{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_3450/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_3450","id":"gutenberg_3450","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3450","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Classics of Literature","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Fairy tales","Tales -- Arab countries"],"text":"SUPPLEMENTAL\n                             NIGHTS\n                  To The Book Of The Thousand\n                   And One Nights With Notes\n                      Anthropological And\n                          Explanatory\n\n                               By\n                       Richard F. Burton\n\n                           VOLUME SIX\n              Privately Printed By The Burton Club\n\n\n\n                  I Inscribe This Final Volume\n                               to\n                   The Many Excellent Friends\n           who lent me their valuable aid in copying\n                         and annotating\n                The Thousand Nights and a Night\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n               Contents of the Sixteenth Volume.\n\n\n\n1.   The Say of Haykar the Sage\n2.   The History of Al-Bundukani or, The Caliph Harun Al-Rashid\n     and the Daughter of King Kisra\n3.   The Linguist-Dame, the Duenna and the King's Son\n4.   The Tale of the Warlock and the Young Cook of Baghdad\n5.   The Pleasant History of the Cock and the Fox\n6.   History of What Befel the Fowl-let with the Fowler\n7.   The Tale of Attaf\n          The Tale of Attaf by Alexander J. Cotheal\n8.   History of Prince Habib and what Befel Him with the Lady\n     Durrat Al-Ghawwas\n     a.   The History of Durrat Al-Ghawwas\n\n                            Appendix\n\nNotes on the Stories Contained in Volume XVI, by W. F. Kirby\nIndex to the Tales and Proper Names\nIndex to the Variants and Analogues\nIndex to the Notes of W. A. Clouston and W. F. Kirby\nAlphabetical Table of Notes (Anthropological, &c.)\nAdditional Notes on the Bibliography of the Thousand and One\nNights, by W. F. Kirby\nThe Biography of the Book and Its Reviewers Reviewed\nOpinions of the Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                   The Translator's Foreword.\n\n\n\nThis volume has been entitled \"THE NEW ARABIAN 1 NIGHTS,\" a name\nnow hackneyed because applied to its contents as far back as 1819\nin Henry Weber's \"Tales of the East\" (Edinburgh, Ballantyne).\n\nThe original MS. was brought to France by Al-K\u00e1hin Diy\u00e1nisi\u00e1s\nSh\u00e1w\u00edsh, a Syrian priest of the Congregation of St. Basil, whose\nname has been Frenchified to Dom Dennis (or Denys) Chavis. He was\na student at the European College of Al-Kad\u00eds Ithan\u00e1si\u00fas (St.\nAthanasius) in R\u00famiyah the Grand (Constantinople) and was\nsummoned by the Minister of State, Baron de Breteuil, to Paris,\nwhere he presently became \"Teacher of the Arabic Tongue at the\nCollege of the Sult\u00e1n, King of Frans\u00e1 in B\u00e1r\u00eds (Paris) the\nGreat.\" He undertook (probably to supply the loss of Galland's\nivth MS. volume) a continuation of The Nights (proper), and wrote\nwith his own hand the last two leaves of the third tome, which\nends with three instead of four couplets: thus he completed Kamar\nal-Zam\u00e1n (Night cclxxxi.- cccxxix.) and the following tales:--\n\nThe History of the Sleeper and the Waker (Nights\ncccxxx.-ccclxxix.).\nThe History of Warlock and the Cook (ccclxxx.-cd.).\nThe History of the Prisoner in the B\u00edm\u00e1rist\u00e1n or Madhouse\n(cd.-cdxxvii.).\nThe History of Gh\u00e1nim the Thrall o' Love (cdxxviii.-cdlxxiv.).\nThe History of Zayn al-Asn\u00e1m and the King of the J\u00e1nn\n(cdlxxv.-cdxci.).\nThe History of Alaeddin (cdxcii.-dlxix.), and\nThe History of Ten Wazirs (dlxx.).\n\nThe copy breaks off at folio 320, r  in the middle of Night\ndcxxxi., and the date (given at the end of Night cdxxvii., folio\n139) is Shub\u00e1t (February), A.D. 1787. This is the MS. numbered\nSuppl\u00e9ment Arabe, No. 1716.\n\nIn Paris, Dom Chavis forgathered with M. Cazotte, a litt\u00e9rateur\nof the category \"light,\" an ing\u00e9nieux \u00e9crivain, distinguished for\n\"gaiety, delicacy, wit and Attic elegance,\" and favorably known\nfor (inter alia) his poem \"Olivier,\" his \"Diable Amoureux,\" \"The\nLord Impromptu,\" and a travesty of The Nights called \"The\nThousand and One Fopperies.\" The two agreed to collaborate, the\nSyrian translating the Arabic into French, and the Parisian\nmetamorphosing the manner and matter to \"the style and taste of\nthe day\"; that is to say, working up an exaggerated imitation, a\ncaricature, of Galland. The work appeared, according to Mr. A. G.\nEllis, of the British Museum, who kindly sent me these notes, in\nLe Cabinet | des F\u00e9es, | ou | Collection choisie | des Contes des\nF\u00e9es, | et autres contes merveilleux, | orn\u00e9s de figures. | Tome\ntrente-huiti\u00e9me--(quarante-uni\u00e8me). | A Gen\u00e8ve, | chez B\u00e1rde,\nManget et Compagnie, | Imprimeurs-Libraires. | Et se trouve \u00e0\nParis | Rue et H\u00f4tel Serpente. | 1788-89, 8  [FN#1] . The\nhalf-title is Les Veilli\u00e9es Persanes, and on the second title-\npage is Les Veilli\u00e9es | du | Sultan Schahriar, avec | la Sultane\nScheherazade; | Histoires incroyables, amusantes, et morales, |\ntraduites de l'Arabe par M. Cazotte et | D. Chavis. Faisant suite\naux mille et une Nuits. | Orn\u00e9es de I2 belles gravures. | Tome\npremier (--quatri\u00e8me) | \u00e0 Gen\u00e8ve, | chez Barde, Manget et Comp' |\n1793. This 8vo[FN#2] bears the abridged title, La Suite des mille\net une Nuits, Contes Arabes, traduits par Dom Chavis et M.\nCazotte. The work was printed with illustrations at Geneva and in\nParis, MDCCLXXXVIII., and formed the last four volumes (xxxviii.-\nxli.) of the great Recueil, the Cabinet des F\u00e9es, published at\nGeneva from A.D. 1788 to 1793.\n\nThe following is a complete list of the histories, as it appears\nin the English translation, lengthily entitled, \"Arabian Tales; |\nor, | a Continuation | of the | Arabian Nights Entertainments. |\nConsisting of | Stories | Related by the | Sultana of the Indies\n| to divert her Husband from the Performance of a rash vow; |\nExhibiting | A most interesting view of the Religion, Laws, |\nManners, Customs, Arts, and Literature | of the | Nations of the\nEast, | And | Affording a rich Fund of the most pleasing\nAmusement, | which fictitious writings can supply. | In Four\nVolumes | newly translated from the original Arabic into French |\nBy Dom Chavis | a native Arab and M. Cazotte, Member | of the\nAcademy of Dijon. | And translated from the French into English |\nBy Robert Heron. | Edinburgh: | Printed for Bell and Bradfute, J.\nDickson, E. Balfour, | and P. Hill, Edinburgh, | and G. G. J. and\nJ. Robinson, London | MDCCXCIl.\"\n\n1.   The Robber-Caliph; or, adventures of Haroun-Alraschid, with\n     the Princess of Persia and the fair Zutulbe.[FN#3]\n2.   The Power of Destiny, or, Story of the Journey of Giafar to\n     Damascus comprehending the Adventures of Chebib (Hab\u00edb) and\n     his family.\n3.   The Story of Halechalb\u00e9 (Ali Cheleb\u00ed) and the Unknown Lady;\n     or, the Bimaristan.\n4.   The Idiot; or, Story of Xailoun.[FN#4]\n5.   The Adventures of Simustafa (=\"S\u00ed\" for S\u00edd\u00ed \"Mustafa\") and\n     the Princess Ilsatilsone (Lizzat al-Lus\u00fan = Delight of\n     Tongues?).\n6.   Adventures of Alibengiad, Sultan of Herat, and of the False\n     Birds of Paradise.\n7.   History of Sankarib and his two Viziers.\n8.   History of the Family of the Schebandad (Shah-bander =\n     Consul) of Surat.\n9.   The Lover of the Stars: or, Abil Hasan's Story.\n10.  History of Captain Tranchemont and his Brave Companions:\n     Debil Hasen's Story.\n11.  The Dream of Valid Hasan.\n12-23.    Story of Bohetzad and his Ten Viziers (with eleven\n          subsidiary tales).[FN#5]\n24.  Story of Habib and Dorathal-Goase (=Durrat al-Ghaww\u00e1s the\n     Pearl of the Diver); or, the Arabian Knight.\n25.  Story of Illabousatrous (?) of Schal-Goase, and of\n     Camarilzaman.\n26.  Story of the Lady of the Beautiful Tresses.\n27.  The History of Habib and Dorathal-Goase; or, the Arabian\n     Knight continued.\n28.  History of Maugraby (Al Magnrabi=the Moor); or, the\n     Magician.\n29.  History of Halaiaddin ('Al\u00e1 al-Din, Alaeddin, Aladdin),\n     Prince of Persia.\n30.  History of Yemaladdin (Jam\u00e1l al-D\u00edn), Prince of Great Katay.\n31.  History of Baha-Ildur, Prince of Cinigae.\n32.  History of Badrildinn (Badr al-D\u00edn), Prince of Tartary.\n33.  History of the Amours of Maugraby with Auhata al-Kawakik ( =\n     Ukht al-Kaw\u00e1kib, Sister of the Planets), daughter of the\n     King of Egypt.\n34.  History of the Birth of Maugraby.\n\nOf these thirty four only five (MS. iv., vi., vii., xxvii. and\nxxxii.) have not been found in the original Arabic.\n\n\nPublic opinion was highly favourable to the \"Suite\" when first\nissued. Orientalism was at that time new to Europe, and the\ngeneral was startled by its novelties, e.g. by \"Women wearing\ndrawers and trousers like their husbands, and men arrayed in\nloose robes like their wives, yet at the same time cherishing, as\nso many goats, each a venerable length of beard.\" (Heron's\nPreface.) They found its \"ph\u00e6nomena so remote from the customs\nand manners of Europe, that, when exhibited as entering into the\nordinary system of human affairs, they could not fail to confer a\nconsiderable share of amusive novelty on the characters and\nevents with which they were connected.\" (Ditto, Preface.)\nJonathan Scott roundly pronounced the continuation a forgery. Dr.\nPatrick Russell (History of Aleppo, vol. i. 385) had no good\nopinion of it, and Caussin de Perceval (p\u00e8re, vol. viii., p.\n40-46) declared the version \u00e9loign\u00e9e du go\u00fbt Orientale; yet he\nre-translated the tales from the original Arabic (Continu\u00e9s,\nParis, 1806), and in this he was followed by Gauttier, while\nSouthey borrowed the idea of his beautiful romance, \"Thalaba the\nDestroyer,\" now in Lethe from the \"History of Maughraby.\" Mr. A.\nG. Ellis considers these tales as good as the old \"Arabian\nNights,\" and my friend Mr. W. F. Kirby (Appendix to The Nights,\nvol. x. p. 418), quite agrees with him that Chavis and Cazotte's\nContinuation is well worthy of republication in its entirety. It\nremained for the Edinburgh Review, in one of those ignorant and\nscurrilous articles with which it periodically outrages truth and\ngood taste (No. 535, July, 1886), to state, \"Cazotte published\nhis Suite des Mille et une Nuits, a barefaced forgery, in 1785.\"\nA barefaced forgery! when the original of twenty eight tales out\nof thirty four are perfectly well known, and when sundry of these\nappear in MSS. of \"The Thousand Nights and a Night.\"\n\nThe following is a list of the Tales (widely differing from those\nof Chavis and Cazotte) which appeared in the version of Caussin\nde Perceval.\n\n\n                          VOLUME VIII.\n\nLes | Mille et une Nuits | Contes Arabes, | Traduits en Francais\n| Par M. Galland, | Membre de l'Acad\u00e9mie des Inscriptions et |\nBelles-Lettres, Professeur de Langue Arabe | au Coll\u00e9ge Royal, |\nContinu\u00e9s | Par M. Caussin de Perceval, | Professeur de Langue\nArabe au Coll\u00e9ge Imp\u00e9rial. | Tome huiti\u00e9me. | \u00e0 Paris, | chez Le\nNormant, Imp.-Libraire, | Rue des Pr\u00eatres Saint-Germain-l\n\u0091Auxerrois. | 1806.\n\n1.   Nouvelles aventures du calife Haroun Alraschid; ou histoire\n     de la petite fille de Chosro\u00e8s Anouschirvan.\n        Gauttier, Histoire du Khalyfe de Baghdad: vol. vii. II7.)\n2.   Le Bimaristan, ou histoire du jeune Marchand de Bagdad et de\n     la dame inconnue.\n3.   Le m\u00e9d\u00e9cin et le jeune traiteur de Bagdad\n4.   Histoire du Sage Hicar.\n        (Gauttier, Histoire du Sage Heycar, vii. 313.)\n5.   Histoire du roi Azadbakht, ou des dix Visirs.\n6.   Histoire du marchand devenu malheureux.\n7.   Histoire du imprudent et de ses deux enfants.\n8.   Histoire du d' Abousaber, ou de l'homme patient.\n9.   Histoire du du prince Behezad.\n10.  Histoire du roi Dadbin, ou de la vertueuse Aroua.\n11.  Histoire du Bakhtzeman.\n12.  Histoire du Khadidan.\n13.  Histoire du Beherkerd.\n14.  Histoire du Ilanschah et d'Abouteman.\n15.  Histoire du Ibrahim et de son fils.\n16.  Histoire du Sole\u00efman-schah.\n17.  Histoire du de l'esclave sauve du supplice.\n\n\n                           VOLUME IX.\n\n18.  Attaf ou l'homme g\u00e9n\u00e9reux.\n        (Gauttier, Histoire de l'habitant de Damas, vii. 234.)\n19.  Histoire du Prince Habib et de Dorrat Algoase.\n20.  Histoire du roi Sapor, souverain des \u00eeles Bellour; de Camar\n     Alzemann, fille du genie Alatrous, et Dorrat Algoase.\n        (Gauttier, vii. 64.)\n21.  Histoire de Naama et de Naam.\n22.  Histoire du d'Alaeddin.\n23.  Histoire du d'Abou Mohammed Alkeslan.\n24.  Histoire du d'Aly Mohammed le joaillier, ou du faux calife.\n\nI need hardly offer any observations upon these tales, as they\nhave been discussed in the preceding pages.\n\nBy an error of the late M. Reinaud (for which see p. 39 His toire\nd' 'Al\u00e2 al-Din by M. H. Zotenberg, Paris, Imprimerie Na tionale,\nMDCCCLXXXVIII.) the MS. Suppl\u00e9ment Arabe, No. I7I6, in the\nwriting of Dom Chavis has been confounded with No. 1723, which is\nnot written by the Syrian priest but which contains the originals\nof the Cazotte Continuation as noted by M. C. de Perceval (Les\nMille et une Nuits, etc., vol. viii. Pr\u00e9f. p. I7, et seqq.) It is\nlabelled Histoires tir\u00e9es la plupart des Mille et une Nuits |\nSuppl\u00e9ment Arabe | Volume de 742 pages. The thick quarto measures\ncentim\u00e8tres 20 \u00bd long by I6 wide; the binding is apparently\nItalian and the paper is European, but the filegrane or water-\nmark, which is of three varieties, a coronet, a lozenge-shaped\nbunch of circles and a nondescript, may be Venetian or French. It\ncontains 765 pages, paginated after European fashion, but the\nlast eleven leaves are left blank reducing the number written to\n742; and the terminal note, containing the date, is on the last\nleaf. Each page numbers IS lines and each leaf has its catchword\n(mot de rappel). It is not ordered by \"karr\u00e1s\" or quires; but is\nwritten upon 48 sets of 4 double leaves. The text is in a fair\nSyrian hand, but not so flowing as that of No. 1716, by Sh\u00e1w\u00edsh\nhimself, which the well-known Arabist, Baron de Slane, described\nas Bonne \u00e9criture orientale de la fin du XVIII Si\u00e8cle. The\ncolophon conceals or omits the name of the scribe, but records\nthe dates of incept K\u00e1n\u00fan IId. (the Syrian winter month January)\nA.D. 1772; and of conclusion Nays\u00e1n (April) of the same year. It\nhas head-lines disposed recto and verve, e.g.,\n\n   Hayk\u00e1r      --------------------          Al-Hak\u00edm,\n\nand parentheses in the text after European fashion with an\nimperfect list at the beginning. A complete index is furnished at\nthe end. The following are the order and pagination of the\nfourteen stories:--\n\n1.   The King of Persia and his Ten Wazirs . . . . . .pp. 1 to 62\n2.   Say of the Sage Hayk\u00e1r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140\n3.   History of King Sab\u00far and the Three Wise Men. . . . . . .183\n4.   The Daughter of Kisr\u00e0 the King (Al Bunduk\u00e2ni) . . . . . .217\n5.   The Caliph and the Three Kalandars. . . . . . . . . . . .266\n6.   Juln\u00e1r the Sea born . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .396\n7.   The Duenna, the Linguist-dame and the King's Son. . . . .476\n8.   The Tale of the Warlock and the young Cook of Baghdad . .505\n9.   The Man in the B\u00edm\u00e1r\u00edstan or Madhouse . . . . . . . . . .538\n10.  The Tale of Att\u00e1f the Syrian. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .588\n11.  The History of Sultan Hab\u00edb and Durrat al-Ghaww\u00e1s . . . .628\n12.  The Caliph and the Fisherman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .686\n13.  The Cock and the Fox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .718\n14.  The Fowl-let and the Fowler . . . . . . . 725 to 739 (finis)\n\nUpon these tales I would be permitted to offer a few\nobservetions. No. i. begins with a Christian formula:--\"In the\nname of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost\"\n(R\u00fahu'l-Kudus); and it is not translated, because it is a mere\nreplica of the Ten Wazirs (Suppl. vol. i. 55-151). The second,\ncontaining \"The Sage Hayk\u00e1r,\" which is famous in folk-lore\nthroughout the East, begins with the orthodox Moslem \"Bismillah,\"\netc. \"King Sapor\" is prefaced by a Christian form which to the\nTrinitarian formula adds, \"Allah being One\"; this, again, is not\ntranslated, because it repeats the \"Ebony Horse\" (vol. v. 1). No\niv., which opens with the Bismillah, is found in the Sabb\u00e1gh MS.\nof The Nights (see Suppl. vol. iii.) as the Histoire de Haroun\nal-Raschid et de la descendante de Chosro\u00e8s. Albondoqani (Nights\nlxx.-lxxvii.). No. v., which also has the Moslem invocation, is\nfollowed by the \"Caliph and the Three Kalandars,\" where, after\nthe fashion of this our MS., the episodes (vol. i., 104-130) are\ntaken bodily from \"The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad\"\n(i. 82), and are converted into a separate History. No. vi. has\nno title to be translated, being a replica of the long sea-tale\nin vol. vii., 264. Nos. vii., viii., ix., x. and xi. lack\ninitiatory invocation betraying Christian or Moslem provenance.\nNo. viii. is the History of S\u00ed Mustaf\u00e1 and of Shaykh Shah\u00e1b al-\nD\u00edn in the Turkish Tales: it also occurs in the Sabb\u00e1gh MS.\n(Nights ccclxxxvi.-cdviii.). The B\u00edm\u00e1rist\u00e1n (No. ix.), alias Ali\nChalabi (Halechalb\u00e9), has already appeared in my Suppl. vol. iv.\n35. No. xii., \"The Caliph and the Fisherman,\" makes Harun\nal-Rashid the hero of the tale in \"The Fisherman and the Jinni\"\n(vol. i. 38); it calls the ensorcelled King of the Black Islands\nMahm\u00fad, and his witch of a wife Sitt al-Mul\u00fak, and it also\nintroduces into the Court of the Great Caliph Hasan Shum\u00e1n and\nAhmad al-Danaf, the prominent personages in \"The Rogueries of\nDal\u00edlah\" (vol. vii. 144) and its sister tale (vii. 172). The two\nlast Histories, which are ingenious enough, also lack initial\nformul\u00e6.\n\nDr. Russell (the historian of Aleppo) brought back with him a\nmiscellaneous collection comprising--\n\nAl-Bundukani, or the Robber Caliph;\nThe Power of Destiny (Attaf the Syrian);\nAli Chelebi, or the Bimaristan;\nKing Sankharib and the Sage Haykar;\nBohetzad (Az\u00e1dbakht) and the Ten Wazirs; and, lastly,\nHabib, or the Arabian Knight.\n\nThe Encyclopedia Britannica (ixth edit. of MDCCCLXXVI.), which\nomits the name of Professor Galland, one of the marking\nOrientalists in his own day, has not ignored Jacques Cazotte,\nremarkable for chequered life and noble death. Born in 1720, at\nDijon, where his father was Chancellor for the Province of\nBurgundy, he studied with the Jesuits at home; and, having passed\nthrough the finishing process in Paris, he was introduced to\npublic life by the Administration de la Marine. He showed early\ntaste for poetry as well as prose, and composed songs, tales, and\nan opera--\"The Thousand and One Fopperies.\" His physique is\ndescribed as a tall figure, with regular features, expressive\nblue eyes, and fine hair, which he wore long. At twenty seven he\nbecame a commissary in the office and was presently sent as\nComptroller to the Windward Islands, including the French Colony\nMartinique, which then as now was famous for successful woman-\nkind. At these head-quarters he became intimate with P\u00e8re\nLavalette, Superior of the S. J. Mission, and he passed some\nyears of a pleasant and not unintellectual career. Returning to\nParis on leave of absence he fell in with a country-woman and an\nold family friend, Madame La Poissonnier, who had been appointed\nhead nurse to the Duke of Burgundy; and, as the child in her\ncharge required lulling to sleep, Cazotte composed the favourite\nromances (ballads), Tout au beau milieu des Ardennes, and Commere\nII faut chauffer le lit. These scherzi, however, brought him more\nnote than profit, and soon afterwards he returned to Martinique.\n\nDuring his second term of service Cazotte wrote his heroic comic-\npoem, the Roman d'Olivier, in twelve cantos, afterwards printed\nin Paris (2 vols. 8vo, 1765); and it was held a novel and\nsingular composition. When the English first attacked (in 1759)\nSaint Pierre of Martinique, afterwards captured by Rodney in\n1762, the sprightly litt\u00e9rateur showed abundant courage and\nconduct, but over-exertion injured his health, and he was again\ndriven from his post by sickness. He learned, on landing in\nFrance, that his brother, whilome Vicar-General to M. de\nChoiseul, Bishop of Ch\u00e2lons-sur-Marne, had died and left him a\nfair estate, Pierry, near Epernay; he therefore resigned his\nappointment and retired with the title \"Commissary General to the\nMarine.\" But presently he lost 50,000 \u00e9cus--the whole fruit of\nhis economies--by the speculations of P\u00e8re Lavalette, to whose\nhands he had entrusted his estates, negroes, and effects at\nMartinique. These had been sold and the cheques had been\nforwarded to the owner: the S. J., however, refused to honour\nthem. Hence the scandal of a law-suit in which Cazotte showed\nmuch delicacy and regard for the feelings of his former tutors.\n\nMeanwhile Cazotte had married Elizabeth Roignon, daughter to the\nChief Justice of Martinique; he returned to the Parisian world\nwith some \u00e9clat and he became an universal favourite on account\nof his happy wit and humour, his bonhomie, his perfect frankness,\nand his hearty amiability. The vogue of \"Olivier\" induced him to\nfollow it up with Le Diable Amoureux, a continuation or rather\nparody of Voltaire's Guerre civile de Gen\u00e8ve: this work was so\nskilfully carried out that it completely deceived the world; and\nit was followed by sundry minor pieces which were greedily read.\nUnlike the esprits forts of his age, he became after a gay youth-\ntide an ardent Christian; he made the Gospel his rule of life;\nand he sturdily defended his religious opinions; he had also the\nmoral courage to enter the lists with M. de Voltaire, then the\nidol-in-chief of the classes and the masses.\n\nIn later life Cazotte met Dom Chavis, who was translating into a\ncurious jargon (Arabo-Franco-Italian) certain Oriental tales;\nand, although he was nearing the Psalmist's age-term of man, he\nagreed to \"collaborate.\" The Frenchman used to take the pen at\nmidnight when returning from \"social pleasures,\" and work till\n4-5 a.m. As he had prodigious facility and spontaneity he\nfinished his part of the task in two winters. Some of the tales\nin the suite, especially that of \"Maugraby,\" are attributed\nwholly to his invention; and, as a rule, his aim and object were\nto diffuse his spiritual ideas and to write treatises on moral\nperfection under the form of novelle.\n\nCazotte, after a well-spent and honourable life, had reason to\nexpect with calmness \"the evening and ending of a fine day.\" But\nthis was not to be; the Great Revolution had burst like a\nhurricane over the land, and he was doomed to die a hero's death.\nHis character was too candid, and his disposition too honest, for\ntimes which suggested concealment. He had become one of the\nIlluminati, and La Harpe ascribed to him the celebrated prophecy\nwhich described the minutest events of the Great Revolution. A\nRoyalist pur sang, he freely expressed his sentiments to his old\nfriend Ponteau, then Secretary of the Civil List. His letters\ncame to light shortly after the terrible day, August IO, 1792: he\nwas summarily arrested at Pierry and brought to Paris, where he\nwas thrown into prison. On Sept. 3, when violence again waxed\nrampant, he was attacked by the patriot-assassins, and was saved\nonly by the devotion of his daughter Elizabeth, who threw herself\nupon the old man crying, \"You shall not reach my father's heart\nbefore piercing mine.\" The courage of the noble pair commanded\nthe admiration of the ruffians, and they were carried home in\ntriumph.\n\nFor a few weeks the family remained unmolested, but in those days\n\"Providence\" slept and Fortune did not favour the brave. The\nMunicipality presently decreed a second arrest, and the venerable\nlitt\u00e9rateur, aged seventy two, was sent before the revolutionary\ntribunal appointed to deal with the pretended offences of August\n10. He was subjected to an interrogatory of thirty-six hours,\nduring which his serenity and presence of mind never abandoned\nhim and impressed even his accusers. But he was condemned to die\nfor the all-sufficient reason:--\"It is not enough to be a good\nson, a good husband, a good father, one must also prove oneself a\ngood citizen.\" He spent his last hours wit'. his confessor, wrote\nto his wife and children, praying his family not to beweep him,\nnot to forget him, and never to offend against their God; and\nthis missive, with a lock of his hair for his beloved daughter,\nhe finally entrusted to the ghostly father. Upon the scaffold he\nturned to the crowd and cried, \"I die as I have lived, truthful\nand faithful to my God and my King.\" His venerable head, crowned\nwith the white honours of age, fell on Sept. 25, 1792.\n\nCazotte printed many works, some of great length, as the \u008cuvres\nMorales, which filled 7 vols. 8vo in the complete edition of\n1817; and the biographers give a long list of publications,\nbesides those above-mentioned, romantic, ethical, and spiritual,\nin verse and in prose. But he wrote mainly for his own pleasure,\nhe never sought fame, and consequently his reputation never\nequalled his merit. His name, however, still smells sweet,\npassing sweet, amid the corruption and the frantic fury of his\nday, and the memory of the witty, genial, and virtuous\nlitt\u00e9rateur still blossoms in the dust.\n\nDuring my visit to Paris in early 1887, M. Hermann Zotenberg was\nkind enough to show me the MS., No. 1723, containing the original\ntales of the \"New Arabian Nights.\" As my health did not allow me\nsufficient length of stay to complete my translation, Professor\nHoudas kindly consented to copy the excerpts required, and to\nexplain the words and phrases which a deficiency of dictionaries\nand vocabularies at an outlandish port-town rendered\nunintelligible to me.\n\nIn translating a MS., which has never been collated or corrected\nand which abounds in errors of omission and commission, I have\nbeen guided by one consideration only, which is, that my first\nand chiefest duty to the reader is to make my book readable at\nthe same time that it lays before him the whole matter which the\ntext offered or ought to have offered. Hence I have not hesitated\nwhen necessary to change the order of the sentences, to delete\ntautological words and phrases, to suppress descriptions which\nare needlessly reiterated, and in places to supply the connecting\nlinks without which the chain of narrative is weakened or broken.\nThese are liberties which must be allowed, unless the\ntranslator's object be to produce a mutilated version of a\nmutilation.\n\nHere also I must express my cordial gratitude to Mr. Alexander J.\nCotheal, Consul-General for Nicaragua, in New York. This\ndistinguished Arabist not only sent to me across the seas his MS.\ncontaining, inter alia, \"The Tale of Attaf,\" he also under took\nto translate it for my collection upon my distinct assurance that\nits many novelties of treatment deserved an especial version. Mr.\nW. F. Kirby has again conferred upon my readers an important\nservice by his storiological notes. Lastly, Dr. Steingass has\nlent me, as before, his valuable aid in concluding as he did in\ncommencing this series, and on putting the colophon to\n\n                      The Sixteenth Volume\n\n                               of\n\n                The Thousand Nights and a Night.\n\nRICHARD F. BURTON\n\nUnited Service Club, August 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 Say of Haykar the Sage.[FN#6]\n\n\n\nIn the name of Allah, the Compassionating, the Compassionate, the\nEternal One, the Termless, the Timeless, and of Him aidance we\nawait. And here we begin (with the assistance of Allah Almighty\nand his fair furtherance) to invite the Story of Haykar the Sage,\nthe Philosopher, the Wazir of Sankharib[FN#7] the Sovran, and of\nthe son of the wise man's sister Nadan[FN#8] the Fool.\n\nThey relate that during the days of Sankh\u00e1r\u00edb the King, lord of\nAs\u00far[FN#9] and Naynawah,[FN#10] there was a Sage, Hayk\u00e1r hight,\nGrand Wazir of that Sovran and his chief secretary, and he was a\ngrandee of abundant opulence and ampliest livelihood: ware was he\nand wise, a philosopher, and endowed with lore and rede and\nexperience.  Now he had interwedded with threescore wives, for\neach and every of which he had builded in his palace her own\nbower; natheless he had not a boy to tend, and was he sore of\nsorrow therefor. So one day he gathered together the experts,\nastrologers and wizards, and related to them his case and\ncomplained of the condition caused by his barrenness. They made\nanswer to him, \"Get thee within and do sacrifice to the Godheads\nand enquire of them and implore their favour when haply shall\nthey vouchsafe unto thee boon of babe.\" He did whatso they bade\nand set corbans and victims before the images and craved their\nassistance, humbling himself with prayer and petition; withal\nthey vouchsafed to him never a word of reply. So he fared forth\nin distress and disappointment and went his ways all\ndisheartened. Then he returned in his humiliation to Almighty\nAllah[FN#11] and confided his secret unto Him and called for\nsuccour in the burning of his heart, and cried with a loud voice\nsaying, \"O God of Heaven and Earth, O Creator of all creatures, I\nbeg Thee to vouchsafe unto me a son wherewith I may console my\nold age and who may become my heir, after being present at my\ndeath and closing my eyes and burying my body.\" Hereat came a\nVoice from Heaven which said, \"Inasmuch as at first thou\ntrustedst in graven images and offeredst to them victims, so\nshalt thou remain childless, lacking sons and daughters.\nHowever, get thee up and take to thee N\u00e1d\u00e1n, thy sister's child;\nand, after taking this nephew to son, do thou inform him with thy\nlearning and thy good breeding and thy sagesse, and demise to him\nthat he inherit of thee after thy decease.\" Hereupon the Sage\nadopted his nephew Nadan, who was then young in years and a\nsuckling, that he might teach him and train him; so he entrusted\nhim to eight wet-nurses and dry-nurses for feeding and rearing,\nand they brought him up on diet the choicest with delicatest\nnurture and clothed him with sendal and escarlate[FN#12] and\ndresses dyed with Alkermes,[FN#13] and his sitting was upon\nshag-piled rugs of silk. But when Nadan grew great and walked and\nshot up even as the lofty Cedar[FN#14] of Lebanon, his uncle\ntaught him deportment and writing and reading[FN#15] and\nphilosophy and the omne scibile. Now after a few days Sankharib\nthe King looked upon Haykar and saw how that he had waxed an old\nold man, so quoth he to him, \"Ho thou excellent companion,[FN#16]\nthe generous, the ingenious, the judicious, the sagacious, the\nSage, my Secretary and my Minister and the Concealer of my\nsecrets and the Councillor of my kingdom, seeing how so it be\nthat thou art aged and well shotten in years and nigh unto thy\ndeath and decease, so tell me[FN#17] who shall stand in my\nservice after thy demise?\" Made answer Haykar, \"O my lord the\nKing, may thy head live for ever and aye! that same shall be this\nNadan, son to my sister, whom I have taken to myself as mine own\nchild and have reared him and have taught him my learning and my\nexperience, all thereof.\" \"Bring him to the presence,\" quoth the\nKing, \"and set him between my hands, that I look upon him; and,\nif I find him fitting, I will stablish him in thy stead. Then do\nthou wend thy ways and off-go from office that thou take thy rest\nand tend thine old age, living the lave of thy life in the\nfairest of honour.\" Hereupon Haykar hied him home and carried his\nnephew Nadan before the King, who considered him and was pleased\nwith the highmost of pleasure and, rejoicing in him, presently\nasked the uncle, \"Be this thine adopted son, O Haykar? I pray\nAllah preserve him; and, even as thou servedst my sire\nSarh\u00e1d\u00fan[FN#18] before me, even so shall this thy son do me suite\nand service and fulfil my affairs and my needs and my works, to\nthe end that I may honour him and advance him for the sake of\nthee.\" Thereat Haykar prostrated himself before the presence and\nsaid, \"May thy head live, O my lord, for evermore! I desire of\nthee to extend the wings of thy spirit over him for that he is my\nson, and do thou be clement to his errings, so that he may serve\nthee as besitteth.\" The King forthwith made oath that he would\nstablish the youth amongst the highmost of his friends and the\nmost worshipful of his familiars and that he should abide with\nhim in all respect and reverence. So Haykar kissed the royal\nhands and blessed his lord; then, taking with him Nadan his\nnephew, he seated him in privacy and fell to teaching him by\nnight as well as by day, that he might fill him with wisdom and\nlearning rather than with meat and drink; and he would address\nhim in these terms.[FN#19]  \"O dear my son,[FN#20] if a word come\nto thine ears, suffer it to die within thy heart nor ever\ndisclose it unto other, lest haply it become a live coal[FN#21]\nto burn up thy tongue and breed pain in thy body and clothe thee\nin shame and gar thee despised of God and man. O dear my son, an\nthou hear a report reveal it not, and if thou behold a thing\nrelate it not. O dear my son, make easy thine address unto thine\nhearers, and be not hasty in return of reply. O dear my son,\ndesire not formal beauty which fadeth and vadeth while fair\nreport endureth unto infinity. O dear my son, be not deceived by\na woman immodest of speech lest her snares waylay thee[FN#22] and\nin her springes thou become a prey and thou die by ignominious\ndeath. O dear my son, hanker not after a woman adulterated by\nart, such as clothes and cosmetics, who is of nature bold and\nimmodest, and beware lest thou obey her and give her aught that\nis not thine and entrust to her even that which is in thy hand,\nfor she will robe thee in sin and Allah shall become wroth with\nthee. O dear my son, be not like unto the almond-tree[FN#23]\nwhich leafeth earlier than every growth and withal is ever of the\nlatest to fruit; but strive to resemble the mulberry-tree which\nbeareth food the first of all growths and is the last of any to\nput forth her foliage.[FN#24] O dear my son, bow thy head before\nthine inferior and soften thine utterance and be courteous and\ntread in the paths of piety, and shun impudence and louden not\nthy voice whenas thou speakest or laughest; for, were a house to\nbe builded by volume of sound, the ass would edify many a mansion\nevery day.[FN#25] O dear my son, the transport of stones with a\nman of wisdom is better than the drinking of wine with one blamed\nfor folly. O dear my son, rather pour out thy wine upon the tombs\nof the pious than drain it with those who give offence by their\ninsolence. O dear my son, cleave to the sage that is Allah-\nfearing and strive to resemble him, and approach not the fool\nlest thou become like unto him and learn his foolish ways. O dear\nmy son, whenas thou affectest a friend or a familiar, make trial\nof him and then company with him, and without such test nor\npraise him nor divulge thy thoughts unto one who is other than\nwise. O dear my son, as long as thy boot is upon thy leg and\nfoot, walk therewith over the thorns and tread a way for thy sons\nand thy sons' sons; and build thee a boat ere the sea break into\nbillows and breakers and drown thee before thou find an ark of\nsafety. O dear my son, when the richard eateth a snake, folks\nshall say that 'tis of his subtilty; but when a pauper feedeth\nupon it, the world shall declare 'tis of his poverty. O dear my\nson, be content with thy grade and thy good, nor covet aught of\nthy fellow. O dear my son, be not neighbourly with the ignorant\nnor do thou break with him bread, and joy not in the annoy of\nthose about thee and when thy foe shall maltreat thee meet him\nwith beneficence. O dear my son, fear the man who feareth not\nAllah and hold him in hate. O dear my son, the fool shall fall\nwhen he trippeth; but the wise man when he stumbleth shall not\ntumble and if he come to the ground he shall rise up quickly, and\nwhen he sickeneth he shall readily heal himself, whereas to the\nmalady of the ignorant and the stupid there is no remedy. O dear\nmy son, when a man lesser than thyself shall accost thee, prevent\nhim in standing respectfully before him, and if he suffice thee\nnot the Lord shall suffice thee in his stead. O dear my son,\nspare not blows to thy child,[FN#26] for the beating of the boy\nis like manuring to the garden and binding to the purse-mouth and\ntethering to the cattle and locking to the door. O dear my son,\nwithhold thy child from wickedness, and discipline him ere he wax\ngreat and become contumacious to thee, thus belittling thee\namongst thine equals and lowering thy head upon the highways and\nin the assemblies, and thou be described as an aider in his\nwrongous works. O dear my son, let no word escape thy lips\nwithout consulting thy heart; nor stand up between two\nadversaries, for out of converse with the wicked cometh enmity,\nand from enmity is bred battle, and from battle ariseth\nslaughter, when thy testimony shall be required; nay, do thou fly\ntherefrom and be at rest. O dear my son, stand not up against one\nstronger than thyself; but possess thy soul in patience and and\nlong-suffering and forbearance and pacing the paths of piety, for\nthan this naught is more excellent. O dear my son, exult not over\nthe death of thy enemy by cause that after a little while thou\nshalt become his neighbour. O dear my son, turn thou a deaf ear\nto whoso jeereth thee, and honour him and forego him with the\nsalam-salutation. O dear my son, whenas the water shall stand\nstill in stream and the bird shall fly sky-high and the black\nraven shall whiten and myrrh shall wax honey-sweet, then will the\nignorant and the fool comprehend and converse. O dear my son, an\nthou would be wise restrain thy tongue from leasing and thy hand\nfrom thieving and thine eyes from evil glancing; and then, and\nthen only, shalt thou be called a sage. O dear my son, suffer the\nwise man strike thee with his staff rather than the fool anoint\nthee with his sweetest unguent.[FN#27] O dear my son, be thou\nhumble in thy years of youth, that thou may be honoured in thine\nold age. O dear my son, stand not up against a man in office and\npuissance nor against a river in its violence, and haste not in\nmatters of marriage; for, an this bring weal, folk will not\nappraise thee and if ill they will abuse thee and curse thee. O\ndear my son, company with one who hath his hand fulfilled and\nwell-furnisht and associate not with any whose hand is fist-like\nand famisht. O dear my son, there be four things without\nstability: a king and no army,[FN#28] a Wazir in difficulty for\nlack of rede; amongst the folks villainy and over the lieges\ntyranny. Four things also may not be hidden; to wit, the sage and\nthe fool, the richard and the pauper.\"[FN#29] Now when Haykar had\nmade an end of these injunctions and instances addrest to Nadan\nhis nephew, he fondly deemed in mind that the youth would bear in\nmemory all his charges, and he wist not that the clean contrary\nthereof to him would become manifest. After this the older\nMinister sat in peace at home and committed to the younger all\nhis moneys and his negro slaves and his concubines; his horses\nand camels, his flocks and herds, and all other such whereof he\nwas seized. Also bidding and forbiddal were left in the youth's\nhand and he was promoted and preferred by the monarch like his\nmaternal uncle and even more, whilst the ex-Wazir took his rest\nin retirement, nor was it his habit to visit the King save once\nafter a while, when he would fare forth to salute him with the\nsalam and forthwith return home. But when Nadan made sure of all\ncommandment being in his own hand, he jeered in public at his\nuncle and raised his nose at him and fell to blaming him whenever\nhe made act of presence and would say, \"Verily Haykar is in age\nand dotage and no more he wotteth one thing from other thing.\"\nFurthermore he fell to beating the negro slaves and the\nhandmaidens, and to vending the steeds and dromedaries and\napplied him wilfully to waste all that appertained to his uncle\nwho, when he saw this lack of ruth for the chattels and the\nhousehold, incontinently drove him ignominiously from his place.\nMoreover he sent to apprize the King thereof; to wit, that he\nwould assuredly[FN#30] resume all his belongings and provision;\nand his liege, summoning Nadan, said to him, \"So long as Haykar,\nshall be in life, let none lord it over his household or meddle\nwith his fortune.\" On this wise the youth's hand was stayed from\nhis uncle and from all his good and he ceased to go in to him and\ncome out from him, and even to accost him with the salam.\nPresently Haykar repented of the pains and the trouble he had\ntaken with Nadan and he became perplext exceedingly. Now the\nyouth had a younger brother, Naudan[FN#31] hight, so Haykar\nadopted him in lieu of the other and tendered him and honoured\nhim with highmost honour and committed to him all his possessions\nand created him comptroller of his household and of his affairs.\nBut when the elder brother beheld what had betided him, he was\nseized with envy and jealousy and he fell to complaining before\nall who questioned him, deriding his benefactor; and he would\nsay, \"Verily my maternal uncle hath driven me from his doors and\nhath preferred my brother before me; but, an Almighty Allah\nempower me, I will indeed cast him into doom of death.\" Hereat he\nfell to brooding over the ruin of his relative, and after a long\nwhile he went, one day of the days, and wrote a letter to Akhyash\nAbn\u00e1 Sh\u00e1h,[FN#32] physician to the King of Persia and \u0091Ajam or\nBarbaria-land, and the following were its contents. \"All salams\nthat befit and greetings that are meet from part of Sankharib,\nKing of Assyria and Niniveh, and from his Wazir and Secretary\nHaykar unto thee, O glorious monarch, and salutations be betwixt\nme and thee. And forthright, when this missive shall have reached\nthee, do thou arise in haste and come to meet me and let our\ntrysting-place be the Buk'at Nisr\u00edn, the Lowland of the\nEglantine[FN#33] of Assyria and Niniveh, that I may commit to\nthee the kingdom sans fight or fray.\" Furthermore he wrote a\nsecond letter in Haykar's name to Pharaoh,[FN#34] lord of\nMisraim,[FN#35] with this purport:[FN#36]--\"Greetings between me\nand thee, O mighty potentate; and do thou straightway, on receipt\nof this epistle, arise and march upon the Buk'at Nisrin to the\nend that I make over to thee the kingdom without battle or\nslaughter.\" Now Nadan's handwriting was the likest to that of his\nmother's brother. Then he folded the two missives and sealed them\nwith Haykar's signet and cast them into the royal palace, after\nwhich he went and indited a letter in the King's name to his\nuncle, saying.--\"All salutations to my Wazir and Secretary and\nConcealer of my secret, Haykar; and do thou forthright on receipt\nof this present levy thy host and all that be under thee with\narms and armour complete, and march them to meet me on\nfifth-day[FN#37] at the Buk'at Nisrin. Moreover, when thou see me\napproach thee make thy many prepare for mimic onset as they were\nmy adversaries and offer me sham fight; for that messengers from\nPharaoh, King of Egypt, have been sent to espy the strength of\nour armies. Accordingly, let them stand in fear of us, for that\nthey be our foes and our haters.\" Presently, sealing this\nepistle, he sent it to Haykar by one of the royal pages and\nhimself carrying the other letters he had addressed to the\nPersian and the Egyptian, he laid them before the King and read\nthem aloud and showed their seals. But when Sankharib heard their\ncontents he marvelled with mighty great marvel and raged with\nexceeding rage and cried out, saying, \"What is it I have done\nunto Haykar that he should write such a writ to mine adversaries?\nIs this my reward for all the benefits I have lavished upon\nHaykar?\" The other replied, \"Be not grieved, O King, and sorrow\nnot, nor be thou an-angered: rather let us fare on the morrow to\nthe Buk'at Nisrin and look into the matter, whether it be fact or\nfalsehood.\" So when Thursday came, Nadan arose, and taking the\nKing and his Wazirs and army-officers marched them over the\nwastes to the Lowland of the Eglantine, and arrived there\nSankharib, the Sovran, looked upon Haykar and saw his host\naligned in battle against himself. And when the ex-Minister\nbeheld his King approaching, he bade his host stir for battle and\nprepare to smite the opposing ranks; to wit, those of his liege\nlord, even as he had been commanded by royal rescript, nor did he\nken what manner of pit had been digged for him by Nadan. But\nseeing this sight the monarch was agitated and consterned and\nraged with mighty great wrath.  Then quoth Nadan, \"Seest thou, O\nKing, what this sorry fellow hath done? But chafe not, neither be\nthou sorrowful, but rather do thou retire to thy palace, whither\nI will presently bring to thee Haykar pinioned and bearing\nchains; and I will readily and without trouble fend off from thee\nthy foe.\" So when Sankharib hied him home in sore anger with that\nwhich his ancient Minister had done, Nadan went to his uncle and\nsaid, \"Indeed the King hath rejoiced with exceeding joy, and\nthanketh thee for acting as he bade thee, and now he hath\ndespatched me to order that thy men be bidden to wend their ways,\nand that thou present thyself before him pinioned and fettered to\nthe end that thou be seen in such plight of the envoys sent by\nPharaoh concerning whom and whose master our Monarch standeth in\nfear.\" \"To hear is to obey!\" replied Haykar, and forthwith let\npinion his arms and fetter his legs; then, taking with him Nadan,\nhis nephew, he repaired to the presence, where he found the King\nperusing the other forged letter also sealed with the ministerial\nsignet. When he entered the throne-room he prostrated himself,\nfalling to the ground upon his face, and the Sovran said to him,\n\"O Haykar, my Viceregent and Secretary and Concealer of my secret\nand Councillor of my kingdom, say me, what have I wrought thee of\nwrong that thou shouldst requite me with such hideous deed?\" So\nsaying he showed him the two papers written in the handwriting\nand sealed with the seal of the accused who, when he looked upon\nthem, trembled in every limb, and his tongue was knotted for a\nwhile, nor could he find power to speak a word, and he was reft\nof all his reason and of his knowledge. Wherefor he bowed his\nbrow groundwards and held his peace. But when the King beheld\nthis his condition, he bade them slay him by smiting his neck\nwithout the city, and Nadan cried aloud, \"O Haykar, O blackavice,\nwhat could have profited thee such trick and treason that thou do\na deed like this by thy King?\"[FN#38] Now the name of the Sworder\nwas Ab\u00fa Sumayk the Pauper,[FN#39] and the monarch bade him strike\nthe neck of Haykar in front of the Minister's house-door and\nplace his head at a distance of an hundred ells from his\nbody.[FN#40] Hearing this Haykar fell prone before the King and\ncried, \"Live thou, O my lord the King, for ever and aye! An thou\ndesire my death be it as thou wilt and well I wot that I am not\nin default and that the evil-doer exacteth according to his ill-\nnature.[FN#41] Yet I hope from my lord the King and from his\nbenevolence that he suffer the Sworder make over my corpse to my\nmenials for burial, and so shall thy slave be thy sacrifice.\"\nHereat the Monarch commanded the Headsman do as he was desired,\nand the man, accompanied by the royal pages, took Haykar, whom\nthey had stripped of his outer raiment, and led him away to\nexecution. But when he was certified of coming death, he sent\ntidings thereof to his wife, Shaghaft\u00edn\u00ed[FN#42] hight, adding,\n\"Do thou forthright come forth to meet me escorted by a thousand\nmaiden girls, whom thou shalt habit in escarlate and sendal, that\nthey may keen over me ere I perish; moreover dispread for the\nHeadsman and his varlets a table of food and bring an abundance\nof good wine that they may drink and make merry.\"[FN#43] Haykar's\nwife presently obeyed his orders for she also was ware and wise,\nsharp-witted, experienced and a compendium of accomplishments and\nknowledge. Now when the guards[FN#44] and the Sworder and his\nvarlets came to Haykar's door, they found the tables laid out\nwith wine and sumptuous viands; so they fell to eating and\ndrinking till they had their sufficiency and returned thanks to\nthe housemaster.[FN#45] Thereupon Haykar led the Headsman aside\ninto privacy and said to him, \"O Abu Sumayk,[FN#46] what while\nSarhadun the King, sire of Sankharib the King, determined to slay\nthee, I took thee and hid thee in a place unknown to any until\nthe Sovran sent for thee. Moreover I cooled his temper every day\ntill he was pleased to summon thee, and when at last I set thee\nin his presence he rejoiced in thee. Therefore do thou likewise\nat this moment bear in mind the benefits I wrought thee, and well\nI wot that the King will repent him for my sake and will be wroth\nwith exceeding wrath for my slaughter, seeing that I be\nguiltless; so when thou shalt bring me alive before him thy\ndegree shall become of the highest. For know thou that Nadan my\nnephew hath betrayed me and devised for me this ill device; and I\nrepeat that doubtless my lord will presently rue my ruin. Learn,\ntoo, that beneath the threshold of my mansion lieth a souterrain\nwhereof no man is ware: so do thou conceal me therein with the\nconnivance of my spouse Shaghaftini. Also I have in my prison a\nslave which meriteth doom of death:[FN#47] so bring him forth and\nrobe him in my robes; then bid the varlets (they being drunken\nwith wine) do him die, nor shall they know whom they have slain.\nAnd lastly command them to remove his head an hundred cubits from\nhis body and commit the corpse unto my chattels that they inter\nit. So shalt thou store up with me this rich treasure of goodly\ndeeds.\" Hereupon the Sworder did as he was bidden by his ancient\nbenefactor, and he and his men repairing to the presence said,\n\"Live thy head, O King, for ever and aye!\"[FN#48] And after this\nShaghaftini, the wife of Haykar, brought meat and drink to her\nhusband down in the Matamor,[FN#49] and every Friday she would\nprovide him with a sufficiency for the following week without the\nweeting of anyone. Presently the report was spread and published\nand bruited abroad throughout Assyria and Niniveh how Haykar the\nSage had been done to die and slain by his Sovran; and the lieges\nof all those regions, one and all, keened[FN#50] for him aloud\nand shed tears and said, \"Alas for thee, O Haykar, and alack for\nthe loss of thy lore and thy knowledge! Woe be to us for thee and\nfor thy experience! Where now remaineth to find thy like? where\nnow shall one intelligent, understanding and righteous of rede\nresemble thee and stand in thy stead?\" Presently the King fell to\nregretting the fate of Haykar whereof repentance availed him\nnaught: so he summoned Nadan and said to him, \"Fare forth and\ntake with thee all thy friends to keen and make ceremonious\nwailings for thy maternal uncle Haykar and mourn, according to\ncustom, in honour of him and his memory.\" But Nadan, the fool,\nthe ignorant, the hard of heart, going forth the presence to show\nsorrow at his uncle's house, would neither mourn nor weep nor\nkeen; nay, in lieu thereof he gathered together lewd fellows and\nfornicators who fell to feasting and carousing. After this he\ntook to himself the concubines and slaves belonging to his uncle,\nwhom he would scourge and bastinado with painful beating; nor had\nhe any shame before the wife of his adopted father who had\nentreated him as her son; but solicited her sinfully to lie with\nhim. On the other hand Haykar, who lay perdu in his Silo, ever\npraised Allah the Compassionate,[FN#51] and returned thanks unto\nHim for saving his life and was constant in gratitude and instant\nin prayer and in humbling himself before God. At times after due\nintervals the Sworder would call upon him to do him honour due\nand procure him pleasure, after which he would pray for his\nrelease and forthright gang his gait. Now when the bruit spread\nabroad over all the lands how that Haykar the Wise had been done\nto die, the rulers everywhere rejoiced, exulting in the distress\nof King Sankharib who sorely regretted the loss of his Sage.\nPresently, awaiting the fittest season, the Monarch of Misraim\narose and wrote a writ to the Sovran of Assyria and Niniveh of\nthe following tenor:--\"After salams that befit and salutations\nthat be meet and congratulations and veneration complete\nwherewith I fain distinguish my beloved brother Sankharib the\nKing, I would have thee know that I am about to build a bower in\nthe air between firmament and terra firma; and I desire thee on\nthy part to send me a man which is wise, a tried and an\nexperienced, that he may help me to edify the same: also that he\nmake answer to all the problems and profound questions I shall\npropose, otherwise thou shalt deposit with me the taxes in\nkind[FN#52] of Assyria and Niniveh and their money-tributes for\nthree years.\" Then he made an end of his writ and, sealing it\nwith his signet-ring, sent it to its destination. But when the\nmissive reached Sankharib, he took it and read it, he and his\nWazirs and the Lords of his land; and all stood perplext thereat\nand sore confounded; whilst the King waxed furious with excessive\nfury, and he was distraught as to what he should do and how he\nshould act. Anon, however, he gathered together all the Shaykhs\nand Elders and the Olema and doctors of law and the physicists\nand philosophers and the charmers[FN#53] and the astrologers and\nall such persons which were in his realm, and he let read the\nepistle of Pharaoh in their presence. Then he asked them, saying,\n\"Who amongst you shall repair to the court of Pharaoh, lord of\nMisraim, and reply to his interrogations?\" But they cried, \"O our\nlord the King, do thou know there be no one who can loose the\nknot of these difficulties save only thy Wazir Haykar; and now\nthat none shall offer an answer save Nadan, the son of his\nsister, whom he hath informed with all his subtilty and his\nscience. Therefore, do thou summon him and haply he shall unravel\nfor thee a tangled skein so hard to untwist.\" Sankharib did as\nthey advised, and when Nadan appeared in the presence said to\nhim, \"Look thou upon this writ and comprehend its contents.\" But\nwhen the youth read it he said to the Sovran, \"O my lord the\nKing, leave alone this folk for they point to impossibilities:\nwhat man can base a bower upon air between heaven and earth?\" As\nsoon as King Sankharib heard these words of Nadan, he cried out\nwith a mighty outcry and a violent; then, stepping down from his\nthrone, he sat upon ashes[FN#54] and fell to beweeping and\nbewailing the loss of Haykar and crying, \"Alas, for me and woe\nworth the day for thee, O Caretaker of my capital and Councillor\nof my kingdom! Where shall I find one like unto thee, O Haykar?\nHarrow now for me, O Haykar, Oh Saviour of my secret and\nManifester of my moot-points, where now shall I fare to find\nthee? Woe is me for sake of thee whom I slew and destroyed at the\nword of a silly boy! To him indeed who could bring Haykar before\nme or who could give me the glad tidings of Haykar being on life,\nI would give the half of my good; nay, the moiety of my realm.\nBut whence can this come? Ah me, O Haykar; happy was he who\nlooked upon thee in life that he might take his sufficiency of\nthy semblance and fortify himself[FN#55] therefrom. Oh my sorrow\nfor thee to all time! Oh my regret and remorse for thee and for\nslaying thee in haste and for not delaying thy death till I had\nconsidered the consequence of such misdeed.\" And the King\npersisted in weeping and wailing night and day on such wise. But\nwhen the Sworder[FN#56] beheld the passion of his lord and his\nyearning and his calling upon Haykar, he came to the presence and\nprostrated himself and said, \"O my lord, bid thy varlets strike\noff my head!\" Quoth the Monarch, \"Woe to thee, what be thy sin?\"\nand quoth the Headsman, \"O my lord, what slave ever contrarieth\nthe command of his master let the same be slain, and I verily\nhave broken thy behest.\" The King continued, \"Fie upon\nthee,[FN#57] O Abu Sumayk, wherein hast thou gainsaid me?\" and\nthe other rejoined, \"O my lord, thou badest me slay the Sage\nHaykar; but well I wotted that right soon indeed thou wouldst\nregret the death of him, and the more so for that he was a\nwronged man; accordingly I fared forth from thee and hid him in a\nplace unbekncwn to any and I slew one of his slaves in his stead.\nAnd at this moment Haykar is alive and well; and if thou bid me,\nI will bring him before thee when, if thou be so minded, do thou\nput me to death, otherwise grant me immunity.\" Cried the King,\n\"Fie upon thee, O Abu Sumayk, how durst thou at such time make\nmock of me, I being thy lord?\" but the Sworder replied, \"By thy\nlife and the life of thy head, O my lord, I swear that Haykar is\nalive and in good case!\" Now when the Monarch heard these words\nfrom the Sworder and was certified by him of the matter, he flew\nfor very gladness and he was like to fall a-swoon for the\nviolence of his joy. So he bade forthright Haykar be brought to\nhim and exclaimed to the Sworder, \"O thou righteous slave an this\nthy say be soothfast, I am resolved to enrich thee and raise thy\ndegree amongst all my companions;\" and so saying and rejoicing\nmightily he commanded the Sworder set Haykar in the presence. The\nman fared to the Minister's house forthright, and opening the\nsouterrain went downstairs to the tenant whom he found sitting\nand praising Allah and rendering to Him thanksgivings; so he\ncried out and said, \"O Haykar, the blessedest of bliss hath come\nto thee, and do thou go forth and gladden thy heart!\" Haykar\nreplied, \"And what is to do?\" whereat the man told him the whole\ntale, first and last, of what had befallen his lord at the hands\nof Pharaoh; then, taking him, led him to the presence. But when\nSankharib considered him, he found him as one clean wasted by\nwant; his hair had grown long like the pelts of wild beasts and\nhis nails were as  vulture's claws and his members were meagre\nfor the length of time spent by him in duresse and darkness, and\nthe dust had settled upon him and changed his colour which had\nfaded and waxed of ashen hue. So his lord mourned for his plight\nand, rising up in honour, kissed him and embraced him and wept\nover him saying, \"Alhamdolillah--laud to the Lord--who hath\nrestored thee to me on life after death!\" Then he fell to\nsoothing his sorrows and consoled him, praying pardon of him the\nwhile; and after bestowing robes of honour upon the Sworder and\ngiving him due guerdon and lavishing upon him abundant good, he\nbusied himself about the recovery of Haykar, who said, \"O my lord\nthe King, may thy head live for ever and aye! All this wrong\nwhich befel me is the work of the adulterines, and I reared me a\npalm-tree against which I might prop me, but it bent and brought\nme to the ground: now, however, O my lord and master, that thou\nhast deigned summon me before thee, may all passion pass away and\ndolour depart from thee!\" \"Blessed and exalted be Allah,\"\nrejoined Sankharib, \"who hath had ruth upon thee, and who, seeing\nand knowing thee to be a wronged man, hath saved thee and\npreserved thee from slaughter.[FN#58] Now, however, do thou\nrepair to the Hammam and let shave thy head and pare thy nails\nand change thy clothes; after which sit at home in ease for forty\ndays' space that thy health be restored and thy condition be\nrighted and the hue of health return to thy face; and then (but\nnot till then) do thou appear before me.\" Hereupon the King\ninvested him with sumptuous robes, and Haykar, having offered\nthanks to his liege lord, fared homewards in joyaunce and\ngladness frequently ejaculating, \"Subh\u00e1na 'llahu ta'\u00e1l\u00e1\u0096God\nAlmighty be glorified!\" and right happy were his household and\nhis friends and all who had learned that he was still on life.\nThen did he as the King had bidden him and enoyed his rest for\ntwo-score days, after which he donned his finest dress and took\nhorse, followed and preceded by his slaves, all happy and\nexulting, and rode to Court, while Nadan the nephew, seeing what\nhad befallen, was seized with sore fear and affright and became\nperplexed and unknowing what to do. Now, when Haykar went in and\nsalamed to the King, his lord seated him by his side and said, \"O\nmy beloved Haykar, look upon this writ which was sent to me by\nthe King of Misraim after hearing of thy execution; and in very\ndeed they, to wit he and his, have conquered and chastised and\nrouted most of the folk of our realm, compelling them to fly for\nrefuge Egyptwards in fear of the tax-tribute which they have\ndemanded of us.\" So the Minister took the missive and, after\nreading and comprehending the sum of its contents, quoth he to\nthe King, \"Be not wroth, O my lord: I will repair in person to\nEgypt and will return a full and sufficient reply to Pharaoh, and\nI will explain to him his propositions and will bring thee from\nhim all the tax-tribute he demandeth of thee: moreover, I will\nrestore all the lieges he hath caused fly this country and I will\nhumiliate every foe of thee by aidance of Almighty Allah and by\nthe blessings of thy Majesty.\" Now when the Sovran heard this\nanswer, he rejoiced and his heart was gladdened; whereupon he\ngifted Haykar with a generous hand and once more gave immense\nwealth to the Sworder. Presently the Minister said, \"Grant me a\ndelay of forty days that I ponder this matter and devise a\nsufficient device.\" As soon as Sankharib granted him the required\npermission he returned homewards and, summoning his huntsmen,\nbade them catch for him two vigorous young vultures;[FN#59] and,\nwhen these were brought, he sent for those who twist ropes and\ncommanded them make two cords of cotton each measuring two\nthousand ells. He also bade bring him carpenters and ordered them\nto build for him two coffers of large size, and as soon as his\nbidding was done he chose out two little lads, one hight Bin\u00fah\u00e1l\nand the other Tabsh\u00e1l\u00edm.[FN#60] Then every day he would let\nslaughter a pair of lambs and therewith feed the children and the\nvultures, and he mounted those upon the back of these, binding\nthem tight, and also making fast the cords to the legs of the\nfowls. He would then allow the birds to rise little by little,\nprolonging the flight every day to the extent of ten cubits, the\nbetter to teach and to train them; and they learnt their task so\nwell that in a short time they would rise to the full length of\nthe tethers till they soared in the fields of air with the boys\non their backs, after which he would let hale them down. And when\nhe saw them perfect in this process, he taught the lads to utter\nloud shouts what while they reached the full length of the cords\nand to cry out, \"Send us stones and mud[FN#61] and slaked lime\nthat we may build a bower for King Pharaoh, inasmuch as we now\nstand here all the day idle!\" And Haykar ceased not to accustom\nthem and to instruct them until they became dexterous in such\ndoings as they could be. Then he quitted them and presenting\nhimself before King Sankharib said, \"O my lord, the work is\ncompleted even as thou couldst desire; but do thou arise and come\nwith me that I may show thee the marvel.\" Thereupon the King and\nhis courtiers accompanied Haykar to a wide open space outside the\ncity whither he sent for the vultures and the lads; and after\nbinding the cords he loosed them to soar as high as the lanyards\nallowed in the firmament-plain, when they fell to outcrying as he\nhad taught them. And lastly he haled them in and restored them to\ntheir steads. Hereat the King wondered, as did all his suite,\nwith extreme wonderment, and kissing his Minister between his\neyes, robed him in an honourable robe and said to him, \"Go forth\nin safety, O my beloved, and boast of my realm, to the land of\nEgypt[FN#62] and answer the propositions of Pharaoh and master\nhim by the power of Almighty Allah;\" and with these words\nfarewelled him. Accordingly Haykar took his troops and guards,\ntogether with the lads and the vultures, and he fared forth\nintending for Egypt where on arrival he at once made for the\nroyal Palace. And when the folk of the capital understood that\nSankharib the King had commissioned a man of his notables to\nbespeak their Sovran the Pharaoh, they entered and apprized their\nliege lord who sent a party of his familiars summoning him to the\npresence. Presently Haykar the Sage entered unto Pharaoh; and\nafter prostration as befitteth before royalty said, \"O my lord,\nSankharib the King greeteth thee with many salutations and\nsalams; and hath sent me singlehanded sans other of his slaves,\nto the end that I answer thy question and fulfil whatso thou\nrequirest and I am commanded to supply everything thou needest;\nespecially inasmuch as thou hast sent to the Monarch my master\nfor the loan of a man who can build thee a bower between\nfirmament and terra firma; and I, by the good aidance of Allah\nAlmighty and of thine august magnanimity, will edify that same\nfor thee even as thou desirest and requirest. But this shall be\nupon the condition stablished concerning the tax-tribute of\nMisraim for three years, seeing that the consent of the Kings be\ntheir fullest securities. An thou vanquish me and my hand fall\nshort and I fail to answer thee, then shall my liege lord send\nthee the tax-tribute whereof thou speakest; but if I bring thee\nall thou needest, then shalt thou forward to my lord the\ntax-tribute thou hast mentioned and of him demanded.\" Pharaoh,\nhearing these words, marvelled and was perplexed at the eloquence\nof his tongue and the sweetness of his speech and presently\nexclaimed, \"O man, what may be thy name?\" The other replied, \"Thy\nslave is hight Ab\u00edk\u00e1m;[FN#63] and I am an emmet of the emmets\nunder Sankharib the King.\" Asked Pharaoh, \"Had not thy lord one\nmore dignified of degree than thou, that he sent unto me an ant\nto answer me and converse with me?\" and Haykar answered, \"I\nhumbly hope of the Almighty that I may satisfy all which is in\nthy heart, O my lord; for that Allah is with the weakling the\nmore to astounding the strangling.\" Hereat Pharaoh gave orders to\nset apart for Abikam his guest an apartment, also for the guards\nand all that were with him and provide them with rations and\nfodder of meat and drink, and whatso was appropriate to their\nreception as properest might be. And after the usual three days\nof guest-rite[FN#64] the King of Egypt donned his robes of\nbrightest escarlate; and, having taken seat upon his throne, each\nand every Grandee and Wazir (who were habited in the same hue)\nstanding with crossed arms and feet joined,[FN#65] he sent a\nsummons to produce before him Haykar, now Abikam hight.\nAccordingly he entered and prostrated in the King's presence and\nstood up to receive the royal behest, when Pharaoh after a long\ndelay asked him, \"O Abikam, whom do I resemble and what may these\nmy Lords and Ministers represent?\" Hereto the envoy answered\nsaying, \"O my lord, thou favourest Bel the idol[FN#66] and thy\nchief-cains favour the servitors thereof!\" Then quoth the King,\n\"Now do thou depart and I desire thee on the morrow come again.\"\nAccordingly Abikam, which was Haykar, retired as he was ordered,\nand on the next day he presented himself before Pharaoh and after\nprostrating stood between his hands. The King was habited in a\nred coat of various tincts and his mighty men were garbed in\nwhite, and presently he enquired saying, \"O Abikam, whom do I\nresemble and what may these my Lords and Ministers represent?\" He\nreplied, \"O my lord, thou art like unto the sun and thy nobles\nare like the rays thereof!\" Then quoth the King, \"Do thou retire\nto thy quarters and tomorrow come hither again.\" So the other\nfared forth and Pharaoh commanded and charged his head men to don\npure white, himself doing the same; and, having taken seat upon\nhis throne, he bade Abikam be brought into the presence and when\nhe appeared asked him, \"Whom do I resemble, and what may these my\nGrandees represent?\" He replied, \"O my lord, thou favourest the\nmoon and thy servitors and guards favour the stars and planets\nand constellations.\" Then quoth the King, \"Go thou until the\nmorrow when do thou come hither again;\" after which he commanded\nhis Magnates to don dresses of divers colours and different\ntincts whilst he wore a robe of ruddy velvet. Anon he seated him\nupon his throne and summoned Abikam, who entered the presence and\nprostrated and stood up before him. The King for a fourth time\nasked him, \"O Abikam, whom do I resemble and what may these my\nguards represent?\" and he answered, \"O my lord, thou art like the\nauspicious month Nays\u00e1n,[FN#67] and thy guards and grandees are\nlike the white chamomile[FN#68] and his bloom.\" Hearing these\nwords Pharaoh rejoiced with extreme joy and said, \"O Abikam, thou\nhast compared me first with Bel the idol, secondly with the sun\nand thirdly with the moon and lastly with the auspicious month\nNaysan, and my lords with the chamomile and his flower. But say\nme now unto what likenest thou Sankharib thy lord, and what\nfavour his Grandees?\" Haykar made answer, \"Heaven forfend I\nmention my liege lord the while thou sittest on thy throne; but\nrise to thy feet, and I will inform thee what my Master\nrepresenteth and what his court most resembleth.\" Pharaoh, struck\nwith astonishment at such heat of tongue and valiancy of speech,\narose from his seat and stood facing Haykar and presently said,\n\"Now tell me that I may learn what thy lord resembleth and what\nhis Grandees represent.\" The other made reply, \"My lord\nresembleth the God of Heaven, and his lords represent the\nLightning and Thunder. An it be his will the winds do blow and\nthe rains do fall; and, when he deign order, the leven playeth\nand the thunder roareth and at his behest the sun would refuse\nlight and the moon and stars stand still in their several\ncourses. But he may also command the storm-wind to arise and\ndownpours to deluge when Naysan would be as one who beateth the\nbough[FN#69] and who scattereth abroad the blooms of the\nchamomile.\" Pharaoh hearing these words wondered with extreme\nwonderment, then raging with excessive rage he cried, \"O man,\ntell me the real truth and let me know who thou art in very\nsooth.\" \"I am Haykar,\" quoth the other, \"Chief Secretary and\nespecial to Sankharib the King; also his Wazir and Councillor of\nhis kingdom and Keeper of his secret.\" \"Thou statest fact, O\nSage,\" quoth Pharaoh, \"and this thy say is veridical: yet have we\nheard that Haykar is dead indeed, withal here art thou alive and\nalert.\" The Minister replied, \"Yea, verily that was the case, but\nAlhamdolillah--Glory to God, who knoweth all hidden things, my\nmaster had in very deed doomed me die believing the reports of\ncertain traitors, but my Lord preserved me and well done to him\nwho relieth upon the Almighty!\" Then quoth Pharaoh, \"Go forth and\non the morrow do thou return hither and say me somewhat no man\nhath ever heard, nor I nor my Grandees nor any of the folk in my\nkingdom and my capital.\" Accordingly Haykar hied him home and\npenned a paper wherein he said as follows: \"From Sankharib, King\nof Assyria and Naynawah, to Pharaoh King of Misraim:--Peace be\nupon thee, O my brother! As well thou wottest, brother needeth\nbrother and the Kings require the aidance of other Kings and my\nhope from thee is that thou wilt lend[FN#70] me the loan of nine\nhundred-weight[FN#71] of gold which I require to expend on the\npay and allowances due to certain of my soldiery wherewith to\nprovide for them the necessaries of life.\" After this he folded\nthe writ and despatched it by a messenger on the next day to\nPharaoh, who perused it and was perplext and exclaimed, \"Verily\nand indeed never till now have I heard a saying like unto this at\nall, nor hath anyone ever spoken[FN#72] to me after such\nfashion!\" Haykar replied, \"'Tis fact, and 'tis well an thou own\nthee debtor of such sum to my lord the King.\" Pharaoh accepted\nthis resolving of his proposition and said, \"O Haykar, 'tis the\nlike of thee who suiteth the service of the Kings, and blessed be\nAllah who perfected thee in wisdom and adorned thee with\nphilosophy[FN#73] and knowledge. And now remaineth to us only one\nneed of thee; to wit, that thou build us a bower between\nfirmament and terra firma.\" Haykar replied, \"Hearkening and\nobeying! I will edify it for thee e'en as thou wishest and thou\nchoosest; but do thou get ready for me gypsum lime and ashlar-\nstone and brick-clay and handicraftsmen, while I also bring\narchitects and master masons and they shall erect for thee whatso\nthou requirest.\" So King Pharaoh gat ready all this and fared\nforth with his folk to a spacious plain without the city whither\nHaykar and his pages had carried the boys and the vultures; and\nwith the Sovran went all the great men of his kingdom and his\nhost in full tale that they might look upon the wonder which the\nEnvoy of Assyria was about to work. But when they reached the\nplace appointed, Haykar brought out of their boxes the vultures\nand making fast the lads to their backs bound the cords to the\nlegs of the birds and let them loose, when they soared firmament-\nwards till they were poised between heaven and earth. Hereat the\nlads fell to crying aloud, \"Send up to us the stones and the mud\nand the slaked lime that we may build a bower for King Pharaoh,\nforasmuch as here we stand the whole day idle.\" At this were\nagitated all present, and they marvelled and became perplext; and\nnot less wondered the King and the Grandees his lieges, while\nHaykar and his pages fell to buffeting the handicraftsmen and to\nshouting at the royal guards, saying, \"Provide the workmen with\nthat they want, nor hinder them from their work!\" Whereupon cried\nPharaoh, \"O Haykar, art thou Jinn-mad? Who is ever able to convey\naught of these matters to so far a height?\" But he replied to the\nKing, \"O my lord, how shall we build a bower in the lift on other\nwise? And were the King my master here he would have edified two\nsuch edifices in a single day.\" Hearing this quoth Pharaoh to\nhim, \"Hie thee, O Haykar, to thy quarters, and for the present\ntake thy rest, seeing that we have been admonished anent the\nbuilding of the bower; but come thou to me on the morrow.\"\nAccordingly, Haykar fared to his lodging, and betimes on the next\nday presented himself before Pharaoh, who said to him, \"O Haykar,\nwhat of the stallion of thy lord which, when he neigheth in\nAssyria and Nineveh, his voice is heard by our mares in this\nplace so that they miscarry?\"[FN#74] Hereat Haykar left the King\nand faring to his place took a tabby-cat and tying her up fell to\nflogging her with a sore flogging until all the Egyptians heard\nher outcries and reported the matter to the Sovran. So Pharaoh\nsent to fetch him and asked, \"O Haykar, for what cause didst thou\nscourge this cat and beat her with such beating, she being none\nother but a dumb beast?\"[FN#75] He replied, \"O my lord the King,\nshe hath done by me a wrongous deed and she hath amply merited\nthis whipping and these stripes.\" The King asked, \"And what may\nbe this deed she did?\" whereto Haykar made answer, \"Verily my\nmaster Sankharib the King had given me a beautiful cock who had a\nmighty fine voice and a strong, and he knew the hours of darkness\nand announced them. But as he was in my mansion this mischief-\nmaking tabby fared there and fell upon him last night and tare\noff his head; and for this cause when she returned to me I took\nto punishing her with such blows and stripes.\" Pharaoh rejoined,\n\"O Haykar, indeed I see thou art old and doting! Between Misraim\nand Nineveh lie eight hundred and sixty parasangs; so how could\nthis cat have covered them in one night and have torn off thy\nchanticleer's head and have returned by morning to Egypt?\" He\nreplied, \"O my lord, seeing that between Egypt and Assyria is\nsuch interval how then can the neighing of my lord the King's\nstallion reach unto Nile-land and be heard by your mares so that\nhere they miscarry?\" When Pharaoh had pondered these words, he\nknew that the envoy had returned him a full and sufficient reply,\nso quoth he, \"O Haykar, 'tis my desire that thou make for me two\nropes of sand;\" and quoth the other, \"Do thou prescribe that they\nbring me a cord from thy stores that I twist one like it.\" So\nwhen they had done as he bade, Haykar fared forth arear of the\npalace and dug two round borings equal to the thickness of the\ncord; then he collected sand from the river-bed and placed it\ntherein, so that when the sun arose and entered into the\ncylinder, the sand appeared in the sunlight like unto\nropes.[FN#76] Thereupon quoth he to Pharaoh, \"Command thy slaves\ntake up these ropes and I will twist thee as many of them as thou\nwillest.\" Quoth Pharaoh, \"O Haykar, we have before our eyes a\nmillstone which is broken; and I require of thee that thou sew up\nthe rent.\" Accordingly the Envoy looked about him and, seeing\nthere another stone, said to Pharaoh, \"O my lord, here am I a\nstranger man nor have I with me aught of darning-gear; but I\nwould have thee bid thy confidants amongst the cobblers to\nprovide me out of this other stone with shoemaker's awls and\nneedles and scissors wherewith I may sew up for thee the breach\nin yon millstone.\" Hereat Pharaoh the King fell a-laughing, he\nand his Grandees, and cried, \"Blessed be Allah, who hath\nvouchsafed to thee all this penetration and knowledge;\" then,\nseeing that the Envoy had answered all his questions and had\nresolved his propositions he forthright confessed that he was\nconquered and he bade them collect the tax-tribute of three years\nand present it to him together with the loan concerning which\nHaykar had written and he robed him with robes of honour, him and\nhis guards and his pages; and supplied him with viaticum, victual\nand moneys for the road, and said to him, \"Fare thee in safety, O\nhonour of thy lord and boast of thy liege: who like unto thee\nshall be found as a Councillor for the Kings and the Sultans? And\ndo thou present my salam to thy master Sankharib the Sovran\nsaying, 'Excuse us for that which we forwarded to thee, as the\nKings are satisfied with a scanting of such\nacknowledgment.'\"[FN#77] Haykar accepted from him all this; then,\nkissing ground before him, said, \"I desire of thee, O my lord, an\norder that not a man of Assyria and Nineveh remain with thee in\nthe land of Egypt but fare forth it with me homewards.\" Hereupon\nPharaoh sent a herald to make proclamation of all whereof Haykar\nhad spoken to him, after which the envoy farewelled the King and\nset out on his march intending for the realm of Assyria and\nNineveh and bearing with him of treasures and moneys a mighty\nmatter. When the tidings of his approach came to the ears of\nSankharib, the King rode forth to meet his Minister, rejoicing in\nhim with joy exceeding and received him lovingly and kissed him,\nand cried, \"Well come and welcome and fair welcome to my sire and\nthe glory of my realm and the vaunt of my kingdom: do thou\nrequire of me whatso thou wantest and choosest, even didst thou\ncovet one-half of my good and of my government.\" The Minister\nreplied, \"Live, O King, for ever; and if thou would gift me\nbestow thy boons upon Abu Sumayk, the Sworder, whose wise delay,\nfurthered by the will of Allah Almighty, quickened me with a\nsecond life.\" \"In thine honour, O my beloved,\" quoth the King, \"I\nwill do him honour;\" and presently he fell to questioning his\nenvoy concerning what had befallen him from Pharaoh and how the\nLord of the Misraim had presented him with the tax-tribute and\nmoneys and gifts and honourable robes; and lastly, he asked anent\nthe instances and secrets which ended the mission. So Haykar\nrelated all that had betided, whereat Sankharib rejoiced with\nmighty great joy; and, when the converse was concluded, the King\nsaid to him, \"O Haykar, take unto thee everything thou wishest\nand wantest of all this, for 'tis in the grasp of thy hand.\"\nHaykar answered, \"Live, O King, for ever and aye; naught do I\nrequire save thy safety and the permanency of thy rule: what\nshall I do with moneys and such like? But an thou deign largesse\nme with aught, make over to me in free gift Nadan, my sister's\nson, that I requite him for that he wrought with me: and I would\nthat thou grant me his blood and make it lawfully my very own.\"\nSankharib replied, \"Take him, for I have given to thee that\nsame.\" So Haykar led his nephew to his home[FN#78] and bound his\nhands in bonds and fettered his feet with heavy chains; then he\nbeat him with a severe bastinado and a torturing upon his soles\nand calves, his back, his belly and his armpits; after which\nbashing he cast him into a black hole adjoining the jakes. He\nalso made Binuhal guardian over him and bade him be supplied day\nby day with a scone of bread and a little water; and whenever the\nuncle went in to or came forth from the nephew he would revile\nNadan and of his wisdom would say to him, \"O dear my son, I\nwrought with thee all manner of good and kindly works and thou\ndidst return me therefor evil and treason and death. O dear my\nson, 'tis said in saws, 'Whoso heareth not through his ears,\nthrough the nape of his neck shall he hear.'\"[FN#79] Hereat quoth\nNadan, \"O my uncle, what reason hast thou to be wroth with me?\"\nand quoth Haykar, \"For that I raised thee to worship and honour\nand made thee great after rearing thee with the best of rearing\nand I educated thee so thou mightest become mine heir in lore and\ncontrivance and in worldly good. But thou soughtest my ruin and\ndestruction and thou desiredst for me doom of death; however, the\nLord, knowing me to be a wronged man, delivered me from thy\nmischief, for God hearteneth the broken heart and abaseth the\nenvious and the vain-glorious. O dear my son,[FN#80] thou hast\nbeen as the scorpion who when she striketh her sting[FN#81] upon\nbrass would pierce it. O dear my son, thou hast resembled the\nSaj\u00e1lmah-bird[FN#82] when netted in net who, when she cannot save\nherself alive, she prayeth the partridges to cast themselves into\nperdition with her. O dear my son, thou hast been as the cur who,\nwhen suffering cold entereth the potter's house to warm himself\nat the kiln, and when warmed barketh at the folk on such wise\nthat they must beat him and cast him out, lest after barking he\nbite them. O dear my son, thou hast done even as the hog who\nentered the Hammam in company with the great; but after coming\nout he saw a stinking fosse a-flowing[FN#83] and went and therein\nwallowed. O dear my son, thou hast become like the old and rank\nhe-goat who when he goeth in leadeth his friends and familiars to\nthe slaughter-house and cannot by any means come off safe or with\nhis own life or with their lives. O dear my son, a hand which\nworketh not neither plougheth, and withal is greedy and\nover-nimble shall be cut off from its armpit. O dear my son, thou\nhast imitated the tree whom men hew down, head and branch, when\nshe said, 'Had not that in your hands been of me,[FN#84] indeed\nye would not have availed to my felling.' O dear my son, thou\nhast acted as did the she-cat to whom they said, 'Renounce\nrobbing that we make thee collars of gold and feed thee with\nsugar and almond cake!' But she replied, 'As for me, my craft is\nthat of my father and my mother, nor can I ever forget it.' O\ndear my son, thou art as a dragon mounted upon a bramble-bush,\nand the two a-middlemost a stream, which when the wolf saw he\ncried, 'A mischief on a mischief and let one more mischievous\ncounsel the twain of them.' O dear my son, with delicate food I\nfed thee and thou didst not fodder me with the driest of bread;\nand of sugar and the finest wines I gave thee to drink, while\nthou grudgedst to me a sup of cold water. O dear my son, I taught\nthee and tendered thee with the tenderest of tending and garred\nthee grow like the lofty cedar of Lebanon, but thou didst\nincriminate me and confine me in fetters by thine evil\ncourses.[FN#85] O dear my son, I nourished a hope that thou\nwouldst build me a strong tower wherein I might find refuge from\nmine adversary and foil my foes; but thou hast been to me as a\nburier, a grave-digger, who would thrust me into the bowels of\nthe earth: however, my Lord had mercy upon me. O dear my son, I\nwilled thee well and thou rewardedst me with ill-will and foul\ndeed; wherefore, \u0091tis now my intent to pluck out thine eyes and\nhack away thy tongue and strike off thy head with the sword-edge\nand then make thee meat for the wolves; and so exact retaliation\nfrom thine abominable actions.\" Hereupon Nadan made answer and\nsaid to Haykar his uncle, \"Do with me whatso thy goodness would\ndo and then condone thou to me all my crimes, for who is there\ncan offend like me and can condone like thee? And now I pray thee\ntake me into thy service and suffer me to slave in thy house and\ngroom thy horses, even to sweeping away their dung, and herd thy\nhogs; for verily I am the evil-doer and thou art the beneficent;\nI am the sinner and thou art the pardoner.\" \"O dear my son,\"\nrejoined Haykar, \"Thou favourest the tree which, albe planted by\nthe side of many waters, was barren of dates and her owner\npurposed to hew her down, when she said, 'Remove me unto another\nstead where if I fruit not then fell me.' But he rejoined, 'Being\nupon the water-edge thou gavest ne'er a date, so how shalt thou\nbear fruit being in other site?' O dear my son, better the\nsenility of the eagle than the juvenility of the raven. O dear my\nson, they said to the wolf, 'Avoid the sheep lest haply the dust\nthey raise in flight may do thee a damage;' but Lupus made\nanswer, 'Verily their dust is a powder good for the eyes.' O dear\nmy son, they brought the wolf to school that he might learn to\nread; but, when quoth they to him, 'Say A, B, C, D,'[FN#86] quoth\nhe, 'Lamb, Sheep, Kid, Goat,[FN#87] even as within my belly.' O\ndear my son, they set the ass's head beside a tray of meats, but\nhe slipped down and fell to rolling upon his back, for his nature\n(like that of others) may never be changed. O dear my son, his\nsay is stablished who said, 'When thou hast begotten a child\nassume him to be thy son, and when thou hast reared a son assume\nhim to be a slave.'[FN#88] O dear my son, whoso doeth good, good\nshall be his lot; and whoso worketh evil, evil shall befal him;\nfor that the Lord compensateth mankind according to conduct. O\ndear my son, wherewith shall I bespeak thee beyond this my\nspeech? and verily Allah knoweth concealed things and wotteth all\nsecret and hidden works and ways and He shall requite thee and\norder and ordain between me and thee and shall recompense thee\nwith that thou deservest.\" Now when Nadan heard these words from\nhis uncle Haykar, his body began to swell and become like a\nblown-up bag and his members waxed puffy, his legs and calves and\nhis sides were distended, then his belly split asunder and burst\ntill his bowels gushed forth and his end (which was destruction)\ncame upon him; so he perished and fared to Jahannam-fire and the\ndwelling-place dire. Even so it is said in books:--\"Whoever\ndiggeth for his brother a pit shall himself fall into it and\nwhoso setteth up a snare for his neighbour shall be snared\ntherein.\" And this much know we anent the Say of Haykar the Sage,\nand magnification be to Allah for ever and ever Amen.\n\nTMT.[FN#89]\n\n\n\n\n\n                  THE HISTORY OF AL-BUNDUKANI\n                              OR,\n               THE CALIPH HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE\n                    DAUGHTER OF KING KISRA.\n\n\n\nIn the name of Allah the Compassionating, the Compassionate, we\nhere indite, by the aidance of the Almighty and His furtherance,\nthe History of the Caliph Harun Al-Rashid and of the Daughter of\nKisra the King.[FN#90]\n\nIt is related (but Allah is all-knowing of His secrets and all-\nkenning in whatso hath passed and preceded and preterlapsed of\nthe annals of folk),[FN#91] that the Caliph (by whom I mean Harun\nal-Rashid) was sitting on the throne of his kingdom one chance\nday of the days which happened to be the f\u00eate of 'Araf\u00e1t.[FN#92]\nAnd as he chanced to glance at Ja'afar the Barmaki, he said to\nhim, \"O Wazir, I desire to disguise myself and go down from my\npalace into the streets and wander about the highways of Baghdad\nthat I may give alms to the mesquin and miserable and solace\nmyself with a sight of the folk: so do thou hie with me nor let\nany know of our faring forth.\" \"With love and good will,\" quoth\nJa'afar. So his lord arose and passed from the audience-room into\nthe inner palace where the two donned disguise and made small\ntheir sleeves and breasts[FN#93] and issued forth to circle about\nthe thorough-fares of Baghdad and her market-streets,\ndistributing charity to the poor and the paupers, until the last\nof the day. And whilst so doing, the Commander of the Faithful\nchanced to espy a woman seated at the head of a highway who had\nextended the hand of beggary, showing at the same time her wrist\nand crying, \"Give me somewhat for the sake of Allah Almighty!\"\nHereat he considered her nicely and saw that her palm and her\nwrist were like whitest crystal and yet more brilliant in\nbrightness. So he wondered thereat, and presently pulling a dinar\nfrom his breast-pocket he handed it to Ja'afar and said, \"Bestow\nit upon yonder woman.\" The Minister took the ducat and leaving\nhis lord went up to her and placed it in her palm; and, when she\nclosed her fingers thereupon, she felt that the coin was bigger\nthan a copper or a silverling, so she looked thereat and saw that\nit was of gold. Hereupon she called after Ja'afar who had passed\nonwards, saying, \"Ho, thou fair youth!\" and when he came back to\nher she continued, \"The dinar wherewith thou hast gifted me, is\nit for Allah's sake or for other service?\" Said he, \"'Tis not\nfrom me, nay 'twas given by yonder Youth who sent it through me.\"\n\"Ask him,\" she rejoined, \"and tell me what may be his purport.\"\nJa'afar hied him back to the Caliph and reported her words,\nwhereat his lord commanded him, \"Go back and say thou to her 'tis\nfor Almighty Allah's sake.\" The Minister did his master's bidding\nwhen she replied \"His reward be upon the Almighty.\" Then the\nWazir returned and reported the woman's prayer to the Commander\nof the Faithful, who cried, \"Hie thee to her and enquire an she\nbe married or virginal; and, if she be unwedded, do thou ask her\nan she be willing to wive with me.\"[FN#94] So Ja'afar fared to\nher and questioned her, whereat she answered, \"A spinster.\" Quoth\nhe, \"The Youth who sent the dinar to thee desireth to mate with\nthee;\" and quoth she, \"An he can pay me my dower and my money\ndown,[FN#95] I will become his bride.\" Hereat Ja'afar said in his\nthought, \"whence can the Prince of True Believers find her dower\nand her money down? Doubtless we shall have to ask a loan for\nhim;\"[FN#96] and presently he enquired of her what might be the\namount of both. Replied she, \"As for the pin-money, this shall be\nthe annual revenue of Ispah\u00e1n, and the income of Khor\u00e1s\u00e1n-city\nshall form the settlement.\" So Ja'afar wagged his head and going\nback to the Commander of the Faithful repeated her terms;\nwherewith Harun was satisfied and bespake him, \"Hie thee to her\nand say, 'He hath accepted this and thou hast professed thyself\ncontented.'\" Hearing his words she rejoined, \"What be his worth,\nyonder man, and how may he attain unto such sum?\" and he\nretorted, \"Of a truth he is the Commander of the Faithful, Harun\nal-Rashid.\" When this reply reached her ears she veiled her hands\nand feet crying, \"To Allah be laud and gratitude;\" adding to\nJa'afar, \"An he be the Prince of True Believers, I am satisfied\ntherewith.\" Accordingly the Wazir returned to the Caliph and\nreported her consent, whereafter the twain repaired homewards and\nthe Caliph despatched to her a duenna and a train of handmaidens\nwho went and bore her to the Hammam within the palace and bathed\nher. Then they brought her out and robed her in sumptuous\nraiment, such as becometh the women of the Kings, and ornaments\nand jewellery and what not: after which they led her to a fine\napartment which was set apart and private for her wherein also\nwere meat and drink and furniture, arras[FN#97] and curtains and\nall necessaries of such sort. In fine they fared to the Caliph\nand apprized him of what they had done and he presently gave\ncommand to summon the four Kazis who wrote her marriage-lines.\nWhen it was night he paid her the first visit and taking seat\nopposite her he asked, \"Daughter of whom mayst thou be amongst\nthe folk that thou demandedst of me this dower?\" \"Allah advance\nin honour the Commander of the Faithful,\" answered she; \"verily\nthy hand-maid is of the seed of Kisr\u00e0 Anushirw\u00e1n; but the shifts\nof time and tide brought me down and low down.\" Replied he, \"They\nrelate that thine ancestor, the Chosro\u00eb, wronged his lieges with\nmighty sore wronging;\"[FN#98] and she rejoined, \"Wherefor and\nbecause of such tyranny over the folk hath his seed come to beg\ntheir bread at the highway-heads.\" Quoth he, \"They also make\nmention of him that in after-times he did justice to such degree\nthat he decided causes between birds and beasts;\" and quoth she,\n\"Wherefor hath Allah exalted his posterity from the highway-head\nand hath made them Har\u00edm to the Prince of True Believers.\"\nHearing this the Caliph was wroth with mighty great wrath[FN#99]\nand sware that he would not go in unto her for full told year,\nand arising forthright went forth from her. But when the\ntwelvemonth had passed and the f\u00eate-day of Arafat came round\nagain, the Commander of the Faithful donned disguise and taking\nwith him Ja'afar and Masr\u00far the Eunuch, strolled out to wander\nabout the streets of Baghdad and her highways. And as they walked\nalong, the Caliph looked about him and beheld a booth wherein a\nman was turning out Kat\u00edfah-cakes[FN#100] and he was pleased to\nadmire his dexterity to such degree that, returning to the\nPalace, he sent him one of his Eunuchs with the message, \"The\nPrince of True Believers requireth of thee an hundred pancakes,\nand let each one of them, when filled and folded, fit into the\nhollow of a man's hand.\" So the Castrato went and gave the order\nas we have related and paid the price and, when the pastrycook\nhad made his requirement, he carried it away to the presence.\nThen the Caliph took seat and bade bring sugar and pistachios and\nall other such needs wherewith he fell to stuffing the pancakes\nwith his own hands and placing in each and every a golden dinar.\nWhen this was done he despatched the same Eunuch to Kisra's\ndaughter with the message, \"This night the Commander of the\nFaithful proposeth to visit thee, the year of his oath having\nexpired, and he sendeth to thee saying, 'What is it thy heart\ncoveteth that he may forward it to thee?'\" The Castrato set forth\nupon this errand and received for all reply, \"Say him my heart\ndesireth naught, for that all I require is with me nor is there\naught of deficiency.\" Accordingly, he returned and repeated her\nwords to the Caliph who bade him fare forth again to her and say\nthe same to her a second time, whenas she, \"Let him send me a\nthousand dinars and a duenna in whom he confideth, so that I may\ndisguise myself and go down with her and distribute gold to the\nmean and the mesquin.\" Presently back came the slave bearing this\nreply, whereat the Caliph ordered the moneys be sent to her and\nthe woman required; and the twain, Princess and duenna, went\nforth and threaded the lanes of Baghdad and her great\nthoroughfares whilst the young lady distributed her charity to\nthe Fakirs and the paupers. But when all the gold with her had\nbeen expended and naught of it remained, they turned homewards\nmaking for the Palace; and, the day being sultry, drowthiness\nbefel the young lady. So she said to her companion, \"O mother\nmine, I am athirst and want a draught of water to drink;\" and\nsaid the other, \"We will call aloud to the Water-carrier[FN#101]\nwho shall give thee thy need.\" Replied the Princess, \"Drinking\nfrom the Waterman's jar will not be pleasant to my heart; nor\nwill I touch it, for 'tis like the whore[FN#102] whereinto some\nman goeth every hour: let the draught of water be from a private\nhouse and suffer that it be given by way of kindness.\" Hereupon\nthe old woman looked in front of her and saw a grand gateway with\na door of sandal-wood over which a lamp hung by a silken\ncord[FN#103] and a curtain was drawn across it and it had two\nbenches of marble, the whole under the charge of a goodly\nconcierge. Then quoth she, \"From this house I will ask a drink\nfor thee.\" So the two women went forward and stood before the\ndoor and the duenna advancing rapped a light rap with the ring,\nwhen behold, the entrance was opened and came forth a young man\nin youthful favour fair and robed in raiments pure and rare and\nsaid, \"'Tis well!\" Hereat the governante addressed him, \"O my\nson, indeed this my daughter is athirst and I crave of thy\nkindness that thou give her a draught of water, seeing that she\nwill not drink from the Watercarrier.\" He replied, \"With love and\ngoodwill;\" and going within brought out what was required and\nhanded the cup to the old woman. She took it and passed it on to\nher mistress and the young lady turning her face to the wall\nraised her veil and drank her sufficiency without showing a\nsingle feature.[FN#104] After this she returned the cup to the\nold woman who took it and handed it back to the young man saying,\n\"Allah requite thee with all of weal, O my son!\" whereto he\nreplied, \"Health to you and healing!\"[FN#105] And the two went\ntheir way and returned to the Palace and entered therein. On such\nwise fared it with these twain but as regards the Caliph, when he\nhad finished filling the pancakes, he ranged them in a large\ncharger of porcelain; then, summoning the Eunuch he said to him,\n\"Take up this and carry it to the daughter of Kisra and say her,\n'Here be the sweetmeats of peace,' and let her know that I will\nnight with her this night.\" The Castrato did his lord's bidding;\nand carrying the charger to the Princess's apartment handed it to\nthe duenna and delivered the message, whereupon she blessed and\nprayed for the Commander of the Faithful and the slave departed.\nNow he was angry and disappointed for that he could not eat one\npancake of them all because they had become big by stuffing and\nhe feared that if he touched any thereof its place would show\nvoid. Presently it so befel that the young lady said to the old\nwoman, her governante, \"Do thou take up this charger and carry it\nto the youth who gave us the draught of water with the intent\nthat he may not claim an obligation or have aught to desire of\nus.\" Accordingly, the ancient dame took the charger and walked\noff with it. But on her way she longed for a Katifah and put\nforth her hand to one and took it up when she saw that it left in\nthe line of pancakes a gap big as a man's palm. Hereat she feared\nto touch it and replaced it saying, \"'Twill be known that I\ncarried off one of them.\" Then after returning the pancake to its\nplace she passed on with the charger to the door of that young\nman whom she suddenly sighted as he sat at the gateway. She\nsaluted him with the salam which he returned, and then said she,\n\"O my son, the young lady who drank the water hath sent thee all\nthese cates in acknowledgment for the draught thou gavest her to\ndrain.\" Said he, \"Set it down on the door-bench;\" and when she\ndid his bidding, he expressed his thanks to her and she ganged\nher gait. Now as the youth still sat there, the Watchman of the\nWard suddenly stood before him blessing him and saying, \"O my\nlord, this be Arafat-day and to-night will be the Eve of the\n'I'd, or Greater Festival; so I hope from the beneficence of my\nmaster the Chamberlain and Emir Alaeddin (whom Allah Almighty\nkeep and preserve!) that he will deign order me a largesse\nbefitting the F\u00eate wherewith I may buy sweetmeats for my wife and\nchildren.\" The other replied, \"Take this charger and wend thy\nways therewith;\" so the Watchman kissed his hand and carrying it\noff went home and showed it to his wife. But she cried, \"O thou\nmiserable,[FN#106] whence gottest thou this charger: hast thou\nwilfully stolen it or suddenly snatched it?\"[FN#107] Replied her\nmate, \"This be the property of the Emir Alaeddin, the Chamberlain\n(whom Allah preserve!), and he gave it to me as an alms-gift; so\ncome hither all of you that we eat, for the pancakes look\ntoothsome.\" Rejoined his wife, \"Art thou Jinn-mad? Up with thee\nand sell the charger and cates, for the worth must be some thirty\nto forty dirhams which we will lay out for the benefit of the\nlittle ones.\" He retorted, \"O woman, suffer us eat of this food\nwherewith the Almighty would feed us;\" but she fell to wailing\nand crying out, \"We will not taste thereof while the children\nlack caps and slippers.\"[FN#108] and she prevailed over him with\nher opinion, for indeed women are mostly the prevailers. So\ntaking up the charger he fared with it to the market-place and\ngave it for sale to a broker, and the man began crying, \"Who will\nbuy this charger with whatso is thereon?\" Hereat up came the\nShaykh of the Bazar who bid forty dirhams therefor, and a second\nmerchant raised its price to eighty, when a third hent it in hand\nand turning it about espied graven upon the edge, \"Made by\ncommandment of Harun al-Rashid, Commander of the Faithful.\"\nHereat the trader's wits fled him and he cried to the broker,\n\"Hast thou a will to work for my hanging in this matter of the\ncharger?\" Quoth the other, \"What may be the meaning of these\nwords?\" and quoth the merchant, \"This charger is the property of\nthe Prince of True Believers.\" The broker, dying of dread, took\nthe charger and repaired therewith to the Palace of the Caliphate\nwhere he craved leave to enter; and, when this was accorded, he\nwent in and kissed ground before the presence and blessed the\nCommander of the Faithful and lastly showed to him the charger.\nBut when the Caliph looked at it and considered it carefully, he\nrecognised it with its contents and he waxed wroth with exceeding\nwrath and said in himself, \"When I make aught for the eating of\nmy household, shall it be sent out and hawked about for sale?\"\nadding to the broker, \"Who gave thee this charger?\" \"O my lord,\n'twas the Watchman of one of the wards,\" replied he; and Harun\nrejoined, \"Bring him to me hither.\" So they fared forth and\nfetched him bound in cords and saying in his mind, \"The whore\nwould not suffer us eat of that was in the charger and enjoy its\nsweetness, so this happened which hath happened to us; we have\neaten naught and have fallen into misfortune.\" But when they set\nhim between the hands of the Caliph the latter asked him, \"Where\nhaddest thou yon charger? say me sooth or I will smite thy neck!\"\nThe Watchman answered, \"Allah prolong the life of our liege lord!\nverily as regards this charger it was given to me by the Lord\nAlaeddin, the junior Chamberlain.\" Hereat the Prince of True\nBelievers redoubled in rage and cried, \"Bring me that Emir with\nhis turband in tatters, and drag him along on his face and\nplunder his home.\" Accordingly the magnates fared forth with\ntheir pages; and, reaching the house, knocked at the door, when\nthe owner came out and, seeing the officials, asked, \"What is to\ndo?\" \"'Tis against thee,\" replied some of the Grandees, whereto\nthe Chamberlain rejoined, \"Hearkening and obeying Allah and then\nthe Commander of the Faithful!\" After this they bore him to the\nPalace of the Caliphate and an Emir of them put forth his hand to\nthe Chamberlain's coat and tare it and rent his turband adown his\nneck saying, \"O Alaeddin,[FN#109] this is the behest of the\nPrince of True Believers who hath enjoined that we do with thee\non such wise and we despoil thy house: yet there is bread and\nsalt between us albe we must do as we are bidden, for obedience\nto royal behest is of the ways of good breeding.\" Then they\ncarried him into the presence of the Caliph and he, after he was\nmade to stand between the Sovran's hands, kissed ground and\nblessed Harun and said, \"Allah give aidance to our liege lord and\nhave him in His holy keeping: what may be the offence of thine\nhumble slave that he hath merited such treatment as this?\" Harun\nraised his head and asked, \"Say me, knowest thou yon fellow?\" and\nthe other looked and seeing the guardian of the gates corded and\npinioned made answer, \"Yes indeed, I know him and he is the\nWatchman of our ward.\" The Caliph resumed, \"Whence came to thee\nthis charger?\" and the Chamberlain replied, \"Let the Commander of\nthe Faithful (to whom Almighty Allah vouchsafe furtherance!)\nlearn that I was sitting at home when there rapped a rap at the\ndoor; and I, going forth to open, beheld an ancient dame who said\nto me, 'O my son, this my daughter is athirst and I beg thee of\nthy bounty to give her a draught of water for she will not take\ndrink from the public Sakk\u00e1.' So I brought them out their\nrequirement and they satisfied themselves and went their ways.\nAfter an hour or so I came forth and took seat by my house-door\nwhen behold, up came the old woman bearing in hand yon charger\nand said, 'O my son, the person to whom thou suppliedest drink\nhath sent this to thee in requital for that thou gavest her of\nwater inasmuch as she is unwilling to be under an obligation.'\nQuoth I, 'Set it down'; when she placed it upon the edge of the\nMastabah-bench and left me. Thereupon suddenly came up this\nWatchman and craved from me the Sweetmeat of the Festival,\nwhereto I answered, 'Do thou take this charger and its contents'\n(whereof by the bye I had not tasted aught); and he did so and\ndeparted. This is all I know and--The Peace.\" Now when the\nCommander of the Faithful heard this from the Chamberlain, his\nheart was gladdened and he enquired, \"O Alaeddin, what time the\nyoung lady drank the draught of water didst thou see her face or\nnot?\" and the Chamberlain replied in haste, \"O Prince of True\nBelievers, indeed I did see it.\" Hereat Harun was wroth with\nexceeding wrath and bade summon the daughter of Kisra and when\nshe came bade the twain be beheaded saying, \"Thou farest forth to\ndo alms-deeds, and thou durst display thy features to this fellow\nwhen thou drankest water at his hand!\" Hereat she turned her\ntowards Alaeddin and replied, \"Thou see my face! Nay, this is but\na lie that may work my death.\" He rejoined, \"The Reed-pen wrote\nwhat 'twas bidden write![FN#110] I designed to say, 'Verily I\nbeheld naught of her,' and my tongue ran as it did the sooner to\nend our appointed life-term.\" Then having set the twain upon the\nrug of blood the Sworder bound their hands and tearing off a\nstrip from their skirts bandaged their eyes, whereafter he walked\naround them and said, \"By leave of the Commander of the\nFaithful;\" and Harun cried, \"Smite!\" Then the Headsman paced\naround them a second time saying, \"By leave of the Commander of\nthe Faithful,\" and Harun again cried, \"Smite!\" But when the\nexecutioner did in like manner for the third and last\ntime[FN#111] quoth he to Alaeddin, \"Hast thou haply in heart\naught of regret or requirement that I may fulfil it to thee? Ask\nof me anything save release, ere the Commander of the Faithful\nsay the word and forthright thy head fall before thy feet?\" \"I\ndesire,\" quoth the Chamberlain, \"that thou unbind this bandage\nfrom mine eyes so may I look one latest look at the world and at\nmy friends, after which do thou work thy will.\" The Sworder\ngranted this and Alaeddin glanced first to the right where he saw\nnone to aidance dight, and then to the left where he found all\nfavour reft; and the spectators each and every hung their heads\ngroundwards for awe of the Caliph, nor did any take upon himself\nto utter a kindly word. Whereupon the Chamberlain cried out his\nloudest saying, \"A counsel, O Commander of the Faithful!\" and\nHarun regarding him asked, \"What is it thou counsellest?\" \"A\nrespite of three days' space,\" rejoined the condemned, \"when thou\nshalt see a marvel, indeed a miracle of miracles;\" and the Caliph\nretorted, \"After the third day, an I see not as thou sayest, I\nwill assuredly smite thy neck;\" and bade them bear him back to\ngaol. But when the appointed term ended the Caliph sprang up and\nin his impatience to see what would befal him donned a dress\ndistinctive of his new calling,[FN#112] and thrusting his feet\ninto coarse shoon and high of heel[FN#113] and binding about his\nbrows a honey-coloured turband[FN#114] he hent in hand a pellet-\nbow[FN#115] and slung its case over his shoulders: he also took\ngold in pouch and thus equipped he left the palace. Then, as he\nroamed about the lanes of Baghdad and her highways, giving alms\nand saying in his mind, \"Haply may I sight the wonder which the\nChamberlain Alaeddin announced to me,\" it befel about mid-\nforenoon (and he still walking) that behold, a man came forth\nfrom the Kaysar\u00edyah[FN#116] or chief mart of the merchants crying\naloud, \"This be a marvel, nay a miracle of miracles.\" So the\nCaliph questioned him saying \"What be this wonder thou hast\nseen?\" and he answered, \"Within yon Kaysariyah is a woman who\nreciteth the Koran even as it was brought down,[FN#117] and\nalbeit she have not ceased declaiming from the hour of the dawn-\nprayer until this time, yet hath none given her a single dirham:\nno, nor even one mite;[FN#118] and what strangeness can be\nstranger than this I tell thee?\" The Caliph, hearing his words,\nentered the mart wherein he descried an ancient dame sitting and\nreciting the Koran and she had well nigh reached the end thereof.\nHe was charmed with the beauty of her lecture and stood there\nuntil she had finished it and had blessed the by-standers, but\nwhen he glanced round he saw nobody give her aught. So he thrust\nhis hand into his pouch saying in his mind, \"Whatso[FN#119] of\ncoin remaineth in purse shall go to this woman.\" And he designed\nto gift her with the gold when suddenly the old dame sprang from\nher seat and going to a merchant's shop took seat beside the man\nand said to him, \"O my son, dost thou accept of a fair young\nlady?\" Said he, \"Yea, verily,\" and she continued, \"Up with thee\nand come that I show thee a thing whose like thou hast never\nseen.\" Now when the Caliph heard her words he said to himself,\n\"Look at yon foul old crone who playeth bawd when I held her to\nbe a devotee, a holy woman. Indeed I will not give her aught\nuntil I see what work is wrought by these twain.\" The trader then\nfollowed the old woman to her home wherein both, youth and crone,\nentered and the Caliph who pursued them also went in privily and\ntook his station at a stead whence he could see without being\nseen.[FN#120] Then lo and behold! the old trot called to her\ndaughter who came forth from the bower wherein she was, and the\nCaliph looking at this young lady owned that he had never sighted\namongst his women aught fairer than this, a model of beauty and\nloveliness and brilliancy and perfect face and stature of\nsymmetric grace. Her eyes were black and their sleepy lids and\nlashes were kohl'd with Babylonian witchery, and her eyebrows\nwere as bows ready to shoot the shafts of her killing glances,\nand her nose was like unto the scymitar's edge, and her mouth for\nmagical might resembled the signet-ring of Sulayman (upon whom be\nThe Peace!), and her lips were carnelians twain, and her teeth\nunion pearls and her mouth-dews sweeter than honey and more\ncooling than the limpid fount; with breasts strutting from her\nbosom in pomegranate-like rondure and waist delicate and hips of\nheavy weight, and stomach soft to the touch as sendal with plait\nupon plait, and she was one that excited the sprite and exalted\nman's sight even as said a certain poet in song of her like,\n\n\"Breeze-wav\u00e8d branch, full moon O' murk or sun of undurn sheeny\n     bright, * Which is she hight who all the three hath might to\n     place in pauper plight, ah!\nWhere on the bending branch alight with grace of stature like to\n     hers * Tho' be the branch by Zephyr deckt and in its\n     ornaments bedight, ah!\nAnd how can fellow\u00e8d be her brow with fullest moon that lights\n     the darks * When sun must borrow morning light from that\n     fair forehead dazzling bright, ah!\nWere set in scales the fairest fair and balanced with a long\n     compare * heir boasts, thou haddest over-weight for beauty\n     and their charms were light, ah!\"\n\nNow when he considered her straitly, she captured the whole of\nhis heart. But the young lady had not upon her clothes enough for\nconcealment, and here and there her body showed bare; so when she\ncame forth and espied the young man standing by the old woman she\nwithdrew into her bower and said to her mother, \"Allah\nrequite[FN#121] thee for that thou hast done. How can it be\nallowed thee by the Almighty to set me in this state before a\nstranger?\" \"Hold thy peace,\" said her parent; \"man is allowed to\nlook, and if he have any art or part in the object looked at 'tis\nwell; but thereafter if he look without its being his lot, then\n'twere unlawful. This youth hath gazed upon thee, and if he prove\nto have a portion in thee let him take it, otherwise he may wend\nhis ways, nor is there a flaw in aught of legal observance.\"\nHereat the Caliph's heart was cheered, for he knew that the\nancient dame meant to marry the maid. Anon quoth the old mother\nto the merchant, \"Hast thou seen her?\" and quoth he, \"Yes.\" \"Did\nshe please thee?\" asked the crone, and he answered, \"Yea verily,\"\nadding, \"How much may be her actual marriage-settlement and her\ncontingent dower?\" She replied, \"The first shall consist of four\nthousand dinars and the second shall be the same.\"' \"This be\novermuch,\" rejoined the youth, \"and more than all my good; to\nwit, four thousand gold pieces, the gift of which will send me\nforth to beg; but do thou take of me a thousand dinars, and upon\nme be the arraying of the house and the maiden's raiment for\nanother thousand; so will I do business and trade with the\nremainder.\" But the crone sware to him by Allah the\nAlmighty,[FN#122] that an the four thousand failed of a single\ngold piece he should never see of the damsel a single hair. He\nreplied, \"I have no power thereto and--good day to both of you;\"\nand he made for the door, but the Caliph forewent him to the\nstreet and standing in a corner suffered him to pass and gang his\ngait. After this Harun went back to the old woman, and entering\nsalam'd to her and she, returning his salutation, asked him,\n\"What dost thou want and what may be thy wish?\" He answered, \"The\nyoung trader who went forth hence sent me to say that he hath no\nintent to wed,\" and she rejoined, \"On this mind the man hied away\nfrom us.\" Then quoth the Caliph, \"I will marry the maid, and by\nme is all thou canst desire of gold and what not.\" She retorted,\n\"O Robber,[FN#123] all I see upon thee is not worth two hundred\ndirhams: whence then canst thou procure four thousand dinars?\"\nQuoth he, \"Hast thou grapes to sell, or wishest thou only to\nbreed a quarrel between me and the vineyard-keeper?\"[FN#124] and\nquoth she, \"Doubtless I have and hold the grapes.\" \"Then, I\npossess all thou canst desire, said he, and said she, \"Then, we\nwill wed thee when thou shalt have weighed out the gold.\" The\nCaliph cried, \"I accept;\" and anon entering the lodging he took\nseat at the head of the chamber and in its place of honour, and\nsaid to the house-mistress, \"Go thou to K\u00e1z\u00ed Such-an-one and tell\nhim that Al-Bunduk\u00e1ni requireth him.\" \"O Robber,\" said she, \"will\nthe Kazi be content to come at thy bidding?\" The Commander of the\nFaithful laughed at these words and said, \"Do thou go without\ndanger and bid him bring his ink-case and pens and paper.\" So she\nwent off saying to herself, \"Verily, an the Judge accompany me,\nthis my son-in-law must be a Captain of Robbers.\"[FN#125] But\nwhen at last she arrived at the Kazi's mansion she saw him\nsitting in the middle of the room and surrounded by doctors of\ndivinity and a host of learned wights: so she feared to enter,\nand fell to looking in through the doorway and she dreaded to\nfare farther and stepped backwards; withal she kept saying, \"How\nshall I go home without speaking a word to the Kazi?\" and the\nthought would hearten her heart, so she would return to the\nentrance and thrust in her head and then withdraw it. On such\nwise she had done many a time when the Kazi, catching sight of\nher, bade one of his messengers bring her within; so the man went\nto her and said, \"Bespeak the Kazi!\" So she went in full of\naffright and salam'd to the Judge who, returning her salutation,\nasked her, \"What is thy want, O woman?\" She answered, \"There is a\nyoung man in my house who desireth that thou come to him;\"\nwhereat he rejoined, \"And who may be this youth that I in person\nshould hie to him; and what may be his name?\" She replied, \"He\npretendeth to the name of Al-Bundukani--the Arbalestrier\" (which\nwas a by-name of the Caliph kept concealed from the folk but well\nknown to all officials). Hereat the Kazi sprang to his feet\nwithout stay or delay and said to her, \"O my lady, do thou forego\nme,\" whilst all present asked him, \"O our lord, whither away?\"\nand he, answering them, \"A need hath suddenly occurred,\" went\nforth. Then quoth the crone in her mind, \"Hapless the Kazi who is\na pleasant person, haply this son-in-law of mine hath given him\nto drink of clotted gore[FN#126] by night in some place or other\nand the poor man hath yet a fear of him; otherwise what is the\nworth of this Robber that the Judge should hie to his house?\"\nWhen they reached the door, the Kazi bade the ancient dame\nprecede him;[FN#127] so she went in and called to him and he on\nentering saw the Caliph seated at the head of the chamber. He\nwould have kissed ground but Harun signed to him silence with a\nwink; so he made his salam and sat him down saying, \"'Tis\nwell,[FN#128] O my lord, what may be thy want?\" The Prince of\nTrue Believers replied, \"I desire thou marry me to the daughter\nof this ancient dame, so do thou write out the writ.\" Hereupon\nthe Judge asked the assent of the old woman and of her daughter;\nand, when they both granted it, he enquired, \"What may be the\namount of the dower?\" The mother replied, \"Four thousand dinars\nof gold and the like sum in ready coin.\" \"Dost thou accept?\"\nquoth the Kazi to the Caliph, and quoth he, \"Yes.\" Accordingly,\nthe Judge wrote out the writ upon the skirt of his Farajiyah-robe\nfor in his agitation he had forgotten to bring paper, and he set\ndown the name of the Sovran and his father and his grandfather\nwithout question for that he knew them well; after which he\nenquired of the old woman her daughter's name[FN#129] and that of\nher sire and grandsire. She wailed and cried, \"Why and\nwherefore?[FN#130] Oh miserable that we are! Had her father been\nliving how would this Robber have availed to stand at our door,\nmuch less to marry her? but 'twas Death that did with us this\ndeed.\" \"Allah bless the wronged,\"[FN#131] quoth the Kazi and\nbusied himself with writing out the writ; but whatever question\nhe put to the crone, she wailed in reply and buffeted her cheeks,\nwhilst the Judge wagged his head and his heart was like to burst\nand the Caliph laughed long and loud. And when the writ was\nwritten and finished, the writer cut off from the skirt of his\ngown according to the measure of the writing and gave it to\nHarun; then he rose up to fare forth but he was ashamed to wear a\nrobe in rags, so he stripped it off and said to the old woman, \"O\nmy mother, present this to anyone deserving it.\" And so saying he\nleft the house. Hereupon quoth the old woman to the Caliph, \"Dost\nthou not pay unto the Kazi his fee for coming to thee in person\nand writing the writ upon his robe which he was obliged to throw\naway?\" \"Let him go,\" said the Caliph, \"I will not give him\naught.\" Cried she, \"And why? Oh, how greedy are these robbers!\nthe man came to us in hopes of gain and we have stripped him\ninstead of robing him.\" Harun laughed again, then he arose and\nsaid to her, \"I now hie me home to fetch thee the gold and the\nstuffs wherewith to clothe my bride,\" and the crone cried out,\n\"Robber, whence shalt thou find cloth and coin? unhappy some one\nwhom thou designest to seize and deprive of his daily bread and\nreduce to poverty and penury!\" The Commander of the Faithful held\nhis peace and went forth intending for his Palace, where he\ndonned the royal robes and taking seat upon his throne bade\nsummon marble-cutters and carpenters and plasterers and house-\npainters. Then, as they came to the presence and kissed ground\nand blessed him and prayed for the permanence of his empire, he\nhad them thrown and bade administer to them a bastinado of two\nhundred sticks a head.[FN#132] And when they prayed for mercy and\nsaid to him, \"O our lord, the Commander of the Faithful, what be\nour crime?\" he said to the artizans, \"The hall such-and-such in\nthe Darb-al-Z\u00e1ji,[FN#133] do ye wot it well?\" They replied,\n\"Yes,\" and he resumed, \"I desire that ye fare thither forthright\nand ye repair the walls with marble-slabs and should mid-\nafternoon come on and ye leave unfinished a place as big as a\nman's palm, I will hack off your hands and place them in lieu\nthereof.\" \"O Prince of True Believers,\" asked they, \"how shall we\ndo seeing that we have no marble?\"[FN#134] He answered, \"Take it\nfrom the government stores[FN#135] and collect each and every\nstone-cutter in Baghdad. But do you all bear in mind that, if the\nhousehold enquire who sent you, ye must reply, 'Thy son-in-law;'\nand should they demand, 'What is his craft,' say, 'We ken not;'\nand when they require to know his name declare it to be Al-\nBundukani. And whoso of you shall speak aught beyond this him\nwill I crucify.\" So the master-mason went forth and gathered\ntogether the stone-cutters and took marble and ashlar from the\nstores and set the material on the backs of beasts with all other\nneeds and he repaired to the hall,[FN#136] and entered with his\ncompany. Hereat the old woman asked \"What is't ye want?\" \"We\nwould slab the floors and walls of this dwelling with marble!\"\n\"And who was it sent you?\" \"Thy son-in-law!\" \"And what may be his\nbusiness?\" \"We know not.\" \"Then what is his name?\" \"A1-\nBundukani,\" they replied. So she said to herself, \"He is naught\nbut a Robber and Captain of thieves.\" Then the masons divided and\nmarked out the ground, and each found that each and every had to\npave and slab a surface of a cubit or less. Such was their case;\nbut as concerneth the Caliph, he turned him to the chief\nCarpenter, and looking at him keenly said, \"Go thou likewise and\nassemble all thy fellows in the capital: then do thou repair to\nthe dwelling of Such-an-one and make the doors and so forth, in\nfact everything needed of carpentry and joinery, taking thee all\nthe requisites from the public warehouses; nor let the afternoon\ncome on ere thou shalt have finished, and if all be not done I\nwill strike thy neck.\" He also charged them even as he had\ncharged the marble-cutters never to divulge his dignity or even\nhis name other than Al-Bundukani. So the chief Carpenter went\nand, gathering his craftsmen, took planks and nails and all his\nneeds, after which they repaired to the lodging and entered, and\nsetting up their scaffoldings[FN#137] fell to work while the head\nman marked off a task for each hand. But the crone was consterned\nand cried to the men, \"And why? Who hath sent you?\" \"Thy son-in-\nlaw!\" \"And what may be his trade?\" \"We know not.\" \"Then what may\nbe his name?\" \"Al-Bundukani.\" So they pushed on their work, each\nurging his fellow, whilst the old woman well-nigh waxed Jinn-\nmad,[FN#138] and said to herself, \"This my son-in-law, the\nRobber, is naught save a viceroy of the J\u00e1nn; and all this is of\ntheir fear, so that none dareth or deemeth it safe to disclose\nthe craft or even the name of him, so much do they hold him in\nawe.\" Lastly, the Caliph bade the plasterers and house-painters\ncall a meeting of their brother-craftsmen and go to the\ngovernment stores and thence take all their requirements of\nquicklime and hemp[FN#139] and so forth; and lastly, charging\nthem as he had charged the others who forewent them, he said, \"As\nsoon as the Iz\u00e1n of mid-afternoon prayer shall be cried, if any\none of you shall have left in the lodging work unwrought, be it\nonly the size of a man's palm, I will hack off his hand and set\nit upon the unfinished stead.\" Accordingly, they kissed ground\nand fared forth carrying with them all their requirements; and,\nrepairing to the tenement, entered therein and slaked their lime\nand set up their ladders, and four or five artificers fell to\nworking at every wall whilst the house-painters followed them.\nBut when the ancient dame beheld this, her wits were wildered and\nshe was utterly bedazed: so said she to her daughter, \"This son-\nin-law of mine is none save one whose word is heard, and folk\nabide in awe of him; otherwise who could work all this work in a\nsingle day whenas none other than himself could have wrought the\nsame within a twelve-month? But pity 'tis he be a Robber.\" Anon\nshe went to the plasterers and said, \"Who was it sent you?\" \"Thy\nson-in-law!\" \"And what may be his trade?\" \"We know not.\" \"Then\nwhat is his name?\" \"Al-Bundukani.\" After this she passed on to\nthe house-painters and asked the same question and receiving the\nsame reply, quoth she to one of them, \"I demand of thee, by God\nthe Great, O my son, why thou wilt not disclose to me concerning\nmy son-in-law his name and his craft?\" Thereupon quoth the wight\naddressed, \"No man hath power to speak out, otherwise his life is\nlost;\" and she repeated to herself, \"Indeed he is none but a\nmighty Robber, for that the Moslems one and all dread him and his\nmischief.\"[FN#140] Now when mid-afternoon came, the artizans had\ndone the whole of their work; so they donned their outer dresses\nand went forth intending for the Commander of the Faithful, Harun\nthe Orthodox. And when they entered all kissed ground and said,\n\"Under the good auspices of our lord the Prince of True Believers\nwe have wroughten the work of the house.\" So he bestowed robes of\nhonour upon them and gave them gifts that contented them, after\nwhich they fared forth about their business. Then the Caliph\nsummoned Hamm\u00e1ls or porters and set in their crates articles of\nfurniture such as carpets and counterpanes and sofa-cushions and\nhangings of arras and prayer-rugs, besides gear of brass and all\nsuch necessaries for the household; and to this he added two\nbaskets containing body-raiment and kimcob or gold cloth and\nstuffs inworked and studded with gems; also jewellery and\nprecious stones, pearls and what not: nor did he forget a coffer\ncontaining the eight thousand pieces of gold.[FN#141] Then he\nsent them upon their errand, saying, \"Take up all this and bear\nit to such a house in the Darb al-Zaji and make it over to the\nancient dame who owneth the hall; and when she asketh, 'Who was\nit sent you?' do ye answer, 'Thy son-in-law;' and should she\nenquire, 'What is his craft?' respond, 'We know it not;' and\nshould she demand the name, declare, 'Al-Bundukani.' Accordingly\nthe porters fared forth, and reaching the tenement rapped at the\ndoor, when the old woman came out and cried, \"Who knocketh here?\"\nand they replied \"Open and take what we have brought of cloth and\nclothes and so forth.\" But when she looked upon the loads she\nwailed and cried, \"Indeed ye have wandered from the way: whence\ncould all this prosperity have befallen us? return with it to the\nowner thereof.\" They asked her, \"Is not this hall that which was\nbuilded this day?\" And when she answered, \"Yes,\" quoth they,\n\"Then 'twas hither thy son-in-law sent us.\" With these words they\nwent in and set down whatso was with them, but the old woman\nwailed and cried aloud, \"'Tis not for us: ye have wandered from\nyour way.\" \"It is for you, indeed,\" they rejoined, \"and thy son-\nin-law saith, 'Adorn your dwelling and don the stuffs and dress\ntherewith whomso you choose:' as for him, he hath much business\nyet will he come to you what time the folk sleep.\" \"Yes, indeed,\"\nquoth she to herself, \"Robbers never do come save by night.\" And\nwhen the Hammals went their ways the old woman fared forth to her\nneighbours and summoned them to assist her in ranging the\nfurniture and vaiselle;[FN#142] so they gathered together and\nentered; and, when they beheld what had befallen, their eyes were\ndazed and dazzled by seeing the restoration of the hall and by\nthe stuffs and vases therein. So they asked her, \"Whence camest\nthou by all this, and who set for thee this dwelling in such\ncondition and at what time? Yesterday 'twas a ruin and showed\nneither marble nor whitewash nor stencilling. Can it not be that\nwe are sleeping and haply that we see a dream-house?\" She\nreplied, \"No vision is this, but evidence of eye-sight: and what\nwork ye behold was wrought by my son-in-law during this one day\nand to-day also he sent me these stuffs and other matters whereon\nye look.\" \"And who may be thy son-in-law?\" asked they, \"and when\ndidst thou wed thy daughter while we wotted naught thereof?\"\nAnswered she, \"To-day all this happened;\" and they rejoined, \"And\nwhat may be the bridegroom's calling? haply he is a mighty\nmerchant or an Emir.\" \"Nor merchant nor Emir,\" quoth she, \"but a\nRobber and the Head and Captain of Bandits!\" Hereat the women\nwere startled and cried, \"Allah upon thee, do thou charge him\nanent us that he plunder not aught from our houses, seeing that\nwe have a claim of neighbourhood and gossipry upon you.\" \"Never\nfear,\" she replied, \"he is not wont to take aught of neighbours\nalbeit he be a Viceregent of the Jann.\" So their hearts were\nheartened, and they fell to ordering the furniture and\ndecorations; and, when they had ended the ordinance of the house,\nthey applied themselves to dressing the bride; and they brought\nher a tirewoman and robed her in the finest robes and raiment and\nprepared her and adorned her with the choicest ornaments. And\nwhile they did thus behold, up came other porters carrying crates\nof meat, such as pigeon-poults and poultry, Kat\u00e1s,[FN#143] and\nquails,[FN#144] lambs and butcher's meat, clarified butter and\nother cooking material, with all manner of edibles and delicacies\nsuch as sugar and Halw\u00e1-confections and the like thereof. The\nHammals then said to the household, \"'Take ye this which your\nson-in-law hath sent to you saying, 'Do ye eat and feed your\nneighbours and whomso ye please.'\" Quoth the old woman, \"I ask\nyou, for Allah's sake, to let me know what may be my son-in-law's\ncraft and his name;\" and quoth they, \"His name is Al-Bundukani,\nbut what his business may be we know not;\" and so saying they\nwent their ways. Hereupon exclaimed certain of the women who were\npresent, \"By the Apostle, he is naught but a robber;\" while\nothers who had claims upon the old housemistress cried, \"Be\nwhatever may be, before the man who can do after this fashion all\nthe folk in Baghdad are helpless.\" Presently they served the\nprovision and all ate their sufficiency; then they removed the\ntrays and set on others loaded with the confections which they\nalso enjoyed; and at last after dividing the orts amongst the\nneighbours they reserved some of the best of meats and sweetmeats\nfor the bridegroom's supper. In due time a report was bruited\nabout the quarter that the old woman had wedded her daughter with\na robber who had enriched them with what booty he had brought\nthem. And these tidings spread from folk to folk till they\nreached the young merchant of whom mention hath been made, the\nsame who had sought the maiden to wife and who had not wedded her\nbecause refused by her mother. Also he was told that the damsel\nhad been married to a robber who had rebuilt the hall with\nmarble, and the plasterers and painters and carpenters and\njoiners had wrought therein works which astounded the beholders;\nmoreover that the bridegroom had sent them of stuffs and\njewellery a matter beyond count or compute. Hearing this report\nhe found the matter grievous on him and the fire of envy flamed\nin his heart and he said to himself, \"Naught remaineth to me\nexcept that I wend me to the W\u00e1l\u00ed[FN#145] and tempt him with\npromises and thereby work the ruin of this robber and take the\ndamsel to myself.\" With these words he rose up sans stay or delay\nand, going to the Chief of Police related to him all that\noccurred and promised him a muchel of money, saying, \"Whatso thou\nwantest can be gotten from this robber inasmuch as he owneth good\ngalore.\" The Wali rejoiced and replied, \"Be patient until after\nsupper-tide when the thief shall have returned home and we will\ngo and catch him and thou shalt carry away the young lady.\" So\nthe trader blessed him and took himself off and waited at home\nuntil it was supper-time and the streets were void of folk.\nPresently N\u00e1z\u00fak[FN#146] the Wali mounted horse with four hundred\nheadsmen and smiters of the sword, link-boys and low\nfellows,[FN#147] bearing cressets and paper-lanthorns under four\nhead constables and rode to the house of the old woman. Now all\nthe gossips had departed to their abodes and were dispersed, nor\ndid one of them remain behind; but the household had lighted wax\ncandles and was expecting the bridegroom with bolted doors when\nbehold, the Chief of Police came up and finding all shut bade his\nmen knock with an easy rap. This was heard by those within the\nhall and the ancient dame sprang up and went to the entrance,\nwhence she espied gleams of light athwart the door-chinks and\nwhen she looked out of the window she saw the Wali and his merry\nmen crowding the street till the way was cut. Now the Chief had a\nlieutenant Sham\u00e1mah[FN#148] hight, which was a meeting-place of\nill manners and morals; for naught was dearer to him save the\nstraitening of a Moslem, nor was there upon his body a single\nhair which affected or aided the veiling of Allah.[FN#149] Brief\nhe was, even as the poet said,\n\n\"Whoreson and child of thousand pagans twain; * Son of the Road\n     to lasting sin and bane;\nThe Lord of Ruth ne'er grew him e'en a hair * Was not with this\n     or that of contact fain!\"[FN#150]\n\nNow this man, who was standing beside the Chief of Police, seized\nthe opportunity of saying, \"O Emir, what booteth our standing\nidle in this stead? Better 'twere that we break down the door and\nrush in upon them and snatch what we want and loot all the stuffs\nin the house.\" Hereat came forward another lieutenant who was\ncalled Hasan[FN#151]--the Handsome--for that his face was fair\nand his works were fairer and he was a meeting-place of fairest\ndeeds; and the same was wont to stand at the Wali's door as a\nsymbol of ruth to mankind. So he came forward and said, \"O Emir,\nthis were not the rede which is right and yonder man's words lack\ngood counsel, seeing that none hath complained against this folk\nand we know not an the accused be a thief or not: furthermore we\nfear consequences for that haply this merchant speaketh with an\nobject, they having forbidden his marrying the girl: do not\ntherefore cast thyself into that shall harm thee, but rather let\nus enquire anent the matter openly and publicly; and should it\nprove to be as reported, then the Emir's opinion shall prevail.\"\nAll this took place while the old woman heard from behind the\ndoor whatso they said. Hereat she dried up with dread and\naffright and going within acquainted her daughter with what had\noccurred and ended with, \"The Wali still is standing at the\ndoor.\" The young lady was sore terrified and said to her mother,\n\"Do thou bar[FN#152] the entrance till Allah haply deign bring us\ncomfort.\" So the old woman fared forth and bolted and barred it\nyet more straitly; and when they knocked a second time she\nacknowledged the rap by \"Who is at the door?\" and the lieutenant\nShamamah replied to her and said, \"O ill-omened old woman, O\naccomplice of robbers, knowest thou not that he who rappeth is\nthe Master of Police and his young men? So open to us\nforthright.\" Quoth she, \"We be Har\u00edms and ne'er a man with us,\ntherefore we will not open to any;\" and quoth he, \"Open, or we\nwill break it down.\" The old woman made no reply but returning to\nher daughter within said to her, \"Now look at this Robber and how\nfrom the first of this night we have been humbled for his sake:\nyet had he fallen into this trap his life had been taken, and\nwould Heaven he may not come now and be made prisoner by them. Ah\nme! Were thy father on life the Wali never had availed to take\nstation at our house-door or the door of any other.\" \"Such be our\nlot,\" replied the girl, and she went to the casement that she\nmight espy what was doing. This is how it fared with them; but as\nconcerneth the Caliph, when the folk had finished crowding the\nstreets he disguised himself and hending in hand his pellet-bow\nand slinging his sword over his shoulder he went forth intending\nfor his bride. But when reaching the head of the street he saw\nlanthorns and stir of crowd:[FN#153] so he approached to look and\nhe espied the Wali and his men with the merchant standing by the\nChief's side together with the lieutenants, all save one\nshouting, \"Break down the door and rush in and seize the old\nwoman: then let us question her with torture until she confess\nwhere be her Robber of a son-in-law.\" But Hasan the fourth\nofficer dissuaded them saying, \"O good folk, do ye fear Almighty\nAllah and be not over hasty, saving that hurry is of old Harry.\nThese be all women without a man in the house; so startle them\nnot; and peradventure the son-in-law ye seek may be no thief and\nso we fall into an affair wherefrom we may not escape without\ntrouble the most troublous.\" Thereupon Shamamah came up and cried\nout, \"O Hasan, it ill becometh thee to stand at the Wali's door:\nbetter 'twere for thee to sit on the witness-bench; for none\nshould be gate-keepers to a head policeman save they who have\nabandoned good deeds and who devour ordure[FN#154] and who ape\nthe evil practices of the populace.\" All this and the Caliph\noverheard the fellow's words and said to himself, \"'Tis well! I\nwill indeed gladden thee, O Accurst.\" Then he turned and espied a\nstreet which was no thoroughfare, and one of its houses at the\nupper end adjoined the tenement wherein was his bride; so he went\nup to it and behold, its gateway showed a curtain drawn across\nand a lamp hung up and an Eunuch sitting upon the door-bench. Now\nthis was the mansion of a certain noble who was lord over a\nthousand of his peers and his name was the Emir Y\u00fanas:[FN#155] he\nwas an angry man and a violent; and on the day when he had not\nbastinado'd some wight he would not break his fast and loathed\nhis meat for the stress of his ill-stomach. But when the Eunuch\nsaw the Caliph he cried out at him and sprang up to strike him\nexclaiming, \"Woe to thee! art thou Jinn-mad? whither going?\" But\nthe Commander of the Faithful shouted at him saying, \"Ho! thou\nill-omened slave!\" and the chattel in his awe of the Caliphate\nfancied that the roar was of a lion about to rend him and he ran\noff and entered the presence of his owner quivering with terror.\n\"Woe to thee!\" said his master; \"what hath befallen thee?\" and\nhe, \"O my lord, the while I was sitting at the gate suddenly a\nman passed up the street and entered the house-door; and, when I\nwould have beaten him, he cried at me with a terrible voice\nsaying, 'Ho, thou ill-omened slave!' So I fled from him in\naffright and came hither to thee.\" Now when the Emir Yunas heard\nhis words, he raged with such excessive rage that his soul was\nlike to leave his body and he cried out saying, \"Since the man\naddressed thee as 'ill-omened slave,' and thou art my chattel, I\ntherefore am servile and of evil-omen. But indeed I will show him\nhis solace!\" He then sprang to his feet and hent in hand a file-\nwrought mace[FN#156] studded with fourteen spikes, wherewith had\nhe smitten a hill he had shivered it; and then he went forth into\nthe street muttering, \"I, ill-omened!\"[FN#157] But the Caliph\nseeing him recognised him straitway and cried, \"Yunas!\" whereat\nthe Emir knew him by his voice, and casting the mace from his\nhand kissed ground and said, \"'Tis well, O Commander of the\nFaithful!\" Harun replied, \"Woe to thee, dog! whilst thou art the\nChief of the Emirs shall this Wali, of men the meanest, come upon\nthy neighbours and oppress them and terrify them (these being\nwomen and without a man in the house), and yet thou holdest thy\npeace and sittest in ease at home nor goest out to him and\nejectest him by the foulest of ejections?\" Presently the other\nreplied, \"O Prince of True Believers, but for the dread of thee\nlest thou say, 'This be the warder of the watch, why hast thou\nexceeded with him?' I would have made for him a night of the\nfulsomest, for him and for those with him. But an the Caliph\ncommand I will forthright break them all to bits nor leave\namongst them a sound man; for what's the worth of this Wali and\nall his varlets?\" \"First admit us to thy mansion,\" quoth the\nCommander of the Faithful; so they passed in and the housemaster\nwould have seated his visitor for the guest-rite but he refused\nall offers and only said, \"Come up with us to the terrace-roof.\"\nAccordingly they ascended and found that between it and the\ndwelling of the bride was but a narrow lane; whereupon quoth the\nCaliph, \"O Yunas, I would find a place whence I can look down\nupon these women.\" \"There is no other way,\" quoth the other,\n\"save herefrom; and, if thou desire, I will fetch thee a\nladder[FN#158] and plant it in such wise that thou canst pass\nacross.\" \"Do so,\" rejoined the other, and the Emir bringing a\nladder disposed it after bridge fashion that the Caliph crossed\nover the lane to the house on the other side. Then quoth he, \"Go\nsit thee in thy stead, and when I want thee I will call.\" Yunas\ndid as he was bidden and remained on the watch for his lord's\nsummons. But the Prince of True Believers walked over the\nterrace-roof with the lightest tread and not audible, lest his\nfootsteps frighten the inmates, till he came to the\nparapet[FN#159] and looking adown therefrom upon the hall he saw\na site like the Garden of Paradise which had been newly pranked\nand painted, whilst the lighted wax-candles and candelabra showed\nthe young lady, the bride, sitting upon her bedstead adorned with\ngems and jewellery. She was like a Sun shedding sheen in sky\nserene, or a full moon at the fullest seen, with brow flower-\nbright and eyes black and white and beauty-spots fresh as greenth\nto the sight; brief she was as one of whom the poet saith,\n\n\"She's a wonder! her like none in universe see, * For beauty and\n     graces and softest blee:\nThat fairest of blossoms she blooms on earth * Than gardens the\n     sheeniest sheenier she:\nAnd soft is the rose of her cheek to the touch * 'Twixt apple's\n     and Eglantine's lenity,\nAnd the forelock-falls on the brow of her * Death-doom to the\n     World and the Faith decree;\nAnd she shames the branchlet of Basil when * She paces the Garden\n     so fair and free.\nAn water doubted her soft sweet gait * She had glided with water\n     o'er greenery:\nWhen she walketh the world like the H\u00far al-Ayn[FN#160] * By the\n     tongue of looks to her friends say we:--\n'O Seeker, an soughtest the heart of me * Heart of other thou\n     never hadst sought for thee:\nO lover, an filled thee my love thou ne'er * 'Mid lovers hadst\n     dealt me such tyranny.\nPraise Him who made her an idol for man * And glory to Him who to\n     her quoth 'BE'!'\"\n\nThe Caliph was astonishment-struck at what he sighted of her\nbeauty and loveliness whilst her mother stood before her saying,\n\"O my child, how shall be our case with these tyrants,[FN#161]\nespecially we being women and sans other recourse save Allah\nAlmighty? Would Heaven I wot whence came to us this Robber who,\nhad thy sire been on life, would have been far from able to stand\nat the door. But this is the doom of Destiny upon us by God's\nwill.\" Replied the young lady, \"O mother mine, and how long wilt\nthou put me to shame for this young man and call him 'Robber,'\nthis whom the Almighty hath made my portion; and haply had he\nbeen a good man and no thief he had been given to some\nother?[FN#162] However he is my lot, and lauds to the Lord and\ngratitude for that He hath bestowed and made my portion.\" When\nthe ancient dame heard these words she pursued, \"I hope to\nHeaven, O my daughter, that thy portion may not come hither this\nnight, otherwise sore I fear they will seize him and do him a\nharm and well-away for his lost youthtide!\" All this took place\nbetween mother and daughter whilst the Caliph stood upon the\nterrace-roof listening to their say, and presently he picked up a\npebble the size of a vetchling[FN#163] and, setting it between\nhis thumb and forefinger, jerked it at the wax candle which\nburned before the young lady and extinguished the light. \"Who put\nout yon taper?\" cried the old woman, \"and left the others afire?\"\nand so saying she rose and lighted it again. But Harun took aim\nat that same and jerking another pebble once more extinguished it\nand made her exclaim, \"Ah me! what can have put out this also?\"\nand when the quenching and quickening were repeated for the third\ntime she cried with a loud voice saying, \"Assuredly the air must\nhave waxed very draughty and gusty; so whenever I light a candle\nthe breeze bloweth it out.\" Hereat laughed the young lady and\nputting forth her hand to the taper would have lit it a third\ntime when behold, her finger was struck by a pebble and her wits\nfled her head. But as the mother turned towards the terrace-wall\nthe first glance showed to her sight her son-in-law there\nsitting, so she cried to her daughter \"O my child, behold thy\nbridegroom whence he cometh unto thee, but robbers arrive not\nsave by the roof, and had he not been a housebreaker he would\nhave entered by the door. However Alhamdolillah that he hath\nchosen the way of our terrace, otherwise they had captured him;\"\npresently adding, \"Woe to thee, O miserable, fly hence or the\nwatch at the door shall seize thee and we women shall not avail\nto release thee after thou fallest into their hands; nor will any\nhave ruth upon thee; nay, they will cut off at least one of thine\nextremities. So save thyself and vanish so as not to lapse into\nthe grip of the patrol.\" But hearing these her words he laughed\nand said to her, \"Do thou open to me the terrace-wicket that I\ncome down to you and see how to act with these dogs and dog-\nsons.\" She replied, \"Woe to thee, O miserable, deemest thou these\nbe like unto that poor Kazi who snipped his gown in fear of thee:\nhe who now standeth at the door is Nazuk Wali and hast thou\nauthority over him also?\" He repeated, \"Open to me that I may\ncome down, otherwise I will break in the door;\" so she unbolted\nthe terrace-wicket and he descended the stairs and entered the\nhall where he took seat beside his bride and said, \"I am an-\nhungered; what have ye by way of food?\" The ancient dame cried,\n\"And what food shall go down grateful to thy stomach and pleasant\nwhen the police are at the door?\" and he replied, \"Bring me what\nye have and fear not.\" So she arose and served up to him whatso\nremained of meat and sweetmeat and he fell to morselling[FN#164]\nthem with mouthfuls and soothing them with soft words till they\nhad their sufficiency of victual, after which she, the mother-in-\nlaw, removed the tray. Meanwhile the Chief of Police and his\nvarlets stood shouting at the door and saying, \"Open to us,\notherwise we will break in.\" Presently quoth the Caliph to the\nold trot, \"Take this seal-ring and go thou forth to them and\nplace it in the Wali's hands. An he ask thee, 'Who is the owner\nof this signet?' answer thou, 'Here is he with me;' and if he\nenquire of thee, 'What doth he wish and what may he want?' do\nthou reply, 'He requireth a ladder of four rungs and its gear,\nnot forgetting a bundle of rods;[FN#165] also do thou, O man,\nenter with four of thy lieutenants and see what else he\ndemandeth.'\" When the ancient dame heard this from him she\nexclaimed, \"And doth the Wali also dread thee or fear this seal-\nring? My only fear is that they may now seize me and throw me and\nbeat me with a bastinado so painful that it will be the death of\nme, and they hearken not to a word of mine, nor suffer thee to\navail me aught.\" Rejoined the Caliph, \"Be not alarmed, he shall\nnot be able to gainsay my word;\" and she, \"An the Wali fear thee\nand give ear to thee, then will I gird my loins and suffer thee\nto teach me something of thy craft even were it that of robbing\nslaves' shoon.\" \"Go forth without affright,\" said he laughing at\nher words, whereupon she took the seal-ring and went as far as\nbehind the door and no farther, muttering to herself, \"I will not\nopen it wholly but only a little so as to give them the signet;\nthen if they hearken to what saith this Robber 'tis well,\notherwise I will keep the bolt fastened as it was.\" Presently she\nwent forward and addressed the watch saying, \"What is it ye\nwant?\" and Shamamah cried in reply, \"O ill-omened old baggage, O\nrider of the jar,[FN#166] O consorter of thieves, we want the\nrobber who is in thy house that we may take him and strike off\nhis hand and his foot; and thou shalt see what we will do with\nthee after that.\" She shrank from his words, but presently she\nheartened her heart and said to him, \"Amongst you is there any\nwho can read a whit?\" \"Yes,\" said the Wali, and she rejoined,\n\"Take thou this seal-ring and see what be graven thereupon and\nwhat may be its owner's name.\" \"Almighty Allah curse him,\" cried\nthe lieutenant Shamamah, presently adding to the Wali, \"O Emir,\nas soon as the old crone shall come forth I will throw her and\nflog her with a sore flogging; then let us enter the door and\nslay her and harry the house and seize the robber; after which I\nwill inspect the signet and find out its owner and who sendeth\nit; then, if this be one of whom we stand in shame we will say,\n'Indeed we read not its graving before the command was somewhat\nrashly carried out.' On this wise none may avail to molest us or\nthee.\" Hereupon he drew near the door and cried to her, \"Show me\nthat thou hast, and perhaps the sending it may save thee.\" So she\nopened one leaf of the door sufficient to thrust out her hand and\ngave him the ring which he took and passed to the Chief of\nPolice. But when the Wali had considered and read the name\nengraved (which was that of the Commander of the Faithful, Harun\nthe Orthodox), his colour waxed wan and his limbs quaked with\nfear. \"What is to do with thee?\" asked Shamamah, and the other\nanswered, \"Take and look!\" The man hent the ring in hand and\ncoming forward to the light read what was on it and understood\nthat it was the signet of the Vicar of Allah. So a colick[FN#167]\nattacked his entrails and he would have spoken but he could\nstammer only \"B\u00ed, B\u00ed, B\u00ed\"[FN#168] whereupon quoth the Master of\nPolice, \"The rods of Allah are descending upon us, O accurst, O\nson of a sire accurst: all this is of thy dirty dealing and thy\ngreed of gain: but do thou address thy creditor[FN#169] and save\nthyself alive.\" Hereat quoth Shamamah \"O my lady, what dost thou\nrequire?\" and quoth she to herself, \"Indeed I am rejoiced for\nthat they dread my son-in-law;\" and presently she spoke aloud to\nhim and said, \"The lord of the seal-ring demandeth of thee a\nladder of four rungs, a bundle of rods and cords and a bag\ncontaining the required gear,[FN#170] also that the Wali and his\nfour lieutenants go within to him\" He replied, \"O my lady chief\nof this household, and where is he the owner of the signet?\"\n\"Here is he seated in the hall,\" she replied and the Wali\nrejoined, \"What was it he said to thee?\" She then repeated the\ncommand about the Wali and the men and the bag, whereat he asked\nagain concerning the whereabouts of the signet-owner and declared\nthe gear to be ready, while all of them bepiddled their bag-\ntrousers with fear.[FN#171] Then the Wali and his four\nlieutenants, amongst whom was Shamamah the Accurst, entered the\nhouse, and the Caliph commanded lieutenant Hasan (knowing him for\na kindly man of goodly ways and loath to injure his neighbour as\nproved by his opposing the harshness of Shamamah), saying, \"Hie\nthee, O Hasan, and summon forthright Yunas the Emir of a\nthousand!\" So this lord came in all haste[FN#172] and was bidden\nto bastinado the Wali and Shamamah which he did with such good\nwill that the nails fell from their toes; after which they were\ncarried off and thrown into gaol. Then the Caliph largessed\nlieutenant Hasan; and, appointing him on the spot Chief of\nPolice, dismissed the watch to their barracks. And when the\nstreet was cleared the old woman returning to the Harem said to\nher son-in-law, laughing the while, \"There be none in this world\nto fellow thee as the Prince of Robbers! The Wali dreadeth thee\nand the Kazi dreadeth thee and all dread thee, whilst I gird my\nloins in thy service and become a she-robber amongst the women\neven as thou art a Robber amongst men, and indeed so saith the\nold saw, 'The slave is fashioned of his lord's clay and the son\nafter the features of his sire.' Had this Wali, at his first\ncoming, let break down the door and had his men rushed in upon us\nand thou not present, what would have been our case with them?\nBut now to Allah be laud and gratitude!\" The Caliph hearing these\nwords laughed, and taking seat beside his bride, who rejoiced in\nhim, asked his mother-in-law, \"Say me, didst ever see a Robber\nwho bore him on this wise with the Wali and his men?\" and\nanswered she, \"Never, by the life of thee, but may Allah Almighty\nreprehend the Caliph for that he did by us and punish him for\nwronging us, otherwise who was it forwarded thee to us, O\nRobber?\" Quoth the Commander of the Faithful in his mind, \"How\nhave I wronged this ill-omened old woman that she curseth me?\"\nand presently he asked her, \"And wherein hath the Caliph done\nthee an injury?\" She replied, \"And what hath the Caliph left us\nof livelihood and so forth when he marauded our mansion and\nseized all our seisins? Even this hall was part of the plunder\nand they laid it waste after taking from it all they could of\nmarble and joinery and what-not; and they left us paupers, as\nthou sawest, without aught wherewith to veil us and naught to\neat. So had it not been that Almighty Allah favoured us with\nthyself, O Robber, we had been of the destroyed by famine and so\nforth.\" \"And wherefore did the Caliph plunder you?\" asked he,\n\"and what was the cause of his so doing?\" She answered,[FN#173]\n\"My son was a Chamberlain of the Commander of the Faithful, and\none day as he was sitting in this our home two women asked him\nfor a draught of water which he gave to them. Presently the elder\nbrought him a porcelain charger full of pancakes with the tidings\nthat it had been sent as a return gift from the young lady her\ncompanion who had drunk from his hand; and he replied, 'Set it\ndown and wend thy ways,' which she did. Presently as my son sat\noutside his door, the Watchman came up to offer blessings on the\noccasion of the Greater Festival and he gave him the charger and\nthe man fared forth; but ere an hour had sped, folk came who\nmarauded our mansion, and seizing my son, carried him before the\nCaliph, who demanded of him how the charger had come to his\nhands. He told him what I have told thee, and the Commander of\nthe Faithful asked him, 'Say me sawest thou aught of the charms\nof the young lady?' Now my son had on his lips to say No, but his\ntongue foreran him and he stammered out, 'Yes, I espied her\nface,' without really having seen her at all, for that when\ndrinking she had turned to the wall. The Caliph hearing this\nhapless reply summoned the lady and bade smite both their necks,\nbut in honour of the Festival-eve he had them carried off to\nprison. Such be then the reason of the wrong by the Caliph\nwrought, and except for this injustice and his seizure of my son,\nO Robber, it had been long ere thou hadst wedded my daughter.\"\nWhen the Prince of True Believers heard the words of her, he said\nin his mind, \"Verily I have oppressed these unhappiest\" and he\npresently asked her, \"What wilt thou say if I cause the Caliph to\nfree thy son from gaol and robe him and return his fiefs to him\nand promote him in the Chamberlain's office and return him to\nthee this very night?\" Hereat the old woman laughed and made\nanswer, \"Hold thy peace! This one is no Chief of Police that he\nfear thee and thou work on him whatso thou willest: this one is\nthe Prince of True Believers Harun al-Rashid, whose behest is\nheard both in Orient and in Occident, the lord of hosts and\narmies, one at whose gate the lowest menial is higher in degree\nthan the Wali. Be not therefore beguiled by whatso thou hast\ndone, nor count the Caliph as one of these lest thou cast thyself\ninto doom of destruction, and there be an end of thy affair,\nwhile we unfortunates abide without a man in the house, and my\nson fail of being righted by him who wronged him.\" But when the\nCommander of the Faithful heard these words, his eyes brimmed\nwith tears for ruth of her; then, rising without stay or delay,\nhe would have fared forth when the old woman and the young lady\nhung about his neck crying, \"We adjure thee, by Almighty Allah,\nthat thou draw back from this business, for that we fear greatly\non thy account.\" But he replied, \"There is no help therefor,\" and\nhe made oath that perforce he must go. Then he fared for the\nPalace of his kingship, and seating himself upon the throne bade\nsummon the Emirs and Wazirs and Chamberlains, who flocked into\nthe presence and kissed ground and prayed for him saying, \"'Tis\nwell, Inshallah! and what may be the reason for calling us\ntogether at this time o' night?\" Said he, \"I have been pondering\nthe affair of Alaeddin the Emir, the Chamberlain, how I seized\nhim wrongfully and jailed him, yet amongst you all was not a\nsingle one to intercede for him or to cheer him with your\ncompanionship.\" They bussed ground and replied, \"Verily we were\nawe-struck by the majesty of the Prince of True Believers; but\nnow at this hour we implore of the Commander of the Faithful his\nmercy upon his slave and chattel;\" and so saying, they bared\ntheir heads and kissing the floor did humble obeisance. He\nreplied, \"I have accepted[FN#174] your intercession on his\naccount, and I have vouchsafed to him pardon; so hie ye to him\nand robe him with a sumptuous robe and bring him to me.\" They did\nthe bidding of their lord and led the youth to the presence where\nhe kissed ground and prayed for the permanence of the Caliph's\nrule; and the Sovran accepting this clothed him in a coat whereon\nplates of gold were hammered[FN#175] and binding round his head a\nturband of fine gauze with richly embroidered ends made him Chief\nLord of the Right[FN#176] and said to him, \"Hie thee now to thy\nhome!\" Accordingly he blessed the Prince and went forth\naccompanied by all the Emirs who rode their blood-steeds, and the\nKnights fared with him and escorted him in procession, with\nkettledrums and clarions, till they reached his mansion. Here his\nmother and his sister heard the hubbub of the multitude and the\ncrash of the kettledrums and were asking, \"What is to do?\" when\nthe bearers of glad tidings forewent the folk and knocked at the\ndoor saying, \"We require of you the sweetmeats of good news, for\nthe Caliph hath shown grace to Alaeddin the Chamberlain and hath\nincreased his fiefs besides making him Chief Lord of the Right.\"\nHearing this they rejoiced with joy exceeding and gave to the\nmessengers what satisfied them, and while they were thus, behold,\nAlaeddin the son of the house arrived and entered therein. His\nmother and sister sprang up and saluted him throwing their arms\nround his neck and weeping for stress of gladness. Presently he\nsat down and fell to recounting to them what had befallen him;\nbut chancing to look around he saw that the house had changed\ncondition and had been renovated; so he said \"O my mother, the\ntime of my absence hath been short and when was this lodging made\nnew?\" She replied, \"O my son, what day thou wast seized, they\nplundered our abode even to tearing up the slabs and the doors,\nnor did they leave us aught worth a single dirham: indeed we\npassed three days without breaking our fast upon aught of\nvictual.\" Hearing this from her quoth he, \"But whence cometh all\nthis to you, these stuffs and vessels, and who was it rebuilded\nthis house in a space so short? Or haply is all this I see in the\nland of dreams?\" But quoth she, \"Nay, 'tis no vision but an\nabsolute reality and 'twas all done by my son-in-law in a single\nday.\" \"And who may be my new brother-in-law?\" he enquired, \"and\nwhen didst thou give away my sister, and who married her without\nmy leave?\"[FN#177] \"Hold thy peace, O my son,\" rejoined she, \"but\nfor him we had died of want and hunger!\" \"And what may be his\ncalling?\" the Emir asked, and she answered, \"A Robber!\" But when\nher son heard this he was like to choke with anger and he cried,\n\"What degree hath this robber that he become my brother-in-law?\nNow by the tomb of my forbears I will assuredly smite his neck.\"\n\"Cast away from thee such wild talk,\" cried she, \"for the\nmischief of another is greater than thy mischief, withal naught\nthereof availed him[FN#178] with a man who wrought all thou seest\nin half a day.\" Then she related to her son what had befallen the\nKazi and the Wali from the man and how he had bastinado'd the\npolice, showing him as he spoke the blood which had poured from\ntheir bodies upon the floor for excess of flogging; and she\ncontinued, \"Presently I complained to him of my case, how the\nCommander of the Faithful had seized thee and imprisoned thee\nwhen he said to me, 'At this very moment I fare to the Caliph and\ncause him to free thy son and suffer him to return home; also to\nrobe him and to increase his fiefs;' whereupon he went from us\nand after an hour, lo and behold! thou appearedst; so but for him\nwe had never seen thee any more.\" When her son heard these words,\nhis wits were bewildered and he was confounded at his case, so he\nasked her, \"What may this man be styled and what may be his\nname?\" She answered, \"We are ignorant an he have any name or not,\nfor however much we enquired of the marble-cutters and master\nartificers and handi-craftsmen, they told us only that his bye-\nname[FN#179] is Al-Bundukani without letting us know any other.\nMoreover on like wise when he sent me to fetch the Kazi he bade\nme tell him that Al-Bundukani had summoned him.\" Now when the\nEmir Alaeddin heard her name Al-Bundukani he knew that it was the\nCommander of the Faithful, nor could he prevent himself springing\nto his feet and kissing ground seven times; but as his mother\nbeheld this she laughed and cried, \"O thou brawler,[FN#180] 'tis\nas if he had met thee in the street and had given thee to drink a\ndraught of clotted blood, one beyond the common![FN#181] What of\nthy brave words when anon thou saidst, 'I will smite his neck'?\"\n\"And dost thou know,\" quoth he, \"who may be the person thou so\ncallest?\" and quoth she, \"Who may he be?\" \"The Commander of the\nFaithful, the Caliph Harun al-Rashid in person,\" cried her son,\n\"and what other could have done with the Kazi and the Wali and\nthe rest what he did?\" When she heard these words, she dried up\nwith dread and cried, \"O my son, set me in a place of\nsafety,[FN#182] for he will suffer me no longer to cumber the\nface of earth by reason of my often speaking at him; nor did I\never cease to address him as 'Robber.'\" Now whilst they were\nspeaking behold, came up the Commander of the Faithful, whereat\nAlaeddin arose and kissed ground and blessed him, but the ancient\ndame took to flight and hid her in a closet. The Caliph seated\nhimself, then he looked around and, not seeing his mother-in-law,\nsaid to the Chamberlain, \"And where may be thy parent?\" \"She\ndreadeth,\" replied Alaeddin, 'and standeth in awe of the Caliph's\nmajesty;\" but Harun rejoined, \"There is no harm for her.\" Then he\nbade her be summoned whereat she appeared and kissed ground and\nprayed for the permanency of his kingship, and he said to her,\n\"Erewhiles thou girdest thy waist to aid me in stealing slaves'\nshoon and now thou fliest from thy teacher?\" She blushed for\nshame and exclaimed, \"Pardon, O Commander of the Faithful,\" and\nHarun al-Rashid[FN#183] replied, \"May Allah pardon the Past.\"\nPresently he sent for the Princess, the daughter of the Chosro\u00eb\nand, summoning the Kazi, forthright divorced her and gave her in\nmarriage to Alaeddin, his Chamberlain. Hereupon were spread\nbride-feasts which gathered together all the Lords of the Empire\nand the Grandees of Baghdad, and tables and trays of food were\nlaid out during three successive days for the mesquin and the\nmiserable. The visit of entrance was paid by the two bridegrooms\non a single night when both went in unto their wives and took\ntheir joy of them, and made perfect their lives with the\nliveliest enjoyment. And ever after they passed the fairest of\ndays till such time as came to them the Destroyer of delights and\nthe Severer of societies and all passed away and died.\n\nSo praise be to the Ever-Living who dieth not!\n\n             Such is the tale which came down to us\n                 in completion and perfection,\n                    and glory be to God, the\n                   Lord of the three Worlds.\n                             AMEN.\n\n                               M.\n\n\n\n\n\n             THE LINGUIST-DAME, THE DUENNA AND THE\n                          KING'S SON.\n\n\n\nWe here begin,[FN#184] with the aidance of Allah Almighty, and\ninvite the History of the Tarjum\u00e1nah[FN#185] and the\nKahramanah[FN#186] and the young man, the King's son, and whatso\nhapped between them of controversy and of contention and\ninterrogation on various matters.\n\nIt is related (but Allah is All-knowing anent what passed and\npreceded us of the histories belonging to bygone peoples) that\nthere reigned in a city of Roum[FN#187] a King of high degree and\nexalted dignity, a lord of power and puissance.  But this Sovran\nwas issue-less, so he ceased not to implore Allah Almighty that\nboon of babe might be vouchsafed to him, and presently the Lord\nhad pity upon him and deigned grant him a man-child.  He bade\ntend the young Prince with tenderest tending, and caused him to\nbe taught every branch of knowledge, and the divine precepts of\nwisdom and morals and manners; nor did there remain aught of\nprofitable learning wherein the Youth was not instructed; and\nupon this education the King expended a mint of money.  Now after\nthe Youth grew up Time rounded upon the Sovran his sire and his\ncase was laid bare and he was perplext as to himself and he\nwotted not whatso he should ever do.  Presently his son took\nheart to direct him aright, and asked, \"O my father, say me, wilt\nthou give ear to that wherewith I would bespeak thee?\"  \"Speak\nout,\" quoth the King, \"that is with thee of fair rede;\" and quoth\nthe youth, \"Rise, O my sire, that we depart this city ere any be\nware of our wending; so shall we find rest and issue from the\nstraits of indigence now closing around us.  In this place there\nis no return of livelihood to us and poverty hath emaciated us\nand we are set in the sorriest of conditions than which naught\ncan be sorrier.\"  \"O my child,\" quoth his sire in reply,\n\"admirable is this advice wherewith thou hast advised us, O my\nson, pious and dutiful; and be the affair now upon Allah and upon\nthee.\"  Hereupon the Youth gat all ready and arising one night\ntook his father and mother without any being cognisant; and the\nthree, entrusting themselves to the care of Allah Almighty,\nwandered forth from home.  And they ceased not wandering over the\nwilds and the wolds till at last they saw upon their way a large\ncity and a mighty fine; so they entered it and made for a place\nwhereat they alighted.  Presently the young Prince arose and went\nforth to stroll about the streets and take his solace; and whilst\nhe walked about he asked concerning the city and who was its\nSovran.  They gave him tidings thereof saying, \"This be the\ncapital of a Sultan, equitable and high in honour amongst the\nKings.\"  Hereupon returning to his father and mother, quoth he to\nthem, \"I desire to sell you as slaves to this Sultan,[FN#188] and\nwhat say ye?\"  Quoth they, \"We have committed our case to\nAlmighty Allah and then to thee, O our son; so do whatso thou\nwishest and judgest good.\"  Hereat the Prince, repairing to the\nPalace, craved leave to enter to the King and, having obtained\nsuch permission, made his obeisance in the presence.  Now when\nthe Sultan looked upon him he saw that his visitor was of the\nsons of the great, so he asked him, \"What be thy need, Ho thou\nthe Youth?\" and the other made answer, \"O my lord, thy slave is a\nmerchant man and with me is a male captive, handy of handicraft,\nGod-fearing and pious, and a pattern of honesty and honour in\nperfect degree: I have also a bondswoman goodly in graciousness\nand of civility complete in all thou canst command of bondswomen;\nthese I desire to vend, O my lord, to thy Highness, and if thou\nwouldst buy them of thy servant they are between thy hands and at\nthy disposal, and we all three are thy chattels.\"  When the King\nheard these pleasant words spoken by the Youth, he said to him,\n\"And where are they?  Bring them hither that I behold them; and,\nif they be such as thou informest me, I will bid them be bought\nof thee!\"  Hereupon the Prince fared forth and informed his\nparents of this offer and said to them, \"Rise up with me that I\nvend you and take from this Sultan your price wherewith I will\npass into foreign parts and win me wealth enough to redeem and\nfree you on my return hither.  And the rest we will expend upon\nour case.\"  \"O our son,\" said they, \"do with us whatso thou\nwishest.\"  Anon,[FN#189] the parents arose and prepared to\naccompany him and the Youth took them and led them into the\npresence of that Sultan where they made their obeisance, and the\nKing at first sight of them marvelled with extreme marvel and\nsaid to them, \"Are ye twain slaves to this young man?\"  Said\nthey, \"Yes, O our lord;\" whereupon he turned to the Youth and\nasked him, \"What be the price thou requirest for these two?\"  \"O\nmy lord,\" replied he, \"give me to the price of this man slave, a\nmare saddled and bridled and perfect in weapons and\nfurniture;[FN#190] and, as for this bondswoman, I desire thou\nmake over to me as her value, a suit of clothes, the choicest and\ncompletest.\"  Accordingly the Sultan bade pay him all his\nrequirement, over and above which he largessed him with an\nhundred dinars; and the Youth, after obtaining his demand and\nreceiving such tokens of the royal liberality, kissed the King's\nhands and farewelled his father and mother.  Then he applied\nhimself to travel, seeking prosperity from Allah and all\nunknowing whither he should wend.  And whilst he was faring upon\nhis wayfare he was met by a horseman of the horsemen,[FN#191] and\nthey both exchanged salutations and welcomings, when the stranger\nwas highly pleased at the politeness of the King's son and the\nelegance of his expressions.  Presently, pulling from his pocket\na sealed letter wrapt in a kerchief he passed it over to the\nYouth, saying, \"In very sooth, O my brother, affection for thee\nhath befallen my heart by reason of the goodliness of thy manners\nand elegance of thine address and the sweetness of thy language;\nand now I desire to work thy weal by means of this missive.\"\n\"And what of welfare may that be?\" asked the Prince, whereto the\nhorseman answered, \"Take with thee this letter and forthwith upon\narriving at the Court of the King whither thou art wending, hand\nto him this same; so shalt thou obtain from him gain abundant and\nmighty great good and thou shalt abide with him in degree of\nhighmost honour.  This paper (gifted to me by my teacher) hath\nalready brought me ample livelihood and prodigious profit, and I\nhave bestowed it upon thee by reason of thine elegance and good\nbreeding and thy courteousness in showing me respect.\"  Hereat\nthe Youth, the son of the King, answered him, \"Allah requite thee\nwith weal and grant thou gain thy wish;\" and so saying accepted\nthe letter of that horseman with honest heart and honourable\nintent, meditating in his mind, \"Inshallah ta'\u00e1la--an it be the\nwill of God the Greatest I shall have good fortune to my lot by\nthe blessing of this epistle; then will I fare and set free my\nfather and my mother.\"  So the Prince resumed his route and he\nexulted in himself especially at having secured the writ, by\nmeans whereof he was promised abundant weal.  Presently, it\nchanced that he became drowthy with excessive drowth that waxed\nright sore upon him and he saw upon his path no water to drink;\nand by the tortures of thirst he was like to lose his life.  So\nhe turned round and looked at the mare he bestrode and found her\ncovered with a foam of sweat wholly unlike her wonted way.\nHereat dismounting he brought out the wrapper wherein the letter\nwas enrolled and loosing it he mopped up therewith his animal's\nsweat and squeezing it into a cup he had by him drank it off and\nfound to his joy that he was somewhat comforted.  Then, of his\nextreme satisfaction with the letter, he said to himself, \"Would\nHeaven I knew that which is within, and how the profit which the\nhorseman promised should accrue to me therefrom.  So let me open\nit and see its contents that my heart may be satisfied and my\nsoul be joyed.\"  Then he did as he devised and perused its\npurport and he mastered its meaning and the secret committed to\nit, which he found as follows, \"O my lord, do thou straightway on\nthe arrival of him who beareth these presents slay him, nor leave\nhim one moment on life; because this Youth came to me and I\nentreated him with honour the highmost that could be of all\nhonouring, as a return for which this traitor of the salt, this\nreprobate betrayed me in a daughter that was by me.  I feared to\ndo him dead lest I come to shame amongst the folk and endure\ndisgrace, I and my tribe, wherefore I have forwarded him to thy\nHighness that thou mayest torture him with torments of varied art\nand end his affair and slaughter him, thus saving us from the\nshame which befel us at the hands of this reprobate\ntraitor.\"[FN#192]  Now when the young Prince read this writ and\ncomprehended its contents, he suspected that it was not written\nconcerning him and he took thought in himself, saying, \"Would\nHeaven I knew what I can have done by this horseman who thus\nseeketh diligently to destroy my life, for that this one had with\nhim no daughter, he being alone and wending his way without any\nother save himself; and I made acquaintance with him nor passed\nthere between us a word which was unworthy or unmeet.  Now this\naffair must needs have one of two faces; to wit, the first, that\nsuch mishap really did happen to him from some youth who\nfavoureth me and when he saw the likeness he gave me the letter;\nor, on the second count, this must be a trial and a test sent to\nme from Almighty Allah, and praise be to God the Great who\ninspired me to open this missive.  At any rate I thank the Most\nHighest and laud Him for His warding off the distress and\ncalamity descending upon me and wherefrom He delivered me.\"  Then\nthe young Prince ceased not wending over the wildest of wolds\nuntil he came to a mighty grand city which he entered; and,\nhiring himself a lodging in a Khan,[FN#193] dismounted thereat;\nthen, having tethered his mare and fed her with a sufficiency of\nfodder, he fared forth to walk about the thoroughfares.  Suddenly\nhe was met by an ancient dame who considered him and noted him\nfor a handsome youth and an elegant, tall of stature and with the\nsigns of prosperity showing manifest between his eyes.  Hereat he\naccosted her and questioned her of the city folk and their\ncircumstances, whereto the old woman made reply with the\nfollowing purport, \"Here in our city reigneth a King of exalted\ndignity and he hath a daughter fair of favour, indeed the\nloveliest of the folk of her time.  Now she hath taken upon\nherself never to intermarry with any of mankind unless it be one\nwho can overcome her with instances and arguments and can return\na sufficient reply to all her questions; and this is upon\ncondition that, should he come off vanquisher, he shall become\nher mate, but if vanquished she will cut off his head, and on\nsuch wise hath she done with ninety-and-nine men of the noblest\nblood, as sons of the Kings and sundry others.  Furthermore, she\nhath a towering castle founded upon the heights that overfrown\nthe whole of this city whence she can descry all who pass under\nits walls.\"  As soon as the young Prince heard these words from\nthe love of the King's daughter and he passed that night as it\nwere to him the longsomest of nights, nor would he believe that\nthe next morn had morrowed.  But when dawned the day and anon\nshowed its sheen and shone, he arose without let or stay and\nafter saddling his mare mounted her and turned towards the palace\nbelonging to the King's daughter; and presently reaching it, took\nhis station at the gateway.  Hereat all those present considered\nhim and asked him saying, \"What be the cause of thy standing\nhereabouts?\" whereto he answered, \"I desire speech with the\nPrincess.\"  But when they heard these words, all fell to\naddressing him with kindly words and courteous and dissuading him\nfrom his desire and saying, \"Ho thou beautiful youngling!\nfear[FN#194] Allah and pity thyself and have ruth upon thy youth;\nnor dare seek converse with this Princess, for that she hath\nslain fourscore and nineteen men of the nobles and sons of the\nkings and for thee sore we fear that thou shalt complete the\ncentury.\"  The Prince, however, would not hear a word from them\nnor heed their rede; neither would he be warned by the talk of\nothers than they; nay he persisted in standing at the Palace\ngateway.  And presently he asked admission to go in to the King's\ndaughter; but this was refused by the Princess, who contented\nherself with sending forth to him her Tarjum\u00e1nah, her\nLinguist-dame, to bespeak him and say, \"Ho thou fair youth! art\nthou ready and longing to affront dangers and difficulties?\"  He\nreplied, \"I am.\"  \"Then,\" quoth she, \"hie thee to the King the\nfather of this Princess and show thyself and acquaint him with\nthine affair and thine aim, after which do thou bear witness\nagainst thyself in presence of the Kazi that an thou conquer his\ndaughter in her propositions and she fail of replying to a query\nof thine thou shalt become her mate; whereas if she vanquish thee\nshe shall lawfully cut off thy head,[FN#195] even as she hath\ndecapitated so many before thy time.  And when this is done come\nthou back to us.\"  The Prince forthright fared for the monarch\nand did as he was bidden; then he returned to the Linguist-dame\nand reported all his proceedings before the King and eke the\nKazi.  After this he was led in to the presence of the Princess\nand with him was the afore-mentioned Tarjum\u00e1nah who brought him a\ncushion of silk for the greater comfort of his sitting; and the\ntwo fell to questioning and resolving queries and problems in\nfull sight of a large attendance.  Began the Tarjum\u00e1nah,\ninterpreting the words of her lady who was present, \"Ho thou the\nYouth! my mistress saith to thee, Do thou inform me concerning an\nambulant moving sepulchre whose inmate is alive.\"  He answered\nand said, \"The moving sepulchre is the whale that swallowed Jonas\n(upon whom be the choicest of Salams![FN#196]), and the Prophet\nwas quick in the whale's belly.\"  She pursued, \"Tell me\nconcerning two combatants who fight each other but not with hands\nor feet, and who withal never say a say or speak a speech.\"  He\nanswered saying, \"The bull and the buffalo who encounter each\nother by ramming with horns.\"  She continued, \"Point out to me a\ntract of earth which saw not the sun save for a single time and\nsince that never.\"  He answered saying, \"This be the sole of the\nRed Sea when Moses the Prophet (upon whom be The Peace!) smote it\nwith his rod and clove it asunder so that the Children of Israel\ncrossed over it on dry ground, which was never seen but only\nonce.\"[FN#197]  She resumed, \"Relate to me anent that which drank\nwater during its life-time and ate meat after its death?\"  He\nanswered saying, \"This be the Rod[FN#198] of Moses the Prophet\n(upon whom be The Peace!) which, when a living branch[FN#199]\nstruck water from its living root and died only when severed from\nthe parent tree.  Now Almighty Allah cast it upon the land of\nEgypt by the hand of Moses, what time this Prophet drowned\nPharaoh and his host[FN#200] and therewith clove the Red Sea,\nafter which that Rod became a dragon and swallowed up the wands\nof all the Magicians of Misraim.\"  Asked she, \"Give me tidings of\na thing which is not of mankind nor of the J\u00e1nn-kind, neither of\nthe beasts nor of the birds?\"  He answered saying, \"This whereof\nthou speakest is that mentioned by Solomon, to with the\nLouse,[FN#201], and secondly the Ant.\"  She enquired, \"Tell me to\nwhat end Almighty Allah created the creation and for what aim of\nwisdom did He quicken this creation and for what object did He\ncause death to be followed by resurrection and resurrection by\nthe rendering men's accounts?\"  He answered saying, \"God created\nall creatures that they might witness His handicraft, and he did\nthem die that they might behold his absolute dominion and He\nrequickened them to the end that they learn His All-Might, and He\ndecreed their rendering account that they might consider His\nwisdom and His justice.\"  She questioned him saying, \"Tell me\nconcerning three, of whom my first was not born of father and\nmother and yet died; and my second was begotten of sire and born\nof woman yet died not, and my third was born of father and mother\nyet died not by human death?\"  He answered saying, \"The first\nwere Adam and Eve,[FN#202] the second was Elias[FN#203] the\nProphet and the third was Lot's wife who died not the death of\nthe general, for that she was turned into a pillar of salt.\"\nQuoth she, \"Relate to me concerning one who in this world had two\nnames?\" and he answered saying, \"This be Jacob, sire of the\nTwelve Tribes, to whom Allah vouchsafed the title of Israel,\nwhich is Man with El or God.\"[FN#204]  She said, \"Inform me\nconcerning the N\u00e1k\u00fas, or the Gong,[FN#205] who was the inventor\nthereof and at what time was it first struck in this world?\"  He\nanswered saying, \"The Gong was invented by Noah, who first smote\nupon it in the Ark.\"  And after this she stinted not to question\nhim nor he to ree her riddles until evening fell, when quoth the\nKing's daughter to the Linguist-dame, \"Say thou to the young man\nthat he may now depart, and let him come to me betimes next\nmorning when, if I conquer him, I will give him drink of the cup\nhis fellows drained; and, should he vanquish me, I will become\nhis wife.\"  Then the Tarjum\u00e1nah delivered her message word for\nword, and the Youth went forth from the Princess with fire aflame\nin his heart and spent the longest of nights hardly believing\nthat the morn would morrow.  But when day broke and the dawn came\nwith its sheen and shone upon all mankind, he arose from his\nsleep and fared with the first light to the palace where the\nKing's daughter bade the Linguist-dame introduce him, and when he\ncame in ordered him to be seated.  As soon as he had taken seat\nshe gave her commands to the Tarjum\u00e1nah, who said, \"My lady\ndirecteth thee to inform her what may be the tree bearing a dozen\nboughs, each clothed with thirty leaves and these of two colours,\none half white and the other moiety black?\"  He answered saying,\n\"Now that tree is the year, and its twelve branches are the dozen\nmonths, while the thirty leaves upon each of these are the thirty\nwhite days and the thirty black nights.\"  Hereat quoth she, \"Tell\nme, what tree was it bore many a bough and manifold leaves which\npresently became flesh and blood?\"  He answered saying, \"This was\nthe Rod of Moses the Prophet (upon whom be The Peace!) which was\nat first a tree but which after cutting became a serpent with\nflesh and blood.\"  Continued she, \"Inform me what became of\nMoses' Rod and Noah's Ark, and where now be they?\"  He answered\nsaying, \"They are at this tide sunken in the Lake of\nTabariyyah,[FN#206] and both, at the end of time, will be brought\nout by a man hight Al-N\u00e1sir\u00ed.[FN#207]  She pursued, \"Acquaint me\nwith spun yarn, whence did it originate and who was it first\npractised spinning the same?\"  He answered, saying, \"Almighty\nAllah from the beginning of mankind ordered the Archangel Gabriel\nto visit Eve and say to her, 'Spin for thyself and for Adam\nwaistcloths wherewith ye may veil your persons.'\"[FN#208]  She\nenquired, \"Tell me concerning the As\u00e1f\u00edr,[FN#209] and why they\nwere so called, and who first named them with such name?\"  He\nanswered saying, \"There was in the days of the Moses the Prophet\n(upon whom be The Peace!) a fowl called F\u00edr, and in the time of\nSolomon the King (upon whom be The Peace!) all the birds paid him\nobedience, even as did all the beasts, and albeit each and every\ncreated thing was subject to the Prophet, withal this F\u00edr would\nnot show submission: so the Wise King sent a body of birds to\nbring him into the presence, but he refused to present himself.\nPresently they returned to the Prophet who asked them, \"Where be\nF\u00edr?\" and they answered, \"O our lord, 'As\u00e1 F\u00edr,'[FN#210] whence\nthat name hath clung to the fowls.\"  She resumed, \"Inform me of\nthe two Stationaries and the two Moveables and the two Conjoineds\nand the two Disjoineds by jealousy and the twain which be eternal\nFoes.\"  He answered saying, \"Now the two Stationaries be Heaven\nand Earth and the two Moveables are the Sun and the Moon; the two\nConjoineds are Night and Day and the two Disjoineds by jealousy\nare the Soul and the Body and the two Hostiles are Death and\nLife.\"[FN#211]  On this wise the Linguist-dame ceased not to\nquestion him and he to reply solving all her problems until eve\nclosed in.  Then she bade him go forth that night and on the next\nday come again to her.  Accordingly, the young Prince returned to\nhis Khan and no sooner had he made sure that the morn had\nmorrowed than he resolved to see if that day would bring him\naught better than had come to him before.  So arising betimes he\nmade for the palace of the King's daughter and was received and\nintroduced by the Tarjum\u00e1nah who seated him as was her wont and\npresently she began, saying, \"My lady biddeth thee inform her of\na thing which an a man do that same 'tis unlawful; and if a man\ndo not that same 'tis also unlawful.\"  He answered, saying, \"I\nwill: this be the prayer[FN#212] of a drunken man which is in\neither case illegal.\"  Quoth she, \"Tell me how far is the\ninterval between Heaven and Earth?\" and he answered saying, \"That\nbridged over by the prayer of Moses the Prophet[FN#213] (upon him\nbe The Peace!) whom Allah Almighty saved and preserved.\"  She\nsaid, \"And how far is it betwixt East and West?\" whereto he\nanswered saying, \"The space of a day and the course of the Sun\nwending from Orient unto Occident.\"  Then she asked, \"Let me know\nwhat was the habit[FN#214] of Adam in Paradise?\" and he answered\nsaying, \"Adam's habit in Eden was his flowing hair.\"[FN#215]  She\ncontinued, \"Tell me of Abraham the Friend (upon whom be The\nPeace!) how was it that Allah chose him out and called him\n'Friend?'\"[FN#216]  He answered saying, \"Verily the Lord\ndetermined to tempt and to test him albeit he kenned right\nclearly that the Prophet was free of will yet fully capable of\nenduring the trial; natheless, He resolved to do on this wise\nthat he might stablish before men the truth of His servant's\ntrust in the Almighty and the fairness of his faith and the\npurity of his purpose.  So the Lord bade him offer to Him his son\nIs'h\u00e1k[FN#217] as a Corban or Sacrifice; and of the truth of his\ntrust he took his child and would have slain him as a victim.\nBut when he drew his knife with the purpose of slaughtering the\nyouth he was thus addressed by the Most Highest Creator, 'Now\nindeed well I wot that thou gatherest[FN#218] me and keepest my\ncovenant: so take thou yonder rain and slay it as a victim in the\nstead of Is'h\u00e1k.'  And after this he entitled him 'Friend.'\"  She\npursued, \"Inform me touching the sons of Israel how many were\nthey at the time of the going forth from Egypt?\"  He answered,\nsaying, \"When they marched out of Misraim-land they numbered six\nhundred thousand fighting[FN#219] men besides women and\nchildren.\"  She continued, \"Do thou point out to me, some place\non earth which is higher than the Heavens;\" and he answered\nsaying, \"This is Jerusalem[FN#220] the Exalted and she standeth\nfar above the Firmament.\"  Then the Youth turning to the\nLinguist-dame, said, \"O my lady, long and longsome hath been the\nexposition of that which is between us, and were thy lady to ask\nme for all time questions such as these and the like of them, I\nby the All-might of Allah shall return a full and sufficient\nanswer to one and all.  But, in lieu of so doing, I desire of thy\nmistress the Princess to ask of her one question and only one:\nand, if she satisfy me of the significance I claim therefor, let\nher give me to drain the cup of my foregoers whom she overcame\nand slew; and if she fail in the attempt she shall own herself\nconquered and become my wife--and The Peace!\"[FN#221]  Now this\nwas said in the presence of a mighty host there present, the\ngreat of them as well as the small thereof; so the Tarjum\u00e1nah\nanswered willy-nilly, \"Say, O Youth, whatso is the will of thee\nand speak out that which is in the mind of thee.\"  He rejoined,\n\"Tell thy lady that she deign enlighten me concerning a man who\nwas in this condition.  He was born and brought up in the highest\nof prosperity but Time turned upon him and Poverty mishandled\nhim;[FN#222] so he mounted his father and clothed him with his\nmother[FN#223] and he fared forth to seek comfort and happiness\nat the hand of Allah Almighty.  Anon Death met him on the way and\nDoom bore him upon his head and his courser saved him from\ndestruction whenas he drank water which came neither from the sky\nnor from the ground.  Now see thou who may be that man and do\nthou give me answer concerning him.\"[FN#224]  But when the\nPrincess heard this question, she was confused with exceeding\nconfusion touching the reply to be replied in presence of a posse\nof the people, and she was posed and puzzled and perplext to\nescape the difficulty and naught availed her save addressing the\nTarjum\u00e1nah and saying, \"Do thou bid this Youth wend his ways and\nremove himself until the morrow.\"  The Linguist-dame did as she\nwas bidden, adding, \"And on the morrow (Inshallah!) there shall\nbe naught save weal;\" and the Prince went forth leaving the folk\naghast at the question he had urged upon the King's daughter.\nBut as soon as he left her the young lady commanded the\nTarjum\u00e1nah to let slaughter somewhat of the most toothsome\npoultry and to prepare them for food as her mistress might direct\nher; together with dainty meats and delicate sweetmeats and the\nfinest fruits fresh and dried and all manner of other eatables\nand drinkables, and lastly to take a skin-bottle filled with good\nold wine.  Then she changed her usual garb and donned the most\nsumptuous dress of all her gear; and, taking her Duenna and\nfavourite handmaiden with a few of her women for comitive, she\nrepaired to the quarters of the Youth, the King's son; and the\ntime of her visit was the night-tide.  Presently, reaching the\nKhan she said to her guardian, \"Go thou in to him alone whilst I\nhide me somewhere behind the door and do thou sit between his\nhands;\" after which she taught the old woman all she desired her\ndo of dissimulation and artifice.  The slave obeyed her mistress\nand going in accosted the young man with the salam; and, seating\nherself before him, said, \"Ho thou the Youth!  Verily there is\nhere a lovely damsel, delightsome and perfect of qualities, whose\npeer is not in her age, and well nigh able is she to make the sun\nfare backwards[FN#225] and to illumine the universe in lieu\nthereof.  Now when thou wast wont to visit us in the apartment of\nthe Princess, this maiden looked upon thee and found thee a fair\nyouth; so her heart loved thee with excessive love and desired\nthee with exceeding desire and to such degree that she insisted\nupon accompanying me and she hath now taken station at thy door\nlonging to enter.  So do thou grant her permission that she come\nin and appear in thy presence and then retire to some privacy\nwhere she may stand in thy service, a slave to thy will.\"[FN#226]\nThe Prince replied, \"Whoso seeketh us let enter with weal and\nwelfare, and well come and welcome and fair welcome to each and\nevery of such guests.\"  Hereat the Princess went in as did all\nthose who were with her, and presently after taking seat they\nbrought out and set before the Youth their whole store of edibles\nand potables and the party fell to eating and drinking and\nconverse, exchanging happy sayings blended with wit and disport\nand laughter, while the Princess made it her especial task to toy\nwith her host deeming that he knew her not to be the King's\ndaughter.  He also stinted not to take his pleasure with her; and\non this wise they feasted and caroused and enjoyed themselves and\nwere cheered and the converse between them was delightful.  The\nDuenna, however, kept plying the Prince with wine, mere and pure,\nuntil she had made him drunken and his carousal had so mastered\nhim that he required her person of her; however she refused\nherself and questioned him of the enigma wherewith he had\novercome her mistress; whilst he, for stress of drunkenness, was\nincapacitated by stammering to explain her aught thereof.\nHereupon the Princess, having doffed her upper dress, propped\nherself sideways upon a divan cushion and stretched herself at\nfull length and the Youth for the warmth of his delight in her\nand his desire to her anon recovering his speech explained to her\nthe reply of his riddle.  The King's daughter then joyed with\nmighty great joy as though she had won the world\nuniversal;[FN#227] and, springing to her feet incontinently, of\nher extreme gladness she would not delay to finish her disport\nwith her wooer; but ere the morning morrowed she departed and\nentered her palace.  Now in so doing she clean forgot her outer\nrobes and the wine-service and what remained of meat and drink.\nThe Youth had been overcome with sleep and after slumbering he\nawoke at dawn when he looked round and saw none of the company\nabout him; withal he recognised the princely garments which were\nof the most sumptuous and costly, robes of brocade and sendal and\nsuchlike, together with jewels and adornments: and scattered\nabout lay sundry articles of the wine-service and fragments of\nthe food they had brought with them.  And from these signs of\nthings forgotten he learnt that the King's daughter had visited\nhim in person and he was certified that she had beguiled him with\nher wiles until she had wrung from him the reply of his question.\nSo as soon as it was morning-tide he arose and went, as was his\nwont, to the Princess's palace where he was met by the Tarjum\u00e1nah\nwho said to him, \"O Youth, is it thy pleasure that my lady\nexpound to thee her explanation of the enigma yesterday proposed\nby thee?\"  \"I will tell the very truth,\" answered he; \"and relate\nto thee what befel me since I saw you last, and 'twas this.  When\nI left you there came to me a lovely bird, delightsome and\nperfect of charms, and I indeed entertained her with uttermost\nhonour and worship; we ate and we drank together, but at night\nshe shook her feathers and flew away from me.  And if she deny\nthis I will produce her plumage before her father and all\npresent.\"  Now when the Sovran, the sire of the Princess, heard\nthese words concerning his daughter, to wit, that the youth had\nconquered her in her contention and that she had fared to his\nquarters to the end that she might wring from him an explanation\nof the riddle which she was unable to ree or reply thereto, he\nwould do naught else save to summon the Cohen[FN#228] and the\nLords of his land and the Grandees of his realm and the Notables\nof his kith and kin.  And when the Priest and all made act of\npresence, he told them the whole tale first and last; namely, the\nconditions to the Youth conditioned, that if overcome by his\ndaughter and unable to answer her questions he should be let\ndrain the cup of destruction like his fellows, and if he overcame\nher he should claim her to wife.  Furthermore he declared that\nthe Youth had answered, with full and sufficient answer, all he\nhad been asked without doubt or hesitation; while at last he had\nproposed to her an enigma which she had been powerless to solve;\nand in this matter he had vanquished her twice (he having\nanswered her and she having failed to answer him).  \"For which\nreason,\" concluded the King, \"'tis only right that he marry her;\neven as was the condition between them twain; and it becometh our\nfirst duty to adjudge their contention and decide their case\naccording to covenant and he being doubtless the conqueror to bid\nwrite his writ of marriage with her.  But what say ye?\"  They\nreplied, \"This is the rightest of redes; moreover the Youth, a\nfair and a pleasant, becometh her well and she likewise besitteth\nhim; and their lot is a wondrous.\"  So they bade write the\nmarriage writ and the Cohen, arising forthright, pronounced the\nunion auspicious and began blessing and praying for the pair and\nall present.  In due time the Prince went in to her and\nconsummated the marriage according to the custom stablished by\nAllah and His Holy Law; and thereafter he related to his bride\nall that had betided him, from beginning to end, especially how\nhe had sold his parents to one of the Kings.  Now when she heard\nthese words, she had ruth upon his case and soothed his spirit\nsaying to him, \"Be of good cheer and keep thine eyes clear and\ncool of tear.\"  Then, after a little while the Princess bestowed\nupon her bridegroom a mint of money that he might fare forth and\nfree his father and his mother.  Accordingly the Prince,\naccepting her largesse, sought the King to whom he had pledged\nhis parents (and they were still with him in all weal and\nwelfare) and going in to him made his salam and kissed ground and\ntold him the whole tale of the past and the conditions of death\nor marriage he had made with the King's daughter and of his\nwedding her after overcoming her in contention.  So the monarch\nhonoured him with honour galore than which naught could be more;\nand, when the Prince paid him over the moneys, he asked, \"What be\nthese dirhams?\"  \"The price of my parents thou paidest to me,\"\nanswered the other.  But the King exclaimed, \"I gave thee not to\nthe value of thy father and mother moneys of such amount as this\nsum.  I only largessed thee with a mare and a suit of clothes\nwhich was not defraying a debt but presenting thee with a present\nand thereby honouring thee with due honour.  Then\nAlhamdolillah-laud be to the Lord, who preserved thee and enabled\nthee to win thy wish, and now arise and take thy parents and\nreturn in safety to thy bride.\"  The Prince hereupon thanked him\nand praised Allah for the royal guerdon and favours and the fair\ntreatment wherewith he had been entreated; after which he craved\nleave to receive his parents in charge and wend his ways.  And\nwhen permission was granted to him, he wished all good wishes to\nthe King and taking his father and his mother in weal and welfare\nhe went his ways with them, in joy and gladness and gratitude for\nall blessings and benefits by Allah upon him bestowed, till he\nhad returned to his bride.  Here he found that his father-in-law\nhad deceased during his absence, so he took seat in lieu of him\nupon the throne of the kingdom; and he and his consort, during\nall the days of their life in this world, ceased not eating and\ndrinking in health and well-being and eating and drinking in joy\nand happiness and bidding and forbidding until they quitted this\nmundane scene to the safeguard of the Lord God.  And here endeth\nand is perfected the history of the Youth, the King's son, and\nthe sale of his parents and his falling into the springes of the\nPrincess who insisted upon proposing problems to all her wooers\nwith the condition that if they did not reply she would do them\ndrain the cup of destruction and on this wise had slain a many of\nmen; and, in fine, how she was worsted by and she fell to the lot\nof this youth whom Allah gifted with understanding to ree all her\nriddles and who had confounded her with his question whereto she\navailed not to reply; when his father-in-law died, succeeded to\nthe kingdom which he ruled so well.[FN#229]\n\n\nNOTE TO P. 82. {footnote [FN#219]]\n\nThe M\u00fas\u00e0 (Moses) of the Moslems is borrowed from Jewish sources, the\nPentateuch and especially the Talmud, with a trifle of Gnosticism which,\nhinted at in the Koran (chapt. xviii.), is developed by later writers, making\nhim the \"external\" man, while Khizr, the Green prophet, is the internal.  But\nthey utterly ignore Manetho whose account of the Jewish legislator (Josephus\nagainst Apion, i. cc. 26, 27) shows the other or Egyptian part.  Moses, by\nname Osarsiph=Osiris-Sapi, Osiris of the underworld, which some translate rich\n(Osii) in food (Siph, Seph, or Zef) was nicknamed Mosheh from the Heb.\nMashah=to draw out, because drawn from the water[FN#230] (or rather from the\nKoptic Mo=water ushe=saved).  He became a priest an An or On (Heliopolis),\nafter studying the learning of the Egyptians.  Presently he was chosen chief\nby the \"lepers and other unclean persons\" who had been permitted by King\nAmenophis to occupy the city Avaris lately left desolate by the \"Shepherd\nKings.\"  Osarsiph ordained the polity and laws of his followers, forbidding\nthem to worship the Egyptian gods and enjoining them to slay and sacrifice the\nsacred animals.  They were joined by the \"unclean of the Egyptians\" and by\ntheir kinsmen of the Shepherds, and treated the inhabitants with a barbarity\nmore execrable than that of the latter, setting fire to cities and villages,\ncasting the Egyptian priests and prophets out of their country, and compelling\nAmenophis to fall back upon Ethiopia.  After some years of disorder Sethos\n(also called Ramesses from his father Rampses) son of Amenophis came down with\nthe King from Ethiopia leading great united forces, and, \"encountering the\nShepherds and the unclean people, they defeated them and slew multitudes of\nthem, and pursued the remainder to the borders of Syria.\"  Josephus relates\nthis account of Manetho, which is apparently truthful, with great indignation.\nFor the prevalence of leprosy we have the authority of the Hebrews themselves,\nand Pliny (xxvi. 2), speaking of Rubor \u00c6gyptus, evidently white leprosy ending\nin the black, assures us that it was \"natural to the \u00c6gyptians,\" adding a very\nimprobable detail, namely that the kings cured it by balne\u00e6 (baths) of human\nblood.[FN#231]\n\nSchiller (in \"Die Sendung Moses\") argues that the mission of the Jewish\nlawgiver, as adopted son (the real son?) of Pharoah's daughter, became\n\"learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians,\" by receiving the priestly\neducation of the royal princes, and that he had advanced from grade to grade\nin the religious mysteries, even to the highest, in which the great truth of\nthe One Supreme, the omniscient, omnipotent God was imparted, as the sublime\nacme of all human knowledge, thus attributing to Moses before his flight into\nMidian, an almost modern conception of an essentially anthropomorphous Deity.\n\nFurther, that his conscious mission when he returned to Egypt was not merely\nthe deliverance of his people from the Egyptian yoke, but the revelation to\nthem of this great conception, and so the elevation of that host of slaves to\nthe position of a nation, to whose every member the highest mystery of\nreligion should be known and whose institutions should be based upon it.  It\nis remarkable that Schiller should have accepted the fables of Manetho as\nhistory, that he should not have suspected the fact that the Egyptian priest\nwrote from motives of personal spite and jealousy, and with the object of\npoisoning the mind of Ptolemy against the learned Jews with whom he stood on\nterms of personal friendship.  Thus he not only accepts the story that the\nHebrews were expelled from Egypt because of the almost universal spread of\nleprosy among them, but explains at length why that loathsome and horrible\ndisease should have so prevailed.  Still Schiller's essay, written with his\nown charming eloquence, is a magnificent eulogy of the founder of the Hebrew\nnation.\n\nGoethe (\"Israel in der W\u00fcste\"), on the other hand, with curious ingenuity,\nturns every thing to the prejudice of the \"headstrong man\" Moses, save that he\ndoes grant him a vivid sentiment of justice.  He makes him both by nature and\neducation a grand, strong man, but brutal (roh) withal.  His killing the\nEgyptian is a secret murder; \"his dauntless fist gains him the favour of a\nMidianitish priest-prince . . . . under the pretence of a general festival,\ngold and silver dishes are swindled (by the Jews under Moses's instigation)\nfrom their neighbours, and at the moment when the Egyptians believe the\nIsraelites to be occupied in harmless feastings, a reversed Sicilian vesper is\nexecuted; the stranger murders the native, the guest the host; and, with a\nhorrible cunning, only the first-born are destroyed to the end that, in a land\nwhere the first-born enjoyed such superior rights, the selfishness of the\nyounger sons might come into play, and instant punishment be avoided by hasty\nflight.  The artifice succeeds, the assassins are thrust out instead of being\nchastised.\"  (Quoted from pp. 99-100 \"The Hebrews and the Red Sea,\" by\nAlexander W. Thayer; Andover, Warren F. Draper, 1883.)  With respect to the\ncensus of the Exodus, my friend Mr. Thayer, who has long and conscientiously\nstudied the subject, kindly supplied me with the following notes and permitted\ntheir publication.\n\nTrieste, October 11, 1887.\n\nMy Dear Sir Richard,\n\nThe points in the views presented by me in our conversation upon the Hebrews\nand their Exodus, of which you requested a written exposition, are, condensed,\nthese:\n\nAssuming that the Hebrew records, as we have them, are in the main true, i.e.\nhistoric, a careful search must reveal some one topic concerning which all the\npassages relating to it agree at least substantially.  Such a topic is the\ngenealogies, precisely that which Philippsohn the great Jewish Rabbi, Dr.\nRobinson, of the Palestine researches, and all the Jewish and Christian\ncommentators--I know no exception--with one accord, reject!  Look at these two\ncolumns, A. being the passages containing the genealogies, B. the passages on\nwhich the rejection of them is based:\n\nA.\n1.  Genesis xxiv. 32 to xxv. 25 (Births of Jacob's sons).\n2.  xxxv. 23-26 (Recapitulation of the above).\n3.  xlvi. 8-27 (List of Jacob and his sons, when they came into Egypt).\n4.  Ex. vi. 14-27 (Lineage of Aaron and Moses).\n5.  Numb. xxxvi. 1-2 (Lineage of Zelophehad).\n6.  Josh. vii. 17-18 (Lineage of Achan).\n7.  Ruth iv. 18-22 (ditto of David).\n8.  1 Chron. ii. 9-15 (ditto).\n9.  Mat. i. 2-6 (ditto).\n10.  Luke iii. 32-37 (ditto).\n11.  Ezra vii. 1-5 (ditto of Ezra).\n\nThe lists of Princes, heads of tribes, the spies, the commission to divide\nconquered Palestine, contain names that can be traced back, and all coincide\nwith the above.\n\nB.\n1.  Gen. xv. 13.\n2.  Ex. xii. 40, 41.\n3.  Acts vii. 6.\n\nThese three give the 400 and the 430 years of the supposed bondage of the Bene\nJacob, but are offset by Gen. xv. 16 (four generations) and Gal. iii. 17\n(Paul's understanding of the 430 years).\n\n4.  The story of Joseph, beginning Gen. xxxvii. 2, gives us the dates in his\nlife; viz., 17 when sold, 30 when he becomes Prime Minister, 40 when his\nfather joins him.\n\n5.  1 Chron. vi. 1-15 (Lineage of Ezra's brother Jehozadak, abounding in\nrepetitions and worthless).\n\n\n\n1.  As between the two, the column A. is in my opinion more trustworthy than\nB.\n\n2.  By all the genealogies of the Davidian line we have Judah No. 1, Solomon\nNo. 12.  By Ezra's genealogy of his own family we have Levi No. 1, and Azariah\n(Solomon's High Priest) No. 12.  They agree perfectly.\n\n3.  If there were 400 years of Hebrew (Bene Jacob) slavery between the death\nof Joseph and the Exodus, there were 400 - 80 = 320, between Joseph's death\nand the birth of Moses.  If this was so there is no truth in the accounts of\nMoses and Aaron being the great-grandchildren of Levi (Levi, Kohath, Amram,\nAaron and Moses).  In fact, if Dr. Robinson be correct in saying that at least\nsix generations are wanting in the genealogies of David (to fill the 400\nyears) the same must be lacking in all the early genealogies.  Reductio ad\nabsurdum!\n\n4.  Jacob, a young man, we will say of 40, is sent to Laban for a wife.  He\nremains in Padan Aram twenty years (Gen. xxxi. 38), where all his sons except\nBenjamin were born, that is, before he was 60.  At 130 he joined Joseph in\nEgypt (Gen. xlvii. 9).  Joseph, therefore, born in Padan Aram was now, instead\nof 40, over 70 years old!  That this is so, is certain.  In Judah's exquisite\npleadings (Gen. xliv. 18-34) he speaks of Benjamin as \"the child of Jacob's\nold age,\" \"a little one,\" and seven times he calls him \"the lad.\"  Benjamin is\nsome years younger than Joseph, but when the migration into Egypt takes\nplace-a few weeks after Judah's speech-Benjamin comes as father of ten sons\n(Gen. xlvi. 21), but here Bene Benjamin is used in its broad sense of\n\"descendants,\" for in 1 Chron. vii. 6-12 we find that the \"Bene\" were sons,\ngrandsons and great-grandsons.  To hold that Joseph at 40 had a younger\nbrother who was a great-grandfather, is, of course, utterly absurd.\n\n5.  According to Gen. xv. 18, the Exodus was to take place in the fourth\ngeneration born in Egypt, as I understand it.\n\nBorn in Egypt:--\n\nLevi (father of) Kohath                          Judah (father of) Pharez\nHezron\n\n1.  Amram                                          1.  Ram\n2.  Aaron                                          2.  Amminadab\n3.  Eleazar                                        3.  Nahshon\n4.  Phinees                                        4.  Salma\n\nA conspicuous character in Numbers (xiii. 6, 30; xiv. 24, etc.) is Caleb.  In\nthe first chapter of Judges Caleb still appears, and Othniel, the son of his\nyounger brother Kenaz, is the first of the so-called Judges (Jud. iii. 9).\nThis also disposes of the 400 years and confirms the view that the Exodus took\nplace in the fourth generation born in Egypt.  Other similar proofs may be\nomitted--these are amply sufficient.\n\n6.  What, then, was the origin of the notion of the 400 years of Hebrew\nslavery?\n\nIf the Egyptian inscriptions and papyri prove anything, it is this: that from\nthe subjugation of Palestine by one of the Thormes down to the great invasion\nof the hordes from Asia Minor in the reign of Ramses III., that country had\nnever ceased to be a Pharaonic province; that during these four or five\ncenturies every attempt to throw off the yoke had been crushed and its Semitic\npeoples deported to Egypt as slaves; that multitudes of them joined in the\nExodus under Moses, and became incorporated with the Hebrews under the\nconstitution and code adopted at Horeb (=Sinai? or Jebel Araif?).  These\npeople became \"Seed of Abraham,\" \"Children of Israel,\" by adoption, to which I\nhave no doubt Paul refers in the \"adoption\" of Romans viii. 15-23; ix. 4; Gal.\niv. 5; Eph. i. 5.  In the lapse of ages this distinction between Bene Israel\nand Bene Jacob was forgotten, and therefore the very uncritical Masorites in\ntheir edition of the Old Testament \"confounded the confusion\" in this matter.\nWith the disappearance of the 400 years and of the supposed two or three\ncenturies covered by the book of Judges, the genealogies stand as facts.  The\nmistake in the case of the Judges is in supposing them to have been\nconsecutive, when, in fact, as the subjugations by neighbouring peoples were\nlocal and extended only over one or two tribes, half a dozen of them may have\nbeen contemporaneous.\n\n7.  Aaron and Moses were by their father Amram, great-grandchildren of Levi-\n-by their mother his grandchildren (Ex. vi. 20).  Joseph lived to see his own\ngreat-grandchildren.  Moses must have been born before Joseph's death.\n\n8.  There is one point determined in which the Hebrew and the Egyptian\nchronologies coincide.  It is the invasion of Judea by Shishak of Egypt in the\nfifth year of Rehoboam, son of Solomon (1 Kings xiv. 25).  Supposing the\nEgyptian chronology from the time of Minephtah II. to be in the main correct,\nas given by Brugsch and others, the thirteen generations, Judah--Rehoboam,\nallowing three to a century, take us back to just that Minephtah.  In his\nreign, according to Brugsch, Pharaoh sent breadstuffs to the Chittim in \"the\ntime of famine.\"  The Hebrew records and traditions connect Joseph's prime\nministry with a famine.  By the genealogies it could have been only this in\nthe time of Minephtah.\n\n9.  The Bene Jacob were but temporary sojourners in Goshen and always intended\nto return to Canaan.  They were independent and had the right to do so.  See\nwhat Joseph says in Gen. i. 24-25.  But before this design was executed came\nthe great irruption of the depopulated all Palestine, in the time of Ramses\nIII.  Here was the opportunity for the Bene Jacob to enlarge their plans and\nto devise the conquest and possession of Palestine.  According to Josephus,\nsupported by Stephen (Acts vii. 22), Moses was a man \"mighty in works\"-a man\nof military fame.  The only reasonable way of understanding the beginning of\nthe Exodus story, is to suppose that, in the weakened condition of Ramses\nIII., the Hebrew princes began to intrigue with the enslaved Semites-the\nRuthenu of the Egyptian inscriptions--and this being discovered by the\nPharaoh, Moses was compelled to fly.  Meantime the intrigues were continued\nand when the time for action came, under one of Ramses' weak successors, Moses\nwas recalled and took command.\n\n10.  This prepares us for the second query, which you proposed, that is as to\nthe numbers who joined in the Exodus.\n\nThe Masoretic text, from which the English version of the Hebrew records is\nmade, gives the result of the census at Sinai (=Horeb) as being 603,550 men,\n\"twenty years old and upwards, that were able to go forth to war in\nIsrael\"-the tribe of Levi not included.  On this basis it has been generally\nstated, that the number of the Bene Israel at the Exodus was three millions.\nOf late I find that two millions is the accepted number.  The absurdity of\neven this aggregate is manifest.  How could such a vast multitude be\nsubsisted?  How kept in order?  How compelled to observe sanitary regulations?\nMoreover, in the then enfeebled state of Egypt, why should 603,550 armed men\nnot have marched out without ceremony?  Why ask permission to go to celebrate\na sacrifice to their God?\n\nBut there is another series of objections to these two millions, which I have\nnever seen stated or even hinted, to which I pray your attention.\n\nThe area of Palestine differs little from that of the three American States,\nMassachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, the most densely peopled of the\nUnion, containing by the last census a population of somewhat less than two\nand a half millions.\n\nBy the second Hebrew census (Numb. xxvi.) taken just before the death of\nMoses, the army was 601,730; from which the inference has always been drawn,\nthat at least 2,000,000, in the aggregate, Levites 23,000 males still\nexcepted, entered and possessed the conquered territories.\n\nTake now one of the late maps of Palestine and mark upon it the boundaries of\nthe tribes as given in the book of Joshua.  This second census gives the\nnumber of each tribal army to be inserted in each tribal territory.  Reuben,\n43,750; Judah, 76,500; Benjamin, 45,600, etc., etc.  By Josh. xii. the land\nwas then divided between some 40 petty kings and peoples, 31 of whom are named\nas having been subjected.  If, now, Joshua's army numbered over 600,000, why\nwas not the conquest made complete?  Massachusetts, Rhode Island and\nConnecticut are divided into 27 counties.  Suppose, now, that these counties\nwere each a separate and independent little kingdom dependent upon itself for\ndefence, what resistance could be made to an army of 600,000 men, all of them\ngrown up during forty years of life in a camp, and in the full vigour of\nmanhood?  And yet Joshua was unable to complete his conquest!  Again, the\nfirst subjugation of a part of the newly-conquered territory as noted in the\nbook of Judges, was Judah and Simeon by a king of Edom.[FN#232]  If Judah\ncould put an army into the field of 76,500, and Simeon 22,500, their\nsubjugation by a king of Edom is incredible, and the story absurd.  Next comes\nKing Eglon of Moab and subjugates the tribes of Reuben and Gad, east of the\nDead Sea and the Jordan.  And yet Reuben has an army of over 43,000, and Gad\n45,000.  And so on.\n\nWith an army of 60,000 only, and an aggregate of half a million of people led\nout of Egypt, all the history becomes instantly rational and trustworthy.\n\nThere remains one more bubble to be exploded.\n\nLook at these figures, in which a quadruple increase--at least 25 per centum\ntoo great--is granted.[FN#233]\n\n1st Generation, the Patriarchs, in number. . . . . . . . . . . 12\n2nd  Generation,  Kohath, Pharez, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . ..48\n3rd  Generation,  Amram, Hezron, etc.. . . . . . . . . . . . .192\n4th  Generation,  Aaron and Moses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .768\n           Aggregate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,020\nMinus 25 per cent. for deaths, children, etc.. . . . . . . . .255\nActual number of Bene Jacob. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .765\n\nBut Jacob and his sons brought with them herdsmen, shepherds, servants, etc.\nBunsen puts the number of all, masters and men, at less than 2,000.\n\nLet the proportion in this case be one able-bodied man in four persons, and\nthe increase triple.\n\n1st Generation, the Patriarchs, in number. . . . . . . . . . .500\n2nd  Generation,  Kohath, Pharez, etc. . . . . . . . . . . .1,500\n3rd  Generation,  Amram, Hezron, etc.. . . . . . . . . . . .4,500\n4th  Generation,  Aaron and Moses. . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,500\n                                                         20,000\nMinus 25 per centum as above . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5,000\n                                                         15,000\nAdd the real Bene Jacob. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .765\n\nAggregate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,765\n\n\nWere these people, while Joseph is still alive, the subjects of slavery as\ndescribed in Ex. i.?  Did they build Pithom and Ramses, store-cities?\n\nThe number is sufficient to lead in the great enterprise and to control the\nmixed multitude which was at Sinai, adopted as \"Bene Israel,\" \"Seed of\nAbraham,\" and divided among and incorporated with the tribes; but not\nsufficient to warrant the supposition that with so small a force the Hebrew\nleaders could for a moment have entertained the project of conquering\nPalestine.\n\nA word more on the statement in Ex. i. 11: \"And they built for Pharaoh\nstore-cities, Pithom and Ramses.\"  All Egyptologists agree that these cities\nwere built by Ramses II., or certainly not later than his reign.  If the\nHebrew genealogies are authentic, this was long before the coming of Jacob and\nhis sons into Egypt.\n\n(Signed) A.W. Thayer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n             THE TALE OF THE WARLOCK AND THE YOUNG\n                        COOK OF BAGHDAD.\n\n\n\nHere we begin with the aidance of Allah Almighty, the Tale of the\nWarlock and the Young Cook of Baghdad.[FN#234]\n\nIt is related (and Allah is All knowing!) of a certain man which\nwas a Warlock, that Destiny crave him from town to town until at\nlast he entered Baghdad city and dismounted at a Kh\u00e1n of the\nKhans where he spent the night of arrival. Then, rising betimes\nnext morning, he walked about the highways and wandered around\nthe lanes and he stinted not passing from market street to market\nstreet, solacing himself with a sight of many places, till he\nreached the Long Bazar, whence he could descry the whole site of\nthe city. Now he narrowly considered the land, and, lo and\nbehold! it was a capital sans peer amongst the cities,\nwhere-through coursed the Dajlah River blended with the River\nFur\u00e1t[FN#235] and over the united stream were thrown seven\nbridges of boats; all these were bound one to other for the folk\nto pass over on their several pursuits, especially for the\npleasure seekers who fared forth to the palm orchards and the\nvergiers abounding in fruits while the birds were hymning Allah,\nthe Sole, the All-conquering. Now one day as this Warlock was\namusing himself amongst the markets he passed by the shop of a\nCook before whom were set for sale dressed meats of all kinds and\ncolours;[FN#236] and, looking at the youth, he saw that he was\nrising fourteen and beautiful as the moon on the fourteenth\nnight; and he was elegant and habited in a habit as it had just\ncome from the tailor's hand for its purity and excellent fit, and\none had said that he (the artisan) had laboured hard thereat, for\nthe sheen of it shimmered like unto silver.[FN#237] Then the\nWarlock considering the face of this Cook saw his colour wan as\nthe hue of metal leaves[FN#238] and he was lean of limb;[FN#239]\nso he took station facing him and said to him, \"The Peace be upon\nthee, O my brother,\" and said the other in reply, \"And upon thee\nbe The Peace and the Truth of Allah and His blessings: so well\ncome to thee and welcome and fair welcome. Honour me, O my lord,\nby suffering me to serve thee with the noonday meal.\" Hereat the\nWizard entered the shop and the Kitchener took up two or three\nplatters white as the whitest silver; and, turning over into each\none a different kind of meat set them between the hands of the\nstranger who said to him, \"Seat thee, O my son.\" And when his\nbidding was obeyed he added, \"I see thee ailing and thy\ncomplexion is yellow exceedingly: what be this hath affected thee\nand what is thy disorder and what limb of thy limbs paineth thee\nand is it long since thou art in such case?\" Now when the Cook\nheard this say he drew a sigh of regret from the depths of his\nheart and the soles of his feet and quoth he weeping, \"Allah upon\nthee, O my lord, remind me not of that hath betided me!\" But\nquoth the other, \"Tell me what may be thy disease and whereof\ncost thou complain; nor conceal from me thy pain; for that I am a\nphysician and by aidance of Allah an experienced; and I have a\nmedicine for thy malady.\" Hereat the youth fell to moaning and\ngroaning and presently replied, \"In very sooth, O my lord, I have\nnor pain nor complaint, save that I am a lover.\" The Warlock\nasked, \"Art thou indeed a lover?\" whereto the Cook make answer,\n\"And not only a lover but a lover parted from his beloved.\" \"On\nwhom hangeth thy heart, say me?\" continued the Mediciner and the\nyouth replied, \"Leave me for the nonce till such time as I am\nquit of my business, and return to me about mid-afternoon, that I\nmay inform thee of mine affair and acquaint thee with the case I\nam in.\" The Warlock rejoined, \"Arise now to thy work lest it be\nmiswrought by loitering;\" and so saying he ate whatso of meats\nhad been served up to him and fared forth to thread the Bazars of\nBaghdad and solace himself by seeing the city. But when it was\nthe hour of Al 'Asr--the mid afternoon prayer--he went back to\nthe Cook and found that by this time he had wrought all his work,\nand as soon as the youth sighted him he rejoiced in him and his\nspirits were cheered and he said in his mind, \"Haply joy shall\ncome to me from the healing hand of this Mediciner;\" so he shut\nhis shop and taking with him his customer tried him to his own\nhome. Now this young Kitchener was of amplest means which he had\ninherited from either parent; so as soon as they entered his\nquarters he served up food and the two ate and drank and were\ngladdened and comforted. After this quoth the guest to his host,\n\"Now relate to me the manner of thy story and what is the cause\nof thy disorder?\" \"O my lord,\" quoth the youth, \"I must inform\nthee that the Caliph Al-Mu'tazid bi'llah,[FN#240] the Commander\nof the Faithful, hath a daughter fair of favour, and gracious of\ngesture; beautiful delightsome and dainty of waist and flank, a\nmaiden in whom all the signs and signals of loveliness are\npresent, and the tout ensemble is independent of description:\nseer never saw her like and relator never related of aught that\neveneth her in stature and seemlihead and graceful bearing of\nhead. Now albeit a store of suitors galore, the grandees and the\nKings, asked her from the Caliph, her sire refused to part with\nher, nor gave her neither would he give her to any one thereof.\nAnd every Friday when fare the folk to the Mosques that they pray\nthe prayers of meeting-day, all the merchants and men who buy and\nsell and the very artisans and what not, leave their shops and\nwarehouses[FN#241] and taverns[FN#242] unbolted and wide open and\nflock to congregational devotions. And at such time this rare\nmaiden cometh down from her palace and solaceth herself with\nbeholding the Bazars and anon she entereth the Hammam and batheth\ntherein and straightway goeth forth and fareth homewards. But one\nFriday said I to myself, 'I will not go to the Mosque, for I\nwould fain look upon her with a single look;' and when prayer-\ntime came and the folk flocked to the fane for divine service, I\nhid myself within my shop Presently that august damsel appeared\nwith a comitive of forty handmaidens all as full moons newly\nrisen and each fairer than her fellows, while she amiddlemost\nrained light upon them as she were the irradiating sun; and the\nbondswomen would have kept her from sight by thronging around her\nand they carried her skirts by means of bent rods[FN#243] golden\nand silvern. I looked at her but one look when straightway my\nheart fell in love to her burning as a live coal and from mine\neyes tears railed and until now I am still in that same yearning,\nand what yearning!\" And so saying the youth cried out with an\noutcry whereby his soul was like to leave his body. \"Is this case\nstill thy case?\" asked the Warlock, and the youth answered, \"Yes,\nO my lord;\" when the other enquired, \"An I bring thee and her\ntogether what wilt thou give me?\" and the young Cook replied, \"My\nmoney and my life which shall be between thy hands!\" Hereupon\nquoth the Mediciner, \"Up with thee and bring me a phial of metal\nand seven needles and a piece of fresh Lign-aloes;[FN#244] also a\nbit of cooked meat,[FN#245] and somewhat of sealing-clay and the\nshoulder-blade of a sheep together with felt and sendal of seven\nkinds.\" The youth fared forth and did his bidding, when the Sage\ntook the shoulder-blades and wrote upon them Koranic versets and\nadjurations which would please the Lord of the Heavens and,\nwrapping them in felt, swathed them with silken stuff of\nsevenfold sorts. Then, taking the phial he thrust the seven\nneedles into the green Lign-aloes and set it in the cooked meat\nwhich he made fast with the sealing clay. Lastly he conjured over\nthese objects with a Conjuration[FN#246] which was, \"I have\nknocked, I have knocked at the hall doors of Earth to summon the\nJ\u00e1nn, and the J\u00e1nn have knocked for the J\u00e1nn against the\nShayt\u00e1n.\" Hereat appeared to me the son of Al bin Imr\u00e1n[FN#247]\nwith a snake and baldrick'd with a basilisk and cried, \"Who be\nthis trader and son of a slave-girl who hath knocked at the\nground for us this evening?\" \"Then do thou, O youth, reply, 'I am\na lover and of age youthful and my love is to a young lady; and\nunto your gramarye I have had recourse, O folk of manliness and\ngenerosity and masterful deeds: so work ye with me and confirm\nmine affair and aid me in this matter. See ye not how Such an\none, daughter of Such an one, oppression and wrong to me hath\ndone, nor is she with me in affection as she was anon?' They\nshall answer thee, 'Let it be, as is said, in the tail;'[FN#248]\nthen do thou set the objects upon a fire exceeding fierce and\nrecite then over them, 'This be the business; and were Such-an-\none, daughter of Such-an-one, within the well of K\u00e1sh\u00e1n[FN#249]\nor in the city Ispahan or in the towns of men who with cloaks\nbuttoned tight and ever ready good fame to blight,[FN#250] let\nher come forth and seek union with the beloved.' Whereto she will\nreply 'Thou art the lord and I am the bondswoman.' \" Now the\nyouth abode marvelling at such marvel-forms and the Warlock\nhaving repeated to him these words three times, turned to him and\nsaid \"Arise to thy feet and perfume and fumigate thy person and\ndon thy choicest dress and dispread thy bed, for at this very\nhour thou shalt see thy mistress by thy side.\" And so saying the\nSage cast out of hand the shoulder-blades and set the phial upon\nthe fire. Thereupon the youth arose without stay or delay and\nbringing a bundle of raiment the rarest, he spread it and habited\nhimself, doing whatso the Wizard had bidden him; withal could he\nnot believe that his mistress would appear. However ere a scanty\nspace of time had elapsed, lo and behold! the young lady bearing\nher bedding[FN#251] and still sleeping passed through the house\ndoor and she was bright and beautiful as the easting sun. But\nwhen the youth the Cook sighted her, he was perplex\" and his wits\ntook flight with his sense and he cried aloud saying, \"This be\nnaught save a wondrous matter!\" \"And the same,\" quoth the Sage,\n\"is that requiredst thou.\" Quoth the Cook, \"And thou, O my lord\nart of the Hallows of Allah,\" and kissed his hand and thanked him\nfor his kindly deed. \"Up with thee and take thy pleasure,\" cried\nthe Warlock; so the lover crept under the coverlet into the bed\nand he threw his arms round the fair one and kissed her between\nthe eyes; after which he bussed her on the mouth. She sensed a\nsensation in herself and straightway awaking opened her eyes and\nbeheld a youth embracing her, so she asked him, \"Ho thou, who art\nthou?\" Answered he, \"One by thine eyes a captive ta'en and of thy\nlove the slain and of none save thyself the fain.\" Hereat she\nlooked at him with a look which her heart for love longing struck\nand again asked him, \"O my beloved; say me then, who art thou, a\nbeing of mankind or of J\u00e1nn-kind?\" whereto he answered, \"I am\nhuman and of the most honourable.\" She resumed, \"Then who was it\nbrought me hither to thee?\" and he responded, \"The Angels and the\nSpirits, the Jinns and the Jann.\" \"Then I swear thee, O my\ndearling,\" quoth she, \"that thou bid them bear me hither to thine\narms every night,\" and quoth he, \"Hearkening and obeying, O my\nlady, and for me also this be the bourne of all wishes.\" Then,\neach having kissed other, they slept in mutual embrace until\ndawn. But when the morning morrowed and showed its sheen and\nshone, behold, the Warlock appeared and, calling the youth who\ncame to him with a smiling face, said to him, \"How was it with\nthy soul this night?\"[FN#252] and both lovers cried, \"We were in\nthe Garden of Paradise together with the Hur and Ghilman:[FN#253]\nAllah requite thee for us with all weal.\" Then they passed into\nthe Hammam and when they had bathed, the youth said, \"O my lord,\nwhat shall we do with the young lady and how shall she hie to her\nhousehold and what shall be the case of me without her?\" \"Feel no\ngrief,\" said the other, \"and quit all care of anything: e'en as\nshe came so shall she go; nor shall any of Almighty Allah's\ncreatures know aught of her.\" Hereat the Sage dismissed her by\nthe means which conveyed her, nor did she cease to bear her\nbedding with her every night and to visit the youth with all\njoyance and delight. Now after a few weeks had gone by, this\nyoung lady happening to be upon the terrace roof of her palace in\ncompany with her mother, turned her back to the sun, and when the\nheat struck her between the shoulders her belly swelled; so her\nparent asked her, \"O my daughter, what hast thou that thou\njustest out after this wise?\" \"I wot naught thereof,\" answered\nshe; so the mother put forth her hand to the belly of her child\nand found her pregnant; whereupon she screamed and buffeted her\nface and asked, \"Whence did this befal thee?\" The women-\nattendants all heard her cries and running up to her enquired,\n\"What hath caused thee, O our lady, such case as this?\" whereto\nshe replied, \"I would bespeak the Caliph.\" So the women sought\nhim and said, \"O our lord, thou art wanted by our lady;\" and he\ndid their bidding and went to his wife, but at first sight he\nnoted the condition of his daughter and asked her, \"What is to do\nwith thee and what hath brought on thee such calamity?\" Hereupon\nthe Princess told him how it was with her and he exclaimed as he\nheard it, \"O my daughter, I am the Caliph and Commander of the\nFaithful, and thou hast been sought to wife of me by the Kings of\nthe earth one and all, but thou didst not accept them as\nconnections and now thou doest such deed as this! I swear the\nmost binding oaths and I vow by the tombs of my sires and my\ngrandsires, an thou say me sooth thou shalt be saved; but unless\nthou tell me truth concerning whatso befel thee and from whom\ncame this affair and the quality of the man's intention thee-\nwards, I will slaughter thee and under earth I will sepulchre\nthee.\" Now when the Princess heard from her father's mouth these\nwords and had pondered this swear he had sworn she replied, \"O my\nsire, albeit lying may save yet is truth-telling the more saving\nside. Verily, O my father, 'tis some time before this day that my\nbed beareth me up every night and carrieth me to a house of the\nhouses wherein dwelleth a youth, a model of beauty and\nloveliness, who causeth every seer to languish; and he beddeth\nwith me and sleepeth by my side until dawn, when my couch\nuplifteth me and returneth with me to the Palace: nor wot I the\nmanner of my going and the mode of my coming is alike unknown to\nme.\" The Caliph hearing these her words marvelled at this her\ntale with exceeding marvel and fell into the uttermost of\nwonderment, but bethinking him of his Wazir, a man of penetrative\nwit, sagacious, astute, argute exceedingly, he summoned him to\nthe presence and acquainted him as soon as he came with this\naffair and what had befallen his daughter; to wit, how she was\nborne away in her bed without knowing whither or aught else.\nQuoth the Minister after taking thought for a full told hour, \"O\nCaliph of the Time and the Age, I have a device by whose virtue I\ndo opine we shall arrive at the stead whither wendeth the\nPrincess;\" and quoth the Caliph \"What may be this device of\nthine?\" \"Bid bring me a bag;\" rejoined the Wazir, \"which I will\nlet fill with millet;\"[FN#254] so they brought him one and he\nafter stuffing the same with grain set it upon the girl's bed and\nclose to her where lay her head, leaving the mouth open to the\nintent that when during the coming night her couch might be\ncarried away, the millet in going and returning might be shed\nupon the path. \"Allah bless thee, Ho thou the Wazir!\" cried the\nCaliph: \"this device of thine is passing good and fair fall it\nfor a sleight than which naught can be slyer and good luck to it\nfor a proof than which naught can be better proven.\" Now as soon\nas it was even-tide, the couch was carried off as had happened\nevery night and the grain was strown broad cast upon the path,\nlike a stream, from the gateway of the Palace to the door of the\nyoung Cook's lodging, wherein the Princess righted as was her\nwont until dawn of day. And when morn appeared the Sage came and\ncarried off with him the youth to the Hammam where he found\nprivacy and said to him, \"O my son, an thou ask me aught touching\nthy mistress's kith and kin, I bid thee know that they have\nindeed discovered her condition and against thee they have\ndevised a device.\" Exclaimed the youth, \"Verily we are Allah's\nand unto Him are we returning! What may be thy rede in this\naffair? An they slay me I shall be a martyr on Allah's\npath;[FN#255] but do thou wend thy ways and save thyself and may\nthe Almighty requite thee with all of welfare; thee, through whom\nmine every wish I have won, and the whole of my designs I have\nfulfilled; after which let them do with me as they desire.\" The\nWarlock replied, \"O my son, grieve not neither fear, for naught\nshall befal thee of harm, and I purpose to show thee marvels and\nmiracles wroughten upon them.\" When the youth heard these words\nhis spirits were cheered, and joying with joy exceeding he\nreplied, \"Almighty Allah reward thee for me with fullest\nwelfare!\" Then the twain went forth the Hammam and tried them\nhome. But as soon as morning morrowed, the Wazir repaired to the\nCaliph; and, both going to the Princess together, found her in\nher bower and the bag upon her bed clean empty of millet, at\nsight of which the Minister exclaimed, \"Now indeed we have caught\nour debtor. Up with us and to horse, O Caliph of the Age, and sum\nand substance of the Time and the Tide, and follow we the millet\nand track its trail.\" The Com mender of the Faithful forthright\ngave orders to mount, and the twain, escorted by their host, rode\nforth on the traces of the grain till they drew near the house,\nwhen the youth heard the jingle and jangle[FN#256] of horses'\ntramp and the wrangle and cangle of men's outcries. Upon this\nsaid the Cook to the Warlock, \"Here they draw near to seize me, O\nmy lord, what is there now for me to do?\" and said the other,\n\"Rise and fill me an ewer with water then mount therewith to the\nterrace-roof and pour the contents round and about the house,\nafter which come down to me.\" The youth did his bidding, and\nmeanwhile the Caliph and the Wazir and the soldiery had\napproached the house when, lo and behold! the site had become an\nisland amiddlemost a main dashing with clashing billows.[FN#257]\nBut when the Commander of the Faithful sighted this sea, he was\nperplexed with mighty great perplexity and enquired of the Wazir,\n\"At what time did such great water appear in this place?\" The\nMinister replied, \"I never knew that here was any stream, albe\nwell I wot that the Tigris river floweth amiddlemost the capital;\nbut this is a magical current.\" So saying he bade the soldiery\nurge their horses into the water sans fear, and every one crave\nas he had directed until all who entered lost their lives and a\nmany of men were drowned. Hereupon cried the Prince of True\nBelievers, \"O Wazir, we are about to destroy our host and to fare\nwith them!\" and cried the other, \"How shall we act, O Caliph of\nthe Age? Haply our first, nay our best way, is to ask help of\nthose within the house and grant to them indemnity while they\nexchange words with us and we see anon what will come of their\naffair.\" \"Do as beseemeth thee,\" answered the Prince of True\nBelievers; whereupon the Minister commanded his men to cry aloud\nupon the household and they sued for help during a length of\ntime. But the Sage, hearing their shouts, said to the youth,\n\"Arise and go up to the terrace and say to the Caliph of the Age,\n'Thou art in safety; turn away thy steps hence and presently we\nwill meet thy Highness in health and weal; otherwise[FN#258] thy\ndaughter shall be lost and thine army shall be destroyed, and\nthou, O Commander of the Faithful, wilt depart and return as one\noutdriven. Do thou wend thy ways: this be not the mode of meeting\nus and in such manner there is no management.' \" The Cook did as\nhe was bidden, and when the twain heard his words, quoth the\nWazir to the Caliph, \"Verily these be naught save Magicians,\notherwise they must be of the fulsomest of the Jann, for indeed\nnever heard we nor saw we aught of this.\" Hereupon the Prince of\nTrue Believers turned his back upon the place and he sorrowful\nand strait of breast and disheartened of heart; so he went down\nto his Palace and sat there for a full-told hour when behold, the\nWarlock and the Cook appeared before him. But as soon as they\nstood in the presence the Caliph cried out, \"O Linkman, bring me\nthe head of yonder youth from between his shoulders!\" Hereupon\nthe Executioner came forward and tearing a strip off the youth's\nrobe-skirt bandaged his eyes; then he walked thrice round about\nhim brandishing his blade over the victim's head and lastly\ncried, \"O Caliph of the Age, shall I make away with this youth?\"\nAnswered the Caliph, \"Yes, after thou shalt have stricken off his\nhead.\" Hearing this the Sworder raised his hand and smote, when\nsuddenly his grip was turned backwards upon a familiar of his who\nstood beside him, and it lighted upon his neck with such force\nthat his head hew off and fell at the Caliph's feet. The King and\nthe Wazir, were perplexed at this affair, and the former cried\nout, \"What be this? Art gone blind, O Bhang eater, that thy\nstroke hath missed the mark and thou hast not known thy familiar\nfrom this youth who kneeleth before thee? Smite him without\ndelay!\" Hereupon the Linkman again raised his hand to obey his\nlord, but the blow fell upon the neck of his varlet and the head\nflew off and rolled at the feet of the Caliph and his Chief\nCouncillor. At this second mishap the wits of all present were\nbewildered and the King cried, \"What business is this, O Wazir,\nwhereto the other made answer, \"O Caliph of the Time and rare\ngift of the Age and the Tide, what canst thou do, O my lord, with\nsuch as these? And whoso availeth to take away o' nights thy\ndaughter upon her bed and dispread a sea around his house, the\nsame also hath power to tear thy kingdom from thy grasp; nay\nmore, to practice upon thy life. Now 'tis my rede that thou rise\nand kiss the hand of this Sage and sue his protection,[FN#259]\nlest he work upon us worse than this. Believe me, 'twere better\nfor thee, O my lord, to do as I bid thee and thus 'twill be well\nfor us rather than to rise up as adversaries of this man.\"\nHearing such words from his Minister, the King bade them raise\nthe youth from the strip of blood-rug and remove the bandage from\nbefore his eyes, after which he rose to his feet, and, kissing\nthe Warlock's hand, said to him, \"In very sooth we knew thee not\nnor were we ware of the measure of thine excellence. But, O\nteacher of the Time and sum and substance of revolving Tide, why\nhast thou wrought to me on this wise in the matter of my daughter\nand destroyed my servants and soldiers?\" \"O Viceregent of Allah\nupon His Earth,\" replied the Sage, \"I am a stranger, and having\neaten bread and salt with this youth, I formed friendship and\nfamiliarity with him: then, seeing his case which was sad and his\nstate which was marvellous as it had afflicted him with sickness,\nI took compassion upon him; moreover I designed to show you all\nwhat I am and what Almighty Allah hath taught me of occult\nknowledge. Hitherto there hath been naught save weal, and now I\ndesire of thy favour that thou marry thy daughter to this youth,\nmy familiar, for that she suiteth none other save himself.\" Quoth\nthe Caliph, \"This proceeding I look upon as the fittest and it\nbesitteth us that we obey thy bidding.\" Presently he robed the\nyouth with a sumptuous robe worth the kingdom of a King, and\ncommanded him to sit beside the presence and seated the Sage upon\na chair of ebony-wood. Now whilst they were in converse the\nWarlock turned round and beheld arear of the Caliph a hanging of\nsendal whereupon stood figured lions twain: so he signed with his\nhand to these forms which were mighty huge of limb and awesome to\nlook upon, when each put forth his paw upon his fellow and both\nroared with roars like unto the bellow of ear-rending thunder.\nHereat all present were perplex in the extreme and were in\nadmiration at that matter and especially the Prince of True\nBelievers who cried, \"O Wazir what seest thou in this business?\"\nThe Wazir replied, \"O Caliph of the Age, verily Allah Almighty to\nthee hath sent this Sage that He[FN#260] might show thee such\nmarvels as these.\" Then the Warlock signalled with his hand to\nthe lions which shrank till they became as cats which carried on\nthe combat; and both Caliph and Wazir wondered thereat with\nexcessive wonderment. Anon quoth the King to the Minister, \"Bid\nthe Sage display to us more of his marvels;\" and accordingly the\nWazir obeyed his lord's be hest, and the Warlock replied, \"To\nhear is to obey.\" He then said, \"Bring hither to me a chauldron\nfull of water;\" and when it was brought he asked the Courtiers,\n\"Which of you would divert himself?\" \"I,\" quoth the Wazir; when\nquoth the Sage, \"Do thou rise to thy feet and doff thy robes and\ngird thee with a zone:\" whereto said the other, \"Bring me a\nwaistcloth;\" and when it was brought he did therewith as he was\nbidden. Hereat said the Warlock, \"Seat thee in the centre of the\nchauldron;\" so he plunged into the water, but when he would have\nseated him amiddlemost thereof as ordered he saw only that he had\nentered a sea dashing with surges clashing wherein whoso goeth is\nlost to view, and whence whoso cometh is born anew; and he fell\nto swimming from side to side intending to issue forth, while the\nwaves suffered him not to make the shore. And while he was in\nthis case behold, a billow of the billows vomited[FN#261] him up\nfrom the sea to the strand and he stood on dry land, when he\nsurveyed his person and suddenly saw that he had become a woman\nwith the breasts of a woman and the solution of continuity like a\nwoman, and long black hair flowing down to his heels even as a\nwoman's. Then said he to himself, \"O ill- omened diversion! What\nhave I done with such unlucky disport that I have looked upon\nthis marvel and wonder of wonderments, only to become a\nwoman.[FN#262] Verily we are Allah's, and unto Him shall we\nreturn;\" adding as he took thought of the matter and of what had\nbefallen him, \"There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in\nAllah, the Glorious, the Great.\" Presently a Fisherman approached\nhim and sighting a fair girl said, \"This be none other than a\nblessed day which Allah hath opened to us with a beautiful maiden\nfor quarry; and she is doubtless of the Daughters of the Deep,\nwhom Allah Almighty hath sent to us that I may espouse her to my\nson.\" Hearing these words said the transformed to himself, \"Now\nafter being a Wazir I have become a woman and this be for that as\ntit for tat,[FN#263] and the wight furthermore desireth to see me\nmarried, and as for the Caliph and the kingdom and the countries,\nwho shall now be able to offer them counsel?\" But the Fisherman\nwho for his joyance had no stomach to ply his pursuit, as was his\ncustom, forthwith arose and taking with him the Daughter of the\nDeep led her to his house, and on entering the door cried aloud\nto his wife, \"This day hath been a lucky for my fishing craft:\nduring all these years it never befel me to happen upon a Mermaid\nsave on this best-omened of all the days,\u00f6 adding, \"Where is thy\nson, to whom Allah hath sent this Daughter of the Daughters of\nthe Main; and hath made her his portion and vouchsafed her to his\nservice? for 'tis my design to marry them.\" Replied the woman,\n\"He hath taken the beasts and hath fared forth to pasture it and\nplough therewith; but right soon will he return.[FN#264] And\nwhilst they were thus conversing the youth came forward, and the\nWazir on sighting him groaned and cried, Well-away for me! this\nvery night I shall become a bride for this blamed lad[FN#265] to\nsleep withal. And if I say to them, 'What intent have ye? Ye are\nin meanness and misery[FN#266] while I am Wazir to the Caliph;'\nthey will never believe me for that I have become a woman, and\nall thereto appertaining now belongeth to me. Alack and alas for\nthat I did with mine own self; indeed what business had I with\nsuch diversion?\" Hereupon the fisherman called out, \"O my son, up\nwith thee and straightway take this Mermaid and marry her and\nabate her pucelage and be blessed with her and enjoy thy joy with\nher during all the days of thy life-tide: doubtless, O my child,\nthou art in all boon fortune, seeing that what good befel thee\nnever betided any before thee nor will become the lot of one\nafter thee.\" So the youth arose and for his delight hardly\nbelieving in his conquest, married her and lay with her and did\naway her maidenhead and on that very night she conceived by him.\nAfter nine months she bare him issue and the couple ceased not to\nbe after this fashion till she had become a mother of seven. But\nthe Wazir, of his stress and excess of the trouble and the\ntravail he endured, said to himself, \"How long shall last this\ntoil and torment wherewith I am liver-smitten and that too by\nmine own consent? So e'en will I arise and hie me to this sea and\nhurl me thereinto and whatso shall become of me let it be: haply\nI may find rest from these torments into which I have fallen.\"\nAnd forthright he arose and sought the shore and did as he had\ndevised, when a wave enveloped him and cast him deep into the\ndepths and he was like to choke, when suddenly his head protruded\nfrom the chauldron and he was seated as before he had ducked it.\nHereupon he saw the Caliph sitting in state with the Sage by his\nside and all the Lords of the land and the Notables of the\ncommons awaiting the end of his adventure. So he gazed at them\nand showed a smiling face[FN#267] and laughed aloud when the\nPrince of True Believers asked him saying, \"What hast thou seen,\nO Wazir?\" So he repeated to the Sovran all he had sighted and\neverything that had come down upon his head, presently adding, \"O\nCaliph of the Age and the sum and sub stance of the Time and the\nTide, what be these marvels wrought by this Sage? Verily I have\nbeheld the garths of Paradise[FN#268] with maidens of the H\u00far and\nthe youths of Heaven, and wonderments galore unlooked upon by\nmankind at all, at all. But, an thou be pleased, O Commander of\nthe Faithful, to espy these rare spectacles and marvellous\nconditions with thine own eyes, deign go down into the water; so\nshalt thou divert thyself with peregrine matters and adventures\nseld-seen.\" The Sultan, delighted at this rede, arose and doffed\nhis dress; then, girding his loins with a zone, he entered the\nchauldron whereat the Sage cried out to him, \"O my lord, sit thee\ndown and duck thy head.\" But when this was done the Caliph found\nhimself in a bottomless sea and wide dispread and never at rest\nby any manner of means, so he fell to swimming therein, when a\nhuge breaker threw him high ashore and he walked up the beach\nmother-naked save for his zone. So he said in his mind, \"Let me\nsee what hath been wrought with me by the Sage and the Wazir who\nhave thus practiced upon me and have cast me in this place; and\nhaply they have married my daughter to the youth, and they have\nstolen my kingdom, the Sage becoming Sultan in my stead. And now\nlet me ask myself, 'What had I to do with such damned diversion\nas this?'\" But as he brooded over these thoughts and the like of\nthem behold, a bevy of maidens came forwards to fill their\npitchers from a fountain and a pool of sweet water lying beside\nthe sea; and sighting him they exclaimed, \"Thou, who art thou?\nsay sooth be thou of man-kind or rather haply of Jinn-kind?\" He\nreplied, \"I am a mortal and of the noblest-born; withal I am a\nstranger in the land and I wot not whither I should wend.\" \"Of\nwhat country art thou?\" asked they, and he answered, \"I am from\nBaghdad.\" \"Up with thee,\" quoth one of the damsels, \"to yonder\nknoll, then down to the flat on the further side, and thou shalt\nsight a city whose name is 'Om\u00e1n,[FN#269] whereinto do thou\nenter.\" The Caliph did her bidding, and no sooner had the people\nseen him stripped than they said one to other, \"This man is a\nmerchant who hath been shipwrecked;\" so they gave him by way of\nalmsgift a Tobe[FN#270] all tattered and torn wherewith he veiled\nhis shame. And after so doing he fell to wandering about the city\nfor pastime, and while walking about he passed into a Bazar and\nthere sighted a cook, before whom he stood open mouthed (for\nindeed famine had thinned him), and he bethought him of what to\ndo, and he knew not how to act. However the cook at first sight\nwas certified of his being a foreigner, and haply a shipwrecked\nmariner so he asked him, \"O my brother, why cost thou not come in\nand sit thee down, for thou art a stranger and without means; so\nin the way of Allah I would engage thy services and will pay thee\ndaily two dirhams to provide thee with meat and drink.\" Answered\nthe Caliph, \"Hearing and obeying,\" after which he abode with the\ncook and served him and stinted not to serve him for a long time,\nsaying in himself the while, \"This for that is tit for tat! and\nafter the Caliphate and commandment and happiness and honour,\nthis day art thou left to lick the platters. What had I to do\nwith such diversion as this? Withal 'tis fairer than the\nspectacle that anyone even my Wazir ever saw and the more\nexcellent, for that I after being the Caliph of the Age, and the\nchoice gift of the Time and Tide have now become the hireling of\na cook. Would to Heaven I wot the sin which brought me\nhereto?\"[FN#271] Now as he abode with the cook it befel him that\none day he threaded the Jewellers' Bazar; for about that city was\na sea-site whereinto the duckers and divers went down and whence\nthey brought up pearls and corals and precious stones; and as he\nstood in the market-place, quoth he to himself, \"Let me here\nbecome a broker in this market street and find rest from my\ngroaning in labour and my licking of platters.\" As soon as\nmorning morrowed he did on such wise, when suddenly a merchant\napproached him, hending in hand a costly gem whose light burned\nlike a lamp or rather like a ray of sunshine, and 'twas worth the\ntribute of Egypt and Syria. Hereat the Caliph marvelled with\nexceeding marvel, and quoth he to the trader, \"Say me, wilt thou\nsell this jewel?\" and quoth the other, \"Yes.\" So the Sultan\ntaking it from him went about with it amongst the merchants, who\nseeing and considering it, wondered greatly at its beauty.\nAccordingly they bid for it fifty thousand diners, but the royal\nbroker ceased not to bear it about and the buyers to increase\ntheir biddings till they offered an hundred thousand gold pieces.\nThereupon the Caliph returned with it to the owner and accosted\nhim saying, \"Wilt thou sell it for the sum named?\" and when the\nmerchant consented, he continued, \"I now go to receive its price,\nwherewith I will come back to thee.\" Then the broker went up to\nthe buyer and said, \"Bring hither its value and set it in my\nhand;\" but the man asked him, \"Where be its owner?\" and the\nCaliph answered, \"Its owner hath commissioned me to receive its\nprice, after which he will come and recover the same from me.\"\nHowever the bidder retorted, \"This be not fitting nor is it\naccording to Holy Law: do thou bring me its owner; then come and\nlet him pouch the price, for 'tis he hath sold it to me and thou\nart only our agent.\" Hereupon the Caliph went forth to seek the\nproprietor and wandered about a long while without finding him;\nafter which he again accosted the purchaser, and said to him, \"I\nam the rightful proprietor: place the price in my hand.\" The\nbuyer arose to pay his debt, but before so doing he considered\nthe jewel and saw that it was a bit of dark Sandarach;[FN#272]\nwhereat he was sore perplex\" and cried out to the Caliph, \"O\nSatan, cost thou palm off false wares, the market-place of the\nmerchants being under the orders of the Sultan?\" But when the\ntraders heard these words, they flocked around the pretended\nbroker and having seized him they pinioned his elbows and dragged\nhim before the Sovran of that city who, when they set the\nprisoner before him, asked, \"What be the offence of this man?\" \"O\nour honoured lord,\" answered they, \"this wight palmeth off false\nwares and swindleth the traders in the royal Bazar.\" So the King\ncommanded them to hang him, whereat they charged his neck with\nchains and bared his head, and bade the cryer cry, \"This be his\naward and the least of awards who forgeth counterfeits and who\ntricketh the merchant folk in the market-place of the Sultan.\"\nHereat quoth the Caliph to himself, \"I was not content with\nplatter licking, which now appeareth to me a mighty pleasant\ncalling but e'en I must become a broker and die sus. per coll.\nThis be for that tit for tat; how ever, scant blame to the Time\nwhich hath charged me with this work.\" Now when they brought him\nto the hanging place and threw the loop around his neck and fell\nto hoisting him up, as he rose from the ground his eyes were\nopened and he found himself emerging from the chauldron, whilst\nthe Wazir and the Sage and the youth were sitting and considering\nhim. And the Minister catching sight of his lord sprang to his\nfeet and kissed ground before him, and laughed aloud, and the\nCommander of the Faithful asked him, \"Why this laughter?\"\nAnswered he, \"O thou, the Prince of True Believers and God-\nguarded Sovran, my laughter and my gladness are for myself,\nseeing that I have recovered my identity after becoming a woman\nand being wedded to a ploughman, who eared the ground, and after\nbearing to him seven babes.\" Cried the Caliph, \"Woe to thee, O\ndog, O son of a dog, thou west married and rejoicedst in\nchildren, whereas I this very moment from the hanging-place have\ncome down.\" Then he informed the Wazir of all that had befallen\nhim and the Minister did on like guise, whereat all those present\nlaughed consumedly and marvelled at the words of the Warlock, and\nhis proficiency in occult knowledge. Then the Kazi and witnesses\nwere summoned with their writing gear and were bidden draw up the\nmarriage-contract of the young Cook and the Caliph's daughter.\nAfter this the Sage sojourned with the Commander of the Faithful\nin highmost degree and most honourable dignity, and they abode\neating and drinking and living the most delectable of lives and\nthe most enjoyable with all manner of joy and jollity, till came\nto them the Destroyer of delights and the Divider of man's days\nand they departed life one and all.\n\nFINIS.\n\n\n\n\n\n            THE PLEASANT HISTORY OF THE COCK AND THE\n                              FOX.\n\n\n\nHere we begin to indite the pleasant History which beset between\nthe Cock and the Fox.[FN#273]\n\nIt is said that there abode in such a village a man which was a\nShaykh of long standing, one gifted with fair rede and right\nunderstanding. Now he had on his farm a plenty of poultry, male\nand female, and these he was wont to breed and to eat of their\neggs and their chickens. But amongst his cocks was a Chanticleer,\nwell advanced of age and wily of wit, who had long fought with\nFortune and who had become wise and ware in worldly matters and\nin the turns and shifts of Time. It fortuned one day that this\nCock went forth to wander about the farm-lands pecking and\npicking up as he went such grains of wheat and barley and\nholcus[FN#274] and sesame and millet as chanced fall in his way;\nbut, being careless of himself, he had left the village afar off\nwithout thinking of what he did, and ere he took counsel with\nhimself he found him amiddlemost the wilderness. So he turned him\nrightwards and leftwards but espied nor friend nor familiar,\nwhereat he stood perplext as to his affair and his breast was\nstraitened and still he knew not what to do. Now while thus\nbewildered in his wits touching his next step, behold, his glance\nfell upon a Fox[FN#275] who was approaching him from afar,\nwhereat he feared and trembled and was agitated with mighty great\nagitation. At once he turned him about and presently espied a\nhigh wall arising from the waste, whereto was no place of\nascending for his foe; so he spread his wings and flew up and\nperched upon the coping where he took his station. Presently the\nFox came forward to the foot of the wall, and, finding no means\nof climbing it and getting at the fowl, he raised his head and\nsaid, \"The Peace be upon thee, Ho thou the soothfast brother and\nsuitable friend!\" But as the Cock would not turn towards him nor\nreturn aught of reply to his salutation, the Fox resumed, \"What\nis to do with thee, O dear my brother, that my greeting thou\nacknowledgest not and to my words inclinest thee not?\" Still the\nCock requited not his courtesy and declined to reply, whereat the\nFox resumed, \"Wottest thou not, O my brother, the glad tidings\nwherewith I came theewards, with what suitable intelligence and\ncounsel veridical and information at once sincere and self-\nevident? and, didst know what it is hath come to mine ears,\nverily thou hadst embraced me and kissed me on the mouth.\" But\nthe Cock feigned absence of mind and ignored him and answered him\nnaught, but stood with rounded eyes and fixed upon the far when\nthe Fox resumed, \"O my brother, the King of the Beasts which be\nthe Lion and the King of the Birds which be the Eagle have\nalighted from a journey upon the meads where grass is a-growing\nand by the marge where waters are a-flowing and blossoms are a-\nblowing and browsing gazelles are a-to-ing and a-fro-ing; and the\ntwain have gathered together all manner of ferals, lions and\nhyenas, leopards and lynxes, wild cattle and antelopes and\njackals and even hares, brief, all the wild beasts of the world;\nand they have also collected every kind of bird, eagle and\nvulture, crow and raven,[FN#276] wild pigeon and turtledove,\npoultry and fowls and Kat\u00e1s and quails[FN#277] and other small\ndeer, and these two liege lords have bidden the herald proclaim,\nthroughout the tracts of the upland wold and the wild lowland,\nsafety and security and confraternity and peace with honour and\nsympathy and familiar friendship and affection and love amongst\nwild beasts and cattle and birds; also that enmity be done away\nwith and wrongs be forbidden nor might one transgress against\nother; nay, if any chance to injure his fellow this offence might\nbe for his scourging a reason, and for his death by tearing to\npieces a justification. The order hath also come forth that all\ndo feed and browse in one place whichever they please, never\nventuring to break the peace but dwelling in all amity and\naffection and intimacy one with other. Moreover they have\ncommissioned me, very me, to overroam the wastes and gladden with\ngood tidings the peoples of the wilds and proclaim that one and\nall without exception must assemble together, and also that whoso\ndelayeth or refuseth obedience shall not escape\npunishment[FN#278] nor let each and every fail to make act of\npresence and to kiss hands. And of thee, O my brother, I\nespecially require that thou descend from thy high stead in\nsafety and security and satisfaction, and that henceforward thy\nheart be not startled nor thy limbs shake for fear.\" All this\ndescription was described by the Fox to the Cock who paid no heed\nto him as though he had never heard the news; and he remained\nsilent without return of reply or without so much as turning to\nregard him; nay, he only kept his head raised and gazed afar.\nHereat quoth to him the Fox (for indeed his heart burned with\ndesire to know how he could seize and devour him), \"O brother\nmine, why and wherefore dost thou not acknowledge me by an answer\nor address to me a word or even turn thy face towards me who am a\nCommissioner sent by Leo, Sovran of the beasts, and Aquila,\nSultan of the birds? Sore I fear lest thou refuse to accompany me\nand thus come upon thee censure exceeding and odium excessive\nseeing that all are assembled in the presence and are browsing\nupon the verdant mead.\" Then he added (as Chanticleer regarded\nhim not), \"O my brother, I bespeak thee and thou unheedest me and\nmy speech and, if thou refuse to fare with me, at least let me\nknow what may be thy reply.\" Hereupon the Cock inclined towards\nhim and said, \"Sooth hast thou spoken, O my brother, and well I\nwot thou be an Envoy and a Commissioner from our King, and the\nspecial Messenger of him: but my condition is changed by that\nwhich hath befallen me.\" \"And what calamity, O my brother hath\nbetided thee?\" \"Dost thou espy what I am at present espying?\"\n\"And what is it thou espiest?\" \"Verily, I see a dust cloud\nlowering and the Saker-falcons in circles towering;\" and quoth\nthe Fox (whose heart throbbed with fear), \"Look straitly, O my\nbrother, lest there happen to us a mishap.\" So Chanticleer gazed\nas one distraught for a full told hour, after which he turned to\nthe Fox and said, \"O my brother, I behold and can distinguish a\nbird flying and a dust-trail hieing.\" \"Consider them narrowly, O\nmy brother,\" cried the Fox (whose side-muscles quivered) \"lest\nthis be sign of greyhound;\" and the other replied, \"The Truth is\nknown to Allah alone, yet I seem now to see a something lengthy\nof leg, lean of flank, loose of ears, fine of forehand and full\nof quarter, and at this moment it draweth near and is well nigh\nupon us--O fine!\"[FN#279] Now when the Fox heard these words he\ncried to the Cock, \"O my brother, I must farewell thee!\" and so\nsaying he arose and committed his legs to the wind and he had\nrecourse to the Father of Safety.[FN#280] Seeing this, the Cock\nalso cried, \"Why thus take to flight when thou hast no spoiler\nthy heart to affright?\" Replied the Fox, \"I have a fear of the\nGreyhound, O my brother, for that he is not of my friends or of\nmy familiars;\" and the Cock rejoined, \"Didst thou not tell me\nthou camest as Commissioner of the Kings to these wastes\nproclaiming a peace and safety amongst all the beasts and the\nbirds?\" \"O my brother Chanticleer,\" retorted the other, \"this\nferal, Greyhound hight, was not present at the time when\npacifcation was proclaimed, nor was his name announced in the\nCongress of the beasts; and I for my part have no love lost with\nhim, nor between me and him is there aught of security.\" So\nsaying the Fox turned forthright to fly, routed with the foulest\nof routing, and the Cock escaped the foe by his sleight and\nsagacity with perfect safety and security. Now after the Fox had\nturned tail and fled from him Chanticleer came down from the wall\nand regained his farm, lauding Allah Almighty who had conveyed\nhim unharmed to his own place. And here he related unto his\nfellows what had befallen him with the Fox and how he had devised\nthat cunning device and thereby freed himself from a strait\nwherein, but for it, the foe had torn him limb by limb.\n\nFINIS.\n\n\n\n\n\n          HISTORY OF WHAT BEFEL THE FOWL-LET WITH THE\n                             FOWLER\n\n\n\nHere we begin to invite the History of what befel the Fowl-let\nfrom the Fowler.[FN#281]\n\nThey relate (but Allah is All-knowing) that there abode in\nBaghdad-city a huntsman-wight in venerie trained aright. Now one\nday he went forth to the chase taking with him nets and springes\nand other gear he needed and fared to a garden-site with trees\nbedight and branches interlaced tight wherein all the fowls did\nunite; and arriving at a tangled copse he planted his trap in the\nground and he looked around for a hiding-place and took seat\ntherein concealed. Suddenly a Birdie approaching the trap-side\nbegan scraping the earth and, wandering round about it, fell to\nsaying in himself, \"What may this be? Would Heaven I wot, for it\nseemeth naught save a marvellous creation of Allah!\" Presently he\nconsidered the decoy which was half buried in the ground and\nsalam'd to it from afar to the far and the Trap returned his\nsalutation, adding thereto, \"And the ruth of Allah and His\nblessings;\" and presently pursued, \"Welcome and fair welcome to\nthe brother dear and the friend sincere and the companionable\nfere and the kindly compeer, why stand from me so far when I\ndesire thou become my neighbour near and I become of thine\nintimates the faithful and of thy comrades the truthful? So draw\nthee nigh to me and be of thy safety trustful and prove thee not\nof me fearful.\" Quoth the Fowl-let, \"I beseech thee by Allah, say\nme who art thou so I may not of thee feel affright and what be\nthy bye-name and thy name and to which of the tribes dost trace\nthy tree?\" And quoth the Trap, \"My name is Hold-fast[FN#282] and\nmy patronymic is Bindfast and my tribe is hight the Sons of\nFallfast.\" Replied the Birdie, \"Sooth thou sayest; for such name\nis truly thy name and such bye-name is without question thy\nbye-name nor is there any doubt of thy tribe being the noblest of\nthe tribes.\" The Trap answered him saying, \"Alhamdolillah--laud\nto the Lord--that me thou hast recognised and that I be of thy\ntruest friends thou hast acknowledged, for where shalt thou find\na familiar like unto me, a lover soothful and truthful and my\nfellow in mind? And indeed I a devotee of religious bent and from\nvain gossip and acquaintances and even kith and kin abstinent;\nnor have I any retreat save upon the heads of hills and in the\nbellies of dales which be long and deep; and from mundane tidings\nI am the true Holdfast and in worldly joys the real Bindfast.\"\nThe Fowl replied, \"Sooth hast spoken, O my lord; and all hail to\nthee; how pious and religious and of morals and manners gracious\nart thou? Would to Heaven I were a single hair upon thy body.\"\nRejoined the Trap, \"Thou in this world art my brother and in the\nnext world my father;\" and the other retorted, \"O my brother,\nfain would I question thee concerning matters concealed within\nthy thoughts;\" whereto the Trap, \"Enquire of whatso thou\nrequires\", that I make manifest to thee what in heart thou\ndesirest; for I will truly declare to thee mine every aim and\ndisclose to thee soothly all my case and my thoughts concealed,\nnor shall remain unrevealed of mine intent aught.\" So the Birdie\nbegan, \"O my brother, why and wherefore see I thee on this wise\nabiding in the dust and dwelling afar from relations and\ncompaneers and thou hast parted from thy family and peers and\nhast departed from the fondness of thy dears?\" \"Hast thou not\nlearned, O my brother,\" answered the Trap, \"that retirement is\npermanent heal and farness from folk doth blessings deal and\nseparation from the world is bodily weal; and on this matter hath\none of the poets said, and said right well,\n\n'Fly folk, in public ne'er appearing, * And men shall name thee\n     man God-fearing;[FN#283]\nNor say I've brother, mate and friend: * Try men with mind still\n     persevering:\nYea, few are they as thou couldst wish: * Scorpions they prove\n     when most endearing.'[FN#284]\n\nAnd one of the Sages hath said, 'Solitude and not ill associate.'\nAlso quoth they to Al-Bahl\u00fal,[FN#285] 'Why this tarrying of thine\namid the homes of the dead and why this sojourning in a barren\nstead and wherefore this farness from kinsmen and mate and lack\nof neighbourly love for brother and intimate?' But quoth he, 'Woe\nto you! my folk did I dwell amongst them would some day unlove me\nand the while I abide far from them will never reprove me; not\nindeed would they remember my affection nor would they desire my\npredilection; and so satisfied with my solitude am I that an I\nsaw my family I should start away as in fear of them, and were my\nparent quickened anew and longed for my society verily I would\ntake flight from them.' \" Replied the Fowl-let, \"In good sooth, O\nmy brother, truth thou hast pronounced in all by thee announced\nand the best of rede did from thee proceed; but tell me, prithee,\nanent that cord about thy middle wound and despite thine\nexpending efforts that abound why thou art neither a-standing nor\na-sitting on ground?\" To him replied the Trap, \"O my brother,\nlearn that I spend every night of every month in prayer, during\nwhich exercise whenever sleep would seize me I tighten this cord\nabout my waist and drive slumber from my eyes and become\ntherefrom the more wide-awake for my orisons. Know thou also that\nAllah (be He glorified and magnified!) affectioneth his servants\nwhen devout are they, and stand in worship alway, ever dight to\npray and praise Him by night and by day; and who turn on their\nsides loving the Lord to obey in desire and dismay and doling\ntheir good away. And quoth Allah (be He glorified and\nmagnified!), 'And for scanty while of the night they take not\ngentle rest and at rising morn His pardon they obtest and their\nLord granteth unto them their request.' [FN#286] And wottest thou\nnot, O my brother, what said the poet?\n\n'These busy are with worldly gear * Those of their moneys proud\n     appear:\nBut some be rich by God's approof -- * Praise Him o' nights with\n     love sincere:\nTheir Guardian's eye regards them aye * Praying, confessing sins\n     to clear:\nThey wot nor worship aught but Him * And hail His name with love\n     and fear.' \"\n\nTherewith quoth the Fowl-let, \"Sooth hast thou said, O my\nbrother, in each word by thee sped and right eloquently was\nannounced all by thee pronounced; however (I am thy protected!),\ndo thou tell me why I see thee one half buried in earth and the\nother half above ground?\" And quoth the Trap, \"For the reason\nthat I thereby resemble the dead and in life I am shunning the\npernicious lusts of the flesh; and Almighty Allah (be He\nglorified and magnified!) said in His August Volume, 'From earth\nhave We created you and unto her We will return you and from her\nwill We draw you forth a second time.' \"[FN#287] Replied the\nBirdie, \"The truth thou hast told in whatso thou dost unfold, but\nwhy do I see thee so bent of back?\" and rejoined the Trap,\n\"Learn, O my brother, that the cause for this bowing of my back\nis my frequent standing in prayer by day and my upstanding by\nnight in the service of the King, the Clement, the One, the\nPrepotent, the Glorious, the Omnipotent; and verily upon this\nmatter right well the poet hath spoken,\n\n'None save the pious Youth gains boon of Paradise * (To whom the\n     Lord doth pardon crime and sin and vice),\nWhose back by constant prayer through murk o' night is bent * And\n     longs to merit Heaven in sore and painful guise.\nHail to the slave who ever would his lord obey * And who by death\n     is saved when he obedient dies.' \"\n\nThe Fowl-let continued, \"O my brother, of truth the token is that\nwhereof thou hast spoken and I have understood thee and am\ncertified of thy sooth. But yet, I see upon thee a robe[FN#288]\nof hair!\" and the Trap rejoined, \"O my brother, knowest thou not\nof hair and wool that they be the wear of the pious and the\nreligious, whereof one of the poets hath spoken in these words,\n\n'Folk who in fear of long accompt[FN#289] for naught of worldly\n     care * Hail to them! haply garb of wool they'll change for\n     silken wear:\nIn life for provaunt shall suffice them salt and barley bread *\n     Who seek th' Almighty Lord and bow the head in sedulous\n     pray'r.' \"\n\nThe Birdie resumed, \"In very deed thy speech the sooth doth\nteach; but say me what be this staff[FN#290] thou hendest in\nhand?\" Replied the Trap, \"O my brother, know that I have become\nan olden man well shotten in years and my strength is minished,\nwherefor I have taken me a staff that I may prop me thereon and\nthat it aid my endeavour when a-fasting.\" The Fowl-let pursued,\n\"Thy speech is true, O my brother, and thou speakest as due, yet\nwould I ask thee of a matter nor refuse me information\nthereanent: tell me why and wherefore this plenty of grain\nscattered all about thee?\" The Trap answered, \"Indeed the\nmerchants and men of wealth bring to me this victual that I may\nbestow it in charity upon the Fakir and the famisht;\" and the\nBirdie rejoined, \"O my brother, I also am an hungered; so dost\nthou enjoin me to eat thereof?\" \"Thou art my companion,\" cried\nthe Trap, \"so upon me such injunction is a bounden duty,\"\npresently adding, \"Be so kind, O my brother, and haste thee\nhither and eat.\" Hereat the Fowl-let flew down from off his tree\nand approaching little by little (with a heart beating for fear\nof the Trap) picked up a few grains which lay beside it until he\ncame to the corn set in the loop of the springe. Hereupon he\npecked at it with one peck nor had he gained aught of good\ntherefrom ere the Trap came down heavily upon him and entangled\nhis neck and held him fast. Hereupon he was seized with a fit of\nsore affright and he cried out, \"Z\u00edk! z\u00edk!\" and \"M\u00edk!\nm\u00edk![FN#291] Verily I have fallen into wreak and am betrayed by\nfriendly freke and oh, the excess of my trouble and tweak, Z\u00edk,\nZ\u00edk! O Thou who keenest my case, do Thou enable me escape to\nseek, and save me from these straits unique and be Thou ruthful\nto me the meek!\" Thereupon quoth to him the Trap, \"Thou criest\nout Zik! Zik! and hast fallen into straits unique and hast\nstrayed from the way didst seek, O Miscreant and Zind\u00edk,[FN#292]\nand naught shall avail thee at this present or brother or friend\nveridigue or familiar freke. Now understand and thy pleasure\nseek! I have deceived thee with a deceit and thou lentest ear and\nlustedst.\" Replied the Bird, \"I am one whom desire hath cast down\nand ignorance hath seduced and inordinate greed, one for whose\nneck the collar of destruction is fitted and I have fallen along\nwith those who lowest fall!\" Hereupon the Fowler came up with his\nknife to slaughter the Fowl-let and began saying, \"How many a\nbirdie have we taken in all ease for desire of its meat that we\nmay dress their heads with rice or in Har\u00edsah [FN#293] or fried\nin pan and eat thereof pleasurably myself or feed therewith great\nmen and grandees. Also 'tis on us incumbent to feed privily upon\nhalf the bodies and the other half shall be for our guests whilst\nI will take the wings to set before my family and kinsmen as the\nmost excellent of gifts.\"[FN#294] Hearing these words the Bird\nfell to speaking and saying,\n\n\n\"O Birder, my mother's in misery * And blind with weeping my loss\n     is she.\nI suffice not thy guest nor can serve for gift: * Have ruth and\n     compassion and set me free!\nWith my parents I'll bless thee and then will I * Fly a-morn and\n     at e'en-tide return to thee.\"\n\nPresently resumed he, \"Seest thou not how my meat be mean and my\nmaw be lean; nor verily can I stand thee in stead of cate nor thy\nhunger satiate: so fear Allah and set me at liberty then shall\nthe Almighty requite thee with an abundant requital.\" But the\nFowler, far from heeding his words, made him over to his son\nsaying, \"O my child, take this bird and faring homewards\nslaughter him and of him cook for us a cumin ragout and a\nlemonstew, a mess flavoured with verjuice and a second of\nmushrooms and a third with pomegranate seeds and a fourth of\nclotted curd[FN#295] cooked with Summ\u00e1k,[FN#296] and a fine fry\nand eke conserves of pears[FN#297] and quinces and apples and\napricots hight the rose-water and vermicelli[FN#298] and\nSikb\u00e1j;[FN#299] and meat dressed with the six leaves and a\nporridge[FN#300] and a rice-milk, and an 'Aj\u00edj\u00edyah[FN#301] and\nfried flesh in strips and Kab\u00e1bs and meat-olives and dishes the\nlike of these. Also do thou make of his guts strings for bows and\nof his gullet a conduit for the terrace-roof and of his skin a\ntray-cloth and of his plumage cushions and pillows.\" Now when the\nFowl-let heard these words (and he was still in the Fowler's\nhand), he laughed a laugh of sorrow and cried, \"Woe to thee, O\nBirder, whither be wended thy wits and thine understanding? Art\nJinn-mad or wine-drunken? Art age-foolish or asleep? Art\nheavy-minded or remiss in thought? Indeed had I been that\nlong-necked bird the 'Ank\u00e1, daughter of Life, or were I the she-\ncamel of S\u00e1lih to be, or the ram of Isaac the sacrificed, or the\nloquent calf of Al-S\u00e1miri [FN#302] or even a buffalo fattened\ndaintily all this by thee mentioned had never come from me.\"\nHereat he fell to improvising and saying,\n\n\"The Ruthful forbiddeth the eating of me * And His Grace doth\n     grace me with clemency:\nA Camel am I whom they overload * And the Birder is daft when my\n     flesh seeth he:\nProm Solomon's breed, O my God, I have hope: * If he kill me the\n     Ruthful his drowning[FN#303] decree.'?\n\nThen quoth the Fowl to the Fowler, \"An thou design to slaughter\nme in thy greed even as thou hast described, verily I shall avail\nthee naught, but an thou work my weal and set me free I will show\nthee somewhat shall profit thee and further the fortunes of thy\nsons' sons and thy latest descendants.\" \"What is that direction\nthou wouldst deal to me?\" asked the Fowler, and answered the\nFowl-let, \"I will teach a trio of words all wise and will\ndiscover to thee in this earth a Hoard wherewith thou and thy\nseed and posterity shall ever be satisfied and shall ever pray\nfor the lengthening of my years. Moreover I will point out to\nthee a pair of Falcons ashen-grey, big of body and burly of bulk\nwho are to me true friends and whom thou didst leave in the\ngardens untrapped.\" Asked the Birder, \"And what be the three\nwords which so savour of wisdom?\" and answered the other \"O\nFowler, the three words of wisdom are:--Bemourn not what is the\npast nor at the future rejoice too fast nor believe aught save\nthat whereon thy glance is cast. But as regards the Hoard and the\ntwo Falcons, when thou shalt have released me I will point them\nout to thee and right soon to thee shall be shown the sooth of\nwhatso I have said to thee.\" Hereat the Birder's heart became\nwell affected toward the Birdie for his joy anent the Treasure\nand the Falcons; and the device of the captive deceived the\nCapturer and cut short his wits so that he at once released the\nprey. Forthright the Fowl-let flew forth the Fowler's palm in\nhuge delight at having saved his life from death; then, after\npreening his plume and spreading his pinions and his wings, he\nlaughed until he was like to fall earthwards in a fainting fit\nAnon he began to gaze right and left, long breaths a drawing and\nincrease of gladness ever a showing; whereupon quoth the Birder,\n\"O Father of Flight, O thou The Wind hight! what saidst thou to\nme anent pointing out the two Falcons ashen-grey and who were the\ncomrades thou leftest in the gardens?\" Quoth the Birdie in reply,\n\"slack and alas! never saw I thy like for an ass nor aught than\nthyself meaner of capacity nor mightier of imbecility; for indeed\nthou carries\" in thy head lightness and in thy wits slackness. O\nScant of Sense, when sawest thou ever a sparrow company with a\nFalcon, much less with two Falcons? So short is thine\nunderstanding that I have escaped thy hand by devising the\nsimplest device which my nous and knowledge suggested.\" Hereat he\nbegan to improvis and repeat:\n\n\"When Fortune easy was, from duty[FN#304] didst forbear * Nor\n     from that malady[FN#305] hast safety or repair:\nThen blame thyself nor cast on other wight[FN#306] the fault *\n     And lacking all excuse to death of misery fare!\"\n\nThen resumed the Fowl-let, \"Woe to thee, O mean and mesquin thou\nwottedst not that which thou hast lost in me, for indeed baulked\nis thy bent and foiled is thy fortune and near to thee is poverty\nand nigh to thee is obscurity. Hadst thou when taking me cut my\nthroat and cloven my crop thou hadst found therein a jewel the\nweight of an ounce which I picked up and swallowed from the\ntreasury of Kisr\u00e0 An\u00fash\u00edrw\u00e1n the King.\" But when the Birder heard\nthe Birdie's words he scattered dust upon his head and buffeted\nhis face and plucked out his beard and rent his raiment, and at\nlast slipped down a swooning to the ground. And presently\nrecovering his senses he looked towards his late captive and\ncried, \"O Father of Flight, O thou The Wind hight say me is there\nany return for thee me-wards, where thou shalt with me abide, and\nthee within the apple of mine eye will I hide, and after all this\ntoil and turmoil I will perfume and fumigate thee with ambergris\nand with Comorin lign-aloes, and I will bring thee sugar for food\nand nuts of the pine[FN#307] and with me thou shalt tarry in\nhighmost degree?\" Replied the Birdie, \"O miserable, past is that\nwhich passed; I mean, suffice me not thy fraud and thy flattering\nfalsehood. And laud to the Lord, O thou meanest of men, how soon\nhast thou forgotten the three charges wherewith I charged thee!\nAnd how short are thy wits seeing that the whole of me weighteth\nnot ten drachms[FN#308] and how then can I bear in crop a jewel\nweighing an ounce? How far from thee is subtilty and how speedily\nhast thou forgotten mine injunctions wherewith I enjoined thee\nsaying, 'Believe not aught save that whereon thine eye is cast\nnor regret and bemourn the past nor at what cometh rejoice too\nfast.' These words of wisdom are clean gone from thy memory, and\nhadst thou been nimble of wits thou hadst slaughtered me\nforthright: however, Alhamdolillah--Glory to God, who caused me\nnot to savour the whittle's sharp edge, and I thank my Lord for\nmy escape and for the loosing of my prosperity from the trap of\ntrouble.\" Now when the Birder heard these words of the Birdie he\nrepented and regretted his folly, and he cried, \"O my sorrow for\nwhat failed me of the slaughter of this volatile,\" and as he sank\non the ground he sang,[FN#309]\n\n\"O brave was the boon which I held in my right * Yet O Maker of\n     man, 'twas in self despight.\nHad my lot and my luck been of opulence, * This emptiness never\n     had proved my plight.\"\n\n\nHereupon the Fowl let farewelled the Fowler and took flight until\nhe reached his home and household, where he seated him and\nrecited all that had befallen him with the Birder, to wit, how\nthe man had captured him, and how he had escaped by sleight, and\nhe fell to improvising,\n\n\"I charged you, O brood of my nestlings, and said, * Ware yon\n     Wady, nor seek to draw near a stead\nWhere sitteth a man who with trap and with stakes * Entrapped me,\n     drew knife and would do me dead.\nAnd he longed to destroy me, O children, but I * Was saved by the\n     Lord and to you was sped.\"\n\nAnd here endeth the History of the Fowl let and the Fowler entire\nand complete.\n\nM.\n\n\n\n\n\n                       The Tale of Attaf.\n\n\n\nHere we begin to write and invite the Tale of a man of  Syria,\nAttaf hight.[FN#310]\n\nThey relate (but Allah is All-knowing of His unknown and\nAll-cognisant of what forewent in the annals of folk and the\nwonders of yore, and of times long gone before!) that in the city\nof Sham[FN#311] there dwelt of old a man Att\u00e1f hight, who\nrivalled H\u00e1tim of Tayy[FN#312] in his generosity and his\nguest-love and in his self-control as to manners and morals.  Now\nhe lived in the years when the Caliph Harun al-Rashid was\nreigning in Baghdad-city, and it happened on a day of the days\nthat this Commander of the Faithful awoke morne and melancholic,\nand right straitened was his breast.  So he arose, and taking\nJa'afar the Barmecide and Mastur the Eunuch passed with them into\nthe place where his treasures were stored.  Presently quoth he to\nthe Wazir, \"O Ja'araf, open to me this door that I may solace me\nwith the sight, and my breast may be broadened and haply be\ngladdened by such spectacle.\"  The Minister did the bidding of\nhis lord, who, finding a room full of books, put forth his hand,\nand taking up one of the volumes, opened and read.  Thenhe fell\nto weeping thrice, and thrice to laughing aloud,[FN#313] whereat\nthe Wazir considered him and cried, \"O King of the Age, how is it\nI espy thee reading and weeping and laughing at one and the same\nmoment when none so act save madmen and maniacs?\"[FN#314]  And\nhaving spoken on this wise he held his peace; but the Prince of\nTrue Believers turned himwards and cried, \"O dog of the sons of\nBermak, I see thee going beyond thy degree and quitting the\ncompany of sensible men, and thou speakest vainly making me a\nmadman in saying, 'None laugh and cry at one and the same time\nsave maniacs?'\"  With these words the Caliph restored the volume\nto its place in the Treasury and bade lock the door, after which\nthe three returned to the Divan.  Here the Commander of the\nFaithful regarded Ja'afar and exclaimed, \"Go thou forth from\nbefore me and address me not again nor seat thee upon the\nWazirial seat until thou answer thine own question and thou\nreturn me a reply concerning that which is writ and aligned in\nyonder book I was reading, to the end thou learn why I wept and\nwherefore I laught at one and the same hour.\"  And he cried at\nhim in anger saying, \"Off and away with thee, nor face me again\nsave with the answer, else will I slay thee with the foulest of\nslaughter.\"  Accordingly Ja'afar fared forth and hardly could he\nsee with his eyes, and he kept saying to himself, \"Indeed I have\nfallen with a sore fall; foul befal it for a fall; how fulsome it\nis!\"  Then he fared homewards where he encountered face to face\nhis father Yahy\u00e1 the Bermaki, who was issuing from the mansion\nand he recounted to him the tale, whereat his parent said, \"Go at\nonce, abide not here, but turn thee Damascus-wards until shall\nterminate this decline of fortune and this disjunciton of favour,\nand at the ending thereof thou shalt see wonders\ntherein.\"[FN#315]  Ja'afar replied, \"Not until I shall have laid\na charge upon my Har\u00edm;\"[FN#316] but Yahya cried, \"Enter not\nthese doors, hie thee at once to Al-Sh\u00e1m, for even so 'tis\ndetermined by Destiny.\"  Accordingly the Wazir gave ear to his\nsire, and taking a bag containing one thousand dinars and\nslinging on his sword farewelled him; then, mounting a she-mule,\nalone and unattended by slave or page, he rode off and he ceased\nnot riding for ten days full-told until he arrived at the\nMarj[FN#317] or mead of Damascus.  Now it so fortuned that on\nthat same day Attaf,[FN#318] a fair youth and a well-known of the\n\"Smile of the Prophet,\" and one of the noblest and most generous\nof her sons, had pitched tents and had spread a banquet outside\nthe city, where chancing to sight Ja'afar mounted on his beast,\nhe knew him to be a wayfarer passing by, and said to his slaves,\n\"Call to me yonder man!\"  They did his bidding and the stranger\nrode up to the party of friends, and dismounting from his mule\nsaluted them with the salam which they all returned.  Then they\nsat for a while[FN#319] after which Attaf arose and led Ja'afar\nto his house companied by all the company which was there and\nthey paced into a spacious open hall and seated themselves in\nconverse for an hour full-told.  Anon the slaves brought them to\na table spread with the evening meal and bearing more than ten\nseveral manners of meat.  So they ate and were cheered, and after\nthe guests had washed hands, the eunuchs and attendants brought\nin candles of honey-coloured wax that shed a brilliant light, and\npresently the musicians came in band and performed a right royal\npartition while the servants served up conserves for dessert.  So\nthey ate, and when they had eaten their sufficiency they drank\ncoffee;[FN#320] and finally, at their ease and in their own good\ntime, all the guests arose and made obeisance and fared\nhomewards.  Then Attaf and Ja'afar sat at table for an hour or\nso, during which the host offered his guest an hundred greetings,\nsaying, \"All kinds of blessings have descended from Heaven upon\nour heads.  Tell me, how was it thou honouredst us, and what was\nthe cause of thy coming and of thy favouring us with thy\nfootsteps?\"[FN#321]  So Ja'afar disclosed to him his name and\noffice[FN#322] and told him the reasons of his ride to Damascus\nfrom the beginning to the end full and detailed, whereto Attaf\nrejoined, \"Tarry with me an thou please a decade of years; and\ngrieve not at all, for thy Worship is owner of this place.\"\nAfter this the eunuchs came in and spread for Ja'afar bedding\ndelicately wrought at the head of the hall and its honour-stead,\nand disposed other sleeping-gear alongside thereof, which seeing\nthe Wazir said to himself, \"Haply my host is a bachelor, that\nthey would spread his bed to my side; however, I will venture the\nquestion.\"  Accordingly he addressed his host saying, \"O Attaf,\nart thou single or married?\"[FN#323] \"I am married, O my lord,\"\nquoth the other, whereat Ja'afar resumed, \"Wherefore dost thou\nnot go within and lie with thy Har\u00edm?\"  \"O my lord,\" replied\nAttaf, \"the Har\u00edm is not about to take flight, and it would be\nnaught but disgraceful to me were I to leave a visitor like\nthyself, a man by all revered, to sleep alone while I fare\nto-night with my Har\u00edm and rise betimes to enter the\nHammam.[FN#324]  In me such action would I deem be want of\ncourtesy and failure in honouring a magnifico like thine Honour.\nIn very sooth, O my lord, so long as thy presence deign favour\nthis house I will not sleep within my Harem until I farewell thy\nWorship and thou depart in peace and safety to thine own place.\"\n\"This be a marvellous matter,\" quoth Ja'afar to himself, \"and\nperadventure be so doeth the more to make much of me.\"  So they\nlay together that night and when morning morrowed they arose and\nfared to the Baths whither Attaf had sent for the use of his\nguest a suit of magnificent clothes, and caused Ja'afar don it\nbefore leaving the Hammam.  Then finding the horses at the door,\nthey mounted and repaired to the Lady's Tomb,[FN#325] and spent a\nday worthy to be numbered in men's lives.  Nor did they cease\nvisiting place after place by day and sleeping in the same stead\nby night, in the way we have described, for the space of four\nmonths, after which time the soul of the Wazir Ja'afar waxed sad\nand sorry, and one chance day of the days, he sat him down and\nwept.  Seeing him in tears Attaf asked him, saying, \"Allah fend\nfrom thee all affliction, O my lord! why dost thou weep and\nwherefore art thou grieved?  An thou be heavy of heart why not\nrelate to me what hath oppressed thee?\"  Answered Ja'afar, \"O my\nbrother, I find my breast sore straitened and I would fain stroll\nabout the streets of Damascus and solace me from seeing the\nCathedral-mosque of the Ommiades.\"[FN#326]  \"And who, O my lord,\"\nresponded the other, \"would hinder thee therefrom?  Do thou deign\nwander whither thou wilt and take thy solace, so may thy spirits\nbe gladdened and thy breast be broadened.  Herein is none to let\nor stay thee at all, at all.\"  Hearing these words Ja'afar arose\nto fare forth, when quoth his host, \"O my lord, shall they saddle\nthee a hackney?\" but the other replied, \"O my friend, I would not\nbe mounted for that the man on horseback may not divert himself\nby seeing the folk; nay the folk enjoy themselves by looking upon\nhim.\"  Quoth Attaf, \"At least delay thee a while that I may\nsupply thee with spending money to bestow upon the folk; and then\nfare forth and walk about to thy content and solace thyself with\nseeing whatso thou wilt; so mayest thou be satisfied and no more\nbe sorrowed.\"  Accordingly, Ja'afar took from Attaf a purse of\nthree hundred dinars and left the house gladly as one who issueth\nfrom durance vile, and he turned into the city and began\na-wandering about the streets of Damascus and enjoying the\nspectacle; and at last he entered the J\u00e1mi' al-Amawi where he\nprayed the usual prayers.  After this he resumed his strolling\nabout pleasant places until he came to a narrow street and found\na bench formed of stone[FN#327] set in the ground.  Hereon he\ntook seat to rest a while, and he looked about, when behold,\nfronting him were latticed windows wherein stood cases planted\nwith sweet-smelling herbs.[FN#328]  And hardly had he looked\nbefore those casements were opened and suddenly appeared thereat\na young lady,[FN#329] a model of comeliness and loveliness and\nfair figure and symmetrical grace, whose charms would amate all\nwho upon her gaze, and she began watering her plants.  Ja'afar\ncast upon her a single glance and was sore hurt by her beauty and\nbrilliancy; but she, after looking upon the lattices and watering\nthe herbs to the extent they required turned her round and gazed\nadown the street where she caught a sight of Ja'afar sitting and\nearnestly eyeing her.  So she barred the windows and disappeared.\nBut the Minister lingered on the bench hoping and expecting that\nhaply the casement would open a second time and allow him another\nlook at her; and as often as he would have risen up his nature\nsaid to him, \"Sit thee down.\"  And he stinted not so doing till\nevening came on, when he arose and returned to the house of\nAttaf, whom he found standing at the gateway to await him, and\npresently his host exclaimed, \"'Tis well, O my lord! during all\nthis delay indeed my thoughts have gone with thee for that I have\nlong been expecting thy return.\"  \"'Tis such a while since I\nwalked abroad,\" answered Ja'afar, \"that I had needs look about me\nand console my soul, wherefor I lingered and loitered.\"  Then\nthey entered the house and sat down, when the eunuchs served up\non trays the evening meal, and the Minister drew near to eat\nthereof but was wholly unable, so he cast from his hand the spoon\nand arose.  Hereat quoth his host, \"Why, O my lord, canst thou\nnot eat?\"  \"Because this day's noon-meal hath been heavy to me\nand hindereth my supping; but 'tis no matter!\" quoth the other.\nAnd when the hour for sleep came Ja'afar retired to rest; but in\nhis excitement by the beauty of that young lady he could not\nclose eye, for her charms had mastered the greater part of his\nsense and had snared his senses as much as might be; nor could he\ndo aught save groan and cry, \"Ah miserable me! who shall enjoy\nthy presence, O full Moon of the Age and who shall look upon that\ncomeliness and loveliness?\"  And he ceased not being feverish and\nto twist and turn upon his couch until late morning, and he was\nas one lost with love; but as soon as it was the undurn-hour\nAttaf came in to him and said, \"How is thy health?  My thoughts\nhave been settled on thee: and I see that thy slumber hath lasted\nuntil between dawn and midday: indeed I deem that thou hast lain\nawake o' night and hast not slept until so near the midforenoon.\"\n\"O my brother, I have no Kayf,\"[FN#330] replied Ja'afar.  So the\nhost forthwith sent a white slave to summon a physician, and the\nman did his bidding, and after a short delay brought one who was\nthe preventer[FN#331] of his day.  And when ushered into\nJa'afar's room he addressed the sick man, \"There is no harm to\nthee and boon of health befal thee;[FN#332] say me what aileth\nthee?\"  \"All is excitement[FN#333] with me,\" answered the other,\nwhereat the Leach putting forth his fingers felt the wrist of his\npatient, when he found the pulsations pulsing strong and the\nintermissions intermitting regularly.[FN#334] Nothing this he was\nashamed to declare before his face, \"Thou art in love!\" so he\nkept silence and presently said to Attaf, \"I will write thee a\nrecipe containing all that is required by the case.\"  \"Write!\"\nsaid the host, and the Physician sat down to indite his\nprescription, when behold, a white slave came in and said to his\nlord, \"Thy Harim requireth thee.\"  So the host arose and retired\nto learn what was requireth of him in the women's apartments, and\nwhen his wife saw him she asked, \"O my lord, what is thy pleasure\nthat we cook for dinner and supper?\"  \"Whatsoever may be wanted,\"\nhe rejoined and went his ways, for since Ja'afar had been guested\nin his house Attaf had not once entered the inner rooms according\nas he had before declared to the Minister.  Now the Physician\nduring the host's visit to the Harem had written out the\nprescription and had placed it under the pillow of the patient,\nand as he was leaving the house he came suddenly upon the\nhousemaster on return to the men's apartment, and Attaf asked\nhim, \"Hast thou written thy perscription?\"  \"Yes,\" answered the\nLeach, \"I have written it and set it under his head.\"  Thereupon\nthe host pulled out a piastre[FN#335] and therewith fee'd the\nphysician; after which he went up to Ja'afar's couch and drew the\npaper from under his pillow and read it and saw therein\nwritten,[FN#336] \"O Attaf, verily thy guest is a lover, so do\nthou look for her he loveth and for his state purvey and make not\novermuch delay.\"  So the host addressed his guest, saying, \"Thou\nart now become one of us: why then hide from me thy case and\nconceal from me thy condition?  This Doctor, than whom is none\nkeener or cleverer in Damascus, hath learned all that befel\nthee.\"  Hereupon he produced the paper and showed it to Ja'afar,\nwho took it and read it with a  smile; then he cried, \"This\nPhysician is a master leach and his saying is soothfast.  Know\nthat on the day when I went forth from thee and sauntered about\nthe streets and lanes, there befel me a matter which I never had\nthought to have betided me; no, never; and I know not what shall\nbecome of me for that, O my brother, Attaf, my case is one\ninvolving life-loss.\"  And he told him all that had happened to\nhimself; how when seated upon the bench a lattice had been\nunclosed afront of him and he had seen a young lady, the\nloveliest of her time, who had thrown it open and had come\nforward to water her window-garden; adding, \"Now my heart was\nupstirred by love to her, and she had suddenly withdrawn after\nlooking down the street and closed the casement as soon as she\nhad seen a stranger gazing upon her.  Again and again I was\nminded to rise and retire, but desire for her kept me seated in\nthe hope that haply she would again throw open the lattice and\nallow me the favour of another glimpse, so could I see her a\nsecond time.  However, inasmuch as she did not show till evening\ncame on I arose and repaired hither, but of my exceeding\nagitation for the ardour of love to her I was powerless to touch\nmeat or drink, and my sleep was broken by the excess of desire\nfor her which had homed in my heart.  And now, O my brother\nAttaf, I have made known to thee whatso betided me.\"  When the\nhost heard these words, he was certified that the house whereof\nJa'afar spoke was his house and the lattice his own lattice and\nthe lovely and lovesome young lady his wife the daughter of his\npaternal uncle, so he said in his thought, \"There is no Majesty\nand there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great.\nVerily we were Allah's and unto Him shall we return!\"  But\npresently he rgained himself in the nobility of his nature, and\nhe continued, \"O Ja'afar, thine intent is pure for that the dame\nthou sawest yesterday was divorced by her husband; and I will\nstraightway fare to her father and bespeak him to the end that\nnone may lay hand upon her; and then will I return and let thee\nken all concerning her.\"  So saying he arose and went at once to\nhis cousin-wife[FN#337] who greeted him and kissing his hand said\nto him, \"Is thy guest a-going?\"  Said he, \"By no means; the cause\nof my coming to thee is not his going, the reason thereof is my\ndesign of sending thee to the home of thy people, for that thy\nfather anon met me in the market-street and declared to me that\nthy mother is dying of a colick, and said to me, 'Go send her\ndaughter without delay so that she may see her parent alive and\nmeet her once more.'\"  Accordingly the young wife arose; and,\nhardly knowing how she moved for tears at such tidings, she took\nher slave-girls with her and repairing to her home rapped at the\ndoor, and her mother who opened to her cried on seeing her, \"May\nthis thy coming (Inshallah!) be well, O my daughter, but how is\nit thou comest thus unexpected?\"  \"Inshallah!\" said the wife,\n\"thou art at rest from the colick?\" and the mother rejoined, \"Who\ntold thee I was colicky? but pass thou within.\"  So she entered\nthe court and her father, Abdullah Chelebi hight,[FN#338] hearing\nher footstep from an inner room, asked, \"What is there to do?\"\n\"Thou mettest anon,\" replied his daughter, \"Attaf thy son-in-law\nin the Bazar and didst tell him that my mother was sore afflicted\nwith a colick.\"  Hearing this he exclaimed, \"This day I went not\nonce to the market-street nor have I seen a soul!\"  Now they had\nnot ceased conversing ere the door was rapped; and as the slave\ngirls opened it, they saw porters laden with the young lady's\ngear and garments and they led the men into the court where the\nfather asked them, \"Who sent these stuffs?\"  \"Attaf,\" they\nreplied, and setting down their loads within went their way.\nThen the father turned to his daughter and said to her, \"What\ndeed hast done that my son-in-law bade take up thy gear and have\nit sent after thee?\"  And the mother said to him, \"Hold thy peace\nand speak not such speech lest the honour of the house be blamed\nand shamed.\"  And as they were talking, behold, up came Attaf\ncompanied by a party of friends when his father-in-law asked him,\n\"Wherefore hast thou done on this wise?\"  \"To-day,\" answered he,\n\"there came from me a wrongous oath: on account of my inclination\nto thy daughter my heart is dark as night whereas her good name\nis whiter than my turband and ever bright.[FN#339]  Furthermore\nan occasion befell and this oath fell from my mouth and I bade\nher be the owner of herself.[FN#340]  And now will I beweep the\npast and straightway set her free.\"  So saying he wrote a writ of\nrepudiation and returning to Ja'afar said, \"From early dawn I\nhave wearied myself[FN#341] for thy sake and have so acted that\nno man can lay hand upon her.  And at last thou mayst now enjoy\nlife and go to the gardens and the Hammams and take thy pleasure\nuntil the days of her widowhood[FN#342] be gone by.\"  Replied\nJa'afar, \"Allah quicken thee for what thou wroughtest of kindness\nto me,\" and Attaf rejoined, \"Find for thyself something thou\nrequirest, O my brother.\"[FN#343]  Then he fell to taking him\nevery day amongst the crowd of pleasure-seekers and solacing him\nwith a show of joyous spectacles[FN#344] till the term of divorce\nhad sped, when he said to the Wazir, \"O Ja'afar, I would counsel\nthee with an especial counsel.\"  \"And what may it be, O my\nbrother?\" quoth the other; and quoth he, \"Know, O my lord, that\nmany of the folk have found the likeness between thy Honour and\nJa'afar the Barmecide, wherefore must I fain act on this wise.  I\nwill bring thee a troop of ten Mamelukes and four servants on\nhorseback, with whom do thou fare privily and by night forth the\ncity and presently transmit to me tidings from outside the walls\nthat thou the Grand Wazir, Ja'afar the Barmecide, art recalled to\ncourt and bound thither from Egypt upon business ordered by the\nSultan.  Hereat the Governor of Damascus, 'Abd al-Malik bin\nMarv\u00e1n[FN#345] and the Grandees of Syria will flock forth to meet\nand greet thee with f\u00eates and feasts, after which do thou send\nfor the young lady's sire and of him ask her to wife.  Then I\nwill summon the Kazi and witnesses and will write out without\nstay or delay the marriage-writ with a dower of a thousand dinars\nthe while thou makest ready for wayfare, and if thou journey to\nHoms or to Hamah do thou alight at whatso place ever pleaseth\nthee.  Also I will provide thee of spending-money as much as thy\nsoul can desire and supply to thee raiment and gear, horses and\nbat-animals, tents and pavilions of the cheap and of the dear,\nall thou canst require.  So what sayest thou concerning this\ncounsel?\"  \"Fair fall it for the best of rede which hath no\npeer,\" replied Ja'afar.  Hereupon Attaf arose and gathering his\nmen about his guest sent him forth the city when the Minister\nwrote a write and dispatched it by twenty horsemen with a trader\nto inform the Governor of Syria that Ja'afar the Barmecide was\npassing that way and was about to visit Damascus on the especial\nservice of the Sultan.  So the Kap\u00faj\u00ed[FN#346] entered Damascus\nand read out the Wazirial letter[FN#347] announcing Ja'afar's\nreturn from Egypt.  Hereat the Governor arose and after sending a\npresent of provisions[FN#348] without the walls bade pitch the\ntents, and the Grandees of Syria rode forth to meet the Minister,\nand the Headmen of the Province set out to greet him, and he\nentered with all honour and consideration.  It was indeed a day\nfit to be numbered among the days of a man's life, a day of\ngeneral joyance for those present, and they read the Farm\u00e1n and\nthey offered the food and the forage to the Chamberlain and thus\nit became known to one and all of the folk that a writ of pardon\nhad come to Ja'afar's hands and on this wise the bruit went\nabroad, far and near, and the Grandees brought him all manner of\npresents.  After this Ja'afar sent to summon the young lady's\nfather and as soon as he appeared in his presence, said to him,\n\"Thy daughter hath been divorced?\" and said the other, \"Yes; she\nis at home with me.\"  Quoth the Minister, \"I would fain take her\nto wife;\" and quoth the father, \"Here am I ready to send her as\nthy handmaid.\"  The Governor of Sham added, \"I will assume charge\nof the dowry,\" and the damsel's father rejoined, \"It hath already\ncome to hand.\"[FN#349]  Hereat they summoned the Kazi and wrote\nout the writ of Ja'afar's marriage; and, having ended the\nceremony, they distributed meat and drink to the poor in honour\nof the wedding, and Abd al-Malik bin Marwan said to Ja'afar,\n\"Deign, O my lord, come hither with me and become my guest, and I\nwill set apart for thee a place wherein thou canst consummate thy\nmarriage.\"  But the other replied, \"Nay, I may not do so; I am\nsent on public affairs by the Commander of the Faithful and I\npurpose setting off with my bride and marching without further\ndelay.\"  The Grandees of Syria spent that night until morning\nwithout any being able to snatch a moment of sleep, and as soon\nas dawned the day Ja'afar sent to summon his father-in-law and\nsaid, \"On the morrow I design setting forth, and I desire that my\nbride be ready for the road;\" whereto replied the other, \"Upon my\nhead be it and my eyes!\"  Then Abdullah Chelebi fared homewards\nand said to his daughter, \"O my child, Attaf hath divorced thee\nfrom bed and from board, whereas Sultan Ja'afar the Bermaki hath\ntaken thee to wife, and on Allah is the repairing of our broken\nfortunes and the fortifying of our hearts.\"  And she held her\npeace for displeasure by cause that she loved Attaf on account of\nthe blood-tie and his exceeding great generosity.  But on the\nnext day Ja'afar sent a message to her sire informing him that\nthe march would begin about mid-afternoon and that he wished him\nto make all ready, so the father did accordingly; and when Attaf\nheard thereof he sent supplies and spending-money.[FN#350]  At\nthe time appointed the Minister took horse escorted by the\nGovernor and the Grandees, and they brought out the\nmule-litter[FN#351] wherein was the bride, and the procession\nrode onwards until they had reached the Dome of the\nBirds,[FN#352] whereat the Minister bade them return home and\nthey obeyed him and farewelled him.  But on the ride back they\nall met Attaf coming from the city, and he reined in his horse\nand saluted the Governor and exchanged salams with his\ncompanions, who said to him, \"Now at the very time we are going\nin thou comest out.\"  Attaf made answer, \"I wotted not that he\nwould set forth this day, but as soon as I was certified that he\nhad mounted I sent to summon his escort and came forth\na-following him.\"[FN#353]  To this the Governor replied, \"Go\ncatch them up at the Dome of the Birds, where they are now\nhalting.\"  Attaf followed this counsel and reaching the place\nalighted from his mare, and approaching Ja'afar embraced him and\ncried, \"Laud to the Lord, O brother mine, who returneth thee to\nthy home with fortunes repaired and heart fortified;\" and said\nthe Minister, \"O Attaf, Allah place it in my power to requite\nthee; but cease thou not to write me and apprise me of thy\ntidings; and for the nonce I order thee to return hence and not\nto lie the night save in thine own house.\"  And his host did his\nbidding whilst the cousin-wife hearing his voice thrust her head\nout of the litter and looked upon him with flowing tears,\nunderstanding the length to which his generosity had carried him.\nSo fared it with Attaf and his affair; but now give ear to what\nbefell him from Abd al-Malik bin Marwan.  As they hied them home\none who hated the generous man asked the Governor, \"Wottest thou\nthe wherefore he went forth to farewell his quondam guest at so\nlate a time as this?\"  \"Why so?\" answered the other; and the\ndetractor continued, \"Ja'afar hath tarried four months as a guest\nin his household, and disguised so that none save the host knew\nhim, and now Attaf fared not forth for his sake but because of\nthe woman.\"  \"What woman?\" enquired the Governor, and the other\nreplied, \"His whilom wife, whom he divorced for the sake of this\nstranger, and married her to him; so this day he followeth to\nenjoin him once more concerning the Government of Syria which\nperchance is promised to him.  And 'tis better that thou\nbreakfast upon him ere he sup upon thee.\"  The other enquired,\n\"And whose daughter is she, is not her sire Abdullah\nChelebi?\"[FN#354]  Whereto the man answered, \"Yes, O my lord, and\nI repeat that she was put away to the intent that Ja'afar might\nespouse her.\"  When the Governor heard these words, he was wroth\nwith wrath galore than which naught could be more, and he hid his\nanger from Attaf for a while of time until he had devised a\ndevice to compass his destruction.  At last, one day of the days,\nhe bade cast the corpse of a murthered man into his enemy's\ngarden and after the body was found by spies he had sent to\ndiscover the slayer, he summoned Attaf and asked him, \"Who\nmurthered yon man within thy grounds?\"  Replied the other, \"'Twas\nI slew him.\"  \"And why didst slay him?\" cried the Governor, \"and\nwhat harm hath he wrought thee?\"  But the generous one replied,\n\"O my lord, I have confessed to the slaughter of this man in\norder that I and only I may be mulcted in his blood-wite lest the\nneighbours say, 'By reason of Attaf's garden we have been\ncondemned to pay his fine.'\"  Quoth Abd al-Malik, \"Why should I\nwant to take mulcts from the folk?  Nay; I would command\naccording to the Holy Law and even as Allah hath ordered, 'A life\nfor a life.'\"  He then turned for testimony to those present and\nasked them, \"What said this man?\" and they answered, \"He said, 'I\nslew him.'\"  \"Is the accused in his right mind or\nJinn-mad?\"[FN#355] pursued the Governor; and they said, \"In his\nsenses.\"  Then quoth the Governor to the Mufti, \"O Efendi,\ndeliver me thine official decision according to that thou\nheardest from the accused's mouth;\" and the Judge pronounced and\nindited his sentence upon the criminal according to his\nconfession.  Hereupon the Governor gave order for his slaves to\nplunder the house and bastinado the owner; then he called for the\nheadsman, but the Notables interfered and cried, \"Give him a\ndelay, for thou hast no right to slay him without further\nevidence; and better send him to gaol.\"  Now all Damascus was\nagitated and excited by this affair, which came upon the folk so\nsuddenly and unforeseen.  And Attaf's friends[FN#356] and\nfamiliars came down upon the Governor and went about spreading\nabroad that the generous man had not spoken such words save in\nfear lest his neighbours be molested and be mulcted for a murther\nwhich they never committed, and that he was wholly innocent of\nsuch crime.  So Abd al-Malik bin Marwan summoned them and said,\n\"An ye plead that the accused is Jinn-mad this were folly, for he\nis the prince of intelligent men: I was resolved to let him life\nuntil the morrow; but I have been thwarted and this very night I\nwill send and have him strangled.\"  Hereupon he returned to\nprison and ordered the gaoler to do him die before day might\nbreak.  But the man waxed wroth with exceeding wrath to hear the\ndoom devised for Attaf and having visited him in prison said to\nhim, \"Verily the Governor is determined to slay thee for he was\nnot satisfied with the intercession made for thee by the folk or\neven with taking the legal blood-wite.\"  Hereat Attaf wept and\ncried, \"Allah (be He magnified and glorified!) hath assigned unto\nevery death a cause.  I desired but to do good amongst the garden\nfolk and prevent their being fined; and now this benevolence hath\nbecome the reason of my ruin.\"  Then, after much 'say and said,'\nthe gaoler spoke as follows, \"Why talk after such fashion?  I am\nresolved to set thee free and to ransom thee with my life; and at\nthis very moment I will strike off thy chains and deliver thee\nfrom him.  But do thou arise and tear my face and pluck out my\nbeard and rend my raiment; then, after thrusting a gag[FN#357]\ninto my mouth wend thy ways and save thy life and leave me to\nbear all blame.\"[FN#358]  Quoth Attaf, \"Allah requite thee for me\nwith every weal!\"  Accordingly the gaoler did as he had\nundertaken and his prisoner went forth unhurt and at once\nfollowed the road to Baghdad.  So far concerning him; but now\nhear thou what befell the Governor of Syria, Abd al-Malik bin\nMarwan.  He took patience till midnight, when he arose and fared\naccompanied by the headsman to the gaol that he might witness the\nstrangling of Attaf; but lo and behold! he found the prison door\nwide open and the keeper in sore sorrow with his raiment all rent\nto rags and his beard plucked out and his face scratched and the\nblood trickling from his four sides and his case was the\nmiserablest of cases.  So they removed the gag from his mouth and\nthe Governor asked him, \"Who did with thee on this wise?\" and the\nman answered, \"O my lord, yesternight, about the middle thereof,\na gang of vagabonds and ne'er-do-wells as they were 'Ifrits of\nour lord Sulayman (upon whom be The Peace!), not one of whom I\nrecognized, came upon me and ere I was ware of them they broke\ndown the prison door and killed me;[FN#359] and when I would have\ncried aloud and shouted for aid they placed yonder gag in my\nmouth, then they wounded me and shredded my dress and left me in\nthe state thou seest.  Moreover they took Attaf after breaking\nhis chains and said to him, 'Go and lay thy complaint before the\nSultan.'\"  Now those who accompanied the Governor said, \"This be\na gaoler and the son of a gaoler, nor during all his days hath\nanyone charged him with letting a prisoner out of hand.\"  Quoth\nAbd al-Malik to the wounded man, \"Hie thee to thy house and stay\nthere;\" whereat he straightway arose and went his ways.  After\nthis the Governor took horse, he and his escort; and all rode off\nto search for Attaf during a term of four days and some of them\ndug and dug deep down while the others returned after a bootless\nerrand, and reported that they had failed to find him.  Such was\nthe case with the Governor of Syria; and now give ear to the\nadventure of Attaf.  He left not wayfaring until but a single\nstage remained between him and Baghdad when robbers came upon him\nand stripped him of all his clothes, so that he was compelled to\nenter the capital in foulest condition, naked even as his mother\nbare him.  And after some charitable wight had thrown an old robe\nabout him and bound his head with a clout (and his unshorn hair\nfell over his eyes)[FN#360] he fell to asking for the mansion of\nthe Wazir Ja'afar and the folk guided him thereto.  But when he\nwould have entered the attendants suffered him not; so he stood\nat the gate till an old man joined him.  Attaf enquired of him\nsaying, \"Hast thou with thee, O Shaykh, an ink-case and pens and\npaper?\" and the other replied, \"I have; but what is thy need\nthereof? tell me,  so may I write for thee.\"  \"I will write\nmyself,\" rejoined Attaf; and when the old man handed to him the\ngear, he took seat and indeed an address to Ja'afar informing him\nof all that passed from first to last, and especially of his own\nfoul plight.[FN#361]  Presently he returned the ink-case and reed\npens to the Shaykh; and, going up to the gate, asked those\nstanding about the doors, \"Will ye not admit for me this missive\nand place it in the hand of his Highness, Ja'afar the Bermaki,\nthe Wazir?\"  \"Give it here,\" said they, and one of them took it\nwith the intent of handing it to the Minister when suddenly the\ncannon roared;[FN#362] the palace was in a hubbub and each and\neveryone cried, \"What is to do?\"  Hereat many voices replied,\n\"The Sultan, who hath been favoured with a man-child, who had\ncharged himself with the letter, threw it in that confusion from\nhis hand and Attaf was led to gaol as a vagrant.  Anon Ja'afar\ntook horse and, after letting read the Sultan's rescript about\nthe city-decorations, gave command that all the prisoners be\nreleased, Attaf amongst the number.  As he issued forth the gaol\nhe beheld all the streets adorned with flags and tapestry, and\nwhen evening approached eating-cloths and trays of food were set\nand all fell-in, while sundry said to Attaf who was in pauper\nplight, \"Come and eat thou;\" for it was a popular feast.[FN#363]\nAnd affairs went on after this same fashion and the bands made\nmusic and cannon was fired until ended the week of decoration\nduring which the folk ceased not to-ing and fro-ing.  As evening\nevened Attaf entered a cathedral-mosque and prayed the\nnight-prayers when he was accosted by the eunchs who cried,\n\"Arise and gang this gait, that we may close the mosque-door, O\nAttaf,\" for his name had become known.  He replied, \"O man, the\nApostle of Allah saith, 'Whoso striveth for good is as the doer\nthereof and the doer is of the people of Paradise:' so suffer me\nto sleep here in some corner;\" but quoth the other, \"Up with thee\nand be off: yesterday they stole me a bit of matting and to-night\nI will bolt the door nor allow any to sleep here.  And indeed the\nApostle of Allah (whom the Almighty save and assain!) hath\nforbidden sleep o' nights in the mosques.\"  Attaf had no\ncompetence to persuade the Castrato by placing himself under his\nprotection, albeit he prayed him sore saying, \"I am a stranger in\nthe city nor have I knowledge of any, so do thou permit me here\nto pass this one night and no more.\"  But as he was again refused\nhe went forth into the thoroughfares where the street dogs barked\nat him, and thence he trudged on to the market where the watchmen\nand warders cried out at him, till at last he entered a ruinous\nhouse where he stumbled when walking and fell over something\nwhich proved to be a youth lately murthered, and in tripping he\nfell upon his face and his garments were bewrayed and crimsoned\nwith blood.  And as he stood in doubt as to what must be done the\nWali and the watch, who were going round the town by night, met\nhim face to face; and as soon as they saw him all rushed at him\nin a body and seizing him bore him to the gaol.  Here we leave\nspeaking of him; and now return we to Ja'afar and what befel him.\nAfter he had set out from Damascus and sent back Attaf from the\nDome of the Birds he said in his mind, \"Thou art about to\nconsummate marriage with a damsel and to travel until thou shalt\nreach Baghdad, so meanwhile up and take thee an ewer of water and\nmake the Wuz\u00fa and pray.\"  However, as he purposed that evening to\ngo in unto the wife of Attaf, controversy forewent\ncompliments[FN#364] and the tent-pitchers, who were sent on to\nthe next station to set up the pavilion of the bride and the\nother tents.  Ja'afar took patience until every eye however\nwakeful waxed sleep-full, at which time he rose up and went in to\nAttaf's wife who, the moment she saw him enter, covered her face\nwith her hands as from a stranger.  \"The Peace be upon thee!\"\nsaid he and said she, \"With thee also be The Peace and the ruth\nof Allah and His blessings.\"  Then he continued, \"O daughter of\nmy father's brother[FN#365] why hast thou placed thy hand upon\nthy face? in the lawful there be naught of shameful.\"  \"True, O\nmy lord,\" she replied, \"but Modesty is a part of Religion.  If to\none the like of thee it be a light matter that the man who\nguested thee and served thee with his coin and his case be\ntreated on this wise and thou have the heart to take his mate\nfrom him, then am I but a slave between thy hands.\"  \"Art thou\nthe divorced wife of Attaf?\" asked Ja'afar, and she answered, \"I\nam.\"  Quoth he, \"And why did thy husband on such wise?\" and quoth\nshe, \"The while I stood watering plants at the window, thy\nHighness deigned look upon me and thou toldest thy love to Attaf,\nwho forthright put me away and made me wife to thy Worship.  And\nthis is wherefore I conceal from thee my face.\"  Ja'afar cried,\n\"Thou art now unlawful to him and licit to me; but presently thou\nshalt become illicit to me and legitimate to thy husband; so from\nthis time forth thou art dearer and more honorable to me than my\neyes and my mother and my sister.  But for the moment thy return\nto Damascus is not possible for fear of foolish tongues lest they\nprattle and say, 'Attaf went forth to farewell Ja'afar, and his\nwife lay the night with the former, and thus have the back-bones\nhad a single lappet.'[FN#366]  However I will bear thee to\nBaghdad where I will stablish thee in a spacious and well\nfurnished lodging with ten slave girls and eunuchs to serve thee;\nand, as long as thou abide with me, I will give thee[FN#367]\nevery day five golden ducats and every month a suit of sumptuous\nclothes.  Moreover everything in thy lodging shall be thine; and\nwhatever gifts and offerings be made to thee they shall be thy\nproperty, for the folk will fancy thee to be my bride and will\nentertain thee and escort thee to the Hammams and present thee\nwith sumptuous dresses.  After this fashion thou shalt pass thy\ndays in joyance and thou shalt abide with me in highmost honour\nand esteem and worship till what time we see that can be done.\nSo from this moment forth[FN#368] throw away all fear and\nhereafter be happy in heart and high in spirits, for that now\nthou standest me in stead of mother and sister and here naught\nshall befall thee save weal.  And now my first desire to thee\nwhich burned in my soul hath been quenched and exchanged for\nbrotherly love yet stronger than what forewent it.\"  So Attaf's\nwife rejoiced with exceeding joy; and, as they pursued their\njourney, Ja'afar ceased not to clothe her in the finest of\nclothes, so that men might honour her as the Wazir's Consort; and\never to entreat her with yet increasing deference.  This endured\nuntil they entered Baghdad-city where the attendants bore her\nTakhtrawan into the Minister's Harem and an apartment was set\napart for her even as he had promised, and she was provided with\na monthly allowance of a thousand dianrs and all the comforts and\nconveniences and pleasures whereof he had bespoken her; nor did\nhe ever allow his olden flame for her to flare up again, and he\nnever went near her, but sent messengers to promise her a speedy\nreunion with her mate.  Such was the case of Ja'afar and Attaf's\nwife; and now give ear to what befell and betided the Minister\nduring his first reception by his liege lord who had sorely\nregretted his departure and was desolated by the loss of him.  As\nsoon as he presented himself before the Caliph, who rejoiced with\nexceeding joy and returned his salute and his deprecation of\nevil,[FN#369] the Commander of the Faithful asked him, \"Where was\nthe bourne of this thy wayfare?\" and he answered, \"Damascus.\"\n\"And where didst alight?\"  \"In the house of one Attaf hight,\"\nrejoined Ja'afar, who recounted all that his host had done with\nhim from the beginning to the end.  The Prince of True Believers\ntook patience, until he had told his story and then cried to his\nTreasurer saying, \"Hie thee hence and open the Treasury and bring\nme forth a certain book.\"  And when this was done he continued,\n\"Hand that volume to Ja'afar.\"  Now when the Minister took it and\nread it he found written therein all that had occurred between\nAttaf and himself and he left not reading till he came to the\ntime when the twain, host and guest, had parted and each had\nfarewel'ed other and Attaf had fared homewards.  Hereupon the\nCaliph cried to him, \"Close the book at what place it completeth\nthe recital of thy bidding adieu to Attaf and of his returning to\nhis own place, so shalt thou understand how it was I said to\nthee, 'Near me not until thou bring that which is contained in\nthis volume.'\"  Then the Commander of the Faithful restored the\nbook to the Treasurer saying, \"Take this and set it in the\nbibliotheca;\" then, turning to Ja'afar he observed, \"Verily\nAlmighty Allah (be He glorified and magnified!) hath deigned show\nthee whatso I read therein until I fell a-weeping and a-laughing\nat one and the same time.  So now do thou retire and hie thee\nhome.\"  Ja'afar did his bidding and reassumed the office of Wazir\nafter fairer fashion than he was before.  And now return we to\nthe purport of our story as regardeth the designs of Attaf and\nwhat befel him when they took him out of gaol.  They at once led\nhim to the Kazi who began by questioning him, saying, \"Woe to\nthee, didst thou murther this H\u00e1shimi?\"[FN#370]  Replied he,\n\"Yes, I did!\"  \"And why killedst thou him?\"  \"I found him in\nyonder ruin, and I struck him advisedly and slew him!\"  \"Art thou\nin thy right senses?\"  \"Yea, verily.\"  \"What may be thy name?\"\n\"I am hight Attaf.\"  Now when the Judge heard this confession,\nwhich was thrice repeated, he wrote a writ to the Mufti and\nacquainted him with the contention; and the divine after\ndelivering his decision produced a book and therein indited the\nproc\u00e8s-verbal.  Then he sent notice thereof to Ja'afar the Wair\nfor official order to carry out the sentence and the Minister\ntook the document and affixing his seal and signature thereto\ngave the order for the execution.  So they bore Attaf away and\nled him to the gallows-foot whither he was followed by a world of\nfolk in number as the dust; and, as they set him under the tree\nJa'afar the Wazir, who was riding by with his suite at the time,\nsuddenly espied a crowd going forth the city.  Thereupon he\nsummoned the Sob\u00e1sh\u00ed[FN#371] who came up to him and kissed his\nknee.  \"What is the object of this gathering of folk who be\nmanifold as the dust and what do they want?\" quoth the Wazir; and\nquoth the officer, \"We are wending to hang[FN#372] a Syrian who\nhath murthered a youth of Sharif family.\"  \"And who may be this\nSyrian?\" asked the Wazir, and the other answered, \"One hight\nAttaf.\"  But when Ja'afar heard the word Attaf he cried out with\na mighty loud outcry and said, \"Hither with him.\"  So after\nloosing the noose from his neck they set him before the Wazir who\nregarding him at once recognized his whilome host albeit he was\nin the meanest of conditions, so he sprang up and threw himself\nupon him and he in turn threw himself upon his sometime\nquest.[FN#373]  \"What condition be this?\" quoth Ja'afar as soon\nas he could speak, and quoth Attaf, \"This cometh of my\nacquaintance with thee which hath brought me to such pass.\"\nHereupon the twain swooned clean away and fell down fainting on\nthe floor, and when they came to themselves and could rise to\ntheir feet Ja'afar the Wazir sent his friend Attaf to the Hammam\nwith a sumptuous suit of clothes which he donned as he came out.\nThen the attendants led him to the Wazirial mansion where both\ntook seat and drank wine and ate the early meal[FN#374] and after\ntheir coffee they sat together in converse.  And when they had\nrested and were cheered, Ja'afar said, \"Do thou acquaint me with\nall that betided thee from the time we took leave each of other\nuntil this day and date.\"  So Attaf fell to telling him how he\nhad been entreated by Abdal-Malik bin Marwan, Governor of Syria;\nhow he had been thrown into prison and how his enemy came thither\nby night with intent to strangle him; also how the gaoler devised\na device to save him from slaughter and how he had fled nor\nceased flight till he drew near Baghdad when robbers had stripped\nhim; how he had lost an opportunity of seeing the Wazir because\nthe city had been decorated; and, lastly, what had happened to\nhim through being driven from the Cathedral-mosque; brief, he\nrecounted all from commencement to conclusion.  Hereupon the\nMinister loaded him with benefits and presently gave orders to\nrenew the marriage-ceremony between man and wife; and she seeing\nher husband led in to pay her the first visit lost her senses,\nand her wits flew from her head and she cried aloud, \"Would\nHeaven I wot if this be on wake or the imbroglio of dreams!\"  So\nshe started like one frightened and a moment after she threw\nherself upon her husband and cried, \"Say me, do I view thee in\nvision or really in the flesh?\" whereto he replied, \"In the world\nof sense and no sweven is this.\"  Then he took seat beside her\nand related to her all that had befallen him of hardships and\nhorrors till he was taken from under the Hairibee; and she on her\npart recounted how she had dwelt under Ja'afar's roof, eating\nwell and drinking well and dressing well and in honour and\nworship the highmost that might be.  And the joy of this couple\non reunion was perfect.  But as for Ja'afar when the morning\nmorrowed, he arose and fared for the Palace; then, entering the\npresence, he narrated to the Caliph all that had befallen Attaf,\nart and part; and the Commander of the Faithful rejoined, \"Indeed\nthis adventure is the most wondrous that can be, and the most\nmarvelous that ever came to pass.\"  Presently he called to the\nTreasurer and bade him bring the book a second time from the\nTreasury, and when it was brought the Prince of True Believers\ntook it, and handing it to Ja'afar, said to him, \"Open and read.\"\nSo he perused the whole tale of Attaf with himself the while his\nliege lord again wept and laughed at the same moment and said,\n\"In very deed, all things strange and rare are written and laid\nup amongst the treasuries of the Kings; and therefor I cried at\nthee in my wrath and forbade thee my presence until thou couldst\nanswer the question, What is there is this volume? and thou\ncouldst comprehend the cause of my tears and my smiles.  Then\nthou wentest from before me and wast driven by doom of Destiny\nuntil befel thee with Attaf that which did befal; and in fine\nthou returnedst with the reply I required.\"  Then the Caliph\nenrobed Ja'afar with a sumptuous honour-robe and said to the\nattendants, \"Bring hither to me Attaf.\"  So they went out and\nbrought him before the Prince of True Believers; and the Syrian\nstanding between his hands blessed the Sovran and prayed for his\nhonour and glory in permanence of prosperity and felicity.\nHereat quoth the Caliph, \"O Attaf ask what thou wishest!\"  and\nquoth the generous man, \"O King of the Age, I pray only thy\npardon for Abd al-Malik bin Marwan.\"  \"For that he harmed htee?\"\nasked Harun al-Rashid, and Attaf answered, \"O my lord, the\ntransgression came not from him, but from Him who caused him work\nmy wrong; and I have freely pardoned him.  Also do thou, O my\nlord, write a Farm\u00e1n with thine own hand certifying that I have\nsold to the gaoler, and have received from the price thereof, all\nmy slaves and estates in fullest tale and most complete.\nMoreover deign thou appoint him inspector over the Governor of\nSyria[FN#375] and forward to him a signet-ring by way of sign\nthat no petition which doth not bear that seal shall be accepted\nor even shall be heard and lastly transmit all this with a\nChamberlain unto Damascus.\"  Now all the citizens of Syria were\nexpecting some ill-turn from the part of Attaf, and with this\ngrievous thought they were engrossed, when suddenly tidings from\nBaghdad were bruited abroad; to wit, that a Kapuji was coming on\nAttaf's business.  Hereat the folk feared with exceeding great\naffright and fell to saying, \"Gone is the head of Abd al-Malik\nbin Marwan, and gone all who could say aught in his defence.\"\nAnd when the arrival of the Chamberlain was announced all fared\nforth to meet and greet him, and he entered on a day of flocking\nand crowding,[FN#376] which might be truly numbered amongst the\ndays and lives of men.  And presently he produced the writ of\nindemnity, and pardon may not be procured save by one duly\nempowered to pardon.  Then he sent for the gaoler and committed\nto him the goods and chattels of Attaf, together with the signet\nand the appointment of supervisor over the Governor of Syria with\nan especial Farman that no order be valid unless sealed with the\nsuperior's seal.  Nor was Abd al-Malik bin Marwan less rejoiced\nthat the adventure had ended so well for him when he saw the\nKapuji returning Baghdad-wards that he might report all\nconcerning his mission.  But as for Attaf, his friend Ja'afar\nbestowed upon him seigniories and presented him with property and\nmoneys exceeding tenfold what he had whilome owned and made him\nmore prosperous than he had ever been aforetime.\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTE ON THE TALE OF ATTAF.\n\n\n\n\nMr. Alexander J. Cotheal, of New York, a correspondent who\nalready on sundry occasions has rendered me able aid and advice,\nwas kind enough to send me his copy of the Tale of Attaf (the \"C.\nMS.\" of the foregoing pages).  It is a small 4to of pp. 334, size\n5 3/4 by 8 inches, with many of the leaves injured and repaired;\nand written in a variety of handwritings, here a mere scribble,\nthere regular and legible as printed Arabic.  A fly-leaf inserted\ninto the Arabic binding contains in cursive hand the title, \"A\nBook embracing many Tales of the Tales of the Kings and named\n'Stories from the Thousand Nights and a Night'.\"  And a note at\nthe end supplies the date: \"And the finish thereof was on Fifth\nDay (Thursday), 9th from the beginning of the auspicious month\nRab\u00ed'a 2nd, in the year 1096 of the Hijrah of the Apostle, upon\nwhom be the choicest of blessings and the fullest of greetings;\nand Allah prospereth what he pleaseth,[FN#377] and praise be to\nGod the One.\"  Thus (A.H. 1096 = A.D. 1685) the volume is upwards\nof 200 years old.  It was bought by Mr. Cotheal many years ago\nwith other matters among the effects of a deceased American\nmissionary who had brought it from Syria.\n\nThe \"Tale of Attaf\" occupies pp. 10-50, and the end is abrupt.\nThe treatment of the \"Novel\" contrasts curiously with that of the\nChavis MS. which forms my text, and whose directness and\nsimplicity give it a European and even classical character.  It\nis an excellent study of the liberties allowed to themselves by\nEastern editors and scribes.  In the Cotheal MS. the tone is\ndistinctly literary, abounding in verse (sometimes repeated from\nother portions of The Nights), and in Saj'a or Cadence which the\ncopyist sometimes denotes by marks in red ink.  The wife of Attaf\nis a much sterner and more important personage than in my text:\nshe throws water upon her admirer as he gazes upon her from the\nstreet, and when compelled to marry him by her father, she \"gives\nhim a bit of her mind\" as forcibly and stingingly as if she were\nof \"Anglo-Saxon\" blood; e.g. \"An thou have in thee aught of\nmanliness and generosity thou wilt divorce me even as he did.\"\nSundry episodes like that of the brutal Eunuch at Ja'afar's door,\nand the Vagabond in the Mosque, are also introduced; but upon\nthis point I need say no more, as Mr. Cotheal shall now speak for\nhimself.\n\n\n\n\nThe Tale of Attaf.\n\n\n\nStory of Attaf the generous, and what happened to him with the\nWazir Ja'afar who fell in love with a young lady not knowing her\nto be the cousin-wife of Attaf who, in his generosity divorced\nher and married her to him.  The Na\u00efb of Damascus being jealous\nof Attaf's intimacy with Ja'afar imprisons him for treason and\npillages his property.  Escape of Attaf from prison and his\nflight to Baghdad where he arrives in a beggarly condition, and\nbeing accused of assassination is condemned to death, but being\nreleased he goes to Ja'afar who recognises him and is rewarded by\nhim and the Caliph.  His wife is restored to him and after a\nwhile they are sent home to Damascus of which he is appointed\nWali in place of the Na\u00efb who is condemned to death, but is\nafterwards exiled.\n\nIn the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, to whom we cry for help.\n\nThey say God is omniscient, knowing the past and the future, and we learn from\nthe histories of the peoples that there was in ancient times and bygone\nseasons (and God knows best!) a Caliph of the Caliphs or the orthodox and he\nwas Harun er-Rashid who one night became very restless and from the drowsiness\nthat came upon him he sat down upon the bed and dressed himself in\nsleeping-clothes; then it was that he called to his service Mesr\u00far the\nsword-bearer of grace who came immediately into his presence and said to him,\nO Mesrur, the night is very oppressive and I wish thee to dispel my\nuneasiness.  Then Mesrur said to him, O Commander of the Faithful, arise now\nand go to the terrace-roof of the palace and look upon the canopy of heaven\nand upon the twinkling stars and the brightness of the moon, while listening\nto the music of the rippling streams and the creaking norias as they are\nspoken of by the poet who said:--\n\nA Noria that discharges by the spouts of her tears resembles the actions of a\ndistracted lover:\nShe is the lover of her branches (sweeps or levers) by the magic in her heart\nuntil she laughs:\nShe complains and the tears run from her eyes, she rises in the morning to\nfind herself weeping and complaining.\n\nThen he said, O Commander of the Faithful, the streams also are thus mentioned\nby one of them:--\n\nMy favorite is a damsel dispensing drink, and my recreation is a running\nstream;\nA damsel whose eyes are a garden of Paradise, and a garden whose springs make\na running brook.\n\nThen again said Harun er-Rashid, O Mesrur, such is not my wish, and Mesrur\nreplied, O Commander of the Faithful, in thy palace are three hundred and\nsixty damsels, they are thy concubines and thy slaves, and they are as if they\nwere rising moons and beautiful gazelles, and in elegant robes they are\ndressed like the flowers.  Walk around in the midst of the palaces and from\nthy hiding-place see each of them enter by herself in her own apartment\nadmiring her beauty and her magnificent dresses, all showing their joy and\nmirth since they will not know of thee; then listen to their singing and their\nplaying and their joyous company in their apartments and perhaps you'll attach\nyourself to one of them who'll play with thee, keep thee awake and be thy\ncup-companion, dispelling what may remain of thy restlessness.  But he\nreplied, O Mesrur, bring to me my cousin Ja'afar the Barmeky immediately.  So\nhe answered, Hearing is obedience.  Then Mesrur went out to the house of\nJa'afar and said to him, Come to the Commander of the Faithful, and he\nanswered, To hear is to obey.  Then Ja'afar dressed himself and went with\nMesrur to the Caliph and kissing the ground before him he said, May it be\ngood! O Commander of the Faithful.  It is not other than good, he answered,\nbut I am wearied this night with a great weariness and I sent for you to\ndivert me so that my unrest may be dissipated.  Then Ja'afar said, Let's get\nup, O Commander of the Faithful, and we'll go out into the garden of the\npalace and listen to the warbling of the birds and smell of the odours of the\nflowers, and the cool zephyr with its gentle breath will pass over us,\ndispelling our uneasiness and gladdening the heart.  The Rawi says that\nJa'afar was very familiar with the Caliph by reason of the endearment between\nthem.  Then the Caliph arose and with Ja'afar and Mesrur went to the garden.\nThe Caliph began to be thoughtful and asked about the trees and the qualities\nof the flowers and the fruits and the nature of their colours, and as the\nCaliph took pleasure in that, he walked around for an hour and then passed\nover to the palaces and houses, going from place to place, from quarter to\nquarter, and from market to market; and, whilst they were going on, they\nstopped before a bookshop and the Caliph opened a book-case and began to turn\nover the books one by one, and taking one in his hand opened it, began to read\nin it, and then suddenly laughed until he fell upon his back.  He read in it\nagain and wept until his beard was wet with the falling tears, and wrapping up\nthe book he put it in his sleeve when Ja'afar said, O Commander of the\nFaithful and Lord of the two worlds, what was it that made thee laugh and then\nweep at the same time?  When the Caliph heard that he was angered and cried\nout at him in the midst of his rage, O dog of a Barmeky, what an impertinence\non thy part about what concerns thee not, why meddle with what thou hast not\nlost.  You've taken upon yourself to be annoying and conceited, you have\npassed beyond your place and it only remained for you to brave the Caliph.  By\nmy fathers and grandfathers, if thou dost not bring me someone who can tell me\nabout the contents of this book from the first page to the last, I'll strike\nthy neck and show thee what it is that has made me laugh and cry.  When\nJa'afar heard these words and saw his passion he said, O Commander of the\nFaithful, I have committed a fault: a sin is for the like of me and\nforgiveness for the like of your Highness; to which the Caliph answered, I\nhave made oath, thou must bring that person to explain the book or I'll strike\nthy neck this very hour.  Then Ja'afar said, O Commander of the Faithful, God\ncreated the heavens and the two worlds in six days and if it had pleased Him\nHe could have created them in a single hour, but He did so for an instruction\nto his worshippers that one should not fault with another but be patient;\nthen, O Lord, be thou patient with thy servant if it be for three days only;\nand the Caliph replied to him, If thou bringest not to me him whom I have\nmentioned I will slay thee with the most horrible of deaths.  At this Ja'afar\nsaid, I depart on thy mission; thereupon Ja'afar went home with a sorrowful\nheart to his father Yahya and his brother El-Fadl to take leave of them and\nweep.  Then they said to him, What is thy trouble? so he told them of what had\noccurred between him and the Caliph and of the condition laid upon him of\nexecution if not complied with in three days, for doubtless the Caliph seeks\nmy death; he who strikes against a point, 'twill pierce his hand, and he that\nstruggles with a lion will be killed; but as to myself I can no longer remain\nwith him for that would be the greatest of dangers for me and for thee, O my\nfather, and for thee, O my brother.  I now set out to travel and I wish to go\nfar away from his eye.  The preservation of life is not esteemed and is of\nlittle value: distance is the best preservative for our necks-as is said by\nthe poet:--\n\nSave your life if menaced by evil (danger), and leave the house to complain of\nthe builder:\nYou'll find a land upon a land, but not another life for your own life.\n\nWhen he had finished, his father and his brother said to him, Do not do so,\nfor probably the Caliph will be merciful to you.  And Ja'afar answered, Only\ngood will come of my travel.  Then he went to his treasure-room and took out a\npurse containing 1,000 dinars, mounted his horse, put on his sword, bade adieu\nto his father and brother and set forth in his time and hour; then, not taking\nwith him any servants, either slave or boy, he hastened on his journey,\ntravelling day and night for twenty days until he reached the city of Aleppo\nwithout stopping, passing by Hamah and Homs until he reached Teniy\u00e1t al-Ig\u00e1b\nand arrived at Damascus where he entered the city and saw the Minaret of the\nBride from bottom to top covered with gilded tiles; and it surrounded with\nmeadows, irrigated gardens with all kinds of flowers, fields of myrtle with\nmountains of violets and other beauties of the gardens.  He dwelt upon these\ncharms while listening to the singing of the birds in the trees; and he saw a\ncity whose like has never been created in any other country of the world.\nTurning then to the right hand and to the left he espied a man standing near\nhim and said to him, O my brother, what's the name of this city? and he\nanswered, O my lord, this city in ancient times was called Jullag the same\nthat is mentioned by the poet who says:--\n\nI am called Jullag and my heart I attach, in me flow the waters, in and out;\nThe Garden of Eden upon the earth, birth-place of the fairies:\nI will never forget thy beauties, O Damascus, for none but thee will I ever\nlong:--\nBlessed be the wonders that glitter on thy roofs (expanse).\n\nShe was also called Sham (grain of beauty) because she is the Sham of Cities\nand the Sham of God on earth.  Ja'afar was pleased at the explanation of the\nname, and dismounted with the intention of taking a stroll through the\nstreets, by the great houses and the domes (mosks).  Whilst thus engaged in\nexamining the various places and their beauties, he perceived a tent of silk\nbrocade called Dib\u00e1j, containing carpets, furniture, cushions, silk curtains,\nchairs and beds.  A young man was sitting upon a mattress, and he was like a\nrising moon, like the shining orb in its fourteenth night.  He was in an\nundress, upon his head a kerchief and on his body a rose-coloured gaberdine;\nand as he sat before him were a company and drinks worthy of Kings.  Ja'afar\nstopped and began to contemplate the scene, and was pleased with what he saw\nof the youth; then looking further he espied a damsel like unto the sun in\nserene firmament who took her lute and played on it while singing:--\n\nEvil to whoever have their heart in possession of their lovers, for in\n     obtaining it they will kill it:\nThey have abandoned it when they have seen it amorous: when they see it\n     amorous they abandon it.\nNursling, they pluck it out from the very entrails: O bird, repeat \"Nursling\n     they have plucked thee out!\"\nThey have killed it unjustly: the loved plays the coquette with the humble\n     lover.\nThe seeker of the effects of love, love am I, brother of love, and sigh\nBehold the man stricken by love, though his heart change not they bury it (him?).\n\nThe Rawi said that Ja'afar was pleased and he rejoiced at hearing the song and\nall his organs were moved at the voice of the damsel and he said, Wallahy, it is\nfine.  Then she began again to sing, reciting the following verses:--\n\nWith these sentiments thou art in love, it is not wonderful that I should love\n     thee:\nI stretch out my hand to thee asking for mercy and pity for my humility--mayst\n     thou be charitable;\nMy life has passed away soliciting thy consent, but I have not found it in my\n     confidence to be charitable,\nAnd I have become a slave in consequence of her possession of love my heart is\n     imprisoned and my tears flow.\n\nWhen the poem was finished Ja'afar gave himself up more and more to the pleasure\nof hearing and looking at the damsel.  The youth, who was reclining, sat up and\ncalling some of his boys said to them, Don't you see that young man standing\nthere in front of us?  They answered, Yes, and he said, He must be a stranger for\nI see on him the signs of travel; bring him to me and take care not to offend\nhim.  They answered, With joy and gladness, and went towards Ja'afar, who, while\ncontemplating the damsel, perceived the boy that came and who said to him, In the\nname of God, O my lord, please have the generosity to come in to our master.\nJa'afar came with the boy to the door of the tent, dismounted from his horse and\nentered at hte moment when the youth was rising upon his feet, and he stretched\nout his two hands and saluted him as if he had always known him, and after he had\nchanted the prayer to the envoy (of Allah) he sang:--\n\nO my visitor be welcome, thou enlivenest us and bringest us our union:\nBy thy face I live when it appears and I die if it disappears.\n\nThen he said to Ja'afar, Please be seated, my dear sir; thanks be to God for your\nhappy arrival; and he continued his chant after another prayer to the envoy (of\nGod):--\n\nIf we had known of thy arrival we would have covered (thy) heart with the black\n     of our eyes,\nAnd we would have spread the street with out cheeks that thy coming might have\n     been between our eyelids.\n\nAfter that he arose, kissed the breast of Ja'afar, magnified his power and said\nto him, O my Master, this day is a happy one and were it not a fast-day I would\nhave fasted for thee to render thanks to God.  Then came up the servants to whom\nhe said, Bring us what is ready.  They spread the table of viands and the youth\nsaid, O my lord, the Sages say, If you are invited content yourself with what's\nbefore you, but if you are not invited, stay not and visit not again; if we had\nknown that you would arrive to-day we would have sacrified the flesh of our\nbodies and our children.  Ja'afar said, I put out my hand and I ate until I was\nsatisfied, while he was presenting me with his hand the delicate morsels and\ntaking pleasure in entertaining me.  When we had finished they brought the ewer\nand basin, we washed our hands and we passed into the drinking room where he told\nthe damsel to sing.  She took up her lute, tuned it, and holding it against her\nbreast she began:--\n\nA visitor of whom the sight is venerated by all, sweeter than either spirit or\n     hope:\nHe spreads the darkness of his hair over the morning dawn and the dawn of shame\n     appeared not;\nAnd when my lot would kill me I asked his protection, his arrival revived a soul\n     that death reclaimed:\nI've become the slave of the Prince of the Lovers and the dominion of love was\n     of my making.\n\nThe Rawi says that Ja'afar was moved with exceeding joy, as was also the youth,\nbut he did not fail to be fearful on account of his affair with the Caliph, so\nthat it showed itself in his countenance, and this anxiety was apparent to the\nyouth who knew that he was anxious, frightened, dreaming and uncertain.  Ja'afar\nperceived that the youth was ashamed to question him on his position and the\ncause of his condition, but the youth said to him, O my lord, listen to what the\nSages have said:--\n\nWorry not thyself for things that are to come, drive away your cares by the\n     intoxicating bowl:\nSee you not that hands have painted beautiful flowers on the robes of drink?\nSpoils of the vine-branch, lilies and narcissus, and the violet and the striped\n     flower of N'uman:\nIf troubles overtake you, lull them to sleep with liquors and flowers and\n     favourites.\n\nThen said he to Ja'afar, Contract not thy breast, and to the damsel, Sing; and\nshe sang, and Ja'afar who was delighted with her songs, said Let us not cease our\nenjoyment, now in conversation, now in song until the day closes and night comes\nwith darkness.\n\nThe youth ordered the servants to bring up the horses and they presented to his\nguest a mare fit for Kings.  We mounted (said Ja'afar), and, entering Damascus,\nI proceeded to look at the bazars and the streets until we came to a large square\nin the middle of which were two mastabas or stone benches before a high doorway\nbrilliantly illuminated with divers lights, and before a porti\u00e8re was suspended\na lamp by a golden chain.  There were lofty domes surrounded by beautiful\nstatues, and containing various kinds of birds and abundance of flowing water,\nand in their midst was a hall with windows of silver.  He opened it and found it\nlooking upon a garden like that of Paradise animated by the songs of the birds\nand the perfumes of the flowers and the ripple of the brooks.  The house, wherein\nwere fountains and birds warbling their songs understood in every language, was\ncarpeted with silken rugs and furnished with cushions of Dibaj-brocade.  It\ncontained also in great number costly articles of every kind, it was perfumed\nwith the odours of flowers and fruits and it contained every other imaginable\nthing, plates and dishes of silver and gold, drinking vessels, and a censer for\nambergris, powder of aloes and every sort of dried fruits.  Brief, it was a house\nlike that described by the poet:--\n\nSociety became perfectly brilliant in its beauty and shone in the eclat of its\nmagnificience.\n\nJa'afar said, When I sat down the youth came to me and asked, From what country\nart thou?  I replied, From Basora, soldier by profession, commandant over a\ncompany of men and I used to pay a quit-rent to the Caliph.  I became afraid of\nhim for my life and I came away fleeing with downcast face for dread of him, and\nI never ceased wandering about the country and in the deserts until Destiny has\nbrought me to thee.  The youth said, A blessed arrival, and what may be thy name?\nI replied, My name is like thine own.  On hearing my words he smiled, and said,\nlaughing, O my lord, Abu 'l-Hasan, carry no trouble in your heart nor contraction\nof your breast; then he ordered a service and they set for us a table with all\nkinds of delicacies and we ate until satisfied.  After this they took away the\ntable and brought again the ewer and basin and we washed our hands and then went\nto the drinking room where there was a pleasaunce filled with fruits and flowers\nin perfection.  Then he spoke to the damsel for music and she sang, enchanting\nboth Ja'afar and the youth with delight at her performances, and the place itself\nwas agitated, and Ja'afar in the excess of his joy took off his robes and tore\nthem.  Then the youth said to him, Wallahy, may the tearing be the effect of the\npleasure and not of sorrow and waywardness, and may God disperse far from you the\nbitterness of your enemies.  Then he went to a chest (continued Ja'afar) and took\nout from it a complete dress, worth a hundred dinars and putting it upon me said\nto the damsel, Change the tune of thy lute.  She did so, and sang the following\nverses:--\n\nMy jealous regard is attached to him and if he regard another I am impatient:\nI terminate my demand and my song, crying, Thy friendship will last until death\nin my heart.\n\nThe Rawi said: When she had finished her poetry Ja'afar threw off the last dress\nand cried out, and the youth said, May God ameliorate your life and make its\nbeginning the end.  Then he went to the chest and took out a dress better than\nthe first and put it upon Ja'afar and the damsel was silent for an hour during\nthe conversation.  The youth said, Listen, O my lord Abu 'l-Hasan, to what people\nof merit have said of this valley formerly called the Valley of Rabwat in which\nwe now are and spoken of in the poem, saying:--\n\nO bounty of our Night in the valley of Rabwat where the gentle zephyr brings in\n     her perfumes:\nIt is a valley whose beauty is like that of the necklace: trees and flowers\n     encompass it.\nIts fields are carpeted with every variety of flowers and the birds fly around\n     above them;\nWhen the trees saw us seated beneath them they dropped upon us their fruits.\nWe continued to exchange upon the borders of its gardens the flowing bowls of\n     conversation and of poesy,\nThe valley was bountiful and her zephyrs brought to us what the flowers had sent\n     to us.\n\nSo when the youth had finished his recitation he turned to the damsel and told\nher to sing:--\n\nI consume (with desire) when I hear from him a discourse whose sweetness is a\n     melting speech:\nMy heart palpitates when he sees it, it is not wonderful that the drunken one\n     should dance:\nIt has on this earth become my portion, but on this earth I have no chance to\n     obtain it.\nO Lord! tell me the fault that I've committed, perhaps I may be able to correct\n     it.\nI find in thee a heart harder than that of others and the hearts consume my\n     being.\n\nNow when she had finished, Ja'afar in his joy threw off the third dress.  The\nyouth arose, kissed him on the head, and then took out for him another suit and\nput it upon him, for he was the most generous man of his time.  Then he\nenteretained Ja'afar with the news of the day and of the subjects and anecdotes\nof the great pieces of poetry and said to him, O my lord, load not thyself with\ncares.  The Rawi says that they continued living in the same way for forty days\nand on the forty-first Ja'afar said to the young man, Know, O my lord, that I\nhave left my country neither for eating nor for drinking, but to divert myself\nand to see the world; but if God vouchsafe my return to my country to talk to my\npeople, my neighbours and frieds, and they ask me where I have been and what I\nhave seen, I will tell them of your generosity and of the great benefactions that\nyou have heaped upon me in your country of Damascus.  I will say that I have\nsighted this and that, and thus I will entertain them with what I have espied in\nDamascus and of its order.  The young man replied, Thou sayest true: and Ja'afar\nsaid, I desire to go out and visit the city, its bazars and its streets, to which\nthe young man answered, With love and good will, to-morrow morning if it please\nAllah.  That night Ja'afar slept there and when God brought the day, he rose,\nwent in to the young man, wished him good morning and said to him, O my lord, thy\npromise! to which he replied, With love and good will; and, ordering a white\ndress for him, he handed him a purse of three hundred dinars saying, Bestow this\nin charity and return quick after thou hast made thy visit, and lastly said to\nhis servants, Bring to your lord a horse to ride.  But Ja'afar answered, I do not\nwish to have one, for a rider cannot observe the people but the people observe\nhim.  The young man, who was named Attaf, said, O my lord, be it as thou wishest\nand desirest; be not away long on my account for thine absence gives me pain.\nThen he gave to Ja'afar a grain of red musk saying, Take this and keep it in thy\nhand and if thou go into any place where there is a bad odour thou wilt take a\nsmell of the musk.  Ja'afar the Barmeky (Allah be merciful to him!) said, After\nthat I left him and set out to walk in the streets and quarters of Damascus and\nwent on until I came to the Most of the 'Omeyyades where I saw a fountain casting\nthe water from its upper part and falling like serpents in their flight.  I sat\ndown under the pulpit; and as it was a Friday I heard the preacher and made my\nFriday prayer and remained until I made the afternoon prayer when I went to\ndistribute the money I had, after which I recited these verses:--\n\nI see the beauties united in the mosk of Jullag, and around her the meaning of\n     beauty is explained;\nIf people converse in the mosks tell them their entrance door is open.\n\nThen I left the mosk and began to promenade the quarters and the streets until\nI came before a splendid house, broad in its richness and strong in its build,\nhaving a border of gold astonishing the mind by the beauty of the work, showing\ncurtains of silk embroidered with gold and in front of the door were two carpeted\nsteps.  I sat down upon one of them and began to think of myself and of the\nevents that had happened to me and of my ignorance of what had taken place after\nmy departure.  In the midst of my sadness at the contemplation of my troubles\n(and the wind blowing upon me) I fell asleep and I awaked not until a sprinkling\nof water came down upon me.  On opening my eyes I saw a young woman behind the\ncurtain dressed in a morning gown and a Sa'\u00fad\u00ed fillet upon her forehead.  Her\nlook and eyelids were full of art and her eyebrows were like the fronts of the\nwings of light.  The Rawi says she resembled a full moon.  When my eyes fell upon\nher (continued Ja'afar) and looked at her, that look brought with it a thousand\nsighs and I arose and my disposition was changed.  The young woman cried at me\nand I said, I am your servant, O my lady, and here at thy command, but said she,\nNo labbayka and no favour for thee!  Is this house thine?  Said I, No my lady,\nand she replied, O dog of the streets, this house is not thine, why art thou\nsitting here?  When Ja'afar heard this he was greatly mortified, but he took\ncourage and dissimulated, answering, O my lady, I am resting here only to recite\nsome verses which I have composed for thee, then she asked, And what hast thou\nsaid about me?  He continued:--\n\nShe appeared in a whitish robe with eyelids and glances of wonder,\nI said she came out without greeting, with her I'm content to my heart's\n     content.\nBlessed be He that clothed thy cheeks with roses, He can create what He wills\n     without hindrance.\nThy dress like thy lot is as my hand, white, and they are white upon white upon\n     my white.\n\nWhen he had finished these verses he said, I have composed others on thine\nexpression, and recited the following:--\n\n\nDost thou see through her veil that face appearing how it shines, like the moon\n     in the horizon?\nIts splendour enlightens the shade of her temples and the sun enters into\n     obscurity by system;\nHer forehead eclipses the rose and the apple, and her look and expression\n     enchant the people;\nIt is she that if mortal should see her he'd become victim of love, of the fires\n     of desire.\n\nOn hearing this recitation the young lady said to Ja'afar, Miserable fellow, what\nis this discourse which does not belong to the like of thee?  Get up and begone\nwith the malediction of Allah and the protection of Satan.  Ja'afar arose, seized\nwith a mighty rage in addition to his love; and in this love for her he departed\nand returned to the house of his friend Attaf and saluted him with a prepossessed\nheart.  As soon as Attaf saw him he cast himself on his breast and kissed him\nbetween the eyes, saying to him, O my lord, thou hast made me feel desolate\nto-day by thine absence.  Then Attaf, looking in the face of Ja'afar and reading\nin it many words, continued to him, O my lord, I find thy countenance changed and\nthy mind broken.  Ja'afar answered, O my lord, since I left thee up to the\npresent time I have been suffering with a headache and a nervous attack for I was\nsleeping upon my ear.  The people in the mosk recited the afternoon prayer\nwithout my knowing it, and now I have a mind to get an hour's sleep, probably I\nshall find repose for the body, and what I suffer will pass off.  Accordingly,\nAttaf went into the house and ordered cushions to be brought out and a bed to be\nmade for him.  Ja'afar then stretched himself upon it depressed and out of\nspirits, and covering himself up began to think of the young lady and of the\noffensive words she gave him so contrary to usage.  Also he thoguht of her beauty\nand the elegance of her stature and perfect proportions and of what Allah (to\nwhom be praise!) had granted her of magnificence.  He forgot all that happened\nto him in other days and also his affair with the Caliph and his people and his\nfriends and his society.  Such was the burden of his thoughts until he was taken\nwith monomania and his body wasted.  Hereupon Attaf sent for doctors, they\nsurrounded him constantly, they employed all their talents for him, but they\ncould find no remedy.  So he remained during a certain time without anyone being\nable to discover what was the matter with him.  The breast of Attaf became\nstraitened, he renounced all diversions and pleasures, and Ja'afar getting worse\nand worse, his trouble augmented.  One day a new doctor arrived, a man of\nexperience in the art of gallantry, whose name was Dabdihk\u00e1n.  When he came to\nJa'afar and looked at his face and felt his pulse and found everything in its\nplace, no suffering, no pain, he comprehended that he was in love, so he took a\npaper and wrote a prescription and placed it beneath Ja'afar's head.  He then\nsaid, Thy remedy is under thy head, I've prescribed a purge, if thou take it thou\nwilt get well, for he was ashamed to tell Attaf his love-sick condition.\nPresently, the Doctor went away to other patients and Attaf arose and when about\nentering to see Ja'afar he heard him recite the following verses:--\n\nA doctor came to me one day and took my hand and pulse, when I said to him Let\n     go my hand, the fire's in my heart.\nHe said, Drink syrup of the rose and mix it well with water of the tongue but\n     tell it not to anyone:\nI said, The syrup of the rose is quite well known to me; it is the water of the\n     cheek that breaks my very heart;\nBut can it be that I can get the water of the tongue that I may cool the burning\n     fire that within me dwells?\nThe doctor said, Thou art in love, I said Yes to him, and said he to me, Its\n     remedy is to have the body here.\n\nThen when Attaf went in to him after the end of the recitation he sat down at the\nhead of the bed and asked him about his condition and what had been perscribed\nfor him by the Hak\u00edm.  Ja'afar said, O my lord, he wrote for me a paper which is\nunder the pillow.  Attaf put out his hand, took the paper and read it and found\nupon it written:--\"In the name of God the Curer--To be taken, with the aid and\nblessing of God, 3 miskals of pure presence of the beloved unmixed with morsels\nof absence and fear of being watched: plus, 3 miskals of a good meeting cleared\nof any grain of abandonment and rupture: plus, 2 okes of pure friendship and\ndiscretion deprived of the wood of separation.  Then take some extract of the\nincense of the kiss, the teeth and the waist, 2 miskals of each; also take 100\nkisses of pomegranate rubbed and rounded, of which 50 small ones are to be\nsugared, 30 pigeon-fashion and 20 after the fashion of little birds.  Take of\nAleppine twist and sigh of Al-Ir\u00e1q 2 miskals each; also 2 okes of tongue-sucking,\nmouth and lip kissing, all to be pounded and mixed.  Then put upon a furnace 3\ndrams of Egyptian grain with the addition of the beautiful fold of plumpness,\nboil it in love-water and syrup of desire over a fire of wood of pleasure in the\nretreat of the ardour.  Decant the whole upon a royal d\u00edb\u00e1qy divan and add to it\n2 okes of saliva syrup and drink it fasting during 3 days.  Next take for dinner\nthe melon of desire mixed with embrace-almond and juice of the lemon of concord,\nand lastly 3 rolls of thigh-work and enter the bath for the benefit of your\nhealth.  And--The Peace!\"  When Attaf had finished reading of this paper he burst\ninto a laugh at the prescription and, turning to Ja'afar, he asked him with whom\nhe was in love and of whom he was enamoured.  Ja'afar gave no answer, he spoke\nnot neither did he commence any discourse, when Attaf said, O my brother, thou\nare not my friend, but thou art in my house esteemed as is the soul in the body.\nBetween me and thee there has been for the last four months friendship, company,\ncompanionship and conversation.  Why then conceal thy situation?  For me, I have\nfear and sorrow on thine account.  Thou art a stranger, thou art not of this\ncapital.  I am a son of this city, I can dispel what thou hast (of trouble) and\nthat of which thou sufferest.  By my life, which belongs to you, by the bread and\nsalt between us, reveal to me thy secret.  And Attaf did not cease to speak thus\nuntil Ja'afar yielded and said to him, It shall no longer be concealed, and I\nwill not blame those who are in love and are impatient.  Then he told his story\nfrom beginning to end, what was said to him by the young lady and what she did\nwith him and lastly he described the quarter and the place.  Now when Attaf heard\nthe words of Ja'afar he reflected on the description of the house and of the\nyoung lady and concluded that the house was his house and the young lady was his\ncousin-wife, and said to himself, There is no power nor strength but in Allah the\nHigh, the Great.  We are from God and to Him we return.  Then he came to his mind\nagain and to the generosity of his soul and said to himself, O Attaf! God hath\nfavored me and hath made me worthy of doing good and hath sent to me I know not\nwhence this stranger who hath become bound in friendship with me during all this\ntime and he hath acquired over me the ties of friendship.  His heart hath become\nattached to the young woman and his love for her hath reached in him an imminent\npoint.  Since that time he is almost on the verge of annihilation, in so pitiable\na condition and behold, he hopeth from me a good issue from his trouble.  He hath\nmade known to me his situation after having concealed it for so long a time: if\nI do not befriend him in his misfortune I should resemble him who would build\nupon water and thus would aid him to annihilate his existence.  By the\nmagnanimity of my God, I will further him with my property and with my soul.  I\nwill divorce my cousin and will marry her to him and I will not change my\ncharacter, my generosity nor my resolution.  The Rawi says, that young woman was\nhis wife and his cousin, also a second wife as he was previously married to\nanother, and she occupied the house, his own house containing all that he\npossessed of property and so forth, servants, odalisques and slaves.  There was\nalso his other house which was for his guests, for drinking and eating and to\nreceive his friends and his company.  Of this, however, he said nothing to his\ncousin-wife when he came to see her at certain times.  When he heard that Ja'afar\nwas in love with her he could not keep from saying to him, Be quiet, I take upon\nmyself to dispel thy chagrin, and soon I shall have news of her, and if she is\nthe daughter of the Na\u00efb of Damascus I will take the proper steps for thee even\nthough I should lose all my property; and if she is a slave-girl I will buy her\nfor thee even were her price such as to take all I possess.  Thus he calmed the\nanguish of Ja'afar the best way he could; then he went out from his own house and\nentered that of his cousin-wife without making any change in his habits or saying\na single word save to his servants, Go to my uncle's and bring him to me.  The\nboy then went for the uncle and brought him to Attaf, and when the uncle entered\nthe nephew arose to receive him, embraced him and made him be seated, and, after\nhe had been seated awhile, Attaf came to him and said, O my uncle! there is\nnaught but good!  Know that when God wills good to his servitor he shows to him\nthe way and my heart inclines to Meccah, to the house of God, to visit the tomb\nof Mohammed (for whom be the most noble of prayers and the most complete of\nsalutations!).  I have decided to visit those places this year and I cannot leave\nbehind me either attachments or debts or obligations; nothing in fact that can\ndisturb the mind, for no one can know who will be the friend of the morrow.\nHere, then, is the writ of divorce of thy daughter and of my other wife.  Now\nwhen his uncle heard that, he was troubled and exaggerating to himself the\nmatter, he said, O son of my brother, what is it that impels thee to this?  If\nthou depart and leave her and be absent as long as thou willest she is yet thy\nwife and thy dependent which is sufficient.  But Attaf said, O my uncle, what\nhath been done is done.  As soon as the young wife heard that, the abomination\nof desolation overcame her, she became as one in mourning and was upon the point\nof killing herself, because she loved her husband by reason of his relationship\nand his education.  But this was done by Attaf only to please Ja'afar, and for\nthat he was incited by his duty to do good to his fellow beings.  Then Attaf left\nthe house and said to himself, If I delay this matter it will be bruited abroad,\nand will come to the ears of my friend who will be afflicted and will be ashamed\nto marry, and what I have done will come to naught.  The divorce of Attaf's\nsecond spouse was only out of regard to his cousin-wife, and that there might not\nbe an impediment to the success of his project.  Then Attaf proceeded to his\nguesthouse and went in to Ja'afar, who when he saw him, asked where he had been.\nAttaf replied, Make yourself easy, O my brother, I am now occupied with your\naffair, I have sought out the young lady and I know her.  She is divorced from\nher husband and her 'iddah is not yet expired, so expand your breast and gladden\nyour soul, for when her obligatory term of waiting shall be accomplished I will\nmarry her to you.  And Attaf ceased not to diver him by eating and drinking,\namusements and shows, song and songstress until he knew that the 'iddah of his\ncousin had ended; then he went to Ja'afar and said to him, Know, O my lord, that\nthe father of the young woman thou sawest is one of my friends, and if I betroth\nher that would not be proper on my part and he will say: My friend hath not done\nwell in betrothing my daughter to a man who is a stranger and whom I know not.\nHe will take her and carry her to his own country and we shall be separated.  Now\nI have an idea that has occurred to me, and 'tis to send out for you a tent with\nten mamelukes and four servants upon horses and mules, baggage, stuffs, chests\nof dresses, and horses and gilded vehicles.  Everything I have mentioned will be\nplaced outside the city that no one shall know of thee, and I will say that thou\nart Ja'afar the Barmeky the Caliph's Wazir.  I will go to the Kady and the Wali\nand the Na\u00efb and I will inform them of thee (as Ja'afar); so will they come out\nto meet and salute thee.  Then thou wilt salute them and tell them that thou hast\ncome on business of the Caliph.  Thou must also say thou hast heard that Damascus\nis a very fine city and a hospitable, and add, I will go in to visit it and if\nit prove favourable to me I will remain and marry to establish between myself and\nits inhabitants relationship and friendship, and I would like you to seek for me\na man of high position and noble origin who hath a beautiful cousin that I may\nmarry.  Attaf then said to Ja'afar, O my lord, we know one who hath a daughter\nof noble origin, that man is such-and-such an one, ask her of him for betrothal\nand say to him, Here is her dowry, which is all that thou hast in the chests.\nThen produce a purse of a thousand dinars and distribute them among those\npresent, and display the characteristic of the Barmekys, and take out a piece of\nsilken stuff and order them to draw up the marriage contract immediately.  If\nthey sign it, declare to them that thou wilt not enter the city because thou art\npressed and thy bride will come to thee.  Should thou do thus, thou wilt\naccomplish what thou desirest, God willing, then leave instantly and order that\nthe tents be struck, the camels loaded, and set out for thine own country in\npeace.  Know that all I shall do for you is little for the rights of friendship\nand devotedness.  Ja'afar sprang up to kiss the hand of Attaf, but was prevented,\nthen he thanked him and praised him and passed the night with him.  The next\nmorning at break of day he arose, made his ablutions, and having recited his\nmorning prayer, accompanied his host to the outside of the city.  Attaf ordered\na great tent to be pitched and that everything necessary should be carried to it;\nof horses, camels, mules, slaves, mamelukes, chests containing all kinds of\narticles for distribution, and boxes holding purses of gold and silver.  He\ndressed his guest in a robe worthy of a Wazir, and set up for him a throne and\nsent some slaves to the Na\u00efb of Damascus to announce the arrival of Ja'afar on\nbusiness of the Caliph.  As soon as the Na\u00efb of Damascus was informed of that,\nhe went out accompanied by the notables of the city and of his government and met\nthe Wazir Ja'afar, and kissing the ground between his hands, said to him, O my\nlord, why didst thou not inform me sooner in order that we might be prepared for\nthine arrival.  Ja'afar said, That was not necessary, may God augment thy wealth,\nI have not come but with the intention to visit this city; I desire to stay in\nit for some time and I would also marry in it.  I have learned that the Am\u00edr 'Amr\nhas a daughter of noble descent, I wish thou wouldst cause her to be brought\nbefore thee and that thou betroth her to me.  The Na\u00efb of Damascus said, Hearing\nis obeying.  Her husband hath divorced her and desireth to go to al-Hejaz on the\npilgrimage, and after her 'iddah hath expired and there remaineth not any\nimpediment the betrothal can take place.  At the proper time the Na\u00efb of Damascus\ncaused to be present the father of the lady and spoke to him of what the Wazir\nJa'afar had said and that he should betroth his daughter, so that there was\nnothing more for the father to say than, I hear and I obey.  The Rawi says that\nJa'afar ordered to be brought the dress of honour and the gold from the purses\nto be thrown out for distribution and commanded the presence of the Kady and\nwitnesses; and, when they arrived, he bade them write the marriage contract.\nThen he brought forward and presented the ten chests and the ten purses of gold,\nthe dowry of the bride, and all those present, high and low, and rich and poor\ngave him their best wishes and congratulations.  After the father of the lady had\ntaken the dowry he ordered the Kady to draw up the contract and presented to him\na piece of satin; he also called for sugar-water to drink and set before them the\ntable of viands, and they ate and washed their hands.  Afterwards they served\nsweet dishes and fruits; and when that was finished and the contract passed, the\nNa\u00efb of Damascus said to the Wazir, O my lord, I will prepare a house for thy\nresidence and for the reception of thy wife.  Ja'afar said, That cannot be; I am\nhere on a commission of the Commander of the Faithful, and I wish to take my wife\nwith me to Baghdad and only there can I have the bridal ceremonies.  The father\nof the lady said, Enter unto thy bride and depart when thou wilt.  Ja'afar\nreplied, I cannot do that, but I wish thee to make up the trousseau of thy\ndaughter and have it ready so as to depart this very day.  We only wait, said the\nfather of the bride, for the Na\u00efb of Damascus to retire, to do what the Wazir\ncommands.  He answered, With love and good will; and the lady's father set about\ngetting together the trousseau and making her ready.  He took her out and got her\ntrousseau, mounted her upon a Hodaj, and when she arrived at Ja'afar's camp her\npeople made their adieus and departed.  When Ja'afar had ridden to some distance\nfrom Damascus and had arrived at Tiniat el 'Iq\u00e1b he looked behind him and\nperceived in the distance in the direction of Damascus a horseman galloping\ntowards him; so he stopped his attendants and when the rider had come near them\nJa'afar looked at him and behold it was Attaf.  He had come out after him and\ncried, Hasten not, O my brother.  And when he came up he embraced him and said,\nO my lord, I have found no rest without thee, O my brother Abu 'l-Hasan, it would\nhave been better for me never to have seen thee nor known thee, for now I cannot\nsupport thine absence.  Ja'afar thanked him and said to him, I have not been able\nto act against what thou hast prescribed for me and provided, but we pray God to\nbring near our reunion and never more separate us.  He is Almighty to do what He\nwilleth.  After that Ja'afar dismounted and spread a silken carpet and they sat\ndown together, and Attaf laid a tablecloth with duck, chicken, sweets and other\ndelicacies, of which they ate and he brought out dry fruits and wine.  They drank\nfor an hour of the day when they remounted their horses and Attaf accompanied\nJa'afar a way on the journey, when Ja'afar said to him, Every departer must\nreturn, and he pressed him to his breast and kissed him and said to him, O my\nbrother Abu 'l-Hasan, do not interrupt the sending of thy letters; but make known\nto me about thyself, and thy condition as if I were present with thee.  Then they\nbade each other adieu and each went on his way.  When the young wife noticed that\nthe camels had stopped on their march as well as their people, she put out her\nhead from the Hodaj and saw her cousin dismounting with Ja'afar and they eating\nand drinking together and then in company to the end of the road where they bade\nadieu exchanging a recitation of poetry.  So she said, The one, Wallahy, is my\ncousin Attaf and the other the man whom I saw seated under the window, and upon\nwhom I sprinkled the water.  Doubtless he is the friend of my cousin.  He hath\nbeen seized with love for me, and complaining to my cousin, hath given him a\ndescription of me and of my house; and the devotedness of his character and the\ngreatness of his soul must have impelled him to divorce me and to take steps to\nmarry me to that man.  The Rawi says that Attaf in bidding good-bye to Ja'afar\nleft him joyful in the possession of the young lady for whom he was on the point\nof ruin by his love, and in having made the friendship of Attaf whom he intended\nto reward in gratitude for what he had done by him.  So glad was he to have the\nyoung wife that everything that had taken place with Er-Rashid had passed out of\nhis mind.  In the meanwhile she was crying and lamenting over what had happened\nto her, her separation from her cousin and from her parents and her country, and\nbemoaning what she did and what she had been; and her scalding tears flowed while\nshe recited these verses:--\n\nI weep for these places and these beauties; blame not the lover if some day he's\n     insane:\nFor the places the dear ones inhabit.  O praise be to God! how sweet is their\n     dwelling!\nGod protect the past days while with you, my dear friends, and in the same house\n     may happiness join us!\n\nOn finishing this recitation she wept and lamented and recited again:--\n\nI'm astonished at living without you at the troubles that come upon us:\nI wish for you, dear absent ones, my wounded heart is still with you.\n\nThen, still crying and lamenting, she went on:--\n\nO you to whom I gave my soul, return; from you I wish'd to pluck it, but could\n     not succeed:\nThen pity the rest of a life that I've sacrificed for thee, before the hour of\n     death my last look I will take:\nIf all of thee be lost astonished I'll not be; my astonishment would be that his\n     lot will be to another.\n\nPresently the Wazir Ja'afar coming up to the Hodaj said to the young wife, O\nmistress of the Hodaj, thou hast killed us.  When she heard this address she\ncalled to him with dejection and humility, We ought not to talk to thee for I am\nthe cousin-wife of thy friend and companion Attaf, prince of generosity and\ndevotion.  If there be in thee any feeling of the self-denial of a man thou wilt\ndo for him that which, in his devotion, he hath done for thee.  When Ja'afar\nheard these words he became troubled and taking in the magnitude of the situation\nhe said to the young lady, O thou! thou art then his cousin-wife? and said she,\nYes! it is I whom thou sawest on such a day when this and that took place and thy\nheart attached itself to me.  Thou hast told him all that.  He divorced me, and\nwhile waiting for the expiration of my 'iddah diverted thee that such and such\nwas the cause of all my trouble.  Now I have explained to thee my situation: do\nthou the action of a man.  When Ja'afar heard these words he uttered a loud cry\nand said, We are from God and to Him we return.  O thou! thou art now to me an\ninterdiction and hast become a sacred deposit until thy return to where it may\nplease thee.  Then said Ja'afar to a servant, Take good care of thy mistress.\nAfter which they set foward and travelled on day and night.  Now Er-Rashid, after\nthe departure of Ja'afar, became uneasy and sorrowful at his absence.  He lost\npatience and was tormented with a great desire to see him again, while he\nregretted the conditions he had imposed as impossible to be complied with and\nobliging him to the extremity of tramping about the country like a vagabond, and\nforcing him to abandon his native land.  He had sent envoys after him to search\nfor him in every place, but he had never received any news of him, and was cast\ninto great embarrassment by reason of his absence.  He was always waiting to hear\nof him, and when Ja'afar had approached Baghdad and he, Er-Rashid, had received\nthe good tidings of his coming, he went forth to meet him, and as soon as they\ncame together they embraced each other, and the Caliph became content and joyful.\nThey entered together into the palace and the Prince of True Believers seating\nJa'afar at his side, said to him, Relate to me thy story where thou hast been\nduring thine absence and what thou hast come upon.  So Ja'afar told him then all\nthat had happened from the time he left him until the moment of finding himself\nbetween his hands.  Er-Rashid was greatly astonished and said, Wallahy, thou hast\nmade me sorrowful for thine absence, and hast inspired me with great desire to\nsee thy friend.  My opinion is that thou divorce this young lady and put her on\nthe road homeward accompanied by someone in whom thou hast confidence.  If thy\nfriend have an enemy he shall be our enemy, and if he have a friend he also shall\nbe ours; after which we will make him come to us, and we shall see him and have\nthe pleasure of hearing him and pass the time with him in joy.  Such a man must\nnot be neglected, we shall learn, by his generosity, bounty and useful things.\nJa'afar answered, To hear is obedience.  Then Ja'afar apportioned to the young\nlady a spacious house and servants and a handsome enclosure; and he treated with\ngenerosity those who had come with her as suite and followers.  He also sent to\nher sets of furniture, mattresses and every thing else she might need, while he\nnever intruded upon her and never saw her.  He sent her his salutation and\nreassuring words that she should be returned to her cousin; and he made her a\nmonthly allowance of a tousand dinars, besides the cost of her living.  So far\nas to Ja'afar; but as to Attaf, when he had bidden adieu to Ja'afar and had\nreturned to his country, those who were jealous of him took steps to ruin him\nwith the Na\u00efb of Damascus, to whom they said, O our lord, what is it that hath\nmade thee neglect Attaf?  Dost thou not know that the Wazir was his friend and\nthat he went out after him to bid him adieu after our people had returned, and\naccompanied him as far as Katifa, when Ja'afar said to him, Hast thou need of\nanything O Attaf? he said Yes.  Of what? asked the Wazir, and he answered, That\nthou send me an imperial rescript removing the Na\u00efb of Damascus.  Now this was\npromised to him, and the most prudent thing is that thou invite him to breakfast\nbefore he takes you to supper; success is in the opportunity and the assaulted\nprofiteth by the assaulter.  The Na\u00efb of Damascus replied, Thou has spoken well,\nbring him to me immediately.  The Na\u00efb of Damascus replied, Thou hast spoken\nwell, bring him to me immediately.  The Rawi says that Attaf was in his own\nhouse, ignorant that anyone owed him grudge, when suddenly in the night he was\nsurrounded and seized by the people of the Na\u00efb of Damascus armed with swords and\nclubs.  They beat him until he was covered with blood, and they dragged him along\nuntil they set him in presence of the Pasha of Damascus who ordered the pillage\nof his house and of his slaves and his servants and all his property and they\ntook everything, his family and his domestics and his goods.  Attaf asked, What\nis my crime? and he answered, O scoundrel, thou art an ignorant fellow of the\nrabble, dost dispute with the Na\u00efbat of Damascus?  Then the Swordman was ordered\nto strike his neck, and the man came forward and, cutting off a piece of his\nrobe, with it blindfolded his eyes, and was about to strike his neck when one of\nthe Em\u00edrs arose and said, Be not hasty, O my lord, but wait, for haste is the\nwhisper of Satan, and the proverb saith: Man gaineth his ends by patience, and\nerror accompanieth the hasty man.  Then he continued, Do not press the matter of\nthis man; perhaps he who hath spoken of him lieth and there is nobody without\njealousy; so have patience, for thou mayest have to regret the taking of his life\nunjustly.  Do not rest easy upon what may come to thee on the part of the Wazir\nJa'afar, and if he learn what thou hast done by this man be not sure of thy life\non his part.  He will admit of no excuse for he was his friend and companion.\nWhen the Na\u00efb of Damascus heard that he awoke from his slumber and conformed to\nthe words of the Emir.  He ordered that Attaf should be put in prison, enchained\nand with a padlock upon his neck, and bade them, after severely tightening the\nbonds, illtreat him.  They dragged him out, listening neither to his prayers nor\nhis supplications; and he cried every night, doing penance to God and praying to\nHim for deliverance from his affliction and his misfortune.  In that condition\nhe remained for three months.  But one night as he woke up he humiliated himself\nbefore God and walked about his prison, where he saw no one; then, looking before\nhim, he espied an opening leading from the prison to the outside of the city.\nHe tried himself against his chain and succeeded in opening it; then, taking it\nfrom his neck, he went out from the gaol running at full speed.  He concealed\nhimself in a place, and darkness protected him until the opening of the city\ngate, when he went out with the people and hastening his march he arrived at\nAleppo and entered the great mosk.  There he saw a crod of strangers on the point\nof departure and Attaf asked them whither they were going, and they answered, To\nBaghdad.  Whereupon he cried, And I with you.  They said, Upon the earth is our\nweight, but upon Allah is our nourishment.  Then they went on their march until\nthey arrived at Koufa after a travel of twenty days, and then continued\njourneying till they came to Baghdad.  Here Attaf saw a city of strong buildings,\nand very rich in elegant palaces reaching to the clouds, a city containing the\nlearned and the ignorant, and the poor and the rich, and the virtuous and the\nevil doer.  He entered the city in a miserable dress, rags upon his shoulders,\nand upon his head a dirty, conical cap, and his hair had become long and hanging\nover his eyes and his entire condition was most wretched.  He entered one of the\nmosks.  For two days he had not eaten.  He sat down, when a vagabond entered the\nmosk and seating himself in front of Attaf threw off from his shoulder a bag from\nwhich he took out bread and a chicken, and bread again and sweets and an orange,\nand olive and date-cake and cucumbers.  Attaf looked at the man and at his\neating, which was as the table of 'Isa son of Miriam (upon whom be peace!).  For\nfour months he had not had a sufficient meal and he said to himself, I would like\nto have a mouthful of this good cheer and a piece of this bread, and then cried\nfor very hunger.  The fellow looked at him and said, Bravo! why dost thou squint\nand do what strangers do?  By the protection of God, if you weep tears enough to\nfill the Jaxartes and the Bactrus and the Dajlah and the Euphrates and the river\nof Basrah and the stream of Antioch and the Orontees and the Nile of Egypt and\nthe Salt Sea and the ebb and the flow of the Ocean, I will not let thee taste a\nmorsel.  But, said the buffoon, if thou wish to eat of chicken and white bread\nand lamb and sweets and mutton patties, go thou to the house of Ja'afar son of\nYahya the Barmeky, who hath received hospitality from a Damascus man named Attaf.\nHe bestoweth charity in honour of him in this manner, and he neither getteth up\nnor sitteth down without speaking of him.  Now when Attaf heard these words from\nthe buffoon he looked up to heaven and said, O Thou whose attributes are\ninscrutable, bestow thy benefits upon thy servant Attaf.  Then he recited this\ncouplet:--\n\nConfide thy affairs to thy Creator; set aside thy pains and dismiss thy thoughts.\n\nThen Attaf went to a paper-seller and got from him a piece of paper and borrowed\nan inkstand and wrote as follows:--From thy brother Attaf whom God knoweth.  Let\nhim who hath possessed the world not flatter himself, he will some day be cast\ndown and will lose it in his bitter fate.  If thou see me thou wilt not recognise\nme for my poverty and my misery; and, because of the change in situation and the\nreverses of the times, my soul and body are reduced by hunger, by the long\njourney I have made, until at last I have come to thee.  And peace be with thee.\nThen he folded the paper and returning the pencase to its owner asked for the\nhouse of Ja'afar, and when it was shown to him he went there and stood at a\ndistance before it.  The doorkeepers saw him standing, neither commencing nor\nrepeating a word, and nobody spoke to him, but as he was thus standing\nembarassed, an eunuch dressed in a striped robe and golden belt passed by him.\nAttaf remained, motionless before him, then went up to him, kissed his hands and\nsaid to him, O my lord, the Apostle of Allah (upon whom be peace and salutation)\nhath said, The medium of a good deed is like him who did it, and he who did it\nbelongeth to the dwellers in heaven.  The man said to him, What is thy need? and\nsaid he, I desire of thy goodness to send in this paper to thy lord and say to\nhim, Thy brother Attaf is standing at the door.  When the servant heard his words\nhe got into a great and excessive rage so that his eyes swelled in his head and\nhe asked, O cursed one, thou art then the brother of the Wazir Ja'afar! and as\nhe had in his hand a rod with a golden end, he struck Attaf with it in the face\nand his blood flowed and he fell full length to the ground in his weakness from\nweeping and from receiving the blow.  The Rawi says that God hath placed the\ninstinct of good in the heart of some domestics, even as he hath placed that of\nevil in the heart of others.  Another of the domestics was raised up against his\ncompanion by good will to Attaf and reproved him for striking the stranger and\nwas answered, Didst thou not hear, O brother, that he pretended to be the brother\nof the Wazir Ja'afar? and the second one said, O man of evil, son of evil, slave\nof evil, O cursed one, O hog! is Ja'afar one of the prophets? is he not a dog of\nthe earth like ourselves?  Men are all brethren, of one father and one mother,\nof Adam and of Eve; and the poet hath said:--\n\nMen by comparison all are brethren, their father is Adam their mother is Eve;\n\nbut certain people are preferable to others.  Then he came up to Attaf and made\nhim be seated and wiped off the blood from his face and washed him and shook off\nthe dust that was upon him and said, O my brother, what is thy need? and said he,\nMy need is the sending of this paper to Ja'afar.  The servant took the paper from\nhis hand and going in to Ja'afar the Barmeky found there the officers of the\nGovernor and the Barmekys standing at his service on his right and on his left;\nand Ja'afar the Wazir who held in his hand a cup of wine was reciting poetry and\nplaying and saying, O you all here assembled, the absent from the eye is not like\nthe present in the heart; he is my brother and my friend and my benefactor, Attaf\nof Damascus, who was continuous in his generosity and his bounty and his\nbenfactions to me; who for me divorced his cousin-wife and gave her to me.  He\nmade me presents of horses and slaves and damsels and stuffs in quantities that\nI might furnish her dower; and, if he had not acted thus, I should certainly have\nbeen ruined.  He was my benefactor without knowing who I was, and generous to me\nwithout any idea of profiting by it.  The Rawi says that when the good servant\nheard these words from his lord he rejoiced and coming forward he kneeled down\nbefore him and presented the paper.  When Ja'afar read it he was in a state of\nintoxication and not being able to discern what he was doing he fell on his face\nto the floor while holding the paper and the glass in his hand, and he was\nwounded in the forehead so his blood ran and he fainted and the paper fell from\nhis grasp.  When the servant saw that he hastened to depart fearing the\nconsequence; and the Wazir Ja'afar's friends seated their lord and staunched the\nblood.  They exclaimed, There is no power and strength but in God the High, the\nMighty.  Such is the character of servants; they trouble the life of kings in\ntheir pleasures and annoy them in their humours: Wallahy, the writer of this\npaper merits nothing less than to be handed over to the Wali who shall give him\nfive hundred lashes and put him in prison.  Thereupon the Wazir's doorkeeper went\nout and asked for the owner of the paper, when Attaf answered, 'Tis I, O my lord.\nThen they seized him and sent him to the Wali and ordered him to give one hundred\nblows of the stick to the prisoner and to write upon his chain \"for life.\"  Thus\nthey did with Attaf and carried him to the prison where he remained for two\nmonths when a child was born to Harun er-Rashid, who then ordered that alms\nshould be distributed, and good done to all, and bade liberate all that were in\nprison and among those that were set free was Attaf.  When he found himself out\nof gaol, beaten and famished and naked, he looked up to heaven and exclaimed,\nThanks be to thee, O Lord, in every situation, and crying said, It must be for\nsome fault committed by me in the past, for God had taken me into favour and I\nhave said repaid Him in disobedience; but I pray to Him for pardon for having\ngone too far in my debauchery.  Then he recited these verses:--\n\nO God! the worshipper doth what he should not do; he is poor, depending on Thee:\nIn the pleasures of life he forgetteth himself, in his ignorance, pardon Thou his\nfaults.\n\nThen he cried again and said to himself, What shall I do?  If I set out for my\ncountry I may not reach it; if I arrive there, there will be no safety for my\nlife on teh part of the Na\u00efb, and if I remain here nobody knoweth me among the\nbeggars and I cannot be for them of any use nor for myself as an aid or an\nintermediate.  As for me, I had hope in that man, that he would raise me from my\npoverty.  The affair hath turned out contrary to my expectations, and the poet\nwas right when he said:--\n\nO friend, I've run o'er the world west and east; all that I met with was pain\n     and fatigue:\nI've frequented the men of the age, but never have found e'en a friend grateful\n     not even to me.\n\nOnce more he cried and exclaimed, God give me the grace of patience.  After that\nhe got up and walked away, and entered one of the mosks and staid there until\nafternoon.  His hunger increased and he said, By Thy magnanimity and Thy majesty\nI shall ask nothing of anyone but of Thee.  He remained in the mosk until it\nbecame dark when he went out for something, saying to himself, I have heard a\ncall from the Prophet (on whom be the blessing and peace of Allah!) which said,\nGod forbiddeth sleep in the Sanctuary and forbiddeth it to His worshippers.  Then\nhe arose, and went out from the mosk to some distance when he entered a ruined\nbuilding after walking an hour, and here he stumbled in the darkness and fell\nupon his face.  He saw something before him that he had struck with his foot and\nfelt it move, and this was a lad that had been slain and a knife was in his side.\nAttaf rose up from off the body, his clothes stained with blood; he stood\nmotionless and embarrassed, and while in that situation the Wali and his\npolicemen stood at the door of the ruin and Attaf said to them, Come in and\nsearch.  They entered with their torches and found the body of the murdered lad\nand the knife in him and the miserable Attaf standing at the head with his\nclothes stained with blood.  When a man with a scarf saw him he arrested him and\nsaid to him, O Wretch, 'tis thou killedst him.  Attaf said, Yes.  Then said the\nWali, Pinion him and take him to prison until we make our report to the Wazir\nJa'afar.  If he orders his death we will execute him.  They did as ordered, and\nthe next day the man with the scarf wrote to the Wazir, We went into a ruin and\nfound there a man who had killed a lad and we interrogated him and he confessed\nthat it was he who had done the deed, what are thine orders?  The Wazir commanded\nthem to put him to death; so they took Attaf from the prison to the place of\nexecution and cut off a piece of his garment and with it bandaged his eyes.  The\nSworder said, O my lord, shall I strike his neck? and the Wali said, Strike!  He\nbrandished the sword which whistled and glittered in the air and was about to\nstrike, when a cry from behind, Stop thy hand! was heard, and it was the voice\nof the Wazir Ja'afar who was out on a promenade.  The Wali went to him and kissed\nthe earth before him and the Wazir said to him, What is this great gathering\nhere?  He answered, 'Tis the execution of a young man of Damascus whom we found\nyesterday in a ruin; he had killed a lad of noble blood and we found the knife\nwith him and his clothes spotted with blood.  When I said to him, Is it thou that\nkilledst him? he replied Yes three times.  To-day I sent to thee my written\nreport and thine Excellency ordered his death, saying, Let the sentence of God\nbe executed, and now I have brought him out that his neck may be struck.  Ja'afar\nsaid, Oh, hath a man of Damascus come into our country to find himself in a bad\ncondition?  Wallahy, that shall never be!  Then he ordered that he should be\nbrought to him.  The Wazir did not recognise him, for Attaf's air of ease and\ncomfort had disappeared; so Ja'afar said to him, From what country art thou, O\nyoung man, and he answered, I am a man from Damascus.  From the city or from the\nvillages?  Wallahy, O my lord, from Damascus city where I was born.  Ja'afar\nasked, Didst thou happen to known there a man named Attaf?  I know when thou wast\nhis friend and he lodged thee in such-and-such a house and thou wentest out to\nsuch-and-such a garden; and I know when thou didst marry his cousin-wife, I know\nwhen he bade adieu to thee at Katifa where thou drankest with him.  Ja'afar said,\nYes, all that is true, but what became of him after he left me?  He said, O my\nLord, there happened to him this and that and he related to him everything from\nthe time he quitted him up to the moment of his standing before him and then\nrecited these verses:--\n\nThis age, must it make me its victim, and thou at the same time art living:\n     wolves are seeking to devour me while thou the lion art here.\nEvery thirsty one that cometh his thirst is quenched by thee: can it be that I\n     thirst while thou art still our refuge?\n\nWhen he had finished the verses he said, O my lord, I am Attaf, and then recalled\nall that had taken place between them from first to last.  While he was thus\nspeaking a great cry was heard, and it came from a Sheikh who was saying, This\nis not humanity.  They looked at the speaker, who was an old man with trimmed\nbeard dyed with henna, and upon him was a blue kerchief.  When Ja'afar saw him\nhe asked him what was the matter, and he exclaimed, Take away the young man from\nunder the sword, for there is no fault in him: he hath killed no one nor doth he\nknow anything of the dead youth.  Nobody but myself is the killer.  The Wazir\nsaid, Then 'tis thou that killed him? and he answered.  Yes.--Why didst thou kill\nhim? hast thou not the fear of God in killing a Hashimy child?  The old man said,\nHe was my servant, serving me in the house and working with me at my trade.\nEvery day he took from me some quarter-pieces of money and went to work for\nanother man called Shumooshag, and to work with Nag\u00edsh, and with Gas\u00eds, and with\nGh\u00fabar, and with Gush\u00edr, and every day working with someone.  They were jealous\nof my having him.  'Odis the sweeper and Abu Butr\u00e1n the stoker, and everyone\nwanted to have him.  In vain I corrected him, but he would not abide corrected\nand ceased not to do thus until I killed him in the ruin, and I have delivered\nmyself from the torment he gave me.  That is my story.  I kept silent until I saw\nthee when I made myself known at the time thou savest the head of this young man\nfrom the sword.  Here I am standing before you: strike my neck and take life for\nlife.  Pray do no harm to this young man, for he hath committed no fault.  The\nWazir said, Neither to thee nor to him.  Then he ordered to be brought the\nparents of the dead lad and reconciled them with the old man, whom he pardoned.\nHe mounted Attaf upon a horse and took him to his house; then he entered the\npalace of the Caliph and kissed the earth before him and said, Behold Attaf, he\nwho was my host at Damascus, and of whom I have related his treatment of me and\nhis kindness and generosity, and how he preferred me to himself.  Er-Rashid said,\nBring him in to me immediately.  He presented him to the Caliph in the miserable\nstate in which he had found him; and when he entered, he made his salutations in\nthe best manner and with the most eloquent language.  Er-Rashid answered and said\nto him, What is this state in which I find you? and Attaf wept and made his\ncomplaint in these verses:--\n\nTroubles, poverty and distant sojourn far away from the dear ones, and a\n     crushing desire to see them:\nThe soul is in them, they became like their fellows, thus the enigma remains in\n     the world;\nWhile the generous is stricken with misfortune and grief, where's the miser that\n     finds not good fortune therein?\n\nWhen Attaf had finished he conversed with the Caliph about his history and all\nhis life from beginning to end; and Er-Rashid cried and suffered at what had\nhappened to him after the loss of his riches, nor did he cease to weep with\nJa'afar until the close of Attaf's story.  The Sheikh who had killed the lad and\nhad been liberated by Ja'afar came in and Er-Rashid laughed at seeing him.  Then\nhe caused Attaf to be seated and made him repeat his story.  And when Attaf had\nfinished speaking the Caliph looked at Ja'afar and said, The proverb goeth:--\n\nGood for good, to the giver the merit remains; evil for evil, the doer's most\n     cruel.\n\nAfterwards the Caliph said to Ja'afar, Tell me what thou didst for thy brother\nAttaf before he came to thee, and he answered, O Commander of the Faithful, he\ncame upon me suddenly, and I now prepare for him three millions of gold, and the\nlike of it in horses, and in slaves, and in boys, and in dresses; and the Caliph\nsaid, From me the same.  Here endeth the last leaf of the writ, but the Wari says\nthat two days afterwards Ja'afar restored to his friend Attaf his beloved\ncousin-wife, saying to him, I have divorced her and now I deliver over to thee\nintact the precious deposit that thou didst place in my hands.  Already hath the\norder from the Caliph been despatched to Damascus enjoining the arrest of the\nNa\u00efb, to place him in irons and imprison him until further notice.  Attaf passed\nseveral months in Baghdad enjoying the pleasures of the city in company with his\nfriend Ja'afar and Er-Rashid.  He would have liked to have stayed there all his\nlife, but numerous letters from his relations and his friends praying him to\nreturn to Damascus, he thought it his duty to do so, and asked leave of the\nCaliph, who granted it, not without regrets and fears for his future condition.\nEr-Rashid appointed him Wali of Damascus and gave him the imperial rescript; and\na great escort of horses, mules and dromedaries, with abundant magnificent\npresents accompanied him as far as Damascus, where he was received with great\npomp.  All the city was illuminated as a mark of joy for the return of Attaf, so\nloved and respected by all classes of the people, and above all by the poor who\nhad wept incessantly for him in his absence.  As to the Na\u00efb, a second decree of\nthe Caliph ordered his being put to death for his oppression of the people, but\nby the generous intercession of Attaf Er-Rashid contented himself with commuting\nthe sentence to banishment.  Attaf governed his people many years with justice\nand prosperity, protector of his happy subjects and in the enjoyment of the\ndelights and pleasures of life, until the Angel of Death overtook him and\nsummoned him to Paradise.\n\n\n\n\n\n                    HISTORY OF PRINCE HABIB\n\n                  AND WHAT BEFEL HIM WITH THE\n\n                    LADY DURRAT AL-GHAWWAS.\n\n\n\nHere we begin to indite the history of Sultan Habib and of what\nbefel him with Durrat al-Ghawwas.[FN#378]\n\nIt is related (but Allah is All-knowing of His unknown and All-\ncognisant of what took place and forewent in the annals of folk!)\nthat there was, in days of yore and in times and tides long gone\nbefore, a tribe of the tribes of the Arabs hight Ban\u00fa Hil\u00e1l[FN#379]\nwhose head men were the Emir Hil\u00e1l and the Emir Sal\u00e1mah.[FN#380]\nNow this Emir Salamah had well nigh told out his tale of days\nwithout having been blessed with boon of child; withal he was a\nruler valiant, masterful, a fender of his foes and a noble knight\nof portly presence. He numbered by the thousand horsemen the\nnotablest of cavaliers and he came to overrule three-score-and-six\ntribes of the Arabs. One chance night of the nights as he lay\nsleeping in the sweetness of slumber, a Voice addressed him saying,\n\"Rise forthright and know thy wife, whereby she shall conceive\nunder command of Allah Almighty.\" Being thus disturbed of his rest\nthe Emir sprang up and compressed his spouse Kamar\nal-Ashr\u00e1f;[FN#381] she became pregnant by that embrace and when her\ndays came to an end she bare a boy as the full moon of the\nfulness-night who by his father's hest was named Hab\u00edb.[FN#382] And\nas time went on his sire rejoiced in him with joy exceeding and\nreared him with fairest rearing and bade them teach him\nKoran-reading together with the glorious names of Almighty Allah\nand instruct him in writing and in all the arts and sciences. After\nthis he bestowed robes of honour and gifts of money and raiment\nupon the teachers who had made the Sultan[FN#383] Habib, when he\nreached the age of seventeen, the most intelligent and penetrating\nand knowing amongst the sons of his time. And indeed men used to\nadmire at the largeness of his understanding and were wont to say\nin themselves, \"There is no help but that this youth shall rise to\ndignity (and what dignity!) whereof men of highmost intellect shall\nmake loud mention.\" For he could write the seven caligraphs[FN#384]\nand he could recite traditions and he could improvise poetry; and,\non one occasion when his father bade him versify impromptu, that he\nmight see what might come thereof, he intoned,\n\n\"O my sire, I am lord of all lere man knows or knew-- * Have\n     enformed my vitals with lore and with legend true;\nNor cease I repeat what knowledge this memory guards * And my writ\n     as ruby and pearl doth appear to view.\"\n\nSo the Emir Salamah his sire marvelled at the elegance of his son's\ndiction; and the Notables of the clan, after hearing his poetry and\nhis prose, stood astounded at their excellence; and presently the\nfather clasped his child to his breast and forthright summoned his\ngovernor, to whom there and then he did honour of the highmost.\nMoreover he largessed him with four camels carrying loads of gold\nand silver and he set him over one of his subject tribes of the\nArabs; then said he to him, \"Indeed thou hast done well, O Shaykh;\nso take this good and fare therewith to such a tribe and rule it\nwith justice and equity until the day of thy death.\" Replied the\ngovernor, \"O King of the Age, I may on no wise accept thy boons,\nfor that I am not of mankind but of Jinn-kind; nor have I need of\nmoney or requirement of rule. Know thou, O my lord, that erst I sat\nas K\u00e1zi amongst the Jinns and I was enthroned amid the Kings of the\nJ\u00e1nn, whenas one night of the nights a Voice[FN#385] addressed me\nin my sleep saying, 'Rise and hie thee to the Sultan Habib son of\nthe Emir Salamah ruler of the tribes of the Arabs subject to the\nBanu Hilal and become his tutor and teach him all things teachable;\nand, if thou gainsay going, I will tear thy soul from thy body.'\nNow when I saw this marvel-vision in my sleep, I straightway arose\nand repairing to thy son did as I was bidden.\"[FN#386] But as the\nEmir Salamah heard the words of this Shaykh he bowed him down and\nkissing his feet cried, \"Alhamdolillah--laud to the Lord, who hath\nvouchsafed thee to us of His bounty; and indeed thy coming to us\nwas of good omen, O Judge of the Jann.\" \"Where is thy son?\" quoth\nthe governor, and quoth the father, \"Ready, aye ready;\" then he\nsummoned his child and when the Shaykh looked upon his pupil he\nwept with sore weeping and cried, \"Parting from thee, O Habib, is\nheavy upon us,\" presently adding, \"Ah! were ye to wot all that\nshall soon befal this youth after my departure and when afar from\nme!\"[FN#387] Those present in the assembly at once asked saying,\n\n\"And what shall, O Shaykh, to us fall forthright?\" * Quoth he,\n     \"Sore marvels shall meet your sight:\nNo heart have I to describe it you.\" * Then approached Habib the\n     same tutor-wight;\nAnd clasping the youth to the breast of him, * Kissed his cheek a-\n     shrieking the shrillest shright.[FN#388]\n\nWhereupon all about them were perturbed and were amated and amazed\nat the action of the Shaykh when, vanishing from their view, he\ncould nowhere be seen. Then the Emir Salamah addressed the lieges\nsaying, \"Ho ye Arabs, who wotteth what presently shall betide my\nson? would Heaven I had one to advise him!\" Hereupon said his\nElders and Councillors, \"We know of none.\" But the Sultan Habib\nbrooded over the disappearance of his governor and bespake his sire\nweeping bitter tears the while, \"O my father, where be he who\nbrought me up and enformed me with all manner knowledge?\" and the\nEmir replied, \"O my son, one day of the days he farewelled us and\ncrying out with a loud cry evanished from our view and we have seen\nhim no more.\" Thereupon the youth improvised and said,\n\n\"Indeed I am scourged by those ills whereof I felt affray, ah! * By\n     parting and thoughts which oft compell\u00e8d my soul to say, 'Ah!'\nOh saddest regret in vitals of me that ne'er ceaseth, nor * Shall\n     minished be his love that still on my heart doth prey, ah!\nWhere hath hied the generous soul my mind with lere adorned? * And\n     alas! what hath happened, O sire, to me, and well-away, ah!\"\n\nHereat the Emir Salamah shed tears (as on like wise did all\npresent) and quoth he to his son, \"O Habib, we have been troubled\nby his action,\" and quoth the youth, \"How shall I endure severance\nfrom one who fostered me and brought me to honour and renown and\nwho raised my degree so high?\" Then began he to improvise saying,\n\n\"Indeed this pine in my heart grows high, * And in eyeballs wake\n     doth my sleep outvie:\nYou marched, O my lords, and from me hied far * And you left a\n     lover shall aye outcry:\nI wot not where on this earth you be * And how long this patience\n     when none is nigh:\nYe fared and my eyeballs your absence weep, * And my frame is\n     meagre, my heart is dry.\"\n\nNow whilst the Emir Salamah was sitting in his seat of dignity and\nthe Sultan Habib was improvising poetry and shedding tears in\npresence of his sire, they heard a Voice which announced itself and\nits sound was audible whilst its personality was invisible.\nThereupon the youth shed tears and cried, \"O father mine, I need\none who shall teach me horsemanship and the accidents of edge and\npoint and onset and offset and spearing and spurring in the Mayd\u00e1n;\nfor my heart loveth knightly derring-do to plan, such as riding in\nvan and encountering the horseman and the valiant man.\" And the\nwhile they were in such converse behold, there appeared before them\na personage rounded of head, long of length and dread, with turband\nwide dispread, and his breadth of breast was armoured with doubled\ncoat of mail whose manifold rings were close-enmeshed after the\nmodel of D\u00e1\u00fad[FN#389] the Prophet (upon whom be The Peace!).\nMoreover he hent in hand a mace erst a block cut out of the live\nhard rock, whose shock would arrest forty braves of the doughtiest;\nand he was baldrick'd with an Indian blade that quivered in the\ngrasp, and he bestrode, with a Samhari[FN#390] lance at rest, a bay\ndestrier of black points whose peer was not amongst the steeds of\nthe Arabs. Then he took his station standing as a vassal between\nthe Emir Salamah's hands and he addressed a general salam and he\ngreeted all that stood a-foot or were seated. His salute they\nrepealed and presently the pages hastened forwards and aided him\nalight from his charger's back; and after waiting for a full-told\nhour that he might take somewhat of repose, the stranger-knight and\ndoughty wight advanced and said, \"Ho thou the Emir, I came hither\nto fulfil the want whereof thou expressedst a wish; and, if such\nprove thy pleasure, I will teach thy son fray and fight and prowess\nin the plain of sword-stroke and lance-lunge. But ere so doing I\nwould fain test thy skill in cavalarice; so do thou, O Emir, be\nfirst to appear as champion and single combatant in the field when\nI will show thee what horsemanship is.\" \"Hearkening and obeying,\"\nreplied the Emir, \"and if thou desire the duello with us we will\nnot baulk thee thereof.\" Hereat his Shaykhs and Chieftains sprang\nup and cried to him, \"O Emir, Allah upon thee, do not meet in fight\nthis cavalier for that thou wottest not an he be of mankind or of\nJinn-kind; so be thou not deceived by his sleights and snares.\"\n\"Suffer me this day,\" quoth the Emir, \"to see the cavalarice of\nthis cavalier, and, if over me he prevail, know him to be a knight\nwith whom none may avail.\" Speaking thus the Emir arose and hied\nhim to his tent where he bade the slaves bring forth the best of\nhis habergeons; and, when all these were set before him, he took\nfrom them a Davidian suit of manifold rings and close-meshed, which\nhe donned, and he baldrick'd himself with a scymitar of Hindi\nsteel, hadst thou smitten therewith a cliff it had cleft it in\ntwain or hadst thou stricken a hill it had been laid level as a\nplain; and he hent in hand a Rudayn\u00edan lance[FN#391] of Khatt\nHajar, whose length was thirty ells and upon whose head sat a point\nlike unto a basilisk's tongue; and lastly he bade his slaves bring\nhim his courser which in the race was the fleetest-footed of all\nhorses. Then the two combatants took the plain accompanied by the\ntribesmen nor did one of them all, or great or small, remain in\ncamp for desire to witness the fight of these champions who were\nboth as ravening lions. But first the stranger-knight addressed his\nadversary and speaking with free and eloquent tongue quoth he, \"I\nwill encounter thee, O Emir Salamah, with the encountering of the\nvaliant; so have thou a heed of me for I am he hath overthrown the\nChampions some and all.\" At these words each engaged his foeman and\nthe twain forwards pressed for a long time, and the Raven of\ncut-and-thrust croaked over the field of fight and they exchanged\nstrokes with the Hindi scymitar and they thrust and foined with the\nKhatti spear and more than one blade and limber lance was shivered\nand splintered, all the tribesmen looking on the while at both. And\nthey ceased not to attack and retire and to draw near and draw off\nand to heave and fence until their forearms ailed and their\nendeavour failed. Already there appeared in the Emir Salamah\nsomewhat of weakness and weariness; natheless when he looked upon\nhis adversary's skill in the tourney and encounter of braves he saw\nhow to meet all the foeman's sword-strokes with his targe: however\nat last fatigue and loss of strength prevailed over him and he knew\nthat he had no longer the force to fight; so he stinted his\nendeavour and withdrew from brunt of battle. Hereat the stranger-\nknight alighted and falling at the Emir's feet kissed them and\ncried, \"O Sovran of the Age, I came not hither to war with thee but\nrather with the design of teaching thy son, the Sultan Habib, the\ncomplete art of arms and make him the prow cavalier of his day.\"\nReplied Salamah, \"In very sooth, O horseman of the age, thou hast\nspoken right fairly in thy speech; nor did I design with thee to\nfight nor devised I the duello or from steed to alight;[FN#392]\nnay, my sole object was my son to incite that he might learn battle\nand combat aright, and the charge of the heroic Himyarite[FN#393]\nto meet with might.\" Then the twain dismounted and each kissed his\nadversary; after which they returned to the tribal camp and the\nEmir bade decorate it and all the habitations of the Arab clans\nwith choicest decoration, and they slaughtered the victims and\nspread the banquets and throughout that day the tribesmen ate and\ndrank and fed the travellers and every wayfarer and the mean and\nmesquin and all the miserables. Now as soon as the Sultan Habib was\ninformed concerning that cavalier how he had foiled his father in\nthe field of fight, he repaired to him and said, \"Peace be with him\nwho came longing for us and designing our society! Who art thou, Ho\nthou the valorous knight and foiler of foemen in fight?\" Said the\nother, \"Learn thou, O Habib, that Allah hath sent me theewards.\"\n\"And, say me, what may be thy name?\" \"I am hight Al-'Abb\u00fas,[FN#394]\nthe Knight of the Grim Face.\" \"I see thee only smiling of\ncountenance whilst thy name clean contradicteth thy nature;\" quoth\nthe youth. Presently the Emir Salamah committed his son to the new\ngovernor saying, \"I would thou make me this youth the Brave of his\nepoch;\" whereto the knight replied, \"To hear is to obey, first\nAllah then thyself and to do suit and service of thy son Habib.\"\nAnd when this was determined youth and governor went forth to the\nMaydan every day and after a while of delay Habib became the best\nman of his age in fight and fray. Seeing this his teacher addressed\nhim as follows. \"Learn, O Sultan Habib, that there is no help but\nthou witness perils and affrights and adventures, wherefor is weak\nthe description of describers and thou shalt say in thyself, 'Would\nheaven I had never sighted such and I were of these same free.' And\nthou shalt fall into every hardship and horror until thou be united\nwith the beautiful Durrat al-Ghaww\u00e1s, Queen-regnant over the Isles\nof the Sea. Meanwhile to affront all the perils of the path thou\nshalt fare forth from thy folk and bid adieu to thy tribe and\npatrial stead; and, after enduring that which amateth man's wit,\nthou shalt win union with the daughter of Queen Kamar\nal-Zam\u00e1n.\"[FN#395] But when Habib heard these words concerning the\n\"Pearl of the Diver\" his wits were wildered and his senses were\nagitated and he cried to Al-Abb\u00fas, \"I conjure thee by Allah say me,\nis this damsel of mankind or of Jinn-kind.\" Quoth the other, \"Of\nJinn-kind, and she hath two Wazirs, one of either race, who\noverrule all her rulers, and a thousand islands of the Isles of the\nSea are subject to her command, while a host of Sayyids and\nShar\u00edfs[FN#396] and Grandees hath flocked to woo her, bringing\nwealthy gifts and noble presents, yet hath not any of them won his\nwish of her but all returned baffled and baulked of their will.\"\nNow the Sultan Habib hearing this from him cried in excess of\nperturbation and stress of confusion, \"Up with us and hie we home\nwhere we may take seat and talk over such troublous matter and\ndebate anent its past and its future.\" \"Hearkening and obedience,\"\nrejoined the other; so the twain retired into privacy in order to\nconverse at ease concerning the Princess, and Al-Abbus began to\nrelate in these words--\n\n\n\n\nThe History of Durrat al-Ghawwas.\n\n\n\nWhilome there was a Sovran amongst the Kings of the Sea, hight\nS\u00e1b\u00far, who reigned over the Crystalline Isles,[FN#397] and he was\na mighty ruler and a generous, and a masterful potentate and a\nglorious. He loved women and he was at trouble to seek out the\nfairest damsels; yet many of his years had gone by nor yet had he\nbeen blessed with boon of boy. So one day of the days he took\nthought and said in himself, \"To this length of years I have\nattained and am well nigh at life's end and still am I childless:\nwhat then will be my case?\" Presently, as he sat upon his throne of\nkingship, he saw enter to him an Ifrit fair of face and form, the\nwhich was none other than King 'Atr\u00fas[FN#398] of the J\u00e1nn, who\ncried, \"The Peace be upon thee, Ho thou the King! and know that I\nhave come to thee from my liege lord who affecteth thee. In my\nsleep it befel that I heard a Voice crying to me, 'During all the\nKing's days never hath he been vouchsafed a child, boy or girl; so\nnow let him accept my command and he shall win to his wish. Let him\ndistribute justice and largesse and further the rights of the\nwronged and bid men to good and forbid them from evil and lend not\naid to tyranny or to innovation in the realm and persecute not the\nunfortunate, and release from gaol all the prisoners he retaineth.'\nAt these words of the Voice I awoke astartled by my vision and I\nhastened to thee without delay and I come with design to inform\nthee, O King of the Age, that I have a daughter, hight Kamar al-\nZaman, who hath none like her in her time, and no peer in this\ntide, and her I design giving thee to bride. The Kings of the Jann\nhave ofttimes asked her in marriage of me but I would have none of\nthem save a ruler of men like thyself and Alhamdolillah--glory be\nto God, who caused thy Highness occur to my thought, for that thy\nfame in the world is goodly fair and thy works make for\nrighteousness. And haply by the blessing of these thou shalt beget\nupon my daughter a man child, a pious heir and a virtuous.\" Replied\nthe King, \"Ho thou who comest to us and desirest our weal, I accept\nthine offer with love and good will.\" Then Sabur, the King of the\nCrystalline Isles, bade summon the Kazi and witnesses, and quoth\nthe Ifrit, \"I agree to what thou sayest, and whatso thou proposest\nthat will I not oppose.\" So they determined upon the dowry and\nbound him by the bond of marriage with the daughter of Al-'Atrus,\nKing of the Jinns, who at once sent one of his Flying Jann to bring\nthe bride. She arrived forthright when they dressed and adorned her\nwith all manner ornaments, and she came forth surpassing all the\nmaidens of her era. And when King Sabur went in unto her he found\nher a clean maid: so he lay that night with her and Almighty Allah\nso willed that she conceived of him. When her days and months of\npregnancy were sped, she was delivered of a girl-babe as the moon,\nwhom they committed to wet-nurses and dry-nurses, and when she had\nreached her tenth year, they set over her duennas who taught her\nKoran-reading and writing and learning and belles-lettres; brief,\nthey brought her up after the fairest of fashions. Such was the\nlot[FN#399] of Durrat al-Ghawwas, the child of Kamar al-Zaman,\ndaughter to King 'Atrus by her husband King Sabur. But as regards\nthe Sultan Habib and his governor Al-Abbus, the twain ceased not\nwandering from place to place in search of the promised damsel\nuntil one day of the days when the youth entered his father's\ngarden and strolled the walks adown amid the borders[FN#400] and\nblossoms of basil and of rose full blown and solaced himself with\nthe works of the Compassionate One and enjoyed the scents and\nsavours of the flowers there bestrown; and, while thus employed,\nbehold, he suddenly espied the maiden, Durrat al-Ghawwas hight,\nentering therein as she were the moon; and naught could be lovelier\nthan she of all earth supplies, gracious as a Huriyah of the\nVirgins of Paradise, to whose praise no praiser could avail on any\nwise. But when the Sultan Habib cast upon her his eyes he could no\nlonger master himself and his wits were bewildered from the\nexcitement of his thoughts; so he regarded her with a long fixed\nlook and said in himself, \"I fear whenas she see me that she will\nvanish from my sight.\" Accordingly, he retired and clomb the\nbranches of a tree in a stead where he could not be seen and whence\nhe could see her at his ease. But as regards the Princess, she\nceased not to roam about the Emir Salamah's garden until there\napproached her two score of snow-white birds each accompanied by a\nhandmaid of moon-like beauty. Presently they settled upon the\nground and stood between her hands saying, \"Peace be upon thee, O\nour Queen and Sovran Lady.\" She replied, \"No welcome to you and no\ngreeting; say me, what delayed you until this hour when ye know\nthat I am longing to meet the Sultan Habib, the dear one, son of\nSalamah, and I long to visit him for that he is the dearling of my\nheart. Wherefor I bade you accompany me and ye obeyed not, and\nhaply ye have made mock of me and of my commandment.\" \"We never\ngainsay thy behest,\" replied they, \"or in word or in deed;\" and\nthey fell to seeking her beloved. Hearing this the Sultan Habib's\nheart was solaced and his mind was comforted and his thoughts were\nrightly directed and his soul was reposed; and when he was\ncertified of her speech, he was minded to appear before her; but\nsuddenly fear of her prevailed over him and he said to his\nthoughts, \"Haply she will order one of the Jinns to do me die; so\n'twere better to have patience and see what Allah shall purpose for\nme of His Almighty will.\" But the Princess and her attendants\nceased not wandering about the garden from site to site and side to\nside till they reached the place wherein the Sultan Habib lay in\nlurking; when Durrat al-Ghawwas there stood still and said in\nherself, \"Now I came not from my capital save on his account, and\nI would see and be seen by him even as the Voice informed me of\nhim, O ye handmaidens; and peradventure hath the same informed him\nof me.\" Then the Princess and her suite, drawing still nearer to\nhis place of concealment, found a lakelet in the Arab's garden\nbrimful of water amiddlemost whereof stood a brazen lion, through\nwhose mouth the water entered to issue from his tail. Hereat the\nPrincess marvelled and said to her bondswomen, \"This be none other\nthan a marvellous lake, together with the lion therein; and when,\nby the goodwill of Almighty Allah, I shall have returned home, I\nwill let make a lakelet after this fashion, and in it set a lion of\nbrass.\" Thereupon she ordered them to doff their dress and go down\nto the piece of water and swim about; but they replied, \"O our\nlady, to hear is to obey thy commandment, but we will not strip nor\nswim save with thee.\" Then she also did off her dress and all\nstripped themselves and entered the lakelet in a body, whereupon\nthe Sultan Habib looked through the leaves to solace himself with\nthe fair spectacle and he ejaculated, \"Blessed be the Lord the best\nof Creators!\" And when the handmaids waxed aweary of swimming, the\nPrincess commanded them to come forth the water, and said, \"Whenas\nHeaven willeth that the desire of my heart be fulfilled in this\ngarden, what deem ye I should do with my lover?\" and quoth they,\n\"'Twould only add to our pleasure and gladness.\" Quoth she, \"Verily\nmy heart assureth me that he is here and hidden amongst the trees\nof yon tangled brake;\" and she made signs with her hand whither\nHabib lay in lurking-place; and he, espying this, rejoiced with joy\ngalore than which naught could be more, and exclaimed, \"There is no\nMajesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the\nGreat; what meaneth this lady? Indeed, I fear to stay in this stead\nlest she come hither and draw me forth and put me to shame; and\n'twere better that of mine own accord I come out of my concealment\nand accost her and suffer her to do all she designeth and\ndesireth.\" So he descended from the topmost of the tree wherein he\nhad taken refuge and presented himself before the Princess Durrat\nAl-Ghawwas, who drew near and cried to him, \"O Habib, O welcome to\nHabib! and is it thus that we have travailed with love of thee and\nlonging for thee, and where hast thou been all this time, O my\ndearling, and O coolth of my eyes and O slice of my liver?\" Replied\nhe, \"I was in the head of yonder huge tree to which thou pointedst\nwith thy finger.\" And as they looked each at other she drew nearer\nto him and fell to improvising,\n\n\"Thou hast doomed me, O branchlet of B\u00e1n, to despair * Who in\n     worship and honour was wont to fare,--\nWho lived in rule and folk slaved for me * And hosts girded me\n     round every hest to bear!\"\n\nAnd anon quoth the Sultan Habib, \"Alhamdolillah--laud be to the\nLord, who deigned show me thy face and thy form! Can it be thou\nkennest not what it was that harmed me and sickened me for thy\nsake, O Durrat al-Ghawwas?\" Quoth she, \"And what was it hurt thee\nand ailed thee?\" \"It was the love of thee and longing for thee!\"\n\"And who was the first to tell thee and make thee ware of me?\" He\nreplied saying, \"One day it so befel, as I was amongst my family\nand my tribe, a Jinni Al-Abbus hight became my governor and taught\nme the accidents of thrust and cut and cavalarice; and ere he left\nhe commended thy beauty and loveliness and foretold to me all that\nwould pass between thee and me. So I was engrossed with affection\nfor thee ere my eyes had sight of thee, and thenceforwards I lost\nall the pleasures of sleep, nor were meat and eating sweet to me,\nnor were drink and wine, draughts a delight to me: so\nAlhamdolillah--praise be to Allah, who deigned conjoin me in such\nunion with my heart's desire!\" Hereat the twain exchanged an\nembrace so long that a swoon came upon them and both fell to the\nground in a fainting fit, but after a time the handmaidens raised\nthem up and besprinkled their faces with rose-water which at once\nrevived them. All this happened, withal the Emir Salamah wotted\nnaught of what had befallen his son the Sultan Habib nor did his\nmother weet that had betided her child; and the husband presently\nwent in to his spouse and said, \"Indeed this boy hath worn us out:\nwe see that o' nights he sleepeth not in his own place and this day\nhe fared forth with the dawn and suffered us not to see a sight of\nhim.\" Quoth the wife, \"Since the day he went to Al-Abbus, thy boy\nfell into cark and care;\" and quoth the husband, \"Verily our son\nwalked about the garden and Allah knoweth that therefrom is no\nissue anywhither. So there shalt thou find him and ask him of\nhimself.\" And they talked over this matter in sore anger and\nagitation. Meanwhile as the Sultan Habib sat in the garden with the\nhandmaids waiting upon him and upon the Princess Durrat al-Ghawwas,\nthere suddenly swooped upon them a huge bird which presently\nchanged form to a Shaykh seemly of aspect and semblance who\napproached and kissing their feet humbled himself before the lover\nand his beloved. The youth marvelled at such action of the Shaykh,\nand signalled to the Princess as to ask, \"Who may be this old man?\"\nand she answered in the same way, \"This is the Wazir who caused me\nforgather with thee;\" presently adding to the Shaykh, \"What may be\nthy need?\" \"I came hither for the sake of thee,\" he replied, \"and\nunless thou fare forthright to thy country and kingdom the rule of\nthe J\u00e1nn will pass from thy hand; for that the Lords of the land\nand Grandees of the realm seek thy loss and not a few of the nobles\nhave asked me saying, O Wazir, where is our Queen? I answered, She\nis within her palace and to-day she is busied with some business.\nBut such pretext cannot long avail, and thou, unless thou return\nwith me to the region of thy reign there shall betray thee some one\nof the Marids and the hosts will revolt against thee and thy rule\nwill go to ruin and thou wilt be degraded from command and\nsultanate.\" \"What then is thy say and what thy bidding?\" enquired\nshe, and he replied, \"Thou hast none other way save departure from\nthis place and return to thy realm.\" Now when these words reached\nthe ear of Durrat al-Ghawwas, her breast was straitened and she\nwaxed sorrowful with exceeding sorrow for severance from her lover\nwhom she addressed in these words, \"What sayest thou anent that\nthou hast heard? In very sooth I desire not parting from thee and\nthe ruin of my reign as little do I design; so come with me, O\ndearling of my heart, and I will make thee liege lord over the\nIsles of the Sea and sole master thereof.\" Hereat the Sultan Habib\nsaid in his soul, \"I cannot endure parting from my own people; but\nas for thee thy love shall never depart from thee:\" then he spake\naloud, \"An thou deign hear me, do thou abandon that which thou\npurposest and bid thy Wazir rule over the Isles and thy patrial\nstead; so shall we twain, I and thou, live in privacy for all time\nand enjoy the most joyous of lives.\" \"That may never be,\" was her\nonly reply; after which she cried to the Wazir saying, \"Carry me\noff that I fare to my own land.\" Then after farewelling her lover,\nshe mounted the Emir-Wazir's back[FN#401] and bade him bear her\naway, whereat he took flight and the forty handmaidens flew with\nhim, towering high in air. Presently, the Sultan Habib shed bitter\ntears; his mother hearing him weeping sore as he sat in the garden\nwent to her husband and said, \"Knowest thou not what calamity hath\nbefallen thy son that I hear him there groaning and moaning\"\" Now\nwhen the parents entered the garden, they found him spent with\ngrief and the tears trickled adown his cheeks like never-ceasing\nrain-showers;[FN#402] so they summoned the pages who brought\ncucurbits of rosewater wherewith they besprinkled his face. But as\nsoon as he recovered his senses and opened his eyes, he fell to\nweeping with excessive weeping and his father and mother likewise\nshed tears for the burning of their hearts and asked him, \"O Habib,\nwhat calamity hath come down to thee and who of his mischief hath\noverthrown thee? Inform us of the truth of thy case.\" So he related\nall that had betided between him and Durrat-al-Ghawwas, and his\nmother wept over him while his father cried, \"O Habib, do thou\nleave this say and this thy desire cast away that the joys of meat\nand drink and sleep thou may enjoy alway.\" But he made answer, \"O\nmy sire, I will not slumber upon this matter until I shall sleep\nthe sleep of death.\" \"Arise thou, O my child,\" rejoined the Emir,\n\"and let us return homewards,\"[FN#403] but the son retorted,\n\"Verily I will not depart from this place wherein I was parted from\nthe dearling of my heart.\" So the sire again urged him saying,\n\"These words do thou spare nor persist in this affair because\ntherefrom for thee I fear;\" and he fell to cheering him and\ncomforting his spirits. After a while the Sultan Habib arose and\nfared homewards beside his sire who kept saying to him, \"Patience,\nO my child, the while I assist thee in thy search for this young\nlady and I send those who shall bring her to thee.\" \"O my father,\"\nrejoined the son, \"I can no longer endure parting from her; nay,\n'tis my desire that thou load me sundry camels with gold and silver\nand plunder and moneys that I may go forth to seek her: and if I\nwin to my wish and Allah vouchsafe me length of life I will return\nunto you; but an the term of my days be at hand then the behest be\nto Allah, the One, the Omnipotent. Let not your breasts be\nstraitened therefor and do ye hold and believe that if I abide with\nyou and see not the beloved of my soul I shall perish of my pain\nwhile you be standing by to look upon my death. So suffer me to\nwayfare and attain mine aim; for from the day when my mother bare\nme 'twas written to my lot that I journey over wild and wold and\nthat I see and voyage over the seas seven-fold.\" Hereupon he fell\nto improvising these verses,\n\n\"My heart is straitened with grief amain * And my friends and\n     familiars have wrought me pain;\nAnd whene'er you're absent I pine, and fires * In my heart beweep\n     what it bears of bane:\nO ye, who fare for the tribe's domain, * Cry aloud my greetings to\n     friends so fain!\"\n\nNow when the Emir Salamah heard these his son's verses, he bade\npack for him four camel loads of the rarest stuffs, and he\nlargessed to him a she-dromedary laden with thrones of red gold;\nthen he said to him, \"Lo, O my son, I have given thee more than\nthou askedst.\" \"O my father,\" replied Habib, \"where are my steed\nand my sword and my spear?\" Hereat the pages brought forward a\nmail-coat Davidian[FN#404] and a blade Maghrabian and a lance\nKhattian and Samharian, and set them between his hands; and the\nSultan Habib donning the habergeon and drawing his sabre and\nsitting lance in rest backed his steed, which was of the noblest\nblood known to all the Arabs. Then quoth he, \"O my father, is it\nthy desire to send with me a troop of twenty knights that they may\nescort me to the land of Al-Yaman and may anon bring me back to\nthee?\" \"My design,\" quoth the sire, \"is to despatch those with thee\nwho shall befriend thee upon the road;\" and, when Habib prayed him\ndo as he pleased, the Emir appointed to him ten knights, valorous\nwights, who dreaded naught of death however sudden and awesome.\nPresently, the youth farewelled his father and mother, his family\nand his tribe, and joining his escort, mounted his destrier when\nSalamah, his sire, said to his company, \"Be ye to my son obedient\nin all he shall command you;\" and said they, \"Hearing and obeying.\"\nThen Habib and his many turned away from home and addressed them to\nthe road when he began to improvise the following lines,\n\nMy longing grows less and far goes my cark * After flamed my heart\n     with the love-fire stark;\nAs I ride to search for my soul's desire * And I ask of those\n     faring to Al-Ir\u00e1k.\"\n\nOn this wise it befel the Sultan Habib and his farewelling his\nfather and mother; but now lend ear to what came of the knights who\nescorted him. After many days of toil and travail they waxed\ndiscontented and disheartened; and presently taking counsel one\nwith other, they said, \"Come, let us slay this lad and carry off\nthe loads of stuffs and coin he hath with him; and when we reach\nour homes and be questioned concerning him, let us say that he died\nof the excess of his desire to Princess Durrat al-Ghawwas.\" So they\nfollowed this rede, while their lord wotted naught of the ambush\nlaid for him by his followers.  And having ridden through the day\nwhen the night of offence[FN#405] was dispread, the escort said,\n\"Dismount we in this garden[FN#406] that here we may take our rest\nduring the dark hours, and when morning shall morrow we will resume\nour road.\" The Sultan Habib had no mind to oppose them, so all\nalighted and in that garden took seat and whatso of victual was\nwith them produced; after which they ate and drank their\nsufficiency and lay down to sleep all of them save their lord, who\ncould not close eye for excess of love-longing. \"O Habib, why and\nwherefore sleepest thou not?\" they asked, and he answered, \"O\ncomrades mine, how shall slumber come to one yearning for his\ndearling, and verily I will lie awake nor enjoy aught repose until\nsuch time as I espy the lifeblood of my heart, Durrat al-Ghawwas.\"\nThereupon they held their peace; and presently they held council\none with other saying, \"Who amongst us can supply a dose of Bhang\nthat we may cast him asleep and his slaughter may be easy to us?\"\n\"I have two Misk\u00e1ls weight[FN#407] of that same,\" quoth one of\nthem, and the others took it from him and presently, when occasion\nserved, they put it into a cup of water and presented it to Habib.\nHe hent that cup in hand and drank off the drugged liquid at a\nsingle draught; and presently the Bhang wrought in his vitals and\nits fumes mounted to his head, mastering his senses and causing his\nbrain to whirl round, whereupon he sank into the depths of\nunconsciousness.  Then quoth his escort, \"As soon as his slumber is\nsoundest and his sleep heaviest we will arise and slay him and bury\nhim on the spot where he now sleepeth: then will we return to his\nfather and mother, and tell them that of love-stress to his beloved\nand of excessive longing and pining for her he died.\" And upon this\ndeed of treachery all agreed. So when dawned the day and showed its\nsheen and shone clear and serene the knights awoke and seeing their\nlord drowned[FN#408] in sleep they arose and sat in council, and\nquoth one of them, \"Let us cut his throat from ear to ear;\"[FN#409]\nand quoth another, \"Nay, better we dig us a pit the stature of a\nman and we will cast him amiddlemost thereof and heap upon him\nearth so that he will die, nor shall any know aught about him.\"\nHearing this said one of the retinue, whose name was\nRab\u00ed'a,[FN#410] \"But fear you naught from Almighty Allah and regard\nye not the favours wherewith his father fulfilled you, and remember\nye not the bread which ye ate in his household and from his family?\nIndeed \u0091twas but a little while since his sire chose you out to\nescort him that his son might take solace with you instead of\nhimself, and he entrusted unto you his heart's core, and now ye are\npleased to do him die and thereby destroy the life of his parents.\nFurthermore, say me doth your judgment decide that such ill-work\ncan possibly abide hidden from his father? Now I swear by the\nloyalty[FN#411] of the Arabs there will not remain for us a wight\nor any who bloweth the fire alight, however mean and slight, who\nwill receive us after such deed. So do ye at least befriend and\nprotect your households and your clans and your wives and your\nchildren whom ye left in the tribal domain. But now you design\nutterly to destroy us, one and all, and after death affix to our\nmemories the ill-name of traitors, and cause our women be enslaved\nand our children enthralled, nor leave one of us aught to be longed\nfor.\" Quoth they jeeringly, \"Bring what thou hast of righteous\nrede:\" so quoth he, \"Have you fixed your intent upon slaying him\nand robbing his good?\" and they answered, \"We have.\" However, he\nobjected again and cried, \"Come ye and hear from me what it is I\nadvise you, albeit I will take no part[FN#412] in this matter;\"\npresently adding, \"Established is your resolve in this affair, and\nye wot better than I what you are about to do. But my mind is\ncertified of this much; do ye not transgress in the matter of his\nblood and suffer only his crime be upon you;[FN#413] moreover, if\nye desire to lay hands upon his camels and his moneys and his\nprovisions, then do ye carry them off and leave him where he lieth;\nthen if he live, 'twere well, and if he die 'twill be even better\nand far better.\" \"Thy rede is right and righteous,\" they replied.\nAccordingly they seized his steed and his habergeon and his sword\nand his gear of battle and combat, and they carried off all he had\nof money and means, and placing him naked upon the bare ground they\ndrove away his camels. Presently asked one of other, \"Whenas we\nshall reach the tribe what shall we say to his father and his\nmother?\" \"Whatso Rabi'a shall counsel us,\" quoth they, and quoth\nRabi'a, \"Tell them, 'We left not travelling with your son; and, as\nwe fared along, we lost sight of him and we saw him nowhere until\nwe came upon him a-swoon and lying on the road senseless: then we\ncalled to him by name but he returned no reply, and when we shook\nhim with our hands behold, he had become a dried-up wand. Then\nseeing him dead we buried him and brought back to you his good and\nhis belongings.'\" \"And if they ask you,\" objected one, \"'In what\nplace did ye bury him and in what land, and is the spot far or\nnear,' what shall ye make answer; also if they say to you, 'Why did\nye not bear his corpse with you,' what then shall be your reply?\"\nRabi'a to this rejoined \"Do you say to them, 'Our strength was\nweakened and we waxed feeble from burn of heart and want of water,\nnor could we bring his remains with us.' And if they ask you,\n'Could ye not bear him a-back; nay, might ye not have carried him\nupon one of the camels?' do ye declare that ye could not for two\nreasons, the first being that the body was swollen and stinking\nfrom the fiery air, and the second our fear for his father, lest\nseeing him rotten he could not endure the sight and his sorrow be\nincreased for that he was an only child and his sire hath none\nother.\" All the men joined in accepting this counsel of Rabi'a, and\neach and every exclaimed, \"This indeed is the rede that is most\nright.\" Then they ceased not wayfaring until they reached the\nneighbourhood of the tribe, when they sprang from their steeds and\nopenly donned black, and they entered the camp showing the sorest\nsorrow. Presently they repaired to the father's tent, grieving and\nweeping and shrieking as they went; and when the Emir Salamah saw\nthem in this case, crowding together with keening and crying for\nthe departed, he asked them, \"Where is he, my son?\" and they\nanswered, \"Indeed he is dead.\" Right hard upon Salamah was this\nlie, and his grief grew the greater, so he scattered dust upon his\nhead and plucked out his beard and rent his raiment and shrieked\naloud saying, \"Woe for my son, ah! Woe for Habib, ah! Woe for the\nslice of my liver, ah! Woe for my grief, ah! Woe for the\ncore[FN#414] of my heart, ah!\" Thereupon his mother came forth, and\nseeing her husband in this case, with dust on his head and his\nbeard plucked out and his robe-collar[FN#415] rent, and sighting\nher son's steed she shrieked, \"Woe is me and well-away for my\nchild, ah!\" and fainted swooning for a full-told hour. Anon when\nrecovered she said to the knights who had formed the escort, \"Woe\nto you, O men of evil, where have ye buried my boy?\" They replied,\n\"In a far-off land whose name we wot not, and 'tis wholly waste and\ntenanted by wild beasts,\" whereat she was afflicted exceedingly.\nThen the Emir Salamah and his wife and household and all the\ntribesmen donned garbs black-hued and ashes whereupon to sit they\nstrewed, and ungrateful to them was the taste of food and drink,\nmeat and wine; nor ceased they to beweep their loss, nor could they\ncomprehend what had befallen their son and what of ill-lot had\ndescended upon him from Heaven. Such then was the case of them; but\nas regards the Sultan Habib, he continued sleeping until the Bhang\nceased to work in his brain, when Allah sent a fresh, cool wind\nwhich entered his nostrils and caused him sneeze, whereby he cast\nout the drug and sensed the sun-heat and came to himself. Hereupon\nhe opened his eyes and sighted a wild and waste land, and he looked\nin vain for his companions the knights, and his steed and his sword\nand his spear and his coat of mail, and he found himself mother-\nnaked, athirst, anhungered. Then he cried out in that Desert of\ndesolation which lay far and wide before his eyes, and the case\nwaxed heavy upon him, and he wept and groaned and complained of his\ncase to Allah Almighty, saying, \"O my God and my Lord and my\nMaster, trace my lot an thou hast traced it upon the Guarded\nTablet, for who shall right me save Thyself, O Lord of Might that\nis All-might and of Grandeur All-puissant and All-excellent!\" Then\nhe began improvising these verses,\n\n\"Faileth me, O my God, the patience with the pride o' me; * Life-\n     tie is broke and drawing nigh I see Death-tide o' me:\nTo whom shall injured man complain of injury and wrong * Save to\n     the Lord (of Lords the Best!) who stands by side o'me.\"\n\nNow whilst the Sultan Habib was ranging with his eye-corners to the\nright and to the left, behold, he beheld a blackness rising high in\nair, and quoth he to himself, \"Doubtless this dark object must be\na mighty city or a vast encampment, and I will hie me thither\nbefore I be overheated by the sun-glow and I lose the power of\nwalking and I die of distress and none shall know my fate.\" Then he\nheartened his heart for the improvising of such poetry as came to\nhis mind, and he repeated these verses,\n\n\"Travel, for on the way all goodly things shalt find; * And wake\n     from sleep and dreams if still to sleep inclined!\nOr victory win and rise and raise thee highmost high * And gain, O\n     giddy pate, the food for which thy soul hath pined;\nOr into sorrow thou shalt fall with breast full strait * And ne'er\n     enjoy the Fame that wooes the gen'rous mind,\nNor is there any shall avail to hinder Fate * Except the Lord of\n     Worlds who the Two Beings[FN#416] designed.\"\n\nAnd when he had finished his verse, the Sultan Habib walked in the\ndirection of that blackness nor left walking until he drew near the\nridge; but after he could fare no farther and that walking\ndistressed him (he never having been broken to travel afoot and\nbarefoot withal), and his forces waxed feeble and his joints\nrelaxed and his strong will grew weak and his resolution passed\naway. But whilst he was perplexed concerning what he should do,\nsuddenly there alighted between his hands a snow-white fowl huge as\nthe dome of a Hamm\u00e1m, with shanks like the trunk of a palm-tree.\nThe Sultan Habib marvelled at the sight of this Rukh, and saying to\nhimself, \"Blessed be Allah the Creator!\" he advanced slowly towards\nit and all unknown to the fowl seized its legs. Presently the bird\nput forth its wings (he still hanging on) and flew upwards to the\nconfines of the sky, when behold, a Voice was heard saying, \"O\nHabib! O Habib! hold to the bird with straitest hold, else 'twill\ncast thee down to earth and thou shalt be dashed to pieces limb\nfrom limb!\" Hearing these words he tightened his grasp and the fowl\nceased not flying until it came to that blackness which was the\noutline of K\u00e1f the mighty mountain, and having set the youth down\non the summit it left him and still flew onwards. Presently a Voice\nsounded in the sensorium of the Sultan Habib saying, \"Take seat, O\nHabib; past is that which conveyed thee hither on thy way to Durrat\nal-Ghawwas;\" and he, when the words met his ear, aroused himself\nand arose and, descending the mountain slope to the skirting plain,\nsaw therein a cave. Hereat quoth he to himself, \"If I enter this\nantre, haply shall I lose myself, and perish of hunger and thirst!\"\nHe then took thought and reflected, \"Now death must come sooner or\nlater, wherefore will I adventure myself in this cave.\" And as he\npassed thereinto he heard one crying with a high voice and a sound\nso mighty that its volume resounded in his ears. But right soon the\ncrier appeared in the shape of Al-Abbus, the Governor who had\ntaught him battle and combat; and, after greeting him with great\njoy, the lover recounted his love-adventure to his whilome tutor.\nThe Jinni bore in his left a scymitar, the work of the Jann and in\nhis right a cup of water which he handed to his pupil. The draught\ncaused him to swoon for an hour or so, and when he came-to Al-Abbus\nmade him sit up and bathed him and robed him in the rarest of\nraiment and brought him a somewhat of victual and the twain ate and\ndrank together. Then quoth Habib to Al-Abbus, \"Knowest thou not\nthat which befel me with Durrat al-Ghawwas of wondrous matters?\"\nand quoth the other, \"And what may that have been?\" whereupon the\nyouth rejoined, \"O my brother, Allah be satisfied with thee for\nthat He willed thou appear to me and direct me and guide me aright\nto the dearling of my heart and the cooling of mine eyes.\" \"Leave\nthou such foolish talk,\" replied Al-Abbus, \"for where art thou and\nwhere is Durrat al-Ghawwas? Indeed between thee and her are horrors\nand perils and long tracts of land and seas wondrous, and\nadventures marvellous, which would amaze and amate the rending\nlions, and spectacles which would turn grey the sucking child or\nany one of man's scions.\" Hearing these words Habib clasped his\ngovernor to his breast and kissed him between the eyes, and the\nJinni said, \"O my beloved, had I the might to unite thee with her\nI would do on such wise, but first 'tis my desire to make thee\nforgather with thy family in a moment shorter than an eye-\ntwinkling.\" \"Had I longed for my own people,\" rejoined Habib, \"I\nshould never have left them, nor should I have endangered my days\nnor wouldst thou have seen me in this stead; but as it is I will\nnever return from my wayfaring till such time as my hope shall have\nbeen fulfilled, even although my appointed life-term should be\nbrought to end, for I have no further need of existence.\" To these\nwords the Jinni made answer, \"Learn thou, O Habib, that the cavern\nwherein thou art containeth the hoards of our Lord Solomon, David's\nson (upon the twain be The Peace!), and he placed them under my\ncharge and he forbade me abandon them until such time as he shall\npermit me, and furthermore that I let and hinder both mankind and\nJinn-kind from entering the Hoard; and know thou, O Habib, that in\nthis cavern is a treasure-house and in the Treasury forty closets\noffsetting to the right and to the left. Now wouldst thou gaze upon\nthis wealth of pearls and rubies and precious stones, do thou ere\npassing through the first door dig under its threshold, where thou\nshalt find buried the keys of all the magazines. Then take the\nfirst of them in hand and unlock its door, after which thou shalt\nbe able to open all the others and look upon the store of jewels\ntherein. And when thou shalt design to depart the Treasury thou\nshalt find a curtain hung up in front of thee and fastened around\nit eighty hooks of red gold;[FN#417] and do thou beware how thou\nraise the hanging without quilting them all with cotton.\" So saying\nhe gave him a bundle of tree-wool he had by him, and pursued, \"O\nHabib, when thou shalt have raised the curtain thou wilt discover\na door with two leaves also of red gold, whereupon couplets are\ninscribed, and as regards the first distich an thou master the\nmeaning of the names and the talismans, thou shalt be saved from\nall terrors and horrors, and if thou fail to comprehend them thou\nshalt perish in that Hoard. But after opening the door close it not\nwith noise nor glance behind thee, and take all heed, as I fear for\nthee those charged with the care of the place[FN#418] and its\ntapestry. And when thou shalt stand behind the hanging thou shalt\nbehold a sea clashing with billows dashing, and 'tis one of the\nSeven Mains which shall show thee, O Habib, marvels whereat thou\nshalt wonder, and whereof relaters shall relate the strangest\nrelations. Then do thou take thy stand upon the sea-shore whence\nthou shalt descry a ship under way and do thou cry aloud to the\ncrew who shall come to thee and bear thee aboard. After this I wot\nnot what shall befal thee in this ocean, and such is the end of my\nsay and the last of my speech, O Habib, and--The Peace!\" Hereat the\nyouth joyed with joy galore than which naught could be more and\ntaking the hand Of Al-Abbus he kissed it and said, \"O my brother,\nthou hast given kindly token in what thou hast spoken, and Allah\nrequite thee for me with all weal, and mayest thou be fended from\nevery injurious ill!\" Quoth Al-Abbus, \"O Habib, take this scymitar\nand baldrick thyself therewith, indeed \u0091twill enforce thee and\nhearten thy heart, and don this dress which shall defend thee from\nthy foes.\" The youth did as he was bidden; then he farewelled the\nJinni and set forth on his way, and he ceased not pacing forward\nuntil he reached the end of the cavern and here he came upon the\ndoor whereof his governor had informed him. So he went to its\nthreshold and dug thereunder and drew forth a black bag creased and\nstained by the lapse of years. This he unclosed and it yielded him\na key which he applied to the lock and it forthwith opened and\nadmitted him into the Treasury where, for exceeding murk and\ndarkness, he could not see what he hent in hand. Then quoth he to\nhimself, \"What is to do? Haply Al-Abbus hath compassed my\ndestruction!\" And the while he sat on this wise sunken in thought,\nbehold, he beheld a light gleaming from afar, and as he advanced\nits sheen guided him to the curtain whereof he had been told by the\nJinni. But as he looked he saw above it a tablet of emerald dubbed\nwith pearls and precious stones, while under it lay the hoard which\nlighted up the place like the rising sun. So he hastened him\nthither and found inscribed upon the tablet the following two\ncouplets,\n\n\"At him I wonder who from woe is free, * And who no joy\n     displays[FN#419] when safe is he:\nAnd I admire how Time deludes man when * He views the past; but ah,\n     Time's tyranny.\"\n\nSo the Sultan Habib read over these verses more than once, and wept\ntill he swooned away; then recovering himself he said in his mind,\n\"To me death were pleasanter than life without my love!\" and\nturning to the closets which lay right and left he opened them all\nand gazed upon the hillocks of gold and silver and upon the heaps\nand bales of rubies and unions and precious stones and strings of\npearls, wondering at all he espied, and quoth he to himself \"Were\nbut a single magazine of these treasures revealed, wealthy were all\nthe peoples who on earth do dwell.\" Then he walked up to the\ncurtain whereupon Jinns and Ifrits appeared from every site and\nside, and voices and shrieks so loudened in his ears that his wits\nwell-nigh flew from his head. So he took patience for a full-told\nhour when behold, a smoke which spired in air thickened and brooded\nlow, and the sound ceased and the Jinns departed. Hereat, calling\nto mind the charge of Al-Abbus, he took out the cotton he had by\nhim and after quilting the golden hooks he withdrew the curtain and\nsighted the portal which the Jinni had described to him. So he\nfitted in the key and opened it, after which, oblivious of the\nwarning, he slammed-to the door noisily in his fear and\nforgetfulness, but he did not venture to look behind him. At this\nthe Jinns flocked to him from every side and site crying, \"O thou\nfoulest of mankind, wherefore dost thou provoke us and disturb us\nfrom our stead? and, but for thy wearing the gear of the Jann, we\nhad slain thee forthright.\" But Habib answered not and, arming\nhimself with patience and piety, he tarried awhile until the hubbub\nwas stilled, nor did the Jann cry at him any more: and, when the\nstorm was followed by calm, he paced forward to the shore and\nlooked upon the ocean crashing with billows dashing. He marvelled\nat the waves and said to himself, \"Verily none may know the secrets\nof the sea and the mysteries of the main save only Allah!\"\nPresently, he beheld a ship passing along shore, so he took seat on\nthe strand until Night let down her pall of sables upon him; and he\nwas an-hungered with exceeding hunger and athirst with excessive\nthirst. But when morrowed the morn and day showed her sheen and\nshone serene, he awoke in his sore distress and behold, he saw two\nMermaidens of the daughters of the deep (and both were as moons)\nissue forth hard by him. And ere long quoth one of the twain, \"Say\nme, wottest thou the mortal who sitteth yonder?\" \"I know him not,\"\nquoth the other, whereat her companion resumed, \"This be the Sultan\nHabib who cometh in search of Durrat al-Ghawwas, our Queen and\nliege lady.\" Hearing these words the youth considered them straitly\nand marvelling at their beauty and loveliness he presently rejoiced\nand increased in pleasure and delight. Then said one to other,\n\"Indeed the Sultan Habib is in this matter somewhat scant and short\nof wits; how can he love Durrat al-Ghawwas when between him and her\nis a distance only to be covered by the sea-voyage of a full year\nover most dangerous depths? And, after all this woe hath befallen\nhim, why doth he not hie him home and why not save himself from\nthese horrors which promise to endure through all his days and to\ncast his life at last into the pit of destruction?\" Asked the\nother, \"Would heaven I knew whether he will ever attain to her or\nnot!\" and her companion answered, \"Yes, he will attain to her, but\nafter a time and a long time and much sadness of soul.\" But when\nHabib heard this promise of success given by the Maidens of the\nMain his sorrow was solaced and he lost all that troubled him of\nhunger and thirst. Now while he pondered these matters there\nsuddenly issued from out the ocean a third Mermaid, which asked her\nfellows, \"Of what are you prattling?\" and they answered, \"Indeed\nthe Sultan Habib sitteth here upon the sea-shore during this the\nfourth successive night.\" Quoth she, \"I have a cousin the daughter\nof my paternal uncle and when she came to visit me last night I\nenquired of her if any ship had passed by her and she replied, 'Yea\nverily, one did sail driven towards us by a violent gale, and its\nsole object was to seek you.'\" And the others rejoined, \"Allah send\nthee tidings of welfare!\" The youth hearing these words was\ngladdened and joyed with exceeding joy; and presently the three\nMermaidens called to one another and dove into the depths leaving\nthe listener standing upon the strand. After a short time he heard\nthe cries of the crew from the craft announced and he shouted to\nthem and they, noting his summons, ran alongside the shore and took\nhim up and bore him aboard: and, when he complained of hunger and\nthirst, they gave him meat and drink and questioned him saying,\n\"Thou! who art thou? Say us, art of the trader-folk?\" \"I am the\nmerchant Such-and-such,\" quoth he, \"and my ship foundered albe\n'twas a mighty great vessel; but one chance day of the days as we\nwere sailing along there burst upon us a furious gale which\nshivered our timbers and my companions all perished while I floated\nupon a plank of the ship's planks and was carried ashore by the\nsend of the sea. Indeed I have been floating for three days and\nthis be my fourth night.\" Hearing this adventure from him the\ntraders cried, \"Grieve no more in heart but be thou of good cheer\nand of eyes cool and clear: the sea voyage is ever exposed to such\nchances and so is the gain thereby we obtain; and if Allah deign\npreserve us and keep for us the livelihood He vouchsafed to us we\nwill bestow upon thee a portion thereof.\" After this they ceased\nnot sailing until a tempest assailed them and blew their vessel to\nstarboard and larboard and she lost her course and went astray at\nsea. Hereat the pilot cried aloud, saying, \"Ho ye company aboard,\ntake your leave one of other for we be driven into unknown depths\nof ocean, nor may we keep our course, because the wind bloweth full\nin our faces.\" Hereupon the voyagers fell to beweeping the loss of\ntheir lives and their goods, and the Sultan Habib shed tears which\ntrickled adown his cheeks and exclaimed, \"Would Heaven I had died\nbefore seeing such torment: indeed this is naught save a matter of\nmarvel.\" But when the merchants saw the youth thus saddened and\ntroubled of soul, and weeping withal, they said to him, \"O Monarch\nof the Merchants, let not thy breast be straitened or thy heart be\ndisheartened: hapty Allah shall vouchsafe joy to us and to thee:\nmoreover, can vain regret and sorrow of soul and shedding of tears\navail aught? Do thou rather ask of the Almighty that He deign\nrelieve us and further our voyage.\" But as the vessel ran through\nthe middle of the main, she suddenly ceased her course and came to\na stop without tacking to the right or the left, and the pilot\ncried out, \"O folk, is there any of you who conneth this ocean?\"\nBut they made answer, \"We know thereof naught, neither in all our\nvoyage did we see aught resembling it.\" The pilot continued, \"O\nfolk, this main is hight 'The Azure';[FN#420] nor did any trader at\nany time therein enter but he found destruction; for that it is the\nhome of Jinns and the house of Ifrits, and he who now withholdeth\nour vessel from its course is known as Al-Ghashamsham,[FN#421] and\nour lord Solomon son of David (upon the twain be The Peace!)\ndeputed him to snatch up and carry off from every craft passing,\nthrough these forbidden depths whatever human beings, and\nespecially merchants, he might find a-voyaging, and to eat them\nalive.\" \"Woe to thee!\" cried Habib. \"Wherefore bid us take counsel\ntogether when thou tellest us that here dwelleth a Demon over whom\nwe have no power to prevail, and thou terrifiest us with the\nthoughts of being devoured by him? However, feel ye no affright; I\nwill fend off from you the mischief of this Ifrit.\" They replied,\n\"We fear for thy life, O Monarch of the Merchants,\" and he\nrejoined, \"To you there is no danger.\" Thereupon he donned a\nclosely woven mail-coat and armed himself with the magical scymitar\nand spear; then, taking the skins of animals freshly slain,[FN#422]\nhe made a hood and vizor thereof and wrapped strips of the same\naround his arms and legs that no harm from the sea might enter his\nframe. After this he bade his shipmates bind him with cords under\nhis armpits and let him down amiddlemost the main. And as soon as\nhe touched bottom he was confronted by the Ifrit, who rushed\nforward to make a mouthful of him, when the Sultan Habib raised his\nforearm and with the scymitar smote him a stroke which fell upon\nhis neck and hewed him into two halves. So he died in the depths;\nand the youth, seeing the foeman slain, jerked the cord and his\nmates drew him up and took him in, after which the ship sprang\nforward like a shaft outshot from the belly[FN#423] of the bow.\nSeeing this all the traders wondered with excessive wonderment and\nhastened up to the youth, kissing his feet and crying, \"O Monarch\nof the Merchants, how didst thou prevail against him and do him\ndie?\" \"When I dropped into the depths,\" replied he, \"in order to\nslay him, I asked against him the aidance of Allah, who vouchsafed\nHis assistance, and on such wise I slaughtered him.\" Hearing these\ngood tidings and being certified of their enemy's death the traders\noffered to him their good and gains whereof he refused to accept\naught, even a single mustard seed. Now, amongst the number was a\nShaykh well shotten in years and sagacious in all affairs needing\ndirection; and this oldster drew near the youth, and making lowly\nobeisance said to him, \"By the right of Who sent thee uswards and\nsent us theewards, what art thou and what may be thy name and the\ncause of thy falling upon this ocean?\" The Sultan Habib began by\nrefusing to disclose aught of his errand, but when the Shaykh\npersisted in questioning he ended by disclosing all that had\nbetided him first and last, and as they sailed on suddenly the\nPilot cried out to them, \"Rejoice ye with great joy and make ye\nmerry and be ye gladdened with good news, O ye folk, for that ye\nare saved from the dangers of these terrible depths and ye are\ndrawing near the city of S\u00e1b\u00far, the King who overruleth the Isles\nCrystalline; and his capital (which be populous and prosperous)\nranketh first among the cities of Al-Hind, and his reign is\nforemost of the Isles of the Sea.\" Then the ship inclined thither,\nand drawing nearer little by little entered the harbour[FN#424] and\ncast anchor therein, when the canoes[FN#425] appeared and the\nporters came on board and bore away the luggage of the voyagers and\nthe crew, who were freed from all sorrow and anxiety. Such was\ntheir case; but as regards Durrat al-Ghawwas, when she parted from\nher lover, the Sultan Habib, severance weighed sore and stark upon\nher, and she found no pleasure in meat and drink and slumber and\nsleep. And presently whilst in this condition and sitting upon her\nthrone of estate, an Ifrit appeared to her and coming forwards\nbetween her hands said, \"The Peace of Allah upon thee, O Queen of\nthe Age and Empress of the Time and the Tide!\" whereto she made\nreply, \"And upon thee be The Peace and the ruth of Allah and His\nblessings. What seekest thou O Ifrit?\" Quoth he, \"There lately hath\ncome to us a shipful of merchants and I have heard talk of the\nSultan Habib being amongst them.\" As these words reached her ear\nshe largessed the Ifrit and said to him, \"An thou speak sooth I\nwill bestow upon thee whatso thou wishest.\" Then, having certified\nherself of the news, she bade decorate the city with the finest of\ndecorations and let beat the kettledrums of glad tidings and\nbespread the way leading to the Palace with a carpeting of\nsendal,[FN#426] and they obeyed her behest. Anon she summoned her\npages and commanded them to bring her lover before her; so they\nrepaired to him and ordered him to accompany them. Accordingly, he\nfollowed them and they ceased not faring until they had escorted\nhim to the Palace, when the Queen bade all her pages gang their\ngait and none remained therein save the two lovers; to wit, the\nSultan Habib and Durrat al-Ghawwas. And after the goodly reunion\nshe sent for the Kazi and his assessors and bade them write out her\nmarriage-writ[FN#427] with Habib. He did as he was bidden and the\nwitnesses bore testimony thereto and to the dowry being duly paid;\nand the tie was formally tied and the wedding banquets were\ndispread. Then the bride donned her choicest of dresses and the\nmarriage procession was formed and the union was consummated and\nboth joyed with joy exceeding. Now this state of things endured for\na long while until the Sultan Habib fell to longing after his\nparents and his family and his native country; and at length, on a\nday of the days, when a banquet was served up to him by his bride,\nhe refused to taste thereof, and she, noting and understanding his\ncondition, said to him, \"Be of good cheer, this very night thou\nshalt find thee amongst thine own folk.\" Accordingly she summoned\nher Wazir of the Jann, and when he came she made proclamation\namongst the nobles and commons of the capital saying, \"This my\nWazir shall be my Viceregent over you and whoso shall gainsay him\nthat man I will slay.\" They replied with \"Hearkening to and obeying\nAllah and thyself and the Minister.\" Then turning to her\nnewly-established deputy she said, \"I desire that thou guide me to\nthe garden wherein was the Sultan Habib;\" and he replied, \"Upon my\nhead be it and on my eyes!\" So an Ifrit was summoned, and Habib\nmounting him pick-a-back together with the Princess Durrat\nal-Ghawwas bade him repair to the garden appointed, and the Jinni\ntook flight, and in less than the twinkling of an eye bore the\ncouple to their destination. Such was the reunion of the Sultan\nHabib with Durrat al-Ghawwas and his joyous conjunction;[FN#428]\nbut as regards the Emir Salamah and his wife, as they were sitting\nand recalling to memory their only child and wondering in converse\nat what fate might have betided him, lo and behold! the Sultan\nHabib stood before them and by his side was Durrat al-Ghawwas his\nbride, and as they looked upon him and her, weeping prevailed over\nthem for excess of their joyance and delight and both his parents\nthrew themselves upon him and fell fainting to the ground. As soon\nas they recovered the youth told them all that had betided him,\nfirst and last, whereupon one congratulated other and the\nkettledrums of glad tidings were sounded, and a world of folk from\nall the Badawi tribes and the burghers gathered about them and\noffered hearty compliments on the reunion of each with other. Then\nthe encampment was decorated in whole and in part, and festivities\nwere appointed for a term of seven days full-told, in token of joy\nand gladness; and banquets were arrayed and trays were dispread,\nand all sat down to them in the pleasantest of life eating and\ndrinking; and the hungry were filled, and the mean and the\nmiserable and the mendicants were feasted until the end of the\nseventh day. After this they applied them to the punishment of the\nten Knights whom the Emir Salamah had despatched to escort his son;\nand the Sultan Habib gave order that retribution be required from\nthem, and restitution of all the coin and the good and the horses\nand the camels entrusted to them by his sire. When these had been\nrecovered he commanded that there be set up for them as many stakes\nin the garden wherein he sat with his bride, and there in their\npresence he let impale[FN#429] each upon his own pale. And\nthenceforward the united household ceased not living the most\njoyous of lives and the most delectable until the old Emir Salamah\npaid the debt of nature, and they mourned him with excessive\nmourning for seven days. When these were ended his son, the Sultan\nHabib, became ruler in his stead and received the homage of all the\ntribes and clans who came before him and prayed for his victory and\nhis length of life; and the necks of his subjects, even the most\nstubborn, were bowed in abasement before him. On this wise he\nreigned over the Crystalline Isles of Sabur, his sire-in-law, with\njustice and equity, and his Queen, Durrat al-Ghawwas, bare to him\nchildren in numbers who in due time followed in their father's\nsteps. And here is terminated the tale of Sultan Habib and Durrat\nal-Ghawwas with all perfection and completion and good omen.\n\n\n\n\n\n                  Note On The History of Habib\n\n\n\nThe older translators of this \"New Arabian Night\" have made wild work with\nthis Novel at least as the original is given by my text and the edition of\nGauttier (vii, 60-90): in their desire to gallicise it they have invested it\nwith a toilette purely European and in the worst possible style.  Amongst the\ninsipid details are the division of the Crystalline Islands into the White,\nYellow, Green and Blue; with the Genies Abarikaff, the monstrous Racachik,\nIlbaccaras and Mokilras; and the terrible journey of Habib to Mount Kaf with\nhis absurd reflections: even the \"Roc\" cannot come to his aid without \"a\ndamask cushion suspended between its feet by silken cords\" for the greater\ncomfort of the \"Arabian Knight.\" The Treasury of Solomon, \"who fixed the\nprinciples of knowledge by 366 hieroglyphics (sic) each of which required a\nday's application from even the ablest understanding, before its mysterious\nsense could be understood,\" is spun out as if the episode were copy intended\nfor the daily press.  In my text the \"Maidens of the Main\" are introduced to\nsay a few words and speed the action.  In the French version Ilzaide the elder\nbecomes a \"leading lady,\" whose r\u00f4le is that of the na\u00efve ing\u00e9nue, famous for\n\"smartness\" and \"vivacty\": \"one cannot refrain from smiling at the lively\nsallies of her good nature and simplicity of heart.\"  I find this young person\nthe model of a pert, pretty, prattling little French soubrette who, moreover,\nmakes open love to \"the master.\"  Habib calls the \"good old lady,\" his\ngoverness \"Esek! Esek!\" which in Turk. means donkey, ass.  I need hardly\nenlarge upon these ineptitudes; those who wish to pursue the subject have only\nto compare the two versions.\n\nAt the end of the Frenchified tale we find a note entitled:--Observations by\nthe French Editor, on the \"History of Habib and Dorathil-goase, or the Arabian\nKnight,\" and these are founded not upon the Oriental text but upon the\nOccidental perversion.  It is described \"from a moral plane rather as a poem\nthan a simple tale,\" and it must be regarded as \"a Romance of Chivalry which\nunites the two chief characteristics of works of that sort,--amusement and\ninstruction.\"  Habib's education is compared with that of Telemachus, and his\nbeing inured to fatigue is according to the advice of Rousseau in his\n\"Emilius\" and the practice of Robinson Crusoe.  Lastly \"Grandison is a here\nalready formed: Habib is one who needs to be instructed.\"  I cannot but\nsuspect when reading all this Western travesty of an Eastern work that M.\nCazotte, a typical litt\u00e9rateur, had prepared for caricaturing the unfortunate\nHabib by carefully writing up F\u00e9n\u00e9lon, Rousseau, and Richardson; and had\ngrafted his own ideas of morale upon the wild stem of the Arabian novel.\n\n\n\n\n\n                           Appendix.\n\n\n\n\n\n         NOTES ON THE STORIES CONTAINED IN VOLUME XVI.\n\n                        By W. F. Kirby.\n\n\n\n\n             The Say of Haykar the Sage (Pp.1-30).\n\n\n\nHaykar's precepts may be compared advantageously with those of other nations\nof the East and West (at a corresponding stage of civilisation) which, as a\nrule, follow very similar lines. Many of them find their parallels not only in\nProverbs and Ecclesiastes, as we might reasonably expect, but even in the\nHavam\u00e1l of the Elder Edda, respecting which Thorpe remarks in his translation\n(i. p. 36 note): \"Odin is the 'High One.' The poem is a collection of rules\nand maxims, and stories of himself, some of them not very consistent with our\nideas of a supreme deity.\" The style of the Icelandic poem, and the manners of\nthe period when it was composed, are of course as wide apart from those of\nHaykar as is Iceland from Syria, but human nature remains the same.\n\nPp. 22-24.--Two classes of subterfuges similar to those employed by Haykar are\ncommon in folk-tales. In one, the hero vanquishes, and generally destroys, his\nadversary (usually a giant) by imposing on his credulity, like Jack when he\nhid himself in a corner of the room, and left a faggot in his bed for the\ngiant to belabour, and afterwards killed the giant by pretending to rip\nhimself up, and defying the other to do the same. In other cases, the hero\nfoils his opponents by subterfuges which are admitted to be just, but which\nare not intended actually to deceive, as in the devices by which the blind\nShaykh instructs the merchant to baffle the sharpers, in one of the Sindibad\nstories (vol. vi., pp. 202-212, No. 135x., of our Table). In the present story\nPharaoh was baffled by the superior cunning of Haykar but it is not made quite\nclear whether he actually believed in his power to build a castle in the air\nor not. However the story probably belongs to the second class.\n\nP. 25.--Twisting ropes out of sand was a device by which Michael Scot baffled\na devil for whom he had to find constant employment. (Cf. Scott's \"Lay of the\nLast Minstrel,\" and notes.)\n\n\n\n\n            The History of Al-Bundukani (Pp. 31-68).\n\n\n\nI believe the \"Robber-Caliph\" is sometimes played as a burlesque, for which it\nis well adapted. The parallel suggested between the Caliph and a robber may\nremind the reader of the interview between Alexander the Great and the Robber,\nin \"Evenings at Home.\" One cannot help sympathising with the disappointed\nyoung Merchant who acted as an informer, and feeling glad that he got off with\na whole skin.\n\nP. 34.--In some versions of this story Harun's abstention from his bride for a\nyear is attributed to a previous vow.\n\nP. 46 and note 4.--This passage, relative to the character of the Caliph, may\nbe compared with his forgetfulness respecting Nur Al-Din Ali and Anis\nAl-Jalis. (Vol. ii. p, 42, and note.)\n\n\n\n\n     The Linguist-dame, the Duenna, and the King's Son (Pp.\n                            69-87).\n\n\n\nThis story, though much shorter, is very closely paralleled by that of Prince\nCalaf and the Princess of China, in the Thousand and One Days (cf. vol. x.,\nApp, pp. 499, 500) Prince Calaf (the son of the King of the Nogais Tartars)\nand his parents are driven from their kingdom by the Sultan of Carizme\n(Khw\u00e1rizm), and take refuge with the Khan of Berlas, where the old King and\nQueen remain, while Calaf proceeds to China, where he engages in an\nintellectual contest with Princess Tourandocte (Turandot, i.e. Tur\u00e1ndokht or\nTuran's daughter). When Turandot is on the point of defeat, she sends her\nconfidante, a captive princess, to Calaf, to worm out his secret (his own\nname). The confidante, who is herself in love with Calaf, horrifies him with\nthe invention that Turandot intends to have him secretly assassinated; but\nalthough he drops his name in his consternation, he refuses to fly with his\nvisitor. In the morning Turandot declares Calaf's name to him but comforts him\nby saying that she has nevertheless determined to accept him as her husband,\ninstead of cutting off his head; and the slave princess commits suicide.\nMessengers are then sent for Calaf's parents, who arrive in company with the\nfriendly Khan who had granted them an asylum; and Calaf marches against the\nSultan of Carizme, who is defeated and slain, when his subjects readily submit\nto the conqueror.\n\nP. 77.--According to Jewish tradition, the Rod of Moses became transformed\ninto so terrible a dragon that the Egyptians took to flight, and 60,000 of\nthem were slain in the press.--(Sale's Koran, chap. 7, note.)\n\nP. 77, note 4.--It was long denied that ants store up grain, because our\nEnglish ants do not; but it is now well known that many foreign species, some\nof which inhabit countries bordering on the Mediterranean (including\nPalestine), store up large quantities of grass seeds in their nests; and one\nant found in North America is said to actually cultivate a particular kind of\ngrass.\n\nP. 81, note 6.--Those interested in the question of the succession of the\nPatriarchs may refer to Joseph Jacobs' article on \"Junior-right in\nGenesis,\"[FN#430] in which the writer argues that it was the original custom\namong the Hebrews, as among other nations, for the youngest son to succeed to\nhis father's estates, after the elder ones had already established themselves\nelsewhere. Much may be urged in favour of this writer's conclusions, and it\nwill be remembered that our own Monarchy was not recognised as hereditary\nuntil the time of the Conquest, the most able or the strongest relative of the\nlate King usually succeeding to the Crown, and minors being always set aside,\nunless powerful politicians intended to use them as mere tools. In the\nEsthonian Kalevipoeg the system comes out still more strongly. Three sons are\nliving at home at the time of the death of Kalev, but the youngest is\ndesignated by him as his successor, and is afterwards indicated by lot as the\npeculiar favourite of the gods.\n\nP. 84, note 4.--Although it has nothing to do with the present story, yet I\nmay point out the great importance of the bridle in all the folk-tales which\ndeal with the transformation of human beings into domestic animals. It is\nclearly implied (though not actually expressed) in the story of Julnar the Sea\nBorn (No. 153) that the power of Abdallah and Badr Basim over Queen Lab, while\nshe bore the form of a mule, depended entirely on their keeping possession of\nthe bridle (cf. Nights, vol. vii., p. 304, and note). There are many stories\nof magicians who transform themselves into horses, &c., for their friends to\nsell; but the bridle must on no account be given with the horse. Should this\nbe neglected (purposely or otherwise) the magician is unable to reassume his\nhuman form at will. Cf. also Spitta-Bey's story No. 1 (infr\u00e0).\n\n\n\n\n     The Tale of the Warlock and the Young Cook of Baghdad\n                         (Pp. 95-112).\n\n\n\nThis story appears in Chavis and Cazotte's version, and in the various\ntranslations made from the French, in a very highly elaborated form, under the\ntitle of \"The Adventures of Simoustapha, and the Princess Ilsetilsone.\" The\nCaliph and his Wazir are identified with Harun Al-Rashid and Ja'afar, but they\nsuffer no transformations at the hands of the Magician after whose death\nPrince Simoustapha is protected by Setelpedour Ginatille, whose name is\ninterpreted as meaning the Star of the Seven Seas, though the first name\nappears rather to be a corruption of Sitt El Bub\u00far. She is the queen of\nGinnistan, and the daughter of Kokopilesobe (Satan), whose contests with\nMahomet and Michael (the former of whom continues the conflict by \"becoming\nman\") are described on the approved Miltonic lines. Her chief councillors are\nBahlisboull (Beelzebub) and Asmonchar (Asmodeus), but ultimately she falls in\nlove with Simoustapha, and adjures her sovereignty, after which he carries her\noff, and marries her, upon which the mother of Ilsetilsone, \"the sensible\nZobeide, formed now a much truer and more favourable judgment of her\ndaughter's happiness, since she had shared the heart of Simoustapha with\nSetelpedour, and at last agreed that the union of one man with two women might\nbe productive of great happiness to all the three, provided that one of the\nwives happened to be a fairy.\" (Weber, ii. p. 50.) A most encouraging\nsentiment for would-be polygamists, truly, especially in Europe, where fairies\nappear to fly before the advance of civilisation as surely as the wild beasts\nof the forest!\n\nP. 99.--These apparitions resemble those which usually precede the visions\nwhich appear in the well-known pool of ink. But the sweeper is not mentioned\nin the present story, nor do I remember reading of his appearing in cases of\ncrystal seeing, though Dante Gabriel Rossetti introduces him into his fine\npoem, \"Rose Mary,\" as preparing the way for the visions seen in the beryl:\n\n          \"'I see a man with a besom grey\n          That sweeps the flying dust away.'\n          'Ay, that comes first in the mystic sphere;\n          But now that the way is swept and clear\n          Heed well what next you look on there.'\"\n\nP. 104, note 1.--Apropos of the importance of \"three days,\" I may refer to the\n\"three days and three nights\" which Christ is commonly said to have passed in\nthe tomb, and I believe that some mystics assert that three days is the usual\nperiod required by a man to recover consciousness after death.\n\nPp. 106, 107.--These worked lions recall the exhibition of power made by Abu\nMohammed hight Lazybones (No. 37; Nights, iv., p. 165). Their Oriental\nprototypes are probably the lions and eagles with which the Jinn ornamented\nthe throne of Solomon. In the West, we meet with Southey's amusing legend of\nthe Pious Painter:\n\n          \"'Help, help, Blessed Mary,' he cried in alarm,\n               As the scaffold sunk under his feet;\n          From the canvass the Virgin extended her arm;\n          She caught the good Painter; she saved him from harm;\n               There were hundreds who saw in the street.\"\n\nThe enchanted palaces of the Firm Island, with their prodigies of the Hart and\nthe Dogs, &c., may also be mentioned (Amadis of Gaul, book II., chap. 21,\n&c.).\n\nPp. 107, 108.--Stories of changed sex are not uncommon in Eastern and\nclassical mythology and folk-lore; usually, as in this instance, the change of\na man into a woman, although it is the converse (apparent, of course) which we\nmeet with occasionally in modern medical books.\n\nIn the Nights, &c., we have the story of the Enchanted Spring (No. 135j) in\nthe great Sindibad cyclus (Nights, vi., pp. 145-150), and Lane (Modern\nEgyptians, chap. xxv.) relates a story which he heard in Cairo more resembling\nthat of the transformed Wazir. In classical legend we have the stories of\nTiresias, C\u00e6neus, and Iphis. Turning to India, we meet with the prototype of\nC\u00e6neus in Amba, who was reincarnated as Sikhandin, in order to avenge herself\non Bhishma, and subsequently exchanged her sex with a Yaksha, and became a\ngreat warrior (Mahabharata Udyoga-Parva, 5942-7057). Some of the versions of\nthe Enchanted Spring represent the Prince as recovering his sex by an exchange\nwith a demon, thus showing a transition from the story of Sikhandin to later\nreplicas. There is also a story of changed sex in the Hindi Baital Pachis\u00ed;\nand no doubt many others might be quoted.\n\n\n\n\n    History of What Befel the Fowl-let with the Fowler (Pp.\n                           119-128).\n\n\n\nOne of the most curious stories relative to the escape of a captured prey is\nto be found in the 5th Canto of the Finnish Kalevala. V\u00e4in\u00e4im\u00f6inen, the old\nminstrel, is fishing in the lake where his love, Aino, has drowned herself,\nbecause she would not marry an old man. He hooks a salmon of very peculiar\nappearance, and while he is speculating about cutting it up and cooking it, it\nleaps from the boat into the water, and then reproaches him with his folly,\ntelling him that it is Aino (now transformed into a water-nymph) who threw\nherself in his way to be his life-companion, but that owing to his folly in\nproposing to eat her, he has now lost her for ever. Hereupon she disappears,\nand all his efforts to rediscover her are fruitless.\n\n\n\n\n                The Tale of Attaf (Pp. 129-170).\n\n\n\nP. 138, note 6.--I may add that an episode is inserted in the Europeanised\nversion of this story, relative to the loves of the son of Chebib and the\nPrincess of Herak, which is evidently copied from the first nocturnal meeting\nof Kamaralzaman and Budur (No. 21, Nights, iii., pp. 223-242), and is drawn on\nexactly similar lines (Weber, i. pp. 508-510).\n\n\n\n\n      History of Prince Habib, and What Befel Him with the\n             Lady Durrat Al-Ghawwas (Pp. 171-201).\n\n\n\nP. 197, note 1.--Epithets of colour, as applied to seas, frequently have a\npurely mythological application in Eastern tales. Thus, in the story of Zaher\nand Ali (cf. my \"New Arabian Nights,\" p. 13) we read, \"You are now upon an\nisland of the Black Sea, which encompasses all other seas, and flows within\nMount Kaf. According to the reports of travellers, it is a ten years' voyage\nbefore you arrive at the Blue Sea, and it takes full ten years to traverse\nthis again to reach the Green Sea, after which there is another ten years'\nvoyage before you can reach the Greek Sea, which extends to inhabited\ncountries and islands.\"\n\nKenealy says (in a note to his poem on \"Night\") that the Atlantic Ocean is\ncalled the Sea of Darkness, on account of the great irruption of water which\noccasioned its formation; but this is one of his positive statements relative\nto facts not generally known to the world, for which he considered it\nunnecessary to quote his authority.\n\nP. 200.--According to one account of impalement which I have seen, the stake\nis driven through the flesh of the back beneath the skin.\n\nReading the account of the Crucifixion between the lines, I have come to the\nconclusion that the sudden death of Christ was due to his drinking from the\nsponge which had just been offered to him. The liquid, however, is said to\nhave been vinegar, and not water; but this might have had the same effect, or\nwater may have been substituted, perhaps with the connivance of Pilate. In the\nlatter case vinegar may only have been mentioned as a blind, to deceive the\nfanatical Jews. The fragmentary accounts of the Crucifixion which have come\ndown to us admit of many possible interpretations of details.\n\n\n\n\n\n      Index to the Tales, and Proper Names, Together with\n       Alphabetical Table of Notes in Volumes XI. To XVI.\n\n                              Also\n\n      Additional Notes on the Bibliography of the Thousand\n                        and One Nights.\n\n\n\n\n\n    Index to the Tales and Proper Names in the Supplemental\n                            Nights.\n\n\n\nN.B.--The Roman numerals denote the volume, the Arabic the page.\n{The Arabic numerals have been discarded}\n\nAbbaside, Ja'afar bin Yahya and Abd Al-Malik bin Salih the, i.\nAbd Al-Malik bin Salih the Abbaside, Ja'afar bin Yahya and, i.\nAbdullah bin Naf\u00ed', Tale of Harun Al-Rashid and, ii.\nAbu Niyattayn, History of Abu Niyyah and, iv.\nAbu Niyyah and Abu Niyyatayn, History of, iv.\nAbu Sabir, Story of, i.\nAbu Tammam, Story of Aylan Shah and, i.\nAdvantages of Patience, Of the, i.\nAdventure of the Fruit Seller and the Concubine, iv.\nAdventures of Khudadad and his Brothers, iii.\nAdventures of Prince Ahmad and the Fairy Peri-Banu, iii.\nAl-'Abb\u00e1s, Tale of King Ins bin Kays and his daughter with the\nSon of King, ii.\nAlaeddin, or the Wonderful Lamp, iii.\nAl-Bundukani, or the Caliph Harun Al-Rashid and the daughter of\nKing Kisra, vi.\nAl-Hajjaj and the Three Young Men, i.\nAl-Hajjaj bin Yusuf and the Young Sayyid, History of, v.\nAl-Hayfa and Yusuf, The Loves of, v.\nAli Baba and the Forty Thieves, Story of, iii.\nAli Khwajah and the Merchant of Baghdad, Story of, iii.\nAllah, Of the Speedy relief of, i.\nAllah, Of Trust in, i.\nAl-Maamun and Zubaydah, i.\nAl-Maamun, The Concubine of, ii.\nAl-Malik Al-Zahir Rukn Al-Din Bibars al-Bundukdari and the\nSixteen Captains of Police, ii.\nAl-Nu'uman and the Arab of the Banu Tay, i.\nAl-Rahwan, King Shah Bakht and his Wazir, i.\nAl-Rashid and the Barmecides, i.\nAl-Rashid, Ibn Al-Sammak and, i.\nAppointed Term, which, if it be Advanced may not be Deferred, and\n     if it be Deferred, may not be Advanced, Of the, i.\nArab of the Banu Tay, Al-Nu'uman and the, i.\nAss, Tale of the Sharpers with the Shroff and the, i.\nAttaf, The Tale of, vi.\nAttaf, The Tale of, (by Alex. J. Cotheal), vi.\nAylan Shah and Abu Tammam, Story of, i.\nBaba Abdullah, Story of the Blind Man, iii.\nBabe, History of the Kazi who bare a, iv.\nBakhtzaman, Story of King, i.\nBanu Tay, Al-Nu'uman and the Arab of the, i.\nBarber and the Captain, The Cairenne Youth, the, v.\nBarber's Boy and the Greedy Sultan, Story of the Darwaysh and\n     the, v.\nBarmecides, Al-Rashid and the, i.\nBarmecides,. Harun Al-Rashid and the Woman of the, i.\nBeautiful Daughter to the Poor Old Man, Tale of the Richard who\nmarried his, i.\nBhang-Eater and his Wife, History of the, iv.\nBhang-Eater,. Tale of the Kazi and the, iv.\nBihkard, Story of King, i.\nBlind Man, Baba Abdullah, Story of the, iii.\nBroke-Back Schoolmaster, Story of the, iv.\nCadette, Tale of the Two Sisters who envied their, iii.\nCairenne Youth, the Barber and the Captain, The, v.\nCairo (The good wife of) and her four gallants, v.\nCaliph Harun Al-Rashid and the daughter of King Kisra, The\n     History of Al-Bundukam or the, vi.\nCaliph Omar Bin Abd Al-Aziz and the Poets, The, i.\nCaliph's Night Adventure, History of the, iii.\nCaliph, The Concubine and the, ii.\nCaptain, The Cairenne Youth, the Barber and the, v.\nCaptain, The Tailor and the Lady and the, v.\nCheat and the Merchants, Tale of the, i.\nChina, The Three Princes of, v.\nClemency, Of, i.\nClever Thief, A Merry Jest of a, ii.\nCock and the Fox, The pleasant history of the, vi.\nC\u009clebs the droll and his wife and her four Lovers, v.\nCompeer, Tale of the Two Sharpers who each cozened his, i.\nConcubine, Adventure of the Fruit Seller and the, iv.\nConcubine and the Caliph, The, ii.\nConcubine of Al-Maamun, The, ii.\nConstable's History, First, ii.\nConstable's History, Second, ii.\nConstable's History, Third, ii.\nConstable's History, Fourth, ii.\nConstable's History, Fifth, ii.\nConstable's History, Sixth, ii.\nConstable's History, Seventh, ii.\nConstable's History, Eighth, ii.\nConstable's History, Ninth, ii.\nConstable's History, Tenth, ii.\nConstable's History, Eleventh, ii.\nConstable's History, Twelfth, ii.\nConstable's History, Thirteenth, ii.\nConstable's History, Fourteenth, ii.\nConstable's History, Fifteenth, ii.\nConstable's History, Sixteenth, ii.\nCook, Story of the Larrikin and the, i.\nCoyntes, The Lady with the two, v.\nCrone and the Draper's Wife, Story of the, i.\nCrone and the King, Tale of the Merchant, the, i.\nCunning She-thief, The Gate Keeper of Cairo and the, v.\nDadbin and his Wazirs, Story of King, i.\nDarwaysh and the Barber's Boy and the Greedy Sultan, Story of\n     the, v.\nDarwaysh, The Sultan who fared forth in the habit of a, iv.\nDaryabar, History of the Princess of, iii.\nDaughter of King Kisra, The History of Al-Bundukani, or the\n     Caliph Harun Al-Rashid  and the, vi.\nDavid and Solomon, Story of, i.\nDestiny or that which is written on the Forehead, i.\nDethroned Ruler, whose reign and wealth were restored to him,\n     Tale of the, i.\nDevotee accused of Lewdness, Tale of the, i.\nDisciple's Story, The, i.\nDruggist, Tale of the Singer and the, i.\nDrummer Abu Kasim became a Kazi, How, iv.\nDuenna and the King's Son, The Linguist-Dame, the, vi.\nEighth Constable's History, ii.\nEleventh Constable's History, ii.\nEnchanting Bird, Story of the King of Al-Yaman and his Three\n     Sons, and the, iv.\nEnchanting Bird, Tale of the Sultan and his Three Sons and the,\n     iv.\nEnds of Affairs, Of Looking to the, i.\nEnvy and Malice, Of, i.\nFairy Peri-Banu, Adventures of Prince Ahmad and the, iii.\nFalcon and the Locust, Story of the, i.\nFellah and his Wicked Wife, The, v.\nFifteenth Constable's History, ii.\nFifth Constable's History, ii.\nFirst Constable's History, ii.\nFirst Larrikin, History of the, iv.\nFirst Lunatic, Story of the, iv.\nFiruz and his Wife, i.\nFisherman and his Son, Tale of the, iv.\nForehead, Of Destiny or that which is Written on the, i.\nForty Thieves, Story of Ali Baba and the, iii.\nFourteenth Constable's History, ii.\nFourth Constable's History, ii.\nFowl with the Fowler, History of what befel the, vi.\nFox, The Pleasant History of the Cock and the, vi.\nFruit seller and the Concubine, Adventure of the, iv.\nFruit seller's Tale, The, iv.\nFuller and his Wife and the Trooper, Tale of the, i.\nGallants, The Goodwife of Cairo and her Four, v.\nGatekeeper of Cairo and the Cunning She-thief, The, v.\nGirl, Tale of the Hireling and the, i.\nGood and Evil Actions, Of the Issues of, i.\nGoodwife of Cairo and her Four Gallants, The, v.\nGreedy Sultan, Story of the Darwaysh and the Barber's Boy and\n     the, v.\nHajjaj (Al-) and the Three Young Men, i.\nHarun Al-Rashid and Abdullah bin Naf\u00ed', Tale of, ii.\nHarun Al-Rashid and the Woman of the Barmecides, i.\nHarun Al-Rashid and the Youth Manjab, Night Adventure of, v.\nHarun Al-Rashid Tale of the Damsel Tohfat al-Kulub and the\n     Caliph, ii.\nHaykar the Sage, The Say of, vi.\nHistory of King Azadbakht and his Son, The Ten Wazirs; or the, i.\nHistory of what befel the Fowl with the Fowler, vi.\nHireling and the Girl, Tale of the, i.\nHow Allah gave him relief, Story of the Prisoner and, i.\nHow Drummer Abu Kasim became a Kazi, iv.\nHusband, Tale of the Simpleton, v.\nIbn al-Sammak and Al-Rashid, i.\nIbrahim and his Son, Story of, i.\nIll Effects of Impatience, Of the, i.\nImpatience, Of the Ill Effects of, i.\nIns bin Kays (King) and his Daughter with the Son of King\n     Al-'Abb\u00e1s, Tale of, ii.\nIsa, Tale of the Three Men and our Lord, i.\nIssues of Good and Evil Actions, Of the, i.\nJa'afar bin Yahya and Abd Al-Malik bin Salih the Abbaside, i.\nKazi and the Bhang-Eater, Tale of the, iv.\nKazi and the Slipper, Story of the, iv.\nKazi, How Drummer Abu Kasim became a, iv.\nKazi schooled by his Wife, The, v.\nKazi who bare a babe, History of the, iv.\nKhalbas and his Wife and the Learned Man, Tale of the, i.\nKhudadad and his Brothers, Adventures of, iii.\nKhwajah Hasan al-Habbal, History of, iii.\nKing and his Chamberlain's Wife, Tale of the, i.\nKing Azadbakht and his Son, The Ten Wazirs; or the History of, i.\nKing Bakhtzaman, Story of, i.\nKing Bihkard, Story of, i.\nKing Dadbin and his Wazirs, Story of, i.\nKing Ibrahim and his Son, Story of, i.\nKing of Al-Yaman and his Three Sons and the Enchanting Bird,\n     Story of the, iv.\nKing of Hind and his Wazir, Tale of, i.\nKing Shah Bakht and his Wazir Al-Rahwan, i.\nKing Sulayman Shah and his Niece, Story of, i.\nKing Tale of himself told by the, v.\nKing Tale of the Merchant, the Crone and the, i.\nKing who kenned the quintessence of things, Tale of the, i.\nKing who lost Kingdom and Wife and Wealth and Allah restored them\n     to him, Tale of the,  i.\nKing's Son of Sind and the Lady Fatimah, The History of, v.\nKing's Son, The Linguist-Dame, the Duenna and the, vi.\nKurd Sharper, Tale of Mahmud the Persian and the, iv.\nLady and the Captain, The Tailor and the, v.\nLady Durrat al-Ghawwas, History of Prince Habib and what befel\n     him with the, vi.\nLady Fatimah, The History of the King's Son of Sind and the, v.\nLady with the two Coyntes, The, v.\nLarrikin and the Cook, Story of the, i.\nLarrikin concerning himself, Tale of the Third, iv.\nLarrikin History of the First, iv.\nLarrikin History of the Second, iv.\nLarrikin History of the Third, iv.\nLeach (Tale of the Weaver who became a), by order of his wife, i.\nLearned Man, Tale of Khalbas and his Wife and the, i.\nLewdness, Tale of the Devotee accused of, i.\nLimping Schoolmaster, Story of the, iv.\nLinguist-Dame, the Duenna, and the King's Son, The, vi.\nLocust, Story of the Falcon and the, i.\nLooking to the Ends of Affairs, Of, i.\nLovers, C\u009clebs the Droll and his wife and her four, v.\nLovers of Syria, History of the, v.\nLoves of Al-Hayfa and Yusuf, The, v.\nLuck, Story of the Merchant who lost his, i.\nLunatic, Story of the First, iv.\nLunatic, Story of the  Second, iv.\nMahmud the Persian and the Kurd Sharper, Tale of, iv.\nMan of Khorassan, his Son and his Tutor, Tale of the, i.\nMan whose Caution slew him, Tale of the, i.\nMan who was Lavish of his House, and his Provision for one whom\n     he knew not, i.\nMalice, Of Envy and, i.\nMelancholist and the Sharper, Tale of the, i.\nMerchant and his Sons, Tale of the, i.\nMerchant of Baghdad, Story of Ali Khirajah and the, iii.\nMerchant's Daughter and the Prince of Al-Irak, The, v.\nMerchants, Tale of the Cheat and the, i.\nMerchant, the Crone and the King, Tale of the, i.\nMerchant who lost his luck, Story of the, i.\nMerry Jest of a Clever Thief, A, ii.\nMistress and his Wife, Mohammed the Shalabi and his, v.\nMohammed, Story of a Sultan of Al-Hind and his Son, iv.\nMohammed Sultan of Cairo, History of, iv.\nMohammed the Shalabi and his Mistress and his Wife, v.\nMohsin and Musa, Tale of, v.\nMusa, Tale of Mohsin and, v.\nNiece, Story of King Sulayman Shah and his, i.\nNight Adventure of Sultan Mohammed of Cairo with the Three\n     Foolish Schoolmasters,  The, iv.\nNight Adventure of Harun Al-Rashid and the Youth Manjab, v.\nNinth Constable's History, ii.\nNur al-Din Ali of Damascus and the damsel Sitt al-Milah, ii.\nOmar Bin Abd Al-Aziz and the Poets, The Caliph, i.\nPatience, Of the advantages of, i.\nPersistent Ill Fortune, Of the Uselessness of Endeavor against\n     the, i.\nPicture, Tale of the Prince who fell in love with the, i.\nPleasant History of the Cock and the Fox, The, vi.\nPoets, The Caliph Omar Bin Abd Al-Aziz and the, i.\nPoor man who brought to him Fruit, Tale of the Sultan and the,\n     iv.\nPoor old man, Tale of the Richard who married his beautiful\n     Daughter to the, i.\nPrince Ahmad and the Fairy Peri-Banu, Adventures of, iii.\nPrince Bihzad, Story of, i.\nPrince Habib and what befel him with the Lady Durrat al-Ghawwas,\n     History of, vi.\nPrince of Al-Irak, The Merchant's Daughter and the, v.\nPrincess of Daryabar, History of, iii.\nPrince who fell in love with the Picture, Tale of the, i.\nPrisoner and how Allah gave him relief, Story of, i.\nQuintessence of things, Tale of the King who kenned the, i.\nRichard, Tale of the, who married his beautiful daughter to the\n     Poor Old Man, i.\nRighteous Wazir wrongfully gaoled, The, v.\nRobber and the Woman, Tale of the, i.\nSage and his Three Sons, Tale of the, i.\nSage and the Scholar, Story of the, iv.\nSalim the Youth of Khorasan, and Salma, his Sister, Tale of, i.\nSalma, his Sister, Tale of Salim the Youth of Khorasan and, i,\nSay of Haykar the Sage, The, vi.\nScholar, Story of the Sage and the, iv.\nSchoolmaster, Story of the Broke-Back, iv.\nSchoolmaster, Story of the Limping, iv.\nSchoolmaster, Story of the Split-mouthed, iv.\nSecond Constable's History, ii.\nSecond Larrikin, History of the, iv.\nSecond Lunatic, Story of the, iv.\nSeventh Constable's History, ii.\nShah Bakht and his Wazir Al-Rahwan, King, i.\nSharpers with the Shroff and the Ass, Tale of the, i.\nSharper, Tale of the Melancholist and the, i.\nSharper, Tale of the old, ii.\nShroff and the Ass, Tale of the Sharpers with the, i.\nSidi Nu'uman, History of, iii.\nSinger and the Druggist, Tale of the, i.\nSimpleton Husband, Tale of the, i.\nSimpleton Husband, Tale of the, v.\nSitt al-Milah, Nur al-Din Ali of Damascus and the Damsel, ii.\nSixteen Captains of Police, Al-Malik Al-Zahir Rukn Al-Din Bibars\n     al-Bundukdari and the, ii.\nSixteenth Constable's History, ii.\nSixth Constable's History, ii.\nSleeper and the Waker, The, i.\nSlipper, Story of the Kazi and the, iv.\nSolomon, Story of David and, i.\nSons, Tale of the Merchant and his, i.\nSpeedy relief of Allah, Of the, i.\nSplit-mouthed Schoolmaster, Story of the, iv.\nSulayman Shah and his Niece, Story of King, i.\nSultanah, Story of three Sisters and their Mother the, iv.\nSultan and his Three Sons and the Enchanting Bird, Tale of the,\n     iv.\nSultan and the Poor Man who brought to him Fruit, Tale of the,\n     iv.\nSultan Mohammed of Cairo with the Three Foolish Schoolmasters,\n     The Night Adventure of, iv.\nSultan of Al-Hind and his Son Mohammed, Story of the, iv.\nSultan of Al-Yaman and his Three Sons, Story of, iv.\nSultan who fared forth in the habit of a Darwaysh, The, iv.\nSyria, History of the Lovers of, v.\nSyrian and the Three Women of Cairo, The, v.\nTailor and the Lady and the Captain, The, v.\nTale of Himself told by the King, v.\nTenth Constable's History, ii.\nTen Wazirs; or, the History of King Azadbakht and his Son, The,\n     i.\nThief's Tale, The, ii.\nThird Constable's History, ii.\nThird Larrikin concerning himself, Tale of, iv.\nThird Larrikin, History of the, iv.\nThirteenth Constable's History, ii.\nThree Foolish Schoolmasters, The Night Adventure of Sultan\n     Mohammed of Cairo with the, iv.\nThree men and our Lord Isa, Tale of the, i.\nThree Princes of China, The, v.\nThree  Sharpers, Story of the, iv.\nThree Sisters and their Mother the Sultanah, Story of the, iv.\nThree Sons, Tale of the Sage and his, i.\nThree Women of Cairo, The Syrian and the, v.\nThree Young Men, Al-Hajjaj and the, i.\nTither, Tale of the Unjust King and the, i.\nTohfat al-Kulub and the Caliph Harun Al-Rashid, Tale of the\n     Damsel, ii.\nTrooper, Tale of the Fuller and his wife and the, i.\nTrust in Allah, Of, i.\nTutor, Tale of the Man of Khorassan, his Son and his, i.\nTwelfth Constable's History, ii.\nTwo Kings and the Wazir's daughters, Tale of the, ii.\nTwo Lack-Tacts of Cairo and Damascus, Story of the, v.\nTwo Sharpers who each cozened his Compeer, Tale of the, i.\nTwo Sisters who envied their Cadette, Tale of the, iii.\nUgly man and his beautiful Wife, Tale of the, i.\nUnjust King and the Tither, Tale of the, i.\nUselessness of Endeavour against the Persistent Ill Fortune, Of\n     the, i.\nVirtue, The whorish wife who vaunted her, v.\nWaker, The Sleeper and the, i.\nWarlock and the Young Cook of Baghdad, Tale of the, vi.\nWazir Al Rahwan, King Shah Bakht and his, i.\nWazir, Tale of the King of Hind and his, i.\nWazir, (The Righteous) wrongfully gaoled, v.\nWazir's Daughters, Tale of the Two Kings and the, ii.\nWazirs; or the History of King Azadbakht and his Son, The Ten, i.\nWazirs, Story of King Dadbin and his, i.\nWeaver who became a Leach by order of his wife, Tale of the, i.\nWhorish wife who vaunted her virtue, The, v.\nWicked wife, The Fellah and his, v.\nWife, Firuz and his, i.\nWife, History of the Bhang Eater and his, iv.\nWife, Story of the Crone and the Draper's, i.\nWife, Tale of the King and his Chamberlain's, i.\nWife, Tale of the Ugly man and his beautiful, i.\nWife, Tale of the Weaver who became a Leach by order of his, i.\nWife, The Kazi schooled by his, v.\nWives, Story of the Youth who would futter his father's, v.\nWoman of the Barmecides, Harun Al-Rashid and the, i.\nWoman, Tale of the Robber and the, i.\nWoman who humoured her lover at her husband's expense, The, v.\nWomen's Wiles, ii.\nWonderful Lamp, Alaeddin; or the, iii.\nYoung Cook of Baghdad, Tale of the Warlock and the, vi.\nYoung Sayyid, History of Al-Hajjaj bin Yusuf and the, v.\nYouth Manjab, Night Adventure of Harun Al-Rashid and the, v.\nYouth who would futter his father's wives, Story of the, v.\nYusuf, The Loves of Al-Hayfa and, v.\nZayn al-Asnam, Tale of, iii.\nZubaydah, Al-Maamun and, i.\n\n\n\n\n\n       Variants and Analogues of Some of the Tales in the\n                      Supplemental Nights.\n\n                       By W. A. Clouston.\n\n\n\nAladdin; or the Wonderful Lamp, iii.\nAli Baba and the Forty Thieves, iii.\nAli Khwajah and the Merchant of Baghdad, iii.\nAl Malik Al-Zahir and the Sixteen Captains of Police, ii.\nBlind Man, Baba Abdullah, The Story of the, iii.\nDamsel Tuhfat al-Kulub, The, ii.\nDevout woman accused of Lewdness, The, ii.\nFifteenth Constable's Story, The, ii.\nFiruz and his Wife, ii.\nFuller, his Wife and the Trooper, The, ii.\nKhudadad and his Brothers, iii.\nKhwajah Hasan al-Habbal, History of, iii.\nKing Aylan Shah and Abu Tammam, ii.\nKing Dadbin and his Wazirs, ii.\nKing Ins bin Kays and his Daughter, ii.\nKing Shah Bakht and his Wazir Al-Rahwan, ii.\nKing Sulayman Shah and his Niece, ii.\nKing who kenned the Quintessence of things, The, ii.\nKing who lost Kingdom, Wife and Wealth, The, ii.\nMelancholist and the Sharper, The, ii.\nNinth Constable's Story, The, ii.\nNur al-Din and the Damsel Sitt al-Milah, ii.\nOn the Art of Enlarging Pearls, ii.\nPrince Ahmad and the Peri Banu, iii.\nPrince who fell in love with the Picture, The, ii.\nSidi Nu'man, History of, iii.\nSimpleton Husband, The, ii.\nSinger and the Druggist; The, ii.\nSleeper and the Waker, ii.\nTen Wazirs, or the History of King Azadbakht and his son, ii.\nThief's Tale, The, ii.\nThree men and our Lord Isa, The, ii.\nTwo Sisters who envied their Cadette, The, iii.\nWeaver who became a leach by order of his wife, The, ii.\nWomen's Wiles, ii.\nZayn al-Asnarn, The tale of, iii.\n\n\n\n\n\n                       Additional Notes.\n\n                       By W. A. Clouston.\n\n\n\nAladdin, or the Wonderful Lamp, iii.\nAli Baba and the Forty Thieves, iii.\nFiruz and his Wife, ii.\nFuller, his wife and the Trooper, The, ii.\nPrince Ahmad, The Tale of, iii.\nSinger and the Druggist, The, ii.\nZayn al-Asnam, The Tale of, iii.\n\n\n\n\n\n                        By W. F. Kirby.\n\n\n\nAdditional Notes to some of Tales in vol. iv.; v.\nAdditional Notes to some of Tales in vol. v.; v.\nAdditional Notes to some of Tales in vol. vi.; vi.\nAdditional Bibliographical Notes to the Tales in the Supplemental\nNights, vi.\n\n\n\n\n\n      Additional Notes on the Bibliography of the Thousand\n      and One Nights. (Cf. Nights, X., App. Ii., P. 414.)\n\n\n                        By W. F. Kirby.\n\n\n\n\nHerewith I add notes on any works of importance which I had not seen when my\n\"Contributions\" were published, or which have appeared since.\n\n\n     Zotenberg's Work on Aladdin and on Various Manuscripts\n                         of the Nights.\n\n\nOne of the most important works which has appeared lately in connection with\nthe Thousand and One Nights, is the following:\n\nHistoire d' 'Al\u00e2 Al-D\u00een ou la Lampe Merveilleuse. Texte Arabe publi\u00e9 avec une\nnotice sur quelques manuscrits des Mille et une Nuits par H. Zotenberg, roy.\n8vo. Paris, Imprim\u00e9rie Nationale, 1888\n\nThe publication of this work puts an end to the numerous conjectures of\nscholars as to the source of Galland's unidentified tales; and the notes on\nvarious MSS. of the Nights are also very valuable. It therefore appears\ndesirable to give a tolerably full sketch of the contents of the book.[FN#431]\n\nM. Zotenberg begins with general remarks, and passes on to discuss Galland's\nedition. [Section I.]--Although Galland frequently speaks of Oriental\ntales[FN#432], in his journal, kept at Constantinople in 1672 and 1673, yet as\nhe informs us, in his Dedication to the Marquise d'O., he only succeeded in\nobtaining from Syria a portion of the MS. of the Nights themselves with\nconsiderable difficulty after his return to France.\n\nThere is some doubt as to the date of appearance of the first 6 vols. of\nGalland's \"Mille et une Nuit.\" According to Caussin de Perceval, vols. 1 and 2\nwere published together in 1704, and vols. 3 and 4 in the course of the same\nyear. Nevertheless, in the copy in the Biblioth\u00e8que Nationale, vols. 1 and 4\nare dated 1704, and vols. 2, 5 and 6 are dated 1705; vol. 3 is missing, just\nas we have only odd volumes of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th English editions in the\nBritish Museum, the 1st being still quite unknown.\n\nM. Zotenberg proceeds to give an account of Galland's MS. (cf. Nights, x.\nApp., p. 414), and illustrates it by a specimen page in facsimile. Judging\nfrom the character of the writing, &c., he considers it to have been\ntranscribed about the second half of the 14th century (Sir R. F. Burton\nsuggests about A.D. 1384). It is curious that there is a MS. of the 15th\ncentury in the Library of the Vatican, which appears to be almost a\ncounterpart of Galland's, and likewise contains only the first 282 Nights.\nGalland's MS. wants a leaf extending from part of Night 102 to the beginning\nof Night 104, and containing an account of the Hunchback and his buffooneries;\nthis hiatus is filled up in the Vatican MS.\n\nHab\u00eccht's version is noted as more approaching Galland's MS. than do the texts\nfounded on the Egyptian texts; but in thus speaking, Zotenberg does not notice\nthe assertion that Hab\u00eccht's MS., though obtained at Tunis, came originally\nfrom Egypt. He considers the ordinary Egyptian texts to be generally abridged\nand condensed.\n\nAlthough it is clear that Galland made great use of this MS. for his\ntranslation, yet M. Zotenberg points out numerous discrepancies, especially\nthose at the commencement of the work, which led Caussin de Perceval to regard\nGalland's work as a mere paraphrase of the original. M. Zotenberg, however (p.\n14), writes, \"Evidemment, Galland, pour la traduction du commencement du\nr\u00e8cit, \u00e0 suivi un texte plus developp\u00e9 que celui du MS. 1508, texte dont la\nr\u00e9daction \u00e9gyptienne ne presente qu'un maladroit abr\u00e9g\u00e9.\" He quotes other\ninstances which seem to show that Galland had more than one text at his\ndisposal.\n\n[Section II.]--At the beginning of the 17th century, only two MSS. of the\nNights existed m the libraries of Paris, one in Arabic, and the other in\nTurkish. The Arabic MS. contains 870 Nights, and is arbitrarily divided into\n29 sections. M. Zotenberg considers that it was to this MS. that Galland\nreferred, when he said that the complete work was in 36 parts The tales follow\nthe order of our Table as far as No. 7 (Nos. 2ab, 2ac and 3ba are wanting),\nthe remainder are irregular, and run as follows: 153, 154, 154a, 20; story of\nKhailedj\u00e1n ibn H\u00e1man, the Persian; Story of the Two Old Men, and of B\u00e1z\nal-Aschb\u00e1b Abou Lahab; 9, apparently including as episodes 9a, 9aa, 21, 8, 9b,\n170, 181r to 181bb 137, 154 (commencement repeated), 181u to 181bb (repeated),\n135a, Adventures of a traveller who entered a pond (\u00e9tang) and underwent\nmetamorphoses:[FN#433] anecdotes and apothegms; a portion of the Kalila and\nDimna ?\n\nThe Turkish MS. (in 11 vols.) is made up of several imperfect copies, which\nhave been improperly put together. The bulk is formed by vols. 2-10 which are\nwritten in three different hands, and some of which bear date 1046 A.H. The\ncontents of these nine vols. are as follows: Introduction and 1-3 (wanting\n2ab), Story of 'Abdallah of Basra, 5; Story of 'Att\u00e1f ibn Ism\u00e1'il al-Schoql\u00e1ni\nof Damascus and the schaikh Abou-'l-Baraka al-Naww\u00e1m, 6; Story told by the\nChristian Merchant (relating to Qamar al-Zam\u00e1n during the reign of Sultan\nMahmoud, and different from the story known under this title); Story of Ahmad\nal- Saghir (the tattle) and Schams al-Qosour; Story of the Young Man of\nBaghdad and the Bathman (Baigneur, attendant in a Hammam), 7; 153; 21; Story\nof Khaledjan ibn Mah\u00e1ni; Story of Nour al-Din 'All and of Dounya (or Dinar) of\nDamascus, 133, Story of Prince Qamar-Khan and of the schaikh 'Ate, of the\nSultan Mahmoud-Kh\u00e1n, of Bahr\u00e1m-Sch\u00e1h, of 'Abdallah ibn Hilal, of Harout and\nMarout, &c.; Story of Qowwat al-Qoloub; 9, including as episodes 9a; 8; Story\nof Moubaref who slept in the bath; ( ? = 96); and 170; Fables.\n\nThe other volumes (1 and 11 of the MS.) both contain the beginning of the MS.\nVol. I was written towards the end of the 17th century, and extends about as\nfar as Night 55, concluding with No. 7, which follows No. 3. Vol. 11., which\nonce belonged to Galland, includes only a portion of the Introduction. The\ntext of these two fragments is similar, but differs considerably from that of\nvol. 2 of the MS.; and specimens of the commencement of vols. 1 and 2 are\ngiven to show this. Yet it is singular that Galland does not seem to have used\nthese Turkish volumes; and the second MS. which he actually used, like the 4th\nvol. of the copy preserved in the Biblioth\u00e8que Nationale, appears to be\nmissing.\n\nM. Zotenberg then remarks on the missing vol. 4 of Galland, and quotes\nextracts from Galland's Diary, strewing that Nos. 191, 192 and 192a, which\nwere surreptitiously introduced into his work without his knowledge, and\ngreatly to his annoyance, were translated by Petis de la Croix, and were\nprobably intended to be included in the Thousand and One Days, which was\npublished in 1710.\n\n[Section III.]--This is one of the most important in the book, in which\nextracts from Galland's Diary of 1709 are quoted, shewing that he was then in\nconstant communication with a Christian Maronite of Aleppo, named Hanna\n(Jean), who was brought to Paris by the traveller Paul Lucas, and who related\nstories to Galland, of which the latter took copious notes, and most of which\nhe worked up into the later volumes of his \"Mille et une Nuit\" (sic). Among\nthese were 193, 194a, 194b, 59, 197, 198, 174, 195, 194c, 196. The following\ntales he did not use: An Arab story of two cousins, Camar eddin and Bedr el\nBodour; the Golden City (another version of the story of the Three Princes, in\nNo. 198, combined with the story of the woman who slew pretenders who were\nunable to solve a riddle); The Three Princes, the Genius Morhagian, and his\nDaughters; and the story of the seller of ptisanne (or diet-drinks) and his\nson Hassan.\n\nFurther extracts from Galland's Diary are added, extending from the time of\nHanna's departure from Paris between June and October, 1709, and the\ncompletion of the 12th volume of the Mille et une Nuit in 1712. These relate\nto the gradual progress of the work; and to business in connection with it;\nand Hanna's name is occasionally mentioned.\n\nHanna supplied Galland with a written version of No. 193, and probably of 194\na-c; (i.e. most of the tales in vol. 9 and 10); but the tales in vols. 11 and\n12 were apparently edited by Galland from his notes and recollections of\nHanna's narrations. These are Nos. 195, 196, 59, 197 and 198. M. Zotenberg\nconcludes that Hanna possessed a MS. containing all these tales, part of which\nhe copied for Galland, and that this copy, like several other important\nvolumes which Galland is known or believed to have possessed, was lost. M.\nZotenberg thinks that we may expect to meet with most of Hanna's tales either\nin other copies of the Nights, or in some other collection of the same kind.\nThe latter supposition appears to me to be by far the most probable.\n\n[Section IV.]--M. Zotenberg proceeds to give an account of one or two very\nimportant MSS. of the Nights in the Biblioth\u00e8que Nationale. One of these is a\nMS. which belonged to the elder Caussin, and was carefully copied by Michael\nSabbagh from a MS. of Baghdad. Prof. Fleischer, who examined it, states\n(Journal Asiatique, 1827, t. II., p. 221) that it follows the text of Habicht,\nbut in a more developed form. M. Zotenberg copies a note at the end, finishing\nup with the word \"Kab\u00edkaj\" thrice repeated. This, he explains, \"est le nom du\ng\u00e9nie pr\u00e9pos\u00e9 au r\u00e9gne des insectes. Les scribes, parfois, l'invoquent pour\npreserver leurs manuscrits de l'atteinte de vers.\"\n\nThis MS. was copied in Parts on European paper at the beginning of the\ncentury, though Caussin de Perceval was not acquainted with it in 1806, but\nonly with a MS. of the Egyptian redaction. This MS. agrees with Galland's only\nas far as the 69th Night. It differs from it in two other points; it contains\nNo. 1c, and the end of No. 3 coincides with the end of Night 69. The contents\nof Nights 70-1001 are as follows: 246, 4, 5, 6, 20, 7, 153, 21, 170, 247, The\nUnhappy Lover confined in the Madhouse (probably = 204c), 8, 191, 193,174, 9,\n9b (not 9a, or 9aa) and as episodes, 155, 32, and the story of the two\nbrothers 'Am\u00edr and Ghadir, and their children Djamil and Bathina.\n\nAnother MS., used by Chavis and Cazotte, and Caussin de Perceval, was written\nin the year 1772. It has hitherto been overlooked, because it was erroneously\nstated in the late M. Reinaud's Catalogue to be a MS. containing part of the\n1001 Nights, extending from Night 282 to Night 631, and copied by Chavis. It\nis not from Chavis' hand, and does not form part of the ordinary version of\nthe Nights, but contains the following tales: 174, 248, Story of King Sapor,\n246, 3a, 36, 3c, 153, Story of the Intendant, the Interpreter, and the Young\nMan; 247, 204c, 240, 250, Story of the Caliph and the Fisherman (probably =\n156), the Cat and the Fox, and the Little Bird and the Fowler.\n\nAnother MS., really written by Chavis, commences exactly where Vol. 3 of\nGalland's MS leaves off, i. e. in the middle of No. 21, and extends from Night\n281 to Night 631. M. Zotenberg supposes it to have been written to supply the\nplace of the last volume of Galland's set. It contains the following tales in\naddition to the conclusion of No. 21: 170, 247, 204c, 8, 191, 193 and 174. M.\nZotenberg suggests that the first part of this MS may have been copied from\nGalland's last volume, which may have existed at the time in private hands.\n\nThe two last MSS. contain nearly the same tales, though with numerous\nvariations.\n\nM. Zotenberg discusses the hypothesis of Chavis' MS. being a translation from\nthe French, and definitely rejects it.\n\n[Section V.]--Here M. Zotenberg discusses the MSS. of the Nights in general,\nand divides them into three categories. 1. MSS. proceeding from Muslim parts\nof Asia. These, except the MSS. of Michael Sabbagh and that of Chavis, contain\nonly the first part of the work. They are all more or less incomplete, and\nstop short in the middle of the text. They are not quite uniform, especially\nin their readings, but generally contain the same tales arranged in the same\norder. II. Recent MSS. of Egyptian origin, characterised by a special style,\nand a more condensed narrative; by the nature and arrangement of the tales, by\na great number of anecdotes and fables; and by the early part of the work\ncontaining the great romance of chivalry of King Omar Bin Al-Nu'uman. III.\nMSS. mostly of Egyptian origin, differing as much among themselves in the\narrangement of the tales as do those of the other groups.\n\nThe following MSS. are mentioned as belonging to the first group:--\n\nI.   Galland's MS. in the Biblioth\u00e8que Nationale, Nos. 1506-1508.\nII.  MS. in the Vatican, No. 782.\nIII.      Dr. Russell's MS. from Aleppo.\nIV.  MS. in the Bibl. Nat. (Suppl. 1715, I and II.).\nV.   MS. in the Library of Christ Church College, Oxford (No. ccvii.).\nVI.  MS. in the Library of the India Office, London (No. 2699).\nVII.      Sir W. Jones' MS., used by Richardson.\nVIII.     Rich's MS. in the Library of the British Museum (Addit. 7404).\nIX.  MS. in Bibl. Nat. (Suppl. 2522 and 2523) X. MS. in Bibl. Nat. (Suppl.\n     1716).\n\nThe following MSS. are enumerated as belonging to the second group:--\n\nI.   Salt's MS. (printed in Calcutta in 4 vols.).\nII-IV.    Three complete MSS. in Biblioth\u00e8que Nationale (Suppl. Arabe, Nos.\n          1717,1718, 1719).\nV.   Incomplete MS. of Vol. II. in Bibl. Nat. (Suppl. Arabe, Nos 2198 to\n     2200).\nVI.  Incomplete MS. of Vol. 4 (Suppl. Arabe, Nos. 2519 to 2521).\nVII.      Odd vol. containing Nights 656 to 1001 (Suppl. Arabe, No. 1721, III.).\nXII.      MS. containing Nights 284 to 327 (Suppl. Arabe, No. 1720).\nXIII.     MS. in British Museum (Oriental MSS., Nos. 1593 to 1598).\nXIV.      Ditto (Oriental MSS., Nos. 2916 to 2919).\nXV.  Burckhardt's MS. in the University Library at Cambridge (B. MSS. 106 to\n     109).\nXVI.      MS. in the Vatican (Nos. 778 to 781).\nXVII.     MS. in the Ducal Library at Gotha.\nXVIII. Odd vol. in ditto.\nXIX.      MS. in the Royal Library at Munich.\nXX.  Ditto, incomplete (De Sacy's).\nXXI.      Fragment in the Library of the Royal and Imperial Library at Vienna (No.\n          CL.).\nXXII.     MS. in the Imperial Public Library at St. Petersburg (Von\n          Hammer's).\nXXIII.MS. in the Library of the Institute for the Study of Oriental languages\n          at St. Petersburg (Italinski's).\nXXIV. Mr. Clarke's MS. (cf. Nights, x., App. pp. 444- 448).\nXXV.      Caussin de Perceval's MS.\nXXVI. Sir W. Ouseley's MSS.\n\nThe above list does not include copies or fragments in various libraries of\nwhich M. Zotenberg has no sufficient information, nor miscellaneous collection\nin which tales from the Nights are mixed with others.\n\nPortions of Habicht's MS. appear to belong to the Egyptian recension, and\nothers to have come from further East.\n\nThere is a MS. in the Biblioth\u00e8que Nationale (Suppl. Arabe, No. 1721, IV.)\nfrom Egypt, containing the first 210 Nights, which somewhat resembles\nHabicht's MS. both in style and in the arrangement of the tales. The Third\nShaykh's Story (No. 1 c.) is entirely different from those in the ordinary\nMSS., nor is it the same as that in the Turkish version of the Nights, which\nis again quite different from either. In this MS. (No. 1721, IV.) No. 6 is\nfollowed by Nos. 7, 174, and 133.\n\nThen follow notices of Anderson's MS., used by Scott, but which cannot now be\ntraced the Calcutta edition of the first 200 Nights; and of the Wortley\nMontague MS. These form M. Zotenberg's third group of MSS.\n\nM. Zotenberg does not enter into the question of the original form, date and\nconstituents of the primitive work, but concludes that the complete work as we\nnow have it only assumed its present form at a comparatively recent period.\nBut it must not be forgotten that the details, description, manners, and style\nof the tales composing this vast collection, are undergoing daily alteration\nboth from narrators and copyists.\n\nThen follows an Appendix, in which M. Zotenberg has copied two tales from\nGalland's journals, which he took down as related by the Maronite Hanna. One\nof these is new to me, it is the story of the Three Princes, and the Genius\nMorhagian and his Daughters (added at the end of this section); and the other\nis the well-known story of the Envious Sisters.\n\nThe remainder of M. Zotenberg's volume contains the Arabic text of the story\nof 'Ala Al-Din, or the Wonderful Lamp, with numerous critical notes, most of\nwhich refer to Galland's version. A few pages of Chavis' text are added for\ncomparison.\n\nThe story itself, M. Zotenberg remarks, is modern, giving a faithful picture\nof Egyptian manners under the reign of the last Mamlouk Sultans. Some\nexpressions which occur in the French Arabic Dictionary of Ellions Bocthor and\nof A. Caussin de Perceval, are apparently derived from the story of 'Ala\nAl-Din.\n\n\n\n\n    Story of the Three Princes and the Genius Morhagian and\n                         His Daughters.\n\n\n\n[Reprinted by M. Zotenberg (pp. 53-61) from Galland's Journal, MS. francais,\nNo. 15277, pp. 120-131. The passages in brackets are added by the present\ntranslator (chiefly where Galland has inserted \"etc.\") to fill up the sense.]\n\nWhen the Sultan of Samarcand had reached a great age, he called the three\nprinces, his sons, and after observing that he was much pleased to see how\nmuch they loved and revered him, he gave them leave to ask for whatever they\nmost desired. They had only to speak, and he was ready to grant them whatever\nthey asked, let it be what it might, on the sole condition that he should\nsatisfy the eldest first, and the two younger ones afterwards, each in his\nturn. The eldest prince, whose name was Rostam, begged the Sultan to build him\na cabinet of bricks of gold and silver alternately, and roofed with all kinds\nof precious stones.\n\nThe Sultan issued his orders that very day, but before the roof of the cabinet\nwas finished, indeed before any furniture had been put into it, Prince Rostam\nasked his father's leave to sleep there. The Sultan tried to dissuade him,\nsaying that [the roof] ought to be finished first, but the prince was so\nimpatient that he ordered his bed to be removed there, and he lay down. He was\nreading the Koran about midnight, when suddenly the floor opened and he beheld\na most hideous genius named Morhagian rise from the ground, who cried out,\n\"You are a prince, but even if you were the Sultan himself, I would not\nrefrain from taking vengeance for your rashness in entering this house which\nhas been built just above the palace of my eldest daughter.\" At the same time\nhe paced around the cabinet, and struck its walls, when the whole cabinet was\nreduced to dust so fine that the wind carried it away, and left not a trace of\nit. The prince drew his sword, and pursued the genius, who took to flight\nuntil he came to a well, into which he plunged [and vanished]. When the prince\nappeared before his father the Sultan next morning, he was overwhelmed with\nconfusion [not only at what had happened, but on account of his disobedience\nto his father, who reproached him severely for having disregarded his advice].\n\nThe second prince, whose name was Gaiath Eddin (Ghay\u00e1th al-Din), then\nrequested the Sultan to build him a cabinet constructed entirely of the bones\nof fishes. The Sultan ordered it to be built, at great expense. Prince Gaiath\nEddin had no more patience to wait till it was quite finished than his brother\nRostam. He lay down in the cabinet notwithstanding the Sultan's warnings, but\ntook care to keep his sword by his side The genius Morhagian appeared to him\nalso at midnight, paid him the same compliment, and told him that the cabinet\nwas built over the palace of his second daughter. He reduced it to dust, and\nPrince Gaiath Eddin pursued him, sword in hand, to the well, where he escaped;\nand next day the prince appeared before his father, the Sultan [as crestfallen\nas his brother].\n\nThe third prince, who was named Badialzaman (Bad\u00edu'l-Zam\u00e1n = Rarity of the\nAge) obtained leave from the Sultan to build a cabinet entirely of rock\ncrystal. He went to sleep there before it was entirely finished, but without\nsaying anything to the Sultan, as he was resolved to see whether Morhagian\nwould treat him in the same way. Morhagian arrived at midnight, and declared\nthat the cabinet was built over the palace of his third daughter. He destroyed\nthe cabinet' and when the prince seized his sword, Morhagian took to flight.\nThe prince wounded him three times before he reached the well, but he\nnevertheless succeeded in escaping.\n\nPrince Badialzaman did not present himself to the Sultan, but went to the two\nprinces, his brothers, and urged them to pursue the genius in the well itself.\nThe three went together, and the eldest was let down into the well by a rope,\nbut after descending a certain distance, he cried out, and asked to be drawn\nup a rain. He excused his failure by saying that he felt a burning heat [and\nwas almost suffocated]. The same thing happened to Prince Gaiath Eddin, who\nlikewise cried out till he was drawn up. Prince Badialzaman then had himself\nlet down but commanded his brothers not to draw him up again, even if he\nshould cry out. They let him down, and he cried out, but he continued to\ndescend till he reached the bottom of the well, when he untied himself from\nthe rope, and called out to his brothers that the air was very foul. At the\nbottom of the well he found an open door and he advanced for some distance\nbetween two walls, at the end of which he found a golden door, which he\nopened, and beheld a magnificent palace. He entered and passed through the\nkitchen and the storerooms, which were filled with all kinds of provisions,\nand then inspected the rooms, when he entered one magnificently furnished with\nsofas and divans. He was curious to find out who lived there, so he hid\nhimself. Soon afterwards he beheld a flight of doves alight at the edge of a\nbasin of water in the middle of the court The doves plunged into the water,\nand emerged from it as women, each of whom immediately set about her appointed\nwork. One went to the store room, another to the kitchen a third began to\nsweep [and so on]. They prepared a feast [as if for expected guests]. Some\ntime afterwards, Badialza man beheld another flight of ten doves of different\ncolours who surrounded an eleventh, which was quite white, and these also\nperched on the edge of the basin. The ten doves plunged into the basin and\ncame forth as women, more beautiful than the first and more magnificently\nrobed. They took the white dove and plunged her into a smaller basin, which\nwas [filled with] rose [water] and she became a woman of extraordinary beauty.\nShe was the eldest daughter of the genius, and her name was Fattane. (Fatt\u00e1nah\n= The Temptress.)\n\nTwo of her attendants then took Fattane under the armpits, and led her to her\napartment, followed by the others. She took her seat on a small raised sofa,\nand her women separated, some to the right and some to the left, and set about\ntheir work. Prince Badialzaman had dropped his handkerchief. One of the\nwaiting women saw it and picked it up, and when she looked round, she saw the\nprince. She was alarmed, and warned Fattane, who sent some of her women to see\nwho the stranger was. The prince came forward, and presented himself before\nFattane, who beheld a young prince, and gave him a most gracious reception.\nShe made him sit next to her, and inquired what brought him there? He told his\nstory from the beginning to the end, and asked where he could find the genius,\non whom he wished to take vengeance. Fattane smiled, and told him to think no\nmore about it, but only to enjoy himself in the good company in which he found\nhimself. They spread the table, and she made him sit next to her, and her\nwomen played on all kinds of musical instruments before they retired to rest.\n\nFattane persuaded the prince to stay with her from day to day: but on the\nfortieth day he declared that he could wait no longer, and that it was\nabsolutely necessary for him to find out where Morhagian dwelt. The princess\nacknowledged that he was her father, and told him that his strength was so\ngreat [that nobody could overcome him]. She added that she could not inform\nhim where to find him, but that her second sister would tell him. She sent one\nof her women to guide him to her sister's palace through a door of\ncommunication, and to introduce him. He was well received by the fairy, for\nwhom he had a letter, and he found her younger and more beautiful than\nFattane. He begged her to inform him where he could find the genius, but she\nchanged the subject of conversation, entertained him magnificently, and kept\nhim with her for forty days. On the fortieth day she permitted him to depart,\ngave him a letter, and sent him to her youngest sister, who was a still more\nbeautiful fairy. He was received and welcomed with joy. She promised to show\nhim Morhagian's dwelling, and she also entertained him for forty days. On the\nfortieth day she tried to dissuade him from his enterprise, but he insisted.\nShe told him that Morhagian would grasp his head in one hand, and his feet in\nthe other, and would tear him asunder in the middle. But this did not move\nhim, and she then told him that he would find Morhagian in a dwelling, long,\nhigh and wide in proportion to his bulk. The prince sought him out, and the\nmoment he caught sight of him, he rushed at him, sword in hand. Morhagian\nstretched out his hand, seized his head in one hand and his feet in the other,\nrent him in two with very little effort, and threw him out of a window which\noverlooked a garden.\n\nTwo women sent by the youngest princess each took a piece of the body of the\nprince, and brought it to their mistress, who put them together, reunited\nthem, and restored life to the prince by applying water [of life ?] to the\nwounds. She then asked the prince where he came from, and it seemed to him\nthat he had just awakened from sleep; and she then recalled everything to his\nrecollection. But this did not weaken his firm resolve to kill the genius. The\nfairy begged him to eat, but he refused; and she then urged that Morhagian was\nher father, and that he could only be killed by his own sword, which the\nprince could not obtain.[FN#434] \"You may say what you please,\" answered the\nprince; \"but there is no help for it, and he must die by my hand [to atone for\nthe wrongs which my brothers and I have suffered from him].\"\n\nThen the princess made him swear solemnly to take her as his bride, and taught\nhim how he might succeed in killing the genius. \"You cannot hope to kill him\nwhile he wakes,\" said she, \"but when he sleeps it is not quite impossible. If\nhe sleeps, you will hear him snore, but he will sleep with his eyes open,\nwhich is a sign that he has fallen into a very profound slumber. As he fills\nthe whole room, step upon him and seize his sword which hangs above his head,\nand then strike him on the neck. The blow will not kill him, but as he wakes,\nhe will tell you to strike him a second time. But beware of doing this [for if\nyou strike him again, the wound will heal of itself, and he will spring up and\nkill you, and me after you].\"\n\nThen Badialzaman returned to Morhagian's room, and found him snoring so loud\nthat everything around him shook. The prince entered, though not without\ntrembling, and walked over him till he was able to seize the sword when he\nstruck him a violent blow on the neck. Morhagian awoke, cursing his daughter,\nand cried out to the prince, whom he recognised, \"Make an end of me.\" The\nprince answered that what he had done was enough, and he left him, and\nMorhagian died.\n\nThe prince carried off Morhagian's sword, which he thought would be useful to\nhim in other encounters; and as he went, he passed a magnificent stable in\nwhich he saw a splendid horse. He returned to the fairy and related to her\nwhat he had done, and added that he would like to carry off the horse, but he\nfeared it would be very difficult. \"Not so difficult as you think,\" said she.\n\"Go and cut off some hair from his tail, and take care of it, and whenever you\nare in need, burn one or two of the hairs, and he will be with you immediately\n[and will bring you whatever you require].\"\n\nAfter this the three fairies assembled together, and the prince promised that\nthe two princes, his brothers, should marry the other two sisters. Each fairy\nreduced her palace to the size of a small ball, which she gave to the prince\n\nThe prince then took the three fairies to the bottom of the well. His father,\nthe Sultan, had long believed that he was dead, and had put on mourning for\nhim. His two brothers often came to the well, and they happened to be there\njust at the time. Badialzaman attracted their attention by his shouts, told\nthem what had happened, and added that he had brought the three fairies with\nhim. He asked for a rope and fastened the eldest fairy to it, calling out,\n\"Pull away, Prince Rostam, I send you your good fortune.\" The rope was let\ndown again, and he fastened the second fairy to it, calling out \"Brother\nGaiath Eddin, pull up your good fortune too.\"\n\nThe third fairy, who was to marry Badialzaman, begged him to allow himself to\nbe drawn up before her [as she was distrustful of his brothers], but he would\nnot listen to her. As soon as the two princes had drawn her up so high that\nthey could see her, they began to dispute who should have her. Then the fairy\ncried out to Badialzaman, \"Prince, did I not warn you of this ?\"\n\nThe princes were obliged to agree that the Sultan should settle their dispute.\nWhen the third fairy had been drawn out of the well, the three fairies\nendeavoured to persuade the two princes to draw up their youngest brother, but\nthey refused, and compelled them to follow them. While they carried off the\nyoungest princess, the other two asked leave to say adieu to Prince\nBadialzaman They cried out from the top of the well, \"Prince have patience\ntill Friday, when you will see six bulls pass by--three red ones and three\nblack ones. Mount upon one of the red ones and he will bring you up to the\nearth, but take good care not to mount upon a black one, for he would carry\nyou down to the Seventh Earth.\"[FN#435]\n\nThe princes carried off the three fairies, and on Friday, three days\nafterwards, the six bulls appeared. Badialzaman was about to mount upon a red\none, when a black one prevented him, and compelled him to mount his back, when\nhe plunged through the earth till he stopped at a large town in another world.\nHe entered the town, and took up his abode with an old woman, to whom he gave\na piece of gold to provide him with something to eat, for he was almost\nfamished. When he had eaten enough, he asked for something to drink. \"You\ncannot be a native of this country,\" said the old woman [\"or you would not ask\nfor drink\"]. She then brought him a sponge, saying that she had no other\nwater. She then informed him that the town was supplied with water from a very\ncopious spring, the flow of which was interrupted by a monster. They were\nobliged to offer up a girl to be devoured by it on every Friday. To-day the\nprincess, the Sultan's daughter, was to be given up to him, and while the\nmonster emerged from his lair to devour her, enough water would flow for\neveryone to supply himself until the following Friday.\n\nBadialzaman then requested the old woman to show him the way to the place\nwhere the princess was already exposed; but she was so much afraid that he had\nmuch trouble in persuading her to come out of her house to show him what\ndirection to take. He went out of the town, and went on till he saw the\nprincess, who made a sign to him from a distance to approach no nearer; and\nthe nearer he came, the more anxiety she displayed. As soon as he was within\nhearing, he shouted to her not to be afraid; and he sat down beside her, and\nfell asleep, after having begged her to wake him as soon as the monster\nappeared. Presently a tear from the princess fell upon his face, and he woke\nup, and saw the monster, which he slew with the sword of Morhagian, and the\nwater flowed in abundance The princess thanked her deliverer, and begged him\nto take her back to the Sultan her father, who would give proofs of his\ngratitude; but he excused himself. She then marked his shoulder with the blood\nof the monster without his noticing it. The princess then returned to the\ntown, and was led back to the palace, where she related to the Sultan [all\nthat had happened]. Then the Sultan commanded that all the men in the town\nshould pass before himself and the princess under pain of death. Badialzaman\ntried to conceal himself in a khan, but he was compelled to come with the\nothers. The princess recognised him, and threw an apple at him to point him\nout. He was seized, and brought before the Sultan, who demanded what he could\ndo to serve him. The prince hesitated, but at length he requested the Sultan\nto show him the way to return to the world from whence he came. The Sultan was\nfurious, and would have ordered him to be burned as a heretic [but the\nprincess interceded for his life]. The Sultan then treated him as a madman,\nand drove him ignominiously from the town, and he wandered away without\nknowing where he was going. At length he arrived at a mountain of rock, where\nhe saw a great serpent rising from his lair to prey on young Rokhs. He slew\nthe serpent with the sword of Morhagian, and the father and mother of the\nRokhs arrived at the moment, and asked him to demand whatever he desired in\nreturn. He hesitated awhile, but at length he asked them to show him the way\nto the upper world. The male Rokh then told him to prepare ten quarters of\nmutton, to mount on his back, and to give him some of the meat whenever he\nshould turn his head either to one side or to the other on the journey.\n\nThe prince mounted on the back of the Rokh, the Rokh stamped with his foot,\nand the earth opened before them wherever he turned. They reached the bottom\nof the well when the Rokh turned his head, but there was no more meat left, so\nthe prince cut off the calf of his leg and gave it to him. When the Rokh\narrived at the top of the well, the prince leaped to the ground, when the Rokh\nperceived [that he was lame, when he inquired the reason, and the prince\nexplained what had happened]. The Rokh then disgorged the calf of the leg, and\nreturned it to its place, when it grew fast, and the prince was cured\nimmediately.\n\nAs the prince left the well, he met a peasant, and changed clothes with him,\nbut he kept the sword, the three balls, and the horse-hair. He went into the\ntown, where he took lodgings with a tailor, and kept himself in retirement.\nThe prince gradually rose in the tailor's esteem by letting him perceive that\nhe knew how to sew [and all the arts of an accomplished tailor]. Presently,\npreparations were made for the wedding of Prince Rostam, and the tailor with\nwhom Badialzaman lodged was ordered to prepare the fairy's robes. Badialzaman,\nwho slept in the shop, took clothes from one of the balls similar to those\nwhich were already far advanced, and put them in the place of the others. The\ntailor was astonished [at their fine workmanship] and wished to take the\nprince with him to receive a present, but he refused, alleging as an excuse\nthat he had so lately come to the town. When the fairies saw the clothes, they\nthought it a good omen.\n\nThe wedding day arrived, and they threw the jar\u00edd[FN#436] [and practised other\nmartial exercises]. It was a grand festival, and all the shops were closed.\nThe tailor wished to take the prince to see the spectacle, but he put him off\nwith an excuse. However, he went to a retired part of the town, where he\nstruck fire with a gun,[FN#437] and burned a little of the horse hair. The\nhorse appeared, and he told him to bring him a complete outfit all in red, and\nthat he should likewise appear with trappings, jewels, &c., and a reed (jar\u00edd)\nof the same colour. The prince then mounted the horse, and proceeded to the\nrace-course, where his appearance excited general admiration. At the close of\nthe sports, he cut off the head of Prince Rostam, and the horsemen pursued\nhim, but were unable to overtake him, and soon lost sight of him. He returned\nto the shop dressed as usual before the arrival of the tailor, who related to\nhim what had happened, of which he pretended to be entirely ignorant. There\nwas a great mourning at the court; but three months afterwards, fresh robes\nwere ordered for the wedding of the second prince. The fairies were confirmed\nin their suspicions when they saw the fresh clothes [which Badialzaman sent\nthem].\n\nOn the wedding day they again assembled to throw the jar\u00edd. Prince Badialzaman\nnow presented himself on the white horse, robed in white, and with pearls and\njewels to match, and again he attracted general admiration. He pushed himself\ninto the midst of a guard of eight hundred horsemen, and slew Gaiath Eddin.\nThey rushed upon him, and he allowed himself to be carried before the Sultan,\nwho recognised him [and pronounced his decision]. \"A brother who has been\nabandoned to die by his brothers has a right to kill them.\"\n\nAfter this, Prince Badialzaman espoused the youngest princess, and the two\nothers were given in marriage to two princes who were related to the Sultan.\n\n\n\n\n     Cazotte's Continuation, and the Composite Editions of\n               the Arabian Nights (Pp. 418-422).\n\n\nP. 422.--There is a small Dutch work, the title of which is as follows:\n\nOostersche Vertellingen, uit de Duizend-en-cen-Nacht: Naar de Hoogduitsche\nBewerking van M. Claudius,[FN#438] voor de Nederlandsche Jeugduiitgegeven door\nJ. J. A. Gouverneur. Te Groningen, bij B. Wolters, n.d. 8vo., pp. 281, colt\nfront. (illustrating No. 170).\n\nA composite juvenile edition, including Introduction (very short), and Nos.\n251g, 36a 163 (complete form), 6ef, 4, 5, 1, 52, 170, 6ee, 223, 207c, 6, 194c,\n206a, 204h, 2a, 174a and Introduction (a).\n\nDerived from at least four different sources.\n\n\n\n\n        Translations of the Printed Texts (Pp. 438-439).\n\n\n\nUnder this heading I have to record Sir Richard and Lady Burton's own works.\n\nLady Burton's Edition of her husband's Arabian Nights, translated literally\nfrom the Arabic, prepared for household reading by Justin Huntly McCarthy,\nM.P., London, Waterlow and Sons, Roy. 8vo. 6 vols.\n\nIn preparing this edition for the press, as much as possible has been\nretained, both of the translation and notes; and it has not been found\nnecessary to omit altogether more than a very few of the least important\ntales. The contents of the 6 volumes are as follows:--\n\nVol. I. (1886), Front's piece (Portrait of Lady Burton), Preface, Translator's\nForeword Introduction 1-9 (pp. xxiii. 476).\n\nVol. II. (1886), Front's piece (Portrait of Sir Richard F. Burton), 9\n(continued), 9a-29 (pp. ii. 526).\n\nVol. III. (1887), 29 (continued)-133e (pp. viii. 511).\n\nVol. IV. (1887), 133e (continued)-154a (pp. iv. 514).\n\nVol. V. (1887), 154a (continued)-163 (pp. iv. 516).\n\nVol. VI. (1886) [? 1888], 163 (continued)-169 (pp. ii. 486).\n\nAlso includes Terminal Essay, Index to Tales and Proper Names, Contributions\nto Bibliography, as far as it relates to Galland's MS. and Translations;\nComparative Table of Tales; Opinions of the Press; and Letters from Scholars.\n\nSupplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, with notes\nanthropological and explanatory, by Richard F. Burton. Benares, printed by the\nKamashastra Society for private subscribers only. Roy. 8vo.\n\nThe contents of the 6 volumes are as follows:\n\nVol. I. (1886) Translator's Foreword, 170-181bb.\n\nVol. II. (1886) 182-189. Appendix: Variants and analogues of some of the tales\nin vols. i. and ii., by Mr. W. A. Clouston.\n\nThese two volumes contain the tales peculiar to the Breslau Text, and cover\nthe same ground as Mr. Payne's 3 vols. of \"Tales from the Arabic.\"\n\nVol. III. (1887) Foreword, 191-198. Appendix: Variants and Analogues of the\nTales in the Supplemental Nights, vol. iii., by Mr. W. A. Clouston.\n\nThis volume, the bulkiest of the whole series, contains such of Galland's\ntales as are not to be found in the ordinary texts of the Nights.\n\nVol. IV. (1887) The Translator's Foreword, 203-209; App. A. Inepti\u00e6\nBodleianae; App. B., The three untranslated tales in Mr. E. J. W. Gibb's\n\"Forty Vezirs.\"\n\nVol. V. (1888) 210-241a, Translator's Foreword; App. i. Catalogue of Wortley\nMontague Manuscript, Contents, App. ii. Notes on the Stories contained in\nvols. iv. and v. of Supplemental Nights, by Mr. W. F. Kirby.\n\nThese two volumes contain tales translated from the Wortley Montague MS., used\nby Jonathan Scott, and now in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. The following\ntales, not in our table, are added:--\n\nVol. IV. Story of the Limping Schoolmaster (between 204i and 204j).\n\nHow Drummer Abu Kasim became a Kazi, and Story of the Kazi and his Slipper.\n(These two tales come between 206a and 206b.)\n\nAdventure of the Fruit-seller and the Concubine (between 207c and 207d).\n\nTale of the third Larrikin concerning himself (between 208 and 209).\n\nOn the other hand, a few tales in the MS. are omitted as repetitions, or as\ntoo unimportant to be worth translating:--\n\nVol. VI. (1888) Translator's Foreword: 248; 246; The Linguist-Dame, the\nDuenna, and the King's Son; 247; The Pleasant History of the Cock and the Fox;\nHistory of what befel the Fowl-let with the Fowler; 249; 250.\n\nApp. i. Index to the Tales and Proper Names; ii. Alphabetical Table of the\nNotes (Anthropological, &c.); iii. Notes on the Stories contained in vol. vi.\nof Supplementary Nights, by W. F. Kirby; iv. Additional Notes on the\nBibliography of the Thousand and One Nights, by W. F. Kirby; v. The Biography\nof the Book and the Reviewers Reviewed, Opinions of the Press.\n\nThis volume contains the originals of Chavis and Cazotte's Tales, omitting the\nfour doubtful ones (cf. Nights, x. App., pp. 418, 419).\n\n\n\n\n            Collections of Selected Tales (P. 439).\n\n\n\n\"We have also 'Aladdin or the Wonderful Lamp,' 'Sindbad the Sailor, or the Old\nMan of the Sea' and 'Ali Baba, or the Forty Thieves,' revised by M. E.\nBraddon, author of 'Lady Audley's Secret,' etc. Illustrated by Gustav Dor\u00e9 and\nother artists. London: J. & R. Maxwell.\n\n\"Miss Braddon has contented herself with 'Englishing' the vulgar version,\nwhose Gallicisms are so offensive to the national ear.\" (Sir R. F. Burton, in\nlitt.)\n\n\n\n\n     Imitations and Miscellaneous Works Having More or less\n      Connection with the Nights (Pp. 448-453). B. English\n                         (Pp. 452-453).\n\n\n\n13. History of Rhedi, the Hermit of Mount Ararat, an Oriental Tale.\nBy--Mackenzie, 16mo., Dublin, 1781.\n\nI have not seen this little book.\n\n14. Miscellanies, consisting of classical extracts, and Oriental Epilogues. By\nWilliam Beloe, F.S.A. Translator of Herodotus, &c. London, 1795.\n\nIncludes some genuine Oriental tales, such as a version of that of B\u00e1sim the\nSmith.\n\n15. The Orientalist, or Letters of a Rabbi, with Notes by James Noble,\nOriental Master in the Scottish Nasal and Military Academy. Edinburgh, 1831.\n\nNoticed by Mr. W. A. Clouston, Suppl. Nights, iii., p. 377.\n\n16. The Adventures of the Caliph Haroun Al-raschid. Recounted by the Author of\n\"Mary Powell\" [Miss Manning]. 8vo., London, 1855; Arthur Hall, Virtue & Co.\n\n17. The 1001 Days, a Companion to the Arabian Nights, with introduction by\nMiss J.] Pardoe. 8vo., London 1857, woodcuts.\n\nA miscellaneous collection partly derived from \"Les Mille et un Jours\" (cf.\nNights x., pp. 499, 500). I have also seen a similar miscellaneous collection\nin French under the latter title. The tales in the English work are as\nfollows:\n\nI.   Hassan Abdallah, or the Enchanted Keys Story of Hassan.\n     Hassan Abdallah the Basket Maker.\n     Hassan Abdallah the Dervise Abounader\n\nII.  Soliman Bey and the Story Tellers\n     The First Story Teller.\n     The Second Story Teller.\n     The Third Story Teller.\n\nIII.      Prince Khalaf and the Princess of China\n     Story of Prince Al-Abbas.\n     Story of Liri-in.\n\nIV.  The Wise Dey.\n\nV.   The Tunisian Sage.\n\nVI.  The Nose for Gold.\n\nVII.      The Treasures of Basra.\n\n     History of Aboulcassem.\n\nVIII.     The Old Camel.\n\nIX.  The Story of Medjeddin (Grimm's \"Haschem,\" cf. Nights, x., p. 422).\n\nX.   King Bedreddin Lolo and his Vizier.\n     Story of the Old Slippers.\n     Story of Atalmulk, surnamed the Sorrowful Vizier, and the Princess\nZelica.\n     Story of Malek and the Princess Schirine\n\n18. The Modern Arabian Nights. By Arthur A'Beckett and Linley Sambourne.\nLondon: Bradbury, Agnew & Co., 1877, sm. 4to., with comic coloured\nfrontispieces and woodcuts.\n\nFour clever satires (social and political) as follows:\n\n1.   Alley Baber and Son, a Mock Exchange Story.\n2.   Ned Redding and the Beautiful Persian.\n3.   The Ride of Captain Alf Rashit to Ke-Vere-Street.\n4.   Mr. O'Laddin and the Wonderful Lamp.\n\n19. Tales of the Caliph. By Al Arawiyah, 8vo., London, T. Fisher Unwin, 1887.\n\nBelongs to Class 5 (Imitations). Consists of fictitious adventures supposed to\nhave happened to Harun Al-Rashid, chiefly during his nocturnal rambles.\n\n\n\n\n    Separate Editions of Single or Composite Tales (Pp. 439\n                             441).\n\n\n\nP. 440.--No. 184 was published under the title of \"Woman's Wit\" in the\n\"Literary Souvenir\" for 1831, pp.217-237.derived from Langles' version (Mr.\nL.C. Smithers in litt.).\n\n\n\n\n     Translation of Cognate Oriental Romances Illustrative\n                  of the Nights (Pp. 441-443).\n\n\n\nP. 441, No. 1. Les Mille et un Jours.\n\nMr. L. C. Smithers (in litt.) notes English editions published in 1781 and\n1809, the latter under the title of \"The Persian and Turkish Tales.\"\n\nP. 443, No. 5. Recueil de Contes Populaires de la Kabylie du Djurdjura\nrecueillis et traduits par J. Riviere. 12mo. Paris: Leroux. 1882.\n\nThis collection is intended to illustrate the habits and ideas of the people.\nThe tales are very short, and probably very much abridged, but many of them\nillustrate the Nights. I may note the following tales as specially interesting\nfrom their connection with the Nights, or with important tales in other\ncollections, Oriental or otherwise.\n\nThadhillala. A brief abstract of No. 151.\n\nLes deux Fr\u00e8res. A variant of Herodotus' Story of Rhampsinitus.\n\nL'homme de bien et le m\u00e9chant. A variant of No. 262; or Schiller's Fridolin.\n\nLe Corbeau et l'Enfant. Here a child is stolen and a crow left in its place.\n\nH'ab Sliman. Here an ugly girl with foul gifts is substituted for her\nopposite.\n\nLe roi et son fils. Here we find the counterpart of Schaibar (from No. 197),\nwho, however, is a cannibal and devours everybody.\n\nLes Enfants et la Chauve-sourie. Resembles No. 198.\n\nLe Joueur de Flute. Resembles Grimm's story of the Jew in the Bramble-Bush.\n\nJ\u00e9sus-Christ et la femme infidels (=261 b.; cf. Nights, x., p. 420).\n\nLe Roitelet. This is the fable of the Ox and the Frog.\n\nL'idiot et le coucou (=No. 206a).\n\nMoh'amed teen Soltan. This is one of the class of stories known to\nfolk-lorists as the Punchkin series. The life of a Gh\u00fal is hidden in an egg,\nthe egg in a pigeon, the pigeon in a camel, and the camel in the sea.\n\nLes deux Fr\u00e8res. A Cinderella story. The slayer of a hydra is discovered by\ntrying on a shoe.\n\nLes trots Fr\u00e8res. Here a Gh\u00fal is killed by a single blow from a magic dagger,\nwhich must not be repeated. (Cf. Nights, vii., p. 361.) In this story, too,\nthe protection of a Gh\u00falah is secured by tasting her milk, a point which we\nfind in Spitta Bey's \"Comes Arabes Modernes,\" but not in the Nights.\n\n9. Turkish Evening Entertainments. \"The Wonders of Remarkable Incidents and\nthe Rarities of Anecdotes,\" by Ahmed ibn Hemdem the Kethhoda called\n\"Sobailee.\" Translated from the Turkish by John F. Brown. 8vo., New York,\n1850.\n\nContains a great number of tales and anecdotes, divided into 37 chapters, many\nof which bear such headings as \"Illustrative of intelligence and piety,\" \"On\njustice and fostering care,\" \"Anecdotes about the Abbaside Caliphs,\" &c.\n\n\"A translation of the Turkish story-book, 'Aja'ib al-ma'\u00e1sir wa ghar\u00e1 'ib\nennaw\u00e1dir,' written for Mu\u00e1d the Fourth Ottoman Sultan who reigned between\n1623-40. A volume of interesting anecdotes from the Arabic and Persian\" (Mr.\nL. C. Smithers, in litt.).\n\n10. Contes Arabes Modernes, recueillis et traduits par Guillaume Spitta-Bey.\n8vo., Leyden and Paris, 1883.\n\nThis book contains 12 orally collected tales of such great importance from a\nfolk-lore point of view that I have given full abstracts of all. They are\ndesigned to illustrate the spoken Egyptian dialect, and are printed in Roman\ncharacter, with translation and glossary. The hero of nearly all the tales is\ncalled \"Mohammed l'Avis\u00e9,\" which Mr. Sydney Hartland renders \"Prudent,\" and\nMr. W. A. Clouston \"Discreet.\" The original gives \"Ess\u00e2tir Mehammed.\"\n(Al-Sh\u00e1tir Mohammed, i.e., M. the Clever.) The frequent occurrence of the\nnumber 39 (forty less one) may also be noted. Gh\u00fals often play the part which\nwe should expect Jinn to fill. The bear, which occurs in two stories, is not\nan Egyptian animal. Having called attention to these general features we may\nleave the tales to speak for themselves.\n\nI. Histoire de Mohammed l'Avise.\n\nContains the essential features of Cazotte's story of the Maugraby (cf.\nNights, x., p 418) with interesting additions. The \"Mogr\u00e9bin\" confers three\nsons on a king and queen and claims Mohammed, the eldest and the cleverest. He\ngives him a book to read during his absence of 30 days, but on the 29th day he\nfinds a girl hanging by her hair in the garden and she teaches him to read it,\nbut not to tell the magician. The latter cuts off his arm threatening to cut\noff his head if he cannot read the book within another 30 days. As soon as he\nis gone, Mohammed reads on his arm again with the book, and escapes with the\ngirl when they separate and return to their respective homes. Mohammed then\nchanges himself into a sheep for his mother to sell, but warns her not to sell\nthe cord round his neck. Next day he changes himself into a camel, forbidding\nhis mother to sell the bridle but she is persuaded to do so, and he falls into\nthe hands of the magician. But he contrives to escape in the form of a crow\nand the magician pursues him for two days and nights in the form of a hawk,\nwhen he descends into the garden of the king whose daughter he had rescued\nfrom the magician, and changes himself into a pomegranate on a tree. The\nmagician asks for and receives the pomegranate, when it bursts, and the seed\ncontaining the life of Mohammed rolls under the king's throne. The magician\nchanges himself into a cock, and picks up the seeds, but while he is searching\nfor the last, it changes into a dagger, and cuts him in two. The princess\nacknowledges Mohammed as her deliverer and they are married.\n\nII. Histoire de l'Ours de Cuisine.\n\nThis begins as a swan-maiden story.[FN#439] A king steals the feather-dress of\na bathing maiden, who will only marry him on condition that she shall tear out\nthe eyes of his forty women (39 white slaves and a princess). The king\nanswers, \"C'est bien, il n'y a pas d'inconv\u00e9nient.\" The forty blind women are\nshut up in a room under the kitchen, where they give birth to children whom\nthey cut up and divide; but the princess saves her shares and thus preserves\nher son, whom she calls \"Mohammed l'Avis\u00e9,\" and teaches to read. He steals\nfood from the kitchen, calling himself \"Ours de Cuisine,\" the queen hears of\nhim, pretends to be ill, and demands that he shall be sent to fetch the heart\nof the Bull of the Black Valley. He finds a Gh\u00faleh sitting with her breasts\nthrown back on her shoulders so he tastes her milk unperceived, and she at\nonce adopts him as her son. She gives him a ball and a dagger, warning him\nthat if he strikes the bull more than once, he will sink into the earth with\nhim. The ball rolls before him, and when it stops, the bull rises from the\nground. Mohammed kills him, refusing to repeat the blow, returns the ball and\ndagger to the Gh\u00faleh, and returns home. A few days afterwards, the queen sends\nMohammed to fetch the heart of the Bull of the Red Valley, and when he informs\nthe Gh\u00faleh, she says \"Does she wish to kill her second brother too?\" \"Are\nthese her brothers ?\" asked Mohammed. She answered, \"Yes, indeed, they are the\nsons of the Sultan of the J\u00e1nn.\" He kills the Bull as before. A fortnight\nafterwards, the queen hides a loaf of dry bread under her mattress. When its\ncracking gives rise to the idea that she is very ill, and she complains of\ngreat pain in the sides. She demands a pomegranate from the White Valley,\nwhere the pomegranates grow to the weight of half a cantar.[FN#440] The Ghuleh\ntells him she cannot help him, but he must wait for her son Adberrahym. When\nhe arrives he remarks, \"Hum! mother, there's a smell of man about you, bring\nhim here to me to eat for breakfast.\" But his mother introduces Mohammed to\nhim as his foster brother, and he becomes friendly at once, but says that the\npomegranate is the queen's sister. He tells Mohammed to get an ardebb of small\nround loaves in a basket, along with a piece of meat, and a piece of liver.\nThe Gh\u00fal then gives him a rod, saying, \"Throw it down, and walk after it. It\nwill knock at the garden gate, which will open, and when you enter you will\nfind great dogs, but throw the bread right and left, without looking back.\nBeyond a second gate you will find Gh\u00fals; throw bread to them right and left,\nand after passing them, look up, and you will find a tree in a fountain\nsurrounded with roses and jasmine. You will see a pomegranate upon it. Gather\nit, and it will thunder, but fear nothing, and go on your way directly, and do\nnot look behind you after passing the gate.\" The queen waits another\nfortnight, and then demands the flying castle from Mount Kaf, intending that\nher father, who dwelt there, should burn him. The Gh\u00faleh directed Mohammed to\ndye himself black, and to provide himself with some mastic (ladin) and\nlupines. With these, he makes friends with a black slave, who takes him into\nthe castle, and shows him a bottle containing the life of the queen, another\ncontaining the eyes of the forty women; a magic sword which spares nothing,\nand the ring which moves the castle. Mohammed then sees a beetle,[FN#441]\nwhich the slave begs him not to kill, as it is his life. He watches it till it\nenters a hole, and as soon as the slave is asleep, he kills it, and the slave\ndies. Then he lays hands on the talismans, rushes into the room where the\ninhabitants of the castle are condoling with the king and queen on the loss of\ntheir three children, and draws the sword, saying \"Strike right and left, and\nspare neither great nor small.\" Having slain all in the castle, Mohammed\nremoves it to his father's palace, when his father orders the cannons to be\nfired. Then Mohammed tells his father his history, compels the queen to\nrestore the eyes of the forty women, when they become prettier than before,\nand then gives her the flask containing her life. But she drops it in her\nfright, and her life ends, and the king places Mohammed on the throne.\n\nIII.--Histoire de la Dame des Arabes Jasmin.\n\nA king sends his wazir to obtain a talisman of good luck, which is written for\nhim by Jasmine, the daughter of an Arab Sheikh. The king marries her, although\nshe demands to be weighed against gold, but drives her away for kissing a\nfisherman in return for a bottle which he has drawn out of the river for her.\nShe goes two days' journey to a town, where she takes up her abode with a\nmerchant, and then discovers that whenever she turns the stopper of the\nbottle, food, drink, and finally ten white dancing girls emerge from it. The\ngirls dance, each throws her ten purses of money, and then they retire into\nthe bottle. She builds herself a grand palace, where her husband seeks her,\nand seeing the new palace, orders that no lights shall be lit in the town that\nnight. She lights up her palace, which convinces the king that he has a\ndangerous rival. Then the wazir and the king visit her; the king asks for the\nbottle, and she demands more than a kiss, then reveals herself, puts the king\nto shame, and they are reconciled.\n\nIV.--Histoire du P\u00e9cheur et de son Fils.\n\nA king falls in love with the wife of a fisherman, and the wazir advises the\nformer to require the fisherman on pain of death to furnish a large hall with\na carpet in a single piece. The fisherman's wife sends him to the well of\nShoubrah where he exclaims, \"O such-and-such-a-one, thy sister so-and-so\nsalutes thee, and asks thee to send her the spindle which she forgot when she\nwas with thee yesterday, for we want to furnish a room with it.\" The fisherman\ndrives a nail into the floor at one end of the room, fixes the thread on the\nspindle to it, and draws out a wonderful carpet. Then the wazir demands a\nlittle boy eight days old, who shall tell a story of which the beginning shall\nbe a lie and the end a lie. The fisherman is sent to the well with the\nmessage, \"O such-and-such-a-one, thy sister so-and-so greets thee, and\nrequests thee to give her the child which she brought into the world\nyesterday.\" But the child only cries until three gnats are applied to him, one\non each side and one on the back. Then the boy speaks, saying, \"Peace be on\nthee, O king!\" and afterwards tells his lying story: \"When I was in the flower\nof my youth, I walked out of the town one day into the fields when it was very\nhot, I met a melon-seller, I bought a melon for a mahboub, took it, cut out a\npiece, and looked inside, when I saw a town with a grand hall, when I raised\nmy feet and stepped into the melon. Then I walked about to look at the people\nof the town inside the melon. I walked on till I came out of the town into the\ncountry. There I saw a date-tree bearing dates a yard long. I wished for some,\nand climbed the date-tree to gather a date and eat it. There I found peasants\nsowing and reaping on the date-tree, and the threshing wheels were turning to\nthresh the wheat. I walked on a little, and met a man who was beating eggs to\nmake a poultry yard. I looked on, and saw the chickens hatch; the cocks went\nto one side and the hens to the other. I stayed near them till they grew up,\nwhen I married them to each other, and went on. Presently I met a donkey\ncarrying sesame-cakes, so I cut off a piece and ate it. When I had eaten it, I\nlooked up, and found myself outside the melon, and the melon became whole as\nit was at first.\" Then the child rebukes and threatens the king and the wazir\nand the fisherman's wife sends her husband to take the child back to the well.\n\nThe fisherman had a son named Mohammed l'Avis\u00e9 (Al-Shat\u00edr), who was as\nhandsome as his mother; but the king had a son whose complexion was like that\nof a Fellah. The boys went to school together, and the prince used to say,\n\"Good day, fisherman's son,\" and Mohammed used to reply, \"Good day, O son of\nthe king, looking like a shoe-string.\" The prince complained to his father,\nwho ordered the schoolmaster to kill Mohammed and he bastinadoed him severely.\nThe boy went to his father, and turned fisherman. On the first day he caught a\nmullet (Fr. rouget), and was about to fry it, when it cried out that it was\none of the princesses of the river, and he threw it back. Then the wazir\nadvised the king to send Mohammed to fetch the daughter of the king of the\nGreen Country, seven years journey distant. By the advice of the fish,\nMohammed asked the king for a golden galley; and on reaching the Green\nCountry, invited the inhabitants to inspect his galley. At last the princess\ncame down, and he carried her off. When she found she was entrapped she threw\nher ring into the sea, which the fish caught. When the king proposed to the\nprincess, she first demanded her ring, which Mohammed immediately presented to\nthe king. Then she said it was the custom of her country on the occasion of a\nmarriage to dig a trench from the palace to the river, which was filled with\nwood, and set on fire. The bridegroom was required to walk through the trench\nto the river. The wazir proposed that Mohammed should walk through the trench\nfirst; and by the fish's advice, he stopped his ears, cried out, \"In the name\nof God, the Compassioning, the Merciful,\" threw himself into the trench, and\nreturned from the river handsomer than before. So the wazir said to the king,\n\"Send for your son to go with us, that he may become as handsome as Mohammed.\"\nSo the three threw themselves into the fire, and were burned to ashes, and\nMohammed married the princess.\n\nV.--Histoire de Dal\u00e2l.\n\nDalal was a little girl, the daughter of a king, who found a louse on her\nhead, and put it into a jar of oil, where it remained till Dalal was twenty\nyears old, when it burst the jar, and emerged in the form of a horned buffalo.\nThe king ordered the hide to be hung at the gate of the palace, and proclaimed\nthat anyone who could discover what the skin was should marry his daughter,\nbut whoever tried and failed should lose his head. Thirty-nine suitors thus\nperished, when a Ghul passed by in the form of a man, who knew the secret. He\ntook Dalal home with him and brought her a man's head, but as she would not\neat it, he brought her a sheep. He then visited her under the forms of her\nmother and her two aunts, and told her that her husband was a Ghul; but she\nrefused to believe it until the third visit. Then he was angry; but she begged\nhim to let her go to the bath before she was eaten. He consented, took her to\na bath, and sat at the door; but she rubbed herself with mud, changed clothes\nwith an old lupine-seller, and escaped for a time. She reached a palace which\nshe would not enter until she was invited by the Prince himself, who then\nproposed to marry her, but on the wedding day, her husband, having tracked her\nout, contrived that another Gh\u00fal in the form of a man should present him to\nthe king in the form of a sheep, pretending that he had been reared in a\nharem, and would bleat so loud that nobody could sleep, unless he was tethered\nin the women's apartments. At night the Gh\u00fal carried off Dalal from beside the\nprince to the adjoining room, but she begged to be allowed to retire for a few\nmoments, when she called upon Saint Zaynab for help, who sent one of her\nsisters (?) a Jinniyah. She clove the wall, and asked Dalal to promise to give\nher her first child. She then gave her a piece of wood to throw into the mouth\nof the Gh\u00fal when he opened his mouth to eat her.[FN#442] He fell on the ground\nsenseless, and Dalal woke up the prince who slew him. But when Dalal brought\nforth a daughter whom she gave to the Jinniyah, her mother-in law declared\nthat Dalal herself was a Ghuleh, and she was banished to the kitchen, where\nshe peeled onions for ten years. At the end of this time the Jinniyah again\nclove the wall, and brought back the young princess, who was introduced to her\nfather, who took Dalal again into favour. Meantime the sultan of the Jinn sent\nfor the Jinniyah, for his son was ill, and could only be cured by a cup of\nwater from the Sea of Emeralds, and this could only be obtained by a daughter\nof mankind. So the Jinniyah borrowed Dalal's daughter again, and took her to\nthe sultan, who gave her a cup, and mounted her on a Jinni, warning her not to\nwet her fingers. But a wave touched the hand of the princess, which turned as\ngreen as clover. Every morning the Sea of Emerald is weighed by an officer to\ndiscover whether any has been stolen; and as soon as he discovered the\ndeficiency, he took a platter of glass rings and bracelets, and went from\npalace to palace calling out, \"Glass bracelets and rings, O young ladies.\"\nWhen he came to Dalal's palace, the young princess was looking out of the\nwindow, and insisted on going herself to try them on. She hesitated to show\nher right hand; and the spy knew that she was guilty, so he seized her hand,\nand sunk into the ground with her. He delivered her over to the servants of\nthe King of the Sea of Emerald, who would have beaten her, but the Jinn\nsurrounded her, and prevented them. Then the King of the Sea of Emerald\nordered her to be taken, bound into the bath, saying that he would follow in\nthe form of a serpent, and devour her. But she recognised him by his green\neyes, when he became a man, ordered her to be restored to her father, and\nafterwards married her. He gave forty camel loads of emeralds and jacinths as\nher dowry, and always visited her by night in the form of a winged serpent,\nentering and leaving by the window.\n\nVI.--Histoire de la fille vertueuse.\n\nA merchant and his wife set out to the Hejaz with their son, leaving their\ndaughter to keep house, and commending her to the protection of the Kazi. The\nKazi fell in love with the girl, but as she would not admit him, he employed\nan old woman to entice her to the bath, but the girl threw soap in his eyes,\npushed him down and broke his head, and escaped to her own house, carrying off\nhis clothes. When the Kazi was well enough to get about again he found that\nshe had had the door of her house walled up until the return of her friends,\nso he wrote a slanderous letter to her father, who sent her brother to kill\nher, and bring him a bottle of her blood. But her brother, although he thought\nthe walling up of the door was a mere presence, could not find it in his heart\nto kill her, but abandoned her in the desert, and filled the bottle with\ngazelle blood. When the young girl awoke, she wandered to a spring, and\nclimbed into a tree where a prince who was passing saw her, carried her home,\nand married her. She had two sons and a daughter, but one of their playmates\nrefused to play with them because they had no maternal uncle. The king then\nordered the wazir to escort the princess and her three children to her\nfather's village for a month; but on the road, the wazir made love to her, and\nshe allowed him to kill children in succession to save her honour. At last, he\nbecame so pressing that she pretended to consent, but asked to quit the tent\nfor a moment, with a cord attached to her hand to prevent her escape. But she\nuntied the cord, fastened it to a tree, and fled. As they could not find the\nprincess, the wazir advised the soldiers to tell the king that a Gh\u00faleh had\ndevoured the children, and fled into the desert. The princess changed clothes\nwith a shepherd boy, went to a town, and took a situation in a caf\u00e9. When the\nwazir returned to the king, and delivered his report, the king proposed that\nthey should disguise themselves and set out in search of the princess and her\nchildren; and the wazir could not refuse. Meantime, the brother of the\nprincess had admitted to her father that he had not slain her, and they also\nset out in search of her, taking the Kazi with them. They all met at the caf\u00e9,\nwhere she recognised them, and offered to tell them a story. She related her\nown, and was restored to her friends. They seized the Kazi and the wazir, and\nsent for the old woman, when they burned them all three, and scattered their\nashes in the air.\n\nVII.--Histoire du prince qui apprit un m\u00e9tier.\n\nA prince named Mohammed l'Avis\u00e9 went to seek a wife, and fell in love with the\ndaughter of a leek-grower. She would not accept him unless he learned a trade,\nso he learned the trade of a silk weaver, who taught him in five minutes, and\nhe worked a handkerchief with the palace of his father embroidered upon it.\nTwo years afterwards, the prince and the wazir took a walk, when they found a\nMaghrabi seated at the gate of the town, who invited them to take coffee. But\nhe was a prisoner (or rather a murderer) who imprisoned them behind seven\ndoors; and after three days he cooked the wazir, and was going to cook the\nprince, but he persuaded him to take his handkerchief to market where it was\nrecognised, and the prince released from his peril. Two years later the king\ndied, and the prince succeeded to the throne. The latter had a son and\ndaughter, but he died when the boy was six and the girl eight, warning the boy\nnot to marry until the girl was married, lest his wife should ill-use her.\nAfter two years the sister said, \"Brother, if I show you the treasures of your\nfather and mother, what will you do?\" He answered, \"I will buy a slipper for\nyou and a slipper for me, and we will play with them among the stones.\" \"No,\"\nsaid she, \"you are still too little,\" and waited a year before she asked him\nagain. This time he answered, \"I will buy a tambourine for you, and a flute\nfor myself and we will play in the street.\" She waited two more years, and\nthis time he answered, \"We will use them to repair the water-wheels and my\nfather's palaces, and we will sow and reap.\" \"Now you are big,\" said she, and\ngave him the treasures, which he used to erect buildings in his father's\ncountry. Soon afterwards, an old woman persuaded the youth to marry her\ndaughter; but she herself went into the mountains, collected eggs of the bird\nOumbar, which make virgins pregnant if they eat them, and gave them to the\nsister. The old woman reported the result to the king, who visited his sister\nto satisfy himself of the truth of the matter, and then left her, but sent her\nfood by a slave. When the sister's time came, four angels descended from\nheaven, and took her daughter, bringing the child to her mother to be nursed.\nThe mother died of grief, and the angels washed and shrouded her and wept over\nher; and when the king heard it, he opened the door, and the angels flew away\nto heaven with the child. The king ordered a tomb to be built in the palace\nfor his sister, and was so much grieved at her death that he went on\npilgrimage. When he had been gone some time, and the time of his return\napproached, the old woman opened the sister's tomb, intending to throw her\nbody to the dogs to devour, and to put the carcase of a sheep in its place.\nThe angels put the child in the tomb, and she reproached and threatened the\nold woman; who, however, seized upon her and dyed her black, pretending that\nshe was a little black slave whom she had bought. When the king returned, he\npitied her, and called her to sit by him, but she asked for a candle and\ncandlestick to hold in her hand before all the company. Then she told her\nmother's story, saying to the candle at every word, \"Gutter for kings; this is\nmy uncle, the chief of kings.\" Then the candle threw mahboubs on her uncle's\nknees. When the story was ended the king ordered proclamation to be made, \"Let\nwhosoever loves the Prophet and the Elect, bring wood and fire.\" The people\nobeyed, and the old woman and her daughter were burned.\n\n\nVIII.--Histoire du Prince Amoureux.\n\nA woman prayed to God to give her a daughter, even if she should die of the\nsmell of flax. When the girl was ten years old, the king's son passed through\nthe street, saw her at the window, and fell in love with her. An old woman\ndiscovered that he loved Sittoukan, the daughter of a merchant, and promised\nto obtain her. She contrived to set her to spin flax, when a splinter ran\nunder her nail, and she fainted. The old woman persuaded her father and mother\nto build a palace in the midst of the river, and to lay her there on a bed.\nThither she took the prince, who turned the body about, saw the splinter, drew\nit out, and the girl awoke. He remained with her forty days, when he went down\nto the door, where he found the wazir waiting, and they entered the garden.\nThere they found roses and jasmines, and the prince said, \"The jasmines are as\nwhite as Sittoukan, and the roses are like her cheeks; if you did not approve,\nI would still remain with her, were it only for three days.\" He went up again\nfor three days, and when he next visited the wazir, they saw a carob-tree, and\nthe prince said, \"Remember, wazir, the carob-tree is like the eyebrows of\nSittoukan, and if you would not let me, I would still remain with her, were it\nonly for three days.\" Three days later, they saw a fountain, when the prince\nobserved that it was like the form of Sittoukan, and he returned. But this\ntime, she was curious to know why he always went and returned, and he found\nher watching behind the door, so he spat on her saying, \"If you did not love\nmen, you would not hide behind doors\"; and he left her. She wandered into the\ngarden in her grief, where she found the ring of empire, which she rubbed, and\nthe ring said, \"At your orders, what do you ask for ?\" She asked for increased\nbeauty, and a palace beside that of the prince. The prince fell in love with\nher, and sent his mother to propose for her hand. The mother took two pieces\nof royal brocade as a present, which the young lady ordered a slave in her\nhearing to cut up for dusters. Then the mother brought her an emerald collar\nworth four thousand diners, when she ordered it to be threshed, and thrown to\nthe pigeons. The old lady acknowledged herself beaten, and asked Sittoukan if\nshe wished to marry or not. The latter demanded that the prince should be\nwrapped in seven shrouds, and carried to the palace which she indicated, as if\nhe were dead. Then she went and took off the shrouds one after another, and\nwhen she came to the seventh, she spat on him, saying, \"If you did not love\nwomen, you would not be wrapped in seven shrouds.\" Then he said, \"Is it you?\"\nand he bit his finger till he bit it off, and they remained together.\n\nIX.--Histoire du musician ambulant et de son fils.\n\nThis travelling musician was so poor that when his wife was confined, he went\nout to beg for their immediate necessities, and found a hen lying on the\nground with an egg under her. He met a Jew to whom he sold the egg for twenty\nmahboubs. The hen laid an egg every day, which the Jew bought for twenty\nmahboubs, and the musician became rich and opened a merchant's shop. When his\nson was grown, he built a school for him at his own expense, where poor\nchildren were taught to read. Then the musician set out on pilgrimage,\ncharging his wife not to let the Jew trick her out of the hen. A fortnight\nafterwards, the Jew called, and persuaded the woman to sell him the hen for a\ncasket of silver. He ordered her to cook it, but told her that if anybody else\nate a piece, he would rip him up. The musician's son came in, while the fowl\nwas cooking, and as his mother would not give him any, he seized the gizzard,\nand ate it, when one of the slaves warned him to fly before the arrival of the\nJew. The Jew pursued the boy, and would have killed him, but the latter took\nhim up with one hand, and dashed him to pieces on the ground. The musician's\nson continued his journey, and arrived at a town where thirty-nine heads of\nsuitors who had failed to conquer the princess in wrestling, were suspended at\nthe gate of the palace. On the first day the youth wrestled with the princess\nfor two hours without either being able to overcome the other; but during the\nnight the king ordered the doctors to drug the successful suitor, and to steal\nthe talisman. Next morning when the youth awoke, he perceived his weakness,\nand fled. Presently he met three men quarrelling over a flying carpet, a\nfood-producing cup, and a money mill. He threw a stone for them to run after\nand transported himself to Mount Kaf, where he made trial of the other\ntalismans. Then he returned to the palace, called to the princess to come down\nto wrestle with him, and as soon as she stepped on the carpet, carried her\naway to Mount Kaf, when she promised to restore the gizzard, and to marry him.\nShe deserted him, and he found two date-trees, one bearing red and the other\nyellow dates. On eating a yellow date, a horn grew from his head[FN#443] and\ntwisted round the two date-trees. A red date removed it. He filled his\npockets, and travelled night and day for two months.[FN#444] He cried dates\nout of season, and the princess bought sixteen yellow ones, and ate them all;\nand eight [sixteen ?] horns grew from her head, four to each wall. They could\nnot be sawn off, and the king offered his daughter to whoever could remove\nthem. When the musician's son married the princess, and became wazir, he said\nto his bride, \"Where is my carpet, &c.\" She replied, \"Is it you?\" \"Yes,\" said\nhe, \"Is my trick or yours the best?\" She admitted that she was beaten, and\nthey lived together in harmony.\n\nX.--Histoire du rossignol chanteur.\n\nThree brothers built a palace for their mother and sister after their father's\ndeath. The sister loved someone of whom the brothers disapproved. An old woman\nadvised the sister to send her brothers for the singing nightingale. The two\neldest would not wait till the bird was asleep, but while they were trying to\nshut his cage, he dusted sand over them with his claws, and sunk them to the\nseventh earth. The beads and the ring gave warning of their deaths at home;\nbut the third, who left a rose with his mother, to fade if he died captured\nthe bird, and received sand from under the cage. When he scattered it on the\nground, more than a thousand men rose up, some negroes and some Turks. The\nbrothers were not among them, so the youngest was told to scatter white sand,\nwhen 500 more people emerged, including the brothers. Afterwards the eldest\nbrother was sitting in his ship when a Maghrebi told him to clean his turban;\nwhich his mother interpreted to mean that his sister had misconducted herself,\nand he should kill her. He refused, and fled with her to the desert. Hearing\nvoices, he entered a cave where thirty nine robbers were dividing rations; and\nhe contrived to appropriate a share, and then to return it when missed; but as\nhe was detected, he gave himself out as a fellow-robber, engaged himself to\nthem, and watching his opportunity, slew them. Afterwards he brought his\nsister two young lions. She found a wounded negro in the cave, whom she\nnursed, and after having had two children by him, plotted against her brother.\nShe pretended to be ill, and sent him to find the grapes of Paradise. He met a\nGh\u00faleh who gave him a ball which directed him to Paradise, and he returned\nsafely. Then his sister sent him for the Water of Life when the two young\nlions followed him, and he could not drive them back. After travelling for a\nyear the brother reached the Sea of the Water of Life, and while resting under\na tree heard two pigeons telling each other that the king's daughter was ill,\nand every doctor who failed to restore her was put to death, and she could\nonly be cured by the Water of Life. \"Mohammed l'Avis\u00e9\" filled two bottles and\na jar with the water, cured the princess with the water in the jar, married\nher, and after forty days, gave her one bottle, and set out to visit his\nfamily. At the sister's instigation, the negro slew Mohammed, cut him to\npieces, and put the remains into a sack, which they loaded on the ass. Then\nthe lions drove the ass to the wife of Mohammed, who restored his life with\nthe water which he had left with her. Mohammed then shut up the lions, dressed\nhimself as a negro, and went to visit his sister, taking with him some rings\nand mastic (ladin). His sister recognised his eyes, and while she and the\nnegro were disputing, Mohammed slew the negro and the three [sic] children,\nand buried his sister alive. He then returned to his wife, announced that his\nrelations were dead, and asked for a hundred camels; and it took them a week\nto convey away the treasures of the robbers.\n\nXI .--Histoire d' Arab-Zandyq.\n\nThis story is translated by Mr. W. A. Clouston, Suppl. Nights, iii., p. 411,\nand need not be repeated here.\n\nXII.--Histoire du prince et de son cheval.\n\nA prince and foal were born at the same time, and some time afterwards the\nmother and the mare died. The king married again, and the new queen had an\nintrigue with a Jew. They plotted to poison the prince, but his horse wept and\nwarned him. Then the queen pretended to be ill, and asked for the heart of the\nhorse, but the prince fled to another kingdom, and bought clothes from a poor\nman, packing his own on his horse. Then he parted from the horse, who gave him\na hair and a flint, telling him to light the hair when ever he needed him. The\nprince then went to a town, and engaged himself as under gardener to the king.\nHe was set to drive the ox which turned the water-wheel, but one day he called\nhis horse, put on his own clothes, and galloped about the garden, where the\nyoungest princess saw \"Mohammed l'Avis\u00e9\" from the window, and fell in love\nwith him. He then returned to the water-wheel, and when the head-gardener\nreturned and found the garden in disorder, he wanted to beat him; but the\nprincess interfered and ordered the prince to receive a fowl and a cake of\nbread every day. The princess then persuaded her mother and sisters that it\nwas time to be married, so the king ordered everybody to pass under the window\nof the seven princesses, each of whom threw down a handkerchief on the man of\nher choice. But the youngest would look at no one till at last they fetched\nthe gardener's boy, when the king was angry, and confined them in a room. The\nking fell ill with vexation, and the doctors ordered him to drink bear's milk\nin the hide of a virgin bear. The king's six sons-in-law were ordered to seek\nit, and Mohammed too set forth mounted on a lame mare, while the people jeered\nhim. Presently he summoned his own horse, and ordered him to pitch a camp of\nwhich the beginning and the end could not be seen, and which should contain\nnothing but bears. When the six sons-in-law passed, they dismounted, and asked\nthe attendants for what they required, but they referred them to their king.\nThe latter offered them what they asked, but branded a ring and a circle on\nthe back of each of the sons-in-law. However, he gave them only the milk and\nhide of old she-bears, while he himself took the milk of a virgin[FN#445] bear\nthat had just cubbed for the first time, slaughtered it, put the milk into the\nskin, and then remounted his lame mare, saying to the horse, \"God reward you.\"\nHe returned to town, and gave the milk to his wife who took it to her mother.\nThen the six sons-in-law brought the milk to the doctors, but when they looked\nat it, they said, \"This is the milk of an old she-bear and is good for\nnothing.\" Then they gave the king the other milk, and cured him, but he was\nmuch annoyed to hear who had brought it. Soon afterwards a war broke out, and\nthe king pitched his camp outside the town in face of the enemy. Mohammed set\nout again on his lame mare, the people shouting after him, \"Go back, sir, for\nthe soldiers have been defeated.\" Then he summoned his horse, put on his own\nclothes, and said to the horse, \"Let your hair shoot forth fire.\" Then he came\nbefore the king, saying, \"I declare for you and your six sons-in-law.\" He\nrushed into battle, smiting with his sword, while his horse shot forth fire.\nThey slew a third of the enemy, and then disappeared, while the king lamented.\n\"Ah, if my six sons-in-law had only done this!\" After his exertions Mohammed\nwas tired, and went home to sleep. Next day the same thing happened, but the\nking put his own ring on his finger. On the third day he slew the remaining\nthird of his enemies, but his arm was wounded, and the king bound it up with\nhis own handkerchief before he departed.\n\n\n\nThe king gathered together the horses and the spoil, and returned to town,\nmuch vexed that his sons-in-law had done nothing. Then the youngest princess\nasked her mother to send for her father to look at the ring and the\nhandkerchief, when he fell down and kissed the feet of Mohammed, who rose up\ngiddy from sleep, but when he was asked his history, he answered, \"I am a\nprince like yourself, and your six sons-in-law are mamelouks of my father. I\nbeat them, and they took to flight, and through fear of my father, I set out\nin search of them. I came here and found that they were your sons-in-law, but\nI imposed silence on them. But as regards your daughter, she saw me in the\ngarden, and recognised my real rank; here is your daughter, O king; she is\nstill a virgin.\" Then the wedding was celebrated with great pomp, and Mohammed\nremained with his father-in-law for some time, until he desired to return to\nhis own country. On his arrival he found that his father had died, so he\nascended the throne, and ordered his mother-in-law and the Jew to be burned.\n\nCarlo de Landberg, B\u00e1sim le Forgeron et Haron Er-Rachid, 8vo., Leyden, 1888.\n\nText and translation of a modern Arabic story of an unfortunate smith and\nhashish-eater whom Harun encounters on one of his usual nocturnal rambles.\nHarun plays a succession of practical jokes on him, driving him out of his\nemployment every day, and supping with him every night. At last he bastinadoes\nhim, and throws him into prison, where a jinniyah takes pity on him, and\nconfers unlimited power on him, which he enjoys for a week, and then dies, to\nthe great grief of Harun.\n\n\n\n\n        Additional Note to Suppl. Vol. V. (Pp. 318-320).\n\n\n\nCompare Boccaccio's story of the Devil in Hell (Day iii. No. 11).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                   The Biography of the Book\n\n                              and\n\n                    Its Reviewers Reviewed.\n\n\n\n\n\n[\" It has occurred to me that perhaps it would be a good plan to\nput a set of notes . . . to the 'Origin,' which now has none,\nexclusively devoted to the errors of my reviewers. It has\noccurred to me that where a reviewer has erred a common reader\nmight err. Secondly, it will show the reader that we must not\ntrust implicitly to reviewers.\"--DARWIN'S LIFE. ii. 349.]\n\n\n\n\nTO RICHARD FRANCIS BURTON.\n\nThe Thousand Nights and a Night.\n\n     Athwart the welkin slant the snows and pile\n          On sill and balcony, their feathery feet\n          Trip o'er the landscape, and pursuing sleet\n     Earth's brow beglooming, robs the skies of smile:\n     Lies in her mourning-shroud our Northern Isle\n          And bitter winds in battle o'er her meet.\n          Her world is death-like, when behold! we greet\n     Light-gleams from morning-land in welcome while.\n\n     A light of golden mine and orient pearl--\n          Vistas of fairy-land, where Beauty reigns\n               And Valiance revels; cloudless moon, fierce sun,\n     The wold, the palm-tree; cities; hosts; a whirl\n          Of life in tents and palaces and fanes:\n               The light that streams from THOUSAND NIGHTS AND ONE.\n\nIsabel Burton,\nTangier, Marocco: Feb. 19, 1886.\n\n\n\n\n\n                   The Biography of the Book\n                              and\n                    Its Reviewers Reviewed.\n\n\n\n\nPreliminary.\n\n\n\nI here propose to produce what may be called the \"biography\" of a book\nwhereof, methinks, the writer has some reason to be proud, a work which, after\noccupying him for the third of a century, well nigh half the life of average\nman and the normal endurance of a generation, can show for result these\nsixteen volumes. A labour of such parts and magnitude deserves, in my humble\nopinion, some notice of the main features distinguishing its career,\nespecially of its presentation to Court (Public Opinion) and its reception by\nthe high officials of the Palace, the critics, reviewers and criticasters.\n\nAnd there is yet another consideration. To ignore the charges and criminations\nbrought forward by certain literary Sir Oracles would be wilfully suffering\njudgment to go by default. However unpopular and despised may be, as a rule,\nthe criticism of critique, and however veridical the famous apothegm \"A\ncontroversy in the Press with the Press is the controversy of a fly with a\nspider,\" I hold it the author's bounder duty, in presence of the Great Public,\nto put forth his reply, if he have any satisfactory and interesting rejoinder,\nand by such ordeal to purge himself and prove his innocence unless he would\nincur wittingly impeachment for contumacy and contempt of court.\n\nIt is not only an instinct of human nature expressed by nemo me impur\u00e8\nlacessit which impels to answering in presence of the passers by the enemy at\nthe gate; it is also a debt which his honour and a respectful regard for the\ngood opinion of his fellows compel the author to repay. The man who is feeble\nenough silently to suffer detraction and calumny at the hands of some sciolist\nor Halb-bildung sheltering his miserable individuality under the shadow (may\nit never be less!) of \" King We,\" simply sins against himself as the Arabs say\nand offends good manners by holding out a premium to wanton aggression and\ninjurious doing. The reading world has a right to hear the alteram partem\nbefore it shall deliver that judgment and shall pronounce that sentence\nwherefrom lies no appeal. To ignore and not to visit with repr\u00e9sailles\nunworthy and calumnious censure, may become that ideal and transcendental man\nwho forgives (for a personal and egoistical reason) those who trespass against\nhim. But the sublime doctrine which commands us to love our enemies and affect\nthose who despitefully entreat us is in perilous proximity to the ridiculous;\nat any rate it is a vain and futile rule of life which the general never\nthinks of obeying. It contrasts poorly with the common sense of the\npagan--Fiat Justitia, ruat c\u009clum; and the heathenish and old- Adamical\nsentiment of the clansman anent Roderick Dhu--\n\n     \"Who rights his wrong where it was given\n     If it were in the court of Heaven,\"\n\nL. of the Lake, v. 6.\n\n--commends itself far more to what divines are pleased to call \"fallen human\nnature\" that is the natural man.\n\nAnd here before crossing the threshold, I would seize the opportunity of\nexpressing my cordial gratitude and hearty thanks to the Press in general,\nwhich has received my Eastern studies and contributions to Oriental knowledge\nin the friendliest and most sympathetic spirit, appreciating my labours far\nbeyond the modicum of the offerer's expectation and lending potent and\ngenerous aid to place them before the English world in the fairest and most\nfavourable point of view. To number a small proportion of \"black sheep\" is no\nshame for a flock amounting to myriads: such exceptional varieties must be\nbred for the use and delectation of those who prefer to right wrong and\ndarkness to light. It is with these only that my remarks and retorts will deal\nand consequently I have assigned to them the post of honour. The various\nextracts from notices, favourable appreciative and complimentary, appear as\nthe \"Opinions of the Press\" at the end of this volume, and again I take the\nopportunity of professing myself truly thankful for the good word of the\nFourth Estate, and for its wisely detecting the soul of good in things evil.\n\nThe romantic and exceptional circumstances under which my large labour was\nprojected and determined have been sufficiently described in the Foreword\n(vol. i. pp. vii- x). I may here add that during a longsome obligatory halt of\nsome two months at East African Zayla' and throughout a difficult and\ndangerous march across the murderous Somali country upon Harar-Gay, then the\nTinbukht\u00fa of Eastern Africa, The Nights rendered me the best of service. The\nwildlings listened with the rapt attention of little lads and lasses to the\nmarvellous recitals of the charming Queen and the monotonous interpellations\nof her lay-image sister and looked forward to the evening lecture as the crown\nand guerdon of the toilsome day. And assuredly never was there a more suitable\nsetting, a more admirable mise-en-sc\u00e8ne for The Nights than the landscape of\nSomali-land, a prospect so adapted to their subject-matter that it lent\ncredibility even to details the least credible. Barren and grisly for the most\npart, without any of the charms gladdening and beautifying the normal\nprospects of earth, grassy hill and wooded dale, park-like plain and placid\nlake, and the snaking of silvery stream, it displays ever and anon beauties\nmade all its own by borrowing from the heavens, in an atmosphere of passing\ntransparency, reflections of magical splendours and of weird shadows proper to\ntropical skies. No rose-hue pinker than the virginal blush and dewy flush of\ndawn in contrast with the shivering reek of flaming noon-tide, when all\nbrightness of colour seems burnt out of the world by the white heat of\nsun-glow. No brilliancy more gorgeous or more ravishing than the play of light\nand shade, the rainbow shiftings and the fiery pinks and purples and embers\nand carmines of the sunset scenery--the gorgeous death-bed of the Day. No tint\nmore tender, more restful, than the uniform grey, pale and pearly, invading by\nslowest progress that ocean of crimson that girds the orb of the Sun-King,\ndiminishing it to a lakelet of fire and finally quenching it in iridescent\nhaze. No gloom more ghostly than the murky hangings drooping like curtains\nfrom the violet heavens during those traveller's trials the unmoored nights,\nwhen the world seems peopled by weird phantoms and phantasms of man and\nmonster moving and at rest. No verdure more exquisite than earth's glazing of\ngreenery, the blend of ethereal azure and yellow; no gold more sheeny than the\nforegrounds of sand shimmering in the slant of the sun; no blue more profound\nand transparent than the middle distances; no neutral tints more subtle, pure,\ndelicate and sight-soothing than the French grey which robes the clear-cut\nhorizon; no variety of landscape more pronounced than the alternations of\nglowing sunlight and snowy moonlight and twinkling starlight, all streaming\nthrough diaphanous air. No contrast more admirable than the alternation of\niron upland whereupon hardly a blade of grass may grow and the Wady with its\ndouble avenue of leek-green tamarisks, hedging now a furious rain-torrent then\na ribbon of purest sand, or the purple-gray shadow rising majestic in the\nOrient to face the mysterious Zodiacal Light, a white pyramid whose base is\nAmenti--region of resting Osiris--and whose apex pierces the zenith. And not\nrarely this \"after-glow\" is followed by a blush of \"celestial rosy-red\"\nmantling the whole circle of the horizon where the hue is deepest and paling\ninto the upper azure where the stars shine their brightest. How often in\nSomali land I repeated to myself\n\n               --Contente-vous, mes yeux,\n     Jamais vous ne verrez chose plus belle;\n\nand the picture still haunts me.\n\n                   *    *    *    *    *    *\n\nAnd now, turning away from these and similar pleasures of memory, and passing\nover the once told tale (Foreword, vol. i. pp. viii., ix.) of how, when and\nwhere work was begun, together with the disappointment caused by the death of\nmy friend and collaborator, Steinhaeuser concerning the copying process which\ncommenced in 1879 and anent the precedence willingly accorded to the \"Villon\nEdition,\" I proceed directly to what may be termed\n\n\n\n\n\n                  The Engineering of the Work.\n\n\n\nDuring the autumn of '82, after my return from the Gold Coast (with less than\nno share of the noble metal which my companion Cameron and I went forth to\nfind and found a failure), my task began in all possible earnest with ordering\nthe old scraps of translation and collating a vast heterogeneous collection of\nnotes. I was fortunate enough to discover at unlettered Trieste, an excellent\ncopyist able and willing to decypher a crabbed hand and deft at reproducing\nfacetious and drolatic words without thoroughly comprehending their\nsignificance. At first my exertions were but fitful and the scene was mostly a\nsick bed to which I was bound between October '83 and June '84. Marienbad,\nhowever, and Styrian Sauerbrunn (bed Rohitsch) set me right and on return to\nTrieste (Sept. 4, '84), we applied ourselves to the task of advertising, the\nfirst two volumes being almost ready for print.\n\nAnd here we were confronted by a serious question, What number of copies would\nsuffice my public? A distinguished Professor who had published some 160,000\ntexts with prices ranging from 6d. to 50 guineas, wrote to me in all kindness\nadvising an issue of 150 to 250: an eminent printer-publisher would have\nventured upon some 500: others rose to 750 with a warning-note anent\n\"wreckage,\" great risk and ruinous expenditure, while only one friend--and he\nnot in business--urged an edition of 2,000 to 3,000 with encouraging words as\nto its probable reception. After long forethought I chose 1,000 as a just\nmiddle.\n\nWe then drew up a long list, names of friends, acquaintances and strangers\nlikely to patronise the novelty, and caused the following three papers to be\nlithographed and printed at Trieste.\n\n\n                             No. I.\n\nCaptain Burton, having neither agent nor publisher for his forthcoming ARABIAN\nNIGHTS, requests that all subscribers will kindly send their names and\naddresses to him personally (Captain Burton, Trieste, Austria), when they will\nbe entered into a book kept for the purpose.\n\nThere will be 10 volumes at a guinea a piece, each to be paid for on delivery.\nSubscribers may count on the first three volumes being printed in March next.\nCaptain Burton pledges himself to furnish copies to all subscribers who\naddress themselves to him; and he also undertakes not to issue, nor to allow\nthe issue of a cheaper Edition. One thousand copies will be printed, the whole\nManuscript will be ready before going to press in February, and the ten\nvolumes will be issued within Eighteen Months.\n\nThis was presently followed by\n\n\n                            No. II.\n\nThe Student of Arabic who reads \"THE NIGHTS\" with this version, will not only\nbe competent to join in any conversation, to peruse the popular books and\nnewspapers, and to write letters to his friends, he will also find in the\nnotes a repertoire of those Arabian Manners and Customs, Beliefs and\nPractices, which are not discussed in popular works.\n\nThe 10 volumes will be handsomely bound in black and gold.\n\nNo subscriptions will be until the work is done, and then at Coutts' Bank,\nStrand London.\n\nSubscribers who apply directly are preferred.\n\nThe author will pay carriage of volumes all over the United Kingdom. A London\naddress is requested.\n\nAnd, lastly, after some delay, came the subjoined cutting from the Daily\nTribune, New York.\n\n\n                            No. III.\n\n\"It has already been announced that the first instalment of Captain Burton's\nnew translation of the Arabian Nights may be expected this autumn. I am\nindebted to a friend of his for some details which have not yet, I think, been\nmade public. There is still room for a translation of the Arabian Nights. All\nor nearly all the popular editions of which there are hundreds, are but\nrenderings, more or less imperfect, from Professor Galland's French version,\nwhich is itself an abridgment from the original, and turns a most valuable\nethnographical work into a mere collection of fairy tales. Moreover, these\nEnglish translations abound in Gallicisms, and their style offers but a\npainful contrast to the French of the seventeenth century. Some years since a\nMr. Torrens undertook a complete translation from the original, but his work\ndid not go beyond a single volume, or fifty tales out of the 1,001. Then came\nMr. Lane in 1839, whose success was but moderate In his three large and (in\nthe 1839 edition) beautifully illustrated volumes, he has given not more than\nhalf the tales. He used the Cairo Arabic edition, which is itself an\nabridgment, and took all kinds of liberties with the text, translating verse\ninto prose, and excising everything that was not 'strictly proper.'\n\n\"Lastly, there is Mr. John Payne's excellent translation, which has occupied\nhim during seven years and is just brought to a conclusion. Mr. Payne bound\nhimself to print not more than 500 copies, and his nine volumes, not published\nbut printed, nominally for the Villon Society, are unprocurable except at a\nprice which to the general public is prohibitive.\n\n\"Captain Burton began his work on this extraordinary monument of Oriental\nliterature in 1852, at Aden, with some help from his friend Dr. Steinhaeuser,\nof the Bombay Army. He has gone on with it as opportunity offered, and as\nother literary and official labours and his many journeys in savage lands\npermitted. The text and the subject offer many difficulties, and it is to\nthese difficulties that he has devoted especial attention. His object is to\nreproduce the book in a form as entirely Arabian as possible, preserving the\nstrict division of the nights, and keeping (a more questionable matter) to the\nlong unbroken sentences in which the composer indulged, imitating also the\nrhythmic prose which is a characteristic of the Arabic. The effect in English\nremains to be seen, but of the value of Captain Burton's method as an\nexperiment in literature there can be no doubt, or of its great interest to\neverybody who cares for Oriental habits of thought and language. He will not\nshirk any of the passages which do not suit the taste of the day, but these,\nCaptain Burton thinks, will not commonly be found more objectionable than some\nwhich are in Shakespeare and in Shakespeare's contemporaries. At the same time\nit will be understood that the book is intended for men only and for the\nstudy;--not for women or children, nor for the drawing-room table or dentist's\nwaiting-room. It will be printed by subscription and not published.\n\n\"Few are the Oriental scholars in England who could do justice to this picture\nof the mediaeval Arab. Captain Burton is perhaps the only one who joins to the\nnecessary linguistic knowledge that varied practical experience of Eastern\nlife which alone in many cases can supply the true meaning of a troublesome\npassage or an accurate comment upon it. His aim is to make the book in its\nEnglish dress not only absolutely literal in text but Oriental in tone and\ncolour. He knows the tales almost by heart, and used to keep the Bedouin\ntribes in roars of laughter in camp during the long summer nights by reciting\nthem. Sheiks to whom a preternatural solemnity of demeanour is usual were to\nbe seen rolling on the ground in paroxysms of uncontrollable mirth. It was\nalso Burckhardt's custom to read the stories aloud, but the Arabs would snatch\nthe book from his hand because his pronunciation was so bad. Captain Burton is\nsaid to have an Arab accent not easily distinguishable from the native. When\nhe contents himself with the English tongue here in England, he is one of the\nmost picturesque talkers to be met with. I can remember a certain\ndinner-party, now many years ago, where the great traveller kept us all\nlistening till long past day-break; narrating, as he did, the most singular\nadventures with the most vivid fidelity to facts. That, however, is a\ndigression. I have only to add that Captain Burton has the names of many\nsubscribers and will doubtless be glad to receive others which may, I suppose,\nbe sent to him at Trieste. His present hope is to be ready to go to press next\nFebruary and to bring out the whole of the volumes in 1885.\"\n\n(Signed) G. W. S.\n\nConcerning this \"American\" communication and its author I shall have more to\nsay in a future page.\n\nSome 24,000 to 30,000 circulars were posted at an expense of 126 pounds and\nthey produced about 800 favourable replies which, after my return to England\n(May '85), rose to 1,500 and to 2,000 as my unprofessional friend, and he\nonly, had anticipated. Meanwhile occurred an incident characteristic of such\nappeals by the inexperienced to the public. A case containing 1,100 circulars\nhad been sent to my agent for mailing in London, and my secretary had\nunfortunately gummed their envelopes. Hereupon I should have been subjected by\nthe Post Office to the pains and penalties of the law, perhaps to a fine of\n\u00a3200 pounds. But when the affair was reported, with due explanations, to the\nlate lamented Postmaster-General Henry Fawcett--a man in a million, and an\nofficial in ten millions-- he had the justice and generosity to look upon the\noffence as the result of pure ignorance, and I received a caution \"not to do\nit again.\"\n\nNeedless to say that I lost no time about advertising my mistake in the\ndailies, giving the name of my agent and in offering to refund the money. Some\nof the sealed and unpaid envelopes had, however, been forwarded prematurely\nand the consequence was a comical display of wrath in quarters where it was\nhardly to be expected. By way of stemming the unpleasant tide of abuse I\nforwarded the following communiqu\u00e9; to The Academy.\n\n\n                  \"TUPPENCE AS A TOUCHSTONE.\"\n\nTrieste, Nov. 2, 85.\n\n\"Can you kindly find space for a few lines on a purely personal matter which\nis causing me abundant trouble? A box of circulars giving details concerning\nmy forthcoming version of the Arabian Nights was sent to London with\ndirections to stamp and post the contents. The envelopes having been\ninadvertently gummed down, the case was stopped by the Custom-house, and was\ntransmitted to the Post Office where it was found to contain circulars not\nletters, and of these sundry were forwarded without prepayment. The pleasant\nresult was that one out-spoken gentleman writes upon the circular, which he\nreturns,--When you send your trash again, put postage-stamps on. A second is\nperemptorily polite, Please forward four stamps to the Adjutant of the --th\nRegiment. The 'Chaplain of the Forces at ----,' at once ironical and severe,\nventures to suggest to Captain Burton that it is advisable, if he thinks his\nbook worth selling, to put the postage on future advertisements. A fourth who,\nI regret to say, signs himself Lieutenant Colonel, gives me advice about\npre-payment written in an orderly's hand upon a torn envelope (gratuitously\ninsulting!); encloses the 2d. stamp and sends the missive under official cover\n'On Her Majesty's Service.' The idea of a French or an Austrian Colonel\nlowering himself so infinitely low! Have these men lost all sense of honour,\nall respect for themselves (and others) because they can no longer be called\nto account for their insolence more majorum? I never imagined 'Tuppence' to be\nso cunning a touchstone for detecting and determining the difference between\ngold and dross; nor can I deeply regret that circumstance and no default of\nmine has placed in hand Ithuriel's spear in the shape of the said 'Tuppence'.\"\n\nI am, Sir, etc.\n\nRICHARD F. BURTON.\n\nThe process of filling-up my list presented a fine and varied study of\ncharacter; and an extensive experience of subscribers, as well as of\nnon-subscribers, presently enabled me to distribute the genus into the\nfollowing eight species. The friendly subscriber who takes ten copies (more or\nless) forwarding their value. The gentleman subscriber who pays down his\nconfidingly. The cautious-canny subscriber who ventures \u00a35. 5s., or half the\nprice. The impudent and snobbish subscriber who will address his victim as\nfollows:--\n\nSir,\n\n     Send me the first volume of your Arabian Nights and if I like it I will\nperhaps take more.\n\n               Yours obediently,\n\n               X.Y.Z.\n\nAnd Cynophron will probably receive for all reply:--\n\nSir,\n\n     Send me ten guineas and take one or ten volumes as you please.\n\n               Yours obediently, etc.\n\nNo. vi. is the fussy and troublesome subscriber who gives more bother than he\nis worth, and who takes a VICIOUS pride in not paying till pushed to the last\npoint. The professional subscriber fights hard for the most favourable terms,\nand holds it his vested right to \"part\" by dribblers. And lastly comes the\ndishonest subscriber who does not pay at all. I must however, in justice own\nthat species No. viii. is rare: of one thousand the proportion was only about\na score.\n\nIn mid-June, '85, I returned to London and began at once to prepare for\nissuing the book. Having found the publisher peculiarly unsatisfactory--with\none single and remarkable exception my venerable friend, Mr. Van Voorst,\nwhilome of Paternoster Row--I determined, like Professor Arber, to do without\nhim, although well aware how risky was the proceeding, which would, in the\ncase of a work for general reading, have arrayed against me the majority of\nthe trade and of their \"hands,\" the critics. Then I sought hard, but sought in\nvain, for the agency of a literary friend or friends, men of name and note,\nlike those who assisted in the Villon version: all feared the responsibility\nand the expected storm of abuse which, however, failed to burst.\n\nUnder these circumstances \"The Printing Times,\" a professional periodical\nproduced by Messieurs Wymans, was pleased (August 25, '85) to be unpleasantly\nintrusive on the subject of my plan. \"We always heard associated with the\npublication of this important work, the name of Mr.----, which is now\nconspicuous by its absence, nor is, apparently the name of any other leading\npublishing house to be identified with its production\" (The Printer's Devil\nis, I presume, responsible for the English!) The writer then warns me in all\n(un-)friendliness that if the printers forget to add their imprint, they would\nbecome liable to a legal penalty; that the work is unsafe for literal\ntranslation and, lastly that although printed by private subscription, \"It is\nlikely enough to be pronounced an injury to public morals to the danger of the\nauthor and his printers.\" The unhappy article concludes, \"We await the issue\nof the first volume since much will depend upon the spirit(!) in which the\ntranslation has been undertaken; certainly the original text is not suitable\nfor general circulation (connu!) unless edited with the utmost care and\ndiscretion.\"\n\nTo this production so manifestly inspired by our old friend \u00a3s. d., I replied\nin The Aademy (August 7, '85), the gist of the few lines being as follows:--\n\nIn answer to many inquiries from friends and others, will you allow me to\nrepeat through your columns, that my translation of the \"Arabian Nights\" will\nbe strictly limited to 1,000 copies, each sent to picked subscribers, and to\nrenew the promise which I before made, that no cheaper edition shall be\nprinted? Correspondents have complained that I have not stated the price; but\nI have mentioned over and over again that there are ten volumes, at one guinea\neach--my object in making it so expensive being to keep it from the general\npublic. I am also troubled with inquiries as to who is my publisher I am my\nown publisher, inaugurating (Inshallah!) a golden age for authors. Jesting\napart the book has no publisher. It is printed by myself for the benefit of\nOrientalists and Anthropologists, and nothing could be more repugnant to me\nthan the idea of a book of the kind being published or being put into the\nhands of any publisher.\n\nThe first volume dated \"Benares: MDCCCLXXXV: Printed by the Kamashastra\nSociety for Private Subscribers only,\" did not appear till September 12, '85:\nit had been promised for March and had been delayed by another unavoidable\ndetention at Trieste. But my subscribers had no further cause of complaint;\nten tomes in sixteen months ought to satisfy even the most exigent.\n\nNo. i. volume was accompanied by a circular earnestly requesting that the book\nmight not be exposed for sale in public places or permitted to fall into the\nhands of any save curious students of Moslem manners. Yet the birth of the\nfirst-born was accompanied (I am fain to confess) with no small trouble and\nqualms to the parent and to all who assisted at the parturition. Would the\n\"little stranger\" robed in black and gold, the colours of the Abbaside\nCaliphs, with its brick-red night-cap after the fashion of ecclesiastical\nbandings, be kindly welcomed or would it be regarded as an abortion, a\nmonster? The reader will readily understand how welcome to an author in such\nperplexity came the following article from the Standard (September 12),\nusually attributed to the popular and trenchant pen of Mr. Alfred Austin. I\nmust be permitted to quote it entire, because it expresses so fully and so\nadmirably all and everything I could desire a reviewer to write. And the same\npaper has never ceased to give me the kindest encouragement: its latest notice\nwas courteous and appreciative as its earliest.\n\nThe first volume of Captain Burton's long-expected edition of the \"Arabian\nNights\" was issued yesterday to those who are in a position to avail\nthemselves of the wealth of learning contained in this monumental labour of\nthe famous Eastern traveller. The book is printed for subscribers only, and is\nsold at a price which is not likely to be paid by any save the scholars and\nstudents for whose instruction it is intended. But though the Benares\n\"Kamashastra Society\" are careful to let the world know that the \"Thousand\nNights and a Night\" is not \"published\" in the technical sense of the term, the\npages which will be read by a thousand purchasers may be fittingly regarded as\nthe property of the world at large. In any case, the day when the experience\nof a life was embodied into this fresh translation of the \"Alf Laylah wa\nLaylah\" marks a distinct stage in the history of Oriental research. The world\nhas had numerous versions of these stories. For at least a century and a half\nthey have delighted old and young, until Shahrazade and Dunyazade, the\nFisherman and the Jinn, and the tales told by the Tailor, the Kalendar, the\nNazarene broker, and the Hunchback. . . to say nothing of Aladdin, Ali Baba,\nSinbad the Sailor, and Camaralzaman and Badoura--seem like the most familiar\nof friends. Yet many of those who know the ordinary epitome prepared for the\nnursery and the drawing-room have little idea of the nature of the original.\nGalland's abridgment was a mere shadow of the Arabic. Even the editions of\nLane and Habicht and Torrens and Von Hammer represented but imperfectly the\ngreat corpus of Eastern folk-lore which Captain Burton has undertaken to\nrender into English, without regard to the susceptibilities of those who, not\nhaving bought the book, are, therefore, in no way concerned in what is the\naffair of him and his subscribers. The best part of two centuries have passed\naway since Antoine Galland first turned some of the tales into French, and got\nstigmatised as a forger for his pains. Never was there such a sensation as\nwhen he printed his translations. For weeks he had been pestered by troops of\nroysterers rousing him out of bed, and refusing to go until the shivering\nProfessor recited one of the Arab stories to the crowd under his window. Nor\nhas the interest in them in any way abated. Thousands of copies pass every\nyear into circulation, and any one who has ever stood in the circle around the\nprofessional storyteller of the East must have noticed how often he draws on\nthis deathless collection. The camel-driver listens to them as eagerly as did\nhis predecessors ages ago. The Badawi laughs in spite of himself, though next\nmoment he ejaculates a startling \"Astaghfaru'llah\" for listening to the light\nmention of the sex whose name is never heard amongst the Nobility of the\nDesert. Or if the traveller is a scholar and a gentleman, he will pull out his\nbook for amusement of the company squatted round the camp fire, as did Captain\nBurton many a time and oft in the course of his Eastern wanderings.\n\nTo Captain Burton the preparation of these volumes must have been a labour of\nlove. He began them in conjunction with his friend Steinhaeuser, soon after\nhis return from the Mecca pilgrimage, more than thirty years ago, and he has\nbeen doing something to them ever since. In the swampy jungles of West Africa\na tale or two has been turned into English, or a poem has been versified\nduring the tedium of official life in the dank climate of Brazil. From Sind to\nTrieste the manuscript has formed part and parcel of his baggage and though,\nin the interval, the learned author has added many a volume to the shelf-full\nwhich he has written, the \"Thousand Nights and a Night\" have never been\nforgotten. And now when he nears the end of his labours it seems as if we had\nnever before known what the beauteous Shahrazad told the King who believed not\nin the constancy of women. Captain Burton seems the one sober man among\ndrunkards. We have all the old company though they appear in dresses so\nentirely new that one scans the lines again and again before the likeness is\nquite recognised. However, Tajal-Mulook will no doubt be as knightly as ever\nwhen his turn comes, for the Barber is garrulous, after the old fashion, and\nthe three Shaykhs relate their experiences with the Jinns, the gazelles, and\nmules as vividly as they have done any time these thousand years or more. King\nYoonan and the Sage Dooban are here, and so are King Sindibad and his falcon,\nthe young Prince of the Black Islands, the envious Weezer and the Ghoolah, and\nthe stories of the Porter and the Ladies of Baghdad lose nothing of their\ncharm in the new, and, we may add, extremely unsophisticated version. For\nCaptain Burton's work is not virginibus puerisque, and, while disclaiming for\nhis version anything like intentional indecorum, he warns the readers that\nthey will be guilty of a breach of good faith should they permit a work\nprepared only for students to fall into the hands of boys and girls. From the\nfirst to almost the penultimate edition of these stories the drawing-room\nalone has been consulted. Even Mr. Payne, though his otherwise faithful\nversion was printed for the Villon Society, had the fear of Mrs. Grundy before\nhis eyes. Moreover, no previous editor--not even Lane himself--had a tithe of\nCaptain Burton's acquaintance with the manners and customs of the Moslem East.\nHence not unfrequently, they made ludicrous blunders and in no instance did\nthey supply anything like the explanatory notes which have added so greatly to\nthe value of this issue of \"Alf Laylah wa Laylah.\" Some of these are startling\nin their realism, and often the traveller who believed that he knew something\nof the East, winces at the plainness with which the Wazir's daughter tells her\ntales to Shahryar, King of the Banu Sasan. The language is, however, more\nfrequently coarse than loose, and smacks more of the childish plainness with\nwhich high and low talk in the family circles from Tangier to Malayia, than of\nprurience or suggestiveness. The Oriental cannot understand that it is\nimproper to refer in straightforward terms to anything which Allah has created\nor of which the Koran treats. But in his conversation, as in his folk-lore,\nthere is no subtle corruption or covert licentiousness--none of the vicious\nsuggestion and false sentiment that pervade so many of the productions of the\nmodern romantic school.\n\nIt is, indeed, questionable whether there is much in these inimitable romances\nhalf so objectionable as many of the chapters in Rabelais and Boccaccio. Nor\ndo the most archaic of the passages which Captain Burton declines to \"veil in\nthe decent obscurity of a learned language\" leave much room for the admirers\nof Shakespeare, or Greene, or Nash, or Wycherley, or Swift, or Sterne to cry\nshame. Their coarseness was a reflection of the times. The indelicacy was not\noffensive to those who heard it. On the other hand, apart from the language,\nthe general tone of \"The Nights\" is exceptionally high and pure. The\ndevotional fervour, as Captain Burton justly claims, often rises to the\nboiling-point of fanaticism and the pathos is sweet and deep, genuine and\ntender, simple and true. Its life--strong, splendid, and multitudinous--is\neverywhere flavoured with that unaffected pessimism and constitutional\nmelancholy which strike deepest root under the brightest skies. The Kazi\nadministers poetical justice with exemplary impartiality, and so healthy is\nthe morale that at times we descry through the voluptuous and libertine\npicture \"vistas of a transcendental morality--the morality of Socrates in\nPlato.\" In no other work of the same nature is Eastern life so vividly\nportrayed. We see the Arab Knight, his prowess and his passion for adventure,\nhis love and his revenge, the craft of his wives, and the hypocrisy of his\npriests, as plainly as if we had lived among them. Gilded palaces, charming\nwomen, lovely gardens, caves full of jewels, and exquisite repasts, captivate\nthe senses and give variety to the panorama which is passing before our eyes.\nYet we repeat that, though there is much in the excellent version now begun\nwhich is very plain speaking, there is nothing intentionally demoralising.\nEvidently, however the translator is prepared to hear this charge brought\nagainst his labour of love. Indeed, there is a tinge of melancholy pervading\nthe preface in which the Editor refers to his \"unsuccessful professional\nlife,\" and to the knowledge of which his country has cared so little to avail\nitself. * * * * * Even in the recent Egyptian troubles--which are referred to\nsomewhat bitterly-- his wisdom was not utilised, though, after the death of\nMajor Morice, there was not an English official in the camps before Suakin\ncapable of speaking Arabic. On this scandal, and on the ignorance of Oriental\ncustoms which was everywhere displayed, Captain Burton is deservedly severe.\nThe issue of the ten volumes now in the press, accompanied by notes so full of\nlearning as those with which they are illuminated, will surely give the nation\nan opportunity for wiping away the reproach of that neglect which Captain\nBurton seems to feel more keenly than he cares to express.\n\nThis was a sop to the friend and a sore blow dealt to the enemy. Moreover it\nwas speedily followed up by another as swashing and trenchant in the Morning\nAdvertiser (September 15, '85), of which long extracts are presently quoted.\nThe journal was ever friendly to me during the long reign of Mr. James Grant,\nand became especially so when the editorial chair was so worthily filled by my\nold familiar of Oxford days, the late Alfred Bate Richards, a man who made the\n\"Organ of the Licensed Victuallers\" a power in the state and was warmly\nthanked for his good services by that model conservative, Lord Beaconsfield.\n\nA phrase in the Standard, the \"most archaic of the passages,\" acted upon\n\n\n                    The \"Pall Mall Gazette\"\n\nlike a red rag upon a rageous bull. I should rather say that it excited the\nso-called \"Sexual I Journal\" by suggesting another opportunity for its unclean\nsensationalism: perhaps also the staff hoped to provide company and a\nfellow-sufferer for their editor, who was then in durance vile, his of fences\nbeing \"inciting to an indecent assault\" and an act of criminal immorality. I\nshould not have felt called upon to remind my readers of a scandal half\nforgotten in England, while still held in lively remembrance by the jealous\nEuropean world, had not the persistent fabrications, calumnies, and slanders\nof the Pall Mall, which continue to this day, compelled me to move in\nself-defence, and to explain the mean under lying motives.\n\nSome three years and a half ago (June 3, '85), the paper startled the world of\nLondon by a prodigy of false, foul, and fulsome details in the shape of\narticles entitled \"The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon.\" The object of the\neditor, Mr. William T. Stead, a quondam teacher in the London schools and a\nrespectable Methodist strengthened by non- Conformist support, in starting\nthis ignoble surprise on the public was much debated. His partisans asserted\nthat he had been honestly deceived by some designing knave as if such\nchild-like credulity were any excuse for a veteran journalist! His foes opined\nthat under the cloak of a virtue, which Cato never knew, he sought to quicken\nhis subscription list ever dwindling under the effects of his exaggerated\nRussophilism and Anglophobia.\n\nBut whatever may have been the motive, the effect was deplorable. The\narticles, at once collected into a pamphlet (price two pence), as the \"Report\nof the Pall Mall Gazette's Secret Commission,\" and headed by a laudatory\nquotation from one of the late Lord Shaftesbury's indiscreetly philanthropic\nspeeches, were spread broadcast about every street and lane in London. The\nbrochure of sixteen pages divided into three chapters delighted the malignant\nwith such sensational section-headings as--How Girls are Bought and\nRuined--Why the Cries of the Victims are not Heard--Procuresses in the West\nEnd--How Annie was Procured--You Want a Maid, do You?--The Ruin of Children--A\nLondon Minotaur(?)--The Ruin of the Young Life--The Demon Child and--A Close\nTime for Girls, the latter being intended to support the recommendation of the\nLords' Committee and the promise of a Home Secretary that the age of consent\nbe raised from thirteen to sixteen. And all this catchpenny stuff (price 2d.)\nended characteristically with \"Philanthropic and Religious Associations can be\nsupplied with copies of this reprint on special terms.\" Such artless\nbenevolence and disinterested beneficence must, of course, be made to pay.\n\nRead by every class and age in the capital, the counties and the colonies,\nthis false and filthy scandal could not but infect the very children with the\ncontagion of vice. The little gutter-girls and street-lasses of East London\nlooked at men passing-by as if assured that their pucelages were or would\nbecome vendible at \u00a33 to \u00a35. But, the first startling over men began to treat\nthe writer as he deserved. The abomination was \"boycotted\" by the Press,\nexpelled from clubs, and driven in disgrace from the \"family breakfast table,\"\nan unpleasant predicament for a newspaper which lives, not by its news, but by\nits advertise meets. The editor had the impudence to bemoan a \"conspiracy of\nsilence,\" which can only mean that he wanted his foul sheets to be bought and\ndiscussed when the public thought fit to bury them in oblivion. And yet he\nmust have known that his \"Modern Babylon\" is not worse in such matters than\nhalf-a-dozen minor Babylons scattered over Europe, Asia, and America; and that\nit is far from being, except by the law of proportion the \"greatest market of\nhuman flesh in the world.\" But by carefully and curiously misrepresenting the\nsporadic as the systematic, and by declaring that the \"practice of procuration\nhas been reduced to a science\" (instead of being, we will suppose, one of the\nfine arts), it is easy to make out a case of the grossest calumny and most\nbarefaced scandal against any great capital.\n\nThe revelations of the Pall Mall were presently pooh-pooh'd at home; but\nabroad their effect was otherwise. Foreigners have not yet learned thoroughly\nto appreciate our national practice of washing (and suffering others to wash)\nthe foulest linen in fullest public. Mr. Stead's unworthy clap-trap\nrepresenting London as the head-quarters of kidnapping, hocussing, and\nchild-prostitution, the author invoking the while with true Pharisaic\nrighteousness, unclean and blatant, pure intentions and holy zeal for good\nworks was welcomed with a shout of delight by our unfriends the French, who\nhold virtue in England to be mostly Tartuffery, and by our cousins-german and\nrivals the Germans, who dearly love to use us and roundly abuse us. In fact,\nthe national name of England was wilfully and wrongfully defiled and bewrayed\nby a \"moral and religious\" Englishman throughout the length and breadth of\nEurope.\n\nHard upon these \"revelations\" came the Eliza Armstrong case whereby the editor\nof the \"Sexual Gazette\" stultified thoroughly and effectually his own\nassertions; and proved most satisfactorily, to the injury of his own person,\nthat the easiest thing in the world is notably difficult and passing\ndangerous. An accomplice, unable to procure a \"maiden\" for immoral purposes\nafter boasting her ability as a procuress, proceeded to kidnap one for the\nespecial benefit of righteous Mr. Stead. Consequently, he found himself in the\ndock together with five other accused, male and female; and the verdict,\ncondemning the archplotter to three months and the assistants to lesser terms\nof imprisonment for abduction and indecent assault, was hailed with universal\napplause. The delinquent had the fanatical and unscrupulous support, with\npurse and influence, of the National Vigilance Association, a troop of\nbusybodies captained by licensed blackmailers who of late years have made\nEngland their unhappy hunting-ground.[FN#446] Despite, however, the \"Stead\nDefence Fund\" liberally supplied by Methody; despite the criminal's\nPecksniffan tone, his self-glorification of the part he had taken, his\neffront\u00e9 boast of pure and lofty motives and his passionate enthusiasm for\nsexual morality, the trial emphasised the fact that no individual may break\nthe law of the land in order that good may come therefrom. It also proved most\nconvincingly the utter baselessness of the sweeping indictment against the\nmorality of England and especially of London--a charge which \"undoubtedly had\nan enormous influence for harm at home and cruelly prejudiced the country\nabroad.\" In the words of Mr. Vaughan of the Bow Street Police Court (September\n7, '85) the Pall Mall's \"Sensational articles had certainly given unlimited\npain and sorrow to many good people at home and had greatly lowered the\nEnglish nation in the estimation of foreigners.\" In a sequel to the Eliza\nArmstrong case Mr. Justice Manisty, when summing up, severely condemned the\n\"shocking exhibition that took place in the London streets by the publication\nof statements containing horrible details, and he trusted that those who were\nresponsible for the administration of the law would take care that such\noutrage should not be permitted again.\" So pure and pious Mr. Stead found time\nfor reflection during the secluded three-months life of a \"first-class\nmisdemeanant\" in \"happy Holywell,\" and did not bring out his intended articles\ndenouncing London as the head- quarters of a certain sin named from Sodom.\n\nAbout mid-September, when Mr. Stead still lay in durance vile, a sub-editor\nMr. Morley (Jun.) applied to me for an interview which I did not refuse. It\nwas by no means satisfactory except to provide his paper with \"copy.\" I found\nhim labouring hard to place me \"in the same box\" with his martyred principal\nand to represent my volume (\"a book of archaic delights\") as a greater outrage\non public decency than the two-penny pamphlet. This, as said the London Figaro\n(September 19, '85), is a \"monstrous and absurd comparison.\" It became evident\nto me, during the first visit, that I was to play the part of Mr. Pickwick\nbetween two rival races of editors, the pornologists and the anti-\npornologists, and, having no stomach for such sport, I declined the r\u00f4le. In\nreply to a question about critics my remark to the interviewer was, \"I have\ntaken much interest in what the classics call Skiomachia and I shall allow\nAnonymus and Anonyma to howl unanswered. I shall also treat with scornful\nsilence the miserables who, when shown a magnificent prospect, a landscape\nadorned with the highest charms of Nature and Art, can only see in a field\ncorner here and there a little heap of muck. 'You must have been looking for\nit, Madam!' said, or is said to have said, sturdy old Doctor Samuel Johnson.\"\n\nMoreover Mr. Morley's style of reporting \"interviews\" was somewhat too\nadvanced and American--that is, too personal, too sensation-mongering and too\nnauseously familiar--to suit my taste, and I would have none other of them.\nHereupon being unable to make more copy out of the case the Pall Mall Gazette\nlet loose at me a German Jew pennyliner, who signs himself Sigma. This pauvre\ndiable delivered himself of two articles, \"Pantagruelism or Pornography?\"\n(September 14, '85) and \"The Ethics of the Dirt\" (September 19, '85), wherein\nwith matchless front of brass he talks of the \"unsullied British\nbreakfast-table,\" so pleasantly provided with pepper by his immaculate editor.\nAnd since that time the Pall Mall Gazette has never ceased to practice at my\nexpense its old trade, falsehood and calumny, and the right of private\njudgment, sentence and execution. In hopes that his splenetic and vindictive\nfiction might bear fruit, at one time the Pall Mall Gazette has \"heard that\nthe work was to be withdrawn from circulation\" (when it never circulated).\nThen, \"it was resolved by the authorities to request Captain Burton not to\nissue the third volume and to prosecute him if he takes no notice of the\ninvitation;\" and, finally, \"Government has at last determined to put down\nCaptain Burton with a strong hand.\" All about as true as the political\narticles which the Pall Mall Gazette indites with such heroic contempt for\ntruth, candour and honesty. One cannot but apply to the \"Gutter Gazette\" the\nwords of the Rev. Edward Irving:--\"I mean by the British Inquisition that\ncourt whose ministers and agents carry on their operations in secret; who drag\nevery man's most private affairs before the sight of thousands and seek to\nmangle and destroy his life, trying him without a witness, condemning him\nwithout a hearing, nor suffering him to speak for himself, intermeddling in\nthings of which they have no knowledge and cannot on any principle have a\njurisdiction *  *  *  I mean the ignorant, unprincipled, unhallowed spirit of\ncriticism, which in this Protestant country is producing as foul effects\nagainst truth, and by as dishonest means as ever did the Inquisition of Rome\"\n(p. 5 \"Preliminary Discourse to Ben Ezra,\" etc.).\n\nOf course men were not wanting to answer the malevolent insipidities of the\nPall Mall Gazette, and to note the difference between newspaper articles duly\npamphleted and distributed to the disgust of all decency, and the translation\nof an Arabian limited in issue and intended only for the few select. Nor could\nthey fail to observe that black balling The Nights and admitting the\n\"revelations\" was a desperate straining at the proverbial gnat and swallowing\nthe camel. My readers will hardly thank me for dwelling upon this point yet I\ncannot refrain from quoting certain of the protests:--\n\nSir,\n\n           To the Editor of the \"PALL MALL GAZETTE.\"\n\nYour correspondent \"Sigma\" has forgotten the considerable number of \"students\"\nwho will buy Captain Burton's translation as the only literal one, needing it\nto help them in what has become necessary to many--a masterly knowledge of\nEgyptian Arabic. The so-called \"Arabian Nights\" are about the only written\nhalf-way house between the literary Arabic and the colloquial Arabic, both of\nwhich they need, and need introductions too. I venture to say that its largest\nuse will be as a grown-up school-book and that it is not coarser than the\nclassics in which we soak all our boys' minds at school.\n\n               ANGLO EGYPTIAN\n               September 14th, 1885.\n\nAnd the Freethinker's answer (Oct. 25, '85) to these repeated and malicious\nassaults is as follows:--\n\nHere is a fine illustration of Mr. Stead's Pecksniffian peculiarities. Captain\nBurton, a gentleman and a scholar whose boots Mr. Stead is not fit to black,\nis again hauled over the coals for the hundredth time about his new\ntranslation of the Arabian Nights, which is so \"pornographic\" that the price\nof the first volume has actually risen from a pound to twenty-five shillings.\nFurther down, in the very same column, the P.M.G. gloats proudly over the fact\nthat thirty-five shillings have been given for a single copy of its own\ntwopennyworth of smut.\n\nThe last characteristic touch which I shall take the trouble to notice is the\nfollowing gem of September 16, '87:--\n\nI was talking to an American novelist the other day, and he assured me that\nthe Custom-house authorities on \"the other side\" seized all copies of Sir\nRichard Burton's \"Nights\" that came into their hands, and retained them as\nindecent publications. Burned them, I hope he meant, and so, I fear, will all\nholders of this notorious publication, for prices will advance, and Sir\nRichard will chuckle to think that indecency is a much better protection than\ninternational copyright.\n\nTruly the pen is a two-edged tool, often turned by the fool against his own\nsoul. So an honest author \"chuckles\" when his subscribers have lost their\ncopies because this will enhance the value of his book! I ask, Can anything be\nbetter proven than the vileness of a man who is ever suspecting and looking\nfor vileness in his fellow-men? Again, the assertion that the Custom-house\nauthorities in the United States had seized my copies is a Pall-Mallian\nfiction pure and simple, and the \"Sexual Gazette\" must have known this fact\nright well. In consequence of a complaint lodged by the local Society for the\nSuppression of Vice, the officials of the Custom-house, New York, began by\nimpounding the first volumes of the Villon Version; but presently, as a\nliterary friend informs me (February 10, '88), \"the new translations of The\nNights have been fully permitted entry at the Custom-house and are delivered\non the payment of 25% duty.\" To my copies admittance was never refused.\n\nMr. Stead left his prison-doors noisily declaring that the rest of his life\nshould be \"devoted to Christian chivalry\"--whatever that majestic dictum may\nmean. As regards his subsequent journalistic career I can observe only that it\nhas been unfortunate as inconsequent. He took up the defence, abusing the Home\nSecretary after foulest fashion of the card-blooded murderer Lipski, with the\nresult that his prot\u00e9g\u00e9 was hanged after plenary confession and the Editor had\nnot the manliness to apologise. He espoused the cause of free speech in\nIreland with the result that most of the orators were doomed to the\ninfirmaries connected with the local gaols. True to his principle made penal\nby the older and wiser law of libel, that is of applying individual and\nirresponsible judgment to, and passing final and unappealable sentence upon,\nthe conduct of private individuals and of public men, he raged and inveighed\nwith all the fury of outraged (and interested) virtue against Colonel\nHughes-Hallett with the consequence of seating that M.P. more firmly than\nbefore. He took up the question of free public meeting in England with the\nresult that a number of deludeds (including Mr. Cunninghame Graham, M.P.)\nfound their way to prison, which the \"Christian chevalier\" had apparently\ncontracted to supply with inmates. But there is more to say concerning the\nvaunted morality of this immoral paper.--Eheu! quantum mutatus from the old\ndecent days when, under Mr. Frederic Greenwood, it was indeed \"written by\ngentlemen for gentlemen\" (and ladies).\n\nA journal which, like the Pall Mall Gazette, affects preferably and\npersistently sexual subjects and themes rubric, works more active and\npermanent damage to public morals than books and papers which are frankly\ngross and indecent. The latter, so far as the world of letters knows them, are\nread either for their wit and underlying wisdom (e.g. Rabelais and Swift), for\ntheir historical significance (Petronius Arbiter) or for their anthropological\ninterest as the Alf Laylah. But the public print which deals, however primly\nand decently, piously and unctuously, with sexual and inter-sexual relations,\nusually held to be of the Alekta or taboo'd subjects, is the real perverter of\nconduct, the polluter of mental purity, the corrupter-general of society.\nAmongst savages and barbarians the comparatively unrestrained intercourse\nbetween men and women relieves the brain through the body; the mind and memory\nhave scant reason, physical or mental, to dwell fondly upon visions amatory\nand venereal, to live in a \"rustle of (imaginary) copulation.\" On the other\nhand the utterly artificial life of civilization, which debauches even the\nmonkeys in \"the Zoo,\" and which expands the period proper for the reproductory\nprocess from the vernal season into the whole twelvemonth, leaves to the many,\nwhose lot is celibacy, no bodily want save one and that in a host of cases\neither unattainable or procurable only by difficulty and danger. Hence the\nprodigious amount of mental excitement and material impurity which is found\nwherever civilization extends, in maid, matron, and widow, save and except\nthose solely who allay it by some counteragent --religion, pride, or physical\nfrigidity. How many a woman in \"Society,\" when stricken by insanity or\npuerperal fever, breaks out into language that would shame the slums and which\nmakes the hearers marvel where she could have learned such vocabulary. How\nmany an old maid held to be cold as virgin snow, how many a matron upon whose\nfairest fame not a breath of scandal has blown, how many a widow who proudly\nclaims the title univira, must relieve their pent-up feelings by what may be\ncalled mental prostitution. So I would term the dear delights of sexual\nconverse and that sub-erotic literature, the phthisical \"French novel,\" whose\nsole merit is \"suggestiveness,\" taking the place of Oriental morosa voluptas\nand of the unnatural practices--Tribadism and so forth, still rare, we\nbelieve, in England. How many hypocrites of either sex, who would turn away\ndisgusted from the outspoken Tom Jones or the Sentimental Voyager, revel in\nand dwell fondly upon the sly romance or \"study\" of character whose profligacy\nis masked and therefore the more perilous. And a paper like the (modern) Pall\nMall Gazette which deliberately pimps and panders to this latent sense and\nstate of aphrodisiac excitement, is as much the more infamous than the loose\nbook as hypocrisy is more hateful than vice and prevarication is more ignoble\nthan a lie. And when such vile system is professionally practiced under the\ndisguise and in the holy names of Religion and Morality, the effect is\nloathsome as that spectacle sometimes seen in the East of a wrinkled old\neunuch garbed in woman's nautchdress ogling with painted eyes and waving and\nwriggling like a young Bayad\u00e9re.\n\nThere is much virtue in a nickname: at all events it shows the direction\nwhither the aura popularis sets. The organ of Christian Chivalry is now\nuniversally known to Society as \"The Gutter Gazette;\" to the public as \"The\nPurity-Severity Paper,\" and the \"Organ of the Social Pruriency Society,\" and\nto its colleagues of the Press as \"The Dirt Squirt.\" In the United States\nfulsomely to slander a man is \"to Pall Mall Gazette him:\" \"Just like your Pall\nMall Gazette,\" said an American to me when describing a disreputable print\n\"over the water.\" And Mr. Stead, now self-constituted coryph\u00e6us of the Reptile\nPress in Great Britain, has apparently still to learn that lying and\nslandering are neither Christian nor chivalrous.\n\nThe diminutive Echo of those days (October 13 and 14, '85) followed suit of\nthe Pall Mall Gazette and caught lightly the sounds as they fell from the\nnon-melliferous lips of the charmer who failed to charm wisely. The precious\narticle begins by informing me that I am \"always eager after the sensational,\"\nand that on this occasion I \"cater for the prurient curiosity of the wealthy\nfew,\" such being his synonym for \"readiness to learn.\" And it ends with the\nfollowing comical colophon:--\"Captain Burton may possibly imitate himself(?)\nand challenge us(!) to mortal combat for this expression of opinion. If so,\nthe writer of these lines will imitate himself(?) and take no notice of such\nan epistle.\" The poor scribe suggests the proverbial \"Miss Baxter, who refused\na man before he axed her.\" And what weapon could I use, composing-stick or\ndung-fork, upon an anonymous correspondent of the hawkers' and newsboys'\n\"Hecker,\" the favourite ha'porth of East London? So I left him to the tender\nmercies of Gaiety (October 14, '84):--\n\n     The Echo is just a bit wild,\n          Its \"par.\" is indeed a hard hitter:\n     In fact, it has not drawn it mild\n          'Tis a matter of \"Burton and bitter.\"\n\nI rejoice to subjoin that the Echo has now (1888) made a name for decent and\nsensible writing, having abandoned the \"blatant\" department to the Star (see,\nfor the nonsense about a non-existent Alderman Waterlow, its issue of\nSeptember 6, '88).\n\nIn the opinions of the Press will be found a selection from half a century of\nlaudatory notices to which the few curious touching such matters will turn,\nwhile those who misjudged my work are duly acknowledged in this paper. Amongst\nfriends I would specify without invidious distinction, The Bat (September 29,\n'85), who on this occasion and sundry others sturdily defended me, showing\nhimself a bird of \"light and leading.\" To the St. James's Gazette (September\n12, '85), the Whitehall Review (September 17), the Home News (September 18),\nand the Nottingham Journal (September 19), I am also indebted for most\nappreciative and intelligent notices. My cordial thanks are likewise due to\nthe Editor and especially to \"Our London Correspondent\" of the Lincoln Gazette\n(October 10 and October 17, '85, not to notice sundry minor articles): the\narticles will be reprinted almost entire because they have expressed my\nmeaning as though it came from my own mouth. I have quoted Mr. J. Addington\nSymonds in extenso: if England now possesses a writer who can deliver an\nauthoritative judgment on literary style it is this litt\u00e9rateur. Of the\njournals which profess letters The Academy has ever been my friend and I have\nstill the honour of corresponding with it: we are called \"faddists\" probably\nfrom our \"fad\" of signing our articles and thus enabling the criticised to\ncriticise the critic.\n\nI now turn to another of my unfriends, amongst whom is and long has been\n\n\n                     The \"Saturday Review,\"\n\nThis ancient dodderer, who has seen better days, deigned favour me with six\nnotices (January 2 and March 27, '86; April 30, June 4, August 14, '87, and\nJuly 21, '88), of which No. i., dealing with my first and second volumes, is\nwritten after the facile American fashion, making the book review itself; that\nis, supply to the writer all the knowledge and familiarity with the subject\nwhich he parades before an incurious and easily gullible public. This especial\nform of dishonesty has but lately succeeded to and ousted the classical\nEnglish critique of Jeffrey, Macaulay, and the late Mr. Abraham Hayward, which\nwas mostly a handy peg for the contents of the critic's noddle or note book.\nThe Saturnine article opens characteristically.\n\nAbroad we English have the character of being the most prudish of nations; we\nare celebrated as having Bowdlerized for our babes and sucklings even the\nimmortal William Shakespeare; but we shall infallibly lose this our character\nshould the Kamashastra Society flourish. Captain Burton has long been known as\na bold explorer; his pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, disguised in the dress\nand taking on him the manners and customs of a True Believer, was a marvel of\naudacity; but perhaps he may be held now to have surpassed himself, for he has\nbeen bold enough to lay before his countrymen a literal and unexcised\ntranslation of The Arabian Nights.\n\nThe writer is kind enough to pat me upon the back for \"picturesque and fluent\nEnglish\" and to confess that I have successfully imitated the rhyming cadence\nof the original. But The Saturday would not be The Saturday without carping\ncriticism, wrong-headedness and the culte of the common-place, together with\nabsolute and unworthy cruelty to weaker vessels. The reviewer denounces as\n\"too conceited to be passed over without comment\" the good old English\n\"whenas\" (for when, vol. ii. 130), the common ballad-terms \"a plump of\nspearmen\" (ii. 190) and a \"red cent\" (i. 321), the only literal rendering of\n\"Fals ahmar\" which serves to show the ancient and noble pedigree of a slang\nterm supposed to be modern and American. Moreover this Satan even condemns\nfiercely the sin of supplying him with \"useful knowledge.\" The important note\n(ii. 45) upon the normal English mispronunciation of the J in Jerusalem,\nJesus, Jehovah, a corruption whose origin and history are unknown to so many,\nand which was, doubtless, a surprise to this Son of King \"We,\" is damned as\n\"uninteresting to the reader of the Arabian Nights.\" En revanche, three\nmistakes of mine (\"p. 43\" for \"p. 45\" in vol. ii., index; \"King Zahr Shah\" for\n\"King Suleyman Shah,\" ii. 285, and the careless confusion of the Caliphs\nAl-Muntasir and Al- Mustansir, ii. 817, note i.) were corrected and I have\nduly acknowledged the correction. No. i. article ends with Saturnine geniality\nand utterly ignoring a bye-word touching dwellers in glass houses:--\n\nFinally, we mark with regret that Captain Burton should find no more courteous\nterms to apply to the useful work of a painstaking clergyman than those where\nin his note he alludes to \"Missionary Porter's miserable Handbook.\"\n\nAs Mr. Missionary Porter has never ceased to malign me, even in his last\nEdition of Murray's \"miserable Handbook,\" a cento of Hibernian blunders and\nhashed Bible, I have every reason to lui rendre la pareille.\n\nThe second article (March 27, '86), treating of vol. iii., opens with one of\nthose plagiaristic common-places, so dear to the soul of The Saturday, in its\nstaid and stale old age as in its sprightly youth. \"There is particularly one\ncommodity which all men, therein nobly disregarding their differences of creed\nand country, are of a mind that it is better to give than to receive. That\ncommodity is good advice. We note further that the liberality with which this\nis everywhere offered is only to be equalled (he means 'to be equalled only')\nby the niggard reception at most times accorded to the munificent donation; in\nfact the very goodness of advice given apparently militates against its due\nappreciation in (by?) the recipient.\" The critic then proceeds to fit his ipse\ndixit upon my case. The sense of the sentiment is the reverse of new: we find\nin The Spectator (No. dxii.), \"There is nothing we receive with so much\nreluctance as good advice,\" etc., but Mr. Spectator writes good English and\nhis plagiarist does not. Nor is the dictum true. We authors who have studied a\nsubject for years, are, I am convinced, ready enough to learn, but we justly\nobject to sink our opinions and our judgment in those of a counsellor who has\nonly \"crammed\" for his article. Moreover, we must be sure that he can fairly\nlay claim to the three requisites of an adviser--capacity to advise rightly,\nhonesty to advise truly, and courtesy to advise decently. Now the Saturday\nReview has neither this, that, nor the other qualification. Indeed his words\nread like subtle and lurking irony by the light of those phenomenal and\nportentous vagaries which ever and anon illuminate his opaque pages. What\ncorrectness can we expect from a journal whose tomahawk-man, when scalping the\ncorpse of Matthew Arnold, deliberately applies the term \"sonnet\" to some\nthirty lines in heroic couplets? His confusion of Dr. Jenner, Vaccinator, with\nSir William Jenner, the President of the R. C. of Physicians, is one which\npasses all comprehension. And what shall we say of this title to pose as an\nAristarchus (November 4th, '82)? \"Then Jonathan Scott, LL.D. Oxon, assures the\nworld that he intended to re-translate the Tales given by Galland(!) but he\nfound Galland so adequate on the whole (!!) that he gave up the idea and now\nreprints Galland with etchings by M. Lalauze, giving a French view of Arab\nlife. Why Jonathan Scott, LL.D., should have thought to better Galland while\nMr. Lane's version is in existence, and has just been reprinted, it is\nimpossible to say.\" In these wondrous words Jonathan Scott's editio princeps\nwith engravings from pictures by Smirke and printed by Longmans in 1811 is\nconfounded with the imperfect reprint by Messieurs Nimmo and Bain, in 1883;\nthe illustrations being borrowed from M. Adolphe Lalauze, a French artist\n(nat. 1838), a master of eaux fortes, who had studied in Northern Africa and\nwho maroccanized the mise-en-sc\u00e8ne of \"The Nights\" with a marvellous contrast\nof white and negro nudities. And such is the Solomon who fantastically\ncomplains that I have disdained to be enlightened by his \"modest suggestions.\"\nAu reste the article is not bad simply because it borrows--again\nAmericanic\u00e8--all its matter from my book. At the tail-end, however comes the\nnormal sting: I am guilty of not explaining \"Wuz\u00fa\" (lesser ablution), \"Ghusl\"\n(greater ablution), and \"Zak\u00e1t\" (legal alms which constitute a poor-rate),\nproving that the writer never read vol. iii. He confidently suggests replacing\n\"Cafilah,\" \"by the better known word Caravan,\" as if it were my speciality (as\nit is his) to hunt-out commonplaces: he grumbles about \"interrogation-points a\nl'Espagnole upside down\"(?) which still satisfies me as an excellent\nsubstitute to distinguish the common Q(uestion) from A(nswer) and he seriously\ncongratulates me upon my discovering a typographical error on the fly- leaf.\nNo. iii. (August 14, '86, handling vols. vi., vii. and viii.) is free from the\nopening pretensions and absurdities of No. ii. and it is made tolerably safe\nby the familiar action of scissors and paste. But--desinit in piscem--it ends\nfishily; and we find, after saturnine fashion, in cauda venenum. It scolds me\nfor telling the English public what it even now ignores, the properest way of\ncooking meat (\u00e0 propos of kab\u00e1bs) and it \"trembles to receive vols. ix. and x.\nfor truly (from a literary point of view, of course, we mean) there seems\nnothing of which the translator might not be capable\"--capable de tout, as\nsaid Voltaire of Habbakuk and another agnostic Frenchman of the Prophet\nZerubbabel. This was indeed high praise considering the Saturday's sympathy\nwith and affection for the dead level, for the average man; but as an augury\nof ill it was a brutum fulmen. No. iv. (August 30, '87) was, strange to say,\nin tone almost civil and ended with a touch simulating approval:--\n\n\"The labours of a quarter of a century,\" writes the translator in L'Envoi,\n\"are now brought to a close, and certainly no one could have been found better\nsuited by education and taste to the task of translating the 'Nights' than is\nthe accomplished author of the 'Pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina.' His summing\nup of the contents and character of 'The Thousand and One Nights' in the\nTerminal Essay is a masterpiece of careful analysis and we cannot do better\nthan conclude our notice with a paragraph that resumes with wonderful effect\nthe boundless imagination and variety of the picture that is conjured up\nbefore our eyes:--\n\n\"Viewed as a tout ensemble in full and complete form, they are a drama of\nEastern life and a Dance of Death made sublime by faith and the highest\nemotions, by the certainty of expiation and the fulness of atoning equity,\nwhere virtue is victorious, vice is vanquished and the ways of Allah are\njustified to man. They are a panorama which remains kenspeckle upon the mental\nretina. They form a phantasmagoria in which archangels and angels, devils and\ngoblins, men of air, of fire, of water, naturally mingle with men of earth,\nwhere flying horses and talking fishes are utterly realistic, where King and\nPrince must meet fishermen and pauper, lamia and cannibal, where citizen\njostles Badawi, eunuch meets knight; the Kazi hob-nobs with the thief.... The\nwork is a kaleidoscope where everything falls into picture, gorgeous palaces\nand pavilions; grisly underground caves and deadly words, gardens fairer than\nthose of the Hesperid; seas dashing with clashing billows upon enchanted\nmountains, valleys of the Shadow of Death, air-voyages and promenades in the\nabysses of the ocean, the duello, the battle, and the siege, the wooing of\nmaidens and the marriage rite. All the splendour and squalor, the beauty and\nbaseness the glamour and grotesqueness, the magic and the mournfulness, the\nbravery and the baseness, of Oriental life are here.\"\n\nAnd now, after the Saturday Review has condescended severely and sententiously\nto bepreach me, I must be permitted a trifling return in kind. As is declared\nby the French an objectionable people which prefers la gloire to \"duty,\" and\neven places \"honour\" before \"honesty,\" the calling of the Fourth Estate is un\nsacerdoce, an Apostolate: it is a high and holy mission whose ends are the\ndiffusion of Truth and Knowledge and the suppression of Ignorance and\nFalsehood. \"Sacrilege,\" with this profession, means the breaking of its two\ngreat commandments and all sins of commission and omission suggested and\nprompted by vain love of fame, by sordid self-esteem or by ignoble rancour.\nWhat then shall we say of a paper which, professedly established to\n\"counteract the immorality of The Times,\" adds to normal journalistic follies,\noffences and mistakes an utter absence of literary honour, systematic\nmisrepresentation, malignity and absolute ruffianism? Let those who hold such\nlanguage exaggerated glance at my pi\u00e8ce justicative, the Saturday's article\n(June 28, '88) upon Mr. Hitchman's \"Biography of Sir Richard Burton.\" No\ndenizen of Grub Street in the coarse old day of British mob-savagery could\nhave produced a more damning specimen of wilful falsehood, undignified\nscurrility and brutal malevolence, in order to gratify a well-known pique,\nprivate and personal. The \"Saturday Reviler\"--there is, I repeat, much virtue\nin a soubriquet--has grown only somewhat feebler, not kindlier, not more\nsympathetic since the clever author of \"In Her Majesty's Keeping\" styled this\nMagister Morum \"the benignant and judicious foster-parent of literature\"; and\nsince Darwin wrote of it (ii. 260) \"One cannot expect fairness in a reviewer;\"\nnor has it even taken to heart what my friend Swinburne declared (anent its\nissue of December 15, '83) \"clumsy and shallow snobbery can do no harm.\" Like\nother things waxing obsolete it has served, I hasten to confess, a special\npurpose in the world of letters. It has lived through a generation of thirty\nyears in the glorification of the mediocrities and in pandering to the impish\ntaint of poor human nature, the ungenerous passions of those who abhor the\nnovel, the original, the surprising, the startling, and who are only too glad\nto witness and to assist in the Procrustes' process of trimming and\nlengthening out thoughts and ideas and diction that rise or strive to rise\nabove the normal and vulgar plane. This virtual descendant of the ancestral\nSatirist, after long serving as a spawning-ground to envy, hatred and malice,\nnow enters upon the decline of an unworthy old age. Since the death of its\nproprietor, Mr. Beresford-Hope, it has been steadily going down hill as is\nproved by its circulation, once 15,000, and now something nearer 5,000 than\n10,000. It has become a poor shadow of its former self--preserving the passive\nill- will but lacking the power of active malevolence--when journalists were\noften compelled to decline correspondence upon its misjudgments and to close\nto complainants their columns which otherwise would have been engrossed by\njust and reasonable protestations. The \"young lions\" of its prime (too often\nbehanged with a calf-skin on their recreant limbs) are down among the dead and\nthe jackal-pack which has now taken up the howling could no longer have caused\nThackeray to fear or can excite the righteous disgust of that votary of\n\"fair-play\" --Mr. John Bright.\n\nAnd now, before addressing myself to another Reviewer, I would be allowed a\nfew words upon two purely personal subjects; the style chosen for my\ntranslation and my knowledge of the Arabian language and literature.\n\nI need hardly waste time to point out what all men discern more or less\ndistinctly, how important are diction and expression in all works of fancy and\nfiction and how both branches, poetic and prosaic, delight in beauty adorned\nand allow in such matters the extreme of liberty. A long study of Galland and\nTorrens, Lane and Payne, convinced me that none of these translators, albeit\neach could claim his special merit, has succeeded in preserving the local\ncolouring of the original. The Frenchman had gallicised and popularised the\ngeneral tone and tenor to such extent that even the vulgar English versions\nhave ever failed to throw off the French flavour. Torrens attempted literalism\nlaudably and courageously enough; but his execution was of the roughest, the\nnude verbatim; nor did his familiarity with Arabic, or rather with Egyptian,\nsuffice him for the task. Lane, of whom I have already spoken, and of whom I\nshall presently be driven by his imprudent relatives and interested friends to\nsay more, affected the latinised English of the period flat and dull, turgid\nand vapid as that of Sale's Koran; and his style proved the most insufficient\nand inadequate attire in which an Oriental romance of the Middle Ages could be\narrayed. Payne was perfectly satisfactory to all cultivated tastes but he\ndesignedly converted a romantic into a classical work: none ignores its high\nmerits regarded merely as strong and vital English, but it lacks one thing\nneedful--the multiform variety of The Nights. The original Arabic text which\nin the first thirteen tales (Terminal Essay, p. 78) must date from before the\nxiiith century at the latest (since Galland's MS. in the Biblioth\u00e8que\nNationale has been assigned to the early xivth) is highly composite: it does\nnot disdain local terms, bye-words and allusions (some obsolete now and\nforgotten), and it borrows indiscriminately from Persian (e.g. Sh\u00e1hbandar),\nfrom Turkish (as Kh\u00e1t\u00fan) and from Sanscrit (for instance Brahman). As its\nequivalent, in vocabulary I could devise only a somewhat archaical English\nwhose old-fashioned and sub-antique flavour would contrast with our modern and\neveryday speech, admitting at times even Latin and French terms, such as res\nscibilis and citrouille. The mixture startled the critics and carpers to whom\nits object had not been explained; but my conviction still remains that it\nrepresents, with much truth to nature, the motley suit of the Arabo-Egyptian.\nAnd it certainly serves one purpose, too often neglected by writers and\nunnoticed by reviewers. The fluent and transparent styles of Buckle and Darwin\n(the modern Aristotle who has transformed the face of Biological Science) are\ninstruments admirably fitted for their purpose: crystal-clear, they never\ndivert even a bittock of the reader's brain from the all-important sense\nunderlying the sound-symbols. But in works of imagination mar. wants a\ntreatment totally different, a style which, by all or any means, little\nmattering what they be, can avoid the imminent deadly risk of languor and\nmonotony and which adds to fluency the allurement of variety, of surprise and\neven of disappointment, when a musical discord is demanded.\n\nAgain, my estimate of a translator's office has never been of the low level\ngenerally assigned to it even in the days when Englishmen were in the habit of\nenglishing every important or interesting work published on the continent of\nEurope. We cannot expect at this period of our literature overmuch from a man\nwho, as Messieurs Vizetelly assure their client\u00e8le, must produce a version for\na poor \u00a320. But at his best the traducteur, while perfectly reproducing the\nmatter and the manner of his original, works upon two lines. His prime and\nprimary object is an honest and faithful copy, adding naught to the sense nor\nabating aught of its peculiar cachet whilst he labours his best to please and\nedify his readers. He has, however, or should have, another aim wherein is\ndisplayed the acme of hermeneutic art. Every language can profitably lend\nsomething to and borrow somewhat from its neighbours, near or far, an epithet,\na metaphor, a turn of phrase, a naive idiom and the translator of original\nmind will not neglect the frequent opportunities of enriching his mother\ntongue with alien and novel ornaments, which will justly be accounted\nbarbarisms until formally adopted and naturalised. Such are the \"peoples\" of\nKossuth and the useful \"lengthy,\" an American revival of a good old English\nterm. Nor will my modern versionist relegate to a foot-note, as is the\nmalpractice of his banal brotherhood the interesting and often startling\nphases of his foreign author's phraseology and dull the text with its\ncommonplace English equivalent--thus doing the clean reverse of what he should\ndo. It is needless to quote instances concerning this phase of \"Bathos:\" they\nabound in every occidental translation of every Oriental work, especially the\nFrench, such as Baron de Slane's honest and conscientious \"Ibn Khald\u00fan.\" It\nwas this grand ideal of a translator's duty that made Eustache Deschamps, a\ncontemporary poet, write of his English brother bard.--\n\n\n         \"Grand Translateur, Noble Geoffroy Chaucier.\"\n\nHere,\n\n     \"The firste finder of our faire language\"\n\nis styled a \"Socrates in philosophy, a Seneca in morals, an Angel in conduct\nand a great Translator,\" which apparent anti-climax has scandalised not a\nlittle inditers of \"Lives\" and \"Memoirs.\" The title is given simply because\nChaucer translated (using the best and highest sense of the term) into his\nEnglish tongue and its linguistic peculiarities, the thoughts and ideas of his\nforeign models--the very letter and spirit of Petrarch and Boccacao.\n\nThat my attempts to reproduce the form and features of the original and thee\nmy manner of writing is well adapted to the matter appears from the consensus\nof the \"Notices\" presently to be quoted. Mr. J. Addington Symonds pronounces\nthe version to be executed with \"peculiar literary vigour.\" Mr. Swinburne is\ncomplimentary, and even the Saturday deigns to declare \"Captain Burton is\ncertainly felicitous in the manner in which he has englished the picturesque\nlines of the original.\" But le style est de l'homme; and this is a matter upon\nwhich any and every educated man who writes honestly will form and express and\nretain his own opinion: there are not a few who loathe \"Pickwick,\" and who\ncannot relish Vanity Fair. So the Edinburgh Review No. 335 (pp. 174, 181),\nconcerning which more anon, pronounces my work to be \"a jumble of the\nvulgarest slang of all nations;\" also \"an unreadable compound of arch\u00e6ology\nand 'slang,' abounding in Americanisms, and full of an affected reaching after\nobsolete or foreign words and phrases;\" and finally shows the assurance to\nassert \"Captain Burton has produced a version which is neither Arabic nor\nEnglish, but which has at least the merit of being beautifully unreadable\" (p.\n182).\n\nIt has been circulated widely enough by the Lane-Poole clique--poules\nmouillees they are called by an Arabist friend--that I do not know Arabic. Let\nme at once plead guilty to the charge, adding by way of circonstance\natt\u00e9nuante that I know none who does know or who can thoroughly know a tongue\nof which we may say as did honest Izaak Walton of other two crafts, \"angling\nbe so like the mathematics that it can never be fully learned.\" Most of us can\nmaster one section of a language concerning which those who use it\nvernacularly declare \"Only Allah wotteth its entirety\", but we lack as yet the\nmeans to study it as a whole. Older by long ages than Babel's fabulous Tower,\nand covering a continuous area from Eastern Arabia to the Maghrab al-Aksa\n(western Mauritania), from Chaldaea in the North to southern Zanzibar, it\nnumbers of potential vocabulary 1,200,000 words all of which may be, if they\nare not, used, and while they specify the finest shades of meaning, not a few\nof them, technically termed \"Zidd,\" bear significations diametrically\nopposite, e.g., \"Maul\u00e1\" = lord, slave; and \"'Aj\u00faz\" with 88 different meanings.\nIts literature, poetic, semi-poetic and prosaic, falls into three greater\nsections:--Ancient (The Suspendeds, the Kit\u00e1b al-Agh\u00e1n\u00ed and the Koran),\nMedi\u00e6val (Al-Mutanabbi, Al-Asm'\u00e0i, Ab\u00fa Now\u00e1s and the poets of the Harunic\ncycle) and Moderns, of whom not the least important (e.g. Y\u00fasuf al-Yazaj\u00ed) are\nthose of our own day. Throughout its vast domain there are local differences\nof terminology which render every dialect a study; and of these many are\nintimately connected with older families, as the Egyptian with Coptic and the\nMoorish with Berber. The purest speakers are still the Badawin who are often\nnot understood by the citizen-folk (e.g. of Cairo, Damascus and Baghdad) at\nwhose gates they tent; and a few classes like the Ban\u00fa Fahim of Al-Hij\u00e1z still\nconverse sub-classically, ever and anon using the terminal vowels and the\nnunnation elsewhere obsolete. These wildlings, whose evening camp-fires are\nstill their schools for eloquence and whose improvisations are still their\nunwritten laws, divide speech into three degrees, Al-'\u00c1li the lofty addressed\nto the great, Al-Wasat used for daily converse and Al-D\u00fan the lowly or broken\n\"loghat\" (jargon) belonging to most tribes save their own. In Egypt the purest\nspeakers are those of the Sa'\u00edd--the upper Nile-region--differing greatly from\nthe two main dialects of the Delta; in Syria, where the older Aramean is still\ncurrent amongst sundry of the villagers outlying Damascus, the best Arabists\nare the Druzes, a heterogeneous of Arabs and Curds who cultivate language with\nuncommon care. Of the dialectic families which subtend the Mediterranean's\nsouthern sea-board, the Maroccan and the Algerine are barbarised by Berber, by\nSpanish and by Italian words and are roughened by the inordinate use of the\nSuk\u00fan (quiescence or conjoining of consonants), while the Tunisian approaches\nnearer to the Syrian and the Maltese was originally Punic. The jargon of\nMeccah is confessedly of all the worst. But the wide field has been scratched\nnot worked out, and the greater part of it, especially the Mesopotamian and\nthe Himyaritic of Mahrahland, still remains fallow and the reverse of sterile.\n\nMaterials for the study of Arabic in general and of its dialects in particular\nare still deficient, and the dictionaries mostly content themselves with\npouring old stuff from flask to flask, instead of collecting fresh and unknown\nmaterial. Such are recueils of prayers and proverbs, folk-songs and stories,\nriddles and satires, not forgetting those polyglot vocabularies so common in\nmany parts of the Eastern world, notably in Sind and Afgh\u00e1nist\u00e1n; and the\ndepartmental glossaries such as the many dealing with \"Tasawwuf\"--the Moslem\nform of Gnosticism. The excellent lexicon of the late Professor Dozy,\nSuppl\u00e9ment aux Dictionnaires Arabes, par R. Dozy, Leyde: E. J. Brill, 1881,\nwas a step in advance, but we still lack additions like Baron Adolph Von\nKremer's Beitrage zur Arabischen Lexicographie (In commission bei Carl\nGerold's Sohn, Wien, 1884). The French, as might be expected, began early,\ne.g. M. Ruphy's Dictionnaire abrege francais-arabe, Paris, Imprimerie de la\nRepublique, 1810; they have done good work in Algiers and are now carrying it\non in Tunis. Of these we have Marcel, Vocabulaire, etc. (Paris, 1837), Bled de\nBraine (Paris, 1846), who to his Cours Synthetique adds a study of Maroccan\nand Egyptian, Professor Cherbonneau (Paris, 1854), Pr\u00e9cis Historique, and\nDialogues, etc. (Alger, 1858); M. Gasselin (Paris, 1866), Dictionnaire\nfrancais-arabe, M. Brassier (Algiers, 1871), Dictionnaire pratique, also\ncontaining Algerine and Tunisian terms; General Parmentier (Vocabulaire\narabe-francais des Principaux Termes de Geographie, etc.: Paris, rue\nAntoine-Dubois, 1882); and, to mention no others, the Grammaire Arabe Vulgaire\n(Paris, 1824) of M. Caussin de Perceval (fils) has extended far and wide.\nBerggren (Upsal, 1844) published his Guide Francais-Arabe des Voyageurs en\nSyrie et en Egypte. Rowland de Bussy printed (Algiers, 1877) his Dialogues\nFrancais-Arabes in the Algerian dialect. Fr. Jos\u00e9 de Lerchundi, a respected\nMissioner to Tangier, has imitated and even improved upon this in his\nRudimentos del Arabe Vulgar (Madrid, Rivadeneyra, 1872); and his studies of\nthe Maghrabi dialect are most valuable. Dr. A. Socin produced his Arabische\nSprichw\u00f6rter, etc. (Tubingen, 1878), and the late Wilhelm Spitta-Bey, whose\nearly death was so deeply lamented left a grammar of Egyptian which would have\nbeen a model had the author brought to his task more knowledge of Coptic in\nhis Grammatik des Arabischen vulg\u00e4r Dialektes von \u00c6gypten, (Leipsig, 1870).\nDr. Landberg published with Brill of Leyden and Maisonneuve of Paris, 1883, a\nvolume of Syrian Proverbs and promises some five others--No. 2, Damascus and\nthe Haur\u00e1n; No. 3, Kasraw\u00e1n and the Nusayriyah; No. 4, Homs, Hamah and Halab\n(Aleppo), and No. 5, the Badawin of Syria. It is evident that the process\nmight be prolonged ad infinitum by a writer of whom I shall have something to\nsay presently. M. Cl\u00e9ment Huart (Jour. Asiat., Jan. '83) has printed notes on\nthe dialect of Damascus: Dr. C. Snouck Hurgronje published a collection of 77\nproverbs and idioms with lengthy notes in his Mehkanische Sprichw\u00f6rter, etc.\n(Haag, Martinus Nijhoff, 1886), after being expelled from Meccah by the\nTurkish authorities who had discovered him only through a Parisian journal Le\nTemps (see his Het Mekkanshe Feest, Leyden, 1880). For the lower Najd and\nupper Hijaz we have the glossary of Arabic words ably edited by Prof. M. J. de\nGoeje in Mr. Charles M. Doughty's valuable and fantastic \"Arabia Deserta\" (ii.\n542-690: see The Academy, July 28th, '88). Thus the local vocabularies are\ngrowing, but it will be long before the ground is covered.\n\nAgain the East, and notably the Moslem East since the Massacre of Damascus in\n1860, although still moving slowly, shows a distinct advance. The once\nsecluded and self- contained communities are now shaken by the repeated and\ncontinuous shocks of progress around them; and new wants and strange objects\ncompel them nilly-willy to provide vernacular equivalents for the nomenclature\nof modern arts and sciences. Thus the Orientalist, who would produce a\ncontemporary lexicon of Persian, must not only read up all the diaries and\njournals of Teheran and the vocabularies of Yezd and Herat, he must go further\na-field. He should make himself familiar with the speech of the Iliy\u00e1t or\nwandering pastoral tribes and master a host of cognate tongues whose chiefs\nare Armenian (Old and New), Caucasian, a modern Babel, Kurdish, L\u00fari\n(Bakhtiy\u00e1ri), Balochki and Pukht\u00fa or Afghan, besides the direct descendants of\nthe Zend, the Pehlevi, Dari and so forth. Even in the most barbarous jargons\nhe will find terms which throw light upon the literary Iranian of the\nlexicons: for instance \"M\u00e1diy\u00e1n\" = a mare presupposes the existence of\n\"Naray\u00e1n\" = a stallion, and the latter is preserved by the rude patois of the\nBaloch mountaineers. This process of general collection would in our day best\nbe effected after the fashion of Professor James A. H. Murray's \"New English\nDictionary on Historical Principles.\" It would be compiled by a committee of\nreaders resident in different parts of Persia, communicating with the Royal\nAsiatic Society (whose moribund remains they might perhaps quicken) and acting\nin co-operation with Russia, whom unfriends have converted from a friend to an\nangry and jealous rival and who is ever so forward in the linguistic field.\n\nBut if the model Persian dictionary have its difficulties, far harder will be\nthe task with Arabic, which covers incomparably more ground. Here we must\nbegin with Spain and Portugal, Sardinia and the Balearics, Southern Italy and\nSicily; and thence pass over to Northern Africa and the two \"Soudans,\" the\nEastern extending far South of the Equator and the Western nearly to the Line.\nIn Asia, besides the vast Arabian Peninsula, numbering one million of square\nmiles, we find a host of linguistic outliers, such as Upper Hindostan, the\nConcan, Malacca, Java and even remote Yun-nan, where al-Islam is the dominant\nreligion, and where Arabic is the language of Holy Writ.\n\nMy initiation into the mysteries of Arabic began at Oxford under my tutor Dr.\nW. A. Greenhill, who published a \"Treatise on Small-pox and Measles,\"\ntranslated from Rhazes --Ab\u00fa Bakr al-R\u00e1z\u00ed (London, 1847), and where the famous\nArabist, Don Pascual de Gayangos, kindly taught me to write Arabic leftwards.\nDuring eight years of service in Western India and in Moslem Sind, while\nstudying Persian and a variety of vernaculars it was necessary to keep up and\nextend a practical acquaintance with the language which supplies all the\nreligious and most of the metaphysical phraseology; and during my last year at\nSindian Kar\u00e1ch\u00ed (1849), I imported a Shaykh from Maskat. Then work began in\ndownright earnest. Besides Erpenius' (D'Erp) \"Grammatica Arabica,\" Richardson,\nDe Sacy and Forbes, I read at least a dozen Perso-Arabic works (mostly of\npamphlet form) on \"Serf Wa Nahw\"--Accidence and Syntax--and learned by heart\none-fourth of the Koran. A succession of journeys and long visits at various\ntimes to Egypt, a Pilgrimage to the Moslem Holy Land and an exploration of the\nArabic-speaking Som\u00e1li-shores and Harar-Gay in the Galla country of Southern\nAbyssinia, added largely to my practice. At Aden, where I passed the official\nexamination, Captain (now Sir. R. Lambert) Playfair and the late Rev. G. Percy\nBadger, to whom my papers were submitted, were pleased to report favourably of\nmy proficiency. During some years of service and discovery in Western Africa\nand the Brazil my studies were necessarily confined to the \"Thousand Nights\nand a Night\"; and when a language is not wanted for use my habit is to forget\nas much of it as possible, thus clearing the brain for assimilating fresh\nmatter. At the Consulate of Damascus, however, in West Arabian Midian and in\nMaroccan Tangier the loss was readily recovered. In fact, of this and sundry\nother subjects it may be said without immodesty that I have forgotten as much\nas many Arabists have learned. But I repeat my confession that I do not know\nArabic and I have still to meet the man who does know Arabic.\n\nOrientalists, however, are like poets and musicians, a rageous race. A passing\nallusion to a Swedish student styled by others (Mekkanische Sprichw\u00f6rter,\netc., p.1) \"Dr. Landberg,\" and by himself \"Doctor Count Carlo Landberg\"\nprocured me the surprise of the following communication. I quote it in full\nbecause it is the only uncourteous attempt at correspondence upon the subject\nof The Nights which has hitherto been forced upon me.\n\nIn his introduction (p. xx.) to the Syrian Proverbes et Dictons Doctor Count\nLandberg was pleased to criticise, with less than his usual knowledge, my\nstudy entitled \"Proverbia Communia Syriaca\" (Unexplored Syria, i. 264-269).\nThese 187 \"dictes\" were taken mainly from a MS. collection by one Hann\u00e1 Misk,\nex-dragoman of the British Consulate (Damascus), a little recueil for private\nuse such as would be made by a Syro Christian bourgeois. Hereupon the critic\nabsurdly asserted that the translator a voulu s'occuper de la langue classique\nau lieu de se faire * * * l'interpr\u00e8te fid\u00e8le de celle du peuple. My reply was\n(The Nights, vol. viii. 148) that, as I was treating of proverbs familiar to\nthe better educated order of citizens, his critique was not to the point; and\nthis brought down upon me the following letter under the \u00e6gis of a portentous\ncoronet and initials blazing with or, yules and azure.\n\nParis, le 24 F\u00e9vr., 1888.\n\nMonsieur,\n\nJ'ai l'honneur de vous adresser 2 fascicules de mes Critica Arabica. Dans le\nvol. viii. p. 48 de votre traduction de 1001 Nuits vous avez une note qui me\nregard (sic). Vous y cites que je ne suds pas \"Arabist.\" Ce n'est pas votre\njugement qui m'impressionne, car vous n'\u00eates nullement \u00e0 m\u00eame de me juger.\nVotre article contient, comme tout ce que vous avez \u00e9crit dans le domaine de\nla langue arabe, des b\u00e9vues. C'est vous qui n'\u00eates pas arabisant: cela est\nbien connu et reconnu, et nous ne nous donnons pas m\u00eame la peine de relever\ntoutes les innombrables erreurs don't vos publications fourmillent. Quant \u00e0\n\"Sah\u00edfah\" vous \u00eates encore en erreur. Mon \u00e9tymologie est accept\u00e9e par tout le\nmonde et je vous renvoie \u00e0 Fleischer, Kleinre Schriften, p. 468, Leipzig,\n1885, o\u00f9 vous trouverez ['instruction n\u00e9cessaire. Le dilettantism qui se\ntrahit dans tout ce que vous \u00e9crivez vous fait faire de telles erreurs. Nous\nautres arabisants et professo (?) nous ne vous avons jamais et nous ne vous\npouvons jamais consid\u00e9rer comme arabisant. Voila ma r\u00e9ponse \u00e0 votre note.\n\n          Agr\u00e9ez, Monsieur,\n\n          l'expression de mes sentiments distingu\u00e9s,\n\n          Comte Lasdberg,\n\n               Dr.-\u00e8s-lettres.\n\nAfter these preliminaries I proceed to notice the article (No. 335, of July\n'86) in\n\n\n                     The \"Edinburgh Review\"\n\nand to explain its private history with the motives which begat it.\n\n\"This is the Augustan age of English criticism,\" say the reviewers, who are\nfond of remarking that the period is one of literary appreciation rather than\nof original production that is, contemporary reviewers, critics and\nmonograph-writers are more important than \"makers\" in verse or in prose. In\nfact it is their aurea \u00e6tas. I reply \"Virgin ore, no!\" on the whole mixed\nmetal, some noble, much ignoble; a little gold, more silver and an abundance\nof brass, lead and dross. There is the criticism of Sainte Beuve, of the late\nMatthew Arnold and of Swinburne, there is also the criticism of the Saturday\nReviler and of the Edinburgh criticaster. The golden is truth and honour\nincarnate: it possesses outsight and insight: it either teaches and inspires\nor it comforts and consoles, save when a strict sense of duty compels it to\nseverity: briefly, it is keen and guiding and creative. Let the young beginner\nlearn by rote what one master says of another:--\"He was never provoked into\ncoarseness: his thrusts were made with the rapier according to the received\nrules of fence, he firmly upheld the honour of his calling, and in the\nexercise of it was uniformly fearless, independent and incorrupt.\" The Brazen\nis partial, one-sided, tricksy, misleading, immoral; serving personal and\ninterested purposes and contemptuously forgetful of every obligation which an\nhonest and honourable pen owes to the public and to itself. Such critiques\nbring no profit to the reviewed. He feels that he has been written up or\nwritten down by a literary hireling who has possibly been paid to praise or\nabuse him secondarily, and primarily to exalt or debase his publisher or his\nprinter.\n\nMy own literary career has supplied me with many a curious study. Writing upon\nsubjects, say The Lake Regions of Central Africa which were then a type of the\nUnknown I could readily trace in the journalistic notices all the tricks and\ndodges of the trade. The rare honest would confess that they could say nothing\nupon the subject, they came to me therefore for information and professed\nthemselves duly thankful. The many dishonest had recourse to a variety of\ndevices. The hard worker would read-up voyages and travels treating of the\nneighboring countries, Abyssinia, the Cape and the African Coasts Eastern and\nWestern; thus he would write in a kind of reflected light without\nacknowledging his obligation to my volumes. Another would review my book after\nthe easy American fashion of hashing up the author's production, taking all\nits facts from me with out disclosing that one fact to the reader and then\nproceed to \"butter\" or \"slash.\" The worst, \"fulfyld with malace of froward\nentente,\" would choose for theme not the work but the worker, upon the good\nold principle \"Abuse the plaintiff's attorney.\" These arts fully account for\nthe downfall of criticism in our day and the deafness of the public to such\nliterary verdicts. But a few years ago a favourable review in a first-rate\npaper was \"fifty pounds in the author's pocket\": now it is not worth as many\npence unless signed by some well-known scribbling statesman or bustling\nreverend who caters for the public taste. The decline and fall is well\nexpressed in the old lines:--\n\n     \"Non est sanctior quod laudaris:\n     Non est vilior si vituperaris.\"\n\n\"No one, now-a-days, cares for reviews,\" wrote Darwin as far back as 1849; and\nit is easy to see the whys and the wherefores. I have already touched upon the\nduty of reviewing the reviewer when the latter's work calls for the process,\ndespite the pretensions of modern criticism that it must not be criticised.\nAlthough to buffet an anonym is to beat the air, still the very effort does\ngood. A well-known and popular novelist of the present day was a favourite\nbutt for certain journalists who, with the normal half-knowledge of men--\n\n     \"That read too little, and that write too much\"--\n\npersistently fell foul of the points in which the author was almost always\nright and the reviewer was wrong. \"An eagle hawketh not at flies;\" the object\nof ill-natured satire despised--\n\n     \"The creatures of the stall and stye,\"\n\nand persisted in contemptuous reticence, giving consent by silence to what was\neasily refuted, and suffering a fond and foolish sentence to misguide the\npublic which it pretends to direct. \"Take each man's censure but reserve thy\njudgment,\" is a wise saying when silently practiced; it leads, however, to\nsuffering in public esteem. The case in question was wholly changed when, at\nmy suggestion, the writer was persuaded to catch a few of the culprits and to\nadminister the dressing and redressing they so richly deserved.\n\nAnd now to my tale.\n\nMr. Henry Reeve, Editor of the Edinburgh Review, wrote to me shortly before my\nfirst volume was issued to subscribers (September,'85) asking for advance\nsheets, as his magazine proposed to produce a general notice of The Arabian\nNights Entertainments. But I suspected the man whose indiscretion and\nrecklessness had been so unpleasantly paraded in the shape of the Greville\n(Mr. Worldly Wiseman's) Memoirs, and I had not forgotten the untruthful and\nmalignant articles of perfervid brutality which during the hot youth and calm\nmiddle age of the Edinburgh had disgraced the profession of letters. My\nanswer, which was temporising and diplomatic, induced only a second and a more\nurgent application. Bearing in mind that professional etiquette hardly\njustifies publicly reviewing a book intended only for private reading and\nvividly remembering the evil of the periodical, I replied that the sheets\nshould be forwarded but on one condition, namely, that the reviewer would not\ndwell too lovingly and longingly upon the \"archaics,\" which had so excited the\nTartuffean temperament of the chaste Pall Mall Gazette. Mr. Henry Reeves\nreplied (surlily) that he was not in the habit of dictating to his staff and I\nrejoined by refusing to grant his request. So he waited until five, that is\none half of my volumes had been distributed to subscribers, and revenged\nhimself by placing them for review in the hands of the \"Lane-Poole\" clique\nwhich, as the sequel proved could be noisy and combative as setting hens\ndisturbed when their nest-egg was threatened by an intruding hand.\n\nFor the clique had appropriated all right and claim to a monopoly of The\nArabian Nights Entertainments which they held in hand as a rotten borough. The\n\"Uncle and Master,\" Mr. Edward William Lane, eponymous hero of the house, had\nretranslated certain choice specimens of the Recueil and the \"nephews of their\nuncle\" resolved to make a private gold-mine thereof. The book came out in\nmonthly parts at half-a-crown (1839-41) and when offered for sale in 3 vols.\nroyal 8 vo, the edition of 5,000 hung fire at first until the high price (3\npounds 3s.) was reduced to 27 shillings for the trade. The sale then went off\nbriskly and amply repaid the author and the publishers--Charles Knight and Co.\nAnd although here and there some \"old Tory\" grumbled that new-fangled words\n(as Wezeer, K\u00e1dee and Jinnee) had taken the places of his childhood's pets,\nthe Vizier, the Cadi, and the Genie, none complained of the workmanship for\nthe all-sufficient reason that naught better was then known or could be\nwanted. Its succes de salon was greatly indebted to the \"many hundred\nengravings on wood, from original designs by William Harvey\", with a host of\nquaint and curious Arabesques, Cufic inscriptions, vignettes, head pieces and\nculs- de-lampes. These, with the exception of sundry minor accessories,\n[FN#447] were excellent and showed for the first time the realistic East and\nnot the absurdities drawn from the depths of artistical ignorance and\nself-consciousness--those of Smirke, Deveria, Chasselot and Co., not to speak\nof the horrors of the De Sacy edition, whose plates have apparently been used\nby Prof. Weil and by the Italian versions. And so the three bulky and handsome\nvolumes found a ready way into many a drawing room during the Forties, when\nthe public was uncritical enough to hail the appearance of these scattered\nchapters and to hold that at last they had the real thing, pure and\nunadulterated. No less than three reprints of the \"Standard Edition,\" 1859\n(the last being in '83), succeeded one another and the issue was finally\nstopped, not by the author's death (\u00e6tat 75; London, August 10, 1876: net.\nHereford, September 17, 1801), nor by the plates, which are now the property\nof Messieurs Chatto and Windus, becoming too worn for use, but simply by\ndeficient demand. And the clique, represented by the late Edward Lane-Poole in\n1879, who edited the last edition (1883) with a Preface by Mr. Stanley\nLane-Poole, during a long run of forty-three years never paid the public the\ncompliment of correcting the multitudinous errors and short comings of the\ntranslation. Even the lengthy and longsome notes, into which The Nights have\ntoo often been merged, were left untrimmed. Valuable in themselves and full of\ninformation, while wholly misplaced in a recueil of folk-lore, where they\nstand like pegs behung with the contents of the translator's adversaria, the\nmonographs on details of Arab life have also been exploited and reprinted\nunder the \"fatuous\" title, \"Arabian (for Egyptian) Society in the Middle Ages:\nStudies on The Thousand and One Nights.\" They were edited by Mr. Stanley\nLane-Poole (Chatto and Windus) in 1883.\n\nAt length the three volumes fell out of date, and the work was formally\npronounced unreadable. Go\u00ebthe followed from afar by Emerson, had foreseen the\n\"inevitable increase of Oriental influence upon the Occident,\" and the\neagerness with which the men of the West would apply themselves to the\nlanguages and literature of the East. Such garbled and mutilated, unsexed and\nunsoured versions and perversions like Lane's were felt to be survivals of the\nunfittest. Mr. John Payne (for whom see my Foreword, vol. i. pp. xi.-xii.)\nresolved to give the world the first honest and complete version of the\nThousand Nights and a Night. He put forth samples of his work in the New\nQuarterly Magazine (January- April, 1879), whereupon he was incontinently\nassaulted by Mr. Reginald Stuart Poole, the then front of the monopolists, who\nafter drawing up a list of fifteen errata (which were not errata) in two\nNights, declared that \"they must be multiplied five hundred-fold to give the\nsum we may expect.\" (The Academy, April 26, 1879; November 29, 1881; and\nDecember 7, 1881.) The critic had the courage, or rather impudence, to fall\nfoul of Mr. Payne's mode and mannerism, which had long become deservedly\nfamous, and concludes: --\"The question of English style may for the present be\ndropped, as, if a translator cannot translate, it little matters in what form\nhis results appear. But it may lie questioned whether an Arab edifice should\nbe decorated with old English wall-papers.\"\n\nEvidently I had scant reason to expect mercy from the clique: I wanted none\nand I received none.\n\nMy reply to the arch-impostor, who\n\n     Spreads the light wings of saffron and of blue,\n\nwill perforce be somewhat detailed: it is necessary to answer paragraph by\nparagraph, and the greater part of the thirty-three pages refers more or less\ndirectly to myself. To begin with the beginning, it caused me and many others\nsome surprise to see the \"Thousand Nights and a Night\" expelled the initial\nlist of thirteen items, as if it were held unfit for mention. Cet article est\nprincipalement une diatribe contre l'ouorage de Sir Richard Burton et dans le\nlibre cet ouvrage n'est m\u00eame pas mentionn\u00e9', writes my French friend. This\nproceeding was a fair specimen of \"that impartiality which every reviewer is\nsupposed to possess.\" But the ignoble \"little dodge\" presently suggested\nitself. The preliminary excursus (p.168) concerning the \"Mille et Une Nuits\n(read Nuit) an audacious fraud, though not the less the best story book in the\nworld,\" affords us a useful measure of the writer's competence in the matter\nof audacity and ill-judgment. The honest and single-minded Galland is here\n(let us believe through that pure ignorance which haply may hope for \"fool's\npardon\") grossly and unjustly vilified; and, by way of making bad worse, we\nare assured (p. 167) that the Frenchman \"brought the Arabic manuscript from\nSyria\"--an infact which is surprising to the most superficial student.\n\"Galland was a born story teller, in the good and the bad sense\" (p. 167), is\na silly sneer of the true Lane-Poolean type. The critic then compares most\nunadvisedly (p. 168) a passage in Galland (De Sacy edit. vol. i. 414) with the\nsame in Mr. Payne's (i. 260) by way of proving the \"extraordinary liberties\nwhich the worthy Frenchman permitted himself to take with the Arabic\": had he\ntroubled himself to collate my version (i. 290-291), which is made fuller by\nthe Breslau Edit. (ii. 190), he would have found that the Frenchman, as was\nhis wont, abridged rather than amplified;[FN#448] although, when the original\npermitted exact translation, he could be literal enough. And what doubt, may I\nenquire, can we have concerning \"The Sleeper Awakened\" (Lane, ii. 351-376),\nor, as I call it, \"The Sleeper and the waker\" (Suppl. vol.i.1-29), when it\noccurs in a host of MSS., not to mention the collection of tales which Prof.\nHabicht converted into the Arabian Nights by breaking the text into a thousand\nand one sections (Bresl. Edit. iv. 134-189, Nights cclxxii. ccxci.). The\nreckless assertions that \"the whole\" of the last fourteen (Gallandian) tales\nhave nothing whatever to do with \"The Nights\" (p. 168); and that of the\nhistories of Zayn al-Asn\u00e1m and Aladdin, \"it is abundantly certain that they\nbelong to no manuscript of the Thousand and One Nights\" (p. 169), have been\nnotably stultified by M. Hermann Zotenberg's purchase of two volumes\ncontaining both these bones of long and vain contention. See Foreword to my\nSuppl. vol. iii. pp. viii.-xi., and Mr. W. F. Kirby's interesting notice of M.\nZotenberg's epoch-making booklet (vol. vi. p. 287).\n\n\"The first English edition was published (pace Lowndes) within eight years of\nGalland's\" (p. 170) states a mere error. The second part of Galland (6 vols.\n12 mo) was not issued till 1717, or two years after the translator's death. Of\nthe English editio princeps the critic tells nothing, nor indeed has anyone as\nyet been able to tell us aught. Of the dishonouring assertion (again let us\nhope made in simple ignorance) concerning \"Cazotte's barefaced forgery\" (p.\n170), thus slandering the memory of Jacques Cazotte, one of the most upright\nand virtuous of men who ever graced the ranks of literature, I have disposed\nin the Foreword to my Supplemental vol. vi. \"This edition (Scott's) was\ntastefully reprinted by Messrs. Nimmo and Bain in four volumes in 1883\" (p.\n170). But why is the reader not warned that the eaux fortes are by Lalauze\n(see supr\u00e0, p. 326), 19 in number, and taken from the 21 illustrations in MM.\nJouaust's edit. of Galland with preface by J. Janin? Why also did the critic\nnot inform us that Scott's sixth volume, the only original part of the work,\nwas wilfully omitted? This paragraph ends with mentioning the labours of Baron\nvon Hammer-Purgstall, concerning whom we are afterwards told (p. 186) for the\nfirst time that he \"was brilliant and laborious.\" Hard-working, yes!\nbrilliant, by no means!\n\nWe now come to the glorification of the \"Uncle and Master,\" concerning whom I\ncan only say that Lane's bitterest enemy (if the amiable Orientalist ever had\nany unfriend) could not have done him more discredit than this foolish friend.\n\"His classical(!) translation was at once recognised as an altogether new\ndeparture\" (p. 171), and \"it was written in such a manner that the Oriental\ntone of The Nights should be reflected in the English\" (ibid.). \"It aims at\nreproducing in some degree the literary flavour of the original\" (p 173). \"The\nstyle of Lane's translation is an old-fashioned somewhat Biblical language\"\n(p. 173) and \"it is precisely this antiquated ring\" (of the imperfect and\nmutilated \"Boulak edition,\" unwisely preferred by the translator) \"that Lane\nhas succeeded in preserving\" \"The measured and finished language Lane chose\nfor his version is eminently fitted to represent the rhythmical tongue of the\nArab\" (Memoir, p. xxvii.). \"The translation itself is distinguished by its\nsingular accuracy and by the marvellous way in which the Oriental tone and\ncolour are retained \" (ibid.). The writer has taken scant trouble to read me\nwhen he asserts that the Bulak edit was my text, and I may refer him, for his\nown advantage, to my Foreword (vol. i. p. xvii.), which he has wilfully\nignored by stating unfact. I hasten to plead guilty before the charge of\n\"really misunderstanding the design of Lane's style\" (p. 173). Much must be\npardoned to the panegyrist, the encomiast; but the idea of mentioning in the\nsame sentence with Biblical English, the noblest and most perfect specimen of\nour prose, the stiff and bald, the vapid and turgid manner of the Orientalist\nwho \"commences\" and \"concludes\"--never begins and ends, who never uses a short\nword if he can find a long word, who systematically rejects terse and\nidiomatic Anglo-Saxon when a Latinism is to be employed and whose pompous\nstilted periods are the very triumph of the \"Deadly-lively\"! By arts precisely\nsimilar the learned George Sale made the Koran, that pure and unstudied\ninspiration of Arabian eloquence, dull as a law document, and left the field\nclear for the Rev. Mr. Rodwell. I attempted to excuse the style-laches of Lane\nby noticing the lack of study in English linguistic which distinguished the\nlatter part of the xviiith and the first half of the xixth centuries, when men\ndisdaining the grammar of their own tongue, learned it from Latin and Greek;\nwhen not a few styled Shakespeare \"silly-billy,\" and when Lamb the essayist,\nwrote, \"I can read, and I say it seriously, the homely old version of the\nPsalms for an hour or two together sometimes, without sense of weariness.\" But\nthe reviewer will have none of my palliative process, he is surprised at my\n\"posing as a judge of prose style,\" being \"acquainted with my quaint\nperversions of the English language\" (p. 173) and, when combating my sweeping\nassertion that \"our prose\" (especially the prose of schoolmasters and\nprofessors, of savans and Orientalists) \"was perhaps the worst in Europe,\" he\ntriumphantly quotes half a dozen great exceptions whose eminence goes far to\nprove the rule.\n\nAs regards Lane's unjustifiable excisions the candid writer tells us\neverything but the truth. As I have before noted (vol. ix. 304), the main\nreason was simply that the publisher, who was by no means a business man,\nfound the work outgrowing his limits and insisted upon its coming to an\nuntimely and, alas! a tailless end. This is perhaps the principal cause for\nignoring the longer histories, like King Omar bin al-Nu'um\u00e1n (occupying 371\npages in my vols. ii. and iii.); Ab\u00fa Hasan and his slave-girl Tawaddud (pp.\n56, vol. v. 189-245), the Queen of the Serpents with the episodes of Bulukiy\u00e1\nand of J\u00e1nshah (pp.98, vol. v. 298-396); The Rogueries of Dalilah the Crafty\nand the Adventures of Mercury Ali (pp. 55, vol. vii. 144-209). The Tale of\nHarun al-Rashid and Abu Hasan of Oman (pp. 19, vol. ix. 188-207) is certainly\nnot omitted by dictations of delicacy, nor is it true of the parts omitted in\ngeneral that \"none could be purified without being destroyed.\" As my French\nfriend remarks, \"Few parts are so plain-spoken as the introduction, le cadre\nde l'ouvrage, yet M. Lane was not deterred by such situation.\" And lastly we\nhave, amongst the uncalledfor excisions, King Jali'ad of Hind, etc. (pp. 102,\nvol. ix. 32-134). The sum represents a grand total of 701 pages, while not a\nfew of the notes are filled with unimportant fabliaux and apologues.\n\nBut the critic has been grandly deceptive, either designedly or of ignorance\nprepense in his arithmetic. \"There are over four hundred of these (anecdotes,\nfables, and stories) in the complete text, and Lane has not translated more\nthan two hundred\" (p. 172). * * * \"Adding the omitted anecdotes to the omitted\ntales, it appears that Lane left out about a third of the whore 'Nights,' and\nof that third at least three-fourths was incompatible with a popular edition.\nWhen Mr. Payne and Captain Burton boast of presenting the public 'with three\ntimes as much matter as any other version,' they perhaps mean a third as much\nagain\" (p. 173). * * * \"Captain Burton records his opinion that Lane has\n'omitted half and by far the more characteristic half of the Arabian Nights,'\nbut Captain Burton has a talent for exaggeration, and for 'characteristic' we\nshould reed 'unclear.' It is natural that he should make the most of such\nomissions, since they form the raison d'\u00eatre of his own translation; but he\nhas widely overshot the mark, and the public may rest assured that the tales\nomitted from the standard version (proh pudor!) are of very slight importance\nin comparison with the tales included in it\" (p. 173).\n\nWhat a mass of false statement!\n\nLet us now exchange fiction for fact. Lane's three volumes contain a total,\ndeducting 15 for index, of pp. 1995 (viz. 618 + 643 + 734); while each (full)\npage of text averages 38 lines and of notes (in smaller type) 48. The text\nwith a number of illustrations represents a total of pp. 1485 (viz. 441 + 449\n+ 595). Mr. Payne's nine volumes contain a sum of pp. 3057, mostly without\nbreaks, to the 1485 of the \"Standard edition.\" In my version the sum of pages,\neach numbering 41 lines, is 3156, or 1163 more than Lane's total and 2671 more\nthan his text.\n\nAgain, in Lane's text the tales number 62 (viz. 35 + 14 + 13), and as has been\nstated, all the longest have been omitted, save only Sindbad the Seaman. The\nanecdotes in the notes amount to 44 1/2 (viz. 3 1/2 + 35 + 6): these are for\nthe most pert the merest outlines and include the 3 1/2 of volume i. viz. the\nTale of Ibrahim al-Mausil\u00ed (pp. 223-24), the Tale of Caliph Mu'\u00e1wiyah (i. pp.\n521-22), the Tale of Mukh\u00e1rik the Musician (i. pp. 224- 26), and the half tale\nof Umm 'Amr (i. p. 522). They are quoted bodily from the \"Halbat al- Kumayt\"\nand from the \"Kit\u00e1b al-Unw\u00e1n f\u00ed Mak\u00e1id al-Nisw\u00e1n,\" showing that at the early\nstage of his labours the translator, who published in parts, had not read the\nbook on which he was working; or, at least, had not learned that all the three\nand a half had been borrowed from The Nights. Thus the grand total is\nrepresented by 106 1/2 tales, and the reader will note the difference between\n106 1/2 and the diligent and accurate reviewer's \"not much more than two\nhundred.\" In my version the primary tales amount to 171; the secondaries, &c.,\nto 96 and the total to 267, while Mr. Payne has 266.[FN#449] And these the\ncritic swells to \"over four hundred!\" Thus I have more than double the number\nof pages in Lane's text (allowing the difference between his 38 lines to an\noft-broken page and my 41) and nearly two and a half tales to his one, and\ntherefore I do not mean \"a third as much again.\"\n\nThus, too, we can deal with the dishonest assertions concerning Lane's\ntranslation \"not being absolutely complete\" (p. 171) and that \"nobody desired\nto see the objectionable passages which constituted the bulk of Lane's\nomissions restored to their place in the text\" (p. 175).\n\nThe critic now passes to The Uncle's competence for the task, which he grossly\nexaggerates. Mr. Lane had no \"intimate acquaintance with Mahommedan life\" (p.\n174). His \"Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians\" should have been\nentitled \"Modern Cairenes;\" he had seen nothing of Nile-land save what was\nshown to him by a trip to Phil\u00e6 in his first visit (1825-28) and another to\nThebes during his second, he was profoundly ignorant of Egypt as a whole, and\neven in Cairo he knew nothing of woman-life and child-life--two thirds of\nhumanity. I doubt if he could have understood the simplest expression in baby\nlanguage; not to mention the many idioms peculiar to the Harem nursery. The\ncharacteristic of his work is geniality combined with a true affection for his\nsubject, but no scholar can ignore its painful superficiality. His studies of\nlegal theology gave him much weight with the Olema, although, at the time when\nhe translated The Nights, his knowledge of Arabic was small. Hence the number\nof lapses which disfigures his pages. These would have been excusable in an\nOrientalist working out of Egypt, but Lane had a Shaykh ever at his elbow and\nhe was always able to command the assistance of the University Mosque,\nAl-Azhar. I need not enter upon the invidious task of cataloguing these\nerrors, especially as the most glaring have been cursorily noticed in my\nvolumes. Mr. Lane after leaving Egypt became one of the best Arabic scholars\nof his day, but his fortune did not equal his deserts. The Lexicon is a fine\nwork although sadly deficient in the critical sense, but after the labour of\nthirty-four years (it began printing in 1863) it reached only the 19th letter\nGhayn (p. 2386). Then invidious Fate threw it into the hands of Mr. Stanley\nLane-Poole. With characteristic audacity he disdained to seek the services of\nsome German Professor, an order of men which, rarely dining out and caring\nlittle for \"Society,\" can devote itself entirely to letters, perhaps he\nhearkened to the silly charge against the Teuton of minuteness and futility of\nresearch as opposed to \"good old English breadth and suggestiveness of\ntreatment.\" And the consequence has been a \"continuation\" which serves as a\nstandard whereby to measure the excellence of the original work and the woful\nfalling- off and deficiencies of the sequel-- the latter retaining of the\nformer naught save the covers. [FN#450]\n\nOf Mr. Lane's Notes I have ever spoken highly: they are excellent and\nmarvellously misplaced--non erat his locus. The text of a story-book is too\nfrail to bear so ponderous a burden of classical Arabian lore, and the\nannotations injure the symmetry of the book as a work of art. They begin with\nexcessive prolixity: in the Introduction these studies fill 27 closely printed\npages to 14 of a text broken by cuts and vignettes. In chaps. i. the\nproportion is pp. 20, notes: 15 text, and in chaps. ii. it is pp. 20: 35. Then\nthey become under the publisher's protest, beautifully less; and in vol. iii.\nchaps. 30 (the last) they are pp. 5: 57. Long disquisitions, \"On the initial\nMoslem formula,\" \"On the Wickedness of Women,\" \"On Fate and Destiny,\" \"On\nArabian Cosmogony,\" \"On Slaves,\" \"On Magic,\" \"On the Two Grand Festivals,\" all\nthese being appended to the Introduction and the first chapter, are mere hors\nd'oeuvres: such \"copy\" should have been reserved for another edition of \"The\nModern Egyptians.\" The substitution of chapters for Nights was perverse and\nill-judged as it could be, but it appears venial compared with condensing the\ntales in a commentary, thus converting the Arabian Nights into Arabian Notes.\nHowever, \"Arabian Society in the Middle Ages,\" a legacy left by the \"Uncle and\nMaster\", and like the tame and inadequate \"Selections from the Koran,\"\nutilised by the grand-nephew, has been of service to the Edinburgh. Also, as\nit appears three several and distinct times in one article (pp. 166, 174, and\n183), we cannot but surmise that a main object of the critique was to\nadvertise the volume. Men are crafty in these days when practicing the \"puff\nindirect.\"\n\nBut the just complaint against Lane's work is its sin of omission. The partial\nReviewer declares (pp. 174 75) that the Arabist \"retranslated The Nights in a\npractical spirit, omitting what was objectionable, together with a few\ntales(!) that were, on the whole, uninteresting or tautological, and enriching\nthe work with a multitude of valuable notes. We had now a scholarly version of\nthe greater part of The Nights imbued with the spirit of the East and rich in\nillustrative comment; and for forty years no one thought of anything more,\nalthough Galland still kept his hold on the nursery.\" Despite this spurious\napology, the critic is compelled cautiously to confess (p. 172), \"We are not\nsure that some of these omissions were not mistaken;\" and he instances\n\"Abdallah the Son of Fazil\" and \"Abu'l-Hasan of Khorasan\" (he means, I\nsuppose, Abu Hasan al-Ziy\u00e1di and the Khorasani Man, iv. 285), whilst he\nsuggests, \"a careful abridgment of the tale of Omar the Son of No'man\" (ii.\n7,, etc.). Let me add that wittiest and most rollicking of Rabelaisian skits,\n\"All the Persian and the Kurd Sharper\" (iv. 149), struck-out in the very\nwantonness of \"respectability;\" and the classical series, an Arabian \"Pilpay,\"\nentitled \"King Jali'\u00e1d of Hind and his Wazir Shimas\" (iv. 32). Nor must I omit\nto notice the failure most injurious to the work which destroyed in it half\nthe \"spirit of the East.\" Mr. Lane had no gift of verse or rhyme: he must have\nknown that the ten thousand lines of the original Nights formed a striking and\nnecessary contrast with the narrative part, acting as aria to recitativo. Yet\nhe rendered them only in the baldest and most prosaic of English without even\nthe balanced style of the French translations. He can be excused only for one\nconsideration--bad prose is not so bad as bad verse.\n\n\nThe ill-judged over-appreciation and glorification of Mr. Lane is followed (p.\n176) by the depreciation and bedevilment of Mr. John Payne, who first taught\nthe world what The Nights really is. We are told that the author (like myself)\n\"unfortunately did not know Arabic;\" and we are not told that he is a sound\nPersian scholar: however, \"he undoubtedly managed to pick up enough of the\nlanguage(!) to understand The Arabian Nights with the assistance of the\nearlier translations of (by?) Torrens and Lane,\" the former having printed\nonly one volume out of some fifteen. This critic thinks proper now to ignore\nthe \"old English wall-papers,\" of Mr. R. S. Poole, indeed he concedes to the\ntranslator of Villon, a \"genius for language,\" a \"singular robust and\nmasculine prose, which for the present purpose he intentionally weighted with\narchaisms and obsolete words but without greatly injuring its force or\nbrilliancy\" (p. 177). With plausible candour he also owns that the version \"is\na fine piece of English, it is also, save where the exigencies of rhyme\ncompelled a degree of looseness, remarkably literal\" (p. 178). Thus the author\nis damned with faint praise by one who utterly fails to appreciate the\nportentous difference between linguistic genius and linguistic mediocrity, and\nthe Reviewer proceeds, \"a careful collation\" (we have already heard what his\n\"careful\" means) \"of the different versions with their originals leads us to\nthe conclusion that Mr. Payne's version is little less faithful than Lane's in\nthose parts which are common to both, and is practically as close a rendering\nas is desirable\" (p. 178). Tell the truth, man, and shame the Devil! I assert\nand am ready to support that the \"Villon version\" is incomparably superior to\nLane's not only in its simple, pure and forcible English, but also in its\nliteral and absolute correctness, being almost wholly free from the blunders\nand inaccuracies which everywhere disfigure Torrens, and which are rarely\nabsent from Lane. I also repeat that wherever the style and the subject are\nthe most difficult to treat, Mr. Payne comes forth most successfully from the\ncontest, thus giving the best proof of his genius and capacity for\npainstaking. Of the metrical part, which makes the Villon version as superior\nto Lane's as virgin gold to German silver, the critique offers only three\ninadequate specimens specially chosen and accompanied with a growl that \"the\nverse is nothing remarkable\" (p. 177) and that the author is sometimes \"led\ninto extreme liberties with the original\" (ibid.). Not a word of praise for\nmastering the prodigious difficulties of the monorhyme!\n\nBut--and there is a remarkable power in this particle--Mr. Payne's work is\n\"restricted to the few wealthy collectors of proscribed books and what\nbooksellers' catalogues describe as faceti\u00e6'\" (p. 179); for \"when an Arabic\nword is unknown to the literary language\" (what utter imbecility!), \"and\nbelongs only to the low vocabulary of the gutter\" (which the most \"elegant\"\nwriters most freely employ), \"Mr. Payne laboriously searches out a\ncorresponding term in English 'Billingsgate,' and prides himself upon an\naccurate reproduction of the tone of the original\" (p. 178). This is a\nremarkable twisting of the truth. Mr. Payne persisted, despite my frequent\nprotests, in rendering the \"nursery words\" and the \"terms too plainly\nexpressing natural situations\" by old English such as \"kaze\" and \"swive,\"\nequally ignored by the \"gutter\" and by \"Billingsgate\": he also omitted an\noffensive line whenever it did not occur in all the texts and could honestly\nbe left untranslated. But the unfact is stated for a purpose: here the\nReviewer mounts the high horse and poses as the Magister Morum per\nexcellentiam. The Battle of the Books has often been fought, the crude text\nversus the bowdlerised and the expurgated; and our critic can contribute to\nthe great fray only the merest platitudes. \"There is an old and trusty saying\nthat 'evil communications corrupt good manners,' end it is a well-known fact\nthat the discussion(?) and reading of depraved literature leads (sic)\ninfallibly to the depravation of the reader's mind\" (p. 179). [FN#451] I\nshould say that the childish indecencies and the unnatural vice of the\noriginal cannot deprave any mind save that which is perfectly prepared to be\ndepraved; the former would provoke only curiosity and amusement to see bearded\nmen such mere babes, and the latter would breed infinitely more disgust than\ndesire. The man must be prurient and lecherous as a dog-faced baboon in rut to\nhave aught of passion excited by either. And most inept is the conclusion, \"So\nlong as Mr. Payne's translation remains defiled by words, sentences, and whole\nparagraphs descriptive of coarse and often horribly depraved sensuality, it\ncan never stand beside Lane's, which still remains the standard version of the\nArabian Nights\" (p. 179). Altro! No one knows better than the clique that\nLane, after an artificially prolonged life of some half-century, has at last\nbeen weighed in the balance and been found wanting; that he is dying that\nsecond death which awaits the unsatisfactory worker and that his Arabian\nNights are consigned by the present generation to the limbo of things obsolete\nand forgotten.\n\nBut if Mr. Payne is damned with poor praise and mock modesty, my version is\ncondemned without redemption--beyond all hope of salvation: there is not a\nword in favour of a work which has been received by the reviewers with a\nchorus of kindly commendation. \"The critical battery opens with a round-shot.\"\n\"Another complete translation is now appearing in a surreptitious way\" (p.\n179). How \"surreptitious\" I ask of this scribe, who ekes not the lack of\nreason by a superfluity of railing, when I sent out some 24,000--30,000\nadvertisements and published my project in the literary papers? \"The\namiability of the two translators (Payne and Burton) was testified by their\neach dedicating a volume to the other. So far as the authors are concerned\nnothing could be more harmonious and delightful; but the public naturally ask,\nWhat do we want with two forbidden versions?\" And I again inquire, What can be\ndone by me to satisfy this atrabilious and ill-conditioned Aristarchus? Had I\nnot mentioned Mr. Payne, my silence would have been construed into envy,\nhatred and malice: if I am proud to acknowledge my friend's noble work the\nproceeding engenders a spiteful sneer. As regards the \"want,\" public demand is\neasily proved. It is universally known (except to the Reviewer who will not\nknow) that Mr. Payne, who printed only 500 copies, was compelled to refuse as\nmany hundreds of would be subscribers; and, when my design was made public by\nthe Press, these and others at once applied to me. \"To issue a thousand still\nmore objectionable copies by another and not a better hand\" (notice the quip\ncursive!) may \"seem preposterous\" (p. 180), but only to a writer so\n\"preposterous\" as this.\n\n\"A careful (again!) examination of Captain Burton's translation shows that he\nhas not, as he pretends(!), corrected it to agree with the Calcutta text, but\nhas made a hotch-potch of various texts, choosing one or another--Cairo,\nBreslau, Macnaghten or first Calcutta--according as it presented most of the\n'characteristic' detail (note the dig in the side vicious), in which Captain\nBurton's version is peculiarly strong\" (p. 180). So in return for the severe\nlabour of collating the four printed texts and of supplying the palpable\nomissions, which by turns disfigure each and every of the quartette, thus\nproducing a complete copy of the Recueil, I gain nothing but blame. My French\nfriend writes to me: Lorsqu'il s'agit d'\u00e9tablir un texte d'apr\u00e8s diff\u00e9rents\nmanuscrits, il est certain qu'il faut prendre pour base une-seule redaction.\nMais il n'est pas de m\u00eame d'une traduction. Il est conforme aux r\u00e8gles de la\nsaine critique litt\u00e9raire, de suivre tous les textes. Lane, I repeat,\ncontented himself with the imperfect Bulak text while Payne and I preferred\nthe Macnaghten Edition which, says the Reviewer, with a futile falsehood all\nhis own, is \"really only a revised form of the Cairo text\" [FN#452] (ibid.).\nHe concludes, making me his rival in ignorance, that I am unacquainted with\nthe history of the MS. from which the four- volume Calcutta Edition was\nprinted (ibid.). I should indeed be thankful to him if he could inform me of\nits ultimate fate: it has been traced by me to the Messieurs Allen and I have\nvainly consulted Mr. Johnston who carries on the business under the name of\nthat now defunct house. The MS. has clean disappeared.\n\n\"On the other hand he (Captain Burton) sometimes omits passages which he\nconsiders(!) tautological and thereby deprives his version of the merit of\ncompleteness (e.g. vol. v. p. 327). It is needless to remark that this\nuncertainty about the text destroys the scholarly value of the translation\"\n(p. 180). The scribe characteristically forgets to add that I have invariably\nnoted these excised passages which are always the merest repetitions, damnable\niterations of a twice-, and sometimes a thrice-told tale, and that I so act\nupon the great principle--in translating a work of imagination and \"inducing\"\nan Oriental tale, the writer's first duty to his readers is making his pages\nreadable.\n\n\"Captain Burton's version is sometimes rather loose\" (p.180), says the critic\nwho quotes five specimens out of five volumes and who might have quoted five\nhundred. This is another favourite \"dodge\" with the rogue-reviewer, who\ndelights to cite words and phrases and texts detached from their contexts. A\ntranslator is often compelled, by way of avoiding recurrences which no English\npublic could endure, to render a word, whose literal and satisfactory meaning\nhe has already given, by a synonym or a homonym in no way so sufficient or so\nsatisfactory. He charges me with rendering \"Siyar, which means 'doings,' by\n'works and words\"'; little knowing that the veteran Orientalist, M. Joseph\nDerenbourgh (p. 98, Johannes de Capua, Directorium, etc.), renders \"Akhl\u00e1k-\u00ed\nwa S\u00edrat\u00ed\" (sing. of Siyar) by caract\u00e8re et conducte, the latter consisting of\ndeeds and speech. He objects to \"Kabir\" (lit.=old) being turned into very old;\nyet this would be its true sense were the R\u00e1w\u00ed or story-teller to lay stress\nand emphasis upon the word, as here I suppose him to have done. But what does\nthe Edinburgh know of the R\u00e1w\u00ed? Again I render \"Mal'\u00fanah\" (not the mangled\nMal'ouna) lit. = accurst, as \"damned whore,\" which I am justified in doing\nwhen the version is of the category Call-a-spade-a-spade.\n\n\"Captain Burton's Arabian Nights, however, has another defect besides this\ntextual inaccuracy\" (p. 180); and this leads to a whole page of abusive\nrhetoric anent my vocabulary: the Reviewer has collected some thirty\nspecimens--he might have collected three hundred from the five volumes--and he\nconcludes that the list places Captain Burton's version \"quite out of the\ncategory of English books\" (p. 181) and \"extremely annoying to any reader with\na feeling for style.\" Much he must know of modern literary taste which\nencourages the translator of an ancient work such as Mr. Gibb's Aucassin and\nNicolette (I quote but one in a dozen) to borrow the charm of antiquity by\nimitating the nervous and expressive language of the pre-Elizabethans and\nShakespeareans. Let him compare any single page of Mr. Payne with Messieurs\nTorrens and Lane and he will find that the difference saute aux yeux. But a\npurist who objects so forcibly to archaism and archaicism should avoid such\nterms as \"whilom Persian Secretary\" (p. 170); as anthophobia, which he is\ncompelled to explain by \"dread of selecting only what is best\" (p. 175), as\nanthophobist (p. 176); as \"fatuous ejaculations\" (p. 183), as a \"raconteur\"\n(p. 186), and as \"intermedium\" (p. 194) terms which are certainly not\nunderstood by the general. And here we have a list of six in thirty-three\npages:--evidently this Reviewer did not expect to be reviewed.\n\n\"Here is a specimen of his (Captain Burton's) verse, in which, by the way,\nthere is seen another example of the careless manner in which the proofs have\nbeen corrected\" (p. 181). Generous and just to a work printed from abroad and\nwhen absence prevented the author's revision: false as unfair to boot! And\nwhat does the critic himself but show two several misprints in his 33 pages;\n\"Mr. Payne, vol. ix. p. 274\" (p. 168, for vol. i. 260), and \"Jamshah\" (p. 172,\nfor J\u00e1nsh\u00e1h). These faults may not excuse my default: however, I can summon to\nmy defence the Saturday Review, that past-master in the art and mystery of\ncarping criticism, which, noticing my first two volumes (Jan. 2, 1886),\ndeclares them \"laudably free from misprints.\"\n\n\"Captain Burton's delight in straining the language beyond its capabilities(?)\nfinds a wide field when he comes to those passages in the original which are\nwritten in rhyming prose\" (p. 181). \"Captain Burton of course could not\nneglect such an opportunity for display of linguistic flexibility on the model\nof 'Peter Parley picked a peck of pickled peppers\"' (p. 182, where the Saj'a\nor prose rhyme is most ignorantly confounded with our peculiarly English\nalliteration). But this is wilfully to misstate the matter. Let me repeat my\nconviction (Terminal Essay, 144-145) that The Nights, in its present\ncondition, was intended as a text or handbook for the R\u00e1w\u00ed or professional\nstory-teller, who would declaim the recitative in quasi-conversational tones,\nwould intone the Saj'a and would chant the metrical portions to the twanging\nof the Rab\u00e1bah or one-stringed viol. The Reviewer declares that the original\nhas many such passages; but why does he not tell the reader that almost the\nwhole Koran, and indeed all classical Arab prose, is composed in such\n\"jingle\"? \"Doubtfully pleasing in the Arabic,\" it may \"sound the reverse of\nmelodious in our own tongue\" (p. 282); yet no one finds fault with it in the\nolder English authors (Terminal Essay, p. 220), and all praised the free use\nof it in Eastwick's \"Gulist\u00e1n.\" Torrens, Lane and Payne deliberately rejected\nit, each for his own and several reason; Torrens because he never dreamt of\nthe application, Lane, because his scanty knowledge of English stood in his\nway; and Payne because he aimed at a severely classical style, which could\nonly lose grace, vigour and harmony by such exotic decoration. In these\nmatters every writer has an undoubted right to carry out his own view,\nremembering the while that it is impossible to please all tastes. I imitated\nthe Saj'a, because I held it to be an essential part of the work and of my\nfifty reviewers none save the Edinburgh considered the reproduction of the\noriginal manner aught save a success. I care only to satisfy those whose\njudgment is satisfactory: \"the abuse and contempt of ignorant writers hurts me\nvery little,\" as Darwin says (iii. 88), and we all hold with Don Quixote that,\nes mejor ser loado de los pocos sabios, que burlado de los muchos necios.\n\n\"This amusement (of reproducing the Saj'a) may be carried to any length\n(how?), and we do not see why Captain Burton neglects the metre of the poetry,\nor divides his translation into sentences by stops, or permits any break in\nthe continuity of the narrative, since none such exists in the Arabic\" (p.\n182). My reply is that I neglect the original metres first and chiefly because\nI do not care to \"caper in fetters,\" as said Drummond of Hawthornden; and,\nsecondly, because many of them are unfamiliar and consequently unpleasant to\nEnglish ears. The exceptions are mostly two, the Rajaz (Anapaests and Iambs,\nTerminal Essay, x. 253), and the Taw\u00edl or long measure (ibid. pp. 242, 255),\nwhich Mr. Lyall (Translations of Ancient Arab. Poetry, p. xix.) compares with\n\"Abt Vogler,\"\n\n\n     And there! ye have heard and seen: consider and bow the head.\n\nThis metre greatly outnumbers all others in The Nights; but its lilting\nmeasure by no means suits every theme, and in English it is apt to wax\nmonotonous.\n\n\"The following example of a literal rendering which Mr. Payne adduces (vol.\nix. 381: camp. my vol. v. 66) in order to show the difficulty of turning the\nphraseology of the original into good English, should have served Captain\nBurton as a model, and we are surprised he has not adopted so charmingly\ncumbrous a style\" (p. 102). I shall quote the whole passage in question and\nshall show that by the most unimportant changes, omissions and transpositions,\nwithout losing a word, the whole becomes excellent English, and falls far\nbehind the Reviewer's style in the contention for \"cumbrousness\":--\n\n\"When morrowed the morning he bedabbled his feet with the water they twain had\nexpressed from the herb and, going-down to the sea, went thereupon, walking\ndays and nights, he wondering the while at the horrors of the ocean and the\nmarvels and rarities thereof. And he ceased not faring over the face of the\nwaters till he arrived at an island as indeed it were Paradise. So Bulukiya\nwent up thereto and fell to wondering thereanent and at the beauties thereof;\nand he found it a great island whose dust was saffron and its gravel were\ncarnelian and precious stones: its edges were gelsomine and the growth was the\ngoodliest of the trees and the brightest of the scented herbs and the sweetest\nof them. Its rivulets were a-flowing; its brushwood was of the Comorin aloe\nand the Sumatran lign- aloes; its reeds were sugar-canes and round about it\nbloomed rose and narcissus and amaranth and gilliflower and chamomile and lily\nand violet, all therein being of several kinds and different tints. The birds\nwarbled upon those trees and the whole island was fair of attributes and\nspacious of sides and abundant of good things, comprising in fine all of\nbeauty and loveliness,\" etc. (Payne, vol. ix. p. 381).\n\nThe Reviewer cites in his list, but evidently has not read, the \"Tales from\nthe Arabic,\" etc., printed as a sequel to The Nights, or he would have known\nthat Mr. Payne, for the second part of his work, deliberately adopted a style\nliteral as that above-quoted because it was the liveliest copy of the\noriginal.\n\nWe now come to the crucial matter of my version, the annotative concerning\nwhich this \"decent gentleman,\" as we suppose this critic would entitle himself\n(p. 185), finds a fair channel of discharge for vituperative rhetoric. But\nbefore entering upon this subject I must be allowed to repeat a twice-told\ntale and once more to give the raison d'\u00eatre of my long labour. When a friend\nasked me point-blank why I was bringing out my translation so soon after\nanother and a most scholarly version, my reply was as follows:--\"Sundry\nstudents of Orientalism assure me that they are anxious to have the work in\nits crudest and most realistic form. I have received letters saying, Let us\nknow (you who can) what the Arab of The Nights was: if good and high-minded\nlet us see him: if witty and humorous let us hear him: if coarse and\nuncultivated, rude, childish and indecent, still let us have him to the very\nletter. We want for once the genuine man. We would have a medi\u00e6val Arab\ntelling the tales and traditions with the lays and legends of his own land in\nhis own way, and showing the world what he has remained and how he has\nsurvived to this day, while we Westerns have progressed in culture and\nrefinement. Above all things give us the naive and plain-spoken language of\nthe original--such a contrast with the English of our times--and show us, by\nthe side of these enfantillages, the accumulated wit and wisdom,\nlife-knowledge and experience of an old-world race. We want also the technique\nof the Recueil, its division into nights, its monorhyme, in fact everything\nthat gives it cachet and character.\" Now I could satisfy the longing, which is\nlegitimate enough, only by annotation, by a running commentary, as it were,\nenabling the student to read between the lines and to understand hints and\ninnuendoes that would otherwise have passed by wholly unheeded. I determined\nthat subscribers should find in my book what does not occur in any other,\nmaking it a repertory of Eastern knowledge in its esoteric phase, by no means\nintended for the many-headed but solely for the few who are not too wise to\nlearn or so ignorant as to ignore their own ignorance. I regretted to display\nthe gross and bestial vices of the original, in the rare places where\nobscenity becomes rampant, but not the less I held it my duty to translate the\ntext word for word, instead of garbling it and mangling it by perversion and\ncastration. My rendering (I promised) would be something novel, wholly\ndifferent from all other versions, and it would leave very little for any\nfuture interpreter.[FN#453]\n\nAnd I resolved that, in case of the spiteful philanthropy and the rabid\npornophobic suggestion of certain ornaments of the Home-Press being acted\nupon, to appear in Court with my version of The Nights in one hand and bearing\nin the other the Bible (especially the Old Testament, a free translation from\nan ancient Oriental work) and Shakespeare, with Petronius Arbiter and Rabelais\nby way of support and reserve. The two former are printed by millions; they\nfind their way into the hands of children, and they are the twin columns which\nsupport the scanty edifice of our universal home-reading. The Arbiter is\nsotadical as Ab\u00fa Now\u00e1s and the Cur\u00e9 of Meudon is surpassing in what appears\nuncleanness to the eye of outsight not of insight. Yet both have been\ntranslated textually and literally by eminent Englishmen and gentlemen, and\nhave been printed and published as an \"extra series\" by Mr. Bohn's most\nrespectable firm and solo by Messieurs Bell and Daldy. And if The Nights are\nto be bowdlerised for students, why not, I again ask, mutilate Plato and\nJuvenal, the Romances of the Middle Ages, Boccaccio and Petrarch and the\nElizabethan dramatists one and all? What hypocrisy to blaterate about The\nNights in presence of such triumphs of the Natural! How absurd to swallow such\ncamels and to strain at my midge!\n\nBut I had another object while making the notes a Repertory of Eastern\nknowledge in its esoteric form (Foreword, p. xvii.). Having failed to free the\nAnthropological Society from the fetters of mauvaise honte and the\nmock-modesty which compels travellers and ethnological students to keep\nsilence concerning one side of human nature (and that side the most\ninteresting to mankind), I proposed to supply the want in these pages. The\nEngland of our day would fain bring up both sexes and keep all ages in\nprofound ignorance of sexual and intersexual relations; and the consequences\nof that imbecility are peculiarly cruel and afflicting. How often do we hear\nwomen in Society lamenting that they have absolutely no knowledge of their own\nphysiology; and at what heavy price must this fruit of the knowledge-tree be\nbought by the young first entering life. Shall we ever understand that\nignorance is not innocence? What an absurdum is a veteran officer who has\nspent a quarter-century in the East without learning that all Moslem women are\ncircumcised, and without a notion of how female circumcision is effected;\nwithout an idea of the difference between the Jewish and the Moslem rite as\nregards males; without an inkling of the Armenian process whereby the cutting\nis concealed, and without the slightest theoretical knowledge concerning the\nmental and spiritual effect of the operation. Where then is the shame of\nteaching what it is shameful not to have learnt? But the ultra-delicacy, the\nsqueamishness of an age which is by no means purer or more virtuous than its\nruder predecessors, has ended in trenching upon the ridiculous. Let us see\nwhat the modern English woman and her Anglo-American sister have become under\nthe working of a mock-modesty which too often acts cloak to real d\u00e9vergondage;\nand how Respectability unmakes what Nature made. She has feet but no \"toes\";\nankles but no \"calves\"; knees but no \"thighs\"; a stomach but no \"belly\" nor\n\"bowels\"; a heart but no \"bladder\" nor \"groin\"; a liver end no \"kidneys\"; hips\nand no \"haunches\"; a bust and no \"backside\" nor \"buttocks\": in fact, she is a\nmonstrum, a figure fit only to frighten the crows.\n\nBut the Edinburgh knows nothing of these things, and the \"decent gentleman,\"\nlike the lady who doth protest overmuch, persistently fixes his eye upon a\nsingle side of the shield.\" Probably no European has ever gathered such an\nappalling collection of degrading customs and statistics of vice as is\ncontained in Captain Burton's translation of the 'Arabian Nights' (p. 185). He\nfinds in the case of Mr. Payne, like myself, \"no adequate justification for\nflooding the world (!) with an ocean of filth\" (ibid.) showing that he also\ncan be (as said the past-master of catch-words, the primus verborum artifex)\n\"an interested rhetorician inebriated with the exuberance of his own\nverbosity.\" But audi alteram partem--my view of the question. I have no\napology to make for the details offered to the students of Moslem usages and\ncustoms, who will find in them much to learn and more to suggest the necessity\nof learning. On no wise ashamed am I of lecturing upon these esoteric matters,\nthe most important to humanity, at a time when their absence from the novel of\nmodern society veils with a double gloom the night-side of human nature. Nay,\nI take pride to myself for so doing in the face of silly prejudice and\nmiserable hypocrisy, and I venture to hold myself in the light of a public\nbenefactor. In fact, I consider my labours as a legacy bequeathed to my\ncountrymen at a most critical time when England the puissantest of Moslem\npowers is called upon, without adequate knowledge of the Moslem's inner life,\nto administer Egypt as well as to rule India. And while Pharisee and Philister\nmay be or may pretend to be \"shocked\" and \"horrified\" by my pages, the sound\ncommon sense of a public, which is slowly but surely emancipating itself from\nthe prudish and prurient reticences and the immodest and immoral modesties of\nthe early xixth century, will in good time do me, I am convinced, full and\nample justice.\n\nIn p. 184 the Reviewer sneers at me for writing \"Roum\" in lieu of Rum or R\u00fam;\nbut what would the latter have suggested to the home-reader save a reference\nto the Jamaican drink? He also corrects me (vol. v. 248) in the matter of the\nlate Mr. Emanuel Deutsch (p. 184), who excised \"our Saviour\" from the article\non the Talmud reprinted amongst his literary remains. The Reviewer, or\ninspirer of the Review, let me own, knew more of Mr. Deutsch than I, a simple\nacquaintance, could know; but perhaps he does not know all, and if he did he\nprobably would not publish his knowledge. The truth is that Mr. Deutsch was,\nduring his younger years, a liberal, nay, a latitudinarian in religion,\ndiffering little from the so-styled \"Christian Unitarian.\" But when failing\nhealth drove him to Egypt and his hour drew nigh he became (and all honour to\nhim!) the scrupulous and even fanatical Hebrew of the Hebrews; he consorted\nmainly with the followers and divines of his own faith, and it is said that he\nordered himself when dying to be taken out of bed and placed upon the bare\nfloor. The \"Saviour\" of the article was perhaps written in his earlier phase\nof religious thought, and it was excised as the end drew in sight.\n\n\n\"Captain Burton's experience in the East seems to have obliterated any (all?)\nsentiments of chivalry, for he is never weary of recording disparaging\nestimates of women, and apparently delights in discovering evidence of\n'feminine devilry\"' (p. 184). This argumentum ad feminam is sharpish practice,\nmuch after the manner of the Christian \"Fathers of the Church\" who, themselves\nvehemently doubting the existence of souls non- masculine, falsely and\nfoolishly ascribed the theory and its consequences to Mohammed and the\nMoslems. And here the Persian proverb holds good \"Harf-i-kufr kufr n\u00edst\"--to\nspeak of blasphemy is not blasphemous. Curious readers will consult the\narticle \"Woman\" in my Terminal Essay (x. 167), which alone refutes this silly\nscandal. I never pretended to understand woman, and, as Balzac says, no wonder\nman fails when He who created her was by no means successful. But in The\nNights we meet principally Egyptian maids, matrons and widows, of whose\n\"devilry\" I cannot speak too highly, and in this matter even the pudibund Lane\nis as free-spoken as myself. Like the natives of warm, damp and malarious\nlowlands and river-valleys adjacent to rugged and healthy uplands, such as\nMazander\u00e1n, Sind, Malabar and California, the passions and the sexual powers\nof the females greatly exceed those of their males, and hence a notable\ndevelopment of the crude form of polyandry popularly termed whoredom. Nor have\nthe women of the Nile valley improved under our rule. The last time I visited\nCairo a Fellah wench, big, burly and boisterous, threatened one morning, in a\nfine new French avenue off the Ezbekiyah Gardens, to expose her person unless\nbought off with a piastre. And generally the condition of womenkind throughout\nthe Nile-valley reminded me of that frantic outbreak of debauchery which\ncharacterised Afghanist\u00e1n during its ill-judged occupation by Lord Auckland,\nand Sind after the conquest by Sir Charles Napier.\n\n\"Captain Burton actually depends upon the respectable and antiquated\nD'Herbelot for his information\" (p. 184). This silly skit at the two great\nFrench Orientalists, D'Herbelot and Galland, is indeed worthy of a clique\nwhich, puff and struggle however much it will, can never do a tithe of the\ngood work found in the Biblioth\u00e9que Orientale. The book was issued in an\nunfinished state; in many points it has been superseded, during its life of a\ncentury and a half, by modern studies, but it is still a mine of facts, and a\nrevised edition would be a boon to students. Again, I have consulted Prof.\nPalmer's work, and the publications of the Pal\u00e6ographical Society (p. 184);\nbut I nowhere find the proofs that the Naskhi character (vol. i. 128) so long\npreceded the Cufic which, amongst vulgar Moslems, is looked upon like black\nletter in Europe. But Semitic epigraphy is only now entering upon its second\nstage of study, the first being mere tentative ignorance: about 80 years ago\nthe illustrious De Sacy proved, in a learned memoir, the non-existence of\nletters in Arabia before the days of Mohammed. But Palmer[FN#454], Halevy,\nRobertson Smith, Doughty and Euting have changed all that, and Herr Eduard\nGlaser of Prague is now bringing back from Sana'\u00e1 some 390 Sabaean\nepigraphs--a mass of new-old literature.\n\nAnd now, having passed in review, and having been much scandalised by the\n\"extravagant claims of the complete translations over the Standard Version\"--a\nterm which properly applies only to the Editio princeps, 3 vols. 8vo--the\nEdinburgh delivers a parting and insolent sting. \"The different versions,\nhowever, have each its proper destination--Galland for the nursery, Lane for\nthe library, Payne for the study, and Burton for the sewers\" (p. 184). I need\nhardly attempt to precise the ultimate and well merited office of his article:\nthe gall in that ink may enable it hygienically to excel for certain purposes\nthe best of \"curl-papers.\" Then our critic passes to the history of the work\nconcerning which nothing need be said: it is bodily borrowed from Lane's\nPreface (pp. ix. xv.), and his Terminal Review (iii. 735-47) with a few\nunimportant and uninteresting details taken from Al-Makr\u00edz\u00ed, and probably from\nthe studies of the late Rogers Bey (pp. 191-92). Here the cult of the Uncle\nand Master emerges most extravagantly. \"It was Lane who first brought out the\nimportance of the 'Arabian Nights' as constituting a picture of Moslem life\nand manners\" (p. 192); thus wholly ignoring the claims of Galland, to whom and\nwhom alone the honour is due. But almost every statement concerning the French\nProfessor involves more or less of lapse. \"It was in 1704 that Antoine\nGalland, sometime of the French embassy at Constantinople, but then professor\nat the Coll\u00e9ge de France, presented the world with the contents of an Arab\nManuscript which he had brought from Syria and which bore the title of 'The\nThousand Nights and One Night'\" (p. 167), thus ignoring the famous Il a fallu\nle faire venir de Syrie. At that time (1704) Galland was still at Caen in the\nemploy of \"L'intendant Fouquet\"; and he brought with him no MS., as he himself\nexpressly assures us in Preface to his first volume. Here are two telling\nmistakes in one page, and in the next (p. 168) we find \"As a professed\ntranslation Galland's 'Mille et une Nuits' (N.B. the Frenchman always wrote\nMille et une Nuit)[FN#455] is an audacious fraud. \"It requires something more\nthan\" audacity \"to offer such misstatement even in the pages of the Edinburgh,\nand can anything be falser than to declare \"the whole of the last fourteen\ntales have nothing whatever to do with the 'Nights'\"?\n\nThese b\u00e9vues, which give us the fairest measure for the Reviewer's competence\nto review, are followed (p. 189) by a series of obsolete assertions. \"The\nhighest authority on this point (the date) is the late Mr. Lane, who states\nhis unqualified conviction that the tales represent the social life of\nmediaerval Egypt, and he selects a period approaching the close of the\nfifteenth century as the probable date of collection, though some of the tales\nare, he believes, rather later\" (p. 189). Mr. Lane's studies upon the subject\nwere painfully perfunctory. He distinctly states (Preface, p. xii.) that \"the\nwork was commenced and completed by one man,\" or at least that \"one man\ncompleted what another commenced.\" With a marvellous want of critical acumen\nhe could not distinguish the vast difference of style and diction, treatment\nand sentiments, which at once strikes every intelligent reader, and which\nproves incontestably that many hands took part in the Great Saga-book. He\nspeaks of \"Galland's very imperfect MS.,\" but he never took the trouble to\ninspect the three volumes in question which are still in the Biblioth\u00e8que\nNationale. And when he opines that \"it (the work) was most probably not\ncommenced earlier than the fifteenth century of our era\" (Pref. p. xiii.) M.\nHermann Zotenberg, judging from the style of writing, would attribute the MS.\nto the beginning[FN#456] of the xivth century. The French Savant has printed a\nspecimen page in his Histoire d'Al\u00e2 al-D\u00een (p. 6; see my Suppl. vol. iii.,\nForeword p. ix.); and now, at the request of sundry experts, he is preparing\nfor publication other proofs which confirm his opinion. We must correct Lane's\nfifteenth century to thirteenth century --a difference of only 200\nyears.[FN#457]\n\nAfter this unhappy excursus the Reviewer proceeds to offer a most\nunintelligent estimate of the Great Recueil. \"Enchantment\" may be \"a constant\nmotive,\" but it is wholly secondary and subservient: \"the true and universal\ntheme is love;\" \"'all are but the ministers of love' absolutely subordinate to\nthe great theme\" (p. 193). This is the usual half-truth and whole unfact. Love\nand war, or rather war and love, form the bases of all romantic fiction even\nas they are the motor power of the myriad forms and fashions of dancing. This\nmay not appear from Lane's mangled and mutilated version which carefully omits\nall the tales of chivalry and conquest as the History of Ghar\u00edb and his\nbrother 'Aj\u00edb (vol. vi. 257) and that of Omar ibn Al-Nu'um\u00e1n, \"which is, as a\nwhole so very unreadable\" (p. 172) though by no means more so than our\nEuropean romances. But the reverse is the case with the original composition.\nAgain, \"These romantic lovers who will go through fire to meet each other, are\nnot in themselves interesting characters: it may be questioned whether they\nhave any character at all\" (p. 195). \"The story and not the delineation of\ncharacter is the essence of the 'Arabian Nights'\" (p. 196). I can only marvel\nat the utter want of comprehension and appreciation with which this critic\nread what he wrote about: one hemisphere of his brain must have been otherwise\noccupied and his mental cecity makes him a phenomenon even amongst reviewers.\nHe thus ignores all the lofty morale of the work, its marvellous pathos and\nhumour, its tender sentiment and fine touches of portraiture, the personal\nindividuality and the nice discrimination between the manifold heroes and\nheroines which combine to make it a book for all time.\n\nThe critic ends his article with doing what critics should carefully avoid to\ndo. After shrewdly displaying his powers of invective and depreciation he has\nsubmitted to his readers a sample of his own workmanship. He persists in\nwriting \"Zobeyda,\" \"Khalifa,\" \"Aziza\" (p. 194) and \"Kahramana\" (p. 199)\nwithout the terminal aspirate which, in Arabic if not in Turkish, is a sine\nqu\u00e2 non (see my Suppl. vol. v. 302). He preserves the pretentious blunder \"The\nKhalif\" (p. 193), a word which does not exist in Arabic. He translates (p.\n181), although I have taught him to do better, \"H\u00e1dimu 'I-Lizz\u00e1ti wa Mufarriku\n'l-Jama'\u00e1t,\" by \"Terminator of Delights and Separator of Companies\" instead of\nDestroyer of delights and Severer of societies. And lastly he pads the end of\nhis article (pp. 196-199) with five dreary extracts from Lane (i. 372-73) who\ncan be dull even when translating the Immortal Barber.\n\nThe first quotation is so far changed that the peppering of commas (three to\nthe initial line of the original) disappears to the reader's gain, Lane's\ntextual date (App. 263) is also exchanged for that of the notes (A.H. 653);\nand the \"\u00e6ra of Alexander,\" A.M. 7320, an absurdity which has its value in\nproving the worthlessness of such chronology, is clean omitted, because Lane\nused the worthless Bull Edit. The latinisms due to Lane show here in\nforce--\"Looked for a considerable time\" (Maliyyan = for a long while); \"there\nis an announcement that presenteth itself to me\" (a matter which hath come to\nmy knowledge) and \"thou hast dissipated[FN#458] my mind\" (Azhakta r\u00fah\u00ed = thou\nscatterest my wits, in the Calc. Edit. Saghgharta r\u00fah\u00ed = thou belittles\" my\nmind). But even Lane never wrote \"I only required thee to shave my head\"--the\nadverb thus qualifying, as the ignoramus loves to do, the wrong verb--for \"I\nrequired thee only to shave my head.\" In the second \u00e9chantillon we have \"a\npiece of gold\" as equivalent of a quarter-diner and \"for God's sake\" which\ncertainly does not preserve local colour. In No. 3 we find \"'May God,' said\nI,\" etc.; \"There is no deity but God! Mohammed is God's apostle!\" Here Allah\nought invariably to be used, e.g. \"Mohammed is the Apostle of Allah,\" unless\nthe English name of the Deity be absolutely required as in \"There is no god\nbut the God.\" The Moslem's \"Wa'll\u00e1hi\" must not be rendered \"By God,\" a verbal\ntranslation and an absolute nonequivalent; the terms Jehovah, Allah and God\nand the use of them involving manifold fine distinctions. If it be true that\nGod made man, man in his turn made and mismade God who thus becomes a Son of\nMan and a mere racial type. I need not trouble my reader with further notices\nof these extracts whose sole use is to show the phenomenal dullness of Lane's\nlatinised style: I prefer even Torrens (p. 273).\n\n\n\"We have spoken severely with regard to the last\" (my version), says the\nReviewer (p.185), and verily I thank him therefor. Laudari ab illaudato has\nnever been my ambition. A writer so learned and so disinterested could hurt my\nfeelings and mortify my pride only by approving me and praising me. Nor have I\nany desire to be exalted in the pages of the Edinburgh, so famous for its\nincartades of old. As Dryden says, \"He has done me all the honour that any man\ncan receive from him, which is to be railed at by him.\" I am content to share\nthe vituperation of this veteran--incapable in company with the poetaster\nGeorge Gordon who suffered for \"this Lord's station;\" with that \"burnish fly\nin the pride of May,\" Macaulay, and with the great trio, Darwin, Huxley and\nHooker, who also have been the butts of his bitter and malignant abuse (April\n'63 and April '73). And lastly I have no stomach for sweet words from the\npresent Editor of the Edinburgh Mr. Henry Reeve, a cross and cross-grained old\nman whose surly temper is equalled only by his ignoble jealousy of another's\nsuccess. Let them bedevil the thin-skinned with their godless ribaldry; for\nmyself peu m'importe--my shoulders are broad enough to bear all their envy,\nhatred and malice.\n\nDuring the three years which have elapsed since I first began printing my book\nI have not had often to complain of mere gratuitous impertinence, and a single\nexception deserves some notice. The following lines which I addressed to The\nAcademy (August 11, '88) will suffice to lay my case before my readers:--\n\n\n                  The Bestial Element in Man.\n\n\"One hesitates to dissent from so great an authority as Sir Richard Burton on\nall that relates to the bestial element in man.\" So writes (p. xii.,\nIntroduction to the Fables of Pilpay), with uncalled-for impertinence, Mr.\nJoseph Jacobs, who goes out of his way to be offensive, and who confesses to\nhaving derived all his knowledge of my views not from \"the notorious Terminal\nEssay of the Nights,\" but from the excellent article by Mr. Thomas Davidson on\n\"Beast-fables,\" in Chambers's Cyclop\u00e6dia, Edinburgh, 1888. This lofty\nstandpoint of morality was probably occupied for a reason by a writer who\ndedicates \"To my dear wife\" a volume rich in anecdotes grivoises, and not poor\nin language the contrary of conventional. However, I suffer from this Maccabee\nin good society together with Prof. Max M\u00fcller (pp. xxvi. and xxxiii.), Mr.\nClouston (pp. xxxiii. and xxxv.), Byron (p. xlvi.), Theodor Benfey (p.\nxlvii.), Mr. W. G. Rutherford (p. xlviii.), and Bishop Lightfoot (p. xlix.).\nAll this eminent half-dozen is glanced at, with distinct and several sneers,\nin a little volume which, rendered useless by lack of notes and index, must\nadvertise itself by the r\u00e9clame of abuse.\n\nAs regards the reminiscence of Homo Darwinienesis by Homo Sapiens, doubtless\nit would ex hypothesi be common to mankind. Yet to me Africa is the old home\nof the Beast-fable, because Egypt was the inventor of the alphabet, the cradle\nof letters, the preacher of animism and metempsychosis, and, generally, the\nsource of all human civilisation.\n\nRichard F. Burton\n\nAnd now I must proceed a trifle further a-field and meet\n\n\n                  The Critic in Anglo-America.\n\nThe Boston Daily Advertiser (Jan. 26,'86) contains the following choice\nmorceau which went the round of the Transatlantic Press:--\n\nG. W. S. writes from London to the New York Tribune in regard to Captain\nBurton's notorious translation of the \"Arabian Nights.\" Of Captain Burton's\ntranslation of \"The Arabian Nights,\" two volumes have now appeared. Before\nanything had been seen of them, I gave some account of this scheme, and of the\nmaterial on which he had worked, with a statement of the reasons which made\nall existing versions unsatisfactory to the student, and incomplete. Captain\nBurton saw fit to reprint these desultory paragraphs as a kind of circular or\nadvertisement on his forthcoming book. He did not think it necessary to ask\nleave to do this, nor did I know to what use my letter had been put till it\nwas too late to object. In any ordinary case it would have been of no\nconsequence, but Captain Burton's version is of such a character that I wish\nto state the facts, and to say that when I wrote my letter I had never seen a\nline of his translation, and had no idea that what I said of his plans would\nbe used for the purpose it has been, or for any purpose except to be printed\nin your columns. As it is, I am made to seem to give some sort of approval to\na book which I think offensive, and not only offensive, but grossly and\nneedlessly offensive. If anybody has been induced to subscribe for it by what\nI wrote I regret it, and both to him and to myself I think this explanation\ndue.\n\nMr. Smalley is the London correspondent of the New York Tribune, which\nrepresents Jupiter Tonans in the Western World. He may be unable to write with\nindependent tone--few Anglo-Americans can afford to confront the crass and\ncompound ignorance of a \"free and independent majority\"--but even he is not\ncalled upon solemnly to state an untruth. Before using Mr. Smalley's article\nas a circular, my representative made a point of applying to him for\npermission, as he indeed was bound to do by the simplest rules of courtesy.\nMr. Smalley replied at once, willingly granting the favour, as I can prove by\nthe note still in my possession; and presently, frightened by the puny yelping\nof a few critical curs at home, he has the effrontery to deny the fact.\n\nIn my last volumes I have been materially aided by two Anglo-American friends,\nMM Thayer and Cotheal, and I have often had cause to thank the Tribune and the\nHerald of New York for generously appreciating my labours. But no gratitude\nfrom me is due to the small fry of the Transatlantic Press which has welcomed\nme with spiteful little pars mostly borrowed from unfriends in England and\nmainly touching upon style and dollars. In the Mail Express of New York\n(September 7, '85) I read, \"Captain Richard Burton, traveller and translator,\nintends to make all the money that there may be in his translation of the\n'Arabian Nights.' * * * If he only fills his list, and collects his money, he\nwill be in easy circumstances for the remainder of his days.\" In a subsequent\nissue (October 24) readers are told that I have been requested not to publish\nthe rest of the series under pain of legal prosecution. In the same paper\n(October 31, '85; see also November 7, '85) I find:--\n\n\nThe authorities have discovered where Capt. Burton's \"Thousand and One Nights\"\nis being printed, despite the author's efforts to keep the place a secret, but\nare undecided whether to suppress it or to permit the publication of the\ncoming volumes. Burton's own footnotes are so voluminous that they exceed the\nletterpress of the text proper, and make up the bulk of the work.[FN#459] The\nfoulness of the second volume of his translation places it at a much higher\npremium in the market than the first.\n\nThe Tribune of Chicago (October 26,'85) honours me by declaring \"It has been\nresolved to request Captain Burton not to publish the rest of his translation\nof the 'Thousand and One Nights,' which is really foul and slipshod as to\nstyle.\" The New York Times (October 17 and November 9, '85) merely echoes the\nspite of its English confrere:--\n\nCapt. Burton's translation of the \"Arabian Nights\" bears the imprint\n\"Benares.\" Of course the work never saw Benares. America, France, Belgium and\nGermany have all been suggested as the place of printing, and now the Pall\nMall Gazette affirms that the work was done \"north of the Tweed.\" There is,\nwithout doubt, on British soil, it says, \"a press which year after year\nproduces scores of obscene publications.\"\n\nAnd the same is the case with the St. Louis Post Dispatch (November 11, '85)\nthe Mail Express of New York (November 23,'85); the Weekly Post of Boston\n(November 27 '85), which again revives a false report, and with the Boston\nHerald (December 16,'85). The Chicago Daily News (January 30, '86) contains a\nmalicious sneer at the Kamashastra Society. The American Register (Paris, July\n25, '86) informs its client\u00e8le, \"If, as is generally supposed, Captain\nBurton's book is printed abroad, the probability is that every copy will on\narrival be confiscated as 'indecent' by the Custom-house.\" And to curtail a\nlong list of similar fadaises I will quote the Bookmart (of Pittsburg, Pa.,\nU.S.A., October, '86): \"Sir Richard Burton's 'Nights' are terribly in want of\nthe fig-leaf, if anything less than a cabbage leaf will do, before they can be\nfit (fitted?) for family reading. It is not possible (Is it not possible?)\nthat by the time a household selection has been sifted out of the great work,\neverything which makes the originality and the value--such as it is--of\nRichard's series of volumes will have disappeared, and nothing will remain but\nhis diverting lunacies of style.\" The Bookmart, I am informed, is edited by\none Halkett Lord, an unnaturalised Englishman who finds it pays best to abuse\neverything and everyone English. And lastly, the Springfield Republican (April\n5, '88) assures me that I have published \"fully as much as the (his?) world\nwants of the 'Nights'.\"\n\nIn the case of \"The Nights,\" I am exposed to that peculiar Protestant form of\nhypocrisy, so different from the Tartuffean original of Catholicism, and still\nas mighty a motor force, throughout the length and breadth of the\nNorth-American continent, as within the narrow limits of England. There also\nas here it goes hand-in-hand with \"Respectability\" to blind judgment and good\nsense.\n\nA great surgeon of our day said (or is said to have said) in addressing his\nstudents:-- \"Never forget, gentlemen, that you have to deal with an ignorant\npublic.\" The dictum may fairly be extended from medical knowledge to general\ninformation amongst the many headed of England; and the Publisher, when\nrejecting a too recondite book, will repeat parrot-fashion, The English public\nis not a learned body. Equally valid is the statement in the case of the\nAnglo-American community which is still half-educated and very far from being\nerudite. The vast country has produced a few men of great and original genius,\nsuch as Emerson and Theodore Parker, Edgar Allan Poe and Walt Whitman; but the\nsum total is as yet too small to leaven the mighty mass which learns its\nrudiments at school and college and which finishes its education with the\nnewspaper and the lecture. When Emerson died it was said that the intellectual\nglory of a continent had departed; but Edgar A. Poe, the peculiar poetic glory\nof the States, the first Transatlantic who dared be himself and who disdained\nto borrow from Schiller and Byron, the outlander poet who, as Edgar Allan Poe,\nis now the prime favourite in France, appears to be still under ban because he\nseparated like Byron from his spouse, and he led a manner of so-called\n\"Bohemian\" life. Indeed the wide diffusion of letters in the States, that\nfavourite theme for boasting and bragging over the unenlightened and\nanalphabetic Old World, has tended only to exaggerate the defective and\ndisagreeable side of a national character lacking geniality and bristling with\nprickly individuality. This disposition of mind, whose favourable and laudable\npresentations are love of liberty and self-reliance, began with the beginnings\nof American history. The \"Fathers,\" Pilgrim and Puritan, who left their\ncountry for their country's good and their own, fled from lay tyranny and\nclerkly oppression only to oppress and tyrannise over others in new and\ndistant homes. Hardly had a century and a half elapsed before the sturdy\ncolonists, who did not claim freedom but determined to keep it, formally\nrevolted and fought their way to absolute independence--not, by the by, a feat\nwhereof to be overproud when a whole country rose unanimously against a\nhandful of troops. The movement, however, reacted powerfully upon the politics\nof Europe, which stood agape for change, and undoubtedly precipitated the\ngreat French Revolution. As soon as the States became an empire, their\ndemocratic and republican institutions at once attracted hosts of emigrants\nfrom the Old World, thus peopling the land with a selection of species: the\nactive and the adventurous, the malcontent and the malefactor, readily\nexpatriate themselves, while the pauvre diable remains at home. The\npotato-famine in Ireland (1848) gave an overwhelming impetus to the exode of a\nrace which had never known a racial baptism; and, lastly, the Germans flying\nfrom the conscription, the blood tax of the Fatherland, carried with them over\nthe ocean a transcendentalism which has engendered the wildest theories of\nsocialism and communism. And the emigration process still continues. Whole\nregions, like the rugged Bocche di Cattaro in Dalmatia and pauper Iceland, are\nbecoming depopulated to me the wonder is that a poor man ever consents to live\nout of America or a rich man to live.\n\nThe result of such selection has been two-fold. The first appears in a\nsplendid self- esteem, a complacency, a confidence which passes all bounds of\nthe golden mean. \"I am engrossed in calmly contemplating the grandeur of my\nnative country and her miraculous growth,\" writes to me an old literary\nfriend. The feeling normally breaks out in the grossest laudation of\neverything American. The ultra-provincial twang which we still hear amongst\nthe servant-classes of Lancashire and Yorkshire, and which is so notable in\nthe nouveau riche, modified by traditional nasalisation and, as in Australia,\nby climatic influences, is American and, therefore, the purest of English\nutterances. The obsolete vocabulary often obsolete in England without just\nreason--contrasting with a modern disfigured etymology which strips vocables\nof their genealogy and history, is American and ergo admirably progressive.\nThe spurious facetiousness which deals mainly in mere jargon words ill-spelt\nand worse pronounced; in bizarre contrast of ideas, and in ultra-Rabelaisian\nexaggeration, is American wit and humour--therefore unsurpassable. The\nNewspaper Press, that great reflector of nationalities, that prime expression\nof popular taste, too often of an \u00e9c\u009curant vulgarity, personal beyond all\nbounds of common decency, sensational as a transpontine drama, is American;\nAmerica is the greatest nation upon earth's face, ergo the daily sheet is\nsetting-up the standard of English speech and forming the language of the\nFuture, good and too good for all the world. This low standard of the Press is\nthe more regretable as its exalted duty is at present to solve the highest\nproblems social and industrial, such as co-operation in labour, the\ndevelopment of fisheries, direct taxation versus indirect and a host of\nenigmas which the young world, uncumbered by the burdens of the Old World,\nalone shall unravel.\n\nThe second result is still more prejudicial and perilous. This is the\nglorification of mediocrity, of the average man and woman whose low standard\nmust be a norm to statesman and publicist. Such cult of the common and the\nignoble is the more prejudicial because it \"wars against all distinction and\nagainst the sense of elevation to be gained by respecting and admiring\nsuperiority.\" Its characteristic predominance in a race which, true to its\nAnglo-Saxon origin, bases and builds the strongest opinions upon the weakest\nfoundations, hinders the higher Avatars of genius and interferes with the\n\"chief duty of a nation which is to produce great men.\" It accounts for the\never-incroaching reign of women in literature--meaning as a rule cheap work\nand second-rate. And the main lack is not so much the \"thrill of awe,\" which\nG\u00f6ethe pronounces to be the best thing humanity possesses, but that discipline\nof respect, that sense of loyalty, not in its confined meaning of attachment\nto royalty, but in a far higher and nobler signification, the recognising and\nwelcoming elevation and distinction whatever be the guise they may assume.\n\"The soul lives by admiration and hope and love.\"\n\nAnd here we see the shady side of the educational process, the diffusion of\nelementary and superficial knowledge, of the veneer and polish which mask,\nuntil chipped-off, the raw and unpolished material lying hidden beneath them.\nA little learning is a dangerous thing because it knows all and consequently\nit stands in the way of learning more or much. Hence, it is sorely impatient\nof novelty, of improvement, of originality. It is intolerant of contradiction,\nirritable, thin-skinned, and impatient of criticism, of a word spoken against\nit. It is chargeable with the Law of Copyright, which is not only legalised\nplunder of the foreigner, but is unfair, unjust and ungenerous to native\ntalent for the exclusive benefit of the short-sighted many-headed. I am far\nfrom charging the United States with the abomination called \"International\nCopyright;\" the English publisher is as sturdy an enemy to \"protection\" as the\nTransatlantic statesman; but we expect better things from a new people which\nenjoys the heritage of European civilisation without the sufferings\naccompanying the winning of it. This mediocrity has the furious, unpardoning\nhatred of l'amour propre offens\u00e9. Even a word in favour of my old friends the\nMormons is an unpardonable offence: the dwarfish and dwarfing demon\n\"Respectability\" has made their barbarous treatment a burning shame to a\nso-called \"free\" country: they are subjected to slights and wrongs only for\npracticing polygamy, an institution never condemned by Christ or the early\nChristians. The calm and dispassionate judgments of Sir Lepel Griffith and the\nlate Matthew Arnold, who ventured to state, in guarded language, that the\nboasted civilisation of the United States was not quite perfect, resulted in\nthe former being called a snob and the latter a liar. English stolidity would\nonly have smiled at the criticism even had it been couched in the language of\npersiflage. And when M. Max O'Rell traverses the statements of the two\nEnglishmen and exaggerates American civilisation, we must bear in mind first\nthat la vulgarit\u00e9 ne se traduit pas, and secondly, that the foes of our foemen\nare our friends. Woe be to the man who refuses to fall down and do worship\nbefore that brazen-faced idol (Eidolon Novi Mundi), Public Opinion in the\nStates; unless, indeed, his name be Brown and he hail from Briggsville.\n\nSome years ago I proposed to write a paper upon the reflex action of\nAnglo-America upon England using as a base the last edition of Mrs. Trollope,\nwho was compelled to confess that almost every pecularity which she had abused\nin her first issue had become naturalised at home. Yankee cuteness has already\ndisplaced in a marvellous way old English rectitude and plain-dealing;\ngambling on the Stock Exchange, cornering, booms and trusts have invaded the\ntrading-classes from merchant-princes to shopkeepers, and threaten, at their\nactual rate of progress, not to leave us an honest man. But now the student's\nattention will be called to the great and ever-growing influence of the New\nWorld upon the Old, and notably upon Europe. Some 50,000 Americans annually\nvisit the continent, they are rapidly becoming the most important item of the\nfloating population, and in a few years they will number 500,000. Meanwhile\nthey are revolutionising all the old institutions; they are abolishing the\nclassical cicerone whose occupation is gone amongst a herd which wants only to\nsee streets and people: they greatly increase the cost of traveling; they pay\ndollars in lieu of francs, and they are satisfied with inferior treatment at\nsuperior prices:--hence the American hotel abroad is carefully shunned by\nEnglishmen and natives. At home the \"well-to-do class\" began by regarding\ntheir kinsmen d'outre mer with contemptuous dislike; then they looked upon\nthem as a country squire would regard a junior branch which has emigrated and\nhas thriven by emigration; and now they are welcomed in Society because they\namuse and startle and stir up the duller depths. But however warm may be\nprivate friendship between Englishmen and Anglo-Americans there is no public\nsympathy nor is any to be expected from the present generation. \"New England\ndoes not understand Old England and never will,\" the reverse being equally the\nfact. \"The Millennium must come,\" says Darwin (ii. 387), \"before nations love\neach other:\" I add that first Homo alalus seu Pithecanthropus must become Homo\nSapiens and cast off his moral slough--egoism and ignorance. Mr. Cleveland, in\norder to efface the foul stigma of being the \"English President,\" found it\nnecessary to adopt the strongest measures in the matter of \"Fisheries;\" and\nthe \"Irish vote\" must quadrennially be bought at the grave risk of national\ncomplications. Despite the much-bewritten \"brotherhood of the two great\nEnglish-speaking races of the world,\" the old leaven of cousinly ill-feeling,\nthe jealousy which embitters the Pole against his Russian congener, is still\nrampant. Uncle Sam actively dislikes John Bull and dispraises England. An\nAnglo-American who has lived years amongst us and in private intimacy must,\nwhen he returns home, speak disparagingly of the old country unless he can\nafford the expensive luxury of telling unpopular truths and of affronting\nDemos, the hydra-headed.\n\nBut there are even now signs of better things in the Great Republic. Mr. James\nR. Lowell, an authority (if there be any) upon the subject of Democracy, after\ndisplaying its fine points and favourable aspects in his addresses to English\naudiences, has at length had the uncommon courage to discuss family affairs,\nand to teach Boston and New York what \"weaknesses and perils there may be in\nthe practical working of a system never before set in motion under such\nfavourable circumstances, nor on so grand a scale.\" He is emboldened to say\nfirmly and aloud, despite the storming of false and hollow self-praise, that\nAmerican civilisation, so strong on the material side, is sadly wanting on the\nother, and still lacks much to make it morally acceptable or satisfactory. And\nwe have some truths concerning that Fool's Paradise, the glorification of the\n\"average man.\" Every citizen of the world must wish full success to the\n\"Independents\" (in politics) who sit at the feet of so wise and patriotic a\nteacher.\n\nAnd here I feel myself bound to offer some explanation concerning\n\n\n          The Household Edition of the Arabian Nights.\n\nlest any subscriber charge me, after contracting not to issue or to allow the\nissue of a cheaper form, with the sharp practice which may be styled\n\n     To keep the word of promise to our ear\n     And break it to our hope.\n\nHardly had my third volume of \"The Nights\" (proper) been issued to my patrons\nwhen a benevolent subscriber, whose name I am bound to conceal, apprised me\nthat he had personal and precise information concerning a project to pirate\nthe production. England and Anglo-America, be it observed, are the only\nself-styled civilised countries in the world where an author's brain-work is\nnot held to be his private property: his book is simply no book unless\npublished and entered, after a cost of seven presentation copies, at\n\"Stationers' Hall\"--its only \u00e6gis. France, Italy and Austria treat such\nvolumes as private MSS.: here any dishonest house may reproduce them in\nreplica without the slightest regard to the writer's rightful rights. In my\ncase this act of robbery was proposed by a German publisher domiciled in\nLondon, supported by a Frenchman equally industrious, who practises in Paris,\nand of whose sharp doings in money-matters not a few Englishmen have had ample\nreason bitterly to complain. This par nobile agreed to print in partnership an\nissue of handier form and easier price than my edition, and their plan if\ncarried out would have seriously damaged the property of my subscribers: the\nseries which cost them 10 pounds 10s. would have fallen probably to one-half\nvalue. The two pirates met by agreement in Paris where the design was duly\ndiscussed and determined; but, fortunately for me, an unexpected obstacle\nbarred the way. The London solicitor, professionally consulted by the\ndishonest firm, gave his opinion that such a work publicly issued would be a\nboon to the Society for the Suppression of Vice, and would not escape the\nunsavoury attentions of old Father Antic--the Law.\n\nBut, although these two men were deterred by probable consequences, a bolder\nspirit might make light of them. I had never intended to go beyond my original\nproject, that is of printing one thousand copies and no more, nor did I\nbelieve that any cunning of disguise could make \"The Nights\" presentable in\nconventionally decent society. It was, however, represented to me by many\nwhose opinions I valued that thus and thus only the author and his subscribers\ncould be protected from impudent fraud, and finally an unwilling consent was\nthe result.\n\nMr. Justin Huntley McCarthy, a name well known in the annals of contemporary\nliterature, undertook the task of converting the grand old barbarian into a\nfamily man to be received by the \"best circles.\" His proofs, after due\nexpurgation, were passed on to my wife, who I may say has never read the\noriginal, and she struck out all that appeared to her over-free, under the\npromise that no mother should hesitate in allowing the book to her daughters.\nIt would, perhaps, surprise certain \"modest gentlemen\" and blatantly virtuous\nreviewers that the amount of raw material excised from the text and the notes\nchiefly addressed to anthropologists and Orientalists, amounts to only 215\npages out of a grand total numbering 3156.\n\nBetween 1886 and 1888 appeared the revision in six pretty volumes, bearing\nemblematic colours, virgin-white adorned with the golden lilies of St. Joseph\nand the \"chaste crescent of the young moon.\" The price also was reduced to the\nlowest (\u00a33 3s.) under the idea that the work would be welcome if not to\nfamilies at any rate to libraries and reading-rooms, for whose benefit the\nolder translations are still being reproduced. But the flattering tale of Hope\nagain proved to be a snare and a delusion; I had once more dispensed with the\nservices of Mr. Middleman, the publisher, and he naturally refused to aid and\nabet the dangerous innovation. The hint went abroad that the book belonged to\nthe category which has borrowed a name from the ingenious Mr. Bowdler, and\nvainly half a century of reviewers spoke bravely in its praise. The public\nwould have none of it: even innocent girlhood tossed aside the chaste volumes\nin utter contempt, and would not condescend to aught save the thing, the whole\nthing, and nothing but the thing, unexpurgated and uncastrated. The result was\nan unexpected and unpleasant study of modern taste in highly respectable\nEngland. And the fact remains that of an edition which began with a thousand\ncopies only 457 were sold in the course of two years. Next time I shall see my\nway more clearly to suit the peculiar tastes and prepossessions of the reading\nworld at home.\n\nBefore dismissing the subject of the Household Edition, I would offer a few\nwords of explanation on the part of the Editress. While touching-up and\ntrimming the somewhat hurried work of our friend, Mr. McCarthy, she was\ncompelled to accompany me abroad, and to nurse me through a dangerous illness,\nwhich left but little time for the heavy claims of business. Unable to\nsuperintend, with the care required, the issue of her six volumes she\nentrusted the task to two agents in whose good will and experience she had and\nstill has the fullest confidence; but the results were sundry letters of\nappeal and indignation from subscribers touching matters wholly unknown and\nunintelligible to her. If any mistakes have been made in matters of detail she\nbegs to express her sincerest regret, and to assure those aggrieved that\nnothing was further from her intention than to show discourtesy where she felt\ncordial gratitude was due.\n\n                   *     *     *     *     *\nNothing now remains for me but the pleasant task of naming the many friends\nand assistants to whom this sixteenth and last volume has been inscribed. The\nlate Reverend G. Percy Badger strongly objected to the literal translation of\n\"The Nights\" (The Academy, December 8, '81); not the less, however, he\nassisted me in its philology with all readiness. Dr. F. Grenfell Baker lent me\nready and valuable aid in the mechanical part of my hard labour. Mr. James F.\nBlumhardt, a practical Orientalist and reacher of the Prakrit dialects at\nCambridge, englished for me the eight Gallandian tales (Foreword, Supp. vol.\niii.) from the various Hindostan versions. To Mr. William H. Chandler, of\nPembroke College, Oxford, I have expressed (Supp. vol. iii.) the obligations\ndue to a kind and generous friend: his experiments with photography will serve\nto reconcile the churlishness and retrograde legislation of the great Oxford\nLibrary with the manners and customs of more civilised peoples. Mr. W. A.\nClouston, whose degree is high in \"Storiology,\" supplied my second and third\nSupplemental volumes with valuable analogues and variants. Mr. Alexander J.\nCotheal, Consul-General for Nicaragua at New York, sent a valuable MS. to me\nacross the water, and was persuaded to translate, for my sixth Supplemental\nvolume, a novel version of the \"Tale of Att\u00e1f.\" Mr. A. G. Ellis, of the\nBritish Museum, amongst other favours, kindly revised the Foreword of my sixth\nvolume. Mr. E. J. W. Gibb, an Orientalist of the modern and realistic school,\nwho is not deterred by literal translation, permitted me to print his version\nof the Turkish Zayn al-Asn\u00e1m (Supp. vol. iii.) and translations of three tales\nwhich he judged inexpedient to publish (Supp. vol. iv.). M. O. Houdas,\nProfesseur d' Arabe Vulgaire \u00e0 l'\u00e9cole des langues Orientales vicantes, Paris,\ncopied for me the Arabic text of Zayn al-Asn\u00e1m and the whole MS. used by MM.\nChavis and Cazotte: he also obligingly assisted me in overcoming the various\ndifficulties of a crabbed and imperfect text. My friend Mr. W. F. Kirby\nappended to volume x. of \"The Nights\" (proper) his most valuable contributions\nto the bibliology of the work with its various imitations and a table showing\nthe contents of the principal editions and translations of \"The Nights\": he\nalso enriched my Supplemental volumes v. and vi. with his excellent\nannotations. Mr. Kingsbury (and Notcutt) photographed for my use 400 and odd\npages of the Wortley-Montague MS., and proved how easy it was to produce a\nperfect fac-simile of the whole. Mr. George Lewis gave me the soundest advice\ntouching legal matters and Mr. Philip M. Justice was induced to take an active\ninterest in the \"Household Edition.\" The eminent Orientalist, Dr. Pertsch,\nLibrarian of the Grand-Ducal Collection, Saxe-Gotha, in lively contrast to my\ncountrymen of the Bodleian, offered to send me the two volumes of a valuable\nMS. containing the most detailed texts of Judar and his brethren (vol. vi.\n213) and of Zahir and his son Ali. Dr. Reinhold Rost, Librarian of the Indian\nOffice, took much trouble about the W. M. MS. but all in vain. Mr. Alexander\nW. Thayer, of Trieste, who has studied for years the subject of the so-called\nJewish \"Exodus,\" obliged me with a valuable note detailing his original views.\nHis Excellency Yacoub Artin Pasha, Minister of Public Instruction, Cairo, a\nfriend of many years standing, procured for me the decorations in the Cufic,\nNaskh\u00ed and other characters, which add to much of novelty and ornament to the\nouter semblance of my sixteen volumes. Mr. Hermann Zotenberg, Keeper of\nOriental MS. at the Biblioth\u00e8que Nationale, Paris, lent me his own\ntranscription of the \"Alaeddin,\" and generously supplied me with exact\nbibliographical notes and measurements of sundry tomes in that admirable\ncollection.\n\nI am also deeply indebted to Mrs. Victoria L. Maylor, of Trieste, who, during\nthe past three years (1885-1888) had the energy and perseverance to copy for\nme sixteen bulky volumes written in a \"running-hand,\" concerning which the\nless said the better. And lastly, I must acknowledge peculiar obligations to\nmy Shaykh, Dr. Steingass, Ph.D. This well-known Arabist not only assisted me\nin passing the whole work through the press he also added a valuable treatise\non Arabic Prosody (x. 233-258) with indexes of various kinds, and finally he\nsupervised the MSS. of the Supplemental volumes and enriched the last three,\nwhich were translated under peculiar difficulties in analphabetic lands, with\nthe results of his wide reading and lexicographical experience.\n\nAnd now, Alhamdolillah, the play is ended, and while the curtain drops, I take\nthe final liberty of addressing my kindly and appreciative audience in the\nfollowing words, borrowed from a Persian brother of the pen:--\n\n     Now hear my hope from men of liberal mind,\n     Faults, that indulgence crave, shall seek and find;\n     For whose blames and of despite decries,\n     Is wight right witless, clean reverse of wise.\n\nTo which let me add the following gentle reminder from Ibn Khald\u00fan:--\n\n     All that we can we do, and who ne'er swerves\n     From best endeavour much of praise deserves.\n\nFarewell!\n\nRichard F. Burton\nUnited Service Club, September 30, 1888.\n\n\n\n\n                     Opinions of the Press.\n\n\n\n\n\n           Morning Advertiser, September 15th, 1885.\n\nAs the holiday season draws to a close the publishers' announcements of \"new\nbooks\" fill column after column of the organs chosen from these special\ncommuniqu\u00e9's. But there is one work which is not entered in these lists,\nthough for years scholars, and many people who are not scholars, have been\nlooking for it with an eagerness which has left far behind the ordinary\ncuriosity which is bestowed on the greatest of contributions to current\nliterasure. And to-day the chosen few who are in possession of the volume in\nquestion are examining it with an interest proportionate to the long toil\nwhich has been bestowed on its preparation. We refer to Captain Burton's\ntranslation of The Arabian Nights Entertainments, now entitled The Book of The\nThousand Nights and a Night, of which the first tome has just been issued. *\n*   *   * Captain Burton scorns any namby pambyism. In the Arabic a spade is\nusually called a spade, and in the latest English translation it is never\ndesignated an agricultural implement. Moreover the endless footnotes which the\neditor appends speak with much freedom of many things usually avoided as\nthemes for conversation in polite society, though they throw a flood of light\non hundreds of features of Oriental life on which, since travellers have been\ncompelled to write for \"refined\" audiences the student has failed to be\ninformed. *   *   *   *   *\n\nYet, admitting that The Nights are often coarse and indelicate, and sometimes\neven gross it is a mistake to suppose that they are demoralising in the same\nway that a French novel of the Zola type is, or might be. Indeed, what we\nwould call its impropriety is only a reflection of the na\u00efve freedom with\nwhich talk is to this day carried on in the family circles of the East. They\nsee no harm in what we should regard as indecency. So that when Captain Burton\nprefaces his unbowdlerised version with the Arab proverb, \"To the pure in\nheart all things are pure,\" he presents perhaps the best defence he could\nagainst the attack which it is quite possible may be made on him for devoting\nmany years of his life to what he terms \"a labour of love.\" *   *   * Captain\nBurton, thirty-three years ago, went in the disguise of an Indian pilgrim to\nMecca and Al-Medinah, and no one capable of giving the world the result of his\nexperience has so minute, so exhaustive a knowledge of Arab and Oriental life\ngenerally. Hence the work now begun--only a limited number of students can\never see--is simply priceless to any one who concerns himself with such\nsubjects, and may be regarded as marking an era in the annals of Oriental\ntranslation.\n\n\n           St. James' Gazette, September 12th, 1885.\n\nOne of the most important translations to which a great English scholar has\never devoted himself is now in the press. For three decades Captain Burton has\nbeen more or less engaged on his translation of the Arabian Nights, the latest\nof the many versions of that extraordinary story which has been made into\nEnglish, the only one at all worthy of a great original.\n\n\n            Whitehall Review, September 17th, 1885.\n\nThe publication of the first volume of Captain Burton's translation of the\nAlif La\u00efla enriches the world of Oriental investigation with a monument of\nlabour and scholarship and of research. *   *   *   *   * In the name of the\nwhole world of Oriental scholarship, we offer our heartfelt thanks and\ncongratulations to Captain Burton upon the appearance of this first volume;\nand we look forward with the keenest interest for its successors.\n\n\n                Home News, September 18th, 1885.\n\nCaptain Burton has begun to issue the volumes of his subscription translation\nof the Arabian Nights, and its fortunate possessors will now be able to\nrealize the full flavour of Oriental feeling. They will now have the great\nstorehouse of Eastern folk-lore opened to them, and Captain Burton's minute\nacquaintance with Eastern life makes his comments invaluable. In this respect,\nas well as in the freeness of the translation, the version will be\ndistinguished from its many predecessors. Captain Burton's preface, it may be\nobserved, bears traces of soreness at official neglect. Indeed it seems\ncurious that his services could not have been utilised in the Soudan, when the\nwant of competent Arabic scholars was so severely felt.\n\n\n           Nottingham Journal, September 19th, 1885.\n\nBut to scholars and men who have sufficient love of the soul of these sweet\nstories to discern the form in its true proportions, the new edition will be\nwelcome. From an Oriental point of view the work is masterly to a degree. The\nquatrains and couplets, reading like verses from Elizabethan mantels, and\nforming a perfect rosary of Eastern lore, the constant succession of brilliant\npictures, and the pleasure of meeting again our dear old friend Shahr\u00e1z\u00e1d, all\nthese combine to give a unique charm and interest to this \"perfect expositor\nof the medi\u00e6val Moslem mind.\"\n\n\n                 The Bat, September 29th, 1885.\n\nCaptain Burton, in his way, renders a gigantic service to all students of\nliterature who are not profound Orientalists, and to many who are, by giving\nthem a literal, honest, and accurate translation of the Arabian Nights. *   *\n* Some idiotic persons here and there, and certain journals which have earned\nan infamous notoriety by doing their best to deprave public morals, have\nraised a foolish clamour against Captain Burton and his translation.\nJournalists, who had no objection to pandering to the worst tastes of humanity\nat a penny a copy, are suddenly inspired by much righteous indignation at a\nprivately printed work which costs a guinea a volume, and in which the\nmanners, the customs, and the language of the East are boldly represented as\nthey were and as they are. Such critics Captain Burton, and the readers of\nCaptain Burton's translation, can afford to despise and to ignore. The Arabian\nNights Entertainment has been the playbook of generations, the delight of the\nnursery and the school-room for nearly two hundred years. Now it is high time\nthat scholars and students should be allowed to know what the Arabian Nights\nEntertainment really is. Lovers of Arabic have long since known something of\nthe truth concerning the Alif Laila. It needs no Burton, it needed no Payne to\ntell the masters of Oriental languages that The Thousand Nights and a Night\nwas a very different thing from what either Galland or Lane had made it out to\nbe. Mr. Payne in his way, rendered no slight service, Captain Burton, in his\nway, renders a gigantic service to all students of literature who are not\nprofound Orientalists, and to many who are, by giving them a literal, honest,\nand accurate translation of the \"Arabian Nights.\"\n\n\n                The Academy, October 3rd, 1885.\n\nAs Capt. Richard F. Burton's translation of The Thousand and One Nights is\nlikely for several reasons to awaken a literary controversy, the following\nletter from Mr. John Addington Symonds in the Academy of October 3 will be\nread with interest. The subject upon which it touches is an important one, and\none which must be regarded from a scholarly as well as a moral point of view.\nMr. Symonds writes like the scholar that he is; we shall soon see how the\nmoralists write, and if they say anything to the point we shall copy it:--\n\n          Am Hof, Davos Platz, Switzerland, September 27th, 1885.\n\n\"There is an outcry in some quarters against Capt. Burton's translation of the\nArabian Nights. Only one volume of the work has reached me, and I have not as\nyet read the whole of it. Of the translator's notes I will not speak, the\npresent sample being clearly insufficient to judge by, but I wish to record a\nprotest against the hypocrisy which condemns his text. When we invite our\nyouth to read an unexpurgated Bible (in Hebrew and Greek, or in the authorised\nversion), an unexpurgated Aristophanes, an unexpurgated Juvenal, an\nunexpurgated Boccaccio, an unexpurgated Rabelais, an unexpurgated collection\nof Elizabethan dramatists, including Shakespeare, and an unexpurgated Plato\n(in Greek or in Prof. Jowett's English version), it is surely inconsistent to\nexclude the unexpurgated Arabian Nights, whether in the original or in any\nEnglish version, from the studies of a nation who rule India and administer\nEgypt.\n\n\"The qualities of Capt. Burton's translation are similar to those of his\nprevious literary works, and the defects of those qualities are also similar.\nCommanding a vast and miscellaneous vocabulary, he takes such pleasure in the\nuse of it that sometimes he transgresses the unwritten laws of artistic\nharmony. From the point of view of language, I hold that he is too eager to\nseize the mot propre of his author, and to render that by any equivalent which\ncomes to hand from field or fallow, waste or warren, hill or hedgerow, in our\nvernacular. Therefore, as I think, we find some coarse passages of the Arabian\nNights rendered with unnecessary crudity and some poetic passages marred by\narchaisms and provincialisms. But I am at a loss to perceive how Burton's\nmethod of translation should be less applicable to the Arabian Nights than to\nthe Lusiad. So far as I can judge, it is better suited to the na\u00efvet\u00e9 combined\nwith stylistic subtlety of the former than to the smooth humanistic elegancies\nof the latter.\n\n\"This, however, is a minor point. The real question is whether a word for word\nversion of the Arabian Nights, executed with peculiar literary vigor, exact\nscholarship, and rare insight into Oriental modes of thought and feeling, can\nunder any shadow of presence be classed with 'the garbage of the brothels.' In\nthe lack of lucidity, which is supposed to distinguish English folk, our\nmiddle-class censores morum strain at the gnat of a privately circulated\ntranslation of an Arabic classic, while they daily swallow the camel of higher\neducation based upon minute study of Greek and Latin literature. When English\nversions of Theocritus and Ovid, of Plato's Phaedrus and the Ecclesiazusae,\nnow within the reach of every school-boy, have been suppressed, then and not\ntill then can a 'plain and literal' rendering of the Arabian Nights be denied\nwith any colour of consistency to adult readers. I am far from saying that\nthere are not valid reasons for thus dealing with Hellenic and Graeco-Roman\nand Oriental literature in its totality. But let folk reckon what Anglo Saxon\nPuritanism logically involves. If they desire an Anglo-Saxon Index Librorum\nProhibitorum, let them equitably and consistently apply their principles of\ninquisitorial scrutiny to every branch of human culture.\n\n\"John Addington Symonds.\"\n\n\n       The Lincoln Gazette, Saturday, October 10th, 1885.\n                  Thousand Nights and a Night.\n                          First Notice\n\nEverything comes to him who waits--even the long-promised, eagerly-expected\n\"Plain and Literal Translation of the Arabian Nights,\" by Richard F. Burton.\nIt is a whole quarter of a century since this translation of one of the most\nfamous books of the world was contemplated, and we are told it is the natural\noutcome of the well-known Pilgrimage to Medinah and Mecca. Of Captain Burton's\nfitness for the task who can doubt. It was during that celebrated journey to\nthe tomb of the Prophet that he proved himself to be an Arab--indeed, he says,\nin a previous state of existence he was a Bedouin. Did he not for months at a\nstretch lead the life of a Son of the Faithful, eat, drink, sleep dress,\nspeak, pray like his brother devotees, the sharpest eyes failing to pierce his\ndisguise. He knows the ways of Eastern men--and women--as he does the society\nof London or Trieste. How completely at home he is with his adopted brethren\nhe showed at Cairo when, to the amazement of some English friends who were\nlooking on at the noisy devotions of some \"howling\" Dervishes, he suddenly\njoined the shouting, gesticulating circle and behaved as if to the manner\nborn. He has qualified as a \"Howler,\" he holds a diploma as a master Dervish\n(see vol. iii. of his \"Pilgrimage\"), and he can initiate disciples. Clearly to\nuse a phrase of Arabian story, it was decreed by Allah from the beginning, and\nfate and fortune have arranged, that Captain Burton should be the one of all\nothers to confer upon his countrymen the boon of the genuine unsophisticated\nThousand Nights and a Night. In the whole of our literature no book is more\nwidely known. It is spread broadcast like the Bible, Bunyan and Shakespeare;\nyet although it is in every house, and every soul in the kingdom knows\nsomething about it, yet nobody knows it as it really exists. We have only had\nwhat translators have chosen to give--selected, diluted and abridged\ntranscripts. And of late some so-called \"original\" books have been published\ncontaining minor tales purloined bodily from the Nights. There have been many\nversions, beginning with the beautiful Augustan French example of Professor\nGalland, but all have failed, or rather no one has attempted, to reproduce the\ngreat Oriental masterpiece. Judged by the number of editions--a most\nfallacious test of merit--Lane's three volumes, on the whole, have found\ngreatest favour with the British public. He was too timid to give to the world\nthe full benefit of his studies, and he kept a drawing-room audience in view.\nHe was careful to adapt his picture to the English standard of propriety, and\nhis suppressions and omissions are on a wholesale scale. Lord Byron said of\nEnglish novelists that they give a full length of courtship and but a bust of\nmarriage. Mr. Lane thought it expedient to draw a tight veil, to tell only\nhalf the truth--in short he stops at the bust. Moreover he destroyed all the\nm\u00e9canique of his original, and cruelly altered the form. He did away with the\ncharming and dramatic framework of the tales, turned the Arabian Nights into\nthe Arabian Chapters, and too often into the Arabian Notes. The first sole and\ncomplete translation was furnished recently by Mr. John Payne, whose \"Book of\nthe Thousand Nights and One Night\" is dedicated to Captain Burton. Mr. Payne\nprinted 500 copies for private circulation, a mere drop in the ocean. His\nedition was instantly absorbed, clutched with avidity, and is\nunprocurable--unless, as has happened several times, a stray copy finds its\nway into the market, and is snatched up at a fancy price. It so happened that\nMr. Payne and Captain Burton applied themselves to the same task quite\nunconscious of each other's labour. They were running on the same rails, like\nAdams and Leverrier, the joint discoverers of Neptune, or like Darwin and\nWallace, who simultaneously evolved the theory of Natural Selection. Hearing\nof a competitor, Captain Burton, who was travelling to the Gold Coast, freely\noffered his fellow worker precedence. Mr. Payne's production served to whet\ncuriosity, and the young scholars of the day applied themselves to Arabic in\norder to equip their minds, and to be in a more blissful state of preparation\nfor the triumphant edition to follow. Captain Burton's first volume in sombre\nblack and dazzling gold--the livery of the Abbasides--made its appearance\nthree weeks ago, and divided attention with the newly-discovered Star. It is\nthe first volume of ten, the set issued solely to subscribers. And already, as\nin the case of Mr. Payne's edition, there has been a scramble to secure it,\nand it is no longer to be had for love or money. The fact is, it fills a void,\nthe world has been waiting for this chef d'\u00e6uvre, and all lovers of the\nArabian Nights wonder how they have got on without it. We must break off from\nremarks to give some idea of the originality of the style, of the incomparable\nway in which the very essence and life of the East is breathed into simple,\nstraightforward Anglo-Saxon English. In certain of Captain Burton's books he\nborrows words from all languages, there are not enough for his use, and he is\ndriven to coin them. But in the character of Arabian story-teller he is\nsimplicity itself, and whilst avoiding words of length, he introduces just\nenough of antique phrase as gives a bygone and poetic flavour. The most\nexacting and the most fastidious will be satisfied at the felicitous handling\nof immortal themes. A delightful characteristic is the division of the text\ninto Nights. Lane and Payne, for peculiar reasons of their own, have both\nomitted to mark the breaks in the recital. But now for the first time the\nthread on which all is strung is clearly kept in view, and justice is done to\nthe long drawn-out episode of the young wife who saves her own neck and averts\na wholesale massacre of maidens by her round of stories within stories.\n\nThe reader most familiar with the ordinary versions at once is in a new\natmosphere. The novelty is startling as it is delightful. We are face to face\nwith the veritable East, where Cairo, Damascus, and Baghdad are known to us as\nLondon or Lincoln. The whole life of the people is represented, nothing is\npassed over or omitted. The picture is complete, and contains everything as\nthe \"white contains the black of the eye,\" a phrase which, by- the-bye, in\nArabic is all contained in one word. We have before alluded to the strength\nand beauty of the style. The felicities of expression are innumerable. What\ncould be better than the terms to express grief and joy, \"his breast\nbroadened,\" \"his breast straitened,\" or the words used of a person in abject\nterror, \"I died in my skin,\" or the cruelty of the scourger who persevered\n\"till her forearm failed,\" or the expression of despair \"The light before his\nface became night,\" or the grand account of the desert storm \"when behold a\ndust cloud up-flew and grew until it walled the horizon from view.\" Another\nspeciality of Captain Burton's edition is the Notes. He is celebrated for\nsowing the bottom of his pages with curiously illuminating remarks, and he has\nhere carried out his custom in a way to astonish. He tells us that those who\nperuse his notes in addition to those of Lane would be complete proficients in\nthe knowledge of Oriental practices and customs. Lane begins with Islam from\nCreation to the present day, and has deservedly won for his Notes the honour\nof a separate reprint. Captain Burton's object in his annotations is to treat\nof subjects which are completely concealed from the multitude. They are\nutterly and entirely esoteric, and deal with matters of which books usually\nare kept clear. Indeed he has been assured by an Indian officer who had been\n40 years in the East, that he was entirely ignorant of the matters revealed in\nthese Notes. Without these marvellous elucidations the Arabian Nights would\nremain only half understood, but by their aid we may know as much of the\nMoslems as the Moslems know of themselves.\n\n\n       The Lincoln Gazette, Saturday, October 17th, 1885.\n                         Second Notice.\n\nIn bringing out his Arabian Nights Captain Burton has made a bold attempt to\ndispense with the middleman the publisher. He has gone straight to the\nprinter, he himself undertaking the business of distribution. It is time\nsomebody should be energetic. With curious submission authors go on bearing\ntheir grievances, and sow that others may reap. Whole editions of travels are\nissued, and the person most concerned, the author, gets a pittance of \u00a35. And\nonly the other day Walt Whitman, most illustrious of American poets, and in\nthe opinion of capable judges the most illustrious man of letters across the\nAtlantic, publicly that the profits on his writings for a whole year amounted\nto a few dollars. Captain Burton has broken through the bondage, and the\nresult promises to be highly satisfactory. But he has been threatened with\npains and penalties, one trade journal, the Printing Times and Lithographer,\nunder the immediate direction of an eminent bookseller, known for his vast\npurchases of rare publications, announced that The Arabian Nights would be\nsuppressed unless its tone and morals were unexceptionable! In short,\npublishers are exasperated, and, like the Peers, they do not see the force of\nbeing abolished. The authors, however, who sigh to be independent, must not\ntake it for granted that the experiment is easy, or likely to be often\nsuccessful. In this particular instance it is a case of the Man and the Book.\nThere is only one Arabian Nights in the world, and only one Captain Burton.\n\nThe Thousand Nights and a Night offers a complete picture of Eastern peoples.\nBut the English reader must be prepared to find that the manners of Arabs and\nMoslems differ from his own. Eastern people look at things from a more natural\nand primitive point of view, and they say what they think with all the\nunrestraint of children. At times their plain speaking is formidable, but they\nare not conscious of impropriety, and their coarseness is not intentional. It\nis their nature to be downright, and to be communicative on subjects about\nwhich the Saxon is shy or silent, and it must be remembered that the\nseparation of the sexes adds considerably to this freedom of expression. Their\nlanguage is material in quality, every root is objective; as an instance, for\nthe word soul they have no more spiritual equivalent than breath. Even the\nconversation between parents and children is of incredible frankness, and the\nWazir of Egypt talks to his daughter \"the Lady of Beauty,\" in a fashion\nastonishing to the West. But the Arabs are a great mixture. They are keenly\nalive to beauty, and every youth and every damsel is described in glowing,\nrapturous terms. We have heard in our own country, so far north as chilly\nScotland, of a whole audience standing up in a theatre to applaud the entrance\nand acknowledge the charms of a beautiful woman. In the East they are far more\nreadily subjugated, and the event is of everyday occurrence, and not a wonder.\n\"When the people of Damascus saw Ajib's beauty and brilliancy and perfect\ngrace and symmetry (for he was a marvel of comeliness and winning loveliness,\nsofter than the cool breeze of the North, sweeter than limpid waters to man in\ndrouth, and pleasanter than the health for which sick man sueth), a mighty\nmany followed him, whilst others ran on before and sat down on the road until\nhe should come up, that they might gaze on him.\" The Arabs are highly\nimaginative, and their world is peopled with supernatural beings, whilst Ovid\nis surpassed in the number and ingenuity of their metamorphoses. Their nerves\nare highly strung, they are emotional to the hysteric degree, and they do\neverything in the superlative fashion. They love at first sight, and one\nglimpse of a face is enough to set them in flames; they cease to sleep or to\neat until they are admitted to the adored presence, they weep till they faint,\nthey rend their garments, pluck their beards, buffet their faces, and after\nparoxysms of passion they recover sufficiently to recite verses--\"and he beat\nhis face and head and recited these couplets\"--\"then she recited, weeping\nbitterly the while\"--\"When the young man heard these words he wept with sore\nweeping, till his bosom was drenched with tears and began reciting.\" All this\neffervescence, so different to our rigid repression, all this exuberance of\nfeeling is the gift of a hot climate. And, besides this easy stirring of their\npassions, they always live in supreme consciousness that every impulse, every\nact is decreed, that they drift without will of their own, and are the\nhelpless creatures of destiny. Half their talk consists of invocations to\nAllah, the All-ruling, All-gracious Allah! This fatalistic element is a\nleading feature in the Nights. All that happens is accepted with submission,\nand with the conviction that nothing can be averted. The Wazir's eye is\nknocked out, \"as fate and fortune decreed,\" the one pomegranate seed escapes\ndestruction, and the Princess dies in consequence; the beautiful lad secreted\nin a cave under the earth to keep him from harm, because it is foretold by the\nastrologers that he will die on a certain day, meets with his death at the\nappointed hour despite all precautions. This is one of the myriad instances,\nsays Captain Burton, showing \"that the decrees of Anagk\u00e9, Fate, Destiny, Weird\nare inevitable.\" And yet, in the face of overwhelming evidence that Moslems in\nall things bow to the stroke of destiny, it is singular to note that a Turkish\nscholar like Mr. Redhouse, translator of the \"Mesnevi,\" fails to realise this\nmost characteristic trait of Mahometan belief, and confuses it with the\nChristian idea of Providence and Premonition. The folk in Arabian tales, as\nmight be expected, meet calamity in the shape of death with fortitude. The end\nof life is not a terror acutely feared as with us. They die easily, and when\nthe time comes they give up the ghost without repining, although the mourning\nby survivors is often loud and vehement, and sometimes desperately prolonged.\nThis facility in dying is partly due to their fatalistic philosophy, and\npartly it is the effect of climate. It is in rugged climes that death is\nappalling, and comes as the King of Terrors, but the hotter the country the\neasier it is to enter the Door of Darkness. All these things which make the\ndifference between Orientals and ourselves must be taken into account by\nreaders of Arabian story, and the coarseness, as Captain Burton shows, is but\nthe shade of a picture which otherwise would be all light;\" the general tone\nof the Nights \"is exceptionally high and pure, and the devotional fervour\noften rises to boiling point.\" We have shown how Captain Burton has rendered\nthe prose of the Nights, how vigorous, yet simple, is the language, how\npleasant is his use of antique phrase, serving as it often does to soften the\ncrudity of Oriental expression. In translating the poetry, which finally will\namount to nearly 10,000 lines, he has again started on a path of his own. He\nhas closely preserved the Arab form, although, as he says, an absolutely exact\ncopy of Arabic metres is an impossibility.\n\nA striking novelty in Captain Burton's translation is the frequent occurrence\nof passages in cadenced prose, called in Arabic \"Saj'a,\" or the cooing of a\ndove. These melodious fragments have a charming effect on the ear. They come\nas dulcet-surprises, and mostly occur in highly-wrought situations, or they\nare used to convey a vivid sense of something exquisite in art or nature. We\ngive one or two instances of these little eddies of song set like gems in the\nprose. Their introduction seems due to whim or caprice, but really is due to\nprofound study of the situation, as if the tale-teller felt suddenly compelled\nto break into the rhythmic strain. The prose ripples and rises to dancing\nmeasure when the King of the Age, wandering in a lonely palace, comes upon the\nhalf-petrified youth, \"the Ensorcelled Prince.\"\n\n\"Now when the Sultan heard the mournful voice he sprang to his feet, and\nfollowing the sound found a curtain let down over the chamber door. He raised\nit and saw behind it a young man sitting upon a couch about a cubic above the\nground: he fair to the sight, a well- shaped wight, with eloquence dight, his\nforehead was flower-white, his cheek rosy bright, and a mole on his cheek\nbreadth like an ambergris mite.\"\n\nIt is broken again to bring into fuller notice the perfections of one of the\nthree merry ladies of Baghdad, sitting under a silken canopy, the curtains\n\"looped up with pearls as big as filberts and bigger.\" We are told to note how\neastern are the metaphors, how confused the flattery.\n\n\"Thereupon sat a lady bright of blee, with brow-beaming brilliancy, and her\neyebrows were arched as for archery; her breath breathed ambergris and\nperfumery, and her lips were sugar to taste and carnelian to see. Her stature\nwas straight as the letter I (the letter Alif a straight perpendicular\nstroke), and her face shamed the noon sun's radiancy; and she was even as a\ngalaxy or a dome with golden marquetry, or a bride displayed on choicest\nfinery, or a noble maid of Araby.\"\n\nAnd prose is not thought adequate to do justice to the natural beauty of a\ngarden \"like one of the pleasaunces of Paradise.\"\n\n\"It was a garden with trees of freshest green and ripe fruits of yellow sheen;\nand its birds were singing clear and keen, and rills ran wimpling through the\nfair terrene.\"\n\nIt is a marvel that these cadences have never been reproduced before. They\nhave been faintly attempted by Eastwick, in his \"Gulistan,\" whilst Mr. Payne\nsimply passed them over, rejected them as of no account. They fall in with\nCaptain Burton's plan of omitting nothing; of giving the Nights intact in the\nprecise form in which they are enjoyed by the Oriental. Beside the verses so\ncharacteristic of exaggerated Arabic sentiment, and the rhymed cadences, let\nlike precious stones into the gold of the prose, the proverbs embodying the\nproverbial wit and wisdom are all rhymed as in the original Arabic. What\nArabists think of this translation we may learn from a professed Arabist\nwriting to this effect:--\"I am free to confess, after many years study of\nArabic, a comparison of your translation with the text has taught me more than\nmany months of dry study,\" whilst Englishmen who for years have lived in the\nEast are making the discovery that, after all, they have known little or\nnothing, and their education is only beginning with this version of the\nArabian Nights. It is only knowledge that knows how to observe; and it is\nsatisfactory to observe that Captain Burton's amazing insight into Eastern\npeculiarities has been put to its best use in giving a true idea of the People\nof the Sun and a veritable version of their Book of Books. The labour expended\non this edition has been enormous. The work could only have been completed by\nthe most excessive and pertinatious application. All the same we are told it\nhas been \"a labour of love,\" a task that has brought its own exceeding great\nreward.\n\n\n\n\n\n                   Arabian Nights, Volume 16\n                           Footnotes\n\n\n\n[FN#1] Tome xii. is dated 1789, the other three, 1788, to include\nthem in the \"Cabinet.\"\n\n[FN#2]  The titles of all the vols. are dated alike, 1793, the\nactual date of printing.\n\n[FN#3]  This name is not in the Arabic text, and I have vainly\npuzzled my brains about its derivation or meaning.\n\n[FN#4]  This P.N. is, I presume, a corruption of \"Shawal\u00e1n\"=one\nfalling short. The wife \"Oitba\" is evidently \"Otb\u00e1\" or \"Utb\u00e1.\"\n\n[FN#5]  See my Supplemental volume i. pp. 37-116, \"The Ten\nWazirs; or, the History of King Az\u00e1dbakht and his Son.\"\n\n[FN#6] MS. pp. 140-182. Gauttier, vol. ii., pp. 313-353, Histoire\ndu sage Heycar translated by M. Agoub: Weber, \"History of\nSinkarib and his two Viziers\" (vol. ii. 53): the \"Vizier\" is\ntherein called Hicar.\n\n[FN#7] This form of the P.N. is preferred by Prof. R. Hoerning in\nhis \"Prisma des Sanherib,\" etc.  Leipsic, 1878.  The etymology is\n\"Sin akhi-irib\"=Sini (Lunus, or the Moon-God) increaseth\nbrethren.  The canon of Ptolemy fixes his accession at B.C. 702,\nthe first year of Elibus or Belibus. For his victories over\nBabylonia, Palestine, Judea, and Egypt see any \"Dictionary of the\nBible,\" and Byron for the marvellous and puerile legend--\n\n          The Assyrian came down as a wolf on the fold,\n\nwhich made him lose in one night 185,000 men, smitten by the\n\"Angel of the Lord\" (2 Kings xix. 35).  Seated upon his throne\nbefore Lachish he is represented by a bas-relief as a truly noble\nand kingly figure.\n\n[FN#8] I presume that the author hereby means a \"fool,\" Pers.\nn\u00e1d\u00e1n. But in Assyrian story Nadan was=Nathan, King of the people\nof Pukudu, the Pekod of Jeremiah (i. 21) and other prophets.\n\n[FN#9] In text always \"At\u00far,\" the scriptural \"Asshur\"=Assyria,\nbiblically derived from Asshur, son of Shem (Gen. x. 22), who was\nworshipped as the proto-deity.  The capital was Niniveh. Weber\nhas \"Nineveh and Thor,\" showing the spelling of his MS.\nAccording to the Arabs, \"Ashur\" had four sons; Iran (father of\nthe Furs=Persians, the Kurd, or Ghozzi, the Daylams, and the\nKhazar), Nab\u00edt, Jarm\u00fak, and Bas\u00edl.  Ibn Khaldun (iii. 413), in\nhis \"Universal History,\" opposes this opinion of Ibn Sa'id.\n\n[FN#10] i.e. \"Fish-town\" or \"town of Nin\" =Ninus, the founder. In\nmod. days \"Naynawah\" was the name of a port on the east bank of\nthe Tigris; and moderns have unearthed the old city at Koyunjik,\nNabi Yunas, and the Tall (mound of) Nimrud.\n\n[FN#11] The surroundings suggest Jehovah, the tribal deity of the\nJews. The old version says, \"Hicar was a native of the country of\nHaram (Harr\u00e1n), and had brought from thence the knowledge of the\ntrue God; impelled, however, by an irresistible decree,\" etc.\n\n[FN#12] i.e. a woollen cloth dyed red.  Hence Pyrard (i. 244) has\n\"red scarlet,\" and (vol. ii.) \"violet scarlet\"; Froissart (xvth\ncenty.) has \"white scarlet,\" and Marot (xvith) has \"green\nscarlet.\" The word seems to be French of xiith century, but is\nuncertain: Littr\u00e9 proposes Galaticus, but admits the want of an\nintermediate form. Piers Plowman and Chaucer use \"cillat\u00fan, which\nsuggests Pers. \"Sakalat, or \"Saklat\u00fan\", whence Mr. Skeat would\nderive \"scarlet.\" This note is from the voyage of F. Pyrard, etc.\nLondon. Hakluyts, M.dccc.lxxxvii.; and the editor quotes Colonel\nYule's M. Polo (ii. chapt. 58) and his \"Discursive Glossary s. v.\nSucl\u00e1t.\"\n\n[FN#13] i.e.\"Al-Kirm,\" Arab. and Pers. =a worm, as in Kirm\u00e1n (see\nSupplem. vol. i. 40); the coccus ilicis, vulg. called cochineal.\n\n[FN#14] Arab. \"Arz\", from the Heb. Arz or Razah (raz=to vibrate),\nthe root {Greek} (cedrus conifera), the Assyrian \"Erimu of\nLebanon,\" of which mention is so often made. The old controversy\nas to whether \"Razah\"=cedar or fir, might easily have been\nsettled if the disputants had known that the modern Syrians still\npreserve the word for the clump called \"The Cedars\" on the\nseaward slope of the Libanus.\n\n[FN#15] We should say \"reading and writing,\" but the greater\ndifficulty of deciphering the skeleton eastern characters places\nreading in the more honourable place. They say of a very learned\nman, \"He readeth it off (readily) as one drinketh water.\"\n\n[FN#16] Arab.  \"Al-S\u00e1hib al-jayyid.\" [\"Jayyid\" is, by the measure\n\"Fay'il,\" derived from the root, \"Jaud,\" to excel, like \"Kayyis,\"\nfrom \"Kaus\" (see Suppl. vol. iv., p.277), \"Mayyit\" from \"Maut,\"\n\"Sayyid\" from \"Saud.\" The form was originally \"Jaywid;\" then the\nW\u00e1w became assimilated to the preceding J\u00e1, on account of the\nfollowing Kasrah, and this assimilation or \"Idgh\u00e1m\" is indicated\nby Tashd\u00edd. As from \"Kayyis\" the diminutive \"Kuwayyis\" is formed,\nso \"Jayyid\" forms the Tasgh\u00edr, \"Juwayyid,\" which, amongst the\nDruzes, has the specific meaning of \"deeply versed in religious\nmatters.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#17] \"K\u00fal,\" vulg. for \"Kul\"; a form constant in this MS.\n\n[FN#18] Gauttier \"Sarkhadom,\" the great usurper Sargon, a\ncontemporary of Merodach Baladan of Babylon and of Sabaco 1st of\nEthiopia, B.C. 721-702: one of the greatest Assyrian Kings, whose\nplace has been determined to be between Shalmaneser and his son,\nthe celebrated Sennacherib, who succeeded him.  The name also\nresembles the biblical Ezarhaddon (Asaridanus), who, however, was\nthe son of Sennacherib, and occupied the throne of Babylon in\nB.C. 680.\n\n[FN#19] Gauttier, pp. 317-319, has greatly amplified and modified\nthese words of wisdom.\n\n[FN#20] In text \"Y\u00e1 Bunayya\" =lit. \"O my little son,\" a term of\nspecial fondness.\n\n[FN#21] Arab. \"Jamrah,\" a word of doubtful origin, but applied to\na tribe strong enough to be self-dependent. The \"Jamar\u00e1t of the\nArabs\" were three, Ban\u00fa Numayr, Ban\u00fa H\u00e1ris (who afterwards\nconfederated with Mash\u00edj) and Ban\u00fa Dabbah (who joined the Rik\u00e1b),\nand at last Nomayr remained alone.  Hence they said of it:\n\n\"Nomayr the jamrah (also \"a live coal\") of Arabs are; *  And\nne'er cease they to burn in fiery war.\"\n\nSee Chenery's Al-Hariri, pp. 343-428.\n\n[FN#22] In the Arab. \"Ta'arkalak,\" which M. Houdas renders\n\"qu'elle ne te retienne dans ses filets.\"\n\n[FN#23] A lieu commun in the East. It is the Heb. \"Sh\u00e1ked\" and\nthe fruit is the \"Loz\" (Arab. Lauz)=Amygdalus communis, which the\nJews looked upon as the harbinger of spring and which, at certain\nfeasts, they still carry to the synagogue, as representing the\npalm branches of the Temple.\n\n[FN#24] The mulberry-tree in Italy will bear leaves till the end\nof October and the foliage is bright as any spring verdure.\n\n[FN#25] Gauttier omits this: pas poli, I suppose.\n\n[FN#26] The barbarous sentiment is Biblical-inspired, \"He that\nspareth his rod hateth his son\" (Prov. xiii. 24), and \"Chasten\nthy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his\ncrying\" (Prov. xix. 18). Compare the Arab equivalent, \"The green\nstick is of the trees of Paradise\" (Pilgrimage i. 151). But the\nneater form of the saw was left to uninspired writers; witness\n\"Spare the rod and spoil the child,\" which appears in Ray's\nproverbs, and is immortalised by Hudibras:--\n\n          Love is a boy by poets styled,\n          Then spare the rod and spoil the child. (ii. 1, 843.)\n\nIt is to the eternal credit of John Locke, the philosopher, that\nin an age of general brutality he had the moral courage to\ndeclare, \"Beating is the worst and therefore the last means to be\nused in the correction of children.\"\n\n[FN#27] Arab. \"Dahn\" (oil, ointment) which may also mean \"soft\nsawder.\"\n\n[FN#28] Aucun roi ne peut gouverner sans arm\u00e9e et on ne peut\navoir une arm\u00e9e sans argent. For a treatise on this subject see\nthe \"Chronique de Tabari,\" ii. 340.\n\n[FN#29] M. Agoub, in Gauttier (vi. 321) remarks of these\nprosings, \"Ces maximes qui ne seraient pas indignes, pour la\nplupart, des beaux temps de la philosophie grecque, appartiennent\ntoutes au texte arabe; je n'ai fait que les disposer dans un\nordre plus m\u00e9thodique. J'ai d\u00fb aussi supprimer quelques unes,\nsoit parce qu'elles n'offraient que des pr\u00e9ceptes d'une morale\nbanale, soit que traduites en frangais, elles eussent p\u00fb para\u00eetre\nbizarres \u00e0 des lecteurs europ\u00e9ens. Ce que je dis ici, s'applique\n\u00e9galement \u00e0 celles qui terminent le conte et qui pourraient\nfournir le sujet de plusieurs fables.\" One would say that the\ntranslator is the author's natural enemy.\n\n[FN#30] Arab. \"Amm\u00e1l,\" now vulgarly written with initial Hamzah,\na favourite expression in Egypt and meaning \"Verily,\" \"I believe\nyou, my boy,\" and so forth.  But \"'Amm\u00e1l\" with the Ayn may also\nmean \"he intended,\" or \"he was about to.\"\n\n[FN#31] In Gauttier the name is Ebnazadan, but the Arab. text has\n\"Naud\u00e1n,\" which I take to be the Persian \"New of knowledge\" as\nopp. to N\u00e1d\u00e1n, the \"unknowing.\"\n\n[FN#32] In Chavis (Weber ii. 58) and Gauttier (p. 323) Akis, roi\nde Perse. The second name may be \"Shah of the Ebna\" or Persian\nincol\u00e6 of Al-Yaman; aristocratie Persane naturalis\u00e9e Arabe\n(Al-Mas'udi, iv. 188, etc.).\n\n[FN#33] i.e. the Lowland of the Eglantine or Narcissus; Nisr\u00edn is\nalso in dictionaries an island where amber abounds. There is a\nshade of difference between Buk'ah and Bak'ah. The former which\nis the corrector form=a patch of ground, a plain (hence the\nBuk\u00e1'a= Coelesyria), while Bak'ah=a hollow where water collects.\nIn Chavis we find \"the plain of Harrim\" and in Gauttier la plaine\nde Baschrin; and the appointment was \"for the first of the month\nNiram\" (Nays\u00e1n).\n\n[FN#34] \"Pharaoh,\" which Hebrew Holy Writ left so vague and\nunsatisfactory, has become with the Arabs \"Fir'aun\", the dynastic\nname of Egyptian kings, as Kisr\u00e0 (Chosro\u00ebs) of the Persians,\nTobba of the Himyarites, Kaysar (C\u00e6sar) of the Romans, Jalut\n(Goliath) of the Phoenicians, Faghfur of the Chinese, Kh\u00e1k\u00e1n of\nthe Tartars, Adfonsh (Alfonso) of the Spanish, and Aguet\u00edd of the\nBerbers. Ibn Khald\u00fan iv. 572.\n\n[FN#35] \"Mizr\" in Assyrian=\"Musur,\" in Heb. \"Misraim\" (the dual\nMisrs, whose duality permeated all their polity), and in Arab.\n\"Misr,\" the O. Egypt. \"H\u00e1 k\u00e1hi Pt\u00e1h\" (the Land of the great God,\nPtah), and the Coptic \"T\u00e1-mera\"=the Land of the Nile flood,\nignoring, I may add, all tradition of a Noachian or general\ndeluge.\n\n[FN#36] The simplicity of old Assyrian correspondence is here\nwell preserved, as we may see by comparing those letters with the\ncuneiform inscriptions, etc., by S. Abden Smith (Pfeiffer,\nLeipsic, 1887). One of them begins thus, \"The will of the King to\nSintabni-Uzur. Salutation from me to thee. May it be well with\nthee. Regarding Sinsarra-utzur whom thou hast sent to me, how is\nthy report?\" etc. We find such expressions as \"May the great\nGods, lovers of thy reign, preserve thee an hundred years;\" also\n\"Peace to the King, my lord,\" etc.\n\n[FN#37] Arab. \"Yaum al-Kham\u00eds.\" For the week-days see vol. vi.\n190, and for a longer notice, Al-Mas'udi, iii. 422-23.\n\n[FN#38] In the text \"K\u00e1l\" (al-R\u00e1w\u00ed), \"the Reciter saith\"--which\nformula I omit here and elsewhere.\n\n[FN#39] i.e. \"The Father of the little Fish,\" in Gauttier (vii.\n329) \"Abou Som\u00e9ika.\"\n\n[FN#40] By way of insult; as I have before noticed.\n\n[FN#41] He had now learned that Nadan had ruined him.\n\n[FN#42] The wife (in p. 155; \"Ashghaft\u00edn\u00ed\") is called \"Thou hast\nenamoured me\" from the root \"Shaghaf\"=violent love, joy, grief.\nChavis has Zefagnie: Gauttier suppresses the name, which is not\npretty. In the old version she is made aunt (father's sister) to\nSankharib.\n\n[FN#43] The old version attributes all this device to \"Zefagnie;\"\nthus injuring the unity and the interest of the tale.\n\n[FN#44] Arab. \"Jund\" plur. \"Jun\u00fad,\" a term mostly applied to\nregular troops under the Government, as opposed to soldiers who\ntook service with the Amirs or great barons--a state of things\nstill enduring in non-British India.\n\n[FN#45] Who thus makes a \"Ma'adabah\"=wake or funeral feast before\nhis death. See vol. viii. 231.\n\n[FN#46] i.e. \"Father of the Fishlet\", in the old version\n\"Yapousmek\" (Y\u00e1 Ab\u00fa Sumayk).\n\n[FN#47] In Chavis he becomes \"an old slave, a magician, stained\nwith the greatest crimes, who has the air and figure of Hicar.\"\n\n[FN#48] A formula which announces the death of his supposed\nenemy.\n\n[FN#49] Arab. \" Matm\u00farah\"=Sard\u00e1bah (i. 340), a silo for storing\ngrain, an underground cell (ii. 39).\n\n[FN#50] See text \"N\u00e1h\u00fa\" from \"Nauh\"=ceremonious keening for the\ndead. The general term for the wail is \"Walwalah\" or \"Wilw\u00e1l\" (an\nonomatopoy) and for the public wailing-woman \"Nadd\u00e1bah.\"\n\n[FN#51] Here we find the Doric form \"Rah\u00fam\" for \"Rah\u00edm,\" or it\nmay simply be the intensive and emphatic form, as \"Naz\u00far\"=one who\nlooks intently for \"N\u00e1zir,\" a looker.\n\n[FN#52] In the old version \"a tenth part of the revenues.\" The\n\"Kas\u00edm\" of the text is an unusual word which M. Houdas would\nrender revenues en nature, as opposed to Khir\u00e1j, revenues en\nargent. I translate it by \"tax tribute.\"\n\n[FN#53] In text \"'Azz\u00e1m\u00edn, \"i.e. men who recite \"'Azm,\" mostly\nKoranic versets which avert evil.\n\n[FN#54] This may either be figurative or literal--upon the ashes\nwhere the fire had been; even as the father of Sayf al-Mul\u00fak sat\nupon the floor of his audience-hall (vol. vii. 314).\n\n[FN#55] In text \"Ya'tadir\"--from 'Adr=heavy rain, boldness. But\nin this MS. the dots are often omitted and the word may be\nYa'tazir=find excuse.\n\n[FN#56] In the old version the wife is made to disclose the\nsecret of her husband being alive--again a change for the worse.\n\n[FN#57] Here \"Wayha-v.\" and before \"Wayla-k\": see vols. v. 258;\nvii. 127 and iii. 82.\n\n[FN#58] The King, after the fashion of Eastern despots, never\nblames his own culpable folly and hastiness: this was decreed to\nhim and to his victim by Destiny.\n\n\n[FN#59] The older version reads \"Roc\" and informs us that \"it is\na prodigious bird, found in the deserts of Africa: it will bear\ntwo hundred pounds weight; and many are of opinion that the idea\nof this bird is visionary.\" In Weber ii. 63, this is the device\nof \"Zafagnie,\" who accompanies her husband to Egypt.\n\n[FN#60] This name appears to be a corruption. The sound, however,\nbears a suspicious resemblance to \"Dabshalim\" (a name most proper\nfor such a Prince, to wit, meaning in their tongue a mighty\nKing), who appears in chapt. i. of the \"Fables of Pilpay\"\n(Bidpai=Bidyapati=Lord of Lore?). \"Dabshal\u00edmat\"=the Dabshal\u00edms,\nwas the dynastic title of the Kings of Soman\u00e1th (Somnauth) in\nWestern India.\n\n[FN#61] Arab. \"T\u00edn\"=clay, mud, which would be used with the Tob\n(adobe, sun-dried brick) forming the walls of Egypt and Assyria.\nM.G. Maspero, in his excellent booklet \"L'Arch\u00e9ologie Egyptienne\"\n(p. 7. Paris, Quantin, 1887), illustrates this ancient industry\nwhich endures with all its gear to the present day. The average\nmeasured 22 X 11 X 14 cm.; the larger was 38 X 18 X 14 cm., with\nintermediate sizes. These formed the cores of temple walls, and,\nbeing revetted with granite, syenite, alabaster and other stones,\nmade a grand show; but when the outer coat was removed they were\npresently weathered to the external semblance of mud-piles. Such\nwas mostly the condition of the ruins of grand Bubastis\n(\"Pi-Pasht\") hod. Zag\u00e1zig, where excavations are still being\npushed on.\n\n[FN#62] The old version has \"Masser, Grand Cairo (in the days of\nthe Pharaohs!); so called from having been built by Misraim, the\nson of Cham.\"\n\n[FN#63] In Chav\u00eds, \"Abicam, a Chald\u00e6an astrologer;\" in Gauttier\n\"Abimacam.\"\n\n[FN#64] In Al-Har\u00edr\u00ed (p. 409) we read, \"Hospitality is three\ndays;\" and a Had\u00eds of the Prophet confirms the liberal practice\nof The Ignorance:--\"The entertainment of a guest is three days,\nand the viaticum (\"J\u00e1izah\") is a day and a night, and whatso\nexceedeth is an alms-gift.\" On the first day is shown largesse\nand courtesy; on the second and third the stranger is treated\nafter the usual custom of the household, and then he is provided\nwith rations for a day and a night. See Lane: A. Nights, i. 486;\nalso The Nights, vol. i. 3.\n\n[FN#65] i.e. Not standing astraddle, or in other such indecorous\nattitude.\n\n[FN#66] Chavis, \"Bilelsanam, the oracle of Bel, the chief God of\nthe Assyrian: \"Gauttier, Une idole B\u00edl. Bel (or Ba'al or Belus,\nthe Phoenician and Canaanite head-god) may here represent Hobal\nthe biggest idol in the Meccan Pantheon, which used to be borne\non raids and expeditions to give plunder a religious\nsignificance. Tabari iii. 17. Evidently the author holds it to be\nan idol.\n\n[FN#67] The Syro-solar month=April; much celebrated by poets and\nfictionists: rain falling at such time into shells becomes pearls\nand upon serpents poison.\n\n[FN#68] The text has \"Bayb\u00fanah,\" prop. B\u00e1b\u00fanaj in Arab., and in\nPers. \"B\u00e1b\u00fak,\" or \"B\u00e1b\u00fanak\"=the white camomile-flower. See vol.\niii. 58.\n\n[FN#69] \"Khabata\"=\"He (the camel) pawed the ground.\" The prim.\nsig. is to beat, secondly, it is applied to a purblind camel\nwhich beats or strikes the ground and so stumbles, or to him who\nbashes a tree for its leaves; and lastly to him who gets alms by\nbegging. See Chenery's Al-Hariri, p. 447.\n\n[FN#70] Arab. \"Karz\"=moneys lent in interest and without fixed\nterm of payment, as opp. to \"Dayn.\"\n\n[FN#71] In text \"Kint\u00e1r\"=a quintal, 98 to 99 lbs. avoir.: in\nround numbers a cwt. a hundred weight: see vol. ii. 233. The old\nversion explains it by \"A golden coin, equivalent to three\nhundred livres French (?).\" About the value of the Kint\u00e1r of\ngold, doctors differ. Some value it at 40 ounces, others make it\na leathern bag containing 1,080 to 1,100 dinars, and others 100\nrotls (lbs.) of precious metal; while Al-Makrizi relates that\nMohammed the Apostle declared, \"The Kint\u00e1r of gold is twelve\nhundred ounces.\" Baron de Slane (Ibn Khaldun i. 210) computes 100\nKint\u00e1rs=1 million of francs.\n\n[FN#72] In the text \"wa l\u00e1 ahad tafawwaha fina.\"\n\n[FN#73] Arab. \"Falsafah\"=philosophy: see vols. v. 234 and vii.\n145.\n\n[FN#74] In the text \"Fa-yatrah\u00fana,\" masc. for fem.\n\n[FN#75] The writer probably remembered that the cat was a sacred\nanimal amongst the Egyptians: see Herod., ii. 66, and Diod. Sic.,\nwho tells us (vol. i. p. 94) of a Roman put to death under\nPtolemy Auletes for accidentally killing one of these holy\nbeasts. The artists of Bubastis, whose ruins are now for the\nfirst time being scientifically explored, modelled the animal in\nbronze with an admirable art akin to nature.\n\n[FN#76] M. Houdas explains this miswritten passage, Quand le\nsoleil fut lev\u00e9 et qu'il p\u00e9n\u00e9tra par ces ouvertures (lis.\nabkh\u00e1sh, trou de fl\u00fbte), il r\u00e9pandit le sable dans ces cylindres\nform\u00e9s par la lumi\u00e8re du soleil. It is not very intelligible. I\nunderstand that the Sage went behind the Palace and drove through\na mound or heap of earth a narrow hole bearing east\u0096-west, which\nhe partially filled up with sand; and so when the sun rose the\nbeams fell upon it and made it resemble a newly made cord of\nwhite flax. M. Agoub (in Gauttier vol. vi. 344) shirks, as he is\nwont to do, the whole difficulty. [The idea seems to me to be,\nand I believe this is also the meaning of M. Houdas, that Haykar\nproduced streaks of light in an otherwise dark room by boring\nholes in the back wall, and scattered the sand over them, so\nthat, while passing through the rays of the sun, it assumed the\nappearance of ropes. Hence he says mockingly to Pharaoh, \"Have\nthese ropes taken up, and each time you please I will twist thee\nthe like of them\"--reading \"Aftilu,\" lst p. aor. instead of\n\"Iftil\", 2nd imper.--ST.)\n\n[FN#77] Gauttier (vi. 347), Ces pr\u00e9sens ne sont pas dignes de\nlui; mais peu de chose contents les rois.\n\n[FN#78] Haykar is a Sage who follows the religion of nature,\n\"Love thy friends and hate thy foes.\" Gauttier (vii. 349)\nembroiders all this with Christian and French sentiment--\nL'intention secr\u00e8te de Heycar \u00e9tait de sauver la vie \u00e0 l'ingrat\nqui avait conspir\u00e9 contre la sienne. Il voulait pour toute\nvengeance, le mettre d\u00e9sormais dans l'impossibilit\u00e9 de nuire et\nl'abandonner ensuite \u00e0 ses remords, persuad\u00e9 que le remords n'est\npas le moindre ch\u00e2timent du coupable. True nonsense this when\ntalking of a character born bad: its only remorse is not to have\ndone worse than bad.\n\n[FN#79] Striking the nape being the Moslem equivalent for \"boxing\nears.\"\n\n[FN#80] With this formula compare Chaucer, \"The Manciple's Tale.\"\n\n[FN#81] In the text \"Znn\u00e1kt-ha,\" which is unintelligible,\nalthough the sense be clear.\n\n[FN#82] A bird unknown to the dictionaries, apparently a species\nof hawk.\n\n[FN#83] In the text \"J\u00farah Sy\u00e1n\" for \"J\u00farah Sayy\u00e1l.\"\n\n[FN#84] The tree having furnished the axe-helve.\n\n[FN#85] M. Houdas translates Tu as m\u00e9dit de moi et tu m'as\naccabl\u00e9 de tes m\u00e9chancet\u00e9s.\n\n[FN#86] In text \"Alif, b\u00e1, t\u00e1, s\u00e1,\" the latter written with a Sin\ninstead of a Th\u00e1, showing the vulgar use which extends from\nAlexandria to Meccah.\n\n[FN#87] So in French, deriding the difference between written and\nspoken English, Ecrivez Salmonassar, prononcez crocodile.\n\n[FN#88] Because he owes thee more than a debt of life.\n\n[FN#89] i.e. \"Tammat\"=She (the tale) is finished.\n\n[FN#90] MSS. pp.217-265. See the \"Arabian Tales,\" translated by\nRobert Heron (Edinburgh M.DCC.XCII.), where it is \"The Robber-\nCaliph; or Adventures of Haroun Alraschid, with the Princess of\nPersia, and the fair Zutulb\u00e9,\" vol. i. pp. 2-69. Gauttier,\nHistoire du Khalyfe de Baghdad, vol. vii. pp.117-150.\n\n[FN#91] In text \"Ah\u00e1d\u00eds,\" esp. referred to the sayings of\nMohammed, and these are divided into two great sections, the\n\"Ah\u00e1d\u00eds al-Nabaw\u00ed,\" or the actual words pronounced by the\nApostle; and the \"Ah\u00e1d\u00eds al-Kudus,\" or the sentences attributed\nto the Archangel Gabriel.\n\n[FN#92] Heron has \"the Festival of Haraphat,\" adding a power of\nnonsense. This is the day of the sermon, when the pilgrims sleep\nat Muzdalifah (Pilgrimage iii. 265). Kusayy, an ancestor of the\nApostle, was the first to prepare a public supper at this\noratory, and the custom was kept up by Harun al-Rashid, Zubaydah\nand Sha'ab, mother of the Caliph al-Muktadir (Tabari ii. 368).\nAlms are obligatory on the two great 'I'ds or festivals, al-Fitr\nwhich ends the Ramaz\u00e1n fast and al-Kurb\u00e1n during the annual\nPilgrimage. The dole must consist of at least a \"Sa'\" = 7 lbs. in\ngrain, dates, &c.\n\n[FN#93] i.e. habited themselves in the garments of little people:\nso to \"enlarge the turband\" is to assume the rank of an '\u00c1lim or\nlearned man. \"Jayb,\" the breast of a coat is afterwards used in\nthe sense of a pocket.\n\n[FN#94] Either the Caliph was persuaded that the white wrist was\na \"promise of better things above and below,\" or he proposed\nmarriage as a mere freak, intelligible enough when divorce costs\nonly two words.\n\n[FN#95] In text \"Nakd\u00ed\" = the actual as opposed to the contingent\ndowry: sec vols. vii. 126; ix. 32.\n\n[FN#96] This is said in irony.\n\n[FN#97] In text \"Bash\u00e1kh\u00edn\" plur. of \"Bashkh\u00e1nah:\" see Suppl.\nvols. ii. 119; iii. 87.\n\n[FN#98] In Heron he becomes \"Kassera-Abocheroan.\" Anushirwan (in\nfull An\u00fash\u00ednraw\u00e1n = sweet of soul) is popularly supposed to have\nbegun his rule badly after the fashion of Eastern despots, and\npresently to have become the justest of monarchs. Nothing of\nthis, however, is found in Tabari (ii. 159).\n\n[FN#99] He was indignant because twitted with having married a\nbeggar-maid like good King Cophetua. In Heron he is \"moved by so\nsensible a reply.\"\n\n[FN#100] Plur. \"Kat\u00e1if,\" a kind of pancake made of flour and\nsugar (or honey) and oil or butter.\n\n[FN#101] Arab. \"Sakk\u00e1\" = a water-carrier, generally a bad lot. Of\nthe \"Sakk\u00e1 Sharbah,\" who supplies water to passengers in the\nstreets, there is an illustration in Lane; M. E. chapt. xiv.\n\n[FN#102] In the text \"Kahbah\" an ugly word = our whore (i.e.\nhired woman): it is frightfully\ncommon in every-day speech. See vol. ii. 70.\n\n[FN#103] Arab. \"Sib\u00e1k\" usually = a leash (for falconry, etc.).\n\n[FN#104] I have emphasised this detail which subsequently becomes\na leading incident.\n\n[FN#105] Usual formul\u00e6 when a respectable person is seen\ndrinking: the same politeness was also in use throughout the\ncivilised parts of medi\u00e6val Europe. See the word \"Hanian\" (vol.\nii. 5), which at Meccah and elsewhere is pronounced also\n\"Haniyyan.\"\n\n[FN#106] In text \"Y\u00e1 Ta'\u00eds,\" a favorite expression in this MS.\nPage 612 (MS.) has \"T\u00e1'ish,\" a clerical error, and in page 97 we\nhave \"Y\u00e1 Ta'\u00e1sat-n\u00e1\" = O our misery!\n\n[FN#107] As might a \"picker-up of unconsidered trifles.\"\n\n[FN#108] In text \"Akb\u00e1' wa Zar\u00e1b\u00edl.\" I had supposed the first to\nbe the Pers. Kab\u00e1 = a short coat or tunic, with the Arab. 'Ayn\n(the second is the common corruption for \"Zar\u00e1b\u00edn\" = slaves'\nshoes, slippers: see vol. x. 1), but M. Hondas translates Ni\ncalottes ni calecons, and for the former word here and in MS.\np.227 he reads \"'Arakiyah\" = skull-cap: see vol. i. 215. [\"Akb\u00e1'\"\nis the pi. of \"Kub',\" which latter occurs infra, p.227 of the Ar.\nMS., and means, in popular language, any part of a garment\ncovering the head, as the hood of a Burnus or the top-piece of a\nKalansuwah; also a skull-cap, usually called \"'Araq\u00edyah.\" --ST.]\n\n[FN#109] Heron dubs him \"Hazeb (H\u00e1jib) Yamaleddin.\" In text\n\"'Al\u00e1i al-D\u00edn;\" and in not a few places it is familiarly\nabbreviated to \"'Ali\" (p. 228, etc.). For the various forms of\nwriting the name see Suppl. vol. iii. 30. The author might have\ntold us the young Chamberlain's name Arabic\u00e8 earlier in the tale;\nbut it is the R\u00e1wi's practice to begin with the vague and to end\nin specification. I have not, however, followed his example\nhere or elsewhere.\n\n[FN#110] i.e. Destiny so willed it. For the Pen and the Preserved\nTablet see vol. v. 322.\n\n[FN#111] This was the custom not only with Harun as Mr. Heron\nthinks, but at the Courts of the Caliphs generally.\n\n[FN#112] In text \"Ghiy\u00e1r,\" Arab. = any piece of dress or uniform\nwhich distinguishes a class, as the soldiery: in Pers. = a strip\nof yellow cloth worn by the Jews subject to the Shah.\n\n[FN#113] Arab. \"Zarb\u00fal t\u00e1k\u00ed,\" the latter meaning \"high-heeled.\"\nPerhaps it may signify also \"fenestrated, or open-worked like a\nwindow.\" So \"poules\" or windows cut in the upper leathers of his\nshoes. Chaucer, The Miller's Tale.\n\n[FN#114] \"Mayzar,\" in Pers. = a turband: in Arab. \"Miizar\" = a\ngirdle; a waistcloth.\n\n[FN#115] Arab. \"Kaus al-Bund\u00fak\" (or Banduk) a pellet-bow, the\nItalian arcobugio, the English arquebuse; for which see vol. i.\n10. Usually the \"K\u00eds\" is the Giberne or pellet-bag; but here it\nis the bow-cover. Gauttier notes (vii. 131):--Bondouk signifie en\nArabe harquebuse, Albondoukani signifie l'arquebusier; c'\u00e9tait\ncomme on le voit, le mot d'ordre dit Khalyfe. He supposes, then,\nthat firelocks were known in the days of Harun al-Rashid (A.D.\n786-809). Al-Bunduk\u00e1ni = the cross-bow man, or rather the man of\nthe pellet-bow was, according to the R\u00e1w\u00ed, the name by which the\nCaliph was known in this disguise. Al-Zahir Baybars al-\nBundukd\u00e1r\u00ed, the fourth Baharite Soldan (A.D. 1260-77), was so\nentitled because he had been a slave to a Bundukd\u00e1r, an officer\nwho may be called the Grand Master of Artillery. In Chavis and\nCazotte the Caliph arms himself with a spear, takes a bow and\narrow (instead of the pellet-bow that named him), disguises his\ncomplexion, dyes beard and eyebrows, dons a large coarse turband,\na buff waistcoat with a broad leathern belt, a short robe of\ncommon stuff and half-boots of strong coarse leather, and thus\n\"assumes the garb of an Arab from the desert.\" (!)\n\n[FN#116] See vol. i. 266.\n\n[FN#117] i.e. by the Archangel Gabriel.\n\n[FN#118] Arab. \"Habbah\" = a grain (of barley, etc.), an obolus, a\nmite: it is also used for a gold bead in the shape of a cube\nforming part of the Egyptian woman's headdress (Lane M.E.,\nAppendix A). As a weight it is the 48th of a dirham, the third of\na k\u00edr\u00e1t (carat) or 127/128 of an English grain, avoir.\n\n[FN#119] In text \"Mahm\u00e1\" = as often as = kullu-m\u00e1. This is the\neleventh question of the twelve in Al-Hariri, Ass. xxiv., and the\nsixth of Ass. xxxvi. The former runs, \"What is the noun (kullu-\nm\u00e1) which gives no sense except by the addition thereto of two\nwords, or the shortening thereof to two letters (i.e. m\u00e1); and in\nthe first case there is adhesion and in the second compulsion?\"\n(Chenery, pp. 246-253).\n\n[FN#120] In Chavis and Cazotte he looks through the key-hole\nwhich an Eastern key does not permit, the holes being in the\nbolt. See Index, Suppl. vol. v.\n\n[FN#121] In text \"K\u00e1bal-ki,\" which I suspect to be a clerical\nerror for \"K\u00e1tal-ki\" = Allah strike thee dead. See vol. iv. 264,\n265. [One of the meanings of \"Muk\u00e1balah,\" the third form of\n\"kabila,\" is \"requital,\" \"retaliation.\" The words in the text\ncould therefore be translated: \"may God requite thee.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#122] In Chavis and Cazotte she swears \"by the name of God\nwhich is written on our Great\nProphet's forehead.\"\n\n[FN#123] Arab. \"Y\u00e1 Luss\"; for this word = the Gr. {Greek}; see\nSuppl. vol. v. index.\n\n[FN#124] \"Al-N\u00e1t\u00far,\" the keeper, esp. of a vineyard, a word\nnaturalized in Persian. The Caliph asks, Is this a bon> fide\naffair and hast thou the power to settle the matter definitely?\nM. Houdas translates as Les raisins sont-ils \u00e0 toi, ou bien es-tu\nseulement la gardienne de la vigne? [The verb z\u00e1raba, 3rd form,\nfollowed by the accusative, means \"to join one in partnership.\"\nThe sense of the passage seems therefore to be: Dost thou own\ngrapes thyself, or art thou (\"tuz\u00e1rib\u00ed,\" 2 fem. sing.) in\npartnership with the vineyard-keeper. The word may be chosen\nbecause it admits of another interpretation, the double entendre\nof which might be kept up in English by using the expression\n\"sleeping\" partnership. Perhaps, however, \"tuz\u00e1rib\u00ed\" means here\nsimply: \"Dost thou play the part of.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#125] The innuendo is intelligible and I may draw attention to\nthe humorous skill with which the mother-in-law's character is\ndrawn.\n\n[FN#126] In text \"Ask\u00e1-hu 'alakah\" = gave him a good sound\ndrubbing ('alakah), as a robber would apply to a Judge had he the\npower.\n\n[FN#127] Lest he happen to meet an unveiled woman on the stairs;\nthe usual precaution is to cry \"Dast\u00far!\" by your leave (Persian).\n\n[FN#128] Arab. \"Khayr\"--a word of good omen.\n\n[FN#129] In Chavis and Cazotte the mother gives her daughter's\nname as Zutulb\u00e9 (?) and her own Lelamain (?).\n\n[FN#130] In text \"Waliyah\" or \"Waliy\u00e1h\" = and why?\n\n[FN#131] The \"Wronged\" (Al-Mazl\u00fam) refers to the Caliph who was\nbeing abused and to his coming career as a son-in-law. Gauttier,\nwho translates the tale very perfunctorily, has Dieu prot\u00e8ge les\nmalheureux et les orphelins (vii. 133).\n\n[FN#132] This again is intended to show the masterful nature of\nthe Caliph, and would be as much admired by the average coffee-\nhouse audience as it would stir the bile of the free and\nindependent Briton.\n\n[FN#133] The \"Street of the Copperas-maker\": the name, as usual,\ndoes not appear till further on in the tale.\n\n[FN#134] In text \"Rukh\u00e1m\" = marble or alabaster, here used for\nbuilding material: so \"Murakhkhim\" = a marble-cutter, means\nsimply a stone-mason. I may here note the rediscovery of the\nporphyry quarries in Middle Egypt, and the gypsum a little inland\nof Ras Ghar\u00edb to the West of the Suez Gulf. Both were much used\nby the old Egyptians, and we may now fairly expect to rediscover\nthe lost sites, about Tunis and elsewhere in Northern Africa,\nwhence Rosso antico and other fine stones were quarried.\n\n[FN#135] Arab. \"Al-H\u00e1sil\" also meaning the taxes, the revenue.\n\n[FN#136] In text \"K\u00e1'ah\" = a saloon: see vols. i. 85; i. 292; and\nvii. 167.\n\n[FN#137] In the sing. \"Sik\u00e1lah.\"\n\n[FN#138] The Jinn here was Curiosity, said to be a familiar of\nthe sex feminine, but certainly not less intimate with \"the\nopposite.\"\n\n[FN#139] In text \"Kinnab\" which M. Houdas translates \u00e9toupe que\nl'on fixe an bout d'un roseau pour blanchir les murs.\n\n[FN#140] Impossible here not to see a sly hit at the Caliph and\nthe Caliphate.\n\n[FN#141] The writer has omitted this incident which occurs in\nChavis and Cazotte.\n\n[FN#142] In the text, \"Samd\" = carpets and pots and pans.\n\n[FN#143] The Kat\u00e1 grouse (Tetrao alchata seu arenarius of Linn.)\nhas often been noticed by me in Pilg. I. 226 (where my indexer\ncalled it \"sand goose\") and in The Nights (vols. i. 131; iv.\n111). De Sacy (Chrestom. Arab. iii pp. 416, 507-509) offers a\ngood literary account of it: of course he cannot speak from\npersonal experience. He begins with the Aj\u00e1ib al-Makhl\u00fak\u00e1t by Al-\nKazwini (ob. A.H. 674 = A.D. 1274) who tells us that the bird\nbuilds in the desert a very small nest (whence the Had\u00eds, \"Whoso\nshall build to Allah a mosque, be it only the bigness of a Kat\u00e1's\nnest, the Lord shall edify for him a palace in Paradise\"); that\nit abandons its eggs which are sometimes buried in sand, and\npresently returns to them (hence the saying, \"A better guide than\nthe Kat\u00e1\"); that it watches at night (?) and that it frequents\nhighways to reconnoitre travellers (? ?), an interpretation\nconfirmed by the Persian translator. Its short and graceful steps\ngave rise to the saying, \"She hath the gait of a Kat\u00e1,\" and makes\nDe Sacy confound the bird with the Pers. K\u00e1h\u00fa or Kabk-i-dari\n(partridge of the valley), which is simply the francolin, the\nItal. francolino, a perdrix. The latter in Arab. Is \"Durr\u00e1j\" (Al-\nMas'udi, vii. 347): see an affecting story connected with it in\nthe Suppl. Nights (ii. 4O-43). In the xxiiid Ass. of Al-Hariri\nthe sagacity of the Kat\u00e1 is alluded to, \"I crossed rocky places,\nto which the Kat\u00e1 would not find its way.\" See also Ass. viii.\nBut Mr. Chenery repeats a mistake when he says (p. 339) that the\nbird is \"never found save where there is good pasturage and\nwater:\" it haunts the wildest parts of Sind and Arabia, although\nit seldom strays further than 60 miles from water which it must\ndrink every evening. I have never shot the Kat\u00e1 since he saved my\nparty from a death by thirst on a return-ride from Harar (First\nFootsteps in E. Africa, p. 388). The bird is very swift, with a\nskurrying flight like a frightened Pigeon; and it comes to water\nregularly about dusk when it is easily \"potted.\"\n\n[FN#144] In text \"Samman\" for \"Samm\u00e1n\": Dozy gives the form\n\"Summun\" (Hondas). The literary name is \"Salw\u00e0.\"\n\n[FN#145] For Wali (at one time a Civil Governor and in other ages\na Master of Police) see vol. i. 259.\n\n[FN#146] Prob. a corruption of the Pers. \"N\u00e1zuk,\" adj. delicate,\nnice.\n\n[FN#147] In text \"Jaft\u00e1w\u00e1t,\" which is, I presume, the Arab. plur.\nof the Turk. \"Chif\u00fat\" a Jew, a mean fellow. M. Hondas refers to\nDozy s.v. \"Jaft\u00e1h.\" [The Turkish word referred to by Dozy is\n\"Chifte\" from the Persian \"Juft\" = a pair, any two things coupled\ntogether. \"Mash\u00e1'il\u00edyah jaft\u00e1w\u00e1t wa f\u00e1n\u00fas\u00edn\" in the text would\ntherefore be \"(cresset-) bearers of double torches and lanterns,\"\nwhere the plural f\u00e1n\u00fas\u00edn is remarkable as a vulgarism, instead of\nthe Dictionary form \"Faw\u00e1n\u00eds.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#148] So in Chavis and Cazotte: Gauttier and Heron prefer\n(vol. i. 38) \"Chamama.\" They add, \"That d\u00e6mon incarnate gave out\nhimself that Satan was his father and the devil Camos (?) his\nbrother.\" The Arab word is connected with shamma = he smelt, and\nsuggests the policeman smoking plots.\n\n[FN#149] i.e. concealing the secret sins of the people. This\nsketch of the cad policeman will find many an original in the\nLondon force, if the small householder speak the truth.\n\n[FN#150] Qui n'ait un point de contact aver l'une de ces\ncat\u00e9gories--(Houdas).\n\n[FN#151] In the old translations \"The Hazen\" (Kh\u00e1zin =\ntreasurer?) which wholly abolishes the double entendre.\n\n[FN#152] In text \"Darbis\u00ed al-b\u00e1b\" from the Persian, \"Dar bastan\"\n= to tie up, to shut.\n\n[FN#153] In text \"Ghaush\" for \"Ghaushah\" = noise, row.\n\n[FN#154] \"Akk\u00e1l bula'hu\" i.e. commit all manner of abominations.\n\"To eat skite\" is to talk or act foolishly.\n\n[FN#155] In the old translations \"Ilamir Youmis.\"\n\n[FN#156] In text \"Dabb\u00fas bazdagh\u00e1n\u00ed,\" which I have translated as\nif from the Pers. \"Bazdagh\"\n= a file. But it may be a clerical error for \"Bardaw\u00e1ni,\" the\nwell-known city in Hindostan whose iron was famous.\n\n[FN#157] \"Nahs\" means something more than ill-omened, something\nnasty, foul, uncanny: see vol. i. 301.\n\n[FN#158] In Chavis, Heron and Co. there are two ladders to scale\nthe garden wall and descend upon the house-terrace which\napparently they do not understand to be the roof.\n\n[FN#159] Arab. \"Al-K\u00e1fi'ah\" = garde-fou, rebord d'une terrasse--\n(Houdas).\n\n[FN#160] Our vulgar \"Houri\": see vols. i. 90; iii. 233. There are\nmany meanings of Hawar; one defines it as intense darkness of the\nblack of the eye and corresponding whiteness; another that it is\nall which appears of the eye (as in the gazelle) meaning that the\nblackness is so large as to exclude the whiteness; whilst a third\ndefines \"Haur\u00e1\" as a woman beautiful in the \"Mah\u00e1jir\" (parts\nbelow and around the eyes which show when the face is veiled),\nand a fourth as one whose whiteness of eye appears in contrast\nwith the black of the Kohl-Powder. See Chenery's Al-Hariri, pp.\n354-55.\n\n[FN#161] Arab. \"Zalamah\" = tyrants, oppressors (police and\nemploy\u00e9s): see vols. i. 273, and vi. 214.\n\n[FN#162] In text \"Kunn\u00e1 nu't\u00edhu li-ahad\" = we should have given\nhim to someone; which makes very poor sense. [The whole passage\nruns: \"H\u00e1z\u00e1 allaz\u00ed kasam all\u00e1h bi-hi fa-lau k\u00e1na rajul jayyid\nghayr luss kunn\u00e1 nu't\u00ed-hu li-ahad,\" which I would translate: This\nis he concerning whom Allah decreed (that he should be my\nportion, swearing:) \"and if he were a good man and no thief we\nwould have bestowed him on someone.\" In \"kasama\" the three ideas\nof decreeing, giving as a share, and binding one's self by oath\nare blended together. If it should appear out of place to\nintroduce Divinity itself as speaking in this context, we must\nnot forget that the person spoken of is no less illustrious\nindividual than Harun al-Rash\u00edd, and that a decidedly satirical\nand humorous vein runs through the whole tale. Moreover, I doubt\nthat \"li-ahad\" could be used as equivalent for \"li-ghayr\u00ed,\" \"to\nsome other than myself,\" while it frequently occurs in the\nemphatic sense of \"one who is somebody, a person of consequence.\"\nThe damsel and her mother, on the other hand, allude repeatedly\nto the state of utter helplessness in which they find themselves\nin default of their natural protector, and which has reduced them\nfrom an exalted station to the condition of nobodies. I speak, of\ncourse, here as elsewhere, \"under correction.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#163] In text \"Hmsh.\" The Dicts. give Himmas and Himmis, forms\nnever heard, and Forsk. (Flora \u00c6gypt.-Arab. p. lxxi.) \"Homos,\"\nalso unknown. The vulg. pron. is, \"Hummus\" or as Lane (M.E.\nchapt. v.) has it \"Hommus\" (chick-peas). The word applies to the\npea, while \"Mal\u00e1n\" is the plant in pod. It is the cicer arietinum\nconcerning which a classical tale is told. \"Cicero (pron. Kikero)\nwas a poor scholar in the University of Athens, wherewith his\nenemies in Rome used to reproach him, and as he passed through\nthe streets would call out 'O Cicer, Cicer, O,' a word still used\nin Cambridge, and answers to a Servitor in Oxford.\" Quaint this\napproximation between \"Cicer\" the vetch and \"Sizar\" which comes\nfrom \"size\" = rations, the Oxford \"battel.\"\n\n[FN#164] Arab. \"Yulakkimu,\" from \"Lukmah\" = a mouthful: see vols.\ni. 266; vii. 367.\n\n[FN#165] Arab. \"Jarazat Kuzb\u00e1n\" (plur. or \"Kaz\u00edb,\" see vol. ii.\n66) = long and slender sticks.\n\n[FN#166] i.e. a witch; see vol. viii. 131.\n\n[FN#167] So in the phrase \"Otbah hath the colic,\" first said\nconcerning Otbah b. Rab\u00ed'a by Ab\u00fa Jahl when the former advised\nnot marching upon Badr to attack Mohammed. Tabari, vol. ii. 491.\n\n[FN#168] Compare the French \"Brr!\"\n\n[FN#169] i.e. to whom thou owest a debt of apology or excuse,\n\"Ghar\u00edm\" = debtor or creditor.\n\n[FN#170] Arab. \"Jur\u00e1b al-'uddah,\" i.e. the manacles, fetters,\netc.\n\n[FN#171] The following three sentences are taken from the margin\nof (MS.) p. 257, and evidently belong to this place.\n\n[FN#172] In text \"Bghb\" evidently for \"Baght\" or preferably\n\"Baghtatan.\"\n\n[FN#173] This is a twice-told tale whose telling I have lightened\na little without omitting any important detail. Gauttier reduces\nthe ending of the history to less than five pages.\n\n[FN#174] The normal idiom for \"I accept.\"\n\n[FN#175] In text Khila't dakk al-Matrakah,\" which I have rendered\nliterally: it seems to signify an especial kind of brocade.\n\n[FN#176] The Court of Baghdad was, like the Urd\u00fa (Horde or Court)\nof the \"Grand Mogul,\" organised after the ordinance of an army in\nthe field, with its centre, the Sovran, and two wings right and\nleft, each with its own Wazir for Commander, and its vanguard and\nrearguard.\n\n[FN#177] Being the only son he had a voice in the disposal of his\nsister. The mother was the Kab\u00edrah = head of the household, in\nMarocco Al-S\u00eddah = Madame m\u00e8re; but she could not interfere\nsingle-handed in affairs concerning the family. See Pilgrimage,\nvol. iii. 198. Throughout Al-Islam in default of a father the\neldest brother gives away the sisters, and if there be no brother\nthis is done by the nearest male relation on the \"sword\" side.\nThe mother has no authority in such matters nor indeed has anyone\non the \"spindle\" side.\n\n[FN#178] Alluding to the Wali and his men.\n\n[FN#179] Arab. \"Kunyah\" (the pop. mispronunciation of \"Kinyah\")\nis not used here with strict correctness. It is a fore-name or\nbye-name generally taken from the favourite son, Ab\u00fa (father of)\nbeing prefixed. When names are written in full it begins the\nstring, e.g., Abu Mohammed (fore-name), K\u00e1sim (true name), ibn\nAli (father's name), ibn Mohammed (grandfather's), ibn Osman\n(great-grandfather), Al-Hariri (= the Silkman from the craft of\nthe family), Al-Basri (of Bassorah). There is also the \"Lakab\"\n(sobriquet), e.g. Al-Bunduk\u00e1n\u00ed or Bad\u00ed'u'l-Zam\u00e1n (Rarity of the\nAge), which may be placed either before or after the \"Kunyah\"\nwhen the latter is used alone. Chenery (Al-Hariri, p.315)\nconfines the \"Kunyah\" to fore-names beginning with Ab\u00fa; but it\nalso applies to those formed with Umm (mother), Ibn (son), Bint\n(daughter), Akh (brother) and Ukht (sister). See vol. iv. 287. It\nis considered friendly and graceful to address a Moslem by this\nbye-name.\n-Gaudent pr\u00e6nomine molles Auricul\u00e6.\n\n[FN#180] In text \"Y\u00e1 Kaw\u00e1k\u00ed,\" which M. Houdas translates \"O\npiailleur,\" remarking that here it would be = poule mouill\u00e9e.\n\n[FN#181] \"'Alakah kh\u00e1rijah\" = an extraordinary drubbing.\n\n[FN#182] In text \"Ij'aln\u00ed f\u00ed kll,\" the latter word being\nprobably, as M. Houdas suggests, a clerical error for \"Kal-a\" or\n\"Kil\u00e1a\" = safety, protection.\n\n[FN#183] I am surprised that so learned and practical an Arabist\nas the Baron de Slane in his Fr. translation of Ibn Khald\u00fan\nshould render le surnom d'Er-Rechid (le prudent), for \"The\nRightly Directed,\" the Orthodox (vol. ii. 237), when (ibid. p.\n259) he properly translates \"Al-Khulaf\u00e1 al-rashid\u00edn\" by Les\nCalifes qui marchent dans la voie droite.\n\n[FN#184]  MSS. pp. 476-504.  This tale is laid down on the same\nlines as \"Ab\u00fa al-Husn and his Slave-girl Tawaddud,\" vol. vi. 189.\nIt is carefully avoided by Scott, C. de Perceval, Gauttier, etc.\n\n[FN#185]  Lit. an interpreter woman; the word is the fem. of\nTarjum\u00e1n, a dragoman whom Mr. Curtis calls a Drag o' men; see\nvol. i. 100.  It has changed wonderfully on its way from its\n\"Semitic\" home to Europe which has naturalised it as Drogman,\nTruchman and Dolmetsch.\n\n[FN#186]  For this word of many senses, see vols. i. 231; ix.\n221.  M. Caussin de Perceval (viii. 16), quoting d'Herbelot\n(s.v.), notes that the Abbasides thus entitled the chief guardian\nof the Harem.\n\n[FN#187]  See vols. iv. 100; viii. 268.  In his Introduction (p.\n22) to the Assemblies of Al-Hariri Chenery says, \"This prosperity\nhad now passed away, for God had brought the people of Rum (so\nthe Arabs call the Byzantines, whom Ab\u00fa Zayd here confounds with\nthe Franks) on the land,\" etc.  The confusion is not Abu Zayd's:\n\"Rum\u00ed\" in Marocco and other archaic parts of the Moslem world is\nstill synonymous with our \"European.\"\n\n[FN#188]  This obedience to children is common in Eastern\nfolk-lore: see Suppl. vol. i. 143, in which the royal father\norders his son to sell him.  The underlying idea is that the\nparents find their offspring too clever for them; not, as in the\n\"New World,\" that Youth is entitled to take precedence and\ncommand of Age.\n\n[FN#189]  In text \"Fa min tumma\" for \"thumma\"--then, alors.\n\n[FN#190]  Such as the headstall and hobbles the cords and chains\nfor binding captives, and the mace and sword hanging to the\nsaddle-bow.\n\n[FN#191]  i.e. not a well-known or distinguished horseman, but a\nchance rider.\n\n[FN#192]  These \"letters of Mutalammis,\" as Arabs term our\nLitter\u00e6 Bellerophonte\u00e6, or \"Uriah's letters,\" are a lieu commun\nin the East and the Prince was in luck when he opened and read\nthe epistle here given by mistake to the wrong man.  Mutalammis,\na poet of The Ignorance, had this sobriquet (the \"frequent\nasker,\" or, as we should say, the Solicitor-General), his name\nbeing Jar\u00edr bin 'Abd al-Mas\u00edh.  He was uncle to Tarafah of the\nMu'-allakah or prize poem, a type of the witty dissolute bard of\nthe jovial period before Al-Islam arose to cloud and dull man's\nlife.  One day as he was playing with other children Mutalammis\nwas reciting a panegyric upon his favourite camel, which ran:--\n\nI mount a he-camel, dark-red and firm-fleshed; or a she-camel of\nHimyar, fleet of foot and driving the pebbles with her crushing\nhooves.\n\n\"See the he-camel turned to a she,\" cried the boy, and the phrase\nbecame proverbial to express inelegant transition (Arab. Prov.\nii. 246).  The uncle bade his nephew put out his tongue and\nseeing it dark-coloured said, \"That black tongue will be thy\nruin!\"  Tarafah, who was presently entitled Ibn al-'Ishrin (the\nson of twenty years), grew up a model reprobate who cared nothing\nsave for three things, \"to drink the dark-red wine foaming as the\nwater mixeth with it, to urge into the fight a broad-backed\nsteed, and to while away the dull day with a young beauty.\"  His\napology for wilful waste is highly poetic:--\n\nI see that the grave of the careful, the hoarder, differeth not\nfrom the grave of the debauched, the spendthrift:\nA hillock of earth covers this and that, with a few flat stones\nlaid together thereon.\n\nSee the whole piece in Chenery's Al-Hariri (p. 360), from which\nthis note is borrowed.  At last uncle and nephew fled from ruin\nto the Court of 'Amr\u00fa bin Munz\u00edr III., King of Hira, who in the\ntale of Al-Mutalammis and his wife Umaymah (The Nights, vol. v.\n74) is called Al-Nu'um\u00e1n bin Munzir but is better known as 'Amr\u00fa\nbin Hind (his mother).  The King, who was a derocious personage\nnicknamed Al-Muharrik or the Burner, because he had thrown into\nthe fire ninety-nine men and one woman of the Tam\u00edm tribe in\naccordance with a vow of vengeance he had taken to slaughter a\nfull century, made the two strangers boon-companions to his\nboorish brother K\u00e1b\u00fas.  Tarafah, offended because kept at the\ntent-door whilst the master drank wine within, bitterly lampooned\nhim together with 'Abd Amr\u00fa a friend of the King; and when this\nwas reported his death was determined upon.  Amr\u00fa, the King,\nseeing the anxiety of the two poets to quit his Court, offered\nthem letters of introduction to Ab\u00fa K\u00e1rib, Governor of Al-Hajar\n(Bahrayn) under the Persian King and they were accepted.  The\nuncle caused his letter to be read by a youth, and finding that\nit was an order for his execution destroyed it and fled to Syria;\nbut the nephew was buried alive.  Amr\u00fa, the King, was afterwards\nslain by the poet-warrior, Amr\u00fa bin Kulthum, also of the\n\"Mu'allak\u00e1t,\" for an insult offered to his mother by Hind: hence\nthe proverb, \"Quicker to slay than 'Amr\u00fa bin Kulsum\" (A.P. ii.\n233).\n\n[FN#193]   See vols. i. 192; iii. 14; these correspond with the\n\"Stathmoi,\" Stationes, Mansiones or Castra of Herodotus, Terps.\ncap. 53, and Xenophon. An. i. 2, 10.\n\n[FN#194]  In text \"Ittik\u00e1\" viiith of wak\u00e1: the form \"Takw\u00e0\" is\ngenerally used = fearing God, whereby one guards oneself from sin\nin this life and from retribution in the world to come.\n\n[FN#195]  This series of puzzling questions and clever replies is\nstill as favourite a mental exercise in the East as it was in\nmiddle-aged Europe.  The riddle or conundrum began, as far as we\nknow, with the Sphinx, through whose mouth the Greeks spoke:\nnothing less likely than that the grave and mysterious Scribes of\nEgypt should ascribe aught so puerile to the awful emblem of\nroyal majesty--Abu Haul, the Father of Affright.  Josephus\nrelates how Solomon propounded enigmas to Hiram of Tyre which\nnone but Abdimus, son of the captive Abd\u00e6mon, could answer.  The\nTale of Tawaddud offers fair specimens of such exercises, which\nwere not disdained by the most learned of Arabian writers.  See\nAl-Hariri's Ass. xxiv, which proposes twelve enigmas involving\nabstruse and technical points of Arabic, such as: \"What be the\nword, which as ye will is a particle beloved, or the name of that\nwhich compriseth the slender-waisted milch camel!\"  Na'am = \"Yes\"\nor \"cattle,\" the latter word containing the Harf, or slender\ncamel.  Chenery, p. 246.\n\n[FN#196]  For the sundry meanings and significance of \"Sal\u00e1m,\"\nhere=Heaven's blessing, see vols. ii. 24, vi. 232.\n\n[FN#197]  This is the nursery version of the Exodus, old as\nJosephus and St. Jerome, and completely changed by the light of\nmodern learning.  The Children of Israel quitted their homes\nabout Memphis (as if a large horde of half-nomadic shepherds\nwould be suffered in the richest and most crowded home of Egypt).\nThey marched by the Wady M\u00fas\u00e0 that debouches upon the Gulf of\nSuez a short way below the port now temporarily ruined by its own\nfolly and the ill-will of M. de Lesseps; and they made the \"Sea\nof Sedge\" (Suez Gulf) through the valley bounded by what is still\ncalled Jabal 'At\u00e1kah, the Mountain of Deliverance, and its\nparallel range, Abu Durayj (of small steps).  Here the waters\nwere opened and the host passed over to the \"Wells of Moses,\"\nerstwhile a popular picnic place on the Arabian side; but\naccording to one local legend (for which see my Pilgrimage, i.\n294-97) they crossed the sea north of T\u00far, the spot being still\ncalled \"Birkat Far'aun\"=Pharoah's Pool.  Such also is the modern\nlegend amongst the Arabs, who learned their lesson from the\nChristians (not the Jews) in the days when the Copts and the\nGreeks (ivth century) invented \"Mount Sinai.\"  And the reader\nwill do well to remember that the native annalists of Ancient\nEgypt, which conscientiously relate all her defeats and\nsubjugations by the Ethiopians, Persians, etc., utterly ignore\nthe very name of Hebrew, Sons of Israel, etc.\n\nI cannot conceal my astonishment at finding a specialist journal\nlike the \"Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund\"\n(Oct., 1887) admitting such a paper as that entitled \"The Exode,\"\nby R. F. Hutchinson, M.D.  For this writer the labours of the\nlast half-century are non-existing.  Job is still the \"oldest\nbook\" in the world.  The Rev. Charles Forster's absurdity,\n\"Israel in the wilderness,\" gives valuable assistance.  Goshen is\nMr. Chester's Tell Fak\u00fas (not, however, far wrong in this)\ninstead of the long depression by the Copts still called \"Gesem\"\nor \"Gesemeh,\" the frontier-land through which the middle course\nof the Suez Canal runs.  \"Succoth,\" tabernacles, is confounded\nwith the Arab.  \"Sakf\" = a roof.  Letopolis, the \"key of the\nExode,\" and identified with the site where Babylon (Old Cairo)\nwas afterwards built, is placed on the right instead of the left\nbank of the Nile.  \"Bahr Kulzum\" is the \"Sea of the\nSwallowing-up,\" in lieu of The Closing.  El-T\u00edh, \"the wandering,\"\nis identified with Wady Musa to the west of the Suez Gulf.  And\nso forth.  What could the able Editor have been doing?\n\nStudents of this still disputed question will consult \"The Shrine\nof Saft el-Henneh and the Land of Goschen,\" by Edouard Naville,\nfifth Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund.  Published by order\nof the Committee.  London, Tr\u00fcbner, 1837.\n\n[FN#198]  Eastern fable runs wild upon this subject, and indeed a\nlarger volume could be written upon the birth, life and death of\nMoses' and Aaron's rods.  There is a host of legends concerning\nthe place where the former was cut and whence it descended to the\nProphet whose shepherd's staff was the glorification of his\npastoral life (the rod being its symbol) and of his future career\nas a ruler (and flogger) of men.  In Exodus (viii. 3-10), when a\nmiracle was required of the brothers, Aaron's rod became a\n\"serpent\" (A.V.) or, as some prefer, a \"crocodile,\" an animal\nworshipped by certain of the Egyptians; and when the King's\nmagicians followed suit it swallowed up all others.  Its next\nexploit was to turn the Nile and other waters of Egypt into blood\n(Exod. vii. 17).  The third wonder was worked by Moses' staff,\nthe dividing of the Red Sea (read the Sea of Sedge or papyrus,\nwhich could never have grown in the brine of the Suez Gulf)\naccording to the command, \"Lift thou up thy rod and stretch out\nthine hand over the sea,\" etc. (Exod. xiv. 15).  The fourth\nadventure was when the rod, wherewith Moses smote the river,\nstruck two blows on the rock in Horeb and caused water to come\nout of it (Numb. xxi. 8).  Lastly the rod (this time again\nAaron's) \"budded and brought forth buds and bloomed blossoms and\nyielded almonds\" (Numb. xvii. 7); thus becoming a testimony\nagainst the rebels: hence it was set in the Holiest of the\nTabernacles (Heb. ix. 14) as a lasting memorial.  I have\ndescribed (Pilgrim. i. 301) the mark of Moses' rod at the little\nHammam behind the old Phoenician colony of Tur, in the miscalled\n\"Sinaitic\" Peninsula: it is large enough to act mainmast for a\nship.  The end of the rod or rods is unknown: it died when its\nwork was done, and like many other things, holy and unholy, which\nwould be priceless, e.g., the true Cross or Pilate's sword, it\nremains only as a memory around which a host of grotesque\nsuperstitions have grouped themselves.\n\n[FN#199]  In this word \"Hayy\" the Arab. and Heb. have the\nadvantage of our English: it means either serpent or living,\nalive.\n\n[FN#200]  It is nowhere said in Hebrew Holy Writ that \"Pharaoh,\"\nwhoever he may have been, was drowned in the \"Red Sea.\"\n\n[FN#201]  Arab.  \"Kaml.\"  The Koranic legend of the Ant has, I\nrepeat, been charmingly commented upon by Edwin Arnold in\n\"Solomon and the Ant\" (p.i., Pearls of the Faith).  It seems to\nbe a Talmudic exaggeration of the implied praise in Prov. vi. 6\nand xxx. 25, \"The ants are a people nto strong, yet they prepare\ntheir meat in the summer\" which, by the by, proves that the Wise\nKing could be caught tripping in his natural history, and that\nthey did not know everything down in Judee.\n\n[FN#202]  Is\u00e1, according to the Moslems, was so far like Adam\n(Koran iii. 52) that he was not begotten in the normal way: in\nfact his was a miraculous conception.  See vol. v. 238.\n\n[FN#203]  For Elias, Elijah, or Khizr, a marvellous legendary\nfigure, see vols. iv. 175; v. 334.  The worship of Helios\n(Apollo) is not extinct in mod. Greece where it survives under\nthe name of Elias.  So Dionysus has become St. Dionysius; Bacchus\nthe Drunken, St. George; and Artemis, St. Artemides the healer of\nchildhood.\n\n[FN#204]  Gesenius interprets it \"Soldier of God\"; the bye-name\ngiven to Jacob presently became the national name of the Twelve\nTribes collectively; then it narrowed to the tribe of Judah;\nafterwards it became = laymen as opposed to Levites, etc., and in\nthese days it is a polite synonym for Jew.  When you want\nanything from any of the (self-) Chosen People you speak of him\nas an Israelite; when he wants anything of you, you call him a\nJew, or a damned Jew, as the case may be.\n\n[FN#205]  I am not aware that there is any general history of the\nbell, beginning with the rattle, the gong and other primitive\nforms of the article; but the subject seems worthy of a\nmonograph.  In Hebrew Writ the bell first appears in Exod.\nxxviii. 33 as a fringe to the Ephod of the High Priest that its\ntinkling might save him from intruding unwarned into the bodily\npresence of the tribal God, Jehovah.\n\n[FN#206]  Gennesaret (Chinnereth, Cinneroth), where, according to\nsome Moslems, the Solomon was buried.\n\n[FN#207]  I cannot explain this legend.\n\n[FN#208]  So the old English rhyme, produced for quite another\npurpose by Sir John Bull in \"Wat Tyler's Rebellion\" (Hume, Hist.\nof Eng., vol. i. chapt. 17):--\n\n          \"When Adam dolve and Eve span,\n          Who was then the gentleman?\"\n\nA variant occurs in a MS. of the xvth century, Brit. Museum:--\n\n          \"Now bethink the gentleman,\n          How Adam dalf and Eve span.\"\n\nAnd the German form is:--\n\n          \"So Adam reutte (reute) and Eva span\n          Wwer was da ein Eddelman (Edelman)?\"\n\n[FN#209]  Plur. of \"'Usf\u00far\" = a bird, a sparrow.  The etymology\nis characteristically Oriental and Mediaeval, reminding us of Dan\nChaucer's meaning of Cecilia \"Heaven's lily\" (S\u00fasan) or \"Way for\nthe blind\" (C\u00e6cus) or \"Thoughts of Holiness\" and lia=lasting\nindustry; or, \"Heaven and Leos\" (people), so that she might be\nnamed the people's heaven (The SEcond Nonne's Tale).\n\n[FN#210]  i.e. \"F\u00edr is rebellious.\"\n\n[FN#211]  Both of which, I may note, are not things but states,\nmodes or conditions of things.  See. vol. ix. 78.\n\n[FN#212]  \"Sal\u00e1t\" = the formal ceremonious prayer.  I have\nnoticed (vol. iv. 60) the sundry technical meanings of the term\nSal\u00e1t, from Allah=Mercy; from Angel-kind=intercession and pardon,\nand from mankind=a blessing.\n\n[FN#213]  Possibly \"A prayer of Moses, the man of God,\" the title\nof the highly apocryphal Psalm xc.\n\n[FN#214]  Arab.  \"Lib\u00e1s\" = clothes in general.\n\n[FN#215]  In text \"Zafar\" = victory.  It may also be\n\"Zifr\"=alluding to the horny matter which, according to Moslem\ntradition, covered the bodies of \"our first parents\" and of which\nafter the \"original sin\" nothing remained but the nails of their\nfingers and toes.  It was only when this disappeared that they\nbecame conscious of their nudity.  So says M. Houdas; but I\nprefer to consider the word as Zafar=plaited hair.\n\n[FN#216]  According to Al-Mas'udi (i. 86, quoting Koran xxi. 52),\nAbraham had already received of Allah spiritual direction or\ndivine grace (\"Rushdu 'llah\" or \"Al-Hud\u00e0\") which made him\nsinless.  In this opinoin of the Imamship, says my friend Prof.\nA. Sprenger, the historian is more fatalistic than most Sunnis.\n\n[FN#217]  Modern Moslems are all agreed in making Ishmael and not\nIssac the hero of this history: see my Pilgrimage (vol. iii.\n306).  But it was not always so.  Al-Mas'udi (vol. ii. 146)\nquotes the lines of a Persian poet in A.H. 290 (=A.D. 902) which\nexpressly say \"Is'h\u00e1ku k\u00e1na'l-Zab\u00edh\" = Isaac was the victim, and\nthe historian refers to this in sundry places.  Yet the general\nidea is that Ishmael succeeded his father (as eldest son) and was\nsucceeded by Isaac; and hence the bitter family feud between the\nEastern Jews and the ARab Gentiles.\n\n[FN#218]  In text \"Tajui\"=lit. thou pluckest (the fruit of good\ndeeds).  M. Houdas translates Tu recueilles, mot \u00e0 mot tu\nciteilles.\n\n[FN#219]  See note at the end of this tale.\n\n[FN#220]  Amongst the Jews the Temple of Jerusalem was a\nfacsimile of the original built by Jehovah in the lowest heaven\nor that of the Moon.  For the same idea (doubtless a derivation\nfrom the Talmud) amongst the Moslems concerning the heavenly\nKa'abah called Bayt al-Ma'mur (the Populated House) see my\nPilgrimage iii. 186, et seq.\n\n[FN#221]  i.e. there is an end of the matter.\n\n[FN#222]  In text \"Massa-hu'l Fakr\"=poverty touched him.\n\n[FN#223]  He had sold his father for a horse, etc., and his\nmother for a fine dress.\n\n[FN#224]  This enigma is in the style of Samson's (Judges xiv.\n12) of which we complain that the unfortuante Philistines did not\npossess the sole clue which could lead to the solution; and here\nanyone with a modicum of common sense would have answered, \"Thou\nart the man!\"  The riddles with which the Queen of Sheba visited\nSolomon must have been simply hard questions somewhat like those\nin the text; and the relator wisely refuses to record them.\n\n[FN#225] We should say \"To eclipse the sun.\"\n\n[FN#226]  A very intelligible offer.\n\n[FN#227]  Arab.  \"Bi Asri-hi,\" lit. \"rope and all;\"\nmetaphorically used=altogether, entirely: the idea is borrowed\nfrom the giving or selling of a beast with its thong, halter,\nchain, etc.\n\n[FN#228]  In the text, \"K\u00e1hin,\" a Cohen, a Jewish Priest, a\nsoothsayer: see Al-Kah\u00e1nah, vol. i. 28.  In Heb. Kahana=he\nministered (priests' offices or other business) and Cohen=a\npriest either of the true God or of false gods.\n\n[FN#229]  This ending with its r\u00e9sum\u00e9 of contents is somewhat\nhors ligne, yet despite its vain repetition I think it advisable\nto translate it.\n\n[FN#230]  \"And she called his name Moses, and she said because\nfrom the water I drew him\" (Exod. ii. 10).\n\n[FN#231]  The Pharoah of the Exodus is popularly supposed by\nMoslems to have treated his leprosy with baths of babes' blood,\nthe babes being of the Ban\u00fa Isr\u00e1\u00edl.  The word \"Pharoah\" is not\nwithout its etymological difficulties.\n\n[FN#232]  Graetz (Geschichte i. note 7) proves that \"Aram,\" in\nthe Hebrew text (Judges iii. 8), should be \"Edom.\"\n\n[FN#233]  I give a quadruple increase, at least 25 per centum\nmore than the genealogies warrant.\n\n[FN#234] MS. pp. 505-537. This story is found in the \"Turkish\nTales\" by Petis de la Croix who translated one fourth of the\n\"Forty Wazirs\" by an author self-termed \"Shaykh Z\u00e1deh.\" It is\ncalled the \"History of Chec Chahabeddin\" (Shaykh Shih\u00e1b al-D\u00edn),\nand it has a religious significance proving that the Apostle did\nreally and personally make the \"Mi'raj\" (ascent to Heaven) and\nreturned whilst his couch was still warm and his upset gugglet\nhad not run dry. The tale is probably borrowed from Saint Paul,\nwho (2 Cor. xii. 4) was \"caught up into Paradise,\" which in those\ndays was a kind of region that roofed the earth. The Shaykh in\nquestion began by showing the Voltairean Sultan of Egypt certain\nspecious miracles, such as a phantom army (in our tale two\nlions), Cairo reduced to ashes, the Nile in flood and a Garden of\nIrem, where before lay a desert. He then called for a tub,\nstripped the King to a zone girding his loins and made him dip\nhis head into the water. Then came the adventures as in the\nfollowing tale. When after a moment's space these ended, the\ninfuriated Sultan gave orders to behead the Shaykh, who also\nplunged his head into the tub; but the Wizard divined the\nill-intent by \"Muk\u00e1shafah\" (thought-reading); and by \"Al-Ghayb\n'an al-Abs\u00e1r\" (invisibility) levanted to Damascus. The reader\nwill do well to compare the older account with the \"First Vizir's\nStory\" (p. 17) in Mr. Gibb's \"History of the Forty Vizirs,\" etc.\nAs this scholar remarks, the Mi'r\u00e1j, with all its wealth of wild\nfable, is simply alluded to in a detached verses of the Koran\n(xvii. 1) which runs: [I declare] \"The glory of Him who\ntransported His servant by night from the Sacred Temple (of\nMeccah) to the Remote Temple (of Jerusalem), whose precincts we\nhave blessed, that we might show him of our signs.\" After this\ncomes an allusion to Moses (v. 2); Mr. Gibb observes (p. 22) that\nthis lengthening out of the seconds was a favourite with\n\"Dervishes,\" as he has shown in \"The Story of Jew\u00e1d ,\" and\nsuggests that the effect might have been produced by some drug\nlike Hashish. I object to Mr. Gibb's use of the word \"Hour)\"\n(ibid. p. 24) without warning the reader that it is an irregular\nformation, masculine withal for \"Hur\u00edyah,\" and that the Pers.\n\"H\u00fari,\" from which the Turks borrowed their blunder, properly\nmeans \"One H\u00far.\"\n\n[FN#235] For the Dajlah (Tigris) and Fur\u00e1t (Euphrates) see vols.\nviii. 150- ix. 17. The topothesia is worse than Shakespearean. In\nWeber's Edit. of the \"New Arabian Nights\" (Adventures of\nSimoustapha, etc.), the rivers are called \"Ilfara\" and \"Aggiala.\"\n\n[FN#236] In text \"Alw\u00e1n,\" for which see vol. vii. 135.\n\n[FN#237] [The word which is here translated with: \"and one had\nsaid that he had laboured hard thereat (walaw\u00e1'yh?) seems\nscarcely to bear out this meaning. I would read it \"wa'l-Aw'iyah\"\n(plur. of wi'\u00e1), rendering accordingly: \"and the vessels (in\nwhich the aforesaid meats were set out) shimmered like unto\nsilver for their cleanliness.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#238] In text \"Al-Wahwah.\"\n\n[FN#239] In text, \"Mutasa'lik\" for \"Moutasa'lik\" = like a\n\"sa'l\u00fak.\"\n\n[FN#240] For this \"high-spirited Prince and noble-minded lord\"\nsee vol. ix. 229.\n\n[FN#241] In text \"Bis\u00e1ta-hum\" = their carpets.\n\n[FN#242] In text \"Haw\u00e1n\u00edt,\" plur. of \"Han\u00fat\" = the shop or vault\nof a vintner, pop. derived from the Persian Kh\u00e1neh. In Jer.\nxxvii. 16, where the A. V. has \"When Jeremiah was entered into\nthe dungeon and into the cabins,\" read \"underground vaults,\"\ncells or cellars where wine was sold. \"Han\u00fat\" also means either\nthe vintner or the vintner's shop. The derivation because it\nruins man's property and wounds his honour is the jeu d'esprit of\na moralising grammarian. Chenery's Al-Hariri, p. 377.\n\n[FN#243] In the Arab. \"Jaw\u00e1k\u00edn,\" plur. of Arab. Jauk\u00e1n for Pers.\nChaug\u00e1n, a crooked stick a club, a bat used for the Persian form\nof golf played on horseback--Polo.\n\n[FN#244] [The text reads \"Liyah,\" and lower down twice with the\narticle \"Al-Liyah\" (double Lam). I therefore suspect that\n\"Liyyah,\" equivalent with \"Luwwah,\" is intended which both mean\nAloes-wood as used for fumigation (yutabakhkharu bi-hi). For the\nnext ingredient I would read \"Kit'ah humrah,\" a small quantity of\nred brickdust, a commodity to which, I do not know with what\nfoundation, wonderful medicinal powers are or were ascribed. This\ninterpretation seems to me the more preferable, as it presently\nappears that the last-named articles had to go into the phial,\nthe mention of which would otherwise be to no purpose and which I\ntake to have been finally sealed up with the sealing clay. The\nwhole description is exceedingly loose, and evidently sorely\ncorrupted, so I think every attempt at elucidation may be\nacceptable.--ST.]\n\n[FN#245] \"Wa K\u00edta'h hamrah,\" which M. Houdas renders un morceau\nde viande cuite.\n\n[FN#246] This is a specimen of the Islamised Mantra called in\nSanskrit Stambhana and intended to procure illicit intercourse.\nHerklots has printed a variety of formul\u00e6 which are popular\nthroughout southern India: even in the Maldive Islands we find\nsuch \"Fandita\" (i.e. Panditya, the learned Science) and Mr. Bell\n(Journ., Ceylon Br. R. A. S. vii. 109) gives the following\nspecimen, \"Write the name of the beloved; pluck a bud of the\nscrew-pine (here a palette de mouton), sharpen a new knife, on\none side of the bud write the Surat al-Badr (chapter of Power,\nNo. xxi., thus using the word of Allah for Satan's purpose); on\nthe other side write Vajahata; make an image out of the bud;\nindite particulars of the horoscope copy from beginning to end\nthe Surat al-Rahm\u00e1n (the Compassionating, No. xlviii.);, tie the\nimage in five places with coir left-hand-twisted (i.e.\nwiddershins or 'against the sun'); cut the throat of a\nblood-sucker (lizard); smear its blood on the image; place it in\na loft, dry it for three days, then take it and enter the sea. If\nyou go in knee deep the woman will send you a message; if you go\nin to the waist she will visit you.\" (The Voyage of Francois\nPyrard, etc., p. 179.) I hold all these charms to be mere\ninstruments for concentrating and intensifying the brain action\ncalled Will, which is and which presently will be recognised as\nthe chief motor-power. See Suppl. vol. iii.\n\n[FN#247] Probably the name of some Prince of the Jinns.\n\n[FN#248] In text \"Kam\u00e1 zukira f\u00ed Dayli-h\" = arrange-toi de facon\n\u00e0 l'atteindre (Houdas).\n\n[FN#249] Proverbial for its depth: K\u00e1sh\u00e1n is the name of sundry\ncities; here one in the Jib\u00e1l or Ir\u00e1k 'Ajami--Persian\nMesopotamia.\n\n[FN#250] Doubtless meaning Christians.\n\n[FN#251] The Sage had summoned her by the preceding spell which\nthe Princess obeyed involuntarily.\n\n[FN#252] i.e., last night, see vol. iii. 249.\n\n[FN#253] In text \"Wuld\u00e1n\" = \"Ghilm\u00e1n\": the boys of Paradise; for\nwhom and their feminine counterparts the H\u00far (Al-Ayn) see vols.\ni. 90, 211; iii. 233.\n\n[FN#254] Arab. \"Dukhn\" = Holcus dochna, a well-known grain, a\ncongener of the Zurrah or Durrah = Holcus Sativus, Forsk. cxxiii.\nThe incident is not new. In \"Des blaue Licht,\" a Mecklenburg tale\ngiven by Grimm, the King's daughter who is borne through the air\nto the soldier's room is told by her father to fill her pocket\nwith peas and make a hole therein; but the sole result was that\nthe pigeons had a rare feast. See Suppl. vol. iii. 375.\n\n[FN#255] i.e., a martyr of love. See vols. iii. 211; i-iv. 205.\n\n[FN#256] In the text \"Ka'ka'\"; hence the higher parts of Meccah,\ninhabited by the Jurham tribe, was called \"Jabal Ka'ka'\u00e1n,\" from\ntheir clashing arms (Pilgrimage iii. 191).\n\n[FN#257] This was the work of the form of magic popularly known\nas S\u00edmiy\u00e1 = fascination, for which see vol. i. 305, 332. It is\nsupposed to pass away after a period of three days, and\nmesmerists will find no difficulty in recognising a common effect\nupon \"Odylic sensitives.\"\n\n[FN#258] Here supply the MS. with \"ill\u00e1.\"\n\n[FN#259] In text \"tatadakhkhal'alay-h:\" see \"Dakh\u00edl-ak,\" vol. i.\n61.\n\n[FN#260] Or \"he\": the verb may also refer to the Sage.\n\n[FN#261] Arab. \"Kazafa\" = threw up, etc.\n\n[FN#262] This, in the case of the Wazir, was a transformation for\nthe worse: see vol. vii. 294, for the different kinds of\nmetamorphosis.\n\n[FN#263] i.e. my high fortune ending in the lowest.\n\n[FN#264] In text \"Bakar\" = black cattle, whether bull, ox or cow.\nFor ploughing with bulls.\n\n[FN#265] In text \"Mukrif\" = lit. born of a slave father and free\nmother.\n\n[FN#266] In text \"Antum f\u00ed kh\u00e1shin wa b\u00e1sh,\" an error for\n\"kh\u00e1sh-m\u00e1sh\" = a miserable condition.\n\n[FN#267] In text \"yatbashsh\" for \"yanbashsha.\" [Or it may stand\nfor yabtashsh, with transpositions of the \"t\" of the eighth form,\nas usual in Egypt. See Spitta-Bey's Grammar, p. 198.-- ST.]\n\n[FN#268] \"Jan\u00e1nan,\" which, says M. Houdas, is the vulgar form of\n\"Jannatan\" = the garden (of Paradise). The Wazir thus played a\ntrick upon his hearers. [The word in the text may read \"Jin\u00e1nan,\"\naccusative of \"Jin\u00e1n,\" which is the broken plural of \"Jannah,\"\nalong with the regular plural \"Jann\u00e1t,\" and, like the latter,\nused for the gardens of Paradise.--ST.]\n\n[FN#269] For this name of the capital of Eastern Arabia see vols.\ni. 33, vii. 24.\n\n[FN#270] \"To be\" is the Anglo-Oriental form of \"Thaub\" = in\nArabia a loose robe like a nightgown. See ii. 206.\n\n[FN#271] The good old Mosaic theory of retribution confined to\nthis life, and the belief that Fate is the fruit of man's action.\n\n[FN#272] Arab. \"Sandar\u00fasah\" = red juniper gum (Thuja articulata\nof Barbary), red arsenic realgar, from the Pers. Sandar = amber.\n\n[FN#273] MSS. pp. 718-724. This fable, whose moral is that the\nbiter is often bit, seems unknown to \u00c6sop and the compilation\nwhich bore his name during the so-called Dark Ages. It first\noccurs in the old French metrical Roman de Renart entitled, Si\ncomme Renart prist Chanticler le Coq (ea. Meon, tom. i. 49). It\nis then found in the collection of fables by Marie, a French\npoetess whose Lais are still extant; and she declares to have\nrendered it de l'Anglois en Roman; the original being an Anglo-\nSaxon version of \u00c6sop by a King whose name is variously written\nLi reis Alured (Alfred ?), or Aunert (Albert ?), or Henris, or\nMires. Although Alfred left no version of \u00c6sop there is in MS. a\nLatin \u00c6sop containing the same story of an English version by Rex\nAngliae Affrus. Marie's fable is printed in extenso in the\nChaucer of Dr. Morris (i. 247); London, Bell and Sons, 1880; and\nsundry lines remind us of the Arabic, e.g.:--\n\n          Li gupil volt parler en haut,\n          Et li cocs de sa buche saut,\n          Sur un haut fust s'est muntez.\n\nAnd it ends with the excellent moral:--\n\n          Ceo funt li fol tut le plusur,\n          Parolent quant deivent taiser,\n          Teisent quant il deivent parler.\n\nLastly the Gentil Cok hight Chanticlere and the Fox, Dan Russel,\na more accidented tale, appears in \"The Nonne Preestes Tale,\" by\nthe Grand Traducteur.\n\n[FN#274] \"Dur\u00e0\" in MS. (p. 718) for \"Zur\u00e0,\" the classical term,\nor for \"Zurrah,\" pop. pronounced \"Durrah\"=the Holcus Sativus\nbefore noticed, an African as well as Asiatic growth, now being\nsupplanted by maize and rice.\n\n[FN#275] \"Sa'alab\" or \"Tha'lab\": vol. iii. 132.\n\n[FN#276] In text \"Kik\u00e1n,\" plur. of \"K\u00edik\" =des corneilles\n(Houdas).\n\n[FN#277] \"Samman\" or \"Summ\u00e1n,\" classically \"Salw\u00e0.\"\n\n[FN#278] In text \"Al-Kaw\u00e1n\u00ed\"=the spears, plur. of \"Kan\u00e1t.\" [\"Al-\nKaw\u00e1n\u00ed\" as plural of a singular \"Kan\u00e1t\"=spear would be, I think,\nwithout analogy amongst the plural formations, and its\ntranslation by \"punishment\" appears somewhat strained. I propose\nto read \"al-Ghaw\u00e1n\u00ed\" and to translate \"and whoever lags behind of\nthe singing birds will not be safe\" (\"l\u00e1 yaslimu,\" it will not go\nwell with him). In the mouth of the fox this implies a delicate\ncompliment for the cock, who might feel flattered to be numbered\namongst the same tribe with the nightingale and the thrush.--ST.]\n\n[FN#279] In text \"y\u00e1 zayn\" =Oh, the beautiful beast!\n\n[FN#280] In text \"Ab\u00fa Sah\u00edh\"=(flight to) a sure and safe place.\n\n[FN#281] MS. pp. 725-739.\n\n[FN#282] Arab. \"Z\u00e1bit,\" from \"Zabt\"=keeping in subjection,\nholding tight, tying. Hence \"Zabtiyah\" = a constable and \"Z\u00e1bit\"\n= a Prefect of Police. See vol. i. 259. The rhyming words are\n\"R\u00e1bit\" and \"H\u00e1bit.\"\n\n[FN#283] In text \"R\u00e1hib\" = monk or lion.\n\n\n[FN#284] The lines are wholly corrupt.\n\n[FN#285] The \"Bahalul\" of D'Herbelot. This worthy was a\nhalf-witted Sage (like the Iourodivi of Russia and the Irish\nOmadhaun), who occupies his own place in contemporary histories\nflourished under Harun al-Rashid and still is famous in Persian\nStory. When the Caliph married him perforce and all the\nceremonies were duly performed and he was bedded with the bride,\nhe applied his ear to her privities and forthwith ran away with\nthe utmost speed and alarm. They brought him back and questioned\nhim concerning his conduct when he made answer, \" If you had only\nheard what it said to me you would have done likewise.\" In the\ntext his conduct is selfish and ignoble as that of Honorius\n\n          \"Who strove to merit heaven by making earth a hell.\"\n\nAnd he shows himself heartless and unhuman as the wretched St.\nAlexius of the Gesta Romanorum (Tale xv.), a warning of the\nintense selfishness solemnly and logically inculcated by\nChristianity. See vol. v. 150.\n\n[FN#286] Koran, ch. li. v. 17.\n\n[FN#287] Koran xx. 57: it is the famous \"T\u00e1-H\u00e1\" whose first 14-16\nverses are said to have converted the hard-headed Omar. In the\ntext the citation is garbled and imperfect.\n\n[FN#288] In text \"Mas'h.\"\n\n[FN#289] \"His\u00e1ban taw\u00edl\" = a long punishment.\n\n[FN#290] The rod of Moses (see pp. 76-77) is the great prototype\nin Al-Islam of the staff or walking stick, hence it became a\ncommon symbol of dignity and it also served to administer ready\nchastisement, e.g. in the hands of austere Caliph Omar.\n\n[FN#291] An onomatopy like \"Co\u00fcic, Co\u00fcic.\" For \"Maksah,\" read\n\"Fa-s\u00e1ha\" = and cried out.\n\n[FN#292] \"Zind\u00edk\" = Atheist, Agnostic: see vols. v. 230; viii.\n27.\n\n[FN#293] \"Har\u00edsah\" = meat-pudding. In Al-Hariri (Ass. xix.) where\nhe enumerates the several kinds of dishes with their metonomies\nit is called the \"Mother of Strengthening\" (or Restoration)\nbecause it contains wheat--\"the Strengthener\" (as opposed to\nbarley and holcus). So the \"Mother of Hospitality\" is the Sikb\u00e1j,\nthe Persian Sikb\u00e1, so entitled because it is the principal dish\nset before guests and was held to be royal food. (Chenery pp.\n218, 457.) For the latter see infra.\n\n[FN#294] This passage in the MS. (p. 733) is apparently corrupt.\nI have done my best to make sense of it.\n\n[FN#295] In text \" Kamburisiyah.\"\n\n\n[FN#296] In the Dicts. a plant with acid flavour, dried, pounded\nand peppered over meat.\n\n[FN#297] In text \"Najas\" = a pear.\n\n[FN#298] \"Tutmaj\u00edyah\" for \"Tutm\u00e1j.\"\n\n[FN#299] \"Sikb\u00e1j,\" a marinated stew like \"Zirb\u00e1jah\" (vol. iii.\n278): Khusrau Parwez, according to the historians, was the first\nfor whom it was cooked and none ate of it without his permission.\nSee retro.\n\n[FN#300] Kishk=ground wheat, oatmeal or barley-flour eaten with\nsoured sheep's milk and often with meat.\n\n[FN#301] So in text: I suspect for \"'Aj\u00ednniyah\" = a dish of\ndough.\n\n[FN#302] The Golden Calf is alluded to in many Koranic passages,\ne.g. S\u00farah ii. (the Cow) 48; vii. (Al-Aar\u00e1f) 146; S. Iiv. (Woman)\n152; but especially in S. xx. (T\u00e1 H\u00e1) 90, where S\u00e1miri is\nexpressly mentioned. Most Christian commentators translate this\nby \"Samaritan\" and unjustly note it as \" a grievous ignorance of\nhistory on the part of Mohammed.\" But the word is mysterious and\nnot explained. R. Jehuda (followed by Geiger) says upon the text\n(Exod. xxxii. 24), \"The calf came forth lowing and the Israelites\nbeheld it\"; also that \"Samael entered into it and lowed in order\nto mislead Israel\" (Pirke R. Eliezer, 45). Many Moslems identify\nSamiri with Micha (Judges xvii.), who is said to have assisted in\nmaking the calf (Raschi, Sanhedr. cii. 2; Hottinger, Hist.\nOrient. p. 84). Selden (de Diis Syr. Syn. 1. cap.4) supposes that\nSamiri is Aaron himself, the Shomeer or keeper of Israel during\nthe absence of Moses. Mr. Rodwell (Koran, 2nd Edit. p. 90) who\ncleaves to the \" Samaritan\" theory, writes, \" It is probable (?)\nthat the name and its application, in the present instance, is to\nbe traced to the old national feud between the Jews and the\nSamaritans\"--of which Mohammed, living amongst the Jews, would be\nat least as well informed as any modern European. He quotes De\nSacy (Chrest. i. 189) who states that Abu Rayhan Mohammed Bir\u00fani\nrepresents the Samaritans as being nicknamed (not Al-limsahsit as\nMr. Rodwell has it, but) \"L\u00e1 Mesas\" or \"L\u00e1 Mes\u00e1siyah\" = the\npeople who say \"no touch\" (i.e. touch me not, from S\u00farah xx. 97),\nand Juynboll, Chron. Sam. p. 113 (Leid. 1848). Josephus (Ant.\nxii. cap. 1) also mentions a colony of Samaritans settled in\nEgypt by Ptolemy Lagus, some of whose descendants inhabited Cairo\nas late as temp. Scaliger (De Emend. Temp. vii. 622). Sale\nnotices a similar survival on one of the islands of the Red Sea.\nIn these days the Samaritans or, as their enemies call them the\nCuthim (\"men from Cutha,\" Cushites), in physical semblance\ntypical Jews, are found only at N\u00e1bl\u00fas where the colony has been\nreduced by intermarriage of cousins and the consequent greater\nnumber of male births to about 120 souls. They are, like the\nShi'ah Moslems, careful to guard against ceremonial pollution:\nhence the epithet \"Noli me tangere.\"\n\n[FN#303] Alluding to the \"Sayy\u00e1d,\" lit. = a fisherman.\n\n[FN#304] In text \"Al-Zahr.\"\n\n[FN#305] \"Ajd\u00e1r.\"\n\n[FN#306] In text \"Al-Mal\u00e1ya.\"\n\n[FN#307] In text \"Sinaubar,\" which may also mean pistachio-tree.\n\n[FN#308] i.e. 475 to 478 Eng. grains avoir., less than the\nUkiyyah or Wukiyyah=ounce = 571.5 to 576 grains. Vol. ix. 216.\n\n[FN#309] Not more absurd than an operatic hero singing while he\ndies.\n\n[FN#310]  MS. pp. 588-627.  In Gauttier's edit. vii. (234-256),\nit appears as Histoire de l'Habitant de Damas.  His advertisement\nin the beginning of vol. vii. tells us that it has been printed\nin previous edits., but greatly improved in his; however that may\nbe, the performance is below contempt.  In Heron it becomes The\nPOWER OF DESTINY, or Story of the Journey of Giafar to Damascus,\ncomprehending the adventures of Chebib and his Family (Vol. i.\nPp. 69-175).\n\n[FN#311]   Damascus-city (for which see the tale of N\u00far al-Din\nAli and his Son, The Nights, vol. i. 239-240) derives its name\nfrom Dimishk who was son of B\u00e1tir, i. M\u00e1lik, i. Arphaxed, i.\nSh\u00e1m, i. Nuh (Noah); or son of Nimrod, son of Canaan.  Sh\u00e1m =\nSyria (and its capital) the land on the left, as opposed to\nAl-Yaman the land on the right of one looking East, is noticed in\nvol. i. 55.  In Mr. Cotheal's MS. Damascus is entitled \"Sh\u00e1m\"\nbecause it is the \"Sh\u00e1mat\" cheek-mole (beauty-spot) of Allah upon\nearth.  \"Jalak\" the older name of the \"Smile of the Prophet,\" is\nalso noted: see vol. ii. 109.\n\n[FN#312]  H\u00e1tim of the Tayy-tribe, proverbial for liberality.\nSee vols. iv. 95, and vii. 350.\n\n[FN#313]  In Mr. Cotheal's MS. the Caliph first laughs until he\nfalls backwards, and then after reading further, weeps until his\nbeard in bathed.\n\n[FN#314]  Heron inserts into his text, \"It proved to be a\nGiaffer, famous throughout all Arabia,\" and informs us (?) in a\nfoot-note that it is \"Ascribed to a prince of the Barmecide race,\nan ancestor of the Gran Vizier Giafar.\"  The word \"Jafr\" is\nsupposed to mean a skin (camel's or dog's), prepared as parchment\nfor writing; and Al-Jafr, the book here in question, is described\nas a cabalistic prognostication of all that will ever happen to\nthe Moslems.  The authorship is attributed to Ali, son-in-law of\nthe Prophet.  There are many legendary tales concerning its\ncontents; however, all are mere inventions as the book is\nsupposed to be kept in the Prophet's family, nor will it be fully\nexplained until the Mahdi or Forerunner of Doomsday shall\ninterpret its difficulties.  The vulgar Moslems of India are apt\nto confuse Al-Jafr with Ja'afar bin Tayy\u00e1r, the Jinni who is\noften quoted in talismans (see Herklots, pp. 109-257).\nD'Herbelot gives the sum of what is generally known about the\n\"Jafr\" (wa J\u00e1mi'a) under the articles \"Ali\" and \"Gefru Giame.\"\n\n[FN#315]  The father (whom Heron calls \"Hichia Barmaki\") spoke\nnot at random, but guessed that the Caliph had been reading the\nbook Al-Jafr.\n\n[FN#316]  Heron calls Ja'afar's wife \"Fatm\u00e9\" from the French.\n\n[FN#317]  This is the open grassy space on the left bank of the\nBaradah River, first sighted by travellers coming from Bayr\u00fat.\nSee vol. i. 234, where it is called Al-Has\u00e1 = the Plain of\nPebbles.\n\n[FN#318]  Heron names him Chebib (Hab\u00edb) also \"Xakem Tai-Chebib\"\n= H\u00e1tim Tayy Hab\u00edb.\n\n[FN#319]  The scene is described at full length in the Cotheal\nMS. with much poetry sung by a fair slave-girl and others.\n\n[FN#320]  Again showing the date of the tale to be modern.  See\nmy Terminal Essay, p. 85.\n\n[FN#321]  This might serve even in these days to ask a worshipful\nguest why he came, and what was his business--it is the address\nof a well-bred man to a stranger of whose rank and station he is\nignorant.  The vulgar would simply say, \"Who art thou, and what\nis thy native country?\"\n\n[FN#322]  In Heron the host learns everything by the book\nAl-Jafr.\n\n[FN#323]  In text \"Muzawwa\" which the Egyptian pronounces\n\"Mugawwaz.\"\n\n[FN#324]  Which would be necessary after car. cop. with his\nwomen.\n\n[FN#325]  In text \"Kabr al-Sitt,\" wherein the Sitt Zaynab, aunt\nto Mohammed, is supposed to lie buried.  Here the cultivation\nbegins about half a mile's ride from the B\u00e1b-al-Sh\u00e1gh\u00far or S.\nWestern gate of the city.  It is mentioned by Baedeker (p. 439),\nand ignored by Murray, whose editor, Mr. Missionary Porter,\nprefers to administer the usual dainty dish of \"hashed Bible.\"\n\n[FN#326]  Arab.  \"J\u00e1mi' al-Amaw\u00ed\": for this Mosque, one of the\nWonders of the Moslem World, consult any Guide Book to Damascus.\nSee Suppl. vol. iv. Night cccxlii.  In Heron it becomes the\n\"Giamah Illamoue,\" one of the three most famous mosques in the\nworld.\n\n[FN#327]  M. houdas trasnlates \"Tarz,\" \"M\u00e1rkaz\" or \"Mirk\u00e1z\" by Un\npierrre en forme de dame, instrument qui sert \u00e0 enfoncer les\npav\u00e9s (= our \"beetle\"); c'est-\u00e0-dire en form de borne.\n\n[FN#328]  For this \"window-gardening,\" an ancient practice in the\nEast, see vol. i. 301.\n\n[FN#329]  Heron calls her \"Negemet-il-Souper\" = Najmat al-Sab\u00e1h =\nConstellation of Morn.  In the Cotheal MS. she uses very harsh\nlanguage to the stranger, \"O Bull (i.e. O stupid), this be not\nthy house nor yet the house of thy sire,\" etc.; \"go forth to the\ncurse of God and get thee to Hell,\" etc.\n\n[FN#330]  For \"Kayf\" = joy, the pleasure of living, see my\nPligrimage i. 12-13.\n\n[FN#331]  In text, \"'Ayyik,\" or \"'Ayyuk\" = a hinderer (of\ndisease) from 'Ayk or 'Auk, whence also 'Ayy\u00fak = Capella, a\nbright star proverbial for its altitude, as in the Turk, saw \"to\ngive praise to the 'Ayy\u00fak\" = skies.\n\n[FN#332]  Auspicious formul\u00e6.  The Cotheal MS. calls the\nphysician \"Dubdihk\u00e1n.\"\n\n[FN#333]  In text \"Kullu Shayyin l\u00ed mu'as'as\"; the latter from\n\"'As'as\" = to complicate a matter.\n\n[FN#334]  A sign that he diagnosed a moral not a bodily disorder.\nWe often find in The Nights, the doctor or the old woman\ndistinguishing a love-fit by the pulse or similar obscure\nsymptoms, as in the case of Seleucus, Stratonice and her step-son\nAntiochus--which seems to be the arch-type of these anecdotes.\n\n[FN#335]  Arab.  \"Kirsh,\" before explained; in Harun's day = 3\nfrancs.\n\n[FN#336]  In the Cotheal MS. the recipe occupies a whole page of\nludicrous items, e.g. Let him take three Miskals of pure\n\"Union-with-the-lover,\" etc.\n\n[FN#337]  In the Cotheal MS. Attaf seeks his paternal uncle and\nfather-in-law with the information that he is going to the\nPilgrimage and Visitation.\n\n[FN#338]  Called in the old translation or rather adaptation\n\"Scheffander-Hassan\" or simply \"Scheffander\" = Shahbandar Hasan,\nfor which see vol. iv. 29.  In the Cotheal MS. (p. 33) he becomes\nthe \"Emir Omar, and the B\u00e1sh\u00e1 of Damascus\" (p. 39).\n\n[FN#339]  The passage is exceedingly misspelt.  \"Amm\u00e1 min Mayl\u00ed\nBinti-ka sh\u00e1sh\u00ed An\u00e1 Aswadu (for Sh\u00e1shi M. Houdas reads \"J\u00e1sh\u00ed\" =\nmy heart) Wa Tan\u00e1 (read \"Than\u00e1,\" reputation) Binti-ka abyazu min\nSh\u00e1sh\u00ed.\"\n\n[FN#340]  One of the formul\u00e6 of divorce.\n\n[FN#341]  In text \"Mu\u00e1bal\u00e1r min Shaani-ka.\"  M. Houdas reads the\nfirst word \"Muz\u00e1bal\" = zubl\u00e1n, wearied, flaccid, weak.\n\n[FN#342]  For \"Al-'iddah,\" in the case of a divorc\u00e9e three lunar\nmonths, for a widow four months and ten days and for a pregnant\nwoman, the interval until her delivery, see vols. iii. 292; vi.\n256; and x. 43: also Lane (M.E.) chap. iii.\n\n[FN#343]  In text \"Alfi (4th form of 'Lafw') H\u00e1jatan,\" the\nreading is that of M. Houdas; and the meaning would be \"what dost\nthou want (in the way of amusement)?  I am at thy disposal.\"\n\n[FN#344]  Heron has here interpolated an adventure with a\nBazar-cook and another with a Confectioner: both discover Ja'afar\nalso by a copy of the \"Giaffer\" (Al-Jafr).  These again are\nfollowed by an episode with a fisherman who draws in a miraculous\ndraught by pronouncing the letters \"Gim. Bi. Ouaow\" (w\u00e1w = J. B.\nW.), i.e. Ja'afar, Barmecide, Wazir; and discovers the Minister\nby a geomantic table.  Then three Darvishes meet and discourse\nanent the virtues of \"Chebib\" (i.e. Attaf); and lastly come two\nblind men, the elder named Benphises, whose wife having studied\noccultism and the Dom-Daniel of Tunis, discovers Ja'afar.  All\nthis is to marshal the series of marvels and wonders upon wonders\npredicted to Ja'afar by his father when commanding him to visit\nDamascus; and I have neither space nor inclination to notice\ntheir enormous absurdities.\n\n[FN#345]  This Governor must not be confounded with the virtuous\nand parsimonious Caliph of the same name the tenth of the series\n(reign A.D. 692-705) who before ruling studied theology at\nAl-Medinah and won the sobriquet of \"Mosque-pigeon.\"  After his\naccession he closed the Koran saying, \"Here you and I part,\" and\nbusied himself wholly with mundane matters.  The Cotheal MS.\nmentions only the \"Nabob\" (N\u00e1ib = lieutenant) of Syria.\n\n[FN#346]  \"Kap\u00fa\" (written and pronounced Kapi in Turk.) is a\ndoor, a house or a government office and Kap\u00faj\u00ed = a porter;\nKap\u00faj\u00ed-b\u00e1sh\u00ed = head porter; also a chamberlain in Arab.  \"H\u00e1j\u00edb\";\nand Kap\u00fa Katkh\u00fad\u00e1si (pron. Kapi-Ky\u00e1yas\u00ed) = the agent which every\nGovernor is obliged to keep at Constantinople.\n\n[FN#347]  In text \"Al-buy\u00fardi,\" clerical error for \"Buy\u00faruldi\"\n(pron. Buy\u00faruldu) = the written order of a Governor.\n\n[FN#348]  \"Al-Yamaklak\" = vivers, provaunt; from the T. \"Yamak\" =\nfood, a meal.\n\n[FN#349]  Meaning that he waived his right to it.\n\n[FN#350]  In text \"Zaw\u00e1dah\" (gen. \"Azw\u00e1d\" or \"Azwi'dah\") =\nprovisions, viaticum.\n\n[FN#351]  In text \"Takhtraw\u00fan\"; see vols. ii. 180; v. 175.  In\nthe Cotheal MS. it is a \"Haudaj\" = camel-litter (vol. viii. 235).\n\n[FN#352]  \"Kubbat al-'As\u00e1f\u00edr,\" now represented by the \"Khan\nal-As\u00e1f\u00edr,\" on the road from Damascus to Palmyra, about four\nhours' ride from and to the N. East of the B\u00e1b T\u00fam\u00e1 or N. Eastern\ngate.  The name is found in Baedeker (p. 541).  IN the C. MS. it\nbecomes the \"Than\u00edyyat al-'Uk\u00e1b\" = the Vulture's Pass.\n\n[FN#353]  Meaning that Attaf had not the heart to see his\ncousin-wife leave her home.\n\n[FN#354]  Written in Turkish fashion with the J\u00edm (j) and three\ndots instead of one.  This Persian letter is still preserved in\nthe Arabic alphabets of Marocco, Algiers, etc.\n\n[FN#355]  In Arab.  \"Jinn\" = spirit or energy of a man, which\nhere corresponds with the Heb. \"Aub\"; so in the Hamasah the poet\nsays, \"My Jinn have not fled; my life is not blunted; my birds\nnever drooped for fear,\" where, say commentators, the Arabs\ncompare an energetic man with a Jinn\u00ed or Shayt\u00e1n.  So the Prophet\ndeclared of Omar, \"I never saw such an 'Abkar\u00ed amongst men,\"\n'Abkar, in Yam\u00e1mah, like Yabr\u00edn and Wab\u00e1r near Al-Yaman, being a\ndesolate region, the home of wicked races destroyed by Allah and\nnow haunted by gruesome hosts of non-human nature.  Chenery, pp.\n478-9.\n\n[FN#356]  In the C. MS. it is an Emir of the Emirs.\n\n[FN#357]  Arab. \"T\u00e1bah.\"\n\n[FN#358]  This excellent episode is omitted in the C. MS. where\nAttaf simply breaks gaol and reaching Aleppo joins a caravan to\nBaghdad.\n\n[FN#359]  In text \"Katal\u00fa-n\u00ed\": see vols. v. 5; vi. 171.\n\n[FN#360]  In the C. MS. he enters a mosque and finds a Ja'\u00edd\u00ed\n(vagabond) who opens his bag and draws out a loaf, a roast food,\nlemons, olives, cucumbers and date-cake, which suggest to Attaf,\nwho had not eaten such things for a month, \"the table of Is\u00e1 bin\nMaryam.\"  For the rest see Mr. Cotheal's version.\n\n[FN#361]  The C. MS. gives the short note in full.\n\n[FN#362]  In text \"al-Tow\u00e1b,\" Arab. plur. of the Persian and\nTurk.  \"Top.\"  We hardly expected to find ordinance in the age of\nHarun al-Rashid, although according to Milton they date before\nthe days of Adam.\n\n[FN#363]  M. Houdas would read for \"Alhy Tys\" in the text \"Tuh\u00e1\nTays\" a general feast; \"Tuh\u00e1\" = cooked meat and \"Tays\" = myriads\nof.\n\n[FN#364]  M. Houdas translates les injures devanc\u00e8rent les\ncompliments, an idiom = he did not succeed in his design.\n\n[FN#365]  \"Cousin\" being more polite than \"wife\": see vols. vi.\n145; ix. 225.\n\n[FN#366]  Les vert\u00e8bres ont fait bourrelet, says M. Houdas who\nadds that \"Shakb\u00e1n\" is the end of a cloth, gown, or cloak, which\nis thrown over the shoulders and serves, like the \"Jayb\" in\nfront, to carry small parcels, herbs, etc.\n\n[FN#367]  In the local Min jargon, the language of Fellahs,\n\"Add\u00edki\" = I will give thee.\n\n[FN#368]  In text \"Min al-'\u00c1n wa s\u00e1'idan;\" lit. = from this\nmoment upwards.\n\n[FN#369]  \"Tarajjum\" taking refuge from Satan the Stone (Raj\u00edm).\nSee vol. iv. 242.\n\n[FN#370]  i.e. a descenant of Al-H\u00e1shim, great-grandfather of the\nProphet.  See ix. 24.\n\n[FN#371]  In text \"Shob\u00e1si,\" for \"Sob\u00e1sh\u00ed\" which M. Houdas\ntranslates pr\u00e9v\u00f4t du Palais.\n\n[FN#372]  In the C. MS. Attaf's head was to be cut off.\n\n[FN#373]  In the C. MS. the anagnorisis is much more detailed.\nJa'afar asks Attaf if he knew a Damascus-man Attaf hight and so\nforth; and lastly an old man comes forward and confesses to have\nslain the Shar\u00edf or H\u00e1shimi.\n\n[FN#374]  The drink before the meal, as is still the custom in\nSyria and Egypt.  See vol. vii. 132.\n\n[FN#375]  Gauttier (vii. 256), illustrating the sudden rise of\nlow-caste and uneducated men to high degree, quotes a\ncontemporary celebrity, the famous Mirza Mohammed Husayn Khan\nwho, originally a Bakk\u00e1l or greengrocer, was made premier of Fath\nAli Shah's brilliant court, the last bright flash of Iranian\nsplendour and autocracy.  But Ir\u00e1n is a land upon which Nature\nhas inscribed \"Resurgam\"; and despite her present abnormal\nposition between two vast overshadowing empires--British India\nand Russia in Asia--she has still a part to play in history.  And\nI may again note that Al-Islam is based upon the fundamental idea\nof a Republic which is, all (free) men are equal, and the lowest\nmay aspire to the highest dignity.\n\n[FN#376]  In text \"'Aramram\u00ed.\"\n\n[FN#377]  \"Wa'll\u00e1ha 'l-Muwaffiku 'l-Mu'in\" = God prospereth and\ndirecteth, a formula often prefixed or suffixed to a book.\n\n[FN#378] MS. pp. 628-685. Gauttier, vii. 64-90; Histoire du\nPrince Habib et de la Princesse Dorrat-el-Gawas. The English\ntranslation dubs it \"Story of Habib and Dorathil-goase, or the\nArabian Knight\" (vol. iii. 219-89); and thus degrades the high\nsounding name to a fair echo of Dorothy Goose. The name = Pearl\nof the Diver: it is also the P.N. of a treatise on desinental\nsyntax by the grammarian-poet Al-Hariri (Chenery, p. 539).\n\n[FN#379] The \"Ban\u00fa Hil\u00e1l,\" a famous tribe which formed part of a\nconfederation against the Prophet on his expedition to Honayn.\nSee Tabari, vol. iii. chapt. 32, and Doughty, Arabia Deserta\n(Index, B. Helal). In the text we have the vulgarism \"Ban\u00ed\" for\n\"Ban\u00fa\".\n\n[FN#380] Gauttier (vii. 64) clean omits the former Emir because\nhe has nothing to do with the tale. In Heron it is the same, and\nthe second chief is named \"Emir-Ben-Hilac-Salamis\"; or for\nshortness tout bonnement \"Salamis\"; and his wife becoming Am\u00edrala\nwhich, if it mean anything, is = Colonel, or Captain R. N.\n\n[FN#381] ie. Moon of the Nobles.\n\n[FN#382] = the Beloved, le bien-aim\u00e9.\n\n[FN#383] As has been seen Gauttier reduces the title to \"Prince.\"\nAmongst Arabs, however, it is not only a name proper but may\ndenote any dignity from a Shaykh to a Sultan rightly so termed.\n\n[FN#384] For the seven handwritings see vol. iv. 196. The old\nEnglish version says, \"He learned the art of writing with pens\ncut in seven different ways.\" To give an idea of the style it\nrenders the quatrain:--\"Father,\" said the youth, \"you must apply\nto my master, to give you the information you desire. As for me,\nI must long be all eye and all ear. I must learn to use my hand,\nbefore I begin to exercise my tongue, and to write my letters as\npure as pearls from the water.\" And this is translation!\n\n[FN#385] I need hardly note that \"Voices from the other world\"\nare a lieu commun of so-called Spiritualism. See also vol. i. 142\nand Suppl. Vol. iii.\n\n[FN#386] This tale and most of those in the MS. affect the K\u00e11a\n\u0091l-R\u00e1w\u00ed (= quoth the reciter) showing the true use of them. See\nTerminal Essay, vol. x. 144.\n\n[FN#387] The missing apodosis would be, \"You would understand the\ncause of my weeping.\"\n\n[FN#388] In the text there are only five lines. I have borrowed\nthe sixth from the prose.\n\n\n[FN#389] \"D\u00e1\u00fad\" = David: see vols. ii. 286; vi. 113.\n\n[FN#390] For \"Samhar\u00ed\" see vol. iv. 258.\n\n[FN#391] From \"Rudaynah,\" either a woman or a place: see vols.\nii. 1; vii. 265; and for \"Khatt Hajar\" vol. ii. 1.\n\n[FN#392] This is the idiomatic meaning of the Arab word \"Niz\u00e1l\" =\ndismounting to fight on foot.\n\n[FN#393] In the text \"Aky\u00e1l,\" plur. of \"Kayl\" = Kings of the\nHimyarite peoples. See vol. vii. 60; here it is = the hero, the\nheroes.\n\n[FN#394] An intensive word, \"on the weight,\" as the Arabs say of\n'Abb\u00e1s (stern-faced) and meaning \"Very stern-faced, austere,\ngrim.\" In the older translations it becomes \"Il Haboul\"--utterly\nmeaningless.\n\n[FN#395] The Arab. \"Moon of the Time\" becomes in the olden\nversions \"Camaulzaman,\" which means, if anything, \"Complete\nTime,\" and she is the daughter of a Jinn-King \"Illabousatrous\n(Al-'Atr\u00fas?).\" He married her to a potent monarch named\n\"Shah-Goase\" (Shah Ghaww\u00e1s=King Diver), in this version \"S\u00e1b\u00far\"\n(Shahpur), and by him Kamar Al-Zaman became the mother of Durrat\nal-Ghawwas.\n\n[FN#396] In text \"S\u00e1d\u00e1t wa Ashr\u00e1f:\" for the technical meaning of\n\"Sayyid\" and \"Sharif\" see vols. iv. 170; v. 259.\n\n[FN#397] Gauttier, vii. 71. Les Isles Bellour. see vol. iii. 194.\n\n[FN#398] Heron's \"Illabousatrous\"(?).\n\n[FN#399] In text \"Zayjah,\" from Pers. \"Z\u00e1ycheh\" = lit. a\nhoroscope, a table for calculating nativities and so forth. In\npage 682 of the MS. the word is used = marriage-lines.\n\n[FN#400] In text \"Sns\u00e1l,\" for \"Sals\u00e1l \" = lit. chain.\n\n[FN#401] In Sindbad the Seaman I have shown that riding men as\nasses is a facetious exaggeration of an African practice, the\nMinister being generally the beast of burden for the King. It was\nthe same in the Maldive Islands. \"As soon as the lord desires to\nland, one of the rhief Catibes (Arab. Khat\u00edb = a preacher, not\nK\u00e1tib = a writer) comes forward to offer his shoulder (a function\nmuch esteemed) and the other gets upon his shoulders; and so,\nwith a leg on each side, he rides him horse fashion to land, and\nis there set down.\" See p. 71, \"The Voyage of Fran\u00e7ois Pyrard,\"\netc. The volume is unusually well edited by Mr. Albert Gray,\nformerly of the Ceylon Civil Service, for the Hakluyt Society,\nMDCCCLXXXVII: it is, however, regretable that he and Mr. Bell,\nhis collaborateur, did not trace out the Maldive words to their\n\"Aryan\" origin showing their relationship to vulgar Hindostani as\nMas to Machh\u00ed (fish) from the Sanskrit Matsya.\n\n[FN#402] In text \"Ghayth al-H\u00e1t\u00edl = incessant rain of small drops\nand widely dispread. In Arab. the names for clouds, rain and all\nsuch matters important to a pastoral race are well nigh\ninnumerable. Poetry has seized upon the material terms and has\nconverted them into a host of metaphors; for \"the genius of the\nArabic language, like that of the Hebrew, is to form new ideas by\ngiving a metaphorical signification to material objects (e.g.\n'Azud, lit. the upper arm; met. a helper).\" Chenery, p. 380.\n\n[FN#403] In the text \"To the palace:\" the scribe, apparently\nforgetting that he is describing Badawi life, lapses at times\ninto \"decorating the capital\" and \"adorning the mansion,\" as if\ntreating of the normal city-life. I have not followed his\nexample.\n\n[FN#404] Heron translates \"A massy cuirass of Haoudi.\"\n\n[FN#405] In text, \"Inbasata 'l-Layl al-As\u00e1,\" which M. Houdas\nrenders et s'\u00e9tendit la nuit (m\u00e8re) de la tristesse.\n\n[FN#406] \"Rauzah\" in Algiers is a royal park; also a prairie, as\n\"Rauz al-San\u00e1jirah,\" plain of the Sinjars: Ibn Khaldun, ii. 448.\n\n[FN#407] The \"Misk\u00e1l\" (for which see vols. i. 126; ix. 262) is\nthe weight of a dinar = 1\u00bd dirham = 71-72 grains avoir. A dose of\n142 grains would kill a camel. In 1848, when we were marching up\nthe Indus Valley under Sir Charles Napier to attack N\u00e1o Mall of\nMultan, the Sind Camel Corps was expected to march at the rate of\nsome 50 miles a day, and this was done by making the animals more\nthan half drunk with Bhang or Indian hemp.\n\n[FN#408] In text, \"Yakhat,\" probably clerical error for\n\"Yakhbut,\" lit. = he was panting in a state of unconsciousness:\nsee Dozy, Suppl. s. v.\n\n[FN#409] In text \"Al-D\u00e1n, which is I presume a clerical error for\n\"Al-Uzn\" = ear. [\"D\u00e1n,\" with the dual \"D\u00e1nayn,\" and \"Wudn,\" with\nthe plural \"Aud\u00e1n,\" are popular forms for the literary \"Uzn.\"-\n-ST.]\n\n[FN#410] This name has occurred in MS. p. 655, but it is a mere\nnonentity until p. 657--the normal incuriousness. Heron dubs him\n\"Rabir.\"\n\n[FN#411] In the text \"Zimmat\" = obligation, protection,\nclientship.\n\n[FN#412] \"Sahha 'alakah\" (=a something) \"f\u00ed haz\u00e1 'l-Amri.\" The\nfirst word appears de trop being enclosed in brackets in the MS.\n\n[FN#413] \"Wa yabk\u00ed \u0091alaykum Mab\u00e1lu-h.\" [For \"Mab\u00e1l\" I would read\n\"Wab\u00e1l,\" in the sense of crime or punishment, and translate:\n\"lest the guilt of it rest upon you.\"--ST.)\n\n[FN#414] In the text \"Suwayd\u00e1\" literally \"a small and blackish\nwoman\"; and \"Suwayd\u00e1 al-Kalb\" (the black one of the heart) =\noriginal sin, as we should say. [The diminutive of \"Sayyid\" would\nbe \"Suwayyid,\" as \"Kuwayyis\" from \"Kayyis,\" and \"Juwayyid\" from\n\"Jayyid\" (comp. supra p. 3). \"Suwayd\" and \"Suwayd\u00e1\" are\ndiminutives of \"Aswad,\" black, and its fem. \"Saud\u00e1\" respectively,\nmeaning blackish. The former occurs in \"Umm al-Suwayd\" = anus.\n\"Suwayd\u00e1 al-Kalb\" = the blackish drop of clotted blood in the\nheart, is synonymous with \"Habbat al-Kalb\" = the grain in the\nheart, and corresponds to our core of the heart. Metaphorically\nboth are used for \"original sin.\"--ST.]\n\n[FN#415] \"Y\u00e1kah Thiy\u00e1bish;\" the former word being Turkish (M.\nHoudas).\n\n[FN#416] Arab. \"Kaunayn\" = the two entities, this world and the\nother world, the past and the future, etc. Here it is opposed to\n\"'A'lam\u00edna,\" here \u0091Aw\u00e1lim = the (three) worlds, for which see\nvol. ii. 236.\n\n[FN#417] In text \"Changul,\" again written with a three-dotted\nCh\u00edm.\n\n[FN#418] In text \"Al-Mazrab\" which M. Houdas translates cet\nendroit.\n\n[FN#419] In text \"Yabahh\" = saying \"Bah, Bah!\"\n\n[FN#420] In text \"Bahr al-Azrak\" = the Blue Sea, commonly applied\nto the Mediterranean: the origin of the epithet is readily\nunderstood by one who has seen the Atlantic or the Black Sea.\n\n[FN#421] i.e. \"The Stubborn,\" \"The Obstinate.\"\n\n[FN#422] In text \"Al-Jaw\u00e1dit,\" where M. Houdas would read\n\"Al-Haw\u00e1dith\" which he renders by animaux fra\u00eechement tu\u00e9s.\n\n[FN#423] In the text \"Kabad\" = the liver, the sky-vault, the\nhandle or grasp of a bow.\n\n[FN#424] In the text \"M\u00edn\u00e1\" = a port both in old Egyptian and\nmod. Persian: see \"Mitrahinna,\" vol. ii. 257.\n\n[FN#425] \"Al-Nak\u00e1\u00edr,\" plur. of \"Nak\u00edr\" = a dinghy, a dug-out.\n\n[FN#426] For this \"P\u00e1-and\u00e1z,\" as the Persians call it, see vol.\niii. 141.\n\n[FN#427] In text \"Kataba Zayjata-h\u00e1,\" the word has before been\nnoticed.\n\n[FN#428] Again \"Hiz\u00e0 bi-Zayjati-h\u00e1\" = le bonheur de ses\naventures.\n\n[FN#429] This impalement (\"Salb,\" which elsewhere means\ncrucifying, vol. iii. 25) may be a barbarous punishment but it is\nhighly cffective, which after all is its principal object. Old\nMohammed Ali of Egypt never could have subjugated and disciplined\nthe ferocious Badawi of Al-Asir, the Ophir region South of\nAl-Hij\u00e1z, without the free use of the stake. The banditti dared\nto die but they could not endure the idea of their bodies being\ntorn to pieces and devoured by birds and beasts. The stake\ncommonly called \"Kh\u00e1z\u00fak\", is a stout pole pointed at one end, and\nthe criminal being thrown upon his belly is held firm whilst the\nend is passed up his fundament. His legs and body are then lashed\nto it and it is raised by degrees and planted in a hole already\ndug, an agonising part of the process. If the operation be\nperformed by an expert who avoids injuring any mortal part, the\nwretch may live for three days suffering the pangs of thirst; but\na drink of water causes hemorrhage and instant death. This was\nthe case with the young Moslem student who murdered the excellent\nMarshal Kleber in the garden attached to Shepherd's Hotel, Cairo,\nwherein, by the by, he suffered for his patriotic crime. Death as\nin crucifixion is brought on by cramps and nervous exhaustion,\nfor which see Canon Farrar (Life of Christ, ii. 392 et seqq.).\n\n[FN#430] Archaeological Review, July, 1888, pp. 331-342.\n\n[FN#431] The proper names are overrun with accents and\ndiaeretical points, of which I have here retained but few.\n\n[FN#432] Particularly mentioning Syntipas, the Forty Vizirs, a\nTurkish romance relating to Alexander, in 120 volumes; and\nMohammed al-'Aufi.\n\n[FN#433] Probably similar to those described in the story of the\nWarlock and the Cook (ante\u00e0, pp. 106-112)\n\n[FN#434] The last clause is very short and obscure in the French\n\"qu'il n'a pas son satire,\" but what follows shows the real\nmeaning to be that given above. (W. F. K.)\n\n[FN#435] This I take to be the meaning of the words, \"une autre\nmonde sous la terre par sept fois.\" (W.F.K.)\n\n[FN#436] Galland writes \"on fait un jeu de Giret (tournoi), etc.\"\n(W. F. K.)\n\n[FN#437] Perhaps an error of Galland's. (W. F. K.)\n\n[FN#438] I do not know the German edition referred to.\n\n[FN#439] This great class of tales is quite as widely extended in\nthe north of Europe and Asia, as in the south. We meet with them\nin Siberia, and they are particularly common in Lapland I\nbelieve, too, that the Indian story of the Red Swan (referred to\nby Longfellow, Hiawatha xii.) is only a Swan Maiden legend in a\nrather modified form. As usual, we find a bizarre form of the\nSwan Maiden story among the Samoghitians of Lithuania. The Zemyne\nis a one eyed venomous snake, with black blood which cures all\ndiseases and neutralises all magic. It is an enchanted maiden;\nand sometimes the skin has been stolen, and she has reamed a man.\nBut if she recovers her skin, she resumes her snake-form, and\nbites and kills her husband and children. Many other strange\nthings are related of the Zemyne (Veckenstedt, Mythen, Sagen, und\nLegenden der Zamaiten, ii., pp. 149-152).]\n\n[FN#440] About twenty pounds.\n\n[FN#441] Spitta Bey (p. 27 note) suggests that this is a\nreminiscence of the ancient Egyptian idea of the Scarab\u00e6us which\ntypifies life.\n\n[FN#442] Southey, in his story of the Young Dragon, relates how\nSatan, disapproving of the rapid conversion of the inhabitants of\nAntioch to Christianity, laid an egg, and hatched out a dragon,\nwhich he sent to destroy the inhabitants. But a Pagan whose\nChristian daughter was devoted to the dragon by lot, stole the\nthumb from a relic (the hand of John the Baptist), as he\npretended to kiss it, and cast it into the mouth of the dragon,\nand blew him up.\n\n[FN#443] This is a variant of the Nose-Tree; I do not remember\nanother in genuine Oriental literature (cf. Nights, x., app., p.\n449).]\n\n[FN#444] How small the world becomes in this story!\n\n[FN#445] It is evident that a young she-bear is all that is\nmeant.\n\n[FN#446]These Vigilants and Purifiers, with that hypocritical\nseverity which ever makes the worst sinner in private the most\nrigorous judge in public, lately had the imprudent impudence to\nsummons a publisher who had reprinted the Decameron with the\n\"objectionable passages\" in French. Mr. Alderman Faudell Phillips\nhad the good sense contemptuously to dismiss the summons.\nEnglishmen are no longer what they were if they continue to\ntolerate this Ignoble espionnage of Vicious and prurient virtuous\n\"Associations.\" If they mean real work why do they commence by\ncondemning scholar-like works, instead of cleansing the many foul\ncesspools of active vice which are a public disgrace to London.\n\n[FN#447] It may serve the home-artist and the home-reader to\npoint out a few of the most erroneous The harp (i. 143) is the\nIrish and not the Eastern, yet the latter has been shown In i.\n228; and the \"K\u00e1n\u00fan \" (ii. 77) is a reproduction from Lane's\nModern Egyptians. The various Jinn\u00eds are fanciful, not\ntraditional, as they should be (see inter alia Doughty's Arabia\nDeserta, ii. 3, etc.). In i. 81 and ii. 622 appears a specimen\nbogie with shaven chin and \"droopers\" by way of beard and\nmustachios: mostly they have bestial or simiad countenances with\nrabbits' ears, goats' horns and so forth (i. 166, 169; ii. 97,\n100), instead of faces more or less human and eyes disposed\nperpendicularly. The spreading yew-tree (i. 209) is utterly\nmisplaced. In many the action is excessive, after the fashion of\nthe Illustrateds (i. 281, 356, 410 and 565; ii. 366, 374). The\nscymitar and the knife, held in the left hand or slung by the\nleft flank, are wholly out of order (i. 407 ii.281,374; iii.460)\nand in iii. 355, the blade is wider than the wielder's waist. In\ni. 374 the astrolabe is also held in the left hand. The features\nare classical as those of Arsino\u00eb, certainly not Egyptian, in i.\n15; i. 479 and passim. The beggar-women must not wander with\nfaces bare and lacking \"nose-bags\" as in i. 512. The Shah (i.\n523) wears modern overalls strapped down over dress-bottines:\nMoreover he holds a straight-bladed European court-sword, which\nis correct in i. 527. The spears (i. 531) are European not\nAsiatic, much less Arabian, whose beams are often 12-15 feet\nlong. Az\u00edz (i. 537) has no right to tricot drawers and shoes\ntightened over the instep like the chaussure of European\nmoutards: his foot (i. 540) is wholly out of drawing, like his\nhand, and the toes are European distortions. The lady writing (i.\n581) lacks all local colour; she should sit at squat, support the\npaper in the hollow of her left instead of using a portfolio, and\nwith her right ply the reed or \"pen of brass.\" In vol. ii. 57 the\nlion is an absurdum, big as a cow or a camel, and the same\ncaricature of the King of Beasts occurs elsewhere (i. 531; ii.\n557 and iii. 250). The Wazir (ii. 105) wears the striped caftan\nof a Cairene scribe or shopkeeper. The two birds (ii. 140) which\nare intended for hawks (see ii. 130) have the compact tails and\nthe rounded-off wings of pigeons. I should pity Amjad and As'ad\nif packed into a \"bullock trunk\" like that borne by the mule in\nii. 156. The Jew's daughter (ii. 185) and the Wali of Bulak (ii.\n504) carry European candlesticks much improved in ii. 624. The\nPersian leach (ii. 195) is habited most unlike an 'Ajami, while\nthe costume is correct in ii. 275. The Badawi mounts (ii. 263) an\nimpossible Arab with mane and tail like the barb's in pictures.\nThe street-dogs (ii. 265), a notable race, become European curs\nof low degree. The massage of the galleys (ii. 305) would suit a\nmodern racing-yacht. Utterly out of place are the women's\ncostumes such as the Badawi maidens (ii. 335), Rose-in Hood (ii.\n565), and the girl of the Ban\u00fa Odhrah (iii.250), while the Lady\nZubaydah (ii. 369) is coiffee with a European coronet. The\nsea-going ship (ii. 615) is a Dahabiyah fit only for the Nile.\nThe banana-trees (ii. 621) tower at least 80 feet tall and the\npalms and cocoa-nut trees (ii. 334; iii. 60) are indicated only\nby their foliage, not by their characteristic boles. The box (ii.\n624) is European and modern: in the Eastern \"Sakhkh\u00e1rah\" the lid\nfits into the top, thus saving it from the \"baggage-smasher.\" In\niii. 76, the elephant, single-handed, uproots a tree rivalling a\ncentury-old English oak. The camel-saddle (iii. 247) is neither\nEastern nor possible for the rider, but it presently improves\n(iii. 424 and elsewhere). The emerging of the Merfolk (iii. 262)\nis a \"tableau,\" a transformation-scene of the transpontine\npantomime, and equally theatrical is the attitude of wicked Queen\nL\u00e1b (iii. 298), while the Jinni, snatching away Daulat Khatun\n(iii.341), seems to be waltzing with her in horizontal position.\nA sun-parasol, not a huge Oriental umbrella, is held over the\nKing's head (iii. 377). The tail-piece, the characteristic Sphinx\n(iii. 383), is as badly drawn as it well can be, a vile\ncaricature. Khal\u00edfah the Fisherman wears an English night-gown\n(iii. 558) with the side-locks of a Polish Jew (iii. 564). The\ndancing- girl (iii. 660) is equally reprehensible in form,\ncostume and attitude, and lastly, the Fellah ploughing (iii. 700)\nshould wear a felt skull-cap instead of a turband, be stripped to\nthe waist and retain nothing but a rag around the middle.\n\nI have carefully noted these lapses and incongruities: not the\nless, however, I thoroughly appreciate the general excellence of\nthe workmanship, and especially the imaginative scenery and the\narchitectural designs of Mr. W. Harvey. He has shown the world\nhow a work of the kind should be illustrated, and those who would\nsurpass him have only to avoid the minor details here noticed.\n\n[FN#448] See in M. Zotenberg's \"Ala al-Din\" the text generally;\nalso p. 14.\n\n[FN#449] Mr. Payne, in his Essay, vol. ix., 281, computes less\nthan two hundred tales in all omitting the numerous incidentals;\nand he notices that the number corresponds with the sum of the\n\"Night-stories\" attributed to the Haz\u00e1r Afs\u00e1n by the learned\nauthor of the \"Fihrist\" (see Terminal Essay, vol. x. pp. 70). In\np. 367 (ibid.) he assumes the total at 264.\n\n[FN#450] This parlous personage thought proper to fall foul of me\n(wholly unprovoked) in the Athenaeum of August 25, '88. I give\nhis production in full:--\n\n                  Lord Stratford De Redcliffe.\n\nAugust 18, 1888.\n\nIn the notice of Sir R. Burton's \"Life\" in to-day's Athen\u00e6um it\nis mentioned that his biographer says that Capt. Burton proposed\nto march with his Bashi-bazuks to the relief of Kars, but was\nfrustrated by Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, who, according to Sir\nRichard, \"gained a prodigious reputation in Europe, chiefly by\nliving out of it.\"\n\nThis is a strange inversion of facts. The proposal to relieve\nKars by way of Redoutkal\u00e9 and Kutais originated, not with Capt.\nBurton, but with the Turkish Seraskier, who recommended for this\npurpose the employment of Vivian's Turkish Contingent and part of\nBeatson's Horse (\"his Bashi-bazuks\"), in which Capt. Burton held\na staff appointment. In the last days of June, 1855, General\nMansfield, Lord Stratford's military adviser, was in constant\ncommunication on this subject with the Turkish Ministers, and the\ndetails of the expedition were completely arranged to the\nsatisfaction of military opinion, both British and Turkish, at\nConstantinople. Lord Stratford officially recommended the plan to\nhis Government, and in his private letters to the Foreign\nSecretary strongly urged it upon him and expressed a sanguine\nhope of its success. But on July 14th, Lord Clarendon\ntelegraphed: \"The plan for reinforcing the army at Kars contained\nin your despatches of 30th June and 1st inst. is disapproved.\"\nLord Panmure really \"frustrated\" the Turkish plan; Lord Stratford\nnever \"frustrated\" any attempt to succour the Army of Asia, but,\ncontrariwise, did all in his power to forward the object.\n\nAs to the amiable reference to the Great Elchi's reputation, no\none knows better than Sir R. Burton by what queer methods\nreputations may be annexed, but it is strange that anyone with\nthe reputation of a traveller should consider Constantinople to\nbe \"out of Europe.\"\n\nS. Lane-Poole.\n\nThe following was my reply:--\n\n       Lord Stratford De Redcliffe and Mr. S. Lane-Poole.\n\nLondon, Aug. 26, 1888.\n\nWill you kindly spare me space for a few lines touching matters\npersonal?\n\nI am again the victim (Athen\u00e6um, August 25) of that everlasting\nr\u00e9clame. Mr. S. Lane-Poole has contracted to \"do\" a life of Lord\nStratford, and, ergo, he condemns me in magistral tone and a\nstyle of uncalled-for impertinence, to act as his \"advt.\" In\nrelating how, by order of the late General Beatson, then\ncommanding Bash-buzuk (Bashi-bazuk is the advertiser's own\nproperty), I volunteered to relieve Cars, how I laid the project\nbefore the \"Great Eltchee,\" how it was received with the roughest\nlanguage and how my first plan was thoroughly \"frustrated.\" I\nhave told a true tale, and no more. \"A strange perversion of\nfacts,\" cries the sapient criticaster, with that normal amenity\nwhich has won for him such honour and troops of unfriends: when\nhis name was proposed as secretary to the R. A. S., all\nprophesied the speediest dissolution of that infirm body.\n\nI am aware that Constantinople is not geographically \"out of\nEurope.\" But when Mr. S. Lane-Poole shall have travelled a trifle\nmore he may learn that ethnologically it is. In fact, most of\nSouth-Eastern Europe holds itself more or less non-European, and\nwhen a Montenegrin marries a Frenchwoman or a German, his family\nwill tell you that he has wedded a \"European.\"\n\n\"No one knows better than Sir R. Burton by what queer methods\nreputation may be annexed.\" Heavens, what English! And what may\nthe man mean? But perhaps he alludes in his own silly, saltless,\nsneering way to my Thousand Nights and a Night, which has shown\nwhat the \"Uncle and Master's\" work should have been. Some two\ngenerations of poules mouill\u00e9es have reprinted and republished\nLane's \"Arabian Notes\" without having the simple honesty to\ncorrect a single b\u00e9vue, or to abate one blunder; while they\nlooked upon the Arabian Nights as their own especial rotten\nborough. But more of this in my tractate, \"The Reviewer\nReviewed,\" about to be printed as an appendix to my Supplemental\nVolume, No. vi.\n\nRichard F. Burton.\n\nAnd here is the rejoinder (Athen\u00e6um, September 8):--\n\n               Lord Stratford and Sir R. Burton.\n\nSeptember 4, 1888.\n\nSir R. Burton, like a prominent Irish politician, apparently\nprefers to select his own venue, and, in order to answer my\nletter in the Athen\u00e6um of August 25, permits himself in the\nAcademy of September 1 an exuberance of language which can injure\nno one but himself. Disregarding personalities, I observe that he\nadvances no single fact in support of the statements which I\ncontradicted, but merely reiterates them. It is a question\nbetween documents and Sir R. Burton's word.\n\nS. Lane-Poole.\n\nIt is not a question between documents and my word, but rather of\nthe use or abuse of documents by the \"biographer.\" My\nvolunteering for the relief of Kars was known to the whole camp\nat the Dardanelles, and my visit to the Embassy at Constantinople\nis also a matter of \"documents.\" And when Mr. S. Lane-Poole shall\nhave produced his I will produce mine.\n\n[FN#451] It appears to me that our measures, remedial and\npunitive, against \"pornographic publications\" result mainly in\ncreating \"vested interests\" (that English abomination) and thus\nin fostering the work. The French printer, who now must give name\nand address, stamps upon the cover Avis aux Libraires under\nEdition privee and adds Ce volume ne doit pas etre mis en vente\nou expose dans les lieux publics (Loi du 29 Juillet, 1881). He\nalso prints upon the back the number of copies for sale We treat\n\"pornology\" as we handle prostitution, unwisely ignore it, well\nknowing the while that it is a natural and universal demand of\ncivilised humanity; and whereas continental peoples regulate it\nand limit its abuses we pass it by, Pharisee-like, with nez\nen-l'air. Our laws upon the subject are made only to be broken,\nand the authorities are unwilling to persecute, because by so\ndoing they advertise what they condemn. Thus they offer a premium\nto the greedy and unscrupulous publisher and immensely enhance\nthe value of productions (\"Fanny Hill\" by Richard Cleland for\ninstance) which, if allowed free publication, would fetch pence\ninstead of pounds. With due diffidence, I suggest that the police\nbe directed to remove from booksellers' windows and to confiscate\nall indecent pictures, prints and photographs; I would forbid\nthem under penalty of heavy fines to expose immoral books for\nsale, and I would leave \"cheap and nasty\" literature to the good\ntaste of the publisher and the public. Thus we should also abate\nthe scandal of providing the secretaries and officers of the\nvarious anti-vice societies with libraries of pornological works\nwhich, supposed to be escheated or burned, find their way into\nthe virtuous hands of those who are supposed to destroy them.\n\n[FN#452] \"Quand aux manuscrits de la r\u00e9daction \u00e9gyptienne,\nl'omission de cet \u00e9pisode parait devoir \u00eatre attribu\u00e9e \u00e0 la\ntendance qui les caract\u00e9rise g\u00e9neralement, d'abr\u00e9ger et de\ncondenser la narrative \" (loc. cit. p. 7: see also p. 14).\n\n[FN#453] Here I would by no means assert that the subject matter\nof The Nights is exhausted: much has been left for future\nlabourers. It would be easy indeed to add another five volumes to\nmy sixteen as every complete manuscript contains more or less of\nnovelty. Dr. Pertsch, the learned librarian of Saxe-Gotha,\ninforms me that no less than two volumes are taken up by a\nvariant of Judar the Egyptian (in my vol. vi. 213) and by the\nHistory of Zahir and Ali. For the Turkish version in the\nBiblioth\u00e8que Nationale see M. Zotenberg (pp. 21-23). The Rich MS.\nin the British Museum abounds in novelties, of which a specimen\nwas given in my Prospectus to the Supplemental Volumes.\n\nIn the French Scholar's \"Al\u00e2 al-D\u00een\" (p. 45) we find the MSS. of\nThe Nights divided into three groups. No. i. or the Asian (a\ntotal of ten specified) are mostly incomplete and usually end\nbefore the half of the text. The second is the Egyptian of modern\ndate, characterised by an especial style and condensed narration\nand by the nature and ordinance of the tales, by the number of\nfables and historiettes, and generally by the long chivalrous\nRomance of Omar bin al-Nu'um\u00e1n. The third group, also Egyptian,\ndiffers only in the distribution of the stories.]\n\n[FN#454] My late friend, who brought home 3,000 copies of\ninscriptions from the so-called Sinai which I would term in\nancient days the Peninsula of Paran. and in our times the\nPeninsula of Tor.\n\n[FN#455] See M. Zotenberg, pp. 4, 26.\n\n[FN#456] M. Zotenberg (p. 5) wrote la seconde moitie du xive.\nSi\u00e8cle, but he informed me that he has found reason to antedate\nthe text.\n\n[FN#457] I regret the necessity of exposing such incompetence and\nerrors which at the time when Lane wrote were venial enough; his\nfoolish friend, however, by unskilful and exaggerated pretensions\nand encomiums, compels me to lay the case before the reader.\n\n[FN#458] This past tense, suggesting that an act is complete, has\na present sense in Arabic and must be translated accordingly.\n\n[FN#459] Quite untrue: the critic as usual never read and\nprobably never saw the subject of his criticism. In this case I\nmay invert one of my mottoes and write, \"To the foul all things\"","title":"Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights \u2014 Volume 6 (of 6)","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":166892}