{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_54257/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_54257","id":"gutenberg_54257","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54257","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Adventure","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","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 V.\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 TO DOCTOR GEORGE BIRD.\n\n\n MY DEAR BIRD,\n\nThis is not a strictly medical work, although in places treating of\nsubjects which may modestly be called hygienic. I inscribe it to you\nbecause your knowledge of Egypt will enable you to appreciate its finer\ntouches; and for another and a yet more cogent reason, namely, that you\nare one of my best and oldest friends.\n\n Ever yours sincerely.\n\n RICHARD F. BURTON.\n\n ATHEN\u00c6UM CLUB, _October 20, 1885_.\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS OF THE FIFTH VOLUME.\n\n\n PAGE\n\n THE EBONY HORSE 1\n\n (_Lane, Vol. II., Chapt. XVII. Story of the Magic Horse: pp. 517\u2013545._)\n\n UNS AL-WUJUD AND THE WAZIR\u2019S DAUGHTER ROSE-IN-HOOD 32\n\n (_Chapt. XVIII. Story of Uns el-Wujood and El-Ward fi\u2019l-Akmam: p.\n 549._)\n\n ABU NOWAS WITH THE THREE BOYS AND THE CALIPH HARUN AL-RASHID 64\n\n ABDALLAH BIN MA\u2019AMAR WITH THE MAN OF BASSORAH AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL 69\n\n (_Anecdote of a Man and his Slave-Girl: p. 578._)\n\n THE LOVERS OF THE BANU OZRAH 70\n\n (_Anecdote of Two Victims of Love: p. 579._)\n\n THE WAZIR OF AL-YAMAN AND HIS YOUNG BROTHER 71\n\n THE LOVES OF THE BOY AND GIRL AT SCHOOL 73\n\n (_Love in a School: p. 580._)\n\n AL-MUTALAMMIS AND HIS WIFE UMAYMAH 74\n\n HARUN AL-RASHID AND ZUBAYDAH IN THE BATH 75\n\n HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE THREE POETS 77\n\n MUS\u2019AB BIN AL-ZUBAYR AND AYISHAH HIS WIFE 79\n\n ABU AL-ASWAD AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL 80\n\n HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE TWO SLAVE-GIRLS 81\n\n HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE THREE SLAVE-GIRLS 81\n\n THE MILLER AND HIS WIFE 82\n\n (_Lane, Vol. II. Anecdote of a Faithless Wife: p. 582._)\n\n THE SIMPLETON AND THE SHARPER 83\n\n (_Anecdote of a Simpleton and a Sharper: p. 582._)\n\n THE KAZI ABU YUSUF WITH HARUN AL-RASHID AND QUEEN ZUBAYDAH 85\n\n THE CALIPH AL HAKIM AND THE MERCHANT 86\n\n (_Anecdote of El-Hakim bi-amri-llah and a Merchant of Cairo: p. 583._)\n\n KING KISRA ANUSHIRWAN AND THE VILLAGE DAMSEL 87\n\n (_Anecdote of Anooshirw\u00e1n: p. 884._)\n\n THE WATER-CARRIER AND THE GOLDSMITH\u2019S WIFE 89\n\n KHUSRAU AND SHIRIN AND THE FISHERMAN 91\n\n (_Anecdote of Khusrow and Sheereen and a Fisherman: p. 585._)\n\n YAHYA BIN KHALID AND THE POOR MAN 92\n\n (_Anecdote of Yahya el-Barmekee: p. 586._)\n\n MOHAMMED AL-AMIN AND THE SLAVE-GIRL 93\n\n (_Mohammad el-Emeen and the Slave-Girl El-Bedr el-Kebeer: p. 587._)\n\n THE SONS OF YAHYA BIN KHALID AND SAID BIN SALIM 94\n\n (_Anecdote of El-Fadl and Ja\u2019afar the Barmekee: p. 588._)\n\n THE WOMAN\u2019S TRICK AGAINST HER HUSBAND 96\n\n (_Anecdote of a Deceitful Wife: p. 589._)\n\n THE DEVOUT WOMAN AND THE TWO WICKED ELDERS 97\n\n JA\u2019AFAR THE BARMECIDE AND THE OLD BADAWI 98\n\n OMAR BIN AL-KHATTAB AND THE YOUNG BADAWI 99\n\n (_Anecdote of a Homicide: p. 589._)\n\n AL-MAAMUN AND THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT 105\n\n THE THIEF AND THE MERCHANT 107\n\n (_Anecdote of an Impudent Thief: p. 592._)\n\n MASRUR THE EUNUCH AND IBN AL-KARIBI 109\n\n (_Compact of Mesroor with Ibn el-Karibee: p. 594._)\n\n THE DEVOTEE PRINCE 111\n\n (_Lane, Vol. II. Anecdote of a Devotee Son of Harun er-Rasheed: p.\n 595._)\n\n THE SCHOOLMASTER WHO FELL IN LOVE BY REPORT 117\n\n THE FOOLISH DOMINIE 118\n\n THE ILLITERATE WHO SET UP FOR A SCHOOLMASTER 119\n\n (_Anecdote of an Illiterate Schoolmaster: p. 599._)\n\n THE KING AND THE VIRTUOUS WIFE 121\n\n ABD AL-RAHMAN THE MAGHRIBI\u2019S STORY OF THE RUKH 122\n\n (_The Rukh: p. 600._)\n\n ADI BIN ZAYD AND THE PRINCESS HIND 124\n\n DI\u2019IBIL AL-KHUZA\u2019I WITH THE LADY AND MUSLIM BIN AL-WALID 127\n\n ISAAC OF MOSUL AND THE MERCHANT 129\n\n THE THREE UNFORTUNATE LOVERS 133\n\n HOW ABU HASAN BRAKE WIND 135\n\n THE LOVERS OF THE BANU TAYY 137\n\n (_Result of Restraint upon Two Lovers: p. 601._)\n\n THE MAD LOVER 138\n\n (_Anecdote of a Distracted Lover: p. 602._)\n\n THE PRIOR WHO BECAME A MOSLEM 141\n\n (_The Converted Prior: p. 603._)\n\n THE LOVES OF ABU ISA AND KURRAT AL-AYN 145\n\n (_Aboo\u2019Esa and Kurrat el-\u2018Eyn: p. 606._)\n\n AL-AMIN AND HIS UNCLE IBRAHIM BIN AL-MAHDI 152\n\n AL-FATH BIN KHAKAN AND AL-MUTAWAKKIL 153\n\n THE MAN\u2019S DISPUTE WITH THE LEARNED WOMAN CONCERNING THE RELATIVE 154\n EXCELLENCE OF MALE AND FEMALE\n\n ABU SUWAYD AND THE PRETTY OLD WOMAN 163\n\n ALI BIN TAHIR AND THE GIRL MUUNIS 164\n\n THE WOMAN WHO HAD A BOY AND THE OTHER WHO HAD A MAN TO LOVER 165\n\n ALI THE CAIRENE AND THE HAUNTED HOUSE IN BAGHDAD 166\n\n (_Lane, Vol. II., Chapt. XIX. Story of \u2018Alee of Cairo: p. 609._)\n\n THE PILGRIM MAN AND THE OLD WOMAN 186\n\n (_Anecdote of a Townsman and a Bedaweeyeh: p. 635._)\n\n ABU AL-HUSN AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL TAWADDUD 189\n\n THE ANGEL OF DEATH WITH THE PROUD KING AND THE DEVOUT MAN 246\n\n THE ANGEL OF DEATH AND THE RICH KING 248\n\n THE ANGEL OF DEATH AND THE KING OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL 250\n\n (_A Tyrannical King and the Angel of Death: p. 636._)\n\n ISKANDAR ZU AL-KARNAYN AND A CERTAIN TRIBE OF POOR FOLK 252\n\n THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF KING ANUSHIRWAN 254\n\n THE JEWISH KAZI AND HIS PIOUS WIFE 256\n\n THE SHIPWRECKED WOMAN AND HER CHILD 259\n\n THE PIOUS BLACK SLAVE 261\n\n THE DEVOUT TRAY-MAKER AND HIS WIFE 264\n\n (_Advantages of Piety and Industry: p. 637._)\n\n AL-HAJJAJ BIN YUSUF AND THE PIOUS MAN 269\n\n THE BLACKSMITH WHO COULD HANDLE FIRE WITHOUT HURT 271\n\n THE DEVOTEE TO WHOM ALLAH GAVE A CLOUD FOR SERVICE AND THE DEVOUT 274\n KING\n\n THE MOSLEM CHAMPION AND THE CHRISTIAN DAMSEL 277\n\n (_Lane, Vol. II. Anecdote of a Moslem Warrior and a Christian Maiden:\n p. 639._)\n\n THE CHRISTIAN KING\u2019S DAUGHTER AND THE MOSLEM 283\n\n THE PROPHET AND THE JUSTICE OF PROVIDENCE 286\n\n (_The Justice of Providence: p. 612._)\n\n THE FERRYMAN OF THE NILE AND THE HERMIT 288\n\n THE ISLAND KING AND THE PIOUS ISRAELITE 290\n\n ABU AL-HASAN AND ABU JA\u2019AFAR THE LEPER 294\n\n THE QUEEN OF THE SERPENTS 298\n\n _a._ THE ADVENTURES OF BULUKIYA 304\n\n _b._ THE STORY OF JANSHAH 329\n\n\n\n\n THE EBONY HORSE.[1]\n\n\nThere was once in times of yore and ages long gone before, a great and\npuissant King, of the Kings of the Persians, S\u00e1b\u00far by name, who was the\nrichest of all the Kings in store of wealth and dominion and surpassed\neach and every in wit and wisdom. He was generous, open handed and\nbeneficent, and he gave to those who sought him and repelled not those\nwho resorted to him; and he comforted the broken-hearted and honourably\nentreated those who fled to him for refuge. Moreover, he loved the poor\nand was hospitable to strangers and did the oppressed justice upon the\noppressor. He had three daughters, like full moons of shining light or\nflower-gardens blooming bright; and a son as he were the moon; and it\nwas his wont to keep two festivals in the twelvemonth, those of the\nNau-Roz, or New Year, and Mihrg\u00e1n the Autumnal Equinox,[2] on which\noccasions he threw open his palaces and gave largesse and made\nproclamation of safety and security and promoted his chamberlains and\nviceroys; and the people of his realm came in to him and saluted him and\ngave him joy of the holy day, bringing him gifts and servants and\neunuchs. Now he loved science and geometry, and one festival-day as he\nsat on his kingly throne there came in to him three wise men, cunning\nartificers and past masters in all manner of craft and inventions,\nskilled in making things curious and rare, such as confound the wit; and\nversed in the knowledge of occult truths and perfect in mysteries and\nsubtleties. And they were of three different tongues and countries, the\nfirst a Hindi or Indian,[3] the second a Roumi or Greek and the third a\nFarsi or Persian. The Indian came forwards and, prostrating himself\nbefore the King, wished him joy of the festival and laid before him a\npresent befitting his dignity; that is to say, a man of gold, set with\nprecious gems and jewels of price and hending in hand a golden trumpet.\nWhen Sabur[4] saw this, he asked, \u201cO sage, what is the virtue of this\nfigure?\u201d; and the Indian answered, \u201cO my lord, if this figure be set at\nthe gate of thy city, it will be a guardian over it; for, if an enemy\nenter the place, it will blow this clarion against him and he will be\nseized with a palsy and drop down dead.\u201d Much the King marvelled at this\nand cried, \u201cBy Allah, O sage, an this thy word be true, I will grant\nthee thy wish and thy desire.\u201d Then came forward the Greek and,\nprostrating himself before the King, presented him with a basin of\nsilver, in whose midst was a peacock of gold, surrounded by\nfour-and-twenty chicks of the same metal. Sabur looked at them and\nturning to the Greek, said to him, \u201cO sage, what is the virtue of this\npeacock?\u201d \u201cO my lord,\u201d answered he, \u201cas often as an hour of the day or\nnight passeth, it pecketh one of its young and crieth out and flappeth\nits wings, till the four-and-twenty hours are accomplished; and when the\nmonth cometh to an end, it will open its mouth and thou shalt see the\ncrescent therein.\u201d And the King said, \u201cAn thou speak sooth, I will bring\nthee to thy wish and thy desire.\u201d Then came forward the Persian sage\nand, prostrating himself before the King, presented him with a horse[5]\nof the blackest ebony-wood inlaid with gold and jewels, and ready\nharnessed with saddle, bridle and stirrups such as befit Kings; which\nwhen Sabur saw, he marvelled with exceeding marvel and was confounded at\nthe beauty of its form and the ingenuity of its fashion. So he asked,\n\u201cWhat is the use of this horse of wood, and what is its virtue and what\nthe secret of its movement?\u201d; and the Persian answered, \u201cO my lord, the\nvirtue of this horse is that, if one mount him, it will carry him\nwhither he will and fare with its rider through the air and cover the\nspace of a year in a single day.\u201d The King marvelled and was amazed at\nthese three wonders, following thus hard upon one another on the same\nday, and turning to the sage, said to him, \u201cBy Allah the Omnipotent, and\nour Lord the Beneficent, who created all creatures and feedeth them with\nmeat and drink, an thy speech be veritable and the virtue of thy\ncontrivance appear, I will assuredly give thee whatsoever thou lustest\nfor and will bring thee to thy desire and thy wish!\u201d[6] Then he\nentertained the sages three days, that he might make trial of their\ngifts; after which they brought the figures before him and each took the\ncreature he had wroughten and showed him the mystery of its movement.\nThe trumpeter blew the trump; the peacock pecked its chicks and the\nPersian sage mounted the ebony horse, whereupon it soared with him high\nin air and descended again. When King Sabur saw all this, he was amazed\nand perplexed and felt like to fly for joy and said to the three sages,\n\u201cNow I am certified of the truth of your words and it behoveth me to\nquit me of my promise. Ask ye, therefore, what ye will, and I will give\nyou that same.\u201d Now the report of the King\u2019s daughters had reached the\nsages, so they answered, \u201cIf the King be content with us and accept of\nour gifts and allow us to prefer a request to him, we crave of him that\nhe give us his three daughters in marriage, that we may be his\nsons-in-law; for that the stability of Kings may not be gainsaid.\u201d Quoth\nthe King, \u201cI grant you that which you wish and you desire,\u201d and bade\nsummon the Kazi forthright, that he might marry each of the sages to one\nof his daughters. Now it fortuned that the Princesses were behind a\ncurtain, looking on; and when they heard this, the youngest considered\nher husband to be and behold, he was an old man,[7] an hundred years of\nage, with hair frosted, forehead drooping, eyebrows mangy, ears slitten,\nbeard and mustachios stained and dyed; eyes red and goggle; cheeks\nbleached and hollow; flabby nose like a brinjall, or egg-plant[8]; face\nlike a cobbler\u2019s apron, teeth overlapping and lips like camel\u2019s kidneys,\nloose and pendulous; in brief a terror, a horror, a monster, for he was\nof the folk of his time the unsightliest and of his age the\nfright-fullest; sundry of his grinders had been knocked out and his\neye-teeth were like the tusks of the Jinni who frighteneth poultry in\nhen-houses. Now the girl was the fairest and most graceful of her time,\nmore elegant than the gazelle however tender, than the gentlest zephyr\nblander and brighter than the moon at her full; for amorous fray right\nsuitable; confounding in graceful sway the waving bough and outdoing in\nswimming gait the pacing roe; in fine she was fairer and sweeter by far\nthan all her sisters. So, when she saw her suitor, she went to her\nchamber and strewed dust on her head and tore her clothes and fell to\nbuffeting her face and weeping and wailing. Now the Prince, her brother,\nKamar al-Akm\u00e1r, or the Moon of Moons hight, was then newly returned from\na journey and, hearing her weeping and crying came in to her (for he\nloved her with fond affection, more than his other sisters) and asked\nher, \u201cWhat aileth thee? What hath befallen thee? Tell me and conceal\nnaught from me.\u201d So she smote her breast and answered, \u201cO my brother and\nmy dear one, I have nothing to hide. If the palace be straitened upon\nthy father, I will go out; and if he be resolved upon a foul thing, I\nwill separate myself from him, though he consent not to make provision\nfor me; and my Lord will provide.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cTell me what meaneth this\ntalk and what hath straitened thy breast and troubled thy temper.\u201d \u201cO my\nbrother and my dear one,\u201d answered the Princess, \u201cKnow that my father\nhath promised me in marriage to a wicked magician who brought him, as a\ngift, a horse of black wood, and hath bewitched him with his craft and\nhis egromancy; but, as for me, I will none of him, and would, because of\nhim, I had never come into this world!\u201d Her brother soothed her and\nsolaced her, then fared to his sire and said, \u201cWhat be this wizard to\nwhom thou hast given my youngest sister in marriage, and what is this\npresent which he hath brought thee, so that thou hast killed[9] my\nsister with chagrin? It is not right that this should be.\u201d Now the\nPersian was standing by and, when he heard the Prince\u2019s words, he was\nmortified and filled with fury and the King said, \u201cO my son, an thou\nsawest this horse, thy wit would be confounded and thou wouldst be\namated with amazement.\u201d Then he bade the slaves bring the horse before\nhim and they did so; and, when the Prince saw it, it pleased him. So\n(being an accomplished cavalier) he mounted it forthright and struck its\nsides with the shovel-shaped stirrup-irons; but it stirred not and the\nKing said to the Sage, \u201cGo show him its movement, that he also may help\nthee to win thy wish.\u201d Now the Persian bore the Prince a grudge because\nhe willed not he should have his sister; so he showed him the pin of\nascent on the right side of the horse and saying to him, \u201cTrill this,\u201d\nleft him. Thereupon the Prince trilled the pin and lo! the horse\nforthwith soared with him high in ether, as it were a bird, and gave not\noverflying till it disappeared from men\u2019s espying, whereat the King was\ntroubled and perplexed about his case and said to the Persian, \u201cO sage,\nlook how thou mayst make him descend.\u201d But he replied, \u201cO my lord, I can\ndo nothing, and thou wilt never see him again till Resurrection-day, for\nhe, of his ignorance and pride, asked me not of the pin of descent and I\nforgot to acquaint him therewith.\u201d When the King heard this, he was\nenraged with sore rage; and bade bastinado the sorcerer and clap him in\njail, whilst he himself cast the crown from his head and beat his face\nand smote his breast. Moreover, he shut the doors of his palaces and\ngave himself up to weeping and keening, he and his wife and daughters\nand all the folk of the city; and thus their joy was turned to annoy and\ntheir gladness changed into sore affliction and sadness. Thus far\nconcerning them; but as regards the Prince, the horse gave not over\nsoaring with him till he drew near the sun, whereat he gave himself up\nfor lost and saw death in the skies, and was confounded at his case,\nrepenting him of having mounted the horse and saying to himself,\n\u201cVerily, this was a device of the Sage to destroy me on account of my\nyoungest sister; but there is no Majesty and there is no Might save in\nAllah, the Glorious, the Great! I am lost without recourse; but I\nwonder, did not he who made the ascent-pin make also a descent-pin?\u201d Now\nhe was a man of wit and knowledge and intelligence; so he fell to\nfeeling all the parts of the horse, but saw nothing save a screw, like a\ncock\u2019s head, on its right shoulder and the like on the left, when quoth\nhe to himself, \u201cI see no sign save these things like buttons.\u201d Presently\nhe turned the right-hand pin, whereupon the horse flew heavenwards with\nincreased speed. So he left it and looking at the sinister shoulder and\nfinding another pin, he wound it up and immediately the steed\u2019s upwards\nmotion slowed and ceased and it began to descend, little by little,\ntowards the face of the earth, while the rider became yet more cautious\nand careful of his life.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n Now when it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the\nPrince wound up the sinister screw, the steed\u2019s upward motion slowed\nand ceased, and it began to descend, little by little, towards the\nearth while the rider became yet more cautious and careful of his\nlife. And when he saw this and knew the uses of the horse, his heart\nwas filled with joy and gladness and he thanked Almighty Allah for\nthat He had deigned deliver him from destruction. Then he began to\nturn the horse\u2019s head whithersoever he would, making it rise and\nfall at pleasure, till he had gotten complete mastery over its every\nmovement. He ceased not to descend the whole of that day, for that\nthe steed\u2019s ascending flight had borne him afar from the earth; and,\nas he descended, he diverted himself with viewing the various cities\nand countries over which he passed and which he knew not, never\nhaving seen them in his life. Amongst the rest, he descried a city\nordered after the fairest fashion in the midst of a verdant and\nriant land, rich in trees and streams, with gazelles pacing daintily\nover the plains; whereat he fell a-musing and said to himself,\n\u201cWould I knew the name of yon town and in what land it is!\u201d And he\ntook to circling about it and observing it right and left. By this\ntime, the day began to decline and the sun drew near to its downing;\nand he said in his mind, \u201cVerily I find no goodlier place to night\nin than this city; so I will lodge here and early on the morrow I\nwill return to my kith and kin and my kingdom; and tell my father\nand family what hath passed and acquaint him with what mine eyes\nhave seen.\u201d Then he addressed himself to seeking a place wherein he\nmight safely bestow himself and his horse and where none should\ndescry him, and presently behold, he espied a-middle-most of the\ncity a palace rising high in upper air surrounded by a great wall\nwith lofty crenelles and battlements, guarded by forty black slaves,\nclad in complete mail and armed with spears and swords, bows and\narrows. Quoth he, \u201cThis is a goodly place,\u201d and turned the\ndescent-pin, whereupon the horse sank down with him like a weary\nbird, and alighted gently on the terrace-roof of the palace. So the\nPrince dismounted and ejaculating \u201cAlhamdolillah\u201d\u2014praise be to\nAllah[10]\u2014he began to go round about the horse and examine it,\nsaying, \u201cBy Allah, he who fashioned thee with these perfections was\na cunning craftsman, and if the Almighty extend the term of my life\nand restore me to my country and kinsfolk in safety and reunite me\nwith my father, I will assuredly bestow upon him all manner bounties\nand benefit him with the utmost beneficence.\u201d By this time night had\novertaken him and he sat on the roof till he was assured that all in\nthe palace slept; and indeed hunger and thirst were sore upon him,\nfor that he had not tasted food nor drunk water since he parted from\nhis sire. So he said within himself, \u201cSurely the like of this palace\nwill not lack of victual;\u201d and, leaving the horse above, went down\nin search of somewhat to eat. Presently, he came to a staircase and\ndescending it to the bottom, found himself in a court paved with\nwhite marble and alabaster, which shone in the light of the moon. He\nmarvelled at the place and the goodliness of its fashion, but sensed\nno sound of speaker and saw no living soul and stood in perplexed\nsurprise, looking right and left and knowing not whither he should\nwend. Then said he to himself, \u201cI may not do better than return to\nwhere I left my horse and pass the night by it; and as soon as day\nshall dawn I will mount and ride away.\u201d\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 Fifty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the king\u2019s\nson to himself, \u201cI may not do better than pass the night by my horse;\nand as soon as day shall dawn I will mount and ride away.\u201d However, as\nhe tarried talking to himself, he espied a light within the palace, and\nmaking towards it, found that it came from a candle that stood before a\ndoor of the Harim, at the head of a sleeping eunuch, as he were one of\nthe Ifrits of Solomon or a tribesman of the Jinn, longer than lumber and\nbroader than a bench. He lay before the door, with the pommel of his\nsword gleaming in the flame of the candle, and at his head was a bag of\nleather[11] hanging from a column of granite. When the Prince saw this,\nhe was affrighted and said, \u201cI crave help from Allah the Supreme! O mine\nHoly One, even as Thou hast already delivered me from destruction, so\nvouchsafe me strength to quit myself of the adventure of this palace!\u201d\nSo saying, he put out his hand to the budget and taking it, carried it\naside and opened it and found in it food of the best. He ate his fill\nand refreshed himself and drank water, after which he hung up the\nprovision-bag in its place and drawing the eunuch\u2019s sword from its\nsheath, took it, whilst the slave slept on, knowing not whence destiny\nshould come to him. Then the Prince fared forwards into the palace and\nceased not till he came to a second door, with a curtain drawn before\nit; so he raised the curtain and behold, on entering he saw a couch of\nthe whitest ivory, inlaid with pearls and jacinths and jewels, and four\nslave-girls sleeping about it. He went up to the couch, to see what was\nthereon, and found a young lady lying asleep, chemised with her hair[12]\nas she were the full moon rising[13] over the Eastern horizon, with\nflower-white brow and shining hair-parting and cheeks like blood-red\nanemones and dainty moles thereon. He was amazed at her as she lay in\nher beauty and loveliness, her symmetry and grace, and he recked no more\nof death. So he went up to her, trembling in every nerve and, shuddering\nwith pleasure, kissed her on the right cheek; whereupon she awoke\nforthright and opened her eyes, and seeing the Prince standing at her\nhead, said to him, \u201cWho art thou and whence comest thou?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI\nam thy slave and thy lover.\u201d Asked she, \u201cAnd who brought thee hither?\u201d\nand he answered, \u201cMy Lord and my fortune.\u201d Then said Shams al-Nah\u00e1r[14]\n(for such was her name), \u201cHaply thou art he who demanded me yesterday of\nmy father in marriage and he rejected thee, pretending that thou wast\nfoul of favour. By Allah, my sire lied in his throat when he spoke this\nthing, for thou art not other than beautiful.\u201d Now the son of the King\nof Hind had sought her in marriage, but her father had rejected him, for\nthat he was ugly and uncouth, and she thought the Prince was he. So,\nwhen she saw his beauty and grace (for indeed he was like the radiant\nmoon) the syntheism[15] of love gat hold of her heart as it were a\nflaming fire, and they fell to talk and converse. Suddenly, her\nwaiting-women awoke and, seeing the Prince with their mistress, said to\nher, \u201cOh my lady, who is this with thee?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cI know not; I\nfound him sitting by me, when I woke up: haply \u2018tis he who seeketh me in\nmarriage of my sire.\u201d Quoth they, \u201cO my lady, by Allah the All-Father,\nthis is not he who seeketh thee in marriage, for he is hideous and this\nman is handsome and of high degree. Indeed, the other is not fit to be\nhis servant.\u201d[16] Then the handmaidens went out to the eunuch, and\nfinding him slumbering awoke him, and he started up in alarm. Said they,\n\u201cHow happeneth it that thou art on guard at the palace and yet men come\nin to us, whilst we are asleep?\u201d When the black heard this, he sprang in\nhaste to his sword, but found it not; and fear took him and trembling.\nThen he went in, confounded, to his mistress and seeing the Prince\nsitting at talk with her, said to him, \u201cO my lord, art thou man or\nJinni?\u201d Replied the Prince, \u201cWoe to thee, O unluckiest of slaves: how\ndarest thou even the sons of the royal Chosroes[17] with one of the\nunbelieving Satans?\u201d And he was as a raging lion. Then he took the sword\nin his hand and said to the slave, \u201cI am the King\u2019s son-in-law, and he\nhath married me to his daughter and bidden me go in to her.\u201d And when\nthe eunuch heard these words he replied, \u201cO my lord, if thou be indeed\nof kind a man as thou avouchest, she is fit for none but for thee, and\nthou art worthier of her than any other.\u201d Thereupon the eunuch ran to\nthe King, shrieking loud and rending his raiment and heaving dust upon\nhis head; and when the King heard his outcry, he said to him, \u201cWhat hath\nbefallen thee?: speak quickly and be brief; for thou hast fluttered my\nheart.\u201d Answered the eunuch, \u201cO King, come to thy daughter\u2019s succour;\nfor a devil of the Jinn, in the likeness of a King\u2019s son, hath got\npossession of her; so up and at him!\u201d When the King heard this, he\nthought to kill him and said, \u201cHow camest thou to be careless of my\ndaughter and let this demon come at her?\u201d Then he betook himself to the\nPrincess\u2019s palace, where he found her slave-women standing to await him\nand asked them, \u201cWhat is come to my daughter?\u201d \u201cO King,\u201d answered they,\n\u201cslumber overcame us and, when we awoke, we found a young man sitting\nupon her couch in talk with her, as he were the full moon; never saw we\naught fairer of favour than he. So we questioned him of his case and he\ndeclared that thou hadst given him thy daughter in marriage. More than\nthis we know not, nor do we know if he be a man or a Jinni; but he is\nmodest and well bred, and doth nothing unseemly or which leadeth to\ndisgrace.\u201d Now when the King heard these words, his wrath cooled and he\nraised the curtain little by little and looking in, saw sitting at talk\nwith his daughter a Prince of the goodliest with a face like the full\nmoon for sheen. At this sight he could not contain himself, of his\njealousy for his daughter\u2019s honour; and, putting aside the curtain,\nrushed in upon them drawn sword in hand like a furious Ghul. Now when\nthe Prince saw him he asked the Princess, \u201cIs this thy sire?\u201d; and she\nanswered, \u201cYes.\u201d\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 Sixtieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Prince\nsaw the King rushing in upon them, drawn sword in hand, like a furious\nGhul he asked the Princess, \u201cIs this thy sire?\u201d; and she answered,\n\u201cYes.\u201d Whereupon he sprang to his feet and, seizing his sword, cried out\nat the King with so terrible a cry that he was confounded. Then the\nyouth would have fallen on him with the sword; but the King seeing that\nthe Prince was doughtier than he, sheathed his scymitar and stood till\nthe young man came up to him, when he accosted him courteously and said\nto him, \u201cO youth, art thou a man or a Jinni?\u201d Quoth the Prince, \u201cDid I\nnot respect thy right as mine host and thy daughter\u2019s honour, I would\nspill thy blood! How darest thou fellow me with devils, me that am a\nPrince of the sons of the royal Chosroes who, had they wished to take\nthy kingdom, could shake thee like an earthquake from thy glory and thy\ndominions and spoil thee of all thy possessions?\u201d Now when the King\nheard his words, he was confounded with awe and bodily fear of him and\nrejoined, \u201cIf thou indeed be of the sons of the Kings, as thou\npretendest, how cometh it that thou enterest my palace without my\npermission, and smirchest mine honour, making thy way to my daughter and\nfeigning that thou art her husband and claiming that I have given her to\nthee to wife, I that have slain Kings and King\u2019s sons, who sought her of\nme in marriage? And now who shall save thee from my might and majesty\nwhen, if I cried out to my slaves and servants and bade them put thee to\nthe vilest of deaths they would slay thee forthright? Who shall deliver\nthee out of my hand?\u201d When the Prince heard this speech of the King he\nanswered, \u201cVerily, I wonder at thee and at the shortness and denseness\nof thy wit! Say me, canst covet for thy daughter a mate comelier than\nmyself, and hast ever seen a stouter hearted man or one better fitted\nfor a Sultan or a more glorious in rank and dominion than I?\u201d Rejoined\nthe King, \u201cNay, by Allah! but I would have had thee, O youth, act after\nthe custom of Kings and demand her from me to wife before witnesses,\nthat I might have married her to thee publicly; and now, even were I to\nmarry her to thee privily, yet hast thou dishonoured me in her person.\u201d\nRejoined the Prince, \u201cThou sayest sooth, O King, but if thou summon thy\nslaves and thy soldiers and they fall upon me and slay me, as thou\npretendest, thou wouldst but publish thine own disgrace, and the folk\nwould be divided between belief in thee and disbelief in thee.\nWherefore, O King, thou wilt do well, meseemeth, to turn from this\nthought to that which I shall counsel thee.\u201d Quoth the King, \u201cLet me\nhear what thou hast to advise;\u201d and quoth the Prince, \u201cWhat I have to\npropose to thee is this: either do thou meet me in combat singular, I\nand thou; and he who slayeth his adversary shall be held the worthier\nand having a better title to the kingdom; or else, let me be this night\nand, whenas dawns the morn, draw out against me thy horsemen and footmen\nand servants; but first tell me their number.\u201d Said the King, \u201cThey are\nforty thousand horse, besides my own slaves and their followers,[18] who\nare the like of them in number.\u201d Thereupon said the Prince, \u201cWhen the\nday shall break, do thou array them against me and say to them\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 Sixty-first Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the\nPrince, \u201cWhen day shall break, do thou array them against me and say to\nthem:\u2014This man is a suitor to me for my daughter\u2019s hand, on condition\nthat he shall do battle single-handed against you all; for he pretendeth\nthat he will overcome you and put you to the rout, and indeed that ye\ncannot prevail against him. After which, leave me to do battle with\nthem: if they slay me, then is thy secret the surer guarded and thine\nhonour the better warded; and if I overcome them and see their backs,\nthen is it the like of me a King should covet to his son-in-law.\u201d So the\nKing approved of his opinion and accepted his proposition, despite his\nawe at the boldness of his speech and amaze at the pretensions of the\nPrince to meet in fight his whole host, such as he had described it to\nhim, being at heart assured that he would perish in the fray and so he\nshould be quit of him and freed from the fear of dishonour. Thereupon he\ncalled the eunuch and bade him go to his Wazir without stay and delay\nand command him to assemble the whole of the army and cause them don\ntheir arms and armour and mount their steeds. So the eunuch carried the\nKing\u2019s order to the Minister, who straightway summoned the Captains of\nthe host and the Lords of the realm and bade them don their harness of\nderring-do and mount horse and sally forth in battle array. Such was\ntheir case; but as regards the King, he sat a long while conversing with\nthe young Prince, being pleased with his wise speech and good sense and\nfine breeding. And when it was daybreak he returned to his palace and,\nseating himself on his throne, commanded his merry men to mount and bade\nthem saddle one of the best of the royal steeds with handsome selle and\nhousings and trappings and bring it to the Prince. But the youth said,\n\u201cO King, I will not mount horse, till I come in view of the troops and\nreview them.\u201d \u201cBe it as thou wilt,\u201d replied the King. Then the two\nrepaired to the parade-ground, where the troops were drawn up, and the\nyoung Prince looked upon them and noted their great number; after which\nthe King cried out to them, saying, \u201cHo, all ye men, there is come to me\na youth who seeketh my daughter in marriage; and in very sooth never\nhave I seen a goodlier than he; no, nor a stouter of heart nor a\ndoughtier of arm, for he pretendeth that he can overcome you,\nsingle-handed, and force you to flight and that, were ye an hundred\nthousand in number, yet for him would ye be but few. Now when he\nchargeth down on you, do ye receive him upon point of pike and sharp of\nsabre; for, indeed, he hath undertaken a mighty matter.\u201d Then quoth the\nKing to the Prince, \u201cUp, O my son, and do thy devoir on them.\u201d Answered\nhe, \u201cO King, thou dealest not justly and fairly by me: how shall I go\nforth against them, seeing that I am afoot and the men be mounted?\u201d The\nKing retorted, \u201cI bade thee mount, and thou refusedst; but choose thou\nwhich of my horses thou wilt.\u201d Then he said, \u201cNot one of thy horses\npleaseth me, and I will ride none but that on which I came.\u201d Asked the\nKing, \u201cAnd where is thy horse?\u201d \u201cAtop of thy palace.\u201d \u201cIn what part of\nmy palace?\u201d \u201cOn the roof.\u201d Now when the King heard these words, he\ncried, \u201cOut on thee! this is the first sign thou hast given of madness.\nHow can the horse be on the roof? But we shall at once see if thou speak\ntruth or lies.\u201d Then he turned to one of his chief officers and said to\nhim, \u201cGo to my palace and bring me what thou findest on the roof.\u201d So\nall the people marvelled at the young Prince\u2019s words, saying one to\nother, \u201cHow can a horse come down the steps from the roof? Verily this\nis a thing whose like we never heard.\u201d In the mean time the King\u2019s\nmessenger repaired to the palace and mounting to the roof, found the\nhorse standing there and never had he looked on a handsomer; but when he\ndrew near and examined it, he saw that it was made of ebony and ivory.\nNow the officer was accompanied by other high officers, who also looked\non and they laughed to one another, saying, \u201cWas it of the like of this\nhorse that the youth spake? We cannot deem him other than mad; however,\nwe shall soon see the truth of his case.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the high\nofficials looked upon the horse, they laughed one to other and said,\n\u201cWas it of the like of this horse that the youth spake? We cannot deem\nhim other than mad; however, we shall soon see the truth of his case.\nPeradventure herein is some mighty matter, and he is a man of high\ndegree.\u201d Then they lifted up the horse bodily and, carrying it to the\nKing, set it down before him, and all the lieges flocked round to look\nat it, marvelling at the beauty of its proportions and the richness of\nits saddle and bridle. The King also admired it and wondered at it with\nextreme wonder; and he asked the Prince, \u201cO youth, is this thy horse?\u201d\nHe answered, \u201cYes, O King, this is my horse, and thou shalt soon see the\nmarvel it showeth.\u201d Rejoined the King, \u201cThen take and mount it,\u201d and the\nPrince retorted, \u201cI will not mount till the troops withdraw afar from\nit.\u201d So the King bade them retire a bowshot from the horse; whereupon\nquoth its owner, \u201cO King, see thou; I am about to mount my horse and\ncharge upon thy host and scatter them right and left and split their\nhearts asunder.\u201d Said the King, \u201cDo as thou wilt; and spare not their\nlives, for they will not spare thine.\u201d Then the Prince mounted, whilst\nthe troops ranged themselves in ranks before him, and one said to\nanother, \u201cWhen the youth cometh between the ranks, we will take him on\nthe points of our pikes and the sharps of our sabres.\u201d Quoth another,\n\u201cBy Allah, this is a mere misfortune: how shall we slay a youth so\ncomely of face and shapely of form?\u201d And a third continued, \u201cYe will\nhave hard work to get the better of him; for the youth had not done\nthis, but for what he knew of his own prowess and pre-eminence of\nvalour.\u201d Meanwhile, having settled himself in his saddle, the Prince\nturned the pin of ascent; whilst all eyes were strained to see what he\nwould do, whereupon the horse began to heave and rock and sway to and\nfro and make the strangest of movements steed ever made, till its belly\nwas filled with air and it took flight with its rider and soared high\ninto the sky. When the King saw this, he cried out to his men, saying,\n\u201cWoe to you! catch him, catch him, ere he \u2018scape you!\u201d But his Wazirs\nand Viceroys said to him, \u201cO King, can a man overtake the flying bird?\nThis is surely none but some mighty magician or Mar\u00a1d of the Jinn or\ndevil, and Allah save thee from him. So praise thou the Almighty for\ndeliverance of thee and of all thy host from his hand.\u201d Then the King\nreturned to his palace after seeing the feat of the Prince and, going in\nto his daughter, acquainted her with what had befallen them both on the\nparade-ground. He found her grievously afflicted for the Prince and\nbewailing her separation from him; wherefore she fell sick with violent\nsickness and took to her pillow. Now when her father saw her on this\nwise, he pressed her to his breast and kissing her between the eyes,\nsaid to her, \u201cO my daughter, praise Allah Almighty and thank Him for\nthat He hath delivered us from this crafty enchanter, this villain, this\nlow fellow, this thief who thought only of seducing thee!\u201d And he\nrepeated to her the story of the Prince and how he had disappeared in\nthe firmament; and he abused him and cursed him knowing not how dearly\nhis daughter loved him. But she paid no heed to his words and did but\nredouble in her tears and wails, saying to herself, \u201cBy Allah, I will\nneither eat meat nor drain drink, till Allah reunite me with him!\u201d Her\nfather was greatly concerned for her case and mourned much over her\nplight; but, for all he could do to soothe her, love-longing only\nincreased on 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 Sixty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King mourned\nmuch over his daughter\u2019s plight but, for all he could do to soothe her,\nlove-longing only increased on her. Thus far concerning the King and\nPrincess Shams al-Nah\u00e1r; but as regards Prince Kamar al-Akmar, when he\nhad risen high in air, he turned his horse\u2019s head towards his native\nland, and being alone mused upon the beauty of the Princess and her\nloveliness. Now he had enquired of the King\u2019s people the name of the\ncity and of its King and his daughter; and men had told him that it was\nthe city of Sana\u2019\u00e1.[19] So he journeyed with all speed, till he drew\nnear his father\u2019s capital and, making an airy circuit about the city,\nalighted on the roof of the King\u2019s palace, where he left his horse,\nwhilst he descended into the palace and seeing its threshold strewn with\nashes, thought that one of his family was dead. Then he entered, as of\nwont, and found his father and mother and sisters clad in mourning\nraiment of black, all pale of faces and lean of frames. When his sire\ndescried him and was assured that it was indeed his son, he cried out\nwith a great cry and fell down in a fit, but after a time coming to\nhimself, threw himself upon him and embraced him, clipping him to his\nbosom and rejoicing in him with exceeding joy and extreme gladness. His\nmother and sisters heard this; so they came in and seeing the Prince,\nfell upon him, kissing him and weeping, and joying with exceeding\njoyance. Then they questioned him of his case; so he told them all that\nhad past from first to last, and his father said to him, \u201cPraised be\nAllah for thy safety, O coolth of my eyes and core of my heart!\u201d Then\nthe King bade hold high festival, and the glad tidings flew through the\ncity. So they beat drums and cymbals and, doffing the weed of mourning,\nthey donned the gay garb of gladness and decorated the streets and\nmarkets; whilst the folk vied with one another who should be the first\nto give the King joy, and the King proclaimed a general pardon and\nopening the prisons, released those who were therein prisoned. Moreover,\nhe made banquets for the people, with great abundance of eating and\ndrinking, for seven days and nights and all creatures were gladsomest;\nand he took horse with his son and rode out with him, that the folk\nmight see him and rejoice. After awhile the Prince asked about the maker\nof the horse, saying, \u201cO my father, what hath fortune done with him?\u201d;\nand the King answered, \u201cAllah never bless him nor the hour wherein I set\neyes on him! For he was the cause of thy separation from us, O my son,\nand he hath lain in gaol since the day of thy disappearance.\u201d Then the\nKing bade release him from prison and, sending for him, invested him in\na dress of satisfaction and entreated him with the utmost favour and\nmunificence, save that he would not give him his daughter to wife;\nwhereat the Sage raged with sore rage and repented of that which he had\ndone, knowing that the Prince had secured the secret of the steed and\nthe manner of its motion. Moreover, the King said to his son, \u201cI reck\nthou wilt do well not to go near the horse henceforth and more\nespecially not to mount it after this day; for thou knowest not its\nproperties, and belike thou art in error about it.\u201d Now the Prince had\ntold his father of his adventure with the King of Sana\u2019a and his\ndaughter and he said, \u201cHad the King intended to kill thee, he had done\nso; but thine hour was not yet come.\u201d When the rejoicings were at an\nend, the people returned to their places and the King and his son to the\npalace, where they sat down and fell to eating and drinking and making\nmerry. Now the King had a handsome handmaiden who was skilled in playing\nthe lute; so she took it and began to sweep the strings and sing thereto\nbefore the King and his son of separation of lovers, and she chanted the\nfollowing verses:\u2014\n\n Deem not that absence breeds in me aught of forgetfulness; \u273f What should\n remember I did you fro\u2019 my remembrance wane?\n Time dies but never dies the fondest love for you we bear; \u273f And in your\n love I\u2019ll die and in your love I\u2019ll arise again.[20]\n\nWhen the Prince heard these verses, the fires of longing flamed up in\nhis heart and pine and passion redoubled upon him. Grief and regret were\nsore upon him and his bowels yearned in him for love of the King\u2019s\ndaughter of Sana\u2019a; so he rose forthright and, escaping his father\u2019s\nnotice, went forth the palace to the horse and mounting it, turned the\npin of ascent, whereupon birdlike it flew with him high in air and\nsoared towards the upper regions of the sky. In early morning his father\nmissed him and, going up to the pinnacle of the palace, in great\nconcern, saw his son rising into the firmament; whereat he was sore\nafflicted and repented in all penitence that he had not taken the horse\nand hidden it; and he said to himself, \u201cBy Allah, if but my son return\nto me, I will destroy the horse, that my heart may be at rest concerning\nmy son.\u201d And he fell again to weeping and bewailing himself\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 Sixty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King that the King again fell\nto weeping and bewailing himself for his son. Such was his case; but as\nregards the Prince, he ceased not flying on through air till he came to\nthe city of Sana\u2019a and alighted on the roof as before. Then he crept\ndown stealthily and, finding the eunuch asleep, as of wont, raised the\ncurtain and went on little by little, till he came to the door of the\nPrincess\u2019s alcove[21]-chamber and stopped to listen; when lo! he heard\nher shedding plenteous tears and reciting verses, whilst her women slept\nround her. Presently, overhearing her weeping and wailing quoth they, \u201cO\nour mistress, why wilt thou mourn for one who mourneth not for thee?\u201d\nQuoth she, \u201cO ye little of wit, is he for whom I mourn of those who\nforget or who are forgotten?\u201d And she fell again to wailing and weeping,\ntill sleep overcame her. Hereat the Prince\u2019s heart melted for her and\nhis gall-bladder was like to burst, so he entered and, seeing her lying\nasleep without covering,[22] touched her with his hand; whereupon she\nopened her eyes and espied him standing by her. Said he, \u201cWhy all this\ncrying and mourning?\u201d And when she knew him, she threw herself upon him,\nand took him around the neck and kissed him and answered, \u201cFor thy sake\nand because of my separation from thee.\u201d Said he, \u201cO my lady, I have\nbeen made desolate by thee all this long time!\u201d But she replied, \u201c\u2018Tis\nthou who hast desolated _me_; and hadst thou tarried longer, I had\nsurely died!\u201d Rejoined he, \u201cO my lady, what thinkest thou of my case\nwith thy father and how he dealt with me? Were it not for my love of\nthee, O temptation and seduction of the Three Worlds, I had certainly\nslain him and made him a warning to all beholders; but, even as I love\nthee, so I love him for thy sake.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cHow couldst thou leave\nme: can my life be sweet to me after thee?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cLet what hath\nhappened suffice: I am now hungry, and thirsty.\u201d So she bade her maidens\nmake ready meat and drink, and they sat eating and drinking and\nconversing till night was well nigh ended; and when day broke he rose to\ntake leave of her and depart, ere the eunuch should awake. Shams\nal-Nahar asked him, \u201cWhither goest thou?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cTo my\nfather\u2019s house, and I plight thee my troth that I will come to thee once\nin every week.\u201d But she wept and said, \u201cI conjure thee, by Allah the\nAlmighty, take me with thee whereso thou wendest and make me not taste\nanew the bitter-gourd[23] of separation from thee.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cWilt thou\nindeed go with me?\u201d and quoth she, \u201cYes.\u201d \u201cThen,\u201d said he, \u201carise that\nwe depart.\u201d So she rose forthright and going to a chest, arrayed herself\nin what was richest and dearest to her of her trinkets of gold and\njewels of price, and she fared forth her handmaids recking naught. So he\ncarried her up to the roof of the palace and, mounting the ebony horse,\ntook her up behind him and made her fast to himself, binding her with\nstrong bonds; after which he turned the shoulder-pin of ascent, and the\nhorse rose with him high in air. When her slave-women saw this, they\nshrieked aloud and told her father and mother, who in hot haste ran to\nthe palace-roof and looking up, saw the magical horse flying away with\nthe Prince and Princess. At this the King was troubled with\never-increasing trouble and cried out, saying, \u201cO King\u2019s son, I conjure\nthee, by Allah, have ruth on me and my wife and bereave us not of our\ndaughter!\u201d The Prince made him no reply; but, thinking in himself that\nthe maiden repented of leaving father and mother, asked her, \u201cO\nravishment of the age, say me, wilt thou that I restore thee to thy\nmother and father?\u201d: whereupon she answered, \u201cBy Allah, O my lord, that\nis not my desire: my only wish is to be with thee, wherever thou art;\nfor I am distracted by the love of thee from all else, even from my\nfather and mother.\u201d Hearing these words the Prince joyed with great joy,\nand made the horse fly and fare softly with them, so as not to disquiet\nher; nor did they stay their flight till they came in sight of a green\nmeadow, wherein was a spring of running water. Here they alighted and\nate and drank; after which the Prince took horse again and set her\nbehind him, binding her in his fear for her safety; after which they\nfared on till they came in sight of his father\u2019s capital. At this, the\nPrince was filled with joy and bethought himself to show his beloved the\nseat of his dominion and his father\u2019s power and dignity and give her to\nknow that it was greater than that of her sire. So he set her down in\none of his father\u2019s gardens without the city where his parent was wont\nto take his pleasure; and, carrying her into a domed summer-house\nprepared there for the King, left the ebony horse at the door and\ncharged the damsel keep watch over it, saying, \u201cSit here, till my\nmessenger come to thee; for I go now to my father, to make ready a\npalace for thee and show thee my royal estate.\u201d She was delighted when\nshe heard these words and said to him, \u201cDo as thou wilt;\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 Sixty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the maiden was\ndelighted when she heard these words and said to him, \u201cDo as thou wilt;\u201d\nfor she thereby understood that she should not enter the city but with\ndue honour and worship, as became her rank. Then the Prince left her and\nbetook himself to the palace of the King his father, who rejoiced in his\nreturn and met him and welcomed him; and the Prince said to him, \u201cKnow\nthat I have brought with me the King\u2019s daughter of whom I told thee; and\nhave left her without the city in such a garden and come to tell thee,\nthat thou mayst make ready the procession of estate and go forth to meet\nher and show her thy royal dignity and troops and guards.\u201d Answered the\nKing, \u201cWith joy and gladness\u201d; and straightway bade decorate the town\nwith the goodliest adornment. Then he took horse and rode out in all\nmagnificence and majesty, he and his host, high officers and household,\nwith drums and kettledrums, fifes and clarions and all manner\ninstruments; whilst the Prince drew forth of his treasuries jewellery\nand apparel and what else of the things which Kings hoard and made a\nrare display of wealth and splendour: moreover he got ready for the\nPrincess a canopied litter of brocades, green, red and yellow, wherein\nhe set Indian and Greek and Abyssinian slave-girls. Then he left the\nlitter and those who were therein and preceded them to the pavilion\nwhere he had set her down; and searched but found naught, neither\nPrincess nor horse. When he saw this, he beat his face and rent his\nraiment and began to wander round about the garden, as he had lost his\nwits; after which he came to his senses and said to himself, \u201cHow could\nshe have come at the secret of this horse, seeing I told her nothing of\nit? Maybe the Persian sage who made the horse hath chanced upon her and\nstolen her away, in revenge for my father\u2019s treatment of him.\u201d Then he\nsought the guardians of the garden and asked them if they had seen any\npass the precincts; and said, \u201cHath any one come in here? Tell me the\ntruth and the whole truth or I will at once strike off your heads.\u201d They\nwere terrified by his threats; but they answered with one voice, \u201cWe\nhave seen no man enter save the Persian sage, who came to gather healing\nherbs.\u201d So the Prince was certified that it was indeed he that had taken\naway the maiden\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 Sixty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Prince\nheard their answer, he was certified that the Sage had taken away the\nmaiden and abode confounded and perplexed concerning his case. And he\nwas abashed before the folk and, turning to his sire, told him what had\nhappened and said to him, \u201cTake the troops and march them back to the\ncity. As for me, I will never return till I have cleared up this\naffair.\u201d When the King heard this, he wept and beat his breast and said\nto him, \u201cO my son, calm thy choler and master thy chagrin and come home\nwith us and look what King\u2019s daughter thou wouldst fain have, that I may\nmarry thee to her.\u201d But the Prince paid no heed to his words and\nfarewelling him departed, whilst the King returned to the city and their\njoy was changed into sore annoy. Now, as Destiny issued her decree, when\nthe Prince left the Princess in the garden-house and betook himself to\nhis father\u2019s palace, for the ordering of his affair, the Persian entered\nthe garden to pluck certain simples and, scenting the sweet savour of\nmusk and perfumes that exhaled from the Princess and impregnated the\nwhole place, followed it till he came to the pavilion and saw standing\nat the door the horse which he had made with his own hands. His heart\nwas filled with joy and gladness, for he had bemourned its loss much\nsince it had gone out of his hand: so he went up to it and, examining\nits every part, found it whole and sound; whereupon he was about to\nmount and ride away, when he bethought himself and said, \u201cNeeds must I\nfirst look what the Prince hath brought and left here with the horse.\u201d\nSo he entered the pavilion and, seeing the Princess sitting there, as\nshe were the sun shining sheen in the sky serene, knew her at the first\nglance to be some high-born lady and doubted not but the Prince had\nbrought her thither on the horse and left her in the pavilion, whilst he\nwent to the city, to make ready for her entry in state procession with\nall splendour. Then he went up to her and kissed the earth between her\nhands, whereupon she raised her eyes to him and, finding him exceedingly\nfoul of face and favour, asked, \u201cWho art thou?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cO my\nlady, I am a messenger sent by the Prince who hath bidden me bring thee\nto another pleasance nearer the city; for that my lady the Queen cannot\nwalk so far and is unwilling, of her joy in thee, that another should\nforestall her with thee.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cWhere is the Prince?\u201d; and quoth\nthe Persian, \u201cHe is in the city, with his sire and forthwith he shall\ncome for thee in great state.\u201d Said she, \u201cO thou! say me, could he find\nnone handsomer to send to me?\u201d; whereat loud laughed the Sage and said,\n\u201cYea verily, he hath not a Mameluke as ugly as I am; but, O my lady, let\nnot the ill-favour of my face and the foulness of my form deceive thee.\nHadst thou profited of me as hath the Prince, verily thou wouldst praise\nmy affair. Indeed, he chose me as his messenger to thee, because of my\nuncomeliness and loathsomeness in his jealous love of thee: else hath he\nMamelukes and negro slaves, pages, eunuchs and attendants out of number,\neach goodlier than other.\u201d Whenas she heard this, it commended itself to\nher reason and she believed him; so she rose forthright\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 Sixty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Persian\nsage acquainted the Princess with the case of the King\u2019s son, she\nbelieved him; so she rose forthright; and, putting her hand in his,\nsaid, \u201cO my father, what hast thou brought me to ride?\u201d He replied, \u201cO\nmy lady, thou shalt ride the horse thou camest on;\u201d and she, \u201cI cannot\nride it by myself.\u201d Whereupon he smiled and knew that he was her master\nand said, \u201cI will ride with thee myself.\u201d So he mounted and, taking her\nup behind him bound her to himself with firm bonds, while she knew not\nwhat he would with her. Then he turned the ascent-pin, whereupon the\nbelly of the horse became full of wind and it swayed to and fro like a\nwave of the sea, and rose with them high in air nor slackened in its\nflight, till it was out of sight of the city. Now when Shams al-Nahar\nsaw this, she asked him, \u201cHo thou! what is become of that thou toldest\nme of my Prince, making me believe that he sent thee to me?\u201d Answered\nthe Persian, \u201cAllah damn the Prince! he is a mean and skin-flint knave.\u201d\nShe cried, \u201cWoe to thee! How darest thou disobey thy lord\u2019s\ncommandment?\u201d Whereto the Persian replied, \u201cHe is no lord of mine:\nknowest thou who I am?\u201d Rejoined the Princess, \u201cI know nothing of thee\nsave what thou toldest me;\u201d and retorted he, \u201cWhat I told thee was a\ntrick of mine against thee and the King\u2019s son: I have long lamented the\nloss of this horse which is under us; for I constructed it and made\nmyself master of it. But now I have gotten firm hold of it and of thee\ntoo, and I will burn his heart even as he hath burnt mine; nor shall he\never have the horse again; no, never! So be of good cheer and keep thine\neyes cool and clear; for I can be of more use to thee than he; and I am\ngenerous as I am wealthy; my servants and slaves shall obey thee as\ntheir mistress; I will robe thee in finest raiment and thine every wish\nshall be at thy will.\u201d When she heard this, she buffeted her face and\ncried out, saying, \u201cAh, well-away! I have not won my beloved and I have\nlost my father and mother!\u201d And she wept bitter tears over what had\nbefallen her, whilst the Sage fared on with her, without ceasing, till\nhe came to the land of the Greeks[24] and alighted in a verdant mead,\nabounding in streams and trees. Now this meadow lay near a city wherein\nwas a King of high puissance, and it chanced that he went forth that day\nto hunt and divert himself. As he passed by the meadow, he saw the\nPersian standing there, with the damsel and the horse by his side; and,\nbefore the Sage was ware, the King\u2019s slaves fell upon him and carried\nhim and the lady and the horse to their master who, noting the foulness\nof the man\u2019s favour and his loathsomeness and the beauty of the girl and\nher loveliness, said, \u201cO my lady, what kin is this oldster to thee?\u201d The\nPersian made haste to reply, saying, \u201cShe is my wife and the daughter of\nmy father\u2019s brother.\u201d But the lady at once gave him the lie and said, \u201cO\nKing, by Allah, I know him not, nor is he my husband; nay, he is a\nwicked magician who hath stolen me away by force and fraud.\u201d Thereupon\nthe King bade bastinado the Persian and they beat him till he was\nwell-nigh dead; after which the King commanded to carry him to the city\nand cast him into jail; and, taking from him the damsel and the ebony\nhorse (though he knew not its properties nor the secret of its motion),\nset the girl in his serraglio and the horse amongst his hoards. Such was\nthe case with the Sage and the lady; but as regards Prince Kamar\nal-Akmar, he garbed himself in travelling gear and taking what he needed\nof money, set out tracking their trail in very sorry plight; and\njourneyed from country to country and city to city seeking the Princess\nand enquiring after the ebony horse, whilst all who heard him marvelled\nat him and deemed his talk extravagant. Thus he continued doing a long\nwhile; but, for all his enquiry and quest, he could hit on no news of\nher. At last he came to her father\u2019s city of Sana\u2019a and there asked for\nher, but could get no tidings of her and found her father mourning her\nloss. So he turned back and made for the land of the Greeks, continuing\nto enquire concerning the twain as he went\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n Now when it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King\u2019s son\nmade for the land of the Greeks, continuing to enquire concerning the\ntwo as he went along, till, as chance would have it, he alighted at a\ncertain Khan and saw a company of merchants sitting at talk. So he sat\ndown near them and heard one say, \u201cO my friends, I lately witnessed a\nwonder of wonders.\u201d They asked, \u201cWhat was that?\u201d and he answered, \u201cI was\nvisiting such a district in such a city (naming the city wherein was the\nPrincess), and I heard its people chatting of a strange thing which had\nlately befallen. It was that their King went out one day hunting and\ncoursing with a company of his courtiers and the lords of his realm;\nand, issuing from the city, they came to a green meadow where they\nespied an old man standing, with a woman sitting hard by a horse of\nebony. The man was foulest-foul of face and loathly of form, but the\nwoman was a marvel of beauty and loveliness and elegance and perfect\ngrace; and as for the wooden horse, it was a miracle, never saw eyes\naught goodlier than it nor more gracious than its make.\u201d Asked the\nothers, \u201cAnd what did the King with them?\u201d; and the merchant answered,\n\u201cAs for the man the King seized him and questioned him of the damsel and\nhe pretended that she was his wife and the daughter of his paternal\nuncle; but she gave him the lie forthright and declared that he was a\nsorcerer and a villain. So the King took her from the old man and bade\nbeat him and cast him into the trunk-house. As for the ebony horse, I\nknow not what became of it.\u201d When the Prince heard these words, he drew\nnear to the merchant and began questioning him discreetly and\ncourteously touching the name of the city and of its King; which when he\nknew, he passed the night full of joy. And as soon as dawned the day he\nset out and travelled sans surcease till he reached that city; but, when\nhe would have entered, the gatekeepers laid hands on him, that they\nmight bring him before the King to question him of his condition and the\ncraft in which he skilled and the cause of his coming thither\u2014such being\nthe usage and custom of their ruler. Now it was supper-time when he\nentered the city, and it was then impossible to go in to the King or\ntake counsel with him respecting the stranger. So the guards carried him\nto the jail, thinking to lay him by the heels there for the night; but,\nwhen the warders saw his beauty and loveliness, they could not find it\nin their hearts to imprison him: they made him sit with them without the\nwalls; and, when food came to them, he ate with them what sufficed him.\nAs soon as they had made an end of eating, they turned to the Prince and\nsaid, \u201cWhat countryman art thou?\u201d \u201cI come from Fars,\u201d answered he, \u201cthe\nland of the Chosro\u00ebs.\u201d When they heard this they laughed and one of them\nsaid, \u201cO Chosroan,[25] I have heard the talk of men and their histories\nand I have looked into their conditions; but never saw I or heard I a\nbigger liar than the Chosroan which is with us in the jail.\u201d Quoth\nanother, \u201cAnd never did I see aught fouler than his favour or more\nhideous than his visnomy.\u201d Asked the Prince, \u201cWhat have ye seen of his\nlying?\u201d; and they answered, \u201cHe pretendeth that he is one of the wise!\nNow the King came upon him, as he went a-hunting, and found with him a\nmost beautiful woman and a horse of the blackest ebony, never saw I a\nhandsomer. As for the damsel, she is with the King, who is enamoured of\nher and would fain marry her; but she is mad, and were this man a leach\nas he claimeth to be, he would have healed her, for the King doth his\nutmost to discover a cure for her case and a remedy for her disease, and\nthis whole year past hath he spent treasures upon physicians and\nastrologers, on her account; but none can avail to cure her. As for the\nhorse, it is in the royal hoard-house, and the ugly man is here with us\nin prison; and as soon as night falleth, he weepeth and bemoaneth\nhimself and will not let us sleep.\u201d\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 Sixty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the warders\nhad recounted the case of the Persian egromancer they held in prison and\nhis weeping and wailing, the Prince at once devised a device whereby he\nmight compass his desire; and presently the guards of the gate, being\nminded to sleep, led him into the jail and locked the door. So he\noverheard the Persian weeping and bemoaning himself, in his own tongue,\nand saying, \u201cAlack, and alas for my sin, that I sinned against myself\nand against the King\u2019s son, in that which I did with the damsel; for I\nneither left her nor won my will of her! All this cometh of my lack of\nsense, in that I sought for myself that which I deserved not and which\nbefitted not the like of me; for whoso seeketh what suiteth him not at\nall, falleth with the like of my fall.\u201d Now when the King\u2019s son heard\nthis, he accosted him in Persian, saying, \u201cHow long will this weeping\nand wailing last? Say me, thinkest thou that hath befallen thee that\nwhich never befel other than thou?\u201d Now when the Persian heard this, he\nmade friends with him and began to complain to him of his case and\nmisfortunes. And as soon as the morning morrowed, the warders took the\nPrince and carried him before their King, informing him that he had\nentered the city on the previous night, at a time when audience was\nimpossible. Quoth the King to the Prince, \u201cWhence comest thou and what\nis thy name and trade and why hast thou travelled hither?\u201d He replied,\n\u201cAs to my name I am called in Persian Harjah;[26] as to my country I\ncome from the land of Fars; and I am of the men of art and especially of\nthe art of medicine and healing the sick and those whom the Jinns drive\nmad. For this I go round about all countries and cities, to profit by\nadding knowledge to my knowledge, and whenever I see a patient I heal\nhim and this is my craft.\u201d[27] Now when the King heard this, he rejoiced\nwith exceeding joy and said, \u201cO excellent Sage, thou hast indeed come to\nus at a time when we need thee.\u201d Then he acquainted him with the case of\nthe Princess, adding, \u201cIf thou cure her and recover her from her\nmadness, thou shalt have of me everything thou seekest.\u201d Replied the\nPrince, \u201cAllah save and favour the King: describe to me all thou hast\nseen of her insanity and tell me how long it is since the access\nattacked her; also how thou camest by her and the horse and the Sage.\u201d\nSo the King told him the whole story, from first to last, adding, \u201cThe\nSage is in gaol.\u201d Quoth the Prince, \u201cO auspicious King, and what hast\nthou done with the horse?\u201d Quoth the King, \u201cO youth, it is with me yet,\nlaid up in one of my treasure-chambers,\u201d whereupon said the Prince\nwithin himself, \u201cThe best thing I can do is first to see the horse and\nassure myself of its condition. If it be whole and sound, all will be\nwell and end well; but, if its motor-works be destroyed, I must find\nsome other way of delivering my beloved.\u201d Thereupon he turned to the\nKing and said to him, \u201cO King, I must see the horse in question: haply I\nmay find in it somewhat that will serve me for the recovery of the\ndamsel.\u201d \u201cWith all my heart,\u201d replied the King, and taking him by the\nhand, showed him into the place where the horse was. The Prince went\nround about it, examining its condition, and found it whole and sound,\nwhereat he rejoiced greatly and said to the King, \u201cAllah save and exalt\nthe King! I would fain go in to the damsel, that I may see how it is\nwith her; for I hope in Allah to heal her by my healing hand through\nmeans of the horse.\u201d Then he bade them take care of the horse and the\nKing carried him to the Princess\u2019s apartment, where her lover found her\nwringing her hands and writhing and beating herself against the ground,\nand tearing her garments to tatters as was her wont; but there was no\nmadness of Jinn in her, and she did this but that none might approach\nher. When the Prince saw her thus, he said to her, \u201cNo harm shall betide\nthee, O ravishment of the three worlds;\u201d and went on to soothe her and\nspeak her fair, till he managed to whisper, \u201cI am Kamar al-Akmar;\u201d\nwhereupon she cried out with a loud cry and fell down fainting for\nexcess of joy; but the King thought this was epilepsy[28] brought on by\nher fear of him, and by her suddenly being startled. Then the Prince put\nhis mouth to her ear and said to her, \u201cO Shams al-Nahar, O seduction of\nthe universe, have a care for thy life and mine and be patient and\nconstant; for this our position needeth sufferance and skilful\ncontrivance to make shift for our delivery from this tyrannical King. My\nfirst move will be now to go out to him and tell him that thou art\npossessed of a Jinn and hence thy madness; but that I will engage to\nheal thee and drive away the evil spirit, if he will at once unbind thy\nbonds. So when he cometh in to thee, do thou speak him smooth words,\nthat he may think I have cured thee, and all will be done for us as we\ndesire.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cHearkening and obedience;\u201d and he went out to the\nKing in joy and gladness, and said to him, \u201cO august King, I have, by\nthy good fortune, discovered her disease and its remedy, and have cured\nher for thee. So now do thou go in to her and speak her softly and treat\nher kindly, and promise her what may please her; so shall all thou\ndesirest of her be accomplished to thee.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Three Hundred and Seventieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Prince\nfeigned himself a leach and went in to the damsel and made himself known\nto her and told her how he purposed to deliver her, she cried\n\u201cHearkening and obedience!\u201d He then fared forth from her and sought the\nKing and said, \u201cGo thou in to her and speak her softly and promise her\nwhat may please her; so shall all thou desirest of her be accomplished\nto thee.\u201d Thereupon the King went in to her and when she saw him, she\nrose and kissing the ground before him, bade him welcome and said, \u201cI\nadmire how thou hast come to visit thy handmaid this day;\u201d whereat he\nwas ready to fly for joy and bade the waiting-women and the eunuchs\nattend her and carry her to the Hammam and make ready for her dresses\nand adornment. So they went in to her and saluted her, and she returned\ntheir salams with the goodliest language and after the pleasantest\nfashion; whereupon they clad her in royal apparel and, clasping a collar\nof jewels about her neck, carried her to the bath and served her there.\nThen they brought her forth, as she were the full moon; and, when she\ncame into the King\u2019s presence, she saluted him and kissed ground before\nhim; whereupon he joyed in her with joy exceeding and said to the\nPrince, \u201cO Sage, O philosopher, all this is of thy blessing. Allah\nincrease to us the benefit of thy healing breath!\u201d[29] The Prince\nreplied, \u201cO King, for the completion of her cure it behoveth that thou\ngo forth, thou and all thy troops and guards, to the place where thou\nfoundest her, not forgetting the beast of black wood which was with her;\nfor therein is a devil; and, unless I exorcise him, he will return to\nher and afflict her at the head of every month.\u201d \u201cWith love and\ngladness,\u201d cried the King, \u201cO thou Prince of all philosophers and most\nlearned of all who see the light of day.\u201d Then he brought out the ebony\nhorse to the meadow in question and rode thither with all his troops and\nthe Princess, little weeting the purpose of the Prince. Now when they\ncame to the appointed place, the Prince, still habited as a leach, bade\nthem set the Princess and the steed as far as eye could reach from the\nKing and his troops, and said to him, \u201cWith thy leave, and at thy word,\nI will now proceed to the fumigations and conjurations, and here\nimprison the adversary of mankind, that he may never more return to her.\nAfter this, I shall mount this wooden horse which seemeth to be made of\nebony, and take the damsel up behind me; whereupon it will shake and\nsway to and fro and fare forwards, till it come to thee, when the affair\nwill be at an end; and after this thou mayst do with her as thou wilt.\u201d\nWhen the King heard his words, he rejoiced with extreme joy; so the\nPrince mounted the horse, and, taking the damsel up behind him, whilst\nthe King and his troops watched him, bound her fast to him. Then he\nturned the ascending-pin and the horse took flight and soared with them\nhigh in air, till they disappeared from every eye. After this the King\nabode half the day, expecting their return; but they returned not. So\nwhen he despaired of them, repenting him greatly of that which he had\ndone and grieving sore for the loss of the damsel, he went back to the\ncity with his troops. He then sent for the Persian who was in prison and\nsaid to him, \u201cO thou traitor, O thou villain, why didst thou hide from\nme the mystery of the ebony horse? And now a sharper hath come to me and\nhath carried it off, together with a slave-girl whose ornaments are\nworth a mint of money, and I shall never see anyone or anything of them\nagain!\u201d So the Persian related to him all his past, first and last, and\nthe King was seized with a fit of fury which well-nigh ended his life.\nHe shut himself up in his palace for a while, mourning and afflicted;\nbut at last his Wazirs came in to him and applied themselves to comfort\nhim, saying, \u201cVerily, he who took the damsel is an enchanter, and\npraised be Allah who hath delivered thee from his craft and sorcery!\u201d\nAnd they ceased not from him, till he was comforted for her loss. Thus\nfar concerning the King; but as for the Prince, he continued his career\ntowards his father\u2019s capital in joy and cheer, and stayed not till he\nalighted on his own palace, where he set the lady in safety; after which\nhe went in to his father and mother and saluted them and acquainted them\nwith her coming, whereat they were filled with solace and gladness. Then\nhe spread great banquets for the towns-folk\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n Now when it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King\u2019s son\nspread great banquets for the towns-folk and they held high festival a\nwhole month, at the end of which time he went in to the Princess and\nthey took their joy of each other with exceeding joy. But his father\nbrake the ebony horse in pieces and destroyed its mechanism for flight;\nmoreover the Prince wrote a letter to the Princess\u2019s father, advising\nhim of all that had befallen her and informing him how she was now\nmarried to him and in all health and happiness, and sent it by a\nmessenger, together with costly presents and curious rarities. And when\nthe messenger arrived at the city which was Sana\u2019a and delivered the\nletter and the presents to the King, he read the missive and rejoiced\ngreatly thereat and accepted the presents, honouring and rewarding the\nbearer handsomely. Moreover, he forwarded rich gifts to his son-in-law\nby the same messenger, who returned to his master and acquainted him\nwith what had passed; whereat he was much cheered. And after this the\nPrince wrote a letter every year to his father-in-law and sent him\npresents till, in course of time, his sire King Sabur deceased and he\nreigned in his stead, ruling justly over his lieges and conducting\nhimself well and righteously towards them, so that the land submitted to\nhim and his subjects did him loyal service; and Kamar al-Akmar and his\nwife Shams al-Nahar abode in the enjoyment of all satisfaction and\nsolace of life, till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and\nSunderer of societies; the Plunderer of palaces, the Caterer for\ncemeteries and the Garnerer of graves. And now glory be to the Living\nOne who dieth not and in whose hand is the dominion of the worlds\nvisible and invisible! Moreover I have heard tell the tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 1:\n\n This tale (one of those translated, by Galland) is best and fullest in\n the Bresl. Edit. iii. 329.\n\nFootnote 2:\n\n Europe has degraded this autumnal festival, the Sun-f\u00eate Mihrg\u00e1n\n (which balanced the vernal Nau-roz) into Michaelmas and its\n goose-massacre. It was so called because it began on the 16th of Mihr,\n the seventh month; and lasted six days, with feasts, festivities and\n great rejoicings in honour of the Sun, who now begins his\n southing-course to gladden the other half of the world.\n\nFootnote 3:\n\n \u201cHind\u00ed\u201d is an Indian Moslem as opposed to \u201cHind\u00fa,\u201d a pagan, or Gentoo.\n\nFootnote 4:\n\n The orig. Persian word is \u201cSh\u00e1h\u00b7p\u00far\u201d = King\u2019s son: the Greeks (who had\n no _sh_) (preferred \u03a3\u03b1\u03b2\u1f7c\u03c1); the Romans turned it into Sapor and the\n Arabs (who lack the _p_) into S\u00e1b\u00far. See p. x. Hamz\u00e6 Ispahanensis\n Annalium Libri x.: Gottwaldt, Lipsi\u00e6 mdcccxlviii.\n\nFootnote 5:\n\n The magic horse may have originated with the Hindu tale of a wooden\n Garuda (the bird of Vishnu) built by a youth for the purpose of a\n vehicle. It came with the \u201cMoors\u201d to Spain and appears in \u201cLe Cheval\n de Fust,\u201d a French poem of the thirteenth Century. Thence it passed\n over to England as shown by Chaucer\u2019s \u201cHalf-told tale of Cambuscan\n (Jangh\u00edz Khan?) bold,\u201d as\n\n The wondrous steed of brass\n On which the Tartar King did ride;\n\n And Leland (Itinerary) derives \u201cRutlandshire\u201d from \u201ca man named Rutter\n who rode round it on a wooden horse constructed by art magic.\u201d Lane\n (ii. 548) quotes the parallel story of Cleomades and Claremond which\n Mr. Keightley (Tales and Popular Fictions, chapt. ii) dates from our\n thirteenth century. See Vol. i., p. 160.\n\nFootnote 6:\n\n All Moslems, except those of the M\u00e1liki school, hold that the maker of\n an image representing anything of life will be commanded on the\n Judgement Day to animate it, and failing will be duly sent to the\n Fire. This severity arose apparently from the necessity of putting\n down idol-worship and, perhaps, for the same reason the Greek Church\n admits pictures but not statues. Of course the command has been\n honoured with extensive breaching: for instance all the Sultans of\n Stambul have had their portraits drawn and painted.\n\nFootnote 7:\n\n This description of ugly old age is written with true Arab _verve_.\n\nFootnote 8:\n\n Arab. \u201cBadinj\u00e1n\u201d: Hind. Bengan: Pers. B\u00e1ding\u00e1n or Badilj\u00e1n; the Mala\n insana (_Solanum pomiferum_ or _S. Melongena_) of the Romans, well\n known in Southern Europe. It is of two kinds, the red (_Solanum\n lycopersicum_) and the black (_S. Melongena_). The Spaniards know it\n as \u201cberengeria\u201d and when Sancho Panza (Part ii. chapt. 2) says, \u201cThe\n Moors are fond of egg-plants\u201d he means more than appears. The\n vegetable is held to be exceedingly heating and thereby to breed\n melancholia and madness; hence one says to a man that has done\n something eccentric, \u201cThou hast been eating brinjalls.\u201d\n\nFootnote 9:\n\n Again to be understood _Hibernice_ \u201ckilt.\u201d\n\nFootnote 10:\n\n _i.e._ for fear of the evil eye injuring the palace and, haply,\n himself.\n\nFootnote 11:\n\n The \u201cSufrah\u201d before explained as acting provision-bag and table-cloth.\n\nFootnote 12:\n\n Eastern women in hot weather, lie mother-nude under a sheet here\n represented by the hair. The Greeks and Romans also slept stripped and\n in medi\u00e6val England the most modest women saw nothing indelicate in\n sleeping naked by their naked husbands. The \u201cnight-cap\u201d and the\n \u201cnight-gown\u201d are comparatively modern inventions.\n\nFootnote 13:\n\n Hindu fable turns this simile into better poetry, \u201cShe was like a\n second and a more wondrous moon made by the Creator.\u201d\n\nFootnote 14:\n\n \u201cSun of the Day.\u201d\n\nFootnote 15:\n\n Arab. \u201cShirk\u201d = worshipping more than one God. A theological term here\n most appropriately used.\n\nFootnote 16:\n\n The Bul. Edit. as usual abridges (vol. i. 534). The Prince lands on\n the palace-roof where he leaves his horse, and finding no one in the\n building goes back to the terrace. Suddenly he sees a beautiful girl\n approaching him with a party of her women, suggesting to him these\n couplets:\u2014\n\n She came without tryst in the darkest hour, \u273f Like full moon lighting\n horizon\u2019s night:\n Slim-formed, there is not in the world her like \u273f For grace of form or\n for gifts of sprite:\n \u201cPraise him who made her from semen-drop,\u201d \u273f I cried, when her beauty\n first struck my sight:\n I guard her from eyes, seeking refuge with \u273f The Lord of mankind and\n of morning-light.\n\n The two then made acquaintance and \u201cfollows what follows.\u201d\n\nFootnote 17:\n\n Arab. \u201cAk\u00e1sirah,\u201d explained (vol. i., 75) as the plur. of Kisr\u00e1.\n\nFootnote 18:\n\n The dearest ambition of a slave is not liberty but to have a slave of\n his own. This was systematised by the servile rulers known in history\n as the Mameluke Beys and to the Egyptians as the Ghuzz. Each had his\n household of servile pages and squires, who looked forward to filling\n the master\u2019s place as knight or baron.\n\nFootnote 19:\n\n The well-known capital of Al-Yaman, a true Arabia Felix, a Paradise\n inhabited by demons in the shape of Turkish soldiery and Arab\n caterans. According to Moslem writers Sana\u2019a was founded by Shem son\n of Noah who, wandering southward with his posterity after his father\u2019s\n death, and finding the site delightful, dug a well and founded the\n citadel, Ghamd\u00e1n, which afterwards contained a _Maison Carr\u00e9e_\n rivalling (or attempting to rival) the Meccan Ka\u2019abah. The builder was\n Surahb\u00edl who, says M. C. de Perceval coloured its four faces red,\n white, golden and green; the central quadrangle had seven stories (the\n planets) each forty cubits high, and the lowest was a marble hall\n ceiling\u2019d with a single slab. At the four corners stood hollow lions\n through whose mouths the winds roared. This palatial citadel-temple\n was destroyed by order of Caliph Omar. The city\u2019s ancient name was\n Azal or Uzal whom some identify with one of the thirteen sons of\n Joktan (Genesis xi. 27): it took its present name from the Ethiopian\n conquerors (they say) who, seeing it for the first time, cried \u201cHaz\u00e1\n Sana\u2019ah!\u201d meaning in their tongue, this is commodious, etc. I may note\n that the word is Kisawahili (Zanzibarian) _e.g._ \u201cY\u00e1mbo _s\u00e1n\u00e1_\u2014is the\n state _good_?\u201d Sana\u2019a was the capital of the Tab\u00e1bi\u2019ah or Tobba Kings\n who judaized; and the Abyssinians with their Negush made it Christian\n while the Persians under Anushirw\u00e1n converted it to Guebrism. It is\n now easily visited but to little purpose; excursions in the\n neighbourhood being deadly dangerous. Moreover the Turkish garrison\n would probably murder a stranger who sympathised with the Arabs, and\n the Arabs kill one who took part with their hated and hateful\n conquerors. The late Mr. Shapira of Jerusalem declared that he had\n visited it and Jews have great advantages in such travel. But his\n friends doubted him.\n\nFootnote 20:\n\n The Bresl. Edit. (iii. 347) prints three vile errors in four lines.\n\nFootnote 21:\n\n Alcove is a corruption of the Arab. Al-Kubbah (the dome) through Span.\n and Port.\n\nFootnote 22:\n\n Easterns as a rule sleep with head and body covered by a sheet or in\n cold weather a blanket. The practice is doubtless hygienic, defending\n the body from draughts when the pores are open; but Europeans find it\n hard to adopt; it seems to stop their breathing. Another excellent\n practice in the East and, indeed amongst barbarians and savages\n generally, is training children to sleep with mouths shut: in after\n life they never snore and in malarious lands they do not require\n Outram\u2019s \u201cfever-guard,\u201d a swathe of muslin over the mouth. Mr. Catlin\n thought so highly of the \u201cshut mouth\u201d that he made it the subject of a\n book.\n\nFootnote 23:\n\n Arab. \u201cHanzal\u201d = coloquintida, an article often mentioned by Arabs in\n verse and prose; the bright coloured little gourd attracts every eye\n by its golden glance when travelling through the brown-yellow waste of\n sand and clay. A favourite purgative (enough for a horse) is made by\n filling the inside with sour milk which is drunk after a night\u2019s\n soaking: it is as active as the croton-nut of the Gold Coast.\n\nFootnote 24:\n\n The Bresl. Edit. iii. 354 sends him to the \u201cland of S\u00edn\u201d (China).\n\nFootnote 25:\n\n Arab. \u201cY\u00e1 Kisrawi!\u201d = O subject of the Kisr\u00e1 or Chosro\u00eb; the latter\n explained in vol. i., 75. \u201cFars\u201d is the origin of \u201cPersia\u201d; and there\n is a hit at the prodigious lying of the modern race, whose forefathers\n were so famous as truth-tellers. \u201cI am a Persian, but I am not lying\n now,\u201d is a phrase familiar to every traveller.\n\nFootnote 26:\n\n There is no such name: perhaps it is a clerical error for \u201cHar j\u00e1h\u201d =\n (a man of) any place. I know an Englishman who in Persian called\n himself \u201cMirza Abdullah-i-H\u00edchmak\u00e1ni\u201d = Master Abdullah of Nowhere.\n\nFootnote 27:\n\n The Bresl. Edit. (loc. cit.) gives a comical description of the Prince\n assuming the dress of an astrologer-doctor, clapping an old book under\n his arm, fumbling a rosary of beads, enlarging his turband,\n lengthening his sleeves and blackening his eyelids with antimony.\n Here, however, it would be out of place. Very comical also is the way\n in which he pretends to cure the maniac by \u201cmuttering unknown words,\n blowing in her face, biting her ear,\u201d etc.\n\nFootnote 28:\n\n Arab. \u201cSar\u2019a\u201d = falling sickness. Here again we have in all its\n simplicity the old nursery idea of \u201cpossession\u201d by evil spirits.\n\nFootnote 29:\n\n Arab. \u201cNafah\u00e1t\u201d = breathings, benefits, the Heb. Neshamah opp. to\n Nephesh (soul) and Ruach (spirit). Healing by the breath is a popular\n idea throughout the East and not unknown to Western Magnetists and\n Mesmerists. The miraculous cures of the Messiah were, according to\n Moslems, mostly performed by aspiration. They hold that in the days of\n Isa physic had reached its highest development, and thus his miracles\n were mostly miracles of medicine; whereas, in Mohammed\u2019s time,\n eloquence had attained its climax and accordingly his miracles were\n those of eloquence, as shown in the Koran and Ah\u00e1d\u00eds.\n\n\n\n\n UNS AL-WUJUD AND THE WAZIR\u2019S DAUGHTER AL-WARD FI\u2019L-AKMAM OR\n ROSE-IN-HOOD.[30]\n\n\nThere was once, in days of yore and in ages and times long gone before,\na King of great power and lord of glory and dominion galore; who had a\nWazir Ibrahim hight, and this Wazir\u2019s daughter was a damsel of\nextraordinary beauty and loveliness, gifted with passing brilliancy and\nthe perfection of grace, possessed of abundant wit, and in all good\nbreeding complete. But she loved wassail and wine and the human face\ndivine and choice verses and rare stories; and the delicacy of her inner\ngifts invited all hearts to love, even as saith the poet, describing\nher:\u2014\n\n Like moon she shines amid the starry sky, \u273f Robing in tresses blackest\n ink outvie.\n The morning-breezes give her boughs fair drink, \u273f And like a branch she\n sways with supple ply:\n She smiles in passing us. O thou that art \u273f Fairest in yellow robed, or\n cramoisie,\n Thou playest with my wit in love, as though \u273f Sparrow in hand of playful\n boy were I.[31]\n\nHer name was Rose-in-Hood and she was so named for her young and tender\nbeauty and the freshness of her brilliancy; and the King loved her in\nhis cups because of her accomplishments and fine manners. Now it was the\nKing\u2019s custom yearly to gather together all the nobles of his realm and\nplay with the ball.[32] So when the day came round whereon the folk\nassembled for ball-play, the Minister\u2019s daughter seated herself at her\nlattice, to divert herself by looking on at the game; and, as they were\nat play, her glance fell upon a youth among the guards than whom never\nwas seen a comelier face nor a goodlier form; for he was bright of\nfavour showing white teeth when he smiled, tall-statured and\nbroad-shouldered. She looked at him again and again and could not take\nher fill of gazing; and presently said to her nurse, \u201cWhat is the name\nof yonder handsome young man among the troops?\u201d Replied the nurse, \u201cO my\ndaughter, the dear fellows are all handsome. Which of them dost thou\nmean?\u201d Said Rose-in-Hood, \u201cWait till he come past and I will point him\nout to thee.\u201d So she took an apple and as he rode by dropped it on him,\nwhereupon he raised his head, to see who did this, and espied the\nWazir\u2019s daughter at the window, as she were the moon of fullest light in\nthe darkness of the night; nor did he withdraw his eyes, till his heart\nwas utterly lost to her, and he recited these lines:\u2014\n\n Was\u2019t archer shot me, or was\u2019t thine eyes \u273f Ruined lover\u2019s heart that\n thy charms espies?\n Was the notch\u00e8d shaft[33] from a host outshot, \u273f Or from latticed window\n in sudden guise?\n\nWhen the game was at an end, and all had left the ground, she asked her\nnurse, \u201cWhat is the name of that youth I showed thee?\u201d; and the good\nwoman answered, \u201cHis name is Uns al-Wujud;\u201d whereat Rose-in-Hood shook\nher head and lay down on her couch, with thoughts a-fire for love. Then,\nsighing deeply, she improvised these couplets:\u2014\n\n He missed not who dubbed thee, \u201cWorld\u2019s delight,\u201d \u273f A world\u2019s love\n conjoining to bounty\u2019s light:[34]\n O thou, whose favour the full moon favours, \u273f Whose charms make life and\n the living bright!\n Thou hast none equal amongst mankind; \u273f Sultan of Beauty, and proof I\u2019ll\n cite:\n\n Thine eyebrows are likest a well-formed N\u00fan,[35] \u273f And thine eyes a\n S\u00e1d,[36] by His hand indite;\n Thy shape is the soft, green bough that gives \u273f When asked to all with\n all-gracious sprite:\n Thou excellest knights of the world in stowre, \u273f With delight and beauty\n and bounty dight.\n\nWhen she had finished her verses, she wrote them on a sheet of paper,\nwhich she folded in a piece of gold-embroidered silk and placed under\nher pillow. Now one of her nurses had seen her; so she came up to her\nand held her in talk till she slept, when she stole the scroll from\nunder her pillow; and, after reading it, knew that she had fallen in\nlove with Uns al-Wujud. Then she returned the scroll to its place and\nwhen her mistress awoke, she said to her, \u201cO my lady, indeed I am to\nthee a true counsellor and am tenderly anxious on thy account. Know that\nlove is a tyrant and the hiding it melteth iron and entaileth sickness\nand unease; nor for whoso confesseth it is there aught of reproach.\u201d\nRejoined Rose-in-Hood, \u201cAnd what is the medicine of passion, O nurse\nmine?\u201d Answered the nurse, \u201cThe medicine of passion is enjoyment.\u201d Quoth\nshe, \u201cAnd how may one come by enjoyment?\u201d Quoth the other, \u201cBy letters\nand messages, my lady; by whispered words of compliment and by greetings\nbefore the world;[37] all this bringeth lovers together and makes hard\nmatters easy. So if thou have aught at heart, mistress mine, I am the\nfittest to keep thy secret and do thy desires and carry thy letters.\u201d\nNow when the damsel heard this, her reason flew and fled for joy; but\nshe restrained herself from speech till she should see the issue of the\nmatter, saying within herself, \u201cNone knoweth this thing of me, nor will\nI trust this one with my secret, till I have tried her.\u201d Then said the\nwoman, \u201cO my lady, I saw in my sleep as though a man came to me and\nsaid:\u2014Thy mistress and Uns al-Wujud love each other; so do thou serve\ntheir case by carrying their messages and doing their desires and\nkeeping their secrets; and much good shall befal thee. So now I have\ntold thee my vision and it is thine to decide.\u201d Quoth Rose-in-Hood,\nafter she heard of the dream,\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 Seventy-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King that Rose-in-Hood asked\nher nurse after hearing of the dream, \u201cTell me, canst thou keep a\nsecret, O my nurse?\u201d; whereto she answered, \u201cAnd how should I not keep\nsecrecy, I that am of the flower of the free?\u201d[38] Then the maiden\npulled out the scroll, whereon she had written the verses and said,\n\u201cCarry me this my letter to Uns al-Wujud and bring me his reply.\u201d The\nnurse took the letter and, repairing to Uns al-Wujud, kissed his hands\nand greeted him right courteously, then gave him the paper; and he read\nit and, comprehending the contents, wrote on the back these couplets:\u2014\n\n I soothe my heart and my love repel; \u273f But my state interprets my love\n too well:\n When tears flow I tell them mine eyes are ill, \u273f Lest the censor see and\n my case foretell,\n I was fancy-free and unknew I Love; \u273f But I fell in love and in madness\n fell.\n I show you my case and complain of pain, \u273f Pine and ecstasy that your\n ruth compel:\n I write you with tears of eyes, so belike \u273f They explain the love come\n my heart to quell;\n Allah guard a face that is veiled with charms, \u273f Whose thrall is Moon\n and the Stars as well:\n In her beauty I never beheld the like; \u273f From her sway the branches\n learn sway and swell:\n I beg you, an \u2018tis not too much of pains, \u273f To call;[39] \u2018twere boon\n without parallel.\n I give you a soul you will haply take. \u273f To which Union is Heaven,\n Disunion Hell.\n\nThen he folded the letter and kissing it, gave it to the go-between and\nsaid to her, \u201cO nurse, incline thy lady\u2019s heart to me.\u201d \u201cTo hear is to\nobey,\u201d answered she and carried the script to her mistress, who kissed\nit and laid it on her head, then she opened it and read it and\nunderstood it and wrote at the foot of it these couplets:\u2014\n\n O whose heart by our beauty is captive ta\u2019en, \u273f Have patience and all\n thou shalt haply gain!\n When we knew that thy love was a true affect, \u273f And what pained our\n heart to thy heart gave pain,\n We had granted thee wished-for call and more; \u273f But hindered so doing\n the chamberlain.\n When the night grows dark, through our love\u2019s excess \u273f Fire burns our\n vitals with might and main:\n And sleep from our beds is driven afar, \u273f And our bodies are tortured by\n passion-bane.\n \u201cHide Love!\u201d in Love\u2019s code is the first command; \u273f And from raising his\n veil thy hand restrain:\n I fell love-fulfill\u00e8d by yon gazelle: \u273f Would he never wander from where\n I dwell!\n\nThen she folded the letter and gave it to the nurse, who took it and\nwent out from her mistress to seek the young man; but, as she would fare\nforth, the chamberlain met her and said to her, \u201cWhither away?\u201d \u201cTo the\nbath,\u201d answered she; but in her fear and confusion, she dropped the\nletter, without knowing it, and went off unrecking what she had done;\nwhen one of the eunuchs, seeing it lying in the way, picked it up. When\nthe nurse came without the door, she sought for it, but found it not, so\nturned back to her mistress and told her of this and what had befallen\nher. Meanwhile, the Wazir came out of the Harim and seated himself on\nhis couch; whereupon behold, the eunuch, who had picked up the letter,\ncame in to him, hending it in hand and said, \u201cO my lord, I found this\npaper lying upon the floor and picked it up.\u201d So the Minister took it\nfrom his hand, folded as it was, and opening it, read the verses as\nabove set down. Then, after mastering the meaning, he examined the\nwriting and knew it for his daughter\u2019s hand; whereupon he went to her\nmother, weeping so abundant tears that his beard was wetted. His wife\nasked him, \u201cWhat maketh thee weep, O my lord?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cTake\nthis letter and see what is therein.\u201d So she took it and found it to be\na love-letter from her daughter Rose-in-Hood to Uns al-Wujud: whereupon\nthe ready drops sprang to her eyes; but she composed her mind, and,\ngulping down her tears, said to her husband, \u201cO my lord, there is no\nprofit in weeping: the right course is to cast about for a means of\nkeeping thine honour and concealing the affair of thy daughter.\u201d And she\nwent on to comfort him and lighten his trouble; but he said, \u201cI am\nfearful for my daughter by reason of this new passion. Knowest thou not\nthat the Sultan loveth Uns al-Wujud with exceeding love? And my fear\nhath two causes. The first concerneth myself; it is, that she is my\ndaughter: the second is on account of the King; for that Uns al-Wujud is\na favourite with the Sultan and peradventure great troubles shall come\nout of this affair. What deemest thou should be done?\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 Seventy-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir, after\nrecounting the affair of his daughter, asked his wife, \u201cWhat deemest\nthou should be done?\u201d And she answered, \u201cHave patience whilst I pray the\nprayer for right direction.\u201d So she prayed a two-bow prayer according to\nthe prophetic[40] ordinance for seeking divine guidance; after which she\nsaid to her husband, \u201cIn the midst of the Sea of Treasures[41] standeth\na mountain named the Mount of the Bereaved Mother (the cause of which\nbeing so called shall presently follow in its place, Inshallah!); and\nthither can none have access, save with pains and difficulty and\ndistress: do thou make that same her abiding-place.\u201d Accordingly the\nMinister and his wife agreed to build on that mountain a virgin castle\nand lodge their daughter therein with the necessary provision to be\nrenewed year by year and attendants to cheer and to serve her.\nAccordingly he collected carpenters, builders and architects, and\ndespatched them to the mountain, where they builded her an impregnable\ncastle, never saw eyes the like thereof. Then he made ready vivers and\ncarriage for the journey and, going in to his daughter by night, bade\nher prepare to set out on a pleasure-excursion. Thereupon her heart\npresaged the sorrows of separation and, when she went forth and saw the\npreparations for the journey, she wept with sore weeping and wrote that\nupon the door which might acquaint her lover with what had passed and\nwith the transports of passion and grief that were upon her, transports\nsuch as would make the flesh to shiver and hair to stare, and melt the\nhardest stone with care, and tear from every eye a tear. And what she\nwrote were these couplets:\u2014\n\n By Allah, O thou house, if my beloved a morn go by, \u273f And greet with\n signs and signals lover e\u2019er is wont to fly,\n I pray thee give him our salams in pure and fragrant guise, \u273f For he\n indeed may never know where we this eve shall lie.\n I wot not whither they have fared, thus bearing us afar \u273f At speed, and\n lightly-quipt, the lighter from one love to fly:\n When starkens night, the birds in brake or branches snugly perched \u273f\n Wail for our sorrow and announce our hapless destiny:\n The tongue of their condition saith, \u201cAlas, alas for woe, \u273f And heavy\n brunt of parting-blow two lovers must aby\u201d:\n When viewed I separation-cups were fill\u00e8d to the brim \u273f And us with\n merest sorrow-wine Fate came so fast to ply,\n I mixed them with becoming share of patience self to excuse, \u273f But\n Patience for the loss of you her solace doth refuse.\n\nNow when she ended her lines, she mounted and they set forward with her\ncrossing and cutting over wold and wild and riant dale and rugged hill,\ntill they came to the shore of the Sea of Treasures here they pitched\ntheir tents and built her a great ship, wherein they went down with her\nand her suite and carried them over to the mountain. The Minister had\nordered them, on reaching the journey\u2019s end, to set her in the castle\nand to make their way back to the shore, where they were to break up the\nvessel. So they did his bidding and returned home, weeping over what had\nbefallen. Such was their case; but as regards Uns al-Wujud, he arose\nfrom sleep and prayed the dawn-prayer, after which he took horse and\nrode forth to attend upon the Sultan. On his way, he passed by the\nWazir\u2019s house, thinking perchance to see some of his followers as of\nwont; but he saw no one and, looking upon the door, he read written\nthereon the verses aforesaid. At this sight, his senses failed him; fire\nwas kindled in his vitals and he returned to his lodging, where he\npassed the day in trouble and transports of grief, without finding ease\nor patience, till night darkened upon him, when his yearning and\nlove-longing redoubled. Thereupon, by way of concealment, he disguised\nhimself in the ragged garb of a Fakir,[42] and set out wandering at\nrandom through the glooms of night, distracted and knowing not whither\nhe went. So he wandered on all that night and next day, till the heat of\nthe sun waxed fierce and the mountains flamed like fire and thirst was\ngrievous upon him. Presently, he espied a tree, by whose side was a thin\nthread of running water; so he made towards it and sitting down in the\nshade, on the bank of the rivulet, essayed to drink, but found that the\nwater had no taste in his mouth;[43] and, indeed his colour had changed\nand his face had yellowed, and his feet were swollen with travel and\ntravail. So he shed copious tears and repeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n The lover is drunken with love of friend; \u273f On a longing that groweth\n his joys depend:\n Love-distracted, ardent, bewildered, lost \u273f From home, nor may food\n aught of pleasure lend:\n How can life be delightsome to one in love, \u273f And from lover parted,\n \u2018twere strange, unkenned!\n I melt with the fire of my pine for them, \u273f And the tears down my cheek\n in a stream descend.\n Shall I see them, say me, or one that comes \u273f From the camp, who th\u2019\n afflicted heart shall tend?\n\nAnd after thus reciting he wept till he wetted the hard dry ground; but\nanon without loss of time he rose and fared on again over waste and\nwold, till there came out upon him a lion, with a neck buried in tangled\nmane, a head the bigness of a dome, a mouth wider than the door thereof\nand teeth like elephants\u2019 tusks. Now when Uns al-Wujud saw him, he gave\nhimself up for lost and, turning[44] towards the Temple of Meccah,\npronounced the professions of the faith and prepared for death. He had\nread in books that whoso will flatter the lion, beguileth him,[45] for\nthat he is readily duped by smooth speech and gentled by being\nglorified; so he began and said, \u201cO Lion of the forest! O Lord of the\nwaste! O terrible Leo! O father of fighters! O Sultan of wild beasts!\nBehold, I am a lover in longing, whom passion and severance have been\nwronging; since I parted from my dear, I have lost my reasoning gear;\nwherefore, to my speech do thou give ear and have ruth on my passion and\nhope and fear.\u201d When the lion heard this, he drew back from him and\nsitting down on his hind-quarters, raised his head to him and began to\nfrisk tail and paws; which when Uns al-Wujud saw, he recited these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n Lion of the wold wilt thou murther me, \u273f Ere I meet her who doomed me to\n slavery?\n I am not game and I bear no fat; \u273f For the loss of my love makes me\n sickness dree;\n And estrangement from her hath so worn me down \u273f I am like a shape in a\n shroud we see.\n O thou sire of spoils,[46] O thou lion of war, \u273f Give not my pains to\n the blamer\u2019s gree.\n I burn with love, I am drowned in tears \u273f For a parting from lover, sore\n misery!\n And my thoughts of her in the murk of night \u273f For love hath made my\n being unbe.\n\nAs he had finished his lines the lion rose\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that as Uns al-Wujud\nended his lines, the lion arose and stalked slowly up to him, with eyes\ntear-railing and licked him with his tongue, then walked on before him,\nsigning to him as though saying, \u201cFollow me.\u201d So he followed him, and\nthe beast ceased not leading him on for a while till he brought him up a\nmountain, and guided him to the farther side, where he came upon the\ntrack of a caravan over the desert, and knew it to be that of\nRose-in-Hood and her company. Then he took the trail and, when the lion\nsaw that he knew the track for that of the party which escorted her, he\nturned back and went his way; whilst Uns al-Wujud walked along the\nfoot-marks day and night, till they brought him to a dashing sea,\nswollen with clashing surge. The trail led down to the sandy shore and\nthere broke off; whereby he knew that they had taken ship and had\ncontinued their journey by water. So he lost hope of finding his lover\nand with hot tears he repeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n Far is the fane and patience faileth me; \u273f How can I seek them[47] o\u2019er\n the abysmal sea;\n Or how be patient, when my vitals burn \u273f For love of them, and sleep\n waxed insomny?\n Since the sad day they left the home and fled, \u273f My heart\u2019s consum\u00e8d by\n love\u2019s ardency:\n Sayhun, Jayhun,[48] Euphrates-like my tears, \u273f Make flood no deluged\n rain its like can see:\n Mine eyelids chafed with running tears remain, \u273f My heart from fiery\n sparks is never free;\n The hosts of love and longing press\u00e8d me \u273f And made the hosts of\n patience break and flee.\n I\u2019ve risked my life too freely for their love; \u273f And risk of life the\n least of ills shall be.\n Allah ne\u2019er punish eye that saw those charms \u273f Enshrined, and passing\n full moon\u2019s brillancy!\n I found me felled by fair wide-opened eyes, \u273f Which pierced my heart\n with stringless archery:\n And soft, lithe, swaying shape enraptured me \u273f As sway the branches of\n the willow-tree:\n Wi\u2019 them I covet union that I win, \u273f O\u2019er love-pains cark and care, a\n mastery.\n For love of them aye, morn and eve I pine, \u273f And doubt all came to me\n from evil eyne.\n\nAnd when his lines were ended he wept, till he swooned away, and abode\nin his swoon a long while; but as soon as he came to himself, he looked\nright and left and seeing no one in the desert, he became fearful of the\nwild beasts; so he clomb to the top of a high mountain, where he heard\nthe voice of a son of Adam speaking within a cave. He listened and lo!\nthey were the accents of a devotee, who had forsworn the world and given\nhimself up to pious works and worship. He knocked thrice at the\ncavern-door, but the hermit made him no answer, neither came forth to\nhim; wherefore he groaned aloud and recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n What pathway find I my desire t\u2019obtain, \u273f How \u2018scape from care and cark\n and pain and bane?\n All terrors join to make me old and hoar \u273f Of head and heart, ere youth\n from me is ta\u2019en:\n Nor find I any aid my passion, nor \u273f A friend to lighten load of bane\n and pain.\n How great and many troubles I\u2019ve endured! \u273f Fortune hath turned her back\n I see unfain.\n Ah mercy, mercy on the lover\u2019s heart, \u273f Doomed cup of parting and\n desertion drain!\n A fire is in his heart, his vitals waste, \u273f And severance made his\n reason vainest vain.\n How dread the day I came to her abode \u273f And saw the writ they wrote on\n doorway lain!\n I wept, till gave I earth to drink my grief; \u273f But still to near and\n far[49] I did but feign:\n Then strayed I till in waste a lion sprang \u273f On me, and but for\n flattering words had slain:\n I soothed him: so he spared me and lent me aid, \u273f He too might haply of\n love\u2019s taste complain.\n O devotee, that idlest in thy cave, \u273f Meseems eke thou hast learned\n Love\u2019s might and main;\n But if, at end of woes, with them I league, \u273f Straight I\u2019ll forget all\n suffering and fatigue.\n\nHardly had he made an end of these verses when, behold! the door of the\ncavern opened and he heard one say, \u201cAlas, the pity of it!\u201d[50] So he\nentered and saluted the devotee, who returned his salam and asked him,\n\u201cWhat is thy name?\u201d Answered the young man, \u201cUns al-Wujud.\u201d \u201cAnd what\ncaused thee to come hither?\u201d quoth the hermit. So he told him his story\nin its entirety, omitting naught of his misfortunes; whereat he wept and\nsaid,\n\n\u201cO Uns al-Wujud, these twenty years have I passed in this place, but\nnever beheld I any man here, until yesterday, when I heard a noise of\nweeping and lamentation and, looking forth in the direction of the\nsound, saw many people and tents pitched on the sea-shore; and the party\nat once proceeded to build a ship, in which certain of them embarked and\nsailed over the waters. Then some of the crew returned with the ship and\nbreaking it up, went their way; and I suspect that those who embarked in\nthe ship and returned not, are they whom thou seekest. In that case, O\nUns al-Wujud, thy grief must needs be great and sore and thou art\nexcusable, though never yet was lover but suffered love-longing.\u201d Then\nhe recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n Uns al-Wujud, dost deem me fancy-free, \u273f When pine and longing slay and\n quicken me?\n I have known love and yearning from the years \u273f Since mother-milk I\n drank, nor e\u2019er was free.\n Long struggled I with Love, till learnt his might; \u273f Ask thou of him,\n he\u2019ll tell with willing gree.\n Love-sick and pining drank I passion-cup, \u273f And well-nigh perished in\n mine agony.\n Strong was I, but my strength to weakness turned, \u273f And eye-sword brake\n through Patience armoury:\n Hope not to win love-joys, without annoy; \u273f Contrary ever links with\n contrary.\n But fear not change from lover true; be true \u273f Unto thy wish, some day\n thine own \u2018twill be.\n Love hath forbidden to his votaries \u273f Relinquishment as deadliest\n heresy.\n\nThe eremite, having ended his verse, rose and, coming up to Uns\nal-Wujud, embraced him,\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 Seventy-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the eremite,\nhaving ended his verse, rose and coming up to Uns al-Wujud embraced him,\nand they wept together, till the hills rang with their cries and they\nfell down fainting. When they revived, they swore brotherhood[51] in\nAllah Almighty; after which said Uns al-Wujud, \u201cThis very night will I\npray to God and seek of Him direction[52] anent what thou shouldst do to\nattain thy desire.\u201d Thus it was with them; but as regards Rose-in-Hood,\nwhen they brought her to the mountain and set her in the castle and she\nbeheld its ordering, she wept and exclaimed, \u201cBy Allah, thou art a\ngoodly place, save that thou lackest in thee the presence of the\nbeloved!\u201d[53] Then seeing birds in the island, she bade her people set\nsnares for them and put all they caught in cages within the castle; and\nthey did so. But she sat at a lattice and bethought her of what had\npassed, and desire and passion and distraction redoubled upon her, till\nshe burst into tears and repeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n O to whom now, of my desire complaining sore, shall I \u273f Bewail my\n parting from my fere compell\u00e8d thus to fly?\n Flames rage within what underlies my ribs, yet hide them I \u273f In deepest\n secret dreading aye the jealous hostile spy:\n I am grown as lean, attenuate as any pick of tooth,[54] \u273f By sore\n estrangement, absence, ardour, ceaseless sob and sigh.\n Where is the eye of my beloved to see how I\u2019m become \u273f Like tree\n stripped bare of leafage left to linger and to die.\n They tyrannis\u00e8d over me whom they confined in place \u273f Whereto the lover\n of my heart may never draw him nigh:\n I beg the Sun for me to give greetings a thousandfold, \u273f At time of\n rising and again when setting from the sky,\n To the belov\u00e8d one who shames a full moon\u2019s loveliness, \u273f When shows\n that slender form that doth the willow-branch outvie.\n If Rose herself would even with his cheek, I say of her \u273f \u201cThou art not\n like it if to me my portion thou deny:\u201d[55]\n\n His honey-dew of lips is like the grateful water draught \u273f Would cool me\n when a fire in heart upflameth fierce and high:\n How shall I give him up who is my heart and soul of me, \u273f My malady my\n wasting cause, my love, sole leach of me?\n\nThen, as the glooms of night closed around her, her yearning increased\nand she called to mind the past and recited also these couplets:\u2014\n\n \u2018Tis dark: my transport and unease now gather might and main, \u273f And\n love-desire provoketh me to wake my wonted pain:\n The pang of parting takes for ever place within my breast, \u273f And pining\n makes me desolate in destitution lain.\n Ecstasy sore maltreats my soul and yearning burns my sprite, \u273f And tears\n betray love\u2019s secresy which I would lief contain:\n I weet no way, I know no case that can make light my load, \u273f Or heal my\n wasting body or cast out from me this bane.\n A hell of fire is in my heart upflames with lambent tongue \u273f And Laz\u00e1\u2019s\n furnace-fires within my liver place have ta\u2019en.\n O thou, exaggerating blame for what befel, enough \u273f I bear with patience\n whatsoe\u2019er hath writ for me the Pen!\n I swear, by Allah, ne\u2019er to find aught comfort for their loss; \u273f \u2018Tis\n oath of passion\u2019s children and their oaths are ne\u2019er in vain.\n O Night! Salams of me to friends and let to them be known \u273f Of thee true\n knowledge how I wake and waking ever wone.\n\nMeanwhile, the hermit said to Uns al-Wujud, \u201cGo down to the palm-grove\nin the valley and fetch some fibre.\u201d[56] So he went and returned with\nthe palm-fibre, which the hermit took and, twisting into ropes, made\ntherewith a net,[57] such as is used for carrying straw; after which he\nsaid, \u201cO Uns al-Wujud, in the heart of the valley groweth a gourd, which\nspringeth up and drieth upon its roots. Go down there and fill this sack\ntherewith; then tie it together and, casting it into the water, embark\nthereon and make for the midst of the sea, so haply thou shalt win thy\nwish; for whoso never ventureth shall not have what he seeketh.\u201d \u201cI hear\nand obey,\u201d answered Uns al-Wujud. Then he bade the hermit farewell after\nthe holy man had prayed for him; and, betaking himself to the sole of\nthe valley, did as his adviser had counselled him; made the sack,\nlaunched it upon the water, and pushed from shore. Then there arose a\nwind, which drave him out to sea, till he was lost to the eremite\u2019s\nview; and he ceased not to float over the abysses of the ocean, one\nbillow tossing him up and another bearing him down (and he beholding the\nwhile the dangers and marvels of the deep), for the space of three days.\nAt the end of that time Fate cast him upon the Mount of the Bereft\nMother, where he landed, giddy and tottering like a chick unfledged, and\nat the last of his strength for hunger and thirst; but, finding there\nstreams flowing and birds on the branches cooing and fruit-laden trees\nin clusters and singly growing, he ate of the fruits and drank of the\nrills. Then he walked on till he saw some white thing afar off, and\nmaking for it, found that it was a strongly fortified castle. So he went\nup to the gate and seeing it locked, sat down by it; and there he sat\nfor three days when behold, the gate opened and an eunuch came out, who\nfinding Uns al-Wujud there seated, said to him, \u201cWhence camest thou and\nwho brought thee hither?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cFrom Ispahan and I was voyaging\nwith merchandise when my ship was wrecked and the waves cast me upon the\nfarther side of this island.\u201d Whereupon the eunuch wept and embraced\nhim, saying, \u201cAllah preserve thee, O thou friendly face! Ispahan is mine\nown country and I have there a cousin, the daughter of my father\u2019s\nbrother, whom I loved from my childhood and cherished with fond\naffection; but a people stronger than we fell upon us in foray and\ntaking me among other booty, cut off my yard[58] and sold me for a\ncastrato, whilst I was yet a lad; and this is how I came to be in such\ncase.\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 Seventy-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the eunuch who\ncame forth from the castle, where Rose-in-Hood was confined, told Uns\nal-Wujud all his tale and said:\u2014\u201cThe raiders who captured me cut off my\nyard and sold me for a castrato; and this is how I came to be in such\ncase.\u201d[59] And after saluting him and wishing him long life, the eunuch\ncarried him into the courtyard of the castle, where he saw a great tank\nof water, surrounded by trees, on whose branches hung cages of silver,\nwith doors of gold, and therein birds were warbling and singing the\npraises of the Requiting King. And when he came to the first cage he\nlooked in and lo! a turtle dove, on seeing him, raised her voice and\ncried out, saying, \u201cO Thou Bounty-fraught!\u201d Whereat he fell down\nfainting and after coming to himself, he sighed heavily and recited\nthese couplets:\u2014\n\n O turtle dove, like me art thou distraught? \u273f Then pray the Lord and\n sing \u201cO Bounty-fraught!\u201d\n Would I knew an thy moan were sign of joy, \u273f Or cry of love-desire in\n heart inwrought,\u2014\n An moan thou pining for a lover gone \u273f Who left thee woe begone to pine\n in thought,\u2014\n Or if like me hast lost thy fondest friend, \u273f And severance long desire\n to memory brought?\n O Allah, guard a faithful lover\u2019s lot \u273f I will not leave her though my\n bones go rot!\n\nThen, after ending his verses, he fainted again; and, presently reviving\nhe went on to the second cage, wherein he found a ringdove. When it saw\nhim, it sang out, \u201cO Eternal, I thank thee!\u201d and he groaned and recited\nthese couplets:\u2014\n\n I heard a ringdove chanting plaintively, \u273f \u201cI thank Thee, O Eternal for\n this misery!\u201d\n Haply, perchance, may Allah, of His grace, \u273f Send me by this long round\n my love to see.\n Full oft[60] she comes with honeyed lips dark red, \u273f And heaps up lowe\n upon love\u2019s ardency.\n\n Quoth I (while longing fires flame high and fierce \u273f In heart, and\n wasting life\u2019s vitality,\n And tears like gouts of blood go railing down \u273f In torrents over cheeks\n now pale of blee),\n \u201cNone e\u2019er trod earth that was not born to woe, \u273f But I will patient\n dree mine agony,\n So help me Allah! till that happy day \u273f When with my mistress I unite\n shall be:\n Then will I spend my good on lover-wights, \u273f Who\u2019re of my tribe and of\n the faith of me;\n And loose the very birds from jail set free, \u273f And change my grief for\n gladdest gree and glee!\u201d\n\nThen he went on to the third cage, wherein he found a mocking-bird[61]\nwhich, when it saw him, set up a song, and he recited the following\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n Pleaseth me yon Haz\u00e1r of mocking strain \u273f Like voice of lover pained by\n love in vain.\n Woe\u2019s me for lovers! Ah how many men \u273f By nights and pine and passion\n low are lain!\n As though by stress of love they had been made \u273f Morn-less and\n sleep-less by their pain and bane.\n When I went daft for him who conquered me \u273f And pined for him who proved\n of proudest strain,\n My tears in streams down trickled and I cried \u273f \u201cThese long-linkt tears\n bind like an adamant-chain:\u201d\n Grew concupiscence, severance long, and I \u273f Lost Patience\u2019 hoards and\n grief waxed sovereign:\n If Justice bide in world and me unite \u273f With him I love and Allah veil\n us deign,\n I\u2019ll strip my clothes that he my form shall sight \u273f With parting,\n distance, grief, how poor of plight!\n\nThen he went to the fourth cage, where he found a Bulbul[62] which, at\nsight of him, began to sway to and fro and sing its plaintive descant;\nand when he heard its complaint, he burst into tears and repeated these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n The Bulbul\u2019s note, whenas dawn is nigh, \u273f Tells the lover from strains\n of strings to fly:\n Complaineth for passion Uns al-Wujud, \u273f For pine that would being to him\n deny.\n\n How many a strain do we hear, whose sound \u273f Softens stones and the rock\n can mollify:\n And the breeze of morning that sweetly speaks \u273f Of meadows in flower\u00e8d\n greenery.\n And scents and sounds in the morning-tide \u273f Of birds and zephyrs in\n fragrance vie;\n But I think of one, of an absent friend, \u273f And tears rail like rain from\n a showery sky;\n And the flamy tongues in my breast uprise \u273f As sparks from gleed that in\n dark air fly.\n Allah deign vouchsafe to a lover distraught \u273f Someday the face of his\n dear to descry!\n For lovers, indeed, no excuse is clear, \u273f Save excuse of sight and\n excuse of eye.\n\nThen he walked on a little and came to a goodly cage, than which was no\ngoodlier there, and in it a culver of the forest, that is to say, a\nwood-pigeon,[63] the bird renowned among birds as the minstrel of\nlove-longing, with a collar of jewels about its neck marvellous fine and\nfair. He considered it awhile and, seeing it absently brooding in its\ncage, he shed tears and repeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n O culver of copse,[64] with salams I greet; \u273f O brother of lovers who\n woe must weet!\n I love a gazelle who is slender-slim, \u273f Whose glances for keenness the\n scymitar beat:\n For her love are my heart and my vitals a-fire, \u273f And my frame consumes\n in love\u2019s fever-heat.\n The sweet taste of food is unlawful for me, \u273f And forbidden is slumber,\n unlawfullest sweet.\n Endurance and solace have travelled from me, \u273f And love homes in my\n heart and grief takes firm seat:\n How shall life deal joy when they flee my sight \u273f Who are joy and\n gladness and life and sprite?\n\nAs soon as Uns al-Wujud had ended his verse\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 Seventy-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that as soon as Uns\nal-Wujud had ended his verse, the wood-culver awoke from its brooding\nand cooed a reply to his lines and shrilled and trilled with its\nthrilling notes till it all but spake with human speech;[65] and the\ntongue of the case talked for it and recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n O lover, thou bringest to thought a tide \u273f When the strength of my youth\n first faded and died;\n And a friend of whose form I was \u2018namour\u00e8d, \u273f Seductive and dight with\n beauty\u2019s pride;\n Whose voice, as he sat on the sandhill-tree, \u273f From the Nay\u2019s[66] sweet\n sound turned my heart aside;\n A fowler snared him in net, the while \u273f \u201cO that man would leave me at\n large!\u201d he cried:\n I had hoped he might somewhat of mercy show \u273f When a hapless lover he so\n espied;\n But Allah smite him who tore me away, \u273f In his hardness of heart, from\n my lover\u2019s side;\n But aye my desire for him groweth more, \u273f And my heart with the fires of\n disjunction is fried:\n Allah guard a true lover, who strives with love, \u273f And hath borne the\n torments I still abide!\n And, seeing me bound in this cage, with mind \u273f Of ruth, release me my\n love to find.\n\nThen Uns al-Wujud turned to his companion, the Ispahahi, and said, \u201cWhat\npalace is this? Who built it and who abideth in it?\u201d Quoth the eunuch,\n\u201cThe Wazir of a certain King built it to guard his daughter, fearing for\nher the accidents of Time and the incidents of Fortune, and lodged her\nherein, her and her attendants; nor do we open it save once in every\nyear, when their provision cometh to them.\u201d And Uns al-Wujud said to\nhimself, \u201cI have gained my end, though I may have long to wait.\u201d Such\nwas his case; but as regards Rose-in-Hood, of a truth she took no\npleasure in eating or drinking, sitting or sleeping; but her desire and\npassion and distraction redoubled on her, and she went wandering about\nthe castle-corners, but could find no issue; wherefore she shed tears\nand recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n They have cruelly ta\u2019en me from him, my beloved, \u273f And made me taste\n anguish in prison ta\u2019en:\n They have fired my heart with the flames of love, \u273f Barred all sight of\n him whom to see I\u2019m fain:\n In a lofty palace they prisoned me \u273f On a mountain placed in the middle\n main.\n If they\u2019d have me forget him, right vain\u2019s their wish, \u273f For my love is\n grown of a stronger strain.\n How _can_ I forget him whose face was cause \u273f Of all I suffer, of all I\n \u2018plain?\n The whole of my days in sorrow\u2019s spent, \u273f And in thought of him through\n the night I\u2019m lain.\n Remembrance of him cheers my solitude, \u273f While I lorn of his presence\n and lone remain.\n Would I knew if, after this all, my fate \u273f To oblige the desire of my\n heart will deign.\n\nWhen her verses were ended, she ascended to the terrace-roof of the\ncastle after donning her richest clothes and trinkets and throwing a\nnecklace of jewels around her neck. Then binding together some dresses\nof Ba\u2019albak[67] stuff by way of rope, she tied them to the crenelles and\nlet herself down thereby to the ground. And she fared on over wastes and\nwaterless wilds, till she came to the shore, where she saw a fisherman\nplying here and there over the sea, for the wind had driven him on to\nthe island. When he saw her, he was affrighted[68] and pushed off again,\nflying from her; but she cried out and made pressing signs to him to\nreturn, versifying with these couplets:\u2014\n\n O fisherman no care hast thou to fear, \u273f I\u2019m but an earth-born maid in\n mortal sphere;\n I pray thee linger and my prayer grant \u273f And to my true unhappy tale\n give ear:\n\n Pity (so Allah spare thee!) warmest love; \u273f Say, hast thou seen him\u2014my\n beloved fere?\n I love a lovely youth whose face excels \u273f Sunlight, and passes moon when\n clearest clear:\n The fawn, that sees his glance, is fain to cry \u273f \u201cI am his thrall\u201d and\n own himself no peer:\n Beauty hath written, on his winsome cheek, \u273f Rare lines of pregnant\n sense for every seer;\n Who sights the light of love his soul is saved; \u273f Who strays is Infidel\n to Hell anear:\n An thou in mercy show his sight, O rare![69] \u273f Thou shalt have every\n wish, the dearest dear,\n Of rubies and what likest are to them \u273f Fresh pearls and unions new, the\n sea-shell\u2019s tear:\n My friend, thou wilt forsure grant my desire \u273f Whose heart is melted in\n love\u2019s hottest fire.\n\nWhen the fisherman heard her words, he wept and made moan and lamented;\nthen, recalling what had betided himself in the days of his youth, when\nlove had the mastery over him and longing and desire and distraction\nwere sore upon him and the fires of passion consumed him, replied with\nthese couplets:\u2014\n\n What fair excuse is this my pining plight, \u273f With wasted limbs and\n tears\u2019 unceasing blight;\n And eyelids open in the nightly murk, \u273f And heart like fire-stick[70]\n ready fire to smite;\n Indeed love burdened us in early youth, \u273f And true from false coin soon\n we learned aright:\n Then did we sell our soul on way of love, \u273f And drunk of many a well[71]\n to win her sight;\n Venturing very life to gain her grace, \u273f And make high profit perilling\n a mite.\n \u2018Tis Love\u2019s religion whoso buys with life \u273f His lover\u2019s grace, with\n highest gain is dight.\n\nAnd when he ended his verse, he moored his boat to the beach and said to\nher, \u201cEmbark, so may I carry thee whither thou wilt.\u201d Thereupon she\nembarked and he put off with her; but they had not gone far from land,\nbefore there came out a stern-wind upon the boat and drove it swiftly\nout of sight of shore. Now the fisherman knew not whither he went, and\nthe strong wind blew without ceasing three days, when it fell by leave\nof Allah Almighty, and they sailed on and ceased not sailing till they\ncame in sight of a city sitting upon the sea-shore,\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 Seventy-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the\nfisherman\u2019s craft, carrying Rose-in-Hood, made the city sitting upon the\nsea shore, the man set about making fast to the land. Now the King of\nthe city was a Prince of pith and puissance named Dirb\u00e1s, the Lion; and\nhe chanced at that moment to be seated, with his son, at a window in the\nroyal palace giving upon the sea; and happening to look out seawards,\nthey saw the fishing-boat make the land. They observed it narrowly and\nespied therein a young lady, as she were the full moon overhanging the\nhorizon-edge, with pendants in her ears of costly balass-rubies and a\ncollar of precious stones about her throat. Hereby the King knew that\nthis must indeed be the daughter of some King or great noble and, going\nforth of the sea-gate of the palace, went down to the boat, where he\nfound the lady asleep and the fisherman busied in making fast to shore.\nSo he went up to her and aroused her, whereupon she awoke, weeping; and\nhe asked her, \u201cWhence comest thou and whose daughter art thou and what\nbe the cause of thy coming hither?\u201d; and she answered, \u201cI am the\ndaughter of Ibrahim, Wazir to King Sh\u00e1mikh; and the manner of my coming\nhither is wondrous and the cause thereof marvellous.\u201d And she told him\nher whole story first and last, hiding naught from him; then she groaned\naloud and recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n Tear-drops have chafed mine eyelids and rail down in wondrous wise, \u273f\n For parting pain that fills my sprite and turns to springs mine eyes,\n For sake of friend who ever dwells within my vitals homed, \u273f And I may\n never win my wish of him in any guise.\n He hath a favour fair and bright, and brilliant is his face, \u273f Which\n every Turk and Arab wight in loveliness outvies:\n The Sun and fullest Moon lout low whenas his charms they sight, \u273f And\n lover-like they bend to him whene\u2019er he deigneth rise.\n\n A wondrous spell of gramarye like Kohl bedecks his eyne, \u273f And shows\n thee bow with shaft on string made ready ere it flies:\n O thou, to whom I told my case expecting all excuse, \u273f Pity a\n lover-wight for whom Love-shafts such fate devise!\n Verily, Love hath cast me on your coast despite of me \u273f Of will now\n weak, and fain I trust mine honour thou wilt prize:\n For noble men, whenas perchance alight upon their bounds, \u273f Grace-worthy\n guests, confess their worth and raise to dignities.\n Then, O thou hope of me, to lovers\u2019 folly veil afford \u273f And be to them\n reunion cause, thou only liefest lord!\n\nAnd when she had ended her verses, she again told the King her sad tale\nand shed plenteous tears and recited these couplets bearing on her\ncase:\u2014\n\n We lived till saw we all the marvels Love can bear; \u273f Each month to thee\n we hope shall fair as Rajab[72] fare:\n Is it not wondrous, when I saw them march amorn \u273f That I with water o\u2019\n eyes in heart lit flames that flare?\n That these mine eyelids rain fast dropping gouts of blood? \u273f That now my\n cheek grows gold where rose and lily were?\n As though the safflower hue, that overspread my cheeks, \u273f Were Joseph\u2019s\n coat made stain of lying blood to wear.\n\nNow when the King heard her words he was certified of her love and\nlonging and was moved to ruth for her; so he said to her, \u201cFear nothing\nand be not troubled; thou hast come to the term of thy wishes; for there\nis no help but that I win for thee thy will and bring thee to thy\ndesire.\u201d And he improvised these couplets:\u2014\n\n Daughter of nobles, who thine aim shalt gain; \u273f Hear gladdest news nor\n fear aught hurt or bane!\n This day I\u2019ll pack up wealth, and send it on \u273f To Sh\u00e1mikh, guarded by a\n champion-train;\n Fresh pods of musk I\u2019ll send him and brocades, \u273f And silver white and\n gold of yellow vein:\n Yes, and a letter shall inform him eke \u273f That I of kinship with that\n King am fain:\n\n And I this day will lend thee bestest aid, \u273f That all thou covetest thy\n soul assain.\n I, too, have tasted love and know its taste \u273f And can excuse whoso the\n same cup drain.[73]\n\nThen, ending his verse, he went forth to his troops and summoned his\nWazir; and, causing him to pack up countless treasure, commanded him\ncarry it to King Shamikh and say to him, \u201cNeeds must thou send me a\nperson named Uns al-Wujud;\u201d and say moreover \u201cThe King is minded to ally\nhimself with thee by marrying his daughter to Uns al-Wujud, thine\nofficer. So there is no help but thou despatch him to me, that the\nmarriage may be solemnized in her father\u2019s kingdom.\u201d And he wrote a\nletter to King Shamikh to this effect, and gave it to the Minister,\ncharging him strictly to bring back Uns al-Wujud and warning him, \u201cAn\nthou fail thou shalt be deposed and degraded.\u201d Answered the Wazir, \u201cI\nhear and obey;\u201d and, setting out forthright with the treasures, in due\ncourse arrived at the court of King Shamikh whom he saluted in the name\nof King Dirbas and delivered the letter and the presents. Now when King\nShamikh read the letter and saw the name of Uns al-Wujud, he burst into\ntears and said to the Wazir \u201cAnd where, oh where, is Uns al-Wujud?; he\nwent from us and we know not his place of abiding; only bring him to me,\nand I will give thee double the presents thou hast brought me.\u201d And he\nwept and groaned and lamented, saying these couplets:\u2014\n\n To me restore my dear; \u273f I want not wealth untold:\n Nor crave I gifts of pearls \u273f Or gems or store of gold:\n He was to us a moon \u273f In beauty\u2019s heavenly fold.\n Passing in form and soul; \u273f With roe compare withhold!\n His form a willow-wand, \u273f His fruit, lures manifold;\n But willow lacketh power \u273f Men\u2019s hearts to have and hold.\n I reared him from a babe \u273f On cot of coaxing roll\u2019d;\n And now I mourn for him \u273f With woe in soul ensoul\u2019d.\n\nThen, turning to the Wazir who had brought the presents and the missive,\nhe said, \u201cGo back to thy liege and acquaint him that Uns al-Wujud hath\nbeen missing this year past, and his lord knoweth not whither he is gone\nnor hath any tidings of him.\u201d Answered the Minister of King Dirbas, \u201cO\nmy lord, my master said to me:\u2014An thou fail to bring him back, thou\nshalt be degraded from the Wazirate and shalt not enter my city. How\nthen can I return without him?\u201d So King Shamikh said to his Wazir\nIbrahim, \u201cTake a company and go with him and make ye search for Uns\nal-Wujud everywhere.\u201d He replied, \u201cHearkening and obedience;\u201d and,\ntaking a body of his own retainers, set out accompanied by the Wazir of\nKing Dirbas seeking Uns al-Wujud.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ibrahim, Wazir to\nKing Shamikh, took him a body of his retainers and, accompanied by the\nMinister of King Dirbas, set out seeking Uns al-Wujud. And as often as\nthey fell in with wild Arabs or others they asked of the youth, saying,\n\u201cTell us have ye seen a man whose name is so and so and his semblance\nthus and thus?\u201d But they all answered, \u201cWe know him not.\u201d Still they\ncontinued their quest enquiring in city and hamlet and seeking in\nfertile plain and stony hall and in the wild and in the wold, till they\nmade the Mountain of the Bereaved Mother; and the Wazir of King Dirbas\nsaid to Ibrahim, \u201cWhy is this mountain thus called?\u201d He answered, \u201cOnce\nof old time, here sojourned a Jinniyah, of the Jinn of China, who loved\na mortal with passionate love; and, being in fear of her life from her\nown people, searched all the earth over for a place, where she might\nhide him from them, till she happened on this mountain and, finding it\ncut off from both men and Jinn, there being no access to it, carried off\nher beloved and lodged him therein. There, when she could escape notice\nof her kith and kin, she used privily to visit him, and continued so\ndoing till she had borne him a number of children; and the merchants,\nsailing by the mountain, in their voyages over the main, heard the\nweeping of the children, as it were the wailing of a woman bereft of her\nbabes, and said:\u2014Is there here a mother bereaved of her children? For\nwhich reason the place was named the Mountain of the Bereaved Mother.\u201d\nAnd the Wazir of King Dirbas marvelled at his words. Then they landed\nand, making for the castle, knocked at the gate which was opened to them\nby an eunuch, who knew the Wazir Ibrahim and kissed his hands. The\nMinister entered and found in the courtyard, among the serving-men, a\nFakir, which was Uns al-Wujud, but he knew him not and said, \u201cWhence\ncometh yonder wight?\u201d Quoth they, \u201cHe is a merchant, who hath lost his\ngoods, but saved himself; and he is an ecstatic.\u201d[74] So the Wazir left\nhim and went on into the castle, where he found no trace of his daughter\nand questioned her women, who answered, \u201cWe wot not how or whither she\nwent; this place misliked her and she tarried in it but a short time.\u201d\nWhereupon he wept sore and repeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n Ho thou, the house, whose birds were singing gay, \u273f Whose sills their\n wealth and pride were wont display!\n Till came the lover wailing for his love, \u273f And found thy doors wide\n open to the way;\n Would Heaven I knew where is my soul that erst \u273f Was homed in house,\n whose owners fared away!\n \u2018Twas stored with all things bright and beautiful, \u273f And showed its\n porters ranged in fair array:\n They clothed it with brocades a bride become;[75] \u273f Would I knew whither\n went its lords, ah, say!\n\nAfter ending his verses he again shed tears, and groaned and bemoaned\nhimself, exclaiming, \u201cThere is no deliverance from the destiny decreed\nby Allah; nor is there any escape from that which He hath predestined!\u201d\nThen he went up to the roof and found the strips of Ba\u2019albak stuff tied\nto the crenelles and hanging down to the ground, and thus it was he knew\nthat she had descended thence and had fled forth, as one distracted and\ndemented with desire and passion. Presently, he turned and seeing there\ntwo birds, a gor-crow and an owl he justly deemed this an omen of ill;\nso he groaned and recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n I came to my dear friends\u2019 door, of my hopes the goal, \u273f Whose sight\n mote assuage my sorrow and woes of soul:\n No friends found I there, nor was there another thing \u273f To find, save a\n corby-crow and an ill-omened owl.\n And the tongue o\u2019 the case to me seemed to say, \u201cIndeed \u273f This parting\n two lovers fond was cruel and foul!\u201d\n \u201cSo taste thou the sorrow thou madest them taste and live \u273f In grief:\n wend thy ways and now in thy sorrow prowl!\u201d\n\nThen he descended from the castle-roof, weeping, and bade the servants\nfare forth and search the mount for their mistress; so they sought for\nher, but found her not. Such was their case; but as regards Uns\nal-Wujud, when he was certified that Rose-in-Hood was indeed gone, he\ncried with a great cry and fell down in a fainting-fit, nor came to\nhimself for a long time, whilst the folk deemed that his spirit had been\nwithdrawn by the Compassionating One; and that he was absorbed in\ncontemplation of the splendour, majesty and beauty of the Requiting One.\nThen, despairing of finding Uns al-Wujud, and seeing that the Wazir\nIbrahim was distracted for the loss of his daughter, the Minister of\nKing Dirbas addressed himself to return to his own country, albeit he\nhad not attained the object of his journey, and while bidding his\ncompanion adieu, said to him, \u201cI have a mind to take the Fakir with me;\nit may be Allah Almighty will incline the King\u2019s heart to me by his\nblessing, for that he is a holy man; and thereafter, I will send him to\nIspahan, which is near our country.\u201d \u201cDo as thou wilt,\u201d answered\nIbrahim. So they took leave of each other and departed, each for his own\nmother land, the Wazir of King Dirbas carrying with him Uns\nal-Wujud\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 Eightieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir of King\nDirbas carried with him Uns al-Wujud who was still insensible. They bore\nhim with them on mule-back (he unknowing if he were carried or not) for\nthree days, when he came to himself and said, \u201cWhere am I?\u201d \u201cThou art in\ncompany with the Minister of King Dirbas,\u201d replied they and went and\ngave news of his recovering to the Wazir, who sent him rose-water and\nsherbet of sugar, of which they gave him to drink and restored him. Then\nthey ceased not faring on till they drew near King Dirbas\u2019s capital and\nthe King, being advised of his Wazir\u2019s coming, wrote to him, saying, \u201cIf\nUns al-Wujud be not with thee, come not to me ever.\u201d Now when the Wazir\nread the royal mandate, it was grievous to him, for he knew not that\nRose-in-Wood was with the King, nor why he had been sent in quest of Uns\nal-Wujud, nor the King\u2019s reason for desiring the alliance; whilst Uns\nal-Wujud also knew not whither they were bearing him or that the Wazir\nhad been sent in quest of him; nor did the Wazir know that the Fakir he\nhad with him was Uns al-Wujud himself. And when the Minister saw that\nthe sick man was whole, he said to him, \u201cI was despatched by the King on\nan errand, which I have not been able to accomplish. So, when he heard\nof my return, he wrote to me, saying:\u2014Except thou have fulfilled my need\nenter not my city.\u201d \u201cAnd what is the King\u2019s need?\u201d asked Uns al-Wujud.\nSo the Wazir told him the whole tale, and he said, \u201cFear nothing, but go\nboldly to the King and take me with thee; and I will be surety to thee\nfor the coming of Uns al-Wujud.\u201d At this the Wazir rejoiced and cried,\n\u201cIs this true which thou sayest?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d replied he; whereupon the Wazir\nmounted and carried him to King Dirbas who, after receiving their\nsalutations said to him, \u201cWhere is Uns al-Wujud?\u201d Answered the young\nman, \u201cO King, I know where he is.\u201d So the King called him to him and\nsaid, \u201cWhere?\u201d Returned Uns al-Wujud, \u201cHe is nearhand and very near; but\ntell me what thou wouldst with him, and I will fetch him into thy\npresence.\u201d The King replied, \u201cWith joy and good gree, but the case\ncalleth for privacy.\u201d So he ordered the folk to withdraw and, carrying\nUns al-Wujud into his cabinet, told him the whole story; whereupon quoth\nthe youth, \u201cRobe me in rich raiment, and I will forthright bring Uns\nal-Wujud to thee.\u201d So they brought him a sumptuous dress, and he donned\nit and said, \u201cI am Uns al-Wujud, the World\u2019s Delight, and to the envious\na despite\u201d; and presently he smote with his glances every sprite, and\nbegan these couplets to recite:\u2014\n\n My loved one\u2019s name in cheerless solitude aye cheereth me \u273f And driveth\n off my desperance and long despondency:\n\n I have no helper[76] but my tears that ever flow in fount, \u273f And as they\n flow, they lighten woe and force my grief to flee.\n My longing is so violent naught like it ere was seen; \u273f My love-tale is\n a marvel and my love a sight to see:\n I spend the night with lids of eye that never close in sleep, \u273f And pass\n in passion twixt the Hells and Edens heavenly.\n I had of patience fairish store, but now no more have I; \u273f And love\u2019s\n sole gift to me hath been aye-growing misery:\n My frame is wasted by the pain of parting from my own, \u273f And longing\n changed my shape and form and made me other be.\n Mine eyelids by my torrent tears are chafed, and ulcerate, \u273f The tears,\n whose flow to stay is mere impossibility.\n My manly strength is sore impaired for I have lost my heart; \u273f How many\n griefs upon my griefs have I been doomed to dree!\n My heart and head are like in age with similar hoariness \u273f By loss of\n Beauty\u2019s lord,[77] of lords the galaxy:\n Despite our wills they parted us and doomed us parted wone, \u273f While they\n (our lords) desire no more than love in unity.\n Then ah, would Heaven that I wot if stress of parting done, \u273f The world\n will grant me sight of them in union fain and free\u2014\n Roll up the scroll of severance which others would unroll\u2014 \u273f Efface my\n trouble by the grace of meeting\u2019s jubilee!\n And shall I see them homed with me and in cup-company, \u273f And change my\n melancholic mood for joy and jollity?\n\nAnd when he ended his verses the King cried aloud, \u201cBy Allah, ye are\nindeed a pair of lovers true and fain and in Beauty\u2019s heaven of shining\nstars a twain: your story is wondrous and your case marvellous.\u201d Then he\ntold him all that had befallen Rose-in-Hood; and Uns al-Wujud said,\n\u201cWhere is she, O King of the age?\u201d \u201cShe is with me now,\u201d answered Dirbas\nand, sending for the Kazi and the witnesses, drew up the contract of\nmarriage between her and him. Then he honoured Uns al-Wujud with favours\nand bounties and sent to King Shamikh acquainting him with what had\nbefallen, whereat this King joyed with exceeding joy and wrote back to\nthe following purport. \u201cSince the ceremony of contract hath been\nperformed at thy court, it behoveth that the marriage and its\nconsummation be at mine.\u201d Then he made ready camels, horses and men and\nsent them in quest of the pair; and when the embassy reached King\nDirbas, he gave the lovers much treasure and despatched them to King\nShamikh\u2019s court with a company of his own troops. The day of their\narrival was a notable day, never was seen a grander; for the King\ngathered together all the singing-women and players on instruments of\nmusic and made wedding banquets and held high festival seven days; and\non each day he gave largesse to the folk and bestowed on them sumptuous\nrobes of honour. Then Uns al-Wujud went in to Rose-in-Hood and they\nembraced and sat weeping for excess of joy and gladness, whilst she\nrecited these couplets:\u2014\n\n Joyance is come, dispelling cark and care; \u273f We are united, enviers may\n despair.\n The breeze of union blows, enquickening \u273f Forms, hearts and vitals,\n fresh with fragrant air:\n The splendour of delight with scents appears, \u273f And round us[78] flags\n and drums show gladness rare.\n Deem not we\u2019re weeping for our stress of grief; \u273f It is for joy our\n tears as torrents fare:\n How many fears we\u2019ve seen that now are past! \u273f And bore we patient what\n was sore to bear:\n One hour of joyance made us both forget \u273f What from excess of terror\n grey\u2019d our hair.\n\nAnd when the verses were ended, they again embraced and ceased not from\ntheir embrace, till they fell down in a swoon,\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 Eighty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Uns al-Wujud and\nRose-in-Hood embraced when they foregathered and ceased not from their\nembrace, till they fell down in a swoon for the delight of reunion; and\nwhen they came to themselves, Uns al-Wujud recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n How joyously sweet are the nights that unite, \u273f When my dearling deigns\n keep me the troth she did plight;\n When union conjoins us in all that we have, \u273f And parting is severed and\n sundered from sight,\n\n To us comes the world with her favour so fair, \u273f After frown and\n aversion and mighty despight!\n Hath planted her banner Good Fortune for us, \u273f And we drink of her cup\n in the purest delight.\n We have met and complained of the pitiful Past, \u273f And of nights a full\n many that doomed us to blight.\n But now, O my lady, the Past is forgot; \u273f The Compassionate pardon the\n Past for unright!\n How sweet is existence, how glad is to be! \u273f This union my passion doth\n only incite.\n\nAnd when he ended his verses they once more embraced, drowned in the sea\nof passion; and lay down together in the private apartment carousing and\nconversing and quoting verses and telling pleasant tales and anecdotes.\nOn this wise seven days passed over them whilst they knew not night from\nday and it was to them, for very stress of gaiety and gladness, pleasure\nand possession, as if the seven days were but one day with ne\u2019er a\nmorrow. Nor did they know the seventh day,[79] but by the coming of the\nsingers and players on instruments of music; whereat Rose-in-Hood beyond\nmeasure wondered and improvised these couplets:\u2014\n\n In spite of enviers\u2019 jealousy, at end \u273f We have won all we hoped of the\n friend:\n We\u2019ve crowned our meeting with a close embrace \u273f On quilts where new\n brocades with sendal blend;\n On bed of perfumed leather, which the spoils \u273f Of downy birds\n luxuriously distend.\n But I abstain me from unneeded wine, \u273f When honey-dews of lips sweet\n must can lend:\n Now from the sweets of union we unknow \u273f Time near and far, if slow or\n fast it wend,\n The seventh night hath come and gone, O strange! \u273f How went the nights\n we never reckt or kenned;\n Till, on the seventh wishing joy they said, \u273f \u201cAllah prolong the meet of\n friend with friend!\u201d\n\nWhen she had finished her song, Uns al-Wujud kissed her, more than an\nhundred times, and recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n O day of joys to either lover fain! \u273f The loved one came and freed from\n lonely pain:\n She blest me with all inner charms she hath; \u273f And companied with inner\n grace deep lain:\n She made me drain the wine of love till I, \u273f Was faint with joys her\n love had made me drain:\n We toyed and joyed and on each other lay; \u273f Then fell to wine and soft\n melodious strain:\n And for excess of joyance never knew, \u273f How went the day and how it came\n again.\n Fair fall each lover, may he union win \u273f And gain of joy like me the\n amplest gain;\n Nor weet the taste of severance\u2019 bitter fruit \u273f And joys assain them as\n they us assain!\n\nThen they went forth and distributed to the folk alms and presents of\nmoney and raiment and rare gifts and other tokens of generosity; after\nwhich Rose-in-Hood bade clear the bath for her[80] and, turning to Uns\nal-Wujud said to him, \u201cO coolth of my eyes, I have a mind to see thee in\nthe Hammam, and therein we will be alone together.\u201d He joyfully\nconsented to this, and she let scent the Hammam with all sorts of\nperfumed woods and essences, and light the wax-candles. Then of the\nexcess of her contentment she recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n O who didst win my love in other date \u273f (And Present e\u2019er must speak of\n past estate);\n And, oh! who art my sole sufficiency, \u273f Nor want I other friends with me\n to mate:\n Come to the Hammam, O my light of eyes, \u273f And enter Eden through\n Gehenna-gate!\n We\u2019ll scent with ambergris and aloes-wood \u273f Till float the heavy clouds\n with fragrant freight;\n And to the World we\u2019ll pardon all her sins \u273f And sue for mercy the\n Compassionate;\n And I will cry, when I descry thee there, \u273f \u201cGood cheer, sweet love, all\n blessings on thee wait!\u201d[81]\n\nWhereupon they arose and fared to the bath and took their pleasure\ntherein; after which they returned to their palace and there abode in\nthe fulness of enjoyment, till there came to them the Destroyer of\ndelights and the Sunderer of societies; and glory be to Him who changeth\nnot neither ceaseth, and to whom everything returneth! And they also\ntell a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 30:\n\n Lit. \u201cThe rose in the sleeves or calyces.\u201d I take my English\n equivalent from Jeremy Taylor, \u201cSo I have seen a rose newly springing\n from the clefts of its hood,\u201d etc.\n\nFootnote 31:\n\n These lines are from the Bresl. Edit. (v. 35.) The four couplets in\n the Mac. Edit. are too irrelevant.\n\nFootnote 32:\n\n Polo, which Lane calls \u201cGoff.\u201d\n\nFootnote 33:\n\n Arab. \u201cMuffawak\u201d = well-notched, as its value depends upon the notch.\n At the end of the third hemistich Lane\u2019s Shaykh very properly reads\n \u201cbaghtatan\u201d (suddenly) for \u201cburhatan\u201d = during a long time.\n\nFootnote 34:\n\n \u201cUns\u201d (which the vulgar pronounce Anas) \u201cal-Wuj\u00fad\u201d = Delight of\n existing things, of being, of the world. Uns wa j\u00fad is the normal pun\n = love-intimacy and liberality; and the paronomasia (which cannot well\n be rendered in English) reappears again and again. The story is\n throughout one of love; hence the quantity of verse.\n\nFootnote 35:\n\n The allusion to a \u201cwritten N\u201d suggests the elongated not the rounded\n form of the letter as in Night cccxxiv.\n\nFootnote 36:\n\n The fourteenth Arabic letter in its medial form resembling an eye.\n\nFootnote 37:\n\n This is done by the man passing his fingers over the brow as if to\n wipe off perspiration; the woman acknowledges it by adjusting her\n head-veil with both hands. As a rule in the Moslem East women make the\n first advances; and it is truly absurd to see a great bearded fellow\n blushing at being ogled. During the Crimean war the fair sex of\n Constantinople began by these allurements but found them so readily\n accepted by the Giaours that they were obliged to desist.\n\nFootnote 38:\n\n The greatest of all explorers and discoverers of the world will be he\n who finds a woman confessing inability to keep a secret.\n\nFootnote 39:\n\n The original is intensely prosaic\u2014and so am I.\n\nFootnote 40:\n\n Arab. \u201cSunnat,\u201d the practice of the Prophet. For this prayer and other\n silly and superstitious means of discovering the \u201cright direction\u201d\n (which is often very wrongly directed) see Lane, M. E. chapt. xi.\n\nFootnote 41:\n\n Arab. \u201cBahr\u201d (sea or river) al-Kun\u00faz: Lane (ii. 576) ingeniously\n identifies the site with the Upper Nile whose tribes, between Assouan\n (Syene) and Wady al-Sub\u00fa\u2019a are called the \u201cKun\u00faz\u201d\u2014lit. meaning\n \u201ctreasures\u201d or \u201choards.\u201d Phil\u00e6 is still known as the \u201cIslet of Anas\n (for Uns) al-Wujud;\u201d and the learned and accurate Burckhardt (Travels\n in Nubia p. 5,) records the local legend that a mighty King called\n Al-Wuj\u00fad built the Osirian temples. I can give no information\n concerning Jabal al-Sakla, (Thakl\u00e1) the Mount of the woman bereft of\n children, beyond the legend contained in Night ccclxxix.\n\nFootnote 42:\n\n A religious mendicant (lit. a pauper), of whom there are two great\n divisions. The Shara\u2019\u00ed acts according to the faith: the others (L\u00e1\n Shara\u2019\u00ed, or irreligious) are bound by no such prejudices and are\n pretty specimen of scoundrels (Pilgrimage i. 22).\n\nFootnote 43:\n\n Meaning his lips and palate were so swollen by drought.\n\nFootnote 44:\n\n It is a pious act in time of mortal danger to face the Kiblah or\n Meccan temple, as if standing in prayer.\n\nFootnote 45:\n\n Still the belief of the Badawi who tries to work upon the beast\u2019s\n compassion: \u201cO great King I am a poor man, with wife and family, so\n spare me that Allah spare thee!\u201d and so forth. If not famished the\n lion will often stalk off looking behind him as he goes; but the man\n will never return by the same path; \u201cfor,\u201d says he, \u201chaply the Father\n of Roaring may repent him of a wasted opportunity.\u201d These lion-tales\n are very common, witness that of Androcles at Rome and a host of\n others. Una and her lion is another phase. It remained for M. Jules\n G\u00e9rard, first the _chasseur_ and then the _tueur_, _du lion_, to\n assail the reputation of the lion and the honour of the lioness.\n\nFootnote 46:\n\n Ab\u00fa H\u00e1ris = Father of spoils: one of the lion\u2019s hundred titles.\n\nFootnote 47:\n\n \u201cThey\u201d again for \u201cshe.\u201d\n\nFootnote 48:\n\n Jaxartes and Oxus. The latter (Jayhun or Amu, Oxus or Bactros) is\n famous for dividing Iran from Turan, Persia from Tartaria. The lands\n to its north are known as M\u00e1 war\u00e1 al-Nahr (Mawerannahar) or \u201cWhat is\n behind the stream,\u201d = Transoxiana and their capitals were successively\n Samarcand and Bokhara.\n\nFootnote 49:\n\n Arab. \u201cD\u00e1n\u00ed wa ghar\u00edb\u201d = friend and foe. The lines are partly from the\n Mac. Edit. and partly from the Bresl. Edit., v. 55.\n\nFootnote 50:\n\n Arab. \u201cW\u00e1 Rahmat\u00e1-hu!\u201d a form now used only in books\n\nFootnote 51:\n\n Before noted. The relationship, like that of foster-brother, has its\n rights, duties and privileges.\n\nFootnote 52:\n\n Arab. \u201cIstikh\u00e1rah,\u201d before explained as praying for direction by omens\n of the rosary, opening the Koran and reading the first verse sighted,\n etc., etc. At Al-Medinah it is called Kh\u00edrah and I have suggested\n (Pilgrimage, ii. 287) that it is a relic of the Azlam or Kidah\n (divining arrows) of paganism. But the superstition is not local: we\n have the Sortes Virgilian\u00e6 (Virgil being a magician) as well as\n Coranic\u00e6.\n\nFootnote 53:\n\n Arab. Wuj\u00fad al-Hab\u00edb, a pun, also meaning, \u201cWuj\u00fad my beloved.\u201d\n\nFootnote 54:\n\n Arab. \u201cKhil\u00e1l,\u201d as an emblem of attenuation occurring in Al-Hariri\n (Ass. of Alexandria, etc.); also thin as a spindle (Maghzal), as a\n reed, and dry as a pair of shears. In the Ass. of Barka\u2019id the\n toothpick is described as a beautiful girl. The use of this cleanly\n article was enjoined by Mohammed:\u2014\u201cCleanse your mouths with\n toothpicks; for your mouths are the abode of the guardian angels;\n whose pens are the tongues, and whose ink is the spittle of men; and\n to whom naught is more unbearable than remains of food in the mouth.\u201d\n A mighty apparatus for a small matter; but in very hot lands\n cleanliness must rank before godliness.\n\nFootnote 55:\n\n The sense is ambiguous. Lane renders the verse:\u2014\u201cThou resemblest it\n (rose) not of my portion\u201d and gives two explanations \u201cbecause _he_ is\n of my portion,\u201d or, \u201cbecause _his_ cheek cannot be rosy if _mine_ is\n not.\u201d Mr. Payne boldly translates\u2014\n\n If the rose ape his cheek, \u201cNow God forfend,\u201d I say, \u201cThat of my\n portion aught to pilfer thou shouldst try.\u201d\n\nFootnote 56:\n\n Arab. \u201cl\u00edf\u201d (not \u201cfibres which grow at the top of the trunk,\u201d Lane ii.\n 577); but the fibre of the fronds worked like the cocoa-nut fibre\n which forms the now well-known Indian \u201ccoir.\u201d This \u201cl\u00edf\u201d is also\n called \u201cfilfil\u201d or \u201cfulfil\u201d which Dr. Jonathan Scott renders \u201cpepper\u201d\n (Lane i. 8) and it forms a clean succedaneum for one of the uncleanest\n articles of civilisation, the sponge. It is used in every Hammam and\n is (or should be) thrown away after use.\n\nFootnote 57:\n\n Arab. \u201cShinf;\u201d a coarse sack, a \u201cgunny-bag;\u201d a net compared with such\n article.\n\nFootnote 58:\n\n The eunuch tells him that he is not a \u201cSandal\u00ed\u201d = one whose penis and\n testes are removed; and consequently the highest valued. There are\n many ways of making the castrato; in some (as here) only the penis is\n removed, in others the testes are bruised or cut off; but in all cases\n the animal passion remains, for in man, unlike other animals, the\n _fons veneris_ is the brain. The story of Abelard proves this. Juvenal\n derided the idea of married eunuchs and yet almost all these neutrals\n have wives with whom they practise the manifold _plaisirs de la petite\n oie_ (masturbation, tribadism, irrumation, t\u00eate-b\u00eache,\n feuille-de-rose, etc.), till they induce the venereal orgasm. Such was\n the account once given to me by a eunuch\u2019s wife; and I need hardly say\n that she, like her confrerie was to be pitied. At the critical moment\n she held up a little pillow for her husband to bite who otherwise\n would have torn her cheeks or breasts.\n\nFootnote 59:\n\n In real life the eunuch, as a rule, avoids all allusion to his\n misfortune, although the slave will often describe his being sold\n merrily enough.\n\nFootnote 60:\n\n The visits are in dreamland. The ringdove thanks the Lord for her\n (his?) suffering in the holy martyrdom of love.\n\nFootnote 61:\n\n Arab. \u201cHaz\u00e1r;\u201d I have explained it as meaning \u201c(the bird of) a\n thousand (songs).\u201d\n\nFootnote 62:\n\n The \u201cBulbul\u201d had his day with us but he departed with Tommy Moore. We\n usually English the word by \u201cnightingale;\u201d but it is a kind of shrike\n or butcher-bird (_Lanius Boulboul._ Lath.)\n\nFootnote 63:\n\n The \u201cHam\u00e1m\u201d is a _lieu commun_ in Arabic poetry. I have noticed the\n world-wide reverence for the pigeon and the incarnation of the Third\n Person of the Hindu Triad (Shiva), as \u201cKapoteshwara (Kapota-ishwara)\u201d\n = pigeon or dove-god (Pilgrimage iii. 218.)\n\nFootnote 64:\n\n Arab. \u201cHam\u00e1m al-Ayk.\u201d Mr. Payne\u2019s rendering is so happy that we must\n either take it from him or do worse.\n\nFootnote 65:\n\n All primitive peoples translate the songs of birds with human\n language; but, as I have noticed, the versions differ widely. The\n pigeon cries, \u201cAllah! Allah!\u201d The dove \u201cKarim, Taww\u00e1\u201d (Bountiful,\n Pardoner!) the Kat\u00e1 or sand-grouse \u201cMan sakat salam\u201d (who is silent is\n safe) yet always betrays itself by its lay of \u201cKat-ta\u201d and lastly the\n cock \u201cUzkur\u00fa \u2018llah ya gh\u00e1fil\u00fan\u201d (Remember, or take the name of Allah,\n ye careless!)\n\nFootnote 66:\n\n \u201cNay,\u201d the Dervish\u2019s reed pipe, symbol of the sighing absent lover\n (i.e. the soul parted from the Creator) so famed by the Mullah-i-R\u00fam\n and Sir William Jones.\n\nFootnote 67:\n\n Ba\u2019albak = Ba\u2019al (the God)-city (bek in Coptic and ancient Egyptian).\n Such, at least, is the popular derivation which awaits a better. No\n cloth has been made there since the Kurd tribe of gallant robbers\n known as the \u201cHarf\u00fash\u201d (or blackguards) lorded it over old\n \u201cHeliopolis.\u201d\n\nFootnote 68:\n\n Thinking her to be a Jinn or Ghul in the shape of a fair woman. This\n Arab is a strange contrast with the English fisherman, and yet he is\n drawn with truth.\n\nFootnote 69:\n\n Arab. \u201cHabbaz\u00e1!\u201d (good this!) or \u201cHabba\u201d (how good!): so \u201cHabba bihi,\u201d\n how dear he is to me.\n\nFootnote 70:\n\n Arab. \u201cZind,\u201d and Zindah the names of the two sticks, upper and lower,\n hard and soft, by which fire was kindled before flint and steel were\n known. We find it in Al-Hariri (Ass. of Banu Haram) \u201cno one sought\n fire from my fire-stick (_i.e._ from me as a fire-stick) and failed.\u201d\n See Night dccciii.\n\nFootnote 71:\n\n Arab. \u201cN\u00e1zih\u201d _i.e._ travelled far and wide.\n\nFootnote 72:\n\n \u201cRajab,\u201d lit. = \u201cworshipping:\u201d it is the seventh lunar month and still\n called \u201cShahr-\u012d-Khud\u00e1\u201d (God\u2019s month) by the Persians because in\n pre-Islamitic times it formed with Muharram (or in its stead Safar),\n Zu \u2018l-ka\u2019adah and Zu \u2018l-Hijjah (Nos. 1 or 2; 7, 11 and 12) the yearly\n peace, during which a man might not kill his father\u2019s murderer. The\n idea must have taken deep root, as Arab history records only six\n \u201cimpious (or sacrilegious) wars,\u201d waged despite the law. Europeans\n compare it with the Treuga Dei (truce of God) a seven-years peace\n established about A.D. 1032, by a Bishop of Aquitaine; and followed in\n A.D. 1245 by the Pax Regis (Royal Peace) under Louis VIII. of France.\n This compelled the relations of a murdered man to keep the peace for\n forty days after the offence was committed.\n\nFootnote 73:\n\n His Majesty wrote sad doggrel. He is better at finessing, and his\n message was a trick because Rose-in-Hood had told him that at home\n there were special obstacles to the marriage.\n\nFootnote 74:\n\n Arab. \u201cMajzub\u201d = drawn, attracted (literally); the popular term for\n one absorbed in the contemplation of the Deity. During this process\n the soul is supposed to quit the body leaving the latter irresponsible\n for its actions. I remember a scandal being caused in a village near\n Tunis by one of these men who suddenly started up from his seat in a\n dusty corner and, in presence of a small crowd of people, had\n connection with a she-donkey. The supporters of the holy man declared\n that the deed was proof positive of his exceptional holiness; but\n there were lewd fellows, Moslems Voltaireans, who had their doubts and\n held that the reverend man had so acted \u201cfor the gallery.\u201d A similar\n story is told with due reserve by the late Abbe Hamilton in his book\n on the Cyrenaic. There are three grand divisions of the Sufis; (1)\n Muk\u00edm\u00e1n, the stationaries; (2) S\u00e1lik\u00e1n, the travellers, or\n progressives, and (3) W\u00e1sil\u00e1n, those who reach the desired end. And\n No. 2 has two classes: the S\u00e1lik-i-majz\u00fab, one progressing in Divine\n Love; and the other, who has made greater progress, is the\n Majz\u00fab-i-S\u00e1lik (Dabistan iii. 251).\n\nFootnote 75:\n\n Arab. \u201cSundus,\u201d a kind of brocade (low Lat. brocare, to figure cloth),\n silk worked in high relief with gold and silver. The idea is\n figurative meaning it was hung outside and inside with fine stuff,\n like the Ka\u2019abah, the \u201cBride of Meccah.\u201d The \u201clords\u201d means simply the\n lost girl.\n\nFootnote 76:\n\n Arab. \u201cAyn\u201d lit. eye, also a fount, \u201cthe eye of the landscape\u201d (a\n noble simile); and here a helper, guard, assistant.\n\nFootnote 77:\n\n \u201cLord\u201d for lady, _i.e._ she.\n\nFootnote 78:\n\n Arab. \u201cFi\u2019l-khaw\u00e1fik\u201d = in the four quarters or among the flappers\n (standards) or amid palpitations of heart. The bride alludes to a\n festal reception in a town, with burning incense, drums, flags, etc.,\n etc.\n\nFootnote 79:\n\n In Egypt the shorter \u201choney-moon\u201d lasts a week; and on the seventh day\n (pop. called Al-Sub\u00fa\u2019a) bride and bridegroom receive visits with all\n ceremony, of course in separate apartments. The seventh day (like the\n fortieth, the end of six months and the anniversary) is kept for\n births and deaths with Khatmahs (perlections) of the Koran, \u201cSaylah\u201d\n family gatherings and so forth. The fortieth day ends the real\n honey-moon. See Night dccxcii.\n\nFootnote 80:\n\n I have noted the popular practice, amongst men as well as women, of\n hiring the Hammam for private parties and picnicking in it during the\n greater part of the day. In this tale the bath would belong to the\n public and it was a mere freak of the bride to bathe with her\n bridegroom. \u201cRespectable\u201d people do not.\n\nFootnote 81:\n\n She speaks in the last line as the barber or the bathman.\n\n\n\n\n ABU NOWAS WITH THE THREE BOYS AND THE CALIPH HARUN AL-RASHID.[82]\n\n\nAbu Nowas one day shut himself up and, making ready a richly-furnished\nfeast, collected for it meats of all kinds and of every colour that lips\nand tongue can desire. Then he went forth, to seek a minion worthy of\nsuch entertainment, saying, \u201cAllah, my Lord and my Master, I beseech\nThee to send me one who befitteth this banquet and who is fit to carouse\nwith me this day!\u201d Hardly had he made an end of speaking when he espied\nthree youths handsome and beardless, as they were of the boys of\nParadise,[83] differing in complexion but fellows in incomparable\nbeauty; and all hearts yearned with desire to the swaying of their\nbending shapes, even to what saith the poet:\u2014\n\n I passed a beardless pair without compare \u273f And cried, \u201cI love you, both\n you ferly fair!\u201d\n \u201cMoney\u2019d?\u201d quoth one: quoth I, \u201cAnd lavish too;\u201d \u273f Then said the fair\n pair, _P\u00e8re, c\u2019est notre affaire_.\n\nNow Abu Nowas was given to these joys and loved to sport and make merry\nwith fair boys and cull the rose from every brightly blooming cheek,\neven as saith the bard:\u2014\n\n Full many a reverend Shaykh feels sting of flesh, \u273f Loves pretty faces,\n shows at Pleasure\u2019s depot:\n Awakes in Mosul,[84] land of purity; \u273f And all the day dreams only of\n Aleppo.[85]\n\nSo he accosted them with the salutation, and they returned his greeting\nwith civility and all honour and would have gone their several ways, but\nhe stayed them, repeating these couplets:\u2014\n\n Steer ye your steps to none but me \u273f Who hath a mine of luxury:\u2014\n Old wine that shines with brightest blee \u273f Made by the monk in\n monastery;\n And mutton-meat the toothsomest \u273f And birds of all variety.\n Then eat of these and drink of those \u273f Old wines that bring you jollity:\n And have each other, turn by turn, \u273f Shampooing this my tool you\n see.[86]\n\nThereupon the youths were beguiled by his verses and consented to his\nwishes\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 Eighty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Abu Nowas\nbeguiled the youths with his verse, they consented to his wishes,\nsaying, \u201cWe hear and obey;\u201d and accompanied him to his lodging, where\nthey found all ready that he had set forth in his couplets. They sat\ndown and ate and drank and made merry awhile, after which they appealed\nto Abu Nowas to decide which of them was handsomest of face and\nshapeliest of form. So he pointed to one of them and, having kissed him\ntwice over, recited the following verses:\u2014\n\n I\u2019ll ransom that beauty-spot with my soul; \u273f Where\u2019s it and where is a\n money-dole?[87]\n Praise Him who hairless hath made that cheek \u273f And bid Beauty bide in\n that mole, that mole!\n\nThen he pointed to another and, kissing his lips, repeated these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n And loveling weareth on his cheek a mole \u273f Like musk, which virgin\n camphor ne\u2019er lets off it:\n My peepers marvel such a contrast seeing; \u273f And cried the Mole to me,\n \u201cNow bless the Prophet.\u201d[88]\n\nThen he pointed to the third and, after kissing him half a score times\nrepeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n Melted pure gold in silvern bowl to drain \u273f The youth, whose fingers\n wore a winey stain:\n He with the drawers[89] served one cup of wine, \u273f And served his\n wandering eyes the other twain.\n A loveling, of the sons of Turks,[90] a fawn \u273f Whose waist conjoins the\n double Mounts Honayn.[91]\n Could Eve\u2019s corrupting daughters[92] tempt my heart \u273f Content with\n two-fold lure \u2018twould bear the bane.\n Unto Diyar-i-Bakr (\u201cmaid-land\u201d[93]) this one lures; \u273f That lures to\n two-mosqued cities of the plain.[94]\n\nNow each of the youths had drunk two cups, and when it came to the turn\nof Abu Nowas, he took the goblet and repeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n Drink not strong wine save at the slender dearling\u2019s hand; \u273f Each like\n to other in all gifts the spirit grace:\n For wine can never gladden toper\u2019s heart and soul, \u273f Unless the cup-boy\n show a bright and sparkling face.\n\nThen he drank off his cup and the bowl went round, and when it came to\nAbu Nowas again, joyance got the mastery of him and he repeated these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n For cup-friends cup succeeding cup assign, \u273f Brimming with grape-juice,\n brought in endless line,\n By hand of brown-lipped[95] Beauty who is sweet \u273f At wake as apple or\n musk finest fine.[96]\n Drink not the wine except from hand of fawn \u273f Whose cheek to kiss is\n sweeter than the wine.\n\nPresently the drink got into his noddle, drunkenness mastered him and he\nknew not hand from head, so that he lolled from side to side in joy and\ninclined to the youths one and all, anon kissing them and anon embracing\nthem leg overlying leg. And he showed no sense of sin or shame, but\nrecited these couplets:\u2014\n\n None wotteth best joyance but generous youth \u273f When the pretty ones\n deign with him company keep:\n This sings to him, sings to him that, when he wants \u273f A pick-me-up[97]\n lying there all of a heap:\n And when of a loveling he needeth a kiss, \u273f He takes from his lips or a\n draught or a nip;\n Heaven bless them! How sweetly my day with them sped; \u273f A wonderful\n harvest of pleasure I reap:\n Let us drink our good liquor both watered and pure, \u273f And agree to swive\n all who dare slumber and sleep.\n\nWhile they were in this deboshed state behold, there came a knocking at\nthe door; so they bade him who knocked enter, and behold, it was the\nCommander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid. When they saw him, they all\nrose and kissed ground before him; and Abu Nowas threw off the fumes of\nthe wine for awe of the Caliph, who said to him, \u201cHolla, Abu Nowas!\u201d He\nreplied, \u201cAdsum, at thy service, O Commander of the Faithful, whom Allah\npreserve!\u201d The Caliph asked, \u201cWhat state is this?\u201d and the poet\nanswered, \u201cO Prince of True Believers, my state indubitably dispenseth\nwith questions.\u201d Quoth the Caliph, \u201cO Abu Nowas, I have sought direction\nof Allah Almighty and have appointed thee Kazi of pimps and panders.\u201d\nAsked he, \u201cDost thou indeed invest me with that high office, O Commander\nof the Faithful?\u201d and the Caliph answered \u201cI do;\u201d whereupon Abu Nowas\nrejoined, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, hast thou any suit to prefer to\nme?\u201d Hereat the Caliph was wroth and presently turned away and left\nthem, full of rage, and passed the night sore an-angered against Abu\nNowas, who amid the party he had invited spent the merriest of nights\nand the jolliest and joyousest. And when daybreak dawned and the star of\nmorn appeared in sheen and shone, he broke up the sitting and,\ndismissing the youths, donned his court-dress and leaving his house set\nout for the palace of the Caliph. Now it was the custom of the Commander\nof the Faithful, when the Divan broke up, to withdraw to his\nsitting-saloon and summon thither his poets and cup-companions and\nmusicians, each having his own place, which he might not overpass. So it\nhappened that day, he retired to his saloon, and the friends and\nfamiliars came and seated themselves, each in his rank and degree.\nPresently, in walked Abu Nowas and was about to take his usual seat,\nwhen the Caliph cried to Masrur, the sworder, and bade him strip the\npoet of his clothes and bind an ass\u2019s packsaddle on his back and a\nhalter about his head and a crupper under his rump and lead him round to\nall the lodgings of the slave-girls,\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 Eighty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph\ncommanded Masrur, the sworder, to strip Abu Nowas of his court-suit and\nbind an ass\u2019s packsaddle on his back and a halter about his head, and a\ncrupper under his rump and lead him round to all the lodgings of the\nslave-girls, and the chambers of the Harim, that the women might make\nmock of him; then cut off his head and bring it to him. \u201cHearkening and\nobedience,\u201d replied Masrur and, doing with Abu Nowas as the Caliph had\nbidden him, led him round all the chambers whose number equalled the\ndays of the year; but Abu Nowas was a funny fellow, so he made all the\ngirls laugh with his buffooneries and each gave him something whereby he\nreturned not save with a pocketful of money. And while this was going on\nbehold, Ja\u2019afar the Barmecide, who had been absent on an important\nbusiness for the Commander of the Faithful, entered and recognising the\npoet, albeit in this plight, said to him, \u201cHolla, Abu Nowas!\u201d He said,\n\u201cHere at thy service, O our lord.\u201d Ja\u2019afar asked, \u201cWhat offence hast\nthou committed to bring this punishment on thee?\u201d Thereupon he answered,\n\u201cNone whatsoever, except that I made our lord the Caliph a present of\nthe best of my poetry and he presented me, in return, with the best of\nhis raiment.\u201d When the Prince of True Believers heard this, he laughed,\nfrom a heart full of wrath,[98] and pardoned Abu Nowas, and also gave\nhim a myriad of money. And they also recount the tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 82:\n\n Here the \u201cAna\u201d begin; and they mostly date themselves. Of the\n following forty-nine, Lane (vol. ii. p. 578 et seq.) gives only\n twenty-two and transfers them to notes in chapt. xviii. He could\n hardly translate several of them in a work intended to be popular. Abu\n Now\u00e1s is a person carefully to be avoided; and all but anthropological\n students are advised to \u201cskip\u201d over anecdotes in which his name and\n abominations occur.\n\nFootnote 83:\n\n Arab. \u201cGhilm\u00e1n,\u201d the counterpart, I have said, of the so-called\n \u201cHouris.\u201d\n\nFootnote 84:\n\n Mosul boasts of never having been polluted with idolatrous worship, an\n exemption which it owes to being a comparatively modern place.\n\nFootnote 85:\n\n The Aleppines were once noted for debauchery; and the saying is still\n \u201cHalabi Shelebi\u201d (for Chelebi) = the Aleppine is a fellow fine.\n\nFootnote 86:\n\n Mr. Payne omits the last line. It refers to what Persian boys call, in\n half-Turkish phrase, \u201cAlish Takish,\u201d each acting woman after he has\n acted man. The best wine is still made in monasteries and the\n so-called Sinai convent is world-famous for its \u201cR\u00e1ki\u201d distilled from\n raisins.\n\nFootnote 87:\n\n _i.e._ what a difference there is between them!\n\nFootnote 88:\n\n Arab. \u201cSalli ala \u2018l-Nabi,\u201d a common phrase; meaning not only praise\n him to avert the evil eye; but also used when one would impose silence\n upon a babbler. The latter will shuffle off by ejaculating \u201cAl\u201d and\n continue his chatter (Pilgrimage ii. 279).\n\nFootnote 89:\n\n Arab. \u201cSuk\u00e1t\u201d (plur. of S\u00e1ki, cupbearer, our old \u201cskinker\u201d): the pure\n gold (tibr) is the amber-coloured wine, like the Vino d\u2019oro of the\n Libanus.\n\nFootnote 90:\n\n That is, fair, white and red: Turkish slaves then abounded at Baghdad.\n\nFootnote 91:\n\n A Wady near Meccah where one of Mohammed\u2019s battles was fought. The\n line means his waist is a thread connected broad breast and large hind\n quarters.\n\nFootnote 92:\n\n Arab. \u201cZaur\u00e1\u201d which may mean crooked, alluding to the well-known rib.\n\nFootnote 93:\n\n A pun. Bakr was the name of the eponymous chief and it also means\n virgin, as in Abu Bakr.\n\nFootnote 94:\n\n Arab. \u201cJ\u00e1mi\u2019ayn\u201d = two cathedrals, any large (and consequently\n vicious) city.\n\nFootnote 95:\n\n Arab. \u201cAlm\u00e1,\u201d before noticed: I cannot translate \u201cdamask-lipped\u201d to\n suit European taste.\n\nFootnote 96:\n\n Sherbet flavoured with musk or apple to cool the mouth of \u201chot\n coppers.\u201d\n\nFootnote 97:\n\n Arab. \u201cIn\u2019\u00e1sh\u201d lit. raising from his bier. The whole tone is\n rollicking and slangy.\n\nFootnote 98:\n\n _i.e._ In spite of himself: the phrase often occurs.\n\n\n\n\n ABDALLAH BIN MA\u2019AMAR WITH THE MAN OF BASSORAH AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL.\n\n\nA certain man of Bassorah once bought a slave-girl and reared and\neducated her right well. Moreover, he loved her very dearly and spent\nall his substance in pleasuring and merry-making with her, till he had\nnaught left and extreme poverty was sore upon him. So she said to him,\n\u201cO my master, sell me; for thou needest my price and it maketh my heart\nache to see thy sorry and want-full plight. If thou vend me and make use\nof my value, \u2018twill be better for thee than keeping me by thee, and\nhaply Almighty Allah will ample thee and amend thy fortune.\u201d He agreed\nto this for the straitness of his case, and carried her to the bazar,\nwhere the broker offered her for sale to the Governor of Bassorah, by\nname Abdallah bin Ma\u2019amar al-Taymi, and she pleased him. So he bought\nher, for five hundred dinars and paid the sum to her master; but when he\ntook the money and was about to go away, the girl burst into tears and\nrepeated these two couplets:\u2014\n\n May coins thou gainest joy in heart instil; \u273f For me remaineth naught\n save saddest ill:\n I say unto my soul which sorely grieves, \u273f \u201cThy friend departeth an thou\n will or nill.\u201d\n\nAnd when her master heard this, he groaned and replied in these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n Albeit this thy case lack all resource, \u273f Nor findest aught but death\u2019s\n doom, pardon still:\n Evening and morning, thoughts of thee will dole \u273f Comfort to heart all\n woes and griefs full fill:\n Peace be upon thee! meet we now no more \u273f Nor pair except at Ibn\n Ma\u2019amar\u2019s will.\n\nNow when Abdullah bin Ma\u2019amar heard these verses and saw their\naffection, he exclaimed, \u201cBy Allah, I will not assist fate in separating\nyou; for it is evident to me that ye two indeed love each other. So take\nthe money and the damsel, O man, and Allah bless thee in both; for\nverily parting be grievous to lovers.\u201d So they kissed his hand and going\naway, ceased not to dwell together, till death did them part; and glory\nbe to Him whom death over-taketh not! And amongst stories is that of\n\n\n\n\n THE LOVERS OF THE BANU[99] OZRAH.\n\n\nThere was once, among the Banu \u2018Ozrah, a handsome and accomplished man,\nwho was never a single day out of love, and it chanced that he became\nenamoured of a beauty of his own tribe and sent her many messages; but\nshe ceased not to entreat him with cruelty and disdain; till, for stress\nof love and longing and desire and distraction, he fell sick of a sore\nsickness and took to his pillow and murdered sleep. His malady redoubled\non him and his torments increased and he was well nigh dead when his\ncase became known among the folk and his passion notorious\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 Eighty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the man took to\nhis pillow and murdered sleep. So his case became known among the folk\nand his passion notorious; and his infirmity grew upon him and his pains\nredoubled till he was well nigh dead. His family and hers were urgent\nwith her to visit him, but she refused, till he was at the point of\ndeath when, being told of this, she relented towards him and vouchsafed\nhim a visit. As soon as he saw her, his eyes ran over with tears and he\nrepeated from a broken heart:\u2014\n\n An, by thy life, pass thee my funeral train, \u273f A bier upborne upon the\n necks of four,\n Wilt thou not follow it, and greet the grave \u273f Where shall my corpse be\n graved for evermore?\n\nHearing this, she wept with sore weeping and said to him, \u201cBy Allah, I\nsuspected not that passion had come to such a pass with thee, as to cast\nthee into the arms of death! Had I wist of this, I had been favourable\nto thy wish, and thou shouldst have had thy will.\u201d At this his tears\nstreamed down even as the clouds rail rain, and he repeated this verse:\u2014\n\n She drew near whenas death was departing us, \u273f And deigned union grant\n when \u2018twas useless all.\n\nThen he groaned one groan and died. So she fell on him, kissing him and\nweeping and ceased not weeping till she swooned away; and when she came\nto herself, she charged her people to bury her in his grave and with\nstreaming eyes recited these two couplets:-\n\n We lived on earth a life of fair content; \u273f And tribe and house and home\n of us were proud;\n But Time in whirling flight departed us, \u273f To join us now in womb of\n earth and shroud.[100]\n\nThen she fell again to weeping, nor gave over shedding tears and\nlamenting till she fainted away; and she lay three days, senseless. Then\nshe died and was buried in his grave. This is one of the strange chances\nof love.[101] And I have heard related a tale of the\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 99:\n\n Europeans usually write \u201cBeni\u201d for \u201cBanu;\u201d the oblique for the\n nominative. I prefer \u201cOdhrah\u201d or \u201cOzrah\u201d to Udhrah; because the Ayn\n before the Z\u00e1l takes in pronunciation the more open sound.\n\nFootnote 100:\n\n Possibly meaning that they were shrouded together; this would be\n opposed to Moslem sense of decorum in modern days, but the ancient\n were not so squeamish. See Night cccxi.\n\nFootnote 101:\n\n This phase of passion in the \u201cvarium et mutabile\u201d is often treated of\n by Oriental story-tellers, and not unoften seen in real Eastern life.\n\n\n\n\n WAZIR OF AL-YAMAN AND HIS YOUNG BROTHER.\n\n\nIt is said that Badr al-Din, Wazir of Al-Yaman, had a young brother of\nsingular beauty and kept strait watch over him; so he applied himself to\nseek a tutor for him and, coming upon a Shaykh of dignified and reverend\naspect, chaste and religious, lodged him in a house next his own. This\nlasted a long time, and he used to come daily from his dwelling to that\nof S\u00e1hib[102] Badr al-Din and teach the young brother. After a while,\nthe old man\u2019s heart was taken with love for the youth, and longing grew\nupon him and his vitals were troubled, till one day, he bemoaned his\ncase to the boy, who said, \u201cWhat can I do, seeing that I may not leave\nmy brother night or day? and thou thyself seest how careful he is over\nme.\u201d Quoth the Shaykh, \u201cMy lodging adjoineth thine; so there will be no\ndifficulty, when thy brother sleepeth, to rise and entering the privy,\nfeign thyself asleep. Then come to the parapet[103] of the terrace-roof\nand I will receive thee on the other side of the wall; so shalt thou sit\nwith me an eye-twinkling and return without thy brother\u2019s knowledge.\u201d \u201cI\nhear and obey,\u201d answered the lad; and the tutor began to prepare gifts\nsuitable to his degree. Now when a while of the night was past, he\nentered the water-closet and waited till his brother lay down on his bed\nand took patience till he was drowned in sleep, when he rose and going\nto the parapet of the terrace-roof, found standing there to await him\nthe old man, who gave him his hand and carried him to the\nsitting-chamber, where he had made ready various dainties for his\nentertainment, and they sat down to carouse. Now it was the night of the\nfull moon and, as they sat with the wine-cup going round, her rays shone\nupon them, and the governor fell to singing. But, whilst they were thus\nin joy and jollity and mirth and merriment, such as confoundeth the wit\nand the sight and defieth description, lo! the Wazir awoke and, missing\nhis brother, arose in affright and found the door open. So he went up to\nthe roof and hearing a noise of talk, climbed over the parapet to the\nadjoining terrace and saw a light shining from the lodging. He looked in\nfrom behind the wall, and espied his brother and his tutor sitting at\ncarouse: but the Shaykh became aware of him and sang cup in hand, to a\nlively measure these couplets:\u2014\n\n He made me drain his wine of honeyed lips, \u273f Toasting with cheeks which\n rose and myrtle smother:\n Then nighted in embrace, cheek to my cheek, \u273f A loveling midst mankind\n without another.\n When the full moon arose on us and shone \u273f Pray she traduce us not to\n the big brother.\n\nAnd it proved the perfect politeness of the Wazir Badr al-Din that, when\nhe heard this, he said, \u201cBy Allah, I will not betray you!\u201d And he went\naway and left them to their diversions. They also tell a tale concerning\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 102:\n\n As has been said, \u201cS\u00e1hib\u201d (preceding the name not following it as in\n India) is a Wazirial title in medi\u00e6val Islam.\n\nFootnote 103:\n\n This parapet was rendered obligatory by Moses (Deut. xxii. 8) on\n account of the danger of leaving a flat roof without _garde-fou_.\n Eastern Christians neglect the precaution and often lose their\n children by the neglect.\n\n\n\n\n THE LOVES OF THE BOY AND GIRL AT SCHOOL.\n\n\nA free boy and a slave-girl once learnt together in school, and the boy\nfell passionately in love with the girl.\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 Eighty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the lad fell\npassionately in love with the slave-lass: so one day, when the other\nboys were heedless, he took her tablet[104] and wrote on it these two\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n What sayest thou of him by sickness waste, \u273f Until he\u2019s clean distraught\n for love of thee?\n Who in the transport of his pain complains, \u273f Nor can bear load of heart\n in secrecy?\n\nNow when the girl took her tablet, she read the verses written thereon\nand understanding them, wept for ruth of him; then she wrote thereunder\nthese two couplets:\u2014\n\n An if we behold a lover love-fordone \u273f Desiring us, our favours he shall\n see:\n Yea, what he wills of us he shall obtain, \u273f And so befal us what\n befalling be.\n\nNow it chanced that the teacher came in on them and taking the tablet,\nunnoticed, read what was written thereon. So he was moved to pity of\ntheir case and wrote on the tablet beneath those already written these\ntwo couplets addressed to the girl:\u2014\n\n Console thy lover, fear no consequence; \u273f He is daft with loving lowe\u2019s\n insanity;\n But for the teacher fear not aught from him; \u273f Love-pain he learn\u00e8d long\n before learnt ye.\n\nPresently it so happened that the girl\u2019s owner entered the school about\nthe same time and, finding the tablet, read the above verses indited by\nthe boy, the girl and the schoolmaster; and wrote under them these two\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n May Allah never make you parting dree \u273f And be your censurer sham\u00e8d\n wearily!\n But for the teacher ne\u2019er, by Allah, eye \u273f Of mine beheld a bigger pimp\n than he!\n\nThen he sent for the Kazi and witnesses and married them on the spot.\nMoreover, he made them a wedding-feast and treated them with exceeding\nmunificence; and they ceased not abiding together in joy and happiness,\ntill there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Severer of\nsocieties. And equally pleasant is the story of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 104:\n\n Arab. \u201cLauh.\u201d A bit of thin board washed white used for lessons as\n slates are amongst us, and as easily cleaned because the inks contain\n no minerals. It is a long parallelogram with triangular ears at the\n short sides; and the shape must date from ages immemorial as it is\n found, throughout Syria and its adjoinings, in the oldest rock\n inscriptions to which the form serves as a frame. Hence the \u201cabacus\u201d\n or counting table derives from the Gr. \u1f04\u03b2\u03b1\u03b6 a slab (or in Phenician\n \u201csand\u201d), dust or sand in old days having been strewed on a table or\n tablet for schoolboys\u2019 writings and mathematical diagrams.\n\n\n\n\n AL-MUTALAMMIS AND HIS WIFE UMAYMAH.\n\n\nIt is related that Al-Mutalammis[105] once fled from Al-Nu\u2019uman bin\nMunzir[106] and was absent so long that folk deemed him dead. Now he had\na beautiful wife, Umaymah by name, and her family urged her to marry\nagain; but she refused, for that she loved her husband Al-Mutalammis\nvery dearly. However, they were urgent with her, because of the\nmultitude of her suitors, and importuned her till she at last consented,\nalbe reluctantly; and they espoused her to a man of her own tribe. Now\non the night of the wedding, Al-Mutalammis came back and, hearing in the\ncamp a noise of pipes and tabrets and seeing signs of a wedding\nfestival, asked some of the children what was the merry making, to which\nthey replied, \u201cThey have married Umaymah wife of Al-Mutalammis, to such\nan one, and he goes in to her this night.\u201d When he heard this, he\nplanned to enter the house amongst the mob of women and saw the twain\nseated on the bridal couch.[107] By and by, the bridegroom came up to\nher, whereupon she sighed heavily and weeping, recited this couplet:\u2014\n\n Would Heaven I knew (but many are the shifts of joy and woe) \u273f In what\n far distant land thou art, my Mutalammis, oh!\n\nNow Al-Mutalammis was a renowned poet; so he answered her saying:\u2014\n\n Right near at hand, Umaymah mine! whene\u2019er the caravan \u273f Halted, I never\n ceased for thee to pine, I would thou know.\n\nWhen the bridegroom heard this, he guessed how the case stood and went\nforth from among them in haste improvising:\u2014\n\n I was in bestest luck, but now my luck goes contrary: \u273f A hospitable\n house and room contain your loves, you two!\n\nAnd he returned not but left the twain to their privacy. So\nAl-Mutalammis and his wife abode together in all comfort and solace of\nlife and in all its joys and jollities till death parted them. And glory\nbe to Him at whose command the earth and the heavens shall arise! And\namong other tales is that of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 105:\n\n A pre-Islamitic bard and friend of Tarafah the poet of the Suspended\n or \u201cPrize Poem.\u201d The tale is familiar to all the Moslem East.\n Tarafah\u2019s Laura was one Khaul\u00e1.\n\nFootnote 106:\n\n King of Hirah in Chald\u00e6a, a drunken and bloodthirsty tyrant. When\n offended by the lampoons of the two poets he sent them with litter\u00e6\n Bellerophonti\u00e6 to the Governor of Al-Bahrayn. Al-Mutalammis \u201csmelt a\n rat\u201d and destroyed his charge, but Tarafah was mutilated and buried\n alive, the victim of a trick which is old as (and older than) good\n King David and Uriah. Of course neither poet could read.\n\nFootnote 107:\n\n On this occasion, and in presence of the women only, the groom first\n sees or is supposed to see the face of his wife. It is, I have said,\n the fashion for both to be greatly overcome and to appear as if about\n to faint: the groom looks especially ridiculous when so\n attitudinising.\n\n\n\n\n THE CALIPH HARUN AL-RASHID AND QUEEN ZUBAYDAH IN THE BATH.\n\n\nThe Caliph Harun al-Rashid loved the Lady Zubaydah with exceeding love\nand laid out for her a pleasaunce, wherein he made a great tank and set\nthereabouts a screen of trees and led thither water from all sides;\nhence the trees grew and interlaced over the basin so densely, that one\ncould go in and wash, without being seen of any, for the thickness of\nthe leafage. It chanced, one day, that Queen Zubaydah entered the garden\nand, coming to the swimming-bath,\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 Eighty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Queen Zubaydah\nentered the garden one day and, coming to the swimming-bath, gazed upon\nits goodliness; and the sheen of the water and the overshading of the\ntrees pleased her. Now it was a day of exceeding heat; so she doffed her\nclothes and, entering the tank, which was not deep enough to cover the\nwhole person, fell to pouring the water over herself from an ewer of\nsilver. It also happened that the Caliph heard she was in the pool; so\nhe left his palace and came down to spy upon her through the screen of\nthe foliage. He stood behind the trees and espied her mother-nude,\nshowing everything that is kept hidden. Presently, she became aware of\nhim and turning, saw him behind the trees and was ashamed that he should\nsee her naked. So she laid her hands on her parts, but the Mount of\nVenus escaped from between them, by reason of its greatness and\nplumpness; and the Caliph at once turned and went away, wondering and\nreciting this couplet:\u2014\n\n I looked on her with loving eyne \u273f And grew anew my old repine:\n\nBut he knew not what to say next; so he sent for Abu Nowas and said to\nhim, \u201cMake me a piece of verse commencing with this line.\u201d \u201cI hear and\nobey,\u201d replied the poet and in an eye-twinkling extemporised these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n I looked on her with longing eyne \u273f And grew anew my old repine\n For the gazelle, who captured me \u273f Where the two lotus-trees incline:\n There was the water poured on it \u273f From ewer of the silvern mine;\n And seen me she had hidden it \u273f But \u2018twas too plump for fingers fine.\n Would Heaven that I were on it, \u273f An hour, or better two hours,\n li\u2019en.[108]\n\nThereupon the Commander of the Faithful smiled and made him a handsome\npresent and he went away rejoicing. And I have heard another story of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 108:\n\n This leisurely operation of the \u201cdeed of kind\u201d was sure to be noticed;\n but we do not find in The Nights any allusion to that systematic\n _prolongatio veneris_ which is so much cultivated by Moslems under the\n name Ims\u00e1k = retention, withholding _i.e._ the semen. Yet Eastern\n books on domestic medicine consist mostly of two parts; the first of\n general prescriptions and the second of aphrodisiacs especially those\n _qui prolongent le plaisir_ as did the Gaul by thinking of _sa pauvre\n m\u00e8re_. The Ananga-Ranga, by the Reverend Koka Pandit before quoted,\n gives a host of recipes which are used, either externally or\n internally, to hasten the paroxysm of the woman and delay the orgasm\n of the man (p. 27). Some of these are curious in the extreme. I heard\n of a Hindi who made a candle of frogs\u2019 fat and fibre warranted to\n retain the seed till it burned out: it failed notably because, relying\n upon it, he worked too vigorously. The essence of the \u201cretaining art\u201d\n is to avoid over-tension of the muscles and to pre-occupy the brain:\n hence in coition Hindus will drink sherbet, chew betel-nut and even\n smoke. Europeans ignoring the science and practice, are contemptuously\n compared with village-cocks by Hindu women who cannot be satisfied,\n such is their natural coldness, increased doubtless by vegetable diet\n and unuse of stimulants, with less than twenty minutes. Hence too\n while thousands of Europeans have cohabited for years with and have\n had families by \u201cnative women,\u201d they are never loved by them:\u2014at least\n I never heard of a case.\n\n\n\n\n HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE THREE POETS.\n\n\nThe Prince of True Believers, Caliph Harun al-Rashid, was exceeding\nrestless one night; so he rose and walked about his palace, till he\nhappened on a handmaid overcome with wine. Now he was prodigiously\nenamoured of this damsel; so he played with her and pulled her to him,\nwhereupon her zone fell down and her petticoat-trousers were loosed and\nhe besought her of amorous favour. But she said to him, \u201cO Commander of\nthe Faithful wait till to-morrow night, for I am unprepared for thee,\nknowing not of thy coming.\u201d So he left her and went away. But, when the\nmorrow showed its light and the sun shone bright, he sent a page to her\nsaying, \u201cThe Commander of the Faithful is about to visit thine\napartment;\u201d but she replied, \u201cDay doth away with the promise of night.\u201d\nSo he said to his courtiers, make me somewhat of verse, introducing\nthese words, \u201cThe promise of Night is effaced by Day.\u201d Answered they,\n\u201cWe hear and obey,\u201d and Al-Rak\u00e1shi[109] came forward and recited the\nfollowing couplets:\u2014\n\n By Allah, couldst thou but feel my pain, \u273f Thy rest had turned and had\n fled away.\n\n Hath left me in sorrow and love distraught, \u273f Unseen and unseeing, that\n fairest may:\n She promised me grace, then jilted and said, \u273f \u201cThe promise of night is\n effaced by day!\u201d\n\nThen Abu Mus\u2019ab came forward and recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n When wilt thou be wise and love-heat allay \u273f That from food and sleeping\n so leads astray?\n Suffices thee not ever weeping eye, \u273f And vitals on fire when thy name\n they say?\n He must smile and laugh and in pride must cry \u273f \u201cThe promise of Night is\n effaced by Day.\u201d\n\nLast came Abu Nowas and recited the following couplets:\u2014\n\n As love waxt longer less met we tway \u273f And fell out, but ended the\n useless fray;\n One night in the palace I found her fou\u2019; \u273f Yet of modesty still there\n was some display:\n The veil from her shoulders had slipt; and showed \u273f Her loosened\n trousers Love\u2019s seat and stay:\n And rattled the breezes her huge hind cheeks \u273f And the branch where two\n little pomegranates lay:\n Quoth I, \u201cGive me tryst;\u201d whereto quoth she \u273f \u201cTo-morrow the fane shall\n wear best array:\u201d\n Next day I asked her, \u201cThy word?\u201d Said she \u273f \u201cThe promise of Night is\n effaced by Day.\u201d\n\nThe Caliph bade give a myriad of money each to Al-Rakashi and Abu\nMus\u2019ab, but bade strike off the head of Abu Nowas, saying, \u201cThou wast\nwith us yesternight in the palace.\u201d Said he, \u201cBy Allah, I slept not but\nin my own house! I was directed to what I said by thine own words as to\nthe subject of the verse; and indeed quoth Almighty Allah (and He is the\ntruest of all speakers):\u2014As for poets (devils pursue them!) dost thou\nnot see that they rove as bereft of their senses through every valley\nand that they say that which they do not?\u201d[110] So the Caliph forgave\nhim and gave him two myriads of money. And another tale is that of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 109:\n\n Abu \u2018l Abbas al-Rak\u00e1shi, a poet of the time. The saying became\n proverbial (Burckhardt\u2019s A. Proverbs No. 561) and there are variants,\n _e.g._ The night\u2019s promise is spread with butter that melteth when day\n ariseth.\n\nFootnote 110:\n\n Koran xxvi. 5, 6 or \u201cAnd those who err (Arab. Al-gh\u00e1w\u00fan) follow the\n footsteps of the poets,\u201d etc.\n\n\n\n\n MUS\u2019AB BIN AL-ZUBAYR AND AYISHAH DAUGHTER OF TALHAH.\n\n\nIt is told of Mus\u2019ab bin al-Zubayr[111] that he met in Al-Medinah Izzah,\nwho was one of the shrewdest of women, and said to her, \u201cI have a mind\nto marry Ayishah[112] daughter of Talhah, and I should like thee to go\nher-wards and spy out for me how she is made.\u201d So she went away and\nreturning to Mus\u2019ab, said, \u201cI have seen her, and her face is fairer than\nhealth; she hath large and well-opened eyes and under them a nose\nstraight and smooth as a cane; oval cheeks and a mouth like a cleft\npomegranate, a neck as a silver ewer and below it a bosom with two\nbreasts like twin-pomegranates and further down a slim waist and a\nslender stomach with a navel therein as it were a casket of ivory, and\nback parts like a hummock of sand; and plumply rounded thighs and calves\nlike columns of alabaster; but I saw her feet to be large, and thou wilt\nfall short with her in time of need.\u201d Upon this report he married\nher\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 Eighty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Izzah this\nwise reported of Ayishah bint Talhah, Mus\u2019ab married her and went in to\nher. And presently Izzah invited Ayishah and the women of the tribe\nKuraysh to her house, when Ayishah sang these two couplets with Mus\u2019ab\nstanding by:\u2014\n\n And the lips of girls, that are perfume sweet; \u273f So nice to kiss when\n with smiles they greet:\n Yet ne\u2019er tasted I them, but in thought of him; \u273f And by thought the\n Ruler rules worldly seat.\n\nThe night of Mus\u2019ab\u2019s going in unto her, he departed not from her, till\nafter seven bouts; and on the morrow, a freedwoman of his met him and\nsaid to him, \u201cMay I be thy sacrifice! Thou art perfect, even in this.\u201d\nAnd a certain woman said, \u201cI was with Ayishah, when her husband came in\nto her, and she lusted for him; so he fell upon her and she snarked and\nsnorted and made use of all manner of wondrous movements and marvellous\nnew inventions, and I the while within hearing.\u201d So, when he came out\nfrom her, I said to her, \u201cHow canst thou do thus with thy rank and\nnobility and condition, and I in thy house?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cVerily a woman\nshould bring her husband all of which she is mistress, by way of\nexcitement and rare buckings and wrigglings and motitations.[113] What\ndislikest thou of this?\u201d And I answered \u201cI would have this by nights.\u201d\nRejoined she, \u201cThus is it by day and by night I do more than this; for\nwhen he seeth me, desire stirreth him up and he falleth in heat; so he\nputteth it out to me and I obey him, and it is as thou seest.\u201d And there\nalso hath reached me an account of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 111:\n\n Half-brother of Abdullah bin al-Zubayr, the celebrated pretender.\n\nFootnote 112:\n\n Grand-daughter of the Caliph Abu Bakr and the most beautiful woman of\n her day.\n\nFootnote 113:\n\n The Calc. Edit. by mistake reads \u201cIzzah.\u201d Torrens (notes i.-xi.)\n remarks \u201cThe word _Ghoonj_ is applied to this sort of blandishment\u201d\n (_i.e._ an affected gait), and says Burckhardt (Prov. No. 685), \u201cThe\n women of Cairo flatter themselves that their _Ghoonj_ is superior to\n that of all other females in the Levant.\u201d But Torrens did not\n understand and Burckhardt would not explain \u201cGhunj\u201d except by \u201cassumed\n airs\u201d (see No. 714). It here means the art of moving in coition, which\n is especially affected, even by modest women, throughout the East and\n they have many books teaching the genial art. In China there are\n professors, mostly old women, who instruct young girls in this branch\n of the gymnastic.\n\n\n\n\n ABU AL-ASWAD AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL.\n\n\nAbu al-Aswad bought a native-born slave-girl, who was blind of an eye,\nand she pleased him; but his people decried her to him; whereat he\nwondered and, turning the palms of his hands upwards,[114] recited these\ntwo couplets:\u2014\n\n They find me fault with her where I default ne\u2019er find, \u273f Save haply\n that a speck in either eye may show:\n But if her eyes have fault, of fault her form hath none, \u273f Slim-built\n above the waist and heavily made below.\n\nAnd this is also told of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 114:\n\n When reciting the F\u00e1tihah (opening Koranic chapter), the hands are\n held in this position as if to receive a blessing falling from Heaven;\n after which both palms are passed down the face to distribute it over\n the eyes and other organs of sense.\n\n\n\n\n HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE TWO SLAVE-GIRLS.\n\n\nThe Caliph Harun al-Rashid lay one night between two slave-girls, one\nfrom Al-Medinah and the other from Cufa and the Cufite rubbed his hands,\nwhilst the Medinite rubbed his feet and made his concern[115] stand up.\nQuoth the Cufite, \u201cI see thou wouldst keep the whole of the\nstock-in-trade to thyself; give me my share of it.\u201d And the other\nanswered, \u201cI have been told by M\u00e1lik, on the authority of Hish\u00e1m ibn\nOrwah,[116] who had it of his (grand) father, that the Prophet said,\n\u201cWhoso quickeneth the dead, the dead belongeth to him and is his.\u201d\u201d But\nthe Cufite took her unawares and, pushing her away, seized it all in her\nown hand and said, \u201cAl-A\u2019amash telleth us, on the authority of\nKhaysamah, who had it of Abdallah bin Mas\u2019\u00fad, that the Prophet declared,\nGame belongeth to him who taketh it, not to him who raiseth it.\u201d And\nthis is also related of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 115:\n\n The word used is \u201cbiz\u00e1\u2019at\u201d = capital or a share in a mercantile\n business.\n\nFootnote 116:\n\n This and the following names are those of noted traditionists of the\n eighth century, who derive back to Abdallah bin Mas\u2019\u00fad, a \u201cCompanion\n of the Apostle.\u201d The text shows the recognised formula of ascription\n for quoting a \u201cHad\u00eds\u201d = saying of Mohammed; and sometimes it has to\n pass through half a dozen mouths.\n\n\n\n\n THE CALIPH HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE THREE SLAVE-GIRLS.\n\n\nThe Caliph Harun al-Rashid once slept with three slave-girls, a Meccan,\na Medinite and an Irakite. The Medinah girl put her hand to his yard and\nhandled it, whereupon it rose and the Meccan sprang up and drew it to\nherself. Quoth the other, \u201cWhat is this unjust aggression? A tradition\nwas related to me by M\u00e1lik[117] after Al-Zuhri, after Abdallah ibn\nS\u00e1lim, after Sa\u2019\u00edd bin Zayd, that the Apostle of Allah (whom Allah bless\nand keep!) said:\u2014Whoso enquickeneth a dead land, it is his.\u201d And the\nMeccan answered, \u201cIt is related to us by Sufy\u00e1n, from Abu Zan\u00e1d, from\nAl-A\u2019araj, from Abu Horayrah, that the Apostle of Allah said:\u2014\u201cThe\nquarry is his who catcheth it, not his who starteth it.\u201d\u201d But the Irak\ngirl pushed them both away and taking it to herself, said, \u201cThis is\nmine, till your contention be decided.\u201d And they tell a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 117:\n\n Traditionists of the seventh and eighth centuries who refer back to\n the \u201cFather of the Kitten\u201d (Abu Horayrah), an uncle of the Apostle.\n\n\n\n\n THE MILLER AND HIS WIFE.\n\n\nThere was a miller, who had an ass to turn his mill; and he was married\nto a wicked wife, whom he loved, while she hated him because she was\nsweet upon a neighbour, who misliked her and held aloof from her. One\nnight, the miller saw, in his sleep, one who said to him, \u201cDig in such a\nspot of the ass\u2019s round in the mill, and thou shalt find a hoard.\u201d When\nhe awoke, he told his wife the vision and bade her keep the secret; but\nshe told her neighbour\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 Eighty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the miller\u2019s wife\ntold the secret to the neighbour whom she loved, thinking to win his\nfavour; and he agreed with her to come to her by night. So he came and\nthey dug in the mill and found the treasure and took it forth. Then he\nasked her, \u201cHow shall we do with this?\u201d and she answered; \u201cWe will\ndivide it into two halves and will share it equally between us, and do\nthou leave thy wife and I will cast about to rid me of my husband. Then\nshalt thou marry me and, when we are conjoined, we will join the two\nhalves of the treasure one to other, and all will be in our hands.\u201d\nQuoth he, \u201cI fear lest Satan seduce thee and thou take some man other\nthan myself; for gold in the house is like the sun in the world. I reck,\ntherefore, it were right that the money be all in my hands, so thou give\nthy whole mind to getting free of thy husband and coming to me.\u201d Quoth\nshe, \u201cI fear even as thou fearest, nor will I yield up my part to thee;\nfor it was I directed thee to it.\u201d When he heard this, greed of gain\nprompted him to kill her; so he slew her and threw her body into the\nempty hoard-hole; but day overtook him and hindered him from covering it\nup; he therefore took the money and went his way. Now after a while the\nmiller awoke and, missing his wife, went into the mill, where he\nfastened the ass to the beam and shouted to it. It went on a little,\nthen stopped; whereupon he beat it grievously; but the more he bashed\nit, the more it drew back; for it was affrighted at the dead woman and\ncould not go forward. Thereupon the Miller, unknowing what hindered the\ndonkey, took out a knife and goaded it again and again, but still it\nwould not budge. Then he was wroth with it, knowing not the cause of its\nobstinacy, and drove the knife into its flanks, and it fell down dead.\nBut when the sun rose, he saw his donkey lying dead and likewise his\nwife in the place of the treasure, and great was his rage and sore his\nwrath for the loss of his hoard and the death of his wife and his ass.\nAll this came of his letting his wife into his secret and not keeping it\nto himself.[118] And I have heard this tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 118:\n\n Eastern story-books abound in these instances. Pilpay says in \u201cKalilah\n wa Dimnah,\u201d \u201cI am the slave of what I have spoken and the lord of what\n I keep hidden.\u201d Sa\u2019adi follows suit, \u201cWhen thou speakest not a word,\n thou hast thy hand upon it; when it is once spoken it hath laid its\n hand on thee.\u201d Caxton, in the \u201cDyctes, or Sayings of Philosophers\u201d\n (printed in 1477) uses almost the same words.\n\n\n\n\n THE SIMPLETON AND THE SHARPER.\n\n\nA certain simpleton was once walking along, haling his ass after him by\nthe halter, when a pair of sharpers saw him and one said to his fellow,\n\u201cI will take that ass from yonder wight.\u201d Asked the other, \u201cHow wilt\nthou do that?\u201d \u201cFollow me and I will show thee how,\u201d answered the first.\nSo the cony-catcher went up to the ass and, loosing it from the halter,\ngave the beast to his fellow; then he haltered his own head and followed\nTom Fool till he knew the other had got clean off with the ass, when he\nstood still. The oaf haled at the halter, but the rascal stirred not; so\nhe turned and seeing the halter on a man\u2019s neck, said to him, \u201cWhat art\nthou?\u201d Quoth the sharper, \u201cI am thine ass and my story is a wondrous one\nand \u2018tis this. Know that I have a pious old mother and came in to her\none day, drunk; and she said to me:\u2014O my son, repent to the Almighty of\nthese thy transgressions. But I took my staff and beat her, whereupon\nshe cursed me and Allah changed me into an ass and caused me fall into\nthy hands, where I have remained till this moment. However, to-day, my\nmother called me to mind and her heart yearned towards me; so she prayed\nfor me and the Lord restored me to my former shape amongst the sons of\nAdam.\u201d Cried the silly one, \u201cThere is no Majesty and there is no Might\nsave in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Allah upon thee, O my brother,\nacquit me of what I have done with thee in the way of riding and so\nforth.\u201d Then he let the cony-catcher go and returned home, drunken with\nchagrin and concern as with wine. His wife asked him, \u201cWhat aileth thee\nand where is the donkey?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cThou knowest not what was\nthis ass; but I will tell thee.\u201d So he told her the story, and she\nexclaimed, \u201cAlack and alas for the punishment we shall receive from\nAlmighty Allah! How could we have used a man as a beast of burden, all\nthis while?\u201d And she gave alms by way of atonement and prayed pardon of\nHeaven.[119] Then the man abode awhile at home, idle and feckless, till\nshe said to him, \u201cHow long wilt thou sit at home doing naught? Go to the\nmarket and buy us an ass and ply thy work with it.\u201d Accordingly, he went\nto the market and stopped by the ass-stand, where behold, he saw his own\nass for sale. So he went up to it and clapping his mouth to its ear,\nsaid to it, \u201cWoe to thee, thou ne\u2019er-do-well! Doubtless thou hast been\ngetting drunk again and beating thy mother! But, by Allah, I will never\nbuy thee more!\u201d[120] And he left it and went away. And they tell a tale\nconcerning\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 119:\n\n _i.e._ for her husband\u2019s and her sin in using a man like a beast.\n\nFootnote 120:\n\n See the Second Lady\u2019s story (tant\u00f4t Kadi, tant\u00f4t bandit), pp. 20\u201326 by\n my friend Yacoub Artin Pasha in the Bulletin before quoted, series ii.\n No. 4 of 1883. The sharpers\u2019 trick is common in Eastern folk-lore, and\n the idea that underlies is always metempsychosis or metamorphosis. So,\n in the Kalilah was Dimnah (new Syriac), the three rogues persuade the\n ascetic that he is leading a dog not a sheep.\n\n\n\n\n THE KAZI ABU YUSUF WITH HARUN AL-RASHID AND QUEEN ZUBAYDAH.\n\n\nThe Caliph Harun al-Rashid went up one noontide to his couch, to lie\ndown; and mounting, found upon the bed-clothes semen freshly emitted;\nwhereat he was startled and troubled with sore trouble. So he called the\nLady Zubaydah and said to her, \u201cWhat is that spilt on the bed?\u201d She\nlooked at it and replied, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, it is semen.\u201d\nQuoth he, \u201cTell me truly what this meaneth or I will lay violent hands\non thee forthright.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cBy Allah, O Commander of the Faithful,\nindeed I know not how it came there and I am guiltless of that whereof\nthou suspectest me.\u201d So he sent for the Kazi Ab\u00fa Y\u00fasuf and acquainted\nhim of the case. The Judge raised his eyes to the ceiling and, seeing a\ncrack therein, said to the Caliph, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, in very\nsooth the bat hath seed like that of a man,[121] and this is bat\u2019s\nsemen.\u201d Then he called for a spear and thrust it into the crevice,\nwhereupon down fell the bat. In this manner the Caliph\u2019s suspicions were\ndispelled\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 Eighty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Kazi Abu\nYusuf took the spear and thrust it into the crevice, down fell the bat,\nand thus the Caliph\u2019s suspicions were dispelled and the innocence of\nZubaydah was made manifest; whereat she gave loud and liberal vent to\nher joy and promised Abu Yusuf a magnificent reward. Now there were with\nher certain delicious fruits, out of their season, and she knew of\nothers in the garden; so she asked Abu Yusuf, \u201cO Imam of the Faith,\nwhich wouldest thou rather have of the two kinds of fruits, those that\nare here or those that are not here?\u201d And he answered, \u201cOur code\nforbiddeth us to pronounce judgment on the absent; wheneas they are\npresent, we will give our decision.\u201d So she let bring the two kinds of\nfruits before him; and he ate of both. Quoth she, \u201cWhat is the\ndifference between them?\u201d and quoth he, \u201cAs often as I think to praise\none kind, the adversary putteth in its claim.\u201d The Caliph laughed at his\nanswer[122] and made him a rich present; and Zubaydah also gave him what\nshe had promised him, and he went away, rejoicing. See, then the virtues\nof this Im\u00e1m and how at his hands were manifest the truth and the\ninnocence of the Lady Zubaydah. And amongst other stories is that of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 121:\n\n This is the popular prejudice and it has doubtless saved many a\n reputation. The bat is known to Moslems as the Bird of Jesus, a legend\n derived by the Koran from the Gospel of Infancy (I chapt. xv. Hone\u2019s\n Apocryphal New Testament), in which the boy Jesus amuses himself with\n making birds of clay and commanding them to fly when (according to the\n Moslems) they became bats. These Apocryphal Gospels must be carefully\n read, if the student would understand a number of Moslem allusions to\n the Inj\u00edl which no Evangel contains.\n\nFootnote 122:\n\n Because it quibbled a way out of every question, a truly diplomatic\n art.\n\n\n\n\n THE CALIPH AL-HAKIM[123] AND THE MERCHANT.\n\n\nThe Caliph Al-H\u00e1kim bi-Amri\u2019llah was riding out in state procession one\nday, when he passed along a garden, wherein he saw a man, surrounded by\nnegro-slaves and eunuchs. He asked him for a draught of water, and the\nman gave him to drink, saying, \u201cBelike, the Commander of the Faithful\nwill honour me by alighting in this my garden.\u201d So the Caliph dismounted\nand with his suite entered the garden; whereupon the said man brought\nout to them an hundred rugs and an hundred leather mats and an hundred\ncushions; and set before them an hundred dishes of fruits, an hundred\nbowls of sweetmeats and an hundred jars of sugared sherbets; at which\nthe Caliph marvelled with much amaze and said to his host, \u201cO man,\nverily this thy case is wondrous: didst thou know of our coming and make\nthis preparation for us?\u201d He replied, \u201cNo, by Allah, O Commander of the\nFaithful, I knew not of thy coming and I am a merchant of the rest of\nthy subjects; but I have an hundred concubines; so, when the Commander\nof the Faithful honoured me by alighting with me, I sent to each of\nthem, bidding her send me her morning-meal in the garden. So they sent\nme each of her furniture and the surplus of her meat and drink: and\nevery day each sendeth me a dish of meat and another of cooling\nmarinades, also a platter of fruits and a bowl of sweetmeats and a jar\nof sherbet. This is my noonday dinner, nor have I added aught thereto\nfor thee.\u201d Then the Commander of the Faithful, Al-Hakim bi-Amri\u2019llah\nprostrated himself in thanksgiving to the Almighty (extolled and exalted\nbe His name!) and said, \u201cPraised be Allah, who hath been so bountiful to\none of our lieges, that he entertaineth the Caliph and his host, without\nmaking ready for them; nay, he feedeth them with the surplusage of his\nday\u2019s provision!\u201d Then he sent for all the dirhams in the treasury, that\nhad been struck that year (and they were in number three thousand and\nseven hundred thousand); nor did he mount till the money came, when he\ngave it to the merchant, saying, \u201cUse this as thy state may require; and\nthy generosity deserveth more than this.\u201d Then he took horse and rode\naway. And I have heard a story concerning\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 123:\n\n This Caliph, the orthodox Abbaside of Egypt (A.D. 1261) must not be\n confounded with the Druze-god, the heretical Fatimite (A.D. 996\u20131021).\n D\u2019Herbelot (\u201cHakem\u201d) gives details. Mr. S. L. Poole (The Academy,\n April 26, \u201879) is very severe on the slip of Mr. Payne.\n\n\n\n\n KING KISRA ANUSHIRWAN[124] AND THE VILLAGE DAMSEL.\n\n\nThe just King, Kisr\u00e0 An\u00fashirw\u00e1n one day rode forth to the chase and, in\npursuit of a deer, became separated from his suite. Presently, he caught\nsight of a hamlet near hand and being sore athirst, he made for it and\npresenting himself at the door of a house that lay by the wayside, asked\nfor a draught of water. So a damsel came out and looked at him; then,\ngoing back into the house, pressed the juice from a single sugar-cane\ninto a bowl and mixed it with water; after which she strewed on the top\nsome scented stuff, as it were dust, and carried it to the King.\nThereupon he seeing in it what resembled dust, drank it, little by\nlittle, till he came to the end; when said he to her, \u201cO damsel, the\ndrink is good, and how sweet it had been but for this dust in it that\ntroubleth it.\u201d Answered she, \u201cO guest, I put in that powder for a\npurpose;\u201d and he asked, \u201cAnd why didst thou thus?\u201d; so she replied, \u201cI\nsaw thee exceeding thirsty and feared that thou wouldst drain the whole\nat one draught and that this would do thee mischief; and but for this\ndust that troubled the drink so hadst thou done.\u201d The Just King wondered\nat her words, knowing that they came of her wit and good sense, and said\nto her, \u201cFrom how many sugar canes didst thou express this draught?\u201d\n\u201cOne,\u201d answered she; whereat Anushirwan marvelled and, calling for the\nregister of the village taxes, saw that its assessment was but little\nand bethought him to increase it, on his return to his palace, saying in\nhimself, \u201cA village where they get this much juice out of one\nsugar-cane, why is it so lightly taxed?\u201d He then left the village and\npursued his chase; and, as he came back at the end of the day, he passed\nalone by the same door and called again for drink; whereupon the same\ndamsel came out and, knowing him at a look, went in to fetch him water.\nIt was some time before she returned and Anushirwan wondered thereat and\nsaid to her, \u201cWhy hast thou tarried?\u201d\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 Ninetieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Anushirwan\nhurried the damsel and asked her, \u201cWhy hast thou tarried?\u201d she answered,\n\u201cBecause a single sugar-cane gave not enough for thy need; so I pressed\nthree; but they yielded not so much as did one before.\u201d Rejoined he,\n\u201cWhat is the cause of that?\u201d; and she replied, \u201cThe cause of it is that\nwhen the Sultan\u2019s[125] mind is changed against a folk, their prosperity\nceaseth and their good waxeth less.\u201d So Anushirwan laughed and dismissed\nfrom his mind that which he had purposed against the villagers.\nMoreover, he took the damsel to wife then and there, being pleased with\nher much wit and acuteness and the excellence of her speech. And they\ntell another tale of the\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 124:\n\n The beautiful name is Persian \u201cAn\u00fash\u00edn-raw\u00e1n\u201d = Sweet of Soul; and the\n glorious title of this contemporary of Mohammed is \u201cAl-Malik al-Adil\u201d\n = the Just King. Kisra, _the_ Chosro\u00eb per excellentiam, is also\n applied to the godly Guebre of whom every Eastern dictionary gives\n details.\n\nFootnote 125:\n\n \u201cSultan\u201d is here an anachronism: I have noted that the title was first\n assumed independently by Mohammed of Ghazni after it had been\n conferred by the Caliph upon his father the Am\u00edr Al-Umar\u00e1 (Mayor of\n the Palace), Sabuktagin A.D. 974.\n\n\n\n\n WATER-CARRIER[126] AND THE GOLDSMITH\u2019S WIFE.\n\n\nThere was once, in the city of Bokhara, a water-carrier, who used to\ncarry water to the house of a goldsmith and had done this thirty years.\nNow that goldsmith had a wife of exceeding beauty and loveliness,\nbrilliancy and perfect grace; and she was withal renowned for piety,\nchastity and modesty. One day the water-carrier came, as of custom, and\npoured the water into the cisterns. Now the woman was standing in the\nmidst of the court; so he went close up to her and taking her hand,\nstroked it and pressed it, then went away and left her. When her husband\ncame home from the bazar, she said to him, \u201cI would have thee tell me\nwhat thing thou hast done in the market this day, to anger Almighty\nAllah.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI have done nothing to offend the Lord.\u201d \u201cNay,\u201d\nrejoined she, \u201cbut, by Allah, thou hast indeed done something to anger\nHim; and, unless thou tell me the whole truth, I will not abide in thy\nhouse, and thou shalt not see me, nor will I see thee.\u201d So he confessed,\n\u201cI will tell thee the truth of what I did this day. It so chanced that,\nas I was sitting in my shop, as of wont, a woman came up to me and bade\nme make her a bracelet of gold. Then she went away and I wrought her a\nbracelet and laid it aside. But when she returned and I brought her out\nthe bracelet, she put forth her hand and I clasped the bracelet on her\nwrist; and I wondered at the whiteness of her hand and the beauty of her\nwrist, which would captivate any beholder; and I recalled what the poet\nsaith:\u2014\n\n Her fore-arms, dight with their bangles, show \u273f Like fire ablaze on the\n waves a-flow;\n As by purest gold were the water girt, \u273f And belted around by a living\n lowe.\n\nSo I took her hand and pressed it and squeezed it.\u201d Said the woman,\n\u201cGreat God! Why didst thou this ill thing? Know that the water-carrier,\nwho hath come to our house these thirty years, nor sawst thou ever any\ntreason in him, took my hand this day and pressed and squeezed it.\u201d Said\nher husband, \u201cO woman, let us crave pardon of Allah! Verily, I repent of\nwhat I did, and do thou ask forgiveness of the Lord for me.\u201d She cried,\n\u201cAllah pardon me and thee, and receive us into his holy keeping.\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 Ninety-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the goldsmith\u2019s\nwife cried out, \u201cAllah pardon me and thee, and receive us into his holy\nkeeping!\u201d And on the next day, the water-carrier came in to the\njeweller\u2019s wife and, throwing himself at her feet, grovelled in the dust\nand besought pardon of her, saying, \u201cO my lady, acquit me of that which\nSatan deluded me to do; for it was he that seduced me and led me\nastray.\u201d She answered, \u201cGo thy ways, the sin was not in thee, but in my\nhusband, for that he did what he did in his shop, and Allah hath\nretaliated upon him in this world.\u201d And it is related that the\ngoldsmith, when his wife told him how the water-carrier had used her,\nsaid, \u201cTit for tat, and blow for blow!; had I done more the\nwater-carrier had done mo\u2019e\u201d;\u2014which became a current byword among the\nfolk. Therefore it behoveth a wife to be both outward and inward with\nher husband; contenting herself with little from him, if he cannot give\nher much, and taking pattern by Ayishah the Truthful and Fatimah the\nvirgin mother (Allah Almighty accept of them twain!), that she may be of\nthe company of the righteous ancestry.[127] And I have heard the\nfollowing tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 126:\n\n The \u201cSakk\u00e1\u201d or water-carrier race is peculiar in Egypt and famed for\n trickery and intrigue. Opportunity here as elsewhere makes the thief.\n\nFootnote 127:\n\n A famous saying of Mohammed is recorded when an indiscretion of his\n young wife Ayishah was reported to him, \u201cThere be no adultress without\n an adulterer (of a husband).\u201d Fatimah the Apostle\u2019s daughter is\n supposed to have remained a virgin after bearing many children: this\n coarse symbolism of purity was known to the classics (Pausanias), who\n made Juno recover her virginity by bathing in a certain river every\n year. In the last phrase, \u201cAl-Salaf\u201d (ancestry) refers to Mohammed and\n his family.\n\n\n\n\n KHUSRAU AND SHIRIN AND THE FISHERMAN.\n\n\nKing Khusrau[128] Shahinshah of Persia loved fish; and one day, as he\nsat in his saloon, he and Shirin his wife, there came a fisherman, with\na great fish, and he laid it before the King, who was pleased and\nordered the man four thousand dirhams.[129] Thereupon Shirin said to the\nKing, \u201cThou hast done ill.\u201d Asked he, \u201cAnd why?\u201d, and she answered,\n\u201cBecause if, after this, thou give one of thy courtiers a like sum, he\nwill disdain it and say:\u2014He hath but given me the like of what he gave\nthe fisherman. And if thou give him less, the same will say:\u2014He\ndespiseth me and giveth me less than he gave the fisherman.\u201d Rejoined\nKhusrau, \u201cThou art right, but it would dishonour a king to go back on\nhis gift; and the thing is done.\u201d Quoth Shirin, \u201cIf thou wilt, I will\ncontrive thee a means to get it back from him.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cHow so?\u201d; and\nshe said, \u201cCall back, if thou so please, the fisherman and ask him if\nthe fish be male or female. If he say, Male, say thou, We want a female,\nand if he say, Female, say, We want a male.\u201d So the King sent for the\nfisherman, who was a man of wit and acuteness, and said to him, \u201cIs this\nfish male or female?\u201d whereupon the fisherman kissed the ground and\nanswered, \u201cThis fish is an hermaphrodite,[130] neither male nor female.\u201d\nKhusrau laughed at his clever reply and ordered him other four thousand\ndirhams. So the fisherman went to the treasurer and, taking his eight\nthousand dirhams, put them in a sack he had with him. Then, throwing it\nover his shoulder, he was going away, when he dropped a dirham; so he\nlaid the bag off his back and stooped down to pick it up. Now the King\nand Shirin were looking on, and the Queen said, \u201cO King, didst thou note\nthe meanness of the man, in that he must needs stoop down to pick up the\none dirham, and could not bring himself to leave it for any of the\nKing\u2019s servants?\u201d When the King heard these words, he was exceeding\nwroth with the fisherman and said, \u201cThou art right, O Shirin!\u201d So he\ncalled the man back and said to him, \u201cThou low-minded carle! Thou art no\nman! How couldst thou put the bag with all this money off thy back and\nbend thee groundwards to pick up the one dirham and grudge to leave it\nwhere it fell?\u201d Thereupon the fisherman kissed the earth before him and\nanswered, \u201cMay Allah prolong the King\u2019s life! Indeed, I did not pick up\nthe dirham off the ground because of its value in my eyes; but I raised\nit off the earth because on one of its faces is the likeness of the King\nand on the other his name; and I feared lest any should unwittingly set\nfoot upon it, thus dishonouring the name and presentment of the King,\nand I be blamed for this offence.\u201d The King wondered at his words and\napproved of his wit and shrewdness, and ordered him yet other four\nthousand dirhams. Moreover, he bade cry abroad in his kingdom, saying,\n\u201cIt behoveth none to be guided by women\u2019s counsel; for whoso followeth\ntheir advice, loseth, with his one dirham, other twain.\u201d[131] And here\nis the tale they tell of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 128:\n\n Khusrau Parwiz, grandson of Anushirwan, the Guebre King who tore his\n kingdom by tearing Mohammed\u2019s letter married the beautiful Maria or\n Irene (in Persian \u201cSh\u00edr\u00edn\u201d = the sweet) daughter of the Greek Emperor\n Maurice: their loves were sung by a host of poets; and likewise the\n passion of the sculptor Farh\u00e1d for the same Shirin. Mr. Lyall writes\n \u201cParw\u00eaz\u201d and holds \u201cParw\u00edz\u201d a modern form.\n\nFootnote 129:\n\n He could afford it according to historians. His throne was supported\n by 40,000 silver pillars; and 1,000 globes, hung in the dome, formed\n an orrery, showing the motion of the heavenly bodies; 30,000 pieces of\n embroidered tapestry overhung the walls and below were vaults full of\n silver, gold and gems.\n\nFootnote 130:\n\n Arab. \u201cKhuns\u00e1,\u201d meaning also a catamite as I have explained. Lane (ii.\n 586). has it; \u201cThis fish is of a mixed kind\u201d (!).\n\nFootnote 131:\n\n So the model lovers became the ordinary married couple.\n\n\n\n\n YAHYA BIN KHALID THE BARMECIDE AND THE POOR MAN.\n\n\nYahya bin Kh\u00e1lid the Barmecide was returning home, one day, from the\nCaliph\u2019s palace, when he saw, at the gate of his mansion, a man who rose\nas he drew near and saluted him, saying, \u201cO Yahy\u00e1, I am in sore need of\nthat which is in thy hand, and I make Allah my intermediary with thee.\u201d\nSo Yahya caused a place to be set apart for him in his house and bade\nhis treasurer carry him a thousand dirhams every day and ordered that\nhis diet be of the choicest of his own meat. The man abode in this case\na whole month, at the end of which time, having received in all thirty\nthousand dirhams, and fearing lest Yahya should take the money from him,\nbecause of the greatness of the sum, he departed by stealth\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 Ninety-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the man, taking\nwith him the money, departed by stealth. But when they told Yahya of\nthis, he said, \u201cBy Allah, though he had tarried with me to the end of\nhis days, yet had I not stinted him of my largesse nor cut off from him\nthe bounties of my hospitality!\u201d For, indeed, the excellences of the\nBarmecides were past count nor can their virtues be committed to\ndescription, especially those of Yahya bin Khalid, for he was an\nOcean[132] of noble qualities, even as saith the poet of him:\u2014\n\n I asked of Bounty, \u201cArt thou free?\u201d Quoth she, \u273f \u201cNo, I am slave to\n Yahy\u00e1 Kh\u00e1lid-son!\u201d\n \u201cBoughten?\u201d asked I. \u201cAllah forfend,\u201d quoth she, \u273f \u201cBy heirship, sire to\n sire\u2019s transmission!\u201d\n\nAnd the following is related of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 132:\n\n Arab. \u201cJamm.\u201d Heb. \u201cYamm.\u201d Al-Har\u00edri (Ass. of Sinjar and S\u00e1wah) uses\n the rare form Yam for sea or ocean.\n\n\n\n\n MOHAMMED AL-AMIN AND THE SLAVE-GIRL.\n\n\nJa\u2019afar bin Mus\u00e1 al-H\u00e1di[133] once had a slave-girl, a lutist, called\nAl-Badr al-Kab\u00edr, than whom there was not in her time a fairer of face\nnor shapelier of shape nor a more elegant of manners nor a more\naccomplished in the art of singing and striking the strings; she was\nindeed perfect in beauty and extreme in every charm. Now Mohammed\nal-Am\u00edn,[134] son of Zubaydah, heard of her and was urgent with Ja\u2019afar\nto sell her to him; but he replied, \u201cThou knowest it beseemeth not one\nof my rank to sell slave-girls nor set prices on concubines; but were\nshe not a rearling I would send her to thee, as a gift, nor grudge her\nto thee.\u201d And Mohammed al-Amin, some days after this went to Ja\u2019afar\u2019s\nhouse, to make merry; and the host set before him that which it behoveth\nto set before true friends and bade the damsel Al-Badr al-Kabir sing to\nhim and gladden him. So she tuned the lute and sang with a ravishing\nmelody; whilst Mohammed al-Amin fell to drinking and jollity and bade\nthe cupbearers ply Ja\u2019afar with much wine, till they made him drunken,\nwhen he took the damsel and carried her to his own house, but laid not a\nfinger on her. And when the morrow dawned he bade invite Ja\u2019afar; and\nwhen he came, he set wine before him and made the girl sing to him, from\nbehind the curtain. Ja\u2019afar knew her voice and was angered at this, but,\nof the nobleness of his nature and the magnanimity of his mind he showed\nno change. Now when the carousal was at an end, Al-Amin commanded one of\nhis servants to fill the boat, wherein Ja\u2019afar had come, with dirhams\nand dinars and all manner of jewels and jacinths and rich raiment and\ngoods galore. So he laid therein a thousand myriads of money and a\nthousand fine pearls, each worth twenty thousand dirhams; nor did he\ngive over loading the barge with all manner of things precious and rare,\ntill the boatmen cried out for help, saying, \u201cThe boat can\u2019t hold any\nmore;\u201d whereupon he bade them carry all this to Ja\u2019afar\u2019s palace. Such\nare the exploits of the magnanimous, Allah have mercy on them! And a\ntale is related of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 133:\n\n Al-Hadi, immediate predecessor of Harun al-Rashid, called \u201cAl-Atbik\u201d:\n his upper lip was contracted and his father placed a slave over him\n when in childhood, with orders to say, \u201cMusa! atbik!\u201d (draw thy lips\n together) when he opened his mouth.\n\nFootnote 134:\n\n Immediate successor of Harun al-Rashid. Al-Amin is an imposing\n physical figure, fair, tall, handsome and of immense strength;\n according to Al-Mas\u2019\u00fadi, he killed a lion with his own hands; but his\n mind and judgment were weak. He was fond of fishing; and his reply to\n the courtier bringing important news, \u201cConfound thee! leave me! for\n Kausar (an eunuch whom he loved) hath caught two fish and I none,\u201d\n reminds one of royal frivolity in France.\n\n\n\n\n THE SONS OF YAHYA BIN KHALID AND SA\u2019ID BIN SALIM AL-BAHILI.\n\n\n(Quoth Sa\u2019\u00edd bin S\u00e1lim al-B\u00e1hil\u00ed[135]), I was once in very narrow case,\nduring the days of Harun al-Rashid, and debts accumulated upon me,\nburdening my back, and these I had no means of discharging. I was at my\nwits\u2019 end what to do, for my doors were blocked up with creditors and I\nwas without cease importuned for payment by claimants, who dunned me in\ncrowds till at last I was sore perplexed and troubled. So I betook\nmyself to Abdallah bin M\u00e1lik al-Khuza\u2019\u00ed[136] and besought him to extend\nthe hand of aid with his judgment and direct me of his good counsel to\nthe door of relief; and he said, \u201cNone can save thee from this thy\nstrait and sorrowful state save the Barmecides.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cWho can brook\ntheir pride and put up patiently with their arrogant pretensions?\u201d and\nquoth he, \u201cThou wilt put up with all this for the bettering of thy\ncase.\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 Ninety-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdallah ibn Malik\nal-Khuza\u2019i said to Sa\u2019id bin Salim, \u201cThou wilt put up with all this for\nthe bettering of thy case.\u201d So I left him suddenly (continued Sa\u2019id) and\nwent straight to Al-Fazl and Ja\u2019afar, sons of Yahy\u00e1 bin Kh\u00e1lid, to whom\nI related my circumstances; whereto they replied, \u201cAllah give thee His\naid, and render thee by His bounties independent of His creatures and\nvouchsafe thee abundant weal and bestow on thee what shall suffice thee,\nwithout the need of any but Himself; for whatso He willeth that He can,\nand He is gracious with His servants and knoweth their wants.\u201d So I went\nout from the twain and returned to Abdallah, with straitened breast and\nmind perplexed and heavy of heart, and repeated to him what they had\nsaid. Quoth he, \u201cThou wouldst do well to abide with us this day, that we\nmay see what Allah Almighty will decree.\u201d So I sat with him awhile, when\nlo! up came my servant, who said to me, \u201cO my lord, there are at our\ndoor many laden mules, and with them a man, who says he is the agent of\nAl-Fazl and Ja\u2019afar bin Yahya.\u201d Quoth Abdallah, \u201cI trust that relief is\ncome to thee: rise up and go see what is the matter.\u201d So I left him and,\nhastening to my house, found at the door a man who gave me a note\nwherein was written the following:\u2014\u201cAfter thou hadst been with us and we\nheard thy case, we betook ourselves to the Caliph and informed him that\nill condition had reduced thee to the humiliation of begging; whereupon\nhe ordered us to supply thee with a thousand thousand dirhams from the\nTreasury. We represented to him: The debtor will spend this money in\npaying off creditors and wiping off debt; whence then shall he provide\nfor his subsistence? So he ordered thee other three hundred thousand,\nand each of us hath also sent thee, of his proper wealth, a thousand\nthousand dirhams: so that thou hast now three thousand thousand and\nthree hundred thousand dirhams wherewithal to order and amend thine\nestate.\u201d See, then, the munificence of these magnificos: Almighty Allah\nhave mercy on them! And a tale is told of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 135:\n\n Afterwards governor in Khorasan under Al-Maamun.\n\nFootnote 136:\n\n Intendant of the palace under Harun al-Rashid.\n\n\n\n\n THE WOMAN\u2019S TRICK AGAINST HER HUSBAND.\n\n\nA man brought his wife a fish one Friday and, bidding her cook it\nagainst the end of the congregational prayers, went out to his craft and\nbusiness. Meanwhile in came her friend who bade her to a wedding at his\nhouse; so she agreed and laying the fish in a jar of water, went off\nwith him and was absent a whole week till the Friday following;[137]\nwhilst her husband sought her from house to house and enquired after\nher; but none could give him any tidings of her. Now on the next Friday\nshe came home and he fell foul of her; but she brought out to him the\nfish alive from the jar and assembled the folk against him and told them\nher tale.\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 Ninety-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the woman brought\nout the fish alive from the water-jar and assembled the folk against her\nhusband, and told them her tale. He also told his; but they credited him\nnot and said, \u201cIt cannot be that the fish should have remained alive all\nthis while.\u201d So they proved him mad and imprisoned him and mocked at\nhim, whereupon he shed tears in floods and recited these two couplets:\u2014\n\n Old hag, of high degree in filthy life, \u273f Whose face her monstrous\n lewdness witnesses.\n When menstruous she bawds; when clean she whores; \u273f And all her time\n bawd or adulteress is.\n\nAnd a tale is related of the\n\n[Illustration]\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 137:\n\n Moslem women have this advantage over their Western sisterhood: they\n can always leave the house of father or husband and, without asking\n permission, pay a week or ten days\u2019 visit to their friends. But they\n are not expected to meet their lovers.\n\n\n\n\n DEVOUT WOMAN AND THE TWO WICKED ELDERS.[138]\n\n\nThere was in times of yore and in ages long gone before, a virtuous\nwoman among the children of Israel, who was pious and devout and used\nevery day to go out to the place of prayer, first entering a garden,\nwhich adjoined thereto, and there making the minor ablution. Now there\nwere in this garden two old men, its keepers, and both Shaykhs fell in\nlove with her and sought her favours; but she refused, whereupon said\nthey, \u201cUnless thou yield thy body to us, we will bear witness against\nthee of fornication.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cAllah will preserve me from your\nfrowardness!\u201d Then they opened the garden-gate and cried out, and the\nfolk came to them from all places, saying \u201cWhat aileth you?\u201d Quoth they,\n\u201cWe found this damsel in company with a youth who was doing lewdness\nwith her; but he escaped from our hands.\u201d Now it was the wont of the\npeople of those days to expose adulterer and adulteress to public\nreproach for three days, and after stone them. So they cried her name in\nthe public streets for three days, whilst the two elders came up to her\ndaily and, laying their hands on her head, said, \u201cPraised be Allah who\nhath sent down on thee His righteous indignation!\u201d Now on the fourth\nday, when they bore her away to stone her, they were followed by a lad\nnamed Daniel, who was then only twelve years old, and this was to be the\nfirst of his miracles (upon our Prophet and upon him be blessing and\npeace!). And he ceased not following them to the place of execution,\ntill he came up with them and said to them, \u201cHasten not to stone her,\ntill I judge between them.\u201d So they set him a chair and he sat down and\nsummoned the old men separately. (Now he was the first ever separated\nwitnesses.) Then said he to the first, \u201cWhat sawest thou?\u201d[139] So he\nrepeated to him his story, and Daniel asked, \u201cIn what part of the garden\ndid this befal?\u201d and he answered, \u201cOn the eastern side, under a\npear-tree.\u201d Then he called the other old man and asked him the same\nquestion, and he replied, \u201cOn the western side of the garden, under an\napple-tree.\u201d Meanwhile the damsel stood by, with her hands and eyes\nraised heavenwards, imploring the Lord for deliverance. Then Allah\nAlmighty sent down His blasting leven-fire upon the elders and consumed\nthem, and on this wise the Lord made manifest the innocence of the\ndamsel. Such was the first of the miracles of the Prophet Daniel, on\nwhom be blessing and peace! And they relate a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 138:\n\n The tale of \u201cSusannah and the Elders\u201d in Moslem form. D\u00e1niy\u00e1l is the\n Arab Daniel, supposed to have been buried at Alexandria (Pilgrimage,\n i. 16).\n\nFootnote 139:\n\n According to Moslem law, laid down by Mohammed on a delicate occasion\n and evidently for a purpose, four credible witnesses are required to\n prove fornication, adultery, sodomy and so forth; and they must swear\n that they actually saw _rem in re_, the \u201cKohl-needle in the\n Kohl-\u00e9tui,\u201d as the Arabs have it. This practically prevents conviction\n and the sabre cuts the Gordian knot.\n\n\n\n\n JA\u2019AFAR THE BARMECIDE AND THE OLD BADAWI.\n\n\nThe Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, went out one day, with\nAbu Ya\u2019K\u00fab the cup-companion[140] and Ja\u2019afar the Barmecide and Abu\nNowas, into the desert, where they fell in with an old man, propt\nagainst his ass. The Caliph bade Ja\u2019afar learn of him whence he came; so\nhe asked him, \u201cWhence comest thou?\u201d and he answered, \u201cFrom\nBassorah.\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 Ninety-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Ja\u2019afar asked\nthe man, \u201cWhence comest thou?\u201d; he answered \u201cFrom Bassorah.\u201d Quoth\nJa\u2019afar, \u201cAnd whither goest thou?\u201d Quoth the other, \u201cTo Baghdad.\u201d Then\nJa\u2019afar enquired \u201cAnd what wilt thou do there?\u201d and the old man replied,\n\u201cI go to seek medicine for my eye.\u201d Said the Caliph, \u201cO Ja\u2019afar, make\nthou sport with him,\u201d and answered Ja\u2019afar, \u201cI shall hear what I shall\nexceedingly mislike.[141]\u201d But Al-Rashid rejoined, \u201cI charge thee on my\nauthority, jest with him.\u201d Thereupon Ja\u2019afar said to the Badawi, \u201cIf I\nprescribe thee a medicine that shall profit thee, what wilt thou give me\nin return?\u201d Quoth the other, \u201cAllah Almighty will requite the kindness\nwith what is better for thee than any requital of mine.\u201d Continued\nJa\u2019afar, \u201cNow lend me an ear and I will give thee a prescription, which\nI have given to none but thee.\u201d \u201cWhat is that?\u201d asked the Badawi; and\nJa\u2019afar answered, \u201cTake three ounces of wind-breaths and the like of\nsunbeams and the same of moonshine and as much of lamp-light; mix them\nwell together and let them lie in the wind three months. Then place them\nthree months in a mortar without a bottom and pound them to fine powder\nand after trituration set them in a cleft platter, and let it stand in\nthe wind other three months; after which use of this medicine three\ndrachms every night in thy sleep, and, Inshallah! thou shalt be healed\nand whole.\u201d Now when the Badawi heard this, he stretched himself out to\nfull length on the donkey\u2019s back and let fly a terrible loud fart[142]\nand said to Ja\u2019afar, \u201cTake this fart in payment of thy prescription.\nWhen I have followed it, if Allah grant me recovery, I will give thee a\nslave-girl, who shall serve thee in thy lifetime a service, wherewith\nAllah shall cut short thy term; and when thou diest and the Lord\nhurrieth thy soul to hell-fire, she shall blacken thy face with her\nskite, of her mourning for thee, and shall keen and beat her face,\nsaying:\u2014O frosty-beard, what a fool thou wast[143]?\u201d Thereupon Harun\nal-Rashid laughed till he fell backward, and ordered the Badawi three\nthousand silver pieces. And a tale is told of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 140:\n\n Who, in such case, would represent our equerry.\n\nFootnote 141:\n\n The Badawi not only always tells the truth, a perfect contrast with\n the towns-folk; he is blunt in speech addressing his Sultan \u201cO Sa\u2019id!\u201d\n and he has a hard rough humour which we may fairly describe as \u201cwut.\u201d\n When you \u201cchaff\u201d him look out for falls.\n\nFootnote 142:\n\n The answer is as old as the hills, _teste_ the tale of what happened\n when Amasis (who on horseback) raised his leg, \u201cbroke wind and bade\n the messenger carry it back to Apries.\u201d Herod. ii. 162. But for the\n full significance of the Badawi\u2019s most insulting reply see the Tale of\n Abu Hasan in Night ccccxi.\n\nFootnote 143:\n\n Arab. \u201cY\u00e1 s\u00e1ki\u2019 al-Dakan\u201d meaning long bearded (foolish) as well as\n frosty bearded.\n\n\n\n\n THE CALIPH OMAR BIN AL-KHATTAB AND THE YOUNG BADAWI.\n\n\nThe Sharif Husayn bin Rayy\u00e1n relateth that the Caliph Omar bin\nAl-Khatt\u00e1b was sitting one day judging the folk and doing justice\nbetween his subjects, attended by the best and wisest of his\ncounsellors, when there came up to him a youth comely and cleanly\nattired upon whom two very handsome youths had laid hold and were haling\nby the collar till they set him in the presence. Whereupon the Commander\nof the Faithful, Omar, looked at him and them and bade them loose him;\nthen, calling him near to himself, asked the twain, \u201cWhat is your case\nwith him?\u201d They answered, \u201cO Prince of True Believers, we are two\nbrothers by one mother and as followers of verity known are we. We had a\nfather, a very old man of good counsel, honoured by the tribes, sound of\nbaseness and renowned for goodliness who reared us tenderly in\nchildhood, and loaded us with favours in manhood;\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 Ninety-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the two youths\nsaid to the Commander of the Faithful, Omar son of Al-Khattab, \u201cOur\nfather was a man honoured by the tribes, sound of baseness and renowned\nfor goodliness, who reared us delicately in childhood, and loaded us\nwith favours in manhood; in fine, a sea of noble and illustrious\nqualities, worthy of the poet\u2019s praise:\u2014\n\n \u2018Is Abu\u2019s-Sakr of Shayb\u00e1n[144]?\u2019 they asked; \u273f Quoth I, \u201cNay, by my\n life, of him\u2019s Shayb\u00e1n:\n How many a sire rose high by a noble son, \u273f As Allah\u2019s Prophet glorified\n Adnan!\u201d[145]\n\nNow he went forth this day to his garden, to refresh himself amongst its\ntrees and pluck the ripe fruits, when this young man slew him wrongously\nand swerved from the road of righteousness; wherefore we demand of thee\nthe retribution of his crime and call upon thee to pass judgment upon\nhim, according to the commandment of Allah.\u201d Then Omar cast a terrible\nlook at the accused youth and said to him, \u201cVerily thou hearest the\ncomplaint these two young men prefer; what hast thou in reply to aver?\u201d\nBut he was brave of heart and bold of speech, having doffed the robe of\npusillanimity and put off the garb of cowardry; so he smiled and spake\nin the most eloquent and elegant words; and, after paying the usual\nceremonial compliment to the Caliph, said, \u201cBy Allah, O Commander of the\nFaithful, I have indeed given ear to their complaint, and they have told\nthe truth in that which they tell, so far as they have set out what\nbefel; and the commandment of Allah is a decreed decree.[146] But I will\nforthright state my case between thy hands, and it is for thee to give\ncommands. Know then, O Prince of the Faithful, that I am a very Arab of\nthe Arabies,[147] the noblest of those that are beneath the skies. I\ngrew up in the dwellings of the wold and fell, till evil times my tribe\nbefel, when I came to the outskirts of this town, with my family and\nwhatso goods I own: and as I went along one of the paths leading to its\ngardens, orchards and garths, with my she-camels highly esteemed and by\nme most precious deemed, and midst them a stallion of noble blood and\nshape right good, a plenteous getter of brood, by whom the females\nabundantly bore and who walked among them as though a kingly crown he\nwore, one of the she-camels broke away; and, running to the garden of\nthese young men\u2019s father, where the trees showed above the wall, put\nforth her lips and began to feed as in stall. I ran to her, to drive her\naway, when behold, there appeared, at a breach of the wall, an old man\nand grey, whose eyes sparkled with angry ray, holding in his right a\nstone to throw and swaying to and fro, with a swing like a lion ready\nfor a spring. He cast the stone at my stallion, and it killed him for it\nstruck a vital part. When I saw the stallion drop dead beside me, I felt\nlive coals of anger kindled in my heart; so I took up the very same\nstone and throwing it at the old man, it was the cause of his bane and\nban: thus his own wrongful act returned to him anew, and the man was\nslain of that wherewith he slew. When the stone struck him, he cried out\nwith a great cry and shrieked out a terrible shriek, whereupon I\nhastened from the spot; but these two young men hurried after me and\nlaid hands on me and before thee carried me.\u201d Quoth Omar (Almighty Allah\naccept of him!), \u201cThou hast confessed what thou committedest, and of\nacquittal there is no possible occasion; for urgent is the law of\nretaliation and they cried for mercy but it was not a time to\nescape.\u201d[148] The youth answered, \u201cI hear and obey the judgment of the\nImam, and I consent to all required by the law of Al-Islam; but I have a\nyoung brother, whose old father, before his decease, appointed to him\nwealth in great store and gold galore, and committed his affair to me\nbefore Allah, saying:\u2014I give this into thy hand for thy brother; keep it\nfor him with all thy might. So I took the money and buried it; nor doth\nany know of it but I. Now, if thou adjudge me to be justiced forthright,\nthe money will be lost and thou shalt be the cause of its loss;\nwherefore the child will sue thee for his due on the day when the\nCreator shall judge between His creatures. But, if thou wilt grant me\nthree days\u2019 delay, I will appoint some guardian to administer the\naffairs of the boy and return to answer my debt; and I have one who will\nbe my surety for the fulfilment of this my promise.\u201d So the Commander of\nthe Faithful bowed his head awhile, then raised it and looking round\nupon those present, said, \u201cWho will stand surety by me for his return to\nthis place?\u201d And the youth looked at the faces of those who were in\ncompany and pointing to Abu Zarr,[149] in preference to all present,\nsaid, \u201cThis man shall answer for me and be my bail.\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 Ninety-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the youth\npointed to Abu Zarr and said, \u201cThis man shall answer for me and be my\nbail,\u201d Omar (Allah accept of him!) said, \u201cO Abu Zarr, dost thou hear\nthese words and wilt thou be surety to me for the return of this youth?\u201d\nHe answered, \u201cYes, O Commander of the Faithful, I will be surety for him\nthree days.\u201d So the Caliph accepted his guarantee and let the young man\ngo. Now when the appointed time passed and the days of grace were nearly\nor quite at end yet the youth came not, the Caliph took seat in his\ncouncil, with the Companions surrounding him, like the constellations\nabout the moon, Abu Zarr and the plaintiffs being also present; and the\navengers said, \u201cWhere is the defendant, O Abu Zarr, and how shall he\nreturn, having once fled? But we will not stir from our places till thou\nbring him to us, that we may take of him our blood-revenge.\u201d Replied Abu\nZarr, \u201cBy the truth of the All-Wise King, if the three days of grace\nexpire and the young man return not, I will fulfil my warranty and\nsurrender my person to the Imam;\u201d and added Omar (whom Allah accept!),\n\u201cBy the Lord, if the young man appear not, I will assuredly execute on\nAbu Zarr that which is prescribed by the law of Al-Islam!\u201d[150]\nThereupon the eyes of the bystanders ran over with tears; those who\nlooked on groaned aloud and great was the clamour. Then the chiefs of\nthe Companions urged the plaintiffs to accept the blood-wit and deserve\nthe thanks of the folk; but they both refused and would accept nothing\nsave the talion. However, as the folk were swaying to and fro like waves\nand loudly bemoaning Abu Zarr, behold, up came the young Badawi; and,\nstanding before the Imam, saluted him right courteously (with\nsweat-beaded face and shining with the crescent\u2019s grace) and said to\nhim, \u201cI have given the lad in charge to his mother\u2019s brothers and have\nmade them acquainted with all that pertaineth to his affairs and let\nthem into the secret of his monies; after which I braved the heats of\nnoon and have kept my word as a free-born man.\u201d Thereupon the folk\nmarvelled, seeing his good faith and loyalty and his offering himself to\ndeath with so stout a heart; and one said to him, \u201cHow noble a youth art\nthou and how loyal to thy word of honour and thy devoir!\u201d Rejoined he,\n\u201cAre ye not convinced that when death presenteth itself, none can escape\nfrom it? And indeed, I have kept my word, that it be not said, Good\nfaith is gone from among mankind.\u201d Said Abu Zarr, \u201cBy Allah, O Commander\nof the Faithful, I became warrant for this young man, without knowing to\nwhat tribe he belonged, nor had I seen him before that day; but, when he\nturned away from all who were present and singled me out, saying:\u2014This\nman shall answer for me and be my bail, I thought it not right to refuse\nhim, and generosity forbade to disappoint his desire, there being no\nharm in compliance therewith, that it be not bruited abroad, Benevolence\nis gone from among mankind.\u201d Then said the two young men, \u201cO Commander\nof the Faithful, we forgive this youth our father\u2019s blood, seeing that\nhe hath changed desolation into cheerfulness; that it be not said,\nHumanity is gone from among mankind.\u201d So the Caliph rejoiced in the\nacquittance of the youth and his truth and good faith; moreover, he\nmagnified the generosity of Abu Zarr, extolling it over all his\ncompanions, and approved the resolve of the two young men for its\nbenevolence, giving them praise with thanks and applying to their case\nthe saying of the poet:\u2014\n\n Who doth kindness to men shall be paid again; \u273f Ne\u2019er is kindness lost\n betwixt God and men.\n\nThen he offered to pay them, from the Treasury, the blood-wit for their\nfather; but they refused, saying, \u201cWe forgave him only of our desire\nunto Allah,[151] the Bountiful, the Exalted; and he who is thus\nintentioned followeth not his benefits with reproach or with\nmischief.\u201d[152] And amongst the tales they relate is that of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 144:\n\n P. N. of the tribe, often mentioned in The Nights.\n\nFootnote 145:\n\n Adnan, with whom Arab genealogy begins, is generally supposed to be\n the eighth (Al-Tabari says the fortieth) descendant from Ishmael and\n nine generations are placed between him and Fahr (Fihr) Kuraysh. The\n Prophet cut all disputes short by saying, \u201cBeyond Adnan none save\n Allah wotteth and the genealogists lie\u201d (Pilgrimage ii. 344). M. C. de\n Perceval dates Adnan about B.C. 130.\n\nFootnote 146:\n\n Koran xxxiii., 38.\n\nFootnote 147:\n\n Arab. \u201cArab al-Arab\u00e1,\u201d as before noticed (vol. i. 12) the pure and\n genuine blood as opposed to the \u201cMusta\u2019aribah,\u201d the \u201cMuta\u2019arribah,\u201d\n the \u201cMosarabians\u201d and other Araboids; the first springing from Kahtan\n (Yaktan?) and the others from Adnan. And note that \u201cArabi\u201d = a man of\n pure Arab race, either of the Desert or of the city, while A\u2019ar\u00e1bi\n applies only to the Desert man, the Badawi.\n\nFootnote 148:\n\n Koran xxxviii. 2, speaking of the Unbelievers (_i.e._ non-Moslems) who\n are full of pride and contention.\n\nFootnote 149:\n\n One of the Ash\u00e1b, or Companions of the Apostle, that is them who knew\n him personally (Pilgrimage ii. 80, etc.). The Ash\u00e1b al-Suffah\n (Companions of the bench or sofa) were certain houseless Believers\n lodged by the Prophet (Pilgrimage ii. 143).\n\nFootnote 150:\n\n Hence Omar is entitled \u201cAl-Adil\u201d = the Just. Readers will remember\n that by Moslem law and usage murder and homicide are offences to be\n punished by the family, not by society or its delegates. This system\n reappears in civilisation under the denomination of \u201cLynch Law,\u201d a\n process infinitely distasteful to lawyers (whom it abolishes) and most\n valuable when administered with due discretion.\n\nFootnote 151:\n\n Lane translates (ii. 592) \u201cfrom a desire of seeing the face of God;\u201d\n but the general belief of Al-Islam is that the essence of Allah\u2019s\n corporeal form is different from man\u2019s. The orthodox expect to \u201csee\n their Lord on Doom-day as they see the full moon\u201d (a tradition). But\n the Mu\u2019atazilites deny with the existence of matter the corporeity of\n Allah and hold that he will be seen only with the spiritual eyes,\n _i.e._ of reason.\n\nFootnote 152:\n\n See Gesta Romanorum, Tale cviii., \u201cof Constancy in adhering to\n Promises,\u201d founded on Damon and Pythias or, perhaps, upon the Arabic.\n\n\n\n\n THE CALIPH AL-MAAMUN AND THE PYRAMIDS[153] OF EGYPT.\n\n\nIt is told that the Caliph-al-Maamun son of Harun al-Rashid, when he\nentered the God-guarded city of Cairo, was minded to pull down the\nPyramids, that he might take what was therein; but, when he went about\nto do this, he could not succeed, albeit his best was done. He expended\na mint of money in the attempt,\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 Ninety-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Al-Maamun\nattempting to pull down the Pyramids, expended his mint of money, but\nsucceeded only in opening up a small tunnel in one of them, wherein it\nis said he found treasure to the exact amount of the monies he had spent\nin the works, neither more nor less; whereat he marvelled and taking\nwhat he found there, desisted from his determination. Now the Pyramids\nare three, and they are one of the Wonders of the World; nor is there on\nthe face of earth aught like them for height and fashion and\nmysteries[154]; for they are built of huge rocks, and the builders\nproceeded by piercing one block of stone and setting therein upright\nrods of iron[155]; after which they pierced a second block of stone and\nlowered it upon the first. Then they poured melted lead upon the clamps\nand set the blocks in geometrical order, till the building was complete.\nNow the height of each pyramid was an hundred cubits, of the normal\nmeasure of the day, and it had four faces, each three hundred cubits\nlong from the base and thence battering upwards to a point. The ancients\nsay that, in the western Pyramid, are thirty chambers of parti-coloured\nsyenite, full of precious gems and treasures galore and rare images and\nutensils and costly weapons which are anointed with egromantic unguents,\nso that they may not rust till the day of Resurrection.[156] Therein,\nalso, are vessels of glass which bend and break not, containing various\nkinds of compound drugs and sympathetic waters. In the second Pyramid\nare the records of the priests, written on tablets of syenite, to each\npriest his tablet, whereon are engraved the wonders of his craft and his\nfeats; and on the walls are human figures like idols, working with their\nhands at all manner of mechanism and seated on stepped thrones.\nMoreover, to each Pyramid there is a guardian treasurer who keepeth\nwatch over it and wardeth it, to all eternity, against the ravages of\ntime and the shifts of events; and indeed the marvels of these Pyramids\nastound all who have sight and insight. Many are the poems that describe\nthem, thou shalt thereby profit no small matter, and among the rest,\nquoth one of them:\u2014\n\n If Kings would see their high emprize preserved, \u273f \u2018Twill be by tongues\n of monuments they laid:\n Seest not the Pyramids? These two endure \u273f Despite what change Time and\n Chance have made.\n\nAnd quoth another:\u2014\n\n Look on the Pyramids, and hear the twain \u273f Recount their annals of the\n long-gone Past:\n Could they but speak, high marvels had they told \u273f Of what Time did to\n man from first to last.\n\nAnd quoth a third:\u2014\n\n My friend I prithee tell me, \u2018neath the sky \u273f Is aught with Egypt\u2019s\n Pyramids can compare?\n Buildings which frighten Time, albe what dwells \u273f On back of earth in\n fear of Time must fare:\n If on their marvels rest my sight no more, \u273f Yet these I ever shall in\n memory bear.\n\nAnd quoth a fourth:\u2014\n\n Where is the man who built the Pyramids? \u273f What was his tribe, what day\n and where his tomb?\n The monuments survive the men who built \u273f Awhile, till overthrown by\n touch of Doom.\n\nAnd men also tell a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 153:\n\n Arab. \u201cAl-Ahr\u00e1m,\u201d a word of unknown provenance. It has been suggested\n that the singular form (Haram), preceded by the Coptic article \u201cPi\u201d (=\n the) suggested to the Greeks \u201cPyramis.\u201d But this word is still _sub\n judice_ and every Egyptologist seems to propose his own derivation.\n Brugsch (Egypt i. 72) makes it Greek, the Egyptian being \u201cAbumir,\u201d\n while \u201cpir-am-us\u201d = the edge of the pyramid, the corners running from\n base to apex. The great Egyptologist proves also what the Ancients\n either ignored or forgot to mention, that each pyramid had its own\n name.\n\nFootnote 154:\n\n Arab. \u201cAhk\u00e1m,\u201d in this matter supporting the \u201cPyramidologists.\u201d\n\nFootnote 155:\n\n All imaginative.\n\nFootnote 156:\n\n It has always been my opinion founded upon considerations too long to\n detail, that the larger Pyramids contain many unopened chambers. Dr.\n Grant Bey of Cairo proposed boring through the blocks as Artesian\n wells are driven. I cannot divine why Lane (ii. 592) chose to omit\n this tale, which is founded on historic facts and interests us by\n suggesting a comparison between Medi\u00e6val Moslem superstitions and\n those of our xixth Century, which to our descendants will appear as\n wild, if not as picturesque, as those of The Nights. The \u201cinspired\n British inch\u201d and the building by Melchisedek (the Shaykh of some\n petty Syrian village) will compare not unaptly with the enchanted\n swords, flexible glass and guardian spirits. But the Pyramidennarren\n is a race which will not speedily die out: it is based on Nature, the\n Pyramids themselves.\n\n\n\n\n THE THIEF AND THE MERCHANT.\n\n\nThere was once a thief who repented to Almighty Allah with sincere\npenitence; so he opened himself a shop for the sale of stuffs, where he\ncontinued to trade awhile. It so chanced one day that he locked his shop\nand went home, and in the night there came to the bazar an artful thief\ndisguised in the habit of the merchant, and pulling out keys from his\nsleeve, said to the watchman of the market, \u201cLight me this wax-candle.\u201d\nThe watchman took the taper and went to light it,\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 Ninety-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the watchman took\nthe taper and went to light it, whilst the thief opened the shop and lit\nanother candle he had by him. When the watchman came back, he found him\nseated in the shop, account-books in hand, and reckoning with his\nfingers; nor did he cease to do thus till point of day, when he said to\nthe man, \u201cFetch me a camel-driver and his camel, to carry some goods for\nme.\u201d So the man fetched him a camel, and the thief took four bales[157]\nof stuffs and gave them to the cameleer, who loaded them on his beast.\nThen he gave the watchman two dirhams and went away after the\ncamel-driver, leaving the watchman believing him to be the owner of the\nshop. Now when the morning dawned and day broke the merchant came and\nthe watchman began greeting him with blessings, because of the two\ndirhams; but the shop-owner wondered at his words as one not knowing\nwhat he meant. When he opened his shop, he saw the droppings of the wax\nand the account book lying on the floor, and looking round, found four\nbales of stuffs missing. So he asked the watchman what had happened and\nhe told him what had passed in the night and what had been said to the\ncameleer, whereupon the merchant bade him fetch the man and asked him,\n\u201cWhither didst thou carry the stuffs this morning?\u201d Answered the driver,\n\u201cTo such a landing-place, and I stowed them on board such a vessel.\u201d\nSaid the merchant, \u201cCome with me thither;\u201d so the camel-driver carried\nhim to the landing-place and said to him, \u201cThis be the barque and this\nbe her owner.\u201d Quoth the merchant to the seaman, \u201cWhither didst thou\ncarry the merchant and the stuff?\u201d Answered the boat-master, \u201cTo such a\nplace, where he fetched a camel-driver and, setting the bales on the\ncamel, went his ways I know not whither.\u201d \u201cFetch me the cameleer who\ncarried the goods,\u201d said the merchant; so he fetched him and the\nmerchant said to him, \u201cWhither didst thou carry the bales of stuffs from\nthe ship?\u201d \u201cTo such a Khan,\u201d answered he; and the merchant rejoined,\n\u201cCome thither with me and show it me.\u201d So the camel-man went with him to\na place far distant from the shore and showed him the Khan where he had\nset down the stuffs, and at the same time the false merchant\u2019s magazine,\nwhich he opened and found therein his four bales bound up as they had\nbeen packed. The thief had laid his cloak over them; so the merchant\ntook the cloak as well as the bales and delivered them to the\ncamel-driver, who laid them on his camel; after which he locked the\nmagazine and went away with the cameleer. On the way, behold, he was\nconfronted by the thief who followed him, till he had shipped the bales,\nwhen he said to him, \u201cO my brother (Allah have thee in His holy\nkeeping!), thou hast indeed recovered thy goods and naught of them is\nlost; so give me back my cloak.\u201d The merchant laughed and, giving him\nback his cloak, let him go unhindered; whereupon both went their ways.\nAnd they tell a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 157:\n\n Arab. \u201cRizm;\u201d hence, through the Italian Risma our ream (= 20 quires\n of paper, etc.), which our dictionaries derive from \u1f00\u03c1\u03b9\u03b8\u03bc\u03cc\u03c2 (!) See\n \u201cfrail\u201d in Night dcccxxxviii.\n\n\n\n\n MASRUR THE EUNUCH AND IBN AL-KARIBI.\n\n\nThe Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, was exceedingly restless\none night; so he said to his Wazir Ja\u2019afar, \u201cI am sleep-less to-night\nand my breast is straitened and I know not what to do.\u201d Now his castrato\nMasr\u00far was standing before him, and he laughed; whereupon the Caliph\nsaid \u201cAt whom laughest thou? is it to make mock of me or hath madness\nseized thee?\u201d Answered Masrur, \u201cNay, by Allah, O Commander of the\nFaithful,\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say\nher permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundredth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Harun al-Rashid\nsaid to Masrur the Sworder, \u201cDost thou laugh to make mock of me or hath\nmadness seized thee?\u201d Answered Masrur, \u201cNay, by Allah, O Commander of\nthe Faithful, I swear by thy kinship to the Prince of Apostles, I did it\nnot of my free will; but I went out yesterday to walk within sight of\nthe palace and, coming to the bank of the Tigris, saw there the folk\ncollected; so I stopped and found a man, Ibn al-K\u00e1rib\u00ed hight, who was\nmaking them laugh; but just now I recalled what he said, and laughter\ngot the better of me; and I crave pardon of thee, O Commander of the\nFaithful!\u201d Quoth the Caliph, \u201cBring him to me forthright;\u201d so Masrur\nrepaired in all haste to Ibn al-Karibi and said to him, \u201cAnswer the\nsummons of the Commander of the Faithful,\u201d whereto he replied, \u201cI hear\nand obey.\u201d \u201cBut on condition,\u201d added Masrur, \u201cthat, if he give thee\naught, thou shalt have a quarter and the rest shall be mine.\u201d Replied\nthe droll, \u201cNay, thou shalt have half and I half.\u201d Rejoined Masrur, \u201cNot\nso, I will have three-quarters.\u201d Lastly said Ibn al-Karibi, \u201cThou shalt\nhave two-thirds and I the other third;\u201d to which Masrur agreed, after\nmuch higgling and haggling, and they returned to the palace together.\nNow when Ibn al-Karibi came into the Caliph\u2019s presence he saluted him as\nmen greet the Caliphate, and stood before him; whereupon said Al-Rashid\nto him, \u201cIf thou do not make me laugh, I will give thee three blows with\nthis bag.\u201d Quoth Ibn al-Karibi in his mind, \u201cAnd a small matter were\nblows with that bag, seeing that beating with whips hurteth me not;\u201d for\nhe thought the bag was empty. Then he began to deal out his drolleries,\nsuch as would make the dismallest jemmy guffaw, and gave vent to all\nmanner of buffooneries; but the Caliph laughed not neither smiled,\nwhereat Ibn al-Karibi marvelled and was chagrined and affrighted. Then\nsaid the Commander of the Faithful, \u201cNow hast thou earned the beating,\u201d\nand gave him a blow with the bag, wherein were four pebbles each two\nrotols in weight. The blow fell on his neck and he gave a great cry,\nthen calling to mind his compact with Masrur, said, \u201cPardon, O Commander\nof the Faithful! Hear two words from me.\u201d Quoth the Caliph, \u201cSay on,\u201d\nand quoth Ibn al-Karibi, \u201cMasrur made it a condition with me and I a\ncovenant with him, that whatsoever largesse might come to me of the\nbounties of the Commander of the Faithful, one-third thereof should be\nmine and the rest his; nor did he agree to leave me so much as\none-third, save after much higgling and haggling. Now thou hast bestowed\non me nothing but beating; I have had my share and here standeth he,\nready to receive his portion; so pay him the two other blows.\u201d Now when\nthe Caliph heard this, he laughed till he fell on his back; then calling\nMasrur, he gave him a blow, whereat he cried out and said, \u201cO Commander\nof the Faithful, the one-third sufficeth me: give him the\ntwo-thirds.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and First Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Masrur cried out,\n\u201cO Commander of the Faithful! the one-third sufficeth me; give him the\ntwo-thirds.\u201d So the Caliph laughed at them and ordered them a thousand\ndinars each, and they went away, rejoicing at the largesse. And of the\ntales they tell is one of\n\n\n\n\n THE DEVOTEE PRINCE.\n\n\nThe Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, had a son who, from the\ntime he attained the age of sixteen, renounced the world and walked in\nthe way[158] of ascetics and devotees. He was wont to go out to the\ngrave-yards and say, \u201cYe once ruled the world, but that saved you not\nfrom death, and now are ye come to your sepulchres! Would Heaven I knew\nwhat ye said and what is said to you!\u201d[159] And he wept as one weepeth\nwho is troubled with fear and apprehension, and repeated the words of\nthe poet:\u2014\n\n Affright me funerals at every time; \u273f And wailing women grieve me to the\n soul!\n\nNow it chanced one day, as he sat among the tombs, according to his\ncustom, his father passed by in all his state, surrounded by his Wazirs\nand Lords of the realm and the Officers of his household, who seeing the\nCaliph\u2019s son with a gown of woollen stuff on his body and a twist of\nwool on his head by way of turband, said to one another, \u201cVerily this\nyouth dishonoureth the Commander of the Faithful among Kings: but, if he\nreproved him, he would leave his present way of life.\u201d The Caliph heard\nthese words; so quoth he to his son, \u201cO my dear child, of a truth thou\ndisgracest me by thy present way of life.\u201d The young man looked at him\nand made no reply: then he beckoned to a bird perched on the battlements\nof the palace, and said to it, \u201cO thou bird, I conjure thee by Him who\ncreated thee, alight upon my hand.\u201d Whereupon straightway it swooped\ndown and perched on his finger. Then quoth he, \u201cReturn to thy place;\u201d\nand it did so. Presently he said, \u201cAlight on the hand of the Commander\nof the Faithful;\u201d but it refused there to perch, and he cried to his\nfather, \u201cIt is thou that disgracest me amongst the Holy[160] Ones, by\nthe love of the world; and now I am resolved to part from thee, never to\nreturn to thee, save in the world to come.\u201d Then he went down to\nBassorah, where he took to working with those which wrought in\nclay,[161] receiving, as his day\u2019s hire, but a dirham and a d\u00e1nik;[162]\nand with the danik he fed himself and gave alms of the dirham. (Quoth\nAb\u00fa Amir of Bassorah) There fell down a wall in my house: so I went\nforth to the station of the artisans to find a man who should repair it\nfor me, and my eyes fell on a handsome youth of a radiant countenance.\nSo I saluted him and asked him, \u201cO my friend, dost thou seek work?\u201d\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered he; and I said, \u201cCome with me and build a wall.\u201d He\nreplied, \u201cOn certain conditions I will make with thee.\u201d Quoth I \u201cWhat\nare they, O my friend?\u201d; and quoth he, \u201cMy wage must be a dirham and a\ndanik, and again when the Mu\u2019ezzin calleth to prayer, thou shalt let me\ngo pray with the congregation.\u201d \u201cIt is well,\u201d answered I and carried him\nto my place, where he fell to work, such work as I never saw the like\nof. Presently, I named to him the morning-meal; but he said, \u201cNo;\u201d and I\nknew that he was fasting.[163] When he heard the call to prayer, he said\nto me, \u201cThou knowest the condition?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d answered I. So he loosed his\ngirdle and, applying himself to the lesser ablution, made it after a\nfashion than which I never saw a fairer;[164] then he went to the mosque\nand prayed with the congregation and returned to his work. He did the\nsame upon the call to mid-afternoon prayer, and when I saw him fall to\nwork again thereafterward, I said to him, \u201cO my friend, verily the hours\nof labour are over; a workman\u2019s day is but till the time of\nafternoon-prayer.\u201d But he replied, \u201cPraise to the Lord, my service is\ntill the night.\u201d And he ceased not to work till nightfall, when I gave\nhim two dirhams; whereupon he asked \u201cWhat is this!\u201d; and I answered, \u201cBy\nAllah, this is but part of thy wage, because of thy diligence in my\nservice.\u201d But he threw them back to me saying, \u201cI will have no more than\nwas agreed upon between us twain.\u201d I urged him to take them, but could\nnot prevail upon him; so I gave him the dirham and the danik, and he\nwent away. And when morning dawned, I went to the station but found him\nnot; so I enquired for him and was told, \u201cHe cometh thither only on\nSabbaths.\u201d Accordingly, when Saturday came, I betook me to the market\nand finding him there, said to him, \u201cBismillah, do me the favour to come\nand work for me.\u201d Said he, \u201cUpon the conditions thou wottest;\u201d and I\nanswered \u201cYes!\u201d Then carrying him to my house I stood to watch him where\nhe could not see me; and he took a handful of puddled clay and laid it\non the wall, when, behold, the stones ranged themselves one upon other;\nand I said, \u201cOn this wise are Allah\u2019s holy ones.\u201d He worked out his day\nand did even more than before; and when it was night, I gave him his\nhire, and he took it and walked away. Now when the third Saturday came\nround, I went to the place of standing, but found him not; so I asked\nafter him and they told me, \u201cHe is sick and lying in the shanty of such\na woman.\u201d Now this was an old wife, renowned for piety, who had a hovel\nof reeds in the burial-ground. So I fared thither and found him\nstretched on the floor which was bare, with a brick for a pillow and his\nface beaming like the new moon with light. I saluted him and he returned\nmy salam; and I sat down at his head weeping over his fair young years\nand absence from home and submission to the will of his Lord. Then said\nI to him, \u201cHast thou any need?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d answered he; and I said, \u201cWhat is\nit?\u201d He replied, \u201cCome hither to-morrow in the forenoon and thou wilt\nfind me dead. Wash me and dig my grave and tell none thereof: but shroud\nme in this my gown, after thou hast unsewn it and taken out what thou\nshalt find in the bosom-pocket, which keep with thee. Then, when thou\nhast prayed over me and laid me in the dust, go to Baghdad and watch for\nthe Caliph Harun al-Rashid, till he come forth, when do thou give him\nwhat thou shalt find in the breast of my gown and bear him my\nsalutation.\u201d Then he ejaculated the profession of the Faith and\nglorified his God in the most eloquent of words reciting these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n Carry the trust of him whom death awaits \u273f To Al-Rashid, and God reward\n thy care!\n And say, \u201cAn exile who desired thy sight \u273f Long loving, from afar sends\n greeting fair.\n Nor hate nor irk (No!) him from thee withdrew, \u273f Kissing thy right to\n Heaven brought him near.[165]\n But what estranged his soul, O sire, from thee \u273f Is that thy worldly\n joys it would not share!\u201d\n\nThen he betook himself to prayer, asking pardon of Allah\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the youth then\nbetook himself to asking pardon of Allah and to invoking prayer and\npraise upon the Apostle and the Lord of the Just and repeating verses of\nthe Koran; after which he recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n O sire, be not deceived by worldly joys; \u273f For life must pass, and joy\n must learn to mourn;\n When thou art told of folk in evil plight, \u273f Think thou must answer for\n all hearts forlorn;\n And when thou bear thy dead toward the tombs, \u273f Know thou wilt likewise\n on that way be borne.\n\n(Continued Abu Amir the Basri) Now when the youth had ended his charge\nand his verses I left him and went home. On the morrow, I returned, at\nthe appointed hour, and found him indeed dead, the mercy of Allah be\nupon him! So I washed him and, unsewing his gown, found in the bosom a\nruby worth thousands of gold pieces and said to myself, \u201cBy Allah, this\nyouth was indeed weaned from worldly things!\u201d After I had buried him, I\nmade my way to Baghdad and, going to the Caliph\u2019s palace, waited till he\ncame forth, when I addressed him in one of the streets and gave him the\nruby, which when he saw, he knew and fell down in a fainting-fit. His\nattendants laid hands on me, but he revived and said to them, \u201cRelease\nhim and bring him courteously to the palace.\u201d They did his bidding, and\nwhen he returned, he sent for me and carrying me into his chamber said\nto me, \u201cHow doth the owner of this ruby?\u201d Quoth I, \u201cVerily he is dead;\u201d\nand told him what had passed; whereupon he fell a-weeping and said, \u201cThe\nson hath gained; but the sire hath lost.\u201d Then he called out, saying,\n\u201cHo, such an one!\u201d; and behold, there came out to him a lady who, when\nshe saw me, would have withdrawn; but he cried to her, \u201cCome; and mind\nhim not.\u201d So she entered and saluted, and he threw her the ruby, which\nwhen she saw and she knew, she shrieked a great shriek and fell down in\na swoon. As soon as she came to herself, she said, \u201cO Commander of the\nFaithful, what hath Allah done with my son?\u201d; and he said to me, \u201cDo\nthou tell her his case;\u201d (as he could not speak for weeping).\nAccordingly, I repeated the story to her, and she began to shed tears\nand say in a faint and failing voice, \u201cHow I have longed for thy sight,\nO solace of mine eyes![166] Would I might have given thee to drink, when\nthou hadst none to slake thy thirst! Would I might have cheered thee,\nwhenas thou foundest never a cheerer!\u201d And she poured forth tears and\nrecited these couplets:\u2014\n\n I weep for one whose lot a lonely death befel; \u273f Without a friend to\n whom he might complain and moan:\n And after glory and glad union with his friends, \u273f He woke to\n desolation, friendless, lorn and lone:\n What Fortune hides a while she soon to men shall show; \u273f Death never\n spared a man; no, not a single one:\n O absent one, my Lord decreed thee strangerhood, \u273f Far from thy nearest\n friends and to long exile gone:\n Though Death forbid my hope of meeting here again, \u273f On Doom-day\u2019s\n morrow we shall meet again, my son![167]\n\nQuoth I, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, was he indeed thy son?\u201d Quoth he,\n\u201cYes, and indeed, before I succeeded to this office, he was wont to\nvisit the learned and company with the devout; but, when I became\nCaliph, he grew estranged from me and withdrew himself apart.[168] Then\nsaid I to his mother, Verily this thy son hath cut the world and devoted\nhis life to Almighty Allah, and it may be that hard times shall befal\nhim and he be smitten with trial of evil chance; wherefore do thou give\nhim this ruby, which he may find useful in hour of need. So she gave it\nhim, conjuring him to take it, and he obeyed her bidding. Then he left\nto us the things of our world and removed himself from us; nor did he\ncease to be absent from us, till he went to the presence of Allah (to\nwhom be Honour and Glory!), pious and pure.\u201d Then said he, \u201cCome, show\nme his grave.\u201d So, I travelled with him to Bassorah and showed him his\nson\u2019s grave; and when he saw it, he wept and lamented, till he fell down\nin a swoon; after which he recovered and asked pardon of the Lord,\nsaying, \u201cWe are Allah\u2019s and unto Him we are returning!\u201d; and invoked\nblessings on the dead. Then he asked me to become his companion, but I\nsaid to him, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, verily, in thy son\u2019s case is\nfor me the most momentous of admonitions!\u201d And I recited these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n \u2018Tis I am the stranger, visited by none; \u273f I am the stranger though in\n town my own:\n \u2018Tis I am the stranger! lacking kith and son, \u273f And friend to whom I\n mote for aidance run.\n I house in mosques which are my only home; \u273f My heart there wones and\n shall for ever wone:\n Then laud ye Allah, Lord of Worlds, as long \u273f As soul and body dwell in\n union!\n\nAnd a famous tale is told of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 158:\n\n Arab. \u201cTar\u00edkah\u201d = the path trodden by ascetics and mystics in order to\n attain true knowledge (Ma\u2019rifat in Pers. D\u00e1nish). These are extensive\n subjects: for the present I must refer readers to the Dabistan, iii.\n 35 and iii. 29, 36\u20137.\n\nFootnote 159:\n\n Alluding to the Fish\u00e1r or \u201cSqueeze of the tomb.\u201d This is the Jewish\n Hibbut hak-keber which all must endure, save those who lived in the\n Holy Land or died on the Sabbath-eve (Friday night). Then comes the\n questioning by the Angels Munkar and Nakir (vulgarly called N\u00e1kir and\n Nak\u00edr) for which see Lane (M. E. chapt. xviii.). In Egypt a \u201cMulakkin\u201d\n (intelligencer) is hired to prompt and instruct the dead. Moslems are\n beginning to question these facts of their faith: a Persian\n acquaintance of mine filled his dead father\u2019s mouth with flour and\n finding it _in loco_ on opening the grave, publicly derided the\n belief. But the Mullahs had him on the hip, after the fashion of\n reverends, declaring that the answers were made through the whole\n body, not only by the mouth. At last the Voltairean had to quit\n Shiraz.\n\nFootnote 160:\n\n Arab. \u201cWal\u00ed\u201d = a saint, Santon (Ital. form) also a slave. See in\n Richardson (Dissert. iii.), an illustration of the difference between\n Wali and W\u00e1li as exemplified by the Caliph al-K\u00e1dir and Mahm\u00fad of\n Ghazni.\n\nFootnote 161:\n\n Arab. \u201cT\u00edn\u201d = the tenacious clay puddled with chaff which serves as\n mortar for walls built of Adobe or sundried brick. I made a mistake in\n my Pilgrimage (i. 10) translating Ras al-T\u00edn the old Pharos of\n Alexandria, by \u201cHeadland of Figs.\u201d It is Headland of Clay, so called\n from the argile there found and which supported an old pottery.\n\nFootnote 162:\n\n The danik (Pers. Dang) is the sixth of a dirham. Mr. S. L. Poole (The\n Acad. April 26, \u201879) prefers his uncle\u2019s translation \u201ca sixth\u201d (what\n of?) to Mr. Payne\u2019s \u201cfarthing.\u201d The latter at any rate is\n intelligible.\n\nFootnote 163:\n\n The devotee was \u201cS\u00e1im al-dahr\u201d _i.e._ he never ate nor drank from\n daylight to dark throughout the year.\n\nFootnote 164:\n\n The ablution of a common man differs from that of an educated Moslem\n as much as the eating of a clown and a gentleman. Moreover there are\n important technical differences between the Wuzu of the Sunni and the\n Shi\u2019ah.\n\nFootnote 165:\n\n _i.e._ by honouring his father.\n\nFootnote 166:\n\n This young saint was as selfish and unnatural a sinner as Saint\n Alexius of the Gesta Romanorum (Tale xv.), to whom my friend, the late\n Thomas Wright, administered just and due punishment.\n\nFootnote 167:\n\n The verses are affecting enough, though by no means high poetry.\n\nFootnote 168:\n\n The good young man cut his father for two reasons: secular power (an\n abomination to good Moslems) and defective title to the Caliphate. The\n latter is a trouble to Turkey in the present day and with time will\n prove worse.\n\n\n\n\n THE UNWISE SCHOOLMASTER WHO FELL IN LOVE BY REPORT.\n\n\n(Quoth one of the learned) I passed once by a school, wherein a\nschoolmaster was teaching children; so I entered, finding him a\ngood-looking man and a well-dressed; when he rose to me and made me sit\nwith him. Then I examined him in the Koran and in syntax and prosody and\nlexicography; and behold, he was perfect in all required of him, so I\nsaid to him, \u201cAllah strengthen thy purpose! Thou art indeed versed in\nall that is requisite.\u201d Thereafter I frequented him a while, discovering\ndaily some new excellence in him, and quoth I to myself, \u201cThis is indeed\na wonder in any dominie; for the wise are agreed upon a lack of wit in\nchildren\u2019s teachers.\u201d Then I separated myself from him and sought him\nand visited him only every few days, till coming to see him one day as\nof wont, I found the school shut and made enquiry of his neighbours, who\nreplied, \u201cSome one is dead in his house.\u201d So I said in my mind, \u201cIt\nbehoveth me to pay him a visit of condolence,\u201d and going to his house,\nknocked at the door, when a slave-girl came out to me and asked, \u201cWhat\ndost thou want?\u201d and I answered, \u201cI want thy master.\u201d She replied, \u201cHe\nis sitting alone, mourning;\u201d and I rejoined, \u201cTell him that his friend\nso and so seeketh to console him.\u201d She went in and told him; and he\nsaid, \u201cAdmit him.\u201d So she brought me in to him, and I found him seated\nalone and his head bound with mourning fillets. So I said to him, \u201cAllah\nrequite thee amply! this is a path all must perforce tread, and it\nbehoveth thee to take patience;\u201d adding, \u201cBut who is dead unto thee?\u201d He\nanswered, \u201cOne who was dearest of the folk to me and best beloved.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps thy father?\u201d \u201cNo!\u201d \u201cThy brother?\u201d \u201cNo!\u201d \u201cOne of thy kindred?\u201d\n\u201cNo!\u201d Then asked I, \u201cWhat relation was the dead to thee?\u201d; and he\nanswered, \u201cMy lover.\u201d Quoth I to myself \u201cThis is the first proof to\nswear by of his lack of wit.\u201d So I said to him, \u201cAssuredly there be\nothers than she and fairer;\u201d and he made answer, \u201cI never saw her, that\nI might judge whether or no there be others fairer than she.\u201d Quoth I to\nmyself, \u201cThis is another proof positive.\u201d Then I said to him, \u201cAnd how\ncouldst thou fall in love with one thou hast never seen?\u201d He replied\n\u201cKnow that I was sitting one day at the window, when lo! there passed by\na man, singing the following distich:\u2014\n\n Umm Amr\u2019,[169] thy boons Allah repay! \u273f Give back my heart be\u2019t where it\n may!\u201d\n\nAnd Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted\nsay.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the schoolmaster\ncontinued, \u201cWhen I heard the man humming these words as he passed along\nthe street, I said to myself:\u2014Except this Umm Amru were without equal in\nthe world, the poets had not celebrated her in ode and canzon. So I fell\nin love with her; but, two days after, the same man passed, singing the\nfollowing couplet:\u2014\n\n Ass and Umm Amr\u2019 went their way; \u273f Nor she, nor ass returned for aye.\n\nThereupon I knew that she was dead and mourned for her. This was three\ndays ago, and I have been mourning ever since.\u201d So I left him and fared\nforth, having assured myself of the weakness of the gerund-grinder\u2019s\nwit. And they tell another and a similar tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 169:\n\n Umm Amr\u00ed (written Amr\u00fa and pronounced Amr\u2019) a matronymic, \u201cmother of\n Amru.\u201d This story and its terminal verse is a regular Joe Miller.\n\n\n\n\n THE FOOLISH DOMINIE.[170]\n\n\nOnce upon a time, a schoolmaster was visited by a man of letters who\nentered a school and, sitting down by the host\u2019s side, entered into\ndiscourse with him and found him an accomplished theologian, poet,\ngrammarian, philologist and poet; intelligent, well bred and pleasant\nspoken; whereat he wondered, saying in himself, \u201cIt cannot be that a man\nwho teacheth children in a school, should have a perfect wit.\u201d Now when\nhe was about to go away, the pedant said to him, \u201cThou art my guest\nto-night;\u201d and he consented to receive hospitality and accompanied him\nto his house, where he made much of him and set food before him. They\nate and drank and sat talking, till a third part of the night was past\nwhen the host spread his guest a bed and went up to his Harim. The\nstranger lay down and addressed himself to sleep, when, behold, there\narose a great clamour in the women\u2019s rooms. He asked what was the matter\nand they said, \u201cA terrible thing hath befallen the Shaykh and he is at\nthe last gasp.\u201d Said he, \u201cTake me up to him\u201d; so they took him up to the\npedagogue whom he found lying insensible, with his blood streaming down.\nHe sprinkled water on his face and when he revived, he asked him \u201cWhat\nhath betided thee? When thou leftest me, thou wast in all good cheer and\nwhole of body;\u201d and he answered, \u201cO my brother, after I left thee, I sat\nmeditating on the creative works of Almighty Allah, and said to\nmyself:\u2014In every thing the Lord hath created for man, there is an use;\nfor He (to Whom be glory!) made the hands to seize, the feet to walk,\nthe eyes to see, the ears to hear and the penis to increase and\nmultiply; and so on with all the members of the body, except these two\nballocks; there is no use in them. So I took a razor I had by me and cut\nthem off; and there befel me what thou seest.\u201d So the guest left him and\nwent away, saying, \u201cHe was in the right who said:\u2014Verily no schoolmaster\nwho teacheth children can have a perfect wit, though he know all the\nsciences.\u201d And they tell a pleasant tale of the\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 170:\n\n Abuse and derision of schoolmaster are staple subjects in the East as\n in the West, (Quem Dii oderunt p\u00e6dagogum fecerunt). Anglo-Indians will\n remember:\n\n Miy\u00e1n-ji ti-ti!\n Bachche-k\u00ed g\u00e1nd men anguli k\u00ed thi!\n (Schoolmaster hum!\n Who fumbled and fingered the little boy\u2019s bum?)\n\n\n\n\n ILLITERATE WHO SET UP FOR A SCHOOLMASTER.\n\n\nThere was once, among the menials[171] of a certain mosque, a man who\nknew not how to write or even to read and who gained his bread by\ngulling folk. One day, it occurred to him to open a school and teach\nchildren; so he got together writing-tablets and written papers and hung\nthem up in a high place. Then he greatened his turband[172] and sat down\nat the door of the school; and when the people, who passed by, saw his\nhuge head-gear and tablets and scrolls, they thought he must be a very\nlearned pedagogue; so they brought him their children; and he would say\nto this, \u201cWrite,\u201d and to that \u201cRead\u201d; and thus the little ones taught\none another. Now one day, as he sat as of wont, at the door of the\nschool, behold, up came a woman letter in hand, and he said in his mind,\n\u201cThis woman doubtless seeketh me, that I may read her the missive she\nhath in her hand: how shall I do with her, seeing I cannot read\nwriting?\u201d And he would fain have gone down and fled from her; but,\nbefore he could do this, she overtook him and said to him, \u201cWhither\naway?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI purpose to pray the noon-prayer and return.\u201d Quoth\nshe, \u201cNoon is yet distant, so read me this letter.\u201d He took the letter\nand turning it upside down, fell to looking at it, now shaking his head\ntill his turband quivered, then dancing his eyebrows and anon showing\nanger and concern. Now the letter came from the woman\u2019s husband, who was\nabsent; and when she saw the dominie do on this wise, she said to\nherself, \u201cDoubtless my husband is dead, and this learned doctor of law\nand religion is ashamed to tell me so.\u201d So she said to him, \u201cO my lord,\nif he be dead, tell me;\u201d but he shook his head and held his peace. Then\nsaid she, \u201cShall I rend my raiment?\u201d \u201cRend!\u201d replied he. \u201cShall I beat\nmy face?\u201d asked she; and he answered, \u201cBeat!\u201d So she took the letter\nfrom his hand and returning home fell a-weeping, she and her children.\nPresently, one of her neighbours heard her sobbing and asking what ailed\nher, was answered, \u201cOf a truth she hath gotten a letter, telling her\nthat her husband is dead.\u201d Quoth the man, \u201cThis is a falsehood; for I\nhad a letter from him but yesterday, advising me that he is whole and in\ngood health and will be with her after ten days.\u201d So he rose forthright\nand going in to her, said, \u201cWhere is the letter which came to thee?\u201d She\nbrought it to him, and he took it and read it; and lo! it ran as\nfollows, \u201cAfter the usual salutations, I am well and in good health and\nwhole and will be with you all after ten days. Meanwhile, I send you a\nquilt and an extinguisher.\u201d[173] So she took the letter and, returning\nwith it to the schoolmaster, said to him, \u201cWhat induced thee to deal\nthus with me?\u201d And she repeated to him what her neighbour had told her\nof her husband\u2019s well-being and of his having sent her a quilt and an\nextinguisher. Answered he, \u201cThou art in the right, O good woman; for I\nwas, at the time\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to\nsay her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the pedagogue\nreplied, \u201cVerily I was at that time fashed and absent-minded and, seeing\nthe extinguisher wrapped up in the quilt, I thought that he was dead and\nthey had shrouded him.\u201d The woman, not smoking the cheat, said, \u201cThou\nart excused,\u201d and taking the letter, went her ways.[174] And they relate\na story of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 171:\n\n Arab. \u201cMujawirin\u201d = the lower servants, sweepers etc. See Pilgrimage\n ii. 161 where it is also applied to certain \u201csettlers\u201d at Al-Medinah.\n Burckhardt (No. 480) notices another meaning \u201cforeigners who attend\n mosque-lectures\u201d and quotes the saying, \u201cA. pilgrimaged:\u201d quoth B.\n \u201cyes! and for his villainies resideth (Muj\u00e1wir) at Meccah.\u201d\n\nFootnote 172:\n\n The custom (growing obsolete in Egypt) is preserved in Afghanistan\n where the learned wear turbans equal to the canoe-hats of the Spanish\n cardinals.\n\nFootnote 173:\n\n Arab. \u201cMakmarah,\u201d a metal cover for the usual brasier or pan of\n charcoal which acts fire-place. Lane (ii. 600) does not translate the\n word and seems to think it means a belt or girdle, thus blunting the\n point of the dominie\u2019s excuse.\n\nFootnote 174:\n\n This story, a very old Joe Miller, was told to Lane as something new\n and he introduced it into his Modern Egyptians, end of chapt. ii.\n\n\n\n\n THE KING AND THE VIRTUOUS WIFE.\n\n\nA certain King once went forth in disguise, to look into the affairs of\nhis lieges. Presently, he came to a great village which he entered\nunattended and being athirst, stopped at the door of a house and asked\nfor water. There came out to him a fair woman with a gugglet, which she\ngave him, and he drank. When he looked at her, he was ravished with her\nand besought her favours. Now she knew him; so she led him into the\nhouse and, making him sit down, brought out a book and said to him,\n\u201cLook therein whilst I order my affair and return to thee.\u201d So he looked\ninto the book, and behold, it treated of the Divine prohibition against\nadvoutry and of the punishments which Allah hath prepared for those who\ncommit adulterous sin. When he read this, his flesh quaked and his hair\nbristled and he repented to Almighty Allah: then he called the woman\nand, giving her the book, went away. Now her husband was absent and when\nhe returned, she told him what had passed, whereat he was confounded and\nsaid in himself, \u201cI fear lest the King\u2019s desire have fallen upon her.\u201d\nAnd he dared not have to do with her and know her carnally after this.\nWhen some time had past, the wife told her kinsfolk of her husband\u2019s\nconduct, and they complained of him to the King, saying, \u201cAllah advance\nthe King! This man hired of us a piece of land for tillage, and tilled\nit awhile; then left it fallow and neither tilled it nor forsook it,\nthat we might let it to one who would till it. Indeed, harm is come to\nthe field, and we fear its corruption, for such land as that, if it be\nnot sown, spoileth.\u201d Quoth the King to the man, \u201cWhat hindereth thee\nfrom sowing thy land?\u201d Answered he, \u201cAllah advance the King! It reached\nme that the lion entered the field, wherefor I stood in awe of him and\ndared not draw near it, since knowing that I cannot cope with the lion,\nI stand in fear of him.\u201d The King understood the parable and rejoined,\nsaying, \u201cO man, the lion trod and trampled not thy land, and it is good\nfor seed; so do thou till it and Allah prosper thee in it, for the lion\nhath done it no hurt.\u201d Then he bade give the man and his wife a handsome\npresent and sent them away.[175] And amongst the stories is that of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 175:\n\n This tale is a mere abbreviation of \u201cThe King and his Wazir\u2019s wife,\u201d\n in the Book of Sindibad or the Malice of Women, Night dcxxviii., which\n see for annotations.\n\n\n\n\n ABD AL-RAHMAN THE MAGHRIBI\u2019S STORY OF THE RUKH.[176]\n\n\nThere was once a man of the people of West Africa who had journeyed far\nand wide and traversed many a desert and a tide. He was once cast upon\nan island, where he abode a long while and, returning thence to his\nnative country, brought with him the quill of a wing-feather of a young\nRukh, whilst yet in egg and unhatched; and this quill was big enough to\nhold a goat-skin\u2019s of water, for it is said that the length of the\nRukh-chick\u2019s wing, when he cometh forth of the egg, is a thousand\nfathoms. The folk marvelled at this quill, when they saw it, and the man\nwho was called Abd al-Rahman the Moor (and he was known, to boot, as the\nChinaman, for his long sojourn in Cathay), related to them the following\nadventure, one of many of his traveller\u2019s tales of marvel. He was on a\nvoyage in the China seas,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abd al-Rahman, the\nMoorman, the Chinaman, was wont to tell wondrous tales amongst which was\nthe following. He was on a voyage in the China seas with a company of\nmerchants, when they sighted an island from afar; so they steered for it\nand, making fast thereto, saw that it was large and spacious. The ship\u2019s\ncrew went ashore to get wood and water, taking with them hatchets and\nropes and waterskins (the travellers accompanying them), and presently\nespied a great dome, white and gleaming, an hundred cubits long. So they\nmade towards it and drawing near, found that it was an egg of the Rukh\nand fell on it with axes and stones and sticks till they uncovered the\nyoung bird and found the chick as it were a firm-set hill. So they\nplucked out one of the wing-feathers, but could not do so, save by\nhelping one another, for all the quills were not full grown; after which\nthey took what they could carry of the young bird\u2019s flesh and cutting\nthe quill away from the vane, returned to the ship. Then they set sail\nand putting out to sea, voyaged with a fair wind all that night, till\nthe sun rose; and while everything went well, they saw the Rukh come\nflying after them, as he were a vast cloud, with a rock in his talons,\nlike a great heap bigger than the ship. As soon as he poised himself in\nair over the vessel, he let fall the rock upon it; but the craft, having\ngreat way on her, outwent the rock, which fell into the sea with a loud\ncrash and a horrible. So Allah decreed their deliverance and saved them\nfrom doom; and they cooked the young bird\u2019s flesh and ate it. Now there\nwere amongst them old white-bearded men; and when they awoke on the\nmorrow, they found that their beards had turned black, nor did any who\nhad eaten of the young Rukh grow gray ever after. Some said the cause of\nthe return of youth to them and the ceasing of hoariness from them was\nthat they had heated the pot with arrow-wood, whilst others would have\nit that it came of eating the Rukh-chick\u2019s flesh; and this is indeed a\nwonder of wonders.[177] And a story is related of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 176:\n\n The older \u201cRoc\u201d which may be written \u201cRukh\u201d or \u201cRukhkh.\u201d Colonel Yule,\n the learned translator of Marco Polo, has shown that \u201cRoc\u2019s\u201d feathers\n were not uncommon curiosities in medi\u00e6val ages; and holds that they\n were mostly fronds of the palm Raphia vinifera, which has the largest\n leaf in the vegetable kingdom and which the Moslems of Zanzibar call\n \u201cSatan\u2019s date-tree.\u201d I need hardly quote \u201cFrate Cipolla and the Angel\n Gabriel\u2019s Feather.\u201d (Decameron vi. 10.)\n\nFootnote 177:\n\n The tale is told in a bald, disjointed style and will be repeated in\n Sindbad the Seaman; where I shall again notice the \u201cRoc.\u201d See Night\n dxxxvii., etc.\n\n\n\n\n ADI BIN ZAYD AND THE PRINCESS HIND.\n\n\nAl-Nu\u2019uman bin al-Munzir, King of the Arabs of Irak, had a daughter\nnamed Hind, who went out one Pasch, which is a feast day of the\nNazarenes, to the White Church, to take the sacrament; she was eleven\nyears old and was the loveliest woman of her age and time; and it so\nchanced that on the same day came to H\u00edrah[178] a young man called \u2018Ad\u00ed\nbin Zayd[179] with presents from the Chosro\u00eb to Al-Nu\u2019uman, and he also\nwent to the White Church, to communicate. He was tall of stature and\nfair of favour, with handsome eyes and smooth cheeks, and had with him a\ncompany of his people. Now there was with Hind bint al-Nu\u2019uman a\nslave-girl named M\u00e1riyah, who was enamoured of Adi, but had not been\nable to foregather with him. So, when she saw him in the church, she\nsaid to Hind, \u201cLook at yonder youth. By Allah, he is handsomer than all\nthou seest!\u201d Hind asked, \u201cAnd who is he?\u201d and Mariyah answered, \u201cAdi bin\nZayd.\u201d Quoth Al-Nu\u2019uman\u2019s daughter, \u201cI fear lest he know me, if I draw\nnearer to look on him.\u201d Quoth Mariyah, \u201cHow should he know thee when he\nhath never seen thee?\u201d So she drew near him and found him jesting with\nthe youths his companions; and indeed he surpassed them all, not only in\nhis personal charms but in the excellence of his speech, the eloquence\nof his tongue and the richness of his raiment. When the Princess saw\nhim, she was ravished with him, her reason was confounded and her colour\nchanged; and Mariyah, seeing her inclination to him, said to her, \u201cSpeak\nto him.\u201d So she spoke to him and went away. Now when he looked upon her\nand heard her speech, he was captivated by her and his wit was dazed;\nhis heart fluttered, and his colour changed, so that his companions\nsuspected him, and he whispered one of them to follow her and find out\nwho she was. The young man went after her and returning informed him\nthat she was Princess Hind, daughter of Al-Nu\u2019uman. So Adi left the\nchurch, knowing not whither he went, for excess of love, and reciting\nthese two couplets:\u2014\n\n O friends of me, one favour more I pray: \u273f Unto the convents[180] find\n once more your way:\n Turn me that so I face the land of Hind; \u273f Then go, and fairest\n greetings for me say.\n\nThen he went to his lodging and lay that night, restless and without\nappetite for the food of sleep.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Adi ended his\nverses he went to his lodging and lay that night restless and without\nappetite for the food of sleep. Now on the morrow Mariyah accosted him\nand he received her kindly, though before he would not incline to her,\nand said to her, \u201cWhat is thy will?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cI have a want of thee;\u201d\nand quoth he, \u201cName it, for by Allah, thou shalt not ask me aught, but I\nwill give it thee!\u201d So she told him that she loved him, and her want of\nhim was that he would grant her a lover\u2019s privacy; and he agreed to do\nher will, on condition that she would serve him with Hind and devise\nsome device to bring them together. Then he took her into a vintner\u2019s\ntavern in one of the by-streets of Hirah, and lay with her; after which\nshe returned to Hind and asked her, \u201cDost thou not long to see Adi?\u201d She\nanswered, \u201cHow can this be? indeed my longing for him makes me restless,\nand no repose is left me since yesterday.\u201d Quoth Mariyah, \u201cI will\nappoint him to be in such a place, where thou canst look on him from the\npalace.\u201d Quoth Hind, \u201cDo what thou wilt,\u201d and agreed with her upon the\nplace. So Adi came, and the Princess looked out upon him; and, when she\nsaw him, she was like to topple down from the palace-top and said, \u201cO\nMariyah, except thou bring him in to me this night, I shall die.\u201d So\nsaying, she fell to the ground in a fainting-fit, and her serving-women\nlifted her up and bore her into the palace; whilst Mariyah hastened to\nAl-Nu\u2019uman and discovered the whole matter to him with perfect truth,\ntelling him that indeed she was mad for the love of Adi; and except he\nmarry her to him, she must be put to shame and die of love for him,\nwhich would disgrace her father among the Arabs, adding at the end,\n\u201cThere is no cure for this but wedlock.\u201d The King bowed his head awhile\nin thought and exclaimed again and again, \u201cVerily, we are Allah\u2019s and\nunto Him we are returning!\u201d Then said he, \u201cWoe to thee! How shall the\nmarriage be brought about, seeing I mislike to open the matter?\u201d And she\nsaid, \u201cHe is yet more ardently in love and yet more desireful of her\nthan she is of him; and I will so order the affair that he shall be\nunaware of his case being known to thee; but do not betray thyself, O\nKing.\u201d Then she went to Adi and, after acquainting him with everything\nsaid, \u201cMake a feast and bid the King thereto; and, when the wine hath\ngotten the better of him, ask of him his daughter, for he will not\nrefuse thee.\u201d Quoth Adi, \u201cI fear lest this enrage him against me and be\nthe cause of enmity between us.\u201d But quoth she, \u201cI came not to thee,\ntill I had settled the whole affair with him.\u201d Then she returned to\nAl-Nu\u2019uman and said to him, \u201cSeek of Adi that he entertain thee in his\nhouse.\u201d Replied the King, \u201cThere is no harm in that;\u201d and after three\ndays, besought Adi to give him and his lords the morning-meal in his\nhouse. He consented and the King went to him; and when the wine had\ntaken effect on Al-Nu\u2019uman, Adi rose and sought of him his daughter in\nwedlock. He consented and married them and brought her to him after\nthree days; and they abode at Al-Nu\u2019uman\u2019s court, in all solace of life\nand its delight\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nsaying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Adi abode with\nHind bint Al-Nu\u2019uman bin Munzir three years in all solace of life and\nits delight, after which time the King was wroth with Adi and slew him.\nHind mourned for him with grievous mourning and built her an hermitage\noutside the city, whither she retired and became a religious, weeping\nand bewailing her husband till she died. And her hermitage is seen to\nthis day in the suburbs of Hirah. They also tell a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 178:\n\n H\u00edrah in Mesopotamia was a Christian city and principality subject to\n the Persian monarchs; and a rival to the Roman kingdom of Ghass\u00e1n. It\n has a long history, for which see D\u2019Herbelot.\n\nFootnote 179:\n\n A pre-Islamite poet.\n\nFootnote 180:\n\n Arab. \u201cBik\u00e1\u2019a,\u201d alluding to the pilgrimages made to monasteries and\n here equivalent to, \u201cAddress ye to the road,\u201d etc.\n\n\n\n\n DI\u2019IBIL AL-KHUZA\u2019I WITH THE LADY AND MUSLIM BIN AL-WALID.\n\n\n(Quoth Di\u2019ibil al-Khuz\u00e1\u2019i[181]), I was sitting one day at the gate of\nAl-Karkh,[182] when a damsel came past, never saw I a fairer faced or\nbetter formed than she, walking with a voluptuous swaying gait and\nravishing all beholders with her lithe and undulating pace. Now as my\neyes fell on her, I was captivated by her and my vitals trembled and\nmeseemed my heart flew forth of my breast; so I stood before her and I\naccosted her with this verse:\u2014\n\n The tears of these eyes find easy release; \u273f But sleep flies these\n eyelids without surcease.\n\nWhereon she turned her face and looking at me, straightway made answer\nwith this distich:\u2014\n\n A trifle this an his eyes be sore, \u273f When her eyes say \u201cyes\u201d to his\n love-caprice!\n\nI was astounded at the readiness of her reply and the fluency of her\nspeech and rejoined with this verse:\u2014\n\n Say, doth heart of my fair incline to him \u273f Whose tears like a swelling\n stream increase?\n\nAnd she answered me without hesitation, thus:\u2014\n\n If thou crave our love, know that love\u2019s a loan; \u273f And a debt to be paid\n by us twain a-piece.\n\nNever entered my ears aught sweeter than her speech nor ever saw I\nbrighter than her face: so I changed rhyme and rhythm to try her, in my\nwonder at her words, and repeated this couplet:\u2014\n\n Will Fate with joy of union ever bless our sight, \u273f And one desireful\n one with other one unite.\n\nShe smiled at this (never saw I fairer than her mouth nor sweeter than\nher lips), and answered me, without stay or delay, in the following\ndistich:\u2014\n\n Pray, tell me what hath Fate to do betwixt us twain? \u273f Thou\u2019rt Fate: so\n bless our eyne with union and delight.\n\nAt this, I sprang up and fell to kissing her hands and cried, \u201cI had not\nthought that Fortune would vouchsafe me such occasion. Do thou follow\nme, not of bidding or against thy will, but of the grace of thee and thy\nfavour to me.\u201d Then I went on and she after me. Now at that time I had\nno lodging I deemed fit for the like of her; but Muslim bin\nal-Wal\u00edd[183] was my fast friend, and he had a handsome house. So I made\nfor his abode and knocked at the door, whereupon he came out, and I\nsaluted him, saying, \u201c\u2018Tis for time like this that friends are treasured\nup\u201d; and he replied, \u201cWith love and gladness! Come in you twain.\u201d So we\nentered but found money scarce with him: however, he gave me a kerchief,\nsaying, \u201cCarry it to the bazar and sell it and buy food and what else\nthou needest.\u201d I took the handkerchief, and hastening to the market,\nsold it and bought what we required of victuals and other matters; but\nwhen I returned, I found that Muslim had retired with her to an\nunderground chamber.[184] When he heard my step he hurried out and said\nto me, \u201cAllah requite thee the kindness thou hast done me, O Abu Ali and\nreward thee in time to come and reckon it of thy good deeds on the Day\nof Doom!\u201d So saying, he took from me the food and wine and shut the door\nin my face. His words enraged me and I knew not what to do; but he stood\nbehind the door, shaking for mirth; and, when he saw me thus, he said to\nme, \u201cI conjure thee on my life, O Abu Ali, tell who it was composed this\ncouplet?\u201d\u2014\n\n I lay in her arms all night, leaving him \u273f To sleep foul-hearted but\n clean of staff.\n\nAt this my rage redoubled, and I replied, \u201cHe who wrote this other\ncouplet\u201d:\u2014\n\n One, I wish him in belt a thousand horns, \u273f Exceeding in mighty height\n Man\u00e1f.[185]\n\nThen I began to abuse him and reproach him with the foulness of his\naction and his lack of honour; and he was silent never uttering a word.\nBut, when I had finished, he smiled and said, \u201cOut on thee, O fool! Thou\nhast entered my house and sold my kerchief and spent my silver: so, with\nwhom art thou wroth, O pimp?\u201d[186] Then he left me and went away to her,\nwhilst I said, \u201cBy Allah, thou art right to twit me as nincompoop and\npander!\u201d Then I left his door and went away in sore concern, and I feel\nits trace in my heart to this very day; for I never had my will of her\nnor, indeed, ever heard of her more. And amongst other tales is that\nabout\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 181:\n\n Whose by name was Abu Ali, a poet under the Abbasides (eighth and\n ninth centuries).\n\nFootnote 182:\n\n A well-known quarter of Baghdad, often mentioned in The Nights.\n\nFootnote 183:\n\n Another well-known poet of the time.\n\nFootnote 184:\n\n Arab. \u201cSard\u00e1b\u201d: noticed before.\n\nFootnote 185:\n\n A gigantic idol in the Ka\u2019abah, destroyed by Mohammed: it gave name to\n a tribe.\n\nFootnote 186:\n\n Arab. \u201cYa Kaww\u00e1d:\u201d hence the Port. and Span. Alcoviteiro.\n\n\n\n\n ISAAC OF MOSUL AND THE MERCHANT.\n\n\n(Quoth Ishak bin Ibrahim al-Mausili), It so chanced that, one day\nfeeling weary of being on duty at the Palace and in attendance upon the\nCaliph, I mounted horse and went forth, at break of dawn, having a mind\nto ride out in the open country and take my pleasure. So I said to my\nservants, \u201cIf there come a messenger from the Caliph or another, say\nthat I set out at daybreak, upon a pressing business, and that ye know\nnot whither I am gone.\u201d Then I fared forth alone and went round about\nthe city, till the sun waxed hot, when I halted in a great thoroughfare\nknown as Al-Haram,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nto say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ishak bin Ibrahim\nthe Mausili continued:\u2014When the sun waxed hot I halted in a great\nthoroughfare known as Al-Haram, to take shelter in the shade and found\nit in a spacious wing of a house which projected over the street. And I\nstood there but a little while before there came up a black slave,\nleading an ass bestridden by a damsel; and under her were housings set\nwith gems and pearls and upon her were the richest of clothes, richness\ncan go no farther; and I saw that she was elegant of make with\nlanguorous look and graceful mien. I asked one of the passers-by who she\nwas, and he said, \u201cShe is a singer,\u201d so I fell in love with her at first\nsight: hardly could I keep my seat on horseback. She entered the house\nat whose gate I stood; and, as I was planning a device to gain access to\nher, there came up two men young and comely who asked admission and the\nhousemaster gave them leave to enter. So they alighted and I also and\nthey entered and I with them, they supposing that the master of the\nhouse had invited me; and we sat awhile, till food was brought and we\nate. Then they set wine before us, and the damsel came out, with a lute\nin her hand. She sang and we drank, till I rose to obey a call of\nnature. Thereupon the host questioned the two others of me, and they\nreplied that they knew me not; whereupon quoth he, \u201cThis is a\nparasite[187]; but he is a pleasant fellow, so treat him courteously.\u201d\nThen I came back and sat down in my place, whilst the damsel sang to a\npleasing air these two couplets:\u2014\n\n Say to the she-gazelle, who\u2019s no gazelle, \u273f And Kohl\u2019d ariel who\u2019s no\n ariel.[188]\n Who lies with male, and yet no female is, \u273f Whose gait is female most\n unlike the male.\n\nShe sang it right well, and the company drank and her song pleased them.\nThen she carolled various pieces to rare measures, and amongst the rest\none of mine, which consisted of this distich:\u2014\n\n Bare hills and camp-ground desolate \u273f And friends who all have ganged\n their gait.\n How severance after union leaves \u273f Me and their homes in saddest state!\n\nHer singing this time was even better than the first; then she chanted\nother rare pieces, old and new, and amongst them, another of mine with\nthe following two couplets:\u2014\n\n Say to angry lover who turns away, \u273f And shows thee his side whatso thou\n say,\n \u201cThou wroughtest all that by thee was wrought, \u273f Albe \u2018twas haply thy\n sport and play.\u201d\n\nI prayed her to repeat the song, that I might correct it for her;\nwhereupon one of the two men accosted me and said, \u201cNever saw we a more\nimpudent lick-platter than thou. Art thou not content with spunging, but\nthou must eke meddle and muddle? Of very sooth, in thee is the saying\nmade true, Parasite and pushing wight.\u201d So I hung down my head for shame\nand made him no answer, whilst his companion would have withheld him\nfrom me; but he would not be restrained. Presently, they rose to pray,\nbut I lagged behind a little and, taking the lute, screwed up the sides\nand brought it into perfect tune. Then I stood up in my place to pray\nwith the rest; and when we had ended praying, the same man fell again to\nblaming me and reviling me and persisted in his rudeness, whilst I held\nmy peace. Thereupon the damsel took the lute and touching it, knew that\nit had been altered, and said, \u201cWho hath touched my lute?\u201d Quoth they,\n\u201cNone of us hath touched it.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cNay, by Allah, some one hath\ntouched it, and he is an artist, a past master in the craft; for he hath\narranged the strings and tuned them like one who is a perfect\nperformer.\u201d Said I, \u201cIt was I tuned it;\u201d and said she, \u201cThen, Allah upon\nthee, take it and play on it!\u201d So I took it; and, playing a piece so\ndifficult and so rare, that it went nigh to deaden the quick and quicken\nthe dead, I sang thereto these couplets:\u2014\n\n I had a heart, and with it lived my life: \u273f \u2018Twas seared with fire and\n burnt with loving-lowe:\n I never won the blessing of her love; \u273f God would not on His slave such\n boon bestow:\n If what I\u2019ve tasted be the food of Love, \u273f Must taste it all men who\n Love-food would know.\n\nAnd Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted\nsay.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ishak of Mosul\nthus continued:\u2014Now when I had finished my verse, there was not one of\nthe company but sprang from his place and sat down like schoolboys\nbefore me, saying, \u201cAllah upon thee, O our lord, sing us another song.\u201d\n\u201cWith pleasure\u201d said I, and playing another measure in masterly fashion,\nsang thereto these couplets:\u2014\n\n Ho thou whose heart is melted down by force of Amor\u2019s fire, \u273f And griefs\n from every side against thy happiness conspire:\n Unlawful is that he who pierced my vitals with his shaft, \u273f My blood\n between my midriff and my breast-bone[189] he desire,\n \u2018Twas plain, upon our severance-day, that he had set his mind \u273f On an\n eternal parting, moved by tongue of envious liar:\n He sheds my blood he ne\u2019er had shed except by wound of love; \u273f Will none\n demand my blood of him, my wreak of him require?\n\nWhen I had made an end of this song, there was not one of them but rose\nto his feet and threw himself upon the ground for excess of delight.\nThen I cast the lute from my hand, but they said, \u201cAllah upon thee, do\nnot on this wise, but let us hear another song, so Allah Almighty\nincrease thee of His bounty!\u201d Replied I, \u201cO folk, I will sing you\nanother song and another and another and will tell you who I am. I am\nIshak bin Ibrahim al-Mausili, and by Allah, I bear myself proudly to the\nCaliph when he seeketh me. Ye have to-day made me hear abuse from an\nunmannerly carle such as I loathe; and by Allah, I will not speak a word\nnor sit with you, till ye put yonder quarrelsome churl out from among\nyou!\u201d Quoth the fellow\u2019s companion to him, \u201cThis is what I warned thee\nagainst, fearing for thy good name.\u201d So they hent him by the hand and\nthrust him out; and I took the lute and sang over again the songs of my\nown composing which the damsel had sung. Then I whispered the host that\nshe had taken my heart and that I had no patience to abstain from her.\nQuoth he, \u201cShe is thine on one condition.\u201d I asked, \u201cWhat is that?\u201d and\nhe answered, \u201cIt is that thou abide with me a month, when the damsel and\nall belonging to her of raiment and jewellery shall be thine.\u201d I\nrejoined, \u201cIt is well, I will do this.\u201d So I tarried with him a whole\nmonth, whilst none knew where I was and the Caliph sought me everywhere,\nbut could come by no news of me; and at the end of this time, the\nmerchant delivered to me the damsel, together with all that pertained to\nher of things of price and an eunuch to attend upon her. So I brought\nall that to my lodging, feeling as I were lord of the whole world, for\nexceeding delight in her; then I rode forthright to Al-Maamun. And when\nI stood in the presence, he said, \u201cWoe to thee, O Ishak, where hast thou\nbeen?\u201d So I acquainted him with the story and he said, \u201cBring me that\nman at once.\u201d Thereupon I told him where he lived and he sent and\nfetched him and questioned him of the case; when he repeated the story\nand the Caliph said to him, \u201cThou art a man of right generous mind, and\nit is only fitting that thou be aided in thy generosity.\u201d Then he\nordered him an hundred thousand dirhams and said to me, \u201cO Ishak, bring\nthe damsel before me.\u201d So I brought her to him, and she sang and\ndelighted him; and being greatly gladdened by her he said to me, \u201cI\nappoint her turn of service every Thursday, when she must come and sing\nto me from behind the curtain.\u201d And he ordered her fifty thousand\ndirhams, so by Allah, I profited both myself and others by my ride. And\namongst the tales they tell is one of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 187:\n\n Arab. \u201cTufayli,\u201d a term before noticed; the class was as well known in\n Baghdad and Cairo as in ancient Rome.\n\nFootnote 188:\n\n Arab. \u201cJauzar\u201d = a bubalus (Antilope defessa), also called \u201cAyn\u201d from\n the large black eyes. This bovine antelope is again termed Bakar\n al-Wahsh (wild cattle) or \u201cBos Sylvestris\u201d (incerti generis, Forsk.).\n But Jauzar also signifies hart, so I render it by \u201cAriel\u201d (the\n well-known antelope).\n\nFootnote 189:\n\n Arab. \u201cTar\u00e1ib\u201d plur. of tar\u00edbah. The allusion is to the heart, and\n \u201cthe little him\u2019s a her.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n THE THREE UNFORTUNATE LOVERS.\n\n\n(Quoth Al-\u2018Utb\u00ed,[190]) I was sitting one day with a company of educated\nmen, telling stories of the folk, when the talk turned upon legends of\nlovers and each of us said his say thereanent. Now there was in our\ncompany an old man, who remained silent, till all had spoken and had no\nmore to say, when quoth he, \u201cShall I tell you a thing, the like of which\nyou never heard; no, never?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d quoth we; and he said, \u201cKnow, then,\nthat I had a daughter, who loved a youth, but we knew it not; while the\nyouth loved a singing-girl, who in her turn loved my daughter. One day,\nI was present at an assembly, wherein were also the youth\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Tenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Shaykh\ncontinued:\u2014One day, I was present at an assembly wherein were also the\nyouth and the singing-girl and she chanted to us these couplets:\u2014\n\n Prove how Love bringeth low \u273f Lover those tears that run;\n Lowering him still the more \u273f When pity finds he none.\n\nCried the youth, \u201cBy Allah, thou hast said well, O my mistress! Dost\nthou incite me to die?\u201d Answered the girl from behind the curtain, \u201cYes,\nif thou be a true lover.\u201d So he laid his head on a cushion and closed\nhis eyes; and when the cup came round to him, we shook him and behold,\nhe was dead.[191] Therewith we all flocked to him, and our pleasure was\ntroubled and we grieved and broke up at once. When I came home, my\npeople took in bad part my returning before the appointed time, and I\ntold them what had befallen the youth, thinking that thereby I should\ngreatly surprise them. My daughter heard my words and rising, went from\nthe sitting-chamber into another, whither I followed her and found her\nlying with her head on a cushion, even as I had told of the young man.\nSo I shook her and lo! she was dead. Then we laid her out and set forth\nnext morning to bury her, whilst the friends of the young man set forth\nin like guise to bury him. As we were on the way to the burial-place, we\nmet a third funeral and asking whose it was, were told that it was that\nof the singing-girl who, hearing of my daughter\u2019s death, had done even\nas she did and was dead. So we buried them all three on one day, and\nthis is the rarest tale that ever was heard of lovers. And they also\ntell a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 190:\n\n A well-known poet of the ninth century (A.D.)\n\nFootnote 191:\n\n These easy deaths for love are a _lieu commun_: See sundry of them in\n the Decameron (iv. 7, etc.); and, in the Heptameron (Nouv. lxx.), the\n widow who lay down and died of love and sorrow that her passion had\n become known. For the fainting of lovers see Nouvelle xix.\n\n\n\n\n HOW ABU HASAN BRAKE WIND.\n\n\nThey recount that in the City Kaukab\u00e1n of Al-Yaman there was a man of\nthe Fazl\u00ed tribe who had left Badawi life, and become a townsman for many\nyears and was a merchant of the most opulent merchants. His wife had\ndeceased when both were young; and his friends were instant with him to\nmarry again, ever quoting to him the words of the poet:\u2014\n\n Go, gossip! re-wed thee, for Prime draweth near:\n A wife is an almanac\u2014good for the year.\n\nSo being weary of contention, Abu Hasan entered into negotiations with\nthe old women who procure matches, and married a maid like Canopus when\nhe hangeth over the seas of Al-Hind. He made high festival therefor,\nbidding to the wedding-banquet kith and kin, Olema and Fakirs; friends\nand foes and all his acquaintances of that country-side. The whole house\nwas thrown open to feasting: there were rices of five several colours,\nand sherbets of as many more; and kids stuffed with walnuts and almonds\nand pistachios and a camel-colt[192] roasted whole. So they ate and\ndrank and made mirth and merriment; and the bride was displayed in her\nseven dresses and one more, to the women, who could not take their eyes\noff her. At last, the bridegroom was summoned to the chamber where she\nsat enthroned; and he rose slowly and with dignity from his divan; but\nin so doing, for that he was over full of meat and drink, lo and behold!\nhe let fly a fart, great and terrible. Thereupon each guest turned to\nhis neighbour and talked aloud and made as though he had heard nothing,\nfearing for his life. But a consuming fire was lit in Abu Hasan\u2019s heart;\nso he pretended a call of nature; and, in lieu of seeking the\nbride-chamber, he went down to the house-court and saddled his mare and\nrode off, weeping bitterly, through the shadow of the night. In time he\nreached L\u00e1hej where he found a ship ready to sail for India; so he\nshipped on board and made Calicut of Malabar. Here he met with many\nArabs, especially Hazram\u00eds,[193] who recommended him to the King; and\nthis King (who was a Kafir) trusted him and advanced him to the\ncaptain-ship of his body-guard. He remained ten years in all solace and\ndelight of life; at the end of which time he was seized with\nhome-sickness; and the longing to behold his native land was that of a\nlover pining for his beloved; and he came near to die of yearning\ndesire. But his appointed day had not dawned; so, after taking the first\nbath of health, he left the King without leave, and in due course landed\nat Makall\u00e1 of Hazramaut. Here he donned the rags of a religious; and,\nkeeping his name and case secret, fared for Kaukaban afoot; enduring a\nthousand hardships of hunger, thirst and fatigue; and braving a thousand\ndangers from the lion, the snake and the Ghul. But when he drew near his\nold home, he looked down upon it from the hills with brimming eyes, and\nsaid in himself, \u201cHaply they might know thee; so I will wander about the\noutskirts, and hearken to the folk. Allah grant that my case be not\nremembered by them!\u201d He listened carefully for seven nights and seven\ndays, till it so chanced that, as he was sitting at the door of a hut,\nhe heard the voice of a young girl saying, \u201cO my mother, tell me the day\nwhen I was born; for such an one of my companions is about to take an\nomen[194] for me.\u201d And the mother answered, \u201cThou was born, O my\ndaughter, on the very night when Abu Hasan farted.\u201d Now the listener no\nsooner heard these words than he rose up from the bench, and fled away\nsaying to himself, \u201cVerily thy fart hath become a date, which shall last\nfor ever and ever; even as the poet said:\u201d\u2014\n\n As long as palms shall shift the flower; \u273f As long as palms shall sift\n the flour.[195]\n\nAnd he ceased not travelling and voyaging and returned to India; and\nthere abode in self-exile till he died; and the mercy of Allah be upon\nhim![196] And they tell another story of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 192:\n\n This is a favourite Badawi dish, but too expensive unless some\n accident happen to the animal. Old camel is much like bull-beef, but\n the young meat is excellent, although not relished by Europeans\n because, like strange fish, it has no recognised flavour. I have\n noticed it in my \u201cFirst Footsteps\u201d (p. 68, etc.). There is an old idea\n in Europe that the maniacal vengeance of the Arab is increased by\n eating this flesh; the beast is certainly vindictive enough; but a\n furious and frantic vengefulness characterises the North American\n Indian who never saw a camel. Mercy and pardon belong to the elect,\n not to the miserables who make up \u201chumanity.\u201d\n\nFootnote 193:\n\n _i.e._, of the Province Hazramaut, the Biblical Hazarmaveth (Gen. x.\n 26). The people are the Swiss of Arabia and noted for thrift and hard\n bargains; hence the saying, If you meet a serpent and a Hazrami, slay\n the Hazrami. To prove how ubiquitous they are it is related that a\n man, flying from their society, reached the uttermost parts of China\n where he thought himself safe. But, as he was about to pass the night\n in some ruin, he heard a voice hard by him exclaim, O \u2018Im\u00e1d al-Din!\n (the name of the patron-saint of Hazramaut). Thereupon he arose and\n fled and he is, they say, flying still.\n\nFootnote 194:\n\n Arab. \u201cF\u00e1l\u201d alluding to the Sortes Coranic\u00e6 and other silly practices\n known to the English servant-girl when curious about her future and\n her _futur_.\n\nFootnote 195:\n\n _i.e._, in Arab-land (where they eat dates) and Ajam, or lands\n non-Arab (where bread is the staff of life); that is, all the world\n over.\n\nFootnote 196:\n\n This story is curious and ethnologically valuable. The Badawi who\n eructates as a civility, has a mortal hatred to a _crepitus ventris_;\n and were a by-stander to laugh at its accidental occurrence, he would\n at once be cut down as a \u201cpundonor.\u201d The same is the custom amongst\n the Highlanders of Afghanistan, and its artificial nature suggests\n direct derivation; for the two regions are separated by a host of\n tribes, Persians and Baloch, Sindis and Panj\u00e1bis who utterly ignore\n the point of honour and behave like Europeans. The raids of the\n pre-Islamitic Arabs over the lands lying to the north-east of them are\n almost forgotten; still there are traces, and this may be one of them.\n\n\n\n\n THE LOVERS OF THE BANU TAYY.\n\n\nK\u00e1sim, son of Adi, was wont to relate that a man of the Ban\u00fa Tam\u00edm spake\nas follows. I went out one day in search of an estray and, coming to the\nwaters of the Banu Tayy, saw two companies of people near one another,\nand behold, those of one company were disputing among themselves even as\nthe other. So I watched them and observed, in one of the companies, a\nyouth wasted with sickness, as he were a worn-out dried-up water-skin.\nAnd as I looked on him, lo! he repeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n What ails the Beauty she returneth not? \u273f Is\u2019t Beauty\u2019s irk or grudging\n to my lot?\n I sickened and my friends all came to call; \u273f What stayed thee calling\n with the friendly knot?\n Hadst thou been sick, I had come running fast \u273f To thee, nor threats had\n kept me from the spot:\n Mid them I miss thee, and I lie alone; \u273f Sweetheart, to lose thy love\n sad loss I wot!\n\nHis words were heard by a damsel in the other company who hastened\ntowards him, and when her people followed her, she fought them off. Then\nthe youth caught sight of her and sprang up and ran towards her, whilst\nthe people of his party ran after him and laid hold of him. However he\nhaled and freed himself from them, and she in like manner loosed\nherself; and, when they were free, each ran to other and meeting between\nthe two parties, embraced and fell dead upon the ground.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Eleventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young man and\nthe maid met between the two parties and embraced and both fell dead\nupon the ground; whereat came there out an old man from one of the tents\nand stood over them exclaiming, \u201cVerily, we are Allah\u2019s and unto Him we\nare returning!\u201d Then weeping sore he said, \u201cAllah have ruth on you both!\nby the Almighty, though you were not united in your lives, I will at\nleast unite you after your deaths.\u201d And he bade lay them out: so they\nwashed them and shrouded them in one shroud and dug for them one grave\nand prayed one prayer over them both and buried them in one tomb; nor\nwas there man or woman in the two parties but I saw weeping over them\nand buffeting their faces. Then I questioned the Shaykh of them, and he\nsaid, \u201cShe was my daughter and he my brother\u2019s son; and love brought\nthem to the pass thou seest.\u201d I exclaimed, \u201cAllah amend thee! but why\ndidst thou not marry them to each other?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI feared shame[197]\nand dishonour; and now I am fallen into both.\u201d And they tell a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 197:\n\n Arab. \u201cAl-\u2018\u00c1r.\u201d The Badawi saying is \u201cAl-n\u00e1r wa l\u00e1 \u2018l-\u2018\u00e1r\u201d\n (Hell-)fire, but not shame. The sentiment is noble. Hasan the\n Prophet\u2019s grandson, a poor creature demoralised by over-marrying,\n chose the converse, \u201cShame is better than Hell-fire.\u201d An old Arabic\n poem has:\u2014\n\n The Fire and not shame be the Lord of thee\n And e\u2019en to The Fire from shame go flee.\n\n Al-Hariri (Ass. of the Badawin) also has:\u2014\n\n For rather would I die my death than shame,\u2014\n On bier be borne than bear a caitiff\u2019s name.\n\n\n\n\n THE MAD LOVER.\n\n\nQuoth Abu \u2018l-Abb\u00e1s al-Mubarrad,[198] I set out one day with a company to\nAl-B\u00e1rid on an occasion and, coming to the monastery of Hirakl,[199] we\nalighted in its shade. Presently a man came out to us and said, \u201cThere\nare madmen in the monastery,[200] and amongst them one who speaketh\nwisdom; if ye saw him, ye would marvel at his speech.\u201d So we arose all\nand went into the monastery, where we saw a man seated on a skin-mat in\none of the cells, with bare head and eyes intently fixed upon the wall.\nWe saluted him, and he returned our salam, without looking at us; and\none said to us, \u201cRepeat some verses to him; for, when he heareth verse,\nhe speaketh.\u201d So I repeated these two couplets:\u2014\n\n O best of race to whom gave Haww\u00e1[201] boon of birth, \u273f Except for thee\n the world were neither sweet nor fair!\n Thou\u2019rt he, whose face, by Allah shown to man, \u273f Doth ward off death,\n decay and hoary hair.\n\nWhen he heard from me this praise of the Apostle he turned towards us\nand repeated these lines:\u2014\n\n Well Allah wotteth I am sorely plagued: \u273f Nor can I show my pain to\n human sight.\n Two souls have I; one soul is here contained, \u273f While other woneth in\n another site\n Meseems the absent soul\u2019s like present soul, \u273f And that she suffers what\n to me is dight.\n\nThen he asked us, \u201cHave I said well or said ill?\u201d And we answered, \u201cThou\nhast said the clean contrary of ill, well and right well.\u201d Then he put\nout his hand to a stone, that was by him and took it up; whereupon\nthinking he would throw it at us we fled from him; but he fell to\nbeating upon his breast therewith violent blows and said to us, \u201cFear\nnot, but draw near and hear somewhat from me and receive it from me.\u201d So\nwe came back, and he repeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n When they made their camels yellow-white kneel down at dawning grey, \u273f\n They mounted her on crupper and the camel went his way,\n Mine eye-balls through the prison-wall beheld them, and I cried \u273f With\n streaming eyelids and a heart that burnt in dire dismay,\n \u201cO camel-driver turn thy beast that I farewell my love! \u273f In parting and\n farewelling her I see my doom\u00e8d day:\n I\u2019m faithful to my vows of love which I have never broke; \u273f Would Heaven\n I kenned what they have done with vows that vow\u00e8d they!\u201d\n\nThen he looked at me and said, \u201cSay me, dost thou know what they\ndid?\u201d[202] Answered I, \u201cYes, they are dead; Almighty Allah have mercy on\nthem!\u201d At this his face changed and he sprang to his feet and cried out,\n\u201cHow knowest thou they be dead?;\u201d and I replied, \u201cWere they alive they\nhad not left thee thus.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cBy Allah, thou art right, and I care\nnot to live after them.\u201d Then his side-muscles quivered and he fell on\nhis face; and we ran up to him and shook him and found him dead, the\nmercy of the Almighty be on him! At this we marvelled and mourned for\nhim and, sore mourning, laid him out and buried him.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Twelfth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Al-Mubarrad thus\ncontinued:\u2014When the man fell we mourned over him with sore mourning and\nlaid him out and buried him. And when I returned to Baghdad and went in\nto the Caliph Al Mutawakkil, he saw the trace of tears on my face and\nsaid to me, \u201cWhat is this?\u201d So I told him what had passed and it was\ngrievous to him and he cried, \u201cWhat moved thee to deal thus with\nhim?[203] By Allah, if I thought thou didst not repent it and regret him\nI would punish thee therefor!\u201d And he mourned for him the rest of the\nday. And amongst the tales they tell is one of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 198:\n\n A grammarian and rhetorician of ninth century.\n\nFootnote 199:\n\n Once existing in Syrian Ham\u00e1h (the Biblical Hamath); and so called\n because here died the Emperor Heraclius called by the Arabs \u201cHirakl.\u201d\n\nFootnote 200:\n\n Till lately it was the custom to confine madmen in Syrian monasteries,\n hoping a cure from the patron Saint; and a terrible time they had of\n it. Every guide book relates the healing process as formerly pursued\n at the Maronite Convent Koshaya not far from Bayrut. The idiot or\n maniac was thrust headlong by the monks into a dismal cavern with a\n heavy chain round his neck, and was tied up within a span of the wall\n to await the arrival of Saint Anthony who especially affects this holy\n place. In very few weeks the patient was effectually cured or killed\n by cold, solitude and starvation.\n\nFootnote 201:\n\n The Moslem Eve, much nearer the Hebrew \u201cHawah\u201d = the \u201cmanifester,\u201d\n because (Gen. iii. 20) she was (to be) the mother of all that live\n (\u201cKull hayy\u201d).\n\nFootnote 202:\n\n The mad lover says \u201cthey\u201d for \u201cshe,\u201d which would be too familiar in\n speaking to strangers.\n\nFootnote 203:\n\n _i.e._ falsely to report the death.\n\n\n\n\n THE PRIOR WHO BECAME A MOSLEM.\n\n\nQuoth Abu Bakr Mohammed ibn Al-Anb\u00e1ri[204]:\u2014I once left Anb\u00e1r on a\njourney to \u2018Am\u00far\u00edyah,[205] where there came out to me the prior of the\nmonastery and superior of the monkery, Abd al-Mas\u00edh hight, and brought\nme into the building. There I found forty religious, who entertained me\nthat night with fair guest-rite, and I left them after seeing among them\nsuch diligence in adoration and devotion as I never beheld the like of\nin any others. Next day I farewelled them and fared forth and, after\ndoing my business at \u2018Amuriyah, I returned to my home at Anbar. And next\nyear I made pilgrimage to Meccah and as I was circumambulating the Holy\nHouse I saw Abd al-Masih the monk also compassing the Ka\u2019abah, and with\nhim five of his fellows, the shavelings. Now when I was sure that it was\nindeed he, I accosted him, saying, \u201cArt thou not Abd al-Masih, the\nReligious?\u201d and he replied, \u201cNay, I am Abdallah, the Desirous.\u201d[206]\nTherewith I fell to kissing his grey hairs and shedding tears; then,\ntaking him by the hand, I led him aside into a corner of the Temple and\nsaid to him, \u201cTell me the cause of thy conversion to Al-Islam;\u201d and he\nmade reply, \u201cVerily, \u2018twas a wonder of wonders, and befel thus. A\ncompany of Moslem devotees came to the village wherein is our convent,\nand sent a youth to buy them food. He saw, in the market, a Christian\ndamsel selling bread, who was of the fairest of women; and he was struck\nat first sight with such love of her, that his senses failed him and he\nfell on his face in a fainting-fit.\u201d When he revived, he returned to his\ncompanions and told them what had befallen him, saying, \u201cGo ye about\nyour business; I may not go with you.\u201d They chided him and exhorted him,\nbut he paid no heed to them; so they left him whilst he entered the\nvillage and seated himself at the door of the woman\u2019s booth.[207] She\nasked him what he wanted, and he told her that he was in love with her,\nwhereupon she turned from him; but he abode in his place three days\nwithout tasting food, keeping his eyes fixed on her face. Now whenas she\nsaw that he departed not from her, she went to her people and acquainted\nthem with his case, and they set on him the village boys, who stoned him\nand bruised his ribs and broke his head; but, for all this, he would not\nbudge. Then the villagers took counsel together to slay him; but a man\nof them came to me and told me of his case, and I went out to him and\nfound him lying prostrate on the ground. So I wiped the blood from his\nface and carried him to the convent, and dressed his wounds; and there\nhe abode with me fourteen days. But as soon as he could walk, he left\nthe monastery\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Thirteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdallah the\nReligious continued:\u2014So I carried him to the convent and dressed his\nwounds, and he abode with me fourteen days. But as soon as he could\nwalk, he left the monastery and returned to the door of the woman\u2019s\nbooth, where he sat gazing on her as before. When she saw him, she came\nout to him and said, \u201cBy Allah, thou movest me to pity! wilt thou enter\nmy faith that I may marry thee?\u201d He cried, \u201cAllah forbid that I should\nput off the faith of Unity and enter that of Plurality!\u201d[208] Quoth she,\n\u201cCome in with me to my house and take thy will of me and wend thy ways\nin peace.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cNot so, I will not waste the worship of twelve\nyears for the lust of an eye-twinkle.\u201d Said she, \u201cThen depart from me\nforthwith;\u201d and he said, \u201cMy heart will not suffer me to do that;\u201d\nwhereupon she turned her countenance from him. Presently the boys found\nhim out and began to pelt him with stones; and he fell on his face,\nsaying, \u201cVerily, Allah is my protector, who sent down the Book of the\nKoran; and He protecteth the Righteous!\u201d[209] At this I sallied forth\nand driving away the boys, lifted his head from the ground and heard him\nsay, \u201cAllah mine, unite me with her in Paradise!\u201d Then I carried him to\nthe monastery; but he died, before I could reach it, and I bore him\nwithout the village and I dug for him a grave and buried him. And next\nnight when half of it was spent, the damsel cried with a great cry (and\nshe in her bed); so the villagers flocked to her and questioned her of\nher case. Quoth she, \u201cAs I slept, behold the Moslem man came in to me\nand taking me by the hand, carried me to the gate of Paradise; but the\nGuardian denied me entrance, saying:\u2014\u2019Tis forbidden to unbelievers. So I\nembraced Al-Islam at his hands and, entering with him, beheld therein\npavilions and trees, such as I cannot describe to you. Moreover, he\nbrought me to a pavilion of jewels and said to me, Of a truth this is my\npavilion and thine, nor will I enter it save with thee; but, after five\nnights thou shalt be with me therein, if it be the will of Allah\nAlmighty. Then he put forth his hand to a tree which grew at the door of\nthe pavilion and plucked therefrom two apples and gave them to me,\nsaying:\u2014Eat this and keep the other, that the monks may see it. So I ate\none of them and never tasted I aught sweeter.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Fourteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the woman\ncontinued:\u2014So he plucked two apples and gave them to me, saying, \u201cEat\nthis and keep the other that the monks may see it.\u201d So I ate one of them\nand never tasted I aught sweeter. Then he took my hand and fared forth\nand carried me back to my house; and, when I awoke, I found the taste of\nthe apple in my mouth and the other in my hand.\u201d So saying she brought\nout the apple, and in the darkness of the night it shone as it were a\nsparkling star. So they carried her (and the apple with her) to the\nmonastery, where she repeated her vision and showed it to us; never saw\nwe its like among all the fruits of the world. Then I took a knife and\ncut the apple into pieces according as we were folk in company; and\nnever knew we aught more delicious than its savour nor more delightsome\nthan its scent; but we said, \u201cHaply this was a devil that appeared unto\nher to seduce her from her faith.\u201d Thereupon her people took her and\nwent away; but she abstained from eating and drinking and on the fifth\nnight she rose from her bed, and going forth the village to the grave of\nher Moslem lover threw herself upon it and died, her family not knowing\nwhat was come of her. But, on the morrow, there came to the village two\nMoslem elders, clad in hair-cloth, and with them two women in like garb,\nand said, \u201cO people of the village, with you is a woman Saint, a W\u00e1liyah\nof the friends of Allah, who died a Moslemah; and we will take charge of\nher in lieu of you.\u201d So the villagers sought her and found her dead on\nthe Moslem\u2019s grave; and they said, \u201cThis was one of us and she died in\nour faith; so we will take charge of her.\u201d Rejoined the two old men,\n\u201cNay, she died a Moslemah and we claim her.\u201d And the dispute waxed to a\nquarrel between them, till one of the Shaykhs said, \u201cBe this the test of\nher faith: the forty monks of the monastery shall come and try to lift\nher from the grave. If they succeed, then she died a Nazarene; if not,\none of us shall come and lift her up and if she be lifted by him, she\ndied a Moslemah.\u201d The villagers agreed to this and fetched the forty\nmonks, who heartened one another, and came to her to lift her, but could\nnot. Then we tied a great rope round her middle and haled at it; but the\nrope broke in sunder, and she stirred not; and the villagers came and\ndid the like, but could not move her from her place.[210] At last, when\nall means failed, we said to one of the two Shaykhs, \u201cCome thou and lift\nher.\u201d So he went up to the grave and, covering her with his mantle,\nsaid, \u201cIn the name of Allah the Compassionating, the Compassionate, and\nof the Faith of the Apostle of Allah, on whom be prayers and peace!\u201d\nThen he lifted her and, taking her in his bosom, betook himself with her\nto a cave hard by, where they laid her, and the two women came and\nwashed her and shrouded her. Then the two elders bore her to her Moslem\nlover\u2019s grave and prayed over her and buried her by his side and went\ntheir ways. Now we were eye-witnesses of all this; and, when we were\nalone with one another, we said, \u201c\u2018In sooth, the truth is most worthy to\nbe followed;\u2019[211] and indeed the verity hath been made manifest to us,\nnor is there a proof more patent of the truth of Al-Islam than that we\nhave seen this day with our eyes.\u201d So I and all the monks became Moslems\nand on like wise did the villagers; and we sent to the people of\nMesopotamia for a doctor of the law, to instruct us in the ordinances of\nAl-Islam and the canons of the Faith. They sent us a learned man and a\npious, who taught us the rites of prayer and the tenets of the faith;\nand we are now in ease abounding; so to Allah be the praise and the\nthanks! And they also tell a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 204:\n\n A famous grammarian, etc., of the tenth century.\n\nFootnote 205:\n\n The classical Amorium in Phrygia now Anatolia: Anb\u00e1r is a town (before\n mentioned) on the Euphrates; by the rules of Arabic grammar the word\n is pronounced (though never written) Amb\u00e1r.\n\nFootnote 206:\n\n \u201cArt thou not the slave of the Messiah, the R\u00e1hib (monk)?\u201d \u201cNo! I am\n the slave of Allah, the R\u00e1ghib (desirous of mercy from the Almighty).\u201d\n A fair specimen of the Saj\u2019a or rhymed prose. Abdallah (properly\n \u201cAbdu\u2019llah\u201d) is a kind of neutral name, neither Jewish, Moslem nor\n Christian; hence I adopted it (Pilgrimage i. 20).\n\nFootnote 207:\n\n Arab. \u201cHan\u00fat,\u201d prop. a tavern where liquors are sold; a term applied\n contemptuously to shops, inns, etc., kept by Christians.\n\nFootnote 208:\n\n Arab. \u201cShirk\u201d = syntheism of the \u201cMushrik\u201d (one who makes other Gods\n partners with God), a word pronounced \u201cMushrit\u201d by the Wahhabis and\n the Badawin.\n\nFootnote 209:\n\n Koran vii. 195. The passage declaims against the idols of the Arabs,\n sun, moon, stars, etc.\n\nFootnote 210:\n\n This minor miracle is commonly reported, and is not, I believe,\n unknown to modern \u201cSpiritualism.\u201d The dead Wali or Waliyah (Saintess)\n often impels the bier-bearers to the spot where he would be buried:\n hence in Cairo the tombs scattered about the city. Lane notices it,\n Mod. E. chapt. xxviii.\n\nFootnote 211:\n\n Koran x. 36, speaking of being turned aside from the true worship.\n\n\n\n\n THE LOVES OF ABU ISA AND KURRAT AL-AYN.\n\n\nQuoth Amr\u00fa bin Masa\u2019dah:[212]\u2014Ab\u00fa Is\u00e1, son of Al-Rash\u00edd and brother to\nAl-Maamun, was enamoured of one Kurrat al-Ayn, a slave-girl belonging to\nAli bin Hish\u00e1m,[213] and she also loved him; but he concealed his\npassion, complaining of it to none neither discovering his secret to\nanyone, of his pride and magnanimity; for he had used his utmost\nendeavour to purchase her of her master, but he had failed. At last when\nhis patience was at an end and his passion was sore on him and he was\nhelpless in the matter, he went in to Al-Maamun, one day of state after\nthe folk had retired, and said to him, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, if\nthou wilt this day make trial of thine Alcaydes by taking them unawares,\nthou wilt know the generous from the mean and note each one\u2019s place,\nafter the quality of his mind.\u201d But, in saying this he purposed only to\nsit with Kurrat al-Ayn in her lord\u2019s house. Quoth Al-Maamun, \u201cRight is\nthy recking,\u201d and bade make ready a barge, called \u2018the Flyer,\u2019 wherein\nhe embarked with Abu Isa and a party of his chief officers. The first\nmansion he visited unexpectedly was that of Ham\u00edd al-Taw\u00edl of T\u00fas, whom\nhe found seated\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nsaying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Fifteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Al-Maamun embarked\nwith his chief officers and fared on till they reached the mansion of\nHam\u00edd al-Taw\u00edl of T\u00fas; and, unexpectedly entering, they found him seated\non a mat and before him singers and players, with lutes and flageolets\nand other instruments of music in their hands. So Al-Maamun sat with him\nawhile and presently he set before him dishes of nothing but fleshmeat,\nwith no birds among them. The Caliph would not taste thereof and Abu Isa\nsaid to him, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, we have taken the owner of\nthis place unawares, and he knew not of thy coming; but now let us go to\nanother place which is prepared for thee and fitted for thee.\u201d Thereupon\nthe Caliph arose and betook himself with his brother Abu Isa and his\nsuite, to the abode of Ali son of Hish\u00e1m who, on hearing of their\napproach, came out and received them with the goodliest of reception,\nand kissed the earth before the King. Then he brought them into his\nmansion and opened to them a saloon than which seer never saw a\ngoodlier. Its floors, pillars and walls were of many-coloured marbles,\nadorned with Greek paintings: and it was spread with matting of\nSind[214] whereon were carpets and tapestry of Bassorah make, fitted to\nthe length and breadth of the room. So the Caliph sat awhile, examining\nthe house and its ceilings and walls, then said, \u201cGive us somewhat to\neat.\u201d So they brought him forthwith nearly an hundred dishes of poultry\nbesides other birds and brewises, fritters and cooling marinades. When\nhe had eaten, he said, \u201cGive us something to drink, O Ali;\u201d and the host\nset before him, in vessels of gold and silver and crystal, raisin-wine\nboiled down to one third with fruits and spices; and the cupbearers were\npages like moons, clad in garments of Alexandrian stuff interwoven with\ngold and bearing on their breasts beakers of crystal, full of rose-water\nmingled with musk. So Al-Maamun marvelled with exceeding marvel at all\nhe saw and said, \u201cHo thou, Abu al-Hasan!\u201d Whereupon Ali sprang to the\nCaliph\u2019s carpet and kissing it, said, \u201cAt thy service, O Commander of\nthe Faithful!\u201d and stood before him. Quoth Al-Maamun, \u201cLet us hear some\npleasant and merry song.\u201d Replied Ali, \u201cI hear and obey, O Commander of\nthe Faithful,\u201d and said to one of his eunuchs, \u201cFetch the\nsinging-women.\u201d So the slave went out and presently returned, followed\nby ten castratos, bearing ten stools of gold, which they set down in due\norder; and after these came ten damsels, concubines of the master, as\nthey were shining full moons or gardens full of bloom, clad in black\nbrocade, with crowns of gold on their heads; and they passed along the\nroom till they sat down on the stools, when sang they sundry songs.\nAl-Maamun looked at one of them; and, being captivated by her elegance\nand fair favour, asked her, \u201cWhat is thy name, O damsel?\u201d; and she\nanswered, \u201cMy name is Saj\u00e1h\u00ed,[215] O Commander of the Faithful,\u201d and he\nsaid, \u201cSing to us, O Sajahi!\u201d So she played a lively measure and sang\nthese couplets:\u2014\n\n I walk, for fear of interview, the weakling\u2019s walk \u273f Who sees two\n lion-whelps the fount draw nigh:\n My cloak acts sword, my heart\u2019s perplext with fright, \u273f Lest jealous\n hostile eyes th\u2019 approach descry:\n Till sudden hapt I on a delicate maid \u273f Like desert-doe that fails her\n fawns to espy.\n\nQuoth the Caliph, \u201cThou hast done well, O damsel! whose are these\nlines?\u201d She answered, \u201cWritten by Amru bin Ma\u2019di Karib al-Zubaydi,[216]\nand the air is Ma\u2019abid\u2019s.\u201d[217] Then the Caliph and Abu Isa and Ali\ndrank and the damsels went away and were succeeded by other ten, all\nclad in flowered silk of Al-Yaman, brocaded with gold, who sat down on\nthe chairs and sang various songs. The Caliph looked at one of the\nconcubines, who was like a wild heifer of the waste, and said to her,\n\u201cWhat is thy name, O damsel?\u201d She replied, \u201cMy name is Zabiyah,[218] O\nCommander of the Faithful;\u201d and he, \u201cSing to us, Zabiyah;\u201d so she\nwarbled like a bird with many a trill and sang these two couplets:\u2014\n\n Houris, and high-born Dames who feel no fear of men; \u273f Like Meccan game\n forbidden man to slam:[219]\n Their soft sweet voices make you deem them whores, \u273f But bars them from\n all whoring Al-Islam.\n\nWhen she had finished, Al-Maamun cried, \u201cFavoured of Allah art\nthou!\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Sixteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the\nslave-girl finished her song, Al-Maamun cried, \u201cFavoured of Allah art\nthou! Whose is this verse?\u201d and she answered, \u201cJar\u00edr\u2019s[220] and the air\nis by Ibn Surayj.\u201d Then the Caliph and his company drank, whilst the\ngirls went away and there came forth yet other ten, as they were rubies,\nrobed in red brocade inwoven with gold and purfled with pearls and\njewels whilst all their heads were bare. They sat down on the stools and\nsang various airs; so the Caliph looked at one of them, who was like the\nsun of the day, and asked her, \u201cWhat is thy name, O damsel?\u201d; and she\nanswered, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, my name is F\u00e1tin.\u201d \u201cSing to us,\nO Fatin,\u201d quoth he; whereat she played a lively measure and sang these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n Deign grant thy favours; since \u2018tis time I were engraced; \u273f Enough of\n severance hath it been my lot to taste.\n Thou\u2019rt he whose face doth every gift and charm unite; \u273f Yet is my\n patience spent for that \u2018twas sore misplaced:\n I\u2019ve wasted life in loving thee; and would high Heaven \u273f Grant me one\n meeting hour for all this wilful waste.\n\n\u201cWell sung, O Fatin!\u201d exclaimed the Caliph; \u201cwhose verse is this?\u201d And\nshe answered, \u201cAdi bin Zayd\u2019s, and the air is antique.\u201d Then all three\ndrank, whilst the damsels retired and were succeeded by other ten\nmaidens, as they were sparkling stars, clad in flowered silk embroidered\nwith red gold and girt with jewelled zones. They sat down and sang\nvarious motives; and the Caliph asked one of them, who was like a wand\nof willow, \u201cWhat is thy name, O damsel?\u201d; and she answered, \u201cMy name is\nRashaa[221], O Commander of the Faithful.\u201d \u201cSing to us, O Rashaa,\u201d quoth\nhe; so she played a lively measure and sang these couplets:\u2014\n\n And wand-like Houri, who can passion heal \u273f Like young gazelle that\n paceth o\u2019er the plain:\n I drain this wine-cup on the toast, her cheek; \u273f Each cup disputing till\n she bends in twain,\n Then sleeps the night with me, the while I cry \u273f \u201cThis is the only gain\n my Soul would gain!\u201d\n\nSaid the Caliph, \u201cWell done, O damsel! Sing us something more.\u201d So she\nrose and kissing the ground before him, sang the following distich:\u2014\n\n She came out to gaze on the bridal at ease \u273f In a shift that reek\u00e8d of\n ambergris.\n\nThe Caliph was highly pleased with this couplet and, when the slave-girl\nsaw how much it delighted him, she repeated it several times. Then said\nAl-Maamun, \u201cBring up \u2018the Flyer,\u2019\u201d being minded to embark and depart:\nbut Ali bin Hisham said to him, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, I have a\nslave-girl, whom I bought for ten thousand dinars; she hath taken my\nheart in whole and part, and I would fain display her to the Commander\nof the Faithful. If she please him and he will accept of her, she is\nhis: and if not, let him hear something from her.\u201d Said the Caliph,\n\u201cBring her to me;\u201d and forth came a damsel, as she were a branchlet of\nwillow, with seducing eyes and eyebrows set like twin bows; and on her\nhead she wore a crown of red gold crusted with pearls and jewelled,\nunder which was a fillet bearing this couplet wrought in letters of\nchrysolite:\u2014\n\n A Jinniyah this, with her Jinn, to show \u273f How to pierce man\u2019s heart with\n a stringless bow!\n\nThe handmaiden walked, with the gait of a gazelle in flight and fit to\ndamn a devotee, till she came to a chair, whereon she seated\nherself.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Seventeenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the handmaiden\nwalked with the gait of a gazelle in flight, fit to damn a devotee, till\nshe came to a chair whereon she seated herself. And Al-Maamun marvelled\nat her beauty and loveliness; but, when Abu Isa saw her, his heart\nthrobbed with pain, his colour changed to pale and wan and he was in\nevil case. Asked the Caliph, \u201cO Abu Isa, what aileth thee to change\nthus?;\u201d and he answered, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, it is because of\na twitch that seizeth me bytimes.\u201d Quoth the Caliph, \u201cHast thou known\nyonder damsel before to-day?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cYes, O Commander of the\nFaithful, can the moon be concealed?\u201d Then said Al-Maamun to her, \u201cWhat\nis thy name, O damsel?\u201d; and she replied, \u201cMy name is Kurrat al-Ayn, O\nCommander of the Faithful,\u201d and he rejoined, \u201cSing to us, O Kurrat\nal-Ayn.\u201d So she sang these two couplets:\u2014\n\n The loved ones left thee in middle night, \u273f And fared with the pilgrims\n when dawn shone bright:\n The tents of pride round the domes they pitched, \u273f And with broidered\n curtains were veiled fro\u2019 sight.\n\nQuoth the Caliph, \u201cFavoured of Heaven art thou, O Kurrat al-Ayn! Whose\nsong is that?\u201d; whereto she answered \u201cThe words are by Di\u2019ibil\nal-Khuza\u2019i, and the air by Zurz\u00far al-Sagh\u00edr.\u201d Abu Isa looked at her and\nhis tears choked him; so that the company marvelled at him. Then she\nturned to Al-Maamun and said to him, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, wilt\nthou give me leave to change the words?\u201d Said he, \u201cSing what thou wilt;\u201d\nso she played a merry measure and carolled these couplets:\u2014\n\n If thou should please a friend who pleaseth thee \u273f Frankly, in public\n practise secrecy.\n And spurn the slanderer\u2019s tale, who seldom[222] seeks \u273f Except the\n severance of true love to see.\n\n They say, when lover\u2019s near, he tires of love, \u273f And absence is for love\n best remedy:\n Both cures we tried and yet we are not cured, \u273f Withal we judge that\n nearness easier be:\n Yet nearness is of no avail when he \u273f Thou lovest lends thee love\n unwillingly.\n\nBut when she had finished, Abu Isa said, \u201cO Commander of the\nFaithful,\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say\nher permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Eighteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Kurrat al-Ayn\nhad finished her verse, Abu Isa said, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful,\nthough we endure disgrace, we shall be at ease.[223] Dost thou give me\nleave to reply to her?\u201d Quoth the Caliph, \u201cYes, say what thou wilt to\nher.\u201d So he swallowed his tears and sang these two distichs:\u2014\n\n Silent I woned and never owned my love; \u273f But from my heart I hid love\u2019s\n blissful boon;\n Yet, if my eyes should manifest my love, \u273f \u2018Tis for my nearness to the\n shining moon.\n\nThen Kurrat al-Ayn took the lute and played a lively tune and rejoined\nwith these couplets:\u2014\n\n An what thou claimest were the real truth, \u273f With only Hope content thou\n hadst not been;\n Nor couldest patient live without the girl \u273f So rare of inner grace and\n outward mien.\n But there is nothing in the claim of thee \u273f At all, save tongue and talk\n that little mean.\n\nWhen Abu Isa heard this he fell to weeping and wailing and evidencing\nhis trouble and anguish. Then he raised his eyes to her and sighing,\nrepeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n Under my raiment a waste body lies, \u273f And in my spirit all-comprising\n prize.\n I have a heart, whose pain shall aye endure, \u273f And tears like torrents\n pour these woeful eyes.\n\n Whene\u2019er a wise man spies me, straight he chides \u273f Love, that misleads\n me thus in ways unwise:\n O Lord, I lack the power this dole to bear: \u273f Come sudden Death or joy\n in bestest guise!\n\nWhen he had ended, Ali bin Hisham sprang up and kissing his feet, said,\n\u201cO my lord, Allah hearing thy secret hath answered thy prayer and\nconsenteth to thy taking her with all she hath of things rare and fair,\nso the Commander of the Faithful have no mind to her.\u201d Quoth Al-Maamun,\n\u201cHad we a mind to her, we would prefer Abu Isa before ourselves and help\nhim to his desire.\u201d So saying, he rose and embarking, went away, whilst\nAbu Isa tarried for Kurrat al-Ayn, whom he took and carried to his own\nhouse, his breast swelling with joy. See then the generosity of Ali son\nof Hisham! And they tell a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 212:\n\n One of the Wazirs of Al-Maamun; Kurrat al-Ayn = \u201ccoolness (_i.e._\n delight) of the eyes.\u201d Ali bin Hish\u00e1m surnamed Abu \u2018l-Hasan, was\n prefect of Baghdad under the same reign.\n\nFootnote 213:\n\n The Mac. Edit. (ii. 448) reads for Kaw\u00e1id (plur. of K\u00e1id = Governors,\n Span. Alcayde) \u201cFaw\u00e1id\u201d; hence Lane (ii. 606) translates \u201ctry thy\n heart.\u201d\n\nFootnote 214:\n\n The mats of Sind were famous even in my day, but under English rule\n native industries are killed out by Manchester and Birmingham.\n\nFootnote 215:\n\n Saj\u00e1h was the name of a famous female impostor, a contemporary of\n \u201cMusaylimah the Liar.\u201d\n\nFootnote 216:\n\n A poet of Mohammed\u2019s day.\n\nFootnote 217:\n\n A singer and composer of the first century (A.H.)\n\nFootnote 218:\n\n Arab. = a roe, a doe; also the Yoni (of women, mares and bitches). It\n is the Heb. Tabitha and the Greek Dorcas.\n\nFootnote 219:\n\n Within the Hud\u00fad al-Haram (bounds of the Holy Places), at Al-Medinah\n as well as Meccah, all \u201cMuharram\u00e1t\u201d (forbidden sins) are doubly\n unlawful, such as drinking spirits, immoral life, etc. The Imam Malik\n forbids slaying animals without, however, specifying any penalty. The\n felling of trees is a disputed point; and no man can be put to death\n except invaders, infidels and desecraters (Pilgrimage ii. 167).\n\nFootnote 220:\n\n A poet of the first century (A.H.)\n\nFootnote 221:\n\n In Arab. = a fawn beginning to walk; also the 28th lunar mansion or\n station, usually known as Batn al-Hut or Whale\u2019s belly. These mansions\n or houses, the constellations through which the moon passes in her\n course along her orbit, are much used in Moslem astrology and\n meteorology.\n\nFootnote 222:\n\n Arab. Kalla-m\u00e1 = it is seldom (rare) that etc. used in books.\n\nFootnote 223:\n\n Dishonoured by his love being made public. So Hafiz, Petrarch and\n Camoens.\n\n\n\n\n AL AMIN SON OF AL-RASHID AND HIS UNCLE IBRAHIM BIN AL-MAHDI.\n\n\nAl-Amin[224], brother of Al-Maamun, once entered the house of his uncle\nIbrahim bin Al-Mahdi, where he saw a slave-girl playing upon the lute;\nand, she being one of the fairest of women, his heart inclined to her.\nIbrahim, seeing how it was with him, sent the girl to him, with rich\nraiment and precious ornaments. When he saw her, he thought that his\nuncle had lain with her; so he was loath to have to do with her, because\nof that, and accepting what came with her sent her back to Ibrahim. His\nuncle learnt the cause of this from one of Al-Amin\u2019s eunuchs; so he took\na shift of watered silk and worked upon its skirt, in letters of gold,\nthese two couplets:\u2014\n\n No! I declare by Him to whom all bow, \u273f Of nothing \u2018neath her petticoat\n I trow:\n Nor meddle with her mouth; nor aught did I \u273f But see and hear her, and\n it was enow!\n\nThen he clad her in the shift and, giving her a lute, sent her back\nagain to his nephew. When she came into Al-Amin\u2019s presence, she kissed\nground before him and tuning the lute, sang thereto these two couplets:\u2014\n\n Thy breast thou baredst sending back the gift; \u273f Showing unlove for me\n withouten shift:\n An thou bear spite of Past, the Past forgive, \u273f And for the Caliphate\n cast the Past adrift.\n\nWhen she had made an end of her verse, Al-Amin looked at her and, seeing\nwhat was upon her skirt, could no longer control himself,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Nineteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Al-Amin\nlooked at the damsel and saw what was upon her skirt, he could no longer\ncontrol himself, but drew near unto her and kissed her and appointed her\na separate lodging in his palace. Moreover, he thanked his uncle for\nthis and bestowed on him the government of Rayy. And a tale is told of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 224:\n\n Sixth Abbaside, A.D. 809\u2013813.\n\n\n\n\n AL FATH BIN KHAKAN AND THE CALIPH AL-MUTAWAKKIL.\n\n\nAl-Mutawakkil[225] was once taking medicine, and folk sent him by way of\nsolace all sorts of presents and rarities and things costly and\nprecious. Amongst others, Al-Fath bin Kh\u00e1k\u00e1n[226] sent him a virgin\nslave, high-breasted, of the fairest among women of her time, and with\nher a vase of crystal, containing ruddy wine, and a goblet of red gold,\nwhereon were graven in black these couplets:\u2014\n\n Since our Imam came forth from medicine, \u273f Which made him health and\n heartiness rewin,\n There is no healing draught more sovereign \u273f Than well-boiled wine this\n golden goblet in:\n Then let him break the seal for him secured; \u273f \u2018Tis best prescription\n after medicine.[227]\n\nNow when the damsel entered, the physician Yohann\u00e1[228] was with the\nCaliph, and as he read the couplets, he smiled and said, \u201cBy Allah, O\nCommander of the Faithful, Fath is better versed than I in the art of\nhealing: so let not the Prince of True Believers gainsay his\nprescription.\u201d Accordingly, the Caliph followed the recipe contained in\nthe poetry and was made whole by the blessing of Allah and won his every\nwish. And among tales they tell is one of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 225:\n\n Ala\u2019llah, tenth Abbaside, A. H. 232\u201347 (847\u201361), grandson of Al-Rashid\n who succeeded Al-W\u00e1sik. He was a fanatic Sunni, much opposed to the\n Shi\u2019ahs and he ordered the Christians to wear round their necks the\n Ghull (collar of wood, iron, or leather), to dress in yellow head-gear\n and girdles, use wooden stirrups and place figures of devils in front\n of their dwelling-houses. He also gave distinct dresses to their women\n and slaves. The Ghull, or collar, was also used for a punishment and\n vermin gathered under it when rivetted round the neck: hence Golius\n calls it \u201cpediculosum columbar.\u201d\n\nFootnote 226:\n\n Wazir of the above, killed by Al-Muntasir Billah A.H. 247 (= 861).\n\nFootnote 227:\n\n Easterns during purgation are most careful and deride the want of\n precaution in Europeans. They do not leave the house till all is\n passed off, and avoid baths, wine and women, which they afterwards\n resume with double zest. Here \u201cbreaking the seal\u201d is taking the girl\u2019s\n maidenhead.\n\nFootnote 228:\n\n Johannes, a Greek favoured by Al-Mutawakkil and other Abbaside\n Caliphs.\n\n\n\n\n THE MAN\u2019S DISPUTE WITH THE LEARNED WOMAN CONCERNING THE RELATIVE\n EXCELLENCE OF MALE AND FEMALE.\n\n\nQuoth a certain man of learning, I never saw amongst woman-kind one\nwittier, and wiser, better read and by nature more generously bred; and\nin manners and morals more perfected than a preacher of the people of\nBaghdad, by name Sitt al-Mash\u00e1\u2019ikh.[229] It chanced that she came to\nHamah-city in the year of the Flight five hundred and sixty and\none[230]; and there delivered salutary exhortations to the folk from the\nprofessorial chair. Now there used to visit her house a number of\nstudents of divinity and persons of learning and polite letters, who\nwould discuss with her questions of theology and dispute with her on\ncontroversial points. I went to her one day, with a friend of mine, a\nman of years and education; and when we had taken our seats, she set\nbefore us a dish of fruit and seated herself behind a curtain. Now she\nhad a brother, a handsome youth, who stood behind us, to serve us. And\nwhen we had eaten we fell to disputing upon points of divinity, and I\npropounded to her a theological question bearing upon a difference\nbetween the Imams, the Founders of the Four Schools. She proceeded to\nspeak in answer, whilst I listened; but all the while my friend fell to\nlooking upon her brother\u2019s face and admiring his beauties without paying\nany heed to what she discoursed. Now as she was watching him from behind\nthe curtain; when she had made an end of her speech, she turned to him\nand said, \u201cMethinks thou be of those who give men the preference over\nwomen!\u201d He replied, \u201cAssuredly,\u201d and she asked, \u201cAnd why so?\u201d; whereto\nhe answered, \u201cFor that Allah hath made the masculine worthier than the\nfeminine;\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say\nher permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Twentieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Shaykh\nreplied, \u201cFor that Allah hath made the masculine worthier than the\nfeminine; and I like the excelling and mislike the excelled.\u201d She\nlaughed and presently said, \u201cWilt thou deal fairly with me in debate, if\nI battle the matter with thee?\u201d and he rejoined, \u201cYes.\u201d Then quoth she,\n\u201cWhat is the evidence of the superiority of the male to the female?\u201d\nQuoth he, \u201cIt is of two kinds, traditional and reasonable. The\nauthoritative part deriveth from the Koran and the Traditions of the\nApostle. As for the first we have the very words of Almighty Allah, \u2018Men\nshall have the pre-eminence above women because of those advantages\nwherein Allah hath caused the one of them to excel the other;\u2019[231] and\nagain, \u2018If there be not two men, let there be one man and two\nwomen;\u2019[232] and again, when treating of inheritance, \u2018If there be\nbrothers and sisters let a male have as much as the portion of two\nfemales.\u2019[233] Thus Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) hath in these\nplaces preferred the male over the female and teacheth that a woman is\nas the half of a man, for that he is worthier than she As for the\nSunnah-traditions, is it not reported of the Prophet (whom Allah save\nand assain!) that he appointed the blood-money for a woman to be half\nthat of a man? And as for the evidence of reason, the male is the agent\nand active and the female the patient and passive.\u201d[234] Rejoined she,\n\u201cThou hast said well, O my lord, but, by Allah, thou hast proved my\ncontention with thine own lips and hast advanced evidence which telleth\nagainst thee, and not for thee. And thus it is: Allah (extolled and\nexalted be He!) preferred the male above the female solely because of\nthe inherent condition and essential quality of masculinity; and in this\nthere is no dispute between us. Now this quality of male-hood is common\nto the child, the boy, the youth, the adult and the old man; nor is\nthere any distinction between them in this. If, then, the superior\nexcellence of male masculant belong to him solely by virtue of manhood,\nit behoveth that thy heart incline and thy soul delight in the\ngreybeard, equally with the boy; seeing that there is no distinction\nbetween them, in point of male-hood. But the difference between thee and\nme turneth upon the accident of qualities that are sought as\nconstituting the pleasure of intercourse and its enjoyment; and thou\nhast adduced no proof of the superiority of the youth over the young\ngirl in this matter of non-essentials.\u201d He made answer, \u201cO reverend\nlady, knowest thou not that which is peculiar to the youth of limber\nshape and rosy cheeks and pleasant smile and sweetness of speech? Youths\nare, in these respects superior to women; and the proof of this is what\nthey traditionally report of the Prophet (whom Allah bless and\npreserve!) that he said, \u2018Stay not thy gaze upon the beardless, for in\nthem is a momentary eye-glance at the black-eyed girls of Paradise.\u2019 Nor\nindeed is the superiority of the lad over the lass hidden to any of\nmankind, and how well saith Abu Nowas:[235]\u2014\n\n The least of him is the being free \u273f From monthly courses and pregnancy.\n\nAnd the saying of another poet:\u2014\n\n Quoth our Imam, Abu Nowas, who was \u273f For mad debauch and waggishness\n renowned:\u2014\n \u2018O tribe that loves the cheeks of boys, take fill \u273f Of joys in Paradise\n shall ne\u2019er be found!\u2019\n\nSo if any one enlarge in praise of a slave-girl and wish to enhance her\nvalue by the mention of her beauties, he likeneth her to a youth,\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Shaykh\ncontinued, \u201cSo if any one enlarge in praise of a slave-girl and wish to\nenhance her value by the mention of her beauties, he likeneth her to a\nyouth, because of the illustrious qualities that belong to the male,\neven as saith the poet:\u2014\n\n Boy-like of backside, in the deed of kind, \u273f She sways, as sways the\n wand-like boughs a-wind.\n\nAn youths, then, were not better and fairer than girls, why should these\nbe likened to them? And know also (Almighty Allah preserve thee!) that a\nyouth is easy to be led, adapting himself to every rede, pleasant of\nconverse and manners, inclining to assent rather than dissent,\nespecially when his side-face is newly down\u2019d and his upper lip is first\nembrowned, and the purple lights of youth on his cheeks abound, so that\nhe is like the full moon sound; and how goodly is the saying of Abu\nTamm\u00e1m[236]:\u2014\n\n The slanderers said There\u2019s hair upon his cheeks; \u273f Quoth I, Exceed not;\n that\u2019s no blemish there.\n When he could bear that haling of his hips \u273f And pearl-beads shaded by\n mustachio-hair;[237]\n And Rose swore solemn, holiest oath that is, \u273f From that fair cheek she\n nevermore would fare,\n I spoke with eyelids without need of speech, \u273f And they who answered me\n his eyebrows were.\n He\u2019s even fairer than thou knewest him, \u273f And cheek-down guards from all\n would overdare.\n\n Brighter and sweeter now are grown his charms, \u273f Since down robes lip\n and cheek before were bare.\n And those who blame me for my love of him, \u273f When him they mention say\n of him, \u2018Thy Fair\u2019!\n\nAnd quoth Al-Hariri[238] and quoth excellently well:\u2014\n\n My censors say, What means this pine for him? \u273f Seest not the flowing\n hair on cheeks a-flowing?\n I say, By Allah, an ye deem I dote, \u273f Look at the truth in those fine\n eyes a-showing!\n But for the down that veils his cheek and chin, \u273f His brow had dazed all\n eyes no sight allowing:\n And whoso sojourns in a growthless land, \u273f How shall he move from land\n fair growths a-growing?\n\nAnd quoth another:\u2014\n\n My blamers say of me, \u2018He is consoled,\u2019 And lie! \u273f No consolation comes\n to those who pine and sigh.\n I had no solace when Rose bloomed alone on cheek, \u273f Now Basil blooms\n thereon and now consoled am I.\n\nAnd again:\u2014\n\n Slim-waisted one, whose looks with down of cheek \u273f In slaughtering\n mankind each other hurtle:\n With the Narcissus-blade he sheddeth blood, \u273f The baldrick of whose\n sheath is freshest myrtle.[239]\n\nAnd again:\u2014\n\n Not with his must I\u2019m drunk, but verily \u273f Those curls turn manly heads\n like newest wine[240]:\n Each of his beauties envies each, and all \u273f Would be the silky down on\n side-face li\u2019en.\n\nSuch are the excellencies of the youth which women do not own, and they\nmore than suffice to give those the preference over these.\u201d She replied,\n\u201cAllah give thee health! verily, thou hast imposed the debate upon\nthyself; and thou hast spoken and hast not stinted and hast brought\nproofs to support every assertion. But, \u2018Now is the truth become\nmanifest;\u2019[241] so swerve thou not from the path thereof; and, if thou\nbe not content with a summary of evidence, I will set it before thee in\nfullest detail. Allah upon thee, where is the youth beside the girl and\nwho shall compare kid and wild cow? The girl is soft of speech, fair of\nform, like a branchlet of basil, with teeth like chamomile-petals and\nhair like halters wherefrom to hang hearts. Her cheeks are like\nblood-red anemones and her face like a pippin: she hath lips like wine\nand breasts like pomegranates twain and a shape supple as a rattan-cane.\nHer body is well-formed and with sloping shoulders dight; she hath a\nnose like the edge of a sword shining bright and a forehead brilliant\nwhite and eyebrows which unite and eyes stained by Nature\u2019s hand black\nas night. If she speak, fresh young pearls are scattered from her mouth\nforthright and all hearts are ravished by the daintiness of her sprite;\nwhen she smileth thou wouldst ween the moon shone out her lips between\nand when she eyes thee, sword-blades flash from the babes of her eyes.\nIn her all beauties to conclusion come, and she is the centre of\nattraction to traveller and stay-at-home. She hath two lips of cramoisy,\nthan cream smoother and of taste than honey sweeter,\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the preacher-woman\nthus pursued her theme in the praise of fair maids, \u201cShe hath two lips\nof cramoisy, than cream smoother and than honey sweeter;\u201d adding, \u201cAnd\nshe hath a bosom, as it were a way two hills between which are a pair of\nbreasts like globes of ivory sheen; likewise, a stomach right smooth,\nflanks soft as the palm-spathe and creased with folds and dimples which\noverlap one another, and liberal thighs, which like columns of pearl\narise, and back parts which billow and beat together like seas of glass\nor mountains of glance, and two feet and hands of gracious mould like\nunto ingots of virgin gold. So, O miserable! where are mortal men beside\nthe Jinn? Knowest thou not that puissant princes and potent Kings before\nwomen ever humbly bend and on them for delight depend? Verily, they may\nsay;\u2014We rule over necks and rob hearts. These women! how many a rich man\nhave they not paupered, how many a powerful man have they not prostrated\nand how many a superior man have they not enslaved! Indeed, they seduce\nthe sage and send the saint to shame and bring the wealthy to want and\nplunge the fortune-favoured into penury. Yet for all this, the wise but\nredouble in affection of them and honour; nor do they count this\noppression or dishonour. How many a man for them hath offended his Maker\nand called down on himself the wrath of his father and mother! And all\nthis because of the conquest of their love over hearts. Knowest thou\nnot, O wretched one, that for them are built pavilions, and slave-girls\nare for sale;[242] that for them tear-floods rail and for them are\ncollected jewels of price and ambergris and musk odoriferous; and armies\nare arrayed and pleasaunces made and wealth heaped up and smitten off is\nmany a head?\u201d And indeed he spoke sooth in the words, \u2018Whoso saith the\nworld meaneth woman.\u2019 Now as for thy citation from the Holy Traditions,\nit is an argument against thee and not for thee; in that the Prophet\n(whom Allah bless and preserve!) compareth the beardless with the\nblack-eyed girls of Paradise. Now, doubtless, the subject of comparison\nis worthier than the object therewith compared; so, unless women be the\nworthier and the goodlier, wherefore should other than they be likened\nto them? As for thy saying that girls are likened to boys, the case is\nnot so, but the contrary: boys are likened to girls; for folk say,\nYonder boy is like a girl. As for what proof thou quotest from the\npoets, the verses were the product of a complexion unnatural in this\nrespect; and as for the habitual sodomites and catamites, offenders\nagainst religion, Almighty Allah hath condemned them in His Holy\nBook,[243] wherein He denounceth their filthy practices, saying, Do ye\napproach unto the males among mankind[244] and leave your wives which\nyour Lord hath created for you? Surely ye are a people who transgress!\nThese it is that liken girls to boys, of their exceeding profligacy and\nungraciousness and inclination to follow the fiend and own lusts, so\nthat they say, She is apt for two tricks;[245] and these are all\nwanderers from the way of right and the righteous. Quoth their chief Abu\nNowas:\u2014\n\n Slim-waist and boyish wits delight \u273f Wencher, as well as Sodomite,[246]\n\nAs for what thou sayest of a youth\u2019s first hair on cheek and lips and\nhow they add to his beauty and loveliness, by Allah, thou strayest from\nthe straight path of sooth and sayest that which is other than the\ntruth; for whiskers change the charms of the comely into ugliness;\n(quoting these couplets):\u2014\n\n That sprouting hair upon his face took wreak \u273f For lovers\u2019 vengeance,\n all did vainly seek.\n I see not on his face a sign fuli- \u273f genous, except his curls are hue of\n reek.\n If so his paper[247] mostly be begrimed \u273f Where deemest thou the reed\n shall draw a streak?\n If any raise him other fairs above, \u273f This only proves the judge of wits\n is weak.\n\nAnd when she ended her verse she resumed, \u201cLaud be to Allah\nAlmighty,\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the\npreacher-woman ended her verse she resumed, addressing the man, \u201cLaud to\nAllah Almighty! how can it be hid from thee that the perfect pleasure is\nin women and that abiding blessings are not to be found but with them,\nseeing that Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) hath promised His\nprophets and saints black-eyed damsels in Paradise and hath appointed\nthese for a recompense of their godly works. And had the Almighty known\nthat the joy supreme was in the possession of other than women, He had\nrewarded them therewith and promised it to them. And quoth he (whom\nAllah bless and preserve!), The things I hold dearest of the things of\nyour world are three: women and perfume and the solace of my eyes in\nprayer. Verily Allah hath appointed boys to serve his prophets and\nsaints in Paradise, because Paradise is the abode of joy and delight,\nwhich could not be complete without the service of youths; but, as to\nthe use of them for aught but service, it is Hell\u2019s putridity[248] and\ncorruption and turpitude. How well saith the poet:\u201d\u2014\n\n Men\u2019s turning unto bums of boys is bumptious; \u273f Whoso love noble women\n show their own noblesse.\n How many goodly wights have slept the night, enjoying \u273f Buttocks of\n boys, and woke at morn in foulest mess;\n Their garments stained by safflower, which is yellow merde \u273f Their shame\n proclaiming, showing colour of distress.\n Who can deny the charge, when so bewrayed are they \u273f That e\u2019en by\n daylight shows the dung upon their dress?\n What contrast wi\u2019 the man, who slept a gladsome night \u273f By Houri-maid\n for glance a mere enchantress,\n He rises off her borrowing wholesome bonny scent; \u273f That fills the house\n with whiffs of perfumed goodliness.\n No boy deserved place by side of her to hold; \u273f Canst even aloes-wood\n with what fills pool of cess![249]\n\nThen said she, \u201cO folk ye have made me to break the bounds of modesty\nand the circle of free-born women and indulge in idle talk of chambering\nand wantonness, which beseemeth not people of learning. But the breasts\nof free-borns are the sepulchres of secrets, and such conversations are\nin confidence. Moreover, actions are according to intentions,[250] and I\ncrave pardon of Allah for myself and you and all Moslems, seeing that He\nis the Pardoner and the Compassionate.\u201d Then she held her peace and\nthereafter would answer us of naught; so we went our way, rejoicing in\nthat we had profited by her contention and yet sorrowing to part from\nher. And among the tales they tell is one of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 229:\n\n Lady of Shaykhs, elders in the faith and men of learning.\n\nFootnote 230:\n\n = A.D. 1166.\n\nFootnote 231:\n\n Koran iv. 38. I have before noted what the advantages are.\n\nFootnote 232:\n\n Koran ii. 282, \u201cof those whom ye shall choose for witnesses.\u201d\n\nFootnote 233:\n\n Koran iv. 175, \u201cWhereas if there be two sisters, they inherit only\n two-thirds between them.\u201d\n\nFootnote 234:\n\n The secondary meaning is \u201cF\u00e1\u2019il\u201d = the active sodomite and Mafa\u2019\u00fal =\n the passive, a catamite: the former is not an insulting word, the\n latter is a most injurious expression. \u201cNovimus et qui _te_!\u201d\n\nFootnote 235:\n\n It is an unpleasant fact that almost all the poetry of H\u00e1fiz is\n addressed to youths, as we see by the occasional introduction of\n Arabic (_e.g._, Af\u00e1ka\u2019ll\u00e1h). Persian has no genders properly so\n called, hence the effect is less striking. Sa\u2019di, the \u201cPersian\n Moralist\u201d begins one of the tales, \u201cA certain learned man fell in love\n with a beautiful _son_ of a blacksmith,\u201d which Gladwin, translating\n for the general, necessarily changed to \u201cdaughter.\u201d\n\nFootnote 236:\n\n The famous author of the Anthology called Al-Ham\u00e1sah.\n\nFootnote 237:\n\n _i.e._, teeth under the young mustachio.\n\nFootnote 238:\n\n The \u201cSilk-man\u201d and the celebrated author of the Mak\u00e1m\u00e1t, assemblies or\n seances, translated (or attempted) into all the languages of Europe.\n We have two in English, the first by Theodore Preston, M.A. (London,\n Madden, 1850); but it contains only twenty of the fifty pieces. The\n second by the late Mr. Chenery (before alluded to) ends with the\n twenty-sixth assembly: one volume in fact, the other never having been\n finished. English readers, therefore, are driven to the grand edition\n of the Mak\u00e1m\u00e1t in folio by Baron Silvestre de Sacy.\n\nFootnote 239:\n\n The sword of the eye has a Ham\u00e1il (baldrick worn over right shoulder,\n Pilgrimage i. 352) to support the \u201cGhimd\u201d (vulg. Ghamad) or scabbard\n (of wood or leather): and this baldrick is the young whisker.\n\nFootnote 240:\n\n The conceit of \u201cSul\u00e1fat\u201d (ptisane, grape juice allowed to drain on the\n slabs) and \u201cSaw\u00e1lif\u201d (tresses, locks) has been explained. The newest\n wine is the most inebriating, a fact not much known in England, but\n familiar to the drinker of \u201cVino novo.\u201d\n\nFootnote 241:\n\n Koran xii. 51, this said by the nobleman\u2019s (Potiphar\u2019s) wife who adds,\n \u201cI selected him to lie with me; and he (Joseph) is one of those who\n speak truth.\u201d\n\nFootnote 242:\n\n Here we have a specimen of the strained Saj\u2019a or balanced prose:\n slave-girls (jaw\u00e1r\u00ed) are massed with flowing tears (dam\u2019u j\u00e1ri) on\n account of the K\u00e1fiyah or rhyme.\n\nFootnote 243:\n\n The detected sodomite is punished with death according to Moslem law,\n but again comes the difficulty of proof. At Shiraz I have heard of a\n pious Moslem publicly executing his son.\n\nFootnote 244:\n\n Koran xxvi. 165 _et seq._ The Lord speaks to the \u201cpeople of Lot\u201d\n (Sodomites). Mr. Payne renders \u201cMin al-\u00e1lam\u00edna,\u201d \u201cfrom the four\n corners of the world.\u201d\n\nFootnote 245:\n\n Meaning before and behind, a Moslemah \u201cBet Balmanno.\u201d\n\nFootnote 246:\n\n Arab. \u201cL\u00fati,\u201d (plur. Law\u00e1ti), much used in Persian as a buffoon, a\n debauchee, a rascal. The orig. sig. is \u201cOne of (the people of) Lot.\u201d\n The old English was Ingle or Yngle (a bardachio, a catamite, a boy\n kept for sodomy), which Minsheu says is, \u201cVox hispanica et significat\n Latin\u00e8 Inguen\u201d (the groin). Our vulgar modern word like the Italian\n bugiardo is pop. derived from Fr. Bougre, alias Bulgarus, a Bulgarian,\n a heretic: hence Boulgrin (Rabelais i. chapt. ii.) is popularly\n applied to the Albigeois (Albigenses, whose persecution began shortly\n after A.D. 1200) and the Lutherans. I cannot but think that \u201cbougre\u201d\n took its especial modern signification after the French became\n acquainted with the Brazil, where the Huguenots (in A.D. 1555) were\n founding a Nouvelle France, alias Equinoctiale, alias Antarctique, and\n whence the savages were carried as curiosities to Paris. Their generic\n name was \u201cBugre\u201d (properly a tribe in Southern Brazil, but applied to\n all the redskins) and they were all born Sodomites. More of this in\n the terminal Essay.\n\nFootnote 247:\n\n His paper is the whiteness of his skin. I have quoted the Persian\n saying of a young beard: \u201chis cheeks don mourning for his beauty\u2019s\n death.\u201d\n\nFootnote 248:\n\n Arab. \u201cKhab\u00e1l,\u201d lit. the pus which flows from the bodies of the\n damned.\n\nFootnote 249:\n\n Most characteristic of Egypt is all this scene. Her reverence, it is\n true, sits behind a curtain; but her virtue uses language which would\n shame the lowest European prostitute; and which is filthy almost as\n Dean Swift\u2019s.\n\nFootnote 250:\n\n Arab. \u201cNiyat:\u201d the Moslem\u2019s idea of intentions quite runs with the\n Christian\u2019s. There must be a \u201cNiyat\u201d or purpose of prayer or the\n devotion is valueless. Lane tells a pleasant tale of a thief in the\n Mosque, saying \u201cI purpose (before prayer) to carry off this nice pair\n of new shoes!\u201d\n\n\n\n\n ABU SUWAYD AND THE PRETTY OLD WOMAN.\n\n\n(Quoth Abu Suwayd) I and a company of my friends, entered a garden one\nday to buy somewhat of fruit; and we saw in a corner an old woman, who\nwas bright of face, but her head-hair was white, and she was combing it\nwith an ivory comb. We stopped before her, yet she paid no heed to us\nneither veiled her face: so I said, to her, \u201cO old woman,[251] wert thou\nto dye thy hair black, thou wouldst be handsomer than a girl: what\nhindereth thee from this?\u201d She raised her head towards me\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu Suwayd\ncontinued:\u2014When I spake these words to the ancient dame she raised her\nhead towards me and, opening wide her eyes, recited these two couplets:\u2014\n\n I dyed what years have dyed, but this my staining \u273f Lasts not, while\n that of days is aye remaining:\n Days when beclad in gear of youth I fared, \u273f Raked fore and aft by men\n with joy unfeigning.\n\nI cried:\u2014By Allah, favoured art thou for an old woman! How sincere art\nthou in thine after-pine for forbidden pleasures and how false is thy\npretence of repentance from frowardness! And another tale is that of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 251:\n\n Arab. \u201cYa \u2018l-Aj\u00faz\u201d (in Cairo \u201cAgooz\u201d pronounce \u201cAgo-o-oz\u201d): the\n address is now insulting and would elicit \u201cThe old woman in thine eye\u201d\n (with fingers extended). In Egypt the polite address is \u201cO lady\n (Sitt), O pilgrimess, O bride, and O daughter\u201d (although she be the\n wrong side of fifty). In Arabia you may say \u201cO woman (Imraah)\u201d but in\n Egypt the reply would be \u201cThe woman shall see Allah cut out thy\n heart!\u201d So in Southern Italy you address \u201cbella f\u00e9\u201d (fair one) and\n cause a quarrel by \u201cvecchiarella.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n THE EMIR ALI BIN TAHIR AND THE GIRL MUUNIS.\n\n\nOnce on a time was displayed for sale to Ali bin Mohammed bin Abdallah\nbin T\u00e1hir[252] a slave-girl called Muunis who was superior to her\nfellows in beauty and breeding, and to boot an accomplished poetess; and\nhe asked her of her name. Replied she, \u201cAllah advance the Emir, my name\nis Muunis.\u201d[253] Now he knew this before; so he bowed his head awhile,\nthen raising his eyes to her, recited this verse:\u2014\n\n What sayest of one by a sickness caught \u273f For the love of thy love till\n he waxed distraught?\n\nAnswered she, \u201cAllah exalt the Emir!\u201d and recited this verse in reply:\u2014\n\n If we saw a lover who pains as he ought, \u273f Wi\u2019 love we would grant him\n all favours he sought.\n\nShe pleased him: so he bought her for seventy thousand dirhams and begat\non her Obayd\u2019 Allah bin Mohammed, afterwards minister of Police.[254]\nAnd we are told by Abu al-Ayn\u00e1[255] a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 252:\n\n Governor of Egypt, Khorasan, etc. under Al-Maamun.\n\nFootnote 253:\n\n _i.e._ a companion, a solacer: it is also a man\u2019s name (vol. i. xxiv.)\n\nFootnote 254:\n\n At Baghdad; evidently written by a Baghdad or Mosul man.\n\nFootnote 255:\n\n A blind traditionist of Bassorah (ninth century).\n\n\n\n\n THE WOMAN WHO HAD A BOY AND THE OTHER WHO HAD A MAN TO LOVER.\n\n\n(Quoth Abu al-Ayn\u00e1.) There were in our street two women, one of whom had\nfor lover a man and the other a beardless youth, and they foregathered\none night on the terrace-roof of a house adjoining mine, knowing not\nthat I was near. Quoth the boy\u2019s lover to the other, \u201cO my sister, how\ncanst thou bear with patience the harshness of thy lover\u2019s beard as it\nfalleth on thy breast, when he busseth thee and his mustachios rub thy\ncheek and lips?\u201d Replied the other, \u201cSilly that thou art, what decketh\nthe tree save its leaves and the cucumber but its warts?[256] Didst ever\nsee in the world aught uglier than a scald-head bald of his beard?\nKnowest thou not that the beard is to men as the sidelocks to women; and\nwhat is the difference between chin and cheek?[257] Knowest thou not\nthat Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) hath created an angel in\nHeaven, who saith:\u2014Glory be to Him who ornamenteth men with beards and\nwomen with long hair? So, were not the beard even as the tresses in\ncomeliness, it had not been coupled with them, O silly! How shall I\nspread-eagle myself under a boy, who will emit long before I can go off\nand forestall me in limpness of penis and clitoris; and leave a man who,\nwhen he taketh breath clippeth close and when he entereth goeth\nleisurely, and when he hath done, repeateth, and when he pusheth poketh\nhard, and as often as he withdraweth, returneth?\u201d The boy\u2019s leman was\nedified by her speech and said, \u201cI forswear my lover by the lord of the\nKa\u2019abah!\u201d And amongst tales is one of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 256:\n\n Arab. \u201cZaghab\u201d = the chick\u2019s down; the warts on the cucumber which\n sometimes develop into projections.\n\nFootnote 257:\n\n The Persian saying is, A kiss without moustachio is bread without\n salt.\n\n\n\n\n ALI THE CAIRENE AND THE HAUNTED HOUSE IN BAGHDAD.\n\n\nThere lived once, in the city of Cairo, a merchant who had great store\nof monies and bullion, gems and jewels, and lands and houses beyond\ncount, and his name was Hasan the Jeweller, the Baghdad man. Furthermore\nAllah had blessed him with a son of perfect beauty and brilliancy;\nrosy-cheeked, fair of face and well-figured, whom he named Ali of Cairo\nand had taught the Koran and science and elocution and the other\nbranches of polite education, till he became proficient in all manner of\nknowledge. He was under his father\u2019s hand in trade but, after a while,\nHasan fell sick and his sickness grew upon him, till he made sure of\ndeath; so he called his son to him,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Jeweller,\nthe Baghdadi, fell sick and made sure of death, he called to him his\nson, named Ali of Cairo, and said, \u201cO my son, verily this world passeth\naway; but the next world endureth for aye. Every soul shall taste of\ndeath;[258] and now, O my son, my decease is at hand and I desire to\ncharge thee with a charge, which if thou observe, thou shalt abide in\nsafety and prosperity, till thou meet Almighty Allah; but if thou follow\nit not, there shall befal thee much weariness and thou wilt repent of\nhaving transgressed mine injunctions.\u201d Replied Ali, \u201cO my father, how\nshall I do other than hearken to thy words and act according to thy\ncharge, seeing that I am bounden by the law of the Faith to obey thee\nand give ear to thy command?\u201d Rejoined his father, \u201cO my son, I leave\nthee lands and houses and goods and wealth past count; so that wert thou\neach day to spend thereof five hundred dinars, thou wouldst miss naught\nof it. But, O my son, look that thou live in the fear of Allah and\nfollow His Chosen One, Mustafa, (whom may He bless and preserve!) in\nwhatso he is reported to have bidden and forbidden in his traditional\nlaw.[259] Be thou constant in alms-deeds and the practice of beneficence\nand in consorting with men of worth and piety and learning; and look\nthat thou have a care for the poor and needy and shun avarice and\nmeanness and the conversation of the wicked or those of suspicious\ncharacter. Look thou kindly upon thy servants and family, and also upon\nthy wife, for she is of the daughters of the great and is big with child\nby thee; haply Allah will vouchsafe thee virtuous issue by her.\u201d And he\nceased not to exhort him thus, weeping and saying, \u201cO my son, I beseech\nAllah the Bountiful, the Lord of the glorious Empyrean[260] to deliver\nthee from all straits that may encompass thee and grant thee His ready\nrelief!\u201d Thereupon his son wept with sore weeping and said, \u201cO my\nfather, I am melted by thy words, for these are as the words of one that\nsaith farewell.\u201d Replied the merchant, \u201cYes, O my son, I am aware of my\ncondition: forget thou not my charge.\u201d Then he fell to repeating the two\nprofessions of the Faith and to reciting verses of the Koran, until the\nappointed hour arrived, when he said, \u201cDraw near unto me, O my son.\u201d So\nAli drew near and he kissed him; then he sighed and his soul departed\nhis body and he went to the mercy of Almighty Allah.[261] Therewith\ngreat grief fell upon Ali; the clamour of keening arose in his house and\nhis father\u2019s friends flocked to him. Then he betook himself to preparing\nthe body for burial and made him a splendid funeral. They bore his bier\nto the place of prayer and prayed over him, then to the cemetery, where\nthey buried him and recited over him what suited of the sublime Koran;\nafter which they returned to the house and condoled with the dead man\u2019s\nson and wended each his own way. Moreover, Ali prayed the Friday prayer\nfor his father and had perlections of the Koran every day for the normal\nforty, during which time he abode in the house and went not forth, save\nto the place of prayer; and every Friday he visited his father\u2019s tomb.\nSo he ceased not from his praying and reciting for some time, until his\nfellows of the sons of the merchants came in to him one day and saluting\nhim, said, \u201cHow long this thy mourning and neglecting thy business and\nthe company of thy friends? Verily, this is a fashion which will bring\nthee weariness, and thy body will suffer for it exceedingly.\u201d Now when\nthey came in to him, Iblis the Accursed was with them, prompting them;\nand they went on to recommend him to accompany them to the bazar, whilst\nIblis tempted him to consent to them, till he yielded,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the sons of\nthe merchants went in to Ali the Cairene, son of Hasan the Jeweller,\nthey recommended him to accompany them to the bazar, till he yielded,\nthat the will of Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) might be fulfilled;\nand he left the house of mourning with them. Presently they said, \u201cMount\nthy she-mule and ride with us to such a garden, that we may solace us\nthere and that thy grief and despondency may depart from thee.\u201d So he\nmounted and taking his slave, went with them to the garden in question;\nand when they entered one of them went and making ready the\nmorning-meal, brought it to them there. So they ate and were merry and\nsat in talk, till the end of the day, when they mounted and returned\neach to his own lodging, where they passed the night. As soon as the\nmorrow dawned, they again visited Ali and said, \u201cCome with us.\u201d Asked\nhe, \u201cWhither?\u201d; and they answered, \u201cTo such a garden; for it is finer\nthan the first and more pleasurable.\u201d So he went with them to the\ngarden, and one of them, going away, made ready the morning-meal and\nbrought it to them, together with strong heady wine; and after eating\nthey brought out the wine, when quoth Ali, \u201cWhat is this?\u201d and quoth\nthey, \u201cThis is what dispelleth sadness and brighteneth gladness.\u201d And\nthey ceased not to commend it to him, till they prevailed upon him and\nhe drank with them. Then they sat, drinking and talking, till the end of\nthe day, when each returned home. But as for Ali, the Cairene, he was\ngiddy with wine and in this plight went in to his wife, who said to him,\n\u201cWhat aileth thee that thou art so changed?\u201d He said, \u201cWe were making\nmerry to-day, when one of my companions brought us liquor; so my friends\ndrank and I with them, and this giddiness came upon me.\u201d And she\nreplied, \u201cO my lord, say me, hast thou forgotten thy father\u2019s injunction\nand done that from which he forbade thee, in consorting with doubtful\nfolk?\u201d Answered he, \u201cThese be of the sons of the merchants; they are no\nsuspicious folk, only lovers of mirth and good cheer.\u201d And he continued\nto lead this life with his friends, day after day, going from place to\nplace and feasting with them and drinking, till they said to him, \u201cOur\nturns are ended, and now it is thy turn.\u201d \u201cWell come, and welcome and\nfair cheer!\u201d cried he; so on the morrow, he made ready all that the case\ncalled for of meat and drink, two-fold what they had provided, and\ntaking cooks and tent-pitchers and coffee-makers,[262] repaired with the\nothers to Al-Rauzah[263] and the Nilometer, where they abode a whole\nmonth, eating and drinking and hearing music and making merry. At the\nend of the month, Ali found that he had spent a great sum of money; but\nIblis the Accursed deluded him and said to him, \u201cThough thou shouldst\nspend every day a like sum yet wouldst thou not miss aught of it.\u201d So he\ntook no account of money expenses and continued this way of life for\nthree years, whilst his wife remonstrated with him and reminded him of\nhis father\u2019s charge; but he hearkened not to her words, till he had\nspent all the ready monies he had, when he fell to selling his jewels\nand spending their price, until they also were all gone. Then he sold\nhis houses, fields, farms and gardens, one after other, till they\nlikewise were all gone and he had nothing left but the tenement wherein\nhe lived. So he tore out the marble and wood-work and sold it and spent\nof its price, till he had made an end of all this also, when he took\nthought with himself and, finding that he had nothing left to expend,\nsold the house itself and spent the purchase-money. After that, the man\nwho had bought the house came to him and said \u201cSeek out for thyself a\nlodging, as I have need of my house.\u201d So he bethought himself and,\nfinding that he had no want of a house, except for his wife, who had\nborne him a son and daughter (he had not a servant left), he hired a\nlarge room in one of the mean courts[264] and there took up his abode,\nafter having lived in honour and luxury, with many eunuchs and much\nwealth; and he soon came to want one day\u2019s bread. Quoth his wife, \u201cOf\nthis I warned thee and exhorted thee to obey thy father\u2019s charge, and\nthou wouldst not hearken to me; but there is no Majesty and there is no\nMight, save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Whence shall the little\nones eat? Arise then, go round to thy friends, the sons of the\nmerchants: belike they will give thee somewhat on which we may live this\nday.\u201d So he arose and went to his friends one by one; but they all hid\ntheir faces from him and gave him injurious words revolting to hear, but\nnaught else; and he returned to his wife and said to her, \u201cThey have\ngiven me nothing.\u201d Thereupon she went forth to beg of her neighbours the\nwherewithal to keep themselves alive\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the wife of Ali\nthe Cairene, seeing her husband return empty-handed, went forth to beg\nof her neighbours the wherewithal to keep themselves alive and repaired\nto a woman, whom she had known in former days. When she came in to her\nand she saw her case, she rose and receiving her kindly, wept and said,\n\u201cWhat hath befallen you?\u201d So she told her all that her husband had done,\nand the other replied, \u201cWell come and welcome and fair cheer!; whatever\nthou needest, seek it of me, without price.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cAllah requite\nthee abundantly!\u201d[265] Then her friend gave her as much provision as\nwould suffice herself and her family a whole month, and she took it and\nreturned to her lodging. When her husband saw her, he wept and asked,\n\u201cWhence hadst thou that?\u201d; and she answered, \u201cI got it of such a woman;\nfor, when I told her what had befallen us, she failed me not in aught,\nbut said, Seek of me all thou needest.\u201d Whereupon her husband rejoined,\n\u201cSince thou hast this much I will betake myself to a place I have in my\nmind; peradventure Allah Almighty will bring us relief.\u201d[266] With these\nwords he took leave of her and kissed his children and went out, not\nknowing whither he should go, and he continued walking on till he came\nto Bul\u00e1k, where he saw a ship about to sail for Damietta.[267] Here he\nmet a man, between whom and his father there had been friendship, and he\nsaluted him and said to him, \u201cWhither now?\u201d Replied Ali, \u201cTo Damietta: I\nhave friends there, whom I would enquire after and visit them and then\nreturn.\u201d The man took him home and treated him honourably; then,\nfurnishing him with vivers for the voyage and giving him some gold\npieces, embarked him on board the vessel bound for Damietta. When they\nreached it, Ali landed, not knowing whither to go; but as he was walking\nalong, a merchant saw him and had pity on him, and carried him to his\nhouse. Here he abode awhile, after which he said in himself, \u201cHow long\nthis sojourning in other folk\u2019s homes?\u201d Then he left the merchant\u2019s\nplace and walked to the wharf where, after enquiry, he found a ship\nready to sail for Syria. His hospitable host provided him with provision\nand embarked him in the ship; and it set sail and Ali reached in due\nseason the Syrian shores where he disembarked and journeyed till he\nentered Damascus. As he walked about the great thoroughfare behold, a\nkindly man saw him and took him to his house, where he tarried for a\ntime till, one day, going abroad, he saw a caravan about to start for\nBaghdad and bethought himself to journey thither with it. Thereupon he\nreturned to his host and taking leave of him, set out with the Cafilah.\nNow Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) inclined to him the heart of one\nof the merchants, so that he took him with him, and Ali ate and drank\nwith him, till they came within one day\u2019s journey of Baghdad. Here,\nhowever, a company of highwaymen fell upon the caravan and took all they\nhad and but few of the merchants escaped. These made each for a separate\nplace of refuge; but as for Ali the Cairene he fared for Baghdad, where\nhe arrived at sundown, as the gatekeepers were about to shut the gates,\nand said to them, \u201cLet me in with you.\u201d They admitted him and asked him,\n\u201cWhence come, and whither wending?\u201d and he answered, \u201cI am a man from\nCairo-city and have with me mules laden with merchandise and slaves and\nservants. I forewent them, to look me out a place wherein to deposit my\ngoods: but, as I rode along on my she-mule, there fell upon me a company\nof banditti, who took my mule and gear; nor did I escape from them but\nat my last gasp.\u201d The gate-guard entreated him honourably and bade him\nbe of good cheer, saying, \u201cAbide with us this night, and in the morning\nwe will look thee out a place befitting thee.\u201d Then he sought in his\nbreast-pocket and, finding a dinar of those given to him by the merchant\nat Bulak, handed it to one of the gatekeepers, saying, \u201cTake this and\nchange it and bring us something to eat.\u201d The man took it and went to\nthe market, where he changed it, and brought Ali bread and cooked meat:\nso he ate, he and the gate-guards, and he lay the night with them. Now\non the morrow, one of the warders carried him to a certain of the\nmerchants of Baghdad, to whom he told the same story, and he believed\nhim, deeming that he was a merchant and had with him loads of\nmerchandise. Then he took him up into his shop and entreated him with\nhonour; moreover, he sent to his house for a splendid suit of his own\napparel for him and carried him to the Hammam. So, quoth Ali of Cairo:\u2014I\nwent with him to the bath, and when we came out, he took me and brought\nme to his house, where he set the morning-meal before us, and we ate and\nmade merry. Then said he to one of his black slaves, \u201cHo Mas\u2019\u00fad, take\nthis thy lord: show him the two houses standing in such a place, and\nwhichever pleaseth him, give him the key of it and come back.\u201d So I went\nwith the slave, till we came to a street-road where stood three houses\nside by side, newly built and yet shut up. He opened the first and I\nlooked at it; and we did the same to the second; after which he said to\nme \u201cOf which shall I give thee the key?\u201d \u201cTo whom doth the big house\nbelong?\u201d \u201cTo us!\u201d \u201cOpen it, that I may view it.\u201d \u201cThou hast no business\nthere.\u201d \u201cWherefore?\u201d \u201cBecause it is haunted, and none nighteth there but\nin the morning he is a dead man; nor do we use to open the door, when\nremoving the corpse, but mount the terrace-roof of one of the other two\nhouses and take it up thence. For this reason my master hath abandoned\nthe house and saith:\u2014I will never again give it to any one.\u201d \u201cOpen it,\u201d\nI cried, \u201cthat I may view it;\u201d and I said in my mind, \u201cThis is what I\nseek; I will pass the night there and in the morning be a dead man and\nbe at peace from this my case.\u201d So he opened it and I entered and found\nit a splendid house, without its like; and I said to the slave, \u201cI will\nhave none other than this house; give me its key.\u201d But he rejoined, \u201cI\nwill not give thee this key till I consult my master,\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the negro\n(continued Ali of Cairo) rejoined, \u201cI will not give thee its key till I\nconsult my master,\u201d and going to him, reported, \u201cThe Egyptian trader\nsaith:\u2014I will lodge in none but the big house.\u201d Now when the merchant\nheard this, he rose and coming to Ali, spake thus to him, \u201cO my lord,\nthou hast no need of this house.\u201d But he answered, \u201cI will lodge in none\nother than this; for I care naught for this silly saying.\u201d Quoth the\nother, \u201cWrite me an acknowledgment that, if aught happen to thee, I am\nnot responsible.\u201d Quoth Ali, \u201cSo be it;\u201d whereupon the merchant fetched\nan assessor from the Kazi\u2019s court and, taking the prescribed\nacknowledgment, delivered to him the key wherewith he entered the house.\nThe merchant sent him bedding by a blackamoor who spread it for him on\nthe built bench behind the door[268] and walked away. Presently Ali went\nabout and, seeing in the inner court a well with a bucket, let this down\nand drew water, wherewith he made the lesser ablution and prayed the\nobligatory prayers. Then he sat awhile, till the slave brought him the\nevening meal from his master\u2019s house, together with a lamp, a candle and\ncandlestick, a basin and ewer and a gugglet[269]; after which he left\nhim and returned home. Ali lighted the candle, supped at his ease and\nprayed the night-prayer; and presently he said to himself, \u201cCome, take\nthe bedding and go upstairs and sleep there; \u2018twill be better than\nhere.\u201d So he took the bed and carried it upstairs, where he found a\nsplendid saloon, with gilded ceiling and floor and walls cased with\ncoloured marbles. He spread his bed there and sitting down, began to\nrecite somewhat of the Sublime Koran, when (ere he was ware) he heard\none calling to him and asking, \u201cO Ali, O son of Hasan, say me, shall I\nsend thee down the gold?\u201d And he answered, \u201cWhere be the gold thou hast\nto send?\u201d But hardly had he spoken, when gold pieces began to rain down\non him, like stones from a catapult, nor ceased till the saloon was\nfull. Then, after the golden shower, said the Voice, \u201cSet me free, that\nI may go my way; for I have made an end of my service and have delivered\nunto thee that which was entrusted to me for thee.\u201d Quoth Ali, \u201cI adjure\nthee, by Allah the Almighty, to tell me the cause of this gold-rain.\u201d\nReplied the Voice, \u201cThis is a treasure that was talisman\u2019d to thee of\nold time, and to every one who entered the house, we used to come and\nsay:\u2014O Ali, O son of Hasan, shall we send thee down the gold? Whereat he\nwould be affrighted and cry out, and we would come down to him and break\nhis neck and go away. But, when thou camest and we accosted thee by thy\nname and that of thy father, saying, Shall we send thee down the gold?\nand thou madest answer to us, And where be the gold? we knew thee for\nthe owner of it and sent it down. Moreover, there is yet another hoard\nfor thee in the land of Al-Yaman and thou wouldst do well to journey\nthither and fetch it. And now I would fain have thee set me free, that I\nmay go my way.\u201d Said Ali, \u201cBy Allah, I will not set thee free, till thou\nbring me hither the treasure from the land of Al-Yaman!\u201d Said the Voice,\n\u201cAn I bring it to thee, wilt thou release me and eke the servant of the\nother hoard?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d replied Ali, and the Voice cried, \u201cSwear to me.\u201d So\nhe swore to him, and he was about to go away, when Ali said to him, \u201cI\nhave one other need to ask of thee;\u201d and he, \u201cWhat is that?\u201d Quoth Ali,\n\u201cI have a wife and children at Cairo in such a place; thou needs must\nfetch them to me, at their ease and without their unease.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI\nwill bring them to thee in a mule-litter[270] and much state, with a\ntrain of eunuchs and servants, together with the treasure from Al-Yaman,\nInshallah!\u201d[271] Then he took of him leave of absence for three days,\nwhen all this should be with him, and vanished. As soon as it was\nmorning Ali went round about the saloon, seeking a place wherein to\nstore the gold, and saw on the edge of the dais a marble slab with a\nturning-pin; so he turned the pin and the slab sank and showed a door\nwhich he opened and entering, found a great closet, full of bags of\ncoarse stuff carefully sewn. So he began taking out the bags and fell to\nfilling them with gold and storing them in the closet, till he had\ntransported thither all the hoarded gold, whereupon he shut the door and\nturning the pin, the slab returned to its place. Then he went down and\nseated himself on the bench behind the door; and presently there came a\nknock; so he opened and found the merchant\u2019s slave who, seeing him\ncomfortably sitting, returned in haste to his master\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the\nhouse-owner\u2019s black slave returned and knocked at the door, Ali the\nCairene, son of the merchant Hasan, opened it to him and the negro,\nseeing him comfortably sitting, returned in haste to his master with the\ngood tidings, saying, \u201cO my Lord, the merchant, who is lodged in the\nhouse inhabited by the Jinn,[272] is alive and well and sitteth on the\nbench behind the door.\u201d Then the merchant rose joyfully and went to the\nhouse, taking breakfast with him; and, when he saw Ali, he embraced him\nand kissed him between the eyes, asking, \u201cHow hath Allah dealt with\nthee?\u201d; and Ali answered, \u201cRight well, I slept upstairs in the marble\nsaloon.\u201d Quoth the merchant, \u201cDid aught come to thee or didst thou see\nany thing?\u201d and quoth Ali, \u201cNo, I recited some little of the Sublime\nKoran and slept till morning, when I arose and, after making the minor\nablution and praying, seated myself on the bench behind the door.\u201d\n\u201cPraised be Allah for safety!\u201d exclaimed the merchant, then left him and\npresently sent him black slaves and white Mamelukes and handmaidens with\nhousehold gear. They swept the house from top to bottom and furnished it\nwith magnificent furniture; after which three white slaves and three\nblacks and four slave-girls remained with him, to serve him, while the\nrest returned to their master\u2019s house. Now when the merchants heard of\nhim, they sent him presents of all manner things of price, even to food\nand drink and clothes, and took him with them to the market, asking,\n\u201cWhen will thy baggage arrive?\u201d And he answered, \u201cAfter three days it\nwill surely come.\u201d When the term had elapsed, the servant of the first\nhoard, the golden rain, came to him and said, \u201cGo forth and meet the\ntreasure I have brought thee from Al-Yaman together with thy Harim; for\nI bring part of the wealth in the semblance of costly merchandise; but\nthe eunuchs and Mamelukes and the mules and horses and camels are all of\nthe J\u00e1nn.\u201d Now the Jinni, when he betook himself to Cairo, found Ali\u2019s\nwife and children in sore misery, naked and hungry; so he carried them\nout of the city in a travelling-litter and clad them in sumptuous\nraiment of the stuffs which were in the treasure of Al-Yaman. So when\nAli heard this, he arose and repairing to the merchants, said to them,\n\u201cRise and go forth with us from the city, to meet the caravan bringing\nmy merchandise, and honour us with the presence of your Harims, to meet\nmy Harim.\u201d \u201cHearkening and obedience,\u201d answered they and, sending for\ntheir Harims, went forth all together and took seat in one of the\ncity-gardens; and as they sat talking, behold, a dust-cloud arose out of\nthe heart of the desert, and they flocked forth to see what it was.\nPresently it lifted and discovered mules and muleteers, tent-pitchers\nand linkmen, who came on, singing and dancing, till they reached the\ngarden, when the chief of the muleteers walked up to Ali and kissing his\nhand, said to him, \u201cO my master, we have been long on the way, for we\npurposed entering yesterday; but we were in fear of the bandits, so\nabode in our station four days, till Almighty Allah rid us of them.\u201d\nThereupon the merchants mounted their mules and rode forward with the\ncaravan, the Harims waiting behind, till Ali\u2019s wife and children mounted\nwith them; and they all entered in splendid train. The merchants\nmarvelled at the number of mules laden with chests, whilst the women of\nthe merchants wondered at the richness of the apparel of his wife and\nthe fine raiment of her children; and kept saying each to other,\n\u201cVerily, the King of Baghdad hath no such gear; no, nor any other of the\nkings or lords or merchants!\u201d So they ceased not to fare forwards in\nhigh great state, the men with Ali of Cairo and the Harims with his\nHarim, till they came to the mansion,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Thirtieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that they ceased not to\nfare forwards in high state, the men with Ali\u2019s men and the women with\nhis wife, till they came to the mansion, where they alighted and brought\nthe mules and their burdens into the midst of the courtyard. Then they\nunloaded them and warehoused the goods whilst the merchants\u2019 wives went\nup with Ali\u2019s family to the saloon, which they found as it were a\nluxuriant garden, spread with magnificent furniture. They sat in mirth\nand good cheer till noon, when they brought them up the midday meal, all\nmanner meats and sweetmeats of the very best; and they ate and drank\ncostly sherbets and perfumed themselves thereafter with rose-water and\nscented woods. Then they took leave and went home, men and women; and,\nwhen the merchants returned to their places, they sent presents to the\nhusband according to their conditions; and their wives likewise sent\npresents to the wife, so that there came to them great store of\nhandmaids and negroes and Mamelukes; and all kinds of goods, such as\ngrain, sugar and so forth, in abundance beyond account. As for the\nBaghdad merchant, the landlord of the house, he abode with Ali and\nquitted him not, but said to him, \u201cLet the black slaves and servants\ntake the mules and the common cattle into one of my other houses, to\nrest.\u201d Quoth Ali, \u201cThey set out again to-night for such a place.\u201d Then\nhe gave them leave to go forth and camp outside the city, that they\nmight start on their journey at night-come; whereupon, hardly believing\nthat they were dismissed, they took leave of him and departing to the\noutliers of the city, flew off through the air to their several abodes.\nSo Ali and his house-owner sat together till a third of the night was\npast, when their colloquy ended and the merchant returned to his own\nhouse and Ali went up to his wife and children and after saluting them,\nsaid, \u201cWhat hath befallen you in my absence all this time?\u201d So she told\nhim what they had suffered of hunger and nakedness and travail, and he\nsaid, \u201cPraised be Allah for safety! How did ye come?\u201d Answered she, \u201cO\nmy lord, I was asleep with my children yesternight, when suddenly and\nunexpectedly one raised us from the ground and flew with us through the\nfirmament without doing us any hurt, nor did he leave flying with us,\ntill he set us down in a place as it were an Arab camping-ground, where\nwe saw laden mules and a travelling litter borne upon two great mules,\nand around it servants, all boys and men. So I asked them:\u2014Who are ye\nand what are these loads and where are we?; and they answered:\u2014We are\nthe servants of the merchant Ali of Cairo, son of the merchant-jeweller,\nwho hath sent us to fetch you to him at Baghdad. Quoth I, Tell me, is it\nfar or near, hence to Baghdad? They replied, Near: there lieth between\nus and the city but the darkness of the night. Then they mounted us in\nthe litter and, when the morrow dawned, we found ourselves with thee,\nwithout having suffered any hurt whatever.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cWho gave you\nthese dresses;\u201d and quoth she, \u201cThe chief of the caravan opened one of\nthe boxes on the mules and taking out thereof these clothes, clad me and\nthy children each in a suit; after which he locked the case and gave me\nthe key, saying, Take care of it, till thou give it to thy husband. And\nhere it is safe by me.\u201d So saying, she gave him the key, and he said,\n\u201cDost thou know the chest?\u201d Said she, \u201cYes, I know it.\u201d So he took her\ndown to the magazine and showed her the boxes, when she cried, \u201cThis is\nthe one whence the dresses were taken;\u201d upon which he put the key in the\nlock and opened the chest, wherein he found much raiment and the keys of\nall the other cases. So he took them and fell to opening them, one after\nanother, and feasting his eyes upon the gems and precious ores they\ncontained, whose like was not found with any of the kings; after which\nhe locked them again, took the keys, and returned to the saloon, saying\nto his wife, \u201cThis is of the bounty of Almighty Allah!\u201d Then bringing\nher to the secret slab he turned the pin and opened the door of the\ncloset, into which he entered with her and showed her the gold he had\nlaid up therein. Quoth she, \u201cWhence came all this to thee?\u201d \u201cIt came to\nme by the grace of my Lord,\u201d answered he:\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Ali\u2019s wife\nhad looked upon the gold she said to him, \u201cWhence came all this to\nthee?\u201d \u201cIt came to me by the grace of my Lord,\u201d answered he: \u201cWhen I\nleft thee in my trouble, I shipped at Bulak for Damietta and met a\nfriend there who forwarded me to Damascus\u201d: in brief he told her all\nthat had befallen him, from first to last. Said she, \u201cO my lord, all\nthis cometh by boon of thy father\u2019s blessing and orisons when he prayed\nfor thee, before his death, saying:\u2014I beseech Allah to cast thee into no\nstraits except He grant thee ready relief! So praised be Allah Almighty\nfor that He hath brought thee deliverance and hath requited thee with\nmore than went from thee! But Allah upon thee, O my lord, return not to\nthy practice of associating with doubtful folk; but look thou fear Allah\n(whose name be exalted!) both in private and in public.\u201d And as she went\non to admonish him, he said, \u201cI accept thine admonition and beg the\nAlmighty to remove the froward from amongst us and stablish us in His\nobedience and in the observance of the law and practice of His Prophet,\non whom be blessings and peace!\u201d After that Ali and his wife and\nchildren were in all solace of life and gladness; and he opened him a\nshop in the merchants\u2019 bazar and, stocking it with a somewhat of jewels\nand bullion, sat therein with his children and white servants. Presently\nhe became the most considerable of the merchants of Baghdad, and his\nreport reached the King of that city,[273] who sent a messenger to\ncommand his attendance, saying, \u201cAnswer the summons of the King who\nrequireth thee.\u201d He replied, \u201cI hear and obey,\u201d and straightway prepared\nhis present and he took four trays of red gold and, filling them with\njewels and precious metals, such as no King possessed, went up to the\npalace and presenting himself before the presence, kissed the ground\nbetween his hands and wished him endurance of goods and glory in the\nfinest language he could command. Said the King, \u201cO merchant, thou\ncheerest our city with thy presence!\u201d and Ali rejoined, \u201cO King of the\nage, thy slave hath brought thee a gift and hopeth for acceptance\nthereof from thy favour.\u201d Then he laid the four trays before the King,\nwho uncovered them and seeing that they contained gems, whose fellows he\npossessed not and whose worth equalled treasuries of money, said, \u201cThy\npresent is accepted, O merchant, and Inshallah! we will requite thee\nwith its like.\u201d And Ali kissed his hands and went away; whereupon the\nKing called his grandees and said to them, \u201cHow many of the Kings have\nsought my daughter in marriage?\u201d \u201cMany,\u201d answered they; and he asked,\n\u201cHath any of them given me the like of this gift?\u201d; whereto they\nreplied, \u201cNot one, for that none of them hath its like;\u201d and he said, \u201cI\nhave consulted Allah Almighty by lot as to marrying my daughter to this\nmerchant. What say ye?\u201d \u201cBe it as thou reckest,\u201d answered they. Then he\nbade the eunuch carry the four trays into his serraglio and going in to\nhis wife, laid them before her. She uncovered them and seeing therein\nthat whose like she possessed not; no, nor a fraction thereof, said to\nhim, \u201cFrom which of the Kings hadst thou these?: perchance of one of the\nroyalties that seek thy daughter in marriage?\u201d Said he, \u201cNot so, I had\nthem of an Egyptian merchant, who is lately come to this our city. Now\nwhen I heard of his coming I sent to command him to us, thinking to make\nhis acquaintance, so haply we might find with him somewhat of jewels and\nbuy them of him for our daughter\u2019s trousseau. He obeyed our summons and\nbrought us these four trays, as a present, and I saw him to be a\nhandsome youth of dignified aspect and intelligent as elegant, almost\nsuch as should be the sons of Kings. Wherefore my heart inclined to him\nat sight, and my heart rejoiced in him and I thought good to marry my\ndaughter to him. So I showed the gift to my grandees, who agreed with me\nthat none of the Kings hath the like of these and I told them my\nproject. But what sayst thou?\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-second Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King of\nBaghdad, after showing the presents to his wife and highly praising Ali,\nthe merchant-jeweller, and informing her of the proposed marriage,\nasked, \u201cBut what sayst thou?\u201d She replied, \u201cO King of the age, the\nordering this affair is in Allah\u2019s hand, and thine, and whatso Allah\nwilleth shall come to pass.\u201d Rejoined the King, \u201cIf it be His will, I\nwill marry her to none other than this young man.\u201d He slept on this\nresolve and on the morrow, he went out to his Divan and summoned Ali and\nthe rest of the merchants of Baghdad, and when all came bade them be\nseated. Then said he, \u201cBring me the Kazi of the Divan\u201d and they brought\nhim; whereupon the King said to him, \u201cO Kazi, write the contract of\nmarriage between my daughter and the merchant Ali the Cairene.\u201d But Ali\nsaid, \u201cThy pardon, O our lord the Sultan! It befitteth not that a trader\nsuch as I, be the King\u2019s son-in-law.\u201d Quoth the King, \u201cIt is my will to\nbestow this favour upon thee, as well as the Wazirate;\u201d and he invested\nhim forthwith in the Wazir\u2019s office and ministerial robes. Then Ali sat\ndown in the chair of the Wazirate and said, \u201cO King of the age, thou\nhast bestowed on me this; and indeed I am honoured by thy bounties; but\nhear one word I have to say to thee!\u201d He replied, \u201cSay on, and fear\nnot.\u201d Quoth Ali, \u201cSince it is thine august resolution to marry thy\ndaughter, thou wouldst do better to marry her to my son.\u201d Quoth the\nKing, \u201cHast thou then a son?\u201d; and Ali replied, \u201cYes.\u201d \u201cSend for him\nforthwith,\u201d said the King. Thereupon answered Ali, \u201cHearkening and\nobedience!\u201d, and despatched a servant to fetch his son, who came and\nkissing the ground before the King, stood in an attitude of respect. The\nKing looked at him and seeing him to be yet comelier than his daughter\nand goodlier than she in stature and proportion and brightness and\nperfection, said to him, \u201cWhat is thy name, O my son?\u201d \u201cMy name is\nHasan, O our lord the Sultan,\u201d replied the young man, who was then\nfourteen years old. Then the Sultan said to the Kazi, \u201cWrite the\ncontract of marriage between my daughter Husn al-Wuj\u00fad and Hasan, son of\nthe merchant Ali the Cairene.\u201d So he wrote the marriage-contract between\nthem, and the affair was ended in the goodliest fashion; after which all\nin the Divan went their ways and the merchants followed the Wazir Ali,\nescorting him to his house, where they gave him joy of his advancement\nand departed. Then he went in to his wife, who seeing him clad in the\nWazir\u2019s habit, exclaimed, \u201cWhat is this?\u201d; when he told her all that had\npassed from first to last and she joyed therein with exceeding joy. So\nsped the night and on the morrow, he went up to the Divan, where the\nKing received him with especial favour and seating him close by his\nside, said, \u201cO Wazir, we purpose to begin the wedding festivities and\nbring thy son in to our daughter.\u201d Replied Ali, \u201cO our lord the Sultan,\nwhatso thou deemest good is good.\u201d So the Sultan gave orders to\ncelebrate the festivities, and they decorated the city and held high\nfestival for thirty days, in all joy and gladness; at the end of which\ntime, Hasan, son of the Wazir Ali, went in to the Princess and enjoyed\nher beauty and loveliness. When the Queen saw her daughter\u2019s husband,\nshe conceived a warm affection for him, and in like manner she rejoiced\ngreatly in his mother. Then the King bade build for his son-in-law Hasan\nAli-son a palace beside his own; so they built him with all speed a\nsplendid palace in which he took up his abode; and his mother used to\ntarry with him some days and then go down to her own house. After awhile\nthe Queen said to her husband, \u201cO King of the age, Hasan\u2019s lady-mother\ncannot take up her abode with her son and leave the Wazir; neither can\nshe tarry with the Wazir and leave her son.\u201d \u201cThou sayest sooth,\u201d\nreplied the King, and bade edify a third palace beside that of Hasan,\nwhich being done in a few days he caused remove thither the goods of the\nWazir, and the Minister and his wife took up their abode there. Now the\nthree palaces communicated with one another, so that when the King had a\nmind to speak with the Wazir by night, he would go to him or send to\nfetch him; and so with Hasan and his father and mother. On this wise\nthey dwelt in all solace and in the greatest happiness\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King and the\nWazir and his son ceased not to dwell in all solace and in the greatest\nhappiness awhile, till the King fell ill and his sickness grew on him.\nSo he summoned the lords of his realm and said to them, \u201cThere is come\nupon me a sore malady, peradventure a mortal; and I have therefore\nsummoned you to consult you respecting a certain matter, on which I\nwould have you counsel me as you deem well.\u201d They asked, \u201cWhat is the\nmatter of which thou wouldst take counsel with us, O King?\u201d; and he\nanswered, \u201cI am old and sickly and I fear for the realm after me from\nits enemies; so I would have you all agree upon some one, that I may\nproclaim him King in my lifetime and so ye may be at ease.\u201d Whereupon\nquoth they with one voice, \u201cWe all approve of thy daughter\u2019s husband\nHasan, son of the Wazir Ali; for we have seen his wit and perfect\nunderstanding, and he knoweth the place of all, great and small.\u201d Asked\nthe King, \u201cAre ye indeed agreed upon this?\u201d and they answered, \u201cYes.\u201d\nRejoined he \u201cPeradventure ye all say this to my face, of respect for me;\nbut behind my back ye will say otherwise.\u201d However, they all replied,\n\u201cBy Allah, our word is one and the same in public and in private, and we\naccept him frankly and with heartiness of heart and breadth of breast.\u201d\nQuoth he, \u201cSince the case is thus, bring the Kazi of the Holy Law and\nall the Chamberlains and Viceroys and Officers of state before me\nto-morrow, and we will order the affair after the goodliest fashion.\u201d\n\u201cWe hear and we obey,\u201d answered they and withdrawing, notified all the\nOlema,[274] the doctors of the law and the chief personages among the\nEmirs. So when the morrow dawned, they came up to the Divan and having\ncraved and obtained permission to enter, they saluted the King, saying,\n\u201cHere are we all in thy presence.\u201d Whereto he made reply, \u201cO Emirs of\nBaghdad, whom will ye have to be King over you after me, that I may\ninaugurate him during my lifetime, before the presence of you all?\u201d\nQuoth they with one voice, \u201cWe are agreed upon thy daughter\u2019s husband\nHasan, son of the Wazir Ali.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cIf it be so, go all of you and\nbring him before me.\u201d So they all arose and, repairing to Hasan\u2019s\npalace, said to him, \u201cRise, come with us to the King.\u201d \u201cWherefore?\u201d\nasked he, and they answered, \u201cFor a thing that will benefit both us and\nthee.\u201d So he went in with them to the King and kissed the ground before\nhis father-in-law who said to him, \u201cBe seated, O my son!\u201d He sat down\nand the King continued, \u201cO Hasan, all the Emirs have approved of thee\nand agreed to make thee King over them after me; and it is my purpose to\nproclaim thee, whilst I yet live, and so make an end of the business.\u201d\nBut Hasan stood up and, kissing the ground once more before the King,\nsaid to him, \u201cO our lord the King, among the Emirs there be many who are\nolder than I and greater of worth; acquit me therefore of this thing.\u201d\nBut all the Emirs cried out saying, \u201cWe consent not but that thou be\nKing over us.\u201d Then said Hasan, \u201cMy father is older than I, and I and he\nare one thing; and it befits not to advance me over him.\u201d But Ali said,\n\u201cI will consent to nothing save whatso contenteth my brethren; and they\nhave all chosen and agreed upon thee; wherefore gainsay thou not the\nKing\u2019s commandment and that of thy brethren.\u201d And Hasan hung his head\nabashed before the King and his father. Then said the King to the Emirs,\n\u201cDo ye all accept of him?\u201d \u201cWe do,\u201d answered they and recited thereupon\nseven F\u00e1tihahs.[275] So the King said, \u201cO Kazi, draw up a legal\ninstrument testifying of these Emirs that they are agreed to make King\nover them my daughter\u2019s husband Hasan.\u201d The Kazi wrote the act and made\nit binding on all men,[276] after they had sworn in a body the oath of\nfealty to Hasan. Then the King did likewise and bade him take his seat\non the throne of kingship; whereupon they all arose and kissed King\nHasan\u2019s hands and did homage to him, and swore lealty to him. And the\nnew King dispensed justice among the people that day in fashion right\nroyal, and invested the grandees of the realm in splendid robes of\nhonour. When the Divan broke up, he went in to and kissed the hands of\nhis father-in-law who spake thus to him, \u201cO my son, look thou rule the\nlieges in the fear of Allah;\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when King Hasan\nwas quit of the Divan, he went in to and kissed the hands of his wife\u2019s\nfather, who spake thus to him, \u201cO my son, look thou rule the lieges in\nthe fear of Allah;\u201d whereto he replied, \u201cO my father, through thy\nprayers for me, the grace and guidance of Allah will come to me.\u201d Then\nhe entered his own palace and was met by his wife and her mother and\ntheir attendants, who kissed his hands and gave him joy of his\nadvancement, saying, \u201cBe this day blessed!\u201d Next he went in to his\nfather and mother, who joyed with exceeding joy in that which Allah had\nvouchsafed him of his advancement to the kingship, and his father\ncharged him to fear Allah and to deal mercifully with his subjects. He\npassed the night in glee and gladness, and on the morrow, having prayed\nthe obligatory prayers ending with the usual short chapters[277] of the\nKoran, he went up to the Divan, whither came all his officers and\ndignitaries. He passed the day in dispensing justice among the folk,\nbidding to graciousness and forbidding ungraciousness and appointing to\nplace and displacing, till day-end, when the Divan broke up, after the\ngoodliest fashion, and all the troops withdrew and each went his own\nway. Then he arose and repaired to the palace, where he found his\nfather-in-law\u2019s sickness grown heavy upon him and said to him, \u201cMay no\nill befal thee!\u201d At this the old King opened his eyes and said, \u201cO\nHasan!\u201d and he replied, \u201cAt thy service, O my lord.\u201d Quoth the old King,\n\u201cMine appointed hour is at hand: be thou careful of thy wife and her\nmother, and look thou fear Allah and honour thy parents; and bide in awe\nof the majesty of the Requiting King and bear in mind that He commandeth\njustice and good works.\u201d And King Hasan replied, \u201cI hear and obey.\u201d Now\nafter this the old King lingered three days and then departed into the\nmercy of Almighty Allah. So they laid him out and shrouded and buried\nhim and held over him readings and perlections of the Koran, to the end\nof the customary forty days. And King Hasan, son of the Wazir, reigned\nin his stead, and his subjects joyed in him and all his days were\ngladness; moreover, his father ceased not to be his chief Wazir on his\nright hand, and he took to himself another Wazir, to be at his left\nhand. His reign was a prosperous and well ordered, and he lived a long\nlife as King of Baghdad; and Allah blessed him, by the old King\u2019s\ndaughter, with three sons who inherited the kingdom after him; and they\nabode in the solace of life and its pleasures till there came to them\nthe Destroyer of delights and the Severer of societies. And glory be to\nHim who is eternal and in whose hand are annulling and confirming. And\nof the tales they tell is one of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 258:\n\n And We will prove you with evil, and with good, for a trial of you;\n and unto Us shall ye return (Koran xxi. 36). The saying is always in\n the Moslem\u2019s mouth.\n\nFootnote 259:\n\n Arab. \u201cSunnat,\u201d lit. = a law, especially applied to the habit and\n practice of the Apostle in religious and semi-religious matters,\n completing the \u201cHadis,\u201d or his spoken words. Anything unknown is\n entitled \u201cBida\u2019ah\u201d = innovation. Hence the strict Moslem is a model\n Conservative whose exemplar of life dates from the seventh century.\n This fact may be casuistically explained away; but is not less an\n obstacle to all progress and it will be one of the principal dangers\n threatening Al-Islam. Only fair to say that an \u201cinnovation\u201d introduced\n by a perfect follower of the Prophet is held equal theoretically to a\n Sunnat; but vulgarly it is said, \u201cThe rabble will not take gold which\n is not coined.\u201d\n\nFootnote 260:\n\n Arab. \u201cArsh\u201d = the ninth Heaven, the Throne of the Deity, above the\n Seven Heavens of the planets and the Primum Mobile which, in the\n Ptolemaic system, sets them all in motion.\n\nFootnote 261:\n\n This description of a good Moslem\u2019s death is at once concise, pathetic\n and picturesque.\n\nFootnote 262:\n\n This is the first mention of coffee, apparently introduced by the\n scribe: the word rendered \u201ccoffee-makers\u201d is \u201cKahwajiyah\u201d; an Arab.\n plur. of a Turkish termination (-ji) to an Arab. word \u201cKahwah\u201d (before\n noticed).\n\nFootnote 263:\n\n Picnics are still made to Rauzah (Rodah) island: I have enjoyed many a\n one, but the ground is all private property.\n\nFootnote 264:\n\n Arab. \u201cHosh,\u201d plur. H\u00edsh\u00e1n, the low courts surrounded by mean lodgings\n which in \u201cnative\u201d Cairo still contrast so strongly with the\n \u201cgingerbread\u201d of the new buildings.\n\nFootnote 265:\n\n This is the Moslem equivalent of \u201cthank you.\u201d He looks upon the donor\n as the channel through which Allah sends him what he wants and prays\n for more to come. Thus \u201cMay your shadow never be less\u201d means, May you\n increase in prosperity so that I may gain thereby! And if a beggar is\n disposed to be insolent (a very common case), he will tell you his\n mind pretty freely on the subject, and make it evident to you that all\n you have is also his and that La propri\u00e9t\u00e9 (when not shared) est le\n vol.\n\nFootnote 266:\n\n I have noticed in my Pilgrimage (i. 51\u201353) the kindly care with which\n the stranger is treated by Moslems, a marvellous contrast to the ways\n of \u201ccivilization.\u201d\n\nFootnote 267:\n\n Arab. \u201cDimyat,\u201d vulg. pronounced \u201cDum\u00edyat.\u201d\n\nFootnote 268:\n\n Where the doorkeepers sit and receive their friends.\n\nFootnote 269:\n\n This is a traveller\u2019s \u201cKit\u201d in the East.\n\nFootnote 270:\n\n Arab. \u201cTakht-raw\u00e1n,\u201d from Persian meaning \u201cmoveable throne.\u201d\n\nFootnote 271:\n\n The use of the expression proved the speaker to be a Moslem Jinn\u00ed.\n\nFootnote 272:\n\n The \u201chaunted\u201d house proper, known to the vulgar and to spiritualists\n becomes, I have said, amongst Moslems a place tenanted by Jinns.\n\nFootnote 273:\n\n Needless to say there never was a Sultan or a King of Baghdad nor a\n Duke of Athens. This story would seem not to have been written by the\n author of \u201cthe Emir bin Tahir,\u201d etc. Night ccccxxiv.\n\nFootnote 274:\n\n Plur. of \u00c1lim = one learned in the law, a D.D. Mohammed did his best\n to abolish the priest and his craft by making each Moslem\n paterfamilias a pontifex in his own household and he severely\n condemned monkery and celibacy. But human nature was too much for him:\n even before his death ascetic associations began to crop up. Presently\n the Olema in Al-Islam formed themselves into a kind of clergy; with\n the single but highly important difference that they must (or ought\n to) live by some honest secular calling and not by the \u201ccure of\n souls\u201d; hence Mahomet IV. of Turkey was solemnly deposed. So far and\n no farther Mohammed was successful and his success has secured for him\n the lively and lasting hatred of the ecclesiastical caste which he so\n honestly and wisely attempted to abate. Even to the present day\n missionaries have a good word for the Guebre and the Buddhist, the\n Brahmanist and the Confucian, but none for the Moslem: Dr.\n Livingstone, for one instance of many, evidently preferred the\n Fetichist, whom he could convert, to the Unitarian Faithful whom he\n could not.\n\nFootnote 275:\n\n _i.e._ they recited seven times (an unusual number), for greater\n solemnity, the opening Chapter of the Koran which does general duty on\n such occasions as making covenants and swearing fealty. This\n proclaiming a King by acclamation suggests the origin of the old and\n venerable Portuguese institution.\n\nFootnote 276:\n\n By affixing his own seal and that of the King. This in later times was\n supplanted by the \u201cTughr\u00e1,\u201d the imperial cypher or counter-mark (much\n like a writing master\u2019s flourish), with which Europe has now been made\n familiar through the agency of Turkish tobacco.\n\nFootnote 277:\n\n Arab. \u201cWird\u201d = the twenty-five last chapters of the Koran which are\n repeated, one or more at a time, after the end of the \u201cFarz,\u201d or\n obligatory prayers and _ad libitum_ with the Sunnat or customary, and\n the N\u00e1filah or supererogatory.\n\n\n\n\n THE PILGRIM MAN AND THE OLD WOMAN.\n\n\nA man of the pilgrims once slept a long sleep and awaking, found no\ntrace of the caravan. So he rose up and walked on, but lost his way and\npresently came to a tent, where he saw an old woman standing at the\nentrance and by her side a dog asleep. He went up to the tent and,\nsaluting the old woman, sought of her food, when she replied, \u201cGo to\nyonder Wady and catch thy sufficiency of serpents, that I may broil of\nthem for thee and give thee to eat.\u201d Rejoined the pilgrim, \u201cI dare not\ncatch serpents nor did I ever eat them.\u201d Quoth the old woman, \u201cI will go\nwith thee and catch some; fear not.\u201d So she went with him, followed by\nthe dog, to the valley and, catching a sufficient number of serpents,\nproceeded to broil them. He saw nothing for it (saith the story teller)\nbut to eat, in fear of hunger and exhaustion; so he ate of the\nserpents.[278] Then he was athirst and asked for water to drink; and she\nanswered, \u201cGo to the spring and drink.\u201d Accordingly, he went to the\nspring and found the water thereof bitter; yet needs must he drink of it\ndespite its bitterness, because of the violence of his thirst. Presently\nhe returned to the old woman and said to her, \u201cI marvel, O ancient dame,\nat thy choosing to sojourn in this place\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the\npalmer-man drank the bitter draught for stress of thirst, he returned\nand said \u201cI marvel, O ancient dame, at thy choosing to sojourn in this\nplace and thy putting up with such meat and drink!\u201d She asked, \u201cAnd how\nis it then in thy country?\u201d; whereto he answered, \u201cIn my country are\nhouses wide and spacious and fruits ripe and delicious and waters sweet\nand viands savorous and of goodly use and meats fat and full of juice\nand flocks innumerous and all things pleasant and all the goods of life,\nthe like whereof are not, save in the Paradise which Allah the\nOmnipotent hath promised to His servants pious.\u201d Replied she, \u201cAll this\nhave I heard: but tell me, have ye a Sultan who ruleth over you and is\ntyrannical in his rule and under whose hand you are; one who, if any of\nyou commit an offence, taketh his goods and ruineth him and who, whenas\nhe will, turneth you out of house and home and uprooteth you, stock and\nbranch?\u201d Replied the man, \u201cIndeed that may be;\u201d and she rejoined, \u201cIf\nso, by Allah, these your delicious food and life of dainty-hood and\ngifts however good, with tyranny and oppression, are but a searching\npoison, while our coarse meat which in freedom and safety we eat is a\nhealthful medicine. Hast thou not heard that the best of boons, after\nAl-Islam, the true Faith, are sanity and security?\u201d[279] Now such boons\n(quoth he who telleth the tale) may be by the just rule of the Sultan,\nVice-regent of Allah on His earth, and the goodness of his polity. The\nSultan of time past needed but little awfulness, for when the lieges saw\nhim, they feared him; but the Sultan of these days hath need of the most\naccomplished polity and the utmost majesty, because men are not as men\nof by-gone time and this our age is one of folk opprobrious, and is\ngreatly calamitous, noted for folly and hardness of heart and inclined\nto hate and enmity. If, therefore, the Sultan (which Almighty Allah\nforfend!) be weak or wanting in polity and majesty, this will be the\nassured cause of his country\u2019s ruin. Quoth the proverb, \u201cAn hundred\nyears of the Sultan\u2019s tyranny, but not one year of the people\u2019s tyranny\none over other.\u201d When the lieges oppress one another, Allah setteth over\nthem a tyrannical Sultan and a terrible King. Thus it is told in history\nthat one day there was sent to Al-Hajj\u00e1j bin Y\u00fasuf a slip of paper,\nwhereon was written, \u201cFear Allah and oppress not His servants with all\nmanner of oppression.\u201d When he read this, he mounted the pulpit (for he\nwas eloquent and ever ready of speech), and said, \u201cO folk, Allah\nAlmighty hath made me ruler over you, by reason of your\nfrowardness;\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say\nher permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hajjaj\nYusuf-son read the paper he mounted the pulpit and said, \u201cO folk, Allah\nAlmighty hath made me ruler over you by reason of your frowardness; and\nindeed, though I die yet will ye not be delivered from oppression, with\nthese your ill deeds; for the Almighty hath created like unto me many an\none. If it be not I, \u2018twill be one more mischievous than I and a\nmightier in oppression and a more merciless in his majesty; even as\nsaith the poet:[280]\u2014\n\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\nTyranny is feared: but justice is the best of all things. We beg Allah\nto better our case!\u201d And among tales is that of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 278:\n\n The sensible creed of Al-Islam freely allows anthropophagy when it\n saves life; a contrast to the sentimentalism of the West which brings\n a \u201ccharge of cannibalism\u201d against unfortunate expeditionists. I\n particularly allude to the scandalous pulings of the English Press\n over the gallant and unfortunate Greely voyage (The Academy, Sept. 25,\n 1884).\n\nFootnote 279:\n\n The story is mere \u00c6sopic: the \u201cTwo dogs\u201d contains it all. One\n of Mohammed\u2019s sensible sayings is recorded and deserves\n repetition:\u2014\u201cEmpire endureth with infidelity (idolatry, etc.), but not\n with tyranny.\u201d\n\nFootnote 280:\n\n This couplet occurs in Night xxi. (vol. i. 207); so I give Torrens (p.\n 207) by way of variety.\n\n\n\n\n ABU AL-HUSN AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL TAWADDUD.[281]\n\n\nThere was once in Baghdad a man of consequence and rich in monies and\nimmoveables, who was one of the chiefs of the merchants; and Allah had\nlargely endowed him with worldly goods, but had not vouchsafed him what\nhe longed for of offspring; and there passed over him a long space of\ntime, without his being blessed with issue, male or female. His years\nwaxed great; his bones became wasted and his back bent; weakness and\nweariness grew upon him, and he feared the loss of his wealth and\npossessions, seeing he had no child whom he might make his heir and by\nwhom his name should be remembered. So he betook himself with\nsupplication to Almighty Allah, fasting by day and praying through the\nnight. Moreover, he vowed many vows to the Living, the Eternal; and\nvisited the pious and was constant in supplication to the Most Highest,\ntill He gave ear to him and accepted his prayer and took pity on his\nstraining and complaining; so that, before many days were past, he knew\ncarnally one of his women and she conceived by him the same night. In\ndue time she finished her months and, casting her burden, bore a male\nchild as he were a slice of the moon; whereupon the merchant fulfilled\nhis vows in his gratitude to Allah, (to whom be honour and glory!) and\ngave alms and clothed the widow and the orphan. On the seventh night\nafter the boy\u2019s birth, he named him Abu al-Husn,[282] and the wet-nurses\nsuckled him and the dry-nurses dandled him and the servants and the\nslaves carried him and handled him, till he shot up and grew tall and\nthrove greatly and learnt the Sublime Koran and the ordinances of\nAl-Islam and the canons of the True Faith; and calligraphy and poetry\nand mathematics and archery. On this wise he became the union-pearl of\nhis age and the goodliest of the folk of his time and his day; fair of\nface and of tongue fluent, carrying himself with a light and graceful\ngait and glorying in his stature proportionate and amorous graces which\nwere to many a bait: and his cheeks were red and flower-white was his\nforehead and his side face waxed brown with tender down, even as saith\none, describing him:\u2014\n\n The spring of the down on cheeks right clearly shows: \u273f And how when the\n Spring is gone shall last the rose?\n Dost thou not see that the growth upon his cheek \u273f Is violet-bloom that\n from its leaves outgrows.\n\nHe abode awhile in ease and happiness with his father, who rejoiced and\ndelighted in him, till he came to man\u2019s estate, when the merchant one\nday made him sit down before him and said, \u201cO my son, the appointed term\ndraweth near; my hour of death is at hand and it remaineth but to meet\nAllah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!). I leave thee what shall\nsuffice thee, even to thy son\u2019s son, of monies and mansions, farms and\ngardens; wherefore, fear thou Almighty Allah, O my son, in dealing with\nthat which I bequeath to thee and follow none but those who will help\nthee to the Divine favour.\u201d Not long after, he sickened and died; so his\nson ordered his funeral,[283] after the goodliest wise, and burying him,\nreturned to his house and sat mourning for him many days and nights. But\nbehold, certain of his friends came in to him and said to him, \u201cWhoso\nleaveth a son like thee is not dead; indeed, what is past is past and\nfled and mourning beseemeth none but the young maid and the wife\ncloistered.\u201d And they ceased not from him till they wrought on him to\nenter the Hammam and break off his mourning.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Abu al-Husn\nwas visited by his friends and taken to the Hammam and persuaded to\nbreak off his mourning, he presently forgot his father\u2019s charge, and his\nhead was turned by his riches; he thought fortune would always wone with\nhim as it was, and that wealth would ever wax and never wane. So he ate\nand drank and made merry and took his pleasure and gave gifts of gear\nand coin and was profuse with gold and addrest himself up to eating\nfowls and breaking the seals of wine-flasks and listening to the giggle\nof the daughter of the vine, as she gurgled from the flagon and enjoying\nthe jingle of the singing-girls; nor did he give over this way of life,\ntill his wealth was wasted and the case worsened and all his goods went\nfrom him and he bit his hands[284] in bitter penitence. For of a truth\nhe had nothing left, after that which he had squandered, but a\nconcubine, a slave-girl whom his father had bequeathed to him with the\nrest of his estate: and she had no equal in beauty and loveliness and\nbrightness and liveliness and symmetric stature and perfect grace. She\nwas past mistress in every manner of arts and accomplishments and\nendowed with many excellences, surpassing all the folk of her age and\ntime. She was grown more notorious than a way-mark,[285] for her\nseductive genius, and outdid the fair both in theory and practice, and\nshe was noted for her swimming gait, flexile and delicate, albeit she\nwas full five feet in height and by all the boons of fortune deckt and\ndight, with strait arched brows twain, as they were the crescent moon of\nSha\u2019ab\u00e1n,[286] and eyes like gazelles\u2019 eyne; and nose like the edge of\nscymitar fine and cheeks like anemones of blood-red shine; and mouth\nlike Solomon\u2019s seal and sign and teeth like necklaces of pearls in line;\nand navel holding an ounce of oil of benzoin and waist more slender than\nhis body whom love hath wasted and whom concealment hath made sick with\npine and hind parts heavier than two hills of sand; briefly she was a\nvolume of charms after his saying who saith:\u2014\n\n Her fair shape ravisheth, if face to face she did appear, \u273f And if she\n turn, for severance from her she slayeth sheer.\n Sun-like, full-moon-like, sapling-like, unto her character \u273f\n Estrangement no wise appertains nor cruelty austere.\n Under the bosom of her shift the garths of Eden are \u273f And the full-moon\n revolveth still upon her neck-rings\u2019 sphere.[287]\n\nShe seemed a full moon rising and a gazelle browsing, a girl of nine\nplus five[288] shaming the moon and sun, even as saith of her the sayer\neloquent and ingenious:\u2014\n\n Semblance of full-moon Heaven bore, \u273f When five and five are conjoined\n by four;\n \u2018Tis not my sin if she made of me \u273f Its like when it riseth horizon\n o\u2019er.[289]\n\nClean of skin, odoriferous of breath, it seemed as if she were of fire\nfashioned and of crystal moulded; rose-red was the cheek of her and\nperfect the shape and form of her; even as one saith of her, describing\nher:\u2014\n\n Scented with sandal[290] and musk, right proudly doth she go, \u273f With\n gold and rose and saffron-colour aglow.\n A flower in a garden she is, a pearl in an ouch of gold \u273f Or an image in\n chapel[291] set for worship of high and low.\n Slender and shapely she is; vivacity bids her arise, \u273f But the weight of\n her hips says, \u201cSit, or softly and slowly go.\u201d\n Whenas her favours I seek and sue for my heart\u2019s desire, \u273f \u201cBe\n gracious,\u201d her beauty says; but her coquetry answers, \u201cNo.\u201d\n Glory to Him who made beauty her portion, and that \u273f Of her lover to be\n the prate of the censurers, heigho![292]\n\nShe captivated all who saw her, with the excellence of her beauty and\nthe sweetness of her smile,[293] and shot them down with the shafts she\nlaunched from her eyes; and withal she was eloquent of speech and\nexcellently skilled in verse. Now when Abu al-Husn had squandered all\nhis gold, and his ill-plight all could behold, and there remained to him\nnaught save this slave-girl, he abode three days without tasting meat or\ntaking rest in sleep, and the handmaid said to him, \u201cO my lord, carry me\nto the Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid,\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the\nslave-girl to her master, \u201cO my lord, carry me to Harun al-Rashid, fifth\nof the sons of Abbas, and seek of him to my price ten thousand dinars.\nIf he deem me dear, say to him:\u2014O Prince of True Believers, my handmaid\nis worth more than this: do but prove her, and her value will be\nmagnified in thine eyes; for this slave-girl hath not her equal, and she\nwere unfit to any but thou.\u201d And she added, \u201cBeware, O my lord, of\nselling me at less than the sum I have named; indeed \u2018tis but little for\nthe like of me.\u201d Now her owner knew not her worth nor that she had no\nequal in her day; but he carried her to the Caliph and set her in the\npresence and repeated what she had bidden him say. The Caliph asked her,\n\u201cWhat is thy name?\u201d; to which she answered, \u201cMy name is Tawaddud.\u201d[294]\nHe then enquired, \u201cO Tawaddud, in what branches of knowledge dost thou\nexcel?\u201d; and she replied, \u201cO my lord, I am versed in syntax and poetry\nand jurisprudence and exegesis and philosophy; and I am skilled in music\nand the knowledge of the Divine ordinances and in arithmetic and geodesy\nand geometry and the fables of the ancients. I know the Sublime Koran by\nheart and have read it according to the seven, the ten and the fourteen\nmodes. I know the number of its chapters and versets and sections and\nwords; and its halves and fourths and eighths and tenths; the number of\nprostrations which occur in it and the sum total of its letters; and I\nknow what there is in it of abrogating and abrogated[295]; also what\nparts of it were revealed at Al-Medinah and what at Meccah and the cause\nof the different revelations. I know the Holy Traditions of the\nApostle\u2019s sayings, historical and legendary, the established and those\nwhose ascription is doubtful; and I have studied the exact sciences,\ngeometry and philosophy and medicine and logic and rhetoric and\ncomposition; and I have learnt many things by rote and am passionately\nfond of poetry. I can play the lute and know its gamut and notes and\nnotation and the crescendo and diminuendo. If I sing and dance, I\nseduce, and if I dress and scent myself, I slay. In fine, I have reached\na pitch of perfection such as can be estimated only by those of them who\nare firmly rooted in knowledge.\u201d[296] Now when the Caliph heard these\nwords spoken by one so young, he wondered at her eloquence, and turning\nto Abu al-Husn, said, \u201cI will summon those who shall discuss with her\nall she claimeth to know; if she answer correctly, I will give thee the\nprice thou askest for her and more; and if not, thou art fitter to have\nher than I.\u201d \u201cWith gladness and goodly gree, O Commander of the\nFaithful,\u201d replied Abu al-Husn. So the Caliph wrote to the Viceroy of\nBassorah, to send him Ibrahim bin Siyy\u00e1r the prosodist, who was the\nfirst man of his day in argument and eloquence and poetry and logic, and\nbade him bring with him readers of the Koran and learned doctors of the\nlaw and physicians and astrologers and scientists and mathematicians and\nphilosophers; and Ibrahim was more learned than all. In a little while\nthey arrived at the palace of the Caliphate, knowing not what was to do,\nand the Caliph sent for them to his sitting-chamber and ordered them to\nbe seated. So they sat down and he bade bring the damsel Tawaddud, who\ncame and unveiling, showed herself, as she were a sparkling star.[297]\nThe Caliph set her a stool of gold; and she saluted, and speaking with\nan eloquent tongue, said, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, bid the Olema\nand the doctors of law and leaches and astrologers and scientists and\nmathematicians and all here present contend with me in argument.\u201d So he\nsaid to them, \u201cI desire of you that ye dispute with this damsel on the\nthings of her faith, and stultify her argument in all she advanceth;\u201d\nand they answered, saying, \u201cWe hear and we obey Allah and thee, O\nCommander of the Faithful.\u201d Upon this Tawaddud bowed her head and said,\n\u201cWhich of you is the doctor of the law, the scholar, versed in the\nreadings of the Koran and in the Traditions?\u201d Quoth one of them, \u201cI am\nthe man thou seekest.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cThen ask me of what thou wilt.\u201d Said\nthe doctor, \u201cHast thou read the precious book of Allah and dost thou\nknow its cancelling and cancelled parts and hast thou meditated its\nversets and its letters?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d answered she. \u201cThen,\u201d said he, \u201cI will\nproceed to question thee of the obligations and the immutable\nordinances: so tell me of these, O damsel, and who is thy Lord, who thy\nprophet, who thy Guide, what is thy point of fronting in prayer, and who\nbe thy brethren? Also what thy spiritual path and what thy highway?\u201d\nWhereto she replied, \u201cAllah is my Lord, and Mohammed (whom Allah save\nand assain!) my prophet, and the Koran is my guide and the Ka\u2019abah my\nfronting; and the True-believers are my brethren. The practice of good\nis my path and the Sunnah my highway.\u201d The Caliph again marvelled at her\nwords so eloquently spoken by one so young; and the doctor pursued, \u201cO\ndamsel, with what do we know Almighty Allah?\u201d Said she, \u201cWith the\nunderstanding.\u201d Said he, \u201cAnd what is the understanding?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cIt\nis of two kinds, natural and acquired.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the damsel\ncontinued, \u201cThe understanding is of two kinds, natural and acquired. The\nnatural is that which Allah (to whom be honour and glory!) created for\nthe right direction of His servants after His will; and the acquired is\nthat which men accomplish by dint of study and fair knowledge.\u201d He\nrejoined, \u201cThou hast answered well. (\u00bf) Where is the seat of the\nunderstanding?\u201d\u2014Allah casteth it in the heart whence its lustrous beams\nascend to the brain and there become fixed. (\u00bf) \u201cHow knowest thou the\nProphet of Allah?\u201d\u2014By the reading of Allah\u2019s Holy Book and by signs and\nproofs and portents and miracles! (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the obligations and the\nimmutable ordinances?\u201d\u2014The obligations are five, (1) Testification that\nthere is no il\u00e1h[298] but Allah, no god but _the_ God alone and One,\nwhich for partner hath none, and that Mohammed is His servant and His\napostle. (2) The standing in prayers.[299] (3) The payment of the\npoor-rate. (4) Fasting Ramazan. (5) The Pilgrimage to Allah\u2019s Holy House\nfor all to whom the journey is possible. The immutable ordinances are\nfour; to wit, night and day and sun and moon, the which build up life\nand hope; nor any son of Adam wotteth if they will be destroyed on the\nDay of Judgment. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the obligatory observances of the\nFaith?\u201d\u2014They are five, prayer, almsgiving, fasting, pilgrimage, fighting\nfor the Faith and abstinence from the forbidden. (\u00bf) \u201cWhy dost thou\nstand up to pray?\u201d\u2014To express the devout intent of the slave\nacknowledging the Deity. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the obligatory conditions which\nprecede standing in prayer?\u201d\u2014Purification, covering the shame, avoidance\nof soiled clothes, standing on a clean place, fronting the Ka\u2019abah, an\nupright posture, the intent[300] and the pronouncing \u201cAllaho Akbar\u201d of\nprohibition.[301] (\u00bf) \u201cWith what shouldest thou go forth from thy house\nto pray?\u201d\u2014With the intent of worship mentally pronounced. (\u00bf) \u201cWith what\nintent shouldest thou enter the mosque?\u201d\u2014With an intent of service. (\u00bf)\n\u201cWhy do we front the Kiblah[302]?\u201d\u2014In obedience to three Divine orders\nand one Traditional ordinance. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the beginning, the\nconsecration and the end of prayer?\u201d\u2014Purification beginneth prayer,\nsaying the Allaho Akbar of prohibition consecrateth, and the salutation\nendeth prayer. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat deserveth he who neglecteth prayer?\u201d\u2014It is\nreported, among the authentic Traditions of the Prophet, that he said,\n\u201cWhoso neglecteth prayer wilfully and purposely hath no part in\nAl-Islam.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say\nher permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Fortieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that after the damsel\nhad repeated the words of that Holy Tradition the doctor cried, \u201cThou\nhast replied aright: now say me, what is prayer?\u201d\u2014Prayer is communion\nbetween the slave and his lord, and in it are ten virtues; (1) it\nillumineth the heart; (2) it maketh the face shine; (3) it pleaseth\nthe Compassionate One; (4) it angereth Satan; (5) it conjureth\ncalamity; (6) it wardeth off the mischief of enemies; (7) it\nmultiplieth mercy; (8) it forfendeth vengeance and punishment; (9) it\nbringeth the slave nigh unto his lord; and (10) it restraineth from\nlewdness and frowardness. Hence it is one of the absolute requisites\nand obligatory ordinances and the pillar of the Faith. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat is\nthe key of prayer?\u201d\u2014Wuz\u00fa or the lesser ablution. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat is the key\nto the lesser ablution?\u201d\u2014Intention and naming the Almighty. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat\nis the key of naming the Almighty?\u201d\u2014Assured faith. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat is the\nkey of faith?\u201d\u2014Trust in the Lord. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat is the key of trust in the\nLord?\u201d\u2014Hope. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat is the key of hope?\u201d\u2014Obedience. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat is\nthe key of obedience?\u201d\u2014The confession of the Unity and the\nacknowledgment of the divinity of Allah. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the Divine\nordinances of Wuzu, the minor ablution?\u201d[303]\u2014They are six, according\nto the canon of the Imam al-Sh\u00e1fi\u2019\u00ed Mohammed bin Idris (of whom Allah\naccept!); (1) intent while washing the face; (2) washing the face; (3)\nwashing the hands and fore-arms; (4) wiping part of the head; (5)\nwashing the feet and heels; and (6) observing due order.[304] And the\ntraditional statutes are ten, (1) nomination; (2) and washing the\nhands before putting them into the water-pot; (3) and mouth-rinsing;\n(4) and snuffing;[305] (5) and wiping the whole head; (6) and wetting\nthe ears within and without with fresh water; (7) and separating a\nthick beard; (8) and separating the fingers and toes;[306] (9) and\nwashing the right foot before the left and (10) doing each of these\nthrice and all in unbroken order. When the minor ablution is ended,\nthe worshipper should say, I testify that there is no god but _the_\nGod, the One, which for partner hath none, and I testify that Mohammed\nis His servant and His apostle. O my Allah, make me of those who\nrepent and in purity are permanent! Glory to Thee, O my God, and in\nThy praise I bear witness, that there is no god save Thou! I crave\npardon of Thee and I repent to Thee! For it is reported, in the Holy\nTraditions, that the Prophet (whom Allah bless and preserve!) said of\nthis prayer:\u2014Whoso endeth every ablution with this prayer, the eight\ngates of Paradise are open to him; he shall enter at which he\npleaseth. (\u00bf) \u201cWhen a man purposeth ablution, what betideth him from\nthe angels and the devils?\u201d\u2014When a man prepareth for ablution, the\nangels come and stand on his right and the devils on his left\nhand.[307] If he name Almighty Allah at the beginning of the ablution,\nthe devils flee from him and the angels hover over him with a pavilion\nof light, having four ropes, to each an angel glorifying Allah and\ncraving pardon for him, so long as he remaineth silent or calleth upon\nthe name of Allah. But if he omit to begin washing with naming Allah\n(to whom belong might and majesty!), neither remain silent, the devils\ntake command of him; and the angels depart from him and Satan\nwhispereth evil thoughts unto him, till he fall into doubt and come\nshort in his ablution. For (quoth he on whom be blessing and\npeace!):\u2014A perfect ablution driveth away Satan and assureth against\nthe tyranny of the Sultan; and again quoth he:\u2014If calamity befal one\nwho is not pure by ablution; verily and assuredly let him blame none\nbut himself. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat should a man do when he awaketh from sleep?\u201d\u2014He\nshould wash his hands thrice, before putting them into the water\nvessel. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the Koranic and traditional orders anent Ghusl,\nthe complete ablution[308]?\u201d\u2014The divine ordinances are intent and\n\u2018crowning\u2019[309] the whole body with water, that is, the liquid shall\ncome at every part of the hair and skin. Now the traditional\nordinances are the minor ablution as preliminary; rubbing the body;\nseparating the hair and deferring in words[310] the washing of the\nfeet till the end of the ablution.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Forty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel\nhad recounted to the doctor what were the divine and traditional orders\nanent Ghusl or total ablution, quoth he, \u201cThou hast replied aright: now\ntell me what are the occasions for Tayammum, or making the ablution with\nsand and dust; and what are the ordinances thereof, divine and\nhuman?\u201d\u2014The reasons are seven, viz., want of water; fear lest water\nlack; need thereto; going astray on a march; sickness; having broken\nbones in splints and having open wounds.[311] As for its ordinances, the\ndivine number four, viz., intent, dust, clapping it to the face and\nclapping it upon the hands; and the human number two, nomination and\npreferring the right before the left hand. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the conditions,\nthe pillars or essentials, and the traditional statutes of prayer?\u201d\u2014The\nconditions are five, (1) purification of the members; (2) covering of\nthe privy parts; (3) observing the proper hours, either of certainty or\nto the best of one\u2019s belief; (4) fronting the Kiblah; and (5) standing\non a clean place. The pillars or essentials number twelve, (1) intent;\n(2) the Takb\u00edr or magnification of prohibition; (3) standing when able\nto stand[312]; (4) repeating the Fatihah or opening chapter of the Koran\nand saying, In the name of Allah, the Compassionating the Compassionate!\nwith a verse thereof according to the canon of the Imam Al-Shafi\u2019i; (5)\nbowing the body and keeping it bowed; (6) returning to the upright\nposture and so remaining for the time requisite; (7) prostration and\npermanence therein; (8) sitting between two prostrations and permanence\ntherein; (9) repeating the latter profession of the Faith and sitting up\ntherefor; (10) invoking benediction on the Prophet (whom Allah bless and\npreserve!); (11) the first Salutation,[313] and (12) the intent of\nmaking an end of prayer expressed in words. But the traditional statutes\nare the call to prayer; the standing posture; raising the hands (to\neither side of the face) whilst pronouncing the prohibition; uttering\nthe magnification before reciting the Fatihah; seeking refuge with\nAllah[314]; saying, \u2018Amen\u2019; repeating the chapter of the Koran after the\nFatihah, repeating the magnifications during change of posture; saying,\nMay Allah hear him who praiseth Him! and O our Lord, to Thee be the\npraise!; praying aloud in the proper place[315] and praying under the\nbreath prayers so prescribed; the first profession of unity and sitting\nup thereto; blessing the Prophet therein; blessing his family in the\nlatter profession and the second Salutation. (\u00bf) \u201cOn what is the Zak\u00e1t\nor obligatory poor-rate taxable?\u201d\u2014On gold and silver and camels and oxen\nand sheep and wheat and barley and holcus and millet and beans and\nvetches and rice and raisins and dates. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat is the Zak\u00e1t or\npoor-rate on gold?\u201d\u2014Below twenty miskals or dinars, nothing; but on that\namount half a dinar for every score and so on proportionally.[316] (\u00bf)\n\u201cOn silver?\u201d\u2014Under two hundred dirhams nothing, then five dirhams on\nevery two hundred and so forth. (\u00bf) \u201cOn camels?\u201d\u2014For every five, an ewe,\nor for every twenty-five a pregnant camel. (\u00bf) \u201cOn sheep?\u201d\u2014An ewe for\nevery forty head. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the ordinances of the Ramazan Fast?\u201d\u2014The\nKoranic are intent; abstinence from eating, drinking and carnal\ncopulation, and the stoppage of vomiting. It is incumbent on all who\nsubmit to the Law, save women in their courses and forty days after\nchildbirth; and it becomes obligatory on sight of the new moon or on\nnews of its appearance, brought by a trustworthy person and commending\nitself as truth to the hearer\u2019s heart; and among its requisites is that\nthe intent be pronounced at nightfall. The traditional ordinances of\nfasting are, hastening to break the fast at sundown; deferring the fore\ndawn meal,[317] and abstaining from speech, save for good works and for\ncalling on the name of Allah and reciting the Koran. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat things\nvitiate not the fast?\u201d\u2014The use of unguents and eye-powders and the dust\nof the road and the undesigned swallowing of saliva and the emission of\nseed in nocturnal pollution or at the sight of a strange woman and\nblooding and cupping; none of these things vitiates the fast. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat\nare the prayers of the two great annual Festivals?\u201d\u2014Two one-bow prayers,\nwhich be a traditional ordinance, without call to prayer or standing up\nto pronounce the call;[318] but let the Moslem say, Prayer is a\ncollector of all folk![319] and pronounce \u2018Allaho Akbar\u2019 seven times in\nthe first prayer, besides the Takbir of prohibition; and, in the second,\nfive times, besides the magnification of rising up (according to the\ndoctrine of the Imam Al-Shafi\u2019i, on whom Allah have mercy!) and make the\nprofession of the Faith.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Forty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel\nhad answered the doctor anent the Festival-prayers, quoth he, \u201cThou hast\nreplied aright: now tell me what are the prayers prescribed on the\noccasion of an eclipse of the sun or moon?\u201d\u2014Two one-bow prayers without\ncall to prayer or standing thereto by the worshipper, who shall make in\neach two-bow prayer double standing up and double inclinations and\ntwo-fold prostrations, then sit and testify and salute. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat is the\nritual of prayer for rain?\u201d\u2014Two one-bow prayers without call to prayer\nor standing thereto; then shall the Moslem make the profession and\nsalute. Moreover the Imam shall deliver an exhortation and ask pardon of\nAllah, in place of the magnification, as in the two sermons of the\nFestivals and turn his mantle upper edge downwards and pray and\nsupplicate. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the Witr, the additional or occasional\nprayers?\u201d\u2014The least is a one-bow prayer and the most eleven. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat\nis the forenoon prayer?\u201d\u2014At least, two one-bow prayers and at most,\ntwelve. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat hast thou to say of the I\u2019itik\u00e1f or retreat[320]?\u201d\u2014It\nis a matter of traditional ordinance. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are its conditions?\u201d\u2014(1)\nintent; (2) not leaving the mosque save of necessity; (3) not having to\ndo with a woman; (4) fasting; and (5) abstaining from speech. (\u00bf) \u201cUnder\nwhat conditions is the Hajj or Pilgrimage[321] obligatory?\u201d\u2014Manhood, and\nunderstanding and being a Moslem and practicability; in which case it is\nobligatory on all, once before death. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the Koranic statutes\nof the Pilgrimage?\u201d\u2014(1) The Ihr\u00e1m or pilgrim\u2019s habit; (2) the standing\nat Arafat; (3) circumambulating the Ka\u2019abah; (4) running between Saf\u00e1\nand Marwah[322]; and (5) shaving or clipping the hair. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the\nKoranic statutes of the \u2018Umrah[323] or lesser pilgrimage?\u201d\u2014Assuming the\npilgrim\u2019s habit and compassing and running. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the Koranic\nordinances of the assumption of the pilgrim\u2019s habit?\u201d[324]\u2014Doffing sewn\ngarments, forswearing perfume and ceasing to shave the head or pare the\nnails, and avoiding the killing of game, and eschewing carnal\ncopulation. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the traditional statutes of the\npilgrimage?\u201d\u2014(1) The crying out \u201cLabbay\u2019ka, Adsum, Here am I, O our\nLord, here am I!\u201d;[325] (2) the Ka\u2019abah-circuitings[326] of arrival and\ndeparture; (3) the passing the night at the Mosque of Muzdalifah and in\nthe valley of Mina, and (4) the lapidation.[327] (\u00bf) \u201cWhat is the Jih\u00e1d\nor Holy War and its essentials?\u201d\u2014Its essentials are (1) the descent of\nthe Infidels upon us; (2) the presence of the Imam; (3) a state of\npreparation and (4) firmness in meeting the foe. Its traditional\nordinance is incital to battle, in that the Most High hath said, \u201cO thou\nmy Prophet, incite the faithful to fight!\u201d[328] (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the\nordinances of buying and selling?\u201d\u2014The Koranic are (1) offer and\nacceptance and (2) if the thing sold be a white slave, by whom one\nprofiteth, all possible endeavour to convert him to Al-Islam; and (3) to\nabstain from usury: the traditional are making void[329] and option\nbefore not after separating, according to his saying (whom Allah bless\nand preserve!), \u201cThe parties to a sale shall have the option of\ncancelling or altering terms whilst they are yet unseparated.\u201d (\u00bf) \u201cWhat\nis it forbidden to sell for what?\u201d\u2014On this point I mind me of an\nauthentic tradition, reported by N\u00e1f\u2019i[330] of the Apostle of Allah,\nthat he forbade the barter of dried dates for fresh and fresh figs for\ndry and jerked for fresh meat and cream for clarified butter; in fine,\nall eatables of one and the same kind, it is unlawful to buy or barter\nsome for other some.[331] Now when the doctor of law heard her words and\nknew that she was wit-keen, penetrative, ingenious and learned in\njurisprudence and the Traditions and the interpretation of the Koran and\nwhat not else, he said in his mind, \u201cNeeds must I man\u0153uvre with her,\nthat I may overcome her in the assembly of the Commander of the\nFaithful.\u201d So he said to her, \u201cO damsel, what is the lexicographical\nmeaning of Wuz\u00fa?\u201d And she answered, \u201cPhilologically it signifieth\ncleanliness and freedom from impurities.\u201d (\u00bf) \u201cAnd of Sal\u00e1t or\nprayer?\u201d\u2014An invocation of good. (\u00bf) \u201cAnd of Ghusl?\u201d\u2014Purification. (\u00bf)\n\u201cAnd of Saum or fasting?\u201d\u2014Abstention. (\u00bf) \u201cAnd of Zak\u00e1t?\u201d\u2014Increase. (\u00bf)\n\u201cAnd of Hajj or pilgrimage?\u201d\u2014Visitation. (\u00bf) \u201cAnd of Jih\u00e1d?\u201d\u2014Repelling.\nWith this the doctor\u2019s arguments were cut off,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Forty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the doctor\u2019s\narguments were cut off, he rose to his feet and said, \u201cBear witness\nagainst me, O Commander of the Faithful, that this damsel is more\nlearned in the Law than I am.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cI will ask thee somewhat,\nwhich do thou answer me speedily, an thou be indeed a learned man.\u201d\nQuoth he, \u201cSay on;\u201d and she said, \u201cWhat are the arrows of the Faith?\u201d\nAnswered he, \u201cThey number ten, (1) Testification, that is, religion; (2)\nPrayer, that is, the covenant; (3) Alms, that is, purification; (4)\nFasting, that is, defensive armour; (5) Pilgrimage, that is, the Law;\n(6) Fighting for the Faith, that is, a general duty; (7) Bidding to\nbeneficence and (8) Forbidding from frowardness, both of which are a\nman\u2019s honour; (9) Commune,[332] that is, sociableness of the Faithful;\nand (10) Seeking knowledge, that is, the praiseworthy path.\u201d She\nrejoined, \u201cThou hast replied aright and now remaineth but one question,\nWhat be the roots or fundamentals of Al-Islam?\u201d He said, \u201cThey are four,\nsincerity of belief, truth of intent, observance of the lawful limit and\nkeeping the covenant.\u201d Then said she, \u201cI have one more question to ask\nthee, which if thou answer, it is well; else, I will take thy clothes.\u201d\nQuoth he, \u201cSpeak, O damsel;\u201d and she said, \u201cWhat are the branches or\nsuperstructure of Al-Islam?\u201d But he was silent awhile and made no reply:\nso she cried, \u201cDoff thy clothes and I will expound them to thee.\u201d Quoth\nthe Caliph \u201cExpound them, and I will make him put off his clothes for\nthee.\u201d She said, \u201cThere are two-and-twenty branches; (1) holding fast to\nthe Book of Allah the Most Highest; (2) taking example by His Apostle\n(whom Allah bless and preserve!); (3) abstaining from evil doing; (4)\neating what is lawful and (5) avoiding what is unlawful; (6) restitution\nof things wrongfully taken; (7) repentance; (8) knowledge of the Law;\n(9) love of the Friend,[333] (10) and of the followers of the true\nRevelation; (11) belief in the apostles of Al-Islam; (12) fear of\napostacy; (13) preparation for departing this life; (14) force of\nconviction; (15) mercy on all possible occasions; (16) strength in time\nof weakness; (17) patience under trials; (18) knowledge of Allah\nAlmighty and (19) of what His Prophet hath made known to us; (20)\nthwarting Iblis the accursed; (21) striving earnestly against the lusts\nof the soul and warring them down, and (22) devotion to the one God.\u201d\nNow when the Commander of the Faithful heard her words, he bade the\nprofessor put off his clothes and hooded turband; and so did that doctor\nand went forth, beaten and confounded, from the Caliph\u2019s presence.\nThereupon another man stood up and said to her, \u201cO damsel, hear a few\nquestions from me.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cSay on;\u201d and he asked, \u201cWhat are the\nconditions of purchase by advance?\u201d whereto she answered, \u201cThat the\nprice be fixed, the kind be fixed and the period of delivery be fixed\nand known.\u201d (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the Koranic and the traditional canons of\neating?\u201d\u2014The confession that Allah Almighty provideth the eater and\ngiveth him meat and drink, with thanksgiving to Him therefor. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat\nis thanksgiving?\u201d\u2014The use by the creature of that which the Creator\nvouchsafeth to him, according as it was created for the creature. (\u00bf)\n\u201cWhat are the traditional canons of eating?\u201d\u2014The Bismillah[334] and\nwashing both hands; sitting on the left of the hind part; eating with\nthree fingers, and eating of that which hath been duly masticated.[335]\n(\u00bf) \u201cWhat are good manners in eating?\u201d\u2014Taking small mouthfuls and\nlooking little at one\u2019s table-companion.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Forty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel\nhad answered concerning good manners in eating, the doctor who was\ntrying her, rejoined, \u201cThou hast replied aright. Now tell me what are\nthe stays of the heart and their supports?\u201d[336]\u2014The stays and supports\nboth number three; (1) holding fast to the Faith, the support whereof is\nthe shunning of infidelity; (2) holding fast to the Traditional Law, and\nits support the shunning of innovation; and (3) holding fast to\nobedience, and its support the shunning of disobedience. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are\nthe conditions of Wuzu?\u201d\u2014(1) being a Moslem; (2) discernment of good and\nevil; (3) purity of the water, and (4) absence of material or religious\nimpediments. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat is belief?\u201d\u2014It is divided into nine parts, (1)\nbelief in the One worshipped; (2) belief in the condition of slavery of\nthe worshipper; (3) belief in the personality of the Deity; (4) belief\nin the Two Handfuls;[337] (5) belief in Providence which allotteth to\nman his lot; (6) belief in the Abrogating and (7) in the Abrogated; (8)\nbelief in Allah, His angels and apostles; and (9) in fore-ordained Fate,\ngeneral and individual, its good and ill, its sweet and bitter. (\u00bf)\n\u201cWhat three things do away other three?\u201d\u2014It is told of Sufy\u00e1n\nal-Saur\u00ed[338] that he said, \u201cThree things do away with other three.\nMaking light of the pious doth away the future life, making light of\nKings doth away this life, and, making light of expenditure doth away\nwealth.\u201d (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the keys of the heavens, and how many gates have\nthey?\u201d\u2014Quoth Almighty Allah, \u201cAnd the heaven shall be opened and be full\nof portals;\u201d[339] and quoth he whom Allah bless and preserve!, \u201cNone\nknoweth the number of the gates of heavens, save He who created the\nheavens, and there is no son of Adam but hath two gates allotted to him\nin the heavens, one whereby his daily bread descendeth and another\nwherethrough his works ascend. The first gate is not closed, save when\nhis term of life cometh to an end, nor the gate of works, good and evil,\ntill his soul ascend for judgment.\u201d (\u00bf) \u201cTell me of a thing and a half\nthing and a no-thing.\u201d\u2014The thing is the Moslem; the half thing the\nhypocrite,[340] and the no-thing the miscreant. (\u00bf) \u201cTell me of various\nkinds of hearts.\u201d\u2014There is the whole heart, the sick heart, the contrite\nheart, the vowed heart and the enlightened heart. Now the whole heart is\nthat of Abraham, the Friend of Allah; the sick heart is that of the\nUnbeliever in Al-Islam; the contrite heart is that of the pious who fear\nthe Lord; the vowed heart is that of our Lord Mohammed (whom Allah bless\nand keep!) and the illuminated heart is that of his followers.\nFurthermore, the hearts of learned Olema are of three kinds, the heart\nwhich is in love with this world; the heart which loveth the next world,\nand the heart which loveth its Lord; and it is said that hearts are\nthree, the suspended, that of the infidel; the non-existent, that of the\nhypocrite; and the constant, that of the True-believer. Moreover, it is\nsaid that the firm heart is of three kinds, viz., the heart dilated with\nlight and faith, the heart wounded with fear of estrangement and the\nheart which feareth to be forsaken of its Supreme Friend.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Forty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the second\ndoctor declared, \u201cThou hast said well,\u201d quoth she to the Caliph, \u201cO\nCommander of the Faithful, he hath questioned me, till he is weary, and\nnow I will ask of him two questions. If he answer them both, it is well;\nand if not, I will take his clothes and he shall wend in peace.\u201d Quoth\nthe doctor, \u201cAsk me what thou wilt,\u201d and she said, \u201cWhat sayest thou\nreligion is?\u201d Answered he, \u201cReligion is confession of Faith with the\ntongue and conviction with the heart and correspondent action with the\nmembers. He (upon whom be blessings and peace!) hath said:\u2014The believer\nis not perfect in belief, except he perfect himself in five qualities,\nnamely, trust in Allah,[341] committal of his affair to Allah,\nsubmission to the commands of Allah, acquiescence in the decrees of\nAllah; and that all he doth be done for sake of Allah; so is he of those\nwho are acceptable to the Deity, and who give to Him and withhold for\nHim; and such man is perfect in belief.\u201d Then said she, \u201cWhat is the\nDivine ordinance of ordinances and the ordinance which is the initiator\nof all ordinances and that of which all others stand in need and that\nwhich comprehendeth all others; and what is the traditional ordinance\nthat entereth into the Koranic, and the prophetic practice whereby the\nDivine is completed?\u201d But he was silent and made no reply; whereupon the\nCaliph bade her expound and ordered him to doff his clothes and give\nthem to her. Said she, \u201cO doctor, the Koranic ordinance of ordinances is\nthe knowledge of Almighty Allah; that, which is the initiative of all\nothers, is the testifying there is no god but _the_ God and Mohammed is\nthe Apostle of God; that, of which all others have need, is the\nWuzu-ablution; that, which compriseth all others, is the Ghusl-ablution\nfrom defilement[342]: the Traditional ordinance that entereth into the\nKoranic, is the separation of the fingers and the thick beard;[343] and\nthat, wherewith all Koranic ordinances are completed, is\ncircumcision.\u201d[344] Therewith was made manifest the defeat of the\ndoctor, who rose to his feet and said, \u201cI call Allah to witness, O\nCommander of the Faithful, that this damsel is more learned than I in\ntheology and what pertaineth to the Law.\u201d So saying, he put off his\nclothes and went away ignominiously worsted. Then she turned to the rest\nof the learned men present and said, \u201cO masters, which of you is the\nKoranist, the reader and reciter of the Koran, versed in the seven\nreadings and in syntax and in lexicography?\u201d Thereupon a professor arose\nand, seating himself before her, said, \u201cHast thou read the Book of\nAlmighty Allah and made thyself thoroughly acquainted with its signs,\nthat is its verses, and its abrogating parts and abrogated portions, its\nunequivocal commands and its ambiguous; and the difference of its\nrevelations, Meccan and Medinan? Dost thou understand its interpretation\nand hast thou studied it, according to the various traditions and\norigins?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d answered she; and he said, \u201cWhat then is the number of\nits chapters, how many are the decades and versets, how many words and\nhow many letters and how many acts of prostration and how many prophets\nand how many chapters are Medinan and how many are Meccan and how many\nbirds are mentioned in it?\u201d Replied she, \u201cO my lord, its chapters are an\nhundred and fourteen, whereof seventy were revealed at Meccah and\nforty-four at Al-Medinah; and it containeth six hundred and twenty-one\ndecades; six thousand three hundred and thirty-six versets;[345]\nseventy-nine thousand four hundred and thirty-nine words and three\nhundred and twenty-three thousand and six hundred and seventy letters;\nand to the reader thereof, for every letter, are given ten benefits. The\nacts of prostration it compriseth are fourteen.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now When it Was the Four Hundred and Forty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the professor\nof Koranic exegesis questioned the damsel, she continued, \u201cAs regards\nthe Prophets named in the Book there be five-and-twenty, to wit, Adam,\nNoah,[346] Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Lot, Elisha, Jonah,\nSalih,[347] or Heber, H\u00fad,[348] Shua\u2019yb or Jethro,[349] David, Solomon,\nZ\u00fa\u2019l-kafl or Joshua, Idr\u00eds, Elias, Yahy\u00e1 or John the Baptist, Zacharias,\nJob, Moses, Aaron, Jesus and Mohammed,[350] the peace of Allah and His\nblessing be on them all! Moreover, nine flying things are mentioned in\nthe Koran, namely, the gnat, the bee, the fly, the ant, the hoopoe, the\ncrow, the locust, the swallow and the bird of Jesus[351] (on whom be\npeace!), to wit, the bat.\u201d (\u00bf) \u201cWhich is the most excellent chapter of\nthe Koran?\u201d\u2014That of The Cow.[352] (\u00bf) \u201cWhich is the most magnificent\nverse?\u201d\u2014That of The Throne; it hath fifty words, bearing in each fifty\nblessings. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat sign or verse hath in it nine signs or\nwonders?\u201d\u2014That in which quoth Allah Almighty, \u201cVerily, in the creation\nof the Heaven and the Earth; and in the vicissitude of night, and day;\nand in the ship which saileth through the sea laden with what is\nprofitable for mankind; and in the rain-water which God sendeth down\nfrom Heaven, quickening thereby the dead ground and replenishing the\nsame with all sorts of cattle; and in the change of winds and in the\nclouds that are compelled to do service between the Heaven and the\nEarth;[353]\u2014are signs to people of understanding.\u201d (\u00bf) \u201cWhich verse is\nthe most just?\u201d\u2014That in which Allah saith, \u201cVerily, Allah enjoineth\njustice and the doing of good, and the giving unto kindred what shall be\nnecessary; and He forbiddeth wickedness and iniquity and\noppression.\u201d[354] (\u00bf) \u201cWhich is the most greedy?\u201d\u2014That in which quoth\nAllah, \u201cIs it that every man of them greedeth to enter the Garden of\nDelight?\u201d[355] (\u00bf) \u201cWhich is the most hopeful?\u201d\u2014That in which quoth\nAlmighty Allah, \u201cSay: \u2018O my servants who have transgressed against your\nown souls, despair not of the mercy of Allah; seeing, that Allah\nforgiveth all sins; aye Gracious, Merciful is He.\u2019\u201d[356] (\u00bf) \u201cBy what\nschool of intonation dost thou read?\u201d\u2014By that of the people of Paradise,\nto wit, the version of N\u00e1f\u2019i. (\u00bf) \u201cIn which verse doth Allah make\nprophets lie?\u201d[357]\u2014In that wherein He saith, \u201cThey (the brothers of\nJoseph) brought his inner garment stained with false blood.\u201d[358] (\u00bf)\n\u201cIn which doth He make unbelievers speak the truth?\u201d\u2014In that wherein He\nsaith, \u201cThe Jews say, \u2018The Christians are grounded on nothing,\u2019 and the\nChristians say, \u2018The Jews are grounded on nothing\u2019; and yet they both\nread the Scriptures;\u201d[359] and, so saying, all say sooth. (\u00bf) \u201cIn which\ndoth God speak in his own person?\u201d\u2014In that in which he saith, \u201cI have\nnot created Genii and men for any other end than that they should serve\nme.\u201d[360] (\u00bf) \u201cIn which verse do the angels speak?\u201d\u2014In that which saith,\n\u201cBut we celebrate Thy praise and extol Thy holiness.\u201d[361] (\u00bf) \u201cWhat\nsayest thou of the formula:\u2014I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the\nStoned?\u201d\u2014It is obligatory by commandment of Allah on all before reading\nthe Koran, as appeareth by His saying, \u201cWhen thou readest the Koran,\nseek refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned.\u201d[362] (\u00bf) \u201cWhat signify\nthe words \u2018seeking refuge\u2019[363] and what are the variants of the\nformula?\u201d\u2014Some say, \u201cI take refuge with Allah the All-hearing and\nAll-knowing,\u201d and others, \u201cWith Allah the Strong;\u201d but the best is that\nwhereof the Sublime Koran speaketh and the Traditions perpetuate. And he\n(whom Allah bless and keep!) was used to ejaculate, \u201cI seek refuge with\nAllah from Satan the Stoned.\u201d And quoth a Tradition, reported by Naf\u2019i\non the authority of his adopted father, \u201cThe apostle of Allah, was wont\nwhen he rose in the night to pray, to say aloud, Allaho Akbar; God is\nMost Great, with all Majesty! Praise be to Allah abundantly! Glory to\nAllah morn and even be!\u201d Then would he say, \u201cI seek refuge with Allah\nfrom Satan the Stoned and from the delusions of the Devils and their\nevil suggestions.\u201d And it is told of Ibn Abbas[364] (of whom Allah\naccept!) that he said, \u201cThe first time Gabriel came down to the Prophet\nwith revelation he taught him the \u2018seeking refuge,\u2019 saying:\u2014O Mohammed,\nsay, I seek refuge with Allah the All-hearing and All-knowing; then\nsay:\u2014In the name of Allah the Compassionating, the Compassionate! Read,\nin the name of thy Lord who created;\u2014created man of blood-clots.\u201d[365]\nNow when the Koranist heard her words he marvelled at her expressions,\nher eloquence, her learning, her excellence, and said, \u201cO damsel, what\nsayst thou of the verse \u201cIn the name of Allah, the Compassionating, the\nCompassionate? Is it one of the verses of the Koran?\u201d\u201d\u2014Yes; it is a\nverset of \u201cThe Ant\u201d[366] occurring also at the head of the first and\nbetween every two following chapters; and there is much difference of\nopinion, respecting this, among the learned.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now When it Was the Four Hundred and Forty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel\nhad told the professor concerning the difference of opinion among the\nlearned touching the \u2018Basmalah,\u2019 he said, \u201cThou hast replied aright: now\ntell me why is not the formula written at the head of the chapter of\nImmunity[367]?\u201d; and she answered, \u201cWhen this chapter was revealed from\non high for the dissolution of the alliance between the Prophet and the\nidolaters, He (whom Allah bless and preserve!) sent Ali[368] ibn Ab\u00ed\nT\u00e1lib (whose face Allah honour!) therewith, and he read the chapter to\nthem, but did not read the Basmalah.\u201d[369] (\u00bf) \u201cWhat of the excellence\nof the formula and its blessing?\u201d\u2014It is told of the Prophet that he\nsaid, \u201cNever is the Basmalah pronounced over aught, but there is a\nblessing in it;\u201d and it is reported, on authority of Him (whom Allah\nbless and preserve!) that the Lord of Glory swore by His glory that\nnever should the Basmalah be pronounced over a sick person, but he\nshould be healed of his sickness. Moreover, it is said that, when Allah\ncreated the empyrean, it was agitated with an exceeding agitation; but\nHe wrote on it, \u2018Bismillah\u2019 and its agitation subsided. When the formula\nfirst descended from heaven to the Prophet, he said, \u201cI am safe from\nthree things, earthquake and metamorphosis and drowning;\u201d and indeed its\nboons are great and its blessings too many to enumerate. It is told of\nAllah\u2019s Apostle that he said, \u201cThere will be brought on the Judgment-day\na man with whom He shall reckon and finding no good deed to his account,\nshall order him to the Fire; but the man will cry:\u2014O my God, Thou hast\nnot dealt justly by me! Then shall Allah (to whom be honour and glory!)\nsay, How so? and the man shall answer, O Lord, for that Thou callest\nThyself the Compassionating, the Compassionate, yet wilt Thou punish me\nwith the Fire! And Allah (magnified be His Majesty!) shall reply, I did\nindeed name myself the Compassionating, the Compassionate. Carry My\nservant to Paradise, of My mercy, for I am the most Merciful of the\nmercifuls!\u201d (\u00bf) \u201cWhat was the origin of the use of the Basmalah?\u201d\u2014When\nAllah sent down from Heaven the Koran, they wrote, \u201cIn Thy name, O my\nGod!\u201d; when Allah revealed the words, \u201cSay: Call upon Allah, or call\nupon the Compassionating, what days ye pray, for hath He the most\nexcellent names,\u201d[370] they wrote, \u201cIn the name of Allah, the\nCompassionating, the Compassionate;\u201d and, when He revealed the words,\n\u201cYour God is one God, there is no God but He, the Compassionating, the\nCompassionate,\u201d[371] they wrote, \u201cIn the name of Allah, the\nCompassionating, the Compassionate!\u201d Now when the Koranist heard her\nreply, he hung down his head and said to himself, \u201cThis be a marvel of\nmarvels! How hath this slave-girl expounded the origin of the Basmalah?\nBut, by Allah, needs must I go about with her and haply defeat her.\u201d So\nhe asked, \u201cDid Allah reveal the Koran all at once or at times manifold?\u201d\nShe answered, \u201cGabriel the Faithful (on whom be peace!) descended with\nit from the Lord of the Worlds upon His Prophet Mohammed, Prince of the\nApostles and Seal of the Prophets, by detached versets; bidding and\nforbidding, covenanting and comminating, and containing advices and\ninstances in the course of twenty years as occasion called for it.\u201d (\u00bf)\n\u201cWhich chapter was first revealed?\u201d\u2014According to Ibn Abbas, that\nentituled Congealed Blood:[372] and, according to J\u00e1bir bin\nAbdillah,[373] that called \u2018The Covered\u2019 which preceded all others.[374]\n(\u00bf) \u201cWhich verset was the last revealed?\u201d\u2014That of Usury,[375] and it is\nalso said, the verse, \u201cWhen there cometh Allah\u2019s succour and\nvictory.\u201d[376]\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to\nsay her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel\ntold the Koranist which was the last verse he said, \u201cThou hast replied\naright; now tell me the names of the Companions who collected the Koran,\nin the lifetime of the Apostle of Allah.\u201d And she answered, \u201cThey were\nfour, Ubay ibn Ka\u2019ab, Zayd ibn S\u00e1bit, Ab\u00fa Obaydah \u2018Aamir bin Jarr\u00e1h, and\nOthm\u00e1n bin Aff\u00e1n,[377] (Allah accept of them one and all!)\u201d (\u00bf) \u201cWho are\nthe readers, from whom the accepted reading of the Koran is taken?\u201d\u2014They\nnumber four, Abdallah bin Mas\u2019\u00fad, Ubay bin Ka\u2019ab, Ma\u2019az bin Jabal and\nS\u00e1lim bin Abdillah. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat sayest thou of the words of the Most High,\n\u2018That which is sacrificed to stones\u2019\u201d?[378]\u2014The stones are idols, which\nare set up and worshipped, instead of Allah the Most High, and from this\nwe seek refuge with Allah. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat sayest thou of the words of the\nMost High, Thou knowest what is in my soul, and I know not what is in\nThy soul\u201d?[379]\u2014They mean, \u201cThou knowest the truth of me and what is in\nme, and I know not what is in Thee; and the proof of this are His\nwords,[380] \u2018Thou art He who wottest the hidden things\u2019\u201d; and it is\nsaid, also, \u201cThou knowest my essence, but I know not Thine essence.\u201d (\u00bf)\n\u201cWhat sayst thou of the words of the Most High, \u2018O true believers,\nforbid not yourselves the good things which Allah hath allowed\nyou?\u2019\u201d[381]\u2014My Shaykh (on whom Allah have mercy!) told me that the\nCompanion Al-Zahh\u00e1k related:\u2014There was a people of the True-believers\nwho said, \u201cWe will dock our members masculine and don sackcloth;\u201d\nwhereupon this verse was revealed. But Al-Kut\u00e1dah declareth that it was\nrevealed on account of sundry Companions of the Apostle of Allah,\nnamely, Ali ibn Ab\u00ed T\u00e1lib and Othm\u00e1n bin Musa\u2019ab and others, who said,\n\u201cWe will geld ourselves and don hair cloth and make us monks.\u201d (\u00bf) \u201cWhat\nsayest thou of the words of the Most Highest, \u2018And Allah took Abraham\nfor His friend\u2019\u201d?[382]\u2014The friend of Allah is the needy, the poor, and\n(according to another saying) he is the lover, he who is detached from\nthe world in the love of Allah Almighty and in whose attachment there is\nno falling away. Now when the Koranist[383] saw her pass on in speech\nwith the passage of the clouds and that she stayed not in reply, he rose\nto his feet and said, \u201cI take Allah to witness, O Commander of the\nFaithful, that this damsel is more learned than I in Koranic exegesis\nand what pertaineth thereto.\u201d Then said she, \u201cI will ask thee one\nquestion, which if thou answer it is well; but if thou answer not, I\nwill strip off thy clothes.\u201d Quoth the Commander of the Faithful, \u201cAsk\non,\u201d and she enquired, \u201cWhich verset of the Koran hath in it\nthree-and-twenty K\u00e1fs, which sixteen M\u00edms, which an hundred and forty\n\u2018Ayns[384] and which section[385] lacketh the formula, \u2018To Whom belong\nglory and glorification and majesty[386]?\u2019\u201d The Koranist could not\nreply, and she said to him, \u201cPut off thy clothes.\u201d So he doffed them,\nand she continued, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, the verset of the\nsixteen Mims is in the chapter H\u00fad and is the saying of the Most High,\n\u2018It was said, O Noah, go down in peace from us, and blessing upon\nthee!\u2019;[387] that of the three-and-twenty Kafs is the verse called of\nthe Faith, in the chapter of The Cow; that of the hundred and forty Ayns\nis in the chapter of Al-A\u2019ar\u00e1f,[388] where the Lord saith, \u2018And Moses\nchose seventy men of his tribe to attend our appointed time;[389] to\neach man a pair of eyes.\u2019[390] And the lesson, which lacketh the\nformula, \u2018To Whom be glory and glorification,\u2019 is that which comprises\nthe chapters, The Hour draweth nigh and the Moon shall be cloven in\ntwain[391]; The Compassionate and The Event.\u201d[392] Thereupon the\nprofessor departed in confusion.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Forty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel\ndefeated the Koranist and took off his clothes and sent him away\nconfused, then came forward the skilled physician and said to her, \u201cWe\nare free of theology and come now to physiology. Tell me, therefore, how\nis man made; how many veins, bones and vertebr\u00e6 are there in his body;\nwhich is the first and chief vein and why Adam was named Adam?\u201d She\nreplied, \u201cAdam was called Adam, because of his _udmah_, that is, the\nwheaten colour of his complexion and also (it is said) because he was\ncreated of the _adim_ of the earth, that is to say, of the surface-soil.\nHis breast was made of the earth of the Ka\u2019abah, his head of earth from\nthe East and his legs of earth from the West. There were created for him\nseven doors in his head, viz., the eyes, the ears, the nostrils and the\nmouth, and two passages, before and behind. The eyes were made the seat\nof the sight-sense, the ears the seat of the hearing-sense, the nostrils\nthe seat of the smell-sense, the mouth the seat of the taste-sense and\nthe tongue to utter what is in the heart of man.[393] Now Adam was made\nof a compound of the four elements, which be water, earth, fire and air.\nThe yellow bile is the humour of fire, being hot-dry; the black bile\nthat of earth, being cold-dry; the phlegm that of water, being\ncold-moist, and the blood that of air, being hot-moist.[394] There were\nmade in man three hundred and sixty veins, two hundred and forty-nine\nbones, and three souls[395] or spirits, the animal, the rational and the\nnatural, to each of which is allotted its proper function. Moreover,\nAllah made him a heart and spleen and lungs and six intestines and a\nliver and two kidneys and buttocks and brain and bones and skin and five\nsenses; hearing, seeing, smell, taste, touch. The heart He set on the\nleft side of the breast and made the stomach the guide and governor\nthereof. He appointed the lungs for a fan to the heart and stablished\nthe liver on the right side, opposite thereto. Moreover, He made,\nbesides this, the diaphragm and the viscera and set up the bones of the\nbreast and latticed them with the ribs.\u201d (\u00bf) \u201cHow many ventricles are\nthere in a man\u2019s head?\u201d\u2014Three, which contain five faculties, styled the\nintrinsic senses, to wit, common sense, imagination, the thinking\nfaculty, perception and memory. (\u00bf) \u201cDescribe to me the configuration of\nthe bones.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say\nher permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Fiftieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the physicist\nsaid to her, \u201cDescribe to me the configuration of the bones,\u201d she\nreplied, \u201cMan\u2019s frame consists of two hundred and forty bones, which are\ndivided into three parts, the head, the trunk and the extremities. The\nhead is divided into calvarium and face. The skull is constructed of\neight bones, and to it are attached the four osselets of the ear. The\nface is furnished with an upper jaw of eleven bones and a lower jaw of\none; and to these are added the teeth two-and-thirty in number, and the\nos hyoides.[396] The trunk is divided into spinal column, breast and\nbasin. The spinal column is made up of four-and-twenty bones, called\nFik\u00e1r or vertebr\u00e6; the breast, of the breast-bone and the ribs, which\nare four-and-twenty in number, twelve on each side; and the basin of the\nhips, the sacrum[397] and the os coccygis. The extremities are divided\ninto upper and lower, arms and legs. The arms are again divided firstly\ninto shoulder, comprising shoulder blades and collar bone; secondly into\nthe upper arm which is one bone; thirdly into fore-arm, composed of two\nbones, the radius and the ulna, and fourthly into the hand, consisting\nof the wrist, the metacarpus of five and the fingers, which number five,\nof three bones each, called the phalanges, except the thumb, which hath\nbut two. The lower extremities are divided, firstly into thigh, which is\none bone secondly into leg, composed of three bones, the tibia, the\nfibula and the patella, and thirdly into the foot, divided, like the\nhand, into tarsus, metatarsus and toes; and is composed of seven bones,\nranged in two rows, two in one and five in the other; and the metatarsus\nis composed of five bones and the toes number five, each of three\nphalanges except the big toe which hath only two.\u201d (\u00bf) \u201cWhich is the\nroot of the veins?\u201d\u2014The aorta, from which they ramify, and they are\nmany, none knoweth the tale of them save He who created them; but I\nrepeat, it is said that they number three hundred and sixty.[398]\nMoreover, Allah hath appointed the tongue as interpreter for the\nthought, the eyes to serve as lanterns, the nostrils to smell with, and\nthe hands for prehensors. The liver is the seat of pity, the spleen of\nlaughter[399] and the kidneys of craft; the lungs are ventilators, the\nstomach the store-house and the heart the prop and pillar of the body.\nWhen the heart is sound, the whole body is sound, and when the heart is\ncorrupt, the whole body is corrupt. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the outward signs and\nsymptoms evidencing disease in the members of the body, both external\nand internal?\u201d\u2014A physician, who is a man of understanding, looketh into\nthe state of the body and is guided by the feel of the hands,[400]\naccording as they are firm or flabby, hot or cool, moist or dry.\nInternal disorders are also indicated by external symptoms, such as\nyellowness of the white of the eyes, which denoteth jaundice, and\nbending of the back, which denoteth disease of the lungs.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel\nhad described to the doctor the outer signs and symptoms quoth he, \u201cThou\nhast replied aright! now what are the internal symptoms of disease?\u201d\u2014The\nscience of the diagnosis of disease by internal symptoms is founded upon\nsix canons, (1) the patient\u2019s actions; (2) what is evacuated from his\nbody; (3) the nature of the pain and (4) the site thereof; (5) swelling\nand (6) the effluvia given off his person. (\u00bf) \u201cHow cometh hurt to the\nhead?\u201d\u2014By the ingestion of food upon food, before the first be digested,\nand by fullness upon fullness; this it is that wasteth peoples. He who\nwould live long, let him be early with the morning-meal and not late\nwith the evening-meal; let him be sparing of commerce with women and\nchary of such depletory measures as cupping and blood-letting; and let\nhim make of his belly three parts, one for food, one for drink and the\nthird for air; for that a man\u2019s intestines are eighteen spans in length\nand it befitteth that he appoint six for meat, six for drink, and six\nfor breath. If he walk, let him go gently; it will be wholesomer for him\nand better for his body and more in accordance with the saying of the\nAlmighty, \u201cWalk not proudly on the earth.\u201d[401] (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the\nsymptoms of yellow bile and what is to be feared therefrom?\u201d\u2014The\nsymptoms are sallow complexion and bitter taste in the mouth with\ndryness; failure of the appetite, venereal and other, and rapid pulse;\nand the patient hath to fear high fever and delirium and eruptions and\njaundice and tumour and ulcers of the bowels and excessive thirst. (\u00bf)\n\u201cWhat are the symptoms of black bile and what hath the patient to fear\nfrom it, an it get the mastery of the body?\u201d\u2014The symptoms are false\nappetite and great mental disquiet and cark and care; and it behoveth\nthat it be evacuated, else it will generate melancholia[402] and leprosy\nand cancer and disease of the spleen and ulceration of the bowels. (\u00bf)\n\u201cInto how many branches is the art of medicine divided?\u201d\u2014Into two: the\nart of diagnosing diseases and that of restoring the diseased body to\nhealth. (\u00bf) \u201cWhen is the drinking of medicine more efficacious than\nother-when?\u201d\u2014When the sap runs in the wood and the grape thickens in the\ncluster and the two auspicious planets, Jupiter and Venus, are in the\nascendant; then setteth in the proper season for drinking of drugs and\ndoing away of disease. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat time is it, when, if a man drink water\nfrom a new vessel, the drink is sweeter and lighter or more digestible\nto him than at another time, and there ascendeth to him a pleasant\nfragrance and a penetrating?\u201d\u2014\u2014When he waiteth awhile after eating, as\nquoth the poet:\u2014\n\n Drink not upon thy food in haste but wait awhile; \u273f Else thou with\n halter shalt thy frame to sickness lead:\n And patient bear a little thirst from food, then drink; \u273f And thus, O\n brother, haply thou shalt win thy need.[403]\n\n(\u00bf) \u201cWhat food is it that giveth not rise to ailments?\u201d\u2014That which is\nnot eaten but after hunger, and when it is eaten, the ribs are not\nfilled with it, even as saith J\u00e1l\u00edn\u00fas or Galen the physician, \u201cWhoso\nwill take in food, let him go slowly and he shall not go wrongly.\u201d And\nto conclude with His saying (on whom be blessing and peace!), \u201cThe\nstomach is the house of disease, and diet is the head of healing; for\nthe origin of all sickness is indigestion, that is to say, corruption of\nthe meat\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-second Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the\ndamsel said to the doctor, \u201cThe stomach is the house of disease and diet\nis the head of healing; for the origin of all sickness is indigestion,\nthat is to say, corruption of the meat in the stomach;\u201d he rejoined,\n\u201cThou hast replied aright! what sayest thou of the Hammam?\u201d\u2014Let not the\nfull man enter it. Quoth the Prophet, \u201cThe bath is the blessing of the\nhouse, for that it cleanseth the body and calleth to mind the Fire.\u201d (\u00bf)\n\u201cWhat Hammams are best for bathing in?\u201d\u2014Those whose waters are sweet and\nwhose space is ample and which are kept well aired; their atmosphere\nrepresenting the four seasons\u2014autumn and summer and winter and spring.\n(\u00bf) \u201cWhat kind of food is the most profitable?\u201d\u2014That which women make\nand which hath not cost overmuch trouble and which is readily digested.\nThe most excellent of food is brewis[404] or bread sopped in broth;\naccording to the saying of the Prophet, \u201cBrewis excelleth other food,\neven as Ayishah excelleth other women.\u201d (\u00bf) \u201cWhat kind of kitchen, or\nseasoning, is most profitable?\u201d\u2014\u201cFlesh meat\u201d (quoth the Prophet) \u201cis the\nmost excellent of kitchen; for that it is the delight of this world and\nthe next world.\u201d (\u00bf) \u201cWhat kind of meat is the most profitable?\u201d\u2014Mutton;\nbut jerked meat is to be avoided, for there is no profit in it. (\u00bf)\n\u201cWhat of fruits?\u201d\u2014Eat them in their prime and quit them when their\nseason is past. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat sayest thou of drinking water?\u201d\u2014Drink it not\nin large quantities nor swallow it by gulps, or it will give thee\nhead-ache and cause divers kinds of harm; neither drink it immediately\nafter leaving the Hammam nor after carnal copulation or eating (except\nit be after the lapse of fifteen minutes for a young man and forty for\nan old man), nor after waking from sleep. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat of drinking\nfermented liquors?\u201d\u2014Doth not the prohibition suffice thee in the Book of\nAlmighty Allah, where He saith, \u201cVerily, wine and lots and images, and\nthe divining arrows are an abomination, of Satan\u2019s work; therefore avoid\nthem, that ye may prosper\u201d?[405] And again, \u201cThey will ask thee\nconcerning wine and lots: Answer, \u2018In both there is great sin and also\nsome things of use unto men: but their sinfulness is greater than their\nuse.\u2019\u201d[406] Hence quoth the poet:\u2014\n\n O bibber of liquor, art not ashamed \u273f To drink what Allah forbade thee\n drain?\n Put it far from thee and approach it not; \u273f It holds what Allah forbade\n as bane.\n\nAnd quoth another to the same purport:\u2014\n\n I drank the sin till my reason fled: \u273f I\u2019ll drink that reason to loss\n misled!\n\nAs for the advantages that be therein, it disperseth stone and gravel\nfrom the kidneys and strengtheneth the viscera and banisheth care, and\nmoveth to generosity and preserveth health and digestion; it conserveth\nthe body, expelleth disease from the joints, purifieth the frame of\ncorrupt humours, engendereth cheerfulness, gladdeneth the heart of man\nand keepeth up the natural heat: it contracteth the bladder, enforceth\nthe liver and removeth obstructions, reddeneth the cheeks, cleareth away\nmaggots from the brain and deferreth grey hairs. In short, had not Allah\n(to whom be honour and glory!) forbidden it,[407] there were not on the\nface of the earth aught fit to stand in its stead. As for gambling by\nlots, it is a game of hazard such as dicing not of skill. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat wine\nis best?\u201d\u2014That which is pressed from white grapes and kept eighty days\nor more after fermentation: it resembleth not water and indeed there is\nnothing on the surface of the earth like unto it. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat sayest thou\nof cupping?\u201d\u2014It is for him who is over full of blood and who hath no\ndefect therein; and whoso would be cupped, let it be during the wane of\nthe moon, on a day without cloud, wind or rain and on the seventeenth of\nthe month. If it fall on a Tuesday, it will be the more efficacious, and\nnothing is more salutary for the brain and eyes and for clearing the\nintellect than cupping.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel\nenumerated the benefits of cupping, quoth the doctor, \u201cWhat is the best\ntime for cupping?\u201d\u2014One should be cupped \u2018on the spittle,\u2019 that is, in\nthe morning before eating, for this fortifieth the wit and the memory.\nIt is reported of the Prophet that, when anyone complained to him of a\npain in the head or legs, he would bid him be cupped and after cupping\nnot eat salt food fasting, for it engendereth scurvy; neither eat sour\nthings as curded milk[408] immediately after cupping. (\u00bf) \u201cWhen is\ncupping to be avoided?\u201d\u2014On Sabbaths or Saturdays and Wednesdays, and let\nhim who is cupped on these days blame none but himself. Moreover, one\nshould not be cupped in very hot weather nor in very cold weather; and\nthe best season for cupping is springtide. Quoth the doctor, \u201cNow tell\nme of carnal copulation.\u201d Hereupon Tawaddud hung her head, for shame and\nconfusion before the Caliph\u2019s majesty; then said, \u201cBy Allah, O Commander\nof the Faithful, it is not that I am at fault, but that I am ashamed;\nthough, indeed, the answer is on the edge of my tongue.\u201d Said the\nCaliph; \u201cSpeak, O damsel,\u201d whereupon said she, \u201cCopulation hath in it\nmany and exceeding virtues and praiseworthy qualities, amongst which\nare, that it lighteneth a body full of black bile and calmeth the heat\nof love and induceth affection and dilateth the heart and dispelleth the\nsadness of solitude; and the excess of it is more harmful in summer and\nautumn than in spring and winter.\u201d (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are its good effects?\u201d\u2014It\nbanisheth trouble and disquiet, calmeth love and wrath and is good for\nulcers, especially in a cold and dry humour; on the other hand excess of\nit weakeneth the sight and engendereth pains in the legs and head and\nback: and beware, beware of carnal connection with old women, for they\nare deadly. Quoth the Imam Ali[409] (whose face Allah honour!), \u201cFour\nthings kill and ruin the body: entering the Hammam on a full stomach;\neating salt food; copulation on a plethora of blood and lying with an\nailing woman; for she will weaken thy strength and infect thy frame with\nsickness; and an old woman is deadly poison.\u201d And quoth one of them,\n\u201cBeware of taking an old woman to wife, though she be richer in hoards\nthan K\u00e1r\u00fan.\u201d[410] (\u00bf) \u201cWhat is the best copulation?\u201d\u2014If the woman be\ntender of years, comely of shape, fair of face, swelling of breast and\nof noble race, she will add to thee strength and health of body; and let\nher be even as saith a certain poet describing her:\u2014\n\n Seeing thy looks wots she what thou desir\u2019st, \u273f By inspiration; wants\n nor word nor sign;\n And, when thou dost behold her rarest grace, \u273f The charms of every\n garden canst decline.\n\n(\u00bf) \u201cAt what time is copulation good?\u201d\u2014If by night, after food digested\nand if by day, after the morning meal. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the most excellent\nfruits?\u201d\u2014Pomegranate and citron. (\u00bf) \u201cWhich is the most excellent of\nvegetables?\u201d\u2014Endive.[411] (\u00bf) \u201cWhich of sweet-scented flowers?\u201d\u2014Rose and\nViolet. (\u00bf) \u201cHow is the seed of man secreted?\u201d\u2014There is in man a vein\nwhich feedeth all the other veins. Now water is collected from the three\nhundred and sixty veins and, in the form of red blood, entereth the left\ntesticle, where it is decocted, by the heat of temperament inherent in\nthe son of Adam, into a thick, white liquid, whose odour is as that of\nthe palm-spathe. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat flying thing is it that emitteth seed and\nmenstruateth?\u201d\u2014The flitter-mouse,[412] that is the bat. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat is\nthat which, when confined and shut out from the air liveth, and when let\nout to smell the air dieth?\u201d\u2014The fish. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat serpent layeth\neggs?\u201d\u2014The Su\u2019ban or dragon.[413] With this the physician waxed weary\nwith much questioning, and held his peace, when Tawaddud said to the\nCaliph, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, he hath questioned me till he is\ntired out and now I will ask him one question, which if he answer not, I\nwill take his clothes as lawful prize.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-fourth Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the\ndamsel said to the Commander of the Faithful, \u201cVerily he hath questioned\nme till he is tired out, and now I will ask him one question, which if\nhe answer not I will take his clothes as lawful prize,\u201d the Caliph\ncried, \u201cAsk on.\u201d So quoth she to the physician, \u201cWhat is that thing\nwhich resembleth the earth in roundness, whose resting-place and whose\nspine are hidden from men\u2019s eyes; little of price and estimation; narrow\nof chest and shackled as to throat though it be nor runaway slave nor\npestilent thief; thrust through and through, though not in fray, and\nwounded, though not in fight; time eateth its vigour and water wasteth\nit away; now it is beaten without blemish, and then made to serve\nwithout stint; united after separation; submissive, but not to him who\ncaresseth it; pregnant without child in belly; drooping, yet not leaning\non its side; becoming dirty yet purifying itself; cleaving to its fere,\nyet changing; copulating without a yard, wrestling without arms: resting\nand taking its ease; bitten, yet not crying out: now more complaisant\nthan a cup-companion and then more troublesome than summer-heat; leaving\nits mate by night and embracing her by day and having its abode in the\ncorners of the mansions of the noble?\u201d The physician was silent awhile\nin perplexity and his colour changed and he bowed his head and made no\nreply; whereupon she said to him, \u201cHo, sir doctor, speak or doff thy\ndress.\u201d At this, he rose and said, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, bear\nwitness against me that this damsel is more learned than I in medicine\nand what else, and that I cannot cope with her.\u201d And he put off his\nclothes and fled forth. Quoth the Caliph to Tawaddud, \u201cRee us thy\nriddle,\u201d and she replied, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, it is the button\nand the button-loop.[414]\u201d\u2014Then she undertook the astronomers and said,\n\u201cLet him of you who is an astronomer rise and come forward.\u201d So the\nastronomer advanced and sat down before her; and, when she saw him, she\nlaughed and said, \u201cArt thou the astronomer, the mathematician, the\nscribe?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d answered he. Quoth she, \u201cAsk of what thou wilt; success\nresteth with Allah.\u201d So he said, \u201cTell me of the sun and its rising and\nsetting?\u201d And she replied:\u2014Know that the sun riseth from the shadows in\nthe Eastern hemisphere and setteth in the shadows of the Western, and\neach hemisphere compriseth one hundred and eighty degrees. Quoth Allah\nAlmighty, \u2018I swear by the Lord of the East and of the West.\u2019[415] And\nagain, \u2018He it is who hath ordained the sun to shine by day, and the moon\nfor a light by night; and hath appointed her station that ye might know\nthe number of years and the computation of time.\u2019[416] The moon is\nSultan of the night and the sun Sultan of the day, and they vie with\neach other in their courses and follow without overtaking each other.\nQuoth Almighty Allah, \u2018It is not expedient that the sun overtake the\nmoon in her course; neither doth the night outstrip the day, but each of\nthese luminaries moveth in a peculiar orbit.\u2019[417] (\u00bf) \u201cWhen the day\ncometh, what becometh of the night; and what of the day, when the night\ncometh?\u201d\u2014He causeth the night to enter in upon the day, and He causeth\nthe day to enter in upon the night.\u2019[418] (\u00bf) \u201cEnumerate to me the\nmansions of the moon?\u201d[419]\u2014They number eight-and-twenty, to wit,\nSharat\u00e1n, Butayn, Suray\u00e1, Dabar\u00e1n, Hak\u2019ah, Han\u2019ah, Zir\u00e1\u2019a, Nasrah, Tarf,\nJabhah, Zubrah, Sarfah, \u2018Aww\u00e1, Sim\u00e1k, Ghafar, Zub\u00e1n\u00ed, Ikl\u00edl, Kalb,\nShaulah, Na\u2019am, Baldah, Sa\u2019ad al-Z\u00e1bih, Sa\u2019ad al-Bul\u2019a, Sa\u2019ad al-Su\u2019\u00fad,\nSa\u2019ad al-Akhbiyah, Fargh the Former and Fargh the Latter; and Rish\u00e1a.\nThey are disposed in the order of the letters of the Abjad-hawwaz or\nolder alphabet,[420] according to their numerical power, and in them are\nsecret virtues which none knoweth save Allah (extolled and exalted be\nHe!) and the stablished in science. They are divided among the twelve\nSigns of the Zodiac, two mansions and a third of a mansion to each Sign.\nThus Sharatan, Butayn and one-third of Sur\u00e1y\u00e1, belong to Aries, the\nother two-thirds of Sur\u00e1y\u00e1, Dabaran and two-thirds of Hak\u2019ah to Taurus,\nthe other third of Hak\u2019ah, Han\u2019ah and Zira\u2019a to Gemini; Nasrah, Tarf and\na third of Jabhah to Cancer, the other two-thirds of Jabhah, Zubrah and\ntwo-thirds of Sarfah to Leo; the other third of Sarfah, \u2018Aww\u00e1 and Sim\u00e1k\nto Virgo; Ghafar, Zub\u00e1ni and one-third of Ikl\u00edl to Libra; the other\ntwo-thirds of Iklil, Kalb and two-thirds of Shaulah to Scorpio; the\nother third of Shaulah, Na\u2019\u00e1im and Baldah to Sagittarius; Sa\u2019ad\nal-Z\u00e1bih, Sa\u2019ad al-Bul\u2019a and one-third of Sa\u2019ad al-Su\u2019ud to Capricorn,\nthe other two-thirds of Sa\u2019ad al-Su\u2019\u00fad, Sa\u2019ad al-Akhbiyah and two-thirds\nof Fargh the Former to Aquarius, the other third of Fargh the Former,\nFargh the Latter and Rish\u00e1a to Pisces.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel\nenumerated the Mansions and distributed them into their Signs, the\nastronomer said, \u201cThou hast replied aright; now tell me of the planets\nand their natures, also of their sojourn in the Zodiacal Signs, their\naspects, auspicious and sinister, their houses, ascendants and\ndescendants.\u201d She answered, \u201cThe sitting is narrow for so large a\nmatter, but I will say as much as I can. Now the planets number seven;\nwhich are, the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. The\nSun, hot-dry, sinister in conjunction, favourable in opposition, abideth\nthirty days in each Sign. The Moon, cold-moist and favourable of aspect,\ntarrieth in each Sign two days and a third of another day. Mercury is of\na mixed nature, favourable in conjunction with the favourable, and\nsinister in conjunction with the sinister aspects, and abideth in each\nsign seventeen days and a half day. Venus, temperate and favourable,\nabideth in each sign five-and-twenty days. Mars is sinister and woneth\nin each sign ten months. Jupiter is auspicious and abideth in each sign\na year. Saturn, cold-dry and sinister, tarrieth in each sign thirty\nmonths. The house of the Sun is Leo, her ascendant is Aries, and her\ndescendant Aquarius. The Moon\u2019s house is Cancer, his ascendant Taurus,\nhis descendant Scorpio and his sinister aspect Capricorn. Saturn\u2019s house\nis Capricorn-Aquarius, his ascendant Libra, his descendant Aries and his\nsinister aspects Cancer and Leo. Jupiter\u2019s house is Pisces-Sagittarius,\nhis ascendant Cancer, his descendant Capricorn and his sinister aspects\nGemini and Leo. Venus\u2019s house is Taurus, her ascendant Pisces, her\ndescendant Libra, and her sinister aspects Aries and Scorpio. Mercury\u2019s\nhouse is Gemini-Virgo, his ascendant Virgo, his descendant Pisces, and\nhis sinister aspect Taurus. Mars\u2019s house is Aries-Scorpio, his ascendant\nCapricorn, his descendant Cancer and his sinister aspect Libra.\u201d Now\nwhen the astronomer saw her acuteness and comprehensive learning and\nheard her fair answers, he bethought him for a sleight to confound her\nbefore the Commander of the Faithful, and said to her, \u201cO damsel, tell\nme, will rain fall this month?\u201d At this she bowed her head and pondered\nso long, that the Caliph thought her at a loss for an answer and the\nastronomer said to her, \u201cWhy dost thou not speak?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cI will\nnot speak except the Commander of the Faithful give me leave.\u201d So the\nCaliph laughed and said, \u201cHow so?\u201d Cried she, \u201cI would have thee give me\na sword, that I may strike off his head, for he is an Infidel, an\nAgnostic, an Atheist.[421]\u201d At this, loud laughed the Caliph and those\nabout him laughed, and she continued, \u201cO astronomer, there are five\nthings that none knoweth save Allah Almighty;\u201d and she repeated the\nverset; \u2018Aye! Allah!\u2014with Him is the knowledge of the hour and He\ncauseth the rain to descend at His own appointed time\u2014and He knoweth\nwhat is in the wombs of females\u2014but no soul knoweth what it shall have\ngotten on the morrow; neither wotteth any soul in what land it shall\ndie: Verily Allah is knowing, informed of all.\u2019[422] Quoth the\nastronomer, \u201cThou hast said well, and I, by Allah, thought only to try\nthee.\u201d Rejoined she, \u201cKnow that the almanack-makers have certain signs\nand tokens, referring to the planets and constellations relative to the\ncoming in of the year; and folk have learned something by experience.\u201d\n(\u00bf) \u201cWhat be that?\u201d\u2014Each day hath a planet that ruleth it: so if the\nfirst day in the year fall on First Day (Sunday) that day is the Sun\u2019s\nand this portendeth (though Allah alone is All-knowing!) oppression of\nkings and sultans and governors and much miasma and lack of rain; and\nthat people will be in great tumult and the grain-crop will be good,\nexcept lentils, which will perish, and the vines will rot and flax will\nbe dear and wheat cheap from the beginning of T\u00fabah to the end of\nBarmah\u00e1t.[423] And, in this year there will be much fighting among\nkings, and there shall be great plenty of good in this year, but Allah\nis All-knowing! (\u00bf) \u201cWhat if the first day fall on Second Day\n(Monday)?\u201d\u2014That day belongeth to the Moon and portendeth righteousness\nin administrators and officials; and that it will be a year of much rain\nand grain-crops will be good, but linseed will decay and wheat will be\ncheap in the month Kiy\u00e1hk;[424] also the plague will rage and the sheep\nand goats will die, grapes will be plentiful and honey scarce and cotton\ncheap; and Allah is omniscient!\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel\nended her notice of Second Day the astronomer said to her \u201cNow tell me\nwhat will occur if New Year\u2019s day fall on Third Day (Tuesday).\u201d She\nreplied, That is Mars\u2019 day and portendeth death of great men and much\ndestruction and deluge of blood and dearness of grain; lack of rain and\nscarcity of fish, which will anon be in excess and anon fail. Lentils\nand honey in this year will be cheap and linseed dear and only barley\nwill thrive, to the exception of all other cereals: great will be the\nfighting among kings and death will be in the blood and there will be\nmuch mortality among asses. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat if it fall on Fourth Day?\u201d\u2014That is\nMercury\u2019s day and portendeth great tumult among the folk and much enmity\nand, though rains be moderate, rotting of some of the green crops; also\nthat there will be sore mortality among cattle and young children and\nmuch fighting by sea; that wheat will be dear from Barm\u00fadah to\nMisra[425] and other grains cheap; thunder and lightning will abound and\nhoney will be dear, palm-trees will thrive and bear abundantly and flax\nand cotton will be plentiful, while radishes and onions will be dear;\nbut Allah is All-knowing! (\u00bf) \u201cWhat if it fall on Fifth Day?\u201d\u2014That is\nJupiter\u2019s day and portendeth equity in Wazirs and righteousness in Kazis\nand Fakirs and the Ministers of religion; and that good will be\nplentiful: rains and fruit and trees and grain will abound, and flax,\ncotton, honey, grapes and fish be cheap; and Allah is Omniscient! (\u00bf)\n\u201cWhat if it fall on Meeting Day or Friday?\u201d\u2014That day appertaineth to\nVenus and portendeth oppression in the chiefs of the Jinn and talk of\nforgery and back-biting; there will be much dew; the autumn crops will\nbe good in the land and there will be cheapness in one town and not in\nanother: ungraciousness will be rife by land and sea; linseed will be\ndear, also wheat, in H\u00e1t\u00far, but cheap in Amsh\u00edr; honey will be dear and\ngrapes and water-melons will rot; and Allah is Omniscient! (\u00bf) \u201cWhat if\nit fall on the Sabbath (Saturday)?\u201d\u2014\u201cThat is Saturn\u2019s day and portendeth\nthe preferment of slaves and Greeks and those in whom there is no good,\nneither in their neighbourhood; there will be great drought and dearth;\nclouds will abound and death will be rife among the sons of Adam and woe\nto the people of Egypt and Syria from the oppression of the Sultan and\nfailure of blessing upon the green crops and rotting of grain; and Allah\nis All-knowing!\u201d[426] Now with this, the astronomer hung his head very\nlow, and she said to him, \u201cO astronomer, I will ask thee one question,\nwhich if thou answer not, I will take thy clothes.\u201d \u201cAsk,\u201d replied he.\nQuoth she, \u201cWhere is Saturn\u2019s dwelling-place?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cIn the\nseventh heaven.\u201d (\u00bf) \u201cAnd that of Jupiter?\u201d\u2014In the sixth heaven. (\u00bf)\n\u201cAnd that of Mars?\u201d\u2014In the fifth heaven. (\u00bf) \u201cAnd that of the Sun?\u201d\u2014In\nthe fourth heaven. (\u00bf) \u201cAnd that of Venus?\u201d\u2014In the third heaven. (\u00bf)\n\u201cAnd that of Mercury?\u201d\u2014In the second heaven. (\u00bf) \u201cAnd that of the\nMoon?\u201d\u2014In the first heaven. Quoth she, \u201cWell answered; but I have one\nmore question to ask thee;\u201d and quoth he, \u201cAsk!\u201d Accordingly she said,\n\u201cNow tell me concerning the stars, into how many parts are they\ndivided.\u201d But he was silent and answered nothing; and she cried to him,\n\u201cPut off thy clothes.\u201d So he doffed them and she took them; after which\nthe Caliph said to her, \u201cTell us the answer to thy question.\u201d She\nreplied:\u2014O Commander of the Faithful, the stars are divided into three\nparts, whereof one-third is hung in the sky of the earth,[427] as it\nwere lamps, to give light to the earth, and a part is used to shoot the\ndemons withal, when they draw near by stealth to listen to the talk in\nheaven. Quoth Allah Almighty, \u2018Verily, we have dight the sky of the\nearth with the adornment of the stars; and have appointed them for\nprojectiles against every rebellious Satan.\u2019[428] And the third part is\nhung in air to illuminate the seas and give light to what is therein.\nQuoth the astronomer, \u201cI have one more question to ask, which if she\nanswer, I will avow myself beaten.\u201d \u201cSay on,\u201d answered she.\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-seventh Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the\nastronomer said, \u201cNow tell me what four contraries are based upon other\nfour contraries?\u201d Replied she, \u201cThe four qualities of Caloric and\nFrigoric, Humidity and Siccity; for of heat Allah created fire, whose\nnature is hot-dry; of dryness, earth, which is cold-dry; of cold, water,\nwhich is cold-wet; of moisture, air, which is hot-wet. Moreover, He\ncreated twelve Signs of the Zodiac, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo,\nVirgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces; and\nappointed them of the four humours; three fiery, Aries, Leo, and\nSagittarius; three earthy, Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn; three airy,\nGemini, Libra and Aquarius; and three watery, Cancer, Scorpio and\nPisces.\u201d Hereupon the astronomer rose, and saying, \u201cBear witness against\nme that she is more learned than I,\u201d away he went beaten. Then quoth the\nCaliph, \u201cWhere is the philosopher[429]?\u201d; at which one rose hastily and\ncame forward and said to Tawaddud, \u201cWhat is Time and what be its limits,\nand its days, and what things bringeth it?\u201d Replied she, \u201cTime is a term\napplied to the hours of the night and day, which are but the measures of\nthe courses of the sun and moon in their several heavens, even as Allah\nAlmighty telleth us when he saith, \u2018A sign to them also is the Night,\nfrom which we strip off the day, and lo! they are plunged in darkness,\nand the Sun runneth to her place of rest; this is the ordinance of the\nSublime, the All-knowing.\u2019\u201d[430] (\u00bf) \u201cHow cometh unbelief to the son of\nAdam?\u201d\u2014It is reported of the Apostle (whom Allah bless and preserve!)\nthat he said, \u2018Unbelief in a man runneth as the blood runneth in his\nveins, when he revileth the world and Time and night and the Hour.\u2019 And\nagain, \u2018Let none of you revile Time, for Time is God;\u2019 neither revile\nthe world, for she saith, May Allah not aid him who revileth me! neither\nrevile the hour, for, \u2018The Hour is surely coming, there is no doubt\nthereof\u2019;[431] neither revile the earth, for it is a portent, according\nto the saying of the Most High, \u2018Out of the ground have we created you,\nand into the same will we cause you to return, and we will bring you\nforth yet thence another time.\u2019[432] (\u00bf) \u201cWhat are the five that ate and\ndrank, yet came not out of loins nor womb?\u201d\u2014Adam and Simeon[433] and\nSalih\u2019s she-camel[434] and Ishmael\u2019s ram and the bird that Abu Bakr the\nTruth-teller saw in the cave.[435] (\u00bf) \u201cTell me of five that are in\nParadise and are neither humans, Jinns nor angels?\u201d\u2014Jacob\u2019s wolf and the\nSeven Sleepers\u2019 dog and Esdras\u2019s ass and Salih\u2019s camel and Duldul the\nmule of the Prophet (upon whom be blessings and peace!). (\u00bf) \u201cWhat man\nprayed a prayer neither on earth nor in heaven?\u201d\u2014Solomon, when he prayed\non his carpet, borne by the wind. (\u00bf) \u201cRee me this riddle:\u2014A man once\nlooked at a handmaid during dawn-prayer, and she was unlawful to him;\nbut, at noonday she became lawful to him: by mid-afternoon, she was\nagain unlawful, but at sundown, she was lawful to him: at supper time\nshe was a third time unlawful, but by daybreak, she became once more\nlawful to him.\u201d\u2014This was a man who looked at another\u2019s slave-girl in the\nmorning, and she was then unlawful to him; but at midday he bought her,\nand she became lawful to him: at mid-afternoon he freed her, and she\nbecame unlawful to him; but at sundown he married her and she was again\nlawful to him. At nightfall he divorced her and she was then a third\ntime unlawful to him; but, next morning at daybreak, he took her back,\nand she became once more lawful to him. (\u00bf) \u201cTell me what tomb went\nabout with him that lay buried therein?\u201d\u2014Jonah\u2019s whale, when it had\nswallowed him. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat spot of lowland is it, upon which the sun shone\nonce, but will never again shine till Judgment-Day?\u201d\u2014The bottom of the\nRed Sea, when Moses smote it with his staff, and the sea clave asunder\nin twelve places, according to the number of the tribes;[436] then\nthe sun shone on the bottom and will do so nevermore until\nJudgment-Day.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say\nher permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the philosopher\nthen addressed the damsel saying, \u201cWhat was the first skirt that trailed\nover the face of the earth?\u201d She replied, \u201cThat of Hagar, out of shame\nbefore Sarah; and it became a custom among the Arabs.\u201d (\u00bf) \u201cWhat is that\nwhich breatheth without life?\u201d\u2014Quoth Almighty Allah, \u2018By the morning\nwhen it breatheth!\u2019[437] (\u00bf) \u201cRee me this riddle:\u2014A number of pigeons\ncame to a high tree and lighted, some on the tree and others under it.\nSaid those on the tree to those on the ground:\u2014If one of you come up to\nus, ye will be a third part of us all in number; and if one of us\ndescend to you, we shall be like unto you in number. How many pigeons\nwere there in all?\u201d\u2014Twelve: seven alighted on the tree and five beneath;\nand, if one go up, those above would be eight to four; and, if one go\ndown, both would be six and Allah is all-knowing.[438] With this the\nphilosopher put off his clothes and fled: whereupon the next contest\ntook place, for she turned to the Olema present and said, \u201cWhich of you\nis the rhetorician that can discourse of all arts and sciences?\u201d There\ncame forward a sage hight Ibrahim bin Siyy\u00e1r and said to her, \u201cThink me\nnot like the rest.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cIt is the more assured to me that thou\nwilt be beaten, for that thou art a boaster; and Allah will help me to\nvictory over thee, that I may strip thee of thy clothes. So, if thou\nsentest one to fetch thee wherewithal to cover thyself, \u2018twould be well\nfor thee.\u201d Cried he, \u201cBy Allah, I will assuredly conquer thee and make\nthee a byword among the peoples, generation after generation!\u201d Rejoined\nshe, \u201cDo penance in advance for thy broken oath.\u201d Then he asked, \u201cWhat\nfive things did Allah create before he made man?\u201d; and she answered,\n\u201cWater and earth and light and darkness and the fruits of the earth.\u201d\n(\u00bf) \u201cWhat did Allah create with the hand of omnipotence?\u201d\u2014The \u2018Arsh,\nthrone of God or the empyreal heaven and the tree T\u00fab\u00e1[439] and Adam and\nthe garden of Eden; these Allah created with the hand of His\nomnipotence; but to all other created things He said, \u201cBe,\u201d\u2014and they\nwere. (\u00bf) \u201cWho is thy father in Al-Islam?\u201d\u2014Mohammed, whom Allah bless\nand preserve! (\u00bf) \u201cWho was the father in Al-Islam of Mohammed?\u201d\u2014Abraham,\nthe Friend of God. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat is the Faith of Al-Islam?\u201d\u2014The professing\nthat there is no God but _the_ God and that Mohammed is the apostle of\nGod. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat is thy first and thy last?\u201d\u2014My first is man\u2019s seed in the\nshape of foul water and my last filthy carrion: the first of me is dust\nand the last of me is dust. Quoth the poet:\u2014\n\n Of dust was I created, and man did I become, \u273f In question ever ready\n and aye fluent in reply,\n Then, I unto the dust return\u2019d, became of it again, \u273f For that, in very\n deed, of dust at first create was I.\n\nHe continued, \u201cWhat thing was it, whose first state was wood and its\nlast life?\u201d\u2014Moses\u2019 staff,[440] when he cast it on the valley-ground and\nit became, by permission of Allah, a writhing serpent. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat is the\nmeaning of the word of the Lord, \u2018And I have other occasion for\nit?\u2019\u201d[441]\u2014He, Moses, was wont to plant his staff in the ground, and it\nwould flower and fruit and shade him from the heat and from the cold.\nMoreover, it would carry him when he was weary, and whilst he slept\nguard his sheep from lions and wild beasts. (\u00bf) \u201cWhat woman was born of\na man alone and what man of a woman alone?\u201d\u2014Eve of Adam and Jesus of\nMary.[442] (\u00bf) \u201cTell me of the four fires, what fire eateth and\ndrinketh; what fire eateth but drinketh not; what fire drinketh but\neateth not and what other neither eateth nor drinketh?\u201d\u2014The fire of the\nworld eateth but drinketh not; the fire which eateth and drinketh is\nHell-fire; the fire of the sun drinketh but eateth not, and the fire of\nthe moon neither eateth nor drinketh. (\u00bf) \u201cWhich is the open door and\nwhich the shut?\u201d\u2014The Traditional Ordinances are the open door, the\nKoranic the shut door. (\u00bf) \u201cOf what doth the poet speak, when he saith:\u2014\n\n And dweller in the tomb whose food is at his head, \u273f When he eateth of\n that meat, of words he waxeth fain:\n\n He riseth and he walketh and he talketh without tongue; \u273f And returneth\n to the tomb where his kith and kin are lain.\n No living wight is he, yet in honour he abides; \u273f Nor dead yet he\n deserveth that Allah him assain.\u201d\n\nShe replied, \u201cThe reed-pen.\u201d[443] Quoth he, \u201cWhat doth the poet refer to\nin these verses:\u2014\n\n Two vests in one; blood flowing easiest wise; \u273f Rosy red ears and mouth\n wide open lies;\n It hath a cock-like form, its belly pecks \u273f And, if you price it, half a\n dirham buys.\u201d\n\nShe replied, \u201cThe ink-case.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cAnd in these:\u2014\n\n Ho say to men of wisdom, wit and lore \u273f To sapient, reverend, clever\n counsellor:\n Tell me what was\u2019t you saw that bird bring forth \u273f When wandering\n Arab-land and Ajam o\u2019er?\n No flesh it beareth and it hath no blood, \u273f Nor down nor any feathers\n e\u2019er it wore.\n \u2018Tis eaten cooked and eke \u2018tis eaten cold; \u273f \u2018Tis eaten buried \u2018neath\n the flames that roar:\n It showeth two-fold colours, silver white \u273f And yellow brighter than\n pure golden ore:\n \u2018Tis not seen living or we count it dead: \u273f So ree my riddle rich in\n marvel-store!\u201d\n\nShe replied, \u201cThou makest longsome the questioning anent an egg worth a\nmite.\u201d \u201cAnd this?:\u201d\u2014\n\n I waved to and fro and he waved to and fro, \u273f With a motion so pleasant,\n now fast and now slow;\n And at last he sunk down on my bosom of snow; \u273f \u201cYour lover friend?\u201d\n\n\u2014\u201c_No friend, my fan_;\u201d[444] said she. (\u00bf) \u201cHow many words did Allah\nspeak to Moses?\u201d\u2014It is related of the Apostle that he said, \u201cGod spoke\nto Moses fifteen hundred and fifteen words.\u201d (\u00bf) \u201cTell me of fourteen\nthings that speak to the Lord of the Worlds?\u201d\u2014The seven heavens and\nthe seven earths, when they say, \u2018We come obedient to Thy\ncommand.\u2019[445]\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nsaying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel\nmade the answer, the philosopher continued, \u201cTell me of Adam and how he\nwas first created?\u201d and she said, \u201cAllah created Adam of clay: the clay\nHe made of foam and the foam of the sea, the sea of darkness, darkness\nof light, light of a fish, the fish of a rock, the rock of a ruby, the\nruby of water, and the water He created by His Omnipotence according to\nHis saying (exalted be His name!), \u2018His commandment when He willeth\naught, is but to say, BE,\u2014and IT IS.\u2019\u201d[446] (\u00bf) \u201cWhat is meant by the\npoet in these verses:\u2014\n\n And eater lacking mouth and even maw; \u273f Yet trees and beasts to it are\n daily bread:\n Well fed it thrives and shows a lively life, \u273f But give it water and you\n do it dead?\u201d\n\n\u201cThis,\u201d quoth she, \u201cis Fire.\u201d \u201cAnd in these;\u201d he asked:\u2014\n\n \u201cTwo lovers barred from every joy and bliss, \u273f Who through the livelong\n night embracing lie:\n They guard the folk from all calamities, \u273f But with the rising sun apart\n they fly?\u201d\n\nShe answered, \u201cThe leaves of a door.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cTell me of the gates of\nGehenna?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cThey are seven in number and their names are\ncomprised in these two couplets:\u2014\n\n Jahannam, next Laz\u00e1, and third Hat\u00edm; \u273f Then count Sa\u2019\u00edr and Sakar eke,\n five-fold,\n Sixth comes Jah\u00edm and H\u00e1wiyah the seventh; \u273f Here are seven Hells in\n four lines briefly told.\u201d\n\nQuoth he \u201cTo what doth the poet refer when he saith:\u2014\n\n She wears a pair of ringlets long let down \u273f Behind her, as she comes\n and goes at speed,\n And eye that never tastes of sleep nor sheds \u273f A tear, for ne\u2019er a drop\n it hath at need;\n That never all its life wore stitch of clothes; \u273f Yet robes mankind in\n every mode of weed?\u201d\n\nQuoth she, \u201cA needle.\u201d (\u00bf) \u201cWhat is the length and what the breadth of\nthe bridge Al-Sir\u00e1t?\u201d\u2014Its length is three thousand years\u2019 journey, a\nthousand in descent and a thousand in ascent and a thousand level: it is\nsharper than a sword and finer than a hair.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Sixtieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel\nhad described to him Al-Sirat, the philosopher said, \u201cInform me how many\nintercessions with Allah hath the Prophet for each soul?\u201d[447]\u2014Three.\n(\u00bf) \u201cWas Abu Bakr the first who embraced Al-Islam?\u201d\u2014Yes. (\u00bf) \u201cYet Ali\nbecame a Moslem before him?\u201d\u2014Ali came to the Prophet, when he was a boy\nof seven years old, for Allah vouchsafed him knowledge of the way of\nsalvation in his tender youth, so that he never prostrated himself to\nidols. Quoth he, \u201cTell me which is the more excellent, Ali or Abb\u00e1s?\u201d\nNow she knew that, in propounding this question, Ibrahim was laying a\ntrap for her; for if she said, \u201cAli is more excellent than Abbas,\u201d she\nwould lack excuse with the Caliph for undervaluing his ancestor; so she\nbowed her head awhile, now reddening, then paling, and lastly said,\n\u201cThou askest me of two excellent men, each having his own excellence.\nLet us return to what we were about.\u201d When the Caliph Harun al-Rashid\nheard her, he stood up and said, \u201cThou hast spoken well, by the Lord of\nthe Ka\u2019abah, O Tawaddud!\u201d Then quoth Ibrahim the rhetorician, \u201cWhat\nmeaneth the poet when he saith:\u2014\n\n Slim-wasted one, whose taste is sweetest-sweet, \u273f Likest a lance whereon\n no head we scan:\n And all the lieges find it work them weal, \u273f Eaten of afternoon in\n Ramazan.\u201d\n\nShe answered, \u201cThe sugar-cane;\u201d and he said, \u201cTell me of many things.\u201d\nAsked she, \u201cWhat are they?\u201d and he said, \u201cWhat is sweeter than honey;\nwhat is sharper than the sword; what is swifter than poison; what is the\ndelight of a moment and what the contentment of three days; what is the\npleasantest of days; what is the joy of a week; what is that debt the\nworst debtor denieth not; what is the prison of the tomb; what is the\njoy of the heart; what is the snare of the soul; what is death-in-life;\nwhat is the disease that may not be healed; what is the shame that may\nnot be wiped off; what is the beast that woneth not in cultivated\nfields, but lodgeth in waste places and hateth the sons of Adam and hath\nin him somewhat of the make of seven strong and violent beasts?\u201d Quoth\nshe, \u201cHear what I shall say in reply; then put off thy clothes, that I\nmay explain to thee;\u201d and the Caliph said, \u201cExpound, and he shall doff\nhis clothes.\u201d So she said, \u201cNow that, which is sweeter than honey, is\nthe love of pious children to their two parents; that, which is sharper\nthan the sword, is the tongue; that, which is swifter than poison, is\nthe Envier\u2019s eye; the delight of a moment is carnal copulation and the\ncontentment of three days is the depilatory for women; the pleasantest\nof days is that of profit on merchandise; the joy of a week is the\nbride; the debt, which the worst debtor denieth not, is death; the\nprison of the tomb is a bad son; the joy of the heart is a woman\nobedient to her husband (and it is said also that, when fleshmeat\ndescendeth upon the heart, it rejoiceth therein); the snare of the soul\nis a disobedient slave; death-in-life is poverty; the disease that may\nnot be healed is an ill-nature, and the shame that may not be wiped away\nis an ill daughter; lastly, the beast that woneth not in cultivated\nfields, but lodgeth in waste places and hateth the sons of Adam and hath\nin him somewhat of the make of seven strong and violent beasts, is the\nlocust, whose head is as the head of a horse, its neck as the neck of\nthe bull, its wings as the wings of the vulture, its feet as the feet of\nthe camel, its tail as the tail of the serpent, its belly as the belly\nof the scorpion and its horns as the horns of the gazelle.\u201d The Caliph\nwas astounded at her quickness and understanding, and said to the\nrhetorician, \u201cDoff thy clothes.\u201d So he rose up and cried, \u201cI call all\nwho are present in this assembly to witness that she is more learned\nthan I and every other learned man.\u201d And he put off his clothes and gave\nthem to her, saying, \u201cTake them and may Allah not bless them to thee!\u201d\nSo the Caliph ordered him fresh clothes and said, \u201cO Tawaddud, there is\none thing left of that for which thou didst engage, namely, chess.\u201d And\nhe sent for experts of chess and cards[448] and trictrac. The\nchess-player sat down before her, and they set the pieces, and he moved\nand she moved; but, every move he made she speedily countered,\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel\nwas playing chess with the expert in presence of the Commander of the\nFaithful, Harun al-Rashid, whatever move he made was speedily countered\nby her, till she beat him and he found himself checkmated. Quoth he, \u201cI\ndid but lead thee on, that thou mightest think thyself skilful: but set\nup again, and thou shalt see.\u201d So they placed the pieces a second time,\nwhen he said in himself, \u201cOpen thine eyes or she will beat thee.\u201d And he\nfell to moving no piece, save after calculation, and ceased not to play,\ntill she said, \u201cThy King is dead!\u2014Checkmate.\u201d When he saw this he was\nconfounded at her quickness and understanding; but she laughed and said,\n\u201cO professor, I will make a wager with thee on this third game. I will\ngive thee the queen and the right-hand castle and the left-hand knight;\nif thou beat me, take my clothes, and if I beat thee, I will take thy\nclothes.\u201d Replied he, \u201cI agree to this;\u201d and they replaced the pieces,\nshe removing queen, castle and knight.[449] Then said she, \u201cMove, O\nmaster.\u201d So he moved, saying to himself, \u201cI cannot but beat her, with\nsuch odds,\u201d and planned a combination; but, behold, she moved on, little\nby little, till she made one of her pawns[450] a queen and pushing up to\nhim pawns and other pieces, to take off his attention, set one in his\nway and tempted him to take it. Accordingly, he took it and she said to\nhim, \u201cThe measure is meted and the loads equally balanced.[451] Eat till\nthou art over-full; naught shall be thy ruin, O son of Adam, save thy\ngreed. Knowest thou not that I did but tempt thee, that I might finesse\nthee? See: this is check-mate!\u201d adding, \u201cSo doff off thy clothes.\u201d Quoth\nhe, \u201cLeave me my bag-trousers, so Allah repay thee;\u201d and he swore by\nAllah that he would contend with none, so long as Tawaddud abode in the\nrealm of Baghdad. Then he stripped off his clothes and gave them to her\nand went away. Thereupon came the backgammon-player, and she said to\nhim, \u201cIf I beat thee, this day, what wilt thou give me?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI\nwill give thee ten suits of brocade of Constantinople, figured with\ngold, and ten suits of velvet and a thousand gold pieces; and if I beat\nthee, I ask nothing but that thou write me an acknowledgment of my\nvictory.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cTo it, then, and do thy best.\u201d So they played, and\nhe lost and went away, chattering in Frankish jargon and saying, \u201cBy the\nbounty of the Commander of the Faithful, there is not her like in all\nthe regions of the world!\u201d Then the Caliph summoned players on\ninstruments of music and asked her, \u201cDost thou know aught of music?\u201d;\nwhen she answered, \u201cEven so!\u201d He bade bring a worn lute, polished by\nuse, whose owner forlorn and lone was by parting trodden down; and of\nwhich quoth one, describing it:\u2014\n\n Allah watered a land, and upsprang a tree \u273f Struck root deep down, and\n raised head a-sky:\n The birds o\u2019ersang it when green its wood; \u273f And the Fair o\u2019ersing now\n the wood is dry.\n\nSo they brought the lute in a bag of red satin, with tassels of\nsaffron-coloured silk: and she opened the bag, and took it out and\nbehold on it was graven:\u2014\n\n Oft hath a tender bough made lute for maid, \u273f Whose swift sweet lays at\n feast men\u2019s hearts invade:\n She sings; it follows on her song, as though \u273f The Bulbuls[452] taught\n her all the modes she played.\n\nShe laid her lute in her lap and with bosom inclining over it, bent to\nit with the bending of a mother who suckleth her child; then she\npreluded in twelve different modes, till the whole assembly was agitated\nwith delight, like a waving sea, and she sang the following:\u2014\n\n Cut short this strangeness, leave unruth of you; \u273f My heart shall love\n you aye, by youth of you!\n Have ruth on one who sighs and weeps and moans, \u273f Pining and yearning\n for the troth of you.\n\nThe Caliph was ravished and exclaimed, \u201cAllah bless thee and be merciful\nto him who taught thee!\u201d: whereupon she rose and kissed the ground\nbefore him. Then he sent for money and paid her master Abu al-Husn an\nhundred thousand gold pieces to her price; after which he said to her,\n\u201cO Tawaddud, ask a boon of me!\u201d Replied she, \u201cI ask of thee that thou\nrestore me to my lord who sold me.\u201d \u201c\u2018Tis well,\u201d answered the Caliph and\nrestored her to her master and gave her five thousand dinars for\nherself. Moreover, he appointed Abu al-Husn one of his cup-companions\nfor a permanence,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to\nsay her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph gave\nthe damsel five thousand dinars for herself and restored her to her\nmaster whom he appointed one of his cup-companions for a permanence and\nassigned him a monthly stipend of a thousand dinars so long as he should\nlive; and he abode with the damsel Tawaddud in all solace and delight of\nlife. Marvel then, O King, at the eloquence of this damsel and the\nhugeness of her learning and understanding and her perfect excellence in\nall branches of art and science; and consider the generosity of the\nCommander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, in that he gave her master\nthis money and said to her, \u201cAsk a boon of me;\u201d and she besought him to\nrestore her to her lord. So he restored her to him and gave her five\nthousand dinars for herself and made him one of his boon-companions.\nWhere is such generosity to be found after the Abbaside Caliphs?\u2014May\nAllah Almighty have mercy upon them, one and all! And they tell a tale\nof\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 281:\n\n Lane (ii. 636) omits this tale, \u201cas it would not only require a volume\n of commentary, but be extremely tiresome to most readers.\u201d Quite true;\n but it is valuable to Oriental Students who are beginning their\n studies, as an excellent compendium of doctrine and practice according\n to the Shafi\u2019\u00ed School.\n\nFootnote 282:\n\n Pronounce Aboo\u2019l-Husn = Father of Beauty, a fancy name.\n\nFootnote 283:\n\n As in most hot climates so in Egypt the dead are buried at once\n despite the risk of vivisepulture. This seems an instinct with the\n Semitic (Arabian) race _teste_ Abraham, as with the Gypsy. Hence the\n Moslems have invoked religious aid. The Mishk\u00e1t al-Mas\u00e1bih (i. 387)\n makes Mohammed say, \u201cWhen any one of you dieth you may not keep him in\n the house but bear him quickly to his grave\u201d; and again, \u201cBe quick in\n raising up the bier: for if the dead have been a good man, it is good\n to bear him gravewards without delay; and if bad, it is frowardness ye\n put from your necks.\u201d\n\nFootnote 284:\n\n This biting of the hand in Al-Har\u00edri expresses bitterness of\n repentance and he uses more than once the Koranic phrase (chapter\n vii., 148) \u201cSukita f\u00ed ayd\u00edhim,\u201d lit. where it (the biting) was fallen\n upon their hands; _i.e._ when it repented them; \u201csukita\u201d being here\n not a passive verb as it appears, but an impersonal form uncommon in\n Arabic. The action is instinctive, a survival of the days when man was\n a snarling and snapping animal (physically) armed only with claws and\n teeth.\n\nFootnote 285:\n\n Arab. \u201c\u2018Alam,\u201d applied to many things, an \u201cold man\u201d of stones (K\u00e1k\u00far),\n a sign post with a rag on the top, etc.\n\nFootnote 286:\n\n The moon of Ramazan was noticed in Night ix. That of Sha\u2019aban (eighth\n month) begins the fighting month after the conclusion of the Treuga\n Dei in Rajab. See Night ccclxxviii.\n\nFootnote 287:\n\n These lines have occurred in Night cccxix. I give Mr. Payne\u2019s version\n for variety.\n\nFootnote 288:\n\n _i.e._ in her prime, at fourteen to fifteen.\n\nFootnote 289:\n\n _i.e._ pale and yellow.\n\nFootnote 290:\n\n The word means the wood; but it alludes to a preparation made by\n levigating it on a stone called in India \u201cSandl\u00e1s\u00e1.\u201d The gruel-like\n stuff is applied with the right hand to the right side of the neck,\n drawing the open fingers from behind forwards so as to leave four\n distinct streaks, then down to the left side, and so on to other parts\n of the body.\n\nFootnote 291:\n\n Arab. Haykal, the Heb. \u05d4\u05d9\u05db\u05dc which included the Porch, the Holy and the\n Holy of Holies. The word is used as \u03bd\u03ac\u03bf\u03c2 in a wider sense by Josephus\n A.J. v. v. 3. In Moslem writings it is applied to a Christian Church\n generally, on account of its images.\n\nFootnote 292:\n\n These lines having occurred before, I here quote Mr. Payne.\n\nFootnote 293:\n\n Arab writers often mention the smile of beauty, but rarely, after\n European fashion, the laugh, which they look upon as undignified. A\n Moslem will say \u201cDon\u2019t guffaw (Kahkahah) in that way; leave giggling\n and grinning to monkeys and Christians.\u201d The Spaniards, a grave\n people, remark that Christ never laughed. I would draw the reader\u2019s\n attention to a theory of mine that the open-hearted laugh has the\n sound of the vowels _a_ and _o_; while _e_, _i_, and _u_ belong to\n what may be roughly classed as the rogue order.\n\nFootnote 294:\n\n _i.e._ gaining the love of another, love.\n\nFootnote 295:\n\n _i.e._ the abrogated passages and those by which they are abrogated.\n This division is necessary for \u201cinspired volumes,\u201d which always abound\n in contradictions. But the charge of \u201copportunism\u201d brought against the\n Koran is truly absurd; as if \u201crevelation\u201d could possibly be aught save\n opportune.\n\nFootnote 296:\n\n Koran iv. 160, the chapter \u201cWomen.\u201d\n\nFootnote 297:\n\n She unveiled being a slave-girl and for sale. If a free woman show her\n face to a Moslem, he breaks out into violent abuse, because the act is\n intended to let him know that he is looked upon as a small boy or an\n eunuch or a Christian\u2014in fact not a man.\n\nFootnote 298:\n\n Ilah = Heb. El, a most difficult root, meaning strength,\n interposition, God (Numen) \u201cthe\u201d (article) \u201cdon\u2019t\u201d (do not), etc. etc.\n\nFootnote 299:\n\n As far as I know Christians are the only worshippers who kneel as if\n their lower legs were cut off and who \u201cjoin hands\u201d like the captive\n offering his wrists to be bound (dare manus). The posture, however, is\n not so ignoble as that of the Moslem \u201cSijdah\u201d (prostration) which made\n certain North African tribes reject Al-Islam, saying, \u201cThese men show\n their hind parts to heaven.\u201d\n\nFootnote 300:\n\n _i.e._ saying \u201cI intend (purpose) to pray (for instance) the two-bow\n prayer (ruka\u2019tayn) of the daybreak,\u201d etc.\n\nFootnote 301:\n\n So called because it prohibits speaking with others till the prayer is\n ended.\n\nFootnote 302:\n\n Lit. \u201cany thing opposite;\u201d here used for the Ka\u2019abah towards which men\n turn in prayer; as Guebres face the sun or fire and idolaters their\n images. \u201cAl-Kiblatayn\u201d (= the two Kiblahs) means Meccah and Jerusalem,\n which was faced by Moslems as well as Jews and Christians till\n Mohammed changed the direction. For the occasion of the change see my\n Pilgrimage, ii. 320.\n\nFootnote 303:\n\n Which includes Tayammum or washing with sand. This is a very cleanly\n practice in a hot dry land and was adopted long before Mohammed.\n Cedrenus tells of baptism with sand being administered to a dying\n traveller in the African desert.\n\nFootnote 304:\n\n The Koranic order for Wuz\u00fa is concise and as usual obscure, giving\n rise to a host of disputes and casuistical questions. Its text runs\n (chapt. v.), \u201cO true believers, when you prepare to pray, wash (Ghusl)\n your faces, and your hands unto the elbows; and rub (Mas-h) your hands\n and your feet unto the ankles; and if ye be unclean by having lain\n with a woman, wash (Ghusl) yourselves all over.\u201d The purifications and\n ceremonious ablutions of the Jews originated this command; and the\n early Christians did very unwisely in not making the bath obligatory.\n St. Paul (Heb. xi. 22) says, \u201cLet us draw near with a true heart ...\n having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies\n washed with clean (or pure) water.\u201d But this did not suffice. Hence\n the Eastern Christian, in hot climates where cleanliness should rank\n before godliness, is distinguished by his dirt which as a holy or\n reverend man he makes still dirtier, and he offers an ugly comparison\n with the Moslem and especially the Hindu. The neglect of commands to\n wash and prohibitions to drink strong waters are the two grand\n physical objections of the Christian code of morality.\n\nFootnote 305:\n\n Arab. \u201cIstinsh\u00e1k\u201d = snuffing up water from the palm of the right hand\n so as to clean thoroughly the nostrils. This \u201cfunction\u201d is\n unreasonably neglected in Europe, to the detriment of the mucous\n membrane and the olfactory nerves.\n\nFootnote 306:\n\n So as to wash between them. The thick beard is combed out with the\n fingers.\n\nFootnote 307:\n\n Poor human nature! How sad to compare its pretensions with its\n actualities.\n\nFootnote 308:\n\n Complete ablution is rendered necessary chiefly by the emission of\n semen either in copulation or in nocturnal pollution. The water must\n be pure and not less than a certain quantity, and it must touch every\n part of the skin beginning with the right half of the person and\n ending with the left. Hence a plunge-bath is generally preferred.\n\nFootnote 309:\n\n Arab. Ta\u2019m\u00edm, lit. crowning with turband, or tiara, here = covering,\n _i.e._ wetting.\n\nFootnote 310:\n\n This practice (saying \u201cI purpose to defer the washing of the feet,\u201d\n etc.) is now somewhat obsolete.\n\nFootnote 311:\n\n Arabs have a prejudice against the hydropathic treatment of wounds,\n holding that water poisons them: and, as the native produce usually\n contains salt, soda and magnesia, they are justified by many cases. I\n once tried water-bandages in Arabia and failed dismally.\n\nFootnote 312:\n\n The sick man says his prayers lying in bed, etc., and as he best can.\n\nFootnote 313:\n\n _i.e._ saying, \u201cAnd peace be on us and on the worshippers of Allah\n which be pious.\u201d\n\nFootnote 314:\n\n _i.e._ saying \u201cI seek refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned.\u201d\n\nFootnote 315:\n\n Certain parts should be recited aloud (jahr) and others sotto voce\n (with mussitation = Khafi). No mistake must be made in this matter\n where a Moslem cannot err.\n\nFootnote 316:\n\n Hence an interest of two-and-a-half per cent. is not held to be \u201cRib\u00e1\u201d\n or unlawful gain of money by money, usury.\n\nFootnote 317:\n\n The meal must be finished before the faster can plainly distinguish\n the white thread from the black thread (Koran ii. 183); some\n understand this literally, others apply it to the dark and silvery\n streak of zodiacal light which appears over the Eastern horizon an\n hour or so before sunrise. The fast then begins and ends with the\n disappearance of the sun. I have noticed its pains and penalties in my\n Pilgrimage, i. 110, etc.\n\nFootnote 318:\n\n For the \u201cAz\u00e1n\u201d or call to prayer see Lane, M. E., chapt. xviii. The\n chant, however, differs in every country, and a practical ear will\n know the land by its call.\n\nFootnote 319:\n\n Arab. \u201cHad\u00eds\u201d or saying of the Apostle.\n\nFootnote 320:\n\n \u201cAl-I\u2019itikaf\u201d resembles the Christian \u201cretreat;\u201d but the worshipper\n generally retires to a mosque especially in Meccah. The Apostle\n practised it on Jabal Hira and other places.\n\nFootnote 321:\n\n The word is the Heb. \u05d7\u05d2 Hagg whose primary meaning is circularity of\n form or movement. Hence it applied to religious festivals in which\n dancing round the idol played a prime part; and Lucian of \u201csaltation\u201d\n says, dancing was from the beginning and coeval with the ancient god,\n Love. But man danced with joy before he worshipped, and, when he\n invented a systematic saltation, he made it represent two things, and\n only two things, love and war, in most primitive form, courtship and\n fighting.\n\nFootnote 322:\n\n Two adjoining ground-waves _in_ Meccah. For these and for the places\n subsequently mentioned the curious will consult my Pilgrimage, iii.\n 226, etc.\n\nFootnote 323:\n\n The \u2018Umrah or lesser Pilgrimage, I have noted, is the ceremony\n performed in Meccah at any time out of the pilgrim-season proper,\n _i.e._ between the eighth and tenth days of the twelfth lunar month Zu\n \u2018l-Hijjah. It does not entitle the Moslem to be called H\u00e1jj (pilgrim)\n or H\u00e1j\u00ed as Persians and Indians corrupt the word.\n\nFootnote 324:\n\n I need hardly note that Mohammed borrowed his pilgrimage-practices\n from the pagan Arabs who, centuries before his day, danced around the\n Meccan Ka\u2019abah. Nor can he be blamed for having perpetuated a Gentile\n rite, if indeed it be true that the Ka\u2019abah contained relics of\n Abraham and Ishmael.\n\nFootnote 325:\n\n On first sighting Meccah. See Night xci.\n\nFootnote 326:\n\n Arab. Taw\u00e1f: the place is called Mat\u00e1f and the guide Mutawwif\n (Pilgrimage, iii. 193, 205). The seven courses are termed Ashw\u00e1t.\n\nFootnote 327:\n\n Stoning the Devil at Mina. Pilgrimage, iii. 282. Hence Satan\u2019s title\n \u201cthe Stoned\u201d (lapidated not castrated).\n\nFootnote 328:\n\n Koran viii. 66; in the chapter entitled \u201cSpoil,\u201d and relating mainly\n to the \u201cday of Al-Bedr.\u201d\n\nFootnote 329:\n\n Arab. Al-Ik\u00e1lah = cancelling: Mr. Payne uses the technical term\n \u201cresiliation.\u201d\n\nFootnote 330:\n\n Freedman of Abdallah, son of the Caliph Omar and noted as a\n traditionist.\n\nFootnote 331:\n\n _i.e._ at a profit: the exchange must be equal\u2014an ordinance intended\n to protect the poor. Arabs have strange prejudices in these matters;\n for instance it disgraces a Badawi to take money for milk.\n\nFootnote 332:\n\n Arab. Jam\u00e1\u2019ah, which in theology means the Heb. Edah (\u05e2\u05d3\u05d4) and the\n Greek \u1f10\u03ba\u03ba\u03bb\u03b7\u03c3\u03af\u03b1 our \u201cChurch,\u201d the congregation of the Faithful under a\n lawful head. Hence the Sunnis call themselves \u201cPeople of the Sunnat\n and Jam\u00e1\u2019at.\u201d In the text it is explained as \u201cUlfat\u201d or intimacy.\n\nFootnote 333:\n\n Arab. Al-Khal\u00edl, _i.e._ of Allah = Abraham. Mohammed, following Jewish\n tradition, made Abraham rank second amongst the Prophets, inferior\n only to himself and superior to Hazrat Isa = Jesus. I have noted that\n Ishmael the elder son succeeded his father. He married Da\u2019alah bint\n Muz\u00e1z bin Omar, a Jurhamite, and his progeny abandoning Hebrew began\n to speak Arabic (ta\u2019arraba); hence called Muta\u2019arribah or Arabised\n Arabs (Pilgrimage iii. 190). He died at Meccah and was buried with his\n mother in the space North of the Ka\u2019abah called Al-Hijr which our\n writers continue to confuse with the city Al-Hijr (Ibid. 165\u201366).\n\nFootnote 334:\n\n This ejaculation, \u201cIn the name of Allah\u201d is, I have noted, equivalent\n to \u201csaying grace.\u201d If neglected it is a sin and entails a curse.\n\nFootnote 335:\n\n The ceremonious posture is sitting upon the shin-bones, not\n tailor-fashion; and \u201cbolting food\u201d is a sign of boorishness.\n\nFootnote 336:\n\n Arab. \u201cZidd,\u201d the word is a fair specimen of Arabic ambiguity meaning\n primarily opposite or contrary (as virtue to vice), secondarily an\n enemy or a friend (as being opposite to an enemy).\n\nFootnote 337:\n\n \u201cThe whole earth (shall be) but His handful on the Resurrection day\n and in His right hand shall the Heaven be rolled up (or folded\n together).\u201d\u2014Koran xxxix. 67.\n\nFootnote 338:\n\n See Night lxxxi.\n\nFootnote 339:\n\n Koran lxxviii. 19.\n\nFootnote 340:\n\n Arab. Al-Mun\u00e1fik, technically meaning one who outwardly professes\n Al-Islam while inwardly hating it. Thus the word is by no means\n synonymous with our \u201chypocrite,\u201d hypocrisy being the homage vice pays\n to virtue; a homage, I may observe, nowhere rendered more fulsomely\n than among the so-called Anglo-Saxon race.\n\nFootnote 341:\n\n Arab. \u201cTawakkul al\u00e1 \u2018llah\u201d: in the imperative the phrase is vulgarly\n used = \u201cBe off!\u201d\n\nFootnote 342:\n\n _i.e._ ceremonial impurity which is sui generis, a very different\n thing from general dirtiness.\n\nFootnote 343:\n\n A thick beard is one which does not show the skin; otherwise the\n wearer is a \u201cKausaj;\u201d in Pers. \u201cK\u00faseh.\u201d See vol. iii., 246.\n\nFootnote 344:\n\n Arab. \u201cAl-Khutnah.\u201d Nowhere commanded in the Koran and being only a\n practice of the Prophet, the rite is not indispensable for converts,\n especially the aged and the sick. Our ideas upon the subject are very\n hazy for modern \u201cniceness\u201d allows a \u201cFeast of the Circumcision,\u201d but\n no discussion thereon. Moses (alias Osarsiph) borrowed the rite from\n the Egyptian hierophants who were all thus \u201cpurified\u201d; the object\n being to counteract the over-sensibility of the \u201csixth sense\u201d and to\n harden the _glans_ against abrasions and infection by exposure to air\n and friction against the dress. Almost all African tribes practise it\n but the modes vary and some are exceedingly curious: I shall notice a\n peculiarly barbarous fashion called Al-Salkh (the flaying) still\n practised in the Arabian province Al-As\u00edr (Pilgrimage iii. 80). There\n is a difference too between the Hebrew and the Moslem rite. The Jewish\n operator, after snipping off the foreskin, rips up the prepuce with\n his sharp thumb-nails so that the external cutis does not retract far\n from the internal; and the wound, when healed, shows a narrow ring of\n cicatrice. This ripping is not done by Moslems. They use a stick as a\n probe passed round between glans and prepuce to ascertain the extent\n of the frenum and that there is no abnormal adhesion. The foreskin is\n then drawn forward and fixed by the forceps, a fork of two bamboo\n splints, five or six inches long by a quarter thick, or in some cases\n an iron like our compasses. This is tied tightly over the foreskin so\n as to exclude about an inch and a half of the prepuce above and three\n quarters below. A single stroke of the razor drawn directly downwards\n removes the skin. The slight bleeding is stopped by burnt rags or\n ashes and healed with cerates, pledgets and fumigations. Thus Moslem\n circumcision does not prevent the skin retracting.\n\nFootnote 345:\n\n Of these 6336 versets only some 200 treat on law, civil and\n ceremonial, fiscal and political, devotional and ceremonial, canonical\n and ecclesiastical.\n\nFootnote 346:\n\n The learned young woman omitted Ukhn\u00fakh = Enoch, because not in Koran;\n and if she denoted him by \u201cIdr\u00eds,\u201d the latter is much out of place.\n\nFootnote 347:\n\n Some say grandson of Shem (Koran vii. 71).\n\nFootnote 348:\n\n Koran vii. 63, etc.\n\nFootnote 349:\n\n Father-in-law of Moses (Koran vii. 83).\n\nFootnote 350:\n\n Who is the last and greatest of the twenty-five.\n\nFootnote 351:\n\n See Night ccccxxxviii.\n\nFootnote 352:\n\n Koran ii., whose 256th Ayah is the far-famed and sublime Throne-verse\n which begins \u201cAllah! there is no god but He, the Living, the Eternal\n One, whom nor slumber nor sleep seizeth on!\u201d The trivial name is taken\n from the last line, \u201cHis _throne_ over-stretcheth Heaven and Earth and\n to Him their preservation is no burden for He is the most Highest, the\n Supreme.\u201d The lines are often repeated in prayers and engraved on\n agates, etc., as portable talismans.\n\nFootnote 353:\n\n Koran ii. 159.\n\nFootnote 354:\n\n Koran xvi. 92. The verset ends with, \u201cHe warneth you, so haply ye may\n be mindful.\u201d\n\nFootnote 355:\n\n Koran lxx. 38.\n\nFootnote 356:\n\n Koran xxxix. 54.\n\nFootnote 357:\n\n The Sunnis hold that the \u201cAnbiy\u00e1\u201d (= prophets, or rather announcers of\n Allah\u2019s judgments) were not sinless. But this dogma is branded as most\n irreverent and sinful by the Shi\u2019ahs or Persian \u201cfollowers of Ali,\u201d\n who make capital out of this blasphemy and declare that if any prophet\n sinned he sinned only against himself.\n\nFootnote 358:\n\n Koran xii. 18.\n\nFootnote 359:\n\n Koran ii. 107.\n\nFootnote 360:\n\n Koran li. 57. He (Allah) does not use the plurale majestatis.\n\nFootnote 361:\n\n Koran ii. 28.\n\nFootnote 362:\n\n Koran xvi. 100. Satan is stoned in the Min\u00e1 or Mun\u00e1 basin (Night\n ccccxlii.) because he tempted Abraham to disobey the command of Allah\n by refusing to sacrifice Ishmael (Pilgrimage iii. 248).\n\nFootnote 363:\n\n It may also mean \u201chave recourse to God.\u201d\n\nFootnote 364:\n\n Abdallah ibn Abbas, before noticed, first cousin of Mohammed and the\n most learned of the Companions. See D\u2019Herbelot.\n\nFootnote 365:\n\n Koran xcvi., \u201cBlood-clots,\u201d 1 and 2. \u201cRead\u201d may mean \u201cperuse the\n revelation\u201d (it was the first Koranic chapter communicated to\n Mohammed), or \u201crecite, preach.\u201d\n\nFootnote 366:\n\n Koran, xxvii. 30. Mr. Rodwell (p. 1) holds to the old idea that the\n \u201cBasmalah\u201d is of Jewish origin, taught to the Kuraysh by Omayyah, of\n Taif, the poet and Han\u00edf (convert).\n\nFootnote 367:\n\n Koran ix.: this was the last chapter revealed and the only one\n revealed entire except verse 110.\n\nFootnote 368:\n\n Ali was despatched from Al-Medinah to Meccah by the Prophet on his own\n slit-eared camel to promulgate this chapter; and meeting the assembly\n at Al-\u2018Akabah he also acquainted them with four things; (1) No Infidel\n may approach the Meccah temple; (2) naked men must no longer circuit\n the Ka\u2019abah; (3) only Moslems enter Paradise, and (4) public faith\n must be kept.\n\nFootnote 369:\n\n Dictionaries give the word \u201cBasmalah\u201d (= saying Bismillah); but the\n common pronunciation is \u201cBismalah.\u201d\n\nFootnote 370:\n\n Koran xvii. 110, a passage revealed because the Infidels, hearing\n Mohammed calling upon The Compassionate, imagined that Al-Rahm\u00e1n was\n other deity but Allah. The \u201cnames\u201d have two grand divisions, Asm\u00e1\n Jal\u00e1l\u00ed, the fiery or terrible attributes, and the Asm\u00e1 Jam\u00e1l\u00ed (airy,\n watery, earthy or) amiable. Together they form the Asm\u00e1 al-Husna or\n glorious attributes, and do not include the Ism al-A\u2019azam, the\n ineffable name which is known only to a few.\n\nFootnote 371:\n\n Koran ii. 158.\n\nFootnote 372:\n\n Koran xcvi. before noticed.\n\nFootnote 373:\n\n A man of Al-Medinah, one of the first of Mohammed\u2019s disciples.\n\nFootnote 374:\n\n Koran lxxiv. 1, etc., supposed to have been addressed by Gabriel to\n Mohammed when in the cave of Hira or Jabal N\u00far. He returned to his\n wife Khadijah in sore terror at the vision of one sitting on a throne\n between heaven and earth, and bade her cover him up. Whereupon the\n Archangel descended with this text, supposed to be the first revealed.\n Mr. Rodwell (p. 3) renders it, \u201cO thou enwrapped _in thy mantle_!\u201d and\n makes it No. ii. after a Fatrah or silent interval of six months to\n three years.\n\nFootnote 375:\n\n There are several versets on this subject (chapts. ii. and xxx).\n\nFootnote 376:\n\n Koran cx. 1.\n\nFootnote 377:\n\n The third Caliph; the \u201cWriter of the Koran.\u201d\n\nFootnote 378:\n\n Koran, v. 4. Sale translates \u201cidols.\u201d Mr. Rodwell, \u201cOn the blocks (or\n shafts) of stone,\u201d rude altars set by the pagan Arabs before their\n dwellings.\n\nFootnote 379:\n\n Koran, v. 116. The words are put into the mouth of Jesus.\n\nFootnote 380:\n\n The end of the same verse.\n\nFootnote 381:\n\n Koran, v. 89. Supposed to have been revealed when certain Moslems\n purposed to practise Christian asceticism, fasting, watching,\n abstaining from women and sleeping on hard beds. I have said Mohammed\n would have \u201cno monkery in Al-Islam,\u201d but human nature willed\n otherwise. Mr. Rodwell prefers \u201cInterdict the healthful viands.\u201d\n\nFootnote 382:\n\n Koran, iv. 124.\n\nFootnote 383:\n\n Arab. \u201cMukri.\u201d \u201cK\u00e1ri\u201d is one who reads the Koran to pupils; the Mukri\n corrects them. \u201cWith the passage of the clouds\u201d = without a moment\u2019s\n hesitation.\n\nFootnote 384:\n\n The twenty-first, twenty-fourth and eighteenth Arabic letters.\n\nFootnote 385:\n\n Arab. \u201cHizb.\u201d The Koran is divided into sixty portions, answering to\n \u201cLessons\u201d for convenience of public worship.\n\nFootnote 386:\n\n Arab. \u201cJal\u00e1lah,\u201d = saying Jalla Jal\u00e1lu-hu = magnified be His Majesty!,\n or glorified be His Glory.\n\nFootnote 387:\n\n Koran, xi. 50.\n\nFootnote 388:\n\n The partition-wall between Heaven and Hell which others call Al-\u2018Urf\n (in the sing. from the verb meaning he separated or parted). The Jeus\n borrowed from the Guebres the idea of a partition between Heaven and\n Hell and made it so thin that the blessed and damned can speak\n together. There is much dispute about the population of Al-A\u2019ar\u00e1f, the\n general idea being that they are men who do not deserve reward in\n Heaven or punishment in Hell. But it is not a \u201cPurgatory\u201d or place of\n expiating sins.\n\nFootnote 389:\n\n Koran, vii. 154.\n\nFootnote 390:\n\n A play on the word ayn, which means \u201ceye\u201d or the eighteenth letter\n which in olden times had the form of a circle.\n\nFootnote 391:\n\n From misreading these words comes the absurd popular belief of the\n moon passing up and down Mohammed\u2019s sleeves. George B. Airy (The\n Athen\u00e6um, Nov. 29, 1884) justly objects to Sale\u2019s translation \u201cThe\n hour of _judgment_ approacheth\u201d and translates \u201cThe moon hath been\n dichotomised\u201d a well-known astronomical term when the light portion of\n the moon is defined in a strait line: in other words when it is really\n a half-moon at the first and third quarters of each lunation. Others\n understand, The moon shall be split on the Last Day, the preterite for\n the future in prophetic style. \u201cKoran Moslems\u201d of course understand it\n literally.\n\nFootnote 392:\n\n Chapters liv., lv. and lvi.\n\nFootnote 393:\n\n We should say, _not_ to utter, etc.\n\nFootnote 394:\n\n These well-known \u201chumours of Hippocrates,\u201d which reappear in the form\n of temperaments of European phrenology, are still the base of Eastern\n therapeutics.\n\nFootnote 395:\n\n The doctrine of the three souls will be intelligible to Spiritualists.\n\nFootnote 396:\n\n Arab. \u201cAl-l\u00e1mi\u201d = the l-shaped, curved, forked.\n\nFootnote 397:\n\n Arab. \u201cUsus,\u201d our os sacrum because, being incorruptible, the body\n will be built up thereon for Resurrection-time. Hence Hudibras sings\n (iii. 2).\n\n The learned Rabbis of the Jews\n Write there\u2019s a bone which they call _leuz_,\n I\u2019 the rump of man, etc.\n\n It is the Heb. \u201cUz,\u201d whence older scholars derived _os_. Sale (sect.\n iv.) called it \u201cEl Ajb, os coccygis or rump-bone.\u201d\n\nFootnote 398:\n\n Arab physiologists had difficulties in procuring \u201csubjects\u201d; and\n usually practised dissection on the simiads. Their illustrated books\n are droll; the figures have been copied and recopied till they have\n lost all resemblance to the originals.\n\nFootnote 399:\n\n The liver and spleen are held to be congealed blood. Hence the\n couplet:\u2014\n\n We are allowed two carrions (_i.e._ with throats uncut) and two\n bloods,\n The fish and the locust, the liver and the spleen.\n\n (Pilgrimage iii. 92.)\n\nFootnote 400:\n\n This is perfectly true and yet little known to the general.\n\nFootnote 401:\n\n Koran xvii. 39.\n\nFootnote 402:\n\n Arab. \u201cAl-malikhul\u00edya,\u201d proving that the Greeks then pronounced the\n penultimate vowel according to the acute accent\u2014\u00eda; not as we slur it\n over. In old Hebrew we have the transliteration of four Greek words;\n in the languages of Hindostan many scores including names of places;\n and in Latin and Arabic as many hundreds. By a scholar-like comparison\n of these remains we should find little difficulty in establishing the\n true Greek pronunciation since the days of Alexander the Great; and we\n shall prove that it was pronounced according to accent and\n emphatically _not_ quantity. In the next century I presume English\n boys will be taught to pronounce Greek as the Greeks do.\n\nFootnote 403:\n\n Educated Arabs can quote many a verse bearing upon domestic medicine\n and reminding us of the lines bequeathed to Europe by the School of\n Salerno. Such _e.g._ are:\u2014\n\n After the noon-meal, sleep, although for moments twain;\n After the night-meal, walk, though but two steps be ta\u2019en;\n And after swiving stale, though but two drops thou drain.\n\nFootnote 404:\n\n Arab. Sar\u00eddah (Thar\u00eddah), also called \u201cghaut\u201d = crumbled bread and\n hashed meat in broth; or bread, milk and meat. The Sar\u00eddah of Ghass\u00e1n,\n cooked with eggs and marrow, was held a dainty dish: hence the\n Prophet\u2019s dictum.\n\nFootnote 405:\n\n Koran v. 92. \u201cLots\u201d = games of chance and \u201cimages\u201d = statues.\n\nFootnote 406:\n\n Koran ii. 216. The word \u201cMaysar\u201d which I have rendered \u201cgambling\u201d or\n \u201cgaming\u201d (for such is the modern application of the word), originally\n meant what St. Jerome calls \u0392\u03b5\u03bb\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03af\u03b1 and explains thereby the verse\n (Ezek. xxi. 22), \u201cThe King held in his hand the lot of Jerusalem\u201d\n _i.e._ the arrow whereon the city-name was written. The Arabs use it\n for casting lots with ten azlam or headless arrows (for dice) three\n being blanks and the rest notched from one to seven. They were thrown\n by a \u201cZ\u00e1rib\u201d or punter and the stake was generally a camel. Amongst so\n excitable a people as the Arabs, this game caused quarrels and\n bloodshed, hence its prohibition: and the theologians, who everywhere\n and at all times delight in burdening human nature, have extended the\n command, which is rather admonitory than prohibitive, to all games of\n chance. Tarafah is supposed to allude to this practice in his\n Mu\u2019allakah.\n\nFootnote 407:\n\n Liberal Moslems observe that the Koranic prohibition is not absolute,\n with threat of Hell for infraction. Yet Mohammed doubtless forbade all\n inebriatives and the occasion of his so doing is well known\n (Pilgrimage ii. 322).\n\nFootnote 408:\n\n I have noticed this soured milk in Pilgrimage i. 362.\n\nFootnote 409:\n\n He does not say the \u201cCaliph\u201d or successor of his uncle Mohammed.\n\nFootnote 410:\n\n The Jewish Korah (Numbers xvi.) fabled by the Koran (xxviii. 76),\n following a Talmudic tradition, to have been a man of immense wealth.\n The notion that lying with an old woman, after the menses have ceased,\n is unwholesome, dates from great antiquity; and the benefits of the\n reverse process were well known to _good_ King David. The faces of\n children who sleep with their grandparents (a bad practice now waxing\n obsolete in England), of a young wife married to an old man and of a\n young man married to an old woman, show a peculiar wizened appearance,\n a look of age overlaying youth which cannot be mistaken.\n\nFootnote 411:\n\n Arab. \u201cHindib\u00e1\u201d (= endubium): the modern term is Shakur\u00edyah =\n chicor\u00e9e. I believe it to be very hurtful to the eyes.\n\nFootnote 412:\n\n Arab. \u201cKhuff\u00e1sh\u201d and \u201cWatw\u00e1t\u201d: in Egypt a woman is called \u201cWatw\u00e1t\u00edyah\u201d\n when the hair of her privities has been removed by applying bats\u2019\n blood. I have often heard of this; but cannot understand how such an\n application can act depilatory.\n\nFootnote 413:\n\n Dictionaries render the word by \u201cdragon, cockatrice.\u201d The Badawin\n apply it to a variety of serpents mostly large and all considered\n venomous.\n\nFootnote 414:\n\n Arab. \u201cZarr wa \u2018urwah,\u201d lit. = handle. The button-hole, I have said,\n is a modern invention; Urwah is also applied to the loop-shaped handle\n of the water-skin, for attachment of the All\u00e1kah or suspensory thong.\n\nFootnote 415:\n\n Koran lxx. 40; see also the chapter following, v. 16.\n\nFootnote 416:\n\n Koran x. 5; the \u201cher\u201d refers to the sun.\n\nFootnote 417:\n\n Koran xxxvi. 40.\n\nFootnote 418:\n\n Koran xxii. 60.\n\nFootnote 419:\n\n Arab. \u201cMan\u00e1zil:\u201d these are the Hindu Nakshatra; extensively used in\n meteorology even by Europeans unconsciously: thus they will speak of\n the Elephantina-storm without knowing anything of the lunar mansion so\n called. The names in the text are successively Sharat\u00e1n = two horns of\n the Ram; (2) the Ram\u2019s belly; (3) the Pleiades; (4) Aldebaran; (5)\n three stars in Orion\u2019s head; (6) ditto in Orion\u2019s shoulder; (7) two\n stars above the Twins; (8) Lion\u2019s nose and first summer station; (9)\n Lion\u2019s eye; (10) Lion\u2019s forehead; (11) Lion\u2019s mane; (12) Lion\u2019s heart;\n (13) the Dog, two stars in Virgo; (14) Spica Virginis; (15) \u03c6, \u03b9 and \u03ba\n in foot of Virgo; (16) horns of Scorpio; (17) the Crown; (18) heart of\n Scorpio; (19) tail of Scorpio; (20) stars in Pegasus; (21) where no\n constellation appears; (22) the Slaughterer\u2019s luck; (23) Glutton\u2019s\n luck; (24) Luck of Lucks, stars in Aquarius; (25) Luck of Tents, stars\n in Aquarius; (26) the fore-lip or spout of Urn; (27) hind lip of Urn;\n and (28) in navel of Fish\u2019s belly (Batn al-H\u00fat); of these 28 to each\n of the four seasons 7 are allotted.\n\nFootnote 420:\n\n The Hebrew absey, still used by Moslems in chronograms. For mnemonic\n purposes the 28 letters are distributed into eight words of which the\n first and second are Abjad and Hawwaz. The last six letters in two\n words (Thakhiz and Zuzigh) are Arabian, unknown to the Jews and not\n found in Syriac.\n\nFootnote 421:\n\n Arab. \u201cZind\u00edk;\u201d properly, one who believes in two gods (the old\n Persian dualism); in books an atheist, _i.e._ one who does not believe\n in a god or gods; and, popularly, a free-thinker who denies the\n existence of a Supreme Being, rejects revelation for the laws of\n Nature imprinted on the heart of man and for humanity in its widest\n sense. Hence he is accused of permitting incestuous marriages and\n other abominations. We should now call him (for want of something\n better) an Agnostic.\n\nFootnote 422:\n\n Koran xxxi. 34. The words may still be applied to meteorologists\n especially of the scientific school. Even the experienced (as the\n followers of the late Mathieu de la Dr\u00f4me) reckon far more failures\n than successes. The Koranic passage enumerates five things known only\n to Allah; Judgment-day; rain; sex of child in womb; what shall happen\n to-morrow and where a man shall die.\n\nFootnote 423:\n\n The fifth and seventh months (January and March) of the Coptic year\n which, being solar, is still used by Arab and Egyptian meteorologists.\n Much information thereon will be found in the \u201cEgyptian Calendar\u201d by\n Mr. Mitchell, Alexandria 1876. It bears the appropriate motto \u201cAnni\n certus modus apud solos semper \u00c6gyptios fuit.\u201d (Macrobius). See also\n Lane M.E., chapt. ix.\n\nFootnote 424:\n\n Vulg. Kiy\u00e1k; the fourth month, beginning 9th\u201310th December. The first\n month is T\u00fat, commencing 10th\u201311th September.\n\nFootnote 425:\n\n The 8th and 12th months partly corresponding with April and August:\n H\u00e1t\u00far is the 3rd (November) and Amsh\u00edr the 6th (February).\n\nFootnote 426:\n\n Moslems have been compelled to adopt infidel names for the months\n because Mohammed\u2019s Koranic rejection of Nasy or intercalation makes\n their lunar months describe the whole circle of the seasons in a cycle\n of about thirty-three and a half years. Yet they have retained the\n terms which contain the original motive of the denomination. The first\n month is Muharram, the \u201cHoly,\u201d because war was forbidden; it was also\n known as Safar No. 1. The second Safar = \u201cEmptiness,\u201d because during\n the heats citizens left the towns and retired to T\u00e1if and other cool\n sites. Rab\u00ed\u2019a (first and second) alluded to the spring-pasturages;\n Jum\u00e1d\u00e1 (first and second) to the \u201chardening\u201d of the dry ground and,\n according to some, to the solidification, freezing, of the water in\n the highlands. Rajab (No. 7) = \u201cworshipping,\u201d especially by sacrifice,\n is also known as Al-Asamm the deaf; because being sacred, the rattle\n of arms was unheard. Sha\u2019ab\u00e1n = \u201ccollecting,\u201d dispersing, ruining,\n because the tribal wars recommenced: Ramazan (intensely hot) has been\n explained and Shaww\u00e1l (No. 10.) derives from Shaul (elevating) when\n the he-camels raise their tails in rut. Z\u00fa\u2019l-Ka\u2019adah, the sedentary,\n is the rest time of the year, when fighting is forbidden and\n Zu\u2019l-Hijjah explains itself as the pilgrimage-month.\n\nFootnote 427:\n\n The lowest of the seven.\n\nFootnote 428:\n\n Koran xxxvii. 5.\n\nFootnote 429:\n\n Arab. \u201cFaylas\u00faf,\u201d an evident corruption from the Greek. Amongst the\n vulgar it denotes a sceptic, an atheist; much the same a \u201cFramm\u00e1s\u00fan\u201d\n or Freemason. The curious reader will consult the Dabistan, vol. iii.\n chapt. xi. p. 138 _et seq._ \u201cOn the Religion of the Wise\u201d\n (philosophi), and, Beaconsfield\u2019s theft from Shaftesbury.\n\nFootnote 430:\n\n Koran xxxvi. 37\u201338.\n\nFootnote 431:\n\n Koran xxii. 7. The Hour _i.e._ of Judgment.\n\nFootnote 432:\n\n Koran xx. 58. The Midrasch Tanchumah on Exod. vii. gives a similar\n dialogue between Pharaoh and Moses (Rodwell, _in loco_).\n\nFootnote 433:\n\n Arab. \u201cSham\u2019\u00fan\u201d or \u201cShim\u2019\u00fan,\u201d usually applied to Simon Peter (as in\n Acts xv. 14). But the text alludes to Saint Simeon (Luke ii. 25\u201335).\n See Gospel of Infancy (ii. 8) and especially the Gospel of Nicodemus\n (xii. 3) which makes him a High-priest.\n\nFootnote 434:\n\n S\u00e1lih the Patriarch\u2019s she-camel, miraculously produced from the rock\n in order to convert the Tham\u00fad-tribe (Koran vii).\n\nFootnote 435:\n\n When Abu Bakr was hiding with Mohammed in a cave on the Hill Al-Saur\n (Thaur or Th\u00far, Pilgrimage ii. 131) South of Meccah, which must not be\n confounded with the cave on Jabal Hir\u00e1 now called Jabal N\u00far on the way\n to Arafat (Pilgrimage iii. 246), the fugitives were protected by a\n bird which built her nest at the entrance (according to another legend\n it was curtained by a spider\u2019s web), whilst another bird (the crow of\n whom I shall presently speak) tried to betray them. The first bird is\n popularly supposed to have been a pigeon, and is referred to by\n Hudibras:\u2014\n\n Th\u2019 apostles of this fierce religion\n Like Mahomet, were ass and widgeon.\n\n The ass I presume alludes to the marvellous beast Al-Bur\u00e1k which the\n Greeks called \u0392\u03c1\u03ac\u03c7\u03b8\u03b1\u03bd from \u0392\u03c1\u03b1\u03c7 (Euthymius in Pocock, Spec. A.H. p.\n 144) and which Indian Moslems picture with human face, ass\u2019s ears,\n equine body and peacock\u2019s wings and tail. The \u201cwidgeon\u201d I presume to\n be a mistake or a misprint for pigeon.\n\nFootnote 436:\n\n The Arabs are not satisfied with the comparative moderation of the\n Hebrew miracle, and have added all manner of absurdities (Pilgrimage\n ii. 288).\n\nFootnote 437:\n\n Koran lxxxi. 18. Sale translates \u201cby the morning when it appeareth;\u201d\n and the word (tanaffus) will bear this meaning. Mr. Rodwell prefers,\n \u201cBy the dawn when it clears away the darkness by its breath.\u201d\n\nFootnote 438:\n\n As a rule Moslems are absurdly ignorant of arithmetic and\n apparently cannot master it. Hence in Egypt they used Copts for\n calculating-machines and further East Hind\u00fas. The mildest\n numerical puzzle, like the above, is sure of success.\n\nFootnote 439:\n\n The paradisal tree which supplied every want. Mohammed borrowed it\n from the Christians (Rev. xxi. 10\u201321 and xxii. 1\u20132) who placed in\n their paradise the Tree of Life which bears twelve sorts of fruits and\n leaves of healing virtue. (See also the 3rd book of Hermas, his\n Similitudes.) The Hebrews borrowed it from the Persians. Amongst the\n Hindus it appears as \u201cKalpavriksha;\u201d amongst the Scandinavians as\n Yggdrasil. The curious reader will consult Mr. James Fergusson\u2019s\n learned work, \u201cTree and Serpent Worship,\u201d etc. London, 1873.\n\nFootnote 440:\n\n Aaron\u2019s Rod becomes amongst Moslems (Koran vii. 110) Moses\u2019 Staff; the\n size being that of a top-mast (Pilgrimage i. 300, 301). In Koran xx.\n 18, 19, we find a notice of its uses; and during the Middle Ages it\n reappeared in the Staff of Wamba the Goth (A.D. 672\u2013680): the witch\u2019s\n broomstick was its latest development.\n\nFootnote 441:\n\n Christ, say the Eutychians, had only one nature the divine; so he was\n crucified in effigy.\n\nFootnote 442:\n\n Jesus is compared with Adam in the Koran (chapt. iii.): his titles are\n Kal\u00e1mu \u2018llah (word of God) because engendered without a father, and\n R\u00fahu \u2018llah (breath of God) because conceived by Gabriel in the shape\n of a beautiful youth breathing into the Virgin\u2019s vulva. Hence Moslems\n believe in a \u201cmiraculous conception\u201d and consequently determine that\n one so conceived was, like Elias and Khizr, not subject to death; they\n also hold him born free from \u201coriginal sin\u201d (a most sinful\n superstition), a veil being placed before the Virgin and Child against\n the Evil One who could not touch them. He spoke when a babe in cradle;\n he performed miracles of physic; he was taken up to Heaven; he will\n appear as the forerunner of Mohammed on the White Tower of Damascus,\n and finally he will be buried at Al-Medinah. The Jews on the other\n hand speak of him as \u201cthat man:\u201d they hold that he was begotten by\n Joseph during the menstrual period and therefore a born magician.\n Moreover he learned the Sham ha-maphrash or Nomen tetragrammaton,\n wrote it on parchment and placed it in an incision in his thigh, which\n closed up on the Name being mentioned (Buxtorf, Lex Talmud 25\u201341).\n Other details are given in the Toldoth Jesu (Historia Joshu\u00e6\n Nazareni). This note should be read by the eminent English litt\u00e9rateur\n who discovered a fact, well known to Locke and Carlyle, that\n \u201cMohammedans are Christians.\u201d So they are and something more.\n\nFootnote 443:\n\n In the Kalamd\u00e1n, or pen-case, is a little inkstand of metal occupying\n the top of the long, narrow box.\n\nFootnote 444:\n\n A fair specimen of the riddle known as the \u201csurprise.\u201d\n\nFootnote 445:\n\n Koran xli. 10.\n\nFootnote 446:\n\n Koran xxxvi. 82.\n\nFootnote 447:\n\n Here we enter upon a series of disputed points. The Wahh\u00e1bis deny the\n intercession of the Apostle (Pilgrimage ii. 76\u201377). The Shi ahs place\n Ali next in dignity to Mohammed and there is a sect (Ali-Il\u00e1hi) which\n believes him to be an Avatar or incarnation of the Deity. For the\n latter the curious reader will consult the \u201cDabistan,\u201d ii. 451. The\n Koran by its many contradictions seems to show that Mohammed never\n could make up his own mind on the subject, thinking himself at times\n an intercessor and then sharply denying all intercession.\n\nFootnote 448:\n\n Arab. \u201cKanjifah\u201d = a pack of cards; corrupted from the Persian\n \u201cGanj\u00edfah.\u201d We know little concerning the date or origin of this game\n in the East, where the packs are quite unlike ours.\n\nFootnote 449:\n\n It is interesting to compare this account with the pseudo Ovid and\n with Tale clxvi. in Gesta \u201cOf the game of Schaci.\u201d Its Schacarium is\n the chess-board. Rochus (roccus, etc.) is not from the Germ. Rock (a\n coat) but from Rukh (Pers. a hero, a knight-errant); Alphinus (Ital.\n Alfino) is Al-Firz\u00e1n (Pers. science, wise).\n\nFootnote 450:\n\n Arab. \u201cBaydak\u201d or \u201cBayzak\u201d; a corruption of the Persian \u201cPiy\u00e1dah\u201d = a\n footman, peon, pawn; and proving whence the Arabs derived the game.\n The Persians are the readiest backgammon-players known to me, better\n even than the Greeks; they throw the dice from the hand and continue\n foully abusing the fathers and mothers of the \u201cbones\u201d whilst the game\n lasts. It is often played in the intervals of dinner by the higher\n classes in Persia.\n\nFootnote 451:\n\n Metaphor from loading camels and mules. To \u201ceat\u201d a piece is to take\n it.\n\nFootnote 452:\n\n Arab. \u201cBil\u00e1bil\u201d; a plural of \u201cBulbul\u201d with a double entendre bal\u00e1bil\n (plur. of ballalah) = heart\u2019s troubles, and \u201cbal\u00e1, bul\u201d = a calamity,\n nay, etc.\n\n\n\n\n THE ANGEL OF DEATH WITH THE PROUD KING AND THE DEVOUT MAN.\n\n\nIt is related, O auspicious King, that one of the olden monarchs was\nonce minded to ride out in state with the officers of his realm and the\nGrandees of his retinue and display to the folk the marvels of his\nmagnificence. So he ordered his Lords and Emirs equip them therefor and\ncommanded his keeper of the wardrobe to bring him of the richest of\nraiment, such as befitted the King in his state; and he bade them bring\nhis steeds[453] of the finest breeds and pedigrees every man heeds;\nwhich being done, he chose out of the raiment what rejoiced him most and\nof the horses that which he deemed best; and, donning the clothes,\ntogether with a collar set with margarites and rubies and all manner\njewels, mounted and set forth in state, making his destrier prance and\ncurvet among his troops and glorying in his pride and despotic power.\nAnd Iblis came to him and, laying his hand upon his nose, blew into his\nnostrils the breath of hauteur and conceit, so that he magnified and\nglorified himself and said in his heart, \u201cWho among men is like unto\nme?\u201d And he became so puffed up with arrogance and self-sufficiency, and\nso taken up with the thought of his own splendour and magnificence, that\nhe would not vouchsafe a glance to any man. Presently, there stood\nbefore him one clad in tattered clothes and saluted him, but he returned\nnot his salam; whereupon the stranger laid hold of his horse\u2019s bridle.\n\u201cLift thy hand,\u201d cried the King, \u201cthou knowest not whose bridle-rein it\nis whereof thou takest hold.\u201d Quoth the other, \u201cI have a need of thee.\u201d\nQuoth the King, \u201cWait till I alight and then name thy need.\u201d Rejoined\nthe stranger, \u201cIt is a secret and I will not tell it but in thine ear.\u201d\nSo the King bowed his head to him and he said, \u201cI am the Angel of Death\nand I purpose to take thy soul.\u201d Replied the King, \u201cHave patience with\nme a little, whilst I return to my house and take leave of my people and\nchildren and neighbours and wife.\u201d \u201cBy no means so,\u201d answered the Angel;\n\u201cthou shalt never return nor look on them again, for the fated term of\nthy life is past.\u201d So saying, he took the soul of the King (who fell off\nhis horse\u2019s back dead) and departed thence. Presently the Death Angel\nmet a devout man, of whom Almighty Allah had accepted, and saluted him.\nHe returned the salute, and the Angel said to him, \u201cO pious man, I have\na need of thee which must be kept secret.\u201d \u201cTell it in my ear,\u201d quoth\nthe devotee; and quoth the other, \u201cI am the Angel of Death.\u201d Replied the\nman, \u201cWelcome to thee! and praised be Allah for thy coming! I am aweary\nof awaiting thine arrival; for indeed long hath been thine absence from\nthe lover which longeth for thee.\u201d Said the Angel, \u201cIf thou have any\nbusiness, make an end of it;\u201d but the other answered, saying, \u201cThere is\nnothing so urgent to me as the meeting with my Lord, to whom be honour\nand glory!\u201d And the Angel said \u201cHow wouldst thou fain have me take thy\nsoul? I am bidden to take it as thou willest and choosest.\u201d He replied,\n\u201cTarry till I make the Wuzu-ablution and pray; and, when I prostrate\nmyself, then take my soul while my body is on the ground.\u201d[454] Quoth\nthe Angel, \u201cVerily, my Lord (be He extolled and exalted!) commanded me\nnot to take thy soul but with thy consent and as thou shouldst wish; so\nI will do thy will.\u201d Then the devout man made the minor ablution[455]\nand prayed: and the Angel of Death took his soul in the act of\nprostration and Almighty Allah transported it to the place of mercy and\nacceptance and forgiveness. And they tell another tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 453:\n\n The popular English idea of the Arab horse is founded upon utter\n unfact. Book after book tells us, \u201cThere are three distinct breeds of\n Arabians\u2014the _Attechi_, a very superior breed; the _Kadishi_, mixed\n with these and of little value; and the _Kochlani_, highly prized and\n very difficult to procure.\u201d \u201cAttechi\u201d may be At-T\u00e1z\u00ed (the Arab horse,\n or hound) or some confusion with \u201cAt\u201d (Turk.) a horse. \u201cKadish\u201d\n (Gadish or Kidish) is a nag; a gelding, a hackney, a \u201cpacer\u201d\n (generally called \u201cRahw\u00e1n\u201d). \u201cKochlani\u201d is evidently \u201cKohl\u00e1ni,\u201d the\n Kohl-eyed, because the skin round the orbits is dark as if powdered.\n This is the true blue blood; and the bluest of all is \u201cKohl\u00e1ni\n al-Aj\u00faz\u201d (of the old woman) a name thus accounted for. An Arab mare\n dropped a filly when in flight; her rider perforce gallopped on and\n presently saw the foal appear in camp, when it was given to an old\n woman for nursing and grew up to be famous. The home of the Arab horse\n is the vast plateau of Al-Najd: the Tah\u00e1mah or lower maritime regions\n of Arabia, like Malabar, will not breed good beasts. The pure blood\n all descends from five collateral lines called Al-Khamsah (the\n Cinque). Literary and pedantic Arabs derive them from the mares of\n Mohammed a native of the dry and rocky region, Al-Hijaz, whither\n horses are all imported. Others go back (with the Koran, chapt.\n xxviii.) to Solomon, possibly Salm\u00e1n, a patriarch fourth in descent\n from Ishmael and some 600 years older than the Hebrew King. The Badawi\n derive the five from Rab\u00ed\u2019at al-Faras (R. of the mare) fourth in\n descent from Adn\u00e1n, the fount of Arab genealogy. But they differ about\n the names: those generally given are Kahilan (Kohaylat), Sakl\u00e1wi\n (which the Badawin pronounce Sagl\u00e1wi), Abay\u00e1n, and Hamd\u00e1ni; others\n substitute Man\u00e1khi (the long-maned), Tan\u00eds and Jalf\u00fan. These require\n no certificate amongst Arabs; for strangers a simple statement is\n considered enough. The Badawin despise all half-breeds (Arab sires and\n country mares), Syrian, Turkish, Kurdish and Egyptian. They call these\n (first mentioned in the reign of Ahmes, B.C. 1600) the \u201csons of\n horses\u201d; as opposed to \u201csons of mares,\u201d or thorough-breds. Nor do they\n believe in city-bred animals. I have great doubts concerning our old\n English sires, such as the Darley Arabian which looks like a Kurdish\n half-bred, the descendant of those Cappadocians so much prized by the\n Romans: in Syria I rode a \u201cHarf\u00fash\u00ed\u201d (Kurd) the very image of it.\n There is no difficulty in buying Arab stallions except the price. Of\n course the tribe does not like to part with what may benefit the\n members generally; but offers of \u00a3500 to \u00a31,000 would overcome men\u2019s\n scruples. It is different with mares, which are almost always the\n joint property of several owners. The people too dislike to see a hat\n on a thorough-bred mare: \u201cWhat hast thou done that thou art ridden by\n that ill-omened Kafir?\u201d the Badawin used to mutter when they saw a\n highly respectable missionary at Damascus mounting a fine Ruwal\u00e1 mare.\n The feeling easily explains the many wars about horses occurring in\n Arab annals, _e.g._ about D\u00e1his and Ghabr\u00e1. (C. de Perceval, _Essai_,\n vol. ii.)\n\nFootnote 454:\n\n The stricter kind of Eastern Jew prefers to die on the floor not in\n bed, as was the case with the late Mr. Emmanuel Deutsch, who in his\n well-known article on the Talmud had the courage to speak of \u201cOur\n Saviour.\u201d But as a rule the Israelite, though he mostly appears as a\n Deist, a Unitarian, has a fund of fanatical feelings which crop up in\n old age and near death. The \u201cconverts\u201d in Syria and elsewhere, whose\n Judaism is intensified by \u201cconversion,\u201d when offers are made to them\n by the missionaries repair to the Kh\u00e1kh\u00e1m (scribe) and, after abundant\n wrangling determine upon a _modus vivendi_. They are to pay a\n proportion of their wages, to keep careful watch in the cause of\n Israel and to die orthodox. In Istria there is a legend of a Jew Prior\n in a convent who was not discovered till he announced himself most\n unpleasantly on his death-bed. For a contrary reason to Jewish\n humility the Roman Emperors preferred to die standing.\n\nFootnote 455:\n\n He wished to die in a state of ceremonial purity; as has before been\n mentioned.\n\n\n\n\n THE ANGEL OF DEATH AND THE RICH KING.\n\n\nA certain King had heaped up coin beyond count and gathered store of all\nprecious things, which Allah the Most Highest hath created. So, in order\nthat he might take his pleasure whenas he should find leisure to enjoy\nall this abounding wealth he had collected, he built him a palace wide\nand lofty such as besitteth and beseemeth Kings; and set thereto strong\ndoors and appointed, for its service and its guard, servants and\nsoldiers and doorkeepers to watch and ward. One day, he bade the cooks\ndress him somewhat of the goodliest of food and assembled his household\nand retainers and boon-companions and servants to eat with him, and\npartake of his bounty. Then he sat down upon the sofa of his kingship\nand dominion; and, propping his elbow upon the cushion, addressed\nhimself, saying, \u201cO soul, thou hast gathered together all the wealth of\nthe world; so now take thy leisure therein and eat of this good at thine\nease, in long life and prosperity ever rife!\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that hardly had the\nKing made an end of saying to himself, \u201cEat of this weal at thine ease,\nin long life and prosperity ever rife!\u201d when a man clad in tattered\nraiment, with an asker\u2019s wallet hanging at his neck, as he were one who\ncame to beg food, knocked with the door-ring a knock so loud and\nterrible that the whole palace shook as with quake of earth and the\nKing\u2019s throne trembled. The servants were affrighted and rushed to the\ndoor, and when they saw the man who had knocked they cried out at him,\nsaying, \u201cWoe to thee! what manner of unmannerly fashion be this? Wait\ntill the King eateth and we will then give thee of what is left.\u201d Quoth\nhe, \u201cTell your lord to come out and speak with me, for I have of him a\npressing need and a matter to heed.\u201d They cried, \u201cAway, fool! who art\nthou that we should bid our lord come forth to thee?\u201d But he said, \u201cTell\nhim of this.\u201d So they went in and told the King, who said, \u201cDid ye not\nrebuke him and draw upon him and threaten him!\u201d Now as he spoke, behold,\nthere came another knock at the gate, louder than the first knock,\nwhereupon the servants sprang at the stranger with staves and weapons,\nto fall upon him and slay him; but he shouted at them, saying, \u201cBide in\nyour steads, for I am the Angel of Death.\u201d Hereat their hearts quaked\nand their wits forsook them; their understandings were in confusion,\ntheir side-muscles quivered in perturbation and their limbs lost the\npower of motion. Then said the King to them, \u201cTell him to take a\nsubstitute[456] in my place and one to relieve me in this case.\u201d But the\nAngel answered, saying, \u201cI will take no substitute, and I come not but\non thine account, to cause separation between thee and the goods thou\nhast gathered together and the riches thou hast heaped up and\nentreasured.\u201d When the King heard this, he wept and groaned, saying,\n\u201cAllah curse the treasure which hath deluded and undone me and diverted\nme from the service of my Lord! I deemed it would profit me, but to-day\nit is a regret for me and a calamity to me, and behold, I go forth,\nempty-handed of it, and leave it to my foes.\u201d Thereupon Allah caused the\nTreasure to speak out and it said, \u201cWherefore cursest thou me?[457]\nCurse thyself, for Allah created both me and eke thyself of the dust and\nappointed me to be in thine hand, that thou mightest provide thee with\nme a viaticum for the next world and give alms with me to the poor and\nthe needy and the sick; and build mosques and hospices and bridges and\naqueducts, so might I be an aidance unto thee in the world to come. But\nthou didst garner me and hoard me up and on thine own vanities bestowest\nme, neither gavest thou thanks for me, as was due, but wast ungrateful\nto me; and now thou must leave me to thy foes and thou hast naught save\nthy regretting and thy repenting. But what is my sin, that thou\nshouldest revile me?\u201d Then the Angel of Death took the King\u2019s soul as he\nsat on his throne before he ate of the food, and he fell down dead.\nQuoth Allah Almighty, \u201cWhile they were rejoicing for that which had been\ngiven them, we suddenly laid hold on them; and, behold, they were seized\nwith despair.\u201d[458] And they tell another tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 456:\n\n Arab. \u201cBadal\u201d: in Sind (not to speak of other places) it was customary\n to hire a pauper \u201cbadal\u201d to be hanged in stead of a rich man. Sir\n Charles Napier signed many a death-warrant before he ever heard of the\n practice.\n\nFootnote 457:\n\n Arab. \u201cLa\u2019an\u201d = curse. The word is in every mouth though strongly\n forbidden by religion. Even of the enemies of Al-Islam the learned\n say, \u201cIla\u2019an Yez\u00edd wa l\u00e1 taz\u00edd\u201d = curse Yezid but do not exceed\n (_i.e._ refrain from cursing the others). This, however, is in the\n Shafi\u2019\u00ed school and the Hanaf\u00eds do not allow it (Pilgrimage i. 198).\n Hence the Moslem when scrupulous uses na\u2019al (shoe) for la\u2019an (curse)\n as Ina\u2019al ab\u00fak (for Ila\u2019an abu\u2019-k) or, _drat_ (instead of _damn_) your\n father. Men must hold Supreme Intelligence to be of feeble kind if put\n off by such miserable pretences.\n\nFootnote 458:\n\n Koran vi. 44, speaking of the Infidels. It is a most unamiable\n chapter, with such assertions as \u201cAllah leadeth into error whom He\n pleaseth,\u201d etc.\n\n\n\n\n THE ANGEL OF DEATH AND THE KING OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.\n\n\nThere was a puissant despot among the Kings of the Ban\u00fa Isr\u00e1\u00edl, who sat\none day upon the throne of his kingship, when he saw come in to him, by\nthe gate of the hall, a man of forbidding aspect and horrible presence.\nThe King was affrighted at his sudden intrusion and his look terrified\nhim; so he sprang up before him and said, \u201cWho art thou, O man? Who gave\nthee leave to come in to me and who invited thee to enter my house?\u201d\nQuoth the stranger, \u201cVerily the Lord of the House sent me to thee, nor\ncan any doorkeeper exclude me, nor need I leave to come in to Kings; for\nI reck not of a Sultan\u2019s majesty neither of the multitude of his guards.\nI am he from whom no tyrant is at rest, nor can any man escape from my\ngrasp: I am the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of societies.\u201d\nNow when the King heard this a palsy crept over him[459] and he fell on\nhis face in a swoon; but presently coming to himself, he asked, \u201cArt\nthou then the Angel of Death?\u201d; and the stranger answered, \u201cYes.\u201d \u201cI\nconjure thee, by Allah,\u201d quoth the King, \u201cgrant me one single day\u2019s\nrespite, that I may pray pardon of my sins and ask absolution of my Lord\nand restore to their rightful owners the monies which are in my\ntreasures, so I may not be burdened with the woe of a reckoning nor with\nthe misery of punishment therefor.\u201d Replied the Angel, \u201cWell-away!\nwell-away! this may be in no way.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the\nDeath-messenger to the King, \u201cWell-away, well-away! this may be in no\nway. How can I grant thee a reprieve when the days of thy life are\ncounted and thy breaths numbered and thy moments fixed and written?\u201d\n\u201cGrant me an hour,\u201d asked the King; but the Angel answered saying, \u201cThe\nhour was in the account and hath sped, and thou unheeding aught; and\nhath fled, and thou taking no thought: and now thy breathings are\naccomplished, and there remaineth to thee but one breath.\u201d Quoth the\nKing, \u201cWho will be with me when I am transported to my tomb?\u201d Quoth the\nAngel, \u201cNaught will be with thee but thy works good or evil.\u201d \u201cI have no\nworks,\u201d said the King; and the Angel, \u201cDoubtless thy long home will be\nin hell-fire and thy doom the wrath of the Almighty.\u201d Then he seized the\nsoul of the King, and he fell off his throne and dropped on the earth\ndead. And there arose a mighty weeping and wailing and clamour of\nkeening for him among the people of his court, and had they known that\nto which he went of the wrath of his Lord, their weeping for him had\nbeen sorer and their wailing louder and more abounding. And a story is\ntold of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 459:\n\n Alluding to the \u201cformication\u201d which accompanies a stroke of paralysis.\n\n\n\n\n ISKANDAR ZU AL-KARNAYN[460] AND A CERTAIN TRIBE OF POOR FOLK.\n\n\nIt is related that Iskandar Zu al-Karnayn[461] once came, in his\njourneyings, upon a tribe of small folk, who owned naught of the weals\nof the world and who dug their graves over against the doors of their\nhouses and were wont at all times to visit them and sweep the earth from\nthem and keep them clean and pray at them and worship Almighty Allah at\nthem; and they had no meat save grasses and the growth of the ground. So\nIskandar sent a man to summon their King, but he refused to come,\nsaying, \u201cI have no need of him.\u201d Thereupon Iskandar went to him and\nsaid, \u201cHow is it with you and what manner of men are ye?; for I see with\nyou forsooth naught of gold or silver, nor find I with you aught of the\nweals of the world.\u201d Answered the King, \u201cNone hath his fill of the weals\nof the world.\u201d Iskandar then asked \u201cWhy do you dig your graves before\nyour house-doors?\u201d; and the King answered, \u201cThat they may be the\nprospective of our eye-glances; so we may look on them and ever renew\ntalk and thought of death, neither forget the world to come; and on this\nwise the love of the world be banished from our hearts and we be not\nthereby distracted from the service of our Lord, the Almighty.\u201d Quoth\nIskandar, \u201cWhy do ye eat grasses?\u201d; and the other replied, \u201cBecause we\nabhor to make our bellies the tombs of animals and because the pleasure\nof eating outstrippeth not the gullet.\u201d Then putting forth his hand he\nbrought out a skull of a son of Adam and, laying it before Iskandar,\nsaid, \u201cO Zu al-Karnayn, Lord of the Two Horns, knowest thou who owned\nthis skull?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cNay;\u201d and quoth the other, \u201cHe who owned this\nskull was a King of the Kings of the world, who dealt tyrannously with\nhis subjects, specially wronging the weak and wasting his time in\nheaping up the rubbish of this world, till Allah took his sprite and\nmade the fire his abiding-site; and this is his head.\u201d He then put forth\nhis hand and produced another skull and, laying it before Iskandar, said\nto him, \u201cKnowest thou this?\u201d \u201cNo,\u201d answered the conqueror; and the other\nrejoined, \u201cThis is the skull of another King, who dealt justly by his\nlieges and was kindly solicitous for the folk of his realm and his\ndominions, till Allah took his soul and lodged him in His Garden and\nmade high his degree in Heaven.\u201d Then laying his hands on Iskandar\u2019s\nhead he said, \u201cWould I knew which of these two art thou.\u201d Whereupon\nIskandar wept with sore weeping and straining the King to his bosom\ncried, \u201cIf thou be minded to company with me, I will commit to thee as\nWazir the government of my affairs and share with thee my kingdom.\u201d\nCried the other, \u201cWell-away, well-away! I have no mind to this.\u201d \u201cAnd\nwhy so?\u201d asked Iskandar, and the King answered, \u201cBecause all men are thy\nfoes by reason of the wealth and the worlds thou hast won: while all men\nare my true friends, because of my contentment and pauperdom, for that I\npossess nothing, neither covet aught of the goods of life; I have no\ndesire to them nor wish for them, neither reck I aught save\ncontentment.\u201d So Iskandar pressed him to his breast and kissed him\nbetween the eyes and went his way.[462] And among the tales they tell is\none concerning\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 460:\n\n Pronounce Zool Karnayn.\n\nFootnote 461:\n\n _i.e._ the Koranic and our medi\u00e6val Alexander, Lord of the two Horns\n (East and West) much \u201cMatagrobolized\u201d and very different from him of\n Macedon. The title is variously explained, from two protuberances on\n his head or helm, from two long locks and, possibly, from the\n ram-horns of Jupiter Ammon. The anecdote in the text seems suggested\n by the famous interview (probably a _canard_) with Diogenes: see in\n the Gesta, Tale cxlvi. \u201cThe answer of Diomedes the Pirate to\n Alexander.\u201d Iskandar was originally called Marzb\u00e1n (Lord of the\n Marches), son of Marzabah; and, though descended from Yun\u00e1n, son of\n Japhet, the eponymus of the Greeks, was born obscure, the son of an\n old woman. According to the Persians he was the son of the Elder D\u00e1r\u00e1b\n (Darius Codomannus of the Kayanian or Second dynasty), by a daughter\n of Philip of Macedon; and was brought up by his grandfather. When\n Abraham and Isaac had rebuilt the Ka\u2019abah they foregathered with him\n and Allah sent him forth against the four quarters of the earth to\n convert men to the faith of the Friend or to cut their throats; thus\n he became one of the four world-conquerors with Nimrod, Solomon, Bukht\n al-Nasr (Nabochodonosor); and he lived down two generations of men.\n His Wazir was Arist\u00fa (the Greek Aristotle) and he carried a couple of\n flags, white and black, which made day and night for him and\n facilitated his conquests. At the end of Persia, where he was invited\n by the people, on account of the cruelty of his half brother Darab\n II., he came upon two huge mountains on the same line, behind which\n dwelt a host of abominable pygmies, two spans high, with curious eyes,\n ears which served as mattresses and coverlets, huge fanged mouths,\n lions\u2019 claws and hairy hind quarters. They ate men, destroyed\n everything, copulated in public and had swarms of children. These were\n Y\u00e1j\u00faj and M\u00e1j\u00faj (Gog and Magog) descendants of Japhet. Sikandar built\n against them the famous wall with stones cemented and riveted by iron\n and copper. The \u201cGreat Wall\u201d of China, the famous bulwark against the\n Tartars dates from B.C. 320; (Alexander of Macedon died B.C. 324) and\n as the Arabs knew Canton well before Mohammed\u2019s day, they may have\n built their romance upon it. The Guebres consigned Sikandar to hell\n for burning the Nusks or sections of the Zendavesta.\n\nFootnote 462:\n\n These terrific preachments to Eastern despots (who utterly ignore\n them) are a staple produce of Oriental tale-literature and form the\n chiaro-oscuro, as it were, of a picture whose lights are brilliant\n touches of profanity and indelicate humour. It certainly has the charm\n of contrast. Much of the above is taken from the Sikandar-nameh\n (Alexander Book) of the great Persian poet, Niz\u00e1mi, who flourished\n A.H. 515\u2013597, between the days of Firdausi (ob. A.D. 1021) and Sa\u2019adi\n (ob. A.D. 1291). In that romance Sikandar builds, \u201cwhere the sun goes\n down,\u201d a castle of glittering stone which kills men by causing\n excessive laughter and surrounds it with yellow earth like gold. Hence\n the City of Brass. He also converts, instead of being converted by,\n the savages of the text. He finds a stone of special excellence which\n he calls Alm\u00e1s (diamond); and he obtains it from the Valley of\n Serpents by throwing down flesh to the eagles. Lastly he is\n accompanied by \u201cBil\u00edn\u00e1s\u201d or \u201cBil\u00edn\u00fas,\u201d who is apparently Apollonius of\n Tyana.\n\n\n\n\n THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF KING ANUSHIRWAN.[463]\n\n\nIt is told of Anushirwan, the just King, that once upon a time he\nfeigned himself sick, and bade his stewards and intendants go round\nabout the provinces of his empire and the quarters of his dominion and\nseek him out a mud-brick thrown away from some ruined village, that he\nmight use it as medicine, informing his intimates that the leaches had\nprescribed this to him. So they went the round of the provinces of his\nreign and of all the lands under his sway and said to him on return, \u201cIn\nall the realm we have found nor ruined site nor castaway mud-brick.\u201d At\nthis Anushirwan rejoiced and rendered thanks to the Lord, saying, \u201cI was\nbut minded to try my kingdom and prove mine empire, that I might know if\nany place therein remained ruined and deserted, so I might rebuild and\nrepeople it; but, since there be no place in it but is inhabited, the\naffairs of the reign are best-conditioned and its ordinance is\nexcellent; and its populousness[464] hath reached the pitch of\nperfection.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the high\nofficials returned and reported, \u201cWe have found in the empire nor ruined\nsite nor rotten brick,\u201d the Just King thanked his God and said, \u201cVerily\nthe affairs of the realm are best-conditioned and its ordinance is\nexcellent and its populousness hath reached the pink of perfection.\u201d And\nken thou, O King, continued Shahrazad, that these olden Kings strave not\nand toiled not for the peopling of their possessions, but because they\nknew that the more populous a country is, the more abundant is that\nwhich is desired therein; and because they wist the saying of the wise\nand the learned to be true without other view, namely, \u201cReligion\ndependeth on the King, the King on the troops, the troops on the\ntreasury, the treasury on the populousness of the country and its\nprosperity on the justice done to the lieges.\u201d Wherefore they upheld no\none in tyranny or oppression; neither suffered their dependants and\nsuite to work injustice, knowing that kingdoms are not established upon\ntyranny, but that cities and places fall into ruin when oppressors are\nset as rulers over them, and their inhabitants disperse and flee to\nother governments; whereby ruin falleth upon the realm, the imports\nfail, the treasuries become empty and the pleasant lives of the subjects\nare perturbed; for that they love not a tyrant and cease not to offer up\nsuccessive prayers against him; so that the King hath no ease of his\nkingdom, and the vicissitudes of fortune speedily bring him to\ndestruction. And they tell a tale concerning\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 463:\n\n I have explained the beautiful name in Night cclxxxix: He is still\n famous for having introduced into Persia the fables of Pilpay\n (Bidyapati, the lord of lore) and a game which the genius of Persia\n developed into chess.\n\nFootnote 464:\n\n Here we find an eternal truth, of which Malthusians ever want\n reminding; that the power of a nation simply consists in its numbers\n of fighting men and in their brute bodily force. The conquering race\n is that which raises most foot-pounds: hence the North conquers the\n South in the Northern hemisphere and _vice vers\u00e2_.\n\n\n\n\n THE JEWISH KAZI AND HIS PIOUS WIFE.\n\n\nAmong the Children of Israel one of the Kazis had a wife of surpassing\nbeauty, constant in fasting and abounding in patience and\nlong-suffering; and he, being minded to make the pilgrimage to\nJerusalem, appointed his own brother Kazi in his stead, during his\nabsence, and commended his wife to his charge. Now this brother had\nheard of her beauty and loveliness and had taken a fancy to her. So no\nsooner was his brother gone than he went to her and sought her\nlove-favours; but she denied him and held fast to her chastity. The more\nshe repelled him, the more he pressed his suit upon her; till,\ndespairing of her and fearing lest she should acquaint his brother with\nhis misconduct whenas he should return, he suborned false witnesses to\ntestify against her of adultery; and cited her and carried her before\nthe King of the time who adjudged her to be stoned. So they dug a pit,\nand seating her therein stoned her, till she was covered with stones,\nand the man said, \u201cBe this hole her grave!\u201d But when it was dark a\npasser-by, making for a neighbouring hamlet, heard her groaning in sore\npain; and, pulling her out of the pit, carried her home to his wife,\nwhom he bade dress her wounds. The peasant woman tended her till she\nrecovered and presently gave her her child to be nursed; and she used to\nlodge with the child in another house by night. Now a certain thief saw\nher and lusted after her. So he sent to her seeking her love-favours,\nbut she denied herself to him; wherefore he resolved to slay her and,\nmaking his way into her lodging by night (and she sleeping), thought to\nstrike at her with a knife; but it smote the little one and killed it.\nNow when he knew his misdeed, fear overtook him and he went forth the\nhouse and Allah preserved from him her chastity. But as she awoke in the\nmorning, she found the child by her side with throat cut; and presently\nthe mother came and seeing her boy dead, said to the nurse, \u201c\u2018Twas thou\ndidst murther him.\u201d Therewith she beat her a grievous beating and\npurposed to put her to death; but her husband interposed and delivered\nthe woman, saying, \u201cBy Allah, thou shalt not do on this wise.\u201d So the\nwoman, who had somewhat of money with her, fled forth for her life,\nknowing not whither she should wend. Presently, she came to a village,\nwhere she saw a crowd of people about a man crucified to a tree-stump,\nbut still in the chains of life. \u201cWhat hath he done?\u201d she asked, and\nthey answered, \u201cHe hath committed a crime, which nothing can expiate but\ndeath or the payment of such a fine by way of alms.\u201d So she said to\nthem, \u201cTake the money and let him go;\u201d and, when they did so, he\nrepented at her hands and vowed to serve her, for the love of Almighty\nAllah till death should release him. Then he built her a cell and lodged\nher therein; after which he betook himself to woodcutting and brought\nher daily her bread. As for her, she was constant in worship, so that\nthere came no sick man or demoniac to her, but she prayed for him and he\nwas straightway healed.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the woman\u2019s\ncell was visited by folk (and she constant in worship), it befel by\ndecree of the Almighty that He sent down upon her husband\u2019s brother (the\nsame who had caused her to be stoned), a cancer in the face, and smote\nthe villager\u2019s wife (the same who had beaten her) with leprosy, and\nafflicted the thief (the same who had murthered the child) with palsy.\nNow when the Kazi returned from his pilgrimage, he asked his brother of\nhis wife, and he told him that she was dead, whereat he mourned sore and\naccounted her with her Maker. After awhile, very many folk heard of the\npious recluse and flocked to her cell from all parts of the length and\nbreadth of the earth; whereupon said the Kazi to his brother, \u201cO my\nbrother, wilt thou not seek out yonder pious woman? Haply Allah shall\ndecree thee healing at her hands!\u201d and he replied, \u201cO my brother, carry\nme to her.\u201d Moreover, the husband of the leprous woman heard of the\npious devotee and carried his wife to her, as did also the people of the\nparalytic thief; and they all met at the door of the hermitage. Now she\nhad a place wherefrom she could look out upon those who came to her,\nwithout their seeing her; and they waited till her servant came, when\nthey begged admittance and obtained permission. Presently she saw them\nall and recognized them; so she veiled and cloaked face and body and\nwent out and stood in the door, looking at her husband and his brother\nand the thief and the peasant-woman; but they could not recognise her.\nThen said she to them, \u201cHo folk, ye shall not be relieved of what is\nwith you till ye confess your sins; for, when the creature confesseth\nhis sins the Creator relenteth towards him and granteth him that\nwherefore he resorteth to Him.\u201d Quoth the Kazi to his brother, \u201cO my\nbrother, repent to Allah and persist not in thy frowardness, for it will\nbe more helpful to thy relief.\u201d And the tongue of the case spake this\nspeech:\u2014\n\n This day oppressor and oppress\u00e8d meet, \u273f And Allah sheweth secrets we\n secrete:\n This is a place where sinners low are brought; \u273f And Allah raiseth saint\n to highest seat.\n Our Lord and Master shows the truth right clear, \u273f Though sinner froward\n be or own defeat:\n Alas[465] for those who rouse the Lord to wrath, \u273f As though of Allah\u2019s\n wrath they nothing weet!\n O whoso seekest honours, know they are \u273f From Allah, and His fear with\n love entreat.\n\n(Saith the relator), Then quoth the brother, \u201cNow I will tell the truth:\nI did thus and thus with thy wife;\u201d and he confessed the whole matter,\nadding, \u201cAnd this is my offence.\u201d Quoth the leprous woman, \u201cAs for me, I\nhad a woman with me and imputed to her that of which I knew her to be\nguiltless, and beat her grievously; and this is my offence.\u201d And quoth\nthe paralytic, \u201cAnd I went in to a woman to kill her, after I had\ntempted her to commit adultery and she had refused; and I slew a child\nthat lay by her side; and this is my offence.\u201d Then said the pious\nwoman, \u201cO my God, even as Thou hast made them feel the misery of revolt,\nso show them now the excellence of submission, for Thou over all things\nart Omnipotent!\u201d And Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!) made them\nwhole. Then the Kazi fell to looking on her and considering her\nstraitly, till she asked him why he looked so hard and he said, \u201cI had a\nwife and were she not dead, I had said thou art she.\u201d Hereupon, she made\nherself known to him and both began praising Allah (to whom belong\nMajesty and Might!) for that which He had vouchsafed them of the reunion\nof their loves; but the brother and the thief and the villager\u2019s wife\njoined in imploring her forgiveness. So she forgave them one and all,\nand they worshipped Allah in that place and rendered her due service,\ntill Death parted them. And one of the Sayyids[466] hath related this\ntale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 465:\n\n Arab. \u201cWayha,\u201d not so strong as \u201cWoe to,\u201d etc. Al-Hariri often uses it\n as formula of affectionate remonstrance.\n\nFootnote 466:\n\n As a rule (much disputed) the Sayyid is a descendant from Mohammed\n through his grandchild Hasan, and is a man of the pen; whereas the\n Sharif derives from Husayn and is a man of the sword. The Naj\u00edb\n al-taraf is the son of a common Moslemah by a Sayyid, as opposed to\n the \u201cNajib al-tarafayn,\u201d when both parents are of Apostolic blood. The\n distinction is not noticed in Lane\u2019s \u201cModern Egyptians.\u201d The Sharif is\n a fanatic and often dangerous, as I have instanced in Pilgrimage iii.\n 132.\n\n\n\n\n THE SHIPWRECKED WOMAN AND HER CHILD.\n\n\nI was circuiting the Ka\u2019abah one dark night, when I heard a plaintive\nvoice, speaking from a contrite heart and saying, \u201cO Bountiful One, Thy\npast boon! Indeed, by my heart shall Thy covenant never be undone.\u201d\nHearing this voice, my heart fluttered so that I was like to die; but I\nfollowed the sound and behold, it came from a woman, to whom I said,\n\u201cPeace be with thee, O handmaid of Allah;\u201d whereto she replied, \u201cAnd\nwith thee be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings!\u201d Quoth I,\n\u201cI conjure thee, by Allah the Most Great, tell me what is the covenant\nto which thy heart is constant.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cBut that thou adjurest me\nby the Omnipotent, I would not tell thee my secrets. See what is before\nme.\u201d So I looked and lo! there was a child lying asleep before her and\nbreathing heavily in his slumber. Said she, \u201cKnow, that I set forth,\nbeing big with this boy, to make the pilgrimage to this House and took\npassage in a ship; but the waves rose against us and the winds blew\ncontrary and the vessel broke up. I saved myself on a plank; and, on\nthat bit of wood, I gave birth to this child; and while he lay on my\nbosom and the waves beating upon me,\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the woman\ncontinued, \u201cNow while the boy lay on my bosom and the waves beat upon\nme, there swam up to me one of the sailors, who climbed on the plank and\nsaid:\u2014By Allah, I desired thee whilst thou wast yet in the ship, and now\nI have come at thee: so yield thy body to me, or I will throw thee into\nthe sea. Said I:\u2014Out on thee! hast thou no memory of that which thou\nhast seen and is it no warning to thee? Quoth he:\u2014I have seen the like\nof this many a time and come off safe and care not. Quoth I:\u2014O fellow,\nwe are now in a calamity, whence we hope to be delivered by obedience to\nAllah and not by disobedience. But he persisted with me, and I feared\nhim and thought to put him off; so I said to him:\u2014Wait till this babe\nshall sleep; but he took the child off my lap and threw him into the\nsea. Now when I saw this desperate deed, my heart sank and sorrow was\nsore upon me; so I raised my eyes heavenwards and said:\u2014O Thou that\ninterposest between a man and his heart, intervene between me and this\nleonine brute; for Thou over all things art Omnipotent! And by Allah,\nhardly had I spoken when a beast rose out of the sea and snatched him\noff the plank. When I saw myself alone my sorrows redoubled and my grief\nand longing for my child, and I recited:\u2014\n\n My coolth of eyes, the darling child of me \u273f Is lost, and racked my\n heart with agony;\n My body wrecked, and red-hot coals of love \u273f Burning my liver with sore\n pangs, I see.\n In this my sorrow shows no gleam of joy; \u273f Save Thy high grace and my\n expectancy:\n Hast seen, O Lord, what unto me befel; \u273f My son aye lost and parting\n pangs I dree:\n Take ruth on us and make us meet again; \u273f For now my stay and only\n hope\u2019s in Thee!\n\nI abode in this condition a day and a night; and, when morning dawned, I\ncaught sight of the sails of a vessel shining afar off, nor did the\nwaves cease to drive me and the winds to waft me on, till I reached the\nship, whose sails I had sighted. The sailors took me up and I looked and\nbehold, my babe was amongst them: so I threw myself upon him and said:\u2014O\nfolk, this is my child: how and whence came ye by him? Quoth\nthey:\u2014Whilst we were sailing along the seas the ship suddenly stood\nstill and lo! that which stayed us was a beast, as it were a great city,\nand this babe on its back, sucking his thumbs. So we took him up. Now\nwhen I heard this, I told them my tale and all that had betided me and\nreturned thanks to my Lord for His goodness, and vowed to Him that\nnever, whilst I lived, would I stir from His House nor swerve from His\nservice; and since then I have never asked of Him aught but He hath\ngiven it me.\u201d Now when she had made an end of her story (quoth the\nSayyid), I put my hand to my alms-pouch and would have given to her, but\nshe exclaimed, \u201cAway from me, thou idle man! Have I not told thee of His\nmercies and the graciousness of His dealings and shall I take an alms\nfrom other than His hand?\u201d And I could not prevail with her to accept\naught of me: so I left her and went away, reciting these couplets:\u2014\n\n How many boons conceals the Deity, \u273f Eluding human sight in mystery:\n How many graces come on heels of stresses, \u273f And fill the burning heart\n with jubilee:\n How many a sorrow in the morn appears, \u273f And turns at night-tide into\n gladdest gree:\n If things go hard with thee some day, yet trust \u273f Th\u2019 Eterne, th\u2019\n Almighty God of Unity:\n And pray the Prophet that he intercede; \u273f Through intercession every\n wish shalt see.\n\nAnd she left not the service of her Lord, cleaving unto His House, till\ndeath came to her. And a tale is also told, by M\u00e1lik bin D\u00edn\u00e1r[467]\n(Allah have mercy on him!) of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 467:\n\n A theologian of Bassorah (eighth century): surnamed Ab\u00fa Yahy\u00e1. The\n prayer for mercy denotes that he was dead when the tale was written.\n\n\n\n\n THE PIOUS BLACK SLAVE.\n\n\nWe were once afflicted with drought at Bassorah and went forth sundry\ntimes to pray for rain, but saw no sign of our prayers being accepted.\nSo I went, I and \u2018Itaa al-Salam\u00ed and S\u00e1bit al-Ban\u00e1ni and Naja al-Bak\u00e1a\nand Mohammed bin W\u00e1si\u2019a and Ayy\u00fab al-Sukhtiy\u00e1ni and Hab\u00edb al-Farsi and\nHass\u00e1n bin Abi Sin\u00e1n and \u2018Otbah al-Ghul\u00e1m and S\u00e1lih al-Muzani,[468] till\nwe reached the oratory,[469] when the boys came out of the schools and\nwe prayed for rain, but saw no sign of acceptance. So about midday the\npeople went away and I and Sabit al-Banani tarried in the place of\nprayer till nightfall, when we saw a black of comely face, slender of\nshank[470] and big of belly, approach us, clad in a pair of woollen\ndrawers; if all he wore had been priced, it would not have fetched a\ncouple of dirhams. He brought water and made the minor ablution, then,\ngoing up to the prayer-niche, prayed two inclinations deftly, his\nstanding and bowing and prostration being exactly similar in both. Then\nhe raised his glance heavenwards, and said, \u201cO my God and my Lord and\nMaster, how long wilt Thou reject Thy servants in that which offereth no\nhurt to Thy sovereignty? Is that which is with Thee wasted or are the\ntreasuries of Thy Kingdom annihilated? I conjure Thee, by Thy love to me\nforthwith to pour out upon us Thy rain-clouds of grace!\u201d He spake and\nhardly had he made an end of speaking, when the heavens clouded over and\nthere came a rain, as if the mouths of waterskins had been opened; and\nwhen we left the oratory, we were knee-deep in water,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that hardly had he\nspoken when the heavens clouded over and there came a rain, as if the\nmouths of waterskins had been opened. And when we left the oratory we\nwere knee-deep in water, and we were lost in wonder at the black. So I\naccosted him and said to him, \u201cWoe to thee, O black, art thou not\nashamed of what thou saidst?\u201d He turned to me and asked, \u201cWhat said I?\u201d;\nand I, \u201cThy saying to Allah:\u2014By Thy love of me; and what giveth thee to\nknow that He loveth thee?\u201d Replied he, \u201cAway from me, O thou distracted\nby the world from the care of thine own soul. Where was I, when He gave\nme strength to profess the unity of the Godhead and vouchsafed unto me\nthe knowledge of Him? How deemest thou that He aided me thus except of\nHis love to me?\u201d adding, \u201cVerily, His love to me is after the measure of\nmy love to Him.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cTarry awhile with me, so may Allah have mercy\non thee!\u201d But he said, \u201cI am a chattel and the Book enjoineth me to obey\nmy lesser master.\u201d So we followed him afar off, till we saw him enter\nthe house of a slave-broker. Now the first half of the night was past\nand the last half was longsome upon us, so we went away; but next\nmorning, we repaired to the slave-dealer and said to him, \u201cHast thou a\nlad to sell us for service?\u201d He answered, \u201cYes, I have an hundred lads\nor so and they are all for sale.\u201d Then he showed us slave after slave,\ntill he had shown us some seventy; but my friend was not amongst them,\nand the dealer said, \u201cThese are all I have.\u201d But, as we were going out\nfrom him we saw a ruinous hut behind his house and going in behold, we\nfound the black standing there. I cried, \u201c\u2018Tis he, by the Lord of the\nKa\u2019abah!\u201d and turning to the dealer, said to him, \u201cSell me yonder\nslave.\u201d Replied he, \u201cO Abu Yahya, this is a pestilent unprofitable\nfellow, who hath no concern by night but weeping and by day but\nrepentance.\u201d I rejoined, \u201cIt is for that I want him.\u201d So the dealer\ncalled him, and he came out, showing drowsiness. Quoth his master, \u201cTake\nhim at thine own price, so thou hold me free of all his faults.\u201d I\nbought him for twenty dinars and asked \u201cWhat is his name?\u201d and the\ndealer answered, \u201cMaym\u00fan, the monkey;\u201d and I took him by the hand and\nwent out with him, intending to go home; but he turned to me and said,\n\u201cO my lesser lord, why and wherefore didst thou buy me? By Allah, I am\nnot fit for the service of God\u2019s creatures!\u201d Replied I, \u201cI bought thee\nthat I might serve thee myself; and on my head be it.\u201d Asked he, \u201cWhy\nso?\u201d and I answered, \u201cWast thou not in company with us yesterday in the\nplace of prayer?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cAnd didst thou hear me?\u201d; and quoth I, \u201cIt\nwas I accosted thee yesterday and spoke with thee.\u201d Thereupon he\nadvanced till we came to a mosque, where he entered and prayed a two-bow\nprayer; after which he said, \u201cO my God and my Lord and Master, the\nsecret that was between me and Thee Thou hast discovered unto Thy\ncreatures and hast brought me to shame before the worldling. How then\nshall life be sweet to me, now that other than Thou hath happened upon\nthat which is between Thee and me? I conjure Thee to take my soul to\nThee forthright.\u201d[471] So saying, he prostrated himself, and I awaited\nawhile without seeing him raise his head; so I shook him and behold, he\nwas indeed dead, the mercy of Almighty Allah be upon him! I laid him out\nstretching his arms and legs and looked at him, and lo! he was smiling.\nMoreover, whiteness had got the better of blackness on his brow, and his\nface was radiant with light like a young moon. As we wondered at his\ncase, the door opened and a young man came in to us and said, \u201cPeace be\nwith you! May Allah make great our reward and yours for our brother\nMaymun! Here is his shroud: wrap him in it.\u201d So saying, he gave us two\nrobes, never had we seen the like of them, and we shrouded him therein.\nAnd now his tomb is a place whither men resort to pray for rain and ask\ntheir requirements of Allah (be He extolled and exalted!); and how\nexcellently well saith the poet on this theme:\n\n The heart of Gnostic[472] homed in heavenly Garth \u273f Heaven decks, and\n Allah\u2019s porters aid afford.\n Lo! here they drink old wine commingled with \u273f Tasn\u00edm,[473] the wine of\n union with the Lord.\n Safe is the secret \u2018twixt the Friend and them; \u273f Safe from all hearts\n but from that Heart adored.\n\nAnd they recount another anecdote of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 468:\n\n A theologian of Bassorah (eighth century).\n\nFootnote 469:\n\n Arab. \u201cMusall\u00e1\u201d; lit. a place of prayer; an oratory, a chapel, opp. to\n \u201cJ\u00e1mi\u2019\u201d = a (cathedral) mosque.\n\nFootnote 470:\n\n According to all races familiar with the negro, a calf like a shut\n fist planted close under the ham is, like the \u201ccucumber shin\u201d and\n \u201clark heel,\u201d a good sign in a slave. Shapely calves and well made legs\n denote the idle and the ne\u2019er-do-well. I have often found this true\n although the rule is utterly empirical. Possibly it was suggested by\n the contrast of the nervous and lymphatic temperaments.\n\nFootnote 471:\n\n These devotees address Allah as a lover would his beloved. The curious\n reader will consult for instances the Dabistan on Tasawwuf (ii. 221;\n i., iii. end, and passim.)\n\nFootnote 472:\n\n Arab. \u201cMa\u2019rifat,\u201d Pers. D\u00e1nish; the knowledge of the Truth. The seven\n steps are (1) Shar\u00ed\u2019at, external law like night; (2) Tar\u00edkat,\n religious rule like the stars; (3) Hak\u00edkat, reality, truth like the\n moon; (4) Ma\u2019rifat like the sun; (5) Kurbat, proximity to Allah; (6)\n Was\u00edlat, union with Allah, and (7) Suknat, dwelling in Allah (Dabistan\n iii. 29.)\n\nFootnote 473:\n\n Name of a fountain of Paradise: See Night xlix., vol. ii., p. 100.\n\n\n\n\n THE DEVOUT TRAY-MAKER AND HIS WIFE.\n\n\nThere was once, among the Children of Israel, a man of the worthiest,\nwho was strenuous in the service of his Lord and abstained from things\nworldly and drave them away from his heart. He had a wife who was a\nhelpmate meet for him and who was at all times obedient to him. They\nearned their living by making trays[474] and fans, whereat they wrought\nall through the light hours; and, at nightfall, the man went out into\nthe streets and highways seeking a buyer for what they had made. They\nwere wont to fast continually by day[475] and one morning they arose,\nfasting, and worked at their craft till the light failed them, when the\nman went forth, according to custom, to find purchasers for his wares,\nand fared on till he came to the door of the house of a certain man of\nwealth, one of the sons of this world, high in rank and dignity. Now the\ntray-maker was fair of face and comely of form, and the wife of the\nmaster of the house saw him and fell in love with him and her heart\ninclined to him with exceeding inclination; so, her husband being\nabsent, she called her handmaid and said to her, \u201cContrive to bring\nyonder man to us.\u201d Accordingly the maid went out to him and called him\nand stopped him as though she would buy what he held in hand.\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the maid-servant\nwent out to the man and asked him, \u201cCome in; my lady hath a mind to buy\nsome of thy wares, after she hath tried them and looked at them.\u201d The\nman thought she spoke truly and, seeing no harm in this, entered and sat\ndown as she bade him; and she shut the door upon him. Whereupon her\nmistress came out of her room and, taking him by the gaberdine,[476]\ndrew him within and said, \u201cHow long shall I seek union of thee? Verily\nmy patience is at an end on thine account. See now, the place is\nperfumed and provision prepared and the householder is absent this\nnight, and I give to thee my person without reserve, I whose favours\nkings and captains and men of fortune have sought this long while, but I\nhave regarded none of them.\u201d And she went on talking thus to him, whilst\nhe raised not his eyes from the ground, for shame before Allah Almighty\nand fear of the pains and penalties of His punishment; even as saith the\npoet:\u2014\n\n \u2018Twixt me and riding many a noble dame, \u273f Was naught but shame which\n kept me chaste and pure:\n My shame was cure to her; but haply were \u273f Shame to depart, she ne\u2019er\n had known a cure.\n\nThe man strove to free himself from her, but could not; so he said to\nher, \u201cI want one thing of thee.\u201d She asked, \u201cWhat is that?\u201d: and he\nanswered, \u201cI wish for pure water and that I may carry it to the highest\nplace of thy house and do somewhat therewith and cleanse myself of an\nimpurity, which I may not disclose to thee.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cThe house is\nlarge and hath closets and corners and privies at command.\u201d But he\nreplied, \u201cI want nothing but to be at a height.\u201d So she said to her\nslave-girl, \u201cCarry him up to the belvedere on the house-terrace.\u201d\nAccordingly the maid took him up to the very top and, giving him a\nvessel of water, went down and left him. Then he made the ablution and\nprayed a two-bow prayer; after which he looked at the ground, thinking\nto throw himself down, but seeing it afar off, feared to be dashed to\npieces by the fall.[477] Then he bethought him of his disobedience to\nAllah, and the consequences of his sin; so it became a light matter to\nhim to offer up his life and shed his blood; and he said, \u201cO my God and\nmy Lord, Thou seest that which is fallen on me; neither is my case\nhidden from Thee. Thou indeed over all things art Omnipotent and the\ntongue of my case reciteth and saith:\u201d\u2014\n\n I show my heart and thoughts to Thee, and Thou \u273f Alone my secret\u2019s\n secrecy canst know.\n If I address Thee fain I cry aloud; \u273f Or, if I\u2019m mute, my signs for\n speech I show.\n O Thou to whom no second be conjoined! \u273f A wretched lover seeks Thee in\n his woe.\n I have a hope my thoughts as true confirm; \u273f And heart that fainteth as\n right well canst trow.\n To lavish life is hardest thing that be, \u273f Yet easy an Thou bid me life\n forego;\n But, an it be Thy will to save from stowre, \u273f Thou, O my Hope, to work\n this work hast power!\n\nThen the man cast himself down from the belvedere; but Allah sent an\nangel who bore him up on his wings and brought him down to the ground,\nwhole and without hurt or harm. Now when he found himself safe on the\nground, he thanked and praised Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!)\nfor His merciful protection of his person and his chastity; and he went\nstraight to his wife who had long expected him, and he empty-handed.\nThen seeing him, she asked him why he had tarried and what was come of\nthat he had taken with him and why he returned empty-handed; whereupon\nhe told her of the temptation which had befallen him, and she said,\n\u201cAlhamdolillah\u2014praised be God\u2014for delivering thee from seduction and\nintervening between thee and such calamity!\u201d Then she added, \u201cO man, the\nneighbours use to see us light our oven every night; and, if they see us\nfireless this night, they will know that we are destitute. Now it\nbehoveth in gratitude to Allah, that we hide our destitution and conjoin\nthe fast of this night to that of the past and continue it for the sake\nof Allah Almighty.\u201d So she rose and, filling the oven with wood, lighted\nit, to baffle the curiosity of her women-neighbours, reciting these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n Now I indeed will hide desire and all repine; \u273f And light up this my\n fire that neighbours see no sign:\n Accept I what befalls by order of my Lord; \u273f Haply He too accept this\n humble act of mine.\n\n\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Seventieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that after the goodwife\nhad lit the fire to baffle the curiosity of her women-neighbours, she\nand her husband made the Wuzu-ablution and stood up to pray, when\nbehold, one of the neighbours\u2019 wives came and asked leave to take a\nfire-brand from the oven. \u201cDo what thou wilt with the oven,\u201d answered\nthey; but, when she came to the fire, she cried out, saying, \u201cHo, such\nan one (to the tray-maker\u2019s wife) take up thy bread ere it burn!\u201d Quoth\nthe wife to her husband, \u201cHearest thou what she saith?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cGo\nand look.\u201d So she went up to the oven, and behold, it was full of fine\nbread and white. She took up the scones and carried them to her husband,\nthanking Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!) for His abounding\ngood and great bounty; and they ate of the bread and drank water and\npraised the Almighty. Then said the woman to her husband, \u201cCome let us\npray to Allah the Most Highest, so haply He may vouchsafe us what shall\nenable us to dispense with the weariness of working for daily bread and\ndevote ourselves wholly to worshipping and obeying Him.\u201d The man rose in\nassent and prayed, whilst his wife said, \u201cAmen,\u201d to his prayer, when the\nroof clove in sunder and down fell a ruby, which lit the house with its\nlight. Hereat, they redoubled in praise and thanksgiving to Allah\npraying what the Almighty willed,[478] and rejoiced at the ruby with\ngreat joy. And the night being far spent, they lay down to sleep and the\nwoman dreamt that she entered Paradise and saw therein many chairs\nranged and stools set in rows. She asked what the seats were and it was\nanswered her, \u201cThese are the chairs of the prophets and those are the\nstools of the righteous and the pious.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cWhich is the stool\nof my husband such an one?\u201d; and it was said to her, \u201cIt is this.\u201d So\nshe looked and seeing a hole in its side asked, \u201cWhat may be this\nhole?\u201d; and the reply came, \u201cIt is the place of the ruby that dropped\nupon you from your house-roof.\u201d Thereupon she awoke, weeping and\nbemoaning the defect in her husband\u2019s stool among the seats of the\nRighteous; so she told him the dream and said to him, \u201cPray Allah, O\nman, that this ruby return to its place; for endurance of hunger and\npoverty during our few days here were easier than a hole in thy chair\namong the just in Paradise.\u201d[479] Accordingly, he prayed to his Lord,\nand lo! the ruby flew up to the roof and away whilst they looked at it.\nAnd they ceased not from their poverty and their piety, till they went\nto the presence of Allah, to whom be Honour and Glory! And they also\ntell a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 474:\n\n Arab. \u201cAtb\u00e1k\u201d; these trays are made of rushes, and the fans of\n palm-leaves or tail-feathers.\n\nFootnote 475:\n\n Except on the two great Festivals when fasting is forbidden. The only\n religion which has shown common sense in this matter is that of the\n Guebres or Parsis: they consider fasting neither meritorious nor\n lawful; and they honour Hormuzd by good living \u201cbecause it keeps the\n soul stronger.\u201d Yet even they have their food superstitions, _e.g._ in\n Gate No. xxiv.: \u201cBeware of sin specially on the day thou eatest flesh,\n for flesh is the diet of Ahrim\u00e1n.\u201d And in India the Guebres have\n copied the Hindus in not slaughtering horned cattle for the table.\n\nFootnote 476:\n\n Arab. \u201cJall\u00e1biyah,\u201d a large-sleeved robe of coarse stuff worn by the\n poor.\n\nFootnote 477:\n\n His fear was that his body might be mutilated by the fall.\n\nFootnote 478:\n\n The phrase means \u201coffering up many and many a prayer.\u201d\n\nFootnote 479:\n\n A saying of Mohammed is recorded \u201cAl-fakru fakhr\u00ed\u201d (poverty is my\n pride!), intelligible in a man who never wanted for anything. Here he\n is diametrically opposed to Ali who honestly abused poverty; and the\n Prophet seems to have borrowed from Christendom, whose \u201cLazarus and\n Dives\u201d shows a man sent to Hell because he enjoyed a very modified\n Heaven in this life and which suggested that one of the man\u2019s greatest\n miseries is an ecclesiastical virtue\u2014\u201cHoly Poverty\u201d\u2014represented in the\n Church as a bride young and lovely. If a \u201crich man can hardly enter\n the kingdom\u201d what must it be with a poor man whose conditions are far\n more unfavourable? Going to the other extreme we may say that Poverty\n is the root of all evil and the more so as it curtails man\u2019s power of\n benefiting others. Practically I observe that those who preach and\n praise it the most, practise it the least willingly: the ecclesiastic\n has always some special reasons, a church or a school is wanted; but\n not the less he wishes for more money. In Syria this Holy Poverty\n leads to strange abuses. At Bayrut I recognised in most impudent\n beggars well-to-do peasants from the Kasraw\u00e1n district, and presently\n found out that whilst their fields were under snow they came down to\n the coast, enjoyed a genial climate and lived on alms. When I asked\n them if they were not ashamed to beg, they asked me if I was ashamed\n of following in the footsteps of the Saviour and Apostles. How much\n wiser was Zoroaster who found in the Supreme Paradise (Minuw\u00e1n-minu)\n \u201cmany persons, rich in gold and silver who had worshipped the Lord and\n had been grateful to Him.\u201d (Dabistan i. 265.)\n\n\n\n\n AL-HAJJAJ AND THE PIOUS MAN.\n\n\nAl-Hajjaj bin Yusuf al-Sakafi had been long in pursuit of a certain man\nof the notables, and when at last he was brought before him, he said, \u201cO\nenemy of Allah, He hath delivered thee over to me;\u201d and cried, \u201cHale him\nto prison and lay him by the heels in heavy fetters and build a closet\nover him, that he may not come forth of it nor any go into him.\u201d So they\nbore him to jail and summoned the blacksmith with the irons; and every\ntime the smith gave a stroke with his hammer, the prisoner raised his\neyes to heaven and said, \u201cIs not the whole Creation and the Empire\nthereof His?\u201d[480] Then the gaolers built the cage[481] over him and\nleft him therein, lorn and lone, whereupon longing and consternation\nentered into him and the tongue of his case recited in extempore verse:\u2014\n\n O Wish of wistful men, for Thee I yearn; \u273f My heart seeks grace of one\n no heart shall spurn.\n Unhidden from thy sight is this my case; \u273f And for one glance of thee I\n pine and burn.\n They jailed and tortured me with sorest pains:\u273f Alas for lone one can no\n aid discern\u2019!\n\n But, albe lone, I find Thy name befriends \u273f And cheers, though sleep to\n eyes shall ne\u2019er return:\n An thou accept of me, I care for naught; \u273f And only Thou what\u2019s in my\n heart canst learn!\n\nNow when night fell dark, the gaoler left his watchmen to guard him and\nwent to his house; and on the morrow, when he came to the prison, he\nfound the fetters lying on the ground and the prisoner gone; whereat he\nwas affrighted and made sure of death. So he returned to his place and\nbade his family farewell, after which he took in his sleeve his shroud\nand the sweet herbs for his corpse, and went in to Al-Hajj\u00e1j. And as he\nstood before the presence, the Governor smelt the perfumes and asked,\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d when the gaoler answered, \u201cO my lord, it is I who have\nbrought it.\u201d \u201cAnd what moved thee to that?\u201d enquired the Governor;\nwhereupon he told him his case,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the gaoler\ntold his case to Al-Hajjaj, the Governor cried, \u201cWoe to thee! Didst thou\nhear him say aught?\u201d Answered the gaoler, \u201cYes! whilst the blacksmith\nwas hammering his irons, he ceased not to look up heavenwards and\nsay:\u2014Is not the whole Creation and the Empire thereof His?\u201d Rejoined\nAl-Hajjaj, \u201cDost thou not know that He, on whom he called in thy\npresence, delivered him in thine absence?\u201d And the tongue of the case\nrecited on this theme:\u2014\n\n O Lord, how many a grief from me hast driven \u273f Nor can I sit or stand\n without Thy hold:\n How many many things I cannot count, \u273f Thou sav\u2019st from many many and\n manifold!\n\nAnd they also tell a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 480:\n\n Koran vii. 52.\n\nFootnote 481:\n\n Arab. \u201cAl-bayt\u201d = the house. The Arabs had probably learned this\n pleasant mode of confinement from the Chinese whose _Kea_ or Cangue is\n well known. The Arabian form of it is \u201cGhull,\u201d or portable pillory,\n which reprobates will wear on Judgment Day.\n\n\n\n\n THE BLACKSMITH WHO COULD HANDLE FIRE WITHOUT HURT.\n\n\nIt reached the ears of a certain pious man that there abode in such a\ntown a blacksmith, who could put his hand into the fire and pull out the\niron red-hot, without the flames doing him aught of hurt.[482] So he set\nout for the town in question and asked for the blacksmith; and, when the\nman was shown to him, he watched him at work and saw him do as had been\nreported to him. He waited till he had made an end of his day\u2019s work;\nthen, going up to him, saluted him with the salam and said, \u201cI would be\nthy guest this night.\u201d Replied the smith, \u201cWith gladness and goodly\ngree!\u201d and carried him to his place, where they supped together and lay\ndown to sleep. The guest watched, but saw no sign in his host of praying\nthrough the night or of special devoutness and said in his mind, \u201cHaply\nhe hideth himself from me.\u201d So he lodged with him a second and a third\nnight, but found that he did not exceed the devotions prescribed by the\nlaw and custom of the Prophet and rose but little in the dark hours to\npray. At last he said to him, \u201cO my brother, I have heard of the gift\nwith which Allah hath favoured thee and have seen the truth of it with\nmine eyes. Moreover, I have taken note of thine assiduity in religious\nexercises, but find in thee no such piety as distinguisheth those who\nwork saintly miracles: whence, then, cometh this to thee?\u201d \u201cI will tell\nthee,\u201d answered the smith:\u2014Know that I was once passionately enamoured\nof a slave-girl and ofttimes sued her for love-liesse, but could not\nprevail upon her, because she still held fast by her chastity. Presently\nthere came a year of drought and hunger and hardship; food failed and\nthere befel a sore famine. As I was sitting one day at home, somebody\nknocked at the door; so I went out and behold, she was standing there;\nand she said to me, \u201cO my brother, I am sorely anhungered and I lift\nmine eyes to thee, beseeching thee to feed me for Allah\u2019s sake!\u201d Quoth\nI, \u201cWottest thou not how I love thee and what I have suffered for thy\nsake? Now I will not give thee one bittock of bread except thou yield\nthy person to me.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cDeath, but not disobedience to the Lord!\u201d\nThen she went away and returned after two days with the same prayer for\nfood as before. I made her a like answer, and she entered and sat down\nin my house being nigh upon death. I set food before her, whereupon her\neyes brimmed with tears and she cried, \u201cGive me meat for the love of\nAllah, to whom belong Honour and Glory!\u201d But I answered, \u201cNot so, by\nAllah, except thou yield thyself to me.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cBetter is death to\nme than the wrath and wreak of Allah the Most Highest;\u201d and she rose and\nleft the food untouched\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the man set\nfood before her, the woman said, \u201cGive me meat for the love of Allah, to\nwhom be Honour and Glory!\u201d But I answered, \u201cNot so, by Allah, except\nthou yield to me thy person.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cBetter is death than the wrath\nand wreak of Allah;\u201d and she rose and left the food untouched and went\naway repeating these couplets:\u2014\n\n O Thou, the One, whose grace doth all the world embrace; \u273f Thine ears\n have heard, Thine eyes have seen my case!\n Privation and distress have dealt me heavy blows; \u273f The woes that weary\n me no utterance can trace.\n I am like one athirst who eyes the landscape\u2019s eye, \u273f Yet may not drink\n a draught of streams that rail and race.\n My flesh would tempt me by the sight of savoury food \u273f Whose joys shall\n pass away and pangs maintain their place.\n\nShe then disappeared for two days, when she again came and knocked at\nthe door; so I went out to her, and lo! hunger had taken away her voice;\nbut, after a rest she said, \u201cO my brother, I am worn out with want and\nknow not what to do, for I cannot show my face to any man but to thee.\nSay, wilt thou feed me for the love of Allah Almighty?\u201d But I answered,\n\u201cNot so, except thou yield to me thy person.\u201d And she entered my house\nand sat down. Now I had no food ready; but, when the meat was dressed\nand I laid it in a saucer, behold, the grace of Almighty Allah entered\ninto me and I said to myself, \u201cOut on thee! This woman, weak of wit and\nfaith, hath refrained from food till she can no longer, for stress of\nhunger; and, while she refuseth time after time, thou canst not forbear\nfrom disobedience to the Lord!\u201d And I said, \u201cO my God, I repent to Thee\nof that which my flesh purposed!\u201d Then I took the food and carrying it\nto her, said, \u201cEat, for no harm shall betide thee: this is for the love\nof Allah, to whom belong Honour and Glory!\u201d Then she raised her eyes to\nheaven and said, \u201cO my God, if this man say sooth, I pray Thee forbid\nfire to harm him in this world and the next, for Thou over all things\nart Omnipotent and Prevalent in answering the prayer of the penitent!\u201d\nThen I left her and went to put out the fire in the brasier.[483] Now\nthe season was winter and the weather cold, and a live coal fell on my\nbody: but by the decree of Allah (to whom be Honour and Glory!) I felt\nno pain and it became my conviction that her prayer had been answered.\nSo I took the coal in my hand, and it burnt me not; and going in to her,\nI said, \u201cBe of good cheer, for Allah hath granted thy prayer!\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the blacksmith\ncontinued:\u2014So I went in to her and said, \u201cBe of good cheer, for Allah\nhath granted thy prayer!\u201d Then she dropped the morsel from her hand and\nsaid, \u201cO my God, now that Thou hast shown me my desire of him and hast\ngranted me my prayer for him, take Thou my soul, for Thou over all\nthings art Almighty!\u201d And straightway He took her soul to Him, the mercy\nof Allah be upon her! And the tongue of the case extemporised and spake\non this theme:\u2014\n\n She prayed: the Lord of grace her prayer obeyed; \u273f And spared the\n sinner, who for sin had prayed:\n He showed her all she prayed Him to grant; \u273f And Death (as prayed she)\n her portion made:\n\n Unto his door she came and prayed for food, \u273f And sued his ruth for what\n her misery made:\n He leant to error following his lusts, \u273f And hoped to enjoy her as her\n wants persuade;\n But he knew little of what Allah willed; \u273f Nor was Repentance, though\n unsought, denayed.\n Fate comes to him who flies from Fate, O Lord, \u273f And lot and daily bread\n by Thee are weighed.\n\nAnd they also tell of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 482:\n\n This commonest conjuring trick in the West becomes a miracle in the\n credulous East.\n\nFootnote 483:\n\n Arab. \u201cK\u00e1n\u00fan\u201d; the usual term is Mankal (pron. Mangal) a pan of copper\n or brass. Some of these \u201cchafing-dishes\u201d stand four feet high and are\n works of art. Lane (M. E. chapt. iv) gives an illustration of the\n simpler kind, together with the \u201cAzik\u00ed,\u201d a smaller pan for heating\n coffee. See Night dxxxviii.\n\n\n\n\nTHE DEVOTEE TO WHOM ALLAH GAVE A CLOUD FOR SERVICE AND THE DEVOUT KING.\n\n\nThere was once, among the children of Israel, a man of the devout, for\npiety acclaimed and for continence and asceticism en-famed, whose\nprayers were ever granted and who by supplication obtained whatso he\nwanted; and he was a wanderer in the mountains and was used to pass the\nnight in worship. Now Almighty Allah had subjected to him a cloud which\ntravelled with him wherever he went, and poured on him its\nwater-treasures in abundance that he might make his ablutions and drink.\nAfter a long time when things were thus, his fervour somewhat abated,\nwhereupon Allah took the cloud away from him and ceased to answer his\nprayers. On this account, great was his grief and long was his woe, and\nhe ceased not to regret the time of grace and the miracle vouchsafed to\nhim and to lament and bewail and bemoan himself, till he saw in a dream\none who said to him, \u201cAn thou wouldest have Allah restore to thee thy\ncloud, seek out a certain King, in such a town, and beg him to pray for\nthee: so will Allah (be He extolled and exalted!) give thee back thy\ncloud and bespread it over thee by virtue of his pious prayers.\u201d And he\nbegan repeating these couplets:\u2014\n\n Wend to that pious prayerful Emir, \u273f Who can with gladness thy condition\n cheer;\n An he pray Allah, thou shalt win thy wish; \u273f And heavy rain shall drop\n from welkin clear.\n He stands all Kings above in potent worth; \u273f Nor to compare with him\n doth aught appear:\n\n Near him thou soon shalt hap upon thy want, \u273f And see all joy and\n gladness draw thee near:\n Then cut the wolds and wilds unfounted till \u273f The goal thou goest for\n anigh shalt speer!\n\nSo the hermit set out for the town named to him in the dream; and,\ncoming thither after long travel, enquired for the King\u2019s palace which\nwas duly shown to him. And behold, at the gate he found a slave-officer\nsitting on a great chair and clad in gorgeous gear; so he stood to him\nand saluted him; and he returned his salam and asked him, \u201cWhat is thy\nbusiness?\u201d Answered the devotee, \u201cI am a wronged man, and come to submit\nmy case to the King.\u201d Quoth the officer, \u201cThou hast no access to him\nthis day; for he hath appointed unto petitioners and enquirers one day\nin every seven\u201d (naming the day), \u201con which they may go in to him; so\nwend thy ways in welfare till then.\u201d The hermit was vexed with the King\nfor thus veiling himself from the folk and said in thought, \u201cHow shall\nthis man be a saint of the saints of Allah (to whom belong Majesty and\nMight!) and he on this wise?\u201d Then he went away and awaited the\nappointed day. Now (quoth he) when it came, I repaired to the palace,\nwhere I found a great number of folk at the gate, expecting admission;\nand I stood with them, till there came out a Wazir robed in gorgeous\nraiment and attended by guards and slaves, who said, \u201cLet those, who\nhave petitions to present, enter.\u201d So I entered with the rest and found\nthe King seated facing his officers and grandees who were ranged\naccording to their several ranks and degrees. The Wazir took up his post\nand brought forward the petitioners, one by one, till it came to my\nturn, when the King looked on me and said, \u201cWelcome to the \u2018Lord of the\nCloud\u2019! Sit thee down till I make leisure for thee.\u201d I was confounded at\nhis words and confessed his dignity and superiority; and, when the King\nhad answered the petitioners and had made an end with them, he rose and\ndismissed his Wazirs and Grandees; then, taking my hand he led me to the\ndoor of the private palace, where we found a black slave, splendidly\narrayed, with helm on head, and on his right hand and his left, bows and\ncoats of mail. He rose to the King; and, hastening to obey his orders\nand forestall his wishes, opened the door. We went in, hand in hand,\ntill we came to a low wicket, which the King himself opened and led me\ninto a ruinous place of frightful desolation and thence passed into a\nchamber, wherein was naught but a prayer-carpet, an ewer for ablution\nand some mats of palm-leaves. Here the King doffed his royal robes and\ndonned a coarse gown of white wool and a conical bonnet of felt. Then he\nsat down and making me sit, called out to his wife, \u201cHo, such an one!\u201d\nand she answered from within saying, \u201cHere am I.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cKnowest\nthou who is our guest to-day?\u201d Replied she, \u201cYes, it is the \u2018Lord of the\nCloud.\u2019\u201d The King said, \u201cCome forth: it mattereth not for him.\u201d And\nbehold, there entered a woman, as she were a vision, with a face that\nbeamed like the new moon; and she wore a gown and veil of wool.\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the King\ncalled to his wife, she came forth from the inner room; and her face\nbeamed like the new moon; and she wore a gown and a veil of wool. Then\nsaid the King, \u201cO my brother, dost thou desire to hear our story or that\nwe should pray for thee and dismiss thee?\u201d Answered the hermit; \u201cNay, I\nwish to hear the tale of you twain, for that to me were preferable.\u201d\nSaid the King, \u201cMy forefathers handed down the throne, one to the other,\nand it descended from great one to great one, in unbroken succession,\ntill the last died and it came to me. Now Allah had made this hateful to\nme, for I would fain have gone awandering over earth and left the folk\nto their own affairs; but I feared lest they should fall into confusion\nand anarchy and misgovernment so as to swerve from divine law, and the\nunion of the Faith be broken up. Wherefore, abandoning my own plans, I\ntook the kingship and appointed to every head of them a regular stipend;\nand donned the royal robes; and posted slave-officers at the doors, as a\nterror to the dishonest and for the defence of honest folk and the\nmaintenance of law and limitations. Now when free of this, I entered\nthis place and, doffing my royal habit, donned these clothes thou seest;\nand this my cousin, the daughter of my father\u2019s brother, hath agreed\nwith me to renounce the world and helpeth me to serve the Lord. So we\nare wont to weave these palm-leaves and earn, during the day, a\nwherewithal to break our fast at nightfall; and we have lived on this\nwise nigh upon forty years. Abide thou with us (so Allah have mercy on\nthee!) till we sell our mats; and thou shalt sup and sleep with us this\nnight and on the morrow wend thy ways with that thou wishest,\nInshallah!\u201d So he tarried with them till the end of the day, when there\ncame a boy five years old who took the mats they had made and carrying\nthem to the market, sold them for a carat;[484] and with this bought\nbread and beans and returned with them to the King. The hermit broke his\nfast and lay down to sleep with them; but in the middle of the night,\nthey both arose and fell to praying and weeping. When daybreak was near,\nthe King said, \u201cO my God, this Thy servant beseecheth Thee to return him\nhis cloud; and to do this Thou art able; so, O my God, let him see his\nprayer granted and restore him his cloud.\u201d The Queen amen\u2019d to his\norisons and behold, the cloud grew up in the sky; whereupon the King\ngave the hermit joy and the man took leave of them and went away, the\ncloud companying him as of old. And whatsoever he required of Allah\nafter this, in the names of the pious King and Queen, He granted it\nwithout fail and the man made thereon these couplets:\u2014\n\n My Lord hath servants fain of piety; \u273f Hearts in the Wisdom-garden\n ranging free:\n Their bodies\u2019 lusts at peace, and motionless \u273f For breasts that bide in\n purest secresy.\n Thou seest all silent, awesome of their Lord, \u273f For hidden things unseen\n and seen they see.\n\nAnd they tell a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 484:\n\n See vol. iii., p. 239. The system is that of the Roman As and Unci\u00e6.\n Here it would be the twenty-fourth part of a dinar or miskal;\n something under 5d. I have already noted that all Moslem rulers are\n religiously bound to some handicraft, if it be only making toothpicks.\n Mohammed abolished kingship proper as well as priestcraft.\n\n\n\n\n THE MOSLEM CHAMPION AND THE CHRISTIAN DAMSEL.\n\n\nThe Commander of the Faithful, Omar bin al-Khatt\u00e1b (whom Allah accept!),\nonce levied for holy war an army of Moslems, to encounter the foe before\nDamascus, and they laid close siege to one of the Christians\u2019\nstrongholds. Now there were amongst the Moslems two men, brothers, whom\nAllah had gifted with fire and bold daring against the enemy; so that\nthe commander of the besieged fortress said to his chiefs and braves,\n\u201cWere but yonder two Moslems ta\u2019en or slain, I would warrant you against\nthe rest of their strain.\u201d Wherefore they left not to set for them all\nmanner of toils and snares and ceased not to man\u0153uvre and lie in wait\nand ambush for them, till they took one of them prisoner and slew the\nother who died a martyr. They carried the captive to the Captain of the\nfort, who looked at him and said, \u201cVerily, to kill this man were indeed\na pity; but his return to the Moslem would be a calamity.\u201d\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the enemy\ncarried their Moslem captive before the Captain of the fort, the\nChristian looked at him and said, \u201cVerily to kill this man were a pity\nindeed; but his return to the Moslem would be a calamity. Oh that he\nmight be brought to embrace the Nazarene Faith and be to us an aid and\nan arm!\u201d Quoth one of his Patrician Knights, \u201cO Emir, I will tempt him\nto abjure his faith and on this wise: we know that the Arabs are much\naddicted to women, and I have a daughter, a perfect beauty, whom when he\nsees, he will be seduced by her.\u201d Quoth the Captain, \u201cI give him into\nthy charge.\u201d So he carried him to his place and clad his daughter in\nraiment, such as added to her beauty and loveliness. Then he brought the\nMoslem into the room and set before him food and made the fair girl\nstand in his presence, as she were a handmaid obedient to her lord and\nawaiting his orders that she might do his bidding. When the Moslem saw\nthe evil sent down upon him, he commended himself to Allah Almighty and\nclosing his eyes, applied himself to worship and to reciting the Koran.\nNow he had a pleasant voice and a piercing wit; and the Nazarene damsel\npresently loved him with passionate love and pined for him with extreme\nrepine. This lasted seven days, at the end of which she said to herself,\n\u201cWould to Heaven he would admit me into the Faith of Al-Islam!\u201d And the\ntongue of her case recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n Wilt turn thy face from heart that\u2019s all thine own, \u273f This heart thy\n ransom and this soul thy wone?\n\n I\u2019m ready home and kin to quit for aye, \u273f And every Faith for that of\n sword[485] disown:\n I testify that Allah hath no mate: \u273f This proof is stablished and this\n truth is known.\n Haply shall deign He union grant with one \u273f Averse, and hearten heart\n love-overthrown;\n For ofttimes door erst shut, is opened wide, \u273f And after evil case all\n good is shown.\n\nAt last her patience failed her and her breast was straitened and she\nthrew herself on the ground before him, saying, \u201cI conjure thee by thy\nFaith, that thou give ear to my words!\u201d Asked he, \u201cWhat are they?\u201d and\nshe answered, \u201cExpound unto me Al-Islam.\u201d So he expounded to her the\ntenets of the Faith, and she became a Moslemah, after which she was\ncircumcised[486] and he taught her to pray. Then said she to him, \u201cO my\nbrother, I did but embrace Al-Islam for thy sake and to win thy\nfavours.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cThe law of Al-Islam forbiddeth sexual commerce save\nafter a marriage before two legal witnesses, and a dowry and a guardian\nare also requisite. Now I know not where to find witnesses or friend or\nparapherne; but, an thou can contrive to bring us out of this place, I\nmay hope to make the land of Al-Islam, and pledge myself to thee that\nnone other than thou in all Al-Islam shall be wife to me.\u201d Answered she,\n\u201cI will manage that\u201d; and, calling her father and mother, said to them,\n\u201cIndeed this Moslem\u2019s heart is softened and he longeth to enter the\nfaith, so I will grant him that which he desireth of my person; but he\nsaith:\u2014It befitteth me not to do this in a town where my brother was\nslain. Could I but get outside it my heart would be solaced and I would\ndo that which is wanted of me. Now there is no harm in letting me go\nforth with him to another town, and I will be a surety to you both and\nto the Emir for that which ye wish of him.\u201d Therefore her father went to\ntheir Captain and told him this, whereat he joyed with exceeding joy and\nbade him carry them forth to a village that she named. So they went out\nand made the village where they abode the rest of their day, and when\nnight fell, they got ready for the march and went their way, even as\nsaith the poet:\u2014\n\n \u201cThe time of parting,\u201d cry they, \u201cdraweth nigh\u201d: \u273f \u201cHow oft this\n parting-threat?\u201d I but reply:\n I\u2019ve naught to do but cross the wild and wold \u273f And, mile by mile, o\u2019er\n fount-less wastes to fly,\n If the belov\u00e8d seek another land \u273f Sons of the road, whereso they wend,\n wend I.\n I make desire direct me to their side, \u273f The guide to show me where the\n way doth lie.\n\nAnd Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted\nsay.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the prisoner and\nthe lady abode in the village the rest of their day and, when night\nfell, made ready for the march and went upon their way; and travelled\nall night without stay or delay. The young Moslem, mounting a swift\nblood-horse and taking up the maiden behind him, ceased not devouring\nthe ground till it was bright morning, when he turned aside with her\nfrom the highway and, alighting, they made the Wuzu-ablution and prayed\nthe dawn-prayer. Now as they were thus engaged behold, they heard the\nclank of swords and clink of bridles and men\u2019s voices and tramp of\nhorse; whereupon he said to her, \u201cHo, such an one, the Nazarenes are\nafter us! What shall we do?: the horse is so jaded and broken down that\nhe cannot stir another step.\u201d Exclaimed she, \u201cWoe to thee! art thou then\nafraid and affrighted?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d answered he; and she said, \u201cWhat didst\nthou tell me of the power of thy Lord and His readiness to succour those\nwho succour seek? Come, let us humble ourselves before Him and beseech\nHim: haply He shall grant us His succour and endue us with His grace,\nextolled and exalted be He!\u201d Quoth he, \u201cBy Allah, thou sayst well!\u201d So\nthey began humbling themselves and supplicating Almighty Allah and he\nrecited these couplets:\u2014\n\n Indeed I hourly need thy choicest aid, \u273f And should, though crown were\n placed upon my head:\n Thou art my chiefest want, and if my hand \u273f Won what it wisheth, all my\n wants were sped.\n Thou hast not anything withholdest Thou; \u273f Like pouring rain Thy grace\n is shower\u00e8d:\n I\u2019m shut therefrom by sins of me, yet Thou, \u273f O Clement, deignest\n pardon-light to shed.\n O Care-Dispeller, deign dispel my grief! \u273f None can, save Thou, dispel a\n grief so dread.\n\nWhilst he was praying and she was saying, \u201cAmen,\u201d and the thunder of\nhorse-tramp nearing them, lo! the brave heard the voice of his dead\nbrother, the martyr, speaking and saying, \u201cO my brother, fear not, nor\ngrieve! for the host whose approach thou hearest is the host of Allah\nand his Angels, whom He hath sent to serve as witnesses to your\nmarriage. Of a truth Allah hath made His Angels glorify you and He\nbestoweth on you the meed of the meritorious and the martyrs; and He\nhath rolled up the earth for you as it were a rug so that, by morning,\nyou will be in the mountains of Al-Medinah. And thou, when thou\nforegatherest with Omar bin al-Khattab (of whom Allah accept!) give him\nmy salutation and say to him:\u2014Allah abundantly requite thee for\nAl-Islam, because thou hast counselled faithfully and hast striven\ndiligently.\u201d Thereupon the Angels lifted up their voices in salutation\nto him and his bride, saying, \u201cVerily, Almighty Allah appointed her in\nmarriage to thee two thousand years before the creation of your father\nAdam (with whom be peace evermore!).\u201d Then joy and gladness and peace\nand happiness came upon the twain; confidence was confirmed and\nestablished was the guidance of the pious pair. So when dawn appeared,\nthey prayed the accustomed prayer and fared forward. Now it was the wont\nof Omar son of Al-Khattab (Allah accept him!) to rise for morning-prayer\nin the darkness before dawn and at times he would stand in the\nprayer-niche with two men behind him, and begin reciting the Chapter\nentitled \u201cCattle\u201d[487] or that entitled Women;[488] whereupon the\nsleeper awoke and he who was making his Wuzu-ablution accomplished it\nand he who was afar came to prayer; nor had he made an end of the first\nbow, ere the mosque was full of folk; then he would pray his second bow\nquickly, repeating a short chapter. But, on that morning he hurried over\nboth first and second inclinations, repeating in each a short chapter;\nthen, after the concluding salutation, turning to his companions, he\nsaid to them, \u201cCome, let us fare forth to meet the bride and\nbridegroom\u201d; at which they wondered, not understanding his words. But he\nwent out and they followed him, till they came to the gate of the city,\nwhere they met the young Moslem who, when the day broke and the\nstandards of Al-Medinah appeared to him, had pushed forward for the gate\nclosely followed by his bride. There he was met by Omar who bade make a\nmarriage-feast; and the Moslems came and ate. Then the young Moslem went\nin unto his bride and Almighty Allah vouchsafed him children,\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad, perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted\nsay.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Omar (on whom be\npeace!) bade make a marriage-feast; and the Moslems came and ate. Then\nthe young Moslem went in unto his bride and Almighty Allah vouchsafed\nhim children, who fought in the Lord\u2019s way and preserved genealogies,\nfor they gloried therein. And how excellent is what is said on such\ntheme:\u2014\n\n I saw thee weep before the gates and \u2018plain, \u273f Whilst only curious wight\n reply would deign:\n Hath eye bewitcht thee, or hath evil lot \u273f \u2018Twixt thee and door of\n friend set bar of bane?\n Wake up this day, O wretch, persist in prayer, \u273f Repent as wont repent\n departed men.\n Haply shall wash thy sins Forgiveness-showers; \u273f And on thine erring\n head some ruth shall rain:\n And prisoner shall escape despite his bonds; \u273f And slave from thraldom\n freedom shall attain.\n\nAnd they ceased not to be in all solace and delight of life, till there\ncame to them the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of societies.\nAnd a tale is told by S\u00eddi Ibrahim bin Al-Khaww\u00e1s[489] (on whom be the\nmercy of Allah!) concerning himself and\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 485:\n\n Al-Islam, where salvation is found under the shade of the swords.\n\nFootnote 486:\n\n Moslems like the Classics (Aristotle and others) hold the clitoris\n (_Zamb\u00far_) to be the sedes et scaturigo veneris which, says Sonnini,\n is mere profanity. In the babe it protrudes beyond the labi\u00e6 and\n snipping off the head forms female circumcision. This rite is supposed\n by Moslems to have been invented by Sarah who so mutilated Hagar for\n jealousy and was afterwards ordered by Allah to have herself\n circumcised at the same time as Abraham. It is now (or should be)\n universal in Al-Islam and no Arab would marry a girl \u201cunpurified\u201d by\n it. Son of an \u201cuncircumcised\u201d mother (Ibn al-bazr\u00e1) is a sore insult.\n As regards the popular idea that Jewish women were circumcised till\n the days of Rabbi Gershom (A.D. 1000) who denounced it as a scandal to\n the Gentiles, the learned Prof. H. Graetz informs me, with some\n indignation, that the rite was never practised and that the great\n Rabbi contended only against polygamy. Female circumcision, however,\n is I believe the rule amongst some outlying tribes of Jews. The rite\n is the proper complement of male circumcision, evening the\n sensitiveness of the genitories by reducing it equally in both sexes:\n an uncircumcised woman has the venereal orgasm much sooner and oftener\n than a circumcised man, and frequent coitus would injure her health;\n hence I believe, despite the learned historian, that it is practised\n by some Eastern Jews. \u201cExcision\u201d is universal amongst the negroids of\n the Upper Nile (Werne), the Som\u00e1l and other adjacent tribes. The\n operator, an old woman, takes up the instrument, a knife or\n razor-blade fixed into a wooden handle, and with three sweeps cuts off\n the labia and the head of the clitoris. The parts are then sewn up\n with a pack-needle and a thread of sheepskin; and in Dar-For a tin\n tube is inserted for the passage of urine. Before marriage the\n bridegroom trains himself for a month on beef, honey and milk; and, if\n he can open his bride with the natural weapon, he is a sworder to whom\n no woman in the tribe can deny herself. If he fail, he tries\n penetration with his fingers and by way of last resort whips out his\n whittle and cuts the parts open. The sufferings of the first few\n nights must be severe. The few Som\u00e1li prostitutes who practised at\n Aden always had the labi\u00e6 and clitoris excised and the skin showing\n the scars of coarse sewing. The moral effect of female circumcision is\n peculiar. While it diminishes the heat of passion it increases\n licentiousness, and breeds a debauchery of mind far worse than bodily\n unchastity, because accompanied by a peculiar cold cruelty and a taste\n for artificial stimulants to \u201cluxury.\u201d It is the sexlessness of a\n spayed canine imitated by the suggestive brain of humanity.\n\nFootnote 487:\n\n Koran vi. so called because certain superstitions about Cattle are\n therein mentioned.\n\nFootnote 488:\n\n Koran iv. So called because it treats of marriages, divorces, etc.\n\nFootnote 489:\n\n S\u00eddi (contracted from Sayyid\u00ed = my lord) is a title still applied to\n holy men in Marocco and the Maghrib; on the East African coast it is\n assumed by negro and negroid Moslems, _e.g._ Sidi Mub\u00e1rak Bombay; and\n \u201cSeedy boy\u201d is the Anglo-Indian term for a Zanzibar-man. \u201cKhaww\u00e1s\u201d is\n one who weaves palm-leaves (Khos) into baskets, mats, etc.: here,\n however, it may be an inherited name.\n\n\n\n\n THE CHRISTIAN KING\u2019S DAUGHTER AND THE MOSLEM.\n\n\nMy spirit urged me, once upon a time, to go forth into the country of\nthe Infidels; and I strove with it and struggled to put away from me\nthis inclination; but it would not be rejected. So I fared forth and\njourneyed about the land of the Unbelievers and traversed it in all its\nparts; for divine grace enveloped me and heavenly protection encompassed\nme, so that I met not a single Nazarene but he turned away his eyes and\ndrew off from me, till I came to a certain great city at whose gate I\nfound a gathering of black slaves, clad in armour and bearing iron maces\nin their hands. When they saw me, they rose to their feet and asked me,\n\u201cArt thou a leach?\u201d; and I answered, \u201cYes.\u201d Quoth they, \u201cCome speak to\nour King,\u201d and carried me before their ruler, who was a handsome\npersonage of majestic presence. When I stood before him, he looked at me\nand said, \u201cArt a physician, thou?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d quoth I; and quoth he to his\nofficers, \u201cCarry him to her, and acquaint him with the condition before\nhe enter.\u201d So they took me out and said to me, \u201cKnow that the King hath\na daughter, and she is stricken with a sore disease, which no doctor\nhath been able to cure: and no leach goeth in to her and treateth,\nwithout healing her, but the King putteth him to death. So bethink thee\nwhat thou seest fitting to do.\u201d I replied, \u201cThe King drove me to her; so\ncarry me to her.\u201d Thereupon they brought me to her door and knocked; and\nbehold, I heard her cry out from within, saying, \u201cAdmit to me the\nphysician, lord of the wondrous secret!\u201d And she began reciting:\n\n Open the door! the leach now draweth near; \u273f And in my soul a wondrous\n secret speer:\n How many of the near far distant are![490] \u273f How many distant far are\n nearest near!\n I was in strangerhood amidst you all: \u273f But willed the Truth[491] my\n solace should appear.\n Joined us the potent bonds of Faith and Creed; \u273f We met as dearest fere\n greets dearest fere:\n He sued for interview whenas pursued \u273f The spy, and blamed us envy\u2019s\n jibe and jeer:\n Then leave your chiding and from blame desist, \u273f For fie upon you! not a\n word I\u2019ll hear.\n I care for naught that disappears and fleets; \u273f My care\u2019s for Things nor\n fleet nor disappear.\n\nAnd lo! a Shaykh, a very old man, opened the door in haste and said to\nme, \u201cEnter.\u201d So I entered and found myself in a chamber strewn with\nsweet-scented herbs and with a curtain drawn across one corner, from\nbehind which came a sound of groaning and grame, weak as from an\nemaciated frame. I sat down before the curtain and was about to offer my\nsalam when I bethought me of his words (whom Allah save and assain!),\n\u201cAccost not a Jew nor a Christian with the salam salutation;[492] and,\nwhen ye meet them in the way, constrain them to the straitest part\nthereof.\u201d So I withheld my salutation, but she cried out from behind the\ncurtain, saying, \u201cWhere is the salutation of Unity and Indivisibility, O\nKhaww\u00e1s?\u201d I was astonished at her speech and asked, \u201cHow knowest thou\nme?\u201d; whereto she answered, \u201cWhen the heart and thoughts are whole, the\ntongue speaketh eloquently from the secret recesses of the soul. I\nbegged Him yesterday to send me one of His saints, at whose hands I\nmight have deliverance, and behold, it was cried to me from the dark\nplaces of my house:\u2014Grieve not; for we soon will send thee Ibrahim the\nBasket-maker.\u201d Then I asked her, \u201cWhat of thee?\u201d and she answered, \u201cIt\nis now four years since there appeared to me the Manifest Truth, and He\nis the Relator and the Ally, and the Uniter and the Sitter-by; whereupon\nmy folk looked askance upon me with an evil eye and taxed me with\ninsanity and suspected me of depravity, and there came not in to me\ndoctor but terrified me, nor visitor but confounded me.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cAnd\nwho led thee to the knowledge of what thou wottest?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cThe\nmanifest signs and visible portents of Allah; and, when the path is\npatent to thee, thou espiest with thine own eyes both proof and prover.\u201d\nNow whilst we were talking, behold, in came the old man appointed to\nguard her and said, \u201cWhat doth thy doctor?\u201d; and she replied, \u201cHe\nknoweth the hurt and hath hit upon the healing.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Shaykh,\nher guardian, went in to her he said, \u201cWhat doth thy doctor?\u201d; and she\nreplied, \u201cHe knoweth the hurt and hath hit upon the healing.\u201d Hereupon\nhe manifested joy and gladness and accosted me with a cheerful\ncountenance, then went and told the King, who enjoined to treat me with\nall honour and regard. So I visited her daily for seven days, at the end\nof which time she said to me, \u201cO Ab\u00fa Ish\u00e1k, when shall be our flight to\nthe land of Al-Islam?\u201d \u201cHow canst thou go forth,\u201d replied I, \u201cand who\nwould dare to aid thee?\u201d Rejoined she, \u201cHe who sent thee to me, driving\nthee as it were;\u201d and I observed, \u201cThou sayest sooth.\u201d So when the\nmorrow dawned, we fared forth by the city-gate and all eyes were veiled\nfrom us, by commandment of Him who when He desireth aught, saith to it,\n\u201cBe,\u201d and it becometh;[493] so that I journeyed with her in safety to\nMeccah, where she made a home hard by the Holy House of Allah and lived\nseven years; till the appointed day of her death. The earth of Meccah\nwas her tomb, and never saw I any more steadfast in prayer and fasting\nthan she, Allah send down upon her His mercies and have compassion on\nhim who saith:\u2014\n\n When they to me had brought the leach (and surely showed \u273f The signs of\n flowing tears and pining malady),\n The face-veil he withdrew from me, and \u2018neath it naught \u273f Save breath of\n one unsouled, unbodied, could he see.\n Quoth he, \u201cThis be a sickness Love alone shall cure; \u273f Love hath a\n secret from all guess of man wide free.\u201d\n Quoth they, \u201cAn folk ignore what here there be with him \u273f Nature of ill\n and eke its symptomology,\u201d\n How then shall medicine work a cure? At this quoth I \u273f \u201cLeave me alone;\n I have no guessing specialty.\u201d\n\nAnd they tell a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 490:\n\n _i.e._ in spirit; the \u201cstrangers yet\u201d of poor dear Richard Monckton\n Milnes, Lord Houghton.\n\nFootnote 491:\n\n Al-Hakk = the Truth, one of the ninety-nine names of Allah.\n\nFootnote 492:\n\n The Moslem is still unwilling to address Sal\u00e1m (Peace be with you) to\n the Christian, as it is obligatory (Farz) to a Moslem (Koran, chapt.\n iv. and lxviii.). He usually evades the difficulty by saluting the\n nearest Moslem or by a change of words Allah Yahd\u00ed-k (Allah direct\n thee to the right way) or \u201cPeace be upon us and the righteous\n worshippers of Allah\u201d (not you) or Al-Samm (for Salam) alayka = poison\n to thee. The idea is old: Alexander of Alexandria in his circular\n letter describes the Arian heretics as \u201cmen whom it is not lawful to\n salute or to bid God-speed.\u201d\n\nFootnote 493:\n\n Koran xxxvi. 82. I have before noted that this famous phrase was\n borrowed from the Hebrews, who borrowed it from the Egyptians.\n\n\n\n\n THE PROPHET AND THE JUSTICE OF PROVIDENCE.\n\n\nA certain Prophet[494] made his home for worship on a lofty mountain, at\nwhose foot was a spring of running water, and he was wont to sit by day\non the summit, that no man might see him, calling upon the name of Allah\nthe Most Highest and watching those who frequented the spring. One day,\nas he sat looking upon the fountain, behold, he espied a horseman who\ncame up and dismounted thereby and taking a bag from his neck, set it\ndown beside him, after which he drank of the water and rested awhile,\nthen he rode away, leaving behind him the bag which contained gold\npieces. Presently up came another man to drink of the spring, who saw\nthe bag and finding it full of money took it up; then, after satisfying\nhis thirst, he made off with it in safety. A little after came a\nwood-cutter wight with a heavy load of fuel on his back, and sat down by\nthe spring to drink, when lo! back came the first horseman in great\ntrouble and asked him, \u201cWhere is the bag which was here?\u201d and when he\nanswered, \u201cI know nothing of it,\u201d the rider drew his sword and smote him\nand slew him. Then he searched his clothes, but found naught; so he left\nhim and wended his ways. Now when the Prophet saw this, he said, \u201cO\nLord, one man hath taken a thousand dinars and another man hath been\nslain unjustly.\u201d But Allah answered him, saying, \u201cBusy thyself with thy\ndevotions, for the ordinance of the universe is none of thine affair.\nThe father of this horseman had violently despoiled of a thousand dinars\nthe father of the second horseman; so I gave the son possession of his\nsire\u2019s money. As for the wood-cutter, he had slain the horseman\u2019s\nfather, wherefore I enabled the son to obtain retribution for himself.\u201d\nThen cried the Prophet, \u201cThere is none other god than Thou! Glory be to\nThee only! Verily, Thou art the Knower of Secrets.\u201d[495]\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King that when the Prophet\nwas bidden by inspiration of Allah to busy himself with his devotions\nand learned the truth of the case, he cried, \u201cThere is none other god\nbut Thou! Glory be to Thee only! Verily, Thou and Thou alone wottest\nhidden things.\u201d Furthermore, one of the poets hath made these verses on\nthe matter:\u2014\n\n The Prophet saw whatever eyes could see, \u273f And fain of other things\n enquir\u00e8d he;\n And, when his eyes saw things misunderstood, \u273f Quoth he, \u201cO Lord, this\n slain from sin was free.\n This one hath won him wealth withouten work; \u273f Albe appeared he garbed\n in penury.\n And that in joy of life was slain, although \u273f O man\u2019s Creator free of\n sin he be.\u201d\n God answered \u201c\u2018Twas his father\u2019s good thou saw\u2019st \u273f Him take; by\n heirship not by roguery;\n\n Yon woodman too that horseman\u2019s sire had slain; \u273f Whose son avenged him\n with just victory:\n Put off, O slave of Me, this thought for I \u273f In men have set mysterious\n secrecy!\n Bow to Our Law and humble thee, and learn \u273f For good and evil issues Our\n decree.\u201d[496]\n\nAnd a certain pious man hath told us the tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 494:\n\n The story of Moses and Khizr has been noticed before. See Koran chapt.\n xviii. 64 _et seq._ It is also related, says Lane (ii. 642), by\n Al-Kazw\u00edni in the Aj\u00e1ib al-Makhl\u00fak\u00e1t. This must be \u201cThe Angel and the\n Hermit\u201d in the Gesta Romanorum, Tale lxxx. which possibly gave rise to\n Parnell\u2019s Hermit; and Tale cxxvii. \u201cOf Justice and Equity.\u201d The Editor\n says it \u201ccontains a beautiful lesson:\u201d I can find only excellent\n excuses for \u201cdoing evil that good may come of it.\u201d\n\nFootnote 495:\n\n Koran chapt. v. 108.\n\nFootnote 496:\n\n The doggrel is phenomenal.\n\n\n\n\n THE FERRYMAN OF THE NILE AND THE HERMIT.\n\n\nI was once a ferryman on the Nile and used to ply between the eastern\nand the western banks. Now one day, as I sat in my boat, there came up\nto me an old man of a bright and beaming countenance, who saluted me and\nI returned his greeting; and he said to me, \u201cWilt thou ferry me over for\nthe love of Allah Almighty?\u201d I answered, \u201cYes,\u201d and he continued, \u201cWilt\nthou moreover give me food for Allah\u2019s sake?\u201d; to which again I\nanswered, \u201cWith all my heart.\u201d So he entered the boat and I rowed him\nover to the eastern side, remarking that he was clad in a patched gown\nand carried a gourd-bottle and a staff. When he was about to land, he\nsaid to me, \u201cI desire to lay on thee a heavy trust.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cWhat is\nit?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cIt hath been revealed to me that my end is nearhand and\nthat to-morrow about noon thou wilt come and find me dead under yonder\ntree. Wash me and wrap me in the shroud thou wilt see under my head and\nafter thou hast prayed over me, bury me in this sandy ground and take my\ngown and gourd and staff, which do thou deliver to one who shall come\nand demand them of thee.\u201d I marvelled at his words, and I slept there.\nOn the morrow I awaited till noon the event he had announced, and then I\nforgot what he had said till near the hour of afternoon-prayer, when I\nremembered it and hastening to the appointed place, found him under the\ntree, dead, with a new shroud under his head, exhaling a fragrance of\nmusk. So I washed him and shrouded him and prayed over him, then dug a\nhole in the sand and buried him, after I had taken his ragged gown and\nbottle and staff, with which I crossed the Nile to the western side and\nthere nighted. As soon as morning dawned and the city gate opened, I\nsighted a young man known to me as a loose fellow, clad in fine clothes\nand his hands stained with Henna, who said to me, \u201cArt thou not such an\none?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d answered I; and he said, \u201cGive me the trust.\u201d Quoth I,\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cThe gown, the gourd and the staff.\u201d I asked\nhim, \u201cWho told thee of them?\u201d and he answered, \u201cI know nothing save that\nI spent yesternight at the wedding of one of my friends singing and\ncarousing till daylight, when I lay me down to sleep and take my rest;\nand behold, there stood by me a personage who said, \u201cVerily Allah\nAlmighty hath taken such a saint to Himself and hath appointed thee to\nfill his place; so go thou to a certain person (naming the ferryman),\nand take of him the dead man\u2019s gown and bottle and staff, for he left\nthem with him for thee.\u201d\u201d So I brought them out and gave them to him;\nwhereupon he doffed his clothes and, donning the gown, went his way and\nleft me.[497] And when the glooms closed around me, I fell a-weeping;\nbut, that night, while sleeping I saw the Lord of Holiness (glorified\nand exalted be He!) in a dream saying, \u201cO my servant, is it grievous to\nthee that I have granted to one of My servants to return to Me? Indeed,\nthis is of My bounty, that I vouchsafe to whom I will, for I over all\nthings am Almighty.\u201d So I repeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n Lover with lov\u00e8d[498] loseth will and aim; \u273f All choice (an couldst thou\n know) were sinful shame.\n Or grant He favour and with union grace, \u273f Or from thee turn away, He\n hath no blame.\n An from such turning thou no joy enjoy \u273f Depart! the place for thee no\n place became.\n Or canst His near discern not from His far? \u273f Then Love\u2019s in vain and\n thou\u2019rt a-rear and lame.\n If pine for Thee afflict my sprite, or men \u273f Hale me to death, the rein\n Thy hand shall claim!\n\n So turn Thee to or fro, to me \u2018tis one; \u273f What Thou ordainest none shall\n dare defame:\n My love hath naught of aim but Thine approof \u273f And if Thou say we part I\n say the same.\n\nAnd of the tales they tell is one concerning\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 497:\n\n He went in wonder and softened heart to see the miracle of saintly\n affection.\n\nFootnote 498:\n\n In Sufistical parlance, the creature is the lover and the Creator the\n Beloved: worldly existence is Disunion, parting, severance; and the\n life to come is Reunion. The basis of the idea is the human soul being\n a divin\u00e6 particula aur\u00e6, a disjoined molecule from the Great Spirit,\n imprisoned in a jail of flesh; and it is so far valuable that it has\n produced a grand and pathetic poetry; but Common Sense asks, Where is\n the proof? And Reason wants to know, What does it all mean?\n\n\n\n\n THE ISLAND KING AND THE PIOUS ISRAELITE.\n\n\nThere was once a notable of the Children of Israel, a man of wealth who\nhad a pious and blessed son. When his last hour drew nigh, his son sat\ndown at his head and said to him, \u201cO my lord, give me an injunction.\u201d\nQuoth the father, \u201cO dear son, I charge thee, swear not by Allah or\ntruly or falsely.\u201d Then he died and certain lewd fellows of the Children\nof Israel heard of the charge he had laid on his son and began coming to\nthe latter and saying, \u201cThy father had such and such monies of mine, and\nthou knowest it; so give me what was entrusted to him or else make oath\nthat there was no trust.\u201d The good son would not disobey his sire\u2019s\ninjunction, so gave them all they claimed; and they ceased not to deal\nthus with him, till his wealth was spent and he fell into straitest\npredicament. Now the young man had a pious and blessed wife, who had\nborne him two little sons; so he said to her, \u201cThe folk have multiplied\ntheir demands on me and, while I had the wherewithal to free myself of\ndebt, I rendered it freely; but naught is now left us, and if others\nmake demands upon me, we shall be in absolute distress, I and thou; our\nbest way were to save ourselves by fleeing to some place, where none\nknoweth us, and earn our bread among the lower of the folk.\u201d\nAccordingly, he took ship with her and his two children, knowing not\nwhither he should wend; but, \u201cWhen Allah judgeth, there is none to\nreverse His judgment;\u201d[499] and quoth the tongue of the case:\u2014\n\n O flier from thy home when foes affright! \u273f Whom led to weal and\n happiness such flight,\n Grudge not this exile when he flees abroad \u273f Where he on wealth and\n welfare may alight.\n An pearls for ever did abide in shell, \u273f The kingly crown they ne\u2019er had\n deckt and dight.\n\nThe ship was wrecked, yet the man saved himself on a plank and his wife\nand children also saved themselves, but on other planks. The waves\nseparated them and the wife was cast up in one country and one of the\nboys in another. The second son was picked up by a ship, and the surges\nthrew the father on a desert island, where he landed and made the\nWuzu-ablution. Then he called the prayer-call\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Eightieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the man\nlanded upon the island, he made the Wuzu-ablution to free himself from\nthe impurities of the sea and called the call to prayer and stood up to\nhis devotions, when, behold, there came forth of the sea creatures of\nvarious kinds and prayed with him. When he had finished, he went up to a\ntree and stayed his hunger with its fruits; after which he found a\nspring of water and drank thereof and praised Allah, to whom be honour\nand glory! He abode thus three days and whenever he stood up to pray,\nthe sea-creatures came out and prayed in the same manner as he prayed.\nNow after the third day, he heard a voice crying aloud and saying, \u201cO\nthou just man, and pious, who didst so honour thy father and revere the\ndecrees of thy Lord, grieve not, for Allah (be He extolled and exalted!)\nshall restore to thee all which left thy hand. In this isle are hoards\nand monies and things of price which the Almighty willeth thou shalt\ninherit, and they are in such a part of this place. So bring thou them\nto light; and verily, we will send ships unto thee; and do thou bestow\ncharity on the folk and bid them to thee.\u201d So he sought out that place,\nand the Lord discovered to him the treasures in question. Then ships\nbegan resorting to him, and he gave abundant largesse to the crews,\nsaying to them, \u201cBe sure ye direct the folk unto me and I will give them\nsuch and such a thing and appoint to them this and that.\u201d Accordingly,\nthere came folk from all parts and places, nor had ten years passed over\nhim ere the island was peopled and the man became its King.[500] No one\ncame to him but he entreated him with munificence, and his name was\nnoised abroad, throughout the length and breadth of the earth. Now his\nelder son had fallen into the hands of a man who reared him and taught\nhim polite accomplishments; and, in like manner, the younger was adopted\nby one who gave him a good education and brought him up in the ways of\nmerchants. The wife also happened upon a trader who entrusted to her his\nproperty and made a covenant with her that he would not deal dishonestly\nby her, but would aid her to obey Allah (to whom belong Majesty and\nMight!); and he used to make her the companion of his voyages and his\ntravels. Now the elder son heard the report of the King and resolved to\nvisit him, without knowing what he was; so he went to him and was well\nreceived by the King, who made him his secretary. Presently the other\nson heard of the King\u2019s piety and justice and was also taken into his\nservice as a steward. Then the brothers abode awhile, neither knowing\nthe other, till it chanced that the merchant, in whose home was their\nmother, also hearing of the King\u2019s righteous and generous dealing with\nthe lieges, freighted a ship with rich stuffs and other excellent\nproduce of the land, and taking the woman with him, set sail for the\nisland. He made it in due course and landing, presented himself with his\ngift before the King; who rejoiced therein with exceeding joy and\nordered him a splendid return-present. Now, there were, among the gifts,\ncertain aromatic roots of which he would have the merchant acquaint him\nwith the names and uses; so he said to him, \u201cAbide with us this\nnight.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the King\nsaid, \u201cAbide with us this night,\u201d the merchant replied, \u201cWe have in the\nship one to whom I have promised to entrust the care of her to none save\nmyself; and the same is a holy woman whose prayers have brought me weal\nand I have felt the blessing of her counsels.\u201d Rejoined the King, \u201cI\nwill send her some trusty men, who shall pass the night in the ship and\nguard her and all that is with her.\u201d The merchant agreed to this and\nabode with the King, who called his secretary and steward and said to\nthem, \u201cGo and pass the night in this man\u2019s ship and keep it safe,\nInshallah!\u201d So they went up into the ship and seating themselves, this\non the poop and that on the bow, passed a part of the night in repeating\nthe names of Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!). Then quoth one\nto the other, \u201cHo, such an one! The King bade us keep watch and I fear\nlest sleep overtake us; so, come, let us discourse of stories of fortune\nand of the good we have seen and the trials of life.\u201d Quoth the other,\n\u201cO my brother, as for my trials Fate parted me from my mother and a\nbrother of mine, whose name was even as thine; and the cause of our\nparting was this. My father took ship with us from such a place, and the\nwinds rose against us and were contrary, so that the ship was wrecked\nand Allah broke our fair companionship.\u201d Hearing this the first asked,\n\u201cWhat was the name of thy mother, O my brother?\u201d; and the second\nanswered, \u201cSo and so.\u201d Said the elder, \u201cAnd of thy father?\u201d; said the\nyounger, \u201cSo and so.\u201d Thereat brother threw himself upon brother saying,\n\u201cBy Allah, thou art my very brother!\u201d And each fell to telling the other\nwhat had befallen him in his youth, whilst the mother heard all they\nsaid, but held her peace and in patience possessed her soul. Now when it\nwas morning, one said to the other, \u201cCome, brother, let us go to my\nlodging and talk there;\u201d and the other said, \u201c\u2018Tis well.\u201d So they went\naway and presently, the merchant came back and finding the woman in\ngreat trouble, said to her, \u201cWhat hath befallen thee and why this\nconcern?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cThou sentest to me yesternight men who tempted me\nto evil, and I have been in sore annoy with them.\u201d At this, he was wroth\nand, repairing to the King, reported the conduct of his two trusty\nwights. The King summoned the twain forthwith, as he loved them for\ntheir fidelity and piety; and, sending for the woman, that he might hear\nfrom her own lips what she had to say against them, thus bespake her, \u201cO\nwoman, what hath betided thee from these two men in whom I trust?\u201d She\nreplied, \u201cO King, I conjure thee by the Almighty, the Bountiful One, the\nLord of the Empyrean, bid them repeat the words they spoke yesternight.\u201d\nSo he said to them, \u201cSay what ye said and conceal naught thereof.\u201d\nAccordingly, they repeated their talk, and lo! the King rising from his\nthrone, gave a great cry and threw himself upon them, embracing them and\nsaying, \u201cBy Allah, ye are my very sons!\u201d Therewith the woman unveiled\nher face and said, \u201cAnd by Allah, I am their very mother.\u201d So they were\nunited and abode in all solace of life and its delight till death parted\nthem; and so glory be to Him who delivereth His servant when he\nresorteth to Him, and disappointeth not his hope in Him and his trust!\nAnd how well saith the poet on the subject:\u2014\n\n Each thing of things hath his appointed tide \u273f When \u2018tis, O brother,\n granted or denied.\n Repine not an affliction hit thee hard; \u273f For woe and welfare aye\n conjoint abide:\n How oft shall woman see all griefs surround \u273f Yet feel a joyance thrill\n what lies inside!\n How many a wretch, on whom the eyes of folk \u273f Look down, shall grace\n exalt to pomp and pride!\n This man is one long suffering grief and woe; \u273f Whom change and chance\n of Time hath sorely tried:\n The World divided from what held he dearest, \u273f After long union\n scattered far and wide;\n But deigned his Lord unite them all again, \u273f And in the Lord is every\n good descried.\n Glory to Him whose Providence rules all \u273f Living, as surest proofs for\n us decide.\n Near is the Near One; but no wisdom clearer \u273f Shows him, nor distant\n way-fare brings Him nearer.\n\nAnd this tale is told of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 499:\n\n Koran xiii. 41.\n\nFootnote 500:\n\n Robinson Crusoe, with a touch of Arab prayerfulness. Also the story of\n the Knight Placidus in the Gesta (cx.), Boccaccio, etc.\n\n\n\n\n ABU AL-HASAN AND ABU JA\u2019AFAR THE LEPER.[501]\n\n\nI had been many times to Meccah (Allah increase its honour!) and the\nfolk used to follow me for my knowledge of the road and remembrance of\nthe water-stations. It happened one year that I was minded to make the\npilgrimage to the Holy House and visitation of the tomb of His Prophet\n(on whom be blessing and peace!), and I said in myself, \u201cI well know the\nway and will fare alone.\u201d So I set out and journeyed till I came to\nAl-Kadis\u00edyah[502] and, entering the mosque there, saw a man suffering\nfrom black leprosy seated in the prayer-niche. Quoth he on seeing me, \u201cO\nAbu al-Hasan, I crave thy company to Meccah.\u201d Quoth I to myself, \u201cI fled\nfrom all my companions, and how shall I company with lepers?\u201d So I said\nto him, \u201cI will bear no man company\u201d; and he was silent at my words.\nNext day I walked on alone, till I came to Al-Akabah,[503] where I\nentered the mosque and found the leper seated in the prayer-niche. So I\nsaid to myself, \u201cGlory be to Allah! how hath this fellow preceded me\nhither?\u201d But he raised his head to me and said with a smile, \u201cO Abu\nal-Hasan, He doth for the weak that which surpriseth the strong!\u201d I\npassed that night confounded at what I had seen; and, as soon as morning\ndawned, set out again by myself; but when I came to Arafat[504] and\nentered the mosque, behold, there was the leper seated in the niche! So\nI threw myself upon him and kissing his feet said, \u201cO my lord, I crave\nthy company.\u201d But he answered, \u201cThis may in no way be.\u201d Then I began\nweeping and wailing at the loss of his converse, when he said, \u201cSpare\nthy tears which will avail thee naught!\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu al-Hasan\ncontinued:\u2014Now when I saw the leper-man seated in the prayer-niche, I\nthrew myself upon him and said, \u201cO my lord, I crave thy company;\u201d and\nfell to kissing his feet. But he answered, \u201cThis may in no way be!\u201d Then\nI began weeping and wailing at the loss of his company when he said,\n\u201cSpare thy tears which will avail thee naught!\u201d; and he recited these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n Why dost thou weep when I depart and thou didst parting claim; \u273f And\n cravest union when we ne\u2019er shall reunite the same?\n Thou lookedest on nothing save my weakness and disease; \u273f And saidst\n \u201cNor goes nor comes, or night or day, this sickly frame.\u201d\n\n Seest not how Allah (glorified His glory ever be!) \u273f Deigneth to grant\n His slave\u2019s petition wherewithal he came.\n If I, to eyes of men be that and only that they see, \u273f And this my body\n show itself so full of grief and grame,\n And have I naught of food that shall supply me to the place \u273f Where\n crowds unto my Lord resort impelled by single aim,\n I have a high Creating Lord whose mercies aye are hid; \u273f A Lord who hath\n none equal and no fear is known to Him.\n So fare thee safe and leave me lone in strangerhood to wone \u273f For He,\n the only One, consoles my loneliness so lone.\n\nAccordingly, I left him; but every station I came to, I found he had\nforegone me, till I reached Al-Medinah, where I lost sight of him and\ncould hear no tidings of him. Here I met Abu Yaz\u00edd al-Bust\u00e1mi and Abu\nBakr al-Shibli and a number of other Shaykhs and learned men, to whom\nwith many complaints, I told my case and they said, \u201cHeaven forbid that\nthou shouldst gain his company after this! He was Abu Ja\u2019afar the leper,\nin whose name folk at all times pray for rain and by whose\nblessing-prayers their end attain.\u201d When I heard their words, my desire\nfor his company redoubled and I implored the Almighty to reunite me with\nhim. Whilst I was standing on Arafat,[505] one pulled me from behind, so\nI turned and behold, it was my man. At this sight I cried out with a\nloud cry and fell down in a fainting fit; but, when I came to myself he\nhad disappeared from my sight. This increased my yearning for him and\nthe ceremonies were tedious to me and I prayed Almighty Allah to give me\nsight of him; nor was it but a few days after, when lo! one pulled me\nfrom behind, and I turned and it was he again. Thereupon he said, \u201cCome,\nI conjure thee and ask thy want of me.\u201d So I begged him to pray for me\nthree prayers; first, that Allah would make me love poverty; secondly,\nthat I might never lie down at night upon provision assured to me; and\nthirdly, that He would vouchsafe me to look upon His bountiful Face. So\nhe prayed for me as I wished, and departed from me. And indeed Allah\nhath granted me what the devotee asked in prayer: to begin with He hath\nmade me so love poverty that, by the Almighty! there is naught in the\nworld dearer to me than it, and secondly since such a year, I have never\nlain down to sleep upon assured provision; withal hath He never let me\nlack aught. As for the third prayer, I trust that He will vouchsafe me\nthat also, even as He hath granted the two precedent for right Bountiful\nand Beneficent is His Godhead, and Allah have mercy on him who\nsaid:[506]\u2014\n\n Garb of Fakir, renouncement, lowliness;\n His robe of tatters and of rags his dress;\n\n And pallor ornamenting brow as though\n \u2018Twere wanness such as waning crescents show.\n\n Wasted him prayer a-through the long-lived night,\n And flooding tears ne\u2019er cease to dim his sight.\n\n Memory of Him shall cheer his lonely room:\n Th\u2019 Almighty nearest is in nightly gloom.\n\n The Refuge helpeth such Fakir in need;\n Help e\u2019en the cattle and the wing\u00e8d breed:\n\n Allah for sake of him of wrath is fain,\n And for the grace of him shall fall the rain;\n\n And if he pray one day for plague to stay,\n \u2018Twill stay, and \u2018bate man\u2019s wrong and tyrants slay.\n\n While folk are sad, afflicted one and each,\n He in his mercy\u2019s rich, the generous leach:\n\n Bright shines his brow; an thou regard his face\n Thy heart illumined shines by light of grace.\n\n O thou who shunnest souls of worth innate,\n Departs thee (woe to thee!) of sins the weight.\n\n Thou thinkest to overtake them, while thou bearest\n Follies, which slay thee whatso way thou farest.\n\n Didst wot their worth thou hadst all honour showed,\n And tears in streamlets from thine eyes had flowed.\n\n To catarrh-troubled men flowers lack their smell;\n And brokers ken for how much clothes can sell;\n\n So haste and with thy Lord reunion sue,\n And haply Fate shall lend thee aidance due,\n\n Rest from rejection and estrangement-stress,\n And Joy thy wish and will shall choicely bless.\n\n His court wide open for the suer is dight:\u2014\n One, very God, the Lord, th\u2019 Almighty might.\n\nAnd they also tell a tale of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 501:\n\n Arabs note two kinds of leprosy, \u201cBahak\u201d or \u201cBaras\u201d the common or\n white, and \u201cJuz\u00e1m\u201d the black leprosy; the leprosy of the joints, mal\n rouge. Both are attributed to undue diet as eating fish and drinking\n milk; and both are treated with tonics, especially arsenic. Leprosy is\n regarded by Moslems as a Scriptural malady on account of its\n prevalence amongst the Israelites who, as Manetho tells us, were\n expelled from Egypt because they infected and polluted the population.\n In medi\u00e6val Christendom an idea prevailed that the Saviour was a\n leper; hence the term \u201cmorbus sacer\u201d; the honours paid to the\n sufferers by certain Saints and the Papal address (Clement III. A.D.\n 1189) dilectis filiis leprosis. (Farrar\u2019s Life of Christ, i. 149.) For\n the \u201cdisgusting and impetuous lust\u201d caused by leprosy, see Sonnini (p.\n 560) who visited the lepers at Canea in Candia. He is one of many who\n describes this symptom; but in the Brazil, where the foul malady still\n prevails, I never heard of it.\n\nFootnote 502:\n\n A city in Irak; famous for the three days\u2019 battle which caused the\n death of Yezdegird, last Sassanian king.\n\nFootnote 503:\n\n A mountain pass near Meccah famous for the \u201cFirst Fealty of the Steep\u201d\n (Pilgrimage ii. 126). The mosque was built to commemorate the event.\n\nFootnote 504:\n\n To my surprise I read in Mr. Redhouse\u2019s \u201cMesnevi\u201d (Tr\u00fcbner, 1881),\n \u201cArafat, the mount where the victims are slaughtered by the pilgrims\u201d\n (p. 60). This ignorance is phenomenal. Did Mr. Redhouse never read\n Burckhardt or Burton?\n\nFootnote 505:\n\n _i.e._ listening to the sermon.\n\nFootnote 506:\n\n It is sad doggrel.\n\n\n\n\n THE QUEEN OF THE SERPENTS.[507]\n\n\nThere was once, in days of yore and in ages and times long gone before,\na Grecian sage called Daniel, who had disciples and scholars; and the\nwise men of Greece were obedient to his bidding and relied upon his\nlearning. Withal had Allah denied him a man-child. One night, as he lay\nmusing and weeping over the lack of a son who might inherit his lore, he\nbethought him that Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) heareth the\nprayer of those who resort to Him and that there is no doorkeeper at the\ndoor of His bounties and that He favoureth whom He will without compt\nand sendeth no supplicant empty away; nay He filleth their hands with\nfavours and benefits. So he besought the Almighty, the Bountiful, to\nvouchsafe him a son to succeed him, and to endow him abundantly with His\nbeneficence. Then he returned home and carnally knew his wife who\nconceived by him the same night.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Grecian sage\nreturned home and knew his wife who conceived by him the same night. A\nfew days after this he took ship for a certain place, but the ship was\nwrecked and he saved himself on one of her planks, while only five\nleaves remained to him of all the books he had. When he returned home,\nhe laid the five leaves in a box and locking it, gave the key to his\nwife (who then showed big with child), and said to her, \u201cKnow that my\ndecease is at hand and that the time draweth nigh for my translation\nfrom this abode temporal to the home which is eternal. Now thou art with\nchild and after my death wilt haply bear a son: if this be so, name him\nH\u00e1sib Kar\u00edm al-D\u00edn[508] and rear him with the best of rearing. When the\nboy shall grow up and shall say to thee:\u2014What inheritance did my father\nleave me? give him these five leaves, which when he shall have read and\nunderstood, he will be the most learned man of his time.\u201d Then he\nfarewelled her and heaving one sigh, departed the world and all that is\ntherein\u2014the mercy of Allah the Most Highest be upon Him! His family and\nfriends wept over him and washed him and bore him forth in great state\nand buried him; after which they wended their ways home. But few days\npassed ere his widow bare a handsome boy and named him Hasib Karim\nal-Din, as her husband charged her; and immediately after his birth she\nsummoned the astrologers, who calculated his ascendants and drawing his\nhoroscope, said to her, \u201cKnow, O woman! that this birth will live many a\nyear; but that will be after a great peril in the early part of his\nlife, wherefrom an he escape, he will be given the knowledge of all the\nexact sciences.\u201d So saying they went their ways. She suckled him two\nyears,[509] then weaned him, and when he was five years old, she placed\nhim in a school to learn his book, but he would read nothing. So she\ntook him from school and set him to learn a trade; but he would not\nmaster any craft and there came no work from his hands. The mother wept\nover this and the folk said to her, \u201cMarry him: haply he will take heart\nfor his wife and learn him a trade.\u201d So she sought out a girl and\nmarried him to her; but, despite marriage and the lapse of time, he\nremained idle as before, and would do nothing. One day, some neighbours\nof hers, who were woodcutters, came to her and said, \u201cBuy thy son an ass\nand cords and an axe and let him go with us to the mountain and we will\nall of us cut wood for fuel. The price of the wood shall be his and\nours, and he shall provide thee and his wife with his share.\u201d When she\nheard this, she joyed with exceeding joy and bought her son an ass and\ncords and hatchet; then, carrying him to the woodcutters, delivered him\ninto their hands and solemnly committed him to their care. Said they,\n\u201cHave no concern for the boy, our Lord will provide him: he is the son\nof our Shaykh.\u201d So they carried him to the mountain, where they cut\nfirewood and loaded their asses therewith; then returned to the city\nand, selling what they had cut, spent the monies on their families. This\nthey did on the next day and the third and ceased not for some time,\ntill it chanced one day, a violent storm of rain broke over them, and\nthey took refuge in a great cave till the downfall should pass away. Now\nHasib Karim al-Din went apart from the rest into a corner of the cavern\nand sitting down, fell to smiting the floor with his axe. Presently he\nnoted that the ground sounded hollow under the hatchet; so he dug there\nawhile and came to a round flagstone with a ring in it. When he saw\nthis, he was glad and called his comrades the woodcutters,\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hasib Karim\nal-Din saw the flagstone with the ring, he was glad and called his\ncomrades the woodcutters, who came to him and, finding it was fact, soon\npulled up the stone and discovered under it a trap-door, which, being\nopened, showed a cistern full of bees\u2019 honey.[510] Then said they to one\nanother, \u201cThis is a large store and we have nothing for it but to return\nto the city and fetch vessels wherein to carry away the honey, and sell\nit and divide the price, whilst one of us stands by the cistern, to\nguard it from outsiders.\u201d Quoth Hasib, \u201cI will stay and keep watch over\nit till you bring your pots and pans.\u201d So they left him on guard there\nand, repairing to the city, fetched vessels, which they filled with\nhoney and loading their asses therewith, carried them to the streets and\nsold the contents. They returned on the morrow and thus they did several\ndays in succession, sleeping in the town by night and drawing off the\nstuff by day, whilst Hasib abode on guard by it till but little\nremained, when they said one to other, \u201cIt was Hasib Karim al-Din found\nthe honey, and to-morrow he will come down to the city and complain\nagainst us and claim the price of it, saying, \u2018Twas I found it; nor is\nthere escape for us but that we let him down into the cistern, to bale\nout the rest of the honey, and leave him there; so will he die of\nhunger, and none shall know of him.\u201d They all fell in with this plot as\nthey were making for the place; and, when they reached it, one said to\nhim, \u201cO Hasib, go down into the pit and bale out for us the rest of the\nhoney.\u201d So he went down and passed up to them what remained of the\nhoney, after which he said to them, \u201cDraw me up, for there is nothing\nleft.\u201d They made him no answer; but, loading their asses, went off to\nthe city and left him alone in the cistern. Thereupon he fell to weeping\nand crying, \u201cThere is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah,\nthe Glorious, the Great!\u201d Such was his case; but as regards his\ncomrades, when they reached the city and sold the honey, they repaired\nto Hasib\u2019s mother, weeping, and said to her, \u201cMay thy head outlive thy\nson Hasib!\u201d She asked, \u201cWhat brought about his death?\u201d and they\nanswered, \u201cWe were cutting wood on the mountain-top, when there fell on\nus a heavy downfall of rain and we took shelter from it in a cavern; and\nsuddenly thy son\u2019s ass broke loose and fled into the valley, and he ran\nafter it, to turn it back, when there came out upon them a great wolf,\nwho tore thy son in pieces and ravined the ass.\u201d When the mother heard\nthis, she beat her face and strewed dust on her head and fell to\nmourning for her son; and she kept life and soul together only by the\nmeat and drink which they brought her every day. As for the woodcutters\nthey opened them shops and became merchants and spent their lives in\neating and drinking and laughing and frolicking. Meanwhile Hasib Karim\nal-Din, who ceased not to weep and call for help, sat down upon the\ncistern-edge when behold, a great scorpion fell down on him; so he rose\nand killed it. Then he took thought and said, \u201cThe cistern was full of\nhoney; how came this scorpion here?\u201d Accordingly he got up and examined\nthe well right and left, till he found a crevice from which the scorpion\nhad fallen and saw the light of day shining through it. So he took out\nhis woodman\u2019s knife and enlarged the hole, till it was big as a window,\nwhen he crept through it and, after walking for some time, came to a\nvast gallery, which led him to a huge door of black iron bearing a\npadlock of silver wherein was a key of gold. He stole up to the door\nand, looking through the chink, saw a great light shining within; so he\ntook the key and, opening the door, went on for some time, till he came\nto a large artificial lake, wherein he caught sight of something that\nshimmered like silver. He walked up to it and at last he saw, hard by a\nhillock of green jasper and on the hill-top, a golden throne studded\nwith all manner gems,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hasib reached\nthe hillock he found it of green jasper surmounted by a golden throne\nstudded with all manner gems, round which were set many stools, some of\ngold, some of silver and others of leek-green emerald. He clomb the\nhillock and, counting the stools, found them twelve thousand in number;\nthen he mounted the throne which was set on the centre and, seating\nhimself thereon, fell to wondering at the lake and the stools, and he\nmarvelled till drowsiness overcame him and he dropt asleep. Presently,\nhe was aroused by a loud snorting and hissing and rustling, so he opened\nhis eyes; and, sitting up, saw each stool occupied by a huge serpent, an\nhundred cubits in length. At this sight, great fear gat hold of him; his\nspittle dried up for the excess of his dread and he despaired of life,\nas all their eyes were blazing like live coals. Then he turned towards\nthe lake and saw that what he had taken for shimmering water was a\nmultitude of small snakes, none knoweth their compt save Allah the Most\nHigh. After awhile, there came up to him a serpent as big as a mule,\nbearing on its back a tray of gold, wherein lay another serpent which\nshone like crystal and whose face was as that of a woman[511] and who\nspake with human speech. And as soon as she was brought up to Hasib, she\nsaluted him and he returned the salutation. Thereupon, one of the\nserpents seated on the stools came up and, lifting her off the tray, set\nher on one of the seats and she cried out to the other serpents in their\nlanguage, whereupon they all fell down from their stools and did her\nhomage. But she signed to them to sit and they did so. Then she\naddressed Hasib, saying, \u201cHave no fear of us, O youth; for I am the\nQueen of the Serpents and their Sult\u00e1nah.\u201d When he heard her speak on\nthis wise, he took heart and she bade the serpents bring him somewhat of\nfood.[512] So they brought apples and grapes and pomegranates and\npistachio-nuts and filberts and walnuts and almonds and bananas and set\nthem before him, and the Queen-serpent said, \u201cWelcome, O youth! What is\nthy name?\u201d Answered he, \u201cHasib Karim al-Din;\u201d and she rejoined, \u201cO\nHasib, eat of these fruits, for we have no other meat and fear thou\nnothing from us at all.\u201d Hearing this, he ate his fill and praised Allah\nAlmighty; and presently they took away the trays from before him, and\nthe Queen said, \u201cTell me, O Hasib, whence thou art and how camest thou\nhither and what hath befallen thee.\u201d So he told her his story from first\nto last, the death of his father; his birth; his being sent to school\nwhere he learnt nothing; his becoming a wood-cutter; his finding the\nhoney-cistern; his being abandoned therein; his killing the scorpion;\nhis widening the crevice; his finding the iron door and his coming upon\nthe Queen, and he ended his long tale with saying, \u201cThese be my\nadventures from beginning to end and only Allah wotteth what will betide\nme after all this!\u201d Quoth the Queen, after listening to his words,\n\u201cNothing save good shall betide thee:\u201d\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 Four Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the\nSerpent-queen had heard his story she said, \u201cNothing save good shall\nbetide thee: but I would have thee, O Hasib, abide with me some time,\nthat I may tell thee my history and acquaint thee with the wondrous\nadventures which have happened to me.\u201d \u201cI hear and obey thy hest,\u201d\nanswered he; and she began to tell in these words,\n\n\n _THE ADVENTURES OF BULUKIYA._\n\nKnow thou, O Hasib, there was once in the city of Cairo a King of the\nBanu Isra\u2019\u00edl, a wise and a pious, who was bent double by poring over\nbooks of learning, and he had a son named Bul\u00fakiy\u00e1. When he grew old and\nweak and was nigh upon death, his Grandees and Officers of state came up\nto salute him, and he said to them, \u201cO folk, know that at hand is the\nhour of my march from this world to the next, and I have no charge to\nlay on you, save to commend to your care my son Bulukiya.\u201d Then said he,\n\u201cI testify that there is no god save _the_ God;\u201d and, heaving one sigh,\ndeparted the world\u2014the mercy of Allah be upon him! They laid him out and\nwashed him and buried him with a procession of great state. Then they\nmade his son Bulukiya Sultan in his stead; and he ruled the kingdom\njustly and the people had peace in his time. Now it befel one day that\nhe entered his father\u2019s treasuries, to look about him, and coming upon\nan inner compartment and finding the semblance of a door opened it and\npassed in. And lo! he found himself in a little closet, wherein stood a\ncolumn of white marble, on the top of which was a casket of ebony; he\nopened this also and saw therein another casket of gold, containing a\nbook. He read the book and found in it an account of our lord Mohammed\n(whom Allah bless and preserve!) and how he should be sent in the latter\ndays[513] and be the lord of the first Prophets and the last. On seeing\nthe personal description Bulukiya\u2019s heart was taken with love of him, so\nhe at once assembled all the notables of the Children of Israel, the\nCohens or diviners, the scribes and the priests, and acquainted them\nwith the book, reading portions of it to them and, adding, \u201cO folk,\nneeds must I bring my father out of his grave and burn him.\u201d The lieges\nasked, \u201cWhy wilt thou burn him?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cBecause he hid this\nbook from me and imparted it not to me.\u201d Now the old King had excerpted\nit from the Torah or Pentateuch and the Books of Abraham; and had set it\nin one of his treasuries and concealed it from all living. Rejoined\nthey, \u201cO King, thy father is dead; his body is in the dust and his\naffair is in the hands of his Lord; thou shalt not take him forth of his\ntomb.\u201d So he knew that they would not suffer him to do this thing by his\nsire and leaving them he repaired to his mother, to whom said he, \u201cO my\nmother, I have found, in one of my father\u2019s treasuries, a book\ncontaining a description of Mohammed (whom Allah bless and keep!), a\nprophet who shall be sent in the latter days; and my heart is captivated\nwith love of him. Wherefore am I resolved to wander over the earth, till\nI foregather with him; else I shall die of longing for his love.\u201d Then\nhe doffed his clothes and donned an Ab\u00e1-gown of goat\u2019s hair and coarse\nsandals, saying, \u201cO my mother, forget me not in thy prayers.\u201d She wept\nover him and said, \u201cWhat will become of us after thee?\u201d; but Bulukiya\nanswered, \u201cI can endure no longer, and I commit my affair and thine to\nAllah who is Almighty.\u201d Then he set out on foot Syria-wards without the\nknowledge of any of his folk, and coming to the sea-board found a vessel\nwhereon he shipped as one of the crew. They sailed till he made an\nisland, where Bulukiya landed with the crew, but straying away from the\nrest he sat down under a tree and sleep got the better of him. When he\nawoke, he sought the ship but found that she had set sail without him,\nand in that island he saw serpents as big as camels and palm-trees,\nwhich repeated the names of Allah (be He extolled and exalted!) and\nblessed Mohammed (whom the Lord assain and save!), proclaiming the Unity\nand glorifying the Glorious; whereat he wondered\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Bulukiya saw\nthe serpents glorifying God and proclaiming the Unity, he wondered with\nextreme wonder. When they saw him, they flocked to him and one of them\nsaid to him, \u201cWho and whence art thou, and whither goest thou, and what\nis thy name?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cMy name is Bulukiya; I am of the Children of\nIsrael and, being distracted for love of Mohammed (whom Allah bless and\nkeep!), I come in quest of him. But who are ye, O noble creatures?\u201d\nAnswered they, \u201cWe are of the dwellers in the Jahannam-hell; and\nAlmighty Allah created us for the punishment of Kafirs.\u201d \u201cAnd how came\nye hither?\u201d asked he, and the Serpents answered, \u201cKnow, O Bulukiya, that\nHell[514] of the greatness of her boiling, breatheth twice a year,\nexpiring in the summer and inspiring in the winter, and hence the\nsummer-heat and winter-cold. When she exhaleth, she casteth us forth of\nher maw, and we are drawn in again with her inhaled breath.\u201d Quoth\nBulukiya, \u201cSay me, are there greater serpents than you in Hell?\u201d; and\nthey said, \u201cOf a truth we are cast out with the expired breath but by\nreason of our smallness; for in Hell every serpent is so great, that\nwere the biggest of us to pass over its nose it would not feel us.[515]\u201d\nAsked Bulukiya, \u201cYe sing the praises of Allah and invoke blessings on\nMohammed, whom the Almighty assain and save! Whence wot ye of\nMohammed?\u201d; and they answered, \u201cO Bulukiya, verily his name is written\non the gates of Paradise; and, but for him, Allah had not created the\nworlds[516] nor Paradise, nor heaven nor hell nor earth, for He made all\nthings that be, solely on his account, and hath conjoined his name with\nHis own in every place; wherefore we love Mohammed, whom Allah bless and\npreserve!\u201d Now hearing the serpents\u2019 converse did but inflame Bulukiya\u2019s\nlove for Mohammed and yearning for his sight; so he took leave of them;\nand, making his way to the sea-shore, found there a ship made fast to\nthe beach; he embarked therein as a seaman and sailed nor ceased sailing\ntill he came to another island. Here he landed and walking about awhile\nfound serpents great and small, none knoweth their number save Almighty\nAllah, and amongst them a white Serpent, clearer than crystal, seated in\na golden tray borne on the back of another serpent as big as an\nelephant. Now this, O Hasib, was the Serpent-queen, none other than\nmyself. Quoth Hasib, \u201cAnd what answer didst thou make him?\u201d Quoth she,\n\u201cKnow, O Hasib, that when I saw Bulukiya, I saluted him with the salam,\nand he returned my salutation,\u201d and I said to him, \u201cWho and what art\nthou and what is thine errand and whence comest thou and whither goest\nthou?\u201d Answered he, \u201cI am of the Children of Israel; my name is\nBulukiya, and I am a wanderer for the love of Mohammed, whose\ndescription I have read in the revealed scriptures, and of whom I go in\nsearch. But what art thou and what are these serpents about thee?\u201d Quoth\nI, \u201cO Bulukiya, I am the Queen of the Serpents; and when thou shalt\nforegather with Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!) bear him my\nsalutation.\u201d Then Bulukiya took leave of me and journeyed till he came\nto the Holy City which is Jerusalem. Now there was in that stead a man\nwho was deeply versed in all sciences, more especially in geometry and\nastronomy and mathematics, as well as in white magic[517] and\nSpiritualism; and he had studied the Pentateuch and the Evangel and the\nPsalms and the Books of Abraham. His name was Aff\u00e1n; and he had found in\ncertain of his books, that whoso should wear the seal-ring of our lord\nSolomon, men and Jinn and birds and beasts and all created things would\nbe bound to obey him. Moreover, he had discovered that our lord Solomon\nhad been buried in a coffin which was miraculously transported beyond\nthe Seven Seas to the place of burial;\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Affan had found in\ncertain books that none, mortal or spirit, could pluck the seal-ring\nfrom the lord Solomon\u2019s finger; and that no navigator could sail his\nship upon the Seven Seas over which the coffin had been carried.\nMoreover, he had found out by reading that there was a herb of herbs and\nthat if one express its juice and anoint therewith his feet, he should\nwalk upon the surface of any sea that Allah Almighty had created without\nwetting his soles; but none could obtain this herb, without he had with\nhim the Serpent-queen. When Bulukiya arrived at the Holy City, he at\nonce sat down to do his devotions and worship the Lord; and, whilst he\nwas so doing, Affan came up and saluted him as a True Believer. Then\nseeing him reading the Pentateuch and adoring the Almighty, he accosted\nhim saying, \u201cWhat is thy name, O man; and whence comest thou and whither\ngoest thou?\u201d He answered, \u201cMy name is Bulukiya; I am from the city of\nCairo and am come forth wandering in quest of Mohammed, whom Allah bless\nand preserve!\u201d Quoth Affan, \u201cCome with me to my lodging that I may\nentertain thee.\u201d \u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d replied Bulukiya. So the devotee\ntook him by the hand and carried him to his house where he entreated him\nwith the utmost honour and presently said to him, \u201cTell me thy history,\nO my brother, and how thou camest by the knowledge of Mohammed (whom\nAllah assain and save!) that thy heart hath been taken with love of him\nand compelled thee to fare forth and seek him; and lastly tell me who it\nwas directed thee in this road.\u201d So he related to him his tale in its\nentirety; whereupon Affan, who well-nigh lost his wits for wonder, said\nto him, \u201cMake tryst for me with the Queen of the Serpents and I will\nbring thee in company with Mohammed, albeit the date of his mission is\nyet far distant. We have only to prevail upon the Queen and carry her in\na cage to a certain mountain where the herbs grow; and, as long as she\nis with us, the plants as we pass them will parley with human speech and\ndiscover their virtues by the ordinance of Allah the Most High. For I\nhave found in my books that there is a certain herb and all who express\nits juice and anoint therewith their feet shall walk upon whatsoever sea\nAlmighty Allah hath made, without wetting sole. When we have found the\nmagical herb, we will let her go her way; and then will we anoint our\nfeet with the juice and cross the Seven Seas, till we come to the\nburial-place of our lord Solomon. Then we will take the ring off his\nfinger and rule even as he ruled and win all our wishes; we will enter\nthe Main of Murks[518] and drink of the Water of Life, and so the\nAlmighty will let us tarry till the End of Time and we shall foregather\nwith Mohammed, whom Allah bless and preserve!\u201d Hearing these words\nBulukiya replied, \u201cO Affan, I will make tryst for thee with the\nSerpent-queen and at once show thee her abiding place.\u201d So Affan made\nhim a cage of iron; and, providing himself with two bowls, one full of\nwine and the other of milk, took ship with Bulukiya and sailed till they\ncame to the island, where they landed and walked upon it. Then Affan set\nup the cage, in which he laid a noose and withdrew after placing in it\nthe two bowls; when he and Bulukiya concealed themselves afar off.\nPresently, up came the Queen of the Serpents (that is, myself) and\nexamined the cage. When she (that is I) smelt the savour of the milk,\nshe came down from the back of the snake which bore her tray and,\nentering the cage, drank up the milk. Then she went to the bowl of wine\nand drank of it, whereupon her head became giddy and she slept. When\nAffan saw this, he ran up and locking the cage upon her, set it on his\nhead and made for the ship, he and Bulukiya. After awhile she awoke and\nfinding herself in a cage of iron on a man\u2019s head and seeing Bulukiya\nwalking beside the bearer, said to him, \u201cThis is the reward of those who\ndo no hurt to the sons of Adam.\u201d Answered he, \u201cO Queen, have no fear of\nus, for we will do thee no hurt at all. We wish thee only to show us the\nherb which, when pounded and squeezed yieldeth a juice, and this rubbed\nupon the feet conferreth the power of walking dryshod upon what sea\nsoever Almighty Allah hath created; and when we have found that we will\nreturn thee to thy place and let thee wend thy way.\u201d Then Affan and\nBulukiya fared on for the hills where grew the herbs; and, as they went\nabout with the Queen, each plant they passed began to speak and avouch\nits virtues by permission of Allah the Most High. As they were thus\ndoing and the herbs speaking right and left behold, a plant spoke out\nand said, \u201cI am the herb ye seek, and all who gather and crush me and\nanoint their feet with my juice, shall fare over what sea soever Allah\nAlmighty hath created and yet ne\u2019er wet sole.\u201d When Affan heard this, he\nset down the cage from his head and, gathering what might suffice them\nof the herb, crushed it and filling two vials with the juice kept them\nfor future use; and with what was left they anointed their feet. Then\nthey took up the Serpent-queen\u2019s cage and journeyed days and nights,\ntill they reached the island, where they opened the cage and let out\nher, that is me. When I found myself at liberty, I asked them what use\nthey would make of the juice; and they answered, \u201cWe design to anoint\nour feet and to cross the Seven Seas to the burial-place of our lord\nSolomon[519] and take the seal-ring from his finger.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cFar, far\nis it from your power to possess yourselves of the ring!\u201d They enquired,\n\u201cWherefore?\u201d and I replied, \u201cBecause Almighty Allah vouchsafed unto our\nlord Solomon the gift of this ring and distinguished him thereby, for\nthat he said to Him:\u2014O Lord, give me a kingdom which may not be obtained\nafter me; for Thou verily art the Giver of kingdoms.[520] So that ring\nis not for you.\u201d And I added, \u201cHad ye twain taken the herb, whereof all\nwho eat shall not die until the First Blast,[521] it had better availed\nyou than this ye have gotten; for ye shall nowise come at your desire\nthereby.\u201d Now when they heard this, they repented them with exceeding\npenitence and went their ways.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Bulukiya and\nAffan heard these words, they repented them with exceeding penitence and\nwent their ways. Such was their case; but as regards myself (continued\nthe Serpent-queen) I went in quest of my host and found it fallen in\npiteous case, the stronger of them having grown weak in my absence and\nthe weaker having died. When they saw me, they rejoiced and flocking\nabout me, asked, \u201cWhat hath befallen thee, and where hast thou been?\u201d So\nI told them what had passed, after which I gathered my forces together\nand repaired with them to the mountain Kaf, where I wont to winter,\nsummer-freshing in the place where thou now seest me, O Hasib Karim\nal-Din. This, then, is my story and what befel me. Thereupon Hasib\nmarvelled at her words and said to her, \u201cI beseech thee, of thy favour,\nbid one of thy guards bear me forth to the surface of the earth, that I\nmay go to my people.\u201d She replied, \u201cO Hasib, thou shalt not have leave\nto depart from us till winter come, and needs must thou go with us to\nthe Mountain Kaf and solace thyself with the sight of the hills and\nsands and trees and birds magnifying the One God, the Victorious; and\nlook upon Marids and Ifrits and Jinn, whose number none knoweth save\nAlmighty Allah.\u201d When Hasib heard this, he was sore chafed and\nchagrined: then he said to her, \u201cTell me of Affan and Bulukiya; when\nthey departed from thee and went their way, did they cross the Seven\nSeas and reach the burial-place of our lord Solomon or not; and if they\ndid had they power to take the ring or not?\u201d Answered she, \u201cKnow, that\nwhen they left me, they anointed their feet with the juice; and, walking\nover the water, fared on from sea to sea, diverting themselves with the\nwonders of the deep, nor ceased they faring till they had traversed the\nSeven Seas and came in sight of a mountain, soaring high in air, whose\nstones were emeralds and whose dust was musk; and in it was a stream of\nrunning water. When they made it they rejoiced, saying each to\nother:\u2014Verily we have won our wish; and they entered the passes of the\nmountain and walked on, till they saw from afar a cavern surmounted by a\ngreat dome, shining with light. So they made for the cavern, and\nentering it beheld therein a throne of gold studded with all manner\njewels, and about it stools whose number none knoweth save Allah\nAlmighty. And they saw lying at full length upon the throne our lord\nSolomon, clad in robes of green silk inwoven with gold and broidered\nwith jewels and precious minerals: his right hand was passed over his\nbreast and on the middle finger was the seal-ring whose lustre outshone\nthat of all other gems in the place. Then Affan taught Bulukiya\nadjurations and conjurations galore and said to him:\u2014Repeat these\nconjurations and cease not repeating until I take the ring. Then he went\nup to the throne; but, as he drew near unto it lo! a mighty serpent came\nforth from beneath it and cried out at him with so terrible a cry that\nthe whole place trembled and sparks flew from its mouth, saying, Begone,\nor thou art a dead man! But Affan busied himself with his incantations\nand suffered himself not to be startled thereby. Then the serpent blew\nsuch a fiery blast at him, that the place was like to be set on fire,\nand said to him, Woe to thee! Except thou turn back, I will consume\nthee! Hearing these words Bulukiya left the cave, but Affan, who\nsuffered himself not to be troubled, went up to the Prophet: then he put\nout his hand to the ring and touched it and strove to draw it off the\nlord Solomon\u2019s finger; and behold, the serpent blew on him once more and\nhe became a heap of ashes. Such was his case; but as regards Bulukiya he\nfell down in a swoon.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Ninetieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen\ncontinued:\u2014When Bulukiya saw Affan burnt up by the fire and become a\nheap of ashes, he fell down in a swoon. Thereupon the Lord (magnified be\nHis Majesty!) bade Gabriel descend earthwards and save him ere the\nserpent should blow on him. So Gabriel descended without delay and,\nfinding Affan reduced to ashes and Bulukiya in a fit, aroused him from\nhis trance and saluting him, asked, \u201cHow camest thou hither?\u201d Bulukiya\nrelated to him his history from first to last, adding, \u201cKnow that I came\nnot hither but for the love of Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!),\nof whom Affan informed me that his mission would take place at the End\nof Time; moreover that none should foregather with him but those who\nendured to the latter days by drinking of the Water of Life through\nmeans of Solomon\u2019s seal. So I companied him hither and there befel him\nwhat befel; but I escaped the fire and now it is my desire that thou\ninform me where Mohammed is to be found.\u201d Quoth Gabriel, \u201cO Bulukiya, go\nthy ways, for the time of Mohammed\u2019s coming is yet far distant.\u201d Then he\nascended up to heaven forthright, and Bulukiya wept with sore weeping\nand repented of that which he had done, calling to mind my words, whenas\nI said to them, \u201cFar is it from man\u2019s power to possess himself of the\nring.\u201d Then he descended from the mountain and returned in exceeding\nconfusion to the sea-shore and passed the night there, marvelling at the\nmountains and seas and islands around him. When morning dawned, he\nanointed his feet with the herb-juice and descending to the water, set\nout and fared on over the surface of the seas days and nights, astonied\nat the terrors of the main and the marvels and wonders of the deep, till\nhe came to an island as it were the Garden of Eden. So he landed and,\nfinding himself in a great and pleasant island, paced about it and saw\nwith admiration that its dust was saffron and its gravel carnelian and\nprecious minerals; its hedges were of jessamine, its vegetation was of\nthe goodliest of trees and of the brightest of odoriferous shrubs; its\nbrushwood was of Comorin and Sumatran aloes-wood and its reeds were\nsugar-canes. Round about it were roses and narcissus and amaranths and\ngilly-flowers and chamomiles and white lilies and violets, and other\nflowers of all kinds and colours. Of a truth the island was the\ngoodliest place, abounding in space, rich in grace, a compendium of\nbeauty material and spiritual. The birds warbled on the boughs with\ntones far sweeter than chaunt of Koran and their notes would console a\nlover whom longings unman. And therein the gazelle frisked free and fain\nand wild cattle roamed about the plain. Its trees were of tallest\nheight; its streams flowed bright; its springs welled with waters sweet\nand light; and all therein was a delight to sight and sprite. Bulukiya\nmarvelled at the charms of the island but knew that he had strayed from\nthe way he had first taken in company with Affan. He wandered about the\nplace and solaced him with various spectacles until nightfall, when he\nclimbed into a tree to sleep; but as he sat there, musing over the\nbeauty of the site, behold, the sea became troubled and there rose up to\nthe surface a great beast, which cried out with a cry so terrible that\nevery living thing upon the isle trembled. As Bulukiya gazed upon him\nfrom the tree and marvelled at the bigness of his bulk, he was presently\nfollowed unexpectedly by a multitude of other sea-beasts in kind\nmanifold, each holding in his fore-paw a jewel which shone like a lamp,\nso that the whole island became as light as day for the lustre of the\ngems. After awhile, there appeared, from the heart of the island, wild\nbeasts of the land, none knoweth their number save Allah the Most High;\namongst which Bulukiya noted lions and panthers and lynxes and other\nferals; and these land-beasts flocked down to the shore; and,\nforegathering with the sea-beasts, conversed with them till daybreak,\nwhen they separated and each went his own way. Thereupon Bulukiya,\nterrified by what he had seen, came down from the tree and, making the\nsea-shore, anointed his feet with the magical juice, and set out once\nmore upon the surface of the water. He fared on days and nights over the\nSecond Sea, till he came to a great mountain skirting which ran a Wady\nwithout end, the stones whereof were magnetic iron and its beasts lions\nand hares and panthers. He landed on the mountain-foot and wandered from\nplace to place till nightfall, when he sat down sheltered by one of the\nbase-hills on the sea-side, to eat of the dried fish thrown up by the\nsea. Presently, he turned from his meal and behold, a huge panther was\ncreeping up to rend and ravin him; so he anointed his feet in haste with\nthe juice and, descending to the surface of the water, fled walking over\nthe Third Sea, in the darkness; for the night was black and the wind\nblew stark. Nor did he stay his course till he reached another island,\nwhereon he landed and found there trees bearing fruits both fresh and\ndry.[522] So he took of these fruits and ate and praised Allah Almighty;\nafter which he walked for solace about the island till eventide.\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Bulukiya\n(continued the Queen) walked for solace about the island till eventide,\nwhen he lay down to sleep. As soon as day brake, he began to explore the\nplace and ceased not for ten days, after which he again made the shore\nand anointed his feet and, setting out over the Fourth Sea, walked upon\nit many nights and days, till he came to a third island of fine white\nsand without sign of trees or grass. He walked about it awhile but,\nfinding its only inhabitants sakers which nested in the sand, he again\nanointed his feet and trudged over the Fifth Sea, walking night and day\ntill he came to a little island, whose soil and hills were like crystal.\nTherein were the veins wherefrom gold is worked; and therein also were\nmarvellous trees whose like he had never seen in his wanderings, for\ntheir blossoms were in hue as gold. He landed and walked about for\ndiversion till it was nightfall, when the flowers began to shine through\nthe gloom like stars. Seeing this sight, he marvelled and said,\n\u201cAssuredly, the flowers of this island are of those which wither under\nthe sun and fall to the earth, where the winds smite them and they\ngather under the rocks and become the Elixir,[523] which the folk\ncollect and thereof make gold.\u201d He slept there all that night and at\nsunrise he again anointed his feet and, descending to the shore, fared\non over the Sixth Sea nights and days, till he came to a fifth island.\nHere he landed and found, after walking an hour or so, two mountains\ncovered with a multitude of trees, whose fruits were as men\u2019s heads\nhanging by the hair, and others whose fruits were green birds hanging by\nthe feet; also a third kind, whose fruits were like aloes, if a drop of\nthe juice fell on a man it burnt like fire; and others, whose fruits\nwept and laughed, besides many other marvels which he saw there. Then he\nreturned to the sea-shore and, finding there a tall tree, sat down\nbeneath it till supper-time when he climbed up into the branches to\nsleep. As he sat considering the wonderful works of Allah behold, the\nwaters became troubled, and there rose therefrom the daughters of the\nsea, each mermaid holding in her hand a jewel which shone like the\nmorning. They came ashore and, foregathering under the trees, sat down\nand danced and sported and made merry whilst Bulukiya amused himself\nwith watching and wondering at their gambols, which were prolonged till\nthe morning, when they returned to the sea and disappeared. Then he came\ndown and, anointing his feet, set out on the surface of the Seventh Sea,\nover which he journeyed two whole months, without getting sight of\nhighland or island or broadland or lowland or shoreland, till he came to\nthe end thereof. And so doing he suffered exceeding hunger, so that he\nwas forced to snatch up fishes from the surface of the sea and devour\nthem raw, for stress of famine. In such case he pushed on till in early\nforenoon he came to the sixth island, with trees a-growing and rills\na-flowing, where he landed and walked about, looking right and left,\ntill he came to an apple-tree and put forth his hand to pluck of the\nfruit, when lo! one cried out to him from the tree, saying, \u201cAn thou\ndraw near to this tree and cut of it aught, I will cut thee in twain.\u201d\nSo he looked and saw a giant forty cubits high, being the cubit of the\npeople of that day; whereat he feared with sore fear and refrained from\nthat tree. Then said he to the giant, \u201cWhy dost thou forbid me to eat of\nthis tree?\u201d Replied the other, \u201cBecause thou art a son of Adam and thy\nfather Adam forgot the covenant of Allah and sinned against Him and ate\nof the tree.\u201d Quoth Bulukiya, \u201cWhat thing art thou and to whom belongeth\nthis island, with its trees, and how art thou named?\u201d Quoth the tall\none, \u201cMy name is Shar\u00e1hiy\u00e1 and trees and island belong to King\nSakhr;[524] I am one of his guards and in charge of his dominion,\u201d\npresently adding, \u201cBut who art thou and whence comest thou hither?\u201d\nBulukiya told him his story from beginning to end and Sharahiya said,\n\u201cBe of good cheer,\u201d and brought him to eat. So he ate his fill and,\ntaking leave of the giant, set out again and ceased not faring on over\nthe mountains and sandy deserts for ten days; at the end of which time\nhe saw, in the distance, a dust-cloud hanging like a canopy in air; and,\nmaking towards it, he heard a mighty clamour, cries and blows and sounds\nof mellay. Presently he reached a great Wady, two months\u2019 journey long;\nand, looking whence the shouts came, he saw a multitude of horsemen\nengaged in fierce fight and the blood running from them till it railed\nlike a river. Their voices were thunderous and they were armed with\nlance and sword and iron mace and bow and arrow, and all fought with the\nutmost fury. At this sight he felt sore affright\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen\ncontinued:\u2014When Bulukiya saw the host in fight, he felt sore affright\nand was perplexed about his case; but whilst he hesitated, behold, they\ncaught sight of him and held their hands one from other and left\nfighting. Then a troop of them came up to him, wondering at his make,\nand one of the horsemen said to him, \u201cWhat art thou and whence camest\nthou hither and whither art wending; and who showed thee the way that\nthou hast come to our country?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI am of the sons of Adam and\nam come out, distracted for the love of Mohammed (whom Allah bless and\npreserve!); but I have wandered from my way.\u201d Quoth the horseman, \u201cNever\nsaw we a son of Adam till now, nor did any ever come to this land.\u201d And\nall marvelled at him and at his speech. \u201cBut what are ye, O creatures?\u201d\nasked Bulukiya; and the rider replied, \u201cWe are of the J\u00e1nn.\u201d So he said,\n\u201cO Knight, what is the cause of the fighting amongst you and where is\nyour abiding-place and what is the name of this valley and this land?\u201d\nHe replied, \u201cOur abiding-place is the White Country; and, every year,\nAllah Almighty commandeth us to come hither and wage war upon the\nunbelieving Jann.\u201d Asked Bulukiya, \u201cAnd where is the White Country?\u201d and\nthe horseman answered, \u201cIt is behind the mountain Kaf, and distant\nseventy-five years journey from this place which is termed the Land of\nShadd\u00e1d son of \u2018\u00c1d: we are here for Holy War; and we have no other\nbusiness, when we are not doing battle, than to glorify God and hallow\nhim. Moreover, we have a ruler, King Sakhr hight, and needs must thou go\nwith us to him, that he may look upon thee for his especial delight.\u201d\nThen they fared on (and he with them) till they came to their abiding\nplace; where he saw a multitude of magnificent tents of green silk, none\nknoweth their number save Allah the Most High, and in their midst a\npavilion of red satin, some thousand cubits in compass, with cords of\nblue silk and pegs of gold and silver. Bulukiya marvelled at the sight\nand accompanied them as they fared on and behold, this was the royal\npavilion. So they carried him into the presence of King Sakhr, whom he\nfound seated upon a splendid throne of red gold, set with pearls and\nstudded with gems; the Kings and Princes of the Jann being on his right\nhand, and on his left his Councillors and Emirs and Officers of state,\nand a multitude of others. The King seeing him bade introduce him, which\nthey did; and Bulukiya went up to him and saluted him after kissing the\nground before him. The King returned his salute and said, \u201cDraw near me,\nO mortal!\u201d and Bulukiya went close up to him. Hereupon the King,\ncommanding a chair to be set for him by his royal side, bade him sit\ndown and asked him \u201cWho art thou?\u201d; and Bulukiya answered, \u201cI am a man,\nand one of the Children of Israel.\u201d \u201cTell me thy story,\u201d cried King\nSakhr, \u201cand acquaint me with all that hath befallen thee and how thou\ncamest to this my land.\u201d So Bulukiya related to him all that had\noccurred in his wanderings from beginning to end\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-third Night,\n\nShe said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen\ncontinued:\u2014When Bulukiya related to Sakhr what befel him in his\nwanderings, he marvelled thereat. Then he bade the servants bring food\nand they spread the tables and set on one thousand and five hundred\nplatters of red gold and silver and copper, some containing twenty and\nsome fifty boiled camels, and others some fifty head of sheep; at which\nBulukiya marvelled with exceeding marvel. Then they ate and he ate with\nthem, till he was satisfied and returned thanks to Allah Almighty; after\nwhich they cleared the tables and set on fruits, and they ate thereof,\nglorifying the name of God and invoking blessings on His prophet\nMohammed (whom Allah bless and preserve!) When Bulukiya heard them make\nmention of Mohammed, he wondered and said to King Sakhr, \u201cI am minded to\nask thee some questions.\u201d Rejoined the King, \u201cAsk what thou wilt,\u201d and\nBulukiya said, \u201cO King, what are ye and what is your origin and how came\nye to know of Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!) that ye draw near\nto him and love him?\u201d King Sakhr answered, \u201cO Bulukiya, of very sooth\nAllah created the fire in seven stages, one above the other, and each\ndistant a thousand years\u2019 journey from its neighbour. The first stage he\nnamed Jahannam[525] and appointed the same for the punishment of the\ntransgressors of the True-believers, who die unrepentant; the second he\nnamed Laz\u00e1 and appointed for Unbelievers: the name of the third is Jah\u00edm\nand is appointed for Gog and Magog.[526] The fourth is called Sa\u2019\u00edr and\nis appointed for the host of Iblis. The fifth is called Sakar and is\nprepared for those who neglect prayer. The sixth is called Hatamah and\nis appointed for Jews and Christians. The seventh is named H\u00e1wiyah and\nis prepared for hypocrites. Such be the seven stages.\u201d Quoth Bulukiya,\n\u201cHaply Jahannam hath least of torture for that it is the uppermost.\u201d\n\u201cYes,\u201d quoth King Sakhr, \u201cthe most endurable of them all is Jahannam;\nnatheless in it are a thousand mountains of fire, in each mountain\nseventy thousand cities of fire, in each city seventy thousand castles\nof fire, in each castle seventy thousand houses of fire, in each house\nseventy thousand couches of fire and in each couch seventy thousand\nmanners of torment. As for the other hells, O Bulukiya, none knoweth the\nnumber of kinds of torment that be therein save Allah Most Highest.\u201d\nWhen Bulukiya heard this, he fell down in a fainting-fit, and when he\ncame to himself, he wept and said, \u201cO King what will be my case?\u201d Quoth\nSakhr, \u201cFear not, and know thou that whoso loveth Mohammed (whom Allah\nbless and keep!) the fire shall not burn him, for he is made free\ntherefrom for his sake; and whoso belongeth to his Faith the fire shall\nfly him. As for us, the Almighty Maker created us of the fire; for the\nfirst that he made in Jahannam were two of His host, whom he called\nKhal\u00edt and Mal\u00edt. Now Khal\u00edt was fashioned in the likeness of a lion,\nwith a tail like a tortoise twenty years\u2019 journey in length and ending\nin a member masculine; while Mal\u00edt was like a pied wolf whose tail was\nfurnished with a member feminine. Then Almighty Allah commanded the\ntails to couple and copulate and do the deed of kind, and of them were\nborn serpents and scorpions, whose dwelling is in the fire, that Allah\nmay therewith torment those whom He casteth therein; and these increased\nand multiplied. Then Allah commanded the tails of Khalit and Malit to\ncouple and copulate a second time, and the tail of Malit conceived by\nthe tail of Khalit and bore fourteen children, seven male and seven\nfemale, who grew up and intermarried one with other. All were obedient\nto their sire, save one who disobeyed him and was changed into a worm\nwhich is Iblis (the curse of Allah be upon him!). Now Iblis was one of\nthe Cherubim, for he had served Allah till he was raised to the heavens\nand cherished[527] by the especial favour of the Merciful One, who made\nhim chief of the Cherubim.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen\ncontinued:\u2014Iblis served God and became chief of Cherubim. When, however,\nthe Lord created Adam (with whom be peace!), He commanded Iblis to\nprostrate himself to him, but he drew back; so Allah Almighty expelled\nhim from heaven and cursed him.[528] This Iblis had issue and of his\nlineage are the devils; and as for the other six males, who were his\nelders, they are the ancestors of the true-believing Jann, and we are\ntheir descendants. Such, O Bulukiya is our provenance.[529] Bulukiya\nmarvelled at the King\u2019s words and said, \u201cO King, I pray thee bid one of\nthy guards bear me back to my native land.\u201d \u201cNaught of this may we do,\u201d\nanswered Sakhr, \u201csave by commandment of Allah Almighty; however, an thou\ndesire to leave us and return home, I will mount thee on one of my mares\nand cause her carry thee to the farthest frontiers of my dominions,\nwhere thou wilt meet with the troops of another King, Bar\u00e1khiy\u00e1 hight,\nwho will recognize the mare at sight and take thee off her and send her\nback to us; and this is all we can do for thee, and no more.\u201d When\nBulukiya heard these words he wept and said, \u201cDo whatso thou wilt.\u201d So\nKing Sakhr caused bring the mare and, setting Bulukiya on her back, said\nto him, \u201cBeware lest thou alight from her or strike her or cry out in\nher face; for if thou do so she will slay thee; but abide quietly riding\non her back till she stop with thee; then dismount and wend thy ways.\u201d\nQuoth Bulukiya, \u201cI hear and I obey;\u201d he then mounted and setting out,\nrode on a long while between the rows of tents; and stinted not riding\ntill he came to the royal kitchens where he saw the great cauldrons,\neach holding fifty camels, hung up over the fires which blazed fiercely\nunder them. So he stopped there and gazed with a marvel ever increasing\ntill King Sakhr thinking him to be anhungered, bade bring him two\nroasted camels; and they carried them to him and bound them behind him\non the mare\u2019s crupper. Then he took leave of them and fared on, till he\ncame to the end of King Sakhr\u2019s dominions, where the mare stood still\nand Bulukiya dismounted and began to shake the dust of the journey from\nhis raiment. And behold, there accosted him a party of men who,\nrecognising the mare, carried her and Bulukiya before their King\nBarakhiya. So he saluted him, and the King returned his greeting and\nseated him beside himself in a splendid pavilion, in the midst of his\ntroops and champions and vassal Princes of the Jann ranged to right and\nleft; after which he called for food and they ate their fill and\npronounced the Alhamdolillah. Then they set on fruits, and when they had\neaten thereof, King Barakhiya, whose estate was like that of King Sakhr,\nasked his guest, \u201cWhen didst thou leave King Sakhr?\u201d And Bulukiya\nanswered, \u201cTwo days ago.\u201d Quoth Barakhiya, \u201cDost thou know, how many\ndays\u2019 journey thou hast come in these two days?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cNo,\u201d and the\nKing rejoined, \u201cThou hast come a journey of threescore and ten\nmonths.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen\ncontinued:\u2014Barakhiya said to Bulukiya, \u201cIn two days thou hast come a\njourney of threescore and ten months; moreover when thou mountest the\nmare, she was affrighted at thee, knowing thee for a son of Adam, and\nwould have thrown thee; so they bound on her back these two camels by\nway of weight to steady her.\u201d When Bulukiya heard this, he marvelled and\nthanked Allah Almighty for safety. Then said the King, \u201cTell me thy\nadventures and what brought thee to this our land.\u201d So he told him his\nstory from first to last, and the King marvelled at his words, and kept\nBulukiya with him two months. Upon this Hasib Karim al-Din after he had\nmarvelled at her story, again besought the Serpent-queen saying, \u201cI pray\nthee of thy goodness and graciousness command one of thy subjects\nconduct me to the surface of the earth, that I may return to my family;\u201d\nbut she answered, \u201cO Hasib, I know that the first thing thou wilt do,\nafter seeing the face of the earth will be to greet thy family and then\nrepair to the Hammam-bath and bathe; and the moment thou endest thine\nablutions will see the last of me, for it will be the cause of my\ndeath.\u201d Quoth Hasib, \u201cI swear that I will never again enter the\nHammam-bath so long as I live, but when washing is incumbent on me, I\nwill wash at home.\u201d Rejoined the Queen, \u201cI would not trust thee though\nthou shouldst swear to me an hundred oaths; for such abstaining is not\npossible; and I know thee to be a son of Adam for whom no oath is\nsacred. Thy father Adam made a covenant with Allah the most High, who\nkneaded the clay whereof He fashioned him forty mornings and made His\nangels prostrate themselves to him; yet after all his promise did he\nforget and his oath violate, disobeying the commandment of his Lord.\u201d\nWhen Hasib heard this, he held his peace and burst into tears; nor did\nhe leave weeping for the space of ten days, at the end of which time he\nsaid to the Queen, \u201cPrithee acquaint me with the rest of Bulukiya\u2019s\nadventures.\u201d Accordingly, she began again as follows:\u2014Know, O Hasib,\nthat Bulukiya, after abiding two months with King Barakhiya, farewelled\nhim and fared on over wastes and deserts nights and days, till he came\nto a high mountain which he ascended. On the summit he beheld seated a\ngreat Angel glorifying the names of God and invoking blessings on\nMohammed. Before him lay a tablet covered with characters, these white\nand those black,[530] whereon his eyes were fixed, and his two wings\nwere outspread to the full, one to the western and the other to the\neastern horizon. Bulukiya approached and saluted the Angel, who returned\nhis salam adding, \u201cWho art thou and whence comest thou and whither\nwendest thou and what is thy story?\u201d Accordingly, he repeated to him his\nhistory, from first to last, and the Angel marvelled mightily thereat,\nwhereupon Bulukiya said to him, \u201cI pray thee in return acquaint me with\nthe meaning of this table and what is writ thereon; and what may be\nthine occupation and thy name.\u201d Replied the Angel, \u201cMy name is Michael,\nand I am charged with the shifts of night and day; and this is my\noccupation till the Day of Doom.\u201d Bulukiya wondered at his words and at\nhis aspect and the vastness of his stature and, taking leave of him,\nfared onwards, night and day, till he came to a vast meadow over which\nhe walked observing that it was traversed by seven streams and abounded\nin trees. He was struck by its beauty and in one corner thereof he saw a\ngreat tree and under it four Angels. So he drew near to them and found\nthe first in the likeness of a man, the second in the likeness of a wild\nbeast, the third in the likeness of a bird and the fourth in the\nlikeness of a bull, engaged in glorifying Almighty Allah, and saying, \u201cO\nmy God and my Master and my Lord, I conjure Thee, by Thy truth and by\nthe degree of Thy Prophet Mohammed (on whom be blessings and peace!) to\nvouchsafe Thy mercy and grant Thy forgiveness to all things created in\nmy likeness; for Thou over all things art Almighty!\u201d Bulukiya marvelled\nat what he heard but continued his journey till he came to another\nmountain and ascending it, found there a great Angel seated on the\nsummit, glorifying God and hallowing Him and invoking blessings on\nMohammed (whom Allah assain and save!); and he saw that Angel\ncontinually opening and shutting his hands and bending and extending his\nfingers. He accosted him and saluted him; whereupon the Angel returned\nhis salam and enquired who he was and how he came thither. So Bulukiya\nacquainted him with his adventures including his having lost the way;\nand besought him to tell him, in turn, who he was and what was his\nfunction and what mountain was that. Quoth the Angel, \u201cKnow, O Bulukiya,\nthat this is the mountain Kaf, which encompasseth the world; and all the\ncountries the Creator hath made are in my grasp. When the Almighty is\nminded to visit any land with earthquake or famine or plenty or\nslaughter or prosperity, He biddeth me carry out His commands and I\ncarry them out without stirring from my place; for know thou that my\nhands lay hold upon the roots of the earth,\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen\ncontinued:\u2014When the angel said, \u201cAnd know thou that my hands lay hold\nupon the roots of the earth,\u201d he asked, \u201cAnd hath Allah created other\nworlds than this within the mountain Kaf?\u201d The Angel answered, \u201cYes, He\nhath made a world white as silver, whose vastness none knoweth save\nHimself, and hath peopled it with Angels, whose meat and drink are His\npraise and hallowing and continual blessings upon His Prophet Mohammed\n(whom Allah bless and keep!). Every Thursday night[531] they repair to\nthis mountain and worship in congregation Allah until the morning, and\nthey assign the future recompense of their lauds and litanies to the\nsinners of the Faith of Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!) and to\nall who make the Ghusl-ablution of Friday; and this is their function\nuntil the Day of Resurrection.\u201d Asked Bulukiya, \u201cAnd hath Allah created\nother mountains behind the mountain Kaf?\u201d; whereto he answered, \u201cYes,\nbehind this mountain is a range of mountains five hundred years\u2019 journey\nlong, of snow and ice, and this it is that wardeth off the heat of\nJahannam from the world, which verily would else be consumed thereby.\nMoreover, behind the mountain Kaf are forty worlds, each one the bigness\nof this world forty times told, some of gold and some of silver and\nothers of carnelian. Each of these worlds hath its own colour, and Allah\nhath peopled them with angels, that know not Eve nor Adam nor night nor\nday, and have no other business than to celebrate His praises and hallow\nHim and make profession of His Unity and proclaim His Omnipotence and\nsupplicate Him on behalf of the followers of Mohammed (whom Allah bless\nand keep!). And know, also, O Bulukiya, that the earths were made in\nseven stages, one upon another, and that Allah hath created one of His\nAngels, whose stature and attributes none knoweth but Himself and who\nbeareth the seven stages upon his shoulders. Under this Angel Almighty\nAllah hath created a great rock, and under the rock a bull, and under\nthe bull a huge fish, and under the fish a mighty ocean.\u201d[532] God once\ntold Isa (with whom be peace!) of this fish, and he said, \u201cO Lord show\nme the fish, that I may look upon it.\u201d So the Almighty commanded an\nangel to take Isa and show him the fish. Accordingly, he took him up and\ncarried him (with whom be peace!) to the sea, wherein the fish dwelt,\nand said, \u201cLook, O Isa, upon the fish.\u201d He looked but at first saw\nnothing, when, suddenly, the fish darted past like lightning. At this\nsight Isa fell down a-swoon, and when he came to himself, Allah spake to\nhim by inspiration, saying, \u201cO Isa, hast thou seen the fish and\ncomprehended its length and its breadth?\u201d He replied, \u201cBy Thy honour and\nglory, O Lord, I saw no fish; but there passed me by a great bull, whose\nlength was three days\u2019 journey, and I know not what manner of thing this\nbull is.\u201d Quoth Allah, \u201cO Isa, this that thou sawest and which was three\ndays in passing by thee, was but the head of the fish;[533] and know\nthat every day I create forty fishes like unto this.\u201d And Isa hearing\nthis marvelled at the power of Allah the Almighty. Asked Bulukiya, \u201cWhat\nhath Allah made beneath this sea which containeth the fish?\u201d; and the\nAngel answered, \u201cUnder the sea the Lord created a vast abyss of air,\nunder the air fire, and under the fire a mighty serpent, by name Falak;\nand were it not for fear of the Most Highest, this serpent would\nassuredly swallow up all that is above it, air and fire and the Angel\nand his burden, without sensing it.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the angel said to\nBulukiya when describing the serpent, \u201cAnd were it not for fear of the\nMost Highest, this serpent would assuredly swallow up all that is above\nit, air, and fire, and the Angel and his burden, without sensing it.\nWhen Allah created this serpent He said to it by inspiration:\u2014I will\ngive thee somewhat to keep for me, so open thy mouth. The serpent\nreplied:\u2014Do whatso Thou wilt; and opened his mouth and God placed Hell\ninto his maw, saying:\u2014Keep it until the Day of Resurrection. When that\ntime comes, the Almighty will send His angels with chains to bring Hell\nand bind it until the Day when all men shall meet; and the Lord will\norder Hell to go open its gates and there will issue therefrom sparks\nbigger than the mountains.\u201d When Bulukiya heard these things he wept\nwith sore weeping and, taking leave of the Angel, fared on westwards,\ntill he came in sight of two creatures sitting before a great shut gate.\nAs he drew near, he saw that one of the gatekeepers had the semblance of\na lion and the other that of a bull; so he saluted them and they\nreturned his salam and enquired who and whence he was and whither he was\nbound. Quoth he, \u201cI am of the sons of Adam, a wanderer for the love of\nMohammed (whom Allah assain and save!) and I have strayed from my way.\u201d\nThen he asked them what they were and what was the gate before which\nthey sat, and they answered, \u201cWe are the guardians of this gate thou\nseest and we have no other business than the praise and hallowing of\nAllah and the invocation of blessings on Mohammed (whom may He bless and\nkeep!).\u201d Bulukiya wondered and asked them, \u201cWhat is within the gate?\u201d;\nand they answered, \u201cWe wot not.\u201d Then quoth he, \u201cI conjure you, by the\ntruth of your glorious Lord, open to me the gate, that I may see that\nwhich is therein.\u201d Quoth they, \u201cWe cannot, and none may open this gate,\nof all created beings save Gabriel, the Faithful One, with whom be\npeace!\u201d Then Bulukiya lifted up his voice in supplication to Allah,\nsaying, \u201cO Lord, send me thy messenger Gabriel, the Faithful One, to\nopen for me this gate that I may see what be therein;\u201d and the Almighty\ngave ear unto his prayer and commanded the Archangel to descend to earth\nand open to him the gate of the Meeting-place of the Two Seas. So\nGabriel descended and, saluting Bulukiya, opened the gate to him,\nsaying, \u201cEnter this door, for Allah commandeth me to open to thee.\u201d So\nhe entered and Gabriel locked the gate behind him and flew back to\nheaven. When Bulukiya found himself within the gate, he looked and\nbeheld a vast ocean, half salt and half fresh, bounded on every side by\nmountain-ranges of red ruby whereon he saw angels singing the praises of\nthe Lord and hallowing Him. So he went up to them and saluted them and\nhaving received a return of his salam, questioned them of the sea and\nthe mountains. Replied they, \u201cThis place is situate under the Arsh or\nempyreal heaven; and this Ocean causeth the flux and flow of all the\nseas of the world; and we are appointed to distribute them and drive\nthem to the various parts of the earth, the salt to the salt and the\nfresh to the fresh,[534] and this is our employ until the Day of Doom.\nAs for the mountain-ranges they serve to limit and to contain the\nwaters. But thou, whence comest thou and whither art thou bound?\u201d So he\ntold them his story and asked them of the road. They bade him traverse\nthe surface of the ocean which lay before him: so he anointed his feet\nwith the juice of the herb he had with him, and taking leave of the\nangels, set out upon the face of the sea and sped on over the water\nnights and days; and as he was faring, behold, he met a handsome youth\njourneying along like himself, whereupon he greeted him and he returned\nhis greeting. After they parted he espied four great Angels wayfaring\nover the face of the sea, and their going was like the blinding\nlightning; so he stationed himself in their road, and when they came up\nto him, he saluted them and said to them, \u201cI ask you by the Almighty,\nthe Glorious, to tell me your names and whither are ye bound?\u201d Replied\nthe first Angel, \u201cMy name is Gabriel and these my companions are called\nIsr\u00e1f\u00edl and M\u00edk\u00e1\u2019\u00edl and Azr\u00e1\u2019\u00edl. There hath appeared in the East a\nmighty dragon, which hath laid waste a thousand cities and devoured\ntheir inhabitants; wherefore Allah Almighty hath commanded us to go to\nhim and seize him and cast him into Jahannam.\u201d Bulukiya marvelled at the\nvastness of their stature and fared on, as before, days and nights, till\nhe came to an island where he landed and walked about for a while,\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Bulukiya landed on\nthe island and walked about for a while, till he saw a comely young man\nwith light shining from his visage, sitting weeping and lamenting\nbetween two built tombs. So he saluted him and he returned his\nsalutation, and Bulukiya said to him, \u201cWho art thou and what are these\ntwo built tombs between which thou sittest, and wherefore this wailing?\u201d\nHe looked at him and wept with sore weeping, till he drenched his\nclothes with his tears; then said, \u201cKnow thou, O my brother, mine is a\nmarvellous story and a wondrous; but I would have thee sit by me and\nfirst tell me thy name and thine adventures and who thou art and what\nbrought thee hither; after which I will, in turn, relate to thee my\nhistory.\u201d So Bulukiya sat down by him and related to him all that had\nbefallen him from his father\u2019s death,[535] adding, \u201cSuch is my history,\nthe whole of it, and Allah alone knoweth what will happen to me after\nthis.\u201d When the youth heard his story, he sighed and said, \u201cO thou\nunhappy! How few things thou hast seen in thy life compared with mine!\nKnow, O Bulukiya, that unlike thyself I have looked upon our lord\nSolomon, in his life, and have seen things past count or reckoning.\nIndeed, my story is strange and my case out of range, and I would have\nthee abide with me, till I tell thee my history and acquaint thee how I\ncome to be sitting here.\u201d Hearing this much Hasib again interrupted the\nQueen of the Serpents and said to her, \u201cAllah upon thee, O Queen,\nrelease me and command one of thy servants carry me forth to the surface\nof the earth, and I will swear an oath to thee that I will never enter\nthe Hammam-bath as long as I live.\u201d But she said, \u201cThis is a thing which\nmay not be nor will I believe thee upon thine oath.\u201d When he heard this,\nhe wept and all the serpents wept on his account and took to interceding\nfor him with their Queen, saying, \u201cWe beseech thee, bid one of us carry\nhim forth to the surface of the earth, and he will swear thee an oath\nnever to enter the bath his life long.\u201d Now when Yamlaykh\u00e1 (for such was\nthe Queen\u2019s name) heard their appeal, she turned to Hasib and made him\nswear to her an oath; after which she bade a serpent carry him forth to\nthe surface of the earth. The serpent made ready, but as she was about\nto go away with him, he turned to Queen Yamlaykha and said, \u201cI would\nfain have thee tell me the history of the youth whom Bulukiya saw\nsitting between two tombs.\u201d So she said:\u2014Know, O Hasib, that when\nBulukiya sat down by the youth and told him his tale, from first to\nlast, in order that the other might also recount his adventures and\nexplain the cause of his sitting between the two tombs\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen\ncontinued:\u2014When Bulukiya ended his recount, the youth said, \u201cHow few\nthings of marvel hast thou seen in thy life, O unhappy! Now I have\nlooked upon our lord Solomon while he was yet living and I have\nwitnessed wonders beyond compt and conception.\u201d And he began to relate\n\n\n _THE STORY OF JANSHAH._[536]\n\nKnow, O my brother, that my sire was a King called Teghm\u00fas, who reigned\nover the land of Kabul and the Banu Shahl\u00e1n, ten thousand warlike\nchiefs, each ruling over a hundred walled cities and a hundred citadels;\nand he was suzerain also over seven vassal princes, and tribute was\nbrought to him from the broad lands between East and West. He was just\nand equitable in his rule and Allah Almighty had given him all this and\nhad bestowed on him such mighty empire, yet had He not vouchsafed him a\nson (though this was his dearest wish) to inherit the kingdom after his\ndecease. So one day it befel that he summoned the Olema and astrologers,\nthe mathematicians and almanac-makers, and said, \u201cDraw me my horoscope\nand look if Allah will grant me a son to succeed me.\u201d Accordingly, they\nconsulted their books and calculated his dominant star and the aspects\nthereof; after which they said to him, \u201cKnow, O King, that thou shalt be\nblessed with a son, but by none other than the daughter of the King of\nKhor\u00e1s\u00e1n.\u201d Hearing this Teghmus joyed with exceeding joy and, bestowing\non the astrologers and wizards treasure beyond numbering or reckoning,\ndismissed them. His chief Wazir was a renowned warrior, by name \u2018Ayn\nZ\u00e1r, who was equal to a thousand cavaliers in battle; so him he summoned\nand, repeating to him what the astrologers had predicted, he said, \u201cO\nWazir, it is my will that thou equip thee for a march to Khorasan and\ndemand for me the hand of its King Bahrw\u00e1n\u2019s daughter.\u201d Receiving these\norders the Wazir at once proceeded to get ready for the journey and\nencamped without the town with his troops and braves and retinue, whilst\nKing Teghmus made ready as presents for the King of Khorasan fifteen\nhundred loads of silks and precious stones, pearls and rubies and other\ngems, besides gold and silver; and he also prepared a prodigious\nquantity of all that goeth to the equipment of a bride; then, loading\nthem upon camels and mules, delivered them to Ayn Zar, with a letter to\nthe following purport. \u201cAfter invoking the blessing of Heaven, King\nTeghmus to King Bahrwan, greeting. Know that we have taken counsel with\nthe astrologers and sages and mathematicians, and they tell us that we\nshall have boon of a boy-child, and that by none other than thy\ndaughter. Wherefore I have despatched unto thee my Wazir Ayn Zar, with\ngreat store of bridal gear, and I have appointed him to stand in my\nstead and to enter into the marriage-contract in my name. Furthermore I\ndesire that of thy favour thou wilt grant him his request without stay\nor delay; for it is my own, and all graciousness thou showest him, I\ntake for myself; but beware of crossing me in this, for know, O King\nBahrwan, that Allah hath bestowed upon me the Kingdom of Kabul, and hath\ngiven me dominion over the Banu Shahlan and vouchsafed me a mighty\nempire; and if I marry thy daughter, we will be, I and thou, as one\nthing in kingship; and I will send thee every year as much treasure as\nwill suffice thee. And this is my desire of thee.\u201d Then King Teghmus\nsealed the letter with his own ring and gave it to the Wazir, who\ndeparted with a great company and journeyed till he drew near the\ncapital of Khorasan. When King Bahrwan heard of his approach, he\ndespatched his principal Emirs to meet him,[537] with a convoy of food\nand drink and other requisites, including forage for the steeds. So they\nfared forth with the train till they met the Wazir; then, alighting\nwithout the city, they exchanged salutations and abode there, eating and\ndrinking, ten days; at the end of which time they mounted and rode on\ninto the town, where they were met by King Bahrwan, who came out to\ngreet the Wazir of King Teghmus and alighting, embraced him and carried\nhim to his citadel. Then Ayn Zar brought out the presents and laid them\nbefore King Bahrwan, together with the letter of King Teghmus, which\nwhen the King read and understood, he joyed with joy exceeding and\nwelcomed the Wazir, saying, \u201cRejoice in winning thy wish; and know that\nif King Teghmus sought of me my life, verily I would give it to him.\u201d\nThen he went in forthright to his daughter and her mother and his\nkinsfolk, and acquainting them with the King of Kabul\u2019s demand, sought\ncounsel of them, and they said, \u201cDo what seemeth good to thee.\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundredth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Bahrwan\nconsulted his daughter and her mother and his kinsfolk and they said,\n\u201cDo what seemeth good to thee.\u201d So he returned straightway to the\nMinister Ayn Zar and notified to him that his desire had been fulfilled;\nand the Wazir abode with him two months, at the end of which time he\nsaid to him, \u201cWe beseech thee to bestow upon us that wherefore we came,\nso we may depart to our own land.\u201d \u201cI hear and obey,\u201d answered the King.\nThen he prepared all the gear wanted for the wedding; and when this was\ndone he assembled his Wazirs and all his Emirs and the Grandees of his\nrealm and the monks and priests who tied the knot of marriage between\nhis daughter and King Teghmus by proxy. And King Bahrwan bade decorate\nthe city after the goodliest fashion and spread the streets with\ncarpets. Then he equipped his daughter for the journey and gave her all\nmanner of presents and rarities and precious metals, such as none may\ndescribe; and Ayn Zar departed with the Princess to his own country.\nWhen the news of their approach reached King Teghmus, he bade celebrate\nthe wedding festivities and adorn the city; after which he went in unto\nthe Princess and abated her maidenhead; nor was it long before she\nconceived by him and, accomplishing her months, bare a man-child like\nthe moon on the night of its full. When King Teghmus knew that his wife\nhad given birth to a goodly son, he rejoiced with exceeding joy and,\nsummoning the sages and astrologers and mathematicians, said to them, \u201cI\nwould that ye draw the horoscope of the new-born child with his\nascendant and its aspects and acquaint me what shall befal him in his\nlifetime.\u201d So they made their calculations and found them favourable;\nbut, that he would, in his fifteenth year, be exposed to perils and\nhardships, and that if he survived, he would be happy and fortunate and\nbecome a greater king than his father and a more powerful. The King\nrejoiced greatly in this prediction and named the boy Janshah. Then he\ndelivered him to the nurses, wet and dry, who reared him excellently\nwell till he reached his fifth year, when his father taught him to read\nthe Evangel and instructed him in the art of arms and lunge of lance and\nsway of sword, so that in less than seven years he was wont to ride\na-hunting, and a-chasing; he became a doughty champion, perfect in all\nthe science of the cavalarice and his father was delighted to hear of\nhis knightly prowess. It chanced one day that King Teghmus and his son\naccompanied by the troops rode out for sport into the wolds and wilds\nand hunted till mid-afternoon of the third day, when the Prince started\na gazelle of a rare colour, which fled before him. So he gave chase to\nit, followed by seven of King Teghmus\u2019s white slaves all mounted on\nswift steeds, and rode at speed after the gazelle, which fled before\nthem till she brought them to the sea-shore. They all ran at her to take\nher as their quarry, but she escaped from them and, throwing herself\ninto the waves,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nsaying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and First Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Janshah and\nthe Mamelukes ran at the gazelle, to take her as their quarry, she\nescaped from them and, throwing herself into the waves, swam out to a\nfishing bark, that was moored near the shore, and sprang on board.\nJanshah and his followers dismounted and, boarding the boat, made prize\nof the gazelle and were minded to return to shore with her, when the\nPrince espied a great island in the offing and said to his merry men, \u201cI\nhave a longing to visit yonder island.\u201d They answered, \u201cWe hear and\nobey,\u201d and sailed on till they came to the island, where they landed and\namused themselves with exploring the place. Then they again embarked and\ntaking with them the gazelle, set out to return homeward, but the murk\nof evening overtook them and they missed their way on the main. Moreover\na strong wind arose and drave the boat into mid-ocean, so that when they\nawoke in the morning, they found themselves lost at sea. Such was their\ncase; but as regards King Teghmus, when he missed his son, he commanded\nhis troops to make search for him in separate bodies; so they dispersed\non all sides and a company of them, coming to the sea-shore, found there\nthe Prince\u2019s white slave whom he had left in charge of the horses. They\nasked him what was come of his master and the other six, and he told\nthem what had passed; whereupon they took him with them and returned to\nthe King and acquainted him with what they had learnt. When Teghmus\nheard their report, he wept with sore weeping and cast the crown from\nhis head, biting his hands for vexation. Then he rose forthright and\nwrote letters and despatched them to all the islands of the sea.\nMoreover he got together an hundred ships and filling them with troops,\nsent them to sail about in quest of Janshah, while he himself withdrew\nwith his troops to his capital, where he abode in sore concern. As for\nJanshah\u2019s mother, when she heard of his loss she buffeted her face and\nbegan the mourning ceremonies for her son making sure that he was dead.\nMeanwhile, Janshah and his men ceased not driving before the wind and\nthose in search of them cruised about for ten days till, finding no\ntrace they returned and reported failure to the King. But a stiff gale\ncaught the Prince\u2019s craft which went spooning till they made a second\nisland, where they landed and walked about. Presently they came upon a\nspring of running water in the midst of the island and saw from afar a\nman sitting hard by it. So they went up to him and saluted him, and he\nreturned their salam, speaking in a voice like the whistle[538] of\nbirds. Whilst Janshah stood marvelling at the man\u2019s speech he looked\nright and left and suddenly split himself in twain, and each half went a\ndifferent way.[539] Then there came down from the hills a multitude of\nmen of all kinds, beyond count and reckoning; and they no sooner reached\nthe spring, than each one divided into two halves and rushed on Janshah\nand his Mamelukes to eat them. When the voyagers saw this, they turned\nand fled seawards; but the cannibals pursued them and caught and ate\nthree of the slaves, leaving only three slaves who with Janshah reached\nthe boat in safety; then launching her made for the water and sailed\nnights and days without knowing whither their ship went. They killed the\ngazelle and lived on her flesh, till the winds drove them to a third\nisland which was full of trees and waters and flower-gardens and\norchards laden with all fashion of fruits: and streams strayed under the\ntree-shade: brief, the place was a Garden of Eden. The island pleased\nthe Prince and he said to his companions, \u201cWhich of you will land and\nexplore.\u201d Then said one of the slaves, \u201cThat will I do\u201d; but he replied,\n\u201cThis thing may not be; you must all land and explore the place while I\nabide in the boat.\u201d So he set them ashore,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Prince set\nthem ashore, and they searched the island, East and West, but found no\none; then they fared on inland to the heart thereof, till they came to a\nCastle compassed about with ramparts of white marble, within which was a\npalace of the clearest crystal and, set in its centre a garden\ncontaining all manner fruits beyond description, both fresh and dry, and\nflowers of grateful odour and trees and birds singing upon the boughs.\nAmiddlemost the garden was a vast basin of water, and beside it a great\nopen hall with a raised dais whereon stood a number of stools\nsurrounding a throne of red gold, studded with all kinds of jewels and\nespecially rubies. Seeing the beauty of the Castle and of the Garden\nthey entered and explored in all directions, but found no one there, so\nafter rummaging the Castle they returned to Janshah and told him what\nthey had seen. When he heard their report, he cried, \u201cNeeds must I\nsolace myself with a sight of it;\u201d so he landed and accompanied them to\nthe palace, which he entered marvelling at the goodliness of the place.\nThey then visited every part of the gardens and ate of the fruits and\ncontinued walking till it waxed dark, when they returned to the estrade\nand sat down, Janshah on the throne in the centre and the three others\non the stools ranged to the right and left. Then the Prince, there\nseated, called to mind his separation from his father\u2019s throne-city[540]\nand country and friends and kinsfolk; and fell a-weeping and lamenting\nover their loss, whilst his men wept around him. And as they were thus\nsorrowing behold, they heard a mighty clamour, that came from seaward,\nand looking in the direction of the clamour saw a multitude of apes, as\nthey were swarming locusts. Now the castle and the island belonged to\nthese apes, who, finding the strangers\u2019 boat moored to the strand, had\nscuttled it and after repaired to the palace, where they came upon\nJanshah and his men seated. Here the Serpent-queen again broke off her\nrecital saying, \u201cAll this, O Hasib, was told to Bulukiya by the young\nman sitting between the two tombs.\u201d Quoth Hasib, \u201cAnd what did Janshah\nwith the apes?\u201d; so the Queen resumed her tale:\u2014He and his men were sore\naffrighted at the appearance of the apes, but a company of them came up\nto the throne whereon he sat and, kissing the earth before him, stood\nawhile in his presence with their paws upon their breasts in posture of\nrespect. Then another troop brought to the castle gazelles which they\nslaughtered and skinned; and roasting pieces of the flesh till fit for\nfood they laid them on platters of gold and silver and spreading the\ntable, made signs to Janshah and his men to eat. The Prince and his\nfollowers came down from their seats and ate, and the apes ate with\nthem, till they were satisfied, when the apes took away the meat and set\non fruits of which they partook and praised Allah the most Highest. Then\nJanshah asked the apes by signs what they were and to whom the palace\nbelonged, and they answered him by signals, \u201cKnow ye that this island\nbelonged of yore to our lord Solomon son of David (on both of whom be\npeace!), and he used to come hither once every year for his\nsolace,\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Janshah asked\nthe apes by signs to whom the palace belonged, they answered him by\nsignals, \u201cOf a truth this place belonged of yore to our lord Solomon son\nof David (on both of whom be peace!), who used to come hither once every\nyear for his solace, and then wend his ways.\u201d Presently the apes\ncontinued, \u201cAnd know, O King, that thou art become our Sultan and we are\nthy servants; so eat and drink, and whatso thou ever bid us, that will\nwe do.\u201d So saying, they severally kissed the earth between the hands of\nJanshah and all took their departure. The Prince slept that night on the\nthrone and his men on the stools about him, and on the morrow, at\ndaybreak, the four Wazirs or Captains of the apes presented themselves\nbefore him, attended by their troops, who ranged themselves about him,\nrank after rank, until the place was crowded. Then the Wazirs approached\nand exhorted him by signs to do justice amongst them and rule them\nrighteously; after which the apes cried out to one another and went\naway, all save a small party which remained in presence to serve him.\nAfter awhile, there came up a company of apes with huge dogs in the\nsemblance of horses, each wearing about his head a massive chain; and\nsigned to Janshah and his three followers to mount and go with them. So\nthey mounted, marvelling at the greatness of the dogs, and rode forth,\nattended by the four Wazirs and a host of apes like swarming locusts,\nsome riding on dogs and others afoot till they came to the sea-shore.\nJanshah looked for the boat which brought him and finding it scuttled\nturned to the Wazirs and asked how this had happened to it; whereto they\nanswered, \u201cKnow, O King, that, when thou camest to our island, we kenned\nthat thou wouldst be Sultan over us and we feared lest ye all flee from\nus, in our absence; and embark in the boat; so we sank it.\u201d When Janshah\nheard this, he turned to his Mamelukes and said to them, \u201cWe have no\nmeans of escaping from these apes, and we must patiently await the\nordinance of the Almighty.\u201d Then they fared on inland and ceased not\nfaring till they came to the banks of a river, on whose other side rose\na high mountain, whereon Janshah saw a multitude of Ghuls. So he turned\nto the apes and asked them, \u201cWhat are these Ghuls?\u201d and they answered,\n\u201cKnow, O King, that these Ghuls are our mortal foes and we come hither\nto do battle with them.\u201d Janshah marvelled to see them riding horses,\nand was startled at the vastness of their bulk and the strangeness of\ntheir semblance; for some of them had heads like bulls and others like\ncamels. As soon as the Ghuls espied the army of the apes, they charged\ndown to the river\u00b7bank and standing there, fell to pelting them with\nstones as big as maces; and between them there befel a sore fight.\nPresently, Janshah, seeing that the Ghuls were getting the better of the\napes, cried out to his men, saying, \u201cUncase your bows and arrows and\nshoot at them your best shafts and keep them off from us.\u201d They did so\nand slew of the Ghuls much people, when there fell upon them sore dismay\nand they turned to flee; but the apes, seeing Janshah\u2019s prowess, forded\nthe river and headed by their Sultan chased the Ghuls, killing many of\nthem in the pursuit, till they reached the high mountain where they\ndisappeared. And while exploring the said mountain Janshah found a\ntablet of alabaster, whereon was written, \u201cO thou who enterest this\nland, know that thou wilt become Sultan over these apes and that from\nthem there is no escape for thee, except by the passes that run east and\nwest through the mountains. If thou take the eastern pass, thou wilt\nfare through a country swarming with Ghuls and wild beasts, Marids and\nIfrits, and thou wilt come, after three months\u2019 journeying, to the ocean\nwhich encompasseth the earth; but, if thou travel by the western pass,\nit will bring thee, after four months\u2019 journeying, to the head of the\nWady of Emmets.[541] When thou hast followed the road, that leads\nthrough this mountain, ten days,\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Janshah read this\nmuch upon the tablet and found, at the end of the inscription, \u201cThen\nthou wilt come to a great river, whose current is so swift that it\nblindeth the eyes. Now this river drieth up every Sabbath,[542] and on\nthe opposite bank lies a city wholly inhabited by Jews, who the faith of\nMohammed refuse; there is not a Moslem among the band nor is there other\nthan this city in the land. Better therefore lord it over the apes, for\nso long as thou shalt tarry amongst them they will be victorious over\nthe Ghuls. And know also that he who wrote this tablet was the lord\nSolomon, son of David (on both be peace!).\u201d When Janshah read these\nwords, he wept sore and repeated them to his men. Then they mounted\nagain and, surrounded by the army of the apes who were rejoicing in\ntheir victory, returned to the castle. Here Janshah abode, Sultaning\nover them, for a year and a half. And at the end of this time, he one\nday commanded the ape-army to mount and go forth a-hunting with him, and\nthey rode out into the wolds and wilds, and fared on from place to\nplace, till they approached the Wady of Emmets, which Janshah knew by\nthe description of it upon the alabaster tablet. Here he bade them\ndismount and they all abode there, eating and drinking a space of ten\ndays, after which Janshah took his men apart one night and said, \u201cI\npurpose we flee through the Valley of Emmets and make for the town of\nthe Jews; it may be Allah will deliver us from these apes and we will go\nGod\u2019s ways.\u201d They replied, \u201cWe hear and we obey:\u201d so he waited till some\nlittle of the night was spent, then, donning his armour and girding his\nsword and dagger and such like weapons, and his men doing likewise, they\nset out and fared on westwards till morning. When the apes awoke and\nmissed Janshah and his men, they knew that they had fled. So they\nmounted and pursued them, some taking the eastern pass and others that\nwhich led to the Wady of Emmets, nor was it long before the apes came in\nsight of the fugitives, as they were about to enter the valley, and\nhastened after them. When Janshah and his men saw them, they fled into\nthe Emmet-valley; but the apes soon overtook them and would have slain\nthem, when behold, there rose out of the earth a multitude of ants like\nswarming locusts, as big as dogs, and charged home upon the apes. They\ndevoured many of their foes, and these also slew many of the ants; but\nhelp came to the emmets: now an ant would go up to an ape and smite him\nand cut him in twain, whilst ten apes could hardly master one ant and\nbear him away and tear him in sunder. The sore battle lasted till the\nevening but the emmets were victorious. In the gloaming Janshah and his\nmen took to flight and fled along the sole of the Wady\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that in the gloaming\nJanshah and his men took to flight and fled along the sole of the Wady\ntill the morning. With the break of day, the apes were up and at them,\nwhich when the Prince saw, he shouted to his men, \u201cSmite with your\nswords.\u201d So they bared their blades and laid on load right and left,\ntill there ran at them an ape, with tusks like an elephant, and smote\none of the Mamelukes and cut him in sunder. Then the apes redoubled upon\nJanshah and he fled with his followers into the lower levels of the\nvalley, where he saw a vast river and by its side a mighty many of ants.\nWhen the emmets espied Janshah they pushed on and surrounded him, and\none of the slaves fell to smiting them with his sword and cutting them\nin twain; whereupon the whole host set upon him and slew him. At this\npass, behold, up came the apes from over the mountain and fell in\nnumbers upon Janshah; but he tore off his clothes and, plunging into the\nriver, with his remaining servant, struck out for the middle of the\nstream. Presently, he caught sight of a tree on the other bank; so he\nswam up to it and laying hold of one of its branches, hung to it and\nswung himself ashore, but as for the last Mameluke the current carried\nhim away and dashed him to pieces against the mountain. Thereupon\nJanshah fell to wringing his clothes and spreading them in the sun to\ndry, what while there befel a fierce fight between the apes and the\nants, until the apes gave up the pursuit and returned to their own land.\nMeanwhile, Janshah, who abode alone on the river-bank, could do naught\nbut shed tears till nightfall, when he took refuge in a cavern and there\npassed the dark hours, in great fear and feeling desolate for the loss\nof his slaves. At daybreak awaking from his sleep he set out again and\nfared on nights and days, eating of the herbs of the earth, till he came\nto the mountain which burnt like fire, and thence he made the river\nwhich dried up every Sabbath. Now it was a mighty stream and on the\nopposite bank stood a great city, which was the capital of the Jews\nmentioned in the tablet. Here he abode till the next Sabbath, when the\nriver dried up and he walked over to the other side and entered the Jew\ncity, but saw none in the streets. So he wandered about till he came to\nthe door of a homestead, which he opened and entering, espied within the\npeople of the house sitting in silence and speaking not a syllable.\nQuoth he, \u201cI am a stranger and anhungered;\u201d and they signed to him, as\nto say, \u201cEat and drink, but speak not.\u201d[543] So he ate and drank and\nslept that night and, when morning dawned, the master of the house\ngreeted him and bade him welcome and asked him, \u201cWhence comest thou and\nwhither art thou bound?\u201d At these words Janshah wept sore and told him\nall that had befallen him and how his father was King of Kabul; whereat\nthe Jew marvelled and said, \u201cNever heard we of that city, but we have\nheard from the merchants of the caravans that in that direction lieth a\nland called Al-Yaman.\u201d \u201cHow far is that land from this place?\u201d asked\nJanshah, and the Jew answered, \u201cThe Cafilah merchants pretend that it is\na two years and three months\u2019 march from their land hither.\u201d Quoth\nJanshah, \u201cAnd when doth the caravan come?\u201d Quoth the Jew, \u201cNext year\n\u2018twill come.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say\nher permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Jew was\nquestioned anent the coming of the caravan, he replied, \u201cNext year\n\u2018twill come.\u201d At these words the Prince wept sore and fell a-sorrowing\nfor himself and his Mamelukes; and lamenting his separation from his\nmother and father and all which had befallen him in his wanderings. Then\nsaid the Jew, \u201cO young man, do not weep, but sojourn with us till the\ncaravan shall come, when we will send thee with it to thine own\ncountry.\u201d So he tarried with the Jew two whole months and every day he\nwent out walking in the streets for his solace and diversion. Now it\nchanced one day, whilst he paced about the main thoroughfares, as of\nwont, and was bending his steps right and left, he heard a crier crying\naloud and saying, \u201cWho will earn a thousand gold pieces and a slave-girl\nof surpassing beauty and loveliness by working for me between morning\nand noontide?\u201d But no one answered him and Janshah said in his mind,\n\u201cWere not this work dangerous and difficult, he would not offer a\nthousand dinars and a fair girl for half a day\u2019s labour.\u201d Then he\naccosted the crier and said, \u201cI will do the work;\u201d so the man carried\nhim to a lofty mansion where they found one who was a Jew and a\nmerchant, seated on an ebony chair, to whom quoth the crier, standing\nrespectfully before him, \u201cO merchant, I have cried every day these three\nmonths, and none hath answered, save this young man.\u201d Hearing his speech\nthe Jew welcomed Janshah, led him into a magnificent sitting-room and\nsignalled to bring food. So the servants spread the table and set\nthereon all manner meats, of which the merchant and Janshah ate, and\nwashed their hands. Then wine was served up and they drank; after which\nthe Jew rose and bringing Janshah a purse of a thousand dinars and a\nslave-girl of rare beauty, said to him, \u201cTake maid and money to thy\nhire.\u201d Janshah took them and seated the girl by his side when the trader\nresumed, \u201cTo-morrow to the work!\u201d; and so saying he withdrew and Janshah\nslept with the damsel that night. As soon as it was morning, the\nmerchant bade his slaves clothe him in a costly suit of silk whenas he\ncame out of the Hammam-bath. So they did as he bade them and brought him\nback to the house, whereupon the merchant called for harp and lute and\nwine and they drank and played and made merry till the half of the night\nwas past, when the Jew retired to his Harim and Janshah lay with his\nslave-girl till the dawn. Then he went to the bath and on his return,\nthe merchant came to him and said, \u201cNow I wish thee to do the work for\nme.\u201d \u201cI hear and obey,\u201d replied Janshah. So the merchant bade his slaves\nbring two she-mules and set Janshah on one, mounting the other himself.\nThen they rode forth from the city and fared on from morn till noon,\nwhen they made a lofty mountain, to whose height was no limit. Here the\nJew dismounted, ordering Janshah to do the same; and when he obeyed the\nmerchant gave him a knife and a cord, saying, \u201cI desire that thou\nslaughter this mule.\u201d So Janshah tucked up his sleeves and skirts and\ngoing up to the mule, bound her legs with the cord, then threw her and\ncut her throat; after which he skinned her and lopped off her head and\nlegs and she became a mere heap of flesh. Then said the Jew, \u201cSlit open\nthe mule\u2019s belly and enter it and I will sew it up on thee. There must\nthou abide awhile and whatsoever thou seest in her belly, acquaint me\ntherewith.\u201d So Janshah slit the mule\u2019s belly and crept into it,\nwhereupon the merchant sewed it up on him and withdrew to a\ndistance,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the merchant sewed\nup the mule\u2019s belly on Janshah and, withdrawing to a distance, hid\nhimself in the skirts of the mountain. After a while a huge bird swooped\ndown on the dead mule and snatching it up, flew up with it to the top of\nthe mountain, where it set down the quarry and would have eaten it; but\nJanshah, feeling the bird begin to feed, slit the mule\u2019s belly and came\nforth. When the bird saw him, it took fright at him and flew right away;\nwhereupon he stood up and looking right and left, saw nothing but the\ncarcasses of dead men, mummied by the sun, and exclaimed, \u201cThere is no\nMajesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!\u201d\nThen he looked down the precipice and espied the merchant standing at\nthe mountain-foot, looking for him. As soon as the Jew caught sight of\nhim, he called out to him, \u201cThrow me down of the stones which are about\nthee, that I may direct thee to a way whereby thou mayst descend.\u201d So\nJanshah threw him down some two hundred of the stones, which were all\nrubies,[544] chrysolites and other gems of price; after which he called\nout to him, saying, \u201cShow me the way down and I will throw thee as many\nmore.\u201d But the Jew gathered up the stones and, binding them on the back\nof the mule, went his way without answering a word and left Janshah\nalone on the mountain-top. When the Prince found himself deserted, he\nbegan to weep and implore help of Heaven, and thus he abode three days;\nafter which he rose and fared on over the mountainous ground two month\u2019s\nspace, feeding upon hill-herbs; and he ceased not faring till he came to\nits skirts and espied afar off a Wady full of fruitful trees and birds\nharmonious singing the praises of Allah, the One, the Victorious. At\nthis sight he joyed with great joy and stayed not his steps till, after\nan hour or so, he came to a ravine in the rocks, through which the\nrain-torrents fell into the valley. He made his way down the cleft till\nhe reached the Wady which he had seen from the mountain-top and walked\non therein, gazing right and left, nor ceased so doing until he came in\nsight of a great castle, towering high in air. As he drew near the gates\nhe saw an old man of comely aspect and face shining with light standing\nthereat with a staff of carnelian in his hand, and going up to him,\nsaluted him. The Shaykh returned his salam and bade him welcome, saying,\n\u201cSit down, O my son.\u201d So he sat down at the door of the castle and the\nold man said to him, \u201cHow camest thou to this land, untrodden by son of\nAdam before thee, and whither art thou bound?\u201d When Janshah heard his\nwords he wept bitterly at the thought of all the hardships he had\nsuffered and his tears choked his speech. Quoth the Shaykh, \u201cO my son,\nleave weeping; for indeed thou makest my heart ache.\u201d So saying, he rose\nand set somewhat of food before him and said to him, \u201cEat.\u201d He ate and\npraised Allah Almighty; after which the old man besought him saying, \u201cO\nmy son, I would have thee tell me thy tale and acquaint me with thine\nadventures.\u201d So Janshah related to him all that had befallen him, from\nfirst to last, whereat the Shaykh marvelled with exceeding marvel. Then\nsaid the Prince, \u201cPrithee inform me who is the lord of this valley and\nto whom doth this great castle belong?\u201d Answered the old man, \u201cKnow, O\nmy son, this valley and all that is therein and this castle with all it\ncontaineth belong to the lord Solomon, son of David (on both be peace!).\nAs for me, my name is Shaykh Nasr,[545] King of the Birds; for thou must\nknow that the lord Solomon committed this castle to my charge,\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Shaykh Nasr\npursued, \u201cThou must know that the lord Solomon committed this castle to\nmy charge and taught me the language of birds and made me ruler over all\nthe fowls which be in the world; wherefore each and every come hither\nonce in the twelvemonth, and I pass them in review: then they depart;\nand this is why I dwell here.\u201d When Janshah heard this, he wept sore and\nsaid to the Shaykh, \u201cO my father, how shall I do to get back to my\nnative land?\u201d Replied the old man, \u201cKnow, O my son, that thou art near\nto the mountain Kaf, and there is no departing for thee from this place\ntill the birds come, when I will give thee in charge to one of them, and\nhe will bear thee to thy native country. Meanwhile tarry with me here\nand eat and drink and divert thyself with viewing the apartments of this\ncastle.\u201d So Janshah abode with Shaykh Nasr, taking his pleasure in the\nWady and eating of its fruits and laughing and making merry with the old\nman, and leading a right joyous life till the day appointed for the\nbirds to pay their annual visit to their Governor. Thereupon the Shaykh\nsaid to him, \u201cO Janshah, take the keys of the castle and solace thyself\nwith exploring all its apartments and viewing whatever be therein, but\nas regards such a room, beware and again beware of opening its door; and\nif thou gainsay me and open it and enter therethrough nevermore shalt\nthou know fair fortune.\u201d He repeated this charge again and again with\nmuch instance; then he went forth to meet the birds, which came up, kind\nby kind, and kissed his hands. Such was his case; but as regards\nJanshah, he went round about the castle, opening the various doors and\nviewing the apartments into which they led, till he came to the room\nwhich Shaykh Nasr had warned him not to open or enter. He looked at the\ndoor and its fashion pleased him, for it had on it a padlock of gold,\nand he said to himself, \u201cThis room must be goodlier than all the others;\nwould Heaven I wist what is within it, that Shaykh Nasr should forbid me\nto open its door! There is no help but that I enter and see what is in\nthis apartment; for whatso is decreed unto the creature perforce he must\nfulfil.\u201d So he put out his hand and unlocked the door and entering,\nfound himself before a great basin; and hard by it stood a little\npavilion, builded all of gold and silver and crystal, with\nlattice-windows of jacinth. The floor was paved with green beryl and\nbalass rubies and emeralds and other jewels, set in the ground-work\nmosaic-fashion, and in the midmost of the pavilion was a jetting\nfountain in a golden basin, full of water and girt about with figures of\nbeasts and birds, cunningly wrought of gold and silver and casting water\nfrom their mouths. When the zephyr blew on them, it entered their ears\nand therewith the figures sang out with birdlike song, each in its own\ntongue. Beside the fountain was a great open saloon with a high da\u00efs\nwhereon stood a vast throne of carnelian, inlaid with pearls and jewels,\nover which was spread a tent of green silk fifty cubits in width and\nembroidered with gems fit for seal-rings and purfled with precious\nmetals. Within this tent was a closet containing the carpet of the lord\nSolomon (on whom be peace!); and the pavilion was compassed about with a\nvast garden full of fruit-trees and streams; while near the palace were\nbeds of roses and basil and eglantine and all manner sweet-smelling\nherbs and flowers. And the trees bore on the same boughs fruits fresh\nand dry and the branches swayed gracefully to the wooing of the wind.\nAll this was in that one apartment and Janshah wondered thereat till he\nwas weary of wonderment; and he set out to solace himself in the palace\nand the garden and to divert himself with the quaint and curious things\nthey contained. And first looking at the basin he saw that the gravels\nof its bed were gems and jewels and noble metals; and many other strange\nthings were in that apartment.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Janshah saw many\nstrange things and admirable in that apartment. Then he entered the\npavilion and mounting the throne, fell asleep under the tent set up\nthereover. He slept for a time and, presently awaking, walked forth and\nsat down on a stool before the door. As he sat, marvelling at the\ngoodliness of that place, there flew up from mid-sky three birds, in\ndove-form but big as eagles, and lighted on the brink of the basin,\nwhere they sported awhile. Then they put off their feathers and became\nthree maidens,[546] as they were moons, that had not their like in the\nwhole world. They plunged into the basin and swam about and disported\nthemselves and laughed, while Janshah marvelled at their beauty and\nloveliness and the grace and symmetry of their shapes. Presently, they\ncame up out of the water and began walking about and taking their solace\nin the garden; and Janshah seeing them land was like to lose his wits.\nHe rose and followed them, and when he overtook them, he saluted them\nand they returned his salam; after which quoth he, \u201cWho are ye, O\nillustrious Princesses, and whence come ye?\u201d Replied the youngest\ndamsel, \u201cWe are from the invisible world of Almighty Allah and we come\nhither to divert ourselves.\u201d He marvelled at their beauty and said to\nthe youngest, \u201cHave ruth on me and deign kindness to me and take pity on\nmy case and on all that hath befallen me in my life.\u201d Rejoined she,\n\u201cLeave this talk and wend thy ways\u201d; whereat the tears streamed from his\neyes, and he sighed heavily and repeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n She shone out in the garden in garments all of green, \u273f With open vest\n and collars and flowing hair beseen:\n \u201cWhat is thy name?\u201d I asked her, and she replied, \u201cI\u2019m she \u273f Who roasts\n the hearts of lovers on coals of love and teen.\u201d\n Of passion and its anguish to her I made my moan; \u273f \u201cUpon a rock,\u201d she\n answered, \u201cthy plaints are wasted clean.\u201d\n \u201cEven if thy heart,\u201d I told her, \u201cbe rock in very deed, \u273f Yet hath God\n made fair water well from the rock, I ween.\u201d[547]\n\nWhen the maidens heard his verses, they laughed and played and sang and\nmade merry. Then he brought them somewhat of fruit, and they ate and\ndrank and slept with him till the morning, when they donned their\nfeather-suits, and resuming dove shape flew off and went their way. But\nas he saw them disappearing from sight, his reason well-nigh fled with\nthem, and he gave a great cry and fell down in a fainting fit and lay\na-swooning all that day. While he was in this case Shaykh Nasr returned\nfrom the Parliament of the Fowls and sought for Janshah, that he might\nsend him with them to his native land, but found him not and knew that\nhe had entered the forbidden room. Now he had already said to the birds,\n\u201cWith me is a young man, a mere youth, whom destiny brought hither from\na distant land; and I desire of you that ye take him up and carry him to\nhis own country.\u201d And all answered, \u201cWe hear and we obey.\u201d So he ceased\nnot searching for Janshah till he came to the forbidden door and seeing\nit open he entered and found the Prince lying a-swoon under a tree. He\nfetched scented waters and sprinkled them on his face, whereupon he\nrevived and turned\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nto say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Tenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Shaykh Nasr\nsaw Janshah lying a-swoon under the tree he fetched him somewhat of\nscented waters and sprinkled them on his face. Thereupon he revived and\nturned right and left, but seeing none by him save the Shaykh, sighed\nheavily and repeated these couplets:\u2014\n\n \u201cLike fullest moon she shines on happiest night, \u273f Soft-sided fair, with\n slender shape bedight.\n Her eye-babes charm the world with gramarye; \u273f Her lips remind of rose\n and ruby light.\n Her jetty locks make night upon her hips; \u273f Ware, lovers, ware ye of\n that curl\u2019s despight!\n Yea, soft her sides are, but in love her heart \u273f Out-hardens flint,\n surpasses syenite:\n And bows of eyebrows shower glancey shafts \u273f Despite the distance never\n fail to smite.\n Then, ah, her beauty! all the fair it passes; \u273f Nor any rival her who\n see the light.\u201d\n\nWhen Shaykh Nasr heard these verses, he said, \u201cO my son, did I not warn\nthee not to open that door and enter that room? But now, O my son, tell\nme what thou sawest therein and acquaint me with all that betided thee.\u201d\nSo Janshah related to him all that had passed between him and the three\nmaidens, and Shaykh Nasr, who sat listening in silence said, \u201cKnow, O my\nson, that these three maidens are of the daughters of the Jann and come\nhither every year for a day, to divert themselves and make merry until\nmid-afternoon, when they return to their own country.\u201d Janshah asked,\n\u201cAnd where is their country?\u201d; and the old man answered, \u201cBy Allah, O my\nson, I wot not:\u201d presently adding, \u201cbut now take heart and put away this\nlove from thee and come with me, that I may send thee to thine own land\nwith the birds.\u201d When Janshah heard this, he gave a great cry and fell\ndown in a trance; and presently he came to himself, and said, \u201cO my\nfather, indeed I care not to return to my native land: all I want is to\nforegather with these maidens and know, O my father, that I will never\nagain name my people, though I die before thee.\u201d Then he wept and cried,\n\u201cEnough for me that I look upon the face of her I love, although it be\nonly once in the year!\u201d And he sighed deeply and repeated these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n Would Heaven the Phantom[548] spared the friend at night \u273f And would\n this love for man were ever dight!\n Were not my heart a-fire for love of you, \u273f Tears ne\u2019er had stained my\n cheeks nor dimmed my sight.\n By night and day, I bid my heart to bear \u273f Its griefs, while fires of\n love my body blight.\n\nThen he fell at Shaykh Nasr\u2019s feet and kissed them and wept sore,\ncrying, \u201cHave pity on me, so Allah take pity on thee and aid me in my\nstrait so Allah aid thee!\u201d Replied the old man, \u201cBy Allah, O my son, I\nknow nothing of these maidens nor where may be their country; but, O my\nson, if thy heart be indeed set on one of them, tarry with me till this\ntime next year for they will assuredly reappear; and, when the day of\ntheir coming draweth near, hide thyself under a tree in the garden. As\nsoon as they have alighted and doffed their feather-robes and plunged\ninto the lake and are swimming about at a distance from their clothes,\nseize the vest of her whom thy soul desireth. When they see thee, they\nwill come a-bank and she, whose coat thou hast taken, will accost thee\nand say to thee with the sweetest of speech and the most witching of\nsmiles, \u201cGive me my dress, O my brother, that I may don it and veil my\nnakedness withal.\u201d But if thou yield to her prayer and give her back the\nvest thou wilt never win thy wish: nay, she will don it and fly away to\nher folk and thou wilt nevermore see her again. Now when thou hast\ngained the vest, clap it under thine armpit and hold it fast, till I\nreturn from the Parliament of the Fowls, when I will make accord between\nthee and her and send thee back to thy native land, and the maiden with\nthee. And this, O my son, is all I can do for thee, nothing more.\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Eleventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth Shaykh Nasr\nto Janshah, \u201cHold fast the feather-robe of her thy soul desireth and\ngive it not back to her till I return from the Parliament of the Fowls.\nAnd this, O my son, is all I can do for thee, nothing more.\u201d When\nJanshah heard this, his heart was solaced and he abode with Shaykh Nasr\nyet another year, counting the days as they passed until the day of the\ncoming of the birds. And when at last the appointed time arrived the old\nman said to him, \u201cDo as I enjoined thee and charged thee with the\nmaidens in the matter of the feather-dress, for I go to meet the birds;\u201d\nand Janshah replied, \u201cI hear and I obey, O my father.\u201d Then the Shaykh\ndeparted whilst the Prince walked into the garden and hid himself under\na tree, where none could see him. Here he abode a first day and a second\nand a third, but the maidens came not; whereat he was sore troubled and\nwept and sighed from a heart hard tried; and he ceased not weeping and\nwailing till he fainted away. When he came to himself, he fell to\nlooking now at the basin and now at the welkin, and anon at the earth\nand anon at the open country, whilst his heart grieved for stress of\nlove-longing. As he was in this case, behold, the three doves appeared\nin the firmament, eagle-sized as before, and flew till they reached the\ngarden and lighted down beside the basin. They turned right and left;\nbut saw no one, man or Jann; so they doffed their feather-suits and\nbecame three maidens. Then they plunged into the basin and swam about,\nlaughing and frolicking; and all were mother-naked and fair as bars of\nvirgin silver. Quoth the eldest, \u201cO my sister, I fear lest there be some\none lying ambushed for us in the pavilion.\u201d Answered the second, \u201cO\nsister, since the days of King Solomon, none hath entered the pavilion,\nbe he man or Jann;\u201d and the youngest added, laughing, \u201cBy Allah, O my\nsisters, if there be any hidden there, he will assuredly take none but\nme.\u201d Then they continued sporting and laughing and Janshah\u2019s heart kept\nfluttering for stress of passion: but he hid behind the tree so that he\nsaw without being seen. Presently they swam out to the middle of the\nbasin leaving their clothes on the bank. Hereupon he sprang to his feet,\nand running like the darting leven to the basin\u2019s brink, snatched up the\nfeather-vest of the youngest damsel, her on whom his heart was set and\nwhose name was Shamsah the Sun-maiden. At this the girls turned and\nseeing him, were affrighted and veiled their shame from him in the\nwater. Then they swam near shore and looking on his favour saw that he\nwas bright faced as the moon on the night of fullness and asked him,\n\u201cWho art thou and how camest thou hither and why hast thou taken the\nclothes of the lady Shamsah?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cCome hither to me and I\nwill tell you my tale.\u201d Quoth Shamsah, \u201cWhat deed is this, and why hast\nthou taken my clothes, rather than those of my sisters?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cO\nlight of mine eyes, come forth of the water, and I will recount thee my\ncase and acquaint thee why I chose thee out.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cO my lord and\ncoolth of my eyes and fruit of my heart, give me my clothes, that I may\nput them on and cover my nakedness withal; then will I come forth to\nthee.\u201d But he replied, \u201cO Princess of beautiful ones, how can I give\nthee back thy clothes and slay myself for love-longing? Verily, I will\nnot give them to thee, till Shaykh Nasr, the king of the birds, shall\nreturn.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cIf thou wilt not give me my clothes withdraw a\nlittle apart from us, that my sisters may land and dress themselves and\nlend me somewhat wherewithal to cover my shame.\u201d \u201cI hear and obey,\u201d\nanswered he, and walked away from them into the pavilion, whereupon the\nthree Princesses came out and the two elder, donning their dress, gave\nShamsah somewhat thereof, not enough to fly withal, and she put it on\nand came forth of the water, and stood before him, as she were the\nrising full-moon or a browsing gazelle. Then Shamsah entered the\npavilion, where Janshah was still sitting on the throne; so she saluted\nhim and taking seat near him, said, \u201cO fair of face, thou hast undone\nthyself and me; but tell us thy adventures that we may ken how it is\nwith thee.\u201d At these words he wept till he drenched his dress with his\ntears; and when she saw that he was distracted for love of her, she rose\nand taking him by the hand, made him sit by her side and wiped away the\ndrops with her sleeve; and said she, \u201cO fair of face, leave this weeping\nand tell us thy tale.\u201d So he related to her all that had befallen him\nand described to her all he had seen,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Twelfth Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the lady\nShamsah said to Janshah, \u201cTell us thy tale;\u201d so he related to her all\nthat had befallen him; and, after she had lent attentive ear she sighed\nand said, \u201cO my lord, since thou art so fondly in love with me, give me\nmy dress, that I may fly to my folk, I and my sisters, and tell them\nwhat affection thou hast conceived for me, and after I will come back to\nthee and carry thee to thine own country.\u201d When he heard this, he wept\nsore and replied, \u201cIs it lawful to thee before Allah to slay me\nwrongfully?\u201d She asked, \u201cO my lord, why should I do such wrongous\ndeed?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cIf I give thee thy gear thou wilt fly away\nfrom me, and I shall die forthright.\u201d Princess Shamsah laughed at this\nand so did her sisters; then said she to him, \u201cBe of good cheer and keep\nthine eyes cool and clear, for I must needs marry thee.\u201d So saying, she\nbent down to him and embraced him and pressing him to her breast kissed\nhim between the eyes and on his cheeks. They clipped and clasped each\nother awhile, after which they drew apart and sat down on the throne.\nThen the eldest Princess went out into the garden and, plucking somewhat\nof fruits and flowers, brought them into the pavilion; and they ate and\ndrank and laughed and sported and made merry. Now Janshah was singular\nin beauty and loveliness and slender shape and symmetry and grace, and\nthe Princess Shamsah said to him, \u201cO my beloved, by Allah, I love thee\nwith exceeding love and will never leave thee!\u201d When he heard her words,\nhis breast broadened and he laughed for joy till he showed his teeth;\nand they abode thus awhile in mirth and gladness and frolic. And when\nthey were at the height of their pleasure and joyance, behold, Shaykh\nNasr returned from the Parliament of the Fowls and came in to them;\nwhereupon they all rose to him and saluted him and kissed his hands. He\ngave them welcome and bade them be seated. So they sat down and he said\nto Princess Shamsah, \u201cVerily this youth loveth thee with exceeding love;\nAllah upon thee, deal kindly with him, for he is of the great ones of\nmankind and of the sons of the kings, and his father ruleth over the\nland of Kabul and his reign compasseth a mighty empire.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cI\nhear and I obey thy behest\u201d; and, kissing the Shaykh\u2019s hands, stood\nbefore him in respect. Quoth he, \u201cIf thou say sooth, swear to me by\nAllah that thou wilt never betray him, what while thou abidest in the\nbonds of life.\u201d So she swore a great oath that she would never betray\nJanshah, but would assuredly marry him, and added, \u201cKnow, O Shaykh Nasr,\nthat I never will forsake him.\u201d The Shaykh believed in her oath and said\nto Janshah, \u201cThanks be to Allah, who hath made you arrive at this\nunderstanding!\u201d Hereupon the Prince rejoiced with exceeding joy, and he\nand Shamsah abode three months with Shaykh Nasr, feasting and toying and\nmaking merry.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Thirteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that, Janshah and the\nlady Shamsah abode three months with Shaykh Nasr, feasting and toying\nand making merry. And at the end of that time she said to Janshah, \u201cI\nwish to go with thee to thy motherland, where thou shalt marry me and we\nwill abide there.\u201d \u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d answered he and took counsel\nwith Shaykh Nasr, who said to him, \u201cGo thou home, I commend her to thy\ncare.\u201d Then said she, \u201cO Shaykh Nasr, bid him render me my\nfeather-suit.\u201d So the Shaykh bade Janshah give it to her, and he went\nstraightways into the pavilion and brought it out for her. Thereupon she\ndonned it and said to him, \u201cMount my back and shut thine eyes and stop\nthine ears, so thou mayst not hear the roar of the revolving sphere; and\nkeep fast hold of my feathers, lest thou fall off.\u201d He did as she bade\nhim and, as she stretched her wings to fly, Shaykh Nasr said, \u201cWait a\nwhile till I describe to thee the land Kabul, lest you twain miss your\nway.\u201d So she delayed till he had said his say and had bidden them\nfarewell, commending the Prince to her care. She took leave of her\nsisters and bade them return to her folk and tell them what had befallen\nher with Janshah; then, rising into the air without stay or delay she\nflew off, like the wafts of the wind or the lamping leven. Her sisters\nalso took flight and returning home delivered her message to their\npeople. And she stayed not her course from the forenoon till the hour of\nmid-afternoon prayer (Janshah being still on her back), when she espied\nafar off a Wady abounding in trees and streams and she said to Janshah,\n\u201cI am thinking to alight in this valley, that we may solace ourselves\namongst its trees and herbage and here rest for the night.\u201d Quoth he,\n\u201cDo what seemeth meet to thee!\u201d So she swooped down from the lift and\nalighted in the Wady, when Janshah dismounted and kissing her between\nthe eyes,[549] sat with her awhile on the bank of a river there; then\nthey rose and wandered about the valley, taking their pleasure therein\nand eating of the fruits of the trees, until nightfall, when they lay\ndown under a tree and slept till the morning dawned. As soon as it was\nday, the Princess arose and, bidding Janshah mount, flew on with him\ntill noon, when she perceived by the appearance of the buildings which\nShaykh Nasr had described to her, that they were nearing the city Kabul.\nSo she swooped down from the welkin and alighted in a wide plain, a\nblooming champaign, wherein were gazelles straying and springs playing\nand rivers flowing and ripe fruits growing. So Janshah dismounted and\nkissed her between the eyes; and she asked him, \u201cO my beloved and coolth\nof mine eyes, knowest thou how many days\u2019 journey we have come since\nyesterday?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cNo,\u201d when she said, \u201cWe have come thirty\nmonths\u2019 journey.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cPraised be Allah for safety!\u201d Then they sat\ndown side by side and ate and drank and toyed and laughed. And whilst\nthey were thus pleasantly engaged, behold, there came up to them two of\nthe King\u2019s Mamelukes of those who had been of the Prince\u2019s company; one\nof them was he whom he had left with the horses, when he embarked in the\nfishing-boat and the other had been of his escort in the chase. As soon\nas they saw Janshah, both knew him and saluted him; then said they,\n\u201cWith thy leave, we will go to thy sire and bear him the glad tidings of\nthy coming.\u201d Replied the Prince, \u201cGo ye to my father and acquaint him\nwith my case, and fetch us tents, for we will tarry here seven days to\nrest ourselves till he make ready his retinue to meet us, that we may\nenter in stateliest state.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Fourteenth Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Janshah said\nto the two Mamelukes, \u201cGo ye to my sire and acquaint him with my case\nand fetch us tents, for we will abide here seven days to rest ourselves,\ntill he make ready his retinue to meet us, that we may enter in the\nstateliest state.\u201d So the officers hastened back to King Teghmus and\nsaid to him, \u201cGood news, O King of the age!\u201d Asked he, \u201cWhat good\ntidings bring ye: is my son Janshah come back?\u201d; and they answered,\n\u201cYes, thy son Janshah hath returned from his strangerhood and is now\nnear at hand in the Kir\u00e1n\u00ed mead.\u201d Now when the King heard this, he joyed\nwith great joy and fell down in a swoon for excess of gladness; then,\ncoming to himself, he bade his Wazir give each of the Mamelukes a\nsplendid suit of honour and a sum of money. The minister replied, \u201cI\nhear and obey,\u201d and forthright did his bidding and said to them, \u201cTake\nthis in turn for the good tidings ye bring, whether ye lie or say\nsooth.\u201d They replied, \u201cIndeed we lie not, for but now we sat with him\nand saluted him and kissed his hands and he bade us fetch him tents, for\nthat he would sojourn in the meadow seven days, till such time as the\nWazirs and Emirs and Grandees should come out to meet him.\u201d Quoth the\nKing, \u201cHow is it with my son?\u201d and quoth they, \u201cHe hath with him a\nHouri, as he had brought her out of Paradise.\u201d At this, King Teghmus\nbade beat the kettledrums and sound the trumpets for gladness, and\ndespatched messengers to announce the good news to Janshah\u2019s mother and\nto the wives of the Emirs and Wazirs and Lords of the realm: so the\ncriers spread themselves about the city and acquainted the people with\nthe coming of Prince Janshah. Then the King made ready, and, setting out\nfor the Kirani meadow with his horsemen and footmen, came upon Janshah\nwho was sitting at rest with the lady Shamsah beside him and, behold,\nall suddenly drew in sight. The Prince rose to his feet and walked\nforward to meet them; and the troops knew him and dismounted, to salute\nhim and kiss his hands: after which he set out preceded by the men in\nsingle file till he came to his sire, who, at sight of his son threw\nhimself from his horse\u2019s back and clasped him to his bosom and wept\nflooding tears of joy. Then they took horse again with the retinue\nriding to the right and left and fared forward till they came to the\nriver-banks; when the troops alighted and pitched their tents and\npavilions and standards to the blare of trump and the piping of fife and\nthe dub-a-dub of drum and tom-tom. Moreover the King bade the\ntent-pitchers set up a pavilion of red silk for the Princess Shamsah,\nwho put off her scanty raiment of feathers for fine robes and, entering\nthe pavilion, there took seat. And as she sat in her beauty, behold, the\nKing and his son Janshah came in to her, and when she saw Teghmus, she\nrose and kissed ground before him. The King sat down and seating Janshah\non his right hand and Princess Shamsah on his left, bade her welcome and\nsaid to his son, \u201cTell me all that hath befallen thee in this thy long\nstrangerhood.\u201d So Janshah related to him the whole of his adventures\nfrom first to last, whereat he marvelled with exceeding marvel and\nturning to the Princess, said, \u201cLaud to Allah for that He hath caused\nthee to reunite me with my son! \u2018Verily this is of His exceeding\nbounty!\u2019\u201d[550]\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nsaying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Fifteenth Night,\n\nShe pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Teghmus\nsaid to the lady Shamsah, \u201cLaud to Allah for that He hath caused thee to\nreunite me with my son! \u2018Verily this is of His exceeding bounty.\u2019 And\nnow I would have thee ask of me what thou wilt, that I may do it in\nthine honour.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cI ask of thee that thou build me a palace in\nthe midst of a flower-garden, with water running under it.\u201d And the King\nanswered, \u201cI hear and obey.\u201d And behold, up came Janshah\u2019s mother,\nattended by all the wives of the Wazirs and Emirs and nobles and city\nnotables. When her son had sight of her, he rose and leaving the tent,\nwent forth to meet her and they embraced a long while, whilst the Queen\nwept for excess of joy and with tears trickling from her eyes repeated\nthe following verses:\u2014\n\n Joy so o\u2019ercometh me, for stress of joy \u273f In that which gladdeneth me I\n fain shed tears:\u2014\n Tears are become your nature, O my eyes, \u273f Who weep for joyance as for\n griefs and fears.\n\nAnd they complained to each other of all their hearts had suffered from\nthe long separation. Then the King departed to his pavilion and Janshah\ncarried his mother to his own tent, where they sat talking till there\ncame up some of the lady Shamsah\u2019s attendants who said, \u201cThe Princess is\nnow walking hither in order to salute thee.\u201d When the Queen heard this,\nshe rose and going to meet Shamsah, saluted her and seated her awhile by\nher side. Presently the Queen and her retinue of noble women, the\nspouses of the Emirs and Grandees, returned with Princess Shamsah to the\ntent occupied by her daughter-in-law and sat there. Meanwhile, King\nTeghmus gave great largesse to his levies and lieges and rejoiced in his\nson with exceeding joy, and they tarried there ten days, feasting and\nmerry-making and living a most joyous life. At the end of this time, the\nKing commanded a march and they all returned to the capital, so he took\nhorse surrounded by all the troops with the Wazirs and Chamberlains to\nhis right and left: nor ceased they faring till they entered the city,\nwhich was decorated after the goodliest fashion; for the folk had\nadorned the houses with precious stuffs and jewellery and spread costly\nbrocades under the hoofs of the horses. The drums beat for glad tidings\nand the Grandees of the kingdom rejoiced and brought rich gifts and the\nlookers on were filled with amazement. Furthermore, they fed the\nmendicants and Fakirs and held high festival for the space of ten days,\nand the lady Shamsah joyed with exceeding joy whenas she saw this. Then\nKing Teghmus summoned architects and builders and men of art and bade\nthem build a palace in that garden. So they straightway proceeded to do\nhis bidding; and, when Janshah knew of his sire\u2019s command, he caused the\nartificers to fetch a block of white marble and carve it and hollow it\nin the semblance of a chest; which being done, he took the feather-vest\nof Princess Shamsah wherewith she had flown with him through the air:\nthen, sealing the cover with melted lead, he ordered them to bury the\nbox in the foundations and build over it the arches whereon the palace\nwas to rest. They did as he bade them, nor was it long before the palace\nwas finished: then they furnished it and it was a magnificent edifice,\nstanding in the midst of the garden, with streams flowing under its\nwalls.[551] Upon this the King caused Janshah\u2019s wedding to be celebrated\nwith the greatest splendour and they brought the bride to the castle in\nstate procession and went their ways. When the lady Shamsah entered, she\nsmelt the scent of her feather-gear\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Sixteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the lady\nShamsah entered the new palace, she smelt the scent of her flying\nfeather-gear and knew where it was and determined to take it. So she\nwaited till midnight, when Janshah was drowned in sleep; then she rose\nand going straight to the place where the marble-coffer was buried under\nthe arches she hollowed the ground alongside till she came upon it; when\nshe removed the lead wherewith it was soldered and, taking out the\nfeather-suit, put it on. Then she flew high in air and perching on the\npinnacle of the palace, cried out to those who were therein, saying, \u201cI\npray you fetch me Janshah, that I may bid him farewell.\u201d So they told\nhim and he came out and, seeing her on the terrace-roof of the palace,\nclad in her feather-raiment, asked her, \u201cWhy hast thou done this deed?\u201d;\nand she answered \u201cO my beloved and coolth of mine eyes and fruit of my\nheart, by Allah, I love thee passing dear and I rejoice with exceeding\njoy in that I have restored thee to thy friends and country and thou\nhast seen thy mother and father. And now, if thou love me as I love\nthee, come to me at Takn\u00ed, the Castle of Jewels.\u201d So saying, she flew\naway forthright to find her family and friends, and Janshah fell down\nfainting, being well-nigh dead for despair. They carried the news to\nKing Teghmus, who mounted at once and riding to the palace, found his\nson lying senseless on the ground; whereat he wept knowing that the\nswoon was caused by the loss of his love, and sprinkled rose-water on\nhis face.[552] When the Prince came to himself and saw his sire sitting\nat his head, he wept at the thought of losing his wife and the King\nasked what had befallen him. So he replied, \u201cKnow, O my father, that the\nlady Shamsah is of the daughters of the Jann and she hath done such and\nsuch\u201d (telling him all that had happened); and the King said, \u201cO my son,\nbe not troubled and thus concerned, for I will assemble all the\nmerchants and wayfarers in the land and enquire of them anent that\ncastle. If we can find out where it is, we will journey thither and\ndemand the Princess Shamsah of her people; and we hope in Allah the\nAlmighty that He will give her back to thee and thou shalt consummate\nthy marriage.\u201d Then he went out and, calling his four Wazirs without\nstay or delay, bade them assemble all the merchants and voyagers in the\ncity and question them of Takni, the Castle of Jewels, adding, \u201cWhoso\nknoweth it and can guide us thither, I will surely give him fifty\nthousand gold pieces.\u201d The Wazirs accordingly went forth at once and did\nas the King bade them, but neither trader nor traveller could give them\nnews of Takni, the Castle of Jewels; so they returned and told the King.\nThereupon he bade bring beautiful slave-girls and concubines and singers\nand players upon instruments of music, whose like are not found but with\nthe Kings: and sent them to Janshah, so haply they might divert him from\nthe love of the lady Shamsah. Moreover, he despatched couriers and spies\nto all the lands and islands and climes, to enquire for Takni, the\nCastle of Jewels, and they made quest for it two months long, but none\ncould give them news thereof. So they returned and told the King,\nwhereupon he wept bitter tears and going in to his son found Janshah\nsitting amidst the concubines and singers and players on harp and zither\nand so forth, not one of whom could console him for the lady Shamsah.\nQuoth Teghmus, \u201cO my son, I can find none who knoweth this Castle of\nJewels; but I will bring thee a fairer than she.\u201d When Janshah heard\nthis, his eyes ran over with tears and he recited these two couplets:\u2014\n\n Patience hath fled, but passion fareth not; \u273f And all my frame with pine\n is fever-hot:\n When will the days my lot with Shamsah join? \u273f Lo, all my bones with\n passion-lowe go rot!\n\nNow there was a deadly feud between King Teghmus and a certain King of\nHind, by name Kaf\u00edd, who had great plenty of troops and warriors and\nchampions; and under his hand were a thousand puissant chieftains, each\nruling over a thousand tribes whereof every one could muster four\nthousand cavaliers. He reigned over a thousand cities each guarded by a\nthousand forts and he had four Wazirs and under him ruled Emirs, Princes\nand Sovereigns; and indeed he was a King of great might and prowess\nwhose armies filled the whole earth. Now King Teghmus had made war upon\nhim and ravaged his reign and slain his men and of his treasures had\nmade gain. But when it came to King Kafid\u2019s knowledge that King Teghmus\nwas occupied with the love of his son, so that he neglected the affairs\nof the state and his troops were grown few and weak by reason of his\ncare and concern for his son\u2019s state, he summoned his Wazirs and Emirs\nand said to them, \u201cYe all know that whilom King Teghmus invaded our\ndominions and plundered our possessions and slew my father and brethren,\nnor indeed is there one of you, but he hath harried his lands and\ncarried off his goods and made prize of his wives and slain some kinsmen\nof his. Now I have heard this day that he is absorbed in the love of his\nson Janshah, and that his troops are grown few and weak; and this is the\ntime to take our blood-revenge on him. So make ready for the march and\ndon ye your harness of battle; and let nothing stay or delay you, and we\nwill go to him and fall upon him and slay him and his son, and possess\nourselves of his reign.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Seventeenth Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Kafid, King\nof Hind, commanded his troops and armies to mount and make for the\ndominions of King Teghmus, saying, \u201cGet ye ready for the march and don\nye your harness of war; and let nothing stay or delay you; so we will go\nto him and fall upon him and slay him and his son and possess ourselves\nof his reign.\u201d They all answered with one voice, saying, \u201cWe hear and\nobey,\u201d and fell at once to equipping themselves and levying troops; and\nthey ceased not their preparations for three months and, when all was in\nreadiness, they beat the drums and sounded the trumps and flew the flags\nand banners: then King Kafid set out at the head of his host and they\nfared on till they reached the frontiers of the land of Kabul, the\ndominions of King Teghmus, where they began to harry the land and do\nhavoc among the folk, slaughtering the old and taking the young\nprisoners. When the news reached King Teghmus, he was wroth with\nexceeding wrath and assembling his Grandees and officers of state, said\nto them, \u201cKnow that Kafid hath come to our land and hath entered the\nrealm we command and is resolved to fight us hand to hand; and he\nleadeth troops and champions and warriors, whose number none knoweth\nsave Allah Almighty; what deme deem ye?\u201d Replied they, \u201cO King of the\nage, let us go out to him and give him battle and drive him forth of our\ncountry; and thus deem we.\u201d So he bade them prepare for battle and\nbrought forth to them hauberks and cuirasses and helmets and swords and\nall manner of warlike gear, such as lay low warriors and do to death the\nchampions of mankind. So the troops and braves and champions flocked\ntogether and they set up the standards and beat the drums and sounded\nthe trumpets and clashed the cymbals and piped on the pipes; and King\nTeghmus marched out at the head of his army, to meet the hosts of Hind.\nAnd when he drew near the foe, he called a halt, and encamping with his\nhost in the Zahr\u00e1n Valley,[553] hard by the frontier of Kabul despatched\nto King Kafid by messenger the following letter:\u2014\u201cKnow that what thou\nhast done is of the doings of the villain rabble and wert thou indeed a\nKing, the son of a King, thou hadst not done thus, nor hadst thou\ninvaded my kingdom and slain my subjects and plundered their property\nand wrought unright upon them. Knowest thou not that all this is the\nfashion of a tyrant? Verily, had I known that thou durst harry my\ndominions, I had come to thee before thy coming and had prevented thee\nthis long while since. Yet, even now, if thou wilt retire and leave\nmischief between us and thee, well and good; but if thou return not,\nmeet me in the listed field and measure thyself with me in cut and\nthrust.\u201d Lastly he sealed his letter and committed to an officer of his\narmy and sent with him spies to spy him out news. The messenger fared\nforth with the missive and, drawing near the enemy\u2019s camp, he descried a\nmultitude of tents of silk and satin, with pennons of blue sendal, and\namongst them a great pavilion of red satin, surrounded by a host of\nguards. He ceased not to advance till he made this tent and found on\nasking that it was that of King Kafid whom he saw seated on a chair set\nwith jewels, in the midst of his Wazirs and Emirs and Grandees. So he\nbrought out the letter and straightway there came up to him a company of\nguards, who took it from him and carried it to the King; and Kafid read\nit and wrote a reply to this purport:\u2014\u201cAfter the usual invocations, We\nlet King Teghmus know that we mean to take our blood-revenge on thee and\nwash out our stain and waste thy reign and rend the curtain in twain and\nslay the old men and enslave the young men. But to-morrow, come thou\nforth to combat in the open plain, and to show thee thrust and fight\nwill I deign.\u201d Then he sealed the letter and delivered it to the\nmessenger, who carried it to King Teghmus\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Eighteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Kafid\ndelivered the answering letter to the messenger who carried it to King\nTeghmus and delivered it, after kissing the ground between his hands.\nThen he reported all that he had seen, saying, \u201cO King of the age, I\nespied warriors and horsemen and footmen beyond count nor can I assist\nthee to the amount.\u201d When Teghmus read the reply and comprehended its\ncontents, he was with furious rage enraged and bade his Wazir Ayn Zar\ntake horse and fall upon the army of Kafid with a thousand cavaliers, in\nthe middle watch of the night when they would easily ride home and slay\nall before them. Ayn Zar replied, \u201cI hear and I obey,\u201d and at once went\nforth to do his bidding. Now King Kafid had a Wazir, Ghatraf\u00e1n[554] by\nname, whom he bade take five thousand horse and attack the host of King\nTeghmus in like manner. So Ghatrafan did his bidding and set out on his\nenterprise marching till midnight. Thus the two parties met halfway and\nthe Wazir Ghatrafan fell upon the Wazir Ayn Zar. Then man cried out\nagainst man and there befel sore battle between them till break of day,\nwhen Kafid\u2019s men were routed and fled back to their King in confusion.\nAs Kafid saw this, he was wroth beyond measure and said to the\nfugitives, \u201cWoe to you! What hath befallen you, that ye have lost your\ncaptains?\u201d and they replied, \u201cO King of the age, as the Wazir Ghatrafan\nrode forth to fall upon King Teghmus, there appeared to us halfway and\nwhen night was half over, the Wazir Ayn Zar, with cavaliers and\nchampions, and we met on the slopes of Wady Zahran; but ere we were ware\nwe found ourselves in the enemy\u2019s midst, eye meeting eye; and we fought\na fierce fight with them from midnight till morning, many on either side\nbeing slain. Then the Wazir and his men fell to shouting and smiting the\nelephants on the face till they took fright at their furious blows, and\nturning tail to flee, trampled down the horsemen, whilst none could see\nother for the clouds of dust. The blood ran like a rain-torrent and had\nwe not fled, we had all been cut off to the last man.\u201d When King Kafid\nheard this, he exclaimed, \u201cMay the sun not bless you and may he be wroth\nwith you and sore be his wrath!\u201d Meanwhile Ayn Zar, the Wazir, returned\nto King Teghmus and told him what had happened. The King gave him joy of\nhis safety and rejoiced greatly and bade beat the drums and sound the\ntrumpets, in honour of the victory; after which he called the roll of\nhis troops and behold, two hundred of his stoutest champions had fallen.\nThen King Kafid marched his army into the field and drew them out\nordered for battle in fifteen lines of ten thousand horse each, under\nthe command of three hundred captains, mounted on elephants and chosen\nfrom amongst the doughtiest of his warriors and his champions. So he set\nup his standards and banners and beat the drums and blew the trumpets\nwhilst the braves sallied forth, offering battle. As for King Teghmus,\nhe drew out his troops line after line and lo! there were ten of ten\nthousand horse each, and with him were an hundred champions, riding on\nhis right hand and on his left. Then fared forward to the fight each\nrenowned knight, and the hosts clashed together in their might, whilst\nthe earth for all its wideness was straitened because of the multitude\nof the cavaliers and ears were deafened by drums and cymbals beating and\npipes and hautboys sounding and trumpets blaring and by the thunder of\nhorse-tramp and the shouting of men. The dust arched in canopy over\ntheir heads and they fought a sore fight from the first of the day till\nthe fall of darkness, when they separated and each army drew off to its\nown camp.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Nineteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that each army drew off\nto its own camp. Then King Kafid called the roll of his troops and,\nfinding that he had lost five thousand men, raged with great rage; and\nKing Teghmus mustered his men and seeing that of them were slain three\nthousand riders, the bravest of his braves, was wroth with exceeding\nwrath. On the morrow King Kafid again pushed into the plain and did duty\nas before, while each man strave his best to snatch victory for himself;\nand Kafid cried out to his men, saying, \u201cIs there any of you will sally\nforth into the field and open us the chapter of fray and fight?\u201d And\nbehold came out from the ranks a warrior named Barkayk, a mighty man of\nwar who, when he reached the King, alighted from his elephant and\nkissing the earth before him, sought of him leave to challenge the foe\nto combat singular. Then he mounted his elephant and driving into\nmid-field, cried out, \u201cWho is for duello, who is for derring-do, who is\nfor knightly devoir?\u201d When King Teghmus heard this, he said to his\ntroops, \u201cWhich of you will do single battle with this sworder?\u201d And\nbehold, a cavalier came out from the ranks, mounted on a charger, mighty\nof make, and driving up to the King kissed the earth before him and\ncraved his permission to engage Barkayk. Then he mounted again and\ncharged at Barkayk, who said to him, \u201cWho art thou and what art thou\ncalled, that thou makest mock of me by coming out against me and\nchallenging me, alone?\u201d \u201cMy name is Ghazanfar[555] son of Kamkh\u00edl,\u201d\nreplied the Kabul champion; and the other, \u201cI have heard tell of thee in\nmy own country; so up and do battle between the ranks of the braves!\u201d\nHearing these words Ghazanfar drew a mace of iron from under his thigh\nand Barkayk took his good sword in hand, and they laid on load till\nBarkayk smote Ghazanfar on the head with his blade, but the morion\nturned the blow and no hurt befel him therefrom; whereupon Ghazanfar, in\nhis turn, dealt Barkayk so terrible a stroke on the head with his mace,\nthat he levelled him down to his elephant\u2019s back and slew him. With this\nout sallied another and crying to Ghazanfar, \u201cWho be thou that thou\nshouldst slay my brother?\u201d; hurled a javelin at him with such force that\nit pierced his thigh and nailed his coat of mail to his flesh. Then\nGhazanfar, feeling his hurt, hent his sword in hand and smote at\nBarkayk\u2019s brother and cut him in sunder, and he fell to the earth,\nwallowing in his life-blood; whilst the challenger of Kabul galloped\nback to King Teghmus. Now when Kafid saw the death of his champions, he\ncried out to his troops, saying, \u201cDown with you to the plain and strike\nwith might and main!\u201d as also did King Teghmus, and the two armies\nfought the fiercest of fights. Horse neighed against horse and man cried\nout upon man and brands were bared, whilst the drums beat and the\ntrumpets blared; and horseman charged upon horseman and every brave of\nrenown pushed forward, whilst the faint-heart fled from the lunge of\nlance and men heard nought but slogan-cry and the clash and clang of\narmoury. Slain were the warriors that were slain[556] and they stayed\nnot from the mellay till the decline of the sun in the heavenly dome,\nwhen the Kings drew off their armies and returned each to its own\ncamp.[557] Then King Teghmus took tally of his men and found that he had\nlost five thousand, and four standards had been broken to bits, whereat\nhe was sore an-angered; whilst King Kafid in like manner counted his\ntroops and found that he had lost six hundred, the bravest of his\nbraves, and nine standards were wanting to the full tale. The two armies\nceased joining battle and rested on their arms three days\u2019 space, after\nwhich Kafid wrote a letter and sent it by messenger to a King called\nF\u00e1kun al-Kalb (with whom he claimed kinship by the spindle side): and\nthis kinsman forthwith mustered his men and marched to meet the King of\nHind.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Twentieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Fakun\nmustered his men and marched to meet the King of Hind: and whileas King\nTeghmus was sitting at his pleasance, there came one in to him and said,\n\u201cI see from afar a cloud of dust spireing high in air and overspreading\nthe lift.\u201d So he commanded a company to fare forth and learn the meaning\nof this; and, crying, \u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d they sallied out and\npresently returned and said to him, \u201cO King, when we drew near the cloud\nof dust, the wind rent it and it lifted and showed seven standards and\nunder each standard three thousand horse, making for King Kafid\u2019s camp.\u201d\nThen King Fakun joined himself to the King of Hind and saluting him,\nasked, \u201cHow is it with thee, and what be this war in which thou\nwarrest?\u201d; and Kafid answered, \u201cKnowest thou not that King Teghmus is my\nenemy and the murtherer of my father and brothers? Wherefore I am come\nforth to do battle with him and take my blood-wreak on him.\u201d Quoth\nFakun, \u201cThe blessing of the sun be upon thee!\u201d; and the King of Hind\ncarried King Fakun al-Kalb to his tent and rejoiced in him with\nexceeding joy. Such was the case of the two hostile Kings; but as\nregards King Janshah, he abode two months shut up in his palace, without\nseeing his father or allowing one of the damsels in his service to come\nin to him; at the end of which time he grew troubled and restless and\nsaid to his attendants, \u201cWhat aileth my father that he cometh not to\nvisit me?\u201d They told him that he had gone forth to do battle with King\nKafid, whereupon quoth Janshah, \u201cBring me my steed, that I may go to my\nsire.\u201d They replied, \u201cWe hear and obey,\u201d and brought his horse; but he\nsaid in himself, \u201cI am taken up with the thought of myself and my love\nand I deem well to mount and ride for the city of the Jews, where haply\nAllah shall grant me the boon to meet the merchant who hired me for the\nruby-business and may be he will deal with me as he dealt before, for\nnone knoweth whence good cometh.\u201d So he took with him a thousand horse\nand set out, the folk saying, \u201cAt last Janshah hath fared forth to join\nhis father in the field, and to fight by his side;\u201d and they stinted not\npushing on till dusk, when they halted for the night in a vast meadow.\nAs soon as he knew that all his men were asleep, the Prince rose privily\nand girding his waist, mounted his horse and rode away intending to make\nBaghdad, because he had heard from the Jews that a caravan came thence\nto their city once in every two years and he made up his mind to journey\nthither with the next Cafilah. When his men awoke and missed the Prince\nand his horse, they mounted and sought him right and left but, finding\nno trace of him, rejoined his father and told him what his son had done;\nwhereat he was wroth beyond measure and cast the crown from his head,\nwhilst the sparks were like to fly from his mouth, and he said \u201cThere is\nno Majesty and there is no Might but in Allah! Verily I have lost my\nson, and the enemy is still before me.\u201d But his Wazirs and vassals said\nto him, \u201cPatience, O King of the age! Patience bringeth weal in wake.\u201d\nMeanwhile Janshah, parted from his lover and pained for his father, was\nin sore sorrow and dismay, with heart seared and eyes tear-bleared and\nunable to sleep night or day. But when his father heard the loss his\nhost had endured, he declined battle, and fled before King Kafid; and,\nretiring to his city, closed the gates and strengthened the walls.\nThereupon King Kafid followed him and sat down before the town, offering\nbattle seven nights and eight days, after which he withdrew to his\ntents, to tend his wounded while the citizens defended themselves as\nthey best could, fortifying the place and setting up mangonels and other\nengines on the walls. Such was the condition of the two Kings, and war\nraged between them for a space of seven years.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Kings Teghmus and\nKafid continued in this condition for seven years; but, as regards\nJanshah, he rode through wild and wold and whenever he came to a town he\nasked anent Takni, the Castle of Jewels, but none knew of it and all\nanswered, \u201cOf a truth we never heard of such place, not even by name.\u201d\nAt last he happened to enquire concerning the city of the Jews from a\nmerchant who told him that it was situate in the extreme Orient, adding,\n\u201cA caravan will start this very month for the city of Mizrak\u00e1n in Hind;\nwhither do thou accompany us and we will fare on to Khorasan and thence\nto the city of Shima\u2019\u00fan and Khw\u00e1razm, from which latter place the City\nof the Jews is distant a year and three months\u2019 journey.\u201d So Janshah\nwaited till the departure of the caravan, when he joined himself thereto\nand journeyed, till he reached the city of Mizrakan whence, after vainly\nasking for Takni, the Castle of Jewels, he set out and enduring on the\nway great hardships and perils galore and the extreme of hunger and\nthirst, he arrived at the town of Shima\u2019un. Here he made enquiry for the\nCity of the Jews, and they directed him to the road thither. So he fared\nforth and journeyed days and nights till he came to the place where he\nhad given the apes the slip, and continued his journey thence to the\nriver, on the opposite bank of which stood the City of the Jews. He sat\ndown on the shore and waited till the Sabbath came round and the river\ndried up by decree of Allah Almighty, when he crossed over to the\nopposite bank and, entering the city, betook himself to the house\nwherein he had lodged on his former journey. The Jew and his family\nsaluted him and rejoiced in his return and, setting meat and drink\nbefore him, asked, \u201cWhere hast thou been during thine absence?\u201d; and he\nanswered, \u201cIn the kingdom of Almighty Allah!\u201d[558] He lay with them that\nnight and on the morrow he went out to solace himself with a walk about\nthe city and presently heard a crier crying aloud and saying, \u201cO folk,\nwho will earn a thousand gold pieces and a fair slave-girl and do half a\nday\u2019s work for us?\u201d So Janshah went up to him and said, \u201cI will do this\nwork.\u201d[559] Quoth the crier, \u201cFollow me,\u201d and carrying him to the house\nof the Jew merchant, where he had been aforetime, said, \u201cThis young man\nwill do thy need.\u201d The merchant not recognising him gave him welcome and\ncarried him into the Harim, where he set meat and drink before him, and\nhe ate and drank. Then he brought him the money and formally made over\nto him the handsome slave-girl with whom he lay that night. As soon as\nmorning dawned, he took the dinars and the damsel and, committing them\nto his Jew host with whom he had lodged aforetime, returned to the\nmerchant, who mounted and rode out with him, till they came to the foot\nof the tall and towering mountain, where the merchant, bringing out a\nknife and cords, said to Janshah, \u201cThrow the mare.\u201d So he threw her and\nbound her four legs with the cords and slaughtered her and cut off her\nhead and four limbs and slit her belly, as ordered by the Jew; whereupon\nquoth he, \u201cEnter her belly, till I sew it up on thee; and whatsoever\nthou seest therein, tell me of it, for this is the work whose wage thou\nhast taken.\u201d So Janshah entered the mare\u2019s belly and the merchant sewed\nit up on him; then, withdrawing to a fair distance, hid himself. And\nafter an hour a great bird swooped down from the lift and, snatching up\nthe carcass in his pounces soared high toward the sky. Then he perched\nupon the mountain-peak and would have eaten the prey, but Janshah\nsensing his intent took out his knife and slit the mare\u2019s belly and came\nforth. The bird was scared at his sight and flew away, and Janshah went\nup to a place whence he could see below, and looking down, espied the\nmerchant standing at the foot of the mountain, as he were a sparrow. So\nhe cried out to him, \u201cWhat is thy will, O merchant?\u201d Replied the Jew,\n\u201cThrow me down of the stones that lie about thee, that I may direct thee\nin the way down.\u201d Quoth Janshah, \u201cThou art he who didst with me thus and\nthus five years ago, and through thee I suffered hunger and thirst and\nsore toil and much trouble; and now thou hast brought me hither once\nmore and thinkest to destroy me. By Allah, I will not throw thee aught!\u201d\nSo saying, he turned from him and set out for where lived Shaykh Nasr,\nthe King of the Birds.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Janshah took the\nway for where lived Shaykh Nasr, the King of the Birds. And he ceased\nnot faring on many days and nights, tearful-eyed and heavy-hearted;\neating, when he was anhungered, of the growth of the ground and\ndrinking, when he thirsted, of its streams, till he came in sight of the\nCastle of the lord Solomon and saw Shaykh Nasr sitting at the gate. So\nhe hastened up to him and kissed his hands; and the Shaykh saluted him\nand bade him welcome and said to him, \u201cO my son, what aileth thee that\nthou returnest to this place, after I sent thee home with the Princess\nShamsah, cool of eyes and broad of breast?\u201d Janshah wept and told him\nall that had befallen him and how she had flown away from him, saying,\n\u201cAn thou love me, come to me in Takni, the Castle of Jewels;\u201d at which\nthe old man marvelled and said, \u201cBy Allah, O my son, I know it not, nor,\nby the virtue of our lord Solomon, have I ever in my life heard its\nname!\u201d Quoth Janshah, \u201cWhat shall I do? I am dying of love and longing.\u201d\nQuoth Shaykh Nasr, \u201cTake patience until the coming of the birds, when we\nwill enquire at them of Takni, the Castle of Jewels; haply one of them\nshall wot thereof.\u201d So Janshah\u2019s heart was comforted and, entering the\nPalace, he went straight to the chamber which gave upon the Lake in\nwhich he had seen the three maidens. After this he abode with Shaykh\nNasr for a while and, one day as he was sitting with him, the Shaykh\nsaid, \u201cO my son, rejoice for the time of the birds\u2019 coming draweth\nnigh.\u201d Janshah gladdened to hear the news; and after a few days the\nbirds began to come and Shaykh Nasr said to him, \u201cO my son, learn these\nnames[560] and address thyself with me to meet the birds.\u201d Presently,\nthe fowls came flying up and saluted Shaykh Nasr, kind after kind, and\nhe asked them of Takni, the Castle of Jewels, but they all made answer,\n\u201cNever heard we of such a place.\u201d At these words Janshah wept and\nlamented till he swooned away; whereupon Shaykh Nasr called a huge\nvolatile and said to him, \u201cCarry this youth to the land of Kabul,\u201d and\ndescribed to him the country and the way thither. Then he set Janshah on\nthe bird\u2019s back, saying, \u201cBe careful to sit straight and beware of\nleaning to either side, else thou wilt be torn to pieces in the air; and\nstop thine ears from the wind, lest thou be dazed by the noise of the\nrevolving sphere and the roaring of the seas.\u201d Janshah resolved to do\nhis bidding and the bird took flight high in sky and flew with him a day\nand a night, till he set him down by the King of the Beasts, whose name\nwas Sh\u00e1h Badr\u00ed, and said to his rider, \u201cWe have gone astray from the way\ndirected by Shaykh Nasr.\u201d And he would have taken him up again and flown\non with him; but Janshah said, \u201cGo thy ways and leave me here; till I\ndie on this spot or I find Takni, the Castle of Jewels, I will not\nreturn to my country.\u201d So the fowl left him with Shah Badri, King of the\nBeasts and flew away. The King thereupon said to him, \u201cO my son, who art\nthou and whence comest thou with yonder great bird?\u201d So Janshah told him\nhis story from beginning to end, whereat Shah Badri marvelled and said,\n\u201cBy the virtue of the lord Solomon, I know not of this castle; but if\nany one of the beasts my subjects know it, we will reward him\nbountifully and send thee by him thither.\u201d Hereat Janshah wept bitterly\nbut presently he took patience and abode with Shah Badri, and after a\nshort time the King of the Beasts said to him, \u201cO my son, take these\ntablets and commit to memory that which is therein; and when the beasts\ncome, we will question them of the Castle of Jewels.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-third Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King of\nthe Beasts said to Janshah, \u201cCommit to memory what is in these tablets;\nand whenas the beasts come, we will ask them anent that castle.\u201d He did\nas the King bade him, and before long, up came the beasts, kind after\nkind, and saluted Shah Badri, who questioned them of Takni, the Castle\nof Jewels; but they all replied, \u201cWe know not this castle, nor ever\nheard we of it.\u201d At this Janshah wept and lamented for that he had not\ngone with the bird that brought him from Shaykh Nasr\u2019s castle; but Shah\nBadri said to him, \u201cGrieve not, O my son, for I have a brother, King\nShim\u00e1kh hight, who is older than I; he was once a prisoner to King\nSolomon, for that he rebelled against him; nor is there among the Jinn\none elder than he and Shaykh Nasr. Belike he knoweth of this castle; at\nany rate he ruleth over all the Jinn in this country side.\u201d So saying he\nset Janshah on the back of a beast and gave him a letter to his brother,\ncommending him to his care. The beast set off with the Prince forthwith\nand fared on days and nights, till it came to King Shimakh\u2019s abiding\nplace. And when it caught sight of the King it stood still afar off;\nwhereupon Janshah alighted and walked on, till he found himself in the\npresence. Then he kissed hands and presented his brother\u2019s letter. The\nKing read the missive and, having mastered the meaning, welcomed the\nPrince, saying, \u201cBy Allah, O my son, in all my born days I never saw nor\nheard of this castle!\u201d adding (as Janshah burst into tears), \u201cbut tell\nme thy story and who and whence thou art and whither thou art bound.\u201d So\nJanshah related to him his history from beginning to end, at which\nShimakh marvelled and said, \u201cO my son, I do not believe that even the\nlord Solomon ever saw this castle or heard thereof; but O my son,[561] I\nknow a monk in the mountains, who is exceeding old and whom all birds\nand beasts and Jann obey; for he ceased not his conjurations against the\nKings of the Jann, till they submitted themselves to him in their own\ndespite, by reason of the might of his oaths and his magic; and now all\nthe birds and the beasts are his servants. I myself once rebelled\nagainst King Solomon and he sent against me this monk, the only being\nwho could overcome me with his craft and his conjurations and his\ngramarye; then he imprisoned me, and since that time I have been his\nvassal. He hath travelled in all countries and quarters and knoweth all\nways and regions and places and castles and cities; nor do I think there\nis any place hidden from his ken. So needs must I send thee to him,\nhaply he may direct thee to the Castle of Jewels; and, if he cannot do\nthis, none can; for all things obey him, birds and beasts and the very\nmountains and come at his beck and call, by reason of his skill in\nmagic. Moreover, by the might of his egromancy he hath made a staff, in\nthree pieces, and this he planteth in the earth and conjureth over it;\nwhereupon flesh and blood issue from the first piece, sweet milk from\nthe second and wheat and barley from the third; then he withdraweth the\nstaff and returneth to his place which is hight the Hermitage of\nDiamonds. And this magical monk is a cunning inventor and artificer of\nall manner strange works; and he is a crafty warlock full of guiles and\nwiles, an arch-deceiver of wondrous wickedness, who hath mastered every\nkind of magic and witchcraft. His name is Yaghm\u00fas and to him I must\nneeds send thee on the back of a big bird with four wings\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-fourth Night,\n\nShe pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Shimakh said to\nJanshah, \u201cI must needs send thee to the monk Yaghmus on the back of a\nbig bird with four wings, each measuring thirty H\u00e1shimi[562] cubits in\nlength; and it hath feet like those of an elephant, but it flieth only\ntwice a year.\u201d And there was with King Shimakh an officer, by name\nTimsh\u00fan, who used every day to carry off two Bactrian[563] camels from\nthe land of Irak and cut them up for the bird that it might eat them. So\nKing Shimakh bade the fowl take up Janshah and bear him to the cell of\nthe hermit Yaghmus; and it rose into the air and flew on days and\nnights, till it came to the Mountain of the Citadels and the Hermitage\nof Diamonds; where Janshah alighted and going up to the hermitage, found\nYaghmus the Monk at his devotions. So he entered the chapel and, kissing\nthe ground stood respectfully before the hermit. When Yaghmus saw him,\nhe said, \u201cWelcome, O my son, O parted from thy home and garred ferforth\nto roam! Tell me the cause of thy coming hither.\u201d So Janshah wept and\nacquainted him with all that had befallen him from beginning to end and\nthat he was in quest of the Castle of Jewels. The Monk marvelled greatly\nat his story and said, \u201cBy Allah, O my son, never in my life heard I of\nthis castle, nor ever saw I one who had heard of it or had seen it, for\nall I was alive in the days of Noah, Allah\u2019s Prophet (on whom be\npeace!),[564] and I have ruled the birds and beasts and Jinn ever since\nhis time; nor do I believe that Solomon David-son himself knew of it.\nBut wait till the birds and beasts and chiefs of the Jann come to do\ntheir homage to me and I will question them of it; peradventure, some\none of them may be able to give us news of it and Allah Almighty shall\nmake all things easy to thee.\u201d So Janshah homed with the hermit, until\nthe day of the assembly, when all the birds and beasts and Jann came to\nswear fealty; and Yaghmus and his guest questioned them anent Takni, the\nCastle of Jewels; but they all replied, \u201cWe never saw or heard of such a\nplace.\u201d At this, Janshah fell a-weeping and lamenting and humbled\nhimself before the Most High; but, as he was thus engaged, behold, there\nflew down from the heights of air another bird, big of bulk and black of\nblee, which had tarried behind the rest, and kissed the hermit\u2019s hands.\nYaghmus asked it of Takni, the Castle of Jewels, and it answered,\nsaying, \u201cO Monk, when I and my brothers were small chicks we abode\nbehind the Mountain Kaf on a hill of crystal, in the midst of a great\ndesert; and our father and mother used to set out for it every morning\nand in the evening come back with our food. They went out early one day,\nand were absent from us a se\u2019nnight and hunger was sore upon us; but on\nthe eighth day they returned, both weeping, and we asked them the reason\nof their absence. Quoth they:\u2014A Marid swooped down on us and carried us\noff in his claws to Takni, the Castle of Jewels, and brought us before\nKing Shahl\u00e1n, who would have slain us; but we told him that we had left\nbehind us a brood of fledgelings; so he spared our lives and let us go.\nAnd were my parents yet in the bonds of life they would give thee news\nof the castle.\u201d When Janshah heard this, he wept bitter tears and said\nto the hermit, \u201cPrithee bid the bird carry me to his father and mother\u2019s\nnest on the crystal hill, behind the Mountain Kaf.\u201d So the hermit said,\n\u201cO bird, I desire thee to obey this youth in whatsoever he may command\nthee.\u201d \u201cI hear and obey thy bidding,\u201d replied the fowl; and, taking\nJanshah on its back, flew with him days and nights without ceasing till\nit set him down on the Hill of Crystal and there alighted. And having\ndelayed there a resting while, it again set him on its back and flew off\nand ceased not flying for two whole days till it reached the spot where\nthe nest was.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the fowl ceased\nnot flying with Janshah two full days; till it reached the spot where\nthe nest was, and set him down there and said, \u201cO Janshah, this is where\nour nest was.\u201d He wept sore and replied, \u201cI pray thee bear me farther on\nto where thy parents used to forage for food.\u201d The bird consented; so it\ntook him up again and flew on with him seven nights and eight days, till\nit set him down on the top of a high hill Karm\u00fas hight and left him\nthere saying, \u201cI know of no land behind this hill.\u201d Then it flew away\nand Janshah sat down on the hill-top and fell asleep. When he awoke, he\nsaw a something gleaming afar off as it were lightning and filling the\nfirmament with its flashings; and he wondered what this sheen could be\nwithout wotting that it was the Castle he sought. So he descended the\nmountain and made towards the light, which came from Takni, the Castle\nof Jewels, distant two months\u2019 journey from Karm\u00fas, the hill whereon he\nhad alit and its foundations were fashioned of red rubies and its\nbuildings of yellow gold. Moreover, it had a thousand turrets builded of\nprecious metals, and stones of price studded and set in the minerals\nbrought from the Main of Murks, and on this account it was named the\nCastle of Jewels, Takni. It was a vast great castle and the name of its\nking was King Shahlan, the father of the lady Shamsah and her sisters.\nSuch was the case with Janshah; but as regards Princess Shamsah, when\nshe fled from Janshah, she made straight for the Castle of Jewels and\ntold her father and mother all that had passed between the Prince and\nherself; how he had wandered the world and seen its marvels and wonders\nand how fondly he loved her and how dearly she loved him. Quoth they,\n\u201cThou hast not dealt righteously with him, as Allah would have thee\ndeal.\u201d Moreover King Shahlan repeated the story to his guards and\nofficers of the Marids of the Jinn and bade them bring him every mortal\nthey should see. For the lady Shamsah had said to her parents, \u201cJanshah\nloveth me with passionate love and forsure he will follow me; for when\nflying from his father\u2019s roof I cried to him:\u2014An thou love me, seek me\nat Takni, the Castle of Jewels!\u201d Now when Janshah beheld that sheen and\nshine, he made straight for it wishing to find out what it might be. And\nas chance would have it, Shamsah had that very day despatched a Marid on\nan occasion in the direction of the hill Karmus, and on his way thither\nhe caught sight of a man, a mortal; so he hastened up to him and saluted\nhim. Janshah was terrified at his sight, but returned his salam, and the\nMarid asked, \u201cWhat is thy name?\u201d and he answered, \u201cMy name is Janshah,\nand I have fallen madly in love with a Jinniyah known as Princess\nShamsah, who captivated me by her beauty and loveliness; but despite my\ndear love she fled from the palace wherein I placed her and behold, I am\nhere in quest of her.\u201d Herewith he wept with bitter weeping. The Marid\nlooked at him and his heart burned with pity on hearing the sad tale,\nand he said, \u201cWeep not, for surely thou art come to thy desire. Know\nthat she loveth thee fondly and hath told her parents of thy love for\nher, and all in yonder castle love thee for her sake; so be of good\ncheer and keep thine eyes cool of tear.\u201d Then he took him on his\nshoulders and made off with him to the Castle of Jewels, Takni.\nThereupon the bearers of fair tidings hastened to report his coming and\nwhen the news reached Shamsah and her father and mother, they all\nrejoiced with exceeding joy, and King Shahlan took horse and rode out,\ncommanding all his guards and Ifrits and Marids honourably to meet the\nPrince.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Shahlan\ncommanded all his guards and Ifrits and Marids to meet the Prince; and,\nas soon as he came up with him, he dismounted and embraced him, and\nJanshah kissed his hand. Then Shahlan bade put on him a robe of honour\nof many-coloured silk, laced with gold and set with jewels, and a\ncoronet such as man never saw, and, mounting him on a splendid mare of\nthe steeds of the Kings of the Jinn, took horse himself and, with an\nimmense retinue riding on the right hand and the left, brought him in\ngreat state to the Castle. Janshah marvelled at the splendour of this\nedifice, with its walls builded of rubies and other jewels and its\npavement of crystal and jasper and emerald, and fell a-weeping at the\nmemory of his past miseries; but the King and Queen, Shamsah\u2019s mother,\nwiped away his tears and said, \u201cNow no more weeping and be of good\ncheer, for thou hast won to thy will.\u201d Then Shahlan carried him into the\ninner court of the Castle, where he was received by a multitude of\nbeautiful damsels and pages and black Jinn-slaves, who seated him in the\nplace of honour and stood to do him service, whilst he was lost in\namazement at the goodliness of the place, and its walls all edified of\nprecious metals and jewels of price. Presently King Shahlan repaired to\nhis hall of audience, where he sat down on his throne and, bidding the\nslave-girls and the pages introduce the Prince, rose to receive him and\nseated him by his side on the throne. Then he ordered the tables to be\nspread and they ate and drank and washed their hands; after which in\ncame the Queen Shamsah\u2019s mother, and saluting Janshah, bade him welcome\nin these words, \u201cThou hast come to thy desire after weariness and thine\neyes shall now sleep after watching; so praised be Allah for thy\nsafety!\u201d Thus saying, she went away and forthwith returned with the\nPrincess Shamsah, who saluted Janshah and kissed his hands, hanging her\nhead in shame and confusion before him and her parents; after which as\nmany of her sisters as were in the palace came up to him and greeted him\nin like manner. Then quoth the Queen to him, \u201cWelcome, O my son, our\ndaughter Shamsah hath indeed sinned against thee, but do thou pardon her\nmisdeed for our sakes.\u201d When Janshah heard this, he cried out and fell\ndown fainting, whereat the King marvelled and they sprinkled on his face\nrose-water mingled with musk and civet, till he came to himself and,\nlooking at Princess Shamsah, said, \u201cPraised be Allah who hath brought me\nto my desire and hath quenched the fire of my heart!\u201d Replied she, \u201cMay\nHe preserve thee from the Fire!; but now tell me, O Janshah, what hath\nbefallen thee since our parting and how thou madest thy way to this\nplace; seeing that few even of the Jann ever heard of Takni, the Castle\nof Jewels; and we are independent of all the Kings nor any wotteth the\nroad hither.\u201d Thereupon he related to her every adventure and peril and\nhardship he had suffered and how he had left his father at war with King\nKafid, ending with these words, \u201cAnd all for thy sake, my lady Shamsah!\u201d\nQuoth the Queen, \u201cNow hast thou thy heart\u2019s desire, for the Princess is\nthy handmaid, and we give her in free gift to thee.\u201d Janshah joyed\nexceedingly at these words and the Queen added, \u201cNext month, if it be\nthe will of Almighty Allah, we will have a brave wedding and celebrate\nthe marriage festival and after the knot is tied we will send you both\nback to thy native land, with an escort of a thousand Marids of our\nbody-guard, the least of whom, an thou bid him slay King Kafid and his\nfolk, would surely destroy them to the last man in the twinkling of an\neye. Furthermore if it please thee we will send thee, year after year, a\ncompany of which each and every can so do with all thy foes.\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the lady\nShamsah\u2019s mother ended with saying, \u201cAnd if it so please thee we will\nsend thee, year after year, a company of which each and every can\ndestroy thy foes to the last man.\u201d Then King Shahlan sat down on his\nthrone and, summoning his grandees and officers of state, bade them make\nready for the marriage-festivities and decorate the city seven days and\nnights. \u201cWe hear and we obey,\u201d answered they and busied themselves two\nmonths in the preparations, after which they celebrated the marriage of\nthe Prince and Princess and held a mighty festival, never was there its\nlike. Then they brought Janshah in to his bride and he abode with her in\nall solace of life and delight for two years, at the end of which time\nhe said to her, \u201cThy father promised to send us to my native land, that\nwe might pass one year there and the next here.\u201d Answered she, \u201cI hear\nand obey,\u201d and going in to King Shahlan at nightfall told him what the\nPrince had said. Quoth he, \u201cI consent; but have patience with me till\nthe first of the month, that I may make ready for your departure.\u201d She\nrepeated these words to her husband and they waited till the appointed\ntime, when the King bade his Marids bring out to them a great litter of\nred gold, set with pearls and jewels and covered with a canopy of green\nsilk, purfled in a profusion of colours and embroidered with precious\nstones, dazzling with its goodliness the eyes of every beholder. He\nchose out four of his Marids to carry the litter in whichever of the\nfour quarters the riders might choose. Moreover, he gave his daughter\nthree hundred beautiful damsels to wait upon her and bestowed on Janshah\nthe like number of white slaves of the sons of the Jinn. Then the lady\nShamsah took formal leave of her mother and sisters and all her kith and\nkin; and her father fared forth with them. So the four Marids took up\nthe litter, each by one corner, and rising under it like birds in air,\nflew onward with it between earth and heaven till midday, when the King\nbade them set it down and all alighted. Then they took leave of one\nanother and King Shahlan commended Shamsah to the Prince\u2019s care, and\ngiving them in charge to the Marids, returned to the Castle of Jewels,\nwhilst the Prince and Princess remounted the litter, and the Marids\ntaking it up, flew on for ten whole days, in each of which they\naccomplished thirty months\u2019 journey, till they sighted the capital of\nKing Teghmus. Now one of them knew the land of Kabul; so when he saw the\ncity, he bade the others let down the litter at that populous place\nwhich was the capital.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Marid-guards\nlet down the litter at the capital of King Teghmus who had been routed\nand had fled from his foes into the city, where he was in sore straits,\nKing Kafid having laid close siege to him. He sought to save himself by\nmaking peace with the King of Hind, but his enemy would give him no\nquarter; so seeing himself without resource or means of relief, he\ndetermined to strangle himself and to die and be at rest from this\ntrouble and misery. Accordingly he bade his Wazirs and Emirs farewell\nand entered his house to take leave of his Harim; and the whole realm\nwas full of weeping and wailing and lamentation and woe. And whilst this\nrout and hurly-burly was enacting, behold, the Marids descended with the\nlitter upon the palace that was in the citadel, and Janshah bade them\nset it down in the midst of the Divan. They did his bidding and he\nalighted with his company of handmaids and Mamelukes; and, seeing all\nthe folk of the city in straits and desolation and sore distress, said\nto the Princess, \u201cO love of my heart and coolth of mine eyes, look in\nwhat a piteous plight is my sire!\u201d Thereupon she bade the Marid-guard\nfall upon the beleaguering host and slay them, saying, \u201cKill ye all,\neven to the last man;\u201d and Janshah commanded one of them, by name\nKar\u00e1tash,[565] who was exceeding strong and valiant, to bring King Kafid\nto him in chains. So they set down the litter and covered it with the\ncanopy; then, having waited till midnight, they attacked the enemy\u2019s\ncamp one of them being a match for ten; or at least for eight. And while\nthese smote the foes with iron maces, those mounted their magical\nelephants and soared high in the lift, and then swooping down and\nsnatching up their opponents, tare them to pieces in mid-air. But\nKaratash made straight for Kafid\u2019s tent where he found him lying in a\ncouch; so he took him up, shrieking for fear, and flew with him to\nJanshah, who bade the four Marids bind him on the litter and hang him\nhigh in the air over his camp, that he might witness the slaughter of\nhis men. They did as the Prince commanded them and left Kafid, who had\nswooned for fear, hanging between earth and air and buffetting his face\nfor grief. As for King Teghmus, when he saw his son, he well-nigh died\nfor excess of joy and, crying with a loud cry, fell down in a swoon.\nThey sprinkled rose-water on his face, till he came to himself, when he\nand his son embraced and wept with sore weeping; for he knew not that\nthe Jinn-guard were battling with King Kafid\u2019s men. Then Princess\nShamsah accosted the King and kissing his hand, said to him, \u201cSire, be\npleased to go up with me to the palace-roof and witness the slaughter of\nthy foes by my father\u2019s Marids.\u201d So he went up to the terrace-roof and\nsitting down there with his daughter-in-law, enjoyed watching the Marids\ndo havoc among the besiegers and break a way through the length and\nbreadth of them. For one of them smote with his iron mace upon the\nelephants and their riders and pounded them till man was not to be\ndistinguished from beast; whilst another shouted in the faces of those\nwho fled, so that they fell down dead; and the third caught up a score\nof horsemen, beasts and all; and, towering with them high in air, cast\nthem down on earth, so that they were torn in pieces. And this was high\nenjoyment for Janshah and his father and the lady Shamsah.\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Teghmus and\nhis son and daughter-in-law went up to the terrace-roof and enjoyed a\nprospect of the Jinn-guards battling with the beleaguering host. And\nKing Kafid (still hanging between heaven and earth) also saw the\nslaughter of his troops and wept sore and buffetted his face; nor did\nthe carnage cease among the army of Hind for two whole days, till they\nwere cut off even to the last man. Then Janshah commanded a Marid, by\nname Shimw\u00e1l, chain up King Kafid with manacles and fetters, and\nimprison him in a tower called the Black Bulwark. And when his bidding\nwas done, King Teghmus bade beat the drums and despatched messengers to\nannounce the glad news to Janshah\u2019s mother, informing her of his\napproach; whereupon she mounted in great joy and she no sooner espied\nher son than she clasped him in her arms and swooned away for stress of\ngladness. They sprinkled rose-water on her face, till she came to\nherself, when she embraced him again and again wept for excess of joy.\nAnd when the lady Shamsah knew of her coming, she came to her and\nsaluted her; and they embraced each other and after remaining embraced\nfor an hour sat down to converse. Then King Teghmus threw open the\ncity-gates and despatched couriers to all parts of the kingdom, to\nspread the tidings of his happy deliverance; whereupon all his princely\nVassals and Emirs and the Grandees of the realm flocked to salute him\nand give him joy of his victory and of the safe return of his son; and\nthey brought him great store of rich offerings and curious presents. The\nvisits and oblations continued for some time, after which the King made\na second and a more splendid bride-feast for the Princess Shamsah and\nbade decorate the city and held high festival. Lastly they unveiled and\nparaded the bride before Janshah, with apparel and ornaments of the\nutmost magnificence, and when her bridegroom went in to her he presented\nher with an hundred beautiful slave-girls to wait upon her. Some days\nafter this, the Princess repaired to the King and interceded with him\nfor Kafid, saying, \u201cSuffer him return to his own land, and if\nhenceforward he be minded to do thee a hurt, I will bid one of the\nJinn-guard snatch him up and bring him to thee.\u201d Replied Teghmus, \u201cI\nhear and I obey,\u201d and bade Shimwal bring him the prisoner, who came\nmanacled and fettered and kissed earth between his hands. Then he\ncommanded to strike off his chains and, mounting him on a lame mare,\nsaid to him, \u201cVerily Princess Shamsah hath interceded for thee: so\nbegone to thy kingdom, but if thou fall again to thine old tricks, she\nwill send one of the Marids to seize thee and bring thee hither.\u201d\nThereupon King Kafid set off homewards, in the sorriest of plights,\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Thirtieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Kafid set off\nhomewards in the sorriest of plights, whilst Janshah and his wife abode\nin all solace and delight of life, making the most of its joyance and\nhappiness. All this recounted the youth sitting between the tombs unto\nBulukiya, ending with, \u201cAnd behold, I am Janshah who witnessed all these\nthings, O my brother, O Bulukiya!\u201d Then Bulukiya who was wandering the\nworld in his love for Mohammed (whom Allah bless and keep!) asked\nJanshah, \u201cO my brother, what be these two sepulchres and why sittest\nthou between them and what causeth thy weeping?\u201d He answered, \u201cKnow, O\nBulukiya, that we abode in all solace and delight of life, passing one\nyear at home and the next at Takni, the Castle of Jewels, whither we\nbetook not ourselves but in the litter borne by the Marids and flying\nbetween heaven and earth.\u201d Quoth Bulukiya, \u201cO my brother, O Janshah,\nwhat was the distance between the Castle and thy home?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cEvery\nday we accomplished a journey of thirty months and the time we took was\nten days. We abode on this wise a many of years till, one year we set\nout for the Castle of Jewels, as was our wont, and on the way thither\nalighted from the litter in this island to rest and take our pleasure\ntherein. We sat down on the river-bank and ate and drank; after which\nthe Lady Shamsah, having a mind to bathe, put off her clothes and\nplunged into the water. Her women did likewise and they swam about\nawhile, whilst I walked on along the bank of the stream leaving them to\nswim about and play with one another. And behold, a huge shark of the\nmonsters of the deep seized the Princess by the leg, without touching\nany of the girls; and she cried out and died forthright, whilst the\ndamsels fled out of the river to the pavilion, to escape from the shark.\nBut after awhile they returned and taking up her corpse carried her to\nthe litter. Now when I saw her dead, I fell down fainting and they\nsprinkled water on my face, till I recovered and wept over her. Then I\ndespatched the Jinn-guards to her parents and family, announcing what\nhad befallen her; and in the shortest time they came to the spot and\nwashed her and shrouded her; after which they buried her by the\nriver-side and made mourning for her. They would have carried me with\nthem to their own country; but I said to King Shahlan, \u201cI beseech thee\nto dig me a grave beside her tomb, that, when I die, I may be buried by\nher side in that grave.\u201d Accordingly, the King commanded one of his\nMarids to do as I wished, after which they departed and left me here to\nweep and mourn for her till I die. And this is my story and the cause of\nmy sojourn between these two tombs.\u201d And he repeated these two\ncouplets:[566]\u2014\n\n \u201cThe house, sweet heart, is now no home to me \u273f Since thou art gone, nor\n neighbour neighbourly.\n The friend whilome I took to heart, no more \u273f Is friend, and brightest\n lights lose brilliancy.\u201d\n\nBut when Bulukiya heard out Janshah\u2019s tale he marvelled\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Bulukiya\nheard out Janshah\u2019s tale he wondered and exclaimed, \u201cBy Allah, methought\nI had indeed wandered over the world and compassed it about; but now I\nforget all I have seen after listening to these adventures of thine!\u201d He\nwas silent a while and then resumed, \u201cI beg thee, of thy favour and\ncourtesy, to direct me in the way of safety.\u201d So Janshah directed him\ninto the right road, and Bulukiya farewelled him and went his ways. All\nthis the Serpent-queen related to Hasib Karim al-Din, and he asked her,\n\u201cBut how knowest thou of these things?\u201d; and she answered, \u201cO Hasib,\nthou must ken that I had occasion, some five-and-twenty years ago, to\nsend one of my largest serpents to Egypt and gave her a letter for\nBulukiya, saluting him.\u201d So she went there willingly for she had a\ndaughter in the land called Bint Shumukh[567]; and after asking anent\nBulukiya she found him and gave him my missive. He read it and replied\nto the messenger snake, \u201cThou comest from the Queen of the Serpents whom\nI am minded to visit for I have an occasion to her.\u201d She replied, \u201cI\nhear and obey.\u201d Then she bore him to her daughter of whom she took leave\nand said to her companion, \u201cClose thine eyes.\u201d So he closed them and\nopening them again, behold, he found himself on the mountain where I now\nam. Then his guide carried him to a great serpent, whom he saluted;\nwhereupon quoth she, \u201cDidst thou deliver the missive to Bulukiya?\u201d; and\nshe replied, \u201cEven so; and he hath accompanied me and here he standeth.\u201d\nPresently Bulukiya asked after me, the Serpent-queen, and the great\nserpent answered, \u201cShe hath gone to the mountain Kaf with all her host,\nas is her wont in winter; but next summer she will come hither again. As\noften as she goeth thither, she appointeth me to reign in her room,\nduring her absence; and if thou have any occasion to her, I will\naccomplish it for thee.\u201d Said he, \u201cI beg thee to bring me the herb,\nwhich whoso crusheth and drinketh the juice thereof, sickeneth not\nneither groweth grey nor dieth.\u201d \u201cI will not bring it,\u201d said the\nserpent, \u201ctill thou tell me what befel thee since thou leftest the Queen\nof the Serpents, to go with Affan in quest of King Solomon\u2019s tomb.\u201d So\nhe related to her all his travels and adventures, together with the\nhistory of Janshah, and said at last, \u201cGrant me my request, that I may\nreturn to mine own country.\u201d Replied the serpent, \u201cBy the virtue of the\nlord Solomon, I know not where is to be found the herb whereof thou\nspeakest.\u201d Then she bade the serpent which had brought him thither,\ncarry him back to Egypt: so the messenger obeyed her and said to him,\n\u201cShut thine eyes!\u201d He did so and, opening them again, found himself on\nthe mountain Mukattam.[568] \u201cWhen I returned from the mountain Kaf\u201d\n(added the Queen) \u201cthe serpent, my deputy, informed me of Bulukiya\u2019s\nvisit and gave me his salutations and repeated to me his story and his\nmeeting with Janshah. And this, O Hasib, is how I came to know the\nadventures of Bulukiya and the history of Janshah.\u201d Thereupon Hasib said\nto her, \u201cO Queen, deign recount to me what befel Bulukiya as regards his\nreturn to Egypt.\u201d She replied, \u201cKnow, O Hasib, that when he parted from\nJanshah he fared on nights and days till he came to a great sea; so he\nanointed his feet with the juice of the magical herb and, walking over\nthe face of the waters, sped onwards till he came to an island abounding\nin trees and springs and fruits, as it were the Garden of Eden. He\nlanded and walked about, till he saw an immense tree, with leaves as big\nas the sails of a ship. So he went up to the tree and found under it a\ntable spread with all manner meats, whilst on a branch of the branches\nsat a great bird, whose body was of pearls and leek-green emeralds, its\nfeet of silver, its beak of red carnelian and its plumery of precious\nmetals; and it was engaged in singing the praises of Allah the Most High\nand blessing Mohammed (on whom be benediction and peace!)\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Bulukiya\nlanded and walked about the island he found therein many marvels,\nespecially a bird whose body was of pearls and leek-green emeralds and\nits plumery of precious metals; and it was engaged in singing the\npraises of Allah the Most High and blessing Mohammed (upon whom be\nbenediction and peace!). Seeing this he said, \u201cWho and what art thou?\u201d\nQuoth the bird, \u201cI am one of the birds of Eden and followed Adam when\nAllah Almighty cast him out thence. And know, O my brother, that Allah\nalso cast out with him four leaves of the trees of the garden, to cover\nhis nakedness withal, and they fell to the ground after awhile. One of\nthem was eaten by a worm, and of it came silk: the gazelles ate the\nsecond and thence proceeded musk; the third was eaten by bees and gave\nrise to honey, whilst the fourth fell in the land of Hind and from it\nsprang all manner of spices. As for me, I wandered over the face of\nearth till Allah deigned give me this island for a dwelling-place, and I\ntook up my abode here. And every Friday from night till morning the\nSaints and Princes[569] of the Faith flock to this place and make pious\nvisitation and eat from this table spread by Allah Almighty; and after\nthey have eaten, the table is taken up again to Heaven: nor doth the\nfood ever waste or corrupt.\u201d So Bulukiya ate his fill of the meats and\npraised the Great Creator. And presently, behold, there came up\nAl-Khizr[570] (with whom be peace!), at sight of whom Bulukiya rose and\nsaluting him, was about to withdraw, when the bird said to him, \u201cSit, O\nBulukiya, in the presence of Al-Khizr, on whom be peace!\u201d So he sat down\nagain, and Al-Khizr said to him, \u201cLet me know who thou art and tell me\nthy tale.\u201d Thereupon Bulukiya related to him all his adventures from\nbeginning to end and asked, \u201cO my lord, how far is it hence to Cairo?\u201d\n\u201cFive-and-ninety years\u2019 journey,\u201d replied the Prophet; whereupon\nBulukiya burst into tears; then, falling at Al-Khizr\u2019s feet, kissed them\nand said to him, \u201cI beseech thee deliver me from this strangerhood and\nthy reward be with Allah, for that I am nigh upon death and know not\nwhat to do.\u201d Quoth Al-Khizr, \u201cPray to Allah Almighty that He permit me\nto carry thee to Cairo, ere thou perish.\u201d So Bulukiya wept and humbled\nhimself before Allah who granted his prayer, and by inspiration bade\nAl-Khizr bear him to his people. Then said the Prophet, \u201cLift thy head,\nfor Allah hath heard thy prayer and hath inspired me to do what thou\ndesirest; so take fast hold of me with both thy hands and shut thine\neyes.\u201d The Prince did as he was bidden and Al-Khizr stepped a single\nstep forwards, then said to him, \u201cOpen thine eyes!\u201d So Bulukiya opened\nhis eyes and found himself at the door of his palace at Cairo. He\nturned, to take leave of Al-Khizr, but found no trace of him\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Bulukiya,\nstanding at the gate of his palace, turned to take leave of Al-Khizr, he\nfound no trace of him and entered the palace. When his mother saw him,\nshe cried with a loud cry and swooned away for excess of joy, and they\nsprinkled water upon her face. After awhile she came to herself and\nembraced her son and wept with sore weeping, whilst Bulukiya wept and\nlaughed by turns. Then all his friends and kindred came and gave him joy\nof his safe return, and the news was noised abroad in the land and there\ncame to him presents from all parts. Moreover, they beat the drums and\nblew the flutes and rejoiced mightily. Then Bulukiya related to them his\nadventures ending with recounting how Al-Khizr had set him down at his\npalace-door, whereat they marvelled exceedingly and wept, till all were\naweary of weeping. Hasib wondered at the Queen\u2019s tale and shed many\ntears over it; then he again besought her to let him return to his\nfamily; but she said, \u201cI fear me, O Hasib, that when thou gettest back\nto thy country thou wilt fail of thy promise and prove traitor to thine\noath and enter the Hammam.\u201d But he swore to her another solemn oath that\nhe would never again enter the baths as long as he lived; whereupon she\ncalled a serpent and bade her carry him up to the surface of the earth.\nSo the serpent took him and led him from place to place, till she\nbrought him out on the platform-edge of an abandoned cistern and there\nleft him. Upon this he walked to the city and, coming to his house by\nthe last of the day, at the yellowing of the sun, knocked at the door.\nHis mother opened it and seeing her son screamed out and threw herself\nupon him and wept for excess of joy. His wife heard her mother-in-law\nweeping; so she came out to her and seeing her husband, saluted him and\nkissed his hands; and each rejoiced in other with exceeding joy of all\nthree. Then they entered the house and sat down to converse; and\npresently Hasib asked his mother of the woodcutters, who had left him to\nperish in the cistern. Quoth she, \u201cThey came and told me that a wolf had\neaten thee in the Wady. As for them, they are become merchants and own\nhouses and shops, and the world is grown wide for them. But every day\nthey bring me meat and drink, and thus have they done until the present\ntime.\u201d Quoth Hasib, \u201cTo-morrow do thou go to them and say:\u2014My son Hasib\nKarim al-Din hath returned from his travels; so come ye to meet him and\nsalute him.\u201d Accordingly, when morning dawned, she repaired to the\nwoodcutters\u2019 houses and delivered to them her son\u2019s message, which when\nthey heard, they changed colour, and saying, \u201cWe hear and obey,\u201d gave\nher each a suit of silk, embroidered with gold, adding, \u201cPresent this to\nthy good son[571] and tell him that we will be with him to-morrow.\u201d She\nassented and returning to Hasib gave him their presents and message.\nMeanwhile, the woodcutters called together a number of merchants and,\nacquainting them with all that had passed between themselves and Hasib,\ntook counsel with them what they should do. Quoth the merchants, \u201cIt\nbehoveth each one of you to give him half his monies and Mamelukes.\u201d And\nthey all agreed to do this; so on the next day, each of them took half\nhis wealth and, going in to Hasib, saluted him and kissed his hands.\nThen they laid before him what they had brought, saying, \u201cThis is of thy\nbounties, and we are in thy hands.\u201d He accepted their peace-offering and\nsaid, \u201cWhat is past is past: that which befel us was decreed of Allah,\nand destiny doeth away with dexterity.\u201d Quoth they, \u201cCome, let us walk\nabout and take our solace in the city and visit the Hammam.\u201d Quoth he,\n\u201cNot so: I have taken an oath never again to enter the baths, so long as\nI live.\u201d Rejoined they, \u201cAt least come to our homes that we may\nentertain thee.\u201d He agreed to this, and went to their houses and each of\nthem entertained him for a night and a day; nor did they cease to do\nthus for a whole se\u2019nnight, being seven in number. And now Hasib was\nmaster of monies and houses and shops, and the merchants of the city\nforegathered with him and he told them all that had befallen him. He\nbecame one of the chiefs of the guild and abode on this wise awhile,\ntill it happened one day, as he was walking about the streets, that he\npassed the door of a Hammam, whose keeper was one of his companions.\nWhen the bathman, who was standing without, caught his eye he ran up to\nhim and saluted him and embraced him, saying, \u201cFavour me by entering the\nbath and there wash and be rubbed that I may show thee hospitality.\u201d\nHasib refused, alleging that he had taken a solemn oath never again to\nenter the Hammam; but the bathman was instant with him, saying, \u201cBe my\nthree wives triply divorced, an thou enter not and be washed!\u201d When\nHasib heard him thus conjure him, he was confounded and replied, \u201cO my\nbrother, hast thou a mind to ruin my house and make my children orphans\nand lay a load of sin upon my neck?\u201d But his friend threw himself at his\nfeet and kissed them, saying, \u201cMy happiness dependeth upon thy entering,\nand be the sin on the neck of me!\u201d Then all the servants of the bath set\nupon Hasib and dragging him in pulled off his clothes. But hardly had he\nsat down against the wall and begun to pour water on his head when a\nscore of men accosted him, saying, \u201cRise, O man, and come with us to the\nSultan, for thou art his debtor.\u201d Then they despatched one of them as\nmessenger to the Sultan\u2019s Minister, who straightway took horse and rode,\nattended by threescore Mamelukes, to the baths, where he alighted and\ngoing in to Hasib, saluted him and said, \u201cWelcome to thee!\u201d Then he gave\nthe bathman an hundred dinars and, mounting Hasib on a horse he had\nbrought with him, returned with him and all his men to the Sultan\u2019s\npalace. Here he bade them aid Hasib to dismount and, after seating him\ncomfortably, set food before him; and when they had eaten and drunken\nand washed their hands, the Wazir clad him in two dresses of honour each\nworth five thousand dinars and said to him, \u201cKnow that Allah hath been\nmerciful to us in sending thee; for the Sultan is nigh upon death by\nleprosy, and the books tell us that his life is in thy hands.\u201d Then,\naccompanied by a host of Grandees, he took him wondering withal and\ncarried him through the seven doorways of the palace, till they came to\nthe King\u2019s chamber. Now the name of this King was Karazd\u00e1n, King of\nPersia and of the Seven Countries, and under his sway were an hundred\nsovereign princes sitting on chairs of red gold, and ten thousand\nvaliant captains, under each one\u2019s hand an hundred deputies and as many\nheadsmen armed with sword and axe. They found the King lying on his bed\nwith his face swathed in a napkin, and groaning for excess of pain. When\nHasib saw this ordinance, his wit was dazed for awe of the King; so he\nkissed the ground before him, and prayed a blessing on him. Then the\nGrand Wazir, whose name was Shamh\u00far, rose and welcoming Hasib, seated\nhim on a high chair at the King\u2019s right hand;\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir Shamhur\nrose to Hasib and seated him on a chair at the right hand of King\nKarazdan; after which he called for food and the tables were laid. And\nwhen they had eaten and drunken and washed their hands, Shamhur stood up\n(while all present also stood to do him honour) and, approaching Hasib\nsaid to him, \u201cWe are all thy servants and will give thee whatsoever thou\naskest, even were it one half the kingdom, so thou wilt but cure the\nKing.\u201d Saying this, he led him by the hand to the royal couch, and\nHasib, uncovering the King\u2019s face, saw that he was at last fatal stage\nof the disease; so he wondered at their hoping for a cure. But the Wazir\nkissed his hand and repeated his offers and ended with saying, \u201cAll we\nwant of thee is to heal our King:\u201d so he said to the Wazir, \u201cTrue that I\nam the son of Allah\u2019s prophet, Daniel, but I know nothing of his art:\nfor they put me thirty days in the school of medicine and I learnt\nnothing of the craft. I would well I knew somewhat thereof and might\nheal the King.\u201d Hearing this, the Grand Wazir said, \u201cDo not multiply\nwords upon us; for though we should gather together to us physicians\nfrom the East and from the West, none could cure the King save thou.\u201d\nAnswered Hasib, \u201cHow can I make him whole, seeing I know neither his\ncase nor its cure?\u201d Quoth the Minister, \u201cHis healing is in thy hands,\u201d\nand quoth Hasib, \u201cIf I knew the remedy of his sickness, I would heal\nhim.\u201d Thereupon the Wazir rejoined, \u201cThou kennest a cure right well; the\nremedy of his sickness is the Queen of the Serpents, and thou knowest\nher abiding-place and hast been with her.\u201d When Hasib heard this, he\nknew that all this came of his entering the Baths, and repented whenas\nrepentance availed him naught; then said he, \u201cWhat is the Queen of the\nSerpents? I know her not nor ever in all my life heard I of this name.\u201d\nRetorted the Wazir, \u201cDeny not the knowledge of her, for I have proof\nthat thou knowest her and hast passed two years with her.\u201d Repeated\nHasib, \u201cVerily, I never saw her nor even heard of her till this moment;\u201d\nupon which Shamhur opened a book and, after making sundry calculations,\nraised his head and spake as follows. \u201cThe Queen of the Serpents shall\nforegather with a man who shall abide with her two years; then shall he\nreturn from her and come forth to the surface of the earth, and when he\nentereth the Hammam-bath his belly will become black.\u201d Then said he,\n\u201cLook at thy belly.\u201d So Hasib looked at his own belly and behold, it was\nblack: but he persisted in his denial and said, \u201cMy belly was black from\nthe day my mother bare me.\u201d Said the Wazir, \u201cI had stationed three\nMamelukes at the door of every Hammam, bidding them note all who entered\nand let me know when they found one whose belly was black: so, when thou\nenteredst, they looked at thy belly and, finding it black, sent and told\nme, after we had well-nigh lost hope of coming upon thee. All we want of\nthee is to show us the place whence thou camest out and after go thy\nways; for we have those with us who will take the Queen of the Serpents\nand fetch her to us.\u201d Then all the other Wazirs and Emirs and Grandees\nflocked about Hasib who sorely repented of his misdeed; and they\nconjured him, till they were weary, to show them the abode of the Queen;\nbut he ceased not saying, \u201cI never saw nor heard of the matter.\u201d Then\nthe Grand Wazir called the hangman and bade him strip Hasib and beat him\na sore beating; and so they did till he saw death face to face, for\nexcess of pain, and the Wazir said, \u201cWe have proof that thou knowest the\nabiding-place of the Queen of the Serpents: why wilt thou persist in\ndenial? Show us the place whence thou camest out and go from us; we have\nwith us one who will take her, and no harm shall befal thee.\u201d Then he\nraised him and bade give him a dress of honour of cloth of red gold,\nembroidered with jewels, and spoke him fair till Hasib yielded and said,\n\u201cI will show you the place.\u201d At this the Wazir rejoiced with great joy\nand took horse with all his many and rode, guided by Hasib, and never\ndrew rein till they came to the mountain containing the cavern wherein\nhe had found the cistern full of honey. There all dismounted and\nfollowed him as he entered, sighing and weeping, and showed them the\nwell whence he had issued; whereupon the Wazir sat down thereby and,\nsprinkling perfumes upon a chafing-dish, began to mutter charms and\nconjurations; for he was a crafty magician and diviner and skilled in\nspiritual arts. He repeated three several formulas of conjuration and\nbetween each threw fresh incense upon the fire, crying out and saying,\n\u201cCome forth, O Queen of the Serpents!;\u201d when behold, the water of the\nwell sank down and a great door opened in the side, from which came a\nmighty noise of crying like unto thunder, so terrible that they thought\nthe well had caved in and all present fell down fainting; nay, some even\ndied for fright. Presently, there issued from the well a serpent as big\nas an elephant, casting out sparks, like red hot coals, from its eyes\nand mouth and bearing on its back a charger of red gold, set with pearls\nand jewels, in the midst whereof lay a serpent from whose body issued\nsuch splendour that the place was illumined thereby; and her face was\nfair and young and she spoke with most eloquent tongue. The\nSerpent-queen turned right and left, till her eyes fell upon Hasib, to\nwhom said she, \u201cWhere is the covenant thou madest with me, and the oath\nthou swarest to me, that thou wouldst never again enter the Hammam-bath?\nBut there is no fighting against Fate nor hath any ever fled from that\nwhich is written on his forehead. Allah hath appointed the end of my\nlife for thy hand to hend, and it is His will that slain I be and King\nKarazdan be healed of his malady.\u201d So saying, she wept with sore weeping\nand Hasib wept to see her weep. As for the abominable Wazir Shamhur; he\nput out his hand to lay hold of her; but she said to him, \u201cHold thy\nhand, O accursed, or I will blow upon thee and reduce thee to a heap of\nblack ashes.\u201d Then she cried out to Hasib, saying, \u201cDraw near me and\ntake me in thine hand and lay me in the dish that is with you: then set\nit on thy head; for my death was fore-ordained, from Eternity without\nbeginning,[572] to be at thy hand, and thou hast no power to avert it.\u201d\nSo he took her and laid her in the dish, and put it on his head, when\nthe well returned to its former state. Then they set out on their return\nto the city, Hasib carrying the dish on his head, and when they were\nhalfway behold, the Queen of the Serpents said to him privily, \u201cHearken,\nO Hasib, to my friendly counsel, for all thou hast broken faith with me\nand been false to thine oath, and hast done this misdeed, but it was\nfore-ordained from all eternity.\u201d He replied \u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d and\nshe continued, \u201cIt is this: when thou comest to the Wazir\u2019s house, he\nwill bid thee behead me and cut me in three; but do thou refuse,\nsaying:\u2014I know not how to slaughter[573] and leave him to do it with his\nown hand and to work his wicked will. When he hath cut my throat and\ndivided my body into three pieces there will come a messenger, to bid\nhim to the King, so he will lay my flesh in a cauldron of brass and set\nit upon a brasier before going to the presence and he will say to\nthee:\u2014Keep up the fire under the cauldron till the scum rise; then skim\nit off and pour it into a phial to cool. Wait till it cool and then\ndrink it, so shall naught of malady or pain be left in all thy body.\nWhen the second scum riseth, skim it off and pour it into a phial\nagainst my return from the King, that I may drink it for an ailment I\nhave in my loins. Then will he give thee the phials and go to the King,\nand when he is gone, do thou light the fire and wait till the first scum\nrise and set it in a phial; keep it by thee but beware of drinking it,\nor no good will befal thee. When the second scum riseth, skim it off and\nput it in a second phial and drink it down as soon as it cools. When the\nWazir returneth and asketh thee for the second phial, give him the first\nand note what shall befal him;\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Serpent-queen\ncharged Hasib not to drink of the first scum and carefully to keep the\nsecond, saying, \u201cWhen the Wazir returneth from the King and asketh for\nthe second phial, give him the first and note what shall befal him; then\ndrink the contents of the second phial and thy heart will become the\nhome of wisdom. After this take up the flesh and, laying it in a brazen\nplatter, carry it to the King and give him to eat thereof. When he hath\neaten it and it hath settled in his stomach, veil his face with a\nkerchief and wait by him till noontide, when he will have digested the\nmeat. Then give him somewhat of wine to drink and, by the decree of\nAllah Almighty, he will be healed of his unhealth and be made whole as\nhe was. And give thou ear to the charge wherewith I charge thee; and\nkeep it in thy memory with carefullest keeping.\u201d They ceased not faring\ntill they came to the Wazir\u2019s house, and he said to Hasib, \u201cCome in with\nme!\u201d So he went in and the troops dispersed and fared each his own way;\nwhereupon Hasib set down the platter and the Wazir bade him slay the\nQueen of the Serpents; but he said, \u201cI know not how to slaughter and\nnever in my born days killed I aught. An thou wilt have her throat cut,\ndo it with thine own hand.\u201d So the Minister Shamhur took the Queen from\nthe platter and slew her, seeing which Hasib wept bitter tears and the\nWazir[574] laughed at him, saying, \u201cO weak of wits, how canst thou weep\nfor the killing of a worm?\u201d Then he cut her in three and, laying the\npieces in a brass cauldron, set it on the fire and sat down to await the\ncooking of the flesh. And whilst he was sitting, lo! there came a slave\nfrom the King, who said to him, \u201cThe King calls for thee without stay or\ndelay;\u201d and he answered saying, \u201cI hear and I obey.\u201d So he gave Hasib\ntwo phials and bade him drink the first scum and keep the second against\nhis return, even as the Queen of the Serpents had foretold; after which\nhe went away with repeated charges and injunctions; and Hasib tended the\nfire under the cauldron till the first scum rose, when he skimmed it off\nand, setting it in one of the phials, kept it by him. He then fed the\nfire till the second scum rose; then he skimmed it off and, putting it\nin the other phial, kept it for himself. And when the meat was done, he\ntook the cauldron off the fire and sat awaiting the Wazir who asked him\non return, \u201cWhat hast thou done?;\u201d and answered Hasib, \u201cI did thy\nbidding to the last word.\u201d Quoth the Wazir, \u201cWhat hast thou done with\nthe first phial?\u201d \u201cI drank its contents but now,\u201d replied Hasib, and\nShamhur asked, \u201cThy body feeleth it no change?\u201d; whereto Hasib answered,\n\u201cVerily, I feel as I were on fire from front to foot.\u201d The villain Wazir\nmade no reply hiding the truth but said, \u201cHand me the second phial, that\nI may drink what is therein, so haply I may be made whole of this ailing\nin my loins.\u201d So Hasib brought him the first phial and he drank it off,\nthinking it contained the second scum; but hardly had he done drinking\nwhen the phial fell from his hand and he swelled up and dropped down\ndead; and thus was exemplified in him the saying; \u201cWhoso for his brother\ndiggeth a pit, he shall be the first to fall into it.\u201d Now when Hasib\nsaw this, he wondered and feared to drink of the second phial; but he\nremembered the Serpent-queen\u2019s injunction and bethought him that the\nWazir would not have reserved the second scum for himself, had there\nbeen aught of hurt therein. So he said, \u201cI put my trust in Allah,\u201d[575]\nand drank off the contents of the phial. No sooner had he done so, than\nthe Most Highest made the waters of wisdom to well up in his heart and\nopened to him the fountains of knowledge, and joy and gladness overcame\nhim. Then he took the serpent\u2019s flesh from the cauldron and, laying it\non a platter of brass, went forth from the Wazir\u2019s house. On his way to\nthe palace he raised his eyes and saw the seven Heavens and all that\ntherein is, even to the Lote-tree, beyond which there is no\npassing,[576] and the manner of the revolution of the spheres. Moreover,\nAllah discovered to him the ordinance of the planets and the scheme of\ntheir movements and the fixed stars; and he saw the contour of the land\nand sea, whereby he became informed with geometry, astrology and\nastronomy and mathematics and all that hangeth thereby; and he\nunderstood the causes and consequences of eclipses of the sun and moon.\nThen he looked at the earth and saw all minerals and vegetables that are\ntherein and thereon; and he learned their properties, and their virtues,\nso that he became in an instant versed in medicine and chemistry and\nnatural magic and the art of making gold and silver. And he ceased not\ncarrying the flesh till he came to the palace, when he went in to King\nKarazdan, and kissing the ground before him, said, \u201cMay thy head survive\nthy Wazir Shamhur!\u201d The King was mightily angered at the news of the\nGrand Wazir\u2019s death and wept for him, whilst his Emirs and his Grandees\nand officers also wept. Then said Karazdan, \u201cHe was with me but now, in\nall health, and went away to fetch me the flesh of the Queen of the\nSerpents, if it should be cooked; what befel him that he is now dead,\nand what accident hath betided him?\u201d So Hasib told him the whole truth\nhow the Minister had drunk the contents of the phial and had forthwith\nswelled out and died. The King mourned for his loss with mourning sore\nand said to Hasib, \u201cWhat shall I do without Shamhur?\u201d and Hasib answered\n\u201cGrieve not, O King of the age; for I will cure thee within three days\nand leave no whit of disease in thy body.\u201d At this the King\u2019s breast\nwaxed broad and he said, \u201cI wish to be made whole of this affliction,\nthough after a long term of years.\u201d So Hasib set the platter before the\nKing and made him eat a slice of the flesh of the Serpent-queen. Then he\ncovered him up and, spreading a kerchief over his face, bade him sleep\nand sat down by his side. He slept from noonday till sundown, while his\nstomach digested the piece of flesh, and presently he awoke. Hasib gave\nhim somewhat of wine to drink and bade him sleep again; so he slept till\nthe morning and when dawn appeared, Hasib repeated the treatment making\nhim eat another piece of the flesh; and thus he did with him three days\nfollowing, till he had eaten the whole, when his skin began to shrink\nand scale off and he perspired, so that the sweat ran down from his head\nto his heels. Therewith he became whole and there abode in him no trace\nof the disease, which when Hasib saw, he said, \u201cThere is no help for it\nbut thou go to the Hammam.\u201d So he carried him to the bath and washed his\nbody; and when he came forth, it was like a wand of silver and he was\nrestored to health, nay, sounder than he was before he fell ill.\nThereupon he donned his richest robes and, seating himself on his\nthrone, deigned make Hasib sit beside him. Then he bade the tables be\nspread and they ate and washed their hands; after which he called for\nthe service of wine and both drank their fill. Upon this all his Wazirs\nand Emirs and Captains and the Grandees of his realm and the notables of\nthe lieges came in to him and gave him joy of his recovery; and they\nbeat the drums and adorned the city in token of rejoicing. Then said the\nKing to the assembly, \u201cO Wazirs and Emirs and Grandees, this is Hasib\nKarim al-Din, who hath healed me of my sickness, and know all here\npresent that I make him my Chief Wazir in the stead of the Wazir\nShamhur.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth King\nKarazdan to his Ministers and high lords, \u201cHe who healed me of my\nsickness is none other than Hasib Karim al-Din here present. Therefore I\nmake him my Chief Wazir in the stead of the Wazir Shamhur; and whoso\nloveth him loveth me, and whoso honoureth him honoureth me, and he who\nobeyeth him obeyeth me.\u201d \u201cHearkening and obedience,\u201d answered they and\nall rising flocked to kiss Hasib\u2019s hand and salute him and give him joy\nof the Wazirate. Then the King bestowed on him a splendid dress of gold\nbrocade, set with pearls and gems, the least of which was worth five\nthousand gold pieces. Moreover, he presented to him three hundred male\nwhite slaves and the like number of concubines, in loveliness like\nmoons, and three hundred Abyssinian[577] slave-girls, beside five\nhundred mules laden with treasure and sheep and oxen and buffaloes and\nbulls and other cattle beyond count; and he commanded all his Wazirs and\nEmirs and Grandees and Notables and Mamelukes and his subjects in\ngeneral to bring him gifts. Presently Hasib took horse and rode,\nfollowed by the Wazirs and Emirs and lords and all the troops, to the\nhouse which the King had set apart for him, where he sat down on a\nchair; and the Wazirs and Emirs came up to him and kissed hands and gave\nhim joy of his Ministership, vying with one another in suit and service.\nWhen his mother and his household knew what had happened, they rejoiced\nwith exceeding joy and congratulated him on his good fortune; and his\nquondam comrades the woodcutters also came and gave him joy. Then he\nmounted again and, riding to the house of the late Wazir Shamhur, laid\nhands on all that was therein and transported it to his own abode. On\nthis wise did Hasib, from a dunsical know-nothing, unskilled to read\nwriting, become, by the decree of Allah Almighty, an adept in every\nscience and versed in all manner of knowledge, so that the fame of his\nlearning was blazed abroad over the land and he became renowned as an\nocean of lore and skill in medicine and astronomy and geometry and\nastrology and alchemy and natural magic and the Cabbala and Spiritualism\nand all other arts and sciences. One day, he said to his mother, \u201cMy\nfather Daniel was exceeding wise and learned; tell me what he left by\nway of books or what not!\u201d So his mother brought him the chest and,\ntaking out the five leaves which had been saved when the library was\nlost, gave them to him saying, \u201cThese five scrolls are all thy father\nleft thee.\u201d So he read them and said to her, \u201cO my mother, these leaves\nare part of a book: where is the rest?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cThy father made a\nvoyage taking with him all his library and, when he was shipwrecked,\nevery book was lost save only these five leaves. And when he was\nreturned to me by Almighty Allah he found me with child and said to\nme:\u2014Haply thou wilt bear a boy; so take these scrolls and keep them by\nthee and whenas thy son shall grow up and ask what his father left him,\ngive these leaves to him and say, Thy father left these as thine only\nheritance. And lo! here they are.\u201d And Hasib, now the most learned of\nhis age, abode in all pleasure and solace and delight of life, till\nthere came to him the Destroyer of delights and the Severer of\nsocieties.[578] And yet, O King, is not this tale of Bulukiya and\nJanshah more wondrous than the adventures of\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 507:\n\n This long story, containing sundry episodes and occupying fifty-three\n Nights, is wholly omitted by Lane (ii. 643) because \u201cit is a compound\n of the most extravagant absurdities.\u201d He should have enabled his\n readers to form their own judgment.\n\nFootnote 508:\n\n Called Jamasp (brother and minister of the ancient Persian King\n Gushtasp) in the translations of Trebutien and others from Von Hammer.\n\nFootnote 509:\n\n The usual term of lactation in the East, prolonged to two years and\n a-half, which is considered the rule laid down by the Shara\u2019 or\n precepts of the Prophet. But it is not unusual to see children of\n three and even four years hanging to their mothers\u2019 breasts. During\n this period the mother does not cohabit with her husband; the\n separation beginning with her pregnancy. Such is the habit, not only\n of the \u201clower animals,\u201d but of all ancient peoples, the Egyptians\n (from whom the Hebrews borrowed it), the Assyrians and the Chinese. I\n have discussed its bearing upon pregnancy in my \u201cCity of the Saints\u201d:\n the Mormons insist upon this law of purity being observed; and the\n beauty, strength and good health of the younger generation are proofs\n of their wisdom.\n\nFootnote 510:\n\n Thus distinguishing it from \u201cAsal-kasab,\u201d cane honey or sugar. See\n vol. i., 271.\n\nFootnote 511:\n\n The student of Hinduism will remember the N\u00e1ga-Kings and Queens\n (Melusines and Echidn\u00e6) who guard the earth-treasures in Naga-land.\n The first appearance of the snake in literature is in Egyptian\n hieroglyphs, where he forms the letters f and t, and acts as a\n determinative in the shape of a Cobra di Capello (Coluber Naja) with\n expanded hood.\n\nFootnote 512:\n\n In token that he was safe.\n\nFootnote 513:\n\n \u201cAkhir al-Zam\u00e1n.\u201d As old men praise past times, so prophets prefer to\n represent themselves as the last. The early Christians caused much\n scandal amongst the orderly law-loving Romans by their wild and\n mistaken predictions of the end of the world being at hand. The\n catastrophe is a fact for each man under the form of death; but the\n world has endured for untold ages and there is no apparent cause why\n it should not endure as many more. The \u201clatter days,\u201d as the religious\n dicta of most \u201crevelations\u201d assure us, will be richer in sinners than\n in sanctity: hence \u201cEnd of Time\u201d is a facetious Arab title for a\n villain of superior quality. My Somali escort applied it to one thus\n distinguished: in 1875, I heard at Aden that he ended life by the\n spear as we had all predicted.\n\nFootnote 514:\n\n Jahannam and the other six Hells are personified as feminine; and\n (woman-like) they are somewhat addicted to prolix speechification.\n\nFootnote 515:\n\n These puerile exaggerations are fondly intended to act as nurses\n frighten naughty children.\n\nFootnote 516:\n\n Alluding to an oft-quoted saying \u201cLau l\u00e1-ka, etc. Without thee (O\n Mohammed) We (Allah) had not created the spheres,\u201d which may have been\n suggested by \u201cBefore Abraham was, I am\u201d (John viii. 58); and by Gate\n xci. of Zoroastrianism \u201cO Zardusht, for thy sake I have created the\n world\u201d (Dabistan i. 344). The sentiment is by no means \u201cShi\u2019ah,\u201d as my\n learned friend Prof. Aloys Springer supposes. In his Mohammed (p. 220)\n we find an extract from a sectarian poet, \u201cFor thee we dispread the\n earth; for thee we caused the waters to flow; for thee we vaulted the\n heavens.\u201d As Baron Alfred von Kremer, another learned and experienced\n Orientalist, reminds me the \u201cShi\u2019ahs\u201d have always shown a decided\n tendency to this kind of apotheosis and have deified or quasi-deified\n Ali and the Imams. But the formula is first found in the highly\n orthodox Burdah-poem of Al-Busiri:\u2014\n\n \u201cBut for him (Lau l\u00e1-hu) the world had never come out of nothingness.\u201d\n\n Hence it has been widely diffused. See Les Aventures de Kamrup (pp.\n 146\u20137) and Les \u0152uvres de Wali (pp. 51\u201352), by M. Garcin de Tassy and\n the Dabistan (vol. i. pp. 2\u20133).\n\nFootnote 517:\n\n Arab. \u201cS\u00edmiy\u00e1\u201d from the Pers., a word apparently built on the model of\n \u201cK\u00edmiy\u00e1\u201d = alchemy, and applied, I have said, to fascination, minor\n miracles and white magic generally like the Hindu \u201cIndrajal.\u201d The\n common term for Alchemy is Ilm al-K\u00e1f (the K-science) because it is\n not safe to speak of it openly as alchemy.\n\nFootnote 518:\n\n Mare Tenebrarum = Sea of Darknesses; usually applied to the \u201cmournful\n and misty Atlantic.\u201d\n\nFootnote 519:\n\n Some Moslems hold that Solomon and David were buried in Jerusalem;\n others on the shore of Lake Tiberias. Mohammed, according to the\n history of Al-Tabari (p. 56, vol. i. Duleux\u2019s \u201cChronique de Tabari\u201d)\n declares that the Jinni bore Solomon\u2019s corpse to a palace hewn in the\n rock upon an island surrounded by a branch of the \u201cGreat Sea\u201d and set\n him on a throne, with his ring still on his finger, under a guard of\n twelve Jinns. \u201cNone hath looked upon the tomb save only two, Affan who\n took Bulukiya as his companion: with extreme pains they arrived at the\n spot, and Affan was about to carry off the ring when a thunderbolt\n consumed him. So Bulukiya returned.\u201d\n\nFootnote 520:\n\n Koran xxxviii. 34; or, \u201cart the liberal giver.\u201d\n\nFootnote 521:\n\n _i.e._ of the last trumpet blown by the Archangel Israfil: an idea\n borrowed from the Christians. Hence the title of certain churches\u2014_ad\n Tubam_.\n\nFootnote 522:\n\n This may mean that the fruits were fresh and dried like dates or\n tamarinds (a notable wonder), or soft and hard of skin like grapes and\n pomegranates.\n\nFootnote 523:\n\n Arab. \u201cAl-Iks\u00edr\u201d meaning lit. an essence; also the philosopher\u2019s\n stone.\n\nFootnote 524:\n\n Name of the Jinni whom Solomon imprisoned in Lake Tiberias (See vol.\n i, 41).\n\nFootnote 525:\n\n Vulgarly pronounced \u201cJahannum.\u201d The second hell is usually assigned to\n Christians. As there are seven Heavens (the planetary orbits) so, to\n satisfy Moslem love of symmetry, there must be as many earths and\n hells under the earth. The Egyptians invented these grim abodes, and\n the marvellous Persian fancy worked them into poem.\n\nFootnote 526:\n\n Arab. \u201cY\u00e1j\u00faj and Majuj,\u201d first named in Gen. x. 2, which gives the\n ethnology of Asia Minor, circ. B.C. 800. \u201cGomer\u201d is the Gimri or\n Cymmerians, \u201cMagog\u201d the original Magi, a division of the Medes;\n \u201cJavan\u201d the Ionian Greeks; \u201cMeshesh\u201d the Moschi; and \u201cTiras\u201d the\n Turusha, or primitive Cymmerians. In subsequent times, \u201cMagog\u201d was\n applied to the Scythians, and modern Moslems determine from the Koran\n (chapt. xviii. and xxi.) that Yajuj and Majuj are the Russians, whom\n they call Moska or Moskoff from the Moskwa River.\n\nFootnote 527:\n\n I attempt to preserve the original pun; \u201cMukarrabin\u201d (those near\n Allah) being the Cherubim, and the Creator causing Iblis to draw near\n Him (karraba).\n\nFootnote 528:\n\n A vulgar version of the Koran (chapt. vii.), which seems to have\n borrowed from the Gospel of Barnabas. Hence Adam becomes a manner of\n God-man.\n\nFootnote 529:\n\n These wild fables are caricatures of Rabbinical legends which began\n with \u201cLilith,\u201d the Spirit-wife of Adam: Nature and her counterpart,\n Physis and Antiphysis, supply a solid basis for folk-lore. Amongst the\n Hindus we have Brahma (the Creator) and Viswakarm\u00e1, the anti-Creator:\n the former makes a horse and a bull and the latter caricatures them\n with an ass and a buffalo, and so forth.\n\nFootnote 530:\n\n This is the \u201cLauh al-Mahf\u00faz,\u201d the Preserved Tablet, upon which are\n written all Allah\u2019s decrees and the actions of mankind good (white)\n and evil (black). This is the \u201cperspicuous Book\u201d of the _Koran_,\n chapt. vi. 59. The idea again is Guebre.\n\nFootnote 531:\n\n _i.e._ the night before Friday which in Moslem parlance would be\n Friday night.\n\nFootnote 532:\n\n Again Persian \u201cG\u00e1w-i-Zam\u00edn\u201d = the Bull of the Earth. \u201cThe cosmogony of\n the world,\u201d etc., as we read in the Vicar of Wakefield.\n\nFootnote 533:\n\n The Calc. Edit. ii. 614, here reads by a clerical error \u201cbull.\u201d\n\nFootnote 534:\n\n _i.e._ lakes and rivers.\n\nFootnote 535:\n\n Here some abridgement is necessary, for we have another recital of\n what has been told more than once.\n\nFootnote 536:\n\n This name, \u201cKing of Life\u201d is Persian: \u201cTegh\u201d or \u201cTigh\u201d means a\n scymitar and \u201cBahrw\u00e1n,\u201d is, I conceive, a mistake for \u201cBihr\u00fan,\u201d the\n Persian name of Alexander the Great.\n\nFootnote 537:\n\n Arab. \u201cMul\u00e1k\u00e1t\u201d or meeting the guest which, I have said, is an\n essential part of Eastern ceremony; the distance from the divan, room,\n house or town being proportioned to his rank or consideration.\n\nFootnote 538:\n\n Arab. \u201cSifr\u201d: whistling is held by the Badawi to be the speech of\n devils; and the excellent explorer Burckhardt got a bad name by the\n ugly habit.\n\nFootnote 539:\n\n The Arabs call \u201cShikk\u201d (split man) and the Persians \u201cN\u00edmchahrah\u201d\n (half-face) a kind of demon like a man divided longitudinally: this\n gruesome creature runs with amazing speed and is very cruel and\n dangerous. For the celebrated soothsayers Shikk and S\u00e1tih see\n Chenery\u2019s Al-Hariri, p. 371.\n\nFootnote 540:\n\n Arab. \u201cTakht\u201d (Persian) = a throne or a capital.\n\nFootnote 541:\n\n Arab. Wady al Naml; a reminiscence of the Koranic Wady (chapt.\n xxvii.), which some place in Syria and others in T\u00e1if.\n\nFootnote 542:\n\n This is the old, old fable of the River Sabbation which Pliny (xxxi.\n 18) reports as \u201cdrying up every Sabbath-day\u201d (Saturday): and which\n Josephus reports as breaking the Sabbath by flowing only on the Day of\n Rest.\n\nFootnote 543:\n\n They were keeping the Sabbath. When lodging with my Israelite friends\n Tiberias and Safet, I made a point of never speaking to them (after\n the morning salutation) till the Saturday was over.\n\nFootnote 544:\n\n Arab. \u201cLa\u2019al\u201d and \u201cY\u00e1k\u00fat,\u201d the latter also applied to the garnet and\n to a variety of inferior stones. The ruby is supposed by Moslems to be\n a common mineral thoroughly \u201ccooked\u201d by the sun, and produced only on\n the summits of mountains inaccessible even to Alpinists. The idea may\n have originated from exaggerated legends of the Badakhsh\u00e1n country\n (supposed to be the home of the ruby) and its terrors of break-neck\n foot-paths, jagged peaks and horrid ravines: hence our \u201c_balass_-ruby\u201d\n through the Spanish corruption \u201cBalaxe.\u201d Epiphanius, archbishop of\n Salamis in Cyprus, who died A.D. 403, gives, in a little treatise (De\n duodecim gemmis rationalis summi sacerdotis Hebr\u00e6orum Liber, opera\n Fogginii, Rom\u00e6, 1743, p. 30), a precisely similar description of the\n mode of finding jacinths in Scythia. \u201cIn a wilderness in the interior\n of Great Scythia,\u201d he writes, \u201cthere is a valley begirt with stony\n mountains as with walls. It is inaccessible to man, and so excessively\n deep that the bottom of the valley is invisible from the top of the\n surrounding mountains. So great is the darkness that it has the effect\n of a kind of chaos. To this place certain criminals are condemned,\n whose task it is to throw down into the valley slaughtered lambs, from\n which the skin has been first taken off. The little stones adhere to\n these pieces of flesh. Thereupon the eagles, which live on the summits\n of the mountains, fly down following the scent of the flesh, and carry\n away the lambs with the stones adhering to them. They, then, who are\n condemned to this place, watch until the eagles have finished their\n meal, and run and take away the stones.\u201d Epiphanius, who wrote this,\n is spoken of in terms of great respect by many ecclesiastical writers,\n and St. Jerome styles the treatise here quoted, \u201cEgregium volumen,\n quod si legere volueris, plenissimam scientiam consequeris;\u201d and,\n indeed, it is by no means improbable that it was from the account of\n Epiphanius that this story was first translated into Arabic. A similar\n account is given by Marco Polo and by Nicol\u00f2 de Conti, as of a usage\n which they had heard was practised in India, and the position ascribed\n to the mountain by Conti, namely, fifteen days\u2019 journey north of\n Vijanagar, renders it highly probable that Golconda was alluded to. He\n calls the mountain Albenigaras, and says that it was infested with\n serpents. Marco Polo also speaks of these serpents, and while his\n account agrees with that of Sindbad, inasmuch as the serpents, which\n are the prey of Sindbad\u2019s Rukh, are devoured by the Venetian\u2019s eagles,\n that of Conti makes the vultures and eagles fly away with the meat to\n places where they may be safe from the serpents. (Introd. p. xlii.,\n India in the Fifteenth Century, etc., R. H. Major, London, Hakluyt\n Soc. MDCCCLVII.)\n\nFootnote 545:\n\n Elder Victory: \u201cNasr\u201d is a favourite name with Moslems.\n\nFootnote 546:\n\n These are the \u201cSwan-maidens\u201d of whom Europe in late years has heard\n more than enough. It appears to me that we go much too far for an\n explanation of the legend; a high-bred girl is so like a swan in many\n points that the idea readily suggests itself. And it is also aided by\n the old Egyptian (and Platonic) belief in pre-existence and by the\n Rabbinic and Buddhistic doctrine of ante-natal sin, to say nothing of\n metempsychosis (Joseph Ant. xvii. 153).\n\nFootnote 547:\n\n The lines have occurred before. I quote Mr. Payne for variety.\n\nFootnote 548:\n\n Arab. \u201cAl-Khay\u00e1l\u201d: it is a synonym of \u201cal-Tayf\u201d and the nearest\n approach to our \u201cghost,\u201d as has been explained. In poetry it is the\n figure of the beloved seen when dreaming.\n\nFootnote 549:\n\n He does not kiss her mouth because he intends to marry her.\n\nFootnote 550:\n\n It should be \u201cmanifest\u201d excellence (Koran xxvii. 16).\n\nFootnote 551:\n\n The phrase is Koranic used to describe Paradise, and Damascus is a\n familiar specimen of a city under which a river, the Baradah, passes,\n distributed into a multitude of canals.\n\nFootnote 552:\n\n It maybe noted that rose-water is sprinkled on the faces of the\n \u201cnobility and gentry,\u201d common water being good enough for the\n commonalty. I have had to drink tea made in compliment with rose-water\n and did not enjoy it.\n\nFootnote 553:\n\n The Valley Flowery: Zahr\u00e1n is the name of a place near Al-Medinah.\n\nFootnote 554:\n\n The Proud or Petulant.\n\nFootnote 555:\n\n _i.e._ Lion, Son of (?).\n\nFootnote 556:\n\n _i.e._ Many were slain.\n\nFootnote 557:\n\n I venture to draw attention to this battle-picture which is at once\n simple and highly effective.\n\nFootnote 558:\n\n Anglic\u00e8 a quibble, evidently evasive.\n\nFootnote 559:\n\n In text \u201cAn\u00e1 A\u2019amil,\u201d etc., a true Egypto-Syrian vulgarism.\n\nFootnote 560:\n\n _i.e._ magical formul\u00e6. The context is purposely left vague.\n\nFootnote 561:\n\n The repetition is a condescension, a token of kindness.\n\nFootnote 562:\n\n This is the common cubit of 18 inches: the modern vary from 22 to 26.\n\nFootnote 563:\n\n I have noticed the two-humped Bactrian camel which the Syrians and\n Egyptians compare with an elephant. See p. 221 (the neo-Syrian) Book\n of Kalilah and Dimnah.\n\nFootnote 564:\n\n The Noachian dispensation revived the Islam or true religion first\n revealed to Adam, and was itself revived and reformed by Moses.\n\nFootnote 565:\n\n Probably a corruption of the Turkish \u201cKara T\u00e1sh\u201d = black stone, in\n Arab. \u201cH\u00e1jar Jahannam\u201d (hell-stone), lava, basalt.\n\nFootnote 566:\n\n A variant of lines in Night xx., vol. i., 211.\n\nFootnote 567:\n\n _i.e._ Daughter of Pride: the proud.\n\nFootnote 568:\n\n In the Calc. Edit. by misprint \u201cMaktab.\u201d Jabal Mukattam is the old\n sea-cliff where the Mediterranean once beat and upon whose North\n Western slopes Cairo is built.\n\nFootnote 569:\n\n Arab. \u201cKutb\u201d; lit. an axle, a pole; next a prince; a high order or\n doyen in Sainthood; especially amongst the Sufi-gnostics.\n\nFootnote 570:\n\n Lit. \u201cThe Green\u201d (Prophet), a mysterious personage confounded with\n Elijah, St. George and others. He was a Moslem, _i.e._ a true believer\n in the Islam of his day and Wazir to Kaykobad, founder of the Kayanian\n dynasty, sixth century B.C. We have before seen him as a contemporary\n of Moses. My learned friend Ch. Clermont-Ganneau traces him back, with\n a multitude of his similars (Proteus, Perseus, etc.), to the son of\n Osiris (p. 45, Horus et Saint Georges).\n\nFootnote 571:\n\n Arab. \u201cWalad,\u201d more ceremonious than \u201cibn.\u201d It is, by the by, the\n origin of our \u201cvalet\u201d in its sense of boy or servant who is popularly\n addressed Y\u00e1 walad. Hence I have seen in a French book of travels \u201cun\n petit lavelet.\u201d\n\nFootnote 572:\n\n Arab. \u201cAzal\u201d = Eternity (without beginning); \u201cAbad\u201d = Infinity\n (eternity without end).\n\nFootnote 573:\n\n The Moslem ritual for slaughtering (by cutting the throat) is not so\n strict as that of the Jews; but it requires some practice; and any\n failure in the conditions renders the meat impure, mere carrion\n (fat\u00eds).\n\nFootnote 574:\n\n The Wazir repeats all the words spoken by the Queen\u2014but \u201cin iteration\n there is no recreation.\u201d\n\nFootnote 575:\n\n A phrase always in the Moslem\u2019s mouth: the slang meaning of \u201cwe put\n our trust in Allah\u201d is \u201clet\u2019s cut our stick.\u201d\n\nFootnote 576:\n\n Koran liii. 14. This \u201cSidrat al-Muntah\u00e1\u201d (Zizyphus lotus) stands in\n the seventh heaven on the right hand of Allah\u2019s throne: and even the\n angels may not pass beyond it.\n\nFootnote 577:\n\n Arab. \u201cHabash\u201d: the word means more than \u201cAbyssinia\u201d as it includes\n the Dankali Country and the sea-board, a fact unknown to the late Lord\n Stratford de Redcliffe when he disputed with the Porte. I ventured to\n set him right and suffered accordingly.\n\nFootnote 578:\n\n Here ends vol. ii. of the Mac. Edit.\n\n\n\n\n END OF VOLUME V.\n\n[Illustration: \u0648\u0627\u0644\u0633\u0644\u0627\u0645]\n\n\n\n\n INDEX.\n\n\n A\u2019ar\u00e1f (Al-) = partition-wall (chapter of the Koran), 217\n\n Aaron\u2019s Rod (becomes with Moslems Moses\u2019 Staff), 238\n\n A\u2019amash (Al-), traditionist, 81\n\n A\u2019araj (Al-), traditionist, _ib._\n\n Abdallah (a neutral name), 141\n\n Abdallah bin Mas\u2019\u00fad (traditionist), 81\n\n Abdallah bin Salim (traditionist), _ib._\n\n Abjad (Hebrew-Arabic alphabet), 229\n\n Ablution (difference of fashion in performing it), 112\n\n Abraham (the friend of God), 205\n\n Abrogating and abrogated (versets), 194\n\n Ab\u00fa al-Abb\u00e1s al-Mubarrad (grammarian), 138\n\n Ab\u00fa al-Abb\u00e1s al-Rak\u00e1shi (poet), 77\n\n Ab\u00fa al-Ayn\u00e1, 164\n\n Abu al-Husn = Father of Beauty (a fancy name), 189\n\n Ab\u00fa Ali, _see_ Di\u2019ibil al-Khuz\u00e1\u2019i.\n\n Abu Bakr (Caliph), 235\n\n Abu Bakr Mohammed al-Anb\u00e1ri (grammarian), 141\n\n Ab\u00fa H\u00e1ris = Father of spoils (lion), 40\n\n Ab\u00fa Horayrah (uncle of Mohammed), 81\n\n Abu Tamm\u00e1m (poet), 157\n\n Ab\u00fa Zan\u00e1d (traditionist), 81\n\n Ab\u00fa Zarr (Companion of the Apostle), 102\n\n Adi bin Zayd (poet), 124\n\n Adil (Al-) = the Just (Caliph Omar), 103\n\n Adn\u00e1n (Arab genealogy begins with), 100\n\n Adultery (etc. to be proved by four witnesses), 97\n\n Adulteress (none without an adulterer), 90\n\n Ahr\u00e1m (Al-) = the Pyramids, 105\n\n Akabah (mountain pass near Meccah), 295\n\n Ak\u00e1sirah = sons of the royal Chosro\u00ebs, 10\n\n Akh\u00edr al-Zam\u00e1n = the latter days, 304\n\n Alam = way-mark, etc., 191\n\n Alcove (corruption of al-Kubbah), 18\n\n Aleppo (noted for debauchery), 64\n\n Ali bin Mohammed bin Abdallah bin T\u00e1hir (Governor), 163\n\n Ali ibn Ab\u00ed T\u00e1lib, 213; 225\n\n Alish takish (acting woman and man alternately), 65\n\n Allah (desire unto), 164\n\n \u2014\u2014 (corporeality of?), _ib._\n\n \u2014\u2014 requite you abundantly =, 171\n\n \u2014\u2014 (seeking refuge with), 200\n\n \u2014\u2014 (names of), 214\n\n Allaho Akbar of prohibition, 196\n\n Alhamdolillah (pronounced to avert the evil eye), 7\n\n Alm\u00e1 = brown- (not \u201cdamask-\u201d) lipped, 66\n\n Ambiguity, 44\n\n Am\u00edn (Al-), Caliph, 93; 152\n\n Amru bin Ma\u2019di Karib (poet), 147\n\n Amru bin Masa\u2019dah (Pr. N.), 145\n\n \u2018Am\u00fariyah = the classical Amorium, 141\n\n \u201cAna\u201d (from Night ccclxxxi.-ccccxxiv.), 64\n\n An\u00e1 a\u2019amil = I will do it (Egypto-Syrian vulgarism), 367\n\n Ant (chapter ix. of the Koran), 213\n\n Anthropophagy (allowed when it saves life), 186\n\n An\u00fashirw\u00e1n = An\u00fash\u00edn-raw\u00e1n = Sweet of Soul, 87\n\n \u2018Ar (Al-) = shame, 138\n\n Arab al-Arab\u00e1 = Arab of pure and genuine blood, 101\n\n Arab horses (breeds of), 246\n\n Arab-land and Ajam = all the world over, 136\n\n Arafat (mount where the victims are _not_ slaughtered), 295\n\n Arithmetic (not mastered by Moslems), 236\n\n Arsh = the ninth Heaven, 167\n\n Ash\u00e1b al-Suffah, 102\n\n Atb\u00e1k = trays, 264\n\n Ayishah bint Talhah (granddaughter of Abu Bakr), 79\n\n Ayn = eye, for helper, 60\n\n Ayns (verset of the 140), 217\n\n Azal = eternity without beginning (opposed to Abad = infinity), 390\n\n Az\u00e1n = call to prayer, 201\n\n\n Ba\u2019albak = Ba\u2019al\u2019s-city, 51\n\n Bactrian camel, 371\n\n Badal = substitute, 249\n\n Badawi (truth-telling and blunt in speech), 98\n\n Badinj\u00e1n = Solanum pomiferum, or S. Melongena, 4\n\n Bahak = white leprosy, 294\n\n Bahr al-Kun\u00faz = Sea of Treasures, 37\n\n Bahrw\u00e1n (Pr. N. for Bihr\u00fan?), 329\n\n Bal\u00e1bil, pl. of bulbul (nightingale) and ballalah (grief), 244\n\n Baldrick (Ham\u00e1il), 158\n\n Ban\u00fa Ozrah (tribe renowned as lovers), 70\n\n Baras = white leprosy, 294\n\n Barmah\u00e1t (seventh Coptic month), 231\n\n Barm\u00fadah (eighth Coptic month), 232\n\n Basmalah = pronouncing the formula Bismillah, 206\n\n \u2014\u2014 (commonly pronounced \u201cBismalah\u201d), 213\n\n Bat (has seed like a man\u2019s), 85\n\n \u2014\u2014 (Arab. Khuff\u00e1sh, Watw\u00e1t), 226\n\n Baydak = pawn in chess, 243\n\n Bayt (Al-) = the house (cage), 269\n\n BE! and IT BECOMETH, 240; 286\n\n Beard combed by the fingers in the Wuz\u00fa, 198; 209\n\n Bida\u2019ah = Innovation, 167\n\n Bik\u00e1\u2019a = convents (pilgrimages to), 125\n\n Bint Shum\u00fakh (Pr. N. = daughter of pride), 382\n\n Bird (created by Jesus), 211\n\n \u2014\u2014 (seen by Abu Bakr in the cave), 235\n\n Birds (songs and cries of), 50\n\n Bismill\u00e1h = in the name of Allah, 206\n\n Biz\u00e1\u2019at = capital, business-concern, 81\n\n Blast (of the last trumpet), 310\n\n Brain (_fons veneris_ in man), 46\n\n Brasier (K\u00e1n\u00fan, Mankal), 273\n\n Breast-bone (Tar\u00e1ib), 132\n\n Breath (healing by the), 29\n\n Bridal couch (attitudinising thereon), 75\n\n Brotherhood (sworn in Allah Almighty), 43\n\n Bulbul (departed with Tommy Moore. Englished by \u201cnightingale\u201d), 48\n\n Bull (of the Earth = G\u00e1w-i-Zam\u00edn), 324\n\n\n Caliphate (defective title to), 116\n\n Camel (-colts roasted whole), 135\n\n \u2014\u2014 (feeding on and vindictiveness), 135\n\n \u2014\u2014 (Bactrian), 371\n\n Carat = 1/24 of a dinar or miskal something under 5d., 277\n\n Chess, 243\n\n Circumcision (how practised), 209\n\n \u2014\u2014 (female), 279\n\n Cities (two-mosqued for large and consequently vicious ones), 66\n\n Clitoris (Zamb\u00far) and its excision, 279\n\n Coffee (first mention of), 169\n\n Coloquintida (Hanzal), 19\n\n Commune (Jam\u00e1\u2019at), 205\n\n Covered (the, chapter of the Koran), 215\n\n Cow (chapter ii. of the Koran), 211\n\n Creation (is it and its Empire not His?), 266\n\n Crepitus ventris and Ethnology, 137\n\n Cubit (the H\u00e1shimi = 18 inches), 371\n\n\n Damon and Pythias, 104\n\n D\u00e1ni wa ghar\u00edb = friend and foe, 42\n\n D\u00e1nik = sixth part of a dirham, 112\n\n Dead (buried at once), 190\n\n Death (from love), 134\n\n \u2014\u2014 (every soul shall taste of it), 166\n\n \u2014\u2014 (of a good Moslem), 167\n\n Devil (stoned at Mina), 203, 212\n\n Devotees (address Allah as a lover would his beloved), 263\n\n D\u00ed\u2019ibil al-Khuz\u00e1\u2019i (poet), 127\n\n Dimyat (vulg. Dum\u00edyat) = Damietta, 171\n\n Dissection (practised on Simiads), 220\n\n Diy\u00e1r-i-Bakr = maid-land, 66\n\n Doggrel (royal), 55\n\n \u2014\u2014 (phenomenal), 288\n\n \u2014\u2014 (sad), 297\n\n Door (behind it the door-keeper\u2019s seat), 173\n\n Dreams (lovers meet in), 47\n\n\n Eatables (their exchange must be equal), 204\n\n Eating (how it should be done), 206\n\n Empire (endureth with infidelity but not with tyranny), 187\n\n Eunuchs (and their wives), 46\n\n \u2014\u2014 (avoid allusion to their misfortune), 47\n\n Eve (Arab. Haww\u00e1), 139\n\n Exaggerations, 306\n\n Eye (likened to the letter S\u00e1d, the brow to Nun), 34\n\n \u2014\u2014 (Ayn, for helper), 60\n\n\n F\u00e1\u2019il = agent, active (Sodomite), 156\n\n Fak\u00edr = religious mendicant, 39\n\n Fakru (Al-) fakhr\u00ed = poverty is my pride (saying of Mohammed), 268\n\n F\u00e1l = omen, 126\n\n Fars = Persia, 26\n\n Fart (in return for chaff), 99\n\n \u2014\u2014 (and Badawi \u201cpundonor\u201d), 137\n\n Fast (and its break), 201\n\n \u2014\u2014 (when forbidden), 265\n\n F\u00e1tihah (position of the hands in reciting it), 80\n\n \u2014\u2014 (recited seven times for greater solemnity), 134\n\n Faylas\u00faf = philosopher, 234\n\n Fealty of the Steep, 295\n\n Fi\u2019l-Khaw\u00e1fik = among the flags, etc., 61\n\n Fingers and toes (separated to wash between them), 198\n\n \u201cFire (of Hell) but not shame\u201d, 138\n\n Fire (handled without injury, a common conjuring trick), 271\n\n Fire-sticks (Zind, Zindah), 52\n\n Fish\u00e1r = squeeze of the tomb, 111\n\n Fisherman (Arab contrasted with English), 51\n\n \u201cForbid not yourselves the good things which Allah hath allowed you\u201d,\n 216\n\n Formication (accompanying a paralytic stroke), 251\n\n Fruits (fresh and dry), 314\n\n\n Garden (with rivers flowing under it, Koranic phrase), 356\n\n G\u00e1w-i-Zam\u00edn = the Bull of the Earth, 324\n\n Genealogy (Arab, begins with Adnan), 100\n\n Ghatraf\u00e1n (Pr. N. = proud, petulant), 361\n\n Ghaut = Sar\u00eddah, _q.v._, 223\n\n Ghazanfar ibn Kamkh\u00edl = Lion, son of (?), 363\n\n Ghilm\u00e1n (counterpart of the Houris), 64\n\n Ghimd (Ghamad) = scabbard, 158\n\n Ghoonj (Ghunj) = art of moving in coition, 80\n\n Ghusl = complete ablution, 199\n\n Girl (of nine plus five = in her prime), 192\n\n Greetings before the world, 34\n\n\n Habash = Abyssinia and something more, 395\n\n Habbaz\u00e1! = good this!, 52\n\n H\u00e1di (Al-), Caliph, 93\n\n Had\u00eds = saying of the Apostle, tradition, 201\n\n Hajar Jahannam = hell-stone, lava, basalt, 378\n\n Hajj = pilgrimage, 202\n\n H\u00e1kim (Al-) bi-Amri llah (Caliph, not to be confounded with the\n Fatimite), 86\n\n Hakk (Al-) = the Truth (Allah), 284\n\n Halabi Shelebi = the Aleppine is a fellow fine, 64\n\n Ham\u00e1il = baldrick, 158\n\n Ham\u00e1m = wood-pigeon, 49\n\n \u2014\u2014 (al-Ayk) = \u201cculver of the copse\u201d, _ib._\n\n Hamm\u00e1m (hired for private parties), 63\n\n Handfuls (the two), 207\n\n Hands (their feel guides the physician), 220\n\n Hands (how held in reciting the F\u00e1tihah), 80\n\n \u2014\u2014 (bitten in repentance), 191\n\n Han\u00fat = tavern, booth, etc., 142\n\n Hanzal = coloquintida, 19\n\n Har\u00edri (Al-) = the silk-man (poet), 158\n\n Harj\u00e1h = (a man of) any place?, 27\n\n H\u00e1sib Kar\u00edm al-D\u00edn (Pr. N.), 298\n\n H\u00e1shim\u00ed cubit = 18 inches, 371\n\n \u201cHaunted\u201d = inhabited by Jinns, 175\n\n Haww\u00e1 = Eve, 139\n\n Haykal = temple, chapel, 192\n\n Haz\u00e1r = (the bird of) a thousand (songs), 48\n\n Hazramaut (the Biblical Hazarmaveth), 136\n\n Heart (from a, full of wrath = in spite of himself), 68\n\n Hind\u00ed = Indian Moslem opposed to Hind\u00fa, 1\n\n Hindib\u00e1 = Endive, 226\n\n H\u00edrah (Christian city in Mesopotamia), 124\n\n Hirakl (monastery of), 138\n\n Hish\u00e1m ibn Orwah (traditionist), 81\n\n Hizb = section of the Koran, 217\n\n Honayn (scene of one of Mohammed\u2019s battles), 66\n\n Honey (bees\u2019, as distinguished from cane honey), 300\n\n \u201cHoney-moon\u201d (lasts a week), 62\n\n Horses (Arab breeds), 246\n\n Hosh = mean courts at Cairo, 170\n\n Hour (of Judgment), 235\n\n House (haunted = inhabited by Jinns), 175\n\n Hud\u00fad al-Haram = bounds of the Holy Places, 148\n\n Humours (of Hippocrates), 218\n\n Hydropathic treatment of wounds held dangerous, 200\n\n Hypocrite (Mun\u00e1fik), 207\n\n\n Ibl\u00eds (Cherubim cherished by Allah), 319\n\n \u2014\u2014 (cursed and expelled), 320\n\n Ibn Abb\u00e1s (Companion), 212\n\n I\u2019itik\u00e1f (Al-) = retreat, 202\n\n Ik\u00e1lah (Al-) = cancelling, \u201cresiliation,\u201d 204\n\n Iksir (Al-) = an essence (the philosopher\u2019s \u201cstone\u201d), 315\n\n Il\u00e1h = God, 196\n\n Ilm al-K\u00e1f = K-science for Alchemy, 307\n\n Images (of living beings forbidden), 3\n\n \u2014\u2014 = statues, 223\n\n Impurity (ceremonial different from dirtiness), 209\n\n Ims\u00e1k = retention (prolongatio veneris), 76\n\n In\u2019\u00e1sh =raising from the bier (a \u201cpick-me-up\u201d), 67\n\n Indraj\u00e1l = white magic, 307\n\n Innovation (Arab. Bida\u2019ah), 167\n\n Intention (of prayer, Niyat), 163; 196\n\n Intercession (disputed doctrine), 241\n\n Iskandar Z\u00fa al-Karnayn = Alexander Matagrobolized, 252\n\n Isr\u00e1f\u00edl (blows the last trumpet), 310\n\n Istikh\u00e1rah = praying for direction by omens, etc., 44\n\n Istinsh\u00e1k = snuffing water through the nostrils, 198\n\n\n Ja\u2019afar bin Mus\u00e1 al-H\u00e1di (Caliph), 93\n\n Jabal Mukattam (sea-cliff upon which Cairo is built), 383\n\n Jabal N\u00far, 215\n\n Jabal al-Sakl\u00e1 (Thakl\u00e1) = mount of the women bereft of children, 37\n\n J\u00e1bir bin Abdallah (disciple of Mohammed), 215\n\n Jahannam = Hell, 306; 318\n\n Jal\u00e1lah = saying \u201cJalla Jal\u00e1lu-hu\u201d = magnified be His Majesty, 217\n\n Calla = gaberdine, 265\n\n Jam\u00e1\u2019at = community, 205\n\n J\u00e1mi\u2019 = cathedral mosque, 261\n\n J\u00e1mi\u2019ayn = two cathedrals, 66\n\n Jamm = ocean, 93\n\n J\u00e1nsh\u00e1h (Pr. N. = King of Life), 326\n\n Jar\u00edr (poet), 148\n\n Jauzar = Bubalus (Ariel antelope), 130\n\n Jaw\u00e1ri = slave-girls, rhyming with dam\u2019u j\u00e1ri = flowing tears, 160\n\n Jesus (bird of), 211\n\n \u2014\u2014 (crucified in effigy), 238\n\n \u2014\u2014 (compared with Adam), _ib._\n\n Jew (prefers dying on the floor, not in bed), 248\n\n Judgment (hour of), 235\n\n Juz\u00e1m = black leprosy, 294\n\n\n Kadis\u00edyah (Al-), city in Ir\u00e1k, 294\n\n K\u00e1fs (verset of the three-and-twenty), 217\n\n Kahwajiyah = coffee-makers, 169\n\n Kalamd\u00e1n = pen-case, 239\n\n Kalla-m\u00e1 = it is seldom, 150\n\n Kanjifah = pack of cards, 243\n\n K\u00e1nun = brasier, 272\n\n K\u00e1ri = Koran-reader, 216\n\n Karkh (Al-), quarter of Baghdad, 127\n\n K\u00e1run = Korah of the Bible, 225\n\n Kaw\u00e1id (pl. of K\u00e1id = governor), 145\n\n Khab\u00e1l = pus flowing from the damned, 162\n\n Khal\u00edl (Al-) = the friend, _i.e._ of Allah = Abraham, 205\n\n Khay\u00e1l (Al-) = phantom, \u201cghost,\u201d dream-visitor, 348\n\n Khaysamah (traditionist), 81\n\n Khaww\u00e1s (Al-) = basket-maker, 283\n\n Khil\u00e1l = toothpick (emblem of emaciation), 44\n\n Khizr (Al-), the Green Prophet, 384\n\n Khuff\u00e1sh = Bat, 226\n\n Khuns\u00e1 = hermaphrodite (also catamite), 91\n\n Khusrau Parw\u00edz and Sh\u00edr\u00edn, _ib._\n\n \u2014\u2014 (his wealth), _ib._\n\n Khutnah = circumcision, 209\n\n Kiblah (turning towards it in mortal danger), 39\n\n \u2014\u2014 (anything opposite) applied to the Ka\u2019abah, 196\n\n Kiblatayn = the two Kiblahs (Meccah and Jerusalem), _ib._\n\n Killed = Hibernic\u00e8 \u201ckilt\u201d, 5\n\n King (the, and the Virtuous Wife), 122\n\n Kisr\u00e0 = _the_ Chosro\u00eb (applied to Anushirwan), 87\n\n Kiss (without moustachio = bread without salt), 165\n\n Kit (of the traveller in the East), 174\n\n Kiy\u00e1k (fourth Coptic month), 231\n\n Kneeling (in prayer exclusively Christian), 196\n\n Kohl-needle in the Kohl-case = res in re, 97\n\n Korah (K\u00e1r\u00fan), 225\n\n Koran quoted (xxvi. 5, 6), 78\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xxxiii. 48), 101\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xxxviii. 2), 102\n\n \u2014\u2014 (vii. 195), 143\n\n \u2014\u2014 quoted (x. 36), 145\n\n \u2014\u2014 (iv. 38, 175; ii. 282), 155\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xii. 51), 159\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xxvi. 165), 161\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xxi. 36), 166\n\n \u2014\u2014 (vii. 148), 191\n\n \u2014\u2014 (iv. 160), 194\n\n \u2014\u2014 (viii. 66), 203\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xxxix. 67; lxxviii. 19), 207\n\n \u2014\u2014 (vii. 63, 71, 83), 210\n\n \u2014\u2014 (chapt. of The Cow), 211\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xvi. 92; xxxix. 54; lxx. 38), _ib._\n\n \u2014\u2014 (ii. 28, 107; xii. 18; xvi. 100; li. 57), 212\n\n \u2014\u2014 (ix.; xxvii. 30; xcvi. 1, 2), 213\n\n \u2014\u2014 (ii. 158; xvii. 110), 214\n\n \u2014\u2014 (v. 4; xxx.; lxxiv. 1; xcvi.; cx. 1), 215\n\n \u2014\u2014 (iv. 124; v. 89, 116), 216\n\n \u2014\u2014 (vii. 154; xi. 50), 217\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xvii. 39), 221\n\n \u2014\u2014 (ii. 216; v. 92), 223\n\n \u2014\u2014 (x. 5; xxii. 60; xxxvi. 40; lxx. 40), 228\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xxxi. 34), 231\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xxxvii. 5), 233\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xxxvi. 37, 38), 234\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xx. 57; xxii. 7), 235\n\n \u2014\u2014 (lxxxi. 18), 236\n\n \u2014\u2014 (iii.; vii. 110), 238\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xii. 10), 239\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xxxvi. 82), 240\n\n \u2014\u2014 (vi. 44), 250\n\n \u2014\u2014 (vii. 52), 269\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xxxvi. 82), 286\n\n \u2014\u2014 (v. 108), 287\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xiii. 41), 290\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xxxviii. 34), 310\n\n \u2014\u2014 (vii.), 320\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xxvii.), 337\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xxvii. 16), 355\n\n \u2014\u2014 (liii. 14), 393\n\n \u2014\u2014 (abrogating and abrogated passages), 194\n\n \u2014\u2014 (most excellent chapter of), 211\n\n \u2014\u2014 (eminent and curious verses of), _ib._\n\n Kubbat (Al-) = alcove, 18\n\n Kurrat al-Ayn (Pr. N. = coolness of the eye), 145\n\n Kutb = axle, pole; hence prince, doyen in sainthood, 384\n\n\n La\u2019al = ruby, 342\n\n La\u2019an = curse, 250\n\n Labbay\u2019ka = here I am (pronounced on sighting Meccah), 203\n\n Lactation (term of), 299\n\n \u2014\u2014 (no cohabitation during), _ib._\n\n L\u00e1mi (Al-) = the l-shaped, forked (os hyo\u00efdes), 219\n\n Lane quoted, 32; 33; 37; 44; 45; 64; 104; 112; 120; 121; 145; 189; 201;\n 286; 298\n\n Lauh = tablet used as slate, 73\n\n \u2014\u2014 al-Mahf\u00faz = the Preserved Tablet (of Allah\u2019s decrees), 322\n\n Lau l\u00e1-ka = but for thee, for thy sake, 306\n\n Leprosy (white = bahak or baras, black = juz\u00e1m), 294\n\n L\u00edf = fibre of palm-fronds, 45\n\n Lion (beguiled by flattery), 40\n\n Liver and spleen (held to be congealed blood), 220\n\n Lord for Lady = she, 60\n\n \u2014\u2014 (of the East and West), 228\n\n Lote-tree (beyond which there is no passing), 393\n\n Lots = games of chance, 223\n\n Love (strange chances of), 71\n\n \u2014\u2014 (deaths from), 134\n\n \u2014\u2014 (made public, disgraces), 151\n\n Lovers (buried together), 71\n\n \u2014\u2014 (model ones, becoming an ordinary married couple), 92\n\n L\u00fati (of the people of Lot = Sodomite), 161\n\n Lynch-law (the modern form of Jus talionis), 103\n\n\n Ma\u2019abid (singer and composer), 147\n\n Mafa\u2019\u00fal = patient, passive (Catamite), 156\n\n Magic Horse (history of the fable), 2\n\n Majz\u00fab = drawn, attracted (Sufi term for an ecstatic), 57\n\n M\u00e1lik (traditionist), 81\n\n \u2014\u2014 al-Khuz\u00e1\u2019i (intendant of the palace), 95\n\n M\u00e1lik bin D\u00edn\u00e1r (theologian), 261\n\n Malikhul\u00edya (Al-) = melancholy, 221\n\n Man (advantages of, above woman), 155\n\n \u2014\u2014 (one\u2019s evidence = two women\u2019s), _ib._\n\n \u2014\u2014 (one\u2019s portion = two women\u2019s), _ib._\n\n \u2014\u2014 (created of congealed blood), 213\n\n Man\u00e1f (idol), 129\n\n Man\u00e1zil (Stations of the Moon), 228\n\n Marwah (ground-wave in Meccah), 203\n\n Mat\u00e1f = place of the Taw\u00e1f, _q.v._, 203\n\n Matting (of Sind famous), 146\n\n Maysar = game of arrows, 223\n\n Medicine (rules and verses bearing on domestic), 222\n\n Metempsychosis and sharpers\u2019 tricks, 84\n\n Mihrg\u00e1n = Sun-f\u00eate, degraded into Michaelmas, 1\n\n Mikmarah (Makmarah) = cover for a brasier, extinguisher, 120\n\n Milk (soured), 225\n\n M\u00edms (verset of the sixteen), 217\n\n Mina (and the stoning of the Devil), 203\n\n Miracle (minor, known to Spiritualism), 144\n\n Mirza Abdullah-i-Hichmak\u00e1ni = Master Abdullah of Nowhere, 27\n\n Misra (twelfth Coptic month), 232\n\n Modesty (behind a curtain), 162\n\n Mohammed (mentioned in the Koran), 210\n\n \u2014\u2014 al-Am\u00edn (Caliph), 93\n\n Monasteries (best wine made in), 65\n\n \u2014\u2014 (Arab. Bik\u00e1\u2019a), 125\n\n \u2014\u2014 (places of confinement for madmen), 139\n\n Months (of peace), 54\n\n \u2014\u2014 (Coptic names of), 221; 232\n\n \u2014\u2014 (Arabic names explained), 233\n\n Moon (simile for female beauty), 8\n\n \u2014\u2014 (shall be cloven in twain), 217\n\n \u2014\u2014 (its stations), 28\n\n Mosul (exempted from idolatrous worship), 64\n\n Moustachio (salt to a kiss), 165\n\n Muffawak = well-notched (arrow), 33\n\n Muharram\u00e1t = unlawful things, 148\n\n Mukarrab\u00edn = those near Allah, 319\n\n Muj\u00e1wirin = lower servants, sweepers, etc., 19\n\n Mukr\u00ed = Koranist, 216\n\n Mul\u00e1k\u00e1t = going to meet an approaching guest, 330\n\n Mun\u00e1fik = hypocrite, 207\n\n Munkar and Nak\u00edr (the questioning Angels), 111\n\n Murder (to be punished by the family), 103\n\n Mus\u2019ab bin al-Zubayr, 79\n\n Musall\u00e1 = place of prayer, oratory, 261\n\n Musk (sherbet flavoured with), 66\n\n Muslim bin al-Wal\u00edd (poet), 128\n\n Mutalammis (Al-), the poet and his fatal letter, 74\n\n Mutawakkil (Al-), ala \u2018llah (Caliph), 153\n\n Mutawwif = leader in the Taw\u00e1f, _q.v._, 203\n\n Muunis (Pr. N. = Companion), 164\n\n\n Nafah\u00e1t = breathings, benefits, 29\n\n N\u00e1f\u2019i (traditionist), 204\n\n N\u00e1ga-kings (of Hinduism), 302\n\n Naj\u00edb (al-taraf = son of a common Moslemah by a Sayyid, _q.v._), 259\n\n \u2014\u2014 (al-tarafayn = whose parents are both of Apostolic blood), _ib._\n\n Names (of God), 214\n\n \u2014\u2014 (= magical formul\u00e6), 369\n\n Nation (its power consists in its numbers of fighting men), 255\n\n Nay = reed-pipe, 50\n\n N\u00e1zih = travelled far and wide, 52\n\n Night (its promise spread with butter that melteth with day-rise), 77\n\n N\u00edmchahrah = half-face (Pers. a kind of demon), 333\n\n Niyat = intention, purpose of prayer, 163\n\n Noachian dispensation (revived al-Isl\u00e1m), 372\n\n N\u00fan (simile for the eyebrow), 34\n\n Nu\u2019uman (Al-) bin Munzir (tyrant of H\u00edrah), 74\n\n\n Obayd\u2019 Allah (Pr. N.), 164\n\n Ocean (Jamm), 93\n\n \u2014\u2014 (of darkness), 309\n\n Old age (graphically described), 3\n\n Old woman (polite equivalents for), 163\n\n Olem\u00e1 (pl. of \u00c1lim) = the learned in the law, 183\n\n Omar (Caliph) entitled al-\u00c1dil, the Just, 103\n\n Omen (F\u00e1l), 136\n\n Othm\u00e1n bin Aff\u00e1n (K\u00e1tib al-Koran), 215\n\n\n Palsy (creeps over him), 251\n\n Paper (his = the whiteness of his skin), 161\n\n Parapets (on terrace-roofs made obligatory by Moses), 72\n\n Parasite (Tufayli), 130\n\n Payne quoted, 44; 49; 65; 112; 161; 192; 204; 346\n\n Pearls shaded by hair = teeth under moustachio, 157\n\n Persian (\u201cI am a, but not lying now\u201d), 26\n\n \u2014\u2014 (poets mostly addressing youths), 156\n\n Physiologists (practise on the simiads), 220\n\n Physis and Antiphysis, 320\n\n Picnics (on the Rauzah island), 169\n\n Pilgrimage quoted (i. 22), 39\n\n \u2014\u2014 (ii. 287), 44\n\n \u2014\u2014 (iii. 218), 49\n\n \u2014\u2014 (i. 16), 97\n\n \u2014\u2014 (ii. 344), 100\n\n \u2014\u2014 (i. 10), 112\n\n \u2014\u2014 (ii. 161), 119\n\n \u2014\u2014 (i. 352), 158\n\n \u2014\u2014 (ii. 320), 196\n\n \u2014\u2014 (i. 110), 201\n\n \u2014\u2014 (iii. 193, 205, 226, 282), 203\n\n \u2014\u2014 (iii. 248), 212\n\n \u2014\u2014 (iii. 92), 220\n\n \u2014\u2014 (ii. 322), 224\n\n \u2014\u2014 (i. 362), 225\n\n \u2014\u2014 (ii. 288), 236\n\n Plaisirs de la petite oie (practised by eunuchs), 46\n\n Pleasure prolonged (en pensant \u00e0 sa pauvre m\u00e8re, etc.), 76\n\n Polo (\u201cGoff\u201d), 32\n\n Poverty (Holy), 269\n\n Prayer (without intention, Arab. Niyat is valueless), 163\n\n \u2014\u2014 (offered standing or prostrating), 196\n\n \u2014\u2014 (of a sick person said as he best can), 200\n\n \u2014\u2014 (intonations of the voice in), _ib._\n\n \u2014\u2014 (call to, Az\u00e1n), 201\n\n \u2014\u2014 (is a collector of all folk), _ib._\n\n Preachments (to Eastern despots), 254\n\n Prolongatio veneris (Ims\u00e1k), 76\n\n Prophets (named in the Kor\u00e1n), 210\n\n Providence (and Justice), 286\n\n Purgation (Easterns most careful during), 154\n\n Pyramids (Al-Ahr\u00e1m), 105\n\n \u2014\u2014 (containing unopened chambers?), 106\n\n Pyramidennarren, _ib._\n\n\n Quibbling away a truly diplomatic art, 86\n\n\n Rajab = worshipping (7th Arab month), 54\n\n R\u00e1k\u00ed (distilled from raisins), 65\n\n Ras al-T\u00edn = Headland of Clay (not Figs), 112\n\n Rashaa = fawn beginning to walk, 149\n\n Rauzah (Al-), at Cairo, 169\n\n Ream (Ital. risma, Arab. riyam), 108\n\n Red Sea (cleaves in twelve places), 236\n\n Reed-pipe (Nay), 50\n\n Repetition (of an address in token of kindness), 370\n\n Rib\u00e1 = usury, 201\n\n Riddle \u201csurprise\u201d (specimen of), 239\n\n Riyam = bales (ream), 108\n\n Robinson Crusoe (with a touch of Arab prayerfulness), 291\n\n Rose-water (for \u201cnobility and gentry\u201d even in tea), 357\n\n Ruby (La\u2019al, Y\u00e1k\u00fat), 342\n\n Rukh (Roc) and \u201cRoc\u2019s\u201d feathers, 122\n\n\n Sabbath (kept in silence), 339\n\n Sabbation (River), 337\n\n S\u00e1d (Letter, simile for the eye), 34\n\n Saf\u00e1 (ground-wave _in_ Meccah), 203\n\n S\u00e1hib (Wazirial title), 71\n\n Sa\u2019\u00edd bin Zayd (traditionist), 81\n\n Sa\u2019\u00edd bin S\u00e1lim (governor of Khorasan), 94\n\n S\u00e1im al-dahr = perennial faster, 112\n\n Saint, Santon (Wali), _ib._\n\n Saint and Sinner, 115\n\n Saj\u2019a = balanced prose (instance), 160\n\n Saj\u00e1h (false prophetess), 147\n\n Sakhr (Jinni imprisoned by Solomon), 316\n\n Sakk\u00e1 = water-carrier, 89\n\n Salaf (Al-) = ancestry (referring to Mohammed), 90\n\n S\u00e1lih (grandson of Shem?), 210\n\n S\u00e1lih (his she-camel), 235\n\n S\u00e1l\u00edh al-Muzani (theologian), 261\n\n Salli ala \u2018l-Nabi = bless the prophet (imposing silence), 65\n\n Salutation (the first), 200\n\n \u2014\u2014 (Sal\u00e1m, unwillingly addressed to a Christian), 284\n\n Sana\u2019\u00e1 (Capital of Al-Yaman), 16\n\n Sandal (scented with), 192\n\n Sandali (eunuch deprived of penis and testes), 46\n\n Sar\u2019a = falling sickness, 28\n\n Sard\u00e1b = underground chamber, 128\n\n Sar\u00eddah (Thar\u00eddah) brewis, 223\n\n Saw\u00e1lif = tresses, locks, 158\n\n Sayh\u00fan and Jayh\u00fan = Jaxartes and Oxus, 41\n\n Sayyid (descendant from Mohammed through Al-Hasan), 259\n\n Scabbard (Ar. Ghimd), 158\n\n Schoolmaster (derided in East and West), 118\n\n Seal (affixed to make an act binding), 184\n\n \u2014\u2014 (breaking the = taking the maidenhead), 154\n\n Seas (fresh = lakes and rivers), 326\n\n Secrets (instances and sayings with regard to their keeping), 83\n\n Seeking refuge with Allah, 200\n\n Sha\u2019ab\u00e1n (moon of), 191\n\n Sh\u00e1h-p\u00far = King\u2019s son (S\u00e1b\u00far, \u03a3\u03b1\u03b2\u1f7c\u03c1, Sapor), 2\n\n Shakur\u00edyah = chicor\u00e9e, 226\n\n Shams al-Nah\u00e1r (Pr. N. = Sun of the Day), 9\n\n Shayb\u00e1n (Arab tribe), 100\n\n Shaykh Nasr (Pr. N. = Elder of victory), 343\n\n Shikk = split man (a kind of demon), 333\n\n Shinf = gunny-bag, 45\n\n Shirk (= syntheism) of love, 9\n\n \u2014\u2014 of the Mushrik, 142\n\n Shroud (joined in one = shrouded together?), 71\n\n Shu\u2019ayb = Jethro, 210\n\n S\u00edd\u00ed (from Sayyidi = my lord), 283\n\n S\u00eddi Ibrah\u00edm bin al-Khaww\u00e1s (Pr. N.), 283\n\n Sifr = whistling, 333\n\n Sinai (convent famous for R\u00e1k\u00ed), 65\n\n Sind (matting of), 145\n\n Sitt al-Mash\u00e1\u2019ikh = Lady of Shaykhs, 154\n\n Slain were those who were slain = many were slain, 364\n\n Slate (Lauh), 73\n\n Slaughtering (ritual for), 391\n\n Slaves (their ambition to have slaves of their own), 12\n\n Sleeping (naked), 8\n\n \u2014\u2014 (with head and body covered by a sheet), 18\n\n Smile (and laughter), 193\n\n Sodomite (L\u00fati), 161\n\n \u2014\u2014 (punished detected), 160\n\n Solomon and David (their burial-place), 310\n\n Sortes Virgilian\u00e6, 44\n\n Soul (Thou knowest what is in mine and I know not what is in Thine),\n 216\n\n \u2014\u2014 (doctrine of the three), 218\n\n Squeeze of the tomb (Fish\u00e1r), 111\n\n Stations of the Moon (Man\u00e1zil), 228\n\n Stones (precious), 342\n\n Stoning (of the devil at Mina), 203\n\n Strangers (treated with kindly care), 171\n\n \u201cStrangers yet\u201d (Lord Houghton quoted), 284\n\n Sufis (stages of their Journey), 264\n\n \u2014\u2014 (address Allah as a lover would his beloved), 263; 298\n\n Sufrah (provision-bag and table-cloth), 8\n\n Sufy\u00e1n (traditionist), 81\n\n Suk\u00e1t (pl. of S\u00e1ki = cupbearer), 66\n\n Sukita f\u00ed ayd\u00edhim = it repented them, 191\n\n Sul\u00e1fat = must, new wine, 158\n\n Sult\u00e1n (anachronistic use of the title), 88; 179\n\n Sun and Moon (Luminaries for day and night), 228\n\n \u2014\u2014 (do not outstrip each other), _ib._\n\n Sundus = brocade, 57\n\n Sunnat = practice of the Prophet, etc., 36; 167\n\n Susannah and the Elders in Moslem form, 97\n\n Swan-maidens, 346\n\n\n Tablet (Lauh), 37\n\n \u2014\u2014 (the preserved), 322\n\n Takht = throne, capital, 334\n\n Takht-raw\u00e1n = moving throne (mule-litter), 175\n\n Ta\u2019m\u00edm = crowning with turband or tiara; covering, wetting, 199\n\n Tar\u00e1ib = breast-bone, 132\n\n Tar\u00edkat = (mystic) path to knowledge, 111\n\n Tasn\u00edm (fountain in Paradise), 264\n\n Taw\u00e1f = Ka\u2019abah-circuiting, 203\n\n Tawakkul ala \u2018llah = trust in Allah, 208\n\n Tayammum = washing with sand, 197\n\n Teeth (their cleansing enjoined by Mohammed), 44\n\n \u201cThank you\u201d (Moslem equivalent for), 171\n\n \u201cThey\u201d for \u201cShe\u201d, 41; 140\n\n Throne-verse, 211\n\n Thursday night (in Moslem parlance = Friday night), 324\n\n T\u00edn = clay puddled with chaff, 112\n\n Tongue (made to utter (?) what is in the heart of man), 218\n\n Tooth-pick (Khil\u00e1l), 44\n\n Torrens quoted, 96; 188\n\n Tree of Paradise (T\u00fab\u00e1), 237\n\n Tricks (two = before and behind), 161\n\n Truth (most worthy to be followed), 145\n\n \u2014\u2014 (is become manifest), 159\n\n Tuba (tree of Paradise), 237\n\n Tubah (fifth Coptic month), 231\n\n Tufayli = parasite, 130\n\n Tughr\u00e1 = imperial cypher, 184\n\n Turbands (worn large by the learned), 120\n\n Turks (fair boy-slaves, abounding in Baghdad), 66\n\n\n Ukhn\u00fakh = Enoch (Idr\u00eds?), 210\n\n Umm Amr\u00ed (mother of Amr\u2019) and the ass, 118\n\n \u2018Umrah = lesser Pilgrimage, 205\n\n Uns al Wuj\u00fad (Pr. N. = Delight of existing things), 33\n\n Urwah = handle, button-hole, 227\n\n Usury (Rib\u00e1), 201\n\n \u2014\u2014 (verset of), 215\n\n Us\u00fas = os sacrum, 219\n\n \u2018Utbi (Al-), poet, 133\n\n\n Versets (number of the Koranic), 110\n\n Virgil (a magician), 44\n\n Visits in dreamland, 47\n\n Viswakarm\u00e1 = anti-creator, 320\n\n\n W\u00e1dy al-Naml = Valley of the Emmets, 337\n\n W\u00e1dy Zahr\u00e1n = Valley Flowery, 360\n\n Walad = son (more ceremonious than \u201cibn\u201d), 386\n\n Wali = saint, Santon, 112\n\n W\u00e1 Rahmat\u00e1-hu = Alas, the pity of it, 42\n\n Ward (Al-) f\u00ed\u2019l-Akm\u00e1m (Pr. N. = Rose in Hood), 32\n\n Water (had no taste in his mouth), 39\n\n \u2014\u2014 (carrier, Sakk\u00e1), 89\n\n Watw\u00e1t = Bat, 226\n\n Wayha = Alas!, 258\n\n Where is\u2014and where? = what a difference is there between, etc., 65\n\n Whistling, (held to be the devil\u2019s speech), 333\n\n Wine (its prohibition not held absolute), 224\n\n Wird = the twenty-five last chapters of the Koran, 185\n\n Witnesses (one man = two women), 155\n\n Women (sleep naked in hot weather), 8\n\n \u2014\u2014 (making the first advances), 34\n\n \u2014\u2014 (and secrets), 35; 83\n\n \u2014\u2014 (wives of eunuchs), 46\n\n \u2014\u2014 (visiting their lovers in a dream), 47\n\n \u2014\u2014 (thought to be Jinn or Gh\u00fal), 51\n\n \u2014\u2014 (called Zaur\u00e1, the crooked), 66\n\n \u2014\u2014 (allowed to absent themselves from the house of father or husband),\n 96\n\n Women (instructed in \u201cmotitations\u201d), 80\n\n \u2014\u2014 (apt for two tricks), 161\n\n \u2014\u2014 (old, polite equivalents for), 163\n\n \u2014\u2014 (in their prime at fourteen to fifteen), 192\n\n \u2014\u2014 (inferior to man), 155\n\n \u2014\u2014 (unveiling to a man, if not slaves, insult him), 194\n\n Wuz\u00fa (Koranic order for), 198\n\n \u2014\u2014 (angels and devils at the side of a man who prepares for it), _ib._\n\n\n Y\u00e1 \u2018Aj\u00faz = O old woman (now insulting), 163\n\n Y\u00e1j\u00faj and M\u00e1j\u00faj, 318\n\n Y\u00e1 Kaww\u00e1d = O p\u00edmp, 129\n\n Y\u00e1 Kisraw\u00ed = O subject of the Kisr\u00e1, 26\n\n Y\u00e1k\u00fat = Ruby, garnet, etc., 342\n\n Y\u00e1 S\u00e1ki\u2019 al-Dakan = O frosty-beard, 99\n\n Yohann\u00e1 (Greek Physician), 154\n\n\n Zabiyah (Pr. N. = roe, doe), 147\n\n Zaghab = the chick\u2019s down, 165\n\n Zamb\u00far = clitoris (the shutter), 279\n\n Zarr wa \u2018urwah = button and button-hole, 227\n\n Zaur\u00e1 = the crooked, for woman, 66\n\n Zidd = opposite, contrary, 206\n\n Zind and Zindah = fire-sticks, 52\n\n Zind\u00edk = Agnostic, atheist, 230\n\n Zuhri (Al-), traditionist, 81\n\n[Illustration]\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n TRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTES\n\n\n 1. Added missing footnote numbers on pp. 5, 111, and 135.\n 2. Changed \u2018in goal\u2019 to \u2018in gaol\u2019 on p. 28.\n 3. Added missing footnote anchors on pp. 37, 105, 197, 298, and 392.\n 4. Changed \u2018commun is\u2019 to \u2018commun in\u2019 on p. 49.\n 5. Added \u2018to\u2019 between \u2018Speak\u2019 and \u2018him\u2019 on p. 124.\n 6. Changed \u2018knew were\u2019 to \u2018knew where\u2019 on p. 133.\n 7. Removed \u2018a\u2019 from \u2018friends a\u2019 on p. 339.\n 8. Changed \u2018streams ann\u2019 to \u2018streams and\u2019 on p. 353.\n 9. Changed \u2018perceived he\u2019 to \u2018perceived the\u2019 on p. 353.\n10. Silently corrected simple spelling, grammar, and typographical\n errors.\n11. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.\n12. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.","title":"The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night \u2014 Volume 05 (of 10)","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":178466}