear is the Long Vacation, when the youths in mortar-boards all\nvanish from the view, while many of the oldsters congregate in\nthe reformed convents called Colleges.\n\nClimate and the resolute neglect of sanitation are probably the\nchief causes why Oxford never yet produced a world-famous and\nepoch-making man, while Cambridge can boast of Newton and Darwin.\nThe harlequin city of domes and spires, cribs and slums shows\nthat curious concurrence of opposites so common in England. The\nboasted High Street is emblematical of the place, where moral as\nwell as material extremes meet and are fain to dwell side by\nside. It is a fine thoroughfare branching off into mere lanes,\nneither these nor that apparently ever cleaned. The huge\nbuildings of scaling, mouldering stone are venerable-looking\npiles which contrast sadly with the gabled cottages of crepi,\nhurlin, or wattle and dab; and the brand-new store with its\nplate-glass windows hustles the old-fashioned lollipop-shop. As\nregards minor matters there are new market passages but no Public\nBaths; and on Sundays, the stands are destitute of cabs, although\nwith that queer concession to democracy which essentially belongs\nto the meaner spirited sort of Conservatism, \"'busses\" are\nallowed to ply after 2 p.m., when the thunder of bells somewhat\nabates.\n\nOld \"Alma Mater,\" who to me has ever been a \"durissima noverca,\"\ndubs herself \"University;\" and not a few of her hopefuls entre\nfaiblesse et folie, still entitle themselves \"University men.\"\nThe title once belonged to Oxford but now appertains to it no\nmore. Compare with it the model universities of Berlin, Paris and\nVienna, where the lists of lecturers bear the weightiest names in\nthe land. Oxford is but a congeries of twenty-one colleges and\nfive halls or hostels, each educating its pupils (more or less)\nwith an especial eye to tutors' fees and other benefices, the\nvested rights of the \"Dons.\" Thus all do their best to prevent\nthe scholars availing themselves of University, as opposed to\nCollegiate, lectures; and thus they can stultify a list of some\nsixty-six professors. This boarding-school system is simply a\ndishonest obstacle to students learning anything which may be of\nuse to them in after-life, such as modern and Oriental languages,\nchemistry, anthropology and the other -ologies. Here in fact men\nrarely progress beyond the Trivium and the Quadrivium of the Dark\nAges, and tuition is a fine study of the Res scibilis as\nunderstood by the Admirable Crichton and other worthies, circa\nA.D. 1500. The students of Queen Elizabeth's day would here?and\nhere only?find themselves in congenial company. Worse still,\nOxford is no longer a \"Seat of learning\" or a \"House of the\nMuses,\" nor can learned men be produced under the present system.\nThe place has become a collection of finishing schools, in fact\nlittle better than a huge board for the examination of big boys\nand girls.\n\nOxford and her education are thoroughly disappointing; but the\nsorest point therein is that this sham University satisfies the\nhapless Public, which knows nothing about its fain\u00e9ance. It is a\nmere stumbling-block in the way of Progress especially barring\nthe road to one of the main wants of English Education, a great\nLondon University which should not be ashamed to stand by Berlin,\nParis and Vienna.\n\nHad the good knight and \"Pious Founder,\" Sir Thomas Bodley, who\nestablished his library upon the ruins of the University\nBibliotheca wrecked by the \"Reformation,\" been able to foresee\nthe condition of Oxford and her libraries?Bodleian and\nRadcliffean?in this latter section of the XIXth century, he\nwould hardly, I should hope, have condemned English students and\nContinental scholars to compulsory residence and labour in places\nso akin to the purgatorial.\n\n\n\n\n                          Appendix B.\n\n\n\n   THE THREE UNTRANSLATED TALES IN MR. E. J. W. GIBB'S \"FORTY\n                            VEZIRS.\"\n\n\n\n\n                THE THIRTY-EIGHTH VEZIR'S STORY.\n             (Page 353 of Mr. Gibb's translation.)\n\n\n\nThere was in the city of Cairo a merchant, and one day he bought\na slave-girl, and took her to his house. There was in his house\nan ape; this the merchant fetched and dragged up to the\nslave-girl. He said, \"Yield thyself over to this, and I will set\nthee free.\" The slave-girl did so of necessity, and she conceived\nby him. When her time was come she bare a son all of whose\nmembers were shaped like those of a man, save that he had a tail\nlike an ape. The merchant and the slave-girl occupied themselves\nbringing up this son. One day, when the son was five or six\nmonths old, the merchant filled a large cauldron with milk, and\nlighted a great fire under it. When it was boiling, he seized the\nson and cast him into the cauldron; and the girl began to lament.\nThe merchant said, \"Be silent, make no lamentation; go and be\nfree;\" and he gave her some sequins. Then he turned, and the\ncauldron had boiled so that not even any bones were left. The\nmerchant took down the cauldron, and placed seven strainers, one\nabove the other; and he took the scum that had gathered on the\nliquid in the cauldron and filtered it through the seven\nstrainers, and he took that which was in the last and put it into\na bottle. And the slave-girl bare in her heart bitter hatred\nagainst the merchant, and she said in herself, \"Even as thou hast\nburned my liver will I burn thee;\" and she began to watch her\nopportunity. (One day) the merchant said to her, \"Make ready some\nfood,\" and went out. So the girl cooked the food, and she mixed\nsome of that poison in the dish. When the merchant returned she\nbrought the tray and laid it down, and then withdrew into a\ncorner. The merchant took a spoonful of that food, and as soon as\nhe put it into his mouth, he knew it to be the poison, and he\ncast the spoon that was in his hand at the girl. A piece, of the\nbigness of a pea, of that poisoned food fell from the spoon on\nthe girl's hand, and it made the place where it fell black. As\nfor the merchant, he turned all black, and swelled till he became\nlike a blown-out skin, and he died. But the slave-girl medicined\nherself and became well; and she kept what remained of the poison\nand sold it to those who asked for it.\n\n\n\n\n                  THE FORTIETH VEZIR'S STORY.\n             (Page 366 in Mr. Gibb's translation.)\n\n\n\nThere was of old time a tailor, and he had a fair wife. One day\nthis woman sent her slave-girl to the carder's to get some cotton\nteased. The slave-girl went to the carder's shop and gave him\ncotton for a gown to get teased. The carder while teasing the\ncotton displayed his yard to the slave-girl. She blushed and\npassed to his other side. As she thus turned round the carder\ndisplayed his yard on that side also. Thus the slave-girl saw it\non that side too. And she went and said to her mistress, \"Yon\ncarder, to whom I went, has two yards.\" The lady said to her, \"Go\nand say to yon carder, 'My mistress wishes thee; come at night.'\"\nSo the slave-girl went and said this to the carder. As soon as it\nwas night the carder went to that place and waited. The woman\nwent out and met the carder and said, \"Come and have to do with\nme while I am lying by my husband.\" When it was midnight the\ncarder came and waked the woman. The woman lay conveniently and\nthe carder fell to work. She felt that the yard which entered her\nwas but one, and said, \"Ah my soul, carder, at it with both of\nthem.\" While she was softly speaking her husband awaked and\nasked, \"What means thy saying, 'At it with both of them?'\" He\nstretched out his hand to his wife's kaze and the carder's yard\ncame into it. The carder drew himself back and his yard slipped\nout of the fellow's hand, and he made shift to get away. The\nfellow said, \"Out on thee, wife, what meant that saying of thine,\n'At it with both of them?'\" The woman said, \"O husband, I saw in\nmy dream that thou wast fallen into the sea and wast swimming\nwith one hand and crying out, 'Help! I am drowning!' I shouted to\nthee from the shore, 'At it with both of them,' and thou\nbegannest to swim with both thy hands.\" Then the husband said,\n\"Wife, I too know that I was in the sea, from this that a wet\nfish came into my hand and then slipped out and escaped; thou\nspeakest truly.\" And he loved his wife more than before.\n\n\n\n\n                THE LADY'S THIRTY-FOURTH STORY.\n                  (From the India Office MS.)\n             (Page 399 in Mr. Gibb's translation.)\n\n\n\nThey tell that there was a Khoja and he had an exceeding fair\nson, who was so beautiful that he who looked upon him was\nconfounded. This Khoja watched over his son right carefully; he\nlet him not come forth from a certain private chamber, and he\nleft not the ribbon of his trousers unsealed. When the call to\nprayer was chanted from the minaret, the boy would ask his father\nsaying, \"Why do they cry out thus?\" and the Khoja would answer,\n\"Someone has been undone and has died, and they are calling out\nto bury him.\" And the boy believed these words. The beauty of\nthis boy was spoken of in Persia; and a Khoja came from Persia to\nBaghdad with his goods and chattels for the love of this boy. And\nhe struck up a friendship with the boy's father, and ever gave to\nhim his merchandise at an easy price, and he sought to find out\nwhere his son abode. When the Khoja had discovered that the boy\nwas kept safe in that private chamber, he one day said to his\nfather, \"I am about to go to a certain place; and I have a chest\nwhereinto I have put whatsoever I possess of valuables; this I\nshall send to thee, and do thou take it and shut it up in that\nchamber where thy son is.\" And the father answered, \"Right\ngladly.\" So the Khoja let build a chest so large that he himself\nmight lie in it, and he put therein wine and all things needful\nfor a carouse. Then he said to his servant, \"Go, fetch a porter\nand take this chest to the house of Khoja Such-an-one, and say,\n'My master has sent this to remain in your charge,' and leave it\nand come away. And again on the morrow go and fetch it, saying,\n'My master wishes the chest.'\" So the servant went for a porter,\nand the Khoja hid himself in the chest. Then the boy laded the\nporter with the chest and took it to the other Khoja's house,\nwhere he left it and went away. When it was night the Khoja came\nforth from the chest, and he saw a moon-face sleeping in the\nbed-clothes, and a candle was burning in a candlestick at his\nhead; and when the Khoja beheld this he was confounded and\nexclaimed, \"And blessed be God, the fairest of Creators!\"[FN#426]\nThen the Khoja laid out the wine and so forth; and he went up\nsoftly and waked the boy. And the boy arose from his place and\naddressed himself to speak, saying, \"Wherefore hast thou come\nhere?\" Straightway the Khoja filled a cup and gave it to him,\nsaying, \"Drink this, and then I shall tell thee what manner of\nman I am.\" And he besought the boy and spread out sequins before\nhim. So the boy took the cup and drank what was in it. When the\nKhoja had given him to drink three or four cups the face of the\nboy grew tulip-hued, and he became heated with the wine and began\nto sport with the Khoja. So all that night till morning did the\nKhoja make merry with the boy; and whatsoever his desire was, he\nattained thereto. When it was morning, the Khoja again went into\nthe chest; and the servant came and laded the porter with the\nsame and took it back to his house. And on the morrow, when the\nboy and his father were sitting together, the mu'ezzin chanted\nthe call to prayer, whereupon the boy exclaimed, \"Out on thee,\nfather; and the boy who is undone dies, and so this fellow goes\nup there and bawls out; last night they undid me; how is it that\nI am not dead?\" Then the father smote the boy on the mouth and\nsaid, \"Speak not such words; they are a shame.\" And then he knew\nwhy the chest had come.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                   Arabian Nights, Volume 14\n                           Footnotes\n\n\n\n[FN#1]  From the Wortley Montague MS. vol. iii. pp. 80-96. J.\nScott: vol. vi. pp. 1-7. Histoire du Sulthan d'Yemen et de ses\ntrois fils; Gauttier vol. vi. pp. 158-165.\n\n[FN#2]  The worst disease in human life, now recognised as \"Annus\nDomini.\"\n\n\n[FN#3]  Arab. \"M\u00e1l wa Ghaw\u00e1l\": in Badawi parlance \"M\u00e1l\" would = flocks and herds (pecunia, pecus); and amongst the burghers = ready money, coin. Another favourite jingle of similar import is \"M\u00e1l wa Naw\u00e1l.\"\n   This is an older form of the Sultan of Al-Yaman and his three sons, taken from M. Zotenberg's \"Chronique de Tabari,\" vol. ii. pp. 357-61.\nApr\u00e8s la mort de Niz\u00e1r, ses fils, en prenant possession des objets que leur p\u00e8re avait donn\u00e9s \u00e0 chacun, eurent des contestations relativement aux autres biens. Alors ils mont\u00e8rent sur des chameaux pour se rendre \u00e0 Nadjr\u00e2n aupr\u00e8s du devin, voulant soumettre \u00e0 son jugement le partage. Sur la route, ils rencontr\u00e8rent un terrain couvert d'herbe, dont une partie \u00e9tait brout\u00e9e, et une partie intacte. Modhar dit: Le chameau qui a brout\u00e9 cette herbe est borgne de l'\u0153il droit. Rab\u00ee'a dit: Il est boiteux du pied droit. Iy\u00e2d dit: Il a la queue coup\u00e9e. Anm\u00e2r dit: Il s'est \u00e9chapp\u00e9 des mains de son ma\u00eetre, parce qu'il est farouche. Un peu plus loin, ils rencontr\u00e8rent un homme mont\u00e9 sur un chameau; ils lui demand\u00e8rent qui il \u00e9tait. Il r\u00e9pondit qu'il \u00e9tait de telle tribu, et qu'il \u00e9tait \u00e0 la recherche d'un chameau qui s'\u00e9tait \u00e9chapp\u00e9. Modhar lui dit: Ce chameau n'est-il pas borgne de l'\u0153il droit??Oui, r\u00e9pondit l'homme.?Ne penche-t-il pas du c\u00f4t\u00e9 droit? demanda Rab\u00ee'a.?Oui.?Il n'a pas de queue, dit Iy\u00e2d.?C'est vrai, r\u00e9pondit l'homme.?Anm\u00e2r ajouta: Il est farouche.?Oui, dit l'homme; o\u00f9 est-il, ce chameau??Nous ne l'avons pas vu, dirent les fr\u00e8res.?Si vous ne l'avez vu, r\u00e9plique l'homme, comment savez-vous toutes ces particularit\u00e9s? Il insista et dit: C'est certainement vous qui l'avez; rendez-le moi.?Nous ne l'avons pas. Il leur demanda o\u00f9 ils allaient. Les fr\u00e8res lui dirent qu'ils se rendaient \u00e0 Nadjr\u00e2n, aupr\u00e8s d'Af'a, le devin, pour soumettre \u00e0 son jugement un diff\u00e9rend qui s'\u00e9tait \u00e9lev\u00e9 entre eux. Cet homme, qui \u00e9tait seul, s'attacha \u00e0 leurs pas, et suivit les quatre fr\u00e8res jusqu'\u00e0 Nadjr\u00e2n.\n   Af'a ne les connaissait pas, mais il les re{\u00e7}ut gracieusement et leur demanda le but de leur voyage. Ils lui dirent: Notre p\u00e8re est mort, et nous ne pouvons pas nous accorder sur la partage de ses biens; nous sommes venus afin que tu prononces entre nous quatre; nous sommes tomb\u00e9s d'accord de nous soumettre \u00e0 ton jugement. Alors le propri\u00e9taire du chameau dit: Arrange d'abord l'affaire de mon chameau entre eux et moi; j'ai perdu un chameau, ce sont eux qui le tiennent. Af'a lui dit: Comment sais-tu qu'ils l'ont? L'homme r\u00e9pondit: Parce qu'ils m'ont donn\u00e9 son signalement: s'ils ne l'avaient pas vu, comment le sauraient-ils? Modhar dit: J'ai reconnu que ce chameau \u00e9tait borgne de l'\u0153il droit, parce qu'il avait brout\u00e9 l'herbe d'un c\u00f4t\u00e9 seulement, et qu'il ne l'avait pas touch\u00e9 du c\u00f4t\u00e9 o\u00f9 elle \u00e9tait meilleure. Rab\u00ee'a dit: J'ai remarqu\u00e9 que son pied droit avait imprim\u00e9 sur le sol des traces bien marqu\u00e9es et je n'ai vu celles de l'autre pied; de l\u00e0 j'ai su qu'il penchait du c\u00f4t\u00e9 droit. Iy\u00e2d dit: J'ai vu que ses crottins \u00e9taient r\u00e9unis en tas, comme ceux du b\u0153uf, et non comme sont ordinairement ceux du chameau, qui les \u00e9crase (\u00e9parpille?) avec sa queue; j'ai reconnu par l\u00e0 qu'il n'avait pas de queue. Anm\u00e2r dit: J'ai remarqu\u00e9 que l'herbe n'\u00e9tait pas brout\u00e9e \u00e0 un seul et m\u00eame endroit, mais qu'il avait pris partout une bouch\u00e9e: j'ai su que le chameau \u00e9tait d'un caract{\u00e8}re farouche et inquiet. Le devin admirait le savoir et l'intelligence des quatre fr\u00e8res. Cette mani\u00e8re de juger fait partie de l'art de la divination, et on l'appelle b\u00e2b al-tazk\u00een; c'est une des branches de la science. Ensuite le devin dit au propri\u00e9taire de chameau: Ces gens-l\u00e0 n'ont pas ton chameau; va-t'en. Ayant demand\u00e9 aux quatre fr\u00e8res qui ils \u00e9taient, et ceux-ci lui ayant d\u00e9clar\u00e9 qu'ils \u00e9taient les fils de Niz\u00e2r, fils de Ma'add, fils d'Adn\u00e2n, le devin dit: excusez-moi de ne vous avoir pas reconnus; j'ai \u00e9t\u00e9 li\u00e9 d'amiti\u00e9 avec votre p\u00e8re: soyez mes h\u00f4tes ce jour et cette nuit, demain j'arrangerai votre affaire. Ils consentirent. Le p\u00e8re et les anc\u00eatres de ce devin avaient \u00e9t\u00e9 chefs de Nadjr\u00e2n.\n   Le devin leur fit pr\u00e9parer un repas. On leur servit un agneau r\u00f4ti et une cruche de vin, et ils mang\u00e8rent. Lorsque le vin leur monta \u00e0 la t\u00eate, Modhar dit: Je n'ai jamais bu un vin plus doux que celui-ci; mais il vient d'une vigne plant\u00e9e sur un tombeau. Rab\u00ee'a dit: Je n'ai jamais mang\u00e9 de la viande d'agneau plus succulente que celle-ci; mais cette agneau a \u00e9t\u00e9 nourri du lait d'une chienne. Anm\u00e2r dit: {L}e bl\u00e9 qui a servi \u00e0 faire le pain que nous venons de manger a \u00e9t\u00e9 sem\u00e9 dans un cimeti\u00e8re. Iy\u00e2d dit: Notre h\u00f4te est un excellent homme; mais il n'est pas un fils l\u00e9gitime; ce n'est pas son p\u00e8re (l\u00e9gal) qui l'a engendr\u00e9, mais un autre homme; sa m\u00e8re l'a con\u00e7ut dans l'adult\u00e8re.\n   Le devin recueillit leurs paroles, mais il ne leur en dit rien. Quand la nuit fut venue et qu'ils furent endormis, il appela son intendant et lui demanda de quelle vigne provenait le vin (que l'on avait servi  aux h\u00f4tes). L'intendant dit: Une vigne a pouss\u00e9e sur le tombeau de ton p\u00e8re et elle est devenue grande; j'en ai recueilli le raisin, et ce vin en provient. Ensuite le devin fit venir le berger, et le questionna relativement \u00e0 l'agneau. Le berger dit: Quand cet agneau vint au monde, il \u00e9tait tr\u00e8s-joli; mais s{a} m\u00e8re mourut, et il n'y avait pas alors de brebis qui e{u}t mis bas. Une chienne avait eu des petits; je mis cet agneau avec la chienne jusqu'\u00e0 ce qu'il f{u}t grand. Je n'en ai pas trouv\u00e9 de meilleur pour te l'apporter, lorsque tu m'as fait demander un agneau. Enfin le devin appela le m\u00e9tayer, et l'interrogea sur le bl\u00e9. Le m\u00e9tayer lui dit: Il y a d'un c\u00f4t\u00e9 de notre champ un cimeti\u00e8re. Cette ann\u00e9e-ci j'ai ensemenc\u00e9 une partie du cimeti\u00e8re, et c'est de l\u00e0 que provient le bl\u00e9 que je t'ai apport\u00e9. Le devin, fort \u00e9tonn\u00e9 de ces explications, dit: Maintenant c'est le tour de ma m\u00e8re. Il alla trouver sa m\u00e8re et lui dit: Si tu ne m'avoues pas la v\u00e9rit\u00e9 en ce qui me concerne, je te fais mourir. Sa m\u00e8re parla ainsi: Ton p\u00e8re \u00e9tait le chef de ce peuple et poss\u00e9dait de grandes richesses. Comme je n'avais pas d'enfant de lui, je craignis qu'\u00e0 sa mort ses biens ne tombassent entre des mains \u00e9trang\u00e8res et qu'un autre ne prit le pouvoir. Un Arabe, homme de belle figure, fut un jour l'h\u00f4te de ton p\u00e8re; je m'abandonnai \u00e0 lui, la nuit; je devins enceinte, et c'est \u00e0 lui que tu dois ta naissance. J'ai dit \u00e0 ton p\u00e8re que tu avais \u00e9t\u00e9 engendr\u00e9 par lui.\n   Le lendemain, le devin interrogea les quatres fr\u00e8res sur leur paroles, en disant: Je veux que vous me fassiez conna\u00eetre comment vous avez su les choses que vous avez dites. Modhar, le premier, lui dit: Je su que la vigne \u00e9tait plant\u00e9e sur un tombeau, parce que, quand nous avions bu le vin, nous devenions tristes et nous avions la figure alt\u00e9r\u00e9e; ce qui n'est pas l'effet ordinaire du vin. Le deuxi\u00e8me, dit: J'ai reconnu ce qui concernait l'agneau, parce que nous n'avions mang\u00e9 de viande plus douce que celle-l\u00e0, et qu'il n'y a, dans le monde, rien de plus doux que le lait de la chienne. Le troisi\u00e8me dit: Les Arabes honorent beaucoup leurs h\u00f4tes; lorsqu'ils traitent des h\u00f4tes, ils restent avec eux et partagent leur repas; mais toi tu  nous as fait servir le repas, tu nous as quitt\u00e9s et tu t'{a}s mis \u00e0 \u00e9pier nos paroles. J'ai reconnu par l\u00e0 ta condition; j'ai remarqu\u00e9 que tu n'avais pas la gravit\u00e9 des Arabes, et j'ai pens\u00e9 qu'il y avait quelque ill\u00e9galit\u00e9 dans ton origine. Le quatri\u00e8me dit: J'ai reconnu la qualit\u00e9 du bl\u00e9, parce que le bl\u00e9 sem\u00e9 dans un cimeti\u00e8re donne au pain un go\u00fbt de terre; et j'ai trouv\u00e9 ce go\u00fbt dans ce pain. Le devin leur dit: Vous \u00eates plus savant que moi; vous n'avez pas besoin de mon jugement. Ils r\u00e9pliqu\u00e8rent: Quand deux personnes ont un differend, il faut un tiers pour juger, qu'il soit savant ou non. Ce sont les derni\u00e8res volont\u00e9s de notre p\u00e8re, qui nous a dit de nous en rapporter \u00e0 ton jugement, si nous n'\u00e9tions pas d'accord sur l'h\u00e9ritage. Le devin dit: Indiquez-moi exactement ce que votre p\u00e8re a donn\u00e9 \u00e0 chacun de vous et ce qu'il a laiss\u00e9. Notre p\u00e8re, dirent-ils, a laiss\u00e9 de l'or, de l'argent, des chevaux, des moutons, des tapis et des vases de toute esp\u00e8ce et en grand nombre. Ils racont\u00e8rent ensuite ce que leur p\u00e8re avait donn\u00e9 \u00e0 chacun d'eux. Le devin dit: Laissez \u00e0 Modhar tout ce que votre p\u00e8re avait en fait d'or et de chameaux; car ces objets sont rouges. Donnez les chevaux, les esclaves et les v\u00eatements noirs \u00e0 Rab\u00ee'a; les esclaves blancs, l'argent et les v\u00eatements blancs \u00e0 Iy\u00e2d, et les tapis et les moutons \u00e0 Anm\u00e2r. Les quatre fr\u00e8res accept\u00e8rent cette sentence, et s'en retourn\u00e8rent.\n\n\n[FN#4]  In the W. M. MS. the sisters are called \"Shahrz\u00e1deh\"\n(= City-born) and \"Din\u00e1rz\u00e1deh\" (= ducat-born) and the royal\nbrothers Shahrb\u00e1z (= City-player or City-falcon) and Kahram\u00e1n\n(vol. i. p. 1) alias Samarb\u00e1n (ibid.). I shall retain the old\nspelling.\n\n[FN#5]  I have hitherto translated \"wa adraka (masc.) Shahr\u00e1z\u00e1da\nal-Sab\u00e1h,\" as = And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day; but it is more correct as well as more picturesque to render the phrase\n\"was surprised (or overtaken) by the dawn.\"\n\n[FN#6]  Arab. \"'Adr\u00e1n,\" the root being 'Adr = much and heavy rain.\n\n[FN#7]  For \"Halw\u00e1\" see vol. ii. pp. 47-212. Scott (vol. vi. 413) explains \"H\u00e1miz\" as \"a species of small grain,\" probably\nconfounding it with Hummus (or Himmis) = vetches. It is the pop.\nterm for pickles, \"sour meat\" as opposed to \"sweetmeats.\" The\nArabs divide the camel's pasture into \"Khullah\" which means sweet food called bread and into \"H\u00e1miz\" termed fruit: the latter is composed mainly of salsolace\u00e6, and as camels feed upon it during the hot season it makes them drink. Hence in Al-Hariri (Preface) \"I change the pasture,\" i.e., I pass from grave to gay, from light to dignified style. (Chenery, p. 274).\n\n[FN#8]  This is the modern version of the tale which the author\nof \"Zadig\" has made familiar to Europe. The hero is brought\nbefore the King and Queen of Babylon for stealing a horse and a\ndog; and, when held by the chief \"Destour\" (priest) to be a\nthief, justifies himself. I have given in full the older history\nfrom Tabari, the historian (vixit A.D. 839-923). For the tracker\n(\"Pagg\u00ed\") and the art of tracking see Sind Revisited, i. 180-183. I must again express my wonder that the rural police of Europe still disdain the services of trained dogs when these are about to be introduced into the army.\n\n[FN#9]  Arab. \"Bit\u00e1'i\"=my own. I have already noticed that this\nis the Egypt. form and the Nilotes often turn the 'Ayn into an H, e.g. Bit\u00e1ht for Bit\u00e1'at, e.g. Ash Shabakah bit\u00e1ht as-Sayd, thy net for fishing. (Spitta Bey, Contes Arabes Modernes, p. 43.)\n\n[FN#10]  Arab. \"Mukabbab;\" prop. vaulted, arched, domed in Kubbah (or cupola)-shape.\n\n[FN#11]  Arab. \"Fir\u00e1sah.\" \"Sciences are of three kinds: one the\nscience of Faith, another the science of Physiognomy (Fir\u00e1sah),\nand another the science of the Body; but unless there be the\nscience of Physiognomy, other science availeth not.\" So says \"The Forty Vizirs:\" Lady's vith story and Vizir's xxxist story. For a note on \"Fir\u00e1sah\" see vol. viii. 326.\n\n[FN#12]  Arab. \"In lam tazidd Kayn\u00ed\" = lit. unless thou oppose my forming or composition.\n\n[FN#13]  Arab. \"Far\u00e1fish,\" a word which I cannot find in the\ndictionary, and so translate according to the context. Dr.\nSteingass remarks that the nearest approach to it would be\n\"Far\u00e1f\u00edk\" (plur. of Furf\u00e1k)=fine, thin or soft bread.\n\n[FN#14]  See, in the \"Turkish Tales\" by Petis de la Croix (Weber, Tales of the East, vol. iii. 196), the History of the Sophi of Baghdad, where everything returns to (or resembles) its origin. Thus the Wazir who proposed to cut up a criminal and hang him in the shambles was the self-convicted son of a butcher; he who advised boiling him down and giving his flesh to the dogs was the issue of a cook, and the third who proposed to pardon him was nobly born. See Night cccxli.\n\n[FN#15]  Arab. \"Al-Mafyaat,\" lit. = a shady place; a locality\nwhereupon the sun does not rise.\n\n[FN#16]  Arab. \"Ja'\u00eddiyah,\" a favourite word in this MS.\n\"Ja'ad\" = a curl, a liberal man: Ja'ad al-yad = miserly, and Ab\u00fa ja'dah = father of curls, = a wolf. Scott (passim) translates the word \"Sharper;\" Gore Ouseley \"Labourer;\" and De Sacy\n(Chrestomathie ii. 369, who derives it from Ju'd = avoir les\ncheveux cr\u00e9pus): in Egypt, homme de la populace, canaille. He\nfinds it in the Fabrica Lingu\u00e6 Arab. of Germanus of Silesia (p.\n786) = ignavis, hebes, stupidus, esp. a coward. Ibrahim Salamah of Alexandria makes the term signify in Syria, impudent, thieving, wicked. Spitta Bey translates this word musicien ambulant in his Gloss. to Contes Arabes, p. 171. According to Dr. Steingass, who, with the Muh\u00edt al-Muh\u00edt, reads \"Ju'ayd\u00edyah,\" Ju'ayd is said to be the P. N. of an Egyptian clown, who, with bell-hung cap and tambourine in hand, wandered about the streets singing laudatory doggrel and pestering the folk for money. Many vagabonds who adopted this calling were named after him and the word was generalised in that sense.\n\n[FN#17] MS. vol. iii. pp. 96-121. Scott, \"Story of the Three\nSharpers and the Sultan,\" pp. 7-17; Gauttier, Histoire des trois\nfilous et d'un Sulthan, vi. 165-176.\n\n[FN#18] Arab. Yasrah\u00fa = roaming, especially at early dawn; hence\nthe wolf is called \"Sirh\u00e1n,\" and Yaklishu (if I read it aright)\nis from {root} Kulsh, and equivalent to \"kicking\" (their heels).\n\n[FN#19] Nusf = half a dirham, drachma or franc, see ii. 37; vi.\n214, etc.\n\n[FN#20] Bast, a preparation of Bhang (Cannabis Sativa), known in\nEgypt but not elsewhere: see Lane, M. E., chapt. xv. Here it is\nmade synonymous with \"Hash\u00edsh\" = Bhang in general.\n\n[FN#21] Ghaushah, a Persianism for which \"Ghaugh\u00e1\" is a more\ncommon form. \"Ghaush\" is a tree of hard wood whereof musical\ninstruments were made; hence the mod. words \"Gh\u00e1sha\" and\n\"Ghawwasha\" = he produced a sound, and \"Ghaushah\" = tumult, quarrel. According to Dr. Steingass, the synon. in the native dicts. are \"Khis\u00e1m,\" \"Laghat,\" \"Jalabah,\" etc.\n\n[FN#22] Said ironic\u00e8, the jeweller being held to be one of the\ndishonest classes, like the washerman, the water-carrier, the\ngardener, etc. In England we may find his representative in the\n\"silversmith,\" who will ask a pound sterling for a bit of metal\nwhich cost him perhaps five shillings or even less, and who hates\nto be bought by weight. The Arab. has \"Jauhar-ji,\" a Turkish form\nfor Jauhari; and here \"jauhar\" apparently means a pearl, the\nstone once peculiar to royalty in Persia, but the kind of gem is\nleft undetermined.\n\n[FN#23] Arab. \"S\u00e1za, yas\u00edzu,\" not a dictionary word. Perhaps it\nis a clerical error for \"Sasa,\" he groomed or broke in a horse,\nhence understood all about horses.\n\n[FN#24] In the orig. \"Shorbah,\" Pers. = a mess of pottage: I have\naltered it for reasons which will presently appear.\n\n[FN#25] Arab. \"Ghabasah,\" from Ghabas=obscure, dust-coloured.\n\n[FN#26] Arab. \"S\u00fasah\" = a weevil, a moth, a worm. It does not mean simply a flaw, but a live animal (like our toads in the rock); and in the popular version of the tale the lapidary discovers its presence by the stone warming in his hand.\n\n[FN#27] Arab. \"Mash\u00e1'\u00edli\" the cresset-bearer who acted hangman:\nsee vol. i. 259, etc.\n\n[FN#28] Arab. \"Ta'k\u00edl,\" tying up a camel's foreleg above the\nknee; the primary meaning of 'Akl, which has so many secondary\nsignifications.\n\n[FN#29] Arab. \"Suw\u00e1n,\" lit. = rock, syenite, hard stone, flint;\nhere a marteau de guerre.\n\n[FN#30] Arab. \"H\u00e1lik\" = intensely black, so as to look blue under a certain angle of light.\n\n[FN#31] Arab. \"Rik\u00e1b\" (= stirrup) + \"d\u00e1r\" Pers. (= holder).\n\n[FN#32] I have ransacked dictionaries and vocabularies but the\nword is a mere blank.\n\n[FN#33] Arab. \"J\u00e1m\u00fasah.\" These mules are believed in by the\nArabs. Shaw and other travellers mention the Mauritanian\n\"Jumart,\" the breed between a bull and a mare (or jennyass) or an ass and a cow. Buffon disbelieved in the mongrel, holding it to be a mere bardeau, got by a stallion horse out of an ass.\nVoltaire writes \"Jumarre\" after German fashion and Littr\u00e9 derives it from jument + art (finale p\u00e9jorative), or the Languedoc \"Gimere\" which according to Diez suggests \"Chim\u00e6ra.\" Even in London not many years ago a mule was exhibited as the issue of a horse and a stag. No Indian ever allows his colt to drink buffalo's milk, the idea being that a horse so fed will lie down in instead of fording or swimming a stream.\n\n[FN#34] See Sindbad the Seaman, vol. vi. 9.\n\n[FN#35] Arab. \"Mubattat\" from batt = a duck: in Persia the\nBatt-i-May is a wine-glass shaped like the duck. Scott (vi. 12)\ntranslates \"thick and longish.\"\n\n[FN#36] Arab. \"his Har\u00edm\"; see vol. i. 165; iv. 126. VOL. XIV.\n\n[FN#37] Again \"he\" for she. See vol. ii. 179.\n\n[FN#38] Arab. \"Gh\u00e1ziyah\": for the plur. \"Ghaw\u00e1zi\" see vol. i.\n214; also Lane (M.E.) index under \"Ghazeeyehs.\"\n\n[FN#39] The figure prothesis without apodosis. Understand \"will\nslay thee\": see vol. vi. 203.\n\n[FN#40] Because the girl had not been a professional dancer, i.e\na public prostitute.\n\n[FN#41] Arab. \"Am\u00e1n\" = quarter, mercy: see vol. i. 342.\n\n[FN#42] For the \"Mand\u00edl\" of mercy see vol. i. 343; for that of\ndismissal x. 47 and Ibn Khall. iv. 211. In Spitta Bey's \"Contes\nArabes\" (p. 223), I find throwing the kerchief (taramm\u00e1 al\nmahramah) used in the old form of choosing a mate. In the Tale of the Sultan of Al-Yaman and his three Sons (Supplem. Nights, vol. iv.) the Princesses drop their kerchiefs upon the head of the Prince who had saved them, by way of pointing him out.\n\n[FN#43] Arab. \"Satt\u00e1r:\" see vols. i. 258 and iii. 41.\n\n[FN#44] In the text \"Argh\u00e1\" for \"Arkh\u00e1\" = he \"brayed\" (like an\nostrich, etc.) for \"his limbs relaxed.\" It reminds one of the\nGerman missionary's fond address to his flock, \"My prethren, let\nus bray!\"\n\n[FN#45] Arab. \"Azbad,\" from {root} Zbd (Zabd) = foaming, frothing, etc., whence \"Zubaydah,\" etc.\n\n[FN#46] Arab. {root} \"Zabh\" (Zbh) = the ceremonial killing of animals for food: see vols. v. 391; viii. 44. I may note, as a proof of how modern is the civilisation of Europe that the domestic fowl was unknown to Europe till about the time of Pericles (ob. B.C. 429).\n\n[FN#47] See in \"The Forty Vizirs\" (Lady's ivth Tale) how Khizr\ntells the King the origin of his Ministers from the several\npunishments which they propose for the poor man. I have noticed\nthis before in Night cccxxxiii. Boethius, translated by Chaucer,\nexplains the underlying idea, \"All thynges seken ayen to hir\npropre course and all thynges rejoysen in hir returninge agayne\nto hir nature.\"\n\n[FN#48] For the Taylas\u00e1n hood see vol. iv. 286.\n\n[FN#49] The \"Kalansuwah\"-cap is noted by Lane (A. N. chapt. iii.\n22) as \"Kalensuweh.\" In M. E. (Supplement i. \"The Copts\") he\nalters the word to Kal\u00e1s'weh and describes it as a strip of\nwoollen stuff, of a deep blue or black colour, about four inches\nwide, attached beneath the turban and hanging down the back to\nthe length of about a foot. It is the distinguishing mark of the\nCoptic regular clergy.\n\n[FN#50] W. M. MS. vol. iii. pp. 121-141. Scott, \"The Adventures\nof the abdicated Sultan,\" pp. 18-19; including the \"History of\nMahummud, Sultan of Cairo,\" pp. 20-30.\n\n[FN#51] \"K\u00e1hirah.\" I repeat my belief (Pilgrimage i. 171) that\n\"K\u00e1hirah,\" whence our \"Cairo\" through the Italian corruption,\nmeans not la victorieuse (Medinat al-K\u00e1hirah) as D'Herbelot has\nit; but City of K\u00e1hir or Mars the planet. It was so called\nbecause as Richardson informed the world (sub voce) it was\nfounded in A.H. 358 (= A.D. 968) when the warlike planet was in\nthe ascendant by the famous General Jauhar a Dalmatian renegade\n(not a \"Greek slave\") for the first of the Fatimite dynasty\nAl-Mu'izz li 'l-dini 'll\u00e1h.\n\n[FN#52] According to Caussin de Perceval (p\u00e8re) in his\ntranslation of the \"Contes Arabes,\" there are four wonders in the Moslem world: (1) the Pharos of Alexandria; (2) the Bridge of Sanjia in Northern Syria; (3) The Church of Rohab (Edessa); and (4) the Amawi Mosque of Damascus.\n\n[FN#53] Arab. \"Faddah,\" lit. = silver, because made of copper\nalloyed with nobler metal; the smallest Egyptian coin = Nuss (i.e. Nusf, or half a dirham) and the Turk. par\u00e1h. It is the fortieth of the piastre and may be assumed at the value of a\nquarter-farthing.\n\n[FN#54] This word, in Egypt. \"Har\u00e1g,\" is the cry with which the\nDall\u00e1l (broker) announces each sum bidden at an auction.\n\n[FN#55] The Portuguese Xerafim: Supplemental Nights, vol. iii.\n166.\n\n[FN#56] A Khan or caravanserai: see vol. i. 266 and Pilgrimage i. 60.\n\n[FN#57] Arab. \"Hilm\" (vision) \"au 'Ilm\" (knowledge) a phrase\npeculiar to this MS.\n\n[FN#58] The careless scribe forgets that the Sultan is speaking\nand here drops into the third person. This \"Enallage of persons\"\nis, however, Koranic and therefore classical: Arab critics aver\nthat in such cases the \"Hik\u00e1yah\" (= literal reproduction of a\ndiscourse, etc.) passes into an \"Ikhb\u00e1r\" = mere account of the same discourse). See Al Mas'\u00fadi iii. 216. I dare not reproduce this figure in English.\n\n[FN#59] Arab. \"Auzah,\" the Pers. Ot\u00e1k and the Turk. Otah (vulg.\n\"Oda\" whence \"Odalisque\"), a popular word in Egypt and Syria.\n\n[FN#60] Arab. \"Al-Afandiyah\" showing the late date or reduction\nof the tale. The Turkish word derives from the Romaic Afentis\n(?f??t??) the corrupted O.G. a????t?? = an absolute commander, and \"authentie.\" The word should not be written as usual \"Effendi,\" but \"Efendi,\" as Prof. Galland has been careful to do.\n\n[FN#61] Arab. \"Al-dakhlah\"; repeatedly referred to in The Nights. The adventure is a replica of that in \"Abu Mohammed hight Lazybones,\" vol. iv., pp. 171-174.\n\n[FN#62] Usual in the East, not in England, where some mothers are idiots enough not to tell their daughters what to expect on the wedding night. Hence too often unpleasant surprises, disgust and dislike. The most modern form is that of the chloroform'd bride upon whose pillow the bridegroom found a paper pinned and\ncontaining the words, \"Mamma says you're to do what you like.\"\n\n[FN#63] Arab. \"Akhaztu dam wajhhi-h\u00e1.\"\n\n[FN#64] Arab. \"Dilk\" more commonly \"Khirkah,\" the tattered and\npieced robe of a religious mendicant.\n\n[FN#65] Arab. \"Darb\u00e1lah.\" Scott (p. 24) must have read\n\"Gharb\u00e1lah\" when he translated \"A turban full of holes as a\nsieve.\" In classical Arabic the word is written \"Darbalah,\" and\nseems to correspond with the Egyptian \"Dar\u00e1bukkah,\" a tabor of\nwood or earthenware figured by Lane (M.E. chapt. xviii.). It is,\nlike the bowl, part of the regular Darwaysh's begging gear.\n\n[FN#66] Vulg. Maghribi. For this word see the story of Alaeddin,\nSupplem., vol. iii. 51. According to Heron, \"History of\nMaugraby,\" the people of Provence, Languedoc and Gascony use\nMaugraby as a term of cursing: Maugrebleu being used in other\nparts of France.\n\n[FN#67] In text \"Fan\u00e1r\u00e1t\"; the Arab. plur. of the Pers. \"Fan\u00e1r\" = a light-house, and here equiv. to the Mod. Gr. fa???, a lantern, the Egypt. \"F\u00e1n\u00fas.\"\n\n[FN#68] This Sultan of the Jann preceded by sweepers,\nflag-bearers and tent-pitchers always appears in the form of\nsecond-sight called by Egyptians \"Darb al Mandal\" = striking the\nmagic circle in which the enchanter sits when he conjures up\nspirits. Lane (M. E. chapt. xii.) first made the \"Cairo Magician\" famous in Europe, but Herklots and others had described a cognate practice in India many years before him.\n\n[FN#69] Arab, \"J\u00e1w\u00fash\" for Ch\u00e1wush (vulg. Chiaush) Turk. = an army-serjeant, a herald or serjeant-at-arms; an apparitor or officer of the Court of Chancery (not a \"Mace-bearer or Messenger,\" Scott). See vol. vii. 327.\n\n[FN#70] Arab. from Persian \"B\u00edm\u00e1rist\u00e1n,\" a \"sick-house,\"\nhospital, a mad-house: see vol. i. 288.\n\n[FN#71] The text says only that \"he was reading:\" sub. the Holy\nVolume.\n\n[FN#72] MS. vol. iii., pp. 142-168. Scott, \"Story of the First\nLunatic,\" pp. 31 44. Gauttier, Histoire du Premier Fou, vol. vi.\n187. It is identical with No. ii. of Chavis and Cazotte,\ntranslated by C. de Perceval, Le Bimaristan (i.e. the Hospital),\nou Histoire du jeune Marchand de Bagdad et de la Dame inconnue\n(vol. viii. pp. 179-180). Heron terms it the \"Story of Halechalbe (Ali Chelebi?) and the Unknown Lady,\" and the narrative is provided with a host of insipid and incorrect details, such as \"A gentleman enjoying his pipe.\" The motif of this tale is common in Arab. folk-lore, and it first appears in the \"Tale of Az\u00edz and Az\u00edzah,\" ii. 328. A third variant will occur further on.\n\n[FN#73] Spelt in vol. iii. 143 and elsewhere, \"Khw\u00e1j\u00e1\" for\n\"Khw\u00e1jah.\"\n\n[FN#74] Arab. \"Hubban li-raasik,\" = out of love for thy head, i.e. from affection for thee. Dr. Steingass finds it analogous with the Koranic \"Hubban li 'llahi\" (ii. 160), where it is joined with \"Ashaddu\" = stronger, as regards love to or for Allah, more Allah loving. But it can stand adverbially by itself = out of love for Allah, for Allah's sake.\n\n[FN#75] Arab. \"Zahr,\" lit. and generically a blossom; but often\nused in a specific sense throughout The Nights.\n\n[FN#76] Arab. \"Kursi\" here = a square wooden seat without back and used for sitting cross-legged. See Suppl. vol. i. 10.\n\n[FN#77] Arab. \"Sujj\u00e1dah\" = lit. a praying carpet, which Lane calls \"Segg\u00e1deh.\"\n\n[FN#78] Arab. \"Wak\u00edl,\" lit. = agent: here the woman's\nrepresentative, corresponding roughly with the man who gives away the bride amongst ourselves.\n\n[FN#79] The mention of coffee and sherbet, here and in the next\npage, makes the tale synchronous with that of Ma'ar\u00faf or the\nxviith. century.\n\n[FN#80] The MS. writes \"Zardak\u00e1t\" for \"Zardakh\u00e1n\": see below.\n\n[FN#81] Scott (p. 36) has \"mahazzim (for mah\u00e1zim), al Zerdukkaut\n(for al-Zardakh\u00e1n)\" and \"munnaskif (for man\u00e1shif) al fillfillee.\" Of the former he notes (p. 414) \"What this composition is I cannot define: it may be translated compound of saffron, yoke of egg or of yellowish drugs.\" He evidently confounds it with the Pers. Zard-i-Kh\u00e1yah = yoke of egg. Of the second he says \"compound of peppers, red, white and black.\" Lane (The Nights, vol. i. p. 8) is somewhat scandalised at such misrepresentation, translating the first \"apron-napkins of thick silk,\" and the second \"drying towels of L\u00edf or palm-fibre,\" further suggesting that the text may have dropped a conjunction = drying towels and fibre.\n\n[FN#82] Arab. \"L\u00edw\u00e1n al-barr\u00e1n\u00ed,\" lit. = the outer bench in the\n\"Maslakh\" or apodyterium.\n\n[FN#83] Arab. \"Ma'j\u00fan,\" pop. applied to an electuary of Bhang\n(Cannabis sativa): it is the \"Maagoon\" sold by the \"Maagungee\" of Lane (M.E. chapt. xv.). Here, however, the term may be used in the sense of \"confections\" generally, the sweetmeats eaten by way of restoratives in the Bath.\n\n[FN#84] He speaks of taking her maidenhead as if it were porter's\nwork and so defloration was regarded by many ancient peoples. The\nold Nilotes incised the hymen before congress; the Ph\u0153nicians,\naccording to Saint Athanasius, made a slave of the husband's\nabate it. The American Chibchas and Caribs looked upon virginity\nas a reproach, proving that the maiden had never inspired love.\nFor these and other examples see p. 72, chap. iii. \"L'Amour dans\nl'Humanit\u00e9,\" by P. Mantegazza, a civilised and unprejudiced\ntraveller.\n\n[FN#85] Arab. \"Zill,\" lit. \"shadow me.\"\n\n[FN#86] Arab. \"Istinsh\u00e1k,\" one of the items of the \"Wuz\u00fa\" or\nlesser ablution: see vol. v. 198.\n\n[FN#87] In Chavis her name is \"Zaliza\" and she had \"conceived an\nunhappy passion\" for her master, to whom she \"declared her\nsentiments without reserve.\"\n\n[FN#88] Arab. \"Armagh\u00e1n\u00e1t,\" the Arab. plur. of \"Armagh\u00e1n,\"\nPers.=a present.\n\n[FN#89] In the text, \"jumlatun min al-m\u00e1l,\" which Scott\napparently reads \"Hamlat al-jamal\" and translates (p. 38) \"a\ncamel's load of treasure.\"\n\n[FN#90] The learned man was to exorcise some possible \"evil\nspirit\" or \"the eye,\" a superstition which seems to have begun,\nlike all others, with the ancient Egyptians.\n\n[FN#91] The MS., I have said, always writes \"Khw\u00e1j\u00e1\" instead of\n\"Khw\u00e1jah\" (plur. \"Khw\u00e1jat\"): for this word, the modern Egyptian\n\"How\u00e1jah,\" see vol. vi. 46. Here it corresponds with our\n\"goodman.\"\n\n[FN#92] Arab. \"Yataz\u00e1wad\u00fa\"=increasing.\n\n[FN#93] By which she accepted the offer.\n\n[FN#94] This incident has already occurred in the tale of the\nPortress (Second Lady of Baghdad, vol. i. 179), but here the\nconsequences are not so tragical. In Chavis the vulgar cock\nbecomes \"a golden Censer ornamented with diamonds, to be sold for\ntwo thousand sequins\" (each=9 shill.).\n\n[FN#95] A royal sign of wrath generally denoting torture and\ndeath. See vols. iv. 72; vi. 250.\n\n[FN#96] Arab. \"Y\u00e1 Sall\u00e1m,\" addressed to Allah.\n\n[FN#97] Here more is meant than meets the eye. When a Moslem's\nhead was struck off, in the days of the Caliphate, it was placed\nunder his armpit, whereas that of a Jew or a Christian was set\nbetween his legs, close to the seat of dishonour.\n\n[FN#98] In Chavis and Cazotte the lady calls to \"Morigen, her\nfirst eunuch, and says, Cut off his head!\" Then she takes a\ntheorbo and \"composed the following couplets\"?of which the first\nmay suffice:\n\n          Since my swain unfaithful proves,\n          Let him go to her he loves, etc., etc.\n\n[FN#99] The device has already occurred in \"Ali Baba.\"\n\n[FN#100] Arab. \"Al-ma'h\u00fad min ghayr wa'd.\"\n\n[FN#101] In Chavis and Cazotte the king is Harun al-Rashid and\nthe masterful young person proves to be Zeraida, the favourite\ndaughter of Ja'afar Bermaki; whilst the go-between is not the\nyoung lady's mother but Nemana, an old governess.  The over-\njealous husband in the Second Lady of Baghdad (vol. i. 179) is\nAl-Am\u00edn, son and heir of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid.\n\n[FN#102] Vol. iii. pp. 168-179: and Scott's \"Story of the Second\nLunatic,\" pp. 45-51. The name is absurdly given as the youth was\nanything but a lunatic; but this is Arab symmetromania. The tale\nis virtually the same as \"Women's Wiles,\" in Supplemental Nights,\nvol. ii. 99-107.\n\n[FN#103] This forward movement on the part of the fair one is\nheld to be very insulting by the modest Moslem. This incident is\nwanting in \"Women's Wiles.\"\n\n[FN#104] Arab. \"Labbah,\" usually the part of the throat where\nornaments are hung or camels are stabbed.\n\n[FN#105] The Chief of the Moslem Church. For the origin of the\noffice and its date (A.D. 1453) see vols. ix. 289, and x. 85.\n\n[FN#106] Arab. \"Sat\u00edhah\" = a she-Sat\u00edh: this seer was a headless\nand neckless body, with face in breast, lacking members and lying prostrate on the ground. His fellow, \"Shikk,\" was a half-man, and both foretold the divine mission of Mohammed. (Ibn Khall. i. 487.)\n\n[FN#107] Arab. \"Wakt al-Zuh\u00e0;\" the division of time between\nsunrise and midday.\n\n[FN#108] In the text \"Sufrah\" = the cloth: see vol. i. 178, etc.\n\n[FN#109] Arab. \"Ya Tinj\u00edr,\" lit. = O Kettle.\n\n[FN#110] Arab. \"Tari,\" lit. = wet, with its concomitant suggestion, soft and pleasant like desert-rain.\n\n[FN#111] Here meaning \"Haste, haste!\" See vol. i. 46.\n\n[FN#112] The chief man (Agh\u00e1) of the Gypsies, the Jink of Egypt\nwhom Turkish soldiers call Ghiovend\u00e9, a race of singers and\ndancers; in fact professional Nautch-girls. See p. 222, \"Account\nof the Gypsies of India,\" by David MacRitchie (London, K. Paul,\n1886), a most useful manual.\n\n[FN#113] Arab. \"Kur\u00fash,\" plur of. \"Kirsh\" (pron. \"Girsh\"), the\nEgyptian piastre = one-fifth of a shilling. The word may derive\nfrom a {root} Karsh = collecting money; but it is more probably a corruption of Groschen, primarily a great or thick piece of money and secondarily a small silver coin = 3 kreuzers = 1 penny.\n\n[FN#114] The purse (\"K\u00eds\") is = 500 piastres (kur\u00fash) = \u00a35; and a thousand purses compose the Treasury (\"Khaznah\") = \u00a35,000.\n\n[FN#115] MS. vol. iii. pp. 179-303. It is Scott's \"Story of the\nRetired Sage and his Pupil, related to the Sultan by the Second\nLunatic,\" vi. pp. 52-67; and Gauttier's Histoire du Sage, vi.\n199-2l4. The scene is laid in Cairo.\n\n[FN#116] Meaning that he was an orphan and had, like the\nwell-known widow, \"seen better days.\"\n\n[FN#117] The phrase, I have noted, is not merely pleonastic: it\nemphasises the assertion that it was a chance day.\n\n[FN#118] An old Plinian fable long current throughout the East.\nIt is the Pers. N\u00edm-chihreh, and the Arab Shikk and possibly\nNasn\u00e1s = nisf al-N\u00e1s (?) See vol. v. 333. Shikk had received from Allah only half the form of a man, and his rival diviner Sat\u00edh was a shapeless man of flesh without limbs. They lived in the days of a woman named Tar\u00edfah, daughter of Al-Khayr al-Himyar\u00ed and wife of Amr\u00fa bin '\u00c1mir who was famous for having intercourse with the Jann. When about to die she sent for the two, on account of their deformity and the influence exercised upon them by the demons; and, having spat into their mouths, bequeathed to them her Jinni, after which she departed life and was buried at Al-Johfah. Presently they became noted soothsayers; Shikk had issue but Satih none; they lived 300 (some say 600) years, and both died shortly before the birth of the Prophet concerning whom they prophesied. When the Tobba of Al-Yaman dreamed that a dove flew from a holy place and settled in the Tih\u00e1mah (lowland-seaboard) of Meccah, Satih interpreted it to signify that a Prophet would arise to destroy idols and to teach the best of faiths. The two also predicted (according to Tabari) to Al-Rab\u00ed'ah, son of Nasr, a Jewish king of Al-Yaman, that the Habash (Abyssinians) should conquer the country, govern it, and be expelled, and after this a Prophet should arise amongst the Arabs and bring a new religion which all should embrace and which should endure until Doomsday. Compare this with the divining damsel in Acts xvi. 16-18.\n\n[FN#119] Arab. \"Kahram\u00e1nah;\" the word has before been explained\nas a nurse, a duenna, an Amazon guarding the Harem. According to\nC. de Perceval (p\u00e8re) it was also the title given by the\nAbbasides to the Governess of the Serraglio.\n\n[FN#120] So in the Apocrypha (\"Tobias\" vi. 8). Tobit is taught by\nthe Archangel Raphael to drive away evil spirits (or devils) by\nthe smoke of a bit of fish's heart. The practice may date from\nthe earliest days when \"Evil Spirits\" were created by man. In\nIndia, when Europeans deride the existence of Jinns and\nRakshasas, and declare that they never saw one, the people\nreceive this information with a smile which means only, \"I should\nthink not! you and yours are worse than any of our devils.\"\n\n[FN#121] An Inquisitorial costume called in the text \"Sh\u00e1miy\u00e1t bi\nal-N\u00e1r.\"\n\n[FN#122] A tribe of the Jinn sometimes made synonymous with\n\"M\u00e1rid\" and at other times contrasted with these rebels, as in\nthe Story of Ma'aruf and J. Scott's \"History of the Sultan of\nHind\" (vol. vi. 195). For another note see The Nights, iv. 88.\n\n[FN#123] Arab. \"'Ilm al-Hur\u00faf,\" not to be confounded with the\n\"'Ilm al-Jumal,\" or \"His\u00e1b Al-Jumal,\" a notation by numerical\nvalues of the alphabet. See Lumsden's Grammar of the Persian\nLanguage, i. 37.\n\n[FN#124] Like our \"Cut your mutton,\" or manger la soupe or die\nSuppe einzunehmen. For this formula meaning like the Brazilian\n\"cup of water,\" a grand feast, see vol. vii. 168.\n\n[FN#125] Arab. \"Tafazzal,\" a most useful word employed upon\nalmost all occasions of invitation and mostly equivalent to \"Have\nthe kindness,\" etc. See vol. ii. 103.\n\n[FN#126] The Shaykh for humility sits at the side, not at the\n\"Sadr,\" or top of the room; but he does not rise before the\ntemporal power. The Sultan is equally courteous and the Shaykh\nhonours him by not keeping silence.\n\n[FN#127] Arab. \"Miat Maml\u00fak kit\u00e1b\u00ed,\" the latter word meaning \"one\nof the Book, a Jew\" (especially), or a Christian.\n\n[FN#128] This MS. prefers the rare form \"Al-J\u00e1nn\" for the\nsingular.\n\n[FN#129] These flags, I have noticed, are an unfailing\naccompaniment of a Jinn army.\n\n[FN#130] MS. vol. iii. pp. 203-210; Scott, \"Night Adventure of\nthe Sultan,\" pp. 68-71. Gauttier, Aventure nocturne du Sulthan,\nvi. 214.\n\n[FN#131] Arab. \"Mashr\u00fat shadak.\" Ashdak is usually applied to a\nwide-chapped face, like that of Margaret Maultasch or\nMickle-mouthed Meg. Here, however, it alludes to an accidental\ndeformity which will presently be described.\n\n[FN#132] Arab. \"Amsik lis\u00e1na-k\": the former word is a standing\n\"chaff\" with the Turks, as in their tongue it means cunnus-penis\nand nothing else. I ever found it advisable when speaking Arabic\nbefore Osmanlis, to use some such equivalent as Khuz = take thou.\n\n[FN#133] This is the familiar incident in \"Ali Baba\": Supplem.\nvol iii. 384, etc.\n\n[FN#134] MS. iii. 210-214. Scott's \"Story of the broken-backed\nSchoolmaster,\" vi. pp. 72-75, and Gauttier's \"Histoire du Ma\u00eetre\nd'\u00e9cole \u00e9reint\u00e9,\" vi. 217. The Arabic is \"Muaddib al-Atf\u00e1l\" = one\nwho teacheth children. I have before noted that amongst Moslems\nthe Schoolmaster is always a fool. So in Europe of the 16th\ncentury probably no less than one-third of the current jests\nturned upon the Romish clergy and its phenomenal ignorance\ncompared with that of the pagan augur. The Story of the First\nSchoolmaster is one of the most humorous in this MS.\n\n[FN#135] For the usual ceremony when a Moslem sneezes, see vol.\nix. 220.\n\n[FN#136] The \"day in the country,\" lately become such a favourite\nwith English schools, is an old Eastern custom.\n\n[FN#137] MS. iii. 214-219. Scott's \"Story of the wry-mouthed\nSchoolmaster,\" vi. pp. 74-75: Gauttier's Histoire du Second\nEstropi\u00e9, vi. p. 220.\n\n[FN#138] In these days the whole would be about 10d.\n\n[FN#139] Pay-day for the boys in Egypt. The Moslem school has\noften been described but it always attracts the curiosity of\nstrangers. The Moorish or Maroccan variety is a simple affair;\n\"no forms, no desks, few books. A number of boards about the size\nof foolscap, whitewashed on either side, whereon the\nlessons?from the alphabet to sentences of the Koran?are plainly\nwritten in large black letters; a pen and ink, a book and a\nswitch or two, complete the paraphernalia. The dominie, squatting\non the ground, tailor-fashion, like his pupils, who may number\nfrom ten to thirty, repeats the lesson in a sonorous sing-song\nvoice, and is imitated by the urchins, who accompany their voices\nby a rocking to and fro which sometimes enables them to keep\ntime. A sharp application of the cane is wonderfully effectual in\nrecalling wandering attention; and lazy boys are speedily\nexpelled. On the admission of a pupil, the parents pay some small\nsum, varying according to their means, and every Wednesday, which\nis a half-holiday, a payment is made from \u00bcd. to 2d. New moons\nand feasts are made occasions for larger payments, and are also\nholidays, which last ten days during the two greater festivals.\nThursdays are whole holidays, and no work is done on Friday\nmornings, that day being the Mohammedan 'Sabbath,' or at least\n'meeting day,' as it is called. When the pupils have mastered the\nfirst short chapter of the Koran, it is customary for them to be\nparaded round the town on horseback, with ear-splitting music,\nand sometimes charitably disposed persons make small presents to\nthe youngster by way of encouragement. After the first, the last\nis learned, then the last but one, and so on, backwards, as, with\nthe exception of the first, the longest chapters are at the\nbeginning. Though reading and a little writing are taught, at the\nsame time, all the scholars do not arrive at the pitch of\nperfection necessary to indite a polite letter, so that\nconsequently there is plenty of employment for the numerous\nscribes or T\u00e1libs who make a profession of writing. These may\nfrequently be seen in small rooms opening on to the street,\nusually very respectably dressed in a white flowing haik and\nlarge turban, and in most cases of venerable appearance, their\nnoses being adorned with huge goggles. Before them are their\nappliances,?pens made of reeds, ink, paper, and sand in lieu of\nblotting paper. They usually possess also a knife and scissors,\nwith a case to hold them all. In writing, they place the paper on\nthe knee, or upon a pad of paper in the left hand.\" The main\nmerit of the village school in Eastern lands is its noises which\nteach the boy to concentrate his attention. As Dr. Wilson of\nBombay said, the young idea is taught to shout as well as to\nshoot, and this viv\u00e2 voce process is a far better mnemonic than\nsilent reading. Moreover it is fine practice in the art of\nconcentrating attention.\n\n[FN#140] Arab. \"Mikshat,\" whose root would be \"Kasht\" = skinning (a camel).\n\n[FN#141] Evidently said ironic\u00e8 as of innocents. In \"The Forty\nVezirs\" we read, \"At length they perceived that all this tumult\narose from their trusting on this wise the words of children.\"\n(Lady's XXth Tale.)\n\n[FN#142] MS. iii. 219-220. For some unaccountable reason it is\nomitted by Scott (vi. 76), who has written English words in the margin of the W. M. Codex.\n\n[FN#143] In text \"K\u00e1d\u00fam,\" for \"Kud\u00fam,\" a Syrian form.\n\n[FN#144] Arab. \"Hidyah,\" which in Egypt means a falcon; see vol.\niii. 138.\n\n[FN#145] Arab. \"Sifah,\" = lit. a quality.\n\n[FN#146] Arab. \"Istil\u00e1h\" = specific dialect, idiom. See De Sacy,\nChrestomathie, i. 443, where the learned Frenchman shows abundant\nlearning, but does very little for the learner.\n\n[FN#147] In the text \"Katt\u00e1n\" = linen, flax.\n\n[FN#148] Arab. \"F\u00ed J\u00edf\u00e1n ka'l-Jaw\u00e1b\u00ed!\" which, I suppose, means\nsmall things (or men) and great.\n\n[FN#149] This form of cleverness is a favourite topic in Arabian\nfolk-lore. The model man was Iy\u00e1s al-Muzani, al-Kazi (of\nBassorah), in the 2nd century A.H., mentioned by Al-Har\u00edr\u00ed in his\n7th Ass. and noted in Arab. Prov. (i. 593) as \"more intelligent\nthan Iy\u00e1s.\" Ibn Khallikan (i. 233) tells sundry curious tales of\nhim. Hearing a Jew ridicule the Moslem Paradise where the blessed\nate and drank ad libitum but passed nothing away, he asked if all\nhis food were voided: the Jew replied that God converted a part\nof it into nourishment and he rejoined, \"Then why not the whole?\"\nBeing once in a courtyard he said that there was an animal under\nthe bricks and a serpent was found: he had noted that only two of\nthe tiles showed signs of dampness and this proved that there was\nsomething underneath that breathed. Al-Mayd\u00e1ni relates of him\nthat hearing a dog bark, he declared that the beast was tied to\nthe brink of a well; and he judged so because the bark was\nfollowed by an echo. Two men came before him, the complainant\nclaimed money received by the defendant who denied the debt. Iy\u00e1s\nasked the plaintiff where he had given it, and was answered,\n\"Under a certain tree.\" The judge told him to go there by way of\nrefreshing his memory and in his absence asked the defendant if\nhis adversary could have reached it. \"Not yet,\" said the rogue,\nforgetting himself; \"'tis a long way off\"?which answer convicted\nhim. Seeing three women act upon a sudden alarm, he said, \"One of\nthem is pregnant, another is nursing, and the third is a virgin.\"\nHe explained his diagnosis as follows: \"In time of danger persons\nlay their hands on what they most prize. Now I saw the pregnant\nwoman in her flight place her hand on her belly, which showed me\nshe was with child; the nurse placed her hand on her bosom,\nwhereby I knew that she was suckling, and the third covered her\nparts with her hand proving to me that she was a maid.\"\n(Chenery's Al Hariri, p. 334.)\n\n[FN#150] Such an address would be suited only to a King or a\nruler.\n\n[FN#151] MS. iii. 231-240; Scott's \"Story of the Sisters and the\nSultana their mother,\" vi. 82; Gauttier's Histoire de la Sulthane\net de ses trois Filles, vi. 228.\n\n[FN#152] Arab, \"Darajat\u00e1ni\"=lit. two astronomical degrees: the\nword is often used in this MS.\n\n[FN#153] Arab. \"S\u00edwan;\" plur. \"S\u00edw\u00e1w\u00edn.\"\n\n[FN#154] Arab. \"'Al\u00e0 hud\u00fad (or Al\u00e0 hadd) al-Shauk,\" repeated in\nMS. iii. 239.\n\n[FN#155] Here the writer, forgetting that the youngest sister is\nspeaking, breaks out into the third person?\"their case\"?\"their\nmother,\" etc.\n\n[FN#156] The idea is that of the French anonyma's \"Mais,\nMonsieur, vous me suivez comme un lavement.\"\n\n[FN#157] The text (p. 243) speaks of two eunuchs, but only one\nhas been noticed.\n\n[FN#158] Arab. \"Manjan\u00edk;\" there are two forms of this word from the Gr. ????a???, or ???a??, and it survives in our mangonel, a battering engine. The idea in the text is borrowed from the life of Abraham whom Nimrod cast by means of a catapult (which is a bow worked by machinery) into a fire too hot for man to approach.\n\n[FN#159] Showing that he was older; otherwise she would have\naddressed him, \"O my cousin.\" A man is \"young,\" in Arab speech,\ntill forty and some say fifty.\n\n[FN#160] The little precatory formula would keep off the Evil\nEye.\n\n[FN#161] Supper comes first because the day begins at sundown.\n\n[FN#162] Calotte or skull-cap; vol. i. 224; viii. 120.\n\n[FN#163] This is a new \"fact\" in physics and certainly to be\ncounted amongst \"things not generally known.\" But Easterns have a\nhost of \"dodges\" to detect physiological differences such as\nbetween man and maid, virgin and matron, imperfect castratos and\nperfect eunuchs and so forth. Very Eastern, mutatis mutandis, is\nthe tale of the thief-catcher, who discovered a fellow in\nfeminine attire by throwing an object for him to catch in his lap\nand by his closing his legs instead of opening them wide as the\npetticoated ones would do.\n\n[FN#164] She did not wish to part with her maidenhead at so cheap\na price.\n\n[FN#165] Arab. \"Sub\u00fa'\" (for \"Yaum al-Sub\u00fa'\") a festival prepared\non the seventh day after a birth or a marriage or return from\npilgrimage. See Lane (M. E. passim) under \"Subooa.\"\n\n[FN#166] For this Anglo-Indian term, = a running courier, see vol. vii. 340. It is the gist of the venerable Joe Miller in which the father asks a friend to name his seven-months child. \"Call him 'Cossid' for verily he hath accomplished a march of nine months in seven months.\"\n\n[FN#167] Arab. \"Mad\u00e1fi al-Sal\u00e1mah,\" a custom showing the date of\nthe tale to be more modern than any in the ten vols. of The\nNights proper.\n\n[FN#168] Master, captain, skipper (not owner): see vols. i. 127;\nvi. 112.\n\n[FN#169] Zahr al-Bahr = the surface which affords a passage to man.\n\n[FN#170] Arab. \"Batiyah,\" gen. = a black jack, a leathern flagon.\n\n[FN#171] \"Kun\u00e1fah\" = a vermicelli cake often eaten at breakfast:\nsee vol. x. 1: \"Kunaf\u00e1ni\" is the baker or confectioner. Scott (p.\n101) converts the latter into a \"maker of cotton wallets for\ntravelling.\"\n\n[FN#172] In the text (iii. 260) \"M\u00edd\u00ed,\" a clerical error for\n\"Mayyid\u00ed,\" an abbreviation of \"Muayyad\u00ed,\" the Faddah, Nuss or\nhalf-dirham coined under Sultan al-Muayyad, A.H. ixth cent. = A.D. xvth.\n\n[FN#173] Arab. \"Rub'\" (plur. \"Arb\u00e1'\") = the fourth of a \"Waybah,\"\nthe latter being the sixth of an Ardabb (Irdabb) = 5 bushels. See\nvol. i. 263.\n\n[FN#174] A royal pavilion; according to Shakespear (Hind. Dict.\nsub voce) it is a corruption of the Pers. \"Sayab\u00e1n.\"=canopy.\n\n[FN#175] Arab. \"Musajja'\" = rhymed prose: for the Saj'a, see vol.\ni. 116, and Terminal Essay, vol. x. p. 220. So Chaucer:?\n\n     In rhyme or ell\u00e8s in cadence.\n\n[FN#176] Arab. \"Huwa inn\u00e1 na'rifu-h\" lit. = He, verily we wot him\nnot: the juxtaposition of the two first pronouns is intended to\nsuggest \"I am he.\"\n\n[FN#177] In Moslem tales decency compels the maiden, however much\nshe may be in love, to show extreme unwillingness in parting with\nher maidenhead especially by marriage; and this farce is enacted\nin real life (see vol. viii. 40). The French tell the indecent\ntruth,\n\n     D\u00e9sir de fille est un feu qui d\u00e9vore:\n     D\u00e9sir de femme est plus fort encore.\n\n[FN#178] The Arab. form (our old \"bashaw\") of the Turk. \"Pasha,\"\nwhich the French and many English write Pacha, thus confusing the\nvulgar who called Ibrahim Pacha \"Abraham Parker.\" The origin of\nthe word is much debated and the most fanciful derivations have\nbeen proposed. Some have taken it from the Sansk. \"Paksha\" = a\nwing: Fuerst from Pers. P\u00e1ig\u00e1h = rank, dignity; Von Hammer\n(History) from P\u00e1i-Sh\u00e1h = foot of the king; many from \"P\u00e1dish\u00e1h\" = the Sovran, and Mr. E. T. W. Gibb suspects a connection with the Turk. \"B\u00e1sh\" = a head. He writes to me that the oldest forms are \"Bashah\" and \"B\u00e1shah\"; and takes the following quotation from Colonel Jev\u00e1d Bey, author of an excellent work on the Janissaries published a few years ago. \"As it was the custom of the (ancient) Turks to call the eldest son 'P\u00e1sh\u00e1,' the same style was given to his son Al\u00e0 al-Din (Aladd\u00edn) by Osm\u00e1n Gh\u00e1zi, the founder of the Empire; and he kept this heir at home and beside him, whilst he employed the cadet Orkhan Bey as his commander-in-chief. When Orkh\u00e1n Gh\u00e1zi ascended the throne he conferred the title of P\u00e1sh\u00e1 upon his son Sulayman. Presently reigned Mur\u00e1d (Amurath), who spying signs of disaffection in his first-born S\u00e1w\u00faj\u00ed Bey about the middle of his reign created K\u00e1r\u00e1 Khal\u00edl (his K\u00e1z\u00ed-Askar or High Chancellor) Wazir with the title Kazyr al-D\u00edn Pasha; thus making him, as it were, an adopted son. After this the word passed into the category of official titles and came to be conferred upon those who received high office.\" Colonel Jev\u00e1d Bey then quotes in support of his opinion the \"History of Munajjim Pasha\" and the \"Fat\u00e1yah al-Wuk\u00fa'at\" = Victories of Events. I may note that the old title has been sadly prostituted in Egypt as well as in Turkey: in 1851 P\u00e1sh\u00e1s could be numbered on a man's fingers; now they are innumerable and of no account.\n\n[FN#179] Arab. \"'Al\u00e0 b\u00e1bi 'll\u00e1h\" = for the love of the Lord,\ngratis, etc., a most popular phrase.\n\n[FN#180] Arab. \"Bah\u00e1r,\" often used for hot spices generally.\n\n[FN#181] In the text Shajarat R\u00edh.\n\n[FN#182] Arab. \"Ma'\u00e1din\" = minerals, here mentioned for the first\ntime.\n\n[FN#183] For the ear conceiving love before the eye (the basis of\nhalf these love-stories), see vol. iii. 9.\n\n[FN#184] According to Dr. Steingass \"Mirwad\" = the iron axle of a\npulley or a wheel for drawing water or lifting loads, hence\npossibly a bar of metal, an ingot. But he is more inclined to\ntake it in its usual sense of \"Kohl-pencil.\" Here \"Mirw\u00e1d\" is the\nbroader form like \"Mift\u00e1h\" for \"Miftah,\" much used in Syria.\n\n[FN#185] For the Ashrafi, a gold coin of variable value, see vol.\niii. 294. It is still coined; the Calcutta Ashrafi worth \u00a31 11s.\n8d. is 1/16th (about 5s. to the oz.) better than the English\nstandard, and the Regulations of May, 1793, made it weigh 190.894\ngrs. Troy.\n\n[FN#186] In text \"Anjar\" = a flat platter; Pers.\n\n[FN#187] By what physical process the author modestly leaves to\nthe reader's imagination. Easterns do not often notice this\nfeminine venereal paroxysm which takes the place of seminal\nemission in the male. I have seen it happen to a girl when\nhanging by the arms a trifle too long from a gymnastic cross-bar;\nand I need hardly say that at such moments (if men only knew\nthem) every woman, even the most modest, is an easy conquest. She\nwill repent it when too late, but the flesh has been too strong\nfor her.\n\n[FN#188] A neat and suggestive touch of Eastern manners and\nmorals.\n\n[FN#189] In text \"Ghayr Wa'd,\" or \"Min ghayr Wa'd.\" Lit. without\nprevious agreement: much used in this text for suddenly,\nunexpectedly, without design.\n\n[FN#190] The reader will have remarked the use of the Arabic\n\"'Alaka\" = he hung, which with its branches greatly resembles the\nLat. pendere.\n\n[FN#191] Arab. \"Min al-Mal\u00e1bis,\" plur. of \"Malbas\" = anything\npleasant or enjoyable; as the plural of \"Milbas\" = dress, garment, it cannot here apply.\n\n[FN#192] i.e. \"The Tigris\" (Hid-dekel), with which the Egyptian\nwriter seems to be imperfectly acquainted. See vols. i. 180;\nviii. 150.\n\n[FN#193] The word, as usual misapplied in the West, is to be\ntraced through the Turk. K\u00fashk (pron. Ky\u00fashk) to the Pers.\n\"Kushk\" = an upper chamber.\n\n[FN#194] Four including the doorkeeper. The Darwayshes were\nsuspected of kidnapping, a practice common in the East,\nespecially with holy men. I have noticed in my Pilgrimage (vols.\nii. 273; iii. 327), that both at Meccah and at Al-Medinah the\ncheeks of babes are decorated with the locally called \"Mash\u00e1li\" = three parallel gashes drawn by the barber with the razor down the fleshy portion of each cheek, from the exterior angles of the eyes almost to the corners of the mouth. According to the citizens this \"Tashr\u00edt\" is a modern practice distinctly opposed to the doctrine of Al-Islam; but, like the tattooing of girls, it is intended to save the children from being carried off, for good luck, by kidnapping pilgrims, especially Persians.\n\n[FN#195] The hair being shaven or plucked and showing the darker\nskin. In the case of the axilla-pile, vellication is the popular\nprocess: see vol. ix. 139. Europeans who do not adopt this\nessential part of cleanliness in hot countries are looked upon as\nimpure by Moslems.\n\n[FN#196] Here a little abbreviation has been found necessary: \"of\nno avail is a twice-told tale.\"\n\n[FN#197] The nearest approach in Eastern tales to Western\nhysterics.\n\n[FN#198] A tent-pitcher, body servant, etc. See vol. vii. 4. The\nword is still popular in Persia.\n\n[FN#199] The amount of eating and drinking in this tale is\nphenomenal; but, I repeat, Arabs enjoy reading of \"meat and\ndrink\" almost as much as Englishmen.\n\n[FN#200] Arab writers always insist upon the symptom of rage\nwhich distinguishes the felines from the canines; but they do not\nbelieve that the end of the tail has a sting.\n\n[FN#201] The circular leather which acts alternately provision\nbag and table-cloth. See vols. i. 178; v. 8; viii. 269, and ix.\n141.\n\n[FN#202] He refused because he suspected some trick and would not\nbe on terms of bread and salt with the stranger.\n\n[FN#203] The story contains excellent material, but the writer or\nthe copier has \"scamped\" it in two crucial points, the meeting of\nthe bereaved Sultan and his wife (Night ccclxxvii.) and the\nfinale where we miss the pathetic conclusions of the Mac. and\nBresl. Edits. Also a comparison of this hurried d\u00e9nouement with\nthe artistic tableau of \"King Omar bin al-Nu'uman,\" where all the\nactors are mustered upon the stage before the curtain falls,\nmeasures the difference between this MS. and the printed texts,\nshowing the superior polish and finish of the latter.\n\n[FN#204] Vol. iii. pp. 386-97, where it follows immediately the\nlast story. Scott (Story of the Avaricious Cauzee and his Wife,\nvi. 112) has translated it after his own fashion, excising half\nand supplying it out of his own invention; and Gauttier has\nfollowed suit in the Histoire du Cadi avare et de sa Femme, vi.\n254.\n\n[FN#205] Tar\u00e1bulus and Atr\u00e1bulus are Arabisations of Tripolis\n(hod. Tripoli) the well-known port-town north of Bayr\u00fat; founded\nby the Ph\u0153nicians, rose to fame under the Seleucid\u00e6, and was\nmade splendid by the Romans. See Socin's \"B\u00e6deker,\" p. 509.\n\n[FN#206] i.e. the Kazi's court-house\n\n[FN#207] Arab. \"Buksumah\" = \"hard bread\"  (Americanic\u00e8).\n\n[FN#208] Arab. \"Sufrah umm jal\u00e1jil.\" Lit. an eating-cloth with\nlittle bells, like those hung to a camel, or metal plates as on\nthe rim of a tambourine.\n\n[FN#209] The Kursi here = the stool upon which the \"S\u00edn\u00edyah\" or\ntray of tinned copper is placed, the former serving as a table.\nThese stools, some 15 inches high and of wood inlaid with bone,\ntortoise-shell or mother-of-pearl, are now common in England,\nwhere one often sees children using them as seats. The two (Kursi\nand S\u00edn\u00edyah) compose the Sufrah, when the word is used in the\nsense of our \"dinner-table.\" Lane (M.E. chapt. v.) gives an\nillustration of both articles.\n\n[FN#210] Arab. \"Jar\u00eddah,\" a palm-frond stripped of its leaves\n(Supplemental, vol. i. 264); hence the \"Jar\u00edd\" used as a javelin; see vol. vi. 263.\n\n[FN#211] An Egyptian or a Syrian housewife will make twenty\ndishes out of roast lamb, wholly unlike the \"good plain cook\" of\nGreat or Greater Britain, who leaves the stomach to do all the\nwork of digestion in which she ought to but does not assist.\n\n[FN#212] A plate of \"Bays\u00e1r\" or \"Fays\u00e1r,\" a dish peculiar to\nEgypt; beans seasoned with milk and honey and generally eaten\nwith meat. See Mr. Guy Lestrange's \"Al-Mukaddasi,\" Description of Syria, p. 80; an author who wrote cir. A.H. 986. Scott (vi. 119) has \"A savoury dish called byssarut, which is composed of parched beans and pounded salt meat, mixed up with various seeds, onions and garlic.\" Gauttier (vi. 261) carefully avoids giving the Arabic name, which occurs in a subsequent tale (Nights cdxliv.) when a laxative is required.\n\n[FN#213] Arab. \"Mul\u00fakh\u00edyah n\u00e1shiyah,\" lit.  =  flowing; i.e. soft like \u00e9pinards au jus. Mul\u00fakh\u00edya that favourite vegetable, the malva esculenta is derived from the Gr. \u00b5a???? (also written \u00b5?????) from \u00b5a??ss? = to soften, because somewhat relaxing. In ancient Athens it was the food of the poorer classes and in Egypt it is eaten by all, taking the place of our spinach and sorrel.\n\n[FN#214] Arab. \"Kalak\" = lit. \"agitation,\" \"disquietude\" and here\nused as syn. with \"K\u00falanj,\" a true colic.\n\n[FN#215] Arab. \"Mazar\u00e1t,\" from \"Mazr,\" = being addled (an egg).\n\n[FN#216] Here is an allusion to the \"Massage,\" which in these\ndays has assumed throughout Europe all the pretensions of\nscientific medical treatment. The word has been needlessly\nderived from the Arab. \"Mas'h\" = rubbing, kneading; but we have\nthe Gr. synonym \u00b5?ss? and the Lat. Massare. The text describes\nchild-bed customs amongst Moslem women, and the delivery of the\nKazi has all the realism of M. Zola's accouchement in La Joie de\nVivre.\n\n[FN#217] Arab. \"Fa'\u00e1lah\" = the building craft, builders' trade.\n\n[FN#218] In text \"Kaww\u00e1rah,\" which is not found in the\ndictionaries. \"Kuw\u00e1rah\" = that which is cut off from the side of a thing, etc. My translation is wholly tentative: perhaps Kaww\u00e1ra may be a copyist's error for \"Kaz\u00e1zah\" = vulg. a (flask of) glass.\n\n[FN#219] The \"Khaznah,\" = treasury, is a thousand \"K\u00eds\" = 500\npiastres, or \u00a35 at par; and thus represents \u00a35,000, a large sum\nfor Tripoli in those days.\n\n[FN#220] The same incident occurs in that pathetic tale with an\nill name\u2014\"How Abu al-Hasan brake Wind,\" vol. v. 135.\n\n[FN#221] Arab. \"Karkabah,\" clerical error (?) for \"Karkarah\" =\ndriving (as wind the clouds); rumbling of wind in bowels. Dr.\nSteingass holds that it is formed by addition of a second \"K,\"\nfrom the root \"Karb,\" one of whose meanings is: \"to inflate the\nstomach.\"\n\n[FN#222] For Ummu 'Amrin = mother of 'Amru, so written and\npronounced \" 'Amr,\" a fancy name, see vol. v. 118, for the Tale\nof the Schoolmaster, a well-known \"Joe Miller.\" [Ummu 'Amrin,\nlike Ummu '\u00c1mirin, is a slang term for \"hyena.\" Hence, if Ass and Umm Amr went off together, it is more than likely that neither came back.  St.]\n\n[FN#223] A slang name for Death. \"Kash'am\" has various sigs. esp. the lion, hence Rab\u00ed'at al-Faras (of the horses), one of the four sons of Niz\u00e1r was surnamed Al-Kash'am from his c\u0153ur de lion (Al-Mas'udi iii. 238). Another pleasant term for departing life is Ab\u00fa Y\u00e1hy\u00e1 = Father of John, which also means \"The Living\" from Hayy?Death being the lord of all: hence \"Yam\u00fat\" lit. = he dies, is an ill-omened name amongst Arabs. Kash'am is also a hyena, and Umm Kash'am is syn. with Umm '\u00c1mir (vol. i. 43). It was considered a point of good breeding to use these \"Kunyah\" for the purpose of varying speech (see al-Hariri Ass. xix.). The phrase in the text = meaning went to hell, as a proverb was first used by Zuhayr, one of the \"Suspended Poets.\" Umm Kash'am was the P.N. of a runaway camel which, passing by a large fire, shied and flung its riding saddle into the flames. So in Al-Siy\u00fati's \"History of the Caliphs\" (p. 447), the text has \"And Malak Shah went to where her saddle was thrown by Umm Kash'am,\" which Major Jarrett renders \"departed to hell-fire.\"\n\n[FN#224] Scott's \"Story of the Bhang-eater and Cauzee,\" vi. 126:\nGauttier, Histoire du Preneur d'Opium et du Cadi, vi. 268.\n\n[FN#225] Arab. \"Lawwaha\" = lit. pointing out, making clear.\n\n[FN#226] Text \"in his belly,\" but afterwards in his \"Halkah\" =\nthroat, throttle, which gives better sense.\n\n[FN#227] In text \"H\u00e1yishah\" from {root} \"Haysh\" = spoiling, etc.\n\n[FN#228] Arab. \"Yauh!\" See vols. ii. 321; vi. 235.\n\n[FN#229] Arab. \"Y\u00e1 Jad'\u00e1n\" (pron. \"G\u00e1d'\u00e1n\") more gen. \"Y\u00e1 Jad'a\"\n= mon brave!\n\n[FN#230] In text \"Y\u00e1 'Arz\u00e1d\": prob. a clerical slip for \"'Urz\u00e1t,\"\nplur. of \"'Urzah\" = a companion, a (low) fellow, a man evil\nspoken of.\n\n[FN#231] Easterns love drinking in a bright light: see vol. ii.\n59.\n\n[FN#232] Arab. \"'Akl\" (= comprehension, understanding) and \"Nakl\"\n(= copying, describing, transcribing), a favourite phrase in this\nMS.\n\n[FN#233] Arab. \"Umm\u00e1li\"; gen. Umm\u00e1l, an affirmation; Certes, I\nbelieve you!\n\n[FN#234] For the many preparations of this drug, see Herklots,\nAppendix, pp. lxviii. ciii. It is impossible to say how \"Indian\nhemp,\" like opium, datura, ether and chloroform, will affect the\nnervous system of an untried man. I have read a dozen\ndescriptions of the results, from the highly imaginative Monte\nCristo to the prose of prosaic travellers; and do not recognise\nthat they are speaking of the same thing.\n\n[FN#235] This tranquil enjoyment is popularly called \"Kayf.\" See\nmy Pilgrimage i. 13. In a coarser sense it is applied to all\nmanners of intoxication; and the French traveller Sonnini says,\n\"The Arabs (by which he means the Egyptians) give the name of\nKayf to the voluptuous relaxation, the delicious stupor, produced by the smoking of hemp.\" I have smoked it and eaten it for months without other effect than a greatly increased appetite and a little drowsiness.\n\n[FN#236] These childish indecencies are often attributed to\nBhang-eaters. See \"B\u00e1k\u00fan's Tale of the Hash\u00edsh-eater,\" vol. ii.\n91. Modest Scott (vi. 129) turns the joke into \"tweaking the\nnose.\" Respectable Moslems dislike the subject, but the vulgar\nrelish it as much as the sober Italian enjoys the description of\na drinking bout?in novels.\n\n[FN#237] In the text \"Finj\u00e1l,\" a vulgarism for \"Finj\u00e1n\": so the\nconverse \"Isma'\u00edn\" for \"Ism'a\u00edl\" = Ishmael. Mr. J. W. Redhouse\n(The Academy No. 764) proposes a new date for coffee in Al-Yaman. Colonel Playfair (History of Yemen, Bombay 1859) had carelessly noted that its \"first use at Aden was by a judge of the place who had seen it drunk at Zayla', on the African coast opposite Aden,\" and he made the judge die in A.H. 875 = A.D. 1470. This is about the date of the Shaykh al-Sh\u00e1zal\u00ed's tomb at Mocha, and he was the first who brought the plant from about African Harar to the Arabian seaboard. But Mr. Redhouse finds in a Turkish work written only two centuries ago, and printed at Constantinople, in A.D. 1732, that the \"ripe fruit was discovered growing wild in the mountains of Yemen (?) by a company of dervishes banished thither.\" Finding the berry relieve their hunger and support their vigils the prior, \"Shaykh 'Umar advised their stewing it (?) and the use became established. They dried a store of the fruit; and its use spread to other dervish communities, who perhaps (?) sowed the seed wherever it would thrive throughout Africa (N.B. where it is indigenous) and India (N.B. where both use and growth are quite modern). From Africa, two centuries later, its use was reimported to Arabia at Aden (?) by the judge above mentioned, who in a season of scarcity of the dried fruit (?) tried the seed\" (N.B. which is the fruit). This is passing strange and utterly unknown to the learned De Sacy (Chrest. Arab.\ni. 412-481).\n\n[FN#238] Koran iii. 128. D'Herbelot and Sale (Koran, chap. iii.\nnote) relate on this text a noble story of Hasan Ali-son and his\nerring slave which The Forty Vezirs (Lady's eighth story, p. 113)\nignorantly attributes to Harun al-Rashid:?Forthwith the Caliph\nrose in wrath and was about to hew the girl to pieces, when she\nsaid, \"O Caliph, Almighty Allah saith in His glorious Word (the\nKoran), 'And the stiflers of Wrath'\" (iii. 128). Straightway the\nCaliph's wrath was calmed. Again said the girl, \"'And the\npardoners of men.'\" (ibid.) Quoth the Caliph, \"I have forgiven\nthe crimes of all the criminals who may be in prison.\" Again said\nthe slave-girl, \"'And Allah loveth the beneficent.'\" (ibid.)\nQuoth the Caliph, \"God be witness that I have with my own wealth\nfreed thee and as many male and female slaves as I have, and that\nthis day I have for the love of Allah given the half of all my\ngood in alms to the poor.\" This is no improvement upon the simple\nand unexaggerated story in Sale. \"It is related of Hasan, the son\nof Ali, that a slave having once thrown a dish on him boiling\nhot, as he sat at table, and fearing his master's resentment,\nfell on his knees and repeated these words, Paradise is for those\nwho bridle their anger. Hasan answered, I am not angry. The slave\nproceeded, And for those who forgive men. I forgive you, said\nHasan. The slave, however, finished the verse, For Allah loveth\nthe beneficent. Since it is so, replied Hasan, I give you your\nliberty and four hundred pieces of silver.\"\n\n[FN#239] The old name of the parish bull in rural England.\n\n[FN#240] Arab. \"Kaw\u00edk:\" see The Nights, vol. vi. 182, where the\nbird is called \"Ak'ak.\" Our dicts. do not give the word, but\nthere is a {root} \"Kauk\" (K\u00e1ka, yak\u00faku) to cluck, and \"Kauk\" = an\naquatic bird with a long neck. I assume \"Kaw\u00edk\" to be an\nintensive form of the same root. The \"Mother of Solomon\" is a\nfanciful \"Kunyah,\" or bye name given to the bird by the\nBhang-eater, suggesting his high opinion of her wisdom.\n\n[FN#241] Arab. \"N\u00e1t\u00far,\" prop. a watchman: also a land-mark, a\nbench-mark of tamped clay.\n\n[FN#242] In text \"Bartam\u00e1n\" for \"Martaban\" = a pot, jar, or\nbarrel-shaped vessel: others apply the term to fine porcelain\nwhich poison cannot affect. See Col. Yule's Glossary, s. v.\nMartab\u00e1n, where the quotation from Ibn Batutah shows that the\nterm was current in the xivth century. Linschoten (i. 101)\nwrites, \"In this town (Martaban of Pegu) many of the great\nearthen pots are made, which in India are called Martananas, and\nmany of them are carried throughout all India of all sorts both\nsmall and great: and some are so great that they will fill two\npipes of water.\" Pyrard (i. 259) applies the name to \"certain\nhandsome jars, of finer shape and larger than I have seen\nelsewhere\" (Transl. by Albert Gray for the Hakluyt Soc. 1887).\nMr. Hill adds that at M\u00e1l\u00e9 the larger barrel-shaped jars of\nearthenware are still called \"M\u00e1tab\u00e1n,\" and Mr. P. Brown (Zillah\nDictionary, 1852) finds the word preserved upon the Madras coast\n= a black jar in which rice is imported from Pegu.\n\n[FN#243] The Arabic here changes person, \"he repeated\" after\nEastern Fashion, and confuses the tale to European readers.\n\n[FN#244] Such treasure trove belonging to the State, i.e. the\nKing.\n\n[FN#245] Arab. \"H\u00far\u00ed\" for \"H\u00far\" = a pool, marsh, or quagmire, in\nfact corresponding with our vulgar \"bogshop.\" Dr. Steingass would\nread \"Haur\u00ed,\" a \"mans\u00fab\" of \"Haur\" = pond, quagmire, which, in\nconnection with a Hammam, may = sink, sewer, etc.\n\n[FN#246] The Bedlam: see vol. i. 288.\n\n[FN#247] Arab. \"Tamtar aysh?\" (i.e. Ayyu shayyin, see vol. i.\n79). I may note that the vulgar abbreviation is of ancient date.\nAlso the Egyptian dialect has borrowed, from its ancestor the\nCoptic, the practice of putting the interrogatory pronoun or\nadverb after (not before the verb, e.g. \"R\u00e1'ih fayn?\" = Wending\n(art thou) whither? It is regretable that Egyptian scholars do\nnot see the absolute necessity of studying Coptic, and this\ndefault is the sole imperfection of the late Dr. Spitta Bey's\nadmirable Grammar of Egyptian.\n\n[FN#248] Arab. \"'Arsah,\" akin to \"Mu'arris\" (masc.) = a pimp, a\npander. See vol. i. 338; and Supp. vol. i. 206; and for its use\nPilgrimage i. 276.\n\n[FN#249] i.e. Ab\u00fa K\u00e1sim the Drummer. The word \"Tamb\u00far\" is\nprobably derived from \"Tabl\" = a drum, which became by the common\nchange of liquids \"Tabur\" in O. French and \"Tabour\" in English.\nHence the mod. form \"Tambour,\" which has been adopted by Turkey,\ne.g. Tamb\u00farji = a drummer. In Egypt, however, \"Tamb\u00far\" is applied\nto a manner of mandoline or guitar, mostly used by Greeks and\nother foreigners. See Lane, M.E. chap. xviii.\n\n[FN#250] Arab. \"B\u00e1l\" (sing. B\u00e1lah) = a bale, from the Span. Bala\nand Italian Balla, a small parcel made up in the shape of a bale,\nLat. Palla.\n\n[FN#251] Arab. \"Wal\u00e1sh,\" i.e. \"Was l\u00e1 shayya\" = \"And nihil\" (nil,\nnon ens, naught).\n\n[FN#252] Arab. \"Kurb\u00e1j\" = cravache: vol. viii. 17. The best are\nmade of hippopotamus-hide (imported from East Africa), boiled and\nhammered into a round form and tapering to the point. Plied by a\nstrong arm they cut like a knout.\n\n[FN#253] The text \"Y\u00e1 Sult\u00e1n-am,\" a Persian or Turkish form for\nthe Arab. \"Y\u00e1 Sult\u00e1n-i.\"\n\n[FN#254] In text \"Kalb\" for \"Kulbat\" = a cave, a cavern.\n\n[FN#255] The houses were of unbaked brick or cob, which readily\nmelts away in rain and requires annual repairing at the base of\nthe walls where affected by rain and dew. In Sind the damp of the\nearth with its nitrous humour eats away the foundations and soon\ncrumbles them to dust.\n\n[FN#256] Here meaning the under-Governor or head Clerk.\n\n[FN#257] \"N\u00edl\" (= the Nile), in vulgar Egyptian parlance the word\nis = \"high Nile,\" or the Nile in flood.\n\n[FN#258] Arab. \"Darwayshah\" = a she-Fak\u00edr, which in Europe would\nbe represented by that prime pest a begging nun.\n\n[FN#259] Arab. \"Allah h\u00e1fiz-ik\" = the popular Persian expression,\n\"Khud\u00e1 H\u00e1fiz!\"\n\n[FN#260] Arab. \"S\u00e1lihin\" = the Saints, the Holy Ones.\n\n[FN#261] Arab. \"Sharkh\" = in dicts. the unpolished blade of a\nhiltless sword.\n\n[FN#262] In the text \"Mil\u00e1yah,\" a cotton stuff some 6 feet long,\nwoven in small chequers of white and indigo-blue with an ending\nof red at either extremity. Men wrap it round the body or throw\nit over the shoulder like our plaid, whose colours I believe are\na survival of the old body-paintings, Pictish and others. The\nwoman's \"Mil\u00e1yah\" worn only out of doors may be of silk or\ncotton: it is made of two pieces which are sewed together\nlengthwise and these cover head and body like a hooded cloak.\nLane figures it in M.E. chapt. i. When a woman is too poor to own\na \"Mil\u00e1yah\" or a \"Habarah\" (a similar article) she will use a\nbed-sheet for out-of-doors work.\n\n[FN#263] The pun here is \"Khal\u00edy\u00e1t\" = bee-hive and empty: See\nvols. vi. 246; ix. 291. It will occur again in Supplementary vol.\nv. Night DCXLVI.\n\n[FN#264] i.e. Caravan, the common Eastern term. In India it was\nused for a fleet of merchantmen under convoy: see Col. Yule,\nGlossary, s. v.\n\n[FN#265] Again \"Bartam\u00e1n\" for \"Martab\u00e1n.\"\n\n[FN#266] The \"S\u00e1hib\" = owner, and the \"Dall\u00e1l\" = broker, are\nevidently the same person.\n\n[FN#267] \"Al\u00e0 k\u00e1m\" for \"kam\" (how much?)?peasants' speech.\n\n[FN#268] She has appeared already twice in The Nights, esp. in\nThe Tale of Gh\u00e1nim bin 'Ayy\u00fab (vol. ii. 45) and in Khalifah the\nFisherman of Baghdad (vol. viii. 145). I must again warn my\nreaders not to confound \"K\u00fat\" = food with \"Kuwwat\" = force, as in\nScott's \"Koout al Koolloob\" (vi. 146). See Terminal Essay p. 110.\n\n[FN#269] In text \"Mu'ammarjiyah\" (master-masons), a vulgar\nEgyptianism for \"Mu'ammarin.\" See \"J\u00e1washiyah,\" vols. ii. 49;\nviii. 330. In the third line below we find \"Muhandiz\u00edn\" =\ngeometricians, architects, for \"Muhandis\u00edn.\" [Perhaps a\nreminiscence of the Persian origin of the word \"Handasah\" =\ngeometry, which is derived from \"And\u00e1zah\" = measurement,\netc.  St.]\n\n[FN#270] The text ends this line in Arabic.\n\n[FN#271] Alluding to the curious phenomenon pithily expressed in\nthe Latin proverb, \"Suus cuique crepitus ben\u00e8 olet,\" I know of no\nexception to the rule, except amongst travellers in Tibet, where\nthe wild onion, the only procurable green-stuff, produces an\nodour so rank and fetid that men run away from their own\ncrepitations. The subject is not savoury, yet it has been\ncopiously illustrated: I once dined at a London house whose\nnameless owner, a noted bibliophile, especially of \"faceti\u00e6,\" had\nplaced upon the drawing-room table a dozen books treating of the\n\"Crepitus ventris.\" When the guests came up and drew near the\ntable, and opened the volumes, their faces were a study. For the\nArab. \"Faswah\" = a silent break wind, see vol. ix. 11 and 291. It\nis opposed to \"Zirt\" = a loud fart and the vulgar term, see vol.\nii. 88.\n\n[FN#272] Arab. \"Y\u00e1 H\u00e1z\u00e1,\" see vol. i. 290.\n\n[FN#273] In text \"Yumkinshayy,\" written in a single word, a\nfavourite expression, Fellah-like withal, throughout this MS.\n\n[FN#274] In text \"Tafazzal\u00fa;\" see vol. ii. 103.\n\n[FN#275] The word (Sar\u00e1y) is Pers. but naturalised throughout\nEgypt and Syria; in places like Damascus where there is no king\nit is applied to the official head-quarters of the Wal\u00ed\n(provincial governor), and contains the prison like the Maroccan\n\"Kasbah.\" It must not be confounded with \"Serraglio\" = the Harem,\nGynecium or women's rooms, which appears to be a bastard\nneo-Latin word \"Serrare,\" through the French Serrer. I therefore\nalways write it with the double \"canine letter.\"\n\n[FN#276] I have noted (vol. i. 95) that the \"Khil'ah\" = robe of\nhonour, consists of many articles, such as a horse, a gold-hilted\nsword, a fine turban, etc., etc.\n\n[FN#277] This again shows the \"Nakk\u00e1l\" or coffee-house\ntale-teller. See vol. x. 163.\n\n[FN#278] This is the Moslem version of \"Solomon's Judgment\" (1\nKings iii. 16-20). The Hebrew legend is more detailed but I\nprefer its rival for sundry reasons. Here the women are not\n\"harlots\" but the co-wives of one man and therefore hostile;\nmoreover poetical justice is done to the constructive murderess.\n\n[FN#279] I am not aware that the specific gravity of the milks\nhas ever been determined by modern science; and perhaps the\nexperiment is worthy a trial.\n\n[FN#280] Arab. \"D\u00fana-k.\" See vol. iv. p. 20.\n\n[FN#281] \"Al-Waz\u00edru'l-'Arif bi-ll\u00e1hi Ta'\u00e1l\u00e0,\" a title intended to\nmimic those of the Abbaside Caliphs; such as \"Mu'tasim bi'llah\"\n(servant of Allah), the first of the long line whose names begin\nwith an epithet (the Truster, the Implorer, etc.), and end with\n\"bi'llah.\"\n\n[FN#282] [Tarajjama, which is too frequently used in this MS. to\nbe merely considered as a clerical error, I suppose to mean: he\npronounced for him the formula: \"A'uzzu bi ll\u00e1hi mina 'l-Shayt\u00e1ni\n'l-Rajimi\" = I take refuge with Allah against Satan the Stoned.\nSee Koran xvi. 100. It would be thus equivalent with the usual\nta'awwaza.?St.]\n\n[FN#283] The MS. here ends Night cdxii. and begins the next. Up\nto this point I have followed the numeration but from this\nforwards as the Nights become unconscionably short compared with\nthe intervening dialogues, I have thrown two and sometimes three\ninto one. The Arabic numbers are, however, preserved for easier\nreference.\n\n[FN#284] This is a poor and scamped version of \"Ali the Persian\nand the Kurd Sharper,\" in vol. iv. 149. It is therefore omitted.\n\n[FN#285] The dish-cover, usually made of neatly plaited straw\nvariously coloured, is always used, not only for cleanliness but\nto prevent the Evil Eye falling upon and infecting the food.\n\n[FN#286] The \"B\u00e1miyah,\" which = the Gumbo, Occra (Okr\u00e1) or Bhendi\nof Brit. India which names the celebrated bazar of Bombay, is the\nesculent hibiscus, the polygonal pod (some three inches long and\nthick as a man's finger) full of seeds and mucilage making it an\nexcellent material for soups and stews. It is a favourite dish in\nEgypt and usually eaten with a squeeze of lime-juice. See Lane,\nMod. Egypt. chapt. v., and Herklots (App. p. xlii.) who notices\nthe curry of \"Bandak\u00ed\" or Hibiscus esculentus.\n\n[FN#287] Written \"Baksh\u00edsh\" for \"Bakhsh\u00edsh,\" after Fellah-fashion.\n\n[FN#288] [In the MS.: Wa'l-Sult\u00e1nu karaa Wirduh (Wirda-hu) wa\njalasa li 'l-Mun\u00e1damah = And the Sovran recited his appointed\nportion of the Koran, and then sat down to convivial converse.\nThis reminds of the various passages of the present Shah of\nPersia's Diary, in which he mentions the performance of his\nevening devotions, before setting out for some social gathering,\nsay a supper in the Guildhall, which he neatly explains as a\ndinner after midnight (Sh\u00e1m ba'd az nisf-i-shab).?St.]\n\n[FN#289] This is Scott's \"Story of the Three Princes and\nEnchanting Bird,\" vol. vi. 160. On the margin of the W. M. MS. he\nhas written, \"Story of the King and his Three Sons and the\nEnchanting Bird\" (vol. i. Night cdxvii.). Gauttier, vi. 292,\nnames it Histoire des Trois Princes et de l'Oiseau Magicien.\nGalland may have used parts of it in the \"Two Sisters who envied\ntheir Cadette\": see Supp. vol. iii. pp. 492-549.\n\n[FN#290] In text \"Al-Bulaybul\" (the little Nightingale,\nPhilomelet) \"Al Sayy\u00e1h\" (the Shrieker). The latter epithet\nsuggests to me the German novel which begins, \"We are in Italy\nwhere roses bestink the day and Nightingales howl through the\nlive-long night,\" &c.\n\n[FN#291] \"Sanj\u00e1k,\" Turk. = flag, banner, and here used (as in\nvulg. Arab.) for Sanj\u00e1k-d\u00e1r, the banner-bearer, ensign. In mod.\nparlance, Sanj\u00e1k = minor province, of which sundry are included\nin an \"Iy\u00e1lah\" = government-general, under the rule of a W\u00e1li\n(Wil\u00e1yah).\n\n[FN#292] In the MS. \"Zifr\" = nail, claw, talon.\n\n[FN#293] \"Al-Rizk maks\u00fam,\" an old and sage byword pregnant with\nsignificance: compare \"Al-Khauf (fear) maks\u00fam\" = cowardice is\nequally divided. Vol. iii. 173. [I read: \"Yas'\u00e0 'l-Kadamu\nli-'Umrin dan\u00e0 au li-Rizkin qusima,\" taking \"Rizk\" as an\nequivalent for \"al-Rizku 'l-hasanu\" = any good thing which a man\nobtains without exerting himself in seeking for it, and the\npassive \"qusima\" in the sense of Kismah, vulgo \"Kismet.\" Hence I\nwould translate: The foot speeds to a life that is mean, or to a\nboon that is pre-ordained.?St.]\n\n[FN#294] In the text \"B\u00e1t\" (for Bit), in Fellah-speech \"Pass the\nnight here!\" The Bird thus makes appeal to the honour and\nhospitality of his would-be captor, and punishes him if he\nconsent. I have translated after Scott (v. 161). [I cannot\npersuade myself to take \"b\u00e1t\" for an imperative, which would\nrather be \"b\u00edt\" for \"bit,\" as we shall find \"k\u00fam\" for \"kum,\"\n\"r\u00fah\" for \"ruh.\" It seems to me that the preterite \"b\u00e1t\" means\nhere \"the night has passed,\" and rendering \"man\" by the\ninterrogative, I would translate: \"O! who will say to the sad,\nthe separated, night is over?\" Complaints of the length of night\nare frequent with the parted in Arab poetry. This accords also\nbetter with the following 'At\u00fas al-Shams, the sneezing of the\nsun, which to my knowledge, applies only to daybreak, as in\nHariri's 15th Assembly (al-Farz\u00edyah), where \"the nose of the\nmorning\" sneezes.?St.]\n\n[FN#295] i.e., they bound kerchiefs stained blue or almost black\nround their brows. In modern days Fellah women stain their veils\n(face and head), kerchiefs and shirts with indigo; and some\ncolour their forearms to the elbow.\n\n[FN#296] Here again and in the following adventure we have\n\"Khudadad and his Brothers.\" Suppl. vol. iii. 209-304.\n\n[FN#297] In sign of despair. See vol. i. 298.\n\n[FN#298] In text \"Kalam\u00e1tu 'llah\" = the Koran: and the quotation\nis from chapt. cxiii. 5. For the \"Two Refuge-takings\"\n(Al-Mu'awizzat\u00e1ni), see vol. iii. 222.\n\n[FN#299] i.e., caused his brothers to recover life. [I read:\nAllaz\u00ed 'amaltu f\u00ed-him nat\u00edjah yuj\u00e1z\u00fan\u00ed bi-Ziddi-h\u00e1 = Those to\nwhom I did a good turn, requite me with the contrary thereof.\nAllaz\u00ed, originally the masc. Sing. is in this MS. vulgarly, like\nits still more vulgar later contraction, \"ill\u00ed,\" used for both\ngenders and the three numbers.?St.]\n\n[FN#300] Arab. \"H\u00e1zir!\" I have noted that this word, in Egypt and Syria, corresponds with the English waiter's \"Yes sir!\"\n\n[FN#301] Koran, Chapter of Joseph, xii. 19.\n\n[FN#302] Arab. \"Han\u00fat:\" this custom has become almost obsolete:\nthe corpse is now sprinkled with a mixture of water, camphor\ndiluted and the dried and pounded leaves of various trees,\nespecially the \"Nabk\" (lote-tree or Zizyphus lotus).?Lane M.E.\nchapt. xxviii.\n\n[FN#303] These comical measures were taken by \"Miss Lucy\" in\norder to charm away the Evil Eye which had fascinated the article in question. Such temporary impotence in a vigorous man, which results from an exceptional action of the brain and the nervous system, was called in old French Nouement des aiguilettes (i.e. point-tying, the points which fastened the haut-de-chausses or hose to the jerkin, and its modern equivalent would be to \"button up the flap\"). For its cure, the \"D\u00e9liement des aiguilettes\" see Davenport \"Aphrodisiacs\" p. 36, and the French translation of the Shaykh al-Nafz\u00e1wi (Jardin Parfum\u00e9, chapt. xvii. pp. 251-53). The Moslem heal such impotence by the usual simples, but the girl in the text adopts a moral course of treatment which buries the dead parts in\norder to resurrect them. A friend of mine, a young and vigorous\nofficer, was healed by a similar process. He had carried off a\nsergeant's wife, and the husband lurked about the bungalow to\nshoot him, a copper cap being found under the window: hence a state of nervousness which induced perfect impotence. He applied to the regimental surgeon, happily a practised hand, and was gravely supplied with pills and a draught; his diet was carefully regulated and he was ordered to sleep by the woman but by no means to touch her for ten days. On the fifth he came to his adviser with a sheepish face and told him that he had not wholly followed the course prescribed, as last night he had suddenly?by the blessing of the draught and the pills?recovered and had given palpable evidence of his pristine vigour. The surgeon deprecated such proceeding until the patient should have had full benefit of his drugs?bread pills and cinnamon-water.\n\n[FN#304] Here ends vol. iii. of the W. M. MS. and begins Night\ncdxxvi.\n\n[FN#305] In the Text \"R\u00edsah,\" copyist's error for \"R\u00edshah\" = a\nthread, a line: it afterwards proves to be an ornament for a\nfalcon's neck. [I cannot bring myself to adopt here the\nexplanation of \"R\u00edshah\" as a string instead of its usual meaning\nof \"feather,\" \"plume.\" My reasons are the following: 1. The youth sets it upon his head; that is, I suppose, his cap, or whatever his head-gear may be, which seems a more appropriate place for a feather than for a necklace. 2. Further on, Night cdxxx., it is said that the Prince left the residence of his second spouse in search (tal\u00edb) of the city of the bird. If the word \"R\u00edshah,\" which, in the signification of thread, is Persian, had been sufficiently familiar to an Arab to suggest, as a matter of course, a bird's necklace, and hence the bird itself, we would probably find a trace of this particular meaning, if not in other Arabic books, at least in Persian writers or dictionaries; but here the word \"R\u00edshah,\" by some pronounced \"Reshah\" with the Y\u00e1 majh\u00fal, never occurs in connection with jewels; it means fringe, filament, fibre. On the other hand, the suggestion of the bird presents itself quite naturally at the sight of the feather. 3. Ib. p. 269 the youth requests the old man to tell him concerning the \"Tayrah allaz\u00ed R\u00edsh-h\u00e1 (not Rishat-h\u00e1) min Ma'\u00e1din,\" which, I believe, can only be rendered by: the bird whose plumage is of precious stones. The \"R\u00edshah\" itself was said to be \"min Zumurrud wa L\u00fal\u00fa,\" of emeralds and pearls; and the cage will be \"min Ma'\u00e1din wa L\u00fal\u00fa,\" of precious stones and pearls, in all which cases the use of the preposition \"min\" points more particularly to the material of which the objects are wrought than the mere Iz\u00e1fah. The wonderfulness of the bird seems therefore rather to consist in his jewelled plumage than the gift of speech or other\nenchanting qualities, and I would take it for one of those costly toys, in imitation of trees and animals, in which Eastern princes rejoice, and of which we read so many descriptions, not only in books of fiction, but even in historical works. If it were a live-bird of the other kind, he would probably have put in his word to expose the false brothers of the Prince.?St.]\n\n[FN#306] This is conjectural: the text has a correction which is\nhardly legible. [I read: \"Wa l\u00e1kin h\u00fa ajmalu min-hum bi-jam\u00e1lin\nmufritin, lakinnahu matr\u00fadun h\u00fa wa ummu-hu\" = \"and yet he was\nmore beautiful than they with surpassing beauty, but he was an\noutcast, he and his mother,\" as an explanation, by way of\nparenthesis, for their daring to treat him so shamefully.?St.]\n\n[FN#307] The venerable myth of Andromeda and Perseus (who is\nHorus in disguise) brought down to Saint George (his latest\ndescendant), the Dragon (Typhon) and the fair Saba in the \"Seven\nChampions of Christendom.\" See my friend M. Clermont Ganneau's\nHorus et Saint-Georges; Mr. J. R. Anderson's \"Saint Mark's Rest;\nthe Place of Dragons;\" and my \"Book of the Sword,\" chapt. ix.\n\n[FN#308] i.e. there was a great movement and confusion.\n\n[FN#309] [In the text 'Af\u00e1r, a word frequently joined with\n\"Ghub\u00e1r,\" dust, for the sake of emphasis; hence we will find in\nNight ccccxxix. the verb \"yu'affiru,\" he was raising a\ndust-cloud.?St.]\n\n[FN#310] Upon the subject of \"throwing the kerchief\" see vol. vi. 285. Here it is done simply as a previously concerted signal of recognition.\n\n[FN#311] In text \"'Al\u00e1 Yad\u00edn;\" for which vulgarism see vol. iii.\n51.\n\n[FN#312] Elephants are usually, as Cuvier said of the (Christian) \"Devil\" after a look at his horns and hoofs, vegetarians.\n\n[FN#313] [The MS. has \"yughaffiru wa yuzaghdimu.\" The former\nstands probably for \"yu'aff\u00edru,\" for which see supra p. 262,\nnote 2. The writing is, however, so indistinct that possibly\n\"yufaghghiru\" is intended, which means he opened his mouth wide.\n\"Yuzaghdimu\" is one of those quadriliterals which are formed by\nblending two triliterals in one verb, in order to intensify the\nidea. \"Zaghada\" and \"Zaghama\" mean both \"he roared,\" more\nespecially applied to a camel, and by joining the \"d\" of the one\nwith the \"m\" of the other, we obtain \"Zaghdama,\" he roared\nfiercely.?St.]\n\n[FN#314] [S\u00e1ra'a-hu wa l\u00e1wa'a-hu = he rushed upon him and worried\nhim. The root law' means to enfeeble, render sick, especially\napplied to love-sickness (Lau'ah). The present 3rd form is rarely\nused, but here and in a later passage, Night cdxlv., the context\nbears out the sense of harassing.?St.]\n\n[FN#315] In text \"Zagh\u00e1rit\" plur. of Zaghr\u00fatah: see vol. ii. p.\n80.\n\n[FN#316] [Y\u00e1 walad al-Hal\u00e1l. I would translate: \"O! son of a\nlawful wedlock,\" simply meaning that he takes him to be a decent\nfellow, not a scamp or Walad al-Har\u00e1m.?St.]\n\n[FN#317] The repetition is a sign of kindness and friendliness;\nsee vol. vi. 370.\n\n[FN#318] This Arabian \"Satt\u00e1r\" corresponds passing well with\n\"Jupiter Servator.\"\n\n[FN#319] \"Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast\nperfected praise.\" Matt. Xxi. 16. The idea is not less Moslem\nthan Christian.\n\n[FN#320] [I read \"Sarkhah adwat la-h\u00e1 al-Sar\u00e1yah\" = a cry to\nwhich the palace-women raised an echo, a cry re-echoed by the\npalace-women. \"Adw\u00e1\" is the fourth form of \"Dawiya,\" to hum or\nbuzz, to produce an indistinct noise, and it is vulgarly used in\nthe above sense, like the substantive \"Dawi,\" an echo. Al-Sar\u00e1yah\nis perhaps only an Arabised form of the Persian Sar\u00e1y, and the\nsentence might be, to which the palace resounded.?St.]\n\n[FN#321] The Princess is not logical: on the other hand she may\nplead that she is right.\n\n[FN#322] Arab. \"Ma'l\u00famah,\" which may also mean the \"made known,\"\nor \"aforementioned.\"\n\n[FN#323] A sensible remark which shows that the King did not\nbelong to the order called by Mr. Matthew Arnold \"Barbarians.\"\n\n[FN#324] In text: \"Rajul Ja'\u00edd\u00ed,\" for which see p. 14.\n\n[FN#325] Arab. \"Fidawiyah,\" sing. \"Fid\u00e1wi\" = lit. one who gives\nhis life to a noble cause, a forlorn hope, esp. applied to the\nIsmai'liyah race, disciples of the \"Assassin\" Hasan-i-Sab\u00e1h. See\nDe Sacy, \"M\u00e9moire sur les Assassins M\u00e9m. de l'Institut,\" etc. iv.\n7 et seqq. Hence perhaps a castaway, a \"perdido,\" one careless of\nhis life. I suspect, however, that is is an Egyptianised form of\nthe Pers. \"Fid\u00e1'i\" = a robber, a murderer. The Lat. Catalogue\nprefers \"Sicarius\" which here cannot be the meaning.\n\n[FN#326] Arab. \"Kirsh,\" pop. \"Girsh.\"\n\n[FN#327] I have noticed that there is a Shaykh or head of the\nGuild, even for thieves, in most Moslem capitals. See vol. vi.\n204.\n\n[FN#328] Here is the normal enallage of persons, \"luh\" = to him\nfor \"l\u00ed\" = to me.\n\n[FN#329] In text \"Na'mil ma'allaz\u00ed, etc....mak\u00eddah.\" I have\nattempted to preserve the idiom.\n\n[FN#330] [In the MS. \"al-'Ashrah Miah,\" which, I think, can\nscarcely be translated by \"ten times one hundred.\" If Miah were\ndependent on al-'Ashrah, the latter could not have the article. I\npropose therefore to render \"one hundred for the (i.e. every)\nten\" = tenfold.?St.]\n\n[FN#331] For this \"nosebag,\" see vols. ii. 52, and vi. 151, 192.\n\n[FN#332] [Until here the change from the first person into the\nthird, as pointed out in note 2, has been kept up in the MS.?\"He\nreached the barracks,\" \"he found,\" etc. Now suddenly the gender\nchanges as well, and the tale continues: \"And lo, the girl went\nto them and said,\" etc. etc. This looseness of style may, in the\nmouth of an Eastern R\u00e1w\u00ed, have an additional dramatic charm for\nhis more eager than critical audience; but it would be\nintolerable to European readers. Sir Richard has, therefore, very\nproperly substituted the first person all through.?St.]\n\n[FN#333] \"Riy\u00e1l\" is from the Span. \"Real\" = royal (coin): in\nEgypt it was so named by order of Ali Bey, the Mameluke, in A.H.\n1183 (A.D. 1771-72) and it was worth ninety Faddahs = 5 2/5d. The\nword, however, is still applied to the dollar proper (Maria\nTheresa), to the Riy\u00e1l Frans\u00e1 or five-france piece and to the\nSpan. pillar dollar: the latter is also nicknamed \"Abu Madfa'\"\nFather of a Cannon (the columns being mistaken for cannons); also\nthe Ab\u00fa T\u00e1kah (Father of a Window), whence we obtain the\nEuropeanised \"Patacco\" (see Lane, Appendix ii.) and \"Pataca,\"\nwhich Littr\u00e9 confounds with the \"Patard\" and of which he ignores\nthe origin.\n\n[FN#334] See The Nights, vol. x. 12.\n\n[FN#335] i.e. \"pleasant,\" \"enjoyable\"; see \"White as milk\"\nopposed to \"black as mud,\" etc., vol. iv. 140. Here it is after a\nfashion synonymous with the French nuit blanche.\n\n[FN#336] [The MS. seems here to read \"wa jasad-hu yuhazdimu,\"\n(thus at least the word, would have to be vocalised if it were a\nquadriliteral verbal form), and of this I cannot make out any\nsense. I suspect the final syllable is meant for \"Dam,\" blood, of\nwhich a few lines lower down the plural \"Dim\u00e1\" occurs. Remains to\naccount for the characters immediately preceding it. I think that\neither the upper dot of the Arabic belongs to the first radical\ninstead of the second, reading \"yukhirru,\" as the fourth or\ncausative form of \"kharra yakhurru,\" to flow, to ripple, to purl;\nor that the two dots beneath are to be divided between the first\ntwo characters, reading \"bajaza.\" The latter, it is true, is no\ndictionary word, but we have found supra p. 228, \"muhandiz\" for\n\"muhandis,\" so here \"bajaza\" may stand for \"bajasa\" = gushed\nforth, used intransitively and transitively. In either case the\ntranslation would be \"his body was emitting blood freely.\"?St.]\n\n[FN#337] The MS. here is hardly intelligible but the sense shows\nthe word to be \"Misallah\" (plur. \"Mis\u00e1ll\") = a large needle for\nsewing canvas, &c. In Egypt the usual pronunciation is\n\"Musallah,\" hence the vulgar name of Cleopatra's needle \"Musallat\nFar'aun\" (of Pharaoh) the two terms contending for which shall be\nthe more absurd. I may note that Commander Gorridge, the\ndistinguished officer of the U.S. Navy who safely and easily\ncarried the \"Needle\" to New York after the English had made a\nprodigious mess with their obelisk, showed me upon the freshly\nuncovered base of the pillar the most distinct intaglio\nrepresentations of masonic implements, the plumb-line, the\nsquare, the compass, and so forth. These, however, I attributed\nto masonry as the craft, to the guild; he to Freemasonry, which\nin my belief was unknown to the Greeks and Romans, and is never\nmentioned in history before the eight Crusades (A.D. 1096-1270).\nThe practices and procedure were evidently borrowed from the\nvarious Vehms and secret societies which then influenced the\nMoslem world, and our modern lodges have strictly preserved in\nthe \"Architect of the Universe,\" Arian and Moslem Unitarianism as\nopposed to Athanasian and Christian Tritheism; they admit the Jew\nand the Mussulman as apprentices, but they refuse the Hindu and the Pagan. It seems now the fashion to run down the mystic craft, to describe it as a \"goose-club\" and no more; it is, however, sleeping, not dead; the charities of the brethren are still active, and the society still takes an active part in politics throughout the East. As the late Pope Pius IX. (fitly nicknamed \"Pio no-no\"), a free mason himself, forbade Freemasonry to his church because a secret society is incompatible with oral confession (and priestcraft tolerates only its own mysteries), and made excommunication the penalty, the French lodges have dwindled away and the English have thriven upon their decay, thus enlisting a host of neophytes who, when the struggle shall come on, may lend excellent aid.\n\n[FN#338] The \"Jan\u00e1zah\" or bier, is often made of planks loosely\nnailed or pegged together into a stretcher or platform, and it\nwould be easy to thrust a skewer between the joints. I may remind\nthe reader that \"Jan\u00e1zah\" = a bier with a corpse thereon (vol.\nii. 46), whereas the \"Sar\u00edr\" is the same when unburdened, and the\n\"Na'ash\" is a box like our coffin, but open at the tip.\n\n[FN#339] [In the Arab. Text \"They will recognise me,\" which I\nwould rather refer to the Vagabonds than to the crowd, as the\nlatter merely cries wonder at the resuscitation, without\napparently troubling much about the wonder-worker.?St.]\n\n[FN#340] [Ar. \"na't\u00e1zu,\" viii. form of '\u00e1za = it escaped, was\nmissing, lacked, hence the meaning of this form, \"we are in want\nof,\" \"we need.\"?St.]\n\n[FN#341] For the \"Ardabb\" (prop. \"Irdabb\") = five bushels: see\nvol. i. 263.\n\n[FN#342] [In the MS. \"'Ayyinah,\" probably a mis-reading for\n\"'Ayniyyah\" = a sample, pattern.?St.]\n\n[FN#343] In text \"Kubbah\" = vault, cupola, the dome of unbaked\nbrick upon peasants' houses in parts of Egypt and Syria, where\nwood for the \"Sat'h\" or flat roof is scarce. The household\ngranary is in the garret, from which the base of the dome\nsprings, and the \"expense-magazines\" consist of huge standing\ncoffers of wattle and dab propped against the outside walls of\nthe house.\n\n[FN#344] Gen. \"Bays\u00e1r\" or \"Fays\u00e1r,\" = beans cooked in honey and\nmilk. See retro, Night ccclxxxviii., for its laxative properties.\n\n[FN#345] [In the MS. \"barbastu,\" with the dental instead of the\npalatal sibilant (S\u00edn instead of S\u00e1d). Spelled in the former way\nthe verb \"barbasa\" means, he sought, looked for, and is therefore\nout of place here. Spelled in the second manner, it signifies\nliterally, he watered the ground abundantly. Presently we shall\nfind the passive participle \"mubarbasah\" in the feminine, because\nreferring to the noun \"T\u00edz\" = anus, which, like its synonym,\n\"Ist,\" professes the female gender. ?St.]\n\n[FN#346] [In Ar. \"Mubarbasah,\" for which see the preceding\nnote.?St.]\n\n[FN#347] The Moslem's tomb is an arched vault of plastered brick,\nlarge enough for a man to sit up at ease and answer the\nQuestioning Angels; and the earth must not touch the corpse as it\nis supposed to cause torture. In the graves of the poorer classes\na niche (lahad) offsets from the fosse and is rudely roofed with\npalm-fronds and thatch. The trick played in the text is therefore\neasy; see Lane's illustration M.E. chapt. xviii. The reader will\nnot forget that all Moslems make water squatting upon their\nhunkers ina position hardly possible to an untrained European:\nsee vol. i. 259.\n\n[FN#348] The bull being used in the East to turn the mill and the\nwater-wheel; vol. i. 16.\n\n[FN#349] In text \"Ratl.\" See vol. iv. 124.\n\n[FN#350] About 1s. 2d.\n\n[FN#351] The man was therefore in hiding for some crime. [The MS.\nhas \"l\u00e1 tafzah-n\u00ed\" = Do not rend my reputation, etc. I would,\ntherefore, translate \"S\u00e1hib-h\u00e1\" by \"her lover,\" and suggest that\nthe crime in question is simply what the French call\n\"conversation criminelle.\"?St.]\n\n[FN#352] The \"'Ish\u00e1\"-prayer (called in Egypt \"'Esh\u00e8\") consists of\nten \"Ruka'\u00e1t\" = bows or inclinations of the body (not \"of the\nhead\" as Lane has it, M.E. chapt. iii.): of these four are\n\"Sunnah\" = traditional or customary (of the Prophet), four are\nFarz (divinely appointed i.e. by the Koran) and two again Sunnah.\nThe hour is nightfall when the evening has closed in with some\nminor distinctions, e.g. the Hanaf\u00ed waits till the whiteness and\nthe red gleam in the west (\"Al-Shafak al-ahmar\") have wholly\ndisappeared, and the other three orthodox only till the ruddy\nlight has waned. The object of avoiding sundowntide (and sunrise\nequally) was to distinguish these hours of orisons from those of\nthe Guebres and other faiths which venerate, or are supposed to\nvenerate, the sun.\n\n[FN#353] Scott. \"History of the Sultan of Hind,\" vol. vi.\n194-209.\n\n[FN#354] Red robes being a sign of displeasure: see vol. iv. 72;\nScott (p. 294) wrongly makes them \"robes of mourning.\"\n\n[FN#355] A Moslem negroid from Central and Western North Africa.\nSee vol. ii. 15. They share in popular opinion the reputation of\nthe Maghrabi or Maroccan for magical powers.\n\n[FN#356] This is introduced by the translator; as usual with such\nunedited tales, the name does not occur till much after the\nproper place for specifying it.\n\n[FN#357] In text \"Iz lam naakhaz-h\u00e1, wa-ill\u00e1,\" &c. A fair\nspecimen of Arab. ellipsis.?If I catch her not ('twill go hard\nwith me), and unless (I catch her) I will, &c.\n\n[FN#358] i.e. \"How far is the fowl from thee!\"\n\n[FN#359] [In the MS. \"turayyih,\" a modern form for \"turawwih.\"?ST.]\n\n[FN#360] [The above translation pre-supposes the reading \"Farkhah\nl\u00e1 atammat,\" and would require, I believe, the conjunction\n\"hatt\u00e0\" or \"il\u00e0 an\" to express \"till.\" I read with the MS. \"l\u00e1\ntammat,\" and would translate: \"a chick not yet full grown, when\nthe crow seized it and flew away with it,\" as a complaint of the\nfather for the anticipated untimely end of his son.?ST.]\n\n[FN#361] For \"'Aun,\" a high degree amongst the \"Genies,\" see vol.\niv. p. 83. Readers will be pleased with this description of a\nJinni; and not a few will regret that they have not one at\ncommand. Yet the history of man's locomotion compels us to\nbelieve that we are progressing towards the time when humanity\nwill become volatile. Pre-historic Adam was condemned to \"Shanks\nhis mare,\" or to \"go on footback,\" as the Boers have it, and his\nearliest step was the chariot; for, curious to say, driving\namongst most peoples preceded riding, as the row-boat forewent\nthe sailer. But as men increased and the world became smaller and\ntime shorter the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries, after\nmany abortive attempts, converted the chariot into a railway-car\nand the sailer into a steamer. Aerostatics are still in their\ninfancy and will grow but little until human society shall find\nsome form of flying an absolute necessity when, as is the history\nof all inventions, the winged woman (and her man) of Peter\nWilkins will pass from fiction into fact. But long generations\nmust come and go before \"homo sapiens\" can expect to perfect a\npractice which in the present state of mundane society would be\nfatal to all welfare.\n\n[FN#362] Scott (p. 200) \"Welcome to the sovereign of the Aoon,\nfriendly to his brethren,\" (sidd\u00edk al Akhw\u00e1n) etc. Elsewhere he\nspeaks of \"the Oone.\"\n\n[FN#363] So he carried a portable \"toilette,\" like a certain\nCrown Prince and Prince Bahman in Suppl. vol. iii. 329.\n\n[FN#364] There is another form of the saw in verse:?\n\nGood is good and he's best whoso worketh it first; * And ill is\nfor me of provisions the worst.\n\nThe provision is = viaticum, provaunt for the way.\n\n[The MS. has \"akram\" and \"azlam\" = \"the more generous,\" \"the more\niniquitous,\" meaning that while good should be requited by good,\nand evil provokes further evil in retaliation, the beginner in\neither case deserves the greater praise or blame.?ST.]\n\n[FN#365] I have noted (vols. iii. 75, and viii. 266) that there\nare two \"Soudans\" as we write the word, one Eastern upon the\nUpper Nile Valley and the other Western and drained by the Niger\nwater-shed. The former is here meant. It is or should be a word\nof shame to English ears after the ungodly murder and massacre of\nthe gallant \"Soudanese\" negroids who had ever been most friendly\nto us and whom with scant reason to boast we attacked and\ndestroyed because they aspired to become free from Turkish\ntask-masters and Egyptian tax-gatherers. That such horrors were\nperpetrated by order of one of the most humane amongst our\nstatesmen proves and decidedly proves one thing, an intense\nignorance of geography and ethnology.\n\n[FN#366] [In the MS. \"law\u00e1 'a-hu\" for which Sir Richard\nconjectures the reading \"lawwahahu\" taking the pronoun to refer\nto the sword. I believe, however, the word to be a clerical error\nfor our old acquaintance \"l\u00e1wa'a-hu\" (see supra p. 266) and,\nreferring the pronoun in the three verbs to the Lion, would\ntranslate: \"and he worried him,\" etc.?ST.]\n\n[FN#367] Arab. \"Al-bash\u00e1rah,\" see vol. i. 30: Scott has (vi. 204)\n\"Good tidings to our sovereign.\"\n\n[FN#368] [The MS. is here rather indistinct; still, as far as I\ncan make out, it runs: \"wa Hakki man aul\u00e0n\u00ed h\u00e1z\u00e1 'l-Mulk\" = and by the right of (i.e. my duty towards) Him who made me ruler over\nthis kingdom.?ST.]\n\n[FN#369] [The word in the MS. is difficult to decipher. In a\nlater passage we find corresponding with it the expression\n\"yum\u00e1zasa-hu f\u00ed 'l-Kal\u00e1m,\" which is evidently a clerical error\nfor \"yum\u00e1rasa-hu\" = he tested or tried him in his speech.\nAccordingly I would read here: \"yakhburu ma'ahu f\u00ed 'l-Kal\u00e1m,\"\nlit. = he experimented with him, i.e. put him to his test. The idea seems to be, that he first cross-examined him and then tried to intimidate him. With this explanation \"yus\u00e1h\u00ed-hu\" and later on\n\"yulh\u00ed-hu\" would tally, which both have about the same meaning:\nto divert the attention, to make forget one thing over another,\nhence to confuse and lead one to contradict himself.?ST.]\n\n[FN#370] Here we find the old superstitious idea that no census\nor \"numbering of the people\" should take place save by direct\ncommand of the Creator. Compare the pestilence which arose in the\nlatter days of David when Joab by command of the King undertook\nthe work (2 Sam. xxiv. 1-9, etc.).\n\n[FN#371] The text has \"Sal\u00e1s\u00edn\" = thirty, evidently a clerical\nerror.\n\n[FN#372] [In Ar. \"yanjaaru,\" vii. form of \"jaara\" (med. Hamzah),\nin which the idea of \"raising,\" \"lifting up,\" seems to prevail,\nfor it is used for raising the voice in prayer to God, and for\nthe growing high of plants.?ST.]\n\n[FN#373] The text, which is wholly unedited, reads, \"He found the\nbeasts and their loads (? the camels) and the learned men,\" &c. A\nnew form of \"bos atque sacerdos\" and of place pour les \u00e2nes et\nles savants, as the French soldiers cried in Egypt when the\nscientists were admitted into the squares of infantry formed\nagainst the doughty Mameluke cavalry.\n\n[FN#374] [In the MS. \"w\u00e1raytan\u00ed il\u00e0 l-tur\u00e1b\" = thou hast given me\nover to the ground for concealment, iii. form of \"war\u00e0,\" which\ntakes the meaning of \"hiding,\" \"keeping secret.\"?ST.]\n\n[FN#375] [The MS. has \"wa dazz-h\u00e1,\" which is an evident\ncorruption. The translator, placing the diacritical point over\nthe first radical instead of the second, reads \"wa zarr-h\u00e1,\" and\nrenders accordingly. But if in the MS. the dot is misplaced, the\nTashdid over it would probably also belong to the D\u00e1l, resp. Zal,\nand as it is very feasible that a careless writer should have\ndropped one W\u00e1w before another, I am inclined to read \"wa\nwazzar-ha\" = \"and he left her,\" \"let her go,\" \"set her free.\" In\nclassical Arabic only the imperative \"Zar,\" and the aorist\n\"yazaru\" of the verb \"wazara\" occur in this sense, while the\npreterite is replaced by \"taraka,\" or some other synonym. But the\nlanguage of the common people would not hesitate to use a form\nscorned by the grammarians, and even to improve upon it by\nderiving from it one of their favourite intensives.?St.]\n\n[FN#376] Both are civil forms of refusal: for the first see vols.\ni. 32; vi. 216; and for the second ix. 309.\n\n[FN#377] Everything being fair in love and war and dealing with a\n\"K\u00e1fir,\" i.e. a non-Moslem.\n\n[FN#378] In text \"Labbayka\" = here am I: see vol. i. 226.\n\n[FN#379] In text \"'\u00dad Khayzar\u00e1n\" = wood of the rattan, which is\norig. \"Rota,\" from the Malay \"Rotan.\" Vol. ii. 66, &c.\n\n[FN#380] [In the MS. \"al-Zam\u00e1n.\" The translation here adopted is\nplausible enough. Still I think it probable that the careless\nscribe has omitted the words \"y\u00e1 al-Malik\" before it, and meant\nto write \"O king of the age!\" as in so many preceding places.-\n-St.]\n\n[FN#381] Arab. \"Al-Kuhn\u00e1,\" plur. of \"K\u00e1hin 't\" = diviner, priest\n(non-Levitical): see \"Cohen,\" ii. 221. [The form is rather\ncurious. The Dictionaries quote \"Kuhn\u00e1\" as a Syriac singular, but\nhere it seems to be taken as a plural of the measure \"fu'al\u00e1\"\n(Kuhan\u00e1), like Umar\u00e1 of Am\u00edr or Shu'ar\u00e1 of Sh\u00e1'ir. The usual\nplurals of K\u00e1hin are Kahanah and Kuhh\u00e1n.?St.]\n\n[FN#382] This is the celebrated incident in \"Alaeddin,\" \"New lamps for old:\" See Suppl. vol. iii. 160.\n\n[FN#383] In text \"Jazd\u00e1n\" = a pencase (Pers.) more pop. called\n\"Kalamd\u00e1n\" = reed-box, vol. iv. 167: Scott (p. 212) has a\n\"writing-stand.\" It appears a queer place wherein to keep a ring,\nbut Easterns often store in these highly ornamented boxes signets\nand other small matters.\n\n[FN#384] Arab. \"Bahr al-Muh\u00edt\" = Circumambient Ocean; see vol. i.\n133.\n\n[FN#385] Arab. \"F\u00e1r\" (plur. \"Fir\u00e1n\") = mouse rather than rat.\n\n[FN#386] Sleep at this time is considered very unwholesome by\nEasterns. See under \"Kayl\u00falah\" = siesta, vols. i. 51; ii. 178,\nand viii. 191.\n\n[FN#387] Modern science which, out of the depths of its\nself-consciousness, has settled so many disputed questions,\nspeaking by the organs of Messieurs Woodman and Tidy (\"Medical\nJurisprudence\") has decided that none of the lower animals can\nbear issue to man. But the voice of the world is against them and\nas Voltaire says one cannot be cleverer than everybody. To begin\nwith there is the will: the she-quadruman shows a distinct lust\nfor man by fondling him and displaying her parts as if to entice\nhim. That carnal connection has actually taken place cannot be\ndoubted: my late friend Mirza Ali Akbar, of Bombay, the famous\nMunshi to Sir Charles Napier during the conquest of Sind, a man\nperfectly veracious and trustworthy, assured me that in the\nGujar\u00e1t province he had witnessed a case with his own eyes. He\nhad gone out \"to the jungle,\" as the phrase is, with another\nMoslem who, after keeping him waiting for an unconscionable time,\nwas found carnally united to a she-monkey. My friend, indignant\nas a good Moslem should be, reproved him for his bestiality and\nthen asked him how it had come to pass: the man answered that the\nshe-monkey came regularly to look at him on certain occasions,\nthat he was in the habit of throwing her something to eat and\nthat her gratitude displayed such sexuality that he was tempted\nand \"fell.\" That the male monkey shows an equal desire for the\nwoman is known to every frequenter of the \"Zoo.\" I once led a\nparty of English girls to see a collection of mandrils and other\nanthropoid apes in the M\u00e9nagerie of a well-known Russian\nmillionaire, near Florence, when the Priapism displayed, was such\nthat the girls turned back and fled in fright. In the\nmother-lands of these anthropoids (the Gaboon, Malacca etc.,) the\nbelief is universal and women have the liveliest fear of them. In\n1853 when the Crimean war was brewing a dog-faced baboon in Cairo\nbroke away from his \"Kuraydati\" (ape-leader), threw a girl in the\nstreet and was about to ravish her when a sentinel drew his\nbayonet and killer the beast. The event was looked upon as an\nevil omen by the older men, who shook their heads and declared\nthat these were bad times when apes attempted to ravish the\ndaughters of Moslems. But some will say that the grand test, the\nexistence of the mule between man and monkey, though generally\nbelieved in, is characteristically absent, absent as the \"missing\nlink\" which goes so far as to invalidate Darwinism in one and\nperhaps the most important part of its contention. Of course the\noffspring of such union would be destroyed, yet t he fact of our\nnever having found a trace of it except in legend and idle story\nseems to militate against its existence. When, however, man shall\nbecome \"Homo Sapiens\" he will cast off the prejudices of the\ncradle and the nursery and will ascertain by actual experiment if\nhuman being and monkey can breed together. The lowest order of\nbimana, and the highest order of quadrumana may, under most\nfavourable circumstances, bear issue and the \"Mule,\" who would\nown half a soul, might prove most serviceable as a hewer of wood\nand a drawer of water, in fact as an agricultural labourer. All\nwe can say is that such \"miscegenation\" stands in the category of\nthings not proven and we must object to science declaring them\nnon-existing. A correspondent favours me with the following note\nupon the subject:?Castanheda (Annals of Portugal) relates that a\nwoman was transporter to an island inhabited by monkeys and took\nup her abode in a cavern where she was visited by a huge baboon.\nHe brought her apples and fruit and at last had connection with\nher, the result being two children in two to three years; but\nwhen she was being carried off by a ship the parent monkey kissed\nhis progeny. The woman was taken to Lisbon and imprisoned for\nlife by the King. Langius, Virgilius Polydorus and others quote\nmany instances of monstruous births in Rome resulting from the\nconnection of women with dogs and bears, and cows with horses,\n&c. The following relative conditions are deduced on the\nauthority of MM. Jean Polfya and Mauriceau:?1. If the sexual\norganism of man or woman be more powerful than that of the\nmonkey, dog, etc., the result will be a monster in the semblance\nof man. 2. If vice-vers\u00e2 the appearance will be that of a beast.\n3. If both are equal the result will be a distinct sub-species as\nof the horse with the ass.\n\n[FN#388] Arab. \"Tam\u00edm\" (plur. of Tam\u00edmat) = spells, charms,\namulets, as those hung to a horse's neck, the African Greegree\nand the Heb. Thummim. As was the case with most of these earliest\nsuperstitions, the Serpent, the Ark, the Cherubim, the Golden\nCalf (Apis) and the Levitical Institution, the Children of Israel\nderived the now mysterious term \"Ur\u00edm\" (lights) and \"Thummim\"\n(amulets) from Egypt and the Semitic word (Tam\u00edmah) still remains\nto explain the Hebrew. \"Thummim,\" I may add, is by \"general\nconsensus\" derived from \"T\u00f4m\" = completeness and is englished\n\"Perfection,\" but we can find a better origin near at hand in\nspoken Arabic.\n\n[FN#389] These verses have already occurred, see my vol. i. p.\n275. I have therefore quoted Payne, i. p. 246.\n\n[FN#390] Arab. \"Wak\u00edl\" who, in the case of a grown-up girl,\ndeclares her consent to the marriage in the presence of two\nwitnesses and after part payment of the dowry.\n\n[FN#391] Such is the meaning of the Arab. \"Thayyib.\"\n\n[FN#392] This appears to be the popular belief in Egypt. See vol.\niv. 297, which assures us that \"no thing poketh and stroketh more\nstrenuously than the Gird\" (or hideous Ahyssinian cynocephalus).\nBut it must be based upon popular ignorance: the private parts of\nthe monkey although they erect stiffly, like the priapus of\nOsiris when swearing upon his Phallus, are not of the girth\nsufficient to produce that friction which is essential to a\nwoman's pleasure. I may here allude to the general disappointment\nin England and America caused by the exhibition of my friend Paul\nde Chaillu's Gorillas: he had modestly removed penis and\ntesticles, the latter being somewhat like a bull's, and his\nsqueamishness caused not a little grumbling and sense of\ngrievance?especially amongst the curious sex.\n\n[FN#393] [In the MS. \"fahakat,\" lit. she flowed over like a\nbrimful vessel.?ST.]\n\n[FN#394]  In 1821, Scott (p. 214) following Gilchrist's method of\ntransliterating eastern tongues wrote \"Abou Neeut\" and \"Neeuteen\"\n(the latter a bad blunder making a masc. plural of a fem. dual).\nIn 1822 Edouard Gauttier (vi. 320) gallicised the names to \"Abou-\nNyout\" and \"Abou-Nyoutyn\" with the same mistake and one\nsuperadded; there is no such Arabic word as \"Niy\u00fat.\"  Mr. Kirby\nin 1822, \"The New Arabian Nights\" (p. 366) reduced the words to\n\"Abu Neut\" and \"Abu Neuteen,\" which is still less intelligible\nthan Scott's; and, lastly, the well-known Turkish scholar Dr.\nRedhouse converted the tortured names to \"Ab\u00fa Niyyet\" and \"Ab\u00fa\nNiyyeteyn,\" thus rightly giving a \"tashd\u00edd\" (reduplication sign)\nto the Y\u00e1 (see Appendix p. 646 to Suppl. v. No iii. and Turk.\nDict. sub voce \"Niyyat\").  The Arab. is \"Niyyah\" = will, purpose,\nintent; \"Ab\u00fa Niyyah\" (Grammat. \"Ab\u00fa Niyyatin\") Father of one\nIntent = single-minded and \"Ab\u00fa Niyyatayn\" = Father of two\nIntents or double-minded; and Richardson is deficient when he\nwrites only \"Niyat\" for \"Niyyat.\"  I had some hesitation about\ntranslating this tale which begins with the \"Envier and the\nEnvied\" (vol. i. 123) and ends with the \"Sisters who envied their\nCadette\" (Suppl. vol. iii. 492).  But the extant versions of it\nare so imperfect in English and French that I made up my mind to\ninclude it in this collection.?[Richardson's \"Niyat\" is rather\nanother, although rarer form of the same word.?St.]\n\n[FN#395]  [I read: \"wa tukarribu 'I-'abda ilayya,\" referring the\nverb to \"al-Sadakh\" (the alms) and translating: \"and it bringeth\nthe servant near to me,\" the speaker, in Coranic fashion supposed\nto be Allah.?St.]\n\n[FN#396]  The text prefers the Egyptian form \"Sher\u00edfi\" pl.\n\"Sher\u00edf\u00edyah,\" which was adopted by the Portuguese.\n\n[FN#397]  The grace after meat, \"Bismillah\" being that which\nprecedes it.  Abu Niyyah was more grateful than a youth of my\nacquaintance who absolutely declined asking the Lord to \"make him\ntruly thankful\" after a dinner of cold mutton.\n\n[FN#398]  [The root \"Kart\" is given in the dictionaries merely to\nintroduce the word \"kar\u00edt\" = complete, speaking of a year, &c.,\nand \"Takr\u00edt,\" the name of a town in Mesopotamia, celebrated for\nits velvets and as the birth-place of Saladin.  According to the\nfirst mentioned word I would take the signification of \"Kart\" to be \"complement\" which here may fitly be rendered by \"remainder,\" for that which with regard to the full contents of the dinner tray is their complement would of course be their remainder with regard to the viands that have been eaten.?St.]\n\n[FN#399]  For the \"Zak\u00e1t\" = legal alms, which must not be less\nthan two-and-a-half per cent, see vol. i. 339.\n\n[FN#400]  In text \"Kazd\u00edr,\" for which see vols. iv. 274 and vi.\n39.  Here is may allude to the canisters which make great show in\nthe general store of a petty shopkeeper.\n\n[FN#401]  [The MS. reads \"murafraf\" (passive), from \"Rafraf\" = a\nshelf, arch, anything overhanging something else, therefore here\napplying either to the eye-brows as overhanging the eyes, or to\nthe sockets, as forming a vault or cave for them.  Perhaps it\nshould be \"murafrif\" (active part), used of a bird, who spreads\nhis wings and circles round his prey, ready to pounce upon it;\nhence with prying, hungry, greedy eyes.?St.]\n\n[FN#402]  Arab.  \"Niyyah\" with the normal pun upon the name.\n\n[FN#403]  Arab. \"'\u00c1mil Rasad,\" lit. acting as an observatory: but\nthe style is broken as usual, and to judge from the third line\nbelow the sentence may signify \"And I am acting as Talisman (to\nthe Hoard)\".\n\n[FN#404]  In the text \"Ish\u00e1ri,\" which may have many meanings: I\ntake \"a shot\" at the most likely.  In \"The Tale of the Envier and\nthe Envied\" the counter-spell i{s} a fumigation by means of some\nwhite hair plucked from a white spot, the size of a dirham, at\nthe tail-end of a black tom-cat (vol. i. 124).  According to the\nWelsh legend, \"the Devil hates cocks\"?I suppose since that fowl\nwarned Peter of his fall.\n\n[FN#405]  In text \"Yaum al-Ahad,\" which begins the Moslem week:\nsee vols. iii. 249, and vi. 190.\n\n[FN#406]  [In Ar. \"Harj wa Laght.\"  The former is generally\njoined with \"Marj\" (Harj wa Marj) to express utter confusion,\nchaos, anarchy.  \"Laght\" (also pronounced Laghat and written with\nthe palatal \"t\") has been mentioned supra p. 20 as a synonym of\n\"Jalabah\" = clamour, tumult, etc.?St.]\n\n[FN#407]  [In Ar. \"yahjubu,\" aor. of \"hajaba\" = he veiled, put\nout of sight, excluded, warded off.  Amongst other significations\nthe word is technically used of a nearer degree of relationship\nexcluding entirely or partially a more distant one from\ninheritance.?St.]\n\n[FN#408]  Arab.  \"Yaum al-Jum'ah\" = Assembly-day, Friday: see\nvol. vi. 120.\n\n[FN#409]  A regular Badawi remedy.  This Artemisia (Arab. Shayh),\nwhich the Dicts. translate \"wormwood of Pontus,\" is the sweetest\nherb of the Desert, and much relished by the wild men: see my\n\"Pilgrimage,\" vol. i. 228.  The Finnish Arabist Wallin, who died\nProfessor of Arabic at Helsingfors, speaks of a \"Far\u00e1shat al-\nShayh\" = a carpet of wormwood.\n\n[FN#410]  \"S\u00e1hibi-h,\" the masculine; because, as the old grammar\ntells us, that gender is more worthy than the feminine.\n\n[FN#411]  i.e. his strength was in the gold: see vol. i. 340.\n\n[FN#412]  Arab. \"Haysumah\" = smooth stones (water-rounded?).\n\n[FN#413] For \"his flesh was crushed upon his bones,\" a fair\nspecimen of Arab. \"Metonomy-cum-hyperbole.\"  In the days when Mr.\nJohn Bull boasted of his realism versus Gallic idealism, he \"got\nwet to the skin\" when M. Jean Crapaud was mouill\u00e9 jusqu'aux os.\n\nFor the Angels supposed to haunt a pure and holy well, and the\ntrick played by Ibn T\u00famart, see Ibn Khaldun's Hist. of the\nBerbers, vol. ii. 575.\n\n[FN#414]  Here begins the second tale which is a weak replica of\nGalland's \"Two Sisters,\" &c.\n\n[FN#415]  This is the usual term amongst savages and barbarians,\nand during that period the father has no connection with the\nmother.  Civilisation has abolished this natural practice which\nis observed by all the lower animals and has not improved human\nmatters.  For an excellent dissertation on the subject see the\nletter on Polygamy by Mrs. Belinda M. Pratt, in \"The City of the\nSaints,\" p. 525.\n\n[FN#416]  In text \"Kuwayyis,\" dim. of \"Kayyis,\" and much used in\nEgypt as an adj. = \"pretty,\" \"nice,\" and as an adv. \"well,\"\n\"nicely.\"  See s.v. Spitta Bey's Glossary to Contes Arabes\nModernes.  The word is familiar to the travellers in the Nile-\nvalley.\n\n[FN#417]  In Arab. a \"Kan\u00e1t;\" see vol. iii. 141.  The first\noccupation came from nature; the second from seeing the work of\nthe adopted father.\n\n[FN#418]  Abu Niyyah, like most house masters in the East, not to\nspeak of Kings, was the last to be told a truth familiar to\neveryone but himself and his wife.\n\n[FN#419]  The MS. breaks off abruptly at this sentence and\nevidently lacks finish.  Scott (vi., 228) adds, \"The young\nprinces were acknowledged and the good Abou Neeut had the\nsatisfaction of seeing them grow up to follow his example.\"\n\nIn the MS. this tale is followed by a \"Story of his own\nAdventures related by a connection to an Emir of Egypt.\"  I have\nomitted it because it is a somewhat fade replica of \"The Lovers\nof the Ban\u00fa Ozrah\" (Vol. vii. 177; Lane iii. 247).\n\n[FN#420] Mr. Chandler remarks (p. 25, \"On Lending Bodleian Books,\n&c.\"):?\"It is said that the Curators can refuse any application\nif they choose; of course they can, but as a matter of fact no\napplication has ever been refused, and every name added will make\nit more and more difficult, more and more invidious to refuse\nanyone.\" I have, therefore, the singular honour of being the\nfirst chosen for rejection.\n\n[FN#421] Mr. Chandler's motion (see p. 28, \"Booklending, &c.\")\nwas defeated by an amendment prepared by Professor Jowett and the\nformer fought, with mixed success, the report of the Committee of\nLoans; the document being so hacked as to become useless, and, in\nthis mangled condition, it was referred back to the Committee\nwith a recommendation to consider the best way of carrying out\nthe present statute. The manly and straightforward course of at\nonce proposing a new statute was not adopted, nor was it even\nformally proposed. Lastly, the applications for loans, which\nnumbered sixteen were submitted to the magnates and were all\nrefused! whilst the application of an Indian subject that MSS. be\nsent to the India Office for his private use was at once granted.\nIn my case Professors B. Price and Max M\u00fcller, who had often\nvoted for loans, and were willing enough to lend anything to\nanybody, declined to vote.\n\n[FN#422] According to the statutes, \"The Chancellor must be\nacquainted with the Business (of altering laws concerning the\nLibrary), and he must approve, and refer it to the Head of\nHouses, else no Dispensation can be proposed.\"\n\n[FN#423] The following telegram from the Vienna correspondent of\n\"The Times\" (November 16, 1886), is worth quotation:?\n\n\"The Committee of the Vienna Congress (of Orientalists) is now\npreparing a memorial, which will be signed by Archduke Renier,\nand will be forwarded in a few days to the trustees of the\nBritish Museum and to the Secretary of State, praying that a Bill\nmay be introduced into Parliament empowering the British Museum\nto lend out its Oriental MSS. to foreign savants under proper\nguarantees. A resolution pledging the members of the Oriental\nCongress to this course was passed at the Congress of Leyden, in\n1883, on the motion of Professor D. H. M\u00fcller, of Vienna; but it\nhas not yet been acted upon so thoroughly as will be the case\nnow.\n\n\"The British Museum is the only great library in Europe which\ndoes not lend out its MSS. to foreigners. The university and\ncourt libraries of Vienna, the royal and state libraries of\nBerlin and Munich, those of Copenhagen and Leyden, and\nBiblioth\u00e8que Nationale in Paris all are very liberal in their\nloans to well-recommended foreigners. In Paris a diplomatic\nintroduction is required. In Munich the library does not lend\ndirectly to the foreign borrower; but sends to the library of the\ncapital whence the borrower may have made his application, and\nleaves all responsibility to that library. In the other\nlibraries, the discretion is left to the librarian, who generally\nlends without any formalities beyond ascertaining the bona fides\nand trustworthiness of the applicant. In Vienna, however, there\nhas occasionally been some little excess of formality, so a\npetition is about to be presented to the Emperor by the\nUniversity professors, begging that the privilege of borrowing\nmay be considered as general, and not as depending on the favour\nof an official.\n\n\"As regards Oriental MSS., it is remarked that the guarantees\nneed not be so minute as in the case of old European MSS., which\nare often unique copies. According to the learned Professor of\nSanskrit in this city, Herr George B\u00fchler, there are very few\nunique Oriental MSS. in existence of Sanskrit?perhaps not a\ndozen.\"\n\n[FN#424] (1.) \"On Lending Bodleian Books and Manuscripts\" (not\npublished). June 10, 1866; (2) Appendix. Barlow's Argument. June,\n1866; (3) On Book-lending as practised at the Bodleian Library.\nJuly 27, 1886; Baxter, Printer, Oxford. The three papers abound\nin earnestness and energy; but they have the \"defects of their\nqualities,\" as the phrase is; and the subject often runs away\nwith the writer. A single instance will suffice. No. i. p. 23\nsays, \"In a library like the Bodleian, where the practice of\nlending prevails as it now does, a man may put himself to great\ninconvenience in order to visit it; he may even travel from\nBerlin, and when he arrives he may find that all his trouble has\nbeen in vain, the very book he wants is out.\" This must have been\nwritten during the infancy of Sir Rowland Hill, and when\ntelegrams were unknown to mankind; all that the Herr has to do in\nour times is to ask per wire if the volume be at home or not.\n\n[FN#425] Chandler, \"On Lending Bodleian Books,\" etc., p. 18.\n\n[FN#426] Koran, xxiii. 14.","title":"Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights \u2014 Volume 4 (of 6)","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":139741}