{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_5100/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_5100","id":"gutenberg_5100","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5100","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Novels","Folklore -- Arab countries","Tales -- Arab countries"],"text":"Produced by JC Byers\n\n\n\n\n\nALAEDDIN and the ENCHANTED LAMP;\n\nZein Ul Asnam and the King of the Jinn: Two Stories Done into English\nfrom the Recently Discovered Arabic Text\n\nBy John Payne\n\nLondon 1901\n\n\n\n\n     To\n     Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton, K.C.M.G.,\n     H.B.M. CONSUL, TRIESTE.\n\n     My Dear Burton,\n\n     I give myself the pleasure of placing your name in the forefront\n     of another and final volume of my translation of the Thousand and\n     One Nights, which, if it have brought me no other good, has at\n     least been the means of procuring me your friendship.\n\n     Believe me,\n\n     Yours always,\n\n     John Payne.\n\n\n\n\n\n        Twelve years this day,--a day of winter, dreary\n      With drifting snows, when all the world seemed dead\n        To Spring and hope,--it is since, worn and weary\n           Of doubt within and strife without, I fled\n\n          From the mean workday miseries of existence,\n       From spites that slander and from hates that lie,\n            Into the dreamland of the Orient distance\n            Under the splendours of the Syrian sky,\n\n         And in the enchanted realms of Eastern story,\n           Far from the lovelessness of modern times,\n\n           Garnered the rainbow-remnants of old glory\n           That linger yet in those ancestral climes;\n\n         And now, the tong task done, the journey over,\n            From that far home of immemorial calms,\n           Where, as a mirage, on the sky-marge hover\n               The desert and its oases of palms,\n\n          Lingering, I turn me back, with eyes reverted\n             To this stepmother world of daily life,\n          As one by some long pleasant dream deserted,\n            That wakes anew to dull unlovely strife:\n\n       Yet, if non' other weal the quest have wrought me.\n               The long beloved labour now at end,\n    This gift of gifts the untravelled East hath brought me,\n            The knowledge of a new and valued friend.\n\n5th Feb. 1889.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\nI.\n\nThe readers of my translation of the Book of the Thousand Nights and One\nNight will remember that, in the terminal essay (1884) on the history\nand character of the collection, I expressed my conviction that the\neleven (so-called) \"interpolated\" tales, [1] though, in my judgment,\ngenuine Oriental stories, had (with the exception of the Sleeper\nAwakened and Aladdin) no connection with the original work, but had been\nprocured by Galland from various (as yet) unidentified sources, for the\npurpose of supplying the deficiencies of the imperfect MS. of the Nights\nfrom which he made his version. [2] My opinion as to these talcs has\nnow been completely confirmed by the recent discovery (by M. Zotenberg,\nKeeper of Oriental MSS. in the Bibliotheque Nationale at Paris) of two\nArabic MSS. of the Nights, both containing three of the missing stories,\ni.e. (1) Zeyn Alasnam, (3) The Sleeper Awakened and (4) Aladdin, and\nby the publication (also by M. Zotenberg) of certain extracts from\nGalland's diary, giving particulars of the circumstances under which\nthe \"interpolated\" tales were incorporated with his translation of the\nArabian Nights. The Arabic text of the Story of Aladdin, as given by the\ncompleter and more authentic of the newly-discovered MSS., has recently\nbeen made by M. Zotenberg the subject of a special publication, [3]\nin the preface to which (an exhaustive bibliographical essay upon the\nvarious Texts of the Thousand and One Nights, considered in relation to\nGalland's translation) he gives, in addition to the extracts in question\nfrom Galland's Diary, a detailed description of the two MSS. aforesaid,\nthe more interesting particulars of which I now proceed to abstract for\nthe benefit of my readers.\n\n\n\n                              II.\n\n\n\nThe first MS. commences precisely where the third volume of Galland's\nMS. ends, to wit, (see my Terminal essay, p. 265, note1) with the 281st\nNight, in the middle of the story of Camaralzaman [4] and contains,\n(inter alia) besides the continuation of this latter (which ends\nwith Night CCCXXIX), the stories of the Sleeper Awakened (Nights\nCCCXXX-CCCC), Ganem (Nights CCCCXXVIII-CCCCLXX1V), Zeyn Alasnam (Nights\nCCCCLXXV-CCCCXCI), Aladdin (Nights CCCCXCII-DLXIX) and three others\nnot found in Galland's version. The MS. ends in the middle of the 631st\nnight with the well-known Story of King Bekhtzad (Azadbekht) and his son\nor the Ten Viziers, (which will be found translated in my \"Tales from\nthe Arabic,\" Vol. I. pp. 61 et seq.) and contains, immediately after\nNight CCCCXXVII and before the story of Ganem, a note in Arabic, of\nwhich the following is a translation:\n\n\"The fourth volume of the wonders and marvels of the stories of the\nThousand Nights and One Night was finished by the hand of the humblest\nof His' servants in the habit of a minister of religion (Kahin, lit.\na diviner, Cohen), the [Christian] priest Dionysius Shawish, a scion\n(selil) of the College of the Romans (Greeks, Europeans or Franks, er\nRoum), by name St. Athanasius, in Rome the Greatest [5] (or Greater, utsma,\nfem. of aatsem, qu re Constantinople?) on the seven-and-twentieth of the\nmonth Shubat (February) of the year one thousand seven hundred fourscore\nand seven, [he being] then teacher of the Arabic tongue in the Library\nof the Sultan, King of France, at Paris the Greatest.\"\n\nFrom this somewhat incoherent note we may assume that the MS. was\nwritten in the course of the year 1787 by the notorious Syrian\necclesiastic Dom Denis Chavis, the accomplice of Cazotte in the\nextraordinary literary atrocity shortly afterward perpetrated by the\nlatter under the name of a sequel or continuation of the Thousand and\nOne Nights [6] (v. Cabinet des Fees, vols. xxxviii--xli), [7] and in all\nprobability (cf. the mention in the above note of the first part, i.e.\nNights CCLXXXI-CCCCXXVII, as the fourth volume) to supply the place of\nGalland's missing fourth volume for the Bibliotheque Royale; but there.\nis nothing, except a general similarity of style and the occurrence\nin the former of the rest of Camaralzaman and (though not in the same\norder) of four of the tales supposed to have been contained in the\nlatter, to show that Dom Chavis made his copy from a text identical\nwith that used by the French savant. In the notes to his edition of the\nArabic text of Aladdin, M. Zotenberg gives a number of extracts from\nthis MS., from which it appears that it is written in a very vulgar\nmodern Syrian style and abounds in grammatical errors, inconsistencies\nand incoherences of every description, to say nothing of the fact that\nthe Syrian ecclesiastic seems, with the characteristic want of taste\nand presumption which might be expected from the joint-author of \"Les\nVeillees Persanes,\" to have, to a considerable extent, garbled the\noriginal text by the introduction of modern European phrases and turns\nof speech a la Galland. For the rest, the MS. contains no note or other\nindication, on which we can found any opinion as to the source from\nwhich the transcriber (or arranger) drew his materials; but it can\nhardly be doubted, from internal evidence, that he had the command of\nsome genuine text of the Nights, similar to, if not identical with,\nthat of Galland, which he probably \"arranged\" to suit his own (and his\ncentury's) distorted ideas of literary fitness. The discovery of the\ninterpolated tales contained in this MS. (which has thus presumably lain\nunnoticed for a whole century, under, as one may say, the very noses of\nthe many students of Arabic literature who would have rejoiced in such a\nfind) has, by a curious freak of fortune, been delayed until our own day\nin consequence of a singular mistake made by a former conservator of\nthe Paris Bibliotheque, the well-known Orientalist, M. Reinaud, who, in\ndrawing up the Catalogue of the Arabic MSS. in the collection described\n(or rather misdescribed) it under the following heading:\n\n\"Supplement Arabe 1716. Thousand and One Nights, 3rd and 4th parts. This\nvolume begins with Night CCLXXXII and ends with Night DCXXXI. A copy in\nthe handwriting of Chavis. It is from this copy and in accordance with\nthe instructions (d'apres la indications) of this Syrian monk that\nCazotte composed (redigea) the Sequel to the Thousand and One Nights,\nCabinet des Fees, xxxvii et xl (should be tt. xxxviii-xli).\"\n\nIt is of course evident that M. Reinaud had never read the MS. in\nquestion nor that numbered 1723 in the Supplement Arabe, or he would at\nonce have recognized that the latter, though not in the handwriting of\nthe Syrian ecclesiastic, was that which served for the production of the\n\"Sequel\" in question; but, superficial as was the mistake, it sufficed\nto prevent the examination by students of the MS. No. 1716 and so\nretarded the discovery of the Arabic originals of Aladdin and its\nfellows till the acquisition (some two years ago) by the Bibliotheque\nNationale of another (and complete) MS. of the Thousand and One Nights,\nwhich appears to have belonged to the celebrated Orientalist M. Caussin\nde Perceval, although the latter could not have been acquainted with it\nat the time (1806) he published his well-known edition and continuation\nof Galland's translation, in the eighth and ninth volumes of which, by\nthe by, he gives a correct version of the tales so fearfully garbled by\nChavis and Cazotte in their so-called translation as well nigh to defy\nrecognition and to cause Orientalists in general to deny the possibility\nof their having been derived from an Oriental source until the discovery\nof the actual Arabic originals so barbarously maltreated [8]\n\nThis MS. is in the handwriting of of Sebbagh, the well-known Syrian\ncollaborator of Silvestre de Sacy, and is supposed to have been copied\nby him at Paris between the years 1805 and 1810 for some European\nOrientalist (probably de Perceval himself) from a Baghdad MS. of the\nearly part of the 18th century, of which it professes to be an exact\nreproduction, as appears from a terminal note, of which the following is\na translation:\n\n\"And the finishing of it was in the first tenth (decade) of Jumada the\nLatter [in the] year one thousand one hundred and fifteen of the Hegira\n(October, 1703) in the handwriting of the neediest of the faithful [9]\nunto God [10] the Most High, Ahmed ibn Mohammed et Teradi, in the city\nof Baghdad, and he the Shafiy by sect and the Mosuli by birth and the\nBaghdadi by sojourn, and indeed he wrote it for himself and set upon it\nhis seal, and God bless and keep our lord Mohammed and his companions!\nKebikej [11] (ter).\"\n\nThis MS. contains the three \"interpolated\" tales aforesaid, i.e.\nthe Sleeper Awakened (Nights CCCXXXVII-LXXXVI), Zeyn Alasnam (Nights\nCCCCXCVII-DXIII) and Aladdin (Nights DXIV-XCI), the last two bearing\ntraces of a Syrian origin, especially Aladdin, which is written in a\nmuch commoner and looser style than Zeyn Alasnam. The two tales are\nevidently the work of different authors, Zeyn Alasnam being incomparably\nsuperior in style and correctness to Aladdin, which is defaced by all\nkinds of vulgarisms and solecisms and seems, moreover, to have been less\ncorrectly copied than the other. Nevertheless, the Sebbagh text is in\nevery respect preferable to that of Shawish (which appears to abound\nin faults and errors of every kind, general and particular,) and M.\nZotenberg has, therefore, exercised a wise discretion in selecting the\nformer for publication.\n\n\n\n\n                              III.\n\n\n\nPerhaps the most noteworthy feature of M. Zorenberg's long and\ninteresting introduction is a series of extracts from the (as yet\nunpublished) MS. Diary regularly kept by Galland, the last four volumes\n(1708-15) of which are preserved in the Bibliotheque Nationale.\nThese extracts effectually settle the question of the origin of the\ninterpolated tales, as will be seen from the following abstract.\n\nOn the 25th March, 1709, Galland records having that day made the\nacquaintance of a Maronite scholar, by name Youhenna Diab, [12] who\nhad been brought from Aleppo to Paris by Paul Lucas, the celebrated\ntraveller, and with whom he evidently at once broached the question\nof the Nights, [13] probably complaining to him of the difficulty (or\nrather impossibility) of obtaining a perfect copy of the work; whereupon\nHanna (as he always calls him) appears to have volunteered to help him\nto fill the lacune by furnishing him with suitable Oriental stories for\ntranslation in the same style as those already rendered by him and then\nand there (says Galland) \"told me some very fine Arabian tales, which\nhe promised to put into writing for me.\" There is no fresh entry on the\nsubject till May 5 following, when (says Galland) \"The Maronite Hanna\nfinished telling me the tale of the Lamp.\" [14]\n\nHanna appears to have remained in Paris till the autumn of the year 1709\nand during his stay, Galland's Diary records the communication by him to\nthe French savant of the following stories, afterwards included in the\nninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth volumes of the latter's translation,\n(as well as of several others which he probably intended to translate,\nhad he lived,) [15] i.e. (May 10, 1709) \"Babe Abdalla\" and \"Sidi\nNouman,\" (May 13, 1709) \"The Enchanted Horse,\" (May 22, 1709) \"Prince\nAhmed and Pari Banou,\" (May 25, 1709) \"The Two Sisters who envied their\nyounger Sister,\" (May 27, 1709) \"All Baba and the Forty Thieves,\" (May\n29, 1709) \"Cogia Hassan Alhabbal\" and (May 31, 1709) \"Ali Cogia.\" The\nMaronite seems to have left for the East in October, 1709, (Galland says\nunder date October 25, \"Received this evening a letter from Hanna, who\nwrites me from Marseilles, under date the 17th, in Arabic, to the effect\nthat he had arrived there in good health,\") but not without having\nat least in part fulfilled his promise to put in writing the tales\ncommunicated by him to Galland, as appears by the entry of November 3,\n1710, \"Began yesterday to read the Arabian story of the Lamp, which\nhad been written me in Arabic more than a year ago by the Maronite of\nDamascus [16] whom M. Lucas brought with him, with a view to putting it\ninto French. Finished reading it this morning. Here is the title of this\ntale, 'Story of Aladdin, son of a tailor, and that which befell him with\nan African Magician on account of (or through) a lamp.'\" (The Diary\nadds that he began that evening to put his translation into writing and\nfinished it in the course of the ensuing fortnight.) And that of January\n10, 1711, \"Finished the translation of the tenth volume of the 1001\nNights after the Arabic text which I had from the hand (de la main) of\nHanna or Jean Dipi, [17] whom M. Lucas brought to France on his return\nfrom his last journey in the Levant.\" The only other entry bearing upon\nthe question is that of August 24, 1711, in which Galland says, \"Being\nquit of my labours upon the translation etc. of the Koran, I read a part\nof the Arabian Tales which the Maronite Hanna had told me and which I\nhad summarily reduced to writing, to see which of them I should select\nto make up the eleventh volume of the Thousand and One Nights.\"\n\nFrom these entries it appears beyond question that Galland received from\nthe Maronite Hanna, in the Spring and Summer of 1709, the Arabic text\nof the stories of Aladdin, Baba Abdalla, Sidi Nouman and Cogia Hassan\nAlhabbal, i.e. the whole of the tales included in his ninth and tenth\nvolumes (with the exception of The Sleeper Awakened, of which he does\nnot speak) and that he composed the five remaining tales contained\nin his eleventh and twelfth volumes (i.e. Ali Baba, Ali Cogia, The\nEnchanted Horse, Prince Ahmed and Pari Banou and The Two Sisters who\nenvied their younger Sister,) upon the details thereof taken down from\nHanna's lips and by the aid of copious summaries made at the time. These\nentries in Galland's diary dispose, therefore, of the question of\nthe origin of the \"interpolated\" tales, with the exception (1) of The\nSleeper Awakened (with which we need not, for the present, concern\nourselves farther) and (2) of Nos. 1 and 2a and b, i.e. Zeyn Alasnam,\nCodadad and his brothers and The Princess of Deryabar (forming, with\nGanem, his eighth volume), as to which Galland, as I pointed out in my\nterminal essay (p. 264), cautions us, in a prefatory note to his ninth\nvolume, that these two stories form no part of the Thousand and\nOne Nights and that they had been inserted and printed without the\ncognizance of the translator, who was unaware of the trick that had been\nplayed him till after the actual publication of the volume, adding\nthat care would be taken to expunge the intrusive tales from the second\nedition (which, however, was never done, Galland dying before the\nrepublication and it being probably found that the stranger tales had\ntaken too firm a hold upon public favour to be sacrificed, as originally\nproposed); and the invaluable Diary supplies the necessary supplemental\ninformation as to their origin. \"M. Petis de la Croix,\" says Galland\nunder date of January 17, 1710, \"Professor and King's Reader of the\nArabic tongue, who did me the honour to visit me this morning, was\nextremely surprised to see two of the Turkish [18] Tales of his\ntranslation printed in the eighth volume of the 1001 Nights, which\nI showed him, and that this should have been done without his\nparticipation.\"\n\nPetis de la Croix, a well-known Orientalist and traveller of the time,\npublished in the course of the same year (1710) the first volume of a\ncollection of Oriental stories, similar in form and character to the\n1001 Nights, but divided into \"Days\" instead of \"Nights\" and called \"The\nThousand and One Days, Persian Tales,\" the preface to which (ascribed\nto Cazotte) alleges him to have translated the tales from a Persian work\ncalled Hezar [o] Yek Roz, i.e. \"The Thousand and One Days,\" the MS. of\nwhich had in 1675 been communicated to the translator by a friend\nof his, by name Mukhlis, (Cazotte styles him \"the celebrated Dervish\nMocles, chief of the Soufis of Ispahan\") during his sojourn in the\nPersian capital. The preface goes on to state that Mukhlis had, in his\nyouth, translated into Persian certain Indian plays, which had been\ntranslated into all the Oriental languages and of which a Turkish\nversion existed in the Bibliotheque Royale, under the title of Alfaraga\nBadal-Schidda (i.e. El Ferej bad esh Shiddeh), which signified \"Joy\nafter Affliction\"; but that, wishing to give his work an original air,\nhe converted the aforesaid plays into tales. Cazotte's story of the\nIndian plays savours somewhat of the cock and the bull and it is\nprobable that the Hezar o Yek Roz (which is not, to my knowledge,\nextant) was not derived from so recondite a source, but was itself\neither the original of the well-known Turkish collection or (perhaps) a\ntranslation of the latter. At all events, Zeyn Alasnam, Codadad and the\nPrincess of Deryabar occur in a copy (cited by M. Zotenberg), belonging\nto the Bibliotheque Nationale, of El Ferej bad esh Shidded (of which\nthey form the eighth, ninth and sixth stories respectively) and in a\npractically identical form, except that in Galland's vol. viii. the two\nlatter stories are fused into one. Sir William Ouseley is said to have\nbrought from Persia a MS. copy of a portion of the Hezar o Yek Roz which\nhe describes as agreeing with the French version, but, in the absence\nof documentary proof and in view of the fact that, notwithstanding the\nunauthorized incorporation of three of the tales of his original with\nGalland's Vol. viii, the published version of the Thousand and One Days\nis apparently complete and shows no trace of the omission, I am inclined\nto suspect Petis de la Croix of having invented the division into\nDays, in order to imitate (and profit by the popularity of) his fellow\nsavant's version of the Thousand and One Nights. Galland's publisher was\ndoubtless also that of Petis de la Croix and in the latter capacity\nhad in hand a portion of the MS. of the 1001 Days, from which, no\ndoubt weary of waiting till Galland (who was now come to the end of\nhis genuine Arabic MS. of the 1001 Nights and was accordingly at a\nstandstill, till he met with Hanna,) should have procured fresh material\nto complete the copy for his eighth volume, of which Ganem only was then\nready for publication, he seems to have selected (apparently on his own\nresponsibility, but, it must be admitted, with considerable taste and\njudgment,) the three tales in question from the MS. of the 1001 Days, to\nfill up the lacune. It does not appear whether he found Codadad and the\nPrincess of Deryabar arranged as one story ready to his hand or himself\nperformed (or procured to be performed) the process of fusion, which, in\nany case, was executed by no unskilful hand. Be this as it may, Galland\nwas naturally excessively annoyed at the publisher's unceremonious\nproceeding, so much so indeed as for a time to contemplate renouncing\nthe publication of the rest of the work, to spare himself (as he says\nin his Diary, under date of Dec. 12, 1709) similar annoyances\n(mortifications) to that which the printing of the eighth volume had\ncaused him. Indeed, the effect of this incident was to induce him, not\nonly to change his publisher, but to delay the publication of the next\nvolume (which, as we learn from the Diary, was ready for the press at\nthe end of November or the beginning of December, 1709) for a whole\nyear, at the end of which time (Diary, November 21, 1710) he made\narrangements with a new (and presumably more trustworthy) publisher, M.\nFlorentin de Laune, for the printing of Vol. ix.\n\n\n\n\n                              IV.\n\n\n\nNotwithstanding the discovery, as above set out, of three of the\ndoubtful tales, Zeyn Alasnam, Aladdin and The Sleeper Awakened, in two\nMSS. (one at least undoubtedly authentic) of the Thousand Nights and\nOne Night, I am more than ever of opinion that none of the eleven\n\"interpolated\" stories properly belongs to the original work, that is to\nsay, to the collection as first put into definite form somewhere about\nthe fourteenth century. [19] \"The Sleeper Awakened\" was identified by\nthe late Mr. Lane as a historical anecdote given by the historian El\nIshaki, who wrote in the first quarter of the seventeenth century, and\nthe frequent mention of coffee in both MSS. of Aladdin justifies us in\nattributing the composition of the story to (at earliest) the sixteenth\ncentury, whilst the modern vulgarisms in which they abound point to a\nstill later date. Zeyn Alasnam (in the Sebbagh MS. at least) is\nwritten in a much purer and more scholarly style than Aladdin, but\nits pre-existence in El Ferej bad esh Shiddeh (even if we treat as\napocryphal Petis de la Croix's account of the Hezar o Yek Roz) is\nsufficient, in the absence of contrary evidence, to justify us in\nrefusing to consider it as belonging to the Thousand Nights and One\nNight proper. As shown by Galland's own experience, complete copies\nof the genuine work were rarely to be met with, collections of \"silly\nstories\" (as the Oriental savant, who inclines to regard nothing in the\nway of literature save theology, grammar and poetry, would style them),\nbeing generally considered by the Arab bibliographer undeserving of\nrecord or preservation, and the fragmentary copies which existed were\nmostly in the hands of professional story-tellers, who were extremely\nunwilling to part with them, looking upon them as their stock in trade,\nand were in the habit of incorporating with the genuine text all kinds\nof stories and anecdotes from other sources, to fill the place of the\nmissing portions of the original work. This process of addition\nand incorporation, which has been in progress ever since the first\ncollection of the Nights into one distinct work and is doubtless still\ngoing on in Oriental countries, (especially such as are least in contact\nwith European influence,) may account for the heterogeneous character\nof the various modern MSS. of the Nights and for the immense difference\nwhich exists between the several texts, as well in actual contents as in\nthe details and diction of such stories as are common to all. The Tunis\nMS. of the 1001 Nights (which is preserved in the Breslau University\nLibrary and which formed the principal foundation of Habicht's Edition\nof the Arabic text) affords a striking example of this process, which we\nare here enabled to see in mid-operation, the greater part of the tales\nof which it consists having not yet been adapted to the framework of\nthe Nights. It is dated A.H. 1144 (A.D. 1732) and of the ten volumes of\nwhich it consists, i, ii (Nights I--CCL) and x (Nights DCCCLXXXV-MI) are\nalone divided into Nights, the division of the remaining seven volumes\n(i.e. iii--ix, containing, inter alia, the Story of the Sleeper\nAwakened) being the work of the German editor. It is my belief,\ntherefore, that the three \"interpolated\" tales identified as forming\npart of the Baghdad MS. of 1703 are comparatively modern stories added\nto the genuine text by Rawis (story-tellers) or professional writers\nemployed by them, and I see no reason to doubt that we shall yet\ndiscover the Arabic text of the remaining eight, either in Hanna's\nversion (as written down for Galland) or in some as yet unexamined MS.\nof the Nights or other work of like character.\n\n\n\n\n                               V.\n\n\n\nM. Zotenberg has, with great judgment, taken as his standard for\npublication the text of Aladdin given by the Sebbagh MS., inasmuch as\nthe Shawish MS. (besides being, as appears from the extracts given. [20]\nfar inferior both in style and general correctness,) is shown by the\neditor to be full of modern European phrases and turns of speech and\nto present so many suspicious peculiarities that it would be difficult,\nhaving regard, moreover, to the doubtful character and reputation of the\nSyrian monkish adventurer who styled himself Dom Denis Chavis, to resist\nthe conviction that his MS. was a forgery, i.e. professedly a copy of a\ngenuine Arabic text, but in reality only a translation or paraphrase in\nthat language of Galland's version,--were it not that the Baghdad MS.\n(dated before the commencement, in 1704, of Galland's publication\nand transcribed by a man--Mikhail Sebbagh--whose reputation, as a\ncollaborator of Silvestre de Sacy and other distinguished Orientalists,\nis a sufficient voucher for the authenticity of the copy in the\nBibliotheque Nationale,) contains a text essentially identical with that\nof Shawish. Moreover, it is evident, from a comparison with Galland's\nrendering and making allowance for the latter's system of translation,\nthat the Arabic version of Aladdin given him by Hanna must either\nhave been derived from the Baghdad text or from some other practically\nidentical source, and it is therefore probable that Shawish, having\napparently been employed to make up the missing portion of Galland's\nArabic text and not having the Hanna MS. at his command, had (with\nthe execrable taste and want of literary morality which distinguished\nCazotte's monkish coadjutor) endeavoured to bring his available text\nup to what he considered the requisite standard by modernizing and\nGallicizing its wording and (in particular) introducing numerous\nEuropean phrases and turns of speech in imitation of the French\ntranslator. The whole question is, of course, as yet a matter of more\nor less probable hypothesis, and so it must remain until further\ndiscoveries and especially until the reappearance of Galland's missing\ntext, which I am convinced must exist in some shape or other and cannot\nmuch longer, in the face of the revived interest awakened in the matter\nand the systematic process of investigation now likely to be employed,\nelude research.\n\nM. Zotenberg's publication having been confined to the text of Aladdin,\nI have to thank my friend Sir R. F. Burton for the loan of his MS. copy\nof Zeyn Alasnam, (the Arabic text of which still remains unpublished) as\ntranscribed by M. Houdas from the Sebbagh MS.\n\n\n\n\n\nZEIN UL ASNAM AND THE KING OF THE JINN.\n\n\n\nThere [21] was [once] in the city of Bassora a mighty Sultan and he was\nexceeding rich, but he had no child who should be his successor [22]\nafter him. For this he grieved sore and fell to bestowing alms galore\nupon the poor and the needy and upon the friends [23] of God and the\ndevout, seeking their intercession with God the Most High, so He to whom\nbelong might and majesty should of His favour vouchsafe him a son. And\nGod accepted his prayer, for his fostering of the poor, and answered his\npetition; so that one night of the nights he lay with the queen and she\nwent from him with child. When the Sultan knew this, he rejoiced with\nan exceeding joy, and as the time of her child-bearing drew nigh, he\nassembled all the astrologers and those who smote the sand [24] and said\nto them, \"It is my will that ye enquire concerning the child that shall\nbe born to me this month, whether it will be male or female, and tell me\nwhat will betide it of chances and what will proceed from it.\" [25] So\nthe geomancers smote their [tables of] sand and the astrologers took\ntheir altitudes [26] and observed the star of the babe [un]born and said\nto the Sultan, \"O King of the age and lord of the time and the tide, the\nchild that shall be born to thee of the queen is a male and it beseemeth\nthat thou name him Zein ul Asnam.\" [27] And as for those who smote upon\nthe sand, they said to him, \"Know, O King, that this babe will become\na renowned brave, [28] but he shall happen in his time upon certain\ntravail and tribulation; yet, an he endure with fortitude against that\nwhich shall befall him, he shall become the richest of the kings of the\nworld.\" And the King said to them, \"Since the babe shall become valiant\nas ye avouch, the toil and travail which will befall him are nought, for\nthat tribulations teach the sons of kings.\"\n\nAccordingly, after a few days, the queen gave birth to a male child,\nextolled be the perfection of Him who created him surpassing in grace\nand goodliness! His father named him Zein ul Asnam, and he was as say of\nhim certain of his praisers [29] in verse: [30]\n\n He shows and \"Now Allah be blessed!\" men say: \"Extol we his Maker\n      and Fashioner aye!\n The king of the fair [31] this is, sure, one and all; Ay, his thralls,\n      every one, and his liegemen are they.\"\n\nThe boy grew and flourished till he came to the age of five [32] years,\nwhen his father the Sultan assigned him a governor skilled and versed\nin all sciences and philosophies, and he proceeded to teach him till he\nexcelled in all manner of knowledge and became a young man. [33]\nThen the Sultan bade bring him before himself, and assembling all the\ngrandees of his realm and the chiefs of his subjects, proceeded to\nadmonish him before them, saying to him, \"O my son Zein ul Asnam,\nbehold, I am grown stricken in years and am presently sick; and belike\nthis sickness will be the last of my life in this world and thou shalt\nsit in my stead; [wherefore I desire to admonish thee]. Beware, O my\nson, lest thou oppress any or turn a deaf ear to the complaining of the\npoor; but do thou justify the oppressed after the measure of thy might.\nAnd look thou believe not all that shall be said to thee by the great\nones of the people, but trust thou still for the most part to the voice\nof the common folk; for the great will deceive thee, seeing they seek\nthat which befitteth themselves, not that which befitteth the subject.\"\nThen, after a few days, the Sultan's sickness redoubled on him and he\naccomplished his term and died; and as for his son Zein ul Asnam, he\narose and donning the raiment of woe, [mourned] for his father the space\nof six days. On the seventh day he arose and going forth to the Divan,\nsat down on the throne of the sultanate and held a court, wherein was a\ngreat assemblage of the folk, [34] and the viziers came forward and the\ngrandees of the realm and condoled with him for his father and called\ndown blessings upon him and gave him joy of the kingship and the\nsultanate, beseeching God to grant him continuance of glory and\nprosperity without end.\n\nWhen [35] Zein ul Asnam saw himself in this great might and wealth, and\nhe young in years, he inclined unto prodigality and to the converse\nof springalds like himself and fell to squandering vast sums upon his\npleasures and left governance and concern for his subjects. The queen\nhis mother proceeded to admonish him and to forbid him from his ill\nfashions, bidding him leave that manner of life and apply himself\ngovernance and administration and the ordinance of the realm, lest the\nfolk reject him and rise up against him and expel [36] hira; but he\nwould hear not a word from her and abode in his ignorance and folly.\nAt this the people murmured, for that the grandees of the realm put out\ntheir hands unto oppression, whenas they saw the king's lack of concern\nfor his subjects; so they rose up in rebellion against Zein ul Asnam\nand would have laid violent hands upon him, had not the queen his mother\nbeen a woman of wit and judgment and address, and the people loved her;\nso she appeased the folk and promised them good. Then she called her son\nZein ul Asnam to her and said to him, \"See, O my son; said I not to\nthee that thou wouldest lose thy kingship and eke thy life, an thou\npersistedst in this thine ignorance and folly, in that thou givest the\nordinance of the sultanate into the hands of raw youths and eschewest\nthe old and wastest thy substance and that of the realm, squandering it\nall upon lewdness and the lust of thy soul?\"\n\nZein ul Asnam hearkened to his mother's rede and going out forthright to\nthe Divan, committed the manage of the realm into the hands of certain\nold men of understanding and experience; save that he did this only\nafter Bassora had been ruined, inasmuch as he turned not from his folly\ntill he had spent and squandered all the treasures of the sultanate and\nwas become exceeding poor. Then he betook himself to repentance and to\nsorrowing over that which he had done, [37] so that he lost the solace\nof sleep and eschewed meat and drink, till one night of the nights,--and\nindeed he had spent it in mourning and lamentation and melancholy\nthought until the last of the night,--his eyes closed for a little and\nthere appeared to him in his sleep a venerable old man, who said to him,\n\"O Zein ul Asnam, grieve not, for that nought followeth after grief save\nrelief from stress, and an thou desire to be delivered from this\nthine affliction, arise and betake thee to Cairo, where thou wilt find\ntreasuries of wealth which shall stand thee in stead of that thou hast\nsquandered, ay, and twofold the sum thereof.\" When he awoke from his\nsleep, he acquainted his mother with all that he had seen in his dream,\nand she fell to laughing at him; but he said to her, \"Laugh not, for\nneeds must I journey to Cairo.\" \"O my son,\" answered she, \"put not\nthy trust in dreams, for that they are all vain fancies and lying\nimaginations.\" And he said to her, \"Nay, my dream was a true one and\nthe man whom I saw is of the Friends of God [38] and his speech is very\nsooth.\"\n\nAccordingly, he left the sultanate and going forth a-journeying one\nnight of the nights, took the road to Egypt [and fared on] days and\nnights till he came to the city of Cairo. So he entered it and saw it a\ngreat and magnificent city; then, being perished for weariness, he took\nshelter in one of its mosques. When he had rested awhile, he went forth\nand bought him somewhat to eat; and after he had eaten, he fell asleep\nin the mosque, of the excess of his weariness, nor had he slept but a\nlittle when the old man appeared to him in his sleep and said to him, \"O\nZein ul Assam, [39] thou hast done as I said to thee, and indeed I made\nproof of thee, that I might see an thou wert valiant or not; but now\nI know thee, inasmuch as thou hast put faith in my rede and hast done\naccording thereto. So now return to thine own city and I will make thee\na king rich after such a measure that neither before thee nor after thee\nshall [any] of the kings be like unto thee.\" So Zein ul Asnam arose\nfrom his sleep and said, \"In the name of God the Compassionate, the\nMerciful! What is this old man who hath wearier me, so that I came\nto Cairo, [40] and I trusted in him and deemed of him that he was the\nProphet (whom God bless and keep) or one of the pious Friends of God?\nBut there is no power and no virtue save in God the Most High, the\nSupreme. By Allah. I did well in that I acquainted none with my sallying\nforth neither related my dream unto any! [41] Indeed. I believed in\nthis old man and meseemed by that which appeared to me, he was none of\nmankind, [42] extolled be His perfection and magnified be He who [alone]\nknoweth the truth! By Allah, I will leave trusting in this old man\n[neither will I comply with him] in that which he would have me do!\"\nAccordingly, he lay [the rest of] that night [in the mosque] and at\ndaybreak he arose and mounting his courser, set out on his return to\nBassora, [the seat of] his kingship, where, after a few days, he arrived\nand went in that same night to his mother, who asked him if aught had\nbefallen him of that which the old man had promised him. He acquainted\nher with that which he had seen [in his sleep] and she fell to condoling\nwith him and comforting him, saying, \"Grieve not, O my son, for, an God\nthe Most High have appointed thee aught of [good] fortune, thou wilt\nattain thereto without either travail or toil; but I would have thee\nbe understanding and discreet and leave these things which have brought\nthee to poverty, O my son, and eschew singing-wenches and the commerce\nof youths and women; all this is for the baser sort, not for kings' sons\nlike thee.\" And he swore to her that he would never more gainsay her\ncommandment, but would observe all that she should say to him and\nwould turn his mind to the governance and the kingship and leave that\nwherefrom she forbade him. Then he slept that night and what while he\nwas on sleep, the old man appeared to him and said to him, \"O Zein ul\nAsnam, O valiant one, whenas thou arisest from thy sleep this day, I\nwill accomplish my promise to thee; wherefore take thou a pickaxe and\ngo to the palace of thy father Such-an-one [43] in such a place and dig\nthere in the earth and thou wilt find that which shall enrich thee.\"\n\nWhen Zein ul Asnam awoke from his sleep, he hastened to his mother,\nrejoicing, and acquainted her with his dream; whereupon she fell again\nto laughing at him and said to him, \"O my son, indeed this old man\nlaugheth at thee, nought else; wherefore do thou turn thy thought from\nhim.\" But he said to her, \"Nay, mother mine, indeed he is soothfast and\nlieth not; for that, in the first of his dealing, he tried me and\nnow his intent is to accomplish unto me his promise.\" \"In any case,\"\nrejoined she, \"the thing is not toilsome; [44] so do that which thou\nwilt, even as he said to thee, and make proof of the matter, and God\nwilling, thou shalt [45] return to me rejoicing; but methinketh thou\nwilt return to me and say, 'Thou saidst sooth, O my mother, in thy\nrede.\"' The prince accordingly took a pickaxe and going down to the\npalace where his father was buried, fell a-delving in the earth; nor had\nhe dug long when, behold, there appeared to him a ring fixed in a slab\nof marble. He raised the slab and seeing a stair, descended thereby and\nfound a great vault, all builded with columns of marble and alabaster;\nthen, proceeding innerward, he found within the vault a hall which\nravished the wit, and therein eight jars of green jasper; [46] and he\nsaid, \"What be these jars and what is in them?\" So [47] he went up and\nuncovering them, found them all full of old gold; [48] whereupon he took\na little in his hand and going to his mother, gave her thereof and said\nto her, \"Thou seest, O my mother.\" She marvelled at this thing and\nsaid to him, \"Beware, O my son, lest thou squander it, like as thou\nsquanderedst other than this.\" And he swore to her, saying, \"Be not\nconcerned, O my mother, and let not thy heart be other than easy on my\naccount, for I would fain have thee also content with me.\" [49]\n\nThen she arose and went with him, and they descended into the vault\nand entered the [underground] hall, [50] where she beheld that which\nravished the wit and saw the jars of gold. What while they diverted\nthemselves with gazing upon these latter, behold, they espied a little\njar of fine jade; so Zein ul Asnam opened it and found in it a golden\nkey. Whereupon quoth his mother to him, \"O my son, needs must there be\na door here which this key will open.\" Accordingly they sought in all\nparts of the vault and the hall, so they might see an there were a door\nor what not else to be found there, and presently espied a bolted lock,\nto which they knew that this must be the key. So Zein ul Asnam went\nup and putting the key in the lock, turned it and opened a door which\nadmitted them into a second hall, [51] more magnificent than the first;\nand it was all full of a light which dazzled the sight, yet was there\nno flambeau kindled therein, no, nor any window [52] there, whereat\nthey marvelled and looking farther, saw eight images of jewels, each one\npiece, and that of noble jewels, pure and precious.\n\nZein ul Asnam was amazed at this and said to his mother, \"How came my\nfather by these things?\" And they fell to looking and considering, till\npresently the queen espied a curtain of silk, whereon were these words\nwritten: \"O my son, marvel not at these great riches, whereto I have won\nby dint of sore travail; but know that there existeth also another image\nwhose worth is more than that of these [eight] images twenty times told.\nWherefore, an thou wouldst come thereby, get thee to Cairo, where thou\nwilt find a slave of mine, by name Mubarek, who will take thee and bring\nthee in company [53] with the ninth image. When thou enterest Cairo, the\nfirst man whom thou encounterest will direct thee to Mubarek's house,\nfor he is known in all Egypt.\" [54] When Zein ul Asnam read this\ninscription, he said, \"O my mother, it is my wish to journey to Cairo,\nso I may make search for the ninth image. Tell me, how deemest thou of\nmy dream? Was it true or was it not? Wilt thou still say [55] to me,\n'These be idle tales'? But I, O my mother, needs must I journey to\nCairo.\" \"O my son,\" answered the queen, \"since thou art under the\nsafeguard of the Apostle of God [56] (whom God bless and keep), go thou\nin peace, and I [and] thy Vizier, we will govern the realm in thine\nabsence, against thou shalt return.\"\n\nSo Zein ul Asnam went forth and equipping himself [for travel, set out]\nand journeyed till he came to Cairo, where he enquired for Mubarek's\nhouse and the folk said to him, \"O my lord, this is a man than whom\nthere is none richer in [all Cairo]; no, nor is there a more abounding\nthan he in bounty and beneficence, and his house is [still] open to the\nstranger.\" So they directed him thither and he went till he came to the\nhouse and knocked at the door; whereupon there came out to him one of\nMubarek's slaves and [57] opening the door, said to him, \"Who art thou\nand what wiliest thou?\" Quoth Zein ul Asnam, \"I am a stranger, a man\nfrom a far country, and I heard tell of your lord, Mubarek, and how he\nis renowned for hospitality and beneficence; so I came to him, that I\nmay be a guest with him.\" The slave entered and told his lord Mubarek;\nthen returned and said to Zein ul Asnam, \"O my lord, blessing hath\ndescended upon us in thy coming. [58] Enter, for my lord Mubarek\nawaiteth thee.\" So Zein ul Asnam entered into a courtyard, exceeding\nspacious and all [full] of trees and waters, and the slave brought him\ninto the pavilion [59] where Mubarek sat. When he entered, the latter\narose forthright and coming to meet him, received him with cordiality\nand said to him, \"Blessing hath descended upon us and this night is\nthe most auspicious of nights in thy coming to us! But who art thou, O\nyouth, and whence comest thou and whither art thou bound?\" The prince\nanswered him, saying, \"I am Zein ul Asnam and I seek Mubarek, slave to\nthe Sultan of Bassora, who died a year agone and whose son I am.\" \"What\nsayst thou?\" cried Mubarek. \"Art thou the king's son of Bassora?\" \"Yea,\nverily,\" replied Zein ul Asnam; \"I am his son.\" Quoth Mubarek, \"Nay, my\nlord the king of Bassora left no son; but what is thine age, O youth?\"\n\"About twenty years,\" replied Zein ul Asnam. \"And thou,\" added he, \"how\nlong is it since thou wentest out from my father's house?\" \"I went out\neighteen years agone,\" answered Mubarek. \"But, O my son Zein ul Asnam,\nby what token canst thou certify me that thou art the son of my lord\nthe king of Bassora?\" Quoth Zein ul Asnam, \"Thou knowest that my father\nbuilded under his palace a vault and therein [a hall in which] he set\nforty [60] jars of fine jade and filled them with ancient gold; [61] and\nwithin this hall he made a second hall, wherein he placed eight images\nof precious stones, each wroughten of a single jewel and seated upon a\nthrone of virgin gold. [62] Moreover, he wrote upon a curtain of silk\nthere and I read the writ, whereby I found that he bade me come to thee,\nsaying that thou wouldst acquaint me of the ninth image and where it is,\nthe which, said he, was worth the eight, all of them.\"\n\nWhen Mubarek heard these words, he threw himself at Zein ul Asnam's feet\nand fell to kissing them and saying, \"Pardon me, O my lord! Verily, thou\nart the son of my lord.\" Then said he to the prince, \"O my lord, I make\nto-day a banquet unto all the chief men of Cairo and I would fain have\nthy highness honour me [with thy presence] thereat.\" And Zein ul Asnam\nsaid, \"With all my heart.\" [63] So Mubarek arose and foregoing Zein ul\nAsnam, brought him into the saloon, which was full of the chief men of\nCairo, assembled therein. There he sat down and seating the prince\nin the place of honour, called for the evening-meal. So they laid the\ntables and Mubarek stood to serve Zein ul Asnam, with his hands clasped\nbehind him [64] and whiles seated upon his knees [and heels]. [65] The\nnotables of Cairo marvelled at this, how Mubarek, the chiefest of them,\nshould serve the youth, and [66] were sore amazed thereat, knowing not\n[who or] whence he was. But, after they had eaten and drunken and supped\nand were of good cheer, Mubarek turned to the company and said to\nthem, \"O folk, marvel not that I serve this youth with all worship and\nassiduity, for that he is the son of my lord the Sultan of Bassora,\nwhose slave I was, for that he bought me with his money and died without\nsetting me free; wherefore it behoveth me serve my lord, and all that my\nhand possesseth of monies and gear is his, nor is anywhit thereof mine.\"\nWhen the notables of Cairo heard this speech, they arose to Zein ul\nAsnam and did him exceeding great worship and saluted him with all\nreverence and prayed for him; [67] and he said, \"O company, I am before\nyour presence and ye are witnesses [of that which I am about to do.\"\nThen, turning to his host,] \"O Mubarek, [quoth he,] thou art free and\nall that is with thee of monies and gear appertaining unto us shall\nhenceforth be thine and thou art altogether acquitted thereof [68]\nand of every part thereof. Moreover, do thou ask of me whatsoever thou\ndesirest by way of boon, [69] for that I will nowise gainsay thee in\naught thou mayst seek.\" [70] Thereupon Mubarek arose and kissed the\nprince's hand and thanked him, saying, \"O my lord, I will nought of thee\nsave that thou be well; for indeed the wealth that I have is exceeding\nabundant upon me.\"\n\nSo Zein ul Asnam abode with Mubarek four days and every day the chief\nmen of Cairo came to salute him, whenas it reached them that this was\nMubarek's lord, the Sultan of Bassora; then, after he was rested, he\nsaid to his host, \"O Mubarek, indeed the time is long upon me;\" [71] and\nMubarek said to him, \"Thou must know, O my lord, that this whereof thou\nart come in quest is a hard [72] matter, nay, even unto danger of death,\nand I know not if thy fortitude may suffice thee for the achievement\nthereof.\" [73] \"Know, O Mubarek,\" rejoined Zein ul Asnam, \"that wealth\n[is gotten] by blood [74] and there betideth a man nought except by the\nwill and foreordinance of the Creator (to whom belong might and majesty\n); so do thou take heart and concern not thyself on my account.\"\nAccordingly Mubarek forthright commended his slaves equip them for\ntravel; so they made all ready and taking horse, journeyed days and\nnights in the foulest of deserts, [75] witnessing daily things and\nmatters which confounded their wits,--things such as never in their time\nhad they seen,--until they drew near the place [of their destination];\nwhereupon they lighted down from their steeds and Mubarek bade the\nslaves and servants abide there, saying to them, \"Keep watch over the\nbeasts of burden and the horses till we return to you.\"\n\nThen the twain set out together afoot and Mubarek said to Zein ul Asnam,\n\"O my lord, now behoveth fortitude, for that thou art in the land of the\nimage whereof thou comest in quest.\" And they gave not over walking till\nthey drew near a great lake and a wide, whereupon quoth Mubarek to\nZein ul Asnam, \"Know, O my lord, that there will presently come to us a\nlittle boat, bearing a blue flag and builded all with planks of sandal\nand Comorin aloes-wood of price; and [thereanent] I have a charge to\ngive thee, which it behoveth thee observe.\" \"What is this charge?\"\nasked the prince and Mubarek said to him, \"In this boat thou wilt see a\nboatman, [76] but his make is monstrous; [77] wherefore be thou ware and\nagain, I say, beware lest thou speak aught, for that he will incontinent\ndrown us; and know that this place appertaineth to the King of the Jinn\nand that all thou seest is their handiwork.\" Then [78] they came to\nthe lake and behold, a little boat with planks of sandal and Comorin\naloes-wood and in it a boatman, whose head was [as] the head of an\nelephant and the rest of his body [as that of] a wild beast. [79] When\nhe drew near them, he wrapped his trunk about them both and taking them\nwith him into the boat, rowed out with them to the midst of the lake,\nthen fared on with them [80] till he brought them to the other shore,\nwhere they landed and walking on, saw there trees of ambergris [81]\nand aloes and sandal-wood and cloves and jessamine, [82] full-grown\nand laden with ripe fruits and flowers [83] whose fragrance dilated the\nbreast and cheered the spright; and there [they heard] the voices of the\nbirds twittering their various notes and ravishing the wit with their\nwarblings. So Mubarek turned to Zein ul Asnam and said to him, \"How\ndeemest thou of this place, O my lord?\" And the prince answered him,\nsaying, \"Methinketh, O Mubarek, this is the paradise which the Prophet\n(whom God bless and keep) promised us withal.\"\n\nThen they fared on till they came to a magnificent palace, builded all\nwith stones of emerald and rubies, and its doors were of sheer gold.\nBefore it was a bridge, the length whereof was an hundred and fifty\ncubits and its breadth fifty cubits, and it was [wroughten] of the rib\nof a fish; whilst at the other end of the bridge were many warriors [84]\nof the Jinn, gruesome and terrible of aspect, and all of them bore\nin their hands javelins of steel that flashed in the sun like winter\nlightning. [85] Quoth Zein ul Asnam to Mubarek, \"This is a thing that\ntaketh the wits;\" and Mubarek said to him, \"It behoveth us abide in\nour place neither fare forward, lest a mischance betide us. O God,\n[vouchsafe us] safety!\" Therewith he brought out of his pocket four\npieces of yellow silken stuff and girded himself with one thereof; the\nsecond he laid on his shoulders and gave Zein ul Asnam other two pieces,\nwith which he girded himself [and covered his shoulders] on like\nwise. Moreover, he spread before each of them a sash of white silk\nand bringing forth of his pocket precious stones and perfumes, such as\nambergris and aloes-wood, (set them on the edges thereof) [86] after\nwhich they sat down, each on his sash, and Mubarek taught Zein ul Asnam\nthese words, which he should say to the King of the Jinn, to wit: \"O my\nlord King of the Jinn, we are in thy safeguard.\" And Zein ul Asnam said\nto him, \"And I will instantly conjure him that he accept of us.\"\n\nThen said Mubarek, \"O my lord, by Allah, I am exceeding fearful. But now\nhearken; an he be minded to accept of us without hurt, he will come to\nus in the semblance of a man accomplished in grace and goodliness;\nbut, an he have no mind to us, he will come to us in a gruesome and a\nfrightful aspect. An thou see him surpassing in beauty, arise forthright\nand salute him, but beware lest thou overpass thy sash.\" And Zein\nul Asnam said to him, \"Hearkening and obedience.\" \"And be this thy\nsalutation to him,\" continued Mubarek; \"thou shalt say, 'O King of the\nJinn and lord of the earth, my father, the Sultan of Bassora, the angel\nof death hath removed, as indeed is not hidden from thee. Now Thy Grace\nwas still wont to take my father under thy protection, and I come\nto thee likewise to put myself under thy safeguard, even as did he.'\nMoreover, [87] O my lord Zein ul Asnam,\" added he, \"an the King of the\nJinn receive us with a cheerful favour, he will without fail ask thee\nand say to thee, 'Seek of me that which thou wiliest and thou shalt\nforthright be given [it].' [88] So do thou seek of him and say to him,\n'O my lord, I crave of Thy Grace the ninth image, than which there is\nnot the world a more precious; and indeed Thy Grace promised my father\nthat thou wouldst give it to me.\"'\n\nHaving thus taught his lord how he should speak with the King of the\nJinn and seek of him the ninth image and how he should make his speech\nseemly and pleasant, Mubarek fell to conjuring and fumigating and\nreciting words that might not be understanded; and no great while passed\nere the world lightened [89] and rain fell in torrents [90] and it\nthundered and darkness covered the face of the earth; and after this\nthere came a tempestuous wind and a voice like an earthquake of the\nearthquakes [91] of the Day of Resurrection. When Zein ul Asnam saw\nthese portents, his joints trembled and he was sore affrighted, for\nthat he beheld a thing he had never in all his life seen nor heard.\nBut Mubarek laughed at him and said to him, \"Fear not, O my lord; this\nwhereat thou art affrighted is that which we seek; nay, it is a presage\nof good to-us. So take heart and be of good cheer.\" After this there\ncame a great clearness and serenity and there breathed pure and fragrant\nbreezes; then, presently, behold, there appeared the King of the Jinn in\nthe semblance of a man comely of favour, there was none like unto him\nin his goodliness, save He who hath no like and to whom belong might and\nmajesty. He looked on Zein ul Asnam and Mubarek with a cheerful, smiling\ncountenance; whereupon the prince arose forthright and proffered him his\npetition in the words which Mubarek had taught him.\n\nThe King of the Jinn turned to him, smiling, and said to him, \"O Zein\nul Asnam, indeed I loved thy father the Sultan of Bassora, and I used,\nwhenassoever he came to me, to give him an image of those which thou\nhast seen, each wroughten of a single jewel, and thou also shalt stand\nin thy father's stead with me and shalt find favour in mine eyes, even\nas did he, ay, and more. Before he died, I caused him write the writ\nwhich thou sawest on the curtain of silk and promised him that I would\ntake thee under my protection, even as himself, and would give thee the\nninth image, which is more of worth than those which thou hast seen. Now\nit is my intent to perform the promise which I made to thy father, that\nI would take thee under my protection, and [92] [know that] I was the\nold man whom thou sawest in thy sleep and it was I bade thee dig in\nthe palace for the vault wherein thou foundest the jars of gold and the\nimages of jewels. I know also wherefore thou art come hither; nay, I\nam he that was the cause of thy coming, and I will give thee that which\nthou seekest, albeit I had not given it to thy father; but on condition\nthat thou swear to me a solemn oath and abide me constant thereto, to\nwit, that thou wilt return and bring me a girl of the age of fifteen\nyears, with whom there shall be none to match in loveliness, and she\nmust be a clean maid, who shall never have lusted after man, nor shall\nman have lusted after her. Moreover, thou must swear to me that thou\nwilt keep faith with her, coming, and beware lest thou play me false\nwith her by the way.\"\n\nSo Zein ul Asnam swore a solemn oath to him of this and said to him, \"O\nmy lord, indeed, thou honourest me with this service; but methinketh it\nwill be hard to find a girl like this. Nay, supposing I find a damsel\nfifteen years of age and beautiful exceedingly, according to Thy Grace's\nrequirement, how shall I know that she hath never in her time lusted\nafter man nor hath man lusted after her?\" \"O Zein ul Asnam,\" replied\nthe King of the Jinn, \"thou art in the right and certain it is that this\nknowledge is a thing unto which the sons of man may not avail; but I\nwill give thee a mirror of my fashion, and when thou seest a girl and\nher beauty pleaseth thee and her grace, do thou open this mirror that\nI shall give thee, and if thou find her image therein clear and bright,\nthou shalt know forthright that she is pure without default and that all\ngood qualities are in her; so do thou take her for me. If thou find\nher image in the mirror other than this, to wit, an it be troubled and\nclothed with uncleanness, know that the girl is sullied and beware of\nher; but, an thou find one such as she whose qualities I have set out\nto thee, bring her to me and watch over her [by the way;] yet beware and\nagain I say, beware of treason and bethink thee that, an thou keep not\nfaith with me, thou wilt assuredly lose thy life.\"\n\nSo Zein ul Asnam made with him a stable and abiding covenant, the\ncovenant of the sons of kings, that he would keep the plighted faith\nand never play him false, but [93] would bring him the damsel with all\ncontinence. Then the King of the Jinn delivered him the mirror and said\nto him, \"O my son, take this mirror whereof I bespoke thee, and now\ndepart.\" Accordingly Zein ul Asnam and Mubarek arose and calling down\nblessings upon the King, returned upon their steps till they came to\nthe lake, where they sat a little and behold, up came the boat which had\nbrought them and the genie rowing therein, whose head was as [94] the\nhead of an elephant. Now this was by the commandment of the King of the\nJinn; so they embarked with the genie and crossed with him to the other\nshore; after which they returned to Cairo and entering Mubarek's\nhouse, abode there awhile till they were rested from the fatigue of the\njourney.\n\nThen Zein ul Asnam turned to Mubarek and said to him, \"Come, let us go\nto the city of Baghdad, so we may seek for a girl who shall be according\nto the requirement of the King of the Jinn.\" And Mubarek said to him,\n\"O my lord, we are in Cairo, the city of cities and the wonder of the\nworld. [95] I shall without fail find a girl here and it needeth not\nthat we go to a far city.\" \"Thou sayst sooth, O Mubarek,\" rejoined the\nprince; \"but how shall we set about the matter and how shall we do to\ncome by [96] a girl like this and who shall go seeking her for us?\" \"O\nmy lord,\" replied Mubarek, \"concern not thyself [97] for that, for I\nhave with me here an old woman (upon her, [to speak] figuratively, [98]\nbe the malediction [of God] [99]) who is a mistress of wiles and craft\nand guile and not to be baulked by any hindrance, however great.\" Then\nhe sent to fetch the old woman and telling her that he wanted a damsel\nfifteen years old and fair exceedingly, so he might marry her to the\nson of his lord, promised her largesse galore, an she did her utmost\nendeavour in the matter; whereupon, \"O my lord,\" answered she, \"be easy;\nI will accomplish unto thee thy desire beyond thy wish; for that under\nmy hand are damsels unpeered in grace and goodliness and all of them\ndaughters of men of condition.\" But, O King of the time, [100] the old\nwoman had no knowledge of the affair of the mirror.\n\nThen she arose and went out to go round about in the city and to run\nalong its ways, [101] seeking [102] the girl for Prince Zein ul Asnam,\nand whenassoever she saw a fair damsel, accomplished in beauty, she\nproceeded to bring her to Mubarek; but, when he looked at her in the\nmirror, he would see her image troubled exceedingly and would leave her;\nso that the old woman brought him all the damsels of Cairo, but there\nwas not found among them one whose image in the mirror was clear;\nwherefore he bethought him to go to Baghdad, since he found not one in\nCairo who pleased him [or] who was a clean maid, like as the King of the\nJinn had enjoined him. So he arose and equipping himself, [set out and]\njourneyed, he and Zein ul Asnam, till they came to the city of Baghdad,\nwhere they hired them a magnificent palace amiddleward the city and took\nup their abode therein. There the chief men of the city used to come\nto them every day and sat at their table, even to the comer and goer by\nnight and by day. [103] Moreover, when there remained aught from their\ntable, they distributed it to the poor and the afflicted and all the\nstrangers in the mosques [104] would come and eat with them. So the\nreport was noised abroad in the land of their generosity and bounty and\nthey became in high repute and fair fame throughout all Baghdad, nor did\nany talk but of Zein ul Asnam and his bounty and wealth.\n\nNow it chanced that in one of the mosques was an Imam, [105] corrupt,\nenvious and despiteful in the extreme, and his lodging was near the\npalace wherein Mubatek and Zein ul Asnam had taken up their abode. When\nhe heard of their bounty and generosity and of the goodliness of their\nrepute, envy get hold upon him and jealousy of them, and he fell to\nbethinking himself how he should do, so he might bring some calamity\nupon them and despoil them of that their fair fortune, for it is of the\nwont of envy that it falleth not but upon the rich. So, one day of the\ndays, as he stood in the mosque, after the mid-afternoon prayer, he came\nforward into the midst of the folk and said, \"O my brethren, O ye of the\nTrue Faith, ye who ascribe unity to God, know that in this our quarter\nthere be two men dwelling, strangers, and most like you are acquainted\nwith them. Now these twain spend and squander wealth galore, passing\nall measure, and in my belief they are none other than thieves and\nhighwaymen and are come hither with that which they stole from their own\ncountry, so they may squander it.\" Then [106] \"O people of Mohammed,\"\nadded he, \"I rede you for God's sake keep yourselves from these\ntricksters, [107] lest belike the Khalif come presently to know of these\ntwo men and ye also fall with them into calamity. Now I have warned\nyou and I wash my hands of your affair, for that I have forewarned and\nawakened you; so do that which you deem well.\" And they said to him, all\nwho were present, with one voice, \"We will do whatsoever thou wiliest,\nO Aboubekr!\" When the Imam heard this from them, he arose and taking\ninkhorn and pen and paper, fell to writing a letter to the Commander of\nthe Faithful, setting forth to him [the case] against Zein ul Asnam and\nMubarek.\n\nNow, as destiny willed it, the latter chanced to be in the mosque among\nthe folk and heard the accursed Imam's discourse and that which he did\nby way of writing the letter to the Khalif; whereupon he tarried not,\nbut, returning home forthwith, took an hundred diners and made him\na parcel of price, all of silken clothes, [108] wherewith he betook\nhimself in haste to Aboubekr's house and knocked at the door. The Imam\ncame out to him and opened the door; and when he saw him, he asked him\nsurlily who he was and what he would; whereupon quoth the other, \"O my\nlord the Imam Aboubekr, I am thy slave Mubarek and I come to thee on the\npart of my lord the Amir Zein ul Asnam. He hath heard of thy learning\nand of the excellence of thy repute in the city and would fain become\nacquainted with thee and do that which behoveth unto thee; wherefore\nhe hath presently sent me with these things and this money for thine\nexpenses and hopeth of thee that thou wilt not blame him, inasmuch as\nthis is little for thy worth, but hereafter, God willing, he will not\nfail of that which is due unto thee.\" Aboubekr looked at [the coins and]\nat their impress and yellowness [109] and at the parcel of clothes and\nsaid to Mubarek, \"O my lord, [I crave] pardon of thy lord the Amir, for\nthat I am presently abashed before him [110] and it irketh me sore that\nI have not done my duty towards him; [111] but I hope of thee that thou\nwilt intercede with him on my behalf, so he may of his favour pardon\nme my default; and (the Creator willing) I will to-morrow do that which\nbehoveth me and will go do my service to him [112] and proffer him the\nrespect which is due from me to him.\" \"O my lord Aboubekr,\" replied\nMubarek, \"the extreme of my lord's desire is to look upon thy worship,\nso he may be honoured by thy presence and get of thee a blessing.\" So\nsaying, he kissed the Imam's hand and returned to his lodging.\n\nOn the morrow, whilst Aboubekr was [engaged] in the Friday prayers at\ndawn, he stood up amongst the folk, in the midst of the mosque, and\nsaid, \"O our brethren of the Muslims and people of Mohammed, all of you,\nverily envy falleth not save upon the rich and the noble and passeth\nby the poor and those of low estate. Know that of the two stranger men\nagainst whom I spoke yesterday one is an Amir, a man of great rank\nand noble birth, and the case is not as certain of the envious [113]\ninformed me concerning him, to wit, that he was a thief and a robber;\nfor I have enquired into the matter and find that the report lieth. So\nbeware lest any of you missay of the Amir or speak aught of evil against\nhim, such as that which I heard yesterday, or you will cause me and\nyourselves fall into the gravest of calamities with the Commander of the\nFaithful; for that a man of high degree like this cannot sojourn in the\ncity of Baghdad without the Khalif's knowledge.\" On [114] this wise,\nthen, the Imam Aboubekr did away from the minds of the folk the ill\nthought [115] which he had planted [there] by his speech concerning Zein\nul Asnam.\n\nMoreover, when he had made an end of the prayers, he returned to his\nown house and donned his gabardine; then, weightening his skirts and\nlengthening his sleeves, [116] he went forth and took his way to the\nprince's house. When he came in to Zein ul Asnam, the latter rose to\nhim and received him with the utmost reverence. Now he was by nature\nreligious, [117] for all he was a youth of tender age; so he proffered\nthe Imam all manner of honour and seating him by his side on a high\ndivan, let bring him coffee with ambergris. Then the servants spread the\ntable for breakfast and they took their sufficiency of meat and drink,\nand when they had finished, they fell to talking and making merry\ntogether. Presently the Imam asked the prince and said to him, \"O my\nlord Zein ul Asnam, doth your highness purpose to sojourn long here in\nBaghdad?\" \"Yea, verily, O our Lord the Imam,\" answered Zein ul Asnam;\n\"my intent is to sojourn here awhile, till such time as my requirement\nbe accomplished.\" \"And what,\" asked Aboubekr, \"is the requirement of my\nlord the Amir? Belike, an I know it, I may avail to further him to his\nwish, though I sacrifice my life for him.\" [118] And the prince said to\nhim, \"I seek a damsel fifteen years of age and fair exceedingly, that I\nmay marry her; but she must be pure and chaste and a clean maid, whom\nno man hath anywise defiled nor in all her life hath she thought upon a\nman; [119] and she must be unique in grace and goodliness.\"\n\n\"O my lord,\" rejoined the Imam, \"this is a thing exceeding hard to find;\nbut I know a damsel unique in her loveliness and her age is fifteen\nyears. Her father was a Vizier, who resigned office of his own motion,\nand he abideth presently at home in his palace and is exceeding jealous\nover his daughter and her bringing up. [120] Methinketh this damsel will\nsuit your Highness's mind, and she will rejoice in an Amir like your\nHighness, as also will her parents.\" Quoth Zein ul Asnam, \"God willing,\nthis damsel whereof thou speakest will answer my requirement and the\naccomplishment of our desire shall be at thy hands; [121] but, O our\nlord the Imam, before all things my wish is to see her, so I may know\nan she be chaste or not. As for her beauty, I am assured of [122] your\nworship's sufficiency and am content to trust to your word concerning\nher loveliness, to wit, that she is surpassing; but, for her chastity,\nyou cannot avail to testify with certitude of her case.\" \"And how,\"\nasked the Imam, \"can it be possible unto you, O my lord the Amir, to\nknow from her face that she is pure? An this be so, your highness is\nskilled in physiognomy. However, an your highness will vouchsafe to\naccompany me, I will carry you to her father's palace and make you known\nto the latter, and he shall bring her before you.\"\n\nAccordingly, [123] the Imam Aboubekr took Zein ul Asnam and carried him\nto the Vizier's house; and when they went in to him, the Vizier rose\nand welcomed the prince, especially when he knew that he was an Amir and\nunderstood from the Imam that he wished to marry his daughter. So he let\nbring the damsel before him, and when she came, he bade her raise the\nveil from her face. Accordingly she unveiled herself and Zein ul Asnam,\nlooking upon her, was amazed at her grace and goodliness, for that never\nhad he seen one to match with her in beauty; and he said in himself, \"I\nwonder if I shall [124] happen upon one like this damsel, since it is\nforbidden that she should be mine!\" Then he brought out the mirror\nfrom his pocket and looked thereon; when, behold, its crystal was clear\nexceedingly, as it were virgin silver; and he observed her image in\nthe mirror and saw it like a white dove. So he forthright concluded the\nmatch and sent for the Cadi and the witnesses, who wrote the writ\n[125] and enthroned the bride; [126] after which Zein ul Asnam took\nthe Vizier, the bride's father, home with him to his house and sent the\nyoung lady jewels of great price. Then they celebrated the wedding and\nheld high festival, never was the like thereof, whilst Zein ul Asnam\nproceeded to entertain the folk and made them banquets for the space of\neight days. Moreover, he honoured Aboubekr the Imam and gave him gifts\ngalore and brought the Vizier, the bride's father, presents and great\nrarities.\n\nThen, the wedding festivities being ended, Mubarek said to Zein ul\nAsnam, \"Come, O my lord, let us set out on our way, lest we waste the\ntime in sloth, now we have found that whereof we were in search.\" And\nthe prince answered him, saying, \"Thou art in the right.\" So Mubarek\narose and fell to equipping them for the journey; moreover, he let make\nthe young lady a camel-litter [127] with a travelling couch, [128] and\nthey set out. But Mubarek knew that Zein ul Asnam was sunken deep in\nlove of the damsel; so he took him and said to him, \"O my lord Zein ul\nAsnam, I would fain remind thee to watch over thyself; nay, again I say,\nhave a care and keep the faith which thou plightedst to the King of the\nJinn.\" \"O Mubarek,\" answered the prince, \"an thou knewest the transport\nwhich possesseth me for the love of this young lady [129] and how I\nstill think of nothing but of taking her to Bassora and going in [to\nher]!\" And Mubarek said to him, \"Nay, O my lord; keep thy troth and play\nnot the traitor to thine oath, lest there befall thee a sore calamity\nand thou lose thy life and the young lady lose hers also. Bethink thee\nof the oath which thou sworest and let not lust get the mastery over\nthine understanding, lest thou lose guerdan [130] and honour and life.\"\n\"O Mubarek,\" rejoined Zein ul Asnam, \"keep thou watch over her thyself\nand let me not see her.\" So [131] Mubarek fell to keeping watch and ward\nover the bride in the prince's stead and guarded the latter also, lest\nhe should look on her; and so they journeyed on past the road leading\nunto Egypt and fared on their way to the Island of the Jinn.\n\nWhen the bride beheld the journey (and indeed it was long upon her) and\nsaw not her husband in all this time since the night of the bridal, she\nturned to Mubarek and said to him, \"God upon thee, O Mubarek, tell me,\nI conjure thee by the life of thy lord the Amir, are we yet far from the\ndominions [132] of my bridegroom, the Amir Zein ul Asnam?\" And he said\nto her, \"Alack, O my lady, it irketh me for thee and I will discover to\nthee that which is hidden. To wit, thou deemest that Zein ul Asnam,\nKing of Bassora, is thy bridegroom. Far be it! [133] He is not thy\nbridegroom. The writing of the writ of his marriage with thee [134] was\nbut a pretext before thy parents and the folk; and now thou art going\nfor a bride to the King of the Jinn, who sought thee from the Amir Zein\nul Asnam.\" When the young lady heard these words, she fell a-weeping and\nZein ul Asnam heard her and fell a-weeping also, a sore weeping, of the\nexcess of his love for her. And she said to them, \"Is there no pity\nin you and no clemency and have you no fear of God, that I, a stranger\nmaid, you cast me into a calamity like this? What answer will you give\nunto God [135] concerning this treason that you have wroughten with me?\"\n\nBut her weeping and her words availed her nothing, and they ceased not\nto fare on with her till they came to the King of the Jinn, to whom they\nstraightway presented her. When he beheld her, she pleased him and he\nturned to Zein ul Asnam and said to him. \"Verily, the girl whom thou\nhast brought me is exceeding in beauty and surpassing in loveliness; but\nthe goodliness of thy loyalty and shine overmastering of thyself for my\nsake is fairer than she in mine eyes. So return now to thy place and\nthe ninth image that thou seekest of me thou shalt find, on thy return,\nbeside the other images; for I will send it to thee by one of my slaves\nof the Jinn.\" Accordingly, Zein ul Asnam kissed the King's hand and\nreturned with Mubarek to Cairo; but, when they came thither, he chose\nnot to abide with Mubarek longer than a resting-while, of the excess of\nhis longing and his yearning to see the ninth image. Withal he ceased\nnot from mourning, bethinking him of the young lady and her grace and\ngoodliness; and he fell to lamenting and saying, \"Alas for the loss of\nmy delights that were because of thee, O pearl of beauty and loveliness,\nthou whom I took from thy parents and presented to the King of the Jinn!\nAlack, the pity of it!\" And [136] he chid himself for the deceit and the\nperfidy which he had practised upon the young lady's parents and how he\nhad brought her to the King of the Jinn.\n\nThen he set out and gave not over journeying till he came to Bassora\nand entering his palace, saluted his mother and told her all that had\nbefallen him; whereupon quoth she to him, \"Arise, O my son, so thou\nmayst [137] see this ninth image, for that I am exceeding rejoiced at\nits presence with us.\" So they both descended into the underground hall,\nwherein were the eight images, and found there a great marvel; to wit,\ninstead of the ninth image, they beheld the young lady, resembling the\nsun in her loveliness. The prince knew her, when he saw her, and she\nsaid to him, \"Marvel not to find me here in place of that which thou\nsoughtest; methinketh thou wilt not repent thee an thou take me in the\nstead of the ninth image.\" \"No, by Allah, oh my beloved!\" replied Zein\nul Asnam, \"For that thou art the end of my seeking and I would not\nexchange thee for all the jewels in the world. Didst thou but know the\ngrief which possessed me for thy separation, thou whom I took from thy\nparents by fraud and brought thee to the King of the Jinn!\" [138]\n\nScarce had the prince made an end of his speech when they heard a noise\nof thunder rending the mountains and shaking the earth and fear get hold\nupon the queen, the mother of Zein ul Asnam, yea, and sore trembling;\nbut, after a little, the King of the Jinn appeared and said to her, \"O\nlady, fear not, it is I who am thy son's protector and I love him with\nan exceeding love for the love his father bore me. Nay, I am he\nwho appeared to him in his sleep and in this I purposed to try his\nfortitude, whether or not he might avail to subdue himself for loyalty's\nsake. Indeed the beauty of this young lady beguiled him and he could not\navail to keep his covenant with me so strictly but [139] that he desired\nher for his bride. However, I know the frailty of human nature and\nwithal I think greatly of him that he guarded her and kept her unsullied\nand withdrew himself from her; [140] wherefore I accept this his\nconstancy and bestow her on him as a bride. She is the ninth image,\nwhich I promised him should be with him, and certes she is fairer than\nall these images of jewels, inasmuch as her like is rarely found in the\nworld.\" Then the King of the Jinn turned to Zein ul Asnam and said to\nhim, \"O Prince Zein ul Asnam, this is thy bride; take her and go in\nto her, on condition that thou love her and take not unto her a\nsecond [wife]; and I warrant thee of the goodliness of her fidelity\nto-thee-ward.\" Therewithal he vanished from them and Zein ul Asnam went\nout, glad and rejoicing in the young lady; [141] and of [the excess\nof] his love for her he went in to her that night and let celebrate the\nbridal and hold high festival in all the kingdom. Then he abode upon the\nthrone of his kingship, judging and commanding and forbidding, whilst\nhis bride became queen of Bassora; and after a little his mother died.\nSo he made her funeral obsequies [142] and mourned for her; after which\nhe lived with his bride in all content till there came to them the\nDestroyer of Delights and the Sunderer of Societies.\n\n\n\n\n\nALAEDDIN AND THE ENCHANTED LAMP. [143]\n\n\n\nThere [144] was [once] in a city of the cities of China a man, a tailor\nand poor, and he had a son by name Alaeddin, who was perverse and\ngraceless from his earliest childhood. When he came to ten years of age,\nhis father would fain have taught him his own craft, for that, because\nhe was poor, he could not spend money upon him to have him taught\n[another] trade or art [145] or the like; [146] so he carried him to his\nshop, that he might teach him his craft of tailoring; but, forasmuch\nas the lad was perverse and wont still to play with the boys of the\nquarter, [147] he would not sit one day in the shop; nay, he would watch\nhis father till such time as he went forth the place to meet a customer\n[147] or on some other occasion, when he would flee forth incontinent\nand go out to the gardens with the good-for-nothing lads like himself.\nThis, then, was his case, [148] and he would not obey his parents, nor\nwould he learn a craft. His father sickened of his grief and chagrin for\nhis son's perversity and died, whilst Alaeddin abode on that his wise.\nWhen his mother saw that her husband had departed this life [149] and\nthat her son was a scapegrace and a good-for-nought, she sold the\nshop and all she found therein and fell to spinning cotton and feeding\nherself and her graceless son Alaeddin with her toil. The latter,\nseeing himself quit of his father's danger, [150] redoubled in his\ngracelessness and his perversity and would not abide in their house save\neating-whiles; and his poor wretched mother supported him [151] by the\nspinning of her hands till he came to fifteen years of age.\n\nOne [152] day of the days, as he sat in the street, playing with the\nvagabond boys, behold, a Maugrabin [153] dervish came up and stopping\nto look at the lads, singled out Alaeddin from his comrades and fell to\ngazing upon him and straitly considering his favour. Now this dervish\nwas from the land of Hither Barbary [154] and he was an enchanter who\nwould cast mountain upon mountain with his sorcery and was skilled to\nboot in physiognomy. [155] When he had well considered Alaeddin, he said\nin himself, \"Certes, this boy is he whom I seek and he it is in quest of\nwhom I came forth from my country.\" So he took one of the lads apart and\nasked him of Alaeddin, whose son he was, and questioned him of all his\naffairs; after which he went up to Alaeddin and taking him aside, said\nto him, \"Harkye, boy, art thou not the son of such an one the tailor?\"\nAnd he answered him, saying \"Yes, O my lord; but my father died awhile\nagone.\" When the Maugrabin magician heard this, he threw himself upon\nAlaeddin and embracing him, fell to kissing him and weeping, that his\ntears ran down upon his cheek.\n\nAlaeddin was astonished at the Maugrabin's behaviour; so he asked him\nand said to him, \"What is the cause of thy weeping, O my lord, and\nwhence knewest thou my father?\" The Maugrabin answered him, in a\nmournful, broken voice, [156] saying, \"How, O my son, canst thou ask me\nthis question, after telling me that thy father, my brother, is dead,\nfor thy father was [indeed] my brother [157] and I am newly come from my\ncountry and was rejoicing exceedingly, after this my strangerhood, of my\nexpectation that I should see him and solace myself with him; [158] and\nnow thou tellest me that he is dead! Marry, blood discovered unto me\nthat [159] thou wast the son of my brother, and indeed I knew thee from\namongst all the lads; although thy father, when I left him, was not yet\nmarried. And [160] now, O my son Alaeddin,\" continued he, \"I have lost\nmy consolation [161] and my joy in thy father, my brother, whom I had\nhoped, after my strangerhood, to see ere I died; but separation hath\nafflicted me in him [162] and there is no fleeing from that which is\n[163] nor is there any resource against the ordinance of God the Most\nHigh.\"\n\nThen he took Alaeddin and said to him, \"O my son, I have no comfort\n[163] but in thee [164] and thou art [to me] in the stead of thy father,\nsince thou art his successor and whoso leaveth [a successor] is not\ndead, O my son.\" With this he put his hand [to his pocket] and bringing\nout ten diners, gave them to Alaeddin, saying, \"O my son, where is your\nhouse and where is thy mother, my brother's wife?\" So Alaeddin took him\nand showed him the way to their house; and the magician said to him, \"O\nmy son, take these monies and give them to thy mother and salute her\non my behalf and tell her that thine uncle is come back from his\nstrangerhood; and God willing, to-morrow I will come visit you, so I\nmay salute her and look upon the house wherein my brother dwelt and see\nwhere his tomb is.\" [165] Alaeddin kissed his hand and hastened home,\nrunning in his joy, to his mother and entered, contrary to his wont, for\nthat he was not used to go in to her save at eating-times. So he went in\nto her, rejoicing, and said to her, \"O my mother, I bring thee glad news\nof my uncle, in that he is come back from his absence, and he saluteth\nthee.\" \"O my son,\" quoth she, \"meseemeth thou makest mock of me. Who is\nthine uncle and whence hast thou an uncle on life?\" And he said to her,\n\"O my mother, why didst thou tell me that I had no uncles and no\nkinsfolk on life? Indeed, this man is my uncle and he embraced me and\nkissed me, weeping, and bade me tell thee of this.\" And she answered\nhim, saying, \"Yes, O my son, I knew thou hadst an uncle, but he is dead\nand I know not that thou hast a second uncle.\"\n\nAs [166] for the Maugrabin enchanter, he went forth at dawn and fell to\nsearching for [167] Alaeddin, for that he might not brook parting from\nhim; [168] and as he went about in the thoroughfares of the city, he\ncame upon the lad, who was playing with the vagabonds, as of his wont.\nSo he went up to him and taking him by the hand, embraced him and kissed\nhim; then he brought out of his purse two diners and said to Alaeddin,\n\"Go to thy mother and give her these two diners and say to her, 'My\nuncle would fain sup with us; so take these two diners and make a good\nsupper.' But first show me once more the way to your house.\" \"On my head\nand eyes, O my uncle,\" answered Alaeddin and foregoing him, showed him\nthe way to the house. Then the Maugrabin left him and went his way,\nwhilst Alaeddin returned home and telling his mother [what had passed],\ngave her the two diners and said to her, \"My uncle would fain sup with\nus.\" So she arose forthright and went out to the market, where she\nbought all that was needful and returning home, borrowed of her\nneighbours that which she required of platters and the like and\nproceeded to make ready for supper.\n\nWhen the time of the evening-meal came, she said to Alaeddin, \"O my son,\nthe supper [169] is ready and maybe shine uncle knoweth not the way to\nthe house. Go thou and meet him.\" And he answered her with \"Hearkening\nand obedience.\" But, whilst they were in talk, behold, there came a\nknocking at the door; whereupon Alaeddin went out and opening, found the\nMaugrabin enchanter, and with him a slave bearing wine and fruits. So he\nbrought them in and the slave went his way, whilst the Maugrabin entered\nand saluted Alaeddin's mother; then he fell a-weeping and said to her,\n\"Where is the place in which my brother was wont to sit?\" She pointed\nhim to her husband's sitting-place, whereupon he went thither and\nprostrating himself, fell to kissing the earth and saying, \"Alas, how\nscant is my delight and how sorry my fortune, since I have lost thee,\nO my brother and apple [170] of mine eye!\" And the abode on this wise,\nweeping and lamenting, till Alaeddin's mother was certified that he was\nin earnest and that he was like to swoon of the excess of his wailing\nand his lamentation. So she came to him and raised him from the ground,\nsaying, \"What profiteth it that thou shouldst kill thyself?\" And [171]\nshe proceeded to comfort him and made him sit down.\n\nThen, before she laid the table, the Maugrabin fell to relating to her\n[his history] and said to her, \"O wife of my brother, let it not amaze\nthee that in all thy days thou never sawest me neither knewest of me\nin my late brother's lifetime, for that I left this country forty years\nagone and became an exile from my native land. I journeyed to the lands\nof Hind and Sind and all the country of the Arabs and coming presently\ninto Egypt, sojourned awhile in the magnificent city [of Cairo], which\nis the wonder of the world. [172] Ultimately I betook myself to the land\nof Hither Barbary [173] and sojourned there thirty years' space, [174]\ntill one day of the days, as I sat, [175] O wife of my brother, I\nbethought me of my country and my native place and of my late brother\nand longing waxed on me to see him and I fell a-weeping and lamenting\nover my strangerhood and distance from him. In fine, my yearning for him\nimportuned me till I resolved to journey to this country, the which was\nthe falling-place of my head [176] and my native land, that I might see\nmy brother. And I said in myself, \"O man, how long wilt thou be an exile\n[177] from thy country and thy native place, whenas thou hast an only\nbrother and no more? Arise and journey and look upon him ere thou die.\nWho knoweth the calamities of fate and the vicissitudes of the days?\nSore pity 'twere that thou shouldst die and not see thy brother.\nMoreover, Allah (praised be He) hath given thee abundant wealth and it\nmay be thy brother is in poor case and straitened, and thou wilt help\nhim, an [178] thou see him.\" So I arose forthright and equipped myself\nfor travel; then, reciting the Fatiheh [179], I took horse, after the\nFriday prayer, and came, after many hardships and fatigues,--which I\nsuffered, till the Lord (to whom belong might and majesty) protected\n[me],--to this city. I entered it and as I went about its thoroughfares\nthe day before yesterday, I saw my brother's son Alaeddin playing with\nthe boys; and by Allah the Great, O wife of my brother, when I saw him,\nmy heart crave to him, for that blood yearneth unto blood, and my soul\nforeboded me he was my brother's son. At his sight I forgot all my toils\nand troubles and was like to fly for joy; then, when he told me that my\nlate brother had departed to the mercy of God the Most High, I swooned\naway for stress of grief and chagrin; and most like he hath told thee\nof that which overcame me. [180] But I comforted myself somewhat with\nAlaeddin, who standeth in stead of [181] the departed, for that whoso\nleaveth [a successor] [182] dieth not.\"\n\nThen, [183] when he saw her weeping at this speech, he turned to\nAlaeddin, by way of making her forget the mention of her husband and\nfeigning to comfort her, so he might the better accomplish his device\nupon her, and said to him, \"O my son Alaeddin, what hast thou learned of\ncrafts and what is thy business? Hast thou learned thee a trade whereby\nthou mayst live, thou and thy mother?\" At this Alaeddin was confounded\nand abashed and hung down his head, bowing it to the ground, whilst his\nmother said to the Maugrabin, \"How? By Allah, he knoweth nought at all!\nSo graceless a lad I never saw. All day long he goeth about with the\nvagabond boys of the quarter like himself; nay, his father, woe is me,\ndied not but of his chagrin concerning him; and now, as for me, my case\nis woeful. I spin cotton and toil night and day, to earn two cakes of\nbread, that we may eat them together. This, then, is his condition, O\nmy brother-in-law, and by thy life, he cometh not in to me save at\neating-times, and I am thinking to bolt the door of my house and not\nopen to him and let him go seek his living for himself, for that I am\ngrown an old woman and have no strength left to toil and provide for\nthe maintenance of a fellow like this. [184] By Allah, I get mine own\nlivelihood, I that need one who shall maintain me.\" [185]\n\nTherewithal the Maugrabin turned to Alaeddin and said to him, \"How is\nthis, O son of my brother? It is a disgrace to thee to go vagabonding\nabout in this abjection. This befitteth not men like thee. Thou art\ngifted with understanding, O my son, and the child of [reputable] folk;\n[186] I and it is a shame upon thee that thy mother, who is an old\nwoman, should toil for thy maintenance, now thou art grown a man.\nNay, it behoveth thee get thee some means whereby thou mayst maintain\nthyself, O my son. See, by God's grace, (praised be He) here in our city\nbe masters of crafts, nowhere is there a place more abounding in them:\nchoose, then, the craft which pleaseth thee and I will establish thee\ntherein, so that, when thou growest up, O my son, thou mayst find thee\nthy craft whereby thou shalt live. Belike thou hast no mind to thy\nfather's trade; so choose other than it. Tell me the craft which\npleaseth thee and I will help thee in all that is possible, O son of\nmy brother.\" Then, seeing that Alaeddin was silent and answered him\nnothing, he knew that he had no mind to any craft at all and recked of\nnothing but vagabondage and said to him, \"O son of my brother, be not\nabashed at me; [187] if so be withal [188] thou caress not to learn a\ntrade, I will open thee a merchant's shop of the costliest stuffs and\nthou shalt make thyself acquainted with [189] the folk [190] and shalt\ngive and take and sell and buy and become known in the city.\"\n\nWhen Alaeddin heard these words of his uncle the Maugrabin, to wit,\nthat it was his intent to make him a merchant, [191] a trader, [192] he\nrejoiced exceedingly, well knowing that all merchants' apparel is neat\nand elegant; [193] so he looked at the Maugrabin and smiled and bowed\nhis head, as who should say, \"I am content.\" The [194] magician, seeing\nhim smile, knew that he was content to be a merchant and said to him,\n\"Since thou art content that I should make thee a merchant and open thee\na shop, be a man, O son of my brother, and to-morrow, God willing, I\nwill take thee first to the market and let cut thee an elegant suit of\nclothes such as merchants wear; and after that I will look thee out a\nshop and perform my promise to thee.\" Now Alaeddin's mother was in some\nlittle doubt as to the Maugrabin; but, when she heard his promise to her\nson that he would open him a shop as a merchant with stuffs and\ncapital and what not else, she concluded that he was in very deed her\nbrother-in-law, inasmuch as a stranger would not do thus with her\nson. So she fell to admonishing her son and exhorting him to put away\nignorance and folly from his head and be a man, and bade him still yield\nobedience to his uncle, as he were his father, and apply himself to make\nup the time which he had wasted in idleness [with] those who were like\nhim, after which she arose and laying the table, spread the evening-meal\nand they all sat down and fell to eating and drinking, whilst the\nMaugrabin talked with Alaeddin upon matters of merchandry and the like.\nThen, when he saw that the night was far spent, [195] he arose and went\nto his lodging, promising to return in the morning and take Alaeddin, so\nhe might let cut him a merchant's suit.\n\nAlaeddin slept not that night for joy and when it was morning, behold,\nthe Maugrabin knocked at the door. The lad's mother arose and opened\nto him; however, he would not enter, but sought Alaeddin, that he might\ntake him with him to the market. So Alaeddin went out to him and gave\nhim good-morning and kissed his hand; whereupon the Maugrabin took him\nby the hand and going with him to the market, entered the shop of a\nseller of all manner of clothes and demanded a suit of costly stuffs.\nThe merchant brought him what he sought, all sewn and ready, and the\nMaugrabin said to Alaeddin, \"Choose that which pleaseth thee, O my son.\"\nAlaeddin rejoiced exceedingly, when he saw that his uncle gave him\nhis choice, and chose clothes to his mind, such as pleased him. The\nMaugrabin at once paid the merchant their price and going out, carried\nAlaeddin to the bath, where they bathed and came forth and drank wine.\n[196] Then Alaeddin arose and donned the new suit; whereat he rejoiced\nand was glad and coming up to his uncle, kissed his hand and thanked\nhim for his bounties. After [197] this the Maugrabin carried him to the\nbazaar of the merchants and showed him the market and the selling and\nbuying and said to him, \"O my son, it behoveth thee consort with\nthe folk, especially with the merchants, so thou mayst learn of them\nmerchandry, since this is become thy craft.\"\n\nThen he took him again and showed him the city and the mosques and all\nthe sights of the place; after which he carried him to a cook's shop,\nwhere the morning-meal was set before them in silver platters. So they\nate and drank till they had enough and going forth, fared on, whilst the\nMaugrabin proceeded to show Alaeddin the pleasaunces and fine buildings,\n[198] going in with him to the Sultan's palace and showing him all the\nfair and fine quarters [199] [of the city]; after which he carried him\nto the Khan of the stranger merchants, where he himself lodged. and\ninvited certain of the merchants who were in the Khan. Accordingly they\ncame and sat down to supper, and he informed them that this was his\nbrother's son and that his name was Alaeddin. Then, after they had eaten\nand drunken, the night being now come, the Maugrabin arose and taking\nAlaeddin, carried him back to his mother.\n\nWhen she saw her son as he were one of the merchants, her wit fled [and\nshe waxed] sorrowful for gladness and fell to extolling the Maugrabin's\nbounty and saying to him, \"O my brother-in-law, I might not suffice [to\nthy deserts,] though I thanked thee all my life long and praised thee\nfor the good thou hast done with my son.\" \"O wife of my brother,\"\nanswered he, \"this is no manner of kindness in me, [200] for that\nthis is my son and it behoveth me stand in the stead of my brother his\nfather; so be thou easy.\" Quoth she, \"I pray God, by the glory of the\nancients [201] and the moderns, that He let thee [live] and continue\nthee, O my brother-in-law, and prolong me thy life, so thou mayst be\n[as] a wing [202] to this orphan boy; and he shall still be under thine\nobedience and thy commandment and shall do nought but that which thou\nbiddest him.\" \"O wife of my brother,\" rejoined the Maugrabin, \"Alaeddin\nis a man of understanding and [the son of] decent folk, and my hope is\nin God that he will follow in his father's footsteps and be the solace\nof shine eyes; [203] but it irketh me that, to-morrow being Friday, I\ncannot open him a shop. It being congregation day, all the merchants\nwill go out after prayers to the gardens and pleasaunces; but, God\nwilling, on Saturday, an it please the Creator, we will do our business.\nTomorrow I will come to you and take Alaeddin, that I may show him the\ngardens and pleasaunces without the city,--it may be he hath not\nyet seen them,--and he shall see the merchant-folk and the notables\na-pleasuring there, so he may become acquainted with them and they with\nhim.\" [204]\n\nThe [205] Maugrabin lay the night in his lodging; and on the morrow he\ncame to the tailor's house and knocked at the door. Alaeddin--of the\nexcess of his joy in the clothes he had donned and of the pleasures he\nhad enjoyed on the past day, what with the bath and eating and drinking\nand viewing the folk and the thought that his uncle was coming in the\nmorning to take him and show him the gardens--slept not that night\nneither closed an eye and thought the day would never break. [206] So,\nwhen he heard a knocking at the door, he went out at once in haste, like\na spark of fire, and opening, found his uncle the Maugrabin. The latter\nembraced him and kissed him and took him by the hand, saying, \"O son of\nmy brother, to-day I will show thee a thing such as thou never sawest in\nthy life.\" Then they went off together and the Maugrabin fell to making\nmerry with [207] Alaeddin and amusing him with familiar talk. They went\nforth the gate of the city and the Maugrabin proceeded to walk with him\namong the gardens and to show him the fine pleasaunces and marvellous\nhigh-builded palaces; and whenassoever they looked upon a garden or a\npalace [208] or a pavilion, [209] he would stand and say to Alaeddin,\n\"Doth this please thee, O my son Alaeddin?\"\n\nAlaeddin was like to fly for joy, inasmuch as he saw that which he had\nnever in his life seen, and they gave not over walking and gazing till\nthey were weary, when they entered a fine garden there, that cheered\nthe heart and brightened the eye with its springs [210] welling up among\nflowers and its waters issuing from the mouths of lions of brass like\nunto gold, and sitting down by a lake, rested awhile. As for Alaeddin,\nhe rejoiced and was exceeding glad and fell a-jesting with the Mangrabin\nand making merry with him, as he were his uncle in very deed. Then the\nlatter arose and loosing his girdle, brought out therefrom a bag full\nof victual and fruit and the like and said to Alaeddin, \"O son of\nmy brother, thou art maybe anhungred; come, eat what thou wilt.\" So\nAlaeddin proceeded to eat and the Maugrabin with him and they were\ngladdened and refreshed and their souls were cheered. Then said the\nMaugrabin, \"Rise, O my son, an thou be rested, so we may walk a little\nand fare onward.\" [211] So Alaeddin arose and the Maugrabin walked on\nwith him from garden to garden till they had passed them all and came to\na high mountain. [212]\n\nNow Alaeddin had never gone forth the gate of the city nor in all his\nlife had he walked the like of that walk; so he said to the Maugrabin,\n\"O my uncle, whither are we going? See, we have left all the gardens\nbehind us and are come to the foot of a mountain. [213] If the way be\n[yet] far, I have no strength left me for walking, for that I am worn\nout with fatigue and there remain no more gardens before us; so let us\nturn back and return to the city.\" \"O my son,\" replied the Maugrabin,\n\"this is the way and the gardens are not yet at an end, for we are going\n[214] to view a garden, whose like is not with the kings and compared\nwith which all these which thou hast seen are as nothing. So gird up thy\nloins [215] for walking; praised be God, thou art a man.\" And he fell\nto amusing him with fair words and telling him rare stories, true and\nfalse, till they reached the place at which this Maugrabin enchanter\naimed and in quest whereof he was come from Barbary [216] to the land of\nChina; whereupon, \"O son of my brother,\" quoth he to Alaeddin, \"sit and\nrest thee; this is the place for which we were making; and now, please\nGod, I will show thee marvellous things, the like whereof no one in the\nworld hath seen, nor hath any looked upon that which thou art about to\nbehold. But [217] do thou, after thou art rested, arise and seek sticks\nand grass and reeds and such like matters as are small and dry, so we\nmay kindle a fire, and I will cause thee look, O son of my brother, upon\na thing which passeth understanding.\" [218]\n\nWhen Alaeddin heard this, he yearned to see what his uncle was about to\ndo; so he forgot his fatigue and rising forthright, fell to gathering\nbrushwood and dry sticks and gathered till the Maugrabin said to him,\n\"Enough, O son of my brother.\" Then he brought out of his pocket a\ncasket, from which he took what he needed of perfumes, and proceeded\nto make fumigations and conjurations, speaking words that might not be\nunderstanded; and straightway it darkened and thundered and the earth\nquaked and opened. At this Alaeddin was sore affrighted and would have\nfled; which when the Maugrabin enchanter saw, he was exceeding, incensed\nat him, for that without Alaeddin his labour was of none avail, since\nthe treasure whereat he sought to come might not be opened save by\nmeans of the lad. So, when he saw him offer to flee, he rose to him and\nlifting his hand, smote him on his head, that he came nigh to knock out\nhis teeth; whereupon Alaeddin swooned away and fell upon the earth;\nbut, after a little, he recovered his senses, by the virtue of the\nMaugrabin's enchantments, and falling a-weeping, said to him, \"O my\nuncle, what have I done to deserve from thee this blow?\" The Maugrabin\nproceeded to soothe him and said to him, \"O my son, it is my desire to\nmake thee a man; so cross me not, for that I am thine uncle and as it\nwere thy father; wherefore do thou obey me in that which I shall say to\nthee, and after a little thou shalt forget all this travail and annoy,\nwhenas thou lookest upon things marvellous.\"\n\nNow, when the earth clove in sunder before the enchanter, there appeared\nto him an alabaster slab and in it a ring of molten brass; [219] so he\nturned to Alaeddin and said to him, \"An thou do that which I shall tell\nthee, thou shalt become richer than all the kings; and on this account,\nO my son, I beat thee, for that here is a treasure and it is in thy\nname, and thou, thou wouldst fain have passed it by and fled. But\nnow collect thy wits [220] and see how I have opened the earth by my\nconjurations and incantations. Under [221] yonder stone, wherein is the\nring, is the treasure whereof I have told thee; so do thou put thy hand\nto the ring and lift the slab, for that none of mankind can open it but\nthou and none but thou can set his foot within this treasure, since it\nis guarded for thee. But needs must thou hearken from me that which I\nshall teach thee and lose not [222] a syllable of my speech. Marry, all\nthis, O my son, is for thy good, for that this is an exceeding great\ntreasure, the kings of the world possess not its like, and it is thine\nand mine.\" So poor Alaeddin forgot fatigue and beating and weeping, of\nhis amazement at the Maugrabin's speech and joy that he should become\nrich after such a measure that even the kings would be no wealthier than\nhe, and said to him, \"O my uncle, command me all thou wilt, for I will\nbe obedient unto thy commandment.\" And the Maugrabin said to him, \"O\nson of my brother, thou art as my very son, nay, dearer, for being my\nbrother's son. I have no kindred other than thyself and thou art my\nnatural heir and successor, O my son.\"\n\nTherewith he came up to Alaeddin and kissed him saying, \"All these my\ntoils, whom do they concern? [223] They are all for thy sake, O my son,\nthat I may make [224] thee a man rich and great [225] exceedingly; so\ngainsay me not in aught that I shall tell thee; but go up to yonder ring\nand raise it, as I bade thee.\" \"O my uncle,\" quoth Alaeddin, \"this stone\nis heavy; I cannot raise it of myself, [226] so come thou also and help\nme raise it, for I am little of years.\" \"O son of my brother,\" replied\nthe Maugrabin, \"it will not be possible for us to do aught, an I help\nthee, and our toil will be wasted in vain; but do thou put thy hand to\nthe ring and raise it and it will immediately come up with thee; for, as\nI said to thee, none may handle it but thou. But, when thou raisest\nit, name thine own name and those of thy father and mother and it will\nstraightway rise with thee, nor shalt thou feel its weight.\"\n\nAccordingly, Alaeddin took courage and summoning his resolution, did\nas the Maugrabin bade him and raised the slab with all ease, whenas he\npronounced his own name and those of his father and his mother. So the\nstone came up and he threw it aside; whereupon [227] there appeared to\nhim an underground place and its door, whereas one entered by a stair of\nsome dozen steps, and the Maugrabin said to him, \"O Alaeddin, give heed\n[228] and do punctually that which I shall tell thee, neither fail of\naught thereof. Go down with all circumspection into yonder vault till\nthou come to the bottom thereof and thou wilt find there a place divided\ninto four chambers, [229] in each of which thou wilt see four jars of\ngold and others of native ore and silver. Beware lest thou handle them\nor take aught therefrom, but pass them by till thou come to the fourth\nchamber, and let not thy clothes or thy skirts touch the jars, no, nor\nthe walls, and stay not one moment; for, an thou do contrary to this,\nthou wilt forthright be transformed and wilt become a black stone. When\nthou comest to the fourth chamber, thou wilt find there a door; open\nit and speak the names which thou spokest over the slab; then enter and\nthou wilt find thyself in a garden, all adorned with trees and fruits.\nThence do thou fare on some fifty cubits in the path thou wilt find\nbefore thee and thou wilt come to a dais, [230] with [231] a stair of\nsome thirty steps. Above the dais thou [232] wilt find a lamp hung up;\ntake it and pour out the oil that is therein and put it in thy sleeve;\n[233] and fear not for thy clothes therefrom, for that it [234] is not\noil. And as thou returnest, thou mayst pluck from the trees what thou\nwilt, for that it is thine, what while the lamp abideth in thy hand.\"\n\nWhen the Maugrabin had made an end of his speech, he drew from his\nfinger a ring and putting it on Alaeddin's finger, said to him, \"And\nthis ring, O, my son, shall deliver thee from all hurt and all fear that\nmay betide thee, provided thou observe all that I have said to thee. So\nnow arise and go down; gird thy loins and summon up thy resolution and\nfear not, for that thou art a man and not a child; and after this, O\nmy son, thou shalt in a little time become the richest of mankind.\"\nSo Alaeddin arose and going down into the underground, found the four\nchambers and in each four jars of gold. He passed them by with all care\nand precaution, even as the Maugrabin had bidden him, and entering the\ngarden, fared on there through till he came to the dais and mounting the\nstair, entered [235] and found the lamp. So he quenched it and pouring\nout the oil that was therein, put it in his sleeve; then, going down\ninto the garden, he fell to gazing upon its trees, whereon were birds\nextolling with their songs [236] the perfection of the Great Creator,\nand he had not seen them as he entered. Now the fruits of these trees\nwere all precious stones, each tree bearing fruit of one colour and\nkind of jewel, and these fruits were of all colours, green and white and\nyellow and red and what not else of colours. Their glitterance outshone\nthe rays of the sun in its forenoon splendour and the bigness of each\njewel overpassed description; suffice it that not one of them might be\nfound with the greatest of the kings of the world, [237] no, nor a gem\nhalf the bigness of the smallest that was there.\n\nAlaeddin [238] entered among the trees and proceeded to gaze upon them\nand upon these things which amazed the sight and ravished the sense\nand observing them, saw that, instead of fruits, they bore magnificent\njewels from the mines, emeralds and diamonds and rubies and pearls and\ntopazes [239] and the like of precious stones, such as confounded the\nwit. Now, for that this was a thing Alaeddin had never in his life seen,\nneither was he of ripe age, so he should know the value of these jewels,\nby reason of his being yet a young lad, he thought that they were all\nglass or crystal; so he gathered of them what filled his sleeves [240]\nand fell to looking an they were grapes or figs and the like of fruits\nthat might be eaten or not; but, finding them like glass, he proceeded\nto gather in his sleeve [241] of every kind that was upon the trees,\nalbeit he knew not jewels nor their worth, saying in himself, since he\nhad been baulked in his intent of eating, \"I will gather of these fruits\nof glass and will play with them at home.\" Accordingly he proceeded to\npluck and put in his pockets [242] and his sleeves [243] till he filled\nthem; after which he filled his girdle with the fruits and girt himself\nwithal; in fine, he carried off as much as he might, purposing to lay\nthem up with him in the house by way of ornament, for that he thought\nthem glass, as I have said. Then he quickened his pace, of his fear of\nhis uncle the Maugrabin, and hastened through the four chambers and the\n[outer] vault nor looked, as he returned, at the jars of gold, albeit he\nmight now have taken of them. [244]\n\nWhen he came to the stair [245] and ascended it and there remained to\nhim but a small matter, to wit, the last step, which was much higher\nthan the others, he could not avail to mount it of himself, having\nregard to that which he was carrying; so he said to the Maugrabin, \"O\nmy uncle, give me thy hand and help me up.\" Quoth he, \"O my son, give\nme the lamp and lighten thyself; maybe it is that which hindereth thee.\"\n\"Nay, O my uncle,\" answered Alaeddin, \"the lamp hindereth me nought; but\ndo thou give me thy hand and when I am up, I will give thee the lamp.\"\nThe enchanter, who wanted the lamp and that only, fell to urging\nAlaeddin to give it him; but the latter, having wrapped it within his\nclothes, with purses [246] of jewel-fruits atop of it, [247] could\nnot reach it with his hand, so he might give it him. [248] The [249]\nMaugrabin was instant with him to give him the lamp and was like to lose\nhis wits for rage, seeing he attained not his object, albeit Alaeddin\nstill promised him that he would give it him as soon as he was forth of\nthe vault, [and that] without lying thought or ill intent. Then, when he\nsaw that Alaeddin would not give it him, he was angry with an exceeding\nanger and abandoning all hope of the lamp, conjured and enchanted and\ncast perfumes into the midst of the fire; whereupon the slab immediately\nturned over [250] and shut [251] of itself by the might of his\nenchantments; the earth covered it like as it was before and Alaeddin\nabode under the ground, unable to come forth.\n\nThus the enchanter--forasmuch as he was a stranger and no uncle of\nAlaeddin, as he said, but had counterfeited himself and avouched\nleasing, so he might get the lamp by means of the lad, unto whom that\ntreasure was fortuned by the stars-shut up [252] the earth upon him and\nleft him to die of hunger. Now this accursed Maugrabin wizard was from\nthe city of Africa [253] in Hither Barbary and had from his childhood\nbeen addicted to magic and all the occult arts, for which the city in\nquestion is renowned. He ceased not from his tenderest years to study\nand learn in his native land Africa till he became versed in all\nsciences, and of the much skill and proficiency which he acquired,\nby dint of study and application for the space of forty years, in the\nmatter of incantations and conjurations, it was discovered to him, [254]\none day of the days, that among the uttermost of the cities of China\nwas a city called El Kelaas and in this city a vast treasure, the like\nwhereof no king of the kings of the world ever possessed; but the rarest\n[was] that in this treasure [was] [255] a wonderful lamp, [256] whereat\nif one should come, there might no man be found on earth richer than he,\nwhether in might or in wealth, nor might the greatest king in the\nworld avail unto aught of the riches of this lamp and its puissance and\nvirtue. Moreover [257] he saw that this treasure was to be achieved\nby means of a lad of mean birth, by name Alaeddin, who was of the city\naforesaid, and that it was eath to take and unarduous: so he tarried\nnot, but equipped himself forthright for the voyage to China, as we have\nsaid, and did that which he did with Alaeddin, thinking to come by the\nlamp. But his endeavour was baffled and his expectation baulked and his\ntoil wasted in vain; whereupon he sought to kill Alaeddin and closed up\nthe earth upon him by his sorcery, so he might die (and the live hath\nno slayer [258]); moreover, he purposed by this that Alaeddin should\nnot come forth and that the lamp should not be brought up from under the\nearth. Then he went his ways and returned to his country Africa, woeful\nand despairing of his hope.\n\nSo much for the enchanter and as for what came of Alaeddin, after the\nearth closed over him, he fell to calling upon the Maugrabin, whom he\nthought his uncle, to give him his hand, so he might come forth the\nunderground to the surface of the earth; but, when he found that none\nreturned him an answer, he was ware of the cheat which the Maugrabin had\nput upon him and knew that he was none of his uncle, but a liar and a\nsorcerer. Therewith he despaired of his life and knew, to his woe, that\nthere was no more going forth for him upon the face of the earth; so he\nfell to weeping and lamenting over that which had befallen him. Then,\nafter a little, he arose and went down, that he might see if God the\nMost High had vouchsafed him a door whereby he might go forth; and he\nwent seeking right and left, but saw nought save darkness and four walls\nshut upon him; for that the Maugrabin sorcerer had by his enchantments\nlocked all the doors and had even shut up the garden, so he might leave\nhim no door whereby he should come forth upon the face of the earth\nand so hasten his death upon him. Alaeddin's weeping redoubled and his\nlamentation waxed when he saw all the doors shut and eke the garden, for\nthat he thought to solace himself with them [259] a little; but he found\nthem locked, so he fell to crying out and weeping, as he whose hope is\ncut off, and returning, sat down upon the steps of the stair whereby he\nhad entered the vault, weeping [260] and wailing; and indeed he had lost\nhope.\n\nBut it is a small matter for God (extolled be His perfection and exalted\nbe He) whenas He willeth a thing, to say to it \"Be,\" and it is; for that\nHe createth relief out of the midst of stress; by token that, when the\nMaugrabin enchanter sent Alaeddin down into the vault, he gave him a\nring and put it on his finger, saying, \"This ring will deliver thee from\nall stress, an thou be in calamities or vicissitudes, and will remove\nfrom thee troubles; yea, it will be thy helper whereassoever thou art;\"\nand this was by the foreordinance of God the Most High, so it might be\nthe means of Alaeddin's deliverance. So, as he sat weeping and bewailing\nhis case and indeed his hope was cut off of life and despair was heavy\nupon him, he fell, of the excess of his anguish, to wringing [261] his\nhands, after the wont of the woeful; then, raising them [to heaven], he\nmade supplication to God, saying, \"I testify that there is no God but\nThou alone, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Conquering, the Giver of Life\nand Death, [262] Creator and Accomplisher [263] of necessities, Resolver\nof difficulties and perplexities and Dispeller thereof, [264] Thou\nmy sufficiency, Thou the most excellent Guardian, and I testify that\nMohammed is Thy servant and Thine apostle. O my God, I conjure Thee, by\nhis [265] glory with Thee, deliver me from my extremity.\"\n\nWhilst he was thus supplicating God and wringing his hands in the\nexcess of his affliction for that which had befallen him of calamity,\nhe chanced to rub upon the ring, and immediately, behold, a genie [266]\nrose up before him and said to him, \"Here am I; thy slave is before\nthee. Seek whatsoever thou wilt, for that I am his slave who hath the\nring in hand, the ring of my lord.\" [267] Alaeddin looked and saw a\nMarid, [268] as he were of the Jinn of our lord Solomon, standing before\nhim, and shuddered at his frightful aspect; but, when he heard the genie\nsay to him, \"Seek whatsoever thou wilt, for that I am thy slave, since\nthe ring of my lord is on thy hand,\" he took heart and bethought him\nof the Maugrabin's speech to him, whenas he gave him the ring. So he\nrejoiced exceedingly and took courage and said to him, \"O slave of the\nlord of the ring, I will of thee that thou bring me out upon the face of\nthe earth.\" Hardly had he made an end of that his speech when, behold,\nthe earth opened and he found himself without, at the door of the\ntreasure, to wit, upon the surface of the earth.\n\nNow, he had been three days under the earth, sitting in the treasure in\nthe dark; so, when the light of day smote on his face and the rays of\nthe sun, he might not unclose his eyes, but took to opening them little\nby little and shutting them again till they became stronger and grew\nused to the light and were cleared of the darkness. Then, [269] seeing\nhimself upon the surface of the earth, he rejoiced exceedingly, but\nmarvelled to find himself overagainst the entrance of the treasure,\nwhereby he went down, whenas the Maugrabin enchanter opened it; and now\nthe stone was shut down and the earth levelled, nor was there any sign\ntherein of a door. So he redoubled in wonderment and thought himself\notherwhere; nor was he assured that he was in the very place, till\nhe saw whereas they had kindled the fire of sticks and brushwood\nand whereas the Maugrabin enchanter had made his fumigations and\nconjurations. Then he turned right and left and saw the gardens afar off\nand looked at the way and knew it for that by which they had come. So he\ngave thanks to God the Most High, who had brought him out on the earth's\nface and had delivered him from death, after he had given up hope of\nlife. Then he arose and fared homeward, by the way which he knew, till\nhe came to the city and entering, betook himself to their house and\nwent in to his mother. When he saw her, he fell down before her, of\nthe greatness of the joy which possessed him for his deliverance, and\nswooned away for the affright and the weariness which he had suffered,\nmore by token that he was weak with hunger.\n\nNow his mother had been woebegone since he left her and sat wailing and\nweeping for him; so, when she saw him come in to her, she rejoiced in\nhim with an exceeding joy, but grief overwhelmed her, whenas she saw\nhim fall aswoon upon the earth. However, she wasted no time in vain\nlamentation, but hastened to sprinkle water on his face and sought of\nher neighbours somewhat of perfumes, to which she made him smell. When\nhe was a little recovered, he prayed her bring him somewhat to eat,\nsaying to her, \"O my mother, these three days past I have eaten\nnothing.\" So she arose and setting before him that which she had ready,\nsaid to him, \"Rise, O my son, eat and restore thyself; and when thou\nart rested, tell me what hath happened to thee and what calamity hath\nbefallen thee. I will not question thee now, because thou art weary.\"\nSo, [270] when he had eaten and drunken and had refreshed himself and\nwas rested and restored, he said to her, \"Alack, mother mine, I have a\nsore grief against thee in that thou leftest me to yonder accursed man,\nwho strove for my destruction. Indeed, he sought to kill me; nay, I saw\ndeath face to face from that accursed wretch, whom thou deemedst mine\nuncle, and but for God the Most High, who delivered me from him, [I had\nperished]. Marry, both I and thou, O my mother, suffered ourselves to be\ndeluded by him after the measure of that which the accursed promised\nto do with me of good and of the love which he professed for me. Know,\nthen, O my mother, that this man is an accursed Maugrabin enchanter,\na liar, a deceiver, an impostor and a hypocrite; methinketh the devils\nthat be under the earth are not his match, may God put him to shame in\nevery book! [271] Hear, O my mother, what this accursed did; nay, all\nI shall tell thee is truth and soothfastness. Do but see the villain's\nduplicity; bethink thee of the promises he made me that he would do me\nall manner of good [272] and the love he professed to me, and how he did\nall this that he might accomplish his purpose; nay, his intent was to\nkill me, and praised be God for my deliverance! Hearken, O my mother,\nand learn what this accursed one did.\"\n\nThen he told her all that had befallen him from the time of his leaving\nher, weeping the while for excess of joy; how the Maugrabin brought\nhim to the hill, wherein was the treasure, and how he conjured and\nfumigated. \"And indeed. O my mother,\" said he, \"there overcame me\nexceeding fear, whenas the hill clove in sunder and the earth opened\nbefore me by his enchantments; and I quaked with terror at the voice of\nthe thunder which I heard and the darkness which befell of his spells\nand fumigations, and of my dismay at these portents, I would have fled.\nWhen he saw me offer to flee, he reviled me and smote me, dealing me\na buffet which caused me swoon for pain [273] but, inasmuch as the\ntreasure was opened and he could not go down into it himself, seeing he\nhad opened it by my means and that it was in name and not for him, he\nknew, being a foul sorcerer, that it might [only] be achieved through me\nand that this adventure was [reserved] for me. [274] Accordingly [275]\nhe applied himself to make his peace with me, that he might send me down\ninto the treasure, now it was opened, and attain his object by my means;\nand when he sent me down, he gave me a ring, which he had on his hand,\nand put it on my finger. So I descended into the treasure and found four\nchambers, all full of gold and silver and the like; but this all was\nnothing and the accursed one charged me take nought thereof. Thence I\nentered a magnificent garden, [276] all full of high trees, whose\nfruits ravished the wits, O my mother, for that they were all of\nvarious-coloured crystal, [277] and I fared on till I came to the\npavilion [278] wherein was this lamp; whereupon I took it forthright and\nquenching it, poured out that which was therein.\"\n\n[So saying,] he pulled out the lamp from his sleeve and showed it to his\nmother. Moreover, he showed her the jewels which he had brought from\nthe garden. Now there were two great purses [279] full of these jewels,\nwhereof not one was to be found with the kings of mankind; and Alaeddin\nknew not their value, but thought that they were glass or crystal.\n\"Then, O my mother,\" continued he, \"after I had fetched the lamp and had\ngone forth [the garden] and came to the door of the treasure, I cried\nout to the accursed Maugrabin, who feigned himself my uncle, to give me\nhis hand and pull me up, for I was laden with things which weighed me\ndown, so that it was not possible for me to mount alone. However, he\nwould not give me his hand, but said to me, 'Reach me the lamp that\nis with thee, and after I will give thee my hand and pull thee up.'\nI, seeing that I had put the lamp within my sleeve and the purses atop\n[280] of it, could not reach it to give it to him and said to him, 'O\nmy-uncle, I cannot give thee the lamp. When I come up, I will give it\nto thee.' But he would not help me up; nay, he would e'en have the lamp,\nand his intent was to take it from me and turn back the earth over me\nand destroy me, even as he did with me in the end. This, then, O my\nmother, was what befell me from that foul wizard.\" And he told her all\nthat had passed between them from first to last and fell to reviling\nthe Maugrabin with all rancour and heat of heart, saying, \"Out on this\naccursed one, this foul sorcerer, this hard-hearted oppressor, this\ninhuman, perfidious, hypocritical villain, lacking [281] all mercy and\nruth!\"\n\nWhen [282] Alaeddin's mother heard her son's speech and that which the\naccursed Maugrabin did with him, she said to him, \"Yea, verily, O my\nson, he is a misbeliever and a hypocrite, who destroyeth folk with his\nsorcery; but glory [283] to God the Most High, who hath delivered thee\nfrom the perfidy and guile of this accursed sorcerer, of whom I thought\nthat he was in very deed thine uncle.\" Now, Alaeddin had passed three\ndays without sleep and found himself drowsy; so he [withdrew to his\nchamber and] slept. His mother did likewise and Alaeddin ceased not to\nsleep till next day, [284] near noontide, when he awoke and immediately\nsought somewhat to eat, for that he was anhungred; and his mother said\nto him, \"O my son, I have nought to give thee to eat, for that all I had\nby me thou atest yesterday. But wait awhile; I have here a little yarn\nby me and I am going down to the market, so I may sell it and buy thee\nwithal somewhat thou mayst eat.\" \"O my mother,\" rejoined Alaeddin, \"keep\nthe yarn and sell it not; but give me the lamp which I brought home,\nso I may arise and sell it and with its price buy somewhat we may eat.\nMethinketh it will fetch more than the yarn.\" So she arose and fetched\nthe lamp; but, finding it exceeding dirty, she said to him, \"O my son,\nthis lamp is dirty, and if we wash it and furbish it, it will sell for\na better price.\" Accordingly she took a little sand and fell to scouring\nthe lamp withal; but scarce had she begun to rub it when there appeared\nto her one of the Jinn, foul of favour and monstrous of make as he were\nof the giants, and said to her, \"Say what thou wilt of me. Here am I,\nthy slave and the slave of whoso hath in his hand the lamp; and not I\nalone, but all the slaves of the wonderful lamp that is in thy hand.\"\nWhen she saw his frightful aspect, she trembled and fear get hold upon\nher and her tongue was tied, nor could she return an answer, for that\nshe was not used to look upon apparitions like unto this; so [285] she\nfell down aswoon of her terror.\n\nNow Alaeddin her son was standing afar off and he had seen the slave\nof the ring which he had rubbed in the treasure; so, when he heard the\ngenie's speech to his mother, he hastened to take the lamp from her hand\nand said to him, \"O slave of the lamp, I am hungry; my will is that\nthou bring me somewhat I may eat, and be it somewhat good past conceit.\"\n[286] The genie was absent the twinkling of an eye and [returning,]\nbrought him a great costly tray of sheer silver, whereon were twelve\nplatters of various kinds and colours [287] of rich meats and two silver\ncups and two flagons [288] of clarified old wine and bread whiter than\nsnow; all which he set before him and disappeared. So Alaeddin arose and\nsprinkled rosewater on his mother's face and made her smell to strong\n[289] perfumes; whereupon she revived and he said to her, \"Rise, O\nmy mother, so we may eat of this food that God the Most High hath\nvouchsafed us.\" [290] When she saw the great silver tray, she marvelled\nand said to Alaeddin, \"O my son, who is the generous, the bountiful one\nthat hath sought out our hunger [291] and our poverty? Indeed, we are\nbeholden to him. [292] Apparently the Sultan hath heard of our case and\nour wretchedness and hath sent us this tray.\" \"O my mother,\" answered\nAlaeddin, \"this is no time for questioning; rise, so we may eat, for we\nare anhungred.\"\n\nSo they arose and sitting down to the tray, proceeded to eat, whilst\nAlaeddin's mother tasted food such as she had never in all her life\neaten. And they ate diligently [293] with all appetite, for stress of\nhunger, more by token that the food [was such as] is given to kings,\nnor knew they if the tray were precious or not, for that never in their\nlives had they seen the like of these things. When they had made an end\nof eating and were full (and there was left them, over and above what\nsufficed them, [enough] for the evening-meal and for the next day\nalso), they arose and washing their hands, sat down to talk; whereupon\nAlaeddin's mother turned to her son and said to him, \"O my son, tell me\nwhat befell of [294] the genie, now that, praised be God, we have eaten\nof His bounty and are satisfied and thou hast no pretext for saying\nto me, 'I am anhungred.'\" So he told her all that had passed between\nhimself and the genie, whenas she fell down aswoon of her affright;\nwhereat exceeding wonderment took her and she said to him, \"It is true,\nthen, [295] that the Jinn appear to the sons of Adam, though I, O my\nson, in all my days, I have never seen them, and methinketh this is\nhe who delivered thee, whenas thou west in the treasure.\" \"Nay, O my\nmother,\" answered he, \"this was not he; he who appeared to thee is the\nslave of the lamp.\" \"How so, [296] O my son?\" asked she; and he said,\n\"This slave is other of make than that. That was the servant of the ring\nand this thou sawest is the slave of the lamp which was in thy hand.\"\nWhen [297] his mother heard this, \"Well, well!\" cried she. \"Then the\naccursed who appeared to me and came nigh to kill me for affright is\nof the lamp?\" \"Ay is he,\" answered Alaeddin; and she said to him, \"I\nconjure thee, O my son, by the milk thou suckedst of me, that thou cast\naway from thee both lamp and ring, for that they will be to us a cause\nof exceeding fear and I could not endure to see them [298] a second\ntime; nay, their commerce is forbidden unto us, for that the prophet\n(whom God bless and keep) warneth us against them.\" [299] \"O my mother,\"\nanswered Alaeddin, \"thy speech is on my head and eyes; [300] but, as for\nthis that thou sayest, it may not be that I should cast away either the\nlamp or the ring; nay, thou seest that which it [301] did with us of\ngood, whenas we were anhungred, and know, O my mother, that the lying\nMaugrabin enchanter, what time I went down into the treasure, sought\nnought of gold nor of silver, whereof the four places were full, but\ncharged me bring him the lamp and that only, for that he knew the\ngreatness of its virtues; [302] and except he knew it to be exceeding of\nmight, he had not toiled and travailed and come from his land to this in\nquest of it, nor had he shut the treasure on me, whenas he failed of the\nlamp, seeing I gave it him not. Wherefore, O my mother, it behoveth us\nkeep this lamp and guard it with all care, for that this is our support\nand this it is shall enrich us; and it behoveth us show it not unto any.\nOn like wise, as for the ring, it may not be that I should put it off\nfrom my finger, forasmuch as, but for this ring, thou hadst not seen me\nagain on life; nay, I had died under the earth within the treasure; so\nhow can I put it off from my hand and who knoweth what may happen to\nme in time to come of error or calamity or shift of the shifts of\nmischance, from which the ring might deliver me? However, of regard for\nthy wish, I will lay up the lamp and let thee not see it henceforth.\"\nWhen his mother heard his words and pondered them, she saw them to be\njust and true and said to him, \"O my son, do what thou wilt. For my\npart, I wish never to see them nor ever again to behold that loathsome\naspect [303] which I saw [but now].\"\n\nAlaeddin [304] and his mother abode two days eating of the food which\nthe genie had brought, and when it was finished and he knew that there\nwas left them nothing to eat, he arose and taking a platter of those\nwhich the slave had brought on the tray (now they were of fine gold,\nbut Alaeddin knew it not) went with it to the market, where a Jew, a\nman viler than devils themselves, accosted [305] him and he gave him the\nplatter. When the Jew saw it, he took Alaeddin aside, so none might see\nhim, and examining the platter, found it of fine gold, [306] but knew\nnot if Alaeddin was ware of its worth or if he was ignorant thereof; so\nhe said to him, \"How much, O my lord, for this platter?\" And Alaeddin\nanswered him, saying, \"Thou knowest how much it is worth.\" The Jew was\nperplexed how much he should give Alaeddin for the platter, by reason of\nhis having made him an adroit answer, and bethought himself to give him\nlittle, but feared lest he should be aware of its value and debated with\nhimself if he should give him much. Then said he in himself, \"Most like\nhe knoweth not its value;\" so he brought out of his pocket a gold diner\nand gave it to him. When Alaeddin saw the diner in his hand, he took it\nand went off in haste, whereby the Jew knew that the lad was unaware\nof the value of the plate and repented him sore that he had given him a\ngold diner and not a carat of three-score: [307]\n\nMeanwhile Alaeddin tarried not, but went forthright to the baker and\nbought of him bread and changed the diner; then, returning to his\nmother, he gave her the bread and the rest of the money and said to her,\n\"O my mother, go and buy us what we need.\" So she arose and going to the\nmarket, bought all that they needed and they ate and were cheered.\nThen, whenassoever the price of a platter was spent, Alaeddin would take\nanother and carry it to the Jew; on which wise the accursed Jew bought\nthem all of him for a small matter and would fain also have reduced the\nprice; but, since he had given him a diner the first time, he feared to\noffer him less, lest the lad should go and sell to another [308] and he\nlose that excessive profit. Accordingly, Alaeddin ceased not to sell him\nplatter after platter till he had sold them all and there was left\nhim only the tray whereon they had been; then, for that it was big and\nheavy, he went and fetched the Jew to the house and brought out to him\nthe tray. When he saw it and noted its bigness, he gave Alaeddin ten\ndiners, which he took, and the Jew went his way.\n\nAlaeddin and his mother lived upon the ten diners till they came to an\nend; then he arose and bringing out the lamp, rubbed it, whereupon the\nslave of the lamp, to wit, the genie whom he had seen before, appeared\nto him and [309] said to him, \"Seek what thou wilt, O my lord, for that\nI am thy slave and the slave of whoso hath with him the lamp.\" Quoth\nAlaeddin, \"It is my will that thou bring me a tray of food like unto\nthat which thou broughtest me erewhen, for that I am hungry;\" and the\nslave brought him, in the twinkling of an eye, a tray like unto that\nwhich he had brought him before, and on it twelve magnificent platters\nfull of rich meats, together with flagons [310] of clarified wine and\nbread of the finest. Now Alaeddin's mother, when she knew that her son\nwas minded to rub the lamp, had gone out, so she might not see the genie\nagain; but, after a little, she came in to him and seeing the tray full\nof silver platters, whilst the whole house reeked with the fragrance of\nthe rich meats, marvelled and rejoiced; and Alaeddin said to her, \"O\nmy mother, thou badest me throw away the lamp. See now its uses.\" \"O my\nson,\" answered she, \"may God prosper him; [311] but fain would I not see\nhim.\" Then they sat down to the tray and ate and drank till they were\nsatisfied, laying up that which remained with them against the morrow.\n\nThen, when that which was with them of food was finished, Alaeddin arose\nand taking one of the platters under his clothes, went in quest of the\nJew, so he might sell it to him; but, as chance willed it, he passed by\nthe shop of a goldsmith, an honest, pious man, who feared God. When the\nlatter saw Alaeddin, he accosted him and said to him, \"O my son, what\nwilt thou? This many a time have I seen thee pass hereby and betake\nthyself to such an one, a Jew, and I have seen thee give him certain\nthings. Nay, methinketh even now thou hast somewhat with thee and art\nseeking him, so thou mayst sell it to him. But thou knowest not, O my\nson, that the good of the Muslims, believers in the unity of God the\nMost High, is lawful spoil in the eyes of Jews; nay, they still cheat\nthe Muslims and especially this accursed one with whom thou dealest and\ninto whose hands thou hast fallen. Wherefore, O my son, an thou have\nwith thee aught thou wouldst sell, show it to me and fear nothing, for\nthat, by the truth of God the Most High, I will give thee its price.\"\nAccordingly, Alaeddin brought out the platter to the old man, who took\nit and weighing it in his scales, said to him, \"Was it the like of this\nthou usest to sell to the Jew?\" \"Ay,\" replied Alaeddin, \"its like and\nits brother.\" \"And how much,\" asked the goldsmith, \"useth he to give\nthee to its price?\" And Alaeddin said, \"He useth to give me a diner.\"\n\nWhen [312] the goldsmith heard this, \"Out on this accursed one,\" cried\nhe, \"who fleeceth the servants of God the Most High!\" Then he looked\nat Alaeddin and said to him, \"O my son, this Jew is a cheat, who hath\ncheated thee and laughed at thee, for that the silver of this thy\nplatter is pure and fine; and I have weighed it and find its worth\nthreescore diners and ten; so, an it please thee take its price, take\n[it].\" Accordingly, he counted out to him seventy diners and he took\nthem and thanked him for his kindness, in that he had shown him the\nJew's trickery. Thenceforward, whenassoever the price of one platter was\nspent, he would carry another to the old goldsmith, and on this wise he\nand his mother increased in substance; but they ceased not to live at\ntheir sufficiency, [313] midwise [betwixt rich and poor], [314] without\nexcessive spending [315] or squandering. As for Alaeddin, he left\nidleness and the commerce of striplings and took to consorting with\ngrown men; [316] nay, he would go every day to the market of the\nmerchants and sit with the great and the small of them and question\nof the ways and fashions of commerce and the prices of articles of\nmerchandise [317] and otherwhat. He used also to go to the market of the\ngoldsmiths and the market of the jewellers, and there he would sit and\nlook upon the different kinds of jewels and see them bought and sold;\nwhereby he became aware that the fruits of the trees, wherewith he had\nfilled the purses, [318] whenas he was in the treasure, were neither\nglass nor crystal, but jewels, and knew that he had happened upon great\nwealth, such as kings might nowise compass. Moreover, he noted all\nthe jewels that were in the jewellers' market, but saw not [among] the\nbiggest [of them] one to match with the smallest of those he had at\nhome.\n\nHe ceased not to go daily to the market of the jewellers and to clap\nup acquaintance with the folk, making friends with them and questioning\nthem of buying and selling and giving and taking and dear and cheap,\ntill, one day of the days, he arose in the morning and donning his\nclothes, went forth, intending, as of wont, for the jewellers' market;\nbut, as he went, he heard the crier proclaiming aloud on this wise, \"By\ncommandment of the Lord of Beneficence, the king of the age and monarch\nof the time and the tide, let all the folk shut their shops and stores\nand enter their houses, for that the Lady Bedrulbudour, daughter of\nthe Sultan, purposeth to go to the bath, and whoso transgresseth the\ncommandment, his punishment shall be death and his blood be on his own\nhead.\" [319] When Alaeddin heard this proclamation, he longed to look\nupon the Sultan's daughter and said in himself, \"All the folk talk of\nher grace and goodliness, and the uttermost of my desire is to see her.\"\nSo [320] he cast about for a device how he might contrive to see the\nLady Bedrulbudour and him-seemed he were best stand behind the door of\nthe bath, that he might see her face, as she entered. Accordingly he\nbetook himself to the bath, awhile in advance, and posted himself behind\nthe door, whereas none of the folk might see him.\n\nPresently, the Sultan's daughter came forth and went round about the\ncity and its thoroughfares and diverted herself by viewing it; then\nshe repaired to the bath and when she came thither, she lifted her\nface-veil, as she entered; whereupon her face shone out, as it were the\nresplendent sun or a precious pearl, and she was as saith of her one of\nher describers:\n\n   Who sprinkled the kohl of enchantment upon her eyes\n        And gathered the bloom of the rose from her cheeks, fruit-wise?\n   And who was it let down the curtained night of her hair\n        And eke through its glooms made the light of her forehead rise?\n\nWhen she raised the veil from her face and Alaeddin saw her, he said,\n\"Verily, her fashion glorifieth the Great Creator and extolled be the\nperfection of Him who made her and graced her with this beauty and\ngoodliness!\" And his back was cloven in sunder, [321] when he saw her;\nhis thought was confounded and his understanding [322] dazed and\nthe love of her gat hold upon his whole heart; so he turned back and\nreturning home, went in to his mother, like one distraught. She bespoke\nhim and he answered her neither yea nor nay; then she brought him the\nmorning-meal, as he abode on this wise, and said to him, \"O my son, what\nhath betided thee? Doth there ail thee aught? Tell me what hath befallen\nthee, for that, against thy wont, I bespeak thee and thou answerest me\nnot.\"\n\nNow Alaeddin had been used to think that women were all like his mother\nand he had heard of the beauty of the Lady Bedrulbudour, daughter of the\nSultan, but had not known what beauty and grace were; so he turned to\nhis mother and said to her, \"Leave me;\" but she was instant with him\nto come and eat. Accordingly, he came forward and ate a little; then,\nrising, he threw himself on his bed and lay musing till break of morn;\nand on this wise he abode all next day. His mother was perplexed at his\ncase, unknowing what had befallen him, and bethought herself that belike\nhe was sick; so she came up to him and questioned him, saying, \"O my\nson, an thou feel aught of pain or otherwhat, tell me, that I may go\nfetch thee a physician, more by token there is presently in the city a\nphysician from the land of the Arabs, whom the Sultan hath sent to bring\nhither, and report saith of him that he is exceeding skilful; so [tell\nme] if thou art sick, that I may go and call him to thee.\"\n\nWhen [323] Alaeddin heard his mother offer to fetch him the physician,\nhe said to her, \"O my mother, I am well and not sick, but I had thought\nthat women were all like unto thee. However, yesterday, I saw the Lady\nBedrulbudour, the Sultan's daughter, as she went to the bath;\" and\nhe told her all that had happened to him, adding, \"And most like thou\nheardest the crier proclaiming that none should open his shop nor stand\nin the road, so the Lady Bedrulbudour might pass to the bath; but I saw\nher even as she is, for that, when she came to the door of the bath, she\nlifted her veil, and when I noted her favour and viewed that noble form\nof hers, there befell me, O my mother, a passion of yearning for love of\nher and desire of her [324] usurped mine every part; nor can I ever more\nhave ease, except I get her, and I purpose, therefore, to demand her of\nthe Sultan her father in the way of law and righteousness.\"\n\nWhen Alaeddin's mother heard her son's speech, she thought little of\nhis wit and said to him, \"O my son, the name of God encompass thee!\nMeseemeth thou hast lost thy wit; return to thy senses, [325] O my son,\nand be not like the madmen!\" \"Nay, O my mother,\" replied he, \"I have\nnot lost my wits nor am I mad; and this thy speech shall not change that\nwhich is in my mind, nor is rest possible to me except I get the darling\nof my heart, the lovely Lady Bedrulbudour. And my intent is to demand\nher of her father the Sultan.\" So she said to him, \"O my son, my life\nupon thee, speak not thus, lest one hear thee and say of thee that thou\nart mad. Put away from thee this extravagance: [326] who shall undertake\nan affair like this and demand it of the Sultan? Meknoweth not how thou\nwilt do to make this request of the Sultan, and if thou speak sooth,\n[327] by whom wilt thou make it?\" \"O my mother,\" rejoined Alaeddin, \"by\nwhom [should I make] a request like this, when thou art at hand, and\nwhom have I trustier [328] than thyself? Wherefore my intent is that\nthou shalt make this request for me.\" \"O my son,\" quoth she, \"God\ndeliver me from this! What, have I lost my wits like thee? Put away this\nthought from thy mind and bethink thee who thou art, O my son,--the son\nof a tailor, the poorest and least of the tailors in this city, and I\nalso am thy mother and my folk are exceeding poor; so how wilt thou dare\nto demand the Sultan's daughter, whom her father would not vouchsafe\nto marry with kings' sons and Sultans, except they were his peers in\npuissance and rank and noblesse; nay, were they one degree less than he,\nhe would not give them his daughter.\"\n\nAlaeddin [329] waited till his mother had made an end of her speech and\nsaid to her, \"O my mother, all that thou thinkest I know; marry, I know\nfull well that I am the son of poor folk, nor may all this thy talk\nanywise avail to move me from my purpose; but I beseech thee, an I be\nthy very son and thou love me, do me this kindness; else wilt thou lose\nme, for death hasteneth upon me, an I attain not my wish of the beloved\nof my heart. In any case, O my mother, I am thy son.\" When his mother\nheard his speech, she wept of her concern for him and said to him, \"Yes,\nO my son, I am thy mother and thou art my son and the darling of my\nheart; [330] I have none other than thee and the extreme of my desire is\nto rejoice in thee and marry thee. So, an thou wilt, I will seek thee a\nbride of our own rank. But suppose [I do this], they [331] [will] ask at\nonce an thou have craft or land or trade or garden, so thou mayst live,\nand what shall I answer them. And if I cannot answer poor folk like\nourselves, how, O my son, shall I dare to seek the King's daughter of\nChina, who hath none before him and none after him? Wherefore do thou\nponder this matter in thine understanding. And who seeketh her? The son\nof a tailor. [332] Indeed, I know that, an I speak of this, it will but\nbe for the increase of our ill luck, for that this affair will bring us\nin great danger with the Sultan and belike there will be death therein\nfor thee and for me. As for me, how can I adventure upon this danger and\nthis effrontery? Moreover, O my son, on what wise shall I demand thee\nhis daughter of the Sultan and how shall I avail to go in to him? Nay,\nif they question me, what shall I answer them? Most like they will deem\nme a madwoman. And suppose I gain admission to the presence, what shall\nI take by way of offering to the Sultan's highness? It [333] is true, O\nmy son, that the Sultan is clement and rejecteth none that cometh to him\nfor protection or craveth a boon of him, for that he is bountiful and\nbeneficent unto all, great and small; [334] but he bestoweth his favours\nupon those who are deserving thereof or who have done some feat of arms\nbefore him or have wrought for the service or defence of the realm; and\nthou, O my son, tell me, what hast thou done for [335] the Sultan or the\nrealm, that thou shouldst merit of him this boon? Again, this that thou\ncravest is beyond thy condition; [336] so it cannot be that the king\nwill grant thee that which thou seekest. Moreover, whoso presenteth\nhimself before the Sultan and craveth favours of him, it behoveth him\ntake in his hand somewhat that sorteth with the royal dignity; and as\nI said to thee, how canst thou presume to present thyself before the\nSultan and seek of him his daughter, without aught thou mayst proffer\nhim of that which sorteth with his rank?\"\n\n\"O my mother,\" replied Alaeddin, \"thou speakest justly and deemest that\nwhich is true, [337] and it behoveth me consider all that whereof thou\nmindest me; but, O my mother, the love of the Sultan's daughter, the\nLady Bedrulbudour, hath entered into the innermost of my heart; and\nthere can be no rest for me, except I obtain her. Moreover, thou mindest\nme of somewhat I had forgotten, and that a thing which emboldeneth me to\nseek of him his daughter by thee. Thou sayst, O my mother, that I have\nno gift to present to the Sultan, according to the wont of the folk,\nwhilst in fact I have by me a gift and an offering, the like whereof\nmethinketh no king ever possessed, no, nor aught to match therewith; for\n[338] thou must know, O my mother, that the fruits, which I brought in\nthe purses [339] from the treasure and which I deemed glass or crystal,\nare very jewels, methinketh all the kings of the world may not compass\nthe least of them, and I, of my companying with the jewellers, know that\nthey are precious stones. Wherefore, an thou please, have the goodness\nto rise and bring me such a China dish which we have by us, [340] that\nI may fill it with these jewels, and thou shalt take it as a present to\nthe Sultan. By this means I am assured that the thing will be easy to\nthee, and do thou stand before the Sultan and seek of him my desire;\nbut, O my mother, an thou refuse to further me with thine endeavour for\nthe attainment of my wish of the Lady Bedrulbudour, know that I am a\ndead man. Be not concerned for the gift, for these be exceeding precious\njewels, and know, O my mother, that I have gone many a time to the\nmarket of the jewellers and have seen them sell jewels, that had not an\nhundredth part [341] of the beauty of these of ours, at exceeding high\nprices such as man's wit cannot conceive. When, therefore, I saw this,\nI said [in myself], 'Verily, the jewels that are with us are exceeding\nprecious.' So now, O my mother, arise, as I bade thee, and fetch me the\nChina dish whereof I bespoke thee, that we may range of these jewels\ntherein and see how they show.\"\n\nAccordingly, she arose and brought the China dish, saying in herself,\n\"Let us see if my son's speech be true concerning these jewels or not.\"\nSo she set the dish before Alaeddin and he brought out jewels of all\nkinds from the purses and proceeded to range them in the dish till he\nfilled it. When it was full, his mother looked at the dish, but could\nnot gaze fixedly thereon, for the radiance of the jewels and their\nlustre and the excess of their flashing; so she shut her eyes and her\nwit was confounded at them; yet was she not certified that their value\nwas in very deed so great as her son had said, but bethought her that\nhis speech might be true in that their like was not found with kings.\nThen Alaeddin turned to her and said, \"See, O my mother, this is a\nmagnificent present for the Sultan and I am assured that thou wilt\nget of him exceeding honour and that he will receive thee with all\nconsideration. And now, O my mother, there remaineth to thee no excuse;\nso be good enough [342] to take this dish and go with it to the palace.\"\n\n\n\"O my son,\" replied she, \"true it is that the present is exceedingly\ncostly and precious and as thou sayest, none hath the like thereof;\nbut who shall dare to come forward and seek of the Sultan his daughter\nBedrulbudour? Nay, I dare not adventure myself and say to him, 'I want\nthy daughter,' whenas he asketh me, 'What wouldst thou?' Marry, O my\nson,, my tongue will be tied. And grant that Allah make [the thing]\npossible and I take courage and say to him, 'I desire to ally myself\nto thee by [marrying] thy daughter the Lady Bedrulbudour with my son\nAlaeddin,' they will straightway deem me mad and will put me out with\nignominy and reproach; nay, I need not tell thee that by this I shall\nfall into danger of death, and not I only, but thou also. Withal, O my\nson, of regard for thy wish, needs must I take courage and go; but, O my\nson, if the King receive me and honour me for the gift's sake and I seek\nof him that which thou wilt in [343] the matter of marrying his daughter\nand he ask me, after the wont of the folk, what are thy possessions and\nthy revenues, what shall I say to him? And most like, O my son, he will\nask me of this ere he ask me of thyself.\" And Alaeddin said to her,\n\"Nay, it cannot be that the Sultan will ask this, whenas he seeth the\njewels and their magnificence, and it booteth not to think of a thing\nthat will not happen. Do thou but rise and seek me his daughter of him\nand proffer him these jewels and sit not magnifying the affair in thy\nthought beforehand. Moreover, O my mother, thou knowest of the lamp\nwhich is with me and which presently provideth for our livelihood; [344]\nnay, all that I seek of it it will bring me, and I trust by its means I\nshall know how to answer the Sultan, an he ask me of this.\"\n\nThey abode in talk of the matter all that night and when the morning\nmorrowed, Alaeddin's mother arose and fortified her heart, more by token\nthat her son expounded to her somewhat of the properties of the lamp and\nits uses, in that it would bring them all they sought. But, when he saw\nthat she heartened herself for that which he set forth to her of its\nvirtues, he feared lest she should talk of this to the folk, so he said\nto her, \"O my mother, beware lest thou bespeak any of the lamp and its\nuses, for that this is our fortune; be careful [345] and exceed not in\nspeech thereof to any one, lest we lose it and lose this our present\nprosperity, for that it is from it.\" [346] \"Have no fear for that, O my\nson,\" answered she and rising, took the dish wherein were the jewels\nand wrapping it in a fine handkerchief, went forth betimes, so she might\nreach the Divan and enter, ere it became crowded. When she came to the\npalace, the Divan was not yet assembled [347] and she saw the Vizier and\ncertain of the chiefs of the state entering the presence-chamber. After\na while, the Divan being complete with the Viziers and the chiefs of the\nstate and officers and Amirs and grandees, the Sultan appeared and the\nViziers and other the officials and notables ranged themselves before\nhim, whilst he sat down on the throne of his kingship and all who were\npresent in the Divan stood before him, with hands clasped behind them,\n[348] awaiting his commandment to sit. So he bade them be seated and\nthey all sat down, each in his several room; then the petitioners [349]\npresented themselves before the Sultan and each affair was decided in\nits course, [350] till the Divan came to an end, when the King rose and\nentered the palace and each went his way.\n\nAs [351] for Alaeddin's mother, having come before all, she found room\nto enter, but withal none bespoke her, so he should bring her in before\nthe Sultan; wherefore she ceased not standing till the Divan broke up\nand the Sultan rose and entered the palace and all went their ways. When\nshe saw the Sultan rise from his throne and enter the harem, she\ntook her way homeward and returning on her steps, entered her house.\nAlaeddin, seeing her with the dish in her hand, knew that most like\nsome mischance had betided her, but cared not to question her till she\nentered and setting down the dish, told him what had passed and finally\nsaid to him, \"God be praised, O my son, I mustered courage to find\nmyself a place in the Divan, albeit I could not win to speak with the\nSultan to day; but to-morrow, an it please God the Most High, I will\nbespeak him. To-day there were many other folk, like myself, unable\nto get speech of the Sultan; but be easy, O my son; to-morrow I will\nwithout fail bespeak him on thy behalf, and what happened not shall\nhappen.\" When Alaeddin heard his mother's words, he rejoiced with an\nexceeding joy, albeit, of the excess of his love and longing for the\nLady Bedrulbudour, he had looked for the matter to be accomplished then\nand there; nevertheless, he used patience.\n\nThey slept that night and on the morrow Alaeddin's mother arose and went\nwith the dish to the Sultan's Divan, but found it closed; so she asked\nthe folk and they said to her, \"The Sultan holdeth a Divan but thrice\na week;\" wherefore she was compelled [352] to return home. Then she\nproceeded to go every day, and whenas she found the Divan open, she\nwould stand before the door, [353] till it broke up, when she would\nreturn home; and whiles she went and found the Divan closed. [354] On\nthis wise she abode a week's space [355] and the Sultan saw her at\neach Divan; so, when she went on the last day [of the week] and stood,\naccording to her wont, before the Divan, till it was ended, but could\nnot muster courage to enter [356] or say aught, the Sultan arose and\nentering the harem, turned to his chief Vizier, who was with him, and\nsaid to him, \"O Vizier, these six or seven days [357] past I have seen\nyonder old woman come hither at every Divan and I note that she still\ncarrieth somewhat under her veil. [358] Hast thou any knowledge of her,\nO Vizier, and knowest thou what is her want?\" \"O our lord the Sultan,\"\nreplied the Vizier, \"verily women are little of wit; and most like this\nwoman cometh to complain to thee of her husband or one of her folk,\"\nThe Sultan was not content with the Vizier's reply, but bade him, an\nshe came again to the Divan, bring her before him forthright; [359]\nwhereupon the Vizier laid his hand on his head and answered, \"Hearkening\nand obedience, O our lord the Sultan.\"\n\nMeanwhile, [360] Alaeddin's mother, albeit she was grown exceeding weary\nand dejected, yet made light of all weariness, for her son's sake, and\ncontinued, as of her wont, to go every court-day and stand in the Divan\nbefore the Sultan. [361] Accordingly, one day of the days, she went to\nthe Divan, as of her wont, and stood before the Sultan; and when he saw\nher, he called his Vizier and said to him, \"Yonder is the woman of whom\nI bespoke thee yesterday; bring her now before me, so I may see what\nher suit is and accomplish unto her her occasion.\" So the Vizier arose\nforthright and let bring Alaeddin's mother in before the Sultan. When\nshe came into the latter's presence, she made her obeisance to him and\ndid him reverence, wishing him glory and continuance and eternity of\nprosperity and kissing the ground before him. Then said he to her, \"O\nwoman, I see thee come every day to the Divan and thou speakest not of\naught. Tell me an thou have a want, that I may accomplish it unto thee;\"\nwhereupon she kissed the earth a second time and called down blessings\nupon him, then answered, \"Ay, O King of the Age, as thy head liveth,\nI have indeed a want; but before all things do thou give me thine\nassurance, [362] so I may make bold to prefer my suit to the hearing of\nour lord the Sultan, for that belike Thy Grace will find it a strange\none.\"\n\nThe Sultan, that he might learn what her suit was and for that he was of\nhis nature exceeding clement, gave her his assurance and bidding all\nwho were with him go out forthright, abode alone [with her], he and the\nGrand Vizier. Then he turned to her and said, \"Tell me thy suit, and the\nassurance [363] of God the Most High be upon thee.\" Quoth she, \"O King\nof the Age, I wish thy pardon also.\" And he said to her, \"God pardon\nthee!\" [364] Then said she to him, \"O our lord the Sultan, I have a\nson, whose name is Alaeddin, and one day of the days he heard the\ncrier proclaim that none should open his shop nor show himself in the\nthoroughfares of the city, [365] for that the Lady Bedrulbudour, the\ndaughter of our lord the Sultan, was going to the bath. When my son\nheard this, he wished to see her; so he hid himself in a place,\nwhence he might see her well, and this was behind the door of the bath.\nAccordingly, when she came up, he saw her and viewed her well, beyond\nhis wish; and from that time till now, O King of the Age, life hath\nnot been pleasant to him [366] and he will e'en have me seek her of Thy\nGrace, [367] so thou mayst marry her with him, and I cannot do away this\nconceit from his wit, for that the love of her hath gotten possession of\nhis vitals, so that he saith to me, 'Know, O mother mine, that, except\nI attain my desire, assuredly I am a dead man.' Wherefore I crave Thy\nGrace's clemency and hope that thou wilt pardon me and my son this\neffrontery neither be wroth with us therefor.\"\n\nWhen the King heard her story, he fell a-laughing, of his clemency,\n[368] and asked her, \"What is that thou hast with thee and what is that\nbundle?\" [369] Whereupon she, seeing that he was not angered at her\nwords, but laughed, opened the handkerchief forthright and proffered him\nthe dish of jewels. When the Sultan saw the jewels (and indeed, whenas\nshe raised the handkerchief from them, the Divan became as it were\nall illumined with lamp-clusters and candlesticks), he was amazed and\nconfounded at their radiance and fell a-marvelling at their lustre and\nbigness and beauty; and [370] he said, \"Never saw I the like of these\njewels for beauty and bigness and perfection, nor methinketh is one of\nthem found in my treasuries.\" Then he turned to his Vizier and said to\nhim, \"How sayst thou, O Vizier? Sawest thou ever in thy life the like of\nthese magnificent jewels?\" \"Never, O our lord the Sultan,\" replied the\nVizier, \"nor, methinketh, is the least of those which be here found in\nthe treasuries of our lord the King.\" Quoth the Sultan, \"Doth not he\nwho giveth me these jewels deserve to be bridegroom to my daughter\nBedrulbudour? Marry, by what I see, meseemeth none is worthier of her\nthan he.\"\n\nWhen the Vizier heard the Sultan's words, his tongue was tied for\ndespite and he was overcome with exceeding chagrin, forasmuch as the\nKing had promised him that he would marry his daughter to his son;\nso, after a little, he said to him, \"O King of the age, Thy Grace\ncondescended to promise me [371] that the Lady Bedrulbudour should be my\nson's; wherefore it behoveth thine exalted highness appoint a delay of\nthree months, [372] and God willing, my son's present shall be greater\nthan this.\" The King, for all he knew that this was a thing whereto the\nVizier might not avail, no, nor the greatest King, [373] nevertheless\nexercised his clemency [374] and granted him the delay he sought; then,\nturning to the old woman, he said to her, \"Go to thy son and tell him\nI give him [my] word that my daughter shall be in his name; [375] but\nneeds must I take order for her equipment; [376] wherefore it behoveth\nhim grant us a delay of three months.\"\n\nAlaeddin's mother took the answer and thanked the Sultan and prayed for\nhim, then went forth and fared homeward in haste, flying of her joy,\ntill she came to the house and entered. Her son saw her laughing-faced\nand foreboded good news; more by token that she returned forthright\nand tarried not, as on each day past, neither brought back the dish.\nAccordingly he asked her and said to her, \"God willing, O my mother,\nthou bringest me good news; the jewels and their value have wrought\ntheir work and thou wilt have found acceptance with the Sultan; yea, he\nwill have shown thee favour and given ear unto thy suit.\" So she told\nhim all that had passed and how the Sultan had received her and had\nmarvelled, both he and his Vizier, at the size and beauty of the jewels,\nand how he had promised her that [quoth she] \"his daughter shall be in\nthy name. But, O my son, ere he promised me, the Vizier whispered [377]\nhim somewhat, whereupon he appointed me for three months hence; and I\nam fearful lest the Vizier be a man of evil disposition, [378] who will\nchange the King's mind.\"\n\nWhen [379] Alaeddin heard his mother's words and how the Sultan had\nappointed her for [380] three months [thence], his heart was lightened\nand he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and said, \"Since the Sultan hath\npromised for [381] three months [hence], true, it [382] is long, but in\nany case my joy is great.\" Then he thanked her for her kindness and the\npains she had taken [383] and said to her, \"By Allah, O my mother, it\nis as I were in a tomb and now thou hast raised me up therefrom; and\nI praise God the Most High, for I am presently certified that there is\nnone richer or happier than I in the world.\" Then he waited till two\nof the three months were past, when his mother went out one day of the\ndays, at sundown, to buy oil, and saw the markets closed and the city\nall decorated and the folk setting candles and flowers in their windows\nand saw troops, horse and foot, and mounted eunuchs drawn up in state,\nwith cressets and lustres burning. At this wonder took her; [384]he went\nto an oilman's shop there open and buying oil of him, said to him, \"[I\nconjure thee] by thy life, O uncle, tell me what is toward to-day in\nthis city, that the folk are making this decoration and the markets\n[are shut] and the houses all adorned and the troops drawn up in state?\"\nQuoth he, \"O woman, methinketh thou art a stranger and art not of this\ncity.\" \"Nay,\" answered she, \"but I am of this city;\" and he said to her,\n\"Thou art of this city and knowest not that this is the night of\nthe going in of the Grand Vizier's son to the Lady Bedrulbudour, the\nSultan's daughter? Nay, he is presently in the bath and yonder Amirs\nand troops are drawn up awaiting him, against he come forth, so they may\ncarry him in procession to the palace of the Sultan's daughter.\"\n\nWhen Alaeddin's mother heard this, she was troubled and perplexed in\nher wit how she should do to acquaint her son with this woeful news, for\nthat the poor wretch was counting the hours till the three months should\nbe ended. So she returned home forthright and going in to Alaeddin, said\nto him, \"O my son, I have news to tell thee, but it irketh me for thy\nchagrin therefrom.\" Quoth he, \"Speak; what is the news?\" And she said to\nhim, \"The Sultan hath gone from his promise to thee in the matter of his\ndaughter, the Lady Bedrulbudour, for that this very night the Vizier's\nson goeth in to her; and indeed methought at the time, [385] O my son,\nthe Vizier would change the Sultan's mind, even as I told thee that he\nbespoke him privily before me.\" \"How knewest thou this,\" asked Alaeddin,\n\"that the Vizier's son goeth in this night to the Lady Bedrulbudour?\" So\nshe told him all she had seen of the decorations in the city, whenas she\nwent to buy the oil, and how the eunuchs and chiefs of the state were\ndrawn up awaiting the Vizier's son, against he should come forth of the\nbath, for that this was the night of his going in. When Alaeddin heard\nthis, he fell into a fever of chagrin; [386] but presently he bethought\nhim of the lamp and rejoiced and said to his mother, \"By thy life, O my\nmother, methinketh the Vizier's son shall not rejoice in her, as\nthou deemest. But now leave us be with this talk and go lay us the\nevening-meal, so we may sup; then, when I shall have passed a while in\nmy chamber, all shall yet be well.\"\n\nAccordingly, [387] after he had supped, he went into his chamber and\nlocking the door on himself, fetched the lamp and rubbed it; whereupon\nthe genie at once appeared to him and said, \"Seek what thou wilt, for I\nam thy slave and the slave of whoso hath in his hand the lamp, I and all\nthe slaves of the lamp.\" And Alaeddin said to him, \"Harkye, I sought of\nthe Sultan to marry his daughter, and he appointed me for [388] three\nmonths' time; however, he abode not by his promise, but gave her to the\nVizier's son, and the latter purposeth to go in [to her] this night.\nWherefore I do presently command thee, as thou art a loyal servant of\nthe lamp, that this night, whenas thou seest the bride and bridegroom\nabed together, thou take them up in their bed [and bring them] hither.\nThis is what I seek of thee.\" \"Hearkening and obedience,\" answered the\ngenie, \"and if thou have a service [to require of me] other than this,\ncommand me whatsoever thou seekest.\" And Alaeddin said to him, \"I have\nno present requirement save that whereof I have bespoken thee.\" So the\nslave disappeared and Alaeddin returned to finish his supper [389] with\nhis mother.\n\nWhen he deemed it time for the genie's coming, he arose and entered his\nchamber; and after a little, the Marid appeared with the bridal pair in\ntheir bed; whereat Alaeddin rejoiced with exceeding great joy and said\nto the slave, \"Bear this gallowsbird hence and couch him in the house of\neasance.\" [390] The genie accordingly took up the bridegroom and couched\nhim in the draught-house; moreover, ere he left him, he blew on him a\nblast wherewith he dried him up, and the Vizier's son abode in woeful\ncase. Then he returned to Alaeddin and said to him, \"An thou need\notherwhat, tell me.\" And Alaeddin said to him, \"Return in the morning,\nso thou mayst take them [back] to their place.\" \"Hearkening and\nobedience,\" answered the genie and was gone; whereupon Alaeddin\narose,--and indeed he had scarce believed that the thing should succeed\nwith him,--and when he saw the Lady Bedrulbudour in his house, he\nentreated her with respect, albeit he had long burned for love of her,\nand said to her, \"O princess of the fair, think not that I have brought\nthee hither to soil shine honour. God forbid! Nay, it was that I might\nnot let others [391] enjoy thee, for that thy father the Sultan gave me\nhis word upon thee; so be thou in peace and assurance.\" As [392] for\nthe princess, when she found herself in that mean dark; house and heard\nAlaeddin's words, fear and trembling get hold upon her and she was\nconfounded and could return him no answer. Then he arose and putting off\nhis clothes, placed a sword between himself and her and lay down by her\nside in the bed, without treason; [393] it sufficed him to prevent [the\nconsummation of] her marriage with the Vizier's son. Nevertheless, the\nLady Bedrulbudour passed the sorriest of nights, never in her life had\nshe known a worse; whilst the Vizier's son lay in the draught-house and\ndared not stir for fear of the genie.\n\nWhen it was morning, the genie presented himself before Alaeddin,\nwithout his rubbing the lamp, and said to him, \"O my lord, an thou\nwish aught, command me withal, so I may do it on my head and eyes.\" And\nAlaeddin bade him go carry the bride and bridegroom to their own place.\nThe genie did his bidding in the twinkling of an eye and laying the\nVizier's son with the Lady Bedrulbudour, took them up and set them down\nin their place in the palace, without their seeing any one; but they\nwere like to die of fright, when they felt themselves carried from\nplace to place. Hardly had the genie set them down and gone out when the\nSultan came to visit his daughter; and when the Vizier's son heard the\ndoor open, he straightway sprang out of bed, knowing that none might\nenter but the Sultan, and donned his clothes, [394] albeit this irked\nhim sore, for that he would fain have warmed himself a little, having\nhad no time [to do so] since he left the draught-house. The [395] Sultan\ncame in to his daughter and kissing her between the eyes, gave her\ngood-morrow and asked her of her bridegroom and if she was content with\nhim; but she returned him no answer and looked at him with a dejected\nair. [396] He bespoke her several times, but she was silent and answered\nhim not a word; so he went out from her and going in to the Queen, told\nher what had passed between himself and the Lady Bedrulbudour.\n\nThe Queen, so she might not leave the Sultan angry with the Lady\nBedrulbudour, said to him, \"O King of the Age, this is the wont of\nmost brides, on their wedding-day, to be shamefast and show somewhat of\ncoyness. So be not vexed with her and after a day or two she will return\nto herself and proceed to speak with the folk; but now, O King of the\nAge, shame hindereth her from speaking. However, I purpose to go to her\nand see her.\" Accordingly she arose and donning her clothes, repaired\nto her daughter's apartment. Then, going up to her, she gave her\ngood-morrow and kissed her between the eyes; but the Lady Bedrulbudour\nreturned her no manner of answer and the Queen said in herself, \"Needs\nmust some strange thing have befallen her, to trouble her thus.\" So\nshe asked her, saying, \"O my daughter, what is the cause of this thy\nbehaviour? Tell me what aileth thee, that I come to thee and give thee\ngood-morrow and thou returnest me no answer.\"\n\nThe Lady Bedrulbudour raised her head and said to her, \"Blame me not,\nO my mother; indeed, it behoved me receive thee with all reverence and\nworship, since thou honourest me by coming to me; but I beseech thee\nhear the cause of this my case and see how this night I have passed\nhath been for me the sorriest of nights. Hardly had we lain down, O\nmy mother, when one, whose fashion I know not, took up the bed and\ntransported us to a place dark, foul [397] and mean.\" Then she told her\nmother the queen all that had betided her that night and how they had\ntaken her bridegroom, leaving her alone, and how after a little there\ncame another youth and lay down in the place of her bridegroom, putting\na sword between himself and her; \"and in the morning\" [quoth she] \"he\nwho had brought us thither returned and taking us up, carried us back to\nour place here: and hardly had he brought us hither and left us when my\nfather the Sultan entered and I had neither heart nor tongue to answer\nhim for stress of fright and trembling which possessed me. And belike my\nfather is vexed with me; wherefore I prithee, O my mother, tell him\nthe cause of this my case, so he be not wroth with me for my failure to\nanswer him neither blame me, but excuse me.\"\n\nWhen [398] the queen heard the princess's story, she said to her, \"O my\ndaughter, beware of [399] telling this tale before any, lest they [400]\nsay, 'Verily the Sultan's daughter hath lost her wits.' Marry, thou\ndiddest well in that thou acquaintedst not thy father with this;\nand beware, yea [again I say,] beware, O my daughter, of telling him\nthereof.\" \"O my mother,\" rejoined the Lady Bedrulbudour, \"indeed, I\nbespoke thee in sober earnest and have not lost my wits; nay, this\nis what happened to me, and an thou believe it not from me, ask my\nbridegroom.\" Quoth the queen, \"Rise, O my daughter, and put away these\nillusions from thy thought; nay, don thy clothes and see the rejoicing\nthat is toward in the town on thine account and the festivities that\nthey celebrate in the kingdom for thy sake and hear the drums and the\nsinging and look upon the decorations, all in honour of thy nuptials, O\nmy daughter.\" Accordingly, she summoned the tirewomen, who dressed the\nLady Bedrulbudour and busked her; whilst the Queen went in to the Sultan\nand told him that there had that night betided the princess a dream\nand illusions, saying, \"BIame her not for her failure to answer thee.\"\nMoreover, she sent for the Vizier's son privily and questioned him of\nthe affair, whether the Lady Bedrulbudour's speech was true or not; but\nhe, of his fear to lose his bride, lest she should go from his hand,\nsaid to her, \"O my lady, I know nothing of that which thou sayest;\"\nwherefore the queen was certified that there had betided her daughter\nillusions and a dream.\n\nThe wedding rejoicings continued all that day, with dancing-women and\nsinging-women, and all the instruments of mirth and minstrelsy were\nsmitten, whilst the queen and the Vizier and his son were exceeding\nassiduous in keeping up the festivities, so the Lady Bedrulbudour should\nrejoice and her chagrin be dispelled; nay, they left nought that day\nof that which exciteth unto liesse but they did it before her, so she\nshould leave what was in her mind and be cheered. But all this had no\neffect on her and she was silent and thoughtful and confounded at that\nwhich had befallen her that night. True, the Vizier's son had fared\nworse than she, for that he was couched in the draught-house; but he\nbelied [401] the matter and put away that tribulation from his thought,\nof his fear lest he should lose his bride and his rank, [402] more by\ntoken that all the folk envied him his lot, for the much increase of\nhonour it brought him, as also for the exceeding beauty and loveliness\nof the Lady Bedrulbudour.\n\nAs for Alaeddin, he went out that day and saw the rejoicings toward in\nthe city and the palace and fell a-laughing, especially when he heard\nthe folk speak of the honour which had betided the Vizier's son and\nthe greatness of his good luck, in that he was become the Sultan's\nson-in-law, and the exceeding pomp used in his marriage and bridal\nfestivities; and he said in himself, \"Ye know not, good simple folk that\nye are, [403] what befell him last night, that ye envy him.\" Then, when\nthe night came in and it was the season of sleep, Alaeddin arose and\nentering his chamber, rubbed the lamp, whereupon the genie appeared\nto him forthright and [404] he bade him bring the princess and her\nbridegroom, as on the past night, ere the Vizier's son should take her\nmaidenhead. The genie delayed not, but was absent a little while; and\nwhen it was the appointed time, he returned with the bed and therein the\nLady Bedrulbudour and the Vizier's son. With the latter he did as he\nhad done the past night, to wit, he took him and couched him in the\ndraught-house, where he deft him parched for excess of fright and\ndismay; whilst Alaeddin arose and placing the sword between himself and\nthe Lady Bedrulbudour, lay down and slept till the morning, when the\ngenie appeared and restored the twain to their place, leaving Alaeddin\nfull of joy at [the discomfiture of] the Vizier's son.\n\nWhen the Sultan arose in the morning, he bethought himself to visit his\ndaughter Bedrulbudour and see an she should do with him as she had done\non the past day; so, as soon as he awoke from his sleep, he rose and\ndonning his clothes, went to his daughter's chamber and opened the door.\nWhereupon the Vizier's son arose forthright and coming down from the\nbed, fell to donning his clothes, with ribs cracking for cold; for\nthat, when the Sultan entered, it was no great while since the genie\nhad brought them back. The Sultan went up to his daughter, the Lady\nBedrulbudour, as she lay abed, and raising the curtain, gave her good\nmorning and kissed her between the eyes and asked her how she did. She\nfrowned and returned him no answer, but looked at him sullenly, as she\nwere in sorry case. He was wroth with her, for that she made him no\nanswer, and thought that something had betided her; so he drew the sword\nand said to her, \"What hath befallen thee? Either thou shalt tell me\nwhat aileth thee or I will do away thy life this very moment. Is this\nthe respect that is due to my rank and the honour in which thou holdest\nme, that I bespeak thee and thou answerest me not a word?\"\n\nWhen the Lady Bedrulbudour knew that her father was angry and saw the\nnaked sword in his hand, she was like to swoon for fear; [405] so she\nraised her head and said to him, \"Dear [406] my father, be not wroth\nwith me, neither be thou hasty in thine anger, for that I am excusable\nin that which thou hast seen from me. [407] Do but hearken what hath\nbetided me and I am well assured that, whenas thou hearest my story of\nthat which hath happened to me these two nights past, thou wilt excuse\nme and Thy Grace will be moved to compassion upon me, as I know from thy\nlove for me.\" [408] Then she acquainted him with all that had befallen\nher and said to him, \"O my father, an thou believe me not, ask my\nbridegroom and he will resolve Thy Grace of everything, albeit I know\nnot what they did with him, when they took him from my side, nor where\nthey set him.\" When [409] the Sultan heard his daughter's story, he\nwas sore concerned and his eyes brimmed with tears; then, sheathing\nthe sword and coming up to her, he kissed her and said to her, \"O my\ndaughter, why didst thou not tell me yesterday, so I might have warded\noff from thee the torment and affright which have befallen thee this\nnight? But no matter; arise and put away from thee this thought, and\nto-night I will set over thee those who shall guard thee, so there shall\nnot again befall thee that which befell yesternight.\" Then he returned\nto his pavilion and sent at once for the Vizier, who came and stood\nbefore him, awaiting his commands; and the Sultan said to him, \"O\nVizier, how deemest thou of this affair? Most like thy son hath told\nthee what happened to him and to my daughter.\" \"O King of the Age,\"\nanswered the Vizier, \"I have not seen my son or yesterday or to-day.\"\nWhereupon the Sultan acquainted him with all that his daughter the Lady\nBedrulbudour had told him and said to him, \"It is now my will that thou\nenquire of thy son the truth of the case, for it may be my daughter\nknoweth not for fright what happened to her, though methinketh her tale\nis all true.\" So the Vizier arose and sending for his son, asked him of\nall that the Sultan had told him, if it were true or not. Whereupon,\n\"O my father the Vizier,\" replied the youth, \"[God] preserve the Lady\nBedrulbudour from leasing! [410] Indeed, all she saith is true and these\ntwo nights past have been for us the sorriest of nights, instead of\nbeing nights of pleasance and delight. Marry, that which befell me was\nyet worse, for that, instead of sleeping with my bride in bed, I lay\nin the draught-house, a place dark and frightful, noisome of smell and\naccursed, and my ribs were straitened [411] with cold.\" Brief, he told\nthe Vizier all that had befallen him and ultimately said to him; \"Dear\n[412] my father, I beseech thee speak with the Sultan that he release me\nfrom this marriage. True, it is great honour for me to be the Sultan's\nson-in-law, more by token that the love of the Lady Bedrulbudour hath\ngotten possession of my vitals, but I cannot avail to endure one more\nnight like the two that are past.\"\n\nWhen [413] the Vizier heard his son's words, he grieved and was\nexceeding chagrined, for that he had thought to greaten his son and\nadvance him by making him the King's son-in-law; so he bethought himself\nand was perplexed anent the matter and what was to do therein; [414] and\nindeed it irked him sore that the marriage should be dissolved, for that\nhe had long besought [415] the Ten [416] that he might compass the like\nof that affair; [417] so he said to his son, \"Have patience, O my son,\nso we may see [how it will be] to-night, and we will set over you guards\nto guard you; but do not thou let slip this great honour, for that\nit hath fallen to none other than thyself.\" Therewith he left him and\nreturning to the Sultan, told him that the Lady Bedrulbudour's story was\ntrue; whereupon quoth the Sultan, \"Since the case is thus, we need\nno wedding-festivities.\" [418] And he bade forthright break off the\nrejoicings and the marriage was dissolved. The folk and the people of\nthe city marvelled at this strange thing, especially when they saw the\nVizier and his son go forth the palace in a pitiable plight for stress\nof chagrin and despite, and they fell to asking, \"What hath happened\nand why is the marriage avoided and the rejoicings broken off?\" But none\nknew what was to do save Alaeddin, the suitor, [419] who laughed in his\nsleeve. So the marriage was annulled; but the Sultan had forgotten his\npromise to Alaeddin's mother and never again bethought him thereof,\nneither he nor the Vizier; nor knew they whence came that which had\nhappened.\n\nAlaeddin waited till the three months had elapsed, after which the\nSultan had promised that he would marry him to his daughter, the Lady\nBedrulbudour, then despatched his mother to the Sultan to require him of\nthe performance of his promise. So she repaired to the palace and\nwhen the Sultan came to the Divan and saw her standing before him, he\nremembered his promise to her, that after three months he would marry\nhis daughter to her son, and turning to the Vizier, said to him, \"O\nVizier, yonder is the woman who presented us with the jewels and we gave\nher our word that after three months [we would marry our daughter to her\nson]. Bring her before me forthright.\" So the Vizier went and brought\nAlaeddin's mother before the Sultan; and when she came into the\npresence, she made her obeisance to him and prayed God to vouchsafe him\nglory and endurance of prosperity. The Sultan asked her if she had a\nneed, and she said to him, \"O King of the Age, the three months are\nended, after which thou didst promise me thou wouldst marry my son\nAlaeddin to thy daughter the Lady Bedrulbudour.\" The Sultan was\nperplexed at this her claim, more by token that he saw her in poor case,\nas she were the meanest of the folk; but the present which she had made\nhim was exceeding magnificent [and indeed] beyond price; [420] so he\nturned to the Vizier and said to him, \"How deemest thou? What shall we\ndo? [421] It is true I gave her my word, but meseemeth they are poor\nfolk and not of the chiefs of the people.\"\n\nThe [422] Vizier, who was like to die of envy and chagrin for that which\nhad befallen his son, said in himself, \"How shall one like this marry\nthe Sultan's daughter and my son lose this honour?\" So he said to the\nSultan, [423] \"O my lord, it is an easy matter to rid ourselves of [424]\nthis vagabond, [425] for that it would not beseem Thy Grace to give thy\ndaughter to a man like this, of whom it is not known what he is.\" Quoth\nthe Sultan, \"On what wise shall we rid ourselves of this man, seeing\nI have given him my word and a King's word is his bond?\" \"O my lord,\"\nanswered the Vizier, \"my counsel is that thou require of him forty\ndishes of pure virgin gold, full of jewels, such as she [426] brought\nthee the other day, [427] and forty slave-girls to bear the dishes and\nforty black slaves.\" \"By Allah, O Vizier,\" rejoined the Sultan, \"'thou\nspeakest rightly; for that this is a thing to which he may not avail\nand so we shall be rid of him by [fair] means.\" [428] So he said to\nAlaeddin's mother, \"Go and tell thy son that I abide by the promise\nwhich I made him, but an if he avail unto my daughter's dowry; to wit,\nI require of him forty dishes of pure gold, which must all be full\nof jewels [such as] thou broughtest me [erst], together with forty\nslave-girls to carry them and forty male slaves to escort and attend\nthem. If, then; thy son avail unto this, I will marry him to my\ndaughter.\"\n\nAlaeddin's mother returned home, shaking her head and saying, \"Whence\nshall my poor son get these dishes of jewels? Supposing, for the jewels\nand the dishes, that he return to the treasure and gather the whole from\nthe trees,--and withal methinketh not it is possible to him; but say\nthat he fetch them,--whence [shall he get] the slaves and slave-girls?\"\nAnd she gave not over talking to herself till she reached the house,\nwhere Alaeddin awaited her, and when she came in to him, she said to\nhim, \"O my son, said I not to thee, 'Think not to attain to the Lady\nBedrulbudour'? Indeed, this is a thing that is not possible unto folk\nlike ourselves.\" Quoth he, \"Tell me what is the news.\" And she said to\nhim, \"O my son, the Sultan received me with all courtesy, according to\nhis wont, and meseemeth he meant fairly by us, but [for] thine accursed\nenemy the Vizier; for that, after I had bespoken the Sultan in thy name,\neven as thou badest me, reminding him that the term for which he had\nappointed us was past and saying to him, 'If Thy Grace would vouchsafe\nto give commandment for the marriage of thy daughter the Lady\nBedrulbudour with my son Alaeddin,'--he turned to the Vizier and spoke\nto him. The Vizier replied to him in a whisper and after that the Sultan\nreturned me an answer.\" Then she told him what the Sultan required of\nhim and added, \"O my son, he would fain have present answer of thee; but\nmethinketh we have no answer to give him.\"\n\nWhen [429] Alaeddin heard his mother's speech, he laughed and said, \"O\nmy mother, thou sayest we have no answer to make him and deemest the\nthing exceeding hard; but now be good enough to rise [430] and fetch us\nsomewhat to eat, and after we have dined, thou shalt (an it please the\nCompassionate) see the answer. The Sultan like thyself, thinketh he hath\nsought of me an extraordinary matter, so he may divert me from the Lady\nBedrulbudour; but the fact is that he seeketh a thing less than I had\nlooked for. But go now and buy us somewhat we may eat and leave me to\nfetch thee the answer.\" Accordingly, she arose and went out to buy her\nneed from the market, so she might make ready the morning-meal; whilst\nAlaeddin entered his chamber and taking the lamp, rubbed it. The genie\nimmediately appeared to him and said, \"Seek what thou wilt, O my lord;\"\nwhereupon quoth Alaeddin, \"I seek the Sultan's daughter in marriage and\nhe requireth of me forty dishes of pure gold, each ten pounds in weight\nand full of the jewels which be in the garden of the treasure, the\nforty dishes to be borne by forty slave girls and each slave-girl to be\naccompanied by a male slave; wherefore I will have thee bring me this,\nall of it.\" \"Hearkening and obedience, O my lord,\" replied the genie\nand disappearing, was absent awhile, then returned with the forty\nslave-girls, each attended by a male slave and bearing on her head a\ndish of pure gold, full of precious jewels. So he brought them before\nAlaeddin and said to him, \"Here is that which thou soughtest. Tell me\nan thou need thing or service other than this.\" Quoth Alaeddin, \"I need\nnothing [more]; if I need aught, I will summon thee and tell thee.\"\n\nAccordingly, the genie vanished and after a little, Alaeddin's mother\nreturned and entering the house, saw the slaves and slave-girls; whereat\nshe marvelled and said, \"All this is of the Lamp; God continue it unto\nmy son!\" Then, before she put off her veil, Alaeddin said to her, \"O my\nmother, this is thy time, ere the Sultan enter his palace [and withdraw]\nto his harem. Take him what he seeketh, and that forthright, so he may\nknow that I can avail unto that which he requireth, ay, and more, and\nthat he was deluded by the Vizier; albeit he thought to baffle me, he\nand his Vizier.\" Then he arose and opening the house-door, let out the\ndamsels and the slaves, pair by pair, each damsel with a slave by her\nside, so that they filled the street. His mother forewent them and the\npeople of the quarter, when they saw that rare and magnificent\nsight, stood looking and marvelling and gazing upon the faces of the\nslave-girls and their grace and goodliness [and their apparel], for that\nthey were clad in clothes all inwoven with gold and studded with jewels;\nnay, the least one's clothes of them were worth thousands. Moreover they\nlooked at the dishes [431] and saw flashing therefrom a radiance that\noutshone the light of the sun, albeit each dish was covered with a\npiece of brocade, gold-inwrought and studded eke with precious jewels.\nAlaeddin's [432] mother fared on and the damsels and slaves followed\nafter her, in all fair ordinance and disposition, whilst the folk stood\nto gaze on the beauty of the slave-girls and extolled the perfection of\nthe Almighty Creator, till she reached the palace and entered it with\nthem.\n\nWhen the eunuchs and chamberlains and captains of the guard saw them,\nwonder took them and they were breathless for amaze at this sight, the\nlike whereof they had never in their lives seen, and especially at the\nslave girls, each one of whom would ravish the wit of an anchorite.\nWithal, the chamberlains and captains of the Sultan's guards were all\nof them sons of grandees and Amirs; and they marvelled yet more at the\ndamsels' costly raiment and the dishes which they bore on their heads\nand on which they might not open their eyes, [433] for the excess of\ntheir flashing and radiance. Then the guards [434] entered and told the\nSultan, who bade bring them before him forthright into the Divan.\nSo Alaeddin's mother entered with them and when they came before the\nSultan, they all did obeisance to him with the utmost courtliness and\ngravity and invoked on him glory and prosperity; then, raising the\ndishes from their heads, they set them down before him and stood with\ntheir hands clasped behind them, after they had removed the covers.\n\nThe Sultan wondered with an exceeding wonderment and was confounded\nat the beauty of the girls and their loveliness, which overpassed\ndescription; his wit was bewildered, when he saw the golden dishes, full\nof jewels that dazzled the sight, and he was amazed at this marvel, so\nthat he became as one dumb, unable to speak aught, of the excess of his\nwonderment; nay, his wit was the more perplexed, forasmuch as this\nhad all been accomplished in an hour's time. Then he bade carry the\nslave-girls and their burdens to the pavilion of the Lady Bedrulbudour;\nso the damsels took up the dishes and entered; whereupon Alaeddin's\nmother came forward and said to the Sultan, \"O my lord, this is no great\nmatter for the Lady Bedrulbudour's exalted rank; nay, she deserveth\nmanifold this.\" So the Sultan turned to the Vizier and said to him, \"How\nsayst thou, O Vizier? He that can in so short a time avail unto riches\nlike these, is he not worthy to be the Sultan's son-in-law and to have\nhis daughter to bride?\" Now the Vizier marvelled at the greatness of\nthese riches yet more than the Sultan, but envy was killing him and\nwaxed on him more and more, when he saw that the Sultan was content with\nthe bride-gift [435] and the dowry; withal he could not gainstand the\n[manifest] truth and say to the Sultan, \"He is not worthy;\" so he cast\nabout to work upon him by practice, that he might hinder him from giving\nhis daughter the Lady Bedrulbudour to Alaeddin, and accordingly said to\nhim, [436] \"O my lord, all the treasures of the world were not worth\na paring of thy daughter Bedrulbudour's nails; indeed, Thy Highness\noverrateth this upon her.\" [437]\n\nWhen [438] the Sultan heard the Vizier's words, he knew that this his\nspeech arose from the excess of his envy; so he turned to Alaeddin's\nmother and said to her, \"O woman, go to thy son and tell him that I\naccept of him the marriage-gift and abide by my promise to him and that\nmy daughter is his bride and he my son-in-law; so bid him come hither,\nthat I may make acquaintance with him. There shall betide him from me\nnought but all honour and consideration and this night shall be the\nbeginning of the bridal festivities. But, as I said to thee, let him\ncome hither to me without delay.\" So she returned home swiftlier than\nthe wind, [439] of her haste to bring her son the good news; and she\nwas like to fly for joy at the thought that her son was to become the\nSultan's son-in-law. As soon as she had taken her leave, the Sultan\nbade break up the Divan and entering the Lady Bedrulbudour's pavilion,\ncommanded to bring the damsels and the dishes before his daughter and\nhimself, so she should see them. So they brought them and when the Lady\nBedrulbudour saw the jewels, she was amazed and said, \"Methinketh there\nis not one of these jewels found in the treasuries of the world.\" Then\nshe looked at the damsels and marvelled at their beauty and grace and\nknew that this was all from her new bridegroom and that he had proffered\nit to her service. So she rejoiced, albeit she had been sad and sorry\nfor her [whilom] bridegroom the Vizier's son,--she rejoiced, [I say],\nwith an exceeding joy, when she saw the jewels and the beauty of the\ndamsels, and was cheered; whilst her father rejoiced exceedingly in her\njoy, in that he saw her put off chagrin and dejection. Then he said\nto her, \"O my daughter Bedrulbudour, doth this please thee? Indeed,\nmethinketh this thy bridegroom is goodlier [440] than the Vizier's son,\nand God willing, O my daughter, thou shalt rejoice with him abundantly.\"\n[441]\n\nSo much for the Sultan and as for Alaeddin, when his mother came to the\nhouse and entered and he saw her laughing of the excess of her joy,\nhe foreboded good news and said, \"To God Everlasting [442] be praise!\nAccomplished is that which I sought.\" And she said to him, \"Glad\ntidings, O my son! Let thy heart rejoice and thine eye be solaced in the\nattainment of thy desire, for that the Sultan accepteth thine offering,\nto wit, the bride gift and the dowry of the Lady Bedrulbudour, and she\nis thy bride and this, O my son, is the night of your [443] bridal and\nthy going in to the Lady Bedrulbudour. Nay, the Sultan, that he might\ncertify me of his word, proclaimed thee his son-in-law before the folk\nand declared that this should be the wedding-night; but he said to me,\n'Let thy son come hither to me, so I may make acquaintance with him, and\nI will receive him with all honour and worship.' And now, O my son, my\noffice [444] is ended, whatsoever remaineth is a matter for thee.\" [445]\n\nAlaeddin kissed his mother's hand and thanked her amain for her\nkindness; [446] then he arose and entering his chamber, took the lamp\nand rubbed it; whereupon the genie presented himself and said to him,\n\"Here am I; seek what thou wilt.\" Quoth Alaeddin, \"My will is that thou\ntake me to a bath, whose like is not in the world, and fetch me a suit\nof royal raiment and exceeding costly, such as no king can boast.\"\n\"Hearkening and obedience,\" replied the Marid and taking him up, brought\nhim intro a bath, never saw King nor Kisra [447] its like, for it was\nof alabaster and agate and full of marvellous limnings that ravished the\nsight, and therein was a saloon all embossed with precious jewels. None\nwas there; but, when Alaeddin entered, there came in to him one of the\nJinn in human semblance and washed him and bathed him to the utmost of\nthe wish: after [448] which he went forth the bath to the outer saloon,\nwhere he found his clothes taken away and in their stead a suit of the\nrichest royal apparel. Then sherbets were brought him and coffee with\nambergris and he drank and arose; whereupon there came to him a troop\nof slaves and clad him in those [449] sumptuous clothes [450] and he\ndressed and perfumed himself with essences and sweet-scented smoke.\n[451] Now thou knowest [452] that Alaeddin was the son of a poor man,\na tailor: yet now none had thought it, [453] but had said, \"This is the\nchiefest of the sons of the kings,\" extolled be the perfection of Him\nwho changeth and is not changed!\n\nThen the slave of the lamp came to him and taking him up, set him down\nin his house and said to him, \"O my lord, dost thou need aught?\" \"Yes,\"\nanswered Alaeddin; \"I will have thee bring me eight-and-forty mamelukes,\n[454] four-and-twenty to walk before me and four-and-twenty to walk\nbehind me, with their horses and clothes and arms, and let all that is\nupon them and their horses be of stuffs costly and precious exceedingly,\nsuch as are not found in kings' treasuries. Then bring me a stallion\nfit for the riding of the Chosroes and be his trappings all of gold,\nembossed with noble jewels; and bring me eight-and-forty thousand\ndiners, in each mameluke's hand a thousand, for that I purpose presently\nto visit the Sultan; wherefore delay thou not on me, since I cannot go\nthither without all that whereof I have bespoken thee. Bring me also\ntwelve slave-girls, who must be unique in loveliness and clad in the\nrichest of raiment, so they may attend my mother to the Sultan's palace,\nand let each slave-girl have with her a suit of apparel fit for the\nwearing of kings' wives.\" [455]\n\n\"Hearkening and obedience,\" replied the genie and disappearing, brought\nhim in the twinkling of an eye all that he had commanded him withal,\nwhilst in his hand he held a stallion, whose like is not among the\nhorses of the Arabs of the Arabs, [456] with housings of the richest\nstuffs brocaded with gold; whereupon Alaeddin called his mother\nforthright and delivered her the twelve slave-girls and gave her the\n[twelve] suits, [457] so she might dress herself [458] and go with them\nto the Sultan's palace. Then he despatched one of the mamelukes thither,\nto see an the Sultan were come forth of the harem or not; so he went and\nreturning, swiftlier than lightning, said to him, \"O my lord, the Sultan\nawaiteth thee.\" Accordingly he arose and mounting, [set forth], whilst\nthe mamelukes rode before him and after him, (extolled be the perfection\nof the Lord who created them with [459] that which clothed them of\nbeauty and grace!), strewing gold upon the folk before their lord\nAlaeddin, who overpassed them all of his grace and goodliness, and ask\nthou not of kings' sons, [460] extolled be the perfection of the Giver,\nthe Eternal! Now all this was of the virtue of the wonderful lamp, [461]\nwhich gifted whoso possessed it with goodliness and grace and wealth and\nwisdom.\n\nThe folk marvelled at Alaeddin's bounty and at the excess of his\nmunificence and were amazed when they saw that which graced him of\nbeauty and goodliness and his courtliness and dignity; yea, they\nextolled the perfection of the Compassionate One for this His noble\ncreature and all of them great and small [462] called down blessings\non him, albeit they knew him for the son of such an one the tailor; yet\nnone envied him, but all said, \"He is deserving.\" So [463] he fared on\nhis way, with the mamelukes before him and behind him, scattering gold\nupon the folk, till he came to the palace.\n\nNow the Sultan had summoned to his presence the chiefs of his state\nand telling them that he had passed his word for the marriage of his\ndaughter to Alaeddin, bade them await the latter, commanding them that,\nwhen he came, they should all go out to meet him; moreover, he assembled\nthe amirs and viziers and chamberlains and guards and captains of the\ntroops and they were all awaiting Alaeddin at the door of the palace.\nWhen he arrived, he would have dismounted at the door, but there came up\nto him one of the Amirs, whom the Sultan had deputed to that office, and\nsaid to him, \"O my lord, the commandment is that thou enter, riding on\nthy charger, so thou mayst alight at the door of the Divan.\" So they\nall forewent him and he entered till they brought him to the door of the\nDivan. There sundry of them came forward and held his stirrup, whilst\nsome supported him on both sides and other some took him by the hand,\nand so they dismounted him. Then the Amirs and officers of state\nforewent him and brought him into the Divan, till he drew near the\nSultan's throne; whereupon the latter came down forthright from his seat\nand embracing him, hindered him from kissing the carpet and seated him\nbeside himself on his right hand. Alaeddin did that which behoveth and\nbefitteth unto kings of obeisance and invocation and said to him, \"O our\nlord the Sultan, thy Grace's munificence hath vouchsafed [464] to accord\nme the Lady Bedrulbudour thy daughter, albeit I am unworthy of this\ngreat favour, for that I am of the lowliest of thy slaves; wherefore I\nbeseech God that He keep and continue thee. Indeed, O King, my tongue\nfaileth to thank thee [as were behoving] for the greatness of this boon,\noverpassing its competence, [465] wherewith thou hast favoured me, and\nI beseech Thy Grace to vouchsafe me ground, such as is meet, so I may\nbuild thereon a palace that shall be fit for the Lady Bedrulbudour.\"\n\nThe Sultan was amazed when he saw Alaeddin in this regal array and\nbeheld his grace and goodliness and the mamelukes standing in attendance\nupon him in all their comeliness and fair favour; yea, and his\nwonderment redoubled when Alaeddin's mother came up attired in rich and\ncostly raiment, as she were a queen, and he saw twelve slave-girls in\nher service, preceding her, their hands clasped behind their backs, with\nall worship and observance. Moreover, he noted Alaeddin's eloquence and\nthe elegance of his speech and was amazed thereat, he and all who were\npresent with him in the Divan, whilst fire was kindled in the Vizier's\nheart for envy of Alaeddin, so that he was like to die. Then, after the\nSultan had heard Alaeddin's compliment and had seen the greatness of his\nquality and his modesty and eloquence, he strained him to his bosom and\nkissed him, saying, \"It irketh me, O my son, that I have not known thee\n[466] before to-day.\" So, [467] when he saw Alaeddin on this fashion, he\nrejoiced in him with an exceeding joy and at once bade the music [468]\nand the drums [469] strike up; then, rising, he took him by the hand and\ncarried him into the palace, where the evening-meal had been made ready\nand the servants set the tables. There he sat down and seated Alaeddin\non his right hand; whereupon the viziers and chiefs of the state and\nthe grandees of the realm sat also, each in his several room, whilst the\ndrums beat and they held high festival in the palace. [470]\n\nThe Sultan proceeded to make familiar with Alaeddin and to talk with\nhim, and Alaeddin answered him with all courtliness and fluency, as he\nhad been bred in kings' palaces or as he were their constant associate;\n[471] and the more the talk was prolonged between them, the more\ngladness and joy redoubled on the Sultan for that which he heard of the\ngoodliness of Alaeddin's answers and the sweetness of his speech. Then,\nwhen they had eaten and drunken and the tables were removed, the Sultan\nbade fetch the Cadis and the witnesses; so they came and knotted the\nknot and wrote the writ [of marriage] between Alaeddin and the Lady\nBedrulbudour. Therewith Alaeddin arose and would have taken leave; but\nthe Sultan laid hold on him and said to him, \"Whither away, O my son?\nThe bride-feast is toward and the bride present; the knot is knotted\nand the writ written.\" \"O my lord the king,\" answered Alaeddin, \"I\nwould fain build the Lady Bedrulbudour a palace, besorting her rank and\nstation, and it may not be that I should go in to her without this; but,\nGod willing, the building shall, by the diligent endeavour of thy slave\nand by Thy Grace's auspice, [472] be right speedily despatched. Indeed,\nI long for present enjoyment of the Lady Bedrulbudour; but it behoveth\nme [first] apply myself to that which is incumbent on me for her\nservice.\" [473] Quoth the Sultan, \"O my son, look thyself out the ground\nwhich thou deemest apt to thine end and take it. All is in thy hand;\n[474], but here before my palace is a spacious piece of ground, which\nmeseemeth were best; so, if it please thee, build thou the palace\nthereon.\" And Alaeddin answered him, saying, \"Indeed, it is my utmost\ndesire to be near Thy Grace.\"\n\nThen he took leave of the Sultan and going forth, mounted and rode, with\nhis mamelukes before him and behind him, whilst the folk all prayed for\nhim and said, \"By Allah, he is deserving!\" till he came to his house and\nalighting from his stallion, entered his chamber and rubbed the lamp;\nwhereupon the genie stood before him and said to him, \"Seek what thou\nwilt, O my lord\" Quoth Alaeddin, \"I desire of thee an important service,\nto wit, that thou build me with all speed a palace before that of the\nSultan, which shall be marvellous in its building, never saw kings\nits like, and be it complete with all its requisites of kingly and\nmagnificent furniture and so forth.\" \"Hearkening and obedience,\" replied\nthe genie and [475] disappeared; but, before the dawn broke, he came\nto Alaeddin and said to him, \"O my lord, the palace is finished to the\nutmost of the wish; wherefore, an thou wouldst see it, arise forthright\nand look on it.\" So Alaeddin arose and the genie carried him, in the\ntwinkling of an eye, to the palace, which when he saw, he was amazed\nat its building, for that all its stones were of jade and alabaster and\nporphyry and mosaic. The genie carried him into a treasury full of all\nmanner of gold and silver and precious jewels past count or reckoning,\nprice or estimation; then he brought him into another place, where he\nsaw all the requisites of the table, platters and spoons and ewers and\nbasins and cups, of gold and silver, and thence to the kitchen, where\nhe found cooks, [476] with their cooking-gear and utensils, all on like\nwise of gold and silver. Moreover, he brought him into a place, which he\nfound full of coffers overflowing with royal raiment, such as ravished\nthe wit, gold-inwoven stuffs, Indian and Chinese, and brocades, and\nhe showed him also many other places, all full of that which beggareth\ndescription, till at last he brought him into a stable, wherein\nwere horses whose like is not found with the kings of the world; and\ntherewithin he showed him a storehouse, full of housings and saddles of\nprice, all broidered with pearls and precious stones and so forth.\n\nAlaeddin was amazed and bewildered at the greatness of these riches,\nwhereunto the mightiest king in the world might not avail, and all the\nwork of one night; more by token that the palace was full of slaves and\nslave girls such as would bewitch a saint with their loveliness. But the\nmost marvellous of all was that he saw in the palace an upper hall [477]\nand [478] a belvedere [479] with four-and-twenty oriels, all wroughten\nof emeralds and rubies and other jewels, and of one of these oriels\nthe lattice-work was by his desire left unfinished, [480] so the Sultan\nshould fail of its completion. When he had viewed the palace, all of it,\nhe rejoiced and was exceeding glad; then he turned to the genie and said\nto him, \"I desire of thee one thing which is lacking and whereof I had\nforgotten to bespeak thee.\" Quoth the slave, \"Seek what thou wilt, O my\nlord;\" and Alaeddin said to him, \"I will have thee bring me a carpet\nOf fine brocade, all inwoven with gold, and spread it from my palace to\nthat of the Sultan, so the Lady Bedrulbudour, whenas she cometh hither,\nmay walk thereon and not upon the earth.\" So the genie was absent\na little and returning, said to him, \"O my lord, that which thou\nsoughtest of me is here.\" Therewithal he took him and showed him the\ncarpet, which ravished the wit, and it was spread from the Sultan's\npalace to that of Alaeddin; then taking him up, he set him down in his\nown house.\n\nIt [481] was now grown high day; so the Sultan arose from sleep and\nopening a window of his pavilion, looked forth and saw buildings [482]\nbefore his palace; whereupon he fell to rubbing his eyes and opening\nthem wide and looking farther, saw a magnificent palace, that bewildered\nthe wits, and a carpet spread therefrom to his own palace; as on like\nwise did the doorkeepers and all who were in the palace, and their wits\nwere bewildered at the sight. At this juncture the Vizier presented\nhimself and as he entered, he espied the new palace and the carpet and\nmarvelled also; so, when he came in to the Sultan, the twain fell to\ntalking of this strange matter and marvelling, for that they saw a thing\nwhich amazed the beholder and dilated the heart; and they said, \"Verily,\nmethinketh kings may not avail unto the building of the like of this\npalace.\" Then the Sultan turned to the Vizier and said to him, \"How now?\nDeemest thou Alaeddin worthy to be bridegroom to my daughter the Lady\nBedrulbudour? Hast thou seen and considered this royal building and all\nthese riches which man's wit cannot comprehend?\" The Vizier, of his\nenvy of Alaeddin, answered him, saying, \"O King of the Age, indeed this\npalace and its building and all these riches may not be but by means of\nenchantment, for that no man among men, no, not the mightiest of them in\ndominion or the greatest in wealth, might avail to upraise and stablish\n[the like of] this building in one night.\" Quoth the Sultan, \"I marvel\nat thee how thou still deemest evil of Alaeddin; but methinketh it\nariseth from thine envy of him, for that thou wast present when he\nsought of me a place whereon to build a palace for my daughter and I\naccorded him, before thee, [leave to build] a palace on this ground;\nand he who brought me, to my daughter's dower, jewels such that no\nkings possess one thereof, shall he lack ableness to build a palace like\nthis?\" When [483] the Vizier heard the Sultan's speech and understood\nthat he loved Alaeddin greatly, his envy of him increased; withal he\navailed not to do aught against him, so he was dumb and could make the\nSultan no answer.\n\nMeanwhile Alaeddin--seeing that it was high day and that the time was\ncome when he should go to the palace, for that his wedding-festivities\nwere toward and the Amirs and Viziers and chiefs of the state were\nall with the Sultan, so they might be present at the bridal--arose and\nrubbed the lamp; whereupon the genie presented himself and said to\nhim, \"O my lord, seek what thou wilt, for that I am before thee, at thy\nservice.\" Quoth Alaeddin, \"I purpose presently to go to the Sultan's\npalace, and to-day is the wedding; wherefore I have occasion for ten\nthousand diners, which I will have thee bring me.\" The slave was absent\nthe twinkling of an eye and returned to him with the money; whereupon\nAlaeddin arose and taking horse, with his mamelukes behind him and\nbefore him, rode to the palace, scattering gold upon the folk, as\nhe passed, so that they were fulfilled with the love of him and the\ngreatness of his munificence. [484] When he came to the palace and the\nAmirs and eunuchs and soldiers, who were standing awaiting him, saw him,\nthey hastened forthright to the Sultan and told him; whereupon he arose\nand coming to meet him, embraced him and kissed him; then he took him by\nthe hand and carried him into the palace where he sat down and seated\nhim on his right hand.\n\nNow the city was all adorned and the instruments [of music] were smiting\nin the palace and the singing-women singing. Then the Sultan trade serve\nthe morning-meal; so the slaves and mamelukes hastened to spread the\ntable and it was such as kings might take example by. [485] The Sultan\nsat with Alaeddin and the officers of state and the chiefs of the realm\nand they ate and drank till they were satisfied; and great was the\nrejoicing in the palace and the city. Glad were all the chiefs of the\nstate and the folk rejoiced in all the realm, whilst there came from far\nregions the notables of the provinces and the governors of the cities,\nso they might see Alaeddin's wedding and his bride-feast. The Sultan\nstill marvelled in himself at Alaeddin's mother, how she had come to him\nin poor clothes, whilst her son had command of this exceeding wealth;\nand as for the folk, who came to the Sultan's palace, to gaze upon the\nwedding-festivities, when they saw Alaeddin's palace and the goodliness\nof its building, there took them great wonderment how so magnificent a\nbuilding had been upreared in one night and they fell all to praying for\nAlaeddin and saying, \"God prosper him! By Allah, he is deserving. God's\nblessing on his days!\"\n\nMeanwhile [486] Alaeddin, having made an end of the morning-meal, arose\nand taking leave of the Sultan, mounted with his mamelukes and rode to\nhis palace, so he might prepare for the reception of his bride, the\nLady Bedrulbudour. As he passed, all the folk cried out to him with\none voice, saying, \"God gladden thee! God increase thee in glory! God\ncontinue thee!\" And so they brought him home in great procession, what\nwhile he showered gold on them. When he came to his palace, he alighted\nand entering, sat down in the Divan, whilst the mamelukes stood before\nhim with clasped hands. After a little they brought him sherbets and he\ngave commandment to his mamelukes and slave-girls and eunuchs and all\nwho were in his palace that they should make ready to receive the Lady\nBedrulbudour, his bride. Then, when it was the time of the midafternoon\nprayer [487] and the air grew cool and the heat of the sun abated, [488]\nthe Sultan bade the troops and the Amirs and the Viziers go down to\nthe horse-course. So they all repaired thither and with them the Sultan\nhimself; whereupon Alaeddin also arose and mounting with his mamelukes,\nwent down into the plain and showed his horsemanship; then he fell\nto playing [489] in the tilting-ground and there was none could stand\nbefore him. Now he was riding a stallion whose like is not among\nthe horses of the Arabs of the Arabs [490] and his bride the Lady\nBedrulbudour was looking upon him from the window of her pavilion, and\nwhen she saw his grace and goodliness and knightly prowess, she was\novercome with his love and was like to fly for joy in him. Then, after\nthey had played [some] bouts [491] in the plain and each had shown what\nwas in him of horsemanship, (but Alaeddin overpassed them all,) the\nSultan went to his palace and Alaeddin on like wise returned home.\n\nWhen it was eventide, the chiefs of the state and the Viziers went\nand taking Alaeddin, carried him in procession to the Royal Bath, the\nRenowned; [492] so he entered and bathed and perfumed himself, then,\ncoming forth, he donned a suit yet richer than the first and mounted,\nwhilst the troops rode before him and the Amirs and Viziers. So they\nfared on with him in great state, with four of the Viziers for his\nsword-bearers, whilst all the troops and people of the city, both\ntownsfolk and strangers, walked in procession before him, carrying\nflambeaux and drums and flutes and instruments of mirth and music, till\nthey brought him to his palace, when he alighted and entering, sat down,\nas did also the Viziers and Amirs who were in his company, whilst the\nmamelukes brought sherbets and sweetmeats [493] and gave all who were\nwith him in the procession to drink, albeit they were a multitude of\nfolk whose number might not be told. Moreover, he gave commandment unto\nhis mamelukes, and they went out to the door of the palace and fell to\nshowering gold upon the folk.\n\nMeanwhile, [494] when the Sultan returned from the horse-course and\nentered his palace, he bade forthright carry his daughter the Lady\nBedrulbudour in procession to the palace of her bridegroom Alaeddin. So\nthe troops forthright mounted with the officers of state, who had been\nin Alaeddin's procession, and the slave-girls and eunuchs went out\nwith flambeaux and carried the Lady Bedrulhudour in great state to her\nbridegroom's palace, Alaeddin's mother by her side and before her the\nwomen of the Viziers and Amirs and grandees and notables. Moreover, she\nhad with her eight and-forty slave-girls, whom Alaeddin had presented to\nher, in each one's hand a great candle of camphor and ambergris, set in\na candlestick of gold, studded with jewels; and all the men and women in\nthe palace went out with her and fared on before her, till they brought\nher to her bridegroom's palace and carrying her up to her pavilion,\n[495] attired her in various robes [496] and displayed her. Then, after\nthey had made an end of displaying her, they carried her to the pavilion\nof her groom Alaeddin and he went in to her. Now his mother was with the\nLady Bedrulbudour, and when he came up and did off her veil, she fell to\ngazing upon the bride's beauty and grace and looked at the pavilion, the\nwhich was all wroughten [497] of gold and jewels and therein were golden\nlustres, all embossed with emeralds and rubies; and she said in herself,\n\"Methought the Sultan's palace was magnificent; but, for this pavilion\n[498] alone, I doubt me the greatest of the Chosroes and the kings never\nowned its match; nor, methinketh, might all mankind avail to make\nthe like thereof.\" And the Lady Bedrulbudour also fell to looking and\nmarvelling at the palace [499] and its magnificence. Then the table was\nlaid and they ate and drank and made merry; and presently there appeared\nbefore them fourscore slave-girls, each with an instrument in her hand\nof the instruments of mirth and music. So they plied their finger-tips\nand touching their strings, struck up with plaintive airs, till\nthey clove in sunder the hearts of the listeners, whilst the Lady\nBedrulbudour redoubled in wonderment and said in herself, \"Never in my\nlife heard I the like of these songs;\" so that she forgot to eat and\nfell to listening. As for Alaeddin, he proceeded to pour to her the wine\nand give her to drink with his own hand, and mirth and good cheer and\ndelight went round among them and it was a rare night, such as Iskender\nof the Horns [500] never in his time spent. Then, after they had made an\nend of eating and drinking, the tables were removed from before them and\nAlaeddin arose and went in to his bride.\n\nWhen it was the morning, Alaeddin arose and his treasurer brought him\na costly suit of the richest of kings' raiment; so he donned it and\nsat down; whereupon coffee was brought him with ambergris and he drank\nthereof and called for the horses. Accordingly, they were saddled and he\nmounted and rode, with his mamelukes behind him and before him, to the\nSultan's palace. When he reached it and entered, the eunuchs went in and\nacquainted the Sultan with his presence; which [501] when he heard, he\narose forthwith and coming to meet Alaeddin, embraced him and kissing\nhim, as he were his son, seated him on his right hand. Moreover the\nViziers and Amirs and officers of state and grandees of the realm\ninvoked blessings on him and the Sultan gave him joy [502] and prayed\nGod prosper him. Then he bade lay breakfast; [503] so they laid [it] and\nthey all broke their fast; and after they had eaten and drunken their\nsufficiency and had finished and the servants had removed the tables\nfrom before them, Alaeddin turned to the Sultan and said to him, \"O my\nlord, [belike] Thy Grace will vouchsafe to honour me this day at the\nmorning-meal [503] with the Lady Bedrulbudour, thy precious daughter,\nand be Thy Grace's company all thy viziers and the chief officers of\nthy state.\" Quoth the Sultan, (and indeed he rejoiced in him), \"Gladly,\n[504] O my son,\" and bidding the Viziers and officers of state and\ngrandees attend him, arose forthright and mounted; whereupon Alaeddin\nand the others mounted also and they all rode till they came to\nAlaeddin's palace.\n\nWhen the Sultan entered the palace and viewed its building and ordinance\nand saw its stones, which were of jade and agate, he was amazed\n[505] and his wit was bewildered at that affluence and wealth and\nmagnificence; so he turned to the Vizier and said to him, \"How sayst\nthou, O Vizier? Hast thou in all thy days seen aught like this? Are\nthere found with the greatest of the kings of the world riches and gold\nand jewels such as these we see in this palace?\" \"O my lord the King,\"\nanswered the Vizier, \"this is a thing beyond the competence of a king of\nthe sons of Adam, nor might all the people of the earth together avail\nto build a palace like this; nay, there are no craftsmen living able\nto do work like this, except it be, as I said to Thy Grace, by might of\nmagic.\" [506] The Sultan knew that the Vizier, in seeking to convince him that\nthis was not by might of men, but all of it enchantment, still spoke not\nbut of his envy of Alaeddin; so he said to him, \"Enough, O Vizier; let\nus have no more of thy talk. I know the cause which maketh thee speak on\nthis wise.\"\n\nThen Alaeddin forewent the Sultan till he brought him to the high\npavilion [507] and he looked at the belvedere [508] and its oriols\n[509] and lattices, [510] all wroughten of emeralds and rubies and other\nprecious stones, and was amazed and astonied; his wit was bewildered and\nhe abode perplexed in his thought. Then he fell to going round about\nthe pavilion and viewing these things that ravished the sight, till\npresently he espied the casement [511] which Alaeddin had purposely left\nwanting and unfinished. When the Sultan examined it and saw that it was\nunfinished, he said, \"Woe is me for thee, O casement, that thou art not\nperfect!\" Then, turning to the Vizier, he said to him, \"Knowest thou the\nreason of the lack of completion of this casement and its lattices?\" \"O\n[512] my lord,\" answered the Vizier, \"methinketh it is because Thy Grace\nhastened upon Alaeddin with the wedding and he had no time to complete\nit.\" Now Alaeddin had meanwhile gone in to his bride, the Lady\nBedrulbudour, to acquaint her with the coming of her father the Sultan;\nand when he returned, the Sultan said to him, \"O my son Alaeddin, what\nis the reason that the lattice[-work] of yonder oriel [513] is not\ncompleted?\" \"O King of the Age,\" replied Alaeddin, \"by reason of the\nhaste made with the bridal, the craftsmen might not avail to [514]\nfinish it.\" Quoth the Sultan to him, \"It is my wish to finish it\nmyself.\" And Alaeddin answered, saying, \"God prolong thy glory, O King;\nso shall there remain unto thee a remembrance [515] in thy daughter's\npalace.\"\n\nAccordingly the Sultan bade straightway fetch jewellers and goldsmiths\nand commanded to give them from the treasury all that they needed of\ngold and jewels and [precious] metals; so they came and he bade them do\nthat which was wanting of the lattice-work of the [unfinished] oriel.\n[516] Meanwhile, the Lady Bedrulbudour came out to receive her father\nthe Sultan, and when she came up to him and he saw her smiling-faced he\nembraced her and kissed her and taking her [by the hand], went in with\nher to her pavilion. So they entered all, for that it was the appointed\ntime of the morning-meal and they had set one table for the Sultan and\nthe Lady Bedrulbudour and Alaeddin and another for the Vizier and\nthe officers of state and grandees of the realm and captains and\nchamberlains and deputies. The Sultan sat between his daughter, the Lady\nBedrulbudour, and his son-in-law Alaeddin, and when he put his hand to\nthe food and tasted it, wonder took him at the richness of the meats and\nthe exquisiteness of their seasonings. [517] Now there stood before them\nfourscore damsels, each as it were she said to the full moon, \"Rise,\nso I may sit in thy place;\" and in each one's hand was an instrument\nof mirth and music. So they tuned their instruments and touched their\nstrings and struck up with plaintive [518] airs that dilated the\nmourning heart. [519] The Sultan was cheered and the time was pleasant\nto him and he rejoiced and said, \"Verily, Kings and Kaisers would fail\nof [520] this thing.\"\n\nThen they fell to eating and drinking and the cup went round among them\ntill they had taken their sufficiency, when there came sweetmeats [521]\nand various kinds of fruits and so forth; and these were laid in another\nsaloon. So they removed thither and took their fill of those dainties;\nafter which the Sultan arose, that he might see if the work of the\njewellers and goldsmiths likened that of the palace. So he went up to\nthem and viewed their work and how they wrought and saw that they were\nfar from availing to do work like that [of the rest] of Alaeddin's\npalace. [522] Moreover [523] they told him that all they found in his\ntreasury they had brought and it sufficed not; whereupon he bade open\nthe Great Treasury and give them what they needed and that, if it\nsufficed not, they should take that which Alaeddin had given him. So\nthey took all the jewels assigned them by the Sultan and wrought with\nthem, but found that these also sufficed them not, nor might they\ncomplete withal the half of that which lacked of the lattice work of the\noriel; [524] whereupon the Sultan bade take all the jewels which should\nbe found with the Viziers and chiefs of the state; and accordingly they\ntook them all and wrought therewith; but this also sufficed not.\n\nWhen it was morning, Alaeddin went up to view the jewelers' work and saw\nthat they had not completed half the lacking lattice-work; whereupon\nhe bade them incontinent undo all that they had wrought and restore the\njewels to their owners. Accordingly, they undid it all and sent to the\nSultan that which was his and to the Viziers [and others] that which\nwas theirs. Then they went to the Sultan and told him that Alaeddin had\ncommanded them of this; whereupon he asked them, \"What said he to you\nand why would he not have the lattice-work finished and why undid he\nthat which you had done?\" And they said to him, \"O my lord, we know\nnothing, save that he bade us undo all that we had done.\" Whereupon the\nSultan immediately called for the horses and arising, mounted and rode\nto Alaeddin's palace.\n\nMeanwhile Alaeddin, after dismissing the goldsmiths and the jewellers,\nentered his closet and rubbed the lamp; whereupon the genie forthwith\nappeared and said to him, \"Seek what thou wilt; thy slave is before\nthee.\" And Alaeddin said to him, \"It is my will that thou complete the\nlacking lattice-work of the oriel.\" [525] \"On my head and eyes [be it],\"\nreplied the slave and disappearing, returned after a little and said to\nhim, \"O my lord, that whereof thou commandedst me I have performed.\" So\nAlaeddin went up to the belvedere [526] and found all its lattices [527]\nperfect; and whilst he was viewing them, behold the [chief] eunuch [528]\ncame in to him and said to him, \"O my lord, the Sultan cometh to visit\nthee and is at the palace-door.\" So he came down forthright and went to\nmeet the Sultan, who [529] said to him, when he saw him, \"Wherefore, O\nmy son, hast thou done thus, and why sufferedst thou not the jewellers\ncomplete the lattice-work of the oriel, [530] so there might not remain\na place in thy palace [531] defective?\" \"O King of the Age,\" answered\nAlaeddin, \"I left it not imperfect but of my free will, nor did I lack\nof ableness to complete it. However, I could not brook that Thy Grace\nshould honour me [with thy presence] in a palace [532] wherein there was\nsomewhat lacking; wherefore, so thou mayst know that it was not for lack\nof ableness that I left it uncomplete, [533] let Thy Grace go up and see\nthe lattice-work of the kiosk, [534] an there be aught lacking thereto.\"\n\nThe Sultan accordingly went up to the pavilion [535] and entering the\nkiosk, [536] viewed it right and left and saw no manner defect in its\nlattices, but found them all perfect; whereat he was astounded and\nembracing Alaeddin, fell a-kissing him and saying, \"O my son, what is\nthis extraordinary thing? In one night thou dost a work wherefrom the\njewellers would fail in months! By Allah, methinketh thou hast not thy\nfellow [537] in the world!\" Quoth Alaeddin, \"God prolong thy life and\nperpetuate thy continuance! Thy slave is not worthy of this praise.\" \"By\nAllah, O my son,\" rejoined the Sultan, \"thou deservest all praise, in\nthat thou hast done a thing wherefrom [all the] craftsmen of the\nworld would fail.\" Then he went down and entering the pavilion of his\ndaughter, the Lady Bedrulbudour, found her rejoicing exceedingly over\nthis great magnificence wherein she was; and after he had rested with\nher awhile, he returned to his palace.\n\nNow Alaeddin used every day to mount and ride through the town, with\nhis mamelukes behind him and before him, strewing gold upon the people,\nright and left, and the folk, stranger and neighbour, near and far, were\nfulfilled with the love of him for the excess of his munificence and his\nbounty. Moreover he exceeded in benefaction of the poor and the indigent\n[538] and used himself to distribute his alms to them with his own hand.\nAfter this fashion he won himself great renown in all the realm and the\nmost of the chiefs of the state and the Amirs used to eat at his table\nand swore not but by his precious life. Moreover, he fell to going\neverywhile [539] to the chase and the horse course and to practicing\nhorsemanship and archery [540] before the Sultan, whilst the Lady\nBedrulbudour redoubled in love of him, whenassoever she saw him\ndisporting himself a horseback, and thought in herself that God had\nwrought exceeding graciously by her in that there had befallen her\nwhat befell with the Vizier's son, so He might keep her for her true\nbridegroom Alaeddin. So [541] he went daily waxing in goodliness of\nrepute and in praise and the love of him redoubled in the hearts of the\ncommon folk and he was magnified in men's eyes.\n\nNow in those days certain of the Sultan's enemies took horse against\nhim; so he levied troops to repel them and made Alaeddin chief thereof.\nAlaeddin set out with his host and fared on till he drew near the enemy,\nwhose troops were exceeding many; where upon he drew his sword and fell\nupon them and there befell battle and slaughter and sore was the stress\nof the mellay; but Alaeddin broke them and routed them and slew the most\npart of them. Moreover, he plundered their goods and possessions and gat\nhim spoil beyond count or reckoning, wherewith he returned in triumph,\n[having gained] a great victory, and entered the city, which had adorned\nitself for him of its joy in him. The Sultan came out to meet him\nand give him joy and embraced him and kissed him, and there was high\nfestival holden in the kingdom and great rejoicing. Then the Sultan and\nAlaeddin betook themselves to the latter's palace; [542] whereupon his\nbride, the Lady Bedrulbudour, came out to meet him, rejoicing in\nhim, and kissed him between the eyes, and he went in with her to her\npavilion; [543] whither after a little came the Sultan and they sat down\nand the slave-girls brought sherbets. [544] So they drank and the Sultan\ncommanded that all the realm should be decorated for Alaeddin's victory\nover the enemy; whilst it became [a saying] with the commons and the\ntroops and the folk, all of them, \"Allah in heaven and Alaeddin on\nearth.\" and they loved him yet more, having regard not only to the\nexcess of his bounty and munificence, but to his knightly prowess, in\nthat he had done battle for the kingdom and had routed the enemy.\n\nSo much for Alaeddin, and now to return to the Mangrabin enchanter. When\nhe returned to his country, he abode all this time, bewailing that which\nhe had endured of toil and stress, so he might compass the lamp, yet had\nhis travail all been wasted and the morsel had escaped from his hand,\nafter it had reached his mouth; and he still thought upon all this,\nbemoaning himself and reviling Alaeddin of the excess of his anger\nagainst him; and whiles he said in himself, \"Since yonder whoreson is\ndead under the earth, I am content withal and I have hopes of the lamp,\nthat I may yet achieve it, inasmuch as it is still safeguarded.\" Then,\none day of the days, he smote the sand and extracting the figures, set\nthem down after the most approved fashion [545] and adjusted [546] them,\nso he might see and certify himself of the death of Alaeddin and the\nsafe keeping of the lamp under the earth; and he looked well into [547]\nthe figures, both mothers and daughters, [548] but saw not the lamp,\nwhereupon rage overrode him and he smote the sand a second time, that\nhe might certify himself of Alaeddin's death, but saw him not in the\ntreasure; whereat he redoubled in wrath, and yet more when it was\ncertified to him that the lad was alive upon the surface of the earth\nand he knew that he had come forth from under the ground and had gotten\nthe lamp, on account whereof he himself had suffered toil and torment\nsuch as passeth man's power to endure. So he said in himself, \"I have\nsuffered many hardships for the sake of the lamp and have endured\nfatigues such as none but I might brook, [549] and now yonder accursed\none taketh it without stress and it is evident [550] [that], an he have\nlearned the use thereof, there will be none in the world richer than\nhe.\"\n\nThen, [551] when he saw and was certified that Alaeddin had come forth\nfrom under the earth and had happened upon the good of the Lamp, [552]\nhe said in himself, \"Needs must I go about to kill him.\" So he smote the\nsand once more and examining its figures, saw that Alaeddin had gotten\nhim exceeding wealth and had married the Sultan's daughter; whereat he\nwas all afire for rage and envy and arising then and there, equipped\nhimself for travel and set out for the land of China. When he came to\nthe city of the sultanate, [553] wherein was Alaeddin, he entered and\nalighting at one of the khans, heard the folk talking of nought but the\nmagnificence of Alaeddin's palace; then, after he was rested from his\njourney, he changed [554] his clothes and went down to go round about\nin the thoroughfares of the city. He passed no folk but they were\ndescanting upon the palace and its magnificence and talking of\nAlaeddin's grace and comeliness and his bounty and munificence and the\ngoodliness of his manners and disposition; so [555] he went up to one\nof those who were extolling Alaeddin on this wise and said to him,\n\"Prithee, fair youth, who is this whom you describe and praise?\" \"O man,\"\nreplied the other, \"meseemeth thou art a stranger and comest from afar;\nbut, granting thou art from a far country, hast thou not heard of the\nAmir Alaeddin, whose repute, methought, filled the earth, and of his\npalace, a wonder of the world, whereof both far and near have heard? How\nis it thou hast heard nought of this nor of the name of Alaeddin, whom\nOur Lord increase in glory and prosper?\" Quoth the Maugrabin, \"Marry, it\nis the utmost of my wish to look upon the palace; so, an thou wouldst do\nme a kindness, direct me thither, for that I am a stranger.\" \"Hearkening\nand obedience,\" replied the other and going before him, guided him to\nAlaeddin's palace.\n\nThe Maugrabin fell to examining it and knew that this all of it was the\nwork of the Lamp; so he said, \"Alack! Alack! Needs must I dig a pit for\nthis accursed one, this tailor's son, who could not come by a night's\nsupper; but, an destiny enable me, I will send his mother back to spin\nat her wheel, like as she did erst, and as for him, it shall cost him\n[556] his life.\" Then he returned to the khan in a woeful state of\nchagrin and colour and despite, for envy of Alaeddin, and [557] taking\nhis geomantic instruments, [558] smote his [tablet of] sand, so he might\nlearn where the lamp was, and found that it was in the palace and not\nwith Alaeddin; [559] whereat he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and said,\n\"Now it will be an easy matter for me to bereave this accursed of his\nlife and I have a way to come at the lamp.\" Accordingly he went to a\ncoppersmith and said to him, \"Make me so many [560] lamps [561] and\ntake of me their worth in full; [562] but I will have thee despatch them\nquickly.\" \"Hearkening and obedience,\" replied the smith and falling to\nwork on them, speedily despatched them for him. When they were finished,\nthe Maugrabin paid him their price, even that which he sought, and\ntaking the lamps, carried them to the khan, where he laid them in a\nbasket and fell to going round about in the markets and thoroughfares\nof the city and crying out, \"Ho! who will barter an old lamp for a new\nlamp?\" When the folk heard him crying this, they laughed at him and\nsaid, \"Certes, this man is mad, since he goeth about, bartering new\nlamps for old.\" Moreover, people [563] followed him and the street-boys\ncaught him up from place to place [564] and laughed at him. However, he\nfended not himself neither took heed of this, but ceased not to go round\nabout the city till he came under Alaeddin's palace, where he fell\nto crying his loudest, whilst the children called after him, \"Madman!\nMadman!\"\n\nNow as fate willed it, the Lady Bedrulbudour was in the kiosk and\nhearing one crying out and the boys calling after him and understanding\nnot what was toward, bade one of the slave-girls \"Go see what is this\nman who crieth out and what he crieth.\" So the girl went and looking,\nsaw one crying out, \"Ho, who will barter an old lamp for a new lamp?\"\nwith the boys after him, laughing at him; so she returned and told her\nmistress, saying, \"O my lady, this man crieth, 'Ho! who will barter an\nold lamp for a new lamp?' and the boys are following him and laughing\nat him;\" and the Lady Bedrulbudour laughed also at this marvel. Now\nAlaeddin had forgotten the lamp in his pavilion, [565] without locking\nit up in his treasury [as was his wont], and one of the girls had seen\nit; so she said to the princess, \"O my lady, methinketh I have seen an\nold lamp in my lord Alaeddin's pavilion; let us barter it with this\nman for a new one, so we may see an his speech be true or leasing.\" And\n[566] the princess said to her, \"fetch the lamp whereof thou speakest.\"\nNow the Lady Bedrulbudour had no knowledge of the lamp and its\nproperties, neither knew she that this it was which had brought Alaeddin\nher husband to that great estate, and it was the utmost of her desire to\nprove and see the wit of this man who bartered new for old, nor was\nany one aware of the Maugrabin enchanter's craft and trickery. So the\nslave-girl went up into Alaeddin's pavilion and returned with the lamp\nto the Lady Bedrulbudour, who bade the Aga of the eunuchs [567] go down\nand exchange it for a new one; so he took it and going down, gave it to\nthe Maugrabin and took of him a new lamp, with which he returned to the\nprincess, who examined it and finding it new and real, fell to laughing\nat the Maugrabin's [lack of] wit. Meanwhile, when the enchanter had\ngotten the lamp and knew it for that of the Treasure, he thrust it\nforthwith into his sleeve [568] and leaving the rest of the lamps to\nthe folk who were in act to barter of him, set off running, till he came\nwithout the city, and walked about the waste places, awaiting the coming\nof the night. Then, when he saw himself alone in the open country, he\nbrought out the lamp from his sleeve and rubbed it; whereupon the Marid\nimmediately appeared to him and said, \"Here am I; thy slave [is] before\nthee. Seek of me what thou wilt.\" Quoth the Maugrabin, \"My will is that\nthou take up Alaeddin's palace from its place, with its inhabitants and\nall that [569] is therein and myself also, and set it down in my country\nof Africa. [570] Thou knowest my town and I will have this palace be\nthereby among the gardens.\" \"Hearkening and obedience,\" replied the\nMarid. \"Shut [thine] eye and open [thine] eye, and thou wilt find\nthyself in thine own country with the palace.\" And immediately this\nbefell in the twinkling of an eye and the Maugrabin was transported,\nwith Alaeddin's palace and all that was therein, to the land of Africa.\n\nSo much for the enchanter, and now let us return to the Sultan and\nAlaeddin. The Sultan, of his love and affection for his daughter the\nLady Bedrulbudour, was wont, every day, when he awoke from his sleep,\nto open the window and look at her therefrom; so he arose on the morrow,\naccording to his wont, and opened his chamber-window, so he might\nsee his daughter; but [571] when he put out his head and looked for\nAlaeddin's palace, he beheld nothing but a place swept [and level],\nlike as it was aforetime, and saw neither palace nor inhabitants; [572]\nwhereat amazement clad him and his wit was bewildered and he fell\nto rubbing his eyes, so haply they were bleared or dimmed. Then he\nproceeded to look closely till at last he was certified that there was\nneither trace nor sign left of the palace and knew not what was come of\nit; whereupon he redoubled in perplexity and smote hand upon hand\nand his tears ran down upon his beard, for that he knew not what had\nbefallen his daughter. So he sent forthright to fetch the Vizier,\nwho came in to him and seeing him in that woeful state, said to him,\n\"Pardon, O King of the Age (God keep thee from harm!) why art thou\nwoeful?\" Quoth the Sultan, \"Meseemeth thou knowest not of my affair.\"\nAnd the Vizier said to him, \"By Allah, O my lord, I have no knowledge\nof aught whatsoever.\" \"Then,\" rejoined the Sultan, \"thou hast not looked\ntowards Alaeddin's palace.\" \"Nay, O my lord,\" replied the Vizier, \"it\nis yet shut.\" And the Sultan said to him, \"Since thou hast no news of\naught, rise and look at it from the window and see where it is, this\npalace of Alaeddin's, whereof thou sayest that it is yet shut.\" The\nVizier arose and looked from the window towards Alaeddin's palace,\nbut could see nothing, neither palace nor aught else; so his wit was\nbewildered and he was amazed and returned to the Sultan, who said to\nhim, \"Now knowest thou the cause of my distress and seest Alaeddin his\npalace, whereof thou saddest that it was shut.\" \"O King of the Age,\"\nrejoined the Vizier, \"I told Thy Grace aforetime that this palace and\nthese affairs were all of them [the work of] enchantment.\"\n\nAt this the Sultan was fired with wrath and said to him, \"Where is\nAlaeddin?\" And he answered, \"He is at the chase.\" Whereupon the Sultan\nbade sundry of his eunuchs and officers go straightway fetch him bound\nand shackled. So they went till they came to Alaeddin and said to him,\n\"O our lord Alaeddin, blame us not, for that the Sultan hath bidden\nus carry thee to him, bound and shackled; wherefore we beseech thee\nof excusement, for that we are under a royal commandment and may not\ngainsay it.\" When Alaeddin heard their speech, wonderment took him and\nhis tongue was tied, for that he knew not the cause; then he turned to\nthe eunuchs and officers and said, \"Prithee, sirs, [573] have you no\nknowledge of the cause of this commandment of the Sultan? I know myself\nguiltless, forasmuch as I have done no sin against the Sultan nor\nagainst his realm.\" And they said to him, \"O our lord, we have no manner\nof knowledge thereof.\" So Alaeddin lighted down from his stallion and\nsaid to them, \"Do with me that which the Sultan biddeth you, for that\nhis commandment is upon the head and eyes.\" Accordingly [574] the\nofficers shackled him and pinioning him, haled him along in irons and\nentered the city with him.\n\nThe folk, seeing Alaeddin pinioned and shackled with iron, knew that\nthe Sultan was minded to cut off his head, and forasmuch as he was\nextraordinarily beloved of them, they all gathered together and taking\nup arms, came forth their houses and followed the troops, so they might\nsee what was to do. When the officers came with Alaeddin to the palace,\nthey entered and told the Sultan, who immediately bade the headsman go\nand cut off his head. But the commons, hearing of this his commandment,\nshut the gates of the palace and sent to say to the Sultan, \"This very\nmoment we will overthrow the palace upon thee and all who are therein,\nan the least harm happen to Alaeddin.\" So the Vizier went and told the\nSultan and said to him, \"O King of the Age, all will be over with us\nforthright; [575] wherefore thou wert best pardon Alaeddin, lest some\ncalamity befall us, for that the commons love him more than us.\" Now the\nheadsman had spread the carpet of blood and seating Alaeddin thereon,\nhad bound his eyes and gone round him three times, [576] awaiting the\nKing's final commandment. The Sultan looked at his subjects and seeing\nthem swarming upon him and climbing up to the palace, that they might\noverthrow it, commanded the headsman to hold his hand from Alaeddin and\nbade the crier go forth among the people and proclaim that he pardoned\nAlaeddin and took him [again] into favour.\n\nWhen Alaeddin found himself released and saw the Sultan sitting, he went\nup to him and said to him, \"O my lord, since Thy Grace hath bountifully\nvouchsafed me my life, [577] favour me [yet farther] and tell me the\nmanner of my offence.\" \"O traitor,\" replied the Sultan, \"till [but] now\nI knew not thine offence;\" then, turning to the Vizier, he said to\nhim, \"Take him, that he may see from the windows where his palace is.\"\nAccordingly the Vizier took him and Alaeddin looked from the windows in\nthe direction of his palace and finding the place swept and clear, like\nas it was before he built the palace thereon, neither seeing any\ntrace of the latter, he was amazed and bewildered, unknowing what had\nhappened. When he returned, the King said to him, \"What hast thou seen?\nWhere is thy palace and where is my daughter, my heart's darling and\nmine only one, than whom I have none other?\" And Alaeddin answered him,\nsaying, \"O King of the Age, I have no knowledge thereof, neither know I\nwhat hath befallen.\" And the Sultan said to him, \"Know, O Alaeddin, that\nI have pardoned thee, so thou mayst go and look into this affair and\nmake me search for my daughter; and do not thou present thyself but with\nher; nay, an thou bring her not back to me, as my head liveth, I will\ncut off thine.\" \"Hearkening and obedience, O King of the Age,\" replied\nAlaeddin. \"Grant me but forty days' grace, and an I bring her not after\nthat time, cut off my head and do what thou wilt.\" Quoth [578] the\nSultan to him, \"I grant thee, according to thy request, the space of\nforty days; but think not to flee from my hand, for that I will fetch\nthee back, though thou wert above the clouds, not to say upon the face\nof the earth.\" \"O my lord the Sultan,\" rejoined Alaeddin, \"as I said\nto Thy Grace, an I bring her not to thee in this space of time, I will\npresent myself before thee, that thou mayst cut off my head.\"\n\nNow the commons and the folk, one and all, when they saw Alaeddin,\nrejoiced in him with an exceeding joy and were glad for his deliverance;\nbut the ignominy which had befallen him and shame and the exultation of\nthe envious had bowed down his head; so he went forth and fell to going\nround about the city, perplexed anent his case and unknowing how all\nthis had happened. He abode in the city two days in the woefullest\nof case, knowing not how he should do to find his palace and the Lady\nBedrulbudour, his bride, what while certain of the folk used to come to\nhim privily with meat and drink. Then he went forth, wandering in the\ndeserts and knowing not whitherward he should aim, and ceased not going\ntill he came to a river; whereupon, his hope being cut off for stress of\nchagrin that possessed him, he thought to cast himself into the stream;\nbut, for that he was a pious Muslim, professing the unity of God, he\nfeared God in himself and stood on the bank; of the stream to perform\nthe ablution. [579] So he took of the water in his hands and proceeded\nto rub between his fingers; and in doing this, his rubbing chanced upon\nthe ring, whereupon a Marid appeared to him and said to him, \"Here am I;\nthy slave is before thee. Seek what thou wilt.\"\n\nWhen Alaeddin saw the Marid, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and said\nto him, \"O slave, I will have thee bring me my palace, with my bride,\nthe Lady Bedrulbudour, and all that is therein.\" \"O my lord,\" replied\nthe Marid, \"it irketh me sore that what thou seekest of me is a thing\nunto which I cannot avail, for that it pertaineth unto the slaves of\nthe Lamp and I may not adventure upon it.\" \"Then,\" said Alaeddin,\n\"since this is not possible unto thee, take me and set me down beside\nmy palace, in what land soever it is.\" \"Hearkening and obedience, O\nmy lord,\" replied the Marid and taking him up, set him down, in the\ntwinkling of an eye, beside his palace in the land of Africa and before\nhis wife's pavilion. By this time, the night was come; so he looked\nat his palace and his cares and sorrows were dispelled from him and he\ntrusted in God, after he had forsworn hope, that he should see his bride\nonce again. Then he fell to thinking upon the hidden mercies of God\n(glorified be His might!) and how He had vouchsafed [580] him the ring\nand how his hope had been cut off, except God had provided him with the\nslave of the Ring. So he rejoiced and all chagrin ceased from him; then,\nfor that he had been four days without sleeping, of the stress of his\nchagrin and his trouble and his grief and the excess of his melancholy,\nhe went to the side of the palace and lay down under a tree; for that,\nas I have said, the palace was among the gardens of Africa without the\ncity. [581] He [582] lay that night under the tree in all ease; but\nhe whose head is in the headsman's hand sleepeth not anights. [583]\nHowever, fatigue and lack of sleep for four days past caused slumber\nget the mastery over him; [584] so he slept till break of morn, when he\nawoke at the chirp [585] of the sparrows. He arose and going to a stream\nthere which flowed into the city, washed his hands and face; then,\nmaking the ablution, he prayed the morning-prayer and after returned and\nsat under the windows of the Lady Bedrulbudour's pavilion.\n\nNow the princess, of the excess of her grief for her separation from her\nhusband and the Sultan her father and of her sore distress at that which\nhad betided her with the accursed Maugrabin enchanter, used every day to\narise, at the first peep of dawn, [586] and sit weeping; nay, she slept\nnot anights and forswore meat and drink. Her handmaid used to go in to\nher at the time of the Salutation, [587] so she might dress her, and\nthat morning, by the decree of destiny, the damsel opened the window at\nthat time, thinking to solace her mistress with the sight of the trees\nand streams. So she looked out and seeing her lord Alaeddin sitting\nunder the windows of the pavilion, said to the princess, \"O my lady, my\nlady, here is my lord Alaeddin sitting under the pavilion!\" Whereupon\nthe Lady Bedrulbudour arose in haste and looking from the window, saw\nAlaeddin, and he raised his head and saw her; so she saluted him and he\nher and they were both like to fly for joy. Then said she to him, \"Arise\nand come in to me by the privy door, for that the accursed one [588] is\nnot now here;\" and she bade her handmaid go down and open the door.\nSo the damsel went down and opened to Alaeddin, who arose and entered\nthereby. His wife, [589] the Lady Bedrulbudour, met him at the door and\nthey embraced and kissed each other with all joyance, till they fell\na-weeping of the excess of their gladness.\n\n\nThen they sat down and Alaeddin said to her, \"O Lady Bedrulbudour, there\nis somewhat whereof I would ask thee, before all things. I used to lay\nan old copper lamp in such a place in my pavilion...\" When the princess\nheard this, she sighed and answered him, saying, \"O my beloved, it was\nthat which was the cause of our falling into this calamity.\" [590] Quoth\nhe, \"How came this about?\" So she acquainted him with the whole matter\nfrom first to last, telling him how they had bartered the old lamp for\na new one; \"and next morning,\" added she, \"we found ourselves in this\ncountry and he who had cozened me and changed the lamp told me that he\nhad wroughten these tricks upon us of the might of his magic, by means\nof the lamp and that he is a Maugrabin from Africa [591] and that we are\nnow in his native land.\" When [592] she had made an end of her story,\nAlaeddin said to her, \"Tell me, what does this accursed one purpose with\nthee; what saith he to thee and of what doth he bespeak thee and what is\nhis will of thee?\" \"Every day,\" answered the princess, \"he cometh to me\nonce and no more and seeketh to draw me to his love, willing me take\nhim in thy stead and forget and renounce thee; nay, he told me that my\nfather the Sultan had cut off thy head. Moreover, he useth to say to me\nof thee that thou art the son of poor folk and that he was the cause of\nthine enrichment and seeketh to cajole me with talk, but never hath he\nseen of me aught but tears and weeping or heard from me one soft\nword.\" [593] Quoth Alaeddin, \"Tell me where he layeth the lamp, an thou\nknowest.\" And she said, \"He still carrieth it [about him] nor will part\nwith it a moment; nay, when he acquainted me with that whereof I have\ntold thee, he brought out the lamp from his sleeve and showed it to me\"\n\nWhen Alaeddin heard this, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and said to\nher, \"Harkye, Lady Bedrulbudour; it is my present intent to go out and\nreturn in disguise. [594] Marvel thou not at this and let one of thy\nslave-girls abide await at the privy door, to open to me forthright,\nwhen she seeth me coming; and I will cast about for a device whereby I\nmay slay this accursed one.\" Then he rose and going forth the [privy]\ndoor of his palace, walked on till he encountered a peasant by the way\nand said to him, \"Harkye, sirrah, take my clothes and give me thine.\"\nThe man demurred, but Alaeddin enforced him and taking his clothes from\nhim, donned them and gave him his own costly apparel. Then he fared on\nin the high road till he came to the city and entering, betook himself\nto the drug-market, where for two diners he bought of [one of] the\ndruggists two drachms of rare strong henbane, the son of its minute,\n[595] and retracing his steps, returned to the palace. When the damsel\nsaw him, she opened him the privy door and he went in to the Lady\nBedrulbudour [596] and said to her, \"Harkye, I will have thee dress and\ntire thyself and put away melancholy from thee; and when the accursed\nMaugrabin cometh to thee, do thou receive him with 'Welcome and fair\nwelcome' and go to meet him with a smiling face and bid him come sup\nwith thee and profess to him that thou hast forgotten thy beloved\nAlaeddin and thy father and that thou lovest him with an exceeding love.\nMoreover, do thou seek of him wine, and that red, [597] and make him a\nshow of all joy and gladness and drink to his health. [598] Then, when\nthou hast filled him two or three cups of wine, [599] [watch] till thou\ntake him off his guard; then put him this powder [600] in the cup and\nfill it up with wine, and an he drink it, he will straightway turn\nover on his back, like a dead man.\" When the Lady Bedrulbudour heard\nAlaeddin's words, she said! to him, \"This is a thing exceeding hard on\nme to do; but it is lawful to slay this accursed, so we may be delivered\nfrom his uncleanness who hath made me rue thy separation and that of my\nfather.\" Then Alaeddin ate and drank with his wife that which stayed\nhis hunger and rising at once, went forth the palace; whereupon the Lady\nBedrulbudour summoned her tirewoman, who busked her and adorned her, and\nshe rose and donned fine clothes and perfumed herself. Whilst she was\nthus engaged, the accursed Maugrabin presented himself and was exceeding\nrejoiced to see her on this wise, more by token that she received\nhim with a smiling face, contrary to her wont; so he redoubled in\ndistraction for her love and longing for her. Then she took him and\nseating him by her side, said to him, \"O my beloved, an thou wilt, come\nhither to me this night and we will sup together. Enough of mourning;\nfor that, an I sat grieving a thousand years, what were the profit?\nAlaeddin cannot return from the tomb and I have considered and believe\n[601] that which thou saidst to me yesterday, to wit, that most like\nmy father the Sultan hath slain him, in the excess of his grief for my\nloss. Nay, marvel not at me to-day, that I am changed since yesterday,\nfor that I have bethought me to take thee to beloved and companion\nin Alaeddin's stead, seeing there is left me no man other than thou.\nWherefore it is my hope that thou wilt come to-night, so we may sup\ntogether and drink somewhat of wine with each other, and I will have\nthee let me taste of the wine of thy country Africa, for that belike it\nis better [than ours]. Wine, indeed, I have by me; but it is that of our\ncountry, and I desire exceedingly to taste the wine of your country.\"\n\nWhen [602] the Maugrabin saw the love which the Lady Bedrulbudour\nprofessed to him and that she was changed from her whilom plight of\ngrief, he thought that she had given up her hope of Alaeddin; so he\nrejoiced greatly and said to her, \"O my soul, hearkening and obedience\nunto all that which thou wiliest and biddest me withal. I have with\nme in my house a jar of the wine of our country, the which I have kept\nstored these eight years under the earth; so I go now to fill from it\nour sufficiency and will return to thee forthright.\" Therewithal the\nLady Bedrulbudour, that she might beguile him more and more, said to\nhim, \"O my beloved, do not thou go thyself and leave me. Send one of thy\nservants to fill us from the jar and abide thou sitting with me, that I\nmay take comfort in thee.\" \"O my lady,\" answered he, \"none knoweth the\nplace of the jar save myself; but I will not keep thee waiting.\"\n[603] So saying, he went out and returned after a little with their\nsufficiency of wine; and the Lady Bedrulbudour said to him, \"Thou hast\nbeen at pains [604] [for me], and I have put thee to unease, [605] O\nmy beloved.\" \"Nay,\" answered he, \"O [thou that art dear to me as] mine\neyes, I am honoured by thy service.\" Then she sat down with him at table\nand they both fell to eating. Presently, the princess called for drink\nand the handmaid immediately filled her the cup; then she filled for the\nMaugrabin and the Lady Bedrulbudour proceeded to drink to his life and\nhealth, [606] and he also drank to her life and she fell to carousing\n[607] with him. Now she was unique in eloquence and sweetness of speech\nand she proceeded to beguile him and bespeak him with words significant\n[608] and sweet, so she might entangle him yet straitlier in the toils\nof her love. The Maugrabin thought that all this was true [609] and knew\nnot that the love she professed to him was a snare set for him to slay\nhim. So he redoubled in desire for her and was like to die for love\nof her, when he saw from her that which she showed him of sweetness\nof speech and coquetry; [610] his head swam with ecstasy [611] and the\nworld became changed [612] in his eyes.\n\nWhen they came to the last of the supper and the princess knew that the\nwine had gotten the mastery in his head, she said to him, \"We have in\nour country a custom, meknoweth not if you in this country use it or\nnot.\" \"And what is this custom?\" asked the Maugrabin. \"It is,\" answered\nshe, \"that, at the end of supper, each lover taketh the other's cup and\ndrinketh it.\" So saying, she took his cup and filling it for herself\nwith wine, bade the handmaid give him her cup, wherein was wine mingled\nwith henbane, even as she had taught her how she should do, for that all\nthe slaves and slave-girls in the palace wished his death and were at\none against him with the Lady Bedrulbudour. So the damsel gave him the\ncup, and he, hearing the princess's words and seeing her drink in his\ncup and give him to drink in hers, deemed himself Iskender of the Horns,\nwhenas he saw from her all this love. Then she bent towards him, swaying\ngracefully from side to side, and laying her hand on his, said, \"O my\nlife, here is thy cup with me and mine is with thee; thus do lovers\ndrink one from other's cup.\" Then she kissed [613] his cup and drinking\nit off, set it down and came up to him and kissed him on the cheek;\n[614] whereat he was like to fly for joy and purposing to do even as\nshe had done, raised the cup to his mouth and drank it all off, without\nlooking if there were aught therein or not; but no sooner had he done\nthis than he turned over on his back, like a dead man, and the cup fell\nfrom his hand.\n\nThe Lady Bedrulbudour rejoiced at this and the damsels ran, vying with\neach other in their haste, [615] and opened the palace-door [616] to\nAlaeddin, their lord; whereupon he entered and [617] going up to his\nwife's pavilion, [618] found her sitting at the table and the Maugrabin\nbefore her, as one slain. So he went up to the princess and kissed\nher and thanked her for this [that she had done] and rejoiced with\nan exceeding joy. Then said he to her, \"Get thee now into thine inner\nchamber, thou and thy damsels, and leave me alone, so I may consider\nof that which I have to do.\" Accordingly, the Lady Bedrulbudour tarried\nnot, but entered the inner pavilion, she and her women; whereupon\nAlaeddin arose and locked the door on them and going up to the\nMaugrabin, put his hand to his sleeve and pulled out the lamp; after\nwhich he drew his sword and cut off the sorcerer's head. Then he rubbed\nthe lamp and the Marid, its slave, appeared to him and said, \"Here am I,\nO my lord; what wiliest thou?\" Quoth Alaeddin, \"I will of thee that thou\ntake up this palace from this country and carry it to the land of China\nand set it in the place where it was erst, before the Sultan's\npalace.\" \"Hearkening and obedience, O my lord,\" replied the Marid [and\ndisappeared], whilst Alaeddin went in and sat with the Lady Bedrulbudour\nhis bride and embraced her and kissed her and she him; and they sat\ntalking and making merry, what while the Marid took up the palace with\n[619] them and set it down in its place before the Sultan's palace.\n\nPresently Alaeddin called for food; so the slave-girls set the tray\nbefore him and he sat, he and the Lady Bedrulbudour his wife, and ate\nand drank in all joy and gladness till they had taken their sufficiency.\nThen they removed to the chamber of wine and carousel, where they sat\ndrinking and making merry and kissing one another with all eagerness,\nfor that it was long since they had had easance together; and they\nceased not from this till the sun of wine rose in their heads and sleep\ntook them; whereupon they arose and lay down on their bed in all\nrest and delight. In the morning Alaeddin arose and aroused his wife,\nwhereupon her women came to her and dressed her and busked her and\nadorned her; whilst he, on his part, donned the richest of raiment,\n[620] and both were like to fly for joy at their reunion with each\nother, after their separation, whilst the Lady Bedrulbudour was\nespecially glad, for that she looked to see her father that day.\n\nSo much for Alaeddin and the Lady Bedrulbudour; and as for the Sultan,\nafter he had released Alaeddin, he ceased not to mourn for the loss of\nhis daughter and to sit and weep for her, like a woman, at every time\nand tide; for that she was his only one and he had none other than her.\nAnd every day, whenas he arose from his sleep in the morning, he would\ngo hastily to the window and opening it, look towards the place where\nAlaeddin's palace was erst and weep till his eyes were dried up and\ntheir lids ulcered. He arose that day at dawn, according to his wont,\nand opening the window, looked out and saw before him a building; so he\nfell to rubbing his eyes and looking closelier, was certified that it\nwas Alaeddin's palace; whereupon he immediately called for the horses.\nAccordingly, they saddled them and he went down and mounting, rode to\nAlaeddin's palace. When the latter saw him coming, he went down and\nmeeting him half-way, took him by the hand and carried him up to the\npavilion of the Lady Bedrulbudour, his daughter. Now she also longed\nsore for her father; so she came down and met him at the stair-foot\ndoor, over against the lower hall; whereupon he embraced her and fell\nto kissing her and weeping and on this wise did she also. Then Alaeddin\nbrought them up to the upper pavilion, [621] where they sat down and the\nSultan proceeded to question the princess of her case and of that which\nhad befallen her, whilst [622] she acquainted him with all that had\nhappened to her and said to him, \"O my father, I breathed not till\nyesterday, when I saw my husband, and he it is who delivered me from the\nbondage of a Maugrabin, an accursed sorcerer, methinketh there is not\na filthier than he on the face of the earth; and but for my beloved\nAlaeddin, I had not won free of him and thou hadst not seen me all thy\nlife. Indeed, O my father, there possessed me grief and sore chagrin,\nnot only for my severance from thee, but also for the loss of my\nhusband, to whom I shall be beholden all the days of my life, seeing he\ndelivered me from that accursed enchanter.\"\n\nThen she went on to acquaint her father with all that had befallen her\nand to tell him of the Maugrabin's dealings and what he did with her\nand how he feigned himself a lampseller, who bartered new for old. \"And\nwhen,\" [quoth she]; \"I saw this [seeming] lack of wit in him, I fell to\nlaughing at him, unknowing his perfidy and his intent; so I took an old\nlamp that was in my husband's pavilion and sent it by the eunuch, who\nexchanged it with him for a new lamp; and next day, O my father, at\ndaybreak, we found ourselves in Africa, with the palace and all that\nwas therein; and I knew not the properties of the lamp which I had\nexchanged, till my husband Alaeddin came to us and contrived against\nthe Maugrabin a device whereby he delivered us from him. Now, except my\nhusband had won to us, it was the accursed one's intent to go in to me\nperforce; but Alaeddin, my husband gave me a powder, the which I put\nfor him in a cup of wine and gave it him to drink. So he drank it and\nfell-back as one dead; whereupon my husband Alaeddin came in to me and\nmeknoweth not how he wrought, so that he transported us back from the\nland of Africa to our place here.\" And Alaeddin said to the Sultan,\n\"O my lord, when I came up and saw him cast down like one slain and\nsleeping for the henbane, I said to the Lady Bedrulbudour, 'Go in, thou\nand thy women, to the inner pavilion.' So she arose and went in, she and\nher damsels, from that loathsome sight; whilst I went up to the accursed\nMaugrabin and putting my hand to his sleeve, pulled out the lamp, for\nthat the Lady Bedrulbudour had told me he still carried it there. Then,\nwhen I had gotten it, I drew my sword and cut [off] the accursed's\n[head] and making use of the lamp, bade its servants take us up, with\nthe palace and all that was therein, and set us down here in our place.\nAnd if Thy Grace be in doubt of my words, do thou come with me and see\nthe accursed Maugrabin.\"\n\nSo the King arose and going in with Alaeddin to the pavilion, saw the\nMaugrabin [Iying ]: whereupon he bade forthright take the carcase and\nburn it and scatter its ashes [to the winds]. Then he embraced Alaeddin\nand fell to kissing him and said to him, \"Excuse me, O my son, for that\nI was going [623] to bereave thee of thy life, through the wickedness of\nyonder accursed sorcerer who cast thee into this pit; and indeed, O my\nson, I was excusable in that which I did with thee, inasmuch as I saw\nmyself bereft of my daughter and mine only one, who is dearer to me\nthan my kingdom, and thou knowest how fathers' hearts yearn upon their\nchildren, more by token that I have but the Lady Bedrulbudour.\" And he\nwent on to excuse himself to him and kiss him; and [624] Alaeddin said\nto him, \"O Lord of the Age, thou didst with me nothing contrary to the\nlaw and I also was guiltless of offence; but the thing came all of that\nvile Maugrabin enchanter.\" Then the Sultan bade decorate the city and\nhold festival and rejoicings and commanded the crier to cry in the\ncity that that day was a great festival, wherefore rejoicings should be\nholden in all the realm during the space of a month, [to wit,] thirty\ndays' time, for the return of the Lady Bedrulbudour his daughter and her\nhusband Alaeddin.\n\nThis, then, is what befell Alaeddin with the Maugrabin; but Alaeddin,\nfor all this, was not altogether [625] quit of the accursed enchanter,\nwithal his body had been burned and given to the winds; for that the\naccursed one had a brother viler than he [and yet more skilled] in magic\nand geomancy and astrology; [nay, they were even] as saith the proverb,\n\"A bean and it was cloven in twain;\" [626] and each dwelt in one quarter\nof the world, so they might fill it [627] with their sorcery and craft\nand guile. It chanced one day that the Maugrabin's brother was minded to\nknow how it was with his brother; so he fetched his sand-board and smote\nit and extracted its figures; then he considered them and examining them\nthroughly, found his brother in the house of the tomb; [628] whereat\nhe mourned and was certified that he was indeed dead. Then he smote the\nsand a second time, so he might learn how and where he died, and found\nthat he had died in the land of China and by the foulest of deaths and\nknew that he who slew him was a youth by name Alaeddin. So he rose at\nonce and equipping himself for travel, set out and traversed plains and\ndeserts and mountains months and months, till he came to the land of\nChina [and entering] the city of the sultanate, wherein was Alaeddin,\nrepaired to the Strangers' Khan, where he hired him a lodging and rested\nthere a little.\n\nThen he arose to go round about the thoroughfares of the city, that he\nmight spy him out a means of compassing his fell purpose, the which\nwas to take vengeance of his brother on Alaeddin. So he entered a\ncoffee-house in the market, a mighty fine place whither there resorted\ngreat plenty of folk, some to play tables, [629] some draughts [630] and\nother some chess and what not else. There he sat down and heard those\nwho sat beside him talk of an old woman, an anchoress, by name Fatimeh,\nwho still abode in her place without the city, serving [God], and came\nnot down into the town but two days in the month, avouching her to be\npossessed of divine gifts galore. [631] When the Maugrabin enchanter\nheard this, he said in himself, \"Now have I found that which I sought.\nAn it please God the Most High, I shall achieve my quest by means of\nthis woman.\" So [632] he went up to the folk who were speaking of the\ndevout old woman's supernatural powers and said to one of them, \"O\nuncle, I hear you talk of the divine gifts of one she-saint, [633] by\nname Fatimeh. Who [634] is she and where is her place?\" \"Wonderful!\"\ncried the man. \"What, thou art in our city and hast not heard of the\ndivine gifts of my Lady [635] Fatimeh? Apparently, good man, [636] thou\nart a stranger, since thou hast never chanced to hear of the fasts of\nthis holy woman and her abhorrence of the world and the goodliness\nof her piety.\" \"Ay, my lord,\" replied the Maugrabin, \"I am indeed a\nstranger and arrived but yesternight in this your town; wherefore I\nbeseech thee tell me of the divine gifts of this holy woman and where\nher place is, for that I have fallen into a calamity and would fain go\nto her and crave her of prayer, so haply God (to whom belong might and\nmajesty) may deliver me from my stress, by means of her intercession.\"\nThe man accordingly told him of the divine gifts of the holy woman\nFatimeh and her piety and the excellence of her devotion; then, taking\nhim by the hand, he carried him without the city and showed him the way\nto her abiding-place, which was in a cavern on the top of a little hill;\nwhereupon the Maugrabin thanked him amain for his kindness [636] and\nreturned to his place in the Khan.\n\nNow, by the decree of destiny, Fatimeh came down on the morrow to the\ncity and the enchanter, going forth the Khan in the morning, saw the\nfolk crowding together; so he went up, to see what was toward, and found\nFatimeh standing, whilst every one who had a pain or an ache came to\nher, seeking her blessing and soliciting her prayers, and whenas she\nstroked him, he was made whole of his ailment. The Maugrabin followed\nher, till she returned to her cavern, and waited till nightfall, when he\narose and entering a sherbet-sellers [637] shop, drank a cup of liquor,\n[638] then went forth the city, intending for the cavern of Fatimeh the\nrecluse. When he came thither, he entered and saw her sleeping on her\nback on a piece of matting; so he went up to her and sitting down [639]\non her breast, [640] drew his dagger and cried out at her; whereupon she\nawoke and opening her eyes, saw a man, a Maugrabin, with a drawn dagger,\nsitting on her breast [641] and offering to kill her. So she feared and\ntrembled and he said to her, \"Harkye, an thou say aught or cry out, I\nwill kill thee on the spot. Arise now and do all that I shall bid thee.\"\nAnd he swore an oath to her that, if she did for him that which he\nshould bid her, he would not kill her.\n\nThen he rose from her and she rose also, and he said to her, \"Give me\nthy clothes and take mine.\" So she gave him her clothes and head-bands\nand her kerchief and veil; and he said to her, \"Now must thou anoint\nme, to boot, with somewhat, so my face may become like unto shine in\ncolour.\" Accordingly Fatimeh went within the cavern and bringing out a\nvial of ointment, took thereof in her palm and anointed his face withal,\nwhereupon it became like unto hers in colour. Then she gave him her\nstaff and taught him how he should walk and how he should do, whenas he\nwent down into the city; moreover, she put her rosary on his neck and\nfinally giving him the mirror, said to him, \"Look now; thou differest\nnot from me in aught.\" So he looked and saw himself as he were Fatimeh\nherself. [642] Then, when he had gotten his desire, he broke his oath\nand sought of her a rope; so she brought him a rope and he took her and\nstrangled her therewith in the cavern. When she was dead, he dragged her\nforth and cast her into a pit therewithout; then, [643] returning to her\ncavern, he slept there till the day broke, when he arose and going down\ninto the city, came under Alaeddin's pavilion. [644]\n\nThe folk gathered about him, believing him to be Fatimeh the Recluse,\nand he proceeded to do like as she had been used to do, laying hands on\nthose in pain and reciting for this one the Fatiheh [645] and for that\na[nother] chapter of the Koran and praying for a third. Then, for\nthe much crowding upon him and the clamour of the folk, the Lady\nBedrulbudour heard and said to her women, \"See what is to do and what is\nthe cause of this noise.\" So the Ada of the eunuchs went to see what was\ntoward and returning, said to her, \"O my lady, this clamour is because\nof the Lady Fatimeh. An it please thee bid me fetch her to thee, so thou\nmayst ask a blessing of her....\" And the Lady Bedrulbudour said to him,\n\"Go and bring her to me; marry, this long while past I have still heard\nof her gifts and excellences and have yearned to see her, so I may ask a\nblessing of her, for that the folk are beyond measure abundant [in\ntalk] of her [646] virtues.\" So the Aga went and brought the enchanter,\ndisguised as Fatimeh, before the Lady Bedrulbudour; whereupon the\nMaugrabin offered up abundance of prayers for her, and none misdoubted\nof him but that he was Fatimeh the recluse. The princess rose and\nsaluting him, seated him by her side and said to him, \"O my Lady\nFatimeh, I will have thee with me alway, that I may be blessed in thee\nand eke that I may learn of thee the ways of God-service and piety and\nmodel myself on thee.\"\n\nNow this was what the accursed sorcerer aimed at; however, the better to\naccomplish his perfidious intent, [647] he [dissembled and] said to her,\n\"O my lady, I am a poor woman sitting in the desert and it beseemeth\nnot that the like of me should abide in kings' palaces.\" Quoth the Lady\nBedrulbudour, \"Have no manner of care, O my lady Fatimeh; I will give\nthee a place in my house, where thou shalt do thy devotions, and none\nshall ever go in to thee; nay, here shalt thou serve God better than in\nthy cavern.\" And the Maugrabin said to her, \"Hearkening and obedience,\nO my lady; I will not gainsay thy commandment, for that the speech of\nprinces may not be crossed neither disputed; but I beg of thee that my\neating and drinking and sitting may be in my closet alone [and] that\nnone may come in upon me. Moreover, I need no rich viands, but every\nday do thou favour me and send me by thy handmaid a piece of bread and\na draught of water to my closet; and when I am minded to eat, I will eat\nin my closet alone.\" (Now this the accursed did, of his fear lest his\nchin veil should be raised, when he ate, and so his case be exposed\nand they know him for a man by his beard and moustaches.) \"O my lady\nFatimeh,\" rejoined the princess, \"be easy; nothing shall betide save\nthat which thou wiliest; so rise now [and come] with me, that I may show\nthee the pavilion [648] which I purpose to order for thine inhabitance\nwith us.\" So [649] saying, she arose and carrying the sorcerer to the\nplace which she had appointed him wherein to abide, said to him, \"O my\nlady Fatimeh, here shalt thou dwell; this pavilion is in thy name and\nthou shalt abide therein in all quiet and ease of privacy.\" And the\nMaugrabin thanked her for her bounty and prayed for her.\n\nThen the Lady Bedrulbudour took him and showed him the belvedere [650]\nand the kiosk of jewels, with the four-and-twenty oriels, [651] and\nsaid to him, \"How deemest thou, O my Lady Fatimeh, of this wonderful\npavilion?\" [652] \"By Allah, O my daughter,\" replied he, \"it is indeed\nmarvellous in the extreme, [653] nor methinketh is its like found in the\nworld; nay, it is magnificent exceedingly; but oh, for one thing which\nwould far increase it in beauty and adornment!\" And the princess said\nto him, \"O my Lady Fatimeh, what is lacking to it and what is this\nthing which would adorn it? Tell me of it; I had thought that it was\naltogether perfect.\" \"O my lady,\" answered the sorcerer, \"that which\nlacketh to it is the egg of the bird Roc, which being hung in its dome,\nthere were no like unto this pavilion in all the world.\" \"What is this\nbird.\" asked the princess, \"and where shall we find its egg?\" And the\nMoor said to her, \"O my lady, this is a great bird that taketh up camels\nand elephants in its talons and flieth with them, of its bigness\nand greatness; it is mostly to be found in the mountain Caf and the\ncraftsman who builded this palace [654] is able to bring its egg.\" Then\nthey left that talk and it was the time of the morning-meal. So the\nslave-girls laid the table and the Lady Bedrulbudour sat down and sought\nof the accursed sorcerer that he should eat with her; but he refused\nand rising, entered the pavilion which she had given him, whither the\nslave-girls carried him the morning-meal.\n\nWhen it was eventide and Alaeddin returned from the chase, the Lady\nBedrulbudour met him and saluted him: whereupon he embraced her and\nkissed her and looking in her face, saw that she was somewhat troubled\nand smiled not, against her wont. So he said to her, \"What aileth thee,\nO my beloved? Tell me, hath there befallen thee aught to trouble thee?\"\nAnd she answered him, saying, \"There aileth me nothing; but, O my\nbeloved, I had thought that our palace [655] lacked of nought; however,\nO my eyes [656] Alaeddin, were there hung in the dome of the upper\npavilion [657] an egg of the bird Roc, there were not its like in the\nworld.\" \"And wast thou concerned anent this?\" rejoined Alaeddin. \"This\nis to me the easiest of all things; so be easy, for it is enough that\nthou tell me of that which thou wishest and I will fetch it thee from\nthe abysses of the world on the speediest wise.\" Then [658] after he had\ncomforted the princess and promised her all she sought, he went straight\nto his closet and taking the lamp rubbed it; whereupon the Marid at once\nappeared and said to him, \"Seek what thou wilt;\" and Alaeddin, \"I will\nhave thee bring me a Roc's egg and hang it in the dome of the [upper]\npavilion.\" [659]\n\nWhen the Marid heard Alaeddin's words, his face frowned and he was\nwroth and cried out with a terrible great voice, saying, \"O denier of\nbenefits, doth it not suffice thee that I and all the slaves of the Lamp\nare at thy service and wouldst thou eke have me bring thee our liege\nlady, for thy pleasure, and hang her in the dome of thy pavilion, to\ndivert thee and thy wife? By Allah, ye deserve that I should forthright\nreduce you both to ashes and scatter you to the winds! But, inasmuch as\nye are ignorant, thou and she, concerning this matter and know not its\ninward from its outward, [660] I excuse you, for that ye are innocent.\nAs for the guilt, it lieth with the accursed one, the surviving [661]\nbrother of the Maugrabin enchanter, who feigneth himself to be Fatimeh\nthe Recluse; for lo, he hath slain Fatimeh in her cavern and hath donned\nher dress and disguised himself after her favour and fashion and is come\nhither, seeking thy destruction, so he may take vengeance on thee for\nhis brother; and he it is who taught thy wife to seek this of thee.\"\n[662] Therewith he disappeared, and as for Alaeddin, when he heard this,\nhis wit fled from his head and his joints trembled at the cry wherewith\nthe Marid cried out at him; but he took heart and leaving his closet,\nwent in straightway to his wife and feigned to her that his head irked\nhim, of his knowledge that Fatimeh was renowned for the secret of\nhealing [663] all aches and pains. When the Lady Bedrulbudour saw him\nput his hand to his head and complain of its aching, [664] she asked him\nwhat was the cause and he said, \"I know not, except that my head irketh\nme sore.\" Accordingly she sent forthwith to fetch Fatimeh, so she\nmight lay her hand on his head; whereupon quoth Alaeddin, \"Who is this\nFatimeh?\" And the princess told him how she had lodged Fatimeh the\nrecluse with her in the palace. [665]\n\nMeanwhile the slave-girls went and fetched the accursed Maugrabin, and\nAlaeddin arose to him, feigning ignorance of his case, and saluted\nhim, as he had been the true Fatimeh. Moreover he kissed the hem of his\nsleeve and welcomed him, [666] saying, \"O my Lady Fatimeh, I beseech\nthee do me a kindness, since I know thy usances in the matter of the\nhealing of pains, for that there hath betided me a sore pain in my\nhead.\" The Maugrabin could scarce believe his ears of this speech, [667]\nfor that this was what he sought; so he went up to Alaeddin, as he would\nlay his hand on his head, after the fashion of Fatimeh the recluse, and\nheal him of his pain. When he drew near-him, he laid one hand on his\nhead and putting the other under his clothes, drew a dagger, so [668] he\nmight slay him withal. But Alaeddin was watching him and waited till he\nhad all to-drawn the dagger, when he gripped him by the hand and taking\nthe knife from him, planted [669] it in his heart.\n\nWhen the Lady Bedrulbudour saw this, she cried out and said to him,\n\"What hath this holy anchoress done, that thou burthenest thyself with\nthe sore burden of her blood? Hast thou no fear of God, that thou dost\nthis and hast slain Fatimeh, who was a holy woman and whose divine gifts\nwere renowned?\" Quoth he to her, \"I have not slain Fatimeh; nay, I have\nslain him who slew her; for that this is the brother of the accursed\nMaugrabin enchanter, who took thee and by his sorcery transported the\npalace with thee to the land of Africa. Yea, this accursed one was\nhis brother and came to this country and wrought these frauds, slaying\nFatimeh and donning her clothes and coming hither, so he might take\nvengeance on me for his brother. Moreover, it was he who taught thee to\nseek of me a Roc's egg, so my destruction should ensue thereof; and if\nthou misdoubt of my word, come and see whom I have slain.\" So saying, he\ndid off the Maugrabin's chin veil and the Lady Bedrulbudour looked and\nsaw a man whose beard covered his face; whereupon she at once knew the\ntruth and said to Alaeddin, \"O my beloved, twice have I cast thee into\ndanger of death;\" and he said to her, \"O Lady Bedrulbudour, thanks to\nthine eyes, [670] no harm [hath betided me thereof; nay,] I accept with\nall joy everything that cometh to me through thee.\" When the princess\nheard this, she hastened to embrace him and kissed him, saying, \"O my\nbeloved, all this was of my love for thee and I knew not what I did;\n[671] nor indeed am I negligent of thy love.\" [672] Whereupon Alaeddin\nkissed her and strained her to his breast and love redoubled between\nthem.\n\nPresently, in came the Sultan; so they told him of all that had passed\nwith the Maugrabin enchanter's brother and showed him the latter, as he\nlay dead; whereupon he bade burn him and scatter his ashes to the winds.\nThenceforward Alaeddin abode with his wife the Lady Bedrulbudour in\nall peace and pleasure and was delivered from all perils. Then, after\na while, the Sultan died and Alaeddin sat down on the throne of the\nkingdom and ruled and did justice among the people; and all the folk\nloved him and he lived with his wife, the Lady Bedrulbudour, in all\ncheer and solace and contentment till there came to them the Destroyer\nof Delights and the Sunderer of Societies.\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES\n\n\n[Footnote 1: i.e. (1) Zeyn Alasnam, (2) Codadad. (3) The Sleeper\nAwakened. (4) Aladdin. (5) Baba Abdallah. (6) Sidi Nouman. (7) Cogia\nHassan Alhabbah (8) Ali Baba. (9) Ali Cogia. (10) Prince Ahmed and\nPari-Banou. (11) The Sisters who envied their younger Sister.]\n\n[Footnote 2: \"M. Galland was aware of the imperfection of the MS. used\nby him and (unable to obtain a more perfect copy) he seems to have\nendeavoured to supply the place of the missing portions by incorporating\nin his translation a number of Persian, Turkish and Arabic Tales,\nwhich had no connection with his original and for which it is generally\nsupposed that he probably had recourse to Oriental MSS. (as yet\nunidentified) contained in the Royal Libraries of Paris.\" Vol. IX. p.\n263. \"Of these the Story of the Sleeper Awakened is the only one which\nhas been traced to an Arabic original and is found in the Breslau\nedition of the complete work, printed by Dr. Habicht from a MS. of\nTunisian origin, apparently of much later date than the other known\ncopies.....Galland himself cautions us that the Stories of Zeyn Alasnam\nand Codadad do not belong to the Thousand and One Nights and were\npublished (how he does not explain) without his authority.\" p. 264. \"It\nis possible that an exhaustive examination of the various MS. copies of\nthe Thousand and One Nights known to exist in the public libraries of\nEurope Might yet cast some light upon the origin of the interpolated\ntales; but, in view of the strong presumption afforded by internal\nevidence that they are of modern composition and form no part of the\nauthentic text, it can hardly be expected, where the result and the\nvalue of that result are alike so doubtful, that any competent person\nwill be found to undertake so heavy a task, except as incidental to some\nmore general enquiry. The only one of the eleven which seems to me to\nbear any trace of possible connection with the Book of the Thousand\nNights and One Night is Aladdin, and it may be that an examination of\nthe MS. copies of the original work within my reach will yet enable me\nto trace the origin of that favourite story.\" pp. 268-9.]\n\n[Footnote 3: Histoire d' 'Ala Al-Din ou la Lampe Merveilleuse. Texte\nArabe, Publie avec une notice de quelques Manuscrits des Mille et Une\nNuits et la traduction de Galland. Par H. Zotenberg. Paris, Imprimerie\nNationale, 1888.]\n\n[Footnote 4: For the sake of uniformity and convenience of reference, I\nuse, throughout this Introduction, Galland's spelling of the names which\noccur in his translation, returning to my own system of transliteration\nin my rendering of the stories themselves.]\n\n[Footnote 5: i.e. God's.]\n\n[Footnote 6: \"La suite des Mille et une Nuits, Contes Arabes trafluits\npar Dom Chavis et M. Cazotte. Paris 1788.\" The Edinburgh Review (July,\n1886) gives the date of the first edition as 1785; but this is an error,\nprobably founded upon the antedating of a copy of the Cabinet des Fees,\ncertain sets of which (though not actually completed till 1793) are\ndated, for some publisher's reason, 1785. See also following note.]\n\n[Footnote 7: These four (supplemental) vols. of the Cabinet des Fees\n(printed in 1793, though antedated 1788 and 1789) do not form the first\nedition of Chavis and Cazotte's so-called Sequel, which was in 1793\nadded, by way of supplement, to the Cabinet des Fees, having been\nfirst published in 1788 (two years after the completion-in thirty-seven\nvolumes-of that great storehouse of supernatural fiction) under the\ntitle of \"Les Veillees Persanes\" or \"Les Veillees du Sultan Schahriar\navec la Sultane Scheherazade, histoires incroyables, amusantes et\nmorales, traduites par M. Cazotte et D. Chavis, faisant suite aux Mille\net Une Nuits.\"]\n\n[Footnote 8: I cannot agree with my friend Sir R. F. Burton in his\nestimate of these tales, which seem to me, even in Caussin de Perceval's\ncorrector rendering and in his own brilliant and masterly version, very\ninferior, in style, conduct and diction, to those of \"the old Arabian\nNights,\" whilst I think \"Chavis and Cazotte's Continuation\" utterly\nunworthy of republication, whether in part or \"in its entirety.\" Indeed,\nI confess the latter version seems to me so curiously and perversely and\nunutterably bad that I cannot conceive how Cazotte can have perpetrated\nit and can only regard it as a bad joke on his part. As Caussin de\nPerceval remarks, it is evident that Shawish (whether from ignorance or\ncarelessness) must, in many instances, have utterly misled his French\ncoadjutor (who had no knowledge of Arabic) as to the meaning of the\noriginal, whilst it is much to be regretted that a writer of exquisite\ngenius and one of the first stylists of the 18th century, such as the\nauthor of the Diable Amoureux, (a masterpiece to be ranked with Manon\nLescaut and Le Neveu de Rameau,) should have stooped to the commission\nof the flagrant offences against good taste and artistic morality which\ndisfigure well nigh every line of the so-called \"Sequel to the 1001\nNights.\" \"Far be it\" (as the Arabs say) that we should do so cruel a\nwrong to so well and justly beloved a memory as that of Jacques Cazotte\nas to attempt to perpetuate the remembrance of a literary crime which\none can hardly believe him to have committed in sober earnest! Rather\nlet us seek to bury in oblivion this his one offence and suffer kind\nLethe with its beneficent waters to wash this \"adulterous blot\" from his\nelse unsullied name.]\n\n[Footnote 9: Lit. \"Servants\" (ibad) i.e. of God.]\n\n[Footnote 10: i.e. he who most stands in need of God's mercy.]\n\n[Footnote 11: Kebikej is the name of the genie set over the insect\nkingdom. Scribes occasionally invoke him to preserve their manuscripts\nfrom worms.-Note by M. Zotenberg.]\n\n[Footnote 12: Galland calls him \"Hanna, c'est... dire Jean Baptiste,\"\nthe Arabic Christian equivalent of which is Youhenna and the Muslim\nYehya, \"surnomme Diab.\" Diary, October 25, 1709.]\n\n[Footnote 13: At this date Galland had already published the first six\n(of twelve) volumes of his translation (1704-5) and as far as I can\nascertain, in the absence of a reference copy (the British Museum\npossessing no copy of the original edition), the 7th and 8th volumes\nwere either published or in the press. Vol. viii. was certainly\npublished before the end of the year 1709, by which time the whole of\nvol. ix. was ready for printing.]\n\n[Footnote 14: i.e. Aladdin.]\n\n[Footnote 15: Galland died in 1715, leaving the last two volumes of his\ntranslation (which appear by the Diary to have been ready for the prep\non the 8th June, 1713) to be published in 1717.]\n\n[Footnote 16: Aleppo.]\n\n[Footnote 17: i.e. Yonhenna Diab.]\n\n[Footnote 18: For \"Persian.\" Galland evidently supposed, in error, that\nPetis de la Croix's forthcoming work was a continuation of his \"Contes\nTurcs\" published in 1707, a partial translation (never completed) of the\nTurkish version of \"The Forty Viziers,\" otherwise \"The Malice of\nWomen,\" for which see Le Cabinet des Fees, vol. xvi. where the work\nis, curiously enough, attributed (by the Table of Contents) to Galland\nhimself.]\n\n[Footnote 19: See my terminal essay. My conclusions there stated as\nto the probable date of the original work have since been completely\nconfirmed by the fact that experts assign Galland's original (imperfect)\ncopy of the Arabic text to the latter part of the fourteenth century, on\nthe evidence of the handwriting, etc.]\n\n[Footnote 20: In M. Zotenberg's notes to Aladdin.]\n\n[Footnote 21: Night CCCCXCVII.]\n\n[Footnote 22: Khelifeh.]\n\n[Footnote 23: Or \"favourites\" (auliya), i.e. holy men, devotees,\nsaints.]\n\n[Footnote 24: i.e. the geomancers. For a detailed description of this\nmagical process, (which is known as \"sand-tracing,\" Kharu 'r reml,) see\nposl, p. 199, note 2.{see FN#548}]\n\n[Footnote 25: i.e. \"What it will do in the course of its life\"]\n\n[Footnote 26: Or \"ascendants\" (tewali).]\n\n[Footnote 27: i.e. \"Adornment of the Images.\" This is an evident mistake\n(due to some ignorant copyist or reciter of the story) of the same\nkind as that to be found at the commencement of the story of Ghanim ben\nEyoub, (see my Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol I. p. 363\net seq.), where the hero is absurdly stated to have been surnamed at\nbirth the \"Slave of Love,\" a sobriquet which could only have attached\nitself to him in after-life and as a consequence of his passion for\nFitoeh. Sir R. F. Burton suggests, with great probability, that the\nname, as it stands in the text, is a contraction, by a common elliptical\nprocess, of the more acceptable, form Zein-ud-din ul Asnam, i.e.\nZein-ud-din (Adornment of the Faith) [he] of the Images, Zein\n(adornment) not being a name used by the Arabic-speaking races, unless\nwith some such addition as ud-Din (\"of the Faith\"), and the affix\nul Asnam ( \"[He] of the Images\") being a sobriquet arising from\nthe circumstances of the hero's after-life, unless its addition,\nas recommended by the astrologers, is meant as an indication of the\nlatter's fore-knowledge of what was to befall him thereafter. This\nnoted, I leave the name as I find it in the Arabic MS.]\n\n[Footnote 28: Sheji nebih. Burton, \"Valiant and intelligent.\"]\n\n[Footnote 29: Syn. \"his describers\" (wasifihi).]\n\n[Footnote 30: Wa huwa hema caiou fihi bads wasifihi shiran. Burton\n(apparently from a different text), \"and presently he became even as the\npoets sang of one of his fellows in semblance.\"]\n\n[Footnote 31: Milah, plural of melih, a fair one.]\n\n[Footnote 32: Khemseh senin. Burton, \"fifteen.\"]\n\n[Footnote 33: Shabb, adult, man between sixteen and thirty.]\n\n[Footnote 34: Femu ghefir min el aalem. Burton, \"All the defenders of\nthe realm.\"]\n\n[Footnote 35: Night CCCCXCVIII.]\n\n[Footnote 36: Syn. \"depose.\"]\n\n[Footnote 37: Lit. \"that which proceeded from him.\"]\n\n[Footnote 38: See ante, p. 3, note.{see FN#23}]\n\n[Footnote 39: Night CCCCXCIX.]\n\n[Footnote 40: i.e. imposed on me the toil, caused me undertake the\nweariness, of coming to Cairo for nothing.]\n\n[Footnote 41: Forgetting his mother.]\n\n[Footnote 42: i.e. no mortal.]\n\n[Footnote 43: Keszr abouka 'l fulani (vulg. for abika'l fulan). Burton,\n\"Such a palace of thy sire.\"]\n\n[Footnote 44: i.e. it is not like the journey to Cairo and back.]\n\n[Footnote 45: i.e. in God grant thou mayst.]\n\n[Footnote 46: Or \"jade\" (yeshm).]\n\n[Footnote 47: Night D.]\n\n[Footnote 48: \"Edh dheheb el atic.\" Burton, \"antique golden pieces\"; but\nthere is nothing to show that the gold was coined.]\n\n[Footnote 49: The \"also\" in this clause seems to refer to the old man of\nthe dream.]\n\n[Footnote 50: Keszr, lit. palace, but commonly meaning, in modern Arabic,\nan upper story or detached corps de logis (pavilion in the French sense,\nan evident misnomer in the present case).]\n\n[Footnote 51: Lit. \"put the key in the lock and opened it and behold,\nthe door of a palace (hall) opened.\"]\n\n[Footnote 52: Takeli, sing. form of tac, a window. Burton, \"recess for\nlamps.\"]\n\n[Footnote 53: Lit. \"till he join thee with.\"]\n\n[Footnote 54: Or \"Cairo,\" the name Misr being common to the country and\nits capital.]\n\n[Footnote 55: Badki tecouli[na]. Badki (lit. after thee) is here used in\nthe modern sense of \"still\" or \"yet.\" The interrogative prefix A appears\nto have dropped out, as is not uncommon in manuscripts of this kind.\nBurton, \"After thou assuredst me, saying, &c.\"]\n\n[Footnote 56: Here she adopts her son's previous idea that the old man\nof the dream was the Prophet in person.]\n\n[Footnote 57: Night DI.]\n\n[Footnote 58: Cudoum. The common form of welcome to a guest.]\n\n[Footnote 59: Or \"upper room\" (keszr).]\n\n[Footnote 60: Eight; see ante, p. 14. {see FN#46}]\n\n[Footnote 61: Edh dheheb el kedim.]\n\n[Footnote 62: Edh dhelieb er yemli, lit. sand. (i.e. alluvial) gold,\ngold in its native state, needing no smelting to extract it. This,\nby the way, is the first mention of the thrones or pedestals of the\nimages.]\n\n[Footnote 63: Lit. \"[With] love and honour\" (hubban wa kerametan). a\nfamilar phrase implying complete assent to any request. It is by some\nlexicologists supposed to have arisen from the circumstance of a man\nanswering another, who begged of him a wine-jar (hubb), with the words,\n\"Ay, I will give thee a jar and a cover (kerameh) also,\" and to have\nthus become a tropical expression of ready compliance with a petition,\nas who should say, \"I will give thee what thou askest and more.\"]\n\n[Footnote 64: The slave's attitude before his master.]\n\n[Footnote 65: The like.]\n\n[Footnote 66: Night DII.]\n\n[Footnote 67: i.e. invoked blessings upon him in the manner familiar to\nreaders of the Nights.]\n\n[Footnote 68: Lit. thou [art] indulged therein (ent musamih fiha).]\n\n[Footnote 69: Mehmy (vulg. for mehma, whatsoever) telebtaha minni min en\nmiam. Burton, \"whatso of importance thou wouldst have of me.\"]\n\n[Footnote 70: Lit. \"in a seeking (request) ever or at all\" (fi tilbeti\nabdan). Burton, \"in thy requiring it.\"]\n\n[Footnote 71: \"Tal aleyya\" wect, i.e. I am weary of waiting. Burton, \"My\ntarrying with thee hath been long.\"]\n\n[Footnote 72: Or \"difficult\" (aziz); Burton, \"singular-fare.\"]\n\n[Footnote 73: Lit. \"If the achievement thereof (or attainment thereunto)\nwill be possible unto thee [by or by dint of] fortitude,\"]\n\n[Footnote 74: Lit. \"Wealth [is] in (or by) blood.\"]\n\n[Footnote 75: El berr el atfer. Burton translates, \"the wildest of\nwolds,\" apparently supposing atfer to be a mistranscription for aefer,\nwhich is very possible.]\n\n[Footnote 76: Kewaribji, a word formed by adding the Turkish affix ji\nto the Arabic kewarib, plural of carib, a small boat. The common form\nof the word is caribji. Burton reads it, \"Kewariji, one who uses the\npaddle.\"]\n\n[Footnote 77: Lit \"inverted\" (mecloubeh). Burton, \"the reverse of\nman's.\"]\n\n[Footnote 78: Night DIII.]\n\n[Footnote 79: Wehsh. Burton, \"a lion.\"]\n\n[Footnote 80: Lit. \"then they passed on till\" (thumma fatou ila [an]).]\n\n[Footnote 81: Sic (ashjar anber); though what the Arabic author meant\nby \"trees of ambergris\" is more than I can say. The word anber (pro.\npounced amber) signifies also \"saffron\"; but the obbligato juxtaposition\nof aloes and sandal-wood tends to show that what is meant is the\nwell-known product of the sperm-whale. It is possible that the mention\nof this latter may be an interpolation by some ignorant copyist, who,\nseeing two only of the three favourite Oriental scents named, took upon\nhimself to complete the odoriferous trinity, so dear to Arab writers, by\nthe addition of ambergris.]\n\n[Footnote 82: Yas, Persian form of yasm, yasmin or yasimin. Sir R. F.\nBurton reads yamin and supposes it to be a copyist's error for yasmin,\nbut this is a mistake; the word in the text is clearly yas, though\nthe final s, being somewhat carelessly written in the Arabic MS, might\neasily be mistaken for mn with an undotted noun.]\n\n[Footnote 83: Lit. \"perfect or complete (kamil) of fruits and flowers.\"]\n\n[Footnote 84: Lit. \"many armies\" (asakir, pl. of asker, an army), but\nasker is constantly used in post-classical Arabic (and notably in the\nNights) for \"a single soldier,\" and still more generally the plural\n(asakir), as here, for \"soldiers.\"]\n\n[Footnote 85: Syn. \"the gleaming of a brasier\" (berc kanoun). Kanoun\nis the Syrian name of two winter months, December (Kanoun el awwal or\nfirst) and January (Kanoun eth thani or second).]\n\n[Footnote 86: So as to form a magic barrier against the Jinn, after the\nfashion of the mystical circles used by European necromancers.]\n\n[Footnote 87: Night DIV.]\n\n[Footnote 88: Fe-halan tuata, the time-honoured \"Ask and it shall be\ngiven unto thee.\"]\n\n[Footnote 89: Sic (berec ed dunya); but dunya (the world) is perhaps\nmeant to be taken here by synecdoche m the sense of \"sky.\"]\n\n[Footnote 90: Syn. \"darkness was let down like a curtain.\"]\n\n[Footnote 91: Lit. \"like an earthquake like the earthquakes\"; but the\nsecond \"like\" (mithl) is certainly a mistranscription for \"of\" (min).]\n\n[Footnote 92: Night DV.]\n\n[Footnote 93: Night DVI.]\n\n[Footnote 94: Here we have the word mithl (as or like) which I supplied\nupon conjecture in the former description of the genie; see ante, p. 24,\nnote.]\n\n[Footnote 95: Medinetu 'l meda'n wa ujoubetu 'l aalem. It is well known\n(see the Nights passim) that the Egyptians considered Cairo the city of\ncities and the wonder of the world.]\n\n[Footnote 96: Lit. \"How [is] the contrivance and the way the which we\nshall attain by (or with) it to....\"]\n\n[Footnote 97: I.a tehtenim; but the text may also be read la tehettem\nand this latter reading is adopted by Burton, who translates, \"Be not\nbeaten and broken down.\"]\n\n[Footnote 98: Or \"in brief\" (bi-tejewwuz). Burton translates, \"who\nmaketh marriages,\" apparently reading bi-tejewwuz as a mistranscription\nfor tetejewwez, a vulgar Syrian corruption of tetezewwej.]\n\n[Footnote 99: Said in a quasi-complimentary sense, as we say, \"Confound\nhim, what a clever rascal he is!\" See the Nights passim for numerous\ninstances of this.]\n\n[Footnote 100: Quoth Shehrzad to Shehriyar.]\n\n[Footnote 101: Syn. \"to work upon her traces or course\" (tesaa ala\nmenakibiha).]\n\n[Footnote 102: Night DVII.]\n\n[Footnote 103: Lit. \"the thirsty one (es szadi) and the goer-forth\nby day or in the morning\" (el ghadi); but this is most probably a\nmistranscription for the common phrase es sari (the goer by night) wa 'l\nghadi, often used in the sense of \"comers and goers\" simply. This would\nbe quite in character with the style of our present manuscript, which\nconstantly substitutes sz (sad) for s (sin), e.g. szerai for serai\n(palace), szufreh, for sufreh (meal-tray), for hheresza for hheresa(he\nguarded), etc., etc., whilst no one acquainted with the Arabic written\ncharacter need be reminded how easy it is to mistake a carelessly\nwritten-r (ra) for d (dal) or vice-versa]\n\n[Footnote 104: The mosque being the caravanserai of the penniless\nstranger.]\n\n[Footnote 105: The person specially appointed to lead the prayers of the\ncongregation and paid out of the endowed revenues of the mosque to which\nhe is attached.]\n\n[Footnote 106: Night DVIII.]\n\n[Footnote 107: Burton translates, \"these accurseds,\" reading melaa'n\n(pl. of melaoun, accursed); but the word in the text is plainly\nmulaa'bein (objective dual of mulaa'b, a trickster, malicious joker,\nhence, by analogy, sharper).]\n\n[Footnote 108: Eth thiyab el heririyeh. Burton \"silver-wrought.\"]\n\n[Footnote 109: Netser ila necshetihim (lit. their image, cf. Scriptural\n\"image and presentment\") wa szufretihim, i.e. he satisfied himself by\nthe impress and the colour that they were diners, i.e. gold.]\n\n[Footnote 110: Lit. I am now become in confusion of or at him (lianneni\nalan szirtu fi khejaleh (properly khejleh) minhu). Burton, \"for that I\nhave been ashamed of waiting upon him.\"]\n\n[Footnote 111: Lit. \"That which was incumbent on me to him.\"]\n\n[Footnote 112: Lit. \"go to (or for) his service,\" or, as we should say,\n\"attend him.\"]\n\n[Footnote 113: Burton, \"one of the envious;\" but the verb is in the\nplural.]\n\n[Footnote 114: Night DIX.]\n\n[Footnote 115: Et tsenn er redi. Burton, \"the evil.\"]\n\n[Footnote 116: So that they might hang down and hide his feet and hands,\nit being a point of Arab etiquette for an inferior scrupulously to avoid\nshowing either of these members in presenting himself (especially for\nthe first time) before his superior.]\n\n[Footnote 117: Lit., \"religiousness or devoutness (diyaneh) was by\nnature in him,\" i.e. he was naturally inclined to respect religion and\nhonour its professors. Burton, \"He was by nature conscientious,\" which\ndoes not quite express the meaning of the text; conscientiousness being\nhardly an Oriental virtue.]\n\n[Footnote 118: Lit, \"I may (or shall) ransom him with m' life till I (or\nso that I may) unite him therewith.\"]\n\n[Footnote 119: Iftekeret fi rejul.]\n\n[Footnote 120: Terbiyeh. This word is not sufficiently rendered by\n\"education,\" which modern use has practically restricted to scholastic\nteaching, though the good old English phrase \"to bring up\" is of course\na literal translation of the Latin educare.]\n\n[Footnote 121: i.e. \"I shall owe it to thee.\"]\n\n[Footnote 122: Lit. \"It is certain to me,\" Constat mihi, fe-meikeni\n(vulg. for fe-yekin) indi.]\n\n[Footnote 123: Night DX.]\n\n[Footnote 124: Or perhaps \"Would I might.\"]\n\n[Footnote 125: i.e. the contract of marriage.]\n\n[Footnote 126: See my \"Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night\"\npassim, especially Vol. I pp. 190 et seq.]\n\n[Footnote 127: Miheffeh, a kind of howdah with a flat roof or top.]\n\n[Footnote 128: Tekht-rewan, a sort of palanquin drawn or carried by\nmules or camels wherein she could recline at length. Burton renders\nMiheffeh bi-tekhtrewan \"a covered litter to be carried by camels.\"]\n\n[Footnote 129: Burton adds here, \"Thou wouldst feel ruth for me.\"]\n\n[Footnote 130: Lit. profit, gain (meksib), i.e. the ninth image,\nwhich he was to receive as a reward for the faithful execution of his\ncommission.]\n\n[Footnote 131: Night DXI.]\n\n[Footnote 132: [A] nehnu bedna baud an hukm. The word hukm, which\ncommonly signifies the exercise of government or judicial power, is here\nused metonymically in the sense of the place of dominion, the seat of\ngovernment. Burton, \"Have we fared this far distance by commandment of\nmy bridegroom?\"]\n\n[Footnote 133: Or \"God forbid!\" (Hhasha), a common interjection,\nimplying unconditional denial.]\n\n[Footnote 134: Lit. \"The writing of (or he wrote) his writ upon thee\"\n(ketb kitabiki aleiki).]\n\n[Footnote 135: i.e.. at the Last Day, when men will be questioned of\ntheir actions.]\n\n[Footnote 136: Night DXII.]\n\n[Footnote 137: Sic (tentsur), but this is probably a copyist's error for\n\"we may see\" (nentsur), the difference being only a question of one or\ntwo diacritical points over the initial letter.]\n\n[Footnote 138: Here Burton adds, \"Indeed I had well nigh determined\nto forfeit all my profit of the Ninth Statue and to bear thee away to\nBassorah as my own bride, when my comrade and councillor dissuaded me\nfrom so doing, lest I should bring about my death.\"]\n\n[Footnote 139: Night DXIII.]\n\n[Footnote 140: Or (vulg.) \"I thank him, etc.\" (istekthertu aleihi\nelladhi hefitsaha wa sanaha wa hejeba rouhaku anha). Burton, \"Albeit\nI repeatedly enjoined him to defend and protect her until he concealed\nfrom her his face.\"]\n\n[Footnote 141: Or we may read \"went out, glad and rejoicing, with (bi)\nthe young lady;\" but the reading in the test is more consonant with the\ngeneral style of the Nights.]\n\n[Footnote 142: Azaa, strictly the formal sitting in state to receive\nvisits of condolence for the death of a relation, but in modern parlance\ncommonly applied, by extension, to the funeral ceremonies themselves.]\n\n[Footnote 143: El kendil el meshhour. The lamp is however more than once\nmentioned in the course of the tale by the name of \"wonderful\" (ajib,\nsee post, p. 88, note 4) so familiar to the readers of the old version.]\n\n[Footnote 144: Night DXIV.]\n\n[Footnote 145: Khilafahu, lit. \"the contrary thereof;\" but the\nexpression is constantly used (instead of the more correct gheirahu) in\nthe sense of \"other than it,\" \"the take,\" etc.]\n\n[Footnote 146: Or \"street-boys\" (auladu 'l hhareh).]\n\n[Footnote 147: Zeboun.]\n\n[Footnote 148: Burton adds here, \"Counsel and castigation were of no\navail.\"]\n\n[Footnote 149: Lit. \"had been recalled\" (tuwouffia), i.e. by God to\nHimself.]\n\n[Footnote 150: This old English and Shakspearean expression is the exact\nequivalent of the Arabic phrase Khelesza min sherr walidihi. Burton,\n\"freed from [bearing] the severities of his sire.\"]\n\n[Footnote 151: Kanet wayyishuhu. Burton, \"lived only by.\"]\n\n[Footnote 152: Night DXV.]\n\n[Footnote 153: I prefer this old English form of the Arabic word\nMeghrebiy (a native of El Meghreb or North-Western Africa) to \"Moor,\"\nas the latter conveys a false impression to the modern reader, who would\nnaturally suppose him to be a native of Morocco, whereas the enchanter\ncame, as will presently appear, from biladu 'l gherbi 'l jewwaniy,\notherwise Ifrikiyeh, i.e. \"the land of the Inner West\" or Africa proper,\ncomprising Tunis, Tripoli and part of A]geria.]\n\n[Footnote 154: Min biladi 'l gherbi 'l jewwaniy. The Muslim provinces of\nNorth-Western Africa, extending from the north-western boundary of Egypt\nto Cape Nun on the Mogador Coast, were known under the general name of\nEl Meghreb (modern Barbary) and were divided into three parts, to wit\n(1) El Meghreb el Jewwaniy, Inner, i.e. Hither or Nearer (to Egypt)\nBarbary or Ifrikiyeh, comprising Tripoli, Tunis and Constantine (part of\nAlgeria), (2) El Meghreb el Aouset, Central Barbary. comprising the\nrest of Algeria, and (3) El Meghreb el Acszaa, Farther or Outer Barbary,\ncomprising the modern empire of Morocco.]\n\n[Footnote 155: El hieh. Burton translates, \"astrology,\" and astrology\n(or astronomy); is the classical meaning of the word; but the common\nmeaning in modern Arabic is \"the science of physiognomy,\" cf. the Nights\npassim. See especially ante, p. 42.]\n\n[Footnote 156: Bi-szaut hezin meksour. Burton, \"in a soft voice saddened\nby emotion.\"]\n\n[Footnote 157: Burton, \"brother-german.\"]\n\n[Footnote 158: Or \"comfort myself in him\" (ateazza bihi). Burton\n\"condole with him [over the past].\"]\n\n[Footnote 159: Lit. \"hid not unto me that\" (ma ekhfa aleyya an).]\n\n[Footnote 160: Night DXVI.]\n\n[Footnote 161: Teaziyeti. Burton, \"I have now railed in the mourning\nceremonies.\"]\n\n[Footnote 162: El bein ked efjaani fihi, i e. \"I have been stricken with\nseparation from him.\" Burton, \"Far distance wrought me this trouble.\"]\n\n[Footnote 163: Lit. \"the being (el ka'n, i.e. that which is, the\naccomplished fact) there is not from it a refuge or place of fleeing\"\n(mehreb). Burton, \"nor hath the creature aught of asylum from the\nCreator.\"]\n\n[Footnote 164: Or \"consolation\" (azaa).]\n\n[Footnote 165: Burton, \"I have none to condole with now save thyself\"]\n\n[Footnote 166: Night DXVII.]\n\n[Footnote 167: Burton, \"finding out.\"]\n\n[Footnote 168: Lit. \"He had no longer a heart to part with him,\" i.e..\nhe could not bear him out of his sight, Alaeddin being necessary for the\nachievement of the adventure of the lamp. See post.]\n\n[Footnote 169: El asha. Burton, \"the meat.\"]\n\n[Footnote 170: Lit. \"vein\" (irc).]\n\n[Footnote 171: Night DXVIII.]\n\n[Footnote 172: Ujoubetu 'l aalem. See ante, p. 32, note. {see FN#95}]\n\n[Footnote 173: Ila biladi 'l gherbi 'l jewwaniy.]\n\n[Footnote 174: Burton, \"to the regions of the Setting Sun and abode\nfor a space of thirty years in the Moroccan interior.\" See ante, p. 57,\nnotes. {see FN#154}]\n\n[Footnote 175: Burton adds, \"Alone at home.\"]\n\n[Footnote 176: i.e. birthplace, a child being bow head-foremost.]\n\n[Footnote 177: Burton, \"wander like a wild Arab.\"]\n\n[Footnote 178: Lit. \"and \"; but this is the error of some copyist, who,\nby leaving out an initial l, has turned lau (if) into wa (and).]\n\n[Footnote 179: The first chapter of the Koran; a common usage in\nanticipation of travel or indeed before commencing any enterprise of\nmoment.]\n\n[Footnote 180: Istehhweda (vulg. for istehhwedha) aleyya. Burton, \"of\nthe pains which prevailed upon me.\"]\n\n[Footnote 181: Or \"succeedeth\" (yekklufu). Burton, \"the legacy\nbequeathed to us by.\"]\n\n[Footnote 182: Khellefa.]\n\n[Footnote 183: Night DXIX.]\n\n[Footnote 184: Lit. \"abide in the subsistence of the like of this one\"\n(acoumu fi ma\"sh mithl hadha). Burton, \"go about for a maintenance after\nthis fashion.\"]\n\n[Footnote 185: Uhheszszilu ana ma\"ski ana buddi men yuayyishani. Burton,\n\"I am compelled to provide him with daily bread when I require to be\nprovided.\"]\n\n[Footnote 186: Ibn nas generally signifies \"a man of good family\" (Fr.\nfils de famille), but here the sense seems to be as in the text.]\n\n[Footnote 187: Or \"constrain not thyself for me,\" in do not be ashamed\nto say what thou wishes\", lit. \"let it not be hard or grievous upon thee\nfrom or on account of me\" (la yesubu aleika minni). Burton, \"Let not my\nwords seem hard and harsh to thee.\"]\n\n[Footnote 188: Fe-in kana keman (vulg. for kema anna). Burton, \"if\ndespite all I say.\"]\n\n[Footnote 189: Fi, lit. \"in,\" but here used, as is common in Syria,\ninstead of bi \"with.\"]\n\n[Footnote 190: Burton, \"Shalt become famous among the folk.\"]\n\n[Footnote 191: Khwaja (Persian).]\n\n[Footnote 192: Tajir (Arabic equivalent of khwaja).]\n\n[Footnote 193: Burton, \"that such folk dress handsomely and fare\ndelicately.\"]\n\n[Footnote 194: Night DXX.]\n\n[Footnote 195: Lit. \"was past\" (fata). Burton, \"the dark hours were\npassing by and the wine was drunken.\"]\n\n[Footnote 196: Sherab. Burton, \"sherbets.\"]\n\n[Footnote 197: Night DXXI.]\n\n[Footnote 198: Or \"places\" (amakin).]\n\n[Footnote 199: Or \"streets\" (mehellat). Burton, \"apartments.\"]\n\n[Footnote 200: i.e. \"It is no merit in me that I do what I have done.\"]\n\n[Footnote 201: Bi-jahi 'l awwelin. Burton, \"by the honour of the\nHallows.\"]\n\n[Footnote 202: i.e.. \"a protection.\"]\n\n[Footnote 203: Lit. \"that thine eye will be cooled with (or by) him.\"]\n\n[Footnote 204: Likai yetearrefa fihim wa yetearrefou fihi. This passage\nconfirms my reading of a former one; see ante, p. 68, note 3. {see\nFN#189}]\n\n[Footnote 205: Nighs DXXII.]\n\n[Footnote 206: Lit. \"believed not what time (ayyumetn) the day broke;\"\nbut ayyumeta (of which ayyumeta is a vulgar corruption) supposes\nthe future and should be used with the aorist. The phrase, as I have\ntranslated common in the Nights.]\n\n[Footnote 207: Or, \"laughing at\" (yudsahiku).. Burton, \"he began to make\nthe lad laugh.\"]\n\n[Footnote 208: Szeraya (for seraya).]\n\n[Footnote 209: Keszr.]\n\n[Footnote 210: Newafir, an evident mistranscription, probably for some\nsuch word as fewawir, irregular form of fewwarat, pl. of fewwareh, a\nspring or jet of water.]\n\n[Footnote 211: Burton adds, \"and reach the end of our walk.\"]\n\n[Footnote 212: Jebel aali. Burton, \"the base of a high and naked hill.\"]\n\n[Footnote 213: Lit. \"before or in front of a mountain.\" Burton, \"we have\nreached the barren hill-country.\"]\n\n[Footnote 214: Ra'hhin, a vulgarism of frequent occurrence in this\nstory.]\n\n[Footnote 215: Shudd heilek.]\n\n[Footnote 216: Lit. the land of the West (biladu 'l gherb); see ante, p.\n57, notes. {see FN#153}]\n\n[Footnote 217: Night DXXIII.]\n\n[Footnote 218: Lit. \"without aught\" (bilash), i e. without [visible]\ncause or reason. Burton, \"beyond the range of matter.\"]\n\n[Footnote 219: Nuhhas szebb (for szebeb min er) reml, lit. \"brass poured\n[forth from] sand,\" i.e. cast in a mould of sand. Cf. 1 Kings, vii 16,\n\"two chapiters of molten brass.\"]\n\n[Footnote 220: Dir balek, lit. \"turn thy thought (i.e. be attentive)\n[Footnote to that which I shall say to thee].\"]\n\n[Footnote 221: Night DXXIV.]\n\n[Footnote 222: Lit. \"pass not by\" (la tuferwwit). Burton, \"nor\ngainsay.\"]\n\n[Footnote 223: Yani li-min (vulg. for tani li-men), i.e. on whose behalf\ndo I undertake all these my toils?]\n\n[Footnote 224: Lit. \"leave\"; but the verb khella (II. of khela is\nconstantly used in the present text in the sense of \"he made.\"]\n\n[Footnote 225: There is some mistake here in the text. The word which\nI translate \"great\" is akabir (pl. of akber, most great), apparently\ninserted by mistake for kebir, great. But that akabir is followed by\njiddan (exceedingly), I should be inclined to read the phrase [kebiru\n'l] akabir, greatest of the great.]\n\n[Footnote 226: Wehdi, lit. \"my lone,\" a Scotch expression, which might\nbe usefully acclimatized in English prose and verse.]\n\n[Footnote 227: Night DXXV.]\n\n[Footnote 228: Or \"pay attention,\" dir (vulg. for adir) balek. See ante,\np. 78, note. {see FN#220}]\n\n[Footnote 229: Lit. \"a place divided into four places\" I take the\nvariant aweds, chambers. from Chavis's copy of the MS., as quoted by M.\nZotenberg.]\n\n[Footnote 230: Liwan, i.e. an estrade or recessed room, raised above the\nlevel of the ground and open in front.]\n\n[Footnote 231: Lit. \"in it\" (fihi); but the meaning is as in the text,\ni.e. connected with it or leading thereto. This reading is confirmed by\nthe terms in which the stair is afterwards mentioned, q.v. post, p. 83,\nand note. {see FN#235}]\n\n[Footnote 232: Night DXXVI.]\n\n[Footnote 233: Ubb. Burton, \"breast-pocket,\" the usual word for which\nis jeib. Ubb is occasionally used in this sense; but it is evident from\nwhat follows (see post, p. 85. {see FN#243} \"Alaeddin proceeded to pluck\nand put in his pockets (ajyab, pl. of jeib), and his sleeves\" (ibab),\nand note) that ubb is here used in the common sense of \"sleeve.\"]\n\n[Footnote 234: i.e. \"that which is in the lamp.\"]\n\n[Footnote 235: Burton transposes, \"where he entered the saloon and\nmounted the ladder;\" but the context shows that the stair was a flight\nof steps leading up to the dais and not a ladder in it. The word fihi in\nthe magician's instructions might indeed be taken in this latter sense,\nbut may just as well be read \"thereto\" or \"pertaining thereto\" as\n\"therein.\" See also below, where Alaeddin is made to descend from the\ndais into the garden.]\n\n[Footnote 236: Lit. voices (aswat). Burton, \"fond voices\"]\n\n[Footnote 237: Burton, \"Furthermore the size of each stone so far\nsurpassed description that no king of the kings of the world owned a\nsingle gem of the larger sort.\"]\n\n[Footnote 238: Night DXXVII.]\n\n[Footnote 239: Toubasi. I insert this from the Chavis MS. Burton adds,\n\"spinels and balasses.\"]\n\n[Footnote 240: Ibab.]\n\n[Footnote 241: Ubb.]\n\n[Footnote 242: Ajyab, pl. of jeib, the bosom of a shirt, hence a breast\nor other pocket.]\n\n[Footnote 243: Ibab. Burton, \"pokes and breast-pockets.\"]\n\n[Footnote 244: The possession of the lamp rendering him superior to the\nspells by which they were enchanted.]\n\n[Footnote 245: Burton says here, \"The text creates some confusion by\napplying sullem to staircase and ladder; hence probably the latter is\nnot mentioned by Galland and Co., who speak only of an 'escalier de\ncinquante marches.'\" As far as I can see, Galland was quite right, a\nstaircase (and not a ladder) being, in my judgment, meant in each case,\nand Sir Richard Burton's translation of sullem min thelathin derejeh as\n\"a ladder of thirty rungs\" (see ante p. 82, note {see FN#231}) seems to\nme founded on a misconception, he being misled by the word \"fihi\" (see\nmy note ante, p. 83 {see FN#235}). He adds, \"sullem in modern Egyptian\nis used for a flight of steps;\" but it signifies both \"ladder\" and\n\"flight of steps\" in the classic tongue; see Lane, p. 1416, colt 2,\n\"sullem, a ladder or a series of stairs or steps, either of wood or\nclay, etc.\" His remark would apply better to derej (class. \"a way,\" but\nin modern parlance \"a ladder\" or \"staircase\" which the story-teller uses\ninterchangeably with sullem, in speaking of the stair leading down\ninto the underground, thus showing that he considered the two words\nsynonymous.]\n\n[Footnote 246: Akyas. This is the first mention of purses.]\n\n[Footnote 247: Lit. \"without\" (kharijan).]\n\n[Footnote 248: Burton, \"Forasmuch as he had placed it at the bottom\nof his breast-pocket and his other pockets being full of gems bulged\noutwards.\"]\n\n[Footnote 249: Night DXXVIII.]\n\n[Footnote 250: Lit. \"was locked,\" inkefelet, but I take this to be a\nmistranscription of inkelebet, \"was turned over.\"]\n\n[Footnote 251: Lit. \"was covered over, shut like a lid\" (intebeket).]\n\n[Footnote 252: Tebbeca, i.e. caused (by his enchantments) to become\ncovered or closed up like a lid.]\n\n[Footnote 253: Ifrikiyeh, see ante, p. 57, note 1. {see FN#153} Here the\nstory-teller takes the province for a city.]\n\n[Footnote 254: Burton adds, \"by devilish inspiration.\"]\n\n[Footnote 255: Wa [kan] el aghreb an fi hadha 'l kenz [kana]. Burton\n\"the most marvellous article in this treasure was, etc.\"]\n\n[Footnote 256: Kendil ajib.]\n\n[Footnote 257: Night DXXIX.]\n\n[Footnote 258: A proverbial expression, meaning that, as he did not\nabsolutely kill Alaeddin, though doing what was (barring a miracle)\ncertain to cause his death, he could not be said to be his slayer; a\npiece of casuistry not peculiar to the East, cf. the hypocritical show\nof tenderness with which the Spanish Inquisition was wont, when handing\nover a victim to the secular power for execution by burning alive, to\nrecommend that there should be \"no effusion of blood.\" It is possible,\nhowever, that the proverb is to be read in the sense of \"He who is\ndestined to live cannot be slain.\"]\n\n[Footnote 259: i.e. with the contents of the chambers and the garden.]\n\n[Footnote 260: Night DXXX.]\n\n[Footnote 261: Lit. rubbing in or upon.]\n\n[Footnote 262: Lit. \"The Quickener, the Deadener\" (el muhheyyi, el\nmumit), two of the ninety-nine names of God.]\n\n[Footnote 263: Or \"Judge\" (cadsi).]\n\n[Footnote 264: Farijuha. Burton, \"Bringer of joy not of annoy.\"]\n\n[Footnote 265: i.e. Mohammed's.]\n\n[Footnote 266: Lit. a servant or slave, i.e. that of the ring. Burton,\n\"its Familiar.\"]\n\n[Footnote 267: i.e. Solomon.]\n\n[Footnote 268: See my Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol. 1.\np 33, note. {see Payne's Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol.\n1 FN#16}]\n\n[Footnote 269: Night DXXXI.]\n\n[Footnote 270: Night DXXXII.]\n\n[Footnote 271: i.e.. in all the registers of men's actions fabled to be\nkept in heaven.]\n\n[Footnote 272: Lit. \"see the accursed his duplicity and his promises\nthat he promised me withal in that he would do all good with me.\"\nBurton, \"see how the dammed villain broke every promise he made,\ncertifying that he would soon work all good with me.\"]\n\n[Footnote 273: Lit. \"on account of my pain therefrom when I was absent\nfrom the world.\"]\n\n[Footnote 274: Hatha 'l metleb li, lit. \"this quest (or object of quest)\n[was] mine (or for me).\" Metleb is often used in the special technical\nsense of \"buried treasure.\"]\n\n[Footnote 275: Night DXXXIII.]\n\n[Footnote 276: Bustan.]\n\n[Footnote 277: Bilaur.]\n\n[Footnote 278: Keszr, instead of liwan (dais), as in previous\ndescription.]\n\n[Footnote 279: Keisan. Burton, \"bag-pockets.\"]\n\n[Footnote 280: Lit. \"without\" (kharij).]\n\n[Footnote 281: Aadim, present participle of adima, he lacked.]\n\n[Footnote 282: Night DXXXIV.]\n\n[Footnote 283: Lit. the pre-eminence (el fedsl).]\n\n[Footnote 284: Thani youm, Burton, \"the second day,\" which, though\nliteral, conveys a false impression.]\n\n[Footnote 285: Night DXXXV.]\n\n[Footnote 286: Or \"beyond desire\" (fauca 'l khatir), i.e. inconceivably\ngood. Burton, \"beyond our means.\"]\n\n[Footnote 287: It is a favourite device with Oriental cooks to colour\ndishes (especially those which contain rice) in various ways, so as to\nplease the eye as well as the palate.]\n\n[Footnote 288: Lit. \"black bottles\" (museunvedetein). Burton, \"black\njacks.\"]\n\n[Footnote 289: Zekiyyeh (pure) for dhekiyyeh (strong, sharp, pungent), a\ncommon vulgar corruption.]\n\n[Footnote 290: Burton, \"wherewith Allah Almighty hath eased our\npoverty.\"]\n\n[Footnote 291: Elladhi iftekeda juana. Burton, \"who hath abated our\nhunger pains.\"]\n\n[Footnote 292: Lit. \"we are under his benefit.\"]\n\n[Footnote 293: Hhizana for hhezzaza?]\n\n[Footnote 294: Lit. \"whet proceeded from.\"]\n\n[Footnote 295: Lit. \"but\" (lakin for Iekan, \"then\").]\n\n[Footnote 296: Keif dhalik. Lit. \"How this?\" Burton, \"Who may this be?\"]\n\n[Footnote 297: Night DXXXVI.]\n\n[Footnote 298: i.e. the Jinn of the lamp and the ring.]\n\n[Footnote 299: Apparently referring to chap. xxiii, verses 99, l00,\nof the Koran, \"Say, 'Lord, I take refuge in Thee from the suggestions\nof the devils, and I take refuge in thee, Lord, that (i.e. Iest) they\nappear!'\" Mohammed is fabled by Muslim theologians to have made a\ncompact with the Jinn that they should not enter the houses of the\nfaithful unless expressly summoned..]\n\n[Footnote 300: i.e. \"I am, in general, ready to obey all thy\ncommandments\"]\n\n[Footnote 301: i.e. the lamp.]\n\n[Footnote 302: Lit. \"uses,\" \"advantages\" (menafi).]\n\n[Footnote 303: Referring, of course, to the slave of the lamp.]\n\n[Footnote 304: Night DXXXVII.]\n\n[Footnote 305: Lit. \"saw.\"]\n\n[Footnote 306: Afterwards \"silver\"; see pp. 108 and l10.]\n\n[Footnote 307: A carat is generally a twenty-fourth part of a diner,\ni.e. about 5d.; but here it appears to be a sixtieth part or about 2d.\nBurton, \"A copper carat, a bright polished groat.\"]\n\n[Footnote 308: Lit. \"to the contrary of him\" (ila khilafihi). See ante,\np. 55, note 4. {see FN#145}]\n\n[Footnote 309: Night DXXXVIII.]\n\n[Footnote 310: Kenani, pl. of kinnineh, a bottle or phial.]\n\n[Footnote 311: i.e. the genie.]\n\n[Footnote 312: Night DXXXIX.]\n\n[Footnote 313: Ala kedhum. Burton, \"after their olden fashion.\"]\n\n[Footnote 314: Lit. \"[in] middling case\" (halet[an] mustewessitet[an]).\nBurton translates, \"as middle-class folk,\" adding in a note, \"a phrase\nthat has a European touch.\"]\n\n[Footnote 315: Burton adds, \"on diet.\"]\n\n[Footnote 316: \"Er rijal el kamiloun,\" lit. \"complete men.\" Burton, \"good\nmen and true.\"]\n\n[Footnote 317: Bedsa'a. Burton, \"investments,\"]\n\n[Footnote 318: Keisein. Burton, \"his pockets.\"]\n\n[Footnote 319: Lit. \"neck.\" The Muslims fable that all will appear at\nthe Day of Resurrection with their good and evil actions in visible form\nfastened about their necks. \"And each man, we constrain him to carry his\nactions (ta'r, lit. bird, i.e. fortune as told by augury from the flight\nof birds, according to the method so much in favour with the ancients,\nbut interpreted by the scholiasts as 'actions,' each man's actions\nbeing, according to them, the cause of his good and evil fortune,\nhappiness or misery), on (or about,.fi) his neck.\"--Koran, xvii, 14.]\n\n[Footnote 320: Night DXL]\n\n[Footnote 321: An idiomatic expression, equivalent to our vulgar English\nphrase, \"He was struck all of a heap.\"]\n\n[Footnote 322: Beszireh, mental (as opposed to bodily) vision.]\n\n[Footnote 323: Night DXLI.]\n\n[Footnote 324: Gheramuha.]\n\n[Footnote 325: Lit. \"be rightly guided,\" \"return to the right way.\"]\n\n[Footnote 326: Heds, Syrian for hheds.]\n\n[Footnote 327: i.e.. if thou be in earnest.]\n\n[Footnote 328: Aamin. Burton, \"fonder and more faithful.\"]\n\n[Footnote 329: Night DXLII.]\n\n[Footnote 330: Lit. \"blood of my liver.\"]\n\n[Footnote 331: i.e. the bride's parents.]\n\n[Footnote 332: Burton, \"Also who shall ask her to wife for the son of a\nsnip?\"]\n\n[Footnote 333: Night DXLIII.]\n\n[Footnote 334: Lit. \"near and far,\" the great being near to the king's\ndignity, and the small far from it.]\n\n[Footnote 335: Lit. \"before\" (cuddam).]\n\n[Footnote 336: Lit. \"thou art not of its measure or proportion\" (kedd).]\n\n[Footnote 337: Ijreker ti bi 'l hhecc. Burton. \"thou hast reminded me\naright.\"]\n\n[Footnote 338: Night DXLIV.]\n\n[Footnote 339: Kiyas, a mistake for akyas, pl. of keis, a purse.]\n\n[Footnote 340: Lit. \"So, an thou wilt, burden thy mind (i.e. give\nthyself the trouble, kellifi khatiraki,) and with us [is] a China dish;\nrise and come to me with it.\" Kellifi (fem.) khatiraki is an idiomatic\nexpression equivalent to the French, \"donnez-vous (or prenez) la peine\"\nand must be taken in connection with what follows, i.e. give yourself\nthe trouble to rise and bring me, etc. (prenez la peine de vous lever\net de m'apporter, etc.). Burton, \"Whereupon, an-thou please, compose thy\nmind. We have in our house a bowl of china porcelain: so arise thou and\nfetch it.\"]\n\n[Footnote 341: Lit. \"were not equal to one quarter of a carat,\" i.e. a\nninety-sixth part, \"carat\" being here used in its technical sense of a\ntwenty-fourth part of anything.]\n\n[Footnote 342: Kellifi khatiraki (prenez la peine) as before. Burton,\n\"Compose thy thoughts.\"]\n\n[Footnote 343: Night DXLV.]\n\n[Footnote 344: Elladhi hu alan ca'm bi maashina. Burton, \"Ere this thou\nhast learned, O mother mine, that the Lamp which we possess hath become\nto us a stable income.\"]\n\n[Footnote 345: Or \"pay attention\" (diri balek); see ante, pp. 78 and 81.\n{see FN#220 and FN#228}]\n\n[Footnote 346: Minhu. Burton translates, \"for that 'tis of him,\" and\nsays, in a note, \"Here the MS. text is defective, the allusion is, I\nsuppose, to the Slave of the Lamp.\" I confess I do not see the defect of\nwhich he speaks. Alaeddin of course refers to the lamp and reminds his\nmother that the prosperity they enjoy \"is (i.e. arises) from it.\"]\n\n[Footnote 347: Lit. \"completed,\" \"fully constituted.\"]\n\n[Footnote 348: The attitude implied in the word mutekettif and\nobligatory in presence of a superior, i.e. that of a schoolboy in\nclass.]\n\n[Footnote 349: Or \"complainants,\" \"claimants.\"]\n\n[Footnote 350: Fi teriketihi, apparently meaning \"in its turn.\" Burton,\n\"Who (i.e. the Sultan) delivered sentence after his wonted way.\"]\n\n[Footnote 351: Night DXLVI.]\n\n[Footnote 352: Illezemet. Burton, \"she determined.\"]\n\n[Footnote 353: Lit. \"the Divan;\" but the door of the presence-chamber is\nmeant, as appears by the sequel.]\n\n[Footnote 354: Burton, \"and when it was shut, she would go to make sure\nthereof.\"]\n\n[Footnote 355: Muddeh jumah. Burton, \"the whole month.\"]\n\n[Footnote 356: Burton, \"come forward.\"]\n\n[Footnote 357: Burton, \"levee days\"]\n\n[Footnote 358: Izar. Burton, \"mantilla.\"]\n\n[Footnote 359: Here the copyist, by the mistaken addition of fe (so),\ntransfers the \"forthright\" to the Vizier's action of submission to the\nSultan's order.]\n\n[Footnote 360: Night DXLVII.]\n\n[Footnote 361: I have arranged this passage a little, to make it read\nintelligibly. In the original it runs thus, \"Alaeddin's mother, whenas\nshe took a wont and became every Divan-day going and standing in\nthe Divan before the Sultan, withal that she was dejected, wearying\nexceedingly, but for Alaeddin's sake, her son, she used to make light of\nall weariness.\"]\n\n[Footnote 361: Aman; i.e. promise or assurance of indemnity, permission\nto speak freely, without fear of consequences.]\n\n[Footnote 362: Aman in secondary sense of \"protection\" or \"safeguard.\"]\n\n[Footnote 363: i.e. I pardon thee, under God, (\"then I\" being\nunderstood). The right of pardon residing with God, the pious Muslim can\nonly say, \"God pardon thee first and then I pardon thee.\"]\n\n[Footnote 364: Burton, \"shun the streets.\"]\n\n[Footnote 365: Arad. Burton, \"felt an uncontrollable longing.\"]\n\n[Footnote 366: Or \"food (aish, bread) hath not been pleasant (or had any\nsavour) for him.\"]\n\n[Footnote 367: Seadetuk, lit. \"thy felicity;\" this and jenabuk (lit.\n\"thy side\"), \"thine excellence\" or \"thy highness,\" and hhedsretuk \"thy\nhighness,\" (lit. \"thy presence\") are the titles commonly given to kings\nin Arabic-speaking countries, although hhedsretuk is strictly applicable\nonly to the Prophet and other high spiritual dignitaries. They are\noften, but erroneously, rendered \"thy majesty\"; a title which does not\nexist in the East and which is, as is well known to students of history,\nof comparatively recent use in Europe.]\n\n[Footnote 368: Lit, \"having regard to his clemency, he took to laughing\nand asked her.\" Burton, \"He regarded her with kindness, and laughing\ncloud, asked her.\"]\n\n[Footnote 369: Surreh, lit. purse and by extension, as here, anything\ntied up in bag-shape.]\n\n[Footnote 370: Night DXLVIII.]\n\n[Footnote 371: Lit. \"Be clement unto me, Thy Grace promised me.\"]\n\n[Footnote 372: Lit. \"Forbearance (hhilm, clemency, longanimity, delay\nin requiting an evil-doer) is incumbent from thine exalted highness unto\n(ila) three months.\"]\n\n[Footnote 373: Aatsem melik, an ungrammatical construction of common\noccurrence in the present MS., properly aatsemu 'l mulouk.]\n\n[Footnote 374: Syn. \"his clemency required.\"]\n\n[Footnote 375: i.e. shall be reserved for him alone.]\n\n[Footnote 376: i.e. the marriage trousseau.]\n\n[Footnote 377: Lit. \"Except that, O my son, the Vizier bespoke him a\nprivy word (kelam sirriyy) ere he promised me; then, after the Vizier\nbespoke him a word privily (sirran), he promised me to (ila) three\nmonths.\"]\n\n\n[Footnote 378: Lit. an ill presence (mehhdser sau). This expression\nhas occurred before in the Nights, where I have, in deference to\nthe authority of the late M. Dozy (the greatest Arabic scholar since\nSilvestre de Sacy) translated it \"a compend of ill,\" reading the second\nword as pointed with dsemmeh (i.e. sou, evil, sub.) instead of with\nfetheh (i.e. sau, evil, adj.), although in such a case the strict rules\nof Arabic grammar require sou to be preceded by the definite article\n(i.e. mehhdseru's sou). However, the context and the construction of the\nphrase, in which the present example of the expression occurs, seem to\nshow that it is not here used in this sense.]\n\n[Footnote 379: Night DXLIX.]\n\n[Footnote 380: Lit. (as before) \"promised her to\" (ila).]\n\n[Footnote 381: Lit. \"to\" (ila), as before.]\n\n[Footnote 382: i.e. the delay.]\n\n[Footnote 383: Lit. \"he thanked his mother and thought (or made) much\nof her goodness (istekthera bi-kheiriha, a common modern expression,\nsignifying simply 'he thanked her') for her toil.\" Burton, \"Then he\nthanked his parent, showing her how her good work had exceeded her toil\nand travail \"]\n\n[Footnote 384: Lit. \"Wonder took her at this wonder and the decoration.\"\nBurton amplifies, \"She wondered at the marvellous sight and the glamour\nof the scene.\" Me judice, to put it in the vernacular, she simply\nwondered what the dickens it was all about.]\n\n[Footnote 385: Min wectiha. Burton, \"And for some time, O my son, I have\nsuspected.\" See ante, p. 134. {see FN#378}]\n\n[Footnote 386: Lit. \"fever seized him of his chagrin.\"]\n\n[Footnote 387: Night DL.]\n\n[Footnote 388: Lit. \"promised me to\" (ila), as before.]\n\n[Footnote 389: Eshaa; or, if we take the word as pointed with kesreh\n(i.e. ishaa), we may read, with Burton, \"to pass the rest of the\nevening,\" though this expression seems to me hardly in character with\nthe general tone of the MS.]\n\n[Footnote 390: Musterah.]\n\n[Footnote 391: Sic (el gheir).]\n\n[Footnote 392: Night DLI.]\n\n[Footnote 393: Min doun khiyaneh i.e. without offering her any affront.\nBurton, \"and he did no villain deed.\"]\n\n[Footnote 394: Galland adds, \"et passe dans une garde-robe o--il s'etoit\ndeshabille le soir.\" Something of the kind appears to have dropped out\nof the present MS.]\n\n[Footnote 395: Night DLII.]\n\n[Footnote 396: Lit. \"with the eye of anger.\" Ghedseb (anger) and its\nsynonym ghaits are frequently used in the Nights in this sense; see\nespecially Vol. II. of my translation, p. 234, \"she smiled a sad smile,\"\nlit. a \"smile of anger,\" (twice) and p. 258, \"my anguish redoubled,\"\nlit. \"I redoubled in anger.\"]\n\n[Footnote 397: Wesikh. Burton, \"fulsome.\"]\n\n[Footnote 398: Night DLIII.]\n\n[Footnote 399: Diri balek an [la]. Burton, \"compose thy thoughts. If,\netc.\" See ante, passim.]\n\n[Footnote 400: Sic.]\n\n[Footnote 401: Kedhebaka.]\n\n[Footnote 402: i.e. that which he derived from such an alliance.]\n\n[Footnote 403: Lit. \"Wretches\" (mesakin).]\n\n[Footnote 404: Night DLIV.]\n\n[Footnote 405: Inketaet (lit. \"she was cut or broken\") min el khauf.\nBurton, \"She was freed from her fear of the past.\"]\n\n[Footnote 406: Or \"honoured\" (azlz)]\n\n[Footnote 407: i.e. \"in my behaviour to thee.\"]\n\n[Footnote 408: Kema akedu min mehebbetika li. Burton, \"even as I claim\nof thee affection for thy child.\"]\n\n[Footnote 409: Night DLV.]\n\n[Footnote 410: Hhashaha min el kidhb; lit. \"Except her from lying!\"\nHhasha (which commonly signifies, \"Far be it,\" \"God forbid!\") is here\nused in a somewhat unusual manner. The sense seems to be, \"God forbid\nthat the Lady Bedrulbudour should be suspected of lying! \"]\n\n[Footnote 411: Or \"shrunken\" (kusziret). Burton, \"bursten.\"]\n\n[Footnote 412: Or \"honoured\" (aziz).]\n\n[Footnote 413: Night DLVI.]\n\n[Footnote 414: Lit. \"how [was] the device therein;\" i.e how he should\ndo for an expedient thereanent. Burton, \"the device whereby he should\nmanage it.\"]\n\n[Footnote 415: Or \"called upon\" (nedeh).]\n\n[Footnote 416: El ashreh [mubeshshereh understood], \"the ten [who were\nrejoiced with glad tidings],\" i.e. ten of Mohammed's companions\n(Abou Bekr, Omar, Othman, Ali, Telheh, Zubeir, Saad ibn Abi Weccas,\nAbdurrehman ibn Auf, Abou Ubeideh ibnu'l Jerrah and Said ibn Zeid), to\nwhom (and to whom alone) he is said to have promised certain entrance\ninto Paradise. They are accordingly considered to have pre-eminence over\nthe Prophet's other disciples and are consequently often invoked by the\nless orthodox Muslims as intercessors with him, much after the fashion\nof the Quatuordecim Adjutores, the Fourteen Helpers [in time of need],\n(i.e. Saints Catherine, Margaret, Barbara, Pantaleon, Vitus, Eustace,\nBlase, Gregory, Nicholas, Erasmus, Giles, George, Leonard and\nChristopher) of Romish hagiology.]\n\n[Footnote 417: i.e the marriage of his son to the Sultan's daughter.\nBurton, \"it having been a rare enjoyment to him that he had fallen upon\nsuch high good fortune.\"]\n\n[Footnote 418: Lit. \"marriage,\" i.e. \"wedding festivities are out of\nplace.\" The word (zijeh) here used is a dialectic (Syrian) variant of\nzewaj, marriage. Burton, \"we require no delay,\"]\n\n[Footnote 419: Lit. \"the lord (i.e. he) of the suit or claim\" (sahibu 'd\ndewat).]\n\n[Footnote 420: Or \"inestimable,\" lit. \"might not be measured by (or\nappraised at) a price or value.\" Burton, \"far beyond his power to pay\nthe price.\"]\n\n[Footnote 421: Lit. \"How is the management or contrivance (tedbir) with\nthee?\" i.e. \"canst thou suggest to us any expedient?\"]\n\n[Footnote 422: Night DLVII.]\n\n[Footnote 423: Burton adds, \"speaking privily.\"]\n\n[Footnote 424: Or perhaps, \"we may with impunity rebut,\" etc.]\n\n[Footnote 425: Gherib, lit. a stranger, an exile, but vulg. by\nextension, a poor, homeless wretch.]\n\n[Footnote 426: i.e Alaeddin's mother.]\n\n[Footnote 427: Lit. \"that day.\"]\n\n[Footnote 428: Fr. \"... l'aimable.\" Lit. \"by a way or means\"\n(bi-terikeh). It may be we should read bi [hatheti'll] terikeh, \"by\n[this] means;\" but the rendering in the text seems the more probable\none, the Sultan meaning that he would thus get rid of Alaeddin's\nimportunity by practice, without open breach of faith or violence.]\n\n[Footnote 429: Night DLVIII.]\n\n[Footnote 430: Lit. \"Burden thyself (prenez la peine) and rise\",\n(kellifi khatiraki, etc., as before).]\n\n[Footnote 431: Here szewani (trays) instead of, as before, szuhoun\n(dishes).]\n\n[Footnote 432: Night DLIX.]\n\n[Footnote 433: i.e. \"look with open eyes\"]\n\n[Footnote 434: En nuwwab, i.e. those whose turn it was to be on guard.]\n\n[Footnote 435: Need (lit. coin), a vulgar Syrian corruption of neket,\ncustomary gift of money or otherwhat to a bride on the marriage-day.]\n\n[Footnote 436: The whole of the foregoing passage is so confused that I\nthink it well to add here (l) a literal translation, as I read it: \"So\nthe Vizier, yea, indeed, he marvelled at the greatness of that wealth\nmore than the Sultan, but envy was killing him and waxed on him more and\nmore when he saw the Sultan that he was satisfied with (or accepted of)\nthe bride-gift and the dowry; however, it was not possible to him that\nhe should gainsay the truth and should say to the Sultan, 'He is not\nworthy;' only, he practised with a device upon the Sultan so he should\nnot let him give his daughter the Lady Bedrulbudour to Alaeddin, and\nthis [Footnote was] that he said to him, etc,\"--and also (2) the\nversion given by Sir K. F. Burton, who takes a different view of the\npassage: \"Then the Minister (although he marvelled at these riches\neven more than did the Sultan), whose envy was killing him and growing\ngreater hour by hour, seeing his liege lord satisfied with the moneys\nand the dower and yet being unable to fight against fact, made answer,\n'Tis not worthy of her.' Withal he fell to devising a device against the\nKing, that he might withhold the Lady Badr-al-Budur from Alaeddin, and\naccordingly he continued, etc.\"]\n\n[Footnote 437: Or \"in comparison with her\" (ent hhedsretuk istatsemet\nhatha aleiha). This is an ambiguous passage and should perhaps be read,\n\"Thou magnifiest this (i.e. the gift) over her.\"]\n\n[Footnote 438: Night DLX.]\n\n[Footnote 439: Lit. \"swiftly, the winds overtook her not.\"]\n\n[Footnote 440: Aksen. Burton, \"more suitable to thee.\"]\n\n[Footnote 441: Kethir[an]. Burton, \"And right soon (Inshallah!) O my\ndaughter, thou shalt have fuller joy with him.\"]\n\n[Footnote 442: Muebbed. Burton, \"alone.\"]\n\n[Footnote 443: Sic (kum),]\n\n[Footnote 444: Or \"commission\" (mishwar).]\n\n[Footnote 445: Bekia ma bekia hatha shey aleik, lit. \"remaineth what remaineth\nthis is a thing upon (or for) thee.\" Burton, \"Happen whatso may happen;\nthe rest is upon thy shoulders.\" The first bekia is perhaps used in the\ncommon colloquial sense of \"then.\"]\n\n[Footnote 446: Shekeraha wa istekthera bi-kheiriha. See ante, p. 155,\nnote 3. Burton, \"enhancing her kindly service.\"]\n\n[Footnote 447: Surname of the ancient Kings of Persia, vulg. Chosroes.]\n\n[Footnote 448: Night DLXI.]\n\n[Footnote 449: Lit. \"the.\"]\n\n[Footnote 450: Burton, \"the costliest of clothes.\"]\n\n[Footnote 451: Generally that of aloes-wood.]\n\n[Footnote 452: Quoth Shehrzad to Shehriyar.]\n\n[Footnote 453: Yetsunnuhu; quare a clerical error for yentsuruku (\"had\nseen him\" )?]\n\n[Footnote 454: i.e. male white slaves (memlouk, whence our \"mameluke,\"\nsing. for plural memalik).]\n\n[Footnote 455: Lit. \"and let there be with each slave-girl a suit, etc.\"\nBurton \"And let every handmaid be robed in raiment that befitteth queens\nwearing.\" The twelve suits of clothes to be brought by the slave-girls\nwere of course intended for the wearing of Alaeddin's mother; see post,\np. 167. {see FN#457 in text}]\n\n[Footnote 456: i.e. the genuine Arabs of the unmixed blood.]\n\n[Footnote 457: See ante, p. 166, note 2. {see FN#455}]\n\n[Footnote 458: Likai telbesa (tetelebbesa?) hiya. Burton, \"she should\nwear.\"]\n\n[Footnote 459: Sic, the meaning seeming to be that kings' sons were out\nof comparison with Alaeddin, as who should say (in Cockney parlance)\n\"Don't talk to me about kings' sons.\"]\n\n[Footnote 460: Lit. \"upon.\"]\n\n[Footnote 461: El kendil el ajib.]\n\n[Footnote 462: Syn. \"old and young.\"]\n\n[Footnote 463: Night DLXII.]\n\n[Footnote 464: Ictedsa an tesmuha li bi, lit. \"decided (or demanded)\nthat thou be bountiful to (or grace) me with;\" but icledsa is here used\nin the colloquial sense of \"willed, vouchsafed.\"]\n\n[Footnote 465: i.e. that of his tongue, lit. \"its bounds or reach\"\n(kheddahu). Burton, \"passing all measure.\"]\n\n[Footnote 466: Lit. \"acquired, gotten, come by thee\" (khetsitu bika).]\n\n[Footnote 467: Night DLXIII.]\n\n[Footnote 468: Nuweb (properly naubat).]\n\n[Footnote 469: Musica.]\n\n[Footnote 470: Acamou el fereh el atsim. Burton, \"a mighty fine\nmarriage-feast was dispread in the palace.\"]\n\n[Footnote 471: Muashir.]\n\n[Footnote 472: Netser.]\n\n[Footnote 473: Lit. \"but the behoving on me for her service engageth (or\nenforceth) me to apply myself hereunto.\"]\n\n[Footnote 474: i.e. at thy disposition.]\n\n[Footnote 475: Night DLXIV.]\n\n[Footnote 476: Tebakhin. Burton, \"kitcheners.\"]\n\n[Footnote 477: Keszr.]\n\n[Footnote 478: Wa, but quaere au (\"or\")?]\n\n[Footnote 479: Kushk.]\n\n[Footnote 480: The description of the famous upper hall with the\nfour-and-twenty windows is one of the most contused and incoherent parts\nof the Nights and well-nigh defies the efforts of the translator to\ndefine the exact nature of the building described by the various and\ncontradictory passages which refer to it. The following is a literal\nrendering of the above passage: \"An upper chamber (keszr) and (or?) a\nkiosk (kushk, a word explained by a modern Syrian dictionary as meaning\n'[a building] like a balcony projecting from the level of the rest of\nthe house,' but by others as an isolated building or pavilion erected\non the top of a house, i.e. a keszr, in its classical meaning of 'upper\nchamber,' in which sense Lane indeed gives it as synonymous with the\nTurkish koushk, variant kushk,) with four-and-twenty estrades (liwan, a\nraised recess, generally a square-shaped room, large or small, open on\nthe side facing the main saloon), all of it of emeralds and rubies and\nother jewels, and one estrade its kiosk was not finished.\" Later on,\nwhen the Sultan visits the enchanted palace for the first time, Alaeddin\n\"brought him to the high kiosk and he looked at the belvedere (teyyareh,\na square or round erection on the top of a house, either open at the\nsides or pierced with windows, =our architectural term 'lantern') and\nits casements (shebabik, pl. of shubbak, a window formed of grating or\nlattice-work) and their lattices (she\"ri for she\"rir, pl. of sheriyyeh,\na lattice), all wroughten of emeralds and rubies and other than it of\nprecious jewels.\" The Sultan \"goes round in the kiosk\" and seeing \"the\ncasement (shubbak), which Alaeddin had purposely left defective, without\ncompletion,\" said to the Vizier, \"Knowest thou the reason (or cause) of\nthe lack of completion of this casement and its lattices?\" (shearihi, or\nquaere, \"[this] lattice,\" the copyist having probably omitted by mistake\nthe diacritical points over the final ha). Then he asked Alaeddin, \"What\nis the cause that the lattice of yonder kiosk (kushk) is not complete?\"\nThe defective part is soon after referred to, no less than four times,\nas \"the lattice of the kiosk\" (sheriyyetu 'l kushk), thus showing that,\nin the writer's mind, kushk, liwan and shubbak were synonymous terms for\nthe common Arab projecting square-sided window, made of latticework,\nand I have therefore rendered the three words, when they occur in this\nsense, by our English \"oriel,\" to whose modern meaning (a window that\njuts out, so as to form a small apartment), they exactly correspond.\nAgain, in the episode of the Maugrabin's brother, the princess shows the\nlatter (disguised as Fatimeh) \"the belvedere (teyyarrh) and the kiosk\n(kushk) of jewels, the which [was] with (i.e. had) the four-and-twenty\nportals\" (mejouz, apparently a Syrian variant of mejaz, lit. a place of\npassage, but by extension a porch, a gallery, an opening, here (and here\nonly) used by synecdoche for the oriel itself), and the famous roe's\negg is proposed to be suspended from \"the dome (cubbeh) of the upper\nchamber\" (el keszr el faucaniyy), thus showing that the latter was\ncrowned with a dome or cupola. It is difficult to extricate the author's\nexact meaning from the above tangle of confused references; but, as far\nas can be gathered. in the face of the carelessness with which the text\ntreats kushk as synonymous now with keszr or teyyareh and now with liwan\nor shubbak, it would seem that what is intended to be described is a\nlofty hall (or sorer), erected on the roof of the palace, whether round\nor square we cannot tell, but crowned with a dome or cupola and having\nfour-and-twenty deep projecting windows or oriels, the lattice or\ntrellis-work of which latter was formed (instead of the usual wood) of\nemeralds, rubies and other jewels, strung, we may suppose, upon rods of\ngold or other metal I have, at the risk of wearying my reader, treated\nthis point at some length, as well because it is an important one as to\nshow the almost insuperable difficulties that beset the. conscientious\ntranslator at well-nigh every page of such works as the \"Book of the\nThousand Nights and One Night.\"]\n\n[Footnote 481: Night DLXV.]\n\n[Footnote 482: The text has imar (an inhabited country), an evident\nmistake for emair (buildings).]\n\n[Footnote 483: Night DLXVI.]\n\n[Footnote 484: Atsm sekhahu. Burton. \"his dignity was enhanced.\"]\n\n[Footnote 485: Or \"imitate\" (yetemathelou bihi). Burton, \"which are such\nas are served to the kings.\"]\n\n[Footnote 486: Night DLXVII.]\n\n[Footnote 487: Wectu 'l asr, i.e. midway between noon and nightfall.]\n\n[Footnote 488: Lit. \"was broken\" (inkeseret).]\n\n[Footnote 489: Burton, \"with the jerid,\" but I find no mention of this\nin the text. The word used (le'ba, lit. \"he played\") applies to all\nkinds of martial exercises; it may also mean simply, \"caracoling.\"]\n\n[Footnote 490: See ante, p. 167, note 1. {see FN#456}]\n\n[Footnote 491: Or \"turns\" (adwar).]\n\n[Footnote 492: El hemmam a sultaniyy el meshhour. Burton, \"the royal\nHammam (known as the Sult ni).\"]\n\n[Footnote 493: Muhliyat. Burton, \"sugared drinks.\"]\n\n[Footnote 494: Night DLXVIII.]\n\n[Footnote 495: Keszriha. Burton, \"her bower in the upper story.\"]\n\n[Footnote 496: Lit. \"changed the robes (khila) upon her.\" For the\nceremony of displaying (or unveiling) the bride, see my \"Book of the\nThousand Nights and One Night,\" Vol. I. pp. 192 et seq., and \"Tales from\nthe Arabic,\" Vol. III. pp. 189 et seq.]\n\n[Footnote 497: Meshghoul.]\n\n[Footnote 498: Keszr.]\n\n[Footnote 499: Szeraya, properly serayeh.]\n\n[Footnote 500: i.e. Alexander the Great; see my \"Book of the Thousand\nNights and One Night,\" Vol. V. p. 6, note.]\n\n[Footnote 501: Night DLXIX.]\n\n[Footnote 502: Henahu.]\n\n[Footnote 503: Fetour, the slight meal eaten immediately on rising,\nanswering to the French \"premier dejeuner,\" not the \"morning-meal\"\n(gheda), eaten towards noon and answering to the French \"dejeuner... la\nfourchette.\"]\n\n[Footnote 504: Gheda.]\n\n[Footnote 505: Tekerrum (inf. of V of kerem), lit. \"being liberal to any\none.\" here an idiomatic form of assent expressing condescension on the\npart of a superior. Such at least is the explanation of the late Prof.\nDozy; but I should myself incline to read tukremu (second person\nsing. aorist passive of IV), i.e. \"Thou art accorded [that which thou\nseekest].\"]\n\n[Footnote 506: Indhehela.]\n\n[Footnote 507: Or \"upper hall, gallery.\" Lit. \"kiosk.\" See ante, p.l75,\nnote 4. {see FN#480}]\n\n[Footnote 508: Teyyareh. See ante, l.c. The etymology of this word is\nprobably [caah] teyyareh, \"a flying [saloon].\"]\n\n[Footnote 509: Shebabik, pl. of shubbak; see ante, l.c.]\n\n[Footnote 510: Sheari, see ante, l.c.]\n\n[Footnote 511: Shubbak.]\n\n[Footnote 512: Night DLXX.]\n\n[Footnote 513: Lit. \"kiosk\" (kushk); see ante, p. 175, note 4.{see\nFN#480}]\n\n[Footnote 514: Ma lehiket el muallimin (objective for nom. muallimoun,\nas usual in this text) an.]\n\n[Footnote 515: Yebca lika dhikra. Burton, \"So shall thy memory endure.\"]\n\n[Footnote 516: Lit. \"kiosk.\"]\n\n[Footnote 517: ? (teba'kh).]\n\n[Footnote 518: Or \"melodious.\"]\n\n[Footnote 519: El kelb el hhezin.]\n\n[Footnote 520: i.e. \"might not avail unto.\"]\n\n[Footnote 521: Muhlivat, as before; see ante. p. 183, note 2. {see\nFN#493}]\n\n[Footnote 522: Szeraya.]\n\n[Footnote 523: Night DLXXI.]\n\n[Footnote 524: Sheriyyetu 'l kushk.]\n\n[Footnote 525: Lit. \"the lattice of the kiosk which (i.e. the lattice)\nis lacking or imperfect.\" The adjective (nakiszeh) is put in the\nfeminine, to agree with \"lattice\" (sheriyyeh), which is femminine, kiosk\n(kushk) being masculine.]\n\n[Footnote 526: Kushk.]\n\n[Footnote 527: She\"rihi.]\n\n[Footnote 528: Et tewashiyy, a term here used for the first time in the\npresent text, where we generally find the Turkish Aga in this sense.]\n\n[Footnote 529: Night DLXXII.]\n\n[Footnote 530: Lit. \"kiosk\" (kushk).]\n\n[Footnote 531: Fi szerayyetika.]\n\n[Footnote 532: Szeraya.]\n\n[Footnote 533: Lit. \"that I was not lacking in ableness to complete\nit.\"]\n\n[Footnote 534: Kushk, here used in sense of \"belvedere.\"]\n\n[Footnote 535: Or \"upper chamber\" (keszr).]\n\n[Footnote 536: Kushk. From this passage it would seem as if the\nbelvedere actually projected from the side of the upper story or soler\n(keszr), instead of being built on the roof, lantern-wise, or being (as\nwould appear from earlier passages) identical with the hall itself, but\nthe whole description is as before remarked. so full of incoherence\nand confusion of terms that it is impossible to reconcile its\ninconsistencies.]\n\n[Footnote 537: Lit. \"a brother resembling thee.\"]\n\n[Footnote 538: Lit. \"he increased (or exceeded) in the salaries (or\nallowances) of the poor and the indigent\" (zada fi jewanicki 'l fukera\nwa 'l mesakin). Jewamek is an Arabicized Persian word, here signifying\nsystematic or regular almsgivings.]\n\n[Footnote 539: Kull muddeh.]\n\n[Footnote 540: Labu 'l andab, lit. \"arrow-play.\"]\n\n[Footnote 541: Night DLXXIII.]\n\n[Footnote 542: Szerayeh.]\n\n[Footnote 543: Keszr.]\n\n[Footnote 544: Burton adds, \"and confections.\"]\n\n[Footnote 545: Lit. \"he set them down the stablest or skilfullest\n(mustehhkem) setting down.\"]\n\n[Footnote 546: Hherrem, i.e. arranged them, according to the rules of\nthe geomantic art.]\n\n[Footnote 547: Netsera jeyyidan fi. Burton, \"He firmly established the\nsequence of.\"]\n\n[Footnote 548: Technical names of the primary and secondary figures.\nThe following account of the geomantic process, as described by\nArabic writers de re magicf, is mainly derived from the Mukeddimat or\nProlegomena of Abdurrehman ibn Aboubekr Mohammed (better known as Ibn\nKhaldoun) to his great work of universal history. Those (says he) who\nseek to discover hidden things and know the future have invented an art\nwhich they call tracing or smiting the sand; to wit, they take paper\nor sand or flour and trace thereon at hazard four rows of points, which\noperation, three times repeated (i.e. four times performed), gives\nsixteen rows. These points they eliminate two by two, all but the last\n(if the number of the points of a row be odd) or the last two (if it be\neven) of each row, by which means they obtain sixteen points, single\nor double. These they divide into four figures, each representing the\nresidual points of four lines, set one under another, and these four\nfigures, which are called the mothers or primaries, they place side by\nside in one line. From these primaries they extract four fresh figures\nby confronting each point with the corresponding point in the next\nfigure, and counting for each pair a single or double point, according\nto one of two rules, i.e. (1) setting down a single point for each\nsingle point being on the same line with another point, whether single\nor double, and a double point for. each pair of double points in line\nwith each other, or (2) reckoning a double point for each pair of like\npoints (single or double), corresponding one with another on the same\nline' and a single point for each, unlike pair. These new figures (as\nwell as those that follow) are called the daughters or secondaries and\nare placed beside the primaries, by confrontation with which (i,e, 5\nwith 1, 6 with 2, 7 with 3 and with 4) four fresh figures are obtained\nafter the same fashion and placed side by side below the first eight.\nFrom this second row a thirteenth and fourteenth figure are obtained in\nthe same way (confronting 9 with lo and 1 l with 12) and placed beneath\nthem, as a third row. The two new figures, confronted with each other,\nin like manner, furnish a fifteenth figure, which, being confronted\nwith the first of the primaries, gives a sixteenth and last figure,\ncompleting the series. Then (says our author), the geomant proceeds to\nexamine the sixteen figures thus obtained (each of which has its name\nand its mansion, corresponding to one of the twelve signs of the zodiac\nor the four cardinal points, as well as its signification, good or bad,\nand indicates also, in a special way, a certain part of the elemental\nworld) and to note each figure according to its presage of weal or ill;\nand so, with the aid of an astrological table giving the explanations\nof the various signs and combinations, according to the nature of\nthe figure, its aspect, influence and temperament (astrologically\nconsidered) and the natural object it indicates, a judgment is formed\nupon the question for a solution of which the operation was undertaken.\nI may add that the board or table of sand (tekht reml), so frequently\nmentioned in the Nights, is a shallow box filled with fine sand,\ncarefully levelled, on which the points of the geomantic operation are\nmade with a style of wood or metal. (The name tekht reml is however\nnow commonly applied to a mere board or tablet of wood on which the\nnecessary dots are made with ink or chalk. ) The following scheme of\na geomantic operation will show the application of the above rules.\nSupposing the first haphazard dotting to produce these sixteen rows of\npoints,\n\n  1......... (9)  5.....   (6) 9.........  (9)  13......   (6)\n  2......... (9)  6....    (4) 10........  (8)  14....     (4)\n  3........  (8)  7....... (7) 11......... (9)  15........ (8)\n  4.......   (7)  8.....   (5) 12.......   (7)  16.....    (5)\n\n By the process of elimination we get the following four primaries:\n\n Fig. 1  x    Fig. 2  x x    Fig. 3  x    Fig. 4  x x\n         x            x x           x x           x x\n        x x            x             x            x x\n         x             x             x             x\n\n The process of confrontation of the corresponding points of these\n four figures (according to rule 2) gives the following four\n secondaries:\n\n Fig. 5  x     Fig. 6  x     Fig. 7  x     Fig. 8  x\n         x            x x           x x            x\n         x            x x            x            x x\n        x x           x x           x x           x x\n\n By confrontation of the points of each secondary with those of\n its corresponding primary, the following four fresh figures are\n obtained:\n\n Fig. 9  x x   Fig. 10  x    Fig. 11  x x   Fig. 12  x\n         x x           x x            x x            x\n          x             x             x x           x x\n          x             x              x             x\n\n   Fig. 9, confronted with Fig. 10 gives a thirteenth figure x\n                                                            x x\n                                                            x x\n                                                            x x\n\n   And Fig. 11 confronted with Fig. 12, a fourteenth         x\n                                                             x\n                                                            x x\n                                                            x x\n\n   Figures 13 and 14, similarly treated, yield a fifteenth figure\n\n\n                                                             x x\n                                                              x\n                                                             x x\n                                                             x x\n\n   Which, in its turn, confronted with Fig. 1, gives a sixteenth\n and last figure,                                             x\n                                                             x x\n                                                             x x\n                                                              x\n\n Completing the scheme, which shows the result of the operation as\n follows:\n\n (1) x (2) x x (3) x (4) x x (5) x (6) x (7) x   (8) x\n     x     x x    x x    x x     x    x x   x x      x\n    x x     x      x     x x     x    x x    x      x x\n     x      x      x      x     x x   x x   x x     x x\n\n   (9) x x         (10) x         (11) x x     (12) x\n       x x             x x             x x          x\n        x               x              x x         x x\n        x               x               x           x\n\n            (13) x                        (14) x\n                x x                            x\n                x x                           x x\n                x x                           x x\n\n                       (15) x x\n                             x\n                            x x\n                            x x\n\n\n                       (16)  x\n                            x x\n                            x x\n                             x]\n\n[Footnote 549: Burton adds here, \"in order that other than I may carry\nit off.\"]\n\n[Footnote 550: Min el meloum, lit. \"[it is] of the known (i.e. that\nwhich is known).\" Burton, \"who knoweth an he wot, etc.\"]\n\n[Footnote 551: Night DLXXIV.]\n\n[Footnote 552: Sic, meaning of course that he had discovered its\nproperties and availed himself thereof.]\n\n[Footnote 553: Medinetu 's seltaneh, i e. the seat of government or\ncapital.]\n\n[Footnote 554: Lit. \"donned\" (lebesa).]\n\n[Footnote 555: Here Galland says, \"Il entra dans le lien le plus fameux\net le plus frequente par les personnel de grande distinction, ou l'on\ns'assembloit pour boire d'une certaine boisson chance qui luy etoit\nconnue des son premier voyage. Il n'y e-t pas plust\"t pris place qu'on\nlay versa de cette boisson dans une tasse et qu'on la luy presenta.\nEn la prenant, comme il prestoit l'oreille... droite et... gauche, il\nentendit qu'on s'entretenoit du palais d'Aladdin.\" The Chavis MS. says,\n\"He entered a coffee-house (kehweh, Syrian for kehawi), and there used\nto go in thereto all the notables of the city, and he heard a company,\nall of them engaged in (ammalin bi, a very vulgar expression) talking of\nthe Amir Alaeddin's palace, etc.\" This (or a similar text) is evidently\nthe original of Galland's translation of this episode and it is\nprobable, therefore, that the French translator inserted the mention\n\"of a certain warm drink\"(tea), out of that mistaken desire for local\ncolouring at all costs which has led so many French authors (especially\nthose of our own immediate day) astray. The circumstance was apparently\nevolved (alla tedesca) from his inner consciousness, as, although China\nis a favourite location with the authors of the Nights, we find no\nsingle mention of or allusion to tea in the rest of the work.]\n\n[Footnote 556: Lit. \"I will make him lose.\"]\n\n[Footnote 557: Night DLXXV.]\n\n[Footnote 558: Lit. \"Instruments of astronomy or astrology\" (tenjim);\nbut tenjim is also used in the sense of geomancy, in which operation,\nas before explained, astrology plays an important part, and the context\nshows that the word is here intended to bear this meaning. Again, the\nimplements of a geomancer of the higher order would include certain\nastrological instruments, such as an astrolabe, star-table, etc.,\nnecessary, as I have before explained, for the elucidation of the scheme\nobtained by the sand-smiting proper.]\n\n[Footnote 559: He had apparently learned (though the Arabic author\nomits, with characteristic carelessness, to tell us so) that Alaeddin\nwas absent a. hunting.]\n\n[Footnote 560: Akemm, vulg. for kemm, a quantity.]\n\n[Footnote 561: Minareh, lit. \"alight-stand,\" i.e. either a lamp-stand or\na candlestick.]\n\n[Footnote 562: Bi-ziyadeh, which generally means \"in excess, to boot,\"\nbut is here used in the sense of \"in abundance.\"]\n\n[Footnote 563: Aalem.]\n\n[Footnote 564: After the wont of \"the natural enemy of mankind' in all\nages.]\n\n[Footnote 565: Keszr.]\n\n[Footnote 566: Night DLXXVI.]\n\n[Footnote 567: Aghatu 't tuwashiyeh.]\n\n[Footnote 568: Ubb.]\n\n[Footnote 569: Lit. \"who\" (men), but this is probably a mistake for ma\n(that which).]\n\n[Footnote 570: Ifrikiyeh.]\n\n[Footnote 571: Night DLXXVII.]\n\n[Footnote 572: Ummar. This may, however, be a mistake (as before, see\nante p. 177, note 2 {see FN#482}) for ema'r (buildings).]\n\n[Footnote 573: Lit. \"O company\" (ya jema't), a polite formula of\naddress, equivalent to our \"Gentlemen.\"]\n\n[Footnote 574: Night DLXXVIII.]\n\n[Footnote 575: Lit. \"the affair (or commandment, amr) is going to be\nsealed upon us.\"]\n\n[Footnote 576: Sic (dara haulahu thelatheta dauratin); but qu're should\nit not rather be, \"gave three sweeps or whirls with his sword round his\nhead\"? See my \"Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night,\" Vol. VI. p.\n355.]\n\n[Footnote 577: Lit. \"hath been bountiful unto me;\" [the matter of] my\nlife.]\n\n[Footnote 578: Night DLXXIX.]\n\n[Footnote 579: Previous to prayer.]\n\n[Footnote 580: Lit. made easy to (yessera li).]\n\n[Footnote 581: The name of the province is here applied to an imaginary\ncity.]\n\n[Footnote 582: Night DLXXX.]\n\n[Footnote 583: Lit. \"who hath a head with the head-seller or dealer in\nheads, etc.\" The word here employed (rewwas) commonly signifies \"a man\nwho cooks and sells sheepsheads, oxheads, etc.\" M. Zotenberg makes the\nfollowing note on this passage in. his edition of Alaeddin; \"Rewwas (for\nraa\"s) signifies not only 'he who sells cooked heads,' but also 'he who\nmakes a business of cooking heads.' Consequently whoso entrusteth a head\nto the rewwas is preoccupied and sleeps not.\" M. Zotenberg's note is\nunintelligible, in consequence of his having neglected to explain that\nthe passage in question is a common Egyptian proverb, meaning (says\nBurckhardt), \"the person whose fortune is entrusted to the hands of\nstrangers cannot enjoy repose.\" \"The poor,\" adds he, \"at Cairo buy\nsheepsheads and for a trifle have them boiled in the bazaar by persons\nwho are not only cooks, but sellers of sheepsheads, and are therefore\ncalled raa\"s, or in the Egyptian dialect rewwas.\" The proverb is in\nthe present case evidently meant as a play upon the literal meaning\n(\"headsman,\" hence by implication \"executioner\") of the word rewwas,\nalthough I cannot find an instance of the word being employed in this\nsense. It is, however, abundantly evident from the general context that\nthis is the author's intention in the passage in question, Alaeddin's\nhead being metaphorically in the hands of (or pledged to) the headsman,\ninasmuch as he had engaged to return and suffer decapitation in case he\nshould not succeed in recovering the princess within forty days.]\n\n[Footnote 584: I suppose the verb which I render \"caused [sleep] get the\nmastery,\" to be ghelleba, II of gheleba, as the only way of making sense\nof this passage, though this reading involves some irregularity from a\ngrammatical point of view. This, however, is no novelty in the present\ntext. Burton, \"But whoso weareth head hard by the headsman may not sleep\no'nights save whenas slumber prevail over him.\"]\n\n[Footnote 585: Zeczekeh, a word which exactly renders the sparrow's\ndawn-cheep.]\n\n[Footnote 586: Lit. \"From (as Fr. des) the deep or remote dawn\" (min\nel fejri 'l ghemic, Syr. for emic), cf. Matthew Arnold's \"Resignation;\"\n\"The cockoo, loud on some high lawn, Is answered from the depth of\ndawn..\"]\n\n[Footnote 587: The terminal formula of the dawn-prayer.]\n\n[Footnote 588: i.e. the magician]\n\n[Footnote 589: Lit. \"bride'' (arouseh). She is always, to the end of the\ntale, spoken of as Alaeddin's \"bride,\" never as his \"wife,\" whilst he,\nin like manner, is called her \"bridegroom\" (arous).]\n\n[Footnote 590: This, at first sight, appears a contradiction, as we are\ndistinctly told (see ante, p. 207) that the princess was unaware of the\nproperties of the lamp; but the sequel shows that she had learned them,\nin the mean time. from the magician himself. See post.]\n\n[Footnote 591: Ifrikiyeh.]\n\n[Footnote 592: Night DLXXXI.]\n\n[Footnote 593: Lit. \"a spit (ric) of sweet.\" We may also read reic or\nreyyic, \"the first part of anything\" (especially \"the first drop of\nrain\").]\n\n[Footnote 594: Lit. \"having changed the clothes of this my dress.\"]\n\n[Footnote 595: i.e. taking effect the moment of its administration.]\n\n[Footnote 596: Night DLXXXII.]\n\n[Footnote 597: Because white wine would have been visibly troubled by\nthe drug.]\n\n[Footnote 598: Ishebi bi-surrihi (lit. \"drink by his pleasure or\ngladness;\" surr or surour). Burton, \"Pledge him to his secret in a\nsignificant draught.\"]\n\n[Footnote 599: Kasein thelatheh, lit. two cups three (unusual way of\nputting it).]\n\n[Footnote 600: Reshoush (for reshash), \"anything sprinkled,\" i.e. powder\nor drops. I translate \"powder,\" as I find no mention in the Nights of\nthe use of this narcotic in a liquid form.]\n\n[Footnote 601: Takkeltu, lit. \"I have conceived in my mind.\" Sir R.\nBurton is apparently inclined to read tallectu by transposition, as he\ntranslates, \"I depend upon thy say.\"]\n\n[Footnote 602: Night DLXXXIII.]\n\n[Footnote 603: Lit. \"I will not delay upon thee.\"]\n\n[Footnote 604: Lit. \"Thou hast burdened or incommoded thyself\" (kellefta\nkhatiraka), see previous note, p. 120, {see FN#340} on this idiomatic\nexpression.]\n\n[Footnote 605: Ana atebtu mizajaka, lit. \"I have wearied thy\ntemperament.\"]\n\n[Footnote 606: Lit. \"pleasure\" (surr), see ante, p. 223, note 2. {see\nFN#598}]\n\n[Footnote 607: Or \"playing the boon-companion.\"]\n\n[Footnote 608: Syn. \"equivocal, a double entente.\"]\n\n[Footnote 609: Lit. \"proceeded from her in truth.\"]\n\n[Footnote 610: Tih, lit. pride, haughtiness, but, by analogy,\n\"coquetry.\"]\n\n[Footnote 611: Lit. \"Gaiety, ecstasy or intoxication (keif) whirled\n(dara) in his head.\"]\n\n[Footnote 612: Lit. \"not itself exactly with him\" (ma hiya bi-eimhi\nindahu.)]\n\n[Footnote 613: Lit. \"turned over\" (kelebet, a clerical error for\nkebbelel).]\n\n[Footnote 614: Tekeddemet lihi wa basethu fi kheddihi. Burton, \"again\nshe kissed its lip and offered it to him.\"]\n\n[Footnote 615: Terakedsou, lit. raced with one another.]\n\n[Footnote 616: Babu 'sz szeray.]\n\n[Footnote 617: Night DLXXXIV.]\n\n[Footnote 618: Keszr.]\n\n[Footnote 619: Lit. \"in\" (fi); but fi is evidently used here in mistake\nfor bi, the two prepositions being practically interchangeable in modern\nArabic of the style of our present text.]\n\n[Footnote 620: Burton, \"his costliest raiment.\"]\n\n[Footnote 621: Or chamber (keszr).]\n\n[Footnote 622: Night DLXXXV.]\n\n[Footnote 623: Sic (raihh), a common vulgarism in this text.]\n\n[Footnote 624: Night DLXXXVI.]\n\n[Footnote 625: Lit. \"also\" (eidsan).]\n\n[Footnote 626: i.e. the two were as like as two halves of a bean.]\n\n[Footnote 627: i.e. the world.]\n\n[Footnote 628: Or death (Saturn), the eighth division of the common\nastrological figure.]\n\n[Footnote 629: Menkeleh. See my Book of the Thousand Nights and One\nNight, Vol. I. p. 129, note 1. {see Vol. 1 of Payne's Book of the\nThousand Nights and One Night, FN#41}]\n\n[Footnote 630: Dsameh.]\n\n[Footnote 631: Liha keramat kethireh. Kerameh (sing. of keramat),\nproperly a favour or mark of grace, a supernatural gift bestowed by God\nupon His pious servants, by virtue whereof they perform miracles, which\nlatter are also by derivation called keramat. Cf. Acts viii. 28:\n\"Thou hast thought that the gift of God,\" i.e. the power of performing\nmiracles, \"may be purchased with money.\"]\n\n[Footnote 632: Night DLXXXVII.]\n\n[Footnote 633: Weliyeh.]\n\n[Footnote 634: Fe-ain (where), probably a mistranscription for fe-men\n(who).]\n\n[Footnote 635: Sitti, fem. of Sidi, \"my lord,\" the common title of a\nsaint among modern Arabic-speaking peoples.]\n\n[Footnote 635: Meskin, lit. \"poor wretch,\" but used as our \"good\nman\" and the French \"bonhomme,\" in a sense of somewhat contemptuous\nfamiliarity.]\n\n[Footnote 636: Lit. \"wished the man increase of his good (istekthera\nbi-kheirihi, for which idiomatic expression= \"he thanked him,\" see ante,\np. 135, note 3 {see FN#383}), and thanked his excellence\" (favour or\nkindness, fedsl).]\n\n[Footnote 637: Sherabati. Burton, \"vintner.\"]\n\n[Footnote 638: Keniz, a word which I cannot find in any dictionary,\nbut which appears to be the past participle (in the secondary form for\nmecnouz, as ketil, slain, for mertoul,) of keneza, a lost verb of which\nonly the fourth form acneza, he drank from a cup (kinz), survives, and\nto mean \"something drunk from a cup.\" Burton, \"wine.\"]\n\n[Footnote 639: Ca\"da. Burton translates \"he mounted,\" apparently reading\nszfida for ca\"da.]\n\n[Footnote 640: Lit. \"belly\" (betn); but that \"breast\" is meant is shown\nby the next line, which describes Fatimeh as finding the enchanter\nseated on her heart.]\n\n[Footnote 641: Lit. \"heart\" (kelb).]\n\n[Footnote 642: The text adds here, \"she went not and came not\" (la rahet\nwa la jaet). Burton translates, \"as though she had never gone or come\"\nand adds, in a note, by way of gloss, \"i.e. as she was in her own home;\"\nbut I confess that his explanation seems to me as obscure as the text.]\n\n[Footnote 643: Night DLXXXVIll.]\n\n[Footnote 644: Keszr.]\n\n[Footnote 645: The first or \"opening\" chapter of the Koran.]\n\n[Footnote 646: En nas bi 'l ghewali kethir an, lit. \"The folk in\n(things) precious (or dear or high-priced, ghewali, pl. of\nghalin, also of ghaliyeh, a kind of perfume) are abundant anent.\" This\nis a hopelessly obscure passage, and I can only guess at its meaning.\nBi 'l ghewali may be a clerical error for bi 'l ghalibi, \"for the most\npart, in general,\" in which case we may read, \"Folk in general abound\n[in talk] anent her virtues;\" or bi 'l ghewali may perhaps be used in\nthe sense (of which use, however, I know no instance) of 'in excessive\nestimation,' in which latter case the passage might be rendered, \"Folk\nabound in setting a high value on (or extolling) her virtues.\" Burton\nboldly amplifies, \"the folk recount her manifestations in many cases of\ndifficulty.\"]\n\n[Footnote 647: Lit. \"That he might complete his deceit the more.\"\nThe meaning is that he dissembled his satisfaction at the princess's\nproposal and made a show of refusal, so he might hoodwink her the more\neffectually.]\n\n[Footnote 648: Keszr.]\n\n\n[Footnote 649: Night DLXXXIX.]\n\n[Footnote 650: Teyyareh.]\n\n[Footnote 651: Lit. \"openings for passage\" (mejous). See ante, p. 176,\nnote. {see FN#480}]\n\n[Footnote 652: Keszr.]\n\n[Footnote 653: Lit. \"an extreme\" (ghayeh).]\n\n[Footnote 654: Szeraya.]\n\n[Footnote 655: Szeraya.]\n\n[Footnote 656: i.e. \"O thou that art dear to me as mine eyes.\"]\n\n[Footnote 657: Keszr.]\n\n[Footnote 658: Night DLXC.]\n\n[Footnote 659: Keszr.]\n\n[Footnote 660: i.e. its apparent from its real import.]\n\n[Footnote 661: Mustekim.]\n\n[Footnote 662: Minka. Burton, \"of me.\"]\n\n[Footnote 663: Lit. \"for that secret that she healed.\" Burton, \"for the\nart and mystery of healing.\"]\n\n[Footnote 664: Min wejaihi.]\n\n[Footnote 665: Szeraya.]\n\n[Footnote 666: Terehhhheba bihi.]\n\n[Footnote 667: Lit. \"believed not in.\"]\n\n[Footnote 668: Night DLXCI.]\n\n[Footnote 669: Ghereza (i.q.. gheresa).]\n\n[Footnote 670: Lit. \"Out of regard to or respect for thine eyes.\"\n(Keramet[an] li-uyouniki), i.e. \"Thanks to the favourable influence\nof thine eyes.\" When \"the eye\" is spoken of without qualification, the\n\"evil eye\" is commonly meant; here, however, it is evident that the\nreverse is intended.]\n\n[Footnote 671: Lit. \"I had no news or information (ma indi kkeber) [of\nthe matter].\"]\n\n[Footnote 672: Lit. \"neglectful of the love of thee.\" This is a\ndifficult passage to translate, owing to its elliptical form; but the\nmeaning is that the princess wished to assure Alaeddin that what had\nhappened was not due to any slackening in the warmth of her affection\nfor him.]","title":"Alaeddin and the Enchanted Lamp","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":67619}