{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_3449/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_3449","id":"gutenberg_3449","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3449","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Adventure","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 FIVE\n              Privately Printed By The Burton Club\n\n\n        To The Curators of the Bodleian Library, Oxford\n      Especially Revd. B. Price and Professor Max Muller.\n\n\n\nGentlemen,\n\nI take the liberty of placing your names at the Head of this\nVolume which owes its rarest and raciest passages to your kindly\nrefusing the temporary transfer of the Wortley Montague MS. from\nyour pleasant library to the care of Dr. Rost, Chief Librarian,\nIndia Office.  As a sop to \"bigotry and virtue,\" as a concession\nto the \"Scribes and Pharisees,\" I had undertaken, in case the\nloan were granted, not to translate tales and passages which\nmight expose you, the Curators, to unfriendly comment.  But,\npossibly anticipating what injury would thereby accrue to the\nVolume and what sorrow to my subscribers, you were good enough\nnot to sanction the transfer--indeed you refused it to me twice--\nand for this step my clientele will be (or ought to be) truly\nthankful to you.\n\n                    I am, Gentlemen,\n                         Yours obediently,\n                              Richard F. Burton.\n\nBodleian Library, August 5th, 1888\n\n\n\n\n\n\n               Contents of the Fifteenth Volume.\n\n\n\n1.   The History of the King's Son of Sind and the Lady Fatimah\n2.   History of the Lovers of Syria\n3.   History of Al-Hajjaj Bin Yusuf and the Young Sayyid\n4.   Night Adventure of Harun Al-Rashid and the Youth Manjab\n     a.   The Loves of the Lovers of Bassorah\n     b.   Story of the Darwaysh and the Barber's Boy and the\n          Greedy Sultan\n     c.   Tale of the Simpleton Husband\n     d.   Note Concerning the \"Tirrea Bede,\" Night 655\n5.   The Loves of Al-Hayfa and Yusuf\n6.   The Three Princes of China\n7.   The Righteous Wazir Wrongfully Gaoled\n8.   The Cairene Youth, the Barber and the Captain\n9.   The Goodwife of Cairo and Her Four Gallants\n     a.   The Tailor and the Lady and the Captain\n     b.   The Syrian and the Three Women of Cairo\n     c.   The Lady With Two Coyntes\n     d.   The Whorish Wife Who Vaunted Her Virtue\n10.  Coelebs the Droll and His Wife and Her Four Lovers\n11.  The Gatekeeper of Cairo and the Cunning She-Thief\n12.  Tale of Mohsin and Musa\n13.  Mohammed the Shalabi and His Mistress and His Wife\n14.  The Fellah and His Wicked Wife\n15.  The Woman Who Humoured Her Lover At Her Husband's Expense\n16.  The Kazi Schooled By His Wife\n17.  The Merchant's Daughter and the Prince of Al-Irak\n18.  Story of the Youth Who Would Futter His Father's Wives\n19.  Story of the Two Lack-Tacts of Cairo and Damascus\n20.  Tale of Himself Told By the King\n     Appendix A: - Catalogue of Wortley Montague Manuscript\nContents\n     Appendix B: - Notes on the Stories Contained in Volumes XIV.\nand XV by W. F. Kirby\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                   THE TRANSLATOR'S FOREWORD.\n\n\n\nThis volume contains the last of my versions from the Wortley\nMontague Codex, and this is the place to offer a short account of\nthat much bewritten MS.\n\nIn the \"Annals of the Bodleian Library,\" etc., by the Reverend\nWilliam Dunn Macray, M.A. (London, Oxford and Cambridge, 1868:\n8vo. p. 206), we find the following official notice:--\n\n                          \"A.D. 1803.\"\n\n\"An Arabic MS. in seven volumes, written in 1764-5, and\ncontaining what is rarely met with, a complete collection of the\nThousand and one Tales (N.B. an error for \"Nights\") of the\nArabian Nights Entertainments, was bought from Captain Jonathan\nScott for \ufffd50. Mr. Scott published, in 1811, an edition of the\nTales in six volumes (N.B. He reprinted the wretched English\nversion of Prof. Galland's admirable French, and his \"revisions\"\nand \"occasional corrections\" are purely imaginative), in which\nthis MS. is described (N.B. after the mos majorum). He obtained\nit from Dr. (Joseph) White, the Professor of Hebrew and Arabic at\nOxford, who had bought it at the sale of the library of Edward\nWortley Montague, by whom it had been brought from the East.\n(N.B. Dr. White at one time intended to translate it literally,\nand thereby eclipse the Anglo French version.) It is noticed in\nOuseley's Oriental Collections (Cadell and Davies), vol. ii. p.\n25.\"\n\nThe Jonathan Scott above alluded to appears under various titles\nas Mr. Scott, Captain Scott and Doctor Scott. He was an officer\nin the Bengal Army about the end of the last century, and was\nmade Persian Secretary by \"Warren Hastings, Esq.,\" to whom he\ndedicated his \"Tales, Anecdotes and Letters, translated from the\nArabic and Persian\" (Cadell and Davies, London, 1800), and he\nenglished the \"Bah\ufffdr-i-D\ufffdnish\" (A.D. 1799) and \"Firishtah's\nHistory of the Dakkhan (Deccan) and of the reigns of the later\nEmperors of Hindostan.\" He became Dr. Scott because made an LL.D.\nat Oxford as meet for a \"Professor (of Oriental languages) at the\nRoyal Military and East India Colleges\"; and finally he settled\nat Netley, in Shropshire, where he died.\n\nIt is not the fault of English Orientalists if the MS. in\nquestion is not thoroughly well known to the world of letters. In\n1797 Sir Gore Ouseley's \"Oriental Collections\" (vol. ii. pp.\n25-33) describes it, evidently with the aid of Scott, who is the\nauthority for stating that the tales generally appear like pearls\nstrung at random on the same thread; adding, \"if they are truly\nOriental it is a matter of little importance to us Europeans\nwhether they are strung on this night or that night.\"[FN#1] This\nfirst and somewhat imperfect catalogue of the contents was\nfollowed in 1811 by a second, which concludes the six volume\nedition of \"The\n\n                         ARABIAN NIGHTS\n                        ENTERTAINMENTS,\n          Carefully revised and occasionally corrected\n                        from the Arabic.\n                       to which is added\n                    A SELECTION OF NEW TALES,\n                      Now first translated\n                   from the Arabic Originals.\n                             also,\n                   AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES,\n                      Illustrative of the\n      RELIGION, MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE: MAHOMMEDANS.\"\n\nThe sixth volume, whose second title is \"Tales | selected from\nthe Manuscript copy | of the | 1001 Nights | brought to Europe by\nEdward Wortley Montague, Esq.,\" ends with a general Appendix, of\nwhich ten pages are devoted to a description of the Codex and a\nCatalogue of its contents. Scott's sixth volume, like the rest of\nhis version, is now becoming rare, and it is regretable that when\nMessieurs Nimmo and Bain reprinted, in 1882, the bulk of the work\n(4 vols. 8vo) they stopped short at volume five.\n\nLastly we find a third list dating from 1835 in the \"Catalogi |\nCodicum Manuscriptorum Orientalium | Bibliothec\ufffd Bodleian\ufffd | Pars\nSecunda | Arabicos | complectens. | Confecit | Alexander Nicoll,\nJ.C.D. | Nuper Lingu\ufffd Heb. Professor Regius, necnon \ufffddis Christi\nCanonicus. | Editionem absolvit | et Catalogum urianum[FN#2]\naliquatenus emendavit | G. B. Pusey S.T.B. | Viri desideratissimi\nSuccessor. | Oxonii, | E Typographio Academico | MDCCCXXXV.\" This\nis introduced under the head, \"Codicis Arabici Mahommedani\nNarrationes Fict\ufffd sive Histori\ufffd Romanenses | in Quarto (pp .\n145-150).\n\nI am not aware that any attempt has been made to trace the\nhistory of the Wortley Montague MS.; but its internal evidence\nsupplies a modicum of information.\n\nBy way of colophon to the seventh and last volume we have, \"On\nthis wise end to us the Stories of the Kings and histories of\nvarious folk as foregoing in the Thousand Nights and a Night,\nperfected and completed, on the eighteenth day of Safar the\nauspicious, which is of the months of (the year A.H.) one\nthousand one hundred and seventy-eight\" (= A.D. 1764-65).\n\n\"Copied by the humblest and neediest of the poor, Omar-al-Safat\ufffd,\nto whose sins may Allah be Ruthful!\n\n          \"An thou find in us fault deign default supply,\n           And hallow the Faultless and Glorify.\"\n\nThe term \"Suftah\" is now and has been applied for the last\ncentury to the sons of Turkish fathers by Arab mothers, and many\nof these Mulattos live by the pen. On the fly-leaf of vol. i. is\nwritten in a fine and flowing Persian (?) hand, strongly\ncontrasting with the text of the tome, which is unusually\ncareless and bad, \"This book | The Thousand Nights and a Night of\nthe Acts and deeds (S\ufffdrat) of the Kings | and what befel them\nfrom sundry | women that were whorish | and witty | and various |\nTales | therein.\" Below it also is a Persian couplet written in\nvulgar Iranian characters of the half-Shikastah type:\n\nChih goyam, o chih poyam?          * Na m\ufffd-d\ufffdnam h\ufffdch o p\ufffdch.\n(What shall I say or whither fly?  * This stuff and this nonsense\n                                   know not I.)\n\nMoreover, at the beginning of vol. i. is a list of fifteen tales\nwritten in Europeo-Arabic characters, after schoolboy fashion,\nand probably by Scott. In vol. ii. there is no initial list, but\nby way of Foreword we read, \"This is volume the second of the\nThousand Nights and a Night from the xciiid. Night, full and\ncomplete.\" And the Colophon declares, \"And this is what hath been\nfinished for us of the fourth (probably a clerical error for\n\"second\") tome of the Thousand Nights and a Night to the\nclxxviith. Night, written on the twentieth day of the month\nSha'b\ufffdn A.H., one thousand one hundred and seventy-seven\" (=A.D.\n1764). This date shows that the MS. was finished during the year\nafter incept.\n\nThe text from which our MS. was copied must have been valuable,\nand we have reason to regret that so many passages both of poetry\nand prose are almost hopelessly corrupt. Its tone and tenor are\ndistinctly Nilotic; and, as Mr. E. Wortley Montague lived for\nsome time in Egypt, he may have bought it at the Capital of the\nNile-land. The story of the Syrian (v. 468) and that of the Two\nLack-tacts (vi. 262), notably exalt Misr and Cairo at the expense\nof Sh\ufffdm and Damascus; and there are many other instances of\npreferring Kemi the Black Soil to the so called \"Holy Land.\" The\ngeneral tone, as well as the special incidents of the book,\nargues that the stories may have been ancient, but they certainly\nhave been modernised. Coffee is commonly used (passim) although\ntobacco is still unknown; a youth learns archery and gunnery\n(Zarb al-Ris\ufffds, vol. vii. 440); casting of cannon occurs (vol. v.\n186), and in one place (vol. vi. 134) we read of \"Taban-jatayn,\"\na pair of pistols; the word, which is still popular, being a\ncorruption of the Persian \"Tab\ufffdncheh\" = a slap or blow, even as\nthe French call a derringer coup de poing. The characteristic of\nthis Recueil is its want of finish. The stories are told after\nperfunctory fashion as though the writer had not taken the\ntrouble to work out the details. There are no names or titles to\nthe tales, so that every translator must give his own; and the\nendings are equally unsatisfactory, they usually content\nthemselves, after \"native\" fashion, with \"Intih\ufffd\" = finis; and\nthe connection with the thread of the work must be supplied by\nthe story-teller or the translator. Headlines were not in use for\nthe MSS. of that day, and the catchwords are often irregular, a\nnew word taking the place of the initial in the following page.\n\nThe handwriting, save and except in the first volume, has the\nmerit of regularity, and appears the same throughout the\nsucceeding six, except in the rare places (e.g. vi. 92-93), where\nthe lazy copyist did not care to change a worn-out pen, and\ncontinued to write with a double nib. On the other hand, it is\nthe character of a village-schoolmaster whose literary culture is\nat its lowest. Hardly a sheet appears without some blunder which\nonly in rare places is erased or corrected, and a few lacun\ufffd are\nsupplied by several hands, Oriental and European, the latter\npresumably Scott's. Not unfrequently the terminal word of a line\nis divided, a sign of great incuria or ignorance, as \"Sh\ufffdhr |\nbaz\" (i. 4), \"Shahr | z\ufffdd\" (v. 309, vi. 106), and \"Fawa |\njadtu-h\" = so I found him (V. 104). Koranic quotations almost\nalways lack vowel points, and are introduced without the usual\nceremony. Poetry also, that crux of a skilful scribe, is\ncarelessly treated, and often enough two sets of verse are thrown\ninto one, the first rhyming in \ufffdr, and the second in \ufffdr (e.g.\nvol. v. 256). The rhyme-words also are repeated within unlawful\nlimits (passim and vol. v. 308, ll. 6 and 11). Verse is thrust\ninto the body of the page (vii. 112) without signs of citation in\nred ink or other (iii. 406); and rarely we find it, as it should\nbe, in distichs divided by the normal conventional marks,\nasterisks and similar separations. Sometimes it appears in a\ncolumn of hemistichs after the fashion of Europe (iv. 111; iv.\n232, etc.): here (v. 226) a quotation is huddled into a single\nline; there (v. 242) four lines, written as monostichs, are\nfollowed by two distichs in as many lines.\n\nAs regards the metrical part Dr. Steingass writes to me, \"The\nverses in Al-Hayf\ufffd and Y\ufffdsuf, where not mere doggerel, are\nspoiled by the spelling. I was rarely able to make out even the\nmetre and I think you have accomplished a feat by translating\nthem as you have done.\"\n\nThe language of the MS. is generally that of the Fell\ufffdh and\nnotably so in sundry of the tales, such as, \"The Goodwife of\nCairo and her four Gallants\" (v. 444). Of this a few verbal and\nphrasal instances will suffice. Ad\ufffdn\ufffd = here am I (v. 198); Ahn\ufffd\n(passim, for nahnu) nakh\ufffdf = we fear; 'Alayk\ufffd (for 'alayki) = on\nthee; and generally the long vowel (-k\ufffd) for the short (-ki) in\nthe pronoun of the second person feminine; Antah (for ante) =\nthou (vi. 96) and Ant\ufffd (for antum) = you (iii. 351); Ar\ufffdha and\neven ar\ufffdha, r\ufffdhat and r\ufffdha (for r\ufffdha) = he went (vii. 74 and iv.\n75) and Ar\ufffdh\ufffd (for r\ufffdh\ufffd) = go ye (iv. 179); Bakarah * * * allazi\n(for allat\ufffd) = a cow (he) who, etc.; (see in this vol., p. 253)\nand generally a fine and utter contempt for genders, e.g. Hum\n(for hunna) masc. for fem. (iii. 91; iii. 146; and v. 233); T\ufffd\n'\ufffdli (for ta'\ufffdl) fem. for masc. (vi. 96 et passim); B\ufffdh\ufffdm (for\nbi-him) = with them (v. 367); Bi-k\ufffdm (for bi-kum) = with you\n(iii. 142) are fair specimens of long broad vowels supplanting\nthe short, a peculiarity known in classical Arab., e.g. Mift\ufffdh\n(for Miftah) = a key. Here, however, it is exaggerated, e.g.\nB\ufffd'\ufffdd (for ba'\ufffdd) = far (iv. 167); K\ufffdm (for kam) = how many? K\ufffdm\n(for kum) = you (v. 118); K\ufffdl-h\ufffd (for kul-ha) = tell it (iv. 58);\nM\ufffdn (for man) = who? (iii. 89); Mirw\ufffdd (for Mirwad) = a branding\niron; Natan\ufffdshshad (for natanashshad) = we seek tidings (v. 211);\nR\ufffdjal (pron. R\ufffdgil, for Rajul) = a man (iv. 118 and passim);\nS\ufffdhal (for sahal) = easy, facile (iv. 71); S\ufffdr (for sir) = go, be\noff! (v. 199); Sh\ufffdl (for shil) = carry away (i. 111); and Z\ufffdhab\n(for zahab) = gold (v. 186). This broad Doric or Caledonian\narticulation is not musical to unaccustomed organs. As in popular\nparlance the D\ufffdl supplants the Z\ufffdl; e.g. Dahaba (for zahaba) = he\nwent (v. 277 and passim); also T takes the place of Th, as Tult\nfor thulth = one third (iii. 348) and Tamrat (for thamrat) =\nfruit (v. 260), thus generally ignoring the sibilant Th after the\nfashion of the modern Egyptians who say Tumm (for thumma) =\nagain; \"Kattir (for kaththir) Khayrak\" = God increase thy weal,\nand Lattama (for laththama) = he veiled. Also a general ignoring\nof the dual, e.g. H\ufffdz\ufffd 'usfurayn (for 'Usfur\ufffdni) = these be birds\n(vi. 121); Nazal\ufffd al-Wazirayn (do) = the two Wazirs went down\n(vii. 123); and lastly Al-Wuzar\ufffd al-itnayn (for Al-Waz\ufffdr\ufffdni) =\nthe two Wazirs (vii. 121). Again a fine contempt for numbers, as\nNanzur ana (for Anzur) = I (we) see (v. 198) and Inn\ufffd (for inn\ufffd)\nnar\ufffdhu = indeed I (we) go (iii. 190). Also an equally\nconscientious disregard for cases, as Min m\ufffdl ab\ufffd-h\ufffd (for ab\ufffd-h\ufffd)\n= out of the moneys of her sire (iv. 190); and this is apparently\nthe rule of the writer.\n\nOf Egyptianisms and vulgarisms we have Ant, m\ufffd ghibtshayy = thou,\nhast thou not been absent at all? with the shayy (a thing)\nsubjoined to the verb in this and similar other phrases; Baks\ufffdsh\nfor Bakhshish (iv. 356); Al-Jaw\ufffdz (for al-z\ufffdw\ufffdj) = marriage (i.\n14); Fak\ufffd or Fik\ufffd (for fakih) = a divine (vi. 207 and passim);\nFinj\ufffdl (for finj\ufffdn) = a coffee-cup (v. 424, also a Najd\ufffd or\nCentral Arabian corruption); Kuwayyis = nice, pretty (iv. 179);\nL\ufffdy\ufffdl\ufffd (for liall\ufffd) = lest that (v. 285); Luh\ufffdm\ufffdt (for luk\ufffdm) =\nmeats, a mere barbarism (v. 247); Matah (for Mat\ufffd) =when? (v.\n464); Ma'\ufffdyah (for ma'\ufffd) =with me (vi. 13 et passim); Shuwayy (or\nshuwayyah) Mayah, a double diminutive (for Muwayy or Muwayh) = a\nsmall little water, intensely Nilotic (iv. 44); Mbarih or Emb\ufffdrah\n(for Al-b\ufffdrihah) = yesterday (v. 449); Takkat (for Dakkat) = she\nrapped (iv. 190); \ufffdzb\ufffdsh\ufffd and Uzb\ufffdsh\ufffd (for Y\ufffdzb\ufffdsh\ufffd) = a\ncenturion, a captain (v. 430 et passim); Z\ufffd\ufffddjah for Z\ufffdijah (vi.\n329); Zar\ufffdgh\ufffdt (for Zagh\ufffdr\ufffdt) = lullilooing (iv. 12); Z\ufffdnah (for\nZin\ufffd) = adultery, and lastly Z\ufffdda (for Z\ufffdda) = increased (iv.\n87). Here the reader will cry jam satis; while the student will\ncompare the list with that given in my Terminal Essay (vol. x.\n168-9).\n\nThe two Appendices require no explanation. No. I. is a Catalogue\nof the Tales in the Wortley Montague MS., and No. II. contains\nNotes upon the Storiology of the Supplemental Volumes IV. and V.\nby the practiced pen of Mr. W. F. Kirby. The sheets during my\nabsence from England have been passed through the press and\nsundry additions and corrections have been made by Dr. Steingass.\n\nIn conclusion I would state that my hope was to see this Volume\n(No. xv.) terminate my long task; but circumstance is stronger\nthan my will and I must ask leave to bring out one more--The New\nArabian Nights.\n\nRICHARD F. BURTON.\n\nATHEN\ufffdUM CLUB, September 1st, 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         THE HISTORY OF THE KING'S SON OF SIND AND THE\n                      LADY FATIMAH.[FN#3]\n\n\n\nIt is related that whilome there was a King of the many Kings of\nSind who had a son by other than his wife. Now the youth,\nwhenever he entered the palace, would revile[FN#4] and abuse and\ncurse and use harsh words to his step-mother, his father's Queen,\nwho was beautiful exceedingly; and presently her charms were\nchanged and her face waxed wan and for the excess of what she\nheard from him she hated life and fell to longing for death.\nWithal she could not say a word concerning the Prince to his\nparent. One day of the days, behold an aged woman (which had been\nher nurse) came in to her and saw her in excessive sorrow and\nperplext as to her affair for that she knew not what she could do\nwith her step-son. So the ancient dame said to her, \"O my lady, no harm shall befal thee; yet is thy case changed into other case\nand thy colour hath turned to yellow.\" Hereupon the Queen told\nher all that had befallen her from her step-son of harsh language\nand revilement and abuse, and the other rejoined, \"O my lady, let\nnot thy breast be straitened, and when the youth shall come to\nthee and revile thee and abuse thee, do thou say him, 'Pull thy\nwits somewhat together till such time as thou shalt have brought\nback the Lady Fatimah, daughter of '\ufffdmir ibn al-Nu'um\ufffdn.'\" The\nold woman taught her these words by heart, and anon went forth\nfrom her, when the Prince entered by the door and spoke harsh\nwords and abused and reviled her; so his father's wife said to\nhim, \"Lower thy tone and pull thy wits somewhat together, for\nthou be a small matter until thou shalt bring back the daughter\nof the Sultan, hight Fatimah, the child of 'Amir ibn al-Nu'uman.\"\nNow when he heard these words he cried, \"By Allah, 'tis not\npossible but that I go and return with the said Lady Fatimah;\"\nafter which he repaired to his sire and said, \"'Tis my desire to\ntravel; so do thou prepare for me provision of all manner\nwherewith I may wend my way to a far land, nor will I return\nuntil I win to my wish.\" Hereupon his father fell to transporting\nwhatso he required of victuals various and manifold, until all\nwas provided, and he got ready for him whatso befitted of bales\nand camels and pages and slaves and eunuchs and negro chattels.\nPresently they loaded up and the youth, having farewelled his\nfather and his friends and his familiars, set forth seeking the\ncountry of Fatimah bint Amir, and he travelled for the first day\nand the second day until he found himself in the middle of the\nwilds and the Wadys, and the mountains and the stony wastes. This\nlasted for two months till such time as he reached a region\nwherein were Gh\ufffdls and ferals, and to one and all who met him and\nopposed him he would give something of provaunt and gentle them\nand persuade them to guide him upon his way. After a time he met\na Shaykh well stricken in years; so he salamed to him and the\nother, after returning his greeting, asked him saying, \"What was\nit brought thee to this land and region wherein are naught but\nwild beasts and Ghuls?\" whereto he answered, \"O Shaykh, I came\nhither for the sake of the Lady Fatimah, daughter of 'Amir ibn\nal-Nu'uman.\" Hereat exclaimed the greybeard, \"Deceive not\nthyself, for assuredly thou shalt be lost together with what are\nwith thee of men and moneys, and the maiden in question hath been\nthe cause of destruction to many Kings and Sultans. Her father\nhath three tasks which he proposeth to every suitor, nor owneth\nany the power to accomplish a single one, and he conditioneth\nthat if any fail to fulfil them and avail not so to do, he shall\nbe slain. But I, O my son, will inform thee of the three which be\nthese: First the King will bring together an ardabb of sesame\ngrain and an ardabb of clover-seed and an ardabb of lentils; and\nhe will mingle them one with other, and he will say:--Whoso\nseeketh my daughter to wife, let him set apart each sort, and\nwhoso hath no power thereto I will smite his neck. And as all\nhave failed in the attempt their heads were struck off next\nmorning and were hung up over the Palace gateway. Now the second\ntask is this: the King hath a cistern[FN#5] full of water, and he\nconditioneth that the suitor shall drink it up to the last drop,\nunder pain of losing his life; and the third is as follows: he\nowneth a house without doors and windows, and it hath[FN#6] three\nhundred entrances and a thousand skylights and two thousand\nclosets: so he covenanteth with the suitor that he make for that\nplace whatever befitteth of doors and lattices and cabinets, and\nthe whole in a single night. Now here is sufficient to engross\nthine intellect, O my son, but take thou no heed and I will do\nthy task for thee.\" Quoth the other, \"O my uncle, puissance and\nomnipotence are to Allah!\" and quoth the Shaykh, \"Go, O my son,\nand may the Almighty forward the works of thee.\" So the Prince\nfarewelled him and travelled for the space of two days, when\nsuddenly the ferals and the Ghuls opposed his passage and he gave\nthem somewhat of provaunt which they ate, and after they pointed\nout to him the right path. Then he entered upon a Wady wherein\nflights of locusts barred the passage, so he scattered for them\nsomewhat of fine flour which they picked up till they had eaten\ntheir sufficiency. Presently he found his way into another valley\nof iron-bound rocks, and in it there were of the J\ufffdnn what could\nnot be numbered or described, and they cut and crossed his way\nathwart that iron tract. So he came forward and salam'd to them\nand gave them somewhat of bread and meat and water, and they ate\nand drank till they were filled, after which they guided him on\nhis journey and set him in the right direction. Then he fared\nforwards till he came to the middle of the mountain, where he was\nopposed by none, or mankind or Jinn-kind, and he ceased not\nmarching until he drew near the city of the Sultan whose daughter\nhe sought to wife. Here he set up a tent and sat therein seeking\nrepose for a term of three days; then he arose and walked\nforwards until he entered the city, where he fell to looking\nabout him leftwards and rightwards till he had reached the\npalace[FN#7] of the King. He found there over the gateway some\nhundred heads which were hanging up, and he cried to himself,\n\"Veil me, O thou Veiler! All these skulls were suspended for the\nsake of the Lady Fatimah, but the bye-word saith, 'Whoso dieth\nnot by the sword dieth of his life-term,' and manifold are the\ncauses whereas death be singlefold.\" Thereupon he went forwards\nto the palace gate--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 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 Four 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 the Prince\nwent forward to the Palace gate and purposed to enter, but they\nforbade him nor availed he to go in; so he returned to his tents\nand there spent the night till dawn. Then he again turned to the\nKing's Serai and attempted to make entry, but they stayed him and\nhe was unable to succeed, nor could he attain to the presence of\nthe Sovran. So he devised with one who was standing at the door a\ndevice to enter the presence, but again he failed in his object\nand whenever he craved admission they rejected him and drave him\naway saying, \"O youth, tell us what may be thy need?\" Said he, \"I\nhave a requirement of the Sultan and my purport is a business I\nmay transact with him and speech containeth both private and\npublic matters; nor is it possible that I mention my want to any\nsave to the Sovran.\" So a Chamberlain of the chamberlains went in\nto the presence and reported the affair to the King, who\npermitted them admit the stranger, and when he stood before the\nthrone he kissed ground and deprecated evil for the ruler and\nprayed for his glory and permanency, and the Monarch, who\nmarvelled at the terseness of his tongue and the sweetness of his\nspeech, said to him, \"O youth, what may be thy requirement?\"\nQuoth the Prince, \"Allah prolong the reign of our lord the\nSultan! I came to thee seeking connexion with thee through thy\ndaughter the lady concealed and the pearl unrevealed.\" Quoth the\nSultan, \"By Allah, verily this youth would doom himself\nhopelessly to die and, Oh the pity of it for the loquence of his\nlanguage;\" presently adding, \"O youth, say me, art thou satisfied\nwith the conditions wherewith I would oblige thee?\" and the\nPrince replied, \"O my lord, Omnipotence is to Allah; and, if the\nAlmighty empower me to fulfil thy pact, I shall fulfil it.\" The\nKing continued, \"I have three tasks to impose upon thee,\" and the\nPrince rejoined, \"I am satisfied with all articles thou shalt\nappoint.\" Hereupon the Sovran summoned the writers and witnesses,\nand they indited the youth's covenant and gave testimony that he\nwas content therewith; and when the Prince had signified his\nsatisfaction and obligation, the King sent for an ardabb of\nsesame and an ardabb of clover-seed and an ardabb of lentils and\nlet mingle all three kinds one with other till they became a\nsingle heap. Then said the King to the Prince, \"Do thou separate\neach sort by itself during the course of the coming night, and if\ndawn shall arise and every seed is not set apart, I will cut off\nthy head.\" Replied the other, \"Hearing and obeying.\" Then the\nKing bade place all the mixed heap in a stead apart, and\ncommanded the suitor retire into solitude; accordingly, he passed\nalone into that site and looked upon that case and condition, and\nhe sat beside the heap deep in thought, so he set his hand upon\nhis cheek and fell to weeping, and was certified of death. Anon\nhe arose and going forwards attempted of himself to separate the\nvarious sorts of grain, but he failed; and had two hundred\nthousand thousands of men been gathered together for the work\nthey had on nowise availed to it. Hereupon he set his right hand\nupon his cheek[FN#8] and he fell to weeping and suffered the\nfirst third of the dark hours to pass, when he said to himself,\n\"There remaineth naught of thy life save the remnant of this\nnight!\" But the while he was conjecturing and taking thought,\nbehold, an army of the locusts to whom he had thrown the flour\nupon his road came speeding over him like a cloud dispread and\nsaid to him with the tongue of the case,[FN#9] \"Fear not neither\ngrieve, for we have flocked hither to solace thee and ward from\nthee the woe wherein thou art: so take thou no further heed.\"\nThen they proceeded to separate each kind of grain and set it by\nitself, and hardly an hour had passed before the whole sample was\ndistributed grain by grain into its proper place while he sat\ngazing thereon. After this the locusts arose and went their ways,\nand when morning dawned the Sultan came forth and took seat in\nthe Hall of Commandment and said to those who were present,\n\"Arise ye and bring hither the youth that we may cut off his\nhead.\" They did his bidding but, when entering in to the Prince,\nthey found all the different grains piled separately, sesame by\nitself and clover-seed alone and lentils distributed apart,\nwhereat they marvelled and cried, \"This thing is indeed a mighty\ngreat matter from this youth, nor could it befal any save himself\nof those who came before him or of those who shall follow after\nhim.\" Presently they brought him to the Sultan and said, \"O King\nof the Age, all the grains are sorted;\" whereat the Sovran\nwondered and exclaimed, \"Bring the whole before me.\" And when\nthey brought it he looked upon it with amazement and rejoiced\nthereat, but soon recovered himself and cried, \"O youth, there\nremain to thee two tasks for two nights; and if thou fulfil them,\nthou shalt win to thy wish, and if thou fail therein, I will\nsmite thy neck.\" Said the Prince, \"O King of the Age, the\nAll-might is to Allah, the One, the Omnipotent!\" Now when night\ndrew nigh the King opened to him a cistern and said, \"Drink up\nall that is herein and leave not of it a drop, nor spill aught\nthereof upon the ground, and if thou drain the whole of it, thou\nshalt indeed attain to thine aim, but if thou fail to swallow it,\nI will smite thy neck.\" The Prince answered, \"There is no Majesty\nand there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!\"\nThen he took his seat at the cistern-mouth and fell to thinking\nand saying in his mind, \"Wherefore, O certain person, shouldst\nthou venture thy life and incur the cruel consequence of this\nKing on account of thy frowardness to thy father's wife? and by\nAllah, this is naught save Jinn-struck madness on thy part!\" So\nhe placed his left hand upon his cheek, and in his right was a\nstick wherewith he tapped and drew lines in absent fashion upon\nthe ground,[FN#10] and he wept and wailed until the third of the\nfirst part of the dark hours had passed, when he said in himself,\n\"There remaineth naught of thine age, ho, Such-an-one, save the\nremainder of this night.\" And he ceased not to be drowned in\nthought when suddenly a host of savage beasts and wild birds came\nup to him and said with the tongue of the case, \"Fear not neither\ngrieve, O youth, for none is faithless to the food save the son\nof adultery and thou wast the first to work our weal, so we will\nveil and protect thee, and let there be no sorrowing with thee on\naccount of this matter.\" Hereupon they gathered together in a\nbody, birds and beasts, and they were like unto a lowering cloud,\nno term to them was shown and no end was known as they followed\nin close file one upon other--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 King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night\nand that was\n\n           The Four 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 wild\nbeasts and the feral birds met one another beside that cistern\nand each took his turn thereat and drank without drinking his\nfull[FN#11] until naught of water remained in the reservoir and\nthey fell to licking the sides with their tongues so that anyone\nseeing it would say that for the last ten years not a drop of\nliquid had been stored therein. And after this they all went\ntheir ways. Now as soon as it was morning-tide the King arose and\nhied forth the Harem and taking his seat in the Hall of\nCommandment said to sundry of his pages and Chamberlains, \"Go\nbring us tidings of the cistern.\" Accordingly they went thither\nand inspected it but found no trace of water therein; so they\nreturned straightway to the ruler and reported the matter.\nHereupon the Sultan was amazed and his wits were bewildered and\nhe was certified that none had power to win his daughter for wife\nsave that youth. So he cried, \"Bring him hither,\" and they fared\nto fetch him and presented him in the presence where he salam'd\nto the Sovran and deprecated[FN#12] for him and prayed for him.\nThe Sultan greeted him in return and said, \"O Youth, there now\nremaineth with me but a single task which if thou accomplish\nshall save thee and win for thee my daughter; however if thou\nfail therein I will smite thy neck.\" \"Power is to Allah!\"\nexclaimed the Prince whereat the Sultan marvelled and said in his\nmind, \"Glory be to God: the words and works of this youth be\nwonderful. Whatever I bid him do he beginneth with naming the\nname of the Lord whereas those who forewent him never suffered me\nhear aught of the sort. However, the fortunate are Fortune's\nfavourites and Misfortune never befalleth them.\" Now when it was\nnight-tide the Sultan said, \"O youth, in very deed this mansion\nwhich standeth beside the palace is brand-new and therein are\nstore of wood and timbers of every kind, but it lacketh portals\nand lattices and the finishing of the cabinets; so I desire that\nthou make for it doors and windows and closets. I have provided\nthee with everything thou dost require of carpenter's gear and\nturner's lathes; and either thou shalt work all this during the\ncoming night, or, if thou be wanting in aught and morning shall\nmorrow without all the needful being finished, I will cut off thy\nhead. This is the fine of thy three labours which an thou avail\nto accomplish thou shalt attain thine aim and if thou fail\nthereof I will smite thy neck. Such be then my last word.\"\nAccordingly the Prince arose and faring from before him entered\nthe unfinished mansion which he found to be a palace greater and\ngrander than that wherein the King abode. He cried, \"O Veiler,\nwithdraw not Thy veiling!\" and he sat therein by himself (and he\ndrowned in thought) and said, \"By Allah, if at this hour I could\nfind somewhat to swallow I would die thereby and rest from this\ntoil and trouble have been my lot;[FN#13] and the morning shall\nnot morrow ere I shall find repose nor shall any one of the town\nfolk solace himself and say, 'The Sultan is about to cut off the\nhead of this youth.' Withal the bye-word hath it, 'Joyance which\ncometh from Allah is nearer than is the eyebrow to the eye,' and\nif Almighty (be He extolled and exalted!) have determined aught\nto my destiny, there is no flight therefrom. Moreover one of the\nSages hath said, 'He released me from pillar to post and the\nAlmighty bringeth happiness nearhand.' From this time until dawn\nof day many a matter may proceed from the Lord wherein haply\nshall be salvation for me or destruction.\" Then he fell to\npondering his affair and thinking over his frowardness to the\nwife of his father, after which he said, \"The slave meditateth\nand the Lord determineth, nor doth the meditation of the slave\naccord with the determination of the Lord.\" And while thus\ndrowned in care he heard the sound of the Darabukkah-drum[FN#14]\nand the turmoil of work and the shiftings of voices whilst the\nhouse was full of forms dimly seen and a voice cried out to him,\n\"O youth, be hearty of heart and sprightly of spirits: verily we\nwill requite thee the kindness thou wroughtest to us in providing\nus with thy provision; and we will come to thine aidance this\nvery night, for they who are visiting and assisting thee are of\nthe J\ufffdnn from the Valley of Iron.\" Then they began taking up the\ntimbers and working them and some turned the wood with lathes,\nand other planed the material with planes, whilst others again\nfell to painting and dyeing the doors and windows, these green\nand those red and those yellow; and presently they set them in\ntheir several steads; nor did that night go by ere the labour was\nperfected and there was no royal palace like unto it, either in\nordinance or in emplacement. Now as morning morrowed the Sultan\nwent forth to his divan, and when he looked abroad he saw a\nsomewhat of magnificence in the mansion which was not to be found\nin his palace, so he said in his surprise, \"By Allah, the works\nof this youth be wondrous and had the joiners and carpenters\nloitered over three years upon this work they never would have\nfulfilled such task: moreover we ken not by what manner of means\nthis young man hath been able to accomplish the labour.\"\nThereupon he sent for the Prince to the presence and robed him\nwith a sumptuous robe of honour and assigned to him a mighty\nmatter of money, saying, \"Verily thou deservest, O youth, and\nthou art the only one who meriteth that thou become to my\ndaughter baron and she become to thee femme.\" Presently Sultan\nAmir ibn al-Nu'uman bade tie the marriage-tie and led to her in\nprocession the bridegroom who found her a treasure wherefrom the\ntalisman had been loosed;[FN#15] and the bride rejoiced with even\nmore joyance than he did by cause of her sire, with his three\ntasks, having made her believe that she would never be wedded and\nbedded but die a maid, and she had long been in sadness for such\nreason. Then the married couple abode with the King their father\nfor the space of a month, and all this time the camp of the young\nPrince remained pitched without the town, and every day he would\nsend to his pages and eunuchs whatso they needed of meat and\ndrink. But when that term ended he craved from the Sultan leave\nof travel to his own land and his father-in-law answered, \"O\nyouth, do whatso thou ever wishest anent returning to thy native\nrealm;\" and forthwith fell to fitting out his daughter till all\nher preparations were completed and she was found ready for\nwayfare together with her body-women and eunuchs. The Prince\nhaving farewelled his father-in-law caused his loads to be loaded\nand set out seeking his native country and kingdom; and he\ntravelled by day and by night, and he pushed his way through\nWadys and over mountains for a while of time until he drew near\nhis own land, and between him and his father's city remained only\nsome two or three marches. Here suddenly men met him upon the\nroad and as he asked them the tidings they replied that his sire\nwas besieged within his capital of Sind by a neighbour King who\nhad attacked him and determined to dethrone him and make himself\nSovereign and Sultan in his stead. Now when he heard this account\nhe pushed forward with forced marches till he reached his\nfather's city which he found as had been reported; and the old\nKing with all his forces was girded around within his own walls\nnor could he sally out to offer battle for that the foe was more\nforceful than himself. Hereupon the Prince pitched his camp and\nprepared himself for fight and fray; and a many of his men rode\nwith him whilst another many remained on guard at the tents.--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 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 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 Prince\nbusked him for fight and fray seeking to assault the army of the\nKing who had besieged his sire, and the two hosts fought together\na strenuous fight and a stubborn. On this wise fared it with\nthem; but as regards the bride, she took patience till such time\nas her bridegroom had ridden forth, when she donned her weapons\nof war and veiled herself with a face-veil and sallying forth in\nMameluke's habit presently came up with her mate the Prince whom\nshe found straitened by the multitude of his foes. Now this\nPrincess was mistress of all manner weapons, so she drew her\nsword from its sheath and she laid on load rightwards and\nleftwards until the wits of all beholders were wildered and her\nbridegroom inclined to her and said, \"Verily this Mameluke he is\nnot one of our party.\" But she continued battling till the sun\nrose high in the firmament-vault when she determined to attack\nthe ensigns and colours which were flying after right royal of\nfashion, and in the midst thereof was the hostile Sultan. So she\nsmote the ancient who bore the banner and cast him to the ground\nand then she made for the King and charged down upon him and\nstruck him with the side of the sword a blow so sore that of his\naffright he fell from his steed. But when his host saw him\nunhorsed and prostrate upon the plain they sought safety in\nflight and escape, deeming him to be dead; whereupon she alighted\nand pinioned his elbows behind his back and tied his forearms to\nhis side, and lashed him on to his charger and bound him in bonds\nlike a captive vile. Then she committed him to her bridegroom who\nstill knew her not and she departed the field seeking her camp\nuntil she arrived there and entered her pavilion where she\nchanged her attire and arrayed herself in women's raiment. After\nthis she sat down expecting the Prince who, when she had\ncommitted to him the captured King, carried him into the city\nwhere he found the gates thrown open. Hereupon his sire sallied\nforth and greeted him albeit he recognised him not but was\nsaying, \"Needs must I find the Knight who came to our\nassistance.\" \"O my papa,\" quoth the Prince, \"dost thou not know\nme?\" and quoth the other, \"O young man, I know thee not;\" whereat\nthe other rejoined, \"I am thy son Such-an-one.\" But hardly had\nthe old King heard these words when behold, he fell upon him and\nthrew his arms round his neck and was like to lose his sense and\nhis senses for stress of joyance. After a time he recovered and\nlooking upon the captive King asked him, \"What was it drave thee\nto come hither and seek to seize from me my realm?\" and the other\nanswered him with humility and craved his pardon and promised not\nagain to offend, so he released him and bade him gang his gait.\nAfter this the young Prince went forth and caused his Harim and\nhis pages and whoso were with him enter the city and when they\nwere seated in the women's apartment the husband and wife fell to\ntalking of their journey and what they had borne therein of toil\nand travail. At last the Princess said to him, \"O my lord, what\nbecame of the King who besieged thy sire in his capital and who\nsought to bereave him of his realm?\" and said he, \"I myself took\nhim captive and committed him to my father who admitted his\nexcuses and suffered him depart.\" Quoth she, \"And was it thou who\ncapturedst him?\" and quoth he, \"Yea verily, none made him\nprisoner save myself.\" Hereupon said she, \"Thee it besitteth not\nto become after thy sire Sovran and Sultan!\" and said he, \"Why\nand wherefore?\" \"For that a lie defameth and dishonoureth the\nspeaker,\" cried she, \"and thou hast proved thee a liar.\" \"What\nmade it manifest to thee that I lied?\" asked the Prince, and the\nPrincess answered, \"Thou claimest to have captured the King when\nit was other than thyself took him prisoner and committed him to\nthy hands.\" He enquired, \"And who was he?\" and she replied, \"I\nknow not, withal I had him in sight.\" Hereupon the bridegroom\nrepeated his query till at last she confessed it was she had done\nthat deed of derring-do; and the Prince rejoiced much in\nher.[FN#16] Then the twain made an entry in triumph and the city\nwas adorned and the general joy was increased. Now his taking to\nwife the Lady Fatimah daughter of the Sultan Amir bin Al-Nu'uman\nso reconciled him to his stepmother, the spouse of his father the\nSovran of Sind, that both forgot their differences and they lived\never afterwards in harmony and happiness.\n\n\n\n\n             HISTORY OF THE LOVERS OF SYRIA[FN#17]\n\n\n\nIt is stated that of olden times and by-gone there dwelt in the\nland of Syria two men which were brothers and whereof one was\nwealthy and the other was needy. Now the rich man had a love-some\ndaughter and a lovely, whilst the poor man had a son who gave his\nheart to his cousin as soon as his age had reached his tenth\nyear. But at that time his father the pauper died and he was left\nan orphan without aught of the goods of this world; the damsel\nhis cousin, however, loved him with exceeding love and ever and\nanon would send him somewhat of dirhams and this continued till\nboth of them attained their fourteenth years. Then the youth was\nminded to marry the daughter of his uncle, so he sent a party of\nfriends to her home by way of urging his claim that the father\nmight wed her to him, but the man rejected them and they returned\ndisappointed. However, when it was the second day a body of warm\nmen and wealthy came to ask for the maid in marriage, and they\nconditioned the needful conditions and stood agreed upon the\nnuptials. Presently the tidings reached the damsel who took\npatience till the noon o' night, when she arose and sought the\nson of her uncle, bringing with her the sum of two thousand\ndinars which she had taken of her father's good and she knocked\nsoftly at the door. Hereupon the youth started from sleep and\nwent forth and found his cousin who was leading a she-mule and an\nass, so the twain bestrode either beast and travelled through the\nremnant of the night until the morning morrowed. Then they\nalighted to drink and to hide themselves in fear of being seen\nuntil the second night fell when they mounted and rode for two\nsuccessive days, at the end of which they entered a town seated\non the shore of the sea. Here they found a ship equipped for\nvoyage, so they repaired to the Ra'is and hired for themselves a\nsitting place; after which the cousin went forth to sell the ass\nand the she-mule, and disappeared for a short time. Meanwhile the\nship had sailed with the daughter of his uncle and had left the\nyouth upon the strand and ceased not sailing day after day for\nthe space of ten days, and lastly made the port she purposed and\nthere cast anchor.[FN#18] Thus it befel them; but as regards the\nyouth, when he had sold the beasts he returned to the ship and\nfound her not, and when he asked tidings thereof they told him\nthat she had put to sea; and hearing this he was mazed as to his\nmind and sore amated as to his affair, nor wot he whither he\nshould wend. So he turned him inland sore dismayed. Now when the\nvessel anchored in that port quoth the damsel to the captain, \"O\nRa'is,[FN#19] hie thee ashore and bring for us a portion of flesh\nand fresh bread,\" and quoth he, \"Hearkening and obedience,\"\nwhereupon he betook himself to the town. But as soon as he was\nfar from the vessel she arose and donning male's dress said to\nthe sailors, \"Do ye weigh anchor and set sail,\" and she shouted\nat them with the shouting of seamen. Accordingly they did as she\nbade them and the wind being fair and the weather favourable, ere\nan hour had sped they passed beyond sight of land.[FN#20]\nPresently the captain returned bringing bread and meat but he\nfound ne'er a ship, so he asked tidings of her and they answered,\n\"Verily she is gone.\" Hereupon he was perplext and he fell to\nstriking hand upon hand and crying out, \"O my good and the good\nof folk!\" and he repented whenas repentance availed him naught.\nAccordingly, he returned to the town unknowing whither he should\nwend and walked about like one blind and deaf for the loss of his\ncraft. But as regards the vessel, she ceased not sailing with\nthose within till she cast anchor near a city wherein was a King;\nand no sooner was she made fast than the damsel arose and donning her most sumptuous dress and decorations fell to scattering money amongst the crew and saying to them, \"Hearten your hearts and be not afraid on any wise!\" In due time the news of a fresh arrival reached the Ruler, and he ordered his men to bring him tidings concerning that vessel, and when they went for her and boarded her they found that her captain was a damsel of virginal semblance exceeding in beauty and loveliness. So they returned and reported this to the King who despatched messengers bidding her lodge with him for they had heightened their praises of her and the excess of her comeliness, and he said in his mind, \"By Allah, an she prove as they describe her, needs must I marry her.\" But the damsel sent back saying, \"I am a clean maid, nor\nmay I land alone but do thou send to me forty girls, virgins like\nmyself, when I will disembark together with them.\"--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 King suffer me to survive?\" Now\nwhen it was the next night and that was\n\n               The Five 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 the damsel\ndemanded of the king forty clean maids and said, \"We will land, I\nand they together,\" whereto he replied, \"The right is with her.\"\nHereupon he ordered all those about him, the Lords of his land\nand the Commons, that each and every who had in the house a\nvirginal daughter, should bring her to him until the full tale of\nforty (the daughter of the Wazir being amongst them) was told and\nhe sent them on board the ship where the damsel was about sitting\ndown for supper. But as soon as the maidens came she met them in\nher finest attire, none of the number being more beauteous than\nherself, and she salam'd to them and invited them into the\ncuddy[FN#21] where she bade food be served to them and they ate\nand were cheered and solaced, after which they sat down to\nconverse till it was the middle of the night. Now when sleep\nprevailed over the girls they retired to their several berths,\nand when they were drowned in slumber, the damsel arose softly\nand arousing the crew bade them leave their moorings and shake\nout their canvas; nor did daylight dawn to them ere they had\ncovered a far distance. As soon as the maidens awoke they saw\nthemselves on board a ship amid the billows of the main, and as\nthey asked the Captainess she answered, \"Fear not for yourselves\nor for the voyage you are making;\"[FN#22] and she gentled them\nand solaced them until whatso was in their hearts was allayed.\nHowever, touching the affair of the King, when morrowed the morn\nhe sent to the ship with an order for the damsel to land with the\nforty virgins, but they found not the craft and they returned and\nreported the same to their lord, who cried, \"By Allah, this be\nthe discreetest of deed which none other save she could have\ndone.\" So he arose without stay or delay and taking with him the\nWazir (both being in disguise), he went down to the shore and\nlooked around but he could not find what had become of them. And\nas regards the vessel carrying the virgins, she ceased not\nsailing until she made port beside a ruined city wherein none was\ninhabitant, and here the crew cast anchor and furled their sails\nwhen behold, a gang of forty pirate[FN#23] men, ever ready to cut\nthe highway and their friends to betray, boarded them, crying in\nhigh glee, \"Let us slay all in her and carry off whatso we find.\"\nWhen they appeared before the damsel they would have effected\ntheir intent; but she welcomed them and said, \"Do ye return\nashore: we be forty maids and ye forty men and to each of you\nshall befal one and I will belong to your Shaykh, for that I am\nthe Captainess.\" Now when they heard this they rejoiced with\nexcessive joy and they said, \"Wall\ufffdhi, our night shall be a\nblessed one by virtue of your coming to us;\" whereto she asked,\n\"Have you with you aught of sheep?\" They answered, \"We have,\" and\nquoth she, \"Do ye slay of them somewhat for supper and fetch the\nmeat that we may cook it for you.\" So a troop of pirates went off\nand brought back ten lambs which they slaughtered and flayed and\nbrittled. Then the damsel and those with her tucked up their\nsleeves ad hung up their chauldrons[FN#24] and cooked the meat\nafter the delicatest fashion, and when it was thoroughly done and\nprepared, they spread the trays and the pirates came forward one\nand all, and ate and washed their hands and they were in high\nspirits each and every, saying, \"This night I will take to me a\ngirl.\" Lastly she brought to them coffee which they drank, but\nhardly had it settled in their maws when the Forty Thieves fell\nto the ground, for she had mixed up with it flying Bhang[FN#25]\nand those who had drunk thereof became like unto dead men.\nHereupon the damsel arose without loss of time and taking in her\nhand a sharp-grided sword fell to cutting off their heads and\ncasting them into the sea until she came to the Shaykh of the\nPirates and in his case she was satisfied with shaving his beard\nand tearing out his eye-teeth and bidding the crew to cast him\nashore. They did as she commanded, after which she conveyed the\nproperty of all the caitiffs and having distributed the booty\namongst the sailors, bade them weigh anchor and shake out their\ncanvas. On this wise they left that ruined city until they had\nmade the middle of the main and they fared for a number of days\nathwart the billowy deep nor could they hit upon their course\namongst the courses of the sea until Destiny cast them beside a\ncity. They made fast to the anchorage-ground, and the damsel\narose and donning Mameluke's dress and arraying the Forty Virgins\nin the same attire all walked together and paced about the shore\nand they were like garden blooms. When they entered the streets\nthey found all the folk a-sorrowing, so they asked one of them\nand he answered, \"The Sultan who over-reigneth this city is dead\nand the reign lacketh rule.\" Now in that stead and under the hand\nof the Wazir, was a Bird which they let loose at certain times,\nand whenever he skimmed round and perched upon the head of any\nman to him they would give the Sultanate.[FN#26] By the decree of\nthe Decreer they cast the fowl high in air at the very hour when\nthe damsel was landing and he hovered above her and settled upon\nher head (she being in slave's attire), and the city folk and the\nlords of the land cried out, \"Strange! passing strange!\" So they\nflushed the bird from the place where he had alighted and on the\nnext day they freed him again at a time when the damsel had left\nthe ship, and once more he came and settled upon her head. They\ndrove him away, crying, \"Oh rare! oh rare!\" but as often as they\nstarted him from off her head he returned to it and alighted there again. \"Marvellous!\" cried the Wazir, \"but Allah Almighty hath done this[FN#27] and none shall object to what He doeth nor shall any reject what He decreeth.\" Accordingly, they gave her the Sultanate together with the signet-ring of governance and the\nturband of commandment and they seated her upon the throne of the\nreign. Hereupon she fell to ordering the Forty Virgins who were\nstill habited as Mamelukes and they served the Sultan for a while\nof time till one day of the days when the Wazir came to the\npresence and said, \"O King of the Age, I have a daughter, a model\nof beauty and loveliness, and I am desirous of wedding her with\nthe Sovran because one such as thou should not remain in single\nblessedness.\"--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 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 Five 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 quoth the\nWazir to the Sultan, \"I have a daughter, a model of beauty and\nloveliness and I am desirous of wedding her with the Sultan,\nbecause one such as thou should not remain in single\nblessedness.\" \"Do whatso thou wishest,\" quoth the King, \"and\nAllah prosper thy doing.\" Hereupon the Wazir fell to preparing\nthe marriage-portion[FN#28] of his daughter, and of forwarding\nher affair with the Sultan, until her wedding appointments[FN#29]\nand other matters were completed. After this he caused the\nmarriage-tie be tied, and he brought her to the supposed Sultan\nwhere she lay for the first night, but the damsel having\nperformed the Wuz\ufffd ablution did naught but pray through the hours\nof darkness. When dawned the day the Wazir's wife which was the\nmother of the maiden came to look upon her daughter and asked her\nof her case, and the bride answered, \"All the livelong night hath\nhe passed in orisons, nor came he near me even once.\" Quoth the\nmother, \"O my daughter, this be the first night, and assuredly he\nwas ashamed, for he is young in years, and he knoweth not what to\ndo; haply also his heart hangeth not upon thee; and he is but a\nraw lad.[FN#30] However, on the coming night ye shall both enjoy\nyour desire.\" But as soon as it was the evening of the next day\nthe Sultan went in to his Harim and made the minor ablution, and\nabode in prayer through the night until the morrow morrowed, when\nagain the mother came to see how matters stood, and she asked her\ndaughter, who answered, \"All the dark hours he hath passed in\ndevotion, and he never approached me.\" Now on the third night it\nhappened after like fashion, so the mother said, \"O my daughter,\nwhenever thou shalt see thy husband sitting by thy side, do thou\nthrow thyself upon his bosom.\" The bride did as she was bidden,\nand casting herself upon his breast cried, \"O King of the Age,\nhaply I please thee not at all;\" whereat said the other, \"O light\nof mine eyes, thou art a joy to me for ever; but I am about to\nconfide to thee somewhat and say me canst thou keep a secret?\"\nQuoth she, \"Who is there like me for hiding things in my heart?\"\nand quoth the other, \"I am a clean maid, and my like is thy like,\nbut the reason for my being in man's habit is that the son of my\nuncle, who is my betrothed, hath been lost from me and I have\nbeen lost from him, but when Allah shall decree the reunion of\nour lots he shall marry thee first and he shall not pay the\nbridegroom's visit save unto thee, and after that to myself.\" The\nWazir's daughter accepted the excuse, and then arising went forth\nand brought a pigeon whose weazand she split and whose blood she\ndaubed upon the snow-white sheet.[FN#31] And when it was morning\nand her mother again visited her, the bride showed her this proof\nof her pucelage, and she rejoiced thereat and her father rejoiced\nalso. After this the Sultan ruled for a while of time, but she\nwas ever deep in thought concerning what device could be devised\nin order to obtain tidings of her father and her cousin and what\nhad wrought with them the changes of times and tides. So she bade\nedify a magnificent Hamm\ufffdm and by its side a coffee house,[FN#32]\nboth nearhand to the palace, and forthwith she summoned\narchitects and masons and plasterers and painters, and when all\ncame between her hands she said to them, \"Do ye take a long look\nat my semblance and mark well my features for I desire that you\nmake me a carven image[FN#33] which shall resemble me in all\npoints, and that you fashion it according to my form and figure,\nand you adorn it aright and render it to represent my very self\nin all proportions, and then bring it to me.\" They obeyed her\norder and brought her a statue which was herself to a nail, so\nshe looked upon it and was pleased therewith. Then she ordered\nthem set the image over the Hammam-door, so they placed it there,\nand after she issued a firman and caused it to be cried through\nthe city that whoso should enter that Bath to bathe and drink\ncoffee, should do so free and gratis and for naught. When this\nwas done, the tongues of the folks were loosed with benison,\nand they fell to praying for the Sultan and the endurance of his\nglory, and the permanence of his governance till such time as the\nbruit was spread abroad by the caravans and travellers, and the\nfolk of all regions had heard of the Hammam and the coffee-house.\nMeanwhile the Sultan had summoned two eunuchs and ordered them\nand repeatedly enjoined them that whoso might approach the statue\nand consider it straitly him they should seize and bring before\nthe presence. Accordingly, the slaves fared forth and took their\nseats before the doors of the Baths. After a while of time the father of the damsel who had become Sultan wandered forth to seek her,[FN#34] and arrived at that city, where he heard that whoso entered the Hammam to bathe and afterwards drank coffee did this without cost; so he said in his mind, \"Let me go thither and enjoy myself.\" Then he repaired to the building and designed to enter, when behold, he looked at the statue over the gateway, and he stood still and considered it with the tears flowing adown his cheeks, and he cried, \"Indeed this figure be like her!\" But when the eunuchs saw him they seized him and carried him away until they had led him to the Sultan his daughter, who, seeing him,\nrecognised him forthright, and bade set apart for him an apartment and appointed to him rations for the time being. The\nnext that appeared was the son of her uncle, who also had\nwandered as far as that city seeking his cousin, and he also\nhaving heard the folk speaking anent a free entrance to the\nBaths, said in himself, \"Do thou get thee like others to that\nHammam and solace thyself.\" But when he arrived there he also\ncast a look at that image and stood before it and wept for an\nhour or so as he devoured it with his eyes when the eunuchry\nbeholding him seized and carried him off to the Sultan, who knew\nhim at first sight. So she bade prepare a place for him and\nappointed to him rations for the time being. Then also came the\nRa'is of the ship, who had reached that city seeking his lost\nvessel, and when the fame of the free Hammam came to his ears, he\nsaid in his mind, \"Go thou to the Baths and solace thyself.\" And\nwhen he arrived there and looked upon the statue and fixed his\nglance upon it he cried out, \"Wall\ufffdhi! 'tis her very self.\"\nHereupon the eunuchry seized him and carried him to the Sultan\nwho seeing him recognised him and placed him in a place apart for\na while of time. Anon the King and the Wazir, who were\nresponsible for the Forty Virgins came to that city.--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 King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n              The Five 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 the King\naccompanied by the Wazir came to that city seeking the lost Forty\nVirgins and when the twain had settled there and were stablisht\nat ease their souls longed for the Baths and they said each to\nother, \"Hie we to the Hammam that we may wash away the dirt which\nbe the result of travel.\" So they repaired to the place and as\nthey entered the gateway they looked up and fixed their eyes upon\nthe statue; and, as they continued to gaze thereupon, the eunuchs\nwho sighted them seized them and carried them off to the\nSultan.[FN#35] When they stood between her hands and they\nbeheld the Forty Mamelukes who were also before her, the Wazir's\nglance happened to fall upon his daughter who was on similar wise\nin slave's habit, and he looked at her with the tears flowing\nadown his cheeks and he said in his mind, \"Wall\ufffdhi! Verily this\nMameluke is like my child as like can be.\" Hereupon the Sultan\nconsidered the twain[FN#36] and asked them of their case[FN#37]\nand they answered, \"We be Such-and-such and we are wandering\nabout to seek our daughter and her nine-and-thirty maidens.\"\nHereupon she assigned them also lodgings and rations for the\npresent. Lastly appeared the Pirate which had been Shaykh and comrade of the Forty Thieves also seeking that city, and albeit\nhe was aweary and perplext yet he ceased not to wander that he\nmight come upon the damsel who had slain his associates and who\nhad shaved his beard and had torn out his eye-teeth. He also when\nhe heard of the Hammam without charge and the free coffee-house\nsaid in himself, \"Hie thee to that place!\" and as he was entering\nthe gateway he beheld the image and stood still and fell to\nspeaking fulsome speech and crying aloud and saying, \"By Allah,\nthis statue is likest to her in stature and size and, by the\nAlmighty, if I can only lay my hand upon her and seize her I will\nslaughter her even as one cutteth a mutton's throat. Ah! Ah! an I\ncould but catch hold of her.\" As he spake these words the\neunuchry heard him; so they seized him and dragged him along and\ncarried him before the Sultan who no sooner saw him and knew him than she ordered him to jail. And they imprisoned him for he had not come to that city save for the shortening of his days and the\nlavishing of his life-blood and he knew not what was predestined\nto him and in very sooth he deserved all that befel him. Hereupon\nthe damsel bade bring before her, her father and her cousin and\nthe Ra'is and the King and the Wazir and the Pirate (while she\nstill bore herself as one who administered the Sultanate), and\nwhen it became night time all began to converse one with other\nand presently quoth she to them, \"O folk, let each and every who\nhath a tale solace us with telling it.\" Hereat quoth one and all\nof them, \"We wist not a recital nor can we recount one;\" and she\nrejoined, \"I will relate unto you an adventure.\" They cried, \"O\nKing of the Age, pardon us! for how shalt thou rehearse us an\nhistory and we sit listening thereto?\"[FN#38] and she replied,\n\"Forasmuch as you have no say to say, I will speak in your stead\nthat we may shorten this our night.\" Then she continued, \"There\nwas a merchant man and a wealthy with a brother which was needy,\nand the richard had a daughter while the pauper had a son. But\nwhen the poor man died he left only a boy who sought to marry the\ngirl his cousin: his paternal uncle, however, refused him maugre\nthat she loved him and she was beloved of him. Presently there\ncame a party of substantial merchants who demanded her in wedlock\nand obtained her and agreed upon the conditions; when her sire\nwas minded to marry her to their man. This was hard upon the\ndamsel and sore grievous to her so she said, 'By Allah, I will\nmate with none save my uncle's son.' Then she came to him at\nmidnight leading a she-mule and an ass and bringing somewhat of\nher father's moneys and she knocked at the youth's door and he\ncame out to her and both went forth, he and she, in the outer\ndarkness of that murky night and the Veiler veiled her way.\" Now\nwhen the father and the cousin heard this adventure they threw\nthemselves on her neck,[FN#39] and rejoiced in her until the turn\ncame for her recounting the tale of the merchant-captain and he\nalso approved her and was solaced by her words. Then, as she\nrelated the history concerning the King and the Wazir, they said,\n\"By Allah, this indeed is a sweet story and full of light and\nleading and our lord the Sultan deserveth for this recital whatso\nhe may require.\" But when she came to the Pirate he cried,\n\"Wall\ufffdhi, O our lord the Sultan, this adventure is a grievous,\nand Allah upon thee, tell us some other tale;\" whereat all the\nhearers rejoined, \"By Allah, in very sooth the recital is a\npleasing.\" She continued to acquaint them with the adventure of\nthe Bird which invested her with the monarchy and she ended with\nrelating the matter of the Hammam, at all whereof the audience\nwondered and said, \"By Allah, this is a delectable matter and a\ndainty;\" but the Pirate cried aloud, \"Such story pleaseth me not\nin any way for 'tis heavy upon my heart!\"--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 tasteful is thy tale, 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 Five 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 Pirate\ncried out, \"This tale is heavy upon my heart!\" Presently the\ndamsel resumed her speech and said, \"Wall\ufffdhi! if my mother and my\nfather say sooth this be my sire and that be my cousin and here\nstandeth the King and there the Wazir and yonder are the Ra'is\nand the Pirate, the comrade of the Forty Thieves whose only will\nand wish was to dishonour us maidens all.\" Then she resumed,\naddressing the King and his Minister, \"These forty Mamelukes whom\nyou see standing between your hands are the virgin girls\nbelonging to you.\" After which she presented the twain with\nsumptuous gifts and they took their maidens and with them went\ntheir ways. Next she restored to the Ra'is his ship and freighted\nit with her good and he set forth in it on his return voyage. But\nas regards the Pirate she commanded her attendants to kindle for\nhim a furious fire and they lit it till it roared and the sparks\nflew high in air, after which they pinioned him and cast him into\nthe flames, where his flesh was melted before his bones.[FN#40]\nBut as concerned her cousin she caused the marriage tie to be\ntied between him and the Wazir's daughter and he paid her his\nfirst visit on that same night and then she ordered her father to\nknit the wedding knot with the youth on the next night and when\nthis was done forthwith he went in unto her. After this she\ncommitted to him the Sultanate and he became a Sovran and Sultan\nin her stead, and she bade fetch her mother to that city where\nher cousin governed and where her father-in-law the Wazir was\nchief Councillor of the realm. On this wise it endured for the\nlength of their lives, and fair to them were the term and the\ntide and the age of the time, and they led of lives the\njoyfullest and a livelihood of the perfectest until they were\nconsumed by the world and died out generation of the\ngeneration.[FN#41]\n\n\n\n\n             HISTORY OF AL-HAJJAJ BIN YUSUF AND THE\n                      YOUNG SAYYID.[FN#42]\n\n\n\nIt is related (but Allah is All-knowing) that there was in times\nof yore a man named 'Abdullah al-Karkh\ufffd and he was wont to tell\nthe following tale:--One day I was present in the assembly of\nAl-Hajj\ufffdj the son of Y\ufffdsuf the Thakaf\ufffd[FN#43] what time he was\nGovernor of K\ufffdfah, and the folk around him were seated and for\nawe of him prostrated and these were the Emirs and Wazirs and the\nNabobs and the Chamberlains and the Lords of the Land and the\nHeadmen in command and amongst whom he showed like a rending\nlion. And behold, there came to him a man young in years and\nragged of raiment and of case debased and there was none of\nblossom upon his cheeks and the World had changed his cuticle and\nNeed had altered his complexion. Presently he salam'd and\ndeprecated and was eloquent in his salutation to the Governor who\nreturned his greeting and looking at him asked, \"Who art thou, O\nyoung man, and what hast thou to say and what is thine excuse for\npushing into the assembly of the Kings even as if, O youth, thou\nhadst been an invited guest?[FN#44] So say me, who art thou and\nwhose son art thou?\" \"I am the son of my mother and my father,\"\nanswered he, and Al-Hajjaj continued, \"In what fashion hast thou\ncome hither?\"--\"In my clothes.\" \"Whence hast thou come?\"--\"From\nbehind me.\" \"Whither art thou intending?\"--\"Before me.\" \"On what\nhast thou come?\"--\"On the ground.\" \"Whence art thou, O young\nman?\"--\"I am from the city Misr.\" \"Art thou from Cairo?\"[FN#45]-\n-\"Why asketh thou me, oh Hajjaj?\" Whereupon the Lieutenant of\nKufah replied, \"Verily her ground is gold and her Nile is rare to\nbehold and her women are a toy for the conqueror to enjoy, and\nher men are nor burghers nor Badawis.\" Quoth the youth, \"I am not\nof them,\" and quoth Al-Hajjaj, \"Then whence art thou, O young\nman?\"--\"I am from the city of Syria.\" \"Then art thou from the\nstubbornest of places and the feeblest of races.\"[FN#46]\n\"Wherefore, O Hajjaj?\"--\"For that it is a mixed breed I ween, nor\nJew nor Nazarene.\" \"I am not of them.\" \"Then whence art thou, O\nyoung man?\"--\"I am of Khor\ufffds\ufffdn of 'Ajam\ufffd-land.\" \"Thou art\ntherefore from a place the fulsomest and of faith the infirmest.\"\n--\"Wherefore, O Hajjaj?\" \"Because flocks and herds are their chums and they are Ajams of the Ajams from whom liberal deed never comes, and their morals and manners none to praise presumes and their speech is gross and weighty, and stingy are their rich and wealthy.\" \"I am not of them.\" \"Then whence art thou, O young\nman?\" \"I am from Mosul.\" \"Then art thou from the foulest and\nfilthiest of a Catamite race, whose youth is a scapegrace and\nwhose old age hath the wits of an ass.\" \"I am not of them.\" \"Then\nwhence art thou, O young man?\" \"I am from the land of Al-Yaman.\"\n\"Then art thou from a clime other than delectable.\" \"And why so,\nO Hajjaj?\" \"For that their noblest make womanly use of\nMurd[FN#47] or beardless boys and the meanest of them tan hides\nand the lowest amongst them train baboons to dance, and others\nare weavers of Burd or woollen plaids.\"[FN#48] \"I am not of\nthem.\" \"Then whence art thou, O young man?\" \"I am from Meccah.\"\n\"Then art thou from a mine of captious carping and ignorance and\nlack of wits and of sleep over-abundant, whereto Allah\ncommissioned a noble Prophet, and him they belied and they\nrejected: so he went forth unto a folk which loved him and\nhonoured him and made him a conqueror despite the nose of the\nMeccan churls.\" \"I am not of them.\" \"Then whence art thou, O\nyoung man? for verily thou hast been abundant of prate and my\nheart longeth to cut off thy pate.\"[FN#49] Hereupon quoth the\nyouth, \"An I knew thou couldst slay me I had not worshipped any\ngod save thyself,\" and quoth Al-Hajjaj, \"Woe to thee and who\nshall stay me from slaying thee?\" \"To thyself be the woe with\nmeasure enow,\" cried the youth; \"He shall hinder thee from\nkilling me who administereth between a man and his heart,[FN#50]\nand who falseth not his promise.\" \"'Tis He,\" rejoined Al-Hajjaj,\n\"who directeth me to thy death;\" but the Youth retorted, \"Allah\nforfend that He appoint thee to my slaughter; nay rather art thou\ncommissioned by thy Devil, and I take refuge with the Lord from\nSatan the stoned.\" \"Whence then art thou, O young man?\" \"I am\nfrom Yathrib.\"[FN#51] \"And what be Yathrib?\" \"It is Tayyibah.\"\n\"And what be Tayyibah?\" \"Al-Madinah, the Luminate, the mine of\ninspiration and explanation and prohibition and licitation,[FN#52] and I am the seed of the Ban\ufffd Gh\ufffdlib[FN#53] and the purest scion of the Imam 'Ali bin Ab\ufffd Tal\ufffdb (Allah honour his countenance and accept of him!), and all degree and descent[FN#54] must fail save my descent and degree which shall never be cut off until the Day of Doom.\" Hereupon Al-Hajjaj raged with exceeding rage and ordered the Youth to execution; whereat rose up against him the Lords of the realm and the headmen of the reign and sued him by way of intercession and stretched out to\nhim their necks, saying, \"Here are our heads before his head and\nour lives before his life. By Allah, ho thou the Emir, there is\nnaught but that thou accept our impetration in the matter of\nthis Youth, for he is on no wise deserving of death.\" Quoth the\nGovernor, \"Weary not yourselves for needs must I slay him; and\neven were an Angel from Heaven to cry out 'Kill him not,' I would\nnever hearken to his cry.\" Quoth the youth, \"Thou shalt be\nbaffled[FN#55] O Hajjaj! Who art thou that an Angel from Heaven\nshould cry out to thee 'Kill him not,' for thou art of the vilest\nand meanest of mankind nor hast thou power to find a path to my\ndeath.\" Cried Al-Hajjaj, \"By Allah, I will not slay thee except\nupon a plea I will plead against thee, and convict thee by thy\nvery words.\" \"What is that, O Hajjaj?\" asked the Youth, and\nanswered Hajjaj, \"I will now question thee, and out of thine own\nmouth will I convict thee and strike off thy head.[FN#56] Now say\nme, O young man: - Whereby doth the slave draw near to Allah\nAlmighty?\" \"By five things, prayer (1), and fasting (2), and alms\n(3), and pilgrimage (4), and Holy War upon the path of Almighty\nAllah (5).\" \"But I draw near to the Lord with the blood of the\nmen who declare that Hasan and Husayn were the sons and\nsuccessors of the Apostle of Allah.[FN#57] Furthermore, O young\nman, how can they be born of the Apostle of Almighty Allah when\nhe sayeth, 'Never was Mohammed the father of any man amongst you,\nbut he was the Apostle of Allah and the Seal of the\nProphets.'\"[FN#58] \"Hear thou, O Hajjaj, my answer with another\nKoranic verse,[FN#59] 'What the Apostle hath given you, take: and\nwhat he hath refused you, refuse.' Now Allah Almighty hath\nforbidden the taking of life, whose destruction is therefore\nunlawful.\" \"Thou has spoken sooth, O young man, but inform me of\nwhat is incumbent on thee every day and every night?\" \"The five\ncanonical prayers.\" \"And for every year?\" \"The fast of the month\nof Ramaz\ufffdn.\" \"And for the whole of thy life?\" \"One pilgrimage to\nthe Holy House of Allah.\" \"Sooth thou hast said, O young man; now\ndo inform me\"--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 King\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n              The Five 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 Al-Hajjaj\nsaid, \"Now do thou inform me who is the most excellent of the\nArabs and the noblest and of blood the purest?\"--\"The Khoraysh.\"\n\"And wherefore so?\" \"For that the Prophets from them proceeded.\"\n\"And what tribe is the knightliest of the Arabs and the bravest\nand the firmest in fight?\"--\"The Banu H\ufffdshim.\"[FN#60] \"And\nwherefore so?\" \"For that my grandsire the Im\ufffdm Al\ufffd ibn Ab\ufffd T\ufffdlib\nis of them.\" \"And who is the most generous of the Arabs and most\nsteadfast in the guest-rite?\"--\"The Banu Tayy.\" \"And wherefore\nso?\" \"For that H\ufffdtim of Tayy[FN#61] was one thereof.\" \"And\nwho is the vilest of the Arabs and the meanest and the most\nmiserly, in whom weal is smallest and ill is greatest?\" \"The Banu\nThak\ufffdf.\"[FN#62] \"And wherefore so?\" \"Because thou, O Hajjaj, art\nof them.\" Thereupon the Lieutenant of Kufah raged with exceeding\nrage and ordered the slaughter of the youth; but the Grandees of\nthe State rose up and prayed him for mercy, when he accepted\ntheir intercession and pardoned the offender. After which he said\nto him, \"O young man, concerning the kid[FN#63] that is in the\nfirmament, tell me be it male or female?\" for he was minded on\nthis wise to cut short his words. The young Sayyid replied, \"O\nHajjaj, draw me aside its tail so I may inform thee\nthereanent.\"[FN#64] \"O young man, say me on what pasture best\ngrow the horns of the camel?\" \"From leaves of stone.\" \"O\nlack-wit! do stones bear leaves?\" \"O swollen of lips and little\nof wits and wisdom, say me do camels have horns?\" \"Haply thou art\na lover fond, O youth?\" \"Yes! in love drowned.\" \"And whom lovest\nthou?\"--\"I love my lord, of whom I hope that he will turn my\nannoy into joy, and who can save me this day from thee, O\nHajjaj.\" \"And dost thou know the Lord?\" \"Yes, I do.\" \"And whereby\nhast thou known Him?\" \"By the book of Him which descended upon\nHis Prophet-Apostle.\" \"And knowest thou the Koran by heart?\"\n\"Doth the Koran fly from me that I should learn it by rote?\"\n\"Hast thou confirmed knowledge thereof?\" \"Verily Allah sent down\na book confirmed.\"[FN#65] \"Hast thou perused and mastered that\nwhich is therein?\" \"I have.\" \"Then, O young man, if thou have\nread and learned what it containeth, tell me which verset is the\nsublimest (1) and which verset is the most imperious (2) and\nwhich verset is hopefullest (3) and which verset is fearfullest\n(4) and which verset is believed by the Jew and the Nazarene (5)\nand in which verset Allah speaketh purely of Himself (6) and in which verset be the Angels mentioned (7) and which verset alludeth to the Prophets (8) and in which verset be mentioned the People of Paradise (9) and which verset speaketh of the Folk of the Fire (10) and which verset containeth tenfold signs (11) and which verset (12) speaketh of Ibl\ufffds (whom Allah accurse!).\" Then quoth the youth, \"Listen to my answering, O Hajjaj, with the aid of the Beneficent King. Now the sublimest verset in the Book of Allah Almighty is the Throne verse;[FN#66] and the most imperious is the word of Almighty Allah, 'Verily Allah ordereth justice and well-doing and bestowal of gifts upon kith and kin';[FN#67] and the justest is the word of the Almighty, 'Whoso shall have wrought a mithk\ufffdl (nay an atom) of good works shall see it again, and whoso shall have wrought a mithk\ufffdl (nay an atom) of ill shall again see it';[FN#68] and the fullest of fear is that spoken by the Almighty, 'Doth not every man of them desire that he enter into the Paradise hight Al-Na'im?'[FN#69] and the fullest of hope is the word of the Almighty, 'Say Me, O My worshippers who have sinned against your own souls, do not despair of Allah's ruth';[FN#70] and the verset which containeth ten signs is the word of the Lord which saith[FN#71] 'Verily in the Creation of the Heavens and the Earth and in the shifts of Night and Day and in the ships which pass through the sea with what is useful to mankind; and in the rain\nwhich Allah sendeth down from Heaven, thereby giving to the earth\nlife after death, and by scattering thereover all the moving\ncreatures, and in the change of the winds, and in the clouds\nwhich are made to do service between the Heavens and the Earth\nare signs for those who understand'; and the verset wherein\nbelieve both Jews and Nazarenes is the word of Almighty\nAllah,[FN#72] 'The Jews say the Nazarenes are on naught, and the\nChristians say the Jews are on naught, and both speak the sooth\nfor they are on naught.' And the verset wherein Allah Almighty\nspeaketh purely of Himself is that word of Almighty Allah,[FN#73]\n'And I created not Jinn-kind and mankind save to the end that\nthey adore Me'; and the verset which was spoken of the Angels is\nthe word of Almighty Allah which saith,[FN#74] 'Laud to Thee! we\nhave no knowledge save what Thou hast given us to know, and\nverily Thou art the Knowing, the Wise.' And the verset which\nspeaketh of the Prophets is the word of Almighty Allah that\nsaith[FN#75] 'And We have already sent Apostles before thee: of\nsome We have told thee, and of others We have told thee naught:\nyet no Apostle had the power to come with a sign unless by the\nleave of Allah. But when Allah's behest cometh, everything shall\nbe decided with truth; and then perish they who entreated it as a\nvain thing'; and the verset which speaketh of the Folk of the\nFire is the word of Almighty Allah which saith[FN#76] 'O our\nLord! Bring us forth from her (the Fire), and, if we return (to\nour sins), we shall indeed be of the evildoers'; and the verset\nthat speaketh of the People of Paradise is the word of Almighty\nAllah,[FN#77] 'And they shall say: Laud to the Lord who abated to\nus grief, and verily our Lord is Gracious, Grateful'; and the\nverset which speaketh of Iblis (whom Allah Almighty accurse!), is\nthe word of Almighty Allah,[FN#78] 'He said: (I swear) therefore\nby thy glory, that all of them will I surely lead astray.'\"\nHereupon Al-Hajjaj exclaimed, \"Laud to the Lord and thanksgiving\nWho giveth wisdom unto whoso He please! Never indeed saw I a\nyouth like this youth upon whom the Almighty hath bestowed wits\nand wisdom and knowledge for all the tenderness of his age. But\nsay me, who art thou, O young man?\" Quoth the youth, \"I am of the\nfolk of these things,[FN#79] O Hajjaj.\" Resumed the Lieutenant,\n\"Inform me concerning the son of Adam what injureth him and what\nprofiteth him?\" And the youth replied, \"I will, O Hajjaj; do thou\nand these present who are longing for permanency (and none is\npermanent save Allah Almighty!) be early the fast to break nor be\nover late supper to make; and wear light body-clothes in summer\nand gar heavy the headgear in winter, and guard the brain with\nwhat it conserveth and the belly with what it preserveth and\nbegin every meal with salt for it driveth away seventy and two\nkinds of malady: and whoso breaketh his fast each day with seven\nraisins red of hue\"--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 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 Five Hundred and Fourteenth 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 Al-Hajjaj: - \"And whoso breaketh his fast daily with\nseven raisins red of hue shall never find in his body aught that\nirketh him; moreover, whoso each morning eateth on the\nspittle[FN#80] three ripe dates all the worms in his belly shall\nbe slain and whoso exceedeth in diet of boucan'd meat[FN#81] and\nfish shall find his strength weakened and his powers of carnal\ncopulation abated; and beware lest thou eat beef[FN#82] by cause\nthat 'tis a disease forsure whereas the soured milk of cows is a\nremedy secure and clarified butter is a perfect cure: withal is\nits hide a succor for use and ure. And do thou take to thee, O\nHajjaj, the greater Salve.\"[FN#83] Cried the Lieutenant, \"What\nmay be that?\" and said the youth in reply, \"A bittock of hard\nbread eaten[FN#84] upon the spittle, for indeed such food\nconsumeth the phlegm and similar humours which be at the mouth of\nthe maw.[FN#85] And let not blood in the hot bath for it\nenfeebleth man's force, and gaze not upon the metal pots of the\nBalnea because such sight breedeth dimness of vision. Also have\nno connection with woman in the Hammam for its consequence is the\npalsy; nor do thou lie with her when thou art full or when thou\nart empty or when thou art drunken with wine or when thou art in\nwrath nor when lying on thy side, for that it occasioneth\nswelling of the testicle-veins;[FN#86] or when thou art under a\nfruit-bearing tree. Avoid carnal knowledge of the old\nwoman[FN#87] for that she taketh from thee and giveth not to\nthee. Moreover let thy signet ring be made of carnelian[FN#88]\nbecause it is a guard against poverty; also a look at the Holy\nVolume every morning increaseth thy daily bread, and to gaze at\nflowing water whetteth the sight and to look upon the face of\nchildren is an act of adoration. And when thou chancest lose thy\nway, crave aidance of Allah from Satan the Stoned.\" Hereupon\nquoth Al-Hajjaj, \"Allah hath been copious to thee, O young man,\nfor thou hast drowned me in the depths of thy lore, but now\ninform me, Where is the seat of thy dignified behaviour?\"--\"The\ntwo eyes.\" \"And where is the seat of thy well-doing?\"--\"My\ntongue.\" And where is the seat of thy intellect?\"\ufffd\"My brain.\" \"And where is the seat of thy hearing?\"--\"The sensorium of mine ears.\" \"And where is the seat of thy smelling?\"--\"The sensorium of my nose.\" \"And where is the seat of thy taste?\"--\"My\npalate.\" \"And where is the seat of thy gladness?\"--\"My heart.\" \"And where is the seat of thy sorrow?\"--\"My soul.\" \"And where is the seat of thy wrath?\"--\"My liver.\" \"And where is\nthe seat of thy laughing?\"--\"My spleen.\"[FN#89] \"And where is the\nseat of thy bodily strenght?\"--\"My two shoulders.\" \"And where is\nthat of thy weakness?\"--\"My two calves.\" Hereupon Al-Hajjaj\nexclaimed, \"Laud to the Lord and thanksgiving; for indeed, O\nyoung man, I see that thou knowest everything. So tell me\nsomewhat concerning husbandry?\"--\"The best of corn is the\nthickest of cob and the grossest of grain and the fullest sized\nof shock.\"[FN#90] \"And what sayest thou concerning palm-trees?\"--\n\"The most excellent is that which the greatest of gathering doth\nown and whose height is low-grown and within whose meat is the\nsmallest stone.\" \"And what dost thou say anent the vine?\"--\"The\nmost noble is that which is stout of stem and big of bunch.\" \"And\nwhat sayest thou concerning the Heavens?\"--\"This is the furthest\nextent of man's sight and the dwelling-place of the Sun and Moon\nand all the Stars that give light, raised on high without columns\npight and overshadowing the numbers that stand beneath its height.\" \"And what dost thou say concerning the Earth?\"--\"It is wide dispread in length and breadth.\" \"And what dost thou say anent the rain?\"-\n-\"The most excellent is that which filleth the pits and pools and\nwhich overfloweth into the wadys and the rivers.\" Hereupon quoth\nAl-Hajjaj, \"O young man inform me what women be the best\"--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 King suffer me to\nsurvive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n             The Five Hundred and Sixteenth 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 Al-Hajjaj\nsaid, \"O young man, inform me what women be the best and the most\nenjoyable.\"[FN#91]--\"One in winning ways excelling and in\ncomeliness exceeding and in speech killing: one whose brow\nglanceth marvellous bright to whoso filleth his eyes with her\nsight and to whom she bequeatheth sorrow and blight; one whose\nbreasts are small whilst her hips are large and her cheeks are\nrosy red and her eyes are deeply black and he lips are\nfull-formed; one who if she look upon the heavens even the rocks\nwill be robed in green, and if she look upon the earth her\nlips[FN#92] unpierced pearls shall rain; one the dews of whose\nmouth are the sweetest of waters; one who in beauty hath no peer\nnor is there any loveliness can with hers compare: the coolth of\nthe eyes to great and small; in fine, one whose praises certain\nof the poets have sung in these harmonious couplets,[FN#93]\n\n'A fair one to idolaters if she herself should show, * They'd\n     leave their idols and her face for only Lord would know.\nIf in the Eastward she appeared unto a monk, for once * He'd\n     cease from turning to the West and to the East bend low;\nAnd into the briny sea one day she chanced to spit, * Assuredly\n     the salt sea's floods straight fresh and sweet would grow.'\"\n\nHereupon quoth Al-Hajjaj, \"Thou hast said well and hast spoken\nfair, O young man; and now what canst thou declare concerning a\nmaiden of ten years old?\" Quoth the youth, \"She is a joy to\nbehold.\" \"And a damsel of twenty years old?\"--\"A coolth to eyes\nmanifold.\" \"And a woman thirty of age?\"--\"One who the hearts of\nenjoyers can engage.\" \"And in her fortieth year?\"--\"Fat, fresh\nand fair doth she appear.\" \"And of the half century?\"--\"The\nmother of men and maids in plenty.\" \"And a crone of three\nscore?\"--\"Men ask of her never more.\" \"And when three score and\nten?\"--\"An old trot and remnant of men.\" \"And one who reacheth\nfour score?\"--\"Unfit for the world and for the faith forlore.\"\n\"And one of ninety?\"--\"Ask not of whoso in Jah\ufffdm be.\"[FN#94] \"And\na woman who to an hundredth hath owned?\"--\"I take refuge with\nAllah from Satan the Stoned.\" Then Al-Hajjaj laughed aloud and\nsaid, \"O young man, I desire of thee even as thou describedst\nwomankind in prose so thou show me their conditions in verse;\"\nand the Sayyid, having answered, \"Hearkening and obedience, O\nHajjaj,\" fell to improvising these couplets,[FN#95]\n\n\"When a maid owns to ten her new breasts arise * And like diver's\n     pearl with fair neck she hies:\nThe damsel of twenty defies compare * 'Tis she whose disport we\n     desire and prize:\nShe of thirty hath healing on cheeks of her; * She's a pleasure,\n     a plant whose sap never dries:\nIf on her in the forties thou happily hap * She's best of her\n     sex, hail to him with her lies!\nShe of fifty (pray Allah be copious to her!) * With wit, craft\n     and wisdom her children supplies.\nThe dame of sixty hath lost some force * Whose remnants are easy\n     to ravenous eyes:\nAt three score ten few shall seek her house * Age-threadbare made\n     till afresh she rise:\nThe fourscore dame hath a bunchy back * From mischievous eld whom\n     perforce Love flies:\nAnd the crone of ninety hath palsied head * And lies wakeful o'\n     nights and in watchful guise;\nAnd with ten years added would Heaven she bide * Shrouded in sea\n     with a shark for guide!\"\n\nHereupon Al-Hajjaj laughed aloud and all who were with him in\nassembly; and presently he resumed, \"O youth, tell me concerning\nthe first man who spake in verse[FN#96] and that was our common\nsire, Adam (The Peace be upon him!), what time K\ufffdb\ufffdl[FN#97] slew\nH\ufffdb\ufffdl his brother when our forefather improvised these lines,\n\n'Changed I see my country and all thereon; * Earth is now a\n     blackavice, ugly grown:\nThe hue and flavour of food is fled * And cheer is fainting from\n     fair face flown.\nAn thou, O Abel, be slain this day * Thy death I bemourn with\n     heart torn and lone.\nWeep these eyes and 'sooth they have right to weep * Their tears\n     are as rills flowing hills adown.\nK\ufffdbil slew H\ufffdbil--did his brother dead; * Oh my woe for that\n     lovely face, ochone!'\"[FN#98]\n\nHereat Al-Hajjaj asked, \"O young man, what drove our ancestor to\npoetry?\" whereto answered the youth--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 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 Five 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 youth\nreplied, \"He was driven to poetry by Iblis (whom Allah accurse!)\nwhen he spake in this verse,\n\n'Thou bewailest the land and all thereon * And scant was the\n     breadth of Eden didst own,\nWhere thou was girded by every good * O' life and in rest ever\n     wont to wone:\nBut ne'er ceased my wiles and my guile until * The wind o'erthrew\n     thee by folly blown.'\"[FN#99]\n\nWhereupon quoth Al-Hajjaj, \"O young man, inform me concerning the\nfirst couplet of verse spoken by the Arab in praise of\nmunificence;\" and quoth the youth, \"O Hajjaj, the first Arabic\ndistich known to me was spoken by H\ufffdtim of Tayy, and 'twas as\nfollows,\n\n'And the guest I greet ere from me he go * Before wife and weans\n     in my weal and woe.'\"\n\nThen cried Al-Hajjaj, \"Thou hast said well and hast spoken fair,\nO young man; and thy due is incumbent upon us for that thou hast\ndrowned us in the deeps of thy wisdom.\" Presently the Lieutenant\nof Kufah turning towards one of his eunuchs said, \"Bring me at\nthis very moment a purse containing ten thousand dirhams[FN#100]\nupon a charger of red gold and a suit of the rarest of my raiment\nand a blood mare the noblest steed of my steeds with a saddle of\ngold and a haubergeon;[FN#101] and a lance of full length and a\nhandmaid the handsomest of my slave-girls.\" The attendant\ndisappeared for a while, and presently brought all this between\nthe hands of Al-Hajjaj, who said, \"O young man, this damsel is\nthe fairest of my chattels, and this be the purse on a charger of\ngold, and this mare is the purest in blood of my steeds together\nwith her housings, so do thou take whatever thou desirest\nthereof, either the mare with all upon her or the purse of gold\nor the concubine,\" presently saying to himself, \"If the young man\nprefer the purse, 'twill prove he loveth the world and I will\nslay him, also if he choose the girl, he lusteth after womankind,\nand I will do him die: but if he take the mare and her furniture,\nhe will show himself the brave of braves, and he meriteth not\ndestruction at my hands.\" Then the youth came forward and took\nthe mare and her appointments. Now the damsel was standing by the\nyoung Sayyid, and she winked at him with her eye as one saying,\n\"Do thou choose me and leave all the rest;\" whereupon he began to\nimprovise the following couplets,\n\n\"The jingling bridle at Bayard's neck * Is dearer to me than what\n     sign thou deign:\nI fear when I fall into straits and fare * Abroad, no comrade in\n     thee to gain:\nI fear when lain on my couch and long * My sickness, thou prove\n     thee nor fond nor fain:\nI fear me that time groweth scant my good * And my hand be strait\n     thou shalt work me bane:\nA helpmate I want shall do what do I * And bear patient the\n     pasture of barren plain.\"[FN#102]\n\nPresently the handmaid answered his verse with the following\ncouplets,\n\n\"Forfend me, Allah, from all thou say'st * Though my left with my\n     right thou shalt hew in twain.\nA husband's honour my works shall keep * And I'll wone content\n     with his smallest gain:\nDidst know me well and my nature weet * Thou hadst found me mate\n     of the meekest strain.\nNor all of women are like to sight * Nor all of men are of\n     similar grain.\nThe charge of a mate to the good belongs; * Let this oath by\n     Allah belief obtain.\"\n\nHearing these words Al-Hajjaj exclaimed, \"Woe to thee, O damsel,\ndost thou answer him in his verse? and do thou O young man, take\nthe whole, and may Allah give thee no blessing therein.\"[FN#103]\nAnswered by the young Sayyid, \"Here with them, O Hajjaj, inasmuch\nas thou hast given them to me, I will not oppose the order of\nAllah through thee, but another time there is no union between us\ntwain, me and thee, as there hath been this day.\" Now the city of\nAl-Hajjaj had two gates--the door of Destruction and the door of\nSalvation; and when the youth asked him, \"O Hajjaj, shall I go\nforth from this or from that?\" the Lieutenant of Kufah cried,\n\"Issue by this outlet,\" and showed him the Gate of Safety. Then\nthe youth took all the presents and fared forth by the passage\nwhich had been shown to him, and went his ways and was seen no more. Hereupon the Grandees of the kingdom said to Al-Hajjaj, \"O our lord, how hast thou given to him these gifts and he hath on\nnowise thanked thee, nor wished thee well[FN#104] for thy favours, and yet hast thou pointed out to him the Gate of\nSalvation?\" Hereupon he replied, \"Verily, the youth asked\ndirection of me, and it becometh the director to be trustworthy\nand no traitor (Allah's curse be upon him who betrayeth!), and\nthis youth meriteth naught save mercy by reason of his\nlearning.\"[FN#105]\n\n\n\n\n             NIGHT ADVENTURE OF HARUN AL-RASHID AND\n                   THE YOUTH MANJAB.[FN#106]\n\n\n\nIt is told in various relations of the folk (but Allah is\nAll-knowing of His secret purpose and All-powerful and\nAll-beneficent and All-merciful in whatso of bygone years\ntranspired and amid peoples of old took place) that the Caliph\nH\ufffdr\ufffdn al-Rash\ufffdd being straitened of breast one day summoned his\nChief of the Eunuchs and said to him, \"O Masrur!\" Quoth he,\n\"Adsum, O my lord;\" and quoth the other, \"This day my breast is\nstraitened and I would have thee bring me somewhat to hearten my\nheart and consume my care.\" Replied Masrur, \"O my lord, do thou\ngo forth to thy garden and look upon the trees and the blooms and\nthe rills and listen to the warblings of the fowls.\" Harun\nreplied, \"O Masrur, thou hast mentioned a matter which palleth on\nmy palate[FN#107] nor may my breast be broadened by aught thou\nhast commended.\" Rejoined the Eunuch, \"Then do thou enter thy\npalace and having gathered thy handmaids before thee, let each\nand every say her say whilst all are robed in the choicest of\nraiment and ornaments; so shalt thou look upon them and thy\nspirits shall be cheered.\" The Caliph retorted, \"O Masrur, we\nwant other than this;\" whereupon quoth the slave, \"O Prince of\nTrue Believers, send after the Wazirs and thy brotherhood of\nlearned men and let them improvise for thee poetry and set before\nthee stories whereby shall thy care be solaced.\" Quoth he, \"O\nMasrur, naught of this shall profit me.\" Hereat cried the Eunuch,\n\"Then, O my lord, I see naught for thee save to take thy sabre\nand smite the neck of thy slave: haply and peradventure this may\ncomfort thee and do away with thy disgust.\"[FN#108] When the King\nHarun al-Rashid heard these words, he laughed aloud and said to\nhim, \"O Masrur, go forth to the gate where haply thou shalt find\nsome one of my cup-companions.\" Accordingly he went to the porte\nin haste and there came upon one of the courtiers which was Ali\nibn Mans\ufffdr Al-Dimishk\ufffd and brought him in. The Commander of the\nFaithful seeing him bade him be seated and said, \"O Ibn Mansur, I\nwould have thee tell me a tale somewhat rare and strange; so\nperchance my breast may be broadened and my doleful dumps from me\ndepart.\" Said he, \"O Prince of True Believers, dost thou desire\nthat I relate to thee of the things which are past and gone or I\nrecount a matter I espied with my own eyes?\" Al-Rashid replied,\n\"An thou have sighted somewhat worthy seeing relate it to us for\nhearing is not like beholding.\" He rejoined, \"O Emir al-Muumin\ufffdn,\nwhilst I tell thee this tale needs must thou lend me ear and\nmind;\" and the Caliph[FN#109] retorted, \"Out with thy story, for\nhere am I hearkening to thee with ears and eyes wide awake, so\nthat my soul may understand the whole of this say.\" Hereupon Ibn\nMansur related to him \"The Loves of the Lovers of\nBassorah.\"[FN#110] Now when Al-Rashid heard the tale of Ibn\nMansur there fell from him somewhat of his cark and care but he\nwas not wholly comforted. He spent the night in this case and\nwhen it was morning he summoned the Wazir Ja'afar ibn Yahy\ufffd the\nBarmaki, and cried to him, \"O Ja'afar!\" He replied, \"Here am I!\nAllah lengthen thy life, and make permanent thy prosperity.\" The\nCaliph resumed, \"Verily my breast is straitened and it hath\npassed through my thought that we fare forth, I and thou (and\nEunuch Masrur shall make a third), and we will promenade the main\nstreets of Baghdad and solace ourselves with seeing its several\nplaces and peradventure I may espy somewhat to hearten my heart\nand clear off my care and relieve me of what is with me of\nstraitness of breast.\" Ja'afar made answer, \"O Commander of the\nFaithful, know that thou art Caliph and Regent and Cousin to the\nApostle of Allah and haply some of the sons of the city may speak\nwords that suit thee not and from that matter may result other\nmatter with discomfort to thy heart and annoyance to thy mind,\nthe offender unknowing the while that thou art walking the\nstreets by night. Then thou wilt command his head to be cut off\nand what was meant for pleasure may end in displeasure and wrath\nand wrong-doing.\" Al-Rashid replied, \"I swear by the rights of my\nforbears and ancestors even if aught mishap to us from the\nmeanest of folk as is wont to happen or he speak words which\nshould not be spoken, that I will neither regard them nor reply\nthereto, neither will I punish the aggressor, nor shall aught\nlinger in my heart against the addresser; but need must I pass\nthrough the Bazar this very night.\" Hereupon quoth Ja'afar to the\nCaliph, \"O Viceregent of Allah upon earth, do thou be steadfast\nof purpose and rely upon Allah!\"[FN#111] Then they arose and\narousing Masrur doffed what was upon them of outer dress and\nbag-trousers and habited themselves each one of them in garments\ndiffering from those of the city folks. Presently they sallied\nforth by the private postern and walked from place to place till\nthey came to one of the highways of the capital and after\nthreading its length they arrived at a narrow street whose like\nwas never seen about all the horizons.[FN#112] This they found\nswept and sprinkled with the sweet northern breeze playing\nthrough it and at the head thereof rose a mansion towering from\nthe dust and hanging from the necks of the clouds. Its whole\nlength was of sixty cubits whereas its breadth was of twenty\nells; its gate was of ebony inlaid with ivory and plated with\nplates of yellow brass while athwart the doorway hung a curtain\nof sendal and over it was a chandelier of gold fed with oil of\n'Ir\ufffdk\ufffd violets which brightened all that quarter with its light.\nThe King Harun al-Rashid and the Wazir and the Eunuch stood\nmarvelling at what they saw of these signs and at what they smelt\nof the scents breathing from the clarity[FN#113] of this palace\nas though they were the waftings of the perfumed gardens of\nParadise and they cast curious glances at the abode so lofty and\nof base so goodly and of corners so sturdy, whose like was never\nbuilded in those days. Presently they noted that its entrance was\npoikilate with carvings manifold and arabesques of glittering\ngold and over it was a line writ in letters of lapis lazuli. So\nAl-Rashid took seat under the candelabrum with Ja'afar standing\non his right and Masrur afoot to his left and he exclaimed, \"O\nWazir, this mansion is naught save in the utmost perfection of\nbeauty and degree; and verily its lord must have expended upon it\nwealth galore and of gold a store; and, as its exterior is\nmagnificent exceedingly, so would to Heaven I knew what be its\ninterior.\" Then the Caliph cast a glance at the upper lintel of\nthe door whereupon he saw inscribed in letters of golden water\nwhich glittered in the rays of the chandelier,\n\n\"WHOSO SPEAKETH OF WHAT CONCERNETH HIM NOT SHALL HEAR WHAT\nPLEASETH HIM NOT.\"\n\nHereupon quoth Al-Rashid, \"O Ja'afar, the house-master never\nwrote yonder lines save for a reason and I desire to discover\nwhat may be his object, so let us forgather with him and ask him\nthe cause of this legend being inscribed in this place.\" Quoth\nJa'afar, \"O Prince of True Believers, yonder lines were never\nwritten save in fear of the curtain of concealment being\nwithdrawn.\"--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 King\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n            The Six 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, that Ja'afar\nthe Barmecide said to the King, \"Verily the master of this house\nnever wrote yonder lines save in fear lest the curtain of\nconcealment be withdrawn.\" Hearing this the Caliph held his peace\nfor a while and fell to pondering this matter then said he, \"O\nJa'afar, knock at the door and ask for us a gugglet of water;\"\nand when the Wazir did his bidding one of the slaves called out\nfrom within the entrance, \"Who is it rappeth at our gate?\"\nHereupon said Masrur to him, \"O son of my uncle, open to us the\ndoor and give us a gugglet of water for that our lord thirsteth.\"\nThe chattel went in to his master, the young man, Manj\ufffdb hight,\nwho owned the mansion, and said, \"O my lord, verily there be at\nour door three persons who have rapped for us and who ask for a\ndrink of water.\" The master asked, \"What manner of men may they\nbe?\" and the slave answered, \"One of them sitteth under the\nchandelier and another of them standeth by his side and the third\nis a black slave between their hands; and all three show signs of\nstaidness and dignity than which naught can be more.\" \"Go forth\nto them,\" exclaimed the master, \"and say to them, 'My lord\ninviteth you to become of his guests.'\" So the servile went out\nand delivered the message, whereat they entered and found five\nlines of inscription in different parts of the hall with a\ncandelabrum overhanging each and every and the whole five\ncontained the sentence we have before mentioned; furthermore all\nthe lights were hung up over the legend that the writing might be\nmade manifest unto whoso would read it. Accordingly Harun\nal-Rashid entered and found a mansion of kingly degree[FN#114]\nand of marvellous ordinance in the utmost that could be of beauty\nand ornament and five black slaves and as many Eunuchs were\nstanding in the saloon to offer their services. Seeing this the\nCaliph marvelled with extreme marvel at the house and the\nhouse-master who greeted them in friendly guise; after which he to whom the palace belonged sat down upon a divan and bade Al-Rashid sit over against him and signed to Ja'afar and Masrur to take their places in due degree,[FN#115] whilst the negroes and the eunuchs stood expecting their commands for suit and service.\nPresently was brought to them a huge waxen taper which lighted up\nthe whole of the hall and the young house-master accosted the\nKing and said to him, \"Well come and welcome and fair welcome to\nour guests who to us are the most esteemed of folk and may Allah\nhonour their places!\" Hereupon he began to repeat the following\ncouplets,[FN#116]\n\n\"If the house knew who visits it, it would indeed rejoice * And\n     stoop to kiss the happy place whereon her feet have stood;\nAnd in the voice with which the case, though mute, yet speaks, *\n     Exclaim, 'Well come and many a welcome to the generous, and\n     the good.'\"\n\nPresently Manjab the master of the house bade bring for his\nguests meats and viands meet for the great, of all kinds and of\nevery colour, so they obeyed his orders, and when they had eaten\ntheir sufficiency they were served with confections perfumed with\nrose-water wondrous fine. Hereupon quoth the youth to Al-Rashid\nand those with him, \"Almighty Allah make it pleasant to\nyou[FN#117] and blame us not and accept our excuses for what\nAllah hath made easy to us at such time of night, and there is no\ndoubt but that this be a fortunate day when ye made act of\npresence before us.\" They thanked him and Al-Rashid's breast was\nbroadened and his heart was heartened and there fell from him all\nthat whilom irked him. Then the youth shifted them from that\nplace to another room which was the women's apartment; and here\nhe seated them upon the highest Divan and bade serve to them a\nplatter containing fruits of all descriptions and ordered his\nservants to bring roast meats and fried meats and when this was\ndone they set before them the service of wine. Anon appeared four\ntroops of singers with their instruments of music and each was\ncomposed of five handmaids, so the whole numbered a score and\nthese when they appeared before the master kissed ground between\nhis hands and sat down each one in her own degree. Then amongst\nthem the cups went about and all sorrow was put to rout and the\nbirds of joyance flapped their wings. This continued for an hour\nof time whilst the guests sat listening to the performers on the\nlute and other instruments and after there came forward five\ndamsels other than the first twenty and formed a second and\nseparate set and they showed their art of singing in wondrous\nmode even as was done by the first troop. Presently on like guise\ncame set after set till the whole twenty had performed and as\nAl-Rashid heard their strains he shook with pleasure--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 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 Six 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 when\nAl-Rashid heard their strains, he shook with pleasure and wonder\nand joyance and enjoyment until he rent his robes[FN#118] and the\nhouse-master beholding this said to him, \"O our lord, be the\nheart of thine enemies thus rended asunder!\" Now there was\namongst the handmaids a songstress who began to sing and to\nimprovise these couplets,\n\n\"My world goes strait when thou art a-gone * And when fled from\n     my ken in my heart dost wone[FN#119]\nAnd I love my love with a love as fond * As Jacob him who in pit\n     was thrown.\"\n\nHereupon Ja'afar was delighted with exceeding delight and rent\nhis raiment even as the Caliph had done, but when the\nhouse-master saw this from him he ordered for the twain a suit of\nclothes that befitted them and bade strip them of the rended\ngarments and clothed them in the new. Presently the young man\nsaid, \"O my lords, your time is gleesome and Allah make it to you\ngladsome and broaden your hearts and from you fend everything\nloathsome and lasting to you be honour and all that is\nblithesome.\" Hereupon he ordered another damsel to chaunt that\nwas with her and when Masrur the Eunuch heard it he tare his\ngarment as had been done by Al-Rashid and the Wazir, when the\nhouse-master bade bring for him a suit that besitted him and they\ndonned it after doffing the torn clothes. Then the youth ordered\na handmaid of the fourth set who sang a tune and spake these\ncouplets,\n\n\"Thou hast a lover of looks lune-bright * And lighter than\n     crescent[FN#120] he shows to sight;\nFor the sheen of the crescent shall ever wane * But he shall grow\n     to a perfect light.\"[FN#121]\n\nHearing this Manjab the master of the house shrieked out a mighty\nloud shriek and tare his upper dress and fell aswoon to the\nground, and as Al-Rashid looked upon him (and he bestrown in his\nfainting fit) he beheld upon his sides the stripes of scourging\nwith rods and palm-sticks. At this sight he was surprised and\nsaid, \"O Ja'afar, verily I marvel at this youth and his\ngenerosity and munificence and fine manners, especially when I\nlook upon that which hath befallen him of beating and\nbastinadoing, and in good sooth this is a wondrous matter.\" Quoth\nthe other, \"O our lord, haply someone hath harmed him in much\nmoney and his enemy took flight and the owner of the property\nadministered to him this beating[FN#122] or peradventure someone\nlied concerning him, and he fell into the hands of the rulers and\nthe Sultan bade bastinado him, or again perchance his tongue\ntripped and his fate was fulfilled to him.\" Quoth Al-Rashid, \"O\nJa'afar, this youth be not in the conditions thou hast mentioned\nto me,\" and, replied the other, \"Sooth thou hast said, O our\nlord; by cause that indeed this young man, when we asked him for\na gugglet of water invited us into his place and honoured us with\nall this honour and heartened our hearts and this was of the\nstress of his generosity and his abundant goodness.\" Al-Rashid\ncontinued to converse with his Wazir while the young man did not\nrecover from his swoon for a while of time, when another maiden\nof the maidens spoke out reciting these couplets,\n\n\"He adorns the branch of his tribal-tree, * Loves the fawn his\n     song as his sight she see;\nAnd beauty shines in his every limb * While in every heart he\n     must stablished be.\"\n\nHereat the young man came to himself and shrieked a mighty loud\nshriek more violent than the first and put forth his hand to his\ngarment and rent it in rags and fell swooning a second time, when\nhis sides were bared more fully than before until the whole of\nhis back appeared and Al-Rashid was straitened thereby as to his\nbreast and his patience made protest, and he cried, \"O Ja'afar,\nthere is no help but that I ask concerning the wheals of this\nbastinadoing.\" And as they talked over the matter of the youth\nbehold, he came to his senses and his slaves brought him a fresh\nsuit and caused him don it, whereupon Al-Rashid came forward and\nsaid, \"O young man, thou hast honoured us and favoured us and\nentreated us with such kindness as other than thyself could never\ndo nor can any requite us with the like; withal there remaineth a\nsomewhat in my heart\"--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of\nday 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 night\nan the King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night\nand that was\n\n            The Six 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 Al-Rashid\nsaid to the youth, the master of the house, \"Withal there\nremaineth a somewhat in my heart which if I manifest not to thee\nwill abide there to my displeasure in my thought; and, albeit\nthere is nothing to equal that thou hast done with us, still I\ndesire of thee and of the excellence of thy kindness a fulfilling\nof thy favour.\" Said the youth, \"What dost thou wish of me, ho\nthou the lord?\" and said the Caliph, \"I would have thee inform me\nconcerning the scars upon thy sides and let me know for what\ncause they be there.\" Now when the young man heard these words he\nbowed his brow groundwards and wept awhile, then he wiped his\nface and raised his head and asked, \"What hath urged you to this?\nBut the fault is from me and I merit a penalty even greater. O\nsons of impurity, say me have you not read the lines written over\nthe doors of my house that here you are speaking of what\nconcerneth you not and so right soon shall ye hear what pleaseth\nyou not? However, had ye never entered my house you would not\nhave known of my case and my shame[FN#123] and withal sooth spoke\nhe who said amongst his many sayings,\n\n'We sowed kindness-seed but they wrought us wrong * Which is\n     caitiff-work and a traitor-deed.'\"\n\nResumed the young man, \"O vilest of folk, you asked of me a\ngugglet of water, and I brought you into my house and honoured\nand welcomed you and you ate of my victual and my salt, after\nwhich I led you into my Harem with the fancy that ye were honest\nmen and behold you are no men. Woe to you, what may ye be?\" On\nthis wise he continued to chide and revile them unknowing that\nthe Caliph Harun al-Rashid stood before him, and presently the\nPrince of True Believers made reply, \"We be folk of Bassorah.\"\n\"Truth you have spoken,\" cried the other, \"nothing cometh from\nBassorah save the meanest of men and the weakest of wits but now\nrise up, O ye dung[FN#124] of mankind, O ye foulest of folk, and\ngo forth from us and may Allah curse him who speaketh of whatso\nconcerneth him not.\" All this and Ja'afar and Masrur rose to\ntheir feet for shame of the youth and of what they had heard from\nhim of ill language and they went from beside him. But\nAl-Rashid's temper was ruffled and his jugulars swelled and the\nHashimi vein stood out between his eyes and he cried, \"Woe to\nthee, O Ja'afar! go this moment to Such-an-one the Wali and bid\nhim muster his men of whom each one must have in hand an\nimplement of iron, and let him repair to the mansion of this\nyouth and raze it till it return to be level with the ground, nor\nlet the morning dawn and show a trace thereof upon the face of\nearth.\" Quoth Ja'afar to Al-Rashid, \"O Prince of True Believers,\nfrom the very first we feared for all this, and did we not make\ncondition on the subject? However, O our lord, the good man is\nnot ruined by the good man and this work is not righteous; nay,\n'tis wholly unright, and one of the sages hath said, 'The mild in\nmind is not known save in the hour of wrath.' But, O Prince of\nfaithful men and O Caliph of the Lord who the worlds dost\nvice-reign, thou swarest an oath that although the vilest of men\nshould ill-speak thee yet wouldest thou not requite him with\nevil, nor return him aught of reply nor keep aught of rancour in\nthy heart for his unmannerly address. Moreover, O our lord, the\nyouth hath no default at all and the offence is from us, for that\nhe forbade and forefended us and wrote up in many a place the\nwarning words, Whoso speaketh of what concerneth him not, shall\nhear what pleaseth him not. Therefore he unmeriteth the pain of\ndeath. Now what we had better do in this case is as\nfollows:--Send thou for the Wali and bid him bring the youth and\nwhen he is present between thy hands, encounter him with kindness\nthat his fear may find rest and his affright be arrested after\nwhich he shall inform thee of whatso befel him.\" Cried Al-Rashid,\n\"This is the right rede and Allah requite thee with weal, O\nJa'afar. 'Tis the like of thee should be Wazir of the Councillors\nand Counseller of the Kings.\" Hereupon Harun al-Rashid returned\nto his palace in company with Masrur the eunuch, and they entered\nthe aforesaid private door whereby they had gone forth, nor was\nany aware of them. But when Ja'afar reached his abode he took\nthought in his mind as to how he should act and how he should\nsend the Wali to the young man and bring him into the presence;\nand presently he retraced his way afoot and going to the Chief of\nPolice acquainted him with the matter of the youth and carefully\ndescribed his house and said to him, \"Needs must thou bring him\nto us in the front of morning, but do thou be courteous in thy\ndealing and show him comradeship and startle him not nor cause\nhim aught of fear.\" After this Ja'afar dismissed the Wali and\nreturned to his own quarters. And when the morning morrowed the\nChief of Police, having chosen him as escort a single Mameluke,\nmade for the house of the youth, and when he had reached it\nknocked at the door, upon which the owner came out to him and the\nWali knew him by the description wherewith Ja'afar had described\nhim, so he bade him accompany him. Hereat the heart of the young\nman fluttered.--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 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 Six 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\nyouth's heart fluttered when the Chief of Police summoned him to\ngo in his company and he was smitten by sore fear; but the Wali\nsaid to him, \"No harm shall befal thee: obey the summons of the\nCommander of the Faithful.\" Now when he heard these words Manjab\nwas terrified with sorer alarm and affright, so by leave of the\nWali he entered his house and farewelled his family and familiars\nafter which he fared forth with the Chief of Police saying,\n\"Hearkening and obedience to Allah and to the Prince of True\nBelievers.\" Then he mounted his beast and the two rode together\nuntil they reached the Palace of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid where\nthey craved admission to the presence; and, when leave was\ngranted, the youth went in and standing between the hands of\nHarun he encouraged his intent and made his tongue eloquent and\nkissed ground between the royal hands and sat respectfully before\nhim. Then he began with a tongue that was free of fear and showed\nnaught of apprehension and spake the following lines,\n\n\"Hail to this place for such be honoured stead * Of God's\n     viceregent known to all and some:\nPalace of Al-Rashid, our lord, which aye * Excelleth Heaven\n     higher still become:\nI haste that may I write what should be writ * And eloquent the\n     writ albe 'tis dumb.\"\n\nAfter which he said, \"The peace be upon thee, O Commander of the\nFaithful, and Allah prolong thy life and gladden unto thee what\nHe hath given.\" Hereat Al-Rashid raised his head, and returning\nhis greeting signed to the Wazir Ja'afar who, as was his wont,\nstood by his side, and the Minister taking the youth's hand, led\nhim up to Al-Rashid and seated him beside him. \"Draw near me,\"\nsaid Harun al-Rashid, and the young man did accordingly until he\nwas close to the King who thus addressed him, \"O young man, what\nis thy name?\" The other replied, \"I am Manjab hight wherefrom\nhath been cut off all cause of delight and who for a year hath\nsuffered parlous plight.\" \"O Manjab,\" quoth the Caliph, \"favour\nfor favour and the beginner is the better, and ill for ill and\nthe first is the worst, and whoso seed of good soweth shall reap\nit, and whoso planteth evil shall harvest it, and know thou, O\nManjab, that yesterday we were thy guests, and that in thee was\nno default, but we transgressed against thee when thou honouredst\nus with most high honour, and favouredst us with the highmost\nfavours. I desire, however, that thou relate to me the cause of\nthe blows upon thy body and no harm shall befal thee.\" The youth\nreplied, \"O Prince of True Believers, an thou desire to hear my\ntale order me a cushion to be placed on my right hand, and deign\nlend unto me three things, to wit, thine ears and thine eyes and\nthy heart, for verily my adventure is wondrous and were it graven\nwith needle-gravers on the eye-corners it would be a warning to\nwhoso would be warned and a matter of thought to whoso would\nthink. Learn, O Commander of the Faithful, that my father was a\njeweller man, a connoisseur in gems, who owned no son save\nmyself; but when I had increased in age and had grown in stature\nand Allah had given me comeliness and perfection and beauty and\nbrilliancy and plenty and good fortune, and my sire had brought\nme up with the best of education, Allah vouchsafed to him a\ndaughter. Now as I had reached the age of twenty years my parent\ndeparted to the ruth of Allah Almighty, bequeathing to me a\nthousand thousand dinars and fiefs and tenements and landed\nestates, so I let perform for him a sufficiency of\nmortuary-ceremonies after committing him to mother earth, and\ncaused read twenty perlections of the Koran, and bestowed for him\nin alms a mighty matter. I abode a-mourning for him a month full\ntold, and when the term was ended my heart turned to diversion\nand disport and eating and drinking, and I made presents and gave\naway and doled charities of that my property, and I bought other\ntenements at the highest price. After this I purchased me singing\ndamsels of the greatest value, and whosoever of my friends and\ncompanions was pleased with a musician girl I would hand her over\nto him without price; nay, I would present her in free gift, and\nif any saw aught of my belongings which pleased him and said to\nme, 'This is nice,' I would bestow it upon him without\nmoney-claim. Furthermore I robed all my familiars in honourable\nrobes, and honoured them with the highest honour, lavishing all\nthat was by me, and whatever my hand possessed, ever quoting\nthese lines,\n\n'Rise, O comrade of cup, and to joy incline; * I've no patience,\n     O brother, from pressing of wine:\nSee'st not how night with her hosts be fled * Routed, and morn\n     doth her troops align?\nHow with Nadd and ambergris, rarest scents, * Rose laughs and\n     smiles on us Eglantine?\nThis, my lord, is joy, this is pure delight. * Not standing at\n     doors which the books confine.'\n\nBut when my mother, O Commander of the Faithful, espied these\ndoings she reproached me, yet would I not be reproved. Then she\nsaw that my wealth would be wasted, so she divided it between me\nand her, to each one half, a moiety for herself and her daughter,\nand the rest for myself. And presently she left me, carrying away\nher good and separated herself from me, abiding afar and leaving\nme to enjoy my frivolity and intoxication. I ceased not eating\nand drinking and diversion and disport, and enjoying the\nall-conquering faces of the beautiful,[FN#125] until the days\nsmote me with their shafts, and all my wealth fell away from me\nand naught remained to me either above me or below me, and I\nceased to be master of aught. Then my condition waxed strait, and\nas nothing was left to me at home I sold the pots and pans until\nI lacked even a sleeping-mat, and I used to patch my skirt with\nmy sleeve. And naught profited me, neither friend nor familiar\nnor lover, nor remained there any one of them to feed me with a\nloaf of bread; so my case became hard and the folk entreated me\nevilly, nor was there one of my comrades or compeers who would\ntake thought for me; nay more, when I met any of them on the road\nor at the receptions they would turn away their faces from me. So\nat last I took to pulling up the slabs[FN#126] of the house floor\nand selling them by way of a livelihood, and one day as I did on\nthis wise, lo and behold! there opened in the floor a large vault\nwhereinto I descended.\"--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 night\nan the King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next\nnight, and that was\n\n              The Six 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 youth\nManjab continued his tale to Al-Rashid in these words. \"So I\ndescended into the vault, O Commander of the Faithful, and I\nfound there three boxes each containing five bags and every bag\nheld five thousand gold pieces. I carried forth the whole of them\nand set them in an apartment of the apartments and returned the\nflag of the floor to its place. Then I pondered what my brethren\nand companions had done with me, after which, O Prince of True\nBelievers, I bought handsome clothes and made my person as it was\nbefore; and as soon as those men who were with me of yore and\nupon whom I had spent my substance in gifts and presents beheld\nme on such wise they flocked around me again. I accepted of them\nfor a device which I purposed carrying out and took patience with\nthem for a whole month whilst they came to visit me every day.\nBut when it was the thirty-first day I summoned the Kazi and his\nassessors whom I concealed in a private place and bade write a\nbond and an acceptance for everything they might hear from my\nfamiliars and friends. After this I spread a feast and assembled\nall my associates; and when we had eaten and drunken and made\nmerry, I drew them on to talk and to each and every whom I had\ngifted with a present I said, 'Allah upon thee, O Such-an-one,\ndid I not donate to thee so-and-so without taking any return from\nthee?' And they replied, 'Yes, thou gavest it to me for naught.'\nI continued, O Prince of True Believers, to address each and all\nafter this fashion whilst the Kazi and witnesses wrote down\nagainst them everything they heard from them and documented every\nword until not one of my friends remained without confession.\nThen, O Commander of the Faithful, I rose to my feet without\ndelay and ere anyone could leave the assembly I brought out the\nKazi and his assessors and showed them the writ in the name of\neveryone, specifying whatso he had received from the youth\nManjab. After this manner I redeemed all they had taken from me\nand my hand was again in possession thereof, and I waxed sound of\nframe and my good case returned to me as it had been. Now one day\nof the days I took thought in my mind, O Prince of True\nBelievers, that I could open the shop of my sire and I would sit\nin it as my parent was wont to do, selling and buying in\nsumptuous Hindi cloths and jewelry and precious metals.\nAccordingly I repaired to the place, which I found fast locked\nand the spider had pitched her web-tent about it; so I hired a\nman to wipe it and sweep it clean of all that was therein. And\nwhen the Bazar folk and the merchants and the masters of shops\nsaw me they rejoiced in me and came to congratulate me saying,\n'Praise be to Allah who opened not the store save for the owner\nthereof in succession to his sire.' Then I took of merchandise a\nmighty matter and my shop became one whose like was not to be\nlooked upon throughout the market-street, and amongst the goods I\nlaid in were carnelians of Al-Yaman; after which I seated me upon\nmy shop-board that very day and sold and bought and took and\ngave, and I ceased not to be after such wise for nine days. Now\nwhen it was the tenth day I entered the Hammam and came out after\ndonning a dress which was worth one thousand gold pieces, and my\nbeauty was increased and my colour waxed sheeny-bright and my\nyouth looked as though it had been redoubled, and I was not such\nbut that the women were like to throw themselves upon me.\nHowever, when I returned from the Baths and sat in my store for\nan hour or so behold, I heard a shout that came from the depths\nof the Bazar and heard one saying, 'Have patience,'[FN#127] when\nsuddenly I looked up and saw a stare-coloured mule whereon was a\nsaddle of gold dubbed with pearls and gems, and upon it an old\nwoman was riding accompanied by three pages. She ceased not going\ntill she stood at my shop-door where she drew rein and her\nservants halted with her. Then she salam'd to me and said, 'How\nlong is't since thou hast opened this store?' and said I, 'This\nday is the full tenth.' Quoth she, 'Allah have ruth upon the\nowner of this shop, for he was indeed a merchant.' Quoth I, 'He\nwas my parent,' and replied she, 'Thou art Manjab named and as\nuniter of thy friends enfamed.' Said I, 'Yes!' whereat she smiled\nand questioned me, 'And how is thy sister, and what is the\ncondition of thy mother, and what is the state of thy\nneighbours?' 'They are all well,' said I, when said she, 'O my\nson, O Manjab, thou hast grown up and reached man's estate.'\nRejoined I, 'Whoso liveth groweth up;' and she continued, 'Say me\nhast thou a necklace of gems which is pleasing to the sight?' I\nresponded, 'With me in the shop are many necklaces but I have\nbetter at home and I will bring them for thee betimes to-morrow\nif it be the will of Almighty Allah.' When she heard these my\nwords she returned by the way she came and her pages walked by\nher side; and at the end of the day I went to my mother and\ninformed her of the adventure how it was with the old woman and\nshe said, 'O my son, O Manjab, verily that ancient dame is a\nconfidential nurse and she conferreth benefits upon the folk\namongst whom was thy sire before thee: therefore do thou be\nurgent in bringing about her business nor do thou forgo thine\nappointment with her.' The old woman disappeared for a day; but\non the next she returned in her wonted state and when she came to\nmy shop she said, 'O Manjab, arise and mount thy mule in weal and\ngood health!' So I left my store and mounted my she-mule.\"--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 would relate to you in the coming night an the Sovran\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night, and that\nwas\n\n            The Six 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\nManjab said to the Prince of True Believers, \"So I mounted my\nshe-mule and I went with the old woman until I came to a mansion\nbuilt of stone and wide of gates; so we dismounted, I and she,\nand entered the door, I following after her until we came to the\ngreat hall. There I found, O Prince of True Believers, carpets of\nfine silk and embroidered hangings and mattresses of gold-cloth\nand vases of the same kind all golden and fine brocades and jars\nof porcelain and shelves of crystal; in fine I saw things which I\nmay not describe to thee, O Commander of the Faithful. And at the\nside of the mansion within were four bench-seats of yellow brass,\nplain and without carving, and the old woman seated me upon the\nhighest mattress and she pointed out to me a porch where stood\npourtrayed all manner birds and beasts, and hills and channels\nwere limned. Now as I cast my eye over these paintings suddenly a\nyoung lady accosted us speaking with a delicate voice demure and\nwords that the sick and sorry would cure and she was behind a\nhanging and saying, 'Whoso hath let down this curtain let him\nreceive one hundred stripes.' Then she bade withdraw it and they\nremoved it and behold, I felt as though the lightning were\ngleaming and glittering and it took away my sight until my head\nwas near striking the ground, for there stood before me a young\nlady of lance-like stature and a face like the morning bright as\nthough she were a chandelier a-hanging amid the cressets. She was\ndressed in sumptuous raiment and was even as said of her the\npoet,\n\n'To us she bent whenas Night hung her veil * And nigh went she my\n     sense to turn from right;\nAnd rang her anklets and her necklace chimed * With dainty music\n     to my tearful plight.\nShowed me that her face a four-fold charm, * Water and fire and\n     pitch and lamping light.'\n\nThen, O Commander of the Faithful, she cried out to the slave\ngirls, 'Woe to you, where is the Nurse,' and when she was fetched\nbetween her hands she asked her, 'Hast thou brought the\njeweller;' and the other answered, 'Yea, verily, O lady of\nloveliness, and here he is sitting like the full moon when it\neasteth.' The young lady cried, 'O old woman, is this he or is it\nhis servant?'[FN#128] Whereto she replied, 'No, 'tis he himself,\nO lady of loveliness.' Quoth the other, 'By the life of my\nyouth,[FN#129] thou deservest naught for this[FN#130] save whatso\nthou fanciest not and thou hast raised me from before my\nfood[FN#131] while yet I fancied that he merited rising up to\nhim.' Then she considered me and cried, 'Am I then in this\nfashion become[FN#132] a bundle of dirty clothes all of poverty,\nand say me now, hast thou not even washed thy face?' But I, O\nPrince of True Believers, was still as I came forth from the\nHammam and my countenance was shining like unto lightning. Hereat\nI made myself exceeding small and it mortified me to hear how she\nhad found fault with my face and befouled my dress, scorning me\ntill I became between her hands smaller than the very smallest.\nThen she fixed her sight upon me and she said to me, 'Thou art\nManjab hight, thou dogs' trysting-site or gatherer of friends as\nsaith other wight, but by Allah how far be familiars and friends\nfrom thy sight, O thou Manjab hight! Now, however, do thou look\nupon me, O Jeweller man, the while I eat and when my meal shall\nend there will be talk.' Hereupon, O Commander of the Faithful,\nthey brought her a crystal platter in a golden basin and therein\nwere the thighs of fowls; so she took seat before me and fell to\neating without shyness or difficulty as though in her presence I\nwere other than a son of Adam. And I stood looking at her and\nwhenever she raised her wrist to take up a morsel, the\ndimple[FN#133] became manifest from without, and upon the skin\nwas a tattoo of green colour and about it jewelled\nornaments[FN#134] and armlets of red gold and a pink dye appeared\nupon the whiteness of her hand: so glory be to Him who created\nher and she was naught but a seduction to whoso espied her and\nblessed be Allah the best of Creators. May the Almighty have ruth\nupon the poet who said concerning the beauty of his lover these\ncouplets,\n\n'Rise and pass me the wine, O thou son of Mans\ufffdr; * And for\n     stopping it hope not my pardon forsure:\nLet it come by the hand of a fair white maid * As though she had\n     fared from the Heav'n of the H\ufffdr:\nWhen we see the figure her wrist adorns * 'Tis a musk grain lying\n     on limestone pure.'\n\nThen, O Prince of True Believers, she fell to conversing with me\nhending in hand a broidered kerchief wherewith whenever she had\neaten a morsel she wiped her lips and when her sleeve fell from\noff her wrist she tucked it up even as the poet said of such,\n\n'She hideth her face from the folk, * With a wrist whereon Ottars\n     abound;\nAnd to eye of watcher it seems * Gold shaft on Moon's silvern\n     round.'\n\nNow when she had eaten, O Commander of the Faithful, I gazed at\nher face and she cried, 'O ye women, behold how Manjab looketh\nupon me and I am eating till my nature cry enough;' presently\nadding, 'O Manjab, what calamity hath befallen thee that thou\ncomest not forward and eatest not of this food?' So I drew anigh\nand ate with her, but I was dazed of my wits and sore amazed at\nher ways.\"--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 King\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n             The Six 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 Manjab\ncontinued to the Caliph, \"Verily I came forward and ate with her,\nbut I was so dazed of my wits and so sore amazed at her beauty\nand loveliness that as I took up a mouthful to carry it to my\nmouth behold, I would carry it to my eyes in consequence of what\nbefel me from seeing that was in this young lady. And presently\nshe fell to laughing at me and inclining towards me in her\nhaughtiness and in beauty's pride, saying at the same time, 'By\nAllah, indeed this man is a maniac and a Bahl\ufffdl:[FN#135] where is\nthy mouth and how far from thine eye?' So said I, 'By Allah, O\nlady of loveliness, I am nor a madman nor a Bahl\ufffdl, but whilst\nlooking at thy beauty my wits have fled and I am in condition of\nunknowing how I ate.' Then she asked me, 'Do I please thee, O\nManjab?' and I answered her 'Yes! Wall\ufffdhi, O my lady, indeed thou\ndost.' Quoth she, 'What should be the penalty of him who owning\nme and my white beauties[FN#136] shall then forsake me to take\nother than myself?' and quoth I, 'His award should be a thousand\nstripes upon his right side and as many upon his left ribs,\ntogether with the cutting off of his tongue and his two hands and\nthe plucking out of either eye.' She cried, 'Wilt thou marry me\nupon this condition?' and I replied, 'O my lady, dost thou mock\nand laugh at me?' Said she, 'No, by Allah, my word is naught save\na true word'; and said I, 'I am satisfied and I accept this\ncompact; however do thou make haste and delay not.' But when she\nlooked at me and heard mine intent regarding the marriage she\nshook with joy and pride and she inclined towards me as she sat\nbefore me and my senses were like to take flight. Then she rose\nup and left me for an hour and came back dressed in sumptuous\ngarments and fairer than before, and perfumes reeked from her\nsides as she walked between four handmaidens like unto the\nrefulgent moon. But I, when I looked upon her in this condition,\ncried out with a loud outcry and fell fainting to the ground for\nwhat befel me from her beauty and perfection: and she had no\ndesign therein, O Commander of the Faithful, save her favour for\nme. When I came to myself she said, 'O Manjab, what dost thou say\nof my beauty and comeliness?' and I replied, 'By Allah, O lady of\nloveliness, there is none in this time can be thy peer.' Then\nquoth she, 'An I please thee thou wilt be content with these\nconditions?' whereto quoth I, 'Content! CONTENT!! CONTENT!!!'\nThereupon she bade summon the Kazi and the assessors who came\nwithout stay or delay and she said to the Judge 'Do thou listen\nto the condition of this marriage and write from his word of\nmouth a bond on oath and under penalty for breaking it, to the\neffect that if he betray me and mate with other or by way of\nright or of unright, I will smite him a thousand stripes on his\nright side and as many on his left ribs and I will cut off his\ntongue and his two hands and I will pluck out his either eye.'\nSaid the Kazi to me, 'Shall we bear witness against thee with\nthis condition?' and when I answered 'Yes,' he wrote out, O\nCommander of the Faithful, his testimony together with the\npenalty, while I hardly believed in all this. Presently, she\nbrought out a tray, whereupon were a thousand miskals of gold and\na thousand dirhams of silver which she scattered among the Kazi\nand witnesses; so they took them and went their ways having duly\ntied the marriage-knot and indited the penalty thereto attached.\nThen they served up food and we ate and drank and I lay with her\nthat night in the pleasantest of nighting and the gladsomest of\nliving and I only desired that morning would never appear for the\nstress of what befel me of joyance and delight; and, verily, I\nnever saw and never heard and never knew any that was the like of\nher. So I abode with her, O Prince of True Believers, for seven\ndays which passed away as one watch,[FN#137] and on the eighth\nshe said to me, 'O thou Manjab named and for friend of friends\nenfamed, do thou take this purse wherein are a thousand dinars\nand buy with it merchandise of necklaces and gems and fine\nclothes wherewith to beautify thy shop and other things that\nbefit thee; for 'tis my will that thou become the greatest of men\nin the Bazar and that none therein shall boast of more good than\nthyself. Moreover 'tis my wish, O Manjab, that thou fare to thy\nstore at early dawn and return to me about noon-tide, lest my\nbreast be straitened by thine absence.' Replied I, 'Hearkening\nand obedience,' but, O Commander of the Faithful, it was mine\nintent and desire never to fare forth from her, or by night or by\nday, from the stress of what befel me of enjoyment with my bride.\nNow she was wont every hour to go don a dress other than that\nwhich was upon her, and when I saw her in that condition I could\nnot contain my passion, so I would arise and fulfil my need of\nher and she would do likewise. Also, as soon as morn appeared I\nwould repair to my shop and open it and take seat therein until\nmidday, at which time my mule would be brought me to ride\nhomewards when she would meet me alone at the threshold whereupon\nopened the door of her apartment. And I would throw my arms round\nher neck as soon as she appeared to me till she and I entered the\nHarem where I had no patience from her but was fain to enjoy my\ndesire. After this she would cry to her women and bid them bring\nus dinner whereof I ate with her, and in due time she would arise\nand command her slave-girls to clean the Hammam and perfume it\nwith pastiles of lign-aloes and ambergris adding a sufficiency of\nrose-water. Then we would enter it, I and she, and doff our\ndresses when I again lost patience until I had my will of her\ntwice or three times.[FN#138] Anon we would wash and wipe\nourselves with apron napkins of thick silk and drying towels of\npalm-fibre, after which she would cry aloud to the women who,\ncoming to us at her call, would bring sherbets and we would\ndrink, I and she, until mid-afternoon. Then I would mount my\nshe-mule and return to my store and as evening fell I would order\nthe slave to padlock the door and I would return to my house. Now\nI abode in such case for ten months, but it fortuned one day of\nthe days that, as I was sitting upon my shop-board, suddenly I\nsaw a Badawi woman bestriding a she-dromedary and she was marked\nwith a Burka'[FN#139] of brocade and her eyes danced under her\nface-veil as though they were the wantoning eyes of a gazelle.\nWhen I looked upon her, O Commander of the Faithful, I was\nperplexed as to my affair.\"--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 and tasteful is thy\ntale, 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 when\nit was the next night and that was\n\n             The Six 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\nManjab to the Caliph, \"O Prince of True Believers, when I beheld\nthe eyes of the Badawi woman under her Burka' which were like\nthose of a gazelle they tempted my passions herto and I forgot my\noath and its penalty and the Kazi and witnesses. Then she\napproached me and said, 'Allah give thee long life, O Chief of\nthe Arabs;' and said I, 'To thee too, O most seemly of\nsemblance!' Cried she, 'O comely of countenance, say me, hast\nthou a necklace fine enough for the like of me;' whereto I\nrejoined, 'Yes.' Then I arose and brought out one to her, but she\nseeing it said, 'Hast thou naught better than this?' So I\ndisplayed to her, O Commander of the Faithful, all the necklaces\nI had by me in the shop but, none of them pleasing her, I said,\n'In all the stores there is naught finer than these.' Then, O\nPrince of True Believers, she brought out to me from off her neck\na carcanet and said, 'I want one such;' and, as I looked upon it,\nI knew that there was nothing like it in my store, and that all I\nhad by me of collars and jewels and other goods were not worth a\nsingle grain of that carcanet. So I said to her, 'O Winsome of\nEyes, this is a thing whereto none of this time can avail save it\nbe with the Commander of the Faithful or with his Wazir Ja'afar\nbin Yahy\ufffd the Barmaki.' Quoth she, 'Wilt thou buy it of me?' and\nquoth I, 'I have no power to its price,' when she exclaimed, 'I\nrequire no payment for this necklace, and I want from thee\nnothing save a kiss upon thy cheek.' Then said I, 'O Lady of\nloveliness, bussing without treading I trow is like a bowyer sans\na bow,' and she replied, 'Whoso kisseth surely treadeth.' Then, O\nPrince of True Believers, she sprang from off her dromedary and\nseated herself beside me within my store, so I arose with her and\nwent into the inner room, she following me (albeit I expected not\nthis from her), and when we were safely inside she clasped me to\nher bosom and encountered me with her breasts never withal\nwithdrawing her veil from her face. Hereat I lost all power over\nmy senses and when I felt her strain me to her bosom I also\nstrained her to mine, and fulfilled of her my desire after the\nfairest fashion. And when this was done she sprang to her feet\neven as springeth the lion from his lair, and flying to the door\nof the shop swiftlier than a bird and leaving the necklace with\nme, she mounted her dromedary and went her ways. I imagined, O\nPrince of True Believers, that she would never return to me at\nall; so my heart rejoiced in the necklace which she had left and\nI was of that fancy and opinion anent the matter and manner of\nher going, when suddenly my pages brought me the she-mule, and\nsaid to me, 'O our lord, rise up and fare to the house, for that\nour lady hath required thee at this very hour and she hath caused\ndinner to be served and sore we fear lest it wax cold.'\nTherefore, O Commander of the Faithful, I found it impossible to\nbathe[FN#140] by reason of the pages which were standing with the\nmule at the door of my shop; so I mounted and rode home. I\nentered my house according to my usual habit when my wife met me\nand said to me 'O my dearling, my heart hath been occupied with\nthee this day, for thou has tarried away from me so long a time\nand contrary to thy custom is delaying on such a day as this.'\nSaid I, 'This morning the Bazar was crowded exceedingly and all\nthe merchants were sitting in their shops, nor was it possible\nfor me to rise from my store whilst the market was so warm.'\nQuoth she, 'O my dearling and coolth of mine eyes, I was at this\nmoment sitting and reading in the Sublime Volume when there befel\nme a doubt concerning a word in the chapter 'Y\ufffd S\ufffdn'[FN#141] and\nI desire that thou certify it to me that I may learn it by heart\nfrom thee.' Quoth I, 'O lady of loveliness, I am unable to touch\nThe Book much less may I read the Koran;' and quoth she, 'What is\nthe cause of that?' Replied I, 'I was sleeping at the side of my\nshop when I had a polluting dream;' and she rejoined, 'An this\nthy speech be sooth-fast thy bag-trowsers must be fouled, so draw\nthem off that I may see to their washing.' I retorted, 'Indeed my\ntrowsers are not bewrayed because I doffed them before lying down\nto sleep.' Now when she heard these my words, O Commander of the\nFaithful, she said to a slave of my slaves whose name was Rayh\ufffdn,\n'O man, go and open the shop and bring the kerchief that is\ntherein.'[FN#142] Then said I, 'O lady of lovelings, I presented\nit in alms-gift to an old woman who was naked of head and her\ncondition pained me and her poverty, so I largessed it to her.'\nRejoined she, 'Say me, was the old woman she who was mounted on\nthe dromedary, the owner of the valuable necklace which she sold\nto thee for a kiss when thou saidst to her, 'O Winsome of Eyes,\nbussing without treading I trow, is as a bowyer sans bow.' Now\nwhen her words were ended, O Commander of the Faithful, she\nturned to her women and cried to them, 'Bring hither this moment\nSa'\ufffdd\ufffdyah, the kitchen-wench,' and when she came between her\nhands behold, she was a slave-girl, a negress, and she was the\nsame in species and substance who came to me under the form of a\nBadawi woman with a face-veil of brocade covering her features.\nHereupon my wife drew the Burka' from before the woman's face and\ncaused her doff her dress, and when she was stripped she was\nblack as a bit of charcoal. Now as soon as I saw this, O\nViceregent of Allah, my wits were bewildered and I considered my\naffair and I knew not what to do, thinking of the conditions\nwhereto I had consented.\"--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 King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night\nand that was\n\n             The Six 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 Manjab\ncontinued, \"And I thought of the conditions whereto I had\nconsented and the penalty which had been written for me by the\nKazi in the presence of his assessors, so I wandered from my\nright mind when she looked at me and said, 'Is this our compact,\nO Manjab hight, thou dogs' trysting-site?' and when I heard her\nspeech, O Commander of the Faithful, I hanged my head\nground-wards and could not return a reply, nor even attempt to\naddress her could I. Said she, 'Woe to thee, did I not say to\nthee, 'O Manjab hight, thou who with curs dost unite and no\nforegatherer with friendly wight?' Woe to thee, and he lied not\nwho said that in men-kind there be no trust. But how, O Manjab,\ndidst thou prefer this slave-girl before me and make her my equal\nin dress and semblance? However, O ye women, do ye send and bring\nthe Kazi and the assessors at this moment and instant.' So they\nfetched them without stay or delay, and they produced the\nobligation which had been written, with the penalty duly attested\nby testimony. Then she said to the witnesses, 'Read all that for\nhim,' and they did so and asked me, 'What hast thou to say about\nthis obligation and the punishment for breaking it?' Answered I,\n'The document is right and fair, nor have I aught to utter\nthereanent.' Hereupon, O Prince of True Believers, she summoned\nthe Governor and his officials, and I confessed before them and\nbore witness against myself, when they reviled me and abused me,\nand I told them the tale full and complete. But they would not\nexcuse me and they all cried, 'Verily, thou deservest splitting or quartering;[FN#143] thou who wouldst abandon this beauty and\nperfection and brilliancy and stature and symmetry and wouldst\nthrow thyself upon a slave-girl black as char-coal; thou who\nwouldst leave this semblance which is like the splendours of\nmoonlight and wouldst follow yon fulsome figure which resembleth\nthe murks of night.' Hereupon, O Prince of True Believers, she\nsaid to the Governor, 'Hearken unto what I tell thee. I bear\nwitness against myself that I have excused him the cutting off\nhis hand and tongue and the plucking out his eyes; but do ye\nredeem my rights of him by one condition.' 'And what may that\nbe?' asked they; and she answered, 'A thousand stripes upon his\nright side, and as many upon his left ribs.' Hereupon, O\nCommander of the Faithful, they seized me and smote me upon my\nright flank until I was estranged from the world,[FN#144] and\nafter they took a handful of salt, which they rubbed upon the\nwounds.[FN#145] Then they applied a thousand stripes to my left\nribs, and threw over me a ragged robe wherewith to veil my shame.\nBut my flanks had been torn open by such a bastinado, nor did I\nrecover for a space of three days, when I found myself lying\ncast-out upon a dunghill. Seeing this my condition, I pulled\nmyself together, and arising walked to the mansion wherein I was\nwont to wone; but I found the door locked with three padlocks and\nit was empty and void, nor was voice or sound to be heard therein\nat all, and 'twas, as said one of the poets in this couplet,\n\n'The chambers were like a beehive well stocked; * When the bees\n     quitted them they became empty.'[FN#146]\n\nSo I lingered there an hour of time, when a woman suddenly came\nout from one of the neighbouring houses and asked me, 'What dost\nthou want, O asker; and what seekest thou?' I answered, 'We are\nin quest of the owners of this mansion;' and said she, 'Here they\nwere in crowds and then they abandoned it, and may Allah have\nmercy upon him who spake these two couplets,\n\n'They fared and with faring fled rest from me * And my parted\n     heart no repose can see:\nHave ruth on a wight with a heart weighed by woes * Seest not how\n     their door is without a key?'\n\nThen indeed I repented, O Commander of the Faithful, over that I\nhad done and regretted what had befallen me and what had\nproceeded from me of ill-deeds, and quoth I to the woman who had\naddressed me, 'Allah upon thee, O my mistress, say me hast thou\nof their traces any tidings?' \"--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 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 when\nit was the next night and that was\n\n            The Six 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 Manjab,\nspeaking to the woman, said, \"O my lady, say me, dost thou know\nof their traces any tidings, and hast thou come upon any manifest\nnews?\" Said she, \"This thing was to befal thee of old, O thou\npoor fellow, even as quoth the poet in the following couplets,\n\n'My tears flow fast, my heart knows no rest * And melts my soul\n     and cares aye molest:\nWould Heaven mine eyeballs their form beheld * And flies my life,\n     and ah! who shall arrest?\n'Tis wondrous the while shows my form to sight, * Fire burns my\n     vitals with flamey crest!\nIndeed for parting I've wept, and yet * No friend I find to mine\n     aid addrest:\nHo thou the Moon in a moment gone * From sight, wilt thou rise to\n     a glance so blest?\nAn thou be 'stranged of estrangement who * Of men shall save me?\n     Would God I wist!\nFate hath won the race in departing me * And who with Fate can\n     avail contest?'\"\n\n\"Then, O Commander of the Faithful, my longings grew and I poured\nfast tears in torrents and I was like to choke with my sobs, so I\narose to walk about the city highways and I clung from wall to\nwall for what befel me of despight and affright at the\ndisappearance of them,[FN#147] and as I wandered about I repeated\nthese verses,\n\n'To man I'm humbled when my friends lost I * And missed the way\n     of right where hardships lie:\nSorrow and sickness long have been my lot * To bear, when need\n     was strong to justify:\nSay me, shall any with their presence cheer-- * Pity my soul?\n     Then bless my friend who's nigh!\nI kiss your footprints for the love of you, * I greet your envoy\n     e'en albeit he lie.'\n\nAfter this, O Prince of True Believers, I remained immersed in\ncark and care and anxious thought, and as ever I wandered about\nbehold, a man met me and said, ''Tis now three days since they\nmarched away and none wotteth where they have alighted.'[FN#148]\nSo I returned once more to the mansion-door and I sat beside it\nto take my rest when my glance was raised and fell upon the\nlintel and I saw attached to it a folded paper which I hent in\nhand and found written therein these lines,\n\n'Scant shall avail with judgment just the tear * When at\n     love-humbled heart man dareth jeer:\nI was thy dearling, fain with thee to dwell * But thou\n     transgressedst nor return canst speer:\nAnd if by every means thou find me not, * From thee I fled and\n     other hold I dear:\nI come in dreams to see if sore thy heart; * Let it take patience\n     in its woe sincere:\nThou dost beweep our union fled, but I * Wist that such weeping\n     brings no profit clear:\nHo, stander at my door, once honoured guest, * Haply my tidings\n     thou some day shalt hear.'\n\nThereupon, O Commander of the Faithful, I returned to my mother\nand sister and told them the tale of what had betided me, first\nand last, and the twain wept over me and my parent said, 'I\nthought not, O my son, that such case as this would come down\nupon thee; withal every calamity save Death is no calamity at\nall; so be thou of long-suffering, O my child, for the\ncompensation of patience is upon Allah; and indeed this that hath\nhappened to thee hath happened unto many the likes of thee, and\nknow thou that Fate is effectual and Sort is sealed. Hast thou\nnot heard the words of the poet who spoke these couplets,[FN#149]\n\n'The world aye whirleth with its sweet and sour * And Time aye\n     trippeth with its joy and stowre:\nSay him to whom life-change is wilful strange * Right wilful is\n     the world and risks aye low'r:\nSee'st now how Ocean overwhelms his marge * And stores the\n     pearl-drop in his deepest bow'r:\nOn Earth how many are of leafy trees, * But none we harvest save\n     what fruit and flow'r:\nSee'st not the storm-winds blowing fierce and wild * Deign level\n     nothing save the trees that tow'r?\nIn Heaven are stars and planets numberless * But none save Sun\n     and Moon eclipse endure.\nThou judgest well the days when Time runs fair * Nor fearest\n     trouble from Fate's evil hour:\nThou wast deceived what time the Nights were fain, * But in the\n     bliss o' nights 'ware days of bane.'\n\nNow when I heard these words of my mother, O Prince of True\nBelievers, and what she addressed to me of wise sayings and\npoetry, I took patience and rendered account to Allah;\"--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 King suffer me to\nsurvive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n             The Six 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 Manjab\nsaid, \"O Commander of the Faithful, I had patience and rendered\nmy account to Allah Almighty. Then my mother fell to nursing me,\nwith medicines and unguents and what not else of remedies\nwherefrom cometh health until I was healed, yet there remained to\nme the scars even as thou sawest. But I inscribed not those lines\nupon my house which thou didst espy, O Commander of the Faithful,\nsave that the news thereof might reach thee, and that naught be\nconcealed from thee of my tidings and my past fate, and present\ncondition. And this is the whole that hath befallen me.\"[FN#150]\nNow when the Caliph Harun al-Rashid heard these words he smote\nhand upon hand and cried, \"There is no Majesty and there is no\nMight save in Allah the Glorious, the Great.\" Then he cried upon\nthe Minister Ja'afar the Barmecide, and said to him, \"O Wazir,\nunless thou bring me information of this affair and root out this\nmatter and make manifest to me the condition of this youth,\nverily I will smite thy neck.\" The Minister answered, \"Hearing\nand obeying: however, do thou, O Commander of the Faithful, give\nme three days' delay,\" and the Caliph rejoined, \"I have granted\nthis to thee.\" Hereupon Ja'afar went forth like unto one blind\nand deaf, unseeing nor hearing aught, and he was perplext and\ndistraught as to his affair and continued saying, \"Would Heaven\nwe had not forgathered with this youth, nor ever had seen the\nsight of him.\" And he ceased not faring till he arrived at his\nown house, where he changed his dress and fell to threading the\nthoroughfares of Baghdad, which in the time of Harun al-Rashid\nwas a mighty great city, and in every street he entered he sought\nintelligence and questioned the folk concerning every affair\nwhich had happened in town from dawn to dark, but he hit upon no\ntrace nor information manifest touching this matter. On the\nsecond day it was the same, and nothing became known to him\nbetween morning and evening; but on the third day as he fared\nforth he repeated these words,\n\n\"With the King be familiar and 'ware his wrath * Nor be wilful\n     when cometh his order 'Do.'\"\n\nAnd he crossed and recrossed the city until it was noon-tide\nwithout aught of novelty appearing to him, so he returned to his\nmansion where he had a confidential nurse whom he apprised of the\ntidings, and concealing naught from her said, \"Verily the term\nallowed to me by the King is until set of sun, at which time\nunless I bring him the information required he will cut off my\nhead.\" Thereupon the Kahram\ufffdnah went forth and circled through\nthe city until it was mid-afternoon, but she brought back no\nfresh tidings; whereat Ja'afar cried, \"There is no Majesty and\nthere is no Might, save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!\" Now\nthe Wazir had a sister who lived single in his home with her\nwomen and eunuchs, and he said to himself, \"I will go to my\nsister Budur and solace myself by conversing awhile with her and\nfarewell her: haply Fate is not afar.\" This sister was yet\nunwedded for none dared come forward and propose marriage to her,\nalbeit in the city of Baghdad not one was her peer in beauty,\neven amongst the women of the Caliph. Accordingly he turned\ntowards her apartment and entered therein, when she met him upon\nthe threshold of the gate, and as she saw him changed of\ncondition she cried, \"No harm to thee, O my brother, verily thou\nart altered in case;\" and he replied, \"Indeed I have fallen into\nevil plight and into a matter of affright, whereupon naught can\ndeliver me save the power of Allah of All-might, and unless the\naffair be made evident to me by the morning the Caliph will cut\noff my head.\" Then he related to her the affair from beginning to\nend, and she, when she heard the words of her brother, waxed wan\nof colour, and was altered in case and said, \"O brother mine,\ngive me immunity and a binding bond when I will explain to thee\nthe matter of this youth.\" Hereat calmed was his affright, and\nhis heart was satisfied quite, and he gave her promise of safety\nand a binding bond and contract not to harm her; whereupon said\nshe to him, \"O my brother, womankind was created for mankind, and\nmankind was created for womankind, and albe falsehood is an\nexcuse, yet soothfastness is more saving and safe-guiding. The\nwhole of this business is mine and I am she who married him and\nmade with him that condition which he accepted for himself, being\ncontented with the covenant and its penalty.\" Now when Ja'afar\nheard these words spoken to him by his sister concerning the case\nof Manjab, he outwardly made merry but he inwardly mourned, for\nthat he had forbidden her to wed, and she had worked this craft\nand had given herself away to wife. Hereupon he arose without\nstay or delay and fared forth until he went in to the Caliph\nHarun al-Rashid whom he blessed and greeted, and the King, having\nreturned his salam, asked him, \"Hast thou brought to me the\nrequired tidings, O Ja'afar?\" The Wazir answered, \"Yes, O my\nlord, the news hath become manifest and 'tis certified to me that\nthis is a private matter; and had not the Creator favoured me by\nforgathering with the young lady in her substance and accidence\nand had I not met her at a term not appointed, I should have been\ndone to die.\" Quoth the Caliph, \"And who is she that I may\nrequite her for her deeds and for what she hath practiced upon\nManjab, who verily deserveth not that which hath betided him,\nalthough he may have been somewhat in fault.\" Then Ja'afar came\nforward and craved pardon from the Caliph in token of honour for\nhis sister's sake, and quoth his lord, \"O Ja'afar, thou hast\ndeclared that she it is with whom thou hast forgathered.\" Quoth\nJa'afar, \"O Prince of True Believers, the same is my sister\nBudur.\" But when the Caliph heard these words, he asked, \"O\nJa'afar, and why did thy sister do such deed?\" and the Wazir\nanswered, \"Whatso is fated shall take place nor shall any defer\nthe predestined nor forbid it when decreed, nor hasten it when\nforbidden. This thing which hath happened was of no profit to\nanyone and whatever thou shalt ordain that shall be done.\"\nThereat Manjab after saluting the Caliph, accompanied Ja'afar to\nthe house of his sister, and when they went in the Wazir made\npeace between the two, and the Caliph largessed the youth with\nmost sumptuous presents. Now the Caliph every year at times\nappointed was accustomed to go by night in disguise to the house\nof Manjab accompanied by Ja'afar for the sake of hearing music,\nand one night of the nights he said to the youth,\n\"Alhamdolillah--Glory be to God--O Manjab, that I have caused\nreunion between thee and Budur, thy beloved; but I desire that\nthou tell me some tale which shall be rare and shall broaden my\nbreast.\" The youth replied, \"Hearing and obeying,\"--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 King suffer me to survive?\"\nNow when it was the next night, and that was\n\n             The Six 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 King\nand Caliph, Harun al-Rashid, bade the youth Manjab tell him some\ntale of the Kings of old and he replied, \"Hearkening and\nobedience, O Prince of True Believers;\" and thereupon he fell\nrecounting the\n\n\n\n\n\nStory of the Darwaysh and the Barber's Boy and the Greedy Sultan.\n\n\n\nIt is related (but Allah is All-knowing of hidden things and\nAll-wise!) that in the days of a King called Dahm\ufffdr[FN#151] there\nwas a barber who had in his booth a boy for apprentice and one\nday of the days there came in a Darwaysh man who took seat and\nturning to the lad saw that he was a model of beauty and\nloveliness and stature and symmetric grace. So he asked him for a\nmirror and when it was brought he took it and considered his face\ntherein and combed his beard, after which he put hand in pouch\nand pulling out an Ashrafi of gold set it upon the looking-glass\nwhich he gave back to the boy.[FN#152] Hereupon the barber turned\ntowards the beggar and wondered in himself and said, \"Praise be\nto Allah, albeit this man be a Fakir yet he placeth a golden\npiece upon the mirror, and surely this is a marvellous matter.\"\nHereupon the Darwaysh went his ways, and on the following day he\nsuddenly made his appearance and entering the booth called for a\nlooking-glass from the barber's prentice and when it was handed\nto him combed his beard after he had looked at his features\ntherein; then, bringing forth an Ashrafi, he set it upon the\nmirror and gave it back to the boy; and the barber marvelled yet\nthe more to see the Fakir rising up and wending his ways.[FN#153]\nThe beggar ceased not coming every day and gazing at himself in\nthe glass and laying down his ducat, whereat the barber said to\nhimself, \"By Allah, indeed this Darwaysh must have some object of\nhis own and haply he is in love with the lad my prentice and I\nfear from the beggar lest he seduce the boy and take him away\nfrom me.\" Hereat he cried, \"O boy, when the Darwaysh shall come\nto thee draw thou not anear him; and when he demandeth the\nlooking-glass give it not to him; for I myself will do so.\" On\nthe third day behold, the Fakir appeared according to his custom\nand asked for the mirror from the boy who wittingly disregarded\nhim, whereupon he turned towards him and waxed wroth[FN#154] and\nwas like to slay him. The apprentice was terrified at his rage\nand gave him the looking-glass whilst he was still an-angered;\nbut when the man had reviewed himself therein and had combed his\nbeard and had finished his need, he brought out ten dinars of\ngold and setting them upon the mirror handed them to the lad.\nSeeing this the barber wondered anew with extreme wonderment,\nsaying to himself, \"By Allah, this Darwaysh cometh daily and\nlayeth down an Ashrafi, but this day he hath given ten gold\npieces; withal there accrueth not to me from my shop even half a\npiastre of daily wage. However, O Boy, when the man shall come\nhither, as is his wont, do thou spread for him a prayer-rug in\nthe inner room of the shop, lest the people seeing his constant\nvisits should have ill suspicions of us.\" \"Yes!\" said the lad. So\nwhen it was the next day the Fakir came and went into the ben\nwhither he was shown by the boy, and he followed him till they\nwere in the innermost of the booth. Now the heart of this\nReligious hung to the love of the barber's boy for that he had of\nbeauty and perfection and he continued frequenting the shop every\nday whilst the lad ceased not spreading the rug and receiving\nupon the mirror ten Ashrafis. Hereat the barber and his\napprentice rejoiced till one day of the days when the Darwaysh\ncame to the shaving-shop, as was his wont, where he met none but\nonly the boy nor was there any other in sight. So he asked\nconcerning his employer and the other answered, \"O uncle, my\nmaster hath gone forth to solace himself with seeing the casting\nof the cannon; for this day the Sultan and the Wazir and the\nLords of the land will all be present thereat.\" Said he, \"O my\nson, go thou with us and we will also enjoy the spectacle and\nreturn before the rest of the folk, ere thy master can be back,\nand we will enjoy ourselves and make merry and look at the sport\nbefore I set out upon my journey, for 'tis my intention this day\nto go forth about noontide.\" Quoth the lad, \"'Tis well O uncle;\"\nand arising he locked the shop-door and walked with the Darwaysh\ntill they reached the spot where the cannon were being cast.\nThere they found the Sultan and the Wazirs and the Chamberlains\nand the Lords of the land and the Grandees of the realm all\nstanding in a body until presently the workmen took the\ncrucibles[FN#155] from off the fire. Now the first who went up to\nthem was the Sultan and he found them full of molten brass: so he\nput his hand into his pocket and drew it forth full of gold which\nhe cast into the melting pots. Then the Grand Wazir walked\nforward and did as the King had done and all the Notables who\nwere present threw cash into the crucibles, bar-silver and\npiastres and dollars. Thereat the Darwaysh stepped out of the\ncrowd and brought from his cowl a reed used as an \ufffdtui[FN#156]\nwherefrom he drew a spoon-like ear-picker and cast into one of\nthe crucibles a something of powder like grain.[FN#157] This he\ndid to each one of the melting pots; after which he disappeared\nfrom the eyes of the folk and taking the boy with him returned to\nthe booth and opened it and said to him, \"O my child, when the\nSultan shall send after thee and shall question thee concerning\nme, do thou tell him that I am in such a town where shouldst thou\ncome to seek me thou shalt find me sitting beside the gate.\" Then\nhe farewelled the boy, the barber's apprentice, and set forth\nseeking that city. Such was the case with these twain; but as\nregards the matter of the King, he ceased not standing there\nuntil they had brought the crucibles to the cannon-moulds and\nwhen the folks designed to pour out their contents they found all\ntherein pure gold. Then quoth the Sultan to the Wazir and the\nNotables of his realm, \"Who was it threw aught into the crucibles\nand what stranger man happened to be here?\" Quoth they, \"We\nbeheld a Darwaysh man who took some powder and fell to casting\nthereof a somewhat into the crucibles.\" Hereupon enquiries were\nmade of the bystanders and they gave information how that same\nDarwaysh was inclined to the barber's apprentice who lived in\nsuch a quarter. Hereupon the Sultan ordered one of his\nChamberlains to bring the boy,--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 King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was\nthe next night and that was\n\n             The Six 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 Sultan\nsent one of his Chamberlains to the boy, the apprentice of the\nbarber, whom they sought for and brought into the presence and\nplaced between the royal hands; and he on entering kissed ground\nand deprecated and prayed for his liege lord with prayers fit for\nthe Caliphs. The Sovran returned his salam and questioned him\nconcerning the Darwaysh who had been with him and he replied, \"O\nKing of the Realm, he charged me saying that he was faring for\nand would be found in such a city.\" Hereupon the Sultan commanded\nthe lad go forth and bring him, and was answered, \"Hearkening and\nobedience;\" so he appointed for him an especial ship and gifted\nhim with various presents and the boy set sail and voyaged for a\nshort while till he reached the port-town in question. Here he\nlanded and made for the city-gate and as he entered it behold, he\ncame face to face with the Darwaysh who was sitting upon a raised\nbench, and when he beheld him he salam'd to him and told him what\nhad taken place. The Fakir at once arose, and without resisting\nthe lad, went down to the ship and they shook out the sails and\nthe two voyaged together until they reached the city of the\nSultan. Here the twain went in to him and kissed ground between\nhis hands and salam'd to him and their greeting was answered. Now\nas to the lad, the King largessed him largely and raised his\ndegree to Governor and despatched him to one of his provinces\ntherein to rule;[FN#158] but as for the Darwaysh, he remained\nbeside King Dahmar the first day and the second until the\nseventh; after which quoth the Sovran, \"'Tis my desire that thou\nteach me the art and mystery of making gold;\" whereto the other\nreplied, \"Hearing and obeying, O our lord the Sultan.\" Presently\nthe Darwaysh arose; and, bringing a brazier,[FN#159] ranged\nthereupon the implements of his industry and lighted a fire\nthereunder; then, fetching a portion of lead and a modicum of tin\nand a quant. suff. of copper, the whole weighing about a quintal,\nhe fanned the flame that was beneath the crucible until the metal\nwas fluid as water. And while the Sultan was sitting and looking\non and considering the operation, the Fakir brought out something\nfrom a casket and taking a pinch of it on the ear-picker\nbesprinkled therewith the lead and copper and the tin which\npresently became virgin gold. He repeated this feat once or twice\nbefore the King who after that fell to working as the Religious\nhad wrought and turned out in his presence the purest gold. So\nthe Sultan rejoiced and was wont to sit before the Darwaysh\nwhatever time his heart chose[FN#160] and there and then he\ngathered together ignoble metals and besprinkled them with the\npowder[FN#161] which had been given to him by the Fakir and all\ncame out of the noblest gold. Now one night of the nights, as the\nSultan was sitting in his Harem and would have worked as he had\nwrought in the presence of the Darwaysh, nothing went right with\nhim; whereat he was exceedingly sorrowful and said, \"I have\nneither magnified nor minished aught, so how is this\ncase?\"[FN#162] As soon as it was morning he forgathered with the\nFakir and worked in his presence and produced virgin gold; so in\nhis surprise he said, \"Wall\ufffdhi, 'tis indeed most marvellous that\nwhatso I work alone cometh not right and when I have wrought in\npresence of the Darwaysh it succeedeth and turneth to gold.\"\nAfter this the Sultan never transmuted metals save in the\npresence of the Fakir, until one day of the days when his breast\nwas narrowed and he sought recreation in the gardens. Accordingly\nhe rode forth, he and the Lords of the land, taking also the\nDarwaysh with him and he went to the riverside, the Monarch\npreceding and the Mendicant following together with the suite.\nAnd as the King rode along with a heavy hand upon the reins he\ngrasped them strongly and his fist closed upon them; but suddenly\nhe relaxed his grip when his seal-ring flew from his little\nfinger and fell into the water, where it sank to the bottom.\nSeeing this the Sultan drew bridle and halted and said, \"We will\non no wise remove from this place till such time as my seal-ring\nshall be restored to me.\" So the suite dismounted, one and all,\nand designed plunging into the stream, when behold, the Fakir\nfinding the King standing alone and in woeful plight by cause of\nhis signet asked him saying, \"What is to do with thee, O King of\nthe Age, that I find thee here halted?\" He replied, \"Verily my\nsignet-ring of Kingship[FN#163] hath dropped from me into the\nriver somewhere about this place.\" Quoth the Darwaysh, \"Be not\ngrieved, O our lord;\" after which he brought out from his breast\npocket a pencase, and having drawn from it a bit of bees' wax, he\nfashioned it into the form of a man and cast it into the water.\nThen he stood gazing thereat when, lo and behold! the Figure came\nforth the river with the seal-ring hanging to its neck and sprang\nupon the saddle-bow in front of the Sultan. The King would have\ntaken his signet when the Form jumped off and approached the\nDarwaysh who hent the ring in hand and rubbed it and the Figure\nat once became wax as it had been. Hereupon the Darwaysh restored\nit to his pencase and said to the Sovran, \"Now do thou ride on!\"\nAll this and the Lords of the land sat gazing upon the Darwaysh\nand what he had done; after which the whole party fared forwards\ntill they reached the gardens, where they dismounted and took\nseat and fell to conversing together. They enjoyed themselves\nthat day and when evening fell they remounted and sought their\nhomes, and the Darwaysh returned to the apartment which had been\nset apart for him. But presently the Grandees of the realm\nforgathered with the Sultan and said to him, \"O King of the Age,\nyon Darwaysh requireth of thee exceeding caution seeing that he,\nwhenso he ever will, availeth to slay everyone in the Palace, and\nafter doing thee die can raise himself to rule in thy stead.\"\n\"How so?\" quoth the King, and quoth they, \"In that 'twere easy\nfor him to make Figures of wax and cause them prevail over thee\nand over us, so that they may kill us and he may succeed thee as\nSultan; nor would this be aught of inconvenience to him.\" Now\nwhen the King heard these words he was afeared and cried, \"By\nAllah, sooth ye speak, and this is the right rede and one which\nmay not be blamed indeed!\" presently adding, \"And how shall we\nmanage with this Darwaysh?\" Said they, \"Do thou send for him and\nsummon him and slay him forthright; and better 'twere that thou\nkill him ere he kill thee;[FN#164] and if he say thee 'I will go\nand return,' suffer him not depart.\" The Sultan acted after their\ncounsel and sending to fetch the Fakir--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\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 Six 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 Sultan\nsent after the Darwaysh and bade him be brought into the presence\nand set between his hands, when he said to him, \"O Darwaysh, do\nthou know 'tis mine aim and intention to slay thee: say me then,\nhast thou any charge thou wouldst send to thy family?\" Quoth the\nReligious, \"Wherefore shouldst thou kill me, O our lord, and what\nof ill deeds hath proceeded from me that thou shouldst destroy me\ntherefor, and do thou make me aware of my sin, and then if I\nmerit death kill me or decree to me banishment.\" Quoth the King,\n\"There is no help but that I slay thee,\"[FN#165] and the Darwaysh\nfell to gentling him but it availed him naught; so as soon as he\nwas certified that the Sultan would not release him or dismiss\nhim, he arose and drew a wide ring upon the ground in noose shape\nand measuring some fifteen ells, within which he described a\nlesser circle. Then he stood up before the Sovran and said, \"O\nKing of the Age, verily this greater circle is the dominion\nbelonging to thee, whilst the lesser round is mine own realm.\" So\nsaying he moved from his place and stepped forwards and passing\ninto the smaller ring quoth he, \"An thy reign, O King of the Age,\nbe not ample for me I will inhabit my own;\" and forthright upon\nentering the lesser circle he vanished from the view of those\npresent. Cried the Sultan to the Lords of the land, \"Seize him\";\nbut they availed not to find him, and after going forth in search\nthey returned and reported that they could light upon no one.\nThen said the Sovran, \"He was beside me in this place and passed\ninto the smaller ring; so do ye seek for him again;\" and\naccordingly they went forth once more but could not see a trace\nof him. Hereupon the Sultan repented and cried, \"There is no\nMajesty and there is no Might save in Allah the Glorious, the\nGreat: verily we have exceeded in the matter of this Darwaysh and\nwe have hearkened to the words of hypocrites who caused us to\nfall into trouble by obeying them in all they said to me against\nhim. However, whatso they did to me that will I do unto them.\"\nAnd as soon as it was morning-tide and the Lords of the land\nforgathered in the Divan, the Sultan commanded to slay those who\nhad counselled him to kill the Darwaysh, and some of them were\ndone to death and others of them were banished the\ncountry.[FN#166] Now when the Caliph Harun al-Rashid heard this\nnarrative from Manjab, he wondered with extreme wonderment and\nsaid to him, \"By Allah, O Manjab, thou deservest to be a\ncup-companion of the Kings:\" so he created him from that moment\nhis Equerry in honour to the Grand Wazir Ja'afar the Barmaki,\nwhereof he had become brother-in-law. Now after some time\nAl-Rashid asked from Manjab a tale concerning the wiles of\nwomankind, and when the youth hung his head groundwards and\nblushed before him, Harun said to him, \"O Manjab, verily the\nplace of the Kings in privacy is also the place for laying aside\ngravity.\" Said Manjab, \"O Prince of True Believers, to-morrow\nnight (Inshallah!) I will tell thee a tale in brief concerning\nthe freaks of the gender feminine, and what things they do with\ntheir mates.\" Accordingly when night came on, the Caliph sent for\nand summoned Manjab to the presence, and when he came there he\nkissed ground and said, \"An it be thy will, O Commander of the\nFaithful, that I relate thee aught concerning the wiles of wives,\nlet it be in a private place lest haply one of the slave girls\nhear me and any of them report my tale to the Queen.\" Quoth\nRashid, \"This is the right rede which may not be blamed indeed!\"\nSo he went with him to a private place concealed from the folk,\nand took seat, he and the youth, and none beside, when Manjab\nrelated to him the following\n\n\n\n\n\nTale of the Simpleton Husband.[FN#167]\n\n\n\nIt is related that there was a Badawi man who had a wife and he\ndwelt under a tent of hair[FN#168] in the desert where, as is the\nfashion of Arabs, he used to shift from site to site for the\npurpose of pasturing his camels. Now the woman was of exceeding\nbeauty and comeliness and perfection, and she had a friend (also\na Badawi man) who at all times would come to her and have his\nwicked will of her, after which he would wend his ways. But one\nday of the days her lover visited her and said, \"Wallahi, 'tis\nnot possible but that what time we sleep together, I and thou, we\nmake merry with thy husband looking on.\"--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 King suffer me to survive?\" Now\nwhen it was the next night and that was\n\n             The Six 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 man\nwhich was the friend of the Badawi's wife said to her, \"Wall\ufffdhi,\n'tis not possible but that when we make merry, I and thou, thy\nhusband shall look upon us.\" Quoth she, \"Why should we suffer at\nsuch time of our enjoyment either my husband or any wight to be\npresent?\" and quoth he, \"This must needs be, and unless thou\nconsent I will take to me a mistress other than thyself.\" Then\nsaid she, \"How shall we enjoy ourselves with my husband looking\non? This is a matter which may not be managed.\" Hereupon the\nwoman sat down and took thought of her affair and how she should\ndo for an hour or so, and presently she arose and dug her\namiddlemost the tent a hole[FN#169] which would contain a man,\nwherein she concealed her lover. Now, hard by the tent was a tall\nsycamore tree,[FN#170] and as the noodle her husband was\nreturning from the wild the woman said to him, \"Ho thou,\nSuch-an-one! climb up this tree and bring me therefrom a somewhat\nof figs that we may eat them.\" Said he, \"'Tis well;\" and arising\nhe swarmed up the tree-trunk, when she signed to her lover who\ncame out and mounted and fell to riding upon her. But her mate\nconsidered her and cried aloud, \"What is this, O whore: doth a\nman cavalcade thee before me and the while I am looking at thee?\"\nThen he came down from the tree in haste, but he saw no one, for\nas soon as the lover had finished his business the good-wife\nthrust him into the hole amiddlemost the tent and covered him\nwith a mat. When the husband went inside to the booth and met his\nwife he found no stranger with her so said she to him, \"O man,\nthou hast sinned against me, saying, 'Verily, some one is riding\nthee'; and thou hast slandered me by falsely charging me with\nfolly.\" Quoth he, \"By Allah I saw thee with my own eyes;\" but\nquoth she, \"Do thou sit here the while I have a look.\" Hereupon\nshe arose and swarmed up the trunk and sat upon one of the\nbranches, and as she peered at her spouse she shrieked aloud\ncrying, \"O man, do thou have some regard for thine honour. Why do\non this wise and lie down and allow a man to ride thee, and at\nthis moment he worketh his will on thee.\" Said her husband,\n\"Beside me there is neither man nor boy.\" And said she, \"Here I\nam[FN#171] looking at thee from the top of this tree.\" Quoth he,\n\"O woman, this place must be haunted,[FN#172] so let us remove\nhence;\" and quoth she, \"Why change our place? rather let us\nremain therein.\" Hereupon the Caliph said to Manjab, \"By Allah,\nverily, this woman was an adulteress;\" and the youth replied,\n\"Amongst womankind indeed are many more whorish than this. But of\nthat anon; and now do thou hear from me and learn of me this\nmarvellous tale anent\n\n\n\n\n\n\n         NOTE CONCERNING THE \"TIRREA BEDE,\" NIGHT 655.\n\n\n\nScott refers to a tale in the \"Bahar-Danush\" (Bah\ufffdr-i-D\ufffdnish); or, \"Garden of\nKnowledge,\" translated by himself, story viii. lesson 4; chapter xii. vol.\niii. pp. 64-68. Cadell & Co., Strand, London, 1799. Five women come from a\ntown to draw water at a well; and, finding there a young Brahmin, become his\nteachers and undertake to instruct him in the \"Tirrea\" or fifth \"Veda\"--there\nbeing only four of these Hindu Scriptures. Each lesson consists of an\nadventure showing how to cornute a husband, and the fourth runs as follows. I\nleave them in Scott's language:--\n\nThe fourth lady through dread of the arrow of whose cunning the warrior of the\nfifth heaven[FN#173] trembled in the sky, like the reed, having bestowed her\nattention on the pilgrim bramin (Brahman), despatched him to an orchard; and\nhaving gone home, said to her husband, \"I have heard that in the orchard of a\ncertain husbandman there is a date tree, the fruit of which is of remarkably\nfine flavour; but what is yet stranger, whoever ascends it, sees many\nwonderful objects. If to-day, going to visit this orchard, we gather dates\nfrom this tree, and also see the wonders of it, it will not be unproductive of\namusement.\" In short, she so worked upon her husband with flattering speeches\nand caresses, that nolens volens he went to the orchard, and at the\ninstigation of his wife, ascended the tree. At this instant she beckoned to\nthe bramin, who was previously seated, expectantly, in a corner of the garden.\n\nThe husband, from the top of the tree, beholding what was not fit to be seen,\nexclaimed in extreme rage, \"Ah! thou shameless Russian-born[FN#174] wretch,\nwhat abominable action is this?\" The wife making not the least answer, the\nflames of anger seized the mind of the man, and he began to descend from the\ntree; when the bramin with activity and speed having hurried over the fourth\nsection of the Tirrea Bede,[FN#175] went his way.\n\n                             VERSE.\n\n     The road to repose is that of activity and quickness.\n\nThe wife during her husband's descent from the tree having arranged her plan,\nsaid, \"Surely, man, frenzy must have deprived thy brain of the fumes of sense,\nthat having foolishly set up such a cry, and not reflecting upon thine own\ndisgrace (for here, excepting thyself, what male is present?), thou wouldst\nfix upon me the charge of infidelity?\" The husband, when he saw no person\nnear, was astonished, and said to himself, \"Certainly, this vision must have\nbeen miraculous.\"\n\nThe completely artful wife, from the hesitation of her husband, guessed the\ncause, and impudently began to abuse him. Then instantly tying her vest round\nher waist she ascended the tree. When she had reached the topmost branch, she\nsuddenly cried out, \"O thou shameless man, what abominable action is this! If\nthy evil star hath led thee from the path of virtue, surely thou mightest have\nin secret ventured upon it. Doubtless to pull down the curtain of modesty from\nthy eyes, and with such impudence to commit such a wicked deed, is the very\nextreme of debauchery.\"\n\nThe husband replied, \"Woman, do not ridiculously cry out, but be silent; for\nsuch is the property of this tree, that whoever ascends it, sees man or woman\nbelow in such situations.\" The cunning wife now came down, and said to her\nhusband, \"What a charming garden and amusing spot is this! where one can\ngather fruit, and at the same time behold the wonders of the world.\" The\nhusband replied, \"Destruction seize the wonders which falsely accuse man of\nabomination!\" In short the devilish wife, notwithstanding the impudence of\nsuch an action, escaped safely to her house, and the next day, according to\ncustom, attending at the well, introduced the bramin to the ladies, and\ninformed them of her worthy contrivance.[FN#176]\n\n\n\n\n\n            THE LOVES OF AL-HAYFA AND YUSUF.[FN#177]\n\n\n\nI had a familiar in the Northern region who was called 'Abd\nal-Jaw\ufffdd and he was one of the greatest of merchants there and\nmade of money; also he loved voyage and travel, and at whatever\ntime I visited him and we forgathered, I and he, we exchanged\ncitations of poetry. Now one day my heart yearned to visit him,\nso I repaired to his place and found him there; and as we came\ntogether we both sat down in friendly converse, I and he; and he\nsaid to me \"O my brother, do thou hear what happened and was\naccomplished for me in these times. I travelled to the land of\nAl-Yaman and therein met a familiar who, when we sat down to\ntalk, I and he, said, 'O my brother, verily there befel me and\nbetided me in the land of Al-Hind a case that was strange and an\nadventure that was admirable and it ran as follows. There was\nerewhile a King of the kings of India and one of her greatest,\nwho was abundant in money and troops and guards and he was called\nAl-Mihrj\ufffdn.[FN#178] This same was a lord of high degree and a\nmajestic and he had lived for a long while of his age without\nhaving issue male or female. Wherefor he was full of cark and\ncare wanting one who after him would preserve his memory, so he\nsaid in his mind one night of the nights, 'Whenas I die cut off\nshall be my name, and effaced shall be my fame nor shall anyone\nremember me.' So saying he raised both hands to Heaven and\nhumbled himself before Allah (be He extolled and exalted!) to\nvouchsafe him a child who should outlive him with the view that\nman might not lose the memory of him. Now one night as he was\nsleeping a-bed dreaming and drowned in slumber behold, he heard a\nVoice (without seeing any form) which said to him, 'O Mihrjan the\nSage, and O King of the Age, arouse thee this moment and go to\nthy wife and lie with her and know her carnally, for she shall\nindeed conceive of thee at this very hour and bear thee a child\nwhich, an it be a boy shall become thine aider in all thine\naffairs but will, an it prove a girl, cause thy ruin and thy\ndestruction and the uprooting of thy traces.' When Al-Mihrjan\nheard from the Speaker these words and such sayings, he left his\ncouch without stay or delay in great joy and gladness and he went\nto his wife and slept with her and swived her and as soon as he\narose from off her she said, 'O King of the Age, verily I feel\nthat I have become pregnant; and (Inshallah--if Almighty Allah\nplease!) this shall prove the case.'[FN#179] When Al-Mihrjan\nheard the words of his wife he was glad and rejoiced at good news\nand he caused that night be documented in the archives of his\nkingdom. Then, when it was morning he took seat upon the throne\nof his kingship and summoned the Astrologers and the Scribes of\ncharacts and Students of the skies and told them what had been\naccomplished to him in his night and what words he had heard from\nthe Voice; whereupon the Sages one and all struck tables of sand\nand considered the ascendant. But each and every of them\nconcealed his thought and hid all he had seen nor would any\nreturn a reply or aught of address would supply; and said they,\n'O King of the Age, verily appearances in dreams hit the mark at\ntimes and at times fly wide; for when a man is of a melancholic\nhumour he seeth in his sleep things which be terrible and\nhorrible and he waxeth startled thereat: haply this vision thou\nhast beheld may be of the imbroglios of dreams so do thou commit\nthe reins to Him who all overreigns and the best Worker is He of\nall that wisheth and willeth He.' Now when Al-Mihrjan heard these\nwords of the Sages and the Star-gazers he gifted and largessed\nthem and he freed the captives in prison mewed and he clothed the\nwidows and the poor and nude. But his heart remained in sore\ndoubt concerning what he had heard from the Voice and he was\nthoughtful over that matter and bewildered and he knew not what\nto do; and on such wise sped those days. Now, however, returneth\nthe tale to the Queen his Consort who, when her months had gone\nby, proved truly to be pregnant and her condition showed itself,\nso she sent to inform her husband thereof. He was gladdened and\nrejoiced in the good news and when the months of gestation were\ncompleted the labour-pains set in and she was delivered of a\ngirl-child (praise be to Him who had created and had perfected\nwhat He had produced in this creation!), which was winsome of\nface and lovesome of form and fair fashioned of limbs, with\ncheeks rosaceous and eyne gracious and eyebrows continuous and\nperfect in symmetrical proportion. Now after the midwives\ndelivered her from the womb and cut her navel-string and kohl'd\nher eyes, they sent for King Al-Mihrjan and informed him that his\nQueen had borne a maid- babe, but when the Eunuchs gave this\nmessage, his breast was narrowed and he was bewildered in his\nwits, and rising without stay or delay he went to his wife. Here\nthey brought to him the new-born when he uncovered her face and,\nnoting her piquancy and elegancy and beauty and brilliancy and\nsize and symmetry, his vitals fluttered and he was seized with\nyearning sorrow for her fate; and he named her Al-Hayf\ufffd[FN#180]\nfor her seemlihead. Then he gifted the midwife'\"--And Shahrazad\nwas surprised by the dawn of day 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 King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was\nthe next night and that was\n\n             The Six 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 King\nAl-Mihrjan largessed a robe of honour to the midwife and gifted\nher with a thousand gold pieces and went forth from beside his\ndaughter. Then they committed her to wetnurses and drynurses and\ngovernesses who reared her with the fairest rearing, and after\nshe had reached the age of four they brought to her divines who\nlessoned her in the art of writing and of making\nselections[FN#181] and presently she approved herself sharp of\nwits, clever, loquent of tongue, eloquent of speech, sweet spoken\nof phrase; and every day she increased in beauty and loveliness\nand stature and perfect grace. And when she reached the age of\nfourteen she was well read in science and she had perused the\nannals of the past and she had mastered astrology and geomancy\nand she wrote with caligraphic pen all the seven handwritings and\nshe was mistress of metres and modes of poetry and still she grew\nin grace of speech. Now as her age reached her fourteenth year\nher sire the Sultan chose for her a palace and settled her\ntherein and placed about her slave-girls, high-bosomed virgins\nnumbering an hundred, and each and every famous for beauty and\nloveliness; and presently she selected of them a score who were\nall maidenhoods, illustrious for comeliness and seemliness. These\nshe taught in verse and poetry and in the strangenesses of\nhistory and in striking instruments of mirth and merriment until\nthey surpassed all the folk of their day; and she assiduously\nenjoined upon them the drinking of wine pure and new and\nboon-companionship with choice histories and strange tales and\nthe rare events of the time. Such was the case with Al-Hayfa; but\nas regards her father, King Al-Mihrjan, as one night he was lying\nabed pondering what he had heard from the Voice, suddenly there\naddressed him a sound without a form and said, \"O King of the\nAge,\" whereat he was fully aroused by sore terror and his vitals\nfluttered and his wits were bewildered and he was perplexed as to\nhis affair. So he took refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned\nand repeated somewhat of the Koran and fenced himself about with\ncertain of the holy names of Allah the Munificent; then he would\nhave returned to his couch but was unable, even to place cheek on\npillow. Presently sounded the Voice a second time, saying, \"O\nKing of the Age, O Mihrjan, verily shalt thou die by reason of\nher;\" and forthwith improvised the following couplets,\n\n\"Ho thou! Hear, O Mihrjan, what to thee shall be said * Learn the\n     drift of my words in these lines convey'd:\nThy daughter, Al-Hayfa (the girded round * With good, and with\n     highest of grade array'd)\nShall bring with right hand to thee ruin-bowl * And reave thee of\n     realm with the sharp-biting blade.\"[FN#182]\n\nNow when Al-Mihrjan had heard what the Voice had spoken of verse\nand had produced for him of prose, he was wholly aroused from his\nsleep and became like one drunken with wine who knew not what he\ndid and his vitals fluttered and increased his cark and care and\nanxious thought. So he removed from that site into another stead\nand was stirred up and went awandering about. Then he set his\nhead upon the pillow but was unable to close his eyelids and the\nVoice drew nearer and cried upon him in frightful accents and\nsaid, \"O Mihrjan, dost thou not hearken to my words and\nunderstand my verse; to wit, that thy daughter Al-Hayfa shall\nbequeath to thee shame and thou shalt perish by cause of her?\"\nThen the Unseen One recited these couplets,[FN#183]\n\n\"I see thee, O Mihrjan, careless-vain * who from hearing the\n     words of the wise dost abstain:\nI see Al-Hayfa, by potent lord * Upraised in her charms and\n     speech sweet of strain,\nWho shall home thee in grave sans a doubt and she * Shall seize\n     thy king-ship and reave thy reign.\"\n\nBut when Al-Mihrjan had heard the words of the Voice and what it\nhad urged upon him of poetry and of prose-addresses, he arose\nfrom his rest in haste and anxiety until Allah caused the morn to\nmorrow and break in its sheen and it shone, whereupon the King\nsummoned the Mathematicians and the Interpreters of dreams and\nthe Commentators on the Koran; and, when they came between his\nhands, he related to them his vision, fully and formally, and\nthey practised their several arts, making all apparent to them;\nbut they concealed the truth and would not reveal it, saying to\nhim, \"Indeed the consequence of thy vision is auspicious.\"-- 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 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 Six 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\nAstrologers said to King Al-Mihrjan, \"Verily the consequence of\nthy vision is auspicious;\" and on the second night Iblis the\nAccursed appeared to him under the bodily form of a handsome man\nand said, \"Ho thou the King, I am he who terrified thee\nyesternight in thy dream, for the reason that thou hast ruined\nthe Monastery of the Archers[FN#184] wherein I lay homed. However\nan thou wilt edify it again I will favour thee with my counsel,\nho thou the King!\" Al-Mihrjan replied, \"Upon me be its rebuilding\nan thou wilt honour me with thy advice, ho thou the Voice!\"\nHereupon Iblis fell to lying with him and saying, \"Verily I am\nthine aider in building thee a palace by the river\nAl-Kaw\ufffd'ib,[FN#185] O thou will of me and desire of me!\" (Now the\nfolk heard these words spoken aloud.) Then Al-Mihrjan arose from\nhis sleep joyful and cheerful and when morning came he summoned\nthe Mathematicians and Architects and Masons and bade them\nrebuild the Monastery of the Archers; so they obeyed his bidding\nuntil they had completed it in the handsomest fashion and with\nthe best of workmanship. After that the King ordered they\nconstruct for his daughter Al-Hayfa a palace unsurpassed by any\nedifice and perfectly builded and decorated, hard by the river\nAl-Kawa'ib; moreover that it should be situate in a wady, a\nhill-girt plain through which meandered the stream. So they\nobeyed his bidding and laid its foundations and marked with large\nstones the lines thereof which measured a parasang of length by a\nparasang of breadth. Then they showed their design to the King,\nwho gathering together his army returned with them to the city.\nPresently the Architects and Master-masons fell to building it\nsquare of corners and towering in air over the height of an\nhundred ells and an ell; and amiddlemost thereof stood a\nquadrangular hall with four-fold saloons, one fronting other,\nwhilst in each was set apart a cabinet for private converse. At\nthe head of every saloon a latticed window projected over the\ngarden whereof the description shall follow in its place; and\nthey paved the ground with vari-coloured marbles and alabastrine\nslabs which were dubbed with bezel stones and onyx[FN#186] of\nAl-Yaman. The ceilings were inlaid with choice gems and lapis\nlazuli and precious metals: the walls were coated with white\nstucco painted over with ceruse[FN#187] and the frieze was\ncovered with silver and gold and ultramarine and costly minerals.\nThen they set up for the latticed windows colonnettes of gold and\nsilver and noble ores, and the doors of the sitting chamber were\nmade of chaunders-wood alternating with ebony which they studded\nwith jewels and arabesque'd with gold and silver. Also they\nplaced in each sitting-room a pillar of Comorin lign-aloes and\nthe best of sandal-wood encrusted with gems; and over the\nspeak-room they threw cupolas supported upon arches and\nconnecting columns and lighted in the upper part by skylights of\nchrystal and carnelian and onyx. And at the head of each saloon\nwas a couch of juniper-wood whose four legs were of elephants'\nivories studded with rubies and over each was let down a\nhanging[FN#188] of golden weft and a network of gems, whilst\nhigher than the whole was a latticed casement adorned with pearls\nwhich were threaded upon golden wire and curtains bearing scented\nsatchels of ambergris. The furniture of the divans was of raw\nsilk stuffed with ostrich- down and the cushions were purfled\nwith gold. The floors of all the saloons were spread with carpets\nand rugs embroidered with sendal, and in the heart of the Great\nHall amiddlemost the four saloons rose a marble jet-d'eau, square\nof shape, whose corners were cunningly wrought and whose floor\nand marge were set with gems of every hue. They also placed upon\nthe edges of that fountain figures fashioned of gold and silver\nrepresenting all manner birds and beasts, each modelled according\nto his several tint and peculiar form; their bellies too were\nhollow and from the fountain was conducted a conduit which led\nthe water into their insides and caused it gush from their mouths\nso that they jetted one at other like two hosts about to do\nbattle. After this the same water returned to the middle of the\nfountain and thence flowed into the gardens, of which a\ndescription will follow in its place.[FN#189] Also the walls of\nthe Great Hall were variegated with wondrous pictures in gold and\nlapis lazuli and precious materials of every kind, and over the\ndoors of the sitting-places they hung candelabra of chrystal with\nchains of gold wherein were set jewels and jacinths and the\ncostliest stones; after which they inscribed upon the entrance of\nthe speak-rooms couplets to the following purport,\n\n\"Clear and clean is our seance from slanderous foe; * And from\n     envious rival whose aim is blame:\nNone hither may come save the cup-boy, and eke * Cup-comrades who\n     never our fame defame.\"\n\nUpon the chandeliers themselves were inscribed these lines,\n\n\"I am raised in reverence high o'er head * For they see that my\n     gift is the boon of light:\nI'm a pleasure to eyesight, so up with you all, * O Seers, and\n     joy ye the joys of my sight.\"\n\n\nAnd upon the Palace-door was inscribed the following quatrain,\n\n\"This Mansion's adorned           * As delight to mans eye;\nO'er its door writ is 'Welcome,' * So safely draw nigh.\"\n\nAnd when they had finished this inscription over the doorway,\nthey went forth from the entrance which stood at the head of the\nGreat Hall and proceeded to a square of large space abounding in\ntrees and enjoyable for rills; and they surrounded it with a\nfencing-wall built of rough stone which they stuccoed over and\nfigured with various paintings. Then they planted this garden\nwith all manner fruit-bearing trees and fragrant herbs and\nflowers and firstlings of every kind and hue and they trained the\nbranches after a wonderful fashion, leading under their shade\nleats and runnels of cool water; and the boughs were cunningly\ndispread so as to veil the ground which was planted with grains\nof divers sorts and greens and all of vegetation that serveth for\nthe food of man. Also they provided it with a watering wheel\nwhose well was revetted with alabaster[FN#190]--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 King suffer me to survive?\" Now\nwhen it was the next night and that was\n\n            The Six 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\nArchitects set up in that palace-garden a water-wheel whose well\nwas revetted with alabaster and whose wood-work and wheel were of\nchaunders-wood, whilst its pitchers were of fine porcelain and\nits cordage[FN#191] was of raw silk. And when they were free of\nthis work they edified amongst the scented shrubs and blossoms a\ntowering dome based upon four-square walls of variegated marbles\nand alabasters studded with carbuncles[FN#192] and its ceiling\nwas supported upon columns of the finest stone with joinery of\nlign-aloes and sandal, and they dubbed its cupola with jewels and\nprecious stones and arabesque'd[FN#193] it with gold and silver.\nThen they made therein four saloons more, each fronting other,\nand at the head of one and all was a latticed window impending\nover the bloomy shrubs and fragrant herbs; the colonnettes of\nthose casements were silvern whilst the shutters were of\nsandal-wood plated and studded with precious metals; and over the\nlintels thereof was an ornamental frieze of gold inscribed with\nlines of verse which shall be described in its due place. And\nthey inlaid that frieze with rubies and jacinths until it made\nthe cupola resemble the domes of Paradise. Moreover they trained\nthe flowering shrubs and the perfumed herbs to overrun with their\ntendrils the casements in the drum of the dome, and when they had\ncompleted the work and had embellished it with all adornments\nthey pierced for it an entrance and ranged around it three\nramparts which, built up with large stones, were in breadth seven\ncubits. Then they edified for the Palace an impregnable gateway\nof Chinese steel whereunto led flights of alabastrine steps which\nwere continued to the highmost parts, and lastly they derived the\nriver Al-Kawa'ib till it surrounded the edifice on every side and\nencircled it as signet-ring girdeth finger or wristlet wrist. Now\nwhen the Architects and Master-masons had made an end of building\nthe Palace and its domes and had finished laying out and planting\nthe parterres, they went in to King Al-Mihrjan and kissing ground\nbetween his hands informed him thereof; and he, receiving this\nreport, at once took his daughter, Al-Hayfa, and mounting horse,\nhe and the Lords of his land rode forth till they reached the\nriver Al-Kawa'ib which ran at three days' distance from his\ncapital. When he arrived there and looked upon the Palace and its\nelevation in fortalice-form he was pleased therewith and so were\nall of his suite and retinue; whereupon he went up to it and\nbeholding the ordinance and the ornamentation and the cupolas and\nthe gardens and the edification and embellishment of the whole,\nhe sent for the Architects and Master-masons and the artificers\nwhom he thanked for their work, and he bestowed upon them robes\nof honour and gifted and largessed them and assigned to them\nrations and pay and allowances. So they kissed ground before him\nand went their ways. Then King Al-Mihrjan and his host withdrew\nwithin the Palace, and he bade serve up the trays of viands and\nsumptuous food for a banquet, after which he and his abode three\ndays in eating and drinking and diversion and disport; and he\ngave robes of honour to his Wazirs and Emirs and the Grandees of\nhis kingdom, and in fine issued orders for their departure. When\nthey went forth from him, he commanded to summon Al-Hayfa and her\nwomen with all their belongings; and she, having made act of\npresence and having ascended to the Palace and considered it with\nits beauty and artifice and ornamentation, was pleased and\nrejoiced therein. The father abode with her three days, and then\nfarewelling her returned to his capital; and she on his departure\nbade her slave-girls distribute the couches about the saloons\nplacing in each one a seat of ebony plated with glittering gold,\nwhose legs were of elephant's ivory, and over one and all they\nreared canopies of silk and brocade adorned with jewels and\nprecious metals and bespread them with mattresses and cushions\nand pillows, and over the floor of the palaces they laid down\ncarpets whereupon was orfrayed this couplet,\n\n\"O Friend hereon seated be blythe and gay * Unless hereto bound\n     and debarred of way.\"[FN#194]\n\nThen they set upon them settees for seats whereupon were\ninscribed these couplets,\n\n\"O Seat, be thy beauty increased evermore; * Fair fall thee with\n     happiness choice and meet;\nAn I fail in life through my slip and sin, * To-morrow in Heav'n\n     I'll give thee seat.\"\n\nThen[FN#195] the attendants decorated the whole Palace until it\nbecame like unto one of the Mansions of Heaven, and when the\nwomen had done her bidding, Al-Hayfa was much pleased, so she\ntook one of the slave-girls by the hand and walked with the rest\nof them around the Palace considering its artifice and its\nembellishment, especially the paintings which covered the walls;\nand they rejoiced thereat, marvelling at the cunning decorations\nand they were grateful to the Architects who had builded and\npresented all these representations. And when Al-Hayfa reached\nthe terrace- roof of the Palace she descended by its long flight\nof steps which led to the river-side, and bidding the door be\nthrown open she gazed upon the water which encircled it like ring\naround finger or armlet round arm, and admired its breadth and\nits swiftness of streaming; and she magnified the work and\nadmired the gateway of steel for its strength and power of\ndefence and sued for pardon of Almighty Allah.[FN#196]--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 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 Six 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 Al-Hayfa\nsued pardon of Allah the Great and took refuge with the Almighty\nfrom Satan the Stoned, after which said she, \"There is no\ndiverter to whatso is doomed by the Lord nor availeth aught of\nsolicitude against that commanded by the Omnipotent, the All-\npuissant; and His power is upon me with His destiny and needs\nmust it come to pass.\" Then she called for a pen-case of gold and\nshe wrote for placing over the gateway of the Palace the\nfollowing couplets,[FN#197]\n\n\"Behold here's a mansion like 'Home of Delight' * Whose sight\n     heals the sick and abates all blight:\nHere are roe-like maidens with breasts high raised * And with\n     charms of the straightest stature bedight:\nTheir eyes prey on the lion, the Desert's lord. * And sicken the\n     prostrate love- felled plight:\nWhomso their glances shall thrust and pierce * Naught e'er\n     availeth mediciner's might:\nHere Al-Hayfa scion of noble sire * E'en craven and sinner doth\n     fain invite;\nAnd here for the drunken wight there abide * Five pardons[FN#198]\n     and bittocks of bread to bite.\nMy desire is the maiden who joys in verse, * All such I welcome\n     with me to alight,\nAnd drain red wine in the garth a-morn * where beasts and birds\n     all in pairs unite;\nWhere rose and lily and eglantine * And myrtle with scent\n     morning-breeze delight,\nOrange bloom, gillyflower and chamomile * With Jasmine and\n     palm-bud, a joyful site.\nWhoso drinketh not may no luck be his * Nor may folk declare him\n     of reason right!\nWine and song are ever the will of me * But my morning wine lacks\n     a comrade-wight\nO who brightenest the Five[FN#199] do thou rise and fetch * By\n     night for my use olden wine and bright:\nO thou reading this writ, prithee comprehend: * Cross the stream\n     I swear thee by God's All-might!\nThis is House of Honour may none gainsay :* Cup-comrade shall be\n     who shall self invite;\nFor within these gates only women wone, * So of men-folk here\n     thou hast naught to affright.\"\n\nWhen Al-Hayfa had finished her writing and what she had\nimprovised of verse and couplets, she bade close the entrance of\nthe Palace and went up, she and her women, to the higher\napartments; and the while she was drowned in thought and fell to\nsaying, \"Would Heaven I knew an this mighty guard and ward will\ndefend Al-Mihrjan and would I wot if this fortalice will fend off\nFate and what fain must be.\" Then she enjoined her women to high\ndiet and the drinking of wine and listening to intimate converse\nand the hearing of songs and musical instruments and gladness and\ngaiety for a while of time; and she felt herself safe from the\nshifts of chance and change. Such was her case but now we will\nrecount (Inshallah!) what further befel her.[FN#200] In the land\nof Sind was a King hight Sahl[FN#201] and he was of the Monarchs\nof might, endowed with puissance and prepotency and exalted\ndegree, abounding in troops and guards and overruling all that\nfair region. Now Allah (be He extolled and exalted!) had\nvouchsafed him a son than whom was none in his age fairer of\nsemblance: beautiful exceedingly was he, with a face brighter far\nthan the full moon; and he was of tongue eloquent and of pluck\npuissant, valorous, formidable. Also he was mighty fond of wine\nmere and rare and of drinks in the morning air and of converse\nwith the fair and he delighted in mirth and merriment and he was\nassiduous in his carousing which he would never forego during the\nwatches of the night or the wards of the day. Now for the\nabundance of his comeliness and the brilliancy of his\ncountenance, whenever he walked abroad in the capital he would\nswathe his face with the Lith\ufffdm,[FN#202] lest wax madly enamoured\nof him the woman-kind and all creation, wherefore he was named\nthe Veiled Y\ufffdsuf of Beauty. It chanced one night as he sat\ncarousing with his boon companions that the wine prevailed over\nhim and he became sprightly and frolicsome; so he went forth from\nthe door of his cabinet in a state of drink, understanding naught\nand knowing nothing of that he did. He wandered about the rooms\nbelonging to his father and there he saw a damsel of the paternal\nconcubines standing at the door of her bower and his wine so\nmastered him that he went up to her and clasped her to his bosom\nand threw her backwards upon the floor. She cried aloud to the\nroyal Eunuchs who stood there looking on at him, not one of them,\nhowever, dared arrest him or even draw near him to free the girl,\nso he had his will of her and abated her maidenhead after which\nhe rose up from off her and left her all bleeding[FN#203] from\nhis assault. Now this slave-girl had been gifted to his sire and\nYusuf left her to recover her condition when he would have\nvisited her again, but as soon as he had returned to his\napartment (and he not knowing what he had done) the Eunuchs took\nthe damsel (she bleeding as before) and carried her to King Sahl\nwho seeing her in such case exclaimed, \"What man hath done this\nto her?\" Said they, \"'Tis thy son Yusuf;\" and he, when he heard\nthe words of his slaves, felt that this matter was hard upon him\nand sent to fetch the Prince. They hastened to bring him, but\namongst the Mamelukes was one lovingly inclined to the youth who\ntold him the whole tale and how his father had bade the\nbody-guards summon him to the presence. And when Yusuf had heard\nthe words of the Mameluke he arose in haste and baldrick'd his\nblade and hending his spear in hand he went down to the stables\nand saddled him a steed of the noblest blood and likeliest\nstrain; then he mounted and, taking with him a score of Mamelukes\nhis pages, he sallied forth with them through the city gate and\nrode on unknowing what was concealed from him in the Secret\nPurpose--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 Six 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 Prince\nYusuf, son of King Sahl, went forth the city all unknowing\nwhither he should wend and to what part he should turn, and he\nceased not faring with his merry men for ten full-told days,\ncutting across the wold and wild and the valley and the\nstone-clad hill, and he was perplext as to his affair. But whilst\nhe was still journeying he came upon the river Al-Kawa'ib and he\ndrew in sight of the castle of Al-Hayfa, which stood amiddlemost\nthat mighty stream with its height and bulk and defensive\nstrength. Hereupon quoth Yusuf to himself, \"By Allah, none\nfounded this puissant fortalice in such power and prepotency and\nforcefulness save for a mighty matter and a cause of much\nconsequence. Would Heaven I wot to whom this belongeth and who\ndwelleth therein!\" Then he applied his mind and had recourse to\nthe knowledge of his companions the Mamelukes and he commanded\nall his white slaves alight upon the marge of the river for the\npurpose of rest, and when they had reposed he asked them, \"Who\namongst you will go down to this stream and will over-swim it and\nwill visit the lord of the Castle and bring us news of it and\ntidings of its ownership and discover for us the man to whom it\nbelongeth?\" But as no one would return him a reply he repeated\nhis words without any answer and he, when he saw that, arose\nforthright and doffed what he had upon him of dress, all save his\nshirt only. Then he took his bow and quiver and placing his\nclothes with his weapon and arrow-case upon his head he went down\nto the river and swam it until he came forth it on the further\nside. Here he walked up to the gateway and found an impregnable\nentrance all of steel which none might avail to open, but when he\nsaw the verses thereon inscribed and understood their\nsignificance he gave himself joy and was certified of entering.\nThen he took from his quiver a pen-case and paper whereupon he\ninscribed these couplets,\n\n\"At your door, O Fountains of weal, I stand * A stranger from\n     home and a-morning bann'd.\nYour grace shall haply forfend my foe * And the hateful band of\n     unfriends disband:\nI have none resort save your gates, the which * With verse like\n     carcanet see I spann'd:\nIbn Sahl hath 'spied with you safe repair, * So for lonesome\n     stranger approach command!\"\n\nAnd when Yusuf had ended his writing, he folded the paper and\nmade it fast to a shaft; then he took his bow and arming it drew\nthe string and aimed the arrow at the upper terrace, where it\ndropped within the parapet. Now, by the decree of The Decreer\nAl-Hayfa was walking there with her women when the shaft fell\nbetween her feet and the paper became manifest, so she caught\nsight of it and took it up and opened it, and having read it\nunderstood its significance. Hereat she rejoiced and\ncongratulated herself and her cheeks flushed rosy-red, and\npresently she went hastily in the direction of the entrance,\nwhilst her women still looked down from the terrace upon the\ndoorway and saw Yusuf a-foot before it. They cried out to their\nlady, \"Verily there standeth below a youth lovely in his\nyouthfulness, with his face gladdening as the crescent moon of\nSha'ab\ufffdn.\"[FN#204] But when Al-Hayfa heard the words of the women\nshe was glad and gave herself joy and sensed an oppression of\npleasure, whilst her vitals palpitated and she perspired in her\npetticoat-trowsers.[FN#205] Then she went down to the gateway\nwhich she bade be thrown open, and seeing Prince Yusuf she smiled\nin his face and welcomed him and greeted him. He returned her\nsalam with sweetness of phrase and softness of words, when said\nshe to him, \"Well come and welcome and good cheer to thee, O thou\nwho dost visit us and takest refuge in our demesne[FN#206] and in\nour presence, for that here thou hast immunity and impunity and\ncivility;\" presently adding, \"Enter into this guarded stead and\nfeel thou no fear from any foe, for thou hast wrought thy wish\nand hast attained thine aim and hast won thy will, O fair of face\nand O perfect of form, O thou whose countenance excelleth the new\nmoon: here thou hast preserved thy life and art saved from\nfoeman's strife.\" Thereupon she mounted the staircase and he\nbehind her, while the slave-girls surrounded the twain, and she\nconversed with him and cheered him with fair words and welcomed\nhim once more till they had entered the Castle saloon, when she\ntook his hand and seated him at the head of the hall. But as\nYusuf looked upon the fortalice and the beauty of its building\nand the excellence of its ordinance and the high degree of its\ndecorations which made it like unto the Palaces of Paradise, and\nas he beheld that furniture and those couches, with what was over\nthem of hangings, and the gems and jewels and precious metals\nwhich abounded there, he magnified the matter in his mind and\nsaid to himself, \"This place belongeth to none save to a mighty\nmonarch!\" Then Al-Hayfa bade her women bring a bundle of\nclothing, and when they had set it between her hands, she opened\nit and drew forth a suit of Daylakian[FN#207] garments and a\ncaftan of Coptick stuff (fine linen of Misraim purfled with\ngold), and bestowed them upon him, and she bound around his head\nan or-fringed Shash[FN#208] with either end gem-adorned. And when\nhe donned the dress his countenance became brilliant and its\nlight shone afar, and his cheeks waxed red as rose, and she\nseeing this felt her wits bewildered and was like to faint.\nHowever, she soon recovered herself and said, \"This is no mortal:\nverily he is naught but of the H\ufffdrs of Heaven.\" Then she bade her\nwomen bring food--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 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 Six 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 Al-Hayfa\nbade her women bring the food trays, and when they obeyed her\nbidding and placed them between the hands of Yusuf, he considered\nthem and saw that one was made of Yam\ufffdn\ufffd onyx and another of red\ncarnelian and a third of rock chrystal, and they bore platters of\ngold and silver and porcelain and jasper. Upon them were ranged\ndishes furnished with the daintiest food which perplexed the\nwits, and sweetmeats and sumptuous meats, such as gazelle's\nhaunch and venison and fatted mutton and flesh of birds, all the\nbig and the small, such as pigeon and rock-pigeon, and greens\nmarinated and viands roasted and fried of every kind and colour\nand cheeses and sugared dishes. Then she seated Yusuf beside her\nand served him with all manner cates and confections and conjured\nhim to fall-to and morselled him until he had eaten his\nsufficiency; after which they twain sat together in laughter and\nenjoyment each conjoined to other and both cast in the mould of\nbeauty and loveliness and brilliancy and stature and symmetric\ngrace as though in the likeness of a rattan-palm. All this and\nAl-Hayfa rejoiced in Yusuf, but ever and anon she took thought\nanent her sire King Al-Mihrjan and his works and she kept saying\nin her mind, \"Would Heaven I wot will he wed me to this youth so\ncharming of inner grace; and, if my father be not satisfied\ntherewith, I will marry my lover in despite of him.\" And the\nwhile Yusuf quoth to himself \"Would Heaven I wot how my sire will\nact in the business of the concubine whose pucelage I did away,\nand would Heaven I knew if he have ridden forth in search of me,\nor he have lost sight of me and never asked of me.\" On this wise\neither of the twain spoke to themselves, and neither of them\nbelieved in safety, all unknowing what was predestined to them by\nHim who saith to a thing, \"Be\" and it becometh. So Al-Hayfa and\nYusuf sat drowned in the depths of thought, withal their joyance\nand enjoyment made them clean forget that writ for them by Fate;\nand the Prince gazing upon the greater tray saw graven upon its\nedge these couplets,\n\n\"For the gathering of friends and familiars design'd * Between\n     hands of Kings and Wazirs I'm shrin'd:\nUpon me is whatever taste loves and joys * Of flesh and viands\n     all kinds combin'd:\nFrom me fill thee full of these cates and praise * Thy Lord, the\n     Maker of all mankind.\"\n\nThen the attendants placed bread upon the trays, and the Prince\nfound writ in moulded letters upon the loaves the couplets that\nfollow,\n\n\"And a loaf new-born from the flour of wheat, * White and piping\n     hot from the oven-heat:\nQuoth to me my chider, Be wise and say * Soothe my heart and\n     blame not, O friend I greet.\"\n\nPresently the handmaidens piled upon the trays platters of silver\nand porcelain (whereof mention hath been made) containing all\nthat lip and tongue gratify of the meat of muttons in fry and\nKat\ufffd-grouse and pigeon-poults and quails and things that fly of\nevery kind and dye which hungry men can long to espy, and Yusuf\nsaw inscribed upon the china dishes the following couplets,\n\n\"Platters of china fair     * That all men's eyne ensnare,\nNone seeth in this our town * China of mould so rare.\"\n\nThen he looked upon the silver plate and found it graven with\nthese lines,\n\n\"Plate worked in silver of the brightest white * In height of\n     beauty, O thou joy to sight,\nWhen fully finisht and when perfect made * Becometh chargers\n     peerless in delight.\"\n\nAnd portrayed upon the porcelain were all that grow and fly of\ngeese and poultry. Anon a handmaid brought in hand a knife\nwherewith to carve the meats, and Yusuf looking at the blade saw\nupon it letters gold-inlaid and forming these verses,\n\n\"I am blade of finest grain     * Wherefrom comes naught of bane:\nFro' my friends all harm I ward * And thy foes by me be slain!\"\n\nHereupon the handmaids ended the ordinance of the table and set\neverything in its own stead; after which the Princess took seat\nbeside the Prince and said to him, \"O my lord, hearten our heart\nand deign grace to us and honour us by eating with us: this\nindeed be a day of joy for my union with thee and for thy\nlighting this my lodging with the splendour of thy semblance so\nbright and thy beauty so rare and for thine alighting at my home\nand thine opportune kindness and thine inner\ngraciousness,[FN#209] O thou unique one of the Age and the Time,\nand O thou who hast no peer in our day and our tide.\" Now when\nYusuf heard the words of Al-Hayfa he said to her, \"Wallahi, O\nthou who the moons adornest and who the sun and the daylight\nshamest, O lady of brow flower-bright and of stature\nelegant-slight, O thou who passest in beauty and comeliness all\nmortal beings, O thou with smile like water sweet and mouth-dews\nlike purest spring and of speech the softest, I wot thou art the\nlady of goodness and excellence and generosity and liberality.\"\nThen she again fell to morselling the Prince until they both had\na sufficiency of food, whereupon she bade them fetch water for\nwashing their hands after meat. And they brought to Yusuf a basin\nof glittering gold, when he rejoiced with exceeding exultation\nthe while he was sunk in meditation, and at times he gazed upon\nAl-Hayfa and his wits were bewildered and his senses seduced him\nto something he would do with her for the abundance that was in\nher of beauty and loveliness. But his reason forbade to him his\npassion, and quoth he in his mind, \"To everything its own\ntime,\"-- 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 Six 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 Yusuf\nsaid, \"To everything its own time, and soothly sayeth the old\nsaw, Whoso hurrieth upon a matter ere opportunity consent shall\nat last repent. Now when they brought the basin before him and\ntherein stood an ewer of chrystal garnished with gold, he looked\nat it and saw graven thereupon the following couplets,\n\n\"I'm a Basin gold beautifies * For the hands of the great and the\n     wise:\nAbased[FN#210] for the cleansing of palms, * Washing hands with\n     the water of eyes.\"\n\nThereat he considered the ewer and saw inscribed upon it these\nlines,\n\n\"O rare the Ewer's form whereon must dote * Our hearts and pupils\n     of our eyes fain gloat:\nSeems ferly fair to all admiring orbs * You seemly body wi' the\n     slender throat.\"\n\nAnd when he had finished washing his hands and had dried them\nwith the napkins he pointed at them and spoke these couplets,\n\n\"Groweth my love a-heart and how to hide * When o'er the plains\n     of cheek tear-torrents glide?\nI veil what love these sobs and moans betray * With narrowed\n     heart I spread my patience wide.\nO Farer to the fountain,[FN#211] flow these eyes * Nor seek from\n     other source to be supplied:\nWho loveth, veil of Love his force shall reave, * For tears shall\n     tell his secrets unespied:\nI for the love of you ain bye-word grown, * My lords, and driven\n     to the Desert-side;\nWhile you in heart of me are homed, your home; * And the\n     heart-dweller kens what there may bide.\"\n\nWhen Prince Yusuf had finished his improvisation and the poetry\nwhich he produced, Princess Al-Hayfa bussed him upon the brow,\nand he seeing this waxed dazed of his wits and right judgment\nfled him and he fell fainting to the floor for a while of time.\nAnd when he came to himself he pondered how she had entreated him\nand his Passion would have persuaded him to do with her somewhat\nbut Reason forbad and with her force he overcame himself. After\nhis improvising Al-Hayfa again saluted him on the front and\ncried, \"Indeed thou hast done well in thy words, O thou with\nCrescent's brow!\" Presently she came for the table of wine and\nfilling a cup drank it off; then she crowned another goblet and\npassed it to Yusuf who took it and kissed it while she improvised\nsome couplets as follows,\n\n\"Thy seduction of lips ne'er can I forbear * Nor deny\n     love-confession for charms so rare:\nO thou aim of my eyes, how my longing stay? * O thou tall of form\n     and long wavy hair?\nThy rose-hued cheek showeth writ new-writ[FN#212] * Dimming wine\n     my cups in their rondure bear.\"\n\nAnd presently she added,[FN#213]\n\n\"I hid his phantom, by the Lord, but showed * My looks the blush\n     his scented cheek had sent:\nHow veil the joy his love bestows, when I * To blood-red[FN#214]\n     tears on cheek give open vent,\nWhen his uplighted cheek my heart enfires * As though a-morn in\n     flame my heart were pent?\nBy Allah, ne'er my love for you I'll change * Though change my\n     body and to change consent.\n\nAnd when Al-Hayfa had finished her improvisation and her poetry,\nYusuf drained the goblet and after kissing it returned it to her;\nbut he was as one a-swoon. Then she took it from him and he\nrecovered and presently declaimed for her the following couplets,\n\n\"A maiden in your tribe avails my heart with love to fire[FN#215]\n     * And how can I a-hidden bear the love my eyes declare?\nThe branches of the sand-hill tree remember and recall * What\n     time she softly bent and showed a grace beyond compare;\nAnd taught me how those eyne o'erguard the roses of her cheek *\n     And knew to ward them from the hand to cull her charms would\n     dare.\"\n\nAs soon as Yusuf had finished his improvisation and what of\npoetry he had produced, Al-Hayfa took seat by his side and fell\nto conversing with him in sweetest words with softest smiles, the\nwhile saying, \"Fair welcome to thee, O wonder of beauty and\nlovesome in eloquence and O charming in riant semblance and lord\nof high degree and clear nobility: thou hast indeed illumined our\nplace with the light of thy flower-like forehead and to our\nhearts joyance hast thou given and our cares afar hast thou\ndriven and eke our breasts hast made broad; and this is a day of\nfestival to laud, so do thou solace our souls and drain of our\nwine with us for thou art the bourne and end and aim of our\nintent.\" Then Al-Hayfa took a cup of chrystal, and crowning it\nwith clear-strained wine which had been sealed with musk and\nsaffron, she passed it to Prince Yusuf. He accepted it from her\nalbeit his hand trembled from what befel him of her beauty and\nthe sweetness of her poetry and her perfection; after which he\nbegan to improvise these couplets,\n\n\"O thou who drainest thy morning wine * With friends in a bower\n     sweet blooms enshrine\u0096\nPlace unlike all seen by sight of man * In the lands and gardens\n     of best design--,\nTake gladly the liquor that quivers in cup * And elevates man,\n     this clean Maid of the Vine:\nThis goblet bright that goes round the room * Nor Chosro\ufffds held\n     neither Nu'uman's line.\nDrink amid sweet flowers and myrtle's scent * Orange-bloom and\n     Lily and Eglantine,\nAnd Rose and Apple whose cheek is dight * In days that glow with\n     a fiery shine;\n'Mid the music of strings and musician's gear * Where harp and\n     pipe with the lute combine;--\nAn I fail to find her right soon shall I * Of parting perish\n     foredeemed to die!\"\n\nThen Al-Hayfa responded to him in the same rhyme and measure and\nspake to him as follows,\n\n\"O thou who dealest in written line * Whose nature hiding shall\n     e'er decline;\nAnd subdued by wine in its mainest might * Like lover drunken by\n     strains divine,[FN#216]\nDo thou gaze on our garden of goodly gifts * And all manner\n     blooms that in wreaths entwine;\nSee the birdies warble on every bough * Make melodious music the\n     finest fine.\nAnd each Pippet pipes[FN#217] and each Curlew cries * And\n     Blackbird and Turtle with voice of pine;\nRing-dove and Culver, and eke Haz\ufffdr, * And Kat\ufffd calling on Quail\n     vicine;\nSo fill with the mere and the cups make bright * With bestest\n     liquor, that boon benign;--\nThis site and sources and scents I espy * With Rizwan's garden\n     compare defy.\"\n\nAnd when Al-Hayfa had ended her improvisation and what she had\nspoken to him of poetry, and Yusuf had given ear to the last\ncouplet, he was dazed and amazed and he shrieked aloud and waxed\ndistraught for her and for the women that were beside and about\nher, and after the cry he fell fainting to the ground. But in an\nhour[FN#218] he came to, when the evening evened and the wax\ncandles and the chandeliers were lighted, his desire grew and his\npatience flew and he would have risen to his feet and wandered in\nhis craze but he found no force in his knees. So he feared for\nhimself and he remained sitting as before.--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\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 Six 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 Yusuf\nremained sitting as before, Al-Hayfa asked him saying, \"How art\nthou hight, O dearling of my heart and fruit of my vitals?\" Hereupon he told her his name and the name of his sire, and related to her the whole of what had befallen him, first and last, with the affair of the concubine and his faring forth from his own city and how he had sighted her Palace and had swum the stream and shot the shaft that carried the paper, after which he recited to her these couplets,\n\n\"I left my home for a fair young maid * Whose love my night with\n     its light array'd;\nYet wot I not what her name may be * Thus ignorance mating with\n     union forbade.\nBut when of her gifts I was certified * Her gracious form the\n     feat easy made;\nThe King of Awe sent my steps to her * And to union with beauty\n     vouchsafed me aid:\nIndeed disgrace ever works me shame * Tho' long my longing to\n     meet I'm afraid.\"\n\nWhen Al-Hayfa heard his name her great love to him waxed greater.\nThen she took the lute upon her lap and caressed it with her\nfinger-tips when it sighed and sobbed and groaned and\nmoaned[FN#219] and she fell to singing these verses,\n\n\"A thousand welcomes hail thy coming fain, * O Yusuf, dearling\n     son of Sahl's strain:\nWe read thy letter and we understood * Thy kingly birth from sand\n     that told it plain:[FN#220]\nI'm thine, by Allah, I the loveliest maid * Of folk and thou to\n     be my husband deign:\nBruit of his fair soft cheek my love hath won * And branch and\n     root his beauty grows amain:\nHe from the Northern Realms to us draws nigh * For King Mihrjan\n     bequeathing ban and bane;\nAnd I behold him first my Castle seek * As mate impelled by\n     inspiration fain.\nThe land upstirs he and the reign he rules * From East to West,\n     the King my father slain;\nBut first he flies us for no fault of ours * Upon us wasting\n     senseless words and vain:\nE'en so Creation's Lord hath deigned decree, * Unique in\n     Heaven--glorified be He!\"[FN#221]\n\nNow when Yusuf heard the words of Al-Hayfa he rejoiced with\nexceeding joy and she was gladdened in like manner, after which\nhe gifted her with all that was upon him of gear and in similar\nguise she doffed what dress was upon her and presented it to\nhim.[FN#222] Then she bade the slave-girls bring her an especial\nsuit and they fetched her a second bundle and she clothed Yusuf\nwith what was therein of sumptuous clothes. After this the Prince\nabode with Al-Hayfa as an inmate of her palace for a term of ten\ndays in all the happiness of life, eating and drinking and\nenjoying conjugal intercourse.[FN#223] Presently Almighty Allah\n(be He extolled and exalted!) decreed that, when all tidings of\nYusuf son of Sahl were lost, his sire sent in search of him\nYahy\ufffd,[FN#224] his cousin and the son of his maternal aunt,\namongst a troop of twenty knights to track his trail and be\ntaught his tidings until Allah (be He glorified and magnified!)\nguided him to the pages who had been left upon the river-bank.\nHere they had tarried for ten days whilst the sunshine burnt them\nand hunger was exterminating them; and when they were asked\nconcerning their lord, they gave notice that he had swum the\nstream and had gone up to yonder Castle and had entered therein.\n\"And we know not (they ended) whether he be alive or dead.\" So\nthe lord Yahya said to them, \"Is there amongst you any will cross\nthe current and bring us news of him?\" But not one of them would\nconsent and they remained in silence and confusion. So he asked\nthem a second time and a third time yet none would rise up before\nhim and hearten him to attempt the dangers of the stream,\nwhereupon he drew forth his ink-case of brass and a sheet of\npaper and he fell to writing the following verses,\n\n\"This day I have witnessed a singular case * Of Yusuf scion to\n     Sahl's dear race:\nSince he fared at undurn his sire was grieved * And the Palace\n     remained but an empty place:\nI liken the youth to full moon 'mid stars * Disappeadng and\n     darkening Earth's bright face.\n'Tis my only fear that his heart is harmed, * Brent by Love-fires\n     lacking of mercy and grace:\nBy Allah, albeit man's soul thou rule * Among stranger folk thou\n     art but an ace!\"\n\nPresently he took a reed and grasping it thrust thereinto the\ntwisted and folded paper, after which he stopped the hole with\nwax; then, lashing it to the surface of the shaft, he set it upon\nthe bow-handle and drew the string and shot the bolt in the\ndirection of the Castle, whither it flew and fell at the foot of\nthe staircase beside the main entrance. It so fortuned at that\ntime a slave-girl came forth to fill her pitcher with water and\nshe found the arrow and picked it up and carried it to her lady\nwho was sitting in the speak-room at converse with Yusuf.\nHereupon the Prince hent the reed in hand and broke it and drew\nforth the paper which he opened and read and comprehended.\nHereupon he wept with exceeding great weeping until he fell to\nthe floor a-faint and the Princess took the note from his grasp\nand perused it, and it was hard upon her, so she bade them beat\nthe slave-girl who brought the writ with an hundred blows and\nthey bastinadoed her till she lost her senses. But when Yusuf\nrecovered, he thought of his pages and his people and his\nhomestead and his family and he cried to Al-Hayfa, \"Wallahi, I\nhave sinned with a great sin when I left my suite in the desert;\nand Satan garred me forget them and the wine made me mindless of\nthem and banished from my thought my folk and my home. And now\n'tis my desire to fare and look upon my pages and to forgather\nwith Yahya my cousin, the son of the King's sister and greet them\nand dismiss them to their homesteads, after which I will return\nto thee forthright.\" Quoth she, \"By Allah, I may not patient\nmyself away from thee a single hour otherwise shall my spirit\ndepart my body, and I conjure thee by the Almighty that thou bid\nme return to them a reply!\" Quoth Prince Yusuf, \"What news wilt\nthou give them? An thou say that I never came to thee none will\nbelieve; for indeed my pages saw me passing into thy Palace\"--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 King suffer me to\nsurvive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n              The Six 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 Prince\nYusuf said to the Princess Al-Hayfa, \"Indeed my pages saw me\npassing into the Palace and have given him[FN#225] tidings to\nthat effect.\" And she responded to him with fairest response and\ntenderness of terms and gem-like verse. Then she took her\nink-case and paper and a brazen pen and would have written but he\nforbade her, saying by way of deprecation \"This be not the right\nrede! An thou return a reply my slaves will take it and will bear\nit to my native country and will inform the folk of all our\nadventure: 'tis better far that I fare to them myself and greet\nthem and going with them to my own country satisfy my sire, after\nwhich I will return to thee in hottest haste. And do not thou on\nthis wise, for we fear lest our affair be made public and this\nour case be reported to thy royal father, and it prove hard to\nhim by reason that all such talk in the case of the Kings is to\nthem mighty grievous. Moreover, when he shall be acquainted with\nthe truth he will either transport thee to his presence or he\nshall place over this Palace guards who may forbid thee from me\nand forbid me from thee, and this shall be a cause of our\nseparation each from other.\" But Al-Hayfa shrieked aloud when she\nheard these words and wept and wailing said, \"O my lord, prithee\ntake me with thee, me and my handmaids and all that be in this my\nPalace.\" Said he, \"I will not delay from thee save for the space\nof my wayfare an I live and Allah Almighty preserve me.\" Hereat\nshe wept with loud weeping and groaned, and love-longing surged\nup in her and she fell to repeating the following couplets,\n\n\"Rain, O mine eyeballs, gouts of blood beshed * From clouds of\n     eyelids e'en as grass turns red.\nO mighty bane that beatest on my bones * And oh heart-core, that\n     melts with fire long-fed!\nMy soul's own dearling speedeth on his march * Who can be patient\n     when his true love sped?\nDeal kindly with my heart, have ruth, return * Soon to my Castle\n     nor be long misled.\"\n\nAnd when Al-Hayfa had ended her verse, Yusuf wept with sore\nweeping and cried, \"By Allah, I had intended to return to thee\nafter I had fared to them and had settled the matter in hand. But\nsuffer me dismiss those who have come for me and seek reunion\nwith thee, Inshallah--an it be the will of Allah Almighty.\" Then\nhe farewelled her and doffed what he had of dress, and when\nAl-Hayfa asked him, \"Wherefore take off these clothes?\" he\nanswered,[FN#226] \"I will not inform anyone of our news, and\nindeed this dress mostly befitteth womenkind.\" Then he went forth\nfrom her with a grief-bound heart and she wept and cried, \"Help!\nHelp!\"[FN#227] and all her women shrieked and shed tears over\nparting with him. But as soon as Yusuf passed out of the\npalace-door he took off the gown which was upon him and turband'd\nit around his head together with his bow and quiver, and he\nstinted not to stem the stream until he had reached the further\nbank where he found and greeted the lord Yahya and his Mamelukes.\nThey all kissed his hand, and his cousin enquired of him, \"What\nis the cause of thy disappearing from these thy men for a space\nof ten days?\" He replied, \"By Allah, O son of my aunt, when I\nwent up to yonder Palace, I found there a Youth of the sons of\nthe kings, who welcomed and greeted me as a guest and honoured me\nwith the highmost honour and favoured me with the fullest favour.\nBut when I would have taken leave of him, the air smote\nme[FN#228] and fell upon my loins and laid me up so that I feared\nto swim the stream and the unease that was upon me increased, and\nsuch is the reason of my delaying away from you.\" Then he took\nhorse together with Yahya and the pages, and they all sought\ntheir homes and cut across the wilds and the wastes and the vales\nand the stony hills until they drew near to their destination and\ntheir city rose clear before eyes of them. As soon as they\nreached it the tidings were told to King Sahl[FN#229] who made\nready for faring forth, he and the lords of his land, to meet and\ngreet his son and heir Yusuf; and meanwhile he bade decorate the\ncapital with the choicest decorations and ornaments and\nadornments. The lieges gave one another joy of their Prince's\nsafe return, and clothed their city in gala-guise, and the father\nhaving met the son alighted from his steed and embraced him and\nkissed him between the eyes, and personally conducting him up to\nthe Palace did him due honour and largessed him; and so great and\nlasting was their joy that the day of arrival became high\nholiday. As soon as night fell, Prince Yusuf repaired to his own\nPalace where he was met by his mother and his women who were as\nfull moons a-rising; and the spouses numbered three, besides\nforty concubines. However he turned away from them and he lay\nalone that night moaning even as moaneth the dove for the loss of\nher mate; and he regarded not one of those wives and lemans, and\nhe passed the dark hours in brooding over the loss of his\nbeloved, and in weeping and in the reciting of poetry-- 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 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 Six 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 Yusuf\npassed the night weeping and improvising verse, but he let not\nfall a word of explanation fearing lest he divulge his secret;\nand his spouses supposed that he was wroth with his sire and knew\nnot what there was in his vitals of exceeding desire to Al-Hayfa.\nBut when brake the day he was roused and gazing upon the rise of\nawaking Dawn he pondered the happy mornings which had passed; so\nhe wept and complained and moaned like the culver and he fell to\nreciting these couplets,\n\n\"No joy but you in house and home I know * Save bitter heart and\n     tears that ever flow;\nNor with mine eyes I view aught save yourselves * Whenas in lowe\n     of love-desire I glow:\nMy heart enjoys but gust and greed for you, * Mine eyelids own no\n     joy save wake and woe:\nO blaming me for them, avaunt, by God * Nor leave me fancy-free,\n     worst gift of foe!\"\n\nAnd when Yusuf had finished his poetry he fell into a fainting\nfit and he quivered as quivereth the fowl with cut throat,[FN#230] and he came not to himself save when the sun had arisen arraying the lowlands with its rays. Then he waxed wood and sat with eyes at the ground, a-gazing and not accosting anyone nor answering aught, and lastly he took to his pillow. These tidings presently reached the King his father, who accompanied by the\nLords of his land came to him and after greeting him said, \"O my\nson, whom I would ransom with my life, what contagion hath come\nupon thee of disease, and whereof dost thou complain?\" Quoth he,\n\"O my father, the air hath struck me and hath cut my\njoints,\"[FN#231] and quoth his father, \"O my son, Almighty Allah\nvouchsafe ease thee of this thy disease.\" Then the King mounted\nand went forth from him, and sent a leach which was a Jew[FN#232]\nof wits penetrating and sagacious. The man went in to him, and\nsitting beside him felt his joints and asked him of his case; but\nhe held his peace nor would return aught of reply. So the\nIsraelite knew that he was a lover and in the depths of love\nbedrowned; accordingly he left him and told the King that the\nPrince had no complaint save that he was a hot amourist and\ndistraught of vitals. Hereupon his mother came to Yusuf and said,\n\"O my son, fear Almighty Allah for thy soul, and have some regard\nfor thy wives and concubines and yield not to thy passions which\nwill mislead thee from the path of Allah.\" But he deigned not\nanswer her. In this condition he remained until three days sped,\ntaking no taste of meat or drink, nor finding pleasure in any\nstead, nor aught of rest a-bed. Presently he bade summon a\nMameluke of the Mamelukes Hil\ufffdl hight, and asked him, \"O Hilal,\nsay me wilt thou be my companion in travel?\" whereto the other\nanswered, \"Yea, verily, O my lord, to hear is to obey thee in all\nthou devisest and desirest.\" Hereupon the Prince bade him saddle\na steed of the purest blood, whose name was\n\"The-Bull-aye-ready-and-for-Battle-day- steady,\"[FN#233] a beast\nwhich was a bye-word amongst the folk. The Prince waited until\nthe first third of the night had gone by when he mounted the\ncourser and placed Hilal his Mameluke upon the crupper, and they\ncut once more the wilds and the wastes until they sighted hard-by\nthe river Al-Kawa'ib and the Castle of Al-Hayfa rising from its\nwaters. Hereupon Yusuf fell to the ground in a swoon, and he when\nhe recovered said to Hilal, \"Do thou ungirth the horse's saddle\nand hide it within the cave amid the rocks;\" and the Mameluke did\nas he was bidden and returned to him. Herewith Prince Yusuf\nturband'd himself with his clothes and those of his man and\nbacking the horse bade Hilal hang on by its tail, then the beast\nbreasted the stream and ceased not swimming with them until it\nreached the farther side. There Yusuf dismounted and knocked at\nthe door when a confidential handmaid established in the good\ngraces of her mistress,[FN#234] came down and threw it open,\nafter which she embraced him and kissed his hands and his breast\nand his brow between the eyes. Then she ran up and informed\nthereof her lady who with wits bedazed for excess of joy hurried\ndown to him and threw her arms round his neck, and he threw his\narms round hers, and she clasped him to her bosom, and he clasped\nher to his, and he kissed her and she kissed him, and they\nexchanged accolades, after which they both of them fell fainting\nto the floor until the women who stood by thought that they had\nbeen reaped by Death, and that their latest hour had been doomed.\nBut when they recovered from their swoon they complained and\nwept, each lamenting to other the pains of parting, and lastly\nshe asked him concerning Hilal, and he answered, \"This is a\nMameluke of the number of my Mamelukes.\" So she marvelled how two\nmen had come upon one horse,[FN#235] and quoth she to him, \"O\nYusuf, thou hast indeed tortured me with thine absence;\" and\nquoth he to her, \"By Allah (and beside Him God there is none!) my\nhand never touched or woman or aught of feminine kind or of\nshe-Jinn or Jinn kind, but in me desire for thee ever surged up,\nand wake and in vitals a fiery ache.\" Then the Princess bade her\nhandmaids wend with Hilal in a body to the garden, and when they\nobeyed her bidding she arose and walked forth with Yusuf. And\nShahrazad was surprised by dawn of day and fell silent and ceased\nto say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, \"How\nsweet and tasteful is thy story, 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 Six 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\nbenefiting, and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating,\nthat Al-Hayfa walked forth with Yusuf and led him to the saloon\nof session where they passed their day in privacy, he and she,\nand right joyous was the joy of them twain. After this the Prince\nabode with her thirty full-told days in merriment prime and\npleasure and wine. But when that time had elapsed, she said to\nhim, \"O light of my eyes, do thou arise and go up with me to the\nhighmost post of the Palace that we may look upon this flow of\nstream and command a view of these mounts and mountains and these\nwilds and valleys wherein wander the gazelles.\" Thereupon the\ntwain fared together and solaced themselves with the spectacle of\nthe antelopes browsing on the desert growth, when quoth Al-Hayfa,\n\"Ah, O my lord, would I had for captive one of these herding roes\nto keep beside me in the Palace,\" and quoth he, \"By the rights of\nthine eyes, and the night of their pupils, I indeed will fill the\nplace with them.\" Hereupon he went forth from her in haste,\nalbeit she hung on to him and forbade him from that, and she\ninvoked upon herself a mighty strong invocation, yet would he not\nbe stayed, but taking his horse and saddling it he left his\nMameluke Hilal in the Castle and swam the stream upon his steed,\nand rode through the wold in quest of the gazelles. He ceased not\nchasing them till he had taken three,[FN#236] which he tied fast\nand slung upon his courser and rode back until he had reached the\nriver-bank, and Al-Hayfa sat looking at him as he pounced upon\nand snatched up the roes from his courser's back like a lion and\nshe wondered with extreme wonderment. But when he had made sure\nof his place on the water-side and purposed returning to the\npalace, lo and behold! he saw a batel[FN#237] manned by sundry\nmen coming towards him down-stream from the direction of his\ncapital. Now Al-Hayfa, who was in her bower, expected the craft\nto be sent, bearing rarities and presents, by her sire King\nAl-Mihrjan; and Yusuf, when he looked upon its approach, was\ncertified that it came from her father. So he delayed going down\nto the river till he had seen what action might be taken by the\nbatel, but when the Princess sighted it she made sure of its\ncoming from her sire, so she bade bring paper for note and a pen\nof brass wrought wherewith she wrote in verse and lastly indited\nto Yusuf these couplets,\n\n\"O my need, thou hast left me a-field to fare * When come is a\n     craft which our men doth bear:\nI deem she be sent by Al-Mihrj\ufffdn * And it bringeth of provaunt a\n     goodly share:\nSo loiter a little, then back to us * And obey my bidding, O\n     Beauty rare.\"[FN#238]\n\nThen she made fast the paper to a shaft and setting it upon a\nbow-handle drew the string aiming high in air, and the arrow fell\nbetween the feet of the Prince, who seeing it took it up and read\nthe writ and comprehended its meaning and full significance. So\nhe hung back and he turned to wandering amongst the mountains,\nbut anon he said in himself, \"There is no help but that I\ndiscover this matter.\" Then he dismounted from his steed and\nstabled it in a cave hard-by, and having loosed the antelopes he\npropped himself against a rock and fell to gazing upon the batel,\nwhich ceased not floating down until it made fast at the Palace\ngate. Hereupon there issued from it a youth, singular of\ncomeliness, whom Al-Hayfa greeted and embraced, and forthright\nled within her Palace. Presently came forth from the batel the\nfour pages that were therein, and amongst them was a man hight\nMohammed ibn Ibr\ufffdh\ufffdm, one of the King's cup-companions, whereas\nthe youth she had embraced was her cousin, named Sahl\ufffdb, the son\nof her maternal aunt. But when Yusuf looked upon this lover-like\nreception, his wits were wildered and the sparks started from his\neyes, and he deprecated and waxed care-full and indeed he was\nlike one Jinn-mad, and he cried, \"Wall\ufffdhi, I will stay away from\nthem this night and see whatso they do.\" Now Al-Hayfa had left\nher trusty handmaid at the Palace gate, saying to her, \"Tarry\nhere alone: haply Yusuf shall return during the dark hours, when\ndo thou open to him the door.\" Then she returned to her guests\nand bade serve the table of wine and seated Sahlub and Ibn\nIbrahim, and took seat between them after she had hidden the\nMameluke Hilal in a closet and she had disposed of the pages\nabout the Palace-sides. Then they fell to drinking wine. Such was\nthe case with these; but as regards Yusuf, he took patience until\nthe dark hours drew near, when he swam the stream and he came\nforth it to the Palace-door, at which he knocked a light knock.\nHereupon the porter-handmaiden opened to him and he accosted her\nand questioned her concerning her lady, and was told that she was\nsitting with her cousin and the prime favourite and cup-companion\nof her sire. So quoth he to the girl, \"Say me, canst thou place\nme in some commanding place that I may look upon them?\" and she\ndid accordingly, choosing a site whence he might spy them without\nbeing espied. He gazed at them as one distraught, while Al-Hayfa\nengaged them in converse and improvised verse to them; and this\nwas so distressful to him that at last he asked the slave-girl,\n\"Say me, hast thou by thee ink-case and paper?\" 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 Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n            The Six Hundred and Eighty-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 Prince\nYusuf took from the handmaid the pen-case and paper, and waxing\nvoid of sense through jealousy, fell to writing the following\ncouplets,\n\n\"Indeed I deemed you of memory true * And our hearts as one that\n     had once been two;\nBut I found to my sorrow you kept no pact: * This much and you\n     fain of unfaith I view.\nIll eye ne'er looketh on aught but love * Save when the lover is\n     hater too.\nYou now to another than us incline * And leave us and homeward\n     path pursue;\nAnd if such doings you dare gainsay, * I can summon witness\n     convicting you;\nTo the Lion, wild dogs from the fount shall drive * And shall\n     drink themselves, is none honour due.\nThat I'm not of those who a portion take * In love, O Moslems, I\n     know ye knew.\"\n\nThis done, he folded the paper and gave it to the slave-girl\ncrying, \"Say me, dost thou know where be Hilal?\" and as she\nreplied \"Yes,\" he told her to fetch him. So she went and brought\nhim, and when he came his lord dismissed the girl on some\npretext; then he opened the Castle-door and turband'd himself\nwith his gear and that of his Mameluke, and the twain went down\nto the river and swam the stream until they reached the other\nside. When they stood on terra firma, the Prince found his horse\nand saddled and mounted him, taking Hilal upon the crupper, and\nrode forth to his own country. Such was the case with Yusuf; but\nas regards Al-Hayfa, when she awoke a-morn, she asked of her\nlover and her handmaid handed to her the letter; so she took it\nand read it and mastered its meaning and significance, after\nwhich she wept with excessive weeping until she fainted and the\nblood issued from her eyes. Presently she came to herself and\ndismissed Sahlub and his companions; then she said to Ibn\nIbrahim, \"Rise thou and depart our presence; haply some wight may\ncome to us and swim the stream and pass into the Palace.\" But Ibn\nIbrahim remained behind while Sahlub departed with those about\nhim; and when they had left the company, Al-Hayfa asked, \"O Ibn\nIbrahim, say me, canst thou keep my secret and my being\nfascinate[FN#239] by love?\" and he answered, \"Yea, verily, O my\nlady, how should I not conceal it for thee, when thou art my\nmistress and princess and the daughter of my master, even though\nI keep it inside mine eyes?\" So she continued, \"O Ibn Ibrahim,\nthere came to me a youth named the Veiled Yusuf of Beauty, son of\nKing Sahl, Sovran of Sind; and I waxed enamoured of him and he\nwaxed enamoured of me, and he abode with me two score of days.\nOne day of the days, quoth I to him, 'Come up with me to the\nPalace-roof that we may gaze upon the view,' when we saw from its\nheight a herd of gazelles, and I cried, 'Ah that I had one of\nthese!' Hereat said he, 'By Allah, and by the life of thine eyes\nand by the blackness of their pupils, I will in very deed fill\nthy Palace therewith;' and with such words he went forth and\nsaddled his steed and swam the river to the further side, where\nhe rode down three roes within sight of me. Then I looked\ncity-ward up stream and saw a batel cleaving the waters, whereby\nI knew that my father had sent me somewhat therein; so I wrote to\nthe Prince and shot the paper bound to a shaft and bade him hide\naway from your faces until ye should have departed. So he\nconcealed himself within a cave where he tethered his horse, then\nhe sought tidings of me, and seeing my cousin Sahlub, he was\nseized by jealousy. So he lingered till yesternight, when he\nagain swam the stream and came to the Palace where I had posted\nR\ufffddih, the handmaid, bidding her take seat beside the door lest\nhaply he should enter; and presently she opened to him and he\nsought a place commanding a sight of us, and he saw me sitting\nwith you twain, and both of you were carousing over your wine.\nNow this was sore to him; so he wrote to me yonder note, and\ntaking his Mameluke with him, fared forth to his own folk; and my\ndesire is that you hie to him.\"[FN#240]--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 King suffer me to survive?\"\nNow when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Six 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 quoth\nAl-Hayfa to Ibn Ibrahim, \"I devise that thou hie to Yusuf with\nthis letter;\" whereto quoth he, \"Hearkening is obedience: I will,\nhowever, take this thy writ and wend with it first to my own\nfolk, after which I will mount my horse and fare to find him.\" So\nshe largessed him with an hundred gold pieces and entrusted to\nhim the paper which contained the following purport in these\ncouplets,\n\n\"What state of heart be this no ruth can hoard? * And harm a\n     wretch to whom none aid accord,\nBut sobs and singulfs, clouds that rain with tears * And seas aye\n     flowing and with gore outpour'd;\nAnd flames that rage in vitals sickness-burnt * The while in\n     heart-core I enfold them stor'd.\nYet will I hearten heart with thee, O aim! * O Ravisher, O\n     Moslems' bane ador'd:\nNe'er did I look for parting but 'twas doomed * By God Almighty\n     of all the lords the Lord.\"\n\nThen Mohammed Ibn Ibrahim took the paper and Al-Hayfa said to\nhim, \"Ho thou! Inform none that thou wast sitting beside me on\nthat night.\" Then he went forth until he drew near his folk and\nthere he mounted a she-dromedary and pushed her pace until he\narrived at the capital of Sind. He asked for the son of the King;\nand when they had directed him thereto he entered and found the\nPrince in privacy; so he kissed hands and gave him the writ which\nhe took and opened and read. But when he had comprehended its\nobject and purport, he turned and re-turned it with stern regards\nuntil he had well nigh torn it to tatters. Then he threw it to\nIbn Ibrahim who said to him, \"O lord of the Time and the Tide,\n'tis not on this wise that the sons of the Kings cast away an\naddress without returning aught of reply.\" Quoth he, \"There is no\nresponse from me,\" and quoth Ibn Ibrahim, \"O King of the Age,\npity that thou mayest be pitied!\"[FN#241] Hereupon the Prince\ncalled for pen-case and paper of note and pen of brass\nwrought[FN#242] and wrote in reply to her poetry the following\ncouplets,\n\n\"Al-Hayf\ufffd with verses a-tip of tongue * Comes suing mercy for\n     love so strong:\nShe hath no mercy fro' me, but still * She pleadeth a plea that\n     our love was long:\nShe falsed, turned face, doubted, recked her naught * And her\n     hard false heart wrought me traitor's wrong:\nWere my heart now chang\ufffdd her love to woo * She with quick\n     despisal my heart had stung:\nWere my eyne to eye her, she'd pluck them out * With tip of\n     fingers before the throng:\nSoft and tranquil life for her term she seeks * While with\n     hardness and harshness our souls are wrung.\n\nThen Yusuf folded the paper and handed it to Ibn Ibrahim and\nordered him a robe of honour and an hundred dinars. So he took\nthem and rode forth until he drew near the Palace of Al-Hayfa,\nwhen he tethered his dromedary and hid her in a cave whose mouth\nhe walled with stones. Then he went down to the river and swam it\ntill he reached the other side; and entering into the presence of\nAl-Hayfa he drew forth the paper and committed it to her. But\nshe, after perusing it, wept with sore weeping and groaned until\nshe swooned away for excess of tears and for the stress of what\nhad befallen her. Such was the effect of what she had read in the\nletter, and she knew not what might be the issue of all this\naffair and she was perplext as one drunken without wine. But when\nshe recovered she called for pen-case and paper, and she wrote\nthese improvised couplets,\n\n\"O Lord of folk, in our age alone * And O Raper of hearts from\n     the bonny and boon:\nI have sent to thee 'plaining of Love's hard works * And my\n     plaint had softened the hardest stone:\nThou art silent all of my need in love * And with shafts of\n     contempt left me prone and strown.\"\n\nAnd after she had ended writing she folded her note and gave it\nto Ibn Ibrahim who took it, and cried to his slaves, \"Saddle my\nshe-dromedary,\", after which he mounted and fared until he had\nmade the city of Sind. Then he repaired to Yusuf and after\ngreetings handed the letter to him, but the Prince after perusing\nit[FN#243] threw it in his face, and presently rose and would\nhave left him. But Ibn Ibrahim followed him and heard him say to\nhis pages, \"Send him back without beating him,\" and they did\naccordingly, after forbidding him the place. So he again bestrode\nhis she-camel and ceased not pushing on till he arrived at the\nPalace of Al-Hayfa where he presented himself in her\npresence.[FN#244] But when he handed to her the writ she found it\nwas that very same she had sent to the Prince, so she wept and\nsorrow was sore upon her and presently she cried, \"O Ibn Ibrahim!\nwhat's to do?\" He replied, \"When I delivered thy writ to him, he\nbrake its seal and read it and threw it in my face: then he rose\nin wrath from beside me, and as I followed he bade his slaves and\npages drive me away, adding, 'I have for her nor answer nor\naddress'; and this was all he did.\" When the Princess heard his\nwords, she felt the matter to be grievous, and she wept unknowing\nhow she should act, and fainted for awhile, and when she\nrecovered she said, \"O Ibn Ibrahim, what is this affair and on\nwhat wise shall I behave? Do thou advise me in my case; and haply\njoy shall come to me from thy hand, for that thou be a Counsellor\nof the Kings and their boon-companion.\" \"O my lady,\" he replied,\n\"do thou not cut off thy tidings from him and haply shall\nAlmighty Allah change his heart from case to case and\nperadventure insistance overcometh hindrance.\"[FN#245] Quoth she,\n\"Had he sent me a reply I had been rightly directed as to what I\nshould write, but now I wot not what to indite, and if this\ncondition long endure I shall die.\" \"Address him again,\" answered\nhe, \"and I will fare back once more and fain would I ransom thee\nwith my life, nor will I return without a reply.\"--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 Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n            The Six 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 Ibn\nIbrahim said to Al-Hayfa, \"Do thou write to him and there is no\nhelp but that I return to thee with a reply, albe life depart\nfrom me.\" Then she asked for pen-case and paper and thereon\nindited the following couplets,\n\n\"Ah would thou knew what I of parting dree * When all my hiddens\n     show for man to see;\nPassion and longing, pine and lowe o' love * Descend surcharg\ufffdd\n     on the head of me:\nGod help the days that sped as branches lopt * I spent in Garden\n     of Eternity.[FN#246]\nAnd I of you make much and of your love * By rights of you, while\n     dearest dear be ye:[FN#247]\nMay Allah save you, parted though we be, * While bide I parted\n     all unwillingly:\nThen, O my lord, an come thou not right soon * The tomb shall\n     home me for the love of thee.\"\n\nAnd when she had written her reply, she largessed Ibn Ibrahim\nwith an hundred dinars, after which he returned[FN#248] to the\ncapital of Sind, where he found Yusuf issuing forth to hunt; so\nhe handed to him the letter, and the Prince returning citywards\nset apart for him a fair apartment and spent the livelong night\nasking anent Al-Hayfa. And when it was morning he called for\npen-case and paper whereupon he wrote these improvised couplets,\n\n\"You dealt to us a slender dole our love mote satisfy, * Yet nor\n     my gratitude therefor nor laud of me shalt gain:\nI'm none of those console their hearts by couplets or by verse *\n     For breach of inner faith by one who liefly breaks the\n     chain:\nWhen so it fortunes she I love a partner gives to me * I wone in\n     single bliss and let my lover love again:\nTake, then, what youth your soul desires; with him forgather, for\n     * I aim not at your inner gifts nor woo your charms I deign:\nYou set for me a mighty check of parting and ill-will * In public\n     fashion and a-morn you dealt me bale and bane:\nSuch deed is yours and ne'er shall it, by Allah satisfy * A boy,\n     a slave of Allah's slaves who still to slave is fain.\"\n\nThen Prince Yusuf robed Ibn Ibrahim in a robe of green; and\ngiving him an hundred gold pieces, entrusted him with the letter\nwhich he carried to Al-Hayfa and handed it to her. She brake the\nseal and read it and considered its contents, whereupon she wept\nwith sore weeping which ended in her shrieking aloud; and after\nshe abode perplext as to her affair and for a time she found no\nsweetness in meat and drink, nor was sleep pleasant to her for\nthe stress of her love-longing to Yusuf. Also her nature tempted\nher to cast herself headlong from the terrace of the Palace; but\nIbn Ibrahim forbade her saying, \"Do thou write to him replies,\ntime after time; haply shall his heart be turned and he will\nreturn unto thee.\" So she again called for writing materials and\nindited these couplets, which came from the very core of her\nheart,\n\n\"Thou art homed in a heart nothing else shall invade; * Save thy\n     love and thyself naught shall stay in such stead;\nO thou, whose brilliancy lights his brow, * Shaped like\n     sandhill-tree with his locks for shade,\nForbid Heaven my like to aught else incline * Save you whose\n     beauties none like display'd:\nArt thou no amongst mortals a starless moon * O beauty the dazzle\n     of day hath array'd?\"\n\nThese she committed[FN#249] to Ibn Ibrahim who rode again on his\nroute and forgathered with Prince Yusuf and gave him the letter,\nwhose contents were grievous to him; so he took writing materials\nand returned a reply in the following verses,\n\n\"Cease then to carry missives others write, * O Son of Ibrahim,\n     shun silly plight:\nI'm healed of longing for your land and I * Those days forget and\n     daysters lost to sight:\nLet then Al-Hayf\ufffd learn from me I love * Distance from her and\n     furthest earthly site.\nNo good in loving when a rival shows * E'en tho' 'twere victual\n     shared by other wight;\n These modes and fashions never mind arride * Save him unknowing\n     of his requisite.\"\n\nThen he entrusted the writ to Ibn Ibrahim, after giving him an\nhundred dinars, and he fared forth and ceased not faring till he\nhad reached the palace of the Princess. Presently he went in and\nhanded to her the writ, and as soon as she had read it, the\ncontents seemed to her sore and she wept until her vitals were\ntorn with sobs. After this she raised her hand[FN#250]\nheavenwards and invoked Allah and humbled herself before him and\nsaid, \"My God, O my Lord, do Thou soften the heart of Yusuf ibn\nSahl and turn him mewards and afflict him with love of me even as\nthou hast afflicted me with his love; for Thou to whatso Thou\nwishest canst avail, O bestest of Rulers and O forcefullest of\nAiders.\" Anon she fell to writing and indited these verses,\n\n\"Love rules my bosom and a-morn doth moan * The Voice, ah Love,\n     who shows strength weakness grown!\nHis lashes' rapier-blade hath rent my heart; * That keen curved\n     brand my me hath overthrown:\nThat freshest cheek-rose fills me with desire: * Fair fall who\n     plucketh yonder bloom new-blown!\nSince love befel me for that youth did I * Begin for charms of\n     him my pride to own:\nO thou my hope, I swear by Him did share * Love and decreed thou\n     shouldst in longing wone,\nIn so exceeding grief why sight I thee * Jacob made Joseph by\n     the loss of me?\"\n\nShe then handed the letter to Ibn Ibrahim, after giving him an\nhundred dinars; and he returned forthright to the city of Sind\nand, repairing to Yusuf, gave him the writ which he took and\nread. Hereupon the Prince waxed sore sorrowful and said to\nhimself, \"By Allah, indeed Al-Hayfa cleaveth to love.\"--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 King suffer me to\nsurvive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n            The Six 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 Prince\nYusuf said, \"By Allah, had Al-Hayfa any save myself she had not\nsent me these letters; but the outgoings of the heart conciliate\nlovers and correspond each with other.\" Then he took writing\nmaterials and after thinking awhile he improvised these couplets,\n\nO thou of stature fair with waist full slight[FN#251] *\n     Surpassing sandhill-branch and reedlet light;\nI deal in words and gems of speech that melt, * By none 'mid all\n     of mortal kind indite;\nFrom my tribe's lord, a lion rending foes * Moon of Perfections\n     and 'The Yusuf' hight:\nHomed in thy home I joyed my joys with maids *\n     High-breasted,[FN#252] virgins weakening forceful sprite;\nYour songs and touch of lute 'mid trembling wine * Consoled all\n     sorrows, made all hearts delight,\nTill you to other deign\ufffdd union grant * And I your nature learnt\n     and learnt aright,\nWhereat my vitals failed, sore bane befel, * Pine,\n     disappointment, and injurious blight.\nNo virtue dwelleth in the fairest forms * But forms the fairest\n     are by goodness dight.\nHow many a maiden deckt with crescent brow * Hath nature dealing\n     injury and despite?\nMan hath no merit save in kindly mind * And loquent tongue with\n     light of wits unite.\"[FN#253]\n\nAnd when Yusuf had ended his poetry he presented an hundred\ndinars to Ibn Ibrahim, who took the letter and fell to cutting\nthrough the wilds and the wolds, after which he went in to the\npresence of Al-Hayfa and gave her the missive. She wept and\nwailed and cried, \"O Ibn Ibrahim, this letter is indeed softer\nthan all forewent it; and as thou hast brought it to me, O Ibn\nIbrahim, I will largesse thee with two honourable robes of golden\nbrocade and a thousand dinars.\" So saying, she called for\npen-case and paper whereupon she indited these couplets,\n\n\"O my lord, these words do my vitals destroy, * O thou gem of the\n     earth and full moon a-sky!\nHow long this recourse to denial and hate * With heart whose\n     hardness no rocks outvie?\nThou hast left my spirit in parting-pangs * And in fires of\n     farness that flame on high:\nHow long shall I 'plain of its inner pains? * Haps thy grace\n     shall grant me reunion-joy:\nThen pity, my vitals and whatso homed * Thy form within me before\n     I die.\"\n\nShe then handed the paper to Ibn Ibrahim who again set out and\nsought the Prince and kissed his hand and gave him the letter;\nwhereupon said he, \"O Ibn Ibrahim, come not thou again bringing\nme aught of missive--ever or any more after this one.\" Quoth Ibn\nIbrahim, \"Wherefore, O my lord, shall I not do on such wise?\" and\nquoth Yusuf \"Suffer her to learn the fates of men-kind.\" Said the\nother, \"I conjure thee, by Allah Almighty, ho thou the King,\ninasmuch as thou art of the seed of mighty monarchs, disappoint\nher not of her question; and Allah upon thee, unless thou show\npity to her heart it haply will melt away with melancholy and\nlove and madness for thy sake; and all of this is for the truth\nof her affection.\" Hereupon Yusuf smiled and taking up his pen\nwrote these couplets,\n\n\"Stay thy tears; for hindrance and parting hie, * And the endless\n     of Empire aye glorify:\nFrom my core of heart fly all cark and care * After parting that\n     seemed all Time defy.\nA Lion am I for the love of him * Whom the slanderer's part ne'er\n     can satisfy:\nMy mind and soul be this day with you * But my heart and thought\n     are at enmity:\nThought and mind delight in Love's cruelty * While heart and soul\n     for re-union cry:\nAnd if mind and thought e'er can overcome * Soul and heart,\n     Re-union thou ne'er shalt 'spy.\"\n\nAnd when Yusuf had finished his writing, he gifted Ibrahim with\nan hundred dinars and sent him again to Al-Hayfa with the letter,\nand she on receiving it shed tears and said, \"O Ibn Ibrahim,\nseeing that his soul and heart be with us, Allah Almighty\navaileth to turn his thoughts and his fancy and the mind of him.\"\nHereupon she took writing materials and wrote,\n\n\"Calm, O my lord, thy vitals' painful plight, * O thou whose\n     semblance lighteth sooty night:\nO gladding heart, O sweet of union, Oh * Whose charms the tribe\n     in festal hours delight:\nO high in honour passing height of Kings, * O thou with purest\n     blood 'mid Kings bedight,\nFear'st not the Throne[FN#254] of God (O hope of me!) * When\n     harming heart whereon all pains alight?\nThen deign thou grant me union, for such wise * Shall rest my\n     heartstrings and dark care wax bright:\nFrom none, except that Lion O' men Ali[FN#255] * Comes pardon\n     proving to man- kind his might.\"\n\nThen she passed her missive to Ibn Ibrahim giving him an hundred\ngold pieces and he pushed his pace till he reached the city of\nSind, where he went in to Yusuf and kissed his hands and feet.\nThe Prince taking the letter smiled and laughed and said, \"O Ibn\nIbrahim, when Allah (be He extolled and exalted!) shall decree my\nfaring I will fare to them[FN#256] within a short while; but do\nthou return and let know that I intend forgathering with them.\"\nQuoth the other, \"Ah! O my lord, do thou indite her a reply,\notherwise she will have no trust in me; so the Prince fell to\npenning these lines,\n\n\"My vitals restless bide for very jealousy * The while my heart\n     must ever show unfriendly gree:\nYet I obeyed my heart and tore it out for him * Albe man ever\n     holds his heart in amity;\nAnd I have heard my lover drives me forth from him * But Allah\n     grant my prayer of benedicite.\nIn anxious care I came and sought your side this day * Naught\n     shall the youth exalt save generosity.\"\n\nThen Prince Yusuf passed the letter to Ibn Ibrahim who, after\nreceiving his hundred dinars, repaired to Al-Hayfa and greeted\nher[FN#257] informing her the while that her lover was about to\nmake act of presence.--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 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 Six 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 Ibn\nIbrahim said to Al-Hayfa, \"Verily Yusuf purposeth to visit thee\nafter a little while.\" But when the Princess heard his words she\nwould not believe him albeit her heart palpitated with pleasure;\nwhereupon Ibn Ibrahim improvised to her as follows,\n\n\"O thou world-seducer and full moon bright, * Stay thy speech and\n     with boon of good news requite.\nLove pledged me his word he would see thee and said, * Hie thee\n     home and order the house aright.\nI awoke this morning in cark and care, * In tears distraught and\n     in dire despite;\nFor the wrongs and farness thou doom'st me dree * Have forced my\n     forces to fright-full flight.\"\n\nAnd when Ibn Ibrahim had ended his verse, Al-Hayfa joyed with\nincreased and exceeding joy, and in her delight she answered him\naccording to the rhyme and rhythm of his verse,\n\n\"O who spreadest clouds,[FN#258] Son of Ibrahim hight; * By the\n     Lord who ruleth in 'Arsh his height,\nBy Mohammed the bestest of men and by * Th' adorers of yore and\n     the T\ufffd-H\ufffd's[FN#259] might,\nBy Zemzem, Saf\ufffd and wall Hat\ufffdm[FN#260] * And Ka'abah and glories\n     of Ka'abah's site,\nAn this speech be sooth and my dearling come * One thousand, two\n     thou- sand dinars are thy right;\nAnd I'll give thee a courser, O Ibrahim's son, * Selle, stirrups\n     and bridle with gold bedight;\nSix turbands and robes that shall honour show * With that courser\n     the colour of blackest night.\nSo hold me not like the most of mankind, * Who joy the fair ones\n     to twit and flyte.\"\n\nAnd when Al-Hayfa had finished her verses, Ibn Ibrahim brought\nout to her the letter of the Prince, and as soon as she read it\nher heart was comforted and she waxed glad with exceeding\ngladness and she bade them present him with largesse of value\ngreat and a thousand dinars upon a china plate. After this she\ntook him by the hand and led him into a closet and said, \"O Ibn\nIbrahim, all that be in this cabinet is a free gift to thee when\nthou shalt have brought to me that lover of mine.\" Such was the\ncase with them; but as regards Prince Yusuf, when Ibn Ibrahim\nleft him, he felt love-lowe aflaming in his heart, and he\nsummoned his Mameluke Hilal and said to him, \"Go saddle for us\nthe steed known by the name of The\nBull-aye-ready-and-for-Battle-day-steady.\" Hereupon the slave\narose and enselled the courser and Yusuf mounted; and, taking his\nMameluke on the crupper, pushed his pace (and he madly in love\nwith Al-Hayfa), and he ceased not faring till he reached her\nPalace. He then swam the stream with his Mameluke hanging on, as\nbefore, to the tail, and knocked at the door which was opened by\na damsel hight Nuzhat al-Zaman[FN#261] and she on recognising him\nkissed his hands and hurrying to her lady informed her of his\ncoming. Al-Hayfa hearing of the arrival fell fainting to the\nground and when she recovered she found Yusuf standing beside her\nhead; so she arose and embraced him for a long while, after which\nshe improvised and said,\n\n\"O thou Pilgrim of Love, after parting far * From us driven by\n     malice of jealous foe!\nMy life for the friend in affection comes; * Naught dearer to me\n     than such boon can show;\nFull many a writ have I written thee * Nor union nor grace of\n     return I know.\nIn this world I see him with single heart * O my wish! and Allah\n     ne'er part us two.\"\n\nAnd when she had ended her verses she bade the slave-girls convey\nIbn Ibrahim and Hilal to the gardens, after which she led Yusuf\nto the saloon of session and the twain passed the night together\nhe and she, in joyance and enjoyment, for that night was indeed a\nnight of delight. But when Allah bade the morn to morrow,\nAl-Hayfa arose and cried, \"How short it is for a night: Ah that\nit had been longer for us! but 'tis for me to say even as said\nImr al-Kays[FN#262] in sundry of his verses upon a similar theme,\n\n\"On me Night waxeth long nor would I shorten Night; * Yet hasteth\n     Morn when I for longer Nights would sue:\nIt brings me union till 'My lover's mine' I cry * Yet when with\n     him unite disunion comes to view.\n\nNow when it was the second day, Al-Hayfa took seat in the\nassembly of converse.--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of\nday 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 night\nan the King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night\nand that was\n\n            The Six 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 Al-Hayfa\nrepaired to the saloon of s\ufffdance, she and Yusuf, and summoned Ibn\nIbrahim and bade the handmaids bring everything that was in the\ncloset. They obeyed her bidding and fetched her all the contents,\namongst which were ten robes of honour and three coffers of silk\nand fine linen and a packet of musk and a parcel of rubies and\npearls and jacinths and corals and similar objects of high price.\nAnd she conferred the whole of this upon Mohammed ibn Ibrahim,\nthe while improvising these verses,\n\n\"We are noblest of lords amongst men of might; * What we give and\n     largesse bring the most delight:\nAnd when we strive with our hearts and souls * We strive in\n     public nor rue our plight.\nWith me the pact no regret shall breed * Save in head of\n     suspecting envying wight.\nI am none who riseth sans bounteous deed; * I am none who giveth\n     with felon sprite.\"\n\nAnd when Al-Hayfa had ended her poetry, Prince Yusuf\nlargessed[FN#263] Ibn Ibrahim and said to him, \"Thou shalt have\non my part one thousand dinars and twenty robes of brocade and an\nhundred she-camels and eighty horses (whereof the meanest is\nworth five hundred gold pieces and each is saddled with a golden\nselle), and lastly forty handmaids.\" After which he began to\nimprovise these couplets,\n\n\"Good signeth man to sight and all men see * Sahl's son is lord\n     of liberality:\nTime and the world and mortals one and all * Witness my goodness\n     and for aye agree:\nWho comes for purpose him I gratify * With boons, though 'twere\n     with eyen-light of me:\nI back my neighbour whenas harm\ufffdd by * Dolour of debt and\n     foeman's tyranny:\nWhoso hath moneys lacking liberal mind * Though he snatch Fortune\n     'mid the vile is he.\"\n\nAnd when Yusuf had finished his verse, Ibn Ibrahim arose and\nbussed his hands and feet and cried, \"Allah dole to thee all thou\ndesirest.\" The other replied, \"When thou shalt return to our\ncity, do thou go to my quarters and therefrom take thee whatso I\nhave promised.\" Then the Prince and Princess waxed assiduous in\nthe eating of meat and the drinking of wine; and this continued\nfor many successive months[FN#264] until Ibn Ibrahim craved leave\nto visit his folk; and, when he received permission, he took with\nhim that was light in weight and weighty of worth. And as he set\nforth, Al-Hayfa said to him, \"When thou shalt return to thy\npeople in safety, do thou salute for me my sire and name to him a\ncertain stallion which same he shall largesse to thee and\nlikewise its saddle and bridle.\" Hereupon he farewelled them and\nwent forth and stemmed the stream and withdrawing his\nshe-dromedary from the cave harnessed her and mounted her and set\nforth upon his desert way, and as soon as he reached the capital\nof Sind he went to his folk who greeted him kindly. Now when King\nAl-Mihrjan heard of Mohammed ibn Ibrahim's coming he sent to\nsummon him and as soon as he appeared between his hands he asked\nconcerning his absence. \"O King of the Time and the Tide,\" quoth\nhe, \"I have been in Yathrib[FN#265] city;\" and indeed he was one\nof the cup-companions of Al-Hayfa's father and by the decree of\nDestiny he had been ever in high favour with the King. So the\ntwain sat down to drink wine and as Fortune willed it Ibn Ibrahim\nbore about him a letter containing poetry, part of the\ncorrespondence between the Prince and Princess, wherein were\nwritten the names of all three. Now when he was at the height of\nhis joy he wagged his head and shook off his turband and the\npaper fell therefrom into Al-Mihrjan's lap.[FN#266] The King took\nit and read it and understood its contents but he kept the case\nsecret for a while; presently, however, he dismissed his\nCourtiers and Equerries who were around him and forthright bade\nsmite Mohammed ibn Ibrahim with stripes until his sides were\ntorn. Then quoth he, \"Acquaint me concerning this youth who\ncorrespondeth with my daughter, making thee the goer between them\ntwain, otherwise I will cut off thy head.\" Quoth Ibn Ibrahim, \"Ho\nthou the King; verily this be only poetry which I found in one of the histories of old.\"--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of 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 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 Six 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 Ibn\nIbrahim said to Al-Mihrjan, \"Verily I found this poetry in a tale\nof the olden time.\" So the King issued orders to smite his neck,\nwhen intercession was made for him by a Courtier hight T\ufffd'il\nal-Wasf,[FN#267] whereupon the King commanded him to jail,\nwhither he was taken forthright. But as Ibn Ibrahim was being\nlocked up, he said to the gaoler, \"Say me, canst thou bring for\nme a pen-case and paper and pen?\" and the other assented,\nfetching for him whatso he wanted. So he wrote to Prince Yusuf\nthe following couplets,\n\n\"O Y\ufffdsuf, master mine, for safety fly; * In sorest danger\n     Ibrahim's son doth lie:\nWhen from thy side for house and home he sped * Forthright bade\n     Al-Mihrjan to bring him nigh,\nAnd 'mid th' Assembly highest stead assigned * A seat in public\n     with a sleight full sly.\nA writ thou wrotest bore he on his head * Which fell and picked\n     it up the King to 'spy:\n'Tis thus discovered he thy state and raged * With wrath and fain\n     all guidance would defy.\nThen bade he Ibrahim's son on face be thrown * And painful\n     beating to the bare apply;\nWith stripes he welted and he tare his sides * Till force waxed\n     feeble, strength debility.\nSo rise and haste thee to thine own and fetch * Thy power, and\n     instant for the tribe-lands hie;\nMeanwhile I'll busy to seduce his men * Who hear me, O thou\n     princely born and high;\nFor of the painful stress he made me bear * The fire of bane I've\n     sworn him even I.\"\n\nNow when Ibn Ibrahim had finished his verse, he said to the\ngaoler, \"Do thou summon for me the son of my brother hight\nMann\ufffd'[FN#268] and thou shalt have from me one hundred gold\npieces.\" The man did his bidding, and when the youth came the\nuncle gave him the letter and bespake him as follows: \"O son of\nmy brother, take thou this paper and fare with it to the Castle\nof Al-Hayfa and swim the stream, and go up to the building and\nenter therein and commit this missive unto a youth whom thou\nshalt see sitting beside the Princess. Then do thou greet him\nwith the salam from me, and inform him of all that I am in and\nwhat I have seen and what thou hast witnessed, and for this\nservice I will give thee an hundred gold pieces.\" The nephew took\nthe uncle's letter and set forth from the first of the night\nuntil he drew nigh the Castle. Such was the case with Ibn Ibrahim\nand his sending his nephew Manna' on a mission to the Princess;\nbut as regards King Al-Mihrjan, when the morning morrowed and\nshowed its sheen and shone and the sun arose with rays a-lowland strown, he sent to summon Ibn Ibrahim; and, when they set\nhim between his hands, he adjured him saying, \"O thou! by the\nrights of the God unique in his rule for Unity; by Him who set up\nthe skies without prop and stay and dispread the Earths firmly\nupon the watery way, unless thou inform me and apprise me rightly\nand truly I will order thy head to be struck off this very\nmoment.\" So the cup-companion related to the King the whole\naffair of Princess Al-Hayfa and Prince Yusuf, and all that had\npassed between the twain; whereupon Al-Mihrjan asked, \"And this\nYusuf from what land may he be?\" \"He is son to the Sovran of\nSind, King Sahl,\" quoth the other, and quoth Al- Mihrjan, \"And is\nhe still in the Palace, or hath he gone to his own country?\" \"He\nwas therein,\" replied Ibn Ibrahim, \"but I know not whether he be\nyet there, or he be gone thence.\" Hereupon Al-Mihrjan commanded\nhis host at once to mount, and all took horse and rode forth\nmaking for the Castle of Al-Hayfa. Now, between Manna' and King\nAl-Mihrjan was a march of only a single night, when the youth\nwent up to the Palace of the Princess, where he knocked at the\ndoor and they opened and admitted him to the presence of Prince\nYusuf. There he handed to him the letter, which the Prince opened\nand read; then he suddenly rose up crying upon Hilal, whom when\nhe was fetched he bade forthwith bring out his steed. Hereat\ncried Al-Hayfa, \"I ask thee by Allah, O my lord, what may be the\nnews?\" and he answered her, \"Verily when Ibn Ibrahim fared from\nus to his folk he was summoned on his arrival by thy sire, and he\nwent to him and informed him of all that hath befallen us, first\nand last.\" So saying he put the letter into her hands, and she\nhaving read it exclaimed, \"O my lord, do thou take me with thee\nlest haply he slay me.\" Answered the Prince, \"O end and aim of\nmine every wish, we have naught with us save this one steed who\navaileth not to carry three; therefore will thy father overtake\nus upon the road and will put us to death one and all. Now the\nrede that is right be this, that thou conceal thyself somewhere\nin the Palace and charge the slave-girls when thy sire shall come\nhither, to tell him that I have carried thee off to mine own\ncountry, and for the rest be thou assured that I will tarry away\nfrom thee but a few days.\" So saying Yusuf took his horse with\nhim and Hilal his page a-crupper and swam the river and made for\nhis own land pushing his pace, and presently he drew within sight\nof the capital. Such was the case of Prince Yusuf, son to King\nSahl; but as regards the matter of King Al-Mihrjan and his host,\nhe ceased not marching them till such time as he came within\nsight of the Castle of his daughter Al-Hayfa; and this was soon\nafter the departure of Yusuf. And when he had led hither his\nhost, which was like unto a dashing sea, he dismounted upon the\nriver-bank that all might free themselves of their fatigue, after\nwhich he summoned Sahlub and bade him swim the stream and walk up\nto the Castle and knock at the door. The youth did as he was\nbidden, and the handmaids opened to him and greeted him as he\nasked for Al-Hayfa--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of\nday, 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 night\nan the King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night\nand that was\n\n            The Six 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 when\nSahlub went up to the Palace, he asked of Al-Hayfa, and the\nslave-girls told him that a youth had come thither and had taken\nher away and had carried her off to his own country. So he\nreturned to Al-Mihrjan and informed him thereof, when the King\ntook horse with all his host and pursued Yusuf with uttermost\nhaste and hurry until there was between the twain less than a\nday's march. But as the Prince drew near his capital on the tenth\nday he went in to his sire and told him whatso had befallen him\nfrom incept to conclusion, nor did he hide from him aught;\nwhereupon King Sahl mustered his many (all who received from him\nroyal solde and allowances), and bade them take horse with his\nson Yusuf. The troops did accordingly and the Prince rode a-van,\nand after a little while the two armies met. Now Ibn Ibrahim had\nmade a compact with five of the nobles who were the chiefest men\nof King Al-Mihrjan's reign and had promised them five hundred\nthousand dinars. So when the two hosts were about to engage, an\nEmir of the Emirs came forth (and he was one of those whom Ibn\nIbrahim had appointed to watch over Yusuf) and said to the\nPrince, \"O Son of the King, verily Ibn Ibrahim hath promised five\nof the nobles as many hundred thousand dinars of gold the which\nwe may take and receive from thee.\" Replied he, \"The like sum\nshall be thine from me with all thou canst ask of us.\" Presently\nthe Emir returned from him to Al-Mihrjan and said to him, \"Verily\nI have asked this youth that he make vain and void the battle\nbetween us twain, but he assented not and sware an oath that he\nwould never return from affray until the enemies should meet and\nfight it out, and that he had with him a mighty host and a\nconquering whose van was not known from its rear.[FN#269] Now\n'tis my rede that thou strive to take him prisoner[FN#270] and\nthen do whatso he may please, especially he being son to thee,\nKing of the mighty Kings and with him a thousand thousand knights\nall mailed cap-\ufffd-pie and clothed in steel not one of whom hath\nany fear of fight.\" King Al-Mihrjan waxed wroth at the Emir's\nspeech and cried, \"What words be these? Shall the Kings of the\nAge remain saying of me that a man hath debauched the daughter of\nAl-Mihrjan and hath carried her away perforce despite the nose of\nher father? Never shall such thing be spoken of me; no, never!\nBut do thou know, ho thou the Emir, that an ye have no taste for\nfray nor avail for fight and ye have no training save for bibbing\nof wine and ease at home, I have sworn and swear by Him who\nlighted the lucident fires of the Sun and the Moon, none shall\nsally forth to do single combat with this youth save I myself.\"\nBut when so saying he knew not that was hidden from him in the\nWorld of Secrets. Presently he rushed into the field of fight\nwith reins floating upon his courser's neck and he renowned it,\nshowing himself between the foremost files, and he played with\nthe edge of glaive and spit of spear until men's wits were\nbewildered and he improvised the while and cried out the\nfollowing couplets,\n\n\"Ibn Sahl, ho scion of tree abhorr'd! * Rise, meet me in mellay\n     and prove thee lord:\nMy daughter hast snatched, O thou foul of deed, * And approachest\n     me fearing the Lion of the horde.\nHadst come in honour and fairly sued * I had made her thine own\n     with the best accord;\nBut this rape hath o'erwhelmed in dishonour foul * Her sire, and\n     all bounds thou hast overscor'd.\"\n\nNow when King Al-Mihrjan finished his verse, Yusuf rushed out to\nhim, and cried at him with a terrible cry and a terrifying, and\ngarred his own steed bound upon the battle-plain, where he played\nwith brand and lance until he cast into oblivion every knight,\nreciting in the meantime the following verses,\n\n\"I am son to Al-Sahl, O of forbears vile! * Come forth and fight\n     me sans guile or wile;\nThou hast hurt my heart; O of deed misdone, * So thou com'st to\n     contend with this rank and file.\"[FN#271]\n\nKing Al-Mihrjan re-echoed his war-cry, but hardly had he ended\nwhen Yusuf drawing near him answered it with a shout which\nenquaked his heart and ravished his reason with sore terror, and\nrepeated in reply these couplets,\n\n\"I am not to be titled of forbears vile * O whose ape-like face\n     doth the tribe defile!\nNay, I'm rending lion amid mankind, * A hero in wilds where the\n     murks beguile.\nAl-Hayf\ufffd befitteth me, only me; * Ho thou whom men for an\n     ape[FN#272] revile.\"\n\nWhen Yusuf had ended these words, Al-Mihrjan rushed forth and\ncharged down upon him, and the two drawing nigh each of the\nfoemen set on the other with a mighty onset and a prodigious.\nThey fought in duello and lanced out with lance and smote with\nsword, and dashed together as they were two ships or two\nmountains clashing; and they approached and retired, and the\ndust- cloud arose over them and they disappeared from men's\nsight. But hardly had an hour passed by when Yusuf made a final\nattack upon his enemy and narrowed his course and barred his way\nand pressed him hard; and, hanging upon his flank, smote him with\nthe scymitar upon the nape of the neck[FN#273] and caused his\nhead to fall between his feet, when he slipt from his steed upon\nthe ground, and he lay stone dead and in his gore drowned. Now as\nsoon as the folk looked upon Yusuf and what he had dealt to their\nKing and how he had made his head fly his body and had done him\ndead, they turned to take flight. Thereupon Yusuf recognised\nSahlub the cousin of Al-Hayfa, he who had been the cause of their\nseparation and had roused her wrath against him; so he drew near\nto him and smote him with the bright shining blade on the right\nflank, and it came forth gleaming between his left ribs; so he\nfell to the ground drenched with blood, and he was left prostrate\nin the dust. And when Yusuf had slain King Al- Mihrjan and\nSahlub, his nephew, the Grandees of the realm came around him and\ngreeted him with the salam.--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 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 Seven 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 when the\nGrandees of King Al-Mihrjan's reign saw their Sovran slain, they\nflocked to Prince Yusuf and greeted him, marvelling at his beauty\nand valour and excellence: then they all agreed to salute him as\ntheir Sultan and they raised him to the rank of King and sole\nruler over them. Presently they led him with them, and fared\nseeking the city of Al-Mihrjan until they reached it, when they\nadorned the streets on the occasion of his coming. And King Yusuf\nhaving entered his capital took seat on the throne of his\nkingship and bade and forbade and deposed and appointed; and\nlastly freed Mohammed ibn Ibrahim from gaol, and established him\nhis Wazir. Hereupon the new Minister displayed to him the four\nwives and the hundred concubines of King Al-Mihrjan, also his\nnegro slaves, male and female, whom he found to number two\nhundred and four hundred. Moreover, he showed his riches and\nrarities and treasuries wherein were found an hundred boxes full\nof silk and fine linen, and parcels of pearls and rubies and\njacinths and jewels and precious minerals and other wealth in\nabundance. So he distributed the whole amongst his nobles, and\nlargessed them with excessive largesses; and his partisans of his\nsubjects and his guards flocked to him with presents and\nofferings; and all the city-folk gave him joy and rejoiced in\nhim. Then he commissioned Ibn Ibrahim to Al-Hayfa, daughter of\nKing Al-Mihrjan, saying, \"Do thou bring her hither to me, her and\nher handmaids and all that be in her palace.\" Accordingly he\nwent forth to Al-Hayfa's Castle, and ceased not wending till he\ncame to its entrance where he discovered that King Yusuf had\nappointed a craft for the river transport. And when he arrived\nthere and found the vessel afloat he went in to Al-Hayfa and he\ngreeted her. Then he related to her what had betided her sire\nfrom Yusuf and how the Prince had slain him after the fashion of\nwhat befel; so she cried, \"There is no Majesty and no Might save\nin Allah, the Glorious, the Great; and this was writ in the Book\nof Life!\" Then she asked Ibn Ibrahim touching her mother, and he\nanswered that she was sound and safe in her own home which she\nhad never left nor did any one go in to her; and, (added he) \"she\nexpecteth thy coming to her.\" Then he bade carry down her\nimpediments and her bondmaids and all the good that was in her\nCastle until nothing remained, and embarked them upon the craft;\nand presently, mounting her in a litter of sandal-wood plated\nwith ruddy gold, he set her women in Howdahs;[FN#274] and, taking\nhorse himself, he rode until they drew near the city. And when\nthey arrived there he went up to King Yusuf whom he informed of\ntheir coming and was told, \"Suffer them to be till night shall\nset in.\" Hereupon he took patience, and when came the appointed\nterm Al-Hayfa went up to the Palace. Now as Allah caused the morn\nto morrow and to light the world with its shine and sheen, King\nYusuf sent to summon the Kazi and witnesses and bade them write\nhis writ of marriage with Al-Hayfa and was wedded to her by Book\nand traditional Usage.[FN#275] After this Al-Hayfa sent to fetch\nher mother and bore her to her home and their joy and enjoyment\nwere great and lasting. Now by the decree of the Decreer anon it\nbefel that the Caliph Al-Maamun waxed strait of breast one night\nof the nights: so he summoned a certain of his courtiers whose\nname was Ibrahim the Cup-companion;[FN#276] but, as they found\nhim not, he bade bring a man hight Al-Khad\ufffd'a, and when he came\nbetween his hands quoth he to him, \"'Tis a while since I have\nseen thee here.\" Quoth the other, \"O Commander of the Faithful, I\nhave been wayfaring about the land of Syria.\" Continued the\nPrince of True Believers, \"Do thou this very night broaden the\nCaliph's heart with a delectable tale;\" and the other rejoined,\n\"O Viceregent of Allah upon Earth, know thou an adventure befel\nme with a youth named the Veiled Yusuf of Beauty, son to King\nSahl, the friendly ruler of Al-Sind, and with Al-Hayfa the\ndaughter of King Al-Mihrjan, and 'tis a tale whose like hath\nnever been heard; no, never.\" Hereupon he related to Al-Maamun\nthe history of the two, first and last, adding, \"Furthermore, O\nCommander of the Faithful, I have learnt that Al-Hayfa owneth ten\nhandmaidens whose peers are not to be found in thy Palace, and\nthey are mistresses of all manner instruments of mirth and\nmerriment and other matters; and amongst things said of them by\ntheir lady when they marvelled at her good fortune, 'Verily this\nday I have acquired half a score of slave- girls the like of\nwhich Al-Maamun hath never collected.'\" But when the Prince of\nTrue Believers heard this he gave ear to the tale anent them\nduring the livelong night till Allah caused the morn to morrow.\nThen he sent for Ibrahim the Cup-companion, and to him coming\ninto the presence the Viceregent of Allah exclaimed \"Mount\nwithout stay and delay taking with thee one thousand Mamelukes\nand make thy way to this youth who is King of Al-Sind[FN#277] and\nnamed 'The Veiled Yusuf of Beauty,' and bring me his ten\nhandmaidens. After which do thou ask concerning his case and\nanent his subjects, whether he be just or unjust to the lieges,\nand if he be righteous I will robe him in honourable robes and if\notherwise do thou bring him to my presence.\" Hereupon Ibrahim\ntook leave of the Caliph and went forth at that very time and\ntide intending for Al-Sind, and he ceased not wending till he\narrived there and found Yusuf setting out for the chase. But when\nthe youth saw the host approaching him--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 King suffer me to survive?\" Now\nwhen it was the next night, and that was\n\n              The Seven 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, when\nYusuf beheld Ibrahim the Cup-companion, and those in his company,\nhe returned to the city and took them with him; yet he knew not\nIbrahim nor did Ibrahim know him. But on entering the capital he\nwas met by his guards and his soldiers who blessed him and prayed\nfor him length of days and permanence of rule wherefor the\ncourtier knew him to be a just King. Yusuf led them to and lodged\nthem in the House of Hospitality; after which returning to his\nown Palace he sent for Ibrahim and assembled for him a session\nand received him with the highmost honour that could be, and rose\nto him and greeted him and embraced him and accompanied him to\nthe sitting-saloon where the twain took their places. Then Yusuf\nbade summon the ten handmaidens with as many instruments of\nmusic; and, sitting down begirt by them, he ordered wine be\nbrought. So they set before him flagons and beakers of chrystal\nand jewelled cups; and presently pointing to the first of the\nslave-girls whose name is not recorded, bade her recite somewhat\nof her pleasantest poetry. So she hent the lute in hand and set\nit upon her lap and swept it with a light touch and caressed it\nwith her finger-tips and smote it after eleven modes; then she\nreturned to the first[FN#278] and recited these couplets,\n\n\"My heart for parting ever burns with lowe; * My lids fiery with\n     tear-floods ever flow:\nHo thou in lover's loving ferly fair, * Cut is the road for those\n     Love gars to glow.\nHow many a youth has felt his vitals torn * By slender forms and\n     glances forceful prow?\nAlas for lover slain by might of Love; * Nor friend avails nor\n     brother true, I trow!\"\n\nWhen the first handmaiden had finished, Yusuf rejoiced (as did\nIbrahim the Cup-companion) with excessive joy and the King bade\nrobe her in a sumptuous robe. Hereupon she drained her cup and\npassed it to her compeer whose name was Takn\ufffd, and this second\nhandmaiden taking beaker in hand placed it afore her and hending\nthe lute smote on it with many a mode; then, returning to the\nfirst[FN#279] while the wits of all were bewildered, she\nimprovised the following verses,\n\n\"Look on the lute that 'minds of Mangonel; * Whose strings are\n     ropes that make each shot to tell:\nAnd note the pipes that sound with shriek and cry, * The pipes\n     that cast a fearful joyful spell;\nEspy the flagons ranged in serried rank * And crops becrowned\n     with wine that longs to well.\"\n\nBut when Takna had finished her poetry Yusuf and Ibrahim were\ngladdened and the King bade largesse her with a sumptuous robe\nand a thousand dinars and she tossed off her cup and passed it to\nher successor the third handmaiden Mubdi'[FN#280] hight. She\naccepted it and setting it before her took the lute and smote it\nafter manifold fashions and presently she spake these couplets,\n\n\"Love with his painful pine doth rack this frame of me; * Melts\n     heart and maims my vitals cruel agony;\nAnd rail my tears like cloud that rains the largest drops; * And\n     fails my hand to find what seek I fain to see:\nThee I conjure, O Y\ufffdsuf, by Him made thee King * O Sahl-son, Oh\n     our dearest prop, our dignity,\nThis man methinks hath come to part us lovers twain * For in his\n     eyes I see the flame of jealousy.\"\n\nAnd when Mubdi' had sung her song, Ibrahim the Cup-companion and\nKing Yusuf smiled and rejoiced and anon there befel them what\nthere befel and the two slipt down aswoon;--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 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 Seven 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 King Yusuf\nand Ibrahim the Cup-companion hearing the song sung by Mubdi',\nthe third handmaiden, both fell to the floor aswoon; and when\nthey revived after an hour or so, Ibrahim largessed to her one\nthousand dinars and a robe purfled with glistening gold. Then she\ndrained her cup and crowning it again passed it to her compeer\nwhose name was Nas\ufffdm[FN#281] and who took it and set it in front\nof her. Then hending in hand the lute she played upon it with\nmanifold modes and lastly spake these couplets,\n\n\"O Blamer, blaming me for draining lonely wine, * Stint carping,\n     I this day to Holy War incline:\nOh fair reflection she within her wine-cup shows * Her sight\n     makes spirit dullest earthly flesh refine:\nHow mention her? By Allah 'tis forbid in writ * To note the\n     meaner charms in Eden-garth divine.\"\n\nWhen the fourth handmaiden had ended her verse, Ibrahim gifted\nher with one thousand dinars and presented a sumptuous robe to\nher owner, then she drank off her cup and passed it to her\ncompeer hight Al-Badr[FN#282] and she sang the following lines,\n\n\"One robbed of heart amid song and wine * And Love that smiteth\n     with babe of eyne:\nHis voice to the lute shall make vitals pain * And the wine shall\n     heal all his pangs and pine:\nHast e'er seen the vile drawing near such draught * Or miser\n     close-fisted thereto incline?\nThe wine is set free in the two-handed jar[FN#283] * Like sun of\n     summer in Aries' sign.\"\n\n\nWhen she had finished Ibrahim bade reward her like the rest with\ngold and gear and she passed her cup to her compeer whose name\nwas Rad\ufffdh.[FN#284] The sixth handmaiden drained it and performed\nin four-and-twenty modes after which she sang these couplets,\n\n\"O thou wine-comrade languor cease to show; * Hand me the morning\n     draught and ne'er foreslow;\nAnd prize fair poesy and sweet musick hear * And shun the 'say'\n     and naught of 'said' beknow:\nThe wine of day-dawn drunk with joyous throng * From house of\n     Reason garreth Grief to go:\nThe man of Kays aye loved his wine right well * And from his lips\n     made honey'd verse to flow;\nAnd in like guise[FN#285] came Isa singing sweet * For such was\n     custom of the long-ago.\"\n\nWhen Radah ended her verse and her improvising of mysterious\nsignificance, and secret, King Yusuf and Ibrahim the Cup-\ncompanion tore their robes from their bodies until naught\nremained upon them save only the bag-breeches about their waists.\nThen the twain shrieked aloud and at one moment and they fell\nfainting to the floor, unheeding the world and their own selves\nfrom the excess of that was in their heads of wine and hearing of\npoetry spoken by the slave-girl. They remained in such condition\nfor a while of time, after which they recovered though still\namazed, a-drunken. Then they donned other dresses and sat down to\nlisten as before, when Radah drained her goblet and filled and\npassed it to her compeer whose name was Na'\ufffdm;[FN#286] and she\ntaking her lute, improvised the following verses,\n\n\"My poesy-gem showeth clear of shine, * When appears that pearl\n     with cheek coralline:\n'Tis marvel the cloud cannot quench the blaze * That fire in the\n     heart and this water of eyne!\nThen alas for Love who hath made me woe! * Pine that rends and\n     racks limbs and vitals o' mine:\nO thou Well of Poetry well forth thy gems * O'er our drink when\n     our cups overbrim with wine:\nAnd sing in her presence, for Envy hath fled * And flies jealous\n     spite and all joys combine.\nOh the charms of wine which enthral the mind, * Clear and\n     clearing sprites by its sprite refined!\"\n\nWhen the seventh handmaiden had ended her verses, King Yusuf and\nIbrahim rejoiced with exceeding joy and each of them bade gift\nher with a thousand gold pieces and quoth the courtier, \"By Allah\nAlmighty, none of the Emirs or of the Wazirs or of the Kings or\nof the Caliphs hath attained excellence like unto this handmaid.\"\nHereupon Na'im passed her goblet to her compeer and she, whose\nname was Sur\ufffdr,[FN#287] tossed it off and taking in hand her\nlute, sang these couplets,\n\n\"How is't with heart of me all cares waylay * As drowned in\n     surging tears of Deluge-day?\nI weep for Time endured not to us twain * As though Time's honour\n     did not oft betray.\nO my lord Y\ufffdsuf, O my ending hope, * By Him who made thee lone on\n     Beauty's way,\nI dread lest glorious days us twain depart * And youth's bright\n     world be dimmed to old and grey;\nO Lord! be Parting's palm for us undyed[FN#288] * Ere death, nor\n     carry this my lord away.\"\n\nWhen the eighth handmaiden had ended her song, the twain\nmarvelled at her eloquence and were like to rend that was upon\nthem of raiment--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 King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night\nand that was\n\n               The Seven 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 goodwill!\" 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 King Yusuf\nand Ibrahim the Cup-companion were like to rend that was upon\nthem of raiment and they joyed with extreme joy after hearing\nwhat Surur had sung to them. Hereupon she passed her cup to her\nfellow, hight Zahrat al-Hayy,[FN#289] who took it and recited as\nfollows,\n\n\"O cup-boy, I crave thee cup-comrade to be * And hearten my heart\n     of its malady;\nNor pass me the bowls for I sorely dread * when drunken all\n     dolours of Love- lowe to dree,\nTo be vilely reviled in the sittings of men, * To be frowardly\n     treated where zephyrs play free.\nGod-blest is the Lute for her melodies * Which pain me with\n     painfullest penalty,\nWith the jewels of speech whose transcendent charms * Like fires\n     of Jah\ufffdm[FN#290] burn the vitals of me.\nBy Allah, show ruth, be compassionate, * For Allah deals pardon\n     compassionately.\n\nYusuf and Ibrahim, hearing her words, were gladdened with\nexcessive gladness and cried to the ninth handmaid, \"May the lord\nbe copious to thee like the fruitful years!\" Then the Cup-\ncompanion bade gift her with one thousand gold pieces as like-\nwise did her lord. Hereupon she passed her cup to the tenth\nhandmaiden known as Muhjat al-Kul\ufffdb[FN#291] who fell to\nimprovising these couplets,\n\n\"O Blamer, who canst not my case explain; * Cease, for who blame\n     friends shall of blame complain;\nAnd whoso unknoweth the workings of Love * Mankind shall reckon\n     him mean and vain:\nAlas for Love, O ye tribe-landers, I * Am weaned that wont\n     nipples of union to drain.\nI have learnt the whole of Love's governance * Since my baby days\n     amid cradles lain.\nForbear by Allah to ask of my state * How shall morn one banned\n     with debtor bane?\nO thou jewel of speech, O thou Y\ufffdsuf, laud * To the Lord who\n     robed thee with charms amain!\nDeign the God of 'Arsh make thy days endure * In wealth and\n     honour sans pause or wane;\nE'en as Ishak's son[FN#292] every gift conjoined * Amid men,\n     making rulers to serve him fain.\"\n\n\nWhen Muhjat al-Kulub ended her song, Yusuf gifted her with a\nsplendid robe and a thousand gold pieces as eke did Ibrahim, and\npresently the courtier said to the handmaiden, \"Who is Ibrahim\nthat thou shouldst sing of him in song?\" She replied, \"Wall\ufffdhi, O\nmy lord, he is son of Ishak, amongst the pleasant ones sans peer\nand a cup-companion to the Caliphs dear and the pearl concealed\nand the boon friend of our lord the Commander of the Faithful\nAl-Maam\ufffdn and his familiar who to him joy and enjoyment maketh\nknown. Ah! happy the man who can look upon him and forgather with\nhim and company with him before his death; and verily by Allah he\nis the Master of the Age and the one Wonder of the World.\nMoreover, by the Almighty, O my lord, wert thou to see this lute\nfall into his hands, thou wouldst hear it converse in every\nlanguage with the tongues of birds and beasts and of the sons of\nAdam: and well nigh would the place dance ere he had improvised a\nword. And he the horizons can make to joy and lovers with\noverlove can destroy, nor shall any after his decease such\nexcellence of speech employ.\" All this, and Muhjat al-Kulub knew\nnot who was sitting beside them as she went on to praise Ibrahim.\nHereupon he took the lute from her hand and smote it till thou\nhadst deemed that within the instrument lurked babes of the\nJinns[FN#293] which were crying and wailing while spake the\nstrings, and in fine King Yusuf imagined that the palace had\nupflown with them between heaven and earth. And the handmaidens\nsang to his tunes in sore astonishment; when Ibrahim designed to\ntalk but King Yusuf cut him short and fell to saying poetry in\nthese couplets,\n\n\"By the rights of our lord who shows ruth in extreme, * And Giver\n     and Guide and boon Prophet we deem,\nAnd by Ka'abah resplendent and all its site * And by Zemzem, Safa\n     and the wall Hatim,\nLo! thou'rt hight Ibrahim, and suppose I say * Thee sooth, my\n     wits thou must surely esteem:\nAnd thy face shows signalled with clearest eyne * Deliv'rance\n     followed by Y\ufffd and M\ufffdm.\"[FN#294]\n\nNow Ibrahim kept his secret and did not manifest himself to any,\nbut presently he also improvised and spake in these words\npreserving the measure and rhyme,\n\n\"By him who chose Mus\ufffd, the Speaker,[FN#295] by Him * who\n     made[FN#296] H\ufffdshimite orphan select and supreme!\nIbrahim am I not, but I deem this one * The Caliph who sits by\n     Baghdadian stream;\nOf his grace the heir of all eloquent arts * And no partner hath\n     he in all gifts that beseem.\"\n\nAnd when Ibrahim had finished his verses, Yusuf said to him, \"By\nthe virtue of Almighty Allah, an I guess aright and my\nshot[FN#297] go not amiss, thou art Ibrahim the musician;\" but\nthe courtier retained his incognito and replied, \"O my lord,\nIbrahim is my familiar friend and I am a man of Al-Basrah who\nhath stolen from him sundry of his modes and airs for the lute\nand other instruments and I have the practice of improvisation.\"\nNow when Ibrahim was speaking behold, there came one of the\nCaliph's pages and he walked up to the head of the assembly\nbearing with him a letter, which he handed to his lord. But Yusuf\nput forth his hand and took it, and after reading the\nsuperscription he learnt that his companion was Ibrahim without\ndoubt or mistake, so he said to him, \"By Allah, O my lord, verily\nthou hast slighted me, for that thou hast not informed me of\nthyself.\" Quoth the other, \"By Allah, I feared from thee lest I\ngive thee excess of trouble;\" and quoth Yusuf, \"Do thou take to\nthee all these handmaids whom the Commander of the Faithful hath\nbid thee receive.\" Ibrahim replied, \"Nay, I will not accept from\nthee the handmaidens but rather will I fend from thee the\nPrince of True Believers;\" however, King Yusuf rejoined, \"I have\ngifted them to the Viceregent of Allah: an thou take them not I\nwill send them by other than thyself.\" Presently King Yusuf set\napart for the Caliph great store of gifts, and when the\nhandmaidens heard of that they wept with sore weeping. Ibrahim,\nhearing their wailing, found it hard to bear, and he also shed\ntears for the sobbing and crying of them; and presently he\nexclaimed, \"Allah upon thee, O Yusuf, leave these ten handmaidens\nby thee and I will be thy ward with the Prince of True\nBelievers.\" But Yusuf answered, \"Now by the might of Him who\nstablished the mountains stable, unless thou bear them away with\nthee I will despatch them escorted by another.\" Hereupon Ibrahim\ntook them and farewelled King Yusuf and fared forth and hastened\nhis faring till the party arrived at Baghdad, the House of Peace,\nwhere he went up into the Palace of the Commander of the\nFaithful-- 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 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 Seven 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 when\nIbrahim reached Baghdad and went up to the Palace of the\nCommander of the Faithful and stood in the presence he was asked,\n\"What hast thou brought for us from thy journey, O Ibrahim?\"\nwhereto he answered, \"O our lord, I have come to thee with all\nthou willest and wishest that of rede be right and of word\napposite.\" Quoth he, \"And what may that be?\" and quoth the other,\n\"The ten handmaids:\" and so saying he set them before the Caliph,\nwhereupon they kissed ground and did him suit and service and\ndeprecated for him and greeted him with blessings, and each and\nevery of them addressed him in tongue most eloquent and with\ntheme most prevalent. The Prince of True Believers hugely admired\nthem, marvelling at their deftness of address and their sweetness\nof speech which he had never witnessed in any other; and he was\ndelighted with their beauty and loveliness and their stature and\nsymmetrical grace, and he wondered with extreme wonderment how\ntheir lord had consented they should be brought before him. Then\ncried he, \"O Ibrahim, what hath been thy case with the owner of\nthese damsels, and did he commit them to thee despite himself in\nanger and care or with resignation of mind and broadening of\nbosom and joy and satisfaction?\" \"O my lord,\" said Ibrahim,\n\"verily he made them over to me in none except the best of\ndispositions, and Allah give him length of life for a youth! How\nbenign was his countenance and how beautiful, and how perfect and\nhow liberal were his hands and prompt to act, and how excellent\nwere his wits and how goodly and gracious was his society and how\nyielding was his nature and how great was his dignity and how\njust were his dealings with his lieges! By Allah, O Commander of\nthe Faithful, when I went to him from thee I found him outside\nhis city intending for the hunt and chase and about to enjoy\nhimself in pleasurable case, but seeing our coming he met me and\nsalam'd to me and greeted me and rejoiced in me with extreme joy.\nAll this, and he knew me not nor did I on my part know him; but\nhe took me with him and returned to town, and as we entered he\nwas met by the Lords of the land and the lieges who prayed for\nhim; so I knew that man to be their King and Captain of\ncommandment, also that he was equitable to his subjects. Then he\nmade me alight in his House of Hospitality, and went up into his\nPalace, after which he sent to call me and I obeyed his summons,\nwhen he set apart for me an apartment under his own roof and\ntaking me by the hand led me thereto, where I found everything\nthe best that could be. Anon he despatched for us wine and wax\ncandles and perfumes and fruits fresh and dry and whatnot of that\nwhich becometh such assembly; and, when this was done, he bade\nsummon the ten handmaidens, and they also took their seats in the\nsession, and they smote their instruments and they sang verse\nwherein each one excelled her companion. But one of them insisted\nin her song upon the name of me, saying, 'None availeth to\ncompose such lines save Ibrahim the Cup-companion, the son of\nIshak.' Now I had denied myself to their lord and acquainted him\nnot with my name; but when the damsel had finished her verse, I\nlargessed to her a thousand gold pieces and asked her, 'Who may\nbe this Ibrahim whereat thou hast hinted in thy song?' Said she,\n'He is the boon-companion of the Caliph and he is unique among\nthe pleasant'; then she fell to praising me with praise galore\nthan which naught could be more, unknowing me the while, until I\ntook the lute from her hand and smote it with a touch unlike\ntheir play. Hereby their lord discovered me and said in his\nverse, 'Thou art Ibrahim without doubt or mistake'; but still I\ndenied myself, replying, 'I am a man from Al-Basrah and a\nfamiliar of Ibrahim the Master-Musician': And on this wise I\nanswered him, when behold, there came up to us a page bearing a\nrescript from thee. So King Yusuf took it from his hand and read\nthe address when he made certain that I was Ibrahim, the\nCup-companion, and having learnt my name he blamed me saying, 'O\nIbrahim, thou hast denied thyself to me.' 'O my lord,' I replied,\n'Twas that I feared for thee excess of trouble'; after which\nquoth he, 'Verily these ten damsels are a free gift from me to\nthe Commander of the Faithful.' Hearing these words I refused to\nreceive them and promised on my return to the Caliph that I would\ndefend their lord from all detraction, but he cried, 'O Ibrahim,\nunless thou take them I will forward them with other than\nthyself.' And lastly, O Prince of True Believers, he presented to\nme fifty slave-girls and as many Mamelukes and an hundred and\nfifty negro-serviles and twenty steeds of purest blood, with\ntheir housings and furniture, and four hundred she-camels and\ntwenty pods of musk.\"[FN#298] Then having told his tale, the\nCup-companion fell to commending Yusuf, and the Caliph inclined\near to him admiring at this man and his generosity and his\nopenness of hand and the eloquence of his tongue and the\nexcellence of his manners, until Al-Maamun desired to forgather\nwith him and work him weal and gift him with liberal gifts.\nPresently the Caliph bade summon the ten handmaidens and the hour\nwas past supper-tide, at which time Ibrahim the Cup-companion was\nseated beside him without other being present. And as soon as the\ngirls came before him the Caliph bade them take their seats, and\nwhen they obeyed his order the wine cups went merrily round, and\nthe ten were directed to let him hear somewhat of their chaunting\nand playing. So they fell to smiting their instruments of mirth\nand merriment and singing their songs, one after other, and each\nas she ended her poetry touched the Caliph with delight until it\ncame to the last of them, who was hight Muhjat al-Kul\ufffdb;--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 King suffer me to\nsurvive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n               The Seven 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 last\npoetical piece recited by the ten damsels to the Commander of the\nFaithful was by Muhjat al-Kulub; and he upon hearing it rose at\nonce to his feet and shrieked and fell aswoon for an hour of\ntime. And when he recovered he cried, \"By Allah, O Muhjat\nal-Kulub and Oh of eyne the coolth, do thou repeat to me what\nthou hast said.\" Hereupon she touched her instrument with another\ntouch accompanying the repetition of her poetry in a style wholly\nunlike the first, and she repeated her song in the mode and form\nNahawand.[FN#299] But when the Caliph heard her, his wits were\nwildered, and he rent that was upon him of raiment, and he fell\nfainting to the floor until Ibrahim the Cup-companion and the ten\nhandmaidens deemed him dead. But as he revived after an hour of\ntime he said to the handmaiden, \"O Muhjat al-Kulub, ask and it\nshall be granted to thee.\" \"I pray,\" quoth she, \"first of Allah\nand then of the Commander of the Faithful that he restore us, all\nthe ten, unto our lord;\" and he granted her request after he had\ngifted them all and largessed them.[FN#300] He also wrote to\ntheir owner, King Yusuf, a royal Rescript appointing him Sultan\nover all the kingdoms that were in and about the land of Al-Sind;\nand moreover that whenas the Caliph might be absent from his good\ncity of Baghdad, Yusuf should take his place in bidding and\nforbidding and ordering and governing. This ended, he despatched\nthe ten slave-girls with a body of his Chamberlains after giving\nthem wealth galore and of presents and rarities great store; and\nthey fared forth from him and ceased not faring till they reached\nthe city of Al-Sind. Now when the ten handmaidens drew nigh\nthereto they sent to inform King Yusuf of their coming, and he\ncommissioned his Wazir Mohammed bin Ibrahim to meet and receive\nthem, and he caused them enter the Palace, wondering the while\nthat his ten bondswomen had not found favour with the Prince of\nTrue Believers. So he summoned them to his presence and asked\nthem thereanent, and they answered by relating all that had\nbefallen them; and presently Muhjat al-Kulub presented to him the\nRoyal Rescript, and when he read it he increased in joy and\ndelight.[FN#301] Now[FN#302] when supper was over the Prince of\nTrue Believers said to Ibn Ahyam, \"Needs must thou relate unto us\na story which shall solace us; and said the other, \"O Commander\nof the Faithful, I have heard a tale touching one of the Kings.\"\n\"What is that?\" asked the Caliph, whereupon Ibn Ahyam fell to\nrelating the adventures of\n\n\n\n\n\n              THE THREE PRINCES OF CHINA.[FN#303]\n\n\n\nWhilome there was a King in the land of Al-S\ufffdn and he had three\nmale children to whose mother befel a mysterious malady. So they\nsummoned for her Sages and leaches of whom none could understand\nher ailment and she abode for a while of time strown upon her\ncouch. At last came a learned physician to whom they described\nher disorder and he declared, \"Indeed this sickness cannot be\nhealed save and except by the Water of Life, a treasure that can\nbe trove only in the land Al-'Ir\ufffdk.\" When her sons heard these\nwords they said to their sire, \"There is no help but that we make\nour best endeavour and fare thither and thence bring for our\nmother the water in question.\" Hereupon the King gat ready for\nthem a sufficiency of provaunt for the way and they farewelled\nhim and set forth intending for Barbarian-land.[FN#304] The three\nPrinces ceased not travelling together for seven days, at the end\nof which time one said to other, \"Let us separate and let each\nmake search in a different stead, so haply shall we hit upon our\nneed.\" So speaking they parted after dividing their viaticum and,\nbidding adieu to one another, each went his own way. Now the\neldest Prince ceased not wending over the wastes and none\ndirected him to a town save after a while when his victual was\nexhausted and he had naught remaining to eat. At that time he\ndrew near to one of the cities where he was met at the entrance\nby a Jewish man who asked him saying, \"Wilt thou serve, O\nMoslem?\" Quoth the youth to himself, \"I will take service and\nhaply Allah shall discover to me my need.\" Then said he aloud, \"I\nwill engage myself to thee;\" and said the Jew, \"Every day thou\nshalt serve me in yonder Synagogue, whose floor thou shalt sweep\nand clean its mattings and rugs and thou shalt scour the\ncandlesticks.\" \"'Tis well,\" replied the Prince, after which he\nfell to serving in the Jew's house, until one day of the days\nwhen his employer said to him, \"O Youth, I will bargain with thee\na bargain.\" \"And what may that be?\" asked the young Prince, and\nthe man answered, \"I will condition with thee for thy daily food\na scone and a half but the broken loaf thou shalt not devour nor\nshalt thou break the whole bread; yet do thou eat thy sufficiency\nand whoso doth contrary to our agreement we will flay[FN#305] his\nface. So, an it be thy desire to serve, thou art welcome.\" Now of\nhis inexperience the Prince said to him, \"We will serve thee;\"\nwhereupon his employer rationed him with a scone and a half and\nwent forth leaving him in the Synagogue. When it was noon the\nyouth waxed anhungered so he ate the loaf and a half; and about\nmid-afternoon the Jew came to him and finding that he had\ndevoured the bread asked him thereanent and the other answered,\n\"I was hungry and I ate up all.\" Cried the Jew, \"I made compact\nwith thee from the beginning that thou shouldst eat neither the\nwhole nor the broken,\" and so saying he fared forth from him and\npresently brought a party of Jews, who in that town numbered some\nfifty head, and they seized the youth and slew him and bundling\nup the body in a mat[FN#306] set it in a corner of the synagogue.\nSuch was his case; but as regards the Cadet Prince, he ceased not\nwayfaring and wending from town to town until Fate at last threw\nhim into the same place where his brother had been slain and\nperchance as he entered it he found the same Jew standing at the\nSynagogue-door. The man asked him, \"Wilt thou serve, O Moslem?\"\nand as the youth answered \"Yea verily,\" he led the new comer to\nhis quarters. After this the Jew had patience for the first day\nand the second day--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 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 Seven 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 and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the King's son tarried with the Jewish man the first day and the second day, after which his employer did with him even as he had done by his brother before him; to wit, he slew him and wrapping him in a mat placed his corpse beside that of the eldest Prince.\nOn this wise it happed to these twain; but as regards the\nyoungest of the three, he ceased not travelling from town to town\nand enduring excessive fatigue and hunger and nakedness until by\ndecree of Destiny and by determination of the Predestinator he\nwas thrown into the hands of the same Jew whom he found standing\nat the Synagogue-door. Here the man accosted him, saying, \"Wilt\nthou serve, O Moslem?\" and the Youth agreeing he imposed upon him\nthe same pact which he had made with his two brothers, and the\nPrince said \"'Tis well, O Master.\" Then quoth the Jew, \"Do thou\nsweep the Synagogue and cleanse it and shake out the mats and\nrugs;\" and quoth the other, \"Good!\" But when the Prince left him\nand went into the building, his glance fell upon the two bundles\nof matting wherein were wrapped the corpses of his brothers, so\nhe drew near to them and, raising a corner of the covering, found\nthe bodies stinking and rotten. Hereat he arose and fared forth\nthe Synagogue and opening a pit in the ground took up his\nbrothers (and he sorrowing over them and weeping) and buried\nthem. Then he returned to the building and, rolling up the mats,\nheaped them together and so with the rugs, after which he built a\nfire under them until the whole were burnt and after he took down\nthe candlesticks one and all and brake them to bits. Now when it\nwas mid-afternoon behold, the Jew came to the Synagogue and found\na bonfire and all the furniture thereof lying in ashes and when\nhe saw this he buffeted his face and cried, \"Wherefore, O Moslem,\nhast thou done on such wise?\" Replied the youth, \"Thou hast\ndefrauded me, O Master,\" and rejoined the Jew, \"I have not\ncheated thee of aught. However, O Moslem, hie thee home and bid\nthy mistress slaughter a meat-offering and cook it and do thou\nbring it hither forthright.\" \"'Tis well, O my Master,\" said the\nPrince. Now the Jew had two boy children in whom he delighted and\nthe youth going to his house knocked at the door which was opened\nto him by the Jewess and she asked, \"What needest thou?\" Quoth\nthe Prince to the Jew's wife, \"O my mistress, my master hath sent\nme to thee saying, 'Do thou slaughter the two lambs that are with\nthee and fifty chickens and an hundred pair[FN#307] of pigeons,'\nfor all the masters are with him in the Synagogue and 'tis his\ndesire to circumcise the boys.\"[FN#308] The Jew's wife replied to\nhim, \"And who shall slaughter me all this?\" when he rejoined, \"I\nwill.\" So she brought out to him the lambs and the chickens and\nthe pigeons and he cut the throats of all. The Jewess hereupon\narose and cried upon her neighbours to aid her in the cooking\nuntil the meats were well done and all were dished up. Then the\nyouth hending the ten porcelain plates in hand went with them to\na house in the Ghetto[FN#309] and rapped at the door and said,\n\"My Master hath sent all these to you.\" Meanwhile the Jew was in\nthe Synagogue unknowing of such doings; and as the Prince was\nsetting down the last of the plates which he carried with him,\nbehold! the Jew came to that house because he had noticed his\nservant's absence, so he repaired thither to see concerning the\nbusiness of the meat offering wherewith he had charged him. He\nfound his home in a state of pother and up-take and down-set and\nhe asked the folk, \"What is the matter?\" They related the whole\nto him and said, \"Thou sentest to demand such-and-such,\" and when\nhe heard this case he beat his face with his brogue[FN#310]--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 King suffer me to\nsurvive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n              The Seven 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, when the\nJew came to his home and looked around, he found it in the\ncondition which the youth had contrived, so he beat his face with\nhis brogue and cried, \"O the ruin of my house!\" Suddenly the\nprince entered and his employer asked him, \"Wherefore doest thou\non such wise, O Moslem?\" Answered the youth, \"Verily thou hast\ndefrauded me,\" and rejoined the other, \"No; I have not cheated\nthee on any wise.\" Then said the Jew in his mind:--\"Needs must I\nset a snare for this youth and slay him;\" so he went in to his\nwife and said, \"Spread for us our beds upon the terrace-roof; and\nwe will take thereto the young Moslem, our servant, and cause him\nlie upon the edge, and when he is drowned in slumber we will push\nhim between us and roll him along the floor till he fall down\nfrom the terrace and break to bits his neck.\" Now by fiat of Fate\nthe youth was standing and overhearing[FN#311] their words. As\nsoon as it was night-time the woman arose and spread the beds\nupon the roof according as her husband had charged her do; but\nabout mid-afternoon the Prince bought him half a pound of filberts and placed them with all care and circumspection in his\nbreast-pocket. Presently the Jew said to him, \"O Moslem, we\ndesign to sleep in the open air, for the weather is now summery;\"\nand said he, \"'Tis well, O my Master.\" Hereupon the Jew and the\nJewess and the children and the Prince their servant went up to\nthe roof and the first who lay him down was the house-master,\nplacing his wife and children beside him. Then said he to the\nyouth, \"Do thou sleep here upon the side,\"[FN#312] when the\nPrince brought the filberts out of his breast-pocket and cracked\nthem with his teeth, and as often as they repeated to him,\n\"Arise, O Moslem, and take thy place on the couch,\" he answered\nthem, \"Whenas I shall have eaten these filberts.\" He ceased not\nwatching them till all had lain down and were fast asleep, when\nhe took his place on the bed between the mother and the two boys.\nPresently the Jew awoke, and thinking that the youth was sleeping\non the edge, he pushed his wife, and his wife pushed the servant,\nand the servant pushed the children towards the terrace-marge,\nand both the little ones fell over and their brain-pans[FN#313]\nwere broken and they died. The Jew hearing the noise of the fall\nfancied that none had tumbled save his servant the young Moslem;\nso he rose in joy and awoke his wife saying, \"Indeed the youth\nhath rolled off the terrace-roof and hath been killed.\" Hereat\nthe woman sat up, and not finding her boys beside her, whilst the\nPrince still lay there she wailed and shrieked and buffeted her\ncheeks, and cried to her husband, \"Verily none hath fallen save\nthe children.\" Hereat he jumped up and attempted to cast the\nyouth from the roof; but he, swiftlier than the lightning, sprang\nto his feet and shouted at the Jew and filled him with fear,\nafter which he stabbed him with a knife which was handy, and the\nother fell down killed and drowned in the blood he had spilled.\nNow the Jew's wife was a model of beauty and of loveliness and\nstature and perfect grace, and when the King's son turned upon\nher and designed to slay her, she fell at his feet, and kissing\nthem, placed herself under his protection. Hereupon the youth\nleft her alive, saying to himself, \"This be a woman and indeed\nshe must not be mishandled;\"[FN#314] and the Jewess asked him, \"O\nmy lord, what is the cause of thy doing on this wise? At first\nthou camest to me and toldest me the untruth, such-and-such\nfalsehoods, and secondly, thou wroughtest for the slaughter of my\nhusband and children.\" Answered he, \"In truth thy man slew my two\nbrothers wrongously and causelessly!\" Now when the Jewess heard\nof this deed she enquired of him, \"And art thou their very\nbrother?\" and he replied, \"In good sooth they were my brethren;\"\nafter which he related to her the reason of their faring from\ntheir father to seek the Water of Life for their mother's use.\nHereat she cried, \"By Allah, O my lord, the wrong was with my\nmate and not with thee; but the Decreed chevisance doth need, nor\nis there flight from it indeed; so do thou abide content.\nHowever, as regards the Water in question, it is here ready\nbeside me, and if thou wilt carry me along with thee to thy\ncountry I will give thee that same, which otherwise I will\nwithhold from thee; and haply my wending with thee may bring thee\nto fair end.\" Quoth the Prince in his mind, \"Take her with thee\nand peradventure she shall guide thee to somewhat of good:\" and\nthereupon promised to bear her away. So she arose and led him\ninto a closet where she showed him all the hoards of the Jew,\nready moneys and jewellery and furniture and raiment; and\neverything that was with her of riches and resources she\ncommitted to the young Prince, amongst these being the Water of\nLife. So they bore away the whole of that treasure and he also\ncarried off the Jewess, who was beautiful exceedingly, none being\nher peer in that day. Then they crossed the wilds and the wastes,\nintending for the land of Al-S\ufffdn, and they persevered for a while\nof time.--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 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 Seven Hundred and Fourteenth 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 ceased not wayfaring until the twain drew near to the\ncapital of China[FN#315] where, by the fiat of Fate and the\nsealed decree of Destiny, on entering the walls he found that his\nfather had fared to the mercy of Allah Almighty, and that the\ncity, being Kingless, had become like unto a flock of sheep\nlacking shepherd. Moreover he was certified that the Lords of his\nfather's land and the Grandees of the realm and all the lieges\nwere in the uttermost confusion. He went up to the palace and\nforgathered with his mother, and seeing that she had not been\nhealed of her sickness, he brought her out the Water of Life and\ngave her to drink some little thereof whereby health returned to\nher and she rose from her couch and took seat and salam'd to him\nand asked concerning his brethren. However he concealed his\nsecret thereanent fearing lest it induce in her weakly state a\nfresh attack and discovered to her naught but said, \"Verily, we\nparted at such a place in order to seek the Water of Life.\" Then\nshe looked upon his companion the Jewess (and she cast in the\nmould of loveliness) and she questioned him concerning the woman\nand he recounted to her the whole affair, first and last, still\nconcealing for the reason aforesaid, the fate of his brothers.\nNow on the second day the bruit went abroad throughout the city\nthat the King's son had returned; so the Wazirs and Emirs and the\nLords of the land and all who had their share in governance\nforgathered with him and they set him as King and Sultan in the\nstead of his sire. He took seat on the throne of his Kingship and\nbade and forbade and raised and deposed and so tarried for a\nwhile of time, until one day of the days when he determined to\nenjoy the hunt and chase and divert himself in pleasurable\ncase.[FN#316] So he and his host rode forth the city when his\nglance fell upon a Badawi girl who was standing with the Shaykh\nher father considering his retinue; and the age of the maiden\nmight have mastered thirteen years. But as soon as the King\nlooked upon the girl love of her upon his heart alighted, and he\nwas thereby engrossed, for she was perfect in beauty and\ncomeliness. Hereupon he returned to his palace and sending for\nher father asked her of him in marriage; the Shaykh, however,\nanswered saying, \"O our lord the Sultan, I will not give up my\ndaughter save to one who hath a handicraft of his own,[FN#317]\nfor verily trade is a defence against poverty and folk say,\n'Handicraft an it enrich not still it veileth.'\"[FN#318] Hereupon\nthe King took thought in himself and said to the Shaykh, \"O Man,\nI am Sovran and Sultan and with me is abundant good;\" but the\nother replied, \"O King of the Age, in King-craft there is no\ntrust.\" However, of his exceeding love to the girl the Sultan\npresently summoned the Shaykh of the Mat-makers and learnt from\nhim the craft of plaiting and he wove these articles of various\ncolours both plain and striped.[FN#319] After this he sent for\nthe father of the damsel and recounted to him what he had done\nand the Shaykh said to him \"O King of the Age, my daughter is in\npoor case and you are King and haply from some matter may befal a\nserious matter; moreover the lieges may say, 'Our King hath wived\nwith a Badawi girl.'\" \"O Shaykh,\" replied the King, \"all men are\nthe sons of Adam and Eve.\" Hereupon the Badawi granted to him his\ndaughter and got ready her requisites in the shortest possible\ntime and when the marriage-tie was tied the King went in unto her\nand found her like unto a pearl.[FN#320] So he rejoiced in her\nand felt his heart at rest and after tarrying with her a\nfull-told year, one chance day of the days he determined to go\nforth in disguise and to wander about town and solace himself\nwith its spectacles alone and unattended. So he went into the\nvestiary where the garments were kept and doffing his dress\ndonned a garb which converted him into a Darwaysh. After this he\nfared forth in early morning to stroll around the streets and\nenjoy the sights of the highways and markets, yet he knew not\nwhat was hidden from him in the World of the Future. Now when it\nwas noon-tide he entered a street which set off from the Bazar\nand yet was no thoroughfare,[FN#321] and this he followed up\nuntil he reached the head and end, where stood a cook[FN#322]\nmaking Kab\ufffdbs. So he said to himself, \"Enter yon shop and dine\ntherein.\" He did so and was met by sundry shopmen who seeing him\nin Darwaysh's garb welcomed him and greeted him and led him\nwithin, when he said to them, \"I want a dinner.\" \"Upon the head\nand the eyes be it,\" they replied, and conducting him into a room\nwithin the shop showed him another till he came to the place\nintended, when they said to him, \"Enter herein, O my lord.\" So he\npushed open the door and finding in the closet a matting and a\nprayer-rug[FN#323] spread thereupon he said to himself, \"By\nAllah, this is indeed a secret spot, well concealed from the eyes\nof folk.\" Then he went up to the prayer-rug and would have sat\ndown upon it after pulling off his papooshes, but hardly had he\nsettled himself in his seat when he fell through the floor for a\ndepth of ten fathoms. And while falling he cried out, \"Save me, O\nGod the Saviour;\" for now he knew that the people of that place\nonly pretended to make Kababs and they had digged a pit within\ntheir premises. Also he was certified that each and every who\ncame in asking for dinner were led to that place where they found\nthe prayer-rug bespread and supposed that it was set therein for\nthe use of the diners. But when the Sultan fell from his seat\ninto the souterrain, he was followed by the thieves who designed\nto murther him and to carry off his clothes, even as they had\ndone to many others.--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of\nday 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 night\nan the King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night\nand that was\n\n             The Seven Hundred and Sixteenth 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\nKing fell into the pit (and he disguised in Darwaysh-garb) the\nthieves sought to slay him and carry off his clothes, when quoth\nhe to them, \"Wherefore kill me when my garments are not worth a\nthousand groats[FN#324] and I own not a single one? However, I\nhave at hand a handicraft whereat I am ready to work sitting in\nthis pit and do you take and sell my produce for a thousand\nfaddahs; and every day I will labour for you, finishing one and\nrequiring naught save my meat and drink and perpetual privacy in\nyour quarters.\" \"At what craft art thou crafty?\" asked they, and\nhe answered, \"At mat-weaving: so do ye bring me a piastre[FN#325]\nworth of rushes[FN#326] and the same of yarn.\" Accordingly they\nfared forth and fetched him his need and presently he made a mat\nand said to them, \"Take ye this and sell it not for less than a\nthousand faddahs.\" They hied out and carried the work to the\nBazar where, as soon as the folk caught sight thereof, they\ncrowded about the seller, each man offering more until the price\nhad risen to a thousand and two hundred silvern nusfs. Hereupon\nsaid the thieves to themselves, \"By Allah, this Darwaysh can\nprofit us with much profit and enrich us without other trade;\" so\nevery morning for ten days they brought him rushes and yarn and\nhe wove for them a mat which they vended for a like sum. On this\nwise it happened to him; but as regards the Wazirs and Emirs and\nlords of the land, they went up to the Council-chamber[FN#327]\nfor the first day and the second and the third until the week was\nended and they awaited the coming of their King, but he came not,\nneither found they any tidings nor hit they upon any manifest\ntraces and none knew whither he had wended. So they were sore\nexercised and confusion befel with much tittle-tattle of folk;\neach one said his own say nor were they guided by any to what\nthey should do. Furthermore, as often as they asked of the Harem\nthey were answered, \"We have no tidings of him;\" so they were\nperplext and at last they agreed, their King being clean lost, to\nset up a Sultan as his successor. However the Wazirs said, \"Tarry\nye until Allah shall open unto us a door whereby we shall be\nrightly directed to him.\" Now the King had required from the\npeople of the pit rushes of various colours, red and green, and\nwhen they fetched them he fell to weaving a mat like those of the\nstriped sort, whereon he figured by marks and signs the name of\nthe quarter wherein he was gaoled[FN#328] and discovered to his\nmen the way thereto and the site itself; after which he said to\nthe thieves, \"Verily this mat misfitteth every save those in the\nRoyal Palace and its price is seven thousand faddahs. Do you take\nit and hie with it to the Sultan who shall buy it of you and pay\nyou the price.\" They obeyed his bidding and wending to the palace\nof the Grand Wazir found him sitting with the Lords of the land\nand with the Nobles of the realm talking over the matter of the\nKing when behold, those who brought the mat entered into his\npresence. Quoth the Minister, \"What be that which is with you?\"\nand quoth they, \"A mat!\" whereupon he bade them unroll it and\nthey did so before him; and he, being sagacious, experienced in\nall affairs, looked thereat and fell to examining the bundle and\nturning it about, and considering it until suddenly he espied\nsigns thereupon figured. He at once understood what they meant\nand he was rightly directed to the place where the King was\nconfined; so he arose without delay and after ordering them to\nseize those who had brought the mat took with him a party and\nwent forth, he and they, after mastering the marks which were\nupon the weft. He ceased not wending (and the people of the pit\nwith him under arrest) until such time as he arrived at the\nplace. Here they went in and opened the souterrain and brought\nout the King who was still in Darwaysh garb. Presently the Wazir\nsent for the Linkman and when he appeared they seized all who\nwere in that place and struck off their heads; but as for the\nwomen they put them into large sacks[FN#329] of camel's hair and\ndrowned them in the river: furthermore, they spoiled all that was\non that site and the Sultan gave orders to raze the house until\nit became level with the ground. When all this had been done they\nquestioned the Sultan concerning the cause of that event and he\ninformed them of what had befallen him from incept to conclusion\nand lastly he cried, \"Wall\ufffdhi! the cause of my escape from this\ndanger was naught save the handicraft which I learnt; to wit, the\nmaking of mats, and the Almighty requite with welfare him who\ntaught me because he was the means of my release; and, but for my\nlearning this trade, ye had never known the way to discover me,\nseeing that Allah maketh for every effect a cause.\" And having on\nsuch wise ended this tale Ibn Ahyam[FN#330] fell to relating to\nthe King the history of\n\n\n\n\n\n                 THE RIGHTEOUS WAZIR WRONGFULLY\n                        GAOLED.[FN#331]\n\n\n\nIt is related that there was a King among the manifold Kings of\nAl-Hind, and he had a Wazir which was a right good counsellor to\nthe realm and pitiful to the lieges and the Fakirs and merciful\nto the miserable and just in all his dealings. Despite this the\nGrandees of the kingdom hated him and envied him, and at all\ntimes and seasons when he went forth the presence or returned to\nhis house, one of the Emirs would come forward and say to the\nKing, \"O our lord, verily the Wazir doth of doings thus and\nthus,\"--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\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 Seven Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,\n\n Dunyazad 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 Lords\nof the land, whenever the Wazir was absent traduced him and\nmaligned him in the presence of the Sultan, saying, \"The Minister\ndoth such and such doings,\" and this continued for a while of\ntime. Now one day of the days, as the Sultan was sitting in his\npalace behold, a running messenger came to him bearing letters\nfrom sundry of the provinces which were in his reign imploring\nhelp against their foemen's violence. \"What may be done in this\ncase?\" asked the Sultan, and his Nobles answered saying, \"Send to\nthem the Wazir,\" but they spake not this speech save in their\nresolve to ruin him and their determination to destroy him.\nHereupon the King sent for him and summoned him and commanded him\nto journey to the places in question; but those of whom the\ncomplaints had been made threw dangers and difficulties in his\nway. Said the Wazir, \"Hearing and obeying;\" and after preparing\nhimself for wayfare he set forth on his way. Now the Lords had\ndespatched letters to the province whither he intended, apprising\nthe folk of his coming, and saying to them, \"Empower him not with\nanything, and if you avail to work him aught of wrong, so do.\"\nWhen the Wazir marched upon those places he was met by the people\nwith welcomes and deputations to receive him and offer him\npresents and rarities and sumptuous gifts, and all who were\ntherein honoured him with highmost honour. Presently he sent for\ntheir adversaries, and having brought them before him made peace\nbetween the two parties, and their gladness increased and their\nsadness ceased, and he tarried with them for a month full-told;\nafter which he set out on his homeward march. The Lords, however,\nhad reported all this to the King and they were right sore and\nsorrowful, for that their desire had been the destruction of the\nMinister. And one day of the days as the Wazir was sitting at\nhome, behold, a party of Chamberlains appeared before him and\nsummoned him to the presence, saying, \"Arise, the King requireth\nthee.\" He rose without stay or delay, and taking horse made for\nthe presence, and ceased not riding until he had reached the\npalace and had gone in to the King, who forthright bade throw him\ninto gaol. (Now it happened that the prison had seven\ndoors.)[FN#332] Cried the Wazir, \"There is no Majesty and there\nis no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great; and verily we\nbe Allah's and unto Him are we returning! Would I wot why and\nwherefore the King hath confined me and for what cause; but\nOmnipotence is Allah's.\" As soon as the Minister was quartered in\nhis new quarters the Sovran sent to interdict his eating any food\nof flesh-kind, allowing only bread and cheese and olives and\noil, and so left him in durance vile. Hereupon all the folk\napplied them to addressing the King with petitions and to\ninterceding for the captive; but this was not possible; nay, the\nSultan's wrath waxed hotter nor did it soon cool, for the Wazir\nabode in gaol during the longsome length of seven years. At last\none day of the days that Sultan went forth disguised in\nDarwaysh-garb and toured about town unattended, and ceased not\nwalking until he reached and passed before the palace of the\nWazir, where he found a gathering of much folk, some sweeping and\nothers sprinkling water, and others spreading[FN#333], whilst the\nHarem and household were in high glee and gladness. He stood\nthere amongst the spectators and presently asked what was doing,\nand they informed him, saying, \"The Wazir returneth from abroad\nthis night and folk have been informed by messenger that the\nSultan hath deigned restore him to favour and expressed himself\nsatisfied, so presently we shall see him once more at home.\"\n\"Praise be to Allah!\" quoth the King in his mind; \"by the\nAlmighty, this occurrence hath no cause, and how went the bruit\nabroad that the King hath again accepted him? And now there is no\nhelp but that I forgather with the Wazir and see what there may\nbe to do and how this occurred.\" The Sultan increased in\ndisquietude therefor, so he went and bought a somewhat of bread\nand repairing to the gaol (he being still in Fakir's garb)\naccosted the gaoler and said to him, \"Allah upon thee, O my lord,\nopen to me the bridewell that I may enter and distribute this\nprovaunt among the prisoners, for that I have obliged myself to\nsuch course by oath, and the cause is that when suffering from a\nsickness which brought me nigh to death's door I vowed a vow and\nsware a strong swear that, an Almighty Allah deign heal me, I\nwould buy somewhat of bread and dole it out to the inmates of the\ngaol[FN#334]. So here am I come for such purpose.\" Upon this the\nman opened to him the door and he went in and divided all the\nbread amongst the captives yet he saw not the Wazir; so he said\nto the gaoler, \"Hath any one remained that I may dole to him his\nshare?\" \"O Darwaysh,\" said the other, \"whereof askest thou?\" and\nsaid the Fakir, \"O my lord, I have sworn an oath and Allah upon\nthee, if there be among the captives any save these I have seen,\ndo thou tell me thereof.\" Quoth the man, \"There remaineth none\nsave the Wazir who is in another place, but indeed he is not in\nwant;\" and quoth the Fakir, \"O my lord, my desire is to free\nmyself from the obligation of mine oath.\" Accordingly the gaoler\nled him in to the Wazir and when the Darwaysh drew nigh the\nvisitor shrieked and fell fainting to the floor, and the warder\nseeing him prostrate left him to himself and went his ways.\nHereupon the Minister came to him and sprinkling somewhat of\nwater upon his face said to him, \"O Darwaysh, there is no harm to\nthee!\" So the Fakir arose and said, \"O my lord, my heart hath\nbeen upon thee for a while of time;\"--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 Seven 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 quoth the\nFakir to the Wazir, \"By Allah, O my lord, my heart hath indeed\nbeen with thee for this space of seven years; and often as I went\nto thy mansion, they told me that the Sultan is wroth with the\nWazir; withal I still awaited for thee until this very day, when\nI repaired to thy quarters according to my custom and I found in\nthy house much folk, this sweeping and that sprinkling and that\nspreading, and all were in joyous case. So I asked of the\nby-standers and they informed me that the Sovran hath become\nsatisfied with thee and that on the ensuing night thou wilt hie\nthee home for that this thy saying is soothfast.\"[FN#335] \"O\nDarwaysh,\" replied the other, \" 'Tis true that I sent to my\nhousehold and informed them thereof, for that I have received\nwelcome news from an event befel me; so I bade apprise those at\nhome that the Sultan is satisfied with me; and to me, O Darwaysh,\nhath betided a matter wondrous and an occurrence marvellous; were\nit written with needle-gravers upon the eye-corners it had been a\nwarning to whoso would be warned.\" The Fakir asked, \"And what may\nbe that?\" and the other answered, \"By Allah, O Darwaysh, the\nwhile I was in the service of His Highness the King, I was a true\ncounsellor to him and pitiful to the lieges and I never deceived\nhim nor did I betray him at any time at all; and often as he sent\nme to a place wherein were mutual strife and trouble and wrong\nand tyranny, I smoothed matters and pacified the folk and righted\nwrongs amongst them by the power of Almighty Allah. But one day\nof the days, my mind was set upon riding out to the waste lands\nabout the town and the gardens thereof, by way of solacing my\nself; so I embarked in a little ca\ufffdque[FN#336] upon the river and\nwhen we were amid stream I had a longing for coffee[FN#337]; so I\nsaid to the boatman, 'Abide in this place and throw out the anchor\nwhile we drink coffee.' Hereat all my suite arose and busied\nthemselves in preparing it until 'twas ready and I had a\nfinj\ufffdn[FN#338] worth a treasury[FN#339] of money which they\nfilled and passed to me. I took it as I was sitting upon the\ngunwale of the boat whence it dropped into the stream; and I was\nsorely sorrowful therefor, because that cup was a souvenir.\nSeeing this, all in the boat arose and sent for a diver who\nasked, saying, 'In what place hath the finjan fallen that I may\nseek it? and do ye inform me of its whereabouts.' So we sought\nfor a pebble in the ca\ufffdque but we found none, and as I wore upon\nmy finger a signet ring which was worth two treasuries of money I\ndrew it off and cast it into the water crying, 'The cup fell from\nme in this place.' But when the ducker saw me throw my ring he\nsaid to me, 'Wherefore, O my lord, hast thou parted with thy\nseal?' and said I to him, 'The deed is done.' Then he went down\nand plunged into the deep for a while and behold he came up\ngrasping the cup, in the middle of which we saw the signet ring.\nNow when this mighty great matter befel me, I said to myself, 'Ho\ncertain person, there remaineth upon this good luck no better\nluck; and haply there will befal thee somewhat contrary to\nthis.'[FN#340] However those with me rejoiced at the finding of\nmy two losses, not did any fear therefrom my change of state and\ndownfall, but they wondered and said, 'By Allah, this is a rare\nmatter!' Then we went forward in the ca\ufffdque until we had reached\nthe place intended, where we tarried the whole of that day and\npresently returned home. But hardly was I settled and had I taken\nseat in my home quarters when behold, a party of Chamberlains of\nthe King's suite came in to me and said, 'The Sultan requireth\nthee!' Accordingly, I arose and mounted horse and rode on till I\nhad come to the palace and entered the presence; and I designed\nto offer suit and service to the King as was my wont, when\nsuddenly he cried, 'Carry him away.' So they bore me off and\nconfined me in this place, after which the Sultan sent and\ninterdicted me from eating a tittle of flesh food, and here I am\nafter the space of seven years, O Darwaysh, still in the same\ncondition. Now on the morning of this day my stomach craved for\nmeat, so I said to the gaoler, 'O Such-and-such, 'tis now seven\nyears since I tasted flesh, so take this ashrafi and bring us an\nounce of meat.' He accepted the money saying, ' 'Tis well,' and\nwent forth from me and brought me my need.\"--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\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 Seven 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\nbenefiting, and of deeds fair seeming and worthy celebrating,\nthat the Wazir continued to the Fakir, \"Then, O Darwaysh, we\ndivided the meat (I and the gaoler) with our fingers, and we\nwashed it and set it upon the hearth, building a fire beneath it\nuntil it was cooked, when we took it off, and after waiting\nawhile dished it up and were about to eat it. But it happened to\nbe noon-tide, and the hour of incumbent orisons, so we said, 'Let\nus pray our prayers;' and we arose and made the Wuz\ufffd-ablution,\nand went through the mid-day devotions. After this we set the\nplate before us; and I, removing its cover, put forth my hand to\ntake up a bit of meat, but as I took it, behold, a mouse passed\nover that same morsel with its tail and paws[FN#341]. I cried,\n'There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah the\nGlorious, the Great! I have divided this meat with my own hand\nand have cooked it myself, so how could this matter have\noccurred? How ever, Allah the Omniscient haply knoweth that the\nstumbling stone hath been removed from my path,' and this I said,\nfor when I saw that mouse do on such wise I felt that glad news\nand good tidings were coming from the Lord of the Heavens and the\nEarth. So I sent to my home and informed them that the Sultan was\nsatisfied with me, for things when at their worst mend, and in\njoyance end; and I opine, O Darwaysh, that all my troubles have\nnow ceased.\" Said to him the Fakir, \"Alhamdolillah-- Glory be to\nGod--O my lord, who hath sent thee forerunners of welfare.\" Then\nhe arose from beside the Wazir, and went forth and ceased not\nwending until he came to his palace where he doffed his disguise\nand donned the garments of the Kings, and taking seat upon the\nthrone of his Kingship summoned the Wazir from his gaol in all\njoy, and set him between his hands and gifted him with sumptuous\ngifts. And all displeasure in the Sultan's heart being removed\nfrom the Wazir he committed to him once more the management of\nall his affairs[FN#342]. But when Ibn Ahyam (continued Shahrazad)\nhad ended his history of the Righteous Wazir he presently began\nto tell the tale of\n\n\n\n\n\n             THE CAIRENE YOUTH, THE BARBER, AND THE\n                            CAPTAIN.\n\n\n\nIt is related that in Misr there was a Youth, a Shalab\ufffd,[FN#343]\nsans peer for semblance and excellence, and he had to friend a\nlovely woman whose husband was a Y\ufffdzb\ufffdsh\ufffd[FN#344] or captain. Now\nwhenever that young man or his playmate would fain conjoin, each\nwith other, union proved almost impossible and yet his heart was\nalways hanging to her love and she was in similar state and even\nmore enamoured for that he was passing fair of form and feature.\nOne day of the days the Captain returned home and said to his\nwife, \"I am invited to such a place this afternoon, therefore an\nthou require aught ask it of me ere I go.\" Cried they,[FN#345]\n\"We want nothing save thy safety;\" yet were they delighted\ntherewith, and the youth's friend said, \"Alhamdolillah--Glory to\nGod--this day we will send to a certain person and bring him\nhither and we will make merry he and I.\" As soon as the husband\nfared forth his home in order to visit the gardens according to\nhis invitation, the wife said to a small boy which was an eunuch\nbeside her, \"Ho boy, hie thee to Such-an-one (the Shalabi) and\nseek him till thou forgather with him and say to him, 'My lady\nsalameth to thee and saith, Come to her house at this moment.' \"\nSo the little slave went from his mistress and ceased not wending\nto seek the Shalabi (her friend) till he found him in a barber's\nbooth where at that time it was his design to have his head\nshaved and he had ordered the shaver so to do. The man said to\nhim, \"O, my lord, may this our day be blessed!\" whereupon he\nbrought out from his budget a clean towel, and going up to the\nShalabi dispread it all about his breast. Then he took his\nturband and hung it to a peg[FN#346] and placing a basin before\nhim washed his pate, and was about to poll it when behold, the\nboy-slave passed within softly pacing, and inclining to him\nwhispered in his ear confidentially between them twain so that\nnone might overhear them, \"My lady So-and-so sendeth thee many\nsalams and biddeth me let thee know that to-day the coast is\nclear, the Captain being invited out to a certain place. Do thou\ncome to her at once and if thou delay but a little thou mayst not\navail to possess her nor may she possess thee, and if thou be\nreally minded to forgather with her come with all speed.\" Hearing\nthese words of the boy the lover's wits were wildered and he\ncould not keep patience; no, not for a minute; and he cried to\nthe Barber, \"Dry my head this instant and I will return to thee,\nfor I am in haste to finish a requirement.\" With these words he\nput his hand into his breast pouch and pulling out an ashrafi\ngave it to the Barber, who said in himself, \"An he have given me\na gold-piece for wetting his poll, how will it be when I shall\nhave polled him? Doubtless he will then gift me with half a score\nof dinars!\" Hereupon the youth went forth from the Barber who\nfollowed him saying, \"Allah upon thee, O my lord, when thou shalt\nhave ended thy business, return to me that I may shave thy scalp\nand 'twere better that thou come to the shop.\" \"Right well,\" said\nthe youth, \"we will presently return to thee,\" and he continued\nwalking until he drew near the place of his playmate when\nsuddenly the Barber caught him up a second time--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 King suffer me to survive?\" Now\nwhen it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Seven 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 when the\nyouth approached the house of his friends, suddenly the Barber\ncaught him up hard by thereto and placing himself in front said,\n\"Allah upon thee, O my lord, do not forget me, but be sure of\nreturn to the shop that I may poll thee.\" Quoth the youth to him\nin his folly, \" 'Tis well, O Man, I will certainly come back to\nthee and will not forget thy shop.\" So the lover left him and\nganged his gait and presently went up to the home of his friend,\nwhilst the Barber stayed expecting him and remained standing at\nthe door; and of the denseness of the tonsorial wits would not\nbudge from that place and would await the youth that he might\nshave him. Such was the case with them; but as regards the\nYuzbashi, when he went forth from his house bent upon seeking his\nfriend who had invited him, he found that a serious matter of\nbusiness[FN#347] would hinder his giving the entertainment, so\nthe host said to the Captain, \"Allah upon thee, O my lord, pardon\nme for I have this day a matter which will prevent my going forth\nto the garden and Inshallah--God willing--on the morrow we will\nthere meet and enjoy ourselves, we and thou, free and with hearts\nat rest; for a man who hath work in hand may not take his\npleasure and his thoughts will remain ever preoccupied.\" Hereupon\nquoth the Captain, \"Sooth thou hast said, O Such-and-such, and\nherein there is naught to excuse of harm or hindrance, and the\nday's engagement between us if it be not to-morrow will come\nafter to-morrow.\" So he farewelled his host and left him and\nreturned homewards. Now that Yuzbashi was a man of honour and\nsagacity and pluck and spunk and by nature a brave. He ceased not\nwending until he had reached his home where he found the Barber\nstanding at the house door and the fellow came up to him and\nsaid, \"Allah upon thee, O my lord, when thou goest within do thou\nsend me down a handsome youth who went upstairs into this\ndwelling.\" The Yuzbashi turned upon him with a face fiery as\nruddy sparks and cried to him, \"What, O Man, dost thou say that\none hath gone up to my house, O pimp, O pander?[FN#348] What\nmanner of man can enter therein and I absent?\" Quoth the Barber,\n\"By Allah, O my lord, one did go up whilst I stood awaiting him\nthe while he passed out of my sight; so when thou art abovestairs\ndo thou send him down to me, saying, 'Thine own Barber awaiteth\nthee at the entrance below.' \" Now when the Yuzbashi heard these\nwords, he waxed wroth with exceeding wrath and going up into his\nhouse with haste and hurry knocked at the inner door which\ndefended the Harem. The inmates heard him and knew that it was\nhe, and the Youth fell to piddling in his bag-trowsers; but the\nwoman took him and hid him in the shaft of the cistern[FN#349]\nand going forth opened the door to her husband. Cried the\nYuzbashi, \"Of a truth, hath any right or reason to say that here\nin this house is a man?\"[FN#350] and she replied, \"Oh, the shame\nof me! How ever, O my lord, can there be here a man?\"[FN#351] So\nthe Yuzbashi went about seeking and searching but he came not\nupon any; then he went down to the Barber wight and cried, \"O\nMan, I have found none upstairs save the womenkind;\" but the\nBarber replied, \"By Allah, O my lord, he went up before my eyes\nand I am still awaiting him.\" Then the Captain hurried away a\nsecond time and rummaged about, high and low, and left no place\nwhereinto he did not pry and spy, yet he came upon no one. He was\nperplext at his affair and again going down to the Barber said to\nhim, \"O Man, we have found none.\" Still the fellow said to him\ndoggedly, \"Withal a man did go within, whilst I who am his\nfamiliar here stand expecting him, and thou sayest forsooth he is\nnot there, albeit he be abovestairs and after he went in he never\ncame out until this tide.\" Hereupon the Captain returned to his\nHarem a third time and a fourth time unto the seventh time; but\nhe found no one; so he was dazed and amazed and the going in and\nfaring out were longsome to him. All this and the youth concealed\nin the cistern shaft lay listening to their dialogue and he said,\n\"Allah ruin this rascal Barber!\" but he was sore afraid and he\nquaked with fright lest the Yuzbashi slay him and also slay his\nwife. Now after the eighth time the Captain came down to the\nBarber and said to him, \"An thou saw him enter, up along with me\nand seek for him.\" The man did accordingly, but when the two had\nexamined every site, they came upon no one; so the Barber was\nstupefied and said to himself, \"Whoso went up before me and I\nlooking upon him, whither can he have wended?\" Then he fell to\npondering and presently said, \"By Allah, verily this is a\nwondrous matter that we have not discovered him;\" but the\nYuzbashi cried fiercely, \"By the life of my head and by Him who\ncreated all creatures and numbered the numberings thereof, an I\nfind not this fellow needs must I do thee die.\" The Barber of his\nexceeding terror fell to rummaging all the places but it fortuned\nthat he did not look into the shaft of the cistern; however at\nlast he said, \"There remaineth for us only the cistern-shaft ;\"--\nAnd Shahrazad was surprised by 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\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 Seven 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 Barber\nwight, after he and the Captain had finished their search without\nfinding anyone, said, \"There remaineth to us only the cistern-\nshaft;\" so he went and peered therein, but he could not use his\nsight overwell. Hereat the Yuzbashi came up behind him and cuffed\nhim with a mighty cuff upon the neck and laid him prostrate and\ninsensible at the mouth of the shaft. Now when the woman heard\nthe Barber saying, \"Let us explore the door which openeth upon\nthe cistern-shaft,\" she feared from the Yuzbashi, so coming up to\nhim she said, \"O my lord, how is it that thou art a Captain and\nthat thy worth and thy length and thy breadth are on such wise;\nwithal thou obeyest the word of a fellow Jinn-mad[FN#352] and\nsayest that there is a man in thine own house. This is indeed a\nreproach to thee.\" So the Yuzbashi of his stupidity believed her,\nand approaching the Barber on the edge of the cistern-shaft\ncuffed him with a cuff whose excess of violence dazed him and he\nfell upon the floor retaining naught of his senses. When the\nwoman saw this she cried to her husband, \"Pinion his elbows at\nthis moment and suffer me take my due of him by a sound drubbing,\nand then let him go.\" \"This is the right rede,\"quoth he and after\nall was done she cried to her husband, \"Come with us above that\nwe enjoy our pleasure, and Alhamdolillah that thou didst not go\nto the place of invitation for I should have been desolate by\nthine absence this day.\" So they ascended and sat together, each\nbeside other, and they sported and were gladdened and rejoiced;\nand after that the Captain lay down and was presently drowned in\nslumber. Seeing this the wife arose and repaired to the cistern-\nshaft wherefrom she released her beloved and finding all his\nclothes in a filthy state from the excess of what had befallen\nhim of affright penetrating into his heart by reason of the\nYuzbashi, she doffed his dress and bringing a bundle of clean\nclothing garbed him therein; after which his fear was calmed and\nhis heart comforted and he was set on the right way. Then she led\nhim to a private stead, wherein they twain, he and she, took\ntheir joyance and had their pleasure and made merry for the space\nof three hours, till such time as each had had fullest will of\nother. After this he went forth from her and the Veiler veiled\nhim. On such wise were the wife's doings; but as regards what\nbefel the Barber-man, he ceased not to remain strown on the\nground and dazed by the stress of the blow and he abode there\npinioned for a while. About mid-afternoon the Yuzbashi's wife\nwent to her husband and awaking him from sleep made for him\ncoffee which he drank and felt cheered; and he knew nothing anent\nthat his spouse had done with her beloved during the while he\nslumbered like unto a he goat. So she said to him, \"Rise up and\ngo we to the man and do thou drub him with the soundest drubbing\nand turn him out.\" Quoth he, \"Yes indeed, by Allah, verily he\ndeserveth this, the pimp! the pander! the procurer!\" Accordingly\nhe went to him and finding him lying upon the ground raised him\nand said to him, \"Up with thee and let us seek the man whereof\nthou spakest.\" Hereupon the Barber arose and went down into the\ncistern-shaft where he found none and therewith the Captain laid\nthe fellow upon his back; and, baring his arms to his elbows,\nseized a Nabb\ufffdt[FN#353] and beat him till he made water in his\nbag-trowsers; after which he let him go. So the Barber arose and\nhe in doleful dumps, and went off from the house and ceased not\nwending until he reached his shop about sunset, hardly believing\nin his own safety. But (resumed Shahrazad) as regards the history of the woman who was a fornicatress and an adultress, I have to relate to thee the following story of\n\n\n\n\n\n               THE GOODWIFE OF CAIRO AND HER FOUR\n                       GALLANTS.[FN#354]\n\n\n\nIt is said that in Misr lived a woman, a model of beauty and\nloveliness and stature and perfect grace, who had a difficulty\nwith a man which was a Kazi and after this fashion it befel. She\nwas the wife of an Emir[FN#355] and she was wont to visit the\nBaths once a month; and when the appointed term for her going\nforth had come, she adorned herself and perfumed herself and\nbeautified herself and hastened, tripping and stumbling,[FN#356]\nto the Hamm\ufffdm. Now her path passed by the Kazi's court-house\nwhere she saw many a man[FN#357] and she stopped to enjoy the\nspectacle, upon which the judge himself glanced at her with a\nglance of eyes that bequeathed to him a thousand sighs and he\nasked her saying, \"O woman, hast thou any want?\" \"No indeed,\"\nanswered she, \"I have none.\" Then he inclined to her and drawing\nnear her said, \"O lady mine and O light of these eyne, is union\npossible between us twain?\" She replied, \"'Tis possible,\" and he\nenquired of her when it could be, and she made an appointment\nwith him saying, \"Do thou come to me after supper-time,\"--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 King suffer me to\nsurvive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Seven 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\nGoodwife said to the Kazi, \"Do thou come to me after\nsupper-time,\" and went her ways and entered the Hammam, where she\nwashed herself and cleaned herself; then, coming out thence, she\ndetermined to go home. But she was met on her road by a\nGentleman[FN#358] who was Sh\ufffdhbandar of the Trader-guild, and he\nseeing her set his affections upon her; so he accosted her,\nsaying, \"Is't possible that we ever be merry together?\" Hereat\nshe appointed him to come when supper was done, after which she\nleft him and ganged her gait. As she neared her home she was met\nby a Butcher whose heart inclined to her, so he addressed her\nsaying, \"Is union possible?\" and she appointed him to visit her\nan hour after supper had been eaten. Then she went home and\nmounting the stairs took seat in the upper saloon open to the\nair, where she doffed her head-veil[FN#359] and all that was upon\nher head. Now in the neighbourhood of her house was a Trader and\nhe had mounted to the terrace-roof for a reason; so when the\nwoman bared her hair and taking up a comb began to dry and\nprepare it for dressing, his eyes fell upon her whilst so\nengaged, and his heart was engrossed with her love. Presently he\nsent to her an old woman; and she returned him a reply and\nappointed him to visit her house during the night after\nsupper-tide. On this wise she had promised herself to four\nmen.[FN#360] Now the Kazi had got ready for her a Kohl-style and\nthe Gentleman had prepared for her a fine suit of clothes and the\nButcher had led for her a full-sized ram and the Trader had set\napart for her two pieces of silk. As soon as it was supper-time,\nbehold, the Kazi repaired to her in privacy bringing his gift and\nknocked at the door which he found unbolted and she cried to him,\n\"Come in.\" Accordingly he entered to her and presented to her\nthat which was with him, but hardly had he settled himself\ncomfortably in his seat when the Gentleman arrived and also\nrapped. Quoth the Kazi to the Goodwife, \"Who may this be?\" and\nquoth she, 'Fear thou nothing, but arise and doff thy dress;\" so\nhe stripped himself altogether and she garbed him in a gaberdine\nand bonnet[FN#361] and hid him in a closet and went to open the\ndoor. Hereupon appeared the Consul and she let him in and\naccepted what he had brought and seated him beside her. But\nhardly had he settled down when, behold, there came a knock at\nthe door and he cried, \"Who may that be?\" Said she, \"Fear nothing\nbut up and doff thy dress;\" so he arose and stripped himself and\nshe disguised him in a gaberdine and bonnet and hid him in\nanother closet all alone. Then she hastened to the door and\nsuddenly the Flesher-man appeared and she let him in and led him\nwithin and having accepted his present seated him; but hardly was\nhe at his ease when the door was again knocked, whereat he was\novercome and affrighted: however, she said to him, \"Fear nothing,\nbut arise and doff thy dress in order that I may hide thee.\" So\nhe threw off his clothes and she invested him in a gaberdine and\na bonnet and thrust him into a third cabinet. After this she went\nand opened the door when there came to her the Trader who was her\nneighbour, so she let him in and took what was with him, and\nseated him; and he was proceeding to sit down in comfort when\nbehold, some one knocked at the door and he said, \"Who may that\nbe?\" Hereupon she cried, \"O my honour! O my calamity! This is my\nhusband who but yesterday[FN#362] killed off four men; however do\nthou rise up and doff thy dress.\" He did as she bade him, upon\nwhich she garbed him in a gaberdine and a bonnet and laid him in\na fourth closet. So these four one and all found themselves in as\nmany cabinets[FN#363] sorely sorrowful and fearful; but she went\nforth and suddenly her mate the Emir came in and took seat upon a\nchair that was in the house. Hereat all four sensed that she had\nopened to her husband and had admitted him; and they said in\ntheir minds, \"Yesterday he killed four men and now he will kill\nme.\" And each and every considered his own affair and determined\nin his mind what should happen to him from the husband. Such was\nthe case with these four; but as regards the house-master, when he took seat upon the chair, he fell to chatting with his wife and asking her saying, \"What hast thou seen this day during thy walk to the Hammam?\" Said she, \"O my lord, I have witnessed four\nadventures and on every one hangeth a wondrous tale!\" Now when\nthe four heard the Goodwife speaking these words each of them\nsaid to himself, \"Indeed I am a dead man and 'tis the intention\nof this woman to peach upon me.\" Presently her husband asked her,\n\"What be these four histories?\" and answered she, \"I saw four men\neach and every of whom was an antic fellow, a droll, a buffoon;\nfurthermore, O my lord, one and all of them were garbed in\ngaberdine and bonnet.\"--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 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 Seven 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 woman\nsaid to her husband, \"Moreover each of the four was habited in\ngaberdine and bonnet.\" But when the amourists heard these words\nevery one of them said to himself, \"Here be a judgment this\nstrumpet of a woman hath wrought upon us, the whore! the witch!\"\nand her husband understanding what she told him asked, \"Wherefore\ndidst thou not bring them hither that the sight might solace us?\"\n\"O my lord,\" answered she, \"had I brought them what hadst thou\nsaid to them? indeed I fear me thou wouldst have slain them!\" And\nhe, \"No indeed; I would not have killed them, for they are but\nbuffoon-folk, and we should have enjoyed their harlequinades and\nwould have made them dance to us a wee and all and some tell us\ntales to gladden our minds; after which we would have suffered\nthem depart and go about their own business.\" The wife enquired,\n\"And given that they knew neither dancing nor story-telling what\nhadst thou done with them?\" and replied he, \"Had the case been as\nthou sayest and they ignorant of all this, verily we would have\nkilled them and cast them into the chapel of ease.\" The four men\nhearing such threatening words muttered to themselves, \"There is\nno Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the\nGreat;\" but the Kazi said in his mind, \"How remain Judge of this\ncity when I shall have been found garbed in gaberdine and bonnet\nand dancing and tale-telling? and indeed this is the greater\ndeath. Allah bring to ruin this adulteress of a woman!\" Then the\nFlesher took thought as follows, \"How shall I continue to be\nChief of the Butchers when I prance about with a bonnet on my\npate? this is indeed a painful penalty!\" Then quoth the\nGentleman, the Consul, \"How shall it be with me when I am seen\ndancing and donning a bonnet? indeed death by the sword were\nlighter than this!\" Then muttered the Trader which was the\nwoman's neighbour, \"'Tis easier to kill myself with my own hand\nthan to endure all such ill.\" Anon the woman said to her husband,\n\"Inshallah--God willing--on the morrow we will bring them hither\nto thy house that we may solace ourselves therewith;\" but said\nhe, \"Wall\ufffdhi, hadst thou brought them this night 'twere better,\nfor that to-morrow evening I have business in the house of the\nChief Emir.\" Quoth she to him, \"Now grant me immunity and give me\npermission and I will arise and bring them to thee at this\nmoment, but each must come to thee alone and by himself.\" Quoth\nhe, \"O Woman, leave I do give thee and immunity I do grant thee;\"\nwhereupon she rose without stay or delay and went to the closet\nwherein was the Judge. Then she opened it and entered, and taking\nhim by the hand dragged him forward and came out with him and set\nhim before her spouse garbed as he was in gaberdine and bonnet.\nThe house-master scrutinised him and was certified of his being\nthe Kazi and said to him, \"Blessed be to thee, O our lord, this\nbonnet and this gaberdine which become thee passing well.\" But\nthe Judge, as he stood before the presence of the woman's\nhusband, bowed his front downwards and was clothed as with a\ngarment in the sweat of shame and was sore abashed, when the Emir\nsaid to him, \"O our lord the Kazi, do thou dance for us a wee the\nbaboon dance and rejoice us; after which performance do thou tell\nus a tale that our breasts may thereby be broadened.\" But when\nthe man said this to him, the Judge feared for his life because\nhe had heard and well remembered the words of the householder and\nhe fell to clapping his palms and prancing to right and left.\nHereupon the Emir laughed consumedly, he and his wife, and they\nsigned and signalled each to other deriding the judicial dance,\nand the Kazi ceased not skipping until he fell to the floor for\nhis fatigue. Hereupon the man said to him, \"Basta! Now tell us\nthy tale that we may rejoice thereat; then do thou rise up and go\nabout thy business.\" \"Hearkening and obedience,\" said the Judge\nand forthright he began to relate the adventure of\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Tailor and the Lady and the Captain.[FN#364]\n\n\n\nIt is related that a Tailor was sitting in his shop facing a tall\nhouse tenanted by a Y\ufffdzb\ufffdshi, and this man had a wife who was\nunique for beauty and loveliness. Now one day of the days as she\nlooked out at the latticed window the Snip espied her and was\ndistraught by her comeliness and seemlihead. So he became\nengrossed by love of her and remained all day a-gazing at the\ncasement disturbed and perturbed, and as often as she approached\nthe window and peered out therefrom, he would stare at her and\nsay to her, \"O my lady and O core of my heart, good morning to\nthee; and do thou have mercy upon one sore affected by his\naffection to thee; one whose eyes sleep not by night for thy fair\nsake.\" \"This pimp be Jinn-mad!\" quoth the Captain's wife, \"and as\noften as I look out at the window he dareth bespeak me: haply the\nfolk shall say, 'Indeed she must needs be his mistress.'\" But the\nTailor persevered in this proceeding for a while of days until\nthe lady was offended thereby and said in her mind, \"Wall\ufffdhi,\nthere is no help but that I devise for him a device which shall\nmake unlawful to him this his staring and casting sheep's eyes at\nmy casement; nay more, I will work for ousting him from his\nshop.\" So one day of the days when the Yuzbashi went from home,\nhis wife arose and adorned and beautified herself, and donning\nthe bestest of what dresses and decorations she had, despatched\none of her slave-girls to the Tailor instructing her to say to\nhim, \"My lady salameth to thee and biddeth thee come and drink\ncoffee with her.\" The handmaiden went to his shop and delivered\nthe message; and he, when hearing these words,[FN#365] waxed\nbewildered of wits and rose up quivering in his clothes;--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 King suffer me to\nsurvive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n            The Seven 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 when the\nTailor heard the girl's words, he quivered in his clothes; but\nindeed he recked not aught of the wiles of womankind. So after\npadlocking his shop he went with her to the house and walked\nupstairs, where he was met by the lady with a face like the\nrondure of the moon and she greeted him right merrily, and taking\nhim by the hand led him to a well-mattressed Divan and bade her\nslave-girl serve him with coffee, and as he drank it she sat\nfacing him. Presently the twain fell to conversing, she and he;\nand she soothed him with sweet speech, whilst he went clean out\nof his mind for the excess of her beauty and loveliness. This\nlasted until near midday, when she bade serve the dinner-trays,\nand took seat in front of him, and he began picking up\nmorsels[FN#366] designed for his lips and teeth, but in lieu\nthereof thrust them into his eye. She laughed at him, but hardly\nhad he swallowed the second mouthful and the third when behold,\nthe door was knocked, whereupon she looked out from the casement\nand cried, \"Oh my honour! this is my husband.\" Hereat the man's\nhands and knees began to quake, and he said to her, \"Whither\nshall I wend?\" Said she, \"Go into this closet,\" and forthright\nshe thrust him into a cabinet and shot the bolt upon him and\ntaking the key she tare out one of its teeth[FN#367] and put it\nin her pocket. After this she went down and opened the door to\nher husband who walked upstairs; and finding the dinner trays\nbespread, asked her, \"What is this?\" She answered, \"I and my\nlover have been dining together.\" \"And what may be thy lover?\"\n\"Here he is.\"[FN#368] \"Where may he be?\" to which she replied,\n\"He is inside this closet.\" Now as soon as the Tailor heard her\nsay this say, he piddled in his bag-breeches and befouled himself\nand he was in a filthy state with skite and piss.[FN#369]\nHereupon the Captain asked, \"And where's the key?\" and she\nanswered, \"Here it is with me.\"[FN#370] \"Bring it out,\" said he,\nso she pulled it from her pocket and handed it to him. The\nCaptain took the key from his spouse and applying it to the\nwooden bolt of the cabinet rattled it to and fro[FN#371] but it\nwould not open; so the wife came up to him and cried, \"Allah upon\nthee, O my lord, what wilt thou do with my playmate?\" Said he, \"I\nwill slay him!\" and said she, \"No, 'tis my opinion that thou\nhadst better pinion him and bind him as if crucified to the\npillar in the court floor and then smite him with thy sword upon\nthe neck and cut off his head; for I, during my born days, never\nsaw a criminal put to death and now 'tis my desire to sight one\ndone to die.\" \"Sooth is thy speech,\" quoth he: so he took the key\nand fitting it into the wooden bolt would have drawn it back, but\nit could not move because a tooth had been drawn therefrom and\nthe while he was rattling at the bolt his wife said to him, \"O my\nlord,'tis my desire that thou lop off his hands and his feet\nuntil he shall become marked by his maims;[FN#372] and after do\nthou smite his neck.\" \"A sensible speech,\" cried the husband and\nduring the whole time her mate was striving to pull the bolt she\nkept saying to him, \"Do this and do that with the fellow,\" and he\nceased not saying to her, \"'Tis well.\" All this and the Tailor\nsat hearkening to their words and melting in his skin; but at\nlast the wife burst out laughing until she fell upon her back and\nher husband asked her, \"Whereat this merriment?\" Answered she, \"I\nmake mock of thee for that thou art wanting in wits and wisdom.\"\nQuoth he, \"Wherefore?\" and quoth she, \"O my lord, had I a lover\nand had he been with me should I have told aught of him to thee?\nNay; I said in my mind, 'Do such and such with the Captain and\nlet's see whether he will believe or disbelieve.' Now when I\nspake thou didst credit me and it became apparent to me that thou\nart wanting in wits.\" Cried he to her, \"Allah disappoint thee!\nDost thou make jibe and jape of me? I also said in my thoughts,\n'How can a man be with her and she speak of him in the face of\nme?'\" So he arose and took seat with her, the twain close\ntogether, at the dinner-tray and she fell to morselling him and\nhe to morselling her, and they laughed and ate until they had\ntheir sufficiency and were filled; then they washed their hands\nand drank coffee. After this they were cheered and they toyed\ntogether and played the two-backed beast until their pleasure was\nfulfilled and this was about mid-afternoon--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\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 Seven 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\nYuzbashi fell to toying with his wife, and thrusting and foining\nat her cleft,[FN#373] her solution of continuity, and she\nwriggled to and fro to him, and bucked up and down, after which\nhe tumbled her and both were in gloria.[FN#374] This lasted until\nnear mid-afternoon when he arose and went forth to the Hammam.\nBut as soon as he left the house she opened the cabinet and\nbrought out the Tailor, saying, \"Hast thou seen what awaiteth\nthee, O pander, O impure? Now by Allah, an thou continue staring\nat the windows or durst bespeak me with one single word it shall\nbe the death of thee. This time I have set thee free, but a\nsecond time I will work to the wasting of thy heart's blood.\"\nCried he, \"I will do so no more; no, never!\" Thereupon said she\nto her slave-girl, \"O handmaid, open to him the door;\" and she\ndid so, and he fared forth (and he foully bewrayed as to his\nnether garments) until he had returned to his shop. Now when the\nEmir heard the tale of the Kazi, he rejoiced thereat and said to\nhim, \"Up and gang thy gait!\" so the judge went off garbed in his\ngaberdine and bonnet. Then said the house-master to his wife,\n\"This be one of the four, where's Number Two?\" Hereat she arose\nand opened the closet in which was the Gentleman and led him out\nby the hand till he stood before her husband, who looked hard at\nhim and was certified of him and recognised him as the\nSh\ufffdhbandar; so he said to him, \"O Khaw\ufffdjah, when didst thou make\nthee a droll?\"[FN#375] but the other returned to him neither\nanswer nor address and only bowed his brow groundwards. Quoth the\nhouse-master to him, \"Dance for us a wee and when thou shalt have\ndanced do thou tell us a tale.\" So he fell perforce to clapping\nhis hands and skipping about until he fell down of fatigue when\nhe said, \"O my lord, there is with me a rare story, and an\nexceeding strange if thou of thy grace accord attention to my\nwords.\" \"Tell on and I will listen to thee,\" quoth the other,\nwhereupon said the Gentleman, \"'Tis concerning the wiles of\nwomankind,\" and fell to relating the adventures of\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Syrian and the Three Women of Cairo.[FN#376]\n\n\n\nThere was a man, a Sh\ufffdm\ufffd, who came to the God-guarded city of\nMisr al-K\ufffdhirah--Misr of Mars--and with him was a store of money\nand merchandize and sumptuous clothing. He hired for himself a\nroom in a caravanserai, and having no slave, he was wont to go\nforth every day and roam about the city-thoroughfares and cater\nfor himself. Now this continued for a while of time till one day\nof the days, as he was wandering and diverting his mind by\nlooking to the right and to the left, he was met on the way by\nthree women who were leaning and swaying one towards other as\nthey walked on laughing aloud; and each and every of the three\nsurpassed her fellow in beauty and loveliness. When he looked at\nthem his mustachios curled[FN#377] at the sight and he accosted\nthem and addressed the trio, saying, \"May it be that ye will\ndrink coffee in my lodging?\" \"Indeed we will,\" said they, \"and we\nwill make mirth with thee and exceeding merriment, passing even\nthe will of thee.\" Quoth he, \"When shall it be?\" and quoth they,\n\"To-night we will come to thy place.\" He continued, \"I am living\nin a room of Such-and-such a Wak\ufffdlah.\"[FN#378] and they rejoined,\n\"Do thou make ready for us supper and we will visit thee after\nthe hour of night-prayers.\" He cried, \"These words are well; \" so\nthey left him and went their ways; and he, on the return way\nhome, bought flesh and greens and wine and perfumes; then, having\nreached his room, he cooked five kinds of meats without including\nrice and conserves, and made ready whatso for the table was\nsuitable. Now when it was supper-time behold, the women came in\nto him, all three wearing capotes[FN#379] over their dresses, and\nwhen they had entered they threw these cloaks off their shoulders\nand took their seats as they were moons. Hereupon the Syrian\narose and set before them the food-trays and they ate their\nsufficiency, after which he served to them the table of wine,\nwhereat they filled and passed to him and he accepted and swilled\nuntil his head whirled round, and as often as he looked at any\none of them and considered her in her mould of beauty and\nloveliness he was perplext and his wits were wildered. They\nceased not to be after such fashion until the noon o' night.--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 King suffer me to\nsurvive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Seven 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 Syrian\nand the three ladies ceased not to persevere in the drinking of\nwine until the noon o' night, at which time he would not\ndistinguish between masculine and feminine from the excess of his\nwine-bibbing, so he said to one of the three, \"Allah upon thee, O\nmy lady, what may be the name of thee?\" She replied, \"I am hight\n'Hast-thou-seen-aught-like-me?'\" Whereat he exclaimed, \"No,\nWall\ufffdhi!\" Then he up-propped himself on his elbow and rising from\nthe ground said to the second, \"Thou, O my lady, and life-blood\nof my heart, what is thy name?\" She answered, \"I am hight\n'Never-sawest-thou-my-like,'\" and he replied, \"Inshallah--what\nAllah willeth--O my lady Never-sawest-thou-my-like.\" Then said he\nto the third, \"And thou, O dearling of my heart, what may be the\nname of thee?\" And said she, \"I am hight\n'Look-at-me-and-thou-shalt-know-me.'\" When he heard these words\nhe cried out with a loud outcry and fell to the ground saying,\n\"No, by Allah, O my lady\nLook-at-me-and-thou-shalt-know-me.\"[FN#380] But when the three\nwomen regarded him his reason was upset and they forced upon him\nmore wine-bibbing whilst he cried to them, \"Fill for me, ho my\nlady Never-sawest-thou-my-like, and thou too, my lady\nHast-thou-seen-aught-like-me, and eke thou, O my lady\nLook-at-me-and-thou-shalt-know-me.\" And they drove him to drink\nstill more until he fell to the ground without a vein\nswelling[FN#381] for he had become drunken and dead drunk. When\nthey saw him in this condition they doffed his turband and\ncrowned him with a cap, and fringes projecting from the\npeak,[FN#382] which they had brought with them; then they arose\nand finding in his room a box full of raiment and ready money,\nthey rifled all that was therein. Presently they donned their\ndresses and, waiting until the door of the Wakalah was opened\nafter the call to the morning-prayer, they went their ways and\nthe Veiler vouchsafed them protection[FN#383] and they left the\nSyrian man in his room strown as a tried toper and unknowing what\nthe women had done with him of their wile and guile. Now when it\nwas the undurn-hour he awoke from his crapula and opening his\neyes, cried, \"Ho my lady Never-sawest-thou-my-like! and ho my\nlady Hast-thou-seen-aught-like-me! and ho my lady\nLook-at-me-and-thou-shalt-know-me!\" But none returned to him any\nreply. Then he pulled himself together and glanced carefully\naround but his sight fell not upon anyone beside him, so he arose\nand went to the box wherein he found never a single thing. This\nrestored him to his right senses and he recovered from his drink\nand cried, \"There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in\nAllah, the Glorious, the Great: this be a judgment they have\nwrought for me.\" Then he went forth still wearing the tall fringed cap and knowing nothing of himself and, when he had issued from his caravanserai, he cried to everyone he met in the streets, \"I am seeking Hast-thou-seen-aught-like-me?\" and the men would reply, \"No, I never sighted the like of thee;\" and to a second he would say, \"I am looking for one\nNever-sawest-thou-aught-like-me;\" and the other would answer,\n\"Indeed, I never beheld thy fellow;\" then he would ask a third,\n\"Hast thou seen one Look-at-me-and-thou-shalt-know-me?\" and the\nquestioned would answer, \"Indeed, I have looked at thee but I\nknow thee not at all.\" And he ceased not wandering about, bonnet\non head, and everyone who met him by the way returned to him the\nlike replies until he came upon a party of folk who were in front\nof a barber's booth.[FN#384] There he cried upon them also, \"Ah!\nHast-thou-seen-aught-like-me! and Ah! Never-sawest-thou-my-like!\nand Ah! Look-upon-me-and-thou-shalt-know-me!\" Hereat,\nunderstanding that he was touched in brain and this was a\njudgment that had been wrought upon him, they seized him and\nforced him into the barber's shop and bringing a mirror set it in\nhis hands. When he looked therein he found a fool's cap upon his\nhead, so forthwith he tore it off and took thought and said to\nthose present, \"Who of you can guide me to those three women?\"\nThey said to him, \"O Syrian, march off with thyself to thy own\nland for that the folk of Egypt can play with the egg and the\nstone.\"[FN#385] So he arose without stay and delay; then, taking\nwhat provaunt was sufficient for the way and what little of fine\nraiment had been left to him, he quitted Cairo intending for his\nown country. Now the Emir hearing this tale of the Shahbandar\nwondered thereof with extreme wonderment and said to the\nGentleman, \"An thou have finished do thou fare forth and go about\nthy business.\" Accordingly he went from him still garbed in\ngaberdine and bonnet on head when the house-master asked his\nwife, \"Who of them here remaineth with thee?\" And she answered,\n\"Have patience and I will bring thee the third.\" So she arose and\nopening another closet summoned the Flesher and taking him by the\nhand, whilst he was ashamed and abashed, led him till he stood\nbefore her spouse and the poor fellow availed not to raise his\neyes from the ground. Presently the husband considered him and\nknew him and was certified that he was Such-and-such the Chief\nButcher and head of the craft, so he said to him, \"Ho thou the\nclever one, do thou dance for us a wee and after that tell us a\ntale.\" Accordingly he stood up and clapped hands and fell to\ndancing and prancing till such time as he dropped down for\nfatigue; after which he said, \"O my lord, I have by me a tale\nanent the craft and cunning of women.\" Asked the other, \"And what\nmay it be?\" and the Butcher began to relate the tale of\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Lady with Two Coyntes.\n\n\n\nIt is told of a woman which was a fornicatress and adulteress and\na companion of catastrophes and calamities that she was married\nto a K\ufffdim-mak\ufffdm[FN#386] who had none of the will of mankind to\nwomankind, at all, at all. Now the wife was possessed of beauty\nand loveliness and she misliked him for that he had no desire to\ncarnal copulation, and there was in the house a Syce-man who was\ndying for his love of her. But her husband would never quit his\nquarters, and albeit her longing was that the horse-keeper might\npossess her person and that she and he might lie together, this\nwas impossible to her. She abode perplext for some sleight\nwherewith she might serve her mate, and presently she devised a\ndevice and said to him, \"O my lord, verily my mother is dead and\n'tis my wish to hie me and be present at her burial and receive\nvisits of condolence for her; and, if she have left aught by way\nof heritage, to take it and then fare back to thee.\" \"Thou mayest\ngo,\" said he, and said she, \"I dread to fare abroad alone and\nunattended; nor am I able to walk, my parent's house being afar.\nDo thou cry out to the Syce that he fetch me hither an ass and\naccompany me to the house of my mother, wherein I shall lie some\nthree nights after the fashion of folk.\" Hereupon he called to\nthe horse-keeper and when he came before him, ordered the man to\nbring an ass,[FN#387] and mount his mistress and hie with her;\nand the fellow, hearing these words, was hugely delighted. So he\ndid as he was bidden, but instead of going to the house they\ntwain, he and she, repaired to a garden carrying with them a\nflask of wine and disappeared for the whole day and made merry\nand took their pleasure[FN#388] until set of sun. Then the man\nbrought up the ass and mounting her thereon went to his own home,\nwhere the twain passed the entire night sleeping in mutual\nembrace on each other's bosoms, and took their joyance and\nenjoyment until it was morning tide. Hereupon he arose and did\nwith her as before, leading her to the garden, and the two, Syce\nand dame, ceased not to be after this fashion for three days\nsolacing themselves and making merry and tasting of love-liesse.\nOn the fourth day he said to her, \"Do thou return with us to the\nhouse of the Kaim-makam,\" and said she, \"No; not till we shall\nhave spent together three days more enjoying ourselves, I and\nthou, and making merry till such time as I have had my full will\nof thee and thou thy full will of me; and leave we yon\npreposterous pimp to lie stretched out, as do the dogs,[FN#389]\nenfolding his head between his two legs.\" So the twain ceased not\namusing themselves and taking their joyance and enjoyment until\nthey had ended the six days, and on the seventh they wended their\nway home. They found the Kaim-makam sitting beside a slave which\nwas an old negress; and quoth he, \"You have disappeared for a\nlong while!\" and quoth she, \"Yes, until we had ended with the\nvisits of condolence for that my mother was known to foyson of\nthe folk. But, O my lord, my parent (Allah have ruth upon her!)\nhath left and bequeathed to me a somewhat exceeding nice.\" \"What\nmay that be?\" asked he, and answered she, \"I will not tell thee\naught thereof at this time, nor indeed until we remain, I and\nthou, in privacy of night, when I will describe it unto thee.\"--\nAnd Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent\nand 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 Seven 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 woman\nsaid to her husband, \"My mother hath left and bequeathed to me\nsomewhat, but I will not tell thee thereof till the coming night\nwhen we twain shall be alone.\" \"'Tis well,\" said he; after which\nhe continued to address himself, \"Would Heaven I knew what hath\nbeen left by the mother of our Har\ufffdm!\"[FN#390] Now when darkness\ncame on and he and she had taken seats together, he asked her,\n\"What may be the legacy thy mother left?\" and she answered, \"O my\nlord, my mother hath bequeathed to me her Coynte being loath that\nit be given to other save myself and therefore I have brought it\nalong with me.\" Quoth he of his stupidity (for he was like unto a\ncosset),[FN#391] \"Ho thou, solace me with the sight of thy\nmother's Coynte.\" Hereupon she arose; and, doffing all she had on\nher of dress until she was mother-naked, said to him, \"O my lord,\nI have stuck on my mother's Coynte hard by and in continuation of\nmine own cleft and so the twain of them have remained each\nadjoining other between my hips.\" He continued, \"Let me see it;\"\nso she stood up before him and pointing to her parts, said, \"This\nwhich faceth thee is my coynte whereof thou art owner;\" after\nwhich she raised her backside and bowing her head groundwards\nshowed the nether end of her slit between the two swelling cheeks\nof her sit-upon, her seat of honour, crying, \"Look thou! this be\nthe Coynte of my mother; but, O my lord, 'tis my wish that we wed\nit unto some good man and pleasant who is faithful and true and\nnot likely treason to do, for that the Coynte of my mother must\nabide by me and whoso shall intermarry therewith I also must bow\ndown to him whilst he shall have his will thereof.\" Quoth the\nKaim-makam, \"O sensible say! but we must seek and find for\nourselves a man who shall be agreeable and trustworthy,\"\npresently adding, \"O woman, we will not give the Coynte of thy\nmother in marriage to some stranger lest he trouble thee and\ntrouble me also; so let us bestow this boon upon our own Syce.\"\nReplied the wife of her craft and cursedness, \"Haply, O my lord,\nthe horsekeeper will befit us not;\", yet the while she had set\nher heart upon him. Rejoined the Kaim-makam her husband, \"If so\nit be that he have shown thee want of respect we will surely\nrelieve him of his lot.\" But after so speaking he said a second\ntime, \"'Tis better that we give the Coynte of thy mother to the\nSyce;\" and she retorted, \"Well and good! but do thou oblige him\nthat he keep strait watch upon himself.\" Hereat the man summoned\nhis servant before him and said to him, \"Hear me, O Syce; verily\nthe mother of my wife to her hath bequeathed her Coynte, and 'tis\nour intent to bestow it upon thee in lawful wedlock; yet beware\nlest thou draw near that which is our own property.\" The\nhorsekeeper answered, \"No, O my lord, I never will.\" Now after\nthey arrived at that agreement concerning the matter in question,\nwhenever the wife waxed hot with heat of lust she would send for\nthe Syce and take him and repair with him, he and she, to a place\nof privacy within the Harem, whilst her mate remained sitting\nthoroughly satisfied, and they would enjoy themselves to the\nuttermost, after which the twain would come forth together. And\nthe Kaim-makam never ceased saying on such occasions, \"Beware, O\nSyce, lest thou poach upon that which is my property;\" and at\nsuch times the wife would exclaim, \"By Allah, O my lord, he is a\ntrue man and a trusty.\" So they continued for a while[FN#392] in\nthe enjoyment of their luxury and this was equally pleasurable to\nthe husband and wife and the lover. Now when the Emir heard this\ntale from the Butcher, he began laughing until he fell upon his\nback and anon he said to him, \"Wend thy ways about thine own\nwork;\" so the Flesher went forth from him not knowing what he\nshould do in his garb of gaberdine and bonnet. Hereupon the woman\narose and going to the fourth closet threw it open and summoned\nand led the Trader man by the hand and set him before her husband\nwho looked hard at him in his droll's dress and recognised him\nand was certified of him that he was his neighbour. So he said,\n\"Ho Such-an-one! Thou art our neighbour and never did we suspect\nthat thou wouldst strive to seduce our Har\ufffdm;[FN#393] nay rather\ndid we expect thee to keep watch and ward over us and fend off\nfrom us all evil.[FN#394] Now by Allah, those whom we have\ndismissed wrought us no foul wrong even as thou wroughtest us in\nthis affair; for thou at all events art our neighbour. Thou\ndeservest in this matter that I slay thee out of hand, but\nDefault cometh not save from the Defaulter; therefore I will do\nthee no harm at all as did I with thy fellows even save that\nneeds must thou tell us a tale whereby to rejoice us.\"[FN#395]\nQuoth he, \"Hearing and obeying,\" and herewith fell to relating\nthe story of\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Whorish Wife who Vaunted her Virtue.\n\n\n\nIt is related that once upon a time there was a man which was an\nastronomer[FN#396] and he had a wife who was singular in beauty\nand loveliness. Now she was ever and aye boasting and saying to\nhim, \"O man, there is not amongst womankind my peer in\nnobility[FN#397] and chastity;\" and as often as she repeated this\nsaying to him he would give credit to her words and cry,\n\"Wall\ufffdhi, no man hath a wife like unto the lady my wife for high\ncaste and continence!\" Now he was ever singing her praises in\nevery assembly; but one day of the days as he was sitting in a\ns\ufffdance of the great, who all were saying their says anent\nwomankind and feminine deeds and misdeeds, the man rose up and\nexclaimed, \"Amongst women there is none like my wife, for that\nshe is pure of blood and behaviour;\" hereat one of those present\nsaid to him, \"Thou liest, O certain person!\"--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\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 Seven 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 while the\nman was singing the praises of his spouse one of those present\nrose and said to him, \"Wall\ufffdhi, thou liest, O certain person!\"\n\"Wherein do I lie?\" quoth he, and quoth the other, \"I will teach\nthee and show thee manifestly whether thy wife be a lady or a\nwhore. Do thou rise up from amongst us and hie thee home and go\nthou in to her and say, 'O woman, I am intent upon travelling to\na certain place and being absent for a matter of four days and\nafter will return; so do thou arise, O woman, and bring me some\nbread and a mould of cheese by way of viaticum.' Then go thou\nforth from beside her and disappear for a while; and presently\nreturning home hide thee in a private place without uttering a\nword.\" Cried those present, \"By Allah, indeed these words may not\nbe blamed.\" Accordingly, the man went forth from them and fared\ntill he entered his house where he said, \"O woman, bring me\nsomething of provision for a journey: my design is to travel and\nto be absent for a space of four days or haply six.\" Cried the\nwife, \"O my lord, thou art about to desolate me nor can I on any\nwise bear parting from thee; and if thou needs must journey do\nthou take me with thee.\" Now when the man heard these the words\nof his wife he said to himself, \"By Allah, there cannot be the\nfellow of my spouse amongst the sum of womankind,\" presently\nadding to her, \"I shall be away from four to six days but do thou\nkeep watch and ward upon thyself and open not my door to anyone\nat all.\" Quoth she, \"O Man, how canst thou quit me?[FN#398] and\nindeed I cannot suffer such separation.\" Quoth he, \"I shall not\nlong be separated from thee;\" and so saying he fared forth from\nher and disappeared for the space of an hour, after which he\nreturned home softly walking and hid himself in a place where\nnone could see him. Now after the space of two hours behold, a\nCostermonger[FN#399] came into the house and she met him and\nsalam'd to him and said, \"What hast thou brought for me?\" \"Two\nlengths of sugar-cane,\" said he, and said she, \"Set them down in\na corner of the room.\" Then he asked her, \"Whither is thy husband\ngone?\" and she answered, \"On a journey: may Allah never bring him\nback nor write his name among the saved and our Lord deliver me\nfrom him as soon as possible!\" After this she embraced him and he\nembraced her and she kissed him and he kissed her and enjoyed her\nfavours till such time as he had his will of her; after which he\nwent his ways. When an hour had passed a Poulterer[FN#400] came\nto the house, whereupon she arose and salam'd to him and said,\n\"What hast thou brought me?\" He answered, \"A pair of\npigeon-poults;\" so she cried, \"Place them under yon\nvessel.\"[FN#401] Then the man went up to the woman and he\nembraced her and she embraced him and he tumbled[FN#402] her and\nshe tumbled him; after which he had his will of her and presently\nhe went off about his own business. When two hours or so had gone\nby there came to her another man which was a Gardener;[FN#403] so\nshe arose and met him with a meeting still fairer than the first\ntwo and asked him, \"What hast thou brought with thee?\" \"A\nsomewhat of pomegranates,\" answered he; so she took them from him\nand led him to a secret place where she left him and changed her\ndress and adorned herself and perfumed herself and Kohl'd[FN#404]\nher eyes. After that she returned to the pomegranate-man and fell\na-toying with him and he toyed with her and she hugged him and he\nhugged her and at last he rogered and had his wicked will of her\nand went his ways. Hereupon the woman doffed her sumptuous dress\nand garbed herself in her everyday garment. All this and the\nhusband was looking on through the chinks of the door behind\nwhich he was lurking and listening to whatso befel, and when all\nwas ended he went forth softly and waited awhile and anon\nreturned home. Hereupon the wife arose and her glance falling\nupon her husband she noted him and accosted him and salam'd to\nhim and said, \"Hast thou not been absent at all?\" Said he, \"O\nWoman, there befel me a tale on the way which may not be written\non any wise, save with foul water upon disks of dung,[FN#405] and\nindeed I have endured sore toil and travail, and had not Allah\n(be He praised and exalted!) saved me therefrom, I had never\nreturned.\" Quoth his wife, \"What hath befallen thee?\"--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 King suffer me to\nsurvive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n            The Seven 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 wife\nasked the husband saying, \"What hath befallen thee on thy way?\"\nAnd he answered, \"O Woman, when I went forth the town and took\nthe road, behold, a basilisk issued from his den and coming to\nthe highway stretched himself therealong, so I was unable to step\na single footstep; and indeed, O Woman, his length was that of\nyon sugar cane, brought by the Costermonger and which thou\nplacedst in the corner. Also he had hair upon his head like the\nfeathers of the pigeon-poults presented to thee by the\nPoulterer-man, and which thou hast set under the vessel; and\nlastly, O Woman, his head was like the pomegranates which thou\ntookest from the Market Gardener[FN#406] and carriedst within the\nhouse.\" Whenas the wife heard these words, she lost command of\nherself and her right senses went wrong and she became purblind\nand deaf, neither seeing nor hearing, because she was certified\nthat her spouse had sighted and eye-witnessed what she had\nwrought of waywardness and frowardness. Then the man continued to\nher, \"O Whore! O Fornicatress! O Adulteress! How durst thou say\nto me, 'There is not amongst womankind my better in nobility and\npurity?' and this day I have beheld with my own eyes what thy\nchastity may be. So do thou take thy belongings and go forth from\nme and be off with thyself to thine own folk.\" And so saying he\ndivorced her with the triple divorce and thrust her forth the\nhouse. Now when the Emir heard the aforetold tale from his\nneighbour, he rejoiced therein; this being a notable wile of the\nguiles of womankind which they are wont to work with men for\n\"Verily great is their craft.\"[FN#407] And presently he dismissed\nthe fourth lover, his neighbour, even as he had freed the other\nthree, and never again did such trouble befal him and his wife,\nor from Kazi or from any other.[FN#408] And to the same purport\n(quoth Shahrazad), to wit, the slights and snares of the sex,\nthey also tell the tale of\n\n\n\n\n\n             C\u008cLEBS THE DROLL AND HIS WIFE AND HER\n                          FOUR LOVERS.\n\n\n\nThere lived at the Court of a certain King a man wherewith he was\nwont to jest and this droll was unmated. So one day of the days\nthe Sultan said to him, \"O Man, thou art a bachelor, so suffer us\nto marry thee,\" and said the buffoon, \"No, O King of the Age;\nallow me to remain in single blessedness, for in womankind there\nis no rest and they work many a wile, and indeed I fear lest\nhaply we fall upon one who shall be of the fornicatresses, the\nadulteresses.\" Quoth the King, \"There is no help but that thou\nwed;\" and quoth the Droll, \"'Tis well, O King of the Age.\"\nHereupon the Sultan sent to summon the Wazir and bade him betroth\nthe man to a woman of righteous conduct and come of decent folk.\nNow the Minister had with him an old nurse, and he commanded her\nto find a match for the Sultan's Jester; whereupon she rose and\nwent out from him and engaged for the man a beautiful woman. And\npresently the marriage-tie was tied between these twain and he\nwent in unto the bride and she tarried with him a while of time\neven half a year or may be seven months. Now one day of the days\nthe King's Jester went forth his house ere the dawn-prayer had\nbeen called on some business for the Sultan, intending to return\nbefore rise of sun. Such was the case with him; but as regards\nhis wife, she had known when yet unmarried four men who to her\nwere the liefest of her companions and who, during the earlier\ndays of her wedding, had not been able to possess her. However,\non the morning when her husband fared forth from her before the\ncall to dawn-prayers, each and every of these four favoured\nlovers made up their minds to visit their playmate. Now one of\nthem was a Pieman[FN#409] and the second was an Herbalist[FN#410], the third was a Flesher and the fourth was the Shaykh of the Pipers[FN#411]. When the Droll went forth from his wife behold, the Pieman came and rapped at the door, whereat she\nopened to him and said, \"Thou hast come betimes,\" and said he, \"I\nhave minced the meat and I desired to work it up when I found\nthat the hour was too early and that no one was in the market. So\nI said to myself, 'Up with thee and go to Such-and-such a woman.'\" \"'Tis well,\" quoth she; but when they desired to make merry together, of a sudden the door was knocked; so quoth he to her, \"Who is this?\" and quoth she to him, \"I know not, but do thou hie\nand hide thee in yonder closet.\" He did her bidding, whereupon\nshe went forth and threw open the door when behold, it was the\nHerbalist and she said to him, \"This is a time betimes.\" Said he,\n\"By Allah, I was nighting in the garden and I have brought these\nsweet-scented herbs, and as the hour was over-early I said to\nmyself, 'Go thou to Such-and-such a woman and make merry, thou\nand she, for a wee.'\" So she let him in; but hardly had he\nsettled himself in his seat when suddenly the door was again\nrapped and he asked her, \"Who is this?\" and she answered, \"I know\nnot, but do thou hie and hide thee in yonder closet.\" So he went\nin and found the Pieman there seated and said to him, \"What thing\nmayest thou be?\"[FN#412] and said the other, \"I and thou are each\nlike other.\" Meanwhile the woman had gone forth and opened the\ndoor when behold, she was met by the Flesher whom she led within\nand then said to him, \"This is a time betimes.\" Quoth he, \"By\nAllah, I arose from sleep and slaughtered a ram[FN#413] and\nprepared the flesh for selling when I found that the hour was\nover-early and said I to myself, 'Take thee a piece of mutton-flesh and go thou in to a certain person and enjoy yourselves,\nthou and she, until the Bazar shall have opened.'\" But hardly had\nhe taken seat when came a fourth knock at the door, and as he\nheard this he was wonderstruck; so she said to him, \"Fear not,\nbut hie thee and hide thee within yonder closet.\" Accordingly he\nwent in and found the Pieman and the Herbalist there sitting and\nhe salam'd to the twain who returned his salute; then he asked\nthem, \"What hath brought you hither?\" and they answered, \"That\nwhich brought us brought also thee.\" He took seat with them while\nthe woman went and threw open the door and behold, she was met by\nher friend the Shaykh of the Pipers belonging to the Sultan, so\nshe brought him in and said to him, \"Indeed thy time is betimes.\"\nSaid he, \"Wall\ufffdhi, I went forth my home intending to fare and\nprepare the band[FN#414] in the Royal Palace when I found the\nhour was over-early, so said I to myself, 'Hie thee to a certain\nperson and make ye merry, thou and she, until the sun shall rise\nand thou art bound to wend palacewards.'\" \"'Tis well,\" quoth\nshe and seated him and designed to take seat beside him when\nbehold, came a rap at the door and he cried, \"Who is that?\" and\nshe replied, \"Allah only is Omniscient, but haply 'tis my\nhusband.\" So he was startled and afeard, and when she whispered\nto him, \"Up and enter yon closet,\" he did her bidding and found a-facing him therein the Pieman and the Herbalist and the Flesher\nto whom he said, \"Peace be upon you,\" and when they returned his\ngreeting he asked them, \"Ye, who brought you?\" They answered him\nsaying, \"That which brought us also brought thee.\" After this he\nsat beside them and the four remained seated in the closet and\nhuddled together, whilst each addressed himself saying, \"What now\nwilt thou do?\" Meanwhile the woman suddenly went forth and opened\nthe door when behold, it was her mate the Droll who walked in and\ntook seat; whereupon she asked him, \"And thou, why hast thou come\nat such an hour? 'tis not often thy wont to return early from the\nKing's presence. Haply thou art unwell, for thy custom is not to\nappear until near supper-tide and now thou hast forestalled our\nmeeting-time and hast returned a-morn. I suspect that he hath\nbespoken thee concerning some matter of urgent matters that thou\ncomest home at this hour; but haply thou wilt finish off such\nbusiness and hie thee back to the Sultan.\" Quoth he, \"By Allah, O\nWoman, when I fared forth hence and went to the King I found that\nhe had many and important affairs to settle, so he said, 'Hie\nthee to thy home and abide therein, nor return to me till after\nthe third day.'\"--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 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 Seven 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 when the\nKing's Jester went in to his wife she said, \"Thou, wherefore hast\nthou come so early?\" and said he, \"By Allah, the Sultan hath much\nand important business and said to me, 'Hie thee home, and tarry\nthere and return not to me save after the third day.'\" Now when\nthe four men who were closeted together heard these words they\nwere perplext as to their affair, and said one to other, \"What\nshall we do? Indeed we are unable to sit out three days in this\nstead.\" Hereupon the Pieman said to them, \"Nay, rather let us\nplay a prank whereby we may escape,\" and said they, \"What may be\nthe device thou wouldest devise?\" Quoth he, \"Whatso I do that do\nye look upon and then act in like guise,\" and so speaking he\narose and taking his minced meat fell to sticking it upon his\nskin until he was like a leper covered with sores.[FN#415] Then\nhe went forth the closet to the husband of the mistress, and\ncried, \"The Peace be upon you!\" The man returned his salute and\nasked him, \"What art thou?\" to which he made answer, \"I am the\nProphet Job the Ulcered, where is the way out of this?\" \"Here,\"\ncried the Jester, upon which Job passed out of the door and went\nabout his business and on such wise made his escape. Next the\nHerbalist stood up and opening his basket brought out fragrant\nherbs and fell to scattering them over his sconce and about it\nand over his ears,[FN#416] till such time as all his face was\nhidden in greens, after which he also went out and accosting the\nhouse-master said, \"The Peace be upon you!\" And when the man\nreturned the salam he asked him, \"Hath Job the Ulcered passed by\nthee on this path?\" \"Indeed he hath,\" said the other; \"but what\nmayst thou be?\" \"I am Al-Khizr, the Green Prophet\" (upon whom be\nThe Peace),[FN#417] and so saying he brushed by the Droll and\npassed through the door. Now when the second lover had gone forth\nand escaped, the Flesher arose and donning the ram's skin set its\nhorns upon his head and began crawling out of the closet upon all\nfours, hands and knees, until he stood before the husband of his\nbeloved, and said to him, \"The Peace be upon you!\" \"And upon you\nbe The Peace,\" returned the other, \"What mayst thou be?\" \"I am\nIskandar, Lord of the Two Horns,\" cried the other; \"say me, have\nthere passed by thee Job the Ulcered and Al-Khizr the Green\nProphet (upon whom be The Peace)?\" Quoth the house-master, \"They\nwent by this place and forewent thee.\" So the third lover passed\nthrough the doorway and escaped, and presently the Shaykh of the\nPipers rose to his feet and applying the mouthpiece of his pipe\nto his lips went up to his mistress's mate and said, \"The Peace\nbe upon you!\" and on the man returning his salam, asked him,\n\"Hath it so happened that Job the Ulcered and Al-Khizr the Green\nProphet and Iskandar Lord of the Two Horns passed this way?\"\n\"They have,\" answered the other, \"What art thou?\" Cried he, \"I am\nIsr\ufffdf\ufffdl,[FN#418] and 'tis my design forthright to blow the Last\nTrump.\" Hereupon the Droll straightway arose and laid hands upon\nhim crying, \"Y\ufffdllah, Y\ufffdllah,[FN#419] O my brother, blow not at\nall until we shall have gone, I and thou, to the Sultan.\" So\nsaying he took him by the hand and fared forth with him and\nceased not faring until he had carried him into the presence,\nwhen the King asked, \"Wherefore hast thou arrested this man?\"\nAnswered he, \"O King of the Age, this is our Lord Israfil and\n'twas his intent to blow the Last Trump, so I forbade him\ntherefrom until such time as I had brought him for thee to look\nupon, lest haply he might so have done without thy knowledge, and\nsaid I to myself, 'By Allah, better set him before the Sultan ere\nhe sound his Trumpet.' Furthermore I do pray for thy welfare, O\nKing of the Age, inasmuch as thou hast married me to this dame\nbecause I had fear of her lest she company with strange men. But\nI found her a saintly woman who admitted none of mankind save\nthat to-day when I went forth from thee at morning-tide I turned\nme homewards and going into my house caught with her three\nProphets and one Archangel and this is he who intended to blow\nthe Last Trump.\" Hereupon quoth the Sultan to him, \"O Man, art\nthou Jinn-mad? How canst thou have found with thy spouse any of\nthe Prophets as thou sayest?\" And quoth he, \"By Allah, O King of\nthe Age, whatso hath befallen me that I have reported to thee nor\nhave I hidden from thee aught.\" The King asked, \"Which was he of\nthe Prophets thou foundest beside thy wife?\" and he answered,\n\"The Prophet Job (on whom be The Peace) and after him came forth\nto me from a closet the Prophet Al-Khizr (on whom be the Peace!),\nand after him Iskandar Lord of the Two Horns (on whom be the\nPeace!) and lastly this the fourth is the Archangel Israfil.\" The\nSultan marvelled at his words, and exclaimed, \"Laud to the Lord!\nVerily this man whom thou entitlest Israfil is naught but the\nShaykh of my Pipers.\" \"I wist naught, O King of the Age,\" said\nthe other, \"but I have related to thee what hath occurred and\nwhat I beheld and eyewitnessed.\" Hereupon the Sultan understood\nthat the wife had friends who forgathered with her, and who had\nserved her husband with such sleight, so he said to the musician,\n\"O man, unless thou tell me truly what happened I will cut off\nthy head.\" Thereupon the Shaykh of the Pipers arose, and kissing\nground before the Sultan, said to him, \"O King of the Age, give\nme promise of immunity and I will relate to thee all that befel.\"\nQuoth the King, \"'Tis upon condition that thou tell no lies;\" and\nquoth the other, \"O King of the Age, verily, I will shun\nleasing.\"[FN#420] So the King gave him a pledge of safety, and\nthe Shaykh described everything that had been done and kept\nnothing back, and when the King heard the story and the trick\nwhich had been wrought by the woman's friends he marvelled\nthereat and cried, \"Allah kill all womankind,[FN#421] the\nfornicatresses, the adulteresses, the traitresses!\" After which\nhe despatched a posse of the Chamberlains to bring into his\npresence the four persons.--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 King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night\nand that was\n\n             The Seven 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 King\ndespatched a posse of his Chamberlains to bring into his presence\nthe four persons who were lovers to the Droll's wife, and he\nfound the first to be a Pieman who had claimed the rank of our\nlord Job (on whom be The Peace!), and the second to be a\nMarket-Gardener who sold savoury herbs and all manner fragrant\ngrowths, and he had made himself out to be Al-Khizr (on whom be\nThe Peace!), and the third to be a Butcher who had passed himself\noff as Iskandar, Lord of the Two Horns (on whom be The Peace!);\nwhilst the fourth, whom the Jester had brought, and who declared\nthat he was the Archangel Israfil, and was about to blow the Last\nTrump, proved to be the Shaykh of the Pipers. Now when the four\nwere before the King he gave orders to castrate them all save the\nShaykh[FN#422] this being the award of him who lewdly frequenteth\nthe women of the royal household. Hereupon they gelded them, and\neach one who was made a eunuch died without stay and delay; and\nthe Droll divorced his wife and sent her about her business.\n\nI have also by me (said Shahrazad) another tale concerning the\nwiles of womankind, and it is that of\n\n\n\n\n\n            THE GATE-KEEPER OF CAIRO AND THE CUNNING\n                       SHE-THIEF.[FN#423]\n\n\n\nIt is related that in Misr of K\ufffdhir there was a man who had\nreached the age of fourscore and ten years, and he was a\nchief-watchman of the ward in the service of the W\ufffdli; a brave\nman withal, and one not wont to be startled or afeard. Now one\nnight as he was going around about the city with the Chief of\nPolice, and he was returning to the guard-house[FN#424] before\nbreak o' day that he might perform the Wuz\ufffd-ablution, and at the\ncall to dawn-prayers he might rise and repeat them, it so\nfortuned that when he was about to stand up to his orisons,\naccording to the custom of him, suddenly a purse fell before him\nupon the ground. As soon as he had done with his devotions he\narose and gazed around to see who had thrown him that bag of\nmoney, but he could find nobody; so he took it up and opened it,\nwhen an hundred dinars met his sight. Hereat he wondered; but on\nthe following day when he had washed and was praying, behold, a\nsecond purse was cast at his feet; so he waited until he had\nfinished his orisons and then stood up and looked around to see\nwho had thrown it. Thereupon, as he failed to find any, he took\nit up and opened it and again beheld an hundred dinars, a matter\nwhich filled him with wonder. This continued till the third day\nat morning-tide, when he had washed as was his wont and stood up\nto his prayers, and lo and behold! another purse was dropped at\nhis feet. Herewith he cut short his devotions, and turning him\nround saw beside him a girl whose years had reached fifteen; so\nhe seized her and said, \"Who art thou, and what is the reason of\nthy throwing at my feet every day a purse of an hundred gold\npieces, and this is the third time; argal the sum amounteth to\nthree hundred. What may be this case?\" Said she, \"O my lord, my\nname is F\ufffdtimah, and my wish and will is a matter which thou\ncanst bring to an end for me by means of thy tongue!\" Quoth he,\n\"What is't thou wantest of me?\" and quoth she, \"'Tis my intent\nthat on the morrow I sham drunkenness with wine and cast myself\nbefore the mansion of the Kazi of the Army.[FN#425] Thou shalt\nfind me there strown upon the ground and dressed in all the best\nof my clothes and finest ornaments. So when thou shalt come to\nthat quarter and espy me lying there in drink do thou bid the\nLinkman move the links to and fro; then come forward, O\nMukaddam,[FN#426] and investigate the case and examine me, and\nsay the Wali, 'This girl is in liquor.' The Chief of Police shall\nreply to thee, 'Take her and carry her to the watch-house and\nkeep her there till day-break.'\"--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 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 when\nit was the next night, and that was\n\n            The Seven 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 quoth the\ngirl to the Mukaddam, \"And when thou shalt have found me drunken\nwith wine, the Wali shall bid thee, 'Take her to the watch-house\nand there keep her till daybreak.' Hereto do thou object, 'No!\nthis were not suitable: I will cry upon someone of the quarter\nand will awake the Kazi of the Army, for that she belongeth to\nhis ward.' Then assemble all thy folk and say to them, 'Verily\nthis girl is in liquor and not mistress of herself at such time;\nneeds must she be of a great family and daughter to grandees;\ntherefore 'twere not proper that we take her with us to the\nwatch-house; nor let any hold her in his charge save the Kazi of\nthe Army till morning and until such time as she shall have\nrecovered her senses and can fare to her own folk.'\" Hereupon\nquoth the Mukaddam to her, \"Easy enough!\" and quoth she, \"An thou\nact on this wise and my success be from thy hand, I will give\nthee five hundred dinars besides the three hundred.\" \"This matter\nis not far to us,\"[FN#427] said he; so she left him and went\naway. Now when it was the season after night-prayers, the Chief\nof Police came forth his quarters and, repairing to the\nwatch-house and taking the Mukaddam and his men, would have\nthreaded the highways of Cairo as was his wont, but the head\nGate-Keeper forewent him and took the direction of the quarter\nwherein dwelt the Kazi of the Army; the Wali unknowing the while\nwhat was in the man's thought. They ceased not faring until they\nentered that part of the town wherein stood the Judge's house,\nand when they approached it, lo and behold! the Mukaddam found a\nsomething strown upon the ground. So said he to the Linkman who\ncarried the light, \"O my son, do thou shake the torch,\" and when\nhe moved the link to and fro it illumined the whole quarter. Then\nthe Gate-Keeper came forward; and, looking at what was lying\nthere, found it to be a damsel in liquor dressed out with\nsumptuous dress and adorned with all her ornaments: so he said to\nthe Wali, \"O my Chief,[FN#428] this girl is drunken with wine and\nhath fallen on the ground;\" and said the Chief of Police, \"Take\nher up and carry her to the watch-house until morning.\" Hereupon\nquoth the Mukaddam, \"No! this were not fitting; nor is it\npossible for the like of this girl. She is in the ward of the\nKazi al-'Askar, to whose household haply she belongeth or to some\ngreat man in the quarter, and we fear lest befal her of evil\nmatters some matter and we shall come to be transgressors.\"\nHereupon, after applying some remedy to the damsel, they made her\nsit up and presently they called aloud upon the people of the\nquarter and awoke the Judge and when all the folk came out in a\nbody the Wali said to them, \"Look ye upon this girl; peradventure\nyou may know whose daughter she is.\" They came forward and\nexamined her and found her garbed in sumptuous garments and\ntrickt out with the whole of her ornaments, whereupon the Chief\nof Police and the Mukaddam of the Watchmen said to them, \"Indeed\n'tis not possible for us to remove yon maiden from this place; so\ndo you take her to your homes until morning-tide when she shall\nrecover and be able to care for herself and then fare to her own\nfolk.\" Hereat they made agreement that none should lodge her in\nhis house save the Kazi of the Army; so a party of the servants\nraised her and led her to his mansion and set her in a chamber\nhard by the open saloon; after which each and every of them fared\nforth to sleep in his own place. On this wise it befel the Wali\nand the Mukaddam and the Kazi and the folk of the ward; but as\nregards the affair of the damsel whom they found stretched on the\nground as one drunken, she on entering the Kazi's abode pulled\nherself together and recovered herself, for that she had wrought\nall this wily work for the special purpose of being led into the\nhouse there to carry out her wish and will. Presently the Judge\nlay down and was drowned in slumber and knew not what Allah had\ndestined to him from the plans and projects of the girl who,\nrising up at midnight, opened the door of her chamber leading\ninto the saloon where the Kazi al-'Askar kept all his hoards and\ncoin[FN#429] and dresses and belongings. Now she had appointed\nher people to meet her at that house, so they came and carried\noff the whole of what was in the saloon nor did they leave aught\ntherein, at all, at all, save only the matting. And when dawned\nthe morn, the Kazi of the Army arose and repaired to the saloon,\nas was his wont, for the purpose of dressing, but he found\ntherein nothing except the matting. So he buffeted his face with\nhis palms and wailed aloud whereat a party of his servants came\nto him and asked, \"What is the matter with thee, O our lord the\nKazi?\" then, on going into the saloon they remarked that it had\nbeen gutted of everything. So they went from him and threw open\nthe door of the chamber wherein they had placed the damsel but\nthey found her nowhere.--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 night\nan the King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night\nand that was\n\n            The Seven 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 Kazi's\nfolk went and threw open the door of the chamber wherein the\ndamsel had slept; and, when they found nothing therein, they were\ncertified it was she who had carried away the goods. After such\nfashion it happened to these; but as regards the action of the\nJudge, he took horse and wended his way to the Sultan, and he\nceased not wending till he had entered the presence and salam'd\nand blessed the Sovran who returned his salute. Then cried he, \"O\nKing of the Age, there hath befallen me that which is so-and-so,\nand I have a claim on the Chief of Police and the Mukaddam of the\nwatch, for that indeed they were the men who bade me admit the\ngirl into my home, and this guest of mine hath left me nor muchel\nnor little.\" Hereupon the King bade summon the men with their\nmany, and when they came before him, he bade strike off the heads\nof the two head men; but they said to him, \"O King of the Age,\ngrant us three days' respite and, if aught discover itself to us\nand we rid ourselves of the responsibility, we shall be saved;\nbut an we avail not thereto, the sword of the Sultan is long.\"\n\"Go forth,\" cried the King; \"I have granted you a three days'\ndelay; if you bring the offender 'tis well, and if not, your\nheads shall be in lieu thereof and eke so your families and your\nproperties.\" Hearing this they sued for dismissal, and the Wali\nwent forth to search in this way and wander in one direction and\nthe Mukaddam in another. They roamed about Cairo for two\nfull-told days, but naught happened to them until the third about\nthe call to noontide-prayers, when the Mukaddam entered a narrow\nstreet on the side of the city to the west, and behold, a door\nopened and a speaker spake saying, \"O Mukaddam, who is behind the\ndoor?\" So he turned towards the sound and said, \"'Tis well,\" and\nthe other cried, \"Come thou and draw near to me.\" He did so and\napproached the entrance when suddenly he saw the damsel who had\nshammed drunkenness[FN#430] and whom they had introduced into the\nKazi al-'Askar's house. Now when he accosted her and recognised\nher, he seized her and she asked him, \"Wherefore dost thou arrest\nme and what is thine intent to do with me?\" \"We will carry thee\nto the Sultan,\" answered he, \"and I and the Wali shall be set\nfree. During the last three days I have done nothing but wander\nabout in search of thee who hast wrought for us such work and\nafter hast fled from us.\" Quoth the girl, \"O clever one, had I\ndesigned the ruin of you I had never made myself manifest to\nthee, nor couldst thou have met me or forgathered with me:\nhowever, I will now work at freeing you from the hands of the\nSultan, that both thou and the Wali may escape and that you twain\nmay take from the Judge of the Army whatever of good you want and\nwill.\" Quoth he, \"How shall we do?\" and quoth she, \"I have by me\na white slave-girl the very likeness of myself and at this time I\nhave dressed her in my dresses and decorations and have cut her\nthroat, and by my cleverness and force of heart I have caused her\nto be carried to a ruin hard by the Kazi's house and have had her\nburied therein and have set over her a slab. So do thou fare\nhence and taking the Wali seek the Sultan and say him, 'We\nhave wandered about Misr, the whole thereof, but we have found\nnaught of our want, and now nothing remaineth to us save the\nhouse of the Kazi al-'Askar; so we desire to search therein and,\nif we find that damsel murthered, we will gather together the\nfolk of the quarter who saw us before that they may look upon\nher; and be the Judge also standing by that we may ask the\npeople, 'What say ye concerning this maiden?' when haply they may\nreply, 'This is the girl which was drunken with wine.' And as\nsoon as they shall bear witness that it is the same, you twain\nshall stay behind to converse with the Judge as ye desire and\ntake from him whatever you wish and will; and he shall sue you\nfor grace and for aidance. Then will he go up to the King and\nreport to him saying, 'I have found my debtor and I have\nrecovered from him all my good;' whereupon you shall be set free\nand eke I shall be freed. And finally do ye come hither to me and\nwe will divide all the plunder I have taken from the Kazi's\nhouse.\" Now when the damsel had made the old Watchman understand\nthese words, he left her, and going to the Wali, informed him of\nthe whole affair and reported all that the girl had communicated\nto him of treachery and plottings, whereupon the Chief of Police\ntook horse, and accompanied by the Mukaddam, rode to the\nPalace,--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 story, O sister mine,\nand how 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 Seven 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 Wali\nrode to the Palace, he and the chief Watchman, seeking the\nSultan, and they ceased not riding until they entered the\npresence and saluted the Sovran, praying for the endurance of his\nglory and the continuance of his life-tide. He returned their\nsalute and asked concerning the affair of his Judge and they\nanswered him, \"O King of the Age, verily we have wandered about\nMisr and the entirety thereof, without finding any and now there\nremaineth for our search naught save the quarters occupied by the\nKazi al-'Askar. So we design to examine it that if aught be found\ntherein we may be set free, and if not that thou work upon us\nthine own intent.\" Hereupon the Sultan sent to summon the Judge;\nand, when he made act of presence, commanded him suffer the Wali\nand the Mukaddam to search his quarters and he replied, \"Hearing\nand obeying.\" The whole forty then fared from the Palace and\nreaching the Judge's mansion rummaged it until they came upon the\nruined stead described by the damsel; so thither they went and\nseeing a slab newly laid, pulled it up and found beneath it a\nwhite girl full-dressed and ornamented.[FN#431] The Watchman\nfared forth and summoned all the ward-folk who considered\nnarrowly the corpse of the murthered damsel, and they all cried\nwith a single voice, \"Indeed this be the girl which was drunken\nwith wine and which was carried into the Kazi's quarters.\" And\nthey bore official testimony to such effect what while the Judge,\nwho was standing in that stead looking and listening, said to\nhimself, \"How can such case have occurred to us without cause?\"\nAnd when this business was finished, the Wali turned to the Kazi\nand said \"O Shaykh of Islam,[FN#432] we left this damsel in thy\ncharge and to thine honour until morning-tide, deeming that haply\nshe might be the daughter of a grandee house and yet hast thou\ncut her throat and hidden her within thy premises.\" But the Judge\ncould return to him no reply nor attempt any address, for he\nfeared lest the King should hear thereof; so he inclined to the\nMaster of Police and got ready for him an hundred purses and\ntwenty for the Mukaddam that they might keep silence and not\nreport such matter of scandal to the Sultan. Accordingly they\naccepted that amount of money from him and the Kazi went forth\nfrom him and took horse and informed the Sultan that he had found\nhis debtor and had recovered his due; but he spoke not these\nwords save for fear of the Chief of Police and the Head of the\nWatchmen lest they inform the King that they had found the\nmurthered damsel within his demesne. Then the Mukaddam repaired\nto the house where the She-thief had bespoken him and standing at\nthe door knocked thereat when those inside asked, \"Who mayest\nthou be?\" and he answered, \"I am seeking Fatimah!\" \"Who is\nFatimah?\" cried they, \"we have here nor Fatimah nor\nHal\ufffdmah.\"[FN#433] Thereupon quoth the Mukaddam, \"Indeed this\nFornicatress, this Adulteress hath wrought upon us and hath\nescaped us; but, seeing that we also have won free by virtue of\nthe wile she pointed out to us, we will leave her to time and\ndoubtless during the length of days we twain shall forgather\nagain.\" On this wise endeth the story (quoth Shahrazad); but I\nwill now relate a very different adventure and 'tis the\n\n\n\n\n\n                TALE OF MOHSIN AND MUSA.[FN#434]\n\n\n\nIt fortuned once upon a time that two men went forth from the\nsame place, one foregoing the other, and they forgathered by the\nway. Now each had a bag full of flour and a flask[FN#435]\ncontaining somewhat of water; and when they made acquaintance on\nthe road the first of them said to his companion, \"O my brother,\nwhat may be thy name?\" and said the Second, \"I am hight Mohsin,\nthe Beneficent,[FN#436] and thou what art thou called?\" Quoth\nthe other, \"M\ufffds\ufffd the Malignant.\"[FN#437] So the two fared on in\nconverse and whenever mealtime came round, each would bring out a\nportion of meal and knead it and make of it a scone,[FN#438] and\nlight a fire and bake it thereon: after which they would satisfy\ntheir hunger. But Mohsin knew not that had been doomed for him by\nhis companion Musa the Misdoer, so the twain would fare together\nand feed together. On the following day quoth Musa to Mohsin, \"O\nmy brother, I have with me a bag of flour and a flask of water\nand thou hast the same, and whenever eating-time cometh round\neach one bringeth out somewhat of his vivers. Now this is not\nright; 'twere the better way that we first eat that is with thee\nand when 'tis ended we use my provaunt.\" \"'Tis well, O my\nbrother,\" quoth Mohsin. They agreed upon this condition and\nwhenever moved by appetite they ate of Mohsin's viaticum until\nhis bag of flour and his flask of water were clean emptied. But\nwhen the meal-hour came, Musa arose and made for him a single\nscone and no more, and baked it and ate it by himself, while\nMohsin sat by looking on. This befel time after time for the\nfirst day and the second day until Mohsin waxed anhungered and\nfamine wrung his vitals, so quoth he to Musa, \"O my brother, give\nme somewhat of thy food that I may nourish myself therewith, for\nindeed I am empty exceedingly.\" But Musa made reply, \"By Allah, I\nwill not give it to thee; no, not a single mouthful.\" Rejoined\nMohsin, \"O my brother, we two made covenant that we should become\nbrethren, and first eat of my provaunt and then of thine; now,\nhowever, thou art not pleased to grant me or bite or sup. This is\nnot the act of an honest man.\" He answered, \"Be brief! an thou be\nhungry I will give thee half of my scone on condition that I\npluck out thine eye.\" \"How so, O my brother?\" rejoined Mohsin,\n\"Wilt thou blind me of one eye for the sake of half a scone?\nbetter leave me to die with my sight as it is.\" Said Musa, \"At\nthy pleasure!\"[FN#439] But on the third day Mohsin was like to\nsink for extreme hunger, and he cried, \"There is no Majesty and\nthere is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great. Do\nthou, O Musa, give the half-scone and pluck out one of mine\neyes.\" Musa did as he was bidden, and thrusting forth his finger\ngouged[FN#440] out the right eye, whereby Mohsin remained\npurblind, withal was he not filled by the half-scone. Now on the\nfourth day Mohsin waxed yet more ravenous and famine was right\nsore upon him, and he cried, \"There is no Majesty! by Allah, O\nMusa, my brother, I am a-famished, so pity me and the Lord shall\npity thee.\" Replied the other, \"I will give thee nothing until I\nshall have gouged out thine other eye.\" Quoth Mohsin, \"Verily we\nare Allah's and unto him we shall return! but, by the Almighty,\nfamishing is bitter; so do thou with me, O Musa, what the\nOmniscient hath predestined as to the plucking out of my two\neyes.\" Accordingly the man gave him the half scone and plucked\nout his other eye; and on such wise made him stone blind.\nHereupon Musa left his companion darkly tramping[FN#441] about\nthe roads. Now in the neighbourhood of that place was a well full\nof water;[FN#442] so when Mohsin drew near knowing nothing\nthereof, Musa came up and pushed him thereinto; and while falling\ninto the pit Mohsin said to himself, \"O Lord, thou hast doomed me\nto blinding and at last Thou hast condemned me to drowning.\"--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 King suffer me to\nsurvive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Seven 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 when Musa\nhad thrust Mohsin into the well with intent to drown him, the\nblinded man cried, \"O Lord thou hast doomed me to blinding, and\nat last Thou hast condemned me to drowning.\" Then he struck out\nwith hands and feet till he felt the walls of the well wherein he\nfound two niches; so he set toes into one of them and there stood\nawaiting the salvation of Allah which was nearhand; and his heart\nwas satisfied and he drank of the water. When the first night\nfell behold, two of the Jinns came to the pit and sat down in\nconverse each with other, when quoth the first to the second,\n\"Wall\ufffdhi! O certain person, there is now to be found nor sage nor\nleach, and all of them are preposterous pretenders and balkers of\nman's intent.\" Quoth the other, \"What may be these words?\" and\nthe former resumed, \"By Allah, I have possessed the daughter of\nthe Sultan and she is the dearling of my heart whom I love with\ndearest love; yet can none avail to unsorcel her of me.\" Quoth\nhis companion, \"And what would expel thee?\" And quoth he, \"Naught\nwill oust me save a black cock or a sable chicken; and whenas one\nshall bring such and cut his throat under her feet of a\nSaturday,[FN#443] I shall not have power to approach the city\nwherein she dwelleth.\" \"By Allah, O my brother,\" said the other,\n\"thou hast spoken sooth: there is in this land nor wizard nor\nmediciner who knoweth aught, and all of them are liars and\ncontradictors who lay claim to science without aught of\nintelligence; indeed there is not one of them who knoweth of this\ntree (which adjoineth our well) that whoso shall take the leaves\nthereof and plaster them upon his eyes, even though he be born\nblind he will be gifted with sight and wax sound after two or\nthree days by the kind permission of Allah Almighty. Yet are the\nfolk all heedless of such virtue in the tree.\" Now Mohsin\nremained listening to these words and pondering them as he stood\nsupported by the side-wall of the well, and when it was the last\nthird of the night, the Jinns which were conversing at the mouth\ntook leave each of other. And as soon as the day brake and the\ntime waxed bright behold there came a Kafilah which passed by the\npit seeking drink for themselves and water for their cattle.\nPresently they let down a bucket by a cord and when Mohsin felt\nthe rope he caught hold thereof, whereat the caravan people\ncried, \"We take refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned,\" and\nsaid one to other, \"Verily in this well is a Satan!\" Mohsin heard\ntheir words and answered them and said, \"Y\ufffd'llah[FN#444] Ho you,\ndraw me out hence, for verily I am of mankind and not of\nJinn-kind and being blind I fell yesterday into this hole.\" Cried\nthey, \"Catch tight hold of the cord,\" and when he did so they\ndrew him out and finding him weak from famine they gave him a\nsomewhat of food and he ate and drank. The caravan-folk on like\nguise drank from the well and watered their beasts; after which\nthey would have led Mohsin away with them but he said, \"O my\nbrethren (whose weal Allah increase[FN#445] and whose grace may\nHe reward!), I have a single want wherewith I fain ye would\nfavour me!\" Asked they, \"And what may that be?\" and he answered,\n\"That ye direct me to the tree which adjoineth this well and lead\nme close thereto and God shall gar your good to grow!\" Hereupon\none hent him by the hand and after doing as he desired and\nsetting him beside the tree returned to his own folk and the\ncaravan loaded and left the place. Presently Mohsin swarmed up\nthe trunk; and, taking seat upon a branch of its branches, fell\nto cropping the leaves and patching them upon either eye as he\nhad heard the Jinni prescribe; and hardly had two days gone by\nwhen he felt healed of his hurt and opened his eyelids and saw\nwhat was around him. Then, after taking somewhat of its foliage,\nhe came down from the tree and went on his wayfare until he\nentered a city and found him a lodging. When this was done he\nfell to threading the streets and ways crying aloud the while, \"I\nam the Leach, the Healer![FN#446] I am the Mediciner who can cure\nthe blind!\" whereat all the one-eyed and the sightless would\nsummon him with outcries and he would apply to them somewhat of\nhis leaves; and after two or three days (he superintending the\nwhile) they would open their eyes and see. On this wise went by a\nterm of time until at last the King of that city heard rumour of\na new leach; so he sent to him and summoned him and said to him,\n\"Art thou a clever Medicine-man even as they have informed me\nconcerning thee? I have a daughter ridden[FN#447] by a Jinni of\nthe Jann and we desire of thee that thou unsorcel her.\" \"And if I\navail not to free her?\" asked Mohsin, and the King answered,\n\"Then will I kill thee even as I have slain a many before thee\nwho have looked upon the face of the Princess.\" \"And if I prove\nable to deliver her and fend her from further offence?\" \"I will\ngive thee what thou askest of coin and hoards.\" \"No, O King of\nthe Age; this condition I will not accept: if I free her I must\ntake her to wife, for an I fail therein thou wilt slay me; and\nunless thou agree with me after I shall have saved her that thou\ne'en wed her to me\"--[FN#448] \"'Tis well, O Shaykh; and for\nreleasing her I give thee a delay of three months for visiting\nand healing her.\"--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 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 Seven 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 King\ncovenanted with the Mediciner that the unsorcelling of the\nPrincess should be within three months; after which he set apart\nan apartment for him with all the furniture and appurtenances\nthereof and appointed to him rations of meat and drink. So Mohsin\nabode with him the appointed time and he in the extreme of\ncomfort and enjoyment; but when the three months were ended the\nSultan sent for him and summoned him between his hands and said,\n\"O Shaykh, the term is gone by.\" Hereupon Shaykh Mohsin went\nforth and bought him a black cock and when Sabbath[FN#449] came\nround the Sultan presented him to his daughter whom he found in\nsore and sorrowful state, unknowing aught concerning herself or how the mishap had occurred\nto her. Now when he went in and looked upon her in such case, he\ndrew near to her and fell to reciting Koranic versets which avert\nevil (the Sultan sitting beside them the while); and at the last\nhe slaughtered the cock between her feet. Hereat the Princess\nrecovered her senses and rose up and sat down[FN#450] forthright\nand called for meat and drink which were brought to her; then she\nate and drank and besought for herself the guidance of God and\nsaid, \"Alhamdolillah\"--laud to the Lord--and presently she kissed\nthe hand of her sire and of Shaykh Mohsin. Quoth the King, \"O my\ndaughter, art thou indeed well?\" and quoth she, \"At this present\nI feel naught of pain in my person nor do I sense anything of\nwhat hath been with me; and all this is by blessing of yonder\nShaykh thou hast brought to me. But say me, O my father, what\nhast thou made over to him of money as a reward for unsorcelling\nme?\" \"O my daughter,\" replied he, \"I have offered him all he\nshall ask.\" But when the Princess recovered from her malady and\nreturned to self, she changed from mode to mode and she became as\none cast in the mould of beauty and loveliness and Shaykh Mohsin\nlooking upon her was dazed and amazed in his wits by cause of her\nexceeding comeliness and seemlihead. Presently the Princess\naddressed, \"O Shaykh Mohsin, what thing dost thou ask of the\nKing's Majesty?\" for indeed her heart was fulfilled of the love\nto him which had mastered her. Now the Wazir had a son and it was\nhis aim that his heir should marry the King's daughter, but this\nhis wish was in vain; for when she was certified that her\nsalvation was at the hand of Shaykh Mohsin, she said to her sire,\n\"Do thou, O my father, largesse what is dearest to thee upon my\nhealer.\"[FN#451] Her design in these words was that the Sultan\nmight bestow her to wife upon her deliverer, and she added,\n\"Indeed our joyance hath been at his hands and he is deserving of\nmunificence full and abundant.\" But again the object of her\nspeech was that her parent might espouse her to the Shaykh for\nthe love to Mohsin which had mastered her heart. Quoth her\nfather, \"O my daughter we will give him a sumptuous robe of\nhonour and ten purses;\" but quoth she, \"No, O my sire, this be\nnot gift sufficient for the like of such service.\" Now she was\nthe sole prop of her parents who had no child save herself, so\nthe King replied, \"O my daughter, I will give him whatso thou\nshalt say.\" Thereupon she asked him, \"How many of the folk came\nin to me and uncovered my shame[FN#452] and were slain therefor?\"\nand he answered, \"Some fifty.\" Then cried she, \"Had not Shaykh\nMohsin been able to exorcise me what hadst thou done with him?\"\n\"Indeed I had slain him.\" \"Then Alhamdolillah--Glory be to\nGod--for that my deliverance was at his hand: so do thou bestow\nupon him thy best,\" and so she spake for that she was ashamed to\nsay her sire, \"Wed me to him.\" The King not understanding the\nhint she had hinted said to her, \"All thou wishest I will\nlargesse to him;\" and she, \"I have spoken to thee but thou hast\nnot comprehended my words! All who have looked upon my shame and\nproved unable to deliver me thou wast wont to slay and this man\nhath been my salvation after seeing me unveiled: how then wilt\nthou gift him with money and means or condition with him when\nthou art unable to carry out thy compact?\" Hereupon the King\nbecame ware of what was in his daughter's mind and forthwith\nsending to summon the Kazi and witnesses he bade bind the\nmarriage-bond between her and Shaykh Mohsin and in due time let\nthem lead him to her in procession and suffer him go in unto her.\nSo he cohabited with the Princess a while of time, after which\nthe life-term of the Sultan drew near, and he fell sick of a\nsickness whereof he died. And when they had committed his remains\nto earth the Lords of the land and the Grandees of command\nforgathered and agreed in council that none should overrule them\nsave the Shaykh Mohsin. So they invested him with the signet-ring\nof Sovranty and seated him upon the throne of Kingship and he\nbecame Sovereign and Sultan. Moreover Allah Almighty enlightened\nhis heart in governance with justice and equity; and all the\nsubjects with the Notables of the realm and the Rulers of high\nrank blessed him and prayed for him. Now one day of the days\nSultan Mohsin felt desirous of solacing himself in the gardens;\nso he rode forth, he and his suite, when he suddenly sighted his\nwhilome comrade, the same who had plucked out one eye for half a\nscone and had gouged out the other eye for the other half. He\nbade them bring the man to the presence and when they set him\nbetween his hands he asked him saying, \"O Shaykh, what may be thy\nname?\" and he answered, \"I am hight Shaykh Mohammed.\" So he\ncarried him with his suite to the gardens where they abode until\nday ended, after which the Sultan rode back and entering his\npalace, bade bring Shaykh Mohammed whom he despatched to the\nHouse of Hospitality.[FN#453] On the third day he bade summon his\nguest after supper-tide and taking him by the hand led him into a\ncabinet and said, \"O Shaykh Mohammed, do thou tell us a\ntale.\"--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 Seven 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 when the\nKing entered the closet leading Mohammed by the hand he said to\nhim, \"Do thou, O Shaykh, tell us a tale.\" \"By Allah, O our lord,\"\nquoth the other, \"I know naught of stories.\" Whereupon the Sultan\nrejoined, \"If so it be, I will relate to thee, O Shaykh Mohammed,\nan adventure of my own and 'tis as follows:--Once upon a time a\nman went forth his town and he made companionship with another\nupon the way, and each one of them bore with him a bag of meal\nand a flask of water.\" On this wise the Sultan continued\nrecounting to him the real history of Mohsin and Musa the\nMalignant, till at the end of the tale he said, \"And Musa, after\ngouging out both eyes of Mohsin for the sake of a single scone,\nthrust him into a well designing to drown him therein, but Allah\nAlmighty preserved his life and brought him forth the pit and our\nLord favoured him and restored to him his two eyes and empowered\nhim over the kingdom and thus did he become Sovran and Sultan.\nNow the prosperity of that Shaykh Mohsin was from the well\nwhereinto Musa had thrust him.\" Presently he added, \"An this tale\nbe soothfast, then am I Mohsin and thou art Musa the Malignant. I\nam able at this moment to slay thee but I will spare thee and\nmoreover counsel thee as follows:--Do thou go to the well and\nhaply Almighty Allah shall thereby grant to thee some good, for\nthat the root of my fair fortune was from that same pit.\" Now\nwhen the first third of the night had sped, Musa arose and\nrepaired to the pit and descended therein when behold, the same\ntwo Jinnis had forgathered beside the wellmouth at that same hour\nand were seated together conversing each with other. Quoth the\nfirst, \"What is thy case this day?\" and quoth the second, \"By\nAllah, O my brother, my condition is ill-conditioned ever since a\ncertain night when we met in this place and talked together. And\nso it hath continued until the present time, for that I have been\nunable to approach the city wherein dwelleth the Sultan's\ndaughter: and someone that was in the well must have overheard us\nwhilst we knew naught of him and he must have acted according to\nour words and slaughtered the black cock; after which I have been\nunable to near her abode.\" Quoth the other, \"By Allah, O my\nbrother, thou hast spoken sooth; but our ill-constraint is from\nthis well.\" Hereupon the Jinni put forth his hand about the\npit[FN#454] and finding Musa the Misdoer snatched him up and\nseizing him between his palms tore his body into four pieces and\ncast away the quarters in some desert stead. And this (said\nShahrazad) is the award of whoso betrayeth his fellow man. And\nthey also relate the adventure of\n\n\n\n\n\n\n             MOHAMMED THE SHALABI AND HIS MISTRESS\n                     AND HIS WIFE.[FN#455]\n\n\n\nIt is told among the many things which happened in Cairo the\nGod-guarded that therein dwelt a man who was an Emir and who had\na son Mohammed Shalabi[FN#456] hight, a youth in his day unique\nfor beauty and loveliness, nor in his time was there his peer for\ncomeliness and seemlihead amongst women or amongst men. Now when\nhe had attained the age of ten and was approaching puberty, his\nsire betrothed him and wedded him to a fair wife who loved him\nwith fondest love even after marriage. There was also in Misr a\nKazi al-'Askar, a Judge of the Army, who had a daughter singular\nfor form and favour and bloom and brilliancy, and stature and\nsymmetric grace and she was known as Sitt al-Husn--the Lady of\nLoveliness. Now one chance day of the days she went forth\ntogether with her mother and the handmaidens to the Baths and\nwhen they reached the half way behold, they were confronted by\nthe young Shalabi whose glance fell upon the girl and her glance\nlit upon the youth, wherefrom love and affection for him settled\nin her heart and it was with him after the same fashion.\nPresently she began to send him messages and letters and he to do\non like guise, yet could neither win possession of other nor\nindeed could the twain meet privately in one place. This endured\nfor the space of three years therefore were their hearts melted\nin fire of mutual love-longing, until on a certain day when\ndesire in the girl surged high for her lover and likewise did his\nyearning for his beloved; withal neither availed to win union.\nHereupon befel them sore travail and trouble and the young lady\nsent an old woman to her dearling praying him to meet her in such\na site; and when the go-between had informed him thereof, he\narose to obey her without stay or delay, unknowing what was\nhidden from him in the Secret Purpose. He fared till he came to\nthe place in question when it was the hour of sunset and here the\nShalabi forgathered with the Kazi's daughter who had kept tryst\nwith him accompanied by her handmaidens; and anon the twain, he\nand she, repaired to a retired spot. Now by the decree of the\nDecreer which is written upon the foreheads and the brows of\nmankind, one of the folk belonging to the Chief of Police was\nloitering about the place when the couple entered that secret\nstead; and as soon as they had settled themselves comfortably,\neach began complaining to other of the pangs of separation. After\nthis the handmaidens brought to them food, meat and wine, and\nthey ate and drank and toyed and were cheered and made merry from\nset of sun till the noon o' night and they conversed together as\nboon companions until either was fulfilled of other and the pains\nof parting had vanished from their hearts. Such was the case with\nthe lover and the beloved; but as regards the Wali's man who was\nlooking upon them and listening, he well knew the place wherein\nthe couple had retired and having noted it and certified himself\nthereof, he went to the Chief of Police and made his report\nsaying, \"In such a site of such a ward are a man and a maid\nwhereupon show the signs of affluence, and doubtless an thou\nseize them thou shalt easily get from each and either some\nfifteen purses.\" The Wali hearing these words forthwith led out\nhis party and marched with them to the spot appointed; and he\nceased not wending for half the night until they all came to the\ntrysting place. Then he pushed forward axe[FN#457] in hand and\nsmote the door and broke it down; and forthright he rushed into\nthe room without being expected by the youth or the young lady\nwhom he found sitting together in the very height of enjoyment.\nBut when they saw him suddenly appear they were consterned and\nconfounded and confused as to their affair, so he arrested them\nand led them off and carried them to his house, where he placed\nthem in prison.[FN#458] Forthwith the bruit concerning the youth\nwent abroad and reached his family; to wit, how Mohammed Shalabi\nhad been seized by the Chief of Police, together with the girl\nhis beloved. Now after imprisoning them the Wali said, \"This pair\nshall remain with me for a day or two days and until I catch them\nin their robbery;\"[FN#459] but quoth one of the party, \"Indeed\nthou knowest not and thou hast not learnt that this damsel is the\ndaughter of the Kazi of the Army who throughout the past year\nwrought for the slaying of thee by the Sultan.\" And hardly had\nthe Wali heard these words than his heart was filled with joy and\nhe exclaimed, \"By Allah, needs must I have his wench disgraced\nand proclaimed by bell[FN#460] about the thoroughfares of Cairo\nand him dishonoured in the presence of the Sultan and degraded\nfrom his degree.\" Now when it was morning-tide a rumour flew\nabout town that the Judge's daughter had been seized by the Wali\nand the watch together with the young Shalabi in a certain place\nand presently the report reached her father who cried, \"There is\nno Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the\nGreat! O Saving God, save me! Oh vile disgrace and foul\ndishonour before Sultan and subjects who shall say the Kazi's\ndaughter hath been seduced and abused. However may the Veiler\nenveil me!\" On his part the Wali went up to the Palace and sought\nthe Sovran to acquaint him therewith; but, finding that he had\nbusiness, he sat him down to await its ending when he purposed\ninforming him concerning the daughter of his enemy the Chief\nKazi. On such wise it befel him; but as regards the wife of the\nyouth who was lover to the girl, as soon as the rumour reached\nher that the Shalabi had been arrested by the Wali and the watch,\nshe arose to her feet without stay and delay and doffing whatso\nof woman's dress was upon 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 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 when\nit was the next night and that was\n\n          The Seven 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 as soon as\nthe Shalabi's wife was informed touching her husband how the Wali\nhad seized him in company with the Kazi's daughter, she arose\nforthright and doffing whatso of woman's dress was upon her and\ndonning man's disguise provided herself with somewhat of\nprovaunt[FN#461] and went forth intending for the gaol in the\nWali's house. She asked for the road as she went and a man of the\npeople directed her to the office until she reached the place\ncarrying her victuals; then she enquired for the gaoler. So they\nmade him meet her and quoth she, \"Open to me the prison wherein\nthey have gaoled the Shalabi and the maiden,\" and she promised\nhim by signs a gold piece; hereupon he admitted her and she\npassed into the room where lay her spouse and the girl and set\nmeat before him. But he knew her not and cried, \"Indeed I will\nnor eat nor drink, and do thou fare from me and leave me in this\nmy plight.\" Quoth she, \"Nay, thou must eat and gladness shall\nbefal thee.\" Accordingly he came forward and ate a small matter\nand she after sitting with him for an hour or so, arose and\ndoffed her man's dress. Then she stripped the Kazi's daughter of\nall the clothes she was wearing and garbed her in the masculine\ngarb wherewith she had entered to the twain. The young lady did\nas she was bidden and showed likest to the Shalabi's wife who\nlastly served her with what remained of the meat and said to her,\n\"Up with thee and hie thee home.\" So the Kazi's daughter fared\nforth under the disguise of a dainty youth such an one as he who\nanon had entered the gaol; and as soon as she had wended her way\nthe wife took seat beside her husband. When he saw her habited in\nthe habit of the Kazi's daughter he recognised her and knew her\nfor his spouse; so he asked of her, \"What hath brought thee\nhither?\" and she answered, \"I have come with this contrivance for\nthe purpose of saving thee and of saving the honour of the girl\nthou lovest.\" But as soon as the Kazi's daughter had departed in\nher disguise the gaoler was deaf to entreaty and closed the\nprison doors upon the pair and the Shalabi and his spouse sat\ndown together and his heart was satisfied and his secret was\nsafe-directed,[FN#462] and fell from him all the sorrow which had\nsettled upon his heart. Such was the case with these two; but as\nregards the Chief of Police, when he went up to the Sultan and\nsaw that he was busied he took patience until the work was ended,\nafter which he came forward and kissed ground before him and\nsalam'd to him and blessed him. The King returned his salute and\nthen said, \"What is to do?\" and said he, \"O King of the Age, I\nfound during the past night the Lady Sitt al-Husn, daughter to\nthe Kazi al-'Askar, companying with her lover a certain Mohammed\nShalabi son of the Emir Such-and-such; so I seized the couple and\nconfined them by me and now I myself come to report the case in\nthy presence.\" When the Sultan heard these words, he was wroth\nwith exceeding wrath and his eyes flashed red and his outer\njugulars[FN#463] swelled and he foamed at the mouth and roaring\ncried, \"How can it be that the daughter of the Kazi al-Islam\ncompanieth with a lover and alloweth herself to be debauched? By\nAllah, needs must I slay her and slay her father and slay the\nyouth her lover.\" Thus befel it with the Sultan and the Wali; but\nas regards the matter of the girl Sitt al-Husn, when she went\nforth the prison in the dress of a Shalabi, a dainty youth, she\nceased not wending till she reached her paternal home. Here she\nrepaired to a place which was private and having doffed her man's\ndress garbed her in maidenly garments, then retiring secretly to\nher own room lay her down and her heart was heartened and trouble\nand turmoil and travail of mind fell from her. Now at that time\nher mother was lamenting like a funeral mourner and buffeting her\nface and her breast and kept crying out, \"Oh the shame of us! Oh\nthe dishonour of us! When they shall have informed the Sultan of\nthis, he shall surely slay her sire.\" And the Kazi waxed\ndistraught and full of thought and he also said in his mind, \"How\nshall I remain Kazi al-Islam when the folk of Cairo say, 'Verily\nthe daughter of our Lord High Chancellor hath been debauched?'\"\nWith these words he kept visiting his wife's apartment and\nsitting with her for awhile, then faring forth and coming in from\nplace to place[FN#464] and he wandered about like one bewildered\nof wits. When behold, a handmaid of the handmaidens entered the\nroom wherein lay the Kazi's daughter and finding her strown upon\nher bed looked upon her and recognised her. So she left her and\nrunning in her haste hied her to the mistress and cried, \"O my\nlady, indeed Sitt al-Husn of whom you are talking is lying down\nin such a room of the Harem.\" Thereupon the mother arose and went\nand came upon her daughter, so she rejoiced in her and returning\nto the Kazi in his apartment acquainted him therewith. He also\nrepaired to his daughter's bower and finding her therein quoth\nhe, \"Where hast thou been?\" Quoth she, \"O my father, my head\nbegan to ache after sunset-time, so I lay me down in this place.\"\nHereupon without stay or delay the Kazi took horse, he and his\nOfficials, and repaired to the Sultan--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 King suffer me to survive?\" Now\nwhen it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Seven 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 Kazi\nof the Army repaired to the Sultan, he and the whole of his\nofficials, and he ceased not wending until he entered the\npresence, where he salam'd and said, \"O King of the Age, is it\nlawful and allowed of Allah Almighty that thy Wali charge us with\ncalumnious charge and false?\" As the Chief of Police was standing\nhard by, the Sultan asked him, \"How can the Wali have mispoken\nthee and thy daughter when she is still imprisoned by him and in\nhis house?\" whereto the Chief of Police added, \"'Tis true! his\ndaughter is surely with us in durance vile, she along with her\nlover, for indeed I found the pair in such a place.\" Said the\nKazi, \"O King of the Age, I will abide here beside thee and do\nthou let the Wali go down and bring before thee that which is\nwith him in gaol, and the case shall be made manifest, because\nhearing with the ear is not like eyeing with the eye.\" The Sultan\nreplied, \"This rede is right,\" whereupon the Chief of Police\nreturned to his house and ordered the gaoler to open the gaol and\nbring thereout the maiden Sitt al-Husn and her lover the youth\nMohammed Shalabi. The man did his bidding and leading forth of\nprison the couple committed them to the Chief of Police who took\nthem and fared with them to the Sovran, rejoicing the while with\nall joy. The citizens of Cairo heard of all this, so they flocked\nin crowds to solace them with the spectacle; and when the Wali\nreached the presence, the maiden and the young man being with\nhim, he set them before the Sultan. Presently the King asked the\nyouth saying, \"Who mayest thou be, O young man, and who is thy\nfather?\" and answered he, \"I am son of such an Emir;\" when the\nKing who believed that she was the daughter of the Chief Kazi\ncontinued, \"And this maiden that is with thee, who may she be and\nwhose daughter?\" The youth replied, \"This is my wife, O King of\nthe Age,\" and the King rejoined, \"How can she be thy wife?\" So\nthe youth retorted, \"Indeed she is; and Such-an-one and So-and-so\nand Such-another together with a host of thy favoured courtiers\nwot right well that she is my spouse and that she is the daughter\nof So-and-so.\" Hereupon they accosted her and bespoke her and she\nbespake them, so they recognised her and were certified that she\nwas lawful wife to the Shalabi. Then asked the King, \"How is it\nthat the Wali arrested thee and her?\" and the youth answered, \"O\nKing of the Age, I went out with this my wife intending to enjoy\nourselves and, finding a place that was cheerful and pleasant we\ntarried there until midnight when the Wali broke in upon us and\nseized us, scandalously declaring that I was companying with the\nKazi's daughter. Then he carried us off and gaoled us in his\nhouse and now (Alhamdolillah!) here we are between thy hands. So\ndo thou whatso thou will and command according to Holy Law and\nwhoever shall deserve chastisement deal it to him, for thou art\nthe lord of our necks and the master of our good.\" Now when the\nyouth spake these words the King bade put to death the Chief of\nPolice and harry his house and enslave his women and he commanded\nthe Crier before the execution to cry about the thoroughfares of\nCairo in front of the Wali that he was being led to die and\ndeclare, \"This is the award of him who dishonoureth the noble and\nchargeth the folk with lying charges and false!\" After that they\nslew the Chief of Police and thus carried out the King's\ncommandment.--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 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 Seven 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 after the\nWali had been put to death the Sultan bestowed his good upon\nMohammed Shalabi and having gifted him with munificent gifts sent\nhim home with his spouse in all honour. And when the youth\nreturned to his quarters he fell to kissing his wife's hands and\nfeet, for that he had been saved at her hands by the stratagem\nshe had wrought for him and she had preserved the honour of the\nKazi's daughter and had enabled her father to prevail over his\nenemy the Wali.[FN#465] \"And now I will relate to thee\" (quoth\nShahrazad) \"another tale touching the wiles of women;\" and\nthereupon she fell to recounting the story of\n\n\n\n\n\n            THE FELLAH AND HIS WICKED WIFE.[FN#466]\n\n\n\nThere was of olden time in the land of Egypt a Fellah, or tiller\nof the ground, who had a fair woman to wife and she had another\nman to friend. The husband used to sow every year some fifty\nfadd\ufffdn[FN#467] of seeding-wheat wherein there was not one\nbarley-grain, and grind it in the mill and pass this meal to his\nspouse who would sift it and bolt it. Then would she take the\nsoftest and best of the flour to make thereof either scones or\ncakes[FN#468] or something more toothsome which she would give to\nher friend and feed him therewith, whereas the refuse of the\nflour[FN#469] she would make into loaves for her husband so this\nbread would be ruddy-brown of hue.[FN#470] Now every day about\ndawn-time the Fellah was wont fare to his field either to ear or\nto delve and tarry there working till noon at which time the wife\nwould send him the bread of bran and refuse flour, whilst to\nthose beside him who wrought as he did, would be brought from\ntheir homes white bread and clean. So they said, \"Ho certain\nperson! thy wheat is from fine sowing-seed, nor is there in it a\nbarley-corn, how then be your bread like unto barley?\" Quoth he,\n\"I know not.\" He remained in such case for a while of time whilst\nhis wife fed her playmate with all the good food and served to\nher husband the vilest of diet, until one chance day of the days\nthe Fellah took his plough and went off at early dawn to work and\nwrought till midday when his wife sent him his dinner of dirty\nbread. Hereupon he and his neighhours, who were earing in the\nsame field, took seat and each one set before him white bread and\nseeing the Fellah's scones brown as barley-meal they marvelled\nthereat. They had with them a scald-head boy who was sitting with\nthem at the noon-meal, so they said to the peasant, \"Take thee to\nservant this youngster and he shall manifest thee the case\nwherein thou art from the doings of thy dame.\" He obeyed their\nbidding--And Shahrazad was suprised 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 Seven 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 the Fellah\nobeyed their bidding and took with him the scald-head youngster\nfor house-service and on the second day the lad fell to grinding\nat the mill and carried the meal to his mistress and sat beside\nher and anon she rose and sifted and bolted the flour; still he\nstayed by her stealthily watching her while she kneaded it and\nballed it and breaded it. After this he carried off the early\nmeal for his master and faring to the field set it before him and\nwhen the Fellah looked upon it he cried, \"O Boy, by Allah this\nbread is white and 'tis clean unlike the foregone.\" Quoth he, \"O\nmy master, I have ground it with my own hands and I sat beside my\nmistress the while she got it ready, kneading it and baking it,\nwherefor she availed not to do aught else with it.\" Now when the\nservant-lad had left the hut her lover came in asking, \"Hast thou\nmade bread for me?\" and she answered, \"Indeed the boy with the\nscald-head ceased not sitting beside me, nor was I able to bake\naught for thee.\" But when the lad had gone forth to the field\nwith his master's dinner he set it before him and returned in hot\nhaste and hurry to the house, where he found the friend of his\nmistress conversing with her; so he hid himself behind the door\nand fell to overhearing them and to noting whatso they said.\nAmongst other things quoth she, \"Take this quartern of good wheat\nand clean grain and grind it in this mill and I will make thee a\nplatter of bread from handrubbed flour[FN#471] which I will send\nto thee on the morrow.\" Asked he, \"How shalt thou know the\nfield?\" and she answered, \"Carry with thee a basket of bran and\ndrop the contents as thou walkest along the highway; then leave\nit hard by the land belonging to thee and I will follow the\ntraces and find thee a-field; and so do thou remain at rest.\" All\nthis and the scald-head boy was standing behind the door\nhearkening to their words until he had understood them all. On\nthe next day the lad took a basket of bran which he scattered on\nthe way to his master's land and then sat with him whilst the\nwife, after baking the platter full of scones, carried it upon\nher head and fared forth intending for her lover in the field.\nShe marked the traces of the bran which the scald-head had\ndropped and she ceased not following them until she came to her\nhusband's field. Hereupon the lad arose and taking the platter\nfrom her said, \"By Allah, O my master, verily my mistress loveth\nthee and favoureth thee, for that she hath brought a bannock made\nfrom handrubbed grain;\" and so saying he set it before him.\nPresently she looked out of the corner of her eye and saw her\nlover ploughing at a little distance from them; so she said to\nher husband, \"Allah upon thee, O certain person, call aloud to\nso-and-so our neighbour that he may come and eat the noon-meal\nwith thee.\" The man said, \"'Tis well;\" and presently added, \"O\nBoy, go forth and shout to such-an-one.\" Now the lad had brought\nwith him a parcel of green dates, so he arose and scattered them\nat intervals upon the highway; and when he came to his mistress's\nlover he cried aloud, \"Do thou come dine with my master.\" But the\nman refused so to do wherefore the scald-head returned and said,\n\"He will not;\" and hereupon the wife bade her husband go himself\nand fetch him. The Fellah trudged along the highway and finding\nthereon the scattered dates bowed himself downwards to gather\nthem when the lover said to himself, \"This one is picking up\nstones wherewith to beat me;'\"[FN#472] and as he saw the man\noften stoop he fled and left the place, and the more the other\ncried to him, \"Come hither, O certain person,\" the faster sped he\nin his running.--And Shahrazad was suprised 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 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 Seven 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\nbenefiting, and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating,\nthat the more that man cried to the lover \"Come,\" the faster did\nhe run away; so the Fellah returned and said, \"He misliketh to\ncome and he hath fled.\" Hereupon he took seat together with the\nscald-head and the neighbours to dine off the scones of\nhand-rubbed grain, and the wife served to them whatso she had\nmade for her lover's eating and she would not touch aught thereof\nbut left it for her spouse and for his servant and for the\nneighbours. On the following day the Fellah went forth betimes to\nplough whilst the boy, delaying purposely at home, hid himself\nbehind the door when behold, the lover entered to her, and she\nsaid, \" 'Tis my desire that we forge a story whereby to slay my\nhusband and Master Scald-head the servant.\" Quoth he, \"How wilt\nthou slay them?\" and quoth she, \"I will buy for them poison and\nmake it up in cooked food, so they may devour it together and\nperish together; after which we will abide, I and thou, making\nmerry, nor shall the dead disturb us any more.\" He rejoined, \"Do\nwhat thou willest,\" and all this whilst the boy stood listening\nto them behind the door. But as soon as the lover went forth the\nhouse, the lad arose and retired; then, donning Jews' garb he\nshouldered a pair of saddle-bags and went about crying, \"Ho!\nAloes good for use. Ho! Pepper[FN#473] good for use. Ho! Kohl\ngood for use. Ho! Tutty good for use!\" Now when the woman saw him\nshe came forth the house and hailed him, \"Ho thou the Jew!\" and\nsaid he to her, \"Yes, O my lady.\" Then said she, \"Hast thou with\nthee aught of poison?\" and said he, \"How, O my lady? Have I not\nwith me poison of the hour?[FN#474] and whoever shall eat thereof\nin a mess of sweet milk[FN#475] and rice and clarified butter\nshall die within that time.\" \"Do thou take this dinar,\" continued\nshe, \"and give me somewhat of it;\" but he rejoined, \"I do not\ntrade for moneys, and I will sell it only for ornaments of\nprecious metal.\" Hereupon she pulled off one of her anklets and\nhanded it to him and he, who had provided himself with half a\nloaf of Egyptian sugar,[FN#476] gave her the moiety thereof,\nsaying, \"Use it with sweet milk and rice and clarified butter.\"\nShe took it in high glee, and arising milked the she-buffalo,\nafter which she boiled the loaf-sugar in the milk and then threw\nit into a sufficiency of the rice and the clarified butter,\nfancying the while that she was cooking a mortal meal,[FN#477]\nand lastly she ladled out the mess into a large platter. Now when\nit was sunset-time her husband returned from the field and was\nmet about half-way by the boy who told him all that he had\noverheard and how he had sold her the sugar for one of her\nanklets, saying, \"This be poison.\" Then he charged him that, as\nsoon as both of them should have swallowed the mess of milk and\nrice and clarified butter, they fall down and feign dead. So\nmaster and servant agreed upon this plan. And when the Fellah\nentered the hut she served to them the platter which contained\ntheir supper, and they ate the whole thereof, she sitting by\nintent upon their action and expecting their death. But they\nserved her with a sleight; for suddenly the Fellah changed\ncountenance and made as though he waxed ill and faint, and fell\nupon the ground like one in the last agony, and shortly after the\nboy rolled upon the floor on similar wise. Whenas she considered\nthem she exclaimed, \"May Allah have no mercy upon you; the\nwretches are dead!\" Hereupon she went out and called aloud to her\nlover, and as he was coming cried, \"Hie thee hither and enjoy the\nsight of these dead ones;\" so he hastened up to them, and seeing\nthem stretched upon the door said, \"They're dead.\" Presently\nquoth she, \"We two, I and thou, will now make merry;\" and so\nsaying she withdrew with him into another hut, intending at once\nto sleep together. Hereupon the husband arose and went in to them\nand smote the lover with a quarter-staff upon the neck and broke\nin his back bone,[FN#478] after which he turned to the wicked\nwoman his wife and struck her and split open her head, and left\nthe twain stone dead. And as soon as it was midnight he wrapped\nthem in a single sheet and carried them forth outside the\nvillage, and after choosing a place,[FN#479] dug a hole and\nthrust them therein. And ever after that same Fellah had rest\nfrom his wife, and he bound himself by a strong oath not to\ninterwed with womankind-never no more.[FN#480] And now (quoth\nShahrazad) I will recount to you another tale touching the wiles\nof women; and thereupon she fell to relating the adventure of\n\n\n\n\n\n              THE WOMAN WHO HUMOURED HER LOVER AT\n                 HER HUSBAND'S EXPENSE.[FN#481]\n\n\n\nThere was a man in Cairo and he had a wife who ever boasted of\nher gentle blood and her obedience and her docility and her fear\nof the Lord. Now she happened to have in the house a pair of\nfatted ganders[FN#482] and she also had a lover whom she kept in\nthe background. Presently the man came to visit her and seeing\nbeside her the plump birds felt his appetite sharpened by them,\nso he said to her, \"O Such-an-one, needs must thou let cook these\ntwo geese with the best of stuffing so that we may make merry\nover them, for that my mind is bent upon eating goose-flesh.\"\nQuoth she, \"'Tis right easy; and by thy life, O So-and-so, I will\nslaughter them and stuff them and thou shalt take them and carry\nthem home with thee and eat them, nor shall this pimp my husband\ntaste of them or even smell them.\" \"How wilt thou do?\" asked he,\nand she answered, \"I will serve him a sleight shall enter into\nhis brains and then give them to thee, for none is dear to me as\nthyself, O thou light of mine eyes; whereas this pander my mate\nshall not touch a bittock thereof.\" Upon this agreement the lover\nwent from her and when her husband returned at sunset-tide she\nsaid to him, \"Ho Man, how canst thou ever call thyself a man when\nthou never invitest anybody to thy house and no day of the days\nthou sayest me, 'I have a guest coming to us,' even as another\nwould do; and folk surely will talk of thee and declare thou art\na miser and unknowing the ways of generosity.\" \"O Woman,\" said\nhe, \"this were for me an easy business and to-morrow morning\n(Inshallah!) I will buy for thee flesh and rice and thou shalt\nlet cook for us or dinner or supper, whereto I will invite one of\nmy intimates.\" Quoth she to him, \"Nay, O Man; rather do thou buy\nfor me a pound of mince-meat; then slaughter the two geese and I\nwill stuff them and fry them, for that nothing is more savoury to\nset before guests.\" Said he, \"Upon my head and mine eye be it!\"\nand as soon as it was dawn he slaughtered the geese and went\nforth and bought a Rotolo of meat which he minced and took all\nwas required of rice and hot spices and what not else. These he\ncarried home to his wife and said to her, \"Do thou finish off thy\ncooking before midday when I will bring my guests,\" and presently\nhe fared forth from her. Then she arose and cleaned out the geese\nand stuffed them with minced meat and a portion of rice and\nalmonds and raisins;[FN#483] and fried them until they were well\ncooked; after which she sent for her lover and as soon as he came\nshe and he made merry together, and she gave him the geese which\nhe took up and left her.--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 night\nan the King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night\nand that was\n\n            The Seven 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 the woman\ngave to her lover the geese which she had fried and he took the\ntwain and fared away with them. Now when it was noon suddenly her\nhusband came home accompanied by a friend and knocked at the\ndoor; so she arose and opened to him and admitted them. Then she\nasked, \"And hast thou brought only one man?[FN#484] hie thee\nforth and fetch at least two or better still three.\" \"'Tis well,\"\nsaid he and went off to do her bidding. Then the woman accosted\nthe guest who came first and cried, \"Oh the pity of it! By Allah\nthou art lost and the L\ufffd Haul of Allah[FN#485] is upon thee and\ndoubtless thou hast no children.\" Now when the man heard these\nwords he exclaimed, \"Why, O Woman?\" for indeed fear and affright\nhad sunk deep into his heart. She rejoined, \"Verily my husband\nhath not brought thee hither save with the intention of cutting\noff thy precious stones the honours of thy yard[FN#486] and of\ngelding thee to a Castrato; and heigho and alas for thee whether\nthou die or whether thou live, and Oh the pity of it for thee!\"\nNow when the man heard this speech, he arose in haste and hurry\nand rushed out by the door, when behold, the husband came\nbringing with him two of his familiars. So the wife met him at\nthe entrance and said to him, \"O Man, O miserablest of men, O\nthou disappointed, O thou dissatisfied,[FN#487] thou hast brought\nto me a fellow which was a thief, a ne'er-do-well like unto\nthyself.\" \"How so?\" asked he, and she answered, \"The man stole\nthe two geese and stole away.\" Thereupon the husband went out and\ncatching sight of the guest running off shouted to him, \"Come\nback! Come back! even although thou bring only one with thee and\ntake the other.\" Cried the man in reply, \"An thou catch me do\nthou take thee the two.\" But the house-master meant the two geese\nwhilst the man who was running away thought only of himself,\nsaying in his mind, \"This one speaketh of my ballocks, meaning\nthat he will take only one of my stones[FN#488] and leave me the\nother.\" So he ceased not running and the other followed after\nhim, but being unable to catch him he returned to his guests and\nserved them with somewhat of bread and so forth, whilst the woman\nkept blaming him and knagging about the matter of the geese which\nshe said had been carried off, but which had been given by her to\nher lover. The husband enjoined her to silence; however she would\nnot hold her peace[FN#489] and on this wise he was balked of the\nmeal to feed his wife's friend. And now (quoth Shahrazad) I will\nrelate to you somewhat of the wiles of an honest woman, and\nthereupon she fell to recounting the adventure of\n\n\n\n\n\n                 THE KAZI SCHOOLED BY HIS WIFE.\n\n\n\nIt is related of a man which was a Kazi that he had a wife of the\nvirtuous and the righteous and of the charitable and the pitiful\nto the orphan and the pauper; and the same was beautiful\nexceedingly. Her husband held and was certified anent womankind\nthat all and every were like unto his spouse; so that when any\nmale masculant came into his court[FN#490] complaining about his\nrib he would deliver his decision that the man was a wrongdoer\nand that the woman was wronged. On such wise he did because he\nsaw that his wife was the pink of perfection and he opined that\nthe whole of her sex resembled her, and he knew naught of the\nwickedness and debauchery of the genus and their sorcery and\ntheir contrariety and the cunning contrivance wherewith they work\nupon men's wits. He abode all careless of such matters, in\nconsequence of the virtues of his spouse, until one chance day of\nthe days when suddenly a man came to him with a grievance about\nhis better half and showed how he had been evil entreated by her\nand how her misconduct was manifest and public. But when the man\nlaid his case before the Kazi and enlarged upon his charge, the\nJudge determined that he was in tort and that his wife was in the\nright; so the complainant went forth the court as one deaf and\nblind who could neither hear nor see. Moreover he was perplexed\nas to his affair, unknowing what he should do in the matter of\nhis helpmate and wherefore the Kazi had determined contrary to\njustice that he had ill-used his spouse. Now as to the Kazi's\nwife none could forgather with her;[FN#491] so the plaintiff was\ndistraught and confounded when he was met unexpectedly on the way\nby one who asked him, \"What may be thy case, O certain person,\nand how hath it befallen thee with the Kazi in the matter of thy\nrib?\" \"He hath given sentence,\" quoth the man, \"that I am the\nwrong-doer and that she is the wronged, and I know not how I\nshall act.\" Whereupon quoth the other, \"Return and take thy\nstation hard by the entrance to the Judge's Harem and place thyself\nunder the protection of its inmates.\" The man did as his friend\nadvised him and knocked, when a handmaiden came out and he said\nto her, \"O Damsel, 'tis my desire that thou send me hither thy\nlady, so I may bespeak her with a single word.\" She went in and\ninformed her mistress[FN#492] who rose and humoured him, and\nstanding veiled behind the door asked, \"What is to do with thee,\nO man?\" \"O my lady,\" said he, \"I place myself under thy ward and\nthine honour, so thou enable me to get justice of my wife and\novercome her and prevail over her, for in very deed she hath\nwronged me and disgraced me. I came to complain of her\nill-conduct before His Honour our lord the Kazi, yet he hath\ndetermined that I am the wrong-doer and have injured her while\nshe is the wronged. I know not what I shall do with him, and\nsundry of the folk have informed me that thou art of the\nbeneficent; so I require that thou charge for me the Judge to\ndeliver according to Holy Law his decree between me and my mate.\"\nQuoth she, \"Go thou and take thy rest, nor do thou return to him\nuntil he shall have sent after thee, and fear not aught from him\nat all.\" \"Allah increase thy weal, O my lady,\" quoth he, and he\nleft her and went about his business pondering his case and\nsaying to himself in mind, \"Oh would Heaven I wot whether the\nKazi's wife will protect me and deliver me from this\nfornicatress, this adulteress, who hath outraged me and carried\naway my good and driven me forth from her.\" Now when it was\nnight-tide and the Judge was at leisure from his commandments, he\nwent into his Harem, and it was his wife's custom whenever he\nreturned home to meet him at the middle doorway. But as on that\noccasion she failed so to do, he walked into the apartment\nwherein she woned and found her at prayers; then he recalled to\nmind the contention of the man who had come to him with a\ngrievance against his spouse--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 she,\n\"And where is this compared with that I would relate on the\ncoming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was\nthe next night and that was\n\n           The Seven 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 when the\nKazi went in to his wife whom he found praying, he recalled to\nmind the matter of the man who had come to him with a contention\nagainst his spouse and he said in his thought, \"Verily nor\nhurting nor harming ever cometh from womankind and indeed this\nliar complaineth of his wife falsely;\" for it was still in his\nmind that all of the contrary sex are as virtuous as his lady.\nBut when she had done with her devotions, she rose up to him and\nserved him and set before him, she and her handmaidens, the tray\nof food and she sat down at meat with him as was her wont. Now\namongst the dishes was a charger containing two chickens, so said\nshe to her husband, \"By Allah, O my lord, do thou buy for us\nto-morrow a couple of geese that I may let stuff them, for my\nheart is set upon eating of their meat.\" Said he, \"O my lady,\nto-morrow (Inshallah! an it be the will of the Almighty) I will\nsend to the Bazar and let buy for thee two geese of the biggest\nand the fattest and the Eunuchs shall slaughter them and thou\nshalt use them as thou will.\" Accordingly, at dawn-tide the Judge\nsent to buy two plump birds and bade the Eunuchs cut their\nthroats and the handmaidens gutted them and stuffed them and\ncooked them with rice over and above the usual food. Thereupon\nthe Kazi's wife arose and proceeded to work her contrivance. She\nhad bought two sparrows which the hunter had trapped; and she\nbade kill and dress them and place them upon the rice instead of\nthe geese and awaited the even-tide when her husband would return\nto supper. Then they spread the tables whereupon was placed a\ncovered platter under which he supposed stood the geese, so he\ntook it off and behold, he found the two sparrows. Hereat he was\nperplext and said to his wife, \"Allaho Akbar-God is most\nGreat-where be the geese?\" and said she to him, \"Whatso thou\nbroughtest here it be[FN#493] before thee upon the dish.\" \"These\nbe two sparrows,\" quoth he, and quoth she, \"I wot not.\" So the\nJudge arose displeased[FN#494] with his wife and going to her\nhome fetched her father and as she saw him coming, she stood up\nand whipping off the two small birds placed the big ones in their\nstead; and he uncovered the plate and found the geese. So he said\nto his son-in-law, \"Thou declarest that these be sparrows but\nindeed they are geese;\" for he also was deceived and went forth\nin displeasure with the Judge, after which the Kazi followed in\nhis footstep and soothed him and invited him to meat but he would\nnot return with him. Hereupon the husband padlocked the door but,\nbefore he had entered, the wife had substituted the birdies for\nthe big birds and when her mate sat down to meat and would fain\nhave eaten he uncovered the platter and beheld the two sparrows.\nSeeing this he was like to go out of his mind and he cried aloud,\n\"Wall\ufffdhi! indeed this be a portentous calamity,\" and he went\nforth, trotting in his haste, until he met his father-in-law upon\nthe way. Then he cried upon him and said, \"Come and look at the\ntwo geese which were in the platter.\" \"Wherefore?\" asked the\nother and answered he, \"Because I found them changed to two\nsparrows.\" Hereupon the father returned with him to the house and\nwalked up to the table whence the lady, during her husband's\nabsence, had removed the birdies and replaced the birds in lieu\nof them. So the father took off the cover and finding before him\nthe pair of geese said to his son-in-law, \"Be these two geese?\nconsider them well whether they be sparrows or not.\" \"Two geese,\"\nsaid the other and said the sire, \"Then why dost thou come to me\na second and a several time and bring me hither and complain of\nmy daughter?\" Hereupon he left him and went forth an-angered and\nthe Judge came up with him at the doorway and soothed him and\nconjured him to return. Meanwhile the lady arose and whipping off\nthe geese set the two birdies in lieu thereof and covered them\nup; and as soon as the Kazi returned and sat down to meat he\nremoved the cover from the platter and found the two sparrows.\nHereat he shrieked aloud and arose and went forth the door and\ncried, \"Ho Moslems, come ye to my help!\"[FN#495] Now when the\npeople of the quarter heard the outcry, they gathered together\nabout the house, when the lady seized the occasion to carry off\nthe two birdies and to set in lieu of them the two geese. Asked\nthey, \"What is to do with thee, O our lord the Kazi, and what\nhath befallen thee?\" and he answered, \"I bought two geese for our\nsupper and now I find them turned into two sparrows;\" and so\nsaying he led the Notables of the quarter into his house and\nshowed them the dish. They uncovered it and found therein two\ngeese, so they exclaimed, \"These be two geese which thou callest\nsparrows;\" and so saying they left him and went their ways. He\nfollowed them making excuses and was absent for a while, when his\nwife took the birds and set the birdies in place of them and when\nthe Kazi returned and proceeded to sit down at meat he uncovered\nthe platter and behold, thereon stood the two sparrows. So he\nsmote hand upon hand crying, \"These be two sparrows without doubt\nor hesitation;\" whereat his wife arose and called out with a loud\nvoice, \"O ye Moslems, help ye a Moslemah.\"[FN#496] So the folk\nran to her aidance and asked her saying, \"What is to do, O our\nlady?\" and she answered, \"Verily my calamity is grievous and\nthere is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the\nGlorious, the Great. My husband the Kazi hath gone Jinn-mad and\ndo you of our grace and benevolence lay hold of him and carry him\nto the M\ufffdrist\ufffdn.\"--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 King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night\nand that was\n\n           The Seven 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\nJudge's wife cried upon the folk of the quarter, \"Do ye of your\ngrace and benevolence to us seize the Kazi and carry him to the\nMaristan that they may confine him therein until he return to his\nreason and regain his right mind.\" Hereupon they laid hands upon\nhim and bore him to the Bedlam and imprisoned him therein amongst\nthe maniacs, and it was certified to all the folk that their Kazi\nhad been suddenly struck by insanity and that they had confined\nhim in the madhouse. Now all this was of the cunning contrivance\nof his wife, that she might make manifest to him concerning\nwomankind how none of mankind can prevail over them. But after\nthe lapse of three days which the Judge passed in the Bedlam, his\nwife went in to him bringing a somewhat of food and set meat\nbefore him and asked him saying, \"What was it thou foundest on\nthe platter?\" Answered he, \"Two sparrows,\" and continued she,\n\"Recover thy senses and thy right mind and see here am I who have\nmade thee out mad for thy confusion between two geese and two\nsparrows. Now whenever any man cometh to thee complaining of his\nwife (and thou unknowing aught of the couple and of their\ncircumstances), thou determinest that the male is the evil-doer\nand withal thou wottest not that women are often the worst of\nwrongers and that men are sorely wronged by them. And in the\nmatter now in hand, the whole of the folk declare that the Kazi\nis a wrong-doer to his wife, and no one knoweth that thou art\nreally the wronged and I the wronger. Indeed sooth did he say who\nsaid, 'Alas for those who be gaoled wrongfully!' So do thou never\ndecide aught thou knowest not. However, thou hast approved to\nthyself that I am true and loyal to thee and thou makest all the\nfolk like one to other, but this is a sore injury to some. In the\npresent case do thou send for the man who is wronged and let\nbring him to thy presence and bid his wife be also present and do\nhim justice of her.\" After this she removed her husband from the\nM\ufffdrist\ufffdn and went her ways, and the Kazi did with the man as his\nlady had charged him do and whenever a plaintiff came before him\nwith a grievance against his wife he would decide that the man\nwas the wronged and the woman was the wronger, and he ceased not\ndoing after this fashion for a while of time. And now (quoth\nShahrazad) I will relate to you another history of womankind and\nthis is the tale of\n\n\n\n\n\n\n             THE MERCHANT'S DAUGHTER AND THE PRINCE\n                      OF AL-IRAK.[FN#497]\n\n\n\nWhilome there was, men say, a Khwajah, a merchant man who was\nlord of money and means and estates and endowments and appanages,\nwithal he had no seed, or son or daughter, and therefore he sued\nAlmighty Allah that he might be blessed with even a girl-child to\ninherit his good and keep it together. Suddenly he heard a Voice\nbespeak him in dreamery saying, \"Ho Such-an-one, Predestination\novercometh Prudence and resignation to the trials sent by Allah\nis foremost and fairest.\" Hearing this he arose without stay or\ndelay and casually[FN#498] slept with his wife who, by decree of\nthe Decreer and by allowance of Allah Almighty, conceived that\nvery night. When she became pregnant and the signs of gestation\nshowed in her, the merchant rejoiced and distributed and doled\nand did alms-deed; and, as soon as her tale of days was\nfulfilled, there befel her what befalleth womankind of\nlabour-pangs, and parturition came with its madding pains and the\ndolours of delivery, after which she brought forth a girl-babe\nmoulded in mould of beauty and loveliness and showing promise of\nbrilliance and stature and symmetric grace. Now on the night\nafter the birth and when it was the middle thereof, the Merchant\nwas sitting at converse beside his wife and suddenly he again\nheard the Voice announcing to him that his daughter was fated to\nbecome a mother in illicit guise by the son of a King who reigned\nin the region Al-Irak. He turned him towards the sound but could\nsee no man at such time, and presently he reflected that between\nhis city and the capital of the King's son in Al-Irak was a\ndistance of six months and a moiety. Now the night wherein the\nMerchant's wife became a mother was the same when the King's wife\nof Al-Irak bare a boy-heir, and the Merchant, albe he wist naught\nthereof, was seized with trembling and terror at the words of the\nVoice and said in himself, \"How shall my daughter forgather with\nthe King's son in question when between us and him is a travel of\nsix months and a half? What can be such case? But haply this\nVoice is of a Satan!\" As soon as it was morning-tide the father\nsummoned astrologers and men who compute horoscopes and scribes\nwho cast lots,[FN#499] and when they presented themselves he\ninformed them that a daughter had been added to his household and\nhis aim was to see what the prognostic[FN#500] might be. Hereupon\nall and every wrought at his art and mystery, and it was shown\nthat the Merchant's daughter would become a mother by the son of\na King and this would be in the way of unright: but so far from\ninforming him of this or suffering him to learn concerning of her\ncircumstance they said, \"The future none wotteth it save Allah\nAlmighty and our craft at times proveth soothfast and at times\nfalsifieth us.\" However the Khwajah's heart was on no wise\nsatisfied and he ceased not to suffer patiently nor did rest\nrepose him nor were meat and sleep to him sweet for the space of\ntwo years, during which his daughter was suckled and in due time\nwas weaned. The father never ceased pondering how he should act\ntowards his child and at sundry times he would say, \"Let us slay\nher and rest from her,\" and at other times he would exclaim, \"Let\nus remove her to a stead where none shall approach her or of\nman-kind or of Jinn-kind.\" Withal did none point out a path to\npursue nor did any guide him to any course of the courses he\nmight adopt. Now one day of the days he fared forth his house\nunknowing whither he should wend and he stinted not wending until\nhe found himself without the town,--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 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 Seven 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\nKhwajah stinted not wending until he found himself without the\ntown, where he was expectedly met by a wight in Darwaysh-garb to\nwhom he salam'd and by whom he was saluted. Presently the holy\nman turned to the merchant and seeing him changed of colour and\nconduct asked him, \"What is with thee to do, and what ill hast\nthou to rue that thy case and complexion are so changed to view?\"\n\"O Fakir,\" answered the other, \"verily a matter of marvel hath\nbetided me and I know not how to act therein.\" Quoth the ghostly\nman, \"And what may that be?\" whereupon the Merchant related to\nhim all his affair first and last, and how he had heard a Voice\nsaying to him, \"In very deed thy daughter shall conceive after\nunlawful fashion by the King's son of Al-Irak.\" The Darwaysh was\nsurprised on hearing these words from him and said in his\nthought, \"There is no averting of adversity foredoomed and Allah\nwill do whatso he will;\" presently adding, \"O Khwajah, in yonder\ndirection riseth a mountain Jabal al-Sah\ufffdb[FN#501] hight, which\nis impenetrable or to mankind or to Jinn-kind; but given thou\navail to reach it thou wilt find therein and about the middle\ncombe thereof a vast cavern two miles in breadth by an hundred\nlong. Here, an thou have in thee force and thou attain thereto\nand lodge thy daughter, haply shall Allah Almighty conserve and\npreserve the maid from what evils thou heardest the Voice declare\nto thee for her destiny: however, thou shalt on no wise reach\nthose highlands until thou shalt have expended thereon a matter\nof much money. Moreover at the head and front of that\ncave[FN#502] is an inner crevice which, extending to the\nmountain-top, admitteth daylight into its depths and displayeth a\nsmall pavilion by whose side be five-fold pleasaunce-gardens with\nflowers and fruits and rills and trees besprent and birds hymning\nAllah, the One, the Omnipotent. Now an thou avail to convey thy\ndaughter to that place, she shall dwell there secure,\nsafe-guarded.\" As soon as the Khwajah heard those words from the\nFakir, there faded from his heart whatso there was of thought and\nforethought and cark and care and he took the hand of the\nReligious whom he led to his home and honoured him and robed him,\nfor that he had indicated such place of protection. When the\nmaiden reached the age of five and had waxed killing in beauty,\nher father brought her a learned Divine with whom she began\nreading and who taught her the Koran and writing and the art of\ncaligraphy;[FN#503] and when she had seen the first decade, she\nfell to studying astrology and astronomy and the aspect of the\nHeavens. Such was her case; but as regards that of her sire the\nMerchant, from the hour he forgathered with the Darwaysh he\nceased not to hold him in his heart and presently he proposed to\ntake him and travel with him to the mountain aforementioned. So\nthey set out together and when they reached it they found it a\nsite right strong as though fortified, and entering the antre\nthey fell to considering it right and left till they reached its\nhead where they came upon the little pavilion. After all this\nquoth the Fakir, \"Indeed such stead shall safe-guard thy daughter\nfrom the shifts of the Nights and the Days;\" withal was he\nunknowing that the Decreed be determined and must perforce be\ndone, albeit Doom be depending from the skirts of the\nclouds.[FN#504] And the Religious ceased not showing the site\nuntil he caused his companion enter the parterres, which he found\nas they had been described to him with flowers and fruits and\nstreams and trees besprent and birds hymning the One, the\nOmnipotent. As soon as they had finished solacing themselves with\nthe sights, they fared back to their town where, during their\nabsence-term, the damsel's mother had made ready for them\nviaticum and presents, and by the time the twain returned they\nfound ready to hand everything of travel-gear and all the wants\nof wayfare. So they equipped themselves and set forth, taking\nwith them the maiden together with five white slave-girls and ten\nnegresses and as many sturdy black chattels who loaded the packs\nupon the mules' and the camels' backs. Then they fell to cutting\nacross the wilds and wolds, each and everyone intent upon ministering\nto the maiden, and they ceased not faring until they drew near\nthe mountain, and they took station by the cavern-door. Here they\nunloaded the bales and burthens and transported them to the\npavilion within the cave, after which the Merchant's daughter\nwent in and as she walked forwards fell to gazing, rightwards and\nleftwards, until such time as she had reached the pavilion.\nPresently she found it poikilate of corners and columns, and she\nwas assured that the distance of that mountain from her father's\ntown measured the march of a full-told month. And whenas she had\ntaken seat and had settled in that pavilion, her father\nconsidered the unapproachable nature of the place and waxed\ncontented of heart and his mind became right of rede, because he\nwas certified of his daughter that she was safe from the tricks\nof Time and every trickster.[FN#505] So he tarried beside her for\na decade of days, after which he farewelled her and wended him\nhome, leaving the damsel in the mountain-cave. Thus fared it with\nthese; but as regards the case of the Prince of Al-Irak, his\nfather who owned no issue, or man-child or girl-child, lay\nsleeping one night of the nights when, lo and behold! he heard\nthe words, \"All things befal by Fate and Fortune.\" Hereat he\narose from slumber being sore startled and cried, \"Laud to the\nLord whom I have heard say[FN#506] that all things depend upon\nDoom and Destiny.\" On the next night he slept with his spouse who\nby leave of Almighty Allah forthright conceived. When her\npregnancy became manifest the Sovran rejoiced and he scattered\nand largessed and doled alms-deeds to the widows and paupers and\nthe mean and miserable; and he sued the Creator on high saying,\n\"O Lord vouchsafe to me a man-boy which may succeed me in the\nreign, and deign Thou make him a child of life.\"[FN#507] But when\nthe Queen's time had sped she was seized by labour-pangs and\ndelivery-pains, after which she bare a babe--Glory be to God who\ncreated him and confirmed what He had wrought in the creation of\nthat child who was like unto a slice of the moon! They committed\nhim to the wet-nurses who fell to suckling him and tending him\nand fondling him till the milk-term was completed, and when his\nage had reached the sixth year, his father brought for him a\nDivine perfect in knowledge of all the sciences, spiritual and\ntemporal, and the craft of penmanship and what not. Accordingly,\nthe boy began to read and study under his learner until he had\nexcelled him in every line of lore, and he became a writer deft,\ndoughty in all the arts and sciences: withal his sire knew not\nthat was doomed to him of dule and dolours.--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 to\nyou on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?\" Now\nwhen it was the next night and that was\n\n             The Seven 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 the Prince\nbecame a penman doughty in all knowledge, withal he wist not that\nwas written for him of dule and dolours. This lasted until his\ntenth year, and the old King rejoiced in him and caused him to\nback steeds until he had mastered all of horsemanship, and he\nwaxed accomplished in hunting and birding and he had attained the\nbourne of omnis res scibilis. Every morning he would superintend\nthe governance of his sire in the office of Commandments and\ndirect him to affairs wherein lay rede that was right until, one\nday of the days, his parent said to him \"O my son, do thou rule\nfor a day and I will govern on the next.\" \"O my father,\" said he,\n\"I am young of years nor is it meet that I meddle with public\nmatters or sit in thy Divan.\" Now when he reached the age of\nfourteen and had entered upon man's estate and had waxed perfect\nin the words of ordinance and had become complete and sanspareil\nin beauty and loveliness, the King resolved upon marrying him,\nbut he consented not, nor did his heart incline to womankind for\nthe being in the All-Knowledge of Almighty Allah all that was\nforedoomed to him from Time beginningless. Presently on a chance\nday his nature longed for the hunt and chase, and he asked leave\nof his sire who consented not, fearing for his safety; but he\nsaid in himself, \"An I go not I will slay myself;\"[FN#508] and so\nhe privily apprized of his intent a party of his dependents who,\nall and every, prepared to ride forth with him into the Desert.\nNow the King had in his stables a stallion, known as Ab\ufffd\nHam\ufffdmah,[FN#509] which was kept alone in a smaller stall, and he\nwas chained by four chains to a like number of posts[FN#510] and\nwas served by two grooms who never could draw nigh to him or let\nhim loose; nor could any, save only his lord, approach him with\nbridle or saddle or aught of horse-gear. But when the Prince had\ndesigned to fare forth a-hunting and a-birding, he went in to his\nfather's steed Abu Hamamah by hest of Allah Almighty's might over\nhim and for what was hidden to him in the Future, and found him\nchained and tethered; and, as the horse pleased him and affected\nhis fancy, he approached him and gentled him with caressing\nhands. The stallion also at that time under decree of Destiny was\ninfluenced by the Lord and directed towards the Prince for the\nsake of that which was hidden from him in the World of Secrets.\nSo he continued to gentle the animal and to caress him and to\nmake much of him, and he was ever the more pleased with him, and\nsaid to himself, \"Verily my riding forth to the hunt and chase\nshall not be save upon this stallion;\" and he ceased not pacing\nand pressing around him, soothing him the while, until the steed\nshowed subjection and neither started nor lashed-out nor indeed\nmoved a limb, but stood like a man obedient and dependent. And\nwhen the youth's glance wandered around he saw beside the\nstallion a closet, and as he neared it and opened it he found\ntherein all manner harness and equipments, such as a saddle\ncomplete with its girths and shovel-stirrups and bit and\nbridle,[FN#511] whilst on every side was gear of warfare enfolded\nin the furniture, such as scymitar and dagger;[FN#512] and a pair\nof pistols. So he wondered at this circumstance of the horse how\nthat none could draw near him or place upon him that harness, and\nhe likewise marvelled at the subjection of the steed to himself.\nHereupon he carried the furniture from the closet and going forth\nwith it walked up to the Father of a Pigeon, which was somewhat\nfearful of him and affrighted, and he uplifted the saddle and\nthrew it upon his back, and girthed him tight and bridled him\nwith the bit, when the horse became adorned as a bride who is\ndisplayed upon her throne. Now the King's son at times enquired\nof himself saying, \"An I loose this horse from his chains he will\nstart away from me;\" and at other times quoth he, \"At this hour\nthe stallion will not think of bolting from me,\" and on this wise\nhe abode between belief and unbelief in his affair. And he\nstinted not asking of himself until his suite was a-weary of\nwaiting and of looking at him, so they sent to him praying that\nhe would hurry, and he said in his thought, \"I place my trust in\nAllah, for the Forewritten hath no flight therefrom.\" Anon he\nloosed the stallion's chains after harnessing and girthing him\nstraitly; then, throwing his right leg over his back[FN#513]\nmounted thereupon with a spring and settled himself in selle and\ncame forth. And all who looked at that steed were unable to stand\nupon the road until the Prince had ridden forwards and had\novertaken the rest of his suite without the town, whence they\nsought the hunting-grounds. But when they were amiddlemost the\nwaste lands and beyond sight of the city, the courser glanced\nright and left and tossed his crest and neighed and snorted and\nran away; then shaking his head and buck-jumping under the son of\nthe Sultan bolted[FN#514] with him until he became like a bird\nwhereof is seen no trace nor will trick avail to track.[FN#515]\nWhen his folk beheld him they were impotent to govern their\nhorses until their lord had vanisht from their view, nor had\nanyone the muscle or the manhood to keep up pursuit. So waxing\nperplext and wildered in their wits they sought counsel one of\nother saying, \"Let each and every of us ride by a separate road\nuntil such a day when haply we shall meet him.\" Hereupon the\nwhole party dispersed and all took their own directions seeking\nthe Prince; and they stinted not search, anon putting out to\nspeed and anon retracing their steps[FN#516] and then returning\nby the same road. This endured for five days when not a soul came\nupon their liege lord, so they waxed distraught nor could they\nfind right guidance to aught they should do. However when the\ntrysting-day came, all gathered together and said, \"Fare we to\nthe Sultan and acquaint we him with this and let him devise a\ndevice for the matter of his son; because this youth is his\nfather's prop and stay, nor owneth he any other than this one.\"\nHereupon they set out citywards and ceased not riding until they\ndrew near the capital where they found a marquee pitched without\nthe walls, and having considered it they knew it to be the King's\nown. So they drew near it and there found the Chamberlains and\nNabobs and officers of high commandment standing round about it,\nand when they asked saying, \"What is the cause for setting up\nyonder tent in such place?\" they were answered, \"Verily, whenas\nhis son fared from him designing to hunt and bird, on the next\nday his heart was straitened for the Youth and he wist not what\nhad befallen him. On the first night when the Prince fared forth\nfrom him and disappeared, all went well, but on the second his\nbreast was straitened and in his vitals he sensed a change and\n'twas at the hour when the stallion began buck-jumping with his\nchild and running away. Anon he lost all patience and unable to\nendure session within his Palace so he commanded pitch his\npavilion without the walls and here we have been sitting for a\nspace of six days, awaiting the escort to return.\" As the party\ndrew near the marquee the bruit of them went abroad until it came\nto the King's ears.--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 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 Seven 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 the King\nfeeling his breast a-straitened bade pitch his pavilion without\nthe walls and tarried therein for a space of six days and on the\nseventh appeared his son's suite which had been left behind when\nthe horse ran away with the Prince, nor did any know what\ndirection the beast had taken. As soon as the bruit went abroad\nand came to the ears of the bereaved father, he cried out with a\nsingle outcry and fell to the ground aswoon, and the fainting fit\nlasted for two days. But when he came to himself and asked after\nhis son, the suite reported all that had befallen the youth from\nthe stallion and at that moment the King recalled to mind the\nVoice which had spoken saying, \"All things befal by Fate and\nFortune;\" and had declared, \"Resignation to the trials sent by\nAllah is first and best till such time as Destiny shall win to\nher end.\" \"If\" (he mused) \"my lot be forgathering with him\nanywheres then needs must it be; and, if otherwise, we will be\npatient under the All-might of Allah Most Highest.\" Such was the\ncase with these; but as concerns the young Prince,[FN#517] when\nthe stallion started off with him and bolted and became like a\nbird flying between the firmament and terra firma, he suffered\nnor fatigue nor emotion, nay, he sat contented upon the beast's\nback, for that had he hent in hand a cup full of coffee naught\nthereof would have been spilt. And the stallion ceased not\ngalloping at speed with him through the livelong day until night\ncame on when, seeing a lake, he halted by the side of it. The\nPrince thereupon dismounted and withdrawing the bridle offered\nhim water which he drank; then he foddered him with forage which\nhe ate, for our Lord had subjected to him that steed till it\nbecame between his hands like one familiar from the first and, as\nthe youth had somewhat of provaunt in his budget he drew forth\nof it and took food. But the Prince knew not whither the horse\nwas minded to bear him and the Fiat of Fate drove him to the\nmatter foredoomed to him from Eternity. So after that time as\noften as he mounted and let loose the bridle thongs,[FN#518] the\nhorse paced unguided on those wilds and wastes and hills and\ndales and stony leas, and whenever they drew near a city or a\ntown the son of the Sultan dismounted from his steed; and,\nleaving him where he was, went into the streets in order to bring\nprovaunt and forage, after which he could return to his beast and\nfeed him in the same place. And he ceased not wayfaring until he\ndrew near a city where he designed to dismount as was his wont\nand lay in somewhat of vivers and fodder, so he alighted and\nleaving his horse outside the houses he went in to satisfy his\nneed. Now by the decree of the Decreer the King of that Capital\nhad left it on an excursion to hunt and bird, and he chanced\nreturn at that moment and as he drew near the walls behold, he\nfound the steed standing alone and harnessed with trappings fit\nfor the Kings. The Sultan was astounded when he looked upon this\nand being on horseback himself he designed to draw near and catch\nthe animal, and when he came close he put forth his hand. But the\nsteed was scared with the scaring of a camel, and the King bade\nhis followers form ring around him and seize him; so they gat\nabout him and designed to catch him and lead him away, when\nsuddenly the steed screamed a scream which resounded throughout\nthe city and when the horses heard the cry of that stallion they\nturned with their riders in headlong flight and dispersed one\nfrom other. And amongst them was the Sultan, who, when his\ncourser ran away with him, strove hard to pull him up and control\nhim, but he lost all power and whilst the rest of the horses were\ntrembling under their riders he swooned and fell to the ground.\nPresently the followers came to his aid and found him in fainting\ncondition, so they propped him up and sprinkled somewhat of water\nupon him, when he recovered and asked them, \"Where is the horse?\"\nAnswered they, \"He is still standing in the same place;\" and\nquoth he, \"Wall\ufffdhi, needs must this affair have a cause, and do\nye lie awaiting him and see whither he will wend, for this beast\nGod wots must be of the Jinns.\" On this wise it befel them; but\nas regards the horse's owner, the son of the Sultan, when he\nentered the city seeking to buy somewhat of victual and fodder,\nhe heard the scream of the steed and recognised it, but of the\ncity-folk all who had hearkened to that outcry felt their hearts\nfluttering with extreme affright; so each one rose and padlocked\nhis shop and hardly believed that he could reach his house in\nsafety and this continued until the capital (even within its\nbazars) became empty like a waste, a ruin. Hereupon quoth the\nyouth, \"By Allah, needs must some matter of the matters have\nbefallen the horse,\" and so saying he went forth the city and\nwalked on till he neared the site where he had left the steed\nwhen, behold, he came suddenly upon a party of people in the\nmiddlemost whereof appeared one sitting and trembling in all his\nlimbs, and he saw the attendants standing about him and each one\nholding in hand a horse. So he drew near him and asked him what\nwas to do and they acquainted him with the affair of the stallion\nand his scream and the cause of the man being seated; and this\nwas none other than the Sultan who had been seized with affright\nand had fainted at the outcry of the Father of a Pigeon. Hereupon\nhe fell to conversing with them and they knew not that he was the\nowner of the steed until such time as he asked them, \"And doth\nnot any of you avail to draw near him?\" Answered they, \"O Youth,\nindeed there is none who can approach him.\" Quoth he, \"This is a\nmatter which is easy to us and therein is no hindrance;\" and so\nsaying he left them and turned towards the courser who no sooner\nsaw him than he shook his head at him; and he approached the\nbeast and fell to stroking his coat and kissing him upon the\nbrow. After this he strewed somewhat of fodder before him and\noffered him water and the stallion ate and drank until he was\nsatisfied. All this and the suite of the Sultan was looking on at\nthe Prince and presently informed their lord, saying, \"O King of\nthe Age, a Youth hath come to us and asked us for information\ntouching this steed and when we told him what had happened he\napproached him and gentled him and bussed him on the brow; and\nafter that he strewed before him somewhat of forage which he ate\nand gave him water to drink and still he standeth hard by him.\"\nWhen the Sultan heard these words he marvelled and cried, \"By\nAllah, indeed this is a wondrous matter, but do ye fare to him\nand bring him to me, him and his horse; and, if he make aught\ndelay with you, seize and pinion him and drag him before me\ndebased and degraded and in other than plight pleasurable!\"--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 King suffer me to\nsurvive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n            The Seven Hundred nd 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 the King\nsent to his suite bidding them bring the owner of that stallion\nadding, \"If he make aught delay with you drag him before me\ndebased and degraded, and in other than pleasurable plight.\"\nAccordingly, they went to him and accosting him said, \"O youth,\nthou owest hearing and obeying to His Highness the King; and, if\nthou come not to him with good gree we will bear thee maugre\nthyself.\" But the Prince, hearing these their words, set his left\nfoot in stirrup and throwing his right leg over the saddle\nmounted till he was firm of seat upon his stallion's back and had\npower over his monture. Then he asked saying, \"Who amongst you\nshall come near me or carry me to yonder Sultan of yours?\" Whenas\nthey saw this from him they kept away from his arm-reach, but\ninasmuch as they could not return to their King and report\nsaying, \"We availed not to bring him,\" they exclaimed, \"Allah\nupon thee, O Youth, that thou draw nigh with us to the Sovran and\nbespeak him from the back of thy steed: so shall we be clear and\nbear nor rebuke nor reproach.\" Hearing this much the Prince\nunderstood what was in their thoughts and that their design was\nto win free of the King and the avoidance of blame; accordingly\nhe said to them; \"Fare ye before me and I will follow\nyou.\"[FN#519] But when they returned with the youth behind them\nto within a short distance of the King where either of the twain\ncould hear the other's words, the Prince asked, \"O King of the\nAge, what dost thou require of me and what is it thou wantest?\"\n\"Do thou dismount,\" answered the Sultan, \"and draw near me when I\nwill tell thee and question thee of a certain matter;\" but quoth\nthe youth, \"I will not alight from the back of my steed and let\nwhoso hath a claim upon me demand satisfaction,[FN#520] for here\nbe the Mayd\ufffdn--the field of fight.\" So saying he wheeled his\nsteed and would have made for the open country, when the Sultan\ncried aloud to his followers, \"Seize him and bring him hither.\"\nSo they took horse all of them, a matter of one hundred and fifty\nriders, and followed him at full speed (he still riding) and\novertook him and formed a ring around him, and he seeing this\nshortened the bridle-reins and gored flanks with stirrup-irons\nwhen the beast sprang from under him like the wafting of the\nwind. Then he cried out to them, \"Another day, O ye dogs;\" and no\nsooner had they heard his outcry than they turned from him flying\nand to safety hieing. When the Sultan beheld his followers, some\nhundred and fifty riders, returning to the presence in headlong\nflight and taking station before him, he enquired the cause of\ntheir running, and they replied that none could approach that\nhorseman, adding, \"Verily he cried a warcry which caused each and\nevery of us to turn and flee, for that we deemed him one of the\nJ\ufffdnn.\" \"Woe to you!\" exclaimed the King: \"an hundred and fifty\nriders and not avail to prevail over a single horseman!\"\npresently adding, \"By Allah, his say was sooth who said,\n\n'And how many an one in the tribe they count * When to one a\n     thousand shall ne'er amount?'\n\nVerily this youth could not be confronted by a thousand, nor\nindeed could a whole tribe oppose him, and by Allah, I have been\ndeficient in knightly devoir for not doing him honour; however,\nit was not to be save on such wise.\" But the youth ceased not\nfaring through days and nights for the whole of four months,\nunknowing the while when he should reach a place wherein to take\nrepose. And as soon as this long wayfare ended, suddenly a\nmountain towering high to the heights of heaven arose before him;\nso he set his face thither, and after a further term of three\ndays[FN#521] (and he ever wayfaring) he reached it and beheld\nupon its flanks fair leasows with grasses and rills and trees and\nfruits besprent, and birds hymning Allah the One, the Omnipotent.\nAnon he alighted therein for that his heart had somewhat to say\nanent that mountain, and he also marvelled thereat by cause that\nduring his wayfare he had never seen aught like it at all, nor\nanything resembling that herbage and those streams. And after\ndismounting he unbridled his steed and suffered him browse and\npasture upon the greenery and drink of the water, while he on\nlike wise fell to eating of the fruits which hung from the trees\nand taking his ease and repose. But the more he shifted from\nplace to place the fairer he found it than the first, so he was\ndelighted with the site, and as he looked upon it he improvised\nthese couplets,\n\n\"O who fearest the world do thou feel right safe; * Trust all to\n     Him did mankind create:\nFate aye, O my lord, shall come to pass * While safe thou art\n     from th' undoomed by Fate.\"\n\nThe Sultan's son ceased not straying from stead to stead for a\nterm of ten days, during which he wandered round about the\nMountain and solaced himself by gazing upon the trees and\nwaters,[FN#522] and he was gladdened by the warbling of the birds\ntill at length the Doom of Destiny and the Fiat of Fate cast him\nover against the door of the cave which contained the Khwajah's\ndaughter with her handmaids and her negro slaves. He looked at\nthe entrance and marvelled and was perplexed at--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 Sovran suffer me\nto survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Seven 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 when the\nKing's son took place before the Cavern-door he marvelled at its\nstrength intended to protect those within, but he knew not if it\nhad any inmate or an it were void of inhabitants, seeing that the\nmountain was far distant and divided from towns and cities nor\ncould any avail to reach it. So he said in his mind, \"Sit thee\ndown here over against the entrance amid these grasses and trees\nand fruits, for an thou quit this site thou shalt find none like\nit in charms and eke it shall console thee for parting from thy\npeople. Moreover, haply shall someone of this place pass by me\nand from him I may ask tidings concerning this region and\nperadventure Almighty Allah shall guide me back to my own country\nand I shall forgather with my father and my folk and my friends.\nIndeed possibly there may be someone within this place who when\nhe issueth forth shall become my familiar.\" So he ceased not\nsitting at the door of the cave for a term of twenty days eating\nof the fruits of the trees and drinking of the water of the rain\npools as likewise did his steed; but when it was the twenty and\nfirst day, behold, the door of the antre was thrown open and\nthere came forth it two black slave-girls and a negro chattel,\nfollowed by five white handmaidens, all seeking diversion and\ndisport among those meadows which lay on the mountain-flank and\nbeyond. But as they paced along their eyes fell on the son of the\nSultan who was still sitting there with his steed before him and\nthey found him cast in the mould of beauty and loveliness, for he\nhad now rested in that place from his wayfare and the perfection\nof charms was manifest upon him. When the slave-girls looked at\nhim they were overwhelmed by the marvels of his comeliness and\nshapeliness and they returned in haste and hurry to their\nmistress and said to her, \"O our lady, verily at the cavern-door\nis a Youth, never saw we a fairer than he or a seemlier of\nsemblance, and in very deed he resembleth thee in grace and\nelegance of face and form, and before him standeth a steed even\nas a bride.\" Now when the Merchant's daughter heard these words\nfrom her handmaidens, she arose and in haste and hurry made for\nthe cave-door and her heart was filled with gladness and she\nceased not walking till she reached it. Then she looked upon the\nPrince and came forward and embraced him[FN#523] and gave him the\nsalam and she continued to gaze upon and consider his beauty and\ncomeliness, until love to him settled in her heart and likewise\nthe Prince's love to her increased. Hereupon she hent him by the\nhand and led him into the cavern where he fell to looking\nrightwards and leftwards about the sides thereof and wondering at\nwhat he saw therein of pleasaunces and trees and streams and\nbirds, until at last they reached the pavilion. But before\nentering thither the Prince had led his horse and loosed him in\nthe leasows which lay in the cavern; and, when at last the twain\nended at the palace and went within, the attendants brought meat\nfor him; so he ate his sufficiency and they washed his hands and\nthen the couple fell to conversing together whilst all were\ndelighted with the son of the King. And they continued in such\ncase until night drew nigh when each of the handmaidens went to\nher chamber and lay her down and on like wise did the black\nslaves until there remained none save the Prince and the\nMerchant's daughter. Then began she to excite him and incite him\nand disport with him until his heart inclined towards her by\nreason of her toyings and her allurements, so he drew near to her\nand clasped her to his breast and at last he threw her upon her\nback and did away her maidenhead. Now by hest of Allah Almighty's\nAll-might she conceived of him that very night and they ceased\nnot to be in sport and laughter until the Creator brought on the\ndawn which showed its sheen and shone and the sun arose over\nlowland and lawn. Then did the twain, she and he, sit communing\ntogether, when the girl began to improvise these couplets,\n\n\"Loving maid in obedience doth come * Trailing skirt with her\n     pride all astir;\nAnd she's meet for no man save for him * And he's meet for no\n     maid save for her.\"[FN#524]\n\nAfter this the Khwajah's daughter tarried with the King's son for\na term of six months; but, from the night when he had abated her\npucelage, he never approached her at all, and she also on like\nwise felt no lust of the flesh for him in any way nor did she\nsolicit him to love-liesse.[FN#525] But when it was the seventh\nmonth, the youth remembered his family and native land and he\nsought leave of her to travel but she said to him, \"Why dost thou\nnot tarry beside us?\" Said he, \"If in our life there be due\nlength needs must we forgather.\" Then asked she, \"O my lord, who\nmayest thou be?\" so he declared to her his pedigree and degree\nand the name of his native country and she also informed him of\nher rank and lineage and her patrial stead. Presently he\nfarewelled her and mounting his horse fared forth from her in\nearly morning,--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 King suffer me to survive.\" Now when it was the next night\nand that was\n\n           The Seven 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 King's\nson farewelled the Merchant's daughter and fared forth from her\nin early morning, seeking his folk and his natal land, and he\ndrove amiddlemost the wilds and the wolds. On this wise it was\nwith him; but as regards the merchant, the father of the damsel,\nhe and the Darwaysh after consigning her to the cavern returned\nto his town and there spent six months in business as was his\nwont; but on the seventh he called to mind his child and was\ndesolated by her absence because he had none other. So quoth he\nto her mother, \"I have an intent to visit the girl and look upon\nher and see what may be her condition, for my heart is in sore\ndoubt on her account and I cannot but fancy that some unforeseen\ncasualty hath brought calamity or that some wayfarer may have\nvisited her; and my thoughts are occupied with her, so 'tis my\nwill to fare forth and see her.\" \"Such act were advisable,\" quoth\nthe wife; and so saying she fell to making him somewhat of\nprovaunt amounting to some ten camel-loads.[FN#526] Presently he\nled forth with him a few of his negro slaves and set out to see\nhis daughter on the Jabal al-Sah\ufffdb. So he dove into the depths of\nthe desert and cut across the dales and the hills and conjoined\nthe journeyings of night with day for a space of three months,\nand about sunset-tide on the first of the fourth behold, a rider\nappeared to him coming from the breast of the waste, nor had he\nwith him anyone. When the stranger drew near, the Khwajah saluted\nhim and his salam was returned by the horseman who happened to be\nthe Prince returning from the Merchant's daughter. Quoth the\nKhwajah, \"O Youth, dismount with us in this place and let us\ntwain, I and thou, night together and solace ourselves with\nconverse;[FN#527] then, when it shall be morning, each of us\nshall depart seeking his own stead.\" Quoth the Prince, \"No harm\nin that,\" and so saying he sprang from the back of his steed and\nunbridled him and suffered him to browse upon the grasses and\ngreenery together with the Khwajah's cattle. Hereat the two sat\ndown together in talk while the slaves slaughtered a lamb and\nflayed it, then, having lighted a fire, they set the meat\nthereupon in a chauldron and when it was cooked they fished it\nout with a flesh-hook and scored it[FN#528] and placed it in a\nmighty platter which they served up to their lord and the King's\nson. Both ate of it after the measure of their sufficiency and\nthe remnants were borne off by the slaves for their suppers. And\nwhen the time for night-prayers came, the two having made the\nWuz\ufffd ablution performed the orisons obligatory upon them, and\nanon sat down for evening converse, overtalking the tidings of\nthe world and its affairs, until quoth the Merchant to the\nPrince, \"O Youth, whence comest thou and whither art thou\nwending?\" Quoth the other, \"Wall\ufffdhi, O Khwajah, I have a wondrous\ntale, nay a marvel of marvels which, were it graved with\nneedle-gravers upon the eye-corners were a warning to whoso would\nbe warned. And this it is, I am the King's son of Al-Irak and my\nsire's prop and stay in the House of the World, and he reared me\nwith the fairest of rearing; but when I had grown to man's estate\nand had learnt the mysteries of venerie I longed one chance day\nof the days to ride forth hunting and birding. So I went for a\nhorse (as was my wont) to the stables, where I found yon stallion\nwhich is with me chained to four posts; whereupon of my\nignorance, unknowing that none could approach him save myself nor\nany avail to mount him, I went up to him and girthed him, and he\nneither started nor moved at my gentling of him, for this was\nexisting in the purpose of Almighty Allah. Then I mounted him and\nsought my suite without informing my sire and rode forth the city\nwith all my many, when suddenly the horse snorted with his\nnostrils and neighed through his throttle and buckjumped in air\nand bolted for the wilderness swift as bird in firmament-plain,\nnor wist I whither he was intending.[FN#529] He ceased not\nrunning away with me the whole day till eventide when we reached\na lake in a grassy mead.\" (Now when the Khwajah heard the words\nof the Prince his heart was heartened and presently the other\npursued), \"So I took seat and ate somewhat of my vivers, my horse\nalso feeding upon his fodder, and we nighted in that spot and\nnext morning I set out and stinted not riding for a march of four\nmonths. But on the first of the fifth I neared a towering\nmountain whose length and whose breadth had no bounds, and on its\nflanks I found leasows manifold with trees and fruits and streams\nbesprent and birds hymning the One, the Omnipotent. So I was\ngladdened by the sight and dismounted and unbridled my steed whom\nI allowed to browse the while I ate of the fruits, and presently\nI fell to roaming about from site to site. And when some time had\npassed I came to the mouth of a cavern whence after a short delay\non my part fared forth slave-girls under the escort of a negro\nchattel. When they beheld me they rejoiced in me, then going in\nthey disappeared for an hour and anon returned bringing a young\nlady as she was the moon of the fourteenth night, who salam'd to\nme, and invited me to become her guest and led me into the cave--And Shahrazad was surprised by 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\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 Eight 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 of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Prince\ncontinued to the Merchant saying, \"The slave-girls invited me and\nled me into the cave until I reached a Pavilion that was there. I\ntarried beside them for a matter of some six months when I felt\ndesolate for my folk and my native land, so I craved leave to\ndepart from them and farewelled them and went forth, they sending\nme away with highmost honour. But when bidding them goodbye, I\ncovenanted with them saying, 'an there be in life any length\nneeds must we forgather'; and with these words I left them, and\nnow 'tis some time since I journeyed thence when thou mettest me\nin this place.\" Now the Merchant hearing his tale knew from the\nbeginning what had occurred there, and was certified of the\nsaying of the Voice, and judging from the tenor of the\ninformation said in his mind, \"There is no doubt or hesitation\nbut that this be the youth to whom was appointed my daughter,\nthat of him she should conceive in the way of unright and the\nWritten[FN#530] is now fulfilled.\" So quoth the Merchant, \"O\nYouth, where is thy town?\" and he informed him thereof. Now the\nPrince knew not that he had come upon the damsel's father by the\nroad, whereas the Khwajah wotted right well that this man had had\nto do with his daughter. As soon as it was morning the twain\nfarewelled each other and either of them went his own way; but\nthe Khwajah fell into cark and care such as cannot be conceived,\nand he fasted from food nor was meat to him sweet nor was sleep.\nHowever, he ceased not travelling till he arrived at the Jabal\nal-Sahab, when he approached the door of the cave and rapped\nthereat. The handmaidens opened to him and as soon as they saw\nhis face they recognised him, and returning to their lady\ninformed her thereof: so she arose to seek him, and presently met\nhim and salam'd to him and kissed his hands and walked by his\nside until she reached the Pavilion, where the twain, he and she,\nwent up, and she seated him and stood before him in his suit and\nservice. Hereat her father looked at her and considered her and\nfound her colour changed and her belly grown big, and asked her,\n\"What is to do with thee and what is't hath altered thy\ncomplexion, for to-day I see thee heavy of body, and no doubt\nsome man has mixed[FN#531] with thee?\" Now when she heard the\nwords of her father she understood and was certified that he had\ncompassed full knowledge concerning what had befallen her, so she\nreturned him nor answer nor address, and she was overwhelmed with\nshame and confusion, and waxed changed and was well nigh falling\nupon the floor. Presently she sat down in abashment before her\nsire by reason of the bigness of her belly, but he bowed in\nobedience before the power of Almighty Allah; and they two ceased\nnot conversing until fall of night, when each and every of the\nhandmaids had sought her own chamber that she might sleep\ntherein. As soon as the Khwajah remained alone with his daughter\nand without other being present he said to her, \"O my child,\nverily this matter was foredoomed to thee from the Lord of the\nHeavens, and there is no Averter of whatso is fated; but do thou\nrelate to me what befel between thee and the youth who owneth the\nsteed, and who is the King's son of Al-Irak.\" Hereupon the girl\nwas consterned and she could return no reply, and presently when\nshe recovered she said to her sire, \"How shall I relate to one\nwho is already informed of all, first and last, and thou\ndeclarest that the foredoomed must come to pass, nor can I say\nthereanent a single word?\" And presently she resumed, \"O my\nfather, verily the Youth promised me that an his life have length\nhe would certainly forgather with me, and I desire of thee that\nwhen thou shalt return to thy country thou take me and carry me\nin thy company to him, and reunite me with him and let me meet\nhis sire and ask him to keep his word, for I require none else\nnor shall anyone ever unveil me in privacy. And in fine do thou\nmarry me to him. Now whatso hath betided me thou hast heard it\nfrom the Voice, and thou hast wearied thy soul in transporting me\nto this place, fearing for me the shifts of the days, and thou\nhast contraried the power of Allah, nor hath this profited thee\naught, because the Destinies which be writ upon mankind from\ninfinity and eternity must needs be carried out. All this was\ndetermined by Allah, for that prosperity and adversity and\nbenefaction and interdiction all be from the Almighty. Do thou\nwhatso I have said and that which is inscribed upon my forehead\nshall be the quickening of me (Inshallah--an so please God!),\nsince patience and longsuffering are better than restless\nthought.\" When her father heard from her such words, he agreed\nwith her in all she had spoken to him, and as soon as it was\nmorning he fell to preparing for wayfare, he and his daughter and\nhis handmaidens and his negro-slaves; and on the third day they\nloaded their loads and set forth on return to their country and\ncity. Then they conjoined the travel of night and day and pushed\nforward on their journey without stay or delay for a term of five\nmonths, until they reached their home and settled them down\ntherein. Such was their case; but as regards the King's son of\nAl-'Irak, after he had met the girl's father on the road and had\nparted from him, without recognising him withal, he strave for\nreturn to his own land and behold, he wandered from the way and\nwas confronted by a sea dashing with clashing billows. So he was\nperplext as to his affair and his judgment left him and his right\nwits, and he knew not what he should do or whither he should\nwend, or what direction he should take or what Allah had decreed\nfor him--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 Eight 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 when the\nPrince came upon that sea he was perplext and wist not what to\ndo, so he leapt from the back of the Father of the Pigeon and set\nhis steed standing beside him that he might lean against his\nquarter[FN#532] when, of the excess of his night watching, he\nfell asleep and was drowned in slumber. Then, by doom of Destiny\nthe beast shook his head and snorted and set off at full speed\nmaking for the wild and the wold and was presently amiddlemost\nthe waste. Now when some two-told hours of time had passed, the\nPrince shook off his drowsihead and opened his eyes, but of his\nsteed could see nor sign nor aught of visible trace. So he smote\nhand upon hand and cried, \"There is no Majesty and there is no\nMight save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great,\" after which he\ntook seat by the side of the sea and sued comfort of Almighty\nAllah. On the next day a ship suddenly sailed in and made fast to\nthe shore, after which a posse of Jews landed from her and as\nsoon as they saw him they fell upon him and seized him and\npinioned him; then, carrying him perforce aboard, loaded his legs\nwith irons. So quoth he to himself, \"Whenas Fate is so minded our\neyes are blinded; however, patience is fairest and of Allah must\nwe ask aidance.\" Hereupon the Jews again disembarked and filled\ntheir kegs with the water of an adjoining rain-pool, after which\nthey trooped aboard and making sail voyaged over the billows of\nthe ocean before them. This lasted for a month, after which time\nthey cast anchor beside a harbour-town, and presently swarmed out\nto sell and to buy, and there they delayed for a term of two\nmonths until they had finished their business and they had\npurchased them what sufficed of provaunt. All this while the\nPrince lay bound in the black hole deep down in the ship's hold,\nnor did anyone go near him save a Jew, a man of a certain\nage.[FN#533] And whenever he entered that dismal place he heard\nthe youth reciting from the Koran and he would stand to hearken\nuntil his heart was softened to the speaker and he would favour\nhim in the matter of meat and drink. When they cast anchor beside\nthe second place, the King's son asked the man, \"What may be this\nport-city and what is her name and the name of her ruler? Would\nHeaven I wot an her lord be a King or a Governor under a royal\nhand?\" \"Wherefore askest thou?\" quoth the Jew, and quoth the\nother, \"For nothing: my only want is the city's name[FN#534] and\nI would learn whether it belong to Moslems or Jews or Nazarenes.\"\n\"This be peopled by Moslem folk,\" replied the Jew, \"natheless can\nnone carry tidings of thee to her inhabitants. However, O Moslem,\nI feel a fondness for thee and 'tis my intent when we reach the\ncity of Andal\ufffds[FN#535] to give tidings of thee, but it must be\non condition that thou accept of me to thy company whenas Allah\nAlmighty shall have delivered thee.\" Said the Prince, \"And what\nhindereth thee from Al-Islam at this hour?\" and said the other,\n\"I am forbidden by fear of the ship's Captain.\"[FN#536] Replied\nthe Prince, \"Become a Moslem in secret and wash and pray in\nprivacy beside me here.\" So he became of the True Believers at\nthe hand of the King's son, who presently asked him, \"Say me, be\nthere in this vessel any Moslems save myself?\" \"There are some\ntwenty here,\" answered he, \"and 'tis the design of the Captain to\noffer them up on arrival at his own country and he shall devote\nthem as victims in the Greater Synagogue.\" Rejoined the other,\n\"Thou art now a Moslem even as I am a Moslem, and it besitteth\nthou apprise me of all and whatsoever befalleth in the ship, but\nfirst art thou able to gar me forgather with the other True\nBelievers?\" And the man answered in the affirmative. Now after\nthe ship had sailed with them for ten days, the whilome Jew\ncontrived to bring him and the Moslem prisoners together and they\nwere found to number twenty, each and every in irons. But when it\nwas the Sabbath about undurn hour, all the Jews including the\nCaptain fell to wine-bibbing and therein exceeded until the whole\nof them waxed drunken; whereat the Prince and his convert arose,\nand going to the armoury[FN#537] and opening it found therein all\nmanner war-gear, even habergeons. So the Youth returned to the\ncaptives and unbinding their bonds, led them to the cabin of\nweapons and said to them, \"Do each and every of you who shall\nfind aught befitting take it and let such as avail to wear coat\nof mail seize one of them and don it.\" On this wise he heartened\ntheir hearts and cried to them, \"Unless ye do the deeds of men\nyou will be slaughtered with the slaughtering of sheep, for at\nthis moment 'tis their design on reaching their own land to offer\nyou up as corbans in their Greater Synagogue. So be you on your\nguard and, if ye fall in this affair,[FN#538] 'tis fairer for you\nthan to die with split weasands.\" So each of them snatched up\nwhatso of war-gear suited him and one equipped other and they\nheartened their hearts and all waxed eager for the fray. Then\nsallied they forth, one and twenty in number, at a single word,\nwith the Takb\ufffdr and the Tahl\ufffdl,[FN#539] whilst the Jews who\nformed the ship's crew were some one hundred and five. But these\nwere all drunken with wine and giddy of head, nor did they\nrecover until the weapons began to play upon their necks and\ntheir backs, whereat they shook off their crapulence and learned\nthat the Moslems had gotten about them with their war-gear. So\nthey cried out to one another and became ware and the\nliquor-fumes left their brains. Then they rushed for the armoury\nbut found that most of the weapons were with the Moslems, whom\nthe Prince was urging to derring-do of cut and thrust. Thus were\nthey departed into two portions and hardly had passed an hour, an\nhour which would grey the hair of a little child, in fight and\nfray and onset and retreat--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 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 Eight 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 the Prince\nurged on his party and fortified their hearts to fight, nor had\nan hour passed in battle and slaughter (and he smiting rightwards\nand leftwards) when behold, he was encountered by the Captain who\nsprang at him with his scymitar and designed to cut him down. But\nhe forestalled him with sway of sabre and smote him a swashing\nstroke and an all-sufficient which share through his joints and\ntare through his limbs; and when the ship's crew saw their Chief\nfall dead they gave in their submission[FN#540] and throwing down\ntheir weapons would have saved their lives. The Prince, however,\nwent forward to them and fell to pinioning them, one after other,\nuntil he had bound them all, after which he counted them and found\nthem to number about forty head while the slain were three score\nand five. These he threw into the sea,[FN#541] but the captives\nhe placed in prison after chaining them with iron chains and they\npadlocked the doors upon them; and the Moslems worked the ship's\nsails while the man who had newly islamised directed them upon\ntheir course until they moored at a holm hard by the mainland.\nHere they landed and found the place abounding in blooms and\ntrees and streams, and the Prince left the ship to reconnoitre\nthe continent when suddenly a dust cloud drew nigh and a\nsand-pillar soared awhile in air high; then it uncovered some\nfifty horsemen, and they were pursuing in the hottest of\nhaste,[FN#542] a stallion which was saddled and bridled and which\nthey intended to secure. Now for ten days they had galloped after\nhim but none availed to catch him. When the King's son looked\nupon that case he uttered a loud cry and the courser, hearing the\nsound of his master's voice, made for him and fell to rubbing his\ncheeks upon his back and shoulders[FN#543] until they came up\nwith him as he was standing beside his lord. Hereat all the\nriders dismounted with intent to seize him, but the Prince\nopposed them saying. \"This is my horse and he was lost from me in\nsuch a place upon the margin of the main.\" Replied they, \"'Tis\nwell, but this is our booty nor will we ever leave him to thee,\nfor that during the last ten days we have galloped after him\nuntil we are melted, and our horses are melted as well as\nourselves. Moreover, our King awaiteth us and if we return\nwithout the steed our heads will be cut off.\" Quoth the Prince,\n\"Nor ye nor that Sovran of yours can have any command over him,\nalbeit you may have pursued him at speed for ten days or fifteen\ndays or twenty days; nor shall you make him a quarry or for\nyourselves or for the King of you. By Allah, one Sultan was\nunable to take even a hair from him and, by the Almighty! were\nyou to pursue him for a full-told year not one of you could come\nup with him or make him your own.\" Hereupon talk increased\nbetween them and one drew weapon upon other and there befel\nbetween them contest and enmity and rage of bad blood and each\nclapt hand to sword and drew it from sheath. When the King's son\nsaw this from them, he sprang upon the steed's back swiftlier\nthan the blinding leven; and, having settled himself firmly in\nselle, he put forth his hand and seized a sword which hung by the\nsaddle bow. As soon as the folk saw that he had mounted the\nhorse, they charged upon him with their scymitars and would have\ncut him down, but he made his steed curvet and withdrew from them\nsaying, \"An you design battle I am not fain of fight, and do ye\nall go about your business and covet not the horse lest your\ngreed deceive you and you ask more than enough and thereby fall\ninto harm. This much we know and if you require aught else let\nthe strongest and doughtiest of you do his best.\" Then they\ncharged upon him a second time and a third time and he warded\nthem off and cried, \"Allah draw the line between me and\nyou,[FN#544] O folk, and do ye gang your gait for you be fifty\nriders and I be alone and singlehanded and how shall one contend\nin fight with half an hundred?\" Cried they, \"Naught shall save\nthee from us except thou dismount from the steed and suffer us to\ntake him and return home with him;\"--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 Eight 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 the fifty\nhorsemen said to the King's son, \"There is no help but that we\ntake from thee the horse,\" and said he, \"I have given you good\nadvice, and well I wot and am certified that were you two hundred\nriders ye could never prevail over me whilst I am mounted on my\ncourser's back and indeed I have no fear of fight; but let any of\nyou who hath claim to knightlihood come forwards and take him and\nmount him.\" So saying he alighted forthright and left his horse\nand went to some distance from him, when one of the fifty riders\npushed forwards and designed to seize the steed by the reins and\nbestride him, when suddenly the stallion raged like fire at him\nand attacked him and smote him with his forehand and drove the\nentrails out of his belly and the man at once fell to the ground\nslain. As his party saw this they bared their brands and\nassaulted the horse designing to cut him in pieces when behold, a\ndust-cloud high in lift upflew and walled the view; and all\nextended their glances in that direction for an hour of time\nuntil it opened and showed some two hundred knights headed by a\nKing mighty of degree and majesty and over his head were flags\na-flying. The fifty horsemen, seeing him advance with his troops,\ndrew off and stood still to look and see whom he might be, and\nwhen the horse sighted these banners he sniffed with nostrils\nopened wide to the air, and made for them at full speed, as if\ngladdened by the sight, and approached them and returned to them\na second time in like guise and at the third time he drew up hard\nbeside them and nearing the King fell to rubbing his cheeks upon\nthe stirrups whilst the ruler put forth his hand and gentled the\nsteed by smoothing his head and forehead. As soon as the fifty\nriders saw this, they marvelled thereat, but the King's son who\nhad kept his ground was astounded and said to himself, \"The horse\nfled me and when this host drew nigh he sought me again.\"[FN#545]\nPresently the Prince fixed his glance upon the latest comers and\nbehold, the King was his father, so he sprang to him and when the\nsire saw him he knew his son and footed it and the twain embraced\nand fell fainting to the ground for awhile. When they recovered\nthe suite of the Sultan came forward and salam'd to the Prince\nwho presently asked his sire, \"What may be the cause of thy\ncoming to this plain?\" and the ruler informed him by way of\nanswer that after his child's departure slumber to him brought no\nrest nor was there in food aught of zest and with him longing\noverflowed for the sake of his son, so that after a while of time\nhe and the grandees of his realm had marched forth, and he ended\nby saying, \"O my son, our leaving home was for the sake of thee,\nbut do thou tell me what befel thee after mounting the Father of\na Pigeon, and what was the cause of thy coming to this spot.\"\nAccordingly the Prince told all that had betided him, first and\nlast, of his durance vile amongst the Jews and how he had devised\nthe killing of the Captain and the capture of the craft; and how\nthe steed, after being lost in the waste,[FN#546] had returned to\nhim in this place; also of the fifty riders who encountered him\non landing and would fain have seized him but failed and of the\ndeath of the horseman who was slain by the horse. Hereat they\npitched the pavilions upon that spot and set up a throne for the\nKing who after taking seat thereon placed his son by his side and\nbade summon the fifty riders who were brought into the presence--\nAnd Shahrazad was surprised by 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\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 Eight 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\nSultan took seat upon the throne and set his son by his side he\nsummoned the fifty riders, who were brought into the presence and\nplaced between his hands. Then he questioned them of their case\nand their country and the cause of their coming to that stead and\nthey notified to him their native land and their Sovran and the\nreason of their wandering; to wit, their headlong pursuit of the\nstallion which had lasted for a term of ten days. Now when the\nSultan understood their words and knew and was certified\nconcerning their King and their country, he robed them with\nhonourable robes[FN#547] and said to them, \"Wall\ufffdhi! had I known\nthat the stallion would have submitted to you and would have\nobeyed you I should have delivered him up to you, but I feared\nfor any that durst approach him, barring his master. Now,\nhowever, do ye depart and salam to your Sovran and say him, 'By\nAllah, if the stallion thou sawest wandering the waste befitted\nthe use of thee I had sent him in free gift.'\" With this fair\nmessage the men farewelled him and fared from him and they ceased\nnot faring until they returned to their liege lord and reported\nto him all that had betided them; that is, how the owner of the\nstallion had appeared and proved to be a King who (they added)\n\"hath sent his salam to thee saying it was his desire to despatch\nthe horse but none availed to manage him save himself and his\nson.\" And when the Ruler heard these words, he returned thanks to\nthe Sovran for the grace of his goodness, and returned forthright\nto his own land. Meanwhile the Sultan who was owner of the\nstallion presented the captured ship to those who had captured\nher, and taking his son turned towards his capital, and they\nmarched without stay or delay until they reached it. Hereupon the\nChamberlains and the Nabobs and the high Officers and the\ntownsfolk came forth to meet and greet their Ruler and rejoiced\nin his safety and that of his son, and they adorned the city for\nthree days and all were in high mirth and merriment until what\ntime the Sultan had settled down at home. Such was his case; but\nas regards the Khwajah and his daughter, when they had let load\ntheir loads they quitted the cavern and set forth, making for\ntheir country and patrial stead, and they ceased not forcing\ntheir marches for a term of ten days. But on the eleventh they\nencountered fiery heat beginning from mid-forenoon; and, as the\nplace was grassy ground and overgrown with greenery, they\nalighted from their beasts and bade pitch two pavilions, one for\nthe daughter and the other for her father and his folk, that it\nmight shade them and shelter them from the excessive sultriness.\nNow when it was mid-afternoon behold, the damsel was seized with\nthe birth-pains and the pangs of child-bearing, but Allah\nAlmighty made delivery right easy to her and presently she became\nthe mother of a man-child--Glory be to God who fashioned him and\nperfected what He had fashioned in the creation of that\nbabe![FN#548] So his mother cut his navel-string and, rolling it\nup in one of her shifts, kept careful guard over it.[FN#549] And\npresently her father entered to look upon her, and finding that\nshe had been delivered was grieved with exceeding grief and the\nworld was straitened before his face, and unknowing what to do he\nsaid to himself, \"Had we reached our homes and that babe appeared\nwith the damsel, our honour had been smirched and men had blamed\nus saying, 'The Khwajah's daughter hath brought forth in sin.' So\nwe cannot confront the world, and if we bear with us this infant\nthey will ask where is its father?\" He remained perplext and\ndistraught, seeing no way of action, and now he would say, \"Let\nus slay the child,\" and anon, \"Let us hide it;\" and the while he\nwas in that place his nature bespake him with such promptings.\nBut when morning came he had determined upon abandoning the\nnew-born and not carrying it further, so quoth he to his\ndaughter, \"Hearken unto whatso I shall say thee.\" Quoth she,\n\"'Tis well!\" and he continued, \"If we travel with this infant the\ntidings of us will spread through the city and men will say, 'The\nKhwajah's daughter hath been debauched and hath borne a babe in\nbastardy'; and our right way (according to me) is that we leave\nit in this tent under charge of the Lord and whoso shall come up\nto the little one shall take it with the tent; moreover I will\nplace under its head two hundred dinars and any whose lot it is\nshall carry off the whole.\" When the damsel heard these words she\nfound the matter grievous, but she could return no reply. \"What\nsayest thou?\" asked he, and she answered, \"Whatso is right that\ndo thou.\" Hereupon he took a purse[FN#550] of two hundred gold\npieces which he set under the child's head and left it in the\ntent. Then he loaded his loads and fared forth, he and his\ndaughter and his pages, and they ceased not pushing their marches\nuntil they reached their own land and native country and entered\ntheir home, where they were met by sundry of their familiars\ncoming forth to greet them. They settled down in their quarters\nwhen the damsel forgathered with her mother who threw her arms\nround her neck for exceeding affection to her and asked her of\nher news; so she informed her concerning the matter of the cavern\nand what was therein and how great was its distance, but she told\nher naught of what had befallen her nor of her pregnancy by the\nPrince nor of the babe she had abandoned. The mother still\nsupposed that she was a clean maid, yet she noted the change in\nher state and complexion. Then the damsel sought privacy in one\nof the chambers and wept until her gall-bladder was like to burst\nand said to herself, \"Would Heaven I knew whether Allah will\nre-unite me with the child and its father the Prince!\" and in\nthis condition she remained for a while of time. On such wise it\nbefel the Merchant and his daughter; but as regards the son of\nthe Sultan, when he had settled down in the city of his sire he\nremembered the Khwajah's daughter, and quoth he to his father, \"O\nmy papa, my desire is to hunting and birding and diversion.\"\nQuoth the King, the better that Destiny might be fulfilled, \"'Tis\nwell, O my son, but take with thee a suite.\" \"I desire no more\nthan five men in all,\" said the other, and gat himself ready for\ntravel and, having farewelled his father, set forth from the\ncity--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 Eight 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 Prince\nwent forth from his father with a train of five attendants and\nmade for the wilderness, and he conjoined the journeys of night\nand day; withal he knew not whither he was going, and he chanced\ntravel over the same wilds and wolds and dales and stony leas.\nBut as regards the Merchant and his daughter, he went in to her\none day of the days and found her weeping and wailing, so he said\nto her, \"What causeth thee to shed tears, O my child?\" and said\nshe, \"How shall I not weep? indeed I must wail over my lot, and\nover the promise wherewith Allah promised me.\" Hereupon he\nexclaimed, \"O my daughter, be silent and Inshallah--God willing--\nI will equip me for travel and will fare to the son of the King;\nand look to it, for haply Allah Almighty our Lord may direct me\nto a somewhat shall conduct me to the Prince's city.\" So saying\nhe bade his handmaidens and eunuchs make ready forthright a\nviaticum sufficing for a full-told year himself and his following\nof pages and eunuchs, and they did his bidding. After a few days\nthey prepared all he had required and he purposed to set out;\nthen, he loaded his loads and, farewelling his wife and daughter,\nwent forth seeking the city of the King's son. He ceased not\ntravelling for a space of three months, when he found a meadow\nwide of sides on the margin of a sweet-water lake, so he said to\nhis slaves, \"Alight we here in this very place that we may take\nour rest.\" Accordingly, they dismounted and pitched a tent and\nfurnisht it for him, and he passed that night by the water-side,\nand all enjoyed their repose. But as soon as morn 'gan show and\nshone with sheeny glow, and the sun arose o'er the lands lying\nlow, the Khwajah designed to order a march for his slaves when\nsuddenly espying a dust-cloud towering in rear of them, they\nwaited to see what it might be, and after some two hours of the\nday it cleared off and disclosed beneath it six riders and with\nthem a b\ufffdt-beast carrying a load of provisions. These drew near\nthe meadow where the Khwajah sat looking at them, and fear hereat\nentered into his heart, and trembling fell upon his limbs[FN#551]\nuntil he was assured that they were but six men. So his mind was\ncalmed. But when the party drew near him he fixed his glance and\nmade certain that the men were headed by the King's son whom he\nhad met on his first journey, and he marvelled indeed at the\nyouth making for the same place, and he strove to guess the cause\nof his coming with only five followers and no more. Then he arose\nand accosted him and salam'd and sat down in converse with him,\nbeing assured the while that it was the same who had had doings\nwith his daughter, and that the child which she had borne in the\ntent and which they abandoned was the son of this Prince, while\nthe youth knew not that the Khwajah was father to the damsel with\nwhom he had tarried in the cavern. So they fell to communing\ntogether for a while until the Prince asked the Trader, \"What is\nthe cause of thy coming hither?\" and answered the other, \"I have\ncome seeking thee and thy country, for I have a want which thou\nmust fulfil me;\" presently adding, \"And thou, whither art thou\nintending?\" Quoth the King's son, \"I am making for the cavern\nwherein the handmaidens showed me much honour, for indeed I gave\nmy word that I would return to them after I had revisited my\ncountry and had met my folk and my friends; and here I am coming\nback to keep what plight and promise were between us.\" Hereupon\nthe Merchant arose, and taking the Prince, retired with him to a\nplace of privacy where none could wot of them twain save Allah\nAlmighty. \"Would Heaven I knew what may be in the thoughts of\nthis Khw\ufffdjah!\" said the Prince in his mind; but when both had\nseated themselves at ease, the Merchant addressed the King's son\nin these words, \"O my son, all things are foredoomed in the World\nof Secrets, and from fated lot is no flight. Now the end and aim\nwhereto thou designest in the cavern, verily they[FN#552] left it\nfor their own land.\" When the King's son heard these words\ninforming him that his beloved had quitted her abode, he cried\nout with a loud outcry for stress of what had betided him, and\nfell a-swoon by cause that love of the damsel had mastered his\nheart and his vitals hung to her. After a while he recovered and\nasked the Khwajah, \"Say me, be these words of thine soothfast or\nfalse?\" \"Soothfast indeed,\" answered the father, \"but, O my\nchild, be of good cheer and eyes clear, for that thy wish is\nwon\"--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\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 Eight 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 quoth the\nKhwajah to the King's son after he had revived, \"O my child, be\nof good cheer and eyes clear for that thy want is won and for\nthee the way hath been short done and if thy heart be firm-fixed\nupon thy beloved the heart of her is still firmer than thine and\nI am a messenger from her who seek thee that I may unite you\ntwain Inshallah--an Allah please.\" Asked the Prince, \"And who\nmayest thou be to her, O my lord?\" and answered the other, \"I am\nher father and she is my daughter and hers is a marvel-tale, I\nswear by the All-might of Him who made the Heavens and the\nEarth.\" Then he fell to recounting anent the Voice which came to\nhim on the night of her being conceived in her mother's womb and\nall that had since befallen her, keeping concealed[FN#553] only\nthe matter of the babe which she had borne in the tent. But when\nthe Prince knew that the wayfarer was her sire who was travelling\nto seek him, he rejoiced in the glad tidings of forgathering with\nthe damsel and on the morning of the second day all marched off\ntogether and made for the Merchant's city. And they stinted not\nwayfaring and forcing their marches until they drew near it, and\nas soon as they entered it, the Merchant, before going to his\nhome, led the Prince with him and sought the Kazi by whose aid\nthe marriage-tie, after due settlement of the dowry, might be\ntied between him and the damsel. This done, he conducted him to a\nplace of concealment and presently went in to his daughter and\nher mother who saluted him and asked him the news. Hereupon he\ngave them to know that he had brought the King's son and had made\nready to knot the knot of wedlock between him and her. As soon as\nthe damsel heard these tidings she fainted for excess of her\nhappiness, and when she revived her mother arose and prepared her\nperson and adorned her and made her don her most sumptuous of\ndresses. And when night fell they led the bridegroom in\nprocession to her and the couple embraced and each threw arms\nround the neck of other for exceeding desire and their embraces\nlasted till dawn-tide.[FN#554] After that the times waxed clear\nto them and the days were serene until one chance night of the\nnights when the Prince was sitting beside his bride and\nconversing with her concerning various matters when suddenly she\nfell to weeping and wailing. He was consterned thereat and cried,\n\"What causeth thee cry, O dearling of my heart and light of mine\neyes?\" and she, \"How shall I not cry when they have parted me\nfrom my boy, the life-blood of my liver!\" \"And thou, hast thou a\nbabe?\" asked he and she answered, \"Yes indeed, my child and thy\nchild, whom I conceived by thee while we abode in the cavern. But\nwhen my father[FN#555] took me therefrom and was leading me home\nwe encountered about midway a burning heat, so we halted and\npitched two tents for myself and my sire; then, as I sat within\nmine the labour-pangs came upon me and I bare a babe as the moon.\nBut my parent feared to carry it with us lest our honour be\nsmirched by tittle-tattle, so we left the little one in the tent\nwith two hundred gold pieces under its head, that whoso might\ncome upon it and take it and tend it might therewith be repaid.\"\nIn fine, she told her spouse the whole tale concerning her infant\nand declared that she had no longer patience to be parted from\nit. Her bridegroom consoled her and promised her with the fairest\npromises that he would certainly set out and travel and make\nsearch for the lost one amongst the lands, even though his\nabsence might endure through a whole year in the wilderness. And\nlastly he said to her, \"We will ask news and seek tidings of him\nfrom all the wayfarers who wend by that same valley, and certify\nourselves of the information, nor will we return to thee save\nwith assured knowledge; for this child is the fruit of my loins\nand I will never neglect him; no, never. Needs must I set forth\nand fare to those parts and search for my son.\" Such was their\ncase; but as regards the babe which had been abandoned (as we\nhave noticed), he lay alone for the first day and yet another\nwhen a caravan appeared passing along that same road; and, as\nsoon as they sighted the pavilion yet they saw none within, they\ndrew near to it and behold, they found a babe lying prostrate\nwith his fingers in his mouth and sucking thereat[FN#556] and he\nwas even as a slice of the moon. So they approached him and took\nhim up and found under his head the purse, whereupon they carried\nhim, not forgetting the gold, and showed him to the Shaykh of the\nCafilah[FN#557] who cried, \"Wall\ufffdhi, our way is a blessed for\nthat we have discovered this child; and, inasmuch as I have no\noffspring, I will take him and tend him and adopt him to son.\"\nNow this caravan was from the land of Al-Yaman and they had\nhalted on that spot for a night's rest, so when it was morning\nthey loaded and left it and fared forwards and they ceased not\nwayfaring until they reached their homes safe and sound. After\nreturning all the Cafilah folk dispersed, each to his own stead,\nbut the Shaykh, who was employed by government under the King of\nAl-Yaman, repaired to his own house accompanied by the child\nwhich he had carefully tended and salam'd to his wife. As soon as\nshe saw the babe she marvelled at his fashion and, sending for a\nwet-nurse, committed him for suckling to her and set apart for\nher a place; and the woman fell to tending him and cleaning him,\nand the house prospered for the master and dame had charge of\nit[FN#558] during the days of suckling. And when the boy was\nweaned they fed him fairly[FN#559] and took sedulous charge of\nhim, so he became accustomed to bespeak the man with, \"O my\npapa,\" and the woman with, \"O my mamma,\" believing the twain to\nbe truly his parents. This endured for some seven years when they\nbrought him a Divine to teach him at home, fearing lest he should\nfare forth the house; nor would they at any time send him to\nschool. So the tutor[FN#560] took him in hand and taught him\npolite letters and he became a reader and a writer and well\nversed in all knowledge before he reached his tenth year. Then\nhis adopted father appointed for him a horse that he might learn\ncavalarice and the shooting of shafts and firing of bullets at\nthe butt,[FN#561] and then brought for him a complete rider that\nhe might teach him all his art and when he came to the age of\nfourteen he became a doughty knight and a prow. Now one chance\nday of the days the youth purposed going to the wild that he\nmight hunt,--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 King\nsuffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that\nwas\n\n            The Eight Hundred and Fourteenth 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\nproposed going forth to the wild that he might hunt, but his\nguardians feared for him so that he availed not to fare forth.\nGrievous to him was it that he could not obtain his liberty to\nset out a-chasing, and there befel him much concern[FN#562] and a\nburning thirst; so he lay him down sore sick and troubled.\nHereupon his father and mother went in to him and, finding that\nhe had taken to his pillow, they mourned over him, and fearing\nlest he be afflicted by some disease they asked him, \"What is to\ndo with thee and what calamity hath befallen thee?\" Answered he,\n\"There is no help but that I go forth a-hunting in the\nwilderness.\" Quoth they, \"O our son, we fear for thee,\" and quoth\nhe, \"Fear not, for that all things be foredoomed from Eternity\nand, if aught be written for me, 'twill come to pass even\nalthough I were beside you; and the bye-word saith, 'Profiteth\nnot Prudence against Predestination.'\" Hereat they gave him\npermission, and upon the second day he rode forth to the chase,\nbut the wold and the wilds swallowed him up, and when he would\nhave returned he knew not the road, so he said to himself, \"Folk\ndeclare that affects are affected and footsteps are sped to a\nlife that is vile and divided daily bread.[FN#563] If aught be\nwritten to me fain must I fulfil it.\" And whenever he hunted down\na gazelle, he cut its throat and broiled the meat over a fire and\nnourished himself for a while of days and nights; but he was lost\nin those wastes until he drew in sight of a city. This he\nentered, but he had no money for food or for foraging his horse,\nso he sold it willy nilly and, hiring a room in a Wak\ufffdlah, lived\nby expending its price till the money was spent. Then he cried,\n\"There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the\nGlorious, the Great! The wise man doth even as the fool, but\nAll-might is to Allah.\" So he went forth to solace himself in the\nhighways of the city, looking rightwards and leftwards, until he\ncame to the gateway of the King's Palace, and when he glanced\naround he saw written over it, \"Dive not into the depths unless\nthou greed for thyself and thy wants.\"[FN#564] So he said in his\nmind, \"What is the meaning of these words I see here inscribed?\"\nPresently he repaired for aid to a man in a shop and salam'd to\nhim, and when his salutation was returned enquired of him, \"O my\nlord, what is the meaning of this writ which is written over the\nSultan's gateway?\" The other replied, \"O my son, whereof dost\nthou ask? Verily the Sultan and all the Lords of his land are in\nsore cark and care for the affair of his daughter, the Princess.\"\nThe youth rejoined, \"What is the matter with her and what hath\nbefallen her?\" and the man retorted, \"O my son, verily the Sultan\nhath a daughter so fair that she seemeth cast in the very mould\nof beauty and none in her day can excel her, but whoso is\nbetrothed to her and marrieth her and goeth in unto her the dawn\nnever cometh without his becoming a heap of poison, and no one\nwotteth the business what it may be.\" Hearing these words the\nyouth said to himself, \"By Allah, the death of me were better\nthan this the life of me, but I have no dower to offer her.\" Then\nhe asked the man, \"O my uncle, whoso lacketh money and wisheth to\nmarry her, how shall he act?\" \"O my son,\" answered the other,\n\"verily the Sultan demandeth nothing; nay, he expendeth of his\nown wealth upon her.\" The youth arose from beside the man at that\nmoment and, going in to the King, found him seated on his throne;\nso he salam'd to him and prayed for him and deprecated and kissed\nground before him, and when the King returned his salutation and\nwelcomed him he cried, \"O King of the Age, 'tis my intent and\ndesign to be connected with thee through the lady safe-guarded,\nthy daughter.\" \"By Allah, O Youth,\" said the Sultan, \"I consent\nnot for thine own sake that thou wed her by cause that thou wilt\nbe going wilfully to thy death;\" and hereupon he related to him\nall that befel each and every who had married her and had gone in\nunto her. Quoth the youth, \"O King of the Age, indeed I rely upon\nthe Lord, and if I die I shall fare to Allah and His ruth and, if\nI live, 'tis well, for that all things are from the Almighty.\"\nQuoth the Sultan, \"O Youth, counsel appertaineth to Allah, for\nthou art her equal in beauty;\" and the other rejoined, \"All\nthings are by Fate and man's lot.\" Hereupon the King summoned the\nKazi and bade tie the marriage-tie between the youth and his\ndaughter; then he went in to his Harem and apprised thereof her\nmother that she might prepare the girl's person for the coming\nnight. But the youth departed from the Sultan's presence perplext\nof heart and distraught, unknowing what to do; and, as he walked\nabout, suddenly he met a man in years, clean of raiment and with\nsigns of probity evident; so he accosted him and said, \"O my\nlord, ask a blessing for me.\" Said the Shaykh, \"O my son, may our\nLord suffice thee against all would work thee woe and may He ever\nforefend thee from thy foe.\"[FN#565] And the youth was gladdened\nby the good omen of the Shaykh's words. But when the Sultan had\nsought his Harem he said, \"By Allah, he who hath wedded the\ndamsel is a beautiful youth: oh the pity of it that he should\ndie! Indeed I dissuaded him, saying so-and-so shall befal thee,\nbut I could not deter him. Now by the rights of Him who raised\nthe firmament without basement, an our Lord deign preserve this\nYouth and he see the morn in safety, I will assuredly gift him\nand share with him all my good, for that I have no male issue to\nsucceed me in the sovranty; and this one, if Allah Almighty\nvouchsafe prolong his days, shall become my heir apparent and\ninherit after me. Indeed I deem him to be a son of the Kings who\ndisguiseth himself, or some Youth of high degree who is troubled\nabout worldly goods and who sayeth in himself, 'I will take this\ndamsel to wife that I may not die of want, for verily I am\nruined.' I diverted him from wedding her, but it could not be,\nand the more I deterred him with words manifold only the more\ngrew his desire and he cried, 'I am content'; thus speaking after\nthe fashion of one who longeth to perish. However, let him meet\nhis lot--either death-doom or deliverance from evil.\" Now when it\nwas eventide the Sultan sent to summon his son-in-law and,\nseating him beside the throne, fell to talking with him and\nasking after his case; but he concealed his condition and said,\n\"Thy servant is such whereof 'tis spoken, 'I fell from Heaven and\nwas received by Earth.' Ask me not, O King of the Age, or of the\nroot or of the branch, for one of the wise and ware hath said:--\n\n'To tell my root and my name refrain; * The root of the youth is\n     what good he gain:[FN#566]\nA wight without father full oft shall win * And melting shall\n     purify drossy strain.'\n\nAnd folk are equal but in different degrees.\"[FN#567] Now when\nthe Sultan heard these words, he wondered at his eloquence and\nsweetness of speech; withal he marvelled that his son-in-law\nwould not explain to him from what land or from what folk he\ncame. And the two ceased not their converse until after the hour\nof night prayers, when the Lords of the land had been dismissed;\nwhereupon the Sultan bade an eunuch take the youth and introduce\nhim to the Princess. So he arose from him and went with the\nslave, the King exclaiming the while, \"There is no Majesty and\nthere is no Might, save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great: verily\nyonder young man wendeth wilfully to his death.\" Now when the\nbridegroom reached the apartment of the Sultan's daughter and\nentered to her--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 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 Eight 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 youth,\nwhen entering to the Sultan's daughter, exclaimed \"Bismillah--in\nthe name of Allah--I place my trust upon Allah, and I have\ncommitted mine affair unto Allah!\" Then he went forwards and\nfound his bride seated upon her bedstead, and she was as a Hoard\nnewly loosed from its Talisman; while she on her part rose and\nmet him, and looked upon him and considered him until she was\ncertified of his being cast in beauty's mould, nor had she ever\nseen any like unto him. So she wept till the tears trickled adown\nher cheeks and she said to herself, \"Oh the pity of it! Never\nshall my joy be fulfilled with this beautiful youth, than whom\nmine eyes never fell upon one fairer.\" Quoth he, \"What causeth\nthee cry, O my lady?\" and quoth she, \"I cry for the loss of my\njoys with thee seeing that thou art to perish this very night;\nand I sue of the Almighty and supplicate Him that my life may be\nthy ransom, for by Allah 'tis a pity!\" When he heard these words\nhe presently looked around and suddenly he sighted a magical\nSword[FN#568] hanging by the belt against the wall: so he arose\nand hent it and threw it across his shoulders; then, returning he\ntook seat upon the couch beside the Sultan's daughter, withal his\nheart and his tongue never neglected to recite the Names of Allah\nor to sue aidance from the Prince of the Hallows[FN#569] who\nalone can reconcile with the Almighty fiat the fates and affairs\nof God's servants. This lasted for an hour until the first third\nof the night, when suddenly were heard the bellowings as of wind\nand rumblings of thunder, and the bride, perceiving all the\nportents which had occurred to others, increased in weeping and\nwailing. Then lo and behold! a wall amiddlemost the chamber clave\nasunder, and there issued forth the cleft a Basilisk[FN#570]\nresembling a log of palm-tree, and he was blowing like the\nstorm-blast and his eyes were as cressets and he came on\nwriggling and waving. But when the youth saw the monster he\nsprang up forthright with stout heart that knew naught of\nstartling or affright, and cried out, \"Protect me, O Chief and\nLode-star of the Hallows, for I have thrown myself upon thine\nhonour and am under thy safe-guard.\" So saying and setting hand\non brand he advanced and confronted the portent swiftlier than an\neye-glance, raising his elbow till the blackness of the armpit\nappeared; and he cried out with a loud outcry whereto the whole\ncity re-echoed, and which was audible even to the Sultan. Then he\nsmote the monster upon his neck[FN#571] and caused head to fly\nfrom body for a measure of some two spans. Hereupon the Basilisk\nfell dead, but the youth was seized by a fainting-fit for the\nmighty stress of his stroke, and the bride arose for the excess\nof her joy and threw herself upon him and swooned away for a\nfull-told hour. When the couple recovered, the Princess fell to\nkissing his hands and feet and wiping with her kerchief the sweat from his brow and saying to him, \"O my lord, and light of\nmine eyes, may none thy hand ever foreslow nor exult over thee\nany foe,\" till he had recovered his right senses and had regained\nhis strength. Anon he arose, and taking the Basilisk set it upon\na large tray;[FN#572] then, letting bring a skinful of water he\ncleaned away the blood. After this the youth and the King's\ndaughter sat down and gave each other joy of their safety and\nstraightway disappeared from them all traces of distress.\nPresently the Bridegroom looked at his Bride and found her like a\npearl, so he caused her to laugh and disported with her and\nexcited her and she did on like wise and at last he threw her\nupon her back and did away her maidenhead, whenas their gladness\ngrew and their pleasures were perfected and their joyance was\nenhanced by the monster's death. They ceased not, the twain of\nthem, toying and enjoying themselves until it was well nigh dawn\nand sleep overcame them and they slumbered. But the Sultan during\nthat night could relish nor lying down nor sitting up, and as\nsoon as he heard the shout he cried, \"The Youth is indeed dead\nand this world hath fled! There is no Majesty and there is no\nMight save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great.\" About morning-tide\nhe prepared for him a shroud and mortuary perfumes, and all\nthings required, and despatched a party to dig a tomb for him who\nhad been slain by the side of his daughter, and he let make an\niron bier, after which he sent for the washers of the dead and\nsummoned them to his presence and lastly he awaited for his wife\nto seek her daughter and bring him the tidings--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 King suffer me to survive?\" Now\nwhen it was the next night and that was\n\n            The Eight Hundred and Nineteenth 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\nsat until morning-tide expecting his wife to bring him tidings of\nthe youth that he might take him and bury him. But the\nQueen-mother repaired to her daughter's apartment where she found\nthe door locked and bolted upon the couple; so she knocked for\nthem whilst her eyes were tear-stained and she was wailing over\nthe loss of her daughter's love-liesse. Hereat the Princess awoke\nand she arose and opened the door when behold, she found her\nmother weeping so she asked her, \"What caused thee shed tears, O\nMother mine, whilst my enjoyment hath been the completest?\" Asked\nshe, \"And what hath joyed you?\" So the daughter led her to the\nmiddlemost of the apartment where she found the Basilisk (which\nwas like the section of a palm-trunk) lying dead upon a huge tray\nand she saw her son-in-law sleeping upon the bedstead[FN#573] and\nhe was like a fragment of the moon on the fourteenth night. The\nmother bowed head towards him and kissed him upon the brow\nsaying, \"Verily and indeed thou deservest safety!\" Then she went\nforth from him lullilooing aloud and bade all the handmaids raise\nthe cry of joy[FN#574] and the Palace was turned topsy-turvy with\ngladness and delight. When the Sultan heard this he arose and\nasked \"What may be the news? Are we in grief or in gladness;\" and\nso saying he went forth when suddenly he was met by his wife in\nthe highest delight who took him and led him to the apartment of\nher daughter. There he also espied the Basilisk stretched dead\nupon the tray and the youth his son-in-law lying asleep upon the\nbedstead, whereat from the stress of his joyance he fell to the\nfloor in a fainting-fit which lasted an hour or so. But when he\nrevived he cried, \"Is this wake or rather is't sleep?\" after\nwhich he arose and bade the musicians of his band beat the\nkettledrums and blow the shawms and the trumps and he commanded\nadorn the city; and the citizens did all his bidding. The\ndecorations remained during seven days in honour of the safety of\nthe Sultan's son-in-law, and increased were their joys and fell\nfrom them all annoys, and the Sultan took to distributing and\ngiving alms and largessing and making presents to the Fakirs and\nthe miserable and he robed his nobles with honourable robes and\nfed the captives and the prisoners one and all;[FN#575] and the\nnaked he clothed, and those anhungered he feasted in honour of\nhis daughter. Then said the Sultan, \"By Allah, this youth\ndeserveth naught save that I make him my partner and share with\nhim my good, for he hath banished from us our dule and our\ndolours and eke on account of himself and his own sake.\" After\nthis he made over to him half of his realm and his riches and the\nSultan would rule one day and his son-in-law the other and their\njoys endured for the space of a full-told year. Then the Sovran\nwas seized of a sickness, so he bequeathed to his son-in-law all\nhe had and everything he owned; and but a little time elapsed\nbefore his malady increased day by day until he fared to the ruth\nof Almighty Allah and the youth sat in his stead as Sovran and\nSultan. Such was his case; but as regards the matter of his sire,\nthe King's son of Al-'Irak, when he promised his wife that he\nwould certainly go forth and travel and search for their son, he\nceased not wending through the regions for a length of nights and\ndays until Destiny threw him into such-and-such a city; and from\nthe excess of what he had suffered of toil and travail he tarried\ntherein a time. Now the Shaykh of the Caravans (who had found the\nbabe in the tent and had taken him and had tended and adopted\nhim, and from whom the youth when grown to man's estate had\ndisappeared on the hunting excursion and returned not to his\nparents) also set out a-seeking him and fell diligently to\nsearching for tidings of him and roaming from place to place.\nPresently he was cast by doom of Destiny into the same city; and,\nas he found none to company with, he was suddenly met on one of\nthe highways by the youth's true father and the twain made\nacquaintance and became intimate until they nighted and morning'd\nin the same stead; withal neither knew what was his companion.\nBut one night of the nights the two sat down in talk and the true\nsire asked the adoptive father, \"O my brother, tell us the cause\nof thy going forth from thy country and of thy coming hither?\"\nAnswered his comrade, \"By Allah, O my brother, my tale is a\nwondrous and mine adventure is a marvellous.\" Quoth he, \"And\nhow?\" and quoth the other, \"I was Shaykh of the Cafilahs on\nvarious trading journeys, and during one of them I passed by a\nway of the ways where I found a pavilion pitched at a forking of\nthe roads. So I made for it and dismounted my party in that place\nand I glanced at the tent but we found none therein, whereupon I\nwent forwards and entered it and saw a babe new-born strown upon\nhis back and sucking his fingers.[FN#576] So I raised him between\nmy hands and came upon a purse of two hundred dinars set under\nhis head; and I took the gold and carried it off together with\nthe child.\" But when his comrade, the true father, heard this\ntale from him he said to himself, \"This matter must have been\nafter such fashion,\" and he was certified that the foundling was\nhis son, for that he had heard the history told by the mother of\nthe babe with the same details essential and accidental. So he\nfirmly believed[FN#577] in these words and rejoiced thereat, when\nhis comrade continued, \"And after that, O my brother, I bore off\nthat babe and having no offspring I gave him to my wife who\nrejoiced therein and brought him a wet-nurse to suckle him for\nthe usual term. When he had reached his sixth year I hired a\nDivine to read with him and teach him writing and the art of\npenmanship;[FN#578] and, as soon as he saw ten years, I bought\nhim a horse of the purest blood, whereon he learnt cavalarice and\nthe shooting of shafts and the firing of bullets until he\nattained his fifteenth year. Presently one day of the days he\nasked to go a-hunting in the wilderness, but we his parents (for\nhe still held me to be his father and my wife his mother) forbade\nhim in fear of accidents; whereupon he waxed sore sorrowful and\nwe allowed him leave to fare forth.\"--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 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 Eight Hundred and Twenty-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\nadoptive father pursued to his comrade, \"So we permitted him to\nhie a-hunting, and he farewelled us and went forth from us and\nleft us, whereat we fell to beweeping him; and inasmuch as until\nthis present he hath not returned to us, I have set out to seek\nhim and here am I in this place searching for traces of him.\nPeradventure may Allah Almighty deign unite me with him and gar\nme forgather with him; for, Wall\ufffdhi! from the hour he went from\nus sleep hath done us no good nor have we found relish in food.\"\nAnd when the speech was ended, quoth his comrade, \"O my brother,\nwhenas he is not the son of thy loins and he could prove himself\nperverse to thee, what must be the condition in his regard of the\nfather who begat him and the mother who enwombed him?\" He\nreplied, \"Theirs must be cark and care and misery beyond even\nmine;\" and the other rejoined, \"By Allah, O my brother, verily\nthe relation thou hast related anent this child proveth that he\nis, by God, my child and of mine own seed, for in sooth his\nmother gave birth to him in that stead where she left him being\nunable to carry him with her; but now she beweepeth the loss of\nhim through the nights and the days.\" \"O my brother,\" quoth the\nadoptive father, \"we twain, I and thou, will indeed make public\nsearch and open inquiry for him through the lands, and Allah\nAlmighty shall guide us himwards.\" When morning came the pair\nwent forth together intending to journey from that city, but by\ndoom of the Decreer the Sultan on that very day set out to visit\nthe gardens; and, when the travellers heard tidings thereof, one\nsaid to the other, \"Let us stay and solace ourselves with a sight\nof the royal suite and after we will wend our ways.\" Said his\ncomrade, \"'Tis well.\" So they took their station to await the\nissuing forth of the Sultan, who suddenly rode out amid his suite\nas the two stood leaning beside the road and looking at the\nSultan, when behold, his glance fell upon the two men. He at once\nrecognised the father who had reared him, and when he gazed at\nthe other standing beside him his heart was opened to the love of\nhim albeit he weeted naught of their tie of blood nor believed\nthat any was his sire save the Shaykh who had adopted him.\nAccordingly, after considering them he bade carry them both to\nthe House of Hospitality, so they led them thither and did his\nbidding. Hereupon the twain said to themselves, \"Wherefore hath\nthe Sultan made us his guests? Nor he knoweth us nor we know him\nand needs must this have a cause.\" But after leaving them the\nKing rode to the gardens where he tarried the whole day, and when\nit was sunset he returned to his Palace, and at suppertide\ncommanded the men be brought before him. They salam'd to him and\nblessed him and he returned their salutations, and bade them take\nseat at the trays whereat none other was present. They obeyed his\norder much wondering thereat the while and musing in their minds,\n\"What condition is this?\" They ate till they were satisfied,\nafter which the food-trays were removed and they washed their\nhands and drank coffee and sherbets; then, by command of the\nKing, they sat down to converse when the Sultan addressed them\ninstead of the others, whereat they marvelled self-communing and\nsaying, \"What can be the cause?\" But as soon as all the\nattendants had been dismissed to their quarters and no one\nremained save the Sultan and his guests (three in all and no\nmore), and it was the first third of the night, the King asked\nthem, \"Which of you availeth to tell a tale which shall be a\njoyance to our hearts?\" The first to answer him was the true\nfather, who said, \"Wall\ufffdhi, O King of the Age, there befel me an\nadventure which is one of the wonders of the world, and 'tis\nthis. I am son to a King of the Kings of the earth who was\nwealthy of money and means, and who had the goods of life beyond\nmeasure. He feared for my safety because he had none other save\nmyself, and one day of the days, when I craved leave to go\na-hunting in the wilderness, he refused me in his anxiety for my\nsafety.\" (Hereat, quoth the Sultan in himself, \"By Allah, the\nstory of this man is like my history!\") \"So quoth I, 'O King,\nunless I fare forth to sport, verily I will slay myself,' and\nquoth my sire, 'O my son, do thou go ride to the chase, but leave\nus not long for the hearts of us two, I and thy mother, will be\nengrossed by thee.' Said I, 'Hearing and obeying,' and I went\ndown to the stable to take a steed; and finding a smaller stall\nwherein was a horse chained to four posts and, on guard beside\nhim two slaves who could never draw near him, I approached him\nand fell to smoothing his coat. He remained silent and still\nwhilst I took his furniture and set it upon his back, and girthed\nhis saddle right tight and bridled him and loosed him from the\nfour posts, and during all this he never started not shied at me\nby reason of the Fate and Fortune writ upon my forehead from the\nSecret World. Then I got him ready and mounted him and went\nforth\"--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 Eight 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 man\nwho was bespeaking the Sultan pursued to him, \"Then I mounted him\nand rode him over the gravelly ground without the city when\nbehold, he snorted and snarked and shook his crest and started at\nspeed and galloped with me and bolted, swiftly as though he were\na bird in the firmament of heaven.\" On this wise he fell to\nrecounting all that had befallen in the cave between him and the\nMerchant's daughter and what had betided him by decree of Allah;\nhow he had left her for his own land and how had her sire come\nand carried her away; also in what manner she had been delivered\nof a son by him on the road and had left her babe-child in the\ntent hoping that someone might find him and take him and tend\nhim; and, lastly, how he had married the child's mother and what\nwas the cause of his going forth and his coming to that place\nthat he might seek his son. Hereupon the Sultan turned to his\nadoptive father whom hitherto he had believed to be his real\nparent saying, \"And thou, the other, dost thou know any tale like\nthat told to us by thy comrade?\" So the Shaykh recounted to him\nthe whole history as hath before been set forth from incept to\nconclusion, nor hid from him aught thereof. Then the Sultan\ndeclared himself to his true sire, saying, \"Thou art my father\nand there befel such things and such,\" after which said his\nadoptive parent, \"Wall\ufffdhi, O my son, verily none is thy father\nsave this one from whose loins thou art sprung, for I only found\nthee in the pavilion and took thee and tended thee in my home.\nBut this is thy very parent in very deed.\" Hereat all the three\nfell upon one another's necks and kissed one another and the\nSultan cried, \"Praise to Him who hath united us after disunion!\"\nand the others related to him anent his maternal grandfather how\nhe was a Merchant, and concerning his paternal grandsire how he\nwas a Monarch. Anon each of the two was ordered to revisit his\nown country and convey his consort and his children; and the\ntwain disappeared for the space of a year and a month and at\nlength returned to the young King. Hereupon he set apart for them\npalaces and settled them therein and they tarried with him until\nsuch time as there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the\nSeverer of societies.\n\n\n\n\n\n        Story of the Youth Who Would Futter His Father's\n                         Wives.[FN#579]\n\n\n\nIt is related that there was a man who had a grown-up son, but\nthe youth was a ne'er-do-well,[FN#580] and whatever wife his sire\nwedded, the son would devise him a device to lie with her and\nhave his wicked will of her, and he so managed the matter that\nhis father was forced to divorce her. Now the man once married a\nbride beautiful exceedingly and, charging her beware of his son,\njealously guarded her from him.--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 King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was\nthe next night, and that was\n\n          The Eight Hundred and Thirty-second Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nnot sleeping, finish for us 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 father\napplied himself to safe-guarding his wife and gave her a charge\nwarning her with threats against his son and saying, \"Whenas I\nwed ever a woman, yonder youth by his cunning manageth to have\nhis wicked will of her.\" Quoth she, \"O Man, what be these words\nthou speakest? This thy son is a dog, nor hath he power to do\nwith me aught, and I am a lady amongst women.\" Quoth he, \"Indeed\nI but charge thee to have a care of thyself.[FN#581] Haply I may\nhie me forth to wayfare and he will lay some deep plot for thee\nand work with thee as he wrought with others.\" She replied, \"O\nMan, hold thyself secure therefrom for an he bespeak me with a\nsingle word I will slipper him with my papoosh;\"[FN#582] and he\nrejoined, \"May safety be thine!\" He cohabited with her for a\nmonth till one day of the days when he was compelled to travel;\nso he went in to his wife and cautioned her and was earnest with\nher saying, \"Have a guard of thyself from my son the debauchee\nfor 'tis a froward fellow, a thief, a miserable, lest he come\nover thee with some wile and have his will of thee.\" Said she,\n\"What words are these? Thy son is a dog nor hath he any power\nover me in aught whereof thou talkest, and if he bespeak me with\none injurious word, I will slipper him soundly with my foot-\ngear.\"[FN#583] He rejoined, \"If thou happen to need aught[FN#584]\nnever even mention it to him;\" and she, \"Hearkening and\nobedience.\" So he farewelled her and fared forth wholly intent\nupon his wayfare. Now when he was far enough from the town the\nyouth came to the grass-widow but would not address a single word\nto her, albeit fire was lighted in his heart by reason of her\nbeing so beautiful. Accordingly he contrived a wile. It happened\nto be summer-tide so he went[FN#585] to the house and repaired to\nthe terrace-roof, and there he raised his clothes from his\nsitting-place and exposed his backside stark naked to the cooling\nbreeze; then he leant forwards propped on either elbow and,\nspreading his hands upon the ground, perked up[FN#586] his\nbottom. His stepmother looked at him and marvelling much said in\nher mind, \"Would Heaven I knew of this froward youth what may be\nhis object!\"[FN#587] However he never looked at her nor ever\nturned towards her but he abode quiet in the posture he had\nchosen. She stared hard at him and at last could no longer\nrefrain from asking him, \"Wherefore dost thou on this wise?\" He\nanswered, \"And why not? I am doing that shall benefit me in the\nfuture, but what that is I will never tell thee; no, never.\" She\nrepeated her question again and again, and at last he replied, \"I\ndo thus when 'tis summer-tide and a something of caloric entereth\nmy belly through my backside and when 'tis winter the same cometh forth and warmeth my body; and in the cool season I do the same and the frigoric cometh forth in the dog-days and keepeth me in heats like these, fresh and comfortable.\"[FN#588] She asked, \"An\nI do what thou doest, shall it be the same to me?\" And he\nanswered, \"Aye.\" Herewith she came forward beside him and raised\nher raiment from her behind till the half of her below the waist\nwas stark naked;--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 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 Eight 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 grass-\nwidow came forward beside her stepson and raised her raiment from\nher behind until the half of her below the waist was stark naked;\nand she did even as her husband's son had done, and perked up her\nbuttocks, leaning heavily upon her knees and elbows. Now when she\nacted on this wise the youth addressed her saying, \"Thou canst\nnot do it aright.\" \"How so?\" \"Because the wind passing in through\nthe postern passeth out through thy portal, thy solution of\ncontinuity.\" \"Then how shall I do?\" \"Stopper thy slit\nwherethrough the air passeth.\" \"How shall  I stopper it?\" \"An\nthou stopper it not thy toil will be in vain.\" \"Dost thou know\nhow to stopper it?\" \"Indeed I do!\" \"Then rise up and stopper\nit.\" Hearing these words he arose, because indeed he greeded for\nher, and came up behind her as she rested upon her elbows and\nknees and hending in hand his prickle nailed it into her coynte\nand did manly devoir. And after having his will of her he said,\n\"Thou hast now done thy best for me and thy belly is filled full\nof the warm breeze.\" On this wise he continued every day,\nenjoying the wife of his father for some time during his wayfare,\ntill the traveller returned home, and on his entering the house\nthe bride rose and greeted him and said, \"Thou hast been absent\noverlong!\"[FN#589] The man sat with her awhile and presently\nasked of her case for that he was fearful of his son; so she\nanswered, \"I am hale and hearty!\" \"Did my son ask thee of aught?\"\n\"Nay, he asked me not, nor did he ever address me: withal, O Man,\nhe hath admirable and excellent expedients and indeed he is\ndeeply versed in natural philosophy.\" \"What expedients and what\nnatural philosophy?\" \"He tucketh up his dress and exposeth his\nbackside to the breeze which now passeth into his belly and\nbenefiteth him throughout the cold season, and in winter he doeth\nexactly what he did in summer with effect as beneficial. And I\nalso have done as he did.\" Now when the husband heard these her\nwords he knew that the youth had practised upon her and had\nenjoyed his desire of her; so he asked her, \"And what was it thou\ndiddest?\" She answered, \"I did even as he did. However the breeze\nwould not at first enter into my belly for whatever passed\nthrough the back postern passed out of the front portal, and the\nyouth said to me, 'Stopper up thy solution of continuity.' I\nasked him, 'Dost thou know how to stopper it?' and he answered,\n'Indeed I do!' Then he arose and blocked it with his prickle; and\nevery day I continued to do likewise and he to stopper up the\npeccant part with the wherewithal he hath.\" All this was said to\nthe husband who listened with his head bowed groundwards; but\npresently he raised it and cried, \"There is no Majesty and there\nis no might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great;\" and suddenly\nas they were speaking on that subject the youth came in to them--\nAnd Shahrazad 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 King suffer me to\nsurvive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n           The Eight Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nnot sleeping, finish for us 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 worth celebrating, that the youth came in\nto his father and found his stepmother relating to him all they\nhad done whilst he was away and the man said to him, \"Wherefore,\nO youth, hast thou acted on such wise?\" Said the son, \"What harm\nhave I done? I only dammed the waterway that the warm air might\nabide in her belly and comfort her in the cold season.\" So the\nfather knew that his son had played this trick in order to have\nhis will of her. Hereat he flew into a fury[FN#590] and\nforthright divorced her, giving her the contingent dowry; and she\nwent her ways. Then the man said in his mind, \"I shall never get\nthe better of this boy until I marry two wives and ever keep them\nwith each other, so that he may not cozen the twain.\" Now after a\ncouple of weeks he espoused a fair woman fairer than his former\nand during the next month he wived with a second and cohabited\nwith the two brides. Then quoth the youth in his mind, \"My papa\nhath wedded two perfect beauties and here am I abiding in single\nblessedness. By Allah, there is no help but that I play a prank\nupon both of them!\" Then he fell to seeking a contrivance but he\ncould not hit upon aught for that whenever he entered the house\nhe found his two step-mothers sitting together and thus he could\nnot avail to address either. But his father never fared forth\nfrom home or returned to it without warning his wives and saying,\n\"Have a care of yourselves against that son of mine. He is a\nwhoremonger and he hath made my life distraught, for whenever I\ntake to myself a wife he serveth some sleight upon her; then he\nlaugheth at her and so manageth that I must divorce her.\" At such\ntimes the two wives would cry, \"Wall\ufffdhi, an he come near us and\nask us of amorous mercy we will slap him with our slippers.\"\nStill the man would insist, saying, \"Be ye on your guard against\nhim,\" and they would reply, \"We are ever on our guard.\" Now one\nday the women said to him, \"O man, our wheat is finished,\" and\nsaid he, \"Be ye watchful while I fare to the Bazar in our market-\ntown which lieth hard by and fetch you the corn.\" So he left them\nand made for the town,--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 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 Eight 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 worth celebrating, that when the\nfather had gone forth and was making for the market-town, his son\nhappened to meet him, and the two wives went up to the terrace\nwishing to see if their husband be gone or not. Now by the decree\nof the Decreer the man had in some carelessness forgotten his\npapooshes so he turned to the youth who was following him and\nsaid, \"O my son, go back and bring me my shoes.\" The women still\nstood looking, and the youth returned in mighty haste and hurry till he stood under the terrace, when he looked up and said, \"My father hath just now charged me with a charge saying, 'Do thou go sleep with my wives, the twain of them, and have each one of them\nonce.' They replied, \"What, O dog, O accursed, thy father bespake\nthee on this wise? By Allah, indeed thou liest, O hog, O ill-\nomened wight.\" \"Wallahi,\" he rejoined, \"I lie not!\" So he walked\nback till he was near his father when he shouted his loudest so\nas to be heard by both parties, \"O my papa, O my papa, one of\nthem or the two of them? One of them or the two of them?\" The\nfather shouted in reply, \"The two, the two! Allah disappoint\nthee: did I say one of them or the two of them?\" So the youth\nreturned to his father's wives and cried, \"Ye have heard what my\npapa said. I asked him within your hearing, 'One of them or the\ntwo of them?' and ye heard him say, 'Both, both.'\" Now the man\nwas speaking of his slippers, to wit, the pair; but the women\nunderstood that his saying, \"the two of them\" referred to his\nwives. So one turned to her sister spouse and said, \"So it\nis,[FN#591] our ears heard it and the youth hath in no wise lied:\nlet him lie with me once and once with thee even as his father\nbade him.\" Both were satisfied herewith; but meanwhile the son\nstole quietly into the house and found his father's papooshes:\nthen he caught him up on the road and gave them to him and the\nman went his ways. Presently the youth returned to the house and\ntaking one of his father's wives lay with her and enjoyed her and\nshe also had her joy of him; and when he had done all he wanted\nwith her he fared forth from her to the second wife in her\nchamber and stretched himself beside her and toyed with her and\nfuttered her. She saw in the son a something she had not seen in\nthe sire, so she joyed in him and he joyed in her. Now when he\nhad won his will of the twain and had left the house the women\nforegathered and began talking and saying, \"By Allah, this youth\nhath given us both much amorous pleasure, far more than his\nfather ever did; but when our husband shall return let us keep\nour secret even though he spake the words we heard: haply he may\nnot brook too much of this thing.\" So as soon as the man came\nback with the wheat he asked the women saying, \"What befel you?\"\nand they answered, \"O Man, art thou not ashamed to say to thy\nson, 'Go sleep with both thy father's wives?' 'Tis lucky that\nthou hast escaped.\" Quoth he, \"Never said I aught of this\"; and\nquoth they, \"But we heard thee cry, 'The two of them.'\" He\nrejoined, \"Allah disappoint you: I forgot my papooshes and said\nto him, 'Go fetch them.' He cried out 'One of them or the two of\nthem?' and I replied, 'The two of them,' meaning my shoes, not\nyou.\" \"And we,\" said they, \"when he spake to us such words\nslippered him and turned him out and now he never cometh near\nus.\" \"Right well have ye done,\" he rejoined, \"'tis a fulsome\nfellow.\" This was their case; but as regards the youth, he fell\nto watching and dogging his father's path, and whenever the man\nleft the house and went afar from it he would go in to the women\nwho rejoiced in his coming. Then he would lie with one, and when\nhe had won his will of her he would go to the sister-wife and\ntumble her. This lasted for some time, until the women said each\nto other, \"What need when he cometh to us for each to receive him\nseparately in her room? Let us both be in one chamber and when he\nvisiteth us let us all three, we two and he, have mutual joyance\nand let him pass from one to the other.\" And they agreed to this\ncondition, unknowing the decree of Allah which was preparing to\npunish the twain for their abandoned wantonness.--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 Eight Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nnot sleeping, finish for us 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 two women\nagreed to partnership in iniquity with the youth their stepson.\nNow on the next day the man went forth and left his house for\nsome pressing occasion and his son followed him till he saw him\nfar distant: then the youth repaired to the two wives and found\nthem both in one chamber. So he asked them, \"Why doth not each of\nyou go to her own apartment?\" and they answered, \"What use is\nthere in that? Let us all be together and take our joy, we and\nthou.\" So he lay between them and began to toy with them and\ntumble them; and roll over them and mount upon the bubbies of one\nand thence change seat to the other's breasts and while so doing\nall were plunged in the sea of enjoyment.[FN#592] But they knew\nnot what lurked for them in the hidden World of the Future.\nPresently, lo and behold! the father returned and entered the\nhouse when none of them expected him or was ware of him; and he\nheard their play even before he went into the chamber. Here he\nleant against a side-wall and privily viewed their proceedings\nand the lewd state they were in; and he allowed time to drag on\nand espied them at his ease, seeing his son mount the breasts of\none woman and then shift seat to the bubbies of his other wife.\nAfter noting all this he fared quietly forth the house and sought\nthe Wali complaining of the case; so the Chief of Police took\nhorse and repaired with him to his home where, when the two went\nin, they found the three at the foulest play. The Wali arrested\nthem one and all and carried them with elbows pinioned to his\noffice. Here he made the youth over to the Linkman who struck his\nneck, and as for the two women he bade the executioner delay till\nnightfall and then take them and strangle them and hide their\ncorpses underground. And lastly he commanded the public Crier go\nabout all the city and cry:--\"This be the award of high treason.\" And men also relate (continued Shahrazad) the\n\n\n\n\n\n            STORY OF THE TWO LACK-TACTS OF CAIRO AND\n                       DAMASCUS.[FN#593]\n\n\n\nWhilome in Cairo-city there was a man famed as a Lack-tact and\nanother in Damascus was celebrated for the like quality. Each had\nheard of his compeer and longed to forgather with him and sundry\nfolk said to the Syrian, \"Verily the Lack-tact of Egypt is\nsharper than thou and a cleverer physiognomist and more\nintelligent, and more penetrating, and much better company; also\nhe excelleth thee in debate proving the superiority of his lack\nof tact.\" Whereto the Damascene would reply, \"No, by Allah, I am\nmore tasteful in my lack of tact than yon Cairene;\" but his\npeople ceased not to bespeak him on this wise until his heart was\nfilled full of their words; so one day of the days he cried, \"By\nAllah, there is no help for it but I fare for Cairo and forgather\nwith her Lack-tact.\" Hereupon he journeyed from Damascus and\nceased not wayfaring till he reached Cairo. The time was about\nset of sun and the first who met him on the road was a woman; so\nhe asked her concerning certain of the highways of the city and\nshe answered, \"What a Lack-tact thou must be to put such a\nquestion at such an hour! Whoso entereth a strange place in the\nmorning enquireth about its highways, but whoso entereth at\neventide asketh about its caravanserai[FN#594] wherein he may\nnight.\" \"Sooth thou sayest,\" rejoined he, \"but my lack of tact\nhath weakened my wits.\" He then sought news of the Khans and they\nshowed him one whereto he repaired and passed the night; and in\nthe morning--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 Eight 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\nLack-tact of Damascus passed the night in the Wak\ufffdlah and in the\nmorning he went forth and wandered about the highways of Cairo\nquesting her Lack-tact; and, when they informed him of his\nrival's whereabouts, he forgathered with him and was received\nwith an honorable reception and was welcomed and kindly entreated\nand comfortably seated that the twain might talk over the news of\nthe world. Presently quoth the Lack-tact of Damascus to the\nLack-tact of Cairo, \"I would that we two test each other's\nquality by playing a prank in turn; and whoso shall be preferred\nby the testimony of the general, he shall lord it over his\nrival.\" The Cairene asked, \"Which of us shall begin?\" and the\nDamascene answered, \"I,\" whereto the other rejoined, \"Do whatso\nthou willest.\" So the Syrian went forth and hired him an ass\nwhich he drove out of the city to a neighbouring clump of\nAusaj-bushes[FN#595] and other thorns whereof he cut down a\ndonkey-load, and setting the net-full upon the beast's back\nreturned to the city. He then made for the B\ufffdb al-Nasr,[FN#596]\nbut he could not enter for the crowding of the folk frequenting\nit and the Cairene was gladdened by his doings: so the man\nstinted not standing there with his ass and load of thorns till\nmorn was near, when he lost his temper and urged his beast close\nup to the gate. By so doing all the garments of the wayfarers\nwhich were caught by the Ausaj-thorns were torn to rags and\ntatters, and some of the people beat him and others buffetted him\nand others shoved him about saying, \"What a superior Lack-tact\nthou art! Allah ruin thy natal realm! Thou hast torn folk's dress\nto rags and tatters with that load of thorns.\" Still he drave his\ndonkey onwards albeit the people cried to him, \"O man, withdraw\nthee, the passengers are all jammed at the gate;\" but he would\nnot retire and those present dealt him more blows and abuse.\nHereat he only cried, \"Let me pass through!\" and pushed on\nwhereby he obtained a severer beating. This lasted till\nmid-afternoon, for he could on nowise enter by reason of the\ncrush at the B\ufffdb al-Nasr; but about sundown the crowd thinned and\nso he drove on his ass and passed the gate. Then quoth to him the\nCairene, \"What is this thou hast done? This is mere\nhorseplay[FN#597] and not lack of tact.\" Now on the morning of\nthe next day the Lack-tact of Cairo was required to play his\nprank even as the Damascene had done; so he rose up and girded\nhis loins and tucked up his sleeves and took up a tray--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 Eight Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,\n\nDunyazad said to her, \"Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be\nnot sleeping, finish for us 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 Egyptian rose\nup and girded his loins and tucked up his sleeves, and taking him\na tray said to the Syrian, \"Up and after me and see what I shall\ndo.\" Then he went out tray on head, and foregoing the Damascene\nto a flower-garden he gathered a bundle of blooms and\nsweet-scented herbs, pinks and roses and basil and\npennyroyal[FN#598] and marjoram and other such, until the tray\nwas filled, after which he turned to town. About noontide he\nrepaired to one of the Cathedral-mosques and entered the\nlavatory,[FN#599] around which were some fifteen privies:[FN#600]\nso he stood amiddlemost the floor considering the folk as they\nentered the jakes to do their jobs in private lest the\nbazar-people come upon them during their easement. And all were\nsore pressed wanting to pass urine or to skite; so whenever a man\nentered the place in a hurry he would draw the door to. Then the\nLack-tact of Cairo would pull the door open, and go in to him\ncarrying a posy of perfumed herbs, and would say, \"Thy\nfavour![FN#601] O my brother,\" and the man would shout out\nsaying, \"Allah ruin thy natal realm, are we at skite or at\nfeast?\" whereat all standing there would laugh at him. Suddenly\none rushed into the lavatory sore pressed and hanging an\narse[FN#602] and crying aloud in his grievous distress, \"O Allah,\nO His Prophet, aid me!\" for that he feared to let fly in his\nbag-trousers. Then the Lack-tact would accost him holding in hand\nhis posy of perfumed herbs, and softly saying, \"Bismillah-take\nit, and give me thy favour;\" and the man would roar at the top of\nhis voice, \"Allah disappoint thee! what a Lack-tact thou art: I\nam sore pressed; get thee out.\" And the further that man would\nfare away from him the closer he would follow him saying, \"Thy\nfavour! Take it! Smell it!\" Now at that time all the cabinets of\neasement were full of people, nor did one remain vacant, and the\ndistressed man stood there expecting someone to issue that he\nmight enter; but in his condition the delay was over-long--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 Eight 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\nCairene Lack-tact kept bespeaking that sorely distressed man and\nfollowing him as he fled, crying out to him and saying, \"Away\nfrom me, am I not this moment about to skite or am I at a feast?\"\ntill at last the excess of weight in his arse-gut caused him to\nlet fly in his bag-trousers and bewray all his behind. And during\nthis time none came out of the jakes, so the unhappy sat in his\nunease and all the folk seeing him conskite himself fell to\nlaughing at him as he sat there, and the Lack-tact of Cairo\ncontinued offering him the posy, saying, \"Thy favour!\" and the\nother continned shouting his loudest, \"Am I at skite or at a\nfeast?\" Thereupon the Lack-tact of Damascus turned to his rival\nand cried, \"The F\ufffdtihah[FN#603] is in thy books, O Chief Joker of\nCairo. By Allah (and the Almighty grant thee length of life!)\nthou hast excelled me in everything, and they truly say that none\ncan surpass or overcome the Cairene and men have agreed to\ndeclare that the Syrian winneth his wish and gaineth only blame,\nwhile the Egyptian winneth not his wish and gaineth thanks and\npraise.\" And amongst other things it happened[FN#604] that a\nCairene went to borrow a donkey from another man, a Damascene,\nwishing to ride it to a wedding, and when he met his friend he\nsaluted him and said, \"Ho Such-an-one, lend me thine ass for such\na purpose.\" Now when the owner of the animal heard these words he\nsmote hand upon hand and cried, \"O worshipper of Allah,[FN#605] a\nlittle while ere thou camest to me, a man urgently asked it of me\nand took it on loan: haddest thou been somewhat earlier I would\nhave lent it to thee. Verily I am put to shame by thee as thou\ngoest from me without thy need.\" The Egyptian said in his mind,\n\"By Allah, this one speaketh sooth, and had the donkey been in\nhis house assuredly he would have lent it to me.\" But the owner\nof the animal said to himself, \"Certainly Such-an-one begged it\nof me, but the rest is a lie, for the beast is shut up in the\nstable.\" However the Syrian who owned the beast went to his\ngossip, the man who had begged a loan of it, and entering the\nhouse salam'd to him and said, \"Give me the donkey, O\nSuch-an-one;\"--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 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 Eight 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 Syrian\nwent to his gossip saying, \"Give me the ass;\" and when the other\nheard this he showed his teeth[FN#606] and cried, \"Allah\ndisappoint the donkey and the owner of the donkey and whoso\nrideth the donkey,\" and flying into an exceeding fury at last\nsaid, \"Go, O my lord, and take it from the stable, and may Allah\nnever bring back nor thee nor the beast.\" So the Syrian went from\nhim saying in himself, \"Allah disappoint this fellow, why did he\nnot give me the ass at first and then he had not had occasion to\nabuse and curse himself and to revile me also.\" But they say and\nsay truly, \"The Syrian winneth his wish, but gaineth only blame\nwhile the Egyptian winneth not his wish and gaineth thanks and\npraise!\"\n\n\n\n\n\n            Tale of Himself Told by the King[FN#607]\n\n\n\nI have a tale, O my lord the Kazi, which bewildereth the wits and\nit is on this wise. By birth and origin I was the son of a\nKhw\ufffdjah, but my father owned much worldly wealth in money and\neffect and vaiselle and rarities and so forth, besides of landed\nestates and of fiefs and mortmains a store galore. And every year\nwhen the ships of Al-Hind would arrive bringing Indian goods and\ncoffee from Al-Yaman the folk bought thereof one-fourth of the\nwhole and he three-fourths paying in ready cash and hard\nmoney.[FN#608] So his word was heard and his works were preferred\namongst the Traders and the Grandees and the Rulers. Also he had\ncontroul[FN#609] in counselling the Kings and he was held in awe\nand obeyed by the merchants, one and all, who consulted him in\neach and every of their affairs. This endured until one year of\nthe years when suddenly he fell sick and his sickness grew upon\nhim and gained mastery over his frame, so he sent for me, saying,\n\"Bring me my son.\" Accordingly I went and entered to him and\nfound him changed of condition and nearing his last gasp. But he\nturned to me and said, \"O my son, I charge thee with a charge\nwhich do thou not transgress nor contrary me in whatso I shall\ndeclare to thee.\" \"What may that be?\" asked I, and he answered,\n\"O my son, do thou never make oath in Allah's name, or falsely or\ntruly, even although they fill the world for thee with wealth;\nbut safeguard thy soul in this matter and gainsay it not, nor\ngive ear to aught other.\" But when it was midnight the Divine\nMystery[FN#610] left him and he died to the mercy of Allah\nAlmighty; so I buried him, expending much money upon his\nfuneral and graved him in a handsome tomb. He had left to me\nwealth in abundance such as the pens could not compute, but when\na month or so had sped after his decease suddenly came to me a\nparty of folk, each and every claming by way of debt from me and\nmy sire the sum of some five thousand dinars. \"Where be your\nwritten bond given by my father?\" asked I; but they answered,\n\"There be no instrument and if thou believe us not make oath by\nAllah.\" Replied I saying, \"Never will I swear at all,\" and paid\nthem whatso they demanded; after which all who feared not the\nLord would come to me and say, \"We have such-and-such owing to us\nby thy parent;\" and I would pay them off until there remained to\nme of ready moneys a matter neither great nor small. Hereupon I\nfell to selling off my landed estates--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 Nine 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 King\nthus continued his relation to the Kazi:--I began selling off my\nlanded estates and fiefs and letting out my settlements of\nbequeathal[FN#611] until naught of all that remained by me; so I\nfell to vending the house-gear and goods and carpets and pots and\npans until I owned nothing whatever, and my case waxed straitened\nand the affair was grievous to me. Then I quoth to myself,\n\"Allah's earth for Allah's folk!\" and, albeit I had a wife and two male children, I left them and went forth under cover of the\nnight a wanderer about the world and unknowing where I should\nbring myself to anchor. But suddenly O my lord the Kazi, I was\nconfronted by a man whose aspect bred awe, showing signs of\nsaintliness and garbed wholly in spotless white; so I accosted\nhim and kissed his hand, and he on seeing me said, \"O my son,\nthere is no harm to thee!\" presently adding,\n\n\"Do thou be heedless of thy cark and care * And unto Fate commit\n     thy whole affair;\nThe Lord shall widen what to thee is strait; * The Lord shall all\n     for breadth of space prepare:\nThe Lord shall gladly end thy grievous toils; * The Lord shall\n     work His will, so jar forbear.\"\n\nAfter these words he took my hand and walked with me athwart\nthose wilds and wolds till such time as we made a city and\nentered its gates. Here, however, we found no signs of\ncreature-kind nor any mark of Son of Adam, and when I sighted\nthis my condition changed and fear and affright entered my heart.\nBut presently the man turned to me and said, \"Dread not nor be\nstartled, for that this city shall (Inshallah!) be thy portion,\nand herein thou shalt become Sovran and Sultan.\" Quoth I to\nmyself, \"Wall\ufffdhi, verily this man be Jinn-mad lacking wit and\nunderstanding! How shall become King and Kaysar in such place\nwhich is all ruins?\" Then he turned to me yet another time,\nsaying, \"Trust in Allah and gainsay Him not; for verily shall\ncome to thee joy out of that wherein thou wast of straitness and\nannoy.\"--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\nhow enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this\ncompared with that I would relate an the Sovran suffer me to\nsurvive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was,\n\n             The Nine Hundred and Thirteenth 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\nman to the youth[FN#612], \"Trust in Allah, for verily joy shall\nassuredly come to thee from the Almighty.\" \"What joy?\" quoth the\nKhwajah's son, \"and indeed this city is a ruinous heap nor is\nthere indweller or habitant or any to attest God's Unity.\" But\nthe man ceased not going about the highways of the deserted town\nwith his companion till such time as he reached the Palace of the\nSultanate, and the twain entering therein found it with its vases\nand its tapestry like a bride tricked out[FN#613]. But the Spider\nhad tented therein, so both the wights fell to shaking and\nsweeping for three days' space till they had cleaned away all the\nwebbing and dust of years; after which the elder man took the\nyounger and entered a closet. Herein he came upon a trap-door\nwhich the two uplifted, when behold, they found a staircase\nleading below; so they descended and walked till they ended at a\nplace with four open halls, one and all fulfilled with gold, and\namiddlemost thereof rose a jetting fount twenty ells long by\nfifteen broad, and the whole basin was heaped up with glittering\ngems and precious ores. When the merchant's son saw this sight,\nhe was wildered on his wits and perplext in his thoughts, but the\nman said to him, \"O my son, all this hath become thine own good.\"\nAfter this the two replaced the trap-door as it was and quitted\nthat place; then the man took him and led him to another stead\nconcealed from the ken of man wherein he found arms and armour\nand costly raiment; and the two stinted not wandering about the\npalace until they reached the royal Throne-room. Now when the\nKhwajah's son looked upon it he waxed distraught and fell\na-fainting to the floor for awhile[FN#614] and presently when he\nrevived he asked his companion, \"O my lord, what be this?\"\nAnswered he, \"This be the throne of the Sultanate wherewith the\nAlmighty hath gifted thee;\" and quoth the other, \"By Allah, O my\nlord, I believe that there is not in me or strength or\nlong-suffering to take seat upon yonder throne.\" All this the\nKing (who erst was a merchant's son) recounted to the Judge and\npresently resumed:[FN#615]--Then the man, O my lord, said to me,\n\"O my son, to all who shall come hither and seek thee be sure\nthou distribute gifts and do alms-deeds; so the folk, hearing of\nthy largesse, shall flock to thee and gather about thee and as\noften as one shall visit thee, exceed in honour and presents from\nthe treasure-store thou hast sighted and whose site thou\nweetest.\" And so speaking, O our lord the Kazi, he vanished from\nmy view and I wist not an he had upflown to the firmament or had\ndived into the depths of the earth, but one thing I knew; to\nwit, that I was alone.--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 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 King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n             The Nine Hundred and Fourteenth 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 and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the merchant's son resumed to the Kazi:--Then the man vanisht from my view and I wist no more thereof. So I seated me (and I was all alone) in that city for the first day and the second, but on the third behold, I saw a crowd making for me from the city-suburbs and they were seeking a site wherefrom they had somewhat to require. So I met them and welcomed them and seated them, and soon I arose and cooking for them food ate in their company and we nighted together; and when it was morning I presented each and every of them with an hundred dinars. These they accepted and fared forth from me and on reaching their homes they recounted the adventure to other folk who also flocked to me and received presents like those who preceded them. Anon appeared to me a multitude with their children and wives who said, \"Bill\ufffdhi,[FN#616] O my lord, accept of us that we may settle beside thee and be under thy protecting glance;\" whereupon I ordered houses be given to them. Moreover there was amongst them a comely youth who showed signs of prosperity and him I made my assessor; so we two, I and he, would converse together. The crowd thickened, little by little, until the whilome ruined city became fulfilled of habitants, when I commanded sundry of them that they go forth and lay out gardens and orchards and plant tree-growths; and a full-told year had not elapsed ere the city returned to its older estate and waxed great as erst it was and I became therein Sovran and Sultan. Such was the case of this King;[FN#617] but as regards the matter of his wife and his two sons, whenas he fared forth from them he left them naught to eat and presently their case was straitened and the twain set out, each in his own direction, and overwandered the world and endured the buffets of life until their semblance was changed for stress of toil and travail and transit from region to region for a while of time. At last, by decree of the Decreer, the elder was thrown by Eternal Fate into the very town wherein was his sire and said to himself, \"I will fare to the King of this city and take from him somewhat.\"--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 how enjoyable and delectable!\" Quoth she, \"And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n             The Nine Hundred and Fifteenth 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 and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the young man went in to the Sultan and kissed the ground before him and the King regarding him felt his heart yearn himwards and said, \"What wantest thou, O youth?\" \"My design is service with thee,\" said the other; and the King rejoined, \"Then welcome to thee!\" So he abode in his employ for a term of four months until he became like unto a Mameluke[FN#618] and his first case was changed: the Sultan also drew him near and fell to consulting him in sundry matters the which proved propitious, so quoth the King, \"By Allah, this young man meriteth naught less than to become my Wazir,\" and accordingly made him his Minister of the Right. In his new degree he became as another liege lord[FN#619] and his word was heard, so the land was opened up by his hand and year by year he derived from it corv\ufffdes and taxes, nor did he cease to be Chief Councillor under the right hand of the King. Meanwhile his brother who was the younger stinted not faring from land to land until he was met by a party of wayfarers that said to him, \"O youth, verily the Sultan who ruleth in such a capital is a liberal lord, loving the poor and paupers; so do thou seek him and haply shall he show himself bounteous to thee.\" Quoth he, \"I know not the city,\" and quoth they, \"We will lead thee thereto for we purpose to go by his town.\" So they took him and he accompanied them until they reached the city when he farewelled them and entered the gates. After solacing himself with the sights he passed that night in the Wak\ufffdlah and as soon as it was morning he fared forth to serve for somewhat wherewith he might nourish himself,[FN#620] and it was his lot and the doom of the\nDecreer that the Sultan, who had ridden forth to seek his\npleasure in the gardens, met him on the highway. The King's\nglance fell upon the youth and he was certified of his being a\nstranger and a wanderer for that his clothes were old and worn,\nso he thrust his hand into pouch and passed to him a few gold\npieces which the other accepted right thankfully and blessed the\ngiver and enlarged his benediction with eloquent tongue and the\nsweetest speech. The Sultan hearing this bade them bring to him\nthe stranger, and whenas they did his bidding he questioned him\nof his case and was informed that he was a foreigner who had no\nfriends in that stead; whereupon the Sovran took him in and\nclothed him and entreated him with kindness and liberality[FN#621]. And after a time the Wazir of the Right became kindly hearted unto him and took him into his household where he fell to teaching him until the youth waxed experienced in expression and right ready of the reply and acquired full knowledge of kingcraft. Presently quoth the Minister to the Sultan, \"o King of the Age, indeed this youth befitteth naught save councillorship, so do thou make him Wazir of the Left.\" The\nKing said, \"With love,\" and followed his advice; nor was it long\nbefore his heart inclined to the hearts of his two Ministers and\nthe time waxed clear to him and the coming of these two youths\nbrought him serenity for a length of days and they also were in\nthe most joyous of life. But as regards their mother; when her\nsons went forth from her, she abode alone--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 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 Nine Hundred and Sixteenth 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 and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the woman who abode alone having been abandoned by her husband and her children, cried, \"I am here sitting sans my mate and sans my sons; whatso shall I ever do?\" and anon the case became grievous to her and she set out to bewander the regions saying, \"Haply shall Allah reunite me with my children and my husband!\" And she stinted not passing from place to place and shifting from site to site until she reached a town upon the margin of the main and found a vessel in cargo and about to sail.[FN#622] Now by the decree of the Decreer the ship-captain having heard tell of the Sultan's generosity and open handedness had made ready for him a present and was about to voyage therewith to his capital. Learning this the woman said to him, \"Allah upon thee, O Captain, take me with thee;\" and he did accordingly, setting sail with a fair wind. He sped over the billows of that sea for a space of forty days and throughout this time he kept all the precepts and commandments of religion, as regards the woman,[FN#623] supplying her with meat and drink; nay more, he was wont to address her, \"O my mother.\" And no sooner had they made the city than he landed and disembarked the present and loading it upon porters' backs took his way therewith to the Sovran and continues faring until he entered the presence. The Sultan accepted the gift and largessed him in return, and at even-tide the skipper craved leave of return to his ship fearing lest any harm befal vessel or passengers. So he said, \"O King of the Age, on board with me is a woman, but she is of goodly folk and godly and I am apprehensive concerning her.\" \"Do thou night here with us,\" quoth the Sovran, \"and I will dispatch my two Wazirs to keep guard over her until dawn shall break.\" Quoth the Captain, \"Hearing and obeying,\" and he sat with the Sultan, who at night-fall commissioned his two\nMinisters and placed the vessel under their charge and said,\n\"Look ye well to your lives, for an aught be lost from the ship I will cut off your heads,\" So they went down to her and took their seats the one on poop and the other on prow until near midnight when both were seized by drowsiness; and said each to other, \"Sleep is upon us, let us sit together[FN#624] and talk.\"\nHereupon he who was afore returned to him who was abaft the\nship[FN#625] and they sat side by side in converse, while the\nwoman in the cabin sat listening to them.--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 tasteful is thy tale, 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 to survive?\" Now when it was the next night and that was\n\n            The Nine 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 and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the two sons forgathered in converse while the mother was listening and anon quoth the elder to the younger, \"Allah upon thee, O Wazir of\nthe Left, do thou relate to me whatso befel and betided thee in\nthy time and what was the true cause of thy coming to this city;\nnor conceal from me aught.\" \"By Allah, O Wazir of the Right,\"\nquoth the other, \"my tale is wondrous and mine adventure\nmarvellous and were it paged upon paper the folk would talk\nthereanent race after race.\"[FN#626] \"And what may that be?\"\nasked he, and the other answered, \"'Tis this. My sire was son to\na mighty merchant who had of moneys and goods and estates and\nsuch like what pens may not compute and which intelligence may\nnot comprehend. Now this my grandsire was a man whose word was\nlaw and every day he held a Divan wherein the traders craved his\ncounsel about taking and giving and selling and buying; and this\nendured until what while a sickness attacked him and he sensed\nhis end drawing near. So he summoned his son and charged him and\ninsisted thereon as his last will and testament that he never and by no means make oath in the name of Allah or truly or falsely.\" Now the younger brother had not ended his adventure before the elder Wazir threw himself upon him and flinging his arms around his neck cried, \"Wall\ufffdhi, thou art my brother by father and mother!\" and when the woman heard these words of the twain her wits wandered for joy, but she kept the matter hidden until morning. The two Wazirs rejoiced in having found each of them a long-lost brother and slumber fled their eyes till dawned the day when the woman sent for the Captain and as soon as he\nappeared said to him, \"Thou broughtest two men to protect me but\nthey caused me only trouble and travail.\" The man hearing these\nwords repaired forthright and reported them to the Sovran who\nwaxed madly wroth and bade summon his two Ministers and when they stood between his hands asked them, \"What was't ye did in the ship?\" They answered, \"By Allah, O King, there befel us naught but every weal;\" and each said, \"I recognised this my brother for indeed he is the son of the same parents,\" whereat the Sovran wondered and quoth he, \"Laud to the Lord, indeed these two Wazirs must have a strange story.\" So he made them repeat whatso they had said in the ship and they related to him their adventure from the beginning to end. Hereupon the King cried, \"By Allah, ye be certainly my sons,\" when lo and behold! the woman came forwards and repeated to him all that the Wazirs had related whereby it was certified that she was the King's lost wife and their lost mother.[FN#627] Hereupon they conducted her to the Harem and all sat down to banquet and they led ever after the most joyous of lives. All this the King related to the Judge and finally said, \"O our lord the Kazi, such-and-such and so-and-so befel until Allah deigned re-unite me with my children and my wife.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                       End of Volume XV.\n\n\n\n\n\n                          Appendix I.\n\n\n\n                 CATALOGUE OF WORTLEY MONTAGUE\n                      MANUSCRIPT CONTENTS.\n\n\n\n\nI here proceed to offer a list of the tales in the Wortley\nMontague MS. (Nos. 550-556), beginning with\n\n\n\n\n\n                            VOL. I.,\n\n\n\nwhich contains 472 pages=92 Nights. It is rudely written, with\ngreat carelessness and frequent corrections, and there is a noted\nimprovement in the subsequent vols. which Scott would attribute\nto another transcriber. This, however, I doubt: in vol. i. the\nscribe does not seem to have settled down to his work. The MS.\nbegins abruptly and without caligraphic decoration; nor is there\nany red ink in vol. i. except for the terminal three words. The\ntopothesia is in the land of S\ufffds\ufffdn, in the Isles of Al-Hind and\nAl-Sind; the elder King being called \"B\ufffdz\" and \"Sh\ufffdr-b\ufffdz\" and the\nyounger \"Kahram\ufffdn\" (p. 1, ll. 5-6), and in the same page (l. 10)\n\"Saharb\ufffdn, King of Samarkand\"; while the Wazir's daughters are\n\"Shahrz\ufffddah\" and \"Duny\ufffdz\ufffddah\" (p. 8). The Introduction is like\nthat of the Mac. Edit. (my text); but the dialogue between the\nWazir and his Daughter is shortened, and the \"Tale of the\nMerchant and his Wife,\" including \"The Bull and the Ass,\" is\nomitted. Of novelties we find few. When speaking of the Queen and\nMas'\ufffdd the Negro (called Sa'id in my text, p. 6) the author\nremarks:--\n\nTake no black to lover; pure musk tho' he be * Carrion-taint\nshall pierce to the nose of thee.\n\nAnd in the \"Tale of the Trader and the Jinni \" (MS. 1, 9: see my\ntransl. 1, 25) the 'Ifrit complains that the Merchant had thrown\nthe date-stones without exclaiming \"Dast\ufffdr!\"--by thy leave.\n\nThe following is a list of the Tales in vol. i.:--\n\n                                                           PAGE\n\nIntroductory Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-9\nTale of the Trader and the Jinni, Night i.-ii. . . . . . . . . .9\nThe First Shaykh's Story, Night ii.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14\nThe Second Shaykh's Story, Night ii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23\nThe Third Shaykh's Story, Night iv.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34\n\nScott, following \"Oriental Collections,\" ii. 34, supposes that\nthe latter was omitted by M. Galland \"on account of its\nindecency, it being a very free detail of the amours of an\nunfaithful wife.\" The true cause was that it did not exist in\nGalland's Copy of The Nights (Zotenberg, Histoire d' 'Ala al-Din,\np. 37). Scott adds, \"In this copy the Genie restores the\nAntelope, the Dogs and the Mule to their pristine forms, which is\nnot mentioned by Galland, on their swearing to lead virtuous\nlives.\"\n\n                                                           PAGE\nConclusion of the Trader and the Jinni, Night v. . . . . . . . 43\nThe Fisherman and the Jinni, including the Tales of the Sage\nD\ufffdb\ufffdn and the ensorcelled Prince\n     and omitting the Stories (1) of King Sindib\ufffdd and his Falcon\n     (2) the Husband and the Parrot and (3) the Prince and the\n     Ogress.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44\nThe Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad, Night v. . . . . .100\nThe First Kalandar's Tale, Night xxxix.. . . . . . . . . . . .144\nThe Second Kalandar's Tale, Night xlviii.. . . . . . . . . . .152\n\n     (The beginning of this Tale is wanting in the MS. which\n     omits p. 151: also The Envier and the Envied, admitted into\n     the list of Hik\ufffdy\ufffdt, is here absent.)\n\nThe Third Kalandar's Tale, Night lv. . . . . . . . . . . . . .173\nThe Eldest Lady's Tale. Night lxvi.. . . . . . . . . . . . . .231\nTale of the Portress. Conclusion of the Story of the Porter and\nThree Ladies of Baghdad,\n     Night lxii. (a clerical mistake for lxx.?). . . . . . . .260\n\n     (In Galland follow the Voyages of Sindbad the Seaman which\n     are not found in this copy.)\n\nThe Tailor and the Hunchback, Night lxviii. (for lxxiv.?). . .295\nThe Nazarene Broker's Story, Night lxviii. (for lxxiv.?) . . .308\nThe Youth whose hand was cut off, Night (?)[FN#628]. . . . . .312\n\n     (In p. 314 is a hiatus not accounting for the loss of hand.)\n\nThe Barber's Tale of his First Brother . . . . . . . . . . . .314\nThe Barber's Tale of his Second Brother. . . . . . . . . . . .317\n The Barber's Tale of his Third  Brother . . . . . . . . . . .323\nThe Barber's Tale of his Fourth Brother. . . . . . . . . . . .327\nThe Barber's Tale of his Fifth Brother . . . . . . . . . . . .331\nThe Barber's Tale of his Sixth Brother . . . . . . . . . . . .343\nThe end of the Tale of the Hunchback, the Barber and others,\nNight lxviii.(?) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350\n\n                     (Here Ends My Vol. I.)\n\nN\ufffdr al-D\ufffdn Al\ufffd and the Damsel Anis al-Jal\ufffds, Night lxviii. . .355\nSayf al-Mul\ufffdk and Bad\ufffd'a al-Jamal, Night xci.[FN#629]. . . . .401\nTale of the Youth of Mosul whose hand was cut off, Night xcii466-472\n\n     (The Tale of the Jewish Doctor in my vol. i. 288-300.)\n\nVol. i. ends with a page of scrawls, the work of some by-gone\nowner.\n\n\n\n\n\n                            VOL. II.\n\n\n\nContains 316 pages, and includes end of Night xcii. to Night\nclxvi. The MS. is somewhat better written; the headings are in\nred ink and the verses are duly divided. The whole volume is\ntaken up by the Tale of Kamar al-Zam\ufffdn (1st), with the episodes\nof Al-Amjad and Al-As'ad, but lacking that of Ni'amah and Naomi.\nIn Galland Kamar al-Zaman begins with Night ccxi.: in my\ntranslation with vol. iii. 212 and concludes in vol. iv. 29. This\n2nd vol. (called in colophon the 4th Juz) ends with the date 20th\nSha'ab\ufffdn, A.H. 1177.\n\n\n\n\n\n                           VOL. III.\n\n\n\nContains 456 pages, extending from Night cccvi. (instead of Night\nclxvii.) to cdxxv. and thus leaving an initial hiatus of 140\nNights (cxvi.-cccvi. C. de Perceval, vol. viii. p. 14). Thus the\nthird of the original eight volumes is lost. On this subject Dr.\nWhite wrote to Scott, \"One or two bundles of Arabic manuscript,\nof the same size and handwriting as the second volume of the\nArabian Tales, were purchased at the sale by an agent for Mr.\nBeckford of Fonthill, and I have no doubt whatever but that the\npart deficient in your copy is to be found in his possession.\" If\nsuch be the case, and everything seems to prove it, this volume\nwas not No. iii. but No. iv. The MS. begins abruptly with the\ncontinuation of the tale. There is no list of contents, and at\nthe end are two unimportant \"copies of verses\" addressed to the\nreader, five couplets rhyming in\u0096\ufffdmu (e.g. ta'dimu) and two\nin--af (e.g. Salaf).\n\nThe following is a list of the contents:--\n\n                                                           PAGE\nPart of the Tale of Hasan of Bassorah, Nights cccvi.-cccxxix 1-81\nStory of the Sultan of Al-Yaman[FN#630] and his Sons, told to\nAl-Rash\ufffdd by Hasan of Bassorah,\n     Nights cccxxix.-cccxxxiv. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81\nStory of the Three Sharpers,[FN#631] Nights cccxxxiv.-cccxlii. 96\nThe Sultan who fared forth in the habit of a Darwaysh, Night\ncccxlii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121\nHistory of Mohammed, Sultan of Cairo, Night cccxliii.-cccxlviii124\nStory of the First Lunatic,[FN#632] Night cccxlviii.-ccclv . .141\nStory of the Second Lunatic, Night ccclv.-ccclvii. . . . . . .168\nStory of the Sage and his Scholar, Night ccclvii.-ccclxii. . .179\nNight-Adventure of Sultan Mohammed of Cairo with three foolish\nSchoolmasters,\n     Night ccclxii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204\nTale of the Mother and her Three Daughters, Night ccclxii. . .206\nStory of the broke-back Schoolmaster, Night ccclxiii . . . . .211\nStory of the Split-mouthed Schoolmaster, Night ccclxiii. . . .214\nStory of the limping Schoolmaster, Night ccclxiv.-ccclxv . . 219\nStory of the three Sisters and their Mother the Sult\ufffdnah, Night\nccclxvi.-ccclxxxvi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231\nHistory of the K\ufffdz\ufffd who bare a babe, Night ccclxxxvi.-cccxcii.322\nTale of the K\ufffdz\ufffd and the Bhang-eater, Night cccxciii.-cdiii. .344\nHistory of the Bhang-eater and his wife, Night cccxciii.-cdiii348\nHow Drummer Ab\ufffd K\ufffdsim became a K\ufffdz\ufffd, Night cdiii.-cdxii. . . .372\nStory of the Kazi and his Slipper (including the Tale of the\nBhang-eater who became the Just\n      Wazir and who decided two difficult cases), Night\n     cdxii.-cdxiii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .424\nTale of Mahm\ufffdd the Persian and the Kurd Sharper, Night\ncdxiii.-cdxvi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .428\nTale of the Sultan and the poor man who brought to him fruit,\nincluding the\n      Fruit-seller's[FN#633] Tale, Night cdxvi.-cdxxv. . . . .432\nStory of the King of Al-Yaman and his Three Sons and the\nEnchanting Bird, which ends this\n      volume, Night cdxvii-cdxxvi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .437\n\n\n\n\n\n                            VOL. IV.\n\n\n\n                                                           PAGE\nContains 456 pages, and ranges between Nights cdxxvi. and dxcvi.\n\nContinuation of the Story of the King of Al-Yaman[FN#634] and his\nThree Sons and the\n      Enchanting Bird, Night cdxxvi.-cdxxxix . . . . . . . . 1-34\n\n     SCOTT prefers \"The Sultan of the East,\" etc.\n\nHistory of the First Larrikin, Night cdxxxix-cdxliv. . . . . . 34\n\n     SCOTT: \"The first Sharper in the Cave,\" p. 185.\n\nHistory of the Second Larrikin, Night cdxliii.-cdxlv . . . . . 46\nHistory of the Third Larrikin, Night cdxlv.-cdxlvi . . . . . . 53\nStory of a Sultan of Hind and his Son Mohammed, Night\ncdxlvi.-cdlviii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58\n\n     SCOTT: \"The Sultan of Hind.\"\n\nTale of a Fisherman and his Son, Night cdlix.-cdlxix . . . . . 83\nTale of the Third Larrikin concerning himself, Night\ncdlxix.-cdlxxii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107\n\n     SCOTT: \"The Unfortunate Lovers.\"\n\nHistory of Ab\ufffd Niyyah and Ab\ufffd Niyyatayn, Night cdlxxii.-cdlxxxiii\n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113\n\n     SCOTT: \"Abou Neeut, the well-intentioned Sultan of Moussul,\n     and Ab ou Neeutteen, the double-minded.\"\n\nThe Courtier's Story, or Tale of the Nadim to the Emir of Cairo,\nNight cdlxxxiii.-cdxci . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140\n\n     SCOTT: \"Story related to an Ameer of Egypt by a Courtier,\"\n     p. 229.\n\nAnother relation of the Courtier, Night cdxci. . . . . . . . .157\n\n     (Here Iblis took the place of a musician.)\n\nThe Shaykh with Beard shorn by the Shaytan, Night cdxcii . . .162\nHistory of the King's Son of Sind and the Lady Fatimah, Night\ncdxci.-di. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165\n\n     SCOTT: \"The Sultan of Sind and Fatimah, daughter of\n     Ummir[FN#635] ('\ufffdmir) Ibn Naom\ufffdnn (Nu'uman).\"\n\nHistory of the Lovers of Syria, Night di.-dx . . . . . . . . .189\n\n     SCOTT: \"The Lovers of Syria.\"\n\nHistory of Al-Hajjaj bin Yusuf and the Young Sayyid, Night dx-dxx\n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .213\n\n     SCOTT: \"The Young Sayd and Hijauje.\"\n\nUns al-Wuj\ufffdd and the Wazir's Daughter Rose-in-hood, Night\ndxxi.-dxli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240\n\n     SCOTT: \"Ins al-Wujood and Wird al-Ikmaum, daughter of\n     Ibrahim, Vizier of Sultan Shamikh.\"\n\nStory of the Sultan's Son and Daughter of the Wazir, Night\ndxli.-dxlv . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293\nTale of Sultan K\ufffdyyish, Night dxlv.-dlvii. . . . . . . . . . .312\n\n     (A romance of chivalry and impossible contests of ten\n     knights against 15,000 men.)\n\nThe Young Lady transformed into a Gazelle by her Step-mother,\nNight dlviii.-dlxiii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .345\nThe History of M\ufffdzin, Night dlxviii-dxcv. (omitted, because it is\nthe same as \"Hasan of Bassorah\n     and the King's Daughter of the Jinn,\" vol. viii. 7); to the\n     end of vol. iv . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .456\n\n\n\n\n\n                            VOL. V.\n\n\n\n                                                           PAGE\nContains 465 pages from the beginning of Night dxcvi. to dccxlvi.\n\nContinuation and end of the History of Mazin, Night dxcvi-dcxxiv1-94\nNight adventure of Harun al-Rashid, Night dcxxxxv.-dcl . . . . 95\n\n     SCOTT: \"Adventure of Haroon al-Rusheed, vol. vi. 343\n     (including Story related to Haroon al-Rusheed) by Ibn\n     Munsoor of Damascus, of his adventures at Bussorah; the\n     Story related to Haroon al-Rusheed by Munjaub (Manjab) and\n     Haroon's conduct on hearing the story of Munjaub.\"\n\nTale of the Barber and his Son (told by Manjab), Night dlxi.-dcli\n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180\n\n     SCOTT: \"Story of the Sultan, the Dervishe and the Barber's\n     Son.\"\n\nThe Badawi Woman and her Lover, Night dclv.-dclvi. . . . . . .196\nStory of the Wife and her two Gallants, Night dclvi.-dclx. . .199\nTale of Princess Al-Hayf\ufffd and Prince Yusuf, Night dclx.-dccx .210\n\n     SCOTT: \"Story of Aleefah, daughter of Mherejaun, Sultan of\n     Hind, and Eusuff, Prince of Sind, related to Haroun\n     al-Rusheed by the celebrated reciter of Tales, Ibn Malook\n     Aleed Iowaudee,\" p. 352.\n\nAdventures of the Three Princes of China, Night dccx.-dccxvii.362\n\n     SCOTT: \"Adventures of the Three Princes, sons of the Sultan\n     of China.\"\n\nHistory of the first Brave, Night dccxvii.-dccxxii . . . . . .385\n\n     SCOTT: \"The Military Braggadocio;\" OUSELEY, \"the Gallant\n     Officer\" and the Lat. list \"Miles Gloriosus.\"\n\nHistory of another Brave, Night dccxxii.-dccxxiii. . . . . . .395\nThe Merry Adventures of a Simpleton,[FN#636] Night\ndccxxiii.-dccxxvi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .400\n\n     SCOTT: \"The Idiot and his Asses.\"\n\nThe Goodwife of Cairo and the three Rakehells, Night\ndccxxvi.-dccxxviii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .409\nStory of the righteous Wazir wrongfully gaoled, Night\ndccxxviii.-dccxxxviii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .416\nTale of the Barber, the Captain and the Cairene Youth, Night\ndccxxxiii.-dcxxxvii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .430\n\n     (In the Lat. list we find  \"Tonsor et Juvenis Cahirensis.\")\n\nStory of the Goodwife of Cairo and her Gallants, Night\ndccxxxviii.-dccxliii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .444\n\n     SCOTT: \"The virtuous Woman of Cairo and her Suitors,\" p.\n     380.\n\nThe Kazi's Tale of the Tailor, the Lady and the Captain,[FN#637]\nNight dccxlii.-dccxlvi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .455\n\n     SCOTT: \"The Cauzee's Story,\" p. 386.\n\nStory of the Syrian and the Three Women of Cairo, Night\ndccxlvi-and to end of vol. v . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .465\n\n\n\n\n\n                            VOL. VI.\n\n\n\n                                                           PAGE\nContains 365 pages, from Night dccxlvi. to Night dccclxxiii.\n\nThe following is a list of the contents:--\n\nContinuation of the Story of the Syrian, Night dccxlvi.-dccxlix1-9\nTale of the K\ufffdim-mak\ufffdm's Lady and her two Coyntes, Night\ndccxlix.-dcclii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9\nTale of the whorish Wife who vaunted her virtues, Night\ndcclii.-dcclv. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18\nC\ufffdlebs the Droll[FN#638] and his Wife and her four lovers, Night\ndcclv.-dcclx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26\n\n     SCOTT: \"The Deformed Jester.\"\n\nThe Gate-keeper of Cairo and the wily She-Thief, Night\ndcclix.-dcclxv . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41\n\n     SCOTT: \"The aged Watchman of Cairo and the artful female\n     thief.\"\n\nTale of Mohsin and Musa, Night dcclxv.-dcclxxii. . . . . . . . 57\n\n     SCOTT: \"Mhassun the liberal and Mousseh the treacherous\n     Friend.\"\n\nMohammed Shalab\ufffd[FN#639] and his Wife and the Kazi's Daughter,\nNight dcclxxii.-dcclxxvii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76\n\n     SCOTT: \"Mahummud Julbee,\" etc.\n\nThe Fellah and his wicked Wife, Night dcclxxvii.-dcclxxx . . . 92\nThe Woman who humoured her Lover at her Husband's expense, Night\ndcclxxx.-dcclxxxi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102\n\n     SCOTT: \"The Adulteress.\"\n\nThe Kazi Schooled by his Wife, Night dcclxxxi.-dcclxxxv. . . .106\nThe Merchant's Daughter and the Prince of Al-Ir\ufffdk, Night\ndccclxv.-dcccxxiv. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118\n\n     SCOTT: \"Story of the Merchant, his Daughter, and the Prince\n     of Eerauk,\" p. 391. In the text we find 'Ir\ufffdk for Al-Ir\ufffdk.\n\nThe Story of Ahmad and Ali who cuckolded their Masters, Night\ndcccxxiv.-dcccxxix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225\n\n     SCOTT: \"The Two Orphans.\"\n\nThe Fellah and his fair Wife, Night dcccxxix.-dcccxxx. . . . .241\nThe Youth who would futter his Father's Wives, Night\ndcccxxx.-dcccxxxviii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .247\n\n     SCOTT: \"The Vicious Son, translating the Arab. Al-Ibn\n     al-Fidawi.\"\n\nThe two Lack-tacts of Cairo and Damascus, including the short\n'Tale of the Egyptian, the\n     Syrian and the Ass,\" Night dcccxxxviii.-dcccxl. . . . . .261\n\n     SCOTT: \"The two wits of Cairo and Sind.\"\n\nThe Tale of Musa and Ibrahim, including Anecdotes of the\nBerberines, Night dcccxl.-dcccxliii. . . . . . . . . . . . . .271\nThe Brother Wazirs, Ahmad and Mohammed, Night dcccxiv.-dccclxxiii\n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280\nAnd to end of vol. vi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .365\n\n\n\n\n\n                           VOL. VII.\n\n\n\nContains 447 pages, from Night dccclxxiii.-mi.\n\nThe following is a list of the contents:--\n\n                                                           PAGE\nConclusion of the Brother Wazirs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-69\nStory of the thieving Youth and his Step-mother, Night\ndcccxcvii.-cm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69\nThe Kazi of Baghdad and his virtuous Wife, Night cm.-cmxi. . . 77\nHistory of the Sultan who protected the Kazi's Wife, Night\ncmxi.-cmxvii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109\nThe Sultan of Al-'Ir\ufffdk, Zunn\ufffdr ibn Zunn\ufffdr, Night cmxvii.-cmxxi126\nArdashir, Prince of Persia, and the Princess Hay\ufffdt al-Nuf\ufffds,\ndaughter of Sultan K\ufffddir, Night\n     cmxxi.-cmlxviii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139\nStory of Shaykh Nakkit the Fisherman, Night cmlxviii.-cmlxxviii297\nThe Sultan of Andalusia, and the Prince of Al-'Ir\ufffdk who\ndeflowered the Wazir's daughter; a prose\n      replica of Al-Hayf\ufffd and Yusuf. MS. vol. v. 210. Night\n     cmlxxviii.-cmlxxxviii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .329\nTale of Sultan Tayl\ufffdn and the generous Fellah, Night cmlxxxviii.-cmxciv. . . . 365\nThe retired Sage and his Servant-lad, Night cmxcviii . . . . .414\nThe Merchant's Daughter who married an Emperor of China, Night\ncmxcviii.-mi.,\n     ending the work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .430-447\n\nThis MS. terminates The Nights with the last tale and has no\nespecial conclusion relating the marriage of the two brother\nKings with the two sisters.\n\n\n\n\n\n                          Appendix II.\n\n\n\n   I.--NOTES ON THE STORIES CONTAINED IN VOLUME XIV.[FN#640]\n\n                        By W. F. Kirby.\n\n\n\n\n      Story of the Sultan of Al-yaman and His Three Sons.\n\n\n\nP. 9.--The hippopotamus has also been observed, at the Zoological Gardens, to scatter his dung in the manner described.\n\nP. 13.--It is evident from the importance which the author attaches to good birth and heredity, that he would hardly approve of the Socialistic custom, so prevalent in the East, of raising men of low birth to important offices of State.\n\n\n\n\n\n          The Story of the Three Sharpers (pp. 17-35).\n\n\n\nP. 19.--In quoting the titles of this and other tales of the Wortley Montague\nMS., in which the word Ja'\ufffdd\ufffd frequently occurs, Scott often wrote \"labourer\"\nor \"artisan\" instead of \"sharper.\" The term \"sharper\" is hardly applicable\nhere, for the fellows appear really to have possessed the knowledge to which\nthey laid claim. The \"sharpers\" in this story differ much from such impostors\nas the Illiterate Schoolmaster (No. 93, vol. v. pp. 119-121), who escapes from\nhis dilemma by his ready wit, or from European pretenders of the type of\nGrimm's Dr. Knowall, who escapes from his difficulties by mere accident; or\nagain from our old friend Ma'aruf (No. 169), whose impudent pretensions and\nimpostures are aided by astounding good luck.\n\nP. 23.--This test was similar to that given to Ma'aruf (vol. x. pp. 16,17),\nbut there is nothing in the latter passage to show whether Ma'aruf had any\nreal knowledge of gems, or not. In the present story, the incident of the worm\nrecalls the well-known incident of Solomon ordering worms to pierce gems for\nBilkees, the Queen of Sheba.\n\nP. 23.--English schoolboys sometimes play the \"trussing game.\" Two boys have\ntheir wrists and ankles tied together, and their arms are passed over their\nknees, and a stick thrust over the arms and under the knees, and they are then\nplaced opposite each other on the ground, and endeavour to turn each other\nover with their toes.\n\nP. 25 note.--Can the word Kashmar be a corruption of Kashmiri?\n\n\n\n\n       History of Mohammed, Sultan of Cairo (pp. 37-49).\n\n\n\nP. 37.--A few years ago, a travelling menagerie exhibited a pair of dog-faced\nbaboons in Dublin as \"two monstrous gorillas!\"\n\nP. 40.--Ma'aruf's jewel has been already referred to. The present incident\nmore resembles the demand made by the king and the wazir from Aladdin and his\nmother, though that was far more extravagant.\n\nPp. 42, 43.--A more terrible form of these wedding disillusions, is when the\nbridegroom is entrapped into marriage by an evil magician, and wakes in the\nmorning to find the phantom of a murdered body in the place of his phantom\nbride, and to be immediately charged with the crime. Compare the story of\nNaerdan and Guzulbec (Caylus' Oriental Tales; Weber, ii. pp. 632-637) and that\nof Monia Emin (Gibb's Story of Jewad, pp. 36, 75). Compare my Appendix,\nNights, x. pp. 502, 508, 509.\n\nPp. 44, 45.--There is a Western story (one of the latest versions of which may be\nfound in Moore's Juvenile Poems under the title of \"The Ring\") in which a\nbridegroom on his wedding-day places the ring by accident on the finger of a\nstatue of Venus; the finger closes on it, and Venus afterwards interposes\ncontinually between him and his bride, claiming him as her husband on the\nstrength of the ring. The unfortunate husband applies to a magician, who sends\nhim by night to a meeting of cross-roads, where a procession similar to that\ndescribed in the text passes by. He presents the magician's letters to the\nKing (the devil in the medi\ufffdval versions of the story) who requires Venus to\nsurrender the ring, and with it her claim to the husband.\n\nOne of the most curious stories of these royal processions is perhaps the\nLithuanian (or rather Samoghitian) story of\n\n                 The King of the Rats.[FN#641]\n\nOnce upon a time a rich farmer lived in a village near Korzian, who was in the\nhabit of going into the wood late in the evening. One evening he went back\nagain into the wood very late, when he distinctly heard the name Zurkielis\nshouted. He followed the voice, but could not discover from whence the sound\nproceeded.\n\n\nOn the next evening the farmer went into the wood, and did not wait long\nbefore he heard the cry repeated, but this time much louder and more\ndistinctly. On the third evening the farmer went again to the wood; but this\ntime on Valpurgis-night--the Witch's Sabbath. Suddenly he saw a light appear\nin the distance; then more lights shone out, and the light grew stronger and\nstronger; and presently the farmer saw a strange procession advancing, and\npassing by him. In front of the procession ran a great number of mice of all\nsorts, each of whom carried a jewel in his mouth which shone brighter than the\nsun. After these came a golden chariot, drawn by a lion, a bear, and two\nwolves. The chariot shone like fire, and, instead of nails, it was studded\nwith dazzling jewels. In the chariot sat the King of the Rats and his consort,\nboth clad in golden raiment. The King of the Rats wore a golden crown on his\nhead, and his consort marshalled the procession. After the chariot followed a\nvast procession of rats, each of whom carried a torch, and the sparks which\nflew from the torches fell to the earth as jewels. Some of the rats were\nshouting \"Zurkielis\" incessantly; and whenever a rat uttered this cry, a piece\nof gold fell from his mouth. The procession was followed by a great number of\nfantastic forms, which collected the gold from the ground, and put it into\nlarge sacks. When the farmer saw this he also gathered together as much of the\ngold and jewels as he could reach. Presently a cock crew, and everything\nvanished. The farmer returned to his house, but the gold and jewels gave him a\nvery tangible proof that the adventure had not been a dream.\n\nA year passed by, and on the next Valpurgis-night the farmer went back to the\nwood, and everything happened as on the year before. The farmer became\nimmensely rich from the gold and jewels which he collected; and on the third\nanniversary of the Valpurgis-night he did not go to the wood, but remained\nquietly at home. He was quite rich enough, and he was afraid that some harm\nmight happen to him in the wood. But on the following morning a rat appeared,\nand addressed him as follows: \"You took the gold and jewels, but this year you\ndid not think it needful to pay our king and his consort the honour due to\nthem by appearing before them during the procession in the wood; and\nhenceforward it will go ill with you.\"\n\nHaving thus spoken, the rat disappeared; but shortly afterwards such a host of\nrats took up their abode in the farmer's house that it was impossible for him\nto defend himself against them. The rats gnawed everything in the house, and\nwhatever was brought into it. In time the farmer was reduced to beggary, and\ndied in wretchedness.\n\n\n\n\n            Story of the Second Lunatic (pp. 67-74).\n\n\n\nThis is a variant of \"Woman's Craft\" (No. 184 of our Table), or \"Woman's\nWiles,\" (Supp. Nights, ii. pp. 135-148). Mr. L. C. Smithers tells me that an\nEnglish version of this story, based upon Langl\ufffds' translation (Cf. Nights, x.\nApp., p. 498, sub \"Sindbad the Sailor\"), appeared in the Literary Souvenir for\n1831, under the title of \"Woman's Wit.\"\n\n\nPp. 69-76.--Concerning the Shikk and the Nesn\ufffds, Lane writes (1001 Nights, i.,\nIntrod. note 21): \"The Shikk is another demoniacal creature, having the form\nof half a human being (like a man divided longitudinally); and it is believed\nthat the Nesn\ufffds is the offspring of a Shikk and of a human being. The Shikk\nappears to travellers; and it was a demon of this kind who killed, and was\nkilled by, 'Alkamah, the son of Safw\ufffdn, the son of Umeiyeh, of whom it is well\nknown that he was killed by a Jinnee. So says El-Kazweenee.\n\n\"The Nesn\ufffds (above-mentioned) is described as resembling half a human being,\nhaving half a head, half a body, one arm, and one leg, with which it hops with\nmuch agility; as being found in the woods of El-Yemen, and being endowed with\nspeech; 'but God,' it is added, 'is all-knowing.' (El-Kazweenee in the\nkhatimeh of his work.) It is said that it is found in Hadram\ufffdt as well as\nEl-Yemen; and that one was brought alive to El-Mutawekkil; it resembled a man\nin form, excepting that it had but half a face, which was in its breast, and a\ntail like that of a sheep. The people of Hadram\ufffdt, it is added, eat it; and\nits flesh is sweet. It is only generated in their country. A man who went\nthere asserted that he saw a captured Nesn\ufffds, which cried out for mercy,\nconjuring him by God and by himself. (Mi-r\ufffdt ez-Zem\ufffdn.) A race of people whose\nhead is in the breast is described as inhabiting an island called J\ufffdbeh\n(supposed to be Java) in the Sea of El-Hind or India; and a kind of Nesn\ufffds is\nalso described as inhabiting the Island of R\ufffd\ufffdj, in the Sea of Es-Seen, or\nChina, and having wings like those of the bat. (Ibn El-Wardee.)\" Compare also\nan incident in the story of Janshah (Nights v. p. 333, and note) and the\ndescription of the giant Haluka in Forbes' translation of the Persian Romance\nof Hatim Tai (p. 47): \"In the course of an hour the giant was so near as to be\ndistinctly seen in shape like an immense dome. He had neither hands nor feet,\nbut a tremendous mouth, situated in the midst of his body. He advanced with an\nevolving motion, and from his jaws issued volumes of flame and clouds of\nsmoke.\" When his reflection was shown him in a mirror, he burst with rage.\n\nI may add that a long-tailed species of African monkey (Cercopithecus\nPyrrhonotus) is now known to naturalists as the Nisnas.\n\n\n\n\n      Story of the Broken-backed Schoolmaster (pp. 95-97).\n\n\n\nI once heard a tale of two Irishmen, one of whom lowered the other over a\ncliff, probably in search of the nests of sea-fowl. Presently the man at the\ntop called out, \"Hold hard while I spit on my hands,\" so he loosed the rope\nfor that purpose, and his companion incontinently disappeared with it.\n\n\n\n\n      Story of the Split-mouthed Schoolmaster (pp. 97-101).\n\n\n\nIn Scott's \"Story of the Wry-mouthed Schoolmaster\" (Arabian Nights, vi. pp. 74-75) the schoolmaster crams a boiling egg into his mouth, which the boy smashes.\n\n\n\n\n        Night Adventure of Sultan Mohammed of Cairo (pp.\n                            90-109).\n\n\n\nP. 103.--Scott (vi. p. 403) makes the proclamation read, \"Whoever presumes\nafter the first watch of the night to have a lamp lighted in his house, shall\nhave his head struck off, his goods confiscated, his house razed to the\nground, and his women dishonoured.\" A proclamation in such terms under the\ncircumstances (though not meant seriously) would be incredible, even in the\nEast.\n\n\n\n\n        Story of the Kazi Who Bare a Babe (pp. 167-185).\n\n\n\nIn the Esthonian Kalevipoeg we read of two giants who lay down to sleep on\nopposite sides of the table after eating a big supper of thick peas-soup. An\nunfortunate man was hidden under the table, and the consequence was that he\nwas blown backwards and forwards between them all night.\n\n\n\n\n     History of the Bhang-Eater and His Wife (pp. 202-209).\n\n\n\nSelling a bull or a cow in the manner described is a familiar incident in\nfolk-lore; and in Rivi\ufffdre's \"Contes Populaires Kabyles\" we find a variant of\nthe present story under the title of \"L'Idiot et le Coucou.\" In another form,\nthe cow or other article is exchanged for some worthless, or apparently\nworthless, commodity, as in Jack and the Bean-stalk; Hans im Gl\ufffdck; or as in\nthe case of Moses in the Vicar of Wakefield. The incident of the fool finding\na treasure occurs in Cazotte's story of Xailoun.[FN#642]\n\n\n\n\n\n       How Drummer Abu Kasim Became a Kazi (pp. 210-212).\n\n\n\nI have heard an anecdote of a man who was sued for the value of a bond which\nhe had given payable one day after the day of judgment. The judge ruled, \"This\nis the day of judgment, and I order that the bill must be paid to-morrow!\"\n\n\n\n\n        Story of the Kazi and His Slipper (pp. 212-215).\n\n\n\nThis story is well known in Europe, though not as forming part of The Nights.\nMr. W. A. Clouston informs me that it first appeared in Cardonne's \"M\ufffdlanges\nde litt\ufffdrature orientale\" (Paris, 1770). Cf. Nights x. App. pp. 509 and 512.\n\n\n\n\n          History of the Third Larrikin (pp. 296-297).\n\n\n\nSuch mistakes must be very frequent. I remember once seeing a maid stoop down\nwith a jug in her hand, when she knocked her head against the table. Some one\nsitting by, thinking it was the jug, observed, \"Never mind, there's nothing in\nit.\"\n\nAnother time I was driving out in the country with a large party, and our host\ngot out to walk across to another point. Presently he was missed, and they\ninquired, \"Where is he?\" There was a dog lying in the carriage, and one of the\nparty looked round, and not seeing the dog, responded, \"Why, where is the\ndog?\"\n\n\n\n\n        Tale of the Fisherman and His Son (pp. 314-329).\n\n\n\nThe present story, though not very important in itself, is interesting as\ncombining some of the features of three distinct classes of folk-tales. One of\nthese is the anti-Jewish series, of which Grimm's story of the Jew in the\nBramble-Bush is one of the most typical examples. According to these tales,\nany villany is justifiable, if perpetrated on a Jew. We find traces of this\nfeeling even in Shakspeare, and to this day Shylock (notwithstanding the\ngrievous wrongs which he had suffered at the hands of Christians) rarely gets\nmuch sympathy from modern readers, who quite overlook all the extenuating\ncircumstances in his case.[FN#643] Nor do we always find the Jew famous for\n'cuteness in folk-tales. This phase of his reputation is comparatively modern,\nand in the time of Horace, \"Credat Jud\ufffdus\" was a Roman proverb, which means,\nfreely translated, \"Nobody would be fool enough to believe it except a Jew.\"\n\nThe present story combines the features of the anti-Jewish tales, the Alaeddin\nseries, and the Grateful Beasts series. (Compare Mr. W. A. Clouston's remarks\non Aladdin, Supp. Nights, App. iii., pp. 564-581; and also his \"Tales and\nPopular Fictions.\")\n\nIn vol. 53 of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (1884, pp. 24-39) I\nfind a Nicobar story which relates how Tiomberombi received a magic mirror\nfrom a snake whose enemy he had killed. Its slaves obeyed all his orders if he\nonly put the key into the keyhole, but he was not allowed to open the mirror,\nas he was too weak to face the spirits openly. He dwelt on an island, but when\na hostile fleet came against him, the gunners could not hit it, as the island\nbecame invisible. The hostile chief sent an old woman to worm the secret out\nof Tiomberombi's wife; the mirror was stolen, and Tiomberombi and his wife\nwere carried off. On reaching land, Tiomberombi was thrown into prison, but he\npersuaded the rats to fetch him the mirror.[FN#644] He destroyed his enemies,\nwent home, and re-established himself on his island, warning his wife and\nmother not to repeat what had happened, lest the island should sink. They told\nthe story while he was eating; the island sank into the sea, and they were all\ndrowned.\n\n\n\n\n        The History of Abu Niyyah and Abu Niyyatayn (pp.\n                           334-352).\n\n\n\nThis story combines features which we find separately in Nos. 3b (ba); 162 and\n198. The first story, the Envier and the Envied, is very common in folk-lore,\nand has been sometimes used in modern fairy-tales. The reader will remember\nthe Tailor and the Shoemaker in Hans Christian Andersen's \"Eventyr.\"\nFrequently, as in the latter story, the good man, instead of being thrown into\na well, is blinded by the villain, and abandoned in a forest, where he\nafterwards recovers his sight. One of the most curious forms of this story is\nthe Samoghitian\n\n\n\n\n                  Truth and Injustice.[FN#645]\n\n\n\nTruth and Injustice lived in the same country, and one day they happened to\nmeet, and agreed to be friends. But as Injustice brought many people into\ntrouble, Truth declared that she would have no more to do with her, upon which\nInjustice grew angry, and put out the eyes of Truth. Truth wandered about for\na long time at random, and at last she came to a walnut-tree, and climbed up\nit to rest awhile in safety from wild beasts. During the night a wolf and a\nmouse came to the foot of the tree, and held the following conversation. The\nwolf began, \"I am very comfortable in the land where I am now living, for\nthere are so many blind people there that I can steal almost any animal I like\nwithout anybody seeing me. If the blind men knew that they had only to rub\ntheir eyes with the moss which grows on the stones here in order to recover\ntheir sight, I should soon get on badly with them.\"\n\nThe mouse responded, \"I live in a district where the people have no water, and\nare obliged to fetch it from a great distance. When they are away from home I\ncan enjoy as much of their provisions as I like; indeed, I can heap together\nas large a store as I please without being disturbed. If the people knew that\nthey had only to cut down a great oak tree, and a great lime tree which grow\nnear their houses, in order to find water, I should soon be badly off.\"\n\nAs soon as the wolf and the mouse were gone, Truth came down from her tree,\nand groped about until she found a moss-covered stone, when she rubbed her\neyes with the moss. She recovered her sight immediately, and then went her way\ntill she came to the country where most of the people were blind. Truth\ndemanded that the blind people should pay her a fixed sum of money, when she\nwould tell them of a remedy by which they could recover their sight. The blind\nmen gave her the money, and Truth supplied them with the remedy which had\ncured herself.\n\nAfter this, Truth proceeded further till she came to the district where the\npeople had no water. She told them that if they would give her a carriage and\nhorses, she would tell them where to find water. The people were glad to agree\nto her proposal.\n\nWhen Truth had received the carriage and horses, she showed the people the oak\nand the lime tree, which they felled by her directions, when water immediately\nflowed from under the roots in great abundance.\n\nAs Truth drove away she met Injustice, who had fallen into poverty, and was\nwandering from one country to another in rags. Truth knew her immediately, and\nasked her to take a seat in her carriage. Injustice then recognised her, and\nasked her how she had received the light of her eyes, and how she had come by\nsuch a fine carriage. Truth told her everything, including what she had heard\nfrom the wolf and the mouse. Injustice then persuaded her to put out her eyes,\nfor she wanted to be rich, and to have a fine carriage too; and then Truth\ntold her to descend. Truth herself drove away, and seldom shows herself to\nmen.\n\nInjustice wandered about the country till she found the walnut tree, up which\nshe climbed. When evening came, the wolf and the fox met under the tree again\nto talk. Both were now in trouble, for the wolf could not steal an animal\nwithout being seen and pursued by the people, and the mouse could no longer\neat meat or collect stores without being disturbed, for the people were no\nlonger obliged to leave their home for a long time to fetch water. Both the\nwolf and the mouse suspected that some one had overheard their late\nconversation, so they looked up in search of the listener, and discovered\nInjustice in the tree. The animals supposed that it was she who had betrayed\nthem, and said in anger, \"May our curse be upon you that you may remain for\never blind, for you have deprived us of our means of living.\"\n\nAfter thus speaking, the animals ran away, but Injustice has ever since\nremained blind, and does harm to everybody who chances to come in her way.\n\n\n\n\n\n       II.--NOTES ON THE STORIES CONTAINED IN VOLUME XV.\n\n                        By W. F. KIRBY.\n\n\n\n\n     History of the King's Son of Sind and the Lady Fatimah\n                          (pp. 1-18).\n\n\n\nP. 3.--This mixture of seeds, &c., is a very common incident in folk-tales.\n\nP. 7.--Compare the well-known incident in John xviii. 1-11, which passage, by\nthe way, is considered to be an interpolation taken from the lost Gospel of\nthe Hebrews.\n\n\n\n\n          History of the Lovers of Syria (pp. 21-36).\n\n\n\nP. 18.--Divination by the flight or song of birds is so universal that it is\nridiculous of Kreutzwald (the compiler of the Kalevipoeg) to quote the fact of\nthe son of Kalev applying to birds and beasts for advice as being intended by\nthe composers as a hint that he was deficient in intelligence.\n\nIn Bulwer Lytton's story of the Fallen Star (Pilgrims of the Rhine, ch. xix.)\nhe makes the imposter Morven determine the succession to the chieftainship by\nmeans of a trained hawk.\n\nP. 26, note 2.--Scott may possibly refer to the tradition that the souls of\nthe dead are stored up in the trumpet of Israfil, when he speaks of the\n\"receiving angel.\"\n\n\n\n\n      History of Al-Hajjaj Bin Yusuf and the Young Sayyid\n                          (pp. 39-60).\n\n\n\nP. 43, note 1.--I doubt if the story-teller intended to represent Al-Hajjaj as\nignorant. The story rather implies that he was merely catechising the youth,\nin order to entangle him in his talk.\n\nP. 46.--Compare the story of the Sandal-wood Merchant and the Sharpers\n(Nights, vi. p. 206) in which the Merchant is required to drink up the sea [or\nrather, perhaps, river], and requires his adversary to hold the mouth of the\nsea for him with his hand.\n\nP. 52, note 3.--It is well known that children should not be allowed to sleep\nwith aged persons, as the latter absorb their vitality.\n\n\n\n\n    Night Adventure of Harun Al-Rashid and the Youth Manjab\n                          (pp. 61-105).\n\n\n\nP. 102.--In the Danish ballads we frequently find heroes appealing to their\nmothers or nurses in cases of difficulty. Compare \"Habor and Signild,\" and\n\"Knight Stig's Wedding,\" in Prior's Danish Ballads, i. p. 216 and ii. p. 339.\n\n\n\n\n       Story of the Darwaysh and the Barber's Boy and the\n                   Greedy Sultan (pp. 105-114).\n\n\n\nThis story belongs to the large category known to students of folk-lore as the\nSage and his Pupil; and of this again there are three main groups:\n\n1. Those in which (as in the present instance) the two remain on friendly\nterms.\n\n2. Those in which the sage is outwitted and destroyed by his pupil (e.g.,\nCazotte's story of the Maugraby; or Spitta Bey's tales, No. 1).\n\n3. Those in which the pupil attempts to outwit or to destroy the sage, and is\nhimself outwitted or destroyed (e.g., The Lady's Fifth Story, in Gibb's Forty\nVezirs, pp. 76-80; and his App. B. note v., p. 413).\n\n\n\n\n         The Loves of Al-Hayfa and Yusuf (pp. 121-210).\n\n\n\nP. 149, note 1.--I believe that a sudden attack of this kind is always speedily fatal.\n\n\n\n\n        The Goodwife of Cairo and Her Four Gallants (pp.\n                           251-294).\n\n\n\nP. 255, note.--It may be worth while to note that Swedenborg asserts that it\nis unlawful in Heaven for any person to look at the back of the head of\nanother, as by so doing he interrupts the divine influx. The foundation of\nthis idea is perhaps the desire to avoid mesmeric action upon the cerebellum.\n\n\n\n\n             Tale of Mohsin and Muss (pp. 232-241).\n\n\n\nThe notes on the story of Abu Niyyat and Abu Niyyateen (supra, pp. 356) will\napply still better to the present story.\n\n\n\n\n    The Merchant's Daughter, and the Prince of Al-irak (pp.\n                           264-317).\n\n\n\nPp. 305-312.--The case of Tobias and Sara (Tobit, chaps. iii.-viii.) was very\nsimilar: but in this instance the demon Asmodeus was driven away by fumigating\nwith the liver and heart of a fish.\n\n\n\n\n\n                   Arabian Nights, Volume 15\n                           Footnotes\n\n\n\n[FN#1] In the same volume (ii. 161) we also find an \"Introductory Chapter of the Arabian Tales,\" translated from an original manuscript by Jonathan Scott, Esq.; neither MS nor translation having any merit. In pp. 34, 35 (ibid.) are noticed the \"Contents of a Fragment of the Arabian Nights procured in India by James Anderson, Esq., a copy of which\" (made by his friend Scott) \"is now in the possession of Jonathan Scott, Esq.\" (See Scott, vol. vi. p. 451.) For a short but sufficient notice of this fragment cf. the Appendix (vol. x. p. 497) to my Thousand Nights and a Night, the able and conscientious work of Mr. W. F. Kirby. \"The Labourer and the Flying Chain\" (No. x.) and \"The King's Son who escaped death by the ingenuity of his Father's seven Viziers\" (No. xi.) have been translated or rather abridged by Scott in his \"Tales, Anecdotes and Letters\" before alluded to, a vol. of pp. 446 containing scraps from the Persian \"Tohfat al-Maj\ufffdlis\" and \"Hazliy\ufffdt' Abb\ufffdd Zahk\ufffdn\ufffd\" (Faceti\ufffd of 'Abb\ufffdd the Jester), with letters from Aurangzeb and other such padding much affected by the home public in the Early XIXth Century.\n\n[FN#2] So called from Herr Uri, a Hungarian scholar who first\ncatalogued \"The Contents.\"\n\n[FN#3] W. M. MS. iv. 165\ufffd189: Scott (vi. 238\ufffd245), \"Story of the\nPrince of Sind, and Fatima, daughter of Amir Bin Naomaun\":\nGauttier (vi. 342\ufffd348) Histoire du Prince de Sind et de Fatime.\nSind is so called from Sindhu, the Indus (in Pers. Sind\ufffdb), is\nthe general name of the riverine valley: in early days it was a\ngreat station of the so-called Aryan race, as they were migrating eastwards into India Proper, and it contains many Holy Places dating from the era of the Pur\ufffdn\ufffds. The Moslems soon made\nacquaintance with it, and the country was conquered and annexed\nby Mohammed bin K\ufffdsim, sent to attack it by the famous or\ninfamous Hajj\ufffdj bin Y\ufffdsuf the Thakafite, lieutenant of Al-'Ir\ufffdk\nunder the Ommiade Abd al-Malik bin Marw\ufffdn. For details, see my\n\"Sind Re-visited\": vol. i. chapt. viii.\n\n[FN#4] [In MS. \"shakhat,\" a modern word which occurs in Spitta\nBey's \"Contes Arabes Modernes,\" spelt with the palatal instead of the dental, and is translated there by \"injurier.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#5] In the text \"Sahr\ufffdj\"; hence the \"Chafariz\" (fountain) of\nPortugal, which I derived (Highlands of the Brazil, i. 46) from\n\"Sak\ufffdr\ufffdj.\" It is a \"Moghrabin\" word = fonte, a fountain, preserved in the Brazil and derided in the mother country, where a New World village is described as\n\n                         --Chafariz,\n             Joam Antam e a Matriz:\n\nwhich may be roughly rendered\n\n                    --Parish church,\n     Pump on the Green and Johnny Birch.\n\n[FN#6] [Here I suppose the scribe dropped a word, as \"yaht\ufffdj,\" or the like, and the sentence should read: it requires, etc.--ST.]\n\n[FN#7] In text \"S\ufffdrayah,\" for \"Sar\ufffdyah,\" Serai, Government House: vol. ix. 52.\n\n[FN#8] A manner of metonymy, meaning that he rested his cheek\nupon his right hand.\n\n[FN#9] For the sig. of this phrase = words suggested by the\ncircumstances, see vol. i. 121.\n\n[FN#10] Mr. Charles M. Doughty (\"Arabia Deserta,\" i. 223) speaks\nof the Badawin who \"sit beating the time away, and for pastime\nlimning with their driving-sticks (the B\ufffdk\ufffdr) in the idle land.\"\n\n[FN#11] In text \"Lam yan\ufffdb al-W\ufffdhidu min-hum nisf haff\ufffdn.\" [I\ncannot explain this sentence satisfactory to myself, but by\ninserting \"ill\ufffd\" after \"min-hum.\" Further I would read \"nassaf\" = libavit, delibavit, degustavit (Dozy, Suppl. s. v.) and \"Hif\ufffdn,\" pl. of \"Hafna\" = handful, mouthful, small quantity, translating accordingly: \"and none took his turn without sipping a few laps.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#12] \"Tarajjama\": Suppl. vol. iv. 188. I shall always\ntranslate it by \"he deprecated\" scil. evil to the person\naddressed.\n\n[FN#13] [The text, as I read it, has: \"In wahadtu (read wajadtu)\nf\ufffd h\ufffdzih al-S\ufffd'\ufffdh shayyan naakul-hu wa nam\ufffdt bi-hi nart\ufffdh min\nh\ufffdz\ufffd al-Taab wa'l-mashakkah la-akultu-hu\" = if I could find at this hour a something (i.e. in the way of poison) which I might eat and die thereby and rest from this toil and trouble, I would\ncertainly eat it, etc.--ST.]\n\n[FN#14] See vol. i. 311 for this \"tom-tom\" as Anglo-Indians call\nit.\n\n[FN#15] i.e. Whereinto the happy man was able to go, which he\ncould not whilst the spell was upon the hoard.\n\n[FN#16] Here ends this tale, a most lame and impotent conclusion, in the W. M. MS. iv. 189. Scott (p. 244\ufffd5) copied by Gauttier (vi. 348) has, \"His father received him with rapture, and the prince having made an apology to the sultana (!) for his former rude behaviour, she received his excuses, and having no child of her own readily adopted him as her son; so that the royal family lived henceforth in the utmost harmony, till the death of the sultan and sultana, when the prince succeeded to the empire.\"\n\n[FN#17] W. M. MS. iv. 189. Scott (vi. 246-258) \"Story of the Lovers of Syria; or, the Heroine:\" Gauttier (iv. 348-354) Histoire des Amans de Syrie.\n\n[FN#18] Scott (vi. 246) comments upon the text:--\"The master of\nthe ship having weighed anchor, hoisted sail and departed: the\nlady in vain entreating him to wait the return of her beloved, or send her on shore, for he was captivated with her beauty. Finding herself thus ensnared, as she was a woman of strong mind . . . she assumed a satisfied air; and as the only way to preserve her honour, received the addresses of the treacherous master with pretended complacency, and consented to receive him as a husband at the first port at which the ship might touch.\"\n\n[FN#19] The captain, the skipper, not the owner: see vols. i.\n127; vi. 12; the fem. (which we shall presently find) is\n\"Ra'isah.\"\n\n[FN#20] Scott (p. 246) has:--\"At length the vessel anchored near\na city, to which the captain went to make preparations for his\nmarriage; but the lady, while he was on shore, addressed the\nship's crew, setting forth with such force his treacherous\nconduct to herself, and offering such rewards if they would\nconvey her to her lover at the port they had left, that the\nhonest sailors were moved in her favour, agreed to obey her as\ntheir mistress, and hoisting sail, left the master to shift for\nhimself.\"\n\n[FN#21] In text \"Kamrah,\" = the chief cabin, from the Gr. ?a\ufffd??a = vault; Pers. Kamar; Lat. \"Camera\" or \"Camara\"; Germ. \"Kammer.\"\nIt is still the popular term in Egypt for the \"cuddy,\" which is\nderived from Pers. \"Kadah\" = a room.\n\n[FN#22] Scott makes the doughty damsel (p. 249), \"relate to them\nher own adventures, and assure them that when she should have\nrejoined her lover, they should, if they chose it, be honourably\nrestored to their homes; but in the mean time she hoped they\nwould contentedly share her fortunes.\"\n\n[FN#23] In text \"Fid\ufffdwi,\" see \"Fid\ufffd'i\" and \"Fidaw\ufffdyah,\" suppl.\nvol. iv. 281.\n\n[FN#24] [In the text \"Al-K\ufffdz\ufffdn\ufffdt,\" pl. of \"K\ufffdz\ufffdn,\" which occurs\nin Spitta Bey's tales under the form \"Kaz\ufffdn\" on account of the\naccent. It is the Turkish \"Kazgh\ufffdn,\" vulgarly pronounced \"Kazan,\" and takes in Persian generally the form \"Kazk\ufffdn.\" In Night 652 it will be met again in the sense of crucibles.--ST.]\n\n[FN#25] In text \"Banj al-tayy\ufffdr,\" i.e. volatile: as we should\nsay, that which flies fastest to the brain.\n\n[FN#26] This marvellous bird, the \"Ter-il-bas\" (Tayr T\ufffd\ufffds?), is a particular kind of peacock which is introduced with a monstrous amount of nonsense about \"Dagon and his son Bil-il-Sanan\" and made to determine elections by alighting upon the head of one of the candidates in Chavis and Cazotte, \"History of Yamalladdin (Jam\ufffdl al-Din), Prince of Great Katay\" (Kh\ufffdt\ufffd = Cathay = China). See Heron, iv. 159.\n\n[FN#27] Lit. \"hath given it to him.\"\n\n[FN#28] Arab. \"Jih\ufffdz,\" the Egypt. \"Gah\ufffdz,\" which is the Scotch\n\"tocher,\" and must not be confounded with the \"Mahr\" = dowry,\nsettled by the husband upon the wife. Usually it consists of\nsundry articles of dress and ornament, furniture (matting and\nbedding carpets, divans, cushions and kitchen utensils), to which the Badawi add \"Girbahs\" (water-skins), querns, and pestles with mortars. These are usually carried by camels from the bride's house to the bridegroom's: they are the wife's property, and if divorced she takes them away with her and the husband has no control over the married woman's capital, interest or gains. For other details see Lane M.E. chapt. vi. and Herklots chapt. xiv. sec. 7.\n\n[FN#29] [Arab. \"Shuw\ufffdr\" = trousseau, whence the verb \"shawwara\nbinta-hu\" = he gave a marriage outfit to his daughter. See Dozy\nSuppl. s. v. and Arnold's Chrestom. 157, 1. --ST.]\n\n[FN#30] Arab. \"Ghash\ufffdm,\" see vol. ii. 330. It is a favourite word in Egypt extending to Badawi-land, and especially in Cairo, where it is looked upon as slighting if not insulting.\n\n[FN#31] The whole of the scene is a replica of the marriage\nbetween Kamar al-Zam\ufffdn and that notable blackguard the Lady Bud\ufffdr (vol. iii. 211), where also we find the pigeon slaughtered (p. 289). I have mentioned that the blood of this bird is supposed throughout the East, where the use of the microscope is unknown, and the corpuscles are never studied, most to resemble the results of a bursten hymen, and that it is the most used to\ndeceive the expert eyes of midwives and old matrons. See note to\nvol. iii. p. 280.\n\n[FN#32] Scott (p. 254) makes his heroine \"erect a most\nmagnificent caravanserai, furnished with baths hot and cold, and\nevery convenience for the weary traveller.\" Compare this device\nwith the public and royal banquet (p. 212) contrived by the\nslave-girl sultaness, the charming Zumurrud or Smaragdine in the\ntale of Ali Sh\ufffdr, vol. iv. 187.\n\n[FN#33] In text \"Shakhs,\" see vol. iii. 26; viii. 159.\n\n[FN#34] This assemblage of the dramatis person\ufffd at the end of the scene, highly artistic and equally improbably, reminds us of the ending of King Omar bin al-Nu'uman (vol. iii. 112).\n\n[FN#35] The King and the Minister could not have recognised the\nportrait as neither had seen the original.\n\n[FN#36] In text \"Ishtalaka\" = he surmised, discovered (a secret).\n\n[FN#37] In the Arab. \"she knew them,\" but the careless\nstoryteller forgets the first part of his own story.\n\n[FN#38] Story-telling being servile work.\n\n[FN#39] [In the MS. \"istanat\ufffd l\ufffd-ha.\" The translation in the text presupposes the reading \"istanatt\ufffd\" as the 10th form of \"natt\" = he jumped, he leaped. I am inclined to take it for the 8th form of \"sanat,\" which according to Dozy stands in its 2nd form \"sannat\" for \"sannat,\" a transposition of the classical \"nassat\" = he listened to. The same word with the same meaning of \"listening attentively,\" recurs in the next line in the singular, applying to the captain and the following pronoun \"la-h\ufffd\" refers in both passages to \"Hik\ufffdyah,\" tale, not to the lady-sultan who reveals herself only later, when she has concluded her narrative.--ST.]\n\n[FN#40] Here the converse is probably meant, as we have before\nseen.\n\n[FN#41] Scott ends (p. 258) \"Years of unusual happiness passed\nover the heads of the fortunate adventurers of this history,\nuntil death, the destroyer of all things, conducted them to a\ngrave which must one day be the resting-place for ages of us all, till the receiving (?) angel shall sound his trumpet.\"\n\n[FN#42] Scott (vi. 259-267), \"Story of Hyjuaje, the tyrannical\nGovernor of Coufeh, and the Young Syed.\" For the difference\nbetween the \"Sayyid\" (descendant of Hasan) and the \"Shar\ufffdf,\"\nderived from Husayn, see vol. v. 259. Being of the Holy House the youth can truly deny that he belongs to any place or race, as will be seen in the sequel.\n\n[FN#43] This masterful administrator of the Caliphate under the\nearly Ommiades is noticed in vols. iv. 3, vii. 97. The succession to the Prophet began--as mostly happens in the proceedings of elective governments, republics, and so forth--with the choice of a nobody, \"Abubakr the Veridical,\" a Meccan merchant, whose chief claim was the glamour of the Apostolate. A more notable personage, and seen under the same artificial light, was \"Omar the Justiciary,\" also a trader of Meccah, who was murdered for an act of injustice. In Osman nepotism and corruption so prevailed, while distance began to dim the Apostolic glories, that the blood-thirsty turbulence of the Arab was aroused and caused the death of the third Caliph by what we should call in modern phrase \"lynching.\" Ali succeeded, if indeed we can say he succeeded at all, to an already divided empire. He was the only one of the four who could be described as a man of genius, and therefore he had a host of enemies: he was a poet, a sage, a moralist and even a grammarian; brave as a lion, strong as a bull, a successful and experienced captain, yet a complete failure as a King. A mere child in mundane matters, he ever acted in a worldly sense as he should have avoided acting, and hence, after a short and disastrous reign, he also was killed. His two sons, Hasan and Husayn, inherited all the defects and few of the merits of their sire: Hasan was a pauvre diable, whose chief characteristic was addiction to marriage, and by poetical justice one of his wives murdered him. Husayn was of stronger mould, but he fought against the impossible; for his rival was Mu'\ufffdwiyah, the Cavour of the\nAge, the longest-headed man in Arabia, and against Yez\ufffdd, who,\nlike Italy of the present day, flourished and prospered by the\nartificial game which the far-seeing politician, his father, had\nbequeathed to his house--the Ommiade. The fourth of this dynasty, 'Abd al-Malik bin Marw\ufffdn, \"the Father of Flies,\" and his successor, Al-Walid, were happy in being served thoroughly and unscrupulously by Al-Hajj\ufffdj, the ablest of Lieutenants, whose specialty it was to take in hand a revolted province, such as Al-Hij\ufffdz, Al-Ir\ufffdk, or Khor\ufffds\ufffdn, and to slaughter it into\nsubmission; besides deaths in battle he is computed to have slain 120,000 men. He was an unflinching preacher of the Divine Right of Kings and would observe that the Lord says, \"Obey Allah an ye can\" (conditional), but as regards royal government \"Hearing and obeying\" (absolute); ergo, all opposition was to be cut down and uprooted. However, despite his most brilliant qualities, his learning, his high and knightly sense of honour, his insight and his foresight (e.g. in building W\ufffdsit), he won an immortality of infamy: he was hated by his contemporaries, he is the subject of silly tale and offensive legend (e.g., that he was born without anus, which required opening with instruments, and he was suckled by Satan's orders on blood), and he is still execrated as the tyrant, per excellentiam, and the oppressor of the Holy Family--the children and grand-children of the Apostle.\n\nThe traditional hatred of Al-Hajjaj was envenomed by the\naccession of the Abbasides and this dynasty, the better to\ndistinguish itself from the Ommiades, affected love for the Holy\nFamily, especially Ali and his descendants, and a fanatical\nhatred against their oppressors. The following table from Ibn\nKhald\ufffdn (Introduct. xxii.) shows that the Caliphs were cousins,\nwhich may account for their venomous family feud.\n\n[First Version]\n\n                        'Abd Manaf\n                            |\n                ____________|____________\n                |                       |\n              Hashim                 Abd Shams\n                |                       |\n         Abd al-Muttalib            Umayyah\n                |                       |\n     ___________|__________         ____|______\n     |          |         |         |         |\n  Al-Abbas  Abdullah  Abu Talib   Harb       Abu 'l-Aus\n     |          |         |         |         |\n  Abdullah  Mohammed      |      Abu Sufyan  Al-Hakim\n     |          |         |         |         |\n    Ali   Fatimah married Ali   Mu'awiyah    Marwan\n     |         _____|_____    (1st Ommiade)\n     |         |         |\n  Mohammed  Al-Hasan Al-Husayn\n    |\nAl-Saff\ufffdh\n(1st Abbaside)\n\n\n[Second Version]\n\n'Abd Manaf, father of Hashim and Abd Shams\n   Hashim, father of Abd al-Muttalib\n     Abd al-Muttalib, father of Al-Abbas, Abdullah, and Abu Talib\n         Al-Abbas, father of Abdullah\n             Abdullah, father of Ali\n                 Ali, father of Mohammed\n                    Mohammed, father of Al-Saff\ufffdh (1st Abbaside)\n         Abdullah, father of Mohammed\n             Mohammed, father of Fatimah, who married Ali\n                       (son of Abu Talib)\n                Fatimah, mother of Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn\n         Abu Talib, father of Ali\n   Abd Shams, father of Umayyah\n     Umayyah, father of Harb and Abu 'l-Aus\n         Harb, father of Abu Sufyan\n             Abu Sufyan, father of Mu'awiyah (1st Ommiade)\n         Abu 'l-Aus, father of Al-Hakim\n             Al-Hakim, father of Marwan\n\n[FN#44] [The word here translated \"invited guest\" reads in the\nMS. \"Mad'\ufffdr.\" In this form it is no dictionary word, but under\nthe root \"D'r\" I find in the Muh\ufffdt: \"wa 'l-'\ufffdmatu tak\ufffdlu ful\ufffdnun\nda'irun ya'n\ufffd ghal\ufffdzun j\ufffdfin\" = the common people say such a one\nis \"da'ir,\" i.e., rude, churlish. \"Mad'\ufffdr\" may be a synonym and\nrendered accordingly: as though thou wert a boor or clown.--ST]\n\n[FN#45] A neat specimen of the figure anachronism. Al-Hajjaj died in A.H. 95 (= A.D. 714), and Cairo was built in A.H. 358 (= A.D. 968).\n\n[FN#46] Perfectly true even in the present day. The city was famed for intelligence and sanguinary fanaticism; and no stranger in disguise could pass through it without detection. This ended with the massacre of 1840, which brought a new era into the Moslem East. The men are, as a rule, fine-looking, but they seem to be all show: we had a corps of them in the old B\ufffdsh-Buzuks, who, after a month or two in camp, seemed to have passed suddenly from youth into old age.\n\n[FN#47] In text, \"Yasta'amil\ufffdna al-Mrd,\" which may have a number\nof meanings, e.g. \"work frowardness\" (Maradd), or \"work the fruit of the tree Ar\ufffdk\" (Marad = wild capparis) and so forth. I have chosen the word mainly because \"Murd\" rhymes to \"Burd.\" The\npeople of Al-Yaman are still deep in the Sotadic Zone and\npractice; this they owe partly to a long colonization of the\n\"'Ajam,\" or Persians. See my Terminal Essay, \ufffd \"Pederasty,\" p.\n205.\n\n[FN#48] \"Burd,\" plur. of \"Burdah\" = mantle or woollen plaid of\nstriped stuff: vol. vii. 95. They are still woven in Arabia, but\nthey are mostly white.\n\n[FN#49] So in Tabari (vol. III. 127) Al Hajj\ufffdj sees a man of\nhaughty mien (Abd al-Rahm\ufffdn bin Abdullah), and exclaims, \"Regarde comme il est orgueilleux: par Dieu, j'aurais envie de lui couper la t\ufffdte!\"\n\n[FN#50] [The phrase is Koranic (viii. 24): \"Wa 'lam\ufffd anna 'll\ufffdha\nyah\ufffdlu bayna 'l-mari wa kalbi-hi,\" which Rodwell translates: Know that God cometh in between man and his own heart.--ST]\n\n[FN#51] \"Yathrib,\" the classical name ?at??ppa, one of the\nmultifarious titles of what is called in full \"Mad\ufffdnat al-Nabi,\"\nCity of the Prophet, and vulgarly, Al-Madinah, the City.\n\"Tayyibah,\" the good, sweet, or lawful: \"Al-Munawwarah\" = the\nenlightened, i.e. by the light of The Faith and the column of\n(odylic) flame supposed to be based upon the Prophet's tomb. For\nmore, see my Pilgrimage, ii. 162. I may note how ridiculously the story-teller displays ignorance in Al-Hajjaj, who knew the\nMoslem's Holy Land by heart.\n\n[FN#52] In text \"Taaw\ufffdl,\" = the commentary or explanation of\nMoslem Holy Writ: \"Tanz\ufffdl\" = coming down, revelation of the\nKoran: \"Tahr\ufffdm\" = rendering any action \"har\ufffdm\" or unlawful, and\n\"Tahl\ufffdl\" = the converse, making word or deed canonically legal.\nThose are well-known theological terms.\n\n[FN#53] The Ban\ufffd Gh\ufffdlib, whose eponymous forefather was Gh\ufffdlib,\nson of Fihr, the well-known ancestor of Mohammed.\n\n[FN#54] In text \"Hasab wa Nasab.\" It is told of Al-Mu'izz bi\nD\ufffdni'llah, first Fatimite Caliph raised to the throne of Egypt,\nthat he came forward to the elective assembly and drew his sword\nhalf way out of the scabbard and exclaimed \"H\ufffdz\ufffd Nasab\ufffd\" (this is my genealogy); and then cast handfuls of gold amongst the crowd, crying, \"H\ufffdz\ufffd Hasab\ufffd\" (such is my title to reign). This is as good as the traditional saying of Napoleon the Great at his first assuming the iron crown--\"God gave her to me; woe for whoso toucheth her\" (the crown).\n\n[FN#55] [In MS. \"takhsa-u,\" a curious word of venerable yet green old age, used in the active form with both transitive and\nintransitive meaning: to drive away (a dog, etc.), and to be\ndriven away. In the Koran (xxiii. 110) we find the imper.\n\"ikhsa\ufffd\" = be ye driven away, and in two other places (ii. 61,\nvii. 166), the nomen agentis \"kh\ufffdsi\" = \"scouted\" occurs, as\napplied to the apes into which the Sabbath-breaking Jews were\ntransformed. In the popular language of the present day it has\nbecome equivalent with \"kh\ufffdba,\" to be disappointed, and may here\nbe translated: thou wilt fail ignominiously.--ST]\n\n[FN#56] Scott introduces (p. 262), \"the tyrant, struck with his\nmagnanimity, became calm, and commanding the executioner to\nrelease the youth, said, For the present I forbear, and will not\nkill thee unless thy answers to my further questions shall\ndeserve it. They then entered on the following dialogue: Hyjuawje hoping to entrap him in discourse.\"\n\n[FN#57] See the dialogue on this subject between Al-Hajjaj and\nY\ufffdhy\ufffd ibn Yamar in Ibn Khallikan, iv. 60.\n\n[FN#58] Surah xxxiii. (The Confederates), v. 40, which ends, \"And Allah knoweth all things.\"\n\n[FN#59] Surah lix. (The Emigration), v. 40: the full quotation\nwould be, \"The spoil, taken from the townsfolk and assigned by\nAllah to His Apostle, belongeth to Allah and to the Apostle and\nto his kindred and to the orphan and to the poor and to the\nwayfarer, that naught thereof may circulate among such only of\nyou as be rich. What the Apostle hath given you, take. What he\nhath refused you, refuse. And fear ye Allah, for Allah is sure in punishing.\"\n\n[FN#60] The House of H\ufffdshim, great-grandfather to the Prophet.\n\n[FN#61] Ibn Khallikan (vol. i. 354) warns us that \"Al-Ta\ufffd\" means\nbelonging to the Ta\ufffd which is a famous tribe. This relative\nadjective is of irregular formation; analogy would require it to\nbe T\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd; but the formation of relative adjectives admits some\nvariations; thus from dahr (time) is derived duhr\ufffd (temporal) and from sahl (a plain), suhl\ufffd (plain, level). The author might also have told us that there is always a reason for such\nirregularities; thus \"Dahr\ufffd\" (from Dahr) would mean a Mundanist,\none who believes in this world and not the next or another.\n\n[FN#62] The \"Ban\ufffd Thak\ufffdf\" was a noble tribe sprung from Iy\ufffdd (Ibn Khallikan i. 358-363); but the ignorant and fanatic scribe uses every means, fair and foul, to defame Al-Hajjaj. It was a great race and a well known, living about T\ufffdif in the Highlands East of Meccah, where they exist to the present day. Mr. Doughty (loc. cit. ii. 174) mentions a kindred of the Juhaynah Badawin called El-Thegif (Thak\ufffdf) of whom the Medinites say, \"Allah ya'alan Theg\ufffdf Kudd\ufffdm takuf\" (God damn the Theg\ufffdf ere thou stand still). They are called \"Yahud\" (Jews), probably meaning pre-Islamitic Arabs, and are despised accordingly.\n\n[FN#63] In Arab. \"Jady\" = the Zodiacal sign Capricorn.\n\n[FN#64] We find a similar facetia in Mullah J\ufffdm\ufffd (Garden viii.).\nWhen a sheep leapt out of the stream, her tail happened to be\nraised, and a woolcarder said laughing:--\"I have seen thy parts\ngenital.\" She turned her head and replied, \"O miserable, for many a year I have seen thee mother-naked yet never laughed I.\" This alludes to the practice of such artisans who on account of the heat in their workshops and the fibre adhering to their clothes work in naturalibus. See p. 178, the Beharist\ufffdn (Abode of Spring). Printed by the Kamashastra Society for Private\nSubscribers only. Benares, 1887.\n\n[FN#65] This passage is not Koranic, and, according to Prof.\nHoudas, the word \"Muhkaman\" is never found in the Holy Volume.\n[The passage is not a literal quotation, but it evidently alludes to Koran iii. 5: \"Huwa'llaz\ufffd anzal\ufffd 'alayka 'l-kit\ufffdba minhu \ufffdy\ufffdtun muhkam\ufffdtun\" = He it is who sent down to thee the book, some of whose signs (or versets) are confirmed. The singular \"muhkamatun\" is applied (xlvii.) to \"S\ufffdratun,\" a chapter, and in both places the meaning of \"confirmed\" is \"not abrogated by later revelations.\" Hence the sequel of my first quotation these portions are called \"the mother (i.e. groundwork) of the book,\" and the learned Sayyid is not far from the mark after all.--ST]\n\n[FN#66] Surah ii. (The Cow) v. 56, the verse beginning, \"Allah!\nthere be no God but He; ... His Throne overreacheth the Heavens\nand the Hearth,\" etc.\n\n[FN#67] Surah lxxiii. (The Bee) v. 92, ending with, \"And he\nforbiddeth frowardness and wrong-doing and oppression; and He\nwarneth you that haply may ye be warned.\"\n\n[FN#68] Surah (Meccah) xcix. vv. 7 and 8: in text \"Mithk\ufffdla\nZarratin,\" which Mr. Rodwell (p. 28) englishes \"an atom's weight\nof good,\" and adds in a foot-note, \"Lit. a single ant.\" Prof.\nHoudas would render it, Quiconque aura fait la valeur d'un\nmitskal de millet en fait de bien; but I hardly think that\n\"Zarrah\" can mean \"Durrah\" = millet. [\"Mithk\ufffdl\" in this context\nis explained by the commentators by \"Wazn\" = weight, this being\nthe original meaning of the word which is a nomen instrumenti of\nthe form \"Mif'\ufffdl,\" denoting \"that by which the gravity of bodies\nis ascertained.\" Later on it became the well-known technical term for a particular weight. \"Zarrah,\" according to some glossarists, is the noun of unity of \"Zarr,\" the young ones of the ant, an antlet, which is said to weigh the twelfth part of a \"Kitm\ufffdr\" = pedicle of the date-fruit, or the hundredth part of a grain of barley, or to have no weight at all. Hence \"Mukhkh al-Zarr,\" the brains of the antlet, means a thing that does not exist or is impossible to be found. According to others, \"Zarrah\" is a particle of al-Hab\ufffd, i.e. of the motes that are seen dancing in the sunlight, called \"Sonnenst\ufffdubchen\" in German, and \"atomo solare\" in Italian. Koran xxi. 48 and xxxi. 15 we find the expression \"Mithk\ufffdla Habbatin min Khardalin\" = of the weight of a mustard-seed, used in a similar sense with the present quotation.--ST]\n\n[FN#69] Surah lxx. 38, Mr. Rodwell (p. 60) translates, \"Is it\nthat every man of them would fain enter the Garden of Delights?\"\n\n[FN#70] Surah xxxix. 54: they sinned by becoming apostates from\nAl-Islam. The verset ends, \"Verily all sins doth Allah forgive:\naye, Gracious, and Merciful is He.\"\n\n[FN#71] Surah ii. 159; the quotation in the MS. is cut short.\n\n[FN#72] Surah ii. 107; the end of the verse is, \"Yet both are\nreaders of the Book. So with like words say they (the pagan\nArabs) who have no knowledge.\"\n\n[FN#73] Surah li. (The Scattering), v. 56.\n\n[FN#74] Surah ii. v. 30.\n\n[FN#75] Surah xl. (The Believer), v. 78. In the text it is\nfragmentary. I do not see why Mr. Rodwell founds upon this verset a charge against the Prophet of ignorance concerning Jewish history: Mohammed seems to have followed the Talmud and tradition rather than the Holy Writ of the Hebrews.\n\n[FN#76] Surah (The Believers) lxiv. 108.\n\n[FN#77] Surah xxxv. (The Creator or the Angels), v. 31: The\nsentence concludes in v. 32, \"Who of His bounty hath placed us in a Mansion that shall abide for ever, therein no evil shall reach us, and therein no weariness shall touch us.\"\n\n[FN#78] Surah (\"Sad\") lix. 54; Iblis, like Satan in the Book of\nJob, is engaged in dialogue with the Almighty. I may here note\nthat Scott (p. 265) has partially translated these Koranic\nquotations, but he has given only one reference.\n\n[FN#79] In text \"An\ufffd min ahli z\ufffdlika,\" of which the vulgar\nequivalent would be \"Kiz\ufffd\" (for \"Kaz\ufffdlika,\" \"Kaz\ufffd\") = so (it is)!\n\n[FN#80] i.e. On an empty stomach, to \"open the spittle\" is = to\nbreak the fast. Sir Wm. Gull in his evidence before a committee\nof the House of Commons deposed that after severe labor he found\na bunch of dried raisins as efficacious a \"pick-me-up\" as a glass of stimulants. The value of dried grapes to the Alpinist is well known.\n\n[FN#81] Arab. \"Al-Kad\ufffdd\" = jerked (charqui = chaire cuite) meat-flesh smoked, or (mostly) sun-dried.\n\n[FN#82] I have noticed (i. 345) one of the blunders in our last\nunfortunate occupation of Egypt where our soldiers died uselessly of dysenteric disease because they were rationed with heating beef instead of digestible mutton.\n\n[FN#83] Arab. \"Al-Marham al-akbar.\"\n\n[FN#84] [In the text: \"Al-Kisrat al-y\ufffdbisah 'al\ufffd 'l-R\ufffdk fa-innah\ufffd tukhlik jam\ufffd'a m\ufffd 'al\ufffd fum al-m\ufffddah min al-balgham,\" of which I cannot make anything but: a slice of dry bread (kisrah = piece of bread) on the spittle (i.e. to break the fast), for it absorbs (lit. uses up, fourth form of \"khalik\" = to be worn out) all that there may be of phlegm on the mouth of the stomach. Can it be that the dish \"Khushk-n\ufffdn\" (Pers. = dry-bread) is meant, of which the village clown in one of Spitta Bey's tales, when he was treated to it by Harun al-Rashid thought it must be the \"Hamm\ufffdm,\" because he had heard his grandmother say, that the Hamm\ufffdm (bath) is the most delightful thing in the world?\ufffdST]\n\n[FN#85] The stomach has two mouths, \ufffdsophagic above (which is\nhere alluded to) and pyloric below.\n\n[FN#86] Arab. \"'Irk al-Uns\ufffd\" = chord\ufffd testiculorum, in Engl.\nsimply the cord.\n\n[FN#87] The \"'Aj\ufffdz\" is a woman who ceases to have her monthly\nperiod: the idea is engrained in the Eastern mind and I cannot\nbut believe in it seeing the old-young faces of men who have\n\"married their grandmothers\" for money or folly, and what not.\n\n[FN#88] Arab. \"Al-'Ak\ufffdk,\" vol. iii. 179: it is a tradition of the Prophet that the best of bezels for a signet-ring is the\ncarnelian, and such are still the theory and practice of the\nMoslem East.\n\n[FN#89] Arab. \"Tuh\ufffdl;\" in text \"Tayhal.\" Mr. Doughty (Arabia\nDeserta, i. 547) writes the word \"Tahal\" and translates it\n\"ague-cake,\" i.e. the throbbing enlarged spleen, left after\nfevers, especially those of Al-Hij\ufffdz and Khaybar. [The form\n\"Tayh\ufffdl\" with a plural \"Taw\ufffdhil\" for the usual \"Tih\ufffdl\" = spleen\nis quoted by Dozy from the valuable Vocabulary published by\nSchiaparelli, 1871, after an old MS. of the end of the xiii.\ncentury. It has the same relation to the verb \"tayhal\" = he\nsuffered from the spleen, which \"Tih\ufffdl\" bears to the verb\n\"tuhil,\" used passively in the same sense. The name of the\ndisease is \"Tuh\ufffdl.\"--ST]\n\n[FN#90] In text \"Kasalah\" = a shock of corn, assemblage of\nsheaves. It may be a clerical error for \"Kasabah\" = stalk, haulm, straw.\n\n[FN#91] Of course the conversation drifts into matters sexual and inter-sexual: in a similar story, \"Tawaddud,\" the learned slave girl, \"hangs down her head for shame and confusion\" (vol. v. 225); but the young Sayyid speaks out bravely as becomes a male masculant.\n\n[FN#92] [In the text: \"Allat\ufffd lau nazarat il\ufffd 'l-sam\ufffd la-a'shab\n(fourth form of 'ashab with the affirmative \"la\") al-Saf\ufffd (pl. of Saf\ufffdt), wa lau nazarat il\ufffd 'l-arz la amtar taghru-h\ufffd (read\nthaghru-h\ufffd) L\ufffdluan lam yuskab wa r\ufffdku-h\ufffd min al-Zul\ufffdl a'zab (for\na'zab min al-Zul\ufffdl),\" which I would translate: Who if she look\nupon the heavens, the very rocks cover themselves with verdure,\nand an she look upon the earth, her lips rain unpierced pearls\n(words of virgin eloquence) and the dews of whose mouth are\nsweeter than the purest water.--ST.]\n\n[FN#93] These lines have often occurred before: see index (vol.\nx. 443) \"Wa lau anunah\ufffd li 'l-Mushrik\ufffdn,\" etc. I have therefore\nborrowed from Mr. Payne, vol. viii. 78, whose version is\nadmirable.\n\n[FN#94] For the Jah\ufffdm-hell, see vol. viii. 111.\n\n[FN#95] For the Seven Ages of womankind (on the Irish model) see\nvol. ix. 175. Some form of these verses is known throughout the\nMoslem East to prince and peasant. They usually begin:--\n\nFrom the tenth to the twentieth year * To the gaze a charm doth\n     appear;\n\nand end with:--\n\nFrom sixty to three score ten * On all befal Allah's malison.\n\n[FN#96] [Here I suppose the word \"k\ufffdl\" has been dropped after \"bi 'l-shi'r,\" and it should be: He (the youth) replied, that was our common sire, Adam, etc.--ST.]\n\n[FN#97] \"H\ufffdb\ufffdl\" and \"K\ufffdb\ufffdl\" are the Arab. equivalent of Abel and\nCain. Neither are named in the Koran (Surah v. \"The Table,\" vv.\n30-35), which borrows dialogue between the brothers derived from\nthe Targum (Jeirus. on Gen. iv. 8) and makes the raven show the\nmode of burial to Cain, not to Adam, as related by the Jews.\nRodwell's Koran, p. 543.\n\n[FN#98] Sit venia verbo: I have the less hesitation in making\nAdam anticipate the widow Malone from a profound conviction that\nsome Hibernian antiquary, like Vallancey who found the Irish\ntongue in the Punic language of Plautus, shall distinctly prove\nthat our first forefather spoke Keltic.\n\n[FN#99] In text \"R\ufffdh,\" wind, gust (of temper), pride, rage.\nAmongst the Badaw\ufffdn it is the name given to rheumatism (gout\nbeing unknown), and all obscure aching diseases by no means\nconfined to flatulence or distension. [The MS. has: \"il\ufffd an\nk\ufffdta-ka 'l-'amal al-rab\ufffdh,\" which gives no sense whatever. Sir\nRichard reads: \"k\ufffdtala-ka 'l-'amal al-r\ufffdh,\" and thus arrives at\nthe above translation. I would simply drop a dot on the first\nletter of \"k\ufffdta-ka,\" reading \"f\ufffdta-ka,\" when the meaning of the\nline as it stands, would be: until the work that is profitable\npassed away from thee, i.e., until thou ceasedst to do good. The\nword \"rab\ufffdh\" is not found in Dictionaries, but it is evidently an intensive of \"r\ufffdbih\" (tij\ufffdrah r\ufffdbihah = a profitable traffic) and its root occurs in the Koran, ii. 15: \"Fa-m\ufffd rabihat Tij\ufffdratuhum\" = but their traffic has not been gainful.--ST.]\n\n[FN#100] Arab. \"Badrah\": see vol. iv. 281. [According to K\ufffdm\ufffds,\n\"Badrah\" is a purse of one thousand or ten thousand dirhams, or of seven thousand d\ufffdn\ufffdrs. As lower down it is called \"Badrat Zahab,\" a purse of gold, I would take it here in the third sense.--ST.]\n\n[FN#101] In text \"Zardiy\ufffd,\" for \"Zaradiyyah\" = a small mail-coat, a light helmet.\n\n[FN#102] Arab. \"'Ind 'uzz\ufffdti 's-sin\ufffdni\" = lit. the thorny shrubs\nof ground bare of pasture.\n\n[FN#103] This is another form of \"inverted speech,\" meaning the\nclean contrary; see vols. ii. 265; vi. 262; and viii. 179.\n\n[FN#104] In text \"Lam yakthir Khayrak\"; this phrase (pronounced\n\"Kattir Khayrak\") is the Egyptian (and Moslem) equivalent for our \"thank you.\" Vols. iv. 6; v. 171. Scott (p. 267) makes Al-Hajjaj end with, \"Cursed is he who doth not requite a sincere adviser, declareth our sacred Koran.\"\n\n[FN#105] In the W.M. MS. this tale is followed by the \"History of Uns al-Wuj\ufffdd and the Wazir's daughter Rose-in-hood,\" for which see vol. v. 32 et seq. Then comes the long romance \"M\ufffdzin of Khor\ufffds\ufffdn,\" which is a replica of \"Hasan of Bassorah and the\nKing's daughter of the Jinn\" (vol. viii. 7). I have noted (vol. x. 78) that this story shows us the process of transition from the Persian original to the Arabic copy. \"M\ufffdzin\" is also the P.N. of an Arab tribe: De Sacy, Chrest. i. 406.\n\n[FN#106] MS. vol. v. pp. 92-94: Scott, vol. vi. 343: Gauttier,\nvi. 376. The story is a replica of the Mock Caliph (vol. iv. 130) and the Tale of the First Lunatic (Suppl. vol. iv.); but I have retained it on account of the peculiar freshness and na\ufffdvet\ufffd of treatment which distinguishes it, also as a specimen of how extensively editors and scriveners can vary the same subject.\n\n[FN#107] In text \"Natar\" (watching) for \"Nataf\" (indigestion,\ndisgust).\n\n[FN#108] Here again we have the formula \"K\ufffdla 'l-R\ufffdw\ufffd\" = the\nreciter saith, showing the purpose of the MS. See Terminal Essay, p. 163.\n\n[FN#109] It were well to remind the reader that \"Khal\ufffdfah\" (never written \"Khal\ufffdf\") is = a viceregent or vicar, i.e. of the Prophet of Allah, not of Allah himself, a sense which was especially deprecated by the Caliph Abubakr as \"vicar\" supposes l'absence du chef; or Dieu est pr\ufffdsent partout et \ufffd tout instant. Ibn Khal. ii. 496.\n\n[FN#110] This tale, founded on popular belief in tribadism, has\nalready been told in vol. vii. 130: in the W.M. MS. it occupies\n23 pages (pp. 95- 118). Scott (vi. 343) has \"Mesroor retired and\nbrought in Ali Ibn Munsoor Damuskkee, who related to the Caliph a foolish narrative (!) of two lovers of Bussorah, each of whom was coy when the other wished to be kind.\" The respectable Britisher evidently cared not to \"read between the lines.\"\n\n[FN#111] In pop. parlance \"Let us be off.\"\n\n[FN#112] Arab. \"Al-\ufffdf\ufffdk\" plur. of Ufk, \"elegant\" (as the\ngrammarians say) for the world, the universe.\n\n[FN#113] [In MS. \"Rankah\" or \"Ranakah,\" probably for \"Raunakah,\"\nwhich usually means \"troubled,\"; speaking of water, but which,\naccording to Schiaparelli's Vocabulista, has also the meaning of\n\"Raunak\" = amenitas. As however \"Ranakah\" taken as fem. of \"Ranak\" shares with Raunakah the signification of \"troubled,\" it may perhaps also be a parallel form to the latter in the second\nsense.--ST.]\n\n[FN#114] The text has \"Martabat Saltanah\" (for Sult\ufffdniyah) which\nmay mean a royal Divan. The \"Martabah\" is a mattress varying in\nsize and thickness, stuffed with cotton and covered with cloths\nof various colours and the latter mostly original and admirable\nof figuration but now supplanted by the wretched printed calicoes of civilisation. It is placed upon the ground and garnished with cushions which are usually of length equally the width of the mattress and of a height measuring about half of that breadth. When the \"Martabah\" is placed upon its \"Mastabah\" (bench of masonry or timber) or upon its \"Sar\ufffdr\" (a framework of \"jar\ufffdd\" or midribs of the palm), it becomes the D\ufffdwan = divan.\n\n[FN#115] In text \"Bi-iz\ufffd-hum\ufffd;\" lit. vis-\ufffd-vis to the twain.\n\n[FN#116] These have occurred vol. i. 176: I quote Mr. Payne (i.\n156).\n\n[FN#117] In text \"Hann\ufffd-kum\ufffd 'llah:\" see \"Hanian,\" vol. ii. 5.\n\n[FN#118] This is usually a sign of grief, a symbolic act which\ndates from the days of the Heb. patriarchs (Gen. xxxvii. 29-34);\nbut here it is the mark of strong excitement. The hand is placed\nwithin the collar and a strong pull tears the light stuff all\ndown the breast. Economical men do this in a way which makes\ndarning easy.\n\n[FN#119] [The MS. is very indistinct in this place, but by\nsupplying \"'an\" after \"ghibta\" and reading \"'ayn\ufffd\" for \"'ann\ufffd,\" I have no doubt the words are: Wa in ghibta 'an 'ayni fa-m\ufffd ghibta 'an kalbi = and if thou art absent from my eyes, yet thou are not absent from my heart. The metre is Taw\ufffdl and the line has occurred elsewhere in The Nights.--ST.]\n\n[FN#120] I have already noted that \"Hil\ufffdl\" is the crescent\n(waxing or waning) for the first and last two or three nights:\nduring the rest of the lunar month the lesser light is called\n\"Kamar.\"\n\n[FN#121] The sense is that of Coleridge.--\n\n        To be beloved is all I need;\n        And whom I love I love indeed.\n\n[FN#122] There is something wrong in the text. I cannot help\nagain drawing the reader's attention to the skilful portraiture\nof the model Moslem Minister, the unfortunate Ja'afar. He is\nnever described in the third person; but the simple dialogue\nalways sets him off as a wise, conciliatory, benevolent, loveable and man-loving character, whose constant object is to temper the harshness and headstrong errors of a despotic master as the Caliph is represented to be by way of showing his kingliness. See vol. i., 102. [The MS. is certainly wrong here, but perhaps it can be righted a little. It has: \"Kad yak\ufffdn Z R H ahad f\ufffd M\ufffdl jaz\ufffdl wa harab al-Maz'\ufffdn,\" etc., where Sir Richard reads \"zarra-hu\" = he harmed, and Mazgh\ufffdn = the hated one, i.e. enemy. I have a strong suspicion that in the original from which our scribe copied, the two words were \"zamin\" and \"al-Mazm\ufffdn.\" Zamin in the Arabic character would be {Arabic characters} The loop for the \"m,\" if made small, is easily overlooked; the curve of the \"n,\" if badly traced, can as easily be mistaken for \"r\" and a big dot inside the \"n\" might appear like a blotted \"h\". Mazm\ufffdn would become \"Maz'\ufffdn\" by simply turning the \"m\" loop upwards instead of downwards, an error the converse of which is so frequently committed in printed texts. Curiously enough the same error occurs p. 192 of the MS., where we shall find \"na' 'al\" with two 'Ayns instead of \"na'mal\" with 'Ayn and Mim. If this conjecture is correct the sense would be: Haply he may have stood security for someone for much money, and the person for whom security was given, took to flight, etc. For \"zamin\" with the acc. see Ibn Jubair ed. by Wright, 77, 2. I may say on this occasion, that my impression of the Montague MS. is, that it is a blundering copy of a valuable though perhaps indistinctly written original.--ST.]\n\n[FN#123] In text \"'Aurat\" = nakedness: see vol. vi. 30.\n\n[FN#124] In Arab. \"'Urrah\": see Fatimah the Dung in vol. x. 1.\n\n[FN#125] [In the MS. \"bi-Wuj\ufffdh al F\ufffdnij\ufffdt al-Mil\ufffdh.\" The\ntranslator conjectures \"al-f\ufffdtih\ufffdt,\" which he refers to \"Wuj\ufffdh.\"\nI read it \"al-Gh\ufffdnij\ufffdt,\" in apposition with al-Mil\ufffdh, and render: the faces of the coquettish, the fair. See index under\n\"Ghunj.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#126] In text \"Ball\ufffdt,\" the name still given to the limestone\nslabs cut in the Torah quarries South of Cairo. The word is\nclassical, we find in Ibn Khald\ufffdn (vol. i. p. 21, Fr. Trans.) a\nchief surnomm\ufffd el-Balt (le pav\ufffd),  \ufffd cause de sa fermet\ufffd et de sa force de caract\ufffdre.\n\n[FN#127] In text \"Usbur\ufffd\" = be ye patient, the cry addressed to\npassengers by the Grandee's body-guard.\n\n[FN#128] The \"young person\" here begins a tissue of impertinences which are supposed to show her high degree and her condescension in mating with the jeweller. This is still \"pretty Fanny's way\" amongst Moslems.\n\n[FN#129] A \"swear\" peculiarly feminine, and never to be used by\nmen.\n\n[FN#130] In text \"'Al\ufffd-Akl\ufffd:\" the whole passage is doubtful.\n[I would read, and translate the passage as follows: \"M\ufffd tastahl\ufffd 'al\ufffd haz\ufffd ill\ufffd shay l\ufffd tazann-hu allaz\ufffd (for \"allat\ufffd,\" see Suppl. iv. 253) kayyamt\ufffdn\ufffd (2nd fem. sing.) min 'al\ufffd akl\ufffd wa an\ufffd zanantu innahu man y\ufffdjab la-hu al-kiy\ufffdm; thumma iltifatat illayya wa k\ufffdlat hakaz\ufffd sirtu an\ufffd la-ghaz\ufffdrat al-thiy\ufffdb al-wasikhat min al-fakr fa-hal m\ufffd ghasalta wajhak?\" = Thou deservest not for this but a thing thou doest not fancy, thou who madest me rise from before my food, while I thought he was one to whom rising up is due. Then she turned towards me, saying, \"Am I then in this manner (i.e. like thyself) a bundle of clothes all dirty from poverty, and hast thou therefore (\"fa\" indicating the effect of a cause) not washed thy face?\" Or to put it in more intelligible English: \"Am I then like thyself a heap of rags that thou shouldst come to me with unwashed face?\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#131] Of the respect due to food Lane (M. E. chapt. xiii.)\ntells the following tale: \"Two servants were sitting at the door\nof their master's house, eating their dinner, when they observed\na Mameluke Bey with several of his officers, riding along the\nstreets towards them. One of these servants rose, from respect to the Grandee, who regarding him with indignation, exclaimed, Which is the more worthy of respect, the bread which is before thee or myself? Without awaiting a reply, he made, it is said, a\nwell-understood signal with his hand; and the unintending\noffender was beheaded on the spot.\" I may add that the hero of\nthe story is said to have been the celebrated \"Daftardar\" whose\nfacetious cruelties have still a wide fame in the Nile Valley.\n\n[FN#132] I would read (for \"Sirtu ana\" = I have become) \"Sirt'\nanta\" = thou hast become.\n\n[FN#133] In text \"Mukh;\" lit. = brain, marrow.\n\n[FN#134] [In Ar. \"Wa zand mujauhar f\ufffd-hi As\ufffdwir min al-Zahab\nal-ahmar,\" which may mean: and a fore-arm (became manifest),\nornamented with jewels, on which were bracelets of red\ngold.--ST.]\n\n[FN#135] For this famous type of madman see Suppl. Vol. vi. 155.\n\n[FN#136] [Ar. \"Ghurr\ufffdt,\" which may be bright looks, charms, in\ngeneral, or according to Bocthor, fore-locks. The more usual plural of \"Ghurrah\" is \"Ghurar.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#137] In the text \"Darajah\" = an instant; also a degree (of the Zodiac). We still find this division of time in China and Japan, where they divide the twenty-four hours into twelve periods, each of which is marked by a quasi-Zodiacal sign: e.g.--\n\nMidnight until 2 a.m. is represented by the Rat.\n 2 a.m. until 4 a.m. is represented by the Ox.\n 4 a.m. until 6 a.m. is represented by the Tiger.\n 6 a.m. until 8 a.m. is represented by the Hare.\n 8 a.m. until 10 a.m. is represented by the Dragon.\n10 a.m. until noon is represented by the Serpent.\nNoon until 2 p.m. is represented by the Horse.\n2 p.m. until 4 p.m. is represented by the Ram.\n4 p.m. until 6 p.m. is represented by the Ape.\n6 p.m. until 8 p.m. is represented by the Cock.\n8 p.m. until 10 p.m. is represented by the Hog.\n10 p.m. until midnight is represented by the Fox.\n\nSee p. 27 Edit. ii. of C. B. Mitford's Tales of Old Japan, a most important contribution to Eastern folklore.\n\n[\"Darajah\" is, however, also used for any short space of time;\naccording to Lane it is = 4 minutes (i.e. the 24 hours or 1,440\nminutes of the astronomical day divided into 360 degrees of 4\nminutes each), and Bocthor gives it as an equivalent for our\ninstant or moment.--ST.]\n\n[FN#138] The young fool vaunts his intersexual powers, apparently unknowing that nothing can be more fatal to love than fulfilling the desires of a woman who, once accustomed to this high diet, revolts against any reduction of it. He appears to have been a polisson by his own tale told to the Caliph and this alone would secure the contempt of a high-bred and high-spirited girl.\n\n[FN#139] The \"nosebag\"; vol. ii. 52, etc. The Badaw\ufffdyah (Badaw\ufffd\nwoman) generally prefers a red colour, in opposition to the white and black of civilisation; and she of the Arabian Desert\ngenerally disdains to use anything of the kind.\n\n[FN#140] This ablution of the whole body he was bound to perform\nafter having had carnal knowledge of a woman, and before washing\nhe was in a state of ceremonial impurity. For \"Ghusl,\" or\ncomplete ablution, see vol. v. 80.\n\n[FN#141] \"The Heart of the Koran,\" chap. xxxvi. see vol. iv. 50.\n\n[FN#142] The Mand\ufffdl apparently had been left in the shop by the\nblack slave-girl. Women usually carry such articles with them\nwhen \"on the loose,\" and in default of water and washing they are used to wipe away the results of car. cop.\n\n[FN#143] In Arab. \"Shakk.\" The criminal was hung up by the heels, and the executioner, armed with a huge chopper, began to hew him down from the fork till he reached the neck, when, by a dextrous turn of the blade, he left the head attached to one half of the body. This punishment was long used in Persia and abolished, they say, by Fath Ali Shah, on the occasion when an offender so treated abused the royal mother and women relatives until the knife had reached his vitals. \"Kata' al-'Arba',\" or cutting off the four members, equivalent to our \"quartering,\" was also a popular penalty.\n\n[FN#144] In text \"Ghibtu 'an al-Duny\ufffd,\" a popular phrase, meaning simply I fainted.\n\n[FN#145] This was done to staunch the blood: see the salt-wench\nin vol. i. 341.\n\n[FN#146] This couplet has repeatedly occurred: in the preceding\nvolume, Night cdv. (Suppl. iv. 222); and in The Nights (proper),\nvol. vi. 246. Here I have quoted Lane (A.N. iii. 220), who has\nnot offered a word of comment or of explanation concerning a\nsomewhat difficult couplet.\n\n[FN#147] The plur. masc. for the sing. fem.: see vol. vii. 140.\n\n[FN#148] He speaks after the recognised conventional fashion, as\nif reporting the camp-shift of a Badaw\ufffd tribe.\n\n[FN#149] See vol. i. 25 for the parallel of these lines.\n\n[FN#150] The text inserts here, \"Saith the Reciter of this\nadventure and right joyous history strange as rare,\" etc.\n\n[FN#151] Scott, in the \"Story of the Sultan, the Dirveshe, and\nthe Barber's son\" (vi. 348), calls the King \"Rammaud.\"  The tale\nis magical and Rosicrucian, laid somewhat upon the lines of \"The\nPhysician D\ufffdb\ufffdn\"; i.45.\n\n[FN#152] This is the custom among Eastern Moslems: the barber,\nafter his operations are over, presents his hand-mirror for the\npatient to see whether all be satisfactory, saying at the same\ntime \"Na'\ufffdman\" = may it be pleasurable to thee! The customer\nanswers \"Allah bring thee pleasure,\" places the fee upon the\nlooking-glass and returns it to the shaver. For \"Na'\ufffdman\" see\nvol. ii. 5.\n\n[FN#153] The least that honest Figaro expected to witness was an\nattempt upon the boy's chastity.\n\n[FN#154] In text \"Tazaghzagha,\" gen. = he spoke hesitatingly, he\nscoffed. [I read the words in the text: \"Tazaghghara f\ufffdhi.\" The\nK\ufffdm\ufffds gives \"Zaghara-hu\" = he seized it by force, he took hold of him with violence, and this present fifth form, although not\ngiven in the Dictionaries, has doubtlessly the same meaning.\nPopularly we may render it: he pitched into him.--ST]\n\n[FN#155] In the text \"Kaz\ufffdn\ufffdt\" (plur. of \"K\ufffdz\ufffdn\"), afterwards\nwritten \"K\ufffdz\ufffdt\" (a clerical error?). They are opposed to the\n\"Kaw\ufffdlib\" = moulds. [See note to p. 24.--ST.]\n\n[FN#156] \"Akhraja min Kul\ufffdhi-hi (Kulah?) b\ufffdsah.\"\n\n[FN#157] \"Akhaza min-h\ufffd 'ala ma' lakati 'l-Hil\ufffdl shay misl\nal-Jinnah.\" [I have no doubt that \"Kul\ufffdh\" is meant for \"Kul\ufffdh,\" a Dervish's cap. \"B\ufffdsah\" puzzles me. I am inclined to take it for a reed used as a case or sheath, as we shall see p. 263 of the MS. Prince Y\ufffdsuf uses a \"Kasabah\" or reed to enclose a letter in it. \"Mi'lakat (popular corruption for 'Mil'akat') al-Hil\ufffdl\" may be the spoon or hollow part of an ear-picker, Hil\ufffdl being given by Bocthor as equivalent for \"cure-oreille.\" Lastly for \"al-Jinnah\" I would read \"al-Habbah\" = grain. The article before the word may indicate that a particular grain is meant perhaps \"al-Habbat al-halwah\" = anise seed, or that it stands for \"al-Hubbah,\" according to Lempri\ufffdre (A Tour to Marocco, London 1791, p. 383) a powder employed by the ladies of Marocco to produce embonpoint.--ST.]\n\n[FN#158] So even in our day Mustaf\ufffd bin Ism'a\ufffdl who succeeded\n\"General Khayru 'l-D\ufffdn\" as Prime Minister to \"His Highness\nMohammed al-S\ufffddik, Bey of Tunis,\" began life as apprentice to a\nbarber, became the varlet of an officer, rose to high dignity and received decorations from most of the European powers.\n\n[FN#159] In text \"Wij\ufffdk,\" a stove, a portable hearth.\n\n[FN#160] In the text: [\"Wa s\ufffdra kulla-m\ufffd tastar\ufffd nafsuhu yak'ad\nkudd\ufffdma 'l-Darw\ufffdsh,\" which I would translate: and each time his\nheart chose (8th form of \"Sarw\") he used to sit before the\nDarwaysh, etc.--ST.]\n\n[FN#161] In text \"Dar\ufffdn\" for \"Zar\ufffdn\" = what is powdered, collyrium.\n\n[FN#162] The King failed because his \"Niyat\" or intention was not pure; that is, he worked for wealth, and not, as the Darwaysh had done, for the good of his brother man.\n\n[FN#163] For the importance attached to this sign of sovereignty\nsee in my Pilgrimage (ii. 218-19) the trouble caused by the loss\nof the Prophet's seal-ring (Kh\ufffdtim) at Al-Madinah.\n\n[FN#164] The text is somewhat doubtful--\"Min kudd\ufffdm-ak.\" [Perhaps it means only \"from before thee,\" i.e. in thy presence, without letting him out of sight and thereby giving him a chance of escape.--ST.]\n\n[FN#165] This especially is on the lines of \"The Physician\nD\ufffdb\ufffdn\"; vol. i. 45.\n\n[FN#166] In text \"Wa min-hum man f\ufffdha,\" evidently an error of the scribe for \"Man naf\ufffdhu.\" Scott (vi. 351), after the fashion of the \"Improver-school,\" ends the tale, which is somewhat\ntail-less, after this fashion, \"At the same instant, the Sultan\nand his courtiers found themselves assaulted by invisible agents, who, tearing off their robes, whipped them with scourges till the blood flowed in streams from their lacerated backs. At length the punishment ceased, but the mortification of the Sultan did not end here, for all the gold which the Dirveshe had transmuted returned to its original metals. Thus, by his unjust credulity, was a weak Prince punished for his ungrateful folly. The barber and his son also were not to be found, so that the sultan could gain no intelligence of the Dirveshe, and he and his courtiers became the laughing-stock of the populace for years after their merited chastisement.\" Is nothing to be left for the reader's imagination?\n\n[FN#167] See under the same name the story in my Suppl. vol. i.\n162; where the genealogy and biography of the story is given. I\nhave translated the W.M. version because it adds a few items of\ninterest. A marginal note of Scott's (in the W.M. MS. v. 196)\nsays that the \"Tale is similar to Lesson iv. in the Tirrea Bede.\" See note at the end of this History.\n\n[FN#168] For the Badaw\ufffd tent, see vol. vii. 109.\n\n[FN#169] In text \"Birkah\" = a fountain-basin, lake, pond,\nreservoir. The Bresl. Edit. has \"Sard\ufffdb\" = a souterrain.\n\n[FN#170] Arab. \"Jummayz\": see vol. iii. 302. In the Bresl. Edit.\nit is a \"tall tree,\" and in the European versions always a\n\"pear-tree,\" which is not found in Badawi-land.\n\n[FN#171] \"Ad\ufffd\" in Egyptian (not Arabic) is = that man, the (man)\nhere; \"Ad\ufffdn\ufffd\" (in the text) is = Here am I, me voici. Spitta Bey\n(loc. cit. iv. 20, etc.)\n\n[FN#172] Arab. \"Ma'm\ufffdrah.\" In the Bresl. Edit. \"the place is full of Jinns and Marids.\" I have said that this supernatural agency, ever at hand and ever credible to Easterns, makes this the most satisfactory version of the world-wide tale.\n\n[FN#173] The planet Mars.\n\n[FN#174] The Asiatics have a very contemptible opinion of the\nRussians, especially of the females, whom they believe to be void of common modesty. Our early European voyagers have expressed the same idea.--Scott.\n\n[FN#175] i.e. having enjoyed the woman.--R.F.B.\n\n[FN#176] The reader will doubtless recollect the resemblance\nwhich the plot of this lesson bears to Pope's January and May,\nand to one of Fontaine's Tales. Eenaiut Olla acknowledges his\nhaving borrowed it from the Brahmins, from whom it may have\ntravelled through some voyage to Europe many centuries past, or\nprobably having been translated in Arabic or Persian, been\nbrought by some crusader, as were many Asiatic romances, which\nhave served as the groundwork of many of our old stories and\npoems.--Scott.\n\n[FN#177] In Scott (vi. 352) \"Adventures of Aleefa and Eusuff.\"\nThis long and somewhat longsome history is by another pen, which\nis distinguished from the ordinary text by constant attempts at\nfine writing, patches of Saj'a or prose-rhyme and profuse poetry, mostly doggerel. I recommend it to the student as typically Arabian with its preponderance of verse over prose, its threadbare patches made to look meaner by the purpureus pannus; its immoderate repetition and its utter disregard of order and sequence. For the rest it is unedited and it strikes me as a sketch of adventure calculated to charm the Fellah-audience of a coffee-house, whose delight would be brightened by the normal accompaniment of a tambourine or a Rab\ufffdbah, the one-stringed viol.\n\n[FN#178] This P. N. has occurred in vol. vi. 8, where I have\nwarned readers that it must not be confounded with the title\n\"Mah\ufffdr\ufffdj\" = Great Rajah. Scott (vi. 352) writes \"Mherejaun,\" and\nGauttier (vi. 380) \"Myr-djyhan\" (M\ufffdr Jah\ufffdn = Lord Life).\n\n[FN#179] I need not inform the civilised reader that this\n\"feeling conception\" is unknown except in tales.\n\n[FN#180] i.e. \"The Slim-waisted.\" Scott (vi. 352) persistently\ncorrupts the name to \"Aleefa,\" and Gauttier (vi. 380) follows\nsuit with \"Alifa.\"\n\n[FN#181] In text \"Al-Istikhr\ufffdj,\" i.e. making \"elegant extracts.\"\n\n[FN#182] These lines are the merest doggerel of a strolling R\ufffdw\ufffd, like all the pi\ufffdces d'occasion in this MS.\n\n[FN#183] Which are still worse: two couplets rhyme in \ufffd\ufffdn\ufffd, and\none in \ufffd\ufffdl\ufffd, which is not lawful.\n\n[FN#184] In text \"Dayr Nashsh\ufffdbah,\" a fancy name.\n\n[FN#185] So in text: the name is unknown to me; its lit. meaning\nwould be, \"of high-breasted Virgins.\"\n\n[FN#186] In text \"Al-Jay'a\" which is a well-omened stone like the 'Ak\ufffdk = carnelian. The Arabs still retain our medi\ufffdval\nsuperstitions concerning precious stones, and of these fancies I\nwill quote a few. The ruby appeases thirst, strengthens cardiac\naction and averts plague and \"thunderbolts.\" The diamond heals\ndiseases, and is a specific against epilepsy or the \"possession\"\nby evil spirits: this is also the specialty of the emerald,\nwhich, moreover, cures ophthalmia and the stings of scorpions and bites of venomous reptiles, blinding them if placed before their eyes. The turquoise is peculiarly auspicious, abating\nfascination, strengthening the sight, and, if worn in a ring,\nincreasing the milk of nursing mothers: hence the blue beads hung as necklaces to cattle. The topaz (being yellow) is a\nprophylactic against jaundice and bilious diseases. The\nbloodstone when shown to men in rage causes their wrath to\ndepart: it arrests hemorrhage, heals toothache, preserves from\nbad luck, and is a pledge of long life and happiness. The\n\"cat's-eye\" nullifies Al-Ayn = malign influence by the look, and\nworn in battle makes the wearer invisible to his foe. This is but a \"fist-full out of a donkey-load,\" as the Persians say: the\nsubject is a favourite with Eastern writers.\n\n[FN#187] Or white lead: in the text it is \"Sap\ufffddaj,\"\ncorresponding with the \"Isfidaj\" of vol. vi. 126.\n\n[FN#188] In the text \"Bashkh\ufffdnah\"; corr. of the Pers.\n\"Peshkh\ufffdnah\" = state-tents sent forward on the march.\n\n[FN#189] This phrase, twice repeated, is the regular formula of\nthe R\ufffdw\ufffd or professional reciter; he most unjustifiably, however, neglects the \"Inshallah.\"\n\n[FN#190] The revetment of the old wells in Arabia is mostly of\ndry masonry.\n\n[FN#191] [Ar. \"Taw\ufffdn\ufffds,\" with a long final to rhyme with\n\"Kaw\ufffdd\ufffds,\" instead of the usual \"Taw\ufffdnis,\" pl. of \"Taunas,\" which Dozy (Suppl. s.v.) identifies with the Greek t???? in the sense of cable.--ST.]\n\n[FN#192] In Arab. \"Haj\ufffdrata 'l-Bahram\ufffdn.\"\n\n[FN#193] In text \"Zamak\ufffd-h\ufffd.\"\n\n[FN#194] I can see little pertinence in this couplet: but that is not a sine qu\ufffd non amongst Arabs. Perhaps, however, the Princess understands that she is in a gorgeous prison and relieves her heart by a cunning hint.\n\n[FN#195] I again omit \"Saith the Reciter of this marvellous\nrelation,\" a formula which occurs with unpleasant reiteration.\n\n[FN#196] i.e. she cried \"Astaghfiru 'llah\" (which strangers\nusually pronounce \"Astaffira 'llah\"); a pious exclamation,\nhumbling oneself before the Creator, and used in a score of\ndifferent senses, which are not to be found in the dictionaries.\n\n[FN#197] In vol. viii. 183, there are two couplets of which the\nfirst is here repeated.\n\n[FN#198] [Here the translator seems to read \"Khams Ghaff\ufffdr,\" = five pardoners,where however, grammar requires a plural after \"khams.\" I take \"khams\" to be a clerical error for \"Khamr\" = wine, and read the next word \"'uk\ufffdr,\" which is another name for wine, but is also used adjectively together with the former, as in the Breslau Edition iv. 6 \"al-Khamr al-'uk\ufffdr\" = choice wine.--ST.]\n\n[FN#199] I understand this as the cupbearer who delights the five senses.\n\n[FN#200] In the original we have, \"Saith the Sayer of this\ndelectable narrative, the strange and seld-seen (and presently we will return to the relation full and complete with its sense\nsuitable and its style admirable), anent what befel and betided\nof Destinies predestinate and the will of the Lord preordinate\nwhich He decreed and determined to His creatures.\" I have omitted it for uniformity's sake.\n\n[FN#201] Meaning \"The easy-tempered.\" Scott (vi. 354) writes\n\"Sohul.\"\n\n[FN#202] In text \"Lit\ufffdm\" = the mouth-band for man: ii. 31, etc. The \"Mutalathsim\ufffdn\" in North Africa are the races, like the Taw\ufffdrik, whose males wear this face-swathe of cloth.\n\n[FN#203] \"Drowned in her blood,\" says the text which to us\nappears hyperbole run mad. So when King Omar (vol. ii. 123)\nviolently rapes the unfortunate Princess Abr\ufffdzah \"the blood runs\ndown the calves of her legs.\" This is not ignorance, but that\nsystematic exaggeration which is held necessary to impressionise\nan Oriental audience.\n\n[FN#204] For this allusion see vol. v. 191.\n\n[FN#205] This physical sign of delight in beauty is not\nrecognised in the literature of Europe, and The Nights usually\nattributes it to old women.\n\n[FN#206] In text \"Him\ufffd\" = the private and guarded lands of a Badawi tribe; viii. 102.\n\n[FN#207] In text \"Daylak\ufffd.\"\n\n[FN#208] A small compact white turband and distinctive sign of\nthe True Believers: see vol. viii. 8.\n\n[FN#209] [The words in the text seem to be: \"wa Talattuf Alf\ufffdzak\nwa Ma'\ufffdn\ufffdk al-his\ufffdn\" = and for the pleasingness of thy sayings and meanings so fine and fair.--ST.]\n\n[FN#210] [The Arabic seems here to contain a pun, the consonantic outline of \"Tasht\" = \"basin\" being the same as of \"tashshat\" = she was raining, sprinkling.--ST.]\n\n[FN#211] In Arab. \"Y\ufffd W\ufffdrid\": see vol. iii. 56.\n\n[FN#212] The growing beard and whisker being compared with black\nletters on a white ground.\n\n[FN#213] In the text these seven couplets form one quotation,\nalthough the first three rhyme in --\ufffdru and the second four in --\ufffdru.\n\n[FN#214] This \"diapedesis\" of bloodstained tears is frequently\nmentioned in The Nights; and the \"Bloody Sweat\" is well-known by\nname. The disease is rare and few have seen it whilst it has a\ncertain quasi-supernatural sound from the \"Agony and bloody\nsweat\" in the Garden of Gethsemane. But the exudation of blood\nfrom the skin was described by Theophrastus and Aristotle and\nlastly by Lucan in these lines:--\n\n                         --Sic omnia membra\n          Emisere simul rutilum pro sanguine virus.\n          Sanguis erant lachrym\ufffd, etc.\n\nOf Charles IX. of France Mezaray declares \"Le sang lui rejaillait par les pores et tous les conduits de son corps,\" but the superstitious Protestant holds this to be a \"judgment.\" The same historian also mentions the phenomenon in a governor condemned to die; and Lombard in the case of a general after losing a battle and a nun seized by banditti--blood oozed from every pore. See Dr. Millingen's \"Curiosities of Medical Experience,\" p. 485, London, Bentley, 1839.\n\n[FN#215] [I read this line: \"F\ufffd Hayyi-kum Taflatun|h\ufffdma 'l-Faw\ufffddu bi-h\ufffd (Bas\ufffdt)\" and translate: In your clan there is a maiden of whom my heart is enamoured. In the beginning of the next line the metre requires \"tazakkarat,\" which therefore refers to \"Aghsun,\" not to the speaker: \"the branches remember (and by imitating her movements show that they remember) the time when she bent aside, and her bending, graceful beyond compare, taught me that her eyes kept watch over the rose of her cheek and knew how to protect it from him who might wish to cull it.\" This little gem of a Maww\ufffdl makes me regret that so many of the snatches of poetry in this MS. are almost hopelessly corrupted.--ST.]\n\n[FN#216] In the text \"Sim\ufffd'a,\" lit. hearing, applied\nidiomatically to the ecstasy of Darwayshes when listening to\nesoteric poetry.\n\n[FN#217] The birds mentioned in the text are the \"Kumr\ufffd\"\n(turtle-dove), the \"Shabaytar\" [also called \"Samaytar\" and \"Abu\nal-'Ayzar\" = the father of the brisk one, a long-necked water bird of the heron kind.--ST.], the Shuhr\ufffdr (in MS. Suhr\ufffdr) = a blackbird [the Christians in Syria call St. Paul \"Shuhr\ufffdr al-Kan\ufffdsah,\" the blackbird of the Church, on account of his eloquence.--ST.], the \"Karaw\ufffdn,\" crane or curlew (Charadrius \ufffddicnemus) vol. vi. 1; the \"Haz\ufffdr;\" nightingale or bird of a thousand songs, vol. v. 48; the \"Ham\ufffdm,\" ruffed pigeon, culver, vol. v. 49; the \"Kat\ufffd,\" or sandgrouse, vols. i. 131, iv. 111, etc.; and the \"Samm\ufffdn\" or quail, Suppl. vol. vi. 66.\n\n[FN#218] The \"S\ufffd'ah,\" I may here remark, is the German Stunde,\nour old \"Stound,\" somewhat indefinite but meaning to the good\nMoslem the spaces between prayer times. The classical terms,\nAl-Zuh\ufffd (undurn-hour, or before noon) and Maghrib = set of sun,\nbecome in Badawi speech Al-Ghaylah = siesta-time and Ghaybat\nal-Shams. (Doughty, index.)\n\n[FN#219] For the beautiful song of the lute, referred to here,\nsee vol. viii. 281.\n\n[FN#220] Alluding to the \"Takht Raml,\" table of sand, geomantic\ntable?\n\n[FN#221] As before noted, her love enables her to deal in a\nsomewhat of prophetic strain.\n\n[FN#222] This scene may sound absurd; but it is admirable for its materialism. How often do youthful lovers find an all-sufficient pastime in dressing themselves up and playing the game of mutual admiration. It is well nigh worthy of that \"silliest and best of love-stories\"--Henrietta Temple.\n\n[FN#223] The text bluntly says \"Wa Nik\ufffdh,\" which can mean nothing else.\n\n[FN#224] Scott calls him \"Yiah\": vi. 354.\n\n[FN#225] Arab. \"Akhbar\ufffd-hu,\" alluding to the lord Yahy\ufffd.\n\n[FN#226] Here I presume a \"K\ufffdla\" (quoth he) is omitted; for the\nnext sentence seems appropriate to Yusuf.\n\n[FN#227] In Arab. \"Tastagh\ufffds\" = lit. crying out \"Wa Ghaus\ufffdh\"--Ho, to my aid!\n\n[FN#228] The \"Zug\" or draught which gave him rheumatism--not a\nromantic complaint for a young lover. See vol. ii. 9. But his\npower of sudden invention is somewhat enviable, and lying is to\nhim, in Hindustani phrase, \"easy as drinking water.\"\n\n[FN#229] Who evidently ignored or had forgotten the little matter of the concubine, so that incident was introduced by the\nstory-teller for mere wantonness.\n\n[FN#230] In text \"Mazb\ufffdh\" = slaughtered for food.\n\n[FN#231] i.e. \"I suffer from an acute attack of rheumatism\"--a\ncomplaint common in even the hottest climates.\n\n[FN#232] Needless to say that amongst Moslems, as amongst\nChristians, the Israelite medicine-man has always been a\nfavourite, despite an injunction in the \"D\ufffdn\ufffdm\" (Religious\nConsiderations) of the famous Andalusian Y\ufffdsuf Caro. This most\nfanatical work, much studied at Tiberias and Safet (where a\nprinting-press was established in the xvith century) decides that a Jewish doctor called to attend a Goi (Gentile) too poor to pay him is bound to poison his patient--if he safely can.\n\n[FN#233] Lit. \"The-Bull-(Taur for Thaur or Saur)numbered-and-for-battle-day-lengthened.\" In p.30 this charger is called, \"The-bull-that-spurneth-danger-on-battle-day.\" See vol. vi. 270 for a similar compound name, The-Ghul-who-eateth-man-we-pray-Allah-for-safety.\n\n[FN#234] In text \"Al-J\ufffdriyah r\ufffddih,\" the latter word being\nrepeated in p.282, where it is R\ufffddih a P.N. [Here also I would\ntake it for a P.N., for if it were adjective to \"al-J\ufffdriyah\" it\nshould have the article.--ST.]\n\n[FN#235] The \"Rad\ufffdf,\" or back-rider, is common in Arabia, esp. on dromedaries when going to the Razzia: usually the crupper-man\nloads the matchlock and his comrade fires it.\n\n[FN#236] The text has \"thirty,\" evidently a clerical error.\n\n[FN#237] Arab. \"Sakht\ufffdr\" for \"Shakht\ufffdr,\" vol. vii. 362.\n\n[FN#238] Doggerel fit only for the coffee-house.\n\n[FN#239] In text \"Ta'ayyun\" = influence, especially by the \"'Ayn,\" or (Evil) Eye.\n\n[FN#240] I have somewhat abridged the confession of the Princess, who carefully repeats every word known to the reader. This iteration is no objection in the case of a coffee-house audience to whom the tale is told bit by bit, but it is evidently unsuited for reading.\n\n[FN#241] In text \"Irham turham:\" this is one of the few passive\nverbs still used in popular parlance.\n\n[FN#242] This formula will be in future suppressed.\n\n[FN#243] I spare my readers the full formula:--\"Y\ufffdsuf took it and brake the seal (fazza-hu) and read it and comprehended its\ncontents and purport and significance: and, after perusing it,\"\netc. These forms, decies repetit\ufffd, may go down with an Eastern\naudience, but would be intolerable in a Western volume. The\nabsence of padding, however, reduces the story almost to a\npatchwork of doggerel rhymes, for neither I nor any man can \"make a silk purse from a suille ear.\"\n\n[FN#244] Here again in full we have:--\"He mounted the she-camel\nand fared and ceased not faring until he drew near to the Palace\nof Al-Hayf\ufffd, where he dismounted and concealed his dromedary\nwithin the same cave. Then he swam the stream until he had\nreached the Castle and here he landed and appeared before\nAl-Hayf\ufffd,\" etc.\n\n[FN#245] \"'Tis dogged as does it\" was the equivalent expression\nof our British Aristotle; the late Charles Darwin.\n\n[FN#246] Arab. \"Jannat al-Khuld\" = the Eternal Garden: vol. ix.\n214.\n\n[FN#247] [I read: Wa inn\ufffd la-ar'\ufffdkum wa ar'\ufffd wid\ufffdda-kum,\nwa-hakki-kum\ufffd antum a'azzu 'l-War\ufffd 'and\ufffd = And I make much of you and of your love; by your rights (upon me, formula of swearing), you are to me the dearest of mankind.--ST.]\n\n[FN#248] In text: \"He swam the stream and bestrode his\nshe-camel.\"\n\n[FN#249] In text \"Then she folded the letter and after sealing\nit,\" etc.\n\n[FN#250] Not \"her hands\" after Christian fashion.\n\n[FN#251] In text, \"Ahyaf,\" alluding to Al-Hayf\ufffd.\n\n[FN#252] Arab. \"Al-Kaw\ufffd'ib,\" also P. N. of the river.\n\n[FN#253] This is moralising with a witness, and all it means is\n\"handsome is that handsome does.\"\n\n[FN#254] In text \"'Arsh\" = the Ninth Heaven; vol. v.167.\n\n[FN#255] The Shi'ah doctrine is here somewhat exaggerated.\n\n[FN#256] \"Them\" for \"her,\" as has often occurred.\n\n[FN#257] In the original \"entrusted to her the missive:\" whereas\nthe letter is delivered afterwards.\n\n[FN#258] The cloud (which contains rain) is always typical of\nliberality and generous dealing.\n\n[FN#259] The Koranic chapt. No. xx., revealed at Meccah and\nrecounting the (apocryphal) history of Moses.\n\n[FN#260] The \"broken\" (wall) to the North of the Ka'abah:\nPilgrimage iii. 165.\n\n[FN#261] i.e. \"Delight of the Age:\" see vol. ii. 81.\n\n[FN#262] In the text written \"Imriyyu 'l-Kays\": for this\npre-Islamitic poet see Term. Essay, p. 258. \"The Man of Al-Kays\"\nor worshipper of the Priapus-idol was a marking figure in Arabian History. The word occurs, with those of Aera, Dusares (Theos Ares), Martabu, Allat and Man\ufffdt in the Nabath\ufffdan (Arabian) epigraphs brought by Mr. Doughty from Arabia Deserta (vol. i. pp. 180-184).\n\n[FN#263] In text \"Zakka,\" which means primarily a bird feeding\nher young.\n\n[FN#264] In the text \"months and years,\" the latter seeming de\ntrop.\n\n[FN#265] Or \"Yathrib\" = Al-Madinah; vol. iv. 114.\n\n[FN#266] Scott (vi. 358 et seqq.) who makes Ali bin Ibrahim, \"a\nfaithful eunuch,\" renders the passage, \"by some accident the\neunuch's turban unfortunately falling off, the precious stones\n(N.B. the lovers' gift) which, with a summary of the adventures\n(!) of Eusuff and Aleefa, and his own embassy to Sind, were\nwrapped in the folds, tumbled upon the floor.\"\n\n[FN#267] i.e. \"Drawer-out of Descriptions.\"\n\n[FN#268] i.e. a Refuser, a Forbidder.\n\n[FN#269] i.e. both could not be seen at the same time.\n\n[FN#270] [The MS. has T Kh D H, which the translator reads\n\"takhuz-hu.\" I suspect that either the second or eighth form of\n\"ahad\" is meant, in the sense that thou comest to an agreement\n(Ittih\ufffdd) with him.--ST.]\n\n[FN#271] In the MS. v. 327, we find four hemistichs which\nevidently belong to Al-Mihrj\ufffdn; these are:--\n\nHadst come to court her in fairer guise * I had given Al-Hayf\ufffd in\n     bestest style;\nBut in mode like this hast thou wrought me wrong * And made Envy\n     gibe me with jeering smile.\"\n\nAlso I have been compelled to change the next sentence, which in\nthe original is, \"And hardly had King Al-Mihrj\ufffdn ended his\nwords,\" etc.\n\n[FN#272] In this doggerel, \"Kur\ufffdd\" (apes) occurs as a rhyme twice in three couplets.\n\n[FN#273] \"Upon the poll of his head\" ('al\ufffd h\ufffdmati-hi) says the\nArabian author, and instantly stultifies the words.\n\n[FN#274] Arab. \"Haudaj\" = a camel-litter: the word, often\ncorrupted to Had\ufffdj, is now applied to a rude pack-saddle, a\nwooden frame of mimosa-timber set upon a \"witr\" or pad of old\ntent-cloth, stuffed with grass and girt with a single cord. Vol.\nviii. 235, Burckhardt gives \"Maksar,\" and Doughty (i. 437)\n\"Muksir\" as the modern Badawi term for the crates or litters in\nwhich are carried the Shaykhly housewives.\n\n[FN#275] In text \"Sunnah\" = the practice, etc., of the Prophet:\nvol. v. 36, 167.\n\n[FN#276] This, as the sequel shows, is the far-famed Musician,\nIbrahim of Mosul: vol. vii. 113.\n\n[FN#277] In the text King of Al-S\ufffdn = China, and in p. 360 of MS. Yusuf is made \"King of China and Sind,\" which would be much like \"King of Germany and Brentford.\"\n\n[FN#278] This is the full formula repeated in the case of all the ten blessed damsels. I have spared the patience of my readers.\n\n[FN#279] This formula of the cup and lute is decies repetita,\njustifying abbreviation.\n\n[FN#280] i.e. The Beginner, the Originator.\n\n[FN#281] The Zephyr, or rather the cool north breeze of upper\nArabia, vol. viii. 62.\n\n[FN#282] The \"Full Moon\"; plur. Bud\ufffdr: vols. iii., 228, iv., 249.\n\n[FN#283] \"Dann\" = amphora, Gr. ?\ufffdf??e?? short for ?\ufffdf?f??e?? = having two handles.\n\n[FN#284] \"The large-hipped,\" a form of R\ufffddih.\n\n[FN#285] In text \"Minba'ada-hu\" making Jesus of later date than\nImr al-Kays.\n\n[FN#286] i.e. \"The Delight\": also a P.N. of one of the Heavens:\nvols. iii. 19; iv. 143.\n\n[FN#287] i.e. Joy, Contentment.\n\n[FN#288] In text \"L\ufffd khuzibat Ayday al-Fir\ufffdk,\" meaning, \"may\nseparation never ornament herself in sign of gladness at the\nprospect of our parting.\" For the Khaz\ufffdb-dye see vol. iii. 105.\n\n[FN#289] i.e. \"Bloom of the Tribe.\" \"Zahrat\" = a blossom especially yellow and commonly applied to orange-flower. In line 10 of the same page the careless scribe calls the girl \"Jauharat (Gem) of the Tribe.\"\n\n[FN#290] For this Hell, see vol. viii. 111.\n\n[FN#291] \"Core\" or \"Life-blood of Hearts.\"\n\n[FN#292] Presently explained.\n\n[FN#293] In text \"Afr\ufffdkh al-Jinn,\" lit. = Chicks of the Jinns, a\nmere vulgarism: see \"Farkh 'Akrab,\" vol. iv. 46.\n\n[FN#294] \"Ibr\ufffda\" = deliverance from captivity, etc. Y\ufffd = \ufffd, and\nM\ufffdm = m, composing the word \"Ibrah\ufffdm.\" The guttural is concealed\nin the Hamzah of Ibr\ufffda, a good illustration of Dr. Steingass's\nvaluable remarks in Terminal Essay, pp. 235, 236.\n\n[FN#295] \"Kal\ufffdm\" = one who speaks with another, a familiar.\nMoses' title is Kal\ufffdmu'llah on account of the Oral Law and\ncertain conversations at Mount Sinai.\n\n[FN#296] In text \"Ist\ufffdf\ufffd\" = choice, selection: hence Mustaf\ufffd =\nthe Chosen Prophet, Mohammed; vols i. 7; ii. 40.\n\n[FN#297] In text \"Jazr\" = cutting, strengthening, flow (of tide).\n\n[FN#298] In the text \"N\ufffdfishah\" = Pers. \"N\ufffdfah,\" derived, I\npresume, from the {root} \"N\ufffdf\" = belly or testicle, the part which in the musk-deer was supposed to store up the perfume.\n\n[FN#299] For 'Nah\ufffdvand,\" the celebrated site in Al-Irak where the Persians sustained their final defeat at the hands of the Arabs A.H. 21. It is also one of the many musical measures, like the Ispah\ufffdni, the R\ufffdsti, the Rayh\ufffdni, the B\ufffdsalik, the Nav\ufffd, etc., borrowed from the conquered 'Ajam\ufffd.\n\n[FN#300] This second half of the story is laid upon the lines of\n\"The Man of Al-Yaman and his six Slave-girls\": vol. iv. 245.\n\n[FN#301] This history again belongs to the class termed \"Abtar =\ntailless. In the text we find for all termination, \"After this he (Y\ufffdsuf) invited Mohammed ibn Ibrahim to lie that night in the\npalace.\" Scott (vi. 364) ends after his own fashion:--\"They (the\nten girls) recited extempore verses before the caliph, but the\nsubject of each was so expressive of their wish to return to\ntheir beloved sovereign, and delivered in so affecting a manner,\nthat Mamoon, though delighted with their wit and beauty,\nsacrificed his own pleasure to their feelings, and sent them back to Eusuff by the officer who carried the edict, confirming him in his dominions, where the prince of Sind and the fair Aleefa continued long, amid a numerous progeny, to live the protectors of their happy subjects.\"\n\n[FN#302] This tale is headless as the last is tailless. We must\nsuppose that soon after Mohammed ibn Ibrahim had quitted the\nCaliph, taking away the ten charmers, Al-Maamun felt his \"breast\nstraitened\" and called for a story upon one of his R\ufffdw\ufffds named\nIbn Ahyam. This name is repeated in the text and cannot be a\nclerical error for Ibn Ibrahim.\n\n[FN#303] Scott (vi. 366) \"Adventures of the Three Princes, sons\nof the Sultan of China.\"\n\n[FN#304] In the text \"'Ajam,\" for which see vol. i. 2, 120.\nAl-Irak, I may observe, was the head-quarters of the extensive\nand dangerous Kh\ufffdrijite heresy; and like Syria has ever a bad\nname amongst orthodox Moslems.\n\n[FN#305] In the Arab. \"Salkh,\" meaning also a peculiar form of\ncircumcision, for which see Pilgrimage iii. 80-81. The Jew's\ncondition was of course a trick, presenting an impossibility and\nintended as a mere pretext for murdering an enemy to his faith.\nThroughout the Eastern world this idea prevails, and both Sir\nMoses Montefiore and M. Cremieux were utterly at fault and\ncertainly knew it when they declared that Europe was teaching it\nto Asia. Every Israelite community is bound in self-defence, when the murder of a Christian child or adult is charged upon any of its members, to court the most searching enquiry and to abate the scandal with all its might.\n\n[FN#306] The text has \"F\ufffd K\ufffdb,\" which Scott (vol. vi. 367)\nrenders \"a mat.\" [According to the Muh\ufffdt \"K\ufffdb\" is a small thick\nmat used to produce shade, pl. \"Kiy\ufffdb\" and \"Aky\ufffdb.\" The same\nauthority says the word is of Persian origin, but this seems an\nerror, unless it be related to \"Keb\" with the Y\ufffd majh\ufffdl, which in the Appendix to the Burh\ufffdni K\ufffdti' is given as synonymous with\n\"Pech,\" twist, fold. Under \"Bard\ufffd\" = papyrus the Muh\ufffdt mentions\nthat this is the material from which the mats known by the name\nof \"Aky\ufffdb\" are made.--ST.]\n\n[FN#307] The text has here \"Wasayah,\" probably a clerical error\nfor \"wa Miah\" (spelt \"M\ufffdyah\"), and a hundred pair of pigeons.--\nST.]\n\n[FN#308] Showing utter ignorance of the Jewish rite which must\nalways be performed by the Mohel, an official of the Synagogue\nduly appointed by the Sheliach = legatus; and within eight days\nafter birth. The rite consists of three operations. Milah = the\ncut; Priah = tearing the foreskin and Mezz\ufffdzah = applying styptics to the wound. The latter process has become a matter of\ncontroversy and the Israelite community of Paris, headed by the\nChief Rabbi, M. Zadoc Kahin, has lately assembled to discuss the\nquestion. For the difference between Jewish and Moslem\ncircumcision see vol. v. 209.\n\n[FN#309] The Jewish quarter (H\ufffdrah), which the Israelites\nthemselves call \"Hazer,\" = a court-yard, an inclosure. In Mayer's valuable \"Conversations-Lexicon\" the Italian word is derived from the Talmudic \"Ghet\" = divorce, separation (as parting the Hebrews from the rest of the population) and the Rev. S. R. Melli, Chief Rabbi of Trieste, has kindly informed me that the word is Chaldaic.\n\n[FN#310] [Ar. \"Sarm\ufffdjah,\" from Persian \"Sar-m\ufffdzah,\" a kind of\nhose or gaiter worn over a boot.--ST.]\n\n[FN#311] [Arab. \"Yastan\ufffdt,\" aor. to the preter. \"istanat,\" which\nhas been explained, p. 34.--ST.]\n\n[FN#312] The bed would be made of a carpet or thin mattress\nstrewn upon the stucco flooring of the terrace-roof. But the\nignorant scribe overlooks the fact that by Mosaic law every\nJewish house must have a parapet for the \"Sakf\" (flat roof), a\nprecaution neglected by Al-Islam.\n\n[FN#313] Good old classical English. In the \"Breeches Bible\"\n(A.D. 1586) we read, \"But a certaine woman cast a piece of\nmillstone upon Abimelech's head and broke his brain-panne\" (Judges ix. 33).\n\n[FN#314] [The words \"'Irz,\" protection, in the preceding\nsentence, \"Hurmah\" and \"Shat\ufffdr\ufffdh\" explain each other mutually.\nThe formula \"f\ufffd 'irzak\" (vulg. \"arzak\"), I place myself under thy protection, implies an appeal to one's honour (\"'Irz\"). Therefore the youth says: \"Inna h\ufffdzih Hurmah lam 'alay-h\ufffd Shat\ufffdrah,\" i.e. \"Truly this one is a woman\" (in the emphatic sense of a sacred or forbidden object; \"this woman\" would be \"h\ufffdzih al-Hurmah\"), \"I must not act vilely or rashly towards her,\" both vileness and rashness belonging to the many significations of \"Shat\ufffdrah,\" which is most usually \"cleverness.\" --ST.]\n\n[FN#315] In the text \"Sind,\" still confounding this tale with the preceding.\n\n[FN#316] In text \"Intih\ufffdba 'l furas,\" lit. = the snatching of\nopportunities, a jingle with \"Kanas.\"\n\n[FN#317] [Compare with this episode the viith of Spitta Bey's\nTales: Histoire du Prince qui apprit un m\ufffdtier.--ST.]\n\n[FN#318] i.e. enables a man to conceal the pressure of\nimpecuniosity.\n\n[FN#319] In text \"Al-S\ufffddah wa al-Khat\ufffdy\ufffdt.\"\n\n[FN#320] Subaudi, \"that hath not been pierced.\" \"The first\nnight,\" which is often so portentous a matter in England and upon the Continent (not of North America), is rarely treated as\nimportant by Orientals. A long theoretical familiarity with the\nworship of Venus\n\n          Leaves not much mystery for the nuptial night.\n\nSuch lore has been carefully cultivated by the \"young person\"\nwith the able assistance of the ancient dames of the household,\nof her juvenile companions and co-evals and especially of the\nslave-girls. Moreover not a few Moslems, even Egyptians, the most lecherous and salacious of men, in all ranks of life from prince to peasant take a pride in respecting the maiden for a few nights after the wedding-feast extending, perhaps to a whole week and sometimes more. A brutal haste is looked upon as \"low\"; and, as sensible men, they provoke by fondling and toying Nature to speak ere proceeding to the final and critical act. In England it is very different. I have heard of brides over thirty years old who had not the slightest suspicion concerning what complaisance was expected of them: out of mauvaise honte, the besetting sin of the respectable classes, neither mother nor father would venture to enlighten the elderly innocents. For a delicate girl to find a man introducing himself into her bedroom and her bed, the shock must be severe and the contact of hirsute breast and hairy limbs with a satiny skin is a strangeness which must often breed loathing and disgust. Too frequently also, instead of showing the utmost regard for virginal modesty and innocence (alias ignorance), the bridegroom will not put a check upon his passions and precipitates matters with the rage of the bull, ruentis in venerem. Even after he hears \"the cry\" which, as the Arabs say, \"must be cried,\" he has no mercy: the newly made woman lies quivering with mental agitation and physical pain, which not a few describe as resembling the tearing out of a back-tooth, and yet he insists upon repeating the operation, never supposing in his stupidity, that time must pass before the patient can have any sensation of pleasure and before the glories and delights of the sensual orgasm bathe her soul in bliss. Hence complaints, dissatisfaction, disgust, mainly caused by the man's fault, and hence not unfrequently a permanent distaste for the act of carnal congress. All women are by no means equally capable of such enjoyment, and not a few have become mothers of many children without ever being or becoming thoroughly reconciled to it. Especially in the case of highly nervous temperaments--and these seem to be increasing in the United States and notably in New England--the fear of nine months' pains and penalties makes the sex averse to the \"deed of kind.\" The first child is perhaps welcomed, the second is an unpleasant prospect and there is a firm resolve not to conceive a third. But such conjugal chastity is incompatible, except in the case of \"married saints,\" with a bon m\ufffdnage. The husband, scandalised and offended by the rejection and refusal of the wife, will seek a substitute more complaisant; and the spouse also may \"by the decree of Destiny\" happen to meet the right man, the man for whom and for whom only every woman will sweep the floor. And then adieu to prudence and virtue, honour and fair fame. For, I repeat, it is the universal custom of civilised and Christian Europeans to plant their womankind upon a pedestal exposed as butts to every possible temptation: and, if they fall, as must often be expected, to assail them with obloquy and contempt for succumbing to trials imposed upon them by the stronger and less sensitive sex. Far more sensible and practical, by the side of these high idealists, shows the Moslem who guards his jewel with jealous care and who, if his \"honour,\" despite every precaution, insist upon disgracing him, draws the sabre and cuts her down with the general approbation and applause of society.\n\n[FN#321] [Arab. \"'Al\ufffd ghayri tar\ufffdk,\" which I would translate \"out of the way,\" like the Persian \"b\ufffd-R\ufffdh.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#322] In text \"Kababj\ufffd\" (for Kab\ufffdbji) seller of Kab\ufffdbs, mutton or kid grilled in small squares and skewered: see vol. vi. 225.\n\n[FN#323] In text \"Sujj\ufffddah;\" vol. vi. 193.\n\n[FN#324] In text \"Faddah\" all through.\n\n[FN#325] In text \"Kirsh\" ( = piastre) a word before explained. See Lane (M.E.) Appendix B.\n\n[FN#326] In Arab. \"Sam\ufffdr;\" from the Pers. \"Sumar\" = a reed, a\nrush.\n\n[FN#327] In Arab. \"D\ufffdw\ufffdn:\" vols. vii. 340; ix. 108.\n\n[FN#328] Scott has (vol. vi. 373), \"The desired articles were\nfurnished, and the Sultan setting to work, in a few days finished a mat, in which he ingeniously contrived to plait in flowery characters, known only to himself and his vizier, the account of his situation.\"\n\n[FN#329] In Arab. \"Ghir\ufffdrah\" (plur. \"Ghar\ufffd\ufffdr\") = a sack. In Ibn\nKhall. (iv. pp. 90, 104) it is a large sack for grain and the\nespecial name of a tax on corn.\n\n[FN#330] In the text \"Mohammed ibn Ibrahim,\" another confusion\nwith the last tale. This story is followed in the MS. by (1) \"The History of the First Brave,\" (2) \"The History of the Second\nBrave,\" and \"The Tale of the Noodle and his Asses,\" which I have\nomitted because too feeble for insertion.\n\n[FN#331] Scott (vi.375) \"Story of the Good Vizier unjustly\nimprisoned.\" Gauttier (vi. 394) Histoire du bon Vizier\ninjustement emprisonn\ufffd.\n\n[FN#332] This detail has no significance, though perhaps its\nobject may be to affect the circumstantial, a favourite man\ufffduvre\nwith the R\ufffdw\ufffd. [It may mean that the prisoner had to pass through seven gates before reaching it, to indicate its formidable strength and the hopelessness of all escape, except perhaps by a seven-warded, or as the Arabs would say, a seven-pinned key of gold. In the modern tale mentioned on p. 223 the kidnapped Prince and his Wazir are made to pass \"through one door after the other until seven doors were passed,\" to emphasise the utter seclusion of their hiding place.--ST.]\n\n[FN#333] i.e. the mats and mattresses, rugs and carpets, pillows\nand cushions which compose the chairs, tables and beds of a\nwell-to-do Eastern lodging.\n\n[FN#334] The pretext was natural. Pious Moslems often make such\nvows and sometimes oblige themselves to feed the street dogs with good bread.\n\n[FN#335] In text \"Min hakk h\ufffdz\ufffd 'l-Kal\ufffdm sah\ufffdh.\"\n\n[FN#336] In text \"K\ufffd\ufffdk\" and \"K\ufffd\ufffdk-j\ufffd,\" the well-known ca\ufffdque of\nthe Bosphorus, a term which bears a curious family resemblance to the \"Kayak\" of the Eskimos.\n\n[FN#337] Here coffee is mentioned without tobacco, whereas in\nmore modern days the two are intimately connected. And the reason is purely hygienic. Smoking increases the pulsations without strengthening them, and depresses the heart-action with a calming and soothing effect. Coffee, like alcohol, affects the\ncirculation in the reverse way by exciting it through the nervous system; and not a few authorities advise habitual smokers to end the day and prepare for rest with a glass of spirits and water. It is to be desired that the ignorants who write about \"that filthy tobacco\" would take the trouble to observe its effects on a large scale, and not base the strongest and extremest opinions, as is the wont of the Anglo-Saxon Halb-bildung, upon the narrowest and shakiest of bases. In Egypt, India and other parts of the Eastern world they will find nicotiana used by men, women and children, of all ranks and ages; and the study of these millions would greatly modify the results of observing a few hundreds at home. But, as in the case of opium-eating, populus vult decipi, the philanthrope does not want to know the truth, indeed he shrinks from it and loathes it. All he cares for is his own especial \"fad.\"\n\n[FN#338] Arab. \"F\ufffdnj\ufffdl\" systematically repeated for \"Finj\ufffdn\"\npronounced in Egypt \"Fing\ufffdn\" see vol. viii. 200. [The plural\n\"Fan\ufffdj\ufffdl,\" pronounced \"Fan\ufffdg\ufffdl,\" occurs in Spitta Bey's Contes\nArabes Modernes, p. 92, and in his Grammar, p. 26, the same\nauthor states that the forms \"Fing\ufffdn\" and \"Fing\ufffdl\" are used\npromiscuously.--ST.]\n\n[FN#339] For the \"Khaznah\" (Khaz\ufffdnah) or 10,000 k\ufffds each = \ufffd5,\nsee vols. ii. 84; iii. 278.\n\n[FN#340] A euphuism meaning some disaster. The text contains a\nfavourite incident in folklore; the first instance, I believe,\nbeing that of Polycrates of Samos according to Herodotus (lib.\niii. 41-42). The theory is supported after a fashion by\nexperience amongst all versed in that melancholy wisdom the\n\"knowledge of the world.\" As Syr Cauline the knight\nphilosophically says:--\n\n          Everye white will have its blacke,\n          And everye sweete its sowre: etc.\n\n[FN#341] Thus making the food impure and unfit for a religious\nMoslem to eat. Scott (vi. 378) has \"when a huge rat running from\nhis hole leaped into the dish which was placed upon the floor.\"\nHe is probably thinking of the East Indian \"bandycoot.\"\n\n[FN#342] In text this tale concludes, \"It is ended and this\n(next) is the History of the Barber.\"\n\n[FN#343] A dandy, a macaroni, from the Turk. Chelebi, see vol. i. 22. Here the word is thoroughly Arabised. In old Turk. it means, a Prince of the blood; in mod. times a gentleman, Greek or European.\n\n[FN#344] In the text \"\ufffdzb\ufffdsh\ufffd\" or \"Uzb\ufffdsh\ufffd,\" a vile Egyptianism\nfor Y\ufffdzb\ufffdshi = head of a hundred (men), centurion, captain.\n\n[FN#345] Scil. the household, the Harem, etc. As usual, the masc. is used for the fem.\n\n[FN#346] [Ar. \"Al-Rash\ufffdkah,\" a word is not found in the common\nlexicons. In Dozy and \"Engelmann's Glossary of Spanish and\nPortuguese words derived from the Arabic,\" it is said to be a\nfork with three prongs, here probably a hat-stand in the shape of such a fork.--ST.]\n\n[FN#347] In text \"Sh\ufffd'il\" copyist's error for \"Sh\ufffdghil,\" act.\npart. of \"Shughl\" = business, affairs. [Here it stands probably\nfor the fuller \"Shughl sh\ufffdghil,\" an urgent business.--ST.]\n\n[FN#348] In text \"Y\ufffd 'Ars, y\ufffd Mu'arras\": vol. i. 338.\n\n[FN#349] In Syria most houses have a rain cistern or tank into\nwhich the terrace-roof drains and which looks from above like a\nwell with a cover. The water must have been low when the lover\nhid himself in the reservoir.\n\n[FN#350] [In the MS. \"Min Hakk la-hu Asl an 'and-n\ufffd hun\ufffd R\ufffdjil,\"\na thoroughly popular phrase. \"Min Hakk\" and \"min Hakkan,\" where\nin the adverbial meaning of Hakkan its grammatical form as an\naccusative is so far forgotten that it allows itself to be\ngoverned by the preposition \"min,\" is rendered by Bocthor \"tout\nde bon,\" \"s\ufffdrieusement.\" \"Asl\" = root has here the meaning of\nfoundation in fact. The literal translation of the passage would\ntherefore be: \"Forsooth, is there any truth in it that a man is\nhere in our house?\" \"Min Hakk\" has occurred page 235, where the\ntext, quoted in the note, may perhaps be translated: \"Of a truth, is this saying soothfast?\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#351] [The MS. has: \"Y\ufffd Gh\ufffdrat\ufffd a-Zay m\ufffd hun\ufffd R\ufffdjil;\" \"Y\ufffd\nGh\ufffdrat\ufffd\" will recur presently, p. 256, along with \"y\ufffd Mus\ufffdbat\ufffd\" = Oh my calamity! I take it therefore to be an exclamation of\ndistress from \"Gh\ufffdrat\" = invasion, with its incidents of\ndevastation, rapine and ruin. It would be the natural outcry of\nthe women left helpless in an unprotected camp when invaded by a\nhostile tribe. In \"a-Zay m\ufffd\" the latter particle is not the\nnegative, but the pronoun, giving to \"a-Zay\" = \"in what manner,\"\n\"how ?\" the more emphatical sense of \"how ever?\" In the same\nsense we find it again, infra, Night 754, \"a-Zay m\ufffd taf\ufffdtn\ufffd\" =\nhow canst thou quit me? I would therefore render: \"Woe me I am\nundone, how ever should there be a man here?\" or something to\nthat purpose.--ST.]\n\n[FN#352] In Persian he would be called \"Par\ufffd-stricken,\"--smitten\nby the Fairies.\n\n[FN#353] A quarter-staff (vols. i, 234; viii. 186) opp. to the\n\"Dabb\ufffds,\" or club-stick of the Badawin, the Caffres' \"Knob-\nkerry,\" which is also called by the Arabs \"Kan\ufffd,\" pron. \"Gan\ufffd.\"\n\n[FN#354] Scott's \"Story of the Lady of Cairo and her four\nGallants\" (vol. vi. 380): Gauttier, Histoire d' une Dame du Caire et de ses Galans (vi. 400). This tale has travelled over the Eastern world. See in my vol. vi. 172 \"The Lady and her Five\nSuitors,\" and the \"Story of the Merchant's Wife and her Suitors\"\nin Scott's \"Tales, Anecdotes, and Letters\" (Cadell, London,\n1800), which is in fact a garbled version of the former,\nintroduced into the r\ufffdpertoire of \"The Seven Waz\ufffdrs.\" I translate the W. M. version of the tale because it is the most primitive known to me; and I shall point out the portions where it lacks finish.\n\n[FN#355] This title does not appear till p. 463 (vol. v.) of the\nMS., and it re-appears in vol. vi. 8.\n\n[FN#356] i.e. in her haste: the text has \"Kharrat.\" The Persians\nwho rhetorically exaggerate everything say \"rising and sinking\nlike the dust of the road.\" [I doubt whether \"Kharrat\" could have the meaning given to it in the translation. The word in the MS. has no Tashd\ufffdd and I think the careless scribe meant it for\n\"Kharajat,\" she went out.--ST.]\n\n[FN#357] I read \"N\ufffds malm\ufffdm\ufffdn = assembled men, a crowd of people.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#358] \"Rajul Khw\ufffdj\ufffd:\" see vol. vi. 46, etc. For \"Sh\ufffdhbandar\" = king of the port, a harbour-master, whose post I have compared with our \"Consul,\" see vol. iv. 29. It is often, however, applied to Government officials who superintend trade and levy duties at inland marts.\n\n[FN#359] Arab. \"Khim\ufffdr,\" a veil or rather a covering for the back of the head. This was the especial whorishness with which\nShahrazad taxes the Goodwife: she had been too prodigal of her\ncharms, for the occiput and the \"back hair\" should not be\ndisplayed even to the moon.\n\n[FN#360] These four become five in the more finished tale--the\nKing, the Wazir, the Kazi, the Wali or Chief of Police and the\nCarpenter. Moreover each one is dressed in different costume,\ngowns yellow, blue, red and patched with headgear equally absurd.\n\n[FN#361] In text \"Turt\ufffdr\" = the Badawi's bonnet: vol. ii. 143. Mr. Doughty (i. 160) found at Al-Khuraybah the figure of an ancient Arab wearing a close tunic to the knee and bearing on poll a coif. At Al-'Ula he was shown an ancient image of a man's head cut in sandstone: upon the crown was a low pointed bonnet. \"Long caps\" are also noticed in i. 562; and we are told that they were  \"worn in outlandish guise in Arabia.\"\n\n[FN#362] In text \"Emb\ufffdrah\" (pron. 'Mb\ufffdrah); pop. for Al-b\ufffdrihah = the last part of the preceding day or night, yesterday. The vulgar Egyptian uses it as if it were a corruption of the Pers. \"in b\ufffdr\" = this time. The Arab Badawin pronounce it El-beyrih (with their exaggerated \"Im\ufffdlah\") and use it not only for \"yesterday,\" but also for the past afternoon.\n\n[FN#363] This device is far inferior in comic effect to the\ncarpenter's press or cabinet of five compartments, and it lacks\nthe ludicrous catastrophe in which all the lovers make water upon one another's heads.\n\n[FN#364] Scott (vi. 386) \"The Cauzee's story:\" Gauttier (vi. 406) does not translate it.\n\n[FN#365] In the text the message is delivered verbatim: this\niteration is well fitted for oral work, with its changes of tone\nand play of face, and varied \"gag\"; but it is most annoying for\nthe more critical reader.\n\n[FN#366] Arab. \"Lukmah\" = a balled mouthful: vols. i. 261, vii.\n367.\n\n[FN#367] The \"Mift\ufffdh\" (prop. \"Miftah\") or key used throughout the Moslem East is a bit of wood, 7\ufffd14 inches long, and provided with 4\ufffd10 small iron pins which correspond with an equal number of holes in the \"Dabbah\" or wooden bolt. If one of these teeth be withdrawn the lock will not open. Lane (M.E. Introduction) has a sketch of the \"Miftah\" and \"Dabbah.\"\n\n[FN#368] In text \"Ayoh\" which is here, I hold, a corruption of \"\ufffd (or Ayy) h\ufffd\" = \"yes indeed he.\" [I take \"aywah\" (as I would read the word) to be a different spelling for \"aywa\" = yes indeed, which according to Spitta Bey, Gr. p. 168 is a contraction of \"Ay (\ufffd) wa'll\ufffdhi,\" yes by Allah. \"What? thy lover?\" asks the husband, and she emphatically affirms the fact, to frighten the concealed tailor--ST.]\n\n[FN#369] In the Arab. \"Al-Ashkh\ufffdkh,\" plur. of \"Shakhkh\" and\nliterally \"the stales\" meaning either dejection. [I read: \"bi\n'l-Shakh\ufffdkh,\" the usual modern word for urine. \"'Alayya Shakh\ufffdkh\" is: I want to make water. See Dozy Suppl. s.v.--ST.]\n\n[FN#370] In text \"Ah\ufffd ma'\ufffd\"--pure Fellah speech.\n\n[FN#371] In the Arab. \"laklaka-h\ufffd\"--an onomatopoeia.\n\n[FN#372] In text \"Il\ufffd an yas\ufffdr Karmu-hu.\" The root Karm originally means cutting a slip of skin from the camel's nose by way of mark, in lieu of the normal branding.\n\n[FN#373] In text \"Yazghaz-h\ufffd f\ufffd shikkati-ha,\" the verb being\nprobably a clerical error for \"Yazaghzagh,\" from {root} \"Zaghzagha,\" = he opened a skin bag.\n\n[FN#374] This is the far-famed balcony-scene in \"Fanny\" (of\nErnest Feydeau translated into English and printed by Vizetelly\nand Co.) that phenomenal specimen of morbid and unmasculine\nFrench (or rather Parisian) sentiment, which contrasts so\npowerfully with the healthy and manly tone of The Nights. Here\nalso the story conveys a moral lesson and, contrary to custom,\nthe husband has the best of the affair. To prove that my judgment is not too severe, let me quote the following passages from a well-known and popular French novelist, translated by an English litt\ufffdrateur and published by a respectable London firm.\n\nIn \"A Ladies' Man:\" by Guy de Maupassant, we read:--\n\nPage 62.--And the conversation, descending from elevated theories concerning love, strayed into the flowery garden of polished blackguardism. It was the moment of clever, double meanings; veils raised by words, as petticoats are lifted by the wind; tricks of language, cleverly disguised audacities; sentences which reveal nude images in covered phrases, which cause the vision of all that may not be said to flit rapidly before the eyes of the mind, and allow well-bred people the enjoyment of a kind of subtle and mysterious love, a species of impure mental contact, due to the simultaneous evocations of secret, shameful and longed-for pleasures.\n\nPage 166.--George and Madeleine amused themselves with watching\nall these couples, the woman in summer toilette and the man\ndarkly outlined beside her. It was a huge flood of lovers flowing towards the Bois, beneath the starry and heated sky. No sound was heard save the dull rumble of wheels. They kept passing by, two by two in each vehicle, leaning back on the seat, clasped one against the other, lost in dreams of desire, quivering with the anticipation of coming caresses. The warm shadow seemed full of kisses. A sense of spreading lust rendered the air heavier and more suffocating. All the couples, intoxicated with the same idea, the same ardour, shed a fever about them.\n\nPage 187--As soon as she was alone with George, she clasped him\nin her arms, exclaiming: \"Oh! my darling Pretty-boy, I love you\nmore and more every day.\"\n\nThe cab conveying them rocked like a ship.\n\n\"It is not so nice as our own room,\" said she.\n\nHe answered; \"Oh, no.\" But he was thinking of Madame Waller.\n\nPage 198.--He kissed her neck, her eyes, her lips with eagerness, without her being able to avoid his furious caresses, and whilst repulsing him, whilst shrinking from his mouth, she, despite herself, returned his kisses. All at once she ceased to struggle, and, vanquished, resigned, allowed him to undress her. One by one he neatly and rapidly stripped off the different articles of clothing with the light fingers of a lady's maid. She had snatched her bodice from his hands to hide her face in it, and remained standing amidst the garments fallen at her feet. He seized her in his arms and bore her towards the couch. Then she murmured in his ear in a broken voice, \"I swear to you, I swear to you, that I have never had a lover.\"\n\nAnd he thought, \"That is all the same to me.\"\n\n[FN#375] In text \"Ant' amilta maskhar\ufffd (for maskharah) matah (for mat\ufffd),\" idiomatical Fellah-tongue.\n\n[FN#376] Scott (Appendix vol. vi. 460) simply called this tale\n\"The Syrian.\" In M. Clouston's \"Book of Noodles\" (pp. 193\ufffd194) we find a man who is searching for three greater simpletons than his wife, calling himself \"Saw ye ever my like?\" It is quoted from Campbell's \"Popular Tales of the West Highlands\" (ii. 385\ufffd387), but it lacks the canopic wit of the Arabo-Egyptian. I may note anent the anecdote of the Gabies (p. 201), who proposed, in order to make the tall bride on horseback enter the low village-gate, either to cut off her head or the legs of her steed, that precisely the same tale is told by the biting wits of Damascus concerning the boobies of Halb\ufffdn. \"Halb\ufffd\ufffdn,\" as these villagers call their ancient hamlet, is justly supposed to be the Helbon whose wine is mentioned by Ezekiel in the traffic of Damascus, although others less reasonably identify it with Halab = Aleppo.\n\n[FN#377] In text \"La'bat Shaw\ufffdribu-hu\" = lit. his mustachios\nplayed.\n\n[FN#378] For the \"Wak\ufffdlah,\" or caravanserai, see vol. i. 266.\n\n[FN#379] In text \"Kab\ufffdt,\" plur. Kab\ufffdb\ufffdt:\n\n          Oh! who is more brave than a dark Suliote,\n          In his snowy camise and his shaggy capote?\n              \"Childe Harold,\" Canto II.\n\nAnd here I cannot but notice the pitiful contrast (on the\ncentenary of the poet's nativity, Jan. 22nd, '88) between the\nland of his birth and that of his death. The gallant Greeks\nhonoured his memory with wreaths and panegyrics and laudatory\narticles, declaring that they will never forget the anniversaries of his nativity and his decease. The British Pharisee and Philistine, true to his miserable creed, ignored all the \"real Lord Byron\"--his generosity, his devotion to his friends, his boundless charity, and his enthusiasm for humanity. They exhaled their venom by carping at Byron's poetry (which was and is to Europe a greater boon than Shakspeare's), by condemning his morality (in its dirty sexual sense) and in prophesying for him speedy oblivion. Have these men no shame in presence of the noble panegyric dedicated by the Prince of German poets, Goethe, to his brother bard whom he welcomed as a prophet? Can they not blush before Heine (the great German of the future), before Flaubert, Alfred de Musset, Lamartine, Leopardi and a host of Italian, Spanish and Portuguese notables? Whilst England will not forgive Byron for having separated from his unsympathetic wife, the Literary society of Moscow celebrated his centenary with all honour; and Prof. Nicholas Storojenko delivered a speech which has found an echo\n\n                                   further west\n          Than his sires' \"Islands of the Blest.\"\n\nHe rightly remarked that Byron's deadly sin in the eyes of the\nGeorgian-English people was his Cosmopolitanism. He was the\npoetical representative of the Sturm und Drang period of\nthe xixth century. He reflected, in his life and works, the wrath of noble minds at the collapse of the cause of freedom and the reactionary tendency of the century. Even in the distant regions of Monte Video Byron's hundredth birthday was not forgotten, and Don Luis Desteffanio's lecture was welcomed by literary society.\n\n[FN#380] He cried out thinking of the mystical meaning of such\nname. So ????? sea?t??, would mean in Suf\ufffd language--Learn from thyself what is thy Lord;--corresponding after a manner with the\nChristian \"looking up through Nature to Nature's God.\"\n\n[FN#381] The phrase prob. means so drunk that his circulation had apparently stopped.\n\n[FN#382] This is the article usually worn by the professional\nbuffoon. The cap of the \"Sutar\ufffd\" or jester of the Arnaut\n(Albanian) regiments--who is one of their professional braves--is usually a felt cone garnished with foxes' brushes.\n\n[FN#383] In Arab. \"Sabbal alayhim (for Alayhinna, the usual masc. pro fem.) Al-Satt\ufffdr\" = lit. the Veiler let down a curtain upon them.\n\n[FN#384] The barber being a surgeon and ever ready to bleed a\nmadman.\n\n[FN#385] i.e. Can play off equally well the soft-brained and the\nhard-headed.\n\n[FN#386] i.e. a deputy (governor, etc.); in old days the governor of Constantinople; in these times a lieutenant-colonel, etc.\n\n[FN#387] Which, as has been said, is the cab of Modern Egypt,\nlike the gondola and the ca\ufffdque. The heroine of the tale is a\nNilotic version of \"Aurora Floyd.\"\n\n[FN#388] In text \"Rafaka\" and infr\ufffd (p. 11) \"Zafaka.\"\n\n[FN#389] [In text \"Misla 'l-Kal\ufffdm,\" which I venture to suggest is another clerical blunder for: \"misla 'l-Kil\ufffdb\" = as the dogs do.--ST.]\n\n[FN#390] i.e. My wife. In addition to notes in vols. i. 165, and\niv. 9, 126, I would observe that \"Har\ufffdm\" (women) is the broken\nplur. of \"Hurmah;\" from Haram, the honour of the house, forbidden to all save her spouse. But it is also an infinitive (whose plur. is Har\ufffdm\ufffdt = the women of a family); and in places it is still used for the women's apartment, the gyn\ufffdceum. The latter by way of distinction I have mostly denoted by the good old English corruption \"Harem.\"\n\n[FN#391] In text \"Misla 'l-kh\ufffdr\ufffdf\" (for Khar\ufffdf) a common phrase\nfor an \"innocent,\" a half idiot; so our poets sing of \"silly\n(harmless, Germ. Selig) sheep.\"\n\n[FN#392] In text this ends the tale.\n\n[FN#393] In text \"Wa l\ufffd huwa 'ashamn\ufffd min-ka talkash 'al\ufffd\nHarimi-n\ufffd.\" \"'Ashama,\" lit. = he greeded for; and \"Lakasha\" = he\nconversed with. [There is no need to change the \"talkas\" of the\ntext into \"talkash.\" \"Lakasa\" is one of the words called \"Zidd,\"\ni.e. with opposite meanings: it can signify \"to incline\npassionately towards,\" or \"to loath with abhorrence.\" As the noun \"Laks\" means \"itch\" the sentence might perhaps be translated: \"that thou hadst an itching after our Har\ufffdm.\" What would lead me to prefer the reading of the MS. is that the verb is construed with the preposition \"'al\ufffd\" = upon, towards, for, while \"lakash,\" to converse, is followed by \"ma'\" = with.--ST.]\n\n[FN#394] Such was the bounden duty of a good neighbour.\n\n[FN#395] He does not insist upon his dancing because he looks\nupon the offence as serious, but he makes him tell his tale--for\nthe sake of the reader.\n\n[FN#396] \"S\ufffdhib al-Hay\ufffdt:\" this may also = a physiognomist, which, however, is probably not meant here.\n\n[FN#397] In text \"Har\ufffdrah\" = heat, but here derived from\n\"Hurr\" = freeborn, noble.\n\n[FN#398] In text \"Azay m\ufffd taf\ufffdt-n\ufffd?\"\n\n[FN#399] In the Arab. \"Rajul Khuzar\ufffd\" = a green-meat man. [The\nreading \"Khuzar\ufffd\" belongs to Lane, M.E. ii. 16, and to Bocthor.\nIn Schiaparelli's Vocabulista and the Muh\ufffdt the form \"Khuzr\ufffd\" is\nalso given with the same meaning.--ST.]\n\n[FN#400] [In text \"Far\ufffdrij\ufffd,\" as if the pl. of \"Farr\ufffdj\" = chicken were \"Far\ufffdrij\" instead of \"Far\ufffdr\ufffdj.\" In modern Egyptian these nouns of relation from irregular plurals to designate\ntradespeople not only drop the vowel of the penultimate but\nfurthermore, shorten that of the preceding syllable, so that\n\"Far\ufffdrij\ufffd\" becomes \"Fararj\ufffd.\" Thus \"San\ufffddik\ufffd,\" a maker of boxes,\nbecomes \"Sanadk\ufffd,\" and \"Dakh\ufffdkhin\ufffd, a seller of tobacco brands,\"\n\"Dakhakhn\ufffd.\" See Spitta Bey's Grammar, p. 118.--ST.]\n\n[FN#401] In the Arab. \"Al-M\ufffdj\ufffdr,\" for \"Maaj\ufffdr\" = a vessel, an\nutensil.\n\n[FN#402] In text \"shaklaba\" here = \"shakala\" = he weighed out (money, whence the Heb. Shekel), he had to do with a woman.\n\n[FN#403] [The trade of the man is not mentioned here, p. 22 of\nthe 5th vol. of the MS., probably through negligence of the\ncopyist, but it only occurs as far lower down as p. 25.--ST.]\n\n[FN#404] A certain reviewer proposes \"stained her eyes with\nKohl,\" showing that he had never seen the Kohl-powder used by\nAsiatics.\n\n[FN#405] [\"Bi-M\ufffd al-fas\ufffdkh 'al\ufffd Akr\ufffds al-Jullah.\" \"M\ufffd\nal-Fas\ufffdkh\" = water of salt-fish, I would translate by \"dirty brine\" and \"Akr\ufffds al-Jullah\" by \"dung-cakes,\" meaning the tale should be written with a filthy fluid for ink upon a filthy solid for paper, more expressive than elegant.--ST.]\n\n[FN#406] \"Al-Jan\ufffdn\ufffdti\"; or, as the Egyptians would pronounce the\nword, \"Al-Gan\ufffdn\ufffdt\ufffd\". [Other Egyptian names for gardener are\n\"Jan\ufffdin\ufffd,\" pronounced \"Gan\ufffdin\ufffd,\" \"Bust\ufffdnj\ufffd\" pronounced\n\"Bustangi,\" with a Turkish termination to a Persian noun, and\n\"Bakhshaw\ufffdng\ufffd,\" for Baghchaw\ufffdnj\ufffd,\" where the same termination is\npleonastically added to a Persian word, which in Persian and\nTurkish already means \"gardener.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#407] A Koranic quotation from \"Joseph,\" chap. xii. 28: Sale\nhas \"for verily your cunning is great,\" said by Potiphar to his\nwife.\n\n[FN#408] I have inserted this sentence, the tale being absolutely without termination. So in the Medi\ufffdval Lat. translations the MSS. often omit \"explicit capitulum (primum). Sequitur capitulum secundum,\" this explicit being a sine qua non.\n\n[FN#409] In text \"Fat\ufffdir\ufffd\" = a maker of \"Fat\ufffdrah\" = pancake, or\nrather a kind of pastry rolled very thin, folded over like a\nnapkin, saturated with butter and eaten with sugar or honey\npoured over it.\n\n[FN#410] In Arab. \"Nay\ufffdz\ufffdti,\" afterwards \"Nuwayz\ufffdt\ufffd,\" and lastly\n\"Rayh\ufffdn\ufffd\" (p. 34) = a man who vends sweet and savoury herbs. We\nhave neither the craft nor the article, so I have rendered him by \"Herbalist.\"\n\n[FN#411] In text a \"Miht\ufffdr\" = a prince, a sweeper, a scavenger; the Pers. \"Mihtar,\" still used in Hindostani. [In Quatrem\ufffdre's\nHistoire des Sultans Mamlouks \"Mihtar\" occurs also in the sense\nof superintendent, of head-equerry, and of chief of a military\nband. See Dozy Supp. s. v.--ST.]\n\n[FN#412] \"Ant' aysh\" for \"man,\" decidedly not complimentary,\n\"What (thing) art thou?\"\n\n[FN#413] Arab. \"Kabsh.\" Amongst the wilder tribes of the East\nram's mutton is preferred because it gives the teeth more to do:\non the same principle an old cock is the choicest guest-gift in\nthe way of poultry.\n\n[FN#414] \"Naubah,\" lit. = a period, keeping guard; and here a band of pipes and kettledrums playing before the doors of a great man at certain periods.\n\n[FN#415] In text \"Al-Mubtali.\"\n\n[FN#416] Arab. \"Haww\ufffdl\ufffdn\"; the passage is apparently corrupt.\n[\"Haw\ufffdl\ufffdn\" is clerical error for either \"haw\ufffdl\ufffd\" = all around, or \"Haw\ufffdl\ufffd\" = surroundings, surrounding parts, and \"Aud\ufffdn\" is pl. of the popular \"Widn\" or \"Wudn\" for the literary \"Uzn,\" ear.--ST.]\n\n[FN#417] The exclamation would be uttered by the scribe or by\nShahrazad. I need hardly remind the reader that \"Khizr\" is the\nGreen Prophet and here the Prophet of greens.\n\n[FN#418] For \"Isr\ufffdf\ufffdl\" = Raphael, the Archangel who will blow the last trump, see vol. ii. 287.\n\n[FN#419] Gen. meaning \"Look sharp,\" here syn. with \"Allah!\nAllah!\" = I conjure thee by God. Vol. i. 346.\n\n[FN#420] A Persian would say, \"I am a Ir\ufffdn\ufffd but Wall\ufffdhi indeed I\nam not lying.\"\n\n[FN#421] [This sentence of wholesale extermination passed upon\nwomankind, reminds me of the Persian lines which I find quoted in 'Abdu 'l-Jal\ufffdl's History of the Barmecides:\n\n          Agar nek b\ufffdd\ufffd Zan u R\ufffdy-i-Zan\n          Zan-r\ufffd Ma-zan N\ufffdm b\ufffdd\ufffd, na Zan,\n\nand which I would render Anglic\ufffd:\n\n          If good there were in Woman and her way\n          Her name would signify \"Slay not,\" not \"Slay.\"\n\n\"Zan\" as noun = woman; as imp. of \"zadan\" = strike, kill, whose\nnegative is \"mazan.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#422] In the text the Shaykh, to whom \"Am\ufffdn\" was promised, is\nalso gelded, probably by the neglect of the scribe.\n\n[FN#423] This tale is a variant of \"The First Constable's\nHistory:\" Suppl. Nights, vol. ii. 3-11.\n\n[FN#424] In text \"Al-Baww\ufffdbah\" = a place where door-keepers meet, a police-station; in modern tongue \"Karakol,\" for\n\"Karaghol-kh\ufffdnah\" = guard-house.\n\n[FN#425] In text \"K\ufffdz\ufffd al-'Askar\" = the great legal authority of a country: vol. vi. 131.\n\n[FN#426] Anglo-Indice \"Mucuddum\" = overseer, etc., vol. iv. 42.\n\n[FN#427] i.e. is not beyond our reach.\n\n[FN#428] In text \"Y\ufffd Sult\ufffdn-am\" with the Persian or Turkish\nsuffixed possessional pronoun.\n\n[FN#429] In text \"m\ufffdl,\" for which see vol. vi. 267. Amongst the\nBadawin it is also applied to hidden treasure.\n\n[FN#430] I carefully avoid the obnoxious term \"intoxication\"\nwhich properly means \"poisoning,\" and should be left to those\namiable enthusiasts the \"Teetotallers.\"\n\n[FN#431] A sign of foul play; the body not having been shrouded\nand formally buried.\n\n[FN#432] For the title, the office and the date see vol. ix. 289.\n\n[FN#433] The names are = Martha and Mary.\n\n[FN#434] MS. vi. 57-77, not translated by Scott, who entitles it\n(vi. 461) \"Mhassun, the Liberal, and Mouseh, the treacherous\nFriend.\" It is a variant of \"The Envier and the Envied:\" vol. i.\n123.\n\n[FN#435] The Arab. \"Jarrah\": vol. viii. 177.\n\n[FN#436] i.e. One who does good, a benefactor.\n\n[FN#437] In the text \"M\ufffds\ufffd wa M\ufffdzi,\" the latter word = vexatious, troublesome. [I notice that in the MS. the name is distinctly and I believe purposely spelt with Hamzah above the W\ufffdw and Kasrah beneath the S\ufffdn, reading \"Muus\ufffd.\" It is, therefore, a travesty of the name M\ufffds\ufffd, and the exact counterpart of \"Muhsin\", being the active participle of \"as\ufffda\", 4th form of \"s\ufffda,\" = he did evil, he injured, and nearly equivalent with the following \"Muuz\ufffd.\" The two names may perhaps be rendered: Muhsin, the Beneficent, and Muus\ufffd, the Malignant, the Malefactor.--ST.]\n\n[FN#438] In text \"Fat\ufffdr\" for \"Fat\ufffdrah\" = a pancake, before\ndescribed.\n\n[FN#439] In text \"Bi-kh\ufffdtiri-k\" = Thy will be done; the whole\ndialogue is in pure Fellah speech.\n\n[FN#440] Supposed to be American, but, despite Bartlett, really\nold English from Lancashire, the land which has supplied many of\nthe so-called \"American\" neologisms. A gouge is a hollow chisel,\na scoop; and to gouge is to poke out the eye: this is done by\nthrusting the fingers into the side-hair thus acting as a base\nand by prising out the ball with the thumbnail which is purposely grown long.\n\n[FN#441] [In the text: \"Fa tarak-hu Muus\ufffd am'\ufffd d\ufffdir yaltash f\ufffd\n'l-Tar\ufffdk.\" Latash has the meaning of beating, tapping; I\ntherefore think the passage means: \"hereupon Muus\ufffd left him,\nblind as he was, tramping and groping his way\" (feeling it with\nhis hands or stick).--ST.]\n\n[FN#442] In text \"Biiru mily\ufffdnah Moyah.\" As a rule the Fellah of\nEgypt says \"Mayyeh,\" the Cairene \"Mayya,\" and the foreigner\n\"Moyah\": the old Syrian is \"May\ufffd,\" the mod. \"Moy,\" and the\nclassical dim. of \"M\ufffd\" is \"Muwayh,\" also written \"Muwayy\" and\n\"Muwayhah.\"\n\n[FN#443] \"Sabt\" = Sabbath, Saturday: vol. ii. 305, and passim.\n\n[FN#444] i.e. \"By Allah,\" meaning \"Be quick!\"\n\n[FN#445] For this well-nigh the sole equivalent amongst the\nMoslems of our \"thank you,\" see Vol. iv. 6. and v. 171.\n\n[FN#446] In Arab. \"Ana 'l-Tab\ufffdb, al-Mud\ufffdwi.\" In pop. parlance,\nthe former is the scientific practitioner and the latter\nrepresents the man of the people who deals in simples, etc.\n\n[FN#447] In text \"R\ufffdkiba-h\ufffd,\" the technical term for demoniac\ninsiliation or possession: the idea survives in our \"succubi\" and \"incubi.\" I look upon these visions often as the effects of\npollutio nocturna. A modest woman for instance dreams of being\npossessed by some man other than her husband; she loves the\nlatter and is faithful to him, and consequently she must explain\nthe phenomena superstitiously and recur to diabolical agency. Of\ncourse it is the same with men, only they are at less trouble to\nexcuse themselves.\n\n[FN#448] The construction here, MS. p. 67, is very confused. [The speech of Muhsin seems to be elliptical. In Ar. it runs: \"Li-ann\ufffd iz\ufffd, lam nukhullis-ha (or nukhlis-h\ufffd, 2nd or 4th form) taktuln\ufffd, wa an\ufffd iz lam tattafik ma'\ufffd ann\ufffd iz\ufffd khallastu-h\ufffd tu't\ufffd-h\ufffd alayya\" --which I believe to mean: \"for if I do not deliver her, thou wilt kill me; so I (say) unless thou stipulate with me that when I have delivered her thou wilt give her to me in marriage--\" supply: \"well then I wash my hand of the whole business.\" The Shaykh acts on the tit for tat principle in a style worthy of the \"honest broker\" himself.--ST.]\n\n[FN#449] In text \"Yaum Sabt\" again.\n\n[FN#450] As has been said (vol. ii. 112) this is a sign of\nagitation. The tale has extended to remote Guernsey. A sorcier\nnamed Hilier Mouton discovers by his art that the King's daughter who had long and beautiful tresses was dying because she had swallowed a hair which had twined round her praecordia. The cure was to cut a small square of bacon from just over the heart, and tie it to a silken thread which the Princess must swallow, when the hair would stick to it and come away with a jerk. See (p. 29) \"Folk-lore of Guernsey and Sark,\" by Louise Lane-Clarke, printed by E. Le Lievre, Guernsey, 1880; and I have to thank for it a kind correspondent, Mr. A. Buchanan Brown, of La Co\ufffdture, p. 53, who informs us why the Guernsey lily is scentless, emblem of the maiden who sent it from fairy-land.\n\n[FN#451] The text says only, \"O my father, gift Shaykh Mohsin.\"\n\n[FN#452] Her especial \"shame\" would be her head and face: vol.\nvi. 30, 118.\n\n[FN#453] In northern Africa the \"D\ufffdr al-Ziy\ufffdfah\" was a kind of\ncaravanserai in which travellers were lodged at government\nexpense. Ibn Khald\ufffdn (Fr. Transl. i. 407).\n\n[FN#454 In most of these tales the well is filled in over the\nintruding \"villain\" of the piece. Ibn Khaldun (ii. 575) relates a \"veritable history\" of angels choking up a well; and in Mr.\nDoughty (ii. 190) a Pasha-governor of Jiddah does the same to a\nJinni-possessed pit.\n\n[FN#455] This tale is of a kind not unfrequent amongst Moslems,\nexalting the character of the wife, whilst the mistress is a mere shadow.\n\n[FN#456] Here written \"Jalab\ufffd\" (whence Scott's \"Julbee,\" p. 461)\nand afterwards (p. 77, etc.) \"Shalab\ufffd\": it has already been\nnoticed in vol. i. 22 and elsewhere.\n\n[FN#457] In text \"Baltah\" for Turk. \"B\ufffdltah\" = an axe, a hatchet. Hence \"Baltah-ji\" a pioneer, one of the old divisions of the Osmanli troops which survives as a family name amongst the Levantines and semi-European Perotes of Constantinople.\n\n[FN#458] Here the public gaol is in the Head Policeman's house.\nSo in modern times it is part of the Wali or Governor's palace\nand is included in the Maroccan \"Kasbah\" or fortalice.\n\n[FN#459] In text \"Naakhaz bi-lissati-him;\" \"Luss\" is after a\nfashion ??st??; but the Greek word included piracy which was\nhonourable, whenas the Arab. term is mostly applied to larcenists and similar blackguards. [I would read the word in the text \"Balsata-hum,\" until I have received their \"ransom.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#460] In the text \"Tajr\ufffds\" which I have rendered by a\ncircumlocution. [For the exact meaning of \"Tajr\ufffds,\" see Dozy,\nSuppl. s.v. \"jarras,\" where an interesting passage from Mas'\ufffdd\ufffd\nis quoted.--ST.]\n\n[FN#461] In Moslem lands prisoners are still expected to feed\nthemselves, as was the case in England a century ago and is still to be seen not only in Al-Islam, Egypt and Syria, but even in Madeira and at Goa.\n\n[FN#462] In text \"Hud\ufffd Sirru-hu,\" i.e. his secret sin was guided\n(by Allah) to the safety of concealment. [A simpler explanation\nof this passage would perhaps be: \"wa had\ufffd Sirru-hu,\" = and his\nmind was at rest.--ST.]\n\n[FN#463] Arab. \"Aud\ufffdj\" (plur. of \"Wadaj\") a word which applies\nindiscriminately to the carotid arteries and jugular veins. The\nlatter, especially the external pair, carry blood from the face\nand are subject abnormally to the will: the late lamented Mr.\nCharley Peace, who murdered and \"burgled\" once too often, could\ndarken his complexion and even change it by arresting jugular\ncirculation. The much-read Mr. F. Marion Crawford (Saracinesca,\nchapt. xii.) makes his hero pass a foil through his adversary's\nthroat, \"without touching the jugular artery (which does not\nexist) or the spine.\" But what about larynx and pharynx? It is to be regretted that realistic writers do not cultivate a little\nmore personal experience. No Englishman says \"in guard\" for \"on\nguard.\" \"Colpo del Tancredi\" is not = \"Tancred's lunge\" but \"the\nthrust of the (master) Tancredi:\" it is quite permissible and to\nsay that it loses half its dangers against a left-handed man is\nto state what cannot be the fact as long as the heart is more\neasily reached from the left than from the right flank.\n\n[FN#464] Lit. \"Then faring forth and sitting in his own place.\" I have modified the too succinct text which simply means that he\nwas anxious and agitated.\n\n[FN#465] After this in the text we have only, \"End of the\nAdventure of the Kazi's Daughter. It is related among the many\nwiles of women that there was a Fellah-man,\" etc. I have supplied the missing link.\n\n[FN#466] On the margin of the W. M. MS. (vi. 92) J. Scott has\nwritten: \"This story bears a faint resemblance to one in the\nBahardanush.\" He alludes to the tale I have already quoted. I\nwould draw attention to \"The Fellah and his Wicked Wife,\" as it\nis a characteristic Fellah-story showing what takes place too\noften in the villages of Modern Egypt which the superficial\ntraveller looks upon as the homes of peace and quiet. The text is somewhat difficult for technicalities and two of the pages are written with a badly nibbed reed-pen which draws the lines\ndouble.\n\n[FN#467] The \"Fadd\ufffdn\" (here miswritten \"Fadd\ufffdd\") = a plough, a\nyoke of oxen, a \"carucate,\" which two oxen can work in a single\nseason. It is also the common land-measure of Egypt and Syria\nreduced from acre 1.1 to less than one acre. It is divided into\ntwenty-four Kir\ufffdts (carats) and consists or consisted of 333\nKasabah (rods), each of these being 22-24 Kabzahs (fists with the thumb erect about = 6\ufffd inches). In old Algiers the Fadd\ufffdn was called \"Zuijah\" (= a pair, i.e. of oxen) according to Ibn Khaldun i. 404.\n\n[FN#468] In text \"Masb\ufffdbah.\"\n\n[FN#469] Arab. \"Dash\ufffdsh,\" which the Dicts. make = wheat-broth to be sipped. [\"Dash\ufffdsh\" is a popular corruption of the classical\n\"Jash\ufffdsh\" = coarsely ground wheat (sometimes beans), also called\n\"Saw\ufffdk,\" and \"Dash\ufffdshah\" is the broth made of it.--ST.]\n\n[FN#470] In text \"Ahmar\" = red, ruddy-brown, dark brown.\n\n[FN#471] In text \"Kas'at (= a wooden platter, bowl) afr\ufffdkah.\" [The \"Mafr\ufffdkah,\" an improvement upon the Fat\ufffdrah, is a favourite dish with the Badaw\ufffd, of which Dozy quotes lengthy descriptions from Vansleb and Th\ufffdvenot. The latter is particularly graphical, and after enumerating all the ingredients says finally: \"ils en font une grosse p\ufffdte dont ils prennent de gros morceaux.--ST.]\n\n[FN#472] The Fellah will use in fighting anything in preference\nto his fists and a stone tied up in a kerchief or a rag makes no\nmean weapon for head-breaking.\n\n[FN#473] The cries of an itinerant pedlar hawking about woman's\nwares. See Lane (M. E.) chapt. xiv. \"Flfl'a\" (a scribal error?)\nmay be \"Filfil\" = pepper or palm-fibre. \"Tutty,\" in low-Lat.\n\"Tutia,\" probably from the Pers. \"Tutiyah,\" is protoxide of zinc, found native in Iranian lands, and much used as an eye-wash.\n\n[FN#474] In text \"Samm S\ufffd'ah.\"\n\n[FN#475] \"Laban hal\ufffdb,\" a trivial form = \"sweet milk;\" \"Laban\"\nbeing the popular word for milk artificially soured. See vols.\nvi. 201; vii. 360.\n\n[FN#476] In text \"Nisf ra'as Sukkar Misri.\" \"Sukkar\" (from Pers.\n\"Shakkar,\" whence the Lat. Saccharum) is the generic term, and\nEgypt preserved the fashion of making loaf-sugar (Raas Sukkar)\nfrom ancient times. \"Misri\" here = local name, but in India it is applied exclusively to sugar-candy, which with G\ufffdr (Molasses) was the only form used throughout the country some 40 years ago.\nStrict Moslems avoid Europe-made white sugar because they are\ntold that it is refined with bullock's blood, and is therefore\nunlawful to Jews and the True Believers.\n\n[FN#477] Lit. \"that the sugar was poison.\"\n\n[FN#478] In text \"Kata'a Jud\ufffdr-h\ufffd\" (for \"hu\"). [I refer the\npronoun in \"Jud\ufffdr-h\ufffd\" to \"Rakabah,\" taking the \"roots of the\nneck\" to mean the spine.--ST.]\n\n[FN#479] In text \"Fahata\" for \"Fahasa\" (?) or perhaps a clerical\nerror for \"Fataha\" = he opened (the ground). [\"Fahata,\" probably a vulgarisation of \"fahatha\" (fahasa) = to investigate, is given by Bocthor with the meaning of digging, excavating. Nevertheless I almost incline to the reading \"fataha,\" which, however, I would pronounce with Tashd\ufffdd over the second radical, and translate: \"he recited a 'F\ufffdtihah' for them,\" the usual prayer over the dead before interment. The dative \"la-hum,\" generally employed with verbs of prayer, seems to favour this interpretation. It is true I never met with the word in this meaning, but it would be quite in keeping with the spirit of the language, and in close analogy with such expressions as \"kabbara,\" he said \"Allabu akbar,\" \"Hallala,\" he pronounced the formula of unity, and a host of others. Here it would, in my opinion, wind up the tale with a neat touch of peasant's single-mindedness and loyal adherence to the injunctions of religion even under provoking circumstances.--ST.]\n\n[FN#480] In the MS. we have only \"Ending. And it is also told,\"\netc. I again supply the connection.\n\n[FN#481] Scott does not translate this tale, but he has written\non the margin (MS. vi. 101), \"A story which bears a strong\nresemblance to that I have read (when a boy) of the Parson's maid giving the roasted goose to her Lover and frightening away the guests, lest he should geld them.\"\n\n[FN#482] In text \"Zakarayn Wizz (ganders) sim\ufffdn\"; but afterwards\n\"Wizzatayn\" = geese.\n\n[FN#483] These dried fruits to which pistachios are often added,\nform the favourite \"filling\" of lamb and other meats prepared in\n\"pul\ufffdo\" (pilaff).\n\n[FN#484] \"Anta j\ufffdib(un) bas r\ufffdjul (an) w\ufffdhid (an)\"--veritable and characteristic peasant's jargon.\n\n[FN#485] i.e., it is a time when men should cry for thy case. \"L\ufffd Haula\" = there is no Majesty, etc. An ejaculation of displeasure, disappointments, despair.\n\n[FN#486] In text \"Mah\ufffdshima-k\" = good works, merits; in a secondary sense beard and mustachios. The word yard (etymologically a rod) is medical English, and the young student is often surprised to see, when a patient is told to show his yard, a mere inchlet of shrunken skin. [\"Mah\ufffdshim,\" according to Bocthor, is a plural without singular, meaning: les parties de la g\ufffdn\ufffdration. Pedro de Alcala gives \"Hashsh\ufffdm,\" pl. \"Hash\ufffdshim,\" for the female parts, and both words are derived from the verb \"hasham, yahsh\ufffdm,\" he put to shame.--ST.]\n\n[FN#487] Characteristic words of abuse, \"O thou whose fate is\nalways to fail, O thou whose lot is ever subject to the accidents of Fortune!\"\n\n[FN#488] Arab. \"Bayzah\" = an egg, a testicle. See \"Bayza'\ufffdni,\" vol. ii. 55.\n\n[FN#489] Here the text ends with the tag, \"Concluded is the story of the Woman with her Husband and her Lover. It is related of a man which was a Kazi,\" etc. I have supplied what the writer\nshould have given.\n\n[FN#490] The \"Mahkamah\" (Place of Judgment), or Kazi's Court, at\nCairo is mostly occupied with matrimonial disputes, and is\nfatally famous for extreme laxness in the matter of bribery and\ncorruption. During these days it is even worse than when Lane\ndescribed it. M.E. chapt. iv.\n\n[FN#491] The first idea of an Eastern would be to appeal from the Kazi to the Kazi's wife, bribing her if he failed to corrupt the husband; and he would be wise in his generation as the process is seldom known to fail.\n\n[FN#492] In Arab. \"Sitta-h\ufffd\": the Mauritanians prefer \"S\ufffddah,\"\nand the Arabian Arabs Kab\ufffdrah\" = the first lady, Madame M\ufffdre.\n\n[FN#493] In text \"Ah\ufffd 'inda-k,\"--pure Fellah speech.\n\n[FN#494] In text here and below \"Maghb\ufffdn\" usually = deceived,\ncajoled.\n\n[FN#495] He began to fear sorcery, Satan, etc. \"Muslim\ufffdna\" is\nhere the reg. Arab. plur. of \"Muslim\" = a True Believer. \"Musulm\ufffdn\" (our \"Mussalman\" too often made plur. by \"Mussalmen\") is corrupted Arab. used in Persia, Turkey and India by the best\nwriters as Sa'adi; the plur. is \"Musulm\ufffdn\ufffdn\" and the Hind. fem.\nis Musalm\ufffdn\ufffd. Francois Pyrard, before alluded to, writes (i. 261) \"Mouselliman, that is, the faithful.\"\n\n[FN#496] In the text \"help ye the Moslems.\"\n\n[FN#497] Again the old, old story of the \"Acrisian maid,\" and a\nprose variant of \"Yusuf and Al-Hayfa\" for which see vol. v. p. 123. I must note the difference of treatment and may observe that the style is rough and the incidents are unfinished, but it has the stuff of an excellent tale.\n\n[FN#498] In text \"Min ghayr Wa'ad\" = without appointment, sans\npr\ufffdm\ufffdditation, a phrase before noticed.\n\n[FN#499] In text, \"Al-Mukawwam\ufffdna wa Arb\ufffdbu 'l-Aklam,\" the latter usually meaning \"Scribes skilled in the arts of caligraphy.\"\n\n[FN#500] In text \"Zarb al-F\ufffdl\" = casting lots for presage, see v. 136.\n\n[FN#501] \"The Mount of Clouds.\"\n\n[FN#502] In the margin is written \"Kbb,\" possibly \"Kubb\" for\n\"Kubbah\" = a vault, a cupola. [I take \"Kubba\" for the passive of\nthe verb \"Kabba\" = he cut, and read \"Fajwatun\" for \"Fajwatan\" =\n\"and in that cave there is a spot in whose innermost part from\nthe inside a crevice is cut which,\" etc.--ST.]\n\n[FN#503] \"Zarb al-Akl\ufffdm,\" before explained: in a few pages we\nshall come upon \"San'at al-Akl\ufffdm.\n\n[FN#504] A pun upon the name of the Mountain.\n\n[FN#505] In text \"Wa kulli T\ufffdrik\" = Night-traveller, magician,\nmorning-star.\n\n[FN#506] i.e. In Holy Writ--the Koran and the Ah\ufffdd\ufffds.\n\n[FN#507] \"Walad al-Hay\ufffdh\" for \"Hay\ufffdt\" i.e. let him be long-lived.\n\n[FN#508] This and other incidents appear only at the latter end\nof the tale, MS. p. 221.\n\n[FN#509] i.e. \"Father of a Pigeon,\" i.e. surpassing in swiftness\nthe carrier-pigeon.\n\n[FN#510] \"Bi-sab'a Sikak\" = lit. \"with seven nails;\" in the MS.\nvol. vi. p. 133, l. 2, and p. 160, l. 4, we have \"four Sikak,\"\nand the word seems to mean posts or uprights whereto the chains\nwere attached. [\"Sakk,\" pl. \"Sik\ufffdk\" and \"Suk\ufffdk,\" is nail, and\n\"Sikkah,\" pl. \"Sikak,\" has amongst many other meanings that of\n\"an iron post or stake\" (Bocthor: piquet de fer).--ST.]\n\n[FN#511] In text \"Al-Lij\ufffdm w' al-B\ufffdl\ufffdm\" = the latter being a\n\"T\ufffdbi'\" or dependent word used only for jingle. [The Muh\ufffdt\nexplains \"Bil\ufffdm\" by \"Kim\ufffdm at-Thaur\" = muzzle of a bull, and\nBocthor gives as equivalent for it the French \"cavecon\" (English\n\"cavesson\" nose-band for breaking horses in). Here, I suppose, it means the headstall of the bridle.--ST.]\n\n[FN#512] In Arab. \"Al-Sayfu w' al-Kalanj.\"\n\n[FN#513] In text \"Itowwaha,\" which is repeated in p. 146, l. 2.\n[\"Ittawwah\" seems to be the modern Egyptian 5th form of \"Tauh.\"\nIn classical Arabic it would be \"tatawwah,\" but in the dialect of to-day the prefix becomes \"it,\" whose final dental here\nassimilates with the initial palatal of the root; p. 146 the word is correctly spelt with two Tashdids. The meaning is: he threw himself (with his right foot foremost) upon the horse's back. Instances of this formation, which has now become all but general in Egyptian, are not infrequent in old Arabic, witness chapters lxxiii. and lxxiv. of the Koran, which begin with \"ayyuh\ufffd 'l Muddassiru\" and \"ayyuh\ufffd 'l-Muzzammilu\" respectively.--ST.]\n\n[FN#514] In text \"Ramaha bi-h.\"\n\n[FN#515] The vowel points in the MS. show this to be a quotation.\n\n[FN#516] In text \"Yarj\ufffd,\" I presume an error for \"yarja'u.\" [I\nbelieve \"yarju\" is an error for yajr\ufffd,\" and the various paces to\nwhich they put their horses are meant: sometimes they galloped\n(ramah\ufffd), sometimes they trotted (Pedro de Alcala gives \"trotar\"\nfor \"jar\ufffd yajr\ufffd\"), sometimes they ambled (yas\ufffdr\ufffd).--ST.]\n\n[FN#517] In text \"Saith the Sayer of this say so wondrous and\nthis delectable matter seld-seen and marvellous,\"--which I omit\nas usual.\n\n[FN#518] In text \"Sar'a 'l-Lij\ufffdm.\"\n\n[FN#519] The invariable practice of an agent de police in England and France, according to the detective tales of MM. Gaboriau and Du Boisgobey. In Africa the guide often attempts to follow instead of leading the party, and this proceeding should always awake suspicion.\n\n[FN#520] In text another prothesis without apodosis: see vol. vi. 203, etc.\n\n[FN#521] In text \"Fa gh\ufffdba thal\ufffdthat ayyamin\" = and he (or it the mountain?) disappeared for three days. [\"Gh\ufffdba\" = departed, may have here the meaning of \"passed away\" and three days had gone, and he ever travelling, before (il\ufffd an) he reached it.--ST.]\n\n[FN#522] A feeling well-known to the traveller: I have often been laughed at for gazing fondly upon the scanty brown-green growth about Suez after a few months' sojourn in the wolds of Western Arabia. It is admirably expressed in that book of books Eothen (chapt. xvii.): --\"The next day I entered upon Egypt, and floated along (for the delight was as the delight of bathing) through green wavy fields of rice, and pastures fresh and plentiful, and dived into the cold verdure of grasses and gardens, and quenched my hot eyes in shade, as though in deep, rushing waters.\"\n\n[FN#523] The writer does not mean to charge the girl with\nimmodesty (after the style \"Come to my arms, my slight\nacquaintance!\") but to show how powerfully Fate and Fortune\nwrought upon her. Hence also she so readily allowed the King's\nson to possess her person.\n\n[FN#524] [I read \"al-Muhibbattu,\" fem. of \"Muhibb,\" lover (in\nTasawwuf particularly = lover of God), and take the \"lam taku\ntaslah\" in the second verse for the 3rd person fem., translating: The loving maiden has come in obedience to the lover's call, proudly trailing her skirts (\"tajarru min al-T\ufffdhi Azy\ufffdla-h\ufffd\"), and she is meet, etc.--ST.]\n\n[FN#525] Again the work of Fate which intended to make the lovers man and wife and probably remembered the homely old English proverb, \"None misses a slice from a cut loaf.\"\n\n[FN#526] A little matter of about a ton at the smallest\ncomputation of 200 lbs. to each beast.\n\n[FN#527] In text \"Nataw\ufffds\ufffd saw\ufffdyah\" [Clerical error for\n\"nataw\ufffdnas\ufffd (nata\ufffdnas\ufffd, the rarely used 6th form of anisa)\nshuwayyah\" = let us divert ourselves a little.--ST.]\n\n[FN#528] In text \"salaku-hu wa nashal\ufffd-hu.\" The {root} \"salk\" = scoring the skin and the {root} \"nashl\" = drawing meat from the cooking-pot with its fingers or a flesh-hook or anything but a ladle which would be \"Gharf.\"\n\n[FN#529] This account has been slightly abridged seeing that it\nis a twice-told tale.\n\n[FN#530] \"Written\" either on the Preserved Tablet (vol. ii. 68)\nor on the sutures of the skull (iii. 123).\n\n[FN#531] In Arab. \"Kh\ufffdlat-k\ufffd ins\ufffdnun,\" meaning also to lie with: compare the Gr. \ufffd????\ufffd?, Lat. misceo. [The same word occurs presently in another tropical sense: \"Kh\ufffdlata-h\ufffd al-Khajal wa 'l-Hay\ufffd\" = shame and abashment mixed with her, i.e. suffused or overwhelmed her.--ST.]\n\n[FN#532] In text \"Istanade 'al\ufffd Shakkati-h.\" [\"Istan\ufffdda 'al\ufffd\" is\nin the Vocabulista in Arabico rendered by \"recumbere\" and\n\"Shikkah\" is a rug, while I can find no authority for \"Shakkah\"\nas \"quarter.\" The passage may therefore mean he lay down on his\nrug. If he had been leaning against the standing horse, it would\non bolting have thrown him on the ground and awaked him rudely.--ST.]\n\n[FN#533] \"Rajul ikhtiy\ufffdr,\" a polite term for an old man: See i.\n55. In the speech of the Badawin it means a man of substance and\nhospitality.\n\n[FN#534] In Arab. \"Wa l\ufffdsh: Mur\ufffdd\ufffd bas Ism al-Madinah.\" I\nseem to hear some Fellah speaking to me from the door of his clay hut.\n\n[FN#535] \"Mad\ufffdnat al-Andal\ufffds\" = usually Seville.\n\n[FN#536] In text \"Kabd\ufffdn,\" the usual form being \"Kaptan,\" from\nthe Ital. Capitano (iv. 85): here, however, we have the Turk.\nform as in \"Kap\ufffdd\ufffdn-pash\ufffd\" = Lord High Admiral of ancient\nOsmanli-land.\n\n[FN#537] Arab. \"Khaznat al-S\ufffdl\ufffdh.\" When Easterns, especially\nMaroccan Moslems and Turkish Pilgrims, embark as passengers,\ntheir weapons are taken from them, ticketed and placed in a safe\ncabin.\n\n[FN#538] Arab. \"Waka'h\" = an affair (of fight).\n\n[FN#539] i.e. crying the war-cry, \"All\ufffdho Akbar\" = God is most\nGreat (vol. ii. 89, etc.) and \"L\ufffd il\ufffdha illa 'llah,\" the refrain\nof Unity: vol. ii. 236.\n\n[FN#540] In text \"A'at\ufffd Al-W\ufffdrah.\" [\"W\ufffdrah\" is gerund of the\nTurkish \"w\ufffdrmek\" or \"wermek,\" to give, to give up, and the phrase in the text corresponds to the Turkish \"w\ufffdrah w\ufffdrmek\" = to capitulate.--ST.]\n\n[FN#541] The \"buccaneers,\" quite as humane, made their useless\nprisoners \"walk a plank.\" The slave-ships, when chased and\nhard-driven, simply tossed the poor devil niggers overboard; and\nthe latter must often have died, damning the tender mercies of\nthe philanthrope which had doomed them to untimely deaths instead of a comfortable middle passage from Blackland to Whiteland.\n\n[FN#542] [In the text \"K\ufffdrish\ufffdn\" = chasing, being in hot pursuit\nof; see Dozy, Suppl. s. v. \"karash.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#543] See in Mr. Doughty's valuable \"Arabia Deserta\" (i. 309)\nhow the Badawi's mare puts down her soft nose to be kissed by the sitters about the coffee-hearth.\n\n[FN#544] In text, \"Hadda 'll\ufffdho bayn\ufffd wa baynakum.\"\n\n[FN#545] The last clause is omitted in the text which is\nevidently defective: MS. vol. vi. p. 180, line 7.\n\n[FN#546] In text \"Tauh\ufffdn al-Hus\ufffdn.\"\n\n[FN#547] In Abyssinia the \"Khil'at\" = robe of honour (see vol. i. 195) is an extensive affair composed of a dress of lion's pelt with silver-gilt buttons, a pair of silken breeches, a cap and waist-shawl of the same material, a sword, a shield and two\nspears; a horse with furniture of silk and silver and a mule\nsimilarly equipped. These gifts accompany the insignia of the\n\"Order of Solomon,\" which are various medals bearing an imperial\ncrown, said to represent the Hierosolymitan Temple of the Wise\nKing, and the reverses show the Amharic legend \"Yohanne Negus zei Etiopia\"--John, Emperor of Ethiopia. The orders are distinguished as (1) the Grand Cross, a star of 100 grammes in massive gold, hammer-wrought, and studded with gems, given only to royalties; (2) the Knighthood, similar, but of 50 grammes, and without jewels, intended for distinguished foreigners; (3) the Officer's Star, silver-gilt, of 50 grammes; and (4) the Companion's, of pure silver, and the same weight. All are worn round the neck save the last, which hangs upon the chest. This practice of gilding the medals prevails also in Europe, for instance in Austria, where those made of gun-metal are often gilt by the recipients contrary to all official etiquette.\n\n[FN#548] Meaning only that the babe was perfectly beautiful.\n\n[FN#549] In order that the cord might not be subject to the evil\neye or fall into the hand of a foe who would use it magically to\ninjure the babe. The navel-string has few superstitions in\nEngland. The lower classes mostly place over the wound a bit of\ncloth wherein a hole has been burned, supposing that the carbon\nwill heal the cut, and make it fast to the babe by a \"binder\" or\nswathe round the body, as a preventative to \"pot-belly.\" But\nthroughout the East there are more observances. In India, on the\nbirth of the babe, the midwife demands something shining, as a\nrupee or piece of silver, and having touched the navel-string\ntherewith she divides it and appropriates the glittering\nsubstance, under the pretence that the absence of the\nilluminating power of some such sparkling object would prevent\nher seeing to operate. The knife with which the umbilical cord\nhas been cut is not used for common purposes but is left beside\nthe puerpera until the \"Chilla\" (fortieth day), when \"Kajjal\"\n(lamp-black), used by way of Kohl, is collected on it and applied to the child's eyelids. Whenever the babe is bathed or taken out of the house the knife must be carried along with it; and when they are brought in again the instrument is deposited in its former place near the mother. Lastly, on the \"Chilla\"-day they must slaughter with the same blade a cock or a sheep (Herklots, chapt. i. sec. 3). Equally quaint is the treatment of the navel-string in Egypt; but Lane (M.E.) is too modest to give\ndetails.\n\n[FN#550] In text \"Sarsarah,\" a clerical error for \"Akhaza(?)\nsurratan.\" See MS. vol. vi. p. 197, line 9. [I read \"sarra Surrah (Surratan)\" = he tied up a purse.--ST.]\n\n[FN#551] In the text \"on account of the dust-cloud\" which, we\nwere just told, had cleared away [The translator seems to have\noverlooked the \"k\ufffdna\" before \"kad d\ufffdkhala-hu al-Ra'b,\" which\ngives to the verb the force of a pluperfect: \"and fear had\nentered into him at the sight of the dust-cloud.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#552] i.e. his daughter, of whom he afterwards speaks in the\nplur.\n\n[FN#553] These concealments are inevitable in ancient tale and\nmodern novel, and it need hardly be said that upon the nice\nconduct of them depends all the interest of the work. How careful the second-rate author is to spoil his plot by giving a needless \"pregustation\" of his purpose, I need hardly say.\n\n[FN#554] The mysteries of the marriage-night are touched with a\nlight hand because the bride had already lost her virginity.\n\n[FN#555] In text \"Ab\ufffdyah,\" a Fellah vulgarism for Ab\ufffd which\nlatter form occurs a few lines lower down.\n\n[FN#556] In text \"Wa-Saw\ufffdbi 'hu (As\ufffdbi 'a-hu?) f\ufffd hanaki-h:\" this is explained in MS. p. 216: \"Bi-yarza'u f\ufffd As\ufffdb\ufffd hi.\" [Dozy, Suppl. i. 815, gives \"Saw\ufffdbi'\" as an irregular pl. of \"Asba'\" quoting from Bresl. ed. iii. 381, 9. I would rather say it is a regularly formed broken plural of a singular \"S\ufffdbi'\" = the pointing one, i.e. index, now commonly called \"Sabb\ufffdbah\" the\nreviler, where the same idea of pointing at with contempt seems\nto prevail, and \"Sh\ufffdhid\" = the witnessing, because it is raised\nin giving testimony. In the plural it would be naturally\ngeneralised to \"finger,\" and in point of fact, the sing. \"S\ufffdbi'\"\nis used nowadays in this sense in Egypt along with the other\npopular form of \"Sub\ufffd'.\"{--ST.}]\n\n[FN#557] I write \"Cafilah\" and not \"Cafila\" with the\nunjustifiable suppression of the final \"h\" which is always made\nsensible in the pure pronunciation of the Badawi. The malpractice has found favour chiefly through the advocacy of Dr. Redhouse, an eminent Turkish scholar whose judgments must be received with great caution; and I would quote on this subject the admirable remarks of my late lamented friend Dr. G. P. Badger in \"The Academy\" of July 2, 1887. \"Another noticeable default in the same category is that, like Sale, Mr. Wherry frequently omits the terminal 'h' in his transliteration of Arabic. Thus he writes Sura, Am\ufffdna, F\ufffdtima, Mad\ufffdna, Tah\ufffdma; yet, inconsistently enough, he gives the 'h' in Allah, Khadijah, Kaabah, Makkah, and many other words. This point deserves special notice, owing to Dr. Redhouse's letter, published in 'The Academy' of November 22 last, in which he denounces (as 'a very common European error') the addition of the 'h' or 'final aspirate,' in the English transliteration of many Arabic words. Hence, as I read the eminent Orientalist's criticism, when that aspirate is not sounded in pronunciation he omits it, writing \"Fatima,\" not Fatimah, lest, as I presume, the unwary reader may aspirate the 'h.' But in our Bibles we find such names as Sarah, Hannah, Judah, Beulah, Moriah, Jehovah, in the enunciation of which no one thinks of sounding the last letter as an aspirate. I quite agree with Dr. Redhouse that in the construct case the final h assumes the sound of t, as in Fatimatu bint-Muhammed; yet  that does not strike me as a valid reason for eliding the final h, which among other uses, is indicative of the feminine gender, as in F\ufffdtimah, Khad\ufffdjah, Am\ufffdnah, etc.; also of the nomina vicis, of many abstract nouns, nouns of multitude and of quality, as well as of adjectives of intensiveness, all which important indications would be lost by dropping the final h. And further unless the vowel a, left after the elision of that letter, be furnished with some etymological mark of distinction, there would be great risk of its being confounded with the \ufffd, formative of the singular of many verbal nouns, such as bin\ufffd, saf\ufffd, jal\ufffd; with the masculine plurals ending in the same letters, such as hukam\ufffd, \ufffdghniy\ufffd, k\ufffdfar\ufffd; and with the feminine plurals of many adjectives, such as k\ufffdbra, s\ufffdghra, h\ufffdsna, etc. Dr. Redhouse says that 'many eminent Arabists avoid such errors'--a remark which rather surprises me, since Pocock, Lane and Palmer, and Fresnel and Perron among French Orientalists, as also Burton, all retain the final aspirate h, the latter taking special care to distinguish, by some adequate, diacritical sign, those substantive and adjective forms with which words ending in the final aspirate h might otherwise be confounded.\"\n\n[FN#558] In the text, \"Wa s\ufffdba'l-d\ufffdr wa Zaujatu-hu mutawass\ufffdy\ufffdn\nbi-h\ufffd.\" [I cannot explain to myself the plural \"Mutawass\ufffdn\"\nunless by supposing that the preceding \"S\ufffdb al-D\ufffdr\" is another\nblunder of the scribe for \"S\ufffdhibu 'l-D\ufffdr\" when the meaning would\nbe: \"and the master of the house and his wife took charge of her\n(the nurse) during the days of suckling.\" --ST.]\n\n[FN#559] In text \"S\ufffdr\ufffd yar\ufffdsh\ufffd-hu wa yatawassu.\"\n\n[FN#560] [In the text \"Fik\ufffd\" the popular form of the present day\n\"Fik\ufffdh,\" properly \"learned in the law\" (LL.D. as we would say),\nbut now the usual term for \"school-master.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#561] Both of which are practised by Easterns from horseback,\nthe animal going at fullest speed. With the English saddle and\nits narrow stirrup-irons we can hardly prove ourselves even\nmoderately good shots after Parthian fashion.\n\n[FN#562] In text \"Ihtim\ufffdm wa Ghullah\": I suspect that the former\nshould be written with the major h, meaning fever.\n\n[FN#563] See Suppl. vol. iv. p. 245.\n\n[FN#564] i.e. tempt not Providence unless compelled so to do by\nnecessity.\n\n[FN#565] The youth was taking a \"F\ufffdl\" or omen: see vol. v. 136.\n\n[FN#566] In text \"Hasal,\" for which I would read \"Khasal.\"\n\n[FN#567] A wiser Sprichwort than those of France and America. It\ncompares advantageously with the second par. of the Declaration\nof Independence (July 4, 1776) by the Representatives of the\nU.S., which declares, \"these truths to be self-evident:--that all men are created equal,\" etc. It is regretable that so trenchant a state-paper should begin with so gross and palpable a fallacy. Men are not born equal, nor do they become equal before their death-days even in condition, except by artificial levelling; and in republics and limited monarchies, where all are politically equal, the greatest social inequalities ever prevail. Still falser is the shibboleth-crow of the French cock, \"Libert\ufffd, Egalit\ufffd, Fraternit\ufffd,\" which has borrowed its plumage from the American Bird o' Freedom. And Douglas Jerrold neatly expressed the truth when he said,--\"We all row in the same boat but not with the same sculls.\"\n\n[FN#568] Sayf Kun\ufffdz\ufffd = a talismanic scymitar: see \"Kanz,\" ix.\n320.\n\n[FN#569] In Arab. \"Al-Kutb al-Ghauth\" = lit. the pole-star of\ninvocation for help; or simply \"Al-Ghauth\" is the highest degree\nof sanctity in the mystic fraternity of Tasawwuf. See v. 384; and Lane (A. N.) i. 232. Students who would understand these titles will consult vol. iii. chapt. 12 of The Dabist\ufffdn by Shaw and Troyer, Paris and London, 1843. By the learned studies of Dr. Pertsch the authorship of this work of the religious eclecticism of Akbar's reign, has been taken from the wrongful claimant and definitively assigned to the legitimate owner, Mobed Shah. (See Z. d. M. G. xvi. 224.) It is regretable that the index of the translation is worthless as its contents are valuable.\n\n[FN#570] Arab. \"Su'ub\ufffdn\" = cockatrice, etc., vols. i. 172; vii.\n322. Ibn Khaldun (vol. iii. 350) tells us that it was the title\nof a famous and fatal necklace of rubies.\n\n[FN#571] In Ar. \"Anakati-h.\" [This is a very plausible conjecture of the translator for the word written in the text: \"'Anfakati-h\" = the hair between the lower lips and the chin, and then used for the chin itself.--ST.]\n\n[FN#572] In the text \"Tisht\" (a basin for the ewer), which I have translated tray: these articles are often six feet in diameter.\n\n[FN#573] A neat touch of realism: the youth is worn out by the\ngenial labours of the night which have made the bride only the\nmerrier and the livelier. It is usually the reverse with the\nfirst post-nuptial breakfast: the man eats heartily and the woman can hardly touch solid food. Is this not a fact according to your experience, Mesdames?\n\n[FN#574] In text \"Tazargh\ufffdt\" a scribal error for \"Zaghr\ufffdtah.\" In\nMr. Doughty (ii. 621) \"Zal\ufffdgh\ufffdt\" for \"Zagh\ufffdrit\" and the former is erroneously called a \"Syrian word.\" The traveller renders it by \"Lullul-lullul-lullul-l\ufffd.\" [Immediately before, however, the\ncorrect form \"hiya tazaghritu,\" she was lulli-looing, had been\nused. The word occurs in numerous forms, differentiated by the\ninterchange of the dental and palatal \"t\" and of the liquid\nletters \"r\" and \"l.\" Dozy gives: \"Zaghrata,\" \"Zaghlata\" and\n\"Zalghata\" for the verb, and \"Zaghr\ufffdtah,\" \"Zaghr\ufffdtah\" (both with\npl. \"Zagh\ufffdr\ufffdt\"), \"Zalgh\ufffdtah,\" \"Zalghatah\" (both with pl.\n\"Zal\ufffdgh\ufffdt\"), and even a plural \"Zagh\ufffdl\ufffdt\" for the noun.--ST.]\n\n[FN#575] In these cases usually an exception is made of brigands, assassins and criminals condemned for felony. See Ibn Khaldun, iv. 189.\n\n[FN#576] [In text: \"biyarza' f\ufffd As\ufffdb\ufffd-hi\" (see supra p. 409).\nThis is, as far as I remember, the only instance where in the MS. the aorist is preceded by the preposition \"bi,\" a construction now so common in the popular dialects. Strange as it may appear at first sight, it has a deep foundation in the grammatical sentiment, if I may say so, of the Arabic language, which always ascribed a more or less nominal character to the aorist. Hence its inflection by Raf' (u), Nasb (a) and Jazm (absence of final vowel), corresponding to the nominative, accusative and oblique case of the noun. Moreover in the old language itself already another preposition (\"li\") was joined to the aorist. The less surprising, therefore, can it be to find that the use of a preposition in connection with it has so largely increased in the modern idiom, where it serves to mark this semi-nominal character of the aorist, which otherwise would be lost in consequence of the loss of the vowel terminations. This interesting subject deserves a fuller development, but I must reserve it for another opportunity--insh\ufffd 'll\ufffdh!--ST.]\n\n[FN#577] [Again \"yastanit\" = he listened attentively; comp. note\np. 24.--ST.]\n\n[FN#578] In text \"Zarb al-Akl\ufffdm.\"\n\n[FN#579] Vol. iii. 247-261. This violation of the Harem is very\ncommon in Egypt.\n\n[FN#580] Arab. \"Fad\ufffdwi,\" here again = a blackguard, see Suppl.\nvol. iv. 281.\n\n[FN#581] The Irishman says, Sleep with both feet in one stocking.\n\n[FN#582] Arab. or rather Egypt. \"B\ufffdb\ufffdj,\" from \"B\ufffdb\ufffdg,\" from the\nPers. \"Pay-p\ufffdsh\" = foot-clothing, vulg. \"P\ufffdp\ufffdsh.\" To beat with\nshoe, slipper, or pipe-stick is most insulting; the idea, I\nbelieve, being that these articles are not made, like the rod and the whip, for corporal chastisement, and are therefore used by way of slight. We find the phrase \"he slippered the merchant\" in old diaries, e.g. Sir William Ridges, 1683, Hakluyts,  mdccclxxvii.\n\n[FN#583] Arab. \"Sarm\ufffdjah\" = sandals, slippers, shoes, esp. those\nworn by slaves.\n\n[FN#584] Suggesting carnal need.\n\n[FN#585] The young man being grown up did not live in his\nfather's house.\n\n[FN#586] Arab. \"Tartara.\" The lexicons give only the sigs.\n\"chattering\" and so forth. Prob. it is an emphatic reduplication\nof \"Tarra\" = sprouting, pushing forward.\n\n[FN#587] The youth plays upon the bride's curiosity, a favourite\ntopic in Arab. and all Eastern folk-lore.\n\n[FN#588] There is a confusion in the text easily rectified by the sequel. The facetia suggests the tale of the Schildburgers, who on a fine summer's day carried the darkness out of the house in their caps and emptied it into the sunshine which they bore to the dark room.\n\n[FN#589] A kindly phrase popularly addressed to the returning\ntraveller whether long absent or not.\n\n[FN#590] In the text \"Ham\ufffdkah.\"\n\n[FN#591] Arab. \"Adi\" which has occurred before.\n\n[FN#592] This \"little orgie,\" as moderns would call it, strongly\nsuggests the Egyptian origin of the tale.\n\n[FN#593] MS. vol. vi. 262-271. Arab. \" 'Ad\ufffdm al-Zauk\" which the\nold Latin dictionaries translate \"destitutus experienti\ufffd\" and\n\"expers desiderii,\" and it is = to our deficient in taste,\nmanners, etc. The term is explained in vol. ix. 266 (Correct my General Index \"ix. 206\"). Here it evidently denotes what we call \"practical joking,\" a dangerous form of fun, as much affected by Egyptians as by the Hibernians.\n\n[FN#594] In text \"Wak\ufffdlah\" = an inn: vol. i. 266.\n\n[FN#595] \" 'Ausaj,\" for which the dictionaries give only a thorny plant, a bramble.\n\n[FN#596] The grand old Eastern or Desert-gate of Cairo: see vol.\nvi. 234.\n\n[FN#597] Arab. \"Thak\ufffdlah,\" lit. = heaviness, dullness, stupidity.\n\n[FN#598] This is a mere shot: the original has \"Ba\ufffdthar\ufffdn.\"\n\n[FN#599] Arab. \"Mayzah\" = the large hall with a central fountain\nfor ablution attached to every great Mosque.\n\n[FN#600] In the text \"Shashmah,\" from Pers. \"Chashmah\" a\nfountain; applied in Egypt to the small privies with slab and\nhole; vol. i. 221.\n\n[FN#601] [In Ar. \"Unsak,\" an expression principally used when\ndrinking to one's health, in which sense it occurs, for instance, in the Bresl. ed. of The Nights, i. 395, 7.-ST.]\n\n[FN#602] Arab. \"Mut\ufffdti bi zahri-h\": our ancestors' expression was not polite, but expressive and picturesque.\n\n[FN#603] The normal pun: \"F\ufffdtihah,\" fem. of \"f\ufffdtih\" = an opener,\na conqueror, is the first Koranic chapter, for which see iv. 36.\n\n[FN#604] This appears to be a kind of padding introduced to fill\nup the Night. The loan of an ass is usually granted gratis in\nFellah villages and Badawi camps. See Matth. xxi. 2, 3; Mark xi.\n2-6, and Luke xix. 30-34.\n\n[FN#605] i.e. O Moslem, opposed to Enemy of Allah = a non-Moslem. In text Y\ufffd 'Ib\ufffdd, plur. for sing.\n\n[FN#606] Arab. \"Kashshara\" = grinned a ghastly smile; it also\nmeans laughing so as to show the teeth.\n\n[FN#607] This tale follows \"The Kazi of Baghdad, his treacherous\nBrother and his Virtuous Wife,\" which is nothing but a replica of \"The Jewish Kazi and his Pious Wife\" (vol. v. 256). Scott has\ntranslated it, after his fashion, in vol. vi. p. 396-408, and\nfollows it up with \"The sultan's Story of Himself,\" which ends\nhis volume as it shall be the conclusion of mine.\n\n[FN#608] In text, \"Wa yaakhazu 'l thal\ufffdtha arb\ufffd' min m\ufffdli-hi wa\nsalbi h\ufffdl\ufffd-hi.\"\n\n[FN#609] In text, \"La-hu Dir\ufffdah (for \"Dir\ufffdyah\" = prudence) f\ufffd\ntadb\ufffdr\ufffd 'l-Mul\ufffdk.\"\n\n[FN#610] In text, \"Al-Sirru 'l-il\ufffdhi,\" i.e. the soul, which is\n\"divin\ufffd particula aur\ufffd.\"\n\n[FN#611] In text, \"Nuw\ufffdjiru 'l-wuk\ufffdfat.\" [I read \"nuw\ufffdjiru (for\nnu\ufffdjiru\") 'l-wuk\ufffdf\ufffdt,\" taking the first word to be a verb\ncorresponding to the preceding, \"nab\ufffd'u,\" and the second a\nclerical error for \"al-Mauk\ufffdf\ufffdt.\" In this case the meaning would\nbe: \"and letting for hire such parts of my property as were\ninalienable.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#612] Here the text has the normal enallage of persons, the\nthird for the first, \"the youth\" for \"I.\" I leave it unaltered by way of specimen.\n\n[FN#613] In text \"'Ar\ufffds muhall\ufffdyah.\"\n\n[FN#614] He fainted thinking of the responsibilities of whoso\nshould sit thereupon.\n\n[FN#615] Here is a third enallage, the King returning to the\nfirst person, the oratio directa.\n\n[FN#616] i.e. \"by Allah;\" for \"Bi\" (the particle proper of\nswearing) see viii. 310.\n\n[FN#617] Here again is a fourth enallage; the scribe continuing\nthe narrative.\n\n[FN#618] i.e. well fed, sturdy and bonny.\n\n[FN#619] \"S\ufffdra l\ufffd-hu Shan\ufffdn.\" [The work in the text, which is\nexceedingly badly written, looks to me as if it were meant for\n\"Th\ufffdniyan\" = and he (the youth) became second to him (the\nSultan), i.e. his alter ego.--ST.]\n\n[FN#620] In text \"Yatama'ash min-hu.\" [A denominative of the 5th\nform from \"Ma'\ufffdsh,\" livelihood. It usually has the meaning of\n\"earning one's living,\" but occurs in Makkari's Life of Ibn\nal-Khat\ufffdb also in the sense of \"feeding or glutting upon,\"\nalthough applied there not to victuals but to books.--ST.]\n\n[FN#621] In text \"S\ufffdra yur\ufffdsh\ufffd-h.\" [\"Yur\ufffdsh\ufffd\" and \"yur\ufffdsh\ufffd,\"\nwhich had occurred p. 420, are the 6th form of \"rash\ufffd, yarsh\ufffd\" =\nhe bestowed a gift (principally for the sake of bribery, hence\n\"Rashwah\" or \"Rishwah\" = a bribe), he treated kindly.--ST.]\n\n[FN#622] \"Markab Maus\ufffdkah,\" from {root} \"Wask\" = conceiving, being pregnant, etc.\n\n[FN#623] \"Mutawassi * * * al-Wis\ufffdyat al-T\ufffdmmah.\" [\"Mutawassi\" has been met with before (see p. 420) and \"Wis\ufffdyah\" is the\ncorresponding noun = he charged himself with (took upon himself)\nher complete charge, i.e. maintenance.--ST.]\n\n[FN#624] [In Ar. \"khall\ufffd-n\ufffd nak'ud,\" a thoroughly modern\nexpression. It reads like a passage from Spitta Bey's Contes\nArabes Modernes, where such phrases as: \"khall\ufffd-n\ufffd niktib\nal-Kit\ufffdb,\" let us write the marriage contract, \"ma-tkhallihsh\n(for \"m\ufffd takhall\ufffd-hu shay\") yish\ufffdfak,\" let him not see thee, and\nthe like are very frequent.--ST.]\n\n[FN#625] \"Fi Kashshi 'l-Markab;\" According to custom in the East\nall the ship's crew had run on shore about their own business as\nsoon as she cast anchor. This has happened to me on board an\nEgyptian man-of-war where, on arriving at Suez, I found myself\nthe sum total of the crew.\n\n[FN#626] In text, \"J\ufffdlan ba'da J\ufffdl:\" the latter word =\nrevolutions, change of days, tribe, people.\n\n[FN#627] The d\ufffdnouement is a replica of \"The Tale of the King who lost kingdom and wife and wealth and Allah restored them to him\" (Suppl. Nights, vol. i. 319). That a Sultan should send his\nMinisters to keep watch over a ship's cargo sounds passably\nridiculous to a European reader, but a coffee-house audience in\nthe East would find it perfectly natural. Also, that three\nmen, the Sultan and his sons, should live together for years\nwithout knowing anything of one another's lives seems to us an\nabsurdity: in the case of an Oriental such detail would never\nstrike him even as impossible or even improbable.\n\n[FN#628] Between Nights lxviii. and xci. (p. 401) the Nights are\nnot numbered.\n\n[FN#629] Here the numeration begins again.\n\n[FN#630] In Ouseley he becomes a \"King of Greece.\"\n\n[FN#631] The Arab. is \"Ja'idi\": Scott has \"Artizans or Sharpers\": Ouseley, \"labourers.\"\n\n[FN#632] Ouseley has \"Story of the first foolish Man.\"\n\n[FN#633] In the Latin Catalogue he is called Agricola, and by\nScott the Husbandman.\n\n[FN#634] In Ouseley he now becomes a King of Greece.\n\n[FN#635] In Ouseley, \"Bint-Ameen.\"\n\n[FN#636] In Arab. \"Rujub al-Mutarmakh,\" in the Lat. list\n\"insipicus.\"\n\n[FN#637] In Ouseley \"The Tailor, a story told by the Cauzee.\"\n\n[FN#638] In Scott \"The Deformed Jester,\" reading \"Al-Ahdab\" for\n\"Al-Maskharat al-Azib.\"\n\n[FN#639] In text \"Al-Jalab\ufffd,\" whence Ouseley and Scott's\n\"Mahummud Julbee.\"\n\n[FN#640] Further notes illustrative of this and the succeeding\nvolumes will be found in the Bibliography in Supp. Nights vol vi. I frequently refer to tales by their numbers in the Table (Nights, vol. x., pp. 514-530).\n\n[FN#641] Veckenstedt, Mythen, Sagen und Legenden der Zamaiten,\nii. pp. 160,162.\n\n[FN#642] Compare, too, Mr. Clouston's \"Book of Noodles,\" chap.\nv., \"The Silly Son.\"\n\n[FN#643] Cf. \"An Apology for the Character and Conduct of\nShylock,\"  in a volume of Essays published by a Society of\nGentlemen in Exeter (1796), pp. 552-573.\n\n[FN#644] This incident shews that the story belongs to the\nGrateful Beasts' class, though it is not said that Tiomberombi\nhad conferred any benefit on the rats; it is only implied that he understood their language.\n\n[FN#645] Veckenstedt, Mythen, Sagen und Legenden der Zamaiten, i. pp. 163-166.","title":"Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights \u2014 Volume 5 (of 6)","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":169220}