{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_53254/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_53254","id":"gutenberg_53254","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53254","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Adventure","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Romance","Fairy tales -- Arab countries","Folklore -- Arab countries"],"text":"[Illustration]\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n[Illustration: \u0644\u0627 \u0644\u0627\u0628\u0631\u0627\u0631 \u0643\u0644\u0651 \u0634\u064a \u062a\u0628\u0631]\n\n                   \u201cTO THE PURE ALL THINGS ARE PURE.\u201d\n                           (Puris omnia pura)\n\n                                                        \u2014_Arab Proverb._\n\n          \u201cNiuna corrotta mente intese mai sanamente parole.\u201d\n\n                                            \u2014\u201c_Decameron_\u201d\u2014_conclusion_.\n\n              \u201cErubuit, posuitque meum Lucretia librum\n                  Sed coram Bruto. Brute! recede, leget.\u201d\n\n                                                             \u2014_Martial._\n\n            \u201cMieulx est de ris que de larmes escripre,\n                Pour ce que rire est le propre des hommes.\u201d\n\n                                                              \u2014RABELAIS.\n\n\u201cThe pleasure we derive from perusing the Thousand-and-One Stories makes\nus regret that we possess only a comparatively small part of these truly\nenchanting fictions.\u201d\n\n                                      \u2014CRICHTON\u2019S \u201c_History of Arabia_.\u201d\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n[Illustration]\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n_A PLAIN AND LITERAL TRANSLATION OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS ENTERTAINMENTS.\nNOW ENTITULED_\n\n\n\n\n                           _THE BOOK OF THE_\n                     =Thousand Nights and a Night=\n\n              _WITH INTRODUCTION EXPLANATORY NOTES ON THE\n                MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF MOSLEM MEN AND A\n                 TERMINAL ESSAY UPON THE HISTORY OF THE\n                                NIGHTS_\n\n                               VOLUME IV.\n\n\n                                   BY\n                           RICHARD F. BURTON\n\n[Illustration]\n\n        PRINTED BY THE BURTON CLUB FOR PRIVATE SUBSCRIBERS ONLY\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                            Shammar Edition\n\nLimited to one thousand numbered sets, of which this is\n\n                              Number _547_\n\n\n\n\n                          PRINTED IN U. S. A.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                    TO FOSTER FITZGERALD ARBUTHNOT.\n\n\n MY DEAR ARBUTHNOT,\n\nI have no fear that a friend, whose friendship has lasted nearly a third\nof a century, will misunderstand my reasons for inscribing his name upon\nthese pages. You have lived long enough in the East and, as your\nwritings show, observantly enough to detect the pearl which lurks in the\nkitchen-midden, and to note that its lustre is not dimmed nor its value\ndiminished by its unclean surroundings.\n\n                                            Ever yours sincerely,\n\n                                                      RICHARD F. BURTON.\n\n ATHEN\u00c6UM CLUB, _October 1, 1885_.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                     CONTENTS OF THE FOURTH VOLUME.\n\n\n                                                                  PAGE\n\n CONTINUATION OF THE TALE OF KAMAR AL-ZAMAN:\u2014\n\n     NI\u2019AMAH BIN AL-RABI\u2019A AND NAOMI HIS SLAVE-GIRL                  1\n\n     _a._ CONCLUSION OF THE TALE OF KAMAR AL-ZAMAN                  23\n\n       (_Lane II., Chapt. X. Story of Neameh and Noam: p. 186._)\n\n\n 13. ALA AL-DIN ABU AL-SHAMAT                                       29\n\n   (_Lane, Chapt. XI. Story of Ala ed-Deen Abu-sh-Sh\u00e1m\u00e1t: p. 250._)\n\n\n 14. HATIM OF THE TRIBE OF TAYY                                     94\n\n   (_Lane, Notes to Chapt. XI. Liberality of Hatim el-T\u00e1ee after his\n                            Death: p. 333_)\n\n\n 15. MA\u2019AN THE SON OF ZAIDAH AND THE THREE GIRLS                    96\n\n  (_Lane, Notes to Chapt. XI. Anecdote of Maan the Son of Z\u00e1\u00efdeh: p.\n                                 335_)\n\n\n 16. MA\u2019AN SON OF ZAIDAH AND THE BADAWI                             97\n\n\n 17. THE CITY OF LABTAYT                                            99\n\n\n 18. THE CALIPH HISHAM AND THE ARAB YOUTH                          101\n\n\n 19. IBRAHIM BIN AL-MAHDI AND THE BARBER-SURGEON                   103\n\n     (_Lane, Notes to Chapt. XI. Adventures of Ibr\u00e1heem the Son of\n                         El-Mahdee: p. 336._)\n\n\n 20. THE CITY OF MANY-COLUMNED IRAM AND ABDULLAH SON OF ABI        113\n       KALABAH\n\n   (_Lane, Notes to Chapt. XI. The Discovery and History of Irem Z\u00e1t\n   el-\u2018Emad, the Terrestrial Paradise of Sheddad the Son of \u2018Ad: p.\n                                342._)\n\n\n 21. ISAAC OF MOSUL                                                119\n\n (_Lane, Note to Chapt. XI. Anecdote of Ish\u00e1k el-M\u00f3silee and Khadeejeh\n                       and El-Ma-moon: p. 347._)\n\n\n 22. THE SWEEP AND THE NOBLE LADY                                  125\n\n\n 23. THE MOCK CALIPH                                               130\n\n   (_Lane, Chapt. XIII. Story of Mohammad \u2018Alee the Jeweller, or the\n                      False Khaleefeh: p. 380._)\n\n\n 24. ALI THE PERSIAN                                               149\n\n\n 25. HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE SLAVE-GIRL AND THE IMAM ABU YUSUF     153\n\n\n 26. THE LOVER WHO FEIGNED HIMSELF A THIEF                         155\n\n  (_Lane, Note to Chapt. XIII. Anecdote of a Disinterested Lover: p.\n                                400._)\n\n\n 27. JA\u2019AFAR THE BARMECIDE AND THE BEAN-SELLER                     159\n\n    (_Lane, Note to Chapt. XIII. Anecdote of Jaafar el-Barmakee: p.\n                                404._)\n\n\n 28. ABU MOHAMMED HIGHT LAZYBONES                                  162\n\n    (_Lane, Chapt. XIV. Story of Aboo Mohammad the Lazy: p. 406._)\n\n\n 29. GENEROUS DEALING OF YAHYA BIN KHALID THE BARMECIDE WITH       179\n       MANSUR\n\n   (_Lane, Notes to Chapt. XIV. Anecdote of Yahya the Son of Khalid\n                        el-Barmakee: p. 427._)\n\n\n 30. GENEROUS DEALING OF YAHYA SON OF KHALID WITH A MAN WHO        181\n       FORGED A LETTER IN HIS NAME\n\n (_Lane, Notes to Chapt. XIV. Another Anecdote of the Same: p. 429._)\n\n\n 31. CALIPH AL-MAAMUN AND THE STRANGE SCHOLAR                      185\n\n   (_Lane, Notes to Chapt. XIV. Anecdote of El-Ma-moon and a Learned\n                            Man: p. 432._)\n\n\n 32. ALI SHAR AND ZUMURRUD                                         187\n\n     (_Lane, Chapt. XV. Story of \u2018Ale Sh\u00e9r and Zumurrud: p. 434._)\n\n\n 33. THE LOVES OF JUBAYR BIN UMAYR AND THE LADY BUDUR              228\n\n    (_Lane, Chapt. XVI. Story of Ibn Mansoor and the Lady Budur and\n           Jubeyr the Son of \u2018Omeyr esh-Sheyb\u00e1nee: p. 477._)\n\n\n 34. THE MAN OF AL-YAMAN AND HIS SIX SLAVE GIRLS                   245\n\n\n 35. HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE DAMSEL AND ABU NOWAS                  261\n\n\n 36. THE MAN WHO STOLE THE DISH OF GOLD WHEREIN THE DOG ATE        265\n\n     (_Lane, Notes to Chapt. XVI. Instances of the Vicissitudes of\n                          Fortune: p. 497._)\n\n\n 37. THE SHARPER OF ALEXANDRIA AND THE CHIEF OF POLICE             269\n\n (_Lane, Notes to Chapt. XVI. Hos\u00e1m ed-Deen the W\u00e1lee, and a Sharper:\n                               p. 501._)\n\n\n 38. AL-MALIK AL-NASIR AND THE THREE CHIEFS OF POLICE              271\n\n       (_Lane, Notes to Chapt. XVI. The Three W\u00e1lees: p. 502._)\n\n     _a._ STORY OF THE CHIEF OF THE NEW CAIRO POLICE              _ib._\n\n     _b._ STORY OF THE CHIEF OF THE BULAK POLICE                   273\n\n     _c._ STORY OF THE CHIEF OF THE OLD CAIRO POLICE               274\n\n\n 39. THE THIEF AND THE SHROFF                                      275\n\n  (_Lane, Notes to Chapt. XVI. The Money Changer and the Sharper: p.\n                                505._)\n\n\n 40. THE CHIEF OF THE KUS POLICE AND THE SHARPER                   276\n\n\n 41. IBRAHIM BIN AL-MAHDI AND THE MERCHANT\u2019S SISTER                278\n\n     (_Lane, Notes to Chapt. XVI. Anecdote of Ibr\u00e1heem the Son of\n                         el-Mahdee: p. 506._)\n\n\n 42. THE WOMAN WHOSE HANDS WERE CUT OFF FOR ALMS-GIVING            281\n\n    (_Lane, Notes to Chapt. XVI. Anecdote of a Charitable Woman: p.\n                                508._)\n\n\n 43. THE DEVOUT ISRAELITE                                          283\n\n  (_Lane, Notes to Chapt. XVI. Anecdote of a Charitable Israelite: p.\n                                510._)\n\n\n 44. ABU HASSAN AL-ZIYADI AND THE KHORASAN MAN                     285\n\n (_Lane, Notes to Chapt. XVI. Anecdote of Hassan ez-Ziy\u00e1dee: p. 511._)\n\n\n 45. THE POOR MAN AND HIS FRIEND IN NEED                           288\n\n       (_Lane, Notes to Chapt. XVI. A Friend in Need: p. 513._)\n\n\n 46. THE RUINED MAN WHO BECAME RICH AGAIN THROUGH A DREAM          289\n\n            (_Lane, Notes to Chapt. XVI. A Dream: p. 514._)\n\n\n 47. CALIPH AL-MUTAWAKKIL AND HIS CONCUBINE MAHBUBAH               291\n\n  (_Lane, Notes to Chapt. XVI. El-Mutawekkil and Mahboobeh: p. 515._)\n\n\n 48. WARDAN THE BUTCHER\u2019S ADVENTURE WITH THE LADY AND THE BEAR     293\n\n\n 49. THE KING\u2019S DAUGHTER AND THE APE                               297\n\n\n\n\n           _NI\u2019AMAH BIN AL-RABI\u2019A AND NAOMI HIS SLAVE-GIRL._\n\n\nThere lived once in the city of Cufa[1] a man called Al-Rab\u00ed\u2019a bin\nH\u00e1tim, who was one of the chief men of the town, a wealthy and a\nhealthy, and Heaven had vouchsafed him a son, whom he named Ni\u2019amat\nAllah.[2] One day, being in the slave-brokers\u2019 mart, he saw a woman\nexposed for sale with a little maid of wonderful beauty and grace on her\narm. So he beckoned to the broker and asked him, \u201cHow much for this\nwoman and her daughter?\u201d He answered \u201cFifty dinars.\u201d Quoth Al-Rabi\u2019a\n\u201cWrite the contract of sale and take the money and give it to her\nowner.\u201d Then he gave the broker the price and his brokerage and taking\nthe woman and her child, carried them to his house. Now when the\ndaughter of his uncle who was his wife saw the slave, she said to her\nhusband, \u201cO my cousin, what is this damsel?\u201d He replied, \u201cOf a truth, I\nbought her for the sake of the little one on her arm; for know that,\nwhen she groweth up, there will not be her like for beauty, either in\nthe land of the Arabs or the Ajams.\u201d His wife remarked, \u201cRight was thy\nrede\u201d; and said to the woman, \u201cWhat is thy name?\u201d She replied, \u201cO my\nlady, my name is Tauf\u00edk.[3]\u201d \u201cAnd what is thy daughter\u2019s name?\u201d asked\nshe. Answered the slave, \u201cSa\u2019ad, the happy.\u201d Rejoined her mistress,\n\u201cThou sayst sooth, thou art indeed happy, and happy is he who hath\nbought thee.\u201d Then quoth she to her husband, \u201cO my cousin, what wilt\nthou call her?\u201d; and quoth he, \u201cWhatso thou choosest\u201d; so she, \u201cThen let\nus call her Naomi;\u201d and he rejoined, \u201cGood is thy device.\u201d The little\nNaomi was reared with Al-Rabi\u2019a\u2019s son Ni\u2019amat in one cradle, so to\nspeak, till the twain reached the age of ten and each grew handsomer\nthan the other; and the boy used to address her, \u201cO my sister!\u201d and she,\n\u201cO my brother!\u201d, till they came to that age when Al-Rabi\u2019a said to\nNi\u2019amah, \u201cO my son, Naomi is not thy sister but thy slave. I bought her\nin thy name whilst thou wast yet in the cradle; so call her no more\nsister from this day forth.\u201d Quoth Ni\u2019amah, \u201cIf that be so, I will take\nher to wife.\u201d Then he went to his mother and told her of this, and she\nsaid to him, \u201cO my son, she is thy handmaid.\u201d So he wedded and went in\nunto Naomi and loved her; and two[4] years passed over them whilst in\nthis condition, nor was there in all Cufa a fairer girl than Naomi, or a\nsweeter or a more graceful. As she grew up she learnt the Koran and read\nworks of science and excelled in music and playing upon all kinds of\ninstruments; and in the beauty of her singing she surpassed all the folk\nof her time. Now one day, as she sat with her husband in the\nwine-chamber, she took the lute, tightened the strings, and sang these\ntwo couplets:\u2014\n\n While thou\u2019rt my lord whose bounty\u2019s my estate, \u273f A sword whereby my\n    woes to annihilate,\n Recourse I never need to Amru or Zayd,[5] \u273f Nor aught save thee if way\n    to me grow strait!\n\nNi\u2019amah was charmed with these verses and said to her, \u201cBy my life, O\nNaomi, sing to us with the tambourine and other instruments!\u201d So she\nsang these couplets to a lively measure:\u2014\n\n By His life who holds my guiding-rein, I swear \u273f I\u2019ll meet on\n    love-ground parlous foe nor care:\n Good sooth I\u2019ll vex revilers, thee obey \u273f And quit my slumbers and all\n    joy forswear:\n And for thy love I\u2019ll dig in vitals mine \u273f A grave, nor shall my vitals\n    weet \u2018tis there!\n\nAnd Ni\u2019amah exclaimed, \u201cHeaven favoured art thou, O Naomi!\u201d But whilst\nthey led thus the most joyous life, behold! Al-Hajj\u00e1j,[6] the Viceroy of\nCufa said to himself, \u201cNeeds must I contrive to take this girl named\nNaomi and send her to the Commander of the Faithful, Abd al-Malik bin\nMarw\u00e1n, for he hath not in his palace her like for beauty and sweet\nsinging.\u201d So he summoned an old woman of the duennas of his wives and\nsaid to her, \u201cGo to the house of Al-Rabi\u2019a and foregather with the girl\nNaomi and combine means to carry her off; for her like is not to be\nfound on the face of the earth.\u201d She promised to do his bidding; so next\nmorning she donned the woollen clothes of a devotee and hung around her\nneck a rosary of beads by the thousand; and, hending in hand a staff and\na leather water-bottle of Yamani manufacture,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the old woman\npromised to do the bidding of Al-Hajjaj, and whenas it was morning she\ndonned the woollen clothes of a devotee[7] and hung around her neck a\nrosary of beads by the thousand and hent in hand a staff and a leather\nwater-bottle of Yamani manufacture and fared forth crying, \u201cGlory be to\nAllah! Praised be Allah! There is no god but _the_ God! Allah is Most\nGreat! There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the\nGlorious, the Great!\u201d Nor did she leave off her lauds and her groaning\nin prayer whilst her heart was full of guile and wiles, till she came to\nthe house of Ni\u2019amah bin al-Rabi\u2019a at the hour of noon-prayer, and\nknocked at the door. The doorkeeper opened and said to her, \u201cWhat dost\nthou want?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cI am a poor pious woman, whom the time of\nnoon-prayer hath overtaken, and lief would I pray in this blessed\nplace.\u201d Answered the porter, \u201cO old woman, this is no mosque nor\noratory, but the house of Ni\u2019amah son of al-Rabi\u2019a.\u201d She replied, \u201cI\nknow there is neither cathedral-mosque nor oratory like the house of\nNi\u2019amah bin al-Rabi\u2019a. I am a chamberwoman of the palace of the Prince\nof True Believers and am come out for worship and the visitation of Holy\nPlaces.\u201d But the porter rejoined, \u201cThou canst not enter;\u201d and many words\npassed between them, till at last she caught hold and hung to him\nsaying, \u201cShall the like of me be denied admission to the house of\nNi\u2019amah bin al-Rabi\u2019a, I who have free access to the houses of Emirs and\nGrandees?\u201d Anon, out came Ni\u2019amah and, hearing their loud language,\nlaughed and bade the old woman enter after him. So she followed him into\nthe presence of Naomi, whom she saluted after the godliest and goodliest\nfashion, and, when she looked on her, she was confounded at her\nexceeding seemlihead and said to her, \u201cO my lady, I commend thee to the\nsafeguard of Allah, who made thee and thy lord fellows in beauty and\nloveliness!\u201d Then she stood up in the prayer-niche and betook herself to\ninclination and prostration and prayer, till day departed and night\ndarkened and starkened, when Naomi said to her, \u201cO my mother, rest thy\nlegs and feet awhile.\u201d Replied the old woman, \u201cO my lady, whoso seeketh\nthe world to come let him weary him in this world, and whoso wearieth\nnot himself in this world shall not attain the dwellings of the just in\nthe world to come.\u201d Then Naomi brought her food and said to her, \u201cEat of\nmy bread and pray Heaven to accept my penitence and to have mercy on\nme.\u201d But she cried, \u201cO my lady, I am fasting. As for thee, thou art but\na girl and it besitteth thee to eat and drink and make merry; Allah be\nindulgent to thee!; for the Almighty saith:\u2014All shall be punished except\nhim who shall repent and believe and shall work a righteous work.\u201d[8] So\nNaomi continued sitting with the old woman in talk and presently said to\nNi\u2019amah, \u201cO my lord, conjure this ancient dame to sojourn with us\nawhile, for piety and devotion are imprinted on her countenance.\u201d Quoth\nhe, \u201cSet apart for her a chamber where she may say her prayers; and\nsuffer no one to go in to her: peradventure, Allah (extolled and exalted\nbe He!) shall prosper us by the blessing of her presence and never\nseparate us.\u201d So the old woman passed her night in praying and reciting\nthe Koran; and when Allah caused the morn to dawn, she went in to\nNi\u2019amah and Naomi and, giving them good morning, said to them, \u201cI pray\nAllah have you in His holy keeping!\u201d Quoth Naomi, \u201cWhither away, O my\nmother? My lord hath bidden me set apart for thee a chamber, where thou\nmayst seclude thee for thy devotions.\u201d Replied the old woman, \u201cAllah\ngive him long life, and continue His favour to you both! But I would\nhave you charge the doorkeeper not to stay my coming in to you; and,\nInshallah! I will go the round of the Holy Places and pray for you two\nat the end of my devotions every day and night.\u201d Then she went out\n(whilst Naomi wept for parting with her knowing not the cause of her\ncoming), and returned to Al-Hajjaj who said to her, \u201cAn thou do my\nbidding soon, thou shalt have of me abundant good.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cI ask of\nthee a full month;\u201d and quoth he \u201cTake the month.\u201d Thereupon the old hag\nfell to daily visiting Ni\u2019amah\u2019s house and frequented his slave-wife,\nNaomi;\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the old hag fell\nto visiting daily Ni\u2019amah\u2019s house and frequenting his slave-wife, Naomi;\nand both ceased not to honour her, and she used to go in to them morning\nand evening and all in the house respected her till, one day, being\nalone with Naomi, she said to her, \u201cO my lady! by Allah, when I go to\nthe Holy Places, I will pray for thee; and I only wish thou wert with\nme, that thou mightest look on the Elders of the Faith who resort\nthither, and they should pray for thee, according to thy desire.\u201d Naomi\ncried, \u201cI conjure thee by Allah take me with thee!\u201d; and she replied,\n\u201cAsk leave of thy mother-in-law, and I will take thee.\u201d So Naomi said to\nher husband\u2019s mother, \u201cO my lady, ask my master to let us go forth, me\nand thee, one day with this my old mother, to prayer and worship with\nthe Fakirs in the Holy Places.\u201d Now when Ni\u2019amah came in and sat down,\nthe old woman went up to him and would have kissed his hand, but he\nforbade her; so she invoked blessings[9] on him and left the house. Next\nday she came again, in the absence of Ni\u2019amah, and she addressed Naomi,\nsaying, \u201cWe prayed for thee yesterday; but arise now and divert thyself\nand return ere thy lord come home.\u201d So Naomi said to her mother-in-law,\n\u201cI beseech thee, for Allah\u2019s sake, give me leave to go with this pious\nwoman, that I may sight the saints of Allah in the Holy Places, and\nreturn speedily ere my lord come back.\u201d Quoth Ni\u2019amah\u2019s mother, \u201cI fear\nlest thy lord know;\u201d but said the old woman, \u201cBy Allah, I will not let\nher take seat on the floor; no, she shall look, standing on her feet,\nand not tarry.\u201d So she took the damsel by guile and, carrying her to\nAl-Hajjaj\u2019s palace, told him of her coming, after placing her in a\nlonely chamber; whereupon he went in to her and, looking upon her, saw\nher to be the loveliest of the people of the day, never had he beheld\nher like. Now when Naomi caught sight of him she veiled her face from\nhim; but he left her not till he had called his Chamberlain, whom he\ncommanded to take fifty horsemen; and he bade him mount the damsel on a\nswift dromedary, and bear her to Damascus and there deliver her to the\nCommander of the Faithful, Abd al-Malik bin Marwan. Moreover, he gave\nhim a letter for the Caliph, saying, \u201cBear him this letter and bring me\nhis answer and hasten thy return to me.\u201d So the Chamberlain, without\nlosing time, took the damsel (and she tearful for separation from her\nlord) and, setting out with her on a dromedary, gave not over journeying\ntill he reached Damascus. There he sought audience of the Commander of\nthe Faithful and, when it was granted, the Chamberlain delivered the\ndamsel and reported the circumstance. The Caliph appointed her a\nseparate apartment and going into his Harim, said to his wife,\n\u201cAl-Hajjaj hath bought me a slave-girl of the daughters of the Kings of\nCufa[10] for ten thousand dinars, and hath sent me this letter.\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n          Now when it was the Two Hundred and Fortieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Caliph\nacquainted his wife with the story of the slave-girl, she said to him,\n\u201cAllah increase to thee His favour!\u201d Then the Caliph\u2019s sister went in to\nthe supposed slave-girl and, when she saw her, she said, \u201cBy Allah, not\nunlucky is the man who hath thee in his house, were thy cost an hundred\nthousand dinars!\u201d And Naomi replied, \u201cO fair of face, what King\u2019s palace\nis this, and what is the city?\u201d She answered, \u201cThis is the city of\nDamascus, and this is the palace of my brother, the Commander of the\nFaithful, Abd al-Malik bin Marwan.[11]\u201d Then she resumed, \u201cDidst thou\nnot know all this?\u201d Naomi said, \u201cBy Allah, O my lady, I had no knowledge\nof it!\u201d; when the other asked, \u201cAnd he who sold thee and took thy price\ndid he not tell thee that the Caliph had bought thee?\u201d Now when Naomi\nheard these words, she shed tears and said to herself, \u201cVerily, I have\nbeen tricked and the trick hath succeeded,\u201d adding to herself, \u201cIf I\nspeak, none will credit me; so I will hold my peace and take patience,\nfor I know that the relief of Allah is near.\u201d Then she bent her head for\nshame, and indeed her cheeks were tanned by the journey and the sun. So\nthe Caliph\u2019s sister left her that day and returned to her on the morrow\nwith clothes and necklaces of jewels, and dressed her; after which the\nCaliph came in to her and sat down by her side, and his sister said to\nhim, \u201cLook on this handmaid in whom Allah hath conjoined every\nperfection of beauty and loveliness.\u201d So he said to Naomi, \u201cDraw back\nthe veil from thy face;\u201d but she would not unveil, and he beheld not her\nface. However, he saw her wrists and love of her entered his heart; and\nhe said to his sister, \u201cI will not go in unto her for three days, till\nshe be cheered by thy converse.\u201d Then he arose and left her, but Naomi\nceased not to brood over her case and sigh for her separation from her\nmaster, Ni\u2019amah, till she fell sick of a fever during the night and ate\nnot nor drank; and her favour faded and her charms were changed. They\ntold the Caliph of this and her condition grieved him; so he visited her\nwith physicians and men of skill, but none could come at a cure for her.\nThis how it fared with her; but as regards Ni\u2019amah, when he returned\nhome he sat down on his bed and cried, \u201cHo, Naomi!\u201d But she answered\nnot; so he rose in haste and called out, yet none came to him, as all\nthe women in the house had hidden themselves for fear of him. Then he\nwent out to his mother, whom he found sitting with her cheek on her\nhand, and said to her, \u201cO my mother, where is Naomi?\u201d She answered, \u201cO\nmy son, she is with one who is worthier than I to be trusted with her,\nnamely, the devout old woman; she went forth with her to visit\ndevotionally the Fakirs and return.\u201d Quoth Ni\u2019amah, \u201cSince when hath\nthis been her habit and at what hour went she forth?\u201d Quoth his mother,\n\u201cShe went out early in the morning.\u201d He asked, \u201cAnd how camest thou to\ngive her leave for this?\u201d; and she answered, \u201cO my son, \u2018twas she\npersuaded me?\u201d \u201cThere is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah,\nthe Glorious, the Great!\u201d exclaimed Ni\u2019amah and, going forth from his\nhome in a state of distraction, he repaired to the Captain of the Watch\nto whom said he, \u201cDost thou play tricks upon me and steal my slave-girl\naway from my house? I will assuredly complain of thee to the Commander\nof the Faithful.\u201d Said the Chief of Police, \u201cWho hath taken her?\u201d and\nNi\u2019amah replied, \u201cAn old woman of such and such a mien, clad in woollen\nraiment and carrying a rosary of beads numbered by thousands.\u201d Rejoined\nthe other, \u201cFind me the old woman and I will get thee back thy\nslave-girl.\u201d \u201cAnd who knows the old woman?\u201d retorted Ni\u2019amah. \u201cAnd who\nknows the hidden things save Allah (may He be extolled and exalted!)?\u201d\ncried the Chief, who knew her for Al-Hajjaj\u2019s procuress. Cried Ni\u2019amah,\n\u201cI look to thee for my slave-girl, and Al-Hajjaj shall judge between\nthee and me;\u201d and the Master of Police answered, \u201cGo to whom thou wilt.\u201d\nSo Ni\u2019amah went to the palace of Al-Hajjaj, for his father was one of\nthe chief men of Cufa; and, when he arrived there, the Chamberlain went\nin to the Governor and told him the case; whereupon Al-Hajjaj said,\n\u201cHither with him!\u201d and when he stood before him enquired, \u201cWhat be thy\nbusiness?\u201d Said Ni\u2019amah, \u201cSuch and such things have befallen me;\u201d and\nthe Governor said, \u201cBring me the Chief of Police, and we will command\nhim to seek for the old woman.\u201d Now he knew that the Chief of Police was\nacquainted with her; so, when he came, he said to him, \u201cI wish thee to\nmake search for the slave-girl of Ni\u2019amah son of Al-Rabi\u2019a.\u201d And he\nanswered, \u201cNone knoweth the hidden things save Almighty Allah.\u201d Rejoined\nAl-Hajjaj, \u201cThere is no help for it but thou send out horsemen and look\nfor the damsel in all the roads, and seek for her in the towns.\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n         Now when it was the Two Hundred and Forty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Al-Hajjaj said to\nthe Captain of the watch, \u201cThere is no help for it but thou send out\nhorsemen, and look for the damsel on all the roads and seek for her in\nthe towns.\u201d Then he turned to Ni\u2019amah and said to him, \u201cAn thy\nslave-girl return not, I will give thee ten slave-girls from my house\nand ten from that of the Chief of Police.\u201d And he again bade the Captain\nof the Watch, \u201cGo and seek for the girl.\u201d So he went out, and Ni\u2019amah\nreturned home full of trouble and despairing of life; for he had now\nreached the age of fourteen and there was yet no hair on his\nside-cheeks. So he wept and lamented and shut himself up from his\nhousehold; and ceased not to weep and lament, he and his mother, till\nthe morning, when his father came in to him and said, \u201cO my son, of a\ntruth, Al-Hajjaj hath put a cheat upon the damsel and hath taken her;\nbut from hour to hour Allah giveth relief.\u201d However grief redoubled on\nNi\u2019amah, so that he knew not what he said nor knew he who came in to\nhim, and he fell sick for three months; his charms were changed, his\nfather despaired of him and the physicians visited him and said, \u201cThere\nis no remedy for him save the damsel.\u201d Now as his father was sitting one\nday, behold, he heard tell of a skilful Persian physician, whom the folk\ngave out for perfect in medicine and astrology and geomancy. So\nAl-Rabi\u2019a sent for him and, seating him by his side, entreated him with\nhonour and said to him, \u201cLook into my son\u2019s case.\u201d Thereupon quoth he to\nNi\u2019amah, \u201cGive me thy hand.\u201d The young man gave him his hand and he felt\nhis pulse and his joints and looked in his face; then he laughed and,\nturning to his father, said, \u201cThy son\u2019s sole ailment is one of the\nheart.\u201d[12] He replied, \u201cThou sayest sooth, O sage, but apply thy skill\nto his state and case, and acquaint me with the whole thereof and hide\nnaught from me of his condition.\u201d Quoth the Persian, \u201cOf a truth he is\nenamoured of a slave-girl and this slave-girl is either in Bassorah or\nDamascus; and there is no remedy for him but reunion with her.\u201d Said\nAl-Rabi\u2019a, \u201cAn thou bring them together, thou shalt live all thy life in\nwealth and delight.\u201d Answered the Persian, \u201cIn good sooth this be an\neasy matter and soon brought about;\u201d and he turned to Ni\u2019amah and said\nto him, \u201cNo hurt shall befal thee; so be of good cheer and keep thine\neyes cool and clear.\u201d Then quoth he to Al-Rabi\u2019a, \u201cBring me out four\nthousand dinars of your money;\u201d so he gave them to him, and he added, \u201cI\nwish to carry thy son with me to Damascus; and Almighty Allah willing, I\nwill not return thence but with the damsel.\u201d Then he turned to the youth\nand asked, \u201cWhat is thy name?\u201d; and he answered \u201cNi\u2019amah.\u201d Quoth the\nPersian, \u201cO Ni\u2019amah, sit up and be of good heart, for Allah will reunite\nthee with the damsel.\u201d And when he sat up the leach continued, \u201cBe of\ngood cheer for we set out for Damascus this very day: put thy trust in\nthe Lord, and eat and drink and be cheerful so as to fortify thyself for\ntravel.\u201d Upon this the Persian began making preparation of all things\nneeded, such as presents and rarities; and he took of Al-Rabi\u2019a in all\nthe sum of ten thousand dinars, together with horses and camels and\nbeasts of burden and other requisites. Then Ni\u2019amah farewelled his\nfather and mother and journeyed with the physician to Aleppo. They could\nfind no news of Naomi there, so they fared on to Damascus, where they\nabode three days, after which the Persian took a shop and he adorned\neven the shelves with vessels of costly porcelain, with covers of\nsilver, and with gildings and stuffs of price. Moreover, he set before\nhimself vases and flagons of glass full of all manner of ointments and\nsyrups, and he surrounded them with cups of crystal and, placing\nastrolabe and geomantic tablet facing him, he donned a physician\u2019s habit\nand took his seat in the shop. Then he set Ni\u2019amah standing before him\nclad in a shirt and gown of silk and, girding his middle with a silken\nkerchief gold-embroidered, said to him, \u201cO Ni\u2019amah, henceforth thou art\nmy son; so call me naught but sire, and I will call thee naught but\nson.\u201d And he replied, \u201cI hear and I obey.\u201d Thereupon the people of\nDamascus flocked to the Persian\u2019s shop that they might gaze on the\nyouth\u2019s goodliness and the beauty of the shop and its contents, whilst\nthe physician spoke to Ni\u2019amah in Persian and he answered him in the\nsame tongue, for he knew the language, after the wont of the sons of the\nnotables. So that Persian doctor soon became known among the townsfolk\nand they began to acquaint him with their ailments, and he to prescribe\nfor them remedies. Moreover, they brought him the water of the sick in\nphials,[13] and he would test it and say, \u201cHe, whose water this is, is\nsuffering from such and such a disease,\u201d and the patient would declare,\n\u201cVerily this physician sayeth sooth.\u201d So he continued to do the\noccasions of the folk and they to flock to him, till his fame spread\nthroughout the city and into the houses of the great. Now, one day as he\nsat in his shop, behold, there came up an old woman riding on an ass\nwith a stuffed saddle of brocade embroidered with jewels; and, stopping\nbefore the Persian\u2019s shop, drew rein and beckoned him, saying, \u201cTake my\nhand.\u201d He took her hand, and she alighted and asked him, \u201cArt thou the\nPersian physician from Irak?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d answered he, and she said, \u201cKnow\nthat I have a sick daughter.\u201d Then she brought out to him a phial and\nthe Persian looked at it and said to her, \u201cO my mistress, tell me thy\ndaughter\u2019s name, that I may calculate her horoscope and learn the hour\nin which it will befit her to drink medicine.\u201d She replied, \u201cO my\nbrother the Persian,[14] her name is Naomi.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Forty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Persian\nheard the name of Naomi, he fell to calculating and writing on his hand\nand presently said, \u201cO my lady, I cannot prescribe a medicine for her\ntill I know what country woman she is, because of the difference of\nclimate: so tell me in what land she was brought up and what is her\nage.\u201d The old woman replied, \u201cShe is fourteen years old and she was\nbrought up in Cufa of Irak.\u201d He asked, \u201cAnd how long hath she sojourned\nin this country?\u201d \u201cBut a few months,\u201d answered she. Now when Ni\u2019amah\nheard the old woman\u2019s words and recognised the name of his slave-girl,\nhis heart fluttered and he was like to faint. Then said the Persian,\n\u201cSuch and such medicines will suit her case;\u201d and the old woman\nrejoined, \u201cThen make them up and give me what thou hast mentioned, with\nthe blessing of Almighty Allah.\u201d So saying, she threw upon the\nshop-board ten gold pieces; and he looked at Ni\u2019amah and bade him\nprepare the necessary drugs; whereupon she also looked at the youth and\nexclaimed, \u201cAllah have thee in his keeping, O my son! Verily, she\nfavoureth thee in age and mien.\u201d Then said she to the physician, \u201cO my\nbrother the Persian, is this thy slave or thy son?\u201d \u201cHe is my son,\u201d\nanswered he. So Ni\u2019amah put up the medicine and, placing it in a little\nbox, took a piece of paper and wrote thereon these two couplets:[15]\u2014\n\n If Naomi bless me with a single glance, \u273f Let Su\u2019ad\u00e1 sue and Juml joy to\n    pet:\n They said, \u201cForget her: twenty such thou\u2019lt find.\u201d \u273f But none is like\n    her\u2014I will _not_ forget!\n\nHe pressed the paper into the box and, sealing it up, wrote upon the\ncover the following words in Cufic character, \u201cI am Ni\u2019amah son of\nal-Rabi\u2019a of Cufa.\u201d Then he set it before the old woman who took it and\nbade them farewell and returned to the Caliph\u2019s palace; and when she\nwent up with the drugs to the damsel she placed the little box of\nmedicine at her feet, saying, \u201cO my lady, know that there is lately come\nto our town a Persian physician, than whom I never saw a more skilful\nnor a better versed in matters of malady. I told him thy name, after\nshowing him the water-bottle, and forthwith he knew thine ailment and\nprescribed a remedy. Then he bade his son make thee up this medicine;\nand there is not in Damascus a comelier or a seemlier youth than this\nlad of his, nor hath anyone a shop the like of his shop.\u201d So Naomi took\nthe box and, seeing the names of her lord and his father written on the\ncover, changed colour and said to herself, \u201cDoubtless, the owner of this\nshop is come in search of me.\u201d So she said to the old woman, \u201cDescribe\nto me this youth.\u201d Answered the old woman, \u201cHis name is Ni\u2019amah, he hath\na mole on his right eyebrow, is richly clad and is perfectly handsome.\u201d\nCried Naomi, \u201cGive me the medicine, whereon be the blessing and help of\nAlmighty Allah!\u201d So she drank off the potion (and she laughing) and\nsaid, \u201cIndeed, it is a blessed medicine!\u201d Then she sought in the box\nand, finding the paper, opened it, read it, understood it and knew that\nthis was indeed her lord, whereat her heart was solaced and she\nrejoiced. Now when the old woman saw her laughing, she exclaimed, \u201cThis\nis indeed a blessed day!\u201d; and Naomi said, \u201cO nurse, I have a mind for\nsomething to eat and drink.\u201d The old woman said to the serving-women,\n\u201cBring a tray of dainty viands for your mistress\u201d; whereupon they set\nfood before her and she sat down to eat. And behold in came the Caliph\nwho, seeing her sitting at meat, rejoiced; and the old woman said to\nhim, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, I give thee joy of thy handmaid\nNaomi\u2019s recovery! And the cause is that there is lately come to this our\ncity a physician than whom I never saw a better versed in diseases and\ntheir remedies. I fetched her medicine from him and she hath drunken of\nit but once and is restored to health.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cTake a thousand\ndinars and apply thyself to her treatment, till she be completely\nrecovered.\u201d And he went away, rejoicing in the damsel\u2019s recovery, whilst\nthe old woman betook herself to the Persian\u2019s house and delivered the\nthousand dinars, giving him to know that she was become the Caliph\u2019s\nslave and also handing him a letter which Naomi had written. He took it\nand gave the letter to Ni\u2019amah, who at first sight knew her hand and\nfell down in a swoon. When he revived he opened the letter and found\nthese words written therein: \u201cFrom the slave despoiled of her Ni\u2019amah,\nher delight; her whose reason hath been beguiled and who is parted from\nthe core of her heart. But afterwards. Of a truth thy letter hath\nreached me and hath broadened my breast, and solaced my soul, even as\nsaith the poet:\u2014\n\n Thy note came: long lost fingers wrote that note, \u273f Till drop they\n    sweetest scents for what they wrote:\n \u2018Twas Moses to his mother\u2019s arms restored; \u273f \u2018Twas Jacob\u2019s eye-sight\n    cured by Joseph\u2019s coat!\u201d[16]\n\nWhen Ni\u2019amah read these verses, his eyes ran over with tears and the old\nwoman said to him, \u201cWhat maketh thee to weep, O my son? Allah never\ncause thine eye to shed tears!\u201d Cried the Persian, \u201cO my lady, how\nshould my son not weep, seeing that this is his slave-girl and he her\nlord, Ni\u2019amah son of al-Rabi\u2019a of Cufa; and her health dependeth on her\nseeing him, for naught aileth her but loving him.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n         Now when it was the Two Hundred and Forty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Persian cried\nout to the old woman, \u201cHow shall my son not weep, seeing that this is\nhis slave-girl and he her lord, Ni\u2019amah son of al-Rabi\u2019a of Cufa; and\nthe health of this damsel dependeth on her seeing him and naught aileth\nher but loving him. So, do thou, O my lady, take these thousand dinars\nto thyself and thou shalt have of me yet more than this; only look on us\nwith eyes of ruth; for we know not how to bring this affair to a happy\nend save through thee.\u201d Then she said to Ni\u2019amah, \u201cSay, art thou indeed\nher lord?\u201d He replied, \u201cYes,\u201d and she rejoined, \u201cThou sayest sooth; for\nshe ceaseth not continually to name thee.\u201d Then he told her all that had\npassed from first to last, and she said, \u201cO youth, thou shalt owe thy\nreunion with her to none but myself.\u201d So she mounted and, at once\nreturning to Naomi, looked in her face and laughed saying, \u201cIt is just,\nO my daughter, that thou weep and fall sick for thy separation from thy\nmaster, Ni\u2019amah son of Al-Rabi\u2019a of Cufa.\u201d Quoth Naomi, \u201cVerily, the\nveil hath been withdrawn for thee and the truth revealed to thee.\u201d\nRejoined the old woman, \u201cBe of good cheer and take heart, for I will\nassuredly bring you together, though it cost me my life.\u201d Then she\nreturned to Ni\u2019amah and said to him, \u201cI went to thy slave-girl and\nconversed with her, and I find that she longeth for thee yet more than\nthou for her; for although the Commander of the Faithful is minded to\nbecome intimate with her, she refuseth herself to him. But if thou be\nstout of purpose and firm of heart, I will bring you together and\nventure my life for you, and play some trick and make shift to carry\nthee into the Caliph\u2019s palace, where thou shalt meet her, for she cannot\ncome forth.\u201d And Ni\u2019amah answered, \u201cAllah requite thee with good!\u201d Then\nshe took leave of him and went back to Naomi and said, \u201cThy lord is\nindeed dying of love for thee and would fain see thee and foregather\nwith thee. What sayest thou?\u201d Naomi replied, \u201cAnd I too am longing for\nhis sight and dying for his love.\u201d Whereupon the old woman took a parcel\nof women\u2019s clothes and ornaments and, repairing to Ni\u2019amah, said to him,\n\u201cCome with me into some place apart.\u201d So he brought her into the room\nbehind the shop where she stained his hands and decked his wrists and\nplaited his hair, after which she clad him in a slave-girl\u2019s habit and\nadorned him after the fairest fashion of woman\u2019s adornment, till he was\nas one of the Houris of the Garden of Heaven, and when she saw him thus\nshe exclaimed, \u201cBlessed be Allah, best of Creators! By Allah, thou art\nhandsomer than the damsel.[17] Now, walk with thy left shoulder forwards\nand thy right well behind, and sway thy hips from side to side.\u201d[18] So\nhe walked before her, as she bade him; and, when she saw he had caught\nthe trick of woman\u2019s gait, she said to him, \u201cExpect me to-morrow night,\nand Allah willing, I will take and carry thee to the palace. But when\nthou seest the Chamberlains and the Eunuchs be bold, and bow thy head\nand speak not with any, for I will prevent their speech; and with Allah\nis success!\u201d Accordingly, when the morning dawned, she returned and,\ncarrying him to the palace, entered before him and he after her step by\nstep. The Chamberlain would have stopped his entering, but the old woman\nsaid to him, \u201cO most ill-omened of slaves, this is the handmaid of\nNaomi, the Caliph\u2019s favourite. How durst thou stay her when she would\nenter?\u201d Then said she, \u201cCome in, O damsel!\u201d; and the old woman went in\nand they ceased not faring on, till they drew near the door leading to\nthe inner piazza of the palace, when she said to him, \u201cO Ni\u2019amah,\nhearten thyself and take courage and enter and turn to the left: then\ncount five doors and pass through the sixth, for it is that of the place\nprepared for thee. Fear nothing, and if any speak to thee, answer not\nneither stop.\u201d Then she went up with him to the door, and the\nChamberlain there on guard accosted her, saying, \u201cWhat damsel is\nthis?\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Forty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the\nChamberlain accosted the old woman, saying, \u201cWhat damsel is this?\u201d;\nquoth the ancient dame, \u201cOur lady hath a mind to buy her;\u201d and he\nrejoined, \u201cNone may enter save by leave of the Commander of the\nFaithful; so do thou go back with her. I cannot let her pass for thus am\nI commanded.\u201d Replied the old woman, \u201cO Chief Chamberlain, use thy\nreason. Thou knowest that Naomi, the Caliph\u2019s slave-girl, of whom he is\nenamoured, is but now restored to health and the Commander of the\nFaithful hardly yet crediteth her recovery. She is minded to buy this\nhandmaid; so oppose thou not her entrance, lest haply it come to Naomi\u2019s\nknowledge and she be wroth with thee and suffer a relapse and this cause\nthy head to be cut off.\u201d Then said she to Ni\u2019amah, \u201cEnter, O damsel; pay\nno heed to what he saith and tell not the Queen-consort that her\nChamberlain opposed thine entrance.\u201d So Ni\u2019amah bowed his head and\nentered the palace, and would have turned to the left, but mistook the\ndirection and walked to his right; and, meaning to count five doors and\nenter the sixth, he counted six and entering the seventh, found himself\nin a place whose floor was carpeted with brocade and whose walls were\nhung with curtains of gold-embroidered silk. And therein stood censers\nof aloes-wood and ambergris and strong-scented musk, and at the upper\nend was a couch bespread with cloth of gold on which he seated himself,\nmarvelling at the magnificence he saw and knowing not what was written\nfor him in the Secret Purpose. As he sat musing on his case, the\nCaliph\u2019s sister, followed by her handmaid, came in upon him; and, seeing\nthe youth seated there took him for a slave-girl and accosted him and\nsaid, \u201cWho art thou O damsel? and what is thy case and who brought thee\nhither?\u201d He made no reply, and was silent, when she continued, \u201cO\ndamsel! if thou be one of my brother\u2019s concubines and he be wroth with\nthee, I will intercede with him for thee and get thee grace.\u201d But he\nanswered her not a word; so she said to her slave-girl, \u201cStand at the\ndoor and let none enter.\u201d Then she went up to Ni\u2019amah and looking at him\nwas amazed at his beauty and said to him, \u201cO lady, tell me who thou art\nand what is thy name and how thou camest here; for I have never seen\nthee in our palace.\u201d Still he answered not, whereat she was angered and,\nputting her hand to his bosom, found no breasts and would have unveiled\nhim, that she might know who he was; but he said to her, \u201cO my lady, I\nam thy slave and I cast myself on thy protection: do thou protect me.\u201d\nShe said, \u201cNo harm shall come to thee, but tell me who thou art and who\nbrought thee into this my apartment.\u201d Answered he, \u201cO Princess, I am\nknown as Ni\u2019amah bin al-Rabi\u2019a of Cufa and I have ventured my life for\nthe sake of my slave-girl Naomi, whom Al-Hajjaj took by sleight and sent\nhither.\u201d Said she, \u201cFear not: no harm shall befal thee;\u201d then, calling\nher maid, she said to her, \u201cGo to Naomi\u2019s chamber and send her to me.\u201d\nMeanwhile the old woman went to Naomi\u2019s bedroom and said to her, \u201cHath\nthy lord come to thee?\u201d \u201cNo, by Allah!\u201d answered Naomi, and the other\nsaid, \u201cBelike he hath gone astray and entered some chamber other than\nthine and lost himself.\u201d So Naomi cried, \u201cThere is no Majesty and there\nis no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Our last hour is\ncome and we are all lost.\u201d And while they were sitting and sadly enough\npondering their case, in came the Princess\u2019s handmaid and saluting Naomi\nsaid to her, \u201cMy lady biddeth thee to her banquet.\u201d \u201cI hear and I obey,\u201d\nanswered the damsel and the old woman said, \u201cBelike thy lord is with the\nCaliph\u2019s sister and the veil of secrecy hath been rent.\u201d So Naomi at\nonce sprang up and betook herself to the Princess, who said to her,\n\u201cHere is thy lord sitting with me; it seemeth he hath mistaken the\nplace; but, please Allah, neither thou nor he has any cause for fear.\u201d\nWhen Naomi heard these words, she took heart of grace and went up to\nNi\u2019amah; and her lord when he saw her\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n         Now when it was the Two Hundred and Forty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Ni\u2019amah saw\nhis handmaid Naomi, he rose to meet her and strained her to his bosom\nand both fell to the ground fainting. As soon as they came to\nthemselves, the Caliph\u2019s sister said to them, \u201cSit ye down and take we\ncounsel for your deliverance from this your strait.\u201d And they answered,\n\u201cO our lady, we hear and obey; it is thine to command.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cBy\nAllah, no harm shall befal you from us!\u201d Then she bade her handmaids\nbring meat and drink which was done, and they sat down and ate till they\nhad enough, after which they sat drinking. Then the cup went round\namongst them and their cares ceased from them; but Ni\u2019amah said, \u201cWould\nI knew how this will end.\u201d The Princess asked, \u201cO Ni\u2019amah, dost thou\nlove thy slave Naomi?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cOf a truth it is my passion\nfor her which hath brought me to this state of peril for my life.\u201d Then\nsaid she to the damsel, \u201cO Naomi, dost thou love thy lord Ni\u2019amah?\u201d; and\nshe replied, \u201cO my lady, it is the love of him which hath wasted my body\nand brought me to evil case.\u201d Rejoined the Princess, \u201cBy Allah, since ye\nlove each other thus, may he not be who would part you! Be of good cheer\nand keep your eyes cool and clear.\u201d At this they both rejoiced and Naomi\ncalled for a lute and, when they brought it, she took it and tuned it\nand played a lively measure which enchanted the hearers, and after the\nprelude sang these couplets:\u2014\n\n When the slanderers cared but to part us twain, \u273f We owed no blood-debt\n    could raise their ire;\n And they poured in our ears all the din of war, \u273f And aid failed and\n    friends, when my want was dire:\n I fought them hard with mine eyes and tears; \u273f With breath and sword,\n    with the stream and fire!\n\nThen Naomi gave the lute to her master, Ni\u2019amah, saying, \u201cSing thou to\nus some verse.\u201d So he took it and playing a lively measure, intoned\nthese couplets:\u2014\n\n Full Moon if unfreckled would favour thee, \u273f And Sun uneclipsed would\n    reflect thy blee:\n I wonder (but love is of wonders full \u273f And ardour and passion and\n    ecstasy)\n How short the way to my love I fare, \u273f Which, from her faring, so long I\n    see.\n\nNow when he had made an end of his song, Naomi filled the cup and gave\nit to him, and he took it and drank it off; then she filled again and\ngave the cup to the Caliph\u2019s sister who also emptied it; after which the\nPrincess in her turn took the lute and tightened the strings and tuned\nit and sang these two couplets:\u2014\n\n Grief, cark and care in my heart reside, \u273f And the fires of love in my\n    breast abide;\n My wasted form to all eyes shows clear; \u273f For Desire my body hath\n    mortified.\n\nThen she filled the cup and gave it to Naomi, who drank it off and\ntaking the lute, sang these two couplets:\u2014\n\n O to whom I gave soul which thou torturest, \u273f And in vain I\u2019d recover\n    from fair Unfaith,\n Do grant thy favours my care to cure \u273f Ere I die, for this be my latest\n    breath.\n\nAnd they ceased not to sing verses and drink to the sweet sound of the\nstrings, full of mirth and merriment and joy and jollity till behold, in\ncame the Commander of the Faithful. Now when they saw him, they rose and\nkissed the ground before him; and he, seeing Naomi with the lute in her\nhand, said to her, \u201cO Naomi, praised be Allah who hath done away from\nthee sickness and suffering!\u201d Then he looked at Ni\u2019amah (who was still\ndisguised as a woman), and said to the Princess, \u201cO my sister, what\ndamsel is this by Naomi\u2019s side?\u201d She replied, \u201cO Commander of the\nFaithful, thou hast here a handmaid, one of thy concubines and the bosom\nfriend of Naomi who will neither eat nor drink without her.\u201d And she\nrepeated the words of the poet:\u2014\n\n Two contraries, and both concur in opposite charms, \u273f And charms so\n    contraried by contrast lovelier show.\n\nQuoth the Caliph, \u201cBy Allah Omnipotent, verily she is as handsome as\nNaomi, and to-morrow I will appoint her a separate chamber beside that\nof her friend and send her furniture and stuffs and all that befitteth\nher, in honour of Naomi.\u201d Then the Princess called for food and set it\nbefore her brother, who ate and made himself at home in their place and\ncompany. Then filling a cup he signed to Naomi to sing; so she took the\nlute, after draining two of them and sang these two couplets:\u2014\n\n Since my toper-friend in my hand hath given \u273f Three cups that brim and\n    bubble, e\u2019er since\n I\u2019ve trailed my skirts throughout night for pride \u273f As tho\u2019, Prince of\n    the Faithful, I were thy Prince!\n\nThe Prince of True Believers was delighted and filling another cup, gave\nit to Naomi and bade her sing again; so after draining the cup and\nsweeping the strings, she sang as follows:\u2014\n\n O most noble of men in this time and stound, \u273f Of whom none may boast he\n    is equal found!\n O matchless in greatness of soul and gifts, \u273f O thou Chief, O thou King\n    amongst all renowned:\n Lord, who dealest large boons to the Lords of Earth, \u273f Whom thou vexest\n    not nor dost hold them bound;\n The Lord preserve thee, and spoil thy foes, \u273f And ne\u2019er cease thy lot\n    with good Fortune crowned!\n\nNow when the Caliph heard these couplets, he exclaimed, \u201cBy Allah, good!\nBy Allah, excellent! Verily the Lord hath been copious[19] to thee, O\nNaomi! How clever is thy tongue and how clear is thy speech!\u201d And they\nceased not their mirth and good cheer till midnight, when the Caliph\u2019s\nsister said to him, \u201cGive ear, O Commander of the Faithful to a tale I\nhave read in books of a certain man of rank.\u201d \u201cAnd what is this tale?\u201d\nquoth he. Quoth she \u201cKnow, O Prince of the Faithful that there lived\nonce in the city of Cufa a youth called Ni\u2019amah, son of Al-Rabi\u2019a, and\nhe had a slave-girl whom he loved and who loved him. They had been\nreared in one bed; but when they grew up and mutual love gat hold of\nthem, Fortune smote them with her calamities and Time, the tyrant,\nbrought upon them his adversity and decreed separation unto them.\nThereupon designing and slanderous folk enticed her by sleight forth of\nhis house and, stealing her away from his home, sold her to one of the\nKings for ten thousand dinars. Now the girl loved her lord even as he\nloved her; so he left kith and kin and house and home and the gifts of\nfortune, and set out to search for her and when she was found he devised\nmeans to gain access to her\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n         Now when it was the Two Hundred and Forty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph\u2019s\nsister said, \u201cAnd Ni\u2019amah ceased not absenting himself from his kith and\nkin and patrial stead, that he might gain access to his handmaid, and he\nincurred every peril and lavished his life till he gained access to her,\nand her name was Naomi, like this slave-girl. But the interview was\nshort; they had not been long in company when in came the King, who had\nbought her of her kidnapper, and hastily ordered them to be slain,\nwithout doing justice by his own soul and delaying to enquire into the\nmatter before the command was carried out. Now what sayest thou, O\nCommander of the Faithful, of this King\u2019s wrongous conduct?\u201d Answered\nthe Caliph; \u201cThis was indeed a strange thing: it behoved that King to\npardon when he had the power to punish; and he ought to have regarded\nthree things in their favour. The first was that they loved each other;\nthe second that they were in his house and in his grasp; and the third\nthat it befitteth a King to be deliberate in judging and ordering\nbetween folk, and how much more so in cases where he himself is\nconcerned! Wherefore this King thus did an unkingly deed.\u201d Then said his\nsister, \u201cO my brother, by the King of the heavens and the earth, I\nconjure thee, bid Naomi sing and hearken to that she shall sing!\u201d So he\nsaid, \u201cO Naomi, sing to me;\u201d whereupon she played a lively measure and\nsang these couplets:\u2014\n\n Beguiled us Fortune who her guile displays, \u273f Smiting the heart,\n    bequeathing thoughts that craze,\n And parting lovers whom she made to meet, \u273f Till tears in torrent either\n    cheek displays:\n They were and I was and my life was glad, \u273f While Fortune often joyed to\n    join our ways;\n I _will_ pour tear-flood, _will_ rain gouts of blood, \u273f Thy loss\n    bemoaning through the nights and days!\n\nNow when the Commander of the Faithful heard this verse, he was moved to\ngreat delight and his sister said to him, \u201cO my brother, whoso decideth\nin aught against himself, him it behoveth to abide by it and do\naccording to his word; and thou hast judged against thyself by this\njudgement.\u201d Then said she, \u201cO Ni\u2019amah, stand up and do thou likewise up\nstand, O Naomi!\u201d So they stood up and she continued, \u201cO Prince of True\nBelievers, she who standeth before thee is Naomi the stolen, whom\nAl-Hajjaj bin Yusuf al-Sakafi kidnapped and sent to thee, falsely\npretending in his letter to thee that he had bought her for ten thousand\ngold pieces. And this other who standeth before thee is her lord,\nNi\u2019amah, son of Al-Rabi\u2019a; and I beseech thee, by the honour of thy\npious forebears and by Hamzah and Ukayl and Abbas,[20] to pardon them\nboth and overlook their offence and bestow them one on the other, that\nthou mayst win rich reward in the next world of thy just dealing with\nthem; for they are under thy hand and verily they have eaten of thy meat\nand drunken of thy drink; and behold, I make intercession for them and\nbeg of thee the boon of their blood.\u201d Thereupon quoth the Caliph, \u201cThou\nspeakest sooth: I did indeed give judgement as thou sayst, and I am not\none to pass sentence and to revoke it.\u201d Then said he, \u201cO Naomi, say, be\nthis thy lord?\u201d And she answered, \u201cEven so, O Commander of the\nFaithful.\u201d Then quoth he, \u201cNo harm shall befal you, I give you each to\nother;\u201d adding to the young man, \u201cO Ni\u2019amah, who told thee where she was\nand taught thee how to get at this place?\u201d He replied, \u201cO Commander of\nthe Faithful, hearken to my tale and give ear to my history; for, by the\nvirtue of thy pious forefathers, I will hide nothing from thee!\u201d And he\ntold him all that had passed between himself and the Persian physician\nand the old nurse, and how she had brought him into the palace and he\nhad mistaken the doors; whereat the Caliph wondered with exceeding\nwonder and said, \u201cFetch me the Persian.\u201d So they brought him into the\npresence and he was made one of his chief officers. Moreover the King\nbestowed on him robes of honour and ordered him a handsome present,\nsaying, \u201cWhen a man hath shown like this man such artful management, it\nbehoveth us to make him one of our chief officers.\u201d The Caliph also\nloaded Ni\u2019amah and Naomi with gifts and honours and rewarded the old\nnurse; and they abode with him seven days in joy and content and all\ndelight of life, when Ni\u2019amah craved leave to return to Cufa with his\nslave-girl. The Caliph gave them permission and they departed and\narrived in due course at Cufa, where Ni\u2019amah was restored to his father\nand mother, and they abode in all the joys and jollities of life, till\nthere came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of\nsocieties. Now when Amjad and As\u2019ad heard from Bahram this story, they\nmarvelled with extreme marvel and said, \u201cBy Allah, this is indeed a rare\ntale!\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Forty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Amjad and\nAs\u2019ad heard this story from Bahram the Magian who had become a Moslem,\nthey marvelled with extreme marvel and thus passed that night; and when\nthe next morning dawned, they mounted and riding to the palace, sought\nan audience of the King who granted it and received them with high\nhonour. Now as they were sitting together talking, of a sudden they\nheard the townsfolk crying aloud and shouting to one another and calling\nfor help; and the Chamberlain came in to the King and said to him, \u201cSome\nKing hath encamped before the city, he and his host, with arms and\nweapons displayed, and we know not their object and aim.\u201d The King took\ncounsel with his Wazir Amjad and his brother As\u2019ad; and Amjad said, \u201cI\nwill go out to him and learn the cause of his coming.\u201d So he took horse\nand, riding forth from the city, repaired to the stranger\u2019s camp, where\nhe found the King and with him a mighty many and mounted Mamelukes. When\nthe guards saw him, they knew him for an envoy from the King of the\ncity; so they took him and brought him before their Sultan. Then Amjad\nkissed the ground before him; but lo! the King was a Queen, who was\nveiled with a mouth-veil, and she said to Amjad, \u201cKnow that I have no\ndesign on this your city and that I am come hither only in quest of a\nbeardless slave of mine, whom if I find with you, I will do you no harm;\nbut if I find him not, then shall there befal sore onslaught between me\nand you.\u201d Asked Amjad, \u201cO Queen, what like is thy slave and what is his\nstory and what may be his name?\u201d Said she, \u201cHis name is As\u2019ad and my\nname is Marjanah, and this slave came to my town in company of Bahram, a\nMagian, who refused to sell him to me; so I took him by force, but his\nmaster fell upon him by night and bore him away by stealth and he is of\nsuch and such a favour.\u201d When Amjad heard that, he knew it was indeed\nhis brother As\u2019ad whom she sought and said to her, \u201cO Queen of the age,\nAlhamdolillah, praised be Allah, who hath brought us relief! Verily this\nslave whom thou seekest is my brother.\u201d Then he told her their story and\nall that had befallen them in the land of exile, and acquainted her with\nthe cause of their departure from the Islands of Ebony, whereat she\nmarvelled and rejoiced to have found As\u2019ad. So she bestowed a dress of\nhonour upon Amjad, and he returned forthright to the King and told him\nwhat had passed, at which they all rejoiced and the King went forth with\nAmjad and As\u2019ad to meet Queen Marjanah. When they were admitted to her\npresence and sat down to converse with her and were thus pleasantly\nengaged, behold, a dust-cloud rose and flew and grew, till it walled the\nview. And after a while it lifted and showed beneath it an army dight\nfor victory, in numbers like the swelling sea, armed and armoured\ncap-\u00e0-pie who, making for the city, encompassed it around as the ring\nencompasseth the little finger;[21] and a bared brand was in every hand.\nWhen Amjad and As\u2019ad saw this, they exclaimed, \u201cVerily to Allah we\nbelong and to Him we shall return! What is this mighty host? Doubtless,\nthese are enemies, and except we agree with this Queen Marjanah to fight\nthem, they will take the town from us and slay us. There is no resource\nfor us but to go out to them and see who they are.\u201d So Amjad arose and\ntook horse and passed through the city-gate to Queen Marjanah\u2019s camp;\nbut when he reached the approaching army he found it to be that of his\ngrandsire, King Ghayur, father of his mother Queen Budur.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Amjad reached\nthe approaching host, he found it to be that of his grandsire, Lord of\nthe Isles and the Seas and the Seven Castles; and when he went into the\npresence, he kissed the ground between his hands and delivered to him\nthe message. Quoth the King, \u201cMy name is King Ghayur and I come\nwayfaring in quest of my daughter Budur whom fortune hath taken from me;\nfor she left me and returned not to me, nor have I heard any tidings of\nher or of her husband Kamar al-Zaman. Have ye any news of them?\u201d When\nAmjad heard this, he hung his head towards the ground for a while in\nthought till he felt assured that this King was none other than his\ngrandfather, his mother\u2019s father; whereupon he raised his head and,\nkissing ground before him, told him that he was the son of his daughter\nBudur; on hearing which Ghayur threw himself upon him and they both fell\na-weeping.[22] Then said Ghayur, \u201cPraised be Allah, O my son, for\nsafety, since I have foregathered with thee,\u201d and Amjad told him that\nhis daughter Budur was safe and sound, and her husband Kamar al-Zaman\nlikewise, and acquainted him that both abode in a city called the City\nof Ebony. Moreover, he related to him how his father, being wroth with\nhim and his brother, had commanded that both be put to death, but that\nhis treasurer had taken pity on them and let them go with their lives.\nQuoth King Ghayur, \u201cI will go back with thee and thy brother to your\nfather and make your peace with him.\u201d So Amjad kissed the ground before\nhim in huge delight and the King bestowed a dress of honour upon him,\nafter which he returned, smiling, to the King of the City of the Magians\nand told him what he had learnt from King Ghayur, whereat he wondered\nwith exceeding wonder. Then he despatched guest-gifts of sheep and\nhorses and camels and forage and so forth to King Ghayur, and did the\nlike by Queen Marjanah; and both of them told her what chanced;\nwhereupon quoth she, \u201cI too will accompany you with my troops and will\ndo my endeavour to make this peace.\u201d Meanwhile behold, there arose\nanother dust-cloud and flew and grew till it walled the view and\nblackened the day\u2019s bright hue; and under it they heard shouts and cries\nand neighing of steeds and beheld sword glance and the glint of levelled\nlance. When this new host drew near the city and saw the two other\narmies, they beat their drums and the King of the Magians exclaimed,\n\u201cThis is indeed naught but a blessed day. Praised be Allah who hath made\nus of accord with these two armies; and if it be His will, He shall give\nus peace with yon other as well.\u201d Then said he to Amjad and As\u2019ad, \u201cFare\nforth and fetch us news of these troops, for they are a mighty host,\nnever saw I a mightier.\u201d So they opened the city gates, which the King\nhad shut for fear of the beleaguering armies, and Amjad and As\u2019ad went\nforth and, coming to the new host, found that it was indeed a mighty\nmany. But as soon as they came to it behold, they knew that it was the\narmy of the King of the Ebony Islands, wherein was their father, King\nKamar al-Zaman in person. Now when they looked upon him, they kissed\nground and wept; but, when he beheld them, he threw himself upon them\nweeping, with sore weeping, and strained them to his breast for a full\nhour. Then he excused himself to them and told them what desolation he\nhad suffered for their loss and exile; and they acquainted him with King\nGhayur\u2019s arrival, whereupon he mounted with his chief officers and\ntaking with him his two sons, proceeded to that King\u2019s camp. As they\ndrew near, one of the Princes rode forward and informed King Ghayur of\nKamar al-Zaman\u2019s coming, whereupon he came out to meet him and they\njoined company, marvelling at these things and how they had chanced to\nforegather in that place. Then the townsfolk made them banquets of all\nmanner meats and sweetmeats and presented to them horses and camels and\nfodder and other guest-gifts and all that the troops needed. And while\nthis was doing, behold, yet another cloud of dust arose and flew till it\nwalled the view, whilst earth trembled with the tramp of steed and\ntabors sounded like stormy winds. After a while, the dust lifted and\ndiscovered an army clad in coats of mail and armed cap-\u00e0-pie; but all\nwere in black garb, and in their midst rode a very old man whose beard\nflowed down over his breast and he also was clad in black. When the King\nin the city and the city-folk saw this great host, he said to the other\nKings, \u201cPraised be Allah by whose omnipotent command ye are met here,\nall in one day, and have proved all known one to the other! But what\nvast and victorious army is this which hemmeth in the whole land like a\nwall?\u201d They answered, \u201cHave no fear of them; we are three Kings, each\nwith a great army, and if they be enemies, we will join thee in doing\nbattle with them, were they three times as many as they now are.\u201d\nMeanwhile, up came an envoy from the approaching host, making for the\ncity. So they brought him before Kamar al-Zaman, King Ghayur, Queen\nMarjanah and the King of the city; and he kissed the ground and said,\n\u201cMy liege lord cometh from Persia-land; for many years ago he lost his\nson and he is seeking him in all countries. If he find him with you,\nwell and good; but if he find him not, there will be war between him and\nyou and he will waste your city.\u201d Rejoined Kamar al-Zaman, \u201cIt shall not\ncome to that; but how is thy master called in Aiam land?\u201d Answered the\nenvoy, \u201cHe is called King Shahriman, lord of the Khalidan Islands; and\nhe hath levied these troops in the lands traversed by him, whilst\nseeking his son.\u201d Now when Kamar al-Zaman heard these words, he cried\nout with a great cry and fell down in a fainting fit which lasted a long\nwhile; and anon coming to himself he wept bitter tears and said to Amjad\nand As\u2019ad, \u201cGo ye, O my sons, with the herald, salute your grandfather\nand my father, King Shahriman, and give him glad tidings of me, for he\nmourneth my loss and even to the present time he weareth black raiment\nfor my sake.\u201d Then he told the other Kings all that had befallen him in\nthe days of his youth, at which they wondered and, going down with him\nfrom the city, repaired to his father, whom he saluted, and they\nembraced and fell to the ground senseless for excess of joy. And when\nthey revived after a while, Kamar al-Zaman acquainted his father with\nall his adventures and the other Kings saluted Shahriman. Then, after\nhaving married Marjanah to As\u2019ad, they sent her back to her kingdom,\ncharging her not to cease correspondence with them; so she took leave\nand went her way. Moreover they married Amjad to Bostan, Bahram\u2019s\ndaughter, and they all set out for the City of Ebony. And when they\narrived there, Kamar al-Zaman went in to his father-in-law, King\nArmanus, and told him all that had befallen him and how he had found his\nsons; whereat Armanus rejoiced and gave him joy of his safe return. Then\nKing Ghayur went in to his daughter, Queen Budur,[23] and saluted her\nand quenched his longing for her company, and they all abode a full\nmonth\u2019s space in the City of Ebony; after which the King and his\ndaughter returned to their own country.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n         Now when it was the Two Hundred and Forty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Ghayur set\nout with his daughter and his host for his own land, and they took with\nthem Amjad and returned home by easy marches. And when Ghayur was\nsettled again in his kingdom, he made his grandson King in his stead;\nand as to Kamar al-Zaman he also made As\u2019ad king in his room over the\ncapital of the Ebony Islands, with the consent of his grandfather, King\nArmanus and set out himself, with his father, King Shahriman, till the\ntwo made the Islands of Khalidan. Then the lieges decorated the city in\ntheir honour and they ceased not to beat the drums for glad tidings a\nwhole month; nor did Kamar al-Zaman leave to govern in his father\u2019s\nplace, till there overtook them the Destroyer of delights and the\nSunderer of societies; and Allah knoweth all things! Quoth King\nShahryar, \u201cO Shahrazad, this is indeed a most wonderful tale!\u201d And she\nanswered, \u201cO King, it is not more wonderful than that of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 1:\n\n  The name is indifferently derived from the red sand about the town or\n  the reeds and mud with which it was originally built. It was founded\n  by the Caliph Omar, when the old Capital Mad\u00e1in (Ctesiphon) opposite\n  was held unwholesome, on the West bank of the Euphrates, four days\u2019\n  march from Baghdad and has now disappeared. Al-Saff\u00e1h, the first\n  Abbaside, made it his Capital and it became a famous seat of Moslem\n  learning; the Kufi school of Arab Grammarians being as renowned as\n  their opponents, the Basri (of Bassorah). It gave a name to the\n  \u201cCufic\u201d characters which are, however, of much older date.\n\nFootnote 2:\n\n  \u201cNi\u2019amat\u201d = a blessing; and the word is perpetually occurring in\n  Moslem conversation, \u201cNi\u2019amatu \u2018ll\u00e1h\u201d (as pronounced) is also a\n  favourite P. N. and few Anglo-Indians of the Mutiny date will forget\n  the scandalous disclosures of Munshi Ni\u2019amatu \u2018llah, who had been sent\n  to England by Nana Sahib. Nu\u2019m = prosperity, good fortune, and a P. N.\n  like the Heb. \u201cNaomi.\u201d\n\nFootnote 3:\n\n  _i.e._ \u201ccausing to be prosperous\u201d; the name, corrupted by the Turks to\n  \u201cTevfik,\u201d is given to either sex, _e.g._ Taufik Pasha of Egypt, to\n  whose unprosperous rule and miserable career the signification\n  certainly does not apply.\n\nFootnote 4:\n\n  Lane (ii. 187) alters the two to four years.\n\nFootnote 5:\n\n  _i.e._ \u201cto Tom, Dick or Harry:\u201d the names like John Doe and Richard\n  Roe are used indefinitely in Arab. Grammar and Syntax. I have noted\n  that Amru is written and pronounced Amr: hence Amru, the Conqueror of\n  Egypt, when told by an astrologer that Jerusalem would be taken only\n  by a _trium literarum homo_, with three letters in his name, sent for\n  the Caliph Omar (Omr), to whom the so-called Holy City at once\n  capitulated. Hence also most probably, the tale of Bhurtpore and the\n  Lord Alligator (Kumbhir), who however did not change from Cotton to\n  Combermore for some time after the successful siege.\n\nFootnote 6:\n\n  Bin Y\u00fasuf al-Sakafi, a statesman and soldier of the seventh and eighth\n  centuries (A.D.). He was Governor of Al-Hijaz and Al-Irak under the\n  fifth and sixth Ommiades, and I have noticed his vigorous rule of the\n  Moslems\u2019 Holy Land in my Pilgrimage (iii. 194, etc.). He pulled down\n  the Ka\u2019abah and restored it to the condition in which it now is.\n  Al-Siyuti (p. 219) accuses him of having suborned a man to murder Ibn\n  Omar with a poisoned javelin, and of humiliating the Prophet\u2019s\n  companions by \u201csealing them in the necks and hands,\u201d that is he tied a\n  thong upon the neck of each and sealed the knot with lead. In Irak he\n  showed himself equally masterful; but an iron hand was required by the\n  revolutionists of Kufah and Basrah. He behaved like a good Knight in\n  rescuing the Moslem women who called upon his name when taken\n  prisoners by Dahir of Debal (Tath\u00e1 in Sind). Al-Hajjaj was not the\n  kind of man the Caliph would have chosen for a pander; but the Shi\u2019ahs\n  hated him and have given him a lasting bad name. In the East men\n  respect manly measures, not the hysterical, philanthropic\n  pseudo-humanitarianism of our modern government which is really the\n  cruellest of all. When Ziy\u00e1d bin Abihi was sent by Caliph Mu\u2019awiyah to\n  reform Bassorah, a den of thieves, he informed the lieges that he\n  intended to rule by the sword and advised all evil-doers to quit the\n  city. The people were forbidden, under pain of death, to walk the\n  streets after prayers; on the first night two hundred suffered; on the\n  second five and none afterwards. Compare this with our civilised rule\n  in Egypt where even bands of brigands, a phenomenon perfectly new and\n  unknown to this century, have started up, where crime has doubled in\n  quantity and quality, and where \u201cChristian rule\u201d has thoroughly\n  scandalised a Moslem land.\n\nFootnote 7:\n\n  The old bawd\u2019s portrait is admirably drawn: all we dwellers in the\n  East have known her well: she is so and so. Her dress and manners are\n  the same amongst the Hindus (see the hypocritical female ascetic in\n  the Katha p. 287) as amongst the Moslems; men of the world at once\n  recognise her and the prudent keep out of her way. She is found in the\n  cities of Southern Europe, ever pious, ever prayerful; and she seems\n  to do her work not so much for profit as for pure or impure enjoyment.\n  In the text her task was easy, as she had to do with a pair of\n  innocents.\n\nFootnote 8:\n\n  Koran, xxv. 70. I give Sale\u2019s version.\n\nFootnote 9:\n\n  Easterns, I have observed, have no way of saying \u201cThank you;\u201d they\n  express it by a blessing or a short prayer. They have a right to your\n  surplus: daily bread is divided, they say and, eating yours, they\n  consider it their own. I have discussed this matter in Pilgrimage i.\n  75-77, in opposition to those who declare that \u201cgratitude\u201d is unknown\n  to Moslems.\n\nFootnote 10:\n\n  Cufa (Kufah) being a modern place never had a \u201cKing,\u201d but as the Hindu\n  says, \u201cDelhi is far\u201d\u2014it is a far cry to Loch Awe. Here we can hardly\n  understand \u201cMalik\u201d as Governor or Viceroy: can it be syn. with Z\u00fa-m\u00e1l\n  (moneyed)?\n\nFootnote 11:\n\n  Abd al-Malik has been before mentioned as the \u201cSweat of a Stone,\u201d etc.\n  He died recommending Al-Hajjaj to his son, Al-Walid, and one of his\n  sayings is still remembered. \u201cHe who desireth to take a female slave\n  for carnal enjoyment, let him take a native of Barbary; if he need one\n  for the sake of children, let him have a Persian; and whoso desireth\n  one for service, let him take a Greek.\u201d Moderns say, \u201cIf you want a\n  brother (in arms) try a Nubian; one to get you wealth an Abyssinian\n  and if you want an ass (for labour) a S\u00e1wah\u00edli, or Zanzibar negroid.\u201d\n\nFootnote 12:\n\n  Probably suggested by the history of Antiochus and Stratonice, with an\n  addition of Eastern mystery such as geomancy.\n\nFootnote 13:\n\n  Arab. \u201cK\u00e1r\u00farah\u201d: the \u201cwater-doctor\u201d has always been an institution in\n  the East and he has lately revived in Europe\u2014especially at the German\n  baths and in London.\n\nFootnote 14:\n\n  Lane makes this phrase \u201cO brother of the Persians!\u201d synonymous with \u201cO\n  Persian!\u201d I think it means more, a Persian being generally considered\n  \u201ctoo clever by half.\u201d\n\nFootnote 15:\n\n  The verses deal in untranslatable word-plays upon women\u2019s names, Naomi\n  (the blessing) Su\u2019ad\u00e1 or Su\u2019\u00e1d (the happy, which Mr. Redhouse, in\n  Ka\u2019ab\u2019s Mantle-poem, happily renders Beatrice); and Juml (a sum or\n  total) the two latter, moreover, being here fictitious.\n\nFootnote 16:\n\n  \u201cAnd he (Jacob) turned from them, and said, \u2018O how I am grieved for\n  Joseph!\u2019 And his eyes became white with mourning.... (Quoth Joseph to\n  his brethren), \u2018Take this my inner garment and throw it on my father\u2019s\n  face and he shall recover his sight....\u2019 So, when the messenger of\n  good tidings came (to Jacob) he threw it (the shirt) over his face and\n  he recovered his eye-sight.\u201d\u2014Koran, xii. 84, 93, 96. The commentators,\n  by way of improvement, assure us that the shirt was that worn by\n  Abraham when thrown into the fire (Koran, chapt. xvi.) by Nimrod (!).\n  We know little concerning \u201cJacob\u2019s daughters\u201d who named the only\n  bridge spanning the upper Jordan, and who have a curious shrine-tomb\n  near Jewish \u201cSafed\u201d (North of Tiberias), one of the four \u201cHoly\n  Cities.\u201d The Jews ignore these \u201cdaughters of Jacob\u201d and travellers\n  neglect them.\n\nFootnote 17:\n\n  Easterns, I have remarked, mostly recognise the artistic truth that\n  the animal man is handsomer than woman; and that \u201cfair sex\u201d is truly\n  only of skin-colour. The same is the general rule throughout creation,\n  for instance the stallion compared with the mare, the cock with the\n  hen; while there are sundry exceptions such as the Falconid\u00e6.\n\nFootnote 18:\n\n  The Badawi (who is nothing if not horsey) compares the gait of a woman\n  who walks well (in Europe rarely seen out of Spain) with the slightly\n  swinging walk of a thoroughbred mare, bending her graceful neck and\n  looking from side to side at objects as she passes.\n\nFootnote 19:\n\n  Li \u2018ll\u00e1hi (darr\u2019) al-k\u00e1il, a characteristic idiom. \u201cDarr\u201d = giving\n  (rich) milk copiously; and the phrase expresses admiration, \u201cTo Allah\n  be ascribed (or Allah be praised for) his rich eloquence who said,\u201d\n  etc. Some Hebraists would render it, \u201cDivinely (well) did he speak who\n  said,\u201d etc., holding \u201cAllah\u201d to express a superlative like \u201cYah\u201d (Jah)\n  in Gen. iv. 1; x. 9. Nimrod was a hunter to the person (or presence)\n  of Yah, _i.e._ mighty hunter.\n\nFootnote 20:\n\n  Hamzah and Abb\u00e1s were the famous uncles of Mohammed often noticed;\n  Ukayl is not known; possibly it may be Ak\u00edl, a son of the fourth\n  Caliph, Ali.\n\nFootnote 21:\n\n  The Eastern ring is rarely plain; and, its use being that of a signet,\n  it is always in intaglio: the Egyptians invented engraving\n  hieroglyphics on wooden stamps for marking bricks and applied the\n  process to the ring. Moses B.C. 1491 (Exod. xxviii. 9) took two\n  onyx-stones, and graved on them the names of the children of Israel.\n  From this the signet ring was but a step. Herodotus mentions an\n  emerald seal set in gold, that of Polycrates, the work of Theodorus\n  son of Telecles the Samian (iii. 141). The Egyptians also were\n  perfectly acquainted with working in cameo (anaglyph) and rilievo, as\n  may be seen in the cavo rilievo of the finest of their hieroglyphs.\n  The Greeks borrowed from them the cameo and applied it to gems (_e.g._\n  Tryphon\u2019s in the Marlborough collection), and they bequeathed the art\n  to the Romans. We read in a modern book \u201cCameo means an onyx, and the\n  most famous cameo in the world is the onyx containing the Apotheosis\n  of Augustus.\u201d The ring is given in marriage because it was a seal by\n  which orders were signed (Gen. xxxviii. 18 and Esther iii. 10-12). I\n  may note that the seal-ring of Cheops (Khufu), found in the Greatest\n  Pyramid, was in the possession of my old friend, Doctor Abbott, of\n  Auburn (U.S.), and was sold with his collection. It is the oldest ring\n  in the world, and settles the Cheops-question.\n\nFootnote 22:\n\n  This habit of weeping when friends meet after long parting is\n  customary, I have noted, amongst the American \u201cIndians,\u201d the Badawin\n  of the New World; they shed tears thinking of the friends they have\n  lost. Like most primitive people they are ever ready to weep as was\n  \u00c6neas or Shakespeare\u2019s saline personage:\u2014\n\n             This would make a man, a man of salt\n             To use his eyes for garden waterpots.\n\n                                         (King Lear, iv. 6.)\n\nFootnote 23:\n\n  Here poetical justice is not done; in most Arab tales the two\n  adulterous Queens would have been put to death.\n\n\n\n\n                     ALA AL-DIN ABU AL-SHAMAT.\u201d[24]\n\n\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d asked he, and she said, It hath reached me that there\nlived, in times of yore and years and ages long gone before, a merchant\nof Cairo[25] named Shams al-Din, who was of the best and truest-spoken\nof the traders of the city; and he had eunuchs and servants and\nnegro-slaves and handmaids and Mamelukes and great store of money.\nMoreover, he was Consul[26] of the Merchants of Cairo and owned a wife,\nwhom he loved and who loved him; except that he had lived with her forty\nyears, yet had not been blessed with a son or even a daughter. One day,\nas he sat in his shop, he noted that the merchants, each and every, had\na son or two sons or more sitting in their shops like their sires. Now\nthe day being Friday; he entered the Hammam-bath and made the total\nablution: after which he came out and took the barber\u2019s glass and looked\nin it, saying, \u201cI testify that there is no god but _the_ God and I\ntestify that Mohammed is the Messenger of God!\u201d Then he considered his\nbeard and, seeing that the white hairs in it covered the black,\nbethought himself that hoariness is the harbinger of death. Now his wife\nknew the time of his coming home and had washed and made herself ready\nfor him, so when he came in to her, she said, \u201cGood evening,\u201d but he\nreplied \u201cI see no good.\u201d Then she called to the handmaid, \u201cSpread the\nsupper-tray;\u201d and when this was done quoth she to her husband, \u201cSup, O\nmy lord.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI will eat nothing,\u201d and pushing the tray away with\nhis foot, turned his back upon her. She asked, \u201cWhy dost thou thus? and\nwhat hath vexed thee?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cThou art the cause of my\nvexation.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\n\n          Now when it was the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Shams al-Din said\nto his wife, \u201cThou art the cause of my vexation.\u201d She asked,\n\u201cWherefore?\u201d and he answered, \u201cWhen I opened my shop this morning, I saw\nthat each and every of the merchants had with him a son or two sons or\nmore, sitting in their shops like their fathers; and I said to\nmyself:\u2014He who took thy sire will not spare thee. Now the night I first\nvisited thee,[27] thou madest me swear that I would never take a second\nwife over thee nor a concubine, Abyssinian or Greek or handmaid of other\nrace; nor would lie a single night away from thee: and behold, thou art\nbarren, and having thee is like boring into the rock.\u201d Rejoined she,\n\u201cAllah is my witness that the fault lies with thee, for that thy seed is\nthin.\u201d He asked, \u201cAnd what showeth the man whose semen is thin?\u201d And she\nanswered, \u201cHe cannot get women with child, nor beget children.\u201d Quoth\nhe, \u201cWhat thickeneth the seed? tell me and I will buy it: haply, it will\nthicken mine.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cEnquire for it of the druggists.\u201d So he slept\nwith her that night and arose on the morrow, repenting of having spoken\nangrily to her; and she also regretted her cross words. Then he went to\nthe market and, finding a druggist, saluted him; and when his salutation\nwas returned said to him, \u201cSay, hast thou with thee a seed-thickener?\u201d\nHe replied, \u201cI had it, but am out of it: enquire thou of my neighbour.\u201d\nThen Shams al-Din made the round till he had asked every one, but they\nall laughed at him, and presently he returned to his shop and sat down,\nsore troubled. Now there was in the bazar a man who was Deputy Syndic of\nthe brokers and was given to the use of opium and electuary and green\nhash\u00edsh.[28] He was called Shaykh Mohammed Samsam and being poor he used\nto wish Shams al-Din good morrow every day. So he came to him according\nto his custom and saluted him. The merchant returned his salute, but in\nill-temper, and the other, seeing him vexed, said, \u201cO my lord, what hath\ncrossed thee?\u201d Thereupon Shams al-Din told him all that occurred between\nhimself and his wife, adding, \u201cThese forty years have I been married to\nher yet hath she borne me neither son nor daughter; and they say:\u2014The\ncause of thy failure to get her with child is the thinness of thy seed;\nso I have been seeking a something wherewith to thicken my semen but\nfound it not.\u201d Quoth Shaykh Mohammed, \u201cO my lord, I have a\nseed-thickener, but what wilt thou say to him who causeth thy wife to\nconceive by thee after these forty years have passed?\u201d Answered the\nmerchant, \u201cIf thou do this, I will work thy weal and reward thee.\u201d \u201cThen\ngive me a dinar,\u201d rejoined the broker, and Shams al-Din said, \u201cTake\nthese two dinars.\u201d He took them and said, \u201cGive me also yonder big bowl\nof porcelain.\u201d So he gave it to him and the broker betook himself to a\nhashish-seller, of whom he bought two ounces of concentrated Roumi opium\nand equal parts of Chinese cubebs, cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, ginger,\nwhite pepper and mountain skink[29]; and, pounding them all together,\nboiled them in sweet olive-oil; after which he added three ounces of\nmale frankincense in fragments and a cupful of coriander-seed; and,\nmacerating the whole, made it into an electuary with Roumi bee-honey.\nThen he put the confection in the bowl and carried it to the merchant,\nto whom he delivered it, saying, \u201cHere is the seed-thickener, and the\nmanner of using it is this. Take of my electuary with a spoon after\nsupping, and wash it down with a sherbet made of rose conserve; but\nfirst sup off mutton and house-pigeon plentifully seasoned and hotly\nspiced.\u201d So the merchant bought all this and sent the meat and pigeons\nto his wife, saying; \u201cDress them deftly and lay up the seed-thickener\nuntil I want it and call for it.\u201d She did his bidding and, when she\nserved up the meats, he ate the evening meal, after which he called for\nthe bowl and ate of the electuary. It pleased him well, so he ate the\nrest and knew his wife. That very night she conceived by him and, after\nthree months, her courses ceased, no blood came from her and she knew\nthat she was with child. When the days of her pregnancy were\naccomplished, the pangs of labour took her and they raised loud\nlullilooings and cries of joy. The midwife delivered her with\ndifficulty, by pronouncing over the boy at his birth the names of\nMohammed and Ali, and said, \u201cAllah is Most Great!\u201d; and she called in\nhis ear the call to prayer. Then she wrapped him up and passed him to\nhis mother, who took him and gave him the breast; and he sucked and was\nfull and slept. The midwife abode with them three days, till they had\nmade the mothering-cakes of sugared bread and sweetmeats; and they\ndistributed them on the seventh day. Then they sprinkled salt against\nthe evil eye and the merchant, going in to his wife, gave her joy of her\nsafe delivery, and said, \u201cWhere is Allah\u2019s deposit?\u201d So they brought him\na babe of surpassing beauty, the handiwork of the Orderer who is ever\npresent and, though he was but seven days old, those who saw him would\nhave deemed him a yearling child. So the merchant looked on his face\nand, seeing it like a shining full moon, with moles on either cheek,\nsaid he to his wife, \u201cWhat hast thou named him?\u201d Answered she, \u201cIf it\nwere a girl I had named her; but this is a boy, so none shall name him\nbut thou.\u201d Now the people of that time used to name their children by\nomens; and, whilst the merchant and his wife were taking counsel of the\nname, behold, one said to his friend, \u201cHo my lord, Ala al-Din!\u201d So the\nmerchant said, \u201cWe will call him Ala al-Din Ab\u00fa al-Sh\u00e1m\u00e1t.\u201d[30] Then he\ncommitted the child to the nurse, and he drank milk two years, after\nwhich they weaned him and he grew up and throve and walked upon the\nfloor. When he came to seven years old, they put him in a chamber under\na trap-door, for fear of the evil eye, and his father said, \u201cHe shall\nnot come out, till his beard grow.\u201d So he gave him in charge to a\nhandmaid and a blackamoor; the girl dressed him his meals and the slave\ncarried them to him. Then his father circumcised him and made him a\ngreat feast; after which he brought him a doctor of the law, who taught\nhim to write and read and repeat the Koran, and other arts and sciences,\ntill he became a good scholar and an accomplished. One day it so came to\npass that the slave, after bringing him the tray of food went away and\nleft the trap-door open: so Ala al-Din came forth from the vault and\nwent in to his mother, with whom was a company of women of rank. As they\nsat talking, behold, in came upon them the youth as he were a white\nslave drunken[31] for the excess of his beauty; and when they saw him,\nthey veiled their faces and said to his mother, \u201cAllah requite thee, O\nsuch an one! How canst thou let this strange Mameluke in upon us?\nKnowest thou not that modesty is a point of the Faith?\u201d She replied,\n\u201cPronounce Allah\u2019s name[32] and cry Bismillah! this is my son, the fruit\nof my vitals and the heir of Consul Shams al-Din, the child of the nurse\nand the collar and the crust and the crumb.\u201d[33] Quoth they, \u201cNever in\nour days knew we that thou hadst a son\u201d; and quoth she, \u201cVerily his\nfather feared for him the evil eye and reared him in an under-ground\nchamber;\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n         Now when it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ala-al-Din\u2019s\nmother said to her lady-friends, \u201cVerily his father feared for him the\nevil eye and reared him in an under-ground chamber; and haply the slave\nforgot to shut the door and he fared forth; but we did not mean that he\nshould come out, before his beard was grown.\u201d The women gave her joy of\nhim, and the youth went out from them into the court yard where he\nseated himself in the open sitting-room; and behold, in came the slaves\nwith his father\u2019s she-mule, and he said to them, \u201cWhence cometh this\nmule?\u201d Quoth they, \u201cWe escorted thy father when riding her to the shop,\nand we have brought her back.\u201d He asked, \u201cWhat may be my father\u2019s\ntrade?\u201d; and they answered, \u201cThy father is Consul of the merchants in\nthe land of Egypt and Sultan of the Sons of the Arabs.\u201d Then he went in\nto his mother and said to her, \u201cO my mother, what is my father\u2019s trade?\u201d\nSaid she, \u201cO my son, thy sire is a merchant and Consul of the merchants\nin the land of Egypt and Sultan of the Sons of the Arabs. His slaves\nconsult him not in selling aught whose price is less than one thousand\ngold pieces, but merchandise worth him an hundred and less they sell at\ntheir own discretion; nor doth any merchandise whatever, little or\nmuchel, leave the country without passing through his hands and he\ndisposeth of it as he pleaseth; nor is a bale packed and sent abroad\namongst folk but what is under his disposal. And Almighty Allah, O my\nson, hath given thy father monies past compt.\u201d He rejoined, \u201cO my\nmother, praised be Allah, that I am son of the Sultan of the Sons of the\nArabs and that my father is Consul of the merchants! But why, O my\nmother, do ye put me in the under-ground chamber and leave me prisoner\nthere?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cO my son, we imprisoned thee not save for fear of\nfolks\u2019 eyes: \u2018the evil eye is a truth,\u2019[34] and most of those in their\nlong homes are its victims.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cO my mother, and where is a\nrefuge-place against Fate? Verily care never made Destiny forbear, nor\nis there flight from what is written for every wight. He who took my\ngrandfather will not spare myself nor my father; for, though he live\nto-day he shall not live to-morrow. And when my father dieth and I come\nforth and say:\u2014I am Ala al-Din, son of Shams al-Din the merchant, none\nof the people will believe me, but men of years and standing will\nsay:\u2014In our lives never saw we a son or a daughter of Shams al-Din. Then\nthe public Treasury will come down and take my father\u2019s estate, and\nAllah have mercy on him who said:\u2014The noble dieth and his wealth passeth\naway, and the meanest of men take his women. Therefore, O my mother,\nspeak thou to my father, that he carry me with him to the bazar and open\nfor me a shop; so may I sit there with my merchandise and teach me to\nbuy and sell and take and give.\u201d Answered his mother, \u201cO my son, as soon\nas thy sire returneth I will tell him this.\u201d So when the merchant came\nhome, he found his son Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat sitting with his mother\nand said to her, \u201cWhy hast thou brought him forth of the under-ground\nchamber?\u201d She replied, \u201cO son of my uncle, it was not I that brought him\nout; but the servants forgot to shut the door and left it open; so, as I\nsat with a company of women of rank, behold, he came forth and walked in\nto me.\u201d Then she went on to repeat to him his son\u2019s words; so he said,\n\u201cO my son, to-morrow, Inshallah! I will take thee with me to the bazar;\nbut, my boy, sitting in markets and shops demandeth good manners and\ncourteous carriage in all conditions.\u201d Ala al-Din passed the night\nrejoicing in his father\u2019s promise and, when the morrow came, the\nmerchant carried him to the Hammam and clad him in a suit worth a mint\nof money. As soon as they had broken their fast and drunk their\nsherbets, Shams al-Din mounted his she-mule and putting his son upon\nanother, rode to the market, followed by his boy. But when the\nmarket-folk saw their Consul making towards them, foregoing a youth as\nhe were a slice of the full moon on the fourteenth night, they said, one\nto other, \u201cSee thou yonder boy behind the Consul of the merchants;\nverily, we thought well of him, but he is, like the leek, gray of head\nand green at heart.\u201d[35] And Shaykh Mohammed Samsam, Deputy Syndic of\nthe market, the man before mentioned, said to the dealers, \u201cO merchants,\nwe will not keep the like of him for our Shaykh; no, never!\u201d Now it was\nthe custom anent the Consul when he came from his house of a morning and\nsat down in his shop, for the Deputy Syndic of the market to go and\nrecite to him and to all the merchants assembled around him the F\u00e1tihah\nor opening chapter of the Koran,[36] after which they accosted him one\nby one and wished him good morrow and went away, each to his\nbusiness-place. But when Shams al-Din seated himself in his shop that\nday as usual, the traders came not to him as accustomed; so he called\nthe Deputy and said to him, \u201cWhy come not the merchants together as\nusual?\u201d Answered Mohammed Samsam, \u201cI know not how to tell thee these\ntroubles, for they have agreed to depose thee from the Shaykh-ship of\nthe market and to recite the Fatihah to thee no more.\u201d Asked Shams\nal-Din, \u201cWhat may be their reason?\u201d; and asked the Deputy, \u201cWhat boy is\nthis that sitteth by thy side and thou a man of years and chief of the\nmerchants? Is this lad a Mameluke or akin to thy wife? Verily, I think\nthou lovest him and inclinest lewdly to the boy.\u201d Thereupon the Consul\ncried out at him, saying, \u201cSilence, Allah curse thee, genus and species!\nThis is my son.\u201d Rejoined the Deputy, \u201cNever in our born days have we\nseen thee with a son,\u201d and Shams al-Din answered, \u201cWhen thou gavest me\nthe seed-thickener, my wife conceived and bare this youth; but I reared\nhim in a souterrain for fear of the evil eye, nor was it my purpose that\nhe should come forth, till he could take his beard in his hand.[37]\nHowever, his mother would not agree to this, and he on his part begged I\nwould stock him a shop and teach him to sell and buy.\u201d So the Deputy\nSyndic returned to the other traders and acquainted them with the truth\nof the case, whereupon they all arose to accompany him; and, going in a\nbody to Shams al-Din\u2019s shop, stood before him and recited the \u201cOpener\u201d\nof the Koran; after which they gave him joy of his son and said to him,\n\u201cThe Lord prosper root and branch! But even the poorest of us, when son\nor daughter is born to him, needs must cook a pan-full of custard[38]\nand bid his friends and kith and kin; yet hast thou not done this.\u201d\nQuoth he, \u201cThis I owe you; be our meeting in the garden.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-second Night,\n\nHer sister Dunyazad said to her, \u201cPray continue thy story for us, an\nthou be awake and not inclined to sleep.\u201d Quoth she:\u2014With pleasure and\ngoodwill: it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Consul of the\nmerchants promised them a banquet and said \u201cBe our meeting in the\ngarden.\u201d So when morning dawned he despatched the carpet-layer to the\nsaloon of the garden-pavilion and bade him furnish the two. Moreover, he\nsent thither all that was needful for cooking, such as sheep and\nclarified butter and so forth, according to the requirements of the\ncase; and spread two tables, one in the pavilion and another in the\nsaloon. Then Shams al-Din and his boy girded themselves, and he said to\nAla al-Din \u201cO my son, whenas a greybeard entereth, I will meet him and\nseat him at the table in the pavilion; and do thou, in like manner,\nreceive the beardless youths and seat them at the table in the saloon.\u201d\nHe asked, \u201cO my father, why dost thou spread two tables, one for men and\nanother for youths?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cO my son, the beardless is\nashamed to eat with the bearded.\u201d And his son thought this his answer\nfull and sufficient. So when the merchants arrived, Shams al-Din\nreceived the men and seated them in the pavilion, whilst Ala al-Din\nreceived the youths and seated them in the saloon. Then the food was set\non and the guests ate and drank and made merry and sat over their wine,\nwhilst the attendants perfumed them with the smoke of scented woods, and\nthe elders fell to conversing of matters of science and traditions of\nthe Prophet. Now there was amongst them a merchant called Mahm\u00fad of\nBalkh, a professing Moslem but at heart a Magian, a man of lewd and\nmischievous life who loved boys. And when he saw Ala al-Din from whose\nfather he used to buy stuffs and merchandise, one sight of his face sent\nhim a thousand sighs and Satan dangled the jewel before his eyes, so\nthat he was taken with love-longing and desire and affection and his\nheart was filled with mad passion for him. Presently he arose and made\nfor the youths, who stood up to receive him; and at this moment Ala\nal-Din being taken with an urgent call of Nature, withdrew to make\nwater; whereupon Mahmud turned to the other youths and said to them, \u201cIf\nye will incline Ala al-Din\u2019s mind to journeying with me, I will give\neach of you a dress worth a power of money.\u201d Then he returned from them\nto the men\u2019s party; and, as the youths were sitting, Ala al-Din suddenly\ncame back, when all rose to receive him and seated him in the place of\nhighest honour. Presently, one of them said to his neighbour, \u201cO my lord\nHasan, tell me whence came to thee the capital whereon thou tradest.\u201d He\nreplied, \u201cWhen I grew up and came to man\u2019s estate, I said to my sire:\u2014O\nmy father, give me merchandise. Quoth he:\u2014O my son, I have none by me;\nbut go thou to some merchant and take of him money and traffic with it;\nand so learn to buy and sell, give and take. So I went to one of the\ntraders and borrowed of him a thousand dinars, wherewith I bought stuffs\nand carrying them to Damascus, sold them there at a profit of two for\none. Then I bought Syrian stuffs and carrying them to Aleppo, made a\nsimilar gain of them; after which I bought stuffs of Aleppo and repaired\nwith them to Baghdad, where I sold them with like result, two for one;\nnor did I cease trading upon my capital till I was worth nigh ten\nthousand ducats.\u201d Then each of the others told his friend some such\ntale, till it came to Ala al-Din\u2019s turn to speak, when they said to him,\n\u201cAnd thou, O my lord Ala al-Din?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI was brought up in a\nchamber under-ground and came forth from it only this week; and I do but\ngo to the shop and return home from the shop.\u201d They remarked, \u201cThou art\nused to wone at home and wottest not the joys of travel, for travel is\nfor men only.\u201d He replied, \u201cI reck not of voyaging and wayfaring doth\nnot tempt me.\u201d Whereupon quoth one to the other, \u201cThis one is like the\nfish: when he leaveth the water he dieth.\u201d Then they said to him, \u201cO Ala\nal-Din, the glory of the sons of the merchants is not but in travel for\nthe sake of gain.\u201d Their talk angered him; so he left them weeping-eyed\nand heavy-hearted and mounting his mule returned home. Now his mother\nsaw him in tears and in bad temper and asked him, \u201cWhat hath made thee\nweep, O my son?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cOf a truth, all the sons of the\nmerchants put me to shame and said:\u2014Naught is more glorious for a\nmerchant\u2019s son than travel for gain and to get him gold.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n         Now when it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ala al-Din said to\nhis mother, \u201cOf a truth all the sons of the merchants put me to shame\nand said:\u2014Naught is more honourable for a merchant\u2019s son than travel for\ngain.\u201d \u201cO my son, hast thou a mind to travel?\u201d \u201cEven so!\u201d \u201cAnd whither\nwilt thou go?\u201d \u201cTo the city of Baghdad; for there folk make double the\ncost price on their goods.\u201d \u201cO my son, thy father is a very rich man\nand, if he provide thee not with merchandise, I will supply it out of my\nown monies.\u201d \u201cThe best favour is that which is soonest bestowed; if this\nkindness is to be, now is the time.\u201d So she called the slaves and sent\nthem for cloth-packers; then, opening a store-house, brought out ten\nloads of stuffs, which they made up into bales for him. Such was his\ncase; but as regards his father, Shams al-Din, he looked about and\nfailed to find Ala al-Din in the garden and enquiring after him, was\ntold that he had mounted mule and gone home; so he too mounted and\nfollowed him. Now when he entered the house, he saw the bales ready\nbound and asked what they were; whereupon his wife told him what had\nchanced between Ala al-Din and the sons of the merchants; and he cried,\n\u201cO my son, Allah\u2019s malison on travel and stranger-hood! Verily Allah\u2019s\nApostle (whom the Lord bless and preserve!) hath said:\u2014It is of a man\u2019s\nhappy fortune that he eat his daily bread in his own land; and it was\nsaid of the ancients:\u2014Leave travel, though but for a mile.\u201d Then quoth\nhe to his son, \u201cSay, art thou indeed resolved to travel and wilt thou\nnot turn back from it?\u201d Quoth the other, \u201cThere is no help for it but\nthat I journey to Baghdad with merchandise, else will I doff clothes and\ndon dervish gear and fare a-wandering over the world.\u201d Shams al-Din\nrejoined, \u201cI am no penniless pauper but have great plenty of wealth;\u201d\nthen he showed him all he owned of monies and stuffs and stock-in-trade\nand observed, \u201cWith me are stuffs and merchandise befitting every\ncountry in the world.\u201d Then he showed him among the rest, forty bales\nready bound, with the price, a thousand dinars, written on each, and\nsaid, \u201cO my son take these forty loads, together with the ten which thy\nmother gave thee, and set out under the safeguard of Almighty Allah.\nBut, O my child, I fear for thee a certain wood in thy way, called the\nLion\u2019s Copse,[39] and a valley hight the Vale of Dogs, for there lives\nare lost without mercy.\u201d He said, \u201cHow so, O my father?\u201d; and he\nreplied, \u201cBecause of a Badawi bandit named Ajl\u00e1n.\u201d Quoth Ala al-Din,\n\u201cSuch is Allah\u2019s luck; if any share of it be mine, no harm shall hap to\nme.\u201d Then they rode to the cattle-bazar, where behold, a cameleer[40]\nalighted from his she-mule and kissing the Consul\u2019s hand, said to him,\n\u201cO my lord, it is long, by Allah, since thou hast employed us in the way\nof business.\u201d He replied, \u201cEvery time hath its fortune and its men,[41]\nand Allah have ruth on him who said:\u2014\n\n And the old man crept o\u2019er the worldly ways \u273f So bowed, his beard o\u2019er\n    his knees down flow\u2019th:\n Quoth I:\u2014What gars thee so doubled go? \u273f Quoth he (as to me his hands he\n    show\u2019th)\n My youth is lost, in the dust it lieth; \u273f And see, I bend me to find my\n    youth.\u201d[42]\n\nNow when he had ended his verses, he said, \u201cO chief of the caravan, it\nis not I who am minded to travel, but this my son.\u201d Quoth the cameleer,\n\u201cAllah save him for thee.\u201d Then the Consul made a contract between Ala\nal-Din and the man, appointing that the youth should be to him as a son,\nand gave him into his charge, saying, \u201cTake these hundred gold pieces\nfor thy people.\u201d Moreover he bought his son threescore mules and a lamp\nand a tomb-covering for the Sayyid Abd al-Kadir of G\u00edl\u00e1n[43] and said to\nhim, \u201cO my son, while I am absent, this is thy sire in my stead:\nwhatsoever he biddeth thee, do thou obey him.\u201d So saying, he returned\nhome with the mules and servants and that night they made a Khitmah or\nperlection of the Koran and held a festival in honour of the Shaykh Abd\nal-Kadir al-Jil\u00e1ni. And when the morrow dawned, the Consul gave his son\nten thousand dinars, saying, \u201cO my son, when thou comest to Baghdad, if\nthou find stuffs easy of sale, sell them; but if they be dull, spend of\nthese dinars.\u201d Then they loaded the mules and, taking leave of one\nanother, all the wayfarers setting out on their journey, marched forth\nfrom the city. Now Mahmud of Balkh had made ready his own venture for\nBaghdad and had moved his bales and set up his tents without the walls,\nsaying in himself, \u201cThou shalt not enjoy this youth but in the desert,\nwhere there is neither spy nor marplot to trouble thee.\u201d It chanced that\nhe had in hand a thousand dinars which he owed to the youth\u2019s father,\nthe balance of a business-transaction between them; so he went and bade\nfarewell to the Consul, who charged him, \u201cGive the thousand dinars to my\nson Ala al-Din;\u201d and commended the lad to his care, saying, \u201cHe is as it\nwere thy son.\u201d Accordingly, Ala al-Din joined company with Mahmud of\nBalkh\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King that Ala al-Din joined\ncompany with Mahmud of Balkh who, before beginning the march, charged\nthe youth\u2019s cook to dress nothing for him, but himself provided him and\nhis company with meat and drink. Now he had four houses, one in Cairo,\nanother in Damascus, a third in Aleppo and a fourth in Baghdad. So they\nset out and ceased not journeying over waste and wold till they drew\nnear Damascus, when Mahmud sent his slave to Ala al-Din, whom he found\nsitting and reading. He went up to him and kissed his hands, and Ala\nal-Din having asked him what he wanted, he answered, \u201cMy master saluteth\nthee and craveth thy company to a banquet at his place.\u201d Quoth the\nyouth, \u201cNot till I consult my father Kam\u00e1l al-Din, the captain of the\ncaravan.\u201d So he asked advice of the Makaddam,[44] who said, \u201cDo not go.\u201d\nThen they left Damascus and journeyed on till they came to Aleppo, where\nMahmud made a second entertainment and sent to invite Ala al-Din; but he\nconsulted the Chief Cameleer who again forbade him. Then they marched\nfrom Aleppo and fared on, till there remained between them and Baghdad\nonly a single stage. Here Mahmud prepared a third feast and sent to bid\nAla al-Din to it: Kamal al-Din once more forbade his accepting it, but\nhe said, \u201cI must needs go.\u201d So he rose and, slinging a sword over his\nshoulder, under his clothes, repaired to the tent of Mahmud of Balkh,\nwho came to meet him and saluted him. Then he set before him a sumptuous\nrepast and they ate and drank and washed hands. At last Mahmud bent\ntowards Ala al-Din to snatch a kiss from him, but the youth received the\nkiss on the palm of his hand and said to him, \u201cWhat wouldest thou be\nat?\u201d Quoth Mahmud, \u201cIn very sooth I brought thee hither that I might\ntake my pleasure with thee in this jousting-ground, and we will comment\nupon the words of him who saith:\u2014\n\n Say, canst not come to us one momentling, \u273f Like milk of ewekin or aught\n    glistening,\n And eat what liketh thee of dainty cate, \u273f And take thy due of fee in\n    silverling,\n And bear whatso thou wilt, without mislike, \u273f Of spanling, fistling or a\n    spanlong thing?\u201d\n\nThen Mahmud of Balkh would have laid hands on Ala al-Din to ravish him;\nbut he rose and baring his brand, said to him, \u201cShame on thy gray hairs!\nHast thou no fear of Allah, and He of exceeding awe?[45] May He have\nmercy on him who saith:\u2014\n\n Preserve thy hoary hairs from soil and stain, \u273f For whitest colours are\n    the easiest stained!\u201d\n\nAnd when he ended his verses he said to Mahmud of Balkh, \u201cVerily this\nmerchandise[46] is a trust from Allah and may not be sold. If I sold\nthis property to other than thee for gold, I would sell it to thee for\nsilver; but by Allah, O filthy villain, I will never again company with\nthee; no, never!\u201d Then he returned to Kamal al-Din the guide and said to\nhim, \u201cYonder man is a lewd fellow, and I will no longer consort with him\nnor suffer his company by the way.\u201d He replied, \u201cO my son, did I not say\nto thee:\u2014Go not near him? But if we part company with him, I fear\ndestruction for ourselves; so let us still make one caravan.\u201d But Ala\nal-Din cried, \u201cIt may not be that I ever again travel with him.\u201d So he\nloaded his beasts and journeyed onwards, he and his company, till they\ncame to a valley, where Ala al-Din would have halted, but the Cameleer\nsaid to him, \u201cDo not halt here; rather let us fare forwards and press\nour pace, so haply we make Baghdad before the gates are closed, for they\nopen and shut them with the sun, in fear lest the Rejectors[47] should\ntake the city and throw the books of religious learning into the\nTigris.\u201d But Ala al-Din replied to him, \u201cO my father, I came not forth\nfrom home with this merchandise, or travelled hither for the sake of\ntraffic, but to divert myself with the sight of foreign lands and\nfolks;\u201d and he rejoined, \u201cO my son, we fear for thee and for thy goods\nfrom the wild Arabs.\u201d Whereupon the youth answered, \u201cHarkye, fellow, art\nthou master or man? I will not enter Baghdad till the morning, that the\nsons of the city may see my merchandise and know me.\u201d \u201cDo as thou wilt,\u201d\nsaid the other; \u201cI have given thee the wisest advice, but thou art the\nbest judge of thine own case.\u201d Then Ala al-Din bade them unload the\nmules and pitch the tent; so they did his bidding and abode there till\nthe middle of the night, when he went out to obey a call of nature and\nsuddenly saw something gleaming afar off. So he said to Kamal al-Din, \u201cO\ncaptain, what is yonder glittering?\u201d The Cameleer sat up and,\nconsidering it straitly, knew it for the glint of spear-heads and the\nsteel of Badawi weapons and swords. And lo and behold! this was a troop\nof wild Arabs under a chief called Ajl\u00e1n Ab\u00fa N\u00e1ib, Shaykh of the Arabs,\nand when they neared the camp and saw the bales and baggage, they said\none to another, \u201cO night of loot!\u201d Now when Kamal al-Din heard these\ntheir words he cried, \u201cAvaunt, O vilest of Arabs!\u201d But Abu Naib so smote\nhim with his throw-spear in the breast, that the point came out gleaming\nfrom his back, and he fell down dead at the tent-door. Then cried the\nwater-carrier,[48] \u201cAvaunt, O foulest of Arabs!\u201d and one of them smote\nhim with a sword upon the shoulder, that it issued shining from the\ntendons of the throat, and he also fell down dead. (And all this while\nAla al-Din stood looking on.) Then the Badawin surrounded and charged\nthe caravan from every side and slew all Ala al-Din\u2019s company without\nsparing a man: after which they loaded the mules with the spoil and made\noff. Quoth Ala al-Din to himself, \u201cNothing will slay thee save thy mule\nand thy dress!\u201d; so he arose and put off his gown and threw it over the\nback of a mule, remaining in his shirt and bag-trousers only; after\nwhich he looked towards the tent-door and, seeing there a pool of gore\nflowing from the slaughtered, wallowed in it with his remaining clothes\ntill he was as a slain man drowned in his own blood. Thus it fared with\nhim; but as regards the Shaykh of the wild Arabs, Ajlan, he said to his\nbanditti, \u201cO Arabs, was this caravan bound from Egypt for Baghdad or\nfrom Baghdad for Egypt?\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased saying her permitted say.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n         Now when it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King that when the Badawi\nasked his banditti, \u201cO Arabs, was this caravan bound from Egypt for\nBaghdad or from Baghdad for Egypt?\u201d; they answered, \u201c\u2019Twas bound from\nEgypt for Baghdad;\u201d and he said, \u201cReturn ye to the slain, for methinks\nthe owner of this caravan is not dead.\u201d So they turned back to the slain\nand fell to prodding and slashing them with lance and sword till they\ncame to Ala al-Din, who had thrown himself down among the corpses. And\nwhen they came to him, quoth they, \u201cThou dost but feign thyself dead,\nbut we will make an end of thee,\u201d and one of the Badawin levelled his\njavelin and would have plunged it into his breast when he cried out,\n\u201cSave me, O my lord Abd al-Kadir, O Saint of Gilan!\u201d and behold, he saw\na hand turn the lance away from his breast to that of Kamal al-Din the\ncameleer, so that it pierced him and spared himself.[49] Then the Arabs\nmade off; and, when Ala al-Din saw that the birds were flown with their\ngod-send, he sat up and finding no one, rose and set off running; but,\nbehold Abu N\u00e1ib the Badawi looked back and said to his troop, \u201cI see\nsomewhat moving afar off, O Arabs!\u201d So one of the bandits turned back\nand, spying Ala al-Din running, called out to him, saying, \u201cFlight shall\nnot forward thee and we after thee;\u201d and he smote his mare with his heel\nand she hastened after him. Then Ala al-Din seeing before him a watering\ntank and a cistern beside it, climbed up into a niche in the cistern\nand, stretching himself at full length, feigned to be asleep and said,\n\u201cO gracious Protector, cover me with the veil of Thy protection which\nmay not be torn away!\u201d And lo! the Badawi came up to the cistern and,\nstanding in his stirrup-irons put out his hand to lay hold of Ala\nal-Din; but he said, \u201cO my lady Naf\u00edsah[50]! Now is thy time!\u201d And\nbehold, a scorpion stung the Badawi in the palm and he cried out,\nsaying, \u201cHelp, O Arabs! I am stung;\u201d and he alighted from his mare\u2019s\nback. So his comrades came up to him and mounted him again, asking,\n\u201cWhat hath befallen thee?\u201d whereto he answered, \u201cA young scorpion[51]\nstung me.\u201d So they departed, with the caravan. Such was their case; but\nas regards Ala al-Din, he tarried in the niche, and Mahmud of Balkh bade\nload his beasts and fared forwards till he came to the Lion\u2019s Copse\nwhere he found Ala al-Din\u2019s attendants all lying slain. At this he\nrejoiced and went on till he reached the cistern and the reservoir. Now\nhis mule was athirst and turned aside to drink, but she saw Ala al-Din\u2019s\nshadow in the water and shied and started; whereupon Mahmud raised his\neyes and, seeing Ala al-Din lying in the niche, stripped to his shirt\nand bag-trousers, said to him, \u201cWhat man this deed to thee hath dight\nand left thee in this evil plight?\u201d Answered Ala al-Din, \u201cThe Arabs,\u201d\nand Mahmud said, \u201cO my son, the mules and the baggage were thy ransom;\nso do thou comfort thyself with his saying who said:\u2014\n\n If thereby man can save his head from death, \u273f His good is worth him but\n    a slice of nail!\n\nBut now, O my son, come down and fear no hurt.\u201d Thereupon he descended\nfrom the cistern-niche and Mahmud mounted him on a mule, and they fared\non till they reached Baghdad, where he brought him to his own house and\ncarried him to the bath, saying to him, \u201cThe goods and money were the\nransom of thy life, O my son; but, if thou wilt hearken to me, I will\ngive thee the worth of that thou hast lost, twice told.\u201d When he came\nout of the bath, Mahmud carried him into a saloon decorated with gold\nwith four raised floors, and bade them bring a tray with all manner of\nmeats. So they ate and drank and Mahmud bent towards Ala al-Din to\nsnatch a kiss from him; but he received it upon the palm of his hand and\nsaid, \u201cWhat, dost thou persist in thy evil designs upon me? Did I not\ntell thee that, were I wont to sell this merchandise to other than thee\nfor gold, I would sell it thee for silver?\u201d Quoth Mahmud, \u201cI will give\nthee neither merchandise nor mule nor clothes save at this price; for I\nam gone mad for love of thee, and bless him who said:\u2014\n\n Told us, ascribing to his Shaykhs, our Shaykh \u273f Ab\u00fa Bil\u00e1l, these words\n    they wont to utter:[52]\n Unhealed the lover wones of love desire, \u273f By kiss and clip; his only\n    cure\u2019s to futter!\u201d\n\nAla al-Din replied, \u201cOf a truth this may never be, take back thy dress\nand thy mule and open the door that I may go out.\u201d So he opened the\ndoor, and Ala al-Din fared forth and walked on, with the dogs barking at\nhis heels, and he went forwards through the dark when behold, he saw the\ndoor of a mosque standing open and, entering the vestibule, there took\nshelter and concealment; and suddenly a light approached him and on\nexamining it he saw that it came from a pair of lanthorns borne by two\nslaves before two merchants. Now one was an old man of comely face and\nthe other a youth; and he heard the younger say to the elder, \u201cO my\nuncle, I conjure thee by Allah, give me back my cousin!\u201d The old man\nreplied, \u201cDid I not forbid thee, many a time, when the oath of divorce\nwas always in thy mouth, as it were Holy Writ?\u201d Then he turned to his\nright and, seeing Ala al-Din as he were a slice of the full moon, said\nto him, \u201cPeace be with thee! who art thou, O my son?\u201d Quoth he,\nreturning the salutation of peace, \u201cI am Ala al-Din, son of Shams\nal-Din, Consul of the merchants for Egypt. I besought my father for\nmerchandise; so he packed me fifty loads of stuffs and goods,\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n         Now when it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ala al-Din\ncontinued, \u201cSo he packed me fifty loads of goods and gave me ten\nthousand dinars, wherewith I set out for Baghdad; but when I reached the\nLion\u2019s Copse, the wild Arabs came out against me and took all my goods\nand monies. So I entered the city knowing not where to pass the night\nand, seeing this place, I took shelter here.\u201d Quoth the old man, \u201cO my\nson, what sayest thou to my giving thee a thousand dinars and a suit of\nclothes and a mule worth other two thousand?\u201d Ala al-Din asked, \u201cTo what\nend wilt thou give me these things, O my uncle?\u201d and the other answered,\n\u201cThis young man who accompanieth me, is the son of my brother and an\nonly son; and I have a daughter called Zubaydah[53] the lutist, an only\nchild who is a model of beauty and loveliness, so I married her to him.\nNow he loveth her, but she loatheth him; and when he chanced to take an\noath of triple divorcement and broke it, forthright she left him.\nWhereupon he egged on all the folk to intercede with me to restore her\nto him; but I told him that this could not lawfully be save by an\nintermediate marriage, and we have agreed to make some stranger the\nintermediary[54] in order that none may taunt and shame him with this\naffair. So, as thou art a stranger, come with us and we will marry thee\nto her; thou shalt lie with her to-night and on the morrow divorce her\nand we will give thee what I said.\u201d Quoth Ala al-Din to himself, \u201cBy\nAllah, to bide the night with a bride on a bed in a house is far better\nthan sleeping in the streets and vestibules!\u201d So he went with them to\nthe Kazi whose heart, as soon as he saw Ala al-Din, was moved to love\nhim, and who said to the old man, \u201cWhat is your will?\u201d He replied, \u201cWe\nwish to make this young man an intermediary husband for my daughter; but\nwe will write a bond against him binding him to pay down by way of\nmarriage-settlement ten thousand gold pieces. Now if after passing the\nnight with her he divorce her in the morning, we will give him a mule\nand dress each worth a thousand dinars, and a third thousand of ready\nmoney; but if he divorce her not, he shall pay down the ten thousand\ndinars according to contract.\u201d So they agreed to the agreement and the\nfather of the bride to be received his bond for the marriage-settlement.\nThen he took Ala al-Din and, clothing him anew, carried him to his\ndaughter\u2019s house and there he left him standing at the door, whilst he\nhimself went in to the young lady and said, \u201cTake the bond of thy\nmarriage-settlement, for I have wedded thee to a handsome youth by name\nAla al-Din Abu al-Shamat: so do thou use him with the best of usage.\u201d\nThen he put the bond into her hands and left her and went to his own\nlodging. Now the lady\u2019s cousin had an old duenna who used to visit\nZubaydah, and he had done many a kindness to this woman, so he said to\nher, \u201cO my mother, if my cousin Zubaydah see this handsome young man,\nshe will never after accept my offer; so I would fain have thee contrive\nsome trick to keep her and him apart.\u201d She answered, \u201cBy the life of thy\nyouth,[55] I will not suffer him to approach her!\u201d Then she went to Ala\nal-Din and said to him, \u201cO my son, I have a word of advice to give thee,\nfor the love of Almighty Allah and do thou accept my counsel, as I fear\nfor thee from this young woman: better thou let her lie alone and feel\nnot her person nor draw thee near to her.\u201d He asked, \u201cWhy so?\u201d; and she\nanswered, \u201cBecause her body is full of leprosy and I dread lest she\ninfect thy fair and seemly youth.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI have no need of her.\u201d\nThereupon she went to the lady and said the like to her of Ala al-Din;\nand she replied, \u201cI have no need of him, but will let him lie alone, and\non the morrow he shall gang his gait.\u201d Then she called a slave-girl and\nsaid to her, \u201cTake the tray of food and set it before him that he may\nsup.\u201d So the handmaid carried him the tray of food and set it before him\nand he ate his fill: after which he sat down and raised his charming\nvoice and fell to reciting the chapter called Y. S.[56] The lady\nlistened to him and found his voice as melodious as the psalms of David\nsung by David himself,[57] which when she heard, she exclaimed, \u201cAllah\ndisappoint the old hag who told me that he was affected with leprosy!\nSurely this is not the voice of one who hath such a disease; and all was\na lie against him.\u201d[58] Then she took a lute of India-land workmanship\nand, tuning the strings, sang to it in a voice so sweet its music would\nstay the birds in the heart of heaven; and began these two couplets:\u2014\n\n I love a fawn with gentle white-black eyes, \u273f Whose walk the willow-wand\n    with envy kills:\n Forbidding me he bids for rival mine, \u273f Tis Allah\u2019s grace who grants to\n    whom He wills!\n\nAnd when he heard her chant these lines he ended his recitation of the\nchapter, and began also to sing and repeated the following couplet:\u2014\n\n My Sal\u00e1m to the Fawn in the garments concealed, \u273f And to roses in\n    gardens of cheek revealed.\n\nThe lady rose up when she heard this, and her inclination for him\nredoubled and she lifted the curtain; and Ala al-Din, seeing her,\nrecited these two couplets:\u2014\n\n She shineth forth, a moon, and bends, a willow-wand, \u273f And breathes out\n    ambergris, and gazes, a gazelle.\n Meseems as if grief loved my heart and when from her \u273f Estrangement I\n    abide possession to it fell.[59]\n\nThereupon she came forward, swinging her haunches and gracefully swaying\na shape the handiwork of Him whose boons are hidden; and each of them\nstole one glance of the eyes that cost them a thousand sighs. And when\nthe shafts of the two regards which met rankled in his heart, he\nrepeated these two couplets:\u2014\n\n She \u2018spied the moon of Heaven, reminding me \u273f Of nights when met we in\n    the meadows li\u2019en:\n True, both saw moons, but sooth to say, it was \u273f Her very eyes I saw,\n    and she my eyne.\n\nAnd when she drew near him, and there remained but two paces between\nthem, he recited these two couplets:\u2014\n\n She spread three tresses of unplaited hair \u273f One night, and showed me\n    nights not one but four;\n And faced the moon of Heaven with her brow, \u273f And showed me two-fold\n    moons in single hour.\n\nAnd as she was hard by him he said to her, \u201cKeep away from me, lest thou\ninfect me.\u201d Whereupon she uncovered her wrist[60] to him, and he saw\nthat it was cleft, as it were in two halves, by its veins and sinews and\nits whiteness was as the whiteness of virgin silver. Then said she,\n\u201cKeep away from me, thou! for thou art stricken with leprosy, and may be\nthou wilt infect me.\u201d He asked, \u201cWho told thee I was a leper?\u201d and she\nanswered, \u201cThe old woman so told me.\u201d Quoth he, \u201c\u2019Twas she told me also\nthat thou wast afflicted with white scurvy;\u201d and so saying, he bared his\nforearms and showed her that his skin was also like virgin silver.\nThereupon she pressed him to her bosom and he pressed her to his bosom\nand the twain embraced with closest embrace, then she took him and,\nlying down on her back, let down her petticoat-trousers, and in an\ninstant that which his father had left him rose up in rebellion against\nhim and he said, \u201cGo it, O Shaykh Zachary[61] of shaggery, O father of\nveins!\u201d; and putting both hands to her flanks, he set the\nsugar-stick[62] to the mouth of the cleft and thrust on till he came to\nthe wicket called \u201cPecten.\u201d His passage was by the Gate of Victories[63]\nand therefrom he entered the Monday market, and those of Tuesday and\nWednesday and Thursday,[64] and, finding the carpet after the measure of\nthe da\u00efs-floor,[65] he plied the box within its cover till he came to\nthe end of it. And when morning dawned he cried to her, \u201cAlas for\ndelight which is not fulfilled! The raven[66] taketh it and flieth\naway!\u201d She asked, \u201cWhat meaneth this saying?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cO my\nlady, I have but this hour to abide with thee.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cWho saith\nso?\u201d and quoth he, \u201cThy father made me give him a written bond to pay\nten thousand dinars to thy wedding-settlement; and, except I pay it this\nvery day, they will imprison me for debt in the Kazi\u2019s house; and now my\nhand lacketh one half-dirham of the sum.\u201d She asked, \u201cO my lord, is the\nmarriage-bond in thy hand or in theirs?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cO my lady,\nin mine, but I have nothing.\u201d She rejoined, \u201cThe matter is easy; fear\nthou nothing. Take these hundred dinars: an I had more, I would give\nthee what thou lackest; but of a truth my father, of his love for my\ncousin, hath transported all his goods, even to my jewellery, from my\nlodging to his. But when they send thee a serjeant of the Ecclesiastical\nCourt,\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young lady\nrejoined to Ala al-Din, \u201cAnd when they send thee at an early hour a\nserjeant of the Ecclesiastical Court, and the Kazi and my father bid\nthee divorce me, do thou reply, By what law is it lawful and right that\nI should marry at nightfall and divorce in the morning? Then kiss the\nKazi\u2019s hand and give him a present, and in like manner kiss the\nAssessors\u2019 hands and give each of them ten gold pieces. So they will all\nspeak with thee, and if they ask thee, Why dost thou not divorce her and\ntake the thousand dinars and the mule and suit of clothes, according to\ncontract duly contracted? do thou answer, Every hair of her head is\nworth a thousand ducats to me and I will never put her away, neither\nwill I take a suit of clothes nor aught else. And if the Kazi say to\nthee, Then pay down the marriage settlement, do thou reply, I am short\nof cash at this present; whereupon he and the Assessors will deal in\nfriendly fashion with thee and allow thee time to pay.\u201d Now whilst they\nwere talking, behold, the Kazi\u2019s officer knocked at the door; so Ala\nal-Din went down and the man said to him, \u201cCome, speak the Efendi,[67]\nfor thy father-in-law summoneth thee.\u201d So Ala al-Din gave him five\ndinars and said to him, \u201cO Summoner, by what law am I bound to marry at\nnightfall and divorce next morning?\u201d The serjeant answered, \u201cBy no law\nof ours at all, at all; and if thou be ignorant of the religious law, I\nwill act as thine advocate.\u201d Then they went to the divorce-court and the\nKazi said to Ala al-Din, \u201cWhy dost thou not put away the woman and take\nwhat falleth to thee by the contract?\u201d Hearing this he went up to the\nKazi; and, kissing his hand, put fifty dinars in it and said, \u201cO our\nlord the Kazi, by what law is it lawful and right that I should marry at\nnightfall and divorce in the morning in my own despite?\u201d The Kazi\nanswered, \u201cDivorce on compulsion and by force is sanctioned by no school\nof the Moslems.\u201d Then said the young lady\u2019s father, \u201cIf thou wilt not\ndivorce, pay me the ten thousand dinars, her marriage-settlement.\u201d Quoth\nAla al-Din, \u201cGive me a delay of three days;\u201d but the Kazi said, \u201cThree\ndays is not time enough; he shall give thee ten.\u201d So they agreed to this\nand bound him after ten days either to pay the dowry or to divorce her.\nAnd after consenting he left them and taking meat and rice and clarified\nbutter[68] and what else of food he needed, returned to the house and\ntold the young woman all that had passed; whereupon she said, \u201c\u2019Twixt\nnight and day, wonders may display; and Allah bless him for his say:\u2014\n\n Be mild when rage shall come to afflict thy soul; \u273f Be patient when\n    calamity breeds ire;\n Lookye, the Nights are big with child by Time, \u273f Whose pregnancy bears\n    wondrous things and dire.\u201d\n\nThen she rose and made ready food and brought the tray, and they two ate\nand drank and were merry and mirthful. Presently, Ala al-Din besought\nher to let him hear a little music; so she took the lute and played a\nmelody that had made the hardest stone dance for glee, and the strings\ncried out in present ecstacy, \u201cO Loving One!\u201d;[69] after which she\npassed from the adagio into the presto and a livelier measure. As they\nthus spent their leisure in joy and jollity and mirth and merriment,\nbehold, there came a knocking at the door and she said to him; \u201cGo see\nwho is at the door.\u201d So he went down and opened it and finding four\nDervishes standing without, said to them, \u201cWhat want ye?\u201d They replied,\n\u201cO my lord, we are foreign and wandering religious mendicants, the\nviands of whose souls are music and dainty verse, and we would fain take\nour pleasure with thee this night till morning doth appear, when we will\nwend our way, and with Almighty Allah be thy reward; for we adore music\nand there is not one of us but knoweth by heart store of odes and songs\nand ritornellos.\u201d[70] He answered, \u201cThere is one I must consult;\u201d and he\nreturned and told Zubaydah who said, \u201cOpen the door to them.\u201d So he\nbrought them up and made them sit down and welcomed them; then he\nfetched them food, but they would not eat and said, \u201cO our lord, our\nmeat is to repeat Allah\u2019s name in our hearts and to hear music with our\nears: and bless him who saith:\u2014\n\n Our aim is only converse to enjoy, \u273f And eating joyeth only\n    cattle-kind.[71]\n\nAnd just now we heard pleasant music in thy house, but when we entered,\nit ceased; and fain would we know whether the player was a slave-girl,\nwhite or black, or a maiden of good family.\u201d He answered, \u201cIt was this\nmy wife,\u201d and told them all that had befallen him, adding, \u201cVerily my\nfather-in-law hath bound me to pay a marriage settlement of ten thousand\ndinars for her, and they have given me ten days\u2019 time.\u201d Said one of the\nDervishes, \u201cHave no care and think of naught but good; for I am Shaykh\nof the Convent and have forty Dervishes under my orders. I will\npresently collect from them the ten thousand dinars and thou shalt pay\nthy father-in-law the wedding settlement. But now bid thy wife make us\nmusic that we may be gladdened and pleasured; for to some folk music is\nmeat, to others medicine and to others refreshing as a fan.\u201d Now these\nfour Dervishes were none other than the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, his\nWazir Ja\u2019afar the Barmecide, Abu al-Now\u00e1s al-Hasan son of H\u00e1ni[72] and\nMasrur the sworder; and the reason of their coming to the house was that\nthe Caliph, being heavy at heart, had summoned his Minister and said, \u201cO\nWazir! it is our will to go down to the city and pace its streets, for\nmy breast is sore straitened.\u201d So they all four donned dervish-dress and\nwent down and walked about, till they came to that house where, hearing\nmusic, they were minded to know the cause. They spent the night in\njoyance and harmony and telling tale after tale until morning dawned,\nwhen the Caliph laid an hundred gold pieces under the prayer-carpet and\nall taking leave of Ala al-Din, went their way. Now when Zubaydah lifted\nthe carpet she found beneath it the hundred dinars and she said to her\nhusband, \u201cTake these hundred dinars which I have found under the\nprayer-carpet; assuredly the Dervishes when about to leave us laid them\nthere, without our knowledge.\u201d So Ala al-Din took the money and,\nrepairing to the market, bought therewith meat and rice and clarified\nbutter and all they required. And when it was night, he lit the\nwax-candles and said to his wife, \u201cThe mendicants, it is true, have not\nbrought the ten thousand dinars which they promised me; but indeed they\nare poor men.\u201d As they were talking, behold, the Dervishes knocked at\nthe door and she said, \u201cGo down and open to them.\u201d So he did her bidding\nand bringing them up, said to them, \u201cHave you brought me the ten\nthousand dinars you promised me?\u201d They answered, \u201cWe have not been able\nto collect aught thereof as yet; but fear nothing: Inshallah, to-morrow\nwe will compound for thee some alchemical cookery. But now bid thy wife\nplay us her very best pieces and gladden our hearts for we love music.\u201d\nSo she took her lute and made them such melody that had caused the\nhardest rocks to dance with glee; and they passed the night in mirth and\nmerriment, converse and good cheer, till morn appeared with its sheen\nand shone, when the Caliph laid an hundred gold pieces under the\nprayer-carpet and all, after taking leave of Ala al-Din, went their way.\nAnd they ceased not to visit him thus every night for nine nights; and\neach morning the Caliph put an hundred dinars under the prayer-carpet,\ntill the tenth night, when they came not. Now the reason of their\nfailure to come was that the Caliph had sent to a great merchant, saying\nto him, \u201cBring me fifty loads of stuffs, such as come from Cairo,\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Prince of True\nBelievers said to that merchant, \u201cBring me fifty loads of stuffs such as\ncome from Cairo, and let each one be worth a thousand dinars, and write\non each bale its price; and bring me also a male Abyssinian slave.\u201d The\nmerchant did the bidding of the Caliph who committed to the slave a\nbasin and ewer of gold and other presents, together with the fifty\nloads; and wrote a letter to Ala al-Din as from his father Shams al-Din\nand said to him, \u201cTake these bales and what else is with them, and go to\nsuch and such a quarter wherein dwelleth the Provost of the merchants\nand say:\u2014Where be Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat? till folk direct thee to his\nquarter and his house.\u201d So the slave took the letter and the goods and\nwhat else and fared forth on his errand. Such was his case; but as\nregards Zubaydah\u2019s cousin and first husband, he went to her father and\nsaid to him, \u201cCome let us go to Ala al-Din and make him divorce the\ndaughter of my uncle.\u201d So they set out both together and, when they came\nto the street in which the house stood, they found fifty he-mules laden\nwith bales of stuffs, and a blackamoor riding on a she-mule. So they\nsaid to him, \u201cWhose loads are these?\u201d He replied, \u201cThey belong to my\nlord Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat; for his father equipped him with\nmerchandise and sent him on a journey to Baghdad-city; but the wild\nArabs came forth against him and took his money and goods and all he\nhad. So when the ill news reached his father, he despatched me to him\nwith these loads, in lieu of those he had lost; besides a mule laden\nwith fifty thousand dinars, a parcel of clothes worth a power of money,\na robe of sables[73] and a basin and ewer of gold.\u201d Whereupon the lady\u2019s\nfather said, \u201cHe whom thou seekest is my son-in-law and I will show thee\nhis house.\u201d Meanwhile Ala al-Din was sitting at home in huge concern,\nwhen lo! one knocked, at the door and he said, \u201cO Zubaydah, Allah is\nall-knowing! but I fear thy father hath sent me an officer from the Kazi\nor the Chief of Police.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cGo down and see what it is.\u201d So he\nwent down; and, opening the door, found his father-in-law, the Provost\nof the merchants with an Abyssinian slave, dusky-complexioned and\npleasant of favour, riding on a mule. When the slave saw him he\ndismounted and kissed his hands; and Ala al-Din said, \u201cWhat dost thou\nwant?\u201d He replied, \u201cI am the slave of my lord Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat,\nson of Shams al-Din, Consul of the merchants for the land of Egypt, who\nhath sent me to him with this charge.\u201d Then he gave him the letter and\nAla al-Din opening it found written what followeth:[74]\u2014\n\n Ho thou my letter! when my friend shall see thee, \u273f Kiss thou the ground\n    and buss his sandal-shoon:\n Look thou hie softly and thou hasten not; \u273f My life and rest are in\n    those hands so boon.\n\n\u201cAfter hearty salutions and congratulations and high estimation from\nShams al-Din to his son, Abu al-Shamat. Know, O my son, that news hath\nreached me of the slaughter of thy men and the plunder of thy monies and\ngoods; so I send thee herewith fifty loads of Egyptian stuffs, together\nwith a suit of clothes and a robe of sables and a basin and ewer of\ngold. Fear thou no evil and the goods thou hast lost were the ransom of\nthy life; so regret them not and may no further grief befal thee. Thy\nmother and the people of the house are doing well in health and\nhappiness and all greet thee with abundant greetings. Moreover, O my\nson, it hath reached me that they have married thee, by way of\nintermediary, to the lady Zubaydah the Lutist and they have imposed on\nthee a marriage-settlement of ten thousand dinars; wherefore I send thee\nalso fifty thousand dinars by the slave Sal\u00edm.\u201d[75] Now when Ala al-Din\nhad made an end of reading the letter, he took possession of the loads\nand, turning to the Provost, said to him, \u201cO my father-in-law, take the\nten thousand dinars, the marriage-settlement of thy daughter Zubaydah,\nand take also the loads of goods and dispose of them, and thine be the\nprofit; only return me the cost-price.\u201d He answered, \u201cNay, by Allah, I\nwill take nothing; and, as for thy wife\u2019s settlement, do thou settle the\nmatter with her.\u201d Then, after the goods had been brought in, they went\nto Zubaydah and she said to her sire, \u201cO my father, whose loads be\nthese?\u201d He said, \u201cThese belong to thy husband, Ala al-Din: his father\nhath sent them to him instead of those whereof the wild Arabs spoiled\nhim. Moreover, he hath sent him fifty thousand dinars with a parcel of\nclothes, a robe of sables, a she-mule for riding and a basin and ewer of\ngold. As for the marriage-settlement that is for thy recking.\u201d Thereupon\nAla al-Din rose and, opening the money-box, gave her her settlement and\nthe lady\u2019s cousin said, \u201cO my uncle, let him divorce to me my wife;\u201d but\nthe old man replied, \u201cThis may never be now; for the marriage-tie is in\nhis hand.\u201d Thereupon the young man went out, sore afflicted and sadly\nvexed and, returning home, fell sick, for his heart had received its\ndeath-blow; so he presently died. But as for Ala al-Din, after receiving\nhis goods he went to the bazar and buying what meats and drinks he\nneeded, made a banquet as usual against the night, saying to Zubaydah,\n\u201cSee these lying Dervishes; they promised us and broke their promises.\u201d\nQuoth she, \u201cThou art the son of a Consul of the merchants, yet was thy\nhand short of half a dirham; how then should it be with poor Dervishes?\u201d\nQuoth he, \u201cAlmighty Allah hath enabled us to do without them; but if\nthey come to us never again will I open the door to them.\u201d She asked,\n\u201cWhy so, whenas their coming footsteps brought us good luck; and,\nmoreover, they put an hundred dinars under the prayer-carpet for us\nevery night? Perforce must thou open the door to them an they come.\u201d So\nwhen day departed with its light and in gloom came night, they lighted\nthe wax candles and he said to her, \u201cRise, Zubaydah, make us music;\u201d and\nbehold, at this moment some one knocked at the door, and she said, \u201cGo\nand look who is at the door.\u201d So he went down and opened it and seeing\nthe Dervishes, said, \u201cOh, fair welcome to the liars! Come up.\u201d\nAccordingly they went up with him and he seated them and brought them\nthe tray of food; and they ate and drank and became merry and mirthful,\nand presently said to him, \u201cO my lord, our hearts have been troubled for\nthee: what hath passed between thee and thy father-in-law?\u201d He answered,\n\u201cAllah compensated us beyond and above our desire.\u201d Rejoined they, \u201cBy\nAllah, we were in fear for thee\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n         Now when it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Dervishes thus\naddressed Ala al-Din, \u201cBy Allah, we were in fear for thee and naught\nkept us from thee but our lack of cash and coin.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cSpeedy\nrelief hath come to me from my Lord; for my father hath sent me fifty\nthousand dinars and fifty loads of stuffs, each load worth a thousand\ndinars; besides a riding-mule, a robe of sables, an Abyssinian slave and\na basin and ewer of gold. Moreover, I have made my peace with my\nfather-in-law and my wife hath become my lawful wife by my paying her\nsettlement; so laud to Allah for that!\u201d Presently the Caliph rose to do\na necessity; whereupon Ja\u2019afar bent him towards Ala al-Din and said,\n\u201cLook to thy manners, for thou art in the presence of the Commander of\nthe Faithful.\u201d Asked he, \u201cHow have I failed in good breeding before the\nCommander of the Faithful, and which of you is he?\u201d Quoth Ja\u2019afar, \u201cHe\nwho went out but now to make water is the Commander of the Faithful,\nHarun al-Rashid, and I am the Wazir Ja\u2019afar; and this is Masrur the\nexecutioner and this other is Abu Nowas Hasan bin Hani. And now, O Ala\nal-Din, use thy reason and bethink thee how many days\u2019 journey it is\nbetween Cairo and Baghdad.\u201d He replied, \u201cFive-and-forty days\u2019 journey;\u201d\nand Ja\u2019afar rejoined, \u201cThy baggage was stolen only ten days ago; so how\ncould the news have reached thy father, and how could he pack thee up\nother goods and send them to thee five-and-forty days\u2019 journey in ten\ndays\u2019 time?\u201d Quoth Ala al-Din, \u201cO my lord and whence then came they?\u201d\n\u201cFrom the Commander of the Faithful,\u201d replied Ja\u2019afar, \u201cof his great\naffection for thee.\u201d As they were speaking, lo! the Caliph entered and\nAla al-Din rising, kissed the ground before him and said, \u201cAllah keep\nthee, O Prince of the Faithful, and give thee long life; and may the\nlieges never lack thy bounty and beneficence!\u201d Replied the Caliph, \u201cO\nAla al-Din, let Zubaydah play us an air, by way of house-warming[76] for\nthy deliverance.\u201d Thereupon she played him on the lute so rare a melody\nthat the very stones shook for glee, and the strings cried out for\npresent ecstasy, \u201cO Loving One!\u201d They spent the night after the merriest\nfashion, and in the morning the Caliph said to Ala al-Din, \u201cCome to the\nDivan to-morrow.\u201d He answered, \u201cHearkening and obedience, O Commander of\nthe Faithful; so Allah will and thou be well and in good case!\u201d On the\nmorrow he took ten trays and, putting on each a costly present, went up\nwith them to the palace; and the Caliph was sitting on the throne when,\nbehold, Ala al-Din appeared at the door of the Divan, repeating these\ntwo couplets:\u2014\n\n Honour and Glory wait on thee each morn! \u273f Thine enviers\u2019 noses in the\n    dust be set!\n Ne\u2019er cease thy days to be as white as snow; \u273f Thy foeman\u2019s days to be\n    as black as jet!\n\n\u201cWelcome, O Ala al-Din!\u201d said the Caliph, and he replied, \u201cO Commander\nof the Faithful, the Prophet (whom Allah bless and assain!)[77] was wont\nto accept presents; and these ten trays, with what is on them, are my\noffering to thee.\u201d The Caliph accepted his gift and, ordering him a robe\nof honour, made him Provost of the merchants and gave him a seat in the\nDivan. And as he was sitting behold, his father-in-law came in and,\nseeing Ala al-Din seated in his place and clad in a robe of honour, said\nto the Caliph, \u201cO King of the age, why is this man sitting in my place\nand wearing this robe of honour?\u201d Quoth the Caliph, \u201cI have made him\nProvost of the merchants, for offices are by investiture and not in\nperpetuity, and thou art deposed.\u201d Answered the merchant, \u201cThou hast\ndone well, O Commander of the Faithful, for he is ours and one of us.\nAllah make the best of us the managers of our affairs! How many a little\none hath become great!\u201d Then the Caliph wrote Ala al-Din a Firman[78] of\ninvestiture and gave it to the Governor who gave it to the crier,[79]\nand the crier made proclamation in the Divan saying, \u201cNone is Provost of\nthe merchants but Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat, and his word is to be heard,\nand he must be obeyed with due respect paid, and he meriteth homage and\nhonour and high degree!\u201d Moreover, when the Divan broke up, the Governor\nwent down with the crier before Ala al-Din and the crier repeated the\nproclamation and they carried Ala al-Din through the thoroughfares of\nBaghdad, making proclamation of his dignity. Next day, Ala al-Din opened\na shop for his slave Salim and set him therein, to buy and sell, whilst\nhe himself rode to the palace and took his place in the Caliph\u2019s\nDivan.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n          Now when it was the Two Hundred and Sixtieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ala al-Din rode to\nthe palace and took his place in the Caliph\u2019s Divan. Now it came to pass\none day, when he sat in his stead as was his wont, behold, one said to\nthe Caliph, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, may thy head survive such an\none the cup-companion!; for he is gone to the mercy of Almighty Allah,\nbut be thy life prolonged!\u201d[80] Quoth the Caliph, \u201cWhere is Ala al-Din\nAbu al-Shamat?\u201d So he went up to the Commander of the Faithful, who at\nonce clad him in a splendid dress of honour and made him his\nboon-companion; appointing him a monthly pay and allowance of a thousand\ndinars. He continued to keep him company till, one day, as he sat in the\nDivan, according to his custom attending upon the Caliph, lo and behold!\nan Emir came up with sword and shield in hand and said, \u201cO Commander of\nthe Faithful, may thy head long outlive the Head of the Sixty, for he is\ndead this day;\u201d whereupon the Caliph ordered Ala al-Din a dress of\nhonour and made him Chief of the Sixty, in place of the other who had\nneither wife nor son nor daughter. So Ala al-Din laid hands on his\nestate and the Caliph said to him, \u201cBury him in the earth and take all\nhe hath left of wealth and slaves and handmaids.\u201d[81] Then he shook the\nhandkerchief[82] and dismissed the Divan, whereupon Ala al-Din went\nforth, attended by Ahmad al-Danaf, captain of the right, and Hasan\nSh\u00fam\u00e1n, captain of the left, riding at his either stirrup, each with his\nforty men.[83] Presently, he turned to Hasan Shuman and his men and said\nto them, \u201cPlead ye for me with the Captain Ahmad al-Danaf that he please\nto accept me as his son by covenant before Allah.\u201d And Ahmad assented,\nsaying, \u201cI and my forty men will go before thee to the Divan every\nmorning.\u201d Now after this Ala al-Din continued in the Caliph\u2019s service\nmany days; till one day it chanced that he left the Divan and returning\nhome, dismissed Ahmad al-Danaf and his men and sat down with his wife\nZubaydah, the lute-player, who lighted the wax candles and went out of\nthe room upon an occasion. Suddenly he heard a loud shriek; so he rose\nup and running in haste to see what was the matter, found that it was\nhis wife who had cried out. She was lying at full length on the ground\nand, when he put his hand to her breast, he found her dead. Now her\nfather\u2019s house faced that of Ala al-Din, and he, hearing the shriek,\ncame in and said, \u201cWhat is the matter, O my lord Ala al-Din?\u201d He\nreplied, \u201cO my father, may thy head outlive thy daughter Zubaydah! But,\nO my father, honour to the dead is burying them.\u201d So when the morning\ndawned, they buried her in the earth and her husband and father condoled\nwith and mutually consoled each other. Thus far concerning her; but as\nregards Ala al-Din, he donned mourning dress and declined the Divan,\nabiding tearful-eyed and heavy-hearted at home. After a while, the\nCaliph said to Ja\u2019afar, \u201cO Wazir, what is the cause of Ala al-Din\u2019s\nabsence from the Divan?\u201d The Minister answered, \u201cO Commander of the\nFaithful, he is in mourning for his wife Zubaydah; and is occupied in\nreceiving those who come to console him;\u201d and the Caliph said, \u201cIt\nbehoveth us to pay him a visit of condolence.\u201d \u201cI hear and I obey,\u201d\nreplied Ja\u2019afar. So they took horse, the Caliph and the Minister and a\nfew attendants, and rode to Ala al-Din\u2019s house and, as he was sitting at\nhome, behold, the party came in upon him; whereupon he rose to receive\nthem and kissed the ground before the Caliph, who said to him, \u201cAllah\nmake good thy loss to thee!\u201d Answered Ala al-Din, \u201cMay Allah preserve\nthee to us, O Commander of the Faithful!\u201d Then said the Caliph, \u201cO Ala\nal-Din, why hast thou absented thyself from the Divan?\u201d And he replied,\n\u201cBecause of my mourning for my wife, Zubaydah, O Commander of the\nFaithful.\u201d The Caliph rejoined, \u201cPut away grief from thee: verily she is\ndead and gone to the mercy of Almighty Allah and mourning will avail\nthee nothing; no, nothing.\u201d But Ala al-Din said \u201cO Commander of the\nFaithful, I shall never leave mourning for her till I die and they bury\nme by her side.\u201d Quoth the Caliph, \u201cIn Allah is compensation for every\ndecease, and neither device nor riches can deliver from death; and\ndivinely gifted was he who said:\u2014\n\n All sons of woman, albe long preserved, \u273f Are borne upon the bulging\n    bier some day.[84]\n How then shall \u2018joy man joy or taste delight, \u273f Upon whose cheeks shall\n    rest the dust and clay?\u201d\n\nWhen the Caliph had made an end of condoling with him, he charged him\nnot to absent himself from the Divan and returned to his palace. And Ala\nal-Din, after a last sorrowful night, mounted early in the morning and,\nriding to the court, kissed the ground before the Commander of the\nFaithful who made a movement as if rising from the throne,[85] to greet\nand welcome him; and bade him take his appointed place in the Divan,\nsaying, \u201cO Ala al-Din, thou art my guest to-night.\u201d So presently he\ncarried him into his serraglio and calling a slave-girl named K\u00fat\nal-Kul\u00fab, said to her, \u201cAla al-Din had a wife called Zubaydah, who used\nto sing to him and solace him of cark and care; but she is gone to the\nmercy of Almighty Allah, and now I would have thee play him an air upon\nthe lute,\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\n\n         Now when it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph said to\nthe damsel Kut al-Kulub, \u201cI would have thee play him upon the lute an\nair, of fashion sweet and rare, that he may be solaced of his cark and\ncare.\u201d So she rose and made sweet music; and the Caliph said to Ala\nal-Din, \u201cWhat sayst thou of this damsel\u2019s voice?\u201d He replied, \u201cVerily, O\nCommander of the Faithful, Zubaydah\u2019s voice was the finer; but she is\nskilled in touching the lute cunningly and her playing would make a rock\ndance with glee.\u201d The Caliph asked, \u201cDoth she please thee?\u201d and he\nanswered, \u201cShe doth, O Commander of the Faithful;\u201d whereupon the King\nsaid, \u201cBy the life of my head and the tombs of my forefathers, she is a\ngift from me to thee, she and her waiting-women!\u201d Ala al-Din fancied\nthat the Caliph was jesting with him; but, on the morrow, the King went\nin to Kut al-Kulub and said to her, \u201cI have given thee to Ala al-Din;\u201d\nwhereat she rejoiced, for she had seen and loved him. Then the Caliph\nreturned from his serraglio-palace to the Divan; and, calling porters,\nsaid to them, \u201cSet all the goods of Kut al-Kulub and her waiting-women\nin a litter, and carry them to Ala al-Din\u2019s home.\u201d So they conducted her\nto the house and showed her into the pavilion, whilst the Caliph sat in\nthe hall of audience till the close of day, when the Divan broke up and\nhe retired to his harem. Such was his case; but as regards Kut al-Kulub,\nwhen she had taken up her lodging in Ala al-Din\u2019s mansion, she and her\nwomen, forty in all, besides the eunuchry, she called two of these\ncaponised slaves and said to them, \u201cSit ye on stools, one on the right\nand another on the left hand of the door; and, when Ala al-Din cometh\nhome, both of you kiss his hands and say to him, \u201cOur mistress Kut\nal-Kulub requesteth thy presence in the pavilion, for the Caliph hath\ngiven her to thee, her and her women.\u201d\u201d They answered, \u201cWe hear and\nobey;\u201d and did as she bade them. So, when Ala al-Din returned, he found\ntwo of the Caliph\u2019s eunuchs sitting at the door and was amazed at the\nmatter and said to himself, \u201cSurely, this is not my own house; or else\nwhat can have happened?\u201d Now when the eunuchs saw him, they rose to him\nand, kissing his hands, said to him, \u201cWe are of the Caliph\u2019s household\nand slaves to Kut al-Kulub, who saluteth thee giving thee to know that\nthe Caliph hath bestowed her on thee, her and her women, and requesteth\nthy presence.\u201d Quoth Ala al-Din, \u201cSay ye to her:\u2014Thou art welcome; but\nso long as thou shalt abide with me, I will not enter the pavilion\nwherein thou art, for what was the master\u2019s should not become the man\u2019s;\nand furthermore ask her:\u2014What was the sum of thy day\u2019s expenditure in\nthe Caliph\u2019s palace?\u201d So they went in and did his errand to her, and she\nanswered, \u201cAn hundred dinars a day;\u201d whereupon quoth he to himself,\n\u201cThere was no need for the Caliph to give me Kut al-Kulub, that I should\nbe put to such expense for her; but there is no help for it.\u201d So she\nabode with him awhile and he assigned her daily an hundred dinars for\nher maintenance; till, one day, he absented himself from the Divan and\nthe Caliph said to Ja\u2019afar, \u201cO Wazir, I gave not Kut al-Kulub unto Ala\nal-Din but that she might console him for his wife; why, then, doth he\nstill hold aloof from us?\u201d Answered Ja\u2019afar, \u201cO Commander of the\nFaithful, he spake sooth who said:\u2014Whoso findeth his fere, forgetteth\nhis friends.\u201d Rejoined the Caliph, \u201cHaply he hath not absented himself\nwithout excuse, but we will pay him a visit.\u201d Now some days before this,\nAla al-Din had said to Ja\u2019afar, \u201cI complained to the Caliph of my grief\nand mourning for the loss of my wife Zubaydah and he gave me Kut\nal-Kulub;\u201d and the Minister replied, \u201cExcept he loved thee, he had not\ngiven her to thee. Say hast thou gone in unto her, O Ala al-Din?\u201d He\nrejoined, \u201cNo, by Allah! I know not her length from her breadth.\u201d He\nasked \u201cAnd why?\u201d and he answered, \u201cO Wazir, what befitteth the lord\nbefitteth not the liege.\u201d Then the Caliph and Ja\u2019afar disguised\nthemselves and went privily to visit Ala al-Din; but he knew them and\nrising to them kissed the hands of the Caliph, who looked at him and saw\nsigns of sorrow in his face. So he said to him, \u201cO Ala al-Din, whence\ncometh this sorrow wherein I see thee? Hast thou not gone in unto Kut\nal-Kulub?\u201d He replied, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, what befitteth the\nlord befitteth not the thrall. No, as yet I have not gone in to visit\nher nor do I know her length from her breadth; so pray quit me of her.\u201d\nQuoth the Caliph, \u201cI would fain see her and question her of her case;\u201d\nand quoth Ala al-Din, \u201cI hear and I obey, O Commander of the Faithful.\u201d\nSo the Caliph went in\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph went in\nto Kut al-Kulub, who rose to him on sighting him and kissed the ground\nbetween his hands; when he said to her, \u201cHath Ala al-Din gone in unto\nthee?\u201d and she answered, \u201cNo, O Commander of the Faithful, I sent to bid\nhim come, but he would not.\u201d So the Caliph bade carry her back to the\nHarim and saying to Ala al-Din, \u201cDo not absent thyself from us,\u201d\nreturned to his palace. Accordingly, next morning, Ala al-Din mounted\nand rode to the Divan, where he took his seat as Chief of the Sixty.\nPresently the Caliph ordered his treasurer to give the Wazir Ja\u2019afar ten\nthousand dinars and said when his order was obeyed, \u201cI charge thee to go\ndown to the bazar where handmaidens are sold and buy Ala al-Din a\nslave-girl with this sum.\u201d So in obedience to the King Ja\u2019afar took Ala\nal-Din and went down with him to the bazar. Now as chance would have it,\nthat very day, the Emir Kh\u00e1lid, whom the Caliph had made Governor of\nBaghdad, went down to the market to buy a slave-girl for his son and the\ncause of his going was that his wife, Kh\u00e1t\u00fan by name, had borne him a\nson called Habzalam Baz\u00e1zah,[86] and the same was foul of favour and had\nreached the age of twenty, without learning to mount horse; albeit his\nfather was brave and bold, a doughty rider ready to plunge into the Sea\nof Darkness.[87] And it happened that on a certain night he had a dream\nwhich caused nocturnal pollution, whereof he told his mother who\nrejoiced and said to his father, \u201cI want to find him a wife, as he is\nnow ripe for wedlock.\u201d Quoth Khalid, \u201cThe fellow is so foul of favour\nand withal so rank of odour, so sordid and beastly that no woman would\ntake him at a gift.\u201d And she answered, \u201cWe will buy him a slave-girl.\u201d\nSo it befel, for the accomplishing of what Allah Almighty had decreed,\nthat on the same day Ja\u2019afar and Ala al-Din, the Governor Khalid and his\nson went down to the market and behold, they saw in the hands of a\nbroker, a beautiful girl lovely-faced and of perfect shape, and the\nWazir said to him, \u201cO broker, ask her owner if he will take a thousand\ndinars for her.\u201d And as the broker passed by the Governor with the\nslave, Habzalam Bazazah cast at her one glance of the eyes which\nentailed for himself one thousand sighs; and he fell in love with her\nand passion got hold of him and he said, \u201cO my father, buy me yonder\nslave-girl.\u201d So the Emir called the broker, who brought the girl to him,\nand asked her her name. She replied, \u201cMy name is Jessamine;\u201d and he said\nto Habzalam Bazazah, \u201cO my son, an she please thee, do thou bid higher\nfor her.\u201d Then he asked the broker, \u201cWhat hath been bidden for her?\u201d and\nhe replied, \u201cA thousand dinars.\u201d Said the Governor\u2019s son, \u201cShe is mine\nfor a thousand pieces of gold and one more;\u201d and the broker passed on to\nAla al-Din who bid two thousand dinars for her; and as often as the\nEmir\u2019s son bid another dinar, Ala al-Din bid a thousand. The ugly youth\nwas vexed at this and said, \u201cO broker! who is it that outbiddeth me for\nthe slave-girl?\u201d Answered the broker, \u201cIt is the Wazir Ja\u2019afar who is\nminded to buy her for Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat.\u201d And Ala al-Din\ncontinued till he brought her price up to ten thousand dinars, and her\nowner was satisfied to sell her for that sum. Then he took the girl and\nsaid to her, \u201cI give thee thy freedom for the love of Almighty Allah;\u201d\nand forthwith wrote his contract of marriage with her and carried her to\nhis house. Now when the broker returned, after having received his\nbrokerage, the Emir\u2019s son summoned him and said to him, \u201cWhere is the\ngirl?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cShe was bought for ten thousand dinars by Ala al-Din,\nwho hath set her free and married her.\u201d At this the young man was\ngreatly vexed and cast down and, sighing many a sigh, returned home,\nsick for love of the damsel; and he threw himself on his bed and refused\nfood, for love and longing were sore upon him. Now when his mother saw\nhim in this plight, she said to him, \u201cHeaven assain thee, O my son! What\naileth thee?\u201d And he answered, \u201cBuy me Jessamine, O my mother.\u201d Quoth\nshe, \u201cWhen the flower-seller passeth I will buy thee a basketful of\njessamine.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cIt is not the jessamine one smells, but a\nslave-girl \u2018named Jessamine, whom my father would not buy for me.\u201d So\nshe said to her husband, \u201cWhy and wherefore didst thou not buy him the\ngirl?\u201d and he replied, \u201cWhat is fit for the lord is not fit for the\nliege and I have no power to take her: no less a man bought her than Ala\nal-Din, Chief of the Sixty.\u201d Then the youth\u2019s weakness redoubled upon\nhim, till he gave up sleeping and eating, and his mother bound her head\nwith the fillets of mourning. And while in her sadness she sat at home,\nlamenting over her son, behold, came in to her an old woman, known as\nthe mother of Ahmad Kam\u00e1kim[88] the arch-thief, a knave who would bore\nthrough a middle wall and scale the tallest of the tall and steal the\nvery kohl off the eye-ball.[89] From his earliest years he had been\ngiven to these malpractices, till they made him Captain of the Watch,\nwhen he stole a sum of money; and the Chief of Police, coming upon him\nin the act, carried him to the Caliph, who bade put him to death on the\ncommon execution-ground.[90] But he implored protection of the Wazir\nwhose intercession the Caliph never rejected; so he pleaded for him with\nthe Commander of the Faithful who said, \u201cHow canst thou intercede for\nthis pest of the human race?\u201d Ja\u2019afar answered, \u201cO Commander of the\nFaithful, do thou imprison him; whoso built the first jail was a sage,\nseeing that a jail is the grave of the living and a joy for the foe.\u201d So\nthe Caliph bade lay him in bilboes and write thereon, \u201cAppointed to\nremain here until death and not to be loosed but on the corpse-washer\u2019s\nbench;\u201d and they cast him fettered into limbo. Now his mother was a\nfrequent visitor to the house of the Emir Khalid, who was Governor and\nChief of Police; and she used to go in to her son in jail and say to\nhim, \u201cDid I not warn thee to turn from thy wicked ways?\u201d[91] And he\nwould always answer her, \u201cAllah decreed this to me; but, O my mother,\nwhen thou visitest the Emir\u2019s wife make her intercede for me with her\nhusband.\u201d So when the old woman came into the Lady Khatun, she found her\nbound with the fillets of mourning and said to her, \u201cWherefore dost thou\nmourn?\u201d She replied, \u201cFor my son Habzalam Bazazah;\u201d and the old woman\nexclaimed, \u201cHeaven assain thy son!; what hath befallen him?\u201d So the\nmother told her the whole story, and she said, \u201cWhat wouldst thou say of\nhim who should achieve such a feat as would save thy son?\u201d Asked the\nlady, \u201cAnd what feat wilt thou do?\u201d Quoth the old woman, \u201cI have a son\ncalled Ahmad Kamakim, the arch-thief, who lieth chained in jail and on\nhis bilboes is written:\u2014Appointed to remain till death; so do thou don\nthy richest clothes and trick thee out with thy finest jewels and\npresent thyself to thy husband with an open face and smiling mien; and\nwhen he seeketh of thee what men seek of women, put him off and baulk\nhim of his will and say:\u2014By Allah, \u2018tis a strange thing! When a man\ndesireth aught of his wife he dunneth her till she doeth it; but if a\nwife desire aught of her husband, he will not grant it to her. Then he\nwill say:\u2014What dost thou want?; and do thou answer:\u2014First swear to grant\nmy request. If he swear to thee by his head or by Allah, say to\nhim:\u2014Swear to me the oath of divorce, and do not yield to him, except he\ndo this. And whenas he hath sworn to thee the oath of divorce, say to\nhim:\u2014Thou keepest in prison a man called Ahmad Kamakim, and he hath a\npoor old mother, who hath set upon me and who urgeth me in the matter\nand who saith, Let thy husband intercede for him with the Caliph, that\nmy son may repent and thou gain heavenly guerdon.\u201d And the Lady Khatun\nreplied, \u201cI hear and obey.\u201d So when her husband came into her\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n         Now when it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-third Night,\n\n[Illustration]\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Governor came\nin to his wife, who spoke to him as she had been taught and made him\nswear the divorce-oath before she would yield to his wishes. He lay with\nher that night and, when morning dawned, after he had made the\nGhusl-ablution and prayed the dawn-prayer, he repaired to the prison and\nsaid, \u201cO Ahmad Kamakim, O thou arch-thief, dost thou repent of thy\nworks?\u201d; whereto he replied, \u201cI do indeed repent and turn to Allah and\nsay with heart and tongue:\u2014I ask pardon of Allah.\u201d So the Governor took\nhim out of jail and carried him to the Court (he being still in bilboes)\nand, approaching the Caliph kissed ground before him. Quoth the King, \u201cO\nEmir Khalid, what seekest thou?\u201d; whereupon he brought forward Ahmad\nKamakim, shuffling and tripping in his fetters, and the Caliph said to\nhim, \u201cWhat! art thou yet alive, O Kamakim?\u201d He replied, \u201cO Commander of\nthe Faithful, the miserable are long-lived.\u201d Quoth the Caliph to the\nEmir, \u201cWhy hast thou brought him hither?\u201d; and quoth he, \u201cO Commander of\nthe Faithful, he hath a poor old mother cut off from the world who hath\nnone but this son and she hath had recourse to thy slave, imploring him\nto intercede with thee to strike off his chains, for he repenteth of his\nevil courses; and to make him Captain of the Watch as before.\u201d The\nCaliph asked Ahmad Kamakim, \u201cDost thou repent of thy sins?\u201d \u201cI do indeed\nrepent me to Allah, O Commander of the Faithful,\u201d answered he; whereupon\nthe Caliph called for the blacksmith and made him strike off his irons\non the corpse-washer\u2019s bench.[92] Moreover, he restored him to his\nformer office and charged him to walk in the ways of godliness and\nrighteousness. So he kissed the Caliph\u2019s hands and, being invested with\nthe uniform of Captain of the Watch, he went forth, whilst they made\nproclamation of his appointment. Now for a long time he abode in the\nexercise of his office, till one day his mother went in to the\nGovernor\u2019s wife, who said to her, \u201cPraised be Allah who hath delivered\nthy son from prison and restored him to health and safety! But why dost\nthou not bid him contrive some trick to get the girl Jessamine for son\nHabzalam Bazazah?\u201d \u201cThat will I,\u201d answered she and, going out from her,\nrepaired to her son. She found him drunk with wine and said to him, \u201cO\nmy son, no one caused thy release from jail but the wife of the\nGovernor, and she would have thee find some means to slay Ala al-Din Abu\nal-Shamat and get his slave-girl Jessamine for her son Habzalam\nBazazah.\u201d He answered, \u201cThat will be the easiest of things; and I must\nneeds set about it this very night.\u201d Now this was the first night of the\nnew month, and it was the custom of the Caliph to spend that night with\nthe Lady Zubaydah, for the setting free of a slave-girl or a Mameluke or\nsomething of the sort. Moreover, on such occasions he used to doff his\nroyal habit, together with his rosary and dagger-sword and royal signet,\nand set them all upon a chair in the sitting-saloon: and he had also a\ngolden lanthorn, adorned with three jewels strung on a wire of gold, by\nwhich he set great store; and he would commit all these things to the\ncharge of the eunuchry, whilst he went into the Lady Zubaydah\u2019s\napartment. So arch-thief Ahmad Kamakim waited till midnight, when\nCanopus shone bright, and all creatures to sleep were dight whilst the\nCreator veiled them with the veil of night. Then he took his drawn sword\nin his right and his grappling-hook in his left and, repairing to the\nCaliph\u2019s sitting-saloon planted his scaling ladder and cast his grapnel\non to the side of the terrace-roof; then, raising the trap-door, let\nhimself down into the saloon, where he found the eunuchs asleep. He\ndrugged them with hemp-fumes;[93] and, taking the Caliph\u2019s dress,\ndagger, rosary, kerchief, signet-ring and the lanthorn whereupon were\nthe pearls, returned whence he came and betook himself to the house of\nAla al-Din, who had that night celebrated his wedding festivities with\nJessamine and had gone in unto her and gotten her with child. So\narch-thief Ahmad Kamakim climbed over into his saloon and, raising one\nof the marble slabs from the sunken part of the floor,[94] dug a hole\nunder it and laid the stolen things therein, all save the lanthorn,\nwhich he kept for himself. Then he plastered down the marble slab as it\nbefore was, and returning whence he came, went back to his own house,\nsaying, \u201cI will now tackle my drink and set this lanthorn before me and\nquaff the cup to its light.\u201d[95] Now as soon as it was dawn of day, the\nCaliph went out into the sitting-chamber; and, seeing the eunuchs\ndrugged with hemp, aroused them. Then he put his hand to the chair and\nfound neither dress nor signet nor rosary nor dagger-sword nor kerchief\nnor lanthorn; whereat he was exceeding wroth and donning the dress of\nanger, which was a scarlet suit,[96] sat down in the Divan. So the Wazir\nJa\u2019afar came forward and kissing the ground before him, said, \u201cAllah\navert all evil from the Commander of the Faithful!\u201d Answered the Caliph,\n\u201cO Wazir, the evil is passing great!\u201d Ja\u2019afar asked, \u201cWhat has\nhappened?\u201d so he told him what had occurred; and, behold, the Chief of\nPolice appeared with Ahmad Kamakim the robber at his stirrup, when he\nfound the Commander of the Faithful sore enraged. As soon as the Caliph\nsaw him, he said to him, \u201cO Emir Khalid, how goes Baghdad?\u201d And he\nanswered, \u201cSafe and secure.\u201d Cried he, \u201cThou liest!\u201d \u201cHow so, O Prince\nof True Believers?\u201d asked the Emir. So he told him the case and added,\n\u201cI charge thee to bring me back all the stolen things.\u201d Replied the\nEmir, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, the vinegar worm is of and in the\nvinegar, and no stranger can get at this place.\u201d[97] But the Caliph\nsaid, \u201cExcept thou bring me these things, I will put thee to death.\u201d\nQuoth he, \u201cEre thou slay me, slay Ahmad Kamakim, for none should know\nthe robber and the traitor but the Captain of the Watch.\u201d Then came\nforward Ahmad Kamakim and said to the Caliph, \u201cAccept my intercession\nfor the Chief of Police, and I will be responsible to thee for the thief\nand will track his trail till I find him; but give me two Kazis and two\nAssessors for he who did this thing feareth thee not, nor doth he fear\nthe Governor nor any other.\u201d Answered the Caliph, \u201cThou shalt have what\nthou wantest; but let search be made first in my palace and then in\nthose of the Wazir and the Chief of the Sixty.\u201d Rejoined Ahmad Kamakim,\n\u201cThou sayest well, O Commander of the Faithful; belike the man that did\nthis ill-deed be one who hath been reared in the King\u2019s houshold or in\nthat of one of his officers.\u201d Cried the Caliph, \u201cAs my head liveth,\nwhosoever shall have done the deed I will assuredly put him to death, be\nit mine own son!\u201d Then Ahmad Kamakim received a written warrant to enter\nand perforce search the houses;\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ahmad Kamakim got\nwhat he wanted, and received a written warrant to enter and perforce\nsearch the houses; so he fared forth, taking in his hand a rod[98] made\nof bronze and copper, iron and steel, of each three equal parts. He\nfirst searched the palace of the Caliph, then that of the Wazir Ja\u2019afar;\nafter which he went the round of the houses of the Chamberlains and the\nViceroys till he came to that of Ala al-Din. Now when the Chief of the\nSixty heard the clamour before his house, he left his wife Jessamine and\nwent down and, opening the door, found the Master of Police without in\nthe midst of a tumultuous crowd. So he said, \u201cWhat is the matter, O Emir\nKhalid?\u201d Thereupon the Chief told him the case and Ala al-Din said,\n\u201cEnter my house and search it.\u201d The Governor replied, \u201cPardon, O my\nlord; thou art a man in whom trust is reposed and Allah forfend that the\ntrusty turn traitor!\u201d Quoth Ala al-Din, \u201cThere is no help for it but\nthat my house be searched.\u201d So the Chief of Police entered, attended by\nthe Kazi and his Assessors; whereupon Ahmad Kamakim went straight to the\ndepressed floor of the saloon and came to the slab, under which he had\nburied the stolen goods and let the rod fall upon it with such violence\nthat the marble broke in sunder and behold something glittered\nunderneath. Then said he, \u201cBismillah; in the name of Allah! Mashallah;\nwhatso Allah willeth! By the blessing of our coming a hoard hath been\nhit upon; wait while we go down into this hiding-place and see what is\ntherein.\u201d So the Kazi and Assessors looked into the hole and finding\nthere the stolen goods, drew up a statement[99] of how they had\ndiscovered them in Ala al-Din\u2019s house, to which they set their seals.\nThen, they bade seize upon Ala al-Din and took his turband from his\nhead, and officially registered all his monies and effects which were in\nthe mansion. Meanwhile, arch-thief Ahmad Kamakim laid hands on\nJessamine, who was with child by Ala al-Din, and committed her to his\nmother, saying, \u201cDeliver her to Khatun, the Governor\u2019s lady:\u201d so the old\nwoman took her and carried her to the wife of the Master of Police. Now\nas soon as Habzalam Bazazah saw her, health and heart returned to him\nand he arose without stay or delay and joyed with exceeding joy and\nwould have drawn near her; but she pluckt a dagger from her girdle and\nsaid, \u201cKeep off from me, or I will kill thee and kill myself after.\u201d\nExclaimed his mother, \u201cO strumpet, let my son have his will of thee!\u201d\nBut Jessamine answered \u201cO bitch, by what law is it lawful for a woman to\nmarry two men; and how shall the dog be admitted to the place of the\nlion?\u201d With this, the ugly youth\u2019s love-longing redoubled and he\nsickened for yearning and unfulfilled desire; and refusing food returned\nto his pillow. Then said his mother to her, \u201cO harlot, how canst thou\nmake me thus to sorrow for my son? Needs must I punish thee with\ntorture; and as for Ala al-Din, he will assuredly be hanged.\u201d \u201cAnd I\nwill die for love of him,\u201d answered Jessamine. Then the Governor\u2019s wife\narose and stripped her of her jewels and silken raiment and, clothing\nher in petticoat-trousers of sack-cloth and a shift of hair-cloth, sent\nher down into the kitchen and made her a scullery-wench, saying, \u201cThe\nreward for thy constancy shall be to break up fire-wood and peel onions\nand set fire under the cooking-pots.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cI am willing to suffer\nall manner of hardships and servitude, but I will not suffer the sight\nof thy son.\u201d However, Allah inclined the hearts of the slave-girls to\nher and they used to do her service in the kitchen. Such was the case\nwith Jessamine; but as regards Ala al-Din they carried him, together\nwith the stolen goods, to the Divan where the Caliph still sat upon his\nthrone. And behold, the King looked upon his effects and said, \u201cWhere\ndid ye find them?\u201d They replied, \u201cIn the very middle of the house\nbelonging to Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat;\u201d whereat the Caliph was filled\nwith wrath and took the things, but found not the lanthorn among them\nand said, \u201cO Ala al-Din, where is the lanthorn?\u201d He answered \u201cI stole it\nnot; I know naught of it; I never saw it; I can give no information\nabout it!\u201d Said the Caliph, \u201cO traitor, how cometh it that I brought\nthee near unto me and thou hast cast me out afar, and I trusted in thee\nand thou betrayest me?\u201d And he commanded to hang him. So the Chief of\nPolice took him and went down with him into the city, whilst the crier\npreceded them proclaiming aloud and saying, \u201cThis is the reward and the\nleast of the reward he shall receive who doth treason against the\nCaliphs of True Belief!\u201d And the folk flocked to the place where the\ngallows stood. Thus far concerning him; but as regards Ahmad al-Danaf,\nAla al-Din\u2019s adopted father, he was sitting making merry with his\nfollowers in a garden, and carousing and pleasuring when lo! in came one\nof the water-carriers of the Divan and, kissing the hand of Ahmad\nal-Danaf, said to him, \u201cO Captain Ahmad, O Danaf! thou sittest at thine\nease with water flowing at thy feet,[100] and thou knowest not what hath\nhappened.\u201d Asked Ahmad, \u201cWhat is it?\u201d and the other answered, \u201cThey have\ngone down to the gallows with thy son Ala al-Din, adopted by a covenant\nbefore Allah!\u201d Quoth Ahmad, \u201cWhat is the remedy here, O Hasan Shuuman,\nand what sayst thou of this?\u201d He replied, \u201cAssuredly Ala al-Din is\ninnocent and this blame hath come to him from some one enemy.\u201d[101]\nQuoth Ahmad, \u201cWhat counsellest thou?\u201d and Hasan said, \u201cWe must rescue\nhim, Inshallah!\u201d Then he went to the jail and said to the gaolor, \u201cGive\nus some one who deserveth death.\u201d So he gave him one that was likest of\nmen to Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat; and they covered his head and carried\nhim to the place of execution between Ahmad al-Danaf and Ali al-Zaybak\nof Cairo.[102] Now they had brought Ala al-Din to the gibbet, to hang\nhim, but Ahmad al-Danaf came forward and set his foot on that of the\nhangman, who said, \u201cGive me room to do my duty.\u201d He replied, \u201cO\naccursed, take this man and hang him in Ala al-Din\u2019s stead; for he is\ninnocent and we will ransom him with this fellow, even as Abraham\nransomed Ishmael with the ram.\u201d[103] So the hangman seized the man and\nhanged him in lieu of Ala al-Din; whereupon Ahmad and Ali took Ala\nal-Din and carried him to Ahmad\u2019s quarters and, when there, Ala al-Din\nturned to him and said, \u201cO my sire and chief, Allah requite thee with\nthe best of good!\u201d Quoth he, \u201cO Ala al-Din\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n         Now when it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Calamity Ahmad\ncried, \u201cO Ala al-Din, what is this deed thou hast done? The mercy of\nAllah be on him who said:\u2014Whoso trusteth thee betray him not, e\u2019en if\nthou be a traitor. Now the Caliph set thee in high place about him and\nstyled thee \u2018Trusty\u2019 and \u2018Faithful\u2019; how then couldst thou deal thus\nwith him and steal his goods?\u201d \u201cBy the Most Great Name, O my father and\nchief,\u201d replied Ala al-Din, \u201cI had no hand in this, nor did I such deed,\nnor know I who did it.\u201d Quoth Ahmad, \u201cOf a surety none did this but a\nmanifest enemy and whoso doth aught shall be requited for his deed; but,\nO Ala al-Din, thou canst sojourn no longer in Baghdad, for Kings, O my\nson, may not pass from one thing to another, and when they go in quest\nof a man, ah! longsome is his travail.\u201d \u201cWhither shall I go, O my\nchief?\u201d asked Ala al-Din; and he answered, \u201cO my son, I will bring thee\nto Alexandria, for it is a blessed place; its threshold is green and its\nsojourn is agreeable.\u201d And Ala al-Din rejoined, \u201cI hear and I obey, O my\nchief.\u201d So Ahmad said to Hasan Shuuman, \u201cBe mindful and, when the Caliph\nasketh for me, say:\u2014He is gone touring about the provinces.\u201d Then,\ntaking Ala al-Din, he went forth of Baghdad and stayed not going till\nthey came to the outlying vineyards and gardens, where they met two Jews\nof the Caliph\u2019s tax-gatherers, riding on mules. Quoth Ahmad Al-Danaf to\nthese, \u201cGive me the black-mail;\u201d[104] and quoth they, \u201cWhy should we pay\nthee black-mail?\u201d whereto he replied, \u201cBecause I am the watchman of this\nvalley.\u201d So they gave him each an hundred gold pieces, after which he\nslew them and took their mules, one of which he mounted, whilst Ala\nal-Din bestrode the other. Then they rode on till they came to the city\nof Ay\u00e1s[105] and put up their beasts for the night at the Khan. And when\nmorning dawned, Ala al-Din sold his own mule and committed that of Ahmad\nto the charge of the doorkeeper of the caravanserai, after which they\ntook ship from Ayas port and sailed to Alexandria. Here they landed and\nwalked up to the bazar and behold, there was a broker crying a shop and\na chamber behind it for nine hundred and fifty dinars. Upon this Ala\nal-Din bid a thousand which the broker accepted, for the premises\nbelonged to the Treasury; and the seller handed over to him the keys and\nthe buyer opened the shop and found the inner parlour furnished with\ncarpets and cushions. Moreover, he found there a store-room full of\nsails and masts, cordage and seamen\u2019s chests, bags of beads and\ncowrie[106]-shells, stirrups, battle-axes, maces, knives, scissors and\nsuch matters, for the last owner of the shop had been a dealer in\nsecond-hand goods.[107] So he took his seat in the shop and Ahmad\nal-Danaf said to him, \u201cO my son, the shop and the room and that which is\ntherein are become thine; so tarry thou here and buy and sell; and\nrepine not at thy lot for Almighty Allah blesseth trade.\u201d After this he\nabode with him three days and on the fourth he took leave of him,\nsaying, \u201cAbide here till I go back and bring thee the Caliph\u2019s pardon\nand learn who hath played thee this trick.\u201d Then he shipped for Ayas,\nwhere he took the mule from the inn and, returning to Baghdad met\nPestilence Hasan and his followers, to whom said he, \u201cHath the Caliph\nasked after me?\u201d; and he replied, \u201cNo, nor hast thou come to his\nthought.\u201d So he resumed his service about the Caliph\u2019s person and set\nhimself to sniff about for news of Ala al-Din\u2019s case, till one day he\nheard the Caliph say to the Wazir, \u201cSee, O Ja\u2019afar, how Ala al-Din dealt\nwith me!\u201d Replied the Minister, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, thou hast\nrequited him with hanging and hath he not met with his reward?\u201d Quoth\nhe, \u201cO Wazir, I have a mind to go down and see him hanging;\u201d and the\nWazir answered, \u201cDo what thou wilt, O Commander of the Faithful.\u201d So the\nCaliph, accompanied by Ja\u2019afar, went down to the place of execution and,\nraising his eyes, saw the hanged man to be other than Ala al-Din Abu\nal-Shamat, surnamed the Trusty, and said, \u201cO Wazir, this is not Ala\nal-Din!\u201d \u201cHow knowest thou that it is not he?\u201d asked the Minister, and\nthe Caliph answered, \u201cAla al-Din was short and this one is tall.\u201d Quoth\nJa\u2019afar, \u201cHanging stretcheth.\u201d Quoth the Caliph, \u201cAla al-Din was fair\nand this one\u2019s face is black.\u201d Said Ja\u2019afar, \u201cKnowest thou not, O\nCommander of the Faithful, that death is followed by blackness?\u201d Then\nthe Caliph bade take down the body from the gallows-tree and they found\nthe names of the two Shaykhs, Abu Bakr and Omar, written on its\nheels;[108] whereupon cried the Caliph, \u201cO Wazir, Ala al-Din was a\nSunnite, and this fellow is a Rejecter, a Shi\u2019ah.\u201d He answered, \u201cGlory\nbe to Allah who knoweth the hidden things, while we know not whether\nthis was Ala al-Din or other than he.\u201d Then the Caliph bade bury the\nbody and they buried it; and Ala al-Din was forgotten as though he never\nhad been. Such was his case; but as regards Habzalam Bazazah, the Emir\nKhalid\u2019s son, he ceased not to languish for love and longing till he\ndied and they joined him to the dust. And as for the young wife\nJessamine, she accomplished the months of her pregnancy and, being taken\nwith labour-pains, gave birth to a boy-child like unto the moon. And\nwhen her fellow slave-girls said to her, \u201cWhat wilt thou name him?\u201d she\nanswered, \u201cWere his father well he had named him; but now I will name\nhim Asl\u00e1n.\u201d[109] She gave him suck for two successive years, then weaned\nhim, and he crawled and walked. Now it so came to pass that one day,\nwhilst his mother was busied with the service of the kitchen, the boy\nwent out and, seeing the stairs, mounted to the guest-chamber.[110] And\nthe Emir Khalid who was sitting there took him upon his lap and\nglorified his Lord for that which he had created and fashioned; then\nclosely eyeing his face, the Governor saw that he was the likest of all\ncreatures to Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat. Presently, his mother Jessamine\nsought for him and finding him not, mounted to the guest-chamber, where\nshe saw the Emir seated, with the child playing in his lap, for Allah\nhad inclined his heart to the boy. And when the child espied his mother,\nhe would have thrown himself upon her; but the Emir held him tight to\nhis bosom and said to Jessamine, \u201cCome hither, O damsel.\u201d So she came to\nhim, when he said to her, \u201cWhose son is this?\u201d; and she replied, \u201cHe is\nmy son and the fruit of my vitals.\u201d \u201cAnd who is his father?\u201d asked the\nEmir; and she answered, \u201cHis father was Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat, but\nnow he is become thy son.\u201d Quoth Khalid, \u201cIn very sooth Ala al-Din was a\ntraitor.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cAllah deliver him from treason! the Heavens\nforfend and forbid that the \u2018Trusty\u2019 should be a traitor!\u201d Then said he,\n\u201cWhen this boy shall grow up and reach man\u2019s estate and say to thee:\u2014Who\nis my father? say to him:\u2014Thou art the son of the Emir Khalid, Governor\nand Chief of Police.\u201d And she answered, \u201cI hear and I obey.\u201d Then he\ncircumcised the boy and reared him with the goodliest rearing, and\nengaged for him a professor of law and religious science, and an expert\npensman who taught him to read and write; so he read the Koran twice and\nlearnt it by heart and he grew up, saying to the Emir, \u201cO my father!\u201d\nMoreover, the Governor used to go down with him to the tilting-ground\nand assemble horsemen and teach the lad the fashion of fight and fray,\nand the place to plant lance-thrust and sabre-stroke; so that by the\ntime he was fourteen years old, he became a valiant wight and\naccomplished knight and gained the rank of Emir. Now it chanced one day\nthat Aslan fell in with Ahmad Kamakim, the arch-thief, and accompanied\nhim as cup-companion to the tavern[111] and behold, Ahmad took out the\njewelled lanthorn he had stolen from the Caliph and, setting it before\nhim, pledged the wine cup to its light, till he became drunken. So Aslan\nsaid to him, \u201cO Captain, give me this lanthorn;\u201d but he replied, \u201cI\ncannot give it to thee.\u201d Asked Aslan, \u201cWhy not?\u201d; and Ahmad answered,\n\u201cBecause lives have been lost for it.\u201d \u201cWhose life?\u201d enquired Aslan; and\nAhmad rejoined, \u201cThere came hither a man who was made Chief of the\nSixty; he was named Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat and he lost his life\nthrough this lanthorn.\u201d Quoth Aslan, \u201cAnd what was that story, and what\nbrought about his death?\u201d Quoth Ahmad Kamakim, \u201cThou hadst an elder\nbrother by name Habzalam Bazazah, and when he reached the age of sixteen\nand was ripe for marriage, thy father would have bought him a slave-girl\nnamed Jessamine.\u201d And he went on to tell him the whole story from first\nto last of Habzalam Bazazah\u2019s illness and what befel Ala al-Din in his\ninnocence. When Aslan heard this, he said in thought, \u201cHaply this\nslave-girl was my mother Jessamine, and my father was none other than\nAla al-Din Abu al-Shamat.\u201d So the boy went out from him sorrowful, and\nmet Calamity Ahmad, who at sight of him exclaimed, \u201cGlory be to Him unto\nwhom none is like!\u201d Asked Hasan the Pestilence, \u201cWhereat dost thou\nmarvel, O my chief?\u201d and Ahmad the Calamity replied, \u201cAt the make of\nyonder boy Aslan, for he is the likest of human creatures to Ala al-Din\nAbu al Shamat.\u201d Then he called the lad and said to him, \u201cO Aslan what is\nthy mother\u2019s name?\u201d; to which he replied, \u201cShe is called the damsel\nJessamine;\u201d and the other said, \u201cHarkye, Aslan, be of good cheer and\nkeep thine eyes cool and clear; for thy father was none other than Ala\nal-Din Abu al-Shamat: but, O my son, go thou in to thy mother and\nquestion her of thy father.\u201d He said, \u201cHearkening and obedience,\u201d and,\ngoing in to his mother put the question; whereupon quoth she, \u201cThy sire\nis the Emir Khalid!\u201d \u201cNot so,\u201d rejoined he, \u201cmy father was none other\nthan Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat.\u201d At this the mother wept and said, \u201cWho\nacquainted thee with this, O my son?\u201d And he answered \u201cAhmad Al-Danaf,\nCaptain of the Guard.\u201d So she told him the whole story, saying, \u201cO my\nson, the True hath prevailed and the False hath failed:[112] know that\nAla al-Din Abu al-Shamat was indeed thy sire, but it was none save the\nEmir Khalid who reared thee and adopted thee as his son. And now, O my\nchild, when thou seest Ahmad al-Danaf the captain, do thou say to him:\u2014I\nconjure thee, by Allah, O my chief, take my blood-revenge on the\nmurderer of my father Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat!\u201d So he went out from his\nmother\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\n\n         Now when it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Aslan went out\nfrom his mother and, betaking himself to Calamity Ahmad, kissed his\nhand. Quoth the captain, \u201cWhat aileth thee, O Aslan?\u201d and quoth he, \u201cI\nknow now for certain that my father was Ali al-Din Abu al-Shamat and I\nwould have thee take my blood-revenge on his murderer.\u201d He asked, \u201cAnd\nwho was thy father\u2019s murderer?\u201d whereto Aslan answered, \u201cAhmad Kamakim\nthe Arch-thief.\u201d \u201cWho told thee this?\u201d enquired he, and Aslan rejoined,\n\u201cI saw in his hand the jewelled lanthorn which was lost with the rest of\nthe Caliph\u2019s gear, and I said to him:\u2014Give me this lanthorn! but he\nrefused, saying, Lives have been lost on account of this; and told me it\nwas he who had broken into the palace and stolen the articles and\ndeposited them in my father\u2019s house.\u201d Then said Ahmad al-Danaf, \u201cWhen\nthou seest the Emir Khalid don his harness of war say to him:\u2014Equip me\nlike thyself and take me with thee. Then do thou go forth and perform\nsome feat of prowess before the Commander of the Faithful, and he will\nsay to thee:\u2014Ask a boon of me, O Aslan! And do thou make answer, I ask\nof thee this boon, that thou take my blood-revenge on my father\u2019s\nmurderer. If he say, Thy father is yet alive and is the Emir Khalid, the\nChief of the Police; answer thou:\u2014My father was Ala al-Din Abu\nal-Shamat, and the Emir Khalid hath a claim upon me only as the\nfoster-father who adopted me. Then tell him all that passed between thee\nand Ahmad Kamakim and say:\u2014O Prince of True Believers, order him to be\nsearched and I will bring the lanthorn forth from his bosom.\u201d Thereupon\nsaid Aslan to him, \u201cI hear and obey;\u201d and, returning to the Emir Khalid,\nfound him making ready to repair to the Caliph\u2019s court and said to him,\n\u201cI would fain have thee arm and harness me like thyself and take me with\nthee to the Divan.\u201d So he equipped him and carried him thither. Then the\nCaliph sallied forth of Baghdad with his troops and they pitched tents\nand pavilions without the city; whereupon the host divided into two\nparties and forming ranks fell to playing Polo, one striking the ball\nwith the mall, and another striking it back to him. Now there was among\nthe troops a spy, who had been hired to slay the Caliph; so he took the\nball and smiting it with the bat drove it straight at the Caliph\u2019s face,\nwhen behold, Aslan fended it off and catching it drove it back at him\nwho smote it, so that it struck him between the shoulders and he fell to\nthe ground. The Caliph exclaimed, \u201cAllah bless thee, O Aslan!\u201d and they\nall dismounted and sat on chairs. Then the Caliph bade them bring the\nsmiter of the ball before him and said, \u201cWho tempted thee to do this\nthing and art thou friend or foe?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI am thy foe and it was my\npurpose to kill thee.\u201d Asked the Caliph, \u201cAnd wherefore? Art not a\nMoslem?\u201d Replied the spy; \u201cNo! I am a Rejecter.\u201d[113] So the Caliph bade\nthem put him to death and said to Aslan, \u201cAsk a boon of me.\u201d Quoth he,\n\u201cI ask of thee this boon, that thou take my blood-revenge on my father\u2019s\nmurderer.\u201d He said, \u201cThy father is alive and there he stands on his two\nfeet.\u201d \u201cAnd who is he?\u201d asked Aslan; and the Caliph answered, \u201cHe is the\nEmir Khalid, Chief of Police.\u201d Rejoined Aslan, \u201cO Commander of the\nFaithful, he is no father of mine, save by right of fosterage; my father\nwas none other than Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat.\u201d \u201cThen thy father was a\ntraitor,\u201d cried the Caliph. \u201cAllah forbid, O Commander of the Faithful,\u201d\nrejoined Aslan, \u201cthat the \u2018Trusty\u2019 should be a traitor! But how did he\nbetray thee?\u201d Quoth the Caliph, \u201cHe stole my habit and what was\ntherewith.\u201d Aslan retorted, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, Allah forfend\nthat my father should be a traitor! But, O my lord, when thy habit was\nlost and found didst thou likewise recover the lanthorn which was stolen\nfrom thee?\u201d Answered the Caliph, \u201cWe never got it back;\u201d and Aslan said,\n\u201cI saw it in the hands of Ahmad Kamakim and begged it of him; but he\nrefused to give it me, saying:\u2014Lives have been lost on account of this.\nThen he told me of the sickness of Habzalam Bazazah, son of the Emir\nKhalid, by reason of his passion for the damsel Jessamine, and how he\nhimself was released from bonds and that it was he who stole the habit\nand the lamp: so do thou, O Commander of the Faithful, take my\nblood-revenge for my father on him who murdered him.\u201d At once the Caliph\ncried, \u201cSeize ye Ahmad Kamakim!\u201d and they seized him; whereupon he\nasked, \u201cWhere be the Captain, Ahmad al-Danaf?\u201d And when he was summoned\nthe Caliph bade him search Kamakim; so he put his hand into the thief\u2019s\nbosom and pulled out the lanthorn. Said the Caliph, \u201cCome hither, thou\ntraitor: whence hadst thou this lanthorn?\u201d and Kamakim replied, \u201cI\nbought it, O Commander of the Faithful!\u201d The Caliph rejoined, \u201cWhere\ndidst thou buy it?\u201d Then they beat him till he owned that he had stolen\nthe lanthorn, the habit and the rest, and the Caliph said \u201cWhat moved\nthee to do this thing O traitor, and ruin Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat, the\nTrusty and Faithful?\u201d Then he bade them lay hands on him and on the\nChief of Police, but the Chief said, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful,\nindeed I am unjustly treated; thou badest me hang him, and I had no\nknowledge of this trick, for the plot was contrived between the old\nwoman and Ahmad Kamakim and my wife. I crave thine intercession,[114] O\nAslan.\u201d So Aslan interceded for him with the Caliph, who said, \u201cWhat\nhath Allah done with this youngster\u2019s mother?\u201d Answered Khalid, \u201cShe is\nwith me,\u201d and the Caliph continued, \u201cI command that thou order thy wife\nto dress her in her own clothes and ornaments and restore her to her\nformer degree, a lady of rank; and do thou remove the seals from Ala\nal-Din\u2019s house and give his son possession of his estate.\u201d \u201cI hear and\nobey,\u201d answered Khalid; and, going forth, gave the order to his wife who\nclad Jessamine in her own apparel; whilst he himself removed the seals\nfrom Ala al-Din\u2019s house and gave Aslan the keys. Then said the Caliph,\n\u201cAsk a boon of me, O Aslan;\u201d and he replied, \u201cI beg of thee the boon to\nunite me with my father.\u201d Whereat the Caliph wept and said, \u201cMost like\nthy sire was he that was hanged and is dead; but by the life of my\nforefathers, whoso bringeth me the glad news that he is yet in the\nbondage of this life, I will give him all he seeketh!\u201d Then came forward\nAhmad al-Danaf and, kissing the ground between his hands, said, \u201cGrant\nme indemnity, O Commander of the Faithful!\u201d \u201cThou hast it,\u201d answered the\nCaliph; and Calamity Ahmad said, \u201cI give thee the good news that Ala\nal-Din Abu al-Shamat, the Trusty, the Faithful, is alive and well.\u201d\nQuoth the Caliph \u201cWhat is this thou sayest?\u201d Quoth Al-Danaf, \u201cAs thy\nhead liveth I say sooth; for I ransomed him with another, of those who\ndeserved death; and carried him to Alexandria, where I opened for him a\nshop and set him up as dealer in second-hand goods.\u201d Then said the\nPrince of True Believers\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph ordered\nCalamity Ahmad, saying, \u201cI charge thee fetch him to me;\u201d and the other\nreplied, \u201cTo hear is to obey;\u201d whereupon the Caliph bade them give him\nten thousand gold pieces and he fared forth for Alexandria. On this wise\nit happed with Aslan; but as regards his father, Ala al-Din Abu\nal-Shamat, he sold in course of time all that was in his shop excepting\na few things and amongst them a long bag of leather. And happening to\nshake the bag there fell out a jewel which filled the palm of the hand,\nhanging to a chain of gold and having many facets but especially five,\nwhereon were names and talismanic characters, as they were ant-tracks.\nSo he rubbed each face; but none answered him[115] and he said to\nhimself, \u201cDoubtless it is a piece of variegated onyx;\u201d and then hung it\nup in the shop. And behold, a Consul[116] passed along the street; and,\nraising his eyes, saw the jewel hanging up; so he seated himself over\nagainst the shop and said to Ala al-Din, \u201cO my lord, is the jewel for\nsale?\u201d He answered, \u201cAll I have is for sale.\u201d Thereupon the Frank said,\n\u201cWilt thou sell me that same for eighty thousand dinars?\u201d \u201cAllah open!\u201d\nreplied Ala al-Din. The Frank asked, \u201cWilt thou sell it for an hundred\nthousand dinars?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cI sell it to thee for a hundred\nthousand dinars; pay me down the monies.\u201d Quoth the Consul, \u201cI cannot\ncarry about such sum as its price, for there be robbers and sharpers in\nAlexandria; but come with me to my ship and I will pay thee the price\nand give thee to boot a bale of Angora wool, a bale of satin, a bale of\nvelvet and a bale of broadcloth.\u201d So Ala al-Din rose and locked up his\nshop, after giving the jewel to the Frank, and committed the keys to his\nneighbour, saying, \u201cKeep these keys in trust for me, whilst I go with\nthis Consul to his ship and return with the price of my jewel. If I be\nlong absent and there come to thee Ahmad al-Danaf, the Captain who\nstablished in this shop, give him the keys and tell him where I am.\u201d\nThen he went with the Consul to his ship and no sooner had he boarded it\nthan the Frank set him a stool and, making him sit down, said to his\nmen, \u201cBring the money.\u201d So they brought it and he paid him the price of\nthe jewel and gave him the four bales he had promised him and one over;\nafter which he said to him, \u201cO my lord, honour me by accepting a bite or\na sup\u201d And Ala al-Din answered, \u201cIf thou have any water, give me to\ndrink.\u201d So the Frank called for sherbets and they brought drink drugged\nwith Bhang, of which no sooner had Ala al-Din drunk, than he fell over\non his back; whereupon they stowed away the chairs and shipped the\nshoving-poles and made sail. Now the wind blew fair for them till it\ndrove them into blue water; and when they were beyond sight of land the\nKapt\u00e1n[117] bade bring Ala al-Din up out of the hold and made him smell\nthe counter-drug of Bhang; whereupon he opened his eyes and said, \u201cWhere\nam I?\u201d He replied, \u201cThou art bound and in my power and if thou hadst\nsaid, Allah open! to an hundred thousand dinars for the jewel, I would\nhave bidden thee more.\u201d \u201cWhat art thou?\u201d asked Ala al-Din, and the other\nanswered, \u201cI am a sea-captain and mean to carry thee to my sweetheart.\u201d\nNow as they were talking, behold, a ship hove in sight carrying forty\nMoslem merchants; so the Frank captain attacked the vessel and made fast\nto it with grappling-irons; then he boarded it with his men and took it\nand plundered it; after which he sailed on with his prize, till he\nreached the city of Genoa. There the Kaptan, who was carrying off Ala\nal-Din, landed and repaired to a palace whose postern gave upon the sea,\nand behold, there came down to him a damsel in a chin-veil who said,\n\u201cHast thou brought the jewel and the owner?\u201d \u201cI have brought them both,\u201d\nanswered he; and she said, \u201cThen give me the jewel.\u201d So he gave it to\nher; and, returning to the port, fired his cannon to announce his safe\nreturn; whereupon the King of the city, being notified of that Kaptan\u2019s\narrival, came down to receive him and asked him, \u201cHow hath been this\nvoyage?\u201d He answered, \u201cA right prosperous one, and while voyaging I have\nmade prize of a ship with one-and forty Moslem merchants.\u201d Said the\nKing, \u201cLand them at the port:\u201d so he landed the merchants in irons and\nAla al-Din among the rest; and the King and the Kaptan mounted and made\nthe captives walk before them till they reached the audience-chamber,\nwhen the Franks seated themselves and caused the prisoners to pass in\nparade order, one by one before the King who said to the first, \u201cO\nMoslem, whence comest thou?\u201d He answered, \u201cFrom Alexandria;\u201d whereupon\nthe King said, \u201cO headsman, put him to death.\u201d So the sworder smote him\nwith the sword and cut off his head: and thus it fared with the second\nand the third, till forty were dead and there remained but Ala al-Din,\nwho drank the cup of his comrades\u2019 sighs and agony and said to himself,\n\u201cAllah have mercy on thee, O Ala al-Din. Thou art a dead man.\u201d Then said\nthe King to him, \u201cAnd thou, what countryman art thou?\u201d He answered, \u201cI\nam of Alexandria,\u201d and the King said, \u201cO headsman, strike off his head.\u201d\nSo the sworder raised arm and sword, and was about to strike, when\nbehold, an old woman of venerable aspect presented herself before the\nKing, who rose to do her honour, and said to him, \u201cO King, did I not bid\nthee remember, when the Captain came back with captives, to keep one or\ntwo for the convent, to serve in the church?\u201d The King replied, \u201cO my\nmother, would thou hadst come a while earlier! But take this one that is\nleft.\u201d So she turned to Ala al-Din and said to him, \u201cSay, wilt thou\nserve in the church, or shall I let the King slay thee?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI\nwill serve in the church.\u201d So she took him and carried him forth of the\ncourt and went to the church, where he said to her, \u201cWhat service must I\ndo?\u201d She replied, \u201cThou must rise with the dawn and take five mules and\ngo with them to the forest and there cut dry fire-wood and saw it short\nand bring it to the convent-kitchen. Then must thou take up the carpets\nand sweep and wipe the stone and marble pavements and lay the carpets\ndown again, as they were; after which thou must take two bushels and a\nhalf of wheat and bolt it and grind it and knead it and make it into\ncracknels[118] for the convent; and thou must take also a bushel of\nlentils[119] and sift and crush and cook them. Then must thou fetch\nwater in barrels and fill the four fountains; after which thou must take\nthree hundred and threescore and six wooden bowls and crumble the\ncracknels therein and pour of the lentil-pottage over each and carry\nevery monk and patriarch his bowl.\u201d Said Ala al-Din,[120] \u201cTake me back\nto the King and let him kill me, it were easier to me than this\nservice.\u201d Replied the old woman, \u201cIf thou do truly and rightly the\nservice that is due from thee thou shalt escape death; but, if thou do\nit not, I will let the King kill thee.\u201d And with these words Ala al-Din\nwas left sitting heavy at heart. Now there were in the church ten blind\ncripples, and one of them said to him, \u201cBring me a pot.\u201d So he brought\nit him and he cacked and eased himself therein and said, \u201cThrow away the\nordure.\u201d He did so, and the blind man said, \u201cThe Messiah\u2019s blessing be\nupon thee, O servant of the church!\u201d Presently behold, the old woman\ncame in and said to him, \u201cWhy hast thou not done thy service in the\nchurch?\u201d Answered he, \u201cHow many hands have I, that I should suffice for\nall this work?\u201d She rejoined, \u201cThou fool, I brought thee not hither\nexcept to work;\u201d and she added, \u201cTake, O my son, this rod (which was of\ncopper capped with a cross) and go forth into the highway and, when thou\nmeetest the governor of the city, say to him:\u2014I summon thee to the\nservice of the church, in the name of our Lord the Messiah. And he will\nnot disobey thee. Then make him take the wheat, sift, grind, bolt,\nknead, and bake it into cracknels; and if any gainsay thee, beat him and\nfear none.\u201d \u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d answered he and did as she said, and\nnever ceased pressing great and small into his service; nor did he leave\nto do thus for the space of seventeen years. Now one day as he sat in\nchurch lo! the old woman came to him and said, \u201cGo forth of the\nconvent.\u201d He asked, \u201cWhither shall I go?\u201d and she answered, \u201cThou canst\npass the night in a tavern or with one of thy comrades.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cWhy\ndost thou send me forth of the church?\u201d and quoth she, \u201cThe Princess\nHusn Maryam, daughter of Yohann\u00e1,[121] King of this city, purposeth to\nvisit the church and it befitteth not that any abide in her way.\u201d So he\nmade a show of obeying her orders and rose up and pretended that he was\nleaving the church; but he said in his mind, \u201cI wonder whether the\nPrincess is like our women or fairer than they! At any rate I will not\ngo till I have had a look at her.\u201d So he hid himself in a closet with a\nwindow looking into the church and, as he watched, behold, in came the\nKing\u2019s daughter. He cast at her one glance of eyes that cost him a\nthousand sighs, for he found her like the full moon when it cometh\nswimming out of the clouds; and he saw with her a young lady\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Ala al-Din\nlooked at the King\u2019s daughter, he saw with her a young lady to whom he\nheard her say, \u201cThy company hath cheered me, O Zubaydah.\u201d So he looked\nstraitly at the damsel and found her to be none other than his dead\nwife, Zubaydah the Lutist. Then the Princess said to Zubaydah, \u201cCome,\nplay us an air on the lute.\u201d But she answered, \u201cI will make no music for\nthee, till thou grant my wish and keep thy word to me.\u201d Asked the\nPrincess, \u201cAnd what did I promise thee?\u201d; and Zubaydah answered, \u201cThat\nthou wouldst reunite me with my husband Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat, the\nTrusty, the Faithful.\u201d Rejoined the Princess, \u201cO Zubaydah, be of good\ncheer and keep thine eyes cool and clear; play us a piece as a\nthank-offering and an ear-feast for reunion with thy husband Ala\nal-Din.\u201d \u201cWhere is he?\u201d asked Zubaydah, and Maryam answered, \u201cHe is in\nyonder closet listening to our words.\u201d So Zubaydah played on the lute a\nmelody which had made a rock dance for glee; and when Ala al-Din heard\nit, his bowels yearned towards her and he came forth from the closet\nand, throwing himself upon his wife Zubaydah, strained her to his bosom.\nShe also knew him and the twain embraced and fell to the ground in a\nswoon. Then came forward the Princess Husn Maryam and sprinkled\nrose-water on them, till they revived when she said to them, \u201cAllah hath\nreunited you.\u201d Replied Ala al-Din, \u201cBy thy kind offices, O lady.\u201d Then,\nturning to his wife, he said to her, \u201cO Zubaydah, thou didst surely die\nand we tombed thee in the tomb: how then returnedst thou to life and\ncamest thou to this place?\u201d She answered, \u201cO my lord, I did not die; but\nan Aun[122] of the Jinn snatched me up and flew with me hither. She whom\nthou buriedst was a Jinniyah, who shaped herself to my shape and feigned\nherself dead; but when you entombed her she broke open the tomb and came\nforth from it and returned to the service of this her mistress, the\nPrincess Husn Maryam. As for me I was possessed[123] and, when I opened\nmy eyes, I found myself with this Princess thou seest; so I said to\nher:\u2014Why hast thou brought me hither. Replied she:\u2014I am predestined to\nmarry thy husband, Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat: wilt thou then, O Zubaydah,\naccept me to co-consort, a night for me and a night for thee? Rejoined\nI:\u2014To hear is to obey, O my lady, but where is my husband? Quoth\nshe:\u2014Upon his forehead is written what Allah hath decreed to him; as\nsoon as the writing which is there writ is fulfilled to him, there is no\nhelp for it but he come hither, and we will beguile the time of our\nseparation from him with songs and playing upon instruments of music,\ntill it please Allah to unite us with him. So I abode all these days\nwith her till Allah brought us together in this church.\u201d Then Husn\nMaryam turned to him and said, \u201cO my lord, Ala al-Din, wilt thou be to\nme baron and I be to the femme?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cO my lady, I am a Moslem and\nthou art a Nazarene; so how can I intermarry with thee?\u201d Quoth she,\n\u201cAllah forbid that I should be an infidel! Nay, I am a Moslemah; for\nthese eighteen years I have held fast the Faith of Al-Islam and I am\npure of any creed other than that of the Islamite.\u201d Then said he, \u201cO my\nlady, I desire a return to my native land;\u201d and she replied, \u201cKnow that\nI see written on thy forehead things which thou must needs accomplish,\nand then thou shalt win to thy will. Moreover, be lief and fain, O Ala\nal-Din, that there hath been born to thee a son named Aslan; who now\nbeing arrived at age of discretion, sitteth in thy place with the\nCaliph. Know also that Truth hath prevailed and that Falsehood naught\navailed; and that the Lord hath withdrawn the curtain of secrecy from\nhim who stole the Caliph\u2019s goods, that is, Ahmad Kamakim the arch-thief\nand traitor; and he now lieth bound and in jail. And know further \u2018twas\nI who sent thee the jewel and had it put in the bag where thou foundest\nit, and \u2018twas I who sent the captain that brought thee and the jewel;\nfor thou must know that the man is enamoured of me and seeketh my\nfavours and would possess me; but I refused to yield to his wishes or\nlet him have his will of me; and I said to him:\u2014Thou shalt never have me\ntill thou bring me the jewel and its owner. So I gave him an hundred\npurses and despatched him to thee, in the habit of a merchant, whereas\nhe is a captain and a war-man; and when they led thee to thy death after\nslaying the forty captives, I also sent thee this old woman to save thee\nfrom slaughter.\u201d Said he, \u201cAllah requite thee for us with all good!\nIndeed thou hast done well.\u201d Then Husn Maryam renewed at his hands her\nprofession of Al-Islam; and, when he was assured of the truth of her\nspeech, he said to her, \u201cO my lady, tell me what are the virtues of this\njewel and whence cometh it?\u201d She answered, \u201cThis jewel came from an\nenchanted hoard, and it hath five virtues which will profit us in time\nof need. Now my lady grandmother, the mother of my father, was an\nenchantress and skilled in solving secrets and finding hidden treasures\nfrom one of the which came the jewel into her hands. And as I grew up\nand reached the age of fourteen, I read the Evangel and other books and\nI found the name of Mohammed (whom Allah bless and preserve!) in the\nfour books, namely the Evangel, the Pentateuch, the Psalms and the\nKoran;[124] so I believed in Mohammed and became a Moslemah, being\ncertain and assured that none is worship-worth save Allah Almighty, and\nthat to the Lord of all mankind no faith is acceptable save that of\nAl-Islam. Now when my lady-grandmother fell sick, she gave me this jewel\nand taught me its five virtues. Moreover, before she died, my father\nsaid to her:\u2014Take thy tablets of geomancy and throw a figure, and tell\nus the issue of my affair and what will befal me. And she foretold him\nthat the far-off one[125] should die, slain by the hand of a captive\nfrom Alexandria. So he swore to kill every prisoner from that place and\ntold the Kaptan of this, saying:\u2014There is no help for it but thou fall\non the ships of the Moslems and seize them and whomsoever thou findest\nof Alexandria, kill him or bring him to me. The Captain did his bidding\nuntil he had slain as many in number as the hairs of his head. Then my\ngrandmother died and I took a geomantic tablet, being minded and\ndetermined to know the future, and I said to myself:\u2014Let me see who will\nwed me! Whereupon I threw a figure and found that none should be my\nhusband save one called Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat, the Trusty, the\nFaithful. At this I marvelled and waited till the times were\naccomplished and I foregathered with thee.\u201d So Ala al-Din took her to\nwife and said to her, \u201cI desire to return to my own country.\u201d Quoth she,\n\u201cIf it be so, rise up and come with me.\u201d Then she took him and, hiding\nhim in a closet of her palace, went in to her father, who said to her,\n\u201cO my daughter, my heart is exceeding heavy this day; sit down and let\nus make merry with wine, I and thou.\u201d So she sat down with him and he\ncalled for a table of wine; and she plied him till he lost his wits,\nwhen she drugged a cup with Bhang and he drank it off and fell upon his\nback. Then she brought Ala al-Din out of the closet and said to him,\n\u201cCome; verily thine enemy lieth prostrate, for I made him drunk and\ndrugged him; so do thou with him as thou wilt.\u201d Accordingly Ala al-Din\nwent to the King and, finding him lying drugged and helpless, pinioned\nhim fast and manacled and fettered him with chains. Then he gave him the\ncounter-drug and he came to himself\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n         Now when it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ala al-Din gave\nthe antidote of Bhang to King Yohanna, father of Husn Maryam, and he\ncame to himself and found Ala al-Din and his daughter sitting on his\nbreast. So he said to her, \u201cO my daughter, dost thou deal thus with me?\u201d\nShe answered \u201cIf I be indeed thy daughter, become a Moslem, even as I\nbecame a Moslemah; for the truth was shown to me and I attested it; and\nthe false, and I deserted it. I have submitted myself unto Allah, The\nLord of the Three Worlds, and am pure of all faiths contrary to that of\nAl-Islam in this world and in the next world. Wherefore, if thou wilt\nbecome a Moslem, well and good; if not, thy death were better than thy\nlife.\u201d Ala al-Din also exhorted him to embrace the True Faith; but he\nrefused and was contumacious; so Ala al-Din drew a dagger and cut his\nthroat from ear to ear.[126] Then he wrote a scroll, setting forth what\nhad happened and laid it on the brow of the dead; after which they took\nwhat was light of load and weighty of worth and turned from the palace\nand returned to the church. Here the Princess drew forth the jewel and,\nplacing her hand upon the facet where was figured a couch, rubbed it;\nand behold, a couch appeared before her and she mounted upon it with Ala\nal-Din and his wife, Zubaydah, the Lutist, saying, \u201cI conjure thee by\nthe virtue of the names and talismans and characts engraven on this\njewel, rise up with us, O Couch!\u201d And it rose with them into the air and\nflew, till it came to a Wady wholly bare of growth, when the Princess\nturned earthwards the facet on which the couch was figured, and it sank\nwith them to the ground. Then she turned up the face whereon was\nfashioned a pavilion and tapping it said, \u201cLet a pavilion be pitched in\nthis valley;\u201d and there appeared a pavilion, wherein they seated\nthemselves. Now this Wady was a desert waste, without grass or water; so\nshe turned a third face of the jewel towards the sky, and said, \u201cBy the\nvirtue of the names of Allah, let trees upgrow here and a river flow\nbeside them!\u201d And forthwith trees sprang up and by their side ran a\nriver plashing and dashing. They made the ablution and prayed and drank\nof the stream; after which the Princess turned up the three other facets\ntill she came to the fourth, whereon was portrayed a table of food, and\nsaid, \u201cBy the virtue of the names of Allah, let the table be spread!\u201d\nAnd behold, there appeared before them a table, spread with all manner\nof rich meats, and they ate and drank and made merry and were full of\njoy. Such was their case; but as regards Husn Maryam\u2019s father, his son\nwent in to waken him and found him slain; and, seeing Ala al-Din\u2019s\nscroll, took it and read it, and readily understood it. Then he sought\nhis sister and finding her not, betook himself to the old woman in the\nchurch, of whom he enquired for her, but she said, \u201cSince yesterday I\nhave not seen her.\u201d So he returned to the troops and cried out, saying,\n\u201cTo horse, ye horsemen!\u201d Then he told them what had happened, so they\nmounted and rode after the fugitives, till they drew near the pavilion.\nPresently Husn Maryam arose and looked up and saw a cloud of dust which\nspread till it walled the view, then it lifted and flew, and lo! stood\ndisclosed her brother and his troops, crying aloud, \u201cWhither will ye\nfly, and we on your track!\u201d Then said she to Ala al-Din, \u201cAre thy feet\nfirm in fight?\u201d He replied, \u201cEven as the stake in bran, I know not war\nnor battle, nor swords nor spears.\u201d So she pulled out the jewel and\nrubbed the fifth face, that on which were graven a horse and his rider,\nand behold, straightway a cavalier appeared out of the desert and ceased\nnot to do battle with the pursuing host and smite them with the sword,\ntill he routed them and put them to flight. Then the Princess asked Ala\nal-Din, \u201cWilt thou go to Cairo or to Alexandria?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cTo\nAlexandria.\u201d So they mounted the couch and she pronounced over it the\nconjuration, whereupon it set off with them and, in the twinkling of an\neye, brought them to Alexandria. They alighted without the city and Ala\nal-Din hid the women in a cavern, whilst he went into Alexandria and\nfetched them outer clothing, wherewith he covered them. Then he carried\nthem to his shop and, leaving them in the \u201cben\u201d[127] walked forth to\nfetch them the morning-meal, and behold, he met Calamity Ahmad who\nchanced to be coming from Baghdad. He saw him in the street and received\nhim with open arms, saluting him and welcoming him. Whereupon Ahmad\nal-Danaf gave him the good news of his son Aslan and how he was now come\nto the age of twenty: and Ala al-Din, in his turn, told the Captain of\nthe Guard all that had befallen him from first to last, whereat he\nmarvelled with exceeding marvel. Then he brought him to his shop and\nsitting-room where they passed the night; and next day he sold his place\nof business and laid its price with other monies. Now Ahmad al-Danaf had\ntold him that the Caliph sought him; but he said, \u201cI am bound first for\nCairo, to salute my father and mother and the people of my house.\u201d So\nthey all mounted the couch and it carried them to Cairo the God-guarded;\nand here they alighted in the street called Yellow,[128] where stood the\nhouse of Shams al-Din. Then Ala al-Din knocked at the door, and his\nmother said, \u201cWho is at the door, now that we have lost our beloved for\nevermore?\u201d He replied, \u201c\u2019Tis I! Ala al-Din!\u201d whereupon they came down\nand embraced him. Then he sent his wives and baggage into the house and\nentering himself with Ahmad al-Danaf, rested there three days, after\nwhich he was minded to set out for Baghdad. His father said, \u201cAbide with\nme, O my son;\u201d but he answered, \u201cI cannot bear to be parted from my\nchild Aslan.\u201d So he took his father and mother and fared forth for\nBaghdad. Now when they came thither, Ahmad al-Danaf went in to the\nCaliph and gave him the glad tidings of Ala al-Din\u2019s arrival and told\nhim his story; whereupon the King went forth to greet him taking the\nyouth Aslan, and they met and embraced each other. Then the Commander of\nthe Faithful summoned the arch-thief Ahmad Kamakim and said to Ala\nal-Din, \u201cUp and at thy foe!\u201d So he drew his sword and smote off Ahmad\nKamakim\u2019s head. Then the Caliph held festival for Ala al-Din and,\nsummoning the Kazis and witnesses, wrote the contract and married him to\nthe Princess Husn Maryam; and he went in unto her and found her an\nunpierced pearl. Moreover, the Caliph made Aslan Chief of the Sixty and\nbestowed upon him and his father sumptuous dresses of honour; and they\nabode in the enjoyment of all joys and joyance of life, till there came\nto them the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of societies. But the\ntales of generous men are manifold and amongst them is the story of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 24:\n\n  Pronounce Aladdin Abush-Sh\u00e1m\u00e1t.\n\nFootnote 25:\n\n  Arab. \u201cMisr\u201d vulg. Masr: a close connection of Misraim\u2014the \u201ctwo\n  Misrs,\u201d Egypt, upper and lower.\n\nFootnote 26:\n\n  The Persians still call their Consuls \u201cShah-bandar,\u201d lit. king of the\n  Bandar or port.\n\nFootnote 27:\n\n  Arab. \u201cDukh\u00fal,\u201d the night of going in, of seeing the bride unveiled\n  for the first time, etc\u00e6tera.\n\nFootnote 28:\n\n  Arab. \u201cBarsh\u201d or \u201cBars,\u201d the commonest kind. In India it is called\n  Ma\u2019j\u00fan (= electuary, generally): it is made of Ganja or young leaves,\n  buds, capsules and florets of hemp (_C. sativa_), poppy-seed and\n  flowers of the thorn-apple (_datura_) with milk and sugar-candy,\n  nutmegs, cloves, mace and saffron, all boiled to the consistency of\n  treacle which hardens when cold. Several recipes are given by Herklots\n  (Glossary _s. v._ Majoon). These electuaries are usually prepared with\n  \u201cCharas,\u201d or gum of hemp, collected by hand or by passing a blanket\n  over the plant in early morning, and it is highly intoxicating.\n  Another intoxicant is \u201cSabzi,\u201d dried hemp-leaves, poppy-seed,\n  cucumber-seed, black pepper and cardamoms rubbed down in a mortar with\n  a wooden pestle, and made drinkable by adding milk, ice-cream, etc.\n  The Hashish of Arabia is the Hindustani Bhang, usually drunk and made\n  as follows. Take of hemp-leaves, well washed, 3 drams; black pepper 45\n  grains and of cloves, nutmeg and mace (which add to the intoxication)\n  each 12 grains. Triturate in 8 ounces of water or the juice of\n  watermelon or cucumber, strain and drink. The Egyptian Zab\u00edbah is a\n  preparation of hemp-florets, opium and honey, much affected by the\n  lower orders, whence the proverb: \u201cTemper thy sorrow with Zabibah,.\u201d\n  In Al-Hijaz it is mixed with raisins (Zab\u00edb) and smoked in the\n  water-pipe. (Burckhardt No. 73). Besides these there is (1) \u201cPost\u201d\n  poppy-seed prepared in various ways but especially in sugared\n  sherbets; (2) Datura (_stramonium_) seed, the produce of the\n  thorn-apple, bleached and put into sweetmeats by dishonest\n  confectioners; it is a dangerous intoxicant, producing spectral\n  visions, delirium tremens, etc.; and (3) various preparations of opium\n  especially the \u201cMadad,\u201d pills made up with toasted betel-leaf and\n  smoked. Opium, however, is usually drunk in the shape of \u201cKusumba,\u201d a\n  pill placed in wet cotton and squeezed in order to strain and clean it\n  of the cowdung and other filth with which it is adulterated.\n\nFootnote 29:\n\n  Arab. \u201cSikank\u00far\u201d (Gr. \u03a3\u03ba\u03af\u03b3\u03ba\u03bf\u03c2, Lat. Scincus) a lizard (_S.\n  officinalis_) which, held in the hand, still acts as an aphrodisiac in\n  the East, and which in the Middle Ages was considered a universal\n  medicine. In the \u201cAdja\u2019ib al-Hind\u201d (Les Merveilles de l\u2019Inde) we find\n  a notice of a bald-headed old man who was compelled to know his wife\n  twice a day and twice a night in consequence of having eaten a certain\n  fish. (Chapt. lxxviii. of the translation by M. L. Marcel Devic, from\n  a manuscript of the tenth century; Paris, Lemaire, 1878). Europeans\n  deride these prescriptions, but Easterns know better: they affect the\n  fancy, that is, the brain; and often succeed in temporarily relieving\n  impotence. The recipes for this evil, which is incurable only when it\n  comes from heart-affections, are innumerable in the East; and about\n  half of every medical work is devoted to them. Many a quack has made\n  his fortune with a few bottles of tincture of cantharides, and a man\n  who could discover a specific would become a millionaire in India\n  only. The curious reader will consult for specimens the Ananga-Ranga\n  Shastra by Koka Pandit; or the \u201cRuj\u00fa \u2018al-Shaykh ila \u2018l-Sab\u00e1h fi\n  Kuwwati \u2018l-B\u00e1h\u201d (the Return of the Old Man to Youth in power of\n  Procreation) by Ahmad bin Sulaym\u00e1n known as Ibn Kam\u00e1l B\u00e1sh\u00e1 in 139\n  chapters lithographed at Cairo. Of these aphrodisiacs I shall have\n  more to say.\n\nFootnote 30:\n\n  Al\u00e1 al-Din (our old friend Aladdin) = Glory of the Faith, a name of\n  which Mohammed, who preferred the simplest, like his own, would have\n  highly disapproved. The most grateful names to Allah are Abdallah\n  (Allah\u2019s Slave) and Abd al-Rahm\u00e1n (Slave of the Compassionate); the\n  truest are Al-H\u00e1rith (the gainer, \u201cbread-winner\u201d) and Al-Hamm\u00e1m (the\n  griever); and the hatefullest are Al-Harb (witch) and Al-Murrah\n  (bitterness, Abu Murrah being a kunyat or by-name of the Devil). Abu\n  al-Sh\u00e1m\u00e1t (pronounced Abush-sh\u00e1m\u00e1t) = Father of Moles, concerning\n  which I have already given details. These names ending in -Din (faith)\n  began with the Caliph Al-Muktadi bi-Amri \u2018llah (regn. A.H. 467 =\n  1075), who entitled his Wazir \u201cZah\u00edr al-Din\u201d (Backer or Defender of\n  the Faith) and this gave rise to the practice. It may be observed that\n  the superstition of naming by omens is in no way obsolete.\n\nFootnote 31:\n\n  Meaning that he appeared intoxicated by the pride of his beauty as\n  though it had been strong wine.\n\nFootnote 32:\n\n  _i.e._ against the evil eye.\n\nFootnote 33:\n\n  Meaning that he had been delicately reared.\n\nFootnote 34:\n\n  A traditional saying of Mohammed.\n\nFootnote 35:\n\n  So Boccaccio\u2019s \u201cCapo bianco\u201d and \u201cCoda verde.\u201d (Day iv., Introduct.)\n\nFootnote 36:\n\n  The opening chapter is known as the \u201cMother of the Book,\u201d (as opposed\n  to Y\u00e1 S\u00edn, the \u201cheart of the Koran\u201d) the \u201cSurat (chapter) of Praise,\u201d\n  and the \u201cSurat of repetition,\u201d (because twice revealed?) or\n  thanksgiving, or laudation (Al-Mas\u00e1ni) and by a host of other names\n  for which see Mr. Rodwell who, however, should not write \u201cFatthah\u201d (p.\n  xxv.) nor \u201cFathah\u201d (xxvii.). The F\u00e1tihah, which is to Al-Islam much\n  what the \u201cPaternoster\u201d is to Christendom, consists of seven verses, in\n  the usual Saj\u2019a or rhymed prose, and I have rendered it as follows:\u2014\n\n  In the name of the Compassionating, the Compassionate! \u273f Praise be to\n  Allah who all the Worlds made \u273f The Compassionating, the Compassionate\n  \u273f King of the Day of Faith! \u273f Thee only do we adore and of Thee only\n  do we crave aid \u273f Guide us to the path which is straight \u273f The path of\n  those for whom Thy love is great, not those on whom is hate, nor they\n  that deviate \u273f Amen! O Lord of the World\u2019s trine.\n\n  My Pilgrimage (i. 285; ii. 78 and _passim_) will supply instances of\n  its application; how it is recited with open hands to catch the\n  blessing from Heaven and the palms are drawn down the face (Ibid. i.\n  286), and other details.\n\nFootnote 37:\n\n  _i.e._ when the evil eye has less effect than upon children. Strangers\n  in Cairo often wonder to see a woman richly dressed leading by the\n  hand a filthy little boy (rarely a girl) in rags, which at home will\n  be changed to cloth of gold.\n\nFootnote 38:\n\n  Arab. \u201cAs\u00eddah\u201d flour made consistent by boiling in water with the\n  addition of \u201cSamn\u201d (clarified butter) and honey: more like pap than\n  custard.\n\nFootnote 39:\n\n  Arab. \u201cGh\u00e1bah\u201d = I have explained as a low-lying place where the\n  growth is thickest and consequently animals haunt it during the\n  noon-heats.\n\nFootnote 40:\n\n  Arab. \u201cAkk\u00e1m,\u201d one who loads camels and has charge of the luggage. He\n  also corresponds with the modern Mukharrij or camel-hirer (Pilgrimage\n  i. 339); and hence the word Moucre (Moucres) which, first used by La\n  Brocqui\u00e8re (A.D. 1432), is still the only term known to the French.\n\nFootnote 41:\n\n  _i.e._ I am old and can no longer travel.\n\nFootnote 42:\n\n  Taken from Al-Asma\u2019i, the \u201cRomance of Antar,\u201d and the episode of the\n  Asafir Camels.\n\nFootnote 43:\n\n  A Mystic of the twelfth century A.D. who founded the K\u00e1dir\u00ed order (the\n  oldest and chiefest of the four universally recognised), to which I\n  have the honour to belong, teste my diploma (Pilgrimage, Appendix i.).\n  Visitation is still made to his tomb at Baghdad. The Arabs (who have\n  no hard g-letter) alter to \u201cJ\u00edl\u00e1n\u201d the name of his birth-place\n  \u201cGilan,\u201d a tract between the Caspian and the Black Seas.\n\nFootnote 44:\n\n  The well-known Anglo-Indian \u201cMucuddum;\u201d lit. \u201cone placed before (or\n  over) others;\u201d an overseer.\n\nFootnote 45:\n\n  Koran xiii. 14.\n\nFootnote 46:\n\n  _i.e._ his chastity: this fashion of objecting to infamous proposals\n  is very characteristic: ruder races would use their fists.\n\nFootnote 47:\n\n  Arab. \u201cR\u00e1fiz\u00ed\u201d = the Shi\u2019ah (tribe, sect) or Persian schismatics who\n  curse the first three Caliphs: the name is taken from their own saying\n  \u201cInn\u00e1 rafizn\u00e1-hum\u201d = verily we have rejected them. The feeling between\n  Sunni (the so-called orthodox) and Shi\u2019ah is much like the Christian\n  love between a Catholic of Cork and a Protestant from the Black North.\n  As Al-Siyuti or any historian will show, this sect became exceedingly\n  powerful under the later Abbaside Caliphs, many of whom conformed to\n  it and adopted its practices and innovations (as in the Azan or\n  prayer-call), greatly to the scandal of their co-religionists. Even in\n  the present day the hatred between these representatives of Arab\n  monotheism and Persian Guebrism continues unabated. I have given\n  sundry instances in my Pilgrimage, _e.g._ how the Persians attempt to\n  pollute the tombs of the Caliphs they abhor.\n\nFootnote 48:\n\n  Arab. \u201cSakk\u00e1,\u201d the Indian \u201cBihisht\u00ed\u201d (man from Heaven): Each party in\n  a caravan has one or more.\n\nFootnote 49:\n\n  These \u201cKir\u00e1m\u00e1t\u201d or Saints\u2019 miracles, which Spiritualists will readily\n  accept, are recorded in vast numbers. Most men have half a dozen to\n  tell, each of his \u201cP\u00edr\u201d or patron, including the Istidr\u00e1j or prodigy\n  of chastisement (Dabistan, iii. 274).\n\nFootnote 50:\n\n  Great-grand-daughter of the Imam Hasan, buried in Cairo and famed for\n  \u201cKir\u00e1m\u00e1t.\u201d Her father, governor of Al-Medinah, was imprisoned by\n  Al-Mansur and restored to power by Al-Mahdi. She was married to a son\n  of the Imam Ja\u2019afar al-Sadik and lived a life of devotion in Cairo,\n  dying in A.H. 218 = 824. The corpse of the Imam al-Shafi\u2019i was carried\n  to her house, now her mosque and mausoleum: it stood in the Darb\n  al-Sab\u00faa which formerly divided Old from New Cairo and is now one of\n  the latter\u2019s suburbs. Lane (M. E. chapt. x.) gives her name but little\n  more. The mention of her shows that the writer of the tale or the\n  copyist was a Cairene: Abd al-Kadir is world-known: not so the \u201cSitt.\u201d\n\nFootnote 51:\n\n  Arab. \u201cFarkh akrab\u201d for Ukayrib, a vulgarism.\n\nFootnote 52:\n\n  The usual Egyptian irreverence: he relates his abomination as if it\n  were a Hadis or Tradition of the Prophet with due ascription.\n\nFootnote 53:\n\n  A popular name, dim. of Zubdah, cream, fresh butter, \u201ccreamkin.\u201d\n\nFootnote 54:\n\n  Arab. \u201cMustahall,\u201d \u201cMustahill\u201d and vulg. \u201cMuhallil\u201d (= one who renders\n  lawful). It means a man hired for the purpose who marries _pro form\u00e2_\n  and after wedding, and bedding with actual consummation, at once\n  divorces the woman. He is held the reverse of respectable and no\n  wonder. Hence, probably, Mandeville\u2019s story of the Islanders who, on\n  the marriage-night, \u201cmake another man to lie by their wives, to have\n  their maidenhead, for which they give great hire and much thanks. And\n  there are certain men in every town that serve for no other thing; and\n  they call them cadeberiz, that is to say, the fools of despair,\n  because they believe their occupation is a dangerous one.\u201d Burckhardt\n  gives the proverb (No. 79), \u201cA thousand lovers rather than one\n  Mustahall,\u201d the latter being generally some ugly fellow picked up in\n  the streets and disgusting to the wife who must permit his embraces.\n\nFootnote 55:\n\n  This is a woman\u2019s oath, not used by men.\n\nFootnote 56:\n\n  Pronounced \u201cY\u00e1 S\u00edn\u201d (chapt. xxxvi.) the \u201cheart of the Koran\u201d much used\n  for edifying recitation. Some pious Moslems in Egypt repeat it as a\n  Waz\u00edfah, or religious task, or as masses for the dead, and all\n  educated men know its 83 versets by rote.\n\nFootnote 57:\n\n  Arab. \u201c\u00c1l D\u00e1\u00fad\u201d = the family of David, _i.e._ David himself, a popular\n  idiom. The prophet\u2019s recitation of the \u201cMaz\u00e1mir\u201d (Psalter) worked\n  miracles.\n\nFootnote 58:\n\n  There is a peculiar thickening of the voice in leprosy which at once\n  betrays the hideous disease.\n\nFootnote 59:\n\n  These lines have occurred in Night clxxxiii. I quote Mr. Payne (in\n  loco) by way of variety.\n\nFootnote 60:\n\n  Where the \u201cJuz\u00e1m\u201d (leprosy, elephantiasis, morbus sacrum, etc. etc.)\n  is supposed first to show: the swelling would alter the shape. Lane\n  (ii. 267) translates \u201cher wrist which was bipartite.\u201d\n\nFootnote 61:\n\n  Arab. \u201cZakariy\u00e1\u201d (Zacharias): a play upon the term \u201cZakar\u201d = the sign\n  of \u201cmasculinity.\u201d Zacharias mentioned in the Koran as the educator of\n  the Virgin Mary (chapt. iii.) and repeatedly referred to (chapt. xix.\n  etc.), is a well-known personage amongst Moslems and his church is now\n  the great Cathedral-Mosque of Aleppo.\n\nFootnote 62:\n\n  Arab. \u201cArk al-Hal\u00e1wat\u201d = vein of sweetness.\n\nFootnote 63:\n\n  Arab. \u201cFut\u00fah,\u201d which may also mean openings, has before occurred.\n\nFootnote 64:\n\n  _i.e._ four times without withdrawing.\n\nFootnote 65:\n\n  _i.e._ a correspondence of size, concerning which many rules are given\n  in the Ananga-ranga Shastra which justly declares that discrepancy\n  breeds matrimonial troubles.\n\nFootnote 66:\n\n  Arab. \u201cGhur\u00e1b al-_Bayn_\u201d = raven of the waste or the parting: hence\n  the bird of Odin symbolises separation (which is also called Al-bayn).\n  The Raven (Ghurab = Heb. Oreb and Lat. Corvus, one of the prehistoric\n  words) is supposed to be seen abroad earlier than any other bird; and\n  it is entitled \u201cAbu Z\u00e1jir,\u201d father of omens, because lucky when flying\n  towards the right and _v.v._ It is opposed in poetry to the (white)\n  pigeon, the emblem of union, peace and happiness. The vulgar declare\n  that when Mohammed hid in the cave the crow kept calling to his\n  pursuers, \u201cGh\u00e1r! Gh\u00e1r!\u201d (cavern, cavern): hence the Prophet condemned\n  him to wear eternal mourning and ever to repeat the traitorous words.\n  This is the old tale of Coronis and Apollo (Ovid, lib. ii.)\n\n                          \u2014\u2014who blacked the raven o\u2019er\n              And bid him prate in his white plumes no more.\n\nFootnote 67:\n\n  This use of a Turkish title, \u201cEfendi\u201d being = our esquire, and\n  inferior to a Bey, is a rank anachronism, probably of the copyist.\n\nFootnote 68:\n\n  Arab. \u201cSamn\u201d = Hind. \u201cGhi;\u201d butter melted, skimmed and allowed to\n  cool.\n\nFootnote 69:\n\n  Arab. \u201cYa Wad\u00fad;\u201d a title of the Almighty: the Mac. Edit. has \u201cO\n  David!\u201d\n\nFootnote 70:\n\n  Arab. \u201cMuwashshahah;\u201d a complicated stanza of which specimens have\n  occurred. Mr. Payne calls it a \u201cballad,\u201d which would be a \u201cKunyat\n  al-Zidd.\u201d\n\nFootnote 71:\n\n  Arab. \u201cBah\u00e1im\u201d (plur. of Bah\u00edmah = Heb. Behemoth), applied in Egypt\n  especially to cattle. A friend of the \u201cOppenheim\u201d house, a name the\n  Arabs cannot pronounce, was known throughout Cairo as \u201cJack al-bah\u00e1im\u201d\n  (of the cows.)\n\nFootnote 72:\n\n  Lit. \u201cThe father of side-locks,\u201d a nickname of one of the Tobba Kings.\n  This \u201cHasan of the ringlets\u201d who wore two long pig-tails hanging to\n  his shoulders was the Rochester or Piron of his age: his name is still\n  famous for brilliant wit, extempore verse and the wildest debauchery.\n  D\u2019Herbelot\u2019s sketch of his life is very meagre. \u201cHis poetry has\n  survived to the present day and (unhappily) we shall hear more of Abu\n  Now\u00e1s.\u201d On the subject of these patronymics Lane (Mod. Egypt, chapt.\n  iv.) has a strange remark that \u201cAbu D\u00e1\u00fad is not the Father of D\u00e1\u00fad or\n  Abu Ali the Father of Ali, but whose Father is (or was) D\u00e1\u00fad or Ali.\u201d\n  Here, however, he simply confounds Abu = father of (followed by a\n  genitive), with Abu-h (for Abu-hu) = he, whose father.\n\nFootnote 73:\n\n  Arab. \u201cSam\u00far,\u201d applied in slang language to cats and dogs, hence the\n  witty Egyptians converted Admiral Seymour (Lord Alcester) into\n  \u201cSam\u00far.\u201d\n\nFootnote 74:\n\n  The home-student of Arabic may take this letter as a model even in the\n  present day; somewhat stiff and old-fashioned, but gentlemanly and\n  courteous.\n\nFootnote 75:\n\n  Arab. \u201cSal\u00edm\u201d (not S\u00e9-lim) meaning the \u201cSafe and sound.\u201d\n\nFootnote 76:\n\n  Arab. \u201cHal\u00e1wah\u201d = sweetmeat; meaning an entertainment such as men give\n  to their friends after sickness or a journey: it is technically called\n  as above, \u201cThe Sweetmeat of Safety.\u201d\n\nFootnote 77:\n\n  Arab. \u201cSal\u00e1t\u201d which from Allah means mercy; from the Angels\n  intercession and pardon; and from mankind blessing. Concerning the\n  specific effects of blessing the Prophet, see Pilgrimage (ii. 70). The\n  formula is often slurred over when a man is in hurry to speak: an\n  interrupting friend will say \u201cBless the Prophet!\u201d and he does so by\n  ejaculating \u201cSa\u2019am.\u201d\n\nFootnote 78:\n\n  Persian, meaning originally a command: it is now applied to a Wazirial\n  order as opposed to the \u201cIr\u00e1dah,\u201d the Sultan\u2019s order.\n\nFootnote 79:\n\n  Arab. \u201cMash\u00e1\u2019il\u00ed\u201d: lit. the cresset-bearer who has before appeared as\n  hangman.\n\nFootnote 80:\n\n  Another polite formula for announcing a death.\n\nFootnote 81:\n\n  As he died heirless the property lapsed to the Treasury.\n\nFootnote 82:\n\n  This shaking the kerchief is a signal to disperse and the action\n  suggests its meaning. Thus it is used in an opposite sense to\n  \u201cthrowing the kerchief,\u201d a pseudo-Oriental practice whose significance\n  is generally understood in Europe.\n\nFootnote 83:\n\n  The body-guard being of two divisions.\n\nFootnote 84:\n\n  Arab. \u201cHadb\u00e1,\u201d lit. \u201chump-backed;\u201d alluding to the Badawi bier; a pole\n  to which the corpse is slung (Lane). It seems to denote the\n  protuberance of the corpse when placed upon the bier which before was\n  flat. The quotation is from Ka\u2019ab\u2019s Mantle-Poem (Burdah v. 37) \u201cEvery\n  son of a female, long though his safety may be, is a day borne upon a\n  _ridged implement_,\u201d says Mr. Redhouse, explaining the latter as a\n  \u201cbier with a ridged lid.\u201d Here we differ: the Jan\u00e1zah with a lid is\n  not a Badawi article: the wildlings use the simplest stretcher; and I\n  would translate the lines:\u2014\n\n                 The son of woman, whatso his career,\n                 One day is borne upon the gibbous bier.\n\nFootnote 85:\n\n  This is a high honour to any courtier.\n\nFootnote 86:\n\n  \u201cKhatun\u201d in Turk. means any lady: mistress, etc., and follows the\n  name, _e.g._ F\u00e1timah Khatun. Habzalam Bazazah is supposed to be a\n  fanciful compound, uncouth as the named; the first word consisting of\n  \u201cHabb\u201d seed, grain; and \u201cZalam\u201d of Zulm = seed of tyranny. Can it be a\n  travesty of \u201cAbsalom\u201d (Ab Sal\u00e1m, father of peace)? Lane (ii. 284) and\n  Payne (iii. 286) prefer Habazlam and Hebezlem.\n\nFootnote 87:\n\n  Or night. A metaphor for rushing into peril.\n\nFootnote 88:\n\n  Plur. of kumkum, cucurbite, gourd-shaped vessel, jar.\n\nFootnote 89:\n\n  A popular exaggeration for a very expert thief.\n\nFootnote 90:\n\n  Arab. \u201cBuka\u2019at al-dam\u201d: lit. the \u201clow place of blood\u201d (where it\n  stagnates): so Al-Buk\u00e1\u2019ah = C\u0153lesyria.\n\nFootnote 91:\n\n  That common and very unpleasant phrase, full of egotism and\n  self-esteem, \u201cI told you so,\u201d is even more common in the na\u00efve East\n  than in the West. In this case the son\u2019s answer is far superior to the\n  mother\u2019s question.\n\nFootnote 92:\n\n  In order to keep his oath to the letter.\n\nFootnote 93:\n\n  \u201cTabannuj\u201d literally \u201chemping\u201d (drugging with hemp or henbane) is the\n  equivalent in Arab medicine of our \u201can\u00e6sthetics.\u201d These have been used\n  in surgery throughout the East for centuries before ether and\n  chloroform became the fashion in the civilised West.\n\nFootnote 94:\n\n  Arab. \u201cDurk\u00e1\u2019ah,\u201d the lower part of the floor, opposed to the \u201cliwan\u201d\n  or da\u00efs. Liw\u00e1n = Al-Ayw\u00e1n (Arab. and Pers.) the hall (including the\n  da\u00efs and the sunken parts).\n\nFootnote 95:\n\n  _i.e._ he would toast it as he would a mistress.\n\nFootnote 96:\n\n  This till very late years was the custom in Persia; and Fath Ali Shah\n  never appeared in scarlet without ordering some horrible cruelties. In\n  Dar-For wearing a red cashmere turban was a sign of wrath and sending\n  a blood-red dress to a subject meant that he would be slain.\n\nFootnote 97:\n\n  That is, this robbery was committed in the palace by some one\n  belonging to it. References to vinegar are frequent; that of Egypt\n  being famous in those days. \u201cOptimum et laudatissimum acetum a Romanis\n  habebatur \u00c6gyptum\u201d (Facciolati); and possibly it was sweetened: the\n  Gesta (Tale xvii.) mentions \u201cmust and vinegar.\u201d In Arab Proverbs, \u201cOne\n  mind by vinegar and another by wine\u201d = each mind goes its own way.\n  (Arab. Prov. ii. 628); or, \u201cwith good and bad,\u201d vinegar being spoilt\n  wine.\n\nFootnote 98:\n\n  We have not heard the last of this old \u201cdowsing rod\u201d: the latest form\n  of rhabdomancy is an electrical rod invented in the United States.\n\nFootnote 99:\n\n  This is the _proc\u00e8s verbal_ always drawn up on such occasions.\n\nFootnote 100:\n\n  The sight of running water makes a Persian long for strong drink as\n  the sight of a fine view makes the Turk feel hungry.\n\nFootnote 101:\n\n  Arab. \u201cMin wahid aduww\u201d a peculiarly Egyptian or rather Cairene\n  phrase.\n\nFootnote 102:\n\n  Al-Danaf = the Distressing Sickness: the title would be Ahmad the\n  Calamity. Al-Zaybak (the Quicksilver) = Mercury Ali: Hasan \u201cShuuman\u201d =\n  a pestilent fellow. We shall meet all these worthies again and again:\n  see the Adventures of Mercury Ali of Cairo, Night dccviii., a sequel\n  to The Rogueries of Dalilah, Night dcxcviii.\n\nFootnote 103:\n\n  For the \u201cSacrifice-place of Ishmael\u201d (not Isaac) see my Pilgrimage\n  (iii. 306). According to all Arab ideas Ishmael, being the eldest son,\n  was the chief of the family after his father. I have noted that this\n  is the old old quarrel between the Arabs and their cousins the\n  Hebrews.\n\nFootnote 104:\n\n  This black-mail was still paid to the Badawin of Ramlah (Alexandria)\n  till the bombardment in 1881.\n\nFootnote 105:\n\n  The famous Issus of Cilicia, now a port-village on the Gulf of\n  Scanderoon.\n\nFootnote 106:\n\n  Arab. \u201cWada\u2019\u00e1\u201d = the _concha veneris_, then used as small change.\n\nFootnote 107:\n\n  Arab. \u201cSakati\u201d = a dealer in \u201ccastaway\u201d articles, such as old metal,\n  damaged goods, the pluck and feet of animals, etc.\n\nFootnote 108:\n\n  The popular tale of Burckhardt\u2019s death in Cairo was that the names of\n  the three first Caliphs were found written upon his slipper-soles and\n  that he was put to death by decree of the Olema. It is the merest\n  nonsense, as the great traveller died of dysentery in the house of my\n  old friend John Thurburn and was buried outside the Bab al-Nasr of\n  Cairo, where his tomb was restored by the late Rogers Bay (Pilgrimage\n  i. 123).\n\nFootnote 109:\n\n  Prob. a mis-spelling for Arsl\u00e1n, in Turk, a lion, and in slang a\n  piastre.\n\nFootnote 110:\n\n  Arab. \u201cMaka\u2019ad\u201d; lit. = sitting-room.\n\nFootnote 111:\n\n  Arab. \u201cKhamm\u00e1rah\u201d; still the popular term throughout Egypt for a\n  European Hotel. It is not always intended to be insulting but it is,\n  meaning the place where Franks meet to drink forbidden drinks.\n\nFootnote 112:\n\n  A reminiscence of Mohammed who cleansed the Ka\u2019abah of its 360 idols\n  (of which 73 names are given by Freytag, Einleitung, etc. pp. 270,\n  342-57) by touching them with his staff, whereupon all fell to the\n  ground; and the Prophet cried (Koran xvii. 84), \u201cTruth is come, and\n  falsehood is vanished: verily, falsehood is a thing that vanisheth\u201d\n  (magna est veritas, etc.). Amongst the \u201cidols\u201d are said to have been a\n  statue of Abraham and the horns of the ram sacrificed in lieu of\n  Ishmael, which (if true) would prove conclusively that the Abrahamic\n  legend at Meccah is of ancient date and not a fiction of Al-Islam.\n  Hence, possibly, the respect of the Judaising Tobbas of Himyarland for\n  the Ka\u2019abah (Pilgrimage, iii. 295).\n\nFootnote 113:\n\n  This was evidently written by a Sunni as the Sh\u00ed\u2019ahs claim to be the\n  only true Moslems. Lane tells an opposite story (ii. 329). It suggests\n  the common question in the South of Europe, \u201cAre you a Christian or a\n  Protestant?\u201d\n\nFootnote 114:\n\n  Arab. \u201cAna f\u00ed j\u00edrat-ak!\u201d a phrase to be remembered as useful in time\n  of danger.\n\nFootnote 115:\n\n  _i.e._ No Jinni, or Slave of the Jewel, was there to answer.\n\nFootnote 116:\n\n  Arab. \u201cKuns\u00fal\u201d (pron. \u201cGunsul\u201d) which here means a well-to-do Frank,\n  and shows the modern date of the tale as it stands.\n\nFootnote 117:\n\n  From the Ital. \u201cCapitano.\u201d The mention of cannon and other terms in\n  this tale shows that either it was written during the last century or\n  it has been mishandled by copyists.\n\nFootnote 118:\n\n  Arab. \u201cMin\u00ednah\u201d; a biscuit of flour and clarified butter.\n\nFootnote 119:\n\n  Arab. \u201cWaybah;\u201d the sixth part of the Ardabb = 6 to 7 English gallons.\n\nFootnote 120:\n\n  He speaks in half-jest _\u00e0 la Fellah_; and reminds us of \u201cHangman,\n  drive on the cart!\u201d\n\nFootnote 121:\n\n  Yochanan (whom Jehovah has blessed) Jewish for John, is probably a\n  copy of the Chaldean Euahanes, the Oannes of Berosus = Ea Khan, Hea\n  the fish. The Greeks made it Joannes; the Arabs \u201cYohann\u00e1\u201d (contracted\n  to \u201cHann\u00e1,\u201d Christian) and \u201cY\u00e1hy\u00e1\u201d (Moslem). Prester (Priest) John is\n  probably Ung Khan, the historian prince conquered and slain by Janghiz\n  Khan in A.D. 1202. The modern history of \u201cJohn\u201d is very extensive:\n  there may be a full hundred varieties and derivations of the name.\n  \u201cHusn Maryam\u201d = the beauty (spiritual, etc.) of the B.V.\n\nFootnote 122:\n\n  Primarily being middle-aged; then aid, a patron, servant, etc. Also a\n  tribe of the Jinn usually made synonymous with \u201cM\u00e1rid,\u201d evil\n  controuls, hostile to men: modern spiritualists would regard them as\n  polluted souls not yet purged of their malignity. The text insinuates\n  that they were at home amongst Christians and in Genoa.\n\nFootnote 123:\n\n  Arab. \u201cSar\u2019a\u201d = epilepsy, falling sickness, of old always confounded\n  with \u201cpossession\u201d (by evil spirits) or \u201cobsession.\u201d\n\nFootnote 124:\n\n  Again the true old charge of falsifying the so-called \u201cSacred books.\u201d\n  Here the Koran is called \u201cFurk\u00e1n.\u201d Sale (sect. iii.) would assimilate\n  this to the Hebr. Perek or Pirka, denoting a section or portion of\n  Scripture; but Moslems understand it to be the \u201cBook which\n  distinguished (faraka, divided) the true from the false.\u201d Thus Caliph\n  Omar was entitled \u201cF\u00e1r\u00fak\u201d = the Distinguisher (between right and\n  wrong). Lastly, \u201cFurk\u00e1n,\u201d meaning as in Syr. and Ethiop. deliverance,\n  revelation, is applied alike to the Pentateuch and Koran.\n\nFootnote 125:\n\n  Euphemistic for \u201cthou shalt die.\u201d\n\nFootnote 126:\n\n  Lit. \u201cFrom (jugular) vein to vein\u201d (Arab. War\u00edd). Our old friend\n  Lucretius again: \u201cTantane relligio,\u201d etc.\n\nFootnote 127:\n\n  As opposed to the \u201cbut\u201d or outer room.\n\nFootnote 128:\n\n  Arab. \u201cDarb al-Asfar\u201d in the old Jamal\u00edyah or Northern part of Cairo.\n\n\n\n\n                      HATIM OF THE TRIBE OF TAYY.\n\n\nIt is told of H\u00e1tim of the tribe of Tayy,[129] that when he died, they\nburied him on the top of a mountain and set over his grave two troughs\nhewn out of two rocks and stone girls with dishevelled hair. At the foot\nof the hill was a stream of running water, and when wayfarers camped\nthere, they heard loud crying and keening in the night, from dark till\ndaybreak; but when they arose in the morning, they found nothing but the\ngirls carved in stone. Now when Z\u00fa \u2018l-Kur\u00e1\u2019a,[130] King of Himyar, going\nforth of his tribe, came to that valley, he halted to pass the night\nthere\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n         Now when it was the Two Hundred and Seventieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Zu \u2018l-Kura\u2019a\npassed by the valley he nighted there; and, when he drew near the\nmountain, he heard the keening and said, \u201cWhat lamenting is that on\nyonder hill?\u201d They answered him, saying, \u201cVerily this be the tomb of\nHatim al-T\u00e1yyi over which are two troughs of stone and stone figures of\ngirls with dishevelled hair; and all who camp in this place by night\nhear this crying and keening.\u201d So he said jestingly, \u201cO Hatim of Tayy!\nwe are thy guests this night, and we are lank with hunger.\u201d Then sleep\novercame him, but presently he awoke in affright and cried out, saying,\n\u201cHelp, O Arabs! Look to my beast!\u201d So they came to him, and finding his\nshe-camel struggling and struck down, they stabbed her in the throat and\nroasted her flesh and ate. Then they asked him what had happened and he\nsaid, \u201cWhen I closed my eyes, I saw in my sleep Hatim of Tayy who came\nto me sword in hand and cried:\u2014Thou comest to us and we have nothing by\nus. Then he smote my she-camel with his sword, and she had surely died\neven though ye had not come to her and slaughtered her.\u201d[131] Now when\nmorning dawned the King mounted the beast of one of his companions and,\ntaking the owner up behind him, set out and fared on till midday, when\nthey saw a man coming towards them, mounted on a camel and leading\nanother, and said to him, \u201cWho art thou?\u201d He answered, \u201cI am Adi,[132]\nson of Hatim of Tayy; where is Zu \u2018l-Kura\u2019a, Emir of Himyar?\u201d Replied\nthey, \u201cThis is he;\u201d and he said to the prince, \u201cTake this she-camel in\nplace of thy beast which my father slaughtered for thee.\u201d Asked Zu\n\u2018l-Kura\u2019a, \u201cWho told thee of this?\u201d and Adi answered, \u201cMy father\nappeared to me in a dream last night and said to me:\u2014Harkye, Adi; Zu\n\u2018l-Kura\u2019a King of Himyar, sought the guest-rite of me and I, having\nnaught to give him, slaughtered his she-camel, that he might eat: so do\nthou carry him a she-camel to ride, for I have nothing.\u201d And Zu\n\u2018l-Kura\u2019a took her, marvelling at the generosity of Hatim of Tayy alive\nand dead. And amongst instances of generosity is the\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 129:\n\n  A noble tribe of Badawin that migrated from Al-Yaman and settled in\n  Al-Najd. Their Chief, who died a few years before Mohammed\u2019s birth,\n  was Al-Halim (the \u201cblack crow\u201d), a model of Arab manliness and\n  munificence; and although born in the Ignorance he will enter Heaven\n  with the Moslems. Hatim was buried on the hill called Ow\u00e1rid: I have\n  already noted this favourite practice of the wilder Arabs and the\n  affecting idea that the Dead may still look upon his kith and kin.\n  There is not an Arab book nor, indeed, a book upon Arabia which does\n  not contain the name of Hatim: he is mentioned as unpleasantly often\n  as Aristides.\n\nFootnote 130:\n\n  Lord of \u201cCattle-feet,\u201d this King\u2019s name is unknown; but the K\u00e1m\u00fas\n  mentions two Kings called Zu \u2018l Kal\u00e1\u2019a, the Greater and the Less.\n  Lane\u2019s Shaykh (ii. 333) opined that the man who demanded Hatim\u2019s\n  hospitality was one Abu \u2018l-Khaybari.\n\nFootnote 131:\n\n  The camel\u2019s throat, I repeat, is not cut as in the case of other\n  animals; the muscles being too strong: it is slaughtered by the\n  \u201cnahr,\u201d _i.e._ thrusting a knife into the hollow at the commissure of\n  the chest. (Pilgrimage iii. 303.)\n\nFootnote 132:\n\n  Adi became a Moslem and was one of the companions of the Prophet.\n\n\n\n\n                 TALE OF MA\u2019AN THE SON OF ZAIDAH.[133]\n\n\nIt is told of Ma\u2019an bin Z\u00e1idah that, being out one day a-chasing and\na-hunting, he became athirst but his men had no water with them; and\nwhile thus suffering behold, three damsels met him bearing three skins\nof water;\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\n\n     Now when it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-first Night,[134]\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that three girls met\nhim bearing three skins of water; so he begged drink of them, and they\ngave him to drink. Then he sought of his men somewhat to give the\ndamsels but they had no money; so he presented to each girl ten\ngolden-piled arrows from his quiver. Whereupon quoth one of them to her\nfriend, \u201cWell-a-day! These fashions pertain to none but Ma\u2019an bin\nZaidah! so let each one of us say somewhat of verse in his praise.\u201d Then\nquoth the first:\u2014\n\n He heads his arrows with piles of gold, \u273f And while shooting his foes is\n    his bounty doled:\n Affording the wounded a means of cure, \u273f And a sheet for the bider\n    beneath the mould!\n\nAnd quoth the second:\u2014\n\n A warrior showing such open hand, \u273f His boons all friends and all foes\n    enfold:\n The piles of his arrows of or are made, \u273f So that battle his bounty may\n    not withhold!\n\nAnd quoth the third:\u2014\n\n From that liberal hand on his foes he rains \u273f Shafts aureate-headed and\n    manifold:\n Wherewith the hurt shall chirurgeon pay, \u273f And for slain the shrouds\n    round their corpses roll\u2019d.[135]\n\nAnd there is also told a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 133:\n\n  A rival in generosity to Hatim: a Persian poet praising his patron\u2019s\n  generosity says that it buried that of Hatim and dimmed that of Ma\u2019an\n  (D\u2019Herbelot). He was a high official under the last Ommiade, Marw\u00e1n\n  al-Him\u00e1r (the \u201cAss,\u201d or the \u201cCentury,\u201d the duration of Ommiade rule)\n  who was routed and slain in A.H. 132 = 750. Ma\u2019an continued to serve\n  under the Abbasides and was a favourite with Al-Mans\u00far. \u201cMore generous\n  or bountiful than Ka\u2019ab\u201d is another saying (A. P., i. 325); Ka\u2019ab ibn\n  M\u00e1mah was a man who, somewhat like Sir Philip Sidney at Zutphen, gave\n  his own portion of drink while he was dying of thirst to a man who\n  looked wistfully at him, whence the saying \u201cGive drink to thy brother\n  the N\u00e1miri\u201d (A. P., i. 608). Ka\u2019ab could not mount, so they put\n  garments over him to scare away the wild beasts and left him in the\n  desert to die. \u201cScatterer of blessings\u201d (N\u00e1shir al-Ni\u2019am) was a title\n  of King Malik of Al-Yaman, son of Sharhabil, eminent for his\n  liberality. He set up the statue in the Western Desert, inscribed\n  \u201cNothing behind me,\u201d as a warner to others.\n\nFootnote 134:\n\n  Lane (ii. 352) here introduces, between Nights cclxxi and ccxc, a tale\n  entitled in the Bresl. Edit. (iv. 134.) \u201cThe Sleeper and the Waker,\u201d\n  _i.e._ the sleeper awakened; and he calls it:\u2014The Story of Abu-l-Hasan\n  the Wag. It is interesting and founded upon historical fact; but it\n  can hardly be introduced here without breaking the sequence of The\n  Nights. I regret this the more as Mr. Alexander J. Cotheal of New York\n  has most obligingly sent me an addition to the Breslau text (iv. 137)\n  from his MS. But I hope eventually to make use of it.\n\nFootnote 135:\n\n  The first girl calls gold \u201cTibr\u201d (pure, unalloyed metal); the second\n  \u201cAsjad\u201d (gold generally) and the third \u201cIbr\u00edz\u201d (virgin ore, the Greek\n  \u1f44\u03b2\u03c1\u03c5\u03b6\u03bf\u03bd). This is a law of Arab rhetoric never to repeat the word\n  except for a purpose and, as the language _can_ produce 1,200,000 (to\n  100,000 in English) the copiousness is somewhat painful to readers.\n\n\n\n\n                  MA\u2019AN SON OF ZAIDAH AND THE BADAWI.\n\n\nNow Ma\u2019an bin Z\u00e1idah went forth one day to the chase with his company,\nand they came upon a herd of gazelles; so they separated in pursuit and\nMa\u2019an was left alone to chase one of them. When he had made prize of it\nhe alighted and slaughtered it; and as he was thus engaged, he espied a\nperson[136] coming forth out of the desert on an ass. So he remounted\nand riding up to the new-comer, saluted him and asked him, \u201cWhence\ncomest thou?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI come from the land of Kuz\u00e1\u2019ah, where we have\nhad a two years\u2019 dearth; but this year it was a season of plenty and I\nsowed early cucumbers.[137] They came up before their time, so I\ngathered what seemed the best of them and set out to carry them to the\nEmir Ma\u2019an bin Zaidah, because of his well-known beneficence and\nnotorious munificence.\u201d Asked Ma\u2019an, \u201cHow much dost thou hope to get of\nhim?\u201d; and the Badawi answered, \u201cA thousand dinars.\u201d Quoth the Emir,\n\u201cWhat if he say this is too much?\u201d Said the Badawi, \u201cThen I will ask\nfive hundred dinars.\u201d \u201cAnd if he say, Too much?\u201d \u201cThen three hundred!\u201d\n\u201cAnd if he say yet, Too much?\u201d \u201cThen two hundred!\u201d \u201cAnd if he say yet,\nToo much?\u201d \u201cThen one hundred!\u201d \u201cAnd if he say yet, Too much?\u201d \u201cThen,\nfifty!\u201d \u201cAnd if he say yet, Too much?\u201d \u201cThen thirty!\u201d \u201cAnd if he say\nstill, Too much?\u201d asked Ma\u2019an bin Zaidah. Answered the Badawi, \u201cI will\nmake my ass set his four feet in his Honour\u2019s home[138] and return to my\npeople, disappointed and empty-handed.\u201d So Ma\u2019an laughed at him and\nurged his steed till he came up with his suite and returned to his\nplace, when he said to his chamberlain, \u201cAn there come to thee a man\nwith cucumbers and riding on an ass admit him to me.\u201d Presently up came\nthe Badawi and was admitted to Ma\u2019an\u2019s presence; but knew not the Emir\nfor the man he had met in the desert, by reason of the gravity and\nmajesty of his semblance and the multitude of his eunuchs and\nattendants, for he was seated on his chair of estate with his officers\nranged in lines before him and on either side. So he saluted him and\nMa\u2019an said to him \u201cWhat bringeth thee, O brother of the Arabs?\u201d Answered\nthe Badawi, \u201cI hoped in the Emir, and have brought him curly cucumbers\nout of season.\u201d Asked Ma\u2019an, \u201cAnd how much dost thou expect of us?\u201d \u201cA\nthousand dinars,\u201d answered the Badawi. \u201cThis is far too much,\u201d quoth\nMa\u2019an. Quoth he, \u201cFive hundred.\u201d \u201cToo much!\u201d \u201cThen three hundred.\u201d \u201cToo\nmuch!\u201d \u201cTwo hundred.\u201d \u201cToo much!\u201d \u201cOne hundred.\u201d \u201cToo much!\u201d \u201cFifty.\u201d\n\u201cToo much!\u201d At last the Badawi came down to thirty dinars; but Ma\u2019an\nstill replied, \u201cToo much!\u201d So the Badawi cried, \u201cBy Allah, the man who\nmet me in the desert brought me bad luck! But I will not go lower than\nthirty dinars.\u201d The Emir laughed and said nothing; whereupon the wild\nArab knew that it was he whom he had met and said, \u201cO my lord, except\nthou bring the thirty dinars, see ye, there is the ass tied ready at the\ndoor and here sits Ma\u2019an, his honour, at home.\u201d So Ma\u2019an laughed, till\nhe fell on his back; and, calling his steward, said to him, \u201cGive him a\nthousand dinars and five hundred and three hundred and two hundred and\none hundred and fifty and thirty; and leave the ass tied up where he\nis.\u201d So the Arab to his amazement, received two thousand one hundred and\neighty dinars, and Allah have mercy on them both and on all generous\nmen! And I have also heard, O auspicious King, a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 136:\n\n  Arab. \u201cShakhs\u201d before noticed.\n\nFootnote 137:\n\n  Arab. \u201cKuss\u00e1\u2019\u00e1\u201d = the curling cucumber: the vegetable is of the\n  cheapest and the poorer classes eat it as \u201ckitchen\u201d with bread.\n\nFootnote 138:\n\n  Arab. \u201cHaram-hu,\u201d a double entendre. Here the Badawi means his Harem\n  the inviolate part of the house; but afterwards he makes it mean the\n  presence of His Honour.\n\n\n\n\n                       THE CITY OF LABTAYT.[139]\n\n\nThere was once a royal city in the land of Roum, called the City of\nLabtayt wherein stood a tower which was always shut. And whenever a King\ndied and another King of the Greeks took the Kingship after him, he set\non the tower a new and strong lock, till there were four-and-twenty\nlocks upon the gate, according to the number of the Kings. After this\ntime, there came to the throne a man who was not of the old royal house,\nand he had a mind to open these locks, that he might see what was within\nthe tower. The grandees of his kingdom forbade him from this and pressed\nhim to desist and reproved him and blamed him; but he persisted saying,\n\u201cNeeds must this place be opened.\u201d Then they offered him all that their\nhands possessed of monies and treasures and things of price, if he would\nbut refrain; still he would not be baulked\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the grandees\noffered that King all their hands possessed of monies and treasures if\nhe would but refrain; still he would not be baulked and said, \u201cThere is\nno help for it but I open this tower.\u201d So he pulled off the locks and\nentering, found within the tower figures of Arabs on their horses and\ncamels, habited in turbands[140] hanging down at the ends, with swords\nin baldrick-belts thrown over their shoulders and bearing long lances in\ntheir hands. He found there also a scroll which he greedily took and\nread, and these words were written therein:\u2014\u201cWhenas this door is opened\nwill conquer this country a raid of the Arabs, after the likeness of the\nfigures here depicted; wherefore beware, and again beware of opening\nit.\u201d Now this city was in Andalusia; and that very year T\u00e1rik ibn Ziy\u00e1d\nconquered it, during the Caliphate of Al-Wal\u00edd son of Abd al-Malik[141]\nof the sons of Umayyah; and slew this King after the sorriest fashion\nand sacked the city and made prisoners of the women and boys therein and\ngot great loot. Moreover, he found there immense treasures; amongst the\nrest more than an hundred and seventy crowns of pearls and jacinths and\nother gems of price; and he found a saloon, wherein horsemen might throw\nthe spears, full of vessels of gold and silver, such as no description\ncan comprise. Moreover, he found there the table of food for the Prophet\nof Allah, Solomon son of David (peace with both of them!), which is\nextant even now in a city of the Greeks; it is told that it was of\ngrass-green emerald with vessels of gold and platters of jasper.\nLikewise he found the Psalms written in the old Ionian[142] character on\nleaves of gold bezel\u2019d with jewels; together with a book setting forth\nthe properties of stones and herbs and minerals, as well as the use of\ncharacts and talismans and the canons of the art of alchymy; and he\nfound a third volume which treated of the art of cutting and setting\nrubies and other precious stones and of the preparation of poisons and\ntheriacks. There found he also a mappa mundi figuring the earth and the\nseas and the different cities and countries and villages of the world;\nand he found a vast saloon full of hermetic powder, one drachm of which\nelixir would turn a thousand drachms of silver into fine gold; likewise\na marvellous mirror, great and round, of mixed metals, which had been\nmade for Solomon, son of David (on the twain be peace!) wherein whoso\nlooked might see the counterfeit presentment of the seven climates of\nthe world; and he beheld a chamber full of Brahmini[143] jacinths for\nwhich no words can suffice. So he despatched all these things to Walid\nbin Abd al-Malik, and the Arabs spread all over the cities of Andalusia\nwhich is one of the finest of lands. This is the end of the story of the\nCity of Labtayt. And a tale is also told of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 139:\n\n  Toledo? this tale was probably known to Washington Irving. The \u201cLand\n  of Roum\u201d here means simply Frank-land, as we are afterwards told that\n  its name was Andalusia, the old Vandal-land, a term still applied by\n  Arabs to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula.\n\nFootnote 140:\n\n  Arab. \u201cAm\u00e1im\u201d (plur. of Im\u00e1mah) the common word for turband which I\n  prefer to write in the old unclipt fashion. We got it through the\n  Port. Turbante and the old French Tolliban from the (now obsolete)\n  Persian term Dolband = a turband or a sash.\n\nFootnote 141:\n\n  Sixth Ommiade Caliph, A.D. 705-716; from \u201cT\u00e1rik\u201d we have \u201cGibraltar\u201d =\n  Jabal al-T\u00e1rik.\n\nFootnote 142:\n\n  Arab. \u201cYun\u00e1n\u201d = Ionia, applied to ancient Greece as \u201cRoum\u201d is to the\n  Gr\u00e6co-Roman Empire.\n\nFootnote 143:\n\n  Arab. \u201cBahram\u00e1ni;\u201d prob. alluding to the well-known legend of the\n  capture of Somanath (Somnauth) from the Hindus by Mahmud of Ghazni. In\n  the Aj\u00e1\u2019ib al-Hind (before quoted) the Brahmins are called Abrahamah.\n\n\n\n\n                 THE CALIPH HISHAM AND THE ARAB YOUTH.\n\n\nThe Caliph Hish\u00e1m bin Abd al-Malik bin Marwan, was hunting one day, when\nhe sighted an antelope and pursued it with his dogs. As he was following\nthe quarry, he saw an Arab youth pasturing sheep and said to him, \u201cHo\nboy, up and after yonder antelope, for it escapeth me!\u201d The youth raised\nhis head to him and replied, \u201cO ignorant of what to the deserving is\ndue, thou lookest on me with disdain and speakest to me with contempt;\nthy speaking is that of a tyrant true and thy doing what an ass would\ndo.\u201d Quoth Hisham, \u201cWoe to thee, dost thou not know me?\u201d Rejoined the\nyouth, \u201cVerily thine unmannerliness hath made thee known to me, in that\nthou spakest to me, without beginning by the salutation.\u201d[144] Repeated\nthe Caliph, \u201cFie upon thee! I am Hisham bin Abd al-Malik.\u201d \u201cMay Allah\nnot favour thy dwelling-place,\u201d replied the Arab, \u201cnor guard thine\nabiding place! How many are thy words and how few thy generous deeds!\u201d\nHardly had he ended speaking, when up came the troop from all sides and\nsurrounded him as the white encircleth the black of the eye, all and\neach saying, \u201cPeace be with thee, O Commander of the Faithful!\u201d Quoth\nHisham, \u201cCut short this talk and seize me yonder boy.\u201d So they laid\nhands on him; and when he saw the multitude of Chamberlains and Wazirs\nand Lords of State, he was in nowise concerned and questioned not of\nthem, but let his chin drop on his breast and looked where his feet\nfell, till they brought him to the Caliph[145] when he stood before him,\nwith head bowed groundwards and saluted him not and spoke him not. So\none of the eunuchs said to him, \u201cO dog of the Arabs, what hindereth thy\nsaluting the Commander of the Faithful?\u201d The youth turned to him angrily\nand replied, \u201cO packsaddle of an ass, it was the length of the way that\nhindered me from this and the steepness of the steps and the profuseness\nof my sweat.\u201d Then said Hisham (and indeed he was exceeding wroth), \u201cO\nboy, verily thy days are come to their latest hour; thy hope is gone\nfrom thee and thy life is past out of thee.\u201d He answered, \u201cBy Allah, O\nHisham, verily an my life-term be prolonged and Fate ordain not its\ncutting short, thy words irk me not, be they long or short.\u201d Then said\nthe Chief Chamberlain to him, \u201cDoth it befit thy degree, O vilest of the\nArabs, to bandy words with the Commander of the Faithful?\u201d He answered\npromptly, \u201cMayest thou meet with adversity and may woe and wailing never\nleave thee! Hast thou not heard the saying of Almighty Allah?:\u2014One day,\nevery soul shall come to defend itself.\u201d[146] Hereupon Hisham rose, in\ngreat wrath, and said, \u201cO headsman, bring me the head of this lad; for\nindeed he exceedeth in talk, such as passeth conception.\u201d So the sworder\ntook him and, making him kneel on the carpet of blood, drew his sword\nabove him and said to the Caliph, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, this thy\nslave is misguided and is on the way to his grave; shall I smite off his\nhead and be quit of his blood?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d replied Hisham. He repeated his\nquestion and the Caliph again answered in the affirmative. Then he asked\nleave a third time; and the youth, knowing that, if the Caliph assented\nyet once more, it would be the signal of his death, laughed till his\nwisdom-teeth showed; whereupon Hisham\u2019s wrath redoubled and he said to\nhim, \u201cO boy, meseems thou art mad; seest thou not that thou art about to\ndepart the world? Why then dost thou laugh in mockery of thyself?\u201d He\nreplied, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, if a larger life-term befel me,\nnone can hurt me, great or small; but I have bethought me of some\ncouplets, which do thou hear, for my death cannot escape thee.\u201d Quoth\nHisham, \u201cSay on and be brief;\u201d so the Arab repeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n It happed one day a hawk pounced on a bird, \u273f A wildling sparrow driven\n    by destiny;\n And held in pounces spake the sparrow thus, \u273f E\u2019en as the hawk rose\n    ready home to hie:\u2014\n \u201cScant flesh have I to fill the maw of thee \u273f And for thy lordly food\n    poor morsel I.\u201d\n Then smiled the hawk in flattered vanity \u273f And pride, so set the sparrow\n    free to fly.\n\nAt this Hisham smiled and said, \u201cBy the truth of my kinship to the\nApostle of Allah (whom Allah bless and keep!), had he spoken this speech\nat first and asked for aught except the Caliphate, verily I would have\ngiven it to him. Stuff his mouth with jewels,[147] O eunuch and entreat\nhim courteously;\u201d so they did as he bade them and the Arab went his way.\nAnd amongst pleasant tales is that of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 144:\n\n  _i.e._ \u201cPeace be with thee!\u201d\n\nFootnote 145:\n\n  _i.e._ in the palace when the hunt was over. The bluntness and\n  plain-speaking of the Badawi, which caused the revelation of the\n  Koranic chapter \u201cInner Apartments\u201d (No. xlix.) have always been\n  favourite themes with Arab tale-tellers as a contrast with citizen\n  suavity and servility. Moreover the Badawi, besides saying what he\n  thinks, always tells the truth (unless corrupted by commerce with\n  foreigners); and this is a startling contrast with the townsfolk. To\n  ride out of Damascus and have a chat with the Ruwal\u00e1 is much like\n  being suddenly transferred from amongst the trickiest of Mediterranean\n  people to the bluff society of the Scandinavian North. And the reason\n  why the Turk will never govern the Arab in peace is that the former is\n  always trying to finesse and to succeed by falsehood, when the truth,\n  the whole truth and nothing but the truth is wanted.\n\nFootnote 146:\n\n  Koran, xvi. 112.\n\nFootnote 147:\n\n  A common and expressive way of rewarding the tongue which \u201cspoke\n  poetry.\u201d The jewels are often pearls.\n\n\n\n\n              IBRAHIM BIN AL-MAHDI AND THE BARBER-SURGEON.\n\n\nThey relate that Ibrah\u00edm, son of al-Mahd\u00ed,[148] brother of Harun\nal-Rashid, when the Caliphate devolved to Al-Maamun, the son of his\nbrother Harun, refused to acknowledge his nephew and betook himself to\nRayy[149]; where he claimed the throne and abode thus a year and eleven\nmonths and twelve days. Meanwhile his nephew, Al-Maamun, awaited his\nreturn to allegiance and his accepting a dependent position till, at\nlast, despairing of this, he mounted with his horsemen and footmen and\nrepaired to Rayy in quest of him. Now when the news came to Ibrahim, he\nfound nothing for it but to flee to Baghdad and hide there, fearing for\nhis life; and Maamun set a price of an hundred thousand gold pieces upon\nhis head, to be paid to whoso might betray him. (Quoth Ibrahim) \u201cWhen I\nheard of this price I feared for my head\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ibrahim\ncontinued:\u2014Now when I heard of this price I feared for my head and knew\nnot what to do: so I went forth of my house in disguise at midday,\nknowing not whither I should go. Presently I entered a broad street\nwhich was no thoroughfare and said in my mind, \u201cVerily, we are Allah\u2019s\nand unto Him we are returning! I have exposed my life to destruction. If\nI retrace my steps, I shall arouse suspicion.\u201d Then, being still in\ndisguise I espied, at the upper end of the street, a negro-slave\nstanding at his door; so I went up to him and said to him, \u201cHast thou a\nplace where I may abide for an hour of the day?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d answered he, and\nopening the door admitted me into a decent house, furnished with carpets\nand mats and cushions of leather. Then he shut the door on me and went\naway; and I misdoubted me he had heard of the reward offered for me, and\nsaid to myself, \u201cHe hath gone to inform against me.\u201d But, as I sat\npondering my case and boiling like cauldron over fire, behold, my host\ncame back, accompanied by a porter loaded with bread and meat and new\ncooking-pots and gear and a new jar and new gugglets and other needfuls.\nHe made the porter set them down and, dismissing him, said to me, \u201cI\noffer my life for thy ransom! I am a barber-surgeon, and I know it would\ndisgust thee to eat with me, because of the way in which I get my\nlivelihood;[150] so do thou shift for thyself and do what thou please\nwith these things whereon no hand hath fallen.\u201d (Quoth Ibrahim), Now I\nwas in sore need of food so I cooked me a pot of meat whose like I\nremember not ever to have eaten; and, when I had satisfied my want, he\nsaid to me, \u201cO my lord, Allah make me thy ransom! Art thou for wine?;\nfor indeed it gladdeneth the soul and doeth away care.\u201d \u201cI have no\ndislike to it,\u201d replied I, being desirous of the barber\u2019s company; so he\nbrought me new flagons of glass which no hand had touched and a jar of\nexcellent wine, and said to me, \u201cStrain for thyself, to thy liking;\u201d\nwhereupon I cleared the wine and mixed me a most delectable draught.\nThen he brought me a new cup and fruits and flowers in new vessels of\nearthenware; after which he said to me, \u201cWilt thou give me leave to sit\napart and drink of my own wine by myself, of my joy in thee and for\nthee?\u201d \u201cDo so,\u201d answered I. So I drank and he drank till the wine began\nto take effect upon us, when the barber rose and, going to a closet,\ntook out a lute of polished wood and said to me, \u201cO my lord, it is not\nfor the like of me to ask the like of thee to sing, but it behoveth\nthine exceeding generosity to render my respect its due; so, if thou see\nfit to honour thy slave, thine is the high decision.\u201d Quoth I (and\nindeed I thought not that he knew me), \u201cHow knowest thou that I excel in\nsong?\u201d He replied, \u201cGlory be to Allah, our lord is too well renowned for\nthat! Thou art my lord Ibrahim, son of Al-Mahdi, our Caliph of\nyesterday, he on whose head Al-Maamun hath set a price of an hundred\nthousand dinars to be paid to thy betrayer: but thou art in safety with\nme.\u201d (Quoth Ibrahim), When I heard him say this, he was magnified in my\neyes and his loyalty and noble nature were certified to me; so I\ncomplied with his wish and took the lute and tuned it, and sang. Then I\nbethought me of my severance from my children and my family and I began\nto say:\u2014\n\n Belike Who Y\u00fasuf to his kin restored \u273f And honoured him in goal, a\n    captive wight;\n May grant our prayer to reunite our lots; \u273f For Allah, Lord of Worlds,\n    hath all of might.\n\nWhen the barber heard this, exceeding joy took possession of him and he\nwas of great good cheer; for it is said that when Ibrahim\u2019s neighbours\nheard him only sing out, \u201cHo, boy, saddle the mule!\u201d they were filled\nwith delight. Then, being overborne by mirth, he said to me, \u201cO my lord,\nwilt thou give me leave to say what is come to my mind, albeit I am not\nof the folk of this craft?\u201d I answered, \u201cDo so; this is of thy great\ncourtesy and kindness.\u201d So he took the lute and sang these verses:\u2014\n\n To our beloveds we moaned our length of night; \u273f Quoth they, \u201cHow short\n    the nights that us benight!\u201d\n \u2018Tis for that sleep like hood enveils _their_ eyes \u273f Right soon, but\n    from _our_ eyes is fair of flight:\n When night falls, dread and drear to those who love, \u273f _We_ mourn;\n    _they_ joy to see departing light:\n Had they but dree\u2019d the weird, the bitter dole \u273f We dree, their beds\n    like ours had bred them blight.\n\n(Quoth Ibrahim), So I said to him, \u201cBy Allah, thou hast shown me a\nkindness, O my friend, and hast done away from me the pangs of sorrow.\nLet me hear more trifles of thy fashion.\u201d So he sang these couplets:\u2014\n\n When man keeps honour bright without a stain, \u273f Fair sits whatever robe\n    to robe he\u2019s fain!\n She jeered at me because so few we are; \u273f Quoth I:\u2014\u201cThere\u2019s ever dearth\n    of noble men!\u201d\n Naught irks us we are few, while neighbour tribes \u273f Count many;\n    neighbours oft are base-born strain:\n We are a clan which holds not Death reproach, \u273f Which A\u2019mir and\n    Sam\u00fal[151] hold illest bane:\n Leads us our love of death to fated end; \u273f They hate that ending and\n    delay would gain:\n We to our neighbours\u2019 speech aye give the lie; \u273f But when we speak none\n    dare give lie again.\n\n(Quoth Ibrahim), When I heard these lines, I was filled with huge\ndelight and marvelled with exceeding marvel. Then I slept and awoke not\ntill past nightfall, when I washed my face, with a mind full of the high\nworth of this barber-surgeon and his passing courtesy; after which I\nwakened him and, taking out a purse I had by me containing a number of\ngold pieces, threw it to him, saying, \u201cI commend thee to Allah, for I am\nabout to go forth from thee, and pray thee to expend what is in this\npurse on thine requirements; and thou shalt have an abounding reward of\nme, when I am quit of my fear.\u201d (Quoth Ibrahim), But he returned the bag\nto me, saying, \u201cO my lord, paupers like myself are of no value in thine\neyes; but how, with due respect to my own generosity, can I take a price\nfor the boon which fortune hath vouchsafed me of thy favour and thy\nvisit to my poor abode? Nay, if thou repeat thy words and throw the\npurse to me again I will slay myself.\u201d So I put in my sleeve[152] the\npurse whose weight was irksome to me.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ibrahim son of\nAl-Mahdi continued:\u2014So I put in my sleeve the purse whose weight was\nirksome to me; and turned to depart, but when I came to the house-door\nhe said, \u201cO my lord, of a truth this is a safer hiding-place for thee\nthan any other, and thy keep is no burden to me; so do thou abide with\nme, till Allah be pleased to grant thee relief.\u201d Accordingly, I turned\nback, saying, \u201cOn condition that thou spend of the money in this purse.\u201d\nHe made me think that he consented to this arrangement, and I abode with\nhim some days in the utmost comfort; but, perceiving that he spent none\nof the contents of the purse, I revolted at the idea of abiding at his\ncharge and thought it shame to be a burthen on him; so I left the house\ndisguised in women\u2019s apparel, donning short yellow walking-boots[153]\nand veil. Now as soon as I found myself in the street, I was seized with\nexcessive fear, and going to pass the bridge behold, I came to a place\nsprinkled with water,[154] where a trooper, who had been in my service,\nlooked at me and knowing me, cried out, saying, \u201cThis is he whom\nAl-Maamun wanteth.\u201d Then he laid hold of me but the love of sweet life\nlent me strength and I gave him and his horse a push which threw them\ndown in that slippery place, so that he became an example to those who\nwill take example; and the folk hastened to him. Meanwhile, I hurried my\npace over the bridge and entered a main street, where I saw the door of\na house open and a woman standing upon the threshold. So I said to her,\n\u201cO my lady, have pity on me and save my life; for I am a man in fear.\u201d\nQuoth she, \u201cEnter and welcome;\u201d and carried me into an upper\ndining-room, where she spread me a bed and brought me food, saying,\n\u201cCalm thy fear, for not a soul shall know of thee.\u201d As she spoke, lo!\nthere came a loud knocking at the door; so she went and opened, and\nsuddenly, my friend, whom I had thrown down on the bridge, appeared with\nhis head bound up, the blood running down upon his clothes and without\nhis horse. She asked, \u201cO so and so, what accident hath befallen thee?\u201d;\nand he answered, \u201cI made prize of the young man whom the Caliph seeketh\nand he escaped from me;\u201d whereupon he told her the whole story. So she\nbrought out tinder[155] and, putting it into a piece of rag bandaged his\nhead; after which she spread him a bed and he lay sick. Then she came up\nto me and said, \u201cMethinks thou art the man in question?\u201d \u201cEven so,\u201d\nanswered I, and she said, \u201cFear not: no harm shall befal thee,\u201d and\nredoubled in kindness to me. So I tarried with her three days, at the\nend of which time she said to me, \u201cI am in fear for thee, lest yonder\nman happen upon thee and betray thee to what thou dreadest; so save\nthyself by flight.\u201d I besought her to let me stay till nightfall, and\nshe said, \u201cThere is no harm in that.\u201d So, when the night came, I put on\nmy woman\u2019s gear and betook me to the house of a freed-woman who had once\nbeen our slave. When she saw me she wept and made a show of affliction\nand praised Almighty Allah for my safety. Then she went forth, as if she\nwould go to market intent on hospitable thoughts, and I fancied all was\nright; but, ere long, suddenly I espied Ibrahim al-Mosili[156] making\nfor the house amongst his troopers and servants, and led by a woman on\nfoot; and looking narrowly at her behold, she was the freed-woman, the\nmistress of the house, wherein I had taken refuge. So she delivered me\ninto their hands, and I saw death face to face. They carried me, in my\nwoman\u2019s attire, to Al-Maamun who called a general council and had me\nbrought before him. When I entered I saluted him by the title of Caliph,\nsaying, \u201cPeace be on thee, O Commander of the Faithful!\u201d and he replied,\n\u201cAllah give thee neither peace nor long life.\u201d I rejoined, \u201cAccording to\nthy good pleasure, O Commander of the Faithful!; it is for the claimant\nof blood-revenge[157] to decree punishment or pardon; but mercy is\nnigher to piety; and Allah hath set thy pardon above all other pardon,\neven as He made my sin to excel all other sin. So, if thou punish, it is\nof thine equity, and if thou pardon, it is of thy bounty.\u201d And I\nrepeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n          My sin to thee is great, \u273f But greater thy degree:\n          So take revenge, or else \u273f Remit in clemency:\n          An I in deeds have not \u273f Been generous, generous be!\n\n(Quoth Ibrahim), At this Al-Maamun raised his head to me an I hastened\nto add these two couplets:\u2014\n\n        I\u2019ve sinned enormous sin, \u273f But pardon in thee lies:\n        If pardon thou, \u2018tis grace; \u273f Justice an thou chastise!\n\nThen Al-Maamun bowed his head and repeated:\u2014\n\n I am (when friend would raise a rage that mote \u273f Make spittle choke me,\n    sticking in my throat)\n His pardoner, and pardon his offence, \u273f Fearing lest I should live a\n    friend without.\n\n(Quoth Ibrahim), Now when I heard these words I scented mercy, knowing\nhis disposition to clemency.[158] Then he turned to his son Al-Abbas and\nhis brother Abu Ishak and all his chief officers there present and said\nto them, \u201cWhat deem ye of his case?\u201d They all counselled him to do me\ndead, but they differed as to the manner of my death. Then said he to\nhis Wazir Ahmad bin al-Kh\u00e1lid, \u201cAnd what sayest thou, O Ahmad?\u201d He\nanswered, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, an thou slay him, we find the\nlike of thee who hath slain the like of him; but an thou pardon him, we\nfind not the like of thee that hath pardoned the like of him.\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Al-Maamun,\nPrince of the Faithful, heard the words of Ahmad bin al-Khalid, he bowed\nhis head and began repeating:\u2014\n\n My tribe have slain that brother mine, Umaym, \u273f Yet would shoot back\n    what shafts at them I aim:\n If I deal pardon, noble pardon \u2018tis; \u273f And if I shoot, my bones \u2018twill\n    only maim.[159]\n\nAnd he also recited:\u2014\n\n Be mild to brother mingling \u273f What is wrong with what is right:\n Kindness to him continue \u273f Whether good or graceless wight:\n Abstain from all reproaching, \u273f An he joy or vex thy sprite:\n Seest not that what thou lovest \u273f And what hatest go unite?\n That joys of longer life-tide \u273f Ever fade with hair turned white?\n That thorns on branches growing \u273f For the pluckt fruit catch thy sight?\n Who never hath done evil, \u273f Doing good for sole delight?\n When tried the sons of worldli- \u273f ness they mostly work unright.\n\n(Quoth Ibrahim), Now when I heard these couplets, I withdrew my woman\u2019s\nveil from my head and cried out, with my loudest voice, \u201cAllah is Most\nGreat! By Allah, the Commander of the Faithful pardoneth me!\u201d Quoth he,\n\u201cNo harm shall come to thee, O uncle;\u201d and I rejoined, \u201cO Commander of\nthe Faithful, my sin is too sore for me to excuse it and thy mercy is\ntoo much for me to speak thanks for it.\u201d And I chanted these couplets to\na lively motive:\u2014\n\n Who made all graces all collected He \u273f In Adam\u2019s loins, our Seventh\n    Imam, for thee;[160]\n Thou hast the hearts of men with reverence filled, \u273f Enguarding all with\n    heart-humility;\n Rebelled I never by delusion whelmed \u273f For object other than thy\n    clemency;[161]\n And thou hast pardoned me whose like was ne\u2019er \u273f Pardoned before, though\n    no man pled my plea:\n Hast pitied little ones like Kat\u00e1\u2019s[162] young, \u273f And mother\u2019s yearning\n    heart a son to see.\n\nQuoth Maamun, \u201cI say, following our lord Joseph (on whom and on our\nProphet be blessing and peace!) let there be no reproach cast on you\nthis day. Allah forgiveth you; for He is the most merciful of those who\nshow mercy.[163] Indeed I pardon thee, and restore to thee thy goods and\nlands, O uncle, and no harm shall befal thee.\u201d So I offered up devout\nprayers for him and repeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n Thou hast restored my wealth sans greed, and ere \u273f So didst, thou\n    deign\u00e8dest my blood to spare:\n Then if I shed my blood and wealth, to gain \u273f Thy grace, till even shoon\n    from foot I tear,\n Twere but repaying what thou lentest me, \u273f And what unloaned no man to\n    blame would care:\n Were I ungrateful for thy lavisht boons, \u273f Baser than thou\u2019rt beneficent\n    I were!\n\nThen Al-Maamun showed me honour and favour and said to me, \u201cO uncle, Abu\nIshak and Al-Abbas counselled me to put thee to death.\u201d So I answered,\n\u201cAnd they both counselled thee right, O Commander of the Faithful, but\nthou hast done after thine own nature and hast put away what I feared\nwith what I hoped.\u201d Rejoined Al-Maamun, \u201cO uncle, thou didst extinguish\nmy rancour with the modesty of thine excuse, and I have pardoned thee\nwithout making thee drink the bitterness of obligation to intercessors.\u201d\nThen he prostrated himself in prayer a long while, after which he raised\nhis head and said to me, \u201cO uncle, knowest thou why I prostrated\nmyself?\u201d Answered I, \u201cHaply thou didst this in thanksgiving to Allah,\nfor that He hath given thee the mastery over thine enemy.\u201d He replied,\n\u201cSuch was not my design, but rather to thank Allah for having inspired\nme to pardon thee and for having cleared my mind towards thee. Now tell\nme thy tale.\u201d So I told him all that had befallen me with the barber,\nthe trooper and his wife and with my freed-woman who had betrayed me. So\nhe summoned the freed-woman, who was in her house, expecting the reward\nto be sent for her, and when she came before him he said to her, \u201cWhat\nmoved thee to deal thus with thy lord?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cLust of money.\u201d\nAsked the Caliph. \u201cHast thou a child or a husband?\u201d; and she answered\n\u201cNo;\u201d whereupon he bade them give her an hundred stripes with a whip and\nimprisoned her for life. Then he sent for the trooper and his wife and\nthe barber-surgeon and asked the soldier what had moved him to do thus.\n\u201cLust of money,\u201d quoth he; whereupon quoth the Caliph, \u201cIt befitteth\nthee to be a barber-cupper,\u201d[164] and committed him to one whom he\ncharged to place him in a barber-cupper\u2019s shop, where he might learn the\ncraft. But he showed honour to the trooper\u2019s wife and lodged her in his\npalace, saying, \u201cThis is a woman of sound sense and fit for matters of\nmoment.\u201d Then said he to the barber-cupper, \u201cVerily, thou hast shown\nworth and generosity which call for extraordinary honour.\u201d So he\ncommanded the trooper\u2019s house and all that was therein to be given him\nand bestowed on him a dress of honour and in addition fifteen thousand\ndinars to be paid annually. And men tell the following tale concerning\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 148:\n\n  Ibrahim Abu Ish\u00e1k bin al-Mahdi, a pretender to the Caliphate of\n  well-known wit and a famed musician surnamed from his corpulence\n  \u201cAl-Tann\u00edn\u201d = the Dragon or, according to others (Lane ii. 336),\n  Al-Tin = the fig. His adventurous history will be found in Ibn\n  Khallikan, D\u2019Herbelot and Al-Siyuti.\n\nFootnote 149:\n\n  The Ragha of the Zendavesta, and Rages of the Apocrypha (Tobit,\n  Judith, etc.), the old capital of Media Proper, and seat of government\n  of Daylam, now a ruin some miles south of Teheran which was built out\n  of its remains. Rayy was founded by Hoshang, the primeval king who\n  first sawed wood, made doors and dug metal. It is called Rayy\n  al-Mahdiyyah because Al-Mahdi held his court there: Harun al-Rash\u00edd\n  was also born in it (A.H. 145). It is mentioned by a host of authors\n  and names one of the Makamat of Al-Hariri.\n\nFootnote 150:\n\n  Human blood being especially impure.\n\nFootnote 151:\n\n  Jones, Brown and Robinson.\n\nFootnote 152:\n\n  Arab. \u201cKumm;\u201d the Moslem sleeve is mostly (like his trousers) of ample\n  dimensions and easily converted into a kind of carpet-bag by\n  depositing small articles in the middle and gathering up the edge in\n  the hand. In this way carried the weight would be less irksome than\n  hanging to the waist. The English of Queen Anne\u2019s day had regular\n  sleeve-pockets for memoranda, etc., hence the saying, to have in one\u2019s\n  sleeve.\n\nFootnote 153:\n\n  Arab. \u201cKhuff\u201d worn under the \u201cB\u00e1b\u00fag\u201d (a corruption of the Persian\n  p\u00e1-push = feet-covers, papooshes, slippers). Lane M. E. chapt. i.\n\nFootnote 154:\n\n  Done in hot weather throughout the city, a dry line for camels being\n  left in mid-street to prevent the awkward beasts slipping. The\n  watering of the Cairo streets of late years has been excessive; they\n  are now lines of mud in summer as well as in winter and the effluvia\n  from the droppings of animals have, combined with other causes,\n  seriously deteriorated the once charming climate. The only place in\n  Lower Egypt, which has preserved the atmosphere of 1850, is Suez.\n\nFootnote 155:\n\n  Arab. \u201cHur\u00e1k:\u201d burnt rag, serving as tinder for flint and steel, is a\n  common styptic.\n\nFootnote 156:\n\n  Of this worthy something has been said and there will be more in a\n  future page.\n\nFootnote 157:\n\n  _i.e._ the person entitled to exact the blood-wit.\n\nFootnote 158:\n\n  Al-Maamum was a man of sense with all his fanaticism. One of his\n  sayings is preserved, \u201cOdious is contentiousness in Kings; more odious\n  vexation in judges uncomprehending a case; yet more odious is\n  shallowness of doctors in religions and most odious are avarice in the\n  rich, idleness in youth, jesting in age and cowardice in the soldier.\u201d\n\nFootnote 159:\n\n  The second couplet is not in the Mac. Edit. but Lane\u2019s Shaykh has\n  supplied it. (ii. 339)\n\nFootnote 160:\n\n  Adam\u2019s loins, the \u201cDay of Alast,\u201d and the Imam (who stands _before_\n  the people in prayer) have been explained. The \u201cSeventh Imam\u201d here is\n  Al-Maamun, the seventh Abbaside\u2014the Ommiades being, as usual, ignored.\n\nFootnote 161:\n\n  He sinned only for the pleasure of being pardoned, which is poetical\n  and hardly practical or probable.\n\nFootnote 162:\n\n  The Kat\u00e1 (sand-grouse) always enters into Arab poetry because it is\n  essentially a desert bird; and here the comparison is good because it\n  lays its eggs in the waste far from water which it must drink morning\n  and evening. Its cry is interpreted \u201cman sakat, salam\u201d (silent and\n  safe), but it does not practice that precept, for it is usually\n  betrayed by its piping Kata! Kata! Hence the proverb, \u201cMore veracious\n  than the sand-grouse;\u201d and \u201cSpeak not falsely, for the Kata sayeth\n  sooth,\u201d is Komayt\u2019s saying. It is an emblem of swiftness: when the\n  brigand-poet Shanfara boasts, \u201cThe ash-coloured Katas can drink only\n  my leavings, after hastening all night to slake their thirst in the\n  morning,\u201d it is a hyperbole boasting of his speed. In Sind it is\n  called the \u201crock pigeon\u201d and it is not unlike a grey partridge when on\n  the wing.\n\nFootnote 163:\n\n  Joseph to his brethren, Koran, xii. 92, when he gives them his \u201cinner\n  garment\u201d to throw over his father\u2019s face.\n\nFootnote 164:\n\n  Arab. \u201cHajj\u00e1m\u201d = a cupper who scarifies forehead and legs, a bleeder,\n  a (blood-) sucker. The slang use of the term is to thrash, lick,\n  wallop (Burckhardt, Prov. 34)\n\n\n\n\n  THE CITY OF MANY-COLUMNED IRAM AND ABDULLAH SON OF ABI KILABAH.[165]\n\n\nIt is related that Abdullah bin Abi Kil\u00e1bah went forth in quest of a\nshe-camel which had strayed from him; and, as he was wandering in the\ndeserts of Al-Yaman and the district of Sab\u00e1,[166] behold, he came upon\na great city girt by a vast castle around which were palaces and\npavilions that rose high into middle air. He made for the place thinking\nto find there folk of whom he might ask concerning his she-camel; but,\nwhen he reached it, he found it desolate, without a living soul in it.\nSo (quoth he) I alighted and, hobbling my dromedary,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdullah bin Abi\nKilabah continued:\u2014I dismounted and hobbling my dromedary, and composing\nmy mind, entered into the city. Now when I came to the castle, I found\nit had two vast gates (never in the world was seen their like for size\nand height) inlaid with all manner jewels and jacinths, white and red,\nyellow and green. Beholding this I marvelled with great marvel and\nthought the case mighty wondrous; then entering the citadel in a flutter\nof fear and dazed with surprise and affright, I found it long and wide\nabout equalling Al-Medinah[167] in point of size; and therein were lofty\npalaces laid out in pavilions all built of gold and silver and inlaid\nwith many-coloured jewels and jacinths and chrysolites and pearls. And\nthe door-leaves in the pavilions were like those of the castle for\nbeauty; and their floors were strewn with great pearls and balls, no\nsmaller than hazel-nuts, of musk and ambergris and saffron. Now when I\ncame within the heart of the city and saw therein no created beings of\nthe Sons of Adam I was near swooning and dying for fear. Moreover, I\nlooked down from the great roofs of the pavilion-chambers and their\nbalconies and saw rivers running under them; and in the main streets\nwere fruit-laden trees and tall palms; and the manner of their building\nwas one brick of gold and one of silver. So I said in myself, \u201cDoubtless\nthis is the Paradise promised for the world to come.\u201d Then I loaded me\nwith the jewels of its gravel and the musk of its dust as much as I\ncould carry and returned to my own country, where I told the folk what I\nhad seen. After a time the news reached Mu\u2019\u00e1wiyah, son of Abu Sufy\u00e1n,\nwho was then Caliph in Al-Hijaz; so he wrote to his lieutenant in San\u2019\u00e1\nof Al-Yaman to send for the teller of the story and question him of the\ntruth of the case. Accordingly the lieutenant summoned me and questioned\nme of my adventure and of all appertaining to it; and I told him what I\nhad seen, whereupon he despatched me to Mu\u2019awiyah, before whom I\nrepeated the story of the strange sights; but he would not credit it. So\nI brought out to him some of the pearls and balls of musk and ambergris\nand saffron, in which latter there was still some sweet savour; but the\npearls were grown yellow and had lost pearly colour.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdullah son of\nAbu Kilabah continued:\u2014But the pearls were grown yellow and had lost\npearly colour. Now Mu\u2019awiyah wondered at this and, sending for Ka\u2019ab\nal-Ahbar[168] said to him, \u201cO Ka\u2019ab, I have sent for thee to ascertain\nthe truth of a certain matter and hope that thou wilt be able to certify\nme thereof.\u201d Asked Ka\u2019ab, \u201cWhat is it, O Commander of the Faithful?\u201d;\nand Mu\u2019awiyah answered, \u201cWottest thou of any city founded by man which\nis builded of gold and silver, the pillars whereof are of chrysolite and\nrubies and its gravel pearls and balls of musk and ambergris and\nsaffron?\u201d He replied, \u201cYes, O Commander of the Faithful, this is \u2018Iram\nwith pillars decked and dight, the like of which was never made in the\nlands,\u2019[169] and the builder was Shaddad son of Ad the Greater.\u201d Quoth\nthe Caliph, \u201cTell us something of its history,\u201d and Ka\u2019ab said:\u2014Ad the\nGreater had two sons, Shad\u00edd and Shadd\u00e1d who, when their father died,\nruled conjointly in his stead, and there was no King of the Kings of the\nearth but was subject to them. After awhile Shadid died and his brother\nShaddad reigned over the earth alone. Now he was fond of reading in\nantique books; and, happening upon the description of the world to come\nand of Paradise, with its pavilions and galleries and trees and fruits\nand so forth, his soul moved him to build the like thereof in this\nworld, after the fashion aforesaid. Now under his hand were an hundred\nthousand Kings, each ruling over an hundred thousand chiefs.[170]\ncommanding each an hundred thousand warriors; so he called these all\nbefore him and said to them, \u201cI find in ancient books and annals a\ndescription of Paradise, as it is to be in the next world, and I desire\nto build me its like in this world. Go ye forth therefore to the\ngoodliest tract on earth and the most spacious and build me there a city\nof gold and silver, whose gravel shall be chrysolite and rubies and\npearls; and for support of its vaults make pillars of jasper. Fill it\nwith palaces, whereon ye shall set galleries and balconies and plant its\nlanes and thoroughfares with all manner trees bearing yellow-ripe fruits\nand make rivers to run through it in channels of gold and silver.\u201d\nWhereat said one and all, \u201cHow are we able to do this thing thou hast\ncommanded, and whence shall we get the chrysolites and rubies and pearls\nwhereof thou speakest?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cWhat! weet ye not that the Kings of\nthe world are subject to me and under my hand and that none therein dare\ngainsay my word?\u201d Answered they, \u201cYes, we know that.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the lieges\nanswered, \u201cYes, we know that;\u201d whereupon the King rejoined, \u201cFare ye\nthen to the mines of chrysolites and rubies and pearls and gold and\nsilver and collect their produce and gather together all of value that\nis in the world and spare no pains and leave naught; and take also for\nme such of these things as be in men\u2019s hands and let nothing escape you:\nbe diligent and beware of disobedience.\u201d And thereupon he wrote letters\nto all the Kings of the world and bade them gather together whatso of\nthese things was in their subjects\u2019 hands, and get them to the mines of\nprecious stones and metals, and bring forth all that was therein, even\nfrom the abysses of the seas. This they accomplished in the space of 20\nyears, for the number of rulers then reigning over the earth was three\nhundred and sixty Kings; and Shaddad presently assembled from all lands\nand countries architects and engineers and men of art and labourers and\nhandicraftsmen, who dispersed over the world and explored all the wastes\nand wolds and tracts and holds. At last they came to an uninhabited\nspot, a vast and fair open plain clear of sand-hills and mountains, with\nfounts flushing and rivers rushing, and they said, \u201cThis is the manner\nof place the King commanded us to seek and ordered us to find.\u201d So they\nbusied themselves in building the city even as bade them Shaddad, King\nof the whole earth in its length and breadth; leading the fountains in\nchannels and laying the foundations after the prescribed fashion.\nMoreover, all the Kings of earth\u2019s several reigns sent thither jewels\nand precious stones and pearls large and small and carnelian and refined\ngold and virgin silver upon camels by land, and in great ships over the\nwaters, and there came to the builders\u2019 hands of all these materials so\ngreat a quantity as may neither be told nor counted nor conceived. So\nthey laboured at the work three hundred years; and, when they had\nbrought it to end, they went to King Shaddad and acquainted him\ntherewith. Then said he, \u201cDepart and make thereon an impregnable castle,\nrising and towering high in air, and build around it a thousand\npavilions, each upon a thousand columns of chrysolite and ruby and\nvaulted with gold, that in each pavilion a Wazir may dwell.\u201d So they\nreturned forthwith and did this in other twenty years; after which they\nagain presented themselves before King Shaddad and informed him of the\naccomplishment of his will. Then he commanded his Wazirs, who were a\nthousand in number, and his Chief Officers and such of his troops and\nothers as he put trust in, to prepare for departure and removal to\nMany-columned Iram, in the suite and at the stirrup of Shaddad, son of\nAd, King of the world; and he bade also such as he would of his women\nand his Harim and of his handmaids and eunuchs make them ready for the\njourney. They spent twenty years in preparing for departure, at the end\nof which time Shaddad set out with his host.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Shaddad bin Ad\nfared forth, he and his host, rejoicing in the attainment of his desire\ntill there remained but one day\u2019s journey between him and Iram of the\nPillars. Then Allah sent down on him and on the stubborn unbelievers\nwith him a mighty rushing sound from the Heavens of His power, which\ndestroyed them all with its vehement clamour, and neither Shaddad nor\nany of his company set eyes on the city.[171] Moreover, Allah blotted\nout the road which led to the city, and it stands in its stead unchanged\nuntil the Resurrection Day and the Hour of Judgement. So Mu\u2019awiyah\nwondered greatly at Ka\u2019ab al-Ahbar\u2019s story and said to him, \u201cHath any\nmortal ever made his way to that city?\u201d He replied, \u201cYes; one of the\ncompanions of Mohammed (on whom be blessing and peace!) reached it,\ndoubtless and forsure after the same fashion as this man here seated.\u201d\nAnd (quoth Al-Sha\u2019abi[172]) it is related, on the authority of learned\nmen of Himyar in Al-Yaman that Shaddad, when destroyed with all his host\nby the sound, was succeeded in his Kingship by his son Shaddad the Less,\nwhom he left viceregent in Hazramaut[173] and Saba, when he and his\nmarched upon Many-columned Iram. Now as soon as he heard of his father\u2019s\ndeath on the road, he caused his body to be brought back from the desert\nto Hazramaut and bade them hew him out a tomb in a cave, where he laid\nthe body on a throne of gold and threw over the corpse threescore and\nten robes of cloth of gold, purfled with precious stones. Lastly at his\nsire\u2019s head he set up a tablet of gold whereon were graven these\nverses:\u2014\n\n       Take warning O proud, \u273f And in length o\u2019 life vain!\n       I\u2019m Shadd\u00e1d son of Ad, \u273f Of the forts castellain;\n       Lord of pillars and power, \u273f Lord of tried might and main,\n       Whom all earth-sons obeyed \u273f For my mischief and bane;\n       And who held East and West \u273f In mine awfullest reign.\n       He preached me salvation \u273f Whom God did assain,[174]\n       But we crossed him and asked \u273f \u201cCan no refuge be ta\u2019en?\u201d\n       When a Cry on us cried \u273f From th\u2019 horizon plain,\n       And we fell on the field \u273f Like the harvested grain,\n       And the Fixt Day await \u273f We, in earth\u2019s bosom lain!\n\nAl-Sa\u2019alibi also relateth:\u2014It chanced that two men once entered this\ncave and found steps at its upper end; so they descended and came to an\nunder-ground chamber, an hundred cubits long by forty wide and an\nhundred high. In the midst stood a throne of gold, whereon lay a man of\nhuge bulk, filling the whole length and breadth of the throne. He was\ncovered with jewels and raiment gold-and-silver-wrought, and at his head\nwas a tablet of gold bearing an inscription. So they took the tablet and\ncarried it off, together with as many bars of gold and silver and so\nforth as they could bear away. And men also relate the tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 165:\n\n  The Bresl. Edit. (vii. 171-174) entitles this tale, \u201cStory of Shadd\u00e1d\n  bin Ad and the City of Iram the Columned;\u201d but it relates chiefly the\n  building by the King of the First Adites who, being promised a future\n  Paradise by Prophet H\u00fad, impiously said that he would lay out one in\n  this world. It also quotes Ka\u2019ab al-Ahb\u00e1r as an authority for\n  declaring that the tale is in the \u201cPentateuch of Moses.\u201d Iram was in\n  al-Yaman near Adan (our Aden) a square of ten parasangs (or leagues\n  each = 18,000 feet) every way; the walls were of red (baked) brick 500\n  cubits high and 20 broad, with four gates of corresponding grandeur.\n  It contained 300,000 Kasr (palaces) each with a thousand pillars of\n  gold-bound jasper, etc. (whence its title). The whole was finished in\n  five hundred years; and, when Shaddad prepared to enter it, the \u201cCry\n  of Wrath\u201d from the Angel of Death slew him and all his many. It is\n  mentioned in the Koran (chapt. lxxxix. 6-7) as \u201cIrem adorned with\n  lofty buildings (or pillars).\u201d But Ibn Khaldun declares that\n  commentators have embroidered the passage; Iram being the name of a\n  powerful clan of the ancient Adites and \u201cim\u00e1d\u201d being a tent-pole:\n  hence \u201cIram with the numerous tents or tent-poles.\u201d Al-Bayzawi tells\n  the story of Abdullah ibn Kilabah (D\u2019Herbelot\u2019s Colabah). At Aden I\n  met an Arab who had seen the mysterious city on the borders of\n  Al-Ahk\u00e1f, the waste of deep sands, west of Hadramaut; and probably he\n  had, the mirage or sun-reek taking its place. Compare with this tale\n  \u201cThe City of Brass\u201d (Night dlxv.).\n\nFootnote 166:\n\n  The biblical \u201cSheba,\u201d named from the great-grandson of Joctan; whence\n  the Queen (Bilkis) visited Solomon. It was destroyed by the Flood of\n  M\u00e1rib.\n\nFootnote 167:\n\n  The full title of the Holy City is \u201cMadinat al-Nabi\u201d = the City of the\n  Prophet; of old Yasrib (Yathrib) the Iatrippa of the Greeks\n  (Pilgrimage, ii. 119). The reader will remember that there are two\n  \u201cYasribs;\u201d that of lesser note being near Hujr in the\n  Yam\u00e1mah-province.\n\nFootnote 168:\n\n  \u201cKa\u2019ab of the Scribes,\u201d a well-known traditionist and religious poet\n  who died (A.H. 32) in the Caliphate of Osman. He was a Jew who\n  islamised; hence his name (Ahb\u00e1r, plur. of Hibr, a Jewish scribe,\n  doctor of science, etc. Jarrett\u2019s El-Siyuti, p. 123). He must not be\n  confounded with another Ka\u2019ab al-Ahb\u00e1r the Poet of the (first)\n  Cloak-poem or \u201cBurdah,\u201d a noble Arab who was a distant cousin of\n  Mohammed, and whose tomb at Hums (Emesa) is a place of pious\n  visitation. According to the best authorities (no Christian being\n  allowed to see them) the cloak given to the bard by Mohammed is still\n  preserved together with the Khirkah or Sanjak Sherif (\u201cHoly Coat\u201d or\n  Banner, the national oriflamme) at Stambul in the Upper Seraglio\n  (Pilgrimage, i. 213). Many authors repeat this story of Mu\u2019awiyah, the\n  Caliph, and Ka\u2019ab of the Burdah, but it is an evident anachronism, the\n  poet having been dead nine years before the ruler\u2019s accession (A.H.\n  41).\n\nFootnote 169:\n\n  Koran, lxxxix. 6-7.\n\nFootnote 170:\n\n  Arab. \u201cKahram\u00e1n\u201d from Pers., braves, heroes.\n\nFootnote 171:\n\n  The Deity in the East, is as whimsical a despot as any of his\n  \u201cshadows\u201d or \u201cviceregents.\u201d In the text Shadd\u00e1d is killed for mere\n  jealousy\u2014a base passion utterly unworthy of a godhead; but one to\n  which Allah was greatly addicted.\n\nFootnote 172:\n\n  Some traditionist; but whether Sha\u2019abi, Shi\u2019abi or Shu\u2019abi we cannot\n  decide.\n\nFootnote 173:\n\n  The Hazarmaveth of Genesis (x. 26) in South Eastern Arabia. Its people\n  are the Adramit\u00e6 (mod. Hazrami) of Ptolemy who places in their land\n  the Arabi\u00e6 Emporium, as Pliny does his Massola. They border upon the\n  Homerit\u00e6 or men of Himyar, often mentioned in The Nights. Hazramaut is\n  still practically unknown to us, despite the excursions of many\n  travellers; and the hard nature of the people, the Swiss of Arabia,\n  offers peculiar obstacles to exploration.\n\nFootnote 174:\n\n  _i.e._ the prophet Hud generally identified (?) with Heber. He was\n  commissioned (Koran, chapt. vii.) to preach Al-Islam to his tribe the\n  Adites who worshipped four goddesses, S\u00e1kiyah (the rain-giver),\n  R\u00e1zikah (food-giver), H\u00e1fizah (the saviouress) and S\u00e1limah (who healed\n  sickness). As has been seen he failed, so it was useless to send him.\n\n\n\n\n                            ISAAC OF MOSUL.\n\n\nQuoth Isaac of Mosul:[175]\u2014I went out one night from Al-Maamun\u2019s\npresence, on my way to my house; and, being taken with a pressing need\nto make water, I turned aside into a by-street and stood in the middle\nfearing lest something might hurt me, if I squatted against a wall.[176]\nPresently, I espied something hanging down from one of the houses; so I\nfelt it to find out what it might be and found that it was a great\nfour-handled basket,[177] covered with brocade. Said I to myself, \u201cThere\nmust be some reason for this,\u201d and knew not what to think; then\ndrunkenness led me to seat myself in the basket, and behold, the people\nof the house pulled me up, thinking me to be the person they expected.\nNow when I came to the top of the wall; lo! four damsels were there, who\nsaid to me, \u201cDescend and welcome and joy to thee!\u201d Then one of them went\nbefore me with a wax candle and brought me down into a mansion, wherein\nwere furnished sitting-chambers, whose like I had never seen save in the\npalace of the Caliphate. So I sat down and after a while, the curtains\nwere suddenly drawn from one side of the room and, behold, in came\ndamsels walking in procession and hending in hand lighted flambeaux of\nwax and censers full of Sumatran aloes-wood, and amongst them a young\nlady as she were the rising full moon. So I stood up to her and she\nsaid, \u201cWelcome to thee for a visitor!\u201d and then she made me sit down\nagain and asked me how I came thither. Quoth I, \u201cI was returning home\nfrom the house of an intimate friend and went astray in the dark; then,\nbeing taken in the street with an urgent call to make water, I turned\naside into this lane, where I found a basket let down. The strong wine\nwhich I had drunk led me to seat myself in it and it was drawn up with\nme into this house, and this is my story.\u201d She rejoined, \u201cNo harm shall\nbefal thee, and I hope thou wilt have cause to praise the issue of thine\nadventure.\u201d Then she added, \u201cBut what is thy condition?\u201d I said, \u201cA\nmerchant in the Baghdad bazar\u201d and she, \u201cCanst thou repeat any verses?\u201d\n\u201cSome small matter,\u201d quoth I. Quoth she \u201cThen call a few to mind and let\nus hear some of them.\u201d But I said, \u201cA visitor is bashful and timid; do\nthou begin.\u201d \u201cTrue,\u201d replied she and recited some verses of the poets,\npast and present, choosing their choicest pieces; and I listened not\nknowing whether more to marvel at her beauty and loveliness or at the\ncharm of her style of declamation. Then said she, \u201cIs that bashfulness\nof thine gone?\u201d and I said, \u201cYes, by Allah!\u201d so she rejoined, \u201cThen, if\nthou wilt, recite us somewhat.\u201d So I repeated to her a number of poems\nby old writers, and she applauded, saying, \u201cBy Allah, I did not think to\nfind such culture among the trade folk, the sons of the bazar!\u201d Then she\ncalled for food\u2014\u2014Whereupon quoth Shahrazad\u2019s sister Dunyazad, \u201cHow\npleasant is this tale and enjoyable and sweet to the ear and sound to\nthe sense!\u201d But she answered, \u201cAnd what is this story compared with that\nwhich thou shalt hear on the morrow\u2019s night, if I be alive and the King\ndeign spare me!\u201d Then Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nsaying her permitted say.\n\n\n          Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eightieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Isaac of Mosul\ncontinued:\u2014Then the damsel called for food and, when it was served to\nher, she fell to eating it and setting it before me; and the\nsitting-room was full of all manner sweet-scented flowers and rare\nfruits, such as are never found save in Kings\u2019 houses. Presently, she\ncalled for wine and drank a cup, after which she filled another and gave\nit to me, saying, \u201cNow is the time for converse and story-telling.\u201d So I\nbethought myself and began to say, \u201cIt hath reached me that such and\nsuch things happened; and there was a man who said so and so,\u201d till I\nhad told her a number of pleasing tales and adventures with which she\nwas delighted and cried, \u201c\u2019Tis marvellous that a merchant should bear in\nmemory such store of stories like these, for they are fit for Kings.\u201d\nQuoth I, \u201cI had a neighbour who used to consort with Kings and carouse\nwith them; so, when he was at leisure, I visited his house and he hath\noften told me what thou hast heard.\u201d Thereupon she exclaimed \u201cBy my\nlife, but thou hast a good memory!\u201d So we continued to converse thus,\nand as often as I was silent, she would begin, till in this way we\npassed the most part of the night, whilst the burning aloes-wood\ndiffused its fragrance and I was in such case that if Al-Maamun had\nsuspected it, he would have flown like a bird with longing for it. Then\nsaid she to me, \u201cVerily, thou art one of the most pleasant of men,\npolished, passing well bred and polite; but there lacketh one thing.\u201d\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d asked I, and she answered, \u201cIf thou only knew how to\nsing verses to the lute!\u201d I answered, \u201cI was passionately fond of this\nart aforetime, but finding I had no taste for it, I abandoned it, though\nat times my heart yearneth after it. Indeed, I should love to sing\nsomewhat well at this moment and fulfil my night\u2019s enjoyment.\u201d Then she,\n\u201cMeseemeth thou hintest a wish for the lute to be brought?\u201d and I, \u201cIt\nis thine to decide, if thou wilt so far favour me, and to thee be the\nthanks.\u201d So she called for a lute and sang a song in a voice whose like\nI never heard, both for sweetness of tone and skill in playing, and\nperfection of art. Then said she, \u201cKnowest thou who composed this air\nand whose are the words of this song?\u201d \u201cNo,\u201d answered I; and she said,\n\u201cThe words are so and so\u2019s and the air is Isaac\u2019s.\u201d I asked, \u201cAnd hath\nIsaac then (may I be thy sacrifice!) such a talent?\u201d She replied,\n\u201cBravo![178] Bravo, Isaac! indeed, he excelleth in this art.\u201d I\nrejoined, \u201cGlory be to Allah who hath given this man what he hath\nvouchsafed unto none other!\u201d Then she said, \u201cAnd how would it be, an\nthou heard this song from himself?\u201d This wise we went on till break of\nday-dawn, when there came to her an old woman, as she were her nurse,\nand said to her, \u201cVerily, the time is come.\u201d So she rose in haste and\nsaid to me, \u201cKeep what hath passed between us to thyself; for such\nmeetings are in confidence;\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the damsel\nwhispered, \u201cKeep what hath passed between us to thyself, for such\nmeetings are in confidence;\u201d and I replied, \u201cMay I be thy ransom! I\nneeded no charge to this.\u201d Then I took leave of her and she sent a\nhandmaid to show me the way and open the house door; so I went forth and\nreturned to my own place, where I prayed the morning prayer and slept.\nNow after a time there came to me a messenger from Al-Maamun, so I went\nto him and passed the day in his company. And when the night fell I\ncalled to mind my yesternight\u2019s pleasure, a thing from which none but an\nignoramus would abstain, and betook myself to the street, where I found\nthe basket, and seating myself therein, was drawn up to the place in\nwhich I had passed the previous night. When the lady saw me, she said,\n\u201cIndeed, thou hast been assiduous;\u201d and I answered, \u201cMeseemeth rather\nthat I am neglectful.\u201d Then we fell to discoursing and passed the night\nas before in general conversation and reciting verses and telling rare\ntales, each in turn, till daybreak, when I wended me home; and I prayed\nthe dawn-prayer and slept. Presently there came to me a messenger from\nAl-Maamun; so I went to him and spent my day with him till nightfall,\nwhen the Commander of the Faithful said to me, \u201cI conjure thee to sit\nhere, whilst I go out for a want and come back.\u201d As soon as the Caliph\nwas gone, and quite gone, my thoughts began to tempt and try me and,\ncalling to mind my late delight, I recked little what might befal me\nfrom the Prince of True Believers. So I sprang up and turning my back\nupon the sitting-room, ran to the street aforesaid, where I sat down in\nthe basket and was drawn up as before. When the lady saw me, she said,\n\u201cI begin to think thou art a sincere friend to us.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cYea, by\nAllah!\u201d and quoth she, \u201cHast thou made our house thine abiding-place?\u201d I\nreplied, \u201cMay I be thy ransom! A guest claimeth guest-right for three\ndays and if I return after this, ye are free to spill my blood.\u201d Then we\npassed the night as before; and when the time of departure drew near, I\nbethought me that Al-Maamun would assuredly question me nor would ever\nbe content save with a full explanation: so I said to her, \u201cI see thee\nto be of those who delight in singing. Now I have a cousin, the son of\nmy father\u2019s brother, who is fairer than I in face and higher of rank and\nbetter of breeding; and he is the most intimate of Allah\u2019s creatures\nwith Isaac.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cArt thou a parasite[179] and an importunate\none?\u201d Quoth I, \u201cIt is for thee to decide in this matter;\u201d and she, \u201cIf\nthy cousin be as thou hast described him, it would not mislike us to\nmake acquaintance with him.\u201d Then, as the time was come, I left her and\nreturned to my house, but hardly had I reached it, ere the Caliph\u2019s\nrunners came down on me and carried me before him by main force and\nroughly enough.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to\nsay her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Isaac of Mosul\ncontinued:\u2014And hardly had I reached my house ere the Caliph\u2019s runners\ncame down upon me and carried me before him by main force and roughly\nenough. I found him seated on a chair, wroth with me, and he said to me,\n\u201cO Isaac, art thou a traitor to thine allegiance?\u201d replied I, \u201cNo, by\nAllah, O Commander of the Faithful!\u201d and he rejoined, \u201cWhat hast thou\nthen to say? tell me the whole truth;\u201d and I, \u201cYes, I will, but in\nprivate.\u201d So he signed to his attendants, who withdrew to a distance,\nand I told him the case, adding, \u201cI promised her to bring thee,\u201d and he\nsaid, \u201cThou didst well.\u201d Then we spent the day in our usual pleasures,\nbut Al-Maamun\u2019s heart was taken up with her, and hardly was the\nappointed time come, when we set out. As we went along, I cautioned him,\nsaying, \u201cLook that thou call me not by my name before her; and I will\ndemean myself like thine attendant.\u201d And having agreed upon this, we\nfared forth till we came to the place, where we found two baskets\nhanging ready. So we sat down in them and were drawn up to the usual\nplace, where the damsel came forward and saluted us. Now when Al-Maamun\nsaw her, he was amazed at her beauty and loveliness; and she began to\nentertain him with stories and verses. Presently, she called for wine\nand we fell to drinking, she paying him special attention and he\nrepaying her in kind. Then she took the lute and sang these verses:\u2014\n\n My lover came in at the close of night, \u273f I rose till he sat and\n    remained upright;\n And said \u201cSweet heart, hast thou come this hour? \u273f Nor feared on the\n    watch and ward to \u2018light:\u201d\n Quoth he \u201cThe lover _had_ cause to fear, \u273f But Love deprived him of wits\n    and fright.\u201d\n\nAnd when she ended her song she said to me, \u201cAnd is thy cousin also a\nmerchant?\u201d I answered, \u201cYes,\u201d and she said, \u201cIndeed, ye resemble each\nother nearly.\u201d But when Al-Maamun had drunk three pints,[180] he grew\nmerry with wine and called out, saying, \u201cHo, Isaac!\u201d And I replied,\n\u201cLabbayk\u2019, Adsum, O Commander of the Faithful,\u201d whereupon quoth he,\n\u201cSing me this air.\u201d Now when the young lady learned that he was the\nCaliph, she withdrew to another place and disappeared; and, as I had\nmade an end of my song Al-Maamun said to me, \u201cSee who is the master of\nthis house\u201d; whereupon an old woman hastened to make answer, saying, \u201cIt\nbelongs to Hasan bin Sahl.\u201d[181] \u201cFetch him to me,\u201d said the Caliph. So\nshe went away and after a while behold, in came Hasan, to whom said\nAl-Maamun \u201cHast thou a daughter?\u201d He said, \u201cYes, and her name is\nKhadijah.\u201d Asked the Caliph, \u201cIs she married?\u201d Answered Hasan, \u201cNo, by\nAllah!\u201d Said Al-Maamun, \u201cThen I ask her of thee in marriage.\u201d Replied\nher father, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, she is thy handmaid and at thy\ncommandment.\u201d Quoth Al-Maamun, \u201cI take her to wife at a present\nsettlement of thirty thousand dinars, which thou shalt receive this very\nmorning; and, when the money has been paid thee, do thou bring her to us\nthis night.\u201d And Hasan answered, \u201cI hear and I obey.\u201d Thereupon we went\nforth and the Caliph said to me, \u201cO Isaac, tell this story to no one.\u201d\nSo I kept it secret till Al-Maamun\u2019s death. Surely never did man\u2019s life\ngather such pleasures as were mine these four days\u2019 time, whenas I\ncompanied with Al-Maamun by day and Khadijah by night; and, by Allah,\nnever saw I among men the like of Al-Maamun nor among women have I ever\nset eyes on the like of Khadijah; no, nor on any that came near her in\nlively wit and pleasant speech! And Allah is All-knowing. But amongst\nstories is that of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 175:\n\n  Son of Ibrahim al-Mosili, a musician poet and favourite with the\n  Caliphs Harun al-Rashid and Al-Maamun. He made his name immortal by\n  being the first who reduced Arab harmony to systematic rules; and he\n  wrote a biography of musicians referred to by Al-Hariri in the S\u00e9ance\n  of Singar.\n\nFootnote 176:\n\n  This must not be confounded with the \u201cpissing against the wall\u201d of 1\n  Kings, xiv. 10, where watering against a wall denotes a man as opposed\n  to a woman.\n\nFootnote 177:\n\n  Arab. \u201cZamb\u00edl\u201d or \u201cZimb\u00edl,\u201d a limp basket made of plaited palm-leaves\n  and generally two handled. It is used for many purposes, from carrying\n  poultry to carrying earth.\n\nFootnote 178:\n\n  Here we have again the Syriac \u201cBakhkh^{un} Bakhkh^{un}\u201d = well done!\n  It is the Pers. \u00c1fer\u00edn and means \u201call praise be to him.\u201d\n\nFootnote 179:\n\n  Arab. \u201cA Tufayli?\u201d So the Arab. Prov. (ii. 838) \u201cMore intrusive than\n  Tufayl\u201d (prob. the P.N. of a notorious spunger). The Badawin call\n  \u201cW\u00e1rish\u201d a man who sits down to meat unbidden and to drink W\u00e1ghil; but\n  townsfolk apply the latter to the \u201cW\u00e1rish.\u201d\n\nFootnote 180:\n\n  Arab. \u201cArt\u00e1l\u201d = rotoli, pounds; and\n\n                           A pint is a pound\n                           All the world round;\n\n  except in highly civilised lands where the pint has a curious power of\n  shrinking.\n\nFootnote 181:\n\n  One of Al-Maamun\u2019s Wazirs. The Caliph married his daughter whose true\n  name was B\u00far\u00e1n; but this tale of girl\u2019s freak and courtship was\n  invented (?) by Ishak. For the splendour of the wedding and the\n  munificence of the Minister see Lane, ii. 350-352.\n\n\n\n\n                     THE SWEEP AND THE NOBLE LADY.\n\n\nDuring the season of the Meccan pilgrimage, whilst the people were\nmaking circuit about the Holy House and the place of compassing was\ncrowded, behold, a man laid hold of the covering of the Ka\u2019abah[182] and\ncried out, from the bottom of his heart, saying, \u201cI beseech thee, O\nAllah, that she may once again be wroth with her husband and that I may\nknow her!\u201d A company of the pilgrims heard him and seized him and\ncarried him to the Emir of the pilgrims, after a sufficiency of blows;\nand, said they, \u201cO Emir, we found this fellow in the Holy Places, saying\nthus and thus.\u201d So the Emir commanded to hang him; but he cried, \u201cO\nEmir, I conjure thee, by the virtue of the Apostle (whom Allah bless and\npreserve!), hear my story and then do with me as thou wilt.\u201d Quoth the\nEmir, \u201cTell thy tale forthright.\u201d Know then, O Emir, quoth the man, that\nI am a sweep who works in the sheep-slaughterhouses and carries off the\nblood and the offal to the rubbish-heaps outside the gates. And it came\nto pass as I went along one day with my ass loaded, I saw the people\nrunning away and one of them said to me, \u201cEnter this alley, lest haply\nthey slay thee.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cWhat aileth the folk running away?\u201d and one\nof the eunuchs, who were passing, said to me, \u201cThis is the Harim[183] of\none of the notables and her eunuchs drive the people out of her way and\nbeat them all, without respect to persons.\u201d So I turned aside with the\ndonkey\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the man:\u2014So\nI turned aside with the donkey and stood still awaiting the dispersal of\nthe crowd; and I saw a number of eunuchs with staves in their hands,\nfollowed by nigh thirty women slaves, and amongst them a lady as she\nwere a willow-wand or a thirsty gazelle, perfect in beauty and grace and\namorous languor, and all were attending upon her. Now when she came to\nthe mouth of the passage where I stood, she turned right and left and,\ncalling one of the Castratos, whispered in his ear; and behold, he came\nup to me and laid hold of me, whilst another eunuch took my ass and made\noff with it. And when the spectators fled, the first eunuch bound me\nwith a rope and dragged me after him till I knew not what to do; and the\npeople followed us and cried out, saying, \u201cThis is not allowed of Allah!\nWhat hath this poor scavenger done that he should be bound with ropes?\u201d\nand praying the eunuchs, \u201cHave pity on him and let him go, so Allah have\npity on you!\u201d And I the while said in my mind, \u201cDoubtless the eunuchry\nseized me, because their mistress smelt the stink of the offal and it\nsickened her. Belike she is with child or ailing; but there is no\nMajesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!\u201d\nSo I continued walking on behind them, till they stopped at the door of\na great house; and, entering before me, brought me into a big hall\u2014I\nknow not how I shall describe its magnificence\u2014furnished with the finest\nfurniture. And the women also entered the hall; and I bound and held by\nthe eunuch and saying to myself, \u201cDoubtless they will torture me here\ntill I die and none know of my death.\u201d However, after a while, they\ncarried me into a neat bath-room leading out of the hall; and as I sat\nthere, behold, in came three slave-girls who seated themselves round me\nand said to me, \u201cStrip off thy rags and tatters.\u201d So I pulled off my\nthreadbare clothes and one of them fell a-rubbing my legs and feet\nwhilst another scrubbed my head and a third shampooed my body. When they\nhad made an end of washing me, they brought me a parcel of clothes and\nsaid to me, \u201cPut these on\u201d; and I answered, \u201cBy Allah, I know not how!\u201d\nSo they came up to me and dressed me, laughing together at me the while;\nafter which they brought casting-bottles full of rose-water, and\nsprinkled me therewith. Then I went out with them into another saloon;\nby Allah, I know not how to praise its splendour for the wealth of\npaintings and furniture therein; and entering it, I saw a person seated\non a couch of Indian rattan\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the sweep\ncontinued:\u2014When I entered that saloon I saw a person seated on a couch\nof Indian rattan, with ivory feet and before her a number of damsels.\nWhen she saw me she rose to me and called me; so I went up to her and\nshe seated me by her side. Then she bade her slave-girls bring food, and\nthey brought all manner of rich meats, such as I never saw in all my\nlife; I do not even know the names of the dishes, much less their\nnature. So I ate my fill and when the dishes had been taken away and we\nhad washed our hands, she called for fruits which came without stay or\ndelay and ordered me eat of them; and when we had ended eating she bade\none of the waiting-women bring the wine furniture. So they set on\nflagons of divers kinds of wine and burned perfumes in all the censers,\nwhat while a damsel like the moon rose and served us with wine to the\nsound of the smitten strings; and I drank, and the lady drank, till we\nwere seized with wine and the whole time I doubted not but that all this\nwas an illusion of sleep. Presently, she signed to one of the damsels to\nspread us a bed in such a place, which being done, she rose and took me\nby the hand and led me thither, and lay down and I lay with her till the\nmorning, and as often as I pressed her to my breast I smelt the\ndelicious fragrance of musk and other perfumes that exhaled from her and\ncould not think otherwise but that I was in Paradise or in the vain\nphantasies of a dream. Now when it was day, she asked me where I lodged\nand I told her, \u201cIn such a place;\u201d whereupon she gave me leave to\ndepart, handing to me a kerchief worked with gold and silver and\ncontaining somewhat tied in it, and took leave of me, saying, \u201cGo to the\nbath with this.\u201d I rejoiced and said to myself, \u201cIf there be but five\ncoppers here, it will buy me this day my morning meal.\u201d Then I left her,\nas though I were leaving Paradise, and returned to my poor crib where I\nopened the kerchief and found in it fifty miskals of gold. So I buried\nthem in the ground and, buying two farthings\u2019 worth of bread and\n\u201ckitchen,\u201d[184] seated me at the door and broke my fast; after which I\nsat pondering my case and continued so doing till the time of\nafternoon-prayer, when lo! a slave-girl accosted me saying, \u201cMy mistress\ncalleth for thee.\u201d I followed her to the house aforesaid and, after\nasking permission, she carried me into the lady, before whom I kissed\nthe ground, and she commanded me to sit and called for meat and wine as\non the previous day; after which I again lay with her all night. On the\nmorrow, she gave me a second kerchief, with other fifty dinars therein,\nand I took it and going home, buried this also. In such pleasant\ncondition I continued eight days running, going in to her at the hour of\nafternoon-prayer and leaving her at daybreak; but, on the eighth night,\nas I lay with her, behold, one of her slave-girls came running in and\nsaid to me, \u201cArise, go up into yonder closet.\u201d So I rose and went into\nthe closet, which was over the gate, and presently I heard a great\nclamour and tramp of horse; and, looking out of the window which gave on\nthe street in front of the house, I saw a young man as he were the\nrising moon on the night of fulness come riding up attended by a number\nof servants and soldiers who were about him on foot. He alighted at the\ndoor and entering the saloon found the lady seated on the couch; so he\nkissed the ground between her hands then came up to her and kissed her\nhands; but she would not speak to him. However, he continued patiently\nto humble himself, and soothe her and speak her fair, till he made his\npeace with her, and they lay together that night.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the scavenger\ncontinued:\u2014Now when her husband had made his peace with the young lady,\nhe lay with her that night; and next morning, the soldiers came for him\nand he mounted and rode away; whereupon she drew near to me and said,\n\u201cSawst thou yonder man?\u201d I answered, \u201cYes;\u201d and she said, \u201cHe is my\nhusband, and I will tell thee what befel me with him. It came to pass\none day that we were sitting, he and I, in the garden within the house,\nand behold, he rose from my side and was absent a long while, till I\ngrew tired of waiting and said to myself:\u2014Most like, he is in the privy.\nSo I arose and went to the water-closet, but not finding him there, went\ndown to the kitchen, where I saw a slave-girl; and when I enquired for\nhim, she showed him to me lying with one of the cookmaids. Hereupon, I\nswore a great oath that I assuredly would do adultery with the foulest\nand filthiest man in Baghdad; and the day the eunuch laid hands on thee,\nI had been four days going round about the city in quest of one who\nshould answer to this description, but found none fouler nor filthier\nthan thy good self. So I took thee and there passed between us that\nwhich Allah fore-ordained to us; and now I am quit of my oath.\u201d Then she\nadded, \u201cIf, however, my husband return yet again to the cookmaid and lie\nwith her, I will restore thee to thy lost place in my favours.\u201d Now when\nI heard these words from her lips, what while she pierced my heart with\nthe shafts of her glances, my tears streamed forth, till my eyelids were\nchafed sore with weeping, and I repeated the saying of the poet:\u2014\n\n Grant me the kiss of that left hand ten times; \u273f And learn it hath than\n    right hand higher grade;[185]\n For \u2018tis but little since that same left hand \u273f Washed off Sir Reverence\n    when ablution made.\n\nThen she made them give me other fifty dinars (making in all four\nhundred gold pieces I had of her) and bade me depart. So I went out from\nher and came hither, that I might pray Allah (extolled and exalted be\nHe!) to make her husband return to the cookmaid, that haply I might be\nagain admitted to her favours. When the Emir of the pilgrims heard the\nman\u2019s story, he set him free and said to the bystanders, \u201cAllah upon\nyou, pray for him, for indeed he is excusable.\u201d And men also tell the\ntale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 182:\n\n  I have described this scene, the wretch clinging to the curtain and\n  sighing and crying as if his heart would break (Pilgrimage iii. 216\n  and 220). The same is done at the place Al-Multazam, \u201cthe attached\n  to;\u201d (ibid. 156) and various spots called Al-Mustaj\u00e1b, \u201cwhere prayer\n  is granted\u201d (ibid. 162). At Jerusalem the \u201cWailing place of the Jews\u201d\n  shows queer scenes; the worshippers embrace the wall with a peculiar\n  wriggle crying out in Hebrew, \u201cO build Thy House, soon, without\n  delay,\u201d etc.\n\nFootnote 183:\n\n  _i.e._ The wife. The scene in the text was common at Cairo twenty\n  years ago; and no one complained of the stick. See Pilgrimage i., 120.\n\nFootnote 184:\n\n  Arab. \u201cUdm, Udum\u201d (plur. of Id\u00e1m) = \u201crelish,\u201d olives, cheese, pickled\n  cucumbers, etc.\n\nFootnote 185:\n\n  I have noticed how the left hand is used in the East. In the second\n  couplet we have \u201cIstinj\u00e1\u201d = washing the fundament after stool. The\n  lines are highly appropriate for a nightman. Easterns have many foul\n  but most emphatic expressions like those in the text: I have heard a\n  mother say to her brat, \u201cI would eat thy merde!\u201d (_i.e._ how I love\n  thee!)\n\n\n\n\n                            THE MOCK CALIPH.\n\n\nIt is related that the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, was one night restless\nwith extreme restlessness, so he summoned his Wazir Ja\u2019afar the\nBarmecide, and said to him, \u201cMy breast is straitened and I have a desire\nto divert myself to-night by walking about the streets of Baghdad and\nlooking into folks\u2019 affairs; but with this precaution that we disguise\nourselves in merchants\u2019 gear, so none shall know us.\u201d He answered,\n\u201cHearkening and obedience.\u201d They rose at once and doffing the rich\nraiment they wore, donned merchants\u2019 habits and sallied forth three in\nnumber, the Caliph, Ja\u2019afar and Masrur the sworder. Then they walked\nfrom place to place, till they came to the Tigris and saw an old man\nsitting in a boat; so they went up to him and saluting him, said, \u201cO\nShaykh, we desire thee of thy kindness and favour to carry us\na-pleasuring down the river, in this thy boat, and take this dinar to\nthy hire.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when they said to\nthe old man, \u201cWe desire thee to carry us a-pleasuring in this thy boat\nand take this dinar;\u201d he answered, \u201cWho may go a-pleasuring on the\nTigris? The Caliph Harun al-Rashid every night cometh down Tigris-stream\nin his state-barge[186] and with him one crying aloud:\u2014Ho, ye people\nall, great and small, gentle and simple, men and boys, whoso is found in\na boat on the Tigris by night, I will strike off his head or hang him to\nthe mast of his craft! And ye had well nigh met him; for here cometh his\ncarrack.\u201d But the Caliph and Ja\u2019afar said, \u201cO Shaykh, take these two\ndinars, and run us under one of yonder arches, that we may hide there\ntill the Caliph\u2019s barge have passed.\u201d The old man replied, \u201cHand over\nyour gold and rely we on Allah, the Almighty!\u201d So he took the two dinars\nand embarked them in the boat; and he put off and rowed about with them\nawhile, when behold, the barge came down the river in mid-stream, with\nlighted flambeaux and cressets flaming therein. Quoth the old man, \u201cDid\nnot I tell you that the Caliph passed along the river every night?\u201d; and\nceased not muttering, \u201cO Protector, remove not the veils of Thy\nprotection!\u201d Then he ran the boat under an arch and threw a piece of\nblack cloth over the Caliph and his companions, who looked out from\nunder the covering and saw, in the bows of the barge, a man holding in\nhand a cresset of red gold which he fed with Sumatran lign-aloes and the\nfigure was clad in a robe of red satin, with a narrow turband of Mosul\nshape round on his head; and over one of his shoulders hung a sleeved\ncloak[187] of cramoisy satin, and on the other was a green silk bag full\nof the aloes-wood, with which he fed the cresset by way of fire-wood.\nAnd they sighted in the stern another man, clad like the first and\nbearing a like cresset, and in the barge were two hundred white slaves,\nstanding ranged to the right and left; and in the middle a throne of red\ngold, whereon sat a handsome young man, like the moon, clad in a dress\nof black, embroidered with yellow gold. Before him they beheld a man, as\nhe were the Wazir Ja\u2019afar, and at his head stood an eunuch, as he were\nMasrur, with a drawn sword in his hand; besides a score of\ncup-companions. Now when the Caliph saw this, he turned and said, \u201cO\nJa\u2019afar,\u201d and the Minister replied, \u201cAt thy service, O Prince of True\nBelievers.\u201d Then quoth the Caliph, \u201cBelike this is one of my sons,\nAl-Amin or Al-Maamun.\u201d Then he examined the young man who sat on the\nthrone and finding him perfect in beauty and loveliness and stature and\nsymmetric grace, said to Ja\u2019afar, \u201cVerily, this young man abateth nor\njot nor tittle of the state of the Caliphate! See, there standeth before\nhim one as he were thyself, O Ja\u2019afar; yonder eunuch who standeth at his\nhead is as he were Masrur and those courtiers as they were my own. By\nAllah, O Ja\u2019afar, my reason is confounded and I am filled with amazement\nat this matter!\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to\nsay her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Caliph\nsaw this spectacle his reason was confounded and he cried, \u201cBy Allah, I\nam filled with amazement at this matter!\u201d and Ja\u2019afar replied, \u201cAnd I\nalso, by Allah, O Commander of the Faithful.\u201d Then the barge passed on\nand disappeared from sight; whereupon the boatman pushed out again into\nthe stream, saying, \u201cPraised be Allah for safety, since none hath fallen\nin with us!\u201d Quoth the Caliph, \u201cO, old man, doth the Caliph come down\nthe Tigris-river every night?\u201d The boatman answered, \u201cYes, O my lord;\nand on such wise hath he done every night this year past.\u201d \u201cO Shaykh,\u201d\nrejoined Al-Rashid, \u201cwe wish thee of thy favour to await us here\nto-morrow night and we will give thee five golden dinars, for we are\nstranger folk, lodging in the quarter Al-Khandak, and we have a mind to\ndivert ourselves.\u201d Said the oldster, \u201cWith joy and good will!\u201d Then the\nCaliph and Ja\u2019afar and Masrur left the boatman and returned to the\npalace, where they doffed their merchants\u2019 habits and, donning their\napparel of state, sat down each in his several stead; and came the Emirs\nand Wazirs and Chamberlains and Officers; and the Divan assembled and\nwas crowded as of custom. But when day ended and all the folk had\ndispersed and wended each his own way, the Caliph said to his Wazir,\n\u201cRise, O Ja\u2019afar, let us go and amuse ourselves by looking on the second\nCaliph.\u201d At this, Ja\u2019afar and Masrur laughed, and the three, donning\nmerchants\u2019 habits, went forth by a secret postern and made their way\nthrough the city, in great glee, till they came to the Tigris, where\nthey found the greybeard sitting and awaiting them. They embarked with\nhim in the boat and hardly had they sat down before up came the mock\nCaliph\u2019s barge; and, when they looked at it attentively, they saw\ntherein two hundred Mamelukes other than those of the previous night,\nwhile the link-bearers cried aloud as of wont. Quoth the Caliph, \u201cO\nWazir, had I heard tell of this, I had not believed it; but I have seen\nit with my own sight.\u201d Then said he to the boatman, \u201cTake, O Shaykh,\nthese ten dinars and row us along abreast of them, for they are in the\nlight and we in the shade, and we can see them and amuse ourselves by\nlooking on them, but they cannot see us.\u201d So the man took the money and\npushing off ran abreast of them in the shadow of the barge\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King that the Caliph Harun\nal-Rashid said to the old man, \u201cTake these ten dinars and row us abreast\nof them;\u201d to which he replied, \u201cI hear and I obey.\u201d And he fared with\nthem and ceased not going in the blackness of the barge, till they came\namongst the gardens that lay alongside of them and sighted a large\nwalled enclosure; and presently, the barge cast anchor before a postern\ndoor, where they saw servants standing with a she-mule saddled and\nbridled. Here the mock Caliph landed and, mounting the mule, rode away\nwith his courtiers and his cup-companions preceded by the\ncresset-bearers crying aloud, and followed by his household which busied\nitself in his service. Then Harun al-Rashid, Ja\u2019afar and Masrur landed\nalso and, making their way through the press of servants, walked on\nbefore them. Presently, the cresset-bearers espied them and seeing three\npersons in merchants\u2019 habits, and strangers to the country, took offence\nat them; so they pointed them out and brought them before the other\nCaliph, who looked at them and asked, \u201cHow came ye to this place and who\nbrought you at this tide?\u201d They answered, \u201cO our lord, we are foreign\nmerchants and far from our homes, who arrived here this day and were out\na-walking to-night, and behold, ye came up and these men laid hands on\nus and brought us to thy presence; and this is all our story.\u201d Quoth the\nmock Caliph, \u201cSince ye be stranger folk no harm shall befal you; but had\nye been of Baghdad, I had struck off your heads.\u201d Then he turned to his\nWazir and said to him, \u201cTake these men with thee; for they are our\nguests to-night.\u201d \u201cTo hear is to obey, O our lord,\u201d answered he; and\nthey companied him till they came to a lofty and splendid palace set\nupon the firmest base; no Sultan possesseth such a place; rising from\nthe dusty mould and upon the marges of the clouds laying hold. Its door\nwas of Indian teak-wood inlaid with gold that glowed; and through it one\npassed into a royal-hall in whose midst was a jetting fount girt by a\nraised estrade. It was provided with carpets and cushions of brocade and\nsmall pillows and long settees and hanging curtains; it was furnished\nwith a splendour that dazed the mind and dumbed the tongue, and upon the\ndoor were written these two couplets:\u2014\n\n A Palace whereon be blessings and praise! \u273f Which with all their beauty\n    have robed the Days:\n Where marvels and miracle-sights abound, \u273f And to write its honours the\n    pen affrays.\n\nThe false Caliph entered with his company, and sat down on a throne of\ngold set with jewels and covered with a prayer-carpet of yellow silk;\nwhilst the boon-companions took their seats and the sword-bearer of high\nworks stood before him. Then the tables were laid and they ate; after\nwhich the dishes were removed and they washed their hands and the\nwine-service was set on with flagons and bowls in due order. The cup\nwent round till it came to the Caliph, Harun al-Rashid, who refused the\ndraught and the mock Caliph said to Ja\u2019afar, \u201cWhat mattereth thy friend\nthat he drinketh not?\u201d He replied, \u201cO my lord, indeed \u2018tis a long while\nhe hath drunk naught of this.\u201d Quoth the sham Caliph, \u201cI have drink\nother than this, a kind of apple-wine,[188] that will suit thy\ncompanion.\u201d So he bade them bring the cider which they did forthright\nwhen the false Caliph, coming up to Harun al-Rashid, said to him, \u201cAs\noften as it cometh to thy turn drink thou of this.\u201d Then they continued\nto drink and make merry and pass the cup till the wine rose to their\nbrains and mastered their wits;\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the false Caliph\nand his co-sitters sat at their cups and gave not over drinking till the\nwine rose to their brains and mastered their wits; and Harun al-Rashid\nsaid to the Minister, \u201cO Ja\u2019afar, by Allah, we have no such vessels as\nthese. Would to Heaven I knew what manner of man this youth is!\u201d But\nwhile they were talking privily the young man cast a glance upon them\nand seeing the Wazir whisper the Caliph said, \u201c\u2019Tis rude to whisper.\u201d He\nreplied, \u201cNo rudeness was meant: this my friend did but say to\nme:\u2014Verily I have travelled in most countries and have caroused with the\ngreatest of Kings and I have companied with noble captains; yet never\nsaw I a goodlier ordering than this entertainment nor passed a more\ndelightful night; save that the people of Baghdad are wont to say, Wine\nwithout music often leaves _you_ sick.\u201d When the second Caliph heard\nthis, he smiled pleasantly and struck with a rod he had in his hand a\nround gong;[189] and behold, a door opened and out came a eunuch,\nbearing a chair of ivory, inlaid with gold glittering fiery red and\nfollowed by a damsel of passing beauty and loveliness, symmetry and\ngrace. He set down the chair and the damsel seated herself on it, as she\nwere the sun shining sheen in a sky serene. In her hand she had a lute\nof Hindu make, which she laid in her lap and bent down over it as a\nmother bendeth over her little one, and sang to it, after a prelude in\nfour-and-twenty modes, amazing all wits. Then she returned to the first\nmode and to a lively measure chanted these couplets:\u2014\n\n Love\u2019s tongue within my heart speaks plain to thee, \u273f Telling thee\n    clearly I am fain of thee;\n Witness the fevers of a tortured heart, \u273f And ulcered eyelid tear-flood\n    rains for thee;\n God\u2019s fate o\u2019ertaketh all created things! \u273f I knew not love till learnt\n    Love\u2019s pain of thee.\n\nNow when the mock Caliph heard these lines sung by the damsel, he cried\nwith a great cry and rent his raiment to the very skirt, whereupon they\nlet down a curtain over him and brought him a fresh robe, handsomer than\nthe first. He put it on and sat as before, till the cup came round to\nhim, when he struck the gong a second time and lo! a door opened and out\nof it came a eunuch with a chair of gold, followed by a damsel fairer\nthan the first, bearing a lute, such as would strike the envious mute.\nShe sat down on the chair and sang to her instrument these two\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n How patient bide, with love in sprite of me, \u273f And tears in tempest[190]\n    blinding sight of me?\n By Allah, life has no delight of me! \u273f How gladden heart whose core is\n    blight of me?\n\nNo sooner had the youth heard this poetry than he cried out with a loud\ncry and rent his raiment to the skirt: whereupon they let down the\ncurtain over him and brought him another suit of clothes. He put it on\nand, sitting up as before, fell again to cheerful talk, till the cup\ncame round to him, when he smote once more upon the gong and out came a\neunuch with a chair, followed by a damsel fairer than she who forewent\nher. So she sat down on the chair, with a lute in her hand, and sang\nthereto these couplets:\u2014\n\n Cease ye this farness; \u2018bate this pride of you, \u273f To whom my heart\n    clings, by life-tide of you!\n Have ruth on hapless, mourning, lover-wretch, \u273f Desire-full, pining,\n    passion-tried of you:\n Sickness hath wasted him, whose ecstasy \u273f Prays Heaven it may be\n    satisfied of you;\n Oh fullest moons[191] that dwell in deepest heart! \u273f How can I think of\n    aught by side of you?\n\nNow when the young man heard these couplets, he cried out with a great\ncry and rent his raiment, whereupon they let fall the curtain over him\nand brought him other robes. Then he returned to his former case with\nhis boon-companions and the bowl went round as before, till the cup came\nto him, when he struck the gong a fourth time and the door opening, out\ncame a page-boy bearing a chair followed by a damsel. He set the chair\nfor her and she sat down thereon and taking the lute, tuned it and sang\nto it these couplets:\u2014\n\n When shall disunion and estrangement end? \u273f When shall my bygone joys\n    again be kenned?\n Yesterday we were joined in same abode; \u273f Conversing heedless of each\n    envious friend:[192]\n Trickt us that traitor Time, disjoined our lot \u273f And our waste home to\n    desert fate condemned:\n Wouldst have me, Grumbler! from my dearling fly? \u273f I find my vitals\n    blame will not perpend:\n Cease thou to censure; leave me to repine; \u273f My mind e\u2019er findeth\n    thoughts that pleasure lend.\n O Lords[193] of me who brake our troth and plight, \u273f Deem not to lose\n    your hold of heart and sprite!\n\nWhen the false Caliph heard the girl\u2019s song, he cried out with a loud\noutcry and rent his raiment\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n          Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninetieth Night,\n\nShe said, When the false Caliph heard the girl\u2019s song, he cried with a\nloud outcry and rent his raiment and fell to the ground fainting;\nwhereupon they would have let down the curtain over him, as of custom;\nbut its cords stuck fast and Harun al-Rashid, after considering him\ncarefully, saw on his body the marks of beating with palm-rods and said\nto Ja\u2019afar, \u201cBy Allah, he is a handsome youth, but a foul thief!\u201d\n\u201cWhence knowest thou that, O Commander of the Faithful?\u201d asked Ja\u2019afar,\nand the Caliph answered, \u201cSawest thou not the whip-scars on his ribs?\u201d\nThen they let fall the curtain over him and brought him a fresh dress,\nwhich he put on and sat up as before with his courtiers and\ncup-companions. Presently he saw the Caliph and Ja\u2019afar whispering\ntogether and said to them, \u201cWhat is the matter, fair sirs?\u201d Quoth\nJa\u2019afar, \u201cO my lord, all is well,[194] save that this my comrade, who\n(as is not unknown to thee) is of the merchant-company and hath visited\nall the great cities and countries of the world and hath consorted with\nkings and men of highest consideration, saith to me:\u2014Verily, that which\nour lord the Caliph hath done this night is beyond measure extravagant,\nnever saw I any do the like doings in any country; for he hath rent such\nand such dresses, each worth a thousand dinars and this is surely\nexcessive unthriftiness.\u201d Replied the second Caliph, \u201cHo thou, the money\nis my money and the stuff my stuff, and this is by way of largesse to my\nsuite and servants; for each suit that is rent belongeth to one of my\ncup-companions here present, and I assign to them with each suit of\nclothes the sum of five hundred dinars.\u201d The Wazir Ja\u2019afar replied,\n\u201cWell is whatso thou doest, O our lord,\u201d and recited these two\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n Virtue in hand of thee hath built a house, \u273f And to mankind thou dost\n    thy wealth expose:\n If an the virtues ever close their doors, \u273f That hand would be a key the\n    lock to unclose.\n\nNow when the young man heard these verses recited by the Minister\nJa\u2019afar, he ordered him to be gifted with a thousand dinars and a dress\nof honour. Then the cup went round among them and the wine was sweet to\nthem; but, after a while quoth the Caliph to Ja\u2019afar, \u201cAsk him of the\nmarks on his sides, that we may see what he will say by way of reply.\u201d\nAnswered Ja\u2019afar, \u201cSoftly, O my lord, be not hasty and soothe thy mind,\nfor patience is more becoming.\u201d Rejoined the Caliph, \u201cBy the life of my\nhead and by the revered tomb of Al-Abbas,[195] except thou ask him, I\nwill assuredly stop thy breath!\u201d With this the young man turned towards\nthe Minister and said to him, \u201cWhat aileth thee and thy friend to be\nwhispering together? Tell me what is the matter with you.\u201d \u201cIt is\nnothing save good,\u201d replied Ja\u2019afar; but the mock Caliph rejoined, \u201cI\nconjure thee, by Allah, tell me what aileth you and hide from me nothing\nof your case.\u201d Answered the Wazir, \u201cO my lord, verily this one here saw\non thy sides the marks of beating with whips and palm-fronds and\nmarvelled thereat with exceeding marvel, saying:\u2014How came the Caliph to\nbe beaten?; and he would fain know the cause of this.\u201d Now when the\nyouth heard this, he smiled and said, \u201cKnow ye that my story is wondrous\nand my case marvellous; were it graven with needles on the eye-corners,\nit would serve as a warner to whoso would be warned.\u201d And he sighed and\nrepeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n Strange is my story, passing prodigy; \u273f By Love I swear, my ways wax\n    strait on me!\n An ye desire to hear me, listen, and \u273f Let all in this assembly silent\n    be.\n Heed ye my words which are of meaning deep, \u273f Nor lies my speech; \u2018tis\n    truest verity.\n I\u2019m slain[196] by longing and by ardent love; \u273f My slayer\u2019s the pearl of\n    fair virginity.\n She hath a jet black eye like Hindi blade, \u273f And bow\u00e8d eyebrows shoot\n    her archery;\n My heart assures me our Imam is here, \u273f This age\u2019s Caliph, old nobility:\n Your second, Ja\u2019afar hight, is his Wazir; \u273f A S\u00e1hib,[197] Sahib-son of\n    high degree:\n The third is called Masrur who wields the sword: \u273f Now, if in words of\n    mine some truth you see,\n I have won every wish by this event \u273f Which fills my heart with joy and\n    gladdest gree.\n\nWhen they heard these words Ja\u2019afar swore to him an ambiguous oath that\nthey were not those he named, whereupon he laughed and said:\u2014Know, O my\nlords, that I am not the Commander of the Faithful and that I do but\nstyle myself thus, to win my will of the sons of the city. My true name\nis Mohammed Ali, son of Ali the Jeweller, and my father was one of the\nnotables of Baghdad, who left me great store of gold and silver and\npearls and coral and rubies and chrysolites and other jewels, besides\nmessuages and lands, Hammam-baths and brickeries, orchards and\nflower-gardens. Now as I sat in my shop one day surrounded by my eunuchs\nand dependents, behold, there came up a young lady, mounted on a\nshe-mule and attended by three damsels like moons. Riding up to my shop\nshe alighted and seated herself by my side and said, \u201cArt thou Mohammed\nthe Jeweller?\u201d Replied I, \u201cEven so! I am he, thy Mameluke, thy chattel.\u201d\nShe asked, \u201cHast thou a necklace of jewels fit for me?\u201d and I answered,\n\u201cO my lady, I will show thee what I have; and lay all before thee and,\nif any please thee, it will be of thy slave\u2019s good luck; if they please\nthee not, of his ill fortune.\u201d Now I had by me an hundred necklaces and\nshowed them all to her; but none of them pleased her and she said, \u201cI\nwant a better than those I have seen.\u201d I had a small necklace which my\nfather had bought at an hundred thousand dinars and whose like was not\nto be found with any of the great kings; so I said to her, \u201cO my lady, I\nhave yet one necklace of fine stones fit for bezels, the like of which\nnone possesseth, great or small.\u201d Said she, \u201cShow it to me,\u201d so I showed\nit to her, and she said, \u201cThis is what I wanted and what I have wished\nfor all my life;\u201d adding, \u201cWhat is its price?\u201d Quoth I, \u201cIt cost my\nfather an hundred thousand dinars;\u201d and she said, \u201cI will give thee five\nthousand dinars to thy profit.\u201d I answered, \u201cO my lady, the necklace and\nits owner are at thy service and I cannot gainsay thee.\u201d But she\nrejoined, \u201cNeeds must thou have the profit, and I am still most grateful\nto thee.\u201d Then she rose without stay or delay; and, mounting the mule in\nhaste, said to me, \u201cO my lord, in Allah\u2019s name, favour us with thy\ncompany to receive the money; for this thy day with us is white as\nmilk.\u201d[198] So I shut the shop and accompanied her, in all security,\ntill we came to a house, on which were manifest the signs of wealth and\nrank; for its door was wrought with gold and silver and ultramarine, and\nthereon were written these two couplets:\u2014\n\n Hola, thou mansion! woe ne\u2019er enter thee; \u273f Nor be thine owner e\u2019er\n    misused of Fate;\n Excellent mansion to all guests art thou, \u273f When other mansions to the\n    guest are strait.\n\nThe young lady dismounted and entered the house, bidding me sit down on\nthe bench at the gate, till the money-changer should arrive. So I sat\nawhile, when behold, a damsel came out to me and said, \u201cO my lord, enter\nthe vestibule; for it is a dishonour that thou shouldst sit at the\ngate.\u201d Thereupon I arose and entered the vestibule and sat down on the\nsettle there; and, as I sat, lo! another damsel came out and said to me,\n\u201cO my lord, my mistress biddeth thee enter and sit down at the door of\nthe saloon, to receive thy money.\u201d I entered and sat down, nor had I sat\na moment when behold, a curtain of silk which concealed a throne of gold\nwas drawn aside, and I saw seated thereon the lady who had made the\npurchase; and round her neck she wore the necklace which looked pale and\nwan by the side of a face as it were the rounded moon. At her sight, my\nwit was troubled and my mind confounded, by reason of her exceeding\nbeauty and loveliness; but when she saw me she rose from her throne and\ncoming close up to me, said, \u201cO light of mine eyes, is every handsome\none like thee pitiless to his mistress?\u201d I answered, \u201cO my lady, beauty,\nall of it, is in thee and is but one of thy hidden charms.\u201d And she\nrejoined, \u201cO Jeweller, know that I love thee and can hardly credit that\nI have brought thee hither.\u201d Then she bent towards me and I kissed her\nand she kissed me and, as she caressed me, drew me towards her and to\nher breast she pressed me.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Jeweller\ncontinued:\u2014Then she bent towards me and kissed and caressed me; and, as\nshe caressed me, drew me towards her and to her breast she pressed me.\nNow she knew by my condition that I had a mind to enjoy her; so she said\nto me, \u201cO my lord, wouldst thou foregather with me unlawfully? By Allah,\nmay he not live who would do the like of this sin and who takes pleasure\nin talk unclean! I am a maid, a virgin whom no man hath approached, nor\nam I unknown in the city. Knowest thou who I am?\u201d Quoth I, \u201cNo, by\nAllah, O my lady!\u201d; and quoth she, \u201cI am the Lady Duny\u00e1, daughter of\nY\u00e1hy\u00e1 bin Kh\u00e1lid the Barmecide and sister of Ja\u2019afar, Wazir to the\nCaliph.\u201d Now as I heard this, I drew back from her, saying, \u201cO my lady,\nit is no fault of mine if I have been over-bold with thee; it was thou\ndidst encourage me to aspire to thy love, by giving me access to thee.\u201d\nShe answered, \u201cNo harm shall befal thee, and needs must thou attain thy\ndesire in the only way pleasing to Allah. I am my own mistress and the\nKazi shall act as my guardian in consenting to the marriage contract;\nfor it is my will that I be to thee wife and thou be to me man.\u201d Then\nshe sent for the Kazi and the witnesses and busied herself with making\nready; and, when they came, she said to them, \u201cMohammed Ali, bin Ali the\nJeweller, seeketh me in wedlock and hath given me the necklace to my\nmarriage-settlement; and I accept and consent.\u201d So they wrote out the\ncontract of marriage between us; and ere I went in to her the servants\nbrought the wine-furniture and the cups passed round after the fairest\nfashion and the goodliest ordering; and, when the wine mounted to our\nheads, she ordered a damsel, a lute-player,[199] to sing. So she took\nthe lute and sang to a pleasing and stirring motive these couplets:\u2014\n\n He comes; and fawn and branch and moon delight these eyne \u273f Fie[200] on\n    his heart who sleeps o\u2019 nights without repine;\n Fair youth, for whom Heaven willed to quench in cheek one light, \u273f And\n    left another light on other cheek bright li\u2019en:\n I fain finesse my chiders when they mention him, \u273f As though the hearing\n    of his name I would decline;\n And willing ear I lend when they of other speak; \u273f Yet would my soul\n    within outflow in floods of brine:\n Beauty\u2019s own prophet, he is all a miracle \u273f Of heavenly grace, and\n    greatest shows his face for sign:[201]\n To prayer Bil\u00e1l-like cries that Mole upon his cheek \u273f To ward from\n    pearly brow all eyes of ill design:[202]\n The censors of their ignorance would my love dispel \u273f But after Faith I\n    can\u2019t at once turn Infidel.\n\nWe were ravished by the sweet music she made striking the strings, and\nthe beauty of the verses she sang; and the other damsels went on to sing\nand to recite one after another, till ten had so done; when the Lady\nDunya took the lute and playing a lively measure, chanted these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n I swear by swayings of that form so fair, \u273f Aye from thy parting fiery\n    pangs I bear:\n Pity a heart which burneth in thy love, \u273f O bright as fullest moon in\n    blackest air!\n Vouchsafe thy boons to him who ne\u2019er will cease \u273f In light of wine-cup\n    all thy charms declare,\n Amid the roses which with varied hues \u273f Are to the myrtle-bush[203] a\n    mere despair.\n\nWhen she had finished her verse; I took the lute from her hands and,\nplaying a quaint and no vulgar prelude sang the following verses:\u2014\n\n Laud to my Lord who gave thee all of loveliness; \u273f Myself amid thy\n    thralls I willingly confess:\n O thou, whose eyes and glances captivate mankind, \u273f Pray that I \u2018scape\n    those arrows shot with all thy stress!\n Two hostile rivals water and enflaming fire \u273f Thy cheek hath married,\n    which for marvel I profess:\n Thou art Sa\u2019\u00edr in heart of me and eke Na\u2019\u00edm;[204] \u273f Thou _agro-dolce_,\n    eke heart\u2019s sweetest bitterness.\n\nWhen she heard this my song she rejoiced with exceeding joy; then,\ndismissing her slave-women, she brought me to a most goodly place, where\nthey had spread us a bed of various colours. She did off her clothes and\nI had a lover\u2019s privacy of her and found her a pearl unpierced and a\nfilly unridden. So I rejoiced in her and never in my born days spent I a\nmore delicious night.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Mohammed bin Ali\nthe Jeweller continued:\u2014So I went in unto the Lady Dunya, daughter of\nYahya bin Khalid the Barmecide, and I found her a pearl unthridden and a\nfilly unridden. So I rejoiced in her and repeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n O Night here stay! I want no morning light; \u273f My lover\u2019s face to me is\n    lamp and light:[205]\n As ring of ring-dove round his neck\u2019s my arm; \u273f And made my palm his\n    mouth-veil; and, twas right.\n This be the crown of bliss, and ne\u2019er we\u2019ll cease \u273f To clip, nor care to\n    be in other plight.\n\nAnd I abode with her a whole month, forsaking shop and family and home,\ntill one day she said to me, \u201cO light of my eyes, O my lord Mohammed, I\nhave determined to go to the Hammam to-day; so sit thou on this couch\nand rise not from thy place, till I return to thee.\u201d \u201cI hear and I\nobey,\u201d answered I, and she made me swear to this; after which she took\nher women and went off to the bath. But by Allah, O my brothers, she had\nnot reached the head of the street ere the door opened and in came an\nold woman, who said to me, \u201cO my lord Mohammed, the Lady Zubaydah\nbiddeth thee to her, for she hath heard of thy fine manners and\naccomplishments and skill in singing.\u201d I answered, \u201cBy Allah, I will not\nrise from my place, till the Lady Dunya come back.\u201d Rejoined the old\nwoman, \u201cO my lord, do not anger the Lady Zubaydah with thee and vex her\nso as to make her thy foe: nay, rise up and speak with her and return to\nthy place.\u201d So I rose at once and followed her into the presence of the\nLady Zubaydah and, when I entered her presence she said to me, \u201cO light\nof the eye, art thou the Lady Dunya\u2019s beloved?\u201d \u201cI am thy Mameluke, thy\nchattel,\u201d replied I. Quoth she, \u201cSooth spake he who reported thee\npossessed of beauty and grace and good breeding and every fine quality;\nindeed, thou surpassest all praise and all report. But now sing to me,\nthat I may hear thee.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cHearkening and obedience;\u201d so she\nbrought me a lute, and I sang to it these couplets:\u2014\n\n The hapless lover\u2019s heart is of his wooing weary grown; \u273f And hand of\n    sickness wasted him till naught but skin and bone:\n Who should be amid the riders which the haltered camels urge, \u273f But that\n    same lover whose beloved doth in the litters wone:\n\n To Allah\u2019s charge I leave that moon-like Beauty in your tents \u273f Whom my\n    heart loves, albe my glance on her may ne\u2019er be thrown.\n Now she is fain; then she is fierce: how sweet her coyness shows; \u273f Yea,\n    sweet whatever doth or saith to lover lov\u00e8d one!\n\nWhen I had finished my song she said to me, \u201cAllah assain thy body and\nthy voice! Verily, thou art perfect in beauty and good breeding and\nsinging. But now rise and return to thy place, ere the Lady Dunya come\nback, lest she find thee not and be wroth with thee.\u201d Then I kissed the\nground before her and the old woman forewent me till I reached the door\nwhence I came. So I entered and, going up to the couch, found that my\nwife had come back from the bath and was lying asleep there. Seeing this\nI sat down at her feet and rubbed them; whereupon she opened her eyes\nand seeing me, drew up both her feet and gave me a kick that threw me\noff the couch,[206] saying, \u201cO traitor, thou hast been false to thine\noath and hast perjured thyself. Thou swarest to me that thou wouldst not\nrise from thy place; yet didst thou break thy promise and go to the Lady\nZubaydah. By Allah, but that I fear public scandal, I would pull down\nher palace over her head!\u201d Then said she to her black slave, \u201cO Saw\u00e1b,\narise and strike off this lying traitor\u2019s head, for we have no further\nneed of him.\u201d So the slave came up to me and, tearing a strip from his\nskirt, bandaged with it my eyes[207] and would have struck off my\nhead;\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Mohammed the\nJeweller continued:\u2014So the slave came up to me and, tearing a strip from\nhis skirt, bandaged with it my eyes and would have struck off my head;\nbut all her women, great and small, rose and came up to her and said to\nher, \u201cO our lady, this is not the first who hath erred: indeed, he knew\nnot thy humour and hath done thee no offence deserving death.\u201d Replied\nshe, \u201cBy Allah, I must needs set my mark on him.\u201d And she bade them bash\nme; so they beat me on my ribs and the marks ye saw are the scars of\nthat fustigation. Then she ordered them to cast me out, and they carried\nme to a distance from the house and threw me down like a log. After a\ntime I rose and dragged myself little by little to my own place, where I\nsent for a surgeon and showed him my hurts; and he comforted me and did\nhis best to cure me. As soon as I was recovered I went to the Hammam\nand, as my pains and sickness had left me, I repaired to my shop and\ntook and sold all that was therein. With the proceeds, I bought me four\nhundred white slaves, such as no King ever got together, and caused two\nhundred of them to ride out with me every day. Then I made me yonder\nbarge whereon I spent five thousand gold pieces; and styled myself\nCaliph and appointed each of my servants to the charge of some one of\nthe Caliph\u2019s officers and clad him in official habit. Moreover, I made\nproclamation, \u201cWhoso goeth a-pleasuring on the Tigris by night, I will\nstrike off his head, without ruth or delay;\u201d and on such wise have I\ndone this whole year past, during which time I have heard no news of the\nlady neither happened upon any trace of her. Then wept he copiously and\nrepeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n By Allah! while the days endure ne\u2019er shall forget her I, \u273f Nor draw to\n    any nigh save those who draw her to me nigh:\n Like to the fullest moon her form and favour show to me; \u273f Laud to her\n    All-creating Lord, laud to the Lord on high!\n She left me full of mourning, sleepless, sick with pine and pain \u273f And\n    ceaseth not my heart to yearn her mystery[208] to espy.\n\nNow when Harun al-Rashid heard the young man\u2019s story and knew the\npassion and transport and love-lowe that afflicted him, he was moved to\ncompassion and wonder and said, \u201cGlory be to Allah, who hath appointed\nto every effect a cause!\u201d Then they craved the young man\u2019s permission to\ndepart; which being granted, they took leave of him, the Caliph\npurposing to do him justice meet, and him with the utmost munificence\nentreat; and they returned to the palace of the Caliphate, where they\nchanged clothes for others befitting their state and sat down, whilst\nMasrur the Sworder of High Justice stood before them. After awhile,\nquoth the Caliph to Ja\u2019afar, \u201cO Wazir, bring me the young man\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the Caliph\nto his Minister, \u201cBring me the young man with whom we were last night.\u201d\n\u201cI hear and obey,\u201d answered Ja\u2019afar and, going to the youth, saluted\nhim, saying, \u201cObey the summons of the Commander of the Faithful, the\nCaliph Harun al-Rashid.\u201d So he returned with him to the palace, in great\nanxiety by reason of the summons; and, going in to the King, kissed\nground before him; and offered up a prayer for the endurance of his\nglory and prosperity, for the accomplishment of his desires, for the\ncontinuance of his beneficence and for the cessation of evil and\npunishment; ordering his speech as best he might and ending by saying,\n\u201cPeace be on thee, O Prince of True Believers and Protector of the folk\nof the Faith!\u201d Then he repeated these two couplets:\u2014\n\n Kiss thou his fingers which no fingers are; \u273f Keys of our daily bread\n    those fingers ken:\n And praise his actions which no actions are; \u273f But precious necklaces\n    round necks of men.\n\nSo the Caliph smiled in his face and returned his salute, looking on him\nwith the eye of favour; then he bade him draw near and sit down before\nhim and said to him, \u201cO Mohammed Ali, I wish thee to tell me what befel\nthee last night, for it was strange and passing strange.\u201d Quoth the\nyouth, \u201cPardon, O Commander of the Faithful, give me the kerchief of\nimmunity, that my dread may be appeased and my heart eased.\u201d Replied the\nCaliph, \u201cI promise thee safety from fear and woes.\u201d So the young man\ntold him his story from first to last, whereby the Caliph knew him to be\na lover and severed from his beloved and said to him, \u201cDesirest thou\nthat I restore her to thee?\u201d \u201cThis were of the bounty of the Commander\nof the Faithful,\u201d answered the youth and repeated these two couplets:\u2014\n\n Ne\u2019er cease thy gate be Ka\u2019abah to mankind; \u273f Long may its threshold\n    dust man\u2019s brow beseem!\n That o\u2019er all countries it may be proclaimed, \u273f This is the Place and\n    thou art Ibrahim.[209]\n\nThereupon the Caliph turned to his Minister and said to him, \u201cO Ja\u2019afar,\nbring me thy sister, the Lady Dunya, daughter of the Wazir Yahya bin\nKhalid!\u201d \u201cI hear and I obey,\u201d answered he and fetched her without let or\ndelay. Now when she stood before the Caliph he said to her, \u201cDost thou\nknow who this is?\u201d; and she replied, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, how\nshould women have knowledge of men?\u201d[210] So the Caliph smiled and said,\n\u201cO Dunya, this is thy beloved, Mohammed bin Ali the Jeweller. We are\nacquainted with his case, for we have heard the whole story from\nbeginning to end, and have apprehended its inward and its outward; and\nit is no more hidden from me, for all it was kept in secrecy.\u201d Replied\nshe, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, this was written in the Book of\nDestiny; I crave the forgiveness of Almighty Allah for the wrong I have\nwrought, and pray thee to pardon me of thy favour.\u201d At this the Caliph\nlaughed and, summoning the Kazi and witnesses, renewed the\nmarriage-contract between the Lady Dunya and her husband, Mohammed Ali\nson of the Jeweller whereby there betided them, both her and him the\nutmost felicity, and to their enviers mortification and misery.\nMoreover, he made Mohammed Ali one of his boon-companions, and they\nabode in joy and cheer and gladness, till there came to them the\nDestroyer of delights and the Sunderer of societies. And men also relate\nthe pleasant tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 186:\n\n  Arab. \u201cHarr\u00e1k,\u201d whence probably our \u201cCarack\u201d and \u201cCarrack\u201d (large\n  ship), in dictionaries derived from Carrus Marinus.\n\nFootnote 187:\n\n  Arab. \u201cGh\u00e1shiyah\u201d = lit. an \u00e9tui, a cover; and often a saddle-cover\n  carried by the groom.\n\nFootnote 188:\n\n  Arab. \u201cShar\u00e1b al-tuff\u00e1h\u201d = melapio or cider.\n\nFootnote 189:\n\n  Arab. \u201cMudawwarah,\u201d which generally means a small round cushion, of\n  the Marocco-work well known in England. But one does not strike a\n  cushion for a signal; so we must revert to the original sense of the\n  word \u201csomething round,\u201d as a circular plate of wood or metal, a gong,\n  a \u201cbell\u201d like that of the Eastern Christians.\n\nFootnote 190:\n\n  Arab. \u201cT\u00faf\u00e1n\u201d (from the root tauf, going round) a storm, a circular\n  gale, a cyclone; the term universally applied in Al-Islam to the\n  \u201cDeluge,\u201d the \u201cFlood\u201d of Noah. The word is purely Arabic; with a\n  quaint likeness to the Gr. \u03c4\u03c5\u03c6\u1ff6\u03bd, in Pliny typhon, whirlwind, a giant\n  (Typh\u0153us) whence \u201cTyphon\u201d applied to the great Egyptian god \u201cSet.\u201d The\n  Arab word extended to China and was given to the hurricanes which the\n  people call \u201cTae-foong,\u201d great winds, a second whimsical resemblance.\n  But Sir John Davis (ii. 383) is hardly correct when he says, \u201cthe name\n  typhoon, in itself a corruption of the Chinese term, bears a singular\n  (though we must suppose an accidental) resemblance to the Greek\n  \u03c4\u03c5\u03c6\u1ff6\u03bd.\u201d\n\nFootnote 191:\n\n  Plurale majestatis acting superlative; not as Lane supposes (ii. 224)\n  \u201ca number of full moons, not only one.\u201d Eastern tongues abound in\n  instances beginning with Genesis (i. 1), \u201cGods (he) created the\n  heaven,\u201d etc. It is still preserved in Badawi language and a wildling\n  greatly to the astonishment of the citizens will address his friend\n  \u201cY\u00e1 Rij\u00e1l\u201d = O men!\n\nFootnote 192:\n\n  Arab. \u201cH\u00e1sid\u201d = an envier: in the fourth couplet \u201cAz\u00fal\u201d (Azz\u00e1l, etc.)\n  = a chider, blamer; elsewhere \u201cLaww\u00e1m\u201d = accuser, censor, slanderer;\n  \u201cW\u00e1sh\u00ed\u201d = whisperer, informer; \u201cRakib\u201d = spying, envious rival;\n  \u201cGh\u00e1bit\u201d = one emulous without envy; and \u201cSh\u00e1mit\u201d = a \u201cblue\u201d (fierce)\n  enemy who rejoices over another\u2019s calamities. Arabic literature\n  abounds in allusions to this unpleasant category of \u201cdamned\n  ill-natured friends;\u201d and Spanish and Portuguese letters, including\n  Brazilian, have thoroughly caught the trick. In the Eastern mind the\n  \u201cblamer\u201d would be aided by the \u201cevil eye.\u201d\n\nFootnote 193:\n\n  Another plural for a singular, \u201cO my beloved!\u201d\n\nFootnote 194:\n\n  Arab. \u201cKhayr\u201d = good news, a euphemistic reply even if the tidings be\n  of the worst.\n\nFootnote 195:\n\n  Abb\u00e1s (from \u2018Abs, being austere; and meaning the \u201cgrim-faced\u201d) son of\n  Abd al-Muttalib; uncle to Mohammed and eponym of the Abbaside\n  Khalifahs. A.D. 749 = 1258.\n\nFootnote 196:\n\n  Kat\u00edl = the Irish \u201ckilt.\u201d\n\nFootnote 197:\n\n  This has been explained as a wazirial title of the time.\n\nFootnote 198:\n\n  The phrase is intelligible in all tongues: in Arabic it is opposed to\n  \u201cdark as night,\u201d \u201cblack as mud\u201d and a host of unsavoury antitheses.\n\nFootnote 199:\n\n  Arab. \u201cAww\u00e1dah,\u201d the popular word; not Ud\u00edyyah as in Night cclvi. \u201cUd\u201d\n  liter. = wood and \u201cAl-Ud\u201d = the wood is, I have noted, the origin of\n  our \u201clute.\u201d The Span. \u201claud\u201d is larger and deeper than the guitar, and\n  its seven strings are played upon with a plectrum of buffalo-horn.\n\nFootnote 200:\n\n  Arab. \u201cTabban lahu!\u201d = loss (or ruin) to him. So \u201cbu\u2019dan lahu\u201d = away\n  with him, abeat in malam rem; and \u201cSuhkan lahu\u201d = Allah and mercy be\n  far from him, no hope for him!\n\nFootnote 201:\n\n  Arab. \u201c\u00c1yah\u201d = Koranic verset, sign, miracle.\n\nFootnote 202:\n\n  The mole on cheek calls to prayers for his preservation; and it is\n  black as Bilal the Abyssinian. Fajran may here mean either \u201cA-morning\u201d\n  or \u201cdeparting from grace.\u201d\n\nFootnote 203:\n\n  _i.e._ the young beard (myrtle) can never hope to excel the beauties\n  of his cheeks (roses).\n\nFootnote 204:\n\n  _i.e._ Hell and Heaven.\n\nFootnote 205:\n\n  The first couplet is not in the Mac. Edit. (ii. 171) which gives only\n  a single couplet; but it is found in the Bres. Edit. which entitles\n  this tale \u201cStory of the lying (or false = k\u00e1zib) Khal\u00edfah.\u201d Lane (ii.\n  392) of course does not translate it.\n\nFootnote 206:\n\n  In the East cloth of frieze that mates with cloth of gold must expect\n  this treatment. Fath Ali Shah\u2019s daughters always made their husbands\n  enter the nuptial bed by the foot end.\n\nFootnote 207:\n\n  This is always done and for two reasons; the first humanity, that the\n  blow may fall unawares; and, secondly, to prevent the sufferer\n  wincing, which would throw out the headsman.\n\nFootnote 208:\n\n  Arab. \u201cMa\u2019\u00e1ni-h\u00e1,\u201d lit. her meanings, _i.e._ her inner woman opposed\n  to the formal seen by every one.\n\nFootnote 209:\n\n  Described in my Pilgrimage (iii. 168, 174 and 175): it is the stone\n  upon which the Patriarch stood when he built the Ka\u2019abah and is said\n  to show the impress of the feet; but unfortunately I could not afford\n  five dollars entrance-fee. Caliph Omar placed the station where it now\n  is; before his time it adjoined the Ka\u2019abah. The meaning of the text\n  is, Be thy court a place of pious visitation, etc. At the \u201cStation of\n  Abraham\u201d prayer is especially blessed and expects to be granted. \u201cThis\n  is the place where Abraham stood; and whoever entereth therein shall\n  be safe\u201d (Koran ii. 119). For the other fifteen places where petitions\n  are favourably heard by Heaven see ibid. iii. 211-12.\n\nFootnote 210:\n\n  As in the West, so in the East, women answer an unpleasant question by\n  a counter-question.\n\n\n\n\n                            ALI THE PERSIAN.\n\n\nIt is said that the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, being restless one night,\nsent for his Wazir and said to him, \u201cO Ja\u2019afar, I am sore wakeful and\nheavy-hearted this night, and I desire of thee what may solace my spirit\nand cause my breast to broaden with amusement.\u201d Quoth Ja\u2019afar, \u201cO\nCommander of the Faithful, I have a friend, by name Ali the Persian, who\nhath store of tales and pleasant stories, such as lighten the heart and\nmake care depart.\u201d Quoth the Caliph, \u201cFetch him to me,\u201d and quoth\nJa\u2019afar, \u201cHearkening and obedience;\u201d and, going out from before him,\nsent to seek Ali the Persian and when he came said to him, \u201cAnswer the\nsummons of the Commander of the Faithful.\u201d \u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d\nanswered Ali;\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say\nher permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Persian\nreplied, \u201cTo hear is to obey;\u201d and at once followed the Wazir into the\npresence of the Caliph who bade him be seated and said to him, \u201cO Ali,\nmy heart is heavy within me this night and it hath come to my ear that\nthou hast great store of tales and anecdotes; so I desire of thee that\nthou let me hear what will relieve my despondency and brighten my\nmelancholy.\u201d Said he, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, shall I tell thee\nwhat I have seen with my eyes or what I have heard with my ears?\u201d He\nreplied, \u201cAn thou have seen aught worth the telling, let me hear that.\u201d\nReplied Ali:\u2014Hearkening and obedience. Know thou, O Commander of the\nFaithful, that some years ago I left this my native city of Baghdad on a\njourney, having with me a lad who carried a light leathern bag.\nPresently we came to a certain city, where, as I was buying and selling\nbehold, a rascally Kurd fell on me and seized my wallet perforce,\nsaying, \u201cThis is my bag, and all which is in it is my property.\u201d\nThereupon, I cried aloud \u201cHo Moslems,[211] one and all, deliver me from\nthe hand of the vilest of oppressors!\u201d But the folk said, \u201cCome, both of\nyou, to the Kazi and abide ye by his judgement with joint consent.\u201d So I\nagreed to submit myself to such decision and we both presented ourselves\nbefore the Kazi, who said, \u201cWhat bringeth you hither and what is your\ncase and your quarrel?\u201d Quoth I, \u201cWe are men at difference, who appeal\nto thee and make complaint and submit ourselves to thy judgement.\u201d Asked\nthe Kazi, \u201cWhich of you is the complainant?\u201d; so the Kurd came\nforward[212] and said, \u201cAllah preserve our lord the Kazi! Verily, this\nbag is my bag and all that is in it is my swag. It was lost from me and\nI found it with this man mine enemy.\u201d The Kazi asked, \u201cWhen didst thou\nlose it?\u201d; and the Kurd answered, \u201cBut yesterday, and I passed a\nsleepless night by reason of its loss.\u201d \u201cAnd it be thy bag,\u201d quoth the\nKazi, \u201ctell me what is in it.\u201d Quoth the Kurd, \u201cThere were in my bag two\nsilver styles for eye-powder and antimony for the eyes and a kerchief\nfor the hands, wherein I had laid two gilt cups and two candlesticks.\nMoreover it contained two tents and two platters and two spoons and a\ncushion and two leather rugs and two ewers and a brass tray and two\nbasins and a cooking-pot and two water-jars and a ladle and a\nsacking-needle and a she-cat and two bitches and a wooden trencher and\ntwo sacks and two saddles and a gown and two fur pelisses and a cow and\ntwo calves and a she-goat and two sheep and an ewe and two lambs and two\ngreen pavilions and a camel and two she-camels and a lioness and two\nlions and a she-bear and two jackals and a mattrass and two sofas and an\nupper chamber and two saloons and a portico and two sitting-rooms and a\nkitchen with two doors and a company of Kurds who will bear witness that\nthe bag is my bag.\u201d Then said the Kazi to me, \u201cAnd thou, sirrah, what\nsayest thou?\u201d So I came forward, O commander of the Faithful (and indeed\nthe Kurd\u2019s speech had bewildered me) and said, \u201cAllah advance our lord\nthe Kazi! Verily, there was naught in this my wallet, save a little\nruined tenement and another without a door and a dog-house and a boys\u2019\nschool and youths playing dice and tents and tent-ropes and the cities\nof Bassorah and Baghdad and the palace of Shaddad bin Ad and an\nironsmith\u2019s forge and a fishing-net and cudgels and pickets and girls\nand boys and a thousand pimps who will testify that the bag is my bag.\u201d\nNow when the Kurd heard my words, he wept and wailed and said, \u201cO my\nlord the Kazi, this my bag is known and what is in it is a matter of\nrenown; for in this bag there be castles and citadels and cranes and\nbeasts of prey and men playing chess and draughts. Furthermore, in this\nmy bag is a brood-mare and two colts and a stallion and two blood-steeds\nand two long lances; and it containeth eke a lion and two hares and a\ncity and two villages and a whore and two sharking panders and an\nhermaphrodite and two gallows-birds and a blind man and two wights with\ngood sight and a limping cripple and two lameters and a Christian\necclesiastic and two deacons and a patriarch and two monks and a Kazi\nand two assessors, who will be evidence that the bag is my bag.\u201d Quoth\nthe Kazi to me, \u201cAnd what sayst thou, O Ali?\u201d So, O Commander of the\nFaithful, being filled with rage, I came forward and said, \u201cAllah keep\nour lord the Kazi!\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nsaying her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Persian\ncontinued:\u2014So being filled with rage, O Commander of the Faithful, I\ncame forward and said, \u201cAllah keep our lord the Kazi! I had in this my\nwallet a coat of mail and a broadsword and armouries and a thousand\nfighting rams and a sheep-fold with its pasturage and a thousand barking\ndogs and gardens and vines and flowers and sweet smelling herbs and figs\nand apples and statues and pictures and flagons and goblets and\nfair-faced slave-girls and singing-women and marriage-feasts and tumult\nand clamour and great tracts of land and brothers of success, which were\nrobbers, and a company of daybreak-raiders with swords and spears and\nbows and arrows and true friends and dear ones and intimates and\ncomrades and men imprisoned for punishment and cup-companions and a drum\nand flutes and flags and banners and boys and girls and brides (in all\ntheir wedding bravery), and singing-girls and five Abyssinian women and\nthree Hindi maidens and four damsels of Al-Medinah and a score of Greek\ngirls and eighty Kurdish dames and seventy Georgian ladies and Tigris\nand Euphrates and a fowling net and a flint and steel and many-columned\nIram and a thousand rogues and pimps and horse-courses and stables and\nmosques and baths and a builder and a carpenter and a plank and a nail\nand a black slave with his flageolet and a captain and a caravan-leader\nand towns and cities and an hundred thousand dinars and Cufa and\nAnb\u00e1r[213] and twenty chests full of stuffs and twenty store-houses for\nvictual and Gaza and Askalon and from Damietta to Al-Saw\u00e1n[214]; and the\npalace of Kisra Anushirw\u00e1n and the kingdom of Solomon and from Wadi\nNu\u2019um\u00e1n to the land of Khoras\u00e1n and Balkh and Ispah\u00e1n and from India to\nthe Sud\u00e1n. Therein also (may Allah prolong the life of our lord the\nKazi!) are doublets and cloths and a thousand sharp razors to shave off\nthe Kazi\u2019s beard, except he fear my resentment and adjudge the bag to be\nmy bag.\u201d Now when the Kazi heard what I and the Kurd avouched, he was\nconfounded and said, \u201cI see ye twain be none other than two pestilent\nfellows, atheistical villains who make sport of Kazis and magistrates\nand stand not in fear of reproach. Never did tongue tell nor ear hear\naught more extraordinary than that which ye pretend. By Allah, from\nChina to Shajarat Umm Ghayl\u00e1n, nor from Fars to Sudan nor from Wadi\nNu\u2019uman to Khorasan, was ever heard the like of what ye avouch or\ncredited the like of what ye affirm. Say, fellows, be this bag a\nbottomless sea or the Day of Resurrection that shall gather together the\njust and unjust?\u201d Then the Kazi bade them open the bag; so I opened it\nand behold, there was in it bread and a lemon and cheese and olives. So\nI threw the bag down before the Kurd and ganged my gait. Now when the\nCaliph heard this tale from Ali the Persian, he laughed till he fell on\nhis back and made him a handsome present.[215] And men also relate a\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 211:\n\n  This \u201cCry of Haro\u201d often occurs throughout The Nights. In real life it\n  is sure to collect a crowd, especially if an Infidel (non-Moslem) be\n  its cause.\n\nFootnote 212:\n\n  In the East a cunning fellow always makes himself the claimant or\n  complainant.\n\nFootnote 213:\n\n  On the Euphrates some 40 miles west of Baghdad. The word is written\n  \u201cAnb\u00e1r\u201d and pronounced \u201cAmb\u00e1r\u201d as usual with the \u201cn\u201d before \u201cb\u201d; the\n  case of the Greek double Gamma.\n\nFootnote 214:\n\n  Syene on the Nile.\n\nFootnote 215:\n\n  The tale is in the richest Rabelaisian humour; and the requisitions of\n  the \u201cSaj\u2019a\u201d (rhymed prose) in places explain the grotesque\n  combinations. It is difficult to divine why Lane omits it; probably he\n  held a hearty laugh not respectable.\n\n\n\n\n   TALE OF HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE SLAVE-GIRL AND THE IMAM ABU YUSUF.\n\n\nIt is said that Ja\u2019afar the Barmecide was one night carousing with\nAl-Rashid, who said, \u201cO Ja\u2019afar, it hath reached me that thou hast\nbought such and such a slave-girl. Now I have long sought her for she is\npassing fair; and my heart is taken up with love of her, so do thou sell\nher to me.\u201d He replied, \u201cI will not sell her, O Commander of the\nFaithful.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cThen give her to me.\u201d Quoth the other, \u201cNor will I\ngive her.\u201d Then Al-Rashid exclaimed, \u201cBe Zubaydah triply divorced an\nthou shall not either sell or give her to me!\u201d Then Ja\u2019afar, exclaimed,\n\u201cBe my wife triply divorced an I either sell or give her to thee!\u201d After\nawhile they recovered from their tipsiness and were aware of having\nfallen into a grave dilemma, but knew not by what device to extricate\nthemselves. Then said Al-Rashid, \u201cNone can help us in this strait but\nAb\u00fa Y\u00fasuf.\u201d[216] So they sent for him, and this was in the middle of the\nnight; and when the messenger reached him, he arose in alarm, saying to\nhimself, \u201cI should not be sent for at this tide and time, save by reason\nof some question of moment to Al-Islam.\u201d So he went out in haste and\nmounted his she-mule, saying to his servant, \u201cTake the mule\u2019s nose-bag\nwith thee; it may be she hath not finished her feed; and when we come to\nthe Caliph\u2019s palace, put the bag on her, that she may eat what is left\nof her fodder, during the last of the night.\u201d And the man replied, \u201cI\nhear and obey.\u201d Now when the Imam was admitted to the presence,\nAl-Rashid rose to receive him and seated him on the couch beside himself\n(where he was wont to seat none save the Kazi), and said to him, \u201cWe\nhave not sent for thee at this untimely time and tide save to advise us\nupon a grave matter, which is such and such and wherewith we know not\nhow to deal.\u201d And he expounded to him the case. Abu Yusuf answered, \u201cO\nCommander of the Faithful, this is the easiest of things.\u201d Then he\nturned to Ja\u2019afar and said, \u201cO Ja\u2019afar, sell half of her to the\nCommander of the Faithful and give him the other half; so shall ye both\nbe quit of your oaths.\u201d The Caliph was delighted with this and both did\nas he prescribed. Then said Al-Rashid, \u201cBring me the girl at once,\u201d\u2014\n\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted\nsay.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph Harun\nal-Rashid commanded, \u201cBring me the girl at once, for I long for her\nexceedingly.\u201d So they brought her and the Caliph said to Abu Yusuf, \u201cI\nhave a mind to have her forthright; for I cannot bear to abstain from\nher during the prescribed period of purification; now how is this to be\ndone?\u201d Abu Yusuf replied, \u201cBring me one of thine own male slaves who\nhath never been manumitted.\u201d So they brought one and Abu Yusuf said,\n\u201cGive me leave to marry her to him; then let him divorce her before\nconsummation; and thus shall it be lawful for thee to lie with her\nbefore purification.\u201d This second expedient pleased the Caliph yet more\nthan the first; he sent for the Mameluke and, whenas he came, said to\nthe Kazi, \u201cI authorise thee to marry her to him.\u201d So the Imam proposed\nthe marriage to the slave, who accepted it and performed the ceremony;\nafter which he said to the slave, \u201cDivorce her, and thou shalt have an\nhundred dinars.\u201d But he replied, \u201cI won\u2019t do this;\u201d and the Imam went on\nto increase his offer, and the slave to refuse till he bid him a\nthousand dinars. Then the man asked him, \u201cDoth it rest with me to\ndivorce her, or with thee or with the Commander of the Faithful?\u201d He\nanswered, \u201cIt is in thy hand.\u201d \u201cThen by Allah,\u201d quoth the slave, \u201cI will\nnever do it; no, never!\u201d Hearing these words the Caliph was exceeding\nwroth and said to the Imam, \u201cWhat is to be done, O Abu Yusuf?\u201d Replied\nhe, \u201cBe not concerned, O Commander of the Faithful; the thing is easy.\nMake this slave the damsel\u2019s chattel.\u201d Quoth Al-Rashid, \u201cI give him to\nher;\u201d and the Imam said to the girl, \u201cSay:\u2014I accept.\u201d So she said, \u201cI\naccept;\u201d whereon quoth Abu Yusuf, \u201cI pronounce separation from bed and\nboard and divorce between them, for that he hath become her property,\nand so the marriage is annulled.\u201d With this, Al-Rashid rose to his feet\nand exclaimed, \u201cIt is the like of thee that shall be Kazi in my time.\u201d\nThen he called for sundry trays of gold and emptied them before Abu\nYusuf, to whom he said, \u201cHast thou wherein to put this?\u201d The Imam\nbethought him of the mule\u2019s nose-bag; so he sent for it and, filling it\nwith gold, took it and went home. And on the morrow, he said to his\nfriends, \u201cThere is no easier nor shorter road to the goods of this world\nand the next, than that of religious learning; for, see, I have gotten\nall this money by answering two or three questions.\u201d So consider thou, O\npolite reader,[217] the pleasantness of this anecdote, for it compriseth\ndivers goodly features, amongst which are the complaisance of Ja\u2019afar to\nAl-Rashid, and the wisdom of the Caliph who chose such a Kazi and the\nexcellent learning of Abu Yusuf, may Almighty Allah have mercy on their\nsouls one and all! And they also tell the\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 216:\n\n  A lawyer of the eighth century, one of the chief pupils of the Imam\n  Abu Hanifah, and Kazi of Baghdad under the third, fourth and fifth\n  Abbasides. The tale is told in the quasi-historical Persian work\n  \u201cNig\u00e1rist\u00e1n\u201d (The Picture-gallery), and is repeated by Richardson,\n  Diss. 7, xiii. None seem to have remarked that the distinguished\n  legist, Abu Yusuf, was on this occasion a law-breaker; the Kazi\u2019s duty\n  being to carry out the code, not to break it by the tricks of a\n  cunning attorney. In Harun\u2019s day, however, some regard was paid to\n  justice; not under his successors, one of whom, Al-Muktadir bi\u2019ll\u00e1h\n  (A.H. 295 = 907), made the damsel Yamika President of the Diw\u00e1n\n  al-Maz\u00e1lim (Court of the Wronged), a tribunal which took cognizance of\n  tyranny and oppression in high places.\n\nFootnote 217:\n\n  Here the writer evidently forgets that Shahrazad is telling the story\n  to the King, as Boccaccio (ii. 7) forgets that Pamfilo is speaking.\n  Such inconsequences are common in Eastern story-books and a\n  goody-goody sentiment is always heartily received as in an English\n  theatre.\n\n\n\n\n             TALE OF THE LOVER WHO FEIGNED HIMSELF A THIEF.\n\n\nWhen Kh\u00e1lid ibn Abdallah al-Kasri[218] was Emir of Bassorah, there came\nto him one day a company of men dragging a youth of exceeding beauty and\nlofty bearing and perfumed attire; whose aspect expressed good breeding,\nabundant wit and dignity of the gravest. They brought him before the\nGovernor, who asked what it was and they replied, \u201cThis fellow is a\nthief, whom we caught last night in our dwelling-house.\u201d Whereupon\nKhalid looked at him and was pleased with his well-favouredness and\nelegant aspect; so he said to the others, \u201cLoose him,\u201d and going up to\nthe young man, asked what he had to say for himself. He replied, \u201cVerily\nthe folk have spoken truly and the case is as they have said.\u201d Quoth\nKhalid, \u201cAnd what moved thee to this and thou so noble of port and\ncomely of mien?\u201d Quoth the other \u201cThe lust after worldly good, and the\nordinance of Allah (extolled and exalted be He!).\u201d Rejoined Khalid, \u201cBe\nthy mother bereaved of thee![219] Hadst thou not, in thy fair face and\nsound sense and good breeding, what should restrain thee from thieving?\u201d\nAnswered the young man, \u201cO Emir, leave this talk and proceed to what\nAlmighty Allah hath ordained; this is what my hands have earned, and,\n\u2018God is not unjust towards mankind.\u2019\u201d[220] So Khalid was silent awhile\nconsidering the matter; then he bade the young man draw near him and\nsaid, \u201cVerily, thy confession before witnesses perplexeth me, for I\ncannot believe thee to be a thief: haply thou hast some story that is\nother than one of theft; and if so tell it me.\u201d Replied the youth, \u201cO\nEmir, imagine naught other than what I have confessed to in thy\npresence; for I have no tale to tell save that verily I entered these\nfolks\u2019 house and stole what I could lay hands on, and they caught me and\ntook the stuff from me and carried me before thee.\u201d Then Khalid bade\nclap him in gaol and commanded a crier to cry throughout Bassorah, \u201cO\nyes! O yes! Whoso be minded to look upon the punishment of such an one,\nthe thief, and the cutting-off of his hand, let him be present to-morrow\nmorning at such a place!\u201d Now when the young man found himself in\nprison, with irons on his feet, he sighed heavily and with tears\nstreaming from his eyes extemporised these couplets:\u2014\n\n When Kh\u00e1lid menaced off to strike my hand \u273f If I refuse to tell him of\n    her case;\n Quoth I, \u201cFar, far fro\u2019 me that I should tell \u273f A love, which ever shall\n    my heart engrace;\n Loss of my hand for sin I have confessed \u273f To me were easier than to\n    shame her face.\u201d\n\nThe warders heard him and went and told Khalid who, when it was dark\nnight, sent for the youth and conversed with him. He found him clever\nand well-bred, intelligent, lively and a pleasant companion; so he\nordered him food and he ate. Then after an hour\u2019s talk said Khalid, \u201cI\nknow indeed thou hast a story to tell that is no thief\u2019s; so when the\nKazi shall come to-morrow morning and shall question thee about this\nrobbery, do thou deny the charge of theft and avouch what may avert the\npain and penalty of cutting off thy hand; for the Apostle (whom Allah\nbless and keep!) saith:\u2014In cases of doubt, eschew punishment.\u201d Then he\nsent him back to prison\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Khalid, after\nconversing with the youth, sent him back to prison, where he passed the\nnight. And when morning dawned the folk assembled to see his hand cut\noff, nor was there a soul in Bassorah, man or woman, but was present to\nlook upon the punishment of that handsome youth. Then Khalid mounted in\ncompany of the notables of the city and others; and, summoning all four\nKazis, sent for the young man, who came hobbling and stumbling in his\nfetters. There was none saw him but wept over him and the women all\nlifted up their voices in lamentation as for the dead. Then the Kazi\nbade silence the women and said to the prisoner, \u201cThese folk avouch that\nthou didst enter their dwelling-house and steal their goods: belike thou\nstolest less than a quarter dinar[221]?\u201d Replied he, \u201cNay, I stole that\nand more.\u201d \u201cPeradventure,\u201d rejoined the Kazi, \u201cthou art partner with the\nfolk in some of the goods?\u201d Quoth the young man; \u201cNot so: it was all\ntheirs, and I had no right in it.\u201d At this the Khalid was wroth and rose\nand smote him on the face with his whip, applying to his own case this\ncouplet:\u2014\n\n Man wills his wish to him accorded be; \u273f But Allah naught accords save\n    what He wills.\n\nThen he called for the butcher to do the work, who came and drew forth\nhis knife and taking the prisoner\u2019s hand set the blade to it, when,\nbehold, a damsel pressed through the crowd of women clad in tattered\nclothes,[222] and cried out and threw herself on the young man. Then she\nunveiled and showed a face like the moon; whereupon the people raised a\nmighty clamour and there was like to have been a riot amongst them and a\nviolent scene. But she cried out her loudest, saying, \u201cI conjure thee,\nby Allah, O Emir, hasten not to cut off this man\u2019s hand, till thou have\nread what is in this scroll!\u201d So saying, she gave him a scroll, and\nKhalid took it and opened it and read therein these couplets:\u2014\n\n \u201cAh Khalid! this one is a slave of love distraught, \u273f And these bowed\n    eyelashes sent shaft that caused his grief:\n Shot him an arrow sped by eyes of mine, for he, \u273f Wedded to burning\n    love, of ills hath no relief:\n He hath avowed a deed he never did, the while \u273f Deeming this better than\n    disgrace of lover lief:\n Bear then, I pray, with this distracted lover mine \u273f Whose noble nature\n    falsely calls himself a thief!\u201d\n\nWhen Khalid had read these lines; he withdrew himself from the people\nand summoned the girl and questioned her; and she told him that the\nyoung man was her lover and she his mistress; and that thinking to visit\nher he came to the dwelling of her people and threw a stone into the\nhouse, to warn her of his coming. Her father and brothers heard the\nnoise of the stone and sallied out on him; but he, hearing them coming,\ncaught up all the household stuff and made himself appear a robber to\ncover his mistress\u2019s honour. \u201cNow when they saw him they seized him\n(continued she), crying:\u2014A thief! and brought him before thee, whereupon\nhe confessed to the robbery and persisted in his confession, that he\nmight spare me disgrace; and this he did, making himself a thief, of the\nexceeding nobility and generosity of his nature.\u201d Khalid answered, \u201cHe\nis indeed worthy to have his desire;\u201d and, calling the young man to him,\nkissed him between the eyes. Then he sent for the girl\u2019s father and\nbespoke him, saying, \u201cO Shaykh, we thought to carry out the law of\nmutilation in the case of this young man; but Allah (to whom be Honour\nand Glory!) hath preserved us from this, and I now adjudge him the sum\nof ten thousand dirhams, for that he would have given his hand for the\npreservation of thine honour and that of thy daughter and for the\nsparing of shame to you both. Moreover, I adjudge other ten thousand\ndirhams to thy daughter, for that she made known to me the truth of the\ncase; and I ask thy leave to marry her to him.\u201d Rejoined the old man, \u201cO\nEmir, thou hast my consent.\u201d So Khalid praised Allah and thanked Him and\nimproved the occasion by preaching a goodly sermon and a prayerful;\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Khalid praised\nAllah and thanked Him and improved the occasion by preaching a goodly\nsermon and a prayerful; after which he said to the young man, \u201cI give\nthee to wife the damsel, such an one here present, with her own\npermission and her father\u2019s consent; and her wedding settlement shall be\nthis money, to wit, ten thousand dirhams.\u201d \u201cI accept this marriage at\nthy hands,\u201d replied the youth; and Khalid bade them carry the money on\nbrass trays in procession to the young man\u2019s house, whilst the people\ndispersed, fully satisfied. \u201cAnd surely (quoth he who tells the\ntale[223]) never saw I a rarer day than this, for that it began with\ntears and annoy; and it ended with smiles and joy.\u201d And in contrast of\nthis story is this piteous tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 218:\n\n  In the Mac. Edit. (ii. 182) \u201cAl-Kushayri.\u201d Al-Kasri was Governor of\n  the two Iraks (_i.e._ Bassorah and Cufa) in the reign of Al-Hisham,\n  tenth Ommiade (A.D. 723-741).\n\nFootnote 219:\n\n  Arab. \u201cThakalata-k Ummak!\u201d This is not so much a curse as a playful\n  phrase, like \u201cConfound the fellow.\u201d So \u201cK\u00e1tala-k Allah\u201d (Allah slay\n  thee) and \u201cL\u00e1 ab\u00e1 lak\u201d (thou hast no father or mother). These words\n  are even complimentary on occasions, as a good shot or a fine\n  recitation, meaning that the praised far excels the rest of his tribe.\n\nFootnote 220:\n\n  Koran, iii. 178.\n\nFootnote 221:\n\n  Arab. \u201cAl-Nis\u00e1b\u201d = the minimum sum (about half-a-crown) for which\n  mutilation of the hand is prescribed by religious law. The punishment\n  was truly barbarous, it chastised a rogue by means which prevented\n  hard honest labour for the rest of his life.\n\nFootnote 222:\n\n  To show her grief.\n\nFootnote 223:\n\n  Ab\u00fa Sa\u2019\u00edd Abd al-Malik bin Kurayb, surnamed Al-Asma\u2019i from his\n  grandfather, flor. A.H. 122-306 (= 739-830) and wrote amongst a host\n  of compositions the well-known Romance of Antar. See in D\u2019Herbelot the\n  right royal directions given to him by Harun al-Rashid.\n\n\n\n\n               JA\u2019AFAR THE BARMECIDE AND THE BEAN-SELLER.\n\n\nWhen Harun al-Rashid crucified Ja\u2019afar the Barmecide[224] he commanded\nthat all who wept or made moan for him should also be crucified; so the\nfolk abstained from that. Now it chanced that a wild Arab, who dwelt in\na distant wold, used every year to bring to the aforesaid Ja\u2019afar an\node[225] in his honour, for which he rewarded him with a thousand\ndinars; and the Badawi took them and, returning to his own country,\nlived upon them, he and his family, for the rest of the year.\nAccordingly, he came with his ode at the wonted time and, finding that\nJa\u2019afar had been crucified, betook himself to the place where his body\nwas hanging, and there made his camel kneel down and wept with sore\nweeping and mourned with grievous mourning; and he recited his ode and\nfell asleep. Presently Ja\u2019afar the Barmecide appeared to him in a vision\nand said, \u201cVerily thou hast wearied thyself to come to us and findest us\nas thou seest; but go to Bassorah and ask for a man there whose name is\nsuch and such, one of the merchants of the town, and say to\nhim:\u2014Ja\u2019afar, the Barmecide, saluteth thee and biddeth thee give me a\nthousand dinars, by the token of the bean.\u201d Now when the wild Arab\nawoke, he repaired to Bassorah, where he sought out the merchant and\nfound him and repeated to him what Ja\u2019afar had said in the dream;\nwhereupon he wept with weeping so sore that he was like to depart the\nworld. Then he welcomed the Badawi and seated him by his side and made\nhis stay pleasant and entertained him three days as an honoured guest;\nand when he was minded to depart he gave him a thousand and five hundred\ndinars, saying, \u201cThe thousand are what is commanded to thee, and the\nfive hundred are a gift from me to thee; and every year thou shalt have\nof me a thousand gold pieces.\u201d Now when the Arab was about to take\nleave, he said to the merchant, \u201cAllah upon thee, tell me the story of\nthe bean, that I may know the origin of all this.\u201d He answered:\u2014In the\nearly part of my life I was poor and hawked hot beans[226] about the\nstreets of Baghdad to keep me alive. So I went out one raw and rainy\nday, without clothes enough on my body to protect me from the weather;\nnow shivering for excess of cold and now stumbling into the pools of\nrain-water, and altogether in so piteous a plight as would make me\nshudder with goose-skin to look upon. But it chanced that Ja\u2019afar that\nday was seated with his officers and his concubines, in an upper chamber\noverlooking the street when his eyes fell on me; so he took pity on my\ncase and, sending one of his dependents to fetch me to him, said as soon\nas he saw me, \u201cSell thy beans to my people.\u201d So I began to mete out the\nbeans with a measure I had by me; and each who took a measure of beans\nfilled the measure with gold pieces till all my store was gone and my\nbasket was clean empty. Then I gathered together the gold I had gotten,\nand Ja\u2019afar said to me, \u201cHast thou any beans left?\u201d \u201cI know not,\u201d\nanswered I, and then sought in the basket, but found only one bean. So\nJa\u2019afar took from me the single bean and, splitting it in twain, kept\none half himself and gave the other to one of his concubines, saying,\n\u201cFor how much wilt thou buy this half bean?\u201d She replied, \u201cFor the tale\nof all this gold twice-told;\u201d whereat I was confounded and said to\nmyself, \u201cThis is impossible.\u201d But, as I stood wondering, behold, she\ngave an order to one of her handmaids and the girl brought me the sum of\nthe collected monies twice-told. Then said Ja\u2019afar, \u201cAnd I will buy the\nhalf I have by me for double the sum of the whole,\u201d presently adding,\n\u201cNow take the price of thy bean.\u201d And he gave an order to one of his\nservants, who gathered together the whole of the money and laid it in my\nbasket; and I took it and went my ways. Then I betook myself to\nBassorah, where I traded with the monies and Allah prospered me amply,\nto Him be the praise and the thanks! So, if I give thee every year a\nthousand dinars of the bounty of Ja\u2019afar, it will in no wise injure me.\nConsider then the munificence of Ja\u2019afar\u2019s nature and how he was praised\nboth alive and dead, the mercy of Allah Almighty be upon him! And men\nalso recount the tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 224:\n\n  There are many accounts of his death; but it is generally held that he\n  was first beheaded. The story in the text is also variously told and\n  the Persian \u201cNig\u00e1rist\u00e1n\u201d adds some unpleasant comments upon the House\n  of Abbas. The Persians, for reasons which will be explained in the\n  terminal Essay, show the greatest sympathy with the Barmecides; and\n  abominate the Abbasides even more than the latter detested the\n  Ommiades.\n\nFootnote 225:\n\n  Not written, as the European reader would suppose.\n\nFootnote 226:\n\n  Arab. \u201cF\u00fal al-h\u00e1rr\u201d = beans like horsebeans soaked and boiled as\n  opposed to the \u201cF\u00fal Mudammas\u201d (esp. of Egypt) = unshelled beans\n  steamed and boiled all night and eaten with linseed oil as \u201ckitchen\u201d\n  or relish. Lane (M. E., chapt. v.) calls them after the debased\n  Cairene pronunciation, Mudemmes. A legend says that, before the days\n  of Pharaoh (always he of Moses), the Egyptians lived on pistachios\n  which made them a witty, lively race. But the tyrant remarking that\n  the domestic ass, which eats beans, is degenerate from the wild ass,\n  uprooted the pistachio-trees and compelled the lieges to feed on beans\n  which made them a heavy, gross, cowardly people fit only for burdens.\n  Badawis deride \u201cbean-eaters\u201d although they do not loathe the pulse\n  like onions. The principal result of a bean diet is an extraordinary\n  development of flatulence both in stomach and intestines: hence,\n  possibly, Pythagoras who had studied ceremonial purity in Egypt,\n  forbade the use, unless he referred to venery or political business. I\n  was once sitting in the Greek quarter of Cairo dressed as a Moslem\n  when arose a prodigious hubbub of lads and boys, surrounding a couple\n  of Fellahs. These men had been working in the fields about a mile east\n  of Cairo; and, when returning home, one had said to the other, \u201cIf\n  thou wilt carry the hoes I will break wind once for every step we\n  take.\u201d He was as good as his word and when they were to part he cried,\n  \u201cAnd now for thy bakhshish!\u201d which consisted of a volley of fifty,\n  greatly to the delight of the boys.\n\n\n\n\n                     ABU MOHAMMED HIGHT LAZYBONES.\n\n\nIt is told that Harun al-Rashid was sitting one day on the throne of the\nCaliphate, when there came in to him a youth of his eunuchry, bearing a\ncrown of red gold, set with pearls and rubies and all manner of other\ngems and jewels, such as money might not buy; and, bussing the ground\nbetween his hands, said, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, the Lady Zubaydah\nkisseth the earth before thee\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased to say her permitted say. Whereupon quoth her sister\nDunyazad, \u201cHow pleasant is thy tale and profitable; and how sweet is thy\nspeech and how delectable!\u201d \u201cAnd where is this,\u201d replied Shahrazad,\n\u201ccompared with what I shall tell you next night an I live and the King\ngrant me leave!\u201d Thereupon quoth the King to himself, \u201cBy Allah, I will\nnot slay her until I hear the end of her tale.\u201d\n\n\n               Now when it was the Three Hundredth Night,\n\nQuoth Dunyazad, \u201cFavour us, O my sister, with thy tale,\u201d and she\nreplied, \u201cWith joy and good will, if the King accord me leave;\u201d\nwhereupon the King said, \u201cTell thy tale, O Shahrazad.\u201d So she\npursued:\u2014It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the youth said to\nthe Caliph, \u201cThe Lady Zubaydah kisseth the earth before thee and saith\nto thee, Thou knowest she hath bidden make this crown, which lacketh a\ngreat jewel for its dome-top; and she hath made search among her\ntreasures, but cannot find a jewel of size to suit her mind.\u201d Quoth the\nCaliph to his Chamberlains and Viceregents, \u201cMake search for a great\njewel, such as Zubaydah desireth.\u201d So they sought, but found nothing\nbefitting her and told the Caliph who, vexed and annoyed thereat,\nexclaimed, \u201cHow am I Caliph and King of the Kings of the earth and\ncannot find so small a matter as a jewel? Woe to you! Ask of the\nmerchants.\u201d So they enquired of the traders, who replied, \u201cOur lord the\nCaliph will not find a jewel such as he requireth save with a man of\nBassorah, by name Ab\u00fa Mohammed hight Lazybones.\u201d Thereupon they\nacquainted the Caliph with this and he bade his Wazir Ja\u2019afar send a\nnote to the Emir Mohammed al-Zubayd\u00ed, Governor of Bassorah, commanding\nhim to equip Abu Mohammed Lazybones and bring him into the presence of\nthe Commander of the Faithful. The Minister accordingly wrote a note to\nthat effect and despatched it by Masrur, who set out forthright for the\ncity of Bassorah, and went in to the Emir Mohammed al-Zubaydi, who\nrejoiced in him and treated him with the highmost honour. Then Masrur\nread him the mandate of the Prince of True Believers, Harun al-Rashid,\nto which he replied, \u201cI hear and I obey,\u201d and forthwith despatched him,\nwith a company of his followers, to Abu Mohammed\u2019s house. When they\nreached it, they knocked at the door, whereupon a page came out and\nMasrur said to him, \u201cTell thy lord, The Commander of the Faithful\nsummoneth thee.\u201d The servant went in and told his master, who came out\nand found Masrur, the Caliph\u2019s Chamberlain, and a company of the\nGovernor\u2019s men at the door. So he kissed ground before Masrur and said,\n\u201cI hear and obey the summons of the Commander of the Faithful; but first\nenter ye my house.\u201d They replied, \u201cWe cannot do that, save in haste;\neven as the Prince of True Believers commanded us, for he awaiteth thy\ncoming.\u201d But he said, \u201cHave patience with me a little, till I set my\naffairs in order.\u201d So after much pressure and abundant persuasion, they\nentered the house with him and found the vestibule hung with curtains of\nazure brocade, purfled with red gold, and Abu Mohammed Lazybones bade\none of his servants carry Masrur to the private Hammam. Now this bath\nwas in the house and Masrur found its walls and floors of rare and\nprecious marbles, wrought with gold and silver, and its waters mingled\nwith rose-water. Then the servants served Masrur and his company with\nthe perfection of service; and, on their going forth of the Hammam, clad\nthem in robes of honour, brocade-work interwoven with gold. And after\nleaving the bath Masrur and his men went in to Abu Mohammed Lazybones\nand found him seated in his upper chamber; and over his head hung\ncurtains of gold-brocade, wrought with pearls and jewels, and the\npavilion was spread with cushions, embroidered in red gold. Now the\nowner was sitting softly upon a quilted cloth covering a settee inlaid\nwith stones of price; and, when he saw Masrur, he went forward to meet\nhim and bidding him welcome, seated him by his side. Then he called for\nthe food-trays; so they brought them, and when Masrur saw the tables, he\nexclaimed, \u201cBy Allah, never did I behold the like of these appointments\nin the palace of the Commander of the Faithful!\u201d For indeed the trays\ncontained every manner of meat all served in dishes of gilded\nporcelain.[227] So we ate and drank and made merry till the end of the\nday (quoth Masrur) when the host gave to each and every of us five\nthousand dinars; and on the morrow he clad us in dresses of honour of\ngreen and gold and entreated us with the utmost worship. Then said\nMasrur to him, \u201cWe can tarry no longer for fear of the Caliph\u2019s\ndispleasure.\u201d Answered Abu Mohammed Lazybones, \u201cO my lord, have patience\nwith us till the morrow, that we may equip ourselves, and we will then\ndepart with you.\u201d So they tarried with him that day and slept the night;\nand next morning Abu Mohammed\u2019s servants saddled him a she-mule with\nselle and trappings of gold, set with all manner of pearls and stones of\nprice; whereupon quoth Masrur to himself, \u201cI wonder when Abu Mohammed\nshall present himself in such equipage, if the Caliph will ask him how\nhe came by all this wealth.\u201d Thereupon they took leave of Al-Zubaydi\nand, setting out from Bassorah, fared on, without ceasing to fare till\nthey reached Baghdad-city and presented themselves before the Caliph,\nwho bade Abu Mohammed be seated. He sat down and addressed the Caliph in\ncourtly phrase, saying, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, I have brought\nwith me an humble offering by way of homage: have I thy gracious\npermission to produce it?\u201d Al-Rashid replied, \u201cThere is no harm in\nthat,\u201d[228] whereupon Abu Mohammed bade his men bring in a chest, from\nwhich he took a number of rarities, and amongst the rest, trees of gold\nwith leaves of white emerald,[229] and fruits of pigeon-blood rubies and\ntopazes and new pearls and bright. And as the Caliph was struck with\nadmiration he fetched a second chest and brought out of it a tent of\nbrocade, crowned with pearls and jacinths and emeralds and jaspers and\nother precious stones; its poles were of freshly-cut Hindi aloes-wood,\nand its skirts were set with the greenest smaragds. Thereon were\ndepicted all manner of animals such as beasts and birds, spangled with\nprecious stones, rubies, emeralds, chrysolites and balasses and every\nkind of precious metal. Now when Al-Rashid saw these things, he rejoiced\nwith exceeding joy and Abu Mohammed Lazybones said to him, \u201cO Commander\nof the Faithful, deem not that I have brought these to thee, fearing\naught or coveting anything; but I knew myself to be but a man of the\npeople and that such things befitted none save the Commander of the\nFaithful. And now, with thy leave, I will show thee, for thy diversion,\nsomething of what I can do.\u201d Al-Rashid replied, \u201cDo what thou wilt, that\nwe may see.\u201d \u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d said Abu Mohammed and, moving his\nlips, beckoned the palace battlements,[230] whereupon they inclined to\nhim; then he made another sign to them, and they returned to their\nplace. Presently he made a sign with his eye, and there appeared before\nhim closets with closed doors, to which he spoke, and lo! the voices of\nbirds answered him from within. The Caliph marvelled with passing marvel\nat this and said to him, \u201cHow camest thou by all this, seeing that thou\nart known only as Abu Mohammed Lazybones, and they tell me that thy\nfather was a cupper, serving in a public Hammam, who left thee nothing?\u201d\nWhereupon he answered, Listen to my story\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n           Now when it was the Three Hundred and First Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu Mohammed\nLazybones thus spake to the Caliph:\u2014O Prince of True Believers, listen\nto my story, for it is a marvellous and its particulars are wondrous;\nwere it graven with graver-needles upon the eye-corners it were a warner\nto whoso would be warned. Quoth Al-Rashid, \u201cLet us hear all thou hast to\nsay, O Abu Mohammed!\u201d So he began:\u2014Know then, O Commander of the\nFaithful (Allah prolong to thee glory and dominion!), the report of the\nfolk, that I am known as the Lazybones and that my father left me\nnothing, is true; for he was, as thou hast said, nothing but a\nbarber-cupper in a Hammam. And I throughout my youth was the idlest\nwight on the face of the earth; indeed, so great was my sluggishness\nthat, if I lay at full length in the sultry season and the sun came\nround upon me, I was too lazy to rise and remove from the sun to the\nshade. And thus I abode till I reached my fifteenth year, when my father\ndeceased in the mercy of Allah Almighty and left me nothing. However, my\nmother used to go out a-charing and feed me and give me to drink, whilst\nI lay on my side. Now it came to pass that one day she came in to me\nwith five silver dirhams, and said to me, \u201cO my son, I hear that Shaykh\nAb\u00fa al-Muzaffar[231] is about to go a voyage to China.\u201d (Now this Shaykh\nwas a good and charitable man who loved the poor.) \u201cSo come, O my son,\ntake these five silver bits; and let us both carry them to him and beg\nhim to buy thee therewith somewhat from the land of China; so haply thou\nmayst make a profit of it by the bounty of Allah, whose name be\nexalted!\u201d I was too idle to move for her; but she swore by the Almighty\nthat, except I rose and went with her, she would bring me neither meat\nnor drink nor come in to me, but would leave me to die of hunger and\nthirst. Now when I heard her words, O Commander of the Faithful, I knew\nshe would do as she threatened for her knowledge of my sluggishness; so\nI said to her, \u201cHelp me to sit up.\u201d She did so, and I wept the while and\nsaid to her, \u201cBring me my shoes.\u201d Accordingly, she brought them and I\nsaid, \u201cPut them on my feet.\u201d She put them on my feet and I said, \u201cLift\nme up off the ground.\u201d So she lifted me up and I said, \u201cSupport me, that\nI may walk.\u201d So she supported me and I continued to fare a-foot, at\ntimes stumbling over my skirts, till we came to the river-bank, where we\nsaluted the Shaykh and I said to him, \u201cO my uncle, art thou Abu\nal-Muzaffar?\u201d \u201cAt thy service,\u201d answered he, and I, \u201cTake these dirhams\nand with them buy me somewhat from the land of China: haply Allah may\nvouchsafe me a profit of it.\u201d Quoth the Shaykh to his companions, \u201cDo ye\nknow this youth?\u201d They answered, \u201cYes, he is known as Abu Mohammed\nLazybones, and we never saw him stir from his house till this moment.\u201d\nThen said he to me, \u201cO my son, give me the silver with the blessing of\nAlmighty Allah!\u201d So he took the money, saying, \u201cBismillah\u2014in the name of\nAllah!\u201d\u2014and I returned home with my mother. Presently Shaykh Abu\nal-Muzaffar set sail, with a company of merchants, and stayed not till\nthey reached the land of China, where he and his bought and sold; and,\nhaving won what they wished, set out on their homeward voyage. When they\nhad been three days at sea, the Shaykh said to his company, \u201cStay the\nvessel!\u201d They asked, \u201cWhat dost thou want?\u201d and he answered, \u201cKnow that\nI have forgotten the commission wherewith Abu Mohammed Lazybones charged\nme; so let us turn back that we may lay out his money on somewhat\nwhereby he may profit.\u201d They cried, \u201cWe conjure thee, by Allah Almighty\nturn not back with us; for we have traversed a long distance and a sore,\nand while so doing we have endured sad hardship and many terrors.\u201d Quoth\nhe, \u201cThere is no help for it but we return;\u201d and they said, \u201cTake from\nus double the profit of the five dirhams, and turn us not back.\u201d He\nagreed to this and they collected for him an ample sum of money.\nThereupon they sailed on, till they came to an island wherein was much\npeople; when they moored thereto and the merchants went ashore, to buy\nthence a stock of precious metals and pearls and jewels and so forth.\nPresently Abu al-Muzaffar saw a man seated, with many apes before him,\nand amongst them one whose hair had been plucked off; and as often as\ntheir owner\u2019s attention was diverted from them, the other apes fell upon\nthe plucked one and beat him and threw him on their master; whereupon\nthe man rose and bashed them and bound them and punished them for this;\nand all the apes were wroth with the plucked ape on this account and\ntunded him the more. When Shaykh Abu al-Muzaffar saw this, he felt for\nand took compassion upon the plucked ape and said to his master, \u201cWilt\nthou sell me yonder monkey?\u201d Replied the man, \u201cBuy,\u201d and Abu al-Muzaffar\nrejoined, \u201cI have with me five dirhams, belonging to an orphan lad. Wilt\nthou sell it me for that sum?\u201d Answered the monkey-merchant, \u201cIt is a\nbargain; and Allah give thee a blessing of him!\u201d So he made over the\nbeast and received his money; and the Shaykh\u2019s slaves took the ape and\ntied him up in the ship. Then they loosed sail and made for another\nisland, where they cast anchor; and there came down divers, who plunged\nfor precious stones, pearls and other gems; so the merchants hired them\nto dive for money and they dived. Now when the ape saw them doing this,\nhe loosed himself from his bonds and, jumping off the ship\u2019s side,\nplunged with them, whereupon quoth Abu al-Muzaffar, \u201cThere is no Majesty\nand there is no Might, save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! The\nmonkey is lost to us with the luck of the poor fellow for whom we bought\nhim.\u201d And they despaired of him; but, after a while, the company of\ndivers rose to the surface, and behold, among them was the ape, with his\nhands full of jewels of price, which he threw down before Abu\nal-Muzaffar. The Shaykh marvelled at this and said, \u201cThere is much\nmystery in this monkey!\u201d Then they cast off and sailed till they came to\na third island, called the Isle of the Zun\u00faj,[232] who are a people of\nthe blacks, which eat the flesh of the sons of Adam. When the blacks saw\nthem, they boarded them in dug-outs[233] and, taking all in the vessel,\npinioned them and carried them to their King, who bade slaughter certain\nof the merchants. So they slaughtered them by cutting their throats and\nate their flesh; and the rest of the traders passed the night in bonds\nand were in sore concern. But when it was midnight, the ape arose and\ngoing up to Abu al-Muzaffar, loosed his bonds; and, as the others saw\nhim free, they said, \u201cAllah grant our deliverance may be at thy hands, O\nAbu al-Muzaffar!\u201d But he replied, \u201cKnow, that he who delivered me, by\nleave of Allah Almighty, was none other than this monkey\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n          Now when it was the Three Hundred and Second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu al-Muzaffar\ndeclared, \u201cNone loosed me, by leave of Allah Almighty, save this monkey\nand I buy my release of him at a thousand dinars;\u201d whereupon the\nmerchants rejoined, \u201cAnd we likewise, each and every, will pay him a\nthousand dinars if he release us.\u201d With this the ape arose and went up\nto them and loosed their bonds one by one, till he had freed them all,\nwhen they made for the vessel and boarding her, found all safe and\nnothing missing from her. So they cast off and set sail; and presently\nAbu al-Muzaffar said to them, \u201cO merchants, fulfil your promise to the\nmonkey.\u201d \u201cWe hear and we obey,\u201d answered they; and each one paid him one\nthousand dinars, whilst Abu al-Muzaffar brought out to him the like sum\nof his own monies, so that a great heap of coin was collected for the\nape. Then they fared on till they reached Bassorah-city where their\nfriends came out to meet them; and when they had landed the Shaykh said,\n\u201cWhere is Abu Mohammed Lazybones?\u201d The news reached my mother, who came\nto me as I lay asleep and said to me, \u201cO my son, verily the Shaykh Abu\nal-Muzaffar hath come back and is now in the city; so rise and go thou\nto him and salute him and enquire what he hath brought thee; it may be\nAllah Almighty have opened to thee the door of fortune with somewhat.\u201d\nQuoth I, \u201cLift me from the ground and prop me up, whilst I go forth and\nwalk to the river-bank.\u201d After which I went out and walked on, stumbling\nover my skirts, till I met the Shaykh, who exclaimed at sight of me,\n\u201cWelcome to him whose money hath been the means of my release and that\nof these merchants, by the will of Almighty Allah.\u201d Then he continued,\n\u201cTake this monkey I bought for thee and carry him home and wait till I\ncome to thee.\u201d So I took the ape and went off, saying in my mind, \u201cBy\nAllah, this is naught but rare merchandise!\u201d and led it home, where I\nsaid to my mother, \u201cWhenever I lie down to sleep, thou biddest me rise\nand trade; see now this merchandise with thine own eyes.\u201d Then I sat me\ndown and as I sat, up came the slaves of Abu al-Muzaffar and said to me,\n\u201cArt thou Abu Mohammed Lazybones?\u201d \u201cYes\u201d answered I; and behold, Abu\nal-Muzaffar appeared behind them. So I rose up to him and kissed his\nhands: and he said, \u201cCome with me to my home.\u201d \u201cHearkening and\nobedience,\u201d answered I and accompanied him to his house, where he bade\nhis servants bring me what money the monkey had earned for me. So they\nbrought it and he said to me, \u201cO my son, Allah hath blessed thee with\nthis wealth, by way of profit on thy five dirhams.\u201d Then the slaves set\ndown the treasure in chests, which they had carried on their heads, and\nAbu al-Muzaffar gave me the keys saying, \u201cGo before the slaves to thy\nhouse; for in sooth all this wealth is thine.\u201d So I returned to my\nmother, who rejoiced in this and said to me, \u201cO my son, Allah hath\nblessed thee with all these riches; so put off thy laziness and go down\nto the bazar and sell and buy.\u201d At once I shook off my dull sloth, and\nopened a shop in the bazar, where the ape used to sit on the same divan\nwith me, eating with me when I ate and drinking when I drank. But, every\nday, he was absent from dawn till noon, when he came back bringing with\nhim a purse of a thousand dinars, which he laid by my side, and sat\ndown; and he ceased not so doing for a great while, till I amassed much\nwealth, wherewith, O Commander of the Faithful, I purchased houses and\nlands, and I planted gardens and I bought me white slaves and negroes\nand concubines. Now it came to pass one day, as I sat in my shop, with\nthe ape sitting at my side on the same carpet, behold, he began to turn\nright and left, and I said to myself, \u201cWhat aileth the beast?\u201d Then\nAllah made the ape speak with a ready tongue, and he said to me, \u201cO Abu\nMohammed!\u201d Now when I heard him speak, I was sore afraid; but he said to\nme, \u201cFear not; I will tell thee my case. I am a Marid of the Jinn and\ncame to thee because of thy poor estate; but to-day thou knowest not the\namount of thy wealth; and now I have need of thee and if thou do my\nwill, it shall be well for thee.\u201d I asked, \u201cWhat is it?\u201d and he\nanswered, \u201cI have a mind to marry thee to a girl like the full moon.\u201d\nQuoth I, \u201cHow so?\u201d; and quoth he, \u201cTo-morrow don thou thy richest dress\nand mount thy mule, with the saddle of gold, and ride to the Haymarket.\nThere enquire for the shop of the Sharif[234] and sit down beside him\nand say to him:\u2014I come to thee as a suitor craving thy daughter\u2019s hand.\nIf he say to thee:\u2014Thou hast neither cash nor rank nor family; pull out\na thousand dinars and give them to him, and if he ask more, give him\nmore and tempt him with money.\u201d Whereto I replied, \u201cTo hear is to obey;\nI will do thy bidding, Inshallah!\u201d So on the next morning I donned my\nrichest clothes, mounted my she-mule with trappings of gold and rode to\nthe Haymarket where I asked for the Sharif\u2019s shop; and finding him there\nseated, alighted and saluted him and seated myself beside him\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n           Now when it was the Three Hundred and Third Night,\n\nShe said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu Mohammed\nLazybones continued:\u2014So I alighted and, saluting him seated myself\nbeside him and my Mamelukes and negro-slaves stood before me. Said the\nSharif, \u201cHaply, thou hast some business with us which we may have\npleasure of transacting?\u201d Replied I, \u201cYes, I have business with thee.\u201d\nAsked he, \u201cAnd what is it?\u201d; and I answered, \u201cI come to thee as a suitor\nfor thy daughter\u2019s hand.\u201d So he said, \u201cThou hast neither cash nor rank\nnor family;\u201d whereupon I pulled him out a purse of a thousand dinars,\nred gold, and said to him, \u201cThis is my rank[235] and my family\u201d; and he\n(whom Allah bless and keep!) hath said:\u2014The best of ranks is wealth. And\nhow well quoth the poet:\u2014\n\n Whoso two dirhams hath, his lips have learnt \u273f Speech of all kinds with\n    eloquence bedight:\n Draw near[236] his brethren and crave ear of him, \u273f And him thou seest\n    haught in pride-full height:\n Were\u2019t not for dirhams wherein glories he, \u273f Hadst found him \u2018mid\n    mankind in sorry plight.\n When richard errs in words they all reply, \u273f \u201cSooth thou hast spoken and\n    hast said aright!.\u201d\n When pauper speaketh truly all reply \u273f \u201cThou liest;\u201d and they hold his\n    sayings light.[237]\n \u201cVerily dirhams in earth\u2019s every stead \u273f Clothe men with rank and make\n    them fair to sight;\n Gold is the very tongue of eloquence; \u273f Gold is the best of arms for\n    wight who\u2019d fight!\u201d\n\nNow when the Sharif heard these my words and understood my verse, he\nbowed his head awhile groundwards then raising it, said, \u201cIf it must be\nso, I will have of thee other three thousand gold pieces.\u201d \u201cI hear and I\nobey,\u201d answered I, and sent one of my Mamelukes home for the money. As\nsoon as he came back with it, I handed it to the Sharif who, when he saw\nit in his hands, rose and bidding his servants shut his shop, invited\nhis brother merchants of the bazar to the wedding; after which he\ncarried me to his house and wrote out my contract of marriage with his\ndaughter saying to me, \u201cAfter ten days, I will bring thee to pay her the\nfirst visit.\u201d So I went home rejoicing and, shutting myself up with the\nape, told him what had passed; and he said \u201cThou hast done well.\u201d Now\nwhen the time appointed by the Sharif drew near, the ape said to me,\n\u201cThere is a thing I would have thee do for me; and thou shalt have of me\n(when it is done) whatso thou wilt.\u201d I asked, \u201cWhat is that?\u201d and he\nanswered, \u201cAt the upper end of the chamber wherein thou shalt meet thy\nbride, the Sharif\u2019s daughter, stands a cabinet, on whose door is a\nring-padlock of copper and the keys under it. Take the keys and open the\ncabinet in which thou shalt find a coffer of iron with four flags, which\nare talismans, at its corners; and in its midst stands a brazen basin\nfull of money, wherein is tied a white cock with a cleft comb; while on\none side of the coffer are eleven serpents and on the other a knife.\nTake the knife and slaughter the cock; cut away the flags and upset the\nchest, then go back to the bride and do away her maidenhead. This is\nwhat I have to ask of thee.\u201d \u201cHearkening and obedience,\u201d answered I, and\nbetook myself to the house of the Sharif. So as soon as I entered the\nbride-chamber, I looked for the cabinet and found it even as the ape had\ndescribed it. Then I went in unto the bride and marvelled at her beauty\nand loveliness and stature and symmetrical grace, for indeed they were\nsuch as no tongue can set forth. I rejoiced in her with exceeding joy;\nand in the middle of the night, when my bride slept, I rose and, taking\nthe keys, opened the cabinet. Then I seized the knife and slew the cock\nand threw down the flags and upset the coffer, whereupon the girl awoke\nand, seeing the closet open and the cock with cut throat, exclaimed,\n\u201cThere is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious,\nthe Great! The Marid hath got hold of me!\u201d Hardly had she made an end of\nspeaking, when the Marid swooped down upon the house and, snatching up\nthe bride, flew away with her; whereupon there arose a mighty clamour\nand behold, in came the Sharif, buffetting his face and crying, \u201cO Abu\nMohammed, what is this deed thou hast done? Is it thus thou requitest\nus? I made this talisman in the cabinet fearing for my daughter from\nthis accursed one who, for these six years, hath sought to steal away\nthe girl, but could not. But now there is no more abiding for thee with\nus; so wend thy ways.\u201d Thereupon I went forth and returned to my own\nhouse, where I made search for the ape but could not find him nor any\ntrace of him; whereby I knew that it was he who was the Marid, and that\nhe had carried off my wife and had tricked me into destroying the\ntalisman and the cock, the two things which hindered him from taking\nher, and I repented, rending my raiment and cuffing my face. And there\nwas no land but was straitened upon me; so I made for the desert\nforthright and ceased not wandering on till night overtook me, for I\nknew not whither I was going. And whilst I was deep in sad thought\nbehold, I met two serpents, one tawny and the other white, and they were\nfighting to kill each other. So I took up a stone and with one cast slew\nthe tawny serpent, which was the aggressor; whereupon the white serpent\nglided away and was absent for a while, but presently she returned\naccompanied by ten other white serpents which glided up to the dead\nserpent and tore her in pieces, so that only the head was left. Then\nthey went their ways and I fell prostrate for weariness on the ground\nwhere I stood; but as I lay, pondering my case lo! I heard a Voice\nthough I saw no one and the Voice versified with these two couplets:\u2014\n\n Let Fate with slackened bridle fare her pace, \u273f Nor pass the night with\n    mind which cares an ace.\n Between eye-closing and its opening, \u273f Allah can foulest change to\n    fairest case.\n\nNow when I heard this, O Commander of the Faithful, great concern gat\nhold of me and I was beyond measure troubled; and behold, I heard a\nVoice from behind me extemporise these couplets:\u2014\n\n O Moslem! thou whose guide is Alcor\u00e1n, \u273f Joy in what brought safe peace\n    to thee, O man.\n Fear not what Satan haply whispered thee, \u273f And in us see a\n    Truth-believing clan.\n\nThen said I, \u201cI conjure thee, by the truth of Him thou worshippest, let\nme know who thou art!\u201d Thereupon the Invisible Speaker assumed the form\nof a man and said, \u201cFear not; for the report of thy good deed hath\nreached us, and we are a people of the true-believing Jinn. So, if thou\nlack aught, let us know it, that we may have the pleasure of fulfilling\nthy want.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cIndeed I am in sore need, for I am afflicted with a\ngrievous affliction and no one was ever afflicted as I am!\u201d Quoth he,\n\u201cPerchance thou art Abu Mohammed Lazybones?\u201d and I replied, \u201cYes.\u201d He\nrejoined, \u201cI, O Abu Mohammed, am the brother of the white serpent, whose\nfoe thou slewest; we are four brothers by one father and mother, and we\nare all indebted to thee for thy kindness. And know thou that he who\nplayed this trick on thee in the likeness of an ape, is a Marid of the\nMarids of the Jinn; and had he not used this artifice, he had never been\nable to get the girl; for he hath loved her and had a mind to take her\nthis long while, but he was hindered of that talisman; and had it\nremained as it was, he could never have found access to her. However,\nfret not thyself for that; we will bring thee to her and kill the Marid;\nfor thy kindness is not lost upon us.\u201d Then he cried out with a terrible\noutcry\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\n\n          Now when it was the Three Hundred and Fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Ifrit\ncontinued, \u201cVerily thy kindness is not lost upon us.\u201d Then he cried out\nwith a terrible outcry in a horrible voice, and behold, there appeared a\ntroop of the Jinn, of whom he enquired concerning the ape; and one of\nthem said, \u201cI know his abiding-place;\u201d and the other asked \u201cWhere\nabideth he?\u201d Said the speaker \u201cHe is in the City of Brass whereon sun\nriseth not.\u201d Then said the first Jinni to me, \u201cO Abu Mohammed, take one\nof these our slaves, and he will carry thee on his back and teach thee\nhow thou shalt get back the girl; but know that this slave is a Marid of\nthe Marids and beware, whilst he is carrying thee, lest thou utter the\nname of Allah, or he will flee from thee and thou wilt fall and be\ndestroyed.\u201d \u201cI hear and obey,\u201d answered I and chose out one of the\nslaves, who bent down and said to me, \u201cMount.\u201d So I mounted on his back,\nand he flew up with me into the firmament, till I lost sight of the\nearth and saw the stars as they were the mountains of earth fixed and\nfirm[238] and heard the angels crying, \u201cPraise be to Allah,\u201d in heaven\nwhile the Marid held me in converse, diverting me and hindering me from\npronouncing the name of Almighty Allah.[239] But, as we flew, behold,\nOne clad in green raiment,[240] with streaming tresses and radiant face,\nholding in his hand a javelin whence flew sparks of fire, accosted me,\nsaying, \u201cO Abu Mohammed, say:\u2014There is no god but _the_ God and Mohammed\nis the Apostle of God; or I will smite thee with this javelin.\u201d Now\nalready I felt heart-broken by my forced silence as regards calling on\nthe name of Allah; so I said, \u201cThere is no god but _the_ God, and\nMohammed is the Apostle of God.\u201d Whereupon the shining One smote the\nMarid with his javelin and he melted away and became ashes; whilst I was\nthrown from his back and fell headlong towards the earth, till I dropped\ninto the midst of a dashing sea, swollen with clashing surge. And\nbehold, I fell hard by a ship with five sailors therein, who seeing me,\nmade for me and took me up into the vessel; and they began to speak to\nme in some speech I knew not; but I signed to them that I understood not\ntheir speech. So they fared on till the last of the day, when they cast\nout a net and caught a great fish and they broiled it and gave me to\neat; after which they ceased not sailing on till they reached their city\nand carried me to their King and set me in his presence. So I kissed\nground before him, and he bestowed on me a dress of honour and said to\nme in Arabic (which he knew well), \u201cI appoint thee one of my officers.\u201d\nThereupon I asked him the name of the city, and he replied, \u201cIt is\ncalled Han\u00e1d[241] and is in the land of China.\u201d Then he committed me to\nhis Wazir, bidding him show me the city, which was formerly peopled by\nInfidels, till Almighty Allah turned them into stones; and there I abode\na month\u2019s space, diverting myself with viewing the place, nor saw I ever\ngreater plenty of trees and fruits than there. And when this time had\npast, one day, as I sat on the bank of a river, behold, there accosted\nme a horseman, who said to me, \u201cArt thou not Abu Mohammed Lazybones?\u201d\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered I; whereupon, he said, \u201cFear not, for the report of thy\ngood deed hath reached us.\u201d Asked I, \u201cWho art thou?\u201d and he answered, \u201cI\nam a brother of the white serpent, and thou art hard by the place where\nis the damsel whom thou seekest.\u201d So saying, he took off his clothes and\nclad me therein, saying, \u201cFear not, for the slave who perished under\nthee was one of our slaves.\u201d Then the horseman took me up behind him and\nrode on with me to a desert place, when he said, \u201cDismount now and walk\non between these two mountains, till thou seest the City of Brass;[242]\nthen halt afar off and enter it not, ere I return to thee and tell thee\nhow thou shalt do.\u201d \u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d replied I and, dismounting\nfrom behind him, walked on till I came to the city, the walls whereof I\nfound of brass. Then I began to pace round about it, hoping to find a\ngate, but found none; and presently as I persevered behold, the\nserpent\u2019s brother rejoined me and gave me a charmed sword which should\nhinder any from seeing me,[243] then went his way. Now he had been gone\nbut a little while, when lo! I heard a noise of cries and found myself\nin the midst of a multitude of folk whose eyes were in their breasts;\nand seeing me quoth they, \u201cWho art thou, and what cast thee into this\nplace?\u201d So I told them my story, and they said, \u201cThe girl thou seekest\nis in this city with the Marid; but we know not what he hath done with\nher. Now we are brethren of the white serpent,\u201d adding, \u201cGo thou to\nyonder spring and note where the water entereth, and enter thou with it;\nfor it will bring thee into the city.\u201d I did as they bade me, and\nfollowed the water-course, till it brought me to a Sard\u00e1b, a vaulted\nroom under the earth, from which I ascended and found myself in the\nmidst of the city. Here I saw the damsel seated upon a throne of gold,\nunder a canopy of brocade, girt round by a garden full of trees of gold,\nwhose fruits were jewels of price, such as rubies and chrysolites,\npearls and coral. And the moment she saw me, she knew me and accosted me\nwith the Moslem salutation, saying, \u201cO my lord, who guided thee hither?\u201d\nSo I told her all that had passed, and she said, \u201cKnow, that the\naccursed Marid, of the greatness of his love for me, hath told me what\nbringeth him bane and what bringeth him gain; and that there is here a\ntalisman by means whereof he could, an he would, destroy the city and\nall that are therein; and whoso possesseth it, the Ifrits will do his\ncommandment in everything. It standeth upon a pillar\u201d\u2014Whereat I asked\nher, \u201cAnd where is the pillar?\u201d and she answered, \u201cIt is in such a\nplace.\u201d \u201cAnd what manner of thing may the talisman be?\u201d said I: said\nshe, \u201cIt is in the semblance of a vulture[244] and upon it is a writing\nwhich I cannot read. So go thou thither and seize it, and set it before\nthee and, taking a chafing-dish, throw into it a little musk, whereupon\nthere will arise a smoke which will draw the Ifrits to thee, and they\nwill all present themselves before thee, nor shall one be absent; also\nthey shall be subject to thy word and, whatsoever thou biddest them,\nthat will they do. Arise therefore and fall to this thing, with the\nblessing of Almighty Allah.\u201d I answered, \u201cHearkening and obedience\u201d and,\ngoing to the column, did as she bade me, whereupon the Ifrits all\npresented themselves before me saying, \u201cHere are we, O our lord!\nWhatsoever thou biddest us, that will we do.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cBind the Marid\nwho brought the damsel hither from her home.\u201d Quoth they, \u201cWe hear and\nobey,\u201d and off they flew and bound that Marid in straitest bonds and\nreturned after a while, saying, \u201cWe have done thy bidding.\u201d Then I\ndismissed them and, repairing to my wife, told her what had happened and\nsaid to her, \u201cO my bride, wilt thou go with me?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d answered she. So\nI carried her forth of the vaulted chamber whereby I had entered the\ncity and we fared on, till we fell in with the folk who had shown me the\nway to find her.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nsaying her permitted say.\n\n\n           Now when it was the Three Hundred and Fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that he continued on\nthis wise:\u2014And we fared on till we fell in with the folk who had shown\nme the way to her. So I said to them, \u201cPoint me out a path which shall\nlead me to my home,\u201d and they did accordingly, and brought us a-foot to\nthe sea-shore and set us aboard a vessel which sailed on before us with\na fair wind, till we reached Bassorah-city. And when we entered the\nhouse of my father-in-law and her people saw my wife, they rejoiced with\nexceeding joy. Then I fumigated the vulture with musk and lo! the Ifrits\nflocked to me from all sides, saying, \u201cAt thy service; what wilt thou\nhave us do?\u201d So I bade them transport all that was in the City of Brass\nof monies and noble metals and stones of price to my house in Bassorah,\nwhich they did; and I then ordered them to bring me the ape. They\nbrought him before me, abject and contemptible, and I said to him, \u201cO\naccursed, why hast thou dealt thus perfidiously with me?\u201d Then I\ncommanded the Ifrits to shut him in a brazen vessel;[245] so they put\nhim in a brazen cucurbite and sealed it with lead. But I abode with my\nwife in joy and delight; and now, O Commander of the Faithful, I have\nunder my hand precious things in such measure and rare jewels and other\ntreasure and monies on such wise as neither reckoning may express nor\nmay limits comprise; and, if thou lust after wealth or aught else, I\nwill command the Jinn at once to do thy desire. But all this is of the\nbounty of Almighty Allah. Thereupon the Commander of the Faithful\nwondered greatly and bestowed on him imperial gifts, in exchange for his\npresents, and entreated him with the favour he deserved. And men also\ntell the tale of the\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 227:\n\n  No porcelain was ever, as far as we can discover, made in Egypt or\n  Syria of the olden day; but, as has been said, there was a regular\n  caravan-intercourse with China. At Damascus I dug into the huge\n  rubbish-heaps and found quantities of pottery, but no China. The same\n  has lately been done at Clysma, the artificial mound near Suez, and\n  the glass and pottery prove it to have been a Roman work which\n  defended the mouth of the old classical sweet-water canal.\n\nFootnote 228:\n\n  Arab. \u201cL\u00e1 baas ba-z\u00e1lik,\u201d conversational for \u201cL\u00e1 jaram\u201d = there is no\n  harm in it, no objection to it; and, sometimes, \u201cit is a matter of\n  course.\u201d\n\nFootnote 229:\n\n  A white emerald is yet unknown; but this adds only to the Oriental\n  extravagance of the picture. I do not think with Lane (ii. 426) that\n  \u201cabyaz\u201d here can mean \u201cbright.\u201d Dr. Steingass suggests a clerical\n  error for \u201ckhazar\u201d (green).\n\nFootnote 230:\n\n  Arab. \u201cShar\u00e1rif\u201d plur. of Shurr\u00e1fah = crenelles or battlements; mostly\n  trefoil-shaped; _remparts coquets_ which a six-pounder would crumble.\n\nFootnote 231:\n\n  Pronounce Abul-Muzaffar = Father of the Conqueror.\n\nFootnote 232:\n\n  I have explained the word in my \u201cZanzibar, City, Island and Coast,\u201d\n  vol. i. chapt. v. There is still a tribe, the Wadoe, reputed cannibal\n  on the opposite low East African shore. These blacks would hardly be\n  held \u201csons of Adam.\u201d \u201cZanj\u201d corrupted to \u201cZinj\u201d (plur. Zun\u00faj) is the\n  Persian \u201cZang\u201d or \u201cZangi,\u201d a black, altered by the Arabs, who ignore\n  the hard _g_; and, with the suffixion of the Persian -b\u00e1r (region, as\n  in Malabar) we have Zang-b\u00e1r which the Arabs have converted to\n  \u201cZanjibar,\u201d in poetry \u201cMulk al Zun\u00faj\u201d = Land of the Zang. The term is\n  old; it is the Zingis or Zipgisa of Ptolemy and the Zingium of Cosmas\n  Indicopleustes; and it shows the influence of Persian navigation in\n  pre-Islamitic ages. For further details readers will consult \u201cThe Lake\n  Regions of Central Africa\u201d vol. i. chapt. ii.\n\nFootnote 233:\n\n  Arab. \u201cKaw\u00e1rib\u201d plur. of \u201cK\u00e1rib\u201d prop. a dinghy, a small boat\n  belonging to a ship. Here it refers to the canoe (a Carib word) pop.\n  \u201cdug-out\u201d and classically \u201cmonoxyle,\u201d a boat made of a single\n  tree-trunk hollowed by fire and trimmed with axe and adze. Some of\n  these rude craft which, when manned, remind one of saturnine Caliph\n  Omar\u2019s \u201cworms floating on a log of wood,\u201d measure 60 feet long and\n  more.\n\nFootnote 234:\n\n  _i.e._ A descendant of Mohammed in general and especially through\n  Husayn Ali-son. Here the text notes that the chief of the bazar was of\n  this now innumerable stock, who inherit the title through the mother\n  as well as through the father.\n\nFootnote 235:\n\n  Arab. \u201cHasab\u201d (= quantity), the honour a man acquires for himself;\n  opposed to \u201cNasab\u201d (genealogy) honours inherited from ancestry: the\n  Arabic well expresses my old motto (adopted by Chinese Gordon):\u2014\n\n                           Honour, not Honours.\n\nFootnote 236:\n\n  Note the difference between \u201cTakaddum\u201d (= standing in presence of,\n  also superiority in excellence) and \u201cTak\u00e1dum\u201d (priority in time).\n\nFootnote 237:\n\n  Lane (ii. 427) gives a pleasant Eastern illustration of this saying.\n\nFootnote 238:\n\n  A Koranic fancy; the mountains being the pegs which keep the earth in\n  place. \u201cAnd he hath thrown before the earth mountains firmly rooted,\n  lest it should move with you.\u201d (Koran, chapt. xvi.) The earth when\n  first created was smooth and thereby liable to a circular motion, like\n  the celestial orbs; and, when the Angels asked who could stand on so\n  tottering a frame, Allah fixed it the next morning by throwing the\n  mountains in it and pegging them down. A fair prolepsis of the\n  Neptunian theory.\n\nFootnote 239:\n\n  Easy enough for an Englishman to avoid saying \u201cby God,\u201d but this\n  common incident in Moslem folk-lore appeals to the peoples who are\n  constantly using the word Allah Wallah, Billah, etc. The Koran\n  expressly says, \u201cMake not Allah the scope (object, lit. arrow-butt) of\n  your oaths\u201d (chapt. ii. 224); yet the command is broken every minute.\n\nFootnote 240:\n\n  This must be the ubiquitous Khizr, the Green Prophet; when Ali\n  appears, as a rule he is on horseback.\n\nFootnote 241:\n\n  The name is apparently imaginary; and a little below we find that it\n  was close to Jinn-land. China was very convenient for this purpose:\n  the medieval Moslems, who settled in considerable numbers at Canton\n  and elsewhere, knew just enough of it to know their own ignorance of\n  the vast empire. Hence the Druzes of the Libanus still hold that part\n  of their nation is in the depths of the Celestial Empire.\n\nFootnote 242:\n\n  I am unwilling to alter the old title to \u201cCity of Copper\u201d as it should\n  be; the pure metal having been technologically used long before the\n  alloy of copper and zinc. But the Maroccan City (Night dlxvi. _et\n  seq._) was of brass (not copper). The Hindus of Upper India have an\n  Iram which they call Hari Chand\u2019s city (Colonel Tod); and I need\n  hardly mention the Fata Morgana, Island of Saint Borondon; Cape\n  Fly-away; the Flying Dutchman, etc. etc., all the effect of \u201clooming.\u201d\n\nFootnote 243:\n\n  This sword which makes men invisible and which takes place of\n  Siegfried\u2019s Tarnkappe (invisible cloak) and of \u201cFortunatus\u2019 cap\u201d is\n  common in Moslem folk-lore. The idea probably arose from the venerable\n  practice of inscribing the blades with sentences, verses and magic\n  figures.\n\nFootnote 244:\n\n  Arab. \u201c\u2019Uk\u00e1b,\u201d in books an eagle (especially black) and P. N. of\n  constellation but in pop. usage = a vulture. In Egypt it is the\n  Neophron Percnopterus (Jerdon) or N. Gingianus (Latham), the Dij\u00e1jat\n  Far\u2019aun or Pharaoh\u2019s hen. This bird has been known to kill the B\u00e1shah\n  sparrow-hawk (Jerdon i. 60); yet, curious to say, the reviewers of my\n  \u201cFalconry in the Valley of the Indus\u201d questioned the fact, known to so\n  many travellers, that the falcon is also killed by this \u201ctiger of the\n  air,\u201d despite the latter\u2019s feeble bill (pp. 35-38). I was faring badly\n  at their hands when the late Mr. Burckhardt Barker came to the rescue.\n  Falconicide is popularly attributed, not only to the vulture, but also\n  to the crestless hawk-eagle (Nis\u00e6tus Bonelli) which the Hindus call\n  Mor\u00e1ng\u00e1 = peacock-slayer.\n\nFootnote 245:\n\n  Here I translate \u201cNah\u00e1s\u201d = brass; as the \u201ckumkum\u201d (cucurbite) is made\n  of mixed metal, not of copper.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n    GENEROUS DEALING OF YAHYA BIN KHALID THE BARMECIDE WITH MANSUR.\n\n\nIt is told that Harun al-Rashid, in the days before he became jealous of\nthe Barmecides, sent once for one of his guards, S\u00e1lih by name, and said\nto him, \u201cO Salih, go to Mans\u00far[246] and say to him:\u2014Thou owest us a\nthousand thousand dirhams and we require of thee immediate payment of\nthis amount. And I command thee, O Salih, unless he pay it between this\nhour and sundown, sever his head from his body and bring it to me.\u201d \u201cTo\nhear is to obey,\u201d answered Salih and, going to Mansur, acquainted him\nwith what the Caliph had said; whereupon quoth he, \u201cI am a lost man, by\nAllah; for all my estate and all my hand owneth, if sold for their\nutmost value, would not fetch a price of more than an hundred thousand\ndirhams. Whence then, O Salih, shall I get the other nine hundred\nthousand?\u201d Salih replied, \u201cContrive how thou mayst speedily acquit\nthyself, else thou art a dead man; for I cannot grant thee an\neye-twinkling of delay after the time appointed me by the Caliph; nor\ncan I fail of aught which the Prince of True Believers hath enjoined on\nme. Hasten, therefore, to devise some means of saving thyself ere the\ntime expire.\u201d Quoth Mansur, \u201cO Salih, I beg thee of thy favour to bring\nme to my house, that I may take leave of my children and family and give\nmy kinsfolk my last injunctions.\u201d Now Salih relateth:\u2014So I went with him\nto his house where he fell to bidding his family farewell, and the house\nwas filled with a clamour of weeping and lamentations and calling for\nhelp on Almighty Allah. Thereupon I said to him, \u201cI have bethought me\nthat Allah may haply vouchsafe thee relief at the hands of the\nBarmecides. Come, let us go to the house of Y\u00e1hy\u00e1 bin Kh\u00e1lid.\u201d So we\nwent to Yahya\u2019s house, and Mansur told him his case, whereat he was sore\nconcerned and bowed him groundwards for a while; then raising his head,\nhe called his treasurer and said to him, \u201cHow much have we in our\ntreasury?\u201d \u201cA matter of five thousand dirhams,\u201d answered the treasurer,\nand Yahya bade him bring them and sent a messenger to his son, Al-Fazl,\nsaying, \u201cI am offered for sale a splendid estate which may never be laid\nwaste; so send me somewhat of money.\u201d Al-Fazl sent him a thousand\nthousand dirhams, and he despatched a messenger with a like message to\nhis son Ja\u2019afar, saying, \u201cWe have a matter of much moment and for it we\nwant money;\u201d whereupon Ja\u2019afar at once sent him a thousand thousand\ndirhams; nor did Yahya leave sending to his kinsmen of the Barmecides,\ntill he had collected from them a great sum of money for Mansur. But\nSalih and the debtor knew not of this; and Mansur said to Yahya, \u201cO my\nlord, I have laid hold upon thy skirt, for I know not whither to look\nfor the money but to thee, in accordance with thy wonted generosity; so\ndischarge thou the rest of my debt for me and make me thy freed slave.\u201d\nThereupon Yahya hung down his head and wept; then he said to a page,\n\u201cHarkye, boy, the Commander of the Faithful gave our slave-girl Dan\u00e1n\u00edr\na jewel of great price: go thou to her and bid her send it to us.\u201d The\npage went out and presently returned with the jewel, whereupon quoth\nYahya, \u201cO Mansur, I bought this jewel of the merchant for the Commander\nof the Faithful, at a price of two hundred thousand dinars,[247] and he\ngave it to our slave-girl Dananir, the lute-player; and when he sees it\nwith thee, he will know it and spare thy blood and do thee honour for\nour sake; and now, O Mansur, verily thy money is complete.\u201d (Salih\ncontinued) So I took the money and the jewel and carried them to\nAl-Rashid together with Mansur, but on the way I heard him repeat this\ncouplet, applying it to his own case:\u2014\n\n \u2018Twas not of love that fared my feet to them; \u273f \u2018Twas that I feared me\n    lest they shoot their shafts!\n\nNow when I heard this, I marvelled at his evil nature and his depravity\nand mischief-making and his ignoble birth and provenance and, turning\nupon him, I said, \u201cThere is none on the face of the earth better or more\nrighteous than the Barmecides, nor any baser nor more wrongous than\nthou; for they bought thee off from death and delivered thee from\ndestruction, giving thee what should save thee; yet thou thankest them\nnot nor praisest them, neither acquittest thee after the manner of the\nnoble; nay, thou meetest their benevolence with this speech.\u201d Then I\nwent to Al-Rashid and acquainted him with all that had passed\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n           Now when it was the Three Hundred and Sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Salih\ncontinued:\u2014So I acquainted the Commander of the Faithful with all that\npassed and Al-Rashid marvelled at the generosity and benevolence of\nYahya and the vileness and ingratitude of Mansur and bade restore the\njewel to Yahya, saying, \u201cWhatso we have given it befitteth us not to\ntake again.\u201d After that Salih returned to Yahya, and acquainted him with\nthe tale of Mansur and his ill-conduct; whereupon replied he, \u201cO Salih,\nwhen a man is in want, sick at heart and sad of thought, he is not to be\nblamed for aught that falleth from him; for it cometh not from the\nheart;\u201d and on this wise he took to seeking excuse for Mansur. But Salih\nwept and exclaimed, \u201cNever shall the revolving heavens bring forth into\nbeing the like of thee, O Yahya! Alas, and well-away, that one of such\nnoble nature and generosity should be laid in the dust!\u201d And he repeated\nthese two couplets:\u2014\n\n Haste to do kindness thou dost intend; \u273f Thou canst not always on boons\n    expend:\n How many from bounty themselves withheld, \u273f Till means of bounty had\n    come to end!\n\nAnd men tell another tale of the\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 246:\n\n  Mansur al-Nimr\u00ed, a poet of the time and a prot\u00e9g\u00e9 of Yahya\u2019s son,\n  Al-Fazl.\n\nFootnote 247:\n\n  This was at least four times Mansur\u2019s debt.\n\n\n\n\n GENEROUS DEALING OF YAHYA SON OF KHALID WITH A MAN WHO FORGED A LETTER\n                              IN HIS NAME.\n\n\nThere was between Yahy\u00e1 bin Kh\u00e1lid and Abdullah bin M\u00e1lik\nal-Khuz\u00e1\u2019i[248] an enmity which they kept secret; the reason of the\nhatred being that Harun al-Rashid loved Abdullah with exceeding love, so\nthat Yahya and his sons were wont to say that he had bewitched the\nCommander of the Faithful. And thus they abode a long while, with\nrancour in their hearts, till it fell out that the Caliph invested\nAbdullah with the government of Armenia[249] and despatched him thither.\nNow soon after he had settled himself in his seat of government, there\ncame to him one of the people of Irak, a man of good breeding and\nexcellent parts and abundant cleverness; but he had lost his money and\nwasted his wealth and his estate was come to ill case; so he forged a\nletter to Abdullah bin Malik in the name of Yahya bin Khalid and set out\ntherewith for Armenia. Now when he came to the Governor\u2019s gate, he gave\nthe letter to one of the Chamberlains, who took it and carried it to his\nmaster. Abdullah opened it and read it and, considering it attentively,\nknew it to be forged; so he sent for the man, who presented himself\nbefore him and called down blessings upon him and praised him and those\nof his court. Quoth Abdullah to him, \u201cWhat moved thee to weary thyself\non this wise and bring me a forged letter? But be of good heart; for we\nwill not disappoint thy travail.\u201d Replied the other, \u201cAllah prolong the\nlife of our lord the Wazir! If my coming annoy thee, cast not about for\na pretext to repel me, for Allah\u2019s earth is wide and He who giveth daily\nbread still liveth. Indeed, the letter I bring thee from Yahya bin\nKhalid is true and no forgery.\u201d Quoth Abdullah, \u201cI will write a letter\nto my agent[250] at Baghdad and command him enquire concerning this same\nletter. If it be true, as thou sayest, and genuine and not forged by\nthee, I will bestow on thee the Emir-ship of one of my cities; or, if\nthou prefer a present, I will give thee two hundred thousand dirhams,\nbesides horses and camels of price and a robe of honour. But, if the\nletter prove a forgery, I will order thou be beaten with two hundred\nblows of a stick and thy beard be shaven.\u201d So Abdullah bade confine him\nin a chamber and furnish him therein with all he needed, till his case\nshould be made manifest. Then he despatched a letter to his agent at\nBaghdad, to the following effect:\u2014\u201cThere is come to me a man with a\nletter purporting to be from Yahya bin Khalid. Now I have my suspicions\nof this letter: therefore delay thou not in the matter, but go thyself\nand look carefully into the case and let me have an answer with all\nspeed, in order that we may know what is true and what is untrue.\u201d When\nthe letter reached Baghdad, the agent mounted at once\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n          Now when it was the Three Hundred and Seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the agent of\nAbdullah son of Malik al-Khuza\u2019i, on receipt of the letter at Baghdad,\nmounted at once and repaired to the house of Yahya bin Khalid, whom he\nfound sitting with his officers and boon-companions. After the usual\nsalute he gave him the letter and Yahya read it and said to the agent,\n\u201cCome back to me to-morrow for my written answer.\u201d Now when the agent\nhad gone away, Yahya turned to his companions and said, \u201cWhat doth he\ndeserve who forgeth a letter in my name and carrieth it to my foe?\u201d They\nanswered all and each, saying this and that, and every one proposing\nsome kind of punishment; but Yahya said, \u201cYe err in that ye say and this\nyour counsel is of the baseness of your spirits and the meanness of your\nminds. Ye all know the close favour of Abdullah with the Caliph and ye\nweet of what is between him and us of anger and enmity; and now Almighty\nAllah hath made this man the means of reconciliation between us; and\nhath fitted him for such purpose and hath appointed him to quench the\nfire of ire in our hearts, which hath been growing these twenty years;\nand by his means our differences shall be adjusted. Wherefore it\nbehoveth me to requite such man by verifying his assertion and amending\nhis estate; so I will write him a letter to Abdullah son of Malik,\npraying that he may use him with increase of honour and continue to him\nhis liberality.\u201d Now when his companions heard what he said, they called\ndown blessings on him and marvelled at his generosity and the greatness\nof his magnanimity. Then he called for paper and ink and wrote Abdullah\na letter in his own hand, to the following effect:\u2014\u201cIn the name of\nAllah, the Compassionating, the Compassionate! Of a truth thy letter\nhath reached me (Allah give thee long life!) and I am glad to hear of\nthy safety and am pleased to be assured of thine immunity and\nprosperity. It was thy thought that a certain worthy man had forged a\nletter in my name and that he was not the bearer of any message from the\nsame; but the case is not so, for the letter I myself wrote, and it was\nno forgery; and I hope, of thy courtesy and consideration and the\nnobility of thy nature, that thou wilt gratify this generous and\nexcellent man of his hope and wish, and honour him with the honour he\ndeserveth and bring him to his desire and make him the special object of\nthy favour and munificence. Whatso thou dost with him, it is to me that\nthou dost the kindness, and I am thankful to thee accordingly.\u201d Then he\nsuperscribed the letter and after sealing it, delivered it to the agent,\nwho despatched it to Abdullah. Now when the Governor read it, he was\ncharmed with its contents, and sending for the man, said to him,\n\u201cWhichever of the two promised boons is the more acceptable to thee that\nwill I give thee.\u201d The man replied, \u201cThe money gift were more acceptable\nto me than aught else,\u201d whereupon Abdullah ordered him two hundred\nthousand dirhams and ten Arab horses, five with housings of silk and\nother five with richly ornamented saddles, used in state processions;\nbesides twenty chests of clothes and ten mounted white slaves and a\nproportionate quantity of jewels of price. Moreover, he bestowed on him\na dress of honour and sent him to Baghdad in great splendour. So when he\ncame thither, he repaired to the door of Yahya\u2019s house, before he went\nto his own folk, and craved permission to enter and have audience. The\nChamberlain went in to Yahya and said to him, \u201cO my lord, there is one\nat the door who craveth speech of thee; and he is a man of apparent\nwealth, courteous in manner, comely of aspect and attended by many\nservants.\u201d Then Yahya bade admit him; and, when he entered and kissed\nthe ground before him, Yahya asked him, \u201cWho art thou?\u201d He answered,\n\u201cHear me, O my lord, I am he who was done dead by the tyranny of\nfortune, but thou didst raise me to life again from the grave of\ncalamities and exalt me to the paradise of my desires. I am the man who\nforged a letter in thy name and carried it to Abdullah bin Malik\nal-Khuza\u2019i.\u201d Yahya asked, \u201cHow hath he dealt with thee and what did he\ngive thee?\u201d; and the man answered, \u201cHe hath given me, thanks to thy hand\nand thy great liberality and benevolence and to thy comprehensive\nkindness and lofty magnanimity and thine all-embracing generosity, that\nwhich hath made me a wealthy man and he hath distinguished me with his\ngifts and favours. And now I have brought all that he gave me and here\nit is at thy door; for it is thine to decide and the command is in thy\nhand.\u201d Rejoined Yahya, \u201cThou hast done me better service than I did thee\nand I owe thee a heavy debt of gratitude and every gift the white\nhand[251] can give, for that thou hast changed into love and amity the\nhate and enmity that were between me and a man whom I respect and\nesteem. Wherefore I will give thee the like of what Abdullah bin Malik\ngave thee.\u201d Then he ordered him money and horses and chests of apparel,\nsuch as Abdullah had given him; and thus that man\u2019s fortune was restored\nto him by the munificence of these two generous ones. And folk also\nrelate the tale of the\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 248:\n\n  Intendant of the Palace to Harun al-Rashid. The Bres. Edit. (vii. 254)\n  begins, \u201cThey tell that there arose full enmity between Ja\u2019afar\n  Barmecide and a Sahib of Misr\u201d (Wazir or Governor of Egypt). Lane (ii.\n  429) quotes to this purpose amongst Arab historians Fakhr al-D\u00edn (De\n  Sacy\u2019s Chrestomathie Arabe i., p. 26, edit. ii.).\n\nFootnote 249:\n\n  Arab. \u201cArman\u00edyah\u201d which Egyptians call after their mincing fashion\n  \u201cIrminiyeh:\u201d hence \u201cErmine\u201d (Mus Ponticus). Armaniyah was much more\n  extensive than our Armenia, now degraded to a mere province of Turkey,\n  and the term is understood to include the whole of the old Parthian\n  Empire.\n\nFootnote 250:\n\n  Even now each Pasha-governor must keep a \u201cWak\u00edl\u201d in Constantinople to\n  intrigue and bribe for him at head-quarters.\n\nFootnote 251:\n\n  The symbol of generosity, of unasked liberality, the \u201cblack hand\u201d\n  being that of niggardness.\n\n\n\n\n                CALIPH AL-MAAMUN AND THE STRANGE SCHOLAR\n\n\nIt is said of Al-Maamun that, among the Caliphs of the house of Abbas,\nthere was none more accomplished in all branches of knowledge than he.\nNow on two days in each week, he was wont to preside at conferences of\nthe learned, when the lawyers and theologians disputed in his presence,\neach sitting in his several rank and room. One day as he sat thus, there\ncame into the assembly a stranger, clad in ragged white clothes, who\ntook seat in an obscure place behind the doctors of the law. Then the\nassembly began to speak and debate difficult questions, it being the\ncustom that the various propositions should be submitted to each in\nturn, and that whoso bethought him of some subtle addition or rare\nconceit, should make mention of it. So the question went round till it\ncame to the strange man, who spake in his turn and made a goodlier\nanswer than any of the doctors\u2019 replies; and the Caliph approved his\nspeech.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n          Now when it was the Three Hundred and Eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph\nAl-Maamun approved his speech and ordered him to come up from his low\nplace to a high stead. Now when the second question came to him, he made\na still more notable answer, and Al-Maamun ordered him to be preferred\nto a yet higher seat; and when the third question reached him, he made\nanswer more justly and appropriately than on the two previous occasions,\nand Al-Maamun bade him come up and sit near himself. Presently the\ndiscussion ended when water was brought and they washed their hands;\nafter which food was set on and they ate; and the doctors arose and\nwithdrew; but Al-Maamun forbade the stranger to depart with them and,\ncalling him to himself, treated him with especial favour and promised\nhim honour and profit. Thereupon they made ready the s\u00e9ance of wassail;\nthe fair-faced cup-companions came and the pure wine[252] went round\namongst them, till the cup came to the stranger, who rose to his feet\nand spake thus, \u201cIf the Commander of the Faithful permit me, I will say\none word.\u201d Answered the Caliph, \u201cSay what thou wilt.\u201d Quoth the man,\n\u201cVerily the Exalted Intelligence (whose eminence Allah increase!)\nknoweth that his slave was this day, in the august assembly, one of the\nunknown folk and of the meanest of the company; and the Commander of the\nFaithful raised his rank and brought him near to himself, little as were\nthe wit and wisdom he displayed, preferring him above the rest and\nadvancing him to a station and a degree whereto his thought aspired not.\nBut now he is minded to part him from that small portion of intellect\nwhich raised him high from his lowness and made him great after his\nlittleness. Heaven forfend and forbid that the Commander of the Faithful\nshould envy his slave what little he hath of understanding and worth and\nrenown! Now, if his slave should drink wine, his reason would depart far\nfrom him and ignorance draw near to him and steal away his good\nbreeding; so would he revert to that low and contemptible degree, whence\nhe sprang, and become ridiculous and despicable in the eyes of the folk.\nI hope, therefore, that the August Intelligence, of his power and bounty\nand royal generosity and magnanimity, will not despoil his slave of this\njewel.\u201d When the Caliph Al-Maamun heard his speech, he praised him and\nthanked him and making him sit down again in his place, showed him high\nhonour and ordered him a present of an hundred thousand silver pieces.\nMoreover he mounted him upon a horse and gave him rich apparel; and in\nevery assembly he was wont to exalt him and show him favour over all the\nother doctors of law and religion till he became the highest of them all\nin rank. And Allah is All-knowing.[253] Men also tell a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 252:\n\n  Arab. \u201cR\u00e1h\u201d = pure (and old) wine. Arabs, like our classics, usually\n  drank their wine tempered. So Imr al-Kays in his Mu\u2019allakah says,\n  \u201cBring the well-tempered wine, that seems to be saffron-tinctured;\n  and, when water-mixed, o\u2019erbrims the cup.\u201d (v. 2).\n\nFootnote 253:\n\n  There is nothing that Orientals relish more than these \u201cgoody-goody\u201d\n  preachments; but they read and forget them as readily as Westerns.\n\n\n\n\n                      ALI SHAR[254] AND ZUMURRUD.\n\n\nThere lived once in the days of yore and the good old times long gone\nbefore, in the land of Khorasan, a merchant called Majd al-D\u00edn, who had\ngreat wealth and many slaves and servants, white and black, young and\nold; but he had not been blessed with a child until he reached the age\nof threescore, when Almighty Allah vouchsafed him a son, whom he named\nAl\u00ed Sh\u00e1r. The boy grew up like the moon on the night of fulness; and\nwhen he came to man\u2019s estate and was endowed with all kinds of\nperfections, his father fell sick of a death-malady and, calling his son\nto him, said, \u201cO my son, the fated hour of my decease is at hand, and I\ndesire to give thee my last injunctions.\u201d He asked, \u201cAnd what are they,\nO my father?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cO my son, I charge thee, be not\nover-familiar with any[255] and eschew what leadeth to evil and\nmischief. Beware lest thou sit in company with the wicked; for he is\nlike the blacksmith; if his fire burn thee not, his smoke shall bother\nthee: and how excellent is the saying of the poet:[256]\u2014\n\n                In thy whole world there is not one,\n                Whose friendship thou may\u2019st count upon,\n                Nor plighted faith that will stand true,\n                When times go hard, and hopes are few.\n                Then live apart and dwell alone,\n                Nor make a prop of any one,\n                I\u2019ve given a gift in that I\u2019ve said,\n                Will stand thy friend in every stead.\u201d\n\nAnd what another saith:\u2014\n\n    Men are a hidden malady; \u273f Rely not on the sham in them:\n    For perfidy and treachery \u273f Thou\u2019lt find, if thou examine them.\n\nAnd yet a third saith:\u2014\n\n C\u00f2nverse with men hath scanty weal, except \u273f To while away the time in\n    chat and prate:\n Then shun their intimacy, save it be \u273f To win thee lore, or better thine\n    estate.\n\nAnd a fourth saith:\u2014\n\n If a sharp-witted wight e\u2019er tried mankind, \u273f I\u2019ve eaten that which only\n    tasted he:[257]\n Their amity proved naught but wile and guile, \u273f Their faith I found was\n    but hypocrisy.\n\nQuoth Ali, \u201cO my father, I have heard thee and I will obey thee; what\nmore shall I do?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cDo good whenas thou art able; be ever kind\nand courteous to men and regard as riches every occasion of doing a good\nturn; for a design is not always easily carried out\u201d; and how well saith\nthe poet:\u2014\n\n \u2018Tis not at every time and tide unstable, \u273f We can do kindly acts and\n    charitable:\n When thou art able hasten thee to act, \u273f Lest thine endeavour prove anon\n    unable!\n\nSaid Ali, \u201cI have heard thee and I will obey thee.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n           Now when it was the Three Hundred and Ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the youth replied,\n\u201cI have heard thee and I will obey thee; what more?\u201d And his sire\ncontinued, \u201cBe thou, O my son, mindful of Allah, so shall He be mindful\nof thee. Ward thy wealth and waste it not; for an thou do, thou wilt\ncome to want the least of mankind. Know that the measure of a man\u2019s\nworth is according to that which his right hand hendeth\u201d: and how well\nsaith the poet:[258]\u2014\n\n When fails my wealth no friend will deign befriend, \u273f And when it waxeth\n    all men friendship show:\n How many a foe for wealth became my friend, \u273f Wealth lost, how many a\n    friend became a foe!\n\nAsked Ali, \u201cWhat more?\u201d And Majd al-Din answered, \u201cO my son, take\ncounsel of those who are older than thou and hasten not to do thy\nheart\u2019s desire. Have compassion on those who are below thee, so shall\nthose who are above thee have compassion on thee; and oppress none, lest\nAllah empower one who shall oppress thee. How well saith the poet:\u2014\n\n Add other wit to thy wit, counsel craving, \u273f For man\u2019s true course hides\n    not from minds of two:\n Man is a mirror which but shows his face, \u273f And by two mirrors he his\n    back shall view.\n\nAnd as saith another:[259]\u2014\n\n                  Act on sure grounds, nor hurry fast,\n                  To gain the purpose that thou hast\n                  And be thou kindly to all men\n                  So kindly thou\u2019lt be called again;\n                  For not a deed the hand can try,\n                  Save \u2018neath the hand of God on high,\n                  Nor tyrant harsh work tyranny,\n                  Uncrushed by tyrant harsh as he.\n\nAnd as saith yet another:[260]\u2014\n\n Tyrannize not, if thou hast the power to do so; for the tyrannical is in\n    danger of revenges.\n Thine eye will sleep while the oppressed, wakeful, will call down curses\n    on thee, and God\u2019s eye sleepeth not.\n\nBeware of wine-bibbing, for drink is the root of all evil: it doeth away\nthe reason and bringeth to contempt whoso useth it; and how well saith\nthe poet:\u2014\n\n By Allah, wine shall not disturb me, while my soul \u273f Join body, nor\n    while speech the words of me explain:\n No day will I be thralled to wine-skin cooled by breeze[261] \u273f Nor\n    choose a friend save those who are of cups unfain.\n\nThis, then, is my charge to thee; bear it before thine eyes, and Allah\nstand to thee in my stead.\u201d Then he swooned away and kept silent awhile;\nand, when he came to himself, he besought pardon of Allah and pronounced\nthe profession of the Faith, and was admitted to the mercy of the\nAlmighty. So his son wept and lamented for him and presently made proper\npreparation for his burial; great and small walked in his funeral\nprocession and Koran-readers recited Holy Writ about his bier; nor did\nAli Shar omit aught of what was due to the dead. Then they prayed over\nhim and committed him to the dust and wrote these two couplets upon his\ntomb:\u2014\n\n Thou wast create of dust and cam\u2019st to life, \u273f And learned\u2019st in\n    eloquence to place thy trust;\n Anon, to dust returning, thou becamest \u273f A corpse, as though ne\u2019er taken\n    from the dust.\n\nNow his son Ali Shar grieved for him with sore grief and mourned him\nwith the ceremonies usual among men of note; nor did he cease to weep\nthe loss of his father till his mother died also, not long afterwards,\nwhen he did with her as he had done with his sire. Then he sat in the\nshop, selling and buying and consorting with none of Almighty Allah\u2019s\ncreatures, in accordance with his father\u2019s injunction. This wise he\ncontinued to do for a year, at the end of which time there came in to\nhim by craft certain whoreson fellows and consorted with him, till he\nturned after their example to lewdness and swerved from the way of\nrighteousness, drinking wine in flowing bowls and frequenting fair women\nnight and day; for he said to himself, \u201cOf a truth my father amassed\nthis wealth for me, and if I spend it not, to whom shall I leave it? By\nAllah, I will not do save as saith the poet:\u2014\n\n   An through the whole of life \u273f Thou gett\u2019st and gain\u2019st for self;\n   Say, when shalt thou enjoy \u273f Thy gains and gotten pelf?\u201d\n\nAnd Ali Shar ceased not to waste his wealth all whiles of the day and\nall watches of the night, till he had made away with the whole of his\nriches and abode in pauper case and troubled at heart. So he sold his\nshop and lands and so forth, and after this he sold the clothes off his\nbody, leaving himself but one suit; and, as drunkenness quitted him and\nthoughtfulness came to him, he fell into grief and sore care. One day,\nwhen he had sat from daybreak to mid-afternoon without breaking his\nfast, he said in his mind, \u201cI will go round to those on whom I spent my\nmonies: perchance one of them will feed me this day.\u201d So he went the\nround of them all; but, as often as he knocked at any one\u2019s door of\nthem, the man denied himself and hid from him, till his stomach ached\nwith hunger. Then he betook himself to the bazar of the merchants\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n           Now when it was the Three Hundred and Tenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ali Shar feeling\nhis stomach ache with hunger, betook himself to the merchants\u2019 bazar\nwhere he found a crowd of people assembled in ring, and said to himself,\n\u201cI wonder what causeth these folk to crowd together thus? By Allah, I\nwill not budge hence till I see what is within yonder ring!\u201d So he made\nhis way into the ring and found therein a damsel exposed for sale who\nwas five feet tall,[262] beautifully proportioned, rosy of cheek and\nhigh of breast; and who surpassed all the people of her time in beauty\nand loveliness and elegance and grace; even as saith one, describing\nher:\u2014\n\n As she will\u00e8d she was made, and in such a way that when \u273f She was cast\n    in Nature\u2019s mould neither short nor long was she:\n Beauty woke to fall in love with the beauties of her form, \u273f Where\n    combine with all her coyness her pride and pudency:\n\n The full moon is her face[263] and the branchlet is her shape, \u273f And the\n    musk-pod is her scent\u2014what like her can there be?\n \u2018Tis as though she were moulded from water of the pearl, \u273f And in every\n    lovely limblet another moon we see!\n\nAnd her name was Zumurrud\u2014the Smaragdine. So when Ali Shar saw her, he\nmarvelled at her beauty and grace and said, \u201cBy Allah, I will not stir\nhence till I see how much this girl fetcheth, and know who buyeth her!\u201d\nSo he took standing-place amongst the merchants, and they thought he had\na mind to buy her, knowing the wealth he had inherited from his parents.\nThen the broker stood at the damsel\u2019s head and said, \u201cHo, merchants! Ho,\nye men of money! Who will open the gate of biddings for this damsel, the\nmistress of moons, the union pearl, Zumurrud the curtain-maker, the\nsought of the seeker and the delight of the desirous? Open the biddings\u2019\ndoor and on the opener be nor blame nor reproach for evermore.\u201d\nThereupon quoth one merchant, \u201cMine for five hundred dinars;\u201d \u201cand ten,\u201d\nquoth another. \u201cSix hundred,\u201d cried an old man named Rash\u00edd al-Din, blue\nof eye[264] and foul of face. \u201cAnd ten,\u201d cried another. \u201cI bid a\nthousand,\u201d rejoined Rashid al-Din; whereupon the rival merchants were\ntongue-tied, and held their peace and the broker took counsel with the\ngirl\u2019s owner, who said, \u201cI have sworn not to sell her save to whom she\nshall choose: so consult her.\u201d Thereupon the broker went up to Zumurrud\nand said to her, \u201cO mistress of moons, this merchant hath a mind to buy\nthee.\u201d She looked at Rashid al-Din and finding him as we have said,\nreplied, \u201cI will not be sold to a greybeard, whom decrepitude hath\nbrought to such evil plight. Allah inspired his saying who saith:\u2014\n\n I craved of her a kiss one day; but soon as she beheld \u273f My hoary\n hairs, though I my luxuries and wealth display\u2019d;\n\n She proudly turned away from me, showed shoulders, cried aloud:\u2014 \u273f \u2018No!\n    no! by Him, whose hest mankind from nothingness hath made,\n For hoary head and grizzled chin I\u2019ve no especial love: \u273f What! stuff my\n    mouth with cotton[265] ere in sepulchre I\u2019m laid?\u2019\u201d\n\nNow when the broker heard her words he said, \u201cBy Allah, thou art\nexcusable, and thy price is ten thousand gold pieces!\u201d So he told her\nowner that she would not accept of old man Rashid al-Din, and he said,\n\u201cConsult her concerning another.\u201d Thereupon a second man came forward\nand said, \u201cBe she mine for what price was offered by the oldster she\nwould have none of;\u201d but she looked at him and seeing that his beard was\ndyed, said \u201cWhat be this fashion lewd and base and the blackening of the\nhoary face?\u201d And she made a great show of wonderment and repeated these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n Showed me Sir Such-an-one a sight and what a frightful sight! \u273f A neck,\n    by Allah, only made for slipper-sole to smite:[266]\n A beard the meetest racing-ground where gnats and lice contend, \u273f A brow\n    fit only for the ropes thy temples chafe and bite.[267]\n O thou enravisht by my cheek and beauties of my form, \u273f Why so translate\n    thyself to youth and think I deem it right?\n Dyeing disgracefully that white of reverend aged hairs, \u273f And hiding for\n    foul purposes their venerable white!\n Thou goest with one beard and comest back with quite another, \u273f Like\n    Punch-and-Judy man who works the Chinese shades by night.[268]\n\nAnd how well saith another:\u2014\n\n Quoth she, \u201cI see thee dye thy hoariness:\u201d[269] \u273f \u201cTo hide, O ears and\n    eyes! from thee,\u201d quoth I:\n She roared with laugh and said, \u201cRight funny this; \u273f Thou art so lying\n    e\u2019en thy hair\u2019s a lie!\u201d\n\nNow when the broker heard her verse he exclaimed, \u201cBy Allah thou hast\nspoken sooth!\u201d The merchant asked what she said: so the broker repeated\nthe verses to him; and he knew that she was in the right while he was\nwrong and desisted from buying her. Then another came forward and said,\n\u201cAsk her if she will be mine at the same price;\u201d but, when he did so,\nshe looked at him and seeing that he had but one eye, said, \u201cThis man is\none-eyed; and it is of such as he that the poet saith:[270]\u2014\n\n Consort not with the Cyclops e\u2019en a day; \u273f Beware his falsehood and his\n    mischief fly:\n Had this monocular a jot of good, \u273f Allah had ne\u2019er brought blindness to\n    his eye!\u201d\n\nThen said the broker, pointing to another bidder, \u201cWilt thou be sold to\nthis man?\u201d She looked at him and seeing that he was short of\nstature[271] and had a beard that reached to his navel, cried, \u201cThis is\nhe of whom the poet speaketh:\u2014\n\n I have a friend who hath a beard \u273f Allah to useless length unroll\u2019d:\n \u2018Tis like a certain[272] winter night, \u273f Longsome and darksome, drear\n    and cold.\u201d\n\nSaid the broker, \u201cO my lady, look who pleaseth thee of these that are\npresent, and point him out, that I may sell thee to him.\u201d So she looked\nround the ring of merchants, examining one by one their physiognomies,\ntill her glance fell on Ali Shar,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n         Now when it was the Three Hundred and Eleventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the girl\u2019s\nglance fell on Ali Shar, she cast at him a look with longing eyes, which\ncost her a thousand sighs, and her heart was taken with him; for that he\nwas of favour passing fair and pleasanter than zephyr or northern air;\nand she said, \u201cO broker, I will be sold to none but to this my lord,\nowner of the handsome face and slender form whom the poet thus\ndescribeth:\u2014\n\n      Displaying that fair face \u273f The tempted they assailed;\n      Who, had they wished me safe \u273f That lovely face had veiled!\u201d\n\nFor none shall own me but he, because his cheek is smooth and the water\nof his mouth sweet as Salsabil;[273] his spittle is a cure for the sick\nand his charms daze and dazzle poet and proser, even as saith one of\nhim:\u2014\n\n His honey-dew of lips is wine; his breath \u273f Musk and those teeth, smile\n    shown, are camphor\u2019s hue:\n Rizw\u00e1n[274] hath turned him out o\u2019 doors, for fear \u273f The Houris lapse\n    from virtue at the view;\n Men blame his bearing for its pride, but when \u273f In pride the full moon\n    sails, excuse is due.\n\nLord of the curling locks and rose-red cheeks and ravishing look of whom\nsaith the poet:\u2014\n\n The fawn-like one a meeting promised me \u273f And eye expectant waxed and\n    heart upstirred:\n His eyelids bade me hold his word as true; \u273f But, in their\n    languish,[275] can he keep his word?\n\nAnd as saith another:\u2014\n\n Quoth they, \u201cBlack letters on his cheek are writ! \u273f How canst thou love\n    him and a side-beard see?\u201d\n Quoth I, \u201cCease blame and cut your chiding short; \u273f If those be letters\n    \u2018tis a forgery:\u201d\n Gather his charms all growths of Eden-garth \u273f Whereto those\n    Kausar[276]-lips bear testimony.\n\nWhen the broker heard the verses she repeated on the charms of Ali Shar,\nhe marvelled at her eloquence, no less than at the brightness of her\nbeauty; but her owner said to him, \u201cMarvel not at her splendour which\nshameth the noonday sun, nor that her memory is stored with the choicest\nverses of the poets; for, besides this, she can repeat the glorious\nKoran, according to the seven readings,[277] and the august Traditions,\nafter ascription and authentic transmission; and she writeth the seven\nmodes of handwriting[278] and she knoweth more learning and knowledge\nthan the most learned. Moreover, her hands are better than gold and\nsilver; for she maketh silken curtains and selleth them for fifty gold\npieces each; and it taketh her but eight days to make a curtain.\u201d\nExclaimed the broker, \u201cO happy the man who hath her in his house and\nmaketh her of his choicest treasures!\u201d; and her owner said to him, \u201cSell\nher to whom she will.\u201d So the broker went up to Ali Shar and, kissing\nhis hands, said to him, \u201cO my lord, buy thou this damsel, for she hath\nmade choice of thee.\u201d[279] Then he set forth to him all her charms and\naccomplishments, and added, \u201cI give thee joy if thou buy her, for this\nbe a gift from Him who is no niggard of His giving.\u201d Whereupon Ali bowed\nhis head groundwards awhile, laughing at himself and secretly saying,\n\u201cUp to this hour I have not broken my fast; yet I am ashamed before the\nmerchants to own that I have no money wherewith to buy her.\u201d The damsel,\nseeing him hang down his head, said to the broker, \u201cTake my hand and\nlead me to him, that I may show my beauty to him and tempt him to buy\nme; for I will not be sold to any but to him.\u201d So the broker took her\nhand and stationed her before Ali Shar, saying, \u201cWhat is thy good\npleasure, O my lord?\u201d But he made him no answer, and the girl said to\nhim, \u201cO my lord and darling of my heart, what aileth thee that thou wilt\nnot bid for me? Buy me for what thou wilt and I will bring thee good\nfortune.\u201d So he raised his eyes to her and said, \u201cIs buying perforce?\nThou art dear at a thousand dinars.\u201d Said she, \u201cThen buy me, O my lord,\nfor nine hundred.\u201d He cried, \u201cNo,\u201d and she rejoined, \u201cThen for eight\nhundred;\u201d and though he again said, \u201cNay,\u201d she ceased not to abate the\nprice, till she came to an hundred dinars. Quoth he, \u201cI have not by me a\nfull hundred.\u201d So she laughed and asked, \u201cHow much dost thou lack of an\nhundred?\u201d He answered, \u201cBy Allah, I have neither an hundred dinars, nor\nany other sum; for I own neither white coin nor red cash, neither dinar\nnor dirham. So look out thou for another and a better customer.\u201d And\nwhen she knew that he had nothing, she said to him, \u201cTake me by the hand\nand carry me aside into a by-lane, as if thou wouldst examine me\nprivily.\u201d He did so and she drew from her bosom a purse containing a\nthousand dinars, which she gave him, saying, \u201cPay down nine hundred to\nmy price and let the hundred remain with thee by way of provision.\u201d He\ndid as she bid him and, buying her for nine hundred dinars, paid down\nthe price from her own purse and carried her to his house. When she\nentered it, she found a dreary desolate saloon without carpets or\nvessels; so she gave him other thousand dinars, saying, \u201cGo to the bazar\nand buy three hundred dinars\u2019 worth of furniture and vessels for the\nhouse and three dinars\u2019 worth of meat and drink.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n          Now when it was the Three Hundred and Twelfth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the\nslave-girl, \u201cBring us meat and drink for three dinars; furthermore a\npiece of silk, the size of a curtain, and bring golden and silvern\nthread and sewing-silk of seven colours.\u201d Thus he did, and she furnished\nthe house and they sat down to eat and drink; after which they went to\nbed and took their pleasure one of the other. And they lay the night\nembraced behind the curtain and were even as saith the poet:[280]\u2014\n\n Cleave fast to her thou lovest and let the envious rail amain; For\n    calumny and envy ne\u2019er to favour love were fain.\n Lo, whilst I slept, in dreams I saw thee lying by my side And, from thy\n    lips the sweetest, sure, of limpid springs did drain.\n Yea, true and certain all I saw is, as I will avouch, And \u2018spite the\n    envier, thereto I surely will attain.\n There is no goodlier sight, indeed, for eyes to look upon. Than when one\n    couch in its embrace enfoldeth lovers twain.\n Each to the other\u2019s bosom clasped, clad in their twinned delight. Whilst\n    hand with hand and arm with arm about their necks enchain,\n Lo, when two hearts are straitly knit in passion and desire, But on cold\n    iron smite the folk who chide at them in vain.\n Thou, that for loving censurest the votaries of love, canst thou assain\n    a heart diseased or heal a cankered brain?\n If in thy time thou find but one to love thee and be true, I rede thee\n    cast the world away and with that one remain.\n\nSo they lay together till the morning and love for the other waxed\nfirmly fixed in the heart of each. And on rising, Zumurrud took the\ncurtain and embroidered it with coloured silks and purfled it with\nsilver and gold thread and she added thereto a border depicting round\nabout it all manner birds and beasts; nor is there in the world a feral\nbut she wrought his semblance. This she worked in eight days, till she\nhad made an end of it, when she trimmed it and glazed and ironed it and\ngave it to her lord, saying, \u201cCarry it to the bazar and sell it to one\nof the merchants at fifty dinars; but beware lest thou sell it to a\npasser-by, as this would cause a separation between me and thee, for we\nhave foes who are not unthoughtful of us.\u201d \u201cI hear and I obey,\u201d answered\nhe and, repairing to the bazar, sold the curtain to a merchant, as she\nbade him; after which he bought a piece of silk for another curtain and\ngold and silver and silken thread as before and what they needed of\nfood, and brought all this to her, giving her the rest of the money. Now\nevery eight days she made a curtain, which he sold for fifty dinars, and\non this wise passed a whole year. At the end of that time, he went as\nusual to the bazar with a curtain, which he gave to the broker; and\nthere came up to him a Nazarene who bid him sixty dinars for it; but he\nrefused, and the Christian continued bidding higher and higher, till he\ncame to an hundred dinars and bribed the broker with ten ducats. So the\nman returned to Ali Shar and told him of the proffered price and urged\nhim to accept the offer and sell the article at the Nazarene\u2019s\nvaluation, saying, \u201cO my lord, be not afraid of this Christian for that\nhe can do thee no hurt.\u201d The merchants also were urgent with him; so he\nsold the curtain to the Christian, albeit his heart misgave him; and,\ntaking the money, set off to return home. Presently, as he walked, he\nfound the Christian walking behind him; so he said to him, \u201cO\nNazarene,[281] why dost thou follow in my footsteps?\u201d Answered the other\n\u201cO my lord, I want a something at the end of the street, Allah never\nbring thee to want!\u201d; but Ali Shar had barely reached his place before\nthe Christian overtook him; so he said to him, \u201cO accursed, what aileth\nthee to follow me wherever I go?\u201d Replied the other, \u201cO my lord, give me\na draught of water, for I am athirst; and with Allah be thy\nreward!\u201d[282] Quoth Ali Shar to himself, \u201cVerily, this man is an Infidel\nwho payeth tribute and claimeth our protection[283] and he asketh me for\na draught of water; by Allah, I will not baulk him!\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Three Hundred and Thirteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth Ali Shar to\nhimself, \u201cThis man is a tributary Unbeliever and he asked me for a\ndraught of water; by Allah, I will not baulk him!\u201d So he entered the\nhouse and took a gugglet of water; but the slave-girl Zumurrud saw him\nand said to him, \u201cO my love, hast thou sold the curtain?\u201d He replied,\n\u201cYes;\u201d and she asked, \u201cTo a merchant or to a passer-by? for my heart\npresageth a parting.\u201d And he answered, \u201cTo whom but to a merchant?\u201d\nThereupon she rejoined, \u201cTell me the truth of the case, that I may order\nmy affair; and why take the gugglet of water?\u201d And he, \u201cTo give the\nbroker to drink,\u201d upon which she exclaimed, \u201cThere is no Majesty and\nthere is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!\u201d; and she\nrepeated these two couplets:[284]\u2014\n\n O thou who seekest separation, act leisurely, and let not the embrace of\n    the beloved deceive thee!\n Act leisurely; for the nature of fortune is treacherous, and the end of\n    every union is disjunction.\n\nThen he took the gugglet and, going out, found the Christian within the\nvestibule and said to him, \u201cHow comest thou here and how darest thou, O\ndog, enter my house without my leave?\u201d Answered he, \u201cO my lord, there is\nno difference between the door and the vestibule, and I never intended\nto stir hence, save to go out; and my thanks are due to thee for thy\nkindness and favour, thy bounty and generosity.\u201d Then he took the mug\nand emptying it, returned it to Ali Shar, who received it and waited for\nhim to rise up and to go; but he did not move. So Ali said to him, \u201cWhy\ndost thou not rise and wend thy way?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cO my lord, be\nnot of those who do a kindness and then make it a reproach, nor of those\nof whom saith the poet:[285]\u2014\n\n They\u2019re gone who when thou stoodest at their door \u273f Would for thy wants\n    so generously cater:\n But stand at door of churls who followed them, \u273f They\u2019d make high favour\n    of a draught of water!\u201d\n\nAnd he continued, \u201cO my lord, I have drunk, and now I would have thee\ngive me to eat of whatever is in the house, though it be but a bit of\nbread or a biscuit with an onion.\u201d Replied Ali Shar, \u201cBegone, without\nmore chaffer and chatter; there is nothing in the house.\u201d He persisted,\n\u201cO my lord, if there be nothing in the house, take these hundred dinars\nand bring us something from the market, if but a single scone, that\nbread and salt may pass between us.\u201d[286] With this, quoth Ali Shar to\nhimself, \u201cThis Christian is surely mad; I will take his hundred dinars\nand bring him somewhat worth a couple of dirhams and laugh at him.\u201d And\nthe Nazarene added, \u201cO my lord, I want but a small matter to stay my\nhunger, were it but a dry scone and an onion; for the best food is that\nwhich doeth away appetite, not rich viands\u201d; and how well saith the\npoet:\u2014\n\n Hunger is sated with a bone-dry scone, \u273f How is it then[287] in woes of\n    want I wone?\n Death is all-justest, lacking aught regard \u273f For Caliph-king and beggar\n    woebegone.\n\nThen quoth Ali Shar, \u201cWait here, while I lock the saloon and fetch thee\nsomewhat from the market;\u201d and quoth the Christian, \u201cTo hear is to\nobey.\u201d So Ali Shar shut up the saloon and, locking the door with a\npadlock, put the key in his pocket: after which he went to market and\nbought fried cheese and virgin honey and bananas[288] and bread, with\nwhich he returned to the house. Now when the Christian saw the\nprovision, he said, \u201cO my lord, this is overmuch; \u2018tis enough for half a\nscore of men and I am alone; but belike thou wilt eat with me.\u201d Replied\nAli, \u201cEat by thyself, I am full;\u201d and the Christian rejoined, \u201cO my\nlord, the wise say, Whoso eateth not with his guest is a son of a\nwhore.\u201d Now when Ali Shar heard these words from the Nazarene, he sat\ndown and ate a little with him, after which he would have held his\nhand;\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Three Hundred and Fourteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ali Shar sat down\nand ate a little with him, after which he would have held his hand; but\nthe Nazarene privily took a banana and peeled it; then, splitting it in\ntwain, put into one half concentrated Bhang, mixed with opium, a drachm\nwhereof would overthrow an elephant; and he dipped it in the honey and\ngave it to Ali Shar, saying, \u201cO my lord, by the truth of thy religion, I\nadjure thee to take this.\u201d So Ali Shar, being ashamed to make him\nforsworn, took it and swallowed it; but hardly had it settled well in\nhis stomach, when his head forwent both his feet and he was as though he\nhad been a year asleep. As soon as the Nazarene saw this, he rose to his\nfeet as he had been a scald wolf or a cat-o\u2019-mount[289] at bay and,\ntaking the saloon key, left Ali Shar prostrate and ran off to rejoin his\nbrother. And the cause of his so doing was that the Nazarene\u2019s brother\nwas the same decrepit old man who purposed to buy Zumurrud for a\nthousand dinars, but she would none of him and jeered him in verse. He\nwas an Unbeliever inwardly, though a Moslem outwardly, and had called\nhimself Rashid al-Din;[290] and when Zumurrud mocked him and would not\naccept of him, he complained to his brother, the aforesaid Christian who\nplayed this sleight to take her from her master Ali Shar; whereupon his\nbrother, Bars\u00fam by name, said to him, \u201cFret not thyself about the\nbusiness; for I will make shift to seize her for thee, without expending\neither dinar or dirham.\u201d Now he was a skilful wizard, crafty and wicked;\nso he watched his time and ceased not his practices till he played Ali\nShar the trick before related; then, taking the key, he went to his\nbrother and acquainted him with what had passed. Thereupon Rashid al-Din\nmounted his she-mule and repaired with his brother and his servants to\nthe house of Ali Shar, taking with him a purse of a thousand dinars,\nwherewith to bribe the Chief of Police, should he meet him. He opened\nthe saloon-door, and the men who were with him rushed in upon Zumurrud\nand forcibly seized her, threatening her with death, if she spoke; but\nthey left the place as it was and took nothing therefrom. Lastly, they\nleft Ali Shar lying in the vestibule after they had shut the door on him\nand laid the saloon key by his side. Then the Christian carried the girl\nto his own house and setting her amongst his handmaids and concubines,\nsaid to her, \u201cO strumpet, I am the old man whom thou didst reject and\nlampoon; but now I have thee, without paying dinar or dirham.\u201d Replied\nshe (and her eyes streamed with tears), \u201cAllah requite thee, O wicked\nold man, for sundering me and my lord!\u201d He rejoined, \u201cWanton minx and\nwhore that thou art, thou shalt see how I will punish thee! By the truth\nof the Messiah and the Virgin, except thou obey me and embrace my faith,\nI will torture thee with all manner of torture!\u201d She replied, \u201cBy Allah,\nthough thou cut my flesh to bits I will not forswear the faith of\nAl-Islam! It may be Almighty Allah will bring me speedy relief, for He\ndoth even as He is lief, and the wise say:\u2014Better body to scathe than a\nflaw in faith.\u201d Thereupon the old man called his eunuchs and women,\nsaying, \u201cThrow her down!\u201d So they threw her down and he ceased not to\nbeat her with grievous beating, whilst she cried for help and no help\ncame; then she no longer implored aid but fell to saying, \u201cAllah is my\nsufficiency, and He is indeed all-sufficient!\u201d till her groans ceased\nand her breath failed her and she fell into a fainting-fit. Now when his\nheart was soothed by bashing her, he said to the eunuchs, \u201cDrag her\nforth by the feet and cast her down in the kitchen, and give her nothing\nto eat.\u201d And after quietly sleeping that night, on the morrow the\naccursed old man sent for her and beat her again, after which he bade\nthe Castrato return her to her place. When the burning of the blows had\ncooled, she said, \u201cThere is no God but _the_ God and Mohammed is the\nApostle of God! Allah is my sufficiency and excellent is my Guardian!\u201d\nAnd she called for succour upon our Lord Mohammed (whom Allah bless and\nkeep!)\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n         Now when it was the Three Hundred and Fifteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Zumurrud called\nfor succour upon our Lord Mohammed (whom Allah bless and keep!). Such\nwas her case; but as regards Ali Shar, he ceased not sleeping till next\nday, when the Bhang quitted his brain and he opened his eyes, and cried\nout, \u201cO Zumurrud\u201d; but no one answered him. So he entered the saloon and\nfound the empty air and the fane afar;[291] whereby he knew that it was\nthe Nazarene who had played him this trick. And he groaned and wept and\nlamented and again shed tears, repeating these couplets:\u2014\n\n O Love thou\u2019rt instant in thy cruellest guise; \u273f Here is my heart \u2018twixt\n    fears and miseries:\n Pity, O lords, a thrall who, felled on way \u273f Of Love, erst wealthy now a\n    beggar lies:\n What profits archer\u2019s art if, when the foe \u273f Draw near, his bowstring\n    snap ere arrow flies:\n And when griefs multiply on generous man \u273f And urge, what fort can fend\n    from destinies?\n How much and much I warded parting, but \u273f \u2018When Destiny descends she\n    blinds our eyes?\u2019\n\nAnd when he had ended his verse, he sobbed with loud sobs and repeated\nalso these couplets:\u2014\n\n Enrobes with honour sands of camp her foot-step wandering lone; \u273f Pines\n    the poor mourner as she wins the stead where wont to wone:\n She turns to resting-place of tribe, and yearns thereon to view \u273f The\n    spring-camp lying desolate with ruins overstrown:\n She stands and questions of the site, but with the tongue of case \u273f The\n    mount replies, \u2018There is no path that leads to union, none!\n \u2018Tis as the lightning flash erewhile bright glittered o\u2019er the camp \u273f\n    And died in darkling air no more to be for ever shown.\u2019\n\nAnd he repented when repentance availed him naught, and wept and rent\nhis raiment. Then he hent in hand two stones and went round about the\ncity, beating his breast with the stones and crying, \u201cO Zumurrud!\u201d\nwhilst the small boys flocked round him, calling out, \u201cA madman! A\nmadman!\u201d and all who knew him wept for him, saying, \u201cThis is such an\none: what evil hath befallen him?\u201d Thus he continued doing all that day\nand, when night darkened on him, he lay down in one of the city-lanes\nand slept till morning. On the morrow, he went round about town with the\nstones till eventide, when he returned to his saloon to pass therein the\nnight. Presently, one of his neighbours saw him, and this worthy old\nwoman said to him, \u201cO my son, Heaven give thee healing! How long hast\nthou been mad?\u201d And he answered her with these two couplets:[292]\u2014\n\n They said, Thou ravest upon the person thou lovest. And I replied, The\n    sweets of life are only for the mad.\n Drop the subject of my madness, and bring her upon whom I rave. If she\n    cure my madness do not blame me.\n\nSo his old neighbour knew him for a lover who had lost his beloved and\nsaid, \u201cThere is no Majesty and there is no Might, save in Allah, the\nGlorious, the Great! O my son, I wish thou wouldest acquaint me with the\ntale of thine affliction. Peradventure Allah may enable me to help thee\nagainst it, if it so please Him.\u201d So he told her all that had befallen\nhim with Barsum the Nazarene and his brother the wizard who had named\nhimself Rashid al-Din and, when she understood the whole case, she said,\n\u201cO my son, indeed thou hast excuse.\u201d And her eyes railed tears and she\nrepeated these two couplets:\u2014\n\n Enough for lovers in this world their ban and bane: \u273f By Allah, lover\n    ne\u2019er in fire of Sakar fries:\n For, sure, they died of love-desire they never told \u273f Chastely, and to\n    this truth tradition testifies.[293]\n\nAnd after she had finished her verse, she said, \u201cO my son, rise at once\nand buy me a crate, such as the jewel-pedlars carry; buy also bangles\nand seal-rings and bracelets and ear-rings and other gew-gaws wherein\nwomen delight and grudge not the cash. Put all the stock into the crate\nand bring it to me and I will set it on my head and go round about, in\nthe guise of a huckstress and make search for her in all the houses,\ntill I happen on news of her\u2014Inshallah!\u201d So Ali Shar rejoiced in her\nwords and kissed her hands, then, going out, speedily brought her all\nshe required; whereupon she rose and donned a patched gown and threw\nover her head a honey-yellow veil, and took staff in hand and, with the\nbasket on her head, began wandering about the passages and the houses.\nShe ceased not to go from house to house and street to street and\nquarter to quarter, till Allah Almighty led her to the house of the\naccursed Rashid al-Din the Nazarene where, hearing groans within, she\nknocked at the door,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nto say her permitted say.\n\n\n         Now when it was the Three Hundred and Sixteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the old woman\nheard groans within the house, she knocked at the door, whereupon a\nslave-girl came down and opening to her, saluted her. Quoth the old\nwoman, \u201cI have these trifles for sale: is there any one with you who\nwill buy aught of them?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d answered the damsel and, carrying her\nindoors, made her sit down; whereupon all the slave-girls came round her\nand each bought something of her. And as the old woman spoke them fair\nand was easy with them as to price, all rejoiced in her, because of her\nkind ways and pleasant speech. Meanwhile, she looked narrowly at the ins\nand outs of the place to see who it was she had heard groaning, till her\nglance fell on Zumurrud, when she knew her and she began to show her\ncustomers yet more kindness. At last she made sure that Zumurrud was\nlaid prostrate; so she wept and said to the girls, \u201cO my children, how\ncometh yonder young lady in this plight?\u201d Then the slave-girls told her\nall what had passed, adding, \u201cIndeed this matter is not of our choice;\nbut our master commanded us to do thus, and he is now on a journey?\u201d She\nsaid, \u201cO my children, I have a favour to ask of you, and it is that you\nloose this unhappy damsel of her bonds, till you know of your lord\u2019s\nreturn, when do ye bind her again as she was; and you shall earn a\nreward from the Lord of all creatures.\u201d \u201cWe hear and obey,\u201d answered\nthey and at once loosing Zumurrud, gave her to eat and drink. Thereupon\nquoth the old woman, \u201cWould my leg had been broken, ere I entered your\nhouse!\u201d And she went up to Zumurrud and said to her, \u201cO my daughter,\nHeaven keep thee safe; soon shall Allah bring thee relief.\u201d Then she\nprivily told her that she came from her lord, Ali Shar, and agreed with\nher to be on the watch for sounds that night, saying, \u201cThy lord will\ncome and stand by the pavilion-bench and whistle[294] to thee; and when\nthou hearest him, do thou whistle back to him and let thyself down to\nhim by a rope from the window, and he will take thee and go away with\nthee.\u201d So Zumurrud thanked the old woman, who went forth and returned to\nAli Shar and told him what she had done, saying, \u201cGo this night, at\nmidnight, to such a quarter, for the accursed carle\u2019s house is there and\nits fashion is thus and thus. Stand under the window of the upper\nchamber and whistle; whereupon she will let herself down to thee; then\ndo thou take her and carry her whither thou wilt.\u201d He thanked her for\nher good offices and with flowing tears repeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n Now with their says and saids[295] no more vex me the chiding race; \u273f My\n    heart is weary and I\u2019m worn to bone by their disgrace:\n And tears a truthful legend[296] with a long ascription-chain \u273f Of my\n    desertion and distress the lineage can trace.\n O thou heart-whole and free from dole and dolours I endure, \u273f Cut short\n    thy long persistency nor question of my case:\n A sweet-lipped one and soft of sides and cast in shapeliest mould \u273f Hath\n    stormed my heart with honied lure and honied words of grace.\n No rest my heart hath known since thou art gone, nor ever close \u273f These\n    eyes, nor patience-aloe scape the hopes I dare to trace:\n Ye have abandoned me to be the pawn of vain desire, \u273f In squalid state\n    \u2018twixt enviers and they who blame to face:\n As for forgetting you or love \u2018tis thing I never knew; \u273f Nor in my\n    thought shall ever pass a living thing but you.\n\nAnd when he ended his verses, he sighed and shed tears and repeated also\nthese couplets:\u2014\n\n Divinely were inspired his words who brought me news of you; \u273f For\n    brought he unto me a gift was music in mine ear:\n Take he for gift, if him content, this worn-out threadbare robe, \u273f My\n    heart, which was in pieces torn when parting from my fere.\n\nHe waited till night darkened and, when came the appointed time, he went\nto the quarter she had described to him and saw and recognised the\nChristian\u2019s house; so he sat down on the bench under the gallery.\nPresently drowsiness overcame him and he slept (Glory be to Him who\nsleepeth not!), for it was long since he had tasted sleep, by reason of\nthe violence of his passion, and he became as one drunken with slumber.\nAnd while he was on this wise\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Three Hundred and Seventeenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that while he lay\nasleep, behold, a certain thief, who had come out that night and prowled\nabout the skirts of the city to steal somewhat, happened by the decree\nof Destiny, on the Nazarene\u2019s house. He went round about it, but found\nno way of climbing up into it, and presently on his circuit he came to\nthe bench, where he saw Ali Shar asleep and stole his turband; and, as\nhe was taking it, suddenly Zumurrud looked out and seeing the thief\nstanding in the darkness, took him for her lord; whereupon she let\nherself down to him by the rope with a pair of saddle-bags full of gold.\nNow when the robber saw that, he said to himself, \u201cThis is a wondrous\nthing, and there must needs be some marvellous cause to it.\u201d Then he\nsnatched up the saddle-bags, and threw Zumurrud over his shoulders and\nmade off with both like the blinding lightning. Quoth she, \u201cVerily, the\nold woman told me that thou wast weak with illness on my account; and\nhere thou art, stronger than a horse.\u201d He made her no reply; so she put\nher hand to his face and felt a beard like the broom of palm-frond used\nfor the Hammam,[297] as if he were a hog which had swallowed feathers\nand they had come out of his gullet; whereat she took fright and said to\nhim, \u201cWhat art thou?\u201d \u201cO strumpet,\u201d answered he, \u201cI am the sharper\nJaw\u00e1n[298] the Kurd, of the band of Ahmad al-Danaf; we are forty\nsharpers, who will all piss our tallow into thy womb this night, from\ndusk to dawn.\u201d When she heard his words, she wept and beat her face,\nknowing that Fate had gotten the better of her and that she had no\nresource but resignation and to put her trust in Allah Almighty. So she\ntook patience and submitted herself to the ordinance of the Lord,\nsaying, \u201cThere is no god but _the_ God! As often as we escape from one\nwoe, we fall into a worse.\u201d Now the cause of Jawan\u2019s coming thither was\nthis: he had said to Calamity-Ahmad, \u201cO Sharper-captain,[299] I have\nbeen in this city before and know a cavern without the walls which will\nhold forty souls; so I will go before you thither and set my mother\ntherein. Then will I return to the city and steal somewhat for the luck\nof all of you and keep it till you come; so shall you be my guests and I\nwill show you hospitality this day.\u201d Replied Ahmad al-Danaf, \u201cDo what\nthou wilt.\u201d So Jawan went forth to the place before them and set his\nmother in the cave; but, as he came out he found a trooper lying asleep,\nwith his horse picketed beside him; so he cut his throat and, taking his\nclothes and his charger and his arms, hid them with his mother in the\ncave, where also he tethered the horse. Then he betook himself to the\ncity and prowled about, till he happened on the Christian\u2019s house and\ndid with Ali Shar\u2019s turband and Zumurrud and her saddle-bags as we have\nsaid. He ceased not to run, with Zumurrud on his back, till he came to\nthe cavern, where he gave her in charge of his mother, saying, \u201cKeep\nthou watch over her till I return to thee at first dawn of day,\u201d and\nwent his ways.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to\nsay her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Three Hundred and Eighteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth Kurdish\nJawan to his mother, \u201cKeep thou watch over her till I come back to thee\nat first dawn of day,\u201d and went his ways. Now Zumurrud said to herself,\n\u201cWhy am I so heedless about saving my life and wherefore await till\nthese forty men come?: they will take their turns to board me, till they\nmake me like a water-logged ship at sea.\u201d Then she turned to the old\nwoman, Jawan\u2019s mother, and said to her, \u201cO my aunt, wilt thou not rise\nup and come without the cave, that I may louse thee in the sun?\u201d[300]\nReplied the old woman, \u201cAy, by Allah, O my daughter: this long time have\nI been out of reach of the bath; for these hogs cease not to carry me\nfrom place to place.\u201d So they went without the cavern, and Zumurrud\ncombed out her head hair and killed the lice on her locks, till the\ntickling soothed her and she fell asleep; whereupon Zumurrud arose and,\ndonning the clothes of the murthered trooper, girt her waist with his\nsword and covered her head with his turband, so that she became as she\nwere a man. Then, mounting the horse, after she had taken the saddle\nbags full of gold she breathed a prayer, \u201cO good Protector, protect me I\nadjure thee by the glory of Mohammed (whom Allah bless and preserve!),\u201d\nadding these words in thought, \u201cIf I return to the city belike one of\nthe trooper\u2019s folk will see me, and no good will befal me.\u201d So she\nturned her back on the town and rode forth into the wild and the waste.\nAnd she ceased not faring forth with her saddle-bags and the steed,\neating of the growth of the earth and drinking of its waters, she and\nher horse, for ten days and, on the eleventh, she came in sight of a\ncity pleasant and secure from dread, and stablished in happy stead.\nWinter had gone from it with his cold showers, and Prime had come to it\nwith his roses and orange-blossoms and varied flowers; and its blooms\nwere brightly blowing; its streams were merrily flowing and its birds\nwarbled coming and going. And she drew near the dwellings and would have\nentered the gate when she saw the troops and Emirs and Grandees of the\nplace drawn up, whereat she marvelled seeing them in such unusual case\nand said to herself, \u201cThe people of the city are all gathered at its\ngate: needs must there be a reason for this.\u201d Then she made towards\nthem; but, as she drew near, the soldiery dashed forward to meet her\nand, dismounting all, kissed the ground between her hands and said, \u201cAid\nthee Allah, O our lord the Sultan!\u201d Then the notables and dignitaries\nranged themselves before her in double line, whilst the troops ordered\nthe people in, saying, \u201cAllah aid thee and make thy coming a blessing to\nthe Moslems, O Sultan of all creatures! Allah establish thee, O King of\nthe time and union-pearl of the day and the tide!\u201d Asked Zumurrud, \u201cWhat\naileth you, O people of this city?\u201d And the Head Chamberlain answered,\n\u201cVerily, He hath given to thee who is no niggard in His giving; and He\nhath been bountiful to thee and hath made thee Sultan of this city and\nruler over the necks of all who are therein; for know thou it is the\ncustom of the citizens, when their King deceaseth leaving no son, that\nthe troops should sally forth to the suburbs and sojourn there three\ndays: and whoever cometh from the quarter whence thou hast come, him\nthey make King over them. So praised be Allah who hath sent us of the\nsons of the Turks a well-favoured man; for had a lesser than thou\npresented himself, he had been Sultan.\u201d Now Zumurrud was clever and\nwell-advised in all she did: so she said, \u201cThink not that I am of the\ncommon folk of the Turks! nay, I am of the sons of the great, a man of\ncondition; but I was wroth with my family, so I went forth and left\nthem. See these saddle-bags full of gold which I have brought under me\nthat, by the way, I might give alms thereof to the poor and the needy.\u201d\nSo they called down blessings upon her and rejoiced in her with\nexceeding joy and she also joyed in them and said in herself, \u201cNow that\nI have attained to this\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Three Hundred and Nineteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth Zumurrud to\nherself, \u201cNow that I have attained to this case, haply Allah will\nreunite me with my lord in this place, for He can do whatso He willeth.\u201d\nThen the troops escorted her to the city and, all dismounting, walked\nbefore her to the palace. Here she alighted and the Emirs and Grandees,\ntaking her under both armpits,[301] carried her into the palace and\nseated her on the throne; after which they all kissed ground before her.\nAnd when duly enthroned she bade them open the treasuries and gave\nlargesse to all the troops, who offered up prayers for the continuance\nof her reign, and all the townsfolk accepted her rule and all the lieges\nof the realm. Thus she abode awhile bidding and forbidding, and all the\npeople came to hold her in exceeding reverence and heartily to love her,\nby reason of her continence and generosity; for taxes she remitted and\nprisoners she released and grievances she redressed; but, as often as\nshe bethought her of her lord, she wept and besought Allah to reunite\nher and him; and one night, as she chanced to be thinking of him and\ncalling to mind the days she had passed with him, her eyes ran over with\ntears and she versified in these two couplets:\u2014\n\n My yearning for thee though long is fresh, \u273f And the tears which chafe\n these eyelids increase:\n When I weep, I weep from the burn of love, \u273f For to lover severance is\n decease.[302]\n\nAnd when she had ended her verse, she wiped away her tears and repairing\nto the palace, betook herself to the Harim, where she appointed to the\nslave-girls and concubines separate lodgings and assigned them pensions\nand allowances, giving out that she was minded to live apart and devote\nherself to works of piety. So she applied herself to fasting and\npraying, till the Emirs said, \u201cVerily, this Sultan is eminently devout;\u201d\nnor would she suffer any male attendants about her, save two little\neunuchs to serve her. And on this wise she held the throne a whole year,\nduring which time she heard no news of her lord, and failed to hit upon\nhis traces, which was exceeding grievous to her; so, when her distress\nbecame excessive, she summoned her Wazirs and Chamberlains and bid them\nfetch architects and builders and make her in front of the palace a\nhorse-course, one parasang long and the like broad. They hastened to do\nher bidding, and lay out the place to her liking; and, when it was\ncompleted, she went down into it and they pitched her there a great\npavilion, wherein the chairs of the Emirs were ranged in due order.\nMoreover, she bade them spread on the racing-plain tables with all\nmanners of rich meats and when this was done she ordered the Grandees to\neat. So they ate and she said to them, \u201cIt is my will that, on seeing\nthe new moon of each month, ye do on this wise and proclaim in the city\nthat no man shall open his shop, but that all our lieges shall come and\neat of the King\u2019s banquet, and that whoso disobeyeth shall be hanged\nover his own door.\u201d[303] So they did as she bade them, and ceased not so\nto do till the first new moon of the second year appeared; when Zumurrud\nwent down into the horse-course and the crier proclaimed aloud, saying,\n\u201cHo, ye lieges and people one and all, whoso openeth store or shop or\nhouse shall straightway be hanged over his own door; for it behoveth you\nto come in a body and eat of the King\u2019s banquet.\u201d And when the\nproclamation became known, they laid the tables and the subjects came in\nhosts; so she bade them sit down at the trays and eat their fill of all\nthe dishes. Accordingly they sat down and she took place on her chair of\nstate, watching them, whilst each who was at meat said to himself,\n\u201cVerily the King looketh at none save me.\u201d Then they fell to eating and\nthe Emirs said to them, \u201cEat and be not ashamed; for this pleaseth the\nKing.\u201d So they ate their fill and went away, blessing the Sovereign and\nsaying, one to the other, \u201cNever in our days saw we a Sultan who loved\nthe poor as doth this Sultan.\u201d And they wished him length of life. Upon\nthis Zumurrud returned to her palace,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n         Now when it was the Three Hundred and Twentieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Queen Zumurrud\nreturned to her palace, rejoicing in her device and saying to herself,\n\u201cInshallah, I shall surely by this means happen on news of my lord Ali\nShar.\u201d When the first day of the second month came round, she did as\nbefore and when they had spread the tables she came down from her palace\nand took place on her throne and commanded the lieges to sit down and\nfall to. Now as she sat on her throne, at the head of the tables,\nwatching the people take their places company by company and one by one,\nbehold her eye fell on Barsum, the Nazarene who had bought the curtain\nof her lord; and she knew him and said in her mind, \u201cThis is the first\nof my joy and the winning of my wish.\u201d Then Barsum came up to the table\nand, sitting down with the rest to eat, espied a dish of sweet rice,\nsprinkled with sugar; but it was far from him, so he pushed up to it\nthrough the crowd and, putting out his hand to it, seized it and set it\nbefore himself. His next neighbour said to him, \u201cWhy dost thou not eat\nof what is before thee? Is not this a disgrace to thee? How canst thou\nreach over for a dish which is distant from thee? Art thou not ashamed?\u201d\nQuoth Barsum, \u201cI will eat of none save this same.\u201d Rejoined the other,\n\u201cEat then, and Allah give thee no good of it!\u201d But another man, a\nHashish-eater, said, \u201cLet him eat of it, that I may eat with him.\u201d\nReplied his neighbour, \u201cO unluckiest of Hashish-eaters, this is no meat\nfor thee; it is eating for Emirs. Let it be, that it may return to those\nfor whom it is meant and they eat it.\u201d But Barsum heeded him not and\ntook a mouthful of the rice and put it in his mouth; and was about to\ntake a second mouthful when the Queen, who was watching him, cried out\nto certain of her guards, saying, \u201cBring me yonder man with the dish of\nsweet rice before him and let him not eat the mouthful he hath ready but\nthrow it from his hand.\u201d[304] So four of the guards went up to Barsum\nand haled him along on his face, after throwing the mouthful of rice\nfrom his hand, and set him standing before Zumurrud, whilst all the\npeople left eating and said to one another, \u201cBy Allah, he did wrong in\nnot eating of the food meant for the likes of him.\u201d Quoth one, \u201cFor me I\nwas content with this porridge[305] which is before me.\u201d And the\nHashish-eater said, \u201cPraised be Allah who hindered me from eating of the\ndish of sugared rice for I expected it to stand before him and was\nwaiting only for him to have his enjoyment of it, to eat with him, when\nthere befel him what we see.\u201d And the general said, one to other, \u201cWait\ntill we see what shall befal him.\u201d Now as they brought him before Queen\nZumurrud she cried, \u201cWoe to thee, O blue eyes! What is thy name and why\ncomest thou to our country?\u201d But the accursed called himself out of his\nname, having a white turband[306] on, and answered, \u201cO King, my name is\nAli; I work as a weaver and I came hither to trade.\u201d Quoth Zumurrud,\n\u201cBring me a table of sand and a pen of brass,\u201d and when they brought her\nwhat she sought, she took the sand and the pen, and struck a geomantic\nfigure in the likeness of a baboon; then, raising her head, she looked\nhard at Barsum for an hour or so and said to him, \u201cO dog, how darest\nthou lie to Kings? Art thou not a Nazarene, Barsum by name, and comest\nthou not hither in quest of somewhat? Speak the truth, or by the glory\nof the Godhead, I will strike off thy head!\u201d At this Barsum was\nconfounded and the Emirs and bystanders said, \u201cVerily, this King\nunderstandeth geomancy: blessed be He who hath gifted him!\u201d Then she\ncried out upon the Christian and said, \u201cTell me the truth, or I will\nmake an end of thee!\u201d Barsum replied, \u201cPardon, O King of the age; thou\nart right as regards the table, for the far one[307] is indeed a\nNazarene\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Twenty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Barsum replied,\n\u201cPardon, O King of the age; thou art right as regards the table, for thy\nslave is indeed a Nazarene.\u201d Whereupon all present, gentle and simple,\nwondered at the King\u2019s skill in hitting upon the truth by geomancy, and\nsaid, \u201cVerily this King is a diviner, whose like there is not in the\nworld.\u201d Thereupon Queen Zumurrud bade flay the Nazarene and stuff his\nskin with straw and hang it over the gate of the race-course. Moreover,\nshe commanded to dig a pit without the city and burn therein his flesh\nand bones and throw over his ashes offal and ordure. \u201cWe hear and obey,\u201d\nanswered they, and did with him all she bade; and, when the folk saw\nwhat had befallen the Christian, they said, \u201cServe him right; but what\nan unlucky mouthful was that for him!\u201d And another said, \u201cBe the far\none\u2019s wife divorced if this vow be broken: never again to the end of my\ndays will I eat of sugared rice!\u201d; and the Hashish-eater cried \u201cPraised\nbe Allah, who spared me this fellow\u2019s fate by saving me from eating of\nthat same rice!\u201d Then they all went out, holding it thenceforth unlawful\nto sit over against the dish of sweet rice as the Nazarene had sat. Now\nwhen the first day of the third month came, they laid the tables\naccording to custom, and covered them with dishes and chargers, and\nQueen Zumurrud came down and sat on her throne, with her guards in\nattendance, as of wont, in awe of her dignity and majesty. Then the\ntownsfolk entered as before and went round about the tables, looking for\nthe place of the dish of sweet rice, and quoth one to another, \u201cHark ye,\nO H\u00e1j\u00ed[308] Khalaf!\u201d; and the other answered, \u201cAt thy service, O H\u00e1j\u00ed\nKh\u00e1lid.\u201d Said Kh\u00e1lid, \u201cAvoid the dish of sweet rice and look thou eat\nnot thereof; for, if thou do, by early morning thou will be\nhanged.\u201d[309] Then they sat down to meat around the table; and, as they\nwere eating, Queen Zumurrud chanced to look from her throne and saw a\nman come running in through the gate of the horse-course; and having\nconsidered him attentively, she knew him for Jawan the Kurdish thief who\nmurdered the trooper. Now the cause of his coming was this: when he left\nhis mother, he went to his comrades and said to them, \u201cI did good\nbusiness yesterday; for I slew a trooper and took his horse. Moreover\nthere fell to me last night a pair of saddle-bags, full of gold, and a\nyoung lady worth more than the money in pouch; and I have left all that\nwith my mother in the cave.\u201d At this they rejoiced and repaired to the\ncavern at nightfall, whilst Jawan the Kurd walked in front and the rest\nbehind; he wishing to bring them the booty of which he had boasted. But\nhe found the place clean empty and questioned his mother, who told him\nall that had befallen her; whereupon he bit his hands for regret and\nexclaimed, \u201cBy Allah, I will assuredly make search for the harlot and\ntake her, wherever she is, though it be in the shell of a\npistachio-nut,[310] and quench my malice on her!\u201d So he went forth in\nquest of her and ceased not journeying from place to place, till he came\nto Queen Zumurrud\u2019s city. On entering he found the town deserted and,\nenquiring of some women whom he saw looking from the windows, they told\nhim that it was the Sultan\u2019s custom to make a banquet for the people on\nthe first of each month and that all the lieges were bound to go and eat\nof it. Furthermore the women directed him to the racing-ground, where\nthe feast was spread. So he entered at a shuffling trot; and, finding no\nplace empty, save that before the dish of sweet rice already noticed,\ntook his seat right opposite it and stretched out his hand towards the\ndish; whereupon the folk cried out to him, saying, \u201cO our brother, what\nwouldst thou do?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI would eat my fill of this dish.\u201d Rejoined\none of the people, \u201cIf thou eat of it thou wilt assuredly find thyself\nhanged to-morrow morning.\u201d But Jawan said, \u201cHold thy tongue and talk not\nso unpleasantly.\u201d Then he stretched out his hand to the dish and drew it\nto him; but it so chanced that the Hashish-eater of whom we have spoken,\nwas sitting by him; and when he saw him take the dish, the fumes of the\nHashish left his head and he fled from his place and sat down afar off,\nsaying, \u201cI will have nothing to do with yonder dish.\u201d Then Jawan the\nKurd put out his hand (which was very like a raven\u2019s claws),[311]\nscooped up therewith half the dishful and drew out his neave as it were\na camel\u2019s hoof\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to\nsay her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Twenty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Jawan the Kurd\ndrew his neave from the dish as it were a camel\u2019s hoof and rolled the\nlump of rice in the palm of his hand, till it was like a big orange, and\nthrew it ravenously into his mouth; and it rolled down his gullet, with\na rumble like thunder and the bottom of the deep dish appeared where\nsaid mouthful had been. Thereupon quoth to him one sitting by his side,\n\u201cPraised be Allah for not making me meat between thy hands; for thou\nhast cleared the dish at a single mouthful;\u201d and quoth the\nHashish-eater, \u201cLet him eat; methinks he hath a hanging face.\u201d Then,\nturning to Jawan he added, \u201cEat and Allah give thee small good of it.\u201d\nSo Jawan put out his hand again and taking another mouthful, was rolling\nit in his palm like the first, when behold, the Queen cried out to the\nguards saying, \u201cBring me yonder man in haste and let him not eat the\nmouthful in his hand.\u201d So they ran and seizing him as he hung over the\ndish, brought him to her, and set him in her presence, whilst the people\nexulted over his mishap and said one to the other, \u201cServe him right, for\nwe warned him, but he would not take warning. Verily, this place is\nbound to be the death of whoso sitteth therein, and yonder rice bringeth\ndoom to all who eat of it.\u201d Then said Queen Zumurrud to Jawan, \u201cWhat is\nthy name and trade and wherefore comest thou to our city?\u201d Answered he,\n\u201cO our lord the Sultan, my name is Othman; I work as a gardener and am\ncome hither in quest of somewhat I have lost.\u201d Quoth Zumurrud, \u201cHere\nwith a table of sand!\u201d So they brought it, and she took the pen and\ndrawing a geomantic scheme, considered it awhile, then raising her head,\nexclaimed, \u201cWoe to thee, thou losel! How darest thou lie to Kings? This\nsand telleth me that of a truth thy name is Jawan the Kurd and that thou\nart by trade a robber, taking men\u2019s goods in the way of unright and\nslaying those whom Allah hath forbidden to slay save for just cause.\u201d\nAnd she cried out upon him, saying, \u201cO hog, tell me the truth of thy\ncase or I will cut off thy head on the spot.\u201d Now when he heard these\nwords, he turned yellow and his teeth chattered; then, deeming that he\nmight save himself by truth-telling, he replied, \u201cO King, thou sayest\nsooth; but I repent at thy hands henceforth and turn to Allah Almighty!\u201d\nShe answered, \u201cIt were not lawful for me to leave a pest in the way of\nMoslems;\u201d and cried to her guards, \u201cTake him and skin him and do with\nhim as last month ye did by his like.\u201d They obeyed her commandment; and,\nwhen the Hashish-eater saw the soldiers seize the man, he turned his\nback upon the dish of rice, saying, \u201c\u2019Tis a sin to present my face to\nthee!\u201d And after they had made an end of eating, they dispersed to their\nseveral homes and Zumurrud returned to her palace and dismissed her\nattendants. Now when the fourth month came round, they went to the\nrace-course and made the banquet, according to custom, and the folk sat\nawaiting leave to begin. Presently Queen Zumurrud entered; and, sitting\ndown on her throne, looked at the tables and saw that room for four\npeople was left void before the dish of rice, at which she wondered. Now\nas she was looking around, behold, she saw a man come trotting in at the\ngate of the horse-course; and he stayed not till he stood over the\nfood-trays; and, finding no room, save before the dish of rice, took his\nseat there. She looked at him and knowing him for the accursed Christian\nwho called himself Rashid al-Din, said in her mind, \u201cHow blessed is this\ndevice of the food,[312] into whose toils this infidel hath fallen!\u201d Now\nthe cause of his coming was extraordinary, and it was on this wise. When\nhe returned from his travels\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Twenty-third Night,\n\nShe said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the accursed,\nwho had called himself Rashid Al-Din, returned from travel, his\nhousehold informed him that Zumurrud was missing and with her a pair of\nsaddle-bags full of money; on hearing which ill tidings he rent his\nraiment and buffetted his face and plucked out his beard. Then he\ndespatched his brother Barsum in quest of her to lands adjoining and,\nwhen he was weary of awaiting news of him, he went forth himself, to\nseek for him and for the girl, whenas fate led him to the city of\nZumurrud. He entered it on the first day of the month and finding the\nstreets deserted and the shops shut and women idling at the windows, he\nasked them the reason why, and they told him that the King made a\nbanquet on the first of each month for the people, all of whom were\nbound to attend it, nor might any abide in his house or shop that day;\nand they directed him to the racing-plain. So he betook himself thither\nand found the people crowding about the food, and there was never a\nplace for him save in front of the rice-dish now well-known. Here then\nhe sat and put forth his hand to eat thereof, whereupon Zumurrud cried\nout to her guards, saying, \u201cBring me him who sitteth over against the\ndish of rice.\u201d So they knew him by what had before happened and laid\nhands on him and brought him before Queen Zumurrud, who said to him,\n\u201cOut on thee! What is thy name and trade, and what bringeth thee to our\ncity?\u201d Answered he, \u201cO King of the age, my name is Rustam[313] and I\nhave no occupation, for I am a poor dervish.\u201d Then said she to her\nattendants, \u201cBring me table of sand and pen of brass.\u201d So they brought\nher what she sought, as of wont; and she took the pen and made the dots\nwhich formed the figure and considered it awhile, then raising her head\nto Rashid al-Din, she said, \u201cO dog, how darest thou lie to Kings? Thy\nname is Rashid al-Din the Nazarene, thou art outwardly a Moslem, but a\nChristian at heart, and thine occupation is to lay snares for the\nslave-girls of the Moslems and make them captives. Speak the truth, or I\nwill smite off thy head.\u201d He hesitated and stammered, then replied,\n\u201cThou sayest sooth, O King of the age!\u201d Whereupon she commanded to throw\nhim down and give him an hundred blows with a stick on each sole and a\nthousand stripes with a whip on his body; after which she bade flay him\nand stuff his skin with hards of flax and dig a pit without the city,\nwherein they should burn his corpse and cast on his ashes offal and\nordure. They did as she bade them and she gave the people leave to eat.\nSo they ate and when they had eaten their fill they went their ways,\nwhile Queen Zumurrud returned to her palace, saying, \u201cI thank Allah for\nsolacing my heart of those who wronged me.\u201d Then she praised the Creator\nof the earth and the heavens and repeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n They ruled awhile and theirs was harsh tyrannic rule, \u273f But soon that\n    rule went by as though it never were:\n If just they had won justice; but they sinned, and so \u273f The world\n    collected all its bane for them to bear:\n So died they and their case\u2019s tongue declares aloud \u273f This is for that;\n    so of the world your blaming spare.\n\nAnd when her verse was ended she called to mind her lord Ali Shar and\nwept flowing tears; but presently recovered herself and said, \u201cHaply\nAllah, who hath given mine enemies into my hand, will vouchsafe me the\nspeedy return of my beloved;\u201d and she begged forgiveness of Allah (be He\nextolled and exalted!),\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Twenty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen begged\nforgiveness of Allah (be He extolled and exalted!), and said, \u201cHaply He\nwill vouchsafe me speedy reunion with my beloved Ali Shar for He can do\nwhat He willeth and to His servants showeth grace, ever mindful of their\ncase!\u201d Then she praised Allah and again besought forgiveness of Him,\nsubmitting herself to the decrees of destiny, assured that each\nbeginning hath his end, and repeating the saying of the poet:\u2014\n\n Take all things easy; for all worldly things \u273f In Allah\u2019s hand are ruled\n    by Destiny:\n Ne\u2019er shall befal thee aught of things forbidden, \u273f Nor what is bidden\n    e\u2019er shall fail to thee!\n\nAnd what another saith:\u2014\n\n Roll up thy days[314] and easy shall they roll \u273f Through life, nor haunt\n    the house of grief and dole:\n Full many a thing, which is o\u2019er hard to find, \u273f Next hour shall bring\n    thee to delight thy soul.\n\nAnd what a third saith[315]:\u2014\n\n Be mild what time thou \u2018rt ta\u2019en with anger and despite \u273f And patient,\n    if there fall misfortune on thy head.\n Indeed, the nights are quick and great with child by Time \u273f And of all\n    wondrous things are hourly brought to bed.\n\nAnd what a fourth saith:\u2014\n\n Take patience which breeds good if patience thou can learn; \u273f Be\n    calm-souled, scaping anguish-draughts that gripe and bren:\n Know, that if patience with good grace thou dare refuse, \u273f With\n    ill-graced patience thou shalt bear what wrote the Pen.\n\nAfter which she abode thus another whole month\u2019s space, judging the folk\nand bidding and forbidding by day, and by night weeping and bewailing\nher separation from her lord Ali Shar. On the first day of the fifth\nmonth, she bade them spread the banquet on the race-plain, according to\ncustom, and sat down at the head of the tables, whilst the lieges\nawaited the signal to fail to, leaving the place before the dish of rice\nvacant. She sat with eyes fixed upon the gate of the horse-course,\nnoting all who entered and saying in her soul, \u201cO Thou who restoredest\nJoseph to Jacob and diddest away the sorrows of Job,[316] vouchsafe of\nThy might and Thy majesty to restore me my lord Ali Shar; for Thou over\nall things art Omnipotent, O Lord of the Worlds! O Guide of those who go\nastray! O Hearer of those that cry! O Answerer of those who pray, answer\nThou my prayer, O Lord of all creatures.\u201d Now hardly had she made an end\nof her prayer and supplication when behold, she saw entering the gate of\nthe horse-plain a young man, in shape like a willow branch, the\ncomeliest of youths and the most accomplished, save that his face was\nwan and his form wasted by weariness. Now as he entered and came up to\nthe tables, he found no seat vacant save that over against the dish of\nsweet rice so he sat down there; and, when Zumurrud looked upon him, her\nheart fluttered and, observing him narrowly, she knew him for her lord\nAli Shar, and was like to have cried out for joy, but restrained\nherself, fearing disgrace before the folk; and, albeit her bowels\nyearned over him and her heart beat wildly, she hid what she felt. Now\nthe cause of his coming thither was on this wise. After he fell asleep\nupon the bench and Zumurrud let herself down to him and Jawan the Kurd\nseized her, he presently awoke and found himself lying with his head\nbare, so he knew that some one had come upon him and had robbed him of\nhis turband whilst he slept. So he spoke the saying which shall never\nshame its sayer and, which is, \u201cVerily, we are Allah\u2019s and to Him are we\nreturning!\u201d and, going back to the old woman\u2019s house, knocked at the\ndoor. She came out and he wept before her, till he fell down in a\nfainting fit. Now when he came to himself, he told her all that had\npassed, and she blamed him and chid him for his foolish doings saying,\n\u201cVerily thine affliction and calamity come from thyself.\u201d And she gave\nnot over reproaching him, till the blood streamed from his nostrils and\nhe again fainted away. When he recovered from his swoon\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Ali Shar\nrecovered from his swoon he saw the old woman bewailing his griefs and\nweeping over him; so he complained of his hard lot and repeated these\ntwo couplets:\u2014\n\n How bitter to friends is a parting, \u273f And a meeting how sweet to the\n    lover!\n Allah join all the lovers He parteth, \u273f And save me who of love ne\u2019er\n    recover.[317]\n\nThe old woman mourned over him and said to him, \u201cSit here, whilst I go\nin quest of news for thee and return to thee in haste.\u201d \u201cTo hear is to\nobey,\u201d answered he. So she left him on her good errand and was absent\ntill midday, when she returned and said to him, \u201cO Ali, I fear me thou\nmust die in thy grief; thou wilt never see thy beloved again save on the\nbridge Al-Sir\u00e1t;[318] for the people of the Christian\u2019s house, when they\narose in the morning, found the window giving on the garden torn from\nits hinges and Zumurrud missing, and with her a pair of saddle-bags full\nof the Christian\u2019s money. And when I came thither, I saw the Chief of\nPolice standing at the door, he and his many, and there is no Majesty\nand there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!\u201d Now, as\nAli Shar heard these words, the light in his sight was changed to the\ndarkness of night and he despaired of life and made sure of death; nor\ndid he leave weeping, till he lost his senses. When he revived, love and\nlonging were sore upon him; there befel him a grievous sickness and he\nkept his house a whole year; during which the old woman ceased not to\nbring him doctors and ply him with ptisanes and diet-drinks and make him\nsavoury broths till, after the twelve-month ended, his life returned to\nhim. Then he recalled what had passed and repeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n Severance-grief nighmost, union done to death, \u273f Down-railing\n    tear-drops, heart fire tortureth!\n Redoubleth pine in one that hath no peace \u273f For love and wake and woe he\n    suffereth:\n O Lord, if there be thing to joy my soul \u273f Deign Thou bestow it while I\n    breathe my breath.\n\nWhen the second year began, the old woman said to him, \u201cO my son, all\nthis thy weeping and wailing will not bring thee back thy mistress.\nRise, therefore, gird the loins of resolution and seek for her in the\nlands: peradventure thou shalt light on some news of her.\u201d And she\nceased not to exhort and hearten him, till he took courage and she\ncarried him to the Hammam. Then she made him drink strong wine and eat\nwhite meats, and thus she did with him for a whole month, till he\nregained strength; and setting out, journeyed without ceasing till he\narrived at Zumurrud\u2019s city, where he went to the horse-course, and sat\ndown before the dish of sweet rice and put out his hand to eat of it.\nNow when the folk saw this, they were concerned for him and said to him,\n\u201cO young man, eat not of that dish, for whoso eateth thereof, misfortune\nbefalleth him.\u201d Answered he, \u201cLeave me to eat of it, and let them do\nwith me what they will, so haply shall I be at rest from this wearying\nlife.\u201d Accordingly he ate a first mouthful, and Zumurrud was minded to\nhave him brought before her; but then she bethought her that belike he\nwas anhungered and said to herself, \u201cIt were properer to let him eat his\nfill.\u201d So he went on eating, whilst the folk looked at him in\nastonishment, waiting to see what would betide him; and, when he had\nsatisfied himself, Zumurrud said to certain of her eunuchry, \u201cGo to\nyonder youth who eateth of the rice and bring him to me in courteous\nguise, saying:\u2014Answer the summons of the King who would have a word with\nthee on some slight matter.\u201d They replied, \u201cWe hear and obey,\u201d and going\nstraightways up to Ali Shar, said to him, \u201cO my lord, be pleased to\nanswer the summons of the King and let thy heart be at ease.\u201d Quoth he,\n\u201cHearkening and obedience;\u201d and followed the eunuchs,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ali Shar rejoined,\n\u201cHearkening and obedience;\u201d and followed the eunuchs, whilst the people\nsaid to one another, \u201cThere is no Majesty and there is no Might save in\nAllah, the Glorious, the Great! I wonder what the King will do with\nhim!\u201d And others said, \u201cHe will do him naught but good: for had he\nintended to harm him, he had not suffered him to eat his fill.\u201d Now when\nthe Castratos set him in presence of Zumurrud he saluted and kissed the\nearth before her, whilst she returned his salutation and received him\nwith honour. Then she asked him, \u201cWhat may be thy name and trade, and\nwhat brought thee to our city?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cO King my name is Ali\nShar; I am of the sons of the merchants of Khorasan; and the cause of my\ncoming hither is to seek for a slave-girl whom I have lost for she was\ndearer to me than my hearing and my seeing, and indeed my soul cleaveth\nto her, since I lost her; and such is my tale.\u201d So saying he wept, till\nhe swooned away; whereupon she bade them sprinkle rose-water on his\nface, which they did till he revived, when she said, \u201cHere with the\ntable of sand and the brass pen.\u201d So they brought them and she took the\npen and struck a geomantic scheme which she considered awhile; and then\ncried, \u201cThou hast spoken sooth, Allah will grant thee speedy reunion\nwith her; so be not troubled.\u201d Upon this she commanded her\nhead-chamberlain to carry him to the bath and afterwards to clothe him\nin a handsome suit of royal apparel, and mount him on one of the best of\nthe King\u2019s horses and finally bring him to the palace at the last of the\nday. So the Chamberlain, after saying \u201cI hear and I obey,\u201d took him\naway; whilst the folk began to say to one another, \u201cWhat maketh the King\ndeal thus courteously with yonder youth?\u201d And quoth one, \u201cDid I not tell\nyou that he would do him no hurt?; for he is fair of aspect; and this I\nknew, ever since the King suffered him to eat his fill.\u201d And each said\nhis say; after which they all dispersed and went their ways. As for\nZumurrud, she thought the night would never come, that she might be\nalone with the beloved of her heart. As soon as it was dark, she\nwithdrew to her sleeping-chamber and made her attendants think her\novercome with sleep; and it was her wont to suffer none to pass the\nnight with her save those two little eunuchs who waited upon her. After\na while when she had composed herself, she sent for her dear Ali Shar\nand sat down upon the bed, with candles burning over her head and feet,\nand hanging lamps of gold lighting up the place like the rising sun.\nWhen the people heard of her sending for Ali Shar, they marvelled\nthereat and each man thought his thought and said his say; but one of\nthem declared, \u201cAt all events the King is in love with this young man,\nand to-morrow he will make him generalissimo of the army.\u201d[319] Now when\nthey brought him into her, he kissed the ground between her hands and\ncalled down blessings on her, and she said in her mind, \u201cThere is no\nhelp for it but that I jest with him awhile, before I make myself known\nto him.\u201d[320] Then she asked him, \u201cO Ali, say me, hast thou been to the\nHammam?\u201d[321] and he answered, \u201cYes, O my lord.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cCome, eat\nof this chicken and meat, and drink of this wine and sherbet of sugar;\nfor thou art weary; and after that come thou hither.\u201d \u201cI hear and I\nobey,\u201d replied he, and did as she commanded him do. Now when he had made\nan end of eating and drinking, she said to him, \u201cCome up with me on the\ncouch and shampoo[322] my feet.\u201d So he fell to rubbing feet and kneading\ncalves, and found them softer than silk. Then said she, \u201cGo higher with\nthe massage;\u201d and he, \u201cPardon me, O my lord, to the knee but no\nfarther!\u201d Whereupon quoth she, \u201cDurst thou disobey me?: it shall be an\nill-omened night for thee!\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n      Now when it was the Three Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Zumurrud cried to\nher lord, Ali Shar, \u201cDurst thou disobey me?: it shall be an ill-omened\nnight for thee! Nay, but it behoveth thee to do my bidding and I will\nmake thee my minion and appoint thee one of my Emirs.\u201d Asked Ali Shar,\n\u201cAnd in what must I do thy bidding, O King of the age?\u201d and she\nanswered, \u201cDoff thy trousers and lie down on thy face.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cThat\nis a thing in my life I never did; and if thou force me thereto, verily\nI will accuse thee thereof before Allah on Resurrection-day. Take\neverything thou hast given me and let me go from thy city.\u201d And he wept\nand lamented; but she said, \u201cDoff thy trousers and lie down on thy face,\nor I will strike off thy head.\u201d So he did as she bade him and she\nmounted upon his back; and he felt what was softer than silk and\nsmoother than cream and said in himself, \u201cOf a truth, this King is nicer\nthan all the women!\u201d Now for a time she abode on his back, then she\nturned over on the bed, and he said to himself, \u201cPraised be Allah! It\nseemeth his yard is not standing.\u201d Then said she, \u201cO Ali, it is of the\nwont of my prickle that it standeth not, except they rub it with their\nhands; so, come, rub it with thy hand, till it be at stand, else will I\nslay thee.\u201d So saying, she lay down on her back and taking his hand, set\nit to her parts, and he found these same parts softer than silk; white,\nplumply-rounded, protuberant, resembling for heat the hot room of the\nbath or the heart of a lover whom love-longing hath wasted. Quoth Ali in\nhimself, \u201cVerily, our King hath a coynte; this is indeed a wonder of\nwonders!\u201d And lust gat hold on him and his yard rose and stood upright\nto the utmost of its height; which when Zumurrud saw, she burst out\nlaughing and said to him, \u201cO my lord, all this happeneth and yet thou\nknowest me not!\u201d He asked \u201cAnd who art thou, O King?\u201d; and she answered,\n\u201cI am thy slave-girl Zumurrud.\u201d Now whenas he knew this and was\ncertified that she was indeed his very slave-girl, Zumurrud, he kissed\nher and embraced her and threw himself upon her as the lion upon the\nlamb. Then he sheathed his steel rod in her scabbard and ceased not to\nplay the porter at her door and the preacher in her pulpit and the\npriest[323] at her prayer-niche, whilst she with him ceased not from\ninclination and prostration and rising up and sitting down, accompanying\nher ejaculations of praise and of \u201cGlory to Allah!\u201d with passionate\nmovements and wrigglings and claspings of his member[324] and other\namorous gestures, till the two little eunuchs heard the noise. So they\ncame and peeping from behind the curtains saw the King lying on his back\nand upon him Ali Shar, thrusting and slashing whilst she puffed and blew\nand wriggled. Quoth they, \u201cVerily, this be no man\u2019s wriggle: belike this\nKing is a woman.\u201d[325] But they concealed their affair and discovered it\nto none. And when the morrow came, Zumurrud summoned all the troops and\nthe lords of the realm and said to them, \u201cI am minded to journey to this\nman\u2019s country; so choose you a viceroy, who shall rule over you till I\nreturn to you.\u201d And they answered, \u201cWe hear and we obey.\u201d Then she\napplied herself to making ready the wants of the way, to wit provaunt\nand provender, monies and rarities for presents, camels and mules and so\nforth; after which she set out from her city with Ali Shar, and they\nceased not faring on, till they arrived at his native place, where he\nentered his house and gave many gifts to his friends and alms and\nlargesse to the poor. And Allah vouchsafed him children by her, and they\nboth lived the gladdest and happiest of lives, till there came to them\nthe Destroyer of delights and the Severer of societies and the Garnerer\nof graves. And glorified be He the Eternal without cease, and praised be\nHe in every case! And amongst other tales they tell one of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 254:\n\n  Lane (ii. 435) ill-advisedly writes \u201cSher,\u201d as \u201cthe word is evidently\n  Persian signifying a Lion.\u201d But this is only in the debased Indian\n  dialect; a Persian, especially a Shirazi, pronounces \u201cSh\u00edr.\u201d And this\n  is how it is written in the Bresl. Edit., vii. 262. \u201cSh\u00e1r\u201d is\n  evidently a fancy name, possibly suggested by the dynastic name of the\n  Ghurjistan or Georgian Princes.\n\nFootnote 255:\n\n  Again old experience, which has learned at a heavy cost how many a\n  goodly apple is rotten at the core.\n\nFootnote 256:\n\n  This couplet has occurred in Night xxi. I give Torrens (p. 206) by way\n  of specimen.\n\nFootnote 257:\n\n  Arab. \u201cZ\u00e1ka\u201d = merely tasting a thing which may be sweet with a bitter\n  after-flavour.\n\nFootnote 258:\n\n  This tetrastich was in Night xxx. with a difference.\n\nFootnote 259:\n\n  The lines have occurred in Night xxx. I quote Torrens, p. 311.\n\nFootnote 260:\n\n  This tetrastich is in Night clxix. I borrow from Lane (ii. 62).\n\nFootnote 261:\n\n  The rude but effective refrigerator of the desert Arab who hangs his\n  water-skin to the branch of a tree and allows it to swing in the wind.\n\nFootnote 262:\n\n  Arab. \u201cKhum\u00e1siyah\u201d which Lane (ii. 438) renders \u201cof quinary stature.\u201d\n  Usually it means five spans, but here five feet, showing that the girl\n  was young and still growing. The invoice with a slave always notes her\n  height in spans measured from ankle-bone to ear and above seven she\n  loses value as being full grown. Hence Sud\u00e1si (fem. Sud\u00e1siyah) is a\n  slave six spans high, the Shibr or full span (9 inches) not the Fitr\n  or short span from thumb to index. Faut is the interval between every\n  finger; Ratab between index and medius, and Atab between medius and\n  annularis.\n\nFootnote 263:\n\n  \u201cMoon-faced\u201d now sounds sufficiently absurd to us, but it was not\n  always so. Solomon (Cant. vi. 10) does not disdain the image \u201cfair as\n  the moon, clear as the sun;\u201d and those who have seen a moon in the sky\n  of Arabia will thoroughly appreciate it. We find it amongst the\n  Hindus, the Persians, the Afghans, the Turks and all the nations of\n  Europe. We have, finally, the grand example of Spenser:\u2014\n\n           Her spacious forehead, like the clearest moon, etc.\n\nFootnote 264:\n\n  Blue eyes have a bad name in Arabia as in India: the witch Zark\u00e1 of\n  Al-Yamamah was noted for them; and \u201cblue-eyed\u201d often means\n  \u201cfierce-eyed,\u201d alluding to the Greeks and Daylamites, mortal enemies\n  to Ishmael. The Arabs say \u201cruddy of mustachio, blue of eye and black\n  of heart.\u201d\n\nFootnote 265:\n\n  Before explained as used with camphor to fill the dead man\u2019s mouth.\n\nFootnote 266:\n\n  As has been seen, slapping on the neck is equivalent to our \u201cboxing\n  ears,\u201d but much less barbarous and likely to injure the child. The\n  most insulting blow is that with shoe, sandal or slipper because it\n  brings foot in contact with head. Of this I have spoken before.\n\nFootnote 267:\n\n  Arab. \u201cHib\u00e1l\u201d (= ropes) alluding to the A\u2019ak\u00e1l-fillet which binds the\n  K\u00fafiyah-kerchief on the Badawi\u2019s head (Pilgrimage, i. 346).\n\nFootnote 268:\n\n  Arab. \u201cKhiy\u00e1l\u201d; afterwards called Kara Gyuz (= \u201cblack eyes,\u201d from the\n  celebrated Turkish Wazir). The _mise-en-sc\u00e8ne_ was like that of Punch,\n  but of transparent cloth, lamp-lit inside and showing silhouettes\n  worked by hand. Nothing could be more Fescennine than Kara Gyuz, who\n  appeared with a phallus longer than himself and made all the\n  Consuls-General periodically complain of its abuse; while the\n  dialogue, mostly in Turkish, was even more obscene. Most ingenious\n  were Kara Gyuz\u2019s little ways of driving on an obstinate donkey and of\n  tackling a huge Anatolian pilgrim. He mounted the Neddy\u2019s back, face\n  to tail, and inserting his left thumb like a clyster, hammered it with\n  his right, when the donkey started at speed. For the huge pilgrim he\n  used a ladder. These shows, now obsolete, used to enliven the\n  Ezbekiyah Gardens every evening and explain Ovid\u2019s words.\n\n                  Delicias videam, _Nile jocose_, tuas!\n\nFootnote 269:\n\n  Mohammed (Mishk\u00e1t al-Mas\u00e1bih ii. 360-62) says, \u201cChange the whiteness\n  of your hair but not with anything black.\u201d Abu Bakr, who was two years\n  and some months older than the Prophet, used tincture of Henna and\n  Katam. Old Turkish officers justify black dyes because these make them\n  look younger and fiercer. Henna stains white hair orange red; and the\n  Persians apply after it a paste of indigo leaves; the result is\n  successively leek-green, emerald-green, bottle-green and lastly\n  lamp-black. There is a stage in life (the youth of old age) when man\n  uses dyes: presently he finds that the whole face wants dye; that the\n  contrast between juvenile coloured hair and ancient skin is ridiculous\n  and that it is time to wear white.\n\nFootnote 270:\n\n  This prejudice extends all over the East: the Sanskrit saying is\n  \u201cKvachit k\u00e1n\u00e1 bhaveta s\u00e1dhus\u201d\u2014now and then a monocular is honest. The\n  left eye is the worst and the popular idea is, I have said, that the\n  damage will come by the injured member.\n\nFootnote 271:\n\n  The Arabs say like us, \u201cShort and thick is never quick\u201d and \u201cLong and\n  thin has little in.\u201d\n\nFootnote 272:\n\n  Arab. \u201cBa\u2019azu lay\u00e1li,\u201d some night when his mistress failed him.\n\nFootnote 273:\n\n  The fountain in Paradise before noticed.\n\nFootnote 274:\n\n  Before noticed as the Moslem St. Peter (as far as the keys go).\n\nFootnote 275:\n\n  Arab \u201cMunkasir\u201d = broken, frail, languishing\u2014the only form of the\n  _maladive_ allowed. Here again we have masculine for feminine: the\n  eyelids show love-desire, but, etc.\n\nFootnote 276:\n\n  The river of Paradise.\n\nFootnote 277:\n\n  See Night xii, \u201cThe Second Kalandar\u2019s Tale;\u201d vol. i. 113.\n\nFootnote 278:\n\n  Lane (ii. 472) refers for specimens of calligraphy to Herbin\u2019s\n  \u201cD\u00e9veloppements, etc.\u201d There are many more than seven styles of\n  writing as I have shown in Night xiii.; vol. i. 129.\n\nFootnote 279:\n\n  Amongst good Moslems this would be a claim upon a man.\n\nFootnote 280:\n\n  These lines have occurred twice already: and first appear in Night\n  xxii. I have borrowed from Mr. Payne (iv. 46).\n\nFootnote 281:\n\n  Arab. \u201cYa Nasr\u00e1ni\u201d; the address is not intrinsically slighting but it\n  may easily be made so. I have elsewhere noted that when Julian (is\n  said to have) exclaimed \u201cVicisti Nazarene!\u201d he was probably thinking\n  in Eastern phrase \u201cNasarta, y\u00e1 Nasr\u00e1ni!\u201d\n\nFootnote 282:\n\n  Thirst is the strongest of all pleas to an Eastern, especially to a\n  Persian who never forgets the sufferings of his Imam, Husayn, at\n  Kerbela: he would hardly withhold it from the murderer of his father.\n  There is also a Hadis, \u201cThou shalt not refuse water to him who\n  thirsteth in the desert.\u201d\n\nFootnote 283:\n\n  Arab. \u201cZimmi\u201d which Lane (ii. 474) aptly translates a \u201ctributary.\u201d The\n  Koran (chapt. ix.) orders Unbelievers to Islamize or to \u201cpay tribute\n  by right of subjection\u201d (lit. an yadin = out of hand, an expression\n  much debated). The least tribute is one dinar per annum which goes to\n  the poor-rate; and for this the Kafir enjoys protection and _almost_\n  all the civil rights of Moslems. As it is a question of \u201cloaves and\n  fishes\u201d there is much to say on the subject; \u201cloaves and fishes\u201d being\n  the main base and foundation of all religious establishments.\n\nFootnote 284:\n\n  This tetrastich has before occurred; so I quote Lane (ii. 444).\n\nFootnote 285:\n\n  In Night xxxv. the same occurs with a difference.\n\nFootnote 286:\n\n  The old rite, I repeat, has lost amongst all but the noblest of Arab\n  tribes the whole of its significance; and the traveller must be\n  careful how he trusts to the phrase \u201cNahnu m\u00e1lihin\u201d\u2014we are bound\n  together by the salt.\n\nFootnote 287:\n\n  Arab. \u201cAl\u00e1ma\u201d = Al\u00e1-m\u00e1 = upon what? wherefore?\n\nFootnote 288:\n\n  Arab. \u201cMauz\u201d; hence the Linnean name Musa (paradisiaca, etc). The word\n  is explained by Sale (Koran, chapt. xxxvii. 146) as \u201ca small tree or\n  shrub;\u201d and he would identify it with Jonah\u2019s gourd.\n\nFootnote 289:\n\n  Lane (ii. 446) \u201cbald wolf or empowered fate,\u201d reading (with Mac.) Kaz\u00e1\n  for Kattan (cat).\n\nFootnote 290:\n\n  _i.e._ \u201cThe Orthodox in the Faith.\u201d R\u00e1shid is a proper name; witness\n  that scourge of Syria, R\u00e1shid Pasha. Born in 1830, of the Haji Nazir\n  Agha family, Darrah-Beys of Macedonian Draina, he was educated in\n  Paris where he learned the usual hatred of Europeans: he entered the\n  Egyptian service in 1851; and, presently exchanging it for the\n  Turkish, became in due time Wali (Governor-General) of Syria which he\n  plundered most shamelessly. Recalled in 1872, he eventually entered\n  the Ministry and on June 15, 1876, he was shot down, with other\n  villians like himself, by gallant Captain Hasan, the Circassian\n  (Yarham-hu \u2018ll\u00e1h!).\n\nFootnote 291:\n\n  Quoted from a piece of verse, of which more presently.\n\nFootnote 292:\n\n  This tetrastich has occurred before (Night cxciii.). I quote Lane (ii.\n  449), who quotes Dryden\u2019s Spanish Friar:-\n\n                  There is a pleasure sure in being mad\n                  Which none but madmen know.\n\nFootnote 293:\n\n  Lane (ii. 449) gives a tradition of the Prophet, \u201cWhoso is in love,\n  and acteth chastely, and concealeth (his passion) and dieth, dieth a\n  martyr.\u201d Sakar is No. 5 Hell for Magi, Guebres, Parsis, etc.; it is\n  used in the comic Persian curse, \u201cFi\u2019n-n\u00e1ri wa Sakar al-jadd\n  w\u2019al-pidar\u201d\u2014In Hell and Sakar his grandfather and his father.\n\nFootnote 294:\n\n  Arab. \u201cSifr\u201d: I have warned readers that whistling is considered a\n  kind of devilish speech by the Arabs, especially the Badawin; and that\n  the traveller must avoid it. It savours of idolatry: in the Koran we\n  find (chapt. viii. 35), \u201cTheir prayer at the House of God (Ka\u2019abah) is\n  none other than whistling and hand-clapping;\u201d and tradition says that\n  they whistled through their fingers. Besides many of the Jinn have\n  only round holes by way of mouths and their speech is whistling\u2014a kind\n  of bird-language like sibilant English.\n\nFootnote 295:\n\n  Arab. \u201cK\u00edl wa k\u00e1l\u201d = lit. \u201cit was said and he said;\u201d a popular phrase\n  for chit-chat, tittle-tattle, prattle and prate, etc.\n\nFootnote 296:\n\n  Arab. \u201cHadis,\u201d comparing it with a tradition of the Prophet.\n\nFootnote 297:\n\n  Arab. \u201cMikashshah,\u201d the thick part of a midrib of a palm-frond soaked\n  for some days in water and beaten out till the fibres separate. It\n  makes an exceedingly hard, although not a lasting broom.\n\nFootnote 298:\n\n  Persian, \u201cthe youth, the brave;\u201d Sansk. Yuv\u00e1n; and Lat. Juvenis. The\n  Kurd, in tales, is generally a sturdy thief; and in real life is\n  little better.\n\nFootnote 299:\n\n  Arab. \u201cY\u00e1 Sh\u00e1tir;\u201d lit. O clever one (in a bad sense).\n\nFootnote 300:\n\n  Lane (ii. 453) has it, \u201cthat I may dress thy hair,\u201d etc. This is\n  Bowdlerising with a witness.\n\nFootnote 301:\n\n  The sign of respect when a personage dismounts (Pilgrimage i. 77).\n\nFootnote 302:\n\n  So the Hindus speak of \u201cthe defilement of separation\u201d as if it were an\n  impurity.\n\nFootnote 303:\n\n  Lane (i. 605) gives a long and instructive note on these public royal\n  banquets which were expected from the lieges by Moslem subjects. The\n  hanging-penalty is, perhaps, a little exaggerated; but we find the\n  same excess in the priestly Gesta Romanorum.\n\nFootnote 304:\n\n  Had he eaten it he would have become her guest. Amongst the older\n  Badawin it was sufficient to spit upon a man (in entreaty) to claim\n  his protection: so the horse-thieves when caught were placed in a hole\n  in the ground covered over with matting to prevent this happening.\n  Similarly Saladin (Sal\u00e1h al-Din) the chivalrous would not order a cup\n  of water for the robber, Reynald de Ch\u00e2tillon, before putting him to\n  death.\n\nFootnote 305:\n\n  Arab. \u201cKishk\u201d properly \u201cKashk\u201d = wheat-meal coarsely ground and eaten\n  with milk or broth. It is _de rigueur_ with the Egyptian Copts on the\n  \u201cFriday of Sorrow\u201d (Good Friday): and Lane gives the recipe for making\n  it (M. E. chapt. xxvi).\n\nFootnote 306:\n\n  In those days distinctive of Moslems.\n\nFootnote 307:\n\n  The euphemism has before been noticed: the Moslem reader would not\n  like to pronounce the words \u201cI am a Nazarene.\u201d The same formula occurs\n  a little lower down to save the reciter or reader from saying \u201cBe _my_\n  wife divorced,\u201d etc.\n\nFootnote 308:\n\n  Arab. \u201cH\u00e1jj,\u201d a favourite Egyptianism. We are wrong to write Hajji\n  which an Eastern would pronounce H\u00e1j-j\u00ed.\n\nFootnote 309:\n\n  This is Cairene \u201cchaff.\u201d\n\nFootnote 310:\n\n  Whose shell fits very tight.\n\nFootnote 311:\n\n  His hand was like a raven\u2019s because he ate with thumb and two fingers\n  and it came up with the rice about it like a camel\u2019s hoof in dirty\n  ground. This refers to the proverb (Burckhardt, 756), \u201cHe comes down a\n  crow-claw (small) and comes up a camel-hoof (huge and round).\u201d\n\nFootnote 312:\n\n  Easterns have a superstitious belief in the powers of food: I knew a\n  learned man who never sat down to eat without a ceremonious salam to\n  his meat.\n\nFootnote 313:\n\n  Lane (ii. 464), uses the vile Turkish corruption \u201cRustum,\u201d which, like\n  its fellow \u201cRustem,\u201d would make a Persian shudder.\n\nFootnote 314:\n\n  Arab. \u201cDarrij\u201d _i.e._ let them slide (_Americanic\u00e8_).\n\nFootnote 315:\n\n  This tetrastich has occurred before: so I quote Mr. Payne (_in loco_).\n\nFootnote 316:\n\n  Shaykh of Al-Butnah and J\u00e1biyah, therefore a Syrian of the Hauran near\n  Damascus and grandson to Is\u00fa (Esau). Arab mystics (unlike the vulgar\n  who see only his patience) recognise that inflexible integrity which\n  refuses to utter \u201cwords of wind\u201d and which would not, against his\n  conscience, confess to wrong-doing merely to pacify the Lord who was\n  stronger than himself. The Classics taught this noble lesson in the\n  case of Prometheus _versus_ Zeus. Many articles are called after Job\n  _e.g._ Ra\u2019ar\u00e1\u2019 Ayyub or Ghubayr\u00e1 (_inula Arabica_ and _undulata_), a\n  creeper with which he rubbed himself and got well:\u2014the Copts do the\n  same on \u201cJob\u2019s Wednesday,\u201d _i.e._ that before Whit Sunday O.S. Job\u2019s\n  father is a nickname of the camel, etc. etc.\n\nFootnote 317:\n\n  Lane (_in loco_) renders \u201cI am of their number.\u201d But \u201cf\u00ed al-siy\u00e1k\u201d\n  means popularly \u201c(driven) to the point of death.\u201d\n\nFootnote 318:\n\n  Lit. = \u201cpathway, road\u201d; hence the bridge well known as \u201cfiner than a\n  hair and sharper than a sword,\u201d over which all (except Khadijah and a\n  chosen few) must pass on the Day of Doom; a Persian apparatus bodily\n  annexed by Al-Islam. The old Guebres called it Pul-i-Chin\u00e1var or\n  Chin\u00e1vad and the Jews borrowed it from them as they did all their\n  fancies of a future life against which Moses had so gallantly fought.\n  It is said that a bridge over the grisly \u201cbrook Kedron\u201d was called\n  Sir\u00e1t (the road) and hence the idea, as that of hell-fire from\n  Ge-Hinnom (Gehenna) where children were passed through the fire to\n  Moloch. A doubtful Hadis says, \u201cThe Prophet declared Al-Sir\u00e1t to be\n  the name of a bridge over hell-fire, dividing Hell from Paradise\u201d (pp.\n  17, 122, Reynold\u2019s trans. of Al-Siyuti\u2019s Traditions, etc.). In Koran\n  i. 5, \u201cSir\u00e1t\u201d is simply a path, from sarata, he swallowed, even as the\n  way devours (makes a lakam or mouthful of) those who travel it. The\n  word was orig. written with S\u00edn but changed for easier articulation to\n  S\u00e1d, one of the four Hur\u00faf al-Mutabbak\u00e1t (\u0637, \u0636, \u0635 and \u0638), \u201cthe\n  flattened,\u201d formed by the broadened tongue in contact with the palate.\n  This Sad also by the figure Ishm\u00e1m (= conversion) turns slightly to a\n  Z\u00e1, the intermediate between Sin and Sad.\n\nFootnote 319:\n\n  The rule in Turkey where catamites rise to the highest rank: _C\u2019est un\n  homme de bonne famille_ (said a Turkish officer in Egypt) _il a \u00e9t\u00e9\n  achet\u00e9_. Hence \u201cAlfi\u201d (one who costs a thousand) is a well-known\n  cognomen. The Pasha of the Syrian caravan, with which I travelled, had\n  been the slave of a slave and he was not a solitary instance\n  (Pilgrimage i. 90).\n\nFootnote 320:\n\n  The device of the banquet is dainty enough for any old Italian\n  _novella_; all that now comes is pure Egyptian polissonnerie speaking\n  to the gallery and being answered by roars of laughter.\n\nFootnote 321:\n\n  _i.e._ art thou ceremonially pure and therefore fit for handling by a\n  great man like myself?\n\nFootnote 322:\n\n  In past days before Egypt was \u201cfrankified\u201d many overlanders used to\n  wash away the traces of travel by a Turkish bath which mostly ended in\n  the appearance of a rump-wriggling little lad who offered to shampoo\n  them. Many accepted his offices without dreaming of his usual use or\n  misuse.\n\nFootnote 323:\n\n  Arab. \u201cIm\u00e1m.\u201d This is (to a Moslem) a most offensive comparison\n  between prayer and car. cop.\n\nFootnote 324:\n\n  Arab \u201cFi zaman-hi,\u201d alluding to a peculiarity highly prized by\n  Egyptians; the use of the constrictor vagin\u00e6 muscles, the sphincter\n  for which Abyssinian women are famous. The \u201cKabb\u00e1zah\u201d (= holder), as\n  she is called, can sit astraddle upon a man and can provoke the\n  venereal orgasm, not by wriggling and moving but by tightening and\n  loosing the male member with the muscles of her privities, milking it\n  as it were. Consequently the _casse-noisette_ costs treble the money\n  of other concubines (Ananga-Ranga, p. 127).\n\nFootnote 325:\n\n  The little eunuchs had evidently studied the Harem.\n\n\n\n\n           THE LOVES OF JUBAYR BIN UMAYR AND THE LADY BUDUR.\n\n\nIt is related that the Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid was\nuneasy[326] one night and could not sleep; so that he ceased not to toss\nfrom side to side for very restlessness, till, growing weary of this, he\ncalled Masrur and said to him, \u201cHo, Masrur, find me some one who may\nsolace me in this my wakefulness.\u201d He answered, \u201cO Prince of True\nBelievers, wilt thou walk in the palace-garden and divert thyself with\nthe sight of its blooms and gaze upon the stars and constellations and\nnote the beauty of their ordinance and the moon among them rising in\nsheen over the water?\u201d Quoth the Caliph, \u201cO Masrur, my heart inclineth\nnot to aught of this.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cO my lord, there are in thy palace\nthree hundred concubines, each of whom hath her separate chamber. Do\nthou bid all and every retire into her own apartment and then do thou go\nthy rounds and amuse thyself with gazing on them without their\nknowledge.\u201d The Caliph replied, \u201cO Masrur, the palace is my palace and\nthe girls are my property: furthermore my soul inclineth not to aught of\nthis.\u201d Then Masrur rejoined, \u201cO my lord, summon the doctors of law and\nreligion and the sages of science and poets, and bid them contend before\nthee in argument and disputation and recite to thee songs and verses and\ntell thee tales and anecdotes.\u201d Replied the Caliph, \u201cMy soul inclineth\nnot to aught of this;\u201d and Masrur rejoined, \u201cO my lord, bid pretty boys\nand the wits and the cup-companions attend thee and solace thee with\nwitty sallies.\u201d \u201cO Masrur,\u201d ejaculated the Caliph, \u201cindeed my soul\ninclineth not to aught of this.\u201d \u201cThen, O my lord,\u201d cried Masrur,\n\u201cstrike off my head;\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Twenty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Masrur cried out\nto the Caliph, \u201cO my lord, strike off my head; haply that will dispel\nthine unease and do away the restlessness that is upon thee.\u201d So\nAl-Rashid laughed at his saying and said, \u201cSee which of the\nboon-companions is at the door.\u201d Thereupon he went out and returning,\nsaid, \u201cO my lord, he who sits without is Ali bin Mansur of Damascus, the\nWag.\u201d[327] \u201cBring him to me,\u201d quoth Harun: and Masrur went out and\nreturned with Ibn Mansur, who said, on entering, \u201cPeace be with thee, O\nCommander of the Faithful!\u201d The Caliph returned his salutation and said\nto him, \u201cO Ibn Mansur, tell us some of thy stories.\u201d Said the other, \u201cO\nCommander of the Faithful, shall I tell thee what I have seen with my\neyes or what I have only heard tell?\u201d Replied the Caliph, \u201cIf thou have\nseen aught worth telling, let us hear it; for hearing is not like\nseeing.\u201d Said Ibn Mansur, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, lend me thine\near and thy heart;\u201d and he answered, \u201cO Ibn Mansur, behold, I am\nlistening to thee with mine ears and looking at thee with mine eyes and\nattending to thee with my heart.\u201d So Ibn Mansur began:\u2014Know then, O\nCommander of the Faithful, that I receive a yearly allowance from\nMohammed bin Sulaym\u00e1n al-H\u00e1shimi, Sultan of Bassorah; so I went to him,\nonce upon a time, as usual, and found him ready to ride out hunting and\nbirding. I saluted him and he returned my salute, and said, \u201cO son of\nMansur, mount and come with us to the chase:\u201d but I said, \u201cO my lord, I\ncan no longer ride; so do thou station me in the guest-house and give\nthy chamberlains and lieutenants charge over me.\u201d And he did so and\ndeparted for his sport. His people entreated me with the utmost honour\nand entertained me with the greatest hospitality; but said I to myself,\n\u201cBy Allah, it is a strange thing that for so long I have been in the\nhabit of coming from Baghdad to Bassorah, yet know no more of this town\nthan from palace to garden and from garden to palace; When shall I find\nan occasion like this to view the different parts and quarters of\nBassorah? I will rise forthwith and walk forth alone and divert myself\nand digest what I have eaten.\u201d Accordingly I donned my richest dress and\nwent out a-walking about Bassorah. Now it is known to thee, O Commander\nof the Faithful, that it hath seventy streets, each seventy leagues[328]\nlong, the measure of Irak; and I lost myself in its by-streets and\nthirst overcame me. Presently, as I went along, O Prince of True\nBelievers, behold, I came to a great door, whereon were two rings of\nbrass,[329] with curtains of red brocade drawn before it. And on either\nside of the door was a stone bench and over it was a trellis, covered\nwith a creeping vine that hung down and shaded the doorway. I stood\nstill to gaze upon the place, and presently heard a sorrowful voice,\nproceeding from a heart which did not rejoice, singing melodiously and\nchanting these cinquains:\u2014\n\n My body bides the sad abode of grief and malady, \u273f Caused by a fawn\n    whose land and home are in a far countrie:\n O ye two Zephyrs of the wold which caused such pain in me \u273f By Allah,\n    Lord of you! to him my heart\u2019s desire, go ye\n         And chide him so perchance ye soften him I pray.\n\n\n And tell us all his words if he to hear your speech shall deign, \u273f And\n    unto him the tidings bear of lovers \u2018twixt you twain:\n And both vouchsafe to render me a service free and fain, \u273f And lay my\n    case before him showing how I e\u2019er complain:\n         And say, \u201cWhat ails thy bounden thrall this wise to drive away,\n\n Without a fault committed and without a sin to show; \u273f Or heart that\n    leans to other wight or would thy love forego:\n Or treason to our plighted troth or causing thee a throe?\u201d \u273f And if he\n    smile then say ye twain in accents soft and slow,\n         \u201cAn thou to him a meeting grant \u2018twould be the kindest way!\n\n For he is gone distraught for thee, as well indeed, he might. \u273f His eyes\n    are wakeful and he weeps and wails the livelong night:\u201d\n If seem he satisfied by this why then \u2018tis well and right, \u273f But if he\n    show an angry face and treat ye with despite,\n         Trick him and \u201cNaught we know of him!\u201d I beg you both to\n            say.[330]\n\nQuoth I to myself, \u201cVerily, if the owner of this voice be fair, she\nconjoineth beauty of person and eloquence and sweetness of voice.\u201d Then\nI drew near the door, and began raising the curtain little by little,\nwhen lo! I beheld a damsel, white as a full moon when it mooneth on its\nfourteenth night, with joined eyebrows twain and languorous lids of\neyne, breasts like pomegranates twin and dainty lips like double\ncarnelian, a mouth as it were the seal of Solomon, and teeth ranged in a\nline that played with the reason of proser and rhymer, even as saith the\npoet:\u2014\n\n O pearly mouth of friend, who set those pretty pearls in line, \u273f And\n    filled thee full of whitest chamomile and reddest wine?\n Who lent the morning-glory in thy smile to shimmer and shine \u273f Who with\n    that ruby-padlock dared thy lips to seal and sign!\n Who looks on thee at early morn with stress of joy and bliss \u273f Goes mad\n    for aye, what then of him who wins a kiss of thine?\n\nAnd as saith another:\u2014\n\n         O pearl-set mouth of friend \u273f Pity poor Ruby\u2019s cheek;\n         Boast not o\u2019er one who owns \u273f Thee, union and unique.\n\nIn brief she comprised all varieties of loveliness and was a seduction\nto men and women, nor could the gazer satisfy himself with the sight of\nher charms; for she was as the poet hath said of her:\u2014\n\n When comes she, slays she; and when back she turns, \u273f She makes all men\n    regard with loving eyes:\n A very sun! a very moon! but still \u273f From hurt and harmful ills her\n    nature flies.\n Opes Eden\u2019s garden when she shows herself; \u273f And full moon see we o\u2019er\n    her necklace rise.\n\nNow as I was looking at her through an opening of the curtain, behold,\nshe turned; and, seeing me standing at the door, said to her handmaid,\n\u201cSee who is at the door.\u201d So the slave-girl came up to me and said, \u201cO\nShaykh, hast thou no shame, or do impudent airs suit hoary hairs?\u201d Quoth\nI, \u201cO my mistress, I confess to the hoary hairs, but as for impudent\nairs, I think not to be guilty of unmannerliness.\u201d Then the mistress\nbroke in, \u201cAnd what can be more unmannerly than to intrude thyself upon\na house other than thy house and gaze on a Harim other than thy Harim?\u201d\nI pleaded, \u201cO my lady, I have an excuse;\u201d and when she asked, \u201cAnd what\nis thine excuse?\u201d I answered, \u201cI am a stranger and so thirsty that I am\nwell-nigh dead of thirst.\u201d She rejoined, \u201cWe accept thine excuse,\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young lady\nrejoined, \u201cWe accept thine excuse,\u201d and calling one of her slave-maids,\nsaid to her, \u201cO Lutf,[331] give him to drink in the golden tankard.\u201d So\nshe brought me a tankard of red gold, set with pearls and gems of price,\nfull of water mingled with virgin musk and covered with a napkin of\ngreen silk; and I addressed myself to drink and was long about my\ndrinking, for I stole glances at her the while, till I could prolong my\nstay no longer. Then I returned the tankard to the girl, but did not\noffer to go; and she said to me, \u201cO Shaykh, wend thy way.\u201d But I said,\n\u201cO my lady, I am troubled in mind.\u201d She asked me \u201cFor what?\u201d and I\nanswered, \u201cFor the turns of Time and the change of things.\u201d Replied she,\n\u201cWell mayst thou be troubled thereat for Time breedeth wonders. But what\nhast thou seen of such surprises that thou shouldst muse upon them?\u201d\nQuoth I, \u201cI was thinking of the whilom owner of this house, for he was\nmy intimate in his lifetime.\u201d Asked she, \u201cWhat was his name?\u201d; and I\nanswered, \u201cMohammed bin Ali the Jeweller and he was a man of great\nwealth. Tell me did he leave any children?\u201d Said she, \u201cYes, he left a\ndaughter, Budur by name, who inherited all his wealth?.\u201d Quoth I,\n\u201cMeseemeth thou art his daughter?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d answered she, laughing; then\nadded, \u201cO Shaykh, thou hast talked long enough; now wend thy ways.\u201d\nReplied I, \u201cNeeds must I go, but I see thy charms are changed by being\nout of health; so tell me thy case; it may be Allah will give thee\ncomfort at my hands.\u201d Rejoined she, \u201cO Shaykh, if thou be a man of\ndiscretion, I will discover to thee my secret; but first tell me who\nthou art, that I may know whether thou art worthy of confidence or not;\nfor the poet saith:[332]\u2014\n\n None keepeth a secret but a faithful person: with the best of mankind it\n    remaineth concealed.\n I have kept my secret in a house with a lock, whose key is lost and\n    whose door is sealed.\u201d\n\nThereto I replied, \u201cO my lady, an thou wouldest know who I am, I am Ali\nbin Mans\u00far of Damascus, the Wag, cup-companion to the Commander of the\nFaithful, Harun al-Rashid.\u201d Now when she heard my name, she came down\nfrom her seat and saluting me, said, \u201cWelcome, O Ibn Mansur! Now will I\ntell thee my case and entrust thee with my secret. I am a lover\nseparated from her beloved.\u201d I answered, \u201cO my lady, thou art fair and\nshouldest be on love-terms with none but the fair. Whom then dost thou\nlove?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cI love Jubayr bin Umayr al-Shayb\u00e1ni, Emir of the Ban\u00fa\nShayb\u00e1n;[333]\u201d and she described to me a young man than whom there was\nno prettier fellow in Bassorah. I asked, \u201cO my lady, have interviews or\nletters passed between you?\u201d and she answered, \u201cYes, but our love was\ntongue-love, not heart and soul-love; for he kept not his trust nor was\nhe faithful to his troth.\u201d Said I, \u201cO my lady, and what was the cause of\nyour separation?\u201d; and she replied, \u201cI was sitting one day whilst my\nhandmaid here combed my hair. When she had made an end of combing it,\nshe plaited my tresses, and my beauty and loveliness charmed her; so she\nbent over me and kissed my cheek.[334] At that moment he came in\nunawares, and, seeing the girl kiss my cheek, straightways turned away\nin anger, vowing eternal separation and repeating these two couplets:\u2014\n\n If another share in the thing I love, \u273f I abandon my love and live lorn\n    of love.\n My beloved is worthless if aught she will, \u273f Save that which her lover\n    doth most approve.\n\nAnd from the time he left me to this present hour, O Ibn Mansur, he hath\nneither written to me nor answered my letters.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cAnd what\npurposest thou to do?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cI have a mind to send him a letter by\nthee. If thou bring me back an answer, thou shalt have of me five\nhundred gold pieces; and if not, then an hundred for thy trouble in\ngoing and coming.\u201d I answered, \u201cDo what seemeth good to thee; I hear and\nI obey thee.\u201d Whereupon she called to one of her slave-girls, \u201cBring me\ninkcase and paper,\u201d and she wrote thereon these couplets:\u2014\n\n Beloved, why this strangeness, why this hate? \u273f When shall thy pardon\n    reunite us two?\n Why dost thou turn from me in severance? \u273f Thy face is not the face I am\n    wont to know.\n Yes, slanderers falsed my words, and thou to them \u273f Inclining, madest\n    spite and envy grow.\n An hast believed their tale, the Heavens forbid \u273f Now thou believe it\n    when dost better trow!\n By thy life tell what hath reached thine ear; \u273f Thou know\u2019st what said\n    they and so justice show.\n An it be true I spoke the words, my words \u273f Admit interpreting and\n    change allow:\n Given that the words of Allah were revealed, \u273f Folk changed the\n    Torah[335] and still changing go:\n What slanders told they of mankind before! \u273f Jacob heard Joseph blamed\n    by tongue of foe.\n Yea, for myself and slanderer and thee \u273f An awful day of reckoning there\n    shall be.\n\nThen she sealed the letter and gave it to me; and I took it and carried\nit to the house of Jubayr bin Umayr, whom I found absent a-hunting. So I\nsat down to wait for him; and behold, he returned from the chase; and\nwhen I saw him, O Prince of True Believers, come riding up, my wit was\nconfounded by his beauty and grace. As soon as he sighted me sitting at\nthe house-door, he dismounted and coming up to me embraced me and\nsaluted me; and meseemed I embraced the world and all therein. Then he\ncarried me into his house and, seating me on his own couch, called for\nfood. They brought a table of Khalanj-wood of Khorasan with feet of\ngold, whereon were all manners of meats, fried and roasted and the like.\nSo I seated myself at the table and examining it with care found these\ncouplets engraved upon it:[336]\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n         Now when it was the Three Hundred and Thirtieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ali son of Mansur\ncontinued:\u2014So I seated myself at the table of Jubayr bin Umayr\nal-Shaybani and, examining it with care, found these couplets engraven\nupon it:\u2014\n\n                  On these which once were chicks,\n                  Your mourning glances fix,\n          Late dwellers in the mansion of the cup,\n                  Now nearly eaten up!\n                      Let tears bedew\n                  The memory of that stew,\n                  Those partridges, once roast,\n                      Now lost!\n\n          The daughters of the grouse in plaintive strain;\n          Bemourn, and still bemourn, and mourn again!\n                  The children of the fry,\n                      We lately saw\n                  Half smothered in pilau,\n          With buttery mutton fritters smoking by!\n                  Alas! my heart, the fish!\n                      Who filled his dish,\n\n          With flaky form in varying colours spread\n          On the round pastry cake of household bread!\n                  Heaven sent us that kabob!\n                      For no one could\n                  (Save heaven he should rob)\n          Produce a thing so excellently good,\n                  Or give us roasted meat\n          With basting oil so savourily replete!\n\n          But, oh! mine appetite, alas! for thee!\n                  Who on that furmeaty\n          So sharpset wast a little while ago\u2014\n          That furmeaty, which mashed by hands of snow,\n                  A light reflection bore,\n          Of the bright bracelets that those fair hands wore;\n                  Again remembrance glads my sense\n                  With visions of its excellence!\n\n                  Again I see the cloth unrolled\n                  Rich worked in many a varied fold!\n                  Be patient, oh! my soul, they say\n                  Fortune rules all that\u2019s new and strange,\n                  And though she pinches us to-day,\n          To-morrow brings full rations, and a change![337]\n\nThen said Jubayr, \u201cPut forth thy hand to our food and ease our heart by\neating of our victual.\u201d Answered I, \u201cBy Allah, I will not eat a\nmouthful, till thou grant me my desire.\u201d He asked, \u201cWhat is thy\ndesire?\u201d; so I brought out the letter and gave it to him; but, when he\nhad read it and mastered its contents, he tore it in pieces and throwing\nit on the floor, said to me, \u201cO Ibn Mansur, I will grant thee whatever\nthou askest save thy desire which concerneth the writer of this letter,\nfor I have no answer to her.\u201d At this I rose in anger; but he caught\nhold of my skirts, saying, \u201cO Ibn Mansur, I will tell thee what she said\nto thee, albeit I was not present with you.\u201d I asked, \u201cAnd what did she\nsay to me?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cDid not the writer of this letter say to\nthee, If thou bring me back an answer, thou shalt have of me five\nhundred ducats; and if not, an hundred for thy pains?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d replied I;\nand he rejoined, \u201cAbide with me this day and eat and drink and enjoy\nthyself and make merry, and thou shalt have thy five hundred ducats.\u201d So\nI sat with him and ate and drank and made merry and enjoyed myself and\nentertained him with talk deep into the night;[338] after which I said\nto him, \u201cO my master, is there no music in thy house.\u201d He answered,\n\u201cVerily for many a day we have drunk without music.\u201d Then he called out,\nsaying, \u201cHo, Shajarat al-Durr!\u201d Whereupon a slave-girl answered him from\nher chamber and came in to us, with a lute of Hindu make, wrapped in a\nsilken bag. And she sat down and, laying the lute in her lap, preluded\nin one-and-twenty modes; then, returning to the first, she sang to a\nlively measure these couplets:\u2014\n\n Whoso ne\u2019er tasted of Love\u2019s sweets and bitter draught, \u273f No difference\n    kens \u2018twixt presence-bliss and absence-stress;\n And so, who hath declined from Love\u2019s true road, \u273f No difference kens\n    \u2018twixt smooth and ruggedness:\n I ceased not to oppose the votaries of love, \u273f Till I had tried its\n    sweets and bitters not the less:\n How many a night my pretty friend conversed with me \u273f And sipped I from\n    his lips honey of love-liesse:\n Now have I drunk its cup of bitterness, until \u273f To bondman and to\n    freedman I have proved me base.\n How short-aged was the night together we enjoyed, \u273f When seemed it day\n    break came on nightfall\u2019s heel to press!\n But Fate had vowed to disunite us lovers twain, \u273f And she too well hath\n    kept her vow, that votaress.\n Fate so decreed it! None her sentence can withstand: \u273f Where is the\n    wight who dares oppose his Lord\u2019s command?\n\nHardly had she finished her verses, when her lord cried out with a great\ncry and fell down in a fit; whereupon exclaimed the damsel, \u201cMay Allah\nnot punish thee, O old man! This long time have we drunk without music,\nfor fear the like of this falling sickness befal our lord. But now go\nthou to yonder chamber and there sleep.\u201d So I went to the chamber which\nshe showed me and slept till the morning, when behold, a page brought me\na purse of five hundred dinars and said to me, \u201cThis is what my master\npromised thee; but return thou not to the damsel who sent thee, and let\nit be as though neither thou nor we had ever heard of this matter.\u201d\n\u201cHearkening and obedience,\u201d answered I and taking the purse, went my\nway. Still I said to myself, \u201cThe lady must have expected me since\nyesterday; and by Allah there is no help but I return to her and tell\nher what passed between me and him: otherwise she will revile me and\nrevile all who come from my country.\u201d So I went to her and found her\nstanding behind the door; and when she saw me she said, \u201cO Ibn Mansur,\nthou hast done nothing for me!\u201d I asked, \u201cWho told thee of this?\u201d; and\nshe answered, \u201cO Ibn Mansur, yet another thing hath been revealed to\nme;[339] and it is that, when thou handedst him the letter, he tore it\nin pieces and throwing it on the floor, said to thee:\u2014O Ibn Mansur, I\nwill grant thee whatever thou askest save thy desire which concerneth\nthe writer of this letter; for I have no answer to her missive. Then\ndidst thou rise from beside him in anger; but he laid hold of thy\nskirts, saying:\u2014O son of Mansur, abide with me to-day, for thou art my\nguest, and eat and drink and make merry; and thou shalt have thy five\nhundred ducats. So thou didst sit with him, eating and drinking and\nmaking merry, and entertainedst him with talk deep into the night and a\nslave-girl sang such an air and such verses, whereupon he fell down in a\nfit.\u201d So, O Commander of the Faithful, I asked her \u201cWast thou then with\nus?\u201d; and she answered, \u201cO Ibn Mansur, hast thou not heard the saying of\nthe poet:\u2014\n\n The hearts of lovers have eyes I ken, \u273f Which see the unseen by vulgar\n    men.\n\nHowever, O Ibn Mansur, the night and day shift not upon anything but\nthey bring to it change.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the lady\nexclaimed, \u201cO Ibn Mansur, the night and the day shift not upon anything\nbut they bring to it change!\u201d Then she raised her glance to heaven and\nsaid, \u201cO my God and my Leader and my Lord, like as Thou hast afflicted\nme with love of Jubayr bin Umayr, even so do Thou afflict him with love\nof me, and transfer the passion from my heart to his heart!\u201d[340] Then\nshe gave me an hundred sequins for my trouble in going and coming and I\ntook it and returned to the palace, where I found the Sultan come home\nfrom the chase; so I got my pension of him and fared back to Baghdad.\nAnd when next year came, I repaired to Bassorah, as usual, to seek my\npension, and the Sultan paid it to me; but, as I was about to return to\nBaghdad, I bethought me of the Lady Budur and said to myself, \u201cBy Allah,\nI must needs go to her and see what hath befallen between her and her\nlover!\u201d So I went to her house and finding the street before her door\nswept and sprinkled and eunuchs and servants and pages standing before\nthe entrance, said to myself, \u201cMost like grief hath broken the lady\u2019s\nheart and she is dead, and some Emir or other hath taken up his abode in\nher house.\u201d So I left it and went on to the house of Jubayr, son of\nUmayr the Shaybani, where I found the benches of the porch broken down\nand ne\u2019er a page at the door, as of wont, and said to myself, \u201cHaply he\ntoo is dead.\u201d Then I stood still before the door of his house and with\nmy eyes running over with tears, bemoaned it in these couplets:\u2014\n\n O Lords of me, who fared but whom my heart e\u2019er followeth; \u273f Return; and\n    so my festal days with you shall be renewed!\n I stand before the home of you, bewailing your abode; \u273f Quiver mine\n    eyelids and my eyes with tears are ever dewed:\n I ask the house and its remains that seem to weep and wail, \u273f \u201cWhere is\n    the man who whilom wont to lavish goods and good?\u201d\n It saith, \u201cGo, wend thy way; those friends like travellers have fared \u273f\n    From Springtide-camp, and buried lie of earth and worms the food!\u201d\n Allah ne\u2019er desolate us so we lose their virtues\u2019 light \u273f In length and\n    breadth, but ever be the light in spirit viewed!\n\nAs I, O Prince of True Believers, was thus keening over the folk of the\nhouse,[341] behold, out came a black slave therefrom and said to me,\n\u201cHold thy peace, O Shaykh! May thy mother be reft of thee! Why do I see\nthee bemoaning the house on this wise?\u201d Quoth I, \u201cI frequented it of\nyore, when it belonged to a good friend of mine.\u201d Asked the slave, \u201cWhat\nwas his name?\u201d; and I answered, \u201cJubayr bin Umayr the Shaybani.\u201d\nRejoined he, \u201cAnd what hath befallen him? Praised be Allah, he is yet\nhere with us in the enjoyment of property and rank and prosperity,\nexcept that Allah hath stricken him with love of a damsel called the\nLady Budur; and he is so whelmed by his love of her and his longing for\nher, that he is like a great rock cumbering the ground. If he hunger, he\nsaith not, Give me meat; nor, if he thirst, doth he say, Give me drink.\u201d\nQuoth I, \u201cAsk leave for me to go in to him.\u201d Said the slave, \u201cO my lord,\nwilt thou go in to one who understandeth or to one who understandeth\nnot?\u201d; and I said, \u201cThere is no help for it but I see him whatever be\nthe case.\u201d Accordingly he went in to ask and presently returned with\npermission for me to enter, whereupon I went in to Jubayr and found him\nlike a rock that cumbereth the ground, understanding neither sign nor\nspeech; and when I spoke to him he answered me not. Then said one of his\nservants, \u201cO my lord, if thou remember aught of verse, repeat it and\nraise thy voice; and he will be aroused by this and speak with thee.\u201d So\nI versified in these two couplets:\u2014\n\n Hast quit the love of Moons[342] or dost persist? \u273f Dost wake o\u2019 nights\n    or close in sleep thine eyes?\n If aye thy tears in torrents flow, then learn \u273f Eternal thou shalt dwell\n    in Paradise.[342]\n\nWhen he heard these verses he opened his eyes and said, \u201cWelcome, O son\nof Mansur! Verily, the jest is become earnest.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cO my lord, is\nthere aught thou wouldst have me do for thee?\u201d Answered he, \u201cYes, I\nwould fain write her a letter and send it to her by thee. If thou bring\nme back her answer, thou shalt have of me a thousand dinars; and if not,\ntwo hundred for thy pains.\u201d So I said, \u201cDo what seemeth good to\nthee;\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ibn Mansur\ncontinued:\u2014So I said, \u201cDo what seemeth good to thee;\u201d whereupon he\ncalled to one of his slave-girls, \u201cBring me ink case and paper;\u201d and\nwrote these couplets:\u2014\n\n I pray in Allah\u2019s name, O Princess mine, be light \u273f On me, for Love hath\n    robbed me of my reason\u2019s sight!\n \u2018Slaved me this longing and enthralled me love of you; \u273f And clad in\n    sickness garb, a poor and abject wight.\n I wont ere this to think small things of Love and hold, \u273f O Princess\n    mine, twas silly thing and over-slight.\n But when it showed me swelling surges of its sea, \u273f To Allah\u2019s hest I\n    bowed and pitied lovers\u2019 plight.\n An will you, pity show and deign a meeting grant; \u273f An will you, kill me\n    still forget not good requite.[343]\n\nThen he sealed the letter and gave it to me. So I took it and, repairing\nto Budur\u2019s house, raised the door-curtain little by little, as before,\nand looking in behold, I saw ten damsels, high-bosomed virgins, like\nmoons, and the Lady Budur as she were the full moon among the stars,\nsitting in their midst, or the sun, when it is clear of clouds and mist;\nnor was there on her any trace of pain or care. And as I looked and\nmarvelled at her case, she turned her glance upon me and, seeing me\nstanding at the door, said to me, \u201cWell come, and welcome and all hail\nto thee, O Ibn Mansur! Come in.\u201d So I entered and saluting her gave her\nthe letter; and she read it and when she understood it, she said\nlaughingly to me, \u201cO Ibn Mansur,\u201d the poet lied not when he sang:\u2014\n\n Indeed I\u2019ll bear my love for thee with firmest soul, \u273f Until from thee\n    to me shall come a messenger.\n\n\u201cLook\u2019ye, O Ibn Mansur, I will write thee an answer, that he may give\nthee what he promised thee.\u201d And I answered, \u201cAllah requite thee with\ngood!\u201d So she called out to a handmaid, \u201cBring inkcase and paper,\u201d and\nwrote these couplets:\u2014\n\n How comes it I fulfilled my vow the while that vow broke you? \u273f And,\n    seen me lean to equity, iniquity wrought you?\n \u2018Twas you initiated wrongous dealing and despite: \u273f You were the\n    treachetour and treason came from only you!\n I never ceased to cherish mid the sons of men my troth; \u273f And keep your\n    honour brightest bright and swear by name of you,\n Until I saw with eyes of me what evil you had done; \u273f Until I heard with\n    ears of me what foul report spread you.\n\n Shall I bring low my proper worth while raising yours so high? \u273f By\n    Allah, had you honoured me eke I had honoured you!\n But now uprooting severance I will fain console my heart, \u273f And wring my\n    fingers clean of you for evermore to part!\n\nQuoth I, \u201cBy Allah, O my lady, between him and death there is but the\nreading of this letter!\u201d So I tore it in pieces and said to her, \u201cWrite\nhim other than these lines.\u201d \u201cI hear and obey,\u201d answered she and wrote\nthe following couplets\u2014\n\n Indeed I am consol\u00e8d now and sleep without a tear, \u273f And all that\n    happened slandering tongues have whispered in mine ear:\n My heart obeyed my hest and soon forgot thy memory, \u273f And learnt mine\n    eyelids \u2018twas the best to live in severance sheer:\n He lied who said that severance is a bitterer thing than gall: \u273f It\n    never disappointed me; like wine I find it cheer:\n I learnt to hate all news of thee, e\u2019en mention of thy name, \u273f And turn\n    away and look thereon with loathing pure and mere:\n Lookye! I cast thee out of heart and far from vitals mine; \u273f Then let\n    the slanderer wot this truth and see I am sincere.\n\nQuoth I, \u201cBy Allah, O my lady, when he shall read these verses, his soul\nwill depart his body!\u201d Quoth she, \u201cO Ibn Mansur, is passion indeed come\nto such a pass with him that thou sayest this saying?\u201d Quoth I, \u201cHad I\nsaid more than this verily it were but the truth: but mercy is of the\nnature of the noble.\u201d Now when she heard this her eyes brimmed over with\ntears and she wrote him a note, I swear by Allah, O Commander of the\nFaithful, there is none in thy Chancery could write the like of it; and\ntherein were these couplets:\u2014\n\n How long shall I thy coyness and thy great aversion see? \u273f Thou hast\n    satisfied my censurers and pleased their enmity:\n I did amiss and wot it not; so deign to tell me now \u273f Whatso they told\n    thee, haply \u2018twas the merest calumny.\n I wish to welcome thee, dear love, even as welcome I \u273f Sleep to these\n    eyes and eyelids in the place of sleep to be.\n And since \u2018tis thou hast made me drain th\u2019 unmix\u00e8d cup of love, \u273f If me\n    thou see with wine bemused heap not thy blame on me!\n\nAnd when she had written the missive,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Budur had\nwritten the missive, she sealed it and gave it to me; and I said, \u201cO\nmy lady, in good sooth this thy letter will make the sick man whole\nand ease the thirsting soul.\u201d Then I took it and went from her, when\nshe called me back and said to me, \u201cO son of Mansur, say to him:\u2014She\nwill be thy guest this night.\u201d At this I joyed with exceeding great\njoy and carried the letter to Jubayr, whom I found with his eyes fixed\nintently on the door, expecting the reply and as soon as I gave him\nthe letter and he opened and read it and understood it, he uttered a\ngreat cry and fell down in a fainting fit. When he came to himself, he\nsaid to me, \u201cO Ibn Mansur, did she indeed write this note with her\nhand and feel it with her fingers?\u201d Answered I, \u201cO my lord, do folk\nwrite with their feet?\u201d And by Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, I\nhad not done speaking these words, when we heard the tinkle-tinkle of\nher anklets in the vestibule and she entered. And seeing her he sprang\nto his feet as though nothing pained or ailed him and embraced her\nlike the letter L embraceth the letter A;[344] and the infirmity, that\nerst would not depart at once left him.[345] Then he sat down, but she\nabode standing and I said to her, \u201cO my lady, why dost thou not sit?\u201d\nSaid she, \u201cO Ibn Mansur, save on a condition that is between us, I\nwill not sit.\u201d I asked, \u201cAnd what is that?\u201d; and she answered, \u201cNone\nmay know lovers\u2019 secrets,\u201d and putting her mouth to Jubayr\u2019s ear\nwhispered to him; whereupon he replied, \u201cI hear and I obey.\u201d Then he\nrose and said somewhat in a whisper to one of his slaves, who went out\nand returned in a little while with a Kazi and two witnesses.\nThereupon Jubayr stood up and taking a bag containing an hundred\nthousand dinars, said, \u201cO Kazi, marry me to this young lady and write\nthis sum to her marriage-settlement.\u201d Quoth the Kazi to her, \u201cSay\nthou, I consent to this.\u201d \u201cI consent to this,\u201d quoth she, whereupon he\ndrew up the contract of marriage and she opened the bag; and, taking\nout a handful of gold, gave it to the Kazi and the witnesses and\nhanded the rest to Jubayr. Thereupon the Kazi and the witnesses\nwithdrew, and I sat with them, in mirth and merriment, till the most\npart of the night was past, when I said in my mind, \u201cThese are lovers\nand they have been this long while separated. I will now arise and go\nsleep in some place afar from them and leave them to their privacy,\none with other.\u201d So I rose, but she caught hold of my skirts, saying,\n\u201cWhat thinkest thou to do?\u201d \u201cNothing but so and so,\u201d answered I; upon\nwhich she rejoined, \u201cSit thee down; and when we would be rid of thee,\nwe will send thee away.\u201d So I sat down with them till near daybreak,\nwhen she said to me, \u201cO Ibn Mansur, go to yonder chamber; for we have\nfurnished it for thee and it is thy sleeping-place.\u201d Thereupon I arose\nand went thither and slept till morning, when a page brought me basin\nand ewer, and I made the ablution and prayed the dawn-prayer. Then I\nsat down and presently, behold, Jubayr and his beloved came out of the\nbath in the house, and I saw them both wringing their locks.[346] So I\nwished them good morning and gave them joy of their safety and\nreunion, saying to Jubayr, \u201cThat which began with constraint and\nconditions hath ended in cordial contentment.\u201d He answered, \u201cThou\nsayest well, and indeed thou deservest thy honorarium;\u201d and he called\nhis treasurer, and said, \u201cBring hither three thousand dinars.\u201d So he\nbrought a purse containing the gold pieces and Jubayr gave it to me,\nsaying, \u201cFavour us by accepting this.\u201d But I replied, \u201cI will not\naccept it till thou tell me the manner of the transfer of love from\nher to thee, after so huge an aversion.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cHearkening and\nobedience! Know that we have a festival called New Year\u2019s day,[347]\nwhen all the people fare forth and take boat and go a-pleasuring on\nthe river. So I went out with my comrades, and saw a skiff, wherein\nwere ten damsels like moons and amongst them, the Lady Budur lute in\nhand.\u201d She preluded in eleven modes, then, returning to the first,\nsang these two couplets:\u2014\n\n Fire is cooler than fires in my breast, \u273f Rock is softer than heart of\n    my lord,\n Marvel I that he\u2019s form\u00e8d to hold \u273f In water-soft frame heart rock-hard!\n\n\u201cSaid I to her:\u2014Repeat the couplets and the air! But she would\nnot;\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Jubayr continued,\n\u201cSo cried I to her:\u2014Repeat the couplets and the air! But she would not;\nwhereupon I bade the boatmen pelt her with oranges, and they pelted her\ntill we feared her boat would founder. Then she went her way, and this\nis how the love was transferred from her heart to mine.\u201d So I wished\nthem joy of their union; and, taking the purse with its contents, I\nreturned to Baghdad. Now when the Caliph heard Ibn Mansur\u2019s story his\nheart was lightened and the restlessness and oppression from which he\nsuffered forsook him. And they also tell the tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 326:\n\n  Lane (ii. 494) relates from Al-Makrizi, that when Kham\u00e1rawayh,\n  Governor of the Egypt (ninth century), suffered from insomnia his\n  physician ordered a pool of quicksilver, 50 by 50 cubits, to be laid\n  out in front of his palace, now the Rumaylah square. \u201cAt the corners\n  of the pool were silver pegs to which were attached by silver rings,\n  strong bands of silk, and a bed of skins, inflated with air, being\n  thrown upon the pool and secured by the bands remained in a continual\n  state of agreeable vacillation.\u201d We are not told that the Prince was\n  thereby salivated like the late Colonel Sykes when boiling his mercury\n  for thermometric experiments.\n\nFootnote 327:\n\n  The name seems now unknown. \u201cAl-Khal\u00ed\u2019a\u201d is somewhat stronger than\n  \u201cWag,\u201d meaning at least a \u201cwicked wit.\u201d Properly it is the Span.\n  \u201cperdido,\u201d a youth cast off (Khala\u2019) by his friends; though not so\n  strong a term as \u201cHarf\u00fash\u201d = a blackguard.\n\nFootnote 328:\n\n  Arab. \u201cFarsakh\u201d = parasang.\n\nFootnote 329:\n\n  Arab. \u201cNah\u00e1s asfar\u201d = yellow copper, brass as opposed to Nah\u00e1s ahmar =\n  copper. The reader who cares to study the subject will find much about\n  it in my \u201cBook of The Sword,\u201d chapt. iv.\n\nFootnote 330:\n\n  Lane (ii. 479) translates one stanza of this mukhammas (pentastich)\n  and speaks of \u201cfive more,\u201d which would make six.\n\nFootnote 331:\n\n  A servile name, Delicacy, Elegance.\n\nFootnote 332:\n\n  These verses have occurred twice: (Night ix. etc.) so I give Lane\u2019s\n  version (ii. 482).\n\nFootnote 333:\n\n  A Badawi tribe to which belonged the generous Ma\u2019an bin Za\u2019idah, often\n  mentioned in The Nights.\n\nFootnote 334:\n\n  Wealthy harems, I have said, are hot-beds of Sapphism and Tribadism.\n  Every woman past her first youth has a girl whom she calls her\n  \u201cMyrtle\u201d (in Damascus). At Agbome, capital of Dahome, I found that a\n  troop of women was kept for the use of the \u201cAmazons\u201d (Mission to\n  Gelele, ii. 73). Amongst the wild Arabs, who ignore Socratic and\n  Sapphic perversions, the lover is always more jealous of his beloved\u2019s\n  girl-friends than of men rivals. In England we content ourselves with\n  saying that women corrupt women more than men do.\n\nFootnote 335:\n\n  The Hebrew Pentateuch; Roll of the Law.\n\nFootnote 336:\n\n  I need hardly notice the brass trays, platters and table-covers with\n  inscriptions which are familiar to every reader: those made in the\n  East for foreign markets mostly carry imitation inscriptions lest\n  infidel eyes fall upon Holy Writ.\n\nFootnote 337:\n\n  These six distichs are in Night xiii. I borrow Torrens (p. 125) to\n  show his peculiar treatment of spinning out 12 lines to 38.\n\nFootnote 338:\n\n  Arab. \u201cMus\u00e1mirah\u201d = chatting at night. Easterns are inordinately fond\n  of the practice and the wild Arabs often sit up till dawn, talking\n  over the affairs of the tribe, indeed a Shaykh is expected to do so.\n  \u201cEarly to bed and early to rise\u201d is a civilised not a savage or a\n  barbarous saying. Sam\u00edr is a companion in night talk; Raf\u00edk of the\n  road; Rah\u00edb in riding horse or camel; K\u00e1\u2019id in sitting; Shar\u00edb and\n  Raf\u00eds at drink, and Nad\u00edm at table: Ah\u00edd is an ally, and Shar\u00edk a\n  partner\u2014all on the model of \u201cFa\u2019\u00edl.\u201d\n\nFootnote 339:\n\n  In both lover and beloved the excess of love gave them this\n  clairvoyance.\n\nFootnote 340:\n\n  The prayer will be granted for the excess (not the purity) of her\n  love.\n\nFootnote 341:\n\n  This wailing over the Past is one of the common-places of Badawi\n  poetry. The traveller cannot fail, I repeat, to notice the chronic\n  melancholy of peoples dwelling under the brightest skies.\n\nFootnote 342:\n\n  Moons = Bud\u00far: in Paradise as a martyr.\n\nFootnote 343:\n\n  _i.e._ to intercede for me in Heaven; as if the young woman were the\n  Prophet.\n\nFootnote 344:\n\n  The comparison is admirable as the two letters are thus written\n  [Illustration] or \u0644\u0627. It occurs in Al-Hariri (Ass. of Ramlah)\n\n             So I embraced him close as L\u00e1m cleaves to Alif;\n\n  And again:\u2014\n\n            She laid aside reluctance and I embraced her close\n            As if I were L\u00e1m and my love Alif.\n\n  The Lomad-Olaph in Syraic is similarly colligated.\n\nFootnote 345:\n\n  Here is a double entendre \u201cand the infirm letters (viz. a, w and y)\n  not subject to accidence, left him.\u201d The three make up the root \u201cAwi\u201d\n  = pitying, condoling.\n\nFootnote 346:\n\n  Showing that consummation had taken place. It was a sign of good\n  breeding to avoid all \u201cindecent hurry\u201d when going to bed. In some\n  Moslem countries the bridegroom does not consummate the marriage for\n  seven nights; out of respect for (1) father (2) mother (3) brother and\n  so forth. If he hurry matters he will be hooted as an \u201cimpatient man\u201d\n  and the wise will quote, \u201cMan is created of precipitation\u201d (Koran\n  chapt. xxi. 38), meaning hasty and inconsiderate. I remark with\n  pleasure that the whole of this tale is told with commendable\n  delicacy. O si sic omnia!\n\nFootnote 347:\n\n  Pers. Nauroz (= nau roz, new day): here used in the Arab. plur.\n  \u201cNaw\u00e1riz\u201d as it lasted six days. There are only four universal\n  festivals; the solstices and the equinoxes; and every successive\n  religion takes them from the sun and perverts them to its own private\n  purposes. Lane (ii. 496) derives the venerable Nauroz whose birth is\n  hid in the outer glooms of antiquity from \u201cthe Jewish Passover\u201d (!)\n\n\n\n\n              THE MAN OF AL-YAMAN AND HIS SIX SLAVE-GIRLS.\n\n\nThe Caliph Al-Maamun was sitting one day in his palace, surrounded by\nhis Lords of the realm and Officers of state, and there were present\nalso before him all his poets and cup-companions, amongst the rest one\nnamed Mohammed of Bassorah. Presently the Caliph turned and said to him,\n\u201cO Mohammed, I wish thee forthwith to tell me something that I have\nnever before heard.\u201d He replied, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, dost thou\nwish me to tell thee a thing I have heard with my ears or a thing I have\nseen with my eyes?\u201d Quoth Al-Maamun, \u201cTell me whichever is the rarer;\u201d\nso Mohammed Al-Basri began:\u2014Know, then, O Commander of the Faithful,\nthat there lived once upon a time a wealthy man, who was a native of\nAl-Yaman; but he emigrated from his native land and came to this city of\nBaghdad, whose sojourn so pleased him that he transported hither his\nfamily and possessions. Now he had six slave-girls, like moons one and\nall; the first white, the second brown, the third fat, the fourth lean,\nthe fifth yellow and the sixth lamp-black; and all six were comely of\ncountenance and perfect in accomplishments and skilled in the arts of\nsinging and playing upon musical instruments. Now it so chanced that,\none day, he sent for the girls and called for meat and wine; and they\nate and drank and were mirthful and made merry. Then he filled the cup\nand, taking it in his hand, said to the blonde girl, \u201cO new-moon face,\nlet us hear somewhat of thy pleasant songs.\u201d So she took the lute and\ntuning it, made music thereon with such sweet melody that the place\ndanced with glee; after which she played a lively measure and sang these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n I have a friend, whose form is fixed within mine eyes,[348] \u273f Whose name\n    deep buried in my very vitals lies:\n Whenas remembers him my mind all heart am I, \u273f And when on him my gaze\n    is turned I am all eyes.\n My censor saith, \u201cForswear, forget, the love of him,\u201d \u273f \u201cWhatso is not\n    to be, how shall\u2019t be?\u201d My reply is.\n Quoth I, \u201cO Censor mine, go forth from me, avaunt! \u273f And make not light\n    of that on humans heavy lies.\u201d\n\nHereat their master rejoiced and, drinking off his cup, gave the damsels\nto drink, after which he said to the berry-brown girl, \u201cO\nbrasier-light[349] and joy of the sprite, let us hear thy lovely voice,\nwhereby all that hearken are ravished with delight.\u201d So she took the\nlute and thereon made harmony till the place was moved to glee; then,\ncaptivating all hearts with her graceful swaying, she sang these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n I swear by that fair face\u2019s life, I\u2019ll love but thee \u273f Till death us\n    part; nor other love but thine I\u2019ll see;\n O full moon, with thy loveliness mantilla\u2019d o\u2019er, \u273f The loveliest of our\n    earth beneath thy banner be:\n Thou, who surpassest all the fair in pleasantness \u273f May Allah, Lord of\n    worlds, be everywhere with thee!\n\nThe master rejoiced and drank off his cup and gave the girls to drink;\nafter which he filled again; and, taking the goblet in his hand, signed\nto the fat girl and bade her sing and play a different motive. So she\ntook the lute and striking a grief-dispelling measure, sang these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n An thou but deign consent, O wish to heart affied! \u273f I care not wrath\n    and rage to all mankind betide.\n And if thou show that fairest face which gives me life, \u273f I reck not an\n    diminished heads the Kings go hide.\n I seek thy favours only from this \u2018versal world: \u273f O thou in whom all\n    beauty doth firm-fixt abide!\n\nThe man rejoiced and, emptying his cup, gave the girls to drink. Then he\nsigned to the thin girl and said to her, \u201cO Houri of Paradise, feed thou\nour ears with sweet words and sounds.\u201d So she took the lute; and, tuning\nit, preluded and sang these two couplets:\u2014\n\n Say me, on Allah\u2019s path[350] hast death not dealt to me, \u273f Turning from\n    me while I to thee turn patiently:\n Say me, is there no judge of Love to judge us twain, \u273f And do me justice\n    wronged, mine enemy, by thee?\n\nTheir lord rejoiced and, emptying the cup, gave the girls to drink. Then\nfilling another he signed to the yellow girl and said to her, \u201cO sun of\nthe day, let us hear some nice verses.\u201d So she took the lute and,\npreluding after the goodliest fashion, sang these couplets:\u2014\n\n I have a lover and when drawing him, \u273f He draws on me a sword-blade\n    glancing grim:\n Allah avenge some little of his wrongs, \u273f Who holds my heart yet wreaks\n    o\u2019erbearing whim:\n Oft though I say, \u201cRenounce him, heart!\u201d yet heart \u273f Will to none other\n    turn excepting him.\n He is my wish and will of all men, but \u273f Fate\u2019s envious hand to me\u2019s aye\n    grudging him.\n\nThe master rejoiced and drank and gave the girls to drink; then he\nfilled the cup and taking it in hand, signed to the black girl, saying,\n\u201cO pupil of the eye, let us have a taste of thy quality, though it be\nbut two words.\u201d So she took the lute and tuning it and tightening the\nstrings, preluded in various modes, then returned to the first and sang\nto a lively air these couplets:\u2014\n\n Ho ye, mine eyes, let prodigal tears go free; \u273f This ecstasy would see\n    my being unbe:[351]\n All ecstasies I dree for sake of friend \u273f I fondle, maugre enviers\u2019\n    jealousy:\n Censors forbid me from his rosy cheek, \u273f Yet e\u2019er inclines my heart to\n    rosery:\n Cups of pure wine, time was, went circuiting \u273f In joy, what time the\n    lute sang melody,\n While kept his troth the friend who madded me, \u273f Yet made me rising star\n    of bliss to see:\n But\u2014with Time, turned he not by sin of mine; \u273f Than such a turn can\n    aught more bitter be?\n Upon his cheek there grows and glows a rose, \u273f Nay two, whereof grant\n    Allah one to me!\n An were prostration[352] by our law allowed \u273f To aught but Allah, at his\n    feet I had bowed.\n\nThereupon rose the six girls and, kissing the ground before their lord,\nsaid to him, \u201cDo thou justice between us, O our lord!\u201d So he looked at\ntheir beauty and loveliness and the contrast of their colours and\npraised Almighty Allah and glorified Him. Then said he, \u201cThere is none\nof you but hath learnt the Koran by heart, and mastered the musical art\nand is versed in the chronicles of yore and the doings of peoples which\nhave gone before; so it is my desire that each one of you rise and,\npointing finger at her opposite, praise herself and dispraise her\nco-concubine; that is to say, let the blonde point to the brunette, the\nplump to the slender and the yellow to the black girl; after which the\nrivals, each in her turn, shall do the like with the former; and be this\nillustrated with citations from Holy Writ and somewhat of anecdotes and\nverse, so as to show forth your fine breeding and elegance of your\npleading.\u201d And they answered him, \u201cWe hear and we obey!\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the handmaids\nanswered the man of Al-Yaman, \u201cWe hear and we obey!\u201d Accordingly the\nblonde rose first and, pointing at the black girl, said to her:\u2014Out on\nthee, blackamoor! It is told by tradition that whiteness saith:\u2014I am the\nshining light, I am the rising moon of the fourteenth night. My hue is\npatent and my brow is resplendent and of my beauty quoth the poet:\u2014\n\n White girl with softly rounded polished cheeks \u273f As if a pearl concealed\n    by Beauty\u2019s boon:\n Her stature Alif-like;[353] her smile like M\u00edm[354] \u273f And o\u2019er her eyes\n    two brows that bend like N\u00fan.[355]\n \u2018Tis as her glance were arrow, and her brows \u273f Bows ever bent to shoot\n    Death-dart eftsoon:\n If cheek and shape thou view, there shalt thou find \u273f Rose, myrtle,\n    basil and Narcissus wone.\n Men wont in gardens plant and set the branch; \u273f How many garths thy\n    stature-branch doth own!\n\nSo my colour is like the hale and healthy day and the newly-culled\norange-spray and the star of sparkling ray;[356] and indeed quoth\nAlmighty Allah, in His precious Book, to his prophet Moses (on whom be\npeace!):\u2014Put thy hand into thy bosom; it shall come forth white, without\nhurt.[357] And again He saith:\u2014But they whose faces shall become white,\nshall be in the mercy of Allah; therein shall they remain for ever.[358]\nMy colour is a sign, a miracle, and my loveliness supreme and my beauty\na term extreme. It is on the like of me that raiment showeth fair and\nfine and to the like of me that hearts incline. Moreover, in whiteness\nare many excellences; for instance, the snow falleth white from heaven,\nand it is traditional that the beautifullest of colours is white. The\nMoslems also glory in white turbands; but I should be tedious, were I to\ntell all that may be told in praise of white; little and enough is\nbetter than too much of unfilling stuff. So now I will begin with thy\ndispraise, O black, O colour of ink and blacksmith\u2019s dust, thou whose\nface is like the raven which bringeth about the parting of lovers.\nVerily, the poet saith in praise of white and blame of black:\u2014\n\n Seest not that pearls are prized for milky hue, \u273f But with a dirham buy\n    we coals in load?\n And while white faces enter Paradise, \u273f Black faces crowd Gehenna\u2019s\n    black abode.\n\nAnd indeed it is told in certain histories, related on the authority of\ndevout men, that Noah (on whom be peace!) was sleeping one day, with his\nsons Cham and Shem seated at his head, when a wind sprang up and,\nlifting his clothes, uncovered his nakedness; whereat Cham looked and\nlaughed and did not cover him: but Shem arose and covered him.\nPresently, their sire awoke and learning, what had been done by his\nsons, blessed Shem and cursed Cham. So Shem\u2019s face was whitened and from\nhim sprang the prophets and the orthodox Caliphs and Kings; whilst\nCham\u2019s face was blackened and he fled forth to the land of Abyssinia,\nand of his lineage came the blacks.[359] All people are of one mind in\naffirming the lack of understanding of the blacks, even as saith the\nadage, \u201cHow shall one find a black with a mind?\u201d Quoth her master, \u201cSit\nthee down, thou hast given us sufficient and even excess.\u201d Thereupon he\nsigned to the negress, who rose and, pointing her finger at the blonde,\nsaid:\u2014Dost thou not know that in the Koran sent down to His prophet and\napostle, is transmitted the saying of God the Most High, \u201cBy the night\nwhen it covereth all things with darkness; by the day when it shineth\nforth!\u201d[360] If the night were not the more illustrious, verily Allah\nhad not sworn by it nor had given it precedence of the day. And indeed\nall men of wit and wisdom accept this. Knowest thou not that black is\nthe ornament of youth and that, when hoariness descendeth upon the head,\ndelights pass away and the hour of death draweth in sight? Were not\nblack the most illustrious of things, Allah had not set it in the core\nof the heart[361] and the pupil of the eye; and how excellent is the\nsaying of the poet:\u2014\n\n I love not black girls but because they show \u273f Youth\u2019s colour, tinct of\n    eye and heart-core\u2019s hue;\n Nor are in error who unlove the white, \u273f And hoary hairs and\n    winding-sheet eschew.\n\nAnd that said of another:\u2014\n\n  Black[362] girls, not white, are they \u273f All worthy love I see:\n  Black girls wear dark-brown lips;[363] \u273f Whites, blotch of leprosy.\n\nAnd of a third:\u2014\n\n Black girls in acts are white, and \u2018tis as though \u273f Like eyes, with\n    purest shine and sheen they show;\n If I go daft for her, be not amazed; \u273f Black bile[364] drives\n    melancholic-mad we know:\n \u2018Tis as my colour were the noon of night; \u273f For all no moon it be, its\n    splendours glow.\n\nMoreover, is the foregathering of lovers good but in the night? Let this\nquality and profit suffice thee. What protecteth lovers from spies and\ncensors like the blackness of night\u2019s darkness; and what causeth to them\nto fear discovery like the whiteness of the dawn\u2019s brightness? So, how\nmany claims to honour are there not in blackness and how excellent is\nthe saying of the poet!\u2014\n\n I visit them, and night-black lendeth aid to me \u273f Seconding love, but\n    dawn-white is mine enemy.\n\nAnd that of another:\u2014\n\n How many a night I\u2019ve passed with the beloved of me, \u273f While gloom with\n    dusky tresses veil\u00e8d our desires:\n But when the morn-light showed it caused me sad affright; \u273f And I to\n    Morning said, \u201cWho worship light are liars!\u201d[365]\n\nAnd saith a third:\u2014\n\n He came to see me, hiding neath the skirt of night, \u273f Hasting his steps\n    as wended he in cautious plight.\n I rose and spread my cheek upon his path like rug, \u273f Abject, and trailed\n    my skirt to hide it from his sight;\n But rose the crescent moon and strave its best to show \u273f The world our\n    loves, like nail-slice raying radiant light:[366]\n Then what befel befel: I need not aught describe; \u273f But think thy best,\n    and ask me naught of wrong or right.\n Meet not thy lover save at night for fear of slander \u273f The Sun\u2019s a\n    tittle-tattler and the Moon\u2019s a pander.\n\nAnd a fifth:\u2014\n\n I love not white girls blown with fat who puff and pant; \u273f The maid for\n    me is young brunette embonpoint-scant.\n I\u2019d rather ride a colt that\u2019s dark upon the day \u273f Of race, and set my\n    friends upon the elephant.\n\nAnd a sixth:\u2014\n\n My lover came to me one night, \u273f And clipt we both with fond embrace;\n And lay together till we saw \u273f The morning come with swiftest pace.\n Now I pray Allah and my Lord \u273f To reunite us of His grace;\n And make night last me long as he \u273f Lies in the arms that tightly lace.\n\nWere I to set forth all the praises of blackness, my tale would be\ntedious; but little and enough is better than too much of unfilling\nstuff. As for thee, O blonde, thy colour is that of leprosy and thine\nembrace is suffocation,[367] and it is of report that hoar-frost and icy\ncold[368] are in Gehenna for the torment of the wicked. Again, of things\nblack and excellent is ink, wherewith is written Allah\u2019s word; and were\nit not for black ambergris and black musk, there would be no perfumes to\ncarry to Kings. How many glories I may not mention dwell in blackness,\nand how well saith the poet:\u2014\n\n Seest not that musk, the nut-brown musk, e\u2019er claims the highest price,\n    \u273f Whilst for a load of whitest lime none more than dirham bids?\n And while white speck upon the eye deforms the loveliest youth, \u273f Black\n    eyes discharge the sharpest shafts in lashes from their lids.\n\nQuoth her master, \u201cSit thee down: this much sufficeth.\u201d So she sat down\nand he signed to the fat girl, who rose\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the man of\nAl-Yaman, the master of the handmaids, signed to the fat girl who rose\nand, pointing her finger at the slim girl, bared her calves and wrists\nand uncovered her stomach, showing its dimples and the plump rondure of\nher navel. Then she donned a shift of fine stuff, that exposed her whole\nbody, and said:\u2014Praised be Allah who created me, for that He beautified\nmy face and made me fat and fair of the fattest and fairest; and likened\nme to branches laden with fruit, and bestowed upon me abounding beauty\nand brightness: and praised be He no less, for that He hath given me the\nprecedence and honoured me, when He mentioneth me in His holy Book!\nQuoth the Most High, \u201cAnd he brought a fatted calf.\u201d[369] And He hath\nmade me like unto a vergier full of peaches and pomegranates. In very\nsooth even as the townsfolk long for fat birds and eat of them and love\nnot lean birds, so do the sons of Adam desire fat meat and eat of it.\nHow many vauntful attributes are there not in fatness, and how well\nsaith the poet:\u2014\n\n Farewell thy love, for see, the Cafilah\u2019s[370] on the move: \u273f O man,\n    canst bear to say adieu and leave thy love?\n \u2018Tis as her going were to seek her neighbour\u2019s tent, \u273f The gait of fat\n    fair maid, whom hearts shall all approve.\n\nSawest thou ever one stand before a flesher\u2019s stall but sought of him\nfat flesh? The wise say, \u201cJoyance is in three things, eating meat and\nriding meat and putting meat into meat.\u201d[371] As for thee, O thin one,\nthy calves are like the shanks of sparrows or the pokers of furnaces;\nand thou art a cruciform plank or a piece of flesh poor and rank; there\nis naught in thee to gladden the heart; even as saith the poet:\u2014\n\n With Allah take I refuge from whatever driveth me \u273f To bed with one like\n    footrasp[372] or the roughest ropery:\n In every limb she hath a horn that butteth me whene\u2019er \u273f I fain would\n    rest, so morn and eve I wend me wearily.\n\nQuoth her master, \u201cSit thee down: this much sufficeth.\u201d So she sat down\nand he signed to the slender girl, who rose, as she were a willow-wand,\nor a rattan-frond or a stalk of sweet basil, and said:\u2014Praised be Allah\nwho created me and beautified me and made my embraces the end of all\ndesire and likened me to the branch, whereto all hearts incline. If I\nrise, I rise lightly; if I sit, I sit prettily; I am nimble-witted at a\njest and merrier-souled than mirth itself. Never heard I one describe\nhis mistress, saying, \u201cMy beloved is the bigness of an elephant or like\na mountain long and broad;\u201d but rather, \u201cMy lady hath a slender waist\nand a slim shape.\u201d[373] Furthermore a little food filleth me and a\nlittle water quencheth my thirst; my sport is agile and my habit active;\nfor I am sprightlier than the sparrow and lighter-skipping than the\nstarling. My favours are the longing of the lover and the delight of the\ndesirer; for I am goodly of shape, sweet of smile and graceful as the\nbending willow-wand or the rattan-cane[374] or the stalk of the\nbasil-plant; nor is there any can compare with me in loveliness, even as\nsaith one of me:\u2014\n\n Thy shape with willow branch I dare compare, \u273f And hold thy figure as my\n    fortunes fair:\n I wake each morn distraught, and follow thee, \u273f And from the rival\u2019s eye\n    in fear I fare.\n\nIt is for the like of me that amourists run mad and that those who\ndesire me wax distracted. If my lover would draw me to him, I am drawn\nto him; and if he would have me incline to him, I incline to him and not\nagainst him. But now, as for thee, O fat of body, thine eating is the\nfeeding of an elephant, and neither much nor little filleth thee. When\nthou liest with a man who is lean, he hath no ease of thee; nor can he\nanyways take his pleasure of thee; for the bigness of thy belly holdeth\nhim off from going in unto thee and the fatness of thy thighs hindereth\nhim from coming at thy slit. What goodness is there in thy grossness,\nand what courtesy or pleasantness in thy coarseness? Fat flesh is fit\nfor naught but the flesher, nor is there one point therein that pleadeth\nfor praise. If one joke with thee, thou art angry; if one sport with\nthee, thou art sulky; if thou sleep, thou snorest; if thou walk, thou\nlollest out thy tongue! if thou eat, thou art never filled. Thou art\nheavier than mountains and fouler than corruption and crime. Thou hast\nin thee nor agility nor benedicite nor thinkest thou of aught save meat\nand sleep. When thou pissest thou swishest; if thou turd thou gruntest\nlike a bursten wine-skin or an elephant transmogrified. If thou go to\nthe water-closet, thou needest one to wash thy gap and pluck out the\nhairs which overgrow it; and this is the extreme of sluggishness and the\nsign, outward and visible, of stupidity.[375] In short, there is no good\nthing about thee, and indeed the poet saith of thee:\u2014\n\n Heavy and swollen like an urine-bladder blown, \u273f With hips and thighs\n    like mountain propping piles of stone;\n Whene\u2019er she walks in Western hemisphere, her tread \u273f Makes the far\n    Eastern world with weight to moan and groan.\n\nQuoth her master, \u201cSit thee down, this sufficeth;\u201d so she sat down and\nhe signed to the yellow girl, who rose to her feet and praised Allah\nAlmighty and magnified His name, calling down peace and blessing on\nMohammed the best of His creatures; after which she pointed her finger\nat the brunette and said to her,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n      Now when it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the yellow\ngirl stood up and praised Almighty Allah and magnified His name; after\nwhich she pointed her finger at the brown girl and said to her:\u2014I am the\none praised in the Koran, and the Compassionate hath described my\ncomplexion and its excellence over all other hues in His manifest Book,\nwhere Allah saith, \u201cA yellow, pure yellow, whose colour gladdeneth the\nbeholders.\u201d[376] Wherefore my colour is a sign and portent and my grace\nis supreme and my beauty a term extreme; for that my tint is the tint of\na ducat and the colour of the planets and moons and the hue of ripe\napples. My fashion is the fashion of the fair, and the dye of saffron\noutvieth all other dyes; so my semblance is wondrous and my colour\nmarvellous. I am soft of body and of high price, comprising all\nqualities of beauty. My colour is essentially precious as virgin gold,\nand how many boasts and glories doth it not unfold! Of the like of me\nquoth the poet:\u2014\n\n Her golden yellow is the sheeny sun\u2019s; \u273f And like gold sequins she\n    delights the sight:\n Saffron small portion of her glance can show; \u273f Nay,[377] she outvies\n    the moon when brightest bright.\n\nAnd I shall at once begin in thy dispraise, O berry-brown girl! Thy\ntincture is that of the buffalo, and all souls shudder at thy sight. If\nthy colour be in any created thing, it is blamed; if it be in food, it\nis poisoned; for thy hue is the hue of the dung-fly; it is a mark of\nugliness even in dogs; and among the colours it is one which strikes\nwith amazement and is of the signs of mourning. Never heard I of brown\ngold or brown pearls or brown gems. If thou enter the privy, thy colour\nchangeth, and when thou comest out, thou addest ugliness to ugliness.\nThou art a non-descript; neither black, that thou mayst be recognised,\nnor white, that thou mayst be described; and in thee there is no good\nquality, even as saith the poet:\u2014\n\n The hue of dusty motes is hers; that dull brown hue of hers \u273f Is mouldy,\n    like the dust and mud by Cossid\u2019s foot upthrown:[378]\n I never look upon her brow, e\u2019en for eye-twinkling\u2019s space, \u273f But in\n    brown study fall I and my thoughts take browner tone.\n\nQuoth her master, \u201cSit thee down; this much sufficeth;\u201d so she sat down\nand he signed to the brunette. Now she was a model of beauty and\nloveliness and symmetry and perfect grace; soft of skin, slim of shape,\nof stature rare, and coal-black hair; with cheeks rosy-pink, eyes\nblack-rimmed by nature\u2019s hand, face fair, and eloquent tongue; moreover\nslender-waisted and heavy-hipped. So she rose and said:\u2014Praise be to\nAllah who hath created me neither leper-white nor bile-yellow nor\ncharcoal-black, but hath made my colour to be beloved of men of wit and\nwisdom; for all the poets extol berry-brown maids in every tongue and\nexalt their colour over all other colours. To \u201cbrown of hue (they say)\npraise is due;\u201d and Allah bless him who singeth:\u2014\n\n And in brunettes is mystery, could\u2019st thou but read it right, \u273f Thy\n    sight would never dwell on others, be they red or white:\n Free-flowing conversation, amorous coquettishness \u273f Would teach H\u00e1rut\n    himself a mightier spell of magic might.\n\nAnd saith another:\u2014\n\n Give me brunettes, so limber, lissom, lithe of sway, \u273f Brunettes tall,\n    slender, straight like Samhar\u2019s nut-brown lance;[379]\n Languid of eyelids and with silky down on either cheek, \u273f Who fixed in\n    lover\u2019s heart work to his life mischance.\n\nAnd yet another:\u2014\n\n Now, by my life, brown hue hath point of comeliness \u273f Leaves whiteness\n    nowhere and high o\u2019er the Moon takes place;\n But an of whiteness aught it borrowed self to deck, \u273f \u2018Twould change its\n    graces and would pale for its disgrace:\n Not with his must[380] I\u2019m drunken, but his locks of musk \u273f Are wine\n    inebriating all of human race.\n His charms are jealous each of each, and all desire \u273f To be the down\n    that creepeth up his lovely face.\n\nAnd again another:\u2014\n\n Why not incline me to that show of silky down, \u273f On cheeks of dark\n    brunette, like bamboo spiring brown?\n Whenas high rank in beauty poets sing, they say \u273f Brown ant-like\n    specklet worn by nenuphar in crown.\n And see I sundry lovers tear out others\u2019 eyne \u273f For the brown mole\n    beneath that jetty pupil shown,\n Then why do censors blame me for one all a mole? \u273f Allah I pray demolish\n    each molesting clown![381]\n\nMy form is all grace and my shape is built on heavy base; Kings desire\nmy colour which all adore, rich and poor. I am pleasant, active,\nhandsome, elegant, soft of skin and prized for price: eke I am perfect\nin seemlihead and breeding and eloquence; my aspect is comely and my\ntongue witty; my temper is bright and my play a pretty sight. As for\nthee, thou art like unto a mallow growing about the L\u00fak Gate;[382] in\nhue sallow and streaked-yellow and made all of sulphur. Aroynt thee, O\ncopper-worth of jaundiced sorrel, O rust of brass-pot, O face of owl in\ngloom, and fruit of the Hell-tree Zakk\u00fam;[383] whose bedfellow, for\nheart-break, is buried in the tomb. And there is no good thing in thee,\neven as saith the poet of the like of thee:\u2014\n\n Yellowness, tincturing her tho\u2019 nowise sick or sorry, \u273f Straitens my\n    hapless heart and makes my head sore ache;\n An thou repent not, Soul! I\u2019ll punish thee with kissing[384] \u273f Her lower\n    face that shall mine every grinder break!\n\nAnd when she ended her lines, quoth her master, \u201cSit thee down, this\nmuch sufficeth!\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nsaying her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the yellow\ngirl ended her recitation, quoth her master, \u201cSit thee down; this much\nsufficeth!\u201d Then he made peace between them and clad them all in\nsumptuous robes of honour and hanselled them with precious jewels of\nland and sea. And never have I seen, O Commander of the Faithful, any\nwhen or any where, aught fairer than these six damsels fair. Now when\nAl-Maamun heard this story from Mohammed of Bassorah, he turned to him\nand said, \u201cO Mohammed, knowest thou the abiding-place of these damsels\nand their master, and canst thou contrive to buy them of him for us?\u201d He\nanswered, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, indeed I have heard that their\nlord is wrapped up in them and cannot bear to be parted from them.\u201d\nRejoined the Caliph, \u201cTake thee ten thousand gold pieces for each girl,\nthat is sixty thousand for the whole purchase; and carry the coin to his\nhouse and buy them of him.\u201d So Mohammed of Bassorah took the money and,\nbetaking himself to the Man of Al-Yaman, acquainted him with the wish of\nthe Prince of True Believers. He consented to part with them at that\nprice to pleasure the Caliph; and despatched them to Al-Maamun, who\nassigned them an elegant abode and therein used to sit with them as\ncup-companions; marvelling at their beauty and loveliness, at their\nvaried colours and at the excellence of their conversation. Thus matters\nstood for many a day; but, after awhile, when their former owner could\nno longer bear to be parted from them, he sent a letter to the Commander\nof the Faithful complaining to him of his own ardent love-longing for\nthem and containing, amongst other contents, these couplets:\u2014\n\n Captured me six, all bright with youthful blee; \u273f Then on all six be\n    best salams from me!\n They are my hearing, seeing, very life; \u273f My meat, my drink, my joy, my\n    jollity:\n I\u2019ll ne\u2019er forget the favours erst so charmed \u273f Whose loss hath turned\n    my sleep to insomny:\n Alack, O longsome pining and O tears! \u273f Would I had farewelled all\n    humanity:\n Those eyes, with bowed and well arched eyebrows[385] dight, \u273f Like bows\n    have struck me with their archery.\n\nNow when the letter came to the hands of Al-Maamun, he robed the six\ndamsels in rich raiment; and, giving them threescore thousand dinars,\nsent them back to their lord who joyed in them with exceeding joy,[386]\n(more especially for the monies they brought him) and abode with them in\nall the comfort and pleasance of life, till there came to them the\nDestroyer of delights and the Severer of societies. And men also recount\nthe tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 348:\n\n  Again the \u201cbabes\u201d of the eyes.\n\nFootnote 349:\n\n  _i.e._ whose glance is as the light of the glowing braise or (embers).\n  The Arab. \u201cMikb\u00e1s\u201d = pan or pot full of small charcoal, is an article\n  well known in Italy and Southern Europe. The word is apparently used\n  here because it rhymes with \u201cAnf\u00e1s\u201d (souls, spirits).\n\nFootnote 350:\n\n  _i.e._ martyrdom; a Koranic term \u201cfi sab\u00edli \u2018llahi\u201d = on the way of\n  Allah.\n\nFootnote 351:\n\n  These rhymes in -y, -ee and -ie are purposely affected, to imitate the\n  cadence of the Arabic.\n\nFootnote 352:\n\n  Arab. Suj\u00fad, the ceremonial prostration, touching the ground with the\n  forehead. So in the Old Testament \u201che bowed (or fell down) and\n  worshipped\u201d (Gen. xxiv., 26: Mat. ii., 11), of which our translation\n  gives a wrong idea.\n\nFootnote 353:\n\n  Thus written \u0627 hence as has been seen, a girl is called Alfiyyah =\n  A-shaped.\n\nFootnote 354:\n\n  _i.e._ the medial form of m =\n\nFootnote 355:\n\n  _i.e._ the inverted n.\n\nFootnote 356:\n\n  It may also mean a \u201cSevign\u00e9 of pearls.\u201d\n\nFootnote 357:\n\n  Koran xxvii. 12. This was one of the nine \u201csigns\u201d to wicked \u201cPharaoh.\u201d\n  The \u201chand of Moses\u201d is a symbol of power and ability (Koran vii. 105).\n  The whiteness was supernatural beauty, not leprosy of the Jews (Exod.\n  iv. 6); but brilliancy, after being born red or black: according to\n  some commentators, Moses was a negro.\n\nFootnote 358:\n\n  Koran iii. 103; the other faces become black. This explains, I have\n  noticed, the use of the phrases in blessing and cursing.\n\nFootnote 359:\n\n  Here we have the naked legend of the negro\u2019s origin; one of those\n  nursery tales in which the ignorant of Christendom still believe. But\n  the deduction from the fable and the testimony to the negro\u2019s lack of\n  intelligence, though unpleasant to our ignorant negrophils, are\n  factual and satisfactory.\n\nFootnote 360:\n\n  Koran, xcii. 1, 2: an oath of Allah to reward and punish with Heaven\n  and Hell.\n\nFootnote 361:\n\n  Alluding to the \u201cblack drop\u201d in the heart: it was taken from\n  Mohammed\u2019s by the Archangel Gabriel. The fable seems to have arisen\n  from the verse \u201cHave we not opened thy breast?\u201d (Koran, chapt. xciv.\n  1). The popular tale is that Hal\u00edmah, the Badawi nurse of Mohammed, of\n  the Banu Sa\u2019ad tribe, once saw her son, also a child, running towards\n  her and asked him what was the matter. He answered, \u201cMy little brother\n  was seized by two men in white who stretched him on the ground and\n  opened his belly!\u201d For a full account and deductions see the Rev. Mr.\n  Badger\u2019s article, \u201cMuhammed\u201d (p. 959) in vol. iii. \u201cDictionary of\n  Christian Biography.\u201d\n\nFootnote 362:\n\n  Arab, \u201cSumr,\u201d lit. brown (as it is afterwards used), but politely\n  applied to a negro: \u201cY\u00e1 Abu Sumrah!\u201d O father of brownness.\n\nFootnote 363:\n\n  Arab. \u201cLum\u00e1\u201d = dark hue of the inner lips admired by the Arabs and to\n  us suggesting most unpleasant ideas. Mr. Chenery renders it \u201cdark red\u201d\n  and \u201cruddy,\u201d altogether missing the idea.\n\nFootnote 364:\n\n  Arab. \u201cSaud\u00e1,\u201d feminine of aswad (black), and meaning black bile\n  (melancholia) as opposed to leucocholia.\n\nFootnote 365:\n\n  _i.e._ the Magians, Sabians, Zoroastrians.\n\nFootnote 366:\n\n  The \u201cUnguinum fulgor\u201d of the Latins who did not forget to celebrate\n  the shining of the nails although they did not Henna them like\n  Easterns. Some, however, have suggested that \u1fec\u03bf\u03b4\u03bf\u03b4\u03ac\u03ba\u03c4\u03c5\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2 alludes to\n  colouring matter.\n\nFootnote 367:\n\n  Women with white skins are supposed to be heating and unwholesome:\n  hence the Hindu Rajahs slept with dark girls in the hot season.\n\nFootnote 368:\n\n  Moslems sensibly have a cold as well as a hot Hell, the former called\n  Zamharir (lit. \u201cintense cold\u201d) or Al-Barah\u00fat, after a well in\n  Hazramaut; as Gehenna (Arab. Jahannam) from the furnace-like ravine\n  East of Jerusalem (Night cccxxv). The icy Hell is necessary _in\n  terrorem_ for peoples who inhabit cold regions and who in a hot Hell\n  only look forward to an eternity of \u201ccoals and candles\u201d gratis. The\n  sensible missionaries preached it in Iceland till foolishly forbidden\n  by Papal Bull.\n\nFootnote 369:\n\n  Koran ii. 26; speaking of Abraham when he entertained the angels\n  unawares.\n\nFootnote 370:\n\n  Arab \u201cRakb,\u201d usually applied to a fast-going caravan of dromedary\n  riders (Pilgrimage ii. 329). The \u201cCafilah\u201d is Arab.: \u201cCaravan\u201d is a\n  corruption of the Pers. Karw\u00e1n.\n\nFootnote 371:\n\n  A popular saying. It is interesting to contrast this dispute between\n  fat and thin with the Shakespearean humour of Falstaff and Prince\n  Henry.\n\nFootnote 372:\n\n  Arab. \u201cDalak\u201d vulg Hajar al-Hammam (Hammam-stone). The comparison is\n  very apt: the rasps are of baked clay artificially roughened (see\n  illustrations in Lane M. E. chapt. xvi.) The rope is called \u201cMasad,\u201d a\n  bristling line of palm-fibre like the coir now familiarly known in\n  England.\n\nFootnote 373:\n\n  Although the Arab\u2019s ideal of beauty, as has been seen and said,\n  corresponds with ours, the Egyptians (Modern) the Maroccans and other\n  negrofied races like \u201cwalking tun-butts\u201d as Clapperton called his\n  amorous widow.\n\nFootnote 374:\n\n  Arab. \u201cKhayzar\u201d or \u201cKhayzar\u00e1n\u201d the rattan-palm. Those who have seen\n  this most graceful \u201cpalmijuncus\u201d in its native forest will recognise\n  the neatness of the simile.\n\nFootnote 375:\n\n  This is the popular idea of a bushy \u201cveil of nature\u201d in women: it is\n  always removed by depilatories and vellication. When Bilkis Queen of\n  Sheba discovered her legs by lifting her robe (Koran xxvii.), Solomon\n  was minded to marry her, but would not do so till the devils had by a\n  depilatory removed the hair. The popular preparation (called N\u00farah)\n  consists of quicklime 7 parts, and Zirn\u00edk or orpiment, 3 parts: it is\n  applied in the Hammam to a perspiring skin, and it must be washed off\n  immediately the hair is loosened or it burns and discolours. The rest\n  of the body-pile (Sha\u2019arat opp. to Sha\u2019ar = hair) is eradicated by\n  applying a mixture of boiled honey with turpentine or other gum, and\n  rolling it with the hand till the hair comes off. Men I have said\n  remove the pubes by shaving, and pluck the hair of the armpits, one of\n  the vestages of pre-Adamite man. A good depilatory is still a\n  desideratum, the best perfumers of London and Paris have none which\n  they can recommend. The reason is plain: the hair-bulb can be\n  eradicated only by destroying the skin.\n\nFootnote 376:\n\n  Koran, ii. 64: referring to the heifer which the Jews were ordered to\n  sacrifice.\n\nFootnote 377:\n\n  Arab. \u201ckall\u00e1,\u201d a Koranic term possibly from Kull (all) and l\u00e1 (not) =\n  prorsus non\u2014altogether not!\n\nFootnote 378:\n\n  \u201cHab\u00e1b\u201d or \u201cHab\u00e1,\u201d the fine particles of dust, which we call motes.\n  The Cossid (Arab. K\u00e1sid) is the Anglo-Indian term for a running\n  courier (mostly under Government), the Persian \u201cSh\u00e1tir\u201d and the Guebre\n  R\u00e1vand.\n\nFootnote 379:\n\n  Arab. \u201cSamhari\u201d a very long thin lance so called after Samhar, the\n  maker, or the place of making. See vol. ii. p. 1. It is supposed to\n  cast, when planted in the ground, a longer shadow in proportion to its\n  height, than any other thing of the kind.\n\nFootnote 380:\n\n  Arab. \u201cSul\u00e1fah;\u201d properly _ptisane_ which flows from the grapes before\n  pressure. The plur. \u201cSaw\u00e1lif\u201d also means tresses of hair and past\n  events: thus there is a \u201ctriple entendre.\u201d And again \u201che\u201d is used for\n  \u201cshe.\u201d\n\nFootnote 381:\n\n  There is a pun in the last line, \u201cKh\u00e1lun (a mole) khallauni\u201d (rid me),\n  etc.\n\nFootnote 382:\n\n  Of old Fust\u00e1t, afterwards part of Southern Cairo, a proverbially\n  miserable quarter, hence the saying, \u201cThey quoted Misr to K\u00e1hirah\n  (Cairo), whereon Bab al-Luk rose with its grass,\u201d in derision of\n  nobodies who push themselves forward. Burckhardt, Prov. 276.\n\nFootnote 383:\n\n  Its fruits are the heads of devils; a true Dantesque fancy. Koran,\n  chapt. xvii. 62, \u201cthe tree cursed in the Koran\u201d and in chapt. xxxvii,\n  60, \u201cis this better entertainment, or the tree of Al-Zakk\u00fam?\u201d\n  Commentators say that it is a thorn bearing a bitter almond which\n  grows in the Tehamah and was therefore promoted to Hell.\n\nFootnote 384:\n\n  Arab. \u201cLasm\u201d (lathm) as opposed to Bausah or boseh (a buss) and Kublah\n  (a kiss, generic).\n\nFootnote 385:\n\n  Arab. \u201cJuf\u00fan\u201d (plur. of Jafn) which may mean eyebrows or eyelashes and\n  only the context can determine which.\n\nFootnote 386:\n\n  Very characteristic of Egyptian manners is the man who loves six girls\n  equally well, who lends them, as it were, to the Caliph; and who takes\n  back the goods as if in no wise damaged by the loan.\n\n\n\n\n             HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE DAMSEL AND ABU NOWAS.\n\n\nThe Caliph, Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, being one night\nexceedingly restless and thoughtful with sad thought, rose from his\ncouch and walked about the by-ways of his palace, till he came to a\nchamber, over whose doorway hung a curtain. He raised that curtain and\nsaw, at the upper end of the room, a bedstead whereon lay something\nblack, as it were a man asleep, with a wax taper on his right hand and\nanother on his left; and as the Caliph stood wondering at the sight,\nbehold, he remarked a flagon full of old wine whose mouth was covered by\nthe cup. The Caliph wondered even more at this, saying, \u201cHow came this\nblack by such wine-service?\u201d Then, drawing near the bedstead, he found\nthat it was a girl lying asleep there, curtained by her hair; so he\nuncovered her face and saw that it was like the moon, on the night of\nhis fulness.[387] So the Caliph filled himself a cup of wine and drank\nit to the roses of her cheeks; and, feeling inclined to enjoy her,\nkissed a mole on her face, whereupon she started up from sleep, and\ncried out, \u201cO Trusted of Allah,[388] what may this be?\u201d Replied he, \u201cA\nguest who knocketh at thy door, hoping that thou wilt give him\nhospitality till the dawn;\u201d and she answered; \u201cEven so! I will serve him\nwith my hearing and my sight.\u201d So she brought forward the wine and they\ndrank together, after which she took the lute and tuning the strings,\npreluded in one-and-twenty modes, then returning to the first, played a\nlively measure and sang these couplets:\u2014\n\n The tongue of love from heart bespeaks my sprite, \u273f Telling I love thee\n    with love infinite:\n\n I have an eye bears witness to my pain, \u273f And fluttering heart sore hurt\n    by parting-plight.\n I cannot hide the love that harms my life; \u273f Tears ever roll and growth\n    of pine I sight:\n I knew not what love was ere loving thee; \u273f But Allah\u2019s destiny to all\n    is dight.\n\nAnd when her verses were ended she said, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, I\nhave been wronged!\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nto say her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the damsel cried,\n\u201cO Commander of the Faithful, I have been wronged!\u201d Quoth he, \u201cHow so,\nand who hath wronged thee?\u201d Quoth she \u201cThy son bought me awhile ago, for\nten thousand dirhams, meaning to give me to thee; but thy wife, the\ndaughter of thine uncle, sent him the said price and bade him shut me up\nfrom thee in this chamber.\u201d Whereupon said the Caliph. \u201cAsk a boon of\nme,\u201d and she, \u201cI ask thee to lie with me to-morrow night.\u201d Replied the\nCaliph, \u201cInshallah!\u201d and leaving her, went away. Now as soon as it was\nmorning, he repaired to his sitting-room and called for Abu Now\u00e1s, but\nfound him not and sent his chamberlain to ask after him. The chamberlain\nfound him in a tavern, pawned and pledged for a score of a thousand\ndirhams, which he had spent on a certain beardless youth, and questioned\nhim of his case. So he told him what had betided him with the comely boy\nand how he had spent upon him a thousand silver pieces; whereupon quoth\nthe chamberlain, \u201cShow him to me; and if he be worth this, thou art\nexcused.\u201d He answered, \u201cPatience, and thou shalt see him presently.\u201d As\nthey were talking together, up came the lad, clad in a white tunic,\nunder which was another of red and under this yet another black. Now\nwhen Abu Nowas saw him, he sighed a loud sigh and improvised these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n He showed himself in shirt of white, \u273f With eyes and eyelids\n    languor-dight.\n Quoth I, \u201cDost pass and greet me not? \u273f Though were thy greeting a\n    delight?\n Blest He who clothed in rose thy cheeks, \u273f Creates what wills He by His\n    might!\u201d\n Quoth he, \u201cLeave prate, forsure my Lord \u273f Of works is wondrous infinite:\n My garment\u2019s like my face and luck; \u273f All three are white on white on\n    white.\u201d\n\nWhen the beardless one heard these words, he doffed the white tunic and\nappeared in the red; and when Abu Nowas saw him he redoubled in\nexpressions of admiration and repeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n He showed in garb anemone-red, \u273f A foeman \u201cfriend\u201d entitul\u00e8d:\n Quoth I in marvel, \u201cThou\u2019rt full moon \u273f Whose weed shames rose however\n    red:\n Hath thy cheek stained it red, or hast \u273f Dyed it in blood by lovers\n    bled?\u201d\n Quoth he, \u201cSol gave me this for shirt \u273f When hasting down the West to\n    bed:\n So garb and wine and hue of cheek \u273f All three are red on red on red.\u201d\n\nAnd when the verses came to an end, the beardless one doffed the red\ntunic and stood in the black; and, when Abu Nowas saw him, he redoubled\nin attention to him and versified in these couplets:\u2014\n\n He came in sable-hu\u00e8d sacque \u273f And shone in dark men\u2019s heart to rack:\n Quoth I, \u201cDost pass and greet me not? \u273f Joying the hateful envious pack?\n Thy garment\u2019s like thy locks and like \u273f My lot, three blacks on black on\n    black.\u201d\n\nSeeing this state of things and understanding the case of Abu Nowas and\nhis love-longing, the Chamberlain returned to the Caliph and acquainted\nhim therewith; so he bade him pouch a thousand dirhams and go and take\nhim out of pawn. Thereupon the Chamberlain returned to Abu Nowas and,\npaying his score, carried him to the Caliph, who said, \u201cMake me some\nverses containing the words, O Trusted of Allah, what may this be?\u201d\nAnswered he, \u201cI hear and I obey, O Commander of the Faithful.\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n         Now when it was the Three Hundred and Fortieth Night,\n\nShe said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu Nowas\nanswered, \u201cI hear and I obey, O Commander of the Faithful!\u201d and\nforthwith he improvised these couplets:\u2014\n\n Long was my night for sleepless misery; \u273f Weary of body and of thought\n    ne\u2019er free:\n I rose and in my palace walked awhile, \u273f Then wandered thro\u2019 the halls\n    of Haremry:\n\n Till chanced I on a blackness, which I found \u273f A white girl hid in hair\n    for napery:\n Here to her for a moon of brightest sheen! \u273f Like willow-wand and veiled\n    in pudency:\n I quaffed a cup to her; then drew I near, \u273f And kissed the beauty-spot\n    on cheek had she:\n She woke astart, and in her sleep\u2019s amaze, \u273f Swayed as the swaying\n    branch in rain we see;\n Then rose and said to me, \u201cO Trusted One \u273f Of Allah, O Amin, what may\n    this be?\u201d\n Quoth I, \u201cA guest that cometh to thy tents \u273f And craves till morn thy\n    hospitality.\u201d\n She answered, \u201cGladly I, my lord, will grace \u273f And honour such a guest\n    with ear and eye.\u201d\n\nCried the Caliph, \u201cAllah strike thee dead! it is as if thou hadst been\npresent with us.\u201d[389] Then he took him by the hand and carried him to\nthe damsel and, when Abu Nowas saw her clad in a dress and veil of blue,\nhe expressed abundant admiration and improvised these couplets:\u2014\n\n Say to the pretty one in veil of blue, \u273f \u201cBy Allah, O my life, have ruth\n    on dole!\n For, when the fair entreats her lover foul, \u273f Sighs rend his bosom and\n    bespeak his soul:\n By charms of thee and whitest cheek I swear thee, \u273f Pity a heart for\n    love lost all control:\n Bend to him, be his stay \u2018gainst stress of love, \u273f Nor aught accept what\n    saith the ribald fool.\u201d\n\nNow when he ended his verse, the damsel set wine before the Caliph; and,\ntaking the lute, played a lively measure and sang these couplets:\u2014\n\n Wilt thou be just to others in thy love, and do \u273f Unright, and put me\n    off, and take new friend in lieu?\n Had lovers Kazi unto whom I might complain \u273f Of thee, he\u2019d peradventure\n    grant the due I sue:\n If thou forbid me pass your door, yet I afar \u273f Will stand, and viewing\n    you waft my salams to you!\n\nThe Caliph bade her ply Abu Nowas with wine, till he lost his right\nsenses; thereupon he gave him a full cup, and he drank a draught of it\nand held the cup in his hand till he slept. Then the Commander of the\nFaithful bade the girl take the cup from his grasp and hide it; so she\ntook it and set it between her thighs; moreover he drew his scymitar\nand, standing at the head of Abu Nowas, pricked him with the point;\nwhereupon he awoke and saw the drawn sword and the Caliph standing over\nhim. At this sight the fumes of the wine fled from his head and the\nCaliph said to him, \u201cMake me some verses and tell me therein what is\nbecome of thy cup; or I will cut off thy head.\u201d So he improvised these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n My tale, indeed, is tale unlief; \u273f \u2018Twas yonder fawn who play\u2019d the\n    thief!\n She stole my cup of wine, before \u273f The sips and sups had dealt relief;\n And hid it in a certain place, \u273f My heart\u2019s desire and longing grief.\n I name it not, for dread of him \u273f Who hath of it command-in-chief.\n\nQuoth the Caliph, \u201cAllah strike thee dead![390] How knewest thou that?\nBut we accept what thou sayst.\u201d Then he ordered him a dress of honour\nand a thousand dinars, and he went away rejoicing. And among tales they\ntell is one of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 387:\n\n  The moon is masculine possibly by connection with the Assyrian\n  Lune-god \u201cSin\u201d; but I can find no cause for the Sun (Shams) being\n  feminine.\n\nFootnote 388:\n\n  Arab. \u201cAl-Amin,\u201d a title of the Prophet. It is usually held that this\n  proud name, \u201cThe honest man,\u201d was applied by his fellow-citizens to\n  Mohammed in early life; and that in his twenty-fifth year, when the\n  Eighth Ka\u2019abah was being built, it induced the tribes to make him\n  their umpire concerning the distinction of placing in position the\n  \u201cBlack Stone\u201d which Gabriel had brought from Heaven to be set up as\n  the starting-post for the seven circuitings. He distributed the honour\n  amongst the clans and thus gave universal satisfaction. His Christian\n  biographers mostly omit to record an anecdote which speaks so highly\n  in Mohammed\u2019s favour (Pilgrimage iii. 192.)\n\nFootnote 389:\n\n  The idea is that Abu Nowas was a thought-reader\u2014such being the\n  prerogative of inspired poets in the East. His drunkenness and\n  debauchery only added to his power. I have already noticed that \u201cAllah\n  strike thee dead\u201d (K\u00e1tala-k Allah) is like our phrase, \u201cConfound the\n  fellow, how clever he is.\u201d\n\nFootnote 390:\n\n  Again said facetiously, \u201cDevil take you!\u201d\n\n\n\n\n        THE MAN WHO STOLE THE DISH OF GOLD WHEREIN THE DOG ATE.\n\n\nSome time erst there was a man, who had accumulated debts, and his case\nwas straitened upon him, so that he left his people and family and went\nforth in distraction; and he ceased not wandering on at random till he\ncame after a time to a city tall of walls and firm of foundations. He\nentered it in a state of despondency and despair, harried by hunger and\nworn with the weariness of his way. As he passed through one of the main\nstreets, he saw a company of the great going along; so he followed them\ntill they reached a house like to a royal palace. He entered with them,\nand they stayed not faring forwards till they came in presence of a\nperson seated at the upper end of a saloon, a man of the most dignified\nand majestic aspect, surrounded by pages and eunuchs, as he were of the\nsons of the Wazirs. When he saw the visitors, he rose to greet them and\nreceived them with honour; but the poor man aforesaid was confounded at\nhis own boldness, when beholding\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Three Hundred and Forty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the poor man\naforesaid was confounded at his own boldness, when beholding the\ngoodliness of the place and the crowd of servants and attendants; so\ndrawing back, in perplexity and fear for his life sat down apart in a\nplace afar off, where none should see him. Now it chanced that whilst he\nwas sitting, behold, in came a man with four sporting-dogs, whereon were\nvarious kinds of raw silk and brocade[391] and wearing round their necks\ncollars of gold with chains of silver, and tied up each dog in a place\nset privy for him; after which he went out and presently returned with\nfour dishes of gold, full of rich meats, which he set severally before\nthe dogs, one for each. Then he went away and left them, whilst the poor\nman began to eye the food, for stress of hunger, and longed to go up to\none of the dogs and eat with him; but fear of them withheld him.\nPresently, one of the dogs looked at him and Allah Almighty inspired the\ndog with a knowledge of his case; so he drew back from the platter and\nsigned to the man, who came and ate till he was filled. Then he would\nhave withdrawn, but the dog again signed to him to take for himself the\ndish and what food was left in it, and pushed it towards him with his\nfore-paw. So the man took the dish and leaving the house, went his way,\nand none followed him. Then he journeyed to another city where he sold\nthe dish and buying with the price a stock-in-trade, returned to his own\ntown. There he sold his goods and paid his debts; and he throve and\nbecame affluent and rose to perfect prosperity. He abode in his own\nland; but after some years had passed he said to himself, \u201cNeeds must I\nrepair to the city of the owner of the dish, and' carry him a fit and\nhandsome present and pay him the money-value of that which his dog\nbestowed upon me.\u201d So he took the price of the dish and a suitable gift;\nand, setting out, journeyed day and night, till he came to that city; he\nentered it and sought the place where the man lived; but he found there\nnaught save ruins mouldering in row and croak of crow, and house and\nhome desolate and all conditions in changed state. At this, his heart\nand soul were troubled, and he repeated the saying of him who saith:\u2014\n\n Void are the private rooms of treasury: \u273f As void were hearts of fear\n    and piety:\n Changed is the Wady nor are its gazelles \u273f Those fawns, nor sand-hills\n    those I wont to see.\n\nAnd that of another:\u2014\n\n In sleep came Su\u2019ad\u00e1\u2019s[392] shade and wakened me \u273f Near dawn, when\n    comrades all a-sleeping lay:\n But waking found I that the shade was fled, \u273f And saw air empty and\n    shrine far away.\n\nNow when the man saw these mouldering ruins and witnessed what the hand\nof time had manifestly done with the place, leaving but traces of the\nsubstantial things that erewhiles had been, a little reflection made it\nneedless for him to enquire of the case; so he turned away. Presently,\nseeing a wretched man, in a plight which made him shudder and feel\ngoose-skin, and which would have moved the very rock to ruth, he said to\nhim, \u201cHo thou! What have time and fortune done with the lord of this\nplace? Where are his lovely faces, his shining full moons and splendid\nstars; and what is the cause of the ruin that is come upon his abode, so\nthat nothing save the walls thereof remain?\u201d Quoth the other, \u201cHe is the\nmiserable thou seest mourning that which hath left him naked.\u201d But\nknowest thou not the words of the Apostle (whom Allah bless and keep!),\nwherein is a lesson to him who will learn by it and a warning to whoso\nwill be warned thereby and guided in the right way, \u201cVerily it is the\nway of Allah Almighty to raise up nothing of this world, except He cast\nit down again?\u201d[393] \u201cIf thou question of the cause of this accident,\nindeed it is no wonder, considering the chances and changes of Fortune.\nI was the lord of this place and I builded it and founded it and owned\nit; and I was the proud possessor of its full moons lucent and its\ncircumstance resplendent and its damsels radiant and its garniture\nmagnificent, but Time turned and did away from me wealth and servants\nand took from me what it had lent (not given); and brought upon me\ncalamities which it held in store hidden. But there must needs be some\nreason for this thy question: so tell it me and leave wondering.\u201d\nThereupon, the man who had waxed wealthy being sore concerned, told him\nthe whole story, and added, \u201cI have brought thee a present, such as\nsouls desire, and the price of thy dish of gold which I took; for it was\nthe cause of my affluence after poverty, and of the replenishment of my\ndwelling-place, after desolation, and of the dispersion of my trouble\nand straitness.\u201d But the man shook his head, and weeping and groaning\nand complaining of his lot answered, \u201cHo thou! methinks thou art mad;\nfor this is not the way of a man of sense. How should a dog of mine make\ngenerous gift to thee of a dish of gold and I meanly take back the price\nof what a dog gave? This were indeed a strange thing! Were I in\nextremest unease and misery, by Allah, I would not accept of thee aught;\nno, not the worth of a nail-paring! So return whence thou camest in\nhealth and safety.\u201d[394] Whereupon the merchant kissed his feet and\ntaking leave of him, returned whence he came, praising him and reciting\nthis couplet:\u2014\n\n Men and dogs together are all gone by; \u273f So peace be with all of them!\n    dogs and men!\n\nAnd Allah is All-knowing! Again men tell the tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 391:\n\n  In all hot-damp countries it is necessary to clothe dogs, morning and\n  evening especially: otherwise they soon die of rheumatism and loin\n  disease.\n\nFootnote 392:\n\n  = Beatrice. A fragment of these lines is in Night cccxv. See also\n  Night dcclxxxi.\n\nFootnote 393:\n\n  The Moslems borrowed the horrible idea of a \u201cjealous God\u201d from their\n  kinsmen, the Jews. Every race creates its own Deity after the fashion\n  of itself: Jehovah is distinctly a Hebrew; the Christian Theos is\n  originally a Jud\u00e6o-Greek and Allah a half-Badawi Arab. In this tale\n  Allah, despotic and unjust, brings a generous and noble-minded man to\n  beggary, simply because he fed his dogs off gold plate. Wisdom and\n  morality have their infancy and youth: the great value of such tales\n  as these is to show and enable us to measure man\u2019s development.\n\nFootnote 394:\n\n  In Tr\u00e9butien (Lane ii. 501) the merchant says to ex-Dives, \u201cThou art\n  wrong in charging Destiny with injustice. If thou art ignorant of the\n  cause of thy ruin I will acquaint thee with it. Thou feddest the dogs\n  in dishes of gold and leftest the poor to die of hunger.\u201d A\n  superstition, but intelligible.\n\n\n\n\n           THE SHARPER OF ALEXANDRIA AND THE CHIEF OF POLICE.\n\n\nThere was once in the coast-fortress of Alexandria, a Chief of Police,\nHus\u00e1m al-Din hight, the sharp Scymitar of the Faith. Now one night as he\nsat in his seat of office, behold, there came in to him a trooper-wight\nwho said, \u201cKnow, O my lord the Chief, that I entered your city this\nnight and alighted at such a khan and slept there till a third part of\nthe night was past, when I awoke and found my saddle-bags sliced open\nand a purse of a thousand gold pieces stolen from them.\u201d No sooner had\nhe done speaking than the Chief summoned his chief officials and bade\nthem lay hands on all in the khan and clap them in limbo till the\nmorning; and on the morrow, he caused bring the rods and whips used in\npunishment; and, sending for the prisoners, was about to flog them till\nthey confessed in the presence of the owner of the stolen money when,\nlo! a man broke through the crowd till he came up to the Chief of\nPolice,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Forty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Chief was\nabout to flog them when lo! a man broke through the crowd till he came\nup to the Chief of Police and the trooper and said, \u201cHo! Emir, let these\nfolk go, for they are wrongously accused. It was I who robbed this\ntrooper, and see, here is the purse I stole from his saddle-bags.\u201d So\nsaying, he pulled out the purse from his sleeve and laid it before\nHusam' al-Din, who said to the soldier, \u201cTake thy money and pouch it;\nthou now hast no ground of complaint against the people of the khan.\u201d\nThereupon these folk and all who were present fell to praising the thief\nand blessing him; but he said, \u201cHo! Emir, the skill is not in that I\ncame to thee in person and brought thee the purse; the cleverness was in\ntaking it a second time from this trooper.\u201d Asked the Chief, \u201cAnd how\ndidst thou do to take it, O sharper?\u201d; and the robber replied, \u201cO Emir,\nI was standing in the Shroff\u2019s[395] bazar at Cairo, when I saw this\nsoldier receive the gold in change and put it in yonder purse; so I\nfollowed him from by-street to by-street, but found no occasion of\nstealing it. Then he travelled from Cairo and I followed him from town\nto town, plotting and planning by the way to rob him, but without avail,\ntill he entered this city and I dogged him to the khan. I took up my\nlodging beside him and watched him till he fell asleep and I heard him\nsleeping; when I went up to him softly, softly; and I slit open his\nsaddle-bags with this knife, and took the purse in the way I am now\ntaking it.\u201d So saying, he put out his hand and took the purse from\nbefore the Chief of Police and the trooper both of whom, together with\nthe folk, drew back watching him and thinking he would show them how he\ntook the purse from the saddle-bags. But, behold! he suddenly broke into\na run and threw himself into a pool of standing water[396] hard by. So\nthe Chief of the Police shouted to his officers, \u201cStop thief!\u201d and many\nmade after him; but before they could doff their clothes and descend the\nsteps, he had made off; and they sought for him, but found him not; for\nthat the by-streets and lanes of Alexandria all communicate. So they\ncame back without bringing the purse; and the Chief of Police said to\nthe trooper, \u201cThou hast no demand upon the folk; for thou foundest him\nwho robbed thee and receivedst back thy money, but didst not keep it.\u201d\nSo the trooper went away, having lost his money, whilst the folk were\ndelivered from his hands and those of the Chief of Police; and all this\nwas of the favour of Almighty Allah.[397] And they also tell the tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 395:\n\n  Arab. \u201cSarr\u00e1f\u201d = a money-changer.\n\nFootnote 396:\n\n  Arab. \u201cBirkah,\u201d a common feature in the landscapes of Lower Egypt; it\n  is either a natural pool left by the overflow of the Nile; or, as in\n  the text, a built-up tank, like the \u201cT\u00e1l\u00e1b\u201d for which India is famous.\n  Sundry of these Birkahs are or were in Cairo itself; and some are\n  mentioned in The Nights.\n\nFootnote 397:\n\n  This sneer at the \u201cmilitary\u201d and the \u201cpolice\u201d might come from an\n  English convict\u2019s lips.\n\n\n\n\n           AL-MALIK AL-NASIR AND THE THREE CHIEFS OF POLICE.\n\n\nOnce upon a time Al-Malik al-N\u00e1sir[398] sent for the W\u00e1lis or Chiefs of\nPolice of Cairo, Bulak, and Fostat[399] and said to them, \u201cI desire each\nof you to recount me the marvellousest thing that hath befallen him\nduring his term of office.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Three Hundred and Forty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth Al-Malik\nal-Nasir to the three Walis, \u201cI desire each of you to recount me the\nmarvellousest thing which hath befallen him during his term of office.\u201d\nSo they answered, \u201cWe hear and we obey.\u201d Then said the Chief of the\nPolice of Cairo, \u201cKnow thou, O our lord the Sultan, the most wonderful\nthing that befel me, during my term of office, was on this wise:\u201d and he\nbegan\n\n\n              _THE STORY OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE OF CAIRO._\n\nThere were in this city two men of good repute fit to bear witness[400]\nin matters of murder and wounds; but they were both secretly addicted to\nintrigues with low women and to wine-bibbing and to dissolute doings,\nnor could I succeed (do what I would) in bringing them to book; and I\nbegan to despair of success. So I charged the taverners and\nconfectioners and fruiterers and candle-chandlers and the keepers of\nbrothels and bawdy houses to acquaint me of these two good men whenever\nthey should anywhere be engaged in drinking or other debauchery, or\ntogether or apart; and ordered that, if they both or if either of them\nbought at their shops aught for the purpose of wassail and carousal, the\nvendors should not conceal it from me. And they replied, \u201cWe hear and\nobey.\u201d Presently it chanced that one night, a man came to me and said,\n\u201cO my master, know that the two just men, the two witnesses, are in such\na street in such a house, engaged in abominable wickedness.\u201d So I\ndisguised myself, I and my body-servant, and ceased not trudging till I\ncame to the house and knocked at the door, whereupon a slave-girl came\nout and opened to me, saying, \u201cWho art thou?\u201d I entered without\nanswering her and saw the two legal witnesses and the house-master\nsitting, and lewd women by their side and before them great plenty of\nwine. When they saw me, they rose to receive me, and made much of me,\nseating me in the place of honour and saying to me, \u201cWelcome for an\nillustrious guest and well come for a pleasant cup-companion!\u201d And on\nthis wise they met me without showing a sign of alarm or trouble.\nPresently, the master of the house arose from amongst us and went out\nand returned after a while with three hundred dinars, when the men said\nto me, without the least fear, \u201cKnow, O our lord the Wali, it is in thy\npower to do even more than disgrace and punish us; but this will bring\nthee in return nothing but weariness: so we reck thou wouldest do better\nto take this much money and protect us; for Almighty Allah is named the\nProtector and loveth those of His servants who protect their Moslem\nneighbours; and thou shalt have thy reward in this world and due\nrecompense in the world to come.\u201d So I said to myself, \u201cI will take the\nmoney and protect them this once; but, if ever again I have them in my\npower, I will take my wreak of them;\u201d for, you see, the money had\ntempted me. Thereupon I took it and went away thinking that no one would\nknow it; but, next day, on a sudden one of the Kazi\u2019s messengers came to\nme and said to me, \u201cO Wali, be good enough to answer the summons of the\nKazi who wanteth thee.\u201d So I arose and accompanied him, knowing not the\nmeaning of all this; and when I came into the judge\u2019s presence, I saw\nthe two witnesses and the master of the house, who had given me the\nmoney, sitting by his side. Thereupon this man rose and sued me for\nthree hundred dinars, nor was it in my power to deny the debt; for he\nproduced a written obligation and his two companions, the legal\nwitnesses, testified against me that I owed the amount. Their evidence\nsatisfied the Kazi and he ordered me to pay the sum; nor did I leave the\nCourt till they had of me the three hundred gold pieces. So I went away,\nin the utmost wrath and shame, vowing mischief and vengeance against\nthem and repenting that I had not punished them. Such, then is the most\nremarkable event which befel me during my term of office. Thereupon rose\nthe Chief of the Bulak Police and said, \u201cAs for me, O our lord the\nSultan, the most marvellous thing that happened to me, since I became\nWali, was as follows:\u201d and he began\n\n\n             _THE STORY OF THE CHIEF OF THE BULAK POLICE._\n\nI was once in debt to the full amount of three hundred thousand gold\npieces;[401] and, being distressed thereby, I sold all that was behind\nme and what was before me and all I hent in hand, but I could collect no\nmore than an hundred thousand dinars\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Forty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wali of Bulak\ncontinued:\u2014So I sold all that was behind and before me, but could\ncollect no more than an hundred thousand dinars and remained in great\nperplexity. Now one night, as I sat at home in this state, behold, there\ncame a knocking; so I said to one of my servants, \u201cSee who is at the\ndoor.\u201d He went out and returned, wan of face, changed in countenance and\nwith his side-muscles a-quivering; so I asked him, \u201cWhat aileth thee?\u201d;\nand he answered, \u201cThere is a man at the door; he is half naked, clad in\nskins, with sword in hand and knife in girdle, and with him are a\ncompany of the same fashion and he asketh for thee.\u201d So I took my sword\nand going out to see who these were, behold, I found them as the boy had\nreported and said to them, \u201cWhat is your business?\u201d They replied, \u201cOf a\ntruth we be thieves and have done fine work this night; so we appointed\nthe swag to thy use, that thou mayst pay therewith the debts which\nsadden thee and deliver thee from thy distress.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cWhere is the\nplunder?\u201d; and they brought me a great chest, full of vessels of gold\nand silver; which when I saw, I rejoiced and said to myself, \u201cHerewith I\nwill settle all claims upon me and there will remain as much again.\u201d So\nI took the money and going inside said in my mind, \u201cIt were ignoble to\nlet them fare away empty-handed.\u201d Whereupon I brought out the hundred\nthousand dinars I had by me and gave it to them, thanking them for their\nkindness; and they pouched the monies and went their way, under cover of\nthe night so that none might know of them. But when morning dawned I\nexamined the contents of the chest, and found them copper and tin[402]\nwashed with gold worth five hundred dirhams at the most; and this was\ngrievous to me, for I had lost what monies I had and trouble was added\nto my trouble. Such, then, is the most remarkable event which befel me\nduring my term of office. Then rose the Chief of the Police of Old Cairo\nand said, \u201cO our lord the Sultan, the most marvellous thing that\nhappened to me, since I became Wali, was on this wise;\u201d and he began\n\n\n           _THE STORY OF THE CHIEF OF THE OLD CAIRO POLICE._\n\nI once hanged ten thieves each on his own gibbet, and especially charged\nthe guards to watch them and hinder the folk from taking any one of them\ndown. Next morning when I came to look at them, I found two bodies\nhanging from one gallows and said to the guards, \u201cWho did this, and\nwhere is the tenth gibbet?\u201d But they denied all knowledge of it, and I\nwas about to beat them till they owned the truth, when they said, \u201cKnow,\nO Emir, that we fell asleep last night, and when we awoke, we found that\nsome one had stolen one of the bodies, gibbet and all; so we were\nalarmed and feared thy wrath. But, behold, up came a peasant-fellow\ndriving his ass; whereupon we laid hands on him and killed him and\nhanged his body upon this gallows, in the stead of the thief who had\nbeen stolen.\u201d[403] Now when I heard this, I marvelled and asked them,\n\u201cWhat had he with him?\u201d; and they answered, \u201cHe had a pair of\nsaddle-bags on the ass.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cWhat was in them?\u201d; quoth they, \u201cWe\nknow not.\u201d So I said, \u201cBring them hither;\u201d and when they brought them to\nme I bade open them, behold, therein was the body of a murdered man, cut\nin pieces. Now as soon as I saw this, I marvelled at the case and said\nin myself, \u201cGlory to God! The cause of the hanging of this peasant was\nnone other but his crime against this murdered man; and thy Lord is not\nunjust towards His servants.\u201d[404] And men also tell the tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 398:\n\n  Lit. \u201cThe conquering King;\u201d a dynastic title assumed by Sal\u00e1h al-D\u00edn\n  (Saladin) and sundry of the Ayy\u00fabi (Eyoubite) sovereigns of Egypt,\n  whom I would call the \u201cSoldans.\u201d\n\nFootnote 399:\n\n  \u201cK\u00e1hirah\u201d (_i.e._ City of Mars\u2014the Planet) is our Cairo: Bulak is the\n  port-suburb on the Nile, till 1858 wholly disjoined from the City; and\n  Fostat is the outlier popularly called Old Cairo. The latter term is\n  generally translated \u201ctown of leathern tents;\u201d but in Arabic \u201cfust\u00e1t\u201d\n  is an abode of Sha\u2019ar = hair, such as horse-hair, in fact any hair but\n  \u201cWabar\u201d = soft hair, as the camel\u2019s. See Lane, Lex.\n\nFootnote 400:\n\n  Arab. \u201cAdl\u201d = just: a legal witness to whose character there is no\n  tangible objection\u2014a prime consideration in Moslem law. Here \u201cAdl\u201d is\n  evidently used ironically for a hypocritical rascal.\n\nFootnote 401:\n\n  Lane (ii. 503) considers three thousand dinars (the figure in the\n  Bres. Edit) \u201ca more probable sum.\u201d Possibly: but, I repeat,\n  exaggeration is one of the many characteristics of The Nights.\n\nFootnote 402:\n\n  Calc. Edit. \u201cKaz\u00edr\u201d: the word is generally written \u201cKazd\u00edr,\u201d Sansk.\n  Kastira, both probably from the Greek \u03ba\u03b1\u03c3\u03c3\u03b9\u03c4\u03ad\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2.\n\nFootnote 403:\n\n  This would have passed for a peccadillo in the \u201cgood old days.\u201d As\n  late as 1840 the Arnaut soldiers used to \u201cpot\u201d any peasant who dared\n  to ride (instead of walking) past their barracks. Life is cheap in hot\n  countries.\n\nFootnote 404:\n\n  Koran, xli. 46\u2014a passage expounding the doctrine of free will: \u201cHe who\n  doth right, doth it to the advantage of his own soul; and he who doth\n  evil, doth it against the same; for thy Lord,\u201d etc.\n\n\n\n\n                       THE THIEF AND THE SHROFF.\n\n\nA certain Shroff, bearing a bag of gold pieces, once passed by a company\nof thieves, and one of these sharpers said to the others, \u201cI, and I\nonly, have the power to steal yonder purse.\u201d So they asked, \u201cHow wilt\nthou do it?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cLookye all!\u201d; and followed the\nmoney-changer, till he entered his house, when he threw the bag on a\nshelf[405] and, being affected with diabetes, went into the chapel of\nease to do his want, calling to the slave-girl, \u201cBring me an ewer of\nwater.\u201d She took the ewer and followed him to the privy, leaving the\ndoor open, whereupon the thief entered and, seizing the money-bag, made\noff with it to his companions, to whom he told what had passed.\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Three Hundred and Forty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the thief took the\nmoney-bag and made off with it to his companions to whom he told what\nhad passed. Said they, \u201cBy Allah, thou hast played a clever trick! \u2018tis\nnot every one could do it; but, presently the money-changer will come\nout of the privy; and, missing the bag of money, he will beat the\nslave-girl and torture her with grievous torture. \u2018Tis as though thou\nhast at present done nothing worthy of praise; so, if thou be indeed a\nsharper, return and save the girl from being beaten and questioned.\u201d\nQuoth he, \u201cInshallah! I will save both girl and purse.\u201d Then the prig\nwent back to the Shroff\u2019s house and found him punishing the girl because\nof the purse; so he knocked at the door and the man said, \u201cWho is\nthere?\u201d Cried the thief, \u201cI am the servant of thy neighbour in the\nExchange;\u201d whereupon he came out to him and said, \u201cWhat is thy\nbusiness?\u201d The thief replied, \u201cMy master saluteth thee and saith to\nthee:\u2014Surely thou art deranged and thoroughly so, to cast the like of\nthis bag of money down at the door of thy shop and go away and leave it.\nHad a stranger hit upon it he had made off with it and, except my master\nhad seen it and taken care of it, it had assuredly been lost to thee.\u201d\nSo saying, he pulled out the purse and showed it to the Shroff who on\nseeing it said, \u201cThat is my very purse,\u201d and put out his hand to take\nit; but the thief said, \u201cBy Allah, I will not give thee this same, till\nthou write me a receipt declaring that thou hast received it! for indeed\nI fear my master will not believe that thou hast recovered the purse,\nunless I bring him thy writing to that effect, and sealed with thy\nsignet-seal.\u201d The money-changer went in to write the paper required; and\nin the meantime the thief made off with the bag of money and thus was\nthe slave-girl saved her beating. And men also tell a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 405:\n\n  Arab. \u201cSuffah\u201d; whence our Sofa. In Egypt it is a raised shelf\n  generally of stone, about four feet high and headed with one or more\n  arches. It is an elaborate variety of the simple \u201cT\u00e1k\u201d or niche, a\n  mere hollow in the thickness of the wall. Both are used for such\n  articles as basin, ewer and soap; coffee-cups, water-bottles, etc.\n\n\n\n\n              THE CHIEF OF THE KUS POLICE AND THE SHARPER.\n\n\nIt is related that Al\u00e1 al-D\u00edn, Chief of Police at K\u00fas,[406] was sitting\none night in his house, when behold, a personage of handsome appearance\nand dignified aspect came to the door, accompanied by a servant bearing\na chest upon his head and, standing there said to one of the Wali\u2019s\nyoung men, \u201cGo in and tell the Emir that I would have audience of him on\nsome privy business.\u201d So the servant went in and told his master, who\nbade admit the visitor. When he entered, the Emir saw him to be a man of\nhandsome semblance and portly presence; so he received him with honour\nand high distinction, seating him beside himself, and said to him, \u201cWhat\nis thy wish?\u201d Replied the stranger, \u201cI am a highwayman and am minded to\nrepent at thy hands and turn to Almighty Allah; but I would have thee\nhelp me to this, for that I am in thy district and under thine\ninspection. Now I have here a chest, wherein are matters worth some\nforty thousand dinars; and none hath so good a right to it as thou; so\ndo thou take it and give me in exchange a thousand dinars, of thine own\nmonies lawfully gotten, that I may have a little capital, to aid me in\nmy repentance,[407] and save me from resorting to sin for my\nsubsistence; and with Allah Almighty be thy reward!\u201d Speaking thus he\nopened the chest and showed the Wali that it was full of trinkets and\njewels and bullion and ring-gems and pearls, whereat he was amazed and\nrejoiced with great joy. So he cried out to his treasurer, saying,\n\u201cBring hither a certain purse containing a thousand dinars,\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Three Hundred and Forty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wali cried out\nto his treasurer, saying, \u201cBring hither a certain purse containing a\nthousand dinars\u201d; and gave it to the highwayman, who took it and\nthanking him, went his way under cover of the night. Now when it was the\nmorrow, the Emir sent for the chief of the goldsmiths and showed him the\nchest and what was therein; but the goldsmith found it nothing but tin\nand brass, and the jewels and bezel-stones and pearls all of glass;\nwhereat the Wali was sore chagrined and sent in quest of the highwayman;\nbut none could come at him. And men also tell the tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 406:\n\n  In Upper Egypt (Apollinopolis Parva) pronounced \u201cGoos,\u201d the Coptic\n  Kos-Birbir, once an emporium of the Arabian trade.\n\nFootnote 407:\n\n  This would appeal strongly to a pious Moslem.\n\n\n\n\n            IBRAHIM BIN AL-MAHDI AND THE MERCHANT\u2019S SISTER.\n\n\nThe Caliph Al-Maam\u00fan once said to his uncle Ibrahim bin Al-Mahd\u00ed, \u201cTell\nus the most remarkable thing that thou hast ever seen.\u201d Answered he:\u2014I\nhear and obey, O Commander of the Faithful. Know that I rode out one\nday, a-pleasuring, and my ride brought me to a place where I smelt the\nreek of food. So my soul longed for it and I halted, O Prince of True\nBelievers, perplexed and unable either to go on or to go in. Presently,\nI raised my eyes and lo! I espied a lattice-window and behind it a\nwrist, than which I never beheld aught lovelier. The sight turned my\nbrain and I forgot the smell of the food and began to plan and plot how\nI should get access to the house. After awhile, I observed a tailor hard\nby and going up to him, saluted him. He returned my salam and I asked\nhim, \u201cWhose house is that?\u201d And he answered, \u201cIt belongeth to a merchant\ncalled such an one, son of such an one, who consorteth with none save\nmerchants.\u201d As we were talking, behold, up came two men, of comely\naspect with intelligent countenances, riding on horseback; and the\ntailor told me that they were the merchant\u2019s most intimate friends and\nacquainted me with their names. So I urged my beast towards them and\nsaid to them, \u201cBe I your ransom! Abu Ful\u00e1n[408] awaiteth you!\u201d; and I\nrode with them both to the gate, where I entered and they also. Now when\nthe master of the house saw me with them he doubted not but I was their\nfriend; so he welcomed me and seated me in the highest stead. Then they\nbrought the table of food and I said in myself, \u201cAllah hath granted me\nmy desire of the food; and now there remain the hand and the wrist.\u201d\nAfter awhile, we removed for carousal to another room, which I found\ntricked out with all manner of rarities; and the host paid me particular\nattention, addressing his talk to me, for that he took me to be a guest\nof his guests; whilst in like manner these two made much of me, taking\nme for a friend of their friend the house-master. Thus I was the object\nof politest attentions till we had drunk several cups of wine and there\ncame into us a damsel as she were a willow-wand of the utmost beauty and\nelegance, who took a lute and playing a lively measure, sang these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n Is it not strange one house us two contain \u273f And still thou draw\u2019st not\n    near, or talk we twain?\n Only our eyes tell secrets of our souls, \u273f And broken hearts by lovers\u2019\n    fiery pain;\n Winks with the eyelids, signs the eyebrow knows; \u273f Languishing looks and\n    hand saluting fain.\n\nWhen I heard these words my vitals were stirred, O Commander of the\nFaithful, and I was moved to delight, for her excessive loveliness and\nthe beauty of the verses she sang; and I envied her her skill and said,\n\u201cThere lacketh somewhat to thee, O damsel!\u201d Whereupon she threw the lute\nfrom her hand in anger, and cried, \u201cSince when are ye wont to bring\nill-mannered louts into your assemblies?\u201d Then I repented of what I had\ndone, seeing the company vexed with me, and I said in my mind, \u201cMy hopes\nare lost by me\u201d; and I weeted no way of escaping blame but to call for a\nlute, saying, \u201cI will show you what escaped her in the air she played.\u201d\nQuoth the folk, \u201cWe hear and obey\u201d; so they brought me a lute and I\ntuned the strings and sang these verses:\u2014\n\n This is thy friend perplexed for pain and pine, \u273f Th\u2019 enamoured, down\n    whose breast course drops of brine:\n He hath this hand to the Compassionate raised \u273f For winning wish, and\n    that on hearts is lien:\n O thou who seest one love-perishing, \u273f His death is caused by those\n    hands and eyne![409]\n\nWhereupon the damsel sprang up and throwing herself at my feet, kissed\nthem and said, \u201cIt is thine to excuse, O my Master! By Allah, I knew not\nthy quality nor heard I ever the like of this performance!\u201d And all\nbegan extolling me and making much of me, being beyond measure\ndelighted, and at last they besought me to sing again. So I sang a merry\nair, whereupon they all became drunken with music and wine, their wits\nleft them and they were carried off to their homes, while I abode alone\nwith the host and the girl. He drank some cups with me and then said, \u201cO\nmy lord, my life hath been lived in vain for that I have not known the\nlike of thee till the present. Now, by Allah, tell me who thou art, that\nI may ken who is the cup-companion whom Allah hath bestowed on me this\nnight.\u201d At first I returned him evasive answers and would not tell him\nmy name; but he conjured me till I told him who I was; whereupon he\nsprang to his feet\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nsaying her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Forty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ibrahim son of\nAl-Mahdi continued:\u2014Now when the house-master heard my name he sprang to\nhis feet and said, \u201cIndeed I wondered that such gifts should belong to\nany but the like of thee; and Fortune hath done me a good turn for which\nI cannot thank her too much. But, haply, this is a dream; for how could\nI hope that one of the Caliphate house should visit my humble home and\ncarouse with me this night?\u201d I conjured him to be seated; so he sat down\nand began to question me as to the cause of my visit in the most\ncourteous terms. So I told him the whole affair, first and last, hiding\nnaught, and said to him, \u201cNow as to the food I have had my will, but of\nthe hand and wrist I have still to win my wish.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cThou shalt\nhave thy desire of the hand and wrist also, Inshallah!\u201d Then said he to\nthe slave-girl, \u201cHo, such an one, bid such an one come down.\u201d And he\ncalled his slave-girls down, one by one and showed them to me; but I saw\nnot my mistress among them, and he said, \u201cO my lord, there is none left\nsave my mother and sister; but, by Allah, I must needs have them also\ndown and show them to thee.\u201d So I marvelled at his courtesy and\nlarge-heartedness and said, \u201cMay I be thy sacrifice! Begin with the\nsister;\u201d and he answered, \u201cWith joy and goodwill.\u201d So she came down and\nhe showed me her hand and behold, she was the owner of the hand and\nwrist. Quoth I, \u201cAllah make me thy ransom! this is the damsel whose hand\nand wrist I saw at the lattice.\u201d Then he sent his servants without stay\nor delay for witnesses and bringing out two myriads[410] of gold pieces,\nsaid to the witnesses, \u201cThis our lord and master, Ibrahim son of\nAl-Mahdi, paternal uncle of the Commander of the Faithful, seeketh in\nmarriage my sister such an one; and I call you to witness that I give\nher in wedlock to him and that he hath settled upon her ten thousand\ndinars.\u201d And he said to me, \u201cI give thee my sister in marriage, at the\nportion aforesaid.\u201d \u201cI consent,\u201d answered I, \u201cand am herewith content.\u201d\nWhereupon he gave one of the bags to her and the other to the witnesses,\nand said to me, \u201cO our lord, I desire to adorn a chamber for thee, where\nthou mayst sleep with thy wife.\u201d But I was abashed at his generosity and\nwas ashamed to lie with her in his house; so I said, \u201cEquip her and send\nher to my place.\u201d \u201cAnd by thy being, O Commander of the Faithful, he\nsent me with her such an equipage that my house, for all its greatness,\nwas too strait to hold it! And I begot on her this boy that standeth in\nthy presence.\u201d Then Al-Maamun marvelled at the man\u2019s generosity and\nsaid, \u201cGifted of Allah is he! Never heard I of his like.\u201d And he bade\nIbrahim bin al-Mahdi bring him to court, that he might see him. He\nbrought him and the Caliph conversed with him; and his wit and good\nbreeding so pleased him that he made him one of his chief officers. And\nAllah is the Giver, the Bestower! Men also relate the tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 408:\n\n  _i.e._ \u201cthe father of a certain person\u201d; here the merchant whose name\n  may have been Abu\u2019l Hasan, etc. The useful word (thingumbob, what d\u2019ye\n  call him, donchah, etc.) has been bodily transferred into Spanish and\n  Portugese\u2014Fulano. It is of old genealogy, found in the Heb. Fulun\u00ed\n  which applies to a person only in Ruth iv. 1; but is constantly so\n  employed by Rabbinic writers. The Greek use \u1f41 \u03b4\u03b5\u1fd6\u03bd\u03b1.\n\nFootnote 409:\n\n  Lit. \u201cby his (_i.e._ her) hand,\u201d etc. Hence Lane (ii. 507) makes\n  nonsense of the line.\n\nFootnote 410:\n\n  Arab. \u201cBadrah,\u201d as has been said, is properly a weight of 10,000\n  dirhams or drachmas; but popularly used for largesse thrown to the\n  people at festivals.\n\n\n\n\n    THE WOMAN WHOSE HANDS WERE CUT OFF FOR GIVING ALMS TO THE POOR.\n\n\nA certain King once made proclamation to the people of his realm saying,\n\u201cIf any of you give alms of aught, I will verily and assuredly cut off\nhis hand;\u201d wherefore all the people abstained from alms-deed, and none\ncould give anything to any one. Now it chanced that one day a beggar\naccosted a certain woman (and indeed hunger was sore upon him), and said\nto her, \u201cGive me an alms\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King that, quoth the beggar\nto the woman, \u201cGive me an alms however small.\u201d But she answered him,\n\u201cHow can I give thee aught, when the King cutteth off the hands of all\nwho give alms?\u201d Then he said, \u201cI conjure thee by Allah Almighty, give me\nan alms;\u201d so when he adjured her by the Holy Name of Allah, she had ruth\non him and gave him two scones. The King heard of this; whereupon he\ncalled her before him and cut off her hands, after which she returned to\nher house. Now it chanced after a while that the King said to his\nmother, \u201cI have a mind to take a wife; so do thou marry me to a fair\nwoman.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cThere is among our female slaves one who is\nunsurpassed in beauty; but she hath a grievous blemish.\u201d The King asked,\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d and his mother answered, \u201cShe hath had both her hands\ncut off.\u201d Said he, \u201cLet me see her.\u201d So she brought her to him, and he\nwas ravished by her and married her and went in unto her; and begat upon\nher a son. Now this was the woman who had given two scones as an alms to\nthe asker, and whose hands had been cut off therefor; and when the King\nmarried her, her fellow-wives envied her and wrote to the common husband\nthat she was an unchaste, having just given birth to the boy; so he\nwrote to his mother, bidding her carry the woman into the desert and\nleave her there. The old Queen obeyed his commandment and abandoned the\nwoman and her son in the desert; whereupon she fell to weeping for that\nwhich had befallen her and wailing with exceeding sore wail. As she went\nalong, she came to a river and knelt down to drink, being overcome with\nexcess of thirst, for fatigue of walking and for grief; but, as she bent\nher head, the child which was at her neck fell into the water. Then she\nsat weeping bitter tears for her child, and as she wept, behold came up\ntwo men, who said to her, \u201cWhat maketh thee weep?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cI had a\nchild at my neck, and he hath fallen into the water.\u201d They asked, \u201cWilt\nthou that we bring him out to thee?\u201d and she answered, \u201cYes.\u201d So they\nprayed to Almighty Allah, and the child came forth of the water to her,\nsafe and sound. Then said they, \u201cWilt thou that Allah restore thee thy\nhands as they were?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d replied she: whereupon they prayed to Allah\n(extolled and exalted be He!) and her hands were restored to her,\ngoodlier than before. Then said they, \u201cKnowest thou who we are?\u201d and she\nreplied, \u201cAllah is all-knowing;\u201d[411] and they said, \u201cWe are thy two\nScones of Bread, which thou gavest in alms to the asker and which were\nthe cause of the cutting off of thy hands.[412] So praise thou Allah\nAlmighty for that He hath restored to thee thy hands and thy child.\u201d\nThen she praised Almighty Allah and glorified Him. And men relate a tale\nof\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 411:\n\n  Arab. \u201cAllaho A\u2019alam\u201d; (God knows!) here the popular phrase for our,\n  \u201cI know not;\u201d when it would be rude to say bluntly \u201cM\u2019adri\u201d = \u201cdon\u2019t\n  know.\u201d\n\nFootnote 412:\n\n  There is a picturesque Moslem idea that good deeds become incarnate\n  and assume human shapes to cheer the doer in his grave, to greet him\n  when he enters Paradise and so forth. It was borrowed from the highly\n  imaginative faith of the Guebre, the Zoroastrian. On Chinavad or\n  Chanyud-pul (Sir\u00e1t), the Judgement bridge 37 rods (_rasan_) long,\n  straight and 37 fathoms broad for the good, and crooked and narrow as\n  sword-edge for the bad, a nymph-like form will appear to the virtuous\n  and say, \u201cI am the personification of thy good deeds!\u201d In Hell there\n  will issue from a fetid gale a gloomy figure with head like a minaret,\n  red eyeballs, hooked nose, teeth like pillars, spear-like fangs, snaky\n  locks etc., and when asked who he is he will reply, \u201cI am the\n  personification of thine evil acts!\u201d (Dabistan i. 285.) The Hindus\n  also personify everything.\n\n\n\n\n                         THE DEVOUT ISRAELITE.\n\n\nThere was once a devout man of the children of Israel,[413] whose family\nspan cotton-thread; and he used every day to sell the yarn and buy fresh\ncotton, and with the profit he laid in daily bread for his household.\nOne morning he went out and sold the day\u2019s yarn as wont, when there met\nhim one of his brethren, who complained to him of need; so he gave him\nthe price of the thread and returned, empty-handed, to his family, who\nsaid to him, \u201cWhere is the cotton and the food?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cSuch an one\nmet me and complained to me of want; whereupon I gave him the price of\nthe yarn.\u201d And they said, \u201cHow shall we do? We have nothing to sell.\u201d\nNow they had a cracked trencher[414] and a jar; so he took them to the\nbazar but none would buy them of him. However presently, as he stood in\nthe market, there passed by a man with a fish\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Three Hundred and Forty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the man took the\ntrencher and jar to the bazar, but none would buy them of him. However\nthere presently passed by a man with a fish which was so stinking and so\nswollen that no one would buy it of him, and he said to the Jew, \u201cWilt\nthou sell me thine unsaleable ware for mine?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d answered the Jew;\nand, giving him the wooden trencher and jar, took the fish and carried\nit home to his family, who said, \u201cWhat shall we do with this fish?\u201d\nQuoth he, \u201cWe will broil it and eat it, till it please Allah to provide\nbread for us.\u201d So they took it and ripping open its belly, found therein\na great pearl and told the head of the household who said, \u201cSee ye if it\nbe pierced: if so, it belongeth to some one of the folk; if not, \u2018tis a\nprovision of Allah for us.\u201d So they examined it and found it unpierced.\nNow when it was the morrow, the Jew carried it to one of his brethren\nwhich was an expert in jewels, and the man asked, \u201cO such an one! whence\nhaddest thou this pearl?\u201d; whereto the Jew answered, \u201cIt was a gift of\nAlmighty Allah to us,\u201d and the other said, \u201cIt is worth a thousand\ndirhams and I will give thee that; but take it to such an one, for he\nhath more money and skill than I.\u201d So the Jew took it to the jeweller,\nwho said, \u201cIt is worth seventy thousand dirhams and no more.\u201d Then he\npaid him that sum and the Jew hired two porters to carry the money to\nhis house. As he came to his door, a beggar accosted him, saying, \u201cGive\nme of that which Allah hath given thee.\u201d Quoth the Jew to the asker,\n\u201cBut yesterday we were even as thou; take thee half this money:\u201d so he\nmade two parts of it, and each took his half. Then said the beggar,\n\u201cTake back thy money and Allah bless and prosper thee in it; I am a\nMessenger,[415] whom thy Lord hath sent to try thee.\u201d Quoth the Jew, \u201cTo\nAllah be the praise and the thanks!\u201d and abode in all delight of life he\nand his household till death. And men recount this story of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 413:\n\n  Arab. \u201cBan\u00fa Isra\u00edl;\u201d applied to the Jews when theirs was the True\n  Faith _i.e._ \u201cbefore the coming of Jesus, the Messiah, whose mission\n  completed that of Moses and made it obsolete (Matr\u00fak) even as the\n  mission of Jesus was completed and abrogated by that of Mohammed.\u201d The\n  term \u201cYah\u00fad\u201d = Jew is applied scornfully to the Chosen People after\n  they rejected the Messiah, but as I have said \u201cIsraelite\u201d is used on\n  certain occasions, Jew on others.\n\nFootnote 414:\n\n  Arab. \u201cKasa\u2019ah,\u201d a wooden bowl, a porringer; also applied to a saucer.\n\nFootnote 415:\n\n  Arab. \u201cRas\u00fal\u201d = one sent, an angel, an \u201capostle;\u201d not to be\n  translated, as by the vulgar, \u201cprophet.\u201d Moreover Rasul is higher than\n  Nab\u00ed (prophet), such as Abraham Isaac, etc., depositaries of Al-Islam,\n  but with a succession restricted to their own families. Nabi-mursil\n  (Prophet-apostle) is the highest of all, one sent with a book: of\n  these are now only four, Moses, David, Jesus and Mohammed, the\n  writings of the rest having perished. In Al-Islam also angels rank\n  below men, being only intermediaries (= \u1f04\u03b3\u03b3\u03b5\u03bb\u03bf\u03b9, nuncii, messengers)\n  between the Creator and the Created. This knowledge once did me a good\n  turn at Harar, not a safe place in those days (First Footsteps in East\n  Africa, p. 349).\n\n\n\n\n               ABU HASSAN AL-ZIYADI AND THE KHORASAN MAN.\n\n\nQuoth Ab\u00fa Hass\u00e1n al-Ziy\u00e1di[416]:\u2014I was once in straitened case and so\nneedy that the grocer, the baker and other tradesmen dunned and\nimportuned me; and my misery became extreme, for I knew of no resource\nnor what to do. Things being on this wise there came to me one day\ncertain of my servants and said to me, \u201cAt the door is a pilgrim wight,\nwho seeketh admission to thee.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cAdmit him.\u201d So he came in and\nbehold, he was a Khoras\u00e1n\u00ed. We exchanged salutations and he said to me,\n\u201cTell me, art thou Abu Hassan al-Ziyadi?\u201d; and I replied, \u201cYes, what is\nthy wish?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI am a stranger and am minded to make the\npilgrimage; but I have with me a great sum of money, which is burdensome\nto bear: so I wish to deposit these ten thousand dirhams with thee\nwhilst I make my pilgrimage and return. If the caravan march back and\nthou see me not, then know that I am dead, in which case the money is a\ngift from me to thee; but if I come back, it shall be mine.\u201d I answered,\n\u201cBe it as thou wilt, an thus please Allah Almighty.\u201d So he brought out a\nleather bag and I said to the servant, \u201cFetch the scales;\u201d and when he\nbrought them the man weighed out the money and handed it to me, after\nwhich he went his way. Then I called the purveyors and paid them my\nliabilities\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say\nher permitted say\n\n\n         Now when it was the Three Hundred and Fiftieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth Abu Hassan\nal-Ziyadi:\u2014I called the purveyors and paid them my liabilities and spent\nfreely and amply, saying to myself, \u201cBy the time he returns, Allah will\nhave relieved me with one or other of the bounties He hath by Him.\u201d\nHowever, on the very next day. the servant came in to me and said, \u201cThy\nfriend the Khorasan man is at the door.\u201d \u201cAdmit him,\u201d answered I. So he\ncame in and said to me, \u201cI had purposed to make the pilgrimage; but news\nhath reached me of the decease of my father, and I have resolved to\nreturn; so give me the monies I deposited with thee yesterday.\u201d When I\nheard this, I was troubled and perplexed beyond measure of perplexity\nknown to man and wotted not what reply to make him; for, if I denied it,\nhe would put me on my oath, and I should be disgraced in the world to\ncome; whilst, if I told him that I had spent the money, he would make an\noutcry and dishonour me before men. So I said to him, \u201cAllah give thee\nhealth! This my house is no stronghold nor site of safe custody for this\nmoney. When I received thy leather bag, I sent it to one with whom it\nnow is; so do thou return to us to-morrow and take thy money,\nInshallah!\u201d[417] So he went away and I passed the night in great\nconcern, because of his return to me; sleep visited me not nor could I\nclose my eyes; so I rose and bade the boy saddle me the she-mule.\nAnswered he, \u201cO my lord, it is yet but the first third of the night and\nindeed we have hardly had time to rest.\u201d I returned to my bed, but sleep\nwas forbidden to me and I ceased not to awaken the boy, and he to put me\noff, till break of day, when he saddled me the mule, and I mounted and\nrode out, not knowing whither to go. I threw the reins on the mule\u2019s\nshoulders and gave myself up to regrets and melancholy thoughts, whilst\nshe fared on with me to the eastward of Baghdad. Presently, as I went\nalong, behold, I saw a number of people approaching me and turned aside\ninto another path to avoid them; but seeing that I wore a turband in\npreacher-fashion,[418] they followed me and hastening up to me, said,\n\u201cKnowest thou the lodging of Abu Hassan al-Ziyadi?\u201d \u201cI am he,\u201d answered\nI; and they rejoined, \u201cObey the summons of the Commander of the\nFaithful.\u201d Then they carried me before Al-Maamun, who said to me, \u201cWho\nart thou?\u201d Quoth I, \u201cAn associate of the Kazi Abu Y\u00fasuf and a doctor of\nthe law and traditions.\u201d Asked the Caliph, \u201cBy what surname art thou\nknown?\u201d[419] and I answered, \u201cAbu Hassan al-Ziyadi;\u201d whereupon quoth he,\n\u201cExpound to me thy case.\u201d So I recounted to him my case and he wept sore\nand said to me, \u201cOut on thee!\u201d The Apostle of Allah (whom Allah bless\nand assain!) would not let me sleep this night, because of thee; for in\nearly darkness[420] he appeared to me and said, \u201cSuccour Abu Hassan\nal-Ziyadi.\u201d Whereupon I awoke and, knowing thee not, went to sleep\nagain; but he came to me a second time and said to me, \u201cWoe to thee!\nSuccour Abu Hassan al-Ziyadi.\u201d I awoke a second time, but knowing thee\nnot I went to sleep again; and he came to me a third time and still I\nknew thee not and went to sleep again. Then he came to me once more and\nsaid, \u201cOut on thee! Succour Abu Hassan al-Ziyadi!\u201d \u201cAfter that I dared\nnot sleep any more, but watched the rest of the night and aroused my\npeople and sent them on all sides in quest of thee.\u201d Then he gave me one\nmyriad of dirhams, saying, \u201cThis is for the Khorasani,\u201d and other ten\nthousand, saying, \u201cSpend freely of this and amend thy case therewith,\nand set thine affairs in order.\u201d Moreover, he presented me with thirty\nthousand dirhams, saying, \u201cFurnish thyself with this, and when the\nProcession-day[421] is being kept, come thou to me, that I may invest\nthee with some office.\u201d So I went forth from him with the money and\nreturned home, where I prayed the dawn-prayer; and behold, presently\ncame the Khorasani, so I carried him into the house and brought out to\nhim one myriad of dirhams, saying, \u201cHere is thy money.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cIt is\nnot my very money; how cometh this?\u201d So I told him the whole story, and\nhe wept and said, \u201cBy Allah, haddest thou told me the fact at first, I\nhad not pressed thee!; and now, by Allah, I will not accept aught of\nthis money\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the\nKhorasani to Al-Ziyadi, \u201cBy Allah, haddest thou told me the fact at\nfirst, I had not pressed thee!; and now, by Allah, I will not accept\naught of this money and thou art lawfully quit of it.\u201d So saying, he\nwent away and I set my affairs in order and repaired on the\nProcession-day to Al-Maamun\u2019s Gate, where I found him seated. When he\nsaw me present myself he called me to him and, bringing forth to me a\npaper from under his prayer-carpet, said to me, \u201cThis is a patent,\nconferring on thee the office of Kazi of the western division of\nAl-Medinah, the Holy City, from the Bab-al Sal\u00e1m[422] to the furthest\nlimit of the township; and I appoint thee such and such monthly\nallowances. So fear Allah (to whom be honour and glory!) and be mindful\nof the solicitude of His Apostle (whom may He bless and keep!) on thine\naccount.\u201d Then the folk marvelled at the Caliph\u2019s words and asked me\ntheir meaning; whereupon I told them the story from beginning to end and\nit spread abroad amongst the people. \u201cAnd\u201d (quoth he who telleth the\ntale) \u201cAbu Hassan al-Ziyadi ceased not to be Kazi of Al-Medinah, the\nHoly City, till he died in the days of Al-Maamun\u2014the mercy of Allah be\non him!\u201d And among the tales men tell is one of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 416:\n\n  A doctor of law in the reign of Al-Maamun.\n\nFootnote 417:\n\n  Here the exclamation is = D.V.; and it may be assumed generally to\n  have that sense.\n\nFootnote 418:\n\n  Arab. \u201cTaylas\u00e1n,\u201d a turban worn hood-fashion by the \u201cKhatib\u201d or\n  preacher. I have sketched it in my Pilgrimage and described it (iii.\n  315). Some Orientalists derive Taylasan from Atlas = satin, which is\n  peculiarly inappropriate. The word is apparently barbarous and\n  possibly Persian like Kalansuwah, the Dervish-cap. \u201cThou son of a\n  Taylas\u00e1n\u201d = a barbarian (De Sacy, Chrest. Arab. ii. 269).\n\nFootnote 419:\n\n  Arab. Kinyah vulg. \u201cKunyat\u201d = patronymic or matronymic; a name\n  beginning with \u201cAbu\u201d (father) or with \u201cUmm\u201d (mother). There are so few\n  proper names in Al-Islam that such surnames, which, as will be seen,\n  are of infinite variety, become necessary to distinguish individuals.\n  Of these sobriquets I shall give specimens further on.\n\nFootnote 420:\n\n  \u201cWhoso seeth me in his sleep, seeth me truly; for Satan cannot assume\n  my semblance,\u201d said (or is said to have said) Mohammed. Hence the\n  vision is true although it comes in early night and not before dawn.\n  See Lane M. E., chapt. ix.\n\nFootnote 421:\n\n  Arab. \u201cAl-Maukab;\u201d the day when the pilgrims march out of the city; it\n  is a holiday for all, high and low.\n\nFootnote 422:\n\n  \u201cThe Gate of Salutation;\u201d at the S. Western corner of the Mosque where\n  Mohammed is buried (Pilgrimage ii. 60 and plan). Here \u201cVisitation\u201d\n  (Ziy\u00e1rah) begins.\n\n\n\n\n                  THE POOR MAN AND HIS FRIEND IN NEED.\n\n\nThere was once a rich man who lost all he had and became destitute,\nwhereupon his wife advised him to ask aid and assistance of one of his\nintimates. So he betook himself to a certain friend of his and\nacquainted him with his necessities; and he lent him five hundred dinars\nto trade withal. Now in early life he had been a jeweller; so he took\nthe gold and went to the jewel-bazar, where he opened a shop to buy and\nsell. Presently, as he sat in his shop three men accosted him and asked\nfor his father, and when he told them that he was deceased, they said,\n\u201cSay, did he leave issue?\u201d Quoth the jeweller, \u201cHe left the slave who is\nbefore you.\u201d They asked, \u201cAnd who knoweth thee for his son?\u201d; and he\nanswered, \u201cThe people of the bazar,\u201d whereupon they said, \u201cCall them\ntogether, that they may testify to us that thou art his very son.\u201d So he\ncalled them and they bore witness of this; whereupon the three men\ndelivered to him a pair of saddle-bags, containing thirty thousand\ndinars, besides jewels and bullion of high value, saying, \u201cThis was\ndeposited with us in trust by thy father.\u201d Then they went away; and\npresently there came to him a woman, who sought of him certain of the\njewels, worth five hundred dinars which she bought and paid him three\nthousand for them. Upon this he arose and took five hundred dinars and\ncarrying them to his friend who had lent him the money, said to him,\n\u201cTake the five hundred dinars I borrowed of thee; for Allah hath opened\nto me the gate of prosperity.\u201d Quoth the other, \u201cNay; I gave them to\nthee outright, for the love of Allah; so do thou keep them. And take\nthis paper, but read it not till thou be at home, and do according to\nthat which is therein.\u201d So he took the money and the paper and returned\nhome, where he opened the scroll and found therein inscribed these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n Kinsmen of mine were those three men who came to thee; \u273f My sire and\n    uncles twain and S\u00e1lih bin Ali\n So what for cash thou soldest, to my mother \u2018twas \u273f Thou soldest it, and\n    coin and gems were sent by me.\n Thus doing I desired not any harm to thee \u273f But in my presence spare\n    thee and thy modesty.\n\nAnd they also recount the story of\n\n\n\n\n       THE RUINED MAN WHO BECAME RICH AGAIN THROUGH A DREAM.[423]\n\n\nThere lived once in Baghdad a wealthy man and made of money, who lost\nall his substance and became so destitute that he could earn his living\nonly by hard labour. One night, he lay down to sleep, dejected and heavy\nhearted, and saw in a dream a Speaker[424] who said to him, \u201cVerily thy\nfortune is in Cairo; go thither and seek it.\u201d So he set out for Cairo;\nbut when he arrived there, evening overtook him and he lay down to sleep\nin a mosque. Presently, by decree of Allah Almighty, a band of bandits\nentered the mosque and made their way thence into an adjoining house;\nbut the owners, being aroused by the noise of the thieves, awoke and\ncried out; whereupon the Chief of Police came to their aid with his\nofficers. The robbers made off; but the Wali entered the mosque and,\nfinding the man from Baghdad asleep there, laid hold of him and beat him\nwith palm-rods so grievous a beating that he was well-nigh dead. Then\nthey cast him into jail, where he abode three days; after which the\nChief of Police sent for him and asked him, \u201cWhence art thou?\u201d; and he\nanswered, \u201cFrom Baghdad.\u201d Quoth the Wali, \u201cAnd what brought thee to\nCairo?\u201d; and quoth the Baghdadi, \u201cI saw in a dream One who said to me,\nThy fortune is in Cairo; go thither to it. But when I came to Cairo the\nfortune which he promised me proved to be the palm-rods thou so\ngenerously gavest to me.\u201d The Wali laughed till he showed his\nwisdom-teeth and said, \u201cO man of little wit, thrice have I seen in a\ndream one who said to me:\u2014There is in Baghdad a house in such a district\nand of such a fashion and its courtyard is laid out garden-wise, at the\nlower end whereof is a jetting-fountain and under the same a great sum\nof money lieth buried. Go thither and take it. Yet I went not; but thou,\nof the briefness of thy wit, hast journeyed from place to place, on the\nfaith of a dream, which was but an idle galimatias of sleep.\u201d Then he\ngave him money saying, \u201cHelp thee back herewith to thine own\ncountry;\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wali gave the\nBaghdad man some silvers, saying, \u201cHelp thee back herewith to thine own\ncountry;\u201d and he took the money and set out upon his homewards march.\nNow the house the Wali had described was the man\u2019s own house in Baghdad;\nso the wayfarer returned thither and, digging underneath the fountain in\nhis garden, discovered a great treasure. And thus Allah gave him\nabundant fortune; and a marvellous coincidence occurred. And a story is\nalso current of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 423:\n\n  The tale is told by Al-Ish\u00e1ki in the reign of Al-Maamun.\n\nFootnote 424:\n\n  The speaker in dreams is the Heb. \u201cWaggid,\u201d which the learned and\n  angry Graetz (Geschichte, etc. vol. ix.) absurdly translates\n  \u201cTraum-souffleur.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n            CALIPH AL-MUTAWAKKIL AND HIS CONCUBINE MAHBUBAH.\n\n\nThere were in the palace of the Caliph Al-Mutawakkil ala\u2019llah[425] four\nthousand concubines, whereof two thousand were Greeks and other two\nthousand slave-born Arabians[426] and Abyssinians; and \u2018Obayd ibn\nT\u00e1hir[427] had given him two hundred white girls and a like number of\nAbyssinian and native girls. Among these slave-borns was a girl of\nBassorah, hight Mahb\u00fabah, the Beloved, who was of surpassing beauty and\nloveliness, elegance and voluptuous grace. Moreover, she played upon the\nlute and was skilled in singing and making verses and wrote a beautiful\nhand; so that Al-Mutawakkil fell passionately in love with her and could\nnot endure from her a single hour. But when she saw this affection, she\npresumed upon his favour to use him arrogantly, wherefore he waxed\nexceeding wroth with her and forsook her, forbidding the people of the\npalace to speak with her. She abode on this wise some days, but the\nCaliph still inclined to her; and he arose one morning and said to his\ncourtiers, \u201cI dreamt, last night, that I was reconciled to Mahbubah.\u201d\nThey answered, \u201cWould Allah this might be on wake!\u201d; and as they were\ntalking, behold, in came one of the Caliph\u2019s maidservants and whispered\nhim; so he rose from his throne and entered the Serraglio; for the\nwhisper had said, \u201cOf a truth we heard singing and lute-playing in\nMahbubah\u2019s chamber and we knew not what this meant.\u201d So he went straight\nto her apartment, where he heard her playing upon the lute and singing\nthe following verses:\u2014\n\n I wander through the palace, but I sight there not a soul \u273f To whom I\n    may complain or will \u2018change a word with me.\n It is as though I\u2019d done so grievous rebel-deed \u273f Wherefrom can no\n    contrition e\u2019er avail to set me free.\n\n Have we no intercessor here to plead with King, who came \u273f In sleep to\n    me and took me back to grace and amity;\n But when the break of day arose and showed itself again, \u273f Then he\n    departing sent me back to dree my privacy?\n\nNow when the Caliph heard her voice, he marvelled at the verse and yet\nmore at the strange coincidence of their dreams and entered the chamber.\nAs soon as she perceived him, she hastened to rise and throw herself at\nhis feet, and kissing them, said, \u201cBy Allah, O my lord, this hap is what\nI dreamt last night; and, when I awoke, I made the couplets thou hast\nheard.\u201d Replied Al-Mutawakkil, \u201cBy Allah, I also dreamt the like!\u201d Then\nthey embraced and made friends and he abode with her seven days with\ntheir nights. Now Mahbubah had written upon her cheek, in musk, the\nCaliph\u2019s name, which was Ja\u2019afar: and when he saw this, he improvised\nthe following:\u2014\n\n One wrote upon her cheek with musk, his name was Ja\u2019afar hight; \u273f My\n    soul for hers who wrote upon her cheek the name I sight!\n If an her fingers have inscribed one line upon her cheek, \u273f Full many a\n    line in heart of mine those fingers did indite:\n O thou, whom Ja\u2019afar sole of men possesseth for himself, \u273f Allah fill\n    Ja\u2019afar[428] stream-full draught, the wine of thy delight!\n\nWhen Al-Mutawakkil died, his host of women forgot him, all save\nMahbubah\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Al-Mutawakkil\ndied, his host of women forgot him all save Mahbubah who ceased not to\nmourn for him, till she deceased and was buried by his side, the mercy\nof Allah be on them both! And men also tell the tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 425:\n\n  Tenth Abbaside. A.D. 849-861.\n\nFootnote 426:\n\n  Arab. \u201cMuwallad\u201d (fem. \u201cMuwalladah\u201d); a rearling, a slave born in a\n  Moslem land. The numbers may appear exaggerated, but even the petty\n  King of Ashanti had, till the last war, 3333 \u201cwives.\u201d\n\nFootnote 427:\n\n  The Under-prefect of Baghdad.\n\nFootnote 428:\n\n  \u201cJa\u2019afar,\u201d our old Giaffar (which is painfully like \u201cGaffer,\u201d _i.e._\n  good father) means either a rushing river or a rivulet.\n\n\n\n\n   WARDAN[429] THE BUTCHER HIS ADVENTURE WITH THE LADY AND THE BEAR.\n\n\nThere lived once in Cairo, in the days of the Caliph Al-H\u00e1kim bi\u00b4\nAmri\u00b4llah, a butcher named Ward\u00e1n, who dealt in sheep\u2019s flesh; and there\ncame to him every day a lady and gave him a dinar, whose weight was nigh\ntwo and a half Egyptian dinars, saying, \u201cGive me a lamb.\u201d So he took the\nmoney and gave her the lamb, which she delivered to a porter she had\nwith her; and he put it in his crate and she went away with him to her\nown place. Next day she came in the forenoon and this went on for a long\ntime, the butcher gaining a dinar by her every day, till at last he\nbegan to be curious about her case and said to himself, \u201cThis woman\nbuyeth of me a ducat-worth of meat every morning, paying ready money,\nand never misseth a single day. Verily, this is a strange thing!\u201d So he\ntook an occasion of questioning the porter, in her absence, and asked\nhim, \u201cWhither goest thou every day with yonder woman?\u201d; and he answered,\n\u201cI know not what to make of her for surprise; inasmuch as every day,\nafter she hath taken the lamb of thee, she buyeth necessaries of the\ntable, fresh and dried fruits and wax-candles a dinar\u2019s worth, and\ntaketh of a certain person, which is a Nazarene, two flagons of wine,\nworth another dinar; and then she leadeth me with the whole and I go\nwith her to the Wazir\u2019s Gardens, where she blindfoldeth me, so that I\ncannot see on what part of earth I set my feet; and, taking me by the\nhand, she leadeth me I know not whither. Presently, she sayeth, \u201cSet\ndown here;\u201d and when I have done so, she giveth me an empty crate she\nhath ready and, taking my hand, leadeth me back to the Wazir\u2019s Gardens,\nthe place where she bound my eyes, and there removeth the bandage and\ngiveth me ten silver bits.\u201d \u201cAllah be her helper!\u201d quoth Wardan; but he\nredoubled in curiosity about her case; disquietude increased upon him\nand he passed the night in exceeding restlessness. And quoth the\nbutcher:\u2014Next morning she came to me as of custom and taking the lamb,\nfor which she paid the dinar, delivered it to the porter and went away.\nSo I gave my shop in charge to a lad and followed her without her seeing\nme;\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Wardan the butcher\ncontinued:\u2014So I gave my shop in charge to a lad and followed her without\nher seeing me; nor did I cease to keep her in sight, hiding behind her,\ntill she left Cairo and came to the Wazir\u2019s Gardens. Then I hid myself\nwhilst she bandaged the porter\u2019s eyes and followed her again from place\nto place till she came to the mountain[430] and stopped at a spot where\nthere was a great stone. Here she made the porter set down his crate,\nand I waited whilst she conducted him back to the Wazir\u2019s Gardens, after\nwhich she returned and, taking out the contents of the basket, instantly\ndisappeared. Then I went up to that stone and wrenching it up entered\nthe hole and found behind the stone an open trap-door of brass and a\nflight of steps leading downwards. So I descended, little by little,\ntill I came to a long corridor, brilliantly lighted, and followed it,\ntill I made a closed door, as it were the door of a saloon. I looked\nabout the wall-sides near the doorway till I discovered a recess, with\nsteps therein; then climbed up and found a little niche with a bulls-eye\ngiving upon a saloon. Thence I looked inside and saw the lady cut off\nthe choicest parts of the lamb and laying them in a saucepan, throw the\nrest to a great big bear, who ate it all to the last bite. Now when she\nhad made an end of cooking, she ate her fill, after which she set on the\nfruits and confections and brought out the wine and fell to drinking a\ncup herself and giving the bear to drink in a basin of gold. And as soon\nas she was heated with wine, she put off her petticoat-trousers and lay\ndown on her back; whereupon the bear arose and came up to her and\nstroked her, whilst she gave him the best of what belongeth to the sons\nof Adam till he had made an end, when he sat down and rested. Presently,\nhe sprang upon her and rogered her again; and when he ended he again sat\ndown to rest; and he ceased not so doing till he had futtered her ten\ntimes and they both fell to the ground in a fainting-fit and lay without\nmotion. Then quoth I to myself, \u201cNow is my opportunity,\u201d and taking a\nknife I had with me, that would cut bones before flesh,[431] went down\nto them and found them motionless, not a muscle of them moving for their\nhard swinking and swiving. So I put my knife to the bear\u2019s gullet and\npressed upon it, till I finished him by severing his head from his body,\nand he gave a great snort like thunder, whereat the lady started up in\nalarm; and, seeing the bear slain and me standing whittle in hand, she\nshrieked so loud a shriek that I thought the soul had left her body.\nThen she asked, \u201cO Wardan, is this how thou requitest me my favours?\u201d\nAnd I answered, \u201cO enemy of thine own soul, is there a famine of\nmen[432] that thou must do this damnable thing?\u201d She made no answer but\nbent down over the bear, and looked fondly upon him; then finding his\nhead divided from his body, said to me, \u201cO Wardan, which of the two\ncourses wouldst thou take; either obey me in what I shall say and be the\nmeans of thine own safety\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the lady, \u201cO\nWardan, which of the two courses wouldst thou take; either obey me in\nwhat I shall say and be the means of thine own safety and competency to\nthe end of thy days, or gainsay me and so cause thine own\ndestruction?\u201d[433] Answered I, \u201cI choose rather to hearken unto thee:\nsay what thou wilt.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cThen slay me, as thou hast slain this\nbear, and take thy need of this hoard and wend thy ways.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cI am\nbetter than this bear: so return thou to Allah Almighty and repent, and\nI will marry thee, and we will live on this treasure the rest of our\nlives.\u201d She rejoined, \u201cO Wardan, far be it from me! How shall I live\nafter him? By Allah, an thou slay me not I will assuredly do away thy\nlife! So leave bandying words with me, or thou art a lost man: this is\nall I have to say to thee and peace be with thee!\u201d Then said I, \u201cI will\nkill thee, and thou shalt go to the curse of Allah.\u201d So saying, I caught\nher by the hair and cut her throat; and she went to the curse of Allah\nand of the angels and of all mankind. And after so doing I examined the\nplace and found there gold and bezel-stones and pearls, such as no one\nking could bring together. So I filled the porter\u2019s crate with as much\nas I could carry and covered it with the clothes I had on me. Then I\nshouldered it and, going up out of the under-ground treasure-chamber,\nfared homewards and ceased not faring on, till I came to the gate of\nCairo, where behold, I fell in with ten of the body-guard of Al-Hakim\nbi\u00b4 Amri\u00b4llah[434] followed by the Prince himself, who said to me, \u201cHo,\nWardan!\u201d \u201cAt thy service, O King,\u201d replied I; when he asked, \u201cHast thou\nkilled the bear and the lady?\u201d and I answered, \u201cYes.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cSet\ndown the basket from thy head and fear naught, for all the treasure thou\nhast with thee is thine, and none shall dispute it with thee.\u201d So I set\ndown the crate before him, and he uncovered it and looked at it; then\nsaid to me, \u201cTell me their case, albe I know it, as if I had been\npresent with you.\u201d So I told him all that had passed and he said, \u201cThou\nhast spoken the truth,\u201d adding, \u201cO Wardan, come now with me to the\ntreasure.\u201d So I returned with him to the cavern, where he found the\ntrap-door closed and said to me, \u201cO Wardan, lift it; none but thou can\nopen the treasure, for it is enchanted in thy name and nature.\u201d[435]\nSaid I, \u201cBy Allah, I cannot open it;\u201d but he said, \u201cGo up to it,\ntrusting in the blessing of Allah.\u201d So I called upon the name of\nAlmighty Allah and, advancing to the trap-door, put my hand to it;\nwhereupon it came up as it had been of the lightest. Then said the\nCaliph, \u201cGo down and bring hither what is there; for none but one of thy\nname and semblance and nature hath gone down thither since the place was\nmade, and the slaying of the bear and the woman was appointed to be at\nthy hand. This was chronicled with me and I was awaiting its\nfulfilment.\u201d[436] Accordingly (quoth Wardan) I went down and brought up\nall the treasure, whereupon the Caliph sent for beasts of burden and\ncarried it away, after giving me my crate, with what was therein. So I\nbore it home and opened me a shop in the market. \u201cAnd\u201d (saith he who\ntelleth the tale) \u201cthis market is still extant and is known as Wardan\u2019s\nMarket.\u201d And I have heard recount another story of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 429:\n\n  A regular Fellah\u2019s name also that of a village (Pilgrimage i. 43)\n  where a pleasant story is told about one Haykal.\n\nFootnote 430:\n\n  The \u201cMountain\u201d means the rocky and uncultivated ground South of Cairo;\n  such as Jabal al-Ahmar and the geological sea-coast flanked by the old\n  Cairo-Suez highway.\n\nFootnote 431:\n\n  A popular phrase = our \u201csharp as a razor.\u201d\n\nFootnote 432:\n\n  _i.e._ are men so few; a favourite Persian phrase.\n\nFootnote 433:\n\n  She is a woman of rank who would cause him to be assassinated.\n\nFootnote 434:\n\n  This is not Al-Hakim bi\u00b4 Amri\u00b4llah the famous or infamous founder of\n  the Druze (Dur\u00faz) faith and held by them to be, not an incarnation of\n  the Godhead, but the Godhead itself in propri\u00e2 person\u00e2, who reigned\n  A.D. 926-1021: our Hakim is the orthodox Abbaside Caliph of Egypt who\n  dated from two centuries after him (A.D. 1261). Had the former been\n  meant, it would have thrown back this part of The Nights to an earlier\n  date than is generally accepted. But in a place still to come I shall\n  again treat of the subject.\n\nFootnote 435:\n\n  For an account of a similar kind which was told to me during the last\n  few years see \u201cMidian Revisited,\u201d i. 15. These hiding-places are\n  innumerable in lands of venerable antiquity like Egypt; and, if there\n  were any contrivance for detecting hidden treasure, it would make the\n  discoverer many times a millionaire.\n\nFootnote 436:\n\n  _i.e._ it had been given to him or his in writing, like the book left\n  to the old woman before quoted in \u201cMidian,\u201d etc.\n\n\n\n\n                    THE KING\u2019S DAUGHTER AND THE APE.\n\n\nThere was once a Sultan\u2019s daughter, whose heart was taken with love of a\nblack slave: he abated her maidenhead and she became passionately\naddicted to futtering, so that she could not do without it a single hour\nand complained of her case to one of her body-women, who told her that\nno thing poketh and stroketh more abundantly than the baboon.[437] Now\nit so chanced one day, that an ape-leader passed under her lattice, with\na great ape; so she unveiled her face and looking upon the ape, signed\nto him with her eyes, whereupon he broke his bonds and chain and climbed\nup to the Princess, who hid him in a place with her, and night and day\nhe abode there, eating and drinking and copulating. Her father heard of\nthis and would have killed her;\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n        Now when it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Sultan\nheard of this work he would have slain his daughter; but she smoked his\ndesign; and, disguising herself in Mameluke\u2019s dress, mounted horse after\nloading a mule with gold and bullion, and precious stuffs past all\naccount; then carrying with her the ape, she fled to Cairo, where she\ntook up her abode in one of the houses without the city and upon the\nverge of the Suez-desert. Now, every day, she used to buy meat of a\nyoung man, a butcher, but she came not to him till after noonday; and\nthen she was so yellow and disordered in face that he said in his mind,\n\u201cThere must indeed hang some mystery by this slave.\u201d Accordingly (quoth\nthe butcher) one day when she came to me as usual, I went out after her\nsecretly, and ceased not to follow her from place to place, so as she\nsaw me not, till she came to her lodging on the edge of her waste and\nentered; and I looked in upon her through a cranny, and saw her as soon\nas she was at home, kindle a fire and cook the meat, of which she ate\nenough and served up the rest to a baboon she had by her and he did the\nsame. Then she put off the slave\u2019s habit and donned the richest of\nwomen\u2019s apparel; and so I knew that she was a lady. After this she set\non wine and drank and gave the ape to drink; and he stroked her nigh\nhalf a score times without drawing till she swooned away, when he spread\nover her a silken coverlet and returned to his place. Then I went down\nin the midst of the place and the ape, becoming aware of me, would have\ntorn me in pieces; but I made haste to pull out my knife and slit his\npaunch and his bowels fell out. The noise aroused the young lady, who\nawoke terrified and trembling; and, when she saw the ape in this case,\nshe shrieked such a shriek that her soul well nigh fled her body. Then\nshe fell down in a fainting-fit and when she came to herself, she said\nto me, \u201cWhat moved thee to do thus? Now Allah upon thee, send me after\nhim!\u201d But I spoke her fair for a while and pledged myself to stand in\nthe ape\u2019s stead in the matter of much poking, till her trouble subsided\nand I took her to wife. But when I came to perform my promise I proved a\nfailure and I fell short in this matter and could not endure such hard\nlabour: so I complained of my case and mentioned her exorbitant\nrequirements to a certain old woman who engaged to manage the affair and\nsaid to me, \u201cNeeds must thou bring me a cooking-pot full of virgin\nvinegar and a pound of the herb pellitory called wound-wort.\u201d[438] So I\nbrought her what she sought, and she laid the pellitory in the pot with\nthe vinegar and set it on the fire, till it was thoroughly boiled. Then\nshe bade me futter the girl, and I futtered her till she fainted away,\nwhen the old woman took her up (and she unconscious), and set her parts\nto the mouth of the cooking-pot. The steam of the pot entered her slit\nand there fell from it somewhat which I examined; and behold, it was two\nsmall worms, one black and the other yellow. Quoth the old woman, \u201cThe\nblack was bred of the strokings of the negro and the yellow of stroking\nwith the baboon.\u201d Now when she recovered from her swoon she abode with\nme, in all delight and solace of life, and sought not swiving as before,\nfor Allah had done away from her this appetite; whereat I marvelled\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n       Now when it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young man\ncontinued:\u2014In truth Allah had done away from her this appetite; whereat\nI marvelled and acquainted her with the case. Thereupon I lived with her\nand she took the old woman to be to her in the stead of her mother,\n\u201cand\u201d (said he who told me the tale) \u201cthe old woman and the young man\nand his wife abode in joy and cheer till there came to them the\nDestroyer of delights and the Sunderer of societies; and glory be to the\nEver-living One, who dieth not and in whose hand is Dominion of the\nworld visible and invisible!\u201d[439] And another tale they tell is that of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 437:\n\n  Arab. \u201cKird\u201d (pron. in Egypt \u201cGird\u201d). It is usually the hideous\n  Abyssinian cynocephalus which is tamed by the ape-leader popularly\n  called Kuraydati (Lane, M. E., chapt. xx.). The beast has a natural\n  penchant for women; I heard of one which attempted to rape a girl in\n  the public street and was prevented only by a sentinel\u2019s bayonet. They\n  are powerful animals and bite like greyhounds.\n\nFootnote 438:\n\n  Easterns, attribute many complaints (such as toothache) to worms,\n  visible as well as microscopic; which may be held a fair prolepsis of\n  the \u201cgerm-theory\u201d the bacterium, the bacillus, the microbe.\n  Nymphomania, the disease alluded to in these two tales is always\n  attributed to worms in the vagina.\n\nFootnote 439:\n\n  Bestiality, very rare in Arabia is fatally common amongst those most\n  debauched of debauched races, the Egyptian proper and the Sindis.\n  Hence the Pentateuch, whose object was to breed a larger population of\n  fighting men, made death the penalty for lying with a beast (Deut.\n  xxvii. 21). C. S. Sonnini (Travels, English translation, p. 663) gives\n  a curious account of Fellah lewdness. \u201cThe female crocodile during\n  congress is turned upon her back (?) and cannot rise without\n  difficulty. Will it be believed that there are men who take advantage\n  of the helpless situation of the female, drive off the male, and\n  supplant him in this frightful intercourse? Horrible embraces, the\n  knowledge of which was wanting to complete the disgusting history of\n  human perversity!\u201d The French traveller forgets to add the\n  superstitious explanation of this congress which is the sovereignest\n  charm for rising to rank and riches. The Aj\u00e1ib al-Hind tells a tale\n  (chapt. xxxix.) of a certain Mohammed bin Bullishad who had issue by a\n  she-ape: the young ones were hairless of body and wore quasi-human\n  faces; and the father\u2019s sight had become dim by his bestial practice.\n\n\n                           END OF VOLUME IV.\n\n[Illustration: \u0648\u0627\u0644\u0633\u0644\u0627\u0645]\n\n\n\n\n                                 INDEX.\n\n\n Abb\u00e1s = the grim-faced, 138\n\n Abd al-K\u00e1dir of Gil\u00e1n (founder of the K\u00e1diri order), 41\n\n Abd al-Malik bin Marw\u00e1n (Caliph), 7\n\n Abdullah bin Ab\u00ed Kil\u00e1bah, 113\n\n Abdullah bin M\u00e1lik al-Khuz\u00e1\u00b4i, 181\n\n Abraham (Place or stone of), 148\n\n Abu al-Muzaffir = Father of the Conqueror, 166\n\n Abu Nowas (Pr. N. = father of the side-locks), 55; 264\n\n Abu Hass\u00e1n al-Ziy\u00e1di, 258\n\n Abu Y\u00fasuf (the Lawyer), 153\n\n Adam\u2019s loins, 111\n\n Adi (son of H\u00e1tim al-T\u00e1yy\u00ed), 95\n\n Adl = just (ironically), 271\n\n Adm (Udm) = any relish, 128\n\n Ahmad al-Danaf (Pr. N. = Calamity-Ahmad), 75\n\n Akk\u00e1m = cameleer, caravan-manager, 40\n\n Al\u00e1 al-Din (Aladdin) Glory of the Faith, 29; 33\n\n Al\u00e1ma = al\u00e1-m\u00e1 = upon what? wherefore, 201\n\n Alast (day of), 111\n\n Al D\u00e1ud (David\u2019s family), 50\n\n Alfi = one who costs a thousand, 225\n\n Ali al-Zabak (Pr. N. = Mercury Ali), 75\n\n Alif-like stature, 249\n\n Ali Shar (Pr. N.), 187\n\n Allah (His name pronounced against the evil eye), 34\n\n Allah (swearing by, forbidden), 175\n\n \u2014\u2014 is all-knowing (= I don\u2019t know), 283\n\n Am\u00e1im (pl. of Im\u00e1mah) = turbands, 100\n\n Am\u00edn (Al-) = the Trusted of Allah, 261\n\n Am\u00edr and Sam\u00fal = Jones, Brown and Robinson, 106\n\n Amr\u00fa (pronounced Amr) and Zayd = Tom, Dick or Harry, 2\n\n Ana f\u00ed j\u00edrat-ak = I crave thy intercession (useful phrase), 83\n\n Anb\u00e1r (pronounced Amb\u00e1r), town on the Euphrates, 152\n\n Antar (Romance quoted), 41\n\n Antiochus and Stratonice, 10\n\n Apple(-wine), 134\n\n \u2014\u2014 (many a goodly one rotten at the core), 187\n\n Ark al-Hal\u00e1wat = vein of sweetness, sugar stick, for penis, 51\n\n Arman\u00edyah (Armenia), 182\n\n Arm-pits (taking a dismounting person under the, a sign of respect), 24\n\n Art\u00e1l (_see_ Rotl)\n\n As\u00eddah (custard, pap), 37\n\n Asl\u00e1n (Pr. N. probably for Arsl\u00e1n = lion), 78\n\n Asma\u00b4i (Al-), author of Antar, 159\n\n Aun (of Jinns, etc.), 88\n\n Aww\u00e1dah = a lute-player, 142\n\n Ayat (Coranic verset, sign, miracle), _ib._\n\n Ayy\u00e1s (Issus of Cilicia), 76\n\n\n B\u00e1b al L\u00fak (of Fust\u00e1t), 259\n\n B\u00e1b al Sal\u00e1m (of the Al-Med\u00ednah Mosque), 288\n\n Babes of the eyes, 246\n\n Baboon (Kird), has a natural penchant for women, 297\n\n Badawi (bluntness and plain-speaking of), 102\n\n Badrah = 10,000 dirhams, 281\n\n Bah\u00e1im (pl. of Bah\u00edmah = Behemoth) applied to cattle, 54\n\n Bahram\u00e1ni = Brahman, 101\n\n Bakh Bakh! = well done!, 121\n\n Bandage eyes (before beheading), 145\n\n Banquets (royal), 212\n\n \u2014\u2014 (daintily devised), 226\n\n Ban\u00fa Isr\u00e1\u00edl, 283\n\n \u2014\u2014 Shayb\u00e1n (Badawi tribe), 233\n\n Barsh (Bars), commonest form of Bhang, 31\n\n Bath, coming out of, shows that consummation has taken place, 244\n\n Bawd (admirably portrayed), 4\n\n Bean-eating in Egypt, 160\n\n \u201cBen\u201d of an Arab shop as opposed to the \u201cbut\u201d, 93\n\n Bestiality (fatally common amongst Egyptians), 299\n\n Bhang (preparation of), 31\n\n \u2014\u2014 (drugging with = tabannuj), 71\n\n Bier the (bulging = Hadb\u00e1), 63\n\n Birkah = pool of standing water, 270\n\n Black-mail (paid to the Badawin of Ramlah), 76\n\n Blue-eyed (frequently = fierce-eyed), 192\n\n Boccaccio quoted, 36\n\n Body-guard (consists of two divisions), 62\n\n Bread and Salt (to be taken now \u201ccum grano salis\u201d), 200\n\n Breeze (rude but effective refrigerator), 199\n\n \u201cBrother of the Persians\u201d, 12\n\n Brow (like N\u00fan), 249\n\n Bud\u00far = moons, 249\n\n Buka\u00b4at al-Dam = place of blood (where it stagnates), 68\n\n Burckhardt (fable anent his death), 78\n\n\n Cairo (_see_ Misr).\n\n \u2014\u2014 (Chaff), 215\n\n \u2014\u2014 (Slang), 75\n\n Calligraphy, 196\n\n Camel-slaughtering (Nahr), 95\n\n Capo bianco, Coda verde, 36\n\n Catamites (rising to highest rank in Turkey), 225\n\n \u2014\u2014 (in Turkish baths), 226\n\n Chastity (merchandise in trust from Allah), 43\n\n Child of the nurse, etc. = delicately reared, 34\n\n China (kingdom), 175\n\n Chinese Shadows, 193\n\n Cider (Arab. Shar\u00e1b al-Tuff\u00e1h), 134\n\n City of Brass (Copper), 176\n\n Claimant of blood-revenge, 109\n\n \u2014\u2014 and Defendant, 150\n\n Cloth of frieze and cloth of gold, 145\n\n Clothes (tattered, sign of grief), 158\n\n Consul (Shah-bandar), 29\n\n \u2014\u2014 (Kunsul), 84\n\n Cowrie (shells, etc., for small change), 77\n\n Crenelles = Shar\u00e1r\u00edf, 165\n\n Crow-claw and Camel-hoof, 217\n\n Cutting bones before flesh = \u201csharp as a razor\u201d, 295\n\n\n Dalak = footrasp, 254\n\n Danaf (Al-) = the Distressing Sickness, 75\n\n Darb al-Asfar = the Street called Yellow, 93\n\n Darr al-K\u00e1il = divinely he spoke who said, 20\n\n Darrij = Let them slide, 220\n\n Deity of the East despotic, 118\n\n \u2014\u2014 after the fashion of each race, 267\n\n Depilation (Solomon and Bilk\u00eds), 256\n\n Dinghy (K\u00e1rib), 168\n\n Divining-rod (dowsing-rod), 73\n\n Dogs (clothed in hot-damp countries), 266\n\n Dream (Speaker in a), 239\n\n Dress (Scarlet of a King in anger), 72\n\n Drop (black, of the heart), 251\n\n Drunk (with one\u2019s own beauty), 34\n\n Dukh\u00fal = going in to the bride, 30\n\n Durk\u00e1\u2019ah = lower part of the floor (opposed to Liw\u00e1n), 71\n\n\n Eating (gives rights of guestship), 214\n\n \u2014\u2014 (superstitious belief in its power), 218\n\n Efendi (Turkish title = our esquire), 53\n\n Egyptian vulgarism, 107\n\n \u2014\u2014 characteristic, 260\n\n Embracing (like the L\u00e1m embraceth the Alif), 243\n\n Emerald (white?), 164\n\n Eunuchs (driving the people out of a lady\u2019s way), 126\n\n \u2014\u2014 (who have studied the Har\u00edm), 228\n\n Euphemy (announcing death), 61\n\n \u2014\u2014 (thou shalt die), 90\n\n \u2014\u2014 (all is well), 138\n\n \u2014\u2014 (the far one is a Nazarene), 215\n\n Exaggeration characteristic of The Nights, 273\n\n Eye (the Evil) on children, 37\n\n \u2014\u2014 (babes of the), 246\n\n Eyes (bandaged before beheading), 145\n\n \u2014\u2014 (blue), 192\n\n \u2014\u2014 (one-eyed men), 194\n\n\n Faces (on the day of Judgment), 249\n\n Far off one (the, shall die), 90\n\n Farkh Akrab (vulgarism for Ukayrib) = a young scorpion, 46\n\n Farsakh = parasang, 230\n\n Fat and Thin (dispute between), 254\n\n F\u00e1tihah (the opening chapter of the Koran), 36\n\n Firm\u00e1n = Wazirial order, 61\n\n F\u00ed sab\u00edli \u00b4llahi = on Allah\u2019s path (martyrdom), 247\n\n Flatulence produced by bean-eating, 160\n\n Food (partaken gives rights of protection), 214\n\n \u2014\u2014 (superstitious belief in its power), 218\n\n Freewill (and the Kor\u00e1n), 275\n\n Friends weeping when they meet after long parting, 26\n\n \u2014\u2014 (\u201cdamned ill-natured\u201d ones), 137\n\n Ful\u00e1n = Fulano, a certain person, 278\n\n Furk\u00e1n = Koran, 90\n\n Fut\u00fah (openings, victories), 51\n\n\n Ghabah = a copse, 40\n\n Gh\u00e1shiyah = \u00e9tui, scabbard; sleeved cloak, 131\n\n Ghur\u00e1b al-Bayn = raven of parting, 52\n\n Gold (different names of, required by Arabic rhetoric), 97\n\n Goody goody preachments, 187\n\n Gong (Mudawwarah), 135\n\n\n H\u00e1b\u00e1b (Hab\u00e1) = motes, 257\n\n Habzalam (Pr. N. = seed of tyranny; \u201cAbsalom\u201d?), 66\n\n Hadb\u00e1 (the bulging bier), 63\n\n Had\u00eds = tradition of the Prophet, 207\n\n Hair-dyes (Mohammed), 194\n\n H\u00e1jj (or H\u00e1ji, not Hajji), 215\n\n Hajj\u00e1j (Al-) bin Y\u00fasuf, Governor, of Al-Hij\u00e1z and Al-Ir\u00e1k, 3\n\n Hajj\u00e1m = barber-surgeon, cupper, bleeder, 112\n\n Hal\u00e1wah = sweetmeat, 60\n\n H\u00e1kim (Al-) bi-Amri \u00b4llah, 296\n\n Hand (left, how used), 129\n\n \u2014\u2014 (white, symbol of generosity; black of niggardness), 185\n\n \u2014\u2014 (his for her), 279\n\n Har\u00edm (double entendre = Harem and Honour), 98\n\n \u2014\u2014 (= wife), 126\n\n \u2014\u2014 (hot-bed of Sapphism and Tribadism), 234\n\n Harr\u00e1k (ship = Carrack?), 130\n\n Hasan bin Sahl (Wazir of Al-Maam\u00fan), 124\n\n Hasab = quantity, opposed to Nasab = birth, 171\n\n H\u00e1sid = an envier, 137\n\n H\u00e1tim of Tayy (proverbial for Liberality), 94\n\n Hazramaut (Hazarmaveth), 118\n\n Heart (black drop in), 256\n\n Heaven (Na\u00b4\u00edm), 143\n\n Hell (Sa\u00b4\u00edr), _ib._\n\n \u2014\u2014 (cold as well as hot), 253\n\n Hib\u00e1l = ropes, 193\n\n Homme achet\u00e9 = de bonne famille, 225\n\n H\u00fad (prophet = Heber?), 118\n\n Hur\u00e1k = tinder, 108\n\n Hurry (in a newly married couple indecent), 244\n\n Hur\u00faf al-Mutabbak\u00e1t = the flattened sounds, 223\n\n\n \u201cI told you so\u201d (even more common in East than West), 69\n\n Ibrah\u00edm bin al-Mahdi (Pretender to the Caliphate), 103\n\n Ibrah\u00edm al-Mosili, 108\n\n Im\u00e1m (The Seventh = Caliph Al-Maam\u00fan), 111\n\n \u2014\u2014 (the fugleman at the prayer-niche), 227\n\n Im\u00e1mah = turband, 100\n\n Inconsequence (of the Author of The Nights), 155\n\n Infirmity (and infirm letters), 243\n\n Inscriptions (on trays, plates, etc.), 235\n\n Inshallah = D.V., 286\n\n Insomnia (curious treatment of), 229\n\n Ir\u00e1dah = Sultan\u2019s order, 61\n\n Iram (the Many-columned), 113\n\n Irony, 271\n\n Irreverence (Egyptian), 47\n\n Isaac (Ish\u00e1k) of Mosul, 119\n\n Ishmael (place of his sacrifice), 75\n\n Istinj\u00e1 = washing the fundament after stool, 129\n\n\n Ja\u2019afar the Barmecide (mode of his death), 159\n\n \u2014\u2014 (river or rivulet), 292\n\n Jabal al-T\u00e1rik = Gibraltar, 100\n\n Jacob\u2019s daughters, 14\n\n Jaw\u00e1n (Pr. N.; Pers. = youth, juvenis), 208\n\n Job (a Syrian), 221\n\n \u201cJoyance is three things,\u201d etc., 254\n\n Juf\u00fan = eyebrows or eyelashes, 260\n\n Jugular vein (from \u2014\u2014 to \u2014\u2014), 92\n\n Justice (poetical, not done), 28\n\n Juz\u00e1m = leprosy, 51\n\n\n Ka\u2019ab al-Ahb\u00e1r (of the Scribes, two of the name), 115\n\n Ka\u2019abah (Pilgrim clinging to its curtain), 125\n\n Kabb\u00e1zah = a \u201cholding woman\u201d, 227\n\n Kahirah = City of Mars (Cairo), 271\n\n Kahram\u00e1n (Pers.) = braves, heroes, 115\n\n Kall\u00e1 = prorsus non, 257\n\n Kapt\u00e1n = Capitano, 85\n\n Kara Gyuz (_see_ Khiy\u00e1l).\n\n K\u00e1rib (pl. Kaw\u00e1rib) = dinghy, 168\n\n Kar\u00farah = bottle for urine, 11\n\n Kasa\u2019ah = wooden bowl, porringer, 283\n\n Kasri (Al-) Governor of the two Iraks, 155\n\n Kat\u00e1 = sand-grouse, 111\n\n K\u00e1tala-k Allah = Allah strike thee dead (facetiously), 264; 265\n\n Kat\u00edl = the Irish \u201ckilt\u201d, 139\n\n Kausar (river of Paradise), 196\n\n Kaw\u00e1rib (_see_ K\u00e1rib).\n\n Kazd\u00edr = Skr. Kast\u00edra (Tin), 274\n\n Kerchief (shaking and throwing the), 62\n\n Khal\u00ed\u2019a = a wag, a wicked wit, 229\n\n Khamm\u00e1rah = wine-shop, tavern, \u201chotel\u201d, 79\n\n Kh\u00e1t\u00fan (Turk. Lady), 66\n\n Khayr = good news by euphemy, 138\n\n Khayzar\u00e1n = rattan-palm, 255\n\n Khizr (the Green Prophet), 175\n\n Khiy\u00e1l (Chinese shadows), 193\n\n Khuff = walking-boot, 107\n\n Khum\u00e1siyah = five feet high, 191\n\n K\u00edl wa K\u00e1l = it was said and he said (chit-chat), 207\n\n King (dressing in scarlet when wroth), 72\n\n Kir\u00e1m\u00e1t = Saints\u2019 miracles, 45\n\n Kird = baboon, 297\n\n Kishk (Kashk) = porridge, 214\n\n Kissing (names for), 259\n\n Kohl (he would steal it off the eye-ball = a very expert thief), 68\n\n Koran quoted (xxv. 70), 5\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xii. 84, 93, 96; xvi.), 14\n\n \u2014\u2014 (opening chapter), 36\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xiii. 14), 43\n\n \u2014\u2014 (chapter Y\u00e1 S\u00edn), 50\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xvii. 84), 80\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xlix., Inner Apartments), 102\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xvi. 112), _ib._\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xii. 92), 111\n\n \u2014\u2014 (lxxxix. 6-7), 115\n\n \u2014\u2014 (iii. 178), 156\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xvi.), 174\n\n \u2014\u2014 (ii. 224), 175\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xxi. 38), 244\n\n \u2014\u2014 (iii. 103; vii. 105; xxvii. 12), 249\n\n \u2014\u2014 (cxiv. 1), 251\n\n \u2014\u2014 (ii. 26), 254\n\n \u2014\u2014 (ii. 64; xxvii.), 256\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xvii. 62; xxxvii. 16), 259\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xli. 46), 275\n\n K\u00fafah (Al-) founded by Omar, 1\n\n \u2014\u2014 (revolutionary spirit of), 3\n\n Kumkum (cucurbite, gourd-shaped vessel), 68; 178\n\n Kumm = sleeve, used as a bag, 107\n\n Kunyat = patro- or matro-nymic, 287\n\n Kunsul = Consul, 84\n\n K\u00fas (town in Upper Egypt), 276\n\n Kuss\u00e1\u2019a = curling cucumber, 98\n\n\n L\u00e1 baas bi-z\u00e1lik = there is no harm in that, 164\n\n Labtayt (Pr. N. = Toledo), 99\n\n Lane quoted, 2; 55; 63; 66; 84; 95; 96; 107; 110; 124; 136; 160; 164;\n    171; 181; 187; 189; 191; 196; 199; 200; 202; 204; 205; 209; 212;\n    214; 219; 222; 228; 231; 233; 244; 254; 268; 271; 273; 279; 287;\n    297.\n\n Lasm (Lathm) = kissing the lower face, 259\n\n Leprosy (thickens voice), 50\n\n \u2014\u2014 (shows first at the wrist), 51\n\n Letter (model specimen), 57\n\n Liberality (men proverbial for their), 96\n\n Life (by the, of thy youth) oath of women, 49\n\n \u2014\u2014 (cheap in hot countries), 275\n\n Light-worshipers (are liars), 252\n\n Li\u2019ll\u00e1hi darru-ka = the Lord has been copious to thee, 20\n\n Liw\u00e1n = Al-Ayw\u00e1n, 71\n\n Love (martyrs of), 205\n\n \u2014\u2014 (clairvoyance), 238\n\n \u2014\u2014 (excess of), _ib._\n\n L\u00fak-Gate (proverb referring to), 259\n\n Lum\u00e0 = dark hue of the inner lips, 251\n\n Lutf (servile name = elegance, delicacy), 232\n\n\n Maamun (Al-), Caliph, 109\n\n Ma\u2019an bin Z\u00e1idah (Pr. N. of a generous Arab), 96\n\n Ma\u2019\u00e1ni-h\u00e1 (her meanings = her inner woman), 146\n\n Madin\u00e1t al-Nabi (Al-Medinah) = City of the Prophet, 114\n\n Madness (there is a pleasure in), 204\n\n Maka\u2019ad = sitting-room, 78\n\n Malik (Al-) al-N\u00e1sir = the conquering King, 271\n\n Man (handsomer than woman), 15\n\n Mans\u00far al-Nimri (poet), 179\n\n Martyrs (of love), 205\n\n Martyrdom, 247\n\n Mash\u00e1\u2019il\u00ed = cresset-bearer, for public crier, hangman, 61\n\n Maukab (Al-) = Procession-day, 287\n\n Mauz = Musa (Banana), 201\n\n \u201cMay thy life be prolonged\u201d, 62\n\n Melancholy (chronic under the brightest skies), 239\n\n Men (is there a famine of) = are men so few?, 295\n\n Mikashshah = broom, 208\n\n Mikbas (pot of lighted charcoal), 246\n\n Military and Police sneered at, 270\n\n Milk, white as, opposed to black as mud, 140\n\n M\u00edm-like mouth, 249\n\n Mind (one by vinegar, another by wine = each goes its own way), 72\n\n Min\u00ednah = biscuit, 86\n\n Misr (vulg. Masr) = Egypt, 29\n\n Mohammed (his uncles), 22\n\n \u2014\u2014 (traditional saying of), 35\n\n \u2014\u2014 (cleanses the Ka\u2019abah of idols), 80\n\n \u2014\u2014 (on dying the hair, etc.), 194\n\n \u2014\u2014 (on lovers), 205\n\n \u2014\u2014 (on his being seen in sleep), 287\n\n \u2014\u2014 (places the \u201cblack stone\u201d), 261\n\n Mole on cheek (black as Bil\u00e1l), 142\n\n Monoculars (rascals), 194\n\n Moon-faced (not absurd), 192\n\n Moon (masculine), 261\n\n Mountain (the, at Cairo), 294\n\n Mountains (the pegs of the earth), 174\n\n Mudawwarah (a gong?), 135\n\n Muhallil (_see_ Mustahall).\n\n Mukaddam (Anglo-Indic\u00e8 Mucuddum) = overseer, 42\n\n Munkasir (broken) = languid, 195\n\n Mus\u00e1marah = chatting at night, 237\n\n Mustahall (Mustahill) = one who marries a thrice divorced woman and\n    divorces her to make her lawful for her first husband, 48\n\n Mutawakkil (Al-), Caliph, 291\n\n Muwallad = a slave born in a Moslem land, 291\n\n Muwashshah (stanza), 54\n\n Myrtle-bush = young beard, 143\n\n\n Naf\u00edsah (great-grand-daughter of the Im\u00e1m Hasan), 46\n\n Nah\u00e1s = brass, 178\n\n \u2014\u2014 (asfar = brass; ahmar = copper), 230\n\n Nahr = slaughtering a camel by stabbing, 95\n\n Na\u2019\u00edm = Heaven, 143\n\n Nauroz = new (year\u2019s) day, 244\n\n Negro (Legend of his origin), 250\n\n Negrofied races like \u201cwalking tun-butts\u201d, 255\n\n Ni\u2019amat = a blessing, 1\n\n Nis\u00e1b (Al-), smallest sum for stealing which the hand is mutilated, 157\n\n N\u00fan-like brow, 249\n\n Nymphomania (ascribed to worms in the vagina), 298\n\n\n Oath (kept to the letter), 70\n\n Obayd ibn T\u00e1hir (Under-Prefect of Baghdad), 291\n\n One-eyed men considered rascals, 194\n\n\n Pashas\u2019 (agents for bribery in Constantinople), 183\n\n Payne quoted, 50; 66; 197; 221; 222\n\n Peccadillo in good old days (murder), 275\n\n Penis = Ark al-Hal\u00e1wat, 51\n\n \u2014\u2014 (correspondence of size), 52\n\n Person (Arabic Shakhs), 97\n\n Pharaoh (signs to), 249\n\n Pilgrimage quoted (i. 75-77), 6\n\n \u2014\u2014 (i. 285; ii. 78), 36\n\n \u2014\u2014 (iii. 306), 75\n\n \u2014\u2014 (i. 123), 78\n\n \u2014\u2014 (iii. 295), 80\n\n \u2014\u2014 (iii. 303), 95\n\n \u2014\u2014 (ii. 119), 114\n\n \u2014\u2014 (i. 213), 115\n\n \u2014\u2014 (iii. 156, 162, 216, 220), 125\n\n \u2014\u2014 (iii. 168, 174, 175), 148\n\n \u2014\u2014 (ii. 329), 254\n\n \u2014\u2014 (iii. 192), 261\n\n \u2014\u2014 (i. 43), 293\n\n Pistachio-nut (tight-fitting shell of), 216\n\n Plain-speaking of the Badawi, 102\n\n Plural of Majesty, 156\n\n Polissonnerie (Egyptian), 226\n\n Porcelain (not made in Egypt or Syria), 164\n\n Pride of beauty intoxicates, 34\n\n Proc\u00e8s verbal (customary with Moslems), 73\n\n Property (of the heirless lapses to the Treasury), 62\n\n Pun, 258\n\n\n Rabelaisian humour of the richest, 152\n\n R\u00e1fizi = denier, Sh\u00ed\u2019ah, 44\n\n Rag (burnt, used as styptic), 108\n\n R\u00e1h = pure old wine, 186\n\n Rakb = fast-going caravan, 254\n\n R\u00e1shid (Pasha, etc.), 202\n\n Ras\u00fal = one sent, \u201capostle,\u201d not prophet, 284\n\n Raven of the waste or the parting, 52\n\n Rayy (old capital of Media), 104\n\n Red dress (sign of wrath), 72\n\n Repentance (a strong plea for granting aid with a Moslem), 277\n\n Rings in the East, 24\n\n Rizw\u00e1n = Moslem St. Peter, 195\n\n Rod (divining or \u201cdowsing\u201d), 73\n\n Rotl (pl. Art\u00e1l) = rotolo, pound-weight, 124\n\n Roum = Gr\u00e6co-Roman Empire, 100\n\n Rustam (not Rustum or Rustem), 219\n\n\n Sab\u00e1 = Biblical Sheba, 113\n\n S\u00e1hib (Wazirial title), 139\n\n Sa\u2019\u00edr = Hell, 143\n\n Sakat\u00ed = second-hand dealer, 77\n\n Sakk\u00e1 (Anglo-Indian Bihishti) = water-carrier, 44\n\n Sal\u00e1t (blessing, prayer), 60\n\n Sal\u00edm (Pr. N. = the \u201cSafe and Sound\u201d), 58\n\n Salsab\u00edl (fountain in Paradise), 195\n\n Samhar\u00ed = lance of Samhar (place or maker), 258\n\n Samn = melted butter, Ghi, 53\n\n Sam\u00far (applied to cats and dogs, also to Admiral Seymour), 57\n\n Sapphism (practised in wealthy Har\u00edms), 234\n\n Sara\u2019 (epilepsy, falling sickness, possession), 89\n\n Sarr\u00e1f = money-changer (Shroff), 270\n\n Saud\u00e1 = black bile, melancholia, 251\n\n Separation (spoken of as a defilement), 211\n\n S\u00e9vign\u00e9 of pearls, 249\n\n Shah-bandar = lord of the port (Consul), 29\n\n Sh\u00e1r, Sher and Sh\u00edr, 187\n\n Shar\u00e1b al-Tuff\u00e1h = cider, 134\n\n Shar\u00e1r\u00edf = trefoil-shaped crenelles, 165\n\n Shar\u00edf = a descendant of Mohammed, 170\n\n \u201cShort and thick is never quick\u201d, 194\n\n Shuum\u00e1n = a pestilent fellow, 75\n\n Sifr = whistling, 206\n\n Signet-rings, 24\n\n Signs (to Pharaoh), 249\n\n Sikank\u00far = \u03a3\u03ba\u03af\u03b3\u03ba\u03bf\u03c2 (_see_ Aphrodisiacs), 32\n\n Sinning (for the pleasure of being pardoned), 111\n\n Sir\u00e1t (Al-), the bridge of Hell, 223\n\n Slapping on the nape of neck = \u201cboxing the ears\u201d, 193\n\n Sleeper and Waker (Tale of the), 96\n\n Sleeplessness (contrivance against), 228\n\n Smile (like M\u00edm), 249\n\n Squatting against a wall, 119\n\n Stature (Alif-like), 249\n\n Street (the, called Yellow), 93\n\n \u2014\u2014 (watering), 107\n\n Stuff his mouth with jewels (reward for poetry), 103\n\n \u2014\u2014 a dead man\u2019s mouth with cotton, 193\n\n Su\u2019ad\u00e1 = Beatrice, 267\n\n Suffah = \u201csofa\u201d (shelf), 275\n\n Suj\u00fad = prostration, 248\n\n Sul\u00e1fah = ptisane of wine, 258\n\n Sumr = brown, black, 251\n\n Sunn\u00ed (versus Sh\u00ed\u2019ah, _see_ R\u00e1fiz\u00ed), 82\n\n Swearing (by Allah forbidden), 175\n\n Sweetmeat of Safety, 60\n\n Sword (making invisible), 176\n\n Syene (town on the Nile), 152\n\n\n Tabannuj = drugging with Bhang, 71\n\n Tabban lahu = perdition to him, 142\n\n Takaddum and Tak\u00e1dum (difference between), 171\n\n T\u00e1rik (Jabal al-) = Gibraltar, 100\n\n Tauf\u00edk (P.N.) = causing to be prosperous, 1\n\n Taylas\u00e1n (turband worn by a preacher), 286\n\n Tayy (noble Arab tribe), 94\n\n Thakilata-k Ummak = be thy mother bereaved of thee, 156\n\n Thank you (Eastern equivalent), 6\n\n Thirst (affecting plea; why?), 199\n\n Tin (Kazd\u00edr), 274\n\n Tinder (a styptic), 108\n\n Torrens quoted, 187; 189; 235; 236\n\n Treasures (enchanted in some one\u2019s name and nature), 296\n\n Tr\u00e9butien quoted, 268\n\n Tribadism, 234\n\n Truth prevailing, falsehood failing, 80\n\n T\u00faf\u00e1n (Typhoon, etc.), 156\n\n Tufayl (proverbial intruder), 123\n\n Turband (white, distinctive of Moslems), 214\n\n\n Udm (_see_ Adm)\n\n Uk\u00e1b = eagle, vulture, 177\n\n Ukayl (Ak\u00edl?), 22\n\n Unguium fulgor, 252\n\n\n Vellication, 256\n\n Voice (thickened by leprosy), 50\n\n\n Wada\u2019a (_see_ Cowrie), 77\n\n Waggid (Hebr. speaker in a dream), 289\n\n Wailing over the past, 239\n\n Wak\u00edl = agent (_see_ Pashas), 182\n\n Walid (Al-) bin Abd al-Malik, Caliph, 100\n\n Ward\u00e1n (a Fellah name, also of a village), 293\n\n War\u00edd (jugular vein), 92\n\n Water (sight of running, makes a Persian long for strong drink), 75\n\n Watering the streets, 107\n\n Waybah = 6 to 7 English gallons, 86\n\n Whistling (Sifr), 206\n\n White as milk (opposed to black as mud, etc.), 140\n\n \u2014\u2014 hand (symbol of generosity, etc.), 185\n\n \u2014\u2014 turband (distinctive of Moslems), 214\n\n \u2014\u2014 hand of Moses (sign to Pharaoh), 249\n\n \u2014\u2014 and black faces on the day of Judgment, _ib._\n\n Woman (old bawd), 4\n\n \u2014\u2014 (names), 12\n\n \u2014\u2014 (less handsome than man), 15\n\n \u2014\u2014 (walk and gait), 16\n\n \u2014\u2014 (bride night), 30\n\n \u2014\u2014 (oath of a), 49\n\n \u2014\u2014 (insolence of princesses), 145\n\n \u2014\u2014 (inner, her meanings), 146\n\n Woman (answering question by counter-question), 148\n\n \u2014\u2014 (Abyssinian famous as \u201cholders\u201d), 227\n\n \u2014\u2014 (slave name), 232\n\n \u2014\u2014 (intercourse between), 234\n\n \u2014\u2014 (white-skinned supposed to be heating and unwholesome), 253\n\n Writer of The Nights careless, 155\n\n Writing (styles of), 196\n\n\n Y\u00e1 Ma\u2019ashar al-Muslim\u00edn = Ho! Moslems, 149\n\n Y\u00e1 Nasr\u00e1ni = O Nazarene, 199\n\n Y\u00e1 Sh\u00e1tir = O clever one (in a bad sense), 209\n\n Y\u00e1 S\u00edn (heart of the Koran, chapt. xxxvi.), 50\n\n Yasrib (ancient name of Al-Med\u00ednah), 114\n\n Y\u00e1 Wad\u00fad = O loving one, 54\n\n Yohann\u00e1 = John, 87\n\n Yun\u00e1n = Ionia, ancient Greece, 100\n\n\n Z\u00e1ka = he tasted, 188\n\n Zakariy\u00e1 and Zakar, 51\n\n Zakk\u00fam (Al-) tree of Hell, 259\n\n Zanzibar (cannibals, etc.), 168\n\n Zaybak (Al-) = the quicksilver, 75\n\n Zimb\u00edl (Zamb\u00edl) = limp basket of palm-leaves, 119\n\n Zimm\u00ed = a (Christian, Jewish or Maj\u00fas\u00ed) tributary, 199\n\n Zubaydah (Pr. N.) = creamkin, 48\n\n Zu \u2018l-Kur\u00e1\u2019a (Pr. N.) = Lord of cattle-feet, 95\n\n[Illustration]\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                          TRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTES\n\n\n 1. Changed bowels to bowls on p. 86.\n 2. Added \"to\" on p. 107.\n 3. Added missing footnote anchors on pp. 115, 231, 271, and 296.\n 4. Changed An to And on p. 150.\n 5. Changed an to am on p. 222.\n 6. Changed phase to phrase on p. 264.\n 7. Changed he to her on p. 297.\n 8. Silently corrected simple spelling, grammar, and typographical\n    errors.\n 9. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.\n10. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.\n11. Enclosed bold font in =equals=.","title":"The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night \u2014 Volume 04 (of 10)","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":137541}