{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_54525/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_54525","id":"gutenberg_54525","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54525","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 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF\n MOSLEM MEN AND A TERMINAL ESSAY UPON THE HISTORY OF THE NIGHTS_\n\n VOLUME VI.\n\n\n BY\n RICHARD F. BURTON\n\n[Illustration]\n\n PRINTED BY THE BURTON CLUB FOR PRIVATE SUBSCRIBERS ONLY\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n Shammar Edition\n\nLimited to one thousand numbered sets, of which this is\n\n Number _547_\n\n\n\n\n PRINTED IN U. S. A.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n I INSCRIBE THIS VOLUME\n\n TO MY OLD AND VALUED CORRESPONDENT,\n\n IN WHOSE DEBT I AM DEEP,\n\n PROFESSOR ALOYS SPRENGER\n\n (OF HEIDELBERG),\n\n ARABIST, PHILOSOPHER AND FRIEND.\n\n R. F. BURTON.\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS OF THE SIXTH VOLUME.\n\n\n PAGE\n\n SINDBAD THE SEAMAN AND SINDBAD THE LANDSMAN 1\n\n (_Lane, Vol. III., Chapt. XXII., Story of Es Sindbad of the Sea and Es\n Sindbad of the Land. pp. 1\u201378._)\n\n _a._ THE FIRST VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SEAMAN 4\n\n _b._ THE SECOND VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SEAMAN 14\n\n _c._ THE THIRD VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SEAMAN 22\n\n _d._ THE FOURTH VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SEAMAN 34\n\n _e._ THE FIFTH VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SEAMAN 48\n\n _f._ THE SIXTH VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SEAMAN 58\n\n _g._ THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SEAMAN 68\n\n THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SEAMAN (_according to 78\n the version of the Calcutta Edition_)\n\n\n THE CITY OF BRASS 83\n\n (_Lane, Vol. III., Chapt. XXIII. Story of the City of Brass. pp.\n 118\u2013152._)\n\n\n THE CRAFT AND MALICE OF WOMAN 122\n\n (_Lane, Vol. III., Chapt. XXI., Abstract of the Story of the King and\n his Son and the Damsel and the Seven Wezeers. pp. 158\u2013183._)\n\n _a._ THE KING AND HIS WAZIR\u2019S WIFE 129\n\n _b._ THE CONFECTIONER, HIS WIFE, AND THE PARROT 132\n\n _c._ THE FULLER AND HIS SON 134\n\n _d._ THE RAKE\u2019S TRICK AGAINST THE CHASTE WIFE 135\n\n _e._ THE MISER AND THE LOAVES OF BREAD 137\n\n _f._ THE LADY AND HER TWO LOVERS 138\n\n _g._ THE KING\u2019S SON AND THE OGRESS 139\n\n _h._ THE DROP OF HONEY 142\n\n _i._ THE WOMAN WHO MADE HER HUSBAND SIFT DUST 143\n\n _j._ THE ENCHANTED SPRING 145\n\n _k._ THE WAZIR\u2019S SON AND THE HAMMAM-KEEPER\u2019S WIFE 150\n\n _l._ THE WIFE\u2019S DEVICE TO CHEAT HER HUSBAND 152\n\n _m._ THE GOLDSMITH AND THE CASHMERE SINGING-GIRL 156\n\n _n._ THE MAN WHO NEVER LAUGHED DURING THE REST OF HIS DAYS 160\n\n _o._ THE KING\u2019S SON AND THE MERCHANT\u2019S WIFE 167\n\n _p._ THE PAGE WHO FEIGNED TO KNOW THE SPEECH OF BIRDS 169\n\n _q._ THE LADY AND HER FIVE SUITORS 172\n\n _r._ THE THREE WISHES, OR THE MAN WHO LONGED TO SEE THE NIGHT 180\n OF POWER\n\n _s._ THE STOLEN NECKLACE 182\n\n _t._ THE TWO PIGEONS 183\n\n _u._ PRINCE BEHRAM AND THE PRINCESS AL-DATMA 184\n\n _v._ THE HOUSE WITH THE BELVEDERE 188\n\n _w._ THE KING\u2019S SON AND THE IFRIT\u2019S MISTRESS 199\n\n _x._ THE SANDAL-WOOD MERCHANT AND THE SHARPERS 202\n\n _y._ THE DEBAUCHEE AND THE THREE-YEAR-OLD CHILD 208\n\n _z._ THE STOLEN PURSE 209\n\n _aa._ THE FOX AND THE FOLK 211\n\n JUDAR AND HIS BRETHREN 213\n\n (_Lane, Vol. III, Chapt. XXII., Story of Joodar. pp. 183\u2013233._)\n\n THE HISTORY OF GHARIB AND HIS BROTHER AJIB 257\n\n\n\n\n SINDBAD THE SEAMAN[1] AND SINDBAD THE LANDSMAN.\n\n\nThere lived in the city of Baghdad, during the reign of the Commander of\nthe Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, a man named Sindb\u00e1d the Hamm\u00e1l,[2] one in\npoor case who bore burdens on his head for hire. It happened to him one\nday of great heat that whilst he was carrying a heavy load, he became\nexceeding weary and sweated profusely, the heat and the weight alike\noppressing him. Presently, as he was passing the gate of a merchant\u2019s\nhouse, before which the ground was swept and watered, and there the air\nwas temperate, he sighted a broad bench beside the door; so he set his\nload thereon, to take rest and smell the air,\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 Thirty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Hammal\nset his load upon the bench to take rest and smell the air, there came\nout upon him from the court-door a pleasant breeze and a delicious\nfragrance. He sat down on the edge of the bench, and at once heard from\nwithin the melodious sound of lutes and other stringed instruments, and\nmirth-exciting voices singing and reciting, together with the song of\nbirds warbling and glorifying Almighty Allah in various tunes and\ntongues; turtles, mocking-birds, merles, nightingales, cushats and\nstone-curlews,[3] whereat he marvelled in himself and was moved to\nmighty joy and solace. Then he went up to the gate and saw within a\ngreat flower-garden wherein were pages and black slaves and such a train\nof servants and attendants and so forth as is found only with Kings and\nSultans; and his nostrils were greeted with the savoury odours of all\nmanner meats rich and delicate, and delicious and generous wines. So he\nraised his eyes heavenwards and said, \u201cGlory to Thee, O Lord, O Creator\nand Provider, who providest whomso Thou wilt without count or stint! O\nmine Holy One, I cry Thee pardon for all sins and turn to Thee repenting\nof all offences! O Lord, there is no gainsaying Thee in Thine ordinance\nand Thy dominion, neither wilt Thou be questioned of that Thou dost, for\nThou indeed over all things art Almighty! Extolled be Thy perfection:\nwhom Thou wilt Thou makest poor and whom Thou wilt Thou makest rich!\nWhom Thou wilt Thou exaltest and whom Thou wilt Thou abasest and there\nis no god but Thou! How mighty is Thy majesty and how enduring Thy\ndominion and how excellent Thy government! Verily, Thou favourest whom\nThou wilt of Thy servants, whereby the owner of this place abideth in\nall joyance of life and delighteth himself with pleasant scents and\ndelicious meats and exquisite wines of all kinds. For indeed Thou\nappointest unto Thy creatures that which Thou wilt and that which Thou\nhast fore-ordained unto them; wherefore are some weary and others are at\nrest and some enjoy fair fortune and affluence, whilst others suffer the\nextreme of travail and misery, even as I do.\u201d And he fell to reciting:\u2014\n\n How many by my labours, that evermore endure, \u273f All goods of life enjoy\n and in cooly shade recline?\n Each morn that dawns I wake in travail and in woe, \u273f And strange is my\n condition and my burden gars me pine:\n Many others are in luck and from miseries are free, \u273f And Fortune never\n loads them with loads the like o\u2019 mine:\n They live their happy days in all solace and delight; \u273f Eat, drink and\n dwell in honour \u2018mid the noble and the digne:\n All living things were made of a little drop of sperm, \u273f Thine origin is\n mine and my provenance is thine;\n Yet the difference and distance \u2018twixt the twain of us are far \u273f As the\n difference of savour \u2018twixt vinegar and wine:\n But at Thee, O God All-wise! I venture not to rail \u273f Whose ordinance is\n just and whose justice cannot fail.\n\nWhen Sindbad the Porter had made an end of reciting his verses, he bore\nup his burden and was about to fare on, when there came forth to him\nfrom the gate a little foot-page, fair of face and shapely of shape and\ndainty of dress who caught him by the hand saying, \u201cCome in and speak\nwith my lord, for he calleth for thee.\u201d The Porter would have excused\nhimself to the page but the lad would take no refusal; so he left his\nload with the doorkeeper in the vestibule and followed the boy into the\nhouse, which he found to be a goodly mansion, radiant and full of\nmajesty, till he brought him to a grand sitting-room wherein he saw a\ncompany of nobles and great lords, seated at tables garnished with all\nmanner of flowers and sweet-scented herbs, besides great plenty of\ndainty viands and fruits dried and fresh and confections and wines of\nthe choicest vintages. There also were instruments of music and mirth\nand lovely slave-girls playing and singing. All the company was ranged\naccording to rank; and in the highest place sat a man of worshipful and\nnoble aspect whose beard-sides hoariness had stricken; and he was\nstately of stature and fair of favour, agreeable of aspect and full of\ngravity and dignity and majesty. So Sindbad the Porter was confounded at\nthat which he beheld and said in himself, \u201cBy Allah, this must be either\na piece of Paradise or some King\u2019s palace!\u201d Then he saluted the company\nwith much respect praying for their prosperity, and kissing the ground\nbefore them, stood with his head bowed down in humble attitude.\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-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the\nPorter, after kissing ground between their hands, stood with his head\nbowed down in humble attitude. The master of the house bade him draw\nnear and be seated and bespoke him kindly, bidding him welcome. Then he\nset before him various kinds of viands, rich and delicate and delicious,\nand the Porter, after saying his Bismillah, fell to and ate his fill,\nafter which he exclaimed, \u201cPraised be Allah whatso be our case![4]\u201d and,\nwashing his hands, returned thanks to the company for his entertainment.\nQuoth the host, \u201cThou art welcome and thy day is a blessed. But what is\nthy name and calling?\u201d Quoth the other, \u201cO my lord, my name is Sindbad\nthe Hammal, and I carry folk\u2019s goods on my head for hire.\u201d The\nhouse-master smiled and rejoined, \u201cKnow, O Porter that thy name is even\nas mine, for I am Sindbad the Seaman; and now, O Porter, I would have\nthee let me hear the couplets thou recitedst at the gate anon.\u201d The\nPorter was abashed and replied, \u201cAllah upon thee! Excuse me, for toil\nand travail and lack of luck when the hand is empty, teach a man ill\nmanners and boorish ways.\u201d Said the host, \u201cBe not ashamed; thou art\nbecome my brother; but repeat to me the verses, for they pleased me\nwhenas I heard thee recite them at the gate.\u201d Hereupon the Porter\nrepeated the couplets and they delighted the merchant, who said to\nhim:\u2014Know, O Hammal, that my story is a wonderful one, and thou shalt\nhear all that befel me and all I underwent ere I rose to this state of\nprosperity and became the lord of this place wherein thou seest me; for\nI came not to this high estate save after travail sore and perils\ngalore, and how much toil and trouble have I not suffered in days of\nyore! I have made seven voyages, by each of which hangeth a marvellous\ntale, such as confoundeth the reason, and all this came to pass by doom\nof fortune and fate; for from what destiny doth write there is neither\nrefuge nor flight. Know, then, good my lords (continued he) that I am\nabout to relate the\n\n\n _FIRST VOYAGE OF SINDBAD HIGHT THE SEAMAN._[5]\n\nMy father was a merchant, one of the notables of my native place, a\nmonied man and ample of means, who died whilst I was yet a child,\nleaving me much wealth in money and lands and farmhouses. When I grew\nup, I laid hands on the whole and ate of the best and drank freely and\nwore rich clothes and lived lavishly, companioning and consorting with\nyouths of my own age, and considering that this course of life would\ncontinue for ever and ken no change. Thus did I for a long time, but at\nlast I awoke from my heedlessness and, returning to my senses, I found\nmy wealth had become unwealth and my condition ill-conditioned and all I\nonce hent had left my hand. And recovering my reason I was stricken with\ndismay and confusion and bethought me of a saying of our lord Solomon,\nson of David (on whom be peace!), which I had heard aforetime from my\nfather, \u201cThree things are better than other three; the day of death is\nbetter than the day of birth, a live dog is better than a dead lion and\nthe grave is better than want.\u201d[6] Then I got together my remains of\nestates and property and sold all, even my clothes, for three thousand\ndirhams, with which I resolved to travel to foreign parts, remembering\nthe saying of the poet:\u2014\n\n By means of toil man shall scale the height; \u273f Who to fame aspires\n mustn\u2019t sleep o\u2019 night:\n Who seeketh pearl in the deep must dive, \u273f Winning weal and wealth by\n his main and might:\n And who seeketh Fame without toil and strife \u273f Th\u2019 impossible seeketh\n and wasteth life.\n\nSo taking heart I bought me goods, merchandise and all needed for a\nvoyage and, impatient to be at sea, I embarked, with a company of\nmerchants, on board a ship bound for Bassorah. There we again embarked\nand sailed many days and nights, and we passed from isle to isle and sea\nto sea and shore to shore, buying and selling and bartering everywhere\nthe ship touched, and continued our course till we came to an island as\nit were a garth of the gardens of Paradise. Here the captain cast anchor\nand making fast to the shore, put out the landing planks. So all on\nboard landed and made furnaces[7] and lighting fires therein, busied\nthemselves in various ways, some cooking and some washing, whilst other\nsome walked about the island for solace, and the crew fell to eating and\ndrinking and playing and sporting. I was one of the walkers but, as we\nwere thus engaged, behold the master who was standing on the gunwale\ncried out to us at the top of his voice, saying, \u201cHo there! passengers,\nrun for your lives and hasten back to the ship and leave your gear and\nsave yourselves from destruction, Allah preserve you! For this island\nwhereon ye stand is no true island, but a great fish stationary\na-middlemost of the sea, whereon the sand hath settled and trees have\nsprung up of old time, so that it is become like unto an island;[8] but,\nwhen ye lighted fires on it, it felt the heat and moved; and in a moment\nit will sink with you into the sea and ye will all be drowned. So leave\nyour gear and seek your safety ere ye die!\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the\nship-master cried to the passengers, \u201cLeave your gear and seek safety,\nere ye die;\u201d all who heard him left gear and goods, clothes washed and\nunwashed, fire pots and brass cooking-pots, and fled back to the ship\nfor their lives, and some reached it while others (amongst whom was I)\ndid not, for suddenly the island shook and sank into the abysses of the\ndeep, with all that were thereon, and the dashing sea surged over it\nwith clashing waves. I sank with the others down, down into the deep,\nbut Almighty Allah preserved me from drowning and threw in my way a\ngreat wooden tub of those that had served the ship\u2019s company for\ntubbing. I gripped it for the sweetness of life and, bestriding it like\none riding, paddled with my feet like oars, whilst the waves tossed me\nas in sport right and left. Meanwhile the captain made sail and departed\nwith those who had reached the ship, regardless of the drowning and the\ndrowned; and I ceased not following the vessel with my eyes, till she\nwas hid from sight and I made sure of death. Darkness closed in upon me\nwhile in this plight and the winds and waves bore me on all that night\nand the next day, till the tub brought to with me under the lee of a\nlofty island, with trees overhanging the tide. I caught hold of a branch\nand by its aid clambered up on to the land, after coming nigh upon\ndeath; but when I reached the shore, I found my legs cramped and numbed\nand my feet bore traces of the nibbling of fish upon their soles; withal\nI had felt nothing for excess of anguish and fatigue. I threw myself\ndown on the island ground, like a dead man, and drowned in desolation\nswooned away, nor did I return to my senses till next morning, when the\nsun rose and revived me. But I found my feet swollen, so made shift to\nmove by shuffling on my breech and crawling on my knees, for in that\nisland were found store of fruits and springs of sweet water. I ate of\nthe fruits which strengthened me; and thus I abode days and nights, till\nmy life seemed to return and my spirits began to revive and I was better\nable to move about. So, after due consideration, I fell to exploring the\nisland and diverting myself with gazing upon all things that Allah\nAlmighty had created there; and rested under the trees from one of which\nI cut me a staff to lean upon. One day as I walked along the marge, I\ncaught sight of some object in the distance and thought it a wild beast\nor one of the monster-creatures of the sea; but, as I drew near it,\nlooking hard the while, I saw that it was a noble mare, tethered on the\nbeach. Presently I went up to her, but she cried out against me with a\ngreat cry, so that I trembled for fear and turned to go away, when there\ncame forth a man from under the earth and followed me, crying out and\nsaying, \u201cWho and whence art thou, and what caused thee to come hither?\u201d\n\u201cO my lord,\u201d answered I, \u201cI am in very sooth, a waif, a stranger, and\nwas left to drown with sundry others by the ship we voyaged in;[9] but\nAllah graciously sent me a wooden tub; so I saved myself thereon and it\nfloated with me, till the waves cast me up on this island.\u201d When he\nheard this, he took my hand and saying, \u201cCome with me,\u201d carried me into\na great Sard\u00e1b, or underground chamber, which was spacious as a saloon.\nHe made me sit down at its upper end; then he brought me somewhat of\nfood and, being an-hungered, I ate till I was satisfied and refreshed;\nand when he had put me at mine ease he questioned me of myself, and I\ntold him all that had befallen me from first to last; and, as he\nwondered at my adventure, I said, \u201cBy Allah, O my lord, excuse me; I\nhave told thee the truth of my case and the accident which betided me;\nand now I desire that thou tell me who thou art and why thou abidest\nhere under the earth and why thou hast tethered yonder mare on the brink\nof the sea.\u201d Answered he, \u201cKnow, that I am one of the several who are\nstationed in different parts of this island, and we are of the grooms of\nKing Mihrj\u00e1n[10] and under our hand are all his horses. Every month,\nabout new-moon tide we bring hither our best mares which have never been\ncovered, and picket them on the sea-shore and hide ourselves in this\nplace under the ground, so that none may espy us. Presently, the\nstallions of the sea scent the mares and come up out of the water and\nseeing no one, leap the mares and do their will of them. When they have\ncovered them, they try to drag them away with them, but cannot, by\nreason of the leg-ropes; so they cry out at them and butt at them and\nkick them, which we hearing, know that the stallions have dismounted; so\nwe run out and shout at them, whereupon they are startled and return in\nfear to the sea. Then the mares conceive by them and bear colts and\nfillies worth a mint of money, nor is their like to be found on earth\u2019s\nface. This is the time of the coming forth of the sea-stallions; and\nInshallah! I will bear thee to King Mihrjan\u201d\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 Fortieth Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Syce[11]\nsaid to Sindbad the Seaman, \u201cI will bear thee to King Mihrjan and show\nthee our country. And know that hadst thou not happened on us thou hadst\nperished miserably and none had known of thee: but I will be the means\nof the saving of thy life and of thy return to thine own land.\u201d I called\ndown blessings on him and thanked him for his kindness and courtesy;\nand, while we were yet talking, behold, the stallion came up out of the\nsea; and, giving a great cry, sprang upon the mare and covered her. When\nhe had done his will of her, he dismounted and would have carried her\naway with him, but could not by reason of the tether. She kicked and\ncried out at him, whereupon the groom took a sword and target[12] and\nran out of the underground saloon, smiting the buckler with the blade\nand calling to his company, who came up shouting and brandishing spears;\nand the stallion took fright at them and plunging into the sea, like a\nbuffalo, disappeared under the waves.[13] After this we sat awhile, till\nthe rest of the grooms came up, each leading a mare, and seeing me with\ntheir fellow-Syce, questioned me of my case and I repeated my story to\nthem. Thereupon they drew near me and spreading the table, ate and\ninvited me to eat; so I ate with them, after which they took horse and\nmounting me on one of the mares, set out with me and fared on without\nceasing, till we came to the capital city of King Mihrjan, and going in\nto him acquainted him with my story. Then he sent for me, and when they\nset me before him and salams had been exchanged, he gave me a cordial\nwelcome and wishing me long life bade me tell him my tale. So I related\nto him all that I had seen and all that had befallen me from first to\nlast, whereat he marvelled and said to me, \u201cBy Allah, O my son, thou\nhast indeed been miraculously preserved! Were not the term of thy life a\nlong one, thou hadst not escaped from these straits; but praised be\nAllah for safety!\u201d Then he spoke cheerily to me and entreated me with\nkindness and consideration: moreover, he made me his agent for the port\nand registrar of all ships that entered the harbour. I attended him\nregularly, to receive his commandments, and he favoured me and did me\nall manner of kindness and invested me with costly and splendid robes.\nIndeed, I was high in credit with him, as an intercessor for the folk\nand an intermediary between them and him, when they wanted aught of him.\nI abode thus a great while and, as often as I passed through the city to\nthe port, I questioned the merchants and travellers and sailors of the\ncity of Baghdad; so haply I might hear of an occasion to return to my\nnative land, but could find none who knew it or knew any who resorted\nthither. At this I was chagrined, for I was weary of long strangerhood;\nand my disappointment endured for a time till one day, going in to King\nMihrjan, I found with him a company of Indians. I saluted them and they\nreturned my salam; and politely welcomed me and asked me of my\ncountry.\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 Forty-first Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the\nSeaman said:\u2014When they asked me of my country I questioned them of\ntheirs and they told me that they were of various castes, some being\ncalled Shakiriyah[14] who are the noblest of their castes and neither\noppress nor offer violence to any, and others Brahmans, a folk who\nabstain from wine, but live in delight and solace and merriment and own\ncamels and horses and cattle. Moreover, they told me that the people of\nIndia are divided into two-and-seventy castes, and I marvelled at this\nwith exceeding marvel. Amongst other things that I saw in King Mihrjan\u2019s\ndominions was an island called K\u00e1sil,[15] wherein all night is heard the\nbeating of drums and tabrets; but we were told by the neighbouring\nislanders and by travellers that the inhabitants are people of diligence\nand judgment.[16] In this sea I saw also a fish two hundred cubits long\nand the fishermen fear it; so they strike together pieces of wood and\nput it to flight.[17] I also saw another fish, with a head like that of\nan owl, besides many other wonders and rarities, which it would be\ntedious to recount. I occupied myself thus in visiting the islands till,\none day, as I stood in the port, with a staff in my hand, according to\nmy custom, behold, a great ship, wherein were many merchants, came\nsailing for the harbour. When it reached the small inner port where\nships anchor under the city, the master furled his sails and making fast\nto the shore, put out the landing-planks, whereupon the crew fell to\nbreaking bulk and landing cargo whilst I stood by, taking written note\nof them. They were long in bringing the goods ashore so I asked the\nmaster, \u201cIs there aught left in thy ship?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cO my lord,\nthere are divers bales of merchandise in the hold, whose owner was\ndrowned from amongst us at one of the islands on our course; so his\ngoods remained in our charge by way of trust and we purpose to sell them\nand note their price, that we may convey it to his people in the City of\nBaghdad, the Home of Peace.\u201d \u201cWhat was the merchant\u2019s name?\u201d quoth I,\nand quoth he, \u201cSindbad the Seaman;\u201d whereupon I straitly considered him\nand knowing him, cried out to him with a great cry, saying, \u201cO captain,\nI am that Sindbad the Seaman who travelled with other merchants; and\nwhen the fish heaved and thou calledst to us some saved themselves and\nothers sank, I being one of them. But Allah Almighty threw in my way a\ngreat tub of wood, of those the crew had used to wash withal, and the\nwinds and waves carried me to this island, where by Allah\u2019s grace, I\nfell in with King Mihrjan\u2019s grooms and they brought me hither to the\nKing their master. When I told him my story, he entreated me with favour\nand made me his harbour-master, and I have prospered in his service and\nfound acceptance with him. These bales, therefore are mine, the goods\nwhich God hath given me.\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 Forty-second Night,\n\nShe continued, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Sindbad\nthe Seaman said to the captain, \u201cThese bales are mine, the goods which\nAllah hath given me,\u201d the other exclaimed, \u201cThere is no Majesty and\nthere is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Verily, there\nis neither conscience nor good faith left among men!\u201d said I, \u201cO\nRais,[18] what mean these words, seeing that I have told thee my case?\u201d\nAnd he answered, \u201cBecause thou heardest me say that I had with me goods\nwhose owner was drowned, thou thinkest to take them without right; but\nthis is forbidden by law to thee, for we saw him drown before our eyes,\ntogether with many other passengers, nor was one of them saved. So how\ncanst thou pretend that thou art the owner of the goods?\u201d \u201cO captain,\u201d\nsaid I, \u201clisten to my story and give heed to my words, and my truth will\nbe manifest to thee; for lying and leasing are the letter-marks of the\nhypocrites.\u201d Then I recounted to him all that had befallen me since I\nsailed from Baghdad with him to the time when we came to the fish-island\nwhere we were nearly drowned; and I reminded him of certain matters\nwhich had passed between us; whereupon both he and the merchants were\ncertified of the truth of my story and recognized me and gave me joy of\nmy deliverance, saying, \u201cBy Allah, we thought not that thou hadst\nescaped drowning! But the Lord hath granted thee new life.\u201d Then they\ndelivered my bales to me, and I found my name written thereon, nor was\naught thereof lacking. So I opened them and making up a present for King\nMihrjan of the finest and costliest of the contents, caused the sailors\ncarry it up to the palace, where I went in to the King and laid my\npresent at his feet, acquainting him with what had happened, especially\nconcerning the ship and my goods; whereat he wondered with exceeding\nwonder and the truth of all that I had told him was made manifest to\nhim. His affection for me redoubled after that and he showed me\nexceeding honour and bestowed on me a great present in return for mine.\nThen I sold my bales and what other matters I owned making a great\nprofit on them, and bought me other goods and gear of the growth and\nfashion of the island-city. When the merchants were about to start on\ntheir homeward voyage, I embarked on board the ship all that I\npossessed, and going in to the King, thanked him for all his favours and\nfriendship and craved his leave to return to my own land and friends. He\nfarewelled me and bestowed on me great store of the country-stuffs and\nproduce; and I took leave of him and embarked. Then we set sail and\nfared on nights and days, by the permission of Allah Almighty; and\nFortune served us and Fate favoured us, so that we arrived in safety at\nBassorah-city where I landed rejoiced at my safe return to my natal\nsoil. After a short stay, I set out for Baghdad, the House of Peace,\nwith store of goods and commodities of great price. Reaching the city in\ndue time, I went straight to my own quarter and entered my house where\nall my friends and kinsfolk came to greet me. Then I bought me eunuchs\nand concubines, servants and negro slaves till I had a large\nestablishment, and I bought me houses, and lands and gardens, till I was\nricher and in better case than before, and returned to enjoy the society\nof my friends and familiars more assiduously than ever, forgetting all I\nhad suffered of fatigue and hardship and strangerhood and every peril of\ntravel; and I applied myself to all manner joys and solaces and\ndelights, eating the daintiest viands and drinking the deliciousest\nwines; and my wealth allowed this state of things to endure. This, then,\nis the story of my first voyage, and to-morrow, Inshallah! I will tell\nyou the tale of the second of my seven voyages. (Saith he who telleth\nthe tale), Then Sindbad the Seaman made Sindbad the Landsman sup with\nhim and bade him give an hundred gold pieces, saying, \u201cThou hast cheered\nus with thy company this day.\u201d[19] The Porter thanked him and, taking\nthe gift, went his way, pondering that which he had heard and marvelling\nmightily at what things betide mankind. He passed the night in his own\nplace and with early morning repaired to the abode of Sindbad the\nSeaman, who received him with honour and seated him by his side. As soon\nas the rest of the company was assembled, he set meat and drink before\nthem and, when they had well eaten and drunken and were merry and in\ncheerful case, he took up his discourse and recounted to them in these\nwords the narrative of\n\n\n _THE SECOND VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SEAMAN._\n\nKnow, O my brother, that I was living a most comfortable and enjoyable\nlife, in all solace and delight, as I told you yesterday,\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 Forty-third Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Sindbad\nthe Seaman\u2019s guests were all gathered together he thus bespake them:\u2014I\nwas living a most enjoyable life until one day my mind became possessed\nwith the thought of travelling about the world of men and seeing their\ncities and islands; and a longing seized me to traffic and to make money\nby trade. Upon this resolve I took a great store of cash and, buying\ngoods and gear fit for travel, bound them up in bales. Then I went down\nto the river-bank, where I found a noble ship and brand-new about to\nsail, equipped with sails of fine cloth and well manned and provided; so\nI took passage in her, with a number of other merchants, and after\nembarking our goods we weighed anchor the same day. Right fair was our\nvoyage and we sailed from place to place and from isle to isle; and\nwhenever we anchored we met a crowd of merchants and notables and\ncustomers, and we took to buying and selling and bartering. At last\nDestiny brought us to an island, fair and verdant, in trees abundant,\nwith yellow-ripe fruits luxuriant, and flowers fragrant and birds\nwarbling soft descant; and streams crystalline and radiant; but no sign\nof man showed to the descrier, no, not a blower of the fire.[20] The\ncaptain made fast with us to this island, and the merchants and sailors\nlanded and walked about, enjoying the shade of the trees and the song of\nthe birds, that chanted the praises of the One, the Victorious, and\nmarvelling at the works of the Omnipotent King.[21] I landed with the\nrest; and, sitting down by a spring of sweet water that welled up among\nthe trees, took out some vivers I had with me and ate of that which\nAllah Almighty had allotted unto me. And so sweet was the zephyr and so\nfragrant were the flowers, that presently I waxed drowsy and, lying down\nin that place, was soon drowned in sleep. When I awoke, I found myself\nalone, for the ship had sailed and left me behind, nor had one of the\nmerchants or sailors bethought himself of me. I searched the island\nright and left, but found neither man nor Jinn, whereat I was beyond\nmeasure troubled and my gall was like to burst for stress of chagrin and\nanguish and concern, because I was left quite alone, without aught of\nworldly gear or meat or drink, weary and heart-broken. So I gave myself\nup for lost and said, \u201cNot always doth the crock escape the shock.\u201d I\nwas saved the first time by finding one who brought me from the desert\nisland to an inhabited place, but now there is no hope for me. Then I\nfell to weeping and wailing and gave myself up to an access of rage,\nblaming myself for having again ventured upon the perils and hardships\nof voyage, whenas I was at my ease in mine own house in mine own land,\ntaking my pleasure with good meat and good drink and good clothes and\nlacking nothing, neither money nor goods. And I repented me of having\nleft Baghdad, and this the more after all the travails and dangers I had\nundergone in my first voyage, wherein I had so narrowly escaped\ndestruction, and exclaimed \u201cVerily we are Allah\u2019s and unto Him we are\nreturning!\u201d I was indeed even as one mad and Jinn-struck and presently I\nrose and walked about the island, right and left and every whither,\nunable for trouble to sit or tarry in any one place. Then I climbed a\ntall tree and looked in all directions, but saw nothing save sky and sea\nand trees and birds and isles and sands. However, after a while my eager\nglances fell upon some great white thing, afar off in the interior of\nthe island; so I came down from the tree and made for that which I had\nseen; and behold, it was a huge white dome rising high in air and of\nvast compass. I walked all around it, but found no door thereto, nor\ncould I muster strength or nimbleness by reason of its exceeding\nsmoothness and slipperiness. So I marked the spot where I stood and went\nround about the dome to measure its circumference which I found fifty\ngood paces. And as I stood, casting about how to gain an entrance the\nday being near its fall and the sun being near the horizon, behold, the\nsun was suddenly hidden from me and the air became dull and dark.\nMethought a cloud had come over the sun, but it was the season of\nsummer; so I marvelled at this and lifting my head looked steadfastly at\nthe sky, when I saw that the cloud was none other than an enormous bird,\nof gigantic girth and inordinately wide of wing which, as it flew\nthrough the air, veiled the sun and hid it from the island. At this\nsight my wonder redoubled and I remembered a story\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Forty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\ncontinued in these words:\u2014My wonder redoubled and I remembered a story I\nhad heard aforetime of pilgrims and travellers, how in a certain island\ndwelleth a huge bird, called the \u201cRukh\u201d[22] which feedeth its young on\nelephants; and I was certified that the dome which caught my sight was\nnone other than a Rukh\u2019s egg. As I looked and wondered at the marvellous\nworks of the Almighty, the bird alighted on the dome and brooded over it\nwith its wings covering it and its legs stretched out behind it on the\nground, and in this posture it fell asleep, glory be to Him who sleepeth\nnot! When I saw this, I arose and, unwinding my turband from my head,\ndoubled it and twisted it into a rope, with which I girt my middle and\nbound my waist fast to the legs of the Rukh, saying in myself,\n\u201cPeradventure, this bird may carry me to a land of cities and\ninhabitants, and that will be better than abiding in this desert\nisland.\u201d I passed the night watching and fearing to sleep, lest the bird\nshould fly away with me unawares; and, as soon as the dawn broke and\nmorn shone, the Rukh rose off its egg and spreading its wings with a\ngreat cry flew up into the air dragging me with it; nor ceased it to\nsoar and to tower till I thought it had reached the limit of the\nfirmament; after which it descended, earthwards, little by little, till\nit lighted on the top of a high hill. As soon as I found myself on the\nhard ground, I made haste to unbind myself, quaking for fear of the\nbird, though it took no heed of me nor even felt me; and, loosing my\nturband from its feet, I made off with my best speed. Presently, I saw\nit catch up in its huge claws something from the earth and rise with it\nhigh in air, and observing it narrowly I saw it to be a serpent big of\nbulk and gigantic of girth, wherewith it flew away clean out of sight. I\nmarvelled at this and faring forwards found myself on a peak overlooking\na valley, exceeding great and wide and deep, and bounded by vast\nmountains that spired high in air: none could descry their summits, for\nthe excess of their height, nor was any able to climb up thereto. When I\nsaw this, I blamed myself for that which I had done and said, \u201cWould\nHeaven I had tarried in the island! It was better than this wild desert;\nfor there I had at least fruits to eat and water to drink, and here are\nneither trees nor fruits nor streams. But there is no Majesty and there\nis no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Verily, as often as\nI am quit of one peril, I fall into a worse danger and a more grievous.\u201d\nHowever, I took courage and walking along the Wady found that its soil\nwas of diamond, the stone wherewith they pierce minerals and precious\nstones and porcelain and the onyx, for that it is a dense stone and a\ndure, whereon neither iron nor hardhead hath effect, neither can we cut\noff aught therefrom nor break it, save by means of lead-stone.[23]\nMoreover, the valley swarmed with snakes and vipers, each big as a palm\ntree, that would have made but one gulp of an elephant; and they came\nout by night, hiding during the day, lest the Rukhs and eagles pounce on\nthem and tear them to pieces, as was their wont, why I wot not. And I\nrepented of what I had done and said, \u201cBy Allah, I have made haste to\nbring destruction upon myself!\u201d The day began to wane as I went along\nand I looked about for a place where I might pass the night, being in\nfear of the serpents; and I took no thought of meat and drink in my\nconcern for my life. Presently, I caught sight of a cave nearhand, with\na narrow doorway; so I entered and seeing a great stone close to the\nmouth. I rolled it up and stopped the entrance, saying to myself, \u201cI am\nsafe here for the night; and as soon as it is day, I will go forth and\nsee what destiny will do.\u201d Then I looked within the cave and saw at the\nupper end a great serpent brooding on her eggs, at which my flesh quaked\nand my hair stood on end; but I raised my eyes to Heaven and, committing\nmy case to fate and lot, abode all that night without sleep till\ndaybreak, when I rolled back the stone from the mouth of the cave and\nwent forth, staggering like a drunken man and giddy with watching and\nfear and hunger. As in this sore case I walked along the valley, behold,\nthere fell down before me a slaughtered beast; but I saw no one, whereat\nI marvelled with great marvel and presently remembered a story I had\nheard aforetime of traders and pilgrims and travellers; how the\nmountains where are the diamonds are full of perils and terrors, nor can\nany fare through them; but the merchants who traffic in diamonds have a\ndevice by which they obtain them, that is to say, they take a sheep and\nslaughter and skin it and cut it in pieces and cast them down from the\nmountain-tops into the valley-sole, where the meat being fresh and\nsticky with blood, some of the gems cleave to it. There they leave it\ntill midday, when the eagles and vultures swoop down upon it and carry\nit in their claws to the mountain-summits, whereupon the merchants come\nand shout at them and scare them away from the meat. Then they come and,\ntaking the diamonds which they find sticking to it, go their ways with\nthem and leave the meat to the birds and beasts; nor can any come at the\ndiamonds but by this device\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 Forty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\ncontinued his relation of what befel him in the Mountain of Diamonds,\nand informed them that the merchants cannot come at the diamonds save by\nthe device aforesaid. So, when I saw the slaughtered beast fall (he\npursued) and bethought me of the story, I went up to it and filled my\npockets and shawl-girdle and turband and the folds of my clothes with\nthe choicest diamonds; and, as I was thus engaged, down fell before me\nanother great piece of meat. Then with my unrolled turband and lying on\nmy back, I set the bit on my breast so that I was hidden by the meat,\nwhich was thus raised above the ground. Hardly had I gripped it, when an\neagle swooped down upon the flesh and, seizing it with his talons, flew\nup with it high in air and me clinging thereto, and ceased not its\nflight till it alighted on the head of one of the mountains where,\ndropping the carcass he fell to rending it; but, behold, there arose\nbehind him a great noise of shouting and clattering of wood, whereat the\nbird took fright and flew away. Then I loosed off myself the meat, with\nclothes daubed with blood therefrom, and stood up by its side; whereupon\nup came the merchant, who had cried out at the eagle, and seeing me\nstanding there, bespoke me not, but was affrighted at me and shook with\nfear. However, he went up to the carcass and turning it over, found no\ndiamonds sticking to it, whereat he gave a great cry and exclaimed,\n\u201cHarrow, my disappointment! There is no Majesty and there is no Might\nsave in Allah with whom we seek refuge from Satan the stoned!\u201d And he\nbemoaned himself and beat hand upon hand, saying, \u201cAlas, the pity of it!\nHow cometh this?\u201d Then I went up to him and he said to me, \u201cWho art thou\nand what causeth thee to come hither?\u201d And I, \u201cFear not, I am a man and\na good man and a merchant. My story is a wondrous and my adventures\nmarvellous and the manner of my coming hither is prodigious. So be of\ngood cheer, thou shalt receive of me what shall rejoice thee, for I have\nwith me great plenty of diamonds and I will give thee thereof what shall\nsuffice thee; for each is better than aught thou couldst get otherwise.\nSo fear nothing.\u201d The man rejoiced thereat and thanked and blessed me;\nthen we talked together till the other merchants, hearing me in\ndiscourse with their fellow, came up and saluted me; for each of them\nhad thrown down his piece of meat. And as I went off with them I told\nthem my whole story, how I had suffered hardships at sea and the fashion\nof my reaching the valley. But I gave the owner of the meat a number of\nthe stones I had by me, so they all wished me joy of my escape, saying,\n\u201cBy Allah a new life hath been decreed to thee, for none ever reached\nyonder valley and came off thence alive before thee; but praised be\nAllah for thy safety!\u201d We passed the night together in a safe and\npleasant place, beyond measure rejoiced at my deliverance from the\nValley of Serpents and my arrival in an inhabited land; and on the\nmorrow we set out and journeyed over the mighty range of mountains,\nseeing many serpents in the valley, till we came to a fair great island,\nwherein was a garden of huge camphor trees under each of which an\nhundred men might take shelter. When the folk have a mind to get\ncamphor, they bore into the upper part of the bole with a long iron;\nwhereupon the liquid camphor, which is the sap of the tree, floweth out\nand they catch it in vessels, where it concreteth like gum; but, after\nthis, the tree dieth and becometh firewood.[24] Moreover, there is in\nthis island a kind of wild beast, called \u201cRhinoceros,\u201d[25] that\npastureth as do steers and buffaloes with us; but it is a huge brute,\nbigger of body than the camel and like it feedeth upon the leaves and\ntwigs of trees. It is a remarkable animal with a great and thick horn,\nten cubits long, amiddleward its head; wherein, when cleft in twain, is\nthe likeness of a man. Voyagers and pilgrims and travellers declare that\nthis beast called \u201cKarkadan\u201d will carry off a great elephant on its horn\nand graze about the island and the sea-coast therewith and take no heed\nof it, till the elephant dieth and its fat, melting in the sun, runneth\ndown into the rhinoceros\u2019s eyes and blindeth him, so that he lieth down\non the shore. Then comes the bird Rukh and carrieth off both the\nrhinoceros and that which is on its horn to feed its young withal.\nMoreover, I saw in this island many kinds of oxen and buffaloes, whose\nlike are not found in our country. Here I sold some of the diamonds\nwhich I had by me for gold dinars and silver dirhams and bartered others\nfor the produce of the country; and, loading them upon beasts of burden,\nfared on with the merchants from valley to valley and town to town,\nbuying and selling and viewing foreign countries and the works and\ncreatures of Allah, till we came to Bassorah-city, where we abode a few\ndays, after which I continued my journey to Baghdad.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Forty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Sindbad the\nSeaman returned from his travel to Baghdad, the House of Peace, he\narrived at home with great store of diamonds and money and goods.\n(Continued he) \u201cI foregathered with my friends and relations and gave\nalms and largesse and bestowed curious gifts and made presents to all my\nfriends and companions. Then I betook myself to eating well and drinking\nwell and wearing fine clothes and making merry with my fellows, and\nforgot all my sufferings in the pleasures of return to the solace and\ndelight of life, with light heart and broadened breast. And every one\nwho heard of my return came and questioned me of my adventures and of\nforeign countries, and I related to them all that had befallen me, and\nthe much I had suffered, whereat they wondered and gave me joy of my\nsafe return. This, then, is the end of the story of my second voyage;\nand to-morrow, Inshallah! I will tell you what befel me in my third\nvoyage.\u201d The company marvelled at his story and supped with him; after\nwhich he ordered an hundred dinars of gold to be given to the Porter,\nwho took the sum with many thanks and blessings (which he stinted not\neven when he reached home) and went his way, wondering at what he had\nheard. Next morning as soon as day came in its sheen and shone, he rose\nand praying the dawn-prayer, repaired to the house of Sindbad the\nSeaman, even as he had bidden him, and went in and gave him good-morrow.\nThe merchant welcomed him and made him sit with him, till the rest of\nthe company arrived; and when they had well eaten and drunken and were\nmerry with joy and jollity, their host began by saying:\u2014Hearken, O my\nbrothers, to what I am about to tell you; for it is even more wondrous\nthan what you have already heard; but Allah alone kenneth what things\nHis Omniscience concealed from man! And listen to\n\n\n _THE THIRD VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SEAMAN_.\n\nAs I told you yesterday, I returned from my second voyage overjoyed at\nmy safety and with great increase of wealth, Allah having requited me\nall that I had wasted and lost, and I abode awhile in Baghdad-city\nsavouring the utmost ease and prosperity and comfort and happiness, till\nthe carnal man was once more seized with longing for travel and\ndiversion and adventure, and yearned after traffic and lucre and\nemolument, for that the human heart is naturally prone to evil. So\nmaking up my mind I laid in great plenty of goods suitable for a\nsea-voyage and repairing to Bassorah, went down to the shore and found\nthere a fine ship ready to sail, with a full crew and a numerous company\nof merchants, men of worth and substance; faith, piety and\nconsideration. I embarked with them and we set sail on the blessing of\nAllah Almighty and on His aidance and His favour to bring our voyage to\na safe and prosperous issue and already we congratulated one another on\nour good fortune and boon voyage. We fared on from sea to sea and from\nisland to island and city to city, in all delight and contentment,\nbuying and selling wherever we touched, and taking our solace and our\npleasure, till one day when, as we sailed athwart the dashing sea,\nswollen with clashing billows, behold, the master (who stood on the\ngunwale examining the ocean in all directions) cried out with a great\ncry, and buffeted his face and pluckt out his beard and rent his\nraiment, and bade furl the sail and cast the anchors. So we said to him,\n\u201cO Rais, what is the matter?\u201d \u201cKnow, O my brethren (Allah preserve\nyou!), that the wind hath gotten the better of us and hath driven us out\nof our course into mid-ocean, and destiny, for our ill luck, hath\nbrought us to the Mountain of the Zughb, a hairy folk like apes,[26]\namong whom no man ever fell and came forth alive; and my heart presageth\nthat we all be dead men.\u201d Hardly had the master made an end of his\nspeech when the apes were upon us. They surrounded the ship on all sides\nswarming like locusts and crowding the shore. They were the most\nfrightful of wild creatures, covered with black hair like felt, foul of\nfavour and small of stature, being but four spans high, yellow-eyed and\nblack-faced; none knoweth their language nor what they are, and they\nshun the company of men. We feared to slay them or strike them or drive\nthem away, because of their inconceivable multitude; lest, if we hurt\none, the rest fall on us and slay us, for numbers prevail over courage;\nso we let them do their will, albeit we feared they would plunder our\ngoods and gear. They swarmed up the cables and gnawed them asunder, and\non like wise they did with all the ropes of the ship, so that it fell\noff from the wind and stranded upon their mountainous coast. Then they\nlaid hands on all the merchants and crew, and landing us on the island,\nmade off with the ship and its cargo and went their ways, we wot not\nwhither. We were thus left on the island, eating of its fruits and\npot-herbs and drinking of its streams till, one day, we espied in its\nmidst what seemed an inhabited house. So we made for it as fast as our\nfeet could carry us and behold, it was a castle strong and tall,\ncompassed about with a lofty wall, and having a two-leaved gate of\nebony-wood both of which leaves open stood. We entered and found within\na space wide and bare like a great square, round which stood many high\ndoors open thrown, and at the farther end a long bench of stone and\nbrasiers, with cooking gear hanging thereon and about it great plenty of\nbones; but we saw no one and marvelled thereat with exceeding wonder.\nThen we sat down in the courtyard a little while and presently falling\nasleep, slept from the forenoon till sundown, when lo! the earth\ntrembled under our feet and the air rumbled with a terrible tone. Then\nthere came down upon us, from the top of the castle, a huge creature in\nthe likeness of a man, black of colour, tall and big of bulk, as he were\na great date-tree, with eyes like coals of fire and eye-teeth like\nboar\u2019s tusks and a vast big gape like the mouth of a well. Moreover, he\nhad long loose lips like camel\u2019s, hanging down upon his breast, and ears\nlike two Jarms[27] falling over his shoulder-blades and the nails of his\nhands were like the claws of a lion.[28] When we saw this frightful\ngiant, we were like to faint and every moment increased our fear and\nterror; and we became as dead men for excess of horror and\naffright.\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 Forty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\ncontinued:\u2014When we saw this frightful giant we were struck with\nexceeding terror and horror. And after trampling upon the earth, he sat\nawhile on the bench; then he arose and coming to us seized me by the arm\nchoosing me out from among my comrades the merchants. He took me up in\nhis hand and turning me over felt me, as a butcher feeleth a sheep he is\nabout to slaughter, and I but a little mouthful in his hands; but\nfinding me lean and fleshless for stress of toil and trouble and\nweariness, let me go and took up another, whom in like manner he turned\nover and felt and let go; nor did he cease to feel and turn over the\nrest of us, one after another, till he came to the master of the ship.\nNow he was a sturdy, stout, broad-shouldered wight, fat and in full\nvigour; so he pleased the giant, who seized him, as a butcher seizeth a\nbeast, and throwing him down, set his foot on his neck and brake it;\nafter which he fetched a long spit and thrusting it up his backside,\nbrought it forth of the crown of his head. Then, lighting a fierce fire,\nhe set over it the spit with the Rais thereon, and turned it over the\ncoals, till the flesh was roasted, when he took the spit off the fire\nand set it like a Kab\u00e1b-stick before him. Then he tare the body, limb\nfrom limb, as one jointeth a chicken and, rending the flesh with his\nnails, fell to eating of it and gnawing the bones, till there was\nnothing left but some of these, which he threw on one side of the wall.\nThis done, he sat for a while; then he lay down on the stone-bench and\nfell asleep, snarking and snoring like the gurgling of a lamb or a cow\nwith its throat cut; nor did he awake till morning, when he rose and\nfared forth and went his ways. As soon as we were certified that he was\ngone, we began to talk with one another, weeping and bemoaning ourselves\nfor the risk we ran, and saying, \u201cWould Heaven we had been drowned in\nthe sea or that the apes had eaten us! That were better than to be\nroasted over the coals; by Allah, this is a vile, foul death! But whatso\nthe Lord willeth must come to pass and there is no Majesty and there is\nno Might, save in Him, the Glorious, the Great! We shall assuredly\nperish miserably and none will know of us; as there is no escape for us\nfrom this place.\u201d Then we arose and roamed about the island, hoping that\nhaply we might find a place to hide us in or a means of flight, for\nindeed death was a light matter to us, provided we were not roasted over\nthe fire[29] and eaten. However, we could find no hiding-place and the\nevening overtook us; so, of the excess of our terror, we returned to the\ncastle and sat down awhile. Presently, the earth trembled under our feet\nand the black ogre came up to us and turning us over, felt one after\nother, till he found a man to his liking, whom he took and served as he\nhad done the captain, killing and roasting and eating him: after which\nhe lay down on the bench[30] and slept all night, snarking and snoring\nlike a beast with its throat cut, till daybreak, when he arose and went\nout as before. Then we drew together and conversed and said one to\nother, \u201cBy Allah, we had better throw ourselves into the sea and be\ndrowned than die roasted; for this is an abominable death!\u201d Quoth one of\nus, \u201cHear ye my words! let us cast about to kill him, and be at peace\nfrom the grief of him and rid the Moslems of his barbarity and tyranny.\u201d\nThen said I, \u201cHear me, O my brothers; if there is nothing for it but to\nslay him, let us carry some of this firewood and planks down to the\nsea-shore and make us a boat wherein, if we succeed in slaughtering him,\nwe may either embark and let the waters carry us whither Allah willeth,\nor else abide here till some ship pass, when we will take passage in it.\nIf we fail to kill him, we will embark in the boat and put out to sea;\nand if we be drowned, we shall at least escape being roasted over a\nkitchen fire with sliced weasands; whilst, if we escape, we escape, and\nif we be drowned, we die martyrs.\u201d \u201cBy Allah,\u201d said they all, \u201cthis rede\nis a right;\u201d and we agreed upon this, and set about carrying it out. So\nwe haled down to the beach the pieces of wood which lay about the bench;\nand, making a boat, moored it to the strand, after which we stowed\ntherein somewhat of victual and returned to the castle. As soon as\nevening fell the earth trembled under our feet and in came the\nblackamoor upon us, snarling like a dog about to bite. He came up to us\nand feeling us and turning us over one by one, took one of us and did\nwith him as he had done before and ate him, after which he lay down on\nthe bench and snored and snorted like thunder. As soon as we were\nassured that he slept, we arose and taking two iron spits of those\nstanding there, heated them in the fiercest of the fire, till they were\nred-hot, like burning coals, when we gripped fast hold of them and going\nup to the giant, as he lay snoring on the bench, thrust them into his\neyes and pressed upon them, all of us, with our united might, so that\nhis eyeballs burst and he became stone blind. Thereupon he cried with a\ngreat cry, whereat our hearts trembled, and springing up from the bench,\nhe fell a-groping after us, blind-fold. We fled from him right and left\nand he saw us not, for his sight was altogether blent; but we were in\nterrible fear of him and made sure we were dead men despairing of\nescape. Then he found the door, feeling for it with his hands and went\nout roaring aloud; and behold, the earth shook under us, for the noise\nof his roaring, and we quaked for fear. As he quitted the castle we\nfollowed him and betook ourselves to the place where we had moored our\nboat, saying to one another, \u201cIf this accursed abide absent till the\ngoing down of the sun and come not to the castle, we shall know that he\nis dead; and if he come back, we will embark in the boat and paddle till\nwe escape, committing our affair to Allah.\u201d But, as we spoke, behold, up\ncame the blackamoor with other two as they were Ghuls, fouler and more\nfrightful than he, with eyes like red-hot coals; which when we saw, we\nhurried into the boat and casting off the moorings paddled away and\npushed out to sea.[31] As soon as the ogres caught sight of us, they\ncried out at us and running down to the sea-shore, fell a-pelting us\nwith rocks, whereof some fell amongst us and others fell into the sea.\nWe paddled with all our might till we were beyond their reach, but the\nmost part of us were slain by the rock-throwing, and the winds and waves\nsported with us and carried us into the midst of the dashing sea,\nswollen with billows clashing. We knew not whither we went and my\nfellows died one after another, till there remained but three, myself\nand two others;\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to\nsay her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\nthus continued:\u2014Most part of us were slain by the rock-throwing and only\nthree of us remained on board the boat for, as often as one died, we\nthrew him into the sea. We were sore exhausted for stress of hunger, but\nwe took courage and heartened one another and worked for dear life and\npaddled with main and might, till the winds cast us upon an island, as\nwe were dead men for fatigue and fear and famine. We landed on the\nisland and walked about it for a while, finding that it abounded in\ntrees and streams and birds; and we ate of the fruits and rejoiced in\nour escape from the black and our deliverance from the perils of the\nsea; and thus we did till nightfall, when we lay down and fell asleep\nfor excess of fatigue. But we had hardly closed our eyes before we were\naroused by a hissing sound, like the sough of wind, and awaking, saw a\nserpent like a dragon, a seld-seen sight, of monstrous make and belly of\nenormous bulk which lay in a circle around us. Presently it reared its\nhead and, seizing one of my companions, swallowed him up to his\nshoulders; then it gulped down the rest of him, and we heard his ribs\ncrack in its belly. Presently it went its way, and we abode in sore\namazement and grief for our comrade and mortal fear for ourselves,\nsaying, \u201cBy Allah, this is a marvellous thing! Each kind of death that\nthreateneth us is more terrible than the last. We were rejoicing in our\nescape from the black ogre and our deliverance from the perils of the\nsea; but now we have fallen into that which is worse. There is no\nMajesty and there is no Might save in Allah! By the Almighty, we have\nescaped from the blackamoor and from drowning: but how shall we escape\nfrom this abominable and viperish monster?\u201d Then we walked about the\nisland, eating of its fruits and drinking of its streams till dusk, when\nwe climbed up into a high tree and went to sleep there, I being on the\ntopmost bough. As soon as it was dark night, up came the serpent,\nlooking right and left; and, making for the tree whereon we were,\nclimbed up to my comrade and swallowed him down to his shoulders. Then\nit coiled about the bole[32] with him, whilst I, who could not take my\neyes off the sight, heard his bones crack in its belly, and it swallowed\nhim whole, after which it slid down from the tree. When the day broke\nand the light showed me that the serpent was gone, I came down, as I\nwere a dead man for stress of fear and anguish, and thought to cast\nmyself into the sea and be at rest from the woes of the world; but could\nnot bring myself to this, for verily life is dear. So I took five pieces\nof wood, broad and long, and bound one crosswise to the soles of my feet\nand others in like fashion on my right and left sides and over my\nbreast; and the broadest and largest I bound across my head and made\nthem fast with ropes. Then I lay down on the ground on my back, so that\nI was completely fenced in by the pieces of wood, which enclosed me like\na bier.[33] So as soon as it was dark, up came the serpent, as usual,\nand made towards me, but could not get at me to swallow me for the wood\nthat fenced me in. So it wriggled round me on every side, whilst I\nlooked on, like one dead by reason of my terror; and every now and then\nit would glide away and come back; but as often as it tried to come at\nme, it was hindered by the pieces of wood wherewith I had bound myself\non every side. It ceased not to beset me thus from sundown till dawn,\nbut when the light of day shone upon the beast it made off, in the\nutmost fury and extreme disappointment. Then I put out my hand and\nunbound myself, well-nigh down among the dead men for fear and\nsuffering; and went down to the island-shore, whence a ship afar off in\nthe midst of the waves suddenly struck my sight. So I tore off a great\nbranch of a tree and made signs with it to the crew, shouting out the\nwhile; which when the ship\u2019s company saw they said to one another, \u201cWe\nmust stand in and see what this is; peradventure \u2018tis a man.\u201d So they\nmade for the island and presently heard my cries, whereupon they took me\non board and questioned me of my case. I told them all my adventures\nfrom first to last, whereat they marvelled mightily and covered my\nshame[34] with some of their clothes. Moreover, they set before me\nsomewhat of food and I ate my fill and I drank cold sweet water and was\nmightily refreshed; and Allah Almighty quickened me after I was\nvirtually dead. So I praised the Most Highest and thanked Him for His\nfavours and exceeding mercies, and my heart revived in me after utter\ndespair, till meseemed as if all I had suffered were but a dream I had\ndreamed. We sailed on with a fair wind the Almighty sent us till we came\nto an Island, called Al-Sal\u00e1hitah,[35] which aboundeth in sandal-wood\nwhen the captain cast anchor,\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 Forty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\ncontinued:\u2014And when we had cast anchor, the merchants and the sailors\nlanded with their goods to sell and to buy. Then the captain turned to\nme and said, \u201cHark\u2019ee, thou art a stranger and a pauper and tellest us\nthat thou hast undergone frightful hardships; wherefore I have a mind to\nbenefit thee with somewhat that may further thee to thy native land, so\nthou wilt ever bless me and pray for me.\u201d \u201cSo be it,\u201d answered I; \u201cthou\nshalt have my prayers.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cKnow then that there was with us a\nman, a traveller, whom we lost, and we know not if he be alive or dead,\nfor we had no news of him; so I purpose to commit his bales of goods to\nthy charge, that thou mayst sell them in this island. A part of the\nproceeds we will give thee as an equivalent for thy pains and service,\nand the rest we will keep till we return to Baghdad, where we will\nenquire for his family and deliver it to them, together with the unsold\ngoods. Say me then, wilt thou undertake the charge and land and sell\nthem as other merchants do?\u201d I replied, \u201cHearkening and obedience to\nthee, O my lord; and great is thy kindness to me,\u201d and thanked him;\nwhereupon he bade the sailors and porters bear the bales in question\nashore and commit them to my charge. The ship\u2019s scribe asked him, \u201cO\nmaster, what bales are these and what merchant\u2019s name shall I write upon\nthem?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cWrite on them the name of Sindbad the Seaman,\nhim who was with us in the ship and whom we lost at the Rukh\u2019s island,\nand of whom we have no tidings; for we mean this stranger to sell them;\nand we will give him a part of the price for his pains and keep the rest\ntill we return to Baghdad where, if we find the owner we will make it\nover to him, and if not, to his family.\u201d And the clerk said, \u201cThy words\nare apposite and thy rede is right.\u201d Now when I heard the captain give\norders for the bales to be inscribed with my name, I said to myself, \u201cBy\nAllah, I am Sindbad the Seaman!\u201d So I armed myself with courage and\npatience and waited till all the merchants had landed and were gathered\ntogether, talking and chaffering about buying and selling; then I went\nup to the captain and asked him, \u201cO my lord, knowest thou what manner of\nman was this Sindbad, whose goods thou hast committed to me for sale?\u201d;\nand he answered, \u201cI know of him naught save that he was a man from\nBaghdad-city, Sindbad hight the Seaman, who was drowned with many others\nwhen we lay anchored at such an island and I have heard nothing of him\nsince then.\u201d At this I cried out with a great cry and said, \u201cO captain,\nwhom Allah keep! know that I am that Sindbad the Seaman and that I was\nnot drowned, but when thou castest anchor at the island, I landed with\nthe rest of the merchants and crew; and I sat down in a pleasant place\nby myself and ate somewhat of food I had with me and enjoyed myself till\nI became drowsy and was drowned in sleep; and when I awoke, I found no\nship and none near me. These goods are my goods and these bales are my\nbales; and all the merchants who fetch jewels from the Valley of\nDiamonds saw me there and will bear me witness that I am the very\nSindbad the Seaman; for I related to them everything that had befallen\nme and told them how you forgot me and left me sleeping on the island,\nand that betided me which betided me.\u201d When the passengers and crew\nheard my words, they gathered about me and some of them believed me and\nothers disbelieved; but presently, behold, one of the merchants, hearing\nme mention the Valley of Diamonds, came up to me and said to them, \u201cHear\nwhat I say, good people! When I related to you the most wonderful thing\nin my travels, and I told you that, at the time we cast down our\nslaughtered animals into the Valley of Serpents (I casting with the rest\nas was my wont), there came up a man hanging to mine, ye believed me not\nand gave me the lie.\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d quoth they, \u201cthou didst tell us some such\ntale, but we had no call to credit thee.\u201d He resumed, \u201cNow this is the\nvery man, by token that he gave me diamonds of great value and high\nprice whose like are not to be found, requiting me more than would have\ncome up sticking to my quarter of meat; and I companied with him to\nBassorah-city, where he took leave of us and went on to his native\nstead, whilst we returned to our own land. This is he; and he told us\nhis name, Sindbad the Seaman, and how the ship left him on the desert\nisland. And know ye that Allah hath sent him hither, so might the truth\nof my story be made manifest to you. Moreover, these are his goods for,\nwhen he first foregathered with us, he told us of them; and the truth of\nhis words is patent.\u201d Hearing the merchant\u2019s speech the captain came up\nto me and considered me straitly awhile, after which he said, \u201cWhat was\nthe mark on thy bales?\u201d \u201cThus and thus,\u201d answered I, and reminded him of\nsomewhat that had passed between him and me, when I shipped with him\nfrom Bassorah. Thereupon he was convinced that I was indeed Sindbad the\nSeaman and took me round the neck and gave me joy of my safety, saying,\n\u201cBy Allah, O my lord, thy case is indeed wondrous and thy tale\nmarvellous; but lauded be Allah who hath brought thee and me together\nagain, and who hath restored to thee thy goods and gear!\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Fiftieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\nthus continued:\u2014\u201cAlhamdolillah!\u201d quoth the captain, \u201clauded be Allah who\nhath restored unto thee thy goods and gear.\u201d Then I disposed of my\nmerchandise to the best of my skill, and profited largely on them\nwhereat I rejoiced with exceeding joy and congratulated myself on my\nsafety and the recovery of my goods. We ceased not to buy and sell at\nthe several islands till we came to the land of Hind, where we bought\ncloves and ginger and all manner spices; and thence we fared on to the\nland of Sind, where also we bought and sold. In these Indian seas, I saw\nwonders without number or count, amongst others a fish like a cow which\nbringeth forth its young and suckleth them like human beings; and of its\nskin bucklers are made.[36] There were eke fishes like asses and\ncamels[37] and tortoises twenty cubits wide.[38] And I saw also a bird\nthat cometh out of a sea-shell and layeth eggs and hatcheth her chicks\non the surface of the water, never coming up from the sea to the\nland.[39] Then we set sail again with a fair wind and the blessing of\nAlmighty Allah; and, after a prosperous voyage, arrived safe and sound\nat Bassorah. Here I abode a few days and presently returned to Baghdad\nwhere I went at once to my quarter and my house and saluted my family\nand familiars and friends. I had gained on this voyage what was beyond\ncount and reckoning, so I gave alms and largesse and clad the widow and\nthe orphan, by way of thanksgiving for my happy return, and fell to\nfeasting and making merry with my companions and intimates and forgot,\nwhile eating well and drinking well and dressing well, everything that\nhad befallen me and all the perils and hardships I had suffered. These,\nthen, are the most admirable things I sighted on my third voyage, and\nto-morrow, an it be the will of Allah, you shall come to me and I will\nrelate the adventures of my fourth voyage, which is still more wonderful\nthan those you have already heard. (Saith he who telleth the tale), Then\nSindbad the Seaman bade give Sindbad the Landsman an hundred golden\ndinars as of wont and called for food. So they spread the tables and the\ncompany ate the night-meal and went their ways, marvelling at the tale\nthey had heard. The Porter after taking his gold passed the night in his\nown house, also wondering at what his namesake the Seaman had told him,\nand as soon as day broke and the morning showed with its sheen and\nshone, he rose and praying the dawn-prayer betook himself to Sindbad the\nSeaman, who returned his salute and received him with an open breast and\ncheerful favour and made him sit with him till the rest of the company\narrived, when he caused set on food and they ate and drank and made\nmerry. Then Sindbad the Seaman bespake them and related to them the\nnarrative of\n\n\n _THE FOURTH VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SEAMAN_.\n\nKnow, O my brethren that after my return from my third voyage and\nforegathering with my friends, and forgetting all my perils and\nhardships in the enjoyment of ease and comfort and repose, I was visited\none day by a company of merchants who sat down with me and talked of\nforeign travel and traffic, till the old bad man within me yearned to go\nwith them and enjoy the sight of strange countries, and I longed for the\nsociety of the various races of mankind and for traffic and profit. So I\nresolved to travel with them and buying the necessaries for a long\nvoyage, and great store of costly goods, more than ever before,\ntransported them from Baghdad to Bassorah where I took ship with the\nmerchants in question, who were of the chief of the town. We set out,\ntrusting in the blessing of Almighty Allah; and with a favouring breeze\nand the best conditions we sailed from island to island and sea to sea,\ntill, one day, there arose against us a contrary wind and the captain\ncast out his anchors and brought the ship to a standstill, fearing lest\nshe should founder in mid-ocean. Then we all fell to prayer and humbling\nourselves before the Most High; but, as we were thus engaged there smote\nus a furious squall which tore the sails to rags and tatters: the\nanchor-cable parted and, the ship foundering, we were cast into the sea,\ngoods and all. I kept myself afloat by swimming half the day, till, when\nI had given myself up for lost, the Almighty threw in my way one of the\nplanks of the ship, whereon I and some others of the merchants\nscrambled.\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 Fifty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\ncontinued as follows:\u2014And when the ship foundered I scrambled on to a\nplank with some others of the merchants and, mounting it as we would a\nhorse, paddled with our feet in the sea. We abode thus a day and a\nnight, the wind and waves helping us on, and on the second day shortly\nbefore the mid-time between sunrise and noon[40] the breeze freshened\nand the sea wrought and the rising waves cast us upon an island,\nwell-nigh dead bodies for weariness and want of sleep, cold and hunger\nand fear and thirst. We walked about the shore and found abundance of\nherbs, whereof we ate enough to keep breath in body and to stay our\nfailing spirits, then lay down and slept till morning hard by the sea.\nAnd when morning came with its sheen and shone, we arose and walked\nabout the island to the right and left, till we came in sight of an\ninhabited house afar off. So we made towards it, and ceased not walking\ntill we reached the door thereof when lo! a number of naked men issued\nfrom it and without saluting us or a word said, laid hold of us\nmasterfully and carried us to their king, who signed us to sit. So we\nsat down and they set food before us such as we knew not[41] and whose\nlike we had never seen in all our lives. My companions ate of it, for\nstress of hunger, but my stomach revolted from it and I would not eat;\nand my refraining from it was, by Allah\u2019s favour, the cause of my being\nalive till now: for no sooner had my comrades tasted of it than their\nreason fled and their condition changed and they began to devour it like\nmadmen possessed of an evil spirit. Then the savages gave them to drink\nof cocoa-nut oil and anointed them therewith; and straightway after\ndrinking thereof, their eyes turned into their heads and they fell to\neating greedily, against their wont. When I saw this, I was confounded\nand concerned for them, nor was I less anxious about myself, for fear of\nthe naked folk. So I watched them narrowly, and it was not long before I\ndiscovered them to be a tribe of Magian cannibals whose King was a\nGhul.[42] All who came to their country or whoso they caught in their\nvalleys or on their roads they brought to this King and fed them upon\nthat food and anointed them with that oil, whereupon their stomachs\ndilated that they might eat largely, whilst their reason fled and they\nlost the power of thought and became idiots. Then they stuffed them with\ncocoa-nut oil and the aforesaid food, till they became fat and gross,\nwhen they slaughtered them by cutting their throats and roasted them for\nthe King\u2019s eating; but, as for the savages themselves, they ate human\nflesh raw.[43] When I saw this, I was sore dismayed for myself and my\ncomrades, who were now become so stupefied that they knew not what was\ndone with them and the naked folk committed them to one who used every\nday to lead them out and pasture them on the island like cattle. And\nthey wandered amongst the trees and rested at will, thus waxing very\nfat. As for me, I wasted away and became sickly for fear and hunger and\nmy flesh shrivelled on my bones; which when the savages saw, they left\nme alone and took no thought of me and so far forgot me that one day I\ngave them the slip and walking out of their place made for the beach\nwhich was distant and there espied a very old man seated on a high\nplace, girt by the waters. I looked at him and knew him for the\nherdsman, who had charge of pasturing my fellows, and with him were many\nothers in like case. As soon as he saw me, he knew me to be in\npossession of my reason and not afflicted like the rest whom he was\npasturing; so signed to me from afar, as who should say, \u201cTurn back and\ntake the right-hand road, for that will lead thee into the King\u2019s\nhighway.\u201d So I turned back, as he bade me, and followed the right-hand\nroad, now running for fear and then walking leisurely to rest me, till I\nwas out of the old man\u2019s sight. By this time, the sun had gone down and\nthe darkness set in; so I sat down to rest and would have slept, but\nsleep came not to me that night, for stress of fear and famine and\nfatigue. When the night was half spent, I rose and walked on, till the\nday broke in all its beauty and the sun rose over the heads of the lofty\nhills and athwart the low gravelly plains. Now I was weary and hungry\nand thirsty; so I ate my fill of herbs and grasses that grew in the\nisland and kept life in body and stayed my stomach, after which I set\nout again and fared on all that day and the next night, staying my greed\nwith roots and herbs; nor did I cease walking for seven days and their\nnights, till the morn of the eighth day, when I caught sight of a faint\nobject in the distance. So I made towards it, though my heart quaked for\nall I had suffered first and last, and behold it was a company of men\ngathering pepper-grains.[44] As soon as they saw me, they hastened up to\nme and surrounding me on all sides, said to me, \u201cWho art thou and whence\ncome?\u201d I replied, \u201cKnow, O folk, that I am a poor stranger,\u201d and\nacquainted them with my case and all the hardships and perils I had\nsuffered\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 Fifty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\ncontinued:\u2014And the men gathering pepper in the island questioned me of\nmy case, when I acquainted them with all the hardships and perils I had\nsuffered and how I had fled from the savages; whereat they marvelled and\ngave me joy of my safety, saying, \u201cBy Allah, this is wonderful! But how\ndidst thou escape from these blacks who swarm in the island and devour\nall who fall in with them; nor is any safe from them, nor can any get\nout of their clutches?\u201d And after I had told them the fate of my\ncompanions, they made me sit by them, till they got quit of their work;\nand fetched me somewhat of good food, which I ate, for I was hungry, and\nrested awhile, after which they took ship with me and carrying me to\ntheir island-home brought me before their King, who returned my salute\nand received me honourably and questioned me of my case. I told him all\nthat had befallen me, from the day of my leaving Baghdad-city, whereupon\nhe wondered with great wonder at my adventures, he and his courtiers,\nand bade me sit by him; then he called for food and I ate with him what\nsufficed me and washed my hands and returned thanks to Almighty Allah\nfor all His favours praising Him and glorifying Him. Then I left the\nKing and walked for solace about the city, which I found wealthy and\npopulous, abounding in market-streets well stocked with food and\nmerchandise and full of buyers and sellers. So I rejoiced at having\nreached so pleasant a place and took my ease there after my fatigues;\nand I made friends with the townsfolk, nor was it long before I became\nmore in honour and favour with them and their King than any of the chief\nmen of the realm. Now I saw that all the citizens, great and small, rode\nfine horses, high-priced and thorough-bred, without saddles or housings,\nwhereat I wondered and said to the King, \u201cWherefore, O my lord, dost\nthou not ride with a saddle? Therein is ease for the rider and increase\nof power.\u201d \u201cWhat is a saddle?\u201d asked he: \u201cI never saw nor used such a\nthing in all my life;\u201d and I answered, \u201cWith thy permission I will make\nthee a saddle, that thou mayest ride on it and see the comfort thereof.\u201d\nAnd quoth he, \u201cDo so.\u201d So quoth I to him, \u201cFurnish me with some wood,\u201d\nwhich being brought, I sought me a clever carpenter and sitting by him\nshowed him how to make the saddle-tree, portraying for him the fashion\nthereof in ink on the wood. Then I took wool and teased it and made felt\nof it, and, covering the saddle-tree with leather, stuffed it and\npolished it and attached the girth and stirrup leathers; after which I\nfetched a blacksmith and described to him the fashion of the stirrups\nand bridle-bit. So he forged a fine pair of stirrups and a bit, and\nfiled them smooth and tinned[45] them. Moreover, I made fast to them\nfringes of silk and fitted bridle-leathers to the bit. Then I fetched\none of the best of the royal horses and saddling and bridling him, hung\nthe stirrups to the saddle and led him to the King. The thing took his\nfancy and he thanked me; then he mounted and rejoiced greatly in the\nsaddle and rewarded me handsomely for my work. When the King\u2019s Wazir saw\nthe saddle, he asked of me one like it and I made it for him.\nFurthermore, all the grandees and officers of state came for saddles to\nme; so I fell to making saddles (having taught the craft to the\ncarpenter and blacksmith), and selling them to all who sought, till I\namassed great wealth and became in high honour and great favour with the\nKing and his household and grandees. I abode thus till, one day, as I\nwas sitting with the King in all respect and contentment, he said to me,\n\u201cKnow thou, O such an one, thou art become one of us, dear as a brother,\nand we hold thee in such regard and affection that we cannot part with\nthee nor suffer thee to leave our city; wherefore I desire of thee\nobedience in a certain matter, and I will not have thee gainsay me.\u201d\nAnswered I, \u201cO King, what is it thou desirest of me? Far be it from me\nto gainsay thee in aught, for I am indebted to thee for many favours and\nbounties and much kindness, and (praised be Allah!) I am become one of\nthy servants.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI have a mind to marry thee to a fair, clever\nand agreeable wife who is wealthy as she is beautiful; so thou mayst be\nnaturalised and domiciled with us: I will lodge thee with me in my\npalace; wherefore oppose me not neither cross me in this.\u201d When I heard\nthese words I was ashamed and held my peace nor could make him any\nanswer,[46] by reason of my much bashfulness before him. Asked he, \u201cWhy\ndost thou not reply to me, O my son?\u201d; and I answered, saying, \u201cO my\nmaster, it is thine to command, O King of the age!\u201d So he summoned the\nKazi and the witnesses and married me straightway to a lady of a noble\ntree and high pedigree; wealthy in moneys and means; the flower of an\nancient race; of surpassing beauty and grace, and the owner of farms and\nestates and many a dwelling-place.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Fifty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\ncontinued in these words:\u2014Now after the King my master had married me to\nthis choice wife, he also gave me a great and goodly house standing\nalone, together with slaves and officers, and assigned me pay and\nallowances. So I became in all ease and contentment and delight and\nforgot everything which had befallen me of weariness and trouble and\nhardship; for I loved my wife with fondest love and she loved me no\nless, and we were as one and abode in the utmost comfort of life and in\nits happiness. And I said in myself, \u201cWhen I return to my native land, I\nwill carry her with me.\u201d But whatso is predestined to a man, that needs\nmust be, and none knoweth what shall befal him. We lived thus a great\nwhile, till Almighty Allah bereft one of my neighbours of his wife. Now\nhe was a gossip of mine; so hearing the cry of the keeners I went in to\ncondole with him on his loss and found him in very ill plight, full of\ntrouble and weary of soul and mind. I condoled with him and comforted\nhim, saying, \u201cMourn not for thy wife who hath now found the mercy of\nAllah; the Lord will surely give thee a better in her stead and thy name\nshall be great and thy life shall be long in the land, Inshallah!\u201d[47]\nBut he wept bitter tears and replied, \u201cO my friend, how can I marry\nanother wife and how shall Allah replace her to me with a better than\nshe, whenas I have but one day left to live?\u201d \u201cO my brother,\u201d said I,\n\u201creturn to thy senses and announce not the glad tidings of thine own\ndeath, for thou art well, sound and in good case.\u201d \u201cBy thy life, O my\nfriend,\u201d rejoined he, \u201cto-morrow thou wilt lose me and wilt never see me\nagain till the Day of Resurrection.\u201d I asked, \u201cHow so?\u201d and he answered,\n\u201cThis very day they bury my wife, and they bury me with her in one tomb;\nfor it is the custom with us, if the wife die first, to bury the husband\nalive with her and in like manner the wife, if the husband die first; so\nthat neither may enjoy life after losing his or her mate.\u201d \u201cBy Allah,\u201d\ncried I, \u201cthis is a most vile, lewd custom and not to be endured of\nany!\u201d Meanwhile, behold, the most part of the townsfolk came in and fell\nto condoling with my gossip for his wife and for himself. Presently they\nlaid the dead woman out, as was their wont; and, setting her on a bier,\ncarried her and her husband without the city, till they came to a place\nin the side of a mountain at the end of the island by the sea; and here\nthey raised a great rock and discovered the mouth of a stone-rivetted\npit or well,[48] leading down into a vast underground cavern that ran\nbeneath the mountain. Into this pit they threw the corpse, then tying a\nrope of palm-fibres under the husband\u2019s armpits, they let him down into\nthe cavern, and with him a great pitcher of fresh water and seven scones\nby way of viaticum.[49] When he came to the bottom, he loosed himself\nfrom the rope and they drew it up; and, stopping the mouth of the pit\nwith the great stone, they returned to the city, leaving my friend in\nthe cavern with his dead wife. When I saw this, I said to myself, \u201cBy\nAllah, this fashion of death is more grievous than the first!\u201d And I\nwent in to the King and said to him, \u201cO my lord, why do ye bury the\nquick with the dead?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cIt hath been the custom, thou must\nknow, of our forbears and our olden Kings from time immemorial, if the\nhusband die first, to bury his wife with him, and the like with the\nwife, so we may not sever them, alive or dead.\u201d I asked, \u201cO King of the\nage, if the wife of a foreigner like myself die among you, deal ye with\nhim as with yonder man?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cAssuredly, we do with him\neven as thou hast seen.\u201d When I heard this, my gall-bladder was like to\nburst, for the violence of my dismay and concern for myself: my wit\nbecame dazed; I felt as if in a vile dungeon; and hated their society;\nfor I went about in fear lest my wife should die before me and they bury\nme alive with her. However, after a while, I comforted myself, saying,\n\u201cHaply I shall predecease her, or shall have returned to my own land\nbefore she die, for none knoweth which shall go first and which shall go\nlast.\u201d Then I applied myself to diverting my mind from this thought with\nvarious occupations; but it was not long before my wife sickened and\ncomplained and took to her pillow and fared after a few days to the\nmercy of Allah; and the King and the rest of the folk came, as was their\nwont, to condole with me and her family and to console us for her loss\nand not less to condole with me for myself. Then the women washed her\nand arraying her in her richest raiment and golden ornaments, necklaces\nand jewellery, laid her on the bier and bore her to the mountain\naforesaid, where they lifted the cover of the pit and cast her in; after\nwhich all my intimates and acquaintances and my wife\u2019s kith and kin came\nround me, to farewell me in my lifetime and console me for my own death,\nwhilst I cried out among them, saying, \u201cAlmighty Allah never made it\nlawful to bury the quick with the dead! I am a stranger, not one of your\nkind; and I cannot abear your custom, and had I known it I never would\nhave wedded among you!\u201d They heard me not and paid no heed to my words,\nbut laying hold of me, bound me by force and let me down into the\ncavern, with a large gugglet of sweet water and seven cakes of bread,\naccording to their custom. When I came to the bottom, they called out to\nme to cast myself loose from the cords, but I refused to do so; so they\nthrew them down on me and, closing the mouth of the pit with the stones\naforesaid, went their ways,\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 Fifty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\ncontinued:\u2014When they left me in the cavern with my dead wife and,\nclosing the mouth of the pit, went their ways, I looked about me and\nfound myself in a vast cave full of dead bodies, that exhaled a fulsome\nand loathsome smell and the air was heavy with the groans of the dying.\nThereupon I fell to blaming myself for what I had done, saying, \u201cBy\nAllah, I deserve all that hath befallen me and all that shall befal me!\nWhat curse was upon me to take a wife in this city? There is no Majesty\nand there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! As often\nas I say, I have escaped from one calamity, I fall into a worse. By\nAllah, this is an abominable death to die! Would Heaven I had died a\ndecent death and been washed and shrouded like a man and a Moslem. Would\nI had been drowned at sea or perished in the mountains! It were better\nthan to die this miserable death!\u201d And on such wise I kept blaming my\nown folly and greed of gain in that black hole, knowing not night from\nday; and I ceased not to ban the Foul Fiend and to bless the Almighty\nFriend. Then I threw myself down on the bones of the dead and lay there,\nimploring Allah\u2019s help and in the violence of my despair, invoking death\nwhich came not to me, till the fire of hunger burned my stomach and\nthirst set my throat aflame when I sat up and feeling for the bread, ate\na morsel and upon it swallowed a mouthful of water. After this, the\nworst night I ever knew, I arose, and exploring the cavern, found that\nit extended a long way with hollows in its sides; and its floor was\nstrewn with dead bodies and rotten bones, that had lain there from olden\ntime. So I made myself a place in a cavity of the cavern, afar from the\ncorpses lately thrown down and there slept. I abode thus a long while,\ntill my provision was like to give out; and yet I ate not save once\nevery day or second day; nor did I drink more than an occasional\ndraught, for fear my victual should fail me before my death; and I said\nto myself, \u201cEat little and drink little; belike the Lord shall vouchsafe\ndeliverance to thee!\u201d One day, as I sat thus, pondering my case and\nbethinking me how I should do, when my bread and water should be\nexhausted, behold, the stone that covered the opening was suddenly\nrolled away and the light streamed down upon me. Quoth I, \u201cI wonder what\nis the matter: haply they have brought another corpse.\u201d Then I espied\nfolk standing about the mouth of the pit, who presently let down a dead\nman and a live woman, weeping and bemoaning herself, and with her an\nampler supply of bread and water than usual.[50] I saw her and she was a\nbeautiful woman; but she saw me not; and they closed up the opening and\nwent away. Then I took the leg-bone of a dead man and, going up to the\nwoman, smote her on the crown of the head; and she cried one cry and\nfell down in a swoon. I smote her a second and a third time, till she\nwas dead, when I laid hands on her bread and water and found on her\ngreat plenty of ornaments and rich apparel, necklaces, jewels and gold\ntrinkets;[51] for it was their custom to bury women in all their finery.\nI carried the vivers to my sleeping place in the cavern-side and ate and\ndrank of them sparingly, no more than sufficed to keep the life in me,\nlest the provaunt come speedily to an end and I perish of hunger and\nthirst. Yet did I never wholly lose hope in Almighty Allah. I abode thus\na great while, killing all the live folk they let down into the cavern\nand taking their provisions of meat and drink; till one day, as I slept,\nI was awakened by something scratching and burrowing among the bodies in\na corner of the cave and said, \u201cWhat can this be?\u201d fearing wolves or\nhy\u00e6nas. So I sprang up and seizing the leg-bone aforesaid, made for the\nnoise. As soon as the thing was ware of me, it fled from me into the\ninward of the cavern, and lo! it was a wild beast. However, I followed\nit to the further end, till I saw afar off a point of light not bigger\nthan a star, now appearing and then disappearing. So I made for it, and\nas I drew near, it grew larger and brighter, till I was certified that\nit was a crevice in the rock, leading to the open country; and I said to\nmyself, \u201cThere must be some reason for this opening: either it is the\nmouth of a second pit, such as that by which they let me down, or else\nit is a natural fissure in the stonery.\u201d So I bethought me awhile and\nnearing the light, found that it came from a breach in the back side of\nthe mountain, which the wild beasts had enlarged by burrowing, that they\nmight enter and devour the dead and freely go to and fro. When I saw\nthis, my spirits revived and hope came back to me and I made sure of\nlife, after having died a death. So I went on, as in a dream, and making\nshift to scramble through the breach found myself on the slope of a high\nmountain, overlooking the salt sea and cutting off all access thereto\nfrom the island, so that none could come at that part of the beach from\nthe city.[52] I praised my Lord and thanked Him, rejoicing greatly and\nheartening myself with the prospect of deliverance; then I returned\nthrough the crack to the cavern and brought out all the food and water I\nhad saved up and donned some of the dead folk\u2019s clothes over my own;\nafter which I gathered together all the collars and necklaces of pearls\nand jewels and trinkets of gold and silver set with precious stones and\nother ornaments and valuables I could find upon the corpses; and, making\nthem into bundles with the grave clothes and raiment of the dead,\ncarried them out to the back of the mountain facing the sea-shore, where\nI established myself, purposing to wait there till it should please\nAlmighty Allah to send me relief by means of some passing ship. I\nvisited the cavern daily and as often as I found folk buried alive\nthere, I killed them all indifferently, men and women, and took their\nvictual and valuables and transported them to my seat on the sea-shore.\nThus I abode a long while\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 Fifty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\ncontinued:\u2014And after carrying all my victuals and valuables from the\ncavern to the coast I abode a long while by the sea, pondering my case,\ntill one day I caught sight of a ship passing in the midst of the\nclashing sea, swollen with dashing billows. So I took a piece of a white\nshroud I had with me and, tying it to a staff, ran along the sea-shore,\nmaking signals therewith and calling to the people in the ship, till\nthey espied me and hearing my shouts, sent a boat to fetch me off. When\nit drew near, the crew called out to me, saying, \u201cWho art thou and how\ncamest thou to be on this mountain, whereon never saw we any in our born\ndays?\u201d I answered, \u201cI am a gentleman[53] and a merchant, who hath been\nwrecked and saved myself on one of the planks of the ship, with some of\nmy goods; and by the blessing of the Almighty and the decrees of Destiny\nand my own strength and skill, after much toil and moil I have landed\nwith my gear in this place where I awaited some passing ship to take me\noff.\u201d So they took me in their boat together with the bundles I had made\nof the jewels and valuables from the cavern, tied up in clothes and\nshrouds, and rowed back with me to the ship, where the captain said to\nme, \u201cHow camest thou, O man, to yonder place on yonder mountain behind\nwhich lieth a great city? All my life I have sailed these seas and\npassed to and fro hard by these heights; yet never saw I here any living\nthing save wild beasts and birds.\u201d I repeated to him the story I had\ntold the sailors,[54] but acquainted him with nothing of that which had\nbefallen me in the city and the cavern, lest there should be any of the\nislandry in the ship. Then I took out some of the best pearls I had with\nme and offered them to the captain, saying, \u201cO my lord, thou hast been\nthe means of saving me off this mountain. I have no ready money; but\ntake this from me in requital of thy kindness and good offices.\u201d But he\nrefused to accept it of me, saying, \u201cWhen we find a shipwrecked man on\nthe sea-shore or on an island, we take him up and give him meat and\ndrink, and if he be naked we clothe him; nor take we aught from him;\nnay, when we reach a port of safety, we set him ashore with a present of\nour own money and entreat him kindly and charitably, for the love of\nAllah the Most High.\u201d So I prayed that his life be long in the land and\nrejoiced in my escape, trusting to be delivered from my stress and to\nforget my past mishaps; for every time I remembered being let down into\nthe cave with my dead wife I shuddered in horror. Then we pursued our\nvoyage and sailed from island to island and sea to sea, till we arrived\nat the Island of the Bell, which containeth a city two days\u2019 journey in\nextent, whence after a six days\u2019 run we reached the Island Kala, hard by\nthe land of Hind.[55] This place is governed by a potent and puissant\nKing and it produceth excellent camphor and an abundance of the Indian\nrattan: here also is a lead mine. At last by the decree of Allah, we\narrived in safety at Bassorah-town where I tarried a few days, then went\non to Baghdad-city, and, finding my quarter, entered my house with\nlively pleasure. There I foregathered with my family and friends, who\nrejoiced in my happy return and gave me joy of my safety. I laid up in\nmy storehouses all the goods I had brought with me, and gave alms and\nlargesse to Fakirs and beggars and clothed the widow and the orphan.\nThen I gave myself up to pleasure and enjoyment, returning to my old\nmerry mode of life. Such, then, be the most marvellous adventures of my\nfourth voyage, but to-morrow if you will kindly come to me, I will tell\nyou that which befel me in my fifth voyage, which was yet rarer and more\nmarvellous than those which forewent it. And thou, O my brother Sindbad\nthe Landsman, shalt sup with me as thou art wont. (Saith he who telleth\nthe tale), When Sindbad the Seaman had made an end of his story, he\ncalled for supper; so they spread the table and the guests ate the\nevening meal; after which he gave the Porter an hundred dinars as usual,\nand he and the rest of the company went their ways, glad at heart and\nmarvelling at the tales they had heard, for that each story was more\nextraordinary than that which forewent it. The porter Sindbad passed the\nnight in his own house, in all joy and cheer and wonderment; and, as\nsoon as morning came with its sheen and shone, he prayed the dawn-prayer\nand repaired to the house of Sindbad the Seaman, who welcomed him and\nbade him sit with him till the rest of the company arrived, when they\nate and drank and made merry and the talk went round amongst them.\nPresently, their host began the narrative of the fifth voyage\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 Fifty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the host began in\nthese words the narrative of\n\n\n _THE FIFTH VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SEAMAN_.\n\nKnow, O my brothers, that when I had been awhile on shore after my\nfourth voyage; and when, in my comfort and pleasures and merry-makings\nand in my rejoicing over my large gains and profits, I had forgotten all\nI had endured of perils and sufferings, the carnal man was again seized\nwith the longing to travel and to see foreign countries and islands.[56]\nAccordingly I bought costly merchandise suited to my purpose and, making\nit up into bales, repaired to Bassorah, where I walked about the\nriver-quay till I found a fine tall ship, newly builded with gear unused\nand fitted ready for sea. She pleased me; so I bought her and, embarking\nmy goods in her, hired a master and crew, over whom I set certain of my\nslaves and servants as inspectors. A number of merchants also brought\ntheir outfits and paid me freight and passage-money; then, after\nreciting the Fatihah we set sail over Allah\u2019s pool in all joy and cheer,\npromising ourselves a prosperous voyage and much profit. We sailed from\ncity to city and from island to island and from sea to sea viewing the\ncities and countries by which we passed, and selling and buying in not a\nfew till one day we came to a great uninhabited island, deserted and\ndesolate, whereon was a white dome of biggest bulk half buried in the\nsands. The merchants landed to examine this dome, leaving me in the\nship; and when they drew near, behold, it was a huge Rukh\u2019s egg. They\nfell a-beating it with stones, knowing not what it was, and presently\nbroke it open, whereupon much water ran out of it and the young Rukh\nappeared within. So they pulled it forth of the shell and cut its throat\nand took of it great store of meat. Now I was in the ship and knew not\nwhat they did; but presently one of the passengers came up to me and\nsaid, \u201cO my lord, come and look at the egg that we thought to be a\ndome.\u201d So I looked and seeing the merchants beating it with stones,\ncalled out to them, \u201cStop, stop! do not meddle with that egg, or the\nbird Rukh will come out and break our ship and destroy us.\u201d[57] But they\npaid no heed to me and gave not over smiting upon the egg, when behold,\nthe day grew dark and dun and the sun was hidden from us, as if some\ngreat cloud had passed over the firmament.[58] So we raised our eyes and\nsaw that what we took for a cloud was the Rukh poised between us and the\nsun, and it was his wings that darkened the day. When he came and saw\nhis egg broken, he cried a loud cry, whereupon his mate came flying up\nand they both began circling about the ship, crying out at us with\nvoices louder than thunder. I called to the Rais and crew, \u201cPut out to\nsea and seek safety in flight, before we be all destroyed.\u201d So the\nmerchants came on board and we cast off and made haste from the island\nto gain the open sea. When the Rukhs saw this, they flew off and we\ncrowded all sail on the ship, thinking to get out of their country; but\npresently the two re-appeared and flew after us and stood over us, each\ncarrying in its claws a huge boulder which it had brought from the\nmountains. As soon as the he-Rukh came up with us, he let fall upon us\nthe rock he held in his pounces; but the master put about ship, so that\nthe rock missed her by some small matter and plunged into the waves with\nsuch violence, that the ship pitched high and then sank into the trough\nof the sea and the bottom of the ocean appeared to us. Then the she-Rukh\nlet fall her rock, which was bigger than that of her mate, and as\nDestiny had decreed, it fell on the poop of the ship and crushed it, the\nrudder flying into twenty pieces; whereupon the vessel foundered and all\nand everything on board were cast into the main.[59] As for me I\nstruggled for sweet life, till Almighty Allah threw in my way one of the\nplanks of the ship, to which I clung and bestriding it, fell a-paddling\nwith my feet. Now the ship had gone down hard by an island in the midst\nof the main and the winds and waves bore me on till, by permission of\nthe Most High, they cast me up on the shore of the island, at the last\ngasp for toil and distress and half dead with hunger and thirst. So I\nlanded more like a corpse than a live man and throwing myself down on\nthe beach, lay there awhile, till I began to revive and recover spirits,\nwhen I walked about the island and found it as it were one of the garths\nand gardens of Paradise. Its trees, in abundance dight, bore ripe-yellow\nfruit for freight; its streams ran clear and bright; its flowers were\nfair to scent and to sight and its birds warbled with delight the\npraises of Him to whom belong permanence and all-might. So I ate my fill\nof the fruits and slaked my thirst with the water of the streams till I\ncould no more and I returned thanks to the Most High and glorified\nHim;\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 Fifty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\ncontinued:\u2014So when I escaped drowning and reached the island which\nafforded me fruit to eat and water to drink, I returned thanks to the\nMost High and glorified Him; after which I sat till nightfall, hearing\nno voice and seeing none inhabitant. Then I lay down, well-nigh dead for\ntravail and trouble and terror, and slept without surcease till morning,\nwhen I arose and walked about under the trees, till I came to the\nchannel of a draw-well fed by a spring of running water, by which well\nsat an old man of venerable aspect, girt about with a waist-cloth[60]\nmade of the fibre of palm-fronds.[61] Quoth I to myself, \u201cHaply this\nShaykh is of those who were wrecked in the ship and hath made his way to\nthis island.\u201d So I drew near to him and saluted him, and he returned my\nsalam by signs, but spoke not; and I said to him, \u201cO nuncle mine, what\ncauseth thee to sit here?\u201d He shook his head and moaned and signed to me\nwith his hand as who should say, \u201cTake me on thy shoulders and carry me\nto the other side of the well-channel.\u201d And quoth I in my mind, \u201cI will\ndeal kindly with him and do what he desireth; it may be I shall win me a\nreward in Heaven for he may be a paralytic.\u201d So I took him on my back\nand carrying him to the place whereat he pointed, said to him, \u201cDismount\nat thy leisure.\u201d But he would not get off my back and wound his legs\nabout my neck. I looked at them and seeing that they were like a\nbuffalo\u2019s hide for blackness and roughness,[62] was affrighted and would\nhave cast him off; but he clung to me and gripped my neck with his legs,\ntill I was well-nigh choked, the world grew black in my sight and I fell\nsenseless to the ground like one dead. But he still kept his seat and\nraising his legs drummed with his heels and beat harder than palm-rods\nmy back and shoulders, till he forced me to rise for excess of pain.\nThen he signed to me with his hand to carry him hither and thither among\nthe trees which bore the best fruits; and if ever I refused to do his\nbidding or loitered or took my leisure he beat me with his feet more\ngrievously than if I had been beaten with whips. He ceased not to signal\nwith his hand wherever he was minded to go; so I carried him about the\nisland, like a captive slave, and he bepissed and conskited my shoulders\nand back, dismounting not night nor day; and whenas he wished to sleep\nhe wound his legs about my neck and leaned back and slept awhile, then\narose and beat me; whereupon I sprang up in haste, unable to gainsay him\nbecause of the pain he inflicted on me. And indeed I blamed myself and\nsore repented me of having taken compassion on him and continued in this\ncondition, suffering fatigue not to be described, till I said to myself,\n\u201cI wrought him a weal and he requited me with my ill; by Allah, never\nmore will I do any man a service so long as I live!\u201d And again and again\nI besought the Most High that I might die, for stress of weariness and\nmisery; and thus I abode a long while till, one day, I came with him to\na place wherein was abundance of gourds, many of them dry. So I took a\ngreat dry gourd and, cutting open the head, scooped out the inside and\ncleaned it; after which I gathered grapes from a vine which grew hard by\nand squeezed them into the gourd, till it was full of the juice. Then I\nstopped up the mouth and set it in the sun, where I left it for some\ndays, until it became strong wine; and every day I used to drink of it,\nto comfort and sustain me under my fatigues with that froward and\nobstinate fiend; and as often as I drank myself drunk, I forgot my\ntroubles and took new heart. One day he saw me drinking and signed to me\nwith his hand, as who should say, \u201cWhat is that?\u201d Quoth I, \u201cIt is an\nexcellent cordial, which cheereth the heart and reviveth the spirits.\u201d\nThen, being heated with wine, I ran and danced with him among the trees,\nclapping my hands and singing and making merry; and I staggered under\nhim by design. When he saw this, he signed to me to give him the gourd\nthat he might drink, and I feared him and gave it him. So he took it\nand, draining it to the dregs, cast it on the ground, whereupon he grew\nfrolicsome and began to clap hands and jig to and fro on my shoulders\nand he made water upon me so copiously that all my dress was drenched.\nBut presently the fumes of the wine rising to his head, he became\nhelplessly drunk and his side-muscles and limbs relaxed and he swayed to\nand fro on my back. When I saw that he had lost his senses for\ndrunkenness, I put my hand to his legs and, loosing them from my neck,\nstooped down well-nigh to the ground and threw him at full length\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 Fifty-eighth Night,\n\n[Illustration]\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\ncontinued:\u2014So I threw the devil off my shoulders, hardly crediting my\ndeliverance from him and fearing lest he should shake off his\ndrunkenness and do me a mischief. Then I took up a great stone from\namong the trees and coming up to him smote him therewith on the head\nwith all my might and crushed in his skull as he lay dead drunk.\nThereupon his flesh and fat and blood being in a pulp, he died and went\nto his deserts, The Fire, no mercy of Allah be upon him! I then\nreturned, with a heart at ease, to my former station on the sea-shore\nand abode in that island many days, eating of its fruits and drinking of\nits waters and keeping a look-out for passing ships; till one day, as I\nsat on the beach, recalling all that had befallen me and saying, \u201cI\nwonder if Allah will save me alive and restore me to my home and family\nand friends!\u201d behold, a ship was making for the island through the\ndashing sea and clashing waves. Presently, it cast anchor and the\npassengers landed; so I made for them, and when they saw me all hastened\nup to me and gathering round me questioned me of my case and how I came\nthither. I told them all that had betided me, whereat they marvelled\nwith exceeding marvel and said, \u201cHe who rode on thy shoulder is called\nthe \u2018Shaykh al-Bahr\u2019 or Old Man of the Sea,[63] and none ever felt his\nlegs on neck and came off alive but thou; and those who die under him he\neateth: so praised be Allah for thy safety!\u201d Then they set somewhat of\nfood before me, whereof I ate my fill, and gave me somewhat of clothes\nwherewith I clad myself anew and covered my nakedness; after which they\ntook me up into the ship, and we sailed days and nights, till fate\nbrought us to a place called the City of Apes, builded with lofty\nhouses, all of which gave upon the sea and it had a single gate studded\nand strengthened with iron nails. Now every night, as soon as it is dusk\nthe dwellers in this city used to come forth of the gates and, putting\nout to sea in boats and ships, pass the night upon the waters in their\nfear lest the apes should come down on them from the mountains. Hearing\nthis I was sore troubled remembering what I had before suffered from the\nape-kind. Presently I landed to solace myself in the city, but meanwhile\nthe ship set sail without me and I repented of having gone ashore, and\ncalling to mind my companions and what had befallen me with the apes,\nfirst and after, sat down and fell a-weeping and lamenting. Presently\none of the townsfolk accosted me and said to me, \u201cO my lord, meseemeth\nthou art a stranger to these parts?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d answered I, \u201cI am indeed a\nstranger and a poor one, who came hither in a ship which cast anchor\nhere, and I landed to visit the town; but when I would have gone on\nboard again, I found they had sailed without me.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cCome and\nembark with us, for if thou lie the night in the city, the apes will\ndestroy thee.\u201d \u201cHearkening and obedience,\u201d replied I, and rising,\nstraightway embarked with him in one of the boats, whereupon they pushed\noff from shore and anchoring a mile or so from the land, there passed\nthe night. At daybreak, they rowed back to the city and landing, went\neach about his business. Thus they did every night, for if any tarried\nin the town by night the apes came down on him and slew him. As soon as\nit was day, the apes left the place and ate of the fruits of the\ngardens, then went back to the mountains and slept there till nightfall,\nwhen they again came down upon the city.[64] Now this place was in the\nfarthest part of the country of the blacks, and one of the strangest\nthings that befel me during my sojourn in the city was on this wise. One\nof the company with whom I passed the night in the boat, asked me, \u201cO my\nlord, thou art apparently a stranger in these parts; hast thou any craft\nwhereat thou canst work?\u201d; and I answered, \u201cBy Allah, O my brother, I\nhave no trade nor know I any handicraft, for I was a merchant and a man\nof money and substance and had a ship of my own, laden with great store\nof goods and merchandise; but it foundered at sea and all were drowned\nexcepting me who saved myself on a piece of plank which Allah vouchsafed\nto me of His favour.\u201d Upon this he brought me a cotton bag and giving it\nto me, said, \u201cTake this bag and fill it with pebbles from the beach and\ngo forth with a company of the townsfolk to whom I will give a charge\nrespecting thee. Do as they do and belike thou shalt gain what may\nfurther thy return voyage to thy native land.\u201d Then he carried me to the\nbeach, where I filled my bag with pebbles large and small, and presently\nwe saw a company of folk issue from the town, each bearing a bag like\nmine, filled with pebbles. To these he committed me, commending me to\ntheir care, and saying, \u201cThis man is a stranger, so take him with you\nand teach him how to gather, that he may get his daily bread, and you\nwill earn your reward and recompense in Heaven.\u201d \u201cOn our head and eyes\nbe it!\u201d answered they and bidding me welcome, fared on with me till we\ncame to a spacious Wady, full of lofty trees with trunks so smooth that\nnone might climb them. Now sleeping under these trees were many apes,\nwhich when they saw us rose and fled from us and swarmed up among the\nbranches; whereupon my companions began to pelt them with what they had\nin their bags, and the apes fell to plucking of the fruit of the trees\nand casting them at the folk. I looked at the fruits they cast at us and\nfound them to be Indian[65] or cocoa-nuts; so I chose out a great tree,\nfull of apes, and going up to it, began to pelt them with stones, and\nthey in return pelted me with nuts, which I collected, as did the rest;\nso that even before I had made an end of my bagful of pebbles, I had\ngotten great plenty of nuts; and as soon as my companions had in like\nmanner gotten as many nuts as they could carry, we returned to the city,\nwhere we arrived at the fag-end of day. Then I went in to the kindly man\nwho had brought me in company with the nut-gatherers and gave him all I\nhad gotten, thanking him for his kindness; but he would not accept them,\nsaying, \u201cSell them and make profit by the price;\u201d and presently he added\n(giving me the key of a closet in his house), \u201cStore thy nuts in this\nsafe place and go thou forth every morning and gather them as thou hast\ndone to-day, and choose out the worst for sale and supplying thyself;\nbut lay up the rest here, so haply thou mayst collect enough to serve\nthee for thy return home.\u201d \u201cAllah requite thee!\u201d answered I and did as\nhe advised me, going out daily with the cocoa-nut gatherers, who\ncommended me to one another and showed me the best-stocked trees.[66]\nThus did I for some time, till I had laid up great store of excellent\nnuts, besides a large sum of money, the price of those I had sold. I\nbecame thus at my ease and bought all I saw and had a mind to, and\npassed my time pleasantly greatly enjoying my stay in the city, till, as\nI stood on the beach, one day, a great ship steering through the heart\nof the sea presently cast anchor by the shore and landed a company of\nmerchants, who proceeded to sell and buy and barter their goods for\ncocoa-nuts and other commodities. Then I went to my friend and told him\nof the coming of the ship and how I had a mind to return to my own\ncountry; and he said, \u201c\u2018Tis for thee to decide.\u201d So I thanked him for\nhis bounties and took leave of him; then, going to the captain of the\nship, I agreed with him for my passage and embarked my cocoa-nuts and\nwhat else I possessed. We weighed anchor\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Fifty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\ncontinued:\u2014So I left the City of the Apes and embarked my cocoa-nuts and\nwhat else I possessed. We weighed anchor the same day and sailed from\nisland to island and sea to sea; and whenever we stopped, I sold and\ntraded with my cocoa-nuts, and the Lord requited me more than I erst had\nand lost. Amongst other places, we came to an island abounding in\ncloves[67] and cinnamon and pepper; and the country people told me that\nby the side of each pepper-bunch groweth a great leaf which shadeth it\nfrom the sun and casteth the water off it in the wet season; but, when\nthe rain ceaseth the leaf turneth over and droopeth down by the side of\nthe bunch.[68] Here I took in great store of pepper and cloves and\ncinnamon, in exchange for cocoa-nuts, and we passed thence to the Island\nof Al-Usir\u00e1t,[69] whence cometh the Comorin aloes-wood and thence to\nanother island, five days\u2019 journey in length, where grows the Chinese\nlign-aloes, which is better than the Comorin; but the people of this\nisland[70] are fouler of condition and religion than those of the other,\nfor that they love fornication and wine-bibbing, and know not prayer nor\ncall to prayer. Thence we came to the pearl-fisheries, and I gave the\ndivers some of my cocoa-nuts and said to them, \u201cDive for my luck and\nlot!\u201d They did so and brought up from the deep bight[71] great store of\nlarge and priceless pearls; and they said to me, \u201cBy Allah, O my master,\nthy luck is a lucky!\u201d Then we sailed on, with the blessing of Allah\n(whose name be exalted!); and ceased not sailing till we arrived safely\nat Bassorah. There I abode a little and then went on to Baghdad, where I\nentered my quarter and found my house and foregathered with my family\nand saluted my friends who gave me joy of my safe return, and I laid up\nall my goods and valuables in my storehouses. Then I distributed alms\nand largesse and clothed the widow and the orphan and made presents to\nmy relations and comrades; for the Lord had requited me fourfold that I\nhad lost. After which I returned to my old merry way of life and forgot\nall I had suffered in the great profit and gain I had made. Such, then,\nis the history of my fifth voyage and its wonderments, and now to\nsupper; and to-morrow, come again and I will tell you what befel me in\nmy sixth voyage; for it was still more wonderful than this. (Saith he\nwho telleth the tale), Then he called for food; and the servants spread\nthe table, and when they had eaten the evening-meal, he bade give\nSindbad the porter an hundred golden dinars and the Landsman returned\nhome and lay him down to sleep, much marvelling at all he had heard.\nNext morning, as soon as it was light, he prayed the dawn-prayer; and,\nafter blessing Mohammed the Cream of all creatures, betook himself to\nthe house of Sindbad the Seaman and wished him a good day. The merchant\nbade him sit and talked with him, till the rest of the company arrived.\nThen the servants spread the table and when they had well eaten and\ndrunken and were mirthful and merry, Sindbad the Seaman began in these\nwords the narrative of\n\n\n _THE SIXTH VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SEAMAN_.\n\nKnow, O my brothers and friends and companions all, that I abode some\ntime, after my return from my fifth voyage, in great solace and\nsatisfaction and mirth and merriment, joyance and enjoyment; and I\nforgot what I had suffered, seeing the great gain and profit I had made\ntill, one day, as I sat making merry and enjoying myself with my\nfriends, there came in to me a company of merchants whose case told\ntales of travel, and talked with me of voyage and adventure and\ngreatness of pelf and lucre. Hereupon I remembered the days of my return\nfrom abroad, and my joy at once more seeing my native land and\nforegathering with my family and friends; and my soul yearned for travel\nand traffic. So compelled by Fate and Fortune I resolved to undertake\nanother voyage; and, buying me fine and costly merchandise meet for\nforeign trade, made it up into bales, with which I journeyed from\nBaghdad to Bassorah. Here I found a great ship ready for sea and full of\nmerchants and notables, who had with them goods of price; so I embarked\nmy bales therein. And we left Bassorah in safety and good spirits under\nthe safeguard of the King, the Preserver.\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 Sixtieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\ncontinued:\u2014And after embarking my bales and leaving Bassorah in safety\nand good spirits, we continued our voyage from place to place and from\ncity to city, buying and selling and profiting and diverting ourselves\nwith the sight of countries where strange folk dwell. And Fortune and\nthe voyage smiled upon us, till one day, as we went along, behold, the\ncaptain suddenly cried with a great cry and cast his turband on the\ndeck. Then he buffeted his face like a woman and plucked out his beard\nand fell down in the waist of the ship well nigh fainting for stress of\ngrief and rage, and crying, \u201cOh and alas for the ruin of my house and\nthe orphanship of my poor children!\u201d So all the merchants and sailors\ncame round about him and asked him, \u201cO master, what is the matter?\u201d; for\nthe light had become night before their sight. And he answered, saying,\n\u201cKnow, O folk, that we have wandered from our course and left the sea\nwhose ways we wot, and come into a sea whose ways I know not; and unless\nAllah vouchsafe us a means of escape, we are all dead men; wherefore\npray ye to the Most High, that He deliver us from this strait. Haply\namongst you is one righteous whose prayers the Lord will accept.\u201d Then\nhe arose and clomb the mast to see an there were any escape from that\nstrait; and he would have loosed the sails; but the wind redoubled upon\nthe ship and whirled her round thrice and drave her backwards; whereupon\nher rudder brake and she fell off towards a high mountain. With this the\ncaptain came down from the mast, saying, \u201cThere is no Majesty and there\nis no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great; nor can man prevent\nthat which is fore-ordained of fate! By Allah, we are fallen on a place\nof sure destruction, and there is no way of escape for us, nor can any\nof us be saved!\u201d Then we all fell a-weeping over ourselves and bidding\none another farewell for that our days were come to an end, and we had\nlost all hopes of life. Presently the ship struck the mountain and broke\nup, and all and everything on board of her were plunged into the sea.\nSome of the merchants were drowned and others made shift to reach the\nshore and save themselves upon the mountain; I amongst the number, and\nwhen we got ashore, we found a great island, or rather peninsula[72]\nwhose base was strewn with wreckage of crafts and goods and gear cast up\nby the sea from broken ships whose passengers had been drowned; and the\nquantity confounded compt and calculation. So I climbed the cliffs into\nthe inward of the isle and walked on inland, till I came to a stream of\nsweet water, that welled up at the nearest foot of the mountains and\ndisappeared in the earth under the range of hills on the opposite side.\nBut all the other passengers went over the mountains to the inner\ntracts; and, dispersing hither and thither, were confounded at what they\nsaw and became like madmen at the sight of the wealth and treasures\nwherewith the shores were strewn. As for me I looked into the bed of the\nstream aforesaid and saw therein great plenty of rubies, and great royal\npearls[73] and all kinds of jewels and precious stones which were as\ngravel in the bed of the rivulets that ran through the fields, and the\nsands sparkled and glittered with gems and precious ores. Moreover we\nfound in the island abundance of the finest lign-aloes, both Chinese and\nComorin; and there also is a spring of crude ambergris[74] which floweth\nlike wax or gum over the stream-banks, for the great heat of the sun,\nand runneth down to the sea-shore, where the monsters of the deep come\nup and swallowing it, return into the sea. But it burneth in their\nbellies; so they cast it up again and it congealeth on the surface of\nthe water, whereby its colour and quantities are changed; and at last,\nthe waves cast it ashore, and the travellers and merchants who know it,\ncollect it and sell it. But as to the raw ambergris which is not\nswallowed, it floweth over the channel and congealeth on the banks and\nwhen the sun shineth on it, it melteth and scenteth the whole valley\nwith a musk-like fragrance: then, when the sun ceaseth from it, it\ncongealeth again. But none can get to this place where is the crude\nambergris, because of the mountains which enclose the island on all\nsides and which foot of man cannot ascend.[75] We continued thus to\nexplore the island, marvelling at the wonderful works of Allah and the\nriches we found there, but sore troubled for our own case, and dismayed\nat our prospects. Now we had picked up on the beach some small matter of\nvictual from the wreck and husbanded it carefully, eating but once every\nday or two, in our fear lest it should fail us and we die miserably of\nfamine and affright. Moreover, we were weak for colic brought on by\nsea-sickness and low diet, and my companions deceased, one after other,\ntill there was but a small company of us left. Each that died we washed\nand shrouded in some of the clothes and linen cast ashore by the tides;\nand after a little, the rest of my fellows perished, one by one, till I\nhad buried the last of the party and abode alone on the island, with but\na little provision left, I who was wont to have so much. And I wept over\nmyself, saying, \u201cWould Heaven I had died before my companions and they\nhad washed me and buried me! It had been better than I should perish and\nnone wash me and shroud me and bury me. But there is no Majesty and\nthere is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!\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 Sixty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\ncontinued in these words:\u2014Now after I had buried the last of my party\nand abode alone on the island, I arose and dug me a deep grave on the\nsea-shore, saying to myself, \u201cWhenas I grow weak and know that death\ncometh to me, I will cast myself into the grave and die there, so the\nwind may drift the sand over me and cover me and I be buried\ntherein.\u201d[76] Then I fell to reproaching myself for my little wit in\nleaving my native land and betaking me again to travel, after all I had\nsuffered during my first five voyages, and when I had not made a single\none without suffering more horrible perils and more terrible hardships\nthan in its forerunner and having no hope of escape from my present\nstress; and I repented me of my folly and bemoaned myself, especially as\nI had no need of money, seeing that I had enough and more than enough\nand could not spend what I had, no, nor a half of it in all my life.\nHowever, after a while Allah sent me a thought and I said to myself, \u201cBy\nGod, needs must this stream have an end as well as a beginning; ergo an\nissue somewhere, and belike its course may lead to some inhabited place;\nso my best plan is to make me a little boat[77] big enough to sit in,\nand carry it and launching it on the river, embark therein and drop down\nthe stream. If I escape, I escape, by God\u2019s leave; and if I perish,\nbetter die in the river than here.\u201d Then, sighing for myself, I set to\nwork collecting a number of pieces of Chinese and Comorin aloes-wood and\nI bound them together with ropes from the wreckage; then I chose out\nfrom the broken up ships straight planks of even size and fixed them\nfirmly upon the aloes-wood, making me a boat-raft a little narrower than\nthe channel of the stream; and I tied it tightly and firmly as though it\nwere nailed. Then I loaded it with the goods, precious ores and jewels:\nand the union pearls which were like gravel and the best of the\nambergris crude and pure, together with what I had collected on the\nisland and what was left me of victual and wild herbs. Lastly I lashed a\npiece of wood on either side, to serve me as oars; and launched it, and\nembarking, did according to the saying of the poet:\u2014\n\n Fly, fly with life whenas evils threat; \u273f Leave the house to tell of its\n builder\u2019s fate!\n Land after land shalt thou seek and find \u273f But no other life on thy wish\n shall wait:\n Fret not thy soul in thy thoughts o\u2019 night; \u273f All woes shall end or\n sooner or late.\n Whoso is born in one land to die, \u273f There and only there shall gang his\n gait:\n Nor trust great things to another wight, \u273f Soul hath only soul for\n confederate.[78]\n\nMy boat-raft drifted with the stream, I pondering the issue of my\naffair; and the drifting ceased not till I came to the place where it\ndisappeared beneath the mountain. I rowed my conveyance into the place\nwhich was intensely dark; and the current carried the raft with it down\nthe underground channel.[79] The thin stream bore me on through a narrow\ntunnel where the raft touched either side and my head rubbed against the\nroof, return therefrom being impossible. Then I blamed myself for having\nthus risked my life, and said, \u201cIf this passage grow any straiter, the\nraft will hardly pass, and I cannot turn back; so I shall inevitably\nperish miserably in this place.\u201d And I threw myself down upon my face on\nthe raft, by reason of the narrowness of the channel, whilst the stream\nceased not to carry me along, knowing not night from day, for the excess\nof the gloom which encompassed me about and my terror and concern for\nmyself lest I should perish. And in such condition my course continued\ndown the channel which now grew wider and then straiter till, sore\naweary by reason of the darkness which could be felt, I fell asleep, as\nI lay prone on the raft, and I slept knowing not an the time were long\nor short. When I awoke at last, I found myself in the light of Heaven\nand opening my eyes I saw myself in a broad of the stream and the raft\nmoored to an island in the midst of a number of Indians and Abyssinians.\nAs soon as these blackamoors[80] saw that I was awake, they came up to\nme and bespoke me in their speech; but I understood not what they said\nand thought that this was a dream and a vision which had betided me for\nstress of concern and chagrin. But I was delighted at my escape from the\nriver. When they saw I understood them not and made them no answer, one\nof them came forward and said to me in Arabic, \u201cPeace be with thee, O my\nbrother! Who art thou and whence faredst thou hither? How camest thou\ninto this river and what manner of land lies behind yonder mountains,\nfor never knew we any one make his way thence to us?\u201d Quoth I, \u201cAnd upon\nthee be peace and the ruth of Allah and his blessing! Who are ye and\nwhat country is this?\u201d \u201cO my brother,\u201d answered he, \u201cwe are husbandmen\nand tillers of the soil, who came out to water our fields and\nplantations; and, finding thee asleep on this raft, laid hold of it and\nmade it fast by us, against thou shouldst awake at thy leisure. So tell\nus how thou camest hither?\u201d I answered, \u201cFor Allah\u2019s sake, O my lord,\nere I speak give me somewhat to eat, for I am starving, and after ask me\nwhat thou wilt.\u201d So he hastened to fetch me food and I ate my fill, till\nI was refreshed and my fear was calmed by a good belly-full and my life\nreturned to me. Then I rendered thanks to the Most High for mercies\ngreat and small, glad to be out of the river and rejoicing to be amongst\nthem, and I told them all my adventures from first to last, especially\nmy troubles in the narrow channel.\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 Sixty-second Night,\n\n[Illustration]\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\ncontinued:\u2014When I landed and found myself amongst the Indians and\nAbyssinians and had taken some rest, they consulted among themselves and\nsaid to one another, \u201cThere is no help for it but we carry him with us\nand present him to our King, that he may acquaint him with his\nadventures.\u201d So they took me, together with the raft-boat and its lading\nof monies and merchandise; jewels, minerals and golden gear, and brought\nme to their King, who was King of Sarandib,[81] telling him what had\nhappened; whereupon he saluted me and bade me welcome. Then he\nquestioned me of my condition and adventures through the man who had\nspoken Arabic and I repeated to him my story from beginning to end,\nwhereat he marvelled exceedingly and gave me joy of my deliverance;\nafter which I arose and fetched from the raft great store of precious\nores and jewels and ambergris and lign-aloes and presented them to the\nKing, who accepted them and entreated me with the utmost honour,\nappointing me a lodging in his own palace. So I consorted with the chief\nof the islanders, and they paid me the utmost respect. And I quitted not\nthe royal palace. Now the Island Sarandib lieth under the equinoctial\nline, its night and day both numbering twelve hours. It measureth eighty\nleagues long by a breadth of thirty and its width is bounded by a lofty\nmountain[82] and a deep valley. The mountain is conspicuous from a\ndistance of three days and it containeth many kinds of rubies and other\nminerals, and spice-trees of all sorts. The surface is covered with\nemery wherewith gems are cut and fashioned; diamonds are in its rivers\nand pearls are in its valleys. I ascended that mountain and solaced\nmyself with a view of its marvels which are indescribable and afterwards\nI returned to the King.[83] Thereupon, all the travellers and merchants\nwho came to the place questioned me of the affairs of my native land and\nof the Caliph Harun al-Rashid and his rule and I told them of him and of\nthat wherefor he was renowned, and they praised him because of this;\nwhilst I in turn questioned them of the manners and customs of their own\ncountries and got the knowledge I desired. One day, the King himself\nasked me of the fashions and form of government of my country, and I\nacquainted him with the circumstance of the Caliph\u2019s sway in the city of\nBaghdad and the justice of his rule. The King marvelled at my account of\nhis appointments and said, \u201cBy Allah, the Caliph\u2019s ordinances are indeed\nwise and his fashions of praiseworthy guise and thou hast made me love\nhim by what thou tellest me; wherefore I have a mind to make him a\npresent and send it by thee.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cHearkening and obedience, O my\nlord; I will bear thy gift to him and inform him that thou art his\nsincere lover and true friend.\u201d Then I abode with the King in great\nhonour and regard and consideration for a long while till, one day, as I\nsat in his palace, I heard news of a company of merchants, that were\nfitting out a ship for Bassorah, and said to myself, \u201cI cannot do better\nthan voyage with these men.\u201d So I rose without stay or delay and kissed\nthe King\u2019s hand and acquainted him with my longing to set out with the\nmerchants, for that I pined after my people and mine own land. Quoth he,\n\u201cThou art thine own master; yet, if it be thy will to abide with us, on\nour head and eyes be it, for thou gladdenest us with thy company.\u201d \u201cBy\nAllah, O my lord,\u201d answered I, \u201cthou hast indeed overwhelmed me with thy\nfavours and well-doings; but I weary for a sight of my friends and\nfamily and native country.\u201d When he heard this, he summoned the\nmerchants in question and commended me to their care, paying my freight\nand passage-money. Then he bestowed on me great riches from his\ntreasuries and charged me with a magnificent present for the Caliph\nHarun al-Rashid. Moreover he gave me a sealed letter, saying, \u201cCarry\nthis with thine own hand to the Commander of the Faithful and give him\nmany salutations from us!\u201d \u201cHearing and obedience,\u201d I replied. The\nmissive was written on the skin of the Kh\u00e1wi[84] (which is finer than\nlamb-parchment and of yellow colour), with ink of ultramarine and the\ncontents were as follows. \u201cPeace be with thee from the King of Al-Hind,\nbefore whom are a thousand elephants and upon whose palace-crenelles are\na thousand jewels. But after (laud to the Lord and praises to His\nProphet!): we send thee a trifling gift which be thou pleased to accept.\nThou art to us a brother and a sincere friend; and great is the love we\nbear for thee in heart; favour us therefore with a reply. The gift\nbesitteth not thy dignity: but we beg of thee, O our brother, graciously\nto accept it and peace be with thee.\u201d And the present was a cup of ruby\na span high[85] the inside of which was adorned with precious pearls;\nand a bed covered with the skin of the serpent which swalloweth the\nelephant, which skin hath spots each like a dinar and whoso sitteth upon\nit never sickeneth;[86] and an hundred thousand miskals of Indian\nlign-aloes and a slave-girl like a shining moon. Then I took leave of\nhim and of all my intimates and acquaintances in the island and embarked\nwith the merchants aforesaid. We sailed with a fair wind, committing\nourselves to the care of Allah (be He extolled and exalted!) and by His\npermission arrived at Bassorah, where I passed a few days and nights\nequipping myself and packing up my bales. Then I went on to\nBaghdad-city, the House of Peace, where I sought an audience of the\nCaliph and laid the King\u2019s presents before him. He asked me whence they\ncame and I said to him, \u201cBy Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, I know\nnot the name of the city nor the way thither!\u201d He then asked me, \u201cO\nSindbad, is this true which the King writeth?\u201d; and I answered, after\nkissing the ground, \u201cO my lord, I saw in his kingdom much more than he\nhath written in his letter. For state processions a throne is set for\nhim upon a huge elephant, eleven cubits high: and upon this he sitteth\nhaving his great lords and officers and guests standing in two ranks, on\nhis right hand and on his left. At his head is a man hending in hand a\ngolden javelin and behind him another with a great mace of gold whose\nhead is an emerald[87] a span long and as thick as a man\u2019s thumb. And\nwhen he mounteth horse there mount with him a thousand horsemen clad in\ngold brocade and silk; and as the King proceedeth a man precedeth him,\ncrying, This is the King of great dignity, of high authority! And he\ncontinueth to repeat his praises in words I remember not, saying at the\nend of his panegyric, This is the King owning the crown whose like nor\nSolomon nor the Mihraj[88] ever possessed. Then he is silent and one\nbehind him proclaimeth, saying, He will die! Again I say he will die!;\nand the other addeth, Extolled be the perfection of the Living who dieth\nnot![89] Moreover by reason of his justice and ordinance and\nintelligence, there is no Kazi in his city, and all his lieges\ndistinguish between Truth and Falsehood.\u201d Quoth the Caliph, \u201cHow great\nis this King! His letter hath shown me this; and as for the mightiness\nof his dominion thou hast told us what thou hast eye-witnessed. By\nAllah, he hath been endowed with wisdom as with wide rule.\u201d Then I\nrelated to the Commander of the Faithful all that had befallen me in my\nlast voyage; at which he wondered exceedingly and bade his historians\nrecord my story and store it up in his treasuries, for the edification\nof all who might see it. Then he conferred on me exceeding great\nfavours, and I repaired to my quarter and entered my home, where I\nwarehoused all my goods and possessions. Presently, my friends came to\nme and I distributed presents among my family and gave alms and\nlargesse; after which I yielded myself to joyance and enjoyment, mirth\nand merry-making, and forgot all that I had suffered. Such, then, O my\nbrothers, is the history of what befel me in my sixth voyage, and\nto-morrow, Inshallah! I will tell you the story of my seventh and last\nvoyage, which is still more wondrous and marvellous than that of the\nfirst six. (Saith he who telleth the tale), Then he bade lay the table,\nand the company supped with him; after which he gave the Porter an\nhundred dinars, as of wont, and they all went their ways, marvelling\nbeyond measure at that which they had heard.\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 Sixty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Sindbad the\nSeaman had related the history of what befel him in his sixth voyage,\nand all the company had dispersed, Sindbad the Landsman went home and\nslept as of wont. Next day he rose and prayed the dawn-prayer and\nrepaired to his namesake\u2019s house where, after the company was all\nassembled, the host began to relate\n\n\n _THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SEAMAN_.\n\nKnow, O company, that after my return from my sixth voyage, which\nbrought me abundant profit, I resumed my former life in all possible\njoyance and enjoyment and mirth and making merry day and night; and I\ntarried some time in this solace and satisfaction till my soul began\nonce more to long to sail the seas and see foreign countries and company\nwith merchants and hear new things. So having made up my mind, I packed\nup in bales a quantity of precious stuffs suited for sea-trade and\nrepaired with them from Baghdad-city to Bassorah-town, where I found a\nship ready for sea, and in her a company of considerable merchants. I\nshipped with them and becoming friends, we set forth on our venture, in\nhealth and safety; and sailed with a fair wind, till we came to a city\ncalled Mad\u00ednat-al-S\u00edn; but after we had left it, as we fared on in all\ncheer and confidence, devising of traffic and travel, behold, there\nsprang up a violent head-wind and a tempest of rain fell on us and\ndrenched us and our goods. So we covered the bales with our cloaks and\ngarments and drugget and canvas, lest they be spoiled by the rain, and\nbetook ourselves to prayer and supplication to Almighty Allah and\nhumbled ourselves before Him for deliverance from the peril that was\nupon us. But the captain arose and tightening his girdle tucked up his\nskirts and, after taking refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned, clomb\nto the mast-head, whence he looked out right and left and gazing at the\npassengers and crew fell to buffeting his face and plucking out his\nbeard. So we cried to him, \u201cO Rais, what is the matter?\u201d; and he replied\nsaying, \u201cSeek ye deliverance of the Most High from the strait into which\nwe have fallen and bemoan yourselves and take leave of one another; for\nknow that the wind hath gotten the mastery of us and hath driven us into\nthe uttermost of the seas of the world.\u201d Then he came down from the\nmast-head and opening his sea-chest, pulled out a bag of blue cotton,\nfrom which he took a powder like ashes. This he set in a saucer wetted\nwith a little water and, after waiting a short time, smelt and tasted\nit; and then he took out of the chest a booklet, wherein he read awhile\nand said weeping, \u201cKnow, O ye passengers, that in this book is a\nmarvellous matter, denoting that whoso cometh hither shall surely die,\nwithout hope of escape; for that this ocean is called the Sea of the\nClime of the King, wherein is the sepulchre of our lord Solomon, son of\nDavid (on both be peace!) and therein are serpents of vast bulk and\nfearsome aspect: and what ship soever cometh to these climes there\nriseth to her a great fish[90] out of the sea and swalloweth her up with\nall and everything on board her.\u201d Hearing these words from the captain\ngreat was our wonder, but hardly had he made an end of speaking, when\nthe ship was lifted out of the water and let fall again and we applied\nto praying the death-prayer[91] and committing our souls to Allah.\nPresently we heard a terrible great cry like the loud-pealing thunder,\nwhereat we were terror-struck and became as dead men, giving ourselves\nup for lost. Then behold, there came up to us a huge fish, as big as a\ntall mountain, at whose sight we became wild for affright and, weeping\nsore, made ready for death, marvelling at its vast size and gruesome\nsemblance; when lo! a second fish made its appearance than which we had\nseen naught more monstrous. So we bemoaned ourselves of our lives and\nfarewelled one another; but suddenly up came a third fish bigger than\nthe two first; whereupon we lost the power of thought and reason and\nwere stupefied for the excess of our fear and horror. Then the three\nfish began circling round about the ship and the third and biggest\nopened his mouth to swallow it, and we looked into its mouth and behold,\nit was wider than the gate of a city and its throat was like a long\nvalley. So we besought the Almighty and called for succour upon His\nApostle (on whom be blessing and peace!), when suddenly a violent squall\nof wind arose and smote the ship, which rose out of the water and\nsettled upon a great reef, the haunt of sea-monsters, where it broke up\nand fell asunder into planks and all and everything on board were\nplunged into the sea. As for me, I tore off all my clothes but my gown\nand swam a little way, till I happened upon one of the ship\u2019s planks\nwhereto I clung and bestrode it like a horse, whilst the winds and the\nwaters sported with me and the waves carried me up and cast me down; and\nI was in most piteous plight for fear and distress and hunger and\nthirst. Then I reproached myself for what I had done and my soul was\nweary after a life of ease and comfort; and I said to myself, \u201cO\nSindbad, O Seaman, thou repentest not and yet thou art ever suffering\nhardships and travails; yet wilt thou not renounce sea-travel; or, an\nthou say, \u2018I renounce,\u2019 thou liest in thy renouncement. Endure then with\npatience that which thou sufferest, for verily thou deservest all that\nbetideth thee!\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to\nsay her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\ncontinued:\u2014But when I had bestridden the plank, quoth I to myself, \u201cThou\ndeservest all that betideth thee. All this is decreed to me of Allah\n(whose name be exalted!), to turn me from my greed of gain, whence\nariseth all that I endure, for I have wealth galore.\u201d Then I returned to\nmy senses and said, \u201cIn very sooth, this time I repent to the Most High,\nwith a sincere repentance, of my lust for gain and venture; and never\nwill I again name travel with tongue nor in thought.\u201d And I ceased not\nto humble myself before Almighty Allah and weep and bewail myself,\nrecalling my former estate of solace and satisfaction and mirth and\nmerriment and joyance; and thus I abode two days, at the end of which\ntime I came to a great island abounding in trees and streams. There I\nlanded and ate of the fruits of the island and drank of its waters, till\nI was refreshed and my life returned to me and my strength and spirits\nwere restored and I recited:\u2014\n\n Oft when thy case shows knotty and tangled skein, \u273f Fate downs from\n Heaven and straightens every ply:\n In patience keep thy soul till clear thy lot \u273f For He who ties the knot\n can eke untie.\n\nThen I walked about, till I found on the further side, a great river of\nsweet water, running with a strong current; whereupon I called to mind\nthe boat-raft I had made aforetime and said to myself, \u201cNeeds must I\nmake another; haply I may free me from this strait. If I escape, I have\nmy desire and I vow to Allah Almighty to forswear travel; and if I\nperish I shall be at peace and shall rest from toil and moil.\u201d So I rose\nup and gathered together great store of pieces of wood from the trees\n(which were all of the finest sanders-wood, whose like is not albe I\nknew it not), and made shift to twist creepers and tree-twigs into a\nkind of rope, with which I bound the billets together and so contrived a\nraft. Then saying, \u201cAn I be saved, \u2018tis of God\u2019s grace,\u201d I embarked\nthereon and committed myself to the current, and it bore me on for the\nfirst day and the second and the third after leaving the island; whilst\nI lay in the raft, eating not and drinking, when I was athirst, of the\nwater of the river, till I was weak and giddy as a chicken, for stress\nof fatigue and famine and fear. At the end of this time I came to a high\nmountain, whereunder ran the river; which when I saw, I feared for my\nlife by reason of the straitness I had suffered in my former journey,\nand I would fain have stayed the raft and landed on the mountain-side;\nbut the current overpowered me and drew it into the subterranean passage\nlike an archway; whereupon I gave myself up for lost and said, \u201cThere is\nno Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the\nGreat!\u201d However, after a little, the raft glided into open air and I saw\nbefore me a wide valley, whereinto the river fell with a noise like the\nrolling of thunder and a swiftness as the rushing of the wind. I held on\nto the raft, for fear of falling off it, whilst the waves tossed me\nright and left; and the craft continued to descend with the current nor\ncould I avail to stop it nor turn it shorewards, till it stopped with me\nat a great and goodly city, grandly edified and containing much people.\nAnd when the townsfolk saw me on the raft, dropping down with the\ncurrent, they threw me out ropes which I had not strength enough to\nhold; then they tossed a net over the craft and drew it ashore with me,\nwhereupon I fell to the ground amidst them, as I were a dead man, for\nstress of fear and hunger and lack of sleep. After a while, there came\nup to me out of the crowd an old man of reverend aspect, well stricken\nin years, who welcomed me and threw over me abundance of handsome\nclothes, wherewith I covered my nakedness. Then he carried me to the\nHammam-bath and brought me cordial sherbets and delicious perfumes;\nmoreover, when I came out, he bore me to his house, where his people\nmade much of me and, seating me in a pleasant place, set rich food\nbefore me, whereof I ate my fill and returned thanks to God the Most\nHigh for my deliverance. Thereupon his pages fetched me hot water, and I\nwashed my hands, and his handmaids brought me silken napkins, with which\nI dried them and wiped my mouth. Also the Shaykh set apart for me an\napartment in a part of his house and charged his pages and slave-girls\nto wait upon me and do my will and supply my wants. They were assiduous\nin my service, and I abode with him in the guest-chamber three days,\ntaking my ease of good eating and good drinking and good scents till\nlife returned to me and my terrors subsided and my heart was calmed and\nmy mind was eased. On the fourth day the Shaykh, my host, came in to me\nand said, \u201cThou cheerest us with thy company, O my son, and praised be\nAllah for thy safety! Say: wilt thou now come down with me to the beach\nand the bazar and sell thy goods and take their price? Belike thou mayst\nbuy thee wherewithal to traffic. I have ordered my servants to remove\nthy stock-in-trade from the sea and they have piled it on the shore.\u201d I\nwas silent awhile and said to myself, \u201cWhat mean these words and what\ngoods have I?\u201d Then said he, \u201cO my son, be not troubled nor careful, but\ncome with me to the market and if any offer for thy goods what price\ncontenteth thee, take it; but, an thou be not satisfied, I will lay them\nup for thee in my warehouse, against a fitting occasion for sale.\u201d So I\nbethought me of my case and said to myself, \u201cDo his bidding and see what\nare these goods!\u201d; and I said to him, \u201cO my nuncle the Shaykh, I hear\nand I obey; I may not gainsay thee in aught for Allah\u2019s blessing is on\nall thou dost.\u201d Accordingly he guided me to the market-street, where I\nfound that he had taken in pieces the raft which carried me and which\nwas of sandal-wood and I heard the broker crying it for sale.\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 Sixty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\nthus resumed his tale:\u2014I found that the Shaykh had taken to pieces my\nraft which lay on the beach and the broker was crying the sandal-wood\nfor sale. Then the merchants came and opened the gate of bidding for the\nwood and bid against one another till its price reached a thousand\ndinars, when they left bidding and my host said to me, \u201cHear, O my son,\nthis is the current price of thy goods in hard times like these: wilt\nthou sell them for this or shall I lay them up for thee in my\nstorehouses, till such time as prices rise?\u201d \u201cO my lord,\u201d answered I,\n\u201cthe business is in thy hands: do as thou wilt.\u201d Then asked he, \u201cWilt\nthou sell the wood to me, O my son, for an hundred gold pieces over and\nabove what the merchants have bidden for it?\u201d and I answered, \u201cYes: I\nhave sold it to thee for monies received.\u201d[92] So he bade his servants\ntransport the wood to his storehouses and, carrying me back to his\nhouse, seated me and counted out to me the purchase money; after which\nhe laid it in bags and setting them in a privy place, locked them up\nwith an iron padlock and gave me its key. Some days after this, the\nShaykh said to me, \u201cO my son, I have somewhat to propose to thee,\nwherein I trust thou wilt do my bidding.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cWhat is it?\u201d Quoth\nhe, \u201cI am a very old man and have no son; but I have a daughter who is\nyoung in years and fair of favour and endowed with abounding wealth and\nbeauty. Now I have a mind to marry her to thee, that thou mayst abide\nwith her in this our country, and I will make thee master of all I have\nin hand for I am an old man and thou shalt stand in my stead.\u201d I was\nsilent for shame and made him no answer, whereupon he continued, \u201cDo my\ndesire in this, O my son, for I wish but thy weal; and if thou wilt but\ndo as I say, thou shalt have her at once and be as my son; and all that\nis under my hand or that cometh to me shall be thine. If thou have a\nmind to traffic and travel to thy native land, none shall hinder thee,\nand thy property will be at thy sole disposal; so do as thou wilt.\u201d \u201cBy\nAllah, O my uncle,\u201d replied I, \u201cthou art become to me even as my father,\nand I am a stranger and have undergone many hardships: while for stress\nof that which I have suffered naught of judgment or knowledge is left to\nme. It is for thee, therefore, to decide what I shall do.\u201d Hereupon he\nsent his servants for the Kazi and the witnesses and married me to his\ndaughter making for us a noble marriage-feast[93] and high festival.\nWhen I went in to her, I found her perfect in beauty and loveliness and\nsymmetry and grace, clad in rich raiment and covered with a profusion of\nornaments and necklaces and other trinkets of gold and silver and\nprecious stones, worth a mint of money, a price none could pay. She\npleased me and we loved each other; and I abode with her in all solace\nand delight of life, till her father was taken to the mercy of Allah\nAlmighty. So we shrouded him and buried him, and I laid hands on the\nwhole of his property and all his servants and slaves became mine.\nMoreover, the merchants installed me in his office, for he was their\nShaykh and their Chief; and none of them purchased aught but with his\nknowledge and by his leave. And now his rank passed on to me. When I\nbecame acquainted with the townsfolk, I found that at the beginning of\neach month they were transformed, in that their faces changed and they\nbecame like unto birds and they put forth wings wherewith they flew unto\nthe upper regions of the firmament and none remained in the city save\nthe women and children; and I said in my mind, \u201cWhen the first of the\nmonth cometh, I will ask one of them to carry me with them, whither they\ngo.\u201d So when the time came and their complexion changed and their forms\naltered, I went in to one of the townsfolk and said to him, \u201cAllah upon\nthee! carry me with thee, that I might divert myself with the rest and\nreturn with you.\u201d \u201cThis may not be,\u201d answered he; but I ceased not to\nsolicit him and I importuned him till he consented. Then I went out in\nhis company, without telling any of my family[94] or servants or\nfriends, and he took me on his back and flew up with me so high in air,\nthat I heard the angels glorifying God in the heavenly dome, whereat I\nwondered and exclaimed, \u201cPraised be Allah! Extolled be the perfection of\nAllah!\u201d Hardly had I made an end of pronouncing the Tasb\u00edh\u2014praised be\nAllah!\u2014when there came out a fire from heaven and all but consumed the\ncompany; whereupon they fled from it and descended with curses upon me\nand, casting me down on a high mountain, went away, exceeding wroth with\nme, and left me there alone. As I found myself in this plight, I\nrepented of what I had done and reproached myself for having undertaken\nthat for which I was unable, saying, \u201cThere is no Majesty and there is\nno Might, save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! No sooner am I\ndelivered from one affliction than I fall into a worse.\u201d And I continued\nin this case knowing not whither I should go, when lo! there came up two\nyoung men, as they were moons, each using as a staff a rod of red gold.\nSo I approached them and saluted them; and when they returned my salam,\nI said to them, \u201cAllah upon you twain; who are ye and what are ye?\u201d\nQuoth they, \u201cWe are of the servants of the Most High Allah, abiding in\nthis mountain;\u201d and, giving me a rod of red gold they had with them,\nwent their ways and left me. I walked on along the mountain-ridge\nstaying my steps with the staff and pondering the case of the two\nyouths, when behold, a serpent came forth from under the mountain, with\na man in her[95] jaws, whom she had swallowed even to below his navel,\nand he was crying out and saying, \u201cWhoso delivereth me, Allah will\ndeliver him from all adversity!\u201d So I went up to the serpent and smote\nher on the head with the golden staff, whereupon she cast the man forth\nof her mouth.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say\nher permitted say.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Sixty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the Seaman\nthus continued:\u2014When I smote the serpent on the head with my golden\nstaff she cast the man forth of her mouth. Then I smote her a second\ntime, and she turned and fled; whereupon he came up to me and said,\n\u201cSince my deliverance from yonder serpent hath been at thy hands I will\nnever leave thee, and thou shalt be my comrade on this mountain.\u201d \u201cAnd\nwelcome,\u201d answered I; so we fared on along the mountain, till we fell in\nwith a company of folk, and I looked and saw amongst them the very man\nwho had carried me and cast me down there. I went up to him and spake\nhim fair, excusing myself to him and saying, \u201cO my comrade, it is not\nthus that friend should deal with friend.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cIt was thou who\nwell-nigh destroyed us by thy Tasbih and thy glorifying God on my back.\u201d\nQuoth I, \u201cPardon me, for I had no knowledge of this matter; but, if thou\nwilt take me with thee, I swear not to say a word.\u201d So he relented and\nconsented to carry me with him, but he made an express condition that,\nso long as I abode on his back, I should abstain from pronouncing the\nTasbih or otherwise glorifying God. Then I gave the wand of gold to him\nwhom I had delivered from the serpent and bade him farewell, and my\nfriend took me on his back and flew with me as before, till he brought\nme to the city and set me down in my own house. My wife came to meet me\nand saluting me gave me joy of my safety and then said, \u201cBeware of going\nforth hereafter with yonder folk, neither consort with them, for they\nare brethren of the devils, and know not how to mention the name of\nAllah Almighty; neither worship they Him.\u201d \u201cAnd how did thy father with\nthem?\u201d asked I; and she answered, \u201cMy father was not of them, neither\ndid he as they; and as now he is dead methinks thou hadst better sell\nall we have and with the price buy merchandise and journey to thine own\ncountry and people, and I with thee; for I care not to tarry in this\ncity, my father and my mother being dead.\u201d So I sold all the Shaykh\u2019s\nproperty piecemeal, and looked for one who should be journeying thence\nto Bassorah that I might join myself to him. And while thus doing I\nheard of a company of townsfolk who had a mind to make the voyage, but\ncould not find them a ship; so they bought wood and built them a great\nship wherein I took passage with them, and paid them all the hire. Then\nwe embarked, I and my wife, with all our moveables, leaving our houses\nand domains and so forth, and set sail, and ceased not sailing from\nisland to island and from sea to sea, with a fair wind and a favouring,\ntill we arrived at Bassorah safe and sound. I made no stay there, but\nfreighted another vessel and, transferring my goods to her, set out\nforthright for Baghdad-city, where I arrived in safety, and entering my\nquarter and repairing to my house, foregathered with my family and\nfriends and familiars and laid up my goods in my warehouses. When my\npeople who, reckoning the period of my absence on this my seventh\nvoyage, had found it to be seven and twenty years, and had given up all\nhope of me, heard of my return, they came to welcome me and to give me\njoy of my safety; and I related to them all that had befallen me;\nwhereat they marvelled with exceeding marvel. Then I forswore travel and\nvowed to Allah the Most High I would venture no more by land or sea, for\nthat this seventh and last voyage had surfeited me of travel and\nadventure; and I thanked the Lord (be He praised and glorified!), and\nblessed Him for having restored me to my kith and kin and country and\nhome. \u201cConsider, therefore, O Sindbad, O Landsman,\u201d continued Sindbad\nthe Seaman, \u201cwhat sufferings I have undergone and what perils and\nhardships I have endured before coming to my present state.\u201d \u201cAllah upon\nthee, O my Lord!\u201d answered Sindbad the Landsman, \u201cpardon me the wrong I\ndid thee.\u201d[96] And they ceased not from friendship and fellowship,\nabiding in all cheer and pleasures and solace of life, till there came\nto them the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of Societies, and the\nShatterer of palaces and the Caterer for Cemeteries to wit, the Cup of\nDeath, and glory be to the Living One who dieth not![97]\n\n\n _THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SEAMAN_\n\n (_According to the version of the Calcutta Edition_).\n\n_Know, O my brothers and friends and companions all, that_ when I left\nvoyaging and commercing, I said in myself, \u201cSufficeth me that hath\nbefallen me;\u201d and I spent my time in solace and pleasure. One day as I\nsat at home there came a knock at the door, and when the porter opened a\npage entered and said, \u201cThe Caliph biddeth thee to him.\u201d I went with him\nto the King\u2019s majesty and kissed ground and saluted him; whereupon he\nwelcomed me and entreated me with honour and said, \u201cO Sindbad, I have an\noccasion for thee: wilt thou do it?\u201d So I kissed his hand and asked him,\nsaying, \u201cO my lord, what occasion hath the master for the slave?\u201d;\nwhereto he answered me, \u201cI am minded that thou travel to the King of\nSarandib and carry to him our writ and our gift, for that he hath sent\nto us a present and a letter.\u201d I trembled at these words and rejoined,\n\u201cBy Allah the Omnipotent, O my lord, I have taken a loathing to wayfare,\nand when I hear the words \u2018Voyage\u2019 or \u2018Travel,\u2019 my limbs tremble for\nwhat hath befallen me of hardships and horrors. Indeed I have no desire\nwhatever for this; more by token as I have bound myself by oath not to\nquit Baghdad.\u201d Then I informed the Caliph of all I had passed through\nfrom first to last, and he marvelled with exceeding marvel and said, \u201cBy\nthe Almighty, O Sindbad, from ages of old such mishaps as happened to\nthee were never known to happen to any, and thou dost only right never\neven to talk of travel. For our sake, however, thou wilt go this time\nand carry our present and our letter to him of Sarandib; and\nInshallah\u2014by God\u2019s leave!\u2014thou shalt return quickly; and on this wise we\nshall be under no obligation to the said King.\u201d I replied that I heard\nand obeyed, being unable to oppose his command, so he gave me the gifts\nand the missive with money to pay my way and I kissed hands and left the\npresence. Then I dropped down from Baghdad to the Gulf, and with other\nmerchants embarked, and our ship sailed before a fair wind many days and\nnights till, by Allah\u2019s aid, we reached the island of Sarandib. As soon\nas we had made fast we landed and I took the present and the letter;\nand, going in with them to the King, kissed ground before him. When he\nsaw me, he said, \u201cWell come, O Sindbad! By Allah Omnipotent we were\nlonging to see thee, and glory be to God who hath again shown us thy\nface!\u201d Then taking me by the hand he made me sit by his side, rejoicing,\nand he welcomed me with familiar kindness again and entreated me as a\nfriend. After this he began to converse with me and courteously\naddressed me and asked, \u201cWhat was the cause of thy coming to us, O\nSindbad?\u201d So after kissing his hand and thanking him I answered, \u201cO my\nlord, I have brought thee a present from my master, the Caliph Harun\nAl-Rashid;\u201d and offered him the present and the letter which he read and\nat which he rejoiced with passing joy. The present consisted of a mare\nworth ten thousand ducats, bearing a golden saddle set with jewels; a\nbook; a sumptuous suit of clothes and an hundred different kinds of\nwhite Cairene cloths and silks of Suez,[98] Cufa and Alexandria; Greek\ncarpets and an hundred maunds[99] weight of linen and raw silk. Moreover\nthere was a wondrous rarety, a marvellous cup of crystal middlemost of\nwhich was the figure of a lion faced by a kneeling man grasping a bow\nwith arrow drawn to the very head, together with the food-tray[100] of\nSulayman the son of David (on whom be peace!). The missive ran as\nfollows:\u2014Peace from King Al-Rashid, the aided of Allah (who hath\nvouchsafed to him and his forefathers noble rank and wide-spread glory),\nbe on the fortunate Sultan. But after. Thy letter came to our hands and\nwe rejoiced thereat; and we have sent the book entituled \u201cDelight of the\nIntelligent and for Friends the Rare Present,\u201d[101] together with sundry\ncuriosities suitable for Kings; so do thou favour us by accepting them:\nand peace be with thee! Then the King lavished upon me much wealth and\nentreated me with all honour; so I prayed for him and thanked him for\nhis munificence. Some days after I craved his leave to depart, but could\nnot obtain it except by great pressing, whereupon I farewelled him and\nfared forth from his city, with merchants and other companions,\nhomewards-bound without any desire for travel or trade. We continued\nvoyaging and coasting along many islands; but, when we were half-way, we\nwere surrounded by a number of canoes, wherein were men like devils\narmed with bows and arrows, swords and daggers; habited in mail-coats\nand other armoury. They fell upon us and wounded and slew all who\nopposed them; then, having captured the ship and her contents, carried\nus to an island, where they sold us at the meanest price. Now I was\nbought by a wealthy man who, taking me to his house, gave me meat and\ndrink and clothing and treated me in the friendliest manner; so I was\nheartened and I rested a little. One day he asked me, \u201cDost thou know\nany art or craft?\u201d and I answered him, \u201cO my lord, I am a merchant and\nknow nothing but trade and traffic.\u201d \u201cDost thou know,\u201d rejoined he, \u201chow\nto use bow and arrow?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d replied I, \u201cI know that much.\u201d Thereupon\nhe brought me a bow and arrows and mounted me behind him upon an\nelephant: then he set out as night was well nigh over and, passing\nthrough a forest of huge growths, came to a tall and sturdy tree up\nwhich he made me climb. Then he gave me the bow and arrows, saying, \u201cSit\nhere now, and when the elephants troop hither in early morning, shoot at\nthem; belike thou wilt hit one; and, if he fall, come and tell me.\u201d With\nthis he left me. I hid myself in the tree being in sore terror and\ntrembled till the sun arose; and, when the elephants appeared and\nwandered about among the trees, I shot my arrows at them and continued\ntill I had shot down one of them. In the evening I reported my success\nto my master who was delighted in me and entreated me with high honour;\nand next morning he removed the slain elephant. In this wise I\ncontinued, every morning shooting an elephant which my master would\nremove till, one day, as I was perched in hiding on the tree there came\non suddenly and unexpectedly an innumerable host of elephants whose\nscreaming and trumpeting were such that I imagined the earth trembled\nunder them. All surrounded my tree, whose circumference was some fifty\ncubits,[102] and one enormous monster came up to it and winding his\ntrunk round the bole haled it up by the roots, and dashed it to the\nground. I fell down fainting amongst the beasts when the monster\nelephant wound his trunk about me and, setting me on his back, went off\nwith me, the others accompanying us. He carried me still unconscious\ntill he reached the place for which he was making, when he rolled me off\nhis back and presently went his ways followed by the others. So I rested\na little; and, when my terror had subsided, I looked about me and I\nfound myself among the bones of elephants, whereby I concluded that this\nwas their burial-place, and that the monster elephant had led me thither\non account of the tusks.[103] So I arose and walked a whole day and\nnight till I arrived at the house of my master, who saw my colour\nchanged by stress of affright and famine. He rejoiced in my return and\nsaid to me, \u201cBy Allah, thou hast made my heart sore! I went when thou\nwast missing and found the tree torn up, and thought that the elephants\nhad slain thee. Tell me how it was with thee.\u201d I acquainted him with all\nthat had betided me; whereat he wondered greatly, and rejoiced and at\nlast asked me, \u201cDost thou know the place?\u201d; whereto I answered, \u201cYes, O\nmy master!\u201d So we mounted an elephant and fared until we came to the\nspot; and, when my master beheld the heaps of tusks, he rejoiced\ngreatly; then carrying away as many as he wanted he returned with me\nhome. After this, he entreated me with increased favour and said, \u201cO my\nson, thou hast shown us the way to great gain, wherefore Allah requite\nthee! Thou art freed for the Almighty\u2019s sake and before His face! The\nelephants used to destroy many of us on account of our hunting them for\ntheir ivories and scrivellos; but Allah hath preserved thee from them,\nand thou hast profited us by the heaps to which thou hast led us.\u201d \u201cO my\nmaster,\u201d replied I, \u201cGod free thy neck from the fire! And do thou grant\nme, O my master, thy gracious leave to return to my own country.\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d\nquoth he, \u201cthou shalt have that permission. But we have a yearly fair,\nwhen merchants come to us from various quarters to buy up these ivories.\nThe time is drawing near; and, when they shall have done their business,\nI will send thee under their charge and will give thee wherewithal to\nreach thy home.\u201d So I blessed and thanked him and remained with him,\ntreated with respect and honour, for some days, when the merchants came\nas he had foretold, and bought and sold and bartered; and when they had\nmade their preparations to return, my master came to me and said, \u201cRise\nand get thee ready to travel with the traders en route to thy country.\u201d\nThey had bought a number of tusks which they had bound together in loads\nand were embarking them when my master sent me with them, paying for my\npassage and settling all my debts; besides which he gave me a large\npresent in goods. We set out and voyaged from island to island till we\nhad crossed the sea and landed on the shores of the Persian Gulf, when\nthe merchants brought out and sold their stores: I also sold what I had\nat a high profit; and I bought some of the prettiest things in the place\nfor presents and beautiful rareties and everything else I wanted. I\nlikewise bought for myself a beast and we fared forth and crossed the\ndeserts from country to country till I reached Baghdad. Here I went in\nto the Caliph and, after saluting him and kissing hands, informed him of\nall that had befallen me; whereupon he rejoiced in my safety and thanked\nAlmighty Allah; and he bade my story be written in letters of gold. I\nthen entered my house and met my family and brethren: and such is the\nend of the history that happened to me during my seven voyages. Praise\nbe to Allah, the One, the Creator, the Maker of all things in Heaven and\nEarth!\u2014\u2014Now when Shahrazad had ended her story of the two Sindbads,\nDinarzad exclaimed, \u201cO my sister, how pleasant is thy tale and how\ntasteful! How sweet and how grateful!\u201d She replied, \u201cAnd what is this\ncompared with that I could tell thee to-morrow night?\u201d Quoth the King,\n\u201cWhat may it be?\u201d And she said:\u2014It is a tale touching\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 1:\n\n Lane (vol. iii. 1) calls our old friend \u201cEs-Sindib\u00e1d of the Sea,\u201d and\n Benfey derives the name from the Sanskrit \u201cSiddhapati\u201d = lord of\n sages. The etymology (in Heb. Sandabar and in Greek Syntipas) is still\n uncertain, although the term often occurs in Arab stories; and some\n look upon it as a mere corruption of \u201cBidpai\u201d (Bidy\u00e1pati). The\n derivation offered by Hole (Remarks on the Arabian Nights\u2019\n Entertainments, by Richard Hole, LL.D. London, Cadell, 1797) from the\n Persian \u00e1b\u00e1d (a region) is impossible. It is, however, not a little\n curious that this purely Persian word (= a \u201chabitation\u201d) should be\n found in Indian names as early as Alexander\u2019s day, _e.g._ the \u201cDachina\n bades\u201d of the Periplus is \u201cDakhshin-\u00e1b\u00e1d,\u201d the Sanskr. being\n \u201cDakshinapatha.\u201d\n\nFootnote 2:\n\n A porter like the famous Armenians of Constantinople. Some edits call\n him \u201cAl-Hindib\u00e1d.\u201d\n\nFootnote 3:\n\n Arab. \u201cKaraw\u00e1n\u201d (Charadrius \u0153dicnemus, Linn.): its shrill note is\n admired by Egyptians and hated by sportsmen.\n\nFootnote 4:\n\n This ejaculation, still popular, averts the evil eye. In describing\n Sindbad the Seaman the Arab writer seems to repeat what one reads of\n Marco Polo returned to Venice.\n\nFootnote 5:\n\n Our old friend must not be confounded with the eponym of the\n \u201cSindib\u00e1d-n\u00e1mah;\u201d the Persian book of Sindbad the Sage. See Night\n dlxxviii.\n\nFootnote 6:\n\n The first and second are from Eccles. chapts. vii. 1, and ix. 4. The\n Bul. Edit. reads for the third, \u201cThe grave is better than the palace.\u201d\n None are from Solomon, but Easterns do not \u201cverify quotations.\u201d\n\nFootnote 7:\n\n Arab. \u201cK\u00e1n\u00fan\u201d; a furnace, a brasier before noticed (vol. v., p. 272);\n here a pot full of charcoal sunk in the ground, or a little hearth of\n clay shaped like a horse-shoe and opening down wind.\n\nFootnote 8:\n\n These fish-islands are common in the Classics, _e.g._ the Pristis of\n Pliny (xvii. 4), which Olaus Magnus transfers to the Baltic (xxi. 6)\n and makes timid as the whales of Nearchus. C. J. Solinus (_Plinii\n Simia_) says, \u201cIndica maria bal\u00e6nas habent ultra spatia quatuor\n jugerum.\u201d See also Bochart\u2019s Hierozoicon (i. 50) for Job\u2019s Leviathan\n (xli. 16\u201317). Hence Boiardo (Orl. Innam, lib. iv.) borrowed his\n magical whale and Milton (P.L. i.) his Leviathan deemed an island. A\n basking whale would readily suggest the Kraken and Cetus of Olaus\n Magnus (xxi. 25). Al-Kazw\u00edni\u2019s famous treatise on the \u201cWonders of the\n World\u201d (Aj\u00e1ib al-Makhl\u00fak\u00e1t) tells the same tale of the \u201cSulahfah\u201d\n tortoise, the colossochelys, for which see Night dl.\n\nFootnote 9:\n\n Sindbad does not say that he was a shipwrecked man, being a model in\n the matter of \u201ctravellers\u2019 tales,\u201d _i.e._ he always tells the truth\n when an untruth would not serve him.\n\nFootnote 10:\n\n Lane (iii. 83) would make this a corruption of the Hindu \u201cMahar\u00e1j\u201d =\n great Rajah: but it is the name of the great autumnal f\u00eate of the\n Guebres; a term composed of two good old Persian words \u201cMihr\u201d (the\n sun, whence \u201cMithras\u201d) and \u201cj\u00e1n\u201d = life. As will presently appear, in\n the days of the Just King Anushirw\u00e1n, the Persians possessed Southern\n Arabia and East Africa south of Cape Guardafui (Jird H\u00e1f\u00fan.) On the\n other hand, supposing the word to be a corruption of Maharaj, Sindbad\n may allude to the famous Narsinga kingdom in Mid-south India whose\n capital was Vijayanagar; or to any great Indian Rajah even he of\n Kachch (Cutch), famous in Moslem story as the Balhar\u00e1 (Ballaba Rais,\n who founded the Ballabhi era; or the Zamorin of Camoens, the Samdry\n Rajah of Malabar). For Mahrage, or Mihrage, see Renaudot\u2019s \u201cTwo\n Mohammedan Travellers of the Ninth Century.\u201d In the account of Ceylon\n by Wolf (English Transl. p. 168) it adjoins the \u201cIlhas de Cavalos\u201d (of\n wild horses) to which the Dutch merchants sent their brood-mares. Sir\n W. Jones (Description of Asia, chapt. ii.) makes the Arabian island\n Soborma or Mahr\u00e1j = Borneo.\n\nFootnote 11:\n\n Arab. \u201cS\u00e1is\u201d; the well-known Anglo-Indian word for a groom or rather a\n \u201chorsekeeper.\u201d\n\nFootnote 12:\n\n Arab. \u201cDarakah\u201d; whence our word.\n\nFootnote 13:\n\n The myth of mares being impregnated by the wind was known to the\n Classics of Europe; and the \u201csea-stallion\u201d may have arisen from the\n Arab practice of picketing mare asses to be covered by the wild ass.\n Colonel J. D. Watson of the Bombay Army suggests to me that Sindbad\n was wrecked at the mouth of the Ran of Kachch (Cutch) and was carried\n in a boat to one of the Islands there formed during the rains and\n where the wild ass (_Equus Onager_, Khar-gadh, in Pers. Gor-khar)\n still breeds. This would explain the \u201cstallions of the sea\u201d and we\n find traces of the ass blood in the true Kathiaw\u00e1r horse, with his dun\n colour, barred legs and dorsal stripe.\n\nFootnote 14:\n\n The second or warrior caste (Kshatriya), popularly supposed to have\n been annihilated by Battle-axe R\u00e1ma (Parashu R\u00e1ma); but several tribes\n of Rajputs and other races claim the honourable genealogy. Colonel\n Watson would explain the word by \u201cShakh\u00e1y\u00e1t\u201d or noble K\u00e1this\n (Kathiawar-men), or by \u201cShik\u00e1ri,\u201d the professional hunter here acting\n as stable-groom.\n\nFootnote 15:\n\n In Bul. Edit. \u201cK\u00e1bil.\u201d Lane (iii. 88) supposes it to be the \u201cBartail\u201d\n of Al-Kazwini near Borneo and quotes the Spaniard B. L. de Argensola\n (History of the Moluccas) who places near Banda a desert island,\n Poelsatton, infamous for cries, whistlings, roarings and dreadful\n apparitions, suggesting that it was peopled by devils (Stevens, vol.\n i., p. 168).\n\nFootnote 16:\n\n Some texts substitute for this last phrase, \u201cAnd the sailors say that\n Al-Dajj\u00e1l is there.\u201d He is a manner of Moslem Antichrist, the Man of\n Sin per excellentiam, who will come in the latter days and lay waste\n the earth, leading 70,000 Jews, till encountered and slain by Jesus at\n the gate of Lud. Sale\u2019s Essay, sect. 4.\n\nFootnote 17:\n\n Also from Al-Kazwini: it is an exaggerated description of the whale\n still common off the East African Coast. My crew was dreadfully\n frightened by one between Berberah and Aden. Nearchus scared away the\n whales in the Persian Gulf by trumpets (Strabo, lib. xv.). The\n owl-faced fish is unknown to me: it may perhaps be a seal or a\n manatee. Hole says that Father Martini, the Jesuit (seventeenth\n century), placed in the Canton Seas, an \u201canimal with the head of a\n bird and the tail of a fish,\u201d\u2014a parrot-beak?\n\nFootnote 18:\n\n The captain or master (not owner) of a ship.\n\nFootnote 19:\n\n The kindly Moslem feeling, shown to a namesake, however humble.\n\nFootnote 20:\n\n A popular phrase to express utter desolation.\n\nFootnote 21:\n\n The literature of all peoples contains this physiological perversion.\n Birds do not sing hymns; the song of the male is simply to call the\n female and when the pairing-season ends all are dumb.\n\nFootnote 22:\n\n The older \u201croc.\u201d The word is Persian, with many meanings, _e.g._ a\n cheek (Lalla \u201cRookh\u201d); a \u201crook\u201d (hero) at chess; a rhinoceros, etc.\n The fable world-wide of the _wundervogel_ is, as usual, founded upon\n fact: man remembers and combines but does not create. The Egyptian\n Bennu (Ti-bennu = ph\u0153nix) may have been a reminiscence of gigantic\n pterodactyls and other winged monsters. From the Nile the legend\n fabled by these Oriental \u201cputters out or five for one\u201d overspread the\n world and gave birth to the Eorosh of the Zend, whence the Pers.\n \u201cS\u00edmurgh\u201d (= the \u201cthirty-fowl-like\u201d), the \u201cBar Yuchre\u201d of the Rabbis,\n the \u201cGaruda\u201d of the Hindus; the \u201cAnk\u00e1\u201d (\u201clongneck\u201d) of the Arabs; the\n Hathilinga bird, of Buddhagosha\u2019s Parables, which had the strength of\n five elephants; the Kerkes of the Turks; the Gryps of the Greeks; the\n Russian \u201cNorka\u201d; the sacred dragon of the Chinese; the Japanese\n \u201cPheng\u201d and \u201cKirni\u201d; the \u201cwise and ancient Bird\u201d which sits upon the\n ash-tree Yggdrasil, and the dragons, griffins, basilisks, etc. of the\n Middle Ages. A second basis wanting only a superstructure of\n exaggeration (M. Polo\u2019s Ruch had wing-feathers twelve paces long)\n would be the huge birds but lately killed out. Sindbad may allude to\n the \u00c6pyornus of Madagascar, a gigantic ostrich whose egg contains 2.35\n gallons. The late Herr Hildebrand discovered on the African coast,\n facing Madagascar, traces of another huge bird. Bochart (Hierozoicon\n ii. 854) notices the Avium Avis Ruch and taking the _pulli_ was\n followed by lapidation on the part of the parent bird. A Persian\n illustration in Lane (iii. 90) shows the Rukh carrying off three\n elephants in beak and pounces with the proportions of a hawk and field\n mice: and the Rukh hawking at an elephant is a favourite Persian\n subject. It is possible that the \u201cTwelve Knights of the Round Table\u201d\n were the twelve Rukhs of Persian story. We need not go, with Faber, to\n the Cherubim which guarded the Paradise-gate. The curious reader will\n consult Dr. H. H. Wilson\u2019s Essays, edited by my learned correspondent,\n Dr. Rost, Librarian of the India House, vol. i. pp. 192\u20133.\n\nFootnote 23:\n\n It is not easy to explain this passage unless it be a garbled allusion\n to the steel-plate of the diamond-cutter. Nor can we account for the\n wide diffusion of this tale of perils unless to enhance the value of\n the gem. Diamonds occur in alluvial lands mostly open and\n comparatively level, as in India, the Brazil and the Cape. Archbishop\n Epiphanius of Salamis (ob. A.D. 403) tells this story about the\n jacinth or ruby (Epiphanii Opera, a Petaio, Coloni\u00e6 1682); and it was\n transferred to the diamond by Marco Polo (iii. 29, \u201cof Eagles bring up\n diamonds\u201d) and Nicol\u00f2 de Conti, whose \u201cmountain Albenigaras\u201d must be\n Vijayanagar in the kingdom of Golconda. Major Rennel places the famous\n mines of Pauna or Purna in a mountain-tract of more than 200 miles\n square to the south-west of the Jumna. Al-Kazwini locates the \u201cChaos\u201d\n in the \u201cValley of the Moon amongst the mountains of Serendib\u201d\n (Ceylon); the Chinese tell the same tale in the campaigns of Hulaku;\n and it is known in Armenia. Col. Yule (M. P. ii. 349) suggests that\n all these are ramifications of the legend told by Herodotus concerning\n the Arabs and their cinnamon (iii. 3). But whence did Herodotus borrow\n the tale?\n\nFootnote 24:\n\n Sindbad correctly describes the primitive way of extracting camphor, a\n drug unknown to the Greeks and Romans, introduced by the Arabs and\n ruined in reputation by M. Raspail. The best Laurus Camphora grows in\n the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo: although Marsden (Marco Polo)\n declares that the tree is not found South of the Equator. In the Calc.\n Edit. of two hundred Nights the camphor-island (or peninsula) is\n called \u201cAl-R\u00edhah\u201d which is the Arab name for Jericho-town.\n\nFootnote 25:\n\n In Bul. Edit. Kazkazan: Calc. Karkaddan and others Karkand and\n Karkadan; the word being Persian, Karg or Kargadan; the \u03ba\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03ac\u03b6\u03c5\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd of\n \u00c6lian (Hist. Anim. xvi. 21). The length of the horn (greatly\n exaggerated) shows that the white species is meant; and it supplies\n only walking-sticks. Cups are made of the black horn (a bundle of\n fibres) which, like Venetian glass, sweat at the touch of poison. A\n section of the horn is supposed to show white lines in the figure of a\n man, and sundry likenesses of birds; but these I never saw. The\n rhinoceros gives splendid sport and the African is perhaps the most\n dangerous of noble game. It has served to explain away and abolish the\n unicorn among the Scientists of Europe. But Central Africa with one\n voice assures us that a horse-like animal with a single erectile horn\n on the forehead exists. The late Dr. Baikic, of Niger fame, thoroughly\n believed in it and those curious on the subject will read about Abu\n Karn (Father of a Horn) in Preface (pp. xvi.-xviii.) of the Voyage au\n Darfour, by Mohammed ibn Omar al-Tounsy (Al-Tunisi), Paris, Duprat,\n 1845.\n\nFootnote 26:\n\n Ibn al-Wardi mentions an \u201cIsle of Apes\u201d in the Sea of China and\n Al-Idr\u00edsi places it two days\u2019 sail from Sukutra (Dwipa Sukhatra,\n Socotra). It is a popular error to explain the Homeric and Herodotean\n legend of the Pygmies by anthropoid apes. The Pygmy fable (Pygm\u00e6i\n Spithamai = 1 cubit = 3 spans) was, as usual, based upon fact, as the\n explorations of late years have proved: the dwarfs are homunculi of\n various tribes, the Akka, Doko, Tiki-Tiki, Wambilikimo (\u201ctwo-cubit\n men\u201d), the stunted race that share the central regions of\n Intertropical Africa with the abnormally tall peoples who speak\n dialects of the Great South African tongue, miscalled the \u201cBantu.\u201d\n Hole makes the Pygmies \u201cmonkeys,\u201d a word we have borrowed from the\n Italians (monichio \u00e0 mono = ape) and quotes Ptolemy, \u039d\u1fc6\u03c3\u03bf\u03b9 \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u03a3\u03b1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u1ff6\u03bd\n (Ape-islands) East of Sunda.\n\nFootnote 27:\n\n A kind of barge (Arab. B\u00e1rijah, plur. Baw\u00e1rij) used on the Nile of\n sub-pyriform shape when seen in bird\u2019s eye. Lane translates \u201cears like\n two mortars\u201d from the Calc. Edit.\n\nFootnote 28:\n\n This giant is distinctly Polyphemus; but the East had giants and\n cyclopes of her own (Hierozoicon ii. 845). The Aj\u00e1ib al-Hind (chapt.\n cxxii.) makes Polyphemus copulate with the sheep. Sir John Mandeville\n (if such person ever existed) mentions men fifty feet high in the\n Indian Islands; and Al-Kazwini and Al-Idrisi transfer them to the Sea\n of China, a Botany Bay for monsters in general.\n\nFootnote 29:\n\n Fire is forbidden as a punishment amongst Moslems, the idea being that\n it should be reserved for the next world. Hence the sailors fear the\n roasting more than the eating: with ours it would probably be the\n reverse. The Persian insult \u201cPidar-sokhtah\u201d = (son of a) burnt father,\n is well known. I have noted the advisability of burning the Moslem\u2019s\n corpse under certain circumstances: otherwise the murderer may come to\n be canonised.\n\nFootnote 30:\n\n Arab. \u201cMastabah\u201d = the bench or form of masonry before noticed. In\n olden Europe benches were much more used than chairs, these being\n articles of luxury. So King Horne \u201csett him abenche;\u201d and hence our\n \u201cKing\u2019s Bench\u201d (Court).\n\nFootnote 31:\n\n This is from the Bresl. Edit. vol. iv. 32: the Calc. Edit. gives only\n an abstract and in the Bul. Edit. the Ogre returned \u201caccompanied by a\n female, greater than he and more hideous.\u201d We cannot accept Mistress\n Polyphemus.\n\nFootnote 32:\n\n This is from Al-Kazwini, who makes the serpent \u201cwind itself round a\n tree or a rock, and thus break to pieces the bones of the breast in\n its belly.\u201d\n\nFootnote 33:\n\n \u201cLike a closet,\u201d in the Calc. Edit. The serpent is an exaggeration of\n the python which grows to an enormous size. Monstrous Ophidia are\n mentioned in sober history, _e.g._ that which delayed the army of\n Regulus. Dr. de Lacerda, a sober and sensible Brazilian traveller,\n mentions his servants sitting down upon a tree-trunk in the Captaincy\n of Sam Paulo (Brazil), which began to move and proved to be a huge\n snake. F. M. Pinto (the Sindbad of Portugal though not so respectable)\n when in Sumatra takes refuge in a tree from \u201ctigers, crocodiles,\n copped adders and serpents which slay men with their breath.\u201d Father\n Lobo in Tigre (chapt. x.) was nearly killed by the poison-breath of a\n huge snake, and healed himself with a bezoar carried _ad hoc_. Maff\u00e6us\n makes the breath of crocodiles suavissimus, but that of the Malabar\n serpents and vipers \u201cadeo teter ac noxius ut afflatu ipso necare\n perhibeantur.\u201d\n\nFootnote 34:\n\n Arab. \u201cAurat\u201d: the word has been borrowed by the Hindostani jargon,\n and means a woman, a wife.\n\nFootnote 35:\n\n So in Al-Idr\u00edsi and Langl\u00e8s: the Bres. Edit. has \u201cAl-Kal\u00e1sitah\u201d; and\n Al-Kazwini \u201cAl-Sal\u00e1mit.\u201d The latter notes in it a petrifying spring\n which Camoens (The Lus. x. 104), places in Sunda, _i.e._ Java-Minor of\n M. Polo. Some read Salabat-Timor, one of the Moluccas famed for\n sanders, cloves, cinnamon, etc. (Purchas ii. 1784.)\n\nFootnote 36:\n\n Evidently the hippopotamus (Pliny, viii. 25; ix. 3 and xxiii. 11). It\n can hardly be the Mulaccan Tapir, as shields are not made of the hide.\n Hole suggests the buffalo which found its way to Egypt from India\n _vi\u00e2_ Persia; but this would not be a speciosum miraculum.\n\nFootnote 37:\n\n The ass-headed fish is from Pliny (ix. cap. 3): all those tales are\n founded upon the manatee (whose dorsal protuberance may have suggested\n the camel), the seal and the dugong or sea-calf. I have noticed\n (Zanzibar i. 205) legends of ichthyological marvels current on the\n East African seaboard; and even the monsters of the Scottish waters\n are not all known: witness the mysterious \u201cbrigdie.\u201d See Bochart De\n Cetis i. 7; and Purchas iii. 930.\n\nFootnote 38:\n\n The colossal tortoise is noticed by \u00c6lian (De Nat. Animal. xvi. 17),\n by Strabo (Lib. xv.), by Pliny (ix. 10) and Diodorus Siculus (iv. 1)\n who had heard of a tribe of Chelonophagi. \u00c6lian makes them 16 cubits\n long near Taprobane and serving as house-roofs; and others turn the\n shell into boats and coracles. A colossochelys was first found on the\n Scwalik Hills by Dr. Falconer and Major (afterwards Sir Proby)\n Cantley. In 1867 M. Emile Blanchard exhibited to the Acad\u00e9mie des\n Sciences a monster crab from Japan 1.20 metres long (or 2.50 including\n legs); and other travellers have reported 4 metres. These crustacea\n seem never to cease growing and attain great dimensions under\n favourable circumstances, _i.e._ when not troubled by man.\n\nFootnote 39:\n\n Lane suggests (iii. 97), and with some probability, that the \u201cbird\u201d\n was a nautilus; but the wild traditions concerning the barnacle-goose\n may perhaps have been the base of the fable. The albatross also was\n long supposed never to touch land. Possibly the barnacle, like the\n barometz or Tartarean lamb, may be a survivor of the day when the\n animal and vegetable kingdoms had not yet branched off into different\n directions.\n\nFootnote 40:\n\n Arab. \u201cZahwah,\u201d also meaning a luncheon. The five daily prayers made\n all Moslems take strict account of time, and their nomenclature of its\n division is extensive.\n\nFootnote 41:\n\n This is the \u201cinsane herb.\u201d Davis, who visited Sumatra in 1599 (Purchas\n i. 120) speaks \u201cof a kind of seed, whereof a little being eaten,\n maketh a man to turn foole, all things seeming to him to be\n metamorphosed.\u201d Linschoten\u2019s \u201cDutroa\u201d was a poppy-like bud containing\n small kernels like melons which stamped and administered as a drink\n make a man \u201cas if he were foolish, or out of his wits.\u201d This is Father\n Lobo\u2019s \u201cVanguini\u201d of the Cafres, called by the Portuguese _dutro_\n (_Datura Stramonium_) still used by dishonest confectioners. It may be\n Dampier\u2019s Ganga (Ganjah) or Bang (Bhang) which he justly describes as\n acting differently \u201caccording to different constitutions; for some it\n stupefies, others it makes sleepy, others merry and some quite mad.\u201d\n (Harris, Collect. ii. 900). Dr. Fryer also mentions Duty, Bung and\n Post, the Poust of Bernier, an infusion of poppy-seed.\n\nFootnote 42:\n\n Arab. \u201cGhul,\u201d here an ogre, a cannibal. I cannot but regard the \u201cGhul\n of the waste\u201d as an embodiment of the natural fear and horror which a\n man feels when he faces a really dangerous desert. As regards\n cannibalism, Al-Islam\u2019s religion of common sense freely allows it when\n necessary to save life, and unlike our mawkish modern sensibility,\n never blames those who\n\n Alimentis talibus usi\n Produxere animos.\n\nFootnote 43:\n\n For Cannibals, see the Massaget\u00e6 of Herod (i.), the Pad\u00e6i of India\n (iii.), and the Essedones near M\u00e6otis (iv.); Strabo (lib. iv.) of the\n Luci; Pomponius Mela (iii. 7) and St. Jerome (ad Jovinum) of Scoti. M.\n Polo locates them in Dragvia, a kingdom of Sumatra (iii. 17), and in\n Angaman (the Andamanian Isles?), possibly the ten Maniolai which\n Ptolemy (vii.), confusing with the Nicobars, places on the Eastern\n side of the Bay of Bengal; and thence derives the Heraklian stone\n (magnet) which attracts the iron of ships (See Serapion, De Magnete,\n fol. 6, Edit. of 1479, and Brown\u2019s Vulgar Errors, p. 74, 6th Edit.).\n Mandeville finds his cannibals in Lamaray (Sumatra) and Barthema in\n the \u201cIsle of Gyava\u201d (Java). Ibn Al-Wardi and Al-Kazwini notice them in\n the Isle Saksar, in the Sea of the Zanj (Zanzibar): the name is\n corrupted Persian \u201cSag-Sar\u201d (Dogs\u2019-heads) hence the dog-descended race\n of Camoens in Pegu (The Lus. x. 122). The Bresl. Edit. (iv. 52) calls\n them \u201cKhaw\u00e1rij\u201d = certain sectarians in Eastern Arabia. Needless to\n say that cocoa-nut oil would have no stupefying effect unless mixed\n with opium or datura, hemp or henbane.\n\nFootnote 44:\n\n Black pepper is produced in the Goanese but we must go south to find\n the \u201cBil\u00e1d al-Filfil\u201d (home of pepper) _i.e._ Malabar. The exorbitant\n prices demanded by Venice for this spice led directly to the discovery\n of The Cape route by the Portuguese; as the \u201cGrains of Paradise\u201d\n (Amomum Granum Paradisi) induced the English to explore the West\n African Coast.\n\nFootnote 45:\n\n Arab. \u201cKazd\u00edr.\u201d Sansk. \u201cKast\u00edr.\u201d Gr. \u201cKassiteron.\u201d Lat. \u201cCassiteros,\u201d\n evidently derived from one root. The Heb. is \u201cBadih,\u201d a substitute, an\n alloy. \u201cTanakah\u201d is the vulg. Arab. word, a congener of the Assyrian\n \u201cAnaku,\u201d and \u201cKala i\u201d is the corrupt Arab. term used in India.\n\nFootnote 46:\n\n Our Arabian Ulysses had probably left a Penelope or two at home and\n finds a Calypso in this Ogygia. His modesty at the mention of\n womankind is notable.\n\nFootnote 47:\n\n These are the commonplaces of Moslem consolation on such occasions:\n the artistic part is their contrast with the unfortunate widower\u2019s\n prospect.\n\nFootnote 48:\n\n Lit. \u201ca margin of stone, like the curb-stone of a well.\u201d\n\nFootnote 49:\n\n I am not aware that this vivisepulture of the widower is the custom of\n any race but the fable would be readily suggested by the Sati\n (Suttee)-rite of the Hindus. Simple vivisepulture was and is practised\n by many people.\n\nFootnote 50:\n\n Because she was weaker than a man. The Bresl. Edit. however, has \u201ca\n gugglet of water and five scones.\u201d\n\nFootnote 51:\n\n The confession is made with true Eastern sang-froid and probably none\n of the hearers \u201cdisapproved\u201d of the murders which saved the speaker\u2019s\n life.\n\nFootnote 52:\n\n This tale is evidently taken from the escape of Aristomenes the\n Messenian from the pit into which he had been thrown, a fox being his\n guide. The Arabs in an early day were eager students of Greek\n literature. Hole (p. 140) noted the coincidence.\n\nFootnote 53:\n\n Bresl. Edit. \u201cKhw\u00e1jah,\u201d our \u201cHowajee,\u201d meaning a schoolmaster, a man\n of letters, a gentleman.\n\nFootnote 54:\n\n And he does repeat at full length what the hearers must have known\n right well. I abridge.\n\nFootnote 55:\n\n Island of the Bell (Arab. \u201cN\u00e1k\u00fas\u201d = a wooden gong used by Christians\n but forbidden to Moslems). \u201cKala\u201d is written \u201cKela,\u201d \u201cKullah\u201d and a\n variety of ways. Baron Walckenaer places it at Keydah in the Malay\n peninsula opposite Sumatra. Renaudot identifies it with Calabar,\n \u201csomewhere about the point of Malabar.\u201d\n\nFootnote 56:\n\n Islands, because Arab cosmographers love to place their _speciosa\n miracula_ in such places.\n\nFootnote 57:\n\n Like the companions of Ulysses who ate the sacred oxen (Od. xii.).\n\nFootnote 58:\n\n So the enormous kingfisher of Lucian\u2019s True History (lib. ii.).\n\nFootnote 59:\n\n This tale is borrowed from Ibn Al-Wardi, who adds that the greybeards\n awoke in the morning after eating the young Rukh with black hair which\n never turned white. The same legend is recounted by Al-Dimiri (ob.\n A.H. 808 = 1405\u20136) who was translated into Latin by Bochart\n (Hierozoicon ii. p. 854) and quoted by Hole and Lane (iii. 103). An\n excellent study of Marco Polo\u2019s Rukh was made by my learned friend the\n late Prof. G. G. Bianconi of Bologna, \u201cDell\u2019Uccello Ruc,\u201d Bologna,\n Gamberini, 1868. Prof. Bianconi predicted that other giant birds would\n be found in Madagascar on the East African Coast opposite; but he died\n before hearing of Hildebrand\u2019s discovery.\n\nFootnote 60:\n\n Arab. \u201cIz\u00e1r,\u201d the earliest garb of Eastern man; and, as such preserved\n in the Meccan pilgrimage. The \u201cwaist-cloth\u201d is either tucked in or\n kept in place by a girdle.\n\nFootnote 61:\n\n Arab. \u201cL\u00edf,\u201d a succedaneum for the unclean sponge, not unknown in the\n \u201cTurkish Baths\u201d of London.\n\nFootnote 62:\n\n The Persians have a Plinian monster called \u201cTasmeh-p\u00e1\u201d = Strap-legs\n without bones. The \u201cOld Man\u201d is not an ourang-outang nor an Ifr\u00edt as\n in Sayf al-Mul\u00fak, Night dcclxxi., but a jocose exaggeration of a\n custom prevailing in parts of Asia and especially in the African\n interior where the Tsetse-fly prevents the breeding of burden-beasts.\n Ibn Bat\u00fatah tells us that in Malabar everything was borne upon men\u2019s\n backs. In Central Africa the kinglet rides a slave, and on ceremonious\n occasions mounts his Prime Minister. I have often been reduced to this\n style of conveyance and found man the worst imaginable riding: there\n is no hold and the sharpness of the shoulder-ridge soon makes the legs\n ache intolerably. The classicists of course find the Shaykh of the Sea\n in the Tritons and Nereus, and Bochart (Hiero. ii. 858, 880) notices\n the homo aquaticus, Senex Jud\u00e6us and Senex Marinus. Hole (p. 151)\n suggests the inevitable ourang-outang (man o\u2019 wood), one of \u201cour\n humiliating copyists,\u201d and quotes \u201cDestiny\u201d in Scarron\u2019s comical\n romance (Part ii. chapt. 1) and \u201cJealousy\u201d enfolding Rinaldo (O.F.\n lib. 42).\n\nFootnote 63:\n\n More literally \u201cThe Chief of the Sea (-Coast),\u201d Shaykh being here a\n chief rather than an elder (eoldermann, alderman). So the \u201cOld Man of\n the Mountain,\u201d famous in crusading days, was the Chief who lived on\n the Nusayriyah or Ans\u00e1ri range, a northern prolongation of the\n Libanus. Our \u201cold man\u201d of the text may have been suggested by the\n Koranic commentators on chapt. vi. When an Infidel rises from the\n grave, a hideous figure meets him and says, Why wonderest thou at my\n loathsomeness? I am thine Evil Deeds: thou didst ride upon me in the\n world and now I will ride upon thee (suiting the action to the words).\n\nFootnote 64:\n\n In parts of West Africa and especially in Gorilla-land there are many\n stories of women and children being carried off by apes, and all\n believe that the former bear issue to them. It is certain that the\n anthropoid ape is lustfully excited by the presence of women and I\n have related how at Cairo (1856) a huge cynocephalus would have raped\n a girl had it not been bayonetted. Young ladies who visited the\n Demidoff Gardens and menagerie at Florence were often scandalised by\n the vicious exposure of the baboons\u2019 parti-coloured persons. The\n female monkey equally solicits the attentions of man and I heard in\n India from my late friend, Mirza Ali Akbar of Bombay, that to his\n knowledge connection had taken place. Whether there would be issue and\n whether such issue would be viable are still disputed points: the\n produce would add another difficulty to the pseudo-science called\n psychology, as such mule would have only half a soul and issue by a\n congener would have a quarter-soul. A traveller well known to me once\n proposed to breed pithecoid men who might be useful as hewers of wood\n and drawers of water: his idea was to put the highest races of apes to\n the lowest of humanity. I never heard what became of his \u201cbreeding\n stables.\u201d\n\nFootnote 65:\n\n Arab. \u201cJauz al-Hindi\u201d: our word cocoa is from the Port. \u201cCoco,\u201d\n meaning a \u201cbug\u201d (bugbear) in allusion to its caricature of the human\n face, hair, eyes and mouth. I may here note that a cocoa-tree is\n easily climbed with a bit of rope or a handkerchief.\n\nFootnote 66:\n\n Tomb-pictures in Egypt show tame monkeys gathering fruits and Grossier\n (Description of China, quoted by Hole and Lane) mentions a similar\n mode of harvesting tea by irritating the monkeys of the Middle\n Kingdom.\n\nFootnote 67:\n\n Bresl. Edit. Cloves and cinnamon in those days grew in widely distant\n places.\n\nFootnote 68:\n\n In pepper-plantations it is usual to set bananas (_Musa Paradisiaca_)\n for shading the young shrubs which bear bunches like ivy-fruit, not\n pods.\n\nFootnote 69:\n\n The Bresl. Edit. has \u201cAl-Ma\u2019arat.\u201d Langl\u00e8s calls it the Island of\n Al-Kam\u00e1r\u00ed. See Lane, iii. 86.\n\nFootnote 70:\n\n Insula, pro peninsula. \u201cComorin\u201d is a corrupt. of \u201cKany\u00e1\u201d (= Virgo,\n the goddess Durg\u00e1) and \u201cKum\u00e1ri\u201d (a maid, a princess); from a temple of\n Shiva\u2019s wife: hence Ptolemy\u2019s \u039a\u1ff6\u03c1\u03c5 \u1f04\u03ba\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd and near it to the N. East\n \u039a\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03af\u03b1 \u1f04\u03ba\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03b9\u03c2, \u201cPromontorium Cori quod Comorini caput insul\u00e6\n vocant,\u201d says Maff\u00e6us (Hist. Indic. i. p. 16). In the text \u201cAl\u2019\u00fad\u201d\n refers to the eagle-wood (Aloekylon Agallochum) so called because\n spotted like the bird\u2019s plume. That of Champa (Cochin-China, mentioned\n by Camoens, The Lus. x. 129) is still famous.\n\nFootnote 71:\n\n Arab. \u201cBirkat\u201d = tank, pool, reach, bight. Hence Birkat Far\u2019aun in the\n Suez Gulf (Pilgrimage i. 297).\n\nFootnote 72:\n\n Probably Cape Comorin, to judge from the river, but the text names\n Sarandib (Ceylon Island) famous for gems. This was noticed by Marco\n Polo, iii. cap. 19; and ancient authors relate the same of\n \u201cTaprobane.\u201d\n\nFootnote 73:\n\n I need hardly trouble the reader with a note on pearl-fisheries: the\n descriptions of travellers are continuous from the days of Pliny (ix.\n 35), Solinus (cap. 56) and Marco Polo (iii. 23). Maximilian of\n Transylvania, in his narrative of Magellan\u2019s voyage (Novus Orbis, p.\n 532) says that the Celebes produce pearls big as turtle-doves\u2019 eggs;\n and the King of Porne (Borneo) had two unions as great as goose\u2019s\n eggs. Pigafetta (in Purchas) reduces this to hen\u2019s eggs and Sir Thomas\n Herbert to dove\u2019s eggs.\n\nFootnote 74:\n\n Arab. \u201cAnbar\u201d pronounced \u201cAmbar;\u201d wherein I would derive \u201cAmbrosia.\u201d\n Ambergris was long supposed to be a fossil, a vegetable which grew\n upon the sea-bottom or rose in springs; or a \u201csubstance produced in\n the water like naphtha or bitumen\u201d(!): now it is known to be the\n egesta of a whale. It is found in lumps weighing several pounds upon\n the Zanzibar Coast and is sold at a high price, being held a potent\n aphrodisiac. A small hollow is drilled in the bottom of the cup and\n the coffee is poured upon the bit of ambergris it contains; when the\n oleaginous matter shows in dots amidst the \u201cKaymagh\u201d (coffee-cream),\n the bubbly froth which floats upon the surface and which an expert\n \u201ccoffee servant\u201d distributes equally among the guests. Argensola\n mentions in Ceylon, \u201csprings of liquid bitumen thicker than our oil\n and some of pure balsam.\u201d\n\nFootnote 75:\n\n The tale-teller forgets that Sindbad and his companions have just\n ascended it; but this _incons\u00e9quence_ is a characteristic of the\n Eastern Saga. I may note that the description of ambergris in the text\n tells us admirably well what it is not.\n\nFootnote 76:\n\n This custom is alluded to by Lane (Mod. Egypt, ch. xv.): it is the\n rule of pilgrims to Meccah when too ill to walk or ride (Pilgrimage i.\n 180). Hence all men carry their shrouds: mine, after being dipped in\n the Holy Water of Zemzem, was stolen from me by the rascally Somal of\n Berberah.\n\nFootnote 77:\n\n Arab. \u201cFulk;\u201d some Edits. read \u201cKalak\u201d and \u201cRamaz\u201d (= a raft).\n\nFootnote 78:\n\n These lines occur in modified form in Night xi.\n\nFootnote 79:\n\n These underground rivers (which Dr. Livingstone derided) are familiar\n to every geographer from Spenser\u2019s \u201cMole\u201d to the Poika of Adelberg and\n the Timavo near Trieste. Hence \u201cPeter Wilkins\u201d borrowed his cavern\n which led him to Grandevolet. I have some experience of Sindbad\u2019s\n sorrows, having once attempted to descend the Poika on foot. The\n Classics had the Alpheus (Pliny v. 31; and Seneca, Nat. Qu\u00e6. vi.), and\n the Tigris-Euphrates supposed to flow underground: and the Medi\u00e6vals\n knew the Abana of Damascus and the Zender\u00fad of Isfahan.\n\nFootnote 80:\n\n Abyssinians can hardly be called \u201cblackamoors,\u201d but the arrogance of\n the white skin shows itself in Easterns (_e.g._ Turks and Brahmans) as\n much as, if not more than, amongst Europeans. Southern India at the\n time it was explored by Vasco da Gama was crowded with Abyssinian\n slaves imported by the Arabs.\n\nFootnote 81:\n\n \u201cSarandib\u201d and \u201cCeylon\u201d (the Taprobane of Ptolemy and Diodorus\n Siculus) derive from the Pali \u201cSihalam\u201d (not the Sansk. \u201cSinhala\u201d)\n shortened to Silam and Ilam in old Tamul. Van der Tunk would find it\n in the Malay \u201cPulo Selam\u201d = Isle of Gems (the Ratna-dw\u00edpa or Jewel\n Isle of the Hindus and the Jazirat al-Yak\u00fat or Ruby-Island of the\n Arabs); and the learned Colonel Yule (Marco Polo ii. 296) remarks that\n we have adopted many Malayan names, _e.g._ Pegu, China and Japan.\n Sarandib is clearly \u201cSelan-dw\u00edpa,\u201d which Mandeville reduced to\n \u201cSilha.\u201d\n\nFootnote 82:\n\n This is the well-known Adam\u2019s Peak, the Jabal al-Ramun of the Arabs\n where Adam fell when cast out of Eden in the lowest or lunar sphere.\n Eve fell at Jeddah (a modern myth) and the unhappy pair met at Mount\n Arafat (_i.e._ recognition) near Meccah. Thus their fall was a fall\n indeed. (Pilgrimage iii. 259).\n\nFootnote 83:\n\n He is the Alcinous of our Arabian Odyssy.\n\nFootnote 84:\n\n This word is not in the dictionaries; Hole (p. 192) and Lane\n understand it to mean the hog-deer; but why, one cannot imagine. The\n animal is neither \u201cbeautiful\u201d nor \u201cuncommon\u201d and most men of my day\n have shot dozens in the Sind-Shik\u00e1rg\u00e1hs.\n\nFootnote 85:\n\n M. Polo speaks of a ruby in Seilan (Ceylon) a palm long and three\n fingers thick: William of Tyre mentions a ruby weighing twelve\n Egyptian drams (Gibbon ii. 123), and Mandeville makes the King of\n Mammera wear about his neck a \u201crubye orient\u201d one foot long by five\n fingers large.\n\nFootnote 86:\n\n The fable is from Al-Kazwini and Ibn Al-Wardi who place the serpent\n (an animal sacred to \u00c6sculapius, Pliny, xxix. 4) \u201cin the sea of Zanj\u201d\n (_i.e._ Zanzibar). In the \u201cgarrow hills\u201d of N. Eastern Bengal the skin\n of the snake Burrawar(?) is held to cure pain (Asiat. Res. vol. iii.).\n\nFootnote 87:\n\n For \u201cEmerald,\u201d Hole (p. 177) would read emery or adamantine spar.\n\nFootnote 88:\n\n Evidently Mah\u00e1r\u00e1j = Great Rajah, Rajah in Chief, an Hindu title common\n to the three potentates before alluded to, the Narsinga, Balhara or\n Samiry.\n\nFootnote 89:\n\n This is probably classical. So the page said to Philip of Macedon\n every morning, \u201cRemember, Philip, thou art mortal\u201d; also the slave in\n the Roman Triumph,\n\n Respice post te: hominem te esse memento!\n\n And the dying Severus, \u201cUrnlet, soon shalt thou enclose what hardly a\n whole world could contain.\u201d But the custom may also have been Indian:\n the contrast of external pomp with the real vanity of human life\n suggests itself to all.\n\nFootnote 90:\n\n Arab. \u201cH\u00fat\u201d; a term applied to Jonah\u2019s whale and to monsters of the\n deep, \u201cSamak\u201d being the common fishes.\n\nFootnote 91:\n\n Usually a two-bow prayer.\n\nFootnote 92:\n\n This is the recognised formula of Moslem sales.\n\nFootnote 93:\n\n Arab. \u201cWal\u00edmah\u201d; like our wedding-breakfast but a much more\n ceremonious and important affair.\n\nFootnote 94:\n\n _i.e._ his wife (euphemistically). I remember an Italian lady being\n much hurt when a Maltese said to her \u201cMia moglie\u2014con rispetto\n parlando\u201d (my wife, saving your presence.) \u201cWhat,\u201d she cried, \u201che\n speaks of his wife as if he would of the sweepings!\u201d\n\nFootnote 95:\n\n The serpent in Arabic is mostly feminine.\n\nFootnote 96:\n\n _i.e._ in envying his wealth, with the risk of the evil eye.\n\nFootnote 97:\n\n I subjoin a translation of the Seventh Voyage from the Calc. Edit. of\n the two hundred Nights which differs in essential points from the\n above. All respecting Sindbad the Seaman has an especial interest. In\n one point this world-famous tale is badly ordered. The most exciting\n adventures are the earliest and the falling off of the interest has a\n somewhat depressing effect. The Rukh, the Ogre and the Old Man o\u2019 the\n Sea should come last.\n\nFootnote 98:\n\n Arab. Al-Suways: this successor of ancient Arsino\u00eb was, according to\n local tradition, founded by a Santon from Al-S\u00fas in Marocco who called\n it after his name \u201cLittle S\u00fas\u201d (the wormlet).\n\nFootnote 99:\n\n Arab. \u201cMann,\u201d a weight varying from two to six pounds: even this\n common term is not found in the tables of Lane\u2019s Mod. Egyptians,\n Appendix B. The \u201cMaund\u201d is a well-known Anglo-Indian weight.\n\nFootnote 100:\n\n This article is not mentioned elsewhere in The Nights.\n\nFootnote 101:\n\n Apparently a fancy title.\n\nFootnote 102:\n\n The island is evidently Ceylon long famed for elephants and the tree\n is the well known \u201cBanyan\u201d (Ficus Indica). According to Linschoten and\n Wolf, the elephants of all lands do reverence and honour to those of\n Ceylon.\n\nFootnote 103:\n\n \u201cTusks\u201d not \u201cteeth\u201d which are not valued. As Hole remarks, the\n elephants of Pliny and Sindbad are equally conscious of the value of\n ivory. Pliny (viii. 3) quotes Herodotus about the buying of ivories\n and relates how elephants, when hunted, break their \u201ccornua\u201d (as Juba\n called them) against a tree trunk by way of ransom. \u00c6lian, Plutarch,\n and Philostratus speak of the linguistic intelligence and religious\n worship of the \u201chalf-reason with the hand,\u201d which the Hindus term\n \u201cH\u00e1th\u00ed\u201d = unimanus. Finally, Topsell\u2019s Gesner (p. 152) makes elephants\n bury their tusks, \u201cwhich commonly drop out every tenth year.\u201d In\n Arabian literature the elephant is always connected with India.\n\n\n\n\n THE CITY OF BRASS.[104]\n\n\nIt is related that there was, in tide of yore and in times and years\nlong gone before, at Damascus of Syria, a Caliph known as Abd al-Malik\nbin Marwan, the fifth of the Ommiade house. As this Commander of the\nFaithful was seated one day in his palace, conversing with his Sultans\nand Kings and the Grandees of his empire, the talk turned upon the\nlegends of past peoples and the traditions of our Lord Solomon, David\u2019s\nson (on the twain be peace!), and on that which Allah Almighty had\nbestowed on him of lordship and dominion over men and Jinn and birds and\nbeasts and reptiles and the wind and other created things; and quoth the\nCaliph, \u201cOf a truth we hear from those who forewent us that the Lord\n(extolled and exalted be He!) vouchsafed unto none the like of that\nwhich He vouchsafed unto our lord Solomon and that he attained unto that\nwhereto never attained other than he, in that he was wont to imprison\nJinns and Marids and Satans in cucurbites of copper and to stop them\nwith lead and seal[105] them with his ring.\u201d\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 Sixty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Caliph\nAbd al-Malik bin Marwan sat conversing with his Grandees concerning our\nlord Solomon, and these noted what Allah had bestowed upon him of\nlordship and dominion, quoth the Commander of the Faithful, \u201cIndeed he\nattained unto that whereto never attained other than he, in that he was\nwont to imprison Jinns and Marids and Satans in cucurbites of copper and\nstop them with lead and seal them with his ring.\u201d Then said T\u00e1lib bin\nSahl (who was a seeker after treasures and had books that discovered to\nhim hoards and wealth hidden under the earth), \u201cO Commander of the\nFaithful,\u2014Allah make thy dominion to endure and exalt thy dignity here\nand hereafter!\u2014my father told me of my grandfather, that he once took\nship with a company, intending for the island of Sikiliyah or Sicily,\nand sailed until there arose against them a contrary wind, which drove\nthem from their course and brought them, after a month, to a great\nmountain in one of the lands of Allah the Most High, but where that land\nwas they wot not.\u201d Quoth my grandfather:\u2014This was in the darkness of the\nnight and as soon as it was day, there came forth to us, from the caves\nof the mountain, folk black of colour and naked of body, as they were\nwild beasts, understanding not one word of what was addressed to them;\nnor was there any of them who knew Arabic, save their King who was of\ntheir own kind. When he saw the ship, he came down to it with a company\nof his followers and saluting us, bade us welcome and questioned us of\nour case and our faith. We told him all concerning ourselves and he\nsaid, Be of good cheer for no harm shall befal you. And when we, in\nturn, asked them of their faith, we found that each was of one of the\nmany creeds prevailing before the preaching of Al-Islam and the mission\nof Mohammed, whom may Allah bless and keep! So my shipmates remarked, We\nwot not what thou sayest. Then quoth the King, No Adam-son hath ever\ncome to our land before you: but fear not, and rejoice in the assurance\nof safety and of return to your own country. Then he entertained us\nthree days, feeding us on the flesh of birds and wild beasts and fishes,\nthan which they had no other meat; and, on the fourth day, he carried us\ndown to the beach, that we might divert ourselves by looking upon the\nfisher-folk. There we saw a man casting his net to catch fish, and\npresently he pulled them up and behold, in them was a cucurbite of\ncopper, stopped with lead and sealed with the signet of Solomon, son of\nDavid, on whom be peace! He brought the vessel to land and broke it\nopen, when there came forth a smoke, which rose a-twisting blue to the\nzenith, and we heard a horrible voice, saying, I repent! I repent!\nPardon, O Prophet of Allah! I will never return to that which I did\naforetime. Then the smoke became a terrible Giant frightful of form,\nwhose head was level with the mountain-tops, and he vanished from our\nsight, whilst our hearts were well-nigh torn out for terror; but the\nblacks thought nothing of it. Then we returned to the King and\nquestioned him of the matter; whereupon quoth he, Know that this was one\nof the Jinns whom Solomon, son of David, being wroth with them, shut up\nin these vessels and cast into the sea, after stopping the mouths with\nmelted lead. Our fishermen ofttimes, in casting their nets, bring up\nsuch bottles, which being broken open, there come forth of them Jinnis\nwho, deeming that Solomon is still alive and can pardon them, make their\nsubmission to him and say, \u201cI repent, O Prophet of Allah!\u201d The Caliph\nmarvelled at Talib\u2019s story and said, \u201cGlory be to God! Verily, to\nSolomon was given a mighty dominion.\u201d Now Al-N\u00e1bighah al-Zuby\u00e1n\u00ed[106]\nwas present, and he said, \u201cTalib hath spoken soothly as is proven by the\nsaying of the All-wise, the Prim\u00e6val One:\u2014\n\n And Solomon, when Allah to him said, \u273f \u2018Rise, be thou Caliph, rule with\n righteous sway:\n Honour obedience for obeying thee; \u273f And who rebels imprison him for\n aye.\u2019\n\nWherefore he used to put them in copper-bottles and cast them into the\nsea.\u201d The poet\u2019s words seemed good to the Caliph, and he said, \u201cBy\nAllah, I long to look upon some of these Solomonic vessels, which must\nbe a warning to whoso will be warned.\u201d \u201cO Commander of the Faithful,\u201d\nreplied Talib, \u201cit is in thy power to do so, without stirring abroad.\nSend to thy brother Abd al-Az\u00edz bin Marw\u00e1n, so he may write to M\u00fas\u00e1 bin\nNusayr,[107] governor of the Maghrib or Morocco, bidding him take horse\nthence to the mountains whereof I spoke and fetch thee therefrom as many\nof such cucurbites as thou hast a mind to; for those mountains adjoin\nthe frontiers of his province.\u201d The Caliph approved his counsel and said\n\u201cThou hast spoken sooth, O Talib, and I desire that, touching this\nmatter, thou be my messenger to Musa bin Nusayr; wherefore thou shalt\nhave the White Flag[108] and all thou hast a mind to of monies and\nhonour and so forth; and I will care for thy family during thine\nabsence.\u201d \u201cWith love and gladness, O Commander of the Faithful!\u201d\nanswered Talib. \u201cGo, with the blessing of Allah and His aid,\u201d quoth the\nCaliph, and bade write a letter to his brother, Abd al-Aziz, his viceroy\nin Egypt, and another to Musa bin Nusayr, his viceroy in North-Western\nAfrica, bidding him go himself in quest of the Solomonic bottles,\nleaving his son to govern in his stead. Moreover, he charged him to\nengage guides and to spare neither men nor money, nor to be remiss in\nthe matter as he would take no excuse. Then he sealed the two letters\nand committed them to Talib bin Sahl, bidding him advance the royal\nensigns before him and make his utmost speed, and he gave him treasure\nand horsemen and footmen, to further him on his way, and made provision\nfor the wants of his household during his absence. So Talib set out and\narrived in due course at Cairo.[109]\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 Sixty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Talib bin Sahl set\nout with his escort and crossed the desert country between Syria and\nEgypt, where the Governor came out to meet him and entreated him and his\ncompany with high honour whilst they tarried with him. Then he gave them\na guide to bring them to the Sa\u2019\u00edd or Upper Egypt, where the Emir Musa\nhad his abiding-place; and when the son of Nusayr heard of Talib\u2019s\ncoming, he went forth to meet him and rejoiced in him. Talib gave him\nthe Caliph\u2019s letter, and he took it reverently and, laying it on his\nhead, cried, \u201cI hear and I obey the Prince of the Faithful.\u201d Then he\ndeemed it best to assemble his chief officers and when all were present\nhe acquainted them with the contents of the Caliph\u2019s letter and sought\ncounsel of them how he should act. \u201cO Emir,\u201d answered they, \u201cif thou\nseek one who shall guide thee to the place summon the Shaykh \u2018Abd\nal-Samad, ibn \u2018Abd al-Kudd\u00fas, al-Sam\u00fad\u00ed;[110] for he is a man of varied\nknowledge, who hath travelled much and knoweth by experience all the\nseas and wastes and wolds and countries of the world and the inhabitants\nand wonders thereof; wherefore send thou for him and he will surely\nguide thee to thy desire.\u201d So Musa sent for him, and behold, he was a\nvery ancient man shot in years and broken down with lapse of days. The\nEmir saluted him and said, \u201cO Shaykh Abd al-Samad, our lord the\nCommander of the Faithful, Abd al-Malik bin Marwan, hath commanded me\nthus and thus. I have small knowledge of the land wherein is that which\nthe Caliph desireth; but it is told me that thou knowest it well and the\nways thither. Wilt thou, therefore, go with me and help me to accomplish\nthe Caliph\u2019s need? So it please Allah the Most High, thy trouble and\ntravail shall not go waste.\u201d Replied the Shaykh, \u201cI hear and obey the\nbidding of the Commander of the Faithful; but know, O Emir, that the\nroad thither is long and difficult and the ways few.\u201d \u201cHow far is it?\u201d\nasked Musa, and the Shaykh answered, \u201cIt is a journey of two years and\nsome months going and the like returning; and the way is full of\nhardships and terrors and things wondrous and marvellous. Now thou art a\nchampion of the Faith[111] and our country is hard by that of the enemy;\nand peradventure the Nazarenes may come out upon us in thine absence;\nwherefore it behoveth thee to leave one to rule thy government in thy\nstead.\u201d \u201cIt is well,\u201d answered the Emir and appointed his son H\u00e1r\u00fan\nGovernor during his absence, requiring the troops to take the oath of\nfealty to him and bidding them obey him in all he should command. And\nthey heard his words and promised obedience. Now this Harun was a man of\ngreat prowess and a renowned warrior and a doughty knight, and the\nShaykh Abd al-Samad feigned to him that the place they sought was\ndistant but four months\u2019 journey along the shore of the sea, with\ncamping-places all the way, adjoining one another, and grass and\nsprings, adding, \u201cAllah will assuredly make the matter easy to us\nthrough thy blessing, O Lieutenant of the Commander of the Faithful!\u201d\nQuoth the Emir Musa, \u201cKnowest thou if any of the Kings have trodden this\nland before us?\u201d; and quoth the Shaykh, \u201cYes, it belonged aforetime to\nDarius the Greek, King of Alexandria.\u201d But he said to Musa privily, \u201cO\nEmir, take with thee a thousand camels laden with victual and store of\ngugglets.\u201d[112] The Emir asked, \u201cAnd what shall we do with these?\u201d; and\nthe Shaykh answered, \u201cOn our way is the desert of Kayraw\u00e1n or Cyrene,\nthe which is a vast wold four days\u2019 journey long, and lacketh water; nor\ntherein doth sound of voice ever sound nor is soul at any time to be\nseen. Moreover, there bloweth the Simoon[113] and other hot winds called\nAl-Juwayb, which dry up the water-skins; but if the water be in\ngugglets, no harm can come to it.\u201d \u201cRight,\u201d said Musa and sending to\nAlexandria, let bring thence great plenty of gugglets. Then he took with\nhim his Wazir and two thousand cavalry, clad in mail cap-\u00e0-pie and set\nout, without other to guide them but Abd al-Samad who forewent them,\nriding on his hackney. The party fared on diligently, now passing\nthrough inhabited lands, then ruins and anon traversing frightful wolds\nand thirsty wastes and then mountains which spired high in air; nor did\nthey leave journeying a whole year\u2019s space till, one morning, when the\nday broke, after they had travelled all night, behold, the Shaykh found\nhimself in a land he knew not and said, \u201cThere is no Majesty and there\nis no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!\u201d Quoth the Emir,\n\u201cWhat is to do, O Shaykh?\u201d; and he answered, saying, \u201cBy the Lord of the\nKa\u2019abah, we have wandered from our road!\u201d \u201cHow cometh that?\u201d asked Musa,\nand Abd al-Samad replied, \u201cThe stars were overclouded and I could not\nguide myself by them.\u201d \u201cWhere on God\u2019s earth are we now?\u201d asked the\nEmir, and the Shaykh answered, \u201cI know not; for I never set eyes on this\nland till this moment.\u201d Said Musa, \u201cGuide us back to the place where we\nwent astray\u201d; but the other, \u201cI know it no more.\u201d Then Musa, \u201cLet us\npush on; haply Allah will guide us to it or direct us aright of His\npower.\u201d So they fared on till the hour of noon-prayer, when they came to\na fair champaign, and wide and level and smooth as it were the sea when\ncalm, and presently there appeared to them, on the horizon some great\nthing, high and black, in whose midst was as it were smoke rising to the\nconfines of the sky. They made for this, and stayed not in their course\ntill they drew near thereto, when, lo! it was a high castle, firm of\nfoundations and great and gruesome, as it were a towering mountain,\nbuilded all of black stone, with frowning crenelles and a door of\ngleaming China steel, that dazzled the eyes and dazed the wits. Round\nabout it were a thousand steps and that which appeared afar off as it\nwere smoke was a central dome of lead an hundred cubits high. When the\nEmir saw this, he marvelled thereat with exceeding marvel and how this\nplace was void of inhabitants; and the Shaykh, after he had certified\nhimself thereof, said, \u201cThere is no god but _the_ God and Mohammed is\nthe Apostle of God!\u201d Quoth Musa, \u201cI hear thee praise the Lord and hallow\nHim, and meseemeth thou rejoicest.\u201d \u201cO Emir,\u201d answered Abd al-Samad,\n\u201cRejoice, for Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) hath delivered us from\nthe frightful wolds and thirsty wastes.\u201d \u201cHow knowest thou that?\u201d said\nMusa, and the other, \u201cI know it for that my father told me of my\ngrandfather that he said:\u2014We were once journeying in this land and,\nstraying from the road, we came to this palace and thence to the City of\nBrass; between which and the place thou seekest is two full months\u2019\ntravel; but thou must take to the sea-shore and leave it not, for there\nbe watering-places and wells and camping-grounds established by King Z\u00fa\nal-Karnayn Iskandar who, when he went to the conquest of Mauritania,\nfound by the way thirsty deserts and wastes and wilds and dug therein\nwater-pits and built cisterns.\u201d Quoth Musa, \u201cAllah rejoice thee with\ngood news!\u201d and quoth the Shaykh, \u201cCome, let us go look upon yonder\npalace and its marvels, for it is an admonition to whoso will be\nadmonished.\u201d So the Emir went up to the palace, with the Shaykh and his\nofficers, and coming to the gate, found it open. Now this gate was\nbuilded with lofty columns and porticoes whose walls and ceilings were\ninlaid with gold and silver and precious stones; and there led up to it\nflights of steps, among which were two wide stairs of coloured marble,\nnever was seen their like; and over the doorway was a tablet whereon\nwere graven letters of gold in the old ancient Ionian character. \u201cO\nEmir,\u201d asked the Shaykh, \u201cshall I read?\u201d; and Musa answered, \u201cRead and\nGod bless thee!; for all that betideth us in this journey dependeth upon\nthy blessing.\u201d So the Shaykh, who was a very learned man and versed in\nall tongues and characters, went up to the tablet and read whatso was\nthereon and it was verse like this:\u2014\n\n The signs that here their mighty works portray \u273f Warn us that all must\n tread the self-same way:\n O thou who standest in this stead to hear \u273f Tidings of folk, whose power\n hath passed for aye,\n Enter this palace-gate and ask the news \u273f Of greatness fallen into dust\n and clay:\n Death has destroyed them and dispersed their might \u273f And in the dust\n they lost their rich display;\n As had they only set their burdens down \u273f To rest awhile, and then had\n rode away.\n\nWhen the Emir Musa heard these couplets, he wept till he lost his senses\nand said, \u201cThere is no god but _the_ God, the Living, the Eternal, who\nceaseth not!\u201d Then he entered the palace and was confounded at its\nbeauty and the goodliness of its construction. He diverted himself\nawhile by viewing the pictures and images therein, till he came to\nanother door, over which also were written verses, and said to the\nShaykh, \u201cCome read me these!\u201d So he advanced and read as follows:\u2014\n\n Under these domes how many a company \u273f Halted of old and fared withouten\n stay:\n See thou what might displays on other wights \u273f Time with his shifts\n which could such lords waylay:\n They shared together what they gather\u00e8d \u273f And left their joys and fared\n to Death-decay:\n What joys they joyed! what food they ate! and now \u273f In dust they\u2019re\n eaten, for the worm a prey.\n\nAt this the Emir Musa wept bitter tears; and the world waxed yellow\nbefore his eyes and he said, \u201cVerily, we were created for a mighty\nmatter!\u201d[114] Then they proceeded to explore the palace and found it\ndesert and void of living thing, its courts desolate and dwelling-places\nwaste laid. In the midst stood a lofty pavilion with a dome rising high\nin air, and about it were four hundred tombs, builded of yellow marble.\nThe Emir drew near unto these and behold, amongst them was a great tomb,\nwide and long; and at its head stood a tablet of white marble, whereon\nwere graven these couplets:\u2014\n\n How oft have I fought! and how many have slain! \u273f How much have I\n witnessed of blessing and bane!\n How much have I eaten! how much have I drunk! \u273f How oft have I hearkened\n to singing-girl\u2019s strain!\n How much have I bidden! how oft have forbid! \u273f How many a castle and\n castellain\n I have sieged and have searched, and the cloistered maids \u273f In the\n depths of its walls for my captives were ta\u2019en!\n But of ignorance sinned I to win me the meeds \u273f Which won prov\u00e8d naught\n and brought nothing of gain:\n Then reckon thy reck\u2019ning, O man, and be wise \u273f Ere the goblet of death\n and of doom thou shalt drain;\n For yet but a little the dust on thy head \u273f They shall strew, and thy\n life shall go down to the dead.\n\nThe Emir and his companions wept; then, drawing near unto the pavilion,\nthey saw that it had eight doors of sandal-wood, studded with nails of\ngold and stars of silver and inlaid with all manner precious stones. On\nthe first door were written these verses:\u2014\n\n What I left, I left it not for nobility of soul, \u273f But through sentence\n and decree that to every man are dight.\n What while I lived happy, with a temper haught and high, \u273f My\n hoarding-place defending like a lion in the fight,\n I took no rest, and greed of gain forbad me give a grain \u273f Of\n mustard-seed to save from the fires of Hell my sprite,\n Until stricken on a day, as with arrow, by decree \u273f Of the Maker, the\n Fashioner, the Lord of Might and Right.\n When my death was appointed, my life I could not keep \u273f By the many of\n my stratagems, my cunning and my sleight:\n My troops I had collected availed me not, and none \u273f Of my friends and\n of my neighbours had power to mend my plight:\n Through my life I was wearied in journeying to death \u273f In stress or in\n solace, in joyance or despight:\n So when money-bags are bloated, and dinar unto dinar \u273f Thou addest, all\n may leave thee with fleeting of the night:\n And the driver of a camel and the digger of a grave[115] \u273f Are what\n thine heirs shall bring ere the morning dawneth bright:\n And on Judgment Day alone shalt thou stand before thy Lord, \u273f Overladen\n with thy sins and thy crimes and thine affright:\n Let the world not seduce thee with lurings, but behold \u273f What measure to\n thy family and neighbours it hath doled.\n\nWhen Musa heard these verses, he wept with such weeping that he swooned\naway; then, coming to himself, he entered the pavilion and saw therein a\nlong tomb, awesome to look upon, whereon was a tablet of China steel and\nShaykh Abd al-Samad drew near it and read this inscription: \u201cIn the name\nof Everlasting Allah, the Never-beginning, the Never-ending; in the name\nof Allah who begetteth not nor is He begot and unto whom the like is\nnot; in the name of Allah the Lord of Majesty and Might; in the name of\nthe Living One who to death is never dight!\u201d\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 Sixty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Shaykh Abd\nal-Samad, having read the aforesaid, also found the following:\u2014O thou\nwho comest to this place, take warning by that which thou seest of the\naccidents of Time and the vicissitudes of Fortune and be not deluded by\nthe world and its pomps and vanities and fallacies and falsehoods and\nvain allurements, for that it is flattering, deceitful and treacherous,\nand the things thereof are but a loan to us which it will borrow back\nfrom all borrowers. It is like unto the dreams of the dreamer and the\nsleep-visions of the sleeper or as the mirage of the desert, which the\nthirsty take for water;[116] and Satan maketh it fair for men even unto\ndeath. These are the ways of the world; wherefore put not thou thy trust\ntherein neither incline thereto, for it bewrayeth him who leaneth upon\nit and who committeth himself thereunto in his affairs. Fall not thou\ninto its snares neither take hold upon its skirts, but be warned by my\nexample. I possessed four thousand bay horses and a haughty palace, and\nI had to wife a thousand daughters of kings, high-bosomed maids, as they\nwere moons: I was blessed with a thousand sons as they were fierce\nlions, and I abode a thousand years, glad of heart and mind, and I\namassed treasures beyond the competence of all the Kings of the regions\nof the earth, deeming that delight would still endure to me. But there\nfell on me unawares the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of\nsocieties, the Desolator of domiciles and the Spoiler of inhabited\nspots, the Murtherer of great and small, babes and children and mothers,\nhe who hath no ruth on the poor for his poverty, or feareth the King for\nall his bidding or forbidding. Verily, we abode safe and secure in this\npalace, till there descended upon us the judgement of the Lord of the\nThree Worlds, Lord of the Heavens, and Lord of the Earths, the vengeance\nof the Manifest Truth[117] overtook us, when there died of us every day\ntwo, till a great company of us had perished. When I saw that\ndestruction had entered our dwellings and had homed with us and in the\nsea of deaths had drowned us, I summoned a writer and bade him indite\nthese verses and instances and admonitions, the which I let grave, with\nrule and compass, on these doors and tablets and tombs. Now I had an\narmy of a thousand thousand bridles, men of warrior mien with forearms\nstrong and keen, armed with spears and mail-coats sheen and swords that\ngleam; so I bade them don their long-hanging hauberks and gird on their\nbiting blades and mount their high-mettled steeds and level their\ndreadful lances; and whenas there fell on us the doom of the Lord of\nheaven and earth, I said to them, \u201cHo, all ye soldiers and troopers, can\nye avail to ward off that which is fallen on me from the Omnipotent\nKing?\u201d But troopers and soldiers availed not unto this and said, \u201cHow\nshall we battle with Him to whom no chamberlain barreth access, the Lord\nof the door which hath no doorkeeper?\u201d Then quoth I to them, \u201cBring me\nmy treasures.\u201d Now I had in my treasuries a thousand cisterns in each of\nwhich were a thousand quintals[118] of red gold and the like of white\nsilver, besides pearls and jewels of all kinds and other things of\nprice, beyond the attainment of the kings of the earth. So they did that\nand when they had laid all the treasure in my presence, I said to them,\n\u201cCan ye ransom me with all this treasure or buy me one day of life\ntherewith?\u201d But they could not! So they resigned themselves to\nfore-ordained Fate and fortune and I submitted to the judgement of\nAllah, enduring patiently that which he decreed unto me of affliction,\ntill He took my soul and made me to dwell in my grave. And if thou ask\nof my name, I am K\u00fash, the son of Shadd\u00e1d son of \u00c1d the Greater. And\nupon the tablets were engraved these lines:\u2014\n\n An thou wouldst know my name, whose day is done \u273f With shifts of time\n and changes \u2018neath the sun,\n Know I am Shadd\u00e1d\u2019s son, who ruled mankind \u273f And o\u2019er all earth upheld\n dominion!\n All stubborn peoples abject were to me; \u273f And Sh\u00e1m to Cairo and to\n Adnanwone;[119]\n I reigned in glory conquering many kings; \u273f And peoples feared my\n mischief every one.\n Yea, tribes and armies in my hand I saw; \u273f The world all dreaded me,\n both friends and fone.\n When I took horse, I viewed my numbered troops, \u273f Bridles on neighing\n steeds a million.\n And I had wealth that none could tell or count, \u273f Against misfortune\n treasuring all I won;\n\n Fain had I bought my life with all my wealth, \u273f And for a moment\u2019s space\n my death to shun;\n But God would naught save what His purpose willed; \u273f So from my brethren\n cut I \u2018bode alone:\n And Death, that sunders man, exchanged my lot \u273f To pauper hut from\n grandeur\u2019s mansion,\n When found I all mine actions gone and past \u273f Wherefor I\u2019m pledged[120]\n and by my sin undone.\n Then fear, O man, who by a brink dost range, \u273f The turns of Fortune and\n the chance of Change.\n\nThe Emir Musa was hurt to his heart and loathed his life for what he saw\nof the slaughtering-places of the folk; and, as they went about the\nhighways and bye-ways of the palace, viewing its sitting-chambers and\npleasaunces, behold they came upon a table of yellow onyx, upborne on\nfour feet of juniper-wood,[121] and thereon these words graven:\u2014\u201cAt this\ntable have eaten a thousand kings blind of the right eye and a thousand\nblind of the left and yet other thousand sound of both eyes, all of whom\nhave departed the world and have taken up their sojourn in the tombs and\nthe catacombs.\u201d All this the Emir wrote down and left the palace,\ncarrying off with him naught save the table aforesaid. Then he fared on\nwith his host three days\u2019 space, under the guidance of the Shaykh Abd\nal-Samad, till they came to a high hill, whereon stood a horseman of\nbrass. In his hand he held a lance with a broad head, in brightness like\nblinding leven, whereon was graven:\u2014\u201cO thou that comest unto me, if thou\nknow not the way to the City of Brass, rub the hand of this rider and he\nwill turn round and presently stop. Then take the direction whereto he\nfaceth and fare fearless, for it will bring thee, without hardship, to\nthe city aforesaid.\u201d\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 Seventieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Emir Musa\nrubbed the horseman\u2019s hand he revolved like the dazzling lightning, and\nstopped facing in a direction other than that wherein they were\njourneying. So they took the road to which he pointed (which was the\nright way) and, finding it a beaten track, fared on through their days\nand nights till they had covered a wide tract of country. Then they came\nupon a pillar of black stone like a furnace-chimney wherein was one\nsunken up to his armpits. He had two great wings and four arms, two of\nthem like the arms of the sons of Adam and other two as they were lion\u2019s\npaws, with claws of iron, and he was black and tall and frightful of\naspect, with hair like horses\u2019 tails and eyes like blazing coals, slit\nupright in his face. Moreover, he had in the middle of his forehead a\nthird eye, as it were that of a lynx, from which flew sparks of fire,\nand he cried out saying, \u201cGlory to my Lord, who hath adjudged unto me\nthis grievous torment and sore punishment until the Day of Doom!\u201d When\nthe folk saw him, they lost their reason for affright and turned to\nflee; so the Emir Musa asked the Shaykh Abd al-Samad, \u201cWhat is this?\u201d;\nand he answered, \u201cI know not.\u201d Whereupon quoth Musa, \u201cDraw near and\nquestion him of his condition; haply he will discover to thee his case.\u201d\n\u201cAllah assain thee, Emir! Indeed, I am afraid of him;\u201d replied the\nShaykh; but the Emir rejoined, saying, \u201cFear not; he is hindered from\nthee and from all others by that wherein he is.\u201d So Abd al-Samad drew\nnear to the pillar and said to him which was therein, \u201cO creature, what\nis thy name and what art thou and how camest thou here in this fashion?\u201d\n\u201cI am an Ifrit of the Jinn,\u201d replied he, \u201cby name D\u00e1hish, son of\nAl-A\u2019amash,[122] and am confined here by the All-might, prisoned here by\nthe Providence and punished by the judgement of Allah, till it pleases\nHim, to whom belong Might and Majesty, to release me.\u201d Then said Musa,\n\u201cAsk him why he is in durance of this column?\u201d So the Shaykh asked him\nof this, and the Ifrit replied, saying:\u2014Verily my tale is wondrous and\nmy case marvellous, and it is this. One of the sons of Iblis had an idol\nof red carnelian, whereof I was guardian, and there served it a King of\nthe Kings of the sea, a Prince of puissant power and prow of prowess,\nover-ruling a thousand thousand warriors of the Jann who smote with\nswords before him and answered his summons in time of need. All these\nwere under my commandment and obeyed my behest, being each and every\nrebels against Solomon, son of David, on whom be peace! And I used to\nenter the belly of the idol and thence bid and forbid them. Now this\nKing\u2019s daughter loved the idol and was frequent in prostration to it and\nassiduous in its service; and she was the fairest woman of her day,\naccomplished in beauty and loveliness, elegance and grace. She was\ndescribed unto Solomon and he sent to her father, saying, \u201cGive me thy\ndaughter to wife and break thine idol of carnelian and testify saying,\nThere is no god but _the_ God and Solomon is the Prophet of Allah!, an\nthou do this, our due shall be thy due and thy debt shall be our debt\nbut, if thou refuse, make ready to answer the summons of the Lord and\ndon thy grave-gear, for I will come upon thee with an irresistible host,\nwhich shall fill the waste places of earth and make thee as yesterday\nthat is passed away and hath no return for aye.\u201d When this message\nreached the King, he waxed insolent and rebellious, pride-full and\ncontumacious and he cried to his Wazirs, \u201cWhat say ye of this? Know ye\nthat Solomon son of David hath sent requiring me to give him my daughter\nto wife, and break my idol of carnelian and enter his faith!\u201d And they\nreplied, \u201cO mighty King, how shall Solomon do thus with thee? Even could\nhe come at thee in the midst of this vast ocean, he could not prevail\nagainst thee, for the Marids of the Jann will fight on thy side and thou\nwilt ask succour of thine idol whom thou servest, and he will help thee\nand give thee victory over him. So thou wouldst do well to consult on\nthis matter thy Lord,\u201d (meaning the idol aforesaid) \u201cand hear what he\nsaith. If he say, Fight him, fight him, and if not, not.\u201d So the King\nwent in without stay or delay to his idol and offered up sacrifices and\nslaughtered victims; after which he fell down before him, prostrate and\nweeping, and repeated these verses:\u2014\n\n \u201cO my Lord, well I weet thy puissant hand: \u273f Sulaym\u00e1n would break thee\n and see thee bann\u2019d.\n O my Lord, to crave succour here I stand \u273f Command and I bow to thy high\n command!\u201d\n\nThen I (continued the Ifrit addressing the Shaykh and those about him),\nof my ignorance and want of wit and recklessness of the commandment of\nSolomon and lack of knowledge anent his power, entered the belly of the\nidol and made answer as follows:\u2014\n\n \u201cAs for me, of him I feel naught affright; \u273f For my lore and my wisdom\n are infinite:\n If he wish for warfare I\u2019ll show him fight \u273f And out of his body I\u2019ll\n tear his sprite!\u201d\n\nWhen the King heard my boastful reply, he hardened his heart and\nresolved to wage war upon the Prophet and to offer him battle; wherefore\nhe beat the messenger with a grievous beating and returned a foul answer\nto Solomon, threatening him and saying, \u201cOf a truth, thy soul hath\nsuggested to thee a vain thing; dost thou menace me with mendacious\nwords? But gird thyself for battle; for, an thou come not to me, I will\nassuredly come to thee.\u201d So the messenger returned to Solomon and told\nhim all that had passed and whatso had befallen him, which when the\nProphet heard, he raged like Doomsday and addressed himself to the fray\nand levied armies of men and Jann and birds and reptiles. He commanded\nhis Wazir Al-Dimiry\u00e1t, King of the Jann, to gather together the Marids\nof the Jinn from all parts, and he collected for him six hundred\nthousand thousand of devils.[123] Moreover, by his order, his Wazir \u00c1saf\nbin Barkhiy\u00e1 levied him an army of men, to the number of a thousand\nthousand or more. These all he furnished with arms and armour and\nmounting, with his host, upon his carpet, look flight through air, while\nthe beasts fared under him and the birds flew overhead, till he lighted\ndown on the island of the refractory King and encompassed it about,\nfilling earth with his hosts.\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 Seventy-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Ifrit\ncontinued:\u2014So when Solomon the prophet (with whom be peace!) lighted\ndown with his host on the island he sent to our King, saying, \u201cBehold, I\nam come: defend thy life against that which is fallen upon thee, or else\nmake thy submission to me and confess my apostleship and give me thy\ndaughter to lawful wife and break thine idol and worship the one God,\nthe alone Worshipful; and testify, thou and thine, and say, There is no\nGod but _the_ God, and Solomon is the Apostle of Allah![124] This if\nthou do, thou shalt have pardon and peace; but if not, it will avail\nthee nothing to fortify thyself in this island, for Allah (extolled and\nexalted be He!) hath bidden the Wind obey me; so I will bid it bear me\nto thee on my carpet and make thee a warning and an example to deter\nothers.\u201d But the King made answer to his messenger, saying, \u201cIt may not\non any wise be as he requireth of me; so tell him I come forth to him.\u201d\nWith this reply the messenger returned to Solomon, who thereupon\ngathered together all the Jinn that were under his hand, to the number\nof a thousand thousand, and added to them other than they of Marids and\nSatans from the islands of the sea and the tops of the mountains and,\ndrawing them up on parade, opened his armouries and distributed to them\narms and armour. Then the Prophet drew out his host in battle array,\ndividing the beasts into two bodies, one on the right wing of the men\nand the other on the left, and bidding them tear the enemies\u2019 horses in\nsunder. Furthermore, he ordered the birds which were in the island to\nhover over their heads and, whenas the assault should be made, that they\nshould swoop down and tear out the foe\u2019s eyes with their beaks and\nbuffet their faces with their wings; and they answered, saying, \u201cWe hear\nand we obey Allah and thee, O Prophet of Allah!\u201d Then Solomon seated\nhimself on a throne of alabaster, studded with precious stones and\nplated with red gold; and, commanding the wind to bear him aloft, set\nhis Wazir Asaf bin Barkhiya[125] and the kings of mankind on his right\nand his Wazir Al-Dimiryat and the kings of the Jinn on his left,\narraying the beasts and vipers and serpents in the van. Thereupon they\nall set on us together, and we gave them battle two days over a vast\nplain; but, on the third day, disaster befel us, and the judgment of\nAllah the Most High was executed upon us. Now the first to charge upon\nthem were I and my troops, and I said to my companions, \u201cAbide in your\nplaces, whilst I sally forth to them and provoke Al-Dimiryat to combat\nsingular.\u201d And behold, he came forth to the duello as he were a vast\nmountain, with his fires flaming and his smoke spireing, and shot at me\na falling star of fire; but I swerved from it and it missed me. Then I\ncast at him in my turn, a flame of fire, and it smote him; but his\nshaft[126] overcame my fire and he cried out at me so terrible a cry\nthat meseemed the skies were fallen flat upon me, and the mountains\ntrembled at his voice. Then he commanded his hosts to charge;\naccordingly they rushed on us and we rushed on them, each crying out\nupon other, and battle reared its crest rising in volumes and smoke\nascending in columns and hearts well nigh cleaving. The birds and the\nflying Jinn fought in the air and the beasts and men and the foot-faring\nJann in the dust and I fought with Al-Dimiryat, till I was aweary and he\nnot less so. At last, I grew weak and turned to flee from him, whereupon\nmy companions and tribesmen likewise took to flight and my hosts were\nput to the rout, and Solomon cried out, saying, \u201cTake yonder furious\ntyrant, the accursed, the infamous!\u201d Then man fell upon man and Jinn\nupon Jinn and the armies of the Prophet charged down upon us, with the\nwild beasts and lions on their right hand and on their left, rending our\nhorses and tearing our men; whilst the birds hovered overhead in air\npecking out our eyes with their claws and beaks and beating our faces\nwith their wings, and the serpents struck us with their fangs, till the\nmost of our folk lay prone upon the face of the earth, like the trunks\nof date-trees. Thus defeat befel our King and we became a spoil unto\nSolomon. As to me, I fled from before Al-Dimiryat; but he followed me\nthree months\u2019 journey, till I fell down for weariness and he overtook\nme, and pouncing upon me, made me prisoner. Quoth I, \u201cBy the virtue of\nHim who hath exalted thee and abased me, spare me and bring me into the\npresence of Solomon, on whom be peace!\u201d So he carried me before Solomon,\nwho received me after the foulest fashion and bade bring this pillar and\nhollow it out. Then he set me herein and chained me and sealed me with\nhis signet-ring, and Al-Dimiryat bore me to this place wherein thou\nseest me. Moreover, he charged a great angel to guard me, and this\npillar is my prison until Judgment-day.\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 Seventy-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Jinni who\nwas prisoned in the pillar had told them his tale, from first to last,\nthe folk marvelled at his story and at the frightfulness of his favour,\nand the Emir Musa said, \u201cThere is no God but _the_ God! Soothly was\nSolomon gifted with a mighty dominion.\u201d Then said the Shaykh Abd\nal-Samad to the Jinni, \u201cHo there! I would fain ask thee of a thing,\nwhereof do thou inform us.\u201d \u201cAsk what thou wilt,\u201d answered the Ifrit\nDahish and the Shaykh said, \u201cAre there hereabouts any of the Ifrits\nimprisoned in bottles of brass from the time of Solomon (on whom be\npeace!)?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d replied the Jinni; \u201cthere be such in the sea of\nAl-Karkar[127] on the shores whereof dwell a people of the lineage of\nNoah (on whom be peace!); for their country was not reached by the\nDeluge and they are cut off there from the other sons of Adam.\u201d Quoth\nAbd al-Samad, \u201cAnd which is the way to the City of Brass and the place\nwherein are the cucurbites of Solomon, and what distance lieth between\nus and it?\u201d Quoth the Ifrit, \u201cIt is near at hand,\u201d and directed them in\nthe way thither. So they left him and fared forward till there appeared\nto them afar off a great blackness and therein two fires facing each\nother, and the Emir Musa asked the Shaykh, \u201cWhat is yonder vast\nblackness and its twin fires?\u201d; and the guide answered, \u201cRejoice O Emir,\nfor this is the City of Brass, as it is described in the Book of Hidden\nTreasures which I have by me. Its walls are of black stone and it hath\ntwo towers of Andalusian brass,[128] which appear to the beholder in the\ndistance as they were twin fires, and hence is it named the City of\nBrass.\u201d Then they fared on without ceasing till they drew near the city\nand behold, it was as it were a piece of a mountain or a mass of iron\ncast in a mould and impenetrable for the height of its walls and\nbulwarks; while nothing could be more beautiful than its buildings and\nits ordinance. So they dismounted down and sought for an entrance, but\nsaw none neither found any trace of opening in the walls, albeit there\nwere five-and-twenty portals to the city, but none of them was visible\nfrom without. Then quoth the Emir, \u201cO Shaykh, I see to this city no sign\nof any gate;\u201d and quoth he, \u201cO Emir, thus is it described in my Book of\nHidden Treasures; it hath five-and-twenty portals; but none thereof may\nbe opened save from within the city.\u201d Asked Musa, \u201cAnd how shall we do\nto enter the city and view its wonders?\u201d and Talib son of Sahl, his\nWazir, answered, \u201cAllah assain the Emir! let us rest here two or three\ndays and, God willing, we will make shift to come within the walls.\u201d\nThen said Musa to one of his men, \u201cMount thy camel and ride round about\nthe city, so haply thou may light upon a gate or a place somewhat lower\nthan this fronting us, or Inshallah! a breach whereby we can enter.\u201d\nAccordingly he mounted his beast, taking water and victuals with him,\nand rode round the city two days and two nights, without drawing rein to\nrest, but found the wall thereof as it were one block, without breach or\nway of ingress; and on the third day, he came again in sight of his\ncompanions, dazed and amazed at what he had seen of the extent and\nloftiness of the place, and said, \u201cO Emir, the easiest place of access\nis this where you have alighted.\u201d Then Musa took Talib and Abd al-Samad\nand ascended the highest hill which overlooked the city. When they\nreached the top, they beheld beneath them a city, never saw eyes a\ngreater or a goodlier, with dwelling-places and mansions of towering\nheight, and palaces and pavilions and domes gleaming gloriously bright\nand sconces and bulwarks of strength infinite; and its streams were\na-flowing and flowers a-blowing and fruits a-glowing. It was a city with\ngates impregnable; but void and still, without a voice or a cheering\ninhabitant. The owl hooted in its quarters; the bird skimmed circling\nover its squares and the raven croaked in its great thoroughfares\nweeping and bewailing the dwellers who erst made it their dwelling.[129]\nThe Emir stood awhile, marvelling and sorrowing for the desolation of\nthe city and saying, \u201cGlory to Him whom nor ages nor changes nor times\ncan blight, Him who created all things of His Might!\u201d Presently, he\nchanced to look aside and caught sight of seven tablets of white marble\nafar off. So he drew near them and finding inscriptions graven thereon,\ncalled the Shaykh and bade him read these. Accordingly he came forward\nand, examining the inscriptions, found that they contained matter of\nadmonition and warning and instances and restraint to those of\nunderstanding. On the first tablet was inscribed, in the ancient Greek\ncharacter: \u201cO son of Adam, how heedless art thou of that which is before\nthee! Verily, thy years and months and days have diverted thee\ntherefrom. Knowest thou not that the cup of death is filled for thy bane\nwhich in a little while to the dregs thou shalt drain? Look to thy doom\nere thou enter thy tomb. Where be the Kings who held dominion over the\nlands and abased Allah\u2019s servants and built these palaces and had armies\nunder their commands? By Allah, the Destroyer of delights and the\nSeverer of societies and the Devastator of dwelling-places came down\nupon them and transported them from the spaciousness of their palaces to\nthe staidness of their burial-places.\u201d And at the foot of the tablet\nwere written the following verses:\u2014\n\n \u201cWhere are the Kings earth-peopling, where are they? \u273f The built and\n peopled left they e\u2019er and aye!\n They\u2019re tombed yet pledged to actions past away \u273f And after death upon\n them came decay.\n Where are their troops? They failed to ward and guard! \u273f Where are the\n wealth and hoards in treasuries lay?\n Th\u2019 Empyrean\u2019s Lord surprised them with one word, \u273f Nor wealth nor\n refuge could their doom delay!\u201d\n\nWhen the Emir heard this, he cried out and the tears ran down his cheeks\nand he exclaimed, \u201cBy Allah, from the world abstaining is the wisest\ncourse and the sole assaining!\u201d And he called for pen-case and paper and\nwrote down what was graven on the first tablet. Then he drew near the\nsecond tablet and found these words graven thereon, \u201cO son of Adam, what\nhath seduced thee from the service of the Ancient of Days and made thee\nforget that one day thou must defray the debt of death? Wottest thou not\nthat it is a transient dwelling wherein for none there is abiding; and\nyet thou takest thought unto the world and cleavest fast thereto? Where\nbe the kings who Irak peopled and the four quarters of the globe\npossessed? Where be they who abode in Ispahan and the land of Khorasan?\nThe voice of the Summoner of Death summoned them and they answered him,\nand the Herald of Destruction hailed them and they replied, Here are we!\nVerily, that which they builded and fortified profited them naught;\nneither did what they had gathered and provided avail for their\ndefence.\u201d And at the foot of the tablet were graven the following\nverses:\u2014\n\n Where be the men who built and fortified \u273f High places never man their\n like espied?\n In fear of Fate they levied troops and hosts, \u273f Availing naught when\n came the time and tide,\n Where be the Kisr\u00e1s homed in strongest walls? \u273f As though they ne\u2019er had\n been from home they hied!\n\nThe Emir Musa wept and exclaimed, \u201cBy Allah, we are indeed created for a\ngrave matter!\u201d Then he copied the inscription and passed on to the third\ntablet,\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 Seventy-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Emir Musa\npassed on to the third tablet, whereon was written, \u201cO son of Adam, the\nthings of this world thou lovest and prizest and the hest of thy Lord\nthou spurnest and despisest. All the days of thy life pass by and thou\nart content thus to aby. Make ready thy viaticum against the day\nappointed for thee to see and prepare to answer the Lord of every\ncreature that be!\u201d And at the foot were written these verses:\u2014\n\n Where is the wight who peopled in the past \u273f Hind-land and Sind; and\n there the tyrant played?\n Who Zanj[130] and Habash bound beneath his yoke, \u273f And Nubia curbed and\n low its puissance laid.\n Look not for news of what is in his grave. \u273f Ah, he is far who can thy\n vision aid!\n The stroke of death fell on him sharp and sure; \u273f Nor saved him palace,\n nor the lands he swayed.\n\nAt this Musa wept with sore weeping and, going on to the fourth tablet,\nhe read inscribed thereon, \u201cO son of Adam, how long shall thy Lord bear\nwith thee and thou every day sunken in the sea of thy folly? Hath it\nthen been stablished unto thee that some day thou shalt not die? O son\nof Adam, let not the deceits of thy days and nights and times and hours\ndelude thee with their delights; but remember that death lieth ready for\nthee ambushing, fain on thy shoulders to spring, nor doth a day pass but\nhe mourneth with thee in the morning and nighteth with thee by night.\nBeware, then, of his onslaught and make provision there-against. As was\nwith me, so it is with thee; thou wastest thy whole life and squanderest\nthe joys in which thy days are rife. Hearken, therefore, to my words and\nput thy trust in the Lord of Lords; for in the world there is no\nstability; it is but as a spider\u2019s web to thee.\u201d And at the foot of the\ntablet were written these couplets:\u2014\n\n Where is the man who did those labours ply \u273f And based and built and\n reared these walls on high?\n Where be the castles\u2019 lords? Who therein dwelt \u273f Fared forth and left\n them in decay to lie.\n All are entombed, in pledge against the day \u273f When every sin shall show\n to every eye.\n None but the Lord Most High endurance hath, \u273f Whose Might and Majesty\n shall never die.\n\nWhen the Emir read this, he swooned away and presently coming to himself\nmarvelled exceedingly and wrote it down. Then he drew near the fifth\ntablet and behold, thereon was graven, \u201cO son of Adam, what is it that\ndistracteth thee from obedience of thy Creator and the Author of thy\nbeing, Him who reared thee whenas thou wast a little one, and fed thee\nwhenas thou wast full-grown? Thou art ungrateful for His bounty, albeit\nHe watcheth over thee with His favours, letting down the curtain of His\nprotection over thee. Needs must there be for thee an hour bitterer than\naloes and hotter than live coals. Provide thee, therefore, against it;\nfor who shall sweeten its gall or quench its fires? Bethink thee who\nforewent thee of peoples and heroes and take warning by them, ere thou\nperish.\u201d And at the foot of the tablet were graven these couplets:\u2014\n\n Where be the Earth-kings who from where they \u2018bode, \u273f Sped and to\n graveyards with their hoardings yode:\n\n Erst on their mounting-days there hadst beheld \u273f Hosts that concealed\n the ground whereon they rode:\n How many a king they humbled in their day! \u273f How many a host they led\n and laid on load!\n But from th\u2019 Empyrean\u2019s Lord in haste there came \u273f One word, and joy\n waxed grief ere morning glowed.\n\nThe Emir marvelled at this and wrote it down; after which he passed on\nto the sixth tablet and behold, was inscribed thereon, \u201cO son of Adam,\nthink not that safety will endure for ever and aye, seeing that death is\nsealed to thy head alway. Where be thy fathers, where be thy brethren,\nwhere thy friends and dear ones? They have all gone to the dust of the\ntombs and presented themselves before the Glorious, the Forgiving, as if\nthey had never eaten nor drunken, and they are a pledge for that which\nthey have earned. So look to thyself, ere thy tomb come upon thee.\u201d And\nat the foot of the tablet were these couplets:\u2014\n\n Where be the Kings who ruled the Franks of old? \u273f Where be the King who\n peopled Tingis-wold[131]?\n Their works are written in a book which He, \u273f The One, th\u2019 All-father\n shall as witness hold.\n\nAt this the Emir Musa marvelled and wrote it down, saying, \u201cThere is no\ngod but _the_ God! Indeed, how goodly were these folk!\u201d Then he went up\nto the seventh tablet and behold, thereon was written, \u201cGlory to Him who\nfore-ordaineth death to all He createth, the Living One, who dieth not!\nO son of Adam, let not thy days and their delights delude thee, neither\nthine hours and the delices of their time, and know that death to thee\ncometh and upon thy shoulder sitteth. Beware, then, of his assault and\nmake ready for his onslaught. As it was with me, so it is with thee;\nthou wastest the sweet of thy life and the joyance of thine hours. Give\near, then, to my rede and put thy trust in the Lord of Lords and know\nthat in the world is no stability, but it is as it were a spider\u2019s web\nto thee and all that is therein shall die and cease to be. Where is he\nwho laid the foundation of Amid[132] and builded it and builded\nF\u00e1rik\u00edn[133] and exalted it? Where be the peoples of the strong places?\nWhenas them they had inhabited, after their might into the tombs they\ndescended. They have been carried off by death and we shall in like\nmanner be afflicted by doom. None abideth save Allah the Most High, for\nHe is Allah the Forgiving One.\u201d The Emir Musa wept and copied all this,\nand indeed the world was belittled in his eyes. Then he descended the\nhill and rejoined his host, with whom he passed the rest of the day,\ncasting about for a means of access to the city. And he said to his\nWazir Talib bin Sahl and to the chief officers about him, \u201cHow shall we\ncontrive to enter this city and view its marvels?: haply we shall find\ntherein wherewithal to win the favour of the Commander of the Faithful.\u201d\n\u201cAllah prolong the Emir\u2019s fortune!\u201d replied Talib, \u201clet us make a ladder\nand mount the wall therewith, so peradventure we may come at the gate\nfrom within.\u201d Quoth the Emir, \u201cThis is what occurred to my thought also,\nand admirable is the advice!\u201d Then he called for carpenters and\nblacksmiths and bade them fashion wood and build a ladder plated and\nbanded with iron. So they made a strong ladder and many men wrought at\nit a whole month. Then all the company laid hold of it and set it up\nagainst the wall, and it reached the top as truly as if it had been\nbuilt for it before that time. The Emir marvelled and said, \u201cThe\nblessing of Allah be upon you. It seems as though ye had taken the\nmeasure of the mure, so excellent is your work.\u201d Then said he to his\nmen, \u201cWhich of you will mount the ladder and walk along the wall and\ncast about for a way of descending into the city, so to see how the case\nstands and let us know how we may open the gate?\u201d Whereupon quoth one of\nthem, \u201cI will go up, O Emir, and descend and open to you\u201d; and Musa\nanswered, saying, \u201cGo and the blessing of Allah go with thee!\u201d So the\nman mounted the ladder; but, when he came to the top of the wall, he\nstood up and gazed fixedly down into the city, then clapped his hands\nand crying out, at the top of his voice, \u201cBy Allah, thou art fair!\u201d cast\nhimself down into the place, and Musa cried, \u201cBy Allah, he is a dead\nman!\u201d But another came up to him and said, \u201cO Emir, this was a madman\nand doubtless his madness got the better of him and destroyed him. I\nwill go up and open the gate to you, if it be the will of Allah the Most\nHigh.\u201d \u201cGo up,\u201d replied Musa, \u201cand Allah be with thee! But beware lest\nthou lose thy head, even as did thy comrade.\u201d Then the man mounted the\nladder, but no sooner had he reached the top of the wall than he laughed\naloud, saying, \u201cWell done! well done!\u201d; and clapping palms cast himself\ndown into the city and died forthright. When the Emir saw this, he said,\n\u201cAn such be the action of a reasonable man, what is that of the madman?\nIf all our men do on this wise, we shall have none left and shall fail\nof our errand and that of the Commander of the Faithful. Get ye ready\nfor the march: verily we have no concern with this city.\u201d But a third\none of the company said, \u201cHaply another may be steadier than they.\u201d So a\nthird mounted the wall and a fourth and a fifth and all cried out and\ncast themselves down, even as did the first; nor did they leave to do\nthus, till a dozen had perished in like fashion. Then the Shaykh Abd\nal-Samad came forward and heartened himself and said, \u201cThis affair is\nreserved to none other than myself; for the experienced is not like the\ninexperienced.\u201d Quoth the Emir, \u201cIndeed thou shalt not do that nor will\nI have thee go up: an thou perish, we shall all be cut off to the last\nman since thou art our guide.\u201d But he answered, saying, \u201cPeradventure,\nthat which we seek may be accomplished at my hands, by the grace of God\nMost High!\u201d So the folk all agreed to let him mount the ladder, and he\narose and heartening himself, said, \u201cIn the name of Allah, the\nCompassionating, the Compassionate!\u201d and mounted the ladder, calling on\nthe name of the Lord and reciting the Verses of Safety.[134] When he\nreached the top of the wall, he clapped his hands and gazed fixedly down\ninto the city; whereupon the folk below cried out to him with one\naccord, saying, \u201cO Shaykh Abd al-Samad, for the Lord\u2019s sake, cast not\nthyself down!\u201d; and they added, \u201cVerily we are Allah\u2019s and unto Him we\nare returning! If the Shaykh fall, we are dead men one and all.\u201d Then he\nlaughed beyond all measure and sat a long hour, reciting the names of\nAllah Almighty and repeating the Verses of Safety; then he rose and\ncried out at the top of his voice, saying, \u201cO Emir, have no fear; no\nhurt shall betide you, for Allah (to whom belong Might and Majesty!)\nhath averted from me the wiles and malice of Satan, by the blessing of\nthe words, \u2018In the name of Allah the Compassionating the\nCompassionate!\u2019\u201d Asked Musa, \u201cWhat didst thou see, O Shaykh?\u201d and Abd\nal-Samad answered, \u201cI saw ten maidens, as they were Houris of Heaven\ncalling to me with their hands\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Seventy-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Shaykh Abd\nal-Samad answered, \u201cI saw ten maidens like Houris of Heaven,[135] and\nthey calling and signing[136]:\u2014Come hither to us; and meseemed there was\nbelow me a lake of water. So I thought to throw myself down, when\nbehold, I espied my twelve companions lying dead; so I restrained myself\nand recited somewhat of Allah\u2019s Book, whereupon He dispelled from me the\ndamsels\u2019 witchlike wiles and malicious guiles and they disappeared. And\ndoubtless this was an enchantment devised by the people of the city, to\nrepel any who should seek to gaze upon or to enter the place. And it\nhath succeeded in slaying our companions.\u201d Then he walked on along the\nwall, till he came to the two towers of brass aforesaid and saw therein\ntwo gates of gold, without padlocks or visible means of opening. Hereat\nhe paused as long as Allah pleased[137] and gazed about him awhile, till\nhe espied in the middle of one of the gates, a horseman of brass with\nhand outstretched as if pointing, and in his palm was somewhat written.\nSo he went up to it and read these words, \u201cO thou who comest to this\nplace, an thou wouldst enter turn the pin in my navel twelve times and\nthe gate will open.\u201d Accordingly, he examined the horseman and finding\nin his navel a pin of gold, firm-set and fast fixed, he turned it twelve\ntimes, whereupon the horseman revolved like the blinding lightning and\nthe gate swung open with a noise like thunder. He entered and found\nhimself in a long passage,[138] which brought him down some steps into a\nguard-room furnished with goodly wooden benches, whereon sat men dead,\nover whose heads hung fine shields and keen blades and bent bows and\nshafts ready notched. Thence, he came to the main gate of the city; and,\nfinding it secured with iron bars and curiously wrought locks and bolts\nand chains and other fastenings of wood and metal, said to himself,\n\u201cBelike the keys are with yonder dead folk.\u201d So he turned back to the\nguard-room and seeing amongst the dead an old man seated upon a high\nwooden bench, who seemed the chiefest of them, said in his mind, \u201cWho\nknows but they are with this Shaykh? Doubtless he was the warder of the\ncity, and these others were under his hand.\u201d So he went up to him and\nlifting his gown, behold, the keys were hanging to his girdle; whereat\nhe joyed with exceeding joy and was like to fly for gladness. Then he\ntook them and going up to the portal, undid the padlocks and drew back\nthe bolts and bars, whereupon the great leaves flew open with a crash\nlike the pealing thunder by reason of its greatness and terribleness. At\nthis he cried out, saying, \u201cAllaho Akbar\u2014God is most great!\u201d And the\nfolk without answered him with the same words, rejoicing and thanking\nhim for his deed. The Emir Musa also was delighted at the Shaykh\u2019s\nsafety and the opening of the city-gate, and the troops all pressed\nforward to enter; but Musa cried out to them, saying, \u201cO folk, if we all\ngo in at once we shall not be safe from some ill-chance which may betide\nus. Let half enter and other half tarry without.\u201d So he pushed forwards\nwith half his men, bearing their weapons of war, and finding their\ncomrades lying dead, they buried them; and they saw the doorkeepers and\neunuchs and chamberlains and officers reclining on couches of silk and\nall were corpses. Then they fared on till they came to the chief\nmarket-place, full of lofty buildings whereof none overpassed the\nothers, and found all its shops open, with the scales hung out and the\nbrazen vessels ordered and the caravanserais full of all manner goods;\nand they beheld the merchants sitting on the shop-boards dead, with\nshrivelled skin and rotted bones, a warning to those who can take\nwarning; and here they saw four separate markets all replete with\nwealth. Then they left the great bazar and went on till they came to the\nsilk market, where they found silks and brocades, orfrayed with red gold\nand diapered with white silver upon all manner of colours, and the\nowners lying dead upon mats of scented goats\u2019 leather, and looking as if\nthey would speak; after which they traversed the market-street of pearls\nand rubies and other jewels and came to that of the schroffs and\nmoney-changers, whom they saw sitting dead upon carpets of raw silk and\ndyed stuffs in shops full of gold and silver. Thence they passed to the\nperfumers\u2019 bazar where they found the shops filled with drugs of all\nkinds and bladders of musk and ambergris and Nadd-scent and camphor and\nother perfumes, in vessels of ivory and ebony and Khalanj-wood and\nAndalusian copper, the which is equal in value to gold; and various\nkinds of rattan and Indian cane; but the shopkeepers all lay dead nor\nwas there with them aught of food. And hard by this drug-market they\ncame upon a palace, imposingly edified and magnificently decorated; so\nthey entered and found therein banners displayed and drawn sword-blades\nand strung bows and bucklers hanging by chains of gold and silver and\nhelmets gilded with red gold. In the vestibules stood benches of ivory,\nplated with glittering gold and covered with silken stuffs, whereon lay\nmen, whose skin had dried up on their bones; the fool had deemed them\nsleeping; but, for lack of food, they had perished and tasted the cup of\ndeath. Now when the Emir Musa saw this, he stood still, glorifying Allah\nthe Most High and hallowing Him and contemplating the beauty of the\npalace and the massiveness of its masonry and fair perfection of its\nordinance, for it was builded after the goodliest and stablest fashion\nand the most part of its adornment was of green[139] lapis-lazuli; and\non the inner door, which stood open, were written in characters of gold\nand ultramarine, these couplets:\u2014\n\n[Illustration]\n\n Consider thou, O man, what these places to thee showed \u273f And be upon thy\n guard ere thou travel the same road:\n And prepare thee good provision some day may serve thy turn \u273f For each\n dweller in the house needs must yede wi\u2019 those who yode\n Consider how this people their palaces adorned \u273f And in dust have been\n pledged for the seed of acts they sowed:\n They built but their building availed them not, and hoards \u273f Nor saved\n their lives nor day of Destiny forslowed:\n How often did they hope for what things were undecreed. \u273f And passed\n unto their tombs before Hope the bounty showed:\n And from high and awful state all a-sudden they were sent \u273f To the\n straitness of the grave and oh! base is their abode:\n Then came to them a Crier after burial and cried, \u273f What booted thrones\n or crowns or the gold to you bestowed:\n Where now are gone the faces hid by curtain and by veil, \u273f Whose charms\n were told in proverbs, those beauties \u00e0-la-mode?\n The tombs aloud reply to the questioners and cry, \u273f \u201cDeath\u2019s canker and\n decay those rosy cheeks corrode!\u201d\n Long time they ate and drank, but their joyaunce had a term; \u273f And the\n eater eke was eaten, and was eaten by the worm.\n\nWhen the Emir read this, he wept, till he was like to swoon away,\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 Seventy-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Emir wept till\nhe was like to swoon away, and bade write down the verses, after which\nhe passed on into the inner palace and came to a vast hall, at each of\nwhose four corners stood a pavilion lofty and spacious, washed with gold\nand silver and painted in various colours. In the heart of the hall was\na great jetting-fountain of alabaster, surmounted by a canopy of\nbrocade, and in each pavilion was a sitting-place and each place had its\nrichly-wrought fountain and tank paved with marble and streams flowing\nin channels along the floor and meeting in a great and grand cistern of\nmany-coloured marbles. Quoth the Emir to the Shaykh Abd al-Samad, \u201cCome,\nlet us visit yonder pavilion!\u201d So they entered the first and found it\nfull of gold and silver and pearls and jacinths and other precious\nstones and metals, besides chests filled with brocades, red and yellow\nand white. Then they repaired to the second pavilion, and, opening a\ncloset there, found it full of arms and armour, such as gilded helmets\nand Davidean[140] hauberks and Hindi swords and Arabian spears and\nChorasmian[141] maces and other gear of fight and fray. Thence they\npassed to the third pavilion, wherein they saw closets padlocked and\ncovered with curtains wrought with all manner of embroidery. They opened\none of these and found it full of weapons curiously adorned with open\nwork and with gold and silver damascene and jewels. Then they entered\nthe fourth pavilion, and opening one of the closets there, beheld in it\ngreat store of eating and drinking vessels of gold and silver, with\nplatters of crystal and goblets set with fine pearls and cups of\ncarnelian and so forth. So they all fell to taking that which suited\ntheir tastes and each of the soldiers carried off what he could. When\nthey left the pavilions, they saw in the midst of the palace a door of\nteak-wood marqueteried with ivory and ebony and plated with glittering\ngold, over which hung a silken curtain purfled with all manner of\nembroideries; and on this door were locks of white silver, that opened\nby artifice without a key. The Shaykh Abd al-Samad went valiantly up\nthereto and by the aid of his knowledge and skill opened the locks,\nwhereupon the door admitted them into a corridor paved with marble and\nhung with veil-like[142] tapestries embroidered with figures of all\nmanner beasts and birds, whose bodies were of red gold and white silver\nand their eyes of pearls and rubies, amazing all who looked upon them.\nPassing onwards they came to a saloon builded all of polished marble,\ninlaid with jewels, which seemed to the beholder as though the floor\nwere flowing water[143] and whoso walked thereon slipped. The Emir bade\nthe Shaykh strew somewhat upon it, that they might walk over it; which\nbeing done, they made shift to fare forwards till they came to a great\ndomed pavilion of stone, gilded with red gold and crowned with a cupola\nof alabaster, about which were set lattice-windows carved and jewelled\nwith rods of emerald,[144] beyond the competence of any King. Under this\ndome was a canopy of brocade, reposing upon pillars of red gold and\nwrought with figures of birds whose feet were of smaragd, and beneath\neach bird was a network of fresh-hued pearls. The canopy was spread\nabove a jetting fountain of ivory and carnelian, plated with glittering\ngold and thereby stood a couch set with pearls and rubies and other\njewels and beside the couch a pillar of gold. On the capital of the\ncolumn stood a bird fashioned of red rubies and holding in his bill a\npearl which shone like a star; and on the couch lay a damsel, as she\nwere the lucident sun, eyes never saw a fairer. She wore a tight-fitting\nbody-robe of fine pearls, with a crown of red gold on her head, filleted\nwith gems, and on her forehead were two great jewels, whose light was as\nthe light of the sun. On her breast she wore a jewelled amulet, filled\nwith musk and ambergris and worth the empire of the C\u00e6sars; and around\nher neck hung a collar of rubies and great pearls, hollowed and filled\nwith odoriferous musk. And it seemed as if she gazed on them to the\nright and to the left.\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 Seventy-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the damsel seemed\nto be gazing at the folk to the right and to the left. The Emir Musa\nmarvelled at her exceeding beauty and was confounded at the blackness of\nher hair and the redness of her cheeks, which made the beholder deem her\nalive and not dead, and said to her, \u201cPeace be with thee, O damsel!\u201d But\nTalib ibn Sahl said to him, \u201cAllah preserve thee, O Emir, verily this\ndamsel is dead and there is no life in her; so how shall she return thy\nsalam?\u201d; adding, \u201cIndeed, she is but a corpse embalmed with exceeding\nart; her eyes were taken out after her death and quicksilver set under\nthem, after which they were restored to their sockets. Wherefore they\nglisten and when the air moveth the lashes, she seemeth to wink and it\nappeareth to the beholder as though she looked at him, for all she is\ndead.\u201d At this the Emir marvelled beyond measure and said, \u201cGlory be to\nGod who subjugateth His creatures to the dominion of Death!\u201d Now the\ncouch on which the damsel lay, had steps, and thereon stood two statues\nof Andalusian copper representing slaves, one white and the other black.\nThe first held a mace of steel[145] and the second a sword of watered\nsteel which dazzled the eye; and between them, on one of the steps of\nthe couch, lay a golden tablet, whereon were written, in characters of\nwhite silver, the following words: \u201cIn the name of God, the\nCompassionating, the Compassionate! Praise be to Allah, the Creator of\nmankind; and He is the Lord of Lords, the Causer of Causes! In the name\nof Allah, the Never-beginning, the Everlasting, the Ordainer of Fate and\nFortune! O son of Adam! what hath befooled thee in this long esperance?\nWhat hath unminded thee of the Death-day\u2019s mischance? Knowest thou not\nthat Death calleth for thee and hasteneth to seize upon the soul of\nthee? Be ready, therefore, for the way and provide thee for thy\ndeparture from the world; for, assuredly, thou shalt leave it without\ndelay. Where is Adam, first of humanity? Where is Noah with his progeny?\nWhere be the Kings of Hind and Irak-plain and they who over earth\u2019s\nwidest regions reign? Where do the Amalekites abide and the giants and\ntyrants of olden tide? Indeed, the dwelling-places are void of them and\nthey have departed from kindred and home. Where be the Kings of Arab and\nAjem? They are dead, all of them, and gone and are become rotten bones.\nWhere be the lords so high in stead? They are all done dead. Where are\nKora and Haman? Where is Shaddad son of Ad? Where be Canaan and\nZu\u2019l-Aut\u00e1d,[146] Lord of the Stakes? By Allah, the Reaper of lives hath\nreaped them and made void the lands of them. Did they provide them\nagainst the Day of Resurrection or make ready to answer the Lord of men?\nO thou, if thou know me not, I will acquaint thee with my name: I am\nTadmurah,[147] daughter of the Kings of the Amalekites, of those who\nheld dominion over the lands in equity and brought low the necks of\nhumanity. I possessed that which never King possessed and was righteous\nin my rule and did justice among my lieges; yea, I gave gifts and\nlargesse and freed bondsmen and bondswomen. Thus lived I many years in\nall ease and delight of life, till Death knocked at my door and to me\nand to my folk befel calamities galore; and it was on this wise. There\nbetided us seven successive years of drought, wherein no drop of rain\nfell on us from the skies and no green thing sprouted for us on the face\nof earth.[148] So we ate what was with us of victual, then we fell upon\nthe cattle and devoured them, until nothing was left. Thereupon I let\nbring my treasures and meted them with measures and sent out trusty men\nto buy food. They circuited all the lands in quest thereof and left no\ncity unsought, but found it not to be bought and returned to us with the\ntreasure after a long absence; and gave us to know that they could not\nsucceed in bartering fine pearls for poor wheat, bushel for bushel,\nweight for weight. So, when we despaired of succour, we displayed all\nour riches and things of price and, shutting the gates of the city and\nits strong places, resigned ourselves to the deme of our Lord and\ncommitted our case to our King. Then we all died,[149] as thou seest us,\nand left what we had builded and all we had hoarded. This, then, is our\nstory, and after the substance naught abideth but the trace.\u201d Then they\nlooked at the foot of the tablet and read these couplets:\u2014\n\n O child of Adam, let not hope make mock and flyte at thee, \u273f From all\n thy hands have treasur\u00e8d, remov\u00e8d thou shalt be;\n I see thou covetest the world and fleeting worldly charms, \u273f And races\n past and gone have done the same as thou I see.\n Lawful and lawless wealth they got; but all their hoarded store, \u273f Their\n term accomplished, naught delayed of Destiny\u2019s decree.\n\n Armies they led and puissant men and gained them gold galore; \u273f Then\n left their wealth and palaces by Fate compelled to flee,\n To straitness of the grave-yard and humble bed of dust \u273f Whence, pledged\n for every word and deed, they never more win free:\n As a company of travellers had unloaded in the night \u273f At house that\n lacketh food nor is o\u2019erfain of company:\n Whose owner saith, \u2018O folk, there be no lodging here for you;\u2019 \u273f So\n packed they who had erst unpacked and far\u00e8d hurriedly:\n Misliking much the march, nor the journey nor the halt \u273f Had aught of\n pleasant chances or had aught of goodly gree.\n Then prepare thou good provision for to-morrow\u2019s journey stored, \u273f\n Naught but righteous honest life shall avail thee with the Lord!\n\nAnd the Emir Musa wept as he read, \u201cBy Allah, the fear of the Lord is\nthe best of all property, the pillar of certainty and the sole sure\nstay. Verily, Death is the truth manifest and the sure behest, and\ntherein, O thou, is the goal and return-place evident. Take warning,\ntherefore, by those who to the dust did wend and hastened on the way of\nthe predestined end. Seest thou not that hoary hairs summon thee to the\ntomb and that the whiteness of thy locks maketh moan of thy doom?\nWherefore be thou on the wake ready for thy departure and thine account\nto make. O son of Adam, what hath hardened thy heart in mode abhorred?\nWhat hath seduced thee from the service of thy Lord? Where be the\npeoples of old time? They are a warning to whoso will be warned! Where\nbe the Kings of Al-S\u00edn and the lords of majestic mien? Where is Shaddad\nbin Ad and whatso he built and he stablished? Where is Nimrod who\nrevolted against Allah and defied Him? Where is Pharaoh who rebelled\nagainst God and denied Him? Death followed hard upon the trail of them\nall, and laid them low sparing neither great nor small, male nor female;\nand the Reaper of Mankind cut them off, yea, by Him who maketh night to\nreturn upon day! Know, O thou who comest to this place, that she whom\nthou seest here was not deluded by the world and its frail delights, for\nit is faithless, perfidious, a house of ruin, vain and treacherous; and\nsalutary to the creature is the remembrance of his sins; wherefore she\nfeared her Lord and made fair her dealings and provided herself with\nprovaunt against the appointed marching-day. Whoso cometh to our city\nand Allah vouchsafeth him competence to enter it, let him take of the\ntreasure all he can, but touch not aught that is on my body, for it is\nthe covering of my shame[150] and the outfit for the last journey;\nwherefore let him fear Allah and despoil naught thereof; else will he\ndestroy his own self. This have I set forth to him for a warning from me\nand a solemn trust to be; wherewith, peace be with ye and I pray Allah\nto keep you from sickness and calamity.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Seventy-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Emir Musa\nread this, he wept with exceeding weeping till he swooned away and\npresently coming to himself, wrote down all he had seen and was\nadmonished by all he had witnessed. Then he said to his men, \u201cFetch the\ncamels and load them with these treasures and vases and jewels.\u201d \u201cO\nEmir,\u201d asked Talib, \u201cshall we leave our damsel with what is upon her,\nthings which have no equal and whose like is not to be found and more\nperfect than aught else thou takest; nor couldst thou find a goodlier\noffering wherewithal to propitiate the favour of the Commander of the\nFaithful?\u201d But Musa answered, \u201cO man, heardest thou not what the Lady\nsaith on this tablet? More by token that she giveth it in trust to us\nwho are no traitors.\u201d \u201cAnd shall we,\u201d rejoined the Wazir Talib, \u201cbecause\nof these words, leave all these riches and jewels, seeing that she is\ndead? What should she do with these that are the adornments of the world\nand the ornament of the worldling, seeing that one garment of cotton\nwould suffice for her covering? We have more right to them than she.\u201d So\nsaying he mounted the steps of the couch between the pillars, but when\nhe came within reach of the two slaves, lo! the mace-bearer smote him on\nthe back and the other struck him with the sword he held in his hand and\nlopped off his head, and he dropped down dead. Quoth the Emir, \u201cAllah\nhave no mercy on thy resting-place! Indeed there was enough in these\ntreasures; and greed of gain assuredly degradeth a man.\u201d Then he bade\nadmit the troops; so they entered and loaded the camels with those\ntreasures and precious ores; after which they went forth and the Emir\ncommanded them to shut the gate as before. They fared on along the\nsea-shore a whole month, till they came in sight of a high mountain\noverlooking the sea and full of caves, wherein dwelt a tribe of blacks,\nclad in hides, with burnooses also of hide and speaking an unknown\ntongue. When they saw the troops they were startled like shying steeds\nand fled into the caverns, whilst their women and children stood at the\ncave-doors, looking on the strangers. \u201cO Shaykh Abd al-Samad,\u201d asked the\nEmir, \u201cwhat are these folk?\u201d and he answered, \u201cThey are those whom we\nseek for the Commander of the Faithful.\u201d So they dismounted and setting\ndown their loads, pitched their tents; whereupon, almost before they had\ndone, down came the King of the blacks from the mountain and drew near\nthe camp. Now he understood the Arabic tongue; so, when he came to the\nEmir he saluted him with the salam and Musa returned his greeting and\nentreated him with honour. Then quoth he to the Emir, \u201cAre ye men or\nJinn?\u201d \u201cWell, we are men,\u201d quoth Musa; \u201cbut doubtless ye are Jinn, to\njudge by your dwelling apart in this mountain which is cut off from\nmankind, and by your inordinate bulk.\u201d \u201cNay,\u201d rejoined the black; \u201cwe\nalso are children of Adam, of the lineage of Ham, son of Noah (with whom\nbe peace!), and this sea is known as Al-Karkar.\u201d Asked Musa, \u201cO King,\nwhat is your religion and what worship ye?\u201d; and he answered, saying,\n\u201cWe worship the God of the heavens and our religion is that of Mohammed,\nwhom Allah bless and preserve!\u201d \u201cAnd how came ye by the knowledge of\nthis,\u201d questioned the Emir, \u201cseeing that no prophet was inspired to\nvisit this country?\u201d \u201cKnow, Emir,\u201d replied the King, \u201cthat there\nappeared to us whilere from out the sea a man, from whom issued a light\nthat illumined the horizons and he cried out, in a voice which was heard\nof men far and near, saying:\u2014O children of Ham, reverence to Him who\nseeth and is not seen and say ye, There is no god but _the_ God, and\nMohammed is the messenger of God! And he added:\u2014I am Abu al-Abb\u00e1s\nal-Khizr. Before this we were wont to worship one another, but he\nsummoned us to the service of the Lord of all creatures; and he taught\nus to repeat these words, There is no god save _the_ God alone, who hath\nfor partner none, and His is the kingdom and His is the praise. He\ngiveth life and death and He over all things is Almighty. Nor do we draw\nnear unto Allah (be He exalted and extolled!) except with these words,\nfor we know none other; but every eve before Friday[151] we see a light\nupon the face of earth and we hear a voice saying, Holy and glorious,\nLord of the Angels and the Spirit! What He willeth is, and what He\nwilleth not, is not. Every boon is of His grace and there is neither\nMajesty nor is there Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!\u201d \u201cBut\nye,\u201d quoth the King, \u201cwho and what are ye and what bringeth you to this\nland?\u201d Quoth Musa, \u201cWe are officers of the Sovereign of Al-Islam, the\nCommander of the Faithful, Abd al-Malik bin Marwan, who hath heard tell\nof the lord Solomon, son of David (on whom be peace!) and of that which\nthe Most High bestowed upon him of supreme dominion; how he held sway\nover Jinn and beast and bird and was wont when he was wroth with one of\nthe Marids, to shut him in a cucurbite of brass and, stopping its mouth\non him with lead, whereon he impressed his seal-ring, to cast him into\nthe sea of Al-Karkar. Now we have heard tell that this sea is nigh your\nland; so the Commander of the Faithful hath sent us hither, to bring him\nsome of these cucurbites, that he may look thereon and solace himself\nwith their sight. Such, then, is our case and what we seek of thee, O\nKing, and we desire that thou further us in the accomplishment of our\nerrand commanded by the Commander of the Faithful.\u201d \u201cWith love and\ngladness,\u201d replied the black King, and carrying them to the guest-house,\nentreated them with the utmost honour and furnished them with all they\nneeded, feeding them upon fish. They abode thus three days, when he bade\nhis divers fetch from out the sea some of the vessels of Solomon. So\nthey dived and brought up twelve cucurbites, whereat the Emir and the\nShaykh and all the company rejoiced in the accomplishment of the\nCaliph\u2019s need. Then Musa gave the King of the blacks many and great\ngifts; and he, in turn, made him a present of the wonders of the deep,\nbeing fishes in human form,[152] saying \u201cYour entertainment these three\ndays hath been of the meat of these fish.\u201d Quoth the Emir, \u201cNeeds must\nwe carry some of these to the Caliph, for the sight of them will please\nhim more than the cucurbites of Solomon.\u201d Then they took leave of the\nblack King and, setting out on their homeward journey, travelled till\nthey came to Damascus, where Musa went in to the Commander of the\nFaithful and told him all that he had sighted and heard of verses and\nlegends and instances, together with the manner of the death of Talib\nbin Sahl; and the Caliph said, \u201cWould I had been with you, that I might\nhave seen what you saw!\u201d Then he took the brazen vessels and opened\nthem, cucurbite after cucurbite, whereupon the devils came forth of\nthem, saying, \u201cWe repent, O Prophet of Allah! Never again will we return\nto the like of this thing; no never!\u201d And the Caliph marvelled at this.\nAs for the daughters of the deep presented to them by the black King,\nthey made them cisterns of planks, full of water, and laid them therein;\nbut they died of the great heat. Then the Caliph sent for the spoils of\nthe Brazen City and divided them among the Faithful,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Seventy-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph\nmarvelled much at the cucurbites and their contents; then he sent for\nthe spoils and divided them among the Faithful, saying, \u201cNever gave\nAllah unto any the like of that which he bestowed upon Solomon\nDavid-son!\u201d Thereupon the Emir Musa sought leave of him to appoint his\nson Governor of the Province in his stead, that he might betake himself\nto the Holy City of Jerusalem, there to worship Allah. So the Commander\nof the Faithful invested his son Harun with the government and Musa\nrepaired to the Glorious and Holy City, where he died. This, then, is\nall that hath come down to us of the story of the City of Brass, and God\nis All-knowing!\u2014\u2014Now (continued Shahrazad) I have another tale to tell\nanent the\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 104:\n\n This is a true \u201cCity of Brass.\u201d (Nuh\u00e1s asfar = yellow copper), as we\n learn in Night dcclxxii. It is situated in the \u201cMaghrib\u201d (Mauritania),\n the region of magic and mystery; and the idea was probably suggested\n by the grand Roman ruins which rise abruptly from what has become a\n sandy waste. Compare with this tale \u201cThe City of Brass\u201d (Night\n cclxxii). In Egypt Nuh\u00e1s is vulg. pronounced Nih\u00e1s.\n\nFootnote 105:\n\n The Bresl. Edit. adds that the seal-ring was of stamped stone and\n iron, copper and lead. I have borrowed copiously from its vol. vi. pp.\n 343, _et seq._\n\nFootnote 106:\n\n As this was a well-known pre-Islamitic bard, his appearance here is\n decidedly anachronistic, probably by intention.\n\nFootnote 107:\n\n The first Moslem conqueror of Spain whose lieutenant, T\u00e1rik, the\n gallant and unfortunate, named Gibraltar (Jabal al-Tarik).\n\nFootnote 108:\n\n The colours of the Ban\u00fa Umayyah (Ommiade) Caliphs were white; of the\n Ban\u00fa Abb\u00e1s (Abbasides) black, and of the Fatimites green. Carrying the\n royal flag denoted the generalissimo or plenipotentiary.\n\nFootnote 109:\n\n _i.e._ Old Cairo, or Fustat: the present Cairo was then a Coptic\n village founded on an old Egyptian settlement called Lui-Tkeshroma, to\n which belonged the tanks on the hill and the great well, Bir Yusuf,\n absurdly attributed to Joseph the Patriarch. Lui is evidently the\n origin of Levi and means a high priest (Brugsh ii. 130) and his son\u2019s\n name was Roma.\n\nFootnote 110:\n\n I cannot but suspect that this is a clerical error for \u201cAl-Samanh\u00fadi,\u201d\n a native of Samanh\u00fad (Wilkinson\u2019s \u201cSemenood\u201d) in the Delta on the\n Damietta branch, the old Sebennytus (in Coptic Jem-nuti = Jem the\n God), a town which has produced many distinguished men in Moslem\n times. But there is also a Samh\u00fad lying a few miles down stream from\n Denderah and, as its mounds prove, it is an ancient site.\n\nFootnote 111:\n\n Egypt had not then been conquered from the Christians.\n\nFootnote 112:\n\n Arab. \u201cK\u00edz\u00e1n fukk\u00e1\u2019a,\u201d _i.e._ thin and slightly porous earthenware\n jars used for Fukk\u00e1\u2019a, a fermented drink, made of barley or raisins.\n\nFootnote 113:\n\n I retain this venerable blunder: the right form is Sam\u00fam, from Samm,\n the poison-wind.\n\nFootnote 114:\n\n _i.e._ for worship and to prepare for futurity.\n\nFootnote 115:\n\n The camel carries the Badawi\u2019s corpse to the cemetery which is often\n distant: hence to dream of a camel is an omen of death.\n\nFootnote 116:\n\n Koran xxiv. 39. The word \u201cSar\u00e1b\u201d (mirage) is found in Isaiah (xxxv. 7)\n where the passage should be rendered \u201cAnd the mirage (sharab) shall\n become a lake\u201d (not, \u201cand the parched ground shall become a pool\u201d).\n The Hindus prettily call it \u201cMrigatrishn\u00e1\u201d = the thirst of the deer.\n\nFootnote 117:\n\n A name of Allah.\n\nFootnote 118:\n\n Arab. \u201cKint\u00e1r\u201d = a hundredweight (_i.e._ 100 lbs.), about 98\u00be lbs.\n avoir. Hence the French _quintal_ and its congeners (Littr\u00e9).\n\nFootnote 119:\n\n _i.e._ \u201cfrom Sh\u00e1m\u201d (Syria) to (the land of) Adnan, ancestor of the\n Naturalized Arabs that is, to Arabia.\n\nFootnote 120:\n\n Koran lii. 21. \u201cEvery man is given in pledge for that which he shall\n have wrought.\u201d\n\nFootnote 121:\n\n There is a constant clerical confusion in the texts between \u201cArar\u201d\n (Juniperus Oxycedrus used by the Greeks for the images of their gods)\n and \u201cMarmar\u201d marble or alabaster, in the Talmud \u201cMarmora\u201d = marble,\n evidently from \u03bc\u03ac\u03c1\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 = brilliant, the brilliant stone.\n\nFootnote 122:\n\n These Ifritical names are chosen for their _bizarrerie_. \u201cAl-D\u00e1hish\u201d =\n the Amazed; and \u201cAl-A\u2019amash\u201d = one with weak eyes always watering.\n\nFootnote 123:\n\n The Arabs have no word for million; so Messer Marco Miglione could not\n have learned it from them. On the other hand the Hindus have more\n quadrillions than modern Europe.\n\nFootnote 124:\n\n This formula, according to Moslems, would begin with the beginning\n \u201cThere is no il\u00e1h but Allah and Adam is the Apostle (ras\u00fal = one sent,\n a messenger; not nab\u00ed = prophet) of Allah.\u201d And so on with Noah,\n Moses, David (not Solomon as a rule) and Jesus to Mohammed.\n\nFootnote 125:\n\n This son of Barachia has been noticed before. The text embroiders the\n Koranic chapter No. xxvii.\n\nFootnote 126:\n\n The Bresl. Edit. (vi. 371) reads \u201cSamm-hu\u201d = his poison, prob. a\n clerical error for \u201cSahmhu\u201d = his shaft. It was a duel with the\n \u201cShih\u00e1b\u201d or falling stars, the meteors which are popularly supposed, I\n have said, to be the arrows shot by the angels against devils and evil\n spirits when they approach too near Heaven in order to overhear divine\n secrets.\n\nFootnote 127:\n\n A fancy sea from the Lat. \u201cCarcer\u201d (?).\n\nFootnote 128:\n\n Andalusian = Spanish, the Vandal-land, a term accepted by the Moslem\n invader.\n\nFootnote 129:\n\n This fine description will remind the traveller of the old Haurani\n towns deserted since the sixth century, which a silly writer miscalled\n the \u201cGiant Cities of Bashan.\u201d I have never seen anything weirder than\n a moonlight night in one of these strong places whose masonry is\n perfect as when first built, the snowy light pouring on the jet-black\n basalt and the breeze sighing and the jackal wailing in the desert\n around.\n\nFootnote 130:\n\n \u201cZanj,\u201d I have said, is the Arab. form of the Persian \u201cZang-bar\u201d (=\n Black-land), our Zanzibar. Those who would know more of the etymology\n will consult my \u201cZanzibar,\u201d etc., chapt. i.\n\nFootnote 131:\n\n Arab. \u201cTanjah\u201d = Strabo \u03a4\u03af\u03b3\u03b3\u03b9\u03c2 (derivation uncertain), Tingitania,\n Tangiers. But why the terminal _s_?\n\nFootnote 132:\n\n Or Amidah, by the Turks called \u201cKara (black) Amid\u201d from the colour of\n the stones; and the Arabs \u201cDiyar-bakr\u201d (Diarbekir), a name which they\n also give to the whole province\u2014Mesopotamia.\n\nFootnote 133:\n\n Mayy\u00e1f\u00e1rik\u00edn, an episcopal city in Diyar-bakr: the natives are called\n F\u00e1rik\u00ed; hence the abbreviation in the text.\n\nFootnote 134:\n\n Arab. \u201cAy\u00e1t al-Naj\u00e1t,\u201d certain Koranic verses which act as talismans,\n such as, \u201cAnd wherefore should we not put our trust in Allah?\u201d (xiv.\n 15); \u201cSay thou, \u2018Naught shall befal us save what Allah hath decreed\n for us.\u2019\u201d (ix. 51), and sundry others.\n\nFootnote 135:\n\n These were the \u201cBrides of the Treasure,\u201d alluded to in the story of\n Hasan of Bassorah and elsewhere.\n\nFootnote 136:\n\n Arab. \u201cIsh\u00e1rah,\u201d which may also mean beckoning. Easterns reverse our\n process: we wave band or finger towards ourselves; they towards the\n object; and our fashion represents to them, Go away!\n\nFootnote 137:\n\n _i.e._ musing a long time and a longsome.\n\nFootnote 138:\n\n Arab. \u201cDihl\u00edz\u201d from the Persian. This is the long dark passage which\n leads to the inner or main gate of an Eastern city, and which is built\n up before a siege. It is usually furnished with Mastabah-benches of\n wood and masonry, and forms a favourite lounge in hot weather. Hence\n Lot and Moses sat and stood in the gate, and here man speaks with his\n enemies.\n\nFootnote 139:\n\n The names of colours are as loosely used by the Arabs as by the\n Classics of Europe; for instance, a light grey is called a \u201cblue or a\n green horse.\u201d Much nonsense has been written upon the colours in Homer\n by men who imagine that the semi-civilised determine tints as we do.\n They see them but they do not name them, having no occasion for the\n words. As I have noticed, however, the Arabs have a complete\n terminology for the varieties of horse-hues. In our day we have\n witnessed the birth of colours, named by the dozen, because required\n by women\u2019s dress.\n\nFootnote 140:\n\n For David\u2019s miracles of metallurgy see vol. i. 286.\n\nFootnote 141:\n\n Arab. \u201cKhw\u00e1razm,\u201d the land of the Chorasmioi, who are mentioned by\n Herodotus (iii. 93) and a host of classical geographers. They place it\n in Sogdiana (hod. Sughd) and it corresponds with the Khiva country.\n\nFootnote 142:\n\n Arab. \u201cBurka\u2019,\u201d usually applied to a woman\u2019s face-veil and hence to\n the covering of the Ka\u2019abah, which is the \u201cBride of Meccah.\u201d\n\nFootnote 143:\n\n Alluding to the trick played upon Bilk\u00eds by Solomon who had heard that\n her legs were hairy like those of an ass: he laid down a pavement of\n glass over flowing water in which fish were swimming and thus she\n raised her skirts as she approached him and he saw that the report was\n true. Hence, as I have said, the depilatory (Koran xxvii.).\n\nFootnote 144:\n\n I understand the curiously carved windows cut in arabesque-work of\n marble (India) or basalt (the Haur\u00e1n) and provided with small panes of\n glass set in emeralds where tinfoil would be used by the vulgar.\n\nFootnote 145:\n\n Arab. \u201cBul\u00e1d\u201d from the Pers. \u201cPul\u00e1d.\u201d Hence the name of the famous\n Druze family \u201cJumblat,\u201d a corruption of \u201cJ\u00e1n-pul\u00e1d\u201d = Life o\u2019 Steel.\n\nFootnote 146:\n\n Pharaoh, so called in Koran (xxxviii. 11) because he tortured men by\n fastening them to four stakes driven into the ground. Sale translates\n \u201cthe contriver of the stakes\u201d and adds, \u201cSome understand the word\n figuratively, of the firm establishment of Pharaoh\u2019s kingdom, because\n the Arabs fix their tents with stakes; but they may possibly intend\n that prince\u2019s obstinacy and hardness of heart.\u201d I may note that in\n \u201cTasawwuf,\u201d or Moslem Gnosticism, Pharaoh represents, like Prometheus\n and Job, the typical creature who upholds his own dignity and rights\n in presence and despight of the Creator. S\u00e1hib the S\u00faf\u00ed declares that\n the secret of man\u2019s soul (_i.e._ its emanation) was first revealed\n when Pharaoh declared himself god; and Al-Ghaz\u00e1l\u00ed sees in his claim\n the most noble aspiration to the divine, innate in the human spirit\n (Dabistan, vol. iii.).\n\nFootnote 147:\n\n In the Calc. Edit. \u201cTarmuz, son of the daughter,\u201d etc. According to\n the Arabs, Tadmur (Palmyra) was built by Queen Tadmurah, daughter of\n Hass\u00e1n bin Uzaynah.\n\nFootnote 148:\n\n It is only by some such drought that I can account for the survival of\n those marvellous Haurani cities in the great valley S. E. of Damascus.\n\nFootnote 149:\n\n So Moses described his own death and burial.\n\nFootnote 150:\n\n A man\u2019s \u201caurat\u201d (shame) extends from the navel (included) to his\n knees; a woman\u2019s from the top of the head to the tips of her toes. I\n have before noticed the Hindostan\u00ed application of the word.\n\nFootnote 151:\n\n Arab. \u201cJum\u2019ah\u201d (= the assembly) so called because the General\n Resurrection will take place on that day and it witnessed the creation\n of Adam. Both these reasons are evidently after-thoughts; as the Jews\n received a divine order to keep Saturday, and the Christians, at their\n own sweet will, transferred the weekly rest-day to Sunday, wherefore\n the Moslem preferred Friday. Sabbatarianism, however, is unknown to\n Al-Islam and business is interrupted, by Koranic order (lxii. 9\u201310),\n only during congregational prayers in the Mosque. The most a\n Mohammedan does is not to work or travel till after public service.\n But the Moslem hardly wants a \u201cday of rest;\u201d whereas a Christian,\n especially in the desperately dull routine of daily life and toil,\n without a gleam of light to break the darkness of his civilised and\n most unhappy existence, distinctly requires it.\n\nFootnote 152:\n\n Mankind, which sees itself everywhere and in everything, must create\n its own analogues in all the elements, air (Sylphs), fire (Jinns),\n water (Mermen and Mermaids) and earth (Kobolds). These merwomen were\n of course seals or manatees, as the wild women of Hanno were gorillas.\n\n\n\n\n CRAFT AND MALICE OF WOMEN,[153] OR THE TALE OF THE KING, HIS SON, HIS\n CONCUBINE AND THE SEVEN WAZIRS.\n\n\nThere was, in days of yore and in ages and times long gone before, a\npuissant King among the Kings of China, the crown of crowned heads, who\nruled over many men of war and vassals with wisdom and justice, might\nand majesty; equitable to his Ryots, liberal to his lieges and dearly\nbeloved by the hearts of his subjects. He was wealthy as he was\npowerful, but he had grown old without being blessed with a son, and\nthis caused him sore affliction. He could only brood over the cutting\noff of his seed and the oblivion that would bury his name and the\npassing of his realm into the stranger\u2019s hands. So he secluded himself\nin his palace, never going in and out or rising and taking rest till the\nlieges lost all tidings of him and were sore perplexed and began to talk\nabout their King. Some said, \u201cHe\u2019s dead\u201d; others said, \u201cNo, he\u2019s not but\nall resolved to find a ruler who could reign over them and carry out the\ncustoms of government.\u201d At last, utterly despairing of male issue, he\nsought the intercession of the Prophet (whom Allah bless and keep!) with\nthe Most High and implored Him, by the glory of His Prophets and Saints\nand Martyrs and others of the Faithful who were acceptable to Heaven\nthat he would grant him a son, to be the coolth of his eyes and heir to\nthe kingdom after him. Then he rose forthright and, withdrawing to his\nsitting-saloon, sent for his wife who was the daughter of his uncle. Now\nthis Queen was of surpassing beauty and loveliness, the fairest of all\nhis wives and the dearest to him as she was the nearest: and to boot a\nwoman of excellent wit and passing judgement. She found the King\ndejected and sorrowful, tearful-eyed and heavy-hearted; so she kissed\nground between his hands and said, \u201cO King, may my life ransom thy life!\nmay Time never prove thy foe, nor the shifts of Fortune prevail over\nthee; may Allah grant thee every joy and ward off from thee all annoy!\nHow is it I see thee brooding over thy case and tormented by the\ndispleasures of memory?\u201d He replied, \u201cThou wottest well that I am a man\nnow shotten in years, who hath never been blessed with a son, a sight to\ncool his eyes; so I know that my kingdom shall pass away to the stranger\nin blood and my name and memory will be blotted out amongst men. \u2018Tis\nthis causeth me to grieve with excessive grief.\u201d \u201cAllah do away with thy\nsorrows,\u201d quoth she: \u201clong ere this day a thought struck me; and\nyearning for issue arose in my heart even as in thine. One night I\ndreamed a dream and a voice said to me:\u2014The King thy husband pineth for\nprogeny: if a daughter be vouchsafed to him, she will be the ruin of his\nrealm; if a son, the youth will undergo much trouble and annoy but he\nwill pass through it without loss of life. Such a son can be conceived\nby thee and thee only and the time of thy conception is when the moon\nconjoineth with Gemini! I woke from my dream, but after what I heard\nthat voice declare I refrained from breeding and would not consent to\nbear children.\u201d \u201cThere is no help for it but that I have a son,\nInshallah,\u2014God willing!\u201d cried the King. Thereupon she soothed and\nconsoled him till he forgot his sorrows and went forth amongst the\nlieges and sat, as of wont, upon his throne of estate. All rejoiced to\nsee him once more and especially the Lords of his realm. Now when the\nconjunction of the moon and Gemini took place, the King knew his wife\ncarnally and, by order of Allah Almighty she became pregnant. Presently\nshe announced the glad tidings to her husband and led her usual life\nuntil her nine months of pregnancy were completed and she bare a male\nchild whose face was as the rondure of the moon on its fourteenth night.\nThe lieges of the realm congratulated one another thereanent and the\nKing commanded an assembly of his Olema and philosophers, astrologers\nand horoscopists, whom he thus addressed, \u201cI desire you to forecast the\nfortune of my son and to determine his ascendant[154] and whatever is\nshown by his nativity.\u201d They replied \u201c\u2018Tis well, in Allah\u2019s name, let us\ndo so!\u201d and cast his nativity with all diligence. After ascertaining his\nascendant, they pronounced judgement in these words, \u201cWe see his lot\nfavourable and his life viable and durable; save that a danger awaiteth\nhis youth.\u201d The father was sorely concerned at this saying, when they\nadded \u201cBut, O King, he shall escape from it nor shall aught of injury\naccrue to him!\u201d Hereupon the King cast aside all cark and care and robed\nthe wizards and dismissed them with splendid honoraria; and he resigned\nhimself to the will of Heaven and acknowledged that the decrees of\nDestiny may not be countervailed. He committed his boy to wet nurses and\ndry nurses, handmaids and eunuchs, leaving him to grow and fill out in\nthe Harim till he reached the age of seven. Then he addressed letters to\nhis Viceroys and Governors in every clime and by their means gathered\ntogether Olema and philosophers and doctors of law and religion, from\nall countries, to a number of three hundred and three score. He held an\nespecial assembly for them and, when all were in presence, he bade them\ndraw near him and be at their ease while he sent for the food-trays and\nall ate their sufficiency. And when the banquet ended and the wizards\nhad taken seats in their several degrees, the King asked them, \u201cWot ye\nwherefore I have gathered ye together?\u201d; whereto all answered, \u201cWe wot\nnot, O King!\u201d He continued, \u201cIt is my wish that you select from amongst\nyou fifty men, and from these fifty ten, and from these ten one, that he\nmay teach my son omnem rem scibilem; for whenas I see the youth perfect\nin all science, I will share my dignity with the Prince and make him\npartner with me in my possessions.\u201d \u201cKnow, O King,\u201d they replied, \u201cthat\namong us none is more learned or more excellent than Al-Sindibad,[155]\nhight the Sage, who woneth in thy capital under thy protection. If such\nbe thy design, summon him and bid him do thy will.\u201d The King acted upon\ntheir advice and the Sage, standing in the presence, expressed his loyal\nsentiments with his salutation, whereupon his Sovereign bade him draw\nnigh and thus raised his rank, saying, \u201cI would have thee to know, O\nSage, that I summoned this assembly of the learned and bade them choose\nme out a man to teach my son all knowledge; when they selected thee\nwithout dissenting thought or voice. If, then, thou feel capable of what\nthey claimed for thee, come thou to the task and understand that a man\u2019s\nson and heir is the very fruit of his vitals and core of his heart and\nliver. My desire of thee is thine instruction of him; and to happy issue\nAllah guideth!\u201d The King then sent for his son and committed him to\nAl-Sindibad conditioning the Sage to finish his education in three\nyears. He did accordingly but, at the end of that time, the young Prince\nhad learned nothing, his mind being wholly occupied with play and\ndisport; and when summoned and examined by his sire, behold, his\nknowledge was as nil. Thereupon the King turned his attention to the\nlearned once more and bade them elect a tutor for his youth; so they\nasked, \u201cAnd what hath his governor, Al-Sindibad, been doing?\u201d and when\nthe King answered, \u201cHe hath taught my son naught;\u201d the Olema and\nphilosophers and high officers summoned the instructor and said to him,\n\u201cO Sage, what prevented thee from teaching the King\u2019s son during this\nlength of days?\u201d \u201cO wise men,\u201d he replied, \u201cthe Prince\u2019s mind is wholly\noccupied with disport and play; yet, an the King will make with me three\nconditions and keep to them, I will teach him in seven months what he\nwould not learn (nor indeed could any other lesson him) within seven\nyears.\u201d \u201cI hearken to thee,\u201d quoth the King, \u201cand I submit myself to thy\nconditions;\u201d and quoth Al-Sindibad, \u201cHear from me, Sire, and bear in\nmind these three sayings, whereof the first is:\u2014Do not to others what\nthou wouldest not they do unto thee;[156] and second:\u2014Do naught hastily\nwithout consulting the experienced; and thirdly:\u2014Where thou hast power\nshow pity.[157] In teaching this lad I require no more of thee but to\naccept these three dictes and adhere thereto.\u201d Cried the King, \u201cBear ye\nwitness against me, O all ye here assembled, that I stand firm by these\nconditions!\u201d; and caused a _proc\u00e8s verbal_ to be drawn up with his\npersonal security and the testimony of his courtiers. Thereupon the\nSage, taking the Prince\u2019s hand, led him to his place, and the King sent\nthem all requisites of provaunt and kitchen-batteries, carpets and other\nfurniture. Moreover the tutor bade build a house whose walls he lined\nwith the whitest stucco painted over with ceruse,[158] and, lastly, he\ndelineated thereon all the objects concerning which he proposed to\nlecture his pupil. When the place was duly furnished, he took the lad\u2019s\nhand and installed him in the apartment which was amply furnished with\nbelly-timber; and, after stablishing him therein, went forth and\nfastened the door with seven padlocks. Nor did he visit the Prince save\nevery third day when he lessoned him on the knowledge to be extracted\nfrom the wall-pictures and renewed his provision of meat and drink,\nafter which he left him again to solitude. So whenever the youth was\nstraitened in breast by the tedium and ennui of loneliness, he applied\nhimself diligently to his object-lessons and mastered all the deductions\ntherefrom. His governor seeing this turned his mind into other channel\nand taught him the inner meanings of the external objects; and in a\nlittle time the pupil mastered every requisite. Then the Sage took him\nfrom the house and taught him cavalarice and Jer\u00edd play and archery.\nWhen the pupil had thoroughly mastered these arts, the tutor sent to the\nKing informing him that the Prince was perfect and complete in all\nthings required to figure favourably amongst his peers. Hereat the King\nrejoiced; and, summoning his Wazirs and Lords of estate to be present at\nthe examination, commanded the Sage to send his son into the presence.\nThereupon Al-Sindibad consulted his pupil\u2019s horoscope and found it\nbarred by an inauspicious conjunction which would last seven days; so,\nin sore affright for the youth\u2019s life, he said, \u201cLook into thy\nnativity-scheme.\u201d The Prince did so and, recognising the potent, feared\nfor himself and presently asked the Sage, saying, \u201cWhat dost thou bid me\ndo?\u201d \u201cI bid thee,\u201d he answered, \u201cremain silent and speak not a word\nduring this se\u2019nnight; even though thy sire slay thee with scourging. An\nthou pass safely through this period, thou shalt win to high rank and\nsucceed to thy sire\u2019s reign; but an things go otherwise then the behest\nis with Allah from the beginning to the end thereof.\u201d Quoth the pupil,\n\u201cThou art in fault, O preceptor, and thou hast shown undue haste in\nsending that message to the King before looking into my horoscope. Hadst\nthou delayed till the week had passed all had been well.\u201d Quoth the\ntutor, \u201cO my son, what was to be was; and the sole defaulter therein was\nmy delight in thy scholarship. But now be firm in thy resolve; rely upon\nAllah Almighty and determine not to utter a single word.\u201d Thereupon the\nPrince fared for the presence and was met by the Wazirs who led him to\nhis father. The King accosted him and addressed him but he answered not;\nand sought speech of him but he spake not. Whereupon the courtiers were\nastounded and the monarch, sore concerned for his son, summoned\nAl-Sindibad. But the tutor so hid himself that none could hit upon his\ntrace nor gain tidings of him; and folk said, \u201cHe was ashamed to appear\nbefore the King\u2019s majesty and the courtiers.\u201d Under these conditions the\nSovereign heard some of those present saying, \u201cSend the lad to the\nSerraglio where he will talk with the women and soon set aside this\nbashfulness;\u201d and, approving their counsel, gave orders accordingly. So\nthe Prince was led into the palace, which was compassed about by a\nrunning stream whose banks were planted with all manner of fruit-trees\nand sweet-smelling flowers. Moreover, in this palace were forty chambers\nand in every chamber ten slave-girls, each skilled in some instrument of\nmusic, so that whenever one of them played, the palace danced to her\nmelodious strains. Here the Prince passed one night; but, on the\nfollowing morning, the King\u2019s favourite concubine happened to cast eyes\nupon his beauty and loveliness, his symmetrical stature, his brilliancy\nand his perfect grace, and love gat hold of her heart and she was\nravished with his charms.[159] So she went up to him and threw herself\nupon him, but he made her no response; whereupon, being dazed by his\nbeauty, she cried out to him and required him of himself and importuned\nhim; then she again threw herself upon him and clasped him to her bosom\nkissing him and saying, \u201cO King\u2019s son, grant me thy favours and I will\nset thee in thy father\u2019s stead; I will give him to drink of poison, so\nhe may die and thou shalt enjoy his realm and wealth.\u201d When the Prince\nheard these words, he was sore enraged against her and said to her by\nsigns, \u201cO accursed one, so it please Almighty Allah, I will assuredly\nrequite thee this thy deed, whenas I can speak; for I will go forth to\nmy father and will tell him, and he shall kill thee.\u201d So signing, he\narose in rage, and went out from her chamber; whereat she feared for\nherself. Thereupon she buffeted her face and rent her raiment and tare\nher hair and bared her head, then went in to the King and cast herself\nat his feet, weeping and wailing. When he saw her in this plight, he was\nsore concerned and asked her, \u201cWhat aileth thee, O damsel? How is it\nwith thy lord, my son? Is he not well?\u201d; and she answered, \u201cO King, this\nthy son, whom thy courtiers avouch to be dumb, required me of myself and\nI repelled him, whereupon he did with me as thou seest and would have\nslain me; so I fled from him, nor will I ever return to him, nor to the\npalace again, no, never again!\u201d When the King heard this, he was wroth\nwith exceeding wrath and, calling his seven Wazirs, bade them put the\nPrince to death. However, they said one to other, \u201cIf we do the King\u2019s\nCommandment, he will surely repent of having ordered his son\u2019s death,\nfor he is passing dear to him and this child came not to him save after\ndespair; and he will round upon us and blame us, saying:\u2014Why did ye not\ncontrive to dissuade me from slaying him?\u201d So they took counsel\ntogether, to turn him from his purpose, and the chief Wazir said, \u201cI\nwill warrant you from the King\u2019s mischief this day.\u201d Then he went in to\nthe presence and prostrating himself craved leave to speak. The King\ngave him permission, and he said, \u201cO King, though thou hadst a thousand\nsons, yet were it no light matter to thee to put one of them to death,\non the report of a woman, be she true or be she false; and belike this\nis a lie and a trick of her against thy son; for indeed, O King, I have\nheard tell great plenty of stories of the malice, the craft and perfidy\nof women.\u201d Quoth the King, \u201cTell me somewhat of that which hath come to\nthy knowledge thereof.\u201d And the Wazir answered, saying:\u2014Yes, there hath\nreached me, O King, a tale entituled\n\n\n _THE KING AND HIS WAZIR\u2019S WIFE._[160]\n\nThere was once a King of the Kings, a potent man and a proud, who was\ndevoted to the love of women and one day being in the privacy of his\npalace, he espied a beautiful woman on the terrace-roof of her house and\ncould not contain himself from falling consumedly in love with her.[161]\nHe asked his folk to whom the house and the damsel belonged and they\nsaid, \u201cThis is the dwelling of the Wazir such an one and she is his\nwife.\u201d So he called the Minister in question and despatched him on an\nerrand to a distant part of the kingdom, where he was to collect\ninformation and to return; but, as soon as he obeyed and was gone, the\nKing contrived by a trick to gain access to his house and his spouse.\nWhen the Wazir\u2019s wife saw him, she knew him and springing up, kissed his\nhands and feet and welcomed him. Then she stood afar off, busying\nherself in his service, and said to him, \u201cO our lord, what is the cause\nof thy gracious coming? Such an honour is not for the like of me.\u201d Quoth\nhe, \u201cThe cause of it is that love of thee and desire thee-wards have\nmoved me to this.\u201d Whereupon she kissed ground before him a second time\nand said, \u201cBy Allah, O our lord, indeed I am not worthy to be the\nhandmaid of one of the King\u2019s servants; whence then have I the great\ngood fortune to be in such high honour and favour with thee?\u201d Then the\nKing put out his hand to her intending to enjoy her person, when she\nsaid, \u201cThis thing shall not escape us; but take patience, O my King, and\nabide with thy handmaid all this day, that she may make ready for thee\nsomewhat to eat and drink.\u201d So the King sat down on his Minister\u2019s couch\nand she went in haste and brought him a book wherein he might read,\nwhilst she made ready the food. He took the book and, beginning to read,\nfound therein moral instances and exhortations, such as restrained him\nfrom adultery and broke his courage to commit sin and crime. After\nawhile, she returned and set before him some ninety dishes of different\nkinds and colours, and he ate a mouthful of each and found that, while\nthe number was many, the taste of them was one. At this, he marvelled\nwith exceeding marvel and said to her, \u201cO damsel, I see these meats to\nbe manifold and various, but the taste of them is simple and the same.\u201d\n\u201cAllah prosper the King!\u201d replied she, \u201cthis is a parable I have set for\nthee, that thou mayst be admonished thereby.\u201d He asked, \u201cAnd what is its\nmeaning?\u201d; and she answered, \u201cAllah amend the case of our lord the\nKing!; in thy palace are ninety concubines of various colours, but their\ntaste is one.\u201d[162] When the King heard this, he was ashamed and rising\nhastily, went out, without offering her any affront and returned to his\npalace; but, in his haste and confusion, he forgot his signet-ring and\nleft it under the cushion where he had been sitting and albeit he\nremembered it he was ashamed to send for it. Now hardly had he reached\nhome when the Wazir returned and, presenting himself before the King,\nkissed the ground and made his report to him of the State of the\nprovince in question. Then he repaired to his own house and sat down on\nhis couch and chancing to put his hand under the cushion, behold, he\nfound the King\u2019s seal-ring. So he knew it and taking the matter to\nheart, held aloof in great grief from his wife for a whole year, not\ngoing in unto her nor even speaking to her, whilst she knew not the\nreason of his anger.\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 Seventy-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir held\naloof from his wife, whilst she knew not the cause of his wrath. At\nlast, being weary of the longsome neglect, she sent for her sire and\ntold him the case; whereupon quoth he, \u201cI will complain of him to the\nKing, at some time when he is in the presence.\u201d So, one day, he went in\nto the King and, finding the Wazir and the Kazi of the army before\nhim,[163] complained thus saying, \u201cAlmighty Allah amend the King\u2019s case!\nI had a fair flower-garden, which I planted with mine own hand and\nthereon spent my substance till it bare fruit; and its fruitage was ripe\nfor plucking, when I gave it to this thy Wazir, who ate of it what\nseemed good to him, then deserted it and watered it not, so that its\nbloom wilted and withered and its sheen departed and its state changed.\u201d\nThen said the Wazir, \u201cO my King, this man saith sooth. I did indeed care\nfor and guard the garden and kept it in good condition and ate thereof,\ntill one day I went thither and I saw the trail of the lion there,\nwherefore I feared for my life and withdrew from the garden.\u201d The King\nunderstood him that the trail of the lion meant his own seal-ring, which\nhe had forgotten in the woman\u2019s house; so he said, \u201cReturn, O Wazir, to\nthy flower-garden and fear nothing, for the lion came not near it. It\nhath reached me that he went thither; but, by the honour of my fathers\nand forefathers, he offered it no hurt.\u201d \u201cHearkening and obedience,\u201d\nanswered the Minister and, returning home sent for his wife and made his\npeace with her and thenceforth put faith in her chastity. This I tell\nthee, O King (continued the Wazir), for no other purpose save to let\nthee know how great is their craft and how precipitancy bequeatheth\nrepentance.[164] And I have also heard the following\n\n\n _STORY OF THE CONFECTIONER, HIS WIFE, AND THE PARROT._\n\nOnce upon a time there dwelt in Egypt a confectioner who had a wife\nfamed for beauty and loveliness; and a parrot which, as occasion\nrequired, did the office of watchman and guard, bell and spy, and\nflapped her wings did she but hear a fly buzzing about the sugar. This\nparrot caused abundant trouble to the wife, always telling her husband\nwhat took place in his absence. Now one evening, before going out to\nvisit certain friends, the confectioner gave the bird strict injunctions\nto watch all night and bade his wife make all fast, as he should not\nreturn until morning. Hardly had he left the door than the woman went\nfor her old lover, who returned with her and they passed the night\ntogether in mirth and merriment, while the parrot observed all. Betimes\nin the morning the lover fared forth and the husband, returning, was\ninformed by the parrot of what had taken place; whereupon he hastened to\nhis wife\u2019s room and beat her with a painful beating. She thought in\nherself, \u201cWho could have informed against me?\u201d and she asked a woman\nthat was in her confidence whether it was she. The woman protested by\nthe worlds visible and invisible that she had not betrayed her mistress;\nbut informed her that on the morning of his return home, the husband had\nstood some time before the cage listening to the parrot\u2019s talk. When the\nwife heard this, she resolved to contrive the destruction of the bird.\nSome days after, the husband was again invited to the house of a friend\nwhere he was to pass the night; and, before departing, he enjoined the\nparrot with the same injunctions as before; wherefore his heart was free\nfrom care, for he had his spy at home. The wife and her confidante then\nplanned how they might destroy the credit of the parrot with the master.\nFor this purpose they resolved to counterfeit a storm; and this they did\nby placing over the parrot\u2019s head a hand-mill (which the lover worked by\npouring water upon a piece of hide), by waving a fan and by suddenly\nuncovering a candle hid under a dish. Thus did they raise such a tempest\nof rain and lightning, that the parrot was drenched and half-drowned in\na deluge. Now rolled the thunder, then flashed the lightning; that from\nthe noise of the hand-mill, this from the reflection of the candle; when\nthought the parrot to herself, \u201cIn very sooth the Flood hath come on,\nsuch an one as belike Noah himself never witnessed.\u201d So saying she\nburied her head under her wing, a prey to terror. The husband, on his\nreturn, hastened to the parrot to ask what had happened during his\nabsence; and the bird answered that she found it impossible to describe\nthe deluge and tempest of the last night; and that years would be\nrequired to explain the uproar of the hurricane and storm. When the\nshopkeeper heard the parrot talk of last night\u2019s deluge, he said:\n\u201cSurely, O bird, thou art gone clean daft! Where was there, even in a\ndream, rain or lightning last night? Thou hast utterly ruined my house\nand ancient family. My wife is the most virtuous woman of the age and\nall thine accusations of her are lies.\u201d So in his wrath he dashed the\ncage upon the ground, tore off the parrot\u2019s head, and threw it from the\nwindow. Presently his friend, coming to call upon him, saw the parrot in\nthis condition with head torn off, and without wings or plumage. Being\ninformed of the circumstances he suspected some trick on the part of the\nwoman, and said to the husband, \u201cWhen your wife leaves home to go to the\nHammam-bath, compel her confidante to disclose the secret.\u201d So as soon\nas his wife went out, the husband entered his Harim and insisted on the\nwoman telling him the truth. She recounted the whole story and the\nhusband now bitterly repented having killed the parrot, of whose\ninnocence he had proof. This I tell thee, O King (continued the Wazir),\nthat thou mayst know how great are the craft and malice of women and\nthat to act in haste leadeth to repent at leisure. So the King turned\nfrom slaying his son: but, next day, the favourite came in to him and,\nkissing the ground before him, said, \u201cO King, why dost thou delay to do\nme justice? Indeed, the Kings have heard that thou commandest a thing\nand thy Wazir countermandeth it. Now the obedience of Kings is in the\nfulfilment of their commandments, and every one knows thy justice and\nequity: so do thou justice for me on the Prince. I also have heard tell\na tale concerning\n\n\n _THE FULLER AND HIS SON_.\n\nThere was once a man which was a fuller, and he used every day to go\nforth to the Tigris-bank a-cleaning clothes; and his son was wont to go\nwith him that he might swim whilst his father was fulling, nor was he\nforbidden from this. One day, as the boy was swimming,[165] he was taken\nwith cramp in the forearms and sank, whereupon the fuller plunged into\nthe water and caught hold of him; but the boy clung about him and pulled\nhim down and so father and son were both drowned. Thus it is with thee,\nO King. Except thou prevent thy son and do me justice on him, I fear\nlest both of you sink together, thou and he.\u201d\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 Eightieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the favourite\nhad told her tale of the Fuller and his son, she ended with, \u201cI fear\nlest both of you sink together, thou and he. Moreover,\u201d continued she,\n\u201cfor an instance of the malice of men, I have heard tell a tale\nconcerning\n\n\n _THE RAKE\u2019S TRICK AGAINST THE CHASTE WIFE_.\u201d\n\nA certain man loved a beautiful and lovely woman, a model of charms and\ngrace, married to a man whom she loved and who loved her. Moreover, she\nwas virtuous and chaste, like unto me, and her rake of a lover found no\nway to her; so when his patience was at an end, he devised a device to\nwin his will. Now the husband had a young man, whom he had brought up in\nhis house and who was in high trust with him as his steward. So the rake\naddressed himself to the youth and ceased not insinuating himself into\nhis favour by presents and fair words and deeds, till he became more\nobedient to him than the hand to the mouth and did whatever he ordered\nhim. One day, he said to him, \u201cHarkye, such an one; wilt thou not bring\nme into the family dwelling-place some time when the lady is gone out?\u201d\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered the young steward; so, when his master was at the shop\nand his mistress gone forth to the Hammam, he took his friend by the\nhand and, bringing him into the house, showed him the sitting-rooms and\nall that was therein. Now the lover was determined to play a trick upon\nthe woman; so he took the white of an egg which he had brought with him\nin a vessel, and spilt it on the merchant\u2019s bedding, unseen by the young\nman; after which he returned thanks and leaving the house went his way.\nIn an hour or so the merchant came home; and, going to the bed to rest\nhimself, found thereon something wet so he took it up in his hand and\nlooked at it and deemed it man\u2019s seed; whereat he stared at the young\nman with eyes of wrath, and asked him, \u201cWhere is thy mistress?\u201d; and he\nanswered, \u201cShe is gone forth to the Hammam and will return forthright\nafter she has made her ablutions.\u201d[166] When the man heard this, his\nsuspicion concerning the semen was confirmed; and he waxed furious and\nsaid, \u201cGo at once and bring her back.\u201d The steward accordingly fetched\nher and when she came before her husband, the jealous man sprang upon\nher and beat her a grievous beating; then, binding her arms behind her,\noffered to cut her throat with a knife; but she cried out to the\nneighbours, who came to her, and she said to them, \u201cThis my man hath\nbeaten me unjustly and without cause and is minded to kill me, though I\nknow not what is mine offence.\u201d So they rose up and asked him, \u201cWhy hast\nthou dealt thus by her?\u201d And he answered, \u201cShe is divorced.\u201d Quoth they,\n\u201cThou hast no right to maltreat her; either divorce her or use her\nkindly, for we know her prudence and purity and chastity. Indeed, she\nhath been our neighbour this long time and we wot no evil of her.\u201d Quoth\nhe, \u201cWhen I came home, I found on my bed seed like human sperm, and I\nknow not the meaning of this.\u201d Upon this a little boy, one of those\npresent, came forward and said, \u201cShow it to me, nuncle mine!\u201d When he\nsaw it, he smelt it and, calling for fire and a frying-pan, he took the\nwhite of egg and cooked it so that it became solid. Then he ate of it\nand made the husband and the others taste of it, and they were certified\nthat it was white of egg. So the husband was convinced that he had\nsinned against his wife\u2019s innocence, she being clear of all offence, and\nthe neighbours made peace between them after the divorce, and he prayed\nher pardon and presented her with an hundred gold pieces. And so the\nwicked lover\u2019s cunning trick came to naught. And know, O King, that this\nis an instance of the malice of men and their perfidy. When the King\nheard this, he bade his son be slain; but on the next day the second\nWazir came forward for intercession and kissed ground in prostration.\nWhereupon the King said, \u201cRaise thy head: prostration must be made to\nAllah only.\u201d[167] So the Minister rose from before him and said, \u201cO\nKing, hasten not to slay thy son, for he was not granted to his mother\nby the Almighty but after despair, nor didst thou expect such good luck;\nand we hope that he will live to become a guerdon to thy reign and a\nguardian of thy good. Wherefore, have patience, O King; belike he will\noffer a fit excuse; and, if thou make haste to slay him, thou wilt\nsurely repent, even as the merchant-wight repented.\u201d Asked the King,\n\u201cAnd how was it with the merchant, O Wazir?\u201d; and the Wazir answered:\u2014O\nKing, I have heard a tale of\n\n\n _THE MISER AND THE LOAVES OF BREAD_.\n\nThere was once a merchant, who was a niggard and miserly in his eating\nand drinking. One day, he went on a journey to a certain town and as he\nwalked in the market-streets, behold, he met an old trot with two scones\nof bread which looked sound and fair. He asked her, \u201cAre these for\nsale?\u201d; and she answered, \u201cYes!\u201d So he beat her down and bought them at\nthe lowest price and took them home to his lodging, where he ate them\nthat day. When morning morrowed, he returned to the same place and,\nfinding the old woman there with other two scones, bought these also;\nand thus he ceased not during twenty-five days\u2019 space when the old wife\ndisappeared. He made enquiry for her, but could hear no tidings of her,\ntill, one day as he was walking about the high streets, he chanced upon\nher: so he accosted her and, after the usual salutation and with much\npraise and politeness, asked why she had disappeared from the market and\nceased to supply the two cakes of bread? Hearing this, at first she\nevaded giving him a reply; but he conjured her to tell him her case; so\nshe said, \u201cHear my excuse, O my lord, which is that I was attending upon\na man who had a corroding ulcer on his spine, and his doctor bade us\nknead flour with butter into a plaster and lay it on the place of pain,\nwhere it abode all night. In the morning, I used to take that flour and\nturn it into dough and make it into two scones, which I cooked and sold\nto thee or to another; but presently the man died and I was cut off from\nmaking cakes.\u201d[168] When the merchant heard this, he repented whenas\nrepentance availed him naught, saying, \u201cVerily, we are Allah\u2019s and\nverily unto Him we are returning! There is no Majesty and there is no\nMight save in Him, the Glorious, the Great!\u201d\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 Eighty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the old trot\ntold the merchant the provenance of the scones, he cried, \u201cThere is no\nMajesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!\u201d\nAnd he repeated the saying of the Most High, \u201cWhatever evil falleth to\nthee it is from thyself;\u201d[169] and vomited till he fell sick and\nrepented whenas repentance availed him naught. Moreover, O King\n(continued the second Wazir), I have heard tell, of the malice of women,\na tale of\n\n\n _THE LADY AND HER TWO LOVERS_.\n\nOnce upon a time there was a man, who was sword-bearer to one of the\nKings, and he loved a damsel of the common sort. One day, he sent his\npage to her with a message, as of wont between them, and the lad sat\ndown with her and toyed with her. She inclined to him and pressed him to\nher breast and groped him and kissed him whereupon he sought carnal\nconnection of her and she consented; but, as the two were thus, lo! the\nyouth\u2019s master knocked at the door. So she pushed the page through a\ntrapdoor into an underground chamber there and opened the door to his\nlord, who entered hending sword in hand and sat down upon her bed. Then\nshe came up to him and sported and toyed with him, kissing him and\npressing him to her bosom, and he took her and lay with her. Presently,\nher husband knocked at the door and the gallant asked her, \u201cWho is\nthat?\u201d; whereto she answered, \u201cMy husband.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cHow shall I do?\u201d\nQuoth she, \u201cDraw thy sword and stand in the vestibule and abuse me and\nrevile me; and when my husband comes in to thee, do thou go forth and\nwend thy ways.\u201d He did as she bade him; and, when the husband entered,\nhe saw the King\u2019s sword-bearer standing with naked brand in hand,\nabusing and threatening his wife; but, when the lover saw him, he was\nashamed and sheathing his scymitar, went forth the house. Said the man\nto his wife, \u201cWhat means this?\u201d; and she replied, \u201cO man, how blessed is\nthe hour of thy coming! Thou hast saved a True Believer from slaughter,\nand it happed after this fashion. I was on the house-terrace,\nspinning,[170] when behold, there came up to me a youth, distracted and\npanting for fear of death, fleeing from yonder man, who followed upon\nhim as hard as he could with his drawn sword. The young man fell down\nbefore me, and kissed my hands and feet, saying, \u201cO Protector, of thy\nmercy, save me from him who would slay me wrongously!\u201d So I hid him in\nthat underground chamber of ours and presently in came yonder man to me,\nnaked brand in hand, demanding the youth. But I denied him to him,\nwhereupon he fell to abusing and threatening me as thou sawest. And\npraised be Allah who sent thee to me, for I was distraught and had none\nto deliver me!\u201d \u201cWell hast thou done, O woman!\u201d answered the husband.\n\u201cThy reward is with Allah the Almighty, and may He abundantly requite\nthy good deed!\u201d Then he went to the trap door and called to the page,\nsaying, \u201cCome forth and fear not; no harm shall befal thee.\u201d So he came\nout, trembling for fear, and the husband said, \u201cBe of good cheer: none\nshall hurt thee;\u201d condoling with him on what had befallen him; whilst\nthe page called down blessings on his head. Then they both went forth,\nnor was that Cornuto nor was the page aware of that which the woman had\ncontrived. \u201cThis, then, O King,\u201d said the Wazir, \u201cis one of the tricks\nof women; so beware lest thou rely upon their words.\u201d The King was\npersuaded and turned from putting his son to death; but, on the third\nday, the favourite came in to him and, kissing the ground before him,\ncried, \u201cO King, do me justice on thy son and be not turned from thy\npurpose by thy Ministers\u2019 prate, for there is no good in wicked Wazirs,\nand be not as the King of Baghdad, who relied on the word of a certain\nwicked counsellor of his.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cAnd how was that?\u201d Quoth\nshe:\u2014There hath been told me, O auspicious and well-advised King, a tale\nof\n\n\n _THE KING\u2019S SON AND THE OGRESS_.[171]\n\nA certain King had a son, whom he loved and favoured with exceeding\nfavour, over all his other children; and this son said to him one day,\n\u201cO my father, I have a mind to fare a-coursing and a-hunting.\u201d So the\nKing bade furnish him and commanded one of his Wazirs to bear him\ncompany and do all the service he needed during his trip. The Minister\naccordingly took everything that was necessary for the journey and they\nset out with a retinue of eunuchs and officers and pages, and rode on,\nsporting as they went, till they came to a green and well-grassed\nchampaign abounding in pasture and water and game. Here the Prince\nturned to the Minister and told him that the place pleased him and he\npurposed to halt there. So they set down in that site and they loosed\nthe falcons and lynxes and dogs and caught great plenty of game, whereat\nthey rejoiced and abode there some days, in all joyance of life and its\ndelight. Then the King\u2019s son gave the signal for departure; but, as they\nwent along, a beautiful gazelle, as if the sun rose shining from between\nher horns, that had strayed from her mate, sprang up before the Prince,\nwhereupon his soul longed to make prize of her and he coveted her. So he\nsaid to the Wazir, \u201cI have a mind to follow that gazelle;\u201d and the\nMinister replied, \u201cDo what seemeth good to thee.\u201d Thereupon the Prince\nrode single-handed after the gazelle, till he lost sight of his\ncompanions, and chased her all that day till dusk, when she took refuge\nin a bit of rocky ground[172] and darkness closed in upon him. Then he\nwould have turned back, but knew not the way; whereat he was sore\nconcerned and said, \u201cThere is no Majesty and there is no Might save in\nAllah, the Glorious, the Great!\u201d He sat his mare all night till morning\ndawned, in quest of relief, but found none; and, when the day appeared,\nhe fared on at hazard fearful, famished, thirsty, and knowing not\nwhither to wend till it was noon and the sun beat down upon him with\nburning heat. By that time he came in sight of a great city, with\nmassive base and lofty bulwarks; but it was ruined and desolate, nor was\nthere any live thing therein save owl and raven. As he stood among the\nbuildings, marvelling at their ordinance, lo! his eyes fell on a damsel,\nyoung, beautiful and lovely, sitting under one of the city walls wailing\nand weeping copious tears. So he drew nigh to her and asked, \u201cWho art\nthou and who brought thee hither?\u201d She answered, \u201cI am called Bint\nal-Tam\u00edmah, daughter of Al-Tiy\u00e1kh, King of the Gray Country. I went out\none day to obey a call of nature,[173] when an Ifrit of the Jinn\nsnatched me up and soared with me between heaven and earth; but as he\nflew there fell on him a shooting-star in the form of a flame of fire\nand burned him, and I dropped here, where these three days I have\nhungered and thirsted; but when I saw thee I longed for life.\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 Eighty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Prince, when\naddressed by the daughter of King Al-Tiyakh who said to him, \u201cWhen I saw\nthee I longed for life,\u201d was smitten with ruth and grief for her and\ntook her up on his courser\u2019s crupper, saying, \u201cBe of good cheer and keep\nthine eyes cool and clear; for, if Allah (extolled and exalted be He!)\nrestore me to my people and family, I will send thee back to thine own\nfolk.\u201d Then he rode on, praying for deliverance, and presently the\ndamsel said to him, \u201cO King\u2019s son, set me down, that I may do an\noccasion under this wall.\u201d So he drew bridle and she alighted. He waited\nfor her a long while as she hid herself behind the wall; and she came\nforth, with the foulest of favours; which when he saw, his hair stood on\nend and he quaked for fear of her and he turned deadly pale. Then she\nsprang up on his steed, behind him, wearing the most loathly of aspects,\nand presently she said to him, \u201cO King\u2019s son, what ails thee that I see\nthee troubled and thy favour changed?\u201d \u201cI have bethought me of somewhat\nthat troubles me.\u201d \u201cSeek aid against it of thy father\u2019s troops and his\nbraves.\u201d \u201cHe whom I fear careth naught for troops, neither can braves\naffright him.\u201d \u201cAid thyself against him with thy father\u2019s monies and\ntreasures.\u201d \u201cHe whom I fear will not be satisfied with wealth.\u201d \u201cYe hold\nthat ye have in Heaven a God who seeth and is not seen and is Omnipotent\nand Omniscient.\u201d \u201cYes, we have none but Him.\u201d \u201cThen pray thou to Him;\nhaply He will deliver thee from me thine enemy!\u201d So the King\u2019s son\nraised his eyes to heaven and began to pray with his whole heart,\nsaying, \u201cO my God, I implore Thy succour against that which troubleth\nme.\u201d Then he pointed to her with his hand, and she fell to the ground,\nburnt black as charred coal. Therewith he thanked Allah and praised Him\nand ceased not to fare forwards; and the Almighty (extolled and exalted\nbe He!) of His grace made the way easy to him and guided him into the\nright road, so that he reached his own land and came upon his father\u2019s\ncapital, after he had despaired of life. Now all this befel by the\ncontrivance of the Wazir, who travelled with him, to the end that he\nmight cause him to perish on the way; but Almighty Allah succoured him.\n\u201cAnd this\u201d (said the damsel) \u201chave I told thee, O King, that thou mayst\nknow that wicked Wazirs deal not honestly by nor counsel with sincere\nintent their Kings; wherefore be thou wise and ware of them in this\nmatter.\u201d The King gave ear to her speech and bade put his son to death;\nbut the third Wazir came in and said to his brother Ministers, \u201cI will\nwarrant you from the King\u2019s mischief this day,\u201d and, going in to him,\nkissed the ground between his hands and said, \u201cO King, I am thy true\ncounsellor and solicitous for thee and for thine estate, and indeed I\nrede thee the best of rede; it is that thou hasten not to slay thy son,\nthe coolth of thine eyes and the fruit of thy vitals. Haply his sin is\nbut a slight slip, which this damsel hath made great to thee; and indeed\nI have heard tell that the people of two villages once destroyed one\nanother, because of a drop of honey.\u201d Asked the King, \u201cHow was that?\u201d;\nand the Wazir answered, saying:\u2014Know, O King, that I have heard this\nstory anent\n\n\n _THE DROP OF HONEY_.[174]\n\nA certain hunter used to chase wild beasts in wold, and one day he came\nupon a grotto in the mountains, where he found a hollow full of bees\u2019\nhoney. So he took somewhat thereof in a water-skin he had with him and,\nthrowing it over his shoulder, carried it to the city, followed by a\nhunting dog which was dear to him. He stopped at the shop of an oilman\nand offered him the honey for sale and he bought it. Then he emptied it\nout of the skin, that he might see it, and in the act a drop fell to the\nground, whereupon the flies flocked to it and a bird swooped down upon\nthe flies. Now the oilman had a cat, which sprang upon the bird, and the\nhuntsman\u2019s dog, seeing the cat, sprang upon it and slew it; whereupon\nthe oilman sprang upon the dog and slew it, and the huntsman in turn\nsprang upon the oilman and slew him. Now the oilman was of one village\nand the huntsman of another; and when the people of the two places heard\nwhat had passed, they took up arms and weapons and rose one on other in\nwrath and the two lines met; nor did the sword leave to play amongst\nthem, till there died of them much people, none knoweth their number\nsave Almighty Allah. And amongst other stories of the malice of women\n(continued the Wazir) I have heard tell, O King, one concerning\n\n\n _THE WOMAN WHO MADE HER HUSBAND SIFT DUST_.[175]\n\nA man once gave his wife a dirham to buy rice; so she took it and went\nto the rice-seller, who gave her the rice and began to jest with her and\nogle her, for she was dowered with beauty and loveliness, saying, \u201cRice\nis not good but with sugar which if thou wilt have, come in with me for\nan hour.\u201d So, saying, \u201cGive me sugar,\u201d she went in with him into his\nshop and he won his will of her and said to his slave, \u201cWeigh her out a\ndirham\u2019s worth of sugar.\u201d But he made the slave a privy sign, and the\nboy, taking the napkin, in which was the rice, emptied it out and put in\nearth and dust in its stead, and for the sugar set stones, after which\nhe again knotted up the napkin and left it by her. His object, in doing\nthis, was that she should come to him a second time; so, when she went\nforth of the shop, he gave her the napkin and she took it, thinking to\nhave in it rice and sugar, and ganged her gait; but when she returned\nhome and, setting it before her husband, went for a cooking-pot, he\nfound in it earth and stones. So, as soon as she came back bringing the\npot, he said to her, \u201cDid I tell thee I had aught to build, that thou\nbringest me earth and stones?\u201d When she saw this, she knew that the\nrice-seller\u2019s slave had tricked her; so she said to her husband, \u201cO man,\nin my trouble of mind for what hath befallen me, I went to fetch the\nsieve and brought the cooking-pot.\u201d \u201cWhat hath troubled thee?\u201d asked he;\nand she answered, \u201cO husband, I dropped the dirham thou gavest me in the\nmarket-street and was ashamed to search for it before the folk; yet I\ngrudged to lose the silver, so I gathered up the earth from the place\nwhere it fell and brought it away, thinking to sift it at home.\nWherefore I went to fetch the sieve, but brought the cooking-pot\ninstead.\u201d Then she fetched the sieve and gave it to her husband, saying,\n\u201cDo thou sift it; for thine eyes are sharper than mine.\u201d Accordingly he\nsat, sifting the clay, till his face and beard were covered with dust;\nand he discovered not her trick, neither knew what had befallen her.\n\u201cThis then, O King,\u201d said the Wazir, \u201cis an instance of the malice of\nwomen, and consider the saying of Allah Almighty:\u2014Surely the cunning of\nyou (women) is great![176] And again:\u2014Indeed, the malice of Satan is\nweak in comparison with the malice of women.\u201d[177] The King gave ear to\nhis Wazir\u2019s speech and was persuaded thereby and was satisfied by what\nhe cited to him of the signs of Allah[178]; and the lights of good\ncounsel arose and shone in the firmament of his understanding and he\nturned from his purpose of slaying his son. But on the fourth day, the\nfavourite came in to him weeping and wailing and, kissing the ground\nbefore him, said, \u201cO auspicious King, and lord of good rede, I have made\nplainly manifest to thee my grievance and thou hast dealt unjustly by me\nand hast forborne to avenge me on him who hath wronged me, because he is\nthy son and the darling of thy heart; but Allah (extolled and exalted be\nHe!) will presently succour me against him, even as He succoured the\nKing\u2019s son against his father\u2019s Wazir.\u201d \u201cAnd how was that?\u201d asked the\nKing; and she answered:\u2014I have heard tell, O King, a tale of\n\n\n _THE ENCHANTED SPRING_.[179]\n\nThere was once in times gone by a King who had one son and none other;\nand, when the Prince grew up to man\u2019s estate, he contracted him in\nmarriage to another King\u2019s daughter. Now the damsel was a model of\nbeauty and grace and her uncle\u2019s son had sought her in wedlock of her\nsire, but she would none of him. So, when he knew that she was to be\nmarried to another, envy and jealousy gat hold of him and he bethought\nhimself and sent a noble present to the Wazir of the bridegroom\u2019s father\nand much treasure, desiring him to use craft for slaying the Prince or\ncontrive to make him leave his intent of espousing the girl and adding,\n\u201cO Wazir, indeed jealousy moveth me to this for she is my cousin.\u201d[180]\nThe Wazir accepted the present and sent an answer, saying, \u201cBe of good\ncheer and of eyes cool and clear, for I will do all that thou wishest.\u201d\nPresently, the bride\u2019s father wrote to the Prince, bidding him to his\ncapital, that he might go in to his daughter; whereupon the King his\nfather gave him leave to wend his way thither, sending with him the\nbribed Wazir and a thousand horse, besides presents and litters, tents\nand pavilions. The Minister set out with the Prince, plotting the while\nin his heart to do him a mischief; and when they came into the desert,\nhe called to mind a certain spring of running water in the mountains\nthere, called Al-Zahr\u00e1,[181] whereof whosoever drank from a man became a\nwoman. So he called a halt of the troops near the fountain and presently\nmounting steed again, said to the Prince, \u201cHast thou a mind to go with\nme and look upon a spring of water near hand?\u201d The Prince mounted,\nknowing not what should befal him in the future,[182] and they rode on,\nunattended by any, and without stopping till they came to the spring.\nThe Prince being thirsty said to the Wazir, \u201cO Minister, I am suffering\nfrom drouth,\u201d and the other answered, \u201cGet thee down and drink of this\nspring!\u201d So he alighted and washed his hands and drank, when behold, he\nstraightway became a woman. As soon as he knew what had befallen him, he\ncried out and wept till he fainted away, and the Wazir came up to him as\nif to learn what had befallen him and cried, \u201cWhat aileth thee?\u201d So he\ntold him what had happened, and the Minister feigned to condole with him\nand weep for his affliction, saying, \u201cAllah Almighty be thy refuge in\nthine affliction! How came this calamity upon thee and this great\nmisfortune to betide thee, and we carrying thee with joy and gladness,\nthat thou mightest go in to the King\u2019s daughter? Verily, now I know not\nwhether we shall go to her or not; but the rede[183] is thine. What dost\nthou command me to do?\u201d Quoth the Prince, \u201cGo back to my sire and tell\nhim what hath betided me, for I will not stir hence till this matter be\nremoved from me or I die in my regret.\u201d So he wrote a letter to his\nfather, telling him what had happened, and the Wazir took it and set out\non his return to the city, leaving what troops he had with the Prince\nand inwardly exulting for the success of his plot. As soon as he reached\nthe King\u2019s capital, he went in to him and, telling him what had passed,\ndelivered the letter. The King mourned for his son with sore mourning\nand sent for the wise men and masters of esoteric science, that they\nmight discover and explain to him this thing which had befallen his son,\nbut none could give him an answer. Then the Wazir wrote to the lady\u2019s\ncousin, conveying to him the glad news of the Prince\u2019s misfortune, and\nhe when he read the letter rejoiced with great joy and thought to marry\nthe Princess and answered the Minister sending him rich presents and\ngreat store of treasure and thanking him exceedingly. Meanwhile, the\nPrince abode by the stream three days and three nights, eating not nor\ndrinking and committing himself, in his strait, unto Allah (extolled and\nexalted be He!) who disappointeth not whoso relieth on him. On the\nfourth night, lo! there came to him a cavalier on a bright-bay\nsteed[184] with a crown on his head, as he were of the sons of the\nKings, and said to him, \u201cWho brought thee hither, O youth?\u201d The Prince\ntold him his mishap, how he was wending to his wedding, and how the\nWazir had led him to a spring whereof he drank and incurred what had\noccurred; and as he spoke his speech was broken by tears. Having heard\nhim the horseman pitied his case and said, \u201cIt was thy father\u2019s Wazir\nwho cast thee into this strait, for no man alive save he knoweth of this\nspring;\u201d presently adding, \u201cMount thee behind me and come with me to my\ndwelling, for thou art my guest this night.\u201d \u201cAcquaint me who thou art\nere I fare with thee,\u201d quoth the Prince; and quoth the other, \u201cI am a\nKing\u2019s son of the Jinn, as thou a King\u2019s son of mankind; so be of good\ncheer and keep thine eyes clear of tear, for I will surely do away thy\ncark and care; and this is a slight thing unto me.\u201d So the Prince\nmounted him behind the stranger, and they rode on, leaving the troops,\nfrom the first of the day till midnight, when the King\u2019s son of the Jinn\nasked the Prince, \u201cKnowest thou how many days\u2019 march we have covered in\nthis time?\u201d \u201cNot I.\u201d \u201cWe have come a full year\u2019s journey for a diligent\nhorseman.\u201d The Prince marvelled at this and said, \u201cHow shall I do to\nreturn to my people?\u201d \u201cThat is not thine affair, but my business. As\nsoon as thou art quit of thy complaint, thou shalt return to thy people\nin less than the twinkling of an eye; for that is an easy matter to me.\u201d\nWhen the Prince heard these words he was ready to fly for excess of joy;\nit seemed to him as he were in the imbroglio of a dream and he\nexclaimed, \u201cGlory be to Him who can restore the unhappy to\nhappiness!\u201d\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 Eighty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Prince of the\nJinn said to the Prince of mankind, \u201cWhen thou art quit of thy\ncomplaint, thou shalt return to thy folk in less than the twinkling of\nan eye;\u201d and the King\u2019s son rejoiced. They fared on all that night till\nthe morning morrowed when lo! they found themselves in a green and\nsmiling country, full of trees spireing and birds quiring and garths\nfruit-growing and palaces high-showing and waters a-flowing and\nodoriferous flowers a-blowing. Here the King\u2019s son of the Jinn alighted\nfrom his steed and, bidding the Prince do the like, took him by the hand\nand carried him into one of the palaces, where he found a great King and\npuissant Sultan; and abode with him all that day eating and drinking,\ntill nightfall. Then the King\u2019s son of the Jinn mounted his courser and\ntaking the Prince up behind him, fared on swiftly through the murks and\nglooms until morning, when lo, they found themselves in a dark land and\na desert, full of black rocks and stones, as it were a piece of Hell;\nand the Prince asked the Jinni, \u201cWhat is the name of this land?\u201d\nAnswered the other, \u201cIt is called the Black Country, and belongs to one\nof the Kings of the Jinn, by name Zu\u2019l Jan\u00e1hayn, against whom none of\nthe other Kings may prevail, neither may any enter his dominions save by\nhis permit; so tarry thou here, whilst I go ask leave.\u201d So saying, he\nwent away and, returning after awhile, they fared on again, till they\nended at a spring of water welling forth of a black rock, and the King\u2019s\nson of the Jinn said to the King\u2019s son of men, \u201cAlight!\u201d He dismounted\nand the other cried, \u201cDrink of this water!\u201d So he drank of the spring\nwithout stay or delay; and, no sooner had he done so than, by grace of\nAllah, he became a man as before. At this he joyed with exceeding joy\nand asked the Jinni, \u201cO my brother, how is this spring called?\u201d Answered\nthe other, \u201cIt is called the Women\u2019s Spring, for that no woman drinketh\nthereof but she becometh a man: wherefore do thou praise Allah the Most\nHigh and thank Him for thy restoration and mount.\u201d So the Prince\nprostrated himself in gratitude to the Almighty, after which he mounted\nagain and they fared on diligently all that day, till they returned to\nthe Jinni\u2019s home, where the Prince passed the night in all solace of\nlife. They spent the next day in eating and drinking till nightfall,\nwhen the King\u2019s son of the Jinn asked the Prince, \u201cHast thou a mind to\nreturn to thy people this very night?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d he answered; \u201cfor indeed I\nlong for them.\u201d Then the Jinni called one of his father\u2019s slaves,\nR\u00e1jiz[185] hight, and said to him, \u201cTake this young man mounted on thy\nshoulders, and let not the day dawn ere he be with his father-in-law and\nhis wife.\u201d Replied the slave. \u201cHearkening and obedience, and with love\nand gladness, and upon my head and eyes!\u201d then, withdrawing awhile,\nre-appeared in the form of an Ifrit. When the Prince saw this, he lost\nhis senses for affright, but the Jinni said to him, \u201cFear not; no harm\nshall befal thee. Mount thy horse and leap him on to the Ifrit\u2019s\nshoulders.\u201d \u201cNay,\u201d answered he, \u201cI will leave my horse with thee and\nbestride his shoulders myself.\u201d So he bestrode the Ifrit\u2019s shoulders\nand, when the Jinni cried, \u201cClose thine eyes, O my lord, and be not a\ncraven!\u201d he strengthened his heart and shut his eyes. Thereupon the\nIfrit rose with him into the air and ceased not to fly between sky and\nearth, whilst the Prince was unconscious, nor was the last third of the\nnight come before he lighted down with him on the terrace-roof of his\nfather-in-law\u2019s palace. Then said the Ifrit, \u201cDismount and open thine\neyes; for this is the palace of thy father-in-law and his daughter.\u201d So\nhe came down and the Ifrit flew away and left him on the roof of the\npalace. When the day broke and the Prince recovered from his troubles,\nhe descended into the palace and as his father-in-law caught sight of\nhim, he came to meet him and marvelled to see him descend from the roof\nof the palace, saying, \u201cWe see folk enter by the doors; but thou comest\nfrom the skies.\u201d Quoth the Prince, \u201cWhatso Allah (may He be extolled and\nexalted!) willeth that cometh to pass.\u201d And he told him all that had\nbefallen him, from first to last, whereat the King marvelled and\nrejoiced in his safety; and, as soon, as the sun rose, bade his Wazir\nmake ready splendid bride-feasts. So did he and they held the marriage\nfestival: after which the Prince, went in unto his bride and abode with\nher two months, then departed with her for his father\u2019s capital. As for\nthe damsel\u2019s cousin, he died forthright of envy and jealousy. When the\nPrince and his bride drew near his father\u2019s city, the King came out to\nmeet them with his troops and Wazirs, and so Allah (blessed and exalted\nbe He!) enabled the Prince to prevail against his bride\u2019s cousin and his\nfather\u2019s Minister. \u201cAnd I pray the Almighty\u201d (added the damsel) \u201cto aid\nthee against thy Wazirs, O King, and I beseech thee to do me justice on\nthy son!\u201d When the King heard this, he bade put his son to death;\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 Eighty-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the favourite\nhad told her tale to the King she said, \u201cI beseech thee to do me justice\nby putting thy son to death.\u201d Now this was the fourth day, so the fourth\nWazir entered and, kissing the ground before him, said, \u201cAllah stablish\nand protect the King! O King, be deliberate in doing this thou art\nresolved upon, for the wise man doth naught till he hath considered the\nissue thereof, and the proverb saith:\u2014Whoso looketh not to his actions\u2019\nend, hath not the world to friend; and whoso acteth without\nconsideration, there befalleth him what befel the Hammam-keeper with his\nwife.\u201d \u201cAnd what betided him?\u201d asked the King. And the Wazir answered:\u2014I\nhave heard tell, O King, a tale of the\n\n\n _WAZIR\u2019S SON AND THE HAMMAM-KEEPER\u2019S WIFE_.[186]\n\nThere was once a bath-keeper, to whom resorted the notables of the folk\nand head men, and one day there came in to him a handsome youth of the\nsons of Wazirs who was fat and bulky of body. So he stood to serve him\nand when the young man put off his clothes,[187] he saw not his yard,\nfor that it was hidden between his thighs, by reason of the excess of\nhis fat, and there appeared thereof but what was like unto a\nfilbert.[188] At this the bath-keeper fell a-lamenting and smiting hand\nupon hand, which when the youth saw, he said to him, \u201cWhat ails thee, O\nbath-keeper, to lament thus?\u201d And he answered, saying, \u201cO my lord, my\nlamentation is for thee, because thou art in sore straits, for all thy\nfair fortune and goodliness and exceeding comeliness, seeing thou hast\nnaught wherewithal to do and receive delight, like unto other men.\u201d\nQuoth the youth, \u201cThou sayst sooth, but thou mindest me of somewhat I\nhad forgotten.\u201d \u201cWhat is that?\u201d asked the bath-keeper, and the youth\nanswered, \u201cTake this gold piece and fetch me a pretty woman, that I may\nprove my nature on her.\u201d So he took the money and betaking himself to\nhis wife, said to her, \u201cO woman, there is come to me in the bath a young\nman of the sons of the Wazirs, as he were the moon on the fullest night;\nbut he hath no prickle like other men, for that which he hath is but\nsome small matter like unto a filbert. I lamented over his youth and he\ngave me this dinar and asked me to fetch him a woman on whom he might\napprove himself. Now thou art worthier of the money than another, and\nfrom this no harm shall betide us, for I will protect thee. So do thou\nsit with him awhile and laugh at him and take this dinar from him.\u201d So\nthe good wife took the dinar and rising, adorned herself and donned the\nrichest of her raiment. Now she was the fairest woman of her time. Then\nshe went out with her husband and he carried her in to the Wazir\u2019s son\nin a privy place. When she came in to him, she looked at him and finding\nhim a handsome youth, fair of favour as he were the moon at full, was\nconfounded at his beauty and loveliness; and on like wise his heart and\nwit were amazed at the first sight of her and the sweetness of her\nsmile. So he rose forthright and locking the door, took the damsel in\nhis arms and pressed her to his bosom and they embraced, whereupon the\nyoung man\u2019s yard swelled and rose on end, as it were that of a jackass,\nand he rode upon her breast and futtered her, whilst she sobbed and\nsighed and writhed and wriggled under him. Now the bath-keeper was\nstanding behind the door, awaiting what should betide between them, and\nhe began to call her saying, \u201cO Umm Abdillah, enough! Come out, for the\nday is long upon thy sucking child.\u201d Quoth the youth, \u201cGo forth to thy\nboy and come back;\u201d but quoth she, \u201cIf I go forth from thee, my soul\nwill depart my body; as regards the child, so I must either leave him to\ndie of weeping or let him be reared an orphan, without a mother.\u201d So she\nceased not to abide with him till he had done his desire of her ten\ntimes running, while her husband stood at the door, calling her and\ncrying out and weeping and imploring succour. But none came to aid him\nand he ceased not to do thus, saying, \u201cI will slay myself!\u201d; till at\nlast, finding no way of access to his wife, and being distraught with\nrage and jealousy, to hear sighing and murmuring and breathing hard\nunder the young man, he went up to the top of the bath and, casting\nhimself down therefrom, died. \u201cMoreover, O King\u201d (continued the Wazir),\n\u201cthere hath reached me another story of the malice of women.\u201d \u201cWhat is\nthat?\u201d asked the King, and the Wazir said:\u2014Know, O King, that it is\nanent\n\n\n _THE WIFE\u2019S DEVICE TO CHEAT HER HUSBAND_.\n\nThere was once a woman who had no equal in her day for beauty and\nloveliness and grace and perfection; and a certain lewd youth and an\nobscene setting eyes on her, fell in love with her and loved her with\nexceeding passion, but she was chaste and inclined not to adultery. It\nchanced one day that her husband went on a journey to a certain town,\nwhereupon the young man fell to sending to her many times a day; but she\nmade him no reply At last, he resorted to an old woman, who dwelt hard\nby, and after saluting her he sat down and complained to her of his\nsufferings for love of the woman and his longing to enjoy her. Quoth\nshe, \u201cI will warrant thee this; no harm shall befal thee, for I will\nsurely bring thee to thy desire, Inshallah,\u2014an it please Allah the Most\nHigh!\u201d At these words he gave her a dinar and went his way. When the\nmorning morrowed she appeared before the woman and, renewing an old\nacquaintance with her, fell to visiting her daily, eating the undertime\nwith her and the evening meal and carrying away food for her children.\nMoreover, she used to sport and jest with her, till the wife became\ncorrupted[189] and could not endure an hour without her company. Now she\nwas wont, when she left the lady\u2019s house, to take bread and fat\nwherewith she mixed a little pepper and to feed a bitch, that was in\nthat quarter; and thus she did day by day, till the bitch became fond of\nher and followed her wherever she went. One day she took a cake of dough\nand, putting therein an overdose of pepper, gave it to the bitch to eat,\nwhereupon the beast\u2019s eyes began to shed tears, for the heat of the\npepper, and she followed the old woman, weeping. When the lady saw this,\nshe was amazed and asked the ancient, \u201cO my mother, what ails this bitch\nto weep?\u201d Answered she, \u201cLearn, O my heart\u2019s love, that hers is a\nstrange story. Know that she was once a close friend of mine, a lovely\nand accomplished young lady, a model of comeliness and perfect grace. A\nyoung Nazarene of the quarter fell in love with her and his passion and\npining increased on him, till he took to his pillow, and he sent to her\ntimes manifold, begging her to have compassion on him and show him\nmercy, but she refused, albeit I gave her good counsel, saying:\u2014O my\ndaughter, have pity on him and be kind and consent to all he wisheth.\nShe gave no heed to my advice, until, the young man\u2019s patience failing\nhim, he complained at last to one of his friends, who cast an\nenchantment on her and changed her human shape into canine form. When\nshe saw what transformation had befallen her and that there was none to\npity her case save myself, she came to my house and began to fawn on me\nand buss my hands and feet and whine and shed tears, till I recognised\nher and said to her:\u2014How often did I not warn thee?; but my advice\nprofited thee naught.\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 Eighty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the old trot\nrelated to the young lady the tale of the bitch and recounted the case\nin her cunning and deceit, with the view to gain her consent and said to\nher, \u201cWhen the enchanted beast came to me and wept I reminded her:\u2014How\noften did I not warn thee?; but my advice profited thee naught. However,\nO my daughter, seeing her misery, I had compassion on her case and kept\nher by me; and as often as she bethinketh herself of her former estate,\nshe weepeth thus, in pity for herself.\u201d When the lady heard this, she\nwas taken with great alarm and said, \u201cO my mother, by Allah, thou\naffrightest me with this thy story.\u201d \u201cWhy so?\u201d asked the old woman.\nAnswered the lady, \u201cBecause a certain handsome young man fell in love\nwith me and hath sent many times to me, but hitherto I have repelled\nhim; and now I fear lest there befal me the like of what befel this\nbitch.\u201d \u201cO my daughter,\u201d rejoined the old woman, \u201clook thou to what I\ncounsel thee and beware of crossing me, for I am in great fear for thee.\nIf thou know not his abiding-place, describe his semblance to me, that I\nmay fetch him to thee, and let not any one\u2019s heart be angered against\nthee.\u201d So the lady described him to her, and she showed not to know him\nand said, \u201cWhen I go out, I will ask after him.\u201d But when she left the\nlady, she went straight to the young man and said to him, \u201cBe of good\ncheer, for I have played with the girl\u2019s wits; so to-morrow at noon wait\nthou at the head of the street, till I come and carry thee to her house,\nwhere thou shalt take thine ease with her the rest of the day and all\nnight long.\u201d At this the young man rejoiced with exceeding joy and gave\nher two dinars, saying, \u201cWhen I have won my wish of her, I will give\nthee ten gold pieces.\u201d Then she returned to the lady and said to her, \u201cI\nhave seen him and spoken with him on this matter. I found him exceeding\nwroth with thee and minded to do thee a harm, but I plied him with fair\nwords till he agreed to come to-morrow at the time of the call to\nnoon-prayer.\u201d When the lady heard this she rejoiced exceedingly and\nsaid, \u201cO my mother, if he keep his promise, I will give thee ten\ndinars.\u201d Quoth the old woman, \u201cLook to his coming from none but from\nme.\u201d When the next morn morrowed she said to the lady, \u201cMake ready the\nearly meal and forget not the wine and adorn thyself and don thy richest\ndress and decoration, whilst I go and fetch him to thee.\u201d So she clad\nherself in her finest finery and prepared food, whilst the old woman\nwent out to look for the young man, who came not. So she went around\nsearching for him, but could come by no news of him, and she said to\nherself, \u201cWhat is to be done? Shall the food and drink she hath gotten\nready be wasted and I lose the gold pieces she promised me? Indeed, I\nwill not allow my cunning contrivance to come to naught, but will look\nher out another man and carry him to her.\u201d So she walked about the\nhighways till her eyes fell on a pretty fellow, young and\ndistinguished-looking, to whom the folk bowed and who bore in his face\nthe traces of travel. She went up to him and saluting him, asked, \u201cHast\nthou a mind to meat and drink and a girl adorned and ready?\u201d Answered\nhe, \u201cWhere is this to be had?\u201d \u201cAt home, in my house,\u201d rejoined she and\ncarrying him to his own house, knocked at the door. The lady opened to\nthem and ran in again, to make an end of her dressing and perfuming;\nwhilst the wicked old woman brought the man, who was the husband and\nhouse-master, into the saloon and made him sit down congratulating\nherself on her cunning contrivance. Presently in walked the lady, who no\nsooner set eyes on her husband sitting by the old trot than she knew him\nand guessed how the case stood; nevertheless, she was not taken aback\nand without stay or delay bethought her of a device to hoodwink him. So\nshe pulled off her outer boot and cried at her husband, \u201cIs this how\nthou keepest the contract between us? How canst thou betray me and deal\nthus with me? Know that, when I heard of thy coming, I sent this old\nwoman to try thee and she hath made thee fall into that against which I\nwarned thee: so now I am certified of thine affair and that thou hast\nbroken faith with me. I thought thee chaste and pure till I saw thee,\nwith my own eyes, in this old woman\u2019s company and knew that thou didst\nfrequent loose baggages.\u201d So saying, she fell to beating him with her\nslipper about the head, and crying out, \u201cDivorce me! Divorce me!\u201d;\nwhilst he excused himself and swore to her, by Allah the Most High, that\nhe had never in his life been untrue to her nor had done aught of that\nwhereof she suspected him. But she stinted not to weep and scream and\nbash him, crying out and saying, \u201cCome to my help, O Moslems!\u201d; till he\nlaid hold of her mouth with his hand and she bit it. Moreover, he\nhumbled himself to her and kissed her hands and feet, whilst she would\nnot be appeased and continued to cuff him. At last, she winked at the\nold woman to come and hold her hand from him. So she came up to her and\nkissed her hands and feet, till she made peace between them and they sat\ndown together; whereupon the husband began to kiss her hands, saying,\n\u201cAllah Almighty requite thee with all good, for that thou hast delivered\nme from her!\u201d And the old woman marvelled at the wife\u2019s cunning and\nready wit. \u201cThis, then, O King\u201d (said the Wazir) \u201cis one of many\ninstances of the craft and malice and perfidy of women.\u201d When the King\nheard this story, he was persuaded by it and turned from his purpose to\nslay his son;\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 Eighty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the fourth\nWazir had told his tale, the King turned from his purpose to slay his\nson; but, on the fifth day, the damsel came in to him hending a bowl of\npoison in hand, calling on Heaven for help and buffeting her cheeks and\nface, and said to him, \u201cO King, either thou shalt do me justice and\navenge me on thy son, or I will drink up this poison-cup and die, and\nthe sin of my blood shall be on thy head at the Day of Doom. These thy\nMinisters accuse me of malice and perfidy, but there be none in the\nworld more perfidious than men. Hast thou not heard the story of the\nGoldsmith and the Cashmere[190] singing-girl?\u201d \u201cWhat befel the twain, O\ndamsel?\u201d asked the King; and she answered, saying:\u2014There hath come to my\nknowledge, O august King, a tale of\n\n\n _THE GOLDSMITH AND THE CASHMERE SINGING-GIRL_.\n\nTHERE lived once, in a city of Persia a goldsmith who delighted in women\nand in drinking wine. One day, being in the house of one of his\nintimates, he saw painted on the wall the figure of a lutanist, a\nbeautiful damsel, beholder never beheld a fairer or a more pleasant. He\nlooked at the picture again and again, marvelling at its beauty, and\nfell so desperately in love with it, that he sickened for passion and\ncame near to die. It chanced that one of his friends came to visit him\nand sitting down by his side, asked how he did and what ailed him,\nwhereto the goldsmith answered, \u201cO my brother, that which ails me is\nlove, and it befel on this wise. I saw the figure of a woman painted on\nthe house-wall of my brother such an one and became enamoured of it.\u201d\nHereupon the other fell to blaming him and said, \u201cThis was of thy lack\nof wit; how couldst thou fall in love with a painted figure on a wall,\nthat can neither harm nor profit, that seeth not neither heareth, that\nneither taketh nor withholdeth.\u201d Said the sick man, \u201cHe who painted\nyonder picture never could have limned it save after the likeness of\nsome beautiful woman.\u201d \u201cHaply,\u201d rejoined his friend, \u201che painted it from\nimagination.\u201d \u201cIn any case,\u201d replied the goldsmith, \u201cHere am I dying for\nlove of the picture, and if there live the original thereof in the\nworld, I pray Allah Most High to protect my life till I see her.\u201d When\nthose who were present went out, they asked for the painter of the\npicture and, finding that he had travelled to another town, wrote him a\nletter, complaining of their comrade\u2019s case and enquiring whether he had\ndrawn the figure of his own inventive talents or copied it from a living\nmodel; to which he replied, \u201cI painted it after a certain singing-girl\nbelonging to one of the Wazirs in the city of Cashmere in the land of\nHind.\u201d When the goldsmith heard this, he left Persia for Cashmere-city,\nwhere he arrived after much travail. He tarried awhile there till one\nday he went and clapped up an acquaintance with a certain of the\ncitizens who was a druggist, a fellow of a sharp wit, keen, crafty; and,\nbeing one eventide in company with him, asked him of their King and his\npolity; to which the other answered, saying, \u201cWell, our King is just and\nrighteous in his governance, equitable to his lieges and beneficent to\nhis commons and abhorreth nothing in the world save sorcerers; but,\nwhenever a sorcerer or sorceress falls into his hands, he casteth them\ninto a pit without the city and there leaveth them in hunger to die.\u201d\nThen he questioned him of the King\u2019s Wazirs, and the druggist told him\nof each Minister, his fashion and condition, till the talk came round to\nthe singing-girl and he told him, \u201cShe belongeth to such a Wazir.\u201d The\ngoldsmith took note of the Minister\u2019s abiding place and waited some\ndays, till he had devised a device to his desire; and one night of rain\nand thunder and stormy winds, he provided himself with thieves\u2019 tackle\nand repaired to the house of the Wazir who owned the damsel. Here he\nhanged a rope-ladder with grappling-irons to the battlements and climbed\nup to the terrace-roof of the palace. Thence he descended to the inner\ncourt and, making his way into the Harim, found all the slave-girls\nlying asleep, each on her own couch; and amongst them reclining on a\ncouch of alabaster and covered with a coverlet of cloth of gold a\ndamsel, as she were the moon rising on a fourteenth night. At her head\nstood a candle of ambergris, and at her feet another, each in a\ncandlestick of glittering gold, her brilliancy dimming them both; and\nunder her pillow lay a casket of silver, wherein were her jewels. He\nraised the coverlet and drawing near her, considered her straitly, and\nbehold, it was the lutanist whom he desired and of whom he was come in\nquest. So he took out a knife and wounded her in the back parts, a\npalpable outer wound, whereupon she awoke in terror; but, when she saw\nhim, she was afraid to cry out, thinking he came to steal her goods. So\nshe said to him, \u201cTake the box and what is therein, but slay me not, for\nI am in thy protection and under thy safeguard[191] and my death will\nprofit thee nothing.\u201d Accordingly, he took the box and went away.\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 Eighty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the goldsmith\nhad entered the Wazir\u2019s palace he wounded the damsel slightly in the\nback parts and, taking the box which contained her jewels, wended his\nway. And when morning morrowed he donned clothes after the fashion of\nmen of learning and doctors of the law and, taking the jewel-case went\nin therewith to the King of the city, before whom he kissed the ground\nand said to him, \u201cO King, I am a devout man; withal a loyal well-wisher\nto thee and come hither a pilgrim to thy court from the land of\nKhorasan, attracted by the report of thy just governance and righteous\ndealing with thy subjects and minded to be under thy standard. I reached\nthis city at the last of the day and finding the gate locked and barred,\nthrew me down to sleep without the walls; but, as I lay betwixt sleep\nand wake, behold, I saw four women come up; one riding on a broom-stick,\nanother on a wine-jar, a third on an oven-peel and a fourth on a black\nbitch,[192] and I knew that they were witches making for thy city. One\nof them came up to me and kicked me with her foot and beat me with a\nfox\u2019s tail she had in her hand, hurting me grievously, whereat I was\nwroth and smote her with a knife I had with me, wounding her in the back\nparts, as she turned to flee from me. When she felt the wound, she fled\nbefore me and in her flight let drop this casket, which I picked up and\nopening, found these costly jewels therein. So do thou take it, for I\nhave no need thereof, being a wanderer in the mountains,[193] who hath\nrejected the world from my heart and renounced it and all that is in it,\nseeking only the face of Allah the Most High.\u201d Then he set the casket\nbefore the King and fared forth. The King opened the box and emptying\nout all the trinkets it contained, fell to turning them over with his\nhand, till he chanced upon a necklace whereof he had made gift to the\nWazir to whom the girl belonged. Seeing this, he called the Minister in\nquestion and said to him, \u201cThis is the necklace I gave thee?\u201d He knew it\nat first sight and answered, \u201cIt is; and I gave it to a singing girl of\nmine.\u201d Quoth the King, \u201cFetch that girl to me forthwith.\u201d So he fetched\nher to him, and he said, \u201cUncover her back parts and see if there be a\nwound therein or no.\u201d The Wazir accordingly bared her backside and\nfinding a knife-wound there, said, \u201cYes, O my lord, there is a wound.\u201d\nThen said the King, \u201cThis is the witch of whom the devotee told me, and\nthere can be no doubt of it,\u201d and bade cast her into the witches\u2019 well.\nSo they carried her thither at once. As soon as it was night and the\ngoldsmith knew that his plot had succeeded, he repaired to the pit,\ntaking with him a purse of a thousand dinars, and, entering into\nconverse with the warder, sat talking with him till a third part of the\nnight was passed, when he broached the matter to him, saying, \u201cKnow, O\nmy brother, that this girl is innocent of that they lay to her charge\nand that it was I brought this calamity upon her.\u201d Then he told him the\nwhole story, first and last, adding, \u201cTake, O my brother, this purse of\na thousand dinars and give me the damsel, that I may carry her to my own\nland, for these gold pieces will profit thee more than keeping her in\nprison; moreover Allah will requite thee for us, and we too will both\noffer up prayers for thy prosperity and safety.\u201d When the warder heard\nthis story, he marvelled with exceeding marvel at that device and its\nsuccess; then taking the money, he delivered the girl to the goldsmith,\nconditioning that he should not abide one hour with her in the city.\nThereupon the goldsmith took the girl and fared on with her, without\nceasing, till he reached his own country and so he won his wish. \u201cSee,\nthen, O King\u201d (said the damsel), \u201cthe malice of men and their wiles. Now\nthy Wazirs hinder thee from doing me justice on thy son; but to-morrow\nwe shall stand, both thou and I, before the Just Judge, and He shall do\nme justice on thee, O King.\u201d When the King heard this, he commanded to\nput his son to death; but the fifth Wazir came in to him and kissing the\nground before him, said, \u201cO mighty King, delay and hasten not to slay\nthy son: speed will oftentimes repentance breed; and I fear for thee\nlest thou repent, even as did the man who never laughed for the rest of\nhis days.\u201d \u201cAnd how was that, O Wazir?\u201d asked the King. Quoth he:\u2014I have\nheard tell, O King, this tale concerning\n\n\n _THE MAN WHO NEVER LAUGHED DURING THE REST OF HIS DAYS_.\n\nThere was once a man who was rich in lands and houses and monies and\ngoods, eunuchs and slaves, and he died and went to the mercy of Allah\nthe Most High; leaving a young son, who, when he grew up, gave himself\nto feasting and carousing and hearing music and singing and the loud\nlaughter of parasites; and he wasted his substance in gifts and\nprodigality till he had squandered all the money his father left\nhim\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 Eighty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young man,\nwhen he had squandered all the money his father had left him and naught\nthereof remained to him, betook himself to selling his slaves and\nhandmaids, lands and houses and spent the proceeds on like wise, till he\nwas reduced to beggary and must needs labour for his living. He abode\nthus a year\u2019s space, at the end of which time he was sitting one day\nunder a wall, awaiting who should hire him when behold, there came up to\nhim an old man of comely aspect and apparel and saluted him. The young\nman asked, \u201cO uncle, hast thou known me aforetime?\u201d and the other\nanswered, \u201cNot so, O my son, I know thee not at all, at all; but I see\nthe trace of gentle breeding on thee despite thy present case.\u201d \u201cO\nuncle,\u201d rejoined the poor man, \u201cneeds must Fate and Fortune be\naccomplished; but, O uncle, O bright of blee, hast thou any occasion\nwherein thou wouldst employ me?\u201d Said the other, \u201cI wish, O my son, to\nemploy thee in a slight matter.\u201d \u201cWhat is it?\u201d quoth the young man, and\nquoth the stranger, \u201cWe are eleven old men in one house, but we have\nnone to serve us; so an thou wilt stay and take service with us, thou\nshalt have food and clothing to thy heart\u2019s content, besides what cometh\nto thee of coin and other good; and haply Allah will restore thee thy\nfortune by our means.\u201d Replied the youth, \u201cHearkening and obedience!\u201d\n\u201cBut I have a condition to impose on thee.\u201d \u201cWhat is that?\u201d \u201cO my Son,\nit is that thou keep our secret in what thou seest us do, and if thou\nsee us weep, that thou question us not of the cause of our weeping.\u201d \u201cIt\nis well, O uncle;\u201d \u201cCome with me, O my son, with the blessing of Allah\nAlmighty.\u201d So he followed him to the bath, where the old man caused\ncleanse his body of the crusted dirt, after which he sent one to fetch a\nhandsome garment of linen and clad him therein. Then he carried him to\nhis company which was in his domicile and the youth found a house lofty\nand spacious and strongly builded, wherein were sitting-chambers facing\none another; and saloons, in each one a fountain of water, with the\nbirds warbling over it, and windows on every side, giving upon a fair\ngarden within the house. The old man brought him into one of the\nparlours, which was variegated with many-coloured marbles, the ceiling\nthereof being decorated with ultramarine and glowing gold; and the floor\nbespread with silken carpets. Here he found ten Shayks in mourning\napparel, seated one opposite other, weeping and wailing. He marvelled at\ntheir case and purposed to ask the reason, when he remembered the\ncondition and held his peace. Then he who had brought him delivered to\nhim a chest containing thirty thousand dinars and said to him, \u201cO my\nson, spend freely from this chest what is fitting for our entertainment\nand thine own; and be thou faithful and remember that wherewith I\ncharged thee.\u201d \u201cI hear and I obey,\u201d answered he and served them days and\nnights, till one of them died, whereupon his fellows washed him and\nshrouded him and buried him in a garden behind the house,[194] nor did\ndeath cease to take them, one after other, till there remained but the\nShaykh who had hired the youth for service. Then the two men, old and\nyoung, dwelt together in that house alone for years and years, nor was\nthere with them a third save Allah the Most High, till the elder fell\nsick; and when the younger despaired of his life, he went up to him and\ncondoling with him, said, \u201cO nuncle mine, I have waited upon you twelve\nyears and have not failed of my duties a single hour, but have been\nloyal and faithful to you and served you with my might and main.\u201d \u201cYes,\nO my son,\u201d answered the old man, \u201cthou hast served us well until all my\ncomrades are gone to the mercy of Allah (to whom belong honour and\nglory!) and needs must I die also.\u201d \u201cO my lord,\u201d said the other, \u201cthou\nart in danger of death and I would fain have thee acquaint me with the\ncause of your weeping and wailing and of your unceasing mourning and\nlamentation and regrets.\u201d \u201cO my son,\u201d answered the old man, \u201cit concerns\nthee not to know this, so importune me not of what I may not do: for I\nhave vowed to Almighty Allah that I would acquaint none of His creatures\nwith this, lest he be afflicted with what befel me and my comrades. If,\nthen, thou desire to be delivered from that into which we fell, look\nthou open not yonder door\u201d[195] and pointed to a certain part of the\nhouse; \u201cbut, if thou have a mind to suffer what we have suffered, then\nopen it and thou shalt learn the cause of that thou hast seen us do; and\nwhenas thou knowest it, thou shalt repent what time repentance will\navail thee not.\u201d\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 Eighty-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the surviving\nShaykh of the ten said to the youth, \u201cBeware how thou open yonder door\nor thou shalt repent what time repentance will avail thee not.\u201d Then his\nsickness grew on him and he accomplished his term and departed life to\nthe presence of his Lord; and the young man washed him with his own\nhands and shrouded him and buried him by the side of his comrades; after\nwhich he abode alone in the place and took possession of whatsoever was\ntherein. Withal he was uneasy and troubled concerning the case of the\nold men, till, one day, as he sat pondering the words of his dead master\nand his injunction not to open the door, he suddenly bethought himself\nto go and look for it. So he rose up and repaired to the part whither\nthe dead man had pointed and sought till, in a dark unfrequented corner,\nhe found a little door, over which the spider had spun her webs and\nwhich was fastened with four padlocks of steel. Seeing this he recalled\nthe old man\u2019s warning and restrained himself and went away; and he held\naloof from it seven days, whilst all the time his heart prompted him to\nopen it. On the eighth day his curiosity got the better of him and he\nsaid, \u201cCome what will, needs must I open the door and see what will\nhappen to me therefrom. Nothing can avert what is fated and\nfore-ordained of Allah the Most High; nor doth aught befal but by His\nwill.\u201d So saying, he rose and broke the padlocks and opening the door\nsaw a narrow passage, which he followed for some three hours when lo! he\ncame out on the shore of a vast ocean[196] and fared on along the beach,\nmarvelling at this main, whereof he had no knowledge and turning right\nand left. Presently, a great eagle swooped down upon him from the lift\nand seizing him in its talons, flew away with him betwixt heaven and\nearth, till it came to an island in the midst of the sea, where it cast\nhim down and flew away. The youth was dazed and knew not whither he\nshould wend, but after a few days as he sat pondering his case, he\ncaught sight of the sails of a ship in the middlemost of the main, as it\nwere a star in the sky; and his heart clave to it, so haply his\ndeliverance might be therein. He continued gazing at the ship, until it\ndrew nigh, when he saw that it was a foyst builded all of ivory and\nebony, inlaid with glistening gold made fast by nails of steel, with\noars of sandal and lign-aloes. In it were ten damsels, high-bosomed\nmaids, as they were moons; and when they saw him, they came ashore to\nhim and kissed his hands, saying, \u201cThou art the King, the Bridegroom!\u201d\nThen there accosted him a young lady, as she were the sun shining in sky\nserene bearing in hand a silken napkin, wherein were a royal robe and a\ncrown of gold set with all manner rubies and pearls. She threw the robe\nover him and set the crown upon his head, after which the damsels bore\nhim on their arms to the foyst, where he found all kinds of silken\ncarpets and hangings of various colours. Then they spread the sails and\nstretched out into mid-ocean. Quoth the young man:\u2014Indeed, when they put\nto sea with me, meseemed it was a dream and I knew not whither they were\nwending with me. Presently, we drew near to land, and I saw the shore\nfull of troops none knoweth their number save Allah (extolled and\nexalted be He!) and all were magnificently arrayed and clad in complete\nsteel. As soon as the vessel had made fast to the land, they brought me\nfive marked[197] horses of noble breeds, housed and saddled with gold,\ninlaid with all manner pearls and high-priced bezel stones. I chose out\none of them and mounted it, whilst they led the four others before me.\nThen they raised the banners and the standards over my head, whilst the\ntroops ranged themselves right and left, and we set out, with drums\nbeating and cymbals clashing, and rode on; whilst I debated in myself\nwhether I were in sleep or on wake; and we never ceased faring, I\nbelieving not in that my estate, but taking all this for the imbroglio\nof a dream, till we drew near to the green mead, full of palaces and\ngardens and trees and streams and blooms and birds chanting the praises\nof Allah the One, the Victorious. Hereupon, behold, an army sallied out\nfrom amid the palaces and gardens, as it were the torrent when it\npoureth down,[198] and the host overflowed the mead. These troops halted\nat a little distance from me and presently there rode forth from amongst\nthem a King, preceded by some of his chief officers on foot. When he\ncame up to the young man (saith the tale-teller) he dismounted also, and\nthe two saluted each other after the goodliest fashion. Then said the\nKing, \u201cCome with us, for thou art my guest.\u201d So they took horse again\nand rode on stirrup touching stirrup in great and stately procession,\nconversing as they went, till they came to the royal palace, where they\nalighted together.\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 Ninetieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the two rode\ntogether in stately procession till they entered the palace, when the\nKing taking the young man by the hand, led him into a domed room\nfollowed by his suite, and making him sit down on a throne of gold,\nseated himself beside him. Then he unbound the swathe from his lower\nface; and behold, the King was a young lady, like the splendid sun\nshining in the sheeny sky, perfect in beauty and loveliness, brilliancy\nand grace, arrogance[199] and all perfection. The youth looked upon this\nsingular blessing and embodied boon and was lost in wonder at her charms\nand comeliness and seemlihead and at the splendour and affluence he saw\nabout him, when she said \u201cKnow, O King, that I am the Queen of this land\nand that all the troops thou hast seen, whether horse or foot, are\nwomen, there is no man amongst them; for in this our state the men delve\nand sow and ear and occupy themselves with the tillage of the earth and\nthe building of towns and other mechanical crafts and useful arts,\nwhilst the women govern and fill the great offices of state and bear\narms.\u201d At this the youth marvelled with exceeding marvel and, as they\nwere in discourse, behold, in came the Wazir who was a tall gray-haired\nold woman of venerable semblance and majestic aspect, and it was told\nhim that this was the Minister. Quoth the Queen to her, \u201cBring us the\nKazi and witnesses.\u201d So she went out to do this, and the Queen, turning\nto him, conversed with him in friendly fashion, and enforced herself to\nreassure his awe of her and do away his shame with speech blander than\nthe zephyr, saying, \u201cArt thou content to be to me baron and I to thee\nfeme?\u201d Thereupon he arose and would have kissed ground between her\nhands, but she forbade him and he replied, saying, \u201cO my lady, I am the\nleast of thy slaves who serve thee.\u201d \u201cSeest thou all these servants and\nsoldiers and riches and hoards and treasures?\u201d asked she, and he\nanswered, \u201cYes!\u201d Quoth she, \u201cAll these are at thy commandment to dispose\nof them and give and bestow as seemeth good to thee.\u201d Then she pointed\nto a closed door and said, \u201cAll these things are at thy disposal, save\nyonder door; that shalt thou not open, and if thou open it thou shalt\nrepent when repentance will avail thee naught. So beware! and again I\nsay, beware!\u201d Hardly had she made an end of speaking when the Waziress\nentered followed by the Kazi and witnesses, all old women, with their\nhair streaming over their shoulders and of reverend and majestic\npresence; and the Queen bade them draw up the contract of marriage\nbetween herself and the young man. Accordingly, they performed the\nmarriage-ceremony and the Queen made a great bride-feast, to which she\nbade all the troops; and after they had eaten and drunken, he went in\nunto his bride and found her a maid virginal. So he did away her hymen,\nand abode with her seven years in all joyance and solace and delight of\nlife, till, one day of the days, he bethought himself of the forbidden\ndoor and said in himself, \u201cExcept there were therein treasures greater\nand grander than any I have seen, she had not forbidden me therefrom.\u201d\nSo he rose and opened the door, when, lo! behind it was the very bird\nwhich had brought him from the sea-shore to the island, and it said to\nhim, \u201cNo welcome to a face that shall never prosper!\u201d When he saw it and\nheard what it said, he fled from it; but it followed him and seizing him\nin its talons, flew with him an hour\u2019s journey betwixt heaven and earth,\ntill it set him down in the place whence it had first carried him off\nand flew away. When he came to his senses, he remembered his late\nestate, great, grand and glorious, and the troops which rode before him\nand his lordly rule and all the honour and fair fortune he had lost and\nfell to weeping and wailing.[200] He abode two months on the sea-shore,\nwhere the bird had set him down, hoping yet to return to his wife, till,\nas he sat one night wakeful, mourning and musing, behold, he heard one\nspeaking, albeit he saw no one, and saying, \u201cHow great were the\ndelights! Alas, far from thee is the return of that which is past!\u201d When\nhe heard this, he redoubled in his regrets and despaired of recovering\nhis wife and his fair estate that was; so he returned, weary and\nbroken-hearted, to the house where he had dwelt with the old men and\nknew that they had fared even as he and that this was the cause of their\nshedding tears and lamenting their lot; wherefore he ever after held\nthem excused. Then, being overcome with chagrin and concern, he took to\nhis chamber and gave himself up to mourning and lamentation; and he\nceased not crying and complaining and left eating and drinking and\npleasant scents and merriment; nor did he laugh once till the day of his\ndeath, when they buried him beside the Shaykhs. \u201cSee, then, O King,\u201d\ncontinued the Wazir \u201cwhat cometh of precipitance; verily, it is\nunpraiseworthy and bequeatheth repentance; and in this I give thee true\nadvice and loyal counsel.\u201d When the King heard this story, he turned\nfrom slaying his son;\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 Ninety-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the King\nheard this story he turned from slaying his son; but, on the sixth day,\nthe favourite came in to him hending a naked knife in hand, and said to\nhim, \u201cKnow, O my lord, that except thou hearken to my complaint and\nprotect thy right and thine honour against these thy Ministers, who are\nbanded together against me, to do me wrong, I will kill myself with this\nknife, and my blood will testify against thee on the Day of Doom.\nIndeed, they pretend that women are full of tricks and malice and\nperfidy; and they design thereby to defeat me of my due and hinder the\nKing from doing me justice; but, behold, I will prove to thee that men\nare more perfidious than women by the story of a King among the Kings\nand how he gained access to the wife of a certain merchant.\u201d \u201cAnd what\npassed between them?\u201d asked the King, and she answered:\u2014I have heard\ntell, O august King, a tale of\n\n\n _THE KING\u2019S SON AND THE MERCHANT\u2019S WIFE_.\n\nA certain merchant, who was addicted to jealousy, had a wife that was a\nmodel of beauty and loveliness; and of the excess of his fear and\njealousy of her, he would not abide with her in any town, but built her\na pavilion without the city, apart from all other buildings. And he\nraised its height and strengthened its doors and provided them with\ncurious locks; and when he had occasion to go into the city, he locked\nthe doors and hung the keys about his neck.[201] One day, when the\nmerchant was abroad, the King\u2019s son of that city came forth, to take his\npleasure and solace in the open country without the walls, and seeing\nthe solitary pavilion, stood still to examine it for a long while. At\nlast he caught sight of a charming lady looking and leaning out of one\nof the windows,[202] and being smitten with amazement at her grace and\ncharms, cast about for a means of getting to her, but could find none.\nSo he called up one of his pages, who brought him ink-case[203] and\npaper and wrote her a letter, setting forth his condition for love of\nher. Then he set it on the pile-point of an arrow and shot it at the\npavilion, and it fell in the garden, where the lady was then walking\nwith her maidens. She said to one of the girls, \u201cHasten and bring me yon\nletter,\u201d for she could read writing;[204] and, when she had read it and\nunderstood what he said in it of his love and passion, yearning and\nlonging, she wrote him a merciful reply, to the effect that she was\nsmitten with a yet fiercer desire for him; and then threw the letter\ndown to him from one of the windows of the pavilion. When he saw her, he\npicked up the reply and after reading it, came under the window and said\nto her, \u201cLet me down a thread, that I may send thee this key; which do\nthou take and keep by thee.\u201d So she let down a thread and he tied the\nkey to it.[205] Then he went away and repairing to one of his father\u2019s\nWazirs, complained to him of his passion for the lady and that he could\nnot live without her; and the Minister said, \u201cAnd how dost thou bid me\ncontrive?\u201d Quoth the Prince, \u201cI would have thee set me in a chest[206]\nand commit it to the merchant, feigning to him that it is thine and\ndesiring him to keep it for thee in his country-house some days, that I\nmay have my will of her; then do thou demand it back from him.\u201d The\nWazir answered, \u201cWith love and gladness.\u201d So the Prince returned to his\npalace and fixing the padlock, the key whereof he had given the lady, on\na chest he had by him, entered therein. Then the Wazir locked it upon\nhim and setting it on a mule, carried it to the pavilion of the\nmerchant, who, seeing the Minister, came forth to him and kissed his\nhands, saying, \u201cBelike our lord the Wazir hath some need or business\nwhich we may have the pleasure and honour of accomplishing for him?\u201d\nQuoth the Minister, \u201cI would have thee set this chest in the safest and\nbest place within thy house and keep it till I seek it of thee.\u201d So the\nmerchant made the porters carry it inside and set it down in one of his\nstore-closets, after which he went out on business. As soon as he was\ngone, his wife arose and went up to the chest and unlocked it with the\nkey the King\u2019s son had given her, whereupon there came forth a youth\nlike the moon. When she saw him, she donned her richest raiment and\ncarried him to her sitting-saloon, where they abode seven days, eating\nand drinking and making merry: and as often as her husband came home,\nshe put the Prince back into the chest and locked it upon him. One day\nthe King asked for his son and the Wazir hurried off to the merchant\u2019s\nplace of business and sought of him the chest.\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 Ninety-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Wazir\nreached the merchant\u2019s counting-house he asked for the box. The man\naccordingly repaired in haste to his pavilion, contrary to his custom\nand knocked at the door. When his wife was ware of him, she hurried the\nPrince back into the chest, but, in her confusion, forgot to lock it.\nThe merchant bade the porters take it up and carry it to his house in\nthe town. So they took up the box by the lid, whereupon it flew open and\nlo! the Prince was lying within. When the merchant saw him and knew him\nfor the King\u2019s son, he went out to the Wazir and said to him, \u201cGo in,\nthou, and take the King\u2019s son; for none of us may lay hands on him.\u201d So\nthe Minister went in and taking the Prince, went away with him. As soon\nas they were gone, the merchant put away his wife and swore that he\nwould never marry again. And, continued the damsel, I have heard tell,\nalso, O King, a tale of\n\n\n _THE PAGE WHO FEIGNED TO KNOW THE SPEECH OF BIRDS_.[207]\n\nA certain man of rank once entered the slave-market and saw a page being\ncried for sale; so he bought him and carrying him home, said to his\nwife, \u201cTake good care of him.\u201d The lad abode there for a while till, one\nday, the man said to his wife, \u201cGo forth to-morrow to the garden and\ntake thy solace therein and amuse thyself and enjoy thyself.\u201d And she\nreplied, \u201cWith love and gladness!\u201d Now when the page heard this, he made\nready in secret meat and drink and fruits and dessert, and sallied forth\nwith them privily that night to the garden, where he laid the meat under\none tree, the wine under another and the fruit and conserves under a\nthird, in the way his mistress must pass. When morning morrowed the\nhusband bade him accompany the lady to that garden carrying with him all\nthe provisions required for the day; so she took horse and riding\nthither with him, dismounted and entered. Presently, as they were\nwalking about, a crow croaked,[208] and the page said, \u201cThou sayst\nsooth;\u201d whereupon his mistress asked him, \u201cDost thou know what the crow\nsaid?\u201d and he answered, \u201cYes, O my lady, he said, Under yonder tree is\nmeat; go and eat it.\u201d So she said, \u201cI see thou really dost understand\nthem;\u201d then she went up to the tree and, finding a dish of meat ready\ndressed, was assured that the youth told the truth and marvelled with\nexceeding marvel. They ate of the meat and walked about awhile, taking\ntheir pleasure in the garden, till the crow croaked a second time, and\nthe page again replied, \u201cThou sayst sooth.\u201d \u201cWhat said he?\u201d quoth the\nlady, and quoth the page, \u201cO my lady, he saith that under such a tree\nare a gugglet of water flavoured with musk and a pitcher of old wine.\u201d\nSo she went up with him to the tree and, finding the wine and water\nthere, redoubled in wonderment and the page was magnified in her eyes.\nThey sat down and drank, then arose and walked in another part of the\ngarden. Presently the crow croaked again and the page said, \u201cThou sayst\nsooth.\u201d Said the lady, \u201cWhat saith he now?\u201d and the page replied, \u201cHe\nsaith that under yonder tree are fruits, fresh and dried.\u201d So they went\nthither and found all as he said and sat down and ate. Then they walked\nabout again till the crow croaked a fourth time, whereupon the page took\nup a stone and threw it at him. Quoth she, \u201cWhat said he, that thou\nshouldst stone him?\u201d \u201cO my lady,\u201d answered he, \u201che said what I cannot\ntell thee.\u201d \u201cSay on,\u201d rejoined she, \u201cand be not abashed in my presence,\nfor there is naught between me and thee.\u201d But he ceased not to say,\n\u201cNo,\u201d and she to press him to speak, till at last she conjured him to\ntell her, and he answered, \u201cThe crow said to me:\u2014Do with thy lady even\nas doth her husband.\u201d When she heard his words she laughed till she fell\nbackward and said, \u201cThis is a light matter, and I may not gainsay thee\ntherein.\u201d So saying, she went up to a tree and, spreading the carpet\nunder it, lay down, and called to him to come and do her need, when, lo!\nher husband, who had followed them unawares and saw this, called out to\nthe page, saying, \u201cHarkye, boy! What ails thy mistress to lie there,\nweeping?\u201d Answered the page, \u201cO my lord, she fell off the tree and was\nkilled;[209] and none but Allah (be He extolled and exalted!) restored\nher to thee. Wherefore she lay down awhile to recover herself by rest.\u201d\nWhen the lady saw her husband standing by her head, she rose and made a\nshow of weakness and pain, saying, \u201cO my back! O my sides! Come to my\nhelp, O my friends! I shall never survive this.\u201d So her husband was\ndeceived and said to the page, \u201cFetch thy mistress\u2019s horse and set her\nthereon.\u201d Then he carried her home, the boy holding one stirrup and the\nman the other and saying, \u201cAllah vouchsafe thee ease and recovery!\u201d\n\u201cThese then, O King,\u201d (said the damsel) \u201care some instances of the craft\nof men and their perfidy; wherefore let not thy Wazirs turn thee from\nsuccouring me and doing me justice.\u201d Then she wept, and when the King\nsaw her weeping (for she was the dearest to him of all his slave-girls)\nhe once more commanded to put his son to death; but the sixth Minister\nentered and kissing ground before him, said, \u201cMay the Almighty advance\nthe King! Verily I am a loyal counsellor to thee, in that I counsel thee\nto deal deliberately in the matter of thy son;\u201d\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 Ninety-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the sixth Wazir\nsaid, \u201cO King, deal deliberately in the matter of thy son; for falsehood\nis as smoke and fact is built on base which shall not be broken; yea,\nand the light of sooth dispelleth the night of untruth. Know that the\nperfidy of women is great, even as saith Allah the Most High in His Holy\nBook, \u201cVerily, the malice of you is great.\u201d[210] And indeed a tale hath\nreached me that a certain woman befooled the Chiefs of the State on such\nwise as never did any before her.\u201d Asked the King, \u201cAnd how was that?\u201d\nAnd the Wazir answered:\u2014I have heard tell a tale, O King, as follows\nconcerning\n\n\n _THE LADY AND HER FIVE SUITORS_.[211]\n\nA woman of the daughters of the merchants was married to a man who was a\ngreat traveller. It chanced once that he set out for a far country and\nwas absent so long that his wife, for pure ennui, fell in love with a\nhandsome young man of the sons of the merchants, and they loved each\nother with exceeding love. One day, the youth quarrelled with another\nman, who lodged a complaint against him with the Chief of Police, and he\ncast him into prison. When the news came to the merchant\u2019s wife his\nmistress, she well-nigh lost her wits; then she arose and donning her\nrichest clothes repaired to the house of the Chief of Police. She\nsaluted him and presented a written petition to this purport:\u2014\u201cHe thou\nhast clapped in jail is my brother, such and such, who fell out with\nsuch an one; and those who testified against him bore false witness. He\nhath been wrongfully imprisoned, and I have none other to come in to me\nnor to provide for my support; therefore I beseech thee of thy grace to\nrelease him.\u201d When the magistrate had read the paper, he cast his eyes\non her and fell in love with her forthright; so he said to her, \u201cGo into\nthe house, till I bring him before me; then I will send for thee and\nthou shalt take him.\u201d \u201cO my lord,\u201d replied she, \u201cI have none to protect\nme save Almighty Allah!: I am a stranger and may not enter any man\u2019s\nabode.\u201d Quoth the Wali, \u201cI will not let him go, except thou come to my\nhome and I take my will of thee.\u201d Rejoined she, \u201cIf it must be so, thou\nmust needs come to my lodging and sit and sleep the siesta and rest the\nwhole day there.\u201d \u201cAnd where is thy abode?\u201d asked he; and she answered,\n\u201cIn such a place,\u201d and appointed him for such a time. Then she went out\nfrom him, leaving his heart taken with love of her, and she repaired to\nthe Kazi of the city, to whom she said, \u201cO our lord the Kazi!\u201d He\nexclaimed, \u201cYes!\u201d and she continued, \u201cLook into my case, and thy reward\nbe with Allah the Most High!\u201d Quoth he, \u201cWho hath wronged thee?\u201d and\nquoth she, \u201cO my lord, I have a brother and I have none but that one,\nand it is on his account that I come to thee; because the Wali hath\nimprisoned him for a criminal and men have borne false witness against\nhim that he is a wrong-doer; and I beseech thee to intercede for him\nwith the Chief of Police.\u201d When the Kazi looked on her, he fell in love\nwith her forthright and said to her, \u201cEnter the house and rest awhile\nwith my handmaids whilst I send to the Wali to release thy brother. If I\nknew the money-fine which is upon him, I would pay it out of my own\npurse, so I may have my desire of thee, for thou pleasest me with thy\nsweet speech.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cIf thou, O my lord, do thus, we must not\nblame others.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cAn thou wilt not come in, wend thy ways.\u201d Then\nsaid she, \u201cAn thou wilt have it so, O our lord, it will be privier and\nbetter in my place than in thine, for here are slave-girls and eunuchs\nand goers-in and comers-out, and indeed I am a woman who wotteth naught\nof this fashion; but need compelleth.\u201d Asked the Kazi, \u201cAnd where is thy\nhouse?\u201d; and she answered, \u201cIn such a place,\u201d and appointed him for the\nsame day and time as the Chief of Police. Then she went out from him to\nthe Wazir, to whom she preferred her petition for the release from\nprison of her brother who was absolutely necessary to her: but he also\nrequired her of herself, saying, \u201cSuffer me to have my will of thee and\nI will set thy brother free.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cAn thou wilt have it so, be it\nin my house, for there it will be privier both for me and for thee. It\nis not far distant and thou knowest that which behoveth us women of\ncleanliness and adornment.\u201d Asked he, \u201cWhere is thy house?\u201d \u201cIn such a\nplace,\u201d answered she and appointed him for the same time as the two\nothers. Then she went out from him to the King of the city and told him\nher story and sought of him her brother\u2019s release. \u201cWho imprisoned him?\u201d\nenquired he; and she replied, \u201c\u2018Twas thy Chief of Police.\u201d When the King\nheard her speech, it transpierced his heart with the arrows of love and\nhe bade her enter the palace with him, that he might send to the Kazi\nand release her brother. Quoth she, \u201cO King, this thing is easy to thee,\nwhether I will or nill; and if the King will indeed have this of me, it\nis of my good fortune; but, if he come to my house, he will do me the\nmore honour by setting step therein, even as saith the poet:\u2014\n\n O my friends, have ye seen or have ye heard \u273f Of his visit whose virtues\n I hold so high?\u201d\n\nQuoth the King, \u201cWe will not cross thee in this.\u201d So she appointed him\nfor the same time as the three others, and told him where her house\nwas.\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 Ninety-fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the woman told the\nKing where her house was and appointed him for the same time as the\nWali, the Kazi and the Wazir. Then she left him and betaking herself to\na man which was a carpenter, said to him, \u201cI would have thee make me a\ncabinet with four compartments one above other, each with its door for\nlocking up. Let me know thy hire and I will give it thee.\u201d Replied he,\n\u201cMy price will be four dinars; but, O noble lady and well-protected, if\nthou wilt vouchsafe me thy favours, I will ask nothing of thee.\u201d\nRejoined she, \u201cAn there be no help but that thou have it so, then make\nthou five compartments with their padlocks;\u201d and she appointed him to\nbring it exactly on the day required. Said he, \u201cIt is well; sit down, O\nmy lady, and I will make it for thee forthright, and after I will come\nto thee at my leisure.\u201d So she sat down by him, whilst he fell to work\non the cabinet, and when he had made an end of it she chose to see it at\nonce carried home and set up in the sitting-chamber. Then she took four\ngowns and carried them to the dyer, who dyed them each of a different\ncolour; after which she applied herself to making ready meat and drink;\nfruits, flowers and perfumes. Now when the appointed trysting day came,\nshe donned her costliest dress and adorned herself and scented herself,\nthen spread the sitting-room with various kinds of rich carpets and sat\ndown to await who should come. And behold, the Kazi was the first to\nappear, devancing the rest, and when she saw him, she rose to her feet\nand kissed the ground before him; then, taking him by the hand, made him\nsit down by her on the couch and lay with him and fell to jesting and\ntoying with him. By and by, he would have her do his desire, but she\nsaid, \u201cO my lord, doff thy clothes and turband and assume this yellow\ncassock and this head-kerchief,[212] whilst I bring thee meat and drink;\nand after thou shalt win thy will.\u201d So saying, she took his clothes and\nturband and clad him in the cassock and the kerchief; but hardly had she\ndone this, when lo! there came a knocking at the door. Asked he, \u201cWho is\nthat rapping at the door?\u201d and she answered, \u201cMy husband.\u201d Quoth the\nKazi, \u201cWhat is to be done, and where shall I go?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cFear\nnothing, I will hide thee in this cabinet;\u201d and he, \u201cDo as seemeth good\nto thee.\u201d So she took him by the hand and pushing him into the lowest\ncompartment, locked the door upon him. Then she went to the house-door,\nwhere she found the Wali; so she bussed ground before him and taking his\nhand brought him into the saloon, where she made him sit down and said\nto him, \u201cO my lord, this house is thy house; this place is thy place,\nand I am thy handmaid: thou shalt pass all this day with me; wherefore\ndo thou doff thy clothes and don this red gown, for it is a sleeping\ngown.\u201d So she took away his clothes and made him assume the red gown and\nset on his head an old patched rag she had by her; after which she sat\nby him on the divan and she sported with him while he toyed with her\nawhile, till he put out his hand to her. Whereupon she said to him, \u201cO\nour lord, this day is thy day and none shall share in it with thee; but\nfirst, of thy favour and benevolence, write me an order for my brother\u2019s\nrelease from gaol that my heart may be at ease.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cHearkening\nand obedience: on my head and eyes be it!\u201d; and wrote a letter to his\ntreasurer, saying:\u2014\u201cAs soon as this communication shall reach thee, do\nthou set such an one free, without stay or delay; neither answer the\nbearer a word.\u201d Then he sealed it and she took it from him, after which\nshe began to toy again with him on the divan when, behold, some one\nknocked at the door. He asked, \u201cWho is that?\u201d and she answered, \u201cMy\nhusband.\u201d \u201cWhat shall I do?\u201d said he, and she, \u201cEnter this cabinet, till\nI send him away and return to thee.\u201d So she clapped him into the second\ncompartment from the bottom and padlocked the door on him; and meanwhile\nthe Kazi heard all they said. Then she went to the house-door and opened\nit, whereupon lo! the Wazir entered. She bussed the ground before him\nand received him with all honour and worship, saying, \u201cO my lord, thou\nexaltest us by thy coming to our house; Allah never deprive us of the\nlight of thy countenance!\u201d Then she seated him on the divan and said to\nhim, \u201cO my lord, doff thy heavy dress and turband and don these lighter\nvestments.\u201d So he put off his clothes and turband and she clad him in a\nblue cassock and a tall red bonnet, and said to him, \u201cErst thy garb was\nthat of the Wazirate; so leave it to its own time and don this light\ngown, which is better fitted for carousing and making merry and sleep.\u201d\nThereupon she began to play with him and he with her, and he would have\ndone his desire of her; but she put him off, saying, \u201cO my lord, this\nshall not fail us.\u201d As they were talking there came a knocking at the\ndoor, and the Wazir asked her, \u201cWho is that?\u201d: to which she answered,\n\u201cMy husband.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cWhat is to be done?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cEnter this\ncabinet, till I get rid of him and come back to thee and fear thou\nnothing.\u201d So she put him in the third compartment and locked the door on\nhim, after which she went out and opened the house-door when lo and\nbehold! in came the King. As soon as she saw him she kissed ground\nbefore him, and taking him by the hand, led him into the saloon and\nseated him on the divan at the upper end. Then said she to him, \u201cVerily,\nO King, thou dost us high honour, and if we brought thee to gift the\nworld and all that therein is, it would not be worth a single one of thy\nsteps us-wards.\u201d\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 Ninety-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the King\nentered the lady\u2019s house she said to him, \u201cHad we brought thee to gift\nthe world and all which is therein, it would not be worth a single one\nof thy steps us-wards.\u201d And when he had taken his seat upon the divan\nshe said, \u201cGive me leave to speak one word.\u201d \u201cSay what thou wilt,\u201d\nanswered he, and she said, \u201cO my lord, take thine ease and doff thy\ndress and turband.\u201d Now his clothes were worth a thousand dinars; and\nwhen he put them off she clad him in a patched gown, worth at the very\nmost ten dirhams, and fell to talking and jesting with him; all this\nwhile the folk in the cabinet hearing everything that passed, but not\ndaring to say a word. Presently, the King put his hand to her neck and\nsought to do his desire of her; when she said, \u201cThis thing shall not\nfail us, but I had first promised myself to entertain thee in this\nsitting-chamber, and I have that which shall content thee.\u201d Now as they\nwere speaking, some one knocked at the door and he asked her, \u201cWho is\nthat?\u201d \u201cMy husband,\u201d answered she, and he, \u201cMake him go away of his own\ngood will, or I will fare forth to him and send him away perforce.\u201d\nReplied she, \u201cNay, O my lord, have patience till I send him away by my\nskilful contrivance.\u201d \u201cAnd I, how shall I do?\u201d enquired the King;\nwhereupon she took him by the hand and making him enter the fourth\ncompartment of the cabinet, locked it upon him. Then she went out and\nopened the house door when behold, the carpenter entered and saluted\nher. Quoth she, \u201cWhat manner of thing is this cabinet thou hast made\nme?\u201d \u201cWhat aileth it, O my lady?\u201d asked he, and she answered, \u201cThe top\ncompartment is too strait.\u201d Rejoined he, \u201cNot so;\u201d and she, \u201cGo in\nthyself and see; it is not wide enough for thee.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cIt is wide\nenough for four,\u201d and entered the fifth compartment, whereupon she\nlocked the door on him. Then she took the letter of the Chief of Police\nand carried it to the treasurer who, having read and understood it,\nkissed it and delivered her lover to her. She told him all she had done\nand he said, \u201cAnd how shall we act now?\u201d She answered, \u201cWe will remove\nhence to another city, for after this work there is no tarrying for us\nhere.\u201d So the twain packed up what goods they had and, loading them on\ncamels, set out forthright for another city. Meanwhile, the five abode\neach in his compartment of the cabinet without eating or drinking three\nwhole days, during which time they held their water until at last the\ncarpenter could retain his no longer; so he staled on the King\u2019s head,\nand the King urined on the Wazir\u2019s head, and the Wazir piddled on the\nWali and the Wali pissed on the head of the Kazi; whereupon the Judge\ncried out and said, \u201cWhat nastiness[213] is this? Doth not what strait\nwe are in suffice us, but you must make water upon us?\u201d The Chief of\nPolice recognised the Kazi\u2019s voice and answered, saying aloud, \u201cAllah\nincrease thy reward, O Kazi!\u201d And when the Kazi heard him, he knew him\nfor the Wali. Then the Chief of Police lifted up his voice and said,\n\u201cWhat means this nastiness?\u201d and the Wazir answered, saying, \u201cAllah\nincrease thy reward, O Wali!\u201d whereupon he knew him to be the Minister.\nThen the Wazir lifted up his voice and said, \u201cWhat means this\nnastiness?\u201d But when the King heard and recognised his Minister\u2019s voice,\nhe held his peace and concealed his affair. Then said the Wazir, \u201cMay\nGod damn[214] this woman for her dealing with us! She hath brought\nhither all the Chief Officers of the state, except the King.\u201d Quoth the\nKing, \u201cHold your peace, for I was the first to fall into the toils of\nthis lewd strumpet.\u201d Whereat cried the carpenter, \u201cAnd I, what have I\ndone? I made her a cabinet for four gold pieces, and when I came to seek\nmy hire, she tricked me into entering this compartment and locked the\ndoor on me.\u201d And they fell to talking with one another, diverting the\nKing and doing away his chagrin. Presently the neighbours came up to the\nhouse and, seeing it deserted, said one to other, \u201cBut yesterday our\nneighbour, the wife of such an one, was in it; but now no sound is to be\nheard therein nor is soul to be seen. Let us break open the doors and\nsee how the case stands, lest it come to the ears of the Wali or the\nKing and we be cast into prison and regret not doing this thing before.\u201d\nSo they broke open the doors and entered the saloon, where they saw a\nlarge wooden cabinet and heard men within groaning for hunger and\nthirst. Then said one of them, \u201cIs there a Jinni in this cabinet?\u201d and\nhis fellow, \u201cLet us heap fuel about it and burn it with fire.\u201d When the\nKazi heard this, he bawled out to them, \u201cDo it not!\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Five Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the\nneighbours proposed to heap fuel about the cabinet and to burn it the\nKazi bawled out to them, \u201cDo it not!\u201d And they said to one another,\n\u201cVerily the Jinn make believe to be mortals and speak with men\u2019s\nvoices.\u201d Thereupon the Kazi repeated somewhat of the Sublime Koran and\nsaid to the neighbours, \u201cDraw near to the cabinet wherein we are.\u201d So\nthey drew near, and he said, \u201cI am so and so the Kazi, and ye are such\nan one and such an one, and we are here a company.\u201d Quoth the\nneighbours. \u201cWho brought you here?\u201d And he told them the whole case from\nbeginning to end. Then they fetched a carpenter, who opened the five\ndoors and let out Kazi, Wazir, Wali, King and carpenter in their queer\ndisguises; and each, when he saw how the others were accoutred, fell\na-laughing at them. Now she had taken away all their clothes; so every\none of them sent to his people for fresh clothes and put them on and\nwent out, covering himself therewith from the sight of the folk.\nConsider, therefore, O our lord the King (said the Wazir), what a trick\nthis woman played off upon the folk! And I have heard tell also a tale\nof\n\n\n _THE THREE WISHES,[215] OR THE MAN WHO LONGED TO SEE THE NIGHT OF\n POWER_.\n\nA certain man had longed all his life to look upon the Night of\nPower,[216] and one night it befel that he gazed at the sky and saw the\nangels, and Heaven\u2019s gates thrown open; and he beheld all things\nprostrating themselves before their Lord, each in its several stead. So\nhe said to his wife, \u201cHarkye, such an one, verily Allah hath shown me\nthe Night of Power, and it hath been proclaimed to me, from the\ninvisible world, that three prayers will be granted unto me; so I\nconsult thee for counsel as to what shall I ask.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cO man, the\nperfection of man and his delight is in his prickle; therefore do thou\npray Allah to greaten thy yard and magnify it.\u201d So he lifted up his\nhands to heaven and said, \u201cO Allah, greaten my yard and magnify it.\u201d\nHardly had he spoken when his tool became as big as a column and he\ncould neither sit nor stand nor move about nor even stir from his stead;\nand when he would have carnally known his wife, she fled before him from\nplace to place. So he said to her, \u201cO accursed woman, what is to be\ndone? This is thy list, by reason of thy lust.\u201d She replied, \u201cNo, by\nAllah, I did not ask for this length and huge bulk, for which the gate\nof a street were too strait. Pray Heaven to make it less.\u201d So he raised\nhis eyes to Heaven and said, \u201cO Allah, rid me of this thing and deliver\nme therefrom.\u201d And immediately his prickle disappeared altogether and he\nbecame clean smooth. When his wife saw this, she said, \u201cI have no\noccasion for thee, now thou are become pegless as a eunuch, shaven and\nshorn;\u201d and he answered her, saying, \u201cAll this comes of thine ill-omened\ncounsel and thine imbecile judgment. I had three prayers accepted of\nAllah, wherewith I might have gotten me my good, both in this world and\nin the next, and now two wishes are gone in pure waste, by thy lewd\nwill, and there remaineth but one.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cPray Allah the Most High\nto restore thee thy yard as it was.\u201d So he prayed to his Lord and his\nprickle was restored to its first estate. Thus the man lost his three\nwishes by the ill counsel and lack of wit in the woman; \u201cAnd this, O\nKing\u201d (said the Wazir), \u201chave I told thee, that thou mightest be\ncertified of the thoughtlessness of women and their inconsequence and\nsilliness and see what cometh of hearkening to their counsel. Wherefore\nbe not persuaded by them to slay thy son, thy heart\u2019s core, who shall\ncause thy remembrance to survive thee.\u201d The King gave ear to his\nMinister\u2019s words and forebore to put his son to death; but, on the\nseventh day, the damsel came in, shrieking, and after lighting a great\nfire in the King\u2019s presence, made as she would cast herself therein;\nwhereupon they laid hands on her and brought her before him. He asked\nher, \u201cWhy hast thou done this?\u201d and she answered, \u201cExcept thou do me\njustice on thy son, I will cast myself into this very fire and accuse\nthee of this on the Day of Resurrection, for I am aweary of my life, and\nbefore coming into thy presence I wrote my last will and testament and\ngave alms of my goods and resolved upon death. And thou wilt repent with\nall repentance, even as did the King of having punished the pious woman\nwho kept the Hammam.\u201d Quoth the King, \u201cHow was that?\u201d and quoth she:\u2014I\nhave heard tell, O King, this tale concerning\n\n\n _THE STOLEN NECKLACE_.\n\nThere was once a devotee, a recluse, a woman who had devoted herself to\nreligion. Now she used to resort to a certain King\u2019s palace,[217] whose\ndwellers were blessed by her presence and she was held of them in high\nhonour. One day she entered that palace according to her custom and sat\ndown beside the King\u2019s wife. Presently the Queen gave her a necklace,\nworth a thousand dinars, saying, \u201cKeep this for me, O woman, whilst I go\nto the Hammam.\u201d So she entered the bath, which was in the palace, and\nthe pious woman remaining in the place where the Queen was and awaiting\nher return laid the necklace on the prayer-carpet and stood up to pray.\nAs she was thus engaged, there came a magpie[218] which snatched up the\nnecklace, while she went out to obey a call of nature and carrying it\noff, hid it inside a crevice in a corner of the palace-walls. When the\nQueen came out of the bath, she sought the necklace of the recluse, who\nalso searched for it, but found it not nor could light on any trace of\nit; so she said to the King\u2019s wife, \u201cBy Allah, O my daughter, none hath\nbeen with me. When thou gavest me the necklace, I laid it on the\nprayer-carpet, and I know not if one of the servants saw it and took it\nwithout my heed, whilst I was engaged in prayer. Almighty Allah only\nknoweth what is come of it!\u201d When the King heard what had happened, he\nbade his Queen put the bath-woman to the question by fire and grievous\nblows,\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 Ninety-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the King bade\nhis Queen question the bath-woman with fire and grievous blows, they\ntortured her with all manner tortures, but could not bring her to\nconfess or to accuse any. Then he commanded to cast her into prison and\nmanacle and fetter her; and they did as he bade. One day, after this, as\nthe King sat in the inner court of his palace, with the Queen by his\nside and water flowing around him, he saw the pie fly into a crevice in\na corner of the wall and pull out the necklace, whereupon he cried out\nto a damsel who was with him, and she caught the bird and took the\nnecklace from it. By this the King knew that the pious bath-woman had\nbeen wronged and repented of that he had done with her. So he sent for\nher to the presence and fell to kissing her head and with many tears\nsought pardon of her. Moreover, he commanded much treasure to be given\nto her, but she refused and would none of it. However, she forgave him\nand went away, swearing never again to enter any one\u2019s house. So she\nbetook herself to wandering in the mountains and valleys and worshipped\nGod until she died, and Almighty Allah have mercy upon her! And for an\ninstance of the malice of the male sex (continued the damsel), I have\nheard, O King, tell this tale of\n\n\n _THE TWO PIGEONS_.[219]\n\nA pair of pigeons once stored up wheat and barley in their nest during\nthe winter, and when the summer came, the grain shrivelled and became\nless; so the male pigeon said to his wife, \u201cThou hast eaten of this\ngrain.\u201d Replied she, \u201cNo, by Allah, I have never touched it!\u201d But he\nbelieved not her words and beat her with his wings and pecked her with\nhis bill, till he killed her. When the cold season returned, the corn\nswelled out and became as before, whereupon he knew that he had slain\nhis wife wrongously and wickedly, and he repented whenas repentance\navailed him naught. Then he lay down by her side, mourning over her and\nweeping for grief, and left meat and drink, till he fell sick and died.\n\u201cBut\u201d (added the damsel), \u201cI know a story of the malice of men more\nextraordinary than either of these.\u201d Quoth the King, \u201cLet us hear what\nthou hast to tell;\u201d and quoth she:\u2014I have heard tell, O King, this\n\n\n _STORY OF PRINCE BEHRAM AND THE PRINCESS AL-DATMA_.\n\nThere was once a King\u2019s daughter, who had no equal in her time for\nbeauty and loveliness and symmetrical stature and grace, brilliancy,\namorous lace and the art of ravishing the wits of the masculine race and\nher name was Al-Datm\u00e1. She used to boast, \u201cIndeed there is none like me\nin this age.\u201d Nor was there one more accomplished than she in\nhorsemanship and martial exercises and all that behoveth a cavalier. So\nall the Kings\u2019 sons sought her to wife; but she would take none of them,\nsaying, \u201cNo man shall marry me except he overcome me at lunge of lance\nand stroke of sword in fair field and patent plain. If any can do this,\nI will willingly wed him; but, if I overcome him, I will take his horse\nand clothes and arms and write with fire upon his forehead:\u2014This is the\nfreed man of Al-Datma.\u201d Now the sons of the Kings flocked to her from\nevery quarter far and near, and she overcame them and put them to shame,\nstripping them of their arms and branding them with fire. Presently the\nson of a King of the Kings of the Persians, by name Behram ibn T\u00e1j\u00ed,\nheard of her and journeyed from afar to her father\u2019s court, bringing\nwith him men and horses and great store of wealth and royal treasures.\nWhen he drew near the city, he sent her parent a rich present and the\nKing came out to meet him and honoured him with the utmost honour. Then\nthe King\u2019s son sent a message to him by his Wazir, demanding his\ndaughter\u2019s hand in marriage; but the King answered, saying, \u201cO my son,\nas regards my daughter Al-Datma, I have no power over her, for she hath\nsworn by her soul to marry none except he overcome her in the listed\nfield.\u201d Quoth the Prince, \u201cI journeyed hither from my father\u2019s court\nwith no other object but this; I came here to woo and for thine alliance\nto sue;\u201d quoth the King, \u201cThou shalt meet her to-morrow.\u201d So next day he\nsent to bid his daughter who, making ready for battle, donned her\nharness of war, and the folk, hearing of the coming joust, flocked from\nall sides to the field. Presently the Princess rode into the lists,\narmed cap-\u00e0-pie and belted and with vizor down, and the Persian King\u2019s\nson came out single-handed to meet her, equipped at all points after the\nfairest of fashions. Then they drove at each other and fought a great\nwhile, wheeling and falsing, advancing and retreating, till the\nPrincess, finding in him such courage and cavalarice as she had seen in\nnone else, began to fear for herself lest he put her to shame before the\nbystanders and knew that he would assuredly overcome her. So she\nresolved to trick him and, raising her vizor, lo! her face appeared more\nbrilliant than the full moon, which when he saw, he was confounded by\nher beauty and his strength failed and his spirit faltered. When she\nperceived this, she fell upon him at unawares in his moment of weakness,\nand tare him from his saddle, and he became in her hands as he were a\nsparrow in the clutches of an eagle, knowing not what was done with him\nfor amazement and confusion. So she took his steed and clothes and\narmour and, branding him with fire, let him wend his ways. When he\nrecovered from his stupor, he abode several days without meat or drink\nor sleep for despite and love of the girl which had taken hold upon his\nheart. Then he sent a letter by certain of his slaves to his father,\nadvising him that he could not return home till he had won his will of\nthe Princess or died for want of her. When his sire got the letter, he\nwas sore concerned for his son and would have succoured him by sending\ntroops and soldiers; but his Wazirs dissuaded him from this and exhorted\nhim to patience; so he committed his affair to Almighty Allah.\nMeanwhile, the Prince cast about for a means of coming to his desire;\nand presently, disguising himself as a decrepit old man, with a white\nbeard over his own black beard repaired to a garden of the Princess\nwherein she used to walk most of her days. Here he sought out the\ngardener and said to him, \u201cI am a stranger from a far country and from\nmy youth upwards I have been a gardener, and in the grafting of trees\nand the culture of fruits and flowers and care of the vine none is more\nskilled than I.\u201d When the gardener heard this, he rejoiced in him with\nexceeding joy and carried him into the garden, where he commended him to\nhis underlings, and the Prince betook himself to the service of the\ngarden and the tending of the trees and the bettering of their fruits\nand improving the Persian water-wheels and disposing the\nirrigation-channels. One day, as he was thus employed, lo! he saw some\nslaves enter the garden, leading mules laden with carpets and vessels,\nand asked them the meaning of this, to which they answered, \u201cThe\nPrincess is minded to take her pleasure.\u201d When he heard these words he\nhastened to his lodging and, fetching some of the jewels and ornaments\nhe had brought with him from home, sat down in the garden and spread\nsomewhat of them out before him, shaking and making a show of extreme\nold age\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 Ninety-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the son of the\nPersian King, after disguising himself as an old man shotten in years\nand taking a seat in the garden, spread out somewhat of the jewels and\nornaments before him and made a show of shaking and trembling as if for\ndecrepitude and the weakness of extreme senility. After an hour or so a\ncompany of damsels and eunuchs entered with the Princess in their midst,\nas she were the moon among the stars, and dispersed about the garden,\nplucking the fruits and diverting themselves. Presently they espied a\nman sitting under one of the trees; and, making towards him (who was the\nPrince), found him a very old man, whose hands and feet trembled for\ndecrepitude, and before him store of precious jewels and royal\nornaments. So they marvelled at his case and asked him what he did there\nwith the jewels; when he answered, \u201cWith these trinkets I would fain buy\nme to wife one of you.\u201d They laughed together at him and said, \u201cIf one\nof us marry thee, what wilt thou do with her?\u201d Said he, \u201cI will give her\none kiss and divorce her.\u201d Then quoth the Princess, \u201cI give thee this\ndamsel to wife.\u201d So he rose and coming up to her, leaning on a staff and\nshivering and staggering, kissed her and gave her the jewels and\nornaments; whereat she rejoiced and they, laughing at him, went their\nway. Next day, they came again to the garden, and finding him seated in\nthe same place, with more jewels and ornaments than before spread in\nfront of him, asked him, \u201cO Shaykh, what wilt thou do with this\njewellery?\u201d; and he answered, saying, \u201cI wish therewith to take one of\nyou to wife even as yesterday.\u201d So the Princess said, \u201cI marry thee to\nthis damsel;\u201d and he came up to her and kissed her and gave her the\njewels, and they all went their ways. But, seeing such generosity to her\nhandmaids, the Princess said in herself, \u201cI have more right to all these\nfine things than these baggages, and no harm can betide me.\u201d So when\nmorning morrowed she went down from her chamber singly into the garden,\nin the habit of one of her damsels, and presenting herself privily\nbefore the Prince, said to him, \u201cO Shaykh, the King\u2019s daughter hath sent\nme to thee, that thou mayst marry me.\u201d He looked at her and knew her; so\nhe answered, \u201cWith love and gladness,\u201d and gave her jewels and ornaments\nof the finest and costliest. Then he rose to kiss her, and she off her\nguard and fearing nothing but, when he came up to her, he suddenly laid\nhold of her with a strong hand and instantly throwing her down, on the\nground abated her maidenhead.[220] Then he pulled the beard from his\nface and said to her, \u201cDost thou not know me?\u201d Asked she, \u201cWho art\nthou?\u201d and he answered, \u201cI am Behram, the King\u2019s son of Persia, who have\nchanged my favour and am become a stranger to my people and estate for\nthy sake and have lavished my treasures for thy love.\u201d So she rose from\nunder him in silence and answered not his address nor spake a word of\nreply to him, being dazed for what had befallen her and seeing nothing\nbetter than to be silent, for fear of shame; and she bethought herself\nand said, \u201cIf I kill myself it will be useless and if I do him die, his\ndeath will profit me naught;\u201d and presently added, \u201cNothing will serve\nme but that I elope with him to his own country.\u201d Then she gathered\ntogether her monies and treasures and sent to him, acquainting him\ntherewith, to the intent that he also might equip himself with his\nwealth and needs; and they agreed upon a night on which to depart. So,\nat the appointed time, they mounted race-horses and set out under cover\nof the gloom, nor did morning morrow till they had traversed a great\ndistance; and they ceased not faring forwards till they drew near his\nfather\u2019s capital in the land of the Persians. When the King heard of his\nson\u2019s coming, he rode out to meet him with his troops and rejoiced in\nhim with exceeding joy. Then, after a few days, he sent the Princess\u2019s\nfather a splendid present, and a letter to the effect that his daughter\nwas with him and demanding her wedding equipage. Al-Datma\u2019s father came\nout to meet the messengers with the greatest gladness (for that he had\ndeemed his daughter lost and had grieved sore for her loss): after which\nhe made bride-feasts and, summoning the Kazi and the witnesses, let draw\nup the marriage-contract between his daughter and the Prince of Persia.\nHe invested the envoys with robes of honour, then he made ready her\nequipage and despatched it to her; and Prince Behram abode with her till\ndeath sundered their union. See therefore, O King (continued the\nfavourite), the malice of men in their dealing with women. As for me, I\nwill not go back from my due till I die. So the King once more commanded\nto put his son to death; but the seventh Wazir came in to him and\nkissing the ground before him, said, \u201cO King, have patience with me\nwhilst I speak these words of good counsel to thee; how many patient and\nslow-moving men unto their hope attain, and how many who are precipitate\nfall into shameful state! Now I have seen how this damsel hath\nprofligately excited the King by lies to horrible and unnatural\ncruelties; but I his Mameluke, whom he hath overwhelmed with his favours\nand bounties, do proffer him true and loyal rede; for that I, O King,\nknow of the malice of women that which none knoweth save myself; and in\nparticular there hath reached me, on this subject, the story of the old\nwoman and the son of the merchant with its warning instances.\u201d Asked the\nKing, \u201cAnd what fell out between them, O Wazir?\u201d and the seventh Wazir\nanswered:\u2014I have heard tell, O King, the tale of\n\n\n _THE HOUSE WITH THE BELVEDERE_.[221]\n\nA wealthy merchant had a son who was very dear to him and who said to\nhim one day, \u201cO my father, I have a boon to beg of thee.\u201d Quoth the\nmerchant, \u201cO my son, what is it, that I may give it thee and bring thee\nto thy desire, though it were the light of mine eyes.\u201d Quoth the youth,\n\u201cGive me money, that I may journey with the merchants to the city of\nBaghdad and see its sights and sail on the Tigris and look upon the\npalace of the Caliphs[222]; for the sons of the merchants have described\nthese things to me and I long to see them for myself.\u201d Said the father,\n\u201cO my child, O my little son, how can I endure to part from thee?\u201d But\nthe youth replied, \u201cI have said my say and there is no help for it but I\njourney to Baghdad with thy consent or e\u2019en without it: such a longing\nfor its sight hath fallen upon me as can only be assuaged by the going\nthither.\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 Ninety-ninth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the merchant\u2019s son\nsaid to his sire, \u201cThere is no help for it but that I journey to\nBaghdad.\u201d Now when the father saw that there was no help for it, he\nprovided his son with goods to the value of thirty thousand gold pieces\nand sent him with certain merchants in whom he trusted, committing him\nto their charge. Then he took leave of the youth, who journeyed with his\nfriends the merchants till they reached Baghdad, the House of Peace,\nwhere he entered the market and hired him a house, so handsome and\ndelectable and spacious and elegant that on seeing it he well-nigh lost\nhis wits for admiration; for therein were pavilions facing one another,\nwith floors of coloured marbles and ceilings inlaid with gold and lapis\nlazuli, and its gardens were full of warbling birds. So he asked the\ndoor-keeper[223] what was its monthly rent, and he replied, \u201cTen\ndinars.\u201d Quoth the young man, \u201cSpeakest thou soothly or dost thou but\njest with me?\u201d. Quoth the porter, \u201cBy Allah, I speak naught but the\ntruth, for none who taketh up his abode in this house lodgeth in it more\nthan a week[224] or two.\u201d \u201cAnd how is that?\u201d quoth the youth; and quoth\nthe porter, \u201cO my son, whoso dwelleth in this house cometh not forth of\nit, except sick or dead, wherefore it is known amongst all the folk of\nBaghdad, so that none offereth to inhabit it, and thus cometh it that\nits rent is fallen so low.\u201d Hearing this the young merchant marvelled\nwith exceeding marvel and said, \u201cNeeds must there be some reason for\nthis sickening and perishing.\u201d However after considering awhile and\nseeking refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned, he rented the house and\ntook up his abode there. Then he put away apprehension from his thought\nand busied himself with selling and buying; and some days passed by\nwithout any such ill case befalling him in the house, as the door-keeper\nhad mentioned. One day as he sat upon the bench before his door, there\ncame up a grizzled crone, as she were a snake speckled white and black,\ncalling aloud on the name of Allah, magnifying Him inordinately and, at\nthe same time, putting away the stones and other obstacles from the\npath.[225] Seeing the youth sitting there, she looked at him and\nmarvelled at his case; whereupon quoth he to her, \u201cO woman, dost thou\nknow me or am I like any thou knowest?\u201d When she heard him speak, she\ntoddled up to him and saluting him with the salam, asked, \u201cHow long hast\nthou dwelt in this house?\u201d Answered he, \u201cTwo months, O my mother;\u201d and\nshe said, \u201cIt was hereat I marvelled; for I, O my son, know thee not,\nneither dost thou know me, nor yet art thou like unto any one I know;\nbut I marvelled for that none other than thou hath taken up his abode in\nthis house but hath gone forth from it, dead or dying, saving thee\nalone. Doubtless, O my son, thou hast perilled thy young years; but I\nsuppose thou hast not gone up to the upper story neither looked out from\nthe belvedere there.\u201d So saying, she went her way and he fell\na-pondering her words and said to himself, \u201cI have not gone up to the\ntop of the house; nor did I know that there was a belvedere there.\u201d Then\nhe arose forthright and going in, searched the by-ways of the house till\nhe espied, in a wall-corner among the trees, a narrow door between whose\nposts[226] the spider had woven her webs, and said in himself, \u201cHaply\nthe spider hath not webbed over the door, but because death and doom is\nwithin.\u201d However, he heartened himself with the saying of God the Most\nHigh, \u201cSay, nothing shall befal us but what Allah hath written for\nus;\u201d[227] and opening the door, ascended a narrow flight of stairs, till\nhe came to the terrace-roof, where he found a belvedere, in which he sat\ndown to rest and solace himself with the view. Presently, he caught\nsight of a fine house and a well-cared for hard by, surmounted by a\nlofty belvedere, overlooking the whole of Baghdad, in which sat a damsel\nfair as a Houri. Her beauty took possession of his whole heart and made\naway with his reason, bequeathing to him the pains and patience of Job\nand the grief and weeping of Jacob. And as he looked at her and\nconsidered her curiously, an object to enamour an ascetic and make a\ndevotee lovesick, fire was lighted in his vitals and he cried, \u201cFolk say\nthat whoso taketh up his abode in this house dieth or sickeneth. An this\nbe so, yon damsel is assuredly the cause. Would Heaven I knew how I\nshall win free of this affair, for my wits are clean gone!\u201d Then he\ndescended from the terrace, pondering his case, and sat down in the\nhouse, but being unable to rest, he went out and took his seat at the\ndoor, absorbed in melancholy thought when, behold, up came the old woman\nafoot, praising and magnifying Allah as she went. When he saw her, he\nrose and accosting her with a courteous salam and wishes for her life\nbeing prolonged said to her, \u201cO my mother, I was healthy and hearty till\nthou madest mention to me of the door leading to the belvedere; so I\nopened it and ascending to the top of the house, saw thence what stole\naway my senses; and now methinks I am a lost man, and I know no\nphysician for me but thyself.\u201d When she heard this, she laughed and\nsaid, \u201cNo harm shall befal thee Inshallah\u2014so Allah please!\u201d Whereupon he\nrose and went into the house and coming back with an hundred dinars in\nhis sleeve, said to her, \u201cTake this, O my mother, and deal with me the\ndealing of lords with slaves and succour me quickly for, if I die, a\nclaim for my blood will meet thee on the Day of Doom.\u201d Answered she,\n\u201cWith love and gladness; but, O my son, I expect thou lend me thine aid\nin some small matter, whereby hangs the winning of thy wish.\u201d Quoth he,\n\u201cWhat wouldst thou have me do, O my mother?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cGo to the\nsilk-market and enquire for the shop of Ab\u00fa al-Fath bin Kayd\u00e1m. Sit thee\ndown on his counter and salute him and say to him, \u201cGive me the\nface-veil[228] thou hast by thee orfrayed with gold:\u201d for he hath none\nhandsomer in his shop. Then buy it of him, O my son, at his own price\nhowever high and keep it till I come to thee to-morrow, Allah Almighty\nwilling.\u201d So saying, she went away and he passed the night upon live\ncoals of the Ghaz\u00e1[229]-wood. Next morning he took a thousand ducats in\nhis pocket and repairing to the silk-market, sought out the shop of Abu\nal-Fath to whom he was directed by one of the merchants. He found him a\nman of dignified aspect, surrounded by pages, eunuchs and attendants;\nfor he was a merchant of great wealth and consideration befriended by\nthe Caliph; and of the blessings which Allah the Most High had bestowed\nupon him was the damsel who had ravished the young man\u2019s heart. She was\nhis wife and had not her match for beauty, nor was her like to be found\nwith any of the sons of the Kings. The young man saluted him and Abu\nal-Fath returned his salam and bade him be seated. So he sat down by him\nand said to him, \u201cO merchant, I wish to look at such a face-veil.\u201d\nAccordingly he bade his slave bring him a bundle of silk from the inner\nshop and opening it, brought out a number of veils, whose beauty amazed\nthe youth. Among them was the veil he sought; so he bought it for fifty\ngold pieces and bore it home well pleased.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundredth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the youth after\nbuying the veil of the merchant bore it home; but hardly had he reached\nthe house when lo! up came the old woman. He rose to her and gave her\nhis purchase when she bade him bring a live coal, with which she burnt\none of the corners of the veil, then folded it up as before and,\nrepairing to Abu al-Fath\u2019s house, knocked at the door. Asked the damsel,\n\u201cWho is there?\u201d; and she answered, \u201cI, such an one.\u201d Now the damsel knew\nher for a friend of her mother so, when she heard her voice, she came\nout and opening the door to her, said, \u201cWhat brought thee here, O my\nmother? My mamma hath left me and gone to her own house.\u201d Replied the\nold woman, \u201cO my daughter, I know thy mother is not with thee, for I\nhave been with her in her home, and I come not to thee, but because I\nfear to pass the hour of prayer; wherefore I desire to make my\nWuzu-ablution with thee, for I know thou art clean and thy house\npure.\u201d[230] The damsel admitted the old trot who saluted her and called\ndown blessings upon her. Then she took the ewer and went into the\nwash-house, where she made her ablutions and prayed in a place there.\nPresently, she came out again and said to the damsel, \u201cO my daughter, I\nsuspect thy handmaidens have been in yonder place and defiled it; so do\nthou show me another place where I may pray, for the prayer I have\nprayed I account null and void.\u201d Thereupon the damsel took her by the\nhand and said to her, \u201cO my mother, come and pray on my carpet, where my\nhusband sits.\u201d So she stood there and prayed and worshipped, bowed and\nprostrated; and presently, she took the damsel unawares and made shift\nto slip the veil under the cushion, unseen of her. Then she blessed her\nand went her ways. Now as the day was closing Abu al-Fath came home and\nsat down upon the carpet, whilst his wife brought him food and he ate of\nit his sufficiency and washed his hands; after which he leant back upon\nthe cushion. Presently, he caught sight of a corner of the veil\nprotruding from under the cushion; so he pulled it out and considered it\nstraitly, when, knowing it for that he had sold to the young man, he at\nonce suspected his wife of unchastity. Thereupon he called her and said,\n\u201cWhence hadst thou this veil?\u201d And she swore an oath to him, saying,\n\u201cNone hath come to me but thou.\u201d The merchant was silent for fear of\nscandal, and said to himself, \u201cIf I open up this chapter, I shall be put\nto shame before all Baghdad;\u201d for he was one of the intimates of the\nCaliph and so he could do nothing save hold his peace. So he asked no\nquestions, but said to his wife, whose name was Mahz\u00edyah, \u201cIt hath\nreached me that thy mother lieth ill of heart-ache[231] and all the\nwomen are with her, weeping over her; wherefore I order thee to go to\nher.\u201d Accordingly, she repaired to her mother\u2019s house and found her in\nthe best of health; and she asked her daughter, \u201cWhat brings thee here\nat this hour?\u201d So she told her what her husband had said and sat with\nher awhile; when behold, up came porters, who brought her clothes from\nher husband\u2019s house, and transporting all her paraphernalia and what not\nelse belonged to her of goods and vessels, deposited them in her\nmother\u2019s lodging. When the mother saw this, she said to her daughter,\n\u201cTell me what hath passed between thee and thy husband, to bring about\nthis.\u201d But she swore to her that she knew not the cause thereof and that\nthere had befallen nothing between them to call for this conduct. Quoth\nher mother, \u201cNeeds must there be a cause for this.\u201d And she answered,\nsaying, \u201cI know of none, and after this, with Almighty Allah be it to\nmake provision!\u201d Whereupon her mother fell a-weeping and lamented her\ndaughter\u2019s separation from the like of this man, by reason of his\nsufficiency and fortune and the greatness of his rank and dignity. On\nthis wise things abode some days, after which the curst, ill-omened old\nwoman, whose name was Miryam the Koranist,[232] paid a visit to Mahziyah\nin her mother\u2019s house and saluted her cordially, saying, \u201cWhat ails\nthee, O my daughter, O my darling? Indeed, thou hast troubled my mind.\u201d\nThen she went in to her mother and said to her, \u201cO my sister, what is\nthis business about thy daughter and her husband? It hath reached me\nthat he hath divorced her! What hath she done to call for this?\u201d Quoth\nthe mother, \u201cBelike her husband will return to her by the blessed\ninfluence of thy prayers, O H\u00e1fizah; so do thou pray for her, O my\nsister, for thou art a day-faster and a night-prayer.\u201d Then the three\nfell to talking together and the old woman said to the damsel, \u201cO my\ndaughter, grieve not for, if Allah please, I will make peace between\nthee and thy husband before many days.\u201d Then she left them and going to\nthe young merchant, said to him, \u201cGet ready a handsome entertainment for\nus, for I will bring her to thee this very night.\u201d So he sprang up and\nwent forth and provided all that was fitting of meat and drink and so\nforth, then sat down to await the twain; whilst the old woman returned\nto the girl\u2019s mother and said to her, \u201cO my sister, we have a splendid\nbride-feast to-night; so let thy daughter go with me, that she may\ndivert herself and make merry with us and throw off her cark and care,\nand forget the ruin of her home. I will bring her back to thee even as I\ntook her away.\u201d The mother dressed her daughter in her finest dress and\ncostliest jewels and accompanied her to the door, where she commended\nher to the old woman\u2019s charge, saying, \u201c\u2018Ware lest thou let any of\nAlmighty Allah\u2019s creatures look upon her, for thou knowest her husband\u2019s\nrank with the Caliph; and do not tarry, but bring her back to me as soon\nas possible.\u201d The old woman carried the girl to the young man\u2019s house\nwhich she entered, thinking it the place where the wedding was to be\nheld: but as soon as she came into the sitting-saloon\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and First Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that as soon as the\ndamsel entered the sitting-saloon, the youth sprang up to her and flung\nhis arms round her neck and kissed her hands and feet. She was\nconfounded at his loveliness, as well as at the beauty of the place and\nthe profusion of meat and drink, flowers and perfumes that she saw\ntherein, and deemed all was a dream. When the old woman saw her\namazement, she said to her, \u201cThe name of Allah be upon thee, O my\ndaughter! Fear not; I am here sitting with thee and will not leave thee\nfor a moment. Thou art worthy of him and he is worthy of thee.\u201d So the\ndamsel sat down shamefast and in great confusion; but the young man\njested and toyed with her and entertained her with laughable stories and\nloving verses, till her breast broadened and she became at her ease.\nThen she ate and drank and growing warm with wine, took the lute and\nsang these couplets:-\n\n My friend who went hath returned once more; \u273f Oh, the welcome light that\n such beauty shows!\n And but for the fear of those arrowy eyes, \u273f From his lovely cheek I had\n culled the rose.\n\nAnd when the youth saw that she to his beauty did incline he waxt\ndrunken without wine and his life was a light matter to him compared\nwith his love.[233] Presently the old woman went out and left them alone\ntogether to enjoy their loves till the next morning, when she went into\nthem and gave them both good morrow[234] and asked the damsel, \u201cHow hast\nthou passed the night, O my lady?\u201d Answered the girl, \u201cRight well,\nthanks to thy adroitness and the excellence of thy going-between[235].\u201d\nThen said the old woman, \u201cUp, let us go back to thy mother.\u201d At these\nwords the young man pulled out an hundred sequins and gave them to her,\nsaying, \u201cTake this and leave her with me to-night.\u201d So she left them and\nrepaired to the girl\u2019s mother, to whom quoth she, \u201cThy daughter saluteth\nthee, and the bride\u2019s mother hath sworn her to abide with her this\nnight.\u201d Replied the mother, \u201cO my sister, bear her my salam, and, if it\nplease and amuse the girl, there is no harm in her staying the night; so\nlet her do this and divert herself and come back to me at her leisure,\nfor all I fear for her is chagrin on account of an angry husband.\u201d The\nold woman ceased not to make excuse after excuse to the girl\u2019s mother\nand to put off cheat upon cheat upon her, till Mahziyah had tarried\nseven days with the young man, of whom she took an hundred dinars each\nday for herself; while he enjoyed all the solace of life and coition.\nBut at the end of this time, the girl\u2019s mother said to her, \u201cBring my\ndaughter back to me forthright; for I am uneasy about her, because she\nhath been so long absent, and I misdoubt me of this.\u201d So the old woman\nwent out saying, \u201cWoe to thee! shall such words be spoken to the like of\nme? and, going to the young man\u2019s house, took the girl by the hand and\ncarried her away (leaving him lying asleep on his bed, for he was\ndrunken with wine) to her mother.\u201d She received her with pleasure and\ngladness and seeing her in redoubled beauty and brilliancy rejoiced in\nher with exceeding joy, saying, \u201cO my daughter, my heart was troubled\nabout thee and in my uneasiness I offended against this my sister the\nKoranist with a speech that wounded her.\u201d Replied Mahziyah, \u201cRise and\nkiss her hands and feet, for she hath been to me as a servant in my hour\nof need, and if thou do it not thou art no mamma of mine, nor am I thy\ngirl.\u201d So the mother went up at once to the old woman and made her peace\nwith her. Meanwhile, the young man recovered from his drunkenness and\nmissed the damsel, but congratulated himself on having enjoyed his\ndesire. Presently Miryam the old Koranist came in to him and saluted\nhim, saying, \u201cWhat thinkest thou of my feat?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cExcellently\nwell conceived and contrived of thee was that same.\u201d Then quoth she,\n\u201cCome, let us mend what we have marred and restore this girl to her\nhusband, for we have been the cause of their separation and it is\nunrighteous.\u201d Asked he, \u201cHow shall I do?\u201d and she answered, \u201cGo to Abu\nal-Fath\u2019s shop and salute him and sit down by him, till thou seest me\npass by, when do thou rise in haste and catch hold of my dress and abuse\nme and threaten me, demanding of me the veil. And do thou say to the\nmerchant:\u2014Thou knowest, O my lord, the face-veil I bought of thee for\nfifty dinars? It so chanced that my handmaid put it on and burnt a\ncorner of it by accident; so she gave it to this old woman, who took it,\npromising to get it fine-drawn[236] and return it, and went away, nor\nhave I seen her from that day to this.\u201d \u201cWith joy and good will,\u201d\nreplied the young man, and rising forthright, walked to the shop of the\nsilk merchant, with whom he sat awhile till behold, the old woman passed\ntelling her beads on a rosary she held in hand; whereupon he sprang up\nand laying hold of her dress began to abuse and rail at her, whilst she\nanswered him with fair words, saying, \u201cIndeed, my son, thou art\nexcusable.\u201d So the people of the bazar flocked round the two, saying,\n\u201cWhat is the matter?\u201d and he replied, \u201cO folk, I bought of this merchant\na veil for fifty dinars and gave it to my slave-girl, who wore it\nawhile, then sat down to fumigate it with perfume. Presently a spark\nflew out of the censer and, lighting on the edge of the veil, burnt a\nhole in it. So we committed it to this pestilent old woman, that she\nmight give it to who should fine-draw it and return it to us; but from\nthat time we have never set eyes on her again till this day.\u201d Answered\nthe old woman, \u201cThis young man speaks sooth. I had the veil from him,\nbut I took it with me into one of the houses where I am wont to visit\nand forgot it there, nor do I know where I left it; and, being a poor\nwoman, I feared its owner and dared not face him.\u201d Now the girl\u2019s\nhusband was listening to all they said,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the young man\nseized the old woman and spoke to her of the veil as she had primed him,\nthe girl\u2019s husband was listening to all they said, from beginning to\nend, and when he heard the tale which the crafty old woman had contrived\nwith the young man, he rose to his feet and said, \u201cAllah Almighty! I\ncrave pardon of the Omnipotent One for my sins and for what my heart\nsuspected!\u201d And he praised the Lord who had discovered to him the truth.\nThen he accosted the old woman and said to her, \u201cDost thou use to visit\nus?\u201d[237] Replied she, \u201cO my son, I visit you and other than you, for\nthe sake of alms; but from that day to this, none hath given me news of\nthe veil.\u201d Asked the merchant, \u201cHast thou enquired at my house?\u201d and she\nanswered, \u201cO my lord, I did indeed go to thy house and ask; but they\ntold me that the person of the house[238] had been divorced by the\nmerchant; so I went away and asked no farther; nor have I enquired of\nanybody else until this day.\u201d Hereupon the merchant turned to the young\nman and said. \u201cLet the old woman go her way; for the veil is with me.\u201d\nSo saying he brought it out from the shop and gave it to the fine-drawer\nbefore all present. Then he betook himself to his wife and, giving her\nsomewhat of money, took her to himself again, after making abundance of\nexcuses to her and asking pardon of Allah, because he knew not what the\nold woman had done. (Said the Wazir), This then, O King, is an instance\nof the malice of women and for another to the same purport, I have heard\ntell the following tale anent\n\n\n _THE KING\u2019S SON AND THE IFRIT\u2019S MISTRESS_.[239]\n\nA certain King\u2019s son was once walking alone for his pleasure, when he\ncame to a green meadow, abounding in trees laden with fruit and birds\nsinging on the boughs, and a river running athwart it. The place pleased\nhim; so he sat down there and taking out some dried fruits he had\nbrought with him, began to eat, when lo! he espied a great smoke rising\nup to heaven and, taking fright, he climbed up into a tree and hid\nhimself among the branches. Thence he saw an Ifrit rise out of the midst\nof the stream bearing on his head a chest of marble, secured by a\npadlock. He set down the chest on the meadow-sward and opened it and\nthere came forth a damsel of mortal race like the sun shining in the\nsheeny sky. After seating her he solaced himself by gazing on her\nawhile, then laid his head in her lap and fell asleep, whereupon she\nlifted up his head and laying it on the chest, rose and walked about.\nPresently, she chanced to raise her eyes to the tree wherein was the\nPrince, and seeing him, signed to him to come down. He refused, but she\nswore to him, saying, \u201cExcept thou come down and do as I bid thee, I\nwill wake the Ifrit and point thee out to him, when he will straightway\nkill thee.\u201d The King\u2019s son fearing she would do as she said, came down,\nwhereupon she kissed his hands and feet and besought him to do her need.\nTo this he consented and, when he had satisfied her wants, she said to\nhim, \u201cGive me this seal-ring I see on thy finger.\u201d So he gave her his\nsignet and she set it in a silken kerchief she had with her, wherein\nwere more than fourscore others. When the Prince saw this, he asked her,\n\u201cWhat dost thou with all these rings?\u201d and she answered, \u201cIn very sooth\nthis Ifrit carried me off from my father\u2019s palace and shut me in this\nbox, which he beareth about on his head wherever he goeth, with the keys\nabout him; and he hardly leaveth me one moment alone of the excess of\nhis jealousy over me, and hindereth me from what I desire. When I saw\nthis, I swore that I would deny my last favours to no man whatsoever,\nand these rings thou seest are after the tale of the men who have had\nme; for after coition I took from each a seal-ring and laid it in this\nkerchief.\u201d Then she added, \u201cAnd now go thy ways, that I may look for\nanother than thyself, for the Ifrit will not awake yet awhile.\u201d Hardly\ncrediting what he had heard, the Prince returned to his father\u2019s palace,\nbut the King knew naught of the damsel\u2019s malice (for she feared not this\nand took no count thereof), and seeing that his son had lost his ring,\nhe bade put him to death.[240] Then he rose from his place and entered\nhis palace; but his Wazirs came in to him and prevailed with him to\nabandon his purpose. The same night, the King sent for all of them and\nthanked them for having dissuaded him from slaying his son; and the\nPrince also thanked them, saying, \u201cIt was well done of you to counsel my\nfather to let me live and Inshallah! I will soon requite you\nabundantly.\u201d Then he related to them how he had lost the ring, and they\noffered up prayers for his long life and advancement and withdrew. \u201cSee\nthen, O King,\u201d (said the Wazir), \u201cthe malice of women and what they do\nunto men.\u201d The King hearkened to the Minister\u2019s counsel and again\ncountermanded his order to slay his son. Next morning, it being the\neighth day, as the King sat in his audience-chamber in the midst of his\nGrandees and Emirs and Wazirs and Olema, the Prince entered, with his\nhand in that of his governor, Al-Sindibad, and praised his father and\nhis Ministers and lords and divines in the most eloquent words and\nthanked them for having saved his life; so that all who were present\nwondered at his eloquence and fluency of speech. His father rejoiced in\nhim with exceeding, all-surpassing joy, and calling him to him, kissed\nhim between the eyes. Then he called his preceptor, Al-Sindibad, and\nasked him why his son had kept silence these seven days, to which he\nreplied, \u201cO our lord, the truth is, it was I who enjoined him to this,\nin my fear for him of death: I knew this from the day of his birth; and,\nwhen I took his nativity, I found it written in the stars that, if he\nshould speak during this period, he would surely die; but now the danger\nis over, by the King\u2019s fortune.\u201d At this the King was glad and said to\nhis Wazirs, \u201cIf I had killed my son, would the fault have fallen on me\nor the damsel or on the preceptor, Al-Sindibad?\u201d But all present\nrefrained from replying, and Al-Sindibad said to the Prince, \u201cAnswer\nthou, O my son.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nsaying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Al-Sindibad\nsaid, \u201cAnswer thou, O my son,\u201d the Prince replied, \u201cI have heard tell\nthat a merchant at whose house certain guests once alighted sent his\nslave-girl to the market to buy a jar of clotted milk.[241] So she\nbought it and set out on her return home; but on the way there passed\nover her a kite, holding and squeezing a serpent in its claws, and a\ndrop of the serpent\u2019s venom fell into the milk-jar, unknown of the girl.\nSo, when she came back, the merchant took the milk from her and drank of\nit, he and his guests; but hardly had it settled in their stomachs when\nthey all died.[242] Now consider, O King, whose was the fault in this\nmatter?\u201d Thereupon some present said, \u201cIt was the fault of the company\nwho drank the milk without examining it.\u201d And other some, \u201cThat of the\ngirl, who left the jar without cover.\u201d But Al-Sindibad asked the Prince,\n\u201cWhat sayest thou, O my son?\u201d Answered he, \u201cI say that the folk err; it\nwas neither the fault of the damsel nor of the company, for their\nappointed hour was come, their divinely-decreed provision was exhausted\nand Allah had fore-ordained them to die thus.\u201d[243] When the courtiers\nheard this, they marvelled greatly and lifted up their voices, blessing\nthe King\u2019s son, and saying, \u201cO our lord, thou hast made a reply _sans\npeur_, and thou art the sagest man of thine age _sans reproche_.\u201d\n\u201cIndeed, I am no sage,\u201d answered the Prince; \u201cthe blind Shaykh and the\nson of three years and the son of five years were wiser than I.\u201d Said\nthe bystanders, \u201cO youth, tell us the stories of these three who were\nwiser than thou art, O youth.\u201d Answered he:\u2014With all my heart. I have\nheard tell this tale concerning\n\n\n _THE SANDAL-WOOD MERCHANT AND THE SHARPERS_.[244]\n\nThere once lived an exceeding rich merchant, who was a great traveller\nand who visited all manner of places. One day, being minded to journey\nto a certain city, he asked those who came thence, saying, \u201cWhat kind of\ngoods brought most profit there?\u201d and they answered, \u201cChanders-wood; for\nit selleth at a high price.\u201d So he laid out all his money in sandal and\nset out for that city; and arriving there at close of day, behold, he\nmet an old woman driving her sheep. Quoth she to him, \u201cWho art thou, O\nman?\u201d and quoth he, \u201cI am a stranger, a merchant.\u201d \u201cBeware of the\ntownsfolk,\u201d said she, \u201cfor they are cheats, rascals, robbers who love\nnothing more than imposing on the foreigner that they may get the better\nof him and devour his substance. Indeed I give thee good counsel.\u201d Then\nshe left him and on the morrow there met him one of the citizens who\nsaluted him and asked him, \u201cO my lord, whence comest thou?\u201d Answered the\nmerchant, \u201cFrom such a place.\u201d \u201cAnd what merchandise hast thou brought\nwith thee?\u201d enquired the other; and replied he, \u201cChanders-wood, for it\nis high of price with you.\u201d Quoth the townsman, \u201cHe blundered who told\nthee that; for we burn nothing under our cooking-pots save sandal-wood,\nwhose worth with us is but that of fuel.\u201d When the merchant heard this\nhe sighed and repented and stood balanced between belief and unbelief.\nThen he alighted at one of the khans of the city, and, when it was\nnight, he saw a merchant make fire of chanders-wood under his\ncooking-pot. Now this was the man who had spoken with him and this\nproceeding was a trick of his. When the townsman saw the merchant\nlooking at him, he asked, \u201cWilt thou sell me thy sandal-wood for a\nmeasure[245] of whatever thy soul shall desire?\u201d \u201cI sell it to thee,\u201d\nanswered the merchant; and the buyer transported all the wood to his own\nhouse and stored it up there; whilst the seller purposed to take an\nequal quantity of gold for it. Next morning the merchant, who was a\nblue-eyed man, went out to walk in the city but, as he went along, one\nof the townsfolk, who was blue-eyed and one-eyed to boot, caught hold of\nhim, saying, \u201cThou art he who stole my eye and I will never let thee\ngo.\u201d[246] The merchant denied this, saying, \u201cI never stole it: the thing\nis impossible.\u201d Whereupon the folk collected round them and besought the\none-eyed man to grant him till the morrow, that he might give him the\nprice of his eye. So the merchant procured one to be surety for him, and\nthey let him go. Now his sandal had been rent in the struggle with the\none-eyed man; so he stopped at a cobbler\u2019s stall and gave it to him,\nsaying, \u201cMend it and thou shalt have of me what shall content thee.\u201d\nThen he went on, till he came to some people sitting at play of forfeits\nand sat down with them, to divert his cark and care. They invited him to\nplay with them and he did so; but they practised on him and overcoming\nhim, offered him his choice,[247] either to drink up the sea or disburse\nall the money he had. \u201cHave patience with me till to-morrow,\u201d said he,\nand they granted him the delay he sought; whereupon he went away, sore\nconcerned for what had betided him and knowing not how he should do, and\nsat down in a solitary place heart-heavy, care-full, thought-opprest.\nAnd behold, the old woman passed by and seeing him thus, said to him,\n\u201cPeradventure the townsfolk have gotten the better of thee, for I see\nthee troubled at that which hath befallen thee: recount to me what\naileth thee.\u201d So he told her all that had passed from first to last, and\nshe said, \u201cAs for him who diddled thee in the matter of the\nchanders-wood, thou must know that with us it is worth ten gold pieces a\npound. But I will give thee a rede, whereby I trust thou shalt deliver\nthyself; and it is this. Go to such and such a gate whereby lives a\nblind Shaykh, a cripple, who is knowing, wise as a wizard and\nexperienced; and all resort to him and ask him what they require, when\nhe counsels them what will be for their advantage; for he is versed in\ncraft[248] and magic and trickery. Now he is a sharper and the sharpers\nresort to him by night; therefore, I repeat, go thou to his lodging and\nhide thyself from thine adversaries, so thou mayst hear what they say,\nunseen of them; for he telleth them which party got the better and which\ngot the worse; and haply thou shalt learn from them some plan which may\navail to deliver thee from them.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of\nday and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Fourth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the old woman said\nto the merchant, \u201cGo this night to that expert who is frequented by the\ntownsfolk and hide thine identity: haply shalt thou hear from him some\nplea which shall deliver thee from thine adversaries.\u201d So he went to the\nplace she mentioned and hid himself albeit he took seat near the blind\nman. Before long, up came the Shaykh\u2019s company who were wont to choose\nhim for their judge: they saluted the oldster and one another and sat\ndown round him, whereupon the merchant recognised his four adversaries.\nThe Chief set somewhat of food before them and they ate; then each began\nto tell what had befallen him during his day, and amongst the rest came\nforward he of the chanders-wood and told the Shaykh how he had bought of\none man sandal below its price, and had agreed to pay for it a S\u00e1\u2019a or\nmeasure of whatever the seller should desire.[249] Quoth the old man,\n\u201cThine opponent hath the better of thee.\u201d Asked the other, \u201cHow can that\nbe?\u201d; and the Shaykh answered, \u201cWhat if he say, I will take the measure\nfull of gold or silver, wilt thou give it to him?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d replied the\nother, \u201cI will give it to him and still be the gainer.\u201d And the Shaykh\nanswered, \u201cAnd if he say, I will take the measure full of fleas,[250]\nhalf male and half female, what wilt thou do?\u201d So the sharper knew that\nhe was worsted. Then came forward the one-eyed man and said, \u201cO Shaykh,\nI met to-day a blue-eyed man, a stranger to the town; so I picked a\nquarrel with him and caught hold of him, saying:\u2014\u2018Twas thou robbedst me\nof my eye; nor did I let him go, till some became surety for him that he\nshould return to me to-morrow and satisfy me for my eye.\u201d Quoth the\noldster, \u201cIf he will he may have the better of thee and thou the worse.\u201d\n\u201cHow so?\u201d asked the sharper; and the Chief said, \u201cHe may say to thee,\nPluck out thine eye, and I will pluck out one of mine; then we will\nweigh them both, and if thine eye be of the same weight as mine, thou\nsayest sooth in what thou avouchest. So wilt thou owe him the legal\nprice of his eye and be stone blind, whilst he will still see with his\nother eye.\u201d So the sharper knew that the merchant might baffle him with\nsuch plea. Then came the cobbler; and said, \u201cO Shaykh, a man brought me\nhis sandal-shoe to-day, saying, Mend this; and I asked him, What wage\nwilt thou give me?; when he answered, Thou shalt have of me what will\ncontent thee. Now nothing will content me but all the wealth he hath.\u201d\nQuoth the oldster, \u201cAn he will, he may take his sandal from thee and\ngive thee nothing.\u201d \u201cHow so?\u201d quoth the cobbler, and quoth the Shaykh,\n\u201cHe has but to say to thee, The Sultan\u2019s enemies are put to the rout;\nhis foes are waxed weak and his children and helpers are multiplied. Art\nthou content or no? If thou say, I am content,[251] he will take his\nsandal and go away; and if thou say, I am not content, he will take his\nsandal and beat thee therewith over the face and neck.\u201d So the cobbler\nowned himself worsted. Then came forward the gamester and said, \u201cO\nShaykh, I played at forfeits with a man to-day and beat him and quoth I\nto him:\u2014If thou drink the sea I will give thee all my wealth; and if not\nI will take all that is thine.\u201d Replied the Chief, \u201cAn he will he may\nworst thee.\u201d \u201cHow so?\u201d asked the sharper, and the Shaykh answered, \u201cHe\nhath but to say, Hold for me the mouth of the sea in thine hand and give\nit me and I will drink it. But thou wilt not be able to do this; so he\nwill baffle thee with this plea.\u201d When the merchant heard this, he knew\nhow it behoved him to deal with his adversaries. Then the sharpers left\nthe Shaykh and the merchant returned to his lodging. Now when morning\nmorrowed, the gamester came to him and summoned him to drink the sea; so\nhe said to him, \u201cHold for me its mouth and I will drink it up.\u201d\nWhereupon he confessed himself beaten and redeemed his forfeit by paying\nan hundred gold pieces. Then came the cobbler and sought of him what\nshould content him. Quoth the merchant, \u201cOur lord the Sultan hath\novercome his foes and hath destroyed his enemies and his children are\nmultiplied. Art thou content or no?\u201d \u201cI am content,\u201d replied the cobbler\nand, giving up the shoe[252] without wage, went away. Next came the\none-eyed man and demanded the legal price of his eye. Said the merchant,\n\u201cPluck out thine eye, and I will pluck out mine: then we will weigh\nthem, and if they are equal in weight, I will acknowledge thy truth, and\npay thee the price of thine eye; but, if they differ, thou liest and I\nwill sue thee for the price of mine eye.\u201d Quoth the one-eyed man, \u201cGrant\nme time;\u201d but the merchant answered, saying, \u201cI am a stranger and grant\ntime to none, nor will I part from thee till thou pay.\u201d So the sharper\nransomed his eye by paying him an hundred ducats and went away. Last of\nall came the buyer of the chanders-wood and said, \u201cTake the price of thy\nware.\u201d Asked the merchant, \u201cWhat wilt thou give me?\u201d; and the other\nanswered, \u201cWe agreed for a S\u00e1\u2019a-measure of whatever thou shouldst\ndesire; so, if thou wilt, take it full of gold and silver.\u201d \u201cNot I,\u201d\nrejoined the merchant, \u201cNot I! nothing shall serve me but I must have it\nfull of fleas, half male and half female.\u201d Said the Sharper, \u201cI can do\nnothing of the kind;\u201d and, confessing himself beaten, returned him his\nsandal-wood and redeemed himself from him with an hundred sequins, to be\noff his bargain. Then the merchant sold the chanders-wood at his own\nprice and, quitting that city of sharpers, returned to his own\nland.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the merchant\nhad sold his chanders-wood and had taken the money he quitted that city\nand returned to his own land. Then the Prince continued, \u201cBut this is\nnot more wondrous than the tale of the three-year-old child.\u201d \u201cWhat may\nthat be?\u201d asked the King, and the Prince answered:\u2014I have heard tell\nthis tale of\n\n\n _THE DEBAUCHEE AND THE THREE-YEAR-OLD CHILD_.\n\nKnow, O King that a certain profligate man, who was addicted to the sex,\nonce heard of a beautiful and lovely woman who dwelt in a city other\nthan his own. So he journeyed thither, taking with him a present, and\nwrote her a note, setting forth all that he suffered of love-longing and\ndesire for her and how his passion for her had driven him to forsake his\nnative land and come to her and he ended by praying for an assignation.\nShe gave him leave to visit her and, as he entered her abode, she stood\nup and received him with all honour and worship, kissing his hands and\nentertaining him with the best entertainment of meat and drink. Now she\nhad a little son, but three years old, whom she left and busied herself\nin cooking rice.[253] Presently the man said to her, \u201cCome, let us go\nand lie together;\u201d but she replied, \u201cMy son is sitting looking at us.\u201d\nQuoth the man, \u201cHe is a little child, understanding not neither knowing\nhow to speak.\u201d Quoth the woman, \u201cThou wouldst not say thus, an thou knew\nhis intelligence.\u201d When the boy saw that the rice was done, he wept with\nbitter weeping and his mother said to him, \u201cWhat gars thee weep, O my\nson?\u201d \u201cLadle me out some rice,\u201d answered he, \u201cand put clarified butter\nin it.\u201d So she ladled him out somewhat of rice and put butter therein;\nand the child ate a little, then began to weep again. Quoth she, \u201cWhat\nails thee now, O my son?\u201d; and quoth he, \u201cO mother mine, I want some\nsugar with my rice.\u201d At this said the man, who was an-angered, \u201cThou art\nnone other than a curst child.\u201d \u201cCurst thyself, by Allah,\u201d answered the\nboy, \u201cseeing thou weariest thyself and journeyest from city to city, in\nquest of adultery. As for me, I wept because I had somewhat in my eye,\nand my tears brought it ought; and now I have eaten rice with butter and\nsugar and am content; so which is the curst of us twain?\u201d The man was\nconfounded at this rebuke from a little child and forthright grace\nentered him and he was reclaimed. Wherefore he laid not a finger on the\nwoman, but went out from her and returned to his own country, where he\nlived a contrite life till he died. As for the story of the\nfive-year-old child (continued the Prince), I have heard tell, O King,\nthe following anent\n\n\n _THE STOLEN PURSE_.\n\nFour merchants once owned in common a thousand gold pieces; so they laid\nthem mingled together in one purse and set out to buy merchandise\ntherewith. They happened as they wended their way on a beautiful garden;\nso they left the purse with a woman who had care of the garden, saying\nto her, \u201cMind thee, thou shalt not give it back save when all four of us\nin person demand it of thee.\u201d She agreed to this and they entered and\nstrolled awhile about the garden-walks and ate and drank and made merry,\nafter which one of them said to the others, \u201cI have with me scented\nfuller\u2019s-earth; come, let us wash our heads therewith in this running\nwater.\u201d Quoth another, \u201cWe lack a comb;\u201d and a third, \u201cLet us ask the\nkeeper; belike she hath a comb.\u201d Thereupon one of them arose and\naccosting the care-taker, said to her, \u201cGive me the purse.\u201d Said she,\n\u201cNot until ye be all present or thy fellows bid me give it thee.\u201d Then\nhe called to his companions (who could see him but not hear him) saying,\n\u201cShe will not give it me;\u201d and they said to her, \u201cGive it him,\u201d thinking\nhe meant the comb. So she gave him the purse and he took it and made off\nas fast as he could. When the three others were weary of waiting, they\nwent to the keeper and asked her, \u201cWhy wilt thou not give him the comb?\u201d\nAnswered she, \u201cHe demanded naught of me save the purse, and I gave not\nthat same but with your consent, and he went his way with it.\u201d When they\nheard her words they buffeted their faces and, laying hands upon her,\nsaid, \u201cWe authorized thee only to give him the comb;\u201d and she rejoined,\n\u201cHe named not a comb to me.\u201d Then they seized her and haled her before\nthe Kazi, to whom they related their claim and he condemned her to make\ngood the purse and bound over sundry of her debtors to answer for\nher.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Kazi condemned\nthe care-taker to make good the purse and bound over sundry of her\ndebtors to answer for her. So she went forth, confounded and knowing not\nher way out of the difficulty. Presently she met a five-year-old boy\nwho, seeing her troubled, said to her, \u201cWhat ails thee, O my mother?\u201d\nBut she gave him no answer, contemning him because of his tender age,\nand he repeated his question a second time and a third time till, at\nlast, she told him all that had passed,[254] not forgetting the\ncondition that she was to keep the purse until all four had demanded it\nof her. Said the boy, \u201cGive me a dirham to buy sweetmeats withal and I\nwill tell thee how thou mayst acquit thyself.\u201d So she gave him a silver\nand said to him, \u201cWhat hast thou to say?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cReturn to the Kazi,\nand say to him, It was agreed between myself and them that I should not\ngive them the purse, except all four of them were present. Let them all\nfour come and I will give them the purse, as was agreed.\u201d So she went\nback to the Kazi and said to him as the boy had counselled; and he asked\nthe merchants, \u201cWas it thus agreed between you and this woman?\u201d; and\nthey answered, \u201cYes.\u201d Quoth the Kazi, \u201cThen bring me your comrade and\ntake the purse.\u201d So they went in quest of their fellow, whilst the\nkeeper came off scot-free and went her way without let or hindrance. And\nAllah is Omniscient![255] When the King and his Wazir and those present\nin the assembly heard the Prince\u2019s words they said to his father, \u201cO our\nlord the King, in very sooth thy son is the most accomplished man of his\ntime;\u201d and they called down blessings upon the King and the Prince. Then\nthe King strained his son to his bosom and kissed him between the eyes\nand questioned him of what had passed between the favourite and himself;\nand the Prince sware to him, by Almighty Allah and by His Holy Prophet\nthat it was she who had required him of love which he refused, adding,\n\u201cMoreover, she promised me that she would give thee poison to drink and\nkill thee, so should the kingship be mine; whereupon I waxed wroth and\nsigned to her:\u2014O accursed One, whenas I can speak I will requite thee!\nSo she feared me and did what she did.\u201d The King believed his words and\nsending for the favourite said to those present, \u201cHow shall we put this\ndamsel to death?\u201d Some counselled him to cut out her tongue and other\nsome to burn it with fire; but, when she came before the King, she said\nto him, \u201cMy case with thee is like unto naught save the tale of the fox\nand the folk.\u201d \u201cHow so?\u201d asked he; and she said:\u2014I have heard, O King,\ntell a\n\n\n _STORY OF THE FOX AND THE FOLK_.[256]\n\nA fox once made his way into a city by the wall and, entering a\ncurrier\u2019s storehouse, played havoc with all therein and spoiled the\nskins for the owner. One day, the currier set a trap for him and taking\nhim, beat him with the hides, till he fell down senseless, whereupon the\nman deeming him to be dead, cast him out into the road by the city-gate.\nPresently, an old woman who was walking by, seeing the fox said, \u201cThis\nis a fox whose eye, hung about a child\u2019s neck, is salutary against\nweeping.\u201d So she pluckt out his right eye and went away. Then passed a\nboy, who said, \u201cWhat does this tail on this fox?\u201d; and cut off his\nbrush. After a while, up came a man and saying, \u201cThis is a fox whose\ngall cleareth away film and dimness from the eyes, if they be anointed\ntherewith like kohl,\u201d took out his knife to slit up the fox\u2019s paunch.\nBut Reynard said in himself, \u201cWe bore with the plucking out of the eye\nand the cutting off of the tail; but, as for the slitting of the paunch,\nthere is no putting up with that!\u201d So saying, he sprang up and made off\nthrough the gate of the city, hardly believing in his escape. Quoth the\nKing, \u201cI excuse her, and in my son\u2019s hands be her doom. If he will, let\nhim torture her, and if he will, let him kill her.\u201d Quoth the Prince,\n\u201cPardon is better than vengeance and mercy is of the quality of the\nnoble;\u201d and the King repeated, \u201c\u2018Tis for thee to decide, O my son.\u201d So\nthe Prince set her free, saying, \u201cDepart from our neighbourhood and\nAllah pardon what is past!\u201d Therewith the King rose from his throne of\nestate and seating his son thereon, crowned him with his crown and bade\nthe Grandees of his realm swear fealty and commanded them do homage to\nhim. And he said, \u201cO folk, indeed, I am stricken in years and desire to\nwithdraw apart and devote myself only to the service of my Lord; and I\ncall you to witness that I divest myself of the kingly dignity, even as\nI have divested myself of my crown and set it on my son\u2019s head.\u201d So the\ntroops and officers swore fealty to the Prince, and his father gave\nhimself up to the worship of his Lord nor stinted from this, whilst his\nson abode in his kingship, doing justice and righteousness; and his\npower was magnified and his sultanate strengthened and he abode in all\ndelight and solace of life, till there came to him the Certainty.\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 153:\n\n Here begins the Sindibad-namah, the origin of Dolopathos (thirteenth\n century by the Trouv\u00e8re Harbers); of the \u201cSeven Sages\u201d (John Holland\n in 1575); the \u201cSeven Wise Masters\u201d and a host of minor romances. The\n Persian Sindib\u00e1d-N\u00e1mah assumed its present shape in A.D. 1375:\n Professor Falconer printed an abstract of it in the Orient. Journ.\n (xxxv. and xxxvi. 1841), and Mr. W. A. Clouston reissued the \u201cBook of\n Sindibad,\u201d with useful notes in 1884. An abstract of the Persian work\n is found in all edits. of The Nights; but they differ greatly,\n especially that in the Bresl. Edit. xii. pp. 237\u2013377, from which I\n borrow the introduction. According to Hamzah Isfah\u00e1n\u00ed (ch. xli.) the\n Reguli who succeeded to Alexander the Great and preceded Sapor caused\n some seventy books to be composed, amongst which were the Liber Maruc,\n Liber Bars\u00ednas, Liber Sindibad, Liber Shim\u00e1s, etc., etc., etc.\n\nFootnote 154:\n\n Eusebius De Pr\u00e6p. Evang. iii. 4, quotes Prophesy concerning the\n Egyptian belief in the Lords of the Ascendant whose names are given \u1f10\u03bd\n \u03c4\u03bf\u1fd6\u03c2 \u1f00\u03bb\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b9\u03c7\u03b9\u03b1\u03ba\u03bf\u1fd6\u03c2: in these \u201cAlmenichiaka\u201d we have the first almanac,\n as the first newspaper in the Roman \u201cActa Diurna.\u201d\n\nFootnote 155:\n\n \u201cAl-Mas\u2019\u00fadi,\u201d the \u201cHerodotus of the Arabs,\u201d thus notices Sindibad the\n Sage (in his Mur\u00faj etc., written about A.D. 934). \u201cDuring the reign of\n Kur\u00fash (Cyrus) lived Al-Sindibad who wrote the Seven Wazirs, etc.\u201d\n Al-Ya\u2019ak\u00fabi had also named him circ. A.D. 880. For notes on the name\n Sindibad, see Sindbad the Seaman, Night dxxxvi. I need not enter into\n the history of the \u201cSeven Sages,\u201d a book evidently older than The\n Nights in present form; but refer the reader to Mr. Clouston, of whom\n more in a future page.\n\nFootnote 156:\n\n Evidently borrowed from the Christians, although the latter borrowed\n from writers of the most remote antiquity. Yet the saying is the basis\n of all morality and in few words contains the highest human wisdom.\n\nFootnote 157:\n\n It is curious to compare the dry and business-like tone of the Arab\n style with the rhetorical luxuriance of the Persian: p. 10 of Mr.\n Clouston\u2019s \u201cBook of Sindibad.\u201d\n\nFootnote 158:\n\n In the text \u201cIsf\u00edd\u00e1j,\u201d the Pers. Isped (or Saf\u00e9d) \u00e1b, lit. = white\n water, ceruse used for women\u2019s faces suggesting our \u201cAge of Bismuth,\u201d\n Blanc Rosati, Cr\u00eame de l\u2019Imp\u00e9ratrice, Perline, Opaline, Milk of\n Beauty, etc., etc., etc.\n\nFootnote 159:\n\n Commentators compare this incident with the biblical story of Joseph\n and Potiphar\u2019s wife and with the old Egyptian romance and fairy tale\n of the brothers Anapon and Saton dating from the fourteenth century,\n the days of Pharaoh Ramses Miamun (who built Pi-tum and Ramses) at\n whose court Moses or Osarsiph is supposed to have been reared\n (Cambridge Essays 1858). The incident would often occur, _e.g._\n Ph\u00e6dra-cum-Hippolytus; Fausta-cum-Crispus and Lucinian; Asoka\u2019s wife\n and Kun\u00e1la, etc., etc. Such things happen in every-day life, and the\n situation has recommended itself to the folklore of all peoples.\n\nFootnote 160:\n\n Another version of this tale is given in the Bresl. Edit. (vol. viii.\n pp. 273\u20138: Night 675\u20136). It is the \u201cStory of the King and the Virtuous\n Wife\u201d in the Book of Sindibad. In the versions Arabic and Greek\n (Syntipas) the King forgets his ring; in the Hebrew Mishl\u00e9 Sandabar\n his staff, and his sandals in the old Spanish Libro de los Engannos et\n los Asayamientos de las Mugeres.\n\nFootnote 161:\n\n One might fancy that this is Biblical, Bathsheba and Uriah. But such\n \u201cvillanies\u201d must often have occurred in the East, at different times\n and places, without requiring direct derivation. The learned Prof. H.\n H. Wilson was mistaken in supposing that these fictions \u201coriginate in\n the feeling which has always pervaded the East unfavourable to the\n dignity of women.\u201d They belong to a certain stage of civilisation when\n the sexes are at war with each other; and they characterise chivalrous\n Europe as well as misogynous Asia; witness Jankins, clerk of\n Oxenforde; while \u00c6sop\u2019s fable of the Lion and the Man also explains\n their frequency.\n\nFootnote 162:\n\n The European form of the tale is \u201cToujours perdrix,\u201d a sentence often\n quoted but seldom understood. It is the reproach of M. l\u2019Abb\u00e9 when the\n Count (proprietor of the pretty Countess) made him eat partridge every\n day for a month; on which the Abb\u00e9 says, \u201cAlways partridge is too much\n of a good thing!\u201d Upon this text the Count speaks. A correspondent\n mentions that it was told by Horace Walpole concerning the Confessor\n of a French King who reproved him for conjugal infidelities. The\n degraded French (for \u201ctoujours de la perdrix\u201d or \u201cdes perdrix\u201d)\n suggests a foreign origin. Another friend refers me to No. x. of the\n \u201cCent Nouvelles Nouvelles\u201d (compiled in A.D. 1432 for the amusement of\n the Dauphin, afterwards Louis XI.) whose chief personage \u201cun grand\n seigneur du Royaulme d\u2019Angleterre,\u201d is lectured upon fidelity by the\n lord\u2019s mignon, a \u201cjeune et gracieux gentil homme de son hostel.\u201d Here\n the partridge became past\u00e9s d\u2019anguille. Possibly Scott refers to it in\n Redgauntlet (chapt. iv.); \u201cOne must be very fond of partridge to\n accept it when thrown in one\u2019s face.\u201d Did not Voltaire complain at\n Potsdam of \u201ctoujours perdrix\u201d and make it one of his grievances? A\n similar story is that of the chaplain who, weary of the same diet,\n uttered \u201cgrace\u201d as follows:\u2014\n\n Rabbits hot, rabbits cold,\n Rabbits tender, and rabbits tough,\n Rabbits young, and rabbits old\u2014\n I thank the Lord I\u2019ve had enough.\n\n And I as cordially thank my kind correspondents.\n\nFootnote 163:\n\n The great legal authority of the realm.\n\nFootnote 164:\n\n In all editions the Wazir here tells the Tale of the Merchant\u2019s Wife\n and the Parrot which, following Lane, I have transferred to vol. i. p.\n 52. But not to break the tradition I here introduce the Persian\n version of the story from the \u201cBook of Sindibad.\u201d In addition to the\n details given in the note to vol. i., 52; I may quote the two\n talking-birds left to watch over his young wife by Rajah Ras\u00e1l\u00fa (son\n of Shaliv\u00e1hana the great Indian monarch circ. A.D. 81), who is to the\n Punjab what Rustam is to Persia and Antar to Arabia. In the \u201cSeven\n Wise Masters\u201d the parrot becomes a magpie and Mr. Clouston, in some\n clever papers on \u201cPopular Tales and Fictions\u201d contributed to the\n _Glasgow Evening Times_ (1884), compares it with the history, in the\n Gesta Romanorum, of the Adulteress, the Abigail, and the Three Cocks,\n two of which crowed during the congress of the lady and her lover. All\n these evidently belong to the Sindibad cycle.\n\nFootnote 165:\n\n In the days of the Caliph Al-Mustakf\u00ed bi \u2018llah (A.H. 333 = 944) the\n youth of Baghdad studied swimming and it is said that they could swim\n holding chafing-dishes upon which were cooking-pots and keep afloat\n till the meat was dressed. The story is that of \u201cThe Washerman and his\n Son who were drowned in the Nile,\u201d of the Book of Sindibad.\n\nFootnote 166:\n\n Her going to the bath suggested that she was fresh from coition.\n\nFootnote 167:\n\n Taken from the life of the Egyptian Mameluke Sultan (No. viii. regn.\n A.H. 825 = A.D. 1421) who would not suffer his subjects to prostrate\n themselves or kiss the ground before him. See D\u2019Herbelot for details.\n\nFootnote 168:\n\n This nauseous Joe Miller has often been told in the hospitals of\n London and Paris. It is as old as the Hitopadesa.\n\nFootnote 169:\n\n Koran iv. 81, \u201cAll is from Allah;\u201d but the evil which befals mankind,\n though ordered by Allah, is yet the consequence of their own\n wickedness (I add, which wickedness was created by Allah).\n\nFootnote 170:\n\n The Bresl. Edit. (xii. 266) says \u201cbathing.\u201d\n\nFootnote 171:\n\n This tale is much like that told in the Fifth Night (vol. i. 54). It\n is the story of the Prince and the Lamia in the Book of Sindibad\n wherein it is given with Persian rhetoric and diffuseness.\n\nFootnote 172:\n\n Arab \u201cWa\u2019ar\u201d = rocky, hilly, tree-less ground unfit for riding. I have\n noted that the three Heb. words \u201cYear\u201d (_e.g._ Kiryath-Yearim = City\n of forest), \u201cChoresh\u201d (now Hirsh, a scrub), and \u201cPard\u00e9s\u201d (\u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03ac\u03b4\u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03bf\u03c2 a\n chase, a hunting-park opposed to \u03ba\u1fc6\u03c0\u03bf\u03c2, an orchard) are preserved in\n Arabic and are intelligible in Palestine (Unexplored Syria, i. 207).\n\nFootnote 173:\n\n The privy and the bath are favourite haunts of the Jinns.\n\nFootnote 174:\n\n Arab history is full of petty wars caused by trifles. In Egypt the\n clans Sa\u2019ad and Har\u00e1m and in Syria the Kays and Yaman (which remain to\n the present day) were as pugnacious as Highland Caterans. The tale\n bears some likeness to the accumulative nursery rhymes in \u201cThe House\n that Jack Built,\u201d and \u201cThe Old Woman and the Crooked Sixpence;\u201d which\n find their indirect original in an allegorical Talmudic hymn.\n\nFootnote 175:\n\n This is \u201cThe Story of the Old Man who sent his Young Wife to the\n Market to buy Rice,\u201d told with Persian reflections in the \u201cBook of\n Sindibad.\u201d\n\nFootnote 176:\n\n Koran xii. 28. The words were spoken by Potiphar to Joseph.\n\nFootnote 177:\n\n Koran iv. 78. A mis-quotation, the words are, \u201cFight therefore against\n the friends of Satan, for the craft of Satan shall be weak.\u201d\n\nFootnote 178:\n\n _i.e._ Koranic versets.\n\nFootnote 179:\n\n In the Book of Sindibad this is the \u201cStory of the Prince who went out\n to hunt and the stratagem which the Wazir practised on him.\u201d\n\nFootnote 180:\n\n I have noted that it is a dire affront to an Arab if his first cousin\n marry any save himself without his formal leave.\n\nFootnote 181:\n\n _i.e._ the flowery, the splendid; an epithet of Fatimah, the daughter\n of the Apostle \u201cthe bright blooming.\u201d F\u00e1timah is an old Arab name of\n good omen, \u201cthe weaner:\u201d in Egypt it becomes Fatt\u00famah (an\n incrementative = \u201cgreat weaner\u201d); and so Am\u00ednah, Khad\u00edjah and Naf\u00edsah\n on the banks of the Nile are barbarised to Amm\u00fanah, Khadd\u00fagah and\n Naff\u00fasah.\n\nFootnote 182:\n\n _i.e._ his coming misfortune, the phrase being euphemistic.\n\nFootnote 183:\n\n Arab. R\u00e1y: in theology it means \u201cprivate judgment\u201d and R\u00e1y\u00ed (act.\n partic.) is a Rationalist. The Hanaff School is called \u201cAsh\u00e1b al-R\u00e1y\u201d\n because it allows more liberty of thought than the other three\n orthodox.\n\nFootnote 184:\n\n The angels in Al-Islam ride piebalds.\n\nFootnote 185:\n\n In the Bresl. Edit. \u201cZ\u00e1jir\u201d (xii. 286).\n\nFootnote 186:\n\n This is the \u201cKing\u2019s Son and the Merchant\u2019s Wife\u201d of the Hitopadesa\n (chapt. i.) transferred to all the Prakrit versions of India. It is\n the Story of the Bath-keeper who conducted his Wife to the Son of the\n King of Kanuj in the Book of Sindibad.\n\nFootnote 187:\n\n The pious Caliph Al-Muktadi bi Amri \u2018llah (A.H. 467 = A.D. 1075) was\n obliged to forbid men entering the baths of Baghdad without drawers.\n\nFootnote 188:\n\n This peculiarity is not uncommon amongst the so-called Aryan and\n Semitic races, while to the African it is all but unknown. Women\n highly prize a conformation which (as the prostitute described it) is\n always \u201ceither in his belly or in mine.\u201d\n\nFootnote 189:\n\n Easterns, I have said, are perfectly aware of the fact that women\n corrupt women much more than men do. The tale is the \u201cStory of the\n Libertine Husband\u201d in the Book of Sindibad; blended with the \u201cStory of\n the Go-between and the Bitch\u201d in the Book of Sindibad. It is related\n in the \u201cDisciplina Clericalis\u201d of Alphonsus (A.D. 1106); the fabliau\n of _La vieille qui s\u00e9duisit la jeune fille_; the Gesta Romanorum\n (thirteenth century) and the \u201cCunning Siddhikari\u201d in the\n Kath\u00e1-Sarit-S\u00e1gara.\n\nFootnote 190:\n\n The Kashm\u00edr people, men and women, have a very bad name in Eastern\n tales, the former for treachery and the latter for unchastity. A\n Persian distich says:\n\n If folk be scarce as food in dearth ne\u2019er let three lots come near ye:\n First Sindi, second Jat, and third a rascally Kashmeeree.\n\n The women have fair skins and handsome features but, like all living\n in that zone, Persians, Sindis, Afghans, etc., their bosoms fall after\n the first child and become like udders. This is not the case with\n Hind\u00fa women, Rajp\u00fats, Mar\u00e1th\u00eds, etc.\n\nFootnote 191:\n\n By these words she appealed to his honour.\n\nFootnote 192:\n\n These vehicles suggest derivation from European witchery. In the\n Bresl. Edit. (xii. 304) one of the women rides a \u201cMiknasah\u201d or broom.\n\nFootnote 193:\n\n _i.e._ a recluse who avoids society.\n\nFootnote 194:\n\n \u201cConsecrated ground\u201d is happily unknown to Moslems.\n\nFootnote 195:\n\n This incident occurs in the \u201cThird Kalandar\u2019s Tale.\u201d See vol. i, 157;\n and note to p. 145.\n\nFootnote 196:\n\n The Mac. Edit. has \u201cNahr\u201d = river.\n\nFootnote 197:\n\n _i.e._ marked with the Wasm or tribal sign to show their blood. The\n subject of Wasm is extensive and highly interesting, for many of these\n brands date doubtless from prehistoric ages. For instance, some of the\n great Anazah nation (not tribe) uses a circlet, the initial of their\n name (an Ayn-letter), which thus shows the eye from which it was\n formed. I have given some specimens of Wasm in The Land of Midian (i.\n 320) where, as amongst the \u201cSinaitic\u201d Badawin, various kinds of\n crosses are preserved long after the death and burial of Christianity.\n\nFootnote 198:\n\n _i.e._ from the heights. The \u201cSayl\u201d is a dangerous feature in Arabia\n as in Southern India, where many officers have lost their lives by\n trying to swim it.\n\nFootnote 199:\n\n Arab. \u201c\u2018Ujb.\u201d I use arrogance in the Spanish sense of \u201carrogante,\u201d gay\n and gallant.\n\nFootnote 200:\n\n In this rechauff\u00e9 Paul Pry escapes without losing an eye.\n\nFootnote 201:\n\n Eastern tale-tellers always harp upon this theme, the cunning\n precautions taken by mankind and their utter confusion by \u201cFate and\n Fortune.\u201d In such matters the West remarks, \u201cCe que femme veut, Dieu\n veut.\u201d\n\nFootnote 202:\n\n As favourite an occupation in Oriental lands as in Southern Europe and\n the Brazil, where the Quinta or country villa must be built by the\n road-side to please the mistress.\n\nFootnote 203:\n\n The ink-case would contain the pens; hence called in India Kalamd\u00e1n =\n reed (pen) box. I have advised travellers to prefer the strong\n Egyptian article of brass to the Persian, which is of wood or\n papier-m\u00e2ch\u00e9, prettily varnished, but not to wear it in the\n waist-belt, as this is a sign of being a scribe (Pilgrimage i. 353).\n\nFootnote 204:\n\n The vulgar Eastern idea is that women are quite knowing enough without\n learning to read and write: and at all events they should not be\n taught anything beyond reading the Koran, or some clearly-written\n book. The contrast with modern Europe is great; greater still in\n Anglo-America of our day, and greatest with the new sects which\n propose \u201cbiunes\u201d and \u201cbisexuals\u201d and \u201cwomen robed with the sun.\u201d\n\nFootnote 205:\n\n In the Bresl. Edit. the Prince ties a key to a second arrow and shoots\n it into the pavilion.\n\nFootnote 206:\n\n The \u201cbox-trick\u201d has often been played with success, by Lord Byron\n amongst a host of others. The readiness with which the Wazir enters\n into the scheme is characteristic of oriental servility: an honest\n Moslem should at least put in a remonstrance.\n\nFootnote 207:\n\n This story appears familiar, but I have not found it easy to trace. In\n \u201cThe Book of Sindibad\u201d (p. 83) it is apparently represented by a\n lacuna. In the Squire\u2019s Tale of Chaucer Canace\u2019s ring enables the\n wearer to understand bird-language, not merely to pretend as does the\n slave-boy in the text.\n\nFootnote 208:\n\n The crow is an ill-omened bird in Al-Islam and in Eastern Christendom.\n \u201cThe crow of cursed life and foul odour,\u201d says the Book of Kalilah and\n Dimna (p. 44). The Hindus are its only protectors, and in this matter\n they follow suit with the Guebres. I may note that the word belongs to\n the days before \u201cAryan\u201d and \u201cSemitic\u201d speech had parted; we find it in\n Heb. Oreb; Arab. Ghur\u00e1b; Lat. Corvus; Engl. Crow, etc.\n\nFootnote 209:\n\n Again in the Hibernian sense of being \u201ckilt.\u201d\n\nFootnote 210:\n\n Quoted in Night dlxxxii.; said by Kitf\u00edr or Itf\u00edr (Potiphar) when his\n wife (R\u00e1il or Zulaykha) charged Joseph with attempting her chastity\n and he saw that the youth\u2019s garment was whole in front and rent in\n rear (Koran, chapt. xii.).\n\nFootnote 211:\n\n This witty tale, ending somewhat grossly here, has over-wandered the\n world. First we find it in the Kath\u00e1 (S. S.) where Upakosh\u00e1, the merry\n wife of Vararuchi, disrobes her suitors, a family priest, a commander\n of the guard and the prince\u2019s tutor, under plea of the bath and stows\n them away in baskets which suggest Falstaff\u2019s \u201cbuck-basket.\u201d In Miss\n Stokes\u2019 \u201cIndian Fairy Tales\u201d the fair wife of an absent merchant plays\n a similar notable prank upon the Kotwal, the Wazir, the Kazi and the\n King; and akin to this is the exploit of Temal R\u00e1m\u00e1kistnan, the\n Madrasi Tyl Eulenspiegel and Scogin who by means of a lady saves his\n life from the Rajah and the High Priest. Mr. G. H. Damant (pp. 357\u2013360\n of the \u201cIndian Antiquary\u201d of 1873) relates the \u201cTale of the\n Touchstone,\u201d a legend of Dinahpur, wherein a woman \u201csells\u201d her four\n admirers. In the Persian Tales ascribed to the Dervish \u201cMokles\u201d\n (Mukhlis) of Isfahan, the lady Aruy\u00e1 tricks and exposes a Kazi, a\n doctor and a governor. Boccaccio (viii. 1) has the story of a lady who\n shut up her gallant in a chest with her husband\u2019s sanction; and a\n similar tale (ix. 1) of Rinuccio and Alexander with the corpse of\n Scannadeo (Throkh-god). Hence a Lydgate (circ. A.D. 1430) derived the\n plot of his metrical tale of the \u201cLady Prioress and her Three\n Sisters\u201d; which was modified in the Netherlandish version by the\n introduction of the Long Wapper, a Flemish Robin Goodfellow. Followed\n in English the metrical tale of \u201cThe Wright\u2019s Chaste Wife,\u201d by Adam of\n Cobham (edited by Mr. Furnivall from a MS. of circ. A.D. 1460) where\n the victims are a lord, a steward and a proctor. See also \u201cThe\n Master-Maid\u201d in Dr. (now Sir George) Dasent\u2019s \u201cPopular Tales from the\n Norse.\u201d Mr. Clouston, who gives these details more fully, mentions a\n similar Scottish story concerning a lascivious monk and the chaste\n wife of a miller.\n\nFootnote 212:\n\n When Easterns sit down to a drinking bout, which means to get drunk as\n speedily and pleasantly as possible, they put off dresses of dull\n colours and robe themselves in clothes supplied by the host, of the\n brightest he may have, especially yellow, green and red of different\n shades. So the lady\u2019s proceeding was not likely to breed suspicion;\n although her tastes were somewhat fantastic and like Miss\n Julia\u2019s\u2014peculiar.\n\nFootnote 213:\n\n Arab. \u201cNaj\u00e1sah,\u201d meaning anything unclean which requires ablution\n before prayer. Unfortunately mucus is not of the number, so the common\n Moslem is very offensive in the matter of nose.\n\nFootnote 214:\n\n Here the word \u201cla\u2019an\u201d is used which most Moslems express by some\n euphemism. The vulgar Egyptian says \u201cNa\u2019al\u201d (_Sapr\u00e9_ and _Sapristi_\n for _Sacre_ and _Sacristie_); the Hindostani express it \u201cI send him\n the three letters\u201d\u2014l\u00e1m, ayn and n\u00fan.\n\nFootnote 215:\n\n The Mac. Edit. is here very concise; better the Bresl. Edit. (xii.\n 326). Here we have the Eastern form of the Three Wishes which dates\n from the earliest ages and which amongst us has been degraded to a\n matter of \u201cblack pudding.\u201d It is the grossest and most brutal satire\n on the sex, suggesting that a woman would prefer an additional inch of\n penis to anything this world or the next can offer her. In the Book of\n Sindibad it is the story of the Peri and Religious Man; his learning\n the Great Name; and his consulting with his wife. See also La\n Fontaine\u2019s \u201cTrois Souhaits,\u201d Prior\u2019s \u201cLadle,\u201d and \u201cLes quatre Souhaits\n de Saint-Martin.\u201d\n\nFootnote 216:\n\n Arab. \u201cLaylat al-Kadr\u201d = Night of Power or of Divine Decrees. It is\n \u201cbetter than a thousand months\u201d (Koran xcvii. 3), but unhappily the\n exact time is not known although all agree that it is one of the last\n ten in Ramazan. The latter when named by Kil\u00e1b ibn Murrah, ancestor of\n Mohammed, about two centuries before Al-Islam, corresponded with\n July-August and took its name from \u201cRamz\u00e1\u201d or intense heat. But the\n Prophet, in the tenth Hijrah year, most unwisely forbade \u201cNasy\u201d =\n triennial intercalation (Koran ix. 36) and thus the lunar month went\n round all the seasons. On the Night of Power the Koran was sent down\n from the Preserved Tablet by Allah\u2019s throne, to the first or lunar\n Heaven whence Gabriel brought it for opportunest revelation to the\n Apostle (Koran xcvii.). Also during this night all Divine Decrees for\n the ensuing year are taken from the Tablet and are given to the angels\n for execution whilst, the gates of Heaven being open, prayer (as in\n the text) is sure of success. This mass of absurdity has engendered a\n host of superstitions everywhere varying. Lane (Mod. Egypt, chapt.\n xxv.) describes how some of the Faithful keep tasting a cup of salt\n water which should become sweet in the Night of Nights. In (Moslem)\n India not only the sea becomes sweet, but all the vegetable creation\n bows down before Allah. The exact time is known only to Prophets; but\n the pious sit through the Night of Ramazan 27th (our 26th) praying and\n burning incense-pastilles. In Stambul this is officially held to be\n the Night of Power. So in medi\u00e6val Europe on Christmas Eve the cattle\n worshipped God in their stalls and I have met peasants in France and\n Italy who firmly believed that brute beasts on that night not only\n speak but predict the events of the coming year.\n\nFootnote 217:\n\n Hence the misfortune befel her: the pious especially avoid temporal\n palaces.\n\nFootnote 218:\n\n This is our tale of \u201cThe Maid and the Magpie;\u201d the Mac. Edit. does not\n specify the \u201cTayr\u201d (any bird) but the Bresl. Edit. has Ak\u2019ak, a pie.\n The true Magpie (_C. Pica_) called Buzar\u00e1i (?) and Zaghzagh\u00e1n Ab\u00fa\n Mass\u00e1h (= the Sweeper, from its tail) is found on the Libanus and\n Anti-Libanus (Unexplored Syria ii. 77\u2013143), but I never saw it in\n other parts of Syria or in Arabia. It is completely ignored by the\n Reverend Mr. Tristram in his painfully superficial book \u201cThe Natural\n History of the Bible,\u201d published by the Society for Promoting\n Christian Knowledge (or rather Ignorance), London, 1873.\n\nFootnote 219:\n\n This is \u201cThe Story of the Two Partridges,\u201d told at great length in the\n Book of Sindibad. See De Sacy\u2019s text in the Kalilah wa Damnah, quoted\n in the \u201cBook of Kalilah and Damnah\u201d (p. 306).\n\nFootnote 220:\n\n This extremely wilful young person had rendered rape excusable. The\n same treatment is much called for by certain heroines of modern\n fiction\u2014let me mention Princess Napraxine.\n\nFootnote 221:\n\n The Story of the Hidden Robe, in the Book of Sindibad; where it is\n told with all manner of Persian embellishments.\n\nFootnote 222:\n\n Now turned into Government offices for local administration; a\n \u201cTribunal of Commerce,\u201d etc.\n\nFootnote 223:\n\n Arab. \u201cBaww\u00e1b,\u201d a personage as important as the old French concierge\n and a man of trust who has charge of the keys and with letting vacant\n rooms. In Egypt the Berber from the Upper Nile is the favourite\n suisse; being held more honest or rather less rascally than the usual\n Egyptian. These Berbers, however, are true barbarians, overfond of\n B\u00fazah (the beer of Osiris) and not unfrequently dangerous. They are\n supposed by Moslems to descend from the old Syrians expelled by\n Joshua. For the favourite chaff against them, eating the dog (not the\n puppy-pie), see Pilgrimage i. 93. They are the \u201cPaddies\u201d of Egypt to\n whom all kinds of bulls and blunders are attributed.\n\nFootnote 224:\n\n Arab. \u201cJuma\u2019ah,\u201d which means either Friday or a week. In pre-Moslem\n times it was called Al-Ar\u00fabah (the other week-days being Shiy\u00e1r or\n Saturday, Bawal, Bahan, Jabar, Dabar and F\u00e1mun\u00eds or Thursday).\n Juma\u2019ah, literally = \u201cMeeting\u201d or Congregation (-day), was made to\n represent the Jewish Sabbath and the Christian Sunday because on that\n day Allah ended the work of creation; it was also the date of\n Mohammed\u2019s entering Al-Medinah. According to Al-Bayz\u00e1w\u00ed, it was called\n Assembly-day because Ka\u2019ab ibn Lowa, one of the Prophet\u2019s ancestors,\n used to gather the people before him on Fridays. Moslems are not\n forbidden to do secular work after the congregational prayers at the\n hour when they must \u201chasten to the commemoration of Allah and leave\n merchandising\u201d (Koran, chapt. lxii. 9).\n\nFootnote 225:\n\n This is done only by the very pious: if they see a bit of bread they\n kiss it, place it upon their heads and deposit it upon a wall or some\n place where it will not be trodden on. She also removed the stones\n lest haply they prove stumbling-blocks to some Moslem foot.\n\nFootnote 226:\n\n Arab. \u201cAshj\u00e1r,\u201d which may mean either the door-posts or the wooden\n bolts. Lane (iii. 174) translates it \u201camong the trees\u201d\u2014in a room!\n\nFootnote 227:\n\n Koran (ix. 51), when Mohammed reproaches the unbelievers for not\n accompanying him to victory or martyrdom.\n\nFootnote 228:\n\n Arab. \u201cKin\u00e1\u2019,\u201d a true veil, not the \u201cBurka\u2019\u201d or \u201cnose-bag\u201d with the\n peepholes. It is opposed to the \u201cTarkah\u201d or \u201chead-veil.\u201d Europeans\n inveigh against the veil which represents the _loup_ of Louis\n Quatorze\u2019s day: it is on the contrary the most coquettish of\n contrivances, hiding coarse skins, fleshy noses, wide mouths and\n vanishing chins; and showing only lustrous and liquid black eyes.\n Moreover a pretty woman, when she wishes, will always let you see\n something under the veil. (Pilgrimage i. 337).\n\nFootnote 229:\n\n A yellow-flowered artemisia or absinthe whose wood burns like\n holm-oak. (Unexplored Syria ii. 43). See vol. ii. 24 for further\n details.\n\nFootnote 230:\n\n The Farz or obligatory prayers, I have noted, must be recited (if\n necessary) in the most impure place; not so the other orisons. Hence\n the use of the \u201cSajj\u00e1dah\u201d or prayer-rug, an article too well known to\n require description.\n\nFootnote 231:\n\n _Anglic\u00e8_ a stomach-ache, a colic.\n\nFootnote 232:\n\n Arab. Al-H\u00e1fizah which has two meanings. Properly it signifies the\n third order of Traditionists out of a total of five, or those who know\n 300,000 traditions and their ascriptions. Popularly \u201cone who can\n recite the Koran by rote.\u201d There are six great Traditionists whose\n words are held to be prime authorities; (1) Al-Bokh\u00e1ri; (2) Muslim;\n and these are entitled Al-Sah\u00edhayn, The (two true) authorities. After\n them (3) Al-Tirmidi; and (4) Abu D\u00e1ud: these four being the authors of\n the \u201cFour Sunan;\u201d the others are (5) Al-Nas\u00e1i and (6) Ibn M\u00e1jah (see\n Jarrett\u2019s Al-Siyuti pp. 2, 6; and, for modern Arab studies. Pilgrimage\n i. 154 _et seq._)\n\nFootnote 233:\n\n Lane (iii. 176) marries the amorous couple, thus making the story\n highly proper and robbing it of all its point.\n\nFootnote 234:\n\n Arab. \u201cSabbahat,\u201d _i.e._ Sabbah-ak\u2019 Allah bi\u2019l khayr = Allah give thee\n good morning: still the popular phrase.\n\nFootnote 235:\n\n Arab. \u201cTa\u2019r\u00edsak,\u201d with the implied hint of her being a \u201cMu\u2019arrisah\u201d or\n shepander. The Bresl. Edit. (xii. 356) bluntly says \u201cKiy\u00e1datak\u201d\u2014thy\n pimping.\n\nFootnote 236:\n\n Arab. \u201cRafw\u201d; the \u201cRafu-gar\u201d or fine-drawer in India, who does this\n artistic style of darning, is famed for skill.\n\nFootnote 237:\n\n The question sounds strange to Europeans, but in the Moslem East a man\n knows nothing, except by hearsay, of the women who visit his wife.\n\nFootnote 238:\n\n Arab. \u201cAhl al-bayt,\u201d so as not rudely to say \u201cwife.\u201d\n\nFootnote 239:\n\n This is a mere abstract of the tale told in the Introduction (vol. i.\n 10\u201312). Here, however, the rings are about eighty; there the number\n varies from ninety to five hundred and seventy.\n\nFootnote 240:\n\n The father suspected the son of intriguing with one of his own women.\n\nFootnote 241:\n\n Arab, and Heb. \u201cLaban\u201d (opp. to \u201claban-hal\u00edb,\u201d or simply \u201chal\u00edb\u201d =\n fresh milk), milk artificially soured, the Dahin of India, the Kisain\u00e1\n of the Slavs and our Corstophine cream. But in The Nights, contrary to\n modern popular usage, \u201cLaban\u201d is also applied to fresh milk. The\n soured form is universally in the East eaten with rice and enters into\n the Sal\u00e1tah or cucumber-salad. I have noted elsewhere that all the\n Galactophagi, the nomades who live on milk, use it in the soured never\n in the fresh form. The Badawi have curious prejudices about it: it is\n a disgrace to sell it (though not to exchange it), and \u201cLabb\u00e1n,\u201d or\n \u201cmilk-vendor,\u201d is an insult. The Br\u00e1hni and Beloch nomades have the\n same pundonor possibly learnt from the Arabs (Pilgrimage i. 363). For\n \u2018Igt (Akit), Mahir, Saribah, Jam\u00eddah and other lactal preparations,\n see _ibid._ i. 362.\n\nFootnote 242:\n\n I need hardly say that the poison would have been utterly harmless,\n unless there had been an abrasion of the skin. The slave-girl is\n blamed for carrying the jar uncovered because thus it would attract\n the evil eye. In the Book of Sindibad the tale appears as the Story of\n the Poisoned Guests; and the bird is a stork.\n\nFootnote 243:\n\n The Prince expresses the pure and still popular Moslem feeling; and\n yet the learned and experienced Mr. Redhouse would confuse this\n absolute Predestination with Providence. A friend tells me that the\n idea of absolute Fate in The Nights makes her feel as if the world\n were a jail.\n\nFootnote 244:\n\n In the Book of Sindibad this is the Story of the Sandal-wood Merchant\n and the Advice of the Blind Old Man. Mr. Clouston (p. 163) quotes a\n Talmudic joke which is akin to the Shaykh\u2019s advice and a reply of Tyl\n Eulenspiegel, the arch-rogue, which has also a family resemblance.\n\nFootnote 245:\n\n Arab. \u201cS\u00e1\u2019a,\u201d a measure of corn, etc., to be given in alms. The Kamus\n makes it = four mudds (each being \u2153 lbs.); the people understand by it\n four times the measure of a man\u2019s two open hands.\n\nFootnote 246:\n\n _i.e._ till thou restore my eye to me. This style of prothesis without\n apodosis is very common in Arabic and should be preserved in\n translation, as it adds a naivet\u00e9 to the style. We find it in Genesis\n iii. 2, \u201cAnd now lest he put forth his hand,\u201d etc.\n\nFootnote 247:\n\n They were playing at Mur\u00e1hanah, like children amongst us. It is also\n called \u201cHukm wa Riz\u00e1\u201d = order and consent. The penalty is usually\n something ridiculous, but here it was villainous.\n\nFootnote 248:\n\n Every Moslem capital has a \u201cShaykh of the thieves\u201d who holds regular\n lev\u00e9es and who will return stolen articles for a consideration; and\n this has lasted since the days of Diodorus Siculus (Pilgrimage i. 91).\n\nFootnote 249:\n\n This was not the condition; but I have left the text as it is\n characteristic of the writer\u2019s inconsequence.\n\nFootnote 250:\n\n The idea would readily occur in Egypt where the pulex is still a\n plague although the Sultan is said to hold his court at Tiberias.\n \u201cMale and female\u201d says the rogue, otherwise it would be easy to fill a\n bushel with fleas. The insect was unknown to older India according to\n some and was introduced by strangers. This immigration is quite\n possible. In 1863 the jigger (_P. penetrans_) was not found in Western\n Africa; when I returned there in 1882 it had passed over from the\n Brazil and had become naturalised on the equatorial African seaboard.\n The Arabs call shrimps and prawns \u201csea-fleas\u201d (barg\u00fath al-bahr)\n showing an inland race. (See Pilgrimage i. 322.)\n\nFootnote 251:\n\n Submission to the Sultan and the tidings of his well-being should\n content every Eastern subject. But, as Oriental history shows, the\n form of government is a Despotism tempered by assassination. And under\n no rule is man socially freer and his condition contrasts strangely\n with the grinding social tyranny which characterises every mode of\n democracy or constitutionalism, _i.e._ political equality.\n\nFootnote 252:\n\n Here the text has \u201cMark\u00fab\u201d = a shoe; elsewhere \u201cNa\u2019al\u201d = a sandal,\n especially with wooden sole. In classical Arabia, however, \u201cNa\u2019al\u201d may\n be a shoe, a horse-shoe (iron-plate, not rim like ours). The Bresl.\n Edit. has \u201cWat\u00e1,\u201d any foot gear.\n\nFootnote 253:\n\n Water-melons (bat\u00e1yikh) says the Mac. Edit. a misprint for Aruz or\n rice. Water-melons are served up raw cut into square mouthfuls, to be\n eaten with rice and meat. They serve excellently well to keep the\n palate clean and cool.\n\nFootnote 254:\n\n The text recounts the whole story over again\u2014more than European\n patience can bear.\n\nFootnote 255:\n\n The usual formula when telling an improbable tale. But here it is\n hardly called for: the same story is told (on weak authority) of the\n Alewife, the Three Graziers and Attorney-General Nay (temp. James II.\n 1577\u20131634) when five years old (Journ. Asiat. Soc. N.S. xxx. 280). The\n same feat had been credited to Thomas Egerton, Lord Chancellor in A.D.\n 1540\u20131617 (Chalmers, Biographical Dictionary xxiii. 267\u201368). But the\n story had already found its way into the popular jest-books such as\n \u201cTales and Quick Answers, very Mery and Pleasant to Rede\u201d (1530);\n \u201cJacke of Dover\u2019s Quest of Inquirie for the Foole of all Fooles\u201d\n (1604) under the title \u201cThe Foole of Westchester\u201d, and in \u201cWitty and\n Entertaining Exploits of George Buchanan, commonly called the King\u2019s\n Fool.\u201d The banker-bard Rogers (in Italy) was told a similar story\n concerning a widow of the Lambertini house (xiv^{th} century). Thomas\n Wright (Introduction to the Seven Sages) says he had met the tale in\n Latin (xiii^{th}-xiv^{th} centuries) and a variant in the \u201cNouveaux\n Contes \u00e0 rire\u201d (Amsterdam 1737), under the title \u201cJugement Subtil du\n Duc d\u2019Ossone contre Deux Marchands.\u201d Its origin is evidently the old\n Sindib\u00e1d-namah translated from Syriac into Greek (\u201cSyntipas,\u201d xi^{th}\n century); into Hebrew (Mishl\u00e9 Sandabar, xii^{th} century), and from\n the Arabian version into old Castilian, \u201cLibro de los Engannos et los\n Asayamientos de las Mugeres\u201d (A.D. 1255), whereof a translation is\n appended to Professor Comparetti\u2019s \u201cRicerche intorne al Libro di\n Sindibad,\u201d translated by Mr. H. C. Coote for the Folk-Lore Society.\n The Persian metrical form (an elaboration of one much older) dates\n from 1375; and gave rise to a host of imitations such as the Turkish\n Tales of the Forty Wazirs and the Canarese \u201cKath\u00e1 Manjari,\u201d where four\n persons contend about a purse. See also Gladwin\u2019s \u201cPersian Moonshee,\u201d\n No. vi. of \u201cPleasing Stories;\u201d and Mr. Clouston\u2019s paper, \u201cThe Lost\n Purse,\u201d in the _Glasgow Evening Times_. All are the Eastern form of\n Gavarni\u2019s \u201cEnfants Terribles,\u201d showing the portentous precocity for\n which some children (infant phenomena, calculating boys, etc. etc.)\n have been famous.\n\nFootnote 256:\n\n From the Bresl. Edit. xii. 381. The Sa\u2019lab or Abu Hosayn (Father of\n the Fortlet) is the fox, in Marocco Akk\u00e1b: Talib Y\u00fasuf and Wa\u2019wi are\n the jackal. Arabs have not preserved \u201cJakal\u201d from the Heb. Shu\u2019al and\n Persian Shagh\u00e1l (not Shagul) as the Rev. Mr. Tristram misinforms his\n readers (Nat. Hist. p. 85).\n\n\n\n\n JUDAR[257] AND HIS BRETHREN.\n\n\nThere was once a man and a merchant named Omar and he had for issue\nthree sons, the eldest called S\u00e1lim, the youngest J\u00fadar, and the cadet\nSal\u00edm. He reared them all till they came to man\u2019s estate, but the\nyoungest he loved more than his brothers, who, seeing this, waxed\njealous of Judar and hated him. Now when their father, who was a man\nshotten in years, saw that his two eldest sons hated their brother, he\nfeared lest after his death trouble should befal him from them. So he\nassembled a company of his kinsfolk, together with divers men of\nlearning and property-distributors of the Kazi\u2019s court, and bidding\nbring all his monies and cloth, said to them, \u201cO folk, divide ye this\nmoney and stuff into four portions according to the law.\u201d They did so,\nand he gave one part to each of his sons and kept the fourth himself,\nsaying, \u201cThis was my good and I have divided it among them in my\nlifetime; and this that I have kept shall be for my wife, their mother,\nwherewithal to provide for her subsistence whenas she shall be a\nwidow.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the merchant\nhad divided his money and stuff into four portions, he said, \u201cThis share\nshall be for my wife, their mother, wherewithal to provide for her\nsubsistence whenas she shall be a widow.\u201d A little while after this he\ndied, and neither of the two elder brothers was content with his\nshare,[258] but sought more of Judar, saying, \u201cOur father\u2019s wealth is in\nthy hands.\u201d So he appealed to the judges; and the Moslems who had been\npresent at the partition came and bore witness of that which they knew,\nwherefore the judge forbade them from one another; but Judar and his\nbrothers wasted much money in bribes to him. After this, the twain left\nhim awhile; presently, however, they began again to plot against him and\nhe appealed a second time to the magistrate, who once more decided in\nhis favour; but all three lost much money which went to the judges.\nNevertheless S\u00e1lim and Sal\u00edm forbore not to seek his hurt and to carry\nthe case from court to court,[259] he and they losing till they had\ngiven all their good for food to the oppressors and they became poor,\nall three. Then the two elder brothers went to their mother and flouted\nher and beat her, and seizing her money drave her away. So she betook\nherself to her son Judar and told him how his brothers had dealt with\nher and fell to cursing the twain. Said he, \u201cO my mother, do not curse\nthem, for Allah will requite each of them according to his deed.\u201d But, O\nmother mine, see, I am become poor, and so are my brethren, for strife\noccasioneth loss ruin-rife, and we have striven amain, and fought, I and\nthey, before the judges, and it hath profited us naught: nay, we have\nwasted all our father left us and are disgraced among the folk by reason\nof our testimony one against other. Shall I then contend with them anew\non thine account and shall we appeal to the judges? This may not be!\nRather do thou take up thine abode with me, and the scone I eat I will\nshare with thee. Do thou pray for me and Allah will give me the means of\nthine alimony. Leave them to receive of the Almighty the recompense of\ntheir deed, and console thyself with the saying of the poet who said:\u2014\n\n If a fool oppress thee bear patiently; \u273f And from Time expect thy\n revenge to see:\n Shun tyranny; for if mount oppressed \u273f A mount, \u2018twould be shattered by\n tyranny.\n\nAnd he soothed and comforted her till she consented and took up her\ndwelling with him. Then he gat him a net and went a-fishing every day in\nthe river or the banks about Bul\u00e1k and old Cairo or some other place in\nwhich there was water; and one day he would earn ten coppers,[260]\nanother twenty and another thirty, which he spent upon his mother and\nhimself, and they ate well and drank well. But, as for his brothers,\nthey plied no craft and neither sold nor bought; misery and ruin and\noverwhelming calamity entered their houses and they wasted that which\nthey had taken from their mother and became of the wretched naked\nbeggars. So at times they would come to their mother, humbling\nthemselves before her exceedingly and complaining to her of hunger; and\nshe (a mother\u2019s heart being pitiful) would give them some mouldy,\nsour-smelling bread or, if there were any meat cooked the day before,\nshe would say to them, \u201cEat it quick and go ere your brother come; for\n\u2018twould be grievous to him and he would harden his heart against me, and\nye would disgrace me with him.\u201d So they would eat in haste and go. One\nday among days they came in to their mother, and she set cooked meat and\nbread before them. As they were eating, behold, in came their brother\nJudar, at whose sight the parent was put to shame and confusion, fearing\nlest he should be wroth with her; and she bowed her face earthwards\nabashed before her son. But he smiled in their faces, saying, \u201cWelcome,\nO my brothers! A blessed day![261] How comes it that ye visit me this\nblessed day?\u201d Then he embraced them both and entreated them lovingly,\nsaying to them, \u201cI thought not that ye would have left me desolate by\nyour absence nor that ye would have forborne to come and visit me and\nyour mother.\u201d Said they, \u201cBy Allah, O our brother, we longed sore for\nthee and naught withheld us but abashment because of what befel between\nus and thee; but indeed we have repented much. \u2018Twas Satan\u2019s doing, the\ncurse of Allah the Most High be upon him! And now we have no blessing\nbut thyself and our mother.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Judar entered\nhis place and saw his brothers, he welcomed them both, saying, \u201cAnd I\nhave no blessing but you twain.\u201d And his mother exclaimed, \u201cAllah whiten\nthy face, and increase thy prosperity, for thou art the most generous of\nus all, O my son!\u201d Then he said \u201cWelcome to you both! Abide with me; for\nthe Lord is bountiful and good aboundeth with me.\u201d So he made peace with\nthem, and they supped and nighted with him; and next morning, after they\nhad broken their fast, Judar shouldered his net and went out, trusting\nin The Opener[262] whilst the two others also went forth and were absent\ntill midday, when they returned and their mother set the noon-meal\nbefore them. At nightfall Judar came home, bearing meat and greens, and\nthey abode on this wise a month\u2019s space, Judar catching fish and selling\nit and spending their price on his mother and his brothers, and these\neating and frolicking till, one day, it chanced he went down to the\nriver-bank and throwing his net, brought it up empty. He cast it a\nsecond time, but again it came up empty and he said in himself, \u201cNo fish\nin this place!\u201d So he removed to another and threw the net there, but\nwithout avail. And he ceased not to remove from place to place till\nnightfall, but caught not a single sprat[263] and said to himself,\n\u201cWonderful! Hath the fish fled the river or what?\u201d Then he shouldered\nthe net and made for home, chagrined, concerned, feeling for his mother\nand brothers and knowing not how he should feed them that night.\nPresently, he came to a baker\u2019s oven and saw the folk crowding for\nbread, with silver in their hands, whilst the baker took no note of\nthem. So he stood there sighing, and the baker said to him, \u201cWelcome to\nthee, O Judar! Dost thou want bread?\u201d But he was silent and the baker\ncontinued, \u201cAn thou have no dirhams, take thy sufficiency and thou shalt\nget credit.\u201d So Judar said, \u201cGive me ten coppers\u2019 worth of bread and\ntake this net in pledge.\u201d Rejoined the baker, \u201cNay, my poor fellow, the\nnet is thy gate of earning thy livelihood, and if I take it from thee, I\nshall close up against thee the door of thy subsistence. Take thee ten\nNusfs\u2019 worth of bread and take these other ten, and to-morrow bring me\nfish for the twenty.\u201d \u201cOn my head and eyes be it!\u201d quoth Judar and took\nthe bread and money saying, \u201cTo-morrow the Lord will dispel the trouble\nof my case and will provide me the means of acquittance.\u201d Then he bought\nmeat and vegetables and carried them home to his mother, who cooked them\nand they supped and went to bed. Next morning he arose at daybreak and\ntook the net, and his mother said to him, \u201cSit down and break thy fast.\u201d\nBut he said, \u201cDo thou and my brothers breakfast,\u201d and went down to the\nriver about Bulak where he ceased not to cast once, twice, thrice; and\nto shift about all day, without aught falling to him, till the hour of\nmid-afternoon prayer, when he shouldered his net and went away sore\ndejected. His way led him perforce by the booth of the baker who, when\nhe saw him, counted out to him the loaves and the money, saying, \u201cCome,\ntake it and go; an it be not to-day, \u2018twill be to-morrow.\u201d Judar would\nhave excused himself, but the baker said to him, \u201cGo! There needeth no\nexcuse; an thou had netted aught, it would be with thee; so seeing thee\nempty-handed, I knew thou hadst gotten naught; and if to-morrow thou\nhave no better luck, come and take bread and be not abashed, for I will\ngive thee credit.\u201d So Judar took the bread and money and went home. On\nthe third day also he sallied forth and fished from tank to tank until\nthe time of afternoon-prayer, but caught nothing; so he went to the\nbaker and took the bread and silver as usual. On this wise he did seven\ndays running, till he became disheartened and said in himself, \u201cTo-day I\ngo to the Lake K\u00e1r\u00fan.\u201d[264] So he went thither and was about to cast his\nnet, when there came up to him unawares a Maghrab\u00ed, a Moor, clad in\nsplendid attire and riding a she-mule with a pair of gold-embroidered\nsaddle-bags on her back and all her trappings also orfrayed. The Moor\nalighted and said to him, \u201cPeace be upon thee, O Judar, O son of Omar!\u201d\n\u201cAnd on thee likewise be peace, O my lord the pilgrim!\u201d replied the\nfisherman. Quoth the Maghrabi, \u201cO Judar, I have need of thee and, given\nthou obey me, thou shalt get great good and shalt be my companion and\nmanage my affairs for me.\u201d Quoth Judar, \u201cO my lord, tell me what is in\nthy mind and I will obey thee, without demur.\u201d Said the Moor, \u201cRepeat\nthe Fatihah, the Opening Chapter of the Koran.\u201d[265] So he recited it\nwith him and the Moor bringing out a silken cord, said to Judar, \u201cPinion\nmy elbows behind me with this cord, as fast as fast can be, and cast me\ninto the lake; then wait a little while; and, if thou see me put forth\nmy hands above the water, raising them high ere my body show, cast thy\nnet over me and drag me out in haste; but if thou see me come up feet\nforemost, then know that I am dead; in which case do thou leave me and\ntake the mule and saddle-bags and carry them to the merchants\u2019 bazar,\nwhere thou wilt find a Jew by name Sham\u00e1yah. Give him the mule and he\nwill give thee an hundred dinars, which do thou take and go thy ways and\nkeep the matter secret with all secrecy.\u201d So Judar tied his arms tightly\nbehind his back and he kept saying, \u201cTie tighter.\u201d Then said he, \u201cPush\nme till I fall into the lake:\u201d so he pushed him in and he sank. Judar\nstood waiting some time till, behold, the Moor\u2019s feet appeared above the\nwater, whereupon he knew that he was dead. So he left him and drove the\nmule to the bazar, where seated on a stool at the door of his storehouse\nhe saw the Jew who spying the mule, cried, \u201cIn very sooth the man hath\nperished,\u201d adding, \u201cand naught undid him but covetise.\u201d Then he took the\nmule from Judar and gave him an hundred dinars, charging him to keep the\nmatter secret. So Judar went and bought what bread he needed, saying to\nthe baker, \u201cTake this gold piece!\u201d; and the man summed up what was due\nto him and said, \u201cI still owe thee two days\u2019 bread\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Ninth Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Judar, when\nthe baker after summing up what was due to him said, \u201cI still owe thee\ntwo days\u2019 bread,\u201d replied, \u201cGood,\u201d and went on to the butcher, to whom\nhe gave a gold piece and took meat, saying, \u201cKeep the rest of the dinar\non account.\u201d Then he bought vegetables and going home, found his\nbrothers importuning their mother for victual, whilst she cried, \u201cHave\npatience till your brother come home, for I have naught.\u201d So he went in\nto them and said, \u201cTake and eat;\u201d and they fell on the food like\ncannibals. Then he gave his mother the rest of his gold saying, \u201cIf my\nbrothers come to thee, give them wherewithal to buy food and eat in my\nabsence.\u201d He slept well that night and next morning he took his net and\ngoing down to Lake Karun stood there and was about to cast his net, when\nbehold, there came up to him a second Maghribi, riding on a she-mule\nmore handsomely accoutred than he of the day before and having with him\na pair of saddle-bags of which each pocket contained a casket. \u201cPeace be\nwith thee, O Judar!\u201d said the Moor: \u201cAnd with thee be peace, O my lord,\nthe pilgrim!\u201d replied Judar. Asked the Moor, \u201cDid there come to thee\nyesterday a Moor riding on a mule like this of mine?\u201d Hereat Judar was\nalarmed and answered, \u201cI saw none,\u201d fearing lest the other say, \u201cWhither\nwent he?\u201d and if he replied, \u201cHe was drowned in the lake,\u201d that haply he\nshould charge him with having drowned him; wherefore he could not but\ndeny. Rejoined the Moor, \u201cHarkye, O unhappy![266] this was my brother,\nwho is gone before me.\u201d Judar persisted, \u201cI know naught of him.\u201d Then\nthe Moor enquired, \u201cDidst thou not bind his arms behind him and throw\nhim into the lake, and did he not say to thee:\u2014If my hands appear above\nthe water first, cast thy net over me and drag me out in haste; but, if\nmy feet show first, know that I am dead and carry the mule to the Jew\nShamayah, who shall give thee an hundred dinars.\u201d Quoth Judar, \u201cSince\nthou knowest all this why and wherefore dost thou question me?\u201d; and\nquoth the Moor, \u201cI would have thee do with me as thou didst with my\nbrother.\u201d Then he gave him a silken cord, saying, \u201cBind my hands behind\nme and throw me in, and if I fare as did my brother, take the mule to\nthe Jew and he will give thee other hundred dinars.\u201d Said Judar, \u201cCome\non;\u201d so he came and he bound him and pushed him into the lake, where he\nsank. Then Judar sat watching and after awhile, his feet appeared above\nthe water and the fisher said, \u201cHe is dead and damned! Inshallah, may\nMaghribis come to me every day, and I will pinion them and push them in\nand they shall die; and I will content me with an hundred dinars for\neach dead man.\u201d Then he took the mule to the Jew, who seeing him asked,\n\u201cThe other is dead?\u201d Answered Judar, \u201cMay thy head live!\u201d; and the Jew\nsaid, \u201cThis is the reward of the covetous!\u201d Then he took the mule and\ngave Judar an hundred dinars, with which he returned to his mother. \u201cO\nmy son,\u201d said she, \u201cwhence hast thou this?\u201d So he told her, and she\nsaid, \u201cGo not again to Lake Karun, indeed I fear for thee from the\nMoors.\u201d Said he, \u201cO my mother, I do but cast them in by their own wish,\nand what am I to do? This craft bringeth me an hundred dinars a day and\nI return speedily; wherefore, by Allah, I will not leave going to Lake\nKarun, till the trace of the Magh\u00e1ribah[267] is cut off and not one of\nthem is left.\u201d So, on the morrow which was the third day, he went down\nto the lake and stood there, till there came up a third Moor, riding on\na mule with saddle-bags and still more richly accoutred than the first\ntwo, who said to him, \u201cPeace be with thee, O Judar, O son of Omar!\u201d And\nthe fisherman saying in himself, \u201cHow comes it that they all know me?\u201d\nreturned his salute. Asked the Maghribi, \u201cHave any Moors passed by\nhere?\u201d \u201cTwo,\u201d answered Judar. \u201cWhither went they?\u201d enquired the Moor,\nand Judar replied, \u201cI pinioned their hands behind them and cast them\ninto the lake, where they were drowned, and the same fate is in store\nfor thee.\u201d The Moor laughed and rejoined, saying, \u201cO unhappy! every life\nhath its term appointed.\u201d Then he alighted and gave the fisherman the\nsilken cord, saying, \u201cDo with me, O Judar, as thou didst with them.\u201d\nSaid Judar, \u201cPut thy hands behind thy back, that I may pinion thee, for\nI am in haste, and time flies.\u201d So he put his hands behind him and Judar\ntied him up and cast him in. Then he waited awhile; presently the Moor\nthrust both hands forth of the water and called out to him, saying, \u201cHo,\ngood fellow, cast out thy net!\u201d So Judar threw the net over him and drew\nhim ashore, and lo! in each hand he held a fish as red as coral. Quoth\nthe Moor, \u201cBring me the two caskets that are in the saddle-bags.\u201d So\nJudar brought them and opened them to him, and he laid in each casket a\nfish and shut them up. Then he pressed Judar to his bosom and kissed him\non the right cheek and the left, saying, \u201cAllah save thee from all\nstress! By the Almighty, hadst thou not cast the net over me and pulled\nme out, I should have kept hold of these two fishes till I sank and was\ndrowned, for I could not get ashore of myself.\u201d Quoth Judar, \u201cO my lord\nthe pilgrim, Allah upon thee, tell me the true history of the two\ndrowned men and the truth anent these two fishes and the Jew.\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Tenth Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Judar\nasked the Maghribi, saying, \u201cPrithee tell me first of the drowned men,\u201d\nthe Maghribi answered:\u2014Know, O Judar, that these drowned men were my two\nbrothers, by name Abd al-Sal\u00e1m and Abd al-Ahad. My own name is Abd\nal-Samad, and the Jew also is our brother; his name is Abd al-Rah\u00edm and\nhe is no Jew, but a true believer of the Maliki school. Our father,\nwhose name was Abd al-Wad\u00fad,[268] taught us magic and the art of solving\nmysteries and bringing hoards to light, and we applied ourselves\nthereto, till we compelled the Ifrits and Marids of the Jinn to do us\nservice. By-and-by, our sire died and left us much wealth, and we\ndivided amongst us his treasures and talismans, till we came to the\nbooks, when we fell out over a volume called \u201cThe Fables of the\nAncients,\u201d whose like is not in the world, nor can its price be paid of\nany, nor is its value to be evened with gold and jewels; for in it are\nparticulars of all the hidden hoards of the earth and the solution of\nevery secret. Our father was wont to make use of this book, of which we\nhad some small matter by heart, and each of us desired to possess it,\nthat he might acquaint himself with what was therein. Now when we fell\nout there was in our company an old man by name Cohen Al-Abtan,[269] who\nhad reared our sire and taught him divination and gramarye, and he said\nto us, \u201cBring me the book.\u201d So we gave it him and he continued:\u2014Ye are\nmy son\u2019s sons, and it may not be that I should wrong any of you. So\nwhoso is minded to have the volume, let him address himself to achieve\nthe treasure of Al-Shamardal[270] and bring me the celestial planisphere\nand the Kohl-phial and the seal-ring and the sword. For the ring hath a\nMarid that serveth it called Al-Ra\u2019ad al-K\u00e1sif;[271] and whoso hath\npossession thereof, neither King nor Sultan may prevail against him; and\nif he will, he may therewith make himself master of the earth, in all\nthe length and breadth thereof. As for the brand, if its bearer draw it\nand brandish it against an army, the army will be put to the rout; and\nif he say the while, \u201cSlay yonder host,\u201d there will come forth of that\nsword lightning and fire, that will kill the whole many. As for the\nplanisphere, its possessor hath only to turn its face toward any\ncountry, east or west, with whose sight he hath a mind to solace\nhimself, and therein he will see that country and its people, as they\nwere between his hands and he sitting in his place; and if he be wroth\nwith a city and have a mind to burn it, he hath but to face the\nplanisphere towards the sun\u2019s disc, saying, \u201cLet such a city be burnt,\u201d\nand that city will be consumed with fire. As for the Kohl-phial, whoso\npencilleth his eyes therefrom, he shall espy all the treasures of the\nearth. And I make this condition with you which is that whoso faileth to\nhit upon the hoards shall forfeit his right; and that none save he who\nshall achieve the treasure and bring me the four precious things which\nbe therein shall have any claim to take this book. So we all agreed to\nthis condition, and he continued, \u201cO my sons, know that the treasure of\nAl-Shamardal is under the commandment of the sons of the Red King, and\nyour father told me that he had himself essayed to open the treasure,\nbut could not; for the sons of the Red King fled from him into the land\nof Egypt and took refuge in a lake there, called Lake Karun, whither he\npursued them, but could not prevail over them, by reason of their\nstealing into that lake, which was guarded by a spell.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Eleventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Cohen\nAl-Abtan had told the youths this much, he continued his tale as\nfollows, \u201cSo your father returned empty-handed and unable to win to his\nwish; and after failing he complained to me of his ill-success,\nwhereupon I drew him an astrological figure and found that the treasure\ncould be achieved only by means of a young fisherman of Cairo, hight\nJudar bin Omar, the place of foregathering with whom was at Lake Karun,\nfor that he should be the means of capturing the sons of the Red King\nand that the charm would not be dissolved, save if he should bind the\nhands of the treasure-seeker behind him and cast him into the lake,\nthere to do battle with the sons of the Red King. And he whose lot it\nwas to succeed would lay hands upon them; but, if it were not destined\nto him he should perish and his feet appear above water. As for him who\nwas successful, his hands would show first, whereupon it behoved that\nJudar should cast the net over him and draw him ashore.\u201d Now quoth my\nbrothers Abd al-Salam and Abd al-Ahad, \u201cWe will wend and make trial,\nalthough we perish;\u201d and quoth I, \u201cAnd I also will go;\u201d but my brother\nAbd al-Rah\u00edm (he whom thou sawest in the habit of a Jew) said, \u201cI have\nno mind to this.\u201d Thereupon we agreed with him that he should repair to\nCairo in the disguise of a Jewish merchant, so that, if one of us\nperished in the lake, he might take his mule and saddle-bags and give\nthe bearer an hundred dinars. The first that came to thee the sons of\nthe Red King slew, and so did they with my second brother; but against\nme they could not prevail and I laid hands on them. Cried Judar, \u201cAnd\nwhere is thy catch?\u201d Asked the Moor, \u201cDidst thou not see me shut them in\nthe caskets?\u201d \u201cThose were fishes,\u201d said Judar. \u201cNay,\u201d answered the\nMaghribi, \u201cthey are Ifrits in the guise of fish. But, O Judar,\u201d\ncontinued he, \u201cthou must know that the treasure can be opened only by\nthy means: so say, wilt thou do my bidding and go with me to the city\nFez and Mequinez[272] where we will open the treasure?; and after I will\ngive thee what thou wilt and thou shalt ever be my brother in the bond\nof Allah and return to thy family with a joyful heart.\u201d Said Judar, \u201cO\nmy lord the pilgrim, I have on my neck a mother and two brothers,\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Twelfth Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Judar said to\nthe Maghribi, \u201cI have on my neck a mother and two brothers, whose\nprovider I am; and if I go with thee, who shall give them bread to eat?\u201d\nReplied the Moor, \u201cThis is an idle excuse! if it be but a matter of\nexpenditure, I will give thee a thousand ducats for thy mother,\nwherewith she may provide herself till thou come back: and indeed thou\nshalt return before the end of four months.\u201d So when Judar heard mention\nof the thousand dinars, he said, \u201cHere with them, O Pilgrim, and I am\nthy man;\u201d and the Moor, pulling out the money, gave it to him, whereupon\nhe carried it to his mother and told her what had passed between them,\nsaying, \u201cTake these thousand dinars and expend of them upon thyself and\nmy brothers, whilst I journey to Marocco with the Moor, for I shall be\nabsent four months, and great good will betide me; so bless me, O my\nmother!\u201d Answered she, \u201cO my son, thou desolatest me and I fear for\nthee.\u201d \u201cO my mother,\u201d rejoined he, \u201cno harm can befal him who is in\nAllah\u2019s keeping, and the Maghribi is a man of worth;\u201d and he went on to\npraise his condition to her. Quoth she, \u201cAllah incline his heart to\nthee! Go with him, O my son; peradventure, he will give thee somewhat.\u201d\nSo he took leave of his mother and rejoined the Moor Abd al-Samad, who\nasked him, \u201cHast thou consulted thy mother?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d answered Judar; \u201cand\nshe blessed me.\u201d \u201cThen mount behind me,\u201d said the Maghribi. So Judar\nmounted the mule\u2019s crupper and they rode on from noon till the time of\nmid-afternoon prayer, when the fisherman was an-hungered; but seeing no\nvictual with the Moor, said to him, \u201cO my lord the pilgrim, belike thou\nhast forgotten to bring us aught to eat by the way?\u201d Asked the Moor,\n\u201cArt thou hungry?\u201d and Judar answered, \u201cYes.\u201d So Abd al-Samad alighted\nand made Judar alight and take down the saddle-bags[273]; then he said\nto him, \u201cWhat wilt thou have, O my brother?\u201d \u201cAnything.\u201d \u201cAllah upon\nthee, tell me what thou hast a mind to.\u201d \u201cBread and cheese.\u201d \u201cO my poor\nfellow! bread and cheese besit thee not; wish for something good.\u201d \u201cJust\nnow everything is good to me.\u201d \u201cDost thou like nice browned chicken?\u201d\n\u201cYes!\u201d \u201cDost thou like rice and honey?\u201d \u201cYes!\u201d And the Moor went on to\nask him if he liked this dish and that dish till he had named\nfour-and-twenty kinds of meats; and Judar thought to himself, \u201cHe must\nbe daft! Where are all these dainties to come from, seeing he hath\nneither cook nor kitchen? But I\u2019ll say to him, \u2018Tis enough!\u201d So he\ncried, \u201cThat will do: thou makest me long for all these meats, and I see\nnothing.\u201d Quoth the Moor, \u201cThou art welcome, O Judar!\u201d and, putting his\nhand into the saddle-bags, pulled out a golden dish containing two hot\nbrowned chickens. Then he thrust his hand a second time and drew out a\ngolden dish, full of kabobs[274]; nor did he stint taking out dishes\nfrom saddle-bags, till he had brought forth the whole of the\nfour-and-twenty kinds he had named, whilst Judar looked on. Then said\nthe Moor, \u201cFall to, poor fellow!\u201d, and Judar said to him, \u201cO my lord,\nthou carriest in yonder saddle-bags kitchen and kitcheners!\u201d The Moor\nlaughed and replied, \u201cThese are magical saddle-bags and have a servant,\nwho would bring us a thousand dishes an hour, if we called for them,\u201d\nQuoth Judar, \u201cBy Allah, a meat thing in saddle-bags!\u201d Then they ate\ntheir fill and threw away what was left; after which the Moor replaced\nthe empty dishes in the saddle-bags and putting in his hand, drew out an\newer. They drank and making the Wuzu-ablution, prayed the mid-afternoon\nprayer; after which Abd al-Samad replaced the ewer and the two caskets\nin the saddle-bags and throwing them over the mule\u2019s back, mounted and\ncried, \u201cUp with thee and let us be off,\u201d presently adding, \u201cO Judar,\nknowest thou how far we have come since we left Cairo?\u201d \u201cNot I, by\nAllah,\u201d replied he, and Abd al-Samad, \u201cWe have come a whole month\u2019s\njourney.\u201d Asked Judar, \u201cAnd how is that?\u201d; and the Moor answered, \u201cKnow,\nO Judar, that this mule under us is a Marid of the Jinn who every day\nperformeth a year\u2019s journey; but, for thy sake, she hath gone an easier\npace.\u201d Then they set out again and fared on westwards till nightfall,\nwhen they halted and the Maghribi brought out supper from the\nsaddle-bags, and in like manner, in the morning, he took forth\nwherewithal to break their fast. So they rode on four days, journeying\ntill midnight and then alighting and sleeping until morning, when they\nfared on again; and all that Judar had a mind to, he sought of the Moor,\nwho brought it out of the saddle-bags. On the fifth day, they arrived at\nFez and Mequinez and entered the city, where all who met the Maghribi\nsaluted him and kissed his hands; and he continued riding through the\nstreets, till he came to a certain door, at which he knocked, whereupon\nit opened and out came a girl like the moon, to whom said he, \u201cO my\ndaughter, O Rahmah,[275] open us the upper chamber.\u201d \u201cOn my head and\neyes, O my papa!\u201d replied she and went in, swaying her hips to and fro\nwith a graceful and swimming gait like a thirsting gazelle, movements\nthat ravished Judar\u2019s reason, and he said, \u201cThis is none other than a\nKing\u2019s daughter.\u201d So she opened the upper chamber, and the Moor, taking\nthe saddle-bags from the mule\u2019s back, said, \u201cGo, and God bless thee!\u201d\nwhen lo! the earth clove asunder and swallowing the mule, closed up\nagain as before. And Judar said, \u201cO Protector! praised be Allah, who\nhath kept us in safety on her back!\u201d Quoth the Maghribi, \u201cMarvel not, O\nJudar. I told thee that the mule was an Ifrit; but come with us into the\nupper chamber.\u201d So they went up into it, and Judar was amazed at the\nprofusion of rich furniture and pendants of gold and silver and jewels\nand other rare and precious things which he saw there. As soon as they\nwere seated, the Moor bade Rahmah bring him a certain bundle[276] and\nopening it, drew out a dress worth a thousand dinars, which he gave to\nJudar, saying, \u201cDon this dress, O Judar, and welcome to thee!\u201d So Judar\nput it on and became a fair ensample of the Kings of the West. Then the\nMaghribi laid the saddle-bags before him, and, putting in his hand,\npulled out dish after dish, till they had before them a tray of forty\nkinds of meat, when he said to Judar, \u201cCome near, O my master! eat and\nexcuse us\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Thirteenth Night,\n\n[Illustration]\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Maghribi\nhaving served up in the pavilion a tray of forty kinds of meat, said to\nJudar, \u201cCome near, O my master, and excuse us for that we know not what\nmeats thou desirest; but tell us what thou hast a mind to, and we will\nset it before thee without delay.\u201d Replied Judar, \u201cBy Allah, O my lord\nthe pilgrim, I love all kinds of meat and unlove none; so ask me not of\naught, but bring all that cometh to thy thought, for save eating to do I\nhave nought.\u201d After this he tarried twenty days with the Moor, who clad\nhim in new clothes every day, and all this time they ate from the\nsaddle-bags; for the Maghribi bought neither meat nor bread nor aught\nelse, nor cooked, but brought everything out of the bags, even to\nvarious sorts of fruit. On the twenty-first day, he said, \u201cO Judar, up\nwith thee; this is the day appointed for opening the hoard of\nAl-Shamardal.\u201d So he rose and they went afoot[277] without the city,\nwhere they found two slaves, each holding a she-mule. The Moor mounted\none beast and Judar the other, and they ceased not riding till noon,\nwhen they came to a stream of running water, on whose banks Abd al-Samad\nalighted saying, \u201cDismount, O Judar!\u201d Then he signed with his hand to\nthe slaves and said, \u201cTo it!\u201d So they took the mules and going each his\nown way, were absent awhile, after which they returned, one bearing a\ntent, which he pitched, and the other carpets, which he spread in the\ntent and laid mattresses, pillows and cushions there-around. Then one of\nthem brought the caskets containing the two fishes; and another fetched\nthe saddle-bags; whereupon the Maghribi arose and said, \u201cCome, O Judar!\u201d\nSo Judar followed him into the tent and sat down beside him; and he\nbrought out dishes of meat from the saddle-bags and they ate the undurn\nmeal. Then the Moor took the two caskets and conjured over them both,\nwhereupon there came from within voices that said, \u201cAdsumus, at thy\nservice, O diviner of the world! Have mercy upon us!\u201d and called aloud\nfor aid. But he ceased not to repeat conjurations and they to call for\nhelp, till the two caskets flew in sunder, the fragments flying about,\nand there came forth two men, with pinioned hands saying, \u201cQuarter, O\ndiviner of the world! What wilt thou with us?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cMy will is to\nburn you both with fire, except ye make a covenant with me, to open to\nme the treasure of Al-Shamardal.\u201d Quoth they, \u201cWe promise this to thee,\nand we will open the treasure to thee, so thou produce to us Judar bin\nOmar, the fisherman, for the hoard may not be opened but by his means,\nnor can any enter therein save Judar.\u201d Cried the Maghribi, \u201cHim of whom\nye speak, I have brought, and he is here, listening to you and looking\nat you.\u201d Thereupon they covenanted with him to open the treasure to him,\nand he released them. Then he brought out a hollow wand and tablets of\nred carnelian which he laid on the rod; and after this he took a\nchafing-dish and setting charcoal thereon, blew one breath into it and\nit kindled forthwith. Presently he brought incense and said, \u201cO Judar, I\nam now about to begin the necessary conjurations and fumigations, and\nwhen I have once begun, I may not speak, or the charm will be naught; so\nI will teach thee first what thou must do to win thy wish.\u201d \u201cTeach me,\u201d\nquoth Judar. \u201cKnow,\u201d quoth the Moor, \u201cthat when I have recited the spell\nand thrown on the incense, the water will dry up from the river\u2019s bed\nand discover to thee a golden door, the bigness of the city-gate, with\ntwo rings of metal thereon; whereupon do thou go down to the door and\nknock a light knock and wait awhile; then knock a second time a knock\nlouder than the first and wait another while; after which give three\nknocks in rapid succession, and thou wilt hear a voice ask:\u2014Who knocketh\nat the door of the treasure, unknowing how to solve the secrets? Do thou\nanswer:\u2014I am Judar the fisherman son of Omar: and the door will open and\nthere will come forth a figure with a brand in hand who will say to\nthee: If thou be that man, stretch forth thy neck, that I may strike off\nthy head. Then do thou stretch forth thy neck and fear not; for, when he\nlifts his hand and smites thee with the sword, he will fall down before\nthee, and in a little thou wilt see him a body sans soul; and the stroke\nshall not hurt thee nor shall any harm befal thee; but, if thou gainsay\nhim, he will slay thee. When thou hast undone his enchantment by\nobedience, enter and go on till thou see another door, at which do thou\nknock, and there will come forth to thee a horseman riding a mare with a\nlance on his shoulder and say to thee:\u2014What bringeth thee hither, where\nnone may enter ne man ne Jinni? And he will shake his lance at thee.\nBare thy breast to him and he will smite thee and fall down forthright\nand thou shalt see him a body without a soul; but if thou cross him he\nwill kill thee. Then go on to the third door, whence there will come\nforth to thee a man with a bow and arrows in his hand and take aim at\nthee. Bare thy breast to him and he will shoot at thee and fall down\nbefore thee, a body without a soul; but if thou oppose him, he will kill\nthee. Then go on to the fourth door\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Fourteenth Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Maghribi\nsaid to Judar, \u201cGo on to the fourth door and knock and it shall be\nopened to thee, when there will come forth to thee a lion huge of bulk\nwhich will rush upon thee, opening his mouth and showing he hath a mind\nto devour thee. Have no fear of him, neither flee from him: but when he\ncometh to thee, give him thy hand and he will bite at it and fall down\nstraightway, nor shall aught of hurt betide thee. Then enter the fifth\ndoor, where thou shalt find a black slave, who will say to thee, Who art\nthou? Say, I am Judar! and he will answer, If thou be that man, open the\nsixth door. Then do thou go up to the door and say, O Isa, tell Musa to\nopen the door; whereupon the door will fly open and thou wilt see two\ndragons, one on the left hand and another on the right, which will open\ntheir mouths and fly at thee, both at once. Do thou put forth to them\nboth hands and they will bite each a hand and fall down dead; but an\nthou resist them, they will slay thee. Then go on to the seventh door\nand knock, whereupon there will come forth to thee thy mother and\nsay:\u2014Welcome, O my son! Come, that I may greet thee! But do thou reply,\nHold off from me and doff thy dress. And she will make answer:\u2014O my son,\nI am thy mother and I have a claim upon thee for suckling thee and for\nrearing thee: how then wouldst thou strip me naked? Then do thou say,\nExcept thou put off thy clothes, I will kill thee! and look to thy right\nwhere thou wilt see a sword hanging up. Take it and draw it upon her,\nsaying, Strip! whereupon she will wheedle thee and humble herself to\nthee; but have thou no ruth on her nor be beguiled, and as often as she\nputteth off aught, say to her, off with the lave; nor do thou cease to\nthreaten her with death, till she doff all that is upon her and fall\ndown, whereupon the enchantment will be dissolved and the charms undone,\nand thou wilt be safe as to thy life. Then enter the hall of the\ntreasure, where thou wilt see the gold lying in heaps; but pay no heed\nto aught thereof, but look to a closet at the upper end of the hall,\nwhere thou wilt see a curtain drawn. Draw back the curtain and thou wilt\ndescry the enchanter, Al-Shamardal, lying upon a couch of gold, with\nsomething at his head round and shining like the moon, which is the\ncelestial planisphere. He is baldrick\u2019d with the sword[278]; on his\nfinger is the ring and about his neck hangs a chain, to which hangs the\nKohl-phial. Bring me the four talismans, and beware lest thou forget\naught of that which I have told thee, or thou wilt repent and there will\nbe fear for thee.\u201d And he repeated his directions a second and a third\nand a fourth time, till Judar said, \u201cI have them by heart: but who may\nface all these enchantments that thou namest and endure against these\nmighty terrors?\u201d Replied the Moor, \u201cO Judar, fear not, for they are\nsemblances without life;\u201d and he went on to hearten him, till he said,\n\u201cI put my trust in Allah.\u201d Then Abd al-Samad threw perfumes on the\nchafing-dish, and addressed himself to reciting conjurations for a time\nwhen, behold, the water disappeared and uncovered the river-bed and\ndiscovered the door of the treasure, whereupon Judar went down to the\ndoor and knocked. Therewith he heard a voice saying, \u201cWho knocketh at\nthe door of the treasure, unknowing how to solve the secrets?\u201d Quoth he,\n\u201cI am Judar son of Omar;\u201d whereupon the door opened and there came forth\na figure with a drawn sword, who said to him, \u201cStretch forth thy neck.\u201d\nSo he stretched forth his neck and the species smote him and fell down,\nlifeless. Then he went on to the second door and did the like, nor did\nhe cease to do thus, till he had undone the enchantments of the first\nsix doors and came to the seventh door, whence there issued forth to him\nhis mother, saying, \u201cI salute thee, O my son!\u201d He asked, \u201cWhat art\nthou?\u201d, and she answered, \u201cO my son, I am thy mother who bare thee nine\nmonths and suckled thee and reared thee.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cPut off thy\nclothes.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cThou art my son, how wouldst thou strip me naked?\u201d\nBut he said \u201cStrip, or I will strike off thy head with this sword;\u201d and\nhe stretched out his hand to the brand and drew it upon her saying,\n\u201cExcept thou strip, I will slay thee.\u201d Then the strife became long\nbetween them and as often as he redoubled on her his threats, she put\noff somewhat of her clothes and he said to her, \u201cDoff the rest,\u201d with\nmany menaces; while she removed each article slowly and kept saying, \u201cO\nmy son, thou hast disappointed my fosterage of thee,\u201d till she had\nnothing left but her petticoat-trousers. Then said she, \u201cO my son, is\nthy heart stone? Wilt thou dishonour me by discovering my shame? Indeed,\nthis is unlawful, O my son!\u201d And he answered, \u201cThou sayest sooth; put\nnot off thy trousers.\u201d At once, as he uttered these words, she cried\nout, \u201cHe hath made default; beat him!\u201d Whereupon there fell upon him\nblows like rain-drops and the servants of the treasure flocked to him\nand dealt him a tunding which he forgot not in all his days; after which\nthey thrust him forth and threw him down without the treasure and the\nhoard-doors closed of themselves, whilst the waters of the river\nreturned to their bed.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased saying her permitted say.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Fifteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the servants\nof the treasure beat Judar and cast him out and the hoard-doors closed\nof themselves, whilst the river-waters returned to their bed, Abd\nal-Samad the Maghribi took Judar up in haste and repeated conjurations\nover him, till he came to his senses but still dazed as with drink, when\nhe asked him, \u201cWhat hast thou done, O wretch?\u201d Answered Judar, \u201cO my\nbrother, I undid all the opposing enchantments, till I came to my mother\nand there befel between her and myself a long contention. But I made her\ndoff her clothes, O my brother, till but her trousers remained upon her\nand she said to me, Do not dishonour me; for to discover one\u2019s shame is\nforbidden. So I left her her trousers out of pity, and behold, she cried\nout and said, He hath made default; beat him! Whereupon there came out\nupon me folk, whence I know not, and tunding me with a belabouring which\nwas a Sister of Death, thrust me forth; nor do I know what befel me\nafter this.\u201d Quoth the Moor, \u201cDid I not warn thee not to swerve from my\ndirections? Verily, thou hast injured me and hast injured thyself: for\nif thou hadst made her take off her petticoat-trousers, we had won to\nour wish; but now thou must abide with me till this day next year.\u201d Then\nhe cried out to the two slaves, who struck the tent forthright and\nloaded it on the beasts; then they were absent awhile and presently\nreturned with the two mules; and the twain mounted and rode back to the\ncity of Fez, where Judar tarried with the Maghribi, eating well and\ndrinking well and donning a grand dress every day, till the year was\nended and the anniversary day dawned. Then the Moor said to him, \u201cCome\nwith me, for this is the appointed day.\u201d And Judar said, \u201c\u2018Tis well.\u201d So\nthe Maghribi carried him without the city, where they found the two\nslaves with the mules, and rode on till they reached the river. Here the\nslaves pitched the tent and furnished it; and the Moor brought forth the\ntray of food and they ate the morning meal; after which Abd al-Samad\nbrought out the wand and the tablets as before and, kindling the fire in\nthe chafing-dish, made ready the incense. Then said he, \u201cO Judar, I wish\nto renew my charge to thee.\u201d \u201cO my lord the pilgrim,\u201d replied he, \u201cif I\nhave forgotten the bastinado, I have forgotten the injunctions.\u201d[279]\nAsked the Moor, \u201cDost thou indeed remember them?\u201d and he answered,\n\u201cYes.\u201d Quoth the Moor, \u201cKeep thy wits, and think not that the woman is\nthy very mother; nay, she is but an enchantment in her semblance, whose\npurpose is to find thee defaulting. Thou camest off alive the first\ntime; but, an thou trip this time, they will slay thee.\u201d Quoth Judar,\n\u201cIf I slip this time, I deserve to be burnt of them.\u201d Then Abd al-Samad\ncast the perfumes into the fire and recited the conjurations, till the\nriver dried up; whereupon Judar descended and knocked. The door opened\nand he entered and undid the several enchantments, till he came to the\nseventh door and the semblance of his mother appeared before him,\nsaying, \u201cWelcome,[280] O my son!\u201d But he said to her, \u201cHow am I thy son,\nO accursed? Strip!\u201d And she began to wheedle him and put off garment\nafter garment, till only her trousers remained; and he said to her,\n\u201cStrip, O accursed!\u201d So she put off her trousers and became a body\nwithout a soul. Then he entered the hall of the treasures, where he saw\ngold lying in heaps, but paid no heed to it and passed on to the closet\nat the upper end, where he saw the enchanter Al-Shamardal lying on a\ncouch of gold, baldrick\u2019d with the sword, with the ring on his finger,\nthe Kohl-phial on his breast and the celestial planisphere hanging over\nhis head. So he loosed the sword and taking the ring, the Kohl-phial and\nthe planisphere, went forth, when behold, a band of music sounded for\nhim and the servants of the treasure cried out, saying, \u201cMayest thou be\nassained with that thou hast gained, O Judar!\u201d Nor did the music leave\nsounding, till he came forth of the treasure to the Maghribi, who gave\nup his conjurations and fumigations and rose up and embraced him and\nsaluted him. Then Judar made over to him the four hoarded talismans, and\nhe took them and cried out to the slaves, who carried away the tent and\nbrought the mules. So they mounted and returned to Fez-city, where the\nMoor fetched the saddle-bags and brought forth dish after dish of meat,\ntill the tray was full, and said, \u201cO my brother, O Judar, eat!\u201d So he\nate till he was satisfied, when the Moor emptied what remained of the\nmeats and other dishes and returned the empty platters to the\nsaddle-bags. Then quoth he, \u201cO Judar, thou hast left home and native\nland on our account and thou hast accomplished our dearest desire;\nwherefore thou hast a right to require a reward of us. Ask, therefore,\nwhat thou wilt, it is Almighty Allah who giveth unto thee by our\nmeans.[281] Ask thy will and be not ashamed, for thou art deserving.\u201d \u201cO\nmy lord,\u201d quoth Judar, \u201cI ask first of Allah the Most High and then of\nthee, that thou give me yonder saddle-bags.\u201d So the Maghribi called for\nthem and gave them to him, saying, \u201cTake them, for they are thy due;\nand, if thou hadst asked of me aught else instead, I had given it to\nthee. Eat from them, thou and thy family; but, my poor fellow, these\nwill not profit thee, save by way of provaunt, and thou hast wearied\nthyself with us and we promised to send thee home rejoicing. So we will\njoin to these other saddle-bags, full of gold and gems, and forward thee\nback to thy native land, where thou shalt become a gentleman and a\nmerchant and clothe thyself and thy family; nor shalt thou want ready\nmoney for thine expenditure. And know that the manner of using our gift\nis on this wise. Put thy hand therein and say:\u2014O servant of these\nsaddle-bags, I conjure thee by the virtue of the Mighty Names which have\npower over thee, bring me such a dish! And he will bring thee whatsoever\nthou askest, though thou shouldst call for a thousand different dishes a\nday.\u201d So saying, he filled him a second pair of saddle-bags half with\ngold and half with gems and precious stones; and, sending for a slave\nand a mule, said to him, \u201cMount this mule, and the slave shall go before\nthee and show thee the way, till thou come to the door of thy house,\nwhere do thou take the two pair of saddle-bags and give him the mule,\nthat he may bring it back. But admit none into thy secret; and so we\ncommend thee to Allah!\u201d \u201cMay the Almighty increase thy good!\u201d replied\nJudar and, laying the two pairs of saddle-bags on the mule\u2019s back,\nmounted and set forth. The slave went on before him and the mule\nfollowed him all that day and night, and on the morrow he entered Cairo\nby the Gate of Victory,[282] where he saw his mother seated, saying,\n\u201cAlms, for the love of Allah!\u201d At this sight he well-nigh lost his wits\nand alighting, threw himself upon her: and when she saw him she wept.\nThen he mounted her on the mule and walked by her stirrup,[283] till\nthey came to the house, where he set her down and, taking the\nsaddle-bags, left the she-mule to the slave, who led her away and\nreturned with her to his master, for that both slave and mule were\ndevils. As for Judar, it was grievous to him that his mother should beg;\nso, when they were in the house, he asked her, \u201cO my mother, are my\nbrothers well?\u201d; and she answered, \u201cThey are both well.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cWhy\ndost thou beg by the wayside?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cBecause I am hungry, O my\nson,\u201d and he, \u201cBefore I went away, I gave thee an hundred dinars one\nday, the like the next and a thousand on the day of my departure.\u201d \u201cO my\nson, they cheated me and took the money from me, saying:\u2014We will buy\ngoods with it. Then they drove me away, and I fell to begging by the\nwayside, for stress of hunger.\u201d \u201cO my mother, no harm shall befal thee,\nnow I am come; so have no concern, for these saddle-bags are full of\ngold and gems, and good aboundeth with me.\u201d \u201cVerily, thou art blessed, O\nmy son! Allah accept of thee and increase thee of His bounties! Go, O my\nson, fetch us some victual, for I slept not last night for excess of\nhunger, having gone to bed supperless.\u201d \u201cWelcome to thee, O my mother!\nCall for what thou wilt to eat, and I will set it before thee this\nmoment; for I have no occasion to buy from the market, nor need I any to\ncook.\u201d \u201cO my son, I see naught with thee.\u201d \u201cI have with me in these\nsaddle-bags all manner of meats.\u201d \u201cO my son, whatever is ready will\nserve to stay hunger.\u201d \u201cTrue, when there is no choice, men are content\nwith the smallest thing; but where there is plenty, they like to eat\nwhat is good: and I have abundance; so call for what thou hast a mind\nto.\u201d \u201cO my son, give me some hot bread and a slice of cheese.\u201d \u201cO my\nmother, this befitteth not thy condition.\u201d \u201cThen give me to eat of that\nwhich befitteth my case, for thou knowest it.\u201d \u201cO my mother,\u201d rejoined\nhe, \u201cwhat suit thine estate are browned meat and roast chicken and\npeppered rice and it becometh thy rank to eat of sausages and stuffed\ncucumbers and stuffed lamb and stuffed ribs of mutton and vermicelli\nwith broken almonds and nuts and honey and sugar and fritters and almond\ncakes.\u201d But she thought he was laughing at her and making mock of her;\nso she said to him, \u201cYauh! Yauh![284] what is come to thee? Dost thou\ndream or art thou daft?\u201d Asked he, \u201cWhy deemest thou that I am mad?\u201d and\nshe answered, \u201cBecause thou namest to me all manner rich dishes. Who can\navail unto their price, and who knoweth how to dress them?\u201d Quoth he,\n\u201cBy my life! thou shalt eat of all that I have named to thee, and that\nat once;\u201d and quoth she, \u201cI see nothing;\u201d and he, \u201cBring me the\nsaddle-bags.\u201d So she fetched them and feeling them, found them empty.\nHowever, she laid them before him and he thrust in his hand and pulled\nout dish after dish, till he had set before her all he had named.\nWhereupon asked she, \u201cO my son, the saddle-bags are small and moreover\nthey were empty; yet hast thou taken thereout all these dishes. Where\nthen were they all?\u201d; and he answered, \u201cO my mother, know that these\nsaddle-bags, which the Moor gave me, are enchanted and they have a\nservant whom, if one desire aught, he hath but to adjure by the Names\nwhich command him, saying, \u201cO servant of these saddle-bags, bring me\nsuch a dish! and he will bring it.\u201d\u201d Quoth his mother, \u201cAnd may I put\nout my hand and ask of him?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cDo so.\u201d So she stretched out her\nhand and said, \u201cO servant of the saddle-bags, by the virtue of the Names\nwhich command thee, bring me stuffed ribs.\u201d Then she thrust in her hand\nand found a dish containing delicate stuffed ribs of lamb. So she took\nit out, and called for bread and what else she had a mind to: after\nwhich Judar said to her, \u201cO my mother, when thou hast made an end of\neating, empty what is left of the food into dishes other than these, and\nrestore the empty platters to the saddle-bags carefully.\u201d So she arose\nand laid them up in a safe place. \u201cAnd look, O mother mine, that thou\nkeep this secret,\u201d added he; \u201cand whenever thou hast a mind to aught,\ntake it forth of the saddle-bags and give alms and feed my brothers,\nwhether I be present or absent.\u201d Then he fell to eating with her and\nbehold, while they were thus occupied, in came his two brothers, whom a\nson of the quarter[285] had apprised of his return, saying, \u201cYour\nbrother is come back, riding on a she-mule, with a slave before him, and\nwearing a dress that hath not its like.\u201d So they said to each other,\n\u201cWould to Heaven we had not evilly entreated our mother! There is no\nhope but that she will surely tell him how we did by her, and then, oh\nour disgrace with him!\u201d But one of the twain said, \u201cOur mother is\nsoft-hearted, and if she tell him, our brother is yet tenderer over us\nthan she; and, given we excuse ourselves to him, he will accept our\nexcuse.\u201d So they went in to him and he rose to them and saluting them\nwith the friendliest salutation, bade them sit down and eat. So they ate\ntill they were satisfied, for they were weak with hunger; after which\nJudar said to them, \u201cO my brothers, take what is left and distribute it\nto the poor and needy.\u201d \u201cO brother,\u201d replied they, \u201clet us keep it to\nsup withal.\u201d But he answered, \u201cWhen suppertime cometh, ye shall have\nmore than this.\u201d So they took the rest of the victual and going out,\ngave it to every poor man who passed by them, saying, \u201cTake and eat,\u201d\ntill nothing was left. Then they brought back the dishes and Judar said\nto his mother, \u201cPut them in the saddle-bags.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Sixteenth Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Judar, when\nhis brethren had finished their under-meal, said to his mother, \u201cPut\nback the platters in the saddle-bags.\u201d And when it was eventide, he\nentered the saloon and took forth of the saddle-bags a table of forty\ndishes; after which he went up to the upper room and, sitting down\nbetween his brothers, said to his mother, \u201cBring the supper.\u201d[286] So\nshe went down to the saloon and, finding there the dishes ready, laid\nthe tray and brought up the forty dishes, one after other. Then they ate\nthe evening meal, and when they had done, Judar said to his brothers,\n\u201cTake and feed the poor and needy.\u201d So they took what was left and gave\nalms thereof, and presently he brought forth to them sweetmeats, whereof\nthey ate, and what was left he bade them give to the neighbours. On the\nmorrow, they brake their fast after the same fashion, and thus they\nfared ten days, at the end of which time quoth S\u00e1lim to Sal\u00edm, \u201cHow\ncometh it that our brother setteth before us a banquet in the morning, a\nbanquet at noon, and a banquet at sundown, besides sweetmeats late at\nnight, and all that is left he giveth to the poor? Verily, this is the\nfashion of Sultans. Yet we never see him buy aught, and he hath neither\nkitchener nor kitchen, nor doth he light a fire. Whence hath he this\ngreat plenty? Hast thou not a mind to discover the cause of all this?\u201d\nQuoth Sal\u00edm, \u201cBy Allah, I know not: but knowest thou any who will tell\nus the truth of the case?\u201d Quoth S\u00e1lim, \u201cNone will tell us save our\nmother.\u201d So they laid a plot and repairing to their mother one day, in\ntheir brother\u2019s absence, said to her, \u201cO our mother, we are hungry.\u201d\nReplied she, \u201cRejoice, for ye shall presently be satisfied;\u201d and going\ninto the saloon, sought of the servant of the saddle-bags hot meats,\nwhich she took out and set before her sons. \u201cO our mother,\u201d cried they,\n\u201cthis meat is hot; yet hast thou not cooked, neither kindled a fire.\u201d\nQuoth she, \u201cIt cometh from the saddle-bags;\u201d and quoth they, \u201cWhat\nmanner of thing be these saddle-bags?\u201d She answered, \u201cThey are\nenchanted; and the required is produced by the charm:\u201d she then told her\nsons their virtue, enjoining them to secrecy. Said they, \u201cThe secret\nshall be kept, O our mother, but teach us the manner of this.\u201d So she\ntaught them the fashion thereof and they fell to putting their hands\ninto the saddle-bags and taking forth whatever they had a mind to. But\nJudar knew naught of this. Then quoth S\u00e1lim privily to Sal\u00edm, \u201cO my\nbrother, how long shall we abide with Judar servant-wise and eat of his\nalms? Shall we not contrive to get the saddle-bags from him and make off\nwith them?\u201d \u201cAnd how shall we make shift to do this?\u201d \u201cWe will sell him\nto the galleys.\u201d \u201cHow shall we do that?\u201d \u201cWe two will go to the Ra\u00eds,\nthe Chief Captain of the Sea of Suez and bid him to an entertainment,\nwith two of his company. What I say to Judar do thou confirm, and at the\nend of the night I will show thee what I will do.\u201d So they agreed upon\nthe sale of their brother and going to the Captain\u2019s quarters said to\nhim, \u201cO Rais, we have come to thee on an errand that will please thee.\u201d\n\u201cGood,\u201d answered he; and they continued, \u201cWe two are brethren, and we\nhave a third brother, a lewd fellow and good-for-nothing. When our\nfather died, he left us some money, which we shared amongst us, and he\ntook his part of the inheritance and wasted it in frowardness and\ndebauchery, till he was reduced to poverty, when he came upon us and\ncited us before the magistrates, avouching that we had taken his good\nand that of his father, and we disputed the matter before the judges and\nlost the money. Then he waited awhile and attacked us a second time,\nuntil he brought us to beggary; nor will he desist from us, and we are\nutterly weary of him; wherefore we would have thee buy him of us.\u201d Quoth\nthe Captain, \u201cCan ye cast about with him and bring him to me here? If\nso, I will pack him off to sea forthright.\u201d Quoth they \u201cWe cannot manage\nto bring him here; but be thou our guest this night and bring with thee\ntwo of thy men, not one more; and when he is asleep, we will aid one\nanother to fall upon him, we five, and seize and gag him. Then shalt\nthou carry him forth the house, under cover of the night, and after do\nthou with him as thou wilt.\u201d Rejoined the Captain, \u201cWith all my heart!\nWill ye sell him for forty dinars?\u201d and they, \u201cYes, come after nightfall\nto such a street, by such a mosque, and thou shalt find one of us\nawaiting thee.\u201d And he replied, \u201cNow be off.\u201d Then they repaired to\nJudar and waited awhile, after which S\u00e1lim went up to him and kissed his\nhand. Quoth Judar, \u201cWhat ails thee, O my brother?\u201d And he made answer,\nsaying, \u201cKnow that I have a friend, who hath many a time bidden me to\nhis house in thine absence and hath ever hospitably entreated me, and I\nowe him a thousand kindnesses, as my brother here wotteth. I met him\nto-day and he invited me to his house, but I said to him:\u2014I cannot leave\nmy brother Judar. Quoth he, Bring him with thee; and quoth I:\u2014He will\nnot consent to that; but if ye will be my guests, thou and thy\nbrothers[287] * * * * * (for his brothers were sitting with him); and I\ninvited them thinking that they would refuse. But he accepted my\ninvitation for all of them, saying, Look for me at the gate of the\nlittle mosque,[288] and I will come to thee, I and my brothers. And now\nI fear they will come and am ashamed before thee. So wilt thou hearten\nmy heart and entertain them this night, for thy good is abundant, O my\nbrother? Or if thou consent not, give me leave to take them into the\nneighbours\u2019 houses.\u201d Replied Judar, \u201cWhy shouldst thou carry them into\nthe neighbours\u2019 houses? Is our house then so strait or have we not\nwherewith to give them supper? Shame on thee to consult me! Thou hast\nbut to call for what thou needest and have rich viands and sweetmeats\nand to spare. Whenever thou bringest home folk in my absence, ask thy\nmother, and she will set before thee victual more than enough. Go and\nfetch them; blessings have descended upon us through such guests.\u201d So\nS\u00e1lim kissed his hand and going forth, sat at the gate of the little\nmosque till after sundown, when the Captain and his men came up to him,\nand he carried them to the house. When Judar saw them he bade them\nwelcome and seated them and made friends of them, knowing not what the\nfuture had in store for him at their hands. Then he called to his mother\nfor supper, and she fell to taking dishes out of the saddle-bags, whilst\nhe said, \u201cBring such and such meats,\u201d till she had set forty different\ndishes before them. They ate their sufficiency and the tray was taken\naway, the sailors thinking the while that this liberal entertainment\ncame from S\u00e1lim. When a third part of the night was past, Judar set\nsweetmeats before them and S\u00e1lim served them, whilst his two brothers\nsat with the guests, till they sought to sleep. Accordingly Judar lay\ndown and the others with him, who waited till he was asleep, when they\nfell upon him together and gagging and pinioning him, before he was\nawake, carried him forth of the house,[289] under cover of the\nnight,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Seventeenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that they seized Judar\nand carrying him forth of the house under cover of the night, at once\npacked him off to Suez, where they shackled him and set him to work as a\ngalley-slave; and he ceased not to serve thus in silence a whole\nyear.[290] So far concerning Judar; but as for his brothers, they went\nin next morning to his mother and said to her, \u201cO our mother, our\nbrother Judar is not awake.\u201d Said she, \u201cDo ye wake him.\u201d Asked they,\n\u201cWhere lieth he?\u201d and she answered, \u201cWith the guests.\u201d They rejoined,\n\u201cHaply he went away with them whilst we slept, O mother. It would seem\nthat he had tasted of strangerhood and yearned to get at hidden hoards;\nfor we heard him at talk with the Moors, and they said to him, We will\ntake thee with us and open the treasure to thee.\u201d She enquired, \u201cHath he\nthen been in company with Moors?;\u201d and they replied, saying, \u201cWere they\nnot our guests yesternight?\u201d And she, \u201cMost like he hath gone with them,\nbut Allah will direct him on the right way; for there is a blessing upon\nhim and he will surely come back with great good.\u201d But she wept, for it\nwas grievous to her to be parted from her son. Then said they to her, \u201cO\naccursed woman, dost thou love Judar with all this love, whilst as for\nus, whether we be absent or present, thou neither joyest in us nor\nsorrowest for us? Are we not thy sons, even as Judar is thy son?\u201d She\nsaid, \u201cYe are indeed my sons: but ye are reprobates who deserve no\nfavour of me, for since your father\u2019s death I have never seen any good\nin you; whilst as for Judar, I have had abundant good of him and he hath\nheartened my heart and entreated me with honour; wherefore it behoveth\nme to weep for him, because of his kindness to me and to you.\u201d When they\nheard this, they abused her and beat her; after which they sought for\nthe saddle-bags, till they found the two pairs and took the enchanted\none and all the gold from one pouch and jewels from the other of the\nunenchanted, saying, \u201cThis was our father\u2019s good.\u201d Said their mother,\n\u201cNot so, by Allah!; it belongeth to your brother Judar, who brought it\nfrom the land of the Magharibah.\u201d Said they, \u201cThou liest, it was our\nfather\u2019s property; and we will dispose of it, as we please.\u201d Then they\ndivided the gold and jewels between them; but a brabble arose between\nthem concerning the enchanted saddle-bags, S\u00e1lim saying, \u201cI will have\nthem;\u201d and Sal\u00edm, saying, \u201cI will take them;\u201d and they came to high\nwords. Then said she, \u201cO my sons, ye have divided the gold and the\njewels, but this may not be divided, nor can its value be made up in\nmoney; and if it be cut in twain, its spell will be voided; so leave it\nwith me and I will give you to eat from it at all times and be content\nto take a morsel with you. If ye allow me aught to clothe me, \u2018twill be\nof your bounty, and each of you shall traffic with the folk for himself.\nYe are my sons and I am your mother; wherefore let us abide as we are,\nlest your brother come back and we be disgraced.\u201d But they accepted not\nher words and passed the night, wrangling with each other. Now it\nchanced that a Janissary[291] of the King\u2019s guards was a guest in the\nhouse adjoining Judar\u2019s and heard them through the open window. So he\nlooked out and listening, heard all the angry words that passed between\nthem and saw the division of the spoil. Next morning he presented\nhimself before the King of Egypt, whose name was Shams al-Daulah,[292]\nand told him all he had heard, whereupon he sent for Judar\u2019s brothers\nand put them to the question, till they confessed; and he took the two\npairs of saddle-bags from them and clapped them in prison, appointing a\nsufficient daily allowance to their mother. Now as regards Judar, he\nabode a whole year in service at Suez, till one day, being in a ship\nbound on a voyage over the sea, a wind arose against them and cast the\nvessel upon a rock projecting from a mountain, where she broke up and\nall on board were drowned and none gat ashore save Judar. As soon as he\nlanded he fared on inland, till he reached an encampment of Badawi, who\nquestioned him of his case, and he told them he had been a sailor.[293]\nNow there was in camp a merchant, a native of Jiddah, who took pity on\nhim and said to him, \u201cWilt thou take service with me, O Egyptian, and I\nwill clothe thee and carry thee with me to Jiddah?\u201d So Judar took\nservice with him and companied him to Jiddah, where he showed him much\nfavour. After awhile, his master the merchant set out on a pilgrimage to\nMeccah, taking Judar with him, and when they reached the city, the\nCairene repaired to the Haram temple, to circumambulate the Ka\u2019abah. As\nhe was making the prescribed circuits,[294] he suddenly saw his friend\nAbd al-Samad the Moor doing the like;\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Eighteenth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Judar, as he was\nmaking the circuits, suddenly saw his friend Abd al-Samad also\ncircumambulating; and when the Maghribi caught sight of him, he saluted\nhim and asked him of his state; whereupon Judar wept and told him all\nthat had befallen him. So the Moor carried him to his lodging and\nentreated him with honour, clothing him in a dress of which the like was\nnot, and saying to him, \u201cThou hast seen the end of thine ills, O Judar.\u201d\nThen he drew out for him a geomantic figure, which showed what had\nbefallen S\u00e1lim and Sal\u00edm and said to Judar, \u201cSuch and such things have\nbefallen thy brothers and they are now in the King of Egypt\u2019s prison;\nbut thou art right welcome to abide with me and accomplish thine\nordinances of pilgrimage and all shall be well.\u201d Replied Judar, \u201cO my\nlord, let me go and take leave of the merchant with whom I am and after\nI will come back to thee.\u201d \u201cDost thou owe money?\u201d asked the Moor, and he\nanswered, \u201cNo.\u201d Said Abd al-Samad, \u201cGo thou and take leave of him and\ncome back forthright, for bread hath claims of its own from the\ningenuous.\u201d So Judar returned to the merchant and farewelled him,\nsaying, \u201cI have fallen in with my brother.\u201d[295] \u201cGo bring him here,\u201d\nsaid the merchant, \u201cand we will make him an entertainment.\u201d But Judar\nanswered, saying, \u201cHe hath no need of that; for he is a man of wealth\nand hath many servants.\u201d Then the merchant gave Judar twenty dinars,\nsaying, \u201cAcquit me of responsibility\u201d;[296] and he bade him adieu and\nwent forth from him. Presently, he saw a poor man, so he gave him the\ntwenty ducats and returned to the Moor, with whom he abode till they had\naccomplished the pilgrimage-rites when Abd al-Samad gave him the\nseal-ring, that he had taken from the treasure of Al-Shamardal, saying,\n\u201cThis ring will win thee thy wish, for it enchanteth and hath a servant,\nby name Al-Ra\u2019ad al-K\u00e1sif; so whatever thou hast a mind to of the wants\nof this world; rub this ring and its servant will appear and do all thou\nbiddest him.\u201d Then he rubbed the ring before him, whereupon the Jinni\nappeared, saying, \u201cAdsum, O my lord! Ask what thou wilt and it shall be\ngiven thee. Hast thou a mind to people a ruined city or ruin a populous\none? to slay a king or to rout a host?\u201d \u201cO Ra\u2019ad,\u201d said Abd al-Samad,\n\u201cthis is become thy lord; do thou serve him faithfully.\u201d Then he\ndismissed him and said to Judar, \u201cRub the ring and the servant will\nappear; and do thou command him to do whatever thou desirest, for he\nwill not gainsay thee. Now go to thine own country and take care of the\nring, for by means of it thou wilt baffle thine enemies; and be not\nignorant of its puissance.\u201d \u201cO my lord,\u201d quoth Judar, \u201cwith thy leave, I\nwill set out homewards.\u201d Quoth the Maghribi, \u201cSummon the Jinni and mount\nupon his back; and if thou say to him:\u2014Bring me to my native city this\nvery day, he will not disobey thy commandment.\u201d So he took leave of Moor\nAbd al-Samad and rubbed the ring, whereupon Al-Ra\u2019ad presented himself,\nsaying, \u201cAdsum; ask and it shall be given to thee.\u201d Said Judar, \u201cCarry\nme to Cairo this day;\u201d and he replied, \u201cThy will be done;\u201d and, taking\nhim on his back, flew with him from noon till midnight, when he set him\ndown in the courtyard of his mother\u2019s house and disappeared. Judar went\nin to his mother, who rose weeping, and greeted him fondly, and told him\nhow the King had beaten his brothers and cast them into gaol and taken\nthe two pairs of saddle-bags; which when he heard, it was no light\nmatter to him and he said to her, \u201cGrieve not for the past; I will show\nthee what I can do and bring my brothers hither forthright.\u201d So he\nrubbed the ring, whereupon its servant appeared, saying, \u201cHere am I! Ask\nand thou shalt have.\u201d Quoth Judar, \u201cI bid thee bring me my two brothers\nfrom the prison of the King.\u201d So the Jinni sank into the earth and came\nnot up but in the midst of the gaol where S\u00e1lim and Sal\u00edm lay in piteous\nplight and sore sorrow for the plagues of prison,[297] so that they\nwished for death, and one of them said to the other, \u201cBy Allah, O my\nbrother, affliction is longsome upon us! How long shall we abide in this\nprison? Death would be relief.\u201d As he spoke, behold, the earth clove in\nsunder and out came Al-Ra\u2019ad, who took both up and plunged with them\ninto the earth. They swooned away for excess of fear, and when they\nrecovered, they found themselves in their mother\u2019s house and saw Judar\nseated by her side. Quoth he, \u201cI salute you, O my brothers! you have\ncheered me by your presence.\u201d And they bowed their heads and burst into\ntears. Then said he, \u201cWeep not, for it was Satan and covetise that led\nyou to do thus. How could you sell me? But I comfort myself with the\nthought of Joseph, whose brothers did with him even more than ye did\nwith me, because they cast him into the pit.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Nineteenth Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Judar said to\nhis brothers, \u201cHow could you do with me thus?\u201d But repent unto Allah and\ncrave pardon of Him, and He will forgive you both, for He is the Most\nForgiving, the Merciful. As for me, I pardon you and welcome you: no\nharm shall befal you. Then he comforted them and set their hearts at\nease and related to them all he had suffered, till he fell in with\nShaykh Abd al-Samad, and told them also of the seal-ring. They replied,\n\u201cO our brother, forgive us this time; and, if we return to our old ways,\ndo with us as thou wilt.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cNo harm shall befal you; but tell\nme what the King did with you.\u201d Quoth they, \u201cHe beat us and threatened\nus with death and took the two pairs of saddle-bags from us.\u201d \u201cWill he\nnot care?\u201d[298] said Judar, and rubbed the ring, whereupon Al-Ra\u2019ad\nappeared. When his brothers saw him, they were affrighted and thought\nJudar would bid him slay them; so they fled to their mother, crying, \u201cO\nour mother, we throw ourselves on thy generosity; do thou intercede for\nus, O our mother!\u201d And she said to them, \u201cO my sons, fear nothing!\u201d Then\nsaid Judar to the servant, \u201cI command thee to bring me all that is in\nthe King\u2019s treasury of goods and such; let nothing remain and fetch the\ntwo pairs of saddle-bags he took from my brothers.\u201d \u201cI hear and I obey,\u201d\nreplied Al-Ra\u2019ad; and, disappearing straightway gathered together all he\nfound in the treasury and returned with the two pairs of saddle-bags and\nthe deposits therein and laid them before Judar, saying, \u201cO my lord, I\nhave left nothing in the treasury.\u201d Judar gave the treasure to his\nmother bidding her keep it and laying the enchanted saddle-bags before\nhim, said to the Jinni, \u201cI command thee to build me this night a lofty\npalace and overlay it with liquid gold and furnish it with magnificent\nfurniture: and let not the day dawn, ere thou be quit of the whole\nwork.\u201d Replied he, \u201cThy bidding shall be obeyed;\u201d and sank into the\nearth. Then Judar brought forth food and they ate and took their ease\nand lay down to sleep. Meanwhile, Al-Ra\u2019ad summoned his attendant Jinn\nand bade them build the palace. So some of them fell to hewing stones\nand some to building, whilst others plastered and painted and furnished;\nnor did the day dawn ere the ordinance of the palace was complete;\nwhereupon Al-Ra\u2019ad came to Judar and said to him, \u201cO my lord, the palace\nis finished and in best order, an it please thee to come and look on\nit.\u201d So Judar went forth with his mother and brothers and saw a palace,\nwhose like there was not in the whole world; and it confounded all minds\nwith the goodliness of its ordinance. Judar was delighted with it while\nhe was passing along the highway and withal it had cost him nothing.\nThen he asked his mother, \u201cSay me, wilt thou take up thine abode in this\npalace?\u201d and she answered, \u201cI will, O my son,\u201d and called down blessings\nupon him. Then he rubbed the ring and bade the Jinni fetch him forty\nhandsome white handmaids and forty black damsels and as many Mamelukes\nand negro slaves. \u201cThy will be done,\u201d answered Al-Ra\u2019ad and betaking\nhimself, with forty of his attendant Genii to Hind and Sind and Persia,\nsnatched up every beautiful girl and boy they saw, till they had made up\nthe required number. Moreover, he sent other fourscore, who fetched\ncomely black girls, and forty others brought male chattels and carried\nthem all to Judar\u2019s house, which they filled. Then he showed them to\nJudar, who was pleased with them and said, \u201cBring for each a dress of\nthe finest.\u201d \u201cReady!\u201d replied the servant. Then quoth he, \u201cBring a dress\nfor my mother and another for myself, and also for my brothers.\u201d So the\nJinni fetched all that was needed and clad the female slaves, saying to\nthem, \u201cThis is your mistress: kiss her hands and cross her not, but\nserve her, white and black.\u201d The Mamelukes also dressed themselves and\nkissed Judar\u2019s hands; and he and his brothers arrayed themselves in the\nrobes the Jinni had brought them and Judar became like unto a King and\nhis brothers as Wazirs. Now his house was spacious; so he lodged S\u00e1lim\nand his slave-girls in one part thereof and Sal\u00edm and his slave-girls in\nanother, whilst he and his mother took up their abode in the new palace;\nand each in his own place was like a Sultan. So far concerning them; but\nas regards the King\u2019s Treasurer, thinking to take something from the\ntreasury, he went in and found it altogether empty, even as saith the\npoet:\u2014\n\n \u2018Twas as a hive of bees that greatly thrived; \u273f But, when the bee-swarm\n fled, \u2018twas clean unhived.[299]\n\nSo he gave a great cry and fell down in a fit. When he came to himself,\nhe left the door open and going in to King Shams al-Daulah, said to him,\n\u201cO Commander of the Faithful,[300] I have to inform thee that the\ntreasury hath become empty during the night.\u201d Quoth the King, \u201cWhat hast\nthou done with my monies which were therein?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cBy Allah, I\nhave not done aught with them nor know I what is come of them! I visited\nthe place yesterday and saw it full; but to-day when I went in, I found\nit clean empty, albeit the doors were locked, the walls were\nunpierced[301] and the bolts[302] are unbroken; nor hath a thief entered\nit.\u201d Asked the King, \u201cAre the two pairs of saddle-bags gone?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d\nreplied the Treasurer; whereupon the King\u2019s reason flew from his\nhead\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Twentieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Treasurer\ninformed the King that all in the treasury had been plundered, including\nthe two pairs of saddle-bags, the King\u2019s reason flew from his head and\nhe rose to his feet, saying, \u201cGo thou before me.\u201d Then he followed the\nTreasurer to the treasury and he found nothing there, whereat he was\nwroth with him; and he said to them, \u201cO soldiers! know that my treasury\nhath been plundered during the night, and I know not who did this deed\nand dared thus to outrage me, without fear of me.\u201d Said they, \u201cHow so?\u201d;\nand he replied, \u201cAsk the Treasurer.\u201d So they questioned him, and he\nanswered, saying, \u201cYesterday I visited the treasury and it was full, but\nthis morning when I entered it I found it empty, though the walls were\nunpierced and the doors unbroken.\u201d They all marvelled at this and could\nmake the King no answer, when in came the Janissary, who had denounced\nS\u00e1lim and Sal\u00edm, and said to Shams al-Daulah, \u201cO King of the age, all\nthis night I have not slept for that which I saw.\u201d And the King asked,\n\u201cAnd what didst thou see?\u201d \u201cKnow, O King of the age,\u201d answered the\nKaww\u00e1s, \u201cthat all night long I have been amusing myself with watching\nbuilders at work; and, when it was day, I saw a palace ready edified,\nwhose like is not in the world. So I asked about it and was told that\nJudar had come back with great wealth and Mamelukes and slaves and that\nhe had freed his two brothers from prison, and built this palace,\nwherein he is as a Sultan.\u201d Quoth the King, \u201cGo, look in the prison.\u201d So\nthey went thither and not finding S\u00e1lim and Sal\u00edm, returned and told the\nKing, who said, \u201cIt is plain now who be the thief; he who took S\u00e1lim and\nSal\u00edm out of prison it is who hath stolen my monies.\u201d Quoth the Wazir,\n\u201cO my lord, and who is he?\u201d; and quoth the King, \u201cTheir brother Judar,\nand he hath taken the two pairs of saddle-bags; but, O Wazir, do thou\nsend him an Emir with fifty men to seal up his goods and lay hands on\nhim and his brothers and bring them to me, that I may hang them.\u201d And he\nwas sore enraged and said, \u201cHo, off with the Emir at once, and fetch\nthem, that I may put them to death.\u201d But the Wazir said to him, \u201cBe thou\nmerciful, for Allah is merciful and hasteth not to punish His servants,\nwhenas they sin against Him. Moreover, he who can build a palace in a\nsingle night, as these say, none in the world can vie with him; and\nverily I fear lest the Emir fall into difficulty for Judar. Have\npatience, therefore, whilst I devise for thee some device of getting at\nthe truth of the case, and so shalt thou win thy wish, O King of the\nage.\u201d Quoth the King, \u201cCounsel me how I shall do, O Wazir.\u201d And the\nMinister said, \u201cSend him an Emir with an invitation; and I will make\nmuch of him for thee and make a show of love for him and ask him of his\nestate; after which we will see. If we find him stout of heart, we will\nuse sleight with him, and if weak of will, then do thou seize him and do\nwith him thy desire.\u201d The King agreed to this and despatched one of his\nEmirs, Othman hight, to go and invite Judar and say to him, \u201cThe King\nbiddeth thee to a banquet;\u201d and the King said to him, \u201cReturn not,\nexcept with him.\u201d Now this Othman was a fool, proud and conceited; so he\nwent forth upon his errand, and when he came to the gate of Judar\u2019s\npalace, he saw before the door an eunuch seated upon a chair of gold,\nwho at his approach rose not, but sat as if none came near, though there\nwere with the Emir fifty footmen. Now this eunuch was none other than\nAl-Ra\u2019ad al-Kasif, the servant of the ring, whom Judar had commanded to\nput on the guise of an eunuch and sit at the palace-gate. So the Emir\nrode up to him and asked him, \u201cO slave, where is thy lord?\u201d; whereto he\nanswered, \u201cIn the palace;\u201d but he stirred not from his leaning posture;\nwhereupon the Emir Othman waxed wroth and said to him, \u201cO pestilent\nslave, art thou not ashamed, when I speak to thee, to answer me,\nsprawling at thy length, like a gallows-bird?\u201d Replied the eunuch, \u201cOff\nand multiply not words.\u201d Hardly had Othman heard this, when he was\nfilled with rage and drawing his mace[303] would have smitten the\neunuch, knowing not that he was a devil; but Al-Ra\u2019ad leapt upon him and\ntaking the mace from him, dealt him four blows with it. Now when the\nfifty men saw their lord beaten, it was grievous to them; so they drew\ntheir swords and ran to slay the slave; but he said, \u201cDo ye draw on us,\nO dogs?\u201d and rose at them with the mace, and every one whom he smote, he\nbroke his bones and drowned him in his blood. So they fell back before\nhim and fled, whilst he followed them, beating them, till he had driven\nthem far from the palace-gate; after which he returned and sat down on\nhis chair at the door, caring for none.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the\ndawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Twenty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the eunuch having\nput to flight the Emir Othman, the King\u2019s Officer, and his men, till\nthey were driven far from Judar\u2019s gate, returned and sat down on his\nchair at the door, caring for none. But as for the Emir and his company,\nthey returned, discomfited and tunded, to King Shams al-Daulah, and\nOthman said, \u201cO King of the age, when I came to the palace gate, I\nespied an eunuch seated there in a chair of gold and he was passing\nproud for, when he saw me approach, he stretched himself at full length\nalbeit he had been sitting in his chair and entreated me contumeliously,\nneither offered to rise to me. So I began to speak to him and he\nanswered without stirring, whereat wrath gat hold of me and I drew the\nmace upon him, thinking to smite him. But he snatched it from me and\nbeat me and my men therewith and overthrew us. So we fled from before\nhim and could not prevail against, him.\u201d At this, the King was wroth and\nsaid, \u201cLet an hundred men go down to him.\u201d Accordingly, the hundred men\nwent down to attack him; but he arose and fell upon them with the mace\nand ceased not smiting them till he had put them to the rout; when he\nregained his chair; upon which they returned to the King and told him\nwhat had passed, saying, \u201cO King of the age, he beat us and we fled for\nfear of him.\u201d Then the King sent two hundred men against him, but these\nalso he put to the rout, and Shams Al-Daulah said to his Minister, \u201cI\ncharge thee, O Wazir, take five hundred men and bring this eunuch in\nhaste, and with him his master Judar and his brothers.\u201d Replied the\nWazir, \u201cO King of the age, I need no soldiers, but will go down to him\nalone and unarmed.\u201d \u201cGo,\u201d quoth the King, \u201cand do as thou seest\nsuitable.\u201d So the Wazir laid down his arms and donning a white\nhabit,[304] took a rosary in his hand and set out afoot alone and\nunattended. When he came to Judar\u2019s gate, he saw the slave sitting\nthere; So he went up to him and seating himself by his side courteously,\nsaid to him, \u201cPeace be with thee!\u201d; whereto he replied, \u201cAnd on thee be\npeace, O mortal! What wilt thou?\u201d When the Wazir heard him say \u201cO\nmortal,\u201d he knew him to be of the Jinn and quaked for fear; then he\nasked him, \u201cO my lord, tell me, is thy master Judar here?\u201d Answered the\neunuch, \u201cYes, he is in the palace.\u201d Quoth the Minister, \u201cO my lord, go\nthou to him and say to him:\u2014King Shams Al-Daulah saluteth thee and\nbiddeth thee honour his dwelling with thy presence and eat of a banquet\nhe hath made for thee.\u201d Quoth the eunuch, \u201cTarry thou here, whilst I\nconsult him.\u201d So the Wazir stood in a respectful attitude, whilst the\nMarid went up to the palace and said to Judar, \u201cKnow, O my lord, that\nthe King sent to thee an Emir and fifty men, and I beat them and drove\nthem away. Then he sent an hundred men and I beat them also; then two\nhundred, and these also I put to the rout. And now he hath sent thee his\nWazir unarmed, bidding thee visit him and eat of his banquet. What sayst\nthou?\u201d Said Judar, \u201cGo, bring the Wazir hither.\u201d So the Marid went down\nand said to him, \u201cO Wazir, come speak with my lord.\u201d \u201cOn my head be it,\u201d\nreplied he and going in to Judar, found him seated, in greater state\nthan the King, upon a carpet, whose like the King could not spread, and\nwas dazed and amazed at the goodliness of the palace and its decoration\nand appointments, which made him seem as he were a beggar in comparison.\nSo he kissed the ground before Judar and called down blessings on him;\nand Judar said to him, \u201cWhat is thy business, O Wazir?\u201d Replied he, \u201cO\nmy lord, thy friend King Shams Al-Daulah saluteth thee with the salam\nand longeth to look upon thy face; wherefore he hath made thee an\nentertainment. So say, wilt thou heal his heart and eat of his banquet?\u201d\nQuoth Judar, \u201cIf he be indeed my friend, salute him and bid him come to\nme.\u201d \u201cOn my head be it,\u201d quoth the Minister. Then Judar bringing out the\nring rubbed it and bade the Jinni fetch him a dress of the best, which\nhe gave to the Wazir, saying, \u201cDon this dress and go tell the King what\nI say.\u201d So the Wazir donned the dress, the like whereof he had never\ndonned, and returning to the King told him what had passed and praised\nthe palace and that which was therein, saying, \u201cJudar biddeth thee to\nhim.\u201d So the King called out, \u201cUp, ye men; mount your horses and bring\nme my steed, that we may go to Judar!\u201d Then he and his suite rode off\nfor the Cairene palace. Meanwhile Judar summoned the Marid and said to\nhim, \u201cIt is my will that thou bring me some of the Ifrits at thy command\nin the guise of guards and station them in the open square before the\npalace, that the King may see them and be awed by them; so shall his\nheart tremble and he shall know that my power and majesty be greater\nthan his.\u201d Thereupon Al-Ra\u2019ad brought him two hundred Ifrits of great\nstature and strength, in the guise of guards, magnificently armed and\nequipped, and when the King came and saw these tall burly fellows his\nheart feared them. Then he entered the palace, and found Judar sitting\nin such state as nor King nor Sultan could even. So he saluted him and\nmade his obeisance to him; yet Judar rose not to him nor did him honour\nnor said \u201cBe seated,\u201d but left him standing,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Twenty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the King\nentered, Judar rose not to him, nor did him honour nor even said \u201cBe\nseated!\u201d; but left him standing,[305] so that fear entered into him and\nhe could neither sit nor go away and said to himself, \u201cIf he feared me,\nhe would not leave me thus unheeded; peradventure he will do me a\nmischief, because of that which I did with his brothers.\u201d Then said\nJudar, \u201cO King of the age, it beseemeth not the like of thee to wrong\nthe folk and take away their good.\u201d Replied the King, \u201cO my lord, deign\nexcuse me, for greed impelled me to this and fate was thereby fulfilled;\nand, were there no offending, there would be no forgiving.\u201d And he went\non to excuse himself for the past and pray to him for pardon and\nindulgence till he recited amongst other things this poetry:\u2014\n\n O thou of generous seed and true nobility, \u273f Reproach me not for that\n which came from me to thee:\n We pardon thee if thou have wrought us any wrong \u273f And if I wrought the\n wrong I pray thee pardon me!\n\nAnd he ceased not to humble himself before him, till he said, \u201cAllah\npardon thee!\u201d and bade him be seated. So he sat down and Judar invested\nhim with garments of pardon and immunity and ordered his brothers spread\nthe table. When they had eaten, he clad the whole of the King\u2019s company\nin robes of honour and gave them largesse; after which he bade the King\ndepart. So he went forth and thereafter came every day to visit Judar\nand held not his Divan save in his house: wherefore friendship and\nfamiliarity waxed great between them, and they abode thus awhile, till\none day the King, being alone with his Minister, said to him, \u201cO Wazir,\nI fear lest Judar slay me and take the kingdom away from me.\u201d Replied\nthe Wazir, \u201cO King of the age, as for his taking the kingdom from thee,\nhave no fear of that, for Judar\u2019s present estate is greater than that of\nthe King, and to take the kingdom would be a lowering of his dignity;\nbut, if thou fear that he kill thee, thou hast a daughter: give her to\nhim to wife and thou and he will be of one condition.\u201d Quoth the King,\n\u201cO Wazir, be thou intermediary between us and him\u201d; and quoth the\nMinister, \u201cDo thou invite him to an entertainment and pass the night\nwith him in one of thy saloons. Then bid thy daughter don her richest\ndress and ornaments and pass by the door of the saloon. When he seeth\nher, he will assuredly fall in love with her, and when we know this, I\nwill turn to him and tell him that she is thy daughter and engage him in\nconverse and lead him on, so that thou shalt seem to know nothing of the\nmatter, till he ask her of thee to wife. When thou has married him to\nthe Princess, thou and he will be as one thing and thou wilt be safe\nfrom him; and if he die, thou wilt inherit all he hath, both great and\nsmall.\u201d Replied the King, \u201cThou sayst sooth, O my Wazir,\u201d and made a\nbanquet and invited thereto Judar who came to the Sultan\u2019s palace and\nthey sat in the saloon in great good cheer till the end of the day. Now\nthe King had commanded his wife to array the maiden in her richest\nraiment and ornaments and carry her by the door of the saloon. She did\nas he told her, and when Judar saw the Princess, who had not her match\nfor beauty and grace, he looked fixedly at her and said, \u201cAh!\u201d; and his\nlimbs were loosened; for love and longing and passion and pine were sore\nupon him; desire and transport gat hold upon him and he turned pale.\nQuoth the Wazir, \u201cMay no harm befal thee, O my lord! Why do I see thee\nchange colour and in suffering?\u201d Asked Judar, \u201cO Wazir, whose daughter\nis this damsel? Verily she hath enthralled me and ravished my reason.\u201d\nReplied the Wazir, \u201cShe is the daughter of thy friend the King; and if\nshe please thee, I will speak to him that he marry thee to her.\u201d Quoth\nJudar, \u201cDo so, O Wazir, and as I live, I will bestow on thee what thou\nwilt and will give the King whatsoever he shall ask to her dowry; and we\nwill become friends and kinsfolk.\u201d Quoth the Minister, \u201cIt shall go hard\nbut thy desire be accomplished.\u201d Then he turned to the King and said in\nhis ear, \u201cO King of the age, thy friend Judar seeketh alliance with thee\nand will have me ask of thee for him the hand of thy daughter, the\nPrincess Asiyah; so disappoint me not, but accept my intercession, and\nwhat dowry soever thou askest he will give thee.\u201d Said the King, \u201cThe\ndowry I have already received, and as for the girl, she is his handmaid;\nI give her to him to wife and he will do me honour by accepting\nher.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her\npermitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Twenty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Wazir\nwhispered the King, \u201cJudar seeketh alliance with thee by taking thy\ndaughter to wife,\u201d the other replied, \u201cThe dowry I have already\nreceived, and the girl is his handmaid; he will do me honour by\naccepting her.\u201d So they spent the rest of that night together and on the\nmorrow the King held a court, to which he summoned great and small,\ntogether with the Shaykh al-Islam.[306] Then Judar demanded the Princess\nin marriage and the King said, \u201cThe dowry I have received.\u201d Thereupon\nthey drew up the marriage-contract and Judar sent for the saddle-bags\ncontaining the jewels and gave them to the King as settlement upon his\ndaughter. The drums beat and the pipes sounded and they held high\nfestival, whilst Judar went in unto the girl. Thenceforward he and the\nKing were as one flesh and they abode thus for many days, till Shams\nal-Daulah died; whereupon the troops proclaimed Judar Sultan, and he\nrefused; but they importuned him, till he consented and they made him\nKing in his father-in-law\u2019s stead. Then he bade build a cathedral-mosque\nover the late King\u2019s tomb in the Bunduk\u00e1niyah[307] quarter and endowed\nit. Now the quarter of Judar\u2019s house was called Yam\u00e1niyah; but, when he\nbecame Sultan he built therein a congregational mosque and other\nbuildings, wherefore the quarter was named after him and was called the\nJudariyah[308] quarter. Moreover, he made his brother S\u00e1lim his Wazir of\nthe right and his brother Sal\u00edm his Wazir of the left hand; and thus\nthey abode a year and no more; for, at the end of that time, S\u00e1lim said\nto Sal\u00edm, \u201cO my brother, how long is this state to last? Shall we pass\nour whole lives in slavery to our brother Judar? We shall never enjoy\nluck or lordship whilst he lives,\u201d adding, \u201cso how shall we do to kill\nhim and take the ring and the saddle-bags?\u201d Replied Sal\u00edm, \u201cThou art\ncraftier than I; do thou device, whereby we may kill him.\u201d \u201cIf I effect\nthis,\u201d asked S\u00e1lim, \u201cwilt thou agree that I be Sultan and keep the ring\nand that thou be my right-hand Wazir and have the saddle-bags?\u201d Sal\u00edm\nanswered, \u201cI consent to this;\u201d and they agreed to slay Judar their\nbrother for love of the world and of dominion. So they laid a snare for\nJudar and said to him, \u201cO our brother, verily we have a mind to glory in\nthee and would fain have thee enter our houses and eat of our\nentertainment and solace our hearts.\u201d Replied Judar, \u201cSo be it, in whose\nhouse shall the banquet be?\u201d \u201cIn mine,\u201d said S\u00e1lim \u201cand after thou hast\neaten of my victual, thou shalt be the guest of my brother.\u201d Said Judar,\n\u201c\u2018Tis well,\u201d and went with him to his house, where he set before him\npoisoned food, of which when he had eaten, his flesh rotted from his\nbones and he died.[309] Then S\u00e1lim came up to him and would have drawn\nthe ring from his finger, but it resisted him; so he cut off the finger\nwith a knife. Then he rubbed the ring and the Marid presented himself,\nsaying, \u201cAdsum! Ask what thou wilt.\u201d Quoth S\u00e1lim, \u201cTake my brother Sal\u00edm\nand put him to death and carry forth the two bodies, the poisoned and\nthe slaughtered, and cast them down before the troops.\u201d So the Mahrid\ntook Sal\u00edm and slew him; then, carrying the two corpses forth, he cast\nthem down before the chief officers of the army, who were sitting at\ntable in the parlour of the house. When they saw Judar and Sal\u00edm slain,\nthey raised their hands from the food and fear gat hold of them and they\nsaid to the Marid, \u201cWho hath dealt thus with the Sultan and the Wazir?\u201d\nReplied the Jinni, \u201cTheir brother S\u00e1lim.\u201d And behold, S\u00e1lim came up to\nthem and said, \u201cO soldiers, eat and make merry, for Judar is dead and I\nhave taken to me the seal-ring, whereof the Marid before you is the\nservant; and I bade him slay my brother Sal\u00edm lest he dispute the\nkingdom with me, for he was a traitor and I feared lest he should betray\nme. So now I am become Sultan over you; will ye accept of me? If not, I\nwill rub the ring and bid the Marid slay you all, great and small.\u201d\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Twenty-fourth Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when S\u00e1lim\nsaid to the officers, \u201cWill ye accept me as your Sultan, otherwise I\nwill rub the ring and the Marid shall slay you all, great and small?\u201d;\nthey replied, \u201cWe accept thee to King and Sultan.\u201d Then he bade bury his\nbrothers and summoned the Divan; and some of the folk followed the\nfuneral, whilst others forewent him in state procession to the\naudience-hall of the palace, where he sat down on the throne and they\ndid homage to him as King; after which he said, \u201cIt is my will to marry\nmy brother Judar\u2019s wife.\u201d Quoth they, \u201cWait till the days of widowhood\nare accomplished.\u201d[310] Quoth he, \u201cI know not days of widowhood nor\naught else. As my head liveth, I needs must go in unto her this very\nnight.\u201d So they drew up the marriage-contract and sent to tell the\nPrincess Asiyah, who replied, \u201cBid him enter.\u201d Accordingly, he went in\nto her and she received him with a show of joy and welcome; but by and\nby she gave him poison in water and made an end of him. Then she took\nthe ring and broke it, that none might possess it thenceforward, and\ntore up the saddle-bags; after which she sent to the Shaykh al-Islam and\nother great Officers of state, telling them what had passed and saying\nto them, \u201cChoose you out a King to rule over you.\u201d And this is all that\nhath come down to us of the Story of Judar and his Brethren.[311] But I\nhave also heard, O King, a tale called the\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 257:\n\n The name is old and classical Arabic: in Antar the young Amazon Jayd\u00e1\n was called Judar in public (Story of Jayd\u00e1 and Kh\u00e1lid). It is also, as\n will be seen, the name of a quarter in Cairo, and men are often called\n after such places, _e.g._ Al-Jubn\u00ed from the S\u00fak al-Jubn in Damascus.\n The story is exceedingly Egyptian and the style abounds in Cairene\n vulgarisms; especially in the Bresl. Edit. ix. 311.\n\nFootnote 258:\n\n Had the merchant left his property to be divided after his death and\n not made a will, the widow would have had only one-eighth instead of a\n fourth.\n\nFootnote 259:\n\n Lit. \u201cfrom tyrant to tyrant,\u201d _i.e._ from official to official,\n Al-Zalamah, the \u201ctyranny\u201d of popular parlance.\n\nFootnote 260:\n\n The coin is omitted in the text but it is evidently the \u201cNusf\u201d or\n half-dirham. Lane (iii. 235), noting that the dinar is worth 170\n \u201cnusfs\u201d in this tale, thinks that it was written (or copied?) after\n the Osmanh Conquest of Egypt. Unfortunately he cannot tell the precise\n period when the value of the small change fell so low.\n\nFootnote 261:\n\n Arab. \u201cYaum mub\u00e1rak!\u201d still a popular exclamation.\n\nFootnote 262:\n\n _i.e._ of the door of daily bread.\n\nFootnote 263:\n\n Arab. \u201cS\u00edrah,\u201d a small fish differently described (De Sacy, \u201cRelation\n de l\u2019Egypte par Abd-allatif,\u201d pp. 278\u2013288: Lane, Nights iii. 234). It\n is not found in Sonnini\u2019s list.\n\nFootnote 264:\n\n A tank or lakelet in the southern parts of Cairo, long ago filled up;\n Von Hammer believes it inherited the name of the old Charon\u2019s Lake of\n Memphis, over which corpses were ferried.\n\nFootnote 265:\n\n Thus making the agreement a kind of religious covenant; as Catholics\n would recite a Pater or an Ave Maria.\n\nFootnote 266:\n\n Arab. \u201cY\u00e1 misk\u00edn\u201d = O poor devil; mesquin, meschino, words evidently\n derived from the East.\n\nFootnote 267:\n\n Plur. of Maghrib\u00ed, a Western man, a Moor. I have already derived the\n word through the Lat. \u201cMaurus\u201d from Maghribiy\u00fan. Europeans being\n unable to pronounce the Ghayn (or gh like the modern Cairenes) would\n turn it into \u201cMa\u2019ariy\u00fan.\u201d They are mostly of the Maliki school (for\n which see Sale) and are famous as magicians and treasure-finders.\n Amongst the suite of the late Amir Abd al-Kadir, who lived many years\n and died in Damascus, I found several men profoundly versed in Eastern\n spiritualism and occultism.\n\nFootnote 268:\n\n The names are respectively, Slave of the Salvation; of the One (God);\n of the Eternal; of the Compassionate; and of the Loving.\n\nFootnote 269:\n\n _i.e._ \u201cthe most profound\u201d; the root is that of \u201cB\u00e1tin\u00ed,\u201d a gnostic, a\n reprobate.\n\nFootnote 270:\n\n _i.e._ the Tall One.\n\nFootnote 271:\n\n The loud-pealing or (ear-) breaking Thunder.\n\nFootnote 272:\n\n Arab. \u201cF\u00e1s and Mikn\u00e1s\u201d which the writer evidently regards as one city.\n \u201cF\u00e1s\u201d means a hatchet, from the tradition of one having been found,\n says Ibn Sa\u2019id, when digging the base under the founder Idr\u00eds bin\n Idr\u00eds (A.D. 808). His sword was placed on the pinnacle of the minaret\n built by the Im\u00e1m Abu Ahmad bin Abi Bakr enclosed in a golden \u00e9tui\n studded with pearls and precious stones. From the local pronunciation\n \u201cFes\u201d is derived the red cap of the nearer Moslem East (see Ibn\n Batutah p. 230).\n\nFootnote 273:\n\n Arab. \u201cAl-Khurj,\u201d whence the Span. Las Alforjas.\n\nFootnote 274:\n\n Arab. \u201cKab\u00e1b,\u201d mutton or lamb cut into small squares and grilled upon\n skewers: it is the roast meat of the nearer East where, as in the\n West, men have not learned to cook meat so as to preserve all its\n flavour. This is found in the \u201cAsa\u2019o\u201d of the Argentine Gaucho who\n broils the flesh while still quivering and before the fibre has time\n to set. Hence it is perfectly tender, if the animal be young, and it\n has a \u201cmeaty\u201d taste half lost by keeping.\n\nFootnote 275:\n\n Equivalent to our puritanical \u201cMercy.\u201d\n\nFootnote 276:\n\n Arab. \u201cBukjah,\u201d from the Persian Bukcheh: a favourite way of keeping\n fine clothes in the East is to lay them folded in a piece of rough\n long-cloth with pepper and spices to drive away moths.\n\nFootnote 277:\n\n This is always specified, for respectable men go out of town on\n horse-back, never on \u201cfoot-back,\u201d as our friends the Boers say. I have\n seen a Syrian put to sore shame when compelled by politeness to walk\n with me, and every acquaintance he met addressed him, \u201cAnta\n Zalamah!\u201d\u2014What! afoot!\n\nFootnote 278:\n\n This tale, including the Enchanted Sword which slays whole armies, was\n adopted in Europe as we see in Straparola (iv. 3), and the \u201cWater of\n Life\u201d which the Grimms found in Hesse, etc., \u201cGammer Grethel\u2019s German\n Popular Stories,\u201d Edgar Taylor, Bells, 1878; and now published in\n fuller form as \u201cGrimm\u2019s Household Tales,\u201d by Mrs. Hunt, with\n Introduction by A. Lang, 2 vols. 8vo, 1884. It is curious that so\n biting and carping a critic, who will condescend to notice a misprint\n in another\u2019s book, should lay himself open to general animadversion by\n such a rambling farrago of half-digested knowledge as that which\n composes Mr. Andrew Lang\u2019s Introduction.\n\nFootnote 279:\n\n These retorts of Judar are exactly what a sharp Egyptian Fellah would\n say on such occasions.\n\nFootnote 280:\n\n Arab. \u201cSal\u00e1m\u00e1t,\u201d plur. of Salam, a favourite Egyptian welcome.\n\nFootnote 281:\n\n This sentence expresses a Moslem idea which greatly puzzles strangers.\n Arabic has no equivalent of our \u201cThank you\u201d (Kassara \u2018llah Khayr-ak\n being a mere blessing\u2014Allah increase thy weal!), nor can Al-Islam\n express gratitude save by a periphrase. The Moslem acknowledges a\n favour by blessing the donor and by wishing him increase of\n prosperity. \u201cMay thy shadow never be less!\u201d means, Mayest thou always\n extend to me thy shelter and protection. I have noticed this before\n but it merits repetition. Strangers, and especially Englishmen, are\n very positive and very much mistaken upon a point, which all who have\n to do with Egyptians and Arabs ought thoroughly to understand. Old\n dwellers in the East know that the theory of ingratitude in no way\n interferes with the sense of gratitude innate in man (and beast) and\n that the \u201clively sense of favours to come,\u201d is as quick in Orient-land\n as in Europe.\n\nFootnote 282:\n\n Outside this noble gate, the Bab al-Nasr, there is a great cemetery\n wherein, by the by, lies Burckhardt, my predecessor as a H\u00e1jj to\n Meccah and Al-Medinah. Hence many beggars are always found squatting\n in its neighbourhood.\n\nFootnote 283:\n\n Friends sometimes walk alongside the rider holding the stirrup in sign\n of affection and respect, especially to the returning pilgrim.\n\nFootnote 284:\n\n Equivalent to our Alas! It is woman\u2019s word never used by men; and\n foreigners must be most careful of this distinction under pain of\n incurring something worse than ridicule. I remember an officer in the\n Bombay Army who, having learned Hindostani from women, always spoke of\n himself in the feminine and hugely scandalised the Sepoys.\n\nFootnote 285:\n\n _i.e._ a neighbour. The \u201cquarters\u201d of a town in the East are often on\n the worst of terms. See Pilgrimage.\n\nFootnote 286:\n\n In the patriarchal stage of society the mother waits upon her adult\n sons. Even in Dalmatia I found, in many old-fashioned houses, the\n ladies of the family waiting upon the guests. Very pleasant, but\n somewhat startling at first.\n\nFootnote 287:\n\n Here the apodosis would be \u201cWe can all sup together.\u201d\n\nFootnote 288:\n\n Arab. \u201cZ\u00e1wiyah\u201d (= oratory), which is to a Masjid what a chapel is to\n a church.\n\nFootnote 289:\n\n Arab. \u201cKasr,\u201d prop. a palace: so the Tuscan peasant speaks of his\n \u201cpalazzo.\u201d\n\nFootnote 290:\n\n This sale of a free-born Moslem was mere felony. But many centuries\n later Englishmen used to be sold and sent to the plantations in\n America.\n\nFootnote 291:\n\n Arab. \u201cKaww\u00e1s,\u201d lit. an archer, suggesting _les archers de la Sainte\n Hermandade_. In former days it denoted a sergeant, an apparitor, an\n officer who executed magisterial orders. In modern Egypt he became a\n policeman (Pilgrimage i. 29). As \u201cCavass\u201d he appears in gorgeous\n uniform and sword, an orderly attached to public offices and\n Consulates.\n\nFootnote 292:\n\n A purely imaginary King.\n\nFootnote 293:\n\n The Bresl. Edit. (ix. 370) here and elsewhere uses the word \u201cN\u00fatiy\u00e1\u201d =\n Naut\u00e1, for the common Bahr\u00edyah or Mall\u00e1h.\n\nFootnote 294:\n\n Arab. \u201cTaw\u00e1f,\u201d the name given to the sets (Ashw\u00e1t) of seven circuits\n with the left shoulder presented to the Holy House; that is walking\n \u201cwiddershins\u201d or \u201cagainst the sun\u201d (\u201cwith the sun\u201d being like the\n movement of a watch). For the requisites of this rite see Pilgrimage\n iii. 234.\n\nFootnote 295:\n\n Arab. \u201cAkh\u201d; brother has a wide signification amongst Moslems and may\n be used to and of any of the Saving Faith.\n\nFootnote 296:\n\n Said by the master when dismissing a servant and meaning, \u201cI have not\n failed in my duty to thee!\u201d The answer is, \u201cAllah acquit thee\n thereof!\u201d\n\nFootnote 297:\n\n A Moslem prison is like those of Europe a century ago; to think of it\n gives goose-flesh. Easterns laugh at our idea of penitentiary and the\n Arabs of Bombay call it \u201cAl-Bist\u00e1n\u201d (the Garden) because the court\n contains a few trees and shrubs. And with them a garden always\n suggests an idea of Paradise. There are indeed only two efficacious\n forms of punishment all the world over, corporal for the poor and\n fines for the rich, the latter being the severer form.\n\nFootnote 298:\n\n _i.e._ he shall answer for this.\n\nFootnote 299:\n\n A pun upon \u201cKhal\u00edyah\u201d (bee-hive) and \u201cKhaliyah\u201d (empty). Khal\u00edyah is\n properly a hive of bees with a honey-comb in the hollow of a\n tree-trunk, opposed to Kaww\u00e1rah, hive made of clay or earth\n (Al-Hariri; Ass. of Tiflis). There are many other terms, for Arabs are\n curious about honey. Pilgrimage iii. 110.\n\nFootnote 300:\n\n Lane (iii. 237) supposes by this title that the author referred his\n tale to the days of the Caliphate. \u201cCommander of the Faithful\u201d was, I\n have said, the style adopted by Omar in order to avoid the clumsiness\n of \u201cCaliph\u201d (successor) of the Caliph (Abu Bakr) of the Apostle of\n Allah.\n\nFootnote 301:\n\n Eastern thieves count four modes of housebreaking; (1) picking out\n burnt bricks; (2) cutting through unbaked bricks; (3) wetting a mud\n wall and (4) boring through a wooden wall (Vikram and the Vampire p.\n 172).\n\nFootnote 302:\n\n Arab. \u201cZabbat,\u201d lit. a lizard (fem.) also a wooden lock, the only one\n used throughout Egypt. An illustration of its curious mechanism is\n given in Lane (M. E. Introduction).\n\nFootnote 303:\n\n Arab. \u201cDabb\u00fas.\u201d The Eastern mace is well known to English collectors;\n it is always of metal, and mostly of steel, with a short handle like\n our facetiously called \u201clife-preserver.\u201d The head is in various forms,\n the simplest a ball, smooth and round, or broken into sundry high and\n angular ridges like a melon, and in select weapons shaped like the\n head of some animal, bull, etc. See Night dcxlvi.\n\nFootnote 304:\n\n The red habit is a sign of wrath and vengeance and the Persian Kings\n like Fath Ali Shah, used to wear it when about to order some horrid\n punishment, such as the \u201cShakk\u201d; in this a man was hung up by his\n heels and cut in two from the fork downwards to the neck, when a turn\n of the chopper left that untouched. White robes denoted peace and\n mercy as well as joy. The \u201cwhite\u201d hand and \u201cblack\u201d hand have been\n explained. A \u201cwhite death\u201d is quiet and natural, with forgiveness of\n sins. A \u201cblack death\u201d is violent and dreadful, as by strangulation: a\n \u201cgreen death\u201d is robing in rags and patches like a dervish; and a \u201cred\n death\u201d is by war or bloodshed (A. P. ii. 670). Among the mystics it is\n the resistance of man to his passions.\n\nFootnote 305:\n\n This in the East is the way \u201c_pour se faire valoir_\u201d; whilst Europeans\n would hold it a mere \u201cbit of impudence,\u201d aping dignity.\n\nFootnote 306:\n\n The Chief Mufti or Doctor of the Law, an appointment first made by the\n Osmanli Mohammed II., when he captured Constantinople in A.D. 1453.\n Before that time the functions were discharged by the K\u00e1zi al-Kuz\u00e1t\n (Kazi-in-Chief), the Chancellor.\n\nFootnote 307:\n\n So called because here lived the makers of crossbows (Arab. Bunduk now\n meaning a fire-piece, musket, etc.) It is the modern district about\n the well-known Khan al-Hamzawi.\n\nFootnote 308:\n\n Pronounced \u201cGoodareeyyah,\u201d and so called after one of the troops of\n the Fatimite Caliphs. The name \u201cYam\u00e1niyah\u201d is probably due to the\n story-teller\u2019s inventiveness.\n\nFootnote 309:\n\n I have noted that as a rule in The Nights poetical justice is\n administered with much rigour and exactitude. Here, however, the\n tale-teller allows the good brother to be slain by the two wicked\n brothers as he permitted the adulterous queens to escape the sword of\n Kamar al-Zaman. Dr. Steingass brings to my notice that I have failed\n to do justice to the story of Sharrk\u00e1n (vol. ii., p. 172), where I\n note that the interest is injured by the gratuitous incest. But this\n has a deeper meaning and a grander artistic effect. Sharrk\u00e1n begins\n with most unbrotherly feelings towards his father\u2019s children by a\n second wife. But Allah\u2019s decree forces him to love his half-sister\n despite himself, and awe and repentance convert the savage, who joys\n at the news of his brother\u2019s reported death, to a loyal and devoted\n subject of the same brother. But Judar with all his goodness proved\n himself an arrant softy and was no match for two atrocious villains.\n And there may be overmuch of forgiveness as of every other good thing.\n\nFootnote 310:\n\n In such case the \u201c\u2018iddah\u201d would be four months and ten days.\n\nFootnote 311:\n\n Not quite true. Weil\u2019s German version, from a MS. in the Ducal Library\n of Gotha, gives the \u201cStory of Judar of Cairo and Mahmud of Tunis\u201d in a\n very different form. It has been pleasantly \u201ctranslated (from the\n German) and edited\u201d by Mr. W. F. Kirby, of the British Museum, under\n the title of \u201cThe New Arabian Nights\u201d (London: W. Swan Sonnenschein &\n Co.), and the author kindly sent me a copy. \u201cNew Arabian Nights\u201d seems\n now to have become a fashionable title applied without any\n signification: such at least is the pleasant collection of Nineteenth\n Century Novelettes, published under that designation by Mr. Robert\n Louis Stevenson, Chatto and Windus, Piccadilly, 1884.\n\n\n\n\n HISTORY OF GHARIB AND HIS BROTHER AJIB.[312]\n\n\nThere was once in olden time a King of might, Kundamir hight, who had\nbeen a brave and doughty man of war, a Kahram\u00e1n,[313] in his day, but\nwas grown passing old and decrepit. Now it pleased Allah to vouchsafe\nhim, in his extreme senility, a son, whom he named Aj\u00edb[314]\u2014the\nWonderful\u2014because of his beauty and loveliness; so he committed the babe\nto the midwives and wet-nurses and handmaids and serving-women, and they\nreared him till he was full seven years old, when his father gave him in\ncharge to a divine of his own folk and faith. The priest taught him the\nlaws and tenets of their Misbelief and instructed him in philosophy and\nall manner of other knowledge, and it needed but three full-told years\nere he was proficient therein and his spirit waxed resolute and his\njudgment mature; and he became learned, eloquent and philosophic[315];\nconsorting with the wise and disputing with the doctors of the law. When\nhis father saw this of him, it pleased him and he taught him to back the\nsteed and stab with spear and smite with sword, till he grew to be an\naccomplished cavalier, versed in all martial exercises; and, by the end\nof his twentieth year, he surpassed in all things all the folk of his\nday. But his skill in weapons made him grow up a stubborn tyrant and a\ndevil arrogant, using to ride forth a-hunting and a-chasing amongst a\nthousand horsemen and to make raids and razzias upon the neighbouring\nknights, cutting off caravans and carrying away the daughters of Kings\nand nobles; wherefore many brought complaints against him to his father,\nwho cried out to five of his slaves and when they came said, \u201cSeize this\ndog!\u201d So they seized Prince Ajib and, pinioning his hands behind him,\nbeat him by his father\u2019s command till he lost his senses; after which\nthe King imprisoned him in a chamber so dark one might not know heaven\nfrom earth or length from breadth; and there he abode two days and a\nnight. Then the Emirs went in to the King and, kissing the ground\nbetween his hands, interceded with him for the Prince, and he released\nhim. So Ajib bore with his father for ten days, at the end of which he\nwent in to him as he slept by night and smote his neck. When the day\nrose, he mounted the throne of his sire\u2019s estate and bade his men arm\nthemselves cap-\u00e0-pie in steel and stand with drawn swords in front of\nhim and on his right hand and on his left. By and by, the Emirs and\nCaptains entered and finding their King slain and his son Ajib seated on\nthe throne were confounded in mind and knew not what to do. But Ajib\nsaid to them, \u201cO folk, verily ye see what your King hath gained. Whoso\nobeyeth me, I will honour him, and whoso gainsayeth me, I will do with\nhim that which I did with my sire.\u201d When they heard these words they\nfeared lest he do them a mischief; so they replied, \u201cThou art our King\nand the son of our King;\u201d and kissed ground before him; whereupon he\nthanked them and rejoiced in them. Then he bade bring forth money and\napparel and clad them in sumptuous robes of honour and showered largesse\nupon them, wherefore they all loved him and obeyed him. In like manner\nhe honoured the governors of the Provinces and the Shaykhs of the\nBadawin, both tributary and independent, so that the whole kingdom\nsubmitted to him and the folk obeyed him and he reigned and bade and\nforbade in peace and quiet for a time of five months. One night,\nhowever, he dreamed a dream as he lay slumbering; whereupon he awoke\ntrembling, nor did sleep visit him again till the morning. As soon as it\nwas dawn he mounted his throne and his officers stood before him, right\nand left. Then he called the oneiromants and the astrologers and said to\nthem, \u201cExpound to me my dream!\u201d \u201cWhat was the dream?\u201d asked they; and he\nanswered, \u201cAs I slept last night, I saw my father standing before me,\nwith his yard uncovered, and there came forth of it a thing the bigness\nof a bee, which grew till it became as a mighty lion, with claws like\nhangers. As I lay wondering at this lo! it ran upon me and smiting me\nwith its claws, rent my belly in sunder; whereupon I awoke startled and\ntrembling. So expound ye to me the meaning of this dream.\u201d The\ninterpreters looked one at other; and, after considering, said, \u201cO\nmighty King, this dream pointeth to one born of thy sire, between whom\nand thee shall befal strife and enmity, wherein he shall get the better\nof thee: so be on thy guard against him, by reason of this thy vision.\u201d\nWhen Ajib heard their words, he said, \u201cI have no brother whom I should\nfear; so this your speech is mere lying.\u201d They replied, \u201cWe tell thee\nnaught save what we know;\u201d but he was an-angered with them and\nbastinadoed them. Then he rose and, going in to the paternal palace,\nexamined his father\u2019s concubines and found one of them seven months gone\nwith child; whereupon he gave an order to two of his slaves, saying,\n\u201cTake this damsel, ye twain, and carry her to the sea-shore and drown\nher.\u201d So they took her forthright and, going to the sea-shore, designed\nto drown her, when they looked at her and seeing her to be of singular\nbeauty and loveliness said to each other, \u201cWhy should we drown this\ndamsel? Let us rather carry her to the forest and live with her there in\nrare love-liasse.\u201d Then they took her and fared on with her days and\nnights till they had borne her afar off and had brought her to a bushy\nforest, abounding in fruit-trees and streams, where they both thought at\nthe same time to win their will of her; but each said, \u201cI will have her\nfirst.\u201d So they fell out one with the other concerning this, and while\nso doing a company of blackamoors came down upon them, and they drew\ntheir swords and both sides fell to laying on load. The mellay waxed hot\nwith cut and thrust; and the two slaves fought their best; but the\nblacks slew them both in less than the twinkling of an eye. So the\ndamsel abode alone and wandered about the forest, eating of its fruits\nand drinking of its founts, till in due time she gave birth to a boy,\nbrown but clean-limbed and comely, whom she named Ghar\u00edb, the Stranger,\nby reason of her strangerhood. Then she cut his navel-string and\nwrapping him in some of her own clothes, gave him to suck, harrowed at\nheart, and with vitals sorrowing for the estate she had lost and its\nhonour and solace.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nsaying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the damsel abode\nin the bush harrowed at heart and a-sorrowed; but she suckled her babe\nalbeit she was full of grief and fear for her loneliness. Now behold,\none day, there came horsemen and footmen into the forest with hawks and\nhounds and horses laden with partridges and cranes and wild geese and\ndivers and other waterfowl; and young ostriches and hares and gazelles\nand wild oxen and lynxes and wolves and lions.[316] Presently, these\nArabs entered the thicket and came upon the damsel, sitting with her\nchild on her breast a-suckling him: so they drew near and asked her,\n\u201cSay art thou a mortal or a Jinniyah?\u201d Answered she, \u201cI am a mortal, O\nChiefs of the Arabs.\u201d Thereupon they told their Emir, whose name was\nMard\u00e1s, Prince of the Ban\u00fa Kaht\u00e1n,[317] and who had come forth that day\nto hunt with five hundred of his cousins and the nobles of his tribe,\nand who in the course of the chase had happened upon her. He bade them\nbring her before him, which they did and she related to him her past\nfrom first to last, whereat he marvelled. Then he cried to his kinsmen\nand escort to continue the chase, after which they took her and returned\nto their encampment, where the Emir appointed her a separate\ndwelling-place and five damsels to serve her; and he loved her with\nexceeding love and went in to her and lay with her. She conceived by him\nstraightway, and, when her months were accomplished, she bare a man\nchild and named him Sah\u00edm al-Layl.[318] He grew up with his brother\nGharib among the nurses and throve and waxed upon the lap of the Emir\nMardas who, in due time committed the two boys to a Fakih for\ninstruction in the things of their faith; after which he gave them in\ncharge to valiant knights of the Arabs, for training them to smite with\nsword and lunge with lance and shoot with shaft; so by the time they\nreached the age of fifteen, they knew all they needed and surpassed each\nand every brave of their tribe; for Gharib would undertake a thousand\nhorse and Sahim al-Layl no fewer. Now Mardas had many enemies, and the\nmen of his tribe were the bravest of all the Arabs, being doughty\ncavaliers, none might warm himself at their fire.[319] In his\nneighbourhood was an Emir of the Arabs, Hass\u00e1n bin S\u00e1bit hight, who was\nhis intimate friend; and he took to wife a noble lady of his tribe and\nbade all his friends to the wedding, amongst them Mardas lord of the\nBanu Kahtan, who accepted his invitation and set forth with three\nhundred riders of his tribe, leaving other four hundred to guard the\nwomen. Hassan met him with honour and seated him in the highest stead.\nThen came all the cavaliers to the bridal and he made them bride-feasts\nand held high festival by reason of the marriage, after which the Arabs\ndeparted to their dwelling-places. When Mardas came in sight of his\ncamp, he saw slain men lying about and birds hovering over them right\nand left; and his heart sank within him at the sight. Then he entered\nthe camp and was met by Gharib, clad in complete suit of ring-mail, who\ngave him joy of his safe return. Quoth Mardas, \u201cWhat meaneth this case,\nO Gharib?\u201d; and quoth Gharib, \u201cAl-Hamal bin M\u00e1jid attacked us with five\nhundred horsemen of his tribe.\u201d Now the reason of this was that the Emir\nMardas had a daughter called Mahd\u00edyah, seer never saw fairer than she,\nand Al-Hamal, lord of the Banu Nabh\u00e1n,[320] heard of her charms;\nwhereupon he took horse with five hundred of his men and rode to Mardas\nto demand her hand; but he was not accepted and was sent away\ndisappointed.[321] So he awaited till Mardas was absent on his visit to\nHassan, when he mounted with his champions and, falling upon the camp of\nthe Banu Kahtan, slew a number of their knights and the rest fled to the\nmountains. Now Gharib and his brother had ridden forth a-hunting and\nchasing with an hundred horse and returned not till midday, when they\nfound that Al-Hamal had seized the camp and all therein and had carried\noff the maidens, among whom was Mahdiyah, driving her away with the\ncaptives. When Gharib saw this, he lost his wits for rage and cried out\nto Sahim, saying, \u201cO my brother, O son of an accursed dam,[322] they\nhave plundered our camp and carried off our women and children! Up and\nat the enemy, that we may deliver the captives!\u201d So Gharib and Sahim and\ntheir hundred horse rushed upon the foe, and Gharib\u2019s wrath redoubled,\nand he reaped a harvest of heads slain, giving the champions death-cup\nto drain, till he won to Al-Hamal and saw Mahdiyah among the captives.\nThen he drave at the lord of the Banu Nabhan braves; with his lance\nlunged him and from his destrier hurled him; nor was the time of\nmid-afternoon prayer come before he had slain the most part of the foe\nand put to rout the rest and rescued the captives; whereupon he returned\nto the camp in triumph, bearing the head of Al-Hamal on the point of his\nlance and improvising these couplets:\u2014\n\n I am he who is known on the day of fight, \u273f And the Jinn of earth at my\n shade take fright:\n And a sword have I when my right hand wields, \u273f Death hastens from left\n on mankind to alight;\n\n I have eke a lance and who look thereon \u273f See a crescent-head of the\n liveliest light.[323]\n And Gharib I\u2019m hight of my tribe the brave \u273f And if few my men I feel\n naught affright.\n\nHardly had Gharib made an end of these verses when up came Mardas who,\nseeing the slain and the vultures, was sore troubled and with fluttering\nheart asked the cause. The youth, after due greetings, related all that\nhad befallen the tribe in his step-sire\u2019s absence. So Mardas thanked him\nand said, \u201cThou hast well requited our fosterage-pains in rearing thee,\nO Gharib!\u201d; then he alighted and entered his pavilion, and the men stood\nabout him, all the tribe praising Gharib and saying, \u201cO our Emir, but\nfor Gharib, not one of the tribe had been saved!\u201d And Mardas again\nthanked him.\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say\nher permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Mardas, hearing\nthe tribesmen\u2019s praises of Gharib, again thanked him for his derring-do.\nBut the youth, when he had delivered Mahdiyah from Al-Hamal whom he\nslew, was smitten by the shaft of her glances and fell into the nets of\nher allurements, wherefore his heart could not forget her and he became\ndrowned in love and longing and the sweets of sleep forsook him and he\nhad no joy of drink or meat. He would spur his horse up to the mountain\ntops, where he would spend the day in composing verses and return at\nnightfall; and indeed manifest upon him were the signs of affection and\ndistraction. He discovered his secret to one of his companions and it\nbecame noised abroad in the camp, till it reached the ears of Mardas,\nwho thundered and lightened and rose up and sat down and snarked and\nsnorted and reviled the sun and the moon, saying, \u201cThis is the reward of\nhim who reareth the sons of adultery! But except I kill Gharib, I shall\nbe put to shame.\u201d[324] Then he consulted one of the wise men of his\ntribe and after telling his secret took counsel with him of killing the\nyouth. Quoth the elder, \u201cO Emir, \u2018twas but yesterday that he freed thy\ndaughter from captivity. If there be no help for it but thou must slay\nhim, let it be by the hand of another than thyself, so none of the folk\nmay misdoubt of thee.\u201d Quoth Mardas, \u201cAdvise me how I may do him die,\nfor I look to none but to thee for his death.\u201d \u201cO Emir,\u201d answered the\nother, \u201cwait till he go forth to hunt and chase, when do thou take an\nhundred horse and lie in wait for him in some cave till he pass; then\nfall upon him unawares and cut him in pieces, so shalt thou be quit of\nhis reproach.\u201d Said Mardas, \u201cThis should serve me well;\u201d and chose out\nan hundred and fifty of his furious knights and Amalekites[325] whom he\nlessoned to his will. Then he watched Gharib till one day, he went forth\nto hunt and rode far away amongst the dells and hills; whereupon Mardas\nfollowed him with his men, ill-omened wights, and lay in wait for him by\nthe way against he should return from the chase that they might sally\nforth and slay him. But as they lay in ambush among the trees behold,\nthere fell upon them five hundred true Amalekites, who slew sixty of\nthem and made fourscore and ten prisoners and trussed up Mardas with his\narms behind his back. Now the reason of this was that when Gharib put\nAl-Hamal and his men to the sword, the rest fled and ceased not flying\ntill they reached their lord\u2019s brother and told him what had happened,\nwhereat his Doom-day rose and he gathered together his Amalekites and\nchoosing out five hundred cavaliers, each fifty ells high,[326] set out\nwith them in quest of blood-revengement for his brother. By the way he\nfell in with Mardas and his companions and there happened between them\nwhat happened; after which he bade his men alight and rest, saying, \u201cO\nfolk, the idols have given us an easy blood-wreak; so guard ye Mardas\nand his tribesmen, till I carry them away and do them die with the\nfoulest of deaths.\u201d When Mardas saw himself a prisoner, he repented of\nwhat he had done and said, \u201cThis is the reward of rebelling against the\nLord!\u201d Then the enemy passed the night rejoicing in their victory,\nwhilst Mardas and his men despaired of life and made sure of doom. So\nfar concerning them; but as regards Sahim al-Layl, who had been wounded\nin the fight with Al-Hamal, he went in to his sister Mahdiyah, and she\nrose to him and kissed his hands, saying, \u201cMay thy two hands ne\u2019er\nwither nor thine enemies have occasion to be blither! But for thee and\nGharib, we had not escaped captivity among our foes. Know, however, O my\nbrother, that thy father hath ridden forth with an hundred and fifty\nhorse, purposing to slaughter Gharib; and thou wottest it would be sore\nloss and foul wrong to slay him, for that it was he who saved your shame\nand rescued your good.\u201d When Sahim heard this, the light in his sight\nbecame night, he donned his battle-harness; and, mounting steed, rode\nfor the place where Gharib was a-hunting. He presently came up with him\nand found that he had taken great plenty of game; so he accosted him and\nsaluted him and said, \u201cO my brother, why didst thou go forth without\ntelling me?\u201d Replied Gharib, \u201cBy Allah, naught hindered me but that I\nsaw thee wounded and thought to give thee rest.\u201d Then said Sahim, \u201cO my\nbrother, beware of my sire!\u201d and told him how Mardas was abroad with an\nhundred and fifty men, seeking to slay him. Quoth Gharib, \u201cAllah shall\ncause his treason to cut his own throat.\u201d Then the brothers set out\ncamp-wards, but night overtook them by the way and they rode on in the\ndarkness, till they drew near the Wady wherein the enemy lay and heard\nthe neighing of steeds in the gloom; whereupon said Sahim, \u201cO my\nbrother, my father and his men are ambushed in yonder valley; let us\nflee from it.\u201d But Gharib dismounted and throwing his bridle to his\nbrother, said to him, \u201cStay in this stead till I come back to thee.\u201d\nThen he went on till he drew in sight of the folk, when he saw that they\nwere not of his tribe and heard them naming Mardas and saying, \u201cWe will\nnot slay him, save in his own land.\u201d Wherefore he knew that nuncle\nMardas was their prisoner, and said, \u201cBy the life of Mahdiyah, I will\nnot depart hence till I have delivered her father, that she may not be\ntroubled!\u201d Then he sought and ceased not seeking till he hit upon Mardas\nand found him bound with cords; so he sat down by his side and said to\nhim, \u201cHeaven deliver thee, O uncle, from these bonds and this shame!\u201d\nWhen Mardas saw Gharib his reason fled, and he said to him, \u201cO my son, I\nam under thy protection: so deliver me in right of my fosterage of\nthee!\u201d Quoth Gharib, \u201cIf I deliver thee, wilt thou give me Mahdiyah?\u201d\nQuoth the Emir, \u201cO my son, by whatso I hold sacred, she is thine to all\ntime!\u201d So he loosed him, saying, \u201cMake for the horses, for thy son Sahim\nis there:\u201d and Mardas crept along like a snake till he came to his son,\nwho rejoiced in him and congratulated him on his escape. Meanwhile,\nGharib unbound one after another of the prisoners, till he had freed the\nwhole ninety and they were all far from the foe. Then he sent them their\nweapons and war-horses, saying to them, \u201cMount ye and scatter yourselves\nround about the enemy and cry out, Ho, sons of Kahtan! And when they\nawake, do ye remove from them and encircle them in a thin ring.\u201d[327] So\nhe waited till the last and third watch of the night, when he cried out,\n\u201cHo, sons of Kahtan!\u201d and his men answered in like guise, crying, \u201cHo,\nsons of Kahtan,\u201d as with one voice; and the mountains echoed their\nslogan, so that it seemed to the raiders as though the whole tribe of\nBanu Kahtan were assailing them; wherefore they all snatched up their\narms and fell upon one another\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day\nand ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the\nraiders[328] awoke from sleep and heard Gharib and his men crying out,\n\u201cHo, sons of Kahtan!\u201d; they imagined that the whole tribe was assailing\nthem; wherefore they snatched up their arms and fell one upon other with\nmighty slaughter. Gharib and his men held aloof, and they fought one\nanother till daybreak, when Gharib and Mardas and their ninety warriors\ncame down upon them and killed some of them and put the rest to flight.\nThen the Banu Kahtan took the horses of the fugitives and the weapons of\nthe slain and returned to their tribal camp, whilst Mardas could hardly\ncredit his deliverance from the foe. When they reached the encampment,\nthe stay-at-home folk all came forth to meet them and rejoiced in their\nsafe return. Then they alighted and betook them to their tents; and all\nthe youths of the tribe flocked to Gharib\u2019s stead and great and small\nsaluted him and did him honour. But when Mardas saw this and the youths\nencircling his stepson he waxed more jealous of Gharib than before and\nsaid to his kinsfolk, \u201cVerily, hatred of Gharib groweth on my heart, and\nwhat irketh me most is that I see these flocking about him! And\nto-morrow he will demand Mahdiyah of me.\u201d Quoth his confidant, \u201cO Emir,\nask of him somewhat he cannot avail to do.\u201d This pleased Mardas who\npassed a pleasant night and on the morrow, as he sat on his stuffed\ncarpet, with the Arabs about him, Gharib entered, followed by his men\nand surrounded by the youth of the tribe, and kissed the ground before\nMardas who, making a show of joy, rose to do him honour and seated him\nbeside himself. Then said Gharib, \u201cO uncle, thou madest me a promise; do\nthou fulfil it.\u201d Replied the Emir, \u201cO my son, she is thine to all time;\nbut thou lackest wealth.\u201d Quoth Gharib, \u201cO uncle, ask of me what thou\nwilt, and I will fall upon the Emirs of the Arabs in their houses and on\nthe Kings in their towns and bring thee fee[329] enough to fence the\nland from East to West.\u201d \u201cO my son,\u201d quoth Mardas, \u201cI have sworn by all\nthe Idols that I would not give Mahdiyah save to him who should take my\nblood-wite of mine enemy and do away my reproach.\u201d \u201cO uncle,\u201d said\nGharib, \u201ctell me with which of the Kings thou hast a feud, that I may go\nto him and break his throne upon his pate.\u201d \u201cO my son,\u201d replied Mardas,\n\u201cI once had a son, a champion of champions, and he went forth one day to\nchase and hunt with an hundred horse. They fared on from valley to\nvalley, till they had wandered far away amongst the mountains and came\nto the Wady of Blossoms and the Castle of H\u00e1m bin Shays bin Shadd\u00e1d bin\nKhalad. Now in this place, O my son, dwelleth a black giant, seventy\ncubits high, who fights with trees from their roots uptorn; and when my\nson reached his Wady, the tyrant sallied out upon him and his men and\nslew them all, save three braves, who escaped and brought me the news.\nSo I assembled my champions and fared forth to fight the giant, but\ncould not prevail against him; wherefore I was baulked of my revenge and\nswore that I would not give my daughter in marriage save to him who\nshould avenge me of my son.\u201d Said Gharib, \u201cO uncle, I will go to this\nAmalekite and take the wreak of thy son on him with the help of Almighty\nAllah.\u201d And Mardas, answered, saying, \u201cO Gharib, if thou get the victory\nover him, thou wilt gain of him such booty of wealth and treasures as\nfires may not devour.\u201d Cried Gharib, \u201cSwear to me before witnesses thou\nwilt give me her to wife, so that with heart at ease I may go forth to\nfind my fortune.\u201d Accordingly, Mardas swore this to him and took the\nelders of the tribe to witness; whereupon Gharib fared forth, rejoicing\nin the attainment of his hopes, and went in to his mother, to whom he\nrelated what had passed. \u201cO my son,\u201d said she, \u201cknow that Mardas hateth\nthee and doth but send thee to this mountain, to bereave me of thee;\nthen take me with thee and let us depart the tents of this tyrant.\u201d But\nhe answered, \u201cO my mother, I will not depart hence till I win my wish\nand foil my foe.\u201d Thereupon he slept till morning arose with its sheen\nand shone, and hardly had he mounted his charger when his friends, the\nyoung men, came up to him; two hundred stalwart knights armed cap-\u00e0-pie\nand cried out to him, saying, \u201cTake us with thee; we will help thee and\ncompany thee by the way.\u201d And he rejoiced in them and cried, \u201cAllah\nrequite you for us with good!\u201d adding, \u201cCome, my friends, let us go.\u201d So\nthey set out and fared on the first day and the second day till evening,\nwhen they halted at the foot of a towering mount and baited their\nhorses. As for Gharib, he left the rest and walked on into that\nmountain, till he came to a cave whence issued a light. He entered and\nfound, at the higher facing end of the cave a Shaykh, three hundred and\nforty years old, whose eyebrows overhung his eyes and whose moustachios\nhid his mouth. Gharib at this sight was filled with awe and veneration,\nand the hermit said to him, \u201cMethinks thou art of the idolaters, O my\nson, stone-worshipping[330] in the stead of the All-powerful King, the\nCreator of Night and Day and of the sphere rolling on her way.\u201d When\nGharib heard his words, his side muscles quivered and he said, \u201cO\nShaykh, where is this Lord of whom thou speakest, that I may worship him\nand take my fill of his sight?\u201d Replied the Shaykh, \u201cO my son, this is\nthe Supreme Lord, upon whom none may look in this world. He seeth and is\nnot seen. He is the Most High of aspect and is present everywhere in His\nworks. He it is who maketh all the made and ordereth time to vade and\nfade; He is the Creator of men and Jinn and sendeth the Prophets to\nguide His creatures into the way of right. Whoso obeyeth Him, He\nbringeth into Heaven, and whoso gainsayeth Him, He casteth into Hell.\u201d\nAsked Gharib, \u201cAnd how, O uncle, saith whoso worshippeth this puissant\nLord who over all hath power?\u201d \u201cO my son,\u201d answered the Shaykh, \u201cI am of\nthe tribe of Ad, which were transgressors in the land and believed not\nin Allah. So He sent unto them a Prophet named H\u00fad, but they called him\nliar and he destroyed them by means of a deadly wind; but I believed\ntogether with some of my tribe, and we were saved from destruction.[331]\nMoreover, I was present with the tribe of Tham\u00fad and saw what befel them\nwith their Prophet S\u00e1lih. After Salih, the Almighty sent a prophet,\ncalled Abraham the Friend,[332] to Nimrod son of Canaan, and there befel\nwhat befel between them. Then my companions died in the Saving Faith and\nI continued in this cave to serve Allah the Most High, who provideth my\ndaily bread without my taking thought.\u201d Quoth Gharib, \u201cO uncle, what\nshall I say, that I may become of the troop of this mighty Lord?\u201d \u201cSay,\u201d\nreplied the old man:\u2014\u201cThere is no god but _the_ God and Abraham is the\nFriend of God.\u201d So Gharib embraced the Faith of Submission[333] with\nheart and tongue and the Shaykh said to him, \u201cMay the sweetness of\nbelief and devotion be stablished in thy heart!\u201d Then he taught him\nsomewhat of the biblical ordinances and scriptures of Al-Islam and said\nto him, \u201cWhat is thy name?\u201d; and he replied, \u201cMy name is Gharib.\u201d Asked\nthe old man, \u201cWhither art thou bound, O Gharib?\u201d So he told him all his\nhistory, till he came to the mention of the Gh\u00fal of the Mountain whom he\nsought,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Twenty-eighth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Gharib became\na Moslem and told the Shaykh his past, from first to last, till he came\nto the mention of the Mountain-Ghul whom he sought, the old man asked\nhim, \u201cO Gharib, art thou mad that thou goest forth against the Ghul of\nthe Mountain single handed?\u201d and he answered, \u201cO my lord, I have with me\ntwo hundred horse.\u201d \u201cO Gharib,\u201d rejoined the hermit, \u201chadst thou ten\nthousand riders yet shouldest thou not prevail against him, for his name\nis _The-Ghul-who-eateth-men-we-pray-Allah-for-safety_, and he is of the\nchildren of Ham. His father\u2019s name was Hindi, who peopled Hind and named\nit, and he left this son after him, whom he called Sa\u2019adan the Ghul. Now\nthe same was, O my son, even in his sire\u2019s lifetime, a cruel tyrant and\na rebellious devil and had no other food than flesh of the sons of Adam.\nHis father when about to die forbade him from this, but he would not be\nforbidden and he redoubled in his frowardness, till Hindi banished him\nand drove him forth the Land of Hind, after battles and sore travail.\nThen he came to this country and fortifying himself herein, established\nhis home in this place, whence he is wont to sally forth and cut the\nroad of all that come and go, presently returning to the valley he\nhaunteth. Moreover, he hath begotten five sons, warlike warlocks, each\none of whom will do battle with a thousand braves, and he hath flocked\nthe valley with his booty of treasure and goods besides horses and\ncamels and cattle and sheep. Wherefore I fear for thee from him; so do\nthou implore Almighty Allah to further thee against him by the Tahl\u00edl,\nthe formula of Unity, and when thou drivest at the Infidels, cry:\u2014God is\nmost Great! for, saying, There is no god but _the_ God confoundeth those\nwho misbelieve.\u201d Then the Shaykh gave him a steel mace, an hundred\npounds in weight, with ten rings which clashed like thunder whenas the\nwielder brandished it, and a sword forged of a thunderbolt,[334] three\nells long and three spans broad, wherewith if one smote a rock, the\nstroke would cleave it in sunder. Moreover he gave him a hauberk and\ntarget and a book and said to him, \u201cReturn to thy tribe and expound unto\nthem Al-Islam.\u201d So Gharib left him, rejoicing in his new Faith, and\nfared till he found his companions, who met him with salams, saying,\n\u201cWhat made thee tarry thus?\u201d Whereupon he related to them that which had\nbefallen him and expounded to them Al-Islam, and they all islamised.\nEarly next morning, Gharib mounted and rode to the hermit to farewell\nhim, after which he set out to return to his camp when behold, on his\nway, there met him a horseman cap-\u00e0-pie armed so that only his eyes\nappeared, who made at him, saying, \u201cDoff what is on thee, O scum[335] of\nthe Arabs; or I will do thee die!\u201d Therewith Gharib drave at him and\nthere befel between them a battle such as would make a new-born child\nturn grey and melt the flinty rock with its sore affray; but presently\nthe Badawi did off his face-veil, and lo! it was Gharib\u2019s half-brother\nSahim al-Layl. Now the cause of his coming thither was that when Gharib\nset out in quest of the Mountain-Ghul, Sahim was absent and on his\nreturn, not seeing his brother, he went in to his mother, whom he found\nweeping. He asked the reason of her tears and she told him what had\nhappened of his brother\u2019s journey, whereupon, without allowing himself\naught of rest, he donned his war-gear and mounting rode after Gharib,\ntill he overtook him and there befel between them what befel. When,\ntherefore, Sahim discovered his face, Gharib knew him and saluted him,\nsaying, \u201cWhat moved thee to do this?\u201d Quoth Sahim, \u201cI had a mind to\nmeasure myself with thee in the field and make trial of my lustihood in\ncut and thrust.\u201d Then they rode together and on the way Gharib expounded\nAl-Islam to Sahim, who embraced the Faith; nor did they cease riding\ntill they were hard upon the valley. Meanwhile, the Mountain-Ghul espied\nthe dust of their horses\u2019 feet and said to his sons, \u201cO my sons, mount\nand fetch me yonder loot.\u201d So the five took horse and made for the\nparty. When Gharib saw the five Amalekites approaching, he plied\nshovel-iron upon his steed\u2019s flank and cried out, saying, \u201cWho are ye,\nand what is your race and what do ye require?\u201d Whereupon Falh\u00fan bin\nSa\u2019adan, the eldest of the five, came out and said, \u201cDismount ye and\nbind one another[336] and we will drive you to our father, that he may\nroast various of you and boil various, for it is long since he has\ntasted the flesh of Adam-son.\u201d When Gharib heard these words he drove at\nFalhun, shaking his mace, so that the rings rang like the roaring\nthunder and the giant was confounded. Then he smote him a light blow\nwith the mace between the shoulders, and he fell to the ground like a\ntall-trunked palm-tree; whereupon Sahim and some of his men fell upon\nhim and pinioned him; then, putting a rope about his neck, they haled\nhim along like a cow. Now when his brothers saw him a prisoner, they\ncharged home upon Gharib, who took three[337] of them captive and the\nfifth fled back to his sire, who said to him, \u201cWhat is behind thee and\nwhere are the brothers of thee?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cVerily, a beardless youth,\nforty cubits high, hath taken them prisoner.\u201d Quoth Sa\u2019adan, \u201cMay the\nsun pour no blessing on you!\u201d and, going down from his hold, tore up a\nhuge tree, with which he went in quest of Gharib and his folk; and he\nwas on foot, for that no horse might carry him, because of the bigness\nof his body. His son followed him and the twain went on till they came\nup with Gharib and his company, when the Ghul fell upon them, without\nword said, and slew five men with his club. Then he made at Sahim and\nstruck at him with his tree, but Sahim avoided the blow and it fell\nharmless; whereat Sa\u2019adan was wroth and throwing down the weapon, sprang\nupon Sahim and caught him in his pounces as the sparrow-hawk catcheth up\nthe sparrow. Now when Gharib saw his brother in the Ghul\u2019s clutches, he\ncried out, saying, \u201cAllaho Akbar\u2014God is most Great! Oh the favour of\nAbraham the Friend, the Muhammad,[338] the Blessed One (whom Allah keep\nand assain!)\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Gharib\nsaw his brother in the clutches of the Ghul, he cried out, saying \u201cOh\nthe favour of Ibrahim, the Friend, the Blessed one (whom Allah keep and\nassain!)\u201d; and drave his charger at Sa\u2019adan, shaking his mace, till the\nrings loud rang. Then he cried out again, \u201cGod is most Great!\u201d and smote\nthe Ghul on the flat of the ribs with his mace, whereupon he fell to the\nground, insensible, and loosed his grip on Sahim; nor did he come to\nhimself ere he was pinioned and shackled. When his son saw this, he\nturned and fled; but Gharib drove steed after him and smiting him with\nhis mace between the shoulders, threw him from his horse. So they bound\nhim with his father and brethren and haltering them with ropes, haled\nthem all six along like baggage-camels, till they reached the Ghul\u2019s\ncastle, which they found full of goods and treasures and things of\nprice; and there they also came upon twelve hundred Ajamis, men of\nPersia, bound and shackled. Gharib sat down on Sa\u2019adan\u2019s chair, which\nhad aforetime belonged to S\u00e1s\u00e1[339] bin Shays bin Shaddad bin Ad causing\nSahim to stand on his right and his companions on his either hand, and\nsending for the Ghul of the Mountain, said to him, \u201cHow findest thou\nthyself, O accursed?\u201d Replied Sa\u2019adan, \u201cO my lord, in the sorriest of\nplights for abasement and mortification; my sons and I, we are bound\nwith ropes like camels.\u201d Quoth Gharib, \u201cIt is my will that you enter my\nfaith, the faith Al-Islam hight, and acknowledge the Unity of the\nAll-knowing King whose All-might created Light and Night and every\nthing,\u2014there is no God but He, the Requiting King!\u2014and confess the\nmission and prophethood of Abraham the Friend (on whom be peace!).\u201d So\nthe Ghul and his sons made the required profession after the goodliest\nfashion, and Gharib bade loose their bonds; whereupon Sa\u2019adan wept and\nwould have kissed his feet, he and his sons: but Gharib forbade them and\nthey stood with the rest who stood before him. Then said Gharib,\n\u201cHarkye, Sa\u2019adan!\u201d; and he replied, \u201cAt thy service, O my lord!\u201d Quoth\nGharib, \u201cWhat are these captives?\u201d \u201cO my lord,\u201d quoth the Ghul, \u201cthese\nare my game from the land of the Persians and are not the only ones.\u201d\nAsked Gharib, \u201cAnd who is with them?\u201d; and Sa\u2019adan answered, \u201cO my lord,\nthere is with them the Princess Fakhr T\u00e1j, daughter of King Sab\u00far of\nPersia,[340] and an hundred damsels like moons.\u201d When Gharib heard this,\nhe marvelled and said, \u201cO Emir, how came ye by these?\u201d Replied Sa\u2019adan,\n\u201cI went forth one night with my sons and five of my slaves in quest of\nbooty, but finding no spoil in our way, we dispersed over wilds and\nwolds and fared on, hoping we might happen on somewhat of prey and not\nreturn empty-handed, till we found ourselves in the land of the\nPersians. Presently, we espied a dust-cloud and sent on to reconnoitre\none of our slaves, who was absent a while and presently returned and\nsaid:\u2014O my lord, this is the Princess Fakhr Taj, daughter of Sabur, King\nof the Persians, Turcomans and Medes; and she is on a journey, attended\nby two thousand horse. Quoth I, Thou hast gladdened us with good news!\nWe could have no finer loot than this. Then I and my sons fell upon the\nPersians and slew of them three hundred men and took the Princess and\ntwelve hundred cavaliers prisoners, together with all that was with her\nof treasure and riches and brought them to this our castle.\u201d Quoth\nGharib, \u201cHast thou offered any violence to the Princess Fakhr Taj?\u201d\nQuoth Sa\u2019adan, \u201cNot I, as thy head liveth and by the virtue of the Faith\nI have but now embraced!\u201d Gharib replied, \u201cIt was well done of thee, O\nSa\u2019adan, for her father is King of the world and doubtless he will\ndespatch troops in quest of her and lay waste the dwellings of those who\ntook her. And whoso looketh not to issue and end hath not Fate to\nfriend. But where is the damsel?\u201d Said Sa\u2019adan, \u201cI have set apart a\npavilion for her and her damsels;\u201d and said Gharib, \u201cShow me her\nlodging,\u201d whereto Sa\u2019adan rejoined, \u201cHearkening and obedience!\u201d So he\ncarried him to the pavilion, and there he found the Princess mournful\nand cast down, weeping for her former condition of dignity and delight.\nWhen Gharib saw her, he thought the moon was near him and magnified\nAllah, the All-hearing, the All-seeing. The Princess also looked at him\nand saw him a princely cavalier, with valour shining from between his\neyes and testifying for him and not against him; so she rose and kissed\nhis hands, then fell at his feet, saying, \u201cO hero of the age, I am under\nthy protection; guard me from this Ghul, for I fear lest he do away my\nmaidenhead and after devour me. So take me to serve thine handmaidens.\u201d\nQuoth Gharib, \u201cThou art safe and thou shalt be restored to thy father\nand the seat of thy worship.\u201d Whereupon she prayed that he might live\nlong and have advancement in rank and honour. Then he bade unbind the\nPersians and, turning to the Princess, said to her, \u201cWhat brought thee\nforth of thy palace to the wilds and wastes, so that the highway-robbers\nmade prize of thee?\u201d She replied, \u201cO my lord, my father and all the\npeople of his realm, Turks and Daylamites, are Magians, fire\nworshipping, and not the All-powerful King. Now in our country is a\nmonastery called the Monastery of the Fire, whither every year the\ndaughters of the Magians and worshippers of the Fire resort at the time\nof their festival and abide there a month, after which they return to\ntheir houses. So I and my damsels set out, as of wont, attended by two\nthousand horse, whom my father sent with me to guard me; but by the way\nthis Ghul came out against us and slew some of us and, taking the rest\ncaptive, imprisoned us in this hold. This, then, is what befel me, O\nvaliant champion, whom Allah guard against the shifts of Time!\u201d And\nGharib said, \u201cFear not; for I will bring thee to thy palace and the seat\nof thy honours.\u201d Wherefore she blessed him and kissed his hands and\nfeet. Then he went out from her, after having commanded to treat her\nwith respect, and slept till morning, when he made the Wuzu-ablution and\nprayed a two-bow prayer, after the rite of our father Abraham the Friend\n(on whom be peace!), whilst the Ghul and his sons and Gharib\u2019s company\nall did the like after him. Then he turned to the Ghul and said to him,\n\u201cO Sa\u2019adan, wilt thou not show me the Wady of Blossoms?\u201d[341] \u201cI will, O\nmy lord,\u201d answered he. So Gharib and his company and Princess Fakhr Taj\nand her maidens all rose and went forth, whilst Sa\u2019adan commanded his\nslaves and slave-girls to slaughter and cook and make ready the\nmorning-meal and bring it to them among the trees. For the Giant had an\nhundred and fifty handmaids and a thousand chattels to pasture his\ncamels and oxen and sheep. When they came to the valley, they found it\nbeautiful exceedingly and passing all degree; and birds on tree sang\njoyously and the mocking-nightingale trilled out her melody, and the\ncushat filled with her moan the mansions made by the Deity,\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Thirtieth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Gharib and\nhis merry men and the Giant and his tribe reached the Wady of Blossoms\nthey found birds flying free; the cushat filling with her moan the\nmansions made by the Deity, the bulbul singing as if \u2018twere human\nharmony and the merle whom to describe tongue faileth utterly; the\nturtle, whose plaining maddens men for love-ecstasy and the ringdove\nand the popinjay answering her with fluency. There also were trees\nladen with all manner of fruitery, of each two kinds,[342] the\npomegranate, sweet and sour upon branches growing luxuriantly, the\nalmond-apricot,[343] the camphor-apricot[344] and the almond Khorasan\nhight; the plum, with whose branches the boughs of the myrobalan were\nentwined tight; the orange, as it were a cresset flaming light, the\nshaddock weighed down with heavy freight; the lemon, that cures lack\nof appetite, the citron against jaundice of sovereign might, and the\ndate, red and yellow-bright, the especial handiwork of Allah the Most\nHigh. Of the like of this place saith the enamoured poet:\u2014\n\n When its birds in the lake make melody, \u273f The lorn lover yearneth its\n sight to see:\n \u2018Tis as Eden breathing a fragrant breeze, \u273f With its shade and fruits\n and rills flowing free.\n\nGharib marvelled at the beauty of that Wady and bade them set up there\nthe pavilion of Fakhr Taj the Chosroite; so they pitched it among the\ntrees and spread it with rich tapestries. Then he sat down and the\nslaves brought food and they ate their sufficiency; after which quoth\nGharib, \u201cHarkye, Sa\u2019adan!\u201d: and quoth he, \u201cAt thy service, O my lord.\u201d\n\u201cHast thou aught of wine?\u201d asked Gharib, and Sa\u2019adan answered, \u201cYes, I\nhave a cistern full of old wine.\u201d Said Gharib, \u201cBring us some of it.\u201d So\nSa\u2019adan sent ten slaves, who returned with great plenty of wine, and\nthey ate and drank and were mirthful and merry. And Gharib bethought him\nof Mahdiyah and improvised these couplets:\u2014\n\n I mind our union days when ye were nigh, \u273f And flames my heart with\n love\u2019s consuming lowe.\n By Allah, ne\u2019er of will I quitted you: \u273f But shifts of Time from you\n compelled me go:\n Peace and fair luck and greetings thousand-fold \u273f To you, from exiled\n lover\u2019s pining woe.\n\nThey abode eating and drinking and taking their pleasure in the valley\nfor three days, after which they returned to the castle. Then Gharib\ncalled Sahim and said to him, \u201cTake an hundred horse and go to thy\nfather and mother and thy tribe, the Banu Kahtan, and bring them all to\nthis place, here to pass the rest of their days, whilst I carry the\nPrincess of Persia back to her father. As for thee, O Sa\u2019adan, tarry\nthou here with thy sons, till I return to thee.\u201d Asked Sa\u2019adan, \u201cAnd why\nwilt thou not carry me with thee to the land of the Persians?\u201d; and\nGharib answered, \u201cBecause thou stolest away King Sabur\u2019s daughter and if\nhis eye fall on thee, he will eat thy flesh and drink thy blood.\u201d When\nthe Ghul heard this, he laughed a loud laugh, as it were the pealing\nthunder, and said, \u201cO my lord, by the life of thy head, if the Persians\nand Medes united against me, I would make them quaff the cup of\nannihilation.\u201d Quoth Gharib, \u201c\u2018Tis as thou sayest;[345] but tarry thou\nhere in fort till I return to thee;\u201d and quoth the Ghul, \u201cI hear and I\nobey.\u201d Then Sahim departed with his comrades of the Banu Kahtan for the\ndwelling-places of their tribe, and Gharib set out with Princess Fakhr\nTaj and her company, intending for the cities of Sabur, King of the\nPersians. Thus far concerning them; but as regards King Sabur, he abode\nawaiting his daughter\u2019s return from the Monastery of the Fire, and when\nthe appointed time passed by and she came not, flames raged in his\nheart. Now he had forty Wazirs, whereof the oldest, wisest and chiefest\nwas hight Dayd\u00e1n: so he said to him, \u201cO Minister, verily my daughter\ndelayeth her return and I have no news of her though the appointed time\nis past; so do thou send a courier to the Monastery of the Fire to learn\nwhat is come of her.\u201d \u201cHearkening and obedience,\u201d replied Daydan; and,\nsummoning the chief of the couriers, said to him, \u201cWend thou forthright\nto the Monastery.\u201d So he lost no time and when he reached it, he asked\nthe monks of the King\u2019s daughter, but they said, \u201cWe have not seen her\nthis year.\u201d So the courier returned to the city of Isb\u00e1n\u00edr[346] and told\nthe Wazir, who went in to the King and acquainted him with the message.\nNow when Sabur heard this, he cast his crown on the ground, tore his\nbeard and fell down in a trance. They sprinkled water upon him, and\npresently he came to himself, tearful-eyed and heavy-hearted, and\nrepeated the words of the poet:\u2014\n\n When I far-parted patience call and tears, \u273f Tears came to call but\n Patience never hears:\n What, then, if Fortune parted us so far? \u273f Fortune and Perfidy are peers\n and feres!\n\nThen he called ten of his captains and bade them mount with a thousand\nhorse and ride in different directions, in quest of his daughter. So\nthey mounted forthright and departed each with his thousand; whilst\nFakhr Taj\u2019s mother clad herself and her women in black and strewed ashes\non her head and sat weeping and lamenting. Such was their case;\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-first Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Sabur sent\nhis troops in quest of his daughter, whose mother clad herself and her\nwomen in black. Such was their case; but as regards the strange\nadventures of Gharib and the Princess, they journeyed on ten days, and\non the eleventh day, appeared a dust-cloud which rose to the confines of\nthe sky; whereupon Gharib called the Emir of the Persians and said to\nhim, \u201cGo learn the cause thereof.\u201d \u201cI hear and obey,\u201d replied he and\ndrave his charger, till he came under the cloud of dust, where he saw\nfolk and enquired of them. Quoth one of them, \u201cWe are of the Banu Hatt\u00e1l\nand are questing for plunder; our Emir is Sams\u00e1m bin Al-Jir\u00e1h and we are\nfive thousand horse.\u201d The Persians returned in haste and told their\nsaying to Gharib, who cried out to his men of the Banu Kahtan and to the\nPersians, saying, \u201cDon your arms!\u201d They did as he bade them and\npresently up came the Arabs who were shouting, \u201cA plunder! a plunder!\u201d\nQuoth Gharib, \u201cAllah confound you, O dogs of Arabs!\u201d Then he loosed his\nhorse and drove at them with the career of a right valiant knight,\nshouting, \u201cAllaho Akbar! Ho for the faith of Abraham the Friend, on whom\nbe peace!\u201d And there befel between them great fight and sore fray and\nthe sword went round in sway and there was much said and say; nor did\nthey leave fighting till fled the day and gloom came, when they drew\nfrom one another away. Then Gharib numbered his tribesmen and found that\nfive of the Banu Kahtan had fallen and three-and-seventy of the\nPersians; but of the Banu Hattal they had slain more than five hundred\nhorse. As for Samsam, he alighted and sought nor meat nor sleep, but\nsaid, \u201cIn all my life I never saw such a fighter as this youth! Anon he\nfighteth with the sword and anon with the mace; but, to-morrow I will go\nforth on champion wise and defy him to combat of twain in battle plain\nwhere edge and point are fain and I will cut off these Arabs.\u201d Now, when\nGharib returned to his camp, the Princess Fakhr Taj met him, weeping and\naffrighted for the terror of that which had befallen, and kissed his\nfoot in the stirrup, saying, \u201cMay thy hands never wither nor thy foes be\nblither, O champion of the age! Alhamdolillah\u2014Praise to God\u2014who hath\nsaved thee alive this day! Verily, I am in fear for thee from yonder\nArabs.\u201d When Gharib heard this, he smiled in her face and heartened and\ncomforted her, saying, \u201cFear not, O Princess! Did the enemy fill this\nwild and wold yet would I scatter them, by the might of Allah Almighty.\u201d\nShe thanked him and prayed that he might be given the victory over his\nfoes; after which she returned to her women and Gharib went to his tent,\nwhere he cleansed himself of the blood of the Infidels, and they lay on\nguard through the night. Next morning, the two hosts mounted and sought\nthe plain where cut and thrust ruled sovereign. The first to prick into\nthe open was Gharib, who drave his charger till he was near the Infidels\nand cried out, \u201cWho is for jousting with me? Let no sluggard or weakling\ncome out to me!\u201d Whereupon there rushed forth a giant Amalekite of the\nlineage of the tribe of Ad, armed with an iron flail twenty pounds in\nweight, and drove at Gharib, saying, \u201cO scum of the Arabs, take what\ncometh to thee and learn the glad tidings that thy last hour is at\nhand!\u201d So saying, he aimed a blow at Gharib, but he avoided it and the\nflail sank a cubit into the ground. Now the Badawi was bent double with\nthe blow; so Gharib smote him with his mace and clove his forehead in\nsunder; and he fell down dead and Allah hurried his soul to Hell-fire.\nThen Gharib charged and wheeled and called for champions; so there came\nout to him a second and a third and a fourth and so on, till ten had\ncome forth to him and he slew them all. When the Infidels saw his form\nof fight and his swashing blows they hung back and forebore to fare\nforth to him, whereupon Samsam looked at them and said, \u201cAllah never\nbless you! I will go forth to him.\u201d So he donned his battle-gear and\ndriving his charger into mid-field where he fronted the foe and cried\nout to Gharib, saying, \u201cFie on thee, O dog of the Arabs! hath thy\nstrength waxed so great that thou shouldst defy me in the open field and\nslaughter my men?\u201d And Gharib replied, \u201cUp and take blood-revenge for\nthe slaughter of thy braves!\u201d So Samsam ran at Gharib who awaited him\nwith broadened breast and heart enheartened, and they smote each at\nother with maces, till the two hosts marvelled and every eye was fixed\non them. Then they wheeled about in the field and struck at each other\ntwo strokes; but Gharib avoided Samsam\u2019s stroke which wreak had wroke\nand dealt him a buffet that beat in his breastbone and cast him to the\nground\u2014stone dead. Thereupon all his host ran at Gharib as one man, and\nhe ran at them, crying, \u201cGod is most Great! Help and Victory for us and\nshame and defeat for those who misbelieve the faith of Abraham the\nFriend, on whom be peace!\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and\nceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-second Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Samsam\u2019s\ntribesmen rushed upon Gharib as one man, he ran at them crying, \u201cGod is\nmost Great! Help and Victory for us and shame and defeat for the\nMiscreant!\u201d Now when the Infidels heard the name of the All-powerful\nKing, the One, the All-conquering, whom the sight comprehendeth not, but\nHe comprehendeth the sight,[347] they looked at one another and said,\n\u201cWhat is this say that maketh our side-muscles tremble and weakeneth our\nresolution and causeth the life to fail in us? Never in our lives heard\nwe aught goodlier than this saying!\u201d adding, \u201cLet us leave fighting,\nthat we may ask its meaning.\u201d So they held their hands from the battle\nand dismounted; and their elders assembled and held counsel together,\nseeking to go to Gharib and saying, \u201cLet ten of us repair to him!\u201d So\nthey chose out ten of their best, who set out for Gharib\u2019s tents. Now he\nand his people had alighted and returned to their camp, marvelling at\nthe withdrawal of the Infidels from the fight. But, presently, lo and\nbehold! the ten came up and seeking speech of Gharib, kissed the earth\nbefore him and wished him glory and lasting life. Quoth he to them,\n\u201cWhat made you leave fighting?\u201d; and quoth they, \u201cO, my lord, thou didst\naffright us with the words thou shoutest out at us.\u201d Then asked Gharib,\n\u201cWhat calamity do ye worship?\u201d; and they answered, \u201cWe worship Wadd and\nSuw\u00e1\u2019a and Yagh\u00fas,[348] lords of the tribe of Noah\u201d; and Gharib, \u201cWe\nserve none but Allah Almighty, Maker of all things and Provider of all\nlivings. He it is who created the heavens and the earth and stablished\nthe mountains, who made water to well from the stones and the trees to\ngrow and feedeth wild beasts in wold; for He is Allah, the One, the\nAll-powerful Lord.\u201d When they heard this, their bosoms broadened to the\nwords of Unity-faith, and they said, \u201cVerily, this be a Lord high and\ngreat, compassionating and compassionate!\u201d; adding, \u201cAnd what shall we\nsay, to become of the Moslems, of those which submit themselves to Him?\u201d\nQuoth Gharib, \u201cSay:\u2014There is no god but _the_ God and Abraham is the\nFriend of God.\u201d So the ten made veracious profession of the veritable\nreligion and Gharib said to them, \u201cAn the sweet savour of Al-Islam be\nindeed stablished in your hearts, fare ye to your tribe and expound the\nfaith to them; and if they profess, they shall be saved, but if they\nrefuse we will burn them with fire.\u201d So the ten elders returned and\nexpounded Al-Islam to their people and set forth to them the path of\ntruth and creed, and they embraced the Faith of Submission with heart\nand tongue. Then they repaired on foot to Gharib\u2019s tent and kissing\nground between his hands wished him honour and high rank, saying, \u201cO our\nlord, we are become thy slaves; so command us what thou wilt, for we are\nto thee audient and obedient and we will never depart from thee, since\nAllah hath guided us into the right way at thy hands.\u201d Replied he,\n\u201cAllah abundantly requite you! Return to your dwellings and march forth\nwith your good and your children and forego me to the Wady of Blossoms\nand the castle of S\u00e1s\u00e1 bin Shays,[349] whilst I carry the Princess Fakhr\nTaj, daughter of Sabur, King of the Persians, back to her father and\nreturn to you.\u201d \u201cHearkening and obedience,\u201d said they and straightway\nreturned to their encampment, rejoicing in Al-Islam, and expounded the\nTrue Faith to their wives and children, who became Believers. Then they\nstruck their tents and set forth, with their good and cattle, for the\nWady of Blossoms. When they came in sight of the castle of Shays,\nSa\u2019adan and his sons sallied forth to them, but Gharib had charged them,\nsaying, \u201cIf the Ghul of the Mountain come out to you and offer to attack\nyou, do ye call upon the name of Allah the All-creator, and he will\nleave his hostile intent and receive you hospitably.\u201d So when he would\nhave fallen upon them they called aloud upon the name of Almighty Allah\nand straightway he received them kindly and asked them of their case.\nThey told him all that had passed between Gharib and themselves,\nwhereupon he rejoiced in them and lodged them with him and loaded them\nwith favours. Such was their case; but as regards Gharib, he and his,\nescorting the Princess fared on five days\u2019 journey towards the City of\nIsbanir, and on the sixth day they saw a dust-cloud. So Gharib sent one\nof the Persians to learn the meaning of this and he went and returned,\nswiftlier than bird in flight, saying, \u201cO my lord, these be a thousand\nhorse of our comrades, whom the King hath sent in quest of his daughter\nFakhr Taj.\u201d When Gharib heard this, he commanded his company to halt and\npitch the tents. So they halted and waited till the new comers reached\nthem, when they went to meet them and told T\u00fam\u00e1n, their captain, that\nthe Princess was with them; whereupon he went in to Gharib and kissing\nthe ground before him, enquired for her. Gharib sent him to her\npavilion, and he entered and kissed her hands and feet and acquainted\nher with what had befallen her father and mother. She told him in return\nall that had betided her and how Gharib had delivered her from the Ghul\nof the Mountain,\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased\nsaying her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-third Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the King\u2019s\ndaughter, Fakhr Taj, had told Tuman all that had befallen her from the\nMountain-Ghul, and how he had imprisoned her and would have devoured her\nbut for Gharib, adding, \u201cAnd indeed, it behoveth my sire to give him the\nhalf of his reign,\u201d Tuman arose and returned to Gharib and kissed his\nhands and feet and thanked him for his good dealing, saying, \u201cWith thy\nleave, O my lord, I will return to Isbanir City and deliver to our King\nthe good news of his daughter\u2019s approach.\u201d \u201cGo,\u201d replied Gharib, \u201cand\ntake of him the gift of glad tidings.\u201d So Tuman returned with all\ndiligence to Isbanir, the Cities, and entering the palace, kissed ground\nbefore the King, who said to him, \u201cWhat is there of new, O bringer of\ngood news?\u201d Quoth Tuman, \u201cI will not speak thee, till thou give me the\ngift of glad tidings.\u201d Quoth the King, \u201cTell me thy glad tidings and I\nwill content thee.\u201d So Tuman said, \u201cO King, I bring thee joyful\nintelligence of the return of Princess Fakhr Taj.\u201d When Sabur heard his\ndaughter\u2019s name, he fell down fainting and they sprinkled rose-water on\nhim, till he recovered and cried to Tuman, \u201cDraw near to me and tell me\nall the good which hath befallen her.\u201d So he came forward and acquainted\nhim with all that had betided the Princess; and Sabur beat hand upon\nhand, saying, \u201cUnhappy thou, O Fakhr Taj!\u201d[350] And he bade give Tuman\nten thousand gold pieces and conferred on him the government of Isf\u00e1h\u00e1n\nCity and its dependencies. Then he cried out to his Emirs, saying,\n\u201cMount, all of you, and fare we forth to meet the Princess Fakhr Taj!\u201d;\nand the Chief Eunuch went in to the Queen-mother and told her and all\nthe Harim the good news, whereat she rejoiced and gave him a robe of\nhonour and a thousand dinars. Moreover, the people of the city heard of\nthis and decorated the market streets and houses. Then the King and\nTuman took horse and rode till they had sight of Gharib, when Sabur\nfooted it and made some steps towards Gharib, who also dismounted and\nadvanced to meet him; and they embraced and saluted each other, and\nSabur bent over Gharib\u2019s hand and kissed it and thanked him for his\nfavours.[351] They pitched their pavilions in face of each other and\nSabur went in to his daughter, who rose and embracing him told him, all\nthat had befallen her and how Gharib had rescued her from the clutches\nof the Ghul of the Mountain. Quoth the King, \u201cBy thy life, O Princess of\nfair ones, I will overwhelm him with gifts!\u201d; and quoth she, \u201cO my papa,\nmake him thy son-in-law, that he may be to thee a force against thy\nfoes, for he is passing valiant.\u201d Her father replied, \u201cO my daughter,\nknowst thou not that King Khirad Sh\u00e1h seeketh thee in marriage and that\nhe hath cast the brocade[352] and hath given an hundred thousand dinars\nin settlement, and he is King of Shiraz and its dependencies and is lord\nof empire and horsemen and footmen?\u201d But when the Princess heard these\nwords she said, \u201cO my papa! I desire not that whereof thou speakest, and\nif thou constrain me to that I have no mind to, I will slay myself.\u201d So\nSabur left her and went in to Gharib, who rose to him; and they sat\nawhile together; but the King could not take his fill of looking upon\nhim; and he said in his mind, \u201cBy Allah, my daughter is excusable if she\nlove this Badawi!\u201d Then he called for food and they ate and passed the\nnight together. On the morrow, they took horse and rode till they\narrived at the City of Isbanir and entered, stirrup to stirrup, and it\nwas for them a great day. Fakhr Taj repaired to her palace and the\nabiding-place of her rank, where her mother and her women received her\nwith cries of joy and loud lullilooings. As for King Sabur, he sat down\non his throne and seated Gharib on his right hand, whilst the Princes\nand Chamberlains, the Emirs, Wazirs and Nabobs stood on either hand and\ngave him joy of the recovery of his daughter. Said Sabur, \u201cWhoso loveth\nme let him bestow a robe of honour on Gharib,\u201d and there fell dresses of\nhonour on him like drops of rain. Then Gharib abode the King\u2019s guest ten\ndays, when he would have departed, but Sabur clad him in an honourable\nrobe and swore him by his faith that he should not march for a whole\nmonth. Quoth Gharib, \u201cO King, I am plighted to one of the girls of the\nArabs and I desire to go in to her.\u201d Quoth the King, \u201cWhether is the\nfairer, thy betrothed or Fakhr Taj?\u201d \u201cO King of the age,\u201d replied\nGharib, \u201cwhat is the slave beside the lord?\u201d And Sabur said, \u201cFakhr Taj\nis become thy handmaid, for that thou didst rescue her from the pounces\nof the Ghul, and she shall have none other husband than thyself.\u201d\nThereupon Gharib rose and kissed ground, saying, \u201cO King of the age,\nthou art a sovereign and I am but a poor man, and belike thou wilt ask a\nheavy dowry.\u201d Replied the King, \u201cO my son, know that Khirad Shah, lord\nof Shir\u00e1z and dependencies thereof, seeketh her in marriage and hath\nappointed an hundred thousand dinars to her dower; but I have chosen\nthee before all men, that I may make thee the sword of my kingship and\nmy shield against vengeance.\u201d[353] Then he turned to his Chief Officers\nand said to them, \u201cBear witness[354] against me, O Lords of mine Empire,\nthat I marry my daughter Fakhr Taj to my son Gharib.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad\nperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night\n\nShe continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sabur, King\nof Ajam-land said to his Chief Officers, \u201cBear ye witness against me\nthat I marry my daughter, Fakhr Taj, to my son Gharib!\u201d With that he\njoined palms[355] with him and she became his wife. Then said Gharib,\n\u201cAppoint me a dower and I will bring it to thee, for I have in the\nCastle of Sasa wealth and treasures beyond count.\u201d Replied Sabur, \u201cO my\nson, I want of thee neither treasure nor wealth and I will take nothing\nfor her dower save the head of Jamrk\u00e1n King of Dasht and the city of\nAhw\u00e1z.[356]\u201d Quoth Gharib, \u201cO King of the age, I will fetch my folk\nforthright and go to thy foe and spoil his realm.\u201d Quoth Sabur, \u201cAllah\nrequite thee with good!\u201d and dismissed the lords and commons, thinking,\n\u201cIf Gharib go forth against Jamrkan, he will never more return.\u201d When\nmorning morrowed the King mounted with Gharib and bidding all his troops\ntake horse rode forth to the plain, where he said to his men, \u201cDo ye\ntilt with spears and gladden my heart.\u201d So the champions of Persia-land\nplayed one against other, and Gharib said, \u201cO King of the age, I have a\nmind to tilt with the horsemen of Ajam-land, but on one condition.\u201d\nAsked the King, \u201cWhat is that?\u201d; and answered Gharib, \u201cIt is that I\nshall don a light tunic and take a headless lance, with a pennon dipped\nin saffron, whilst the Persian champions sally forth and tilt against me\nwith sharp spears. If any conquer me, I will render myself to him: but,\nif I conquer him I will mark him on the breast and he shall leave the\nplain.\u201d Then the King cried to the commander of the troops to bring\nforward the champions of the Persians; so he chose out from amongst the\nPrinces one thousand two hundred of his stoutest champions, and the King\nsaid to them, in the Persian tongue, \u201cWhoso slayeth this Badawi may ask\nof me what he will.\u201d So they strove with one another for precedence and\ncharged down upon Gharib and truth was distinguished from falsehood and\njest from earnest. Quoth Gharib, \u201cI put my trust in Allah, the God of\nAbraham the Friend, the Deity who hath power over all and from whom\nnaught is hidden, the One, the Almighty, whom the sight comprehendeth\nnot!\u201d Then an Amalekite-like giant of the Persian champions rushed out\nto him, but Gharib let him not stand long before him ere he marked him\nand covered his breast with saffron, and as he turned away, he smote him\non the nape with the shaft of his lance, and he fell to the ground and\nhis pages bore him from the lists.[357] Then a second champion came\nforth against him and he overcame him and marked him on the breast; and\nthus did he with a third and a fourth and a fifth; and there came out\nagainst him champion after champion till he had overcome them all and\nmarked them on the breast; for Almighty Allah gave him the victory over\nthem and they fared forth vanquisht from the plain. Then the servants\nset food and strong wine before them and they ate and drank, till\nGharib\u2019s wits were dazed by the drink. By and by, he went out to obey a\ncall of Nature and would have returned, but lost his way and entered the\npalace of Fakhr Taj. When she saw him, her reason fled and she cried out\nto her women saying, \u201cGo forth from me to your own places!\u201d So they\nwithdrew and she rose and kissed Gharib\u2019s hand, saying, \u201cWelcome to my\nlord, who delivered me from the Ghul! Indeed I am thine handmaid for\never and ever.\u201d Then she drew him to her bed and embraced him, whereupon\ndesire was hot upon him and he broke her seal and lay with her till the\nmorning. Meanwhile the King thought that he had departed; but on the\nmorrow he went in to him and Sabur rose to him and made him sit by his\nside. Then entered the tributary kings and kissing the ground stood\nranged in rows on the right and left and fell to talking of Gharib\u2019s\nvalour and saying, \u201cExtolled be He who gave him such prowess albeit he\nis so young in years!\u201d As they were thus engaged, behold all espied from\nthe palace-windows the dust of horse approaching and the King cried out\nto his scouts, saying, \u201cWoe to you! Go and bring me news of yonder\ndust!\u201d So a cavalier took horse and riding off, returned after a while,\nand said, \u201cO King, we found under that dust an hundred horse belonging\nto an Emir hight Sahim al-Layl.\u201d Gharib hearing these words, cried out,\n\u201cO my lord, this is my brother, whom I had sent on an errand, and I will\ngo forth to meet him.\u201d So saying, he mounted, with his hundred men of\nthe Banu Kahtan and a thousand Persians, and rode to meet his brother in\ngreat state, but greatness belongeth to God alone.[358] When the two\ncame up with each other, they dismounted and embraced, and Gharib said\nto Sahim, \u201cO my brother, hast thou brought our tribe to the Castle of\nSasa and the Wady of Blossoms?\u201d \u201cO my brother,\u201d replied Sahim, \u201cwhen the\nperfidious dog Mardas heard that thou hadst made thee master of the\nstronghold belonging to the Mountain-Ghul, he was sore chagrined and\nsaid:\u2014Except I march hence, Gharib will come and carry off my daughter\nMahdiyah without dower. So he took his daughter and his goods and set\nout with his tribe for the land of Irak, where he entered the city of\nCufa and put himself under the protection of King Ajib, seeking to give\nhim his daughter to wife.\u201d When Gharib heard his brother\u2019s story, he\nwell-nigh gave up the ghost for rage and said, \u201cBy the virtue of the\nfaith of Al-Islam, the faith of Abraham the Friend, and by the Supreme\nLord, I will assuredly go to the land of Irak and fierce war upon it I\nwill set on foot.\u201d Then they returned to the city and going in to the\nKing, kissed ground before him. He rose to Gharib and saluted Sahim;\nafter which the elder brother told him what had happened and he put ten\ncaptains at his commandment, under each one\u2019s hand ten thousand horse of\nthe doughtiest of the Arabs and the Ajams, who equipped themselves and\nwere ready to depart in three days. Then Gharib set out and journeyed\ntill he reached the Castle of Sasa whence the Ghul and his sons came\nforth to meet him and dismounting, kissed his feet in the stirrups. He\ntold them all that had passed and the giant said, \u201cO my lord, do thou\nabide in this thy castle, whilst I with my sons and servants repair to\nIrak and lay waste the city Al-Rust\u00e1k[359] and bring to thy hand all its\ndefenders bound in straitest bond.\u201d But Gharib thanked him and said, \u201cO\nSa\u2019adan, we will all go.\u201d So he made him ready and the whole body set\nout for Irak, leaving a thousand horse to guard the Castle. Thus far\nconcerning them; but as regards Mardas, he arrived with his tribe in the\nland of Irak bringing with him a handsome present and fared for\nCufa-city which he entered. Then, he presented himself before Ajib and\nkissed ground between his hands and, after wishing him what is wished to\nkings, said, \u201cO my lord, I come to place myself under thy\nprotection.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying\nher permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King that Mardas, coming into\nthe presence of Ajib, said to him, \u201cI come to place myself under thy\nprotection!\u201d Quoth Ajib, \u201cTell me who hath wronged thee, that I may\nprotect thee against him, though it were Sabur, King of the Persians and\nTurcomans and Daylamites.\u201d Quoth Mardas, \u201cO King of the Age, he who hath\nwronged me is none other than a youth whom I reared in my bosom. I found\nhim in his mother\u2019s lap in a certain valley and took her to wife. She\nbrought me a son, whom I named Sahim al-Layl, and her own son, Gharib\nhight, grew up on my knees and became a blasting thunderbolt and a\nlasting calamity,[360] for he smote Al-Hamal,[361] Prince of the Banu\nNabhan, and slew footmen and threw horsemen. Now I have a daughter, who\nbefitteth thee alone, and he sought her of me; so I required of him the\nhead of the Ghul of the Mountain, wherefore he went to him and, after\nengaging him in singular combat, made the master his man and took the\nCastle of Sasa bin Shays bin Shaddad bin Ad, wherein are the treasures\nof the ancients and the hoards of the moderns. Moreover, I hear that,\nbecome a Moslem, he goeth about, summoning the folk to his faith. He is\nnow gone to bear the Princess of Persia, whom he delivered from the\nGhul, back to her father, King Sabur, and will not return but with the\ntreasures of the Persians.\u201d When Ajib heard the story of Mardas he\nchanged colour to yellow and was in ill case and made sure of his own\ndestruction; then he said, \u201cO Mardas, is the youth\u2019s mother with thee or\nwith him?\u201d; and Mardas replied, \u201cShe is with me in my tents.\u201d Quoth\nAjib, \u201cWhat is her name?\u201d; quoth Mardas, \u201cHer name is Nusrah.\u201d \u201c\u2018Tis\nvery she,\u201d rejoined Ajib and sent for her to the presence. Now when she\ncame before him, he looked on her and knew her and asked her, \u201cO\naccursed, where are the two slaves I sent with thee?\u201d; and she answered,\n\u201cThey slew each other on my account;\u201d whereupon Ajib bared his blade and\nsmote her and cut her in twain. Then they dragged her away and cast her\nout; but trouble and suspicion entered Ajib\u2019s heart and he cried, \u201cO\nMardas, give me thy daughter to wife.\u201d He rejoined, \u201cShe is one of thine\nhandmaids: I give her to thee to wife, and I am thy slave.\u201d Said Ajib,\n\u201cI desire to look upon this son of an adulteress, Gharib, that I may\ndestroy him and cause him taste all manner of torments.\u201d Then he bade\ngive Mardas, to his daughter\u2019s dowry, thirty thousand dinars and an\nhundred pieces of silk brocaded and fringed with gold and an hundred\npieces of silk-bordered stuffs and kerchiefs and golden collars. So he\nwent forth with this mighty fine dowry and set himself to equip Mahdiyah\nin all diligence. Such was their case; but as regards Gharib, he fared\non till he came to Al-Jaz\u00edrah, which is the first town of Al-Irak[362]\nand is a walled and fortified city and he hard by it called a halt. When\nthe townsfolk saw his army encamped before it, they bolted the gates and\nmanned the walls, then went to the King of the city, who was called\nAl-D\u00e1migh, the Brainer, for that he used to brain the champions in the\nopen field of fight, and told him what was come upon them. So he looked\nforth from the battlements of the palace and seeing a conquering host,\nall of them Persians; encamped before the city, said to the citizens, \u201cO\nfolk, what do yonder Ajams want?\u201d; and they replied, \u201cWe know not.\u201d Now\nAl-Damigh had among his officers a man called Saba\u2019 al-Kif\u00e1r, the\nDesert-lion, keen of wit and penetrating as he were a flame of fire; so\nhe called him and said to him, \u201cGo to this stranger host and find out\nwho they be and what they want and return quickly.\u201d Accordingly, he sped\nlike the wind to the Persian tents, where a company of Arabs rose up and\nmet him saying, \u201cWho art thou and what dost thou require?\u201d He replied,\n\u201cI am a messenger and an envoy from the lord of the city to your chief.\u201d\nSo they took him and carried him through the lines of tents, pavilions\nand standards, till they came to Gharib\u2019s Shahmiy\u00e1nah and told him of\nthe mission. He bade them bring him in and they did so, whereupon he\nkissed ground before Gharib and wished him honour and length of days.\nQuoth Gharib, \u201cWhat is thine errand?\u201d and quoth Saba\u2019 al-Kifar, \u201cI am an\nenvoy from the lord of the city of Al-Jazirah, Al-Damigh, brother of\nKing Kundamir, lord of the city of Cufa and the land of Irak.\u201d When\nGharib heard his father\u2019s name, the tears railed from his eyes in rills\nand he looked at the messenger and said, \u201cWhat is thy name?\u201d; and he\nreplied, \u201cMy name is Saba\u2019 al-Kifar.\u201d Said Gharib, \u201cReturn to thy lord\nand tell him that the commander of this host is called Gharib, son of\nKundamir, King of Cufa, whom his son Ajib slew, and he is come to take\nblood-revenge for his sire on Ajib the perfidious hound.\u201d So Saba\u2019\nal-Kifar returned to the city and in great joy kissed the ground, when\nAl-Damigh said, \u201cWhat is going on there, O Saba\u2019 al-Kifar?\u201d He replied,\n\u201cO my master, the leader of yon host is thy nephew, thy brother\u2019s son,\u201d\nand told him all. The King deemed himself in a dream and asked the\nmessenger, \u201cO Saba\u2019 al-Kifar, is this thou tellest me true?\u201d and the\nDesert-lion answered, \u201cAs thy head liveth, it is sooth!\u201d Then Al-Damigh\nbade his chief officers take horse forthright and all rode out to the\ncamp, whence Gharib came forth and met him and they embraced and saluted\neach other; after which Gharib carried him to his tents and they sat\ndown on beds of estate. Al-Damigh rejoiced in Gharib, his brother\u2019s son,\nand presently turning to him, said, \u201cI also have yearned to take\nblood-revenge for thy father, but could not avail against the dog thy\nbrother; for that his troops are many and my troops are few.\u201d Replied\nGharib, \u201cO uncle, here am I come to avenge my sire and blot out our\nshame and rid the realm of Ajib.\u201d Said Al-Damigh, \u201cO son of my brother,\nthou hast two blood-wreaks to take, that of thy father and that of thy\nmother.\u201d Asked Gharib, \u201cAnd what aileth my mother?\u201d and Al-Damigh\nanswered, \u201cThy brother Ajib hath slain her.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived\nthe dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.\n\n\n Now when it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,\n\nShe said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Gharib heard\nthese words of his uncle Al-Damigh, \u201cVerily thy brother Ajib hath slain\nher!\u201d, he asked what was the cause thereof and was told of all that had\nhappened, especially how Mardas had married his daughter to Ajib who was\nabout to go into her. Thereupon Gharib\u2019s reason fled from his head and\nhe swooned away and was nigh upon death. No sooner did he come to\nhimself than he cried out to the troops, saying, \u201cTo horse!\u201d But\nAl-Damigh said to him, \u201cO son of my brother, wait till I make ready mine\naffairs and mount among my men and fare with thee at thy stirrup.\u201d\nReplied Gharib, \u201cI have no patience to wait; do thou equip thy troops\nand join me at Cufa.\u201d Thereupon Gharib mounted with his troops and rode,\ntill he came to the town of Babel,[363] whose folk took fright at him.\nNow there was in this town a King called Jamak, under whose hand were\ntwenty thousand horsemen, and there gathered themselves together to him\nfrom the villages other fifty thousand horse, who pitched their tents\nfacing the city. Then Gharib wrote a letter and sent it to King Jamak by\na messenger, who came up to the city-gate and cried out, saying, \u201cI am\nan envoy;\u201d whereupon the Warder of the Gate went in and told Jamak, who\nsaid, \u201cBring him to me.\u201d So he led in the messenger, who kissing the\nground before the King, gave him the letter, and Jamak opened it and\nread its contents as follows: \u201cPraise be to Allah, Lord of the Three\nWorlds, Lord of all things, who giveth to all creatures their daily\nbread and who over all things is Omnipotent! These from Gharib, son of\nKing Kundamir, lord of Irak and Cufa, to Jamak. Immediately this letter\nreacheth thee, let not thy reply be other than to break thine idols and\nconfess the unity of the All-knowing King, Creator of light and\ndarkness, Creator of all things, the All-powerful; and except thou do as\nI bid thee, I will make this day the blackest of thy days. Peace be on\nthose who follow in the way of Salvation, fearing the issues of\nfornication, and obey the hest of the Most High King, Lord of this world\nand the next, Him who saith to a thing:\u2014Be; and it becometh!\u201d Now when\nJamak read this letter, his eyes paled and his colour failed and he\ncried out to the messenger, \u201cGo to thy lord and say to him:\u2014To-morrow,\nat daybreak there shall be fight and conflict and it shall appear who is\nthe conquering hero.\u201d So he returned and told Gharib, who bade his men\nmake ready for battle, whilst Jamak commanded his tents to be pitched in\nface of Gharib\u2019s camp; and his troops poured forth like the surging sea\nand passed the night with intention of slaughter. As soon as dawned the\nday, the two hosts mounted and drew up in battle-array and beat their\ndrums amain and drave their steeds of swiftest strain; and they filled\nthe whole earthly plain; and the champions to come out were fain. Now\nthe first who sallied forth a-championing to the field was the Ghul of\nthe Mountain, bearing on shoulder a terrible tree, and he cried out\nbetween the two hosts, saying, \u201cI am Sa\u2019adan the Ghul! Who is for\nfighting, who is for jousting? Let no sluggard come forth to me nor\nweakling.\u201d And he called out to his sons, saying, \u201cWoe to you! Bring me\nfuel and fire, for I am an-hungered.\u201d So they cried upon their slaves\nwho brought firewood and kindled a fire in the heart of the plain. Then\nthere came out to him a man of the Kafirs, an Amalekite of the\nunbelieving Amalekites, bearing on his shoulder a mace like the mast of\na ship, and drove at Sa\u2019adan the Ghul, saying, \u201cWoe to thee, O Sa\u2019adan!\u201d\nWhen the giant heard this, he waxed furious beyond measure and raising\nhis tree-club, aimed at the Infidel a blow, that hummed through the air.\nThe Amalekite met the stroke with his mace, but the tree beat down his\nguard and descending with its own weight, together with the weight of\nthe mace upon his head, beat in his brain-pan, and he fell like a\nlong-stemmed palm-tree. Thereupon Sa\u2019adan cried to his slaves, saying,\n\u201cTake this fatted calf and roast him quickly.\u201d So they hastened to skin\nthe Infidel and roasted him and brought him to the Ghul, who ate his\nflesh and crunched his bones.[364] Now when the Kafirs saw how Sa\u2019adan\ndid with their fellow, their hair and pile stood on end; their skins\nquaked, their colour changed, their hearts died within them and they\nsaid to one another, \u201cWhoso goeth out against this Ghul, he eateth him\nand cracketh his bones and causeth him to lack the zephyr-wind of the\nworld.\u201d Wherefore they held their hands, quailing for fear of the Ghul\nand his sons and turned to fly, making for the town; but Gharib cried\nout to his troops, saying, \u201cUp and after the runaways!\u201d So the Persians\nand the Arabs drave after the King of Babel and his host and caused\nsword to smite them, till they slew of them twenty thousand or more.\nThen the fugitives crowded together in the city-gate and they killed of\nthem much people; and they could not avail to shut the gate. So the\nArabs and the Persians entered with them, fighting, and Sa\u2019adan,\nsnatching a mace from one of the slain, wielded it in the enemy\u2019s face\nand gained the city race-course. Thence he fought his way through the\nfoe and broke into the King\u2019s palace, where he met with Jamak and so\nsmote him with the mace, that he toppled senseless to the ground. Then\nhe fell upon those who were in the palace and pounded them into pieces,\ntill all that were left cried out, \u201cQuarter! Quarter!\u201d and Sa\u2019adan said\nto them, \u201cPinion your King.\u201d\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad saw the dawn of day and\nceased saying her permitted say.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 312:\n\n Von Hammer holds this story to be a satire on Arab superstition and\n the compulsory propagation, the _compelle intrare_, of Al-Islam. Lane\n (iii. 235) omits it altogether for reasons of his own. I differ with\n great diffidence from the learned Baron whose Oriental reading was\n extensive; but the tale does not seem to justify his explanations. It\n appears to me simply one of the wilder romances, full of purposeful\n anachronisms (_e.g._ dated between Abraham and Moses, yet quoting the\n Koran) and written by someone familiar with the history of Oman. The\n style too is peculiar, in many places so abrupt that much manipulation\n is required to make it presentable: it suits, however, the rollicking,\n violent, brigand-like life which it depicts. There is only one\n incident about the end which justifies Von Hammer\u2019s suspicion.\n\nFootnote 313:\n\n The Persian hero of romance who converses with the Simurgh or Griffin.\n\nFootnote 314:\n\n The word is as much used in Egypt as _wunderbar_ in Germany. As an\n exclamation it is equivalent to \u201cmighty fine!\u201d\n\nFootnote 315:\n\n In modern days used in a bad sense, as a freethinker, etc. So Dalilah\n the Wily is noted to be a philosopheress.\n\nFootnote 316:\n\n The game is much mixed up after Arab fashion. The \u201cTufat\u201d is the\n Siy\u00e1hgosh = Black-ears, of India (_Felis caracal_), the Persian lynx,\n which gives very good sport with Dachshunds. Lynxes still abound in\n the thickets near Cairo.\n\nFootnote 317:\n\n The \u201cSons of Kaht\u00e1n,\u201d especially the Ya\u2019arubah tribe, made much\n history in Oman. Ya\u2019arub (the eponymus) is written Ya\u2019arab and\n Ya\u2019arib; but Ya\u2019arub (from Ya\u2019arubu, Aorist of \u2018Aruba) is best,\n because according to all authorities he was the first to cultivate\n primitive Arabian speech and Arabic poetry. (Caussin de Perceval\u2019s\n Hist. des Arabes i. 50, etc.)\n\nFootnote 318:\n\n He who shooteth an arrow by night. See the death of Antar shot down in\n the dark by the archer Jaz\u00e1r, son of J\u00e1bir, who had been blinded by a\n red-hot sabre passed before his eyes. I may note that it is a mere\n fiction of Al-Asma\u2019i, as the real \u2018Antar (or \u2018Antarah) lived to a good\n old age, and probably died the \u201cstraw-death.\u201d\n\nFootnote 319:\n\n See vol. ii., p. 77, for a reminiscence of masterful King Kulayb and\n his Him\u00e0 or domain. Here the phrase would mean, \u201cNone could approach\n them when they were wroth; none were safe from their rage.\u201d\n\nFootnote 320:\n\n The sons of Nabh\u00e1n (whom Mr. Badger calls Nebh\u00e1n) supplied the old\n Maliks or Kings of Oman (History of the Imams and Sayyids of Oman,\n etc., London, Hakluyt Soc. 1871).\n\nFootnote 321:\n\n This is a sore insult in Arabia, where they have not dreamt of a\n \u201cJaw\u00e1b-club,\u201d like that of Calcutta in the old days, to which only men\n who had been half a dozen times \u201cjawab\u2019d\u201d (= refused in Anglo-Indian\n jargon) could belong. \u201cI am not a stallion to be struck on the nose,\u201d\n say the Arabs.\n\nFootnote 322:\n\n Again \u201cinverted speech\u201d: it is as if we said, \u201cNow, you\u2019re a damned\n fine fellow, so,\u201d etc. \u201cAllah curse thee! Thou hast guarded thy women\n alive and dead;\u201d said the man of Sulaym in admiration after thrusting\n his spear into the eye of dead Rab\u00ed\u2019ah.\n\nFootnote 323:\n\n The Badawi use javelins or throw-spears of many kinds, especially the\n prettily worked Mizr\u00e1k (Pilgrimage i. 349); spears for footmen\n (Shalfah, a bamboo or palm-stick with a head about a hand broad), and\n the knightly lance, a male bamboo some 12 feet long with iron heel and\n a long tapering point often of open work or damascened steel, under\n which are tufts of black ostrich feathers, one or two. I never saw a\n crescent-shaped head as the text suggests. It is a \u201cPundonor\u201d not to\n sell these weapons: you say, \u201cGive me that article and I will satisfy\n thee!\u201d After which the Sons of the Sand will haggle over each copper\n as if you were cheapening a sheep (Ibid. iii. 73).\n\nFootnote 324:\n\n The shame was that Gharib had seen the girl and had fallen in love\n with her beauty; instead of applying for her hand in recognised form.\n These punctilios of the Desert are peculiarly nice and tetchy; nor do\n strangers readily realise them.\n\nFootnote 325:\n\n The Arabs derive these Noachid\u00e6 from Imlik, great-grandson of Shem,\n who after the confusion of tongues settled at Sana\u2019a, then moved North\n to Meccah and built the fifth Ka\u2019abah. The dynastic name was Arkam, M.\n C. de Perceval\u2019s \u201cArcam,\u201d which he would identify with Rekem (Numbers\n xxxi. 8). The last Arkam fell before an army sent by Moses to purge\n the Holy Land (Al-Hijaz) of idolatry. Commentators on the Koran\n (chapt. vii.) call the Pharaoh of Moses Al-Wal\u00edd and derive him from\n the Amalekites: we have lately ascertained that this Mene-Ptah was of\n the Shepherd-Kings and thus, according to the older Moslems, the\n Hyksos were of the seed of Imlik. (Pilgrimage ii. 116; and iii. 190.)\n In Syria they fought with Joshua son of Nun. The tribe or rather\n nationality was famous and powerful: we know little about it and I may\n safely predict that when the Amalekite country shall have been well\n explored, it will produce monuments second in importance only to the\n Hittites. \u201cA nomadic tribe which occupied the Peninsula of Sinai\u201d\n (Smith\u2019s Dict. of the Bible) is peculiarly superficial, even for that\n most superficial of books.\n\nFootnote 326:\n\n The Amalekites were giants and lived 500 years (Pilgrimage, _loc.\n cit._).\n\nFootnote 327:\n\n His men being ninety against five hundred.\n\nFootnote 328:\n\n Arab. \u201cKaum\u201d (pron. G\u00fam) here = a razzia, afterwards = a tribe.\n Relations between Badawi tribes are of three kinds; (1) Ash\u00e1b, allies\n offensive and defensive, friends who intermarry; (2) K\u00edm\u00e1n (plur. of\n Kaum) when the blood-feud exists, and (3) Akhw\u00e1n = brothers. The last\n is a complicated affair; \u201cAkh\u00e1wat\u201d or brotherhood, denotes the tie\n between patron and client (a noble and an ignoble tribe) or between\n the stranger and the tribe which claims an immemorial and unalienable\n right to its own lands. Hence a small fee (Al-Rifkah) must be paid and\n the traveller and his beast become \u201cdakh\u00edl,\u201d or entitled to\n brother-help. The guardian is known in the West as Raf\u00edk; Rab\u00ed\u2019a in\n Eastern Arabia; Ghaf\u00edr in \u201cSinai;\u201d amongst the Somal, Abb\u00e1n and the\n Gallas Mog\u00e1s\u00e1. Further details are given in Pilgrimage iii. 85\u201387.\n\nFootnote 329:\n\n Arab. \u201cM\u00e1l,\u201d here = Badawi money, flocks and herds, our \u201cfee\u201d from\n feoh, vieh, cattle; as pecunia from pecus, etc., etc.\n\nFootnote 330:\n\n The litholatry of the old Arabs is undisputed: Man\u00e1t the goddess-idol\n was a large rude stone and when the Meccans sent out colonies these\n carried with them stones of the Holy Land to be set up and worshipped\n like the Ka\u2019abah. I have suggested (Pilgrimage iii. 159) that the\n famous Black Stone of Meccah, which appears to me a large aerolite, is\n a remnant of this worship and that the tomb of Eve near Jeddah was the\n old \u201cSakhrah taw\u00edlah\u201d or Long Stone (ibid. iii. 388). Jeddah is now\n translated the grandmother, alluding to Eve, a myth of late growth: it\n is properly Juddah = a plain lacking water.\n\nFootnote 331:\n\n The First Adites, I have said, did not all perish: a few believers\n retired with the prophet Hud (Heber?) to Hazramaut. The Second Adites,\n who had M\u00e1rib of the Dam for capital and Lukman for king, were\n dispersed by the Flood of Al-Yaman. Their dynasty lasted a thousand\n years, the exodus taking place according to De Sacy in A.D. 150\u2013170 or\n shortly after A.D. 100 (C. de Perceval), and was overthrown by Ya\u2019arub\n bin Kaht\u00e1n, the first Arabist; see Night dcxxv.\n\nFootnote 332:\n\n This title has been noticed: it suggests the \u201cSaint Abraham\u201d of our\n medi\u00e6val travellers. Every great prophet has his agnomen: Adam the\n Pure (or Elect) of Allah; Noah the N\u00e1jiy (or saved) of Allah; Moses\n (Kal\u00edm) the Speaker with Allah; Jesus the R\u00fah (Spirit, breath) or\n Kal\u00e1m (the word) of Allah. For Mohammed\u2019s see Al-Busiri\u2019s Mantle-poem\n vv. 31\u201358.\n\nFootnote 333:\n\n Koran (chapt. iii. 17) \u201cVerily the true religion in the sight of Allah\n is Islam\u201d _i.e._ resigning or devoting myself to the Lord, with a\n suspicion of \u201cSalvation\u201d conveyed by the root Salima, he was safe.\n\nFootnote 334:\n\n Arab. \u201cS\u00e1\u2019ikah,\u201d which is supposed to be a stone. The allusion is to\n Antar\u2019s sword, \u201cDh\u00e1mi,\u201d made of a stone, black, brilliant and hard as\n a rock (an aerolite), which had struck a camel on the right side and\n had come out by the left. The blacksmith made it into a blade three\n feet long by two spans broad, a kind of falchion or chopper, cased it\n with gold and called it Dh\u00e1mi (the \u201cTrenchant\u201d) from its sharpness.\n But he said to the owner:\u2014\n\n The sword is trenchant, O son of the Ghalib clan,\n Trenchant in sooth, but where is the sworder-man?\n\n Whereupon the owner struck off the maker\u2019s head, a most satisfactory\n answer to all but one.\n\nFootnote 335:\n\n Arab. \u201cKut\u00e1\u2019ah\u201d: lit. a bit cut off, fragment, nail-paring, and here\n _un diminutif_. I have described this scene in Pilgrimage iii. 68.\n Latro often says, \u201cThy gear is wanted by the daughter of my paternal\n uncle\u201d (wife), and thus parades his politeness by asking in a lady\u2019s\n name.\n\nFootnote 336:\n\n As will appear the two brothers were joined by a party of horsemen.\n\nFootnote 337:\n\n \u201cFour\u201d says the Mac. Edit. forgetting Falhun with characteristic\n inconsequence.\n\nFootnote 338:\n\n Muhammad (the deserving great praise) is the name used by men; Ahmad\n (more laudable) by angels, and Mahm\u00fad (praised) by devils. For a\n similar play upon the name, \u201cAllah, Allah, Muhammad ast\u201d (God is God\n the praiseworthy), see Dabistan ii. 416.\n\nFootnote 339:\n\n The Mac. Edit. here gives \u201cS\u00e1s,\u201d but elsewhere \u201cS\u00e1s\u00e1,\u201d which is the\n correct form.\n\nFootnote 340:\n\n Sapor the Second (A.D. 310\u2013330) was compelled to attack the powerful\n Arab hordes of Oman, most of whom, like the Tayy, Aus and Khazraj, the\n Banu Nabh\u00e1n and the Hin\u00e1wi left Al-Yaman A.D. 100\u2013170, and settled in\n the north and north-east of Al-Najd. This great exodus and dispersion\n of the tribes was caused, as has been said, by the bursting of the Dam\n of M\u00e1rib originally built by Abd al-Shams Sab\u00e1, father of Himyar.\n These Yamanian races were plunged into poverty and roamed northwards,\n planting themselves amongst the Arabs of Ma\u2019add son of Adn\u00e1n. Hence\n the kingdom of Ghassan in Syria whose phylarchs under the Romans\n (_i.e._ Greek Emperors of Constantinople) controlled Palestine Tertia,\n the Arabs of Syria and Palestine; and the kingdom of H\u00edrah, whose\n Lakhmite Princes, dependent upon Persia, managed the Arabs of the\n Euphrates, Oman and Al-Bahrayn. The Ma\u2019addites still continued to\n occupy the central plateau of Arabia, a feature analogous with India\n \u201cabove the Ghauts.\u201d\n\nFootnote 341:\n\n I have described (Pilgrimage i. 370) the grisly spot which a Badawi\n will dignify by the name of Wady al-Ward = Vale of Roses.\n\nFootnote 342:\n\n Koran xiii. 3, \u201cOf every fruit two different kinds,\u201d _i.e._ large and\n small, black and white, sweet and sour.\n\nFootnote 343:\n\n A graft upon an almond-tree, which makes its kernel sweet and gives it\n an especial delicacy of flavour. See Russell\u2019s (excellent) Natural\n History of Aleppo, p. 21.\n\nFootnote 344:\n\n So called from the flavour of the kernel: it is well-known at Damascus\n where a favourite fruit is the dried apricot with an almond by way of\n kernel. There are many preparations of apricots, especially the\n \u201cMare\u2019s skin\u201d (Jild al-faras or Kamar al-din) a paste folded into\n sheets and exactly resembling the article from which it takes a name.\n When wanted it is dissolved in water and eaten as a relish with bread\n or biscuit (Pilgrimage i. 289).\n\nFootnote 345:\n\n \u201cAnta Kam\u00e1 tak\u00fal\u201d = the vulgarest Cairene.\n\nFootnote 346:\n\n This may be Ctesiphon, the ancient capital of the Chosro\u00ebs, on the\n Tigris below Baghdad; and spoken of elsewhere in The Nights;\n especially as, in Night dclxvii., it is called Isbanir Al-Mad\u00e1in;\n Mad\u00e1in Kisr\u00e1 (the cities of Chosroes) being the Arabic name of the old\n dual city.\n\nFootnote 347:\n\n Koran vi. 103. The translation is Sale\u2019s which I have generally\n preferred, despite many imperfections: Lane renders this sentence,\n \u201cThe eyes see not Him, but He seeth the eyes;\u201d and Mr. Rodwell, \u201cNo\n vision taketh in Him (?), but He taketh in all vision;\u201d and (better)\n \u201cNo eyesight reacheth to Him.\u201d\n\nFootnote 348:\n\n Sale (sect. 1.) tells us all that was then known of these three which\n with Y\u00e1\u2019\u00fak and Nasr and the three \u201cdaughters of God,\u201d Goddesses or\n Energies (the Hindu Saktis) All\u00e1t, Al-Uzz\u00e1 and Man\u00e1t mentioned in the\n Koran were the chiefs of the pre-Islamitic Pantheon. I cannot but\n suspect that all will be connected with old Babylonian worship.\n Al-Bayd\u00e1wi (on Kor. lxxi. 22) says of Wadd, Suw\u00e1\u2019a, Yaghus, Ya\u2019\u00fak and\n Nasr that they were names of pious men between Adam and Noah,\n afterwards deified: Yagh\u00fas was the giant idol of the Mazhaj tribe at\n Akamah of Al-Yaman and afterwards at Najr\u00e1n Al-Uzz\u00e1 was widely\n worshipped: her idol (of the tree Semurat) belonging to Ghataf\u00e1n was\n destroyed after the Prophet\u2019s order by Kh\u00e1lid bin Wal\u00edd. All\u00e1t or\n Al-L\u00e1t is written by Pocock (spec. 110) \u201cIlahat\u201d _i.e._ deities in\n general. But Herodotus evidently refers to one god when he makes the\n Arabs worship Dionysus as \u1f48\u03c1\u03bf\u03c4\u1f70\u03bb and Urania as \u1f08\u03bb\u03b9\u03bb\u03ac\u03c4 and the\n \u201ctashdid\u201d in All\u00e1t would, to a Greek ear, introduce another syllable\n (Alilat). This was the goddess of the Kuraysh and Thak\u00edf whose temple\n at T\u00e1if was circuited like the Ka\u2019abah before Mohammed destroyed it.\n\nFootnote 349:\n\n Shays (Shayth) is Ab Seth (Father Seth) of the Hebrews, a\n name containing the initial and terminal letters of the\n Egypto-Ph\u0153nico-Hebrew Alphabet and the \u201cAbjad\u201d of the Arabs. Those\n curious about its connection with the name of Allah (El), the Zodiacal\n signs and with the constellations, visions but not wholly\n uninteresting, will consult \u201cUnexplored Syria\u201d (vol. i. 33).\n\nFootnote 350:\n\n The exclamation of an honest Fellah.\n\nFootnote 351:\n\n This is Antar with the Chosro\u00eb who \u201ckissed the Absian hero between the\n eyes and bade him adieu, giving him as a last token a rich robe.\u201d The\n coarser hand of the story-teller exaggerates everything till he makes\n it ridiculous.\n\nFootnote 352:\n\n The context suggests that this is a royal form of \u201cthrowing the\n handkerchief;\u201d but it does not occur elsewhere. In fact, the European\n idea seems to have arisen from the oriental practice of sending\n presents in napkins or kerchiefs.\n\nFootnote 353:\n\n _i.e._ if the disappointed suitor attack me.\n\nFootnote 354:\n\n _i.e._ if ever I be tempted to deny it.\n\nFootnote 355:\n\n Arab. \u201cMus\u00e1fahah,\u201d the Arab fashion of shaking hands. The right palms\n are applied flat to each other; then the fingers are squeezed and the\n hand is raised to the forehead (Pilgrimage ii. 332).\n\nFootnote 356:\n\n A city and province of Khuzist\u00e1n, the old Susiana. Dasht may be either\n the town in Khorasan or the \u201cforests\u201d (dasht) belonging to Ahw\u00e1z\n (Ahuaz in D\u2019Herbelot).\n\nFootnote 357:\n\n This is the contest between \u201cAntar and the Satrap Khosrewan at the\n Court of Monzar,\u201d but without its tragical finish.\n\nFootnote 358:\n\n Elliptical \u201che rode out in great state, that is to say if greatness\n can truly be attributed to man,\u201d for, etc.\n\nFootnote 359:\n\n According to D\u2019Herbelot (_s.v._ Rostac) it is a name given to the\n villages of Khorasan as \u201cSouad\u201d (Saw\u00e1d) to those of Irak and Makhlaf\n to those of Al-Yaman: there is, however, a well-known Al-Rustak (which\n like Al-Bahrayn always takes the article) in the Province of Oman West\n of Maskat; and as it rhymes with \u201cIrak\u201d it does well enough. Mr.\n Badger calls this ancient capital of the Ya\u2019arubah Im\u00e1ms \u201cer-Rast\u00e1k\u201d\n (Imams of Oman).\n\nFootnote 360:\n\n _i.e._ a furious knight.\n\nFootnote 361:\n\n In the Mac. Edit. \u201cHass\u00e1n,\u201d which may rhyme with Nabh\u00e1n, but it is a\n mere blunder.\n\nFootnote 362:\n\n In Classical Arabic Irak (like Yaman, Bahrayn and Rust\u00e1k) always takes\n the article.\n\nFootnote 363:\n\n The story-teller goes back from Kufah founded in Omar\u2019s day to the\n times of Abraham.\n\nFootnote 364:\n\n This man\u0153uvre has often been practised; especially by the first\n Crusaders under Bohemond (Gibbon) and in late years by the Arab\n slavers in Eastern Intertropical Africa. After their skirmishes with\n the natives they quartered and \u201cbrittled\u201d the dead like game, roasted\n and boiled the choice pieces and pretended to eat the flesh. The\n enemy, who was not afraid of death, was struck with terror by the idea\n of being devoured; and this seems instinctive to the undeveloped mind.\n\n\n\n\n END OF VOLUME VI.\n\n[Illustration: \u0648\u0627\u0644\u0633\u0644\u0627\u0645]\n\n\n\n\n INDEX.\n\n\n A\u2019amash (Al-) = one with watering eyes, 96\n\n Abd al-Ahad = slave of the One (God), 221\n\n Abd al-Rah\u00edm = slave of the Compassionate, 211\n\n Abd al-Sal\u00e1m (Pr. N.) = slave of salvation, 211\n\n Abd al-Samad = slave of the Eternal, 221\n\n Abd al-Samad al-Sam\u00fadi (for Samanh\u00fadi?), 87\n\n Abraham the friend = medi\u00e6val \u201cSt. Abraham\u201d, 270\n\n Abtan (Al-) = the most profound (_see_ B\u00e1tin\u00ed), 221\n\n Abu Karn = Father of the Horn (unicorn?), 21\n\n Abu Hosayn = Father of the Fortlet (fox), 211\n\n Abyssinians (hardly to be called blackamoors), 63\n\n Acquit me of responsibility (formula of dismissing a servant), 243\n\n Adam\u2019s Peak (Ar. Jabal al-Ramun), 65\n\n Adites (first and second), 269\n\n Adn\u00e1n (land of) = Arabia, 94\n\n Ahw\u00e1z (city and province of Khuzistan), 287\n\n Ahl al-Bait = the person of the house (euphemistically for wife), 199\n\n Aj\u00edb (Pr. N.) = wonderful, 257\n\n Akh = brother (wide signification of the word), 243\n\n Albatross (supposed never to touch land), 33\n\n Alcinous (of the Arabian Odyssy), 65\n\n Allah (be praised whatso be our case), 3\n\n \u2014\u2014 (\u201cthe Manifest Truth\u201d), 93\n\n \u2014\u2014 is omniscient, (formula used when telling an improbable tale), 210\n\n \u2014\u2014 (the Opener), 216\n\n \u2014\u2014 (it is He who gives by our means), 233\n\n \u2014\u2014 (sight comprehendeth Him not), 283\n\n Almenichiaka, 124\n\n Almond-Apricot, 277\n\n Amalekites, 264; 265\n\n Amid (Amidah), town in Mesopotamia, 106\n\n Anbar (Ambar) = ambergris, 60\n\n Andalusian = Spanish (_i.e._ of Vandal-land), 101\n\n Angels (ride piebalds), 146\n\n Antar and the Chosro\u00eb, 285\n\n \u2014\u2014 (contest with Khosrewan), 289\n\n Apodosis omitted, 203; 239\n\n Apes (isle of), 23\n\n \u2014\u2014 (and their lustful propensities), 54\n\n \u2014\u2014 (gathering fruits), 56\n\n Arab (style compared with Persian), 125\n\n Arar = Juniper, 95\n\n Aristomenes and his fox, 45\n\n Ar\u00fabah (Al-) = Friday, 190\n\n Armenians (porters of Constantinople), 1\n\n Asaf bin Barkhiya (Solomon\u2019s Wazir), 99\n\n Ash\u00e1b al-R\u00e1y (epithet of the Hanaff school), 146\n\n Asoka\u2019s wife and Kun\u00e1la, 127\n\n Ashj\u00e1r = door-posts or wooden bolts, 191\n\n Aurat = shame, nakedness (woman, wife), 30\n\n \u2014\u2014 (of man and woman), 118\n\n Ay\u00e1t al-Naj\u00e1t = Verses of Safety, 108\n\n\n B\u00e1b al-Nasr = Gate of Victory (at Cairo), 234\n\n Bunduk\u00e1niyah (quarter of Cairo), 254\n\n Ban\u00fa Abb\u00e1s (their colours black), 86\n\n \u2014\u2014 Kaht\u00e1n, 260\n\n \u2014\u2014 Nabh\u00e1n, 262\n\n \u2014\u2014 Umayyah (their colours, white), 86\n\n Bany\u00e1n = Ficus Indica, 81\n\n Barge (Ar. B\u00e1rijah), 24\n\n B\u00e1rijah (pl. baw\u00e1rij) = Jarm, barge, _ib._\n\n Bat\u00e1ikh (bat\u00e1yikh) = water-melons, 208\n\n Bath (suggesting freshness from coition), 135\n\n \u2014\u2014 and privy favourite haunts of the Jinns, 141\n\n \u2014\u2014 (not to be entered by men without drawers), 150\n\n Bathsheba and Uriah, and their congeners, 129\n\n B\u00e1tini = a gnostic, a reprobate, 221\n\n Baww\u00e1b = door-keeper, 189\n\n Beckoning (Eastern fashion of, the reverse of ours), 109\n\n Benches (in olden Europe more usual than chairs), 26\n\n Berbers from the Upper Nile (the \u201cPaddies\u201d of Egypt), 189\n\n Bil\u00e1d al-Filfil = home of pepper (Malabar), 38\n\n Birds (sing only in the pairing season), 15\n\n \u2014\u2014 (huge ones discovered on the African coast), 17\n\n \u2014\u2014 (left to watch over wives), 132\n\n \u2014\u2014 (pretended understanding of their language), 169\n\n Birkat = tank, pool, etc., 57\n\n Biunes, bisexuals and women robed with the sun, 168\n\n Black (colour of the Abbasides), 86\n\n Box-trick (and Lord Byron), 168\n\n Brass (Ar. Nuh\u00e1s asfar), 83\n\n Breath (of crocodiles, serpents, etc.), 29\n\n Brides of the Treasure, 109\n\n Brother (has a wide signification amongst Moslems), 243\n\n Bukjah = bundle, 226\n\n Bul\u00e1d (Pers. Pul\u00e1d) = steel, 115\n\n Burka\u2019 = face-veil, 131; 192\n\n\n Cairene vulgarism, 278\n\n Camel (seen in a dream is an omen of death; why?), 92\n\n Camphor (primitive way of extracting it), 21\n\n Camphor-apricot, 277\n\n Cannibals and cannibalism, 36\n\n Ceruse (Ar. Isf\u00edd\u00e1j), 126\n\n Ceylon (Ar. Sarandib), 64; 81\n\n City of Brass, 83\n\n Cocoa-nut (Ar. Jauz al-Hindi), 55\n\n Colossochelys = colossal tortoise, 33\n\n Colours (of the Caliphs), 86\n\n \u2014\u2014 (names of), 111\n\n Commander of the Faithful (title introduced by Omar), 247\n\n Comorin (derivation of the name), 57\n\n \u201cConsecrated ground\u201d (unknown to Moslems), 161\n\n Cousin (first, affronts an Arab if she marries any save him without his\n leave), 145\n\n Created for a mighty matter (_i.e._ for worship and to prepare for\n futurity), 91\n\n Crocodiles (breath of), 29\n\n Crow (an ill-omened bird), 170\n\n\n Dabb\u00fas = mace, 249\n\n D\u00e1hish (Al-) = the Amazed, 96\n\n Dajj\u00e1l (Al-) = Moslem Anti-Christ, 11\n\n Darakah = target, 9\n\n Datura Stramonium (the insane herb), 36\n\n \u201cDaughters of God\u201d (the three), 282\n\n David (hauberks of his make), 113\n\n Death (manners of, symbolised by colours), 250\n\n Death-prayer (usually a two-bow prayer), 70\n\n Delight of the Intelligent, etc. (fancy title of a book), 80\n\n Despotism (tempered by assassination), 206\n\n Dh\u00e1m\u00ed = the Trenchant (sword of Antar), 271\n\n Diamonds (occurring in alluvial lands), 18\n\n Dihl\u00edz = passage, 10\n\n Do not to others what thou wouldest not they do unto thee, 125\n\n Door-keepers (in Egypt mostly Berbers), 189\n\n Drinking bouts (attended in bright dresses), 175\n\n\n Elliptical expression, 288\n\n Emerald (mace-head of), 67\n\n \u2014\u2014 (rods in lattice-windows), 117\n\n \u201cEnfants Terrible\u201d in Eastern guise, 211\n\n Envying another\u2019s wealth wrongs him, 77\n\n Euphemisms, 75; 145\n\n Evil (befalling thee is from thyself), 138\n\n\n Family (euphemistically for wife), 75\n\n F\u00e1s = city of Fez, 222\n\n F\u00e1rik\u00edn for Mayyaf\u00e1rik\u00edn (city in Diyar-bakr), 107\n\n Farz = obligatory prayer, 193\n\n F\u00e1tihah (repeated to confirm an agreement), 217\n\n F\u00e1timah (Pr. N. = the weaner), 145\n\n Fatimite (Caliphs, their colours green), 86\n\n Fausta and Crispus, 127\n\n Fire (there is no blower of = utter desolation), 15\n\n \u2014\u2014 (forbidden as punishment), 26\n\n \u2014\u2014 (none might warm himself at their), 261\n\n Fish (-islands), 6\n\n \u2014\u2014 (the ass-headed), 33\n\n \u2014\u2014 (great = H\u00fat, common = Samak), 69\n\n Flea (still an Egyptian plague), 205\n\n Food-tray of Sulayman, 80\n\n Fox (Ar. Ab\u00fa Hosayn, Sa\u2019lab), 211\n\n Fruit of two kinds, 277\n\n Fulk = boat, 62\n\n Fust\u00e1t = Old Cairo, 87\n\n\n Galactophagi (use milk always in the soured form), 201\n\n Gems and their mines, 18\n\n Ghaz\u00e1-wood = yellow-flowered Artemisia, 192\n\n Gh\u00fal = ogre, cannibal, 36\n\n \u201cGreatness belongeth to God alone\u201d (used elliptically), 288\n\n Green (colour of the Fatimite Caliphs), 86\n\n Grimm\u2019s \u201cHousehold Tales\u201d quoted, 230\n\n\n H\u00e1fiz (f. H\u00e1fizah) = 1, traditionist; 2, one who can recite the Koran\n by rote, 195\n\n Hal\u00edb = fresh milk, 201\n\n Haur\u00e1ni towns (weird aspect of), 102\n\n \u2014\u2014 \u2014\u2014 (their survival accounted for by some protracted drought), 116\n\n Heart-ache (for stomach-ache), 194\n\n Herb (the insane), 36\n\n Hippopotamus, 33\n\n House-breaking (four modes of), 247\n\n H\u00fat = great fish, 69\n\n\n Ichthyological marvels, 33\n\n \u2018Iddah (of widowhood), 256\n\n Imlik (great-grandson of Shem), 264\n\n Inconsequence (characteristic of the Eastern Saga), 61\n\n \u2014\u2014 (of writer of The Nights), 205\n\n Insula (for Peninsula), 57\n\n Inverted speech, 262\n\n Irak, etc., used always with the article, 291\n\n Isb\u00e1n\u00edr = Ctesiphon (?), 279\n\n Isf\u00edd\u00e1j = ceruse, 126\n\n Ish\u00e1rah = signing, beckoning, 109\n\n Iz\u00e1r = waist cloth, 50\n\n\n Jabal al-Ramun = Adam\u2019s Peak, 65\n\n Jarm (Ar. B\u00e1rijah), 24\n\n Jauz al-Hindi = cocoa-nut, 55\n\n Javelins, 263\n\n Jaw\u00e1b-club, 262\n\n Joseph and Potiphar\u2019s wife, 127\n\n J\u00fadar (Classical Arab name), 213\n\n \u2014\u2014 (and his brethren, version of a Gotha MS.), 257\n\n J\u00fadariyah (quarter of Cairo), 254\n\n Jum\u2019ah = assembly (Friday), 120; 190\n\n Jumblat (for J\u00e1n-pul\u00e1d, Life o\u2019 Steel, Pr. N.), 115\n\n Justice (poetical in the Nights), 255\n\n\n Kab\u00e1b (mutton or lamb grilled in small squares), 225\n\n Kahram\u00e1n (Persian hero), 257\n\n Kahtan (sons of), 260\n\n Kala (island), 47\n\n Kalamd\u00e1n = reed-box (ink-case), 167\n\n K\u00e1n\u00fan = furnace, brazier, 5\n\n Kaum = razzia; tribe, 266\n\n Karaw\u00e1n = Charadrius \u0153dicnemus, 1\n\n Karkad\u00e1n, etc. = rhinoceros, 21\n\n Karkar (Carcer?), Sea of Al-, 101\n\n Kar\u00fan (lake), 217\n\n Kashm\u00edr people (have a bad name in Eastern tales), 156\n\n Kassar\u2019 Allah Khayr-ak = Allah increase thy weal, 233\n\n Kazd\u00edr = tin, 39\n\n Kasr = palace, one\u2019s house, 240\n\n Kaww\u00e1s = archer, Janissary, 241\n\n K\u00e1zi of the army (the great legal authority of a country), 131\n\n Khal\u00edyah = bee-hive; empty, 246\n\n Kh\u00e1w\u00ed (skin of), 66\n\n Khurj (Al-) = saddle-bag (las Alforjas), 224\n\n Khw\u00e1jah (Howajee) = schoolmaster, man of letters, etc., 46\n\n Khw\u00e1razm = land of the Chorasmioi, 113\n\n Killed (once more = Hibernic\u00e8 kilt), 171\n\n Kin\u00e1\u2019 = veil, 192\n\n Kingfisher (Lucian\u2019s), 49\n\n Kintar = a hundred weight (quintal), 94\n\n Kitf\u00edr (Itf\u00edr) = Potiphar, 172\n\n K\u00edzan fukk\u00e1\u2019a = jars for fukk\u00e1\u2019a (a kind of beer), 88\n\n Koran quoted (xxiv. 39), 93\n\n \u2014\u2014 (lii. 21), 95\n\n \u2014\u2014 (ix. 51; xiv. 15), 108\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xxxviii. 11), 115\n\n \u2014\u2014 (iv. 81), 138\n\n \u2014\u2014 (iv. 78; xli 28), 144\n\n \u2014\u2014 (ix. 51), 191\n\n \u2014\u2014 (iii. 17), 270\n\n \u2014\u2014 (xiii. 3), 277\n\n \u2014\u2014 (vi. 103), 282\n\n Kulayb (and his domain), 261\n\n Kuta\u2019ah = a bit cut off, etc., 272\n\n\n La\u2019an = curse, 178\n\n Laban = milk artificially soured, 201\n\n Laban-hal\u00edb = fresh milk, _ib._\n\n Ladies of the family (waiting upon the guests), 237\n\n Lake K\u00e1r\u00fan, 217\n\n Lane quoted, 1; 8; 11; 33; 61; 66; 80; 191; 196; 214; 216; 247; 257;\n 282\n\n Lasting Calamity = a furious knight, 290\n\n Laylat al-Kadr = Night of power, 180\n\n Leaving one standing (pour se faire valoir), 252\n\n L\u00edf = fibre of palm-fronds, 50\n\n Litholatry of the old Arabs, 269\n\n Living (the, who dieth not), 67\n\n\n Mace (Ar. Dabb\u00fas), 249\n\n Magh\u00e1ribah (pl. of Maghribi) = Western man, Moor, \u201cMaurus\u201d, 220\n\n Mah\u00e1r\u00e1j = great Rajah, 8; 67\n\n Maid and Magpie, 182\n\n M\u00e1l = Badawi money, flocks, \u201cfee\u201d, 267\n\n Mankind (creates its analogues in all the elements), 121\n\n Mann = from two to six pounds, 80\n\n Mares (impregnated by the wind), 9\n\n Mark\u00fab = shoe, 207\n\n Marmar = marble, alabaster, 95\n\n Mastabah = bench of masonry, 26\n\n Maund, _see_ Mann, 80\n\n Mihr\u00e1j = Mah\u00e1r\u00e1j _q.v._, 67\n\n Mikn\u00e1s = town Mequinez, 223\n\n Miknasah = broom, 158\n\n Milk (Ar. Laban, Hal\u00edb), 201\n\n \u2014\u2014 (by nomades always used in the soured form), _ib._\n\n Million (no Arabic word for, expressed by a thousand thousand), 98\n\n \u201cMis\u201d-conformation (prized by women), 156\n\n Moses (describes his own death and burial), 116\n\n Moslem (kind feeling shown to a namesake), 13\n\n \u2014\u2014 (corpses should be burnt under certain circumstances), 26\n\n \u2014\u2014 (commonplace of condolence), 41\n\n \u2014\u2014 (sales, formula of), 73\n\n \u2014\u2014 (consecrated ground unknown to them), 161\n\n \u2014\u2014 (a free-born\u2019s sale is felony), 240\n\n Mother (waiting upon the adult sons), 237\n\n Mrigatrishn\u00e1 = the thirst of the deer (mirage), 93\n\n Mufti (Doctor of Law), 254\n\n Muhammad, Ahmad and Mahm\u00fad, 273\n\n Mur\u00e1hanah = game of forfeits, 204\n\n Murders (to save one\u2019s life approved of), 44\n\n M\u00fas\u00e1 bin Nusayr (conqueror of Spain), 86\n\n Mus\u00e1fahat = joining palms for shaking hands, 287\n\n\n Na\u2019al = sandal, shoe, horse-shoe, 207\n\n Nabh\u00e1n (sons of), 262\n\n N\u00e1bigah al-Zuby\u00e1ni (pre-Islamitic poet), 85\n\n Nahr = river, 163\n\n Naj\u00e1sah = nastiness (anything unclean), 178\n\n Nakedness (Ar. Aurat), 30\n\n N\u00e1k\u00fas = wooden gong (used as bell), 47\n\n Neighbours (frequently on the worst of terms), 236\n\n \u201cNew Arabian Nights\u201d, 257\n\n Nuh\u00e1s (vulg. Nih\u00e1s, Nah\u00e1s) asfar = brass, 83\n\n Nusf = half-dirham, 214\n\n\n Opener (of the door of daily bread), 216\n\n Ophidia (of monstrous size), 29\n\n\n Palace (of the Caliphs of Baghdad), 189\n\n Palaces (avoided by the pious), 182\n\n Partridges (story of the two), 183\n\n Pausing as long as Allah pleased = musing a long time, 109\n\n Pearl-fisheries, 60\n\n Pepper (and the discovery of the Cape route), 38\n\n \u2014\u2014 (-plantations shaded by bananas), 57\n\n Ph\u00e6dra and Hippolytus, 127\n\n Philosophic (used in a bad sense), 257\n\n Pidar sokhtah = (son of a) burnt father (Persian insult), 26\n\n Pilgrimage quoted (i. 297), 57\n\n \u2014\u2014 (i. 180), 61\n\n \u2014\u2014 (i. 349; iii. 73), 263\n\n \u2014\u2014 (ii. 116; iii. 190), 264\n\n \u2014\u2014 (i. 370), 276\n\n \u2014\u2014 (i. 298), 277\n\n \u2014\u2014 (ii. 332), 287\n\n Poetical justice (administered with vigour in The Nights), 25\n\n Poison (deadly only in contact with abraded skin), 202\n\n Polyphemus (in Arab garb), 24\n\n \u2014\u2014 (no Mistress P. accepted), 27\n\n Precautions (thwarted by Fate and Fortune), 167\n\n Predestination (not Providence, a Moslem belief), 202\n\n Prisons (Moslem), 244\n\n Privy and bath favourite haunts of the Jinns, 141\n\n Property (left by will), 213\n\n Prophets (and their agnomina), 270\n\n Prostration (must be made to Allah only), 136\n\n Prothesis without apodosis (a favourite style in Arabic), 203; 239\n\n Punctilios of the Desert, 264\n\n\n Quarter (son of the = neighbour), 236\n\n\n Ra\u2019ad al-K\u00e1sif (Pr. N. = the loud-pealing Thunder), 221\n\n Rafw = artistic style of darning, 198\n\n Rahmah (Pr. N. = the puritanical \u201cMercy\u201d), 226\n\n Rais = captain, master (not owner) of a ship, 12\n\n Rape (rendered excusable by wilfulness), 187\n\n R\u00e1y = rede (\u201cprivate judgment\u201d), 146\n\n R\u00e1y\u00ed = rationalist, _ib._\n\n Red habit (sign of wrath), 250\n\n Refusal of a demand in marriage a sore insult, 262\n\n Relations between Badawi tribes, 267\n\n Retorts (of a sharp Fellah), 232\n\n Ring (in memoriam), 199\n\n \u2014\u2014 (lost in the Har\u00edm raises jealous suspicion), 200\n\n Rivers (underground), 63\n\n Robe (the hidden, story of), 188\n\n Ruby (of exceptional size), 66\n\n Rustak (Al-), city of Oman, 289\n\n Rukh (the world-wide Wundervogel), 16\n\n \u2014\u2014 (study of, by Prof. Bianconi), 49\n\n\n S\u00e1\u2019a (measure of corn, etc.), 203\n\n Sabbah-ak\u2019 Allah bi\u2019l khayr = Allah give thee good morning, 196\n\n Sab\u00far = Sapor II, 274\n\n Safe-guard (I am in thy = I appeal to thy honour), 158\n\n Sahmhu = his shaft, 100\n\n Sah\u00edm al-Layl (Pr. N. = he who shooteth an arrow by night), 261\n\n Sail = torrent, 164\n\n S\u00e1\u2019ikah = thunderbolt, 271\n\n Sailor (Ar. equivalents for), 242\n\n S\u00e1is = groom, horsekeeper (Syce), 9\n\n Sajj\u00e1dah = prayer-rug, 193\n\n Saksar (Pers. Sag-sar = dogs\u2019 heads), 37\n\n Sa\u2019lab = fox, 211\n\n Sal\u00e1hitah (Al-), island, 30\n\n Sal\u00e1m\u00e1t = Welcome!, 232\n\n Sales (formula of), 73\n\n Samak = common fish, 69\n\n Sam\u00fam = poisonous wind (Simoon), 88\n\n Sandal (Ar. Na\u2019al), 207\n\n Sar\u00e1b = mirage, 93\n\n Sarandib = Selan-dw\u00edpa (Ceylon), 64\n\n S\u00e1s\u00e1 bin Shays, 274\n\n Satan (his malice weak in comparison with that of women), 144\n\n Sea of Al-Karkar, 101\n\n Sea-stallion (myth of the), 9\n\n Serpent (breaks the bones of its devoured prey by winding round a tree\n or rock), 29\n\n \u2014\u2014 (preserving from sickness), 66\n\n \u2014\u2014 (in Ar. mostly feminine), 75\n\n Shakiriyah = Kshatriya caste, 10\n\n Shamardal (Al-) = the Tall One, 221\n\n Shams al-Daulah (imaginary king of Egypt), 241\n\n Shaykh al-Bahr = the Chief of the Sea (-coast), 51, 53\n\n Shaykh of the thieves (one of the worthies of a Moslem capital), 204\n\n Shays = Ab Seth, 283\n\n Shoe (Ar. Mark\u00fab, Na\u2019al), 207\n\n Shrouds (carried by the pilgrims to Meccah), 61\n\n Sight comprehendeth Him not, etc., 282\n\n Signs of Allah = Koranic versets, 144\n\n Simoon (Ar. Sam\u00fam = poisonous wind), 88\n\n Sindb\u00e1d (not to be confounded with the eponym of the Sindib\u00e1d-n\u00e1mah), 4\n\n Sindib\u00e1d the Sage, 124\n\n Sindib\u00e1d-n\u00e1mah (Persian romance), 122\n\n Sindibad-n\u00e1mah (quoted), 129; 132; 134; 139; 143; 145; 150; 152; 169;\n 180; 183; 188; 202\n\n S\u00edrah (small fish, fry, sprat), 216\n\n Siy\u00e1ghosh, _see_ Tufah.\n\n Sold to thee for monies received (formula of Moslem sales), 73\n\n Solomon (his food-tray), 80\n\n \u2014\u2014 (his seal-ring), 84\n\n \u2014\u2014 (the Apostle of Allah), 99\n\n \u2014\u2014 (his Waz\u00edr Asaf), _ib._\n\n \u2014\u2014 (his trick upon Bilk\u00eds), 113\n\n Spears and javelins, 263\n\n Stallion (I am not one to be struck on the nose), 262\n\n Steel (Ar. Bul\u00e1d), 115\n\n Stirrup (walking by the), 234\n\n Stones (precious, and their mines), 18\n\n \u2014\u2014 (removed from the path by the pious), 190\n\n Suez (Ar. Al-Suways), 80\n\n Suways (Al-) = Suez, _ib._\n\n Swimming (studied in Baghdad), 134\n\n Sword (the enchanted), 230\n\n\n Tadmurah (founds Tadmur or Palmyra), 116\n\n Talking birds (watching over wives), 132\n\n Tanjah = Tangiers, 106\n\n Target (Ar. darakah), 9\n\n Ta\u2019r\u00edsak = thy going between (pimping), 196\n\n Tasmeh-p\u00e1 = strap-legs, 51\n\n Taw\u00e1f (circuit of the Ka\u2019abah), 242\n\n Thousand thousand = a million, 98\n\n Three things are better than other three, 5\n\n \u201cThrowing the handkerchief\u201d, 285\n\n Tin (Ar. Kazd\u00edr), 39\n\n Tingis = Tanjah (Tangiers), 106\n\n Torrents (Ar. Sail) a dangerous feature in Arabia, 164\n\n Tortoise (the colossal), 33\n\n Toujours perdrix, 130\n\n Traveller (a model one tells the truth when an untruth would not serve\n him), 7\n\n Tribes (relations between), 267\n\n Tufah = felis caracal, lynx, 260\n\n Tusks (not teeth), 82\n\n Tyrant (from \u2014, to tyrant = from official to official), 214\n\n\n Ujb = arrogance (in the Spanish sense of gaiety, etc.), 164\n\n Ulysses (the Arabian), 40\n\n Unhappy thou!, 285\n\n Underground rivers, 63\n\n Upakosh\u00e1 (Vararuchi\u2019s wife), 172\n\n Usir\u00e1t (Al-), island, 57\n\n\n Vengeance (of a disappointed suitor apprehended), 286\n\n Vivisepulture, 41\n\n\n Wa\u2019ar = rough ground unfit for riding, 140\n\n Wadd, Suw\u00e1\u2019a and Yagh\u00fas, 282\n\n Wady al-Ward (the Vale of Roses), 276\n\n Wal\u00edmah = marriage-feast, 74\n\n Walking afoot (not dignified), 227\n\n Wanderer in the mountains = a recluse avoiding society, 158\n\n Wars (caused by trifles frequent in Arab history), 142\n\n Wasm = tribal sign, 163\n\n Water-melons (eaten with rice and meat), 208\n\n Week-days (old names for), 190\n\n Whale (still common off the East African coast), 11\n\n White (colour of the Ommiades), 86\n\n \u2014\u2014 robes denote grace and mercy, 250\n\n Wife (Aurat), 30\n\n \u2014\u2014 (called \u201cFamily\u201d), 75\n\n Will he not care? = he shall answer for this, 245\n\n Windows (looking out of, a favourite occupation in the East and South),\n 167\n\n Wishes (tale of the three), 180\n\n Witches (and their vehicles), 158\n\n Witness (bear \u2014, against me, _i.e._ in case of my denial), 286\n\n Wives (and their suitors), 172\n\n Woman (in Hindostani jargon = aurat), 30\n\n \u2014\u2014 (her shame extends from head to toes), 118\n\n \u2014\u2014 (their cunning and malice), 144\n\n \u2014\u2014 (corrupts woman more than men do), 152\n\n \u2014\u2014 (knowing enough without learning to read and write), 168\n\n \u2014\u2014 (of Kashm\u00edr), 156\n\n \u2014\u2014 (her female visitors unknown to the husband, except by hearsay), 199\n\n \u2014\u2014 (words used only by them, not by men), 233\n\n\n Ya\u2019arub (eponymus of an Oman tribe), 260\n\n Y\u00e1 misk\u00edn = O poor devil, 219\n\n Yauh! Yauh! = Alas, 235\n\n Yaum mub\u00e1rak = a blessed day, 215\n\n\n Zabbat = lizard; bolt, 247\n\n Zughzagh\u00e1n (Ab\u00fa Mass\u00e1h = Father of the Sweeper) = magpie, 182\n\n Zahra = the flowery, 145\n\n Zahwah = mid-time between sunrise and noon, 35\n\n Zalamah (Al-) = \u201ctyranny\u201d, 214\n\n Zanj = Zang-bar (Black-land, Zanzibar), 104\n\n Z\u00e1wiyah = oratory, 259\n\n Zu al-Aut\u00e1d = the contriver of the stakes (Pharaoh), 118\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n TRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTES\n\n\n 1. Changed \u2018city use\u2019 to \u2018city used\u2019 on p. 53.\n 2. Changed \u2018nre\u2019 to \u2018fire\u2019 on p. 222.\n 3. Changed \u2018mattrasses\u2019 to \u2018mattresses\u2019 on p. 227.\n 4. Changed \u2018centuries late\u2019 to \u2018centuries later\u2019 on p. 240.\n 5. Changed \u2018into goal\u2019 to \u2018into gaol\u2019 on p. 244.\n 6. Silently corrected simple spelling, grammar, and typographical\n errors.\n 7. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.\n 8. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.\n 9. Superscripts are denoted by a carat before a single superscript\n character or a series of superscripted characters enclosed in curly\n braces, e.g. M^r. or M^{ister}.","title":"The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night \u2014 Volume 06 (of 10)","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":139076}