{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_59953/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_59953","id":"gutenberg_59953","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/59953","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Classics of Literature","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Fairy tales","Tales -- Arab countries"],"text":"[Illustration]\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n[Illustration: \u200f\u200f\u0644\u0627 \u0644\u0627\u0628\u0631\u0627\u0631 \u0643\u0644\u0651 \u0634\u064a \u062a\u0628\u0631\u200e\u200e]\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[Illustration]\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n Supplemental\n Nights\n _TO THE BOOK OF THE_\n Thousand Nights and a Night\n _WITH NOTES ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND EXPLANATORY_\n VOLUME I.\n\n\n BY\n\n RICHARD F. BURTON\n\n[Illustration]\n\n PRINTED BY THE BURTON CLUB FOR PRIVATE SUBSCRIBERS ONLY\n\n\n\n\n Shammar Edition\n\nLimited to one thousand numbered sets, of which this is\n\n Number ____\n\n\n PRINTED IN U. S. A.\n\n\n\n\n TO HENRY IRVING, ESQ.\n\n\n MY DEAR IRVING,\n\nTo a consummate artist like yourself I need hardly suggest that The\nNights still offers many a virgin mine to the Playwright; and I inscribe\nthis volume to you, not only in admiration of your genius but in the\nhope that you will find means of exploiting the hidden wealth which\nawaits only your \u201cOpen, Sesame!\u201d\n\n Ever yours sincerely,\n\n RICHARD F. BURTON.\n\n LONDON, _August 1, 1886_.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME.\n\n\n Breslau Text.\n\n PAGE\n 13. AL-MALIK AL-ZAHIR RUKN AL-DIN BIBARS AL-BUNDUKDARI AND THE\n SIXTEEN CAPTAINS OF POLICE 3\n\n _a._ FIRST CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY 6\n\n _b._ SECOND CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY 16\n\n _c._ THIRD CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY 19\n\n _d._ FOURTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY 23\n\n _e._ FIFTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY 25\n\n _f._ SIXTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY 27\n\n _g._ SEVENTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY 30\n\n _h._ EIGHTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY 34\n\n _ha._ THE THIEF\u2019S TALE 42\n\n _i._ NINTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY 44\n\n _j._ TENTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY 47\n\n _k._ ELEVENTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY 49\n\n _l._ TWELFTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY 52\n\n _m._ THIRTEENTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY 53\n\n _n._ FOURTEENTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY 54\n\n _na._ A MERRY JEST OF A CLEVER THIEF 56\n\n _nb._ TALE OF THE OLD SHARPER 57\n\n _o._ FIFTEENTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY 59\n\n _p._ SIXTEENTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY 63\n\n 14. TALE OF HARUN AL-RASHID AND ABDULLAH BIN NAF\u00cd 67\n\n _a._ TALE OF THE DAMSEL TOHFAT AL-KULUB AND THE CALIPH HARUN\n AL-RASHID 70\n\n 15. WOMEN\u2019S WILES 137\n\n 16. NUR AL-DIN ALI OF DAMASCUS AND THE DAMSEL SITT AL-MILAH 151\n\n 17. TALE OF KING INS BIN KAYS AND HIS DAUGHTER WITH THE SON OF\n KING AL-\u2019ABB\u00c1S 191\n\n 18. TALE OF THE TWO KINGS AND THE WAZIR\u2019S DAUGHTERS 263\n\n 19. THE CONCUBINE AND THE CALIPH 275\n\n 20. THE CONCUBINE OF AL-MAAMUN 281\n\n\n APPENDIX: VARIANTS AND ANALOGUES\n\n OF SOME OF THE TALES IN VOLS. I. AND II.\n\n BY W. A. CLOUSTON.\n\n THE SLEEPER AND THE WAKER 291\n\n THE TEN WAZIRS; OR, THE HISTORY OF KING AZADBAKHT AND HIS SON 295\n\n KING DADBIN AND HIS WAZIRS 296\n\n KING AYLAN SHAH AND ABU TAMMAM 297\n\n KING SULAYMAN SHAH AND HIS NIECE 298\n\n FIRUZ AND HIS WIFE 301\n\n KING SHAH BAKHT AND HIS WAZIR AL-RAHWAN 302\n\n ON THE ART OF ENLARGING PEARLS 303\n\n THE SINGER AND THE DRUGGIST 305\n\n THE KING WHO KENNED THE QUINTESSENCE OF THINGS 320\n\n THE PRINCE WHO FELL IN LOVE WITH THE PICTURE 328\n\n THE FULLER, HIS WIFE, AND THE TROOPER 329\n\n THE SIMPLETON HUSBAND 332\n\n THE THREE MEN AND OUR LORD ISA 332\n\n THE MELANCHOLIST AND THE SHARPER 333\n\n THE DEVOUT WOMAN ACCUSED OF LEWDNESS 340\n\n THE WEAVER WHO BECAME A LEACH BY ORDER OF HIS WIFE 341\n\n THE KING WHO LOST KINGDOM, WIFE, AND WEALTH 343\n\n AL-MALIK AL-ZAHIR AND THE SIXTEEN CAPTAINS OF POLICE 369\n\n THE THIEF\u2019S TALE 369\n\n THE NINTH CONSTABLE\u2019S STORY 369\n\n THE FIFTEENTH CONSTABLE\u2019S STORY 369\n\n THE DAMSEL TUHFAT AL-KULUB 371\n\n WOMEN\u2019S WILES 372\n\n NUR AL-DIN AND THE DAMSEL SITT AL-MILAH 377\n\n KING INS BIN KAYS AND HIS DAUGHTER 377\n\n ADDITIONAL NOTES:\n\n FIRUZ AND HIS WIFE 378\n\n THE SINGER AND THE DRUGGIST 378\n\n THE FULLER, HIS WIFE, AND THE TROOPER 379\n\n\n\n\n AL-MALIK AL-ZAHIR RUKN AL-DIN BIBARS AL-BUNDUKDARI AND THE SIXTEEN\n CAPTAINS OF POLICE.[1]\n\n\nThere was once in the climes[2] of Egypt and the city of Cairo, under\nthe Turks, a king of the valiant kings and the exceeding mighty Soldans,\nhight Al-Malik al-Z\u00e1hir Rukn al-Din Bibars al-Bundukd\u00e1ri,[3] who was\nused to storm the Islamite sconces and the strongholds of \u201cThe Shore\u201d[4]\nand the Nazarene citadels. His Chief of Police in the capital of his\nkingdom, was just to the folk, all of them; and Al-Malik al-Zahir\ndelighted in stories of the common sort and of that which men purposed\nin thought; and he loved to see this with his own eyes and to hear their\nsayings with his own ears. Now it fortuned that he heard one night from\na certain of his nocturnal reciters[5] that among women are those who\nare doughtier than the doughtiest men and prower of prowess, and that\namong them are some who will engage in fight singular with the sword and\nothers who beguile the quickest-witted of Walis and baffle them and\nbring down on them all manner of miseries; wherefore said the Soldan, \u201cI\nwould lief hear this of their legerdemain from one of those who have had\nto do with it, so I may hearken unto him and cause him discourse.\u201d And\none of the story-tellers said, \u201cO king, send for the Chief of Police of\nthis thy city.\u201d Now \u2019Alam al-Din[6] Sanjar was at that time Wali and he\nwas a man of experience, in affairs well versed; so the king sent for\nhim and when he came before him, he discovered to him that which was in\nhis mind. Quoth Sanjar, \u201cI will do my endeavour for that which our lord\nseeketh.\u201d Then he arose and returning to his house, summoned the\nCaptains of the watch and the Lieutenants of the ward and said to them,\n\u201cKnow that I purpose to marry my son and make him a bridal banquet, and\nI desire that ye assemble, all of you, in one place. I also will be\npresent, I and my company, and do ye relate that which you have heard of\nrare occurrences and that which hath betided you of experiences.\u201d And\nthe Captains and Runners and Agents of Police answered him, \u201c\u2019Tis well:\nBismillah\u2014in the name of Allah! We will make thee see all this with\nthine own eyes and hear it with thine own ears.\u201d Then the Chief of\nPolice arose and going up to Al-Malik al-Zahir, informed him that the\nassembly would meet on such a day at his house; and the Soldan said,\n\u201c\u2019Tis well,\u201d and gave him somewhat of coin for his spending-money. When\nthe appointed day came the Chief of Police set apart for his officers\nand constables a saloon, which had latticed casements ranged in order\nand giving upon the flower-garden, and Al-Malik al-Zahir came to him,\nand he seated himself and the Soldan, in the alcove. Then the tables\nwere spread for them with food and they ate: and when the bowl went\nround amongst them and their souls were gladdened by meat and drink,\nthey mutually related that which was with them and, revealed their\nsecrets from concealment. The first to discourse was a man, a Captain of\nthe Watch, hight Mu\u2019\u00edn al-Din,[7] whose heart was wholly occupied with\nthe love of fair women; and he said, \u201cHarkye, all ye people of high\ndegree, I will acquaint you with an extraordinary affair which fortuned\nme aforetime.\u201d Then he began to tell:\n\n\n THE FIRST CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY.[8]\n\nKnow ye that when I entered the service of this Emir,[9] I had a great\nrepute and every low fellow and lewd feared me most of all mankind, and\nwhen I rode through the city, each and every of the folk would point at\nme with their fingers and sign at me with their eyes. It happened one\nday, as I sat in the palace of the Prefecture, back-propped against a\nwall, considering in myself, suddenly there fell somewhat in my lap, and\nbehold, it was a purse sealed and tied. So I hent it in hand and lo! it\nhad in it an hundred dirhams[10], but I found not who threw it and I\nsaid, \u201cLauded be the Lord, the King of the Kingdoms!\u201d[11] Another day,\nas I sat in the same way, somewhat fell on me and startled me, and\nlookye, \u2019twas a purse like the first: I took it and hiding the matter,\nmade as though I slept, albeit sleep was not with me. One day as I thus\nshammed sleep, I suddenly sensed in my lap a hand, and in it a purse of\nthe finest; so I seized the hand and behold, \u2019twas that of a fair woman.\nQuoth I to her, \u201cO my lady, who art thou?\u201d and quoth she, \u201cRise and come\naway from here, that I may make myself known to thee.\u201d Presently I rose\nup and following her, walked on, without tarrying, till we stopped at\nthe door of a high-builded house, whereupon I asked her, \u201cO my lady, who\nart thou? Indeed, thou hast done me kindness, and what is the reason of\nthis?\u201d She answered, \u201cBy Allah, O Captain[12] Mu\u2019in, I am a woman on\nwhom love and longing are sore for desire of the daughter of the Kazi\nAm\u00edn al-Hukm.[13] Now there was between me and her what was and fondness\nfor her fell upon my heart and I agreed upon an assignation with her,\naccording to possibility and convenience; but her father Amin al-Hukm\ntook her and went away, and my heart cleaveth to her and yearning and\ndistraction waxed sore upon me for her sake.\u201d I said to her, marvelling\nthe while at her words, \u201cWhat wouldst thou have me do?\u201d and said she, \u201cO\nCaptain Mu\u2019in, I would have thee lend me a helping hand.\u201d Quoth I,\n\u201cWhere am I and where is the daughter of the Kazi Amin al-Hukm?\u201d[14] and\nquoth she \u201cBe assured that I would not have thee intrude upon the Kazi\u2019s\ndaughter, but I would fain work for the winning of my wishes. This is my\nwill and my want which may not be wroughten save by thine aid.\u201d Then she\nadded, \u201cI mean this night to go with heart enheartened and hire me\nbracelets and armlets and anklets of price; then will I hie me and sit\nin the street wherein is the house of Amin al-Hukm; and when \u2019tis the\nseason of the round and folk are asleep, do thou pass, thou and those\nwho are with thee of the men, and thou wilt see me sitting and on me\nfine raiment and ornaments and wilt smell on me the odour of Ottars;\nwhereupon do thou question me of my case and I will say:\u2014I hail from the\nCitadel and am of the daughters of the deputies[15] and I came down into\nthe town for a purpose; but night overtook me all unawares and the\nZuwaylah Gate[16] was shut against me and all the other portals and I\nknew not whither I should wend this night. Presently I saw this street\nand noting the goodly fashion of its ordinance and its cleanliness, I\nsheltered me therein against break of day. When I speak these words to\nthee with complete self-possession,[17] the Chief of the watch will have\nno ill suspicion of me, but will say:\u2014There\u2019s no help but that we leave\nher with one who will take care of her till morning. Thereto do thou\nrejoin:\u2014\u2019Twere best that she night with Amin al-Hukm and lie with his\nwives[18] and children until dawn of day. Then straightway knock at the\nKazi\u2019s door, and thus shall I have secured admission into his house,\nwithout inconvenience, and won my wish; and\u2014the Peace!\u201d I said to her,\n\u201cBy Allah, this is an easy matter.\u201d So, when the night was blackest, we\nrose to make our round, followed by men with girded swords, and went\nabout the ways and compassed the city, till we came to the street[19]\nwhere was the woman, and it was the middle of the night. Here we smelt\nmighty rich scents and heard the clink of rings: so I said to my\ncomrades, \u201cMethinks I espy a spectre;\u201d and the Captain of the watch\ncried, \u201cSee what it is.\u201d Accordingly, I undertook the work and entering\nthe thoroughfare presently came out again and said, \u201cI have found a fair\nwoman and she telleth me that she is from the Citadel and that dark\nnight surprised her and she saw this street and noting its cleanness and\ngoodly fashion of ordinance, knew that it belonged to a great man[20]\nand that needs must there be in it a guardian to keep watch over it, so\nshe sheltered her therein.\u201d Quoth the Captain of the watch to me, \u201cTake\nher and carry her to thy house;\u201d but quoth I, \u201cI seek refuge with\nAllah![21] My house is no strong box[22] and on this woman are trinkets\nand fine clothing. By Allah, we will not deposit the lady save with Amin\nal-Hukm, in whose street she hath been since the first starkening of the\ndarkness; therefore do thou leave her with him till the break of day.\u201d\nHe rejoined, \u201cDo whatso thou willest.\u201d So I rapped at the Kazi\u2019s gate\nand out came a black slave of his slaves, to whom said I, \u201cO my lord,\ntake this woman and let her be with you till day shall dawn, for that\nthe lieutenant of the Emir Alam al-Din hath found her with trinkets and\nfine apparel on her, sitting at the door of your house, and we feared\nlest her responsibility be upon you;[23] wherefore I suggested \u2019twere\nmeetest she night with you.\u201d So the chattel opened and took her in with\nhim. Now when the morning morrowed, the first who presented himself\nbefore the Emir was the Kazi Amin al-Hukm, leaning on two of his negro\nslaves; and he was crying out and calling for aid and saying, \u201cO Emir,\ncrafty and perfidious, yesternight thou depositedst with me a woman and\nbroughtest her into my house and home, and she arose in the dark and\ntook from me the monies of the little orphans my wards,[24] six great\nbags, each containing a thousand dinars,[25] and made off; but as for\nme, I will say no syllable to thee except in the Soldan\u2019s presence.\u201d[26]\nWhen the Wali heard these words, he was troubled and rose and sat down\nin his agitation; then he took the Judge and placing him by his side,\nsoothed him and exhorted him to patience, till he had made an end of\ntalk, when he turned to the officers and questioned them of that. They\nfixed the affair on me and said, \u201cWe know nothing of this matter but\nfrom Captain Mu\u2019in al-Din.\u201d So the Kazi turned to me and said, \u201cThou\nwast of accord to practice upon me with this woman, for she said she\ncame from the Citadel.\u201d As for me, I stood, with my head bowed\nground-wards, forgetting both Sunnah and Farz,[27] and remained sunk in\nthought, saying, \u201cHow came I to be the dupe of that randy wench?\u201d Then\ncried the Emir to me, \u201cWhat aileth thee that thou answerest not?\u201d\nThereupon I replied, \u201cO my lord, \u2019tis a custom among the folk that he\nwho hath a payment to make at a certain date is allowed three days\u2019\ngrace: do thou have patience with me so long, and if, at the end of that\ntime, the culprit be not found, I will be responsible for that which is\nlost.\u201d When the folk heard my speech they all approved it as reasonable\nand the Wali turned to the Kazi and sware to him that he would do his\nutmost to recover the stolen monies adding, \u201cAnd they shall be restored\nto thee.\u201d Then he went away, whilst I mounted without stay or delay and\nbegan to-ing and fro-ing about the world without purpose, and indeed I\nwas become the underling of a woman without honesty or honour; and I\nwent my rounds in this way all that my day and that my night, but\nhappened not upon tidings of her; and thus I did on the morrow. On the\nthird day I said to myself, \u201cThou art mad or silly;\u201d for I was wandering\nin quest of a woman who knew me[28] and I knew her not, she being veiled\nwhen I met her. Then I went round about the third day till the hour of\nmid-afternoon prayer, and sore waxed my cark and my care for I kenned\nthat there remained to me of my life but the morrow, when the Chief of\nPolice would send for me. However, as sundown-time came, I passed\nthrough one of the main streets, and saw a woman at a window; her door\nwas ajar and she was clapping her hands and casting sidelong glances at\nme, as who should say, \u201cCome up by the door.\u201d So I went up, without fear\nor suspicion, and when I entered, she rose and clasped me to her breast.\nI marvelled at the matter and quoth she to me, \u201cI am she whom thou\ndepositedst with Amin al-Hukm.\u201d Quoth I to her, \u201cO my sister, I have\nbeen going round and round in request of thee, for indeed thou hast done\na deed which will be chronicled and hast cast me into red death[29] on\nthine account.\u201d She asked me, \u201cDost thou speak thus to me and thou a\ncaptain of men?\u201d and I answered, \u201cHow should I not be troubled, seeing\nthat I be in concern for an affair I turn over and over in mind, more by\ntoken that I continue my day long going about searching for thee and in\nthe night I watch its stars and planets?\u201d[30] Cried she, \u201cNaught shall\nbetide save weal, and thou shalt get the better of him.\u201d[31] So saying,\nshe rose and going to a chest, drew out therefrom six bags full of gold\nand said to me, \u201cThis is what I took from Amin al-Hukm\u2019s house. So an\nthou wilt, restore it; else the whole is lawfully[32] thine; and if thou\ndesire other than this, thou shalt obtain it; for I have monies in\nplenty and I had no design herein save to marry thee.\u201d Then she arose\nand opening other chests, brought out therefrom wealth galore and I said\nto her, \u201cO my sister, I have no wish for all this, nor do I want aught\nexcept to be quit of that wherein I am.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cI came not forth of\nthe Kazi\u2019s house without preparing for thine acquittance.\u201d Then said she\nto me, \u201cWhen the morrow shall morn and Amin al-Hukm shall come to thee\nbear with him till he have made an end of his speech, and when he is\nsilent, return him no reply; and if the Wali ask:\u2014What aileth thee that\nthou answerest me not? do thou rejoin:\u2014O lord and master[33] know that\nthe two words are not alike, but there is no helper for the conquered\none[34] save Allah Almighty. The Kazi will cry, What is the meaning of\nthy saying, The two words are not alike? And do thou retort:\u2014I deposited\nwith thee a damsel from the palace of the Sultan, and most likely some\nenemy of hers in thy household hath transgressed against her or she hath\nbeen secretly murdered. Verily, there were on her raiment and ornaments\nworth a thousand ducats, and hadst thou put to the question those who\nare with thee of slaves and slave-girls, needs must thou have litten on\nsome traces of the crime. When he heareth this from thee, his trouble\nwill redouble and he will be amated and will make oath that thou hast no\nhelp for it but to go with him to his house: however, do thou say, That\nwill I not do, for I am the party aggrieved, more especially because I\nam under suspicion with thee. If he redouble in calling on Allah\u2019s aid\nand conjure thee by the oath of divorce saying, Thou must assuredly\ncome, do thou reply, By Allah, I will not go, unless the Chief also go\nwith me. Then, as soon as thou comest to the house, begin by searching\nthe terrace-roofs; then rummage the closets and cabinets; and if thou\nfind naught, humble thyself before the Kazi and be abject and feign\nthyself subjected, and after stand at the door and look as if thou\nsoughtest a place wherein to make water,[35] because there is a dark\ncorner there. Then come forward, with heart harder than syenite-stone,\nand lay hold upon a jar of the jars and raise it from its place. Thou\nwilt find there under it a mantilla-skirt; bring it out publicly and\ncall the Wali in a loud voice, before those who are present. Then open\nit and thou wilt find it full of blood, exceeding for freshness, and\ntherein a woman\u2019s walking boots and a pair of petticoat-trousers and\nsomewhat of linen.\u201d When I heard from her these words, I rose to go out\nand she said to me, \u201cTake these hundred sequins, so they may succour\nthee; and such is my guest-gift to thee.\u201d Accordingly I took them and\nleaving her door ajar returned to my lodging. Next morning, up came the\nJudge, with his face like the ox-eye,[36] and asked, \u201cIn the name of\nAllah, where is my debtor and where is my property?\u201d Then he wept and\ncried out and said to the Wali, \u201cWhere is that ill-omened fellow, who\naboundeth in robbery and villainy?\u201d Thereupon the Chief turned to me and\nsaid, \u201cWhy dost thou not answer the Kazi;\u201d and I replied, \u201cO Emir, the\ntwo heads[37] are not equal, and I, I have no helper;[38] but, an the\nright be on my side \u2019twill appear.\u201d At this the Judge grew hotter of\ntemper and cried out, \u201cWoe to thee, O ill-omened wight! How wilt thou\nmake manifest that the right is on thy side?\u201d I replied \u201cO our lord the\nKazi, I deposited with thee and in thy charge a woman whom we found at\nthy door, and on her raiment and ornaments of price. Now she is gone,\neven as yesterday is gone;[39] and after this thou turnest upon us and\nsuest me for six thousand gold pieces. By Allah, this is none other than\na mighty great wrong, and assuredly some foe[40] of hers in thy\nhousehold hath transgressed against her!\u201d With this the Judge\u2019s wrath\nredoubled and he swore by the most solemn of oaths that I should go with\nhim and search his house. I replied, \u201cBy Allah I will not go, unless the\nWali go with us; for, an he be present, he and the officers, thou wilt\nnot dare to work thy wicked will upon me.\u201d So the Kazi rose and swore an\noath, saying, \u201cBy the truth of Him who created mankind, we will not go\nbut with the Emir!\u201d Accordingly we repaired to the Judge\u2019s house,\naccompanied by the Chief, and going up, searched it through, but found\nnaught; whereat fear fell upon me and the Wali turned to me and said,\n\u201cFie upon thee, O ill-omened fellow! thou hast put us to shame before\nthe men.\u201d All this, and I wept and went round about right and left, with\nthe tears running down my face, till we were about to go forth and drew\nnear the door of the house. I looked at the place which the woman had\nmentioned and asked, \u201cWhat is yonder dark place I see?\u201d Then said I to\nthe men, \u201cPull up[41] this jar with me.\u201d They did my bidding and I saw\nsomewhat appearing under the jar and said, \u201cRummage and look at what is\nunder it.\u201d So they searched, and behold, they came upon a woman\u2019s\nmantilla and petticoat-trousers full of blood, which when I espied, I\nfell down in a fainting-fit. Now when the Wali saw this, he said, \u201cBy\nAllah, the Captain is excused!\u201d Then my comrades came round about me and\nsprinkled water on my face till I recovered, when I arose and accosting\nthe Kazi (who was covered with confusion), said to him, \u201cThou seest that\nsuspicion is fallen on thee, and indeed this affair is no light matter,\nbecause this woman\u2019s family will assuredly not sit down quietly under\nher loss.\u201d Therewith the Kazi\u2019s heart quaked and fluttered for that he\nknew the suspicion had reverted upon him, wherefore his colour yellowed\nand his limbs smote together; and he paid of his own money, after the\nmeasure of that he had lost, so we would quench that fire for him.[42]\nThen we departed from him in peace, whilst I said within myself,\n\u201cIndeed, the woman falsed me not.\u201d After that I tarried till three days\nhad passed, when I went to the Hammam and changing my clothes, betook\nmyself to her home, but found the door shut and covered with dust. So I\nasked the neighbours of her and they answered, \u201cThis house hath been\nempty of habitants these many days; but three days agone there came a\nwoman with an ass, and at supper-time last night she took her gear and\nwent away.\u201d Hereat I turned back, bewildered in my wit, and for many a\nday after I inquired of the dwellers in that street concerning her, but\ncould happen on no tidings of her. And indeed I wondered at the\neloquence of her tongue and the readiness of her talk; and this is the\nmost admirable of all I have seen and of whatso hath betided me. When\nAl-Malik al-Zahir heard the tale of Mu\u2019in al-Din, he marvelled thereat.\nThen rose another constable and said, \u201cO lord, hear what befel me in\nbygone days.\u201d\n\n\n THE SECOND CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY.\n\nI was once an overseer in the household of the Emir Jam\u00e1l al-Din\nal-Atwash al-Mujhidi, who was made governor of the two provinces,\nShark\u00edyah and Gharb\u00edyah,[43] and I was dear to his heart and he hid from\nme naught of whatso he desired to do; and he was eke master of his\nreason.[44] It came to pass one day of the days that it was reported to\nhim how the daughter of Such-an-one had a mint of monies and raiment and\nornaments and at that present she loved a Jewish man, whom every day she\ninvited to be private with her, and they passed the light hours eating\nand drinking in company and he lay the night with her. The Wali feigned\nnot to believe a word of this story, but he summoned the watchmen of the\nquarter one night and questioned them of this tittle-tattle. Quoth one\nof them, \u201cAs for me, O my lord, I saw none save a Jew[45] enter the\nstreet in question one night; but I have not made certain to whom he\nwent in;\u201d and quoth the Chief, \u201cKeep thine eye on him from this time\nforward and note what place he entereth.\u201d So the watchman went out and\nkept his eye on the Jud\u00e6an. One day as the Prefect sat in his house, the\nwatchman came in to him and said, \u201cO my lord, in very sooth the Jew\ngoeth to the house of Such-an-one.\u201d Whereupon Al-Atwash sprang to his\nfeet and went forth alone, taking with him none save myself.[46] As he\nwent along, he said to me, \u201cIndeed, this girl is a fat piece of\nmeat.\u201d[47] And we gave not over going till we came to the door of the\nhouse and stood there until a hand-maid came out, as if to buy them\nsomething wanted. We waited till she opened the door, whereupon, without\nquestion or answer, we forced our way into the house and rushed in upon\nthe girl, whom we found seated with the Jew in a saloon with four\nda\u00efses, and cooking-pots and candles therein. When her eyes fell on the\nWali, she knew him and rising to her feet, said, \u201cWell come and welcome\nand fair cheer! By Allah, great honour hath betided me by my lord\u2019s\nvisit and indeed thou dignifiest my dwelling.\u201d Hereat she carried him up\nto the da\u00efs and seating him on the couch, brought him meat and wine and\ngave him to drink; after which she put off all that was upon her of\nraiment and ornaments and tying them up in a kerchief, said to him, \u201cO\nmy lord, this is thy portion, all of it.\u201d Then she turned to the Jew and\nsaid to him, \u201cRise, thou also, and do even as I:\u201d so he arose in haste\nand went out very hardly crediting his deliverance.[48] When the girl\nwas assured of his escape, she put out her hand to her clothes and\njewels and taking them, said to the Chief, \u201cO Emir, is the requital of\nkindness other than kindness? Thou hast deigned to visit me and eat of\nmy bread and salt; so now arise and depart from us without ill-doing; or\nI will give a single outcry and all who are in the street will come\nforth.\u201d So the Emir went out from her, without having gotten a single\ndirham; and on this wise she delivered the Jew by the seemliness of her\nstratagem. The company admired this tale, and as for the Wali and\nAl-Malik al-Zahir, they said, \u201cEver devised any the like of this\ndevice?\u201d and they marvelled with the utterest of marvel. Then arose a\nthird constable and said, \u201cHear what betided me, for it is yet stranger\nand rarer.\u201d\n\n\n THE THIRD CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY.\n\nI was one day abroad on business with certain of my comrades; and, as we\nwalked along behold, we fell in with a company of women, as they were\nmoons, and among them one, the tallest of them and the handsomest. When\nI saw her and she saw me, she lagged behind her companions and waited\nfor me till I came up to her and bespake her. Quoth she, \u201cO my lord\n(Allah favour thee!) I saw thee prolong thy looking on me and I fancied\nthat thou knewest me. An it be thus, let me learn more of thee.\u201d Quoth\nI, \u201cBy Allah, I know thee not, save that the Most High Lord hath cast\nthe love of thee into my heart and the goodliness of thy qualities hath\nconfounded me; and that wherewith the Almighty hath gifted thee of those\neyes that shoot with shafts hath captivated me.\u201d And she rejoined, \u201cBy\nAllah, indeed I feel the like of that which thou feelest; ay, and even\nmore; so that meseemeth I have known thee from childhood.\u201d Then said I,\n\u201cA man cannot well effect all whereof he hath need in the\nmarket-places.\u201d She asked me, \u201cHast thou a house?\u201d and I answered, \u201cNo,\nby Allah, nor is this city my dwelling-place.\u201d Rejoined she, \u201cBy Allah,\nnor have I a place; but I will contrive for thee.\u201d Then she went on\nbefore me and I followed her till she came to a lodging-house[49] and\nsaid to the Housekeeper, \u201cHast thou an empty room?\u201d The other replied,\n\u201cYes:\u201d[50] and my mistress said, \u201cGive us the key.\u201d So we took the key\nand going up to see the room, entered to inspect it; after which she\nwent out to the Housekeeper and giving her a dirham, said to her \u201cTake\nthe _douceur_ of the key[51] for the chamber pleaseth us, and here is\nanother dirham for thy trouble. Go, fetch us a gugglet of water, so we\nmay refresh ourselves and rest till siesta-time pass and the heat\ndecline, when the man will depart and bring our bag and baggage.\u201d\nTherewith the Housekeeper rejoiced and brought us a mat, two gugglets of\nwater on a tray, a fan and a leather rug. We abode thus till the\nsetting-in of mid-afternoon, when she said, \u201cNeeds must I make the\nGhusl-ablution ere I fare.\u201d[52] Said I, \u201cGet water wherewith we may both\nwash,\u201d and drew forth from my pocket a score or so of dirhams, thinking\nto give them to her; but she cried, \u201cRefuge with Allah!\u201d and brought out\nof her pocket a handful of silver, saying, \u201cBut for destiny and that the\nAlmighty hath caused the love of thee fall into my heart, there had not\nhappened that which hath happened.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cAccept this in requital of\nthat which thou hast spent;\u201d and quoth she, \u201cO my lord, by and by,\nwhenas mating is prolonged between us, thou wilt see if the like of me\nlooketh unto money and means or no.\u201d Then the lady took a jar of water\nand going into the lavatory, made the Ghusl-ablution[53] and presently\ncoming forth, prayed the mid-afternoon prayer and craved pardon of Allah\nAlmighty for the sin into which she had fallen. Now I had asked her name\nand she answered, \u201cRayh\u00e1nah,\u201d[54] and described to me her\ndwelling-place. When I saw her make the ablution, I said within myself,\n\u201cThis woman doth on this wise, and shall I not do the like of her\ndoing?\u201d Then quoth I to her, \u201cPeradventure[55] thou wilt seek us another\njar of water?\u201d Accordingly she went out to the Housekeeper and said to\nher, \u201cO my sister, take this Nusf and fetch us for it water wherewith we\nmay wash the flags.\u201d[56] So the Housekeeper brought two jars of water\nand I took one of them and giving her my clothes, entered the lavatory\nand bathed. When I had made an end of bathing, I cried out, saying,\n\u201cHarkye, my lady Rayhanah!\u201d However none answered me. So I went out and\nfound her not; but I did find that she had taken my clothes and all that\nwas in them of silver, to wit, four hundred dirhams. She had also\ncarried off my turband and my kerchief and I lacked the wherewithal to\nveil my shame; so I suffered somewhat than which death is less grievous\nand abode looking about the place, hoping that haply I might espy a rag\nwherewith to hide my nakedness. Then I sat a little and presently going\nup to the door, smote upon it; whereat up came the Housekeeper and I\nsaid to her, \u201cO my sister, what hath Allah done with the woman who was\nhere?\u201d She replied, \u201cThe lady came down just now and said:\u2014I\u2019m going to\ncover the boys with the clothes, adding, and I have left him sleeping;\nan he awake, tell him not to stir till the clothes come to him.\u201d Then\ncried I, \u201cO my sister, secrets are safe with the fair-dealing and the\nfreeborn. By Allah, this woman is not my wife, nor ever in my life have\nI seen her before this day!\u201d And I recounted to her the whole affair and\nbegged of her to cover me, informing her that my private parts were\nclean unconcealed. She laughed and cried out to the women of the\nlodging-house, saying, \u201cHo, F\u00e1timah! Ho, Khad\u00edjah! Ho, Har\u00edfah! Ho,\nSan\u00ednah!\u201d Whereupon all those who were in the place of women and\nneighbours flocked to me and fell a-mocking me and saying, \u201cO pimp,[57]\nwhat hadst thou to do with gallantry?\u201d Then one of them came and looked\nin my face and laughed, and another said, \u201cBy Allah, thou mightest have\nknown that she lied, from the time she said she liked thee and was in\nlove with thee? What is there in thee to love?\u201d A third said, \u201cThis is\nan old man without wisdom;\u201d and all vied one with other in exercising\ntheir wits upon me, I suffering mighty sore chagrin. However, one of the\nwomen took compassion on me after a while, and brought me a rag of thin\nstuff and cast it on me. With this I covered my shame, and no more, and\nabode awhile thus: then said I in myself, \u201cThe husbands of these women\nwill presently gather together upon me and I shall be disgraced.\u201d So I\nwent out by another door of the lodging-house, and young and old crowded\nabout me, running after me and crying, \u201cA madman! A madman!\u201d[58] till I\ncame to my house and knocked at the door; whereupon out came my wife and\nseeing me naked, tall, bare of head, cried out and ran in again, saying,\n\u201cThis is a maniac, a Satan!\u201d But, when my family and spouse knew me,\nthey rejoiced and said to me, \u201cWhat aileth thee?\u201d I told them that\nthieves had taken my clothes and stripped me and had been like to slay\nme; and when I assured them that the rogues would have slaughtered me,\nthey praised Allah Almighty and gave me joy of my safety. So consider\nthe craft this woman practised upon me, and I pretending to cleverness\nand wiliness. Those present marvelled at this story and at the doings of\nwomen; then came forward a fourth constable and said, \u201cNow that which\nhath betided me of strange adventures is yet stranger than this, and\n\u2019twas after the following fashion.\u201d\n\n\n THE FOURTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY.\n\nWe were sleeping one night on the terrace-roof, when a woman made her\nway through the darkness into the house and, gathering into a bundle all\nthat was therein, took it up that she might go away with it. Now she was\nbig with child and nigh upon her time of delivery; so, when she packed\nup the bundle and prepared to shoulder it and make off with it, she\nhastened the coming of the labour-pangs and bare a child in the dark.\nThen she sought for the fire-sticks and when they burned, kindled the\nlamp and went round about the house with the little one, and it was\nweeping. The wail awoke us, as we lay on the roof, and we marvelled. So\nwe rose to see what was to do, and looking down through the opening of\nthe saloon,[59] saw a woman, who had lit the lamp, and heard the little\none crying. As we were peering, she heard our words and raising her head\nto us, said, \u201cAre ye not ashamed to deal thus with us and bare our\nshame? Wist ye not that the day belongeth to you and the night to us?\nBegone from us! By Allah, were it not that ye have been my neighbours\nthese many years, I would assuredly[60] bring down the house upon you!\u201d\nWe doubted not but that she was of the Jinn and drew back our heads;\nbut, when we rose on the morrow, we found that she had taken all that\nwas with us and made off with it;[61] wherefore we knew that she was a\nthief and had practised on us a device, such as was never before\npractised; and we repented, whenas repentance availed us naught. The\ncompany, hearing this tale, marvelled thereat with the utmost\nmarvelling. Then the fifth constable, who was the lieutenant of the\nbench,[62] came forward and said, \u201cThis is no wonder and there befel me\na story which is rarer and stranger than this.\u201d\n\n\n THE FIFTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY.\n\nAs I sat one day at the door of the Prefecture, behold, a woman suddenly\nentered and said as though consulting me, \u201cO my lord, I am the wife of\nSuch-an-one the Leach, and with him is a company of the notables[63] of\nthe city, drinking fermented drinks in such a place.\u201d When I heard this,\nI misliked to make a scandal; so I bluffed her off and sent her away\nunsatisfied. Then I rose and walked alone to the place in question and\nsat without till the door opened, when I rushed in and entering, found\nthe company even as the woman aforesaid had set out, and she herself\nwith them. I saluted them and they returned my salam and rising, treated\nme with honour and seated me and served me with meat. Then I informed\nthem how one had denounced them to me, but I had driven him away and had\ncome to them by myself; so they thanked me and praising me for my\nkindness, brought out to me from among them two thousand dirhams[64] and\nI took them and went away. Now two months after this adventure, there\ncame to me one of the Kazi\u2019s officers, with a paper, wherein was the\njudge\u2019s writ, summoning me to him. So I accompanied the officer and went\nin to the Kazi, whereupon the plaintiff, he who had taken out the\nsummons, sued me for two thousand dirhams, declaring I had borrowed them\nof him as the agent or guardian of the woman. I denied the debt, but he\nproduced against me a bond for that sum, attested by four of those who\nwere in company on the occasion; and they were present and bore witness\nto the loan. I reminded them of my kindness and paid the amount,\nswearing that I would never again follow a woman\u2019s counsel. Is not this\nmarvellous? The company admired the goodliness of his tale and it\npleased Al-Malik al-Zahir; and the Wali said, \u201cBy Allah, this is a\nstrange story!\u201d Then came forward the sixth constable and said to those\npresent, \u201cHear my adventure and that which befel me, to wit, that which\nbefel Such-an-one the Assessor, for \u2019tis rarer than this and finer.\u201d\n\n\n THE SIXTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY.\n\nA certain Assessor one day of the days was taken with a woman and much\npeople assembled before his house and the Lieutenant of police and his\nposse came to him and rapped at the door. The Assessor peered from\nhouse-top and seeing the folk, said, \u201cWhat do ye want?\u201d Replied they,\n\u201cSpeak with the Lieutenant of police Such-an-one.\u201d So he came down and\nas he opened the door they cried to him, \u201cBring forth the woman who is\nwith thee.\u201d \u201cAre ye not ashamed? How shall I bring forth my wife?\u201d \u201cIs\nshe thy wife by book[65] or without marriage-lines?\u201d \u201cShe is my wife\naccording to the Book of Allah and the Institutes of His Apostle.\u201d\n\u201cWhere is the contract?\u201d \u201cHer lines are in her mother\u2019s house.\u201d \u201cArise\nthou and come down and show us the writ.\u201d \u201cGo from her way, so she may\ncome forth.\u201d Now, as soon as he got wind of the matter, he had written\nthe bond and fashioned it after the fashion of his wife,[66] to suit\nwith the case, and he had written therein the names of certain of his\nfriends to serve as witnesses and forged the signatures of the drawer\nand the wife\u2019s next friend and made it a contract of marriage with his\nwife and a legal deed.[67] Accordingly, when the woman was about to go\nout from him, he gave her the contract he had forged, and the Emir sent\nwith her a servant of his, to carry her home to her father. So the\nservant went with her and when she was inside she said to him, \u201cI will\nnot return to the citation of the Emir; but let the Assessors present\nthemselves and take my contract.\u201d Hereupon the servant carried this\nmessage to the Lieutenant of police, who was standing at the Assessor\u2019s\ndoor, and he said, \u201cThis is permissible.\u201d Then said the Assessor to the\nservant, \u201cFare, O eunuch, and fetch us Such-an-one the Notary;\u201d for that\nhe was his friend and \u2019twas he whose name he had forged as the drawer-up\nof the contract.[68] So the Lieutenant sent after him and fetched him to\nthe Assessor, who, when he saw him, said to him, \u201cGet thee to\nSuch-an-one, her with whom thou marriedst me, and cry out upon her, and\nwhen she cometh to thee,[69] demand of her the contract and take it from\nher and bring it to us.\u201d And he signed to him, as much as to say, \u201cBear\nme out in the lie and screen me, for that she is a strange woman and\nI[70] am in fear of the Lieutenant who standeth at the door; and we\nbeseech Allah Almighty to screen us and you from the woes of this world.\nAmen.\u201d So the Notary went up to the Lieutenant, who was among the\nwitnesses, and said, \u201c\u2019Tis well. Is she not Such-an-one whose\nmarriage-contract we drew up in such a place?\u201d Then he betook himself to\nthe woman\u2019s house and cried out upon her; whereat she brought him the\nforged contract and he took it and returned with it to the Lieutenant of\npolice.[71] When the officer had taken cognizance of the document and\nprofessed himself satisfied, the Assessor said to the Notary, \u201cGo to our\nlord and master, the Kazi of the Kazis, and acquaint him with that which\nbefalleth his Assessors.\u201d The Notary rose to go, but the Lieutenant\nfeared for himself and was urgent in beseeching the Assessor and in\nkissing his hands till he forgave him; whereupon the Lieutenant went\naway in the utmost concern and affright. On such wise the Assessor\nordered the case and carried out the forgery and feigned marriage with\nthe woman; and thus escaped calumny and calamity by the seemliness of\nhis stratagem.[72] The folk marvelled at this with the uttermost marvel\nand the seventh constable said:\u2014There befel me in Alexandria the\nGod-guarded a wondrous thing, and \u2019twas this.[73]\n\n\n THE SEVENTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY.\n\nThere came one day an old woman to the stuff-bazar, with a casket of\nmighty fine workmanship, containing trinkets, and she was accompanied by\na young baggage big with child. The crone sat down at the shop of a\ndraper and giving him to know that the girl was pregnant by the\nPrefect[74] of Police of the city, took of him, on credit, stuffs to the\nvalue of a thousand dinars and deposited with him the casket as\nsecurity. She opened the casket and showed him that which was therein\nand he found it full of trinkets of price; so he trusted her with the\ngoods and she farewelled him and carrying the stuffs to the girl who was\nwith her, went her way. Then the old woman was absent from him a great\nwhile, and when her absence was prolonged, the draper despaired of her;\nso he went up to the Prefect\u2019s house and asked anent the woman of his\nhousehold who had taken his stuffs on credit; but could obtain no\ntidings of her nor happen on any trace of her. Then he brought out the\ncasket of jewellery and showed it to experts, who told him that the\ntrinkets were gilt and that their worth was but an hundred dirhams. When\nhe heard this, he was sore concerned thereat and presenting himself\nbefore the Deputy of the Sultan made his complaint to him; whereupon the\nofficial knew that a sleight had been served upon him and that the sons\nof Adam[75] had cozened him and conquered him and cribbed his stuffs.\nNow the magistrate in question was a man of experience and judgment,\nwell versed in affairs; so he said to the draper, \u201cRemove somewhat from\nthy shop, including the casket, and to-morrow morning break the lock and\ncry out and come to me and complain that they have plundered all thy\nshop.[76] Also mind thou call upon Allah for aid and wail aloud and\nacquaint the people, so that a world of folk may flock to thee and sight\nthe breach of the lock and that which is missing from thy shop: and on\nthis wise display it to every one who presenteth himself that the news\nmay be noised abroad, and tell them that thy chief concern is for a\ncasket of great value, deposited with thee by a great man of the town\nand that thou standest in fear of him. But be thou not afraid and still\nsay ever and anon in thy saying:\u2014My casket was the casket of\nSuch-an-one, and I fear him and dare not bespeak him; but you, O company\nand all ye who are present, I call you to witness of this for me. And if\nthere be with thee more than this saying, say it; and the old woman will\nassuredly come to thee.\u201d The draper answered with \u201cTo hear is to obey\u201d\nand going forth from the Deputy\u2019s presence, betook himself to his shop\nand brought out thence the casket and a somewhat making a great display,\nwhich he removed to his house. At break of day he arose and going to his\nshop, broke the lock and shouted and shrieked and called on Allah for\naid, till each and every of the folk assembled about him and all who\nwere in the city were present, whereupon he cried out to them, saying\neven as the Prefect had bidden him; and this was bruited abroad. Then he\nmade for the Prefecture and presenting himself before the Chief of\nPolice, cried out and complained and made a show of distraction. After\nthree days, the old woman came to him and bringing him the thousand\ndinars, the price of the stuffs, demanded the casket.[77] When he saw\nher, he seized her and carried her to the Prefect of the city; and when\nshe came before the Kazi, he said to her, \u201cWoe to thee O Sataness; did\nnot thy first deed suffice thee, but thou must come a second time?\u201d She\nreplied, \u201cI am of those who seek their salvation[78] in the cities, and\nwe foregather every month; and yesterday we foregathered.\u201d He asked her,\n\u201cCanst thou cause me to catch them?\u201d and she answered, \u201cYes; but, an\nthou wait till to-morrow, they will have dispersed; so I will deliver\nthem to thee to-night.\u201d The Emir said to her, \u201cGo;\u201d and said she, \u201cSend\nwith me one who shall go with me to them and obey me in whatso I shall\nsay to him, and all that I bid him he shall not gainsay and therein\nconform to my way.\u201d Accordingly, he gave her a company of men and she\ntook them and bringing them to a certain door, said to them, \u201cStand ye\nhere, at this door, and whoso cometh out to you, seize him; and I will\ncome out to you last of all.\u201d \u201cHearing and obeying,\u201d answered they and\nstood at the door, whilst the crone went in. They waited a whole hour,\neven as the Sultan\u2019s deputy had bidden them, but none came out to them\nand their standing waxed longsome, and when they were weary of waiting,\nthey went up to the door and smote upon it a heavy blow and a violent,\nso that they came nigh to break the wooden bolt. Then one of them\nentered and was absent a long while, but found naught; so he returned to\nhis comrades and said to them, \u201cThis is the door of a dark passage,\nleading to such a thoroughfare; and indeed she laughed at you and left\nyou and went away.\u201d[79] When they heard his words, they returned to the\nEmir and acquainted him with the case, whereby he knew that the old\nwoman was a cunning craft-mistress and that she had mocked at them and\ncozened them and put a cheat on them, to save herself. Witness, then,\nthe wiles of this woman and that which she contrived of guile, for all\nher lack of foresight in presenting herself a second time to the draper\nand not suspecting that his conduct was but a sleight; yet, when she\nfound herself hard upon calamity, she straightway devised a device for\nher deliverance. When the company heard the seventh constable\u2019s story,\nthey were moved to mirth galore, than which naught could be more; and\nAl-Malik al-Zahir Bibars rejoiced in that which he heard and said,\n\u201cVerily, there betide things in this world wherefrom kings are shut out,\nby reason of their exalted degree!\u201d Then came forward another person\nfrom amongst the company and said, \u201cThere hath reached me through one of\nmy friends a similar story bearing on the malice of women and their\nwiles, and it is more wondrous and marvellous, more diverting and more\ndelectable than all that hath been told to you.\u201d Quoth the company there\npresent, \u201cTell us thy tale and expound it unto us, so we may see that\nwhich it hath of extraordinary.\u201d And he began to relate\n\n\n THE EIGHTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY.\n\nYe must know that a company, amongst whom was a friend of mine, once\ninvited me to an entertainment; so I went with him, and when we came\ninto his house and sat down on his couch, he said to me, \u201cThis is a\nblessed day and a day of gladness, and who is he that liveth to see the\nlike of this day? I desire that thou practise with us and disapprove not\nour proceedings, for that thou hast been accustomed to fall in with\nthose who offer this.\u201d[80] I consented thereto and their talk happened\nupon the like of this subject.[81] Presently, my friend, who had invited\nme, arose from among them and said to them, \u201cListen to me and I will\nacquaint you with an adventure which happened to me. There was a certain\nperson who used to visit me in my shop, and I knew him not nor he knew\nme, nor ever in his life had he seen me; but he was wont, whenever he\nwanted a dirham or two, by way of loan, to come to me and ask me,\nwithout acquaintance or introduction between me and him, and I would\ngive him what he required. I told none of him, and matters abode thus\nbetween us a long while till he began a-borrowing at a time ten or\ntwenty dirhams, more or less. One day, as I stood in my shop, behold, a\nwoman suddenly came up to me and stopped before me; and she was a\npresence as she were the full moon rising from among the constellations,\nand the place was a-light by her light. When I saw her, I fixed my eyes\non her and stared in her face; and she fell to bespeaking me with soft\nvoice. When I heard her words and the sweetness of her speech, I lusted\nafter her; and as soon as she saw that I longed for her, she did her\nerrand and promising me an assignation, went away, leaving my thoughts\noccupied with her and fire a-flame in my heart. Accordingly I abode,\nperplexed and pondering my affair, the fire still burning in my heart,\ntill the third day, when she came again and I could hardly credit her\ncoming.\u201d When I saw her, I talked with her and cajoled her and courted\nher and craved her favour with speech and invited her to my house; but,\nhearing all this, she only answered, \u201cI will not go up into any one\u2019s\nhouse.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cI will go with thee\u201d and quoth she, \u201cArise and come\nwith me.\u201d So I rose and putting into my sleeve a kerchief, wherein was a\nfair sum of silver and a considerable, followed the woman, who forwent\nme and ceased not walking till she brought me to a lane and to a door,\nwhich she bade me unlock. I refused and she opened it and led me into\nthe vestibule. As soon as I had entered, she bolted the entrance door\nfrom within and said to me, \u201cSit here till I go in to the slave-girls\nand cause them enter a place whence they shall not see me.\u201d \u201c\u2019Tis well,\u201d\nanswered I and sat down: whereupon she entered and was absent from me an\neye-twinkling, after which she returned to me, without a veil, and\nstraightway said, \u201cArise and enter in the name of Allah.\u201d So I arose and\nwent in after her and we gave not over going till we reached a saloon.\nWhen I examined the place, I found it neither handsome nor pleasant, but\ndesolate and dreadful without symmetry or cleanliness; indeed, it was\nloathsome to look upon and there was in it a foul smell. After this\ninspection I seated myself amiddlemost the saloon, misdoubting; and lo\nand behold! as I sat, there came down on me from the da\u00efs a body of\nseven naked men, without other clothing than leather belts about their\nwaists. One of them walked up to me and took my turband, whilst another\nseized my kerchief that was in my sleeve, with my money, and a third\nstripped me of my clothes; after which a fourth came and bound my hands\nbehind my back with his belt. Then they all took me up, pinioned as I\nwas, and casting me down, fell a-haling me towards a sink-hole that was\nthere and were about to cut my throat, when suddenly there came a\nviolent knocking at the door. As they heard the raps, they were afraid\nand their minds were diverted from me by affright; so the woman went out\nand presently returning, said to them, \u201cFear not; no harm shall betide\nyou this day. \u2019Tis only your comrade who hath brought you your dinner.\u201d\nWith this the new-comer entered, bringing with him a roasted lamb; and\nwhen he came in to them, he asked, \u201cWhat is to do with you, that ye have\ntucked up sleeves and bag-trousers?\u201d Replied they, \u201cThis is a head of\ngame we\u2019ve caught.\u201d As he heard these words, he came up to me and\npeering in my face, cried out and said, \u201cBy Allah, this is my brother,\nthe son of my mother and father! Allah! Allah!\u201d Then he loosed me from\nmy pinion-bonds and bussed my head, and behold it was my friend who used\nto borrow silver of me. When I kissed his head, he kissed mine and said,\n\u201cO my brother, be not affrighted;\u201d and he called for my clothes and coin\nand restored all to me nor was aught missing. Also, he brought me a\nporcelain bowl full of sherbet of sugar, with lemons therein, and gave\nme to drink; and the company came and seated me at a table. So I ate\nwith them and he said to me, \u201cO my lord and my brother, now have bread\nand salt passed between us and thou hast discovered our secret and our\ncase; but secrets with the noble are safe.\u201d I replied, \u201cAs I am a\nlawfully-begotten child and a well-born, I will not name aught of this\nnor denounce you!\u201d They assured themselves of me by an oath; then they\nbrought me out and I went my way, very hardly crediting but that I was\nof the dead. I lay ill in my house a whole month; after which I went to\nthe Hammam and coming out, opened my shop and sat selling and buying as\nwas my wont, but saw no more of that man or that woman till, one day,\nthere stopped before my shop a young Turkoman,[82] as he were the full\nmoon; and he was a sheep-merchant and had with him a leathern bag,\nwherein was money, the price of sheep he had sold. He was followed by\nthe woman, and when he stopped over against my shop, she stood by his\nside and cajoled him, and indeed he inclined to her with great\ninclination. As for me, I was dying of solicitude for him and began\ncasting furtive glances at him and winked at him, till he chanced to\nlook round and saw me signing to him; whereupon the woman gazed at me\nand made a signal with her hand and went away. The Turkoman followed her\nand I deemed him dead without a doubt; wherefore I feared with exceeding\nfear and shut my shop. Then I journeyed for a year\u2019s space and\nreturning, opened my shop; whereupon, behold, the woman as she walked by\ncame up to me and said, \u201cThis is none other than a great absence.\u201d I\nreplied, \u201cI have been on a journey;\u201d and she asked, \u201cWhy didst thou wink\nat the Turkoman?\u201d I answered, \u201cAllah forfend! I did not wink at him.\u201d\nQuoth she, \u201cBeware lest thou thwart me;\u201d and went away. Awhile after\nthis a familiar of mine invited me to his house and when I came to him,\nwe ate and drank and chatted. Then he asked me, \u201cO my friend, hath there\nbefallen thee aught of sore trouble in the length of thy life?\u201d Answered\nI, \u201cTell me first, hath there befallen thee aught?\u201d He rejoined:\u2014Know\nthat one day I espied a fair woman; so I followed her and sued her to\ncome home with me. Quoth she, I will not enter any one\u2019s house but my\nown; so come thou to my home, an thou wilt, and be it on such a day.\nAccordingly, on the appointed day, her messenger[83] came to me,\nproposing to carry me to her; and when he announced his purpose I arose\nand went with him, till we arrived at a goodly house and a great door.\nHe opened the door and I entered, whereupon he bolted it behind me and\nwould have gone in; but I feared with exceeding fear and foregoing him\nto the second door, whereby he would have had me enter, bolted it and\ncried out at him, saying, \u201cBy Allah, an thou open not to me, I will slay\nthee;[84] for I am none of those whom thou canst readily cozen?\u201d \u201cWhat\ndeemest thou of cozening?\u201d \u201cVerily, I am startled by the loneliness of\nthe house and the lack of any keeper at its door; for I see none\nappear.\u201d \u201cO my lord, this is a private door.\u201d \u201cPrivate or public, open\nto me.\u201d So he opened to me and I went out and had gone but a little way\nfrom the door when I met a woman, who said to me, \u201cA long life was\nfore-ordained to thee; else hadst thou never come forth of yonder\nhouse.\u201d I asked, \u201cHow so?\u201d and she answered, \u201cEnquire of thy friend\nSuch-an-one,\u201d (naming thee), \u201cand he will acquaint thee with strange\nthings. So, Allah upon thee, O my friend, tell me what befel thee of\nwondrous and marvellous, for I have told thee what befel me.\u201d \u201cO my\nbrother, I am bound by a solemn oath.\u201d \u201cO my friend, false thine oath\nand tell me.\u201d[85] \u201cIndeed, I dread the issue of this.\u201d But he urged me\ntill I told him all, whereat he marvelled. Then I went away from him and\nabode a long while, without further news. One day, I met another of my\nfriends who said to me, \u201cA neighbour of mine hath invited me to hear\nsingers\u201d but I said:\u2014\u201cI will not foregather with any one.\u201d However, he\nprevailed upon me; so we repaired to the place and found there a person,\nwho came to meet us and said, \u201cBismillah!\u201d[86] Then he pulled out a key\nand opened the door, whereupon we entered and he locked the door after\nus. Quoth I, \u201cWe are the first of the folk; but where be the singers\u2019\nvoices?\u201d He replied, \u201cThey\u2019re within the house: this is but a private\ndoor; so be not amazed at the absence of the folk.\u201d My friend said to\nme, \u201cBehold, we are two, and what can they dare to do with us?\u201d Then he\nbrought us into the house, and when we entered the saloon, we found it\ndesolate exceedingly and dreadful of aspect. Quoth my friend, \u201cWe are\nfallen into a trap; but there is no Majesty and there is no Might save\nin Allah, the Glorious, the Great!\u201d And quoth I, \u201cMay God never requite\nthee for me with good!\u201d[87] Then we sat down on the edge of the da\u00efs and\nsuddenly I espied a closet beside me; so I peered into it and my friend\nasked me, \u201cWhat seest thou?\u201d I answered, \u201cI see there wealth in store\nand corpses of murdered men galore. Look.\u201d So he looked and cried, \u201cBy\nAllah, we are down among the dead!\u201d and we fell a-weeping, I and he. As\nwe were thus, behold, four men came in upon us, by the door at which we\nhad entered, and they were naked, wearing only leather belts about their\nwaists, and made for my friend. He ran at them and dealing one of them a\nblow with his sword-pommel, knocked him down, whereupon the other three\nrushed upon him. I seized the opportunity to escape while they were\noccupied with him, and espying a door by my side, slipped into it and\nfound myself in an underground room, without issue, even a window. So I\nmade sure of death, and said, \u201cThere is no Majesty and there is no Might\nsave in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!\u201d Then I looked at the top of the\nvault and saw in it a range of glazed and coloured lunettes;[88] so I\nclambered up for dear life, till I reached the lunettes, and I out of my\nwits for fear. I made shift to remove the glass and scrambling out\nthrough the setting, found behind them a wall which I bestrode. Thence I\nsaw folk walking in the street; so I cast myself down to the ground and\nAllah Almighty preserved me, and when I reached the face of earth,\nunhurt, the folk flocked round me and I acquainted them with my\nadventure. Now as Destiny decreed, the Chief of Police was passing\nthrough the market-street; so the people told him what was to do and he\nmade for the door and bade raise it off its hinges. We entered with a\nrush and found the thieves, as they had thrown my friend down and cut\nhis throat; for they occupied not themselves with me, but said, \u201cWhither\nshall yonder fellow wend? Verily, he is in our grasp.\u201d So the Wali hent\nthem with the hand[89] and questioned them of their case, and they\nconfessed against the woman and against their associates in Cairo. Then\nhe took them and went forth, after he had locked up the house and sealed\nit; and I accompanied him till he came without the first house. He found\nthe door bolted from within; so he bade raise it and we entered and\nfound another door. This also he caused pull up, enjoining his men to\nsilence till the doors should be lifted, and we entered and found the\nband occupied with new game, whom the woman had just brought in and\nwhose throat they were about to cut. The Chief released the man and gave\nhim back whatso the thieves had taken from him; and he laid hands on the\nwoman and the rest and took forth of the house a mint of money, with\nwhich they found the purse of the Turkoman sheep-merchant. They at once\nnailed up the thieves against the house-wall, whilst, as for the woman,\nthey wrapped her in one of her mantillas and nailing her to a board, set\nher upon a camel and went round about the town with her. Thus Allah\nrazed their dwelling-places and did away from me that which I feared\nfrom them. All this befel, whilst I looked on, and I saw not my friend\nwho had saved me from them the first time, whereat I wondered to the\nutterest of wonderment. However, some days afterward, he came up to me,\nand indeed he had renounced the world and donned a Fakir\u2019s dress; and he\nsaluted me and went away.[90] Then he again began to pay me frequent\nvisits and I entered into conversation with him and questioned him of\nthe band and how he came to escape, he alone of them all. He replied, \u201cI\nleft them from the day on which Allah the Most High delivered thee from\nthem, for that they would not obey my say; so I sware I would no longer\nconsort with them.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cBy Allah, I marvel at thee, for that\nassuredly thou wast the cause of my preservation!\u201d Quoth he, \u201cThe world\nis full of this sort; and we beseech the Almighty to send us safety, for\nthat these wretches practice upon men with every kind of malpractice.\u201d\nThen said I to him, \u201cTell me the rarest adventure of all that befel thee\nin this villainy thou wast wont to work.\u201d And he answered, \u201cO my\nbrother, I was not present when they did such deeds, for that my part\nwith them was to concern myself with selling and buying and feeding\nthem; but it hath reached me that the rarest thing which befel them was\non this wise.\u201d\n\n\n THE THIEF\u2019S TALE.\n\nThe woman who acted decoy for them and trapped their game and used to\ninveigle damsels from marriage-banquets, once caught them a woman from a\nbride-feast, under pretence that she had a wedding in her own house, and\nfixed for her a day when she should come to her. As soon as the\nappointed time arrived, the woman presented herself and the other\ncarried her into the house by a door, declaring that it was a private\nwicket. When she entered the saloon, she saw men and braves[91] and knew\nthat she had fallen into a snare; so she looked at them and said,\n\u201cHarkye, my fine fellows![92] I am a woman and in my slaughter there is\nno glory, nor have ye against me any feud of blood-wite wherefor ye\nshould pursue me; and that which is upon me of raiment and ornaments ye\nare free to take as lawful loot.\u201d Quoth they, \u201cWe fear thy\ndenunciation;\u201d but quoth she, \u201cI will abide with you, neither coming in\nnor going out.\u201d So they said, \u201cWe grant thee thy life.\u201d Then the Captain\nlooked on her and she pleased him; so he took her for himself, and she\nabode with him a whole year doing her very best in their service, till\nthey became familiar with her and felt assured of her faith. One night\nof the nights she plied them with drink and they drank till they became\ndrunken; whereupon she arose and took her clothes and five hundred\ndinars from the Captain; after which she fetched a razor and shaved off\nall their beards. Then she took soot from the cooking-pots and\nblackening their faces[93] opened the doors and fared forth; and when\nthe thieves recovered from their drink, they abode confounded and knew\nthat the woman had practiced upon them. All present marvelled at this\nhis story and the ninth constable came forward and said, \u201cI will tell\nyou a right pleasant tale I heard at a wedding.\u201d\n\n\n THE NINTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY.\n\nA certain singing-girl was fair of favour and bruited of repute, and it\nhappened one day that she fared forth to a garden a-pleasuring. As she\nsat in the summer-house, behold, a man lopped of the hand stopped to beg\nof her, and suddenly entered in at the door. Then he touched her with\nhis stump, saying, \u201cAn alms, for the love of Allah!\u201d[94] but she\nanswered, \u201cAllah open!\u201d and insulted him. Many days after this, there\ncame to her a messenger and gave her the hire of her going forth.[95] So\nshe took with her a hand-maid and an accompanyist;[96] and when she came\nto the place appointed, the messenger brought her into a long passage,\nat the end whereof was a saloon. So (quoth she) we entered therein and\nfound nobody, but we saw the room made ready for an entertainment with\ncandles, dried fruits and wine, and in another place we saw food and in\na third beds. Thereupon we sat down and I looked at him who had opened\nthe door to us, and behold he was lopped of the hand. I misliked this,\nand when I sat a little longer, there entered a man, who filled the\ncandelabra in the saloon and lit the waxen candles; and behold, he also\nwas handlopped. Then flocked the folk and there entered none except he\nwere lopped of the hand, and indeed the house was full of these\ncompanions.[97] When the session was complete, the host came in and the\ncompany rose to him and seated him in the place of honour. Now he was\nnone other than the man who had fetched me, and he was clad in sumptuous\nclothes, but his hands were in his sleeves, so that I knew not how it\nwas with them. They brought him food and he ate, he and the company;\nafter which they washed hands and the host began casting at me furtive\nglances. Then they drank till they were drunken, and when they had taken\nleave of their wits, the host turned to me and said, \u201cThou dealtest not\nin friendly fashion with him who sought an alms of thee, and thou saidst\nto him:\u2014How loathsome art thou!\u201d I considered him and behold, he was the\nlophand who had accosted me in my pleasance.[98] So I asked, \u201cO my lord,\nwhat is this thou sayest?\u201d and he answered, \u201cWait; thou shalt remember\nit.\u201d So saying, he shook his head and stroked his beard, whilst I sat\ndown for fear. Then he put out his hand to my mantilla and walking-boots\nand laying them by his side, cried to me, \u201cSing, O accursed!\u201d\nAccordingly, I sang till I was tired out, what while they occupied\nthemselves with their case and drank themselves drunk and the heat of\ntheir drink redoubled. Presently, the doorkeeper came to me and said, \u201cO\nmy lady, fear not; but when thou hast a mind to go, let me know.\u201d Quoth\nI, \u201cThinkest thou to delude me?\u201d and quoth he, \u201cNay, by Allah! But I\nhave ruth on thee for that our Captain and chief purposeth thee no good\nand methinketh he will kill thee this night.\u201d Said I to him, \u201cAn thou be\nminded to do me a favour, now is its time;\u201d and said he, \u201cWhen our Chief\nriseth to his need and goeth to the Chapel of Ease, I will precede him\nwith the light and leave the door open; and do thou wend whithersoever\nthou willest.\u201d Then I sang and the Captain cried, \u201c\u2019Tis good.\u201d Replied\nI, \u201cNay, but thou \u2019rt loathsome.\u201d He looked at me and rejoined, \u201cBy\nAllah, thou shalt never more scent the odour of the world!\u201d But his\ncomrades said to him, \u201cDo it not,\u201d and gentled him, till he added, \u201cAn\nit must be so, and there be no help for it, she shall tarry here a whole\nyear and not fare forth.\u201d My answer was, \u201cI am content to submit to\nwhatso pleaseth thee: if I have failed in respect to thee, thou art of\nthe clement.\u201d He shook his head and drank, then arose and went out to do\nhis need, whilst his comrades were occupied with what they were about of\nmerry-making and drunkenness and sport. So I winked to my friends and we\nall slipped out into the corridor. We found the door open and fled\nforth, unveiled[99] and unknowing whither we went; nor did we halt till\nwe had fared afar from the house and happened on a Cook cooking, of whom\nI asked, \u201cHast thou a mind to quicken the dead?\u201d He said, \u201cCome up;\u201d so\nwe went up into the shop, and he whispered, \u201cLie down.\u201d Accordingly, we\nlay down and he covered us with the Halfah grass,[100] wherewith he was\nused to kindle the fire under the food. Hardly had we settled ourselves\nin the place when we heard a noise of kicking at the door and people\nrunning right and left and questioning the Cook and asking, \u201cHath any\none passed by thee?\u201d Answered he, \u201cNone hath passed by me.\u201d But they\nceased not to go round about the shop till the day broke, when they\nturned back, disappointed. Then the Cook removed the reeds and said to\nus, \u201cRise, for ye are delivered from death.\u201d So we arose, and we were\nuncovered, sans veil or mantilla; but the Cook carried us up into his\nhouse and we sent to our homes and fetched us veils; and we repented to\nAllah Almighty and renounced singing, for indeed this was a mighty\nnarrow escape after stress.[101] Those present marvelled at this, and\nthe tenth constable came forward and said, \u201cAs for me, there befel me\nthat which was yet rarer than all ye have yet heard.\u201d Quoth Al-Malik\nal-Zahir, \u201cWhat was that?\u201d And quoth he, \u201cDeign give ear to me.\u201d\n\n\n THE TENTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY.\n\nA robbery of stuffs had been committed in the city and as it was a great\nmatter I was cited,[102] I and my fellows: they[103] pressed hard upon\nus: but we obtained of them some days\u2019 grace and dispersed in search of\nthe stolen goods. As for me, I sallied forth with five men and went\nround about the city that day; and on the morrow we fared forth into the\nsuburbs. When we found ourselves a parasang or two parasangs away from\nthe city, we waxed athirst; and presently we came to a garden. There I\nwent in alone and going up to the water-wheel,[104] entered it and drank\nand made the Wuzu-ablution and prayed. Presently, up came the keeper of\nthe garden and said to me, \u201cWoe to thee! Who brought thee to this\nwater-wheel?\u201d and he smote me and squeezed my ribs[105] till I was like\nto die. Then he bound me with one of his bulls and made me work the\nwater-wheel, flogging me as I walked round with a cattle-whip[106] he\nhad with him, till my heart was a-fire; after which he loosed me and I\nwent out, knowing not the way. Now when I came forth, I fainted: so I\nsat down till my trouble subsided; then I made for my comrades and said\nto them, \u201cI have found money and malefactor, and I affrighted him not\nneither troubled him, lest he should flee; but now, come, let us go to\nhim, so we may contrive to lay hold upon him.\u201d Then I took them and we\nrepaired to the keeper of the garden, who had tortured me with tunding,\nwith the intent to make him taste the like of that which he had done\nwith me and lie against him and cause him eat many a stick. So we rushed\nto the water-wheel and seized the keeper. Now there was with him a youth\nand, as we were pinioning the gardener, he said, \u201cBy Allah, I was not\nwith him and indeed \u2019tis six months since I entered this city, nor did I\nset eyes on the stuffs until they were brought hither.\u201d Quoth we, \u201cShow\nus the stuffs;\u201d upon which he carried us to a place wherein was a pit,\nbeside the water-wheel, and digging there, brought out the stolen goods\nwith not a thread or a stitch of them missing. So we took them and\ncarried the keeper to the Prefecture of Police where we stripped him and\nbeat him with palm-rods till he confessed to thefts manifold. Now I did\nthis by way of mockery against my comrades, and it succeeded. The\ncompany marvelled at this story with the utmost marvelling, and the\neleventh constable rose and said, \u201cI know a story yet stranger than\nthis: but it happened not to myself.\u201d\n\n\n THE ELEVENTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY.\n\nThere was once in times of yore a Chief Officer of Police and there\npassed by him one day of the days a Jew, hending in hand a basket\nwherein were five thousand dinars; whereupon quoth that officer to one\nof his slaves, \u201cArt able to take that money from yonder Jew\u2019s basket?\u201d\n\u201cYes,\u201d quoth he, nor did he tarry beyond the next day ere he came to his\nlord, bringing the basket. So (said the officer) I bade him, \u201cGo, bury\nit in such a place;\u201d whereupon he went and buried it and returned and\ntold me. Hardly had he reported this when there arose a clamour like\nthat of Doomsday and up came the Jew, with one of the king\u2019s officers,\ndeclaring that the gold pieces belonged to the Sultan and that he looked\nto none but us for it. We demanded of him three days\u2019 delay, according\nto custom and I said to him who had taken the money, \u201cGo and set in the\nJew\u2019s house somewhat that shall occupy him with himself.\u201d Accordingly he\nwent and played a mighty fine trick, which was, he laid in a basket a\ndead woman\u2019s hand, painted with henna and having a gold seal-ring on one\nof the fingers, and buried that basket under a slab in the Jew\u2019s home.\nThen we came and searched and found the basket, whereupon without a\nmoment of delay we clapped the Jew in irons for the murder of a woman.\nAs soon as it was the appointed time, there entered to us the man of the\nSultan\u2019s guards, who had accompanied the Jew, when he came to complain\nof the loss of the money,[107] and said, \u201cThe Sultan sayeth to you, Nail\nup[108] the Jew and bring the money, for that there is no way by which\nfive thousand gold pieces can be lost.\u201d Wherefore we knew that our\ndevice did not suffice. So I went forth and finding a young man, a\nHaur\u00e1ni,[109] passing along the road, laid hands on him forthright and\nstripped him, and whipped him with palm-rods. Then I threw him in jail,\nironed, and carrying him to the Prefecture, beat him again, saying to\nthem, \u201cThis be the robber who stole the coin.\u201d And we strove to make him\nconfess; but he would not. Accordingly, we beat him a third and a fourth\ntime, till we were aweary and exhausted and he became unable to return a\nreply; but, when we had made an end of beating and tormenting him, he\nsaid, \u201cI will fetch the money this very moment.\u201d Presently we went with\nhim till he came to the place where my slave had buried the gold and he\ndug there and brought it out; whereat I marvelled with the utmost marvel\nand we carried it to the Prefect\u2019s house. When the Wali saw the money\nand made sure of it with his own eyes, he rejoiced with joy exceeding\nand bestowed on me a robe of honour. Then he restored the coin\nstraightway to the Sultan and we left the youth in durance vile; whilst\nI said to my slave who had taken the money, \u201cSay me, did yonder young\nman see thee, what time thou buriedst the money?\u201d and he replied, \u201cNo,\nby Allah the Great!\u201d So I went in to the young man, the prisoner, and\nplied him with wine[110] till he recovered, when I said to him, \u201cTell me\nhow thou stolest the money?\u201d Answered he, \u201cBy Allah, I stole it not, nor\ndid I ever set eyes on it till I brought it forth of the earth!\u201d Quoth\nI, \u201cHow so?\u201d and quoth he, \u201cKnow that the cause of my falling into your\nhands was my parent\u2019s imprecation against me; because I entreated her\nevilly yesternight and beat her and she said to me, \u2018By Allah, O my son,\nthe Lord shall assuredly gar the oppressor prevail over thee!\u2019 Now she\nis a pious woman. So I went out forthright and thou sawest me on my way\nand didst that which thou didst; and when beating was prolonged on me,\nmy senses failed me and I heard a voice saying to me, \u2018Fetch it.\u2019 So I\nsaid to you what I said and the Speaker[111] guided me till I came to\nthe place and there befel what befel of the bringing out of the money.\u201d\nI admired this with the utmost admiration and knew that he was of the\nsons of the pious. So I bestirred myself for his release and cured him\nand besought him of acquittance and absolution of responsibility. All\nthose who were present marvelled at this story with the utmost marvel,\nand the twelfth constable came forward and said, \u201cI will tell you a\npleasant trait that I heard from a certain person, concerning an\nadventure which befel him with one of the thieves.\u201d\n\n\n THE TWELFTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY.\n\n(Quoth he) I was passing one day in the market, when I found that a\nrobber had broken into the shop of a shroff, a changer of monies, and\nthence taken a casket, wherewith he had made off to the burial-ground.\nAccordingly I followed him thither and came up to him, as he opened the\ncasket and fell a-looking into it; whereupon I accosted him, saying,\n\u201cPeace be on you!\u201d[112] And he was startled at me; so I left him and\nwent away from him. Some months after this, I met him again under\narrest, in the midst of the guards and \u201cmen of violence,\u201d[113] and he\nsaid to them, \u201cSeize this man.\u201d So they laid hands on me and carried me\nto the Chief of Police, who said, \u201cWhat hast thou to do with this\nwight?\u201d The robber turned to me and looking a long while in my face,\nasked, \u201cWho took this man?\u201d and the officer answered, \u201cThou badest us\ntake him; so we took him.\u201d And he cried, \u201cI ask refuge of Allah! I know\nnot this man, nor knoweth he me; and I said not that to you but of a\nperson other than this.\u201d So they released me, and a while after the\nthief met me in the street and saluted me with the salam, saying, \u201cO my\nlord, fright for fright! Hadst thou taken aught from me, thou hadst a\npart in the calamity.\u201d[114] I replied to him, \u201cAllah be the judge\nbetween me and thee!\u201d[115] And this is what I have to recount. Then came\nforward the thirteenth constable and said, \u201cI will tell you a tale which\na man of my friends told me.\u201d\n\n\n THE THIRTEENTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY.\n\n(Quoth he) I went out one night of the nights to the house of a friend\nand when it was the middle of the night, I sallied forth alone to hie me\nhome. When I came into the road, I espied a sort of thieves and they\nespied me, whereupon my spittle dried up; but I feigned myself drunken\nand staggered from side to side, crying out and saying, \u201cI am drunken.\u201d\nAnd I went up to the walls right and left and made as if I saw not the\nthieves, who followed me afoot till I reached my home and knocked at the\ndoor, when they went away. Some few days after this, as I stood at the\ndoor of my house, behold, there came up to me a young man, with a chain\nabout his neck and with him a trooper, and he said to me, \u201cO my lord, an\nalms for the love of Allah!\u201d I replied, \u201cAllah open!\u201d and he looked at\nme a long while and cried \u201cThat which thou shouldst give me would not\ncome to the worth of thy turband or thy waistcloth or what not else of\nthy habit, to say nothing of the gold and the silver which were about\nthy person.\u201d I asked, \u201cAnd how so?\u201d and he answered, \u201cOn such a night,\nwhen thou fellest into peril and the thieves would have stripped thee, I\nwas with them and said to them, Yonder man is my lord and my master who\nreared me. So was I and only I the cause of thy deliverance and thus I\nsaved thee from them.\u201d When I heard this, I said to him, \u201cStop;\u201d and\nentering my house, brought him that which Allah Almighty made easy to\nme.[116] So he went his way; and this is all I have to say. Then came\nforward the fourteenth constable and said, \u201cKnow that the tale I have to\ntell is rarer and pleasanter than this; and \u2019tis as follows.\u201d\n\n\n THE FOURTEENTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY.\n\nI had a draper\u2019s shop before I entered this corporation,[117] and there\nused to come to me a person whom I knew not, save by his face, and I\nwould give him whatso he sought and have patience with him, till he\ncould pay me. One night, I foregathered with certain of my friends and\nwe sat down to liquor: so we drank and were merry and played at\nT\u00e1b;[118] and we made one of us Wazir and another Sultan and a third\nTorchbearer or Headsman.[119] Presently, there came in upon us a\nspunger, without bidding, and we went on playing, whilst he played with\nus. Then quoth the Sultan to the Wazir, \u201cBring the Parasite who cometh\nin to the folk, without leave or license, that we may enquire into his\ncase; after which will I cut off his head;\u201d so the headsman arose and\ndragged the spunger before the Sultan who bade cut off his head. Now\nthere was with them a sword, that would not cut clotted curd;[120] so\nthe headsman smote him therewith and his head flew from his body. When\nwe saw this, the wine fled from our brains and we became in the foulest\nof plights. Then my friends lifted up the corpse and went out with it,\nthat they might hide it, whilst I took the head and made for the river.\nNow I was drunken and my clothes were drenched with the blood; and as I\npassed along the road, I met a robber. When he saw me, he knew me and\ncried to me, \u201cSuch-an-one!\u201d \u201cWell?\u201d said I, and he rejoined, \u201cWhat is\nthat thou hast with thee?\u201d So I acquainted him with the case and he took\nthe head from me. Then we fared on till we came to the river, where he\nwashed the head and considering it straitly, exclaimed, \u201cBy Allah,\nverily this be my brother, the son of my sire, and he used to spunge\nupon the folk;\u201d after which he threw that head into the river. As for\nme, I was like a dead man for dread; but he said to me, \u201cFear not,\nneither do thou grieve, for I acquit thee of my brother\u2019s blood.\u201d\nPresently, he took my clothes and washed them and dried them and put\nthem on me; after which he said to me, \u201cGet thee gone to thy house.\u201d So\nI returned to my house and he accompanied me, till I came thither, when\nhe said to me, \u201cAllah never desolate thee! I am thy friend Such-an-one,\nwho used to take of thee goods on credit, and I owe thee a kindness; but\nhenceforward thou wilt never see me more.\u201d Then he went his ways. The\ncompany marvelled at the manliness of this man and his clemency[121] and\ncourtesy, and the Sultan said, \u201cTell us another of thy stories, O\nShahrazad.\u201d[122] She replied \u201c\u2019Tis well! They set forth[123]\n\n\n A MERRY JEST OF A CLEVER THIEF.\u201d\n\nA thief of the thieves of the Arabs went one night to a certain man\u2019s\nhouse, to steal from a heap of wheat there, and the people of the house\nsurprised him. Now on the heap was a great copper tasse, and the thief\nburied himself in the corn and covered his head with the tasse, so that\nthe folk found him not and went their ways; but, as they were going,\nbehold, there came a mighty great fart[124] forth of the corn. So they\nwent up to the tasse and raising it, discovered the thief and laid hands\non him. Quoth he, \u201cI have saved you the trouble of seeking me: for I\npurposed, in breaking wind, to direct you to my hiding-place; wherefore\ndo you be easy with me and have ruth on me, so may Allah have ruth on\nyou!\u201d Accordingly they let him go and harmed him not. \u201cAnd for another\nstory of the same kind,\u201d (she continued) \u201chearken to\n\n\n THE TALE OF THE OLD SHARPER.\u201d\n\nThere was once an old man renowned for clever roguery, and he went, he\nand his mates, to one of the markets and stole thence a quantity of\nstuffs: then they separated and returned each to his quarter. Awhile\nafter this, the old man assembled a company of his fellows and, as they\nsat at drink, one of them pulled out a costly piece of cloth and said,\n\u201cIs there any one of you will dare sell this in its own market whence it\nwas stolen, that we may confess his superior subtlety?\u201d Quoth the old\nman, \u201cI will;\u201d and they said, \u201cGo, and Allah Almighty open to thee the\ndoor!\u201d So early on the morrow, he took the stuff and carrying it to the\nmarket whence it had been stolen, sat down at the very shop out of which\nit had been purloined and gave it to the broker, who hent it in hand and\ncried it for sale. Its owner knew it and bidding for it, bought it and\nsent after the Chief of Police, who seized the Sharper and seeing him an\nold man of grave presence and handsomely clad said to him, \u201cWhence hadst\nthou this piece of stuff?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI had it from this market and from\nyonder shop where I was sitting.\u201d Quoth the Wali, \u201cDid its owner sell it\nto thee?\u201d and quoth the robber, \u201cNot so; I stole it, this and other than\nit.\u201d Then said the Chief, \u201cHow camest thou to bring it for sale to the\nplace whence thou stolest it?\u201d \u201cI will not tell my tale save to the\nSultan, for that I have a profitable counsel wherewith I would lief\nbespeak him.\u201d \u201cName it!\u201d \u201cArt thou the Sultan?\u201d \u201cNo!\u201d \u201cI\u2019ll not tell it\nsave to himself.\u201d Accordingly the Wali carried him up to the Sultan and\nhe said, \u201cI have a counsel for thee, O my lord.\u201d Asked the Sultan, \u201cWhat\nis thy counsel?\u201d And the thief said, \u201cI repent and will deliver into thy\nhand all who are evildoers; and whomsoever I bring not, I will stand in\nhis stead.\u201d Cried the Sultan, \u201cGive him a robe of honour and accept his\nprofession of penitence.\u201d So he went down from the presence and\nreturning to his comrades, related to them that which had passed, when\nthey confessed his subtlety and gave him that which they had promised\nhim. Then he took the rest of the booty and went up therewith to the\nSultan, who, seeing him, recognised him and he was magnified in the\nroyal eyes and the king commanded that naught should be taken from him.\nAfter this, when he went down, the Sultan\u2019s attention was diverted from\nhim, little by little, till the case was forgotten, and so he saved the\nbooty for himself. Those present marvelled at this and the fifteenth\nconstable came forward and said, \u201cKnow that among those who make a trade\nof trickery are those whom Allah Almighty taketh on their own testimony\nagainst themselves.\u201d It was asked him, \u201cHow so?\u201d and he began to relate\n\n\n THE FIFTEENTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY.[125]\n\nIt is told of a thieving person, one of the braves, that he used to rob\nand cut the way by himself upon caravans, and whenever the Chief of\nPolice and the Governors sought him, he would flee from them and fortify\nhimself in the mountains. Now it came to pass that a certain man\njourneyed along the road wherein was that robber, and this man was\nsingle-handed and knew not the sore perils besetting his way. So the\nhighwayman came out upon him and said to him, \u201cBring out that which is\nwith thee, for I mean to kill thee and no mistake.\u201d Quoth the traveller,\n\u201cKill me not, but annex these saddle-bags and divide that which is in\nthem and take to thee the fourth part.\u201d And the thief answered, \u201cI will\nnot take aught but the whole.\u201d[126] Rejoined the traveller, \u201cTake half,\nand let me go;\u201d but the robber replied, \u201cI will have naught but the\nwhole, and eke I will kill thee.\u201d So the wayfarer said, \u201cTake it.\u201d\nAccordingly the highwayman took the saddle-bags and offered to slay the\ntraveller, who said, \u201cWhat is this? Thou hast against me no blood-feud\nthat should make my slaughter incumbent.\u201d Quoth the other, \u201cNeeds must I\nkill thee;\u201d whereupon the traveller dismounted from his horse and\ngrovelled before him, beseeching the thief and bespeaking him fair. The\nman hearkened not to his prayers, but cast him to the ground; whereupon\nthe traveller raised his eyes and seeing a francolin flying over him,\nsaid, in his agony, \u201cO Francolin,[127] bear testimony that this man\nslayeth me unjustly and wickedly; for indeed I have given him all that\nwas with me and entreated him to let me go, for my children\u2019s sake; yet\nwould he not consent. But be thou witness against him, for Allah is not\nunmindful of deeds which the oppressors do.\u201d The highwayman paid no heed\nto what he heard, but smote him and cut off his head. After this, the\nrulers compounded with the highwayman for his submission, and when he\ncame before them, they enriched him and he became in such favour with\nthe lieutenant of the Sultan that he used to eat and drink with him and\nthere befel between them familiar converse which lasted a long while\ntill in fine there chanced a curious chance. The lieutenant of the\nSultan one day of the days made a banquet, and therein was a roasted\nfrancolin, which when the robber saw, he laughed a loud laugh. The\nlieutenant was angered against him and said to him, \u201cWhat is the meaning\nof thy laughter? Seest thou any fault or dost thou mock at us, of thy\nlack of good manners?\u201d Answered the highwayman, \u201cNot so, by Allah, O my\nlord; but I saw yonder francolin, which brought to my mind an\nextraordinary thing; and \u2019twas on this wise. In the days of my youth, I\nused to cut the way, and one day I waylaid a man, who had with him a\npair of saddle-bags and money therein.\u201d So I said to him, \u201cLeave these\nsaddle-bags, for I mean to slay thee.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cTake the fourth part\nof that which is in them and leave me the rest;\u201d and quoth I, \u201cNeeds\nmust I take the whole and kill thee without mistake.\u201d Then said he,\n\u201cTake the saddle-bags and let me wend my way;\u201d but I answered, \u201cThere is\nno help but that I slay thee.\u201d As we were in this contention, behold, he\nsaw a francolin and turning to it, said, \u201cBear testimony against him, O\nFrancolin, that he slayeth me unjustly and letteth me not go to my\nchildren, for all he hath taken my money.\u201d However, I had no pity on him\nneither hearkened to that which he said, but smote him and slew him and\nconcerned not myself with the evidence of the francolin. His story\ntroubled the lieutenant of the Sultan and he was enraged against him\nwith sore rage; so he drew his sword and smiting him, cut off his head\nwhile he sat at table; whereupon a voice recited these couplets\u2014\n\n An wouldst not be injur\u00e8d, injure not; \u273f But do good and from Allah win\n goodly lot;\n For what happeth by Allah is doomed to be \u273f Yet thine acts are the root\n I would have thee wot.[128]\n\nNow this voice was the francolin which bore witness against him. The\ncompany present marvelled at this tale and all cried, \u201cWoe to the\noppressor!\u201d Then came forward the sixteenth constable and said, \u201cAnd I\nfor another will tell you a marvellous story which is on this wise.\u201d\n\n\n THE SIXTEENTH CONSTABLE\u2019S HISTORY.\n\nI went forth one day of the days, intending to travel, and suddenly fell\nupon a man whose wont it was to cut the way. When he came up with me he\noffered to slay me and I said to him, \u201cI have naught with me whereby\nthou mayst profit.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cMy profit shall be the taking of thy\nlife.\u201d I asked, \u201cWhat is the cause of this? Hath there been enmity\nbetween us aforetime?\u201d and he answered, \u201cNay; but needs must I slay\nthee.\u201d Thereupon I ran away from him to the river side; but he caught me\nup and casting me to the ground, sat down on my breast. So I sought help\nof the Shaykh of the Pilgrims[129] and cried to him, \u201cProtect me from\nthis oppressor!\u201d And indeed he had drawn a knife to cut my throat when,\nlo and behold! there came a mighty great crocodile forth of the river\nand snatching him up from off my breast plunged into the water, with him\nstill hending knife in hand, even within the jaws of the beast; whilst I\nabode extolling Almighty Allah, and rendering thanks for my preservation\nto him who had delivered me from the hand of that wrong-doer.[130]\n\n\n\n\n TALE OF HARUN AL-RASHID AND ABDULLAH BIN NAFI\u2019.[131]\n\n\nKnow thou, O King of the Age, that there was in days of yore and in ages\nand times long gone before, in the city of Baghdad, the Abode of Peace,\na Caliph Harun al-Rashid hight, and he had cup-companions and\ntale-tellers to entertain him by night. Among his equerries was a man\nnamed Abdullah bin N\u00e1fi\u2019, who stood high in favour with him and dear to\nhim, so that he did not forget him a single hour. Now it came to pass,\nby the decree of Destiny, that it became manifest to Abdullah how he was\ngrown of small account with the Caliph, who paid no heed unto him nor,\nif he absented himself, did he ask after him, as had been his habit.\nThis was grievous to Abdullah and he said within himself, \u201cVerily, the\nsoul of the Commander of the Faithful and his Wazir are changed towards\nme and nevermore shall I see in him that cordiality and affection\nwherewith he was wont to treat me.\u201d And this was chagrin-full to him and\nconcern grew upon him, so that he recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n Whoso\u2019s contemned in his home and land \u273f Should, to better his case, in\n self-exile hie:\n So fly the house where contempt awaits, \u273f Nor on fires of grief for the\n parting fry;\n Crude Ambergris[132] is but offal where \u273f \u2019Tis born; but abroad on our\n necks shall stye;\n And Kohl at home is a kind of stone, \u273f Cast on face of earth and on\n roads to lie;\n But when borne abroad it wins highest worth \u273f And thrones between eyelid\n and ball of eye.\n\n(Quoth the sayer,) Then he could brook this matter no longer; so he went\nforth from the dominions of the Prince of True Believers, under pretence\nof visiting certain of his kith and kin, and took with him nor servant\nnor comrade, neither acquainted any with his intent, but betook himself\nto the road and fared deep into the wold and the sand-wastes, unknowing\nwhither he went. After awhile, he unexpectedly fell in with travellers\nwho were making the land of Hind and journeyed with them. When he came\nthither, he lighted down in a city of that country and housed him in one\nof the lodging-houses; and there he abode a while of days, relishing not\nfood neither solacing himself with sleep; nor was this for lack of\ndirhams or dinars, but for that his mind was occupied with musing upon\nthe shifts of Destiny and bemoaning himself for that the revolving\nsphere had turned against him in enmity, and the days had decreed unto\nhim the disfavour of our lord the Imam.[133] After such fashion he abode\na space of days, and presently he homed him in the land and took to\nhimself friends and got him many familiars, with whom he addressed\nhimself to diversion and good cheer. He used also to go a-pleasuring\nwith his companions and their hearts were solaced by his company and he\nentertained them every evening with stories and displays of his manifold\naccomplishments[134] and diverted them with delectable verses and told\nthem abundance of stories and histories. Presently, the report of him\nreached King Jamh\u00far, lord of Kashgar of Hind, who sent in quest of him,\nand great was his desire to see him. So Abdullah repaired to his court\nand going in to him, kissed ground before him; and Jamhur welcomed him\nand treated him with kindness and bade lodge him in the guest-house,\nwhere he abode three days, at the end of which the king sent to him a\nchamberlain of his chamberlains and bade bring him to the presence. When\nhe came before him, he greeted him, and the truchman accosted him,\nsaying, \u201cVerily, King Jamhur hath heard of thy report, that thou art a\npleasant cup-companion and an eloquent teller of night-tales, and he\nwould have thee company with him o\u2019 nights and entertain him with that\nwhich thou knowest of histories and pleasant stories and verses.\u201d And he\nmade answer, \u201cTo hear is to obey!\u201d (Quoth Abdullah bin Nafi\u2019,) So I\nbecame his boon-companion and entertained him by night with tales and\ntalk; and this pleased him with the utmost pleasure and he took me into\nfavour and bestowed on me robes of honour and set apart for me a\nlodging; indeed he was bountiful exceedingly to me and could not brook\nto be parted from me a single hour. So I sojourned with him a while of\ntime and every night I caroused and conversed with him till the most\npart of the dark hours was past; and when drowsiness overcame him, he\nwould rise and betake himself to his sleeping-place, saying to me,\n\u201cForsake not my service and forego not my presence.\u201d And I made answer\nwith \u201cHearing and obeying.\u201d Now the king had a son, a nice child, called\nthe Emir Mohammed, who was winsome of youth and sweet of speech: he had\nread books and had perused histories and he loved above all things in\nthe world the telling and hearing of verses and tales and anecdotes. He\nwas dear to his father King Jamhur, for that he owned no other son than\nhe on life, and indeed he had reared him in the lap of love and he was\ngifted with exceeding beauty and loveliness, brilliancy and perfect\ngrace: he had also learnt to play upon the lute and upon all manner\ninstruments and he was used to converse and company with friends and\nbrethren. Now it was his wont, when the king arose seeking his\nsleeping-chamber, to sit in his place and require me to entertain him\nwith tales and verses and pleasant anecdotes; and on this wise I abode\nwith them both a great while in all joyance and delight, and the Prince\nstill loved me with mighty great love and treated me with the utmost\ntenderness. It fortuned one day that the king\u2019s son came to me, after\nhis sire had withdrawn, and cried, \u201cO Ibn Nafi\u2019!\u201d \u201cAt thy service, O my\nlord;\u201d \u201cI would have thee tell me a wondrous story and a marvellous\nmatter, which thou hast never related either to me or to my father\nJamhur.\u201d \u201cO my lord, what story is this that thou desirest of me and of\nwhat kind shall it be of the kinds?\u201d \u201cIt mattereth little, so it be a\ngoodly story, whether it befel of olden tide or in these times.\u201d \u201cO my\nlord, I know by rote many stories of various kinds; so which of the\nkinds preferrest thou, and wilt thou have a story of mankind or of\nJinn-kind?\u201d \u201c\u2019Tis well! An thou have espied aught with thine eyes and\nheard it with thine ears, tell it me.\u201d Then he bethought himself and\nsaid to me, \u201cI conjure thee by my life, tell me a tale of the tales of\nthe Jinn and that which thou hast heard of them and seen of them!\u201d I\nreplied, \u201cO my son, indeed thou conjurest me by a mighty conjuration; so\nlend an ear to the goodliest of stories, ay, and the strangest of them\nand the pleasantest and rarest.\u201d Quoth the Prince, \u201cSay on, for I am\nattentive to thy speech;\u201d and quoth I, \u201cHear then, O my son,\n\n\n _THE TALE OF THE DAMSEL TOHFAT AL-KULUB AND THE CALIPH HARUN\n AL-RASHID_.\u201d\n\nThe Viceregent of the Lord of the three Worlds, Harun al-Rashid, had a\nboon-companion of the number of his boon-companions, by name Ishak bin\nIbrahim al-Nadim al-Mausili,[135] who was the most accomplished of the\nfolk of his time in smiting upon the lute; and of the Commander of the\nFaithful\u2019s love for him, he set apart for him a palace of the choicest\nof his palaces, wherein he was wont to instruct hand-maidens in the arts\nof singing and of lute-playing. If any slave-girl became, by his\ninstruction, clever in the craft, he carried her before the Caliph, who\nbade her perform upon the lute; and if she pleased him, he would order\nher to the Harim; else would he restore her to Ishak\u2019s palace. One day,\nthe Commander of the Faithful\u2019s breast was straitened; so he sent after\nhis Wazir Ja\u2019afar the Barmecide and Ishak the cup-companion and Masrur\nthe eunuch, the Sworder of his vengeance; and when they came, he changed\nhis habit and disguised himself, whilst Ja\u2019afar and Ishak and Masrur and\nAl-Fazl[136] and Y\u00fanus[137] (who were also present) did the like. Then\nhe went out, he and they, by the postern, to the Tigris and taking boat\nfared on till they came to near Al-T\u00e1f,[138] when they landed and walked\ntill they came to the gate of the high street. Here there met them an\nold man, handsome in his hoariness and of a venerable bearing and a\ndignified, agreeable of aspect and apparel. He kissed the earth before\nIshak al-Mausili (for that he knew only him of the company, the Caliph\nbeing disguised, and deemed the others certain of his friends), and said\nto him, \u201cO my lord, there is presently with me a hand-maid, a lutanist,\nnever saw eyes the like of her nor the like of her grace, and indeed I\nwas on my way to pay my respects to thee and give thee to know of her;\nbut Allah, of His favour, hath spared me the trouble. So now I desire to\nshow her to thee, and if she take thy fancy, well and good; otherwise I\nwill sell her.\u201d Quoth Ishak, \u201cGo before me to thy quarters,[139] till I\ncome to thee and see her.\u201d The old man kissed his hand and went away;\nwhereupon quoth Al-Rashid to him, \u201cO Ishak, who is yonder man and what\nis his want?\u201d The other replied, \u201cO my lord, this is a man Sa\u2019\u00edd the\nSlave-dealer hight, and \u2019tis he that buyeth us maidens and Mamelukes. He\ndeclareth that with him is a fair slave, a lutanist, whom he hath\nwithheld from sale, for that he could not fairly sell her till he had\npassed her before me in review.\u201d Quoth the Caliph, \u201cLet us go to him so\nwe may see her, by way of solace, and sight what is in the\nslave-dealer\u2019s quarters of slave-girls;\u201d and quoth Ishak, \u201cCommand\nbelongeth to Allah and to the Commander of the Faithful.\u201d Then he\nforewent them and they followed in his track till they came to the\nslave-dealer\u2019s quarters and found a building tall of wall and large of\nlodgment, with sleeping-cells and chambers therein, after the number of\nthe slave-girls, and folk sitting upon the wooden benches. So Ishak\nentered, he and his company, and seating themselves in the place of\nhonour, amused themselves by looking at the hand-maids and Mamelukes and\nwatching how they were bought and sold, till the vending came to an end,\nwhen some of the folk went away and some remained seated. Then cried the\nslave-dealer, \u201cLet none sit with us except whoso purchaseth by the\nthousand dinars and upwards.\u201d Accordingly those present withdrew and\nthere remained none but Al-Rashid and his suite; whereupon the\nslave-dealer called the damsel, after he had caused set her a chair of\nFaww\u00e1k,[140] lined with Grecian brocade, and she was like the sun\nshining high in the shimmering sky. When she entered, she saluted and\nsitting down, took the lute and smote upon it, after she had touched its\nstrings and tuned it, so that all present were amazed. Then she sang\nthereto these couplets:\n\n Breeze o\u2019 Morn, an thou breathe o\u2019er the loved one\u2019s land, \u273f Deliver my\n greeting to all the dear band!\n And declare to them still I am pledged to their love \u273f And my longing\n excels all that lover unmanned:\n O ye who have blighted my heart, ears and eyes, \u273f My passion and ecstasy\n grow out of hand;\n And torn is my sprite every night with desire, \u273f And nothing of sleep\n can my eyelids command.\n\nIshak exclaimed, \u201cBrava, O damsel! By Allah, this is a fair hour!\u201d\nWhereupon she sprang up and kissed his hand, saying, \u201cO my lord, in very\nsooth the hands stand still before thy presence and the tongues at thy\nsight, and the loquent when confronting thee wax dumb; but thou art the\nlooser of the veil.\u201d[141] Then she clung to him and cried, \u201cStand;\u201d so\nhe stood and said to her, \u201cWho art thou and what is thy need?\u201d She\nraised a corner of the veil, and behold she was a damsel as she were the\nfull moon rising or the leven glancing, with two side-locks of hair\nwhich fell down to her anklets. She kissed his hand and said to him, \u201cO\nmy lord, know that I have been in these quarters some five months,\nduring which I have withheld myself from sale till thou shouldst be\npresent and see me; and yonder slave-dealer also made thy coming a\npretext for not vending me, and forbade me for all I sought of him night\nand day that he should cause thee come hither and vouchsafe me thy\ncompany and gar me and thee forgather.\u201d Quoth Ishak, \u201cTell me what thou\nwouldst have;\u201d and quoth she, \u201cI beseech thee, by Allah Almighty, that\nthou buy me, so I may be with thee by way of service.\u201d He asked, \u201cIs\nthat thy desire?\u201d and she answered \u201cYes.\u201d So Ishak returned to the\nslave-dealer and said to him, \u201cHo thou, Shaykh Sa\u2019id!\u201d Said the old man,\n\u201cAt thy service, O my lord,\u201d and Ishak continued, \u201cIn the corridor is a\nchamber and therein wones a damsel pale and wan. What is her price in\ndirhams and how much dost thou ask for her?\u201d Quoth the slave-dealer,\n\u201cShe whom thou mentionest, O my lord, is called Tohfat al-Humak\u00e1.\u201d[142]\nIshak asked, \u201cWhat is the meaning of Al-Humaka?\u201d and the old man\nanswered, \u201cHer price hath been weighed and paid an hundred times and she\nstill saith, Show me him who would buy me; and when I show her to him,\nshe saith, This one I mislike; he hath in him such and such a default.\nAnd in every one who would fain buy her she noteth some defect or other,\nso that none careth now to purchase her and none seeketh her, for fear\nlest she find some fault in him.\u201d Quoth Ishak, \u201cShe seeketh at this\npresent to sell herself; so go thou to her and inquire of her and see\nher price and send her to the palace.\u201d Quoth Sa\u2019id, \u201cO my lord, her\nprice is an hundred dinars, though, were she free of this paleness that\nis upon her face, she would be worth a thousand gold pieces; but wanton\nfolly and wanness have diminished her value; and behold I will go to her\nand consult her of this.\u201d So he betook himself to her and enquired of\nher, \u201cWilt thou be sold to Ishak bin Ibrahim al-Mausili?\u201d She replied,\n\u201cYes,\u201d and he said, \u201cLeave folly, for to whom doth it happen to be in\nthe house of Ishak the cup-companion?\u201d[143] Thereupon Ishak went forth\nthe slave-dealer\u2019s quarters and overtook Al-Rashid who had preceded him;\nand they ceased not walking till they came to their landing-place, where\nthey embarked in the boat and fared on to Thaghr al-Kh\u00e1nakah.[144] As\nfor the slave dealer, he sent the damsel to the house of Ishak al-Nadim,\nwhose slave-girls took her and carried her to the Hammam. Then each\ndamsel gave her somewhat of her gear and they decked her with earrings\nand bracelets, so that she redoubled in beauty and became as she were\nthe moon on the night of its full. When Ishak returned home from the\nCaliph\u2019s palace, Tohfah rose to him and kissed his hand; and he saw that\nwhich the hand-maids had done with her and thanked them for so doing and\nsaid to them, \u201cLet her home in the house of instruction and bring her\ninstruments of music, and if she be apt at song teach her; and may Allah\nAlmighty vouchsafe her health and weal!\u201d So there passed over her three\nmonths, while she homed with him in the house of instruction, and they\nbrought her the instruments of music. Furthermore, as time went on she\nwas vouchsafed health and soundness and her beauty waxed many times\nbrighter than before and her pallor was changed to white and red, so\nthat she became a seduction to all who saw her. One day, Ishak bade\nsummon all who were with him of slave-girls from the house of\ninstruction and carried them up to Al-Rashid\u2019s palace, leaving none in\nhis house save Tohfah and a cookmaid; for that he thought not of Tohfah,\nnor did she come to his memory, and none of the damsels reminded him of\nher. When she saw that the house was empty of the slave-girls, she took\nthe lute (now she was singular in her time for smiting upon the lute,\nnor had she her like in the world, no, not Ishak himself, nor any other)\nand sang thereto these couplets:\u2014\n\n When soul desireth one that is its mate \u273f It never winneth dear desire\n of Fate:\n My life for him whose tortures tare my frame, \u273f And dealt me pine he can\n alone abate!\n He saith (that only _he_ to heal mine ill, \u273f Whose sight is medicine to\n my doleful state),\n \u201cO scoffer-wight, how long wilt mock my woe \u273f As though did Allah\n nothing else create?\u201d\n\nNow Ishak had returned to his house on an occasion that called for him;\nand when he entered the vestibule, he heard a sound of singing, the like\nwhereof he had never heard in the world, for that it was soft as the\nbreeze and more strengthening than oil[145] of almonds. So the pleasure\nof it gat hold of him and delight so seized him, that he fell down\nfainting in the vestibule. Tohfah heard the noise of footfalls and\nlaying the lute from her hand, went out to see what was the matter. She\nfound her lord Ishak lying aswoon in the entrance; so she took him up\nand strained him to her bosom, saying, \u201cI conjure thee in Allah\u2019s name,\nO my lord, tell me, hath aught of ill befallen thee?\u201d When he heard her\nvoice, he recovered from his fainting and asked her, \u201cWho art thou?\u201d She\nanswered, \u201cI am thy slave-girl Tohfah;\u201d and he said to her, \u201cArt thou\nindeed Tohfah?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d replied she; and he, \u201cBy Allah, I had indeed\nforgotten thee and remembered thee not till this moment!\u201d Then he looked\nat her and said, \u201cVerily, thy case is altered to other case and thy\nwanness is changed to rosiness and thou hast redoubled in beauty and\nloveliness. But was it thou who was singing just now?\u201d She was troubled\nand affrighted and answered, \u201cEven I, O my lord;\u201d whereupon Ishak seized\nupon her hand and carrying her into the house, said to her, \u201cTake the\nlute and sing; for never saw I nor heard thy like in smiting upon the\nlute; no, not even myself!\u201d Quoth she, \u201cO my lord, thou mockest me. Who\nam I that thou shouldst say all this to me? Indeed, this is but of thy\nkindness.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cNay, by Allah, I said but the truth to thee and I\nam not of those on whom pretence imposeth. For these three months nature\nhath not moved thee to take the lute and sing thereto, and this is\nnaught save a rare thing and a strange. But all this cometh of strength\nin the art and thy self-restraint.\u201d Then he bade her sing; and she said,\n\u201cHearkening and obedience.\u201d So she took the lute and tightening its\nstrings to the sticking point, smote thereon a number of airs, so that\nshe confounded Ishak\u2019s wit and for delight he was like to fly. Then she\nreturned to the first mode and sang thereto these couplets:\u2014\n\n By your ruined stead aye I stand and stay, \u273f Nor shall change or\n dwelling depart us tway!\n\n No distance of homestead shall gar me forget \u273f Your love, O friends, but\n I yearn alw\u00e0y:\n Ne\u2019er flies your phantom the babes of these eyne \u273f You are moons in\n Nighttide\u2019s murkest array:\n And with growing passion mine unrest grows \u273f And each morn I find union\n dissolved in woes.\n\nWhen she had made an end of her song and laid down the lute, Ishak\nlooked fixedly on her, then took her hand and offered to kiss it; but\nshe snatched it from him and said to him, \u201cAllah, O my lord, do not\nthat!\u201d[146] Cried he, \u201cBe silent. By Allah, I had said that there was\nnot in the world the like of me; but now I have found my din\u00e1r in the\nart but a d\u00e1nik,[147] for thou art more excellent of skill than I,\nbeyond comparison or approximation or calculation! This very day will I\ncarry[148] thee up to the Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid,\nand when his glance lighteth on thee, thou wilt become a Princess of\nwomankind. So Allah, Allah upon thee, O my lady, whenas thou becomest of\nthe household of the Prince of True Believers, do not thou forget me!\u201d\nShe replied, \u201cAllah, O my lord, thou art the root of my fortunes and in\nthee is my heart fortified.\u201d Thereat he took her hand and made a\ncovenant with her of this and she swore to him that she would not forget\nhim. Then said he to her, \u201cBy Allah, thou art the desire of the\nCommander of the Faithful! Now take the lute and sing a song which thou\nshalt sing to the Caliph, when thou goest in to him.\u201d So she took the\nlute and tuning it, improvised these couplets:\u2014\n\n His lover had ruth on his woeful mood \u273f And o\u2019erwept him as still by his\n couch he[149] stood:\n And garred him drink of his lip-dews and wine[150] \u273f Ere he died and\n this food was his latest good.\n\nIshak stared at her and seizing her hand, said to her, \u201cKnow that I am\nbound by an oath that, when the singing of a damsel pleaseth me, she\nshall not end her song but before the Prince of True Believers. But now\ntell me, how came it that thou tarriedst with the slave-dealer five\nmonths and wast not sold to any one, and thou of this skill, especially\nwhen the price set on thee was no great matter?\u201d Hereat she laughed and\nanswered, \u201cO my lord, my story is a wondrous and my case a marvellous.\nKnow that I belonged aforetime to a Maghribi merchant, who bought me\nwhen I was three years old, and there were in his house many slave-girls\nand eunuchs; but I was the dearest to him of them all. So he kept me\nwith him and used not to address me otherwise than, \u2018O daughterling,\u2019\nand indeed to this moment I am a clean maid. Now there was with him a\ndamsel, a lutanist, and she reared me and taught me the art, even as\nthou seest. Then was my master removed to the mercy of Allah\nAlmighty[151] and his sons divided his monies. I fell to the lot of one\nof them; but \u2019twas only a little while ere he had wasted all his wealth\nand there was left him naught of coin. So I gave up the lute, fearing\nlest I should fall into the hand of a man who knew not my worth, for\nwell I wot that needs must my master sell me; and indeed but a few days\npassed ere he carried me forth to the quarters of the slave-merchant who\nbuyeth damsels and displayeth them to the Commander of the Faithful. Now\nI desired to learn the art and mystery; so I refused to be sold to other\nthan thou, until Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) vouchsafed me my\ndesire of thy presence; whereupon I came out to thee, as soon as I heard\nof thy coming, and besought thee to buy me. Thou heartenedst my heart\nand boughtest me; and since I entered thy house, O my lord, I have not\ntaken up the lute till now; but to-day, when I was left private by the\nslave-girls, I took it; and my purpose in this was that I might see if\nmy hand were changed[152] or not. As I was singing, I heard a footfall\nin the vestibule; so springing up, I laid the lute from my hand and\ngoing forth to see what was to do, found thee, O my lord, after this\nfashion.\u201d Quoth Ishak, \u201cIndeed, this was of thy fair fortune. By Allah,\nI know not that which thou knowest in this art!\u201d Then he arose and\nopening a chest, brought out therefrom striped clothes[153], netted with\njewels and great pearls and other costly gems and said to her, \u201cIn the\nname of Allah, don these, O my lady Tohfah.\u201d So she arose and donned\nthat dress and veiled herself and went up with Ishak to the palace of\nthe Caliphate, where he made her stand without, whilst he himself went\nin to the Prince of True Believers (with whom was Ja\u2019afar the Barmaki)\nand kissing the ground before him, said to him, \u201cO Commander of the\nFaithful, I have brought thee a damsel, never saw eyes of seer her like\nfor excellence in singing and touching the lute; and her name is\nTohfah.\u201d Al-Rashid asked \u201cAnd where be this Tohfah[154] who hath not her\nlike in the world?\u201d Answered Ishak, \u201cYonder she standeth, O Commander of\nthe Faithful;\u201d and he acquainted the Caliph with her case from first to\nlast. Then said Al-Rashid, \u201c\u2019Tis a marvel to hear thee praise a\nslave-girl after this fashion. Admit her that we may look upon her, for\nverily the morning may not be hidden.\u201d Accordingly, Ishak bade admit\nher; so she entered, and when her eyes fell upon the Prince of True\nBelievers, she kissed ground before him and said, \u201cThe Peace be upon\nthee, O Commander of the faithful Fold and Asylum of all who the true\nCreed hold and Quickener of justice in the Worlds threefold! Allah make\nthy feet tread on safest wise and give thee joy of what He gave thee in\ngenerous guise and make thy harbourage Paradise and Hell-fire that of\nthine enemies!\u201d Quoth Al-Rashid, \u201cAnd on thee be the Peace, O damsel!\nSit.\u201d So she sat down and he bade her sing; whereupon she took the lute\nand tightening its strings, played thereon in many modes, so that the\nPrince of True Believers and Ja\u2019afar were confounded in sprite and like\nto fly for delight. Then she returned to the first mode and improvised\nthese couplets:\u2014\n\n O mine eyes! I swear by him I adore, \u273f Whom pilgrims seek thronging\n Araf\u00e1t;\n An thou call my name on the grave of me, \u273f I\u2019ll reply to thy call tho\u2019\n my bones go rot:\n I crave none for friend of my heart save thee; \u273f So believe me, for true\n are the well-begot.\n\nAl-Rashid considered her comeliness and the goodliness of her singing\nand her eloquence and what other qualities she comprised and rejoiced\nwith joy exceeding; and for the stress of that which overcame him of\ndelight, he descended from the couch and sitting down with her upon the\nfloor, said to her, \u201cThou hast done well, O Tohfah. By Allah, thou art\nindeed a choice gift!\u201d[155] Then he turned to Ishak and said to him,\n\u201cThou dealtest not justly, O Ishak, in the description of this damsel,\nnor didst thou fairly set forth all that she compriseth of charms and\nart; for that, by Allah, she is inconceivably more skilful than thou;\nand I know of this craft that which none knoweth save I!\u201d Exclaimed the\nWazir Ja\u2019afar, \u201cBy Allah, thou sayst sooth, O my lord, O Commander of\nthe Faithful. Indeed, she hath done away my wit, hath this damsel.\u201d\nQuoth Ishak, \u201cBy Allah, O Prince of True Believers, I had said that\nthere was not on the face of the earth one who knew the art of the lute\nlike myself; but when I heard her, my skill became nothing worth in mine\neyes.\u201d Then said the Caliph to her, \u201cRepeat thy playing, O Tohfah.\u201d So\nshe repeated it and he cried to her, \u201cWell done!\u201d Moreover, he said to\nIshak, \u201cThou hast indeed brought me a marvellous thing, one which is\nworth in mine eyes the empire of the world.\u201d Then he turned to Masrur\nthe eunuch and said to him, \u201cCarry Tohfah to the chamber of honour.\u201d\nAccordingly, she went away with the Castrato and the Caliph looked at\nher raiment and ornaments and seeing her clad in clothing of choice,\nasked Ishak, \u201cO Ishak, whence hath she these robes?\u201d Answered he, \u201cO my\nlord, these are somewhat of thy bounties and thy largesse, and they are\na gift to her from me. By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, the world,\nall of it, were little in comparison with her!\u201d Then the Caliph turned\nto the Wazir Ja\u2019afar and said to him \u201cGive Ishak fifty thousand dirhams\nand a robe of honour of the choicest apparel.\u201d \u201cHearing and obeying,\u201d\nreplied Ja\u2019afar and gifted him with that which the Caliph ordered him.\nAs for Al-Rashid, he was private with Tohfah that night and found her a\npure virgin and rejoiced in her; and she took high rank in his heart, so\nthat he could not suffer her absence a single hour and committed to her\nthe keys of the affairs of the realm, for that which he saw in her of\ngood breeding and fine wit and leal will. He also gave her fifty\nslave-girls and two hundred thousand dinars and a quantity of raiment\nand ornaments, gems and jewels worth the kingdom of Egypt; and of the\nexcess of his love for her, he would not entrust her to any of the\nhand-maids or eunuchs; but, whenever he went out from her, he locked the\ndoor upon her and took the key with him, against he should return to\nher, forbidding the damsels to go in to her, of his fear lest they\nshould slay her or poison her or practise on her with the knife; and in\nthis way he abode awhile. One day, as she sang before the Commander of\nthe Faithful, he was delighted with exceeding delight, so that he\noffered to kiss her hand;[156] but she drew it away from him and smote\nupon her lute and broke it and wept. Al-Rashid wiped away her tears and\nsaid, \u201cO desire of the heart, what is it maketh thee weep? May Allah not\ncause an eye of thine to shed tears?\u201d Said she, \u201cO my lord, what am I\nthat thou shouldst kiss my hand? Wilt thou have Allah punish me for this\nand my term come to an end and my felicity pass away? For this is what\nnone ever attained unto.\u201d He rejoined, \u201cWell said, O Tohfah. Know that\nthy rank in my esteem is high and for that which delighted me of what I\nsaw in thee, I offered to do this, but I will not return unto the like\nthereof; so be of good cheer, with eyes cool and clear, for I have no\ndesire to other than thyself and will not die but in the love of thee,\nand thou to me art queen this day, to the exclusion of all humankind.\u201d\nTherewith she fell to kissing his feet; and this her fashion pleased\nhim, so that his love for her redoubled and he became unable to brook\nseverance from her a single hour. Now Al-Rashid one day went forth to\nthe chase and left Tohfah in her pavilion. As she sat perusing a book,\nwith a candle-branch of gold before her, wherein was a perfumed candle,\nbehold, a musk-apple fell down before her from the top of the\nsaloon.[157] So she looked up and beheld the Lady Zubaydah bint\nal-Kasim,[158] who saluted her with a salam and acquainted her with\nherself, whereupon Tohfah sprang to her feet and said, \u201cO my lady, were\nI not of the number of the new,[159] I had daily sought thy service; so\ndo not thou bereave me of those noble steps.\u201d[160] The Lady Zubaydah\ncalled down blessings upon her and replied, \u201cI knew this of thee; and,\nby the life of the Commander of the Faithful, but that it is not of my\nwont to go forth of my place, I had come out to do my service to thee.\u201d\nThen quoth she to her, \u201cKnow, O Tohfah, that the Commander of the\nFaithful hath deserted all his concubines and favourites on thine\naccount, even myself hath he abandoned on this wise, and I am not\ncontent to be as one of the mistresses; yet hath he made me of them and\nforsaken me, and I have sought thee, so thou mayst beseech him to come\nto me, though it be but once a month, in order that I may not be the\nlike of the hand-maids and concubines nor take rank with the\nslave-girls; and this is my need of thee.\u201d Answered Tohfah, \u201cHearkening\nand obedience! By Allah, O my lady, I would that he might be with thee a\nwhole month and with me but one night, so thy heart might be heartened,\nfor that I am one of thy hand-maids and thou in every case art my lady.\u201d\nThe Princess Zubaydah thanked her for this and taking leave of her,\nreturned to her palace. When the Caliph came back from the chase and\ncourse, he betook himself to Tohfah\u2019s pavilion and bringing out the key,\nopened the lock and went in to her. She rose to receive him and kissed\nhis hand, and he gathered her to his breast and seated her on his\nknee.[161] Then food was brought to them and they ate and washed their\nhands; after which she took the lute and sang, till Al-Rashid was moved\nto sleep. When aware of this, she ceased singing and told him her\nadventure with the Lady Zubaydah, saying, \u201cO Prince of True Believers, I\nwould have thee favour me with a favour and hearten my heart and accept\nmy intercession and reject not my supplication, but fare thee forthright\nto the Lady Zubaydah.\u201d Now this talk befel after he had stripped himself\nnaked and she also had doffed her dress; and he said, \u201cThou shouldst\nhave named this ere we stripped ourselves naked, I and thou!\u201d But she\nanswered, saying, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, I did this not except in\naccordance with the saying of the poet in these couplets:\u2014\n\n Of all intercessions can none succeed, \u273f Save whatso Tohfah bint Marj\u00e1n\n sue\u2019d:\n No intercessor who comes enveiled;[162] \u273f She sues the best who sues\n mother-nude.\u201d\n\nWhen Al-Rashid heard this, her speech pleased him and he strained her to\nhis bosom. Then he went forth from her and locked the door upon her, as\nbefore; whereupon she took the book and sat perusing it awhile.\nPresently, she set it aside and taking the lute, tightened its strings;\nand smote thereon, after a wondrous fashion, such as would have moved\ninanimate things to dance, and fell to singing marvellous melodies and\nchanting these couplets:\u2014\n\n Cease for change to wail, \u273f The world blames who rail;\n Bear patient its shafts \u273f That for aye prevail.\n How often a joy \u273f Grief-garbed thou shalt hail:\n How oft gladding bliss \u273f Shall appear amid bale!\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThen she turned and saw within the chamber an old man, handsome in his\nhoariness and stately of semblance, who was dancing in goodly and\nwinning wise, a dance whose like none might dance. So she sought refuge\nwith Allah Almighty from Satan the Stoned and said, \u201cI will not give\nover what I am about, for whatso the Lord willeth, He fulfilleth.\u201d\nAccordingly, she went on singing till the Shaykh came up to her and\nkissed ground before her, saying, \u201cWell done, O Highmost of the East and\nthe West! May the world be not bereaved of thee! By Allah, indeed thou\nart perfect of manners and morals, O Tohfat al-Sud\u00far![163] Dost thou\nknow me?\u201d Cried she, \u201cNay, by Allah, but methinks thou art of the Jann.\u201d\nQuoth he, \u201cThou sayst sooth; I am Ab\u00fa al-Taw\u00e1if[164] Iblis, and I come\nto thee every night, and with me thy sister Kamariyah, for that she\nloveth thee and sweareth not but by thy life; and her pastime is not\npleasant to her, except she come to thee and see thee whilst thou seest\nher not. As for me, I approach thee upon an affair, whereby thou shalt\ngain and rise to high rank with the kings of the Jann and rule them,\neven as thou rulest mankind; and to that end I would have thee come with\nme and be present at the festival of my daughter\u2019s wedding and the\ncircumcision of my son;[165] for that the Jann are agreed upon the\nmanifestation of thy command.\u201d And she answered, \u201cBismillah; in the name\nof the Lord.\u201d[166] So she gave him the lute and he forewent her, till he\ncame to the Chapel of Ease,[167] and behold, therein was a door and a\nstairway. When Tohfah saw this, her reason fled; but Iblis cheered her\nwith chat. Then he descended the steps and she followed him to the\nbottom of the stair, where she found a passage and they fared on\ntherein, till they came to a horse standing, ready saddled and bridled\nand accoutred. Quoth Iblis, \u201cBismillah, O my lady Tohfah;\u201d and he held\nthe stirrup for her. So she mounted and the horse heaved like a wave\nunder her and putting forth wings soared upwards with her, while the\nShaykh flew by her side; whereat she was affrighted and clung to the\npommel of the saddle;[168] nor was it but an hour ere they came to a\nfair green meadow, fresh-flowered as if the soil thereof were a fine\nrobe, purfled with all manner bright hues. Amiddlemost that mead was a\npalace towering high in air, with crenelles of red gold, set with pearls\nand gems, and a two-leaved door; and about the gateway were much people\nof the chiefs of the Jann, clad in costliest clothing. When they saw the\nShaykh, they all cried out, saying, \u201cThe Lady Tohfah is come!\u201d And as\nsoon as she reached the palace-gate, they pressed forward in a body, and\ndismounting her from the horse\u2019s back, carried her into the palace and\nfell to kissing her hands. When she entered, she beheld a palace whereof\nseers ne\u2019er saw the like; for therein were four halls, one facing other,\nand its walls were of gold and its ceilings of silver. It was\nhigh-builded of base, wide of space, and those who descried it would be\nposed to describe it. At the upper end of the hall stood a throne of red\ngold set with pearls and jewels, up to which led five steps of silver,\nand on its right and on its left were many chairs of gold and silver.\nQuoth Tohfah, \u201cThe Shaykh led me to the estrade and seated me on a chair\nof gold beside the throne, and over the da\u00efs was a curtain let down,\ngold and silver wrought and broidered with pearls and jewels.\u201d And she\nwas amazed at that which she beheld in that place and magnified her Lord\n(extolled and exalted be He!) and hallowed Him. Then the kings of the\nJann came up to that throne and seated themselves thereon; and they were\nin the semblance of Adam\u2019s sons, excepting two of them, who appeared in\nthe form and aspect of the Jann, each with one eye slit endlong and\njutting horns and projecting tusks.[169] After this there came up a\nyoung lady, fair of favour and seemly of stature, the light of whose\nface outshone that of the waxen flambeaux; and about her were other\nthree women, than whom none fairer abode on face of earth. They saluted\nTohfah with the salam and she rose to them and kissed ground before\nthem; whereupon they embraced her after returning her greeting[170] and\nsat down on the chairs aforesaid. Now the four women who thus accosted\nTohfah were the Princess Kamariyah, daughter of King Al-Sh\u00edsb\u00e1n, and her\nsisters; and Kamariyah loved Tohfah with exceeding love. So, when she\ncame up to her, she fell to kissing and embracing her, and Shaykh Iblis\ncried, \u201cFair befal the accolade! Take me between you.\u201d At this Tohfah\nlaughed and Kamariyah said, \u201cO my sister, I love thee, and doubtless\nhearts have their witnesses,[171] for, since I saw thee, I have loved\nthee.\u201d Replied Tohfah, \u201cBy Allah, hearts have sea-like deeps, and thou,\nby Allah, art dear to me and I am thy hand-maid.\u201d Kamariyah thanked her\nfor this and kissing her once more said, \u201cThese be the wives of the\nkings of the Jann: greet them with the salam! This is Queen Jamrah,[172]\nthat is Queen Wakh\u00edmah and this other is Queen Shar\u00e1rah, and they come\nnot but for thee.\u201d So Tohfah rose to her feet and bussed their hands,\nand the three queens kissed her and welcomed her and honoured her with\nthe utmost honour. Then they brought trays and tables and amongst the\nrest a platter of red gold, inlaid with pearls and gems; its raised rims\nwere of or and emerald, and thereon were graven[173] these couplets:\u2014\n\n To bear provaunt assigned, \u273f By hands noble designed,\n For the gen\u2019rous I\u2019m made \u273f Not for niggardly hind!\n So eat safe all I hold \u273f And praise God of mankind.\n\nAfter reading the verses they ate and Tohfah looked at the two kings who\nhad not changed shape and said to Kamariyah, \u201cO my lady, what be this\nferal and that other like unto him? By Allah, mine eye may not suffer\nthe sight of them.\u201d Kamariyah laughed and answered, \u201cO my sister, that\nis my sire Al-Shisban and the other is hight Maym\u00fan the Sworder; and of\nthe arrogance of their souls and their insolence, they consented not to\nchange their created shapes. Indeed, all whom thou seest here are\nnaturefashioned like them; but on thine account they have changed\nfavour, for fear lest thou be disquieted and for the comforting of thy\nmind, so thou mightest become familiar with them and be at thine ease.\u201d\nQuoth Tohfah, \u201cO my lady, verily I cannot look at them. How frightful is\nthis Maymun, with his monocular face! Mine eye cannot brook the sight of\nhim, and indeed I am in affright of him.\u201d Kamariyah laughed at her\nspeech, and Tohfah continued, \u201cBy Allah, O my lady, I cannot fill my eye\nwith the twain!\u201d[174] Then cried her father Al-Shisban to her, \u201cWhat be\nthis laughing?\u201d So she bespoke him in a tongue none understood but they\ntwo and acquainted him with that which Tohfah had said; whereat he\nlaughed a prodigious loud laugh, as it were the roaring thunder.\nPresently they ate and the tables were removed and they washed their\nhands; after which Iblis the Accursed came up to Tohfah and said to her,\n\u201cO my lady, thou gladdenest the place and enlightenest and embellishest\nit with thy presence; but now fain would these kings hear somewhat of\nthy singing, for Night hath dispread her pinions for departure and there\nabideth of it but a little.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cHearing and obeying.\u201d So she\ntook the lute and touching its strings with rare touch, played thereon\nafter wondrous wise, so that it seemed to those who were present as if\nthe palace surged like a wave with them for the music. Then she began\nsinging and chanting these couplets:\u2014\n\n Folk of my faith and oath, Peace with you be! \u273f Quoth ye not I shall\n meet you, you meet me?\n I\u2019ll chide you softerwise than breeze o\u2019 morn, \u273f Sweeter than spring of\n coolest clarity.\n I\u2019 faith mine eyelids are with tears chafed sore; \u273f My vitals plain to\n you some cure to see.\n My friends! Our union to disunion changed \u273f Was aye my fear for \u2019twas my\n certainty.\n I\u2019ll plain to Allah of all ills I bore; \u273f For pine and yearning misery\n still I dree.\n\nThe kings of the Jann were moved to delight by that sweet singing and\nseemly speech and thanked Tohfah therefore; and Queen Kamariyah rose to\nher and threw her arms round her neck and kissed her between the eyes,\nsaying, \u201cBy Allah, \u2019tis good, O my sister and coolth of mine eyes and\ncore of my heart!\u201d Then said she, \u201cI conjure thee by Allah, give us more\nof this lovely singing;\u201d and Tohfah answered with \u201cTo hear is to obey.\u201d\nSo she took the lute and playing thereon in a mode different from the\nformer fashion, sang these couplets:\u2014\n\n I, oft as ever grows the pine of me, \u273f Console my soul with hope thy\n sight to see.\n Haply shall Allah join our parted lives, \u273f E\u2019en as my fortunes far from\n thee cast He!\n Then oh! who thrallest me by force of love\u2014 \u273f Seiz\u00e8d by fond affection\u2019s\n mastery,\n All hardships easy wax when thou art nigh; \u273f And all the far draws near\n when near thou be.\n Ah! be the Ruthful light to lover fond, \u273f Love-lorn, frame-wasted, ready\n Death to dree!\n Were hope of seeing thee cut off, my loved; \u273f After thine absence sleep\n mine eyes would flee!\n I mourn no worldly joyance, my delight \u273f Is but to sight thee while thou\n seest my sight.\n\nAt this the accursed Iblis was hugely pleased and thrust his finger up\nhis fundament,[175] whilst Maymun danced and said, \u201cO Tohfat al-Sudur,\nsoften the sound;[176] for, as pleasure entereth into my heart, it\narresteth my breath and blood.\u201d So she took the lute and altering the\ntune, played a third air; then she returned to the first and sang these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n The waves of your[177] love o\u2019er my life have rolled; \u273f I sink while I\n see you all aid withhold:\n\n You have drowned my vitals in deeps of your love, \u273f Nor can heart and\n sprite for your loss be consoled:\n Deem not I forget my troth after you: \u273f How forget what Allah decreed of\n old?[178]\n Love clings to the lover who nights in grief, \u273f And \u2019plains of unrest\n and of woes ensouled.\n\nThe kings and all those who were present rejoiced in this with joy\nexceeding and the accursed Iblis came up to Tohfah and kissing her hand,\nsaid to her \u201cVerily there abideth but little of the night; so tarry with\nus till the morrow, when we will apply ourselves to the wedding[179] and\nthe circumcision.\u201d[180] Then all the Jann went away, whereupon Tohfah\nrose to her feet and Iblis said, \u201cGo ye up with Tohfah to the garden for\nthe rest of the night.\u201d So Kamariyah took her and went with her into the\ngarden, which contained all manner birds, nightingale and mocking-bird\nand ring-dove and curlew[181] and other than these of all the kinds.\nTherein were all manner of fruits: its channels[182] were of gold and\nsilver and the water thereof, as it broke forth of its conduits, was\nlike the bellies of fleeing serpents, and indeed it was as it were the\nGarden of Eden.[183] When Tohfah beheld this, she called to mind her\nlord and wept sore and said, \u201cI beseech Allah the Most High to vouchsafe\nme speedy deliverance and return to my palace and to my high estate and\nqueendom and glory, and reunion with my lord and master Al-Rashid.\u201d Then\nshe walked about that garden and saw in its midst a dome of white\nmarble, raised on columns of black teak whereto hung curtains purfled\nwith pearls and gems. Amiddlemost this pavilion was a fountain, inlaid\nwith all kinds of jacinths, and thereon a golden statue of a man and\nbeside it a little door. She opened the door and found herself in a long\ncorridor: so she followed it and entered a Hammam-bath walled with all\nkinds of costly marbles and floored with a mosaic of pearls and jewels.\nTherein were four cisterns of alabaster, one facing other, and the\nceiling of the bath was of glass coloured with all varieties of colours,\nsuch as confounded the understanding of those who have insight and\namazed the wit of every wight. Tohfah entered the bath, after she had\ndoffed her dress, and behold the Hammam-basin was overlaid with gold set\nwith pearls and red balasses and green emeralds and other jewels: so she\nextolled Allah Almighty and hallowed Him for the magnificence of that\nwhich she saw of the appointments of that bath. Then she made her\nWuzu-ablution in that basin and pronouncing the Prohibition,[184] prayed\nthe dawn-prayer and what else had escaped her of orisons;[185] after\nwhich she went out and walked in that garden among jessamine and\nlavender and roses and chamomile and gillyflowers and thyme and violets\nand basil royal, till she came to the door of the pavilion aforesaid.\nThere she sat down, pondering that which would betide Al-Rashid after\nher, when he should come to her apartment and find her not; and she\nplunged into the sea of her solicitude, till slumber overtook her and\nsoon she slept. Presently she felt a breath upon her face; whereupon she\nawoke and found Queen Kamariyah kissing her, and with her her three\nsisters, Queen Jamrah, Queen Wakh\u00edmah and Queen Shar\u00e1rah. So she arose\nand kissed their hands and rejoiced in them with the utmost joy and they\nceased not, she and they, to talk and converse, what while she related\nto them her history, from the time of her purchase by the Maghrabi to\nthat of her coming to the quarters of the slave-dealer, where she\nbesought Ishak al-Nadim to buy her,[186] and how she won union with\nAl-Rashid, till the moment when Iblis came to her and brought her to\nthem. They gave not over talking till the sun declined and yellowed and\nthe hour of its setting drew near and the day departed, whereupon Tohfah\nwas urgent in supplication[187] to Allah Almighty, on the occasion of\nthe sundown-prayer, that he would reunite her with her lord Al-Rashid.\nAfter this, she abode with the four queens, till they arose and entered\nthe palace, where she found the waxen tapers lit and ranged in\ncandlesticks of gold and silver, and censing vessels of silver and gold\nfilled with lign-aloes and ambergris, and there were the kings of the\nJann sitting. So she saluted them with the salam, kissing the earth\nbefore them and doing them service; and they rejoiced in her and in her\nsight. Then she ascended the estrade and sat down upon her chair, whilst\nKing Al-Shisban and King Al-Muzfir[188] and Queen L\u00fal\u00faah and other kings\nof the Jann sat on chairs, and they brought choice tables, spread with\nall manner meats befitting royalties. They ate their fill; after which\nthe tables were removed and they washed their hands and wiped them with\nnapkins. Then they brought the wine-service and set on tasses and cups\nand flagons and beakers of gold and silver and bowls of crystal and\ngold; and they poured out the wines and they filled the flagons. Then\nIblis took the bowl and signed to Tohfah to sing: and she said, \u201cTo hear\nis to obey!\u201d So she hent the lute in hand and tuning it, sang these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n Drink wine, O ye lovers, I rede you alw\u00e0y, \u273f And praise his worth who\n loves night and day;\n \u2019Mid the myrtle, narcissus and lavender, \u273f And the scented herbs that\n bedeck the tray.\n\nSo Iblis the Damned drank and said, \u201cBrava, O desire of hearts! But thou\nowest me still another aria.\u201d Then he filled the cup and signed to her\nto sing. Quoth she, \u201cHearkening and obedience,\u201d and chanted these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n Ye wot, I am whelmed in despair and despight, \u273f Ye dight me blight that\n delights your sight:\n Your wone is between my unrest and my eyes; \u273f Nor tears to melt you, nor\n sighs have might.\n\n How oft shall I sue you for justice, and you \u273f With a pining death my\n dear love requite?\n But your harshness is duty, your farness near; \u273f Your hate is Union,\n your wrath is delight:\n Take your fill of reproach as you will: you claim \u273f All my heart, and I\n reck not of safety or blame.\n\nAll present were delighted and the sitting-chamber was moved like a wave\nwith mirth, and Iblis said, \u201cBrava, O Tohfat al-Sudur!\u201d Then they left\nnot liquor-bibbing and rejoicing and making merry and tambourining and\npiping till the night waned and the dawn waxed near; and indeed\nexceeding delight entered into them. The most of them in mirth was the\nShaykh Iblis, and for the stress of that which befel him of joyance, he\ndoffed all that was on him of coloured clothes and cast them over\nTohfah, and among the rest a robe broidered with jewels and jacinths,\nworth ten thousand dinars. Then he kissed the earth and danced and he\nthrust his finger up his fundament and hending his beard in hand, said\nto her, \u201cSing about this beard and endeavour after mirth and pleasance,\nand no blame shall betide thee for this.\u201d So she improvised and sang\nthese couplets:\u2014\n\n Barbe of the olden, the one-eyed goat! \u273f What words shall thy foulness\n o\u2019 deed denote?\n Be not of our praises so pompous-proud: \u273f Thy worth for a dock-tail\n dog\u2019s I wot.\n By Allah, to-morrow shall see me drub \u273f Thy nape with a cow-hide[189]\n and dust thy coat!\n\nAll those present laughed at her mockery of Iblis and wondered at the\nwittiness of her visnomy[190] and her readiness in versifying, whilst\nthe Shaykh himself rejoiced and said to her, \u201cO Tohfat al-Sudur, verily,\nthe night be gone; so arise and rest thyself ere the day; and to-morrow\nthere shall be naught save weal.\u201d Then all the kings of the Jinn\ndeparted, together with those who were present of guards; and Tohfah\nabode alone, pondering the case of Al-Rashid and bethinking her of how\nit went with him after her going, and of what had betided him for her\nloss, till the dawn lightened, when she arose and walked about the\npalace. Suddenly she saw a handsome door; so she opened it and found\nherself in a flower-garden finer than the first\u2014ne\u2019er saw eyes of seer a\nfairer than it. When she beheld this garth, she was moved to delight and\nshe called to mind her lord Al-Rashid and wept with sore weeping and\ncried, \u201cI crave of the bounty of Allah Almighty that my return to him\nand to my palace and to my home may be nearhand!\u201d Then she walked about\nthe parterres till she came to a pavilion, high-builded of base and wide\nof space, never espied mortal nor heard of a grander than it. So she\nentered and found herself in a long corridor, which led to a Hammam\ngoodlier than that aforetime described, and its cisterns were full of\nrose-water mingled with musk. Quoth Tohfah, \u201cExtolled be Allah! Indeed,\nthis[191] is none other than a mighty great king.\u201d Then she pulled off\nher clothes and washed her body and made her Ghusl-ablution of the whole\nperson[192] and prayed that which was due from her of prayer from the\nevening of the previous day.[193] When the sun rose upon the gate of the\ngarden and she saw the wonders thereof, with that which was therein of\nall manner blooms and streams, and heard the voices of its birds, she\nmarvelled at what she beheld of the rareness of its ordinance and the\nbeauty of its disposition and sat musing over the case of Al-Rashid and\npondering what was come of him after her. Her tears coursed down her\ncheeks and the zephyr blew on her; so she slept and knew no more till\nshe suddenly felt a breath on her side-face, whereat she awoke in\naffright and found Queen Kamariyah kissing her, and she was accompanied\nby her sisters, who said, \u201cRise, for the sun hath set.\u201d So Tohfah arose\nand making the Wuzu-ablution, prayed her due of prayers[194] and\naccompanied the four queens to the palace, where she saw the wax candles\nlighted and the kings sitting. She saluted them with the salam and\nseated herself upon her couch; and behold, King Al-Shisban had shifted\nhis semblance, for all the pride of his soul. Then came up Iblis (whom\nAllah damn!) and Tohfah rose to him and kissed his hands. He also kissed\nher hand and blessed her and asked, \u201cHow deemest thou? Is not this place\npleasant, for all its desertedness and desolation?\u201d Answered she, \u201cNone\nmay be desolate in this place;\u201d and he cried, \u201cKnow that this is a site\nwhose soil no mortal dare tread;\u201d but she rejoined, \u201cI have dared and\ntrodden it, and this is one of thy many favours.\u201d Then they brought\ntables and dishes and viands and fruits and sweetmeats and other\nmatters, whose description passeth powers of mortal man, and they ate\ntheir sufficiency; after which the tables were removed and the\ndessert-trays and platters set on, and they ranged the bottles and\nflagons and vessels and phials, together with all manner fruits and\nsweet-scented flowers. The first to raise the bowl was Iblis the\nAccursed, who said, \u201cO Tohfat al-Sudur, sing over my cup.\u201d So she took\nthe lute and touching it, carolled these couplets:\u2014\n\n Wake ye, Ho sleepers all! and take your joy \u273f Of Time, and boons he\n deign\u00e8d to bestow;\n Then hail the Wine-bride, drain the wine-ptisane \u273f Which, poured from\n flagon, flows with flaming glow:\n\n O Cup-boy, serve the wine, bring round the red[195] \u273f Whose draught\n gives all we hope for here below:\n What\u2019s worldly pleasure save my lady\u2019s face, \u273f Draughts of pure wine and\n song of musico?\n\nSo Iblis drained his bowl and, when he had made an end of his draught,\nwaved his hand to Tohfah; then, throwing off that which was upon him of\nclothes, delivered them to her. The suit would have brought ten thousand\ndinars and with it was a tray full of jewels worth a mint of money.\nPresently he filled again and gave the cup to his son Al-Shisban, who\ntook it from his hand and kissing it, stood up and sat down again. Now\nthere was before him a tray of roses; so he said to her, \u201cO Tohfah, sing\nthou somewhat upon these roses.\u201d She replied, \u201cHearkening and\nobedience,\u201d and chanted these two couplets:\u2014\n\n It proves my price o\u2019er all the flowers that I \u273f Seek you each year, yet\n stay but little stound:\n And high my vaunt I\u2019m dy\u00e8d by my lord \u273f Whom Allah made the best e\u2019er\n trod on ground.[196]\n\nSo Al-Shisban drank off the cup in his turn and said, \u201cBrava, O desire\nof hearts!\u201d and he bestowed on her that was upon him, to wit, a dress of\ncloth-of-pearl, fringed with great unions and rubies and purfled with\nprecious gems, and a tray wherein were fifty thousand dinars. Then\nMaymun the Sworder took the cup and began gazing intently upon Tohfah.\nNow there was in his hand a pomegranate-flower and he said to her, \u201cSing\nthou somewhat, O queen of mankind and Jinn-kind upon this\npomegranate-flower; for indeed thou hast dominion over all hearts.\u201d\nQuoth she, \u201cTo hear is to obey;\u201d and she improvised and sang these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n Breathes sweet the zephyr on fair part\u00e8rre; \u273f Robing lute in the\n flamings that fell from air:\n\n And moaned from the boughs with its cooing rhyme \u273f Voice of ring-doves\n plaining their love and care:\n The branch dresses in suit of fine sendal green \u273f And in wine-hues\n borrowed from bloom Gulnare.[197]\n\nMaymun the Sworder drained his bowl and said to her, \u201cBrava, O\nperfection of qualities!\u201d Then he signed to her and was absent awhile,\nafter which he returned and with him a tray of jewels worth an hundred\nthousand ducats, which he gave to Tohfah. Thereupon Kamariyah arose and\nbade her slave-girl open the closet behind the Songstress, wherein she\nlaid all that wealth; and committed the key to her, saying, \u201cWhatso of\nriches cometh to thee, lay thou in this closet that is by thy side, and\nafter the festivities, it shall be borne to thy palace on the heads of\nthe Jinn.\u201d Tohfah kissed her hand and another king, by name Mun\u00edr,[198]\ntook the bowl and filling it, said to her, \u201cO ferly Fair, sing to me\nover my bowl somewhat upon the jasmine.\u201d She replied with, \u201cHearkening\nand obedience,\u201d and improvised these couplets:\u2014\n\n \u2019Twere as though the Jasmine (when self she enrobes \u273f On her boughs)\n doth display to my wondering eyne;\n In sky of green beryl, which Beauty enclothes, \u273f Star-groups like studs\n of the silvern mine.\n\nMunir drank off his cup and ordered her eight hundred thousand dinars,\nwhereat Kamariyah rejoiced and rising to her feet, kissed Tohfah on her\nface and said to her, \u201cBe the world never bereaved of thee, O thou who\nlordest it over the hearts of Jinn-kind and mankind!\u201d Then she returned\nto her place and the Shaykh Iblis arose and danced, till all present\nwere confounded; after which the Songstress said, \u201cVerily, thou\nembellishest my festivities, O thou who commandest men and Jinn and\nrejoicest their hearts with thy loveliness and the beauty[199] of thy\nfaithfulness to thy lord. All that thy hands possess shall be borne to\nthee in thy palace and placed at thy service; but now the dawn is\nnearhand; so do thou rise and rest thee according to thy custom.\u201d Tohfah\nturned and found with her none of the Jinn; so she laid her head on the\nfloor and slept till she had gotten her repose; after which she arose\nand betaking herself to the lakelet, made the Wuzu-ablution and prayed.\nThen she sat beside the water awhile and meditated the matter of her\nlord Al-Rashid and that which had betided him after her loss and wept\nwith sore weeping. Presently, she heard a blowing behind her;[200] so\nshe turned and behold, a Head without a body and with eyes slit endlong:\nit was of the bigness of an elephant\u2019s skull and bigger and had a mouth\nas it were an oven and projecting canines as they were grapnels, and\nhair which trailed upon the ground. So Tohfah cried, \u201cI take refuge with\nAllah from Satan the Stoned!\u201d and recited the Two Preventives;[201] what\nwhile the Head drew near her and said, \u201cPeace be with thee, O Princess\nof Jinn and men and union-pearl of her age and her time! Allah continue\nthee on life, for all the lapsing of the days, and reunite thee with thy\nlord the Imam!\u201d[202] She replied, \u201cAnd upon thee be Peace; O thou whose\nlike I have not seen among the Jann!\u201d Quoth the Head, \u201cWe are a folk who\nmay not change their favours and we are hight Gh\u00fals: mortals summon us\nto their presence, but we cannot present ourselves before them without\nleave. As for me, I have gotten leave of the Shaykh Abu al-Tawaif to\nappear before thee and I desire of thy favour that thou sing me a song,\nso I may go to thy palace and question its Haunters[203] concerning the\nplight of thy lord after thee and return to thee; and know, O Tohfat\nal-Sudur, that between thee and thy lord be a distance of fifty years\u2019\njourney for the _bon\u00e2-fide_ traveller.\u201d She rejoined, \u201cIndeed, thou\ngrievest me anent him between whom and me is fifty years\u2019 journey;\u201d but\nthe Head[204] cried to her, \u201cBe of good cheer and of eyes cool and\nclear, for the sovrans of the Jann will restore thee to him in less than\nthe twinkling of an eye.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cI will sing thee an hundred songs,\nso thou wilt bring me news of my lord and that which betided him after\nme.\u201d And quoth the Head, \u201cDo thou favour me and sing me a song, so I may\ngo to thy lord and fetch thee tidings of him, for that I desire, before\nI go, to hear thy voice, so haply my thirst[205] may be quenched.\u201d So\nshe took the lute and tuning it, sang these couplets:\u2014\n\n They have marched, yet no empty stead left they: \u273f They are gone, nor\n heart grieves me that fled be they:\n My heart forebode the bereaval of friends; \u273f Allah ne\u2019er bereave steads\n wherefrom sped be they!\n Though they hid the stations where led were they, \u273f I\u2019ll follow till\n stars fall in disarray!\n Ye slumber, but wake shall ne\u2019er fly these lids; \u273f \u2019Tis I bear what ye\n never bore\u2014well-away!\n It had irked them not to farewell who fares \u273f With the parting-fires\n that my heart waylay.\n\n My friends,[206] your meeting to me is much \u273f But more is the parting\n befel us tway:\n You\u2019re my heart\u2019s delight, or you present be \u273f Or absent, with you is my\n soul for aye!\n\nThereupon the Head wept exceeding sore and cried, \u201cO my lady, indeed\nthou hast solaced my heart, and I have naught but my life; so take it.\u201d\nShe replied, \u201cNay, an I but knew that thou wouldst bring me news of my\nlord Al-Rashid, \u2019twere fainer to me than the reign of the world;\u201d and\nthe Head answered her, \u201cIt shall be done as thou desirest.\u201d Then it\ndisappeared and returning to her at the last of the night, said, \u201cO my\nlady, know that I have been to thy palace and have questioned one of its\nHaunters of the case of the Commander of the Faithful and that which\nbefel him after thee; and he said:\u2014When the Prince of True Believers\ncame to Tohfah\u2019s apartment and found her not and saw no sign of her, he\nbuffeted his face and head and rent his raiment. Now there was in thy\nchamber the Castrato, the chief of thy household, and the Caliph cried\nout at him, saying:\u2014Bring me Ja\u2019afar the Barmaki and his father and\nbrother at this very moment!\u201d The Eunuch went out, bewildered in his wit\nfor fear of the King, and when he stood in presence of Ja\u2019afar, he said\nto him, \u201cCome to the Commander of the Faithful, thou and thy father and\nthy brother.\u201d So they arose in haste and betaking themselves to the\npresence, said, \u201cO Prince of True Believers what may be the matter?\u201d\nQuoth he, There is a matter which passeth description. Know that I\nlocked the door and taking the key with me, betook myself to my uncle\u2019s\ndaughter, with whom I lay the night; but, when I arose in the morning\nand came and opened the door, I found no sign of Tohfah. Quoth\nJa\u2019afar:\u2014\u201cO Commander of the Faithful have patience, for that the damsel\nhath been snatched away, and needs must she return, seeing that she took\nthe lute with her, and \u2019tis her own lute. The Jinns have assuredly\ncarried her off, and we trust in Allah Almighty that she will return.\nCried the Caliph:\u2014This[207] is a thing which may nowise be! And he abode\nin her apartment, nor eating nor drinking, while the Barmecides besought\nhim to fare forth to the folk; and he weepeth and tarrieth on such\nfashion till she shall return. This, then, is that which hath betided\nhim after thee.\u201d When Tohfah heard his words, they were grievous to her\nand she wept with sore weeping; whereupon quoth the Head to her, \u201cThe\nrelief of Allah the Most High is nearhand; but now let me hear somewhat\nof thy speech.\u201d So she took the lute and sang three songs, weeping the\nwhile. The Head exclaimed, \u201cBy Allah, thou hast been bountiful to me,\nthe Lord be with thee!\u201d Then it disappeared and the season of sundown\ncame: so she rose and betook herself to her place in the hall; whereupon\nbehold, the candles sprang up from under the earth and kindled\nthemselves. Then the kings of the Jann appeared and saluted her and\nkissed her hands and she greeted them with the salam. Presently appeared\nKamariyah and her three sisters and saluted Tohfah and sat down;\nwhereupon the tables were brought and they ate; and when the tables were\nremoved there came the wine-tray and the drinking-service. So Tohfah\ntook the lute and one of the three queens filled the cup and signed to\nthe Songstress. Now she had in her hand a violet, so Tohfah improvised\nthese couplets:\u2014\n\n I\u2019m clad in a leaf-cloak of green; \u273f In an honour-robe ultramarine:\n I\u2019m a wee thing of loveliest mien \u273f But all flowers as my vassals are\n seen:\n An Rose title her \u201cMorn-pride,\u201d I ween \u273f Nor before me nor after she\u2019s\n Queen.\n\nThe queen drank off her cup and bestowed on Tohfah a dress of\ncloth-of-pearl, fringed with red rubies, worth twenty thousand ducats,\nand a tray whereon were ten thousand sequins. All this while Maymun\u2019s\neye was upon her and presently he said to her, \u201cHarkye, Tohfah! Sing to\nme.\u201d But Queen Zalzalah cried out at him, and said \u201cDesist,[208] O\nMaymun. Thou sufferest not Tohfah to pay heed to us.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI will\nhave her sing to me:\u201d and many words passed between them and Queen\nZalzalah cried aloud at him. Then she shook and became like unto the\nJinns and taking in her hand a mace of stone, said to him, \u201cFie upon\nthee! What art thou that thou shouldst bespeak us thus? By Allah, but\nfor the respect due to kings and my fear of troubling the session and\nthe festival and the mind of the Shaykh Iblis, I would assuredly beat\nthe folly out of thy head!\u201d When Maymun heard these her words, he rose,\nwith the fire shooting from his eyes, and said, \u201cO daughter of Iml\u00e1k,\nwhat art thou that thou shouldst outrage me with the like of this talk?\u201d\nReplied she, \u201cWoe to thee, O dog of the Jinn, knowest thou not thy\nplace?\u201d So saying, she ran at him, and offered to strike him with the\nmace, but the Shaykh Iblis arose and casting his turband on the ground,\ncried, \u201cOut on thee, O Maymun! Thou dost always with us on this wise.\nWheresoever thou art present, thou troublest our pleasure! Canst thou\nnot hold thy peace until thou go forth of the festival and this\nbride-feast be accomplished? When the circumcision is at an end and ye\nall return to your dwellings, then do as thou willest. Fie upon thee, O\nMaymun! Wottest thou not that Imlak is of the chiefs of the Jinn? But\nfor my good name, thou shouldst have seen what would have betided thee\nof humiliation and chastisement; yet on account of the festival none may\nspeak. Indeed thou exceedest: dost thou not ken that her sister Wakhimah\nis doughtier[209] than any of the Jann? Learn to know thyself: hast thou\nno regard for thy life?\u201d So Maymun was silent and Iblis turned to Tohfah\nand said to her \u201cSing to the kings of the Jinns this day and to-night\nuntil the morrow, when the boy will be circumcised and each shall return\nto his own place.\u201d Accordingly she took the lute and Kamariyah said to\nher (now she had a citron in hand), \u201cO my sister, sing to me somewhat on\nthis citron.\u201d Tohfah replied, \u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d and improvising,\nsang these couplets:\u2014\n\n I\u2019m a dome of fine gold and right cunningly dight; \u273f And my sweetness of\n youth gladdeth every sight:\n My wine is ever the drink of kings \u273f And I\u2019m fittest gift to the\n friendliest sprite.\n\nAt this Queen Kamariyah rejoiced with joy exceeding and drained her cup,\ncrying, \u201cBrava! O thou choice Gift of hearts!\u201d Furthermore, she took off\na sleeved robe of blue brocade, fringed with red rubies, and a necklace\nof white jewels worth an hundred thousand ducats, and gave them to\nTohfah. Then she passed the cup to her sister Zalzalah, who hent in her\nhand herb basil, and she said to Tohfah, \u201cSing to me somewhat on this\nbasil.\u201d She replied, \u201cHearing and obeying,\u201d and improvised and sang\nthese couplets:\u2014\n\n I\u2019m the Queen of herbs in the s\u00e9ance of wine \u273f And in Heaven Na\u2019\u00edm are\n my name and sign:\n And the best are promised, in garth of Khuld, \u273f Repose, sweet scents and\n the peace divine:[210]\n What prizes then with my price shall vie? \u273f What rank even mine, in all\n mortals\u2019 eyne?\n\nThereat Queen Zalzalah rejoiced with joy exceeding and bidding her\ntreasuress bring a basket, wherein were fifty pairs of bracelets and the\nsame number of earrings, all of gold, crusted with jewels of price,\nwhose like nor mankind nor Jinn-kind possessed, and an hundred robes of\nvari-coloured brocades and an hundred thousand ducats, gave the whole to\nTohfah. Then she passed the cup to her sister Shararah, who had in her\nhand a stalk of narcissus; so she took it from her and turning to the\nSongstress, said to her, \u201cO Tohfah, sing to me somewhat on this.\u201d She\nreplied, \u201cHearkening and obedience,\u201d and improvised these couplets:\u2014\n\n With the smaragd wand doth my form compare; \u273f \u2019Mid the finest flowers my\n worth\u2019s rarest rare:\n My eyes are likened to Beauty\u2019s eyne, \u273f And my gaze is still on the\n bright part\u00e8rre.\n\nWhen she had made an end of her song, Shararah was moved to delight\nexceeding, and drinking off her cup, said to her, \u201cBrava, O thou choice\nGift of hearts!\u201d Then she ordered her an hundred dresses of brocade and\nan hundred thousand ducats and passed the cup to Queen Wakhimah. Now she\nhad in her hand somewhat of Nu\u2019uman\u2019s bloom, the anemone; so she took\nthe cup from her sister and turning to the Songstress, said to her, \u201cO\nTohfah, sing to me on this.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cI hear and I obey,\u201d and\nimprovised these couplets:\u2014\n\n I\u2019m a dye was dyed by the Ruthful\u2019s might; \u273f And all confess me the\n goodliest sight:\n I began in the dust and the clay, but now \u273f On the cheeks of fair women\n I rank by right.\n\nTherewith Wakhimah rejoiced with joy exceeding and drinking off the cup,\nordered her twenty dresses of Roum\u00ed brocade and a tray, wherein were\nthirty thousand ducats. Then she gave the cup to Queen Shu\u2019\u00e1\u2019ah,[211]\nRegent of the Fourth Sea, who took it and said, \u201cO my lady Tohfah, sing\nto me on the gillyflower.\u201d She replied, \u201cHearing and obeying,\u201d and\nimprovised these couplets:\u2014\n\n The time of my presence ne\u2019er draws to a close, \u273f Amid all whose joyance\n with mirth o\u2019erflows;\n When topers gather to sit at wine \u273f Or in nightly shade or when morning\n shows,\n I filch from the flagon to fill the bowls \u273f And the crystal cup where\n the winebeam glows.\n\nQueen Shu\u2019a\u2019ah rejoiced with joy exceeding and emptying her cup, gave\nTohfah an hundred thousand ducats. Then up sprang Iblis (whom Allah\ncurse!) and cried, \u201cVerily, the dawn lighteneth;\u201d whereupon the folk\narose and disappeared, all of them, and there abode not one of them save\nthe Songstress, who went forth to the garden and entering the Hammam\nmade her Wuzu-ablutions and prayed whatso lacked her of prayers. Then\nshe sat down and when the sun rose, behold, there came up to her near an\nhundred thousand green birds, which filled the branches of the trees\nwith their multitudes and they warbled in various voices, whilst Tohfah\nmarvelled at their fashion. Suddenly, appeared eunuchs, bearing a throne\nof gold, studded with pearls and gems and jacinths, both white and red,\nand having four steps of gold, together with many carpets of sendal and\nbrocade and Coptic cloth of silk sprigged with gold; and all these they\nspread in the centre of the garden and setting up the throne thereon,\nperfumed the place with virgin musk, Nadd[212] and ambergris. After\nthat, there came a queen; never saw eyes a fairer than she nor than her\nqualities; she was robed in rich raiment, broidered with pearls and\ngems, and on her head was a crown set with various kinds of unions and\njewels. About her were five hundred slave-girls, high-bosomed maids, as\nthey were moons, screening her, right and left, and she among them like\nthe moon on the night of its full, for that she was the most worthy of\nthem in majesty and dignity. She ceased not walking till she came to\nTohfah, whom she found gazing on her in amazement; and when the\nSongstress saw her turn to her, she rose to her, standing on her feet,\nand saluted her and kissed ground between her hands. The queen rejoiced\nin her and putting out her hand to her, drew her to herself and seated\nher by her side on the couch; whereupon the Songstress kissed her hands\nand the queen said to her, \u201cKnow, O Tohfah, that all which thou treadest\nof these carpets belongeth not to any of the Jinn, who may never tread\nthem without thy leave,[213] for that I am the queen of them all and the\nShaykh Abu al-Tawaif Iblis sought my permission to hold festival[214]\nand prayed me urgently to be present at the circumcision of his son. So\nI despatched to him, in my stead, a slave-girl of my slave-girls,\nnamely, Shu\u2019\u00e1\u2019ah Queen of the Fourth Sea, who is vice-reine of my reign.\nWhen she was present at the wedding and saw thee and heard thy singing,\nshe sent to me, informing me of thee and setting forth to me thy grace\nand amiability and the beauty of thy breeding and thy courtesy.[215] So\nI am come to thee, for that which I have heard of thy charms, and hereby\nI do thee a mighty great favour in the eyes of all the Jann.\u201d[216]\nThereupon Tohfah arose and kissed the earth and the queen thanked her\nfor this and bade her sit. So she sat down and the queen called for\nfood; when they brought a table of gold, inlaid with pearls and jacinths\nand jewels and bearing kinds manifold of birds and viands of various\nhues, and the queen said, \u201cO Tohfah, in the name of Allah! Let us eat\nbread and salt together, I and thou.\u201d Accordingly the Songstress came\nforward and ate of those meats and found therein somewhat the like\nwhereof she had never eaten; no, nor aught more delicious than it, while\nthe slave-girls stood around the table, as the white compasseth the\nblack of the eye, and she sat conversing and laughing with the queen.\nThen said the lady, \u201cO my sister, a slave-girl told me of thee that thou\nsaidst:\u2014How loathly is what yonder Jinni Maymun eateth!\u201d[217] Tohfah\nreplied, \u201cBy Allah, O my lady, I have not any eye that can look at\nhim,[218] and indeed I am fearful of him.\u201d When the queen heard this,\nshe laughed till she fell backwards and said, \u201cO my sister, by the might\nof the graving upon the seal-ring of Solomon, prophet of Allah, I am\nqueen over all the Jann, and none dare so much as cast on thee a glance\nof the eye;\u201d whereat Tohfah kissed her hand. Then the tables were\nremoved and the twain sat talking. Presently up came the kings of the\nJinn from every side and kissed ground before the queen and stood in her\nservice; and she thanked them for this, but moved not for one of\nthem.[219] Then appeared the Shaykh Abu al-Taw\u00e1if Iblis (Allah curse\nhim!) and kissed the earth before her, saying, \u201cO my lady, may I not be\nbereft of these steps!\u201d[220] She replied, \u201cO Shaykh Abu al-Taw\u00e1if, it\nbehoveth thee to thank the bounty of the Lady Tohfah, who was the cause\nof my coming.\u201d Rejoined he, \u201cThou sayest sooth,\u201d and kissed ground. Then\nthe queen fared on towards the palace and there arose and alighted upon\nthe trees an hundred thousand birds of manifold hues. The Songstress\nasked, \u201cHow many are these birds;\u201d and Queen Wakhimah answered her,\n\u201cKnow, O my sister, that this queen is hight Queen al-Shahb\u00e1[221] and\nthat she is queen over all the Jann from East to West. These birds thou\nseest are of her host, and unless they appeared in this shape, earth\nwould not be wide enough for them. Indeed, they came forth with her and\nare present with her presence at this circumcision. She will give thee\nafter the measure of that which hath been given to thee from the first\nof the festival to the last thereof;[222] and indeed she honoureth us\nall with her presence.\u201d Then the queen entered the palace and sat down\non the couch of the circumcision[223] at the upper end of the hall,\nwhereupon Tohfah took the lute and pressing it to her breast, touched\nits strings suchwise that the wits of all present were bewildered and\nShaykh Iblis cried to her, \u201cO my lady Tohfah, I conjure thee, by the\nlife of this noble queen, sing for me and praise thyself, and cross me\nnot.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cTo hear is to obey; still, but for thine adjuration, I\nhad not done this. Say me, doth any praise himself? What manner thing is\nthis?\u201d Then she improvised these couplets:\n\n In all f\u00eates I\u2019m Choice Gift[224] to the minstrel-race;\n Folk attest my worth, rank and my pride of place,\n While Fame, merit and praises with honour engrace.\n\nHer verses pleased the kings of the Jann and they cried, \u201cBy Allah, thou\nsayst sooth!\u201d Then she rose to her feet, hending lute in hand, and\nplayed and sang, whilst the Jinns and the Shaykh Abu al-Taw\u00e1if danced.\nPresently the Father of the Tribes came up to her bussing her bosom, and\ngave her a Br\u00e1hmani[225] carbuncle he had taken from the hidden hoard of\nY\u00e1fis bin N\u00fah[226] (on whom be the Peace), and which was worth the reign\nof the world; its light was as the sheen of the sun and he said to her,\n\u201cTake this and be equitable therewith to the people of the world.\u201d[227]\nShe kissed his hand and rejoiced in the jewel and said, \u201cBy Allah, this\nbefitteth none save the Commander of the Faithful.\u201d Now Queen Al-Shahba\nlaughed with delight at the dancing of Ibl\u00eds and she said to him, \u201cBy\nAllah, this is a goodly pavane!\u201d He thanked her for this and said to the\nSongstress, \u201cO Tohfah, there is not on earth\u2019s face a skilfuller than\nIshak al-Nadim;[228] but thou art more skilful than he. Indeed, I have\nbeen present with him many a time and have shown him positions[229] on\nthe lute, and there has betided me with him that which betided. Indeed,\nthe story of my dealings with him is a long one but this is no time to\nrepeat it; for now I would show thee a shift on the lute, whereby thou\nshalt be exalted over all folk.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cDo what seemeth good to\nthee.\u201d So he took the lute and played thereon a wondrous playing, with\nrare divisions and marvellous modulations, and showed her a passage she\nknew not; and this was goodlier to her than all that she had gotten.\nThen she took the lute from him and playing thereon, sang and presently\nreturned to the passage which he had shown her; and he said, \u201cBy Allah,\nthou singest better than I!\u201d As for Tohfah, it became manifest to her\nthat her former practice was all of it wrong and that what she had\nlearnt from the Shaykh Abu al-Taw\u00e1if Iblis was the root and foundation\nof all perfection in the art and its modes. So she rejoiced in that\nwhich she had won of skill in touching the lute far more than in all\nthat had fallen to her lot of wealth and honour-robes and kissed the\nMaster\u2019s hand. Then said Queen Al-Shahba, \u201cBy Allah, O Shaykh, my sister\nTohfah is indeed singular among the folk of her time, and I hear that\nshe singeth upon all sweet-smelling blooms.\u201d Iblis replied, \u201cYes, O my\nlady, and I am in extremest wonderment thereat. But there remaineth\nsomewhat of sweet-scented flowers, which she hath not besung, such as\nmyrtle and tuberose and jessamine and the moss-rose and the like.\u201d Then\nthe Shaykh signed to her to sing somewhat upon the rest of the flowers,\nthat Queen Al-Shahba might hear, and she said, \u201cHearing and obeying.\u201d So\nshe took the lute and played thereon in many modes, then returned to the\nfirst and sang these couplets:\u2014\n\n I\u2019m one of the lover-retinue \u273f Whom long pine and patience have doom\u00e8d\n rue:\n And sufferance of parting from kin and friends \u273f Hath clothed me, O\n folk, in this yellow hue:\n Then, after the joyance had passed away, \u273f Heart-break, abasement and\n cark I knew,\n Through the long, long day when the lift is light, \u273f Nor, when night is\n murk, my pangs cease pursue:\n So, \u2019twixt fairest hope and unfailing fear, \u273f My bitter tears ever flow\n anew.\n\nThereat Queen Al-Shahba rejoiced with joy exceeding and cried, \u201cBrava, O\nqueen of delight! No one is able to describe thee. Sing to us on the\nApple.\u201d Quoth Tohfah, \u201cHearkening and obedience.\u201d Then she recited these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n I surpass all forms in my coquetry \u273f For mine inner worth and mine outer\n blee;\n Tend me noble hands in the sight of all \u273f And slake with pure waters the\n thirst of me;\n My robe is of sendal, and eke my veil \u273f Is of sunlight the Ruthful hath\n bidden be:\n When my fair companions are marched afar, \u273f In sorrow fro\u2019 home they are\n forced to flee:\n But noble hands deign hearten my heart \u273f With beds where I sit in my\n high degree;[230]\n And where, like full moon at its rise, my light \u273f \u2019Mid the garden-fruits\n thou shalt ever see.\n\nQueen Al-Shahba rejoiced in this with exceeding joy and cried, \u201cBrava!\nBy Allah, there is none excelleth thee.\u201d Tohfah kissed the ground, then\nreturned to her place and versified on the Tuberose, saying:\u2014\n\n I\u2019m a marvel-bloom to be worn on head! \u273f Though a stranger among you\n fro\u2019 home I fled:\n Make use of wine in my company \u273f And flout at Time who in languish sped.\n E\u2019en so doth camphor my hue attest, \u273f O my lords, as I stand in my\n present stead.\n So gar me your gladness when dawneth day, \u273f And to highmost seat in your\n homes be I led:\n And quaff your cups in all jollity, \u273f And cheer and ease shall ne\u2019er\n cease to be.\n\nAt this Queen Al-Shahba rejoiced with exceeding joy and cried, \u201cBrava, O\nqueen of delight! By Allah, I know not how I shall do to give thee thy\ndue! May the Most High grant us the grace of thy long continuance!\u201d Then\nshe strained her to her breast and bussed her on the cheek; whereupon\nquoth Iblis (on whom be a curse!), \u201cThis is a mighty great honour!\u201d\nQuoth the queen, \u201cKnow that this lady Tohfah is my sister and that her\nbiddance is my biddance and her forbiddance my forbiddance. So all of\nyou hearken to her word and render her worshipful obedience.\u201d Therewith\nthe kings rose in a body and kissed ground before Tohfah, who rejoiced\nin this. Moreover, Queen Al-Shahba doffed dress and habited her in a\nsuit adorned with pearls, jewels and jacinths, worth an hundred thousand\nducats, and wrote for her on a slip of paper[231] a patent appointing\nher to be her deputy. So the Songstress rose and kissed ground before\nthe Queen, who said to her, \u201cOf thy favour, sing to us somewhat\nconcerning the rest of the sweet-scented flowers and herbs, so I may\nhear thy chant and solace myself with witnessing thy skill.\u201d She\nreplied, \u201cTo hear is to obey, O lady mine,\u201d and, taking the lute,\nimprovised these couplets:\u2014\n\n My hue excelleth all hues in light, \u273f And I would all eyes should enjoy\n my sight:\n My site is the site of fillets and pearls \u273f Where the fairest brows are\n with jasmine dight:\n My light\u2019s uprist (and what light it shows!) \u273f Is a silvern zone on the\n waist of Night.\n\nThen she changed the measure and improvised these couplets:\u2014\n\n I\u2019m the gem of herbs, and in seasons twain \u273f My tryst I keep with my\n lovers-train:\n I stint not union for length of time \u273f Nor visits, though some be of\n severance fain;\n The true one am I and my troth I keep, \u273f And, easy of plucking, no hand\n disdain.\n\nThen, changing measure and the mode, she played so that she bewildered\nthe wits of those who were present, and Queen Al-Shahba, moved to mirth\nand merriment, cried, \u201cBrava, O queen of delight!\u201d Presently she\nreturned to the first mode and improvised these couplets on Nenuphar:\u2014\n\n I fear me lest freke espy me, \u273f In air when I fain deny me;\n So I root me beneath the wave, \u273f And my stalks to bow down apply me.\n\nHereat Queen Al-Shahba rejoiced with exceeding joy, and cried, \u201cBrava, O\nTohfah! Let me hear more of thy chant.\u201d Accordingly, she smote the lute\nand changing the mode, recited on the Moss-rose these couplets:\n\n Look on Nasr\u00edn[232] those branchy shoots surround; \u273f With greenest\n leafery \u2019tis deckt and crowned:\n Its graceful bending stem draws every gaze \u273f While beauteous bearing\n makes their love abound.\n\nThen she changed measure and mode and sang these couplets on the\nWater-lily:\u2014\n\n O thou who askest S\u00fasan[233] of her scent, \u273f Hear thou my words and\n beauty of my lay.\n \u201cEmir am I whom all mankind desire\u201d \u273f (Quoth she) \u201cor present or when\n ta\u2019en away.\u201d\n\nWhen Tohfah had made an end of her song, Queen Al-Shahba rose and said,\n\u201cI never heard from any the like of this;\u201d and she drew the Songstress\nto her and fell to kissing her. Then she took leave of her and flew\naway; and on like wise all the birds took flight with her, so that they\nwalled the horizon; whilst the rest of the kings tarried behind. Now as\nsoon as it was the fourth night, there came the boy who was to be\ncircumcised, adorned with jewels such as never saw eye nor heard ear of,\nand amongst the rest a crown of gold crusted with pearls and gems, the\nworth whereof was an hundred thousand sequins. He sat down upon the\ncouch and Tohfah sang to him, till the chirurgeon[234] came and they\nsnipped his foreskin in the presence of all the kings, who showered on\nhim a mighty great store of jewels and jacinths and gold. Queen\nKamariyah bade her Eunuchs gather up all this and lay it in Tohfah\u2019s\ncloset, and it was as much in value as all that had fallen to her, from\nthe first of the festivities to the last thereof. Moreover, the Shaykh\nIblis (whom Allah curse!) bestowed upon the Songstress the crown worn by\nthe boy and gave the circumcisee another, whereat Tohfah\u2019s reason took\nflight. Then the Jinn departed, in order of rank, whilst Iblis\nfarewelled them, band after band. Seeing the Shaykh thus occupied with\ntaking leave of the kings, Maymun seized his opportunity, the place\nbeing empty, and taking up Tohfah on his shoulders, soared aloft with\nher to the confines of the lift, and flew away with her. Presently,\nIblis came to look for the Songstress and see what she purposed, but\nfound her not and sighted the slave-girls slapping their faces: so he\nsaid to them, \u201cFie on you! What may be the matter?\u201d They replied, \u201cO our\nlord, Maymun hath snatched up Tohfah and flown away with her.\u201d When\nIblis heard this, he gave a cry whereto earth trembled and said, \u201cWhat\nis to be done?\u201d Then he buffetted his face and head, exclaiming, \u201cWoe to\nyou! This be none other than exceeding insolence. Shall he carry off\nTohfah from my very palace and attaint mine honour? Doubtless, this\nMaymun hath lost his wits.\u201d Then he cried out a second time, so that the\nearth quaked, and rose on his wings high in air. The news came to the\nrest of the kings; so they flew after him and overtaking him, found him\nfull of anxiety and affright, with fire issuing from his nostrils, and\nsaid to him, \u201cO Shaykh al-Tawaif,[235] what is to do?\u201d He replied, \u201cKnow\nye that Maymun hath carried off Tohfah from my palace and attainted mine\nhonour.\u201d When they heard this, they cried, \u201cThere is no Majesty and\nthere is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great. By God he hath\nventured upon a grave matter and verily he destroyeth self and folk!\u201d\nThen Shaykh Iblis ceased not flying till he fell in with the tribes of\nthe Jann, and they gathered together a world of people, none may tell\nthe tale of them save the Lord of All-might. So they came to the\nFortress of Copper and the Citadel of Lead,[236] and the people of the\nsconces saw the tribes of the Jann issuing from every deep\nmountain-pass[237] and said, \u201cWhat be the news?\u201d Then Iblis went in to\nKing Al-Shisban and acquainted him with that which had befallen;\nwhereupon quoth he, \u201cVerily, Allah hath destroyed Maymun and his many!\nHe pretendeth to possess Tohfah, and she is become queen of the Jann!\nBut have patience till we devise that which befitteth in the matter of\nTohfah.\u201d Iblis asked, \u201cAnd what befitteth it to do?\u201d And Al-Shisban\nanswered, \u201cWe will fall upon him and kill him and his host with cut of\nbrand.\u201d Then quoth Shaykh Iblis, \u201c\u2019Twere better to acquaint Queen\nKamariyah and Queen Zalzalah and Queen Shararah and Queen Wakhimah; and\nwhen they are assembled, Allah shall ordain whatso He deemeth good in\nthe matter of her release.\u201d Quoth Al-Shisban, \u201cRight is thy rede\u201d and\nthey despatched to Queen Kamariyah an Ifrit hight Salhab who came to her\npalace and found her sleeping; so he roused her and she said, \u201cWhat is\nto do, O Salhab?\u201d Cried he, \u201cO my lady, come to the succour of thy\nsister the Songstress, for Maymun hath carried her off and attainted\nthine honour and that of Shaykh Iblis.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cWhat sayst thou?\u201d\nand she sat up straight and cried out with a great cry. And indeed she\nfeared for Tohfah and said, \u201cBy Allah, in very sooth she used to say\nthat he gazed at her and prolonged the gaze; but ill is that whereto his\nsoul hath prompted him.\u201d Then she rose in haste and mounting a Sataness\nof her Satans, said to her, \u201cFly.\u201d So she flew off with her and alighted\nin the palace of her sister Shararah, whereupon she sent for her sisters\nZalzalah and Wakhimah and acquainted them with the tidings, saying,\n\u201cKnow that Maymun hath snatched up Tohfah and flown off with her\nswiftlier than the blinding leven.\u201d Then they all flew off in haste and\nlighting down in the place where were their father Al-Shisban and their\ngrandfather the Shaykh Abu al-Taw\u00e1if, found the folk on the sorriest of\nsituations. When their grandfather Iblis saw them, he rose to them and\nwept, and they all wept for the Songstress. Then said Iblis to them,\n\u201cYonder hound hath attainted mine honour and taken Tohfah. and I think\nnot otherwise[238] but that she is like to die of distress for herself\nand her lord Al-Rashid and saying:\u2014The whole that they said and did was\nfalse.[239]\u201d Quoth Kamariyah, \u201cO grandfather mine, nothing is left for\nit but stratagem and device for her deliverance, for that she is dearer\nto me than everything; and know that yonder accursed when he waxeth ware\nof your coming upon him, will ken that he hath no power to cope with\nyou, he who is the least and meanest of the Jann; but we dread that he,\nwhen assured of defeat, will slay Tohfah; wherefore nothing will serve\nbut that we contrive a sleight for saving her; else will she perish.\u201d He\nasked, \u201cAnd what hast thou in mind of device?\u201d and she answered, \u201cLet us\ntake him with fair means, and if he obey, all will be well;[240] else\nwill we practise stratagem against him; and expect not her deliverance\nfrom other than myself.\u201d Quoth Iblis, \u201cThe affair is thine; contrive\nwhat thou wilt, for that Tohfah is thy sister and thy solicitude for her\nis more effectual than that of any other.\u201d So Kamariyah cried out to an\nIfrit of the Ifrits and a calamity of the calamities,[241] by name\nAl-Asad al-Tayy\u00e1r, the Flying Lion, and said to him, \u201cHie with my\nmessage to the Crescent Mountain,[242] the wone of Maymun the Sworder,\nand enter and say to him, My lady saluteth thee with the salam and\nasketh thee:\u2014How canst thou be assured for thyself of safety, after what\nthou hast done, O Maymun? Couldst thou find none to maltreat in thy\ndrunken humour save Tohfah, she too being a queen? But thou art excused,\nbecause thou didst not this deed, but \u2019twas thy drink, and the Shaykh\nAbu al-Taw\u00e1if pardoneth thee, because thou wast drunken. Indeed, thou\nhast attainted his honour; but now restore her to her palace, for that\nshe hath done well and favoured us and rendered us service, and thou\nwottest that she is this day our queen. Belike she may bespeak Queen\nAl-Shahba, whereupon the matter will become grievous and that wherein\nthere is no good shall betide thee; and thou wilt get no tittle of gain.\nVerily, I give thee good counsel, and so the Peace!\u201d Al-Asad answered\n\u201cHearing and obeying,\u201d and flew till he came to the Crescent Mountain,\nwhen he sought audience of Maymun, who bade admit him. So he entered and\nkissing ground before him, gave him Queen Kamariyah\u2019s message, which\nwhen he heard, he cried to the Ifrit, \u201cReturn whence thou comest and say\nto thy mistress:\u2014Be silent and thou wilt show thy good sense. Else will\nI come and seize upon her and make her serve Tohfah; and if the kings of\nthe Jinn assemble together against me and I be overcome by them, I will\nnot leave her to scent the wind of this world and she shall be neither\nmine nor theirs, for that she is presently my sprite[243] from between\nmy ribs; and how shall any part with his sprite?\u201d When the Ifrit heard\nMaymun\u2019s words, he said to him, \u201cBy Allah, O Maymun, art thou a\nchangeling in thy wits, that thou speakest these words of my lady, and\nthou one of her page-boys?\u201d Whereupon Maymun cried out and said to him,\n\u201cWoe to thee, O dog of the Jinns! Wilt thou bespeak the like of me with\nthese words?\u201d Then he bade those who were about him bastinado Al-Asad,\nbut he took flight and soaring high in air, betook himself to his\nmistress and told her the tidings: when she said, \u201cThou hast done well,\nO good knight!\u201d Then she turned to her sire and said to him, \u201cHear that\nwhich I shall say to thee.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cSay on;\u201d and quoth she, \u201cI rede\nthee take thy troops and go to him, for when he heareth this, he will in\nturn levy his many and come forth to thee; whereupon do thou offer him\nbattle and prolong the fight with him and make a show to him of weakness\nand giving way. Meantime, I will devise me a device for getting at\nTohfah and delivering her, what while he is busied with you in battle;\nand when my messenger cometh to thee and informeth thee that I have\ngotten possession of Tohfah and that she is with me, return thou upon\nMaymun forthwith and overthrow him and his hosts, and take him prisoner.\nBut, an my device succeed not with him and we fail to deliver Tohfah, he\nwill assuredly practice to slay her, without recourse, and regret for\nher will remain in our hearts.\u201d Quoth Iblis, \u201cThis is the right rede\u201d\nand bade call a march among the troops, whereupon an hundred thousand\nknights, doughty wights of war, joined themselves to him and set out for\nthe country of Maymun. As for Queen Kamariyah, she flew off to the\npalace of her sister Wakhimah, and told her what deed Maymun had done\nand how he declared that, whenas he saw defeat nearhand, he would slay\nTohfah; adding, \u201cAnd indeed, he is resolved upon this; otherwise had he\nnot dared to work such sleight. So do thou contrive the affair as thou\nsee fit, for in rede thou hast no superior.\u201d Then they sent for Queen\nZalzalah and Queen Shararah and sat down to take counsel, one with\nother, concerning what they had best do in the matter. Presently said\nWakhimah, \u201c\u2019Twere advisable we fit out a ship in this our island-home\nand embark therein, disguised as Adam\u2019s sons, and fare on till we come\nto anchor under a little island that lieth over against Maymun\u2019s palace.\nThere will we sit drinking and smiting the lute and singing; for Tohfah\nwill assuredly be seated there overlooking the sea, and needs must she\nsee us and come down to us, whereupon we will take her by force and she\nwill be under our hands, so that none shall be able to molest her any\nmore. Or, an Maymun be gone forth to do battle with the Jinns, we will\nstorm his stronghold and take Tohfah and raze his palace and slay all\ntherein. When he hears of this, his heart will be broken and we will\nsend to let our father know, whereat he will return upon him with his\ntroops and he will be destroyed and we shall have rest of him.\u201d They\nanswered her, saying, \u201cThis is a good counsel.\u201d Then they bade fit out a\nship from behind the mountain,[244] and it was fitted out in less than\nthe twinkling of an eye; so they launched it on the sea and embarking\ntherein, together with four thousand Ifrits, set out, intending for\nMaymun\u2019s palace. They also bade other five thousand Ifrits betake\nthemselves to the island under the Crescent Mountain and there lie in\nwait for them ambushed well. Thus fared it with the kings of the Jann;\nbut as regards Shaykh Abu al-Taw\u00e1if Iblis and his son Al-Shisban the\ntwain set out, as we have said, with their troops, who were of the\ndoughtiest of the Jinn and the prowest of them in wing-flying and\nhorsemanship, and fared on till they drew near the Crescent Mountain.\nWhen the news of their approach reached Maymun, he cried out with a\nmighty great cry to the troops, who were twenty thousand riders, and\nbade them make ready for departure. Then he went in to Tohfah and\nkissing her, said, \u201cKnow that thou art this day my life of the world,\nand indeed the Jinns are gathered together to wage war on me for thy\nsake. An I win the day from them and am preserved alive, I will set all\nthe kings of the Jann under thy feet and thou shalt become queen of the\nworld.\u201d But she shook her head and shed tears; and he said, \u201cWeep not,\nfor I swear by the virtue of the mighty inscription borne on the\nseal-ring of Solomon, thou shalt never again see the land of men; no,\nnever! Say me, can any one part with his life? Give ear, then, to my\nwords; else will I slay thee.\u201d So she was silent. And forthright he sent\nfor his daughter, whose name was Jamrah,[245] and when she came, he said\nto her, \u201cHarkye, Jamrah! Know that I am going to fight the clans of\nAl-Shisban and Queen Kamariyah and the Kings of the Jann. An I be\nvouchsafed the victory over them, to Allah be the laud and thou shalt\nhave of me largesse;[246] but, an thou see or hear that I am worsted and\nany come to thee with ill news of me, hasten to kill Tohfah, so she may\nfall neither to me nor to them.\u201d Then he farewelled her and mounted,\nsaying, \u201cWhen this cometh about, pass over to the Crescent Mountain and\ntake up thine abode there, and await what shall befal me and what I\nshall say to thee.\u201d And Jamrah answered \u201cHearkening and obedience.\u201d Now\nwhen the Songstress heard these words, she fell to weeping and wailing\nand said, \u201cBy Allah, naught irketh me but severance from my lord\nAl-Rashid; however, when I am dead, let the world be ruined after\nme?\u201d[247] And she was certified in herself that she was assuredly lost.\nThen Maymun set forth with his army and departed in quest of the hosts\nof the Jinn, leaving none in the palace save his daughter Jamrah and\nTohfah and an Ifrit which was dear to him. They fared on till they met\nwith the army of Al-Shisban; and when the two hosts came face to face,\nthey fell each upon other and fought a fight, a passing sore than which\nnaught could be more. After a while, Al-Shisban\u2019s troops began to give\nway, and when Maymun saw them do thus, he despised them and made sure of\nvictory over them. On this wise it befel them; but as regards Queen\nKamariyah and her company they sailed on without ceasing, till they came\nunder the palace wherein was Tohfah, to wit, that of Maymun the Sworder;\nand by the decree of the Lord of destiny, the Songstress herself was at\nthat very time sitting on the belvedere of the palace, pondering the\naffair of Harun al-Rashid and her own and that which had befallen her\nand weeping for that she was doomed to death. She saw the vessel and\nwhat was therein of those we have named, and they in mortal guise, and\nsaid, \u201cAlas, my sorrow for this ship and for the men that be therein!\u201d\nAs for Kamariyah and her many, when they drew near the palace, they\nstrained their eyes and seeing the Songstress sitting, cried, \u201cYonder\nsitteth Tohfah. May Allah not bereave us of her!\u201d Then they moored their\ncraft and, making for the island which lay over against the palace,\nspread carpets and sat eating and drinking; whereupon quoth Tohfah,\n\u201cWell come and welcome to yonder faces! These be my kinswomen and I\nconjure thee by Allah, O Jamrah, that thou let me down to them, so I may\nsit with them awhile and enjoy kindly converse with them and return.\u201d\nQuoth Jamrah, \u201cI may on no wise do that;\u201d and Tohfah wept. Then the folk\nbrought out wine and drank, while Kamariyah took the lute and sang these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n By Allah, had I never hoped to greet you \u273f Your guide had failed on\n camel to seat you!\n Far bore you parting from friend would greet you \u273f Till meseems mine\n eyes for your wone entreat you.\n\nWhen Tohfah heard this, she cried out so great a cry, that the folk\nheard her and Kamariyah said, \u201cRelief is nearhand.\u201d Then the Songstress\nlooked out to them and called to them, saying, \u201cO daughters of mine\nuncle, I am a lonely maid, an exile from kin and country: so for the\nlove of Allah Almighty, repeat that song!\u201d Accordingly Kamariyah\nrepeated it and Tohfah swooned away. When she came to herself, she said\nto Jamrah, \u201cBy the rights of the Apostle of Allah (whom may He save and\nassain!) unless thou suffer me go down to them and look on them and sit\nwith them for a full hour, I will hurl myself headlong from this palace,\nfor that I am aweary of my life and know that I am slain to all\ncertainty; wherefore will I kill myself, ere you pass sentence upon me.\u201d\nAnd she was instant with her in asking. When Jamrah heard her words, she\nknew that, an she let her not down, she would assuredly destroy herself.\nSo she said to her, \u201cO Tohfah, between thee and them are a thousand\ncubits; but I will bring the women up to thee.\u201d The Songstress replied,\n\u201cNay, there is no help but that I go down to them and solace me in the\nisland and look upon the sea anear; then will we return, I and thou; for\nthat, an thou bring them up to us, they will be affrighted and there\nwill betide them neither joy nor gladness. As for me, I wish but to be\nwith them, that they may cheer me with their company neither give over\ntheir merry-making, so peradventure I may broaden my breast with them,\nand indeed I swear that needs must I go down to them; else I will cast\nmyself upon them.\u201d And she cajoled Jamrah and kissed her hands, till she\nsaid, \u201cArise and I will set thee down beside them.\u201d Then she took Tohfah\nunder her armpit and flying up swiftlier than the blinding leven, set\nher down with Kamariyah and her company; whereupon she went up to them\nand accosted them, saying, \u201cFear ye not: no harm shall befal you; for I\nam a mortal, like unto you, and I would fain look on you and talk with\nyou and hear your singing.\u201d So they welcomed her and kept their places,\nwhilst Jamrah sat down beside them and fell a snuffing their odours and\nsaying, \u201cI smell the scent of the Jinn![248] Would I wot whence it\ncometh!\u201d Then said Wakhimah to her sister Kamariyah, \u201cYonder foul slut\nsmelleth us and presently she will take to flight; so what be this\ninaction concerning her?\u201d[249] Thereupon Kamariyah put out an arm long\nas a camel\u2019s neck, and dealt Jamrah a buffet on the head, that made it\nfly from her body and cast it into the sea. Then cried she, \u201cAllah is\nAll-great!\u201d[250] And they uncovered their faces, whereupon Tohfah knew\nthem and said to them, \u201cProtection!\u201d Queen Kamariyah embraced her, as\nalso did Queen Zalzalah and Queen Wakhimah and Queen Shararah, and the\nfirst-named said to her, \u201cReceive the good tidings of assured safety,\nfor there abideth no harm for thee; but this is no time for talk.\u201d Then\nthey cried out, whereupon up came the Ifrits ambushed in that island,\nhending swords and maces in hand, and taking up Tohfah, flew with her to\nthe palace and made themselves masters of it, whilst the Ifrit\naforesaid, who was dear to Maymun and whose name was Dukh\u00e1n,[251] fled\nlike an arrow and stinted not flying till he came to Maymun and found\nhim fighting a sore fight with the Jinn. When his lord saw him, he cried\nout at him, saying, \u201cFie upon thee! Whom hast thou left in the palace?\u201d\nDukhan answered, saying, \u201cAnd who abideth in the palace? Thy beloved\nTohfah they have captured and Jamrah is slain and they have taken the\npalace, all of it.\u201d At these ill tidings Maymun buffeted his face and\nhead and said, \u201cOh! Out on it for a calamity!\u201d Then he cried aloud. Now\nKamariyah had sent to her sire and reported to him the news, whereat the\nraven of the wold[252] croaked for the foe. So, when Maymun saw that\nwhich had betided him, (and indeed the Jinn smote upon him and the wings\nof eternal severance overspread his host,) he planted the heel of his\nlance in the earth and turning its head to his heart, urged his charger\nthereat and pressed upon it with his breast, till the point came forth\ngleaming from his back. Meanwhile the messenger had made the friendly\nhost with the news of Tohfah\u2019s deliverance, whereat the Shaykh Abu\nal-Taw\u00e1if rejoiced and bestowed on the bringer of lief tidings a\nsumptuous robe of honour and made him commander over a company of the\nJann. Then they charged home upon Maymun\u2019s host and wiped them out to\nthe last man; and when they came to Maymun, they found that he had slain\nhimself and was even as we have said. Presently Kamariyah and her sister\nWakhimah came up to their grandfather and told him what they had done;\nwhereupon he came to Tohfah and saluted her with the salam and\ncongratulated her on deliverance. Then he made over Maymun\u2019s palace to\nSalhab; and, taking all the rebel\u2019s wealth gave it to the Songstress,\nwhile the troops encamped upon the Crescent Mountain. Furthermore, the\nShaykh Abu al-Taw\u00e1if said to Tohfah, \u201cBlame me not,\u201d and she kissed his\nhands, when behold, there appeared to them the tribes of the Jinn, as\nthey were clouds, and Queen Al-Shahba flying in their van, drawn sword\nin grip. As she came in sight of the folk, they kissed ground between\nher hands and she said to them, \u201cTell me what hath betided Queen Tohfah\nfrom yonder dog Maymun and why did ye not send to me and report to me?\u201d\nQuoth they, \u201cAnd who was this dog that we should send to thee on his\naccount? Indeed he was the least and lowest of the Jinn.\u201d Then they told\nher what Kamariyah and her sisters had done and how they had practised\nupon Maymun and delivered the Songstress from his hand, fearing lest he\nshould slay her when he found himself defeated; and she said, \u201cBy Allah,\nthe accursed was wont to lengthen his looking upon her!\u201d And Tohfah fell\nto kissing Al-Shahba\u2019s hand, whilst the queen strained her to her bosom\nand kissed her, saying, \u201cTrouble is past; so rejoice in assurance of\ndeliverance.\u201d Then they rose and went up to the palace, whereupon the\ntrays of food were brought and they ate and drank; after which quoth\nQueen Al-Shahba, \u201cO Tohfah, sing to us, by way of sweetmeat[253] for\nthine escape, and favour us with that which shall solace our minds, for\nthat indeed my thoughts have been occupied with thee.\u201d And quoth Tohfah,\n\u201cHearkening and obedience, O my lady.\u201d So she improvised and sang these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n Breeze of East[254]an thou breathe o\u2019er the dear ones\u2019 land \u273f Speed, I\n pray thee, my special salute and salam:\n And say them I\u2019m pledged to love them and \u273f In pine that passeth all\n pine I am.\n\nThereat Queen Al-Shahba rejoiced and with her all who were present; and\nthey admired her speech and fell to kissing her; and when she had made\nan end of her song, Queen Kamariyah said to her, \u201cO my sister, ere thou\ngo to thy palace, I would fain bring thee to look upon Al-\u2019Ank\u00e1,[255]\ndaughter of Bahram J\u00far, whom Al-\u2019Anka, daughter of the wind, carried\noff, and her beauty; for that there is not her fellow on earth\u2019s face.\u201d\nAnd Queen Al-Shahba said, \u201cO Kamariyah, I also think it were well an I\nbeheld her.\u201d Quoth Kamariyah, \u201cI saw her three years ago; but my sister\nWakhimah seeth her at all times, for she is near to her people, and she\nsaith that there is not in the world fairer than she. Indeed, this Queen\nAl-Anka is become a byword for beauty and comeliness.\u201d And Wakhimah\nsaid, \u201cBy the mighty inscription on the seal-ring of Solomon, there is\nnot her like for loveliness here below.\u201d Then said Queen Al-Shahba, \u201cAn\nit needs must be and the affair is as ye say, I will take Tohfah and go\nwith her to Al-Anka, so she may look upon her\u201d! So they all arose and\nrepaired to Al-Anka, who abode in the Mountain Kaf. When she saw them,\nshe drew near to them and saluted them, saying, \u201cO my ladies, may I not\nbe bereaved of you!\u201d Quoth Wakhimah to her, \u201cWho is like unto thee, O\nAnka? Behold, Queen Al-Shahba is come to thee.\u201d So Al-Anka kissed the\nqueen\u2019s feet and lodged them in her palace; whereupon Tohfah came up to\nher and fell to kissing her and saying, \u201cNever saw I a seemlier than\nthis semblance.\u201d Then she set before them somewhat of food and they ate\nand washed their hands; after which the Songstress took the lute and\nsmote it well; and Al-Anka also played, and they fell to improvising\nverses in turns, whilst Tohfah embraced Al-Anka every moment. Al-Shahba\ncried, \u201cO my sister, each kiss is worth a thousand dinars;\u201d and Tohfah\nreplied, \u201cAnd a thousand dinars were little therefor;\u201d whereat Al-Anka\nlaughed and after nighting in her pavilion on the morrow they took leave\nof her and went away to Maymun\u2019s palace. Here Queen Al-Shahba farewelled\nthem and taking her troops, returned to her capital, whilst the kings\nalso went away to their abodes and the Shaykh Abu al-Tawaif applied\nhimself to diverting Tohfah till nightfall, when he mounted her on the\nback of one of the Ifrits and bade other thirty gather together all that\nshe had gotten of treasure and raiment, jewels and robes of honour. Then\nthey flew off, whilst Iblis went with her, and in less than the\ntwinkling of an eye he set her down in her sleeping room, where he and\nthose who were with him bade adieu to her and went away. When Tohfah\nfound herself in her own chamber[256] and on her couch, her reason fled\nfor joy and it seemed to her as if she had never stirred thence: then\nshe took the lute and tuned it and touched it in wondrous fashion and\nimprovised verses and sang. The Eunuch heard the smiting of the lute\nwithin the chamber and cried, \u201cBy Allah, that is the touch of my lady\nTohfah!\u201d So he arose and went, as he were a madman, falling down and\nrising up, till he came to the Castrato on guard at the gate of the\nCommander of the Faithful and found him sitting. When his fellow neutral\nsaw him, and he like a madman, slipping down and stumbling up, he asked\nhim, \u201cWhat aileth thee and what bringeth thee hither at this hour?\u201d The\nother answered, \u201cWilt thou not make haste and awaken the Prince of True\nBelievers?\u201d And he fell to crying out at him; whereupon the Caliph awoke\nand heard them bandying words together and Tohfah\u2019s slave crying to the\nother, \u201cWoe to thee! Awaken the Commander of the Faithful in haste.\u201d So\nquoth he, \u201cO Sawab, what hast thou to say?\u201d and quoth the Chief Eunuch,\n\u201cO our lord, the Eunuch of Tohfah\u2019s lodging hath lost his wits and\ncrieth:\u2014Awaken the Commander of the Faithful in haste!\u201d Then said\nAl-Rashid to one of the slave-girls, \u201cSee what may be the matter.\u201d\nAccordingly she hastened to admit the Castrato, who entered at her\norder; and when he saw the Commander of the Faithful, he salamed not\nneither kissed ground, but cried in his hurry, \u201cQuick: up with thee! My\nlady Tohfah sitteth in her chamber, singing a goodly ditty. Come to her\nin haste and see all that I say to thee! Hasten! She sitteth awaiting\nthee.\u201d The Caliph was amazed at his speech and asked him, \u201cWhat sayst\nthou?\u201d He answered, \u201cDidst thou not hear the first of the speech? Tohfah\nsitteth in the sleeping-chamber, singing and lute-playing. Come thy\nquickest! Hasten!\u201d Accordingly Al-Rashid sprang up and donned his dress;\nbut he believed not the Eunuch\u2019s words and said to him, \u201cFie upon thee!\nWhat is this thou sayst? Hast thou not seen this in a dream?\u201d Quoth the\nEunuch, \u201cBy Allah, I wot not what thou sayest, and I was not asleep;\u201d\nand quoth Al-Rashid, \u201cAn thy speech be soothfast, it shall be for thy\ngood luck, for I will free thee and give thee a thousand gold pieces;\nbut, an it be untrue and thou have seen this in dream-land, I will\ncrucify thee.\u201d The Eunuch said within himself, \u201cO Protector, let me not\nhave seen this in vision!\u201d then he left the Caliph and running to the\nchamber-door, heard the sound of singing and lute-playing; whereupon he\nreturned to Al-Rashid and said to him, \u201cGo and hearken and see who is\nasleep.\u201d When the Prince of True Believers drew near the door of the\nsleeping-chamber, he heard the sound of the lute and Tohfah\u2019s voice\nsinging; whereat he could not restrain his reason and was like to faint\nfor excess of delight. Then he pulled out the key, but his hand refused\nto draw the bolt: however, after a while, he took heart and applying\nhimself, opened the door and entered, saying, \u201cMethinks this is none\nother than a vision or an imbroglio of dreams.\u201d When Tohfah saw him, she\nrose and coming to meet him, pressed him to her breast; and he cried out\na cry wherein his sprite was like to depart and fell down in a fit. She\nagain strained him to her bosom and sprinkled on him rose-water mingled\nwith musk, and washed his face, till he came to himself, as he were a\ndrunken man, and shed tears for the stress of his joy in Tohfah\u2019s return\nto him, after he had despaired of her returning. Then she took the lute\nand smote thereon, after the fashion she had learnt from Shaykh Iblis,\nso that Al-Rashid\u2019s wit was bewildered for excess of joy and his\nunderstanding was confounded for exultation; after which she improvised\nand sang these couplets:\u2014\n\n That I left thee my heart to believe is unlief; \u273f For the life that\u2019s in\n it ne\u2019er leaveth; brief,\n An thou say \u201cI went,\u201d saith my heart \u201cWhat a fib!\u201d \u273f And I bide \u2019twixt\n believing and unbelief.\n\nWhen she had made an end of her verses, Al-Rashid said to her, \u201cO\nTohfah, thine absence was wondrous, yet is thy presence still more\nmarvellous.\u201d She replied, \u201cBy Allah, O my lord, thou sayst sooth;\u201d then,\ntaking his hand, she said to him, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, see what\nI have brought with me.\u201d So he looked and spied treasures such as\nneither words could describe nor registers could document, pearls and\njewels and jacinths and precious stones and unions and gorgeous robes of\nhonour, adorned with margarites and jewels and purfled with red gold.\nThere he beheld what he never had beheld all his life long, not even in\nidea; and she showed him that which Queen Al-Shahba had bestowed on her\nof those carpets, which she had brought with her, and that throne, the\nlike whereof neither Kisr\u00e0 possessed nor C\u00e6sar, and those tables inlaid\nwith pearls and jewels and those vessels which amazed all who looked on\nthem, and that crown which was on the head of the circumcised boy, and\nthose robes of honour, which Queen Al-Shahba and Shaykh Abu al-Tawaif\nhad doffed and donned upon her, and the trays wherein were those\ntreasures; brief, she showed him wealth whose like he had never in his\nlife espied and which the tongue availeth not to describe and whereat\nall who looked thereon were bewildered. Al-Rashid was like to lose his\nwits for amazement at this spectacle and was confounded at that he\nsighted and witnessed. Then said he to Tohfah, \u201cCome, tell me thy tale\nfrom beginning to end, and let me know all that hath betided thee, as if\nI had been present.\u201d She answered, \u201cHearkening and obedience,\u201d and\nacquainting him with all that had betided her first and last, from the\ntime when she first saw the Shaykh Abu al-Tawaif, how he took her and\ndescended with her through the side of the Chapel of Ease; and she told\nhim of the horse she had ridden, till she came to the meadow aforesaid\nand described it to him, together with the palace and that was therein\nof furniture, and related to him how the Jinn rejoiced in her, and\nwhatso she had seen of their kings, masculine and feminine, and of Queen\nKamariyah and her sisters and Queen Shu\u2019a\u2019ah, Regent of the Fourth Sea,\nand Queen Al-Shahba, Queen of Queens, and King Al-Shisban, and that\nwhich each one of them had bestowed upon her. Moreover, she recited to\nhim the story of Maymun the Sworder and described to him his fulsome\nfavour, which he had not deigned to change, and related to him that\nwhich befel her from the kings of the Jinn, male and female, and the\ncoming of the Queen of Queens, Al-Shahba, and how she had loved her and\nappointed her her vice-reine and how she was thus become ruler over all\nthe kings of the Jann; and she showed him the writ of investiture which\nQueen Al-Shahba had written her and told him what had betided her with\nthe Ghulish Head, when it appeared to her in the garden, and how she had\ndespatched it to her palace, beseeching it to bring her news of the\nCommander of the Faithful and of what had betided him after her. Then\nshe described to him the flower-gardens, wherein she had taken her\npleasure, and the Hammam-baths inlaid with pearls and jewels and told\nhim that which had befallen Maymun the Sworder, when he bore her off,\nand how he had slain himself; in fine, she related to him everything she\nhad seen of wonders and marvels and that which she had beheld of all\nkinds and colours among the Jinn. Then she told him the story of\nAl-Anka, daughter of Bahram Jur, with Al-Anka, daughter of the wind, and\ndescribed to him her dwelling-place and her island, whereupon quoth\nAl-Rashid, \u201cO Tohfat al-Sadr,[257] tell me of Al-Anka, daughter of\nBahram Jur; is she of the Jinn-kind or of mankind or of the bird-kind?\nFor this long time have I desired to find one who should tell me of\nher.\u201d Tohfah replied, \u201c\u2019Tis well, O Commander of the Faithful. I asked\nthe queen of this and she acquainted me with her case and told me who\nbuilt her the palace.\u201d Quoth Al-Rashid, \u201cAllah upon thee, tell it me;\u201d\nand quoth Tohfah, \u201cI will well,\u201d and proceeded to tell him. And he was\namazed at that which he heard from her and what she reported to him and\nat that which she had brought back of jewels and jacinths of various\nhues and precious stones of many sorts, such as amazed the beholder and\nconfounded thought and mind. As for this, Tohfah was the means of the\nenrichment of the Barmecides and the Abbasides, and they had endurance\nin their delight. Then the Caliph went forth and bade decorate the city:\nso they decorated it and the drums of glad tidings were beaten; and they\nmade banquets to the people for whom the tables were spread seven days.\nAnd Tohfah and the Commander of the Faithful ceased not to enjoy the\nmost delightsome of life and the most prosperous till there came to them\nthe Destroyer of delights and the Severer of societies; and this is all\nthat hath come down to us of their story.\n\n\n\n\n WOMEN\u2019S WILES.[258]\n\n\nOn the following night Dunyazad said to her sister Shahrazad, \u201cO sister\nmine, an thou incline not unto sleep, prithee tell us a tale which shall\nbeguile our watching through the dark hours.\u201d She replied:\u2014With love and\ngladness.[259] It hath reached me, O magnificent King, that whilome\nthere was in the city of Baghdad, a comely youth and a well-bred, fair\nof favour, tall of stature, and slender of shape. His name was Al\u00e1\nal-D\u00edn and he was of the chiefs of the sons of the merchants and had a\nshop wherein he sold and bought. One day, as he sat in his shop, there\npassed by him a merry girl[260] who raised her head and casting a glance\nat the young merchant, saw written in a flowing hand on the\nforehead[261] of his shop door these words, \u201cTHERE BE NO CRAFT SAVE\nMEN\u2019S CRAFT, FORASMUCH AS IT OVERCOMETH WOMEN\u2019S CRAFT.\u201d When she beheld\nthis, she was wroth and took counsel with herself, saying, \u201cAs my head\nliveth, there is no help but I show him a marvel-trick of the wiles of\nwomen and put to naught this his inscription!\u201d Thereupon she hied her\nhome; and on the morrow she made her ready and donning the finest of\ndress, adorned herself with the costliest of ornaments and the highest\nof price and stained her hands with Henna. Then she let down her tresses\nupon her shoulders and went forth, walking with coquettish gait and\namorous grace, followed by her slave-girl carrying a parcel, till she\ncame to the young merchant\u2019s shop and sitting down under pretext of\nseeking stuffs, saluted him with the salam and demanded of him somewhat\nof cloths. So he brought out to her various kinds and she took them and\nturned them over, talking with him the while. Then said she to him,\n\u201cLook at the shapeliness of my shape and my semblance! Seest thou in me\naught of default?\u201d He replied, \u201cNo, O my lady;\u201d and she continued, \u201cIs\nit lawful in any one that he should slander me and say that I am\nhumpbacked?\u201d Then she discovered to him a part of her bosom, and when he\nsaw her breasts his reason took flight from his head and his heart clave\nto her and he cried, \u201cCover it up,[262] so may Allah veil thee!\u201d Quoth\nshe, \u201cIs it fair of any one to decry my charms?\u201d and quoth he, \u201cHow\nshall any decry thy charms, and thou the sun of loveliness?\u201d Then said\nshe, \u201cHath any the right to say of me that I am lophanded?\u201d and tucking\nup her sleeves, she showed him forearms as they were crystal; after\nwhich she unveiled to him a face, as it were a full moon breaking forth\non its fourteenth night, and said to him, \u201cIs it lawful and right for\nany to decry me and declare that my face is pitted with small-pox or\nthat I am one-eyed or crop-eared?\u201d and said he, \u201cO my lady, what is it\nmoveth thee to discover unto me that lovely face and those fair limbs,\nwont to be so jealously veiled and guarded? Tell me the truth of the\nmatter, may I be thy ransom!\u201d And he began to improvise:\u2014[263]\n\n White Fair now drawn from sheath of parted hair, \u273f Then in the blackest\n tresses hid from sight,\n Flasheth like day irradiating Earth \u273f While round her glooms the murk of\n nightliest night.\n\n\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her\npermitted say. Whereupon cried Dunyazad her sister, \u201cO sister mine, how\ndelectable is this tale and how desirable!\u201d She replied, saying, \u201cAnd\nwhere is this compared with that which I will recount to thee next\nnight, Inshallah?\u201d\n\n\n The Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night.\n\nNow when came the night, quoth Dunyazad to her sister Shahrazad, \u201cO\nsister mine, an thou incline not unto sleep, prithee finish thy tale\nwhich shall beguile our watching through the dark hours.\u201d She\nreplied:\u2014With love and gladness! It hath reached me, O auspicious King,\nthat the girl said to the young merchant, \u201cKnow, O my lord, that I am a\nmaid oppressed of my sire, who speaketh at me and saith to me, Thou art\nloathly of looks and semblance and it besitteth not that thou wear rich\nraiment; for thou and the slave girls are like in rank, there is no\ndistinguishing thee from them. Now he is a richard, having a mighty\ngreat store of money and saith not thus save because he is a pinchpenny,\nand grudgeth the spending of a farthing; wherefore he is loath to marry\nme, lest he be put to somewhat of expense in my marriage, albeit\nAlmighty Allah hath been bounteous to him and he is a man puissant in\nhis time and lacking naught of worldly weal.\u201d The youth asked, \u201cWho is\nthy father and what is his condition?\u201d and she answered, \u201cHe is the\nChief Kazi of the well-known Supreme Court, under whose hands are all\nthe Kazis who administer justice in this city.\u201d The merchant believed\nher and she farewelled him and fared away, leaving in his heart a\nthousand regrets, for that the love of her had prevailed over him and he\nknew not how he should win to her; wherefore he woned enamoured,\nlove-distracted, unknowing if he were alive or dead. As soon as she was\ngone, he shut up shop and walked straightway to the Court, where he went\nin to the Chief Kazi and saluted him. The magistrate returned his salam\nand treated him with distinction and seated him by his side. Then said\nAla al-Din to him, \u201cI come to thee seeking thine alliance and desiring\nthe hand of thy noble daughter.\u201d Quoth the Kazi, \u201cO my lord merchant,\nwelcome to thee and fair welcome; but indeed my daughter befitteth not\nthe like of thee, neither beseemeth she the goodliness of thy youth and\nthe pleasantness of thy composition and the sweetness of thy speech;\u201d\nbut Ala al-Din replied, \u201cThis talk becometh thee not, neither is it\nseemly in thee; if I be content with her, how should this vex thee?\u201d So\nthe Kazi was satisfied and they came to an accord and concluded the\nmarriage contract at a dower precedent of five purses[264] ready money\nand a dower contingent of fifteen purses, so it might be hard for him to\nput her away, her father having given him fair warning, but he would not\nbe warned. Then they wrote out the contract-document and the merchant\nsaid \u201cI desire to go in to her this night.\u201d Accordingly they carried her\nto him in procession that very evening, and he prayed the night-prayer\nand entered the private chamber prepared for him; but, when he lifted\nthe head-gear from the bride\u2019s head and the veil from her face and\nlooked, he saw a foul face and a favour right fulsome; indeed he beheld\nsomewhat whereof may Allah never show thee the like! loathly, dispensing\nfrom description, inasmuch as there were reckoned in her all legal\ndefects.[265] So he repented, when repentance availed him naught, and\nknew that the girl had cheated him.\u2014\u2014And Shaharazad perceived the dawn\nof day and ceased to say her permitted say. Whereupon cried Dunyazad,\nher sister, \u201cO sister mine, how delectable is thy story and how sweet!\u201d\nShe replied, saying, \u201cAnd where is this compared with that which I will\nrecount to thee next night an I be spared and suffered to live by the\nKing, whom Almighty Allah preserve?\u201d\n\n\n The Hundred and Ninety-eighth Night.\n\nNow whenas came the night, quoth Dunyazad to her sister Shahrazad, \u201cO\nsister mine, an thou incline not unto sleep, prithee finish thy story\nwhich shall beguile our watching through the dark hours, for indeed \u2019tis\na fine tale and a wondrous.\u201d She replied:\u2014With love and gladness! It\nhath reached me, O generous King, that the unhappy merchant carnally\nknew the loathly bride, sore against the grain, and abode that night\ntroubled in mind, as he were in the prison of Al-Daylam.[266] Hardly had\nthe day dawned when he arose from her side and betaking himself to one\nof the Hammams, dozed there awhile, after which he made the\nGhusl-ablution of ceremonial impurity[267] and donned his every day\ndress. Then he went out to the coffee house and drank a cup of coffee;\nafter which he returned to his shop and opening the door, sat down, with\nconcern and chagrin manifest on his countenance. After an hour or so,\nhis friends and intimates among the merchants and people of the market\nbegan to come up to him, by ones and twos; to give him joy, and said to\nhim, laughing, \u201cA blessing! a blessing! Where be the sweetmeats? Where\nbe the coffee?[268] \u2019Twould seem thou hast forgotten us; and nothing\nmade thee oblivious save that the charms of the bride have disordered\nthy wit and taken thy reason, Allah help thee! We give thee joy, we give\nthee joy.\u201d And they mocked at him whilst he kept silence before them,\nbeing like to rend his raiment and shed tears for rage. Then they went\naway from him, and when it was the hour of noon, up came his mistress,\nthe crafty girl, trailing her skirts and swaying to and fro in her gait,\nas she were a branch of Ban in a garden of bloom. She was yet more\nrichly dressed and adorned and more striking and cutting[269] in her\nsymmetry and grace than on the previous day, so that she made the\npassers stop and stand in espalier to gaze upon her. When she came to\nAla al-Din\u2019s shop, she sat down thereon and said to him, \u201cBlessed be the\nday to thee, O my lord Ala al-Din! Allah prosper thee and be good to\nthee and perfect thy gladness and make it a wedding of weal and\nwelfare!\u201d He knitted his brows and frowned in answer to her; then asked\nher, \u201cWherein have I failed of thy due, or what have I done to harm\nthee, that thou shouldst requite me after this fashion?\u201d She answered,\n\u201cThou hast been no wise in default; but \u2019tis yonder inscription written\non the door of thy shop that irketh me and vexeth my heart. An thou have\nthe courage to change it and write up the contrary thereof, I will\ndeliver thee from thine evil plight.\u201d And he answered, \u201cThy requirement\nis right easy: on my head and eyes!\u201d So saying he brought out a\nsequin[270] and summoning one of his Mamelukes, said to him, \u201cGet thee\nto Such-an-one the Scribe and bid him write us an epigraph, adorned with\ngold and lapis lazuli, in these words, THERE BE NO CRAFT SAVE WOMEN\u2019S\nCRAFT, FOR INDEED THEIR CRAFT IS A MIGHTY CRAFT[271] AND OVERCOMETH AND\nHUMBLETH THE FALSES OF MEN.\u201d And she said to the white slave, \u201cFare thee\nforthright.\u201d So he repaired to the Scribe, who wrote him the scroll, and\nhe brought it to his master, who set it on the door and asked the\ndamsel, \u201cIs thy heart satisfied?\u201d She answered, \u201cYes! Arise forthwith\nand get thee to the place before the citadel, where do thou foregather\nwith all the mountebanks and ape-dancers and bear-leaders and drummers\nand pipers and bid them come to thee to-morrow early, with their\nkettle-drums and flageolets, whilst thou art drinking coffee with thy\nfather-in-law the Kazi, and congratulate thee and wish thee joy,\nsaying:\u2014A blessing, O son of our uncle! Indeed, thou art the vein[272]\nof our eye! We rejoice for thee, and if thou be ashamed of us, verily we\npride ourselves upon thee; so, although thou banish us from thee, know\nthat we will not forsake thee, albeit thou forsake us. And do thou fall\nto throwing dinars and dirhams amongst them; whereupon the Kazi will\nquestion thee, and do thou answer him, saying:\u2014My father was an\nape-dancer and this is our original condition; but our Lord opened on us\nthe gate of fortune and we have gotten us a name amongst the merchants\nand with their provost. Upon this he will say to thee, Then thou art an\nape-leader of the tribe of the mountebanks? and do thou rejoin, I may in\nnowise deny my origin, for the sake of thy daughter and in her honour.\nThe Kazi will say, It may not be that thou shalt be given the daughter\nof a Shaykh who sitteth upon the carpet of the Law and whose descent is\ntraceable by genealogy to the loins of the Apostle of Allah,[273] nor is\nit meet that his daughter be in the power of a man who is an ape-dancer,\na minstrel. Then do thou reply, Nay, O Efendi, she is my lawful wife,\nand every hair of her is worth a thousand lives, and I will not put her\naway though I be given the kingship of the world. At last be thou\npersuaded to speak the word of divorce and so shall the marriage be\nvoided and ye be saved each from other.\u201d Quoth Ala al-Din, \u201cRight is thy\nrede,\u201d and locking up his shop, betook himself to the place\u2014\u2014And\nShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.\nWhereupon cried Dunyazad, her sister, \u201cO sister mine, how goodly is thy\nstory and how sweet!\u201d She replied, saying, \u201cAnd where is this compared\nwith that which I will recount to thee next night, Inshallah!\u201d\n\n\n The Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night.\n\nAnd whenas came the night, quoth Dunyazad to her sister, \u201cO sister mine,\nan thou incline not unto sleep, pray finish thy tale which shall beguile\nour watching through the dark hours.\u201d She replied:\u2014With love and\ngladness! It hath reached me, O generous King, that the young merchant\nbetook himself to the place before the citadel, where he foregathered\nwith the dancers, the drummers and pipers and instructed them how they\nshould do, promising them a mighty fine reward. They received his word\nwith \u201cHearing and obeying;\u201d and he betook himself on the morrow, after\nthe morning prayer, to the presence of the Judge, who received him with\nhumble courtesy and seated him by his side. Then he addressed him and\nbegan questioning him of matters of selling and buying and of the price\ncurrent of the various commodities which were carried to Baghdad from\nall quarters, whilst his son-in-law replied to all whereof he was\nquestioned. As they were thus conversing, behold, up came the dancers\nand drummers with their drums and pipers with their pipes, whilst one of\ntheir number preceded them, with a long pennon-like banner in his hand,\nand played all manner antics with voice and limbs. When they came to the\nCourt-house, the Kazi cried, \u201cI seek refuge with Allah from yonder\nSatans!\u201d and the young merchant laughed but said naught. Then they\nentered and saluting his worship the Kazi, kissed Ala al-Din\u2019s hands and\nsaid, \u201cA blessing on thee, O son of our uncle! Indeed, thou coolest our\neyes in whatso thou doest, and we beseech Allah for the enduring\ngreatness of our lord the Kazi, who hath honoured us by admitting thee\nto his connection and hath allotted to us a portion in his high rank and\ndegree.\u201d When the Judge heard this talk, it bewildered his wit and he\nwas dazed and his face flushed with rage, and quoth he to his\nson-in-law, \u201cWhat words are these?\u201d Quoth the merchant, \u201cKnowest thou\nnot, O my lord, that I am of this tribe? Indeed this man is the son of\nmy maternal uncle and that other the son of my paternal uncle, and if I\nbe reckoned of the merchants, \u2019tis but by courtesy!\u201d When the Kazi heard\nthese words his colour changed\u2014\u2014And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day,\nwhereupon cried Dunyazad her sister \u201cO sister mine, how delectable is\nthy story and how desirable!\u201d She replied, saying, \u201cAnd where is its\nfirst compared with its last? But I will forthwith relate it to you an I\nbe spared and suffered to live by the King, whom may Allah the Most High\nkeep!\u201d Quoth the King within himself, \u201cBy the Almighty, I will not slay\nher until I hear the end of her tale!\u201d\n\n\n The Two Hundredth Night of the Thousand Nights and a Night.\n\nNow whenas came the night, quoth Dunyazad to her sister, \u201cO sister mine,\nan thou incline not unto sleep, prithee finish thy tale which shall\nbeguile our watching through the dark hours.\u201d She replied:\u2014With love and\ngladness! It hath reached me, O auspicious king, that the Kazi\u2019s colour\nchanged and he was troubled and waxed wroth with exceeding wrath and was\nlike to burst for stress of rage. Then said he to the young merchant,\n\u201cAllah forfend that this should last! How shall it be permitted that the\ndaughter of the Kazi of the Moslems cohabit with a man of the dancers\nand vile of origin? By Allah, unless thou repudiate her forthright, I\nwill bid beat thee and cast thee into prison and there confine thee till\nthou die. Had I foreknown that thou wast of them, I had not suffered\nthee near me, but had spat in thy face, for that thou art more\nill-omened than a dog or a hog.\u201d[274] Then he kicked him down from his\nplace and commanded him to divorce; but he said, \u201cBe ruthful to me, O\nEfendi, for that Allah is ruthful, and hasten not: I will not divorce my\nwife, though thou give me the kingdom of Al-Irak.\u201d The Judge was\nperplexed and knew that compulsion was not permitted of Holy Law;[275]\nso he bespake the young merchant fair and said to him, \u201cVeil me,[276] so\nmay Allah veil thee. An thou divorce her not, this dishonour shall\ncleave to me till the end of time.\u201d Then his fury gat the better of his\nwit and he cried, \u201cAn thou divorce her not of thine own will, I will\nforthright bid strike off thy head and slay myself; Hell-flame but not\nshame.\u201d[277] The merchant bethought himself awhile, then divorced her\nwith a manifest divorce and a public[278] and on this wise he won free\nfrom that unwelcome worry. Then he returned to his shop and presently\nsought in marriage of her father her who had done with him what she\ndid[279] and who was the daughter of the Shaykh of the guild of the\nblacksmiths. So he took her to wife and they abode each with other and\nlived the pleasantest of lives and the most delightsome, till the day of\ndeath: and praise be to Allah the Lord of the Three Worlds.\n\n[Illustration: _A. Lalauze, Pinx. et Sc._]\n\n\n\n\n NUR AL-DIN ALI OF DAMASCUS AND THE DAMSEL SITT AL-MILAH.[280]\n\n\nThere was once, in days of yore and in ages and times long gone before,\na merchant of the merchants of Damascus, by name Abu al-Hasan, who had\nmoney and means, slave-blacks and slave-girls, lands and gardens, houses\nand Hammams in that city; but he was not blessed with boon of child and\nindeed his age waxed great. So he addressed himself to supplicate[281]\nAllah Almighty in private and in public and in his bows and his\nprostrations and at the season of prayer-call, beseeching Him to\nvouchsafe him, before his decease, a son who should inherit his wealth\nand possessions. The Lord answered his prayer; his wife conceived and\nthe days of her pregnancy were accomplished and her months and her\nnights; and the travail-pangs came upon her and she gave birth to a boy,\nas he were a slice of Luna. He had not his match for beauty and he put\nto shame the sun and the resplendent moon; for he had a beaming face and\nblack eyes of B\u00e1bil\u00ed witchery[282] and aquiline nose and carnelian lips;\nin fine, he was perfect of attributes, the loveliest of folk of his\ntime, sans dubitation or gainsaying. His father joyed in him with\nexceeding joy and his heart was solaced and he was at last happy: he\nmade banquets to the folk and he clad the poor and the widows. Presently\nhe named the boy S\u00edd\u00ed Nur al-Din Ali and reared him in fondness and\ndelight among the hand-maids and thralls. When he had passed his seventh\nyear, his father put him to school, where he learned the sublime Koran\nand the arts of writing and reckoning; and when he reached his tenth\nyear, he was taught horsemanship and archery and to occupy himself with\narts and sciences of all kinds, part and parts.[283] He grew up pleasant\nand polite, winsome and lovesome; a ravishment to all who saw him, and\nhe inclined to companying with brethren and comrades and mixing with\nmerchants and travelled men. From these he heard tell of that which they\nhad witnessed of the wonders of the cities in their wayfare and heard\nthem say, \u201cWhoso journeyeth not enjoyeth naught;[284] especially of the\ncity of Baghdad.\u201d So he was concerned with exceeding concern for his\nlack of travel and disclosed this to his sire, who said to him, \u201cO my\nson, why do I see thee chagrined?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI would fain travel;\u201d and\nquoth Abu al-Hasan, \u201cO my son, none travelleth save those whose need is\nurgent and those who are compelled thereto by want. As for thee, O my\nson, thou enjoyest ample means; so do thou content thyself with that\nwhich Allah hath given thee and be bounteous to others, even as He hath\nbeen bountiful to thee; and afflict not thyself with the toil and\ntribulation of travel, for indeed it is said that travel is a piece of\nHell-torment.\u201d[285] But the youth said, \u201cNeeds must I journey to\nBaghdad, the House of Peace.\u201d When his father saw the strength of his\nresolve to travel, he fell in with his wishes and fitted him out with\nfive thousand dinars in cash and the like in merchandise and sent with\nhim two serving-men. So the youth fared forth, on the blessing of Allah\nAlmighty;[286] and his parent went out with him, to take leave of him,\nand returned to Damascus. As for Nur al-Din Ali, he ceased not\ntravelling days and nights till he entered Baghdad city, and laying up\nhis loads in the Wak\u00e1lah[287], made for the Hammam-bath, where he did\naway that which was upon him of the soil of the road and doffing his\ntravelling clothes, donned a costly suit of Yaman\u00ed stuff, worth an\nhundred dinars. Then he loaded his sleeve with a thousand miskals of\ngold and sallied forth a-walking and swaying gracefully as he paced\nalong. His gait confounded all those who gazed upon him, as he shamed\nthe branches with his shape and belittled the rose with the redness of\nhis cheeks and his black eyes of Babil\u00ed witchcraft: thou wouldst deem\nthat whoso looked on him would surely be preserved from bane and\nbale;[288] for he was even as saith of him one of his describers in\nthese couplets:\u2014\n\n Thy haters and enviers say for jeer \u273f A true say that profits what ears\n will hear;\n \u201cNo boast is his whom the gear adorns; \u273f The boast be his who adorns the\n gear!\u201d\n\nSo Sidi Nur al-Din went walking in the highways of the city and viewing\nits edifices and its bazars and thoroughfares and gazing on its folk.\nPresently, Ab\u00fa Now\u00e1s met him. (Now he was of those of whom it is said,\n\u201cThey love fair lads,\u201d and indeed there is said what is said concerning\nhim).[289] When he saw Nur al-Din Ali, he stared at him in amazement and\nexclaimed, \u201cSay, I take refuge with the Lord of the Daybreak!\u201d Then he\naccosted the youth and saluting him, asked him, \u201cWhy do I see my lord\nlone and lorn? Meseemeth thou art a stranger and knowest not this\ncountry; so, with leave of my lord, I will put myself at his service and\nacquaint him with the streets, for that I know this city.\u201d Nur al-Din\nanswered, \u201cThis will be of thy favour, O nuncle.\u201d Abu Nowas rejoiced at\nthis and fared on with him, showing him the streets and bazars, till\nthey came to the house of a slave-dealer, where he stopped and said to\nthe youth, \u201cFrom what city art thou?\u201d \u201cFrom Damascus,\u201d replied Nur\nal-Din; and Abu Nowas said, \u201cBy Allah, thou art from a blessed city,\neven as saith of it the poet in these couplets:\u2014\n\n Now is Damascus a garth adorned \u273f For her seekers, the Houris and\n Paradise-boys.\u201d\n\nSidi Nur al-Din thanked him and the twain entered the mansion of the\nslave-merchant. When the people of the house saw Abu Nowas, they rose to\ndo him reverence, for that which they knew of his rank with the\nCommander of the Faithful; and the slave-dealer himself came up to them\nwith two chairs whereon they seated themselves. Then the slave-merchant\nwent inside and returning with a slave-girl, as she were a branch of Ban\nor a rattan-cane, clad in a vest of damask silk and tired with a black\nand white headdress whose ends fell down over her face, seated her on a\nchair of ebony; after which he cried to those who were present, \u201cI will\ndiscover to you a favour as it were a full moon breaking forth from\nunder a cloud-bank.\u201d They replied, \u201cDo so;\u201d whereupon he unveiled the\ndamsel\u2019s face and behold, she was like the shining sun, with shapely\nshape and dawn-bright cheeks and thready waist and heavy hips; brief,\nshe was endowed with an elegance, whose description is unfound, and was\neven as saith of her the poet:[290]\u2014\n\n A fair one, to idolaters if she herself should show, They\u2019d leave their\n idols and her face for only Lord would know;\n And if into the briny sea one day she chanced to spit, Assuredly the\n salt sea\u2019s floods straight fresh and sweet would grow.\n\nThe dealer stood at the hand-maid\u2019s head and one of the merchants said,\n\u201cI bid a thousand dinars for her.\u201d Quoth another, \u201cI bid one thousand\none hundred dinars;\u201d and a third, \u201cI bid twelve hundred.\u201d Then said a\nfourth merchant, \u201cBe she mine for fourteen hundred ducats.\u201d And the\nbiddings standing still at that sum, her owner said, \u201cI will not sell\nher save with her consent: an if she desire to be sold, I will sell her\nto whom she willeth.\u201d The slave-dealer asked him, \u201cWhat is her name?\u201d\nAnswered the other, \u201cHer name is Sitt al-Mil\u00e1h;\u201d[291] whereupon the\ndealer said to her, \u201cWith thy leave, I will sell thee to yonder merchant\nfor this price of fourteen hundred dinars.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cCome hither to\nme.\u201d So the man-vendor came up to her and when he drew near, she gave\nhim a kick with her foot and cast him to the ground, saying, \u201cI will not\nhave that oldster.\u201d The slave-dealer arose, shaking the dust from his\ndress and head, and cried, \u201cWho biddeth more of us? Who is\ndesirous?\u201d[292] Said one of the merchants, \u201cI,\u201d and the dealer said to\nher, \u201cO Sitt al-Milah, shall I sell thee to this merchant?\u201d She replied,\n\u201cCome hither to me;\u201d but he rejoined, \u201cNay; speak and I will hear thee\nfrom my place, for I will not trust myself to thee nor hold myself safe\nwhen near thee.\u201d So she cried, \u201cIndeed I will not have him.\u201d Then the\nslave-dealer looked at her and seeing her fix eyes on the young\nDamascene, for that in very deed he had fascinated her with his beauty\nand loveliness, went up to him and said to him, \u201cO my lord, art thou a\nlooker-on or a buyer? Tell me.\u201d Quoth Nur al-Din, \u201cI am both looker-on\nand buyer. Wilt thou sell me yonder slave-girl for sixteen hundred\nducats?\u201d And he pulled out the purse of gold. Hereupon the dealer\nreturned, dancing and clapping his hands and saying, \u201cSo be it, so be\nit, or not at all!\u201d Then he came to the damsel and said to her, \u201cO Sitt\nal-Milah, shall I sell thee to yonder young Damascene for sixteen\nhundred dinars?\u201d But she answered, \u201cNo,\u201d of bashfulness before her\nmaster and the bystanders; whereupon the people of the bazar and the\nslave-merchant departed, and Abu Nowas and Ali Nur al-Din arose and went\neach his own way, whilst the damsel returned to her owner\u2019s house, full\nof love for the young Damascene. When the night darkened on her, she\ncalled him to mind and her heart hung to him and sleep visited her not;\nand on this wise she abode days and nights, till she sickened and\nabstained from food. So her lord went in to her and asked her, \u201cO Sitt\nal-Milah, how findest thou thyself?\u201d Answered she, \u201cO my lord, dead\nwithout chance of deliverance and I beseech thee to bring me my shroud,\nso I may look upon it ere I die.\u201d Therewith he went out from her, sore\nconcerned for her, and betaking himself to the bazar, found a friend of\nhis, a draper, who had been present on the day when the damsel was cried\nfor sale. Quoth his friend to him, \u201cWhy do I see thee troubled?\u201d and\nquoth he, \u201cSitt al-Milah is at the point of death and for three days she\nhath neither eaten nor drunken. I questioned her to-day of her case and\nshe said:\u2014O my lord, buy me a shroud so I may look upon it ere I die.\u201d\nThe draper replied, \u201cMethinks naught aileth her but that she is in love\nwith the young Damascene, and I counsel thee to mention his name to her\nand declare to her that he hath foregathered with thee on her account\nand is desirous of coming to thy quarters, so he may hear somewhat of\nher singing. An she say:\u2014I reck not of him, for there is that to do with\nme which distracteth me from the Damascene and from other than he, know\nthat she saith sooth concerning her sickness; but, an she say thee other\nthan this, acquaint me therewith.\u201d So the man returned to his lodging\nand going in to his slave-girl said to her, \u201cO Sitt al-Milah, I went out\nfor thy need and there met me the young man of Damascus, and he saluted\nme with the salam and saluteth thee; he seeketh to win thy favour and\nprayed me to admit him as a guest in our dwelling, so thou mayst let him\nhear somewhat of thy singing.\u201d When she heard speak of the young\nDamascene, she gave a sob, that her soul was like to leave her body, and\nanswered, \u201cHe knoweth my plight and how these three days past I have not\neaten nor drunken, and I beseech thee, O my lord, by Allah of All-Might,\nto do thy duty by the stranger and bring him to my lodging and make\nexcuse to him for me.\u201d When her master heard this, his reason fled for\njoy, and he went to his familiar the draper and said to him, \u201cThou wast\nright in the matter of the damsel, for that she is in love with the\nyoung Damascene; so how shall I manage?\u201d Said the other, \u201cGo to the\nbazar and when thou seest him, salute him, and say to him:\u2014Thy departure\nthe other day, without winning thy wish, was grievous to me; so, an thou\nbe still minded to buy the maid, I will abate thee of that which thou\nbadest for her an hundred sequins by way of gaining thy favour; seeing\nthou be a stranger in our land. If he say to thee:\u2014I have no desire for\nher and hold off from thee, be assured that he will not buy; in which\ncase, let me know, so I may devise thee another device; and if he say to\nthee other than this, conceal not from me aught.\u201d So the girl\u2019s owner\nbetook himself to the bazar, where he found the youth seated at the\nupper end of the place where the merchants mostly do meet, selling and\nbuying and taking and giving, as he were the moon on the night of its\nfull, and saluted him. The young man returned his salam and he said to\nhim, \u201cO my lord, be not offended at the damsel\u2019s speech the other day,\nfor her price shall be lowered to the intent that I may secure thy\nfavour. An thou desire her for naught, I will send her to thee or an\nthou wouldst have me abate to thee her price, I will well, for I desire\nnothing save what shall content thee; seeing thou art a stranger in our\nland and it behoveth us to treat thee hospitably and have consideration\nfor thee.\u201d The youth replied, \u201cBy Allah, I will not take her from thee\nbut at an advance on that which I bade thee for her afore; so wilt thou\nnow sell her to me for one thousand and seven hundred dinars?\u201d And the\nother rejoined, \u201cO my lord, I sell her to thee, may Allah bless thee in\nher!\u201d Thereupon the young man went to his quarters and fetching a purse,\nsent for the girl\u2019s owner and weighed out to him the price aforesaid,\nwhilst the draper was between the twain. Then said he, \u201cBring her\nforth;\u201d but the other replied, \u201cShe cannot come forth at this present;\nbut be thou my guest the rest of this day and night, and on the morrow\nthou shalt take thy slave-girl and go in the ward of Allah.\u201d The youth\nagreed with him on this and he carried him to his house, where, after a\nlittle, he bade meat and wine be brought, and they ate and drank. Then\nsaid Nur al-Din to the girl\u2019s owner, \u201cI would have thee bring me the\ndamsel, because I bought her not but for the like of this time.\u201d So he\narose and going in to the girl, said to her, \u201cO Sitt al-Milah, the young\nman hath paid down thy price and we have bidden him hither; so he hath\ncome to our quarters and we have entertained him, and he would fain have\nthee be present with him.\u201d Therewith the damsel rose deftly and doffing\nher dress, bathed and donned sumptuous apparel and perfumed herself and\nwent out to him, as she were a branch of Ban or a cane of rattan,\nfollowed by a black slave-girl, bearing the lute. When she came to the\nyoung man, she saluted him and sat down by his side. Then she took the\nlute from the slave-girl and screwing up its pegs,[293] smote thereon in\nfour-and-twenty modes, after which she returned to the first and sang\nthese couplets:\u2014\n\n My joy in this world is to see and sit near thee, \u273f Thy love\u2019s my\n religion; thy Union my pleasure.\n Attest it these tears when in memory I speer thee, \u273f And unchecked down\n my cheeks pours the flood without measure.\n By Allah, no rival in love hast to fear thee; \u273f I\u2019m thy slave as I\n sware, and this troth is my treasure.\n Be not this our last meeting: by Allah I swear thee \u273f Thy severance to\n me were most bitter displeasure!\n\nThe young man was moved to delight and cried, \u201cBy Allah, thou sayest\nwell, O Sitt al-Milah! Let me hear more.\u201d Then he largessed her with\nfifty gold pieces and they drank and the cups made circuit among them;\nand her seller said to her, \u201cO Sitt al-Milah, this is the season of\nfarewelling; so let us hear somewhat thereon.\u201d Accordingly she struck\nthe lute and touching upon that which was in her heart, improvised these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n I thole longing, remembrance and sad repine, \u273f Nor my heart can brook\n woes in so lengthened line.\n O my lords think not I forget your love; \u273f My case is sure case and cure\n shows no sign.\n If creature could swim in the flood of his tears, \u273f I were first to swim\n in these floods of brine:\n O Cup-boy withhold cup and bowl from a wretch \u273f Who ne\u2019er ceaseth to\n drink of her tears for wine!\n Had I known that parting would do me die, \u273f I had shirked to part,\n but\u2014\u2019twas Fate\u2019s design.\n\nNow whilst they were thus enjoying whatso is most delicious of ease and\ndelight, and indeed the wine was to them sweet and the talk a treat,\nbehold, there came a knocking at the door. So the house-master went out,\nthat he might see what might be the matter, and found ten head of the\nCaliph\u2019s eunuchs at the entrance. When he saw this, he was startled and\nsaid, \u201cWhat is to do?\u201d \u201cThe Commander of the Faithful saluteth thee and\nrequireth of thee the slave-girl whom thou hast exposed for sale and\nwhose name is Sitt al-Milah.\u201d \u201cBy Allah, I have sold her.\u201d \u201cSwear by the\nhead of the Commander of the Faithful that she is not in thy quarters.\u201d\nThe slaver made oath that he had sold her and that she was no longer at\nhis disposal: yet they paid no heed to his word and forcing their way\ninto the house, found the damsel and the young Damascene in the\nsitting-chamber. So they laid hands upon her, and the youth said, \u201cThis\nis my slave-girl, whom I have bought with my money;\u201d but they hearkened\nnot to his speech and taking her, carried her off to the Prince of True\nBelievers. Therewith Nur al-Din\u2019s pleasure was troubled: he arose and\ndonned his dress, and his host said, \u201cWhither away this night, O my\nlord?\u201d Said he, \u201cI purpose going to my quarters, and to-morrow I will\nbetake myself to the palace of the Commander of the Faithful and demand\nmy slave-girl.\u201d The other replied, \u201cSleep till the morning, and fare not\nforth at the like of this hour.\u201d But he rejoined, \u201cNeeds must I go;\u201d and\nthe host said to him, \u201cGo in Allah his safeguard.\u201d So the youth went\nforth and, drunkenness having got the mastery of his wits, he threw\nhimself down on a bench before one of the shops. Now the watchmen were\nat that hour making their rounds and they smelt the sweet scent of\nessences and wine that reeked from him; so they made for it and suddenly\nbeheld the youth lying on the bench, without sign of recovering. They\npoured water upon him, and he awoke, whereupon they carried him to the\noffice of the Chief of Police and he questioned him of his case. He\nreplied, \u201cO my lord, I am an alien in this town and have been with one\nof my friends: I came forth from his house and drunkenness overcame me.\u201d\nThe Wali bade carry him to his lodging; but one of those in attendance\nupon him, Al-Mur\u00e1di hight, said to him, \u201cWhat wilt thou do? This man is\nrobed in rich raiment and on his finger is a golden ring, whose bezel is\na ruby of great price; so we will carry him away and slay him and take\nthat which is upon him of clothes and bring to thee all we get; for that\nthou wilt not often see profit the like thereof, especially as this\nfellow is a foreigner and there is none to ask after him.\u201d[294] Quoth\nthe Chief, \u201cThis wight is a thief and that which he saith is leasing.\u201d\nNur al-Din said, \u201cAllah forfend that I should be a thief!\u201d but the Wali\nanswered, \u201cThou liest.\u201d So they stripped him of his clothes and taking\nthe seal-ring from his finger, beat him with a grievous beating, what\nwhile he cried out for succour, but none succoured him, and besought\nprotection, but none protected him. Then said he to them, \u201cO folk, ye\nare quit[295] of that which ye have taken from me; but now restore me to\nmy lodging.\u201d They replied, \u201cLeave this knavery, O rascal! thine intent\nis to sue us for thy clothes on the morrow.\u201d The youth cried, \u201cBy the\ntruth of the One, the Eternal One, I will not sue any for them!\u201d but\nthey said, \u201cWe find no way to this.\u201d And the Prefect bade them bear him\nto the Tigris and there slay him and cast him into the stream. So they\ndragged him away, while he wept and said the words which shall nowise\nshame the sayer: \u201cThere is no Majesty and there is no Might save in\nAllah, the Glorious, the Great!\u201d When they came to the Tigris, one of\nthem drew the sword upon him and Al-Muradi said to the sworder, \u201cSmite\noff his head;\u201d but one of them, hight Ahmad, cried, \u201cO folk, deal softly\nwith this poor wretch and slay him not unjustly and wickedly, for I\nstand in fear of Allah Almighty, lest He burn me with his fire.\u201d Quoth\nAl-Muradi, \u201cA truce to this talk!\u201d and quoth the Ahmad aforesaid, \u201cAn ye\ndo with him aught, I will acquaint the Commander of the Faithful.\u201d They\nasked, \u201cHow, then, shall we do with him?\u201d and he answered, \u201cLet us\ndeposit him in prison and I will be answerable to you for his provision;\nso shall we be quit of his blood, for indeed he is a wronged man.\u201d\nAccordingly they agreed to this and taking him up cast him into the\nPrison of Blood,[296] and then went their ways. So far as regards them;\nbut returning to the damsel, they carried her to the Commander of the\nFaithful and she pleased him; so he assigned her a chamber of the\nchambers of choice. She tarried in the palace, neither eating nor\ndrinking and weeping sans surcease night and day, till, one night, the\nCaliph sent for her to his sitting-hall and said to her, \u201cO Sitt\nal-Milah, be of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool of tear, for I will\nmake thy rank higher than any of the concubines and thou shalt see that\nwhich shall rejoice thee.\u201d She kissed ground and wept; whereupon the\nPrince of True Believers called for her lute and bade her sing: so in\naccordance with that which was in her heart, she sang these improvised\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n By the sheen of thy soul and the sheen of thy smile[297], \u273f Say, moan\u2019st\n thou for doubt or is\u2019t ring-dove\u2019s moan?\n How many have died who by love were slain! \u273f Fails my patience but\n blaming my blamers wone.\n\nNow when she had made an end of her song, she threw the lute from her\nhand and wept till she fainted away, whereupon the Caliph bade carry her\nto her chamber. But he was fascinated by her and loved her with\nexceeding love; so, after a while, he again commanded to bring her in to\nthe presence, and when she came, he ordered her sing. Accordingly, she\ntook the lute and chanted to it that which was in her heart and\nimprovised these couplets:\u2014\n\n Have I patience and strength to support this despair? \u273f Ah, how couldst\n thou purpose afar to fare?\n Thou art swayed by the spy to my cark and care: \u273f No marvel an branchlet\n sway here and there![298]\n With unbearable load thou wouldst load me, still \u273f Thou loadest with\n love which I theewards bear.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThen she cast the lute from her hand and fainted away; so she was\ncarried to her sleeping-chamber and indeed passion grew upon her. After\na long while, the Prince of True Believers sent for her a third time and\ncommanded her to sing. So she took the lute and chanted these couplets:\u2014\n\n O of piebald wild ye dunes sandy and drear, \u273f Shall the teenful lover\n \u2019scape teen and tear?\n Shall ye see me joined with a lover, who \u273f Still flies or shall meet we\n in joyful cheer?\n O hail to the fawn with the Houri eye, \u273f Like sun or moon on horizon\n clear!\n He saith to lovers, \u201cWhat look ye on?\u201d \u273f And to stony hearts, \u201cSay, what\n love ye dear\u201d?[299]\n I pray to Him who departed us \u273f With severance-doom, \u201cBe our union\n near!\u201d\n\nWhen she had made an end of her verse, the Commander of the Faithful\nsaid to her, \u201cO damsel, thou art in love.\u201d She replied, \u201cYes;\u201d and he\nasked, \u201cWith whom?\u201d Answered she, \u201cWith my lord and sovran of my\ntenderness, for whom my love is as the love of the earth for rain, or as\nthe desire of the female for the male; and indeed the love of him is\nmingled with my flesh and my blood and hath entered into the channels of\nmy bones. O Prince of True Believers, whenever I call him to mind my\nvitals are consumed, for that I have not yet won my wish of him, and but\nthat I fear to die, without seeing him, I had assuredly slain myself.\u201d\nThereupon quoth he, \u201cArt thou in my presence and durst bespeak me with\nthe like of these words? Forsure I will gar thee forget thy lord.\u201d Then\nhe bade take her away; so she was carried to her pavilion and he sent\nher a concubine, with a casket wherein were three thousand ducats and a\ncollar of gold set with seed-pearls and great unions, and jewels, worth\nother three thousand, saying to her, \u201cThe slave-girl and that which is\nwith her are a gift from me to thee.\u201d When she heard this, she cried,\n\u201cAllah forfend that I be consoled for the love of my lord and my master,\nthough with an earth-full of gold!\u201d And she improvised and recited these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n By his life I swear, by his life I pray; \u273f For him fire I\u2019d enter unful\n dismay!\n \u201cConsole thee (cry they) with another fere \u273f Thou lovest!\u201d and I, \u201cBy\u2019s\n life, nay, NAY!\u201d\n He\u2019s moon whom beauty and grace array; \u273f From whose cheeks and brow\n shineth light of day.\n\nThen the Commander of the Faithful summoned her to his presence a fourth\ntime and said, \u201cO Sitt al-Milah, sing.\u201d So she recited and sang these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n The lover\u2019s heart by his beloved is oft dishearten\u00e8d \u273f And by the hand\n of sickness eke his sprite dispirit\u00e8d,\n One asked, \u201cWhat is the taste of love?\u201d[300] and I to him replied, \u273f\n \u201cLove is a sweet at first but oft in fine unsweeten\u00e8d.\u201d\n I am the thrall of Love who keeps the troth of love to them[301] \u273f But\n oft they proved themselves \u2019Urk\u00fab[302] in pact with me they made.\n What in their camp remains? They bound their loads and fared away; \u273f To\n other feres the veil\u00e8d Fairs in curtained litters sped;\n At every station the beloved showed all of Joseph\u2019s charms: \u273f The lover\n woned with Jacob\u2019s woe in every shift of stead.\n\nWhen she had made an end of her song, she threw the lute from her hand\nand wept herself a-swoon. So they sprinkled on her musk-mingled\nrose-water and willow-flower water; and when she came to her senses,\nAl-Rashid said to her, \u201cO Sitt al-Milah, this is not just dealing in\nthee. We love thee and thou lovest another.\u201d She replied, \u201cO Commander\nof the Faithful, there is no help for it.\u201d Thereupon he was wroth with\nher and cried, \u201cBy the virtue of Hamzah[303] and \u2019Ak\u00edl[304] and\nMohammed, Prince of the Apostles, an thou name in my presence one other\nthan I, I will assuredly order strike off thy head!\u201d Then he bade return\nher to her chamber, whilst she wept and recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n \u201cOh brave!\u201d I\u2019d cry an I my death could view; \u273f My death were better\n than these griefs to rue,\n Did sabre hew me limb by limb; this were \u273f Naught to affright a lover\n leal-true.\n\nThen the Caliph went in to the Lady Zubaydah, complexion-altered with\nanger, and she noted this in him and said to him, \u201cHow cometh it that I\nsee the Commander of the Faithful changed of colour?\u201d He replied, \u201cO\ndaughter of my uncle, I have a beautiful slave-girl, who reciteth verses\nby rote and telleth various tales, and she hath taken my whole heart;\nbut she loveth other than myself and declareth that she affecteth her\nformer lord; so I have sworn a great oath that, if she come again to my\nsitting-hall and sing for other than for me, I will assuredly shorten\nher highest part by a span.\u201d[305] Quoth Zubaydah, \u201cLet the Commander of\nthe Faithful favour me by presenting her, so I may look on her and hear\nher singing.\u201d Accordingly he bade fetch her and she came, upon which the\nLady Zubaydah withdrew behind the curtain,[306] where the damsel saw her\nnot, and Al-Rashid said to her, \u201cSing to us.\u201d So she took the lute and\ntuning it, recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n O my lord! since the day when I lost your sight, \u273f My life was\n ungladdened, my heart full of teen;\n The memory of you kills me every night; \u273f And by all the worlds is my\n trace unseen;\n All for love of a Fawn who hath snared my sprite \u273f By his love and his\n brow as the morning sheen.\n Like a left hand parted from brother right \u273f I became by parting thro\u2019\n Fortune\u2019s spleen.\n On the brow of him Beauty deigned indite \u273f \u201cBlest be Allah, whom best of\n Creators I ween!\u201d\n And Him I pray, who could disunite \u273f To reunite us. Then cry\n \u201cAmeen!\u201d[307]\n\nWhen Al-Rashid heard the end of this, he waxed exceeding wroth and said,\n\u201cMay Allah not reunite you twain in gladness!\u201d Then he summoned the\nheadsman, and when he presented himself, he said to him, \u201cStrike off the\nhead of this accursed slave-girl.\u201d So Masrur took her by the hand and\nled her away; but, when she came to the door, she turned and said to the\nCaliph, \u201cO Commander of the Faithful, I conjure thee, by thy fathers and\nforefathers, behead me not until thou give ear to that I shall say!\u201d\nThen she improvised and recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n Emir of Justice, be to lieges kind \u273f For Justice ever guides thy\n generous mind;\n And, oh, who blamest love to him inclining! \u273f Are lovers blamed for\n l\u00e2ches undesigned?\n By Him who gave thee rule, deign spare my life \u273f For rule on earth He\n hath to thee assigned.\n\nThen Masrur carried her to the other end of the sitting-hall and bound\nher eyes and making her sit, stood awaiting a second order: whereupon\nquoth the Lady Zubaydah, \u201cO Prince of True Believers, with thy\npermission, wilt thou not vouchsafe this damsel a portion of thy\nclemency? An thou slay her, \u2019twere injustice.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cWhat is to be\ndone with her?\u201d and quoth she, \u201cForbear to slay her and send for her\nlord. If he be as she describeth him in beauty and loveliness, she is\nexcused, and if he be not on this wise then kill her, and this shall be\nthy plea against her.\u201d[308] Al-Rashid replied, \u201cNo harm in this rede;\u201d\nand caused return the damsel to her chamber, saying to her, \u201cThe Lady\nZubaydah saith thus and thus.\u201d She rejoined, \u201cGod requite her for me\nwith good! Indeed, thou dealest equitably, O Commander of the Faithful,\nin this judgment.\u201d And he retorted, \u201cGo now to thy place, and to-morrow\nwe will bid them bring thy lord.\u201d So she kissed ground and recited these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n I indeed will well for whom love I will: \u273f Let chider chide and let\n blamer blame:\n All lives must die at fixt tide and term \u273f But I must die ere my\n life-term came:\n Then Oh whose love hath afflicted me \u273f Well I will but thy presence in\n haste I claim.\n\nThen she arose and returned to her chamber. Now on the morrow, the\nCommander of the Faithful sat in his hall of audience and his Wazir\nJa\u2019afar bin Yahya the Barmecide came in to him; whereupon he called to\nhim, saying, \u201cI would have thee bring me a youth who is lately come to\nBaghdad, hight Sidi Nur al-Din Ali the Damascene.\u201d Quoth Ja\u2019afar,\n\u201cHearing and obeying,\u201d and going forth in quest of the youth, sent to\nthe bazars and Wakalahs and Khans for three successive days, but\ndiscovered no trace of him, neither happened upon the place of him. So\non the fourth day he presented himself before the Caliph and said to\nhim, \u201cO our lord, I have sought him these three days, but have not found\nhim.\u201d Said Al-Rashid, \u201cMake ready letters to Damascus. Peradventure he\nhath returned to his own land.\u201d Accordingly Ja\u2019afar wrote a letter and\ndespatched it by a dromedary-courier to the Damascus-city; and they\nsought him there and found him not. Meanwhile, news was brought that\nKhorasan had been conquered;[309] whereupon Al-Rashid rejoiced and bade\ndecorate Baghdad and release all in the gaol, giving each of them a\nducat and a dress. So Ja\u2019afar applied himself to the adornment of the\ncity and bade his brother Al-Fazl ride to the prison and robe and set\nfree the prisoners. Al-Fazl did as his brother commanded and released\nall save the young Damascene, who abode still in the Prison of Blood,\nsaying, \u201cThere is no Majesty, and there is no Might save in Allah, the\nGlorious, the Great! Verily, we are God\u2019s and to Him are we returning.\u201d\nThen quoth Al-Fazl to the gaoler, \u201cIs there any left in the prison?\u201d\nQuoth he, \u201cNo,\u201d and Al-Fazl was about to depart, when Nur al-Din called\nout to him from within the prison, saying, \u201cO our lord, tarry awhile,\nfor there remaineth none in the prison other than I and indeed I am\nwronged. This is a day of pardon and there is no disputing concerning\nit.\u201d Al-Fazl bade release him; so they set him free and he gave him a\ndress and a ducat. Thereupon the young man went out, bewildered and\nunknowing whither he should wend, for that he had sojourned in the gaol\na year or so and indeed his condition was changed and his favour fouled,\nand he abode walking and turning round, lest Al-Muradi come upon him and\ncast him into another calamity. When Al-Muradi learnt his release, he\nbetook himself to the Wali and said, \u201cO our lord, we are not assured of\nour lives from that youth, because he hath been freed from prison and we\nfear lest he complain of us.\u201d Quoth the Chief, \u201cHow shall we do?\u201d and\nquoth Al-Muradi, \u201cI will cast him into a calamity for thee.\u201d Then he\nceased not to follow the Damascene from place to place till he came up\nwith him in a narrow stead and _cul-de-sac_; whereupon he accosted him\nand casting a cord about his neck, cried out, \u201cA thief!\u201d The folk\nflocked to him from all sides and fell to beating and abusing Nur\nal-Din,[310] whilst he cried out for aidance but none aided him, and\nAl-Muradi kept saying to him, \u201cBut yesterday the Commander of the\nFaithful released thee and to-day thou robbest!\u201d So the hearts of the\nmob were hardened against him and again Al-Muradi carried him to the\nChief of Police, who bade hew off his hand. Accordingly, the hangman\ntook him and bringing out the knife, proceeded to cut off his hand,\nwhile Al-Muradi said to him, \u201cCut and sever the bone and fry[311] not in\noil the stump for him, so he may lose all his blood and we be at rest\nfrom him.\u201d But Ahmad, he who had before been the cause of his\ndeliverance, sprang up to him and cried, \u201cO folk, fear Allah in your\naction with this youth, for that I know his affair, first and last, and\nhe is clear of offence and guiltless: he is of the lords of houses,[312]\nand unless ye desist from him, I will go up to the Commander of the\nFaithful and acquaint him with the case from beginning to end and that\nthe youth is innocent of sin or crime.\u201d Quoth Al-Muradi, \u201cIndeed, we are\nnot assured from his mischief;\u201d and quoth Ahmad, \u201cSet him free and\ncommit him to me and I will warrant you against his doings, for ye shall\nnever see him again after this.\u201d So they delivered Nur al-Din to him and\nhe took him from their hands and said to him, \u201cO youth, have ruth on\nthyself, for indeed thou hast fallen into the hands of these folk twice\nand if they prevail over thee a third time, they will make an end of\nthee; and I in doing thus with thee, aim at reward for thee and\nrecompense in Heaven and answer of prayer.\u201d[313] So Nur al-Din fell to\nkissing his hand and blessing him said, \u201cKnow that I am a stranger in\nthis your city and the completion of kindness is better than its\ncommencement; wherefore I pray thee of thy favour that thou make perfect\nto me thy good offices and generosity and bring me to the city-gate. So\nwill thy beneficence be accomplished unto me and may God Almighty\nrequite thee for me with good!\u201d Ahmad replied, \u201cNo harm shall betide\nthee: go; I will bear thee company till thou come to thy place of\nsafety.\u201d And he left him not till he brought him to the city-gate and\nsaid to him, \u201cO youth, go in Allah\u2019s guard and return not to the city;\nfor, an they fall in with thee again, they will make an end of thee.\u201d\nNur al-Din kissed his hand and going forth the city, gave not over\nwalking till he came to a mosque that stood in one of the suburbs of\nBaghdad and entered therein with the night. Now he had with him naught\nwherewith he might cover himself; so he wrapped himself up in one of the\nmats of the mosque and thus abode till dawn, when the Muezzins came and\nfinding him seated in such case, said to him, \u201cO youth, what is this\nplight?\u201d Said he, \u201cI cast myself on your protection, imploring your\ndefence from a company of folk who seek to slay me unjustly and\nwrongously, without cause.\u201d And one of the Muezzins said, \u201cI will\nprotect thee; so be of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool of tear.\u201d\nThen he brought him old clothes and covered him therewith; he also set\nbefore him somewhat of victual and seeing upon him signs of fine\nbreeding, said to him, \u201cO my son, I grow old and desiring help from\nthee, I will do away thy necessity.\u201d Nur al-Din replied, \u201cTo hear is to\nobey;\u201d and abode with the old man, who rested and took his ease, while\nthe youth did his service in the mosque, celebrating the praises of\nAllah and calling the Faithful to prayer and lighting the lamps and\nfilling the spout-pots[314] and sweeping and cleaning out the place of\nworship on thiswise it befel the young Damascene; but as regards Sitt\nal-Milah, the Lady Zubaydah, the wife of the Commander of the Faithful,\nmade a banquet in her palace and assembled her slave-girls. And the\ndamsel came, weeping-eyed and heavy-hearted, and those present blamed\nher for this, whereupon she recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n Ye blame the mourner who weeps his woe; \u273f Needs must the mourner sing,\n weeping sore;\n An I see not some happy day I\u2019ll weep \u273f Brine-tears till followed by\n gouts of gore.\n\nWhen she had made an end of her verses, the Lady Zubaydah bade each\ndamsel sing a song, till the turn came round to Sitt al-Milah, whereupon\nshe took the lute and tuning it, carolled thereto four-and-twenty carols\nin four-and-twenty modes; then she returned to the first and sang these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n The World hath shot me with all her shafts \u273f Departing friends\n parting-grief t\u2019 aby:\n So in heart the burn of all hearts I bear \u273f And in eyes the tear-drops\n of every eye.\n\nWhen she had made an end of her song, she wept till she garred the\nbystanders weep and the Lady Zubaydah condoled with her and said to her,\n\u201cAllah upon thee, O Sitt al-Milah, sing us somewhat, so we may hearken\nto thee.\u201d The damsel replied, \u201cHearing and obeying,\u201d and sang these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n People of passion, assemble ye! \u273f This day be the day of our agony:\n The Raven o\u2019 severance croaks at our doors; \u273f Our raven which nigh to us\n aye see we.\n The friends we love have appointed us \u273f The grievousest parting-dule to\n dree.\n Rise, by your lives, and let all at once \u273f Fare to seek our friends\n where their sight we see.\n\nThen she threw the lute from her hand and shed tears till she drew tears\nfrom the Lady Zubaydah who said to her, \u201cO Sitt al-Milah, he whom thou\nlovest methinks is not in this world, for the Commander of the Faithful\nhath sought him in every place, but hath not found him.\u201d Whereupon the\ndamsel arose and kissing the Princess\u2019s hands, said to her, \u201cO my lady,\nan thou wouldst have him found, I have this night a request to make\nwhereby thou mayst win my need with the Caliph.\u201d Quoth the Lady, \u201cAnd\nwhat is it;\u201d and quoth Sitt al-Milah, \u201c\u2019Tis that thou get me leave to\nfare forth by myself and go round about in quest of him three days, for\nthe adage saith, Whoso keeneth for herself is not like whoso is hired to\nkeen![315] An if I find him, I will bring him before the Commander of\nthe Faithful, so he may do with us what he will, and if I find him not,\nI shall be cut off from hope of him and the heat of that which is with\nme will be cooled.\u201d Quoth the Lady Zubaydah, \u201cI will not get thee leave\nfrom him but for a whole month; so be of good cheer and eyes cool and\nclear.\u201d Whereat Sitt al-Milah rejoiced and rising, kissed ground before\nher once more and went away to her own place, and right glad was she. As\nfor Zubaydah, she went in to the Caliph and talked with him awhile; then\nshe fell to kissing him between the eyes and on his hand and asked him\nfor that which she had promised to Sitt al-Milah, saying, \u201cO Commander\nof the Faithful, I doubt me her lord is not found in this world; but, an\nshe go about seeking him and find him not, her hopes will be cut off and\nher mind will be set at rest and she will sport and laugh; and indeed\nwhile she nourisheth hope, she will never take the right direction.\u201d And\nshe ceased not cajoling him till he gave Sitt al-Milah leave to fare\nforth and make search for her lord a month\u2019s space and ordered her a\nriding-mule and an eunuch to attend her and bade the privy purse give\nher all she needed, were it a thousand dirhams a day or even more. So\nthe Lady Zubaydah arose and returning to her palace bade summon Sitt\nal-Milah and, as soon as she came, acquainted her with that which had\npassed; whereupon she kissed her hand and thanked her and called down\nblessings on her. Then she took leave of the Princess and veiling her\nface with a mask[316], disguised herself;[317] after which she mounted\nthe she-mule and sallying forth, went round about seeking her lord in\nthe highways of Baghdad three days\u2019 space, but happed on no tidings of\nhim; and on the fourth day, she rode forth without the city. Now it was\nthe noon-hour and fierce was the heat, and she was aweary and thirst\ncame upon her. Presently, she reached the mosque of the Shaykh who had\nlodged the young Damascene, and dismounting at the door, said to the old\nMuezzin, \u201cO Shaykh, hast thou a draught of cold water? Verily, I am\novercome with heat and thirst.\u201d Said he, \u201c\u2019Tis with me in my house.\u201d So\nhe carried her up into his lodging and spreading her a carpet, seated\nher; after which he brought her cold water and she drank and said to the\neunuch, \u201cGo thy ways with the mule and to-morrow come back to me here.\u201d\nAccordingly he went away and she slept and rested herself. When she\nawoke, she asked the old man, \u201cO Shaykh, hast thou aught of food?\u201d and\nhe answered, \u201cO my lady, I have bread and olives.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cThat be\nfood which befitteth only the like of thee. As for me, I will have\nnaught save roast lamb and soups and reddened fowls right fat and ducks\nfarcis with all manner stuffing of pistachio-nuts and sugar.\u201d Quoth the\nMuezzin, \u201cO my lady, I have never heard of this chapter[318] in the\nKoran, nor was it revealed to our lord Mohammed, whom Allah save and\nassain!\u201d[319] She laughed and said, \u201cO Shaykh, the matter is even as\nthou sayest; but bring me pen-case and paper.\u201d So he brought her what\nshe sought and she wrote a note and gave it to him, together with a\nseal-ring from her finger, saying, \u201cGo into the city and enquire for\nSuch-an-one the Shroff and give him this my note.\u201d Accordingly the\noldster betook himself to the city, as she bade him, and asked for the\nmoney-changer, to whom they directed him. So he gave him ring and writ,\nseeing which, he kissed the letter and breaking it open, read it and\napprehended its contents. Then he repaired to the bazar and buying all\nthat she bade him, laid it in a porter\u2019s crate and made him go with the\nShaykh. The old man took the Hamm\u00e1l and went with him to the mosque,\nwhere he relieved him of his burden and carried the rich viands in to\nSitt al-Milah. She seated him by her side and they ate, he and she, of\nthose dainty cates, till they were satisfied, when the Shaykh rose and\nremoved the food from before her. She passed that night in his lodging\nand when she got up in the morning, she said to him, \u201cO elder, may I not\nlack thy kind offices for the breakfast! Go to the Shroff and fetch me\nfrom him the like of yesterday\u2019s food.\u201d So he arose and betaking himself\nto the money-changer, acquainted him with that which she had bidden him.\nThe Shroff brought him all she required and set it on the heads of\nHammals; and the Shaykh took them and returned with them to the damsel,\nwhen she sat down with him and they ate their sufficiency, after which\nhe removed the rest of the meats. Then she took the fruits and the\nflowers and setting them over against herself, wrought them into rings\nand knots and writs, whilst the Shaykh looked on at a thing whose like\nhe had never in his life seen and rejoiced in the sight. Presently said\nshe to him, \u201cO elder, I would fain drink.\u201d So he arose and brought her a\ngugglet of water; but she cried to him, \u201cWho said to thee Fetch that?\u201d\nQuoth he, \u201cSaidst thou not to me, I would fain drink?\u201d and quoth she, \u201cI\nwant not this; nay, I want wine, the solace of the soul, so haply, O\nShaykh, I may refresh myself therewith.\u201d Exclaimed the old man, \u201cAllah\nforfend that strong drink be drunk in my house, and I a stranger in the\nland and a Muezzin and an Imam, who leadeth the True Believers in\nprayer, and a servant of the House of the Lord of the three Worlds!\u201d\n\u201cWhy wilt thou forbid me to drink thereof in thy house?\u201d \u201cBecause \u2019tis\nunlawful.\u201d \u201cO elder, Allah hath forbidden only the eating of blood and\ncarrion[320] and hog\u2019s flesh: tell me, are grapes and honey lawful or\nunlawful?\u201d \u201cThey are lawful.\u201d \u201cThis is the juice of grapes and the water\nof honey.\u201d \u201cLeave this thy talk, for thou shalt never drink wine in my\nhouse.\u201d \u201cO Shaykh, people eat and drink and enjoy themselves and we are\nof the number of the folk and Allah is indulgent and merciful.\u201d[321]\n\u201cThis is a thing that may not be.\u201d \u201cHast thou not heard what the poet\nsaith?\u201d And she recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n Cease thou to hear, O Sim\u2019\u00e1n-son,[322] aught save the say of me; \u273f How\n bitter \u2019twas to quit the monks and fly the monast\u2019ry!\n When, on the F\u00eate of Palms there stood, amid the hallowed fane[323], \u273f A\n pretty Fawn whose lovely pride garred me sore wrong to dree.\n May Allah bless the night we spent when he to us was third, \u273f While\n Moslem, Jew, and Nazarene all sported fain and free.\n Quoth he, from out whose locks appeared the gleaming of the morn, \u273f\n \u201cSweet is the wine and sweet the flowers that joy us comrades three.\n The garden of the garths of Khuld where roll and rail amain, \u273f Rivulets\n \u2019neath the myrtle shade and B\u00e1n\u2019s fair branchery;\n And birds make carol on the boughs and sing in blithest lay, \u273f Yea, this\n indeed is life, but, ah! how soon it fades away.\u201d\n\nShe then asked him, \u201cO Shaykh, an Moslems and Jews and Nazarenes drink\nwine, who are we that we should reject it?\u201d Answered he, \u201cBy Allah, O my\nlady, spare thy pains, for this be a thing whereto I will not hearken.\u201d\nWhen she knew that he would not consent to her desire, she said to him,\n\u201cO Shaykh, I am of the slave-girls of the Commander of the Faithful and\nthe food waxeth heavy on me and if I drink not, I shall die of\nindigestion, nor wilt thou be assured against the issue of my case.[324]\nAs for me, I acquit myself of blame towards thee, for that I have bidden\nthee beware of the wrath of the Commander of the Faithful, after making\nmyself known to thee.\u201d When the Shaykh heard her words and that\nwherewith she threatened him, he sprang up and went out, perplexed and\nunknowing what he should do, and there met him a Jewish man, which was\nhis neighbour, and said to him, \u201cHow cometh it that I see thee, O\nShaykh, strait of breast? Eke, I hear in thy house a noise of talk, such\nas I am unwont to hear with thee.\u201d Quoth the Muezzin, \u201c\u2019Tis of a damsel\nwho declareth that she is of the slave-girls of the Commander of the\nFaithful, Harun al-Rashid; and she hath eaten meat and now would drink\nwine in my house, but I forbade her. However she asserteth that unless\nshe drink thereof, she will die, and indeed I am bewildered concerning\nmy case.\u201d Answered the Jew, \u201cKnow, O my neighbour, that the slave-girls\nof the Commander of the Faithful are used to drink wine, and when they\neat and drink not, they die; and I fear lest happen some mishap to her,\nwhen thou wouldst not be safe from the Caliph\u2019s fury.\u201d The Shaykh asked,\n\u201cWhat is to be done?\u201d and the Jew answered, \u201cI have old wine that will\nsuit her.\u201d Quoth the Shaykh, \u201cBy the right of neighbourship, deliver me\nfrom this descent[325] of calamity and let me have that which is with\nthee!\u201d Quoth the Jew, \u201cBismillah, in the name of Allah,\u201d and passing to\nhis quarters, brought out a glass flask of wine, wherewith the Shaykh\nreturned to Sitt al-Milah. This pleased her and she cried to him,\n\u201cWhence hadst thou this?\u201d He replied, \u201cI got it from the Jew, my\nneighbour: I set forth to him my case with thee and he gave me this.\u201d\nThereupon Sitt al-Milah filled a cup and emptied it; after which she\ndrank a second and a third. Then she crowned the cup a fourth time and\nhanded it to the Shaykh, but he would not accept it from her. However,\nshe conjured him, by her own head and that of the Prince of True\nBelievers, that he take the cup from her, till he received it from her\nhand and kissed it and would have set it down; but she sware him by her\nlife to smell it. Accordingly he smelt it and she said to him, \u201cHow\ndeemest thou?\u201d Said he, \u201cI find its smell is sweet;\u201d and she conjured\nhim by the Caliph\u2019s life to taste thereof. So he put it to his mouth and\nshe rose to him and made him drink; whereupon quoth he, \u201cO Princess of\nthe Fair,[326] this is none other than good.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cSo deem I:\nhath not our Lord promised us wine in Paradise?\u201d He answered, \u201cYes! The\nMost High saith:\u2014And rivers of wine, delicious to the drinkers.[327] And\nwe will drink it in this world and in the next world.\u201d She laughed and\nemptying the cup, gave him to drink, and he said, \u201cO Princess of the\nFair, indeed thou art excusable in thy love for this.\u201d Then he hent in\nhand from her another and another, till he became drunken and his talk\nwaxed great and his prattle. The folk of the quarter heard him and\nassembled under the window; and when the Shaykh was ware of them, he\nopened the window and said to them, \u201cAre ye not ashamed, O pimps? Every\none in his own house doth whatso he willeth and none hindereth him; but\nwe drink one single day and ye assemble and come, panders that ye are!\nTo-day, wine, and to-morrow business;[328] and from hour to hour cometh\nrelief.\u201d So they laughed together and dispersed. Then the girl drank\ntill she was drunken, when she called to mind her lord and wept, and the\nShaykh said to her, \u201cWhat maketh thee weep, O my lady?\u201d Said she, \u201cO\nelder, I am a lover and a separated.\u201d He cried, \u201cO my lady, what is this\nlove?\u201d Cried she, \u201cAnd thou, hast thou never been in love?\u201d He replied,\n\u201cBy Allah, O my lady, never in all my life heard I of this thing, nor\nhave I ever known it! Is it of the sons of Adam or of the Jinn?\u201d She\nlaughed and said, \u201cVerily, thou art even as those of whom the poet\nspeaketh, in these couplets:\u2014\n\n How oft shall they admonish and ye shun this nourishment; \u273f When e\u2019en\n the shepherd\u2019s bidding is obey\u00e8d by his flocks?\n I see you like in shape and form to creatures whom we term \u273f Mankind,\n but in your acts and deeds you are a sort of ox.\u201d[329]\n\nThe Shaykh laughed at her speech and her verses pleased him. Then cried\nshe to him, \u201cI desire of thee a lute.\u201d So he arose and brought her a bit\nof fuel.[330] Quoth she, \u201cWhat is that?\u201d and quoth he \u201cDidst thou not\nsay: Bring me fuel?\u201d Said she, \u201cI do not want this,\u201d and said he, \u201cWhat\nthen is it that is hight fuel, other than this?\u201d She laughed and\nreplied, \u201cThe lute is an instrument of music, whereunto I sing.\u201d Asked\nhe, \u201cWhere is this thing found and of whom shall I get it for thee?\u201d and\nanswered she, \u201cOf him who gave thee the wine.\u201d So he arose and betaking\nhimself to his neighbour the Jew, said to him \u201cThou favouredst us before\nwith the wine; so now complete thy favours and look me out a thing hight\nlute, which be an instrument for singing; for she seeketh this of me and\nI know it not.\u201d Replied the Jew, \u201cHearkening and obedience,\u201d and going\ninto his house, brought him a lute. The old man carried it to Sitt\nal-Milah, whilst the Jew took his drink and sat by a window adjoining\nthe Shaykh\u2019s house, so he might hear the singing. The damsel rejoiced,\nwhen the old man returned to her with the lute, and taking it from him,\ntuned its strings and sang these couplets:\u2014\n\n Remains not, after you are gone, or trace of you or sign, \u273f But hope to\n see this parting end and break its lengthy line:\n You went and by your wending made the whole world desolate; \u273f And none\n may stand this day in stead to fill the yearning eyne.\n Indeed, you\u2019ve burdened weakling me, by strength and force of you \u273f With\n load no hill hath power t\u2019upheave nor yet the plain low li\u2019en:\n And I, whenever fain I scent the breeze your land o\u2019erbreathes, \u273f Lose\n all my wits as though they were bemused with heady wine.\n O folk no light affair is Love for lover woe to dree \u273f Nor easy \u2019tis to\n satisfy its sorrow and repine.\n I\u2019ve wandered East and West to hap upon your trace, and when \u273f\n Springcamps I find the dwellers cry, \u201cThey\u2019ve marched, those friends\n o\u2019 thine!\u201d\n Never accustomed me to part these intimates I love; \u273f Nay, when I left\n them all were wont new meetings to design.\n\nNow when she had ended her song, she wept with sore weeping, till\npresently sleep overcame her and she slept. On the morrow, she said to\nthe Shaykh, \u201cGet thee to the Shroff and fetch me the ordinary;\u201d so he\nrepaired to the money-changer and delivered him the message, whereupon\nhe made ready meat and drink, according to his custom, with which the\nold man returned to the damsel and they ate their sufficiency. When she\nhad eaten, she sought of him wine and he went to the Jew and fetched it.\nThen the twain sat down and drank; and when she waxed drunken, she took\nthe lute and smiting it, fell a-singing and chanted these couplets:\u2014\n\n How long ask I the heart, the heart drowned, and eke \u273f Refrain my\n complaint while my tear-floods speak?\n They forbid e\u2019en the phantom to visit me, \u273f (O marvel!) her phantom my\n couch to seek.[331]\n\nAnd when she had made an end of her song, she wept with sore weeping.\nAll this time, the young Damascene was listening, and now he likened her\nvoice to the voice of his slave-girl and then he put away from him this\nthought, and the damsel had no knowledge whatever of his presence. Then\nshe broke out again into song and chanted these couplets:\u2014\n\n Quoth they, \u201cForget him! What is he?\u201d To them I cried, \u273f \u201cAllah forget\n me when forget I mine adored!\u201d\n Now in this world shall I forget the love o\u2019 you? \u273f Heaven grant the\n thrall may ne\u2019er forget to love his lord!\n I pray that Allah pardon all except thy love \u273f Which, when I meet Him\n may my bestest plea afford.\n\nAfter ending this song she drank three cups and filling the old man\nother three, improvised these couplets:\u2014\n\n His love he hid which tell-tale tears betrayed; \u273f For burn of coal that\n \u2019neath his ribs was laid:\n Giv\u2019n that he seek his joy in spring and flowers \u273f Some day, his\n spring\u2019s the face of dear-loved maid.\n O ye who blame me for who baulks my love! \u273f What sweeter thing than boon\n to man denayed?\n A sun, yet scorcheth he my very heart! \u273f A moon, but riseth he from\n breasts a-shade!\n\nWhen she had made an end of her song, she threw the lute from her hand\nand wept, whilst the Shaykh wept for her weeping. Then she fell down in\na fainting fit and presently recovering, crowned the cup and drinking it\noff, gave the elder to drink, after which she took the lute and breaking\nout into song, chanted these couplets:\u2014\n\n Thy parting is bestest of woes to my heart, \u273f And changed my case till\n all sleep it eschewed:\n The world to my being is desolate; \u273f Then Oh grief! and Oh lingering\n solitude!\n Maybe The Ruthful incline thee to me \u273f And join us despite what our foes\n have sued!\n\nThen she wept till her voice rose high and her wailing was discovered to\nthose without; after which she again began to drink and plying the\nShaykh with wine, sang these couplets:\u2014\n\n An they hid thy person from eyen-sight, \u273f They hid not thy name fro\u2019 my\n mindful sprite:\n Or meet me; thy ransom for meeting I\u2019ll be![332] \u273f Or fly me; and ransom\n I\u2019ll be for thy flight!\n Mine outer speaks for mine inner case, \u273f And mine inner speaks for mine\n outer plight.\n\nWhen she had made an end of her verses, she threw the lute from her hand\nand wept and wailed. Then she slept awhile and presently awaking, said,\n\u201cO Shaykh, say me, hast thou what we may eat?\u201d He replied, \u201cO my lady, I\nhave the rest of the food;\u201d but she cried, \u201cI will not eat of the orts I\nhave left. Go down to the bazar and fetch us what we may eat.\u201d He\nrejoined, \u201cExcuse me, O my lady, I cannot rise to my feet, because I am\nbemused with wine; but with me is the servant of the mosque, who is a\nsharp youth and an intelligent. I will call him, so he may buy thee\nwhatso thou wantest.\u201d Asked she, \u201cWhence hast thou this servant?\u201d and he\nanswered, \u201cHe is of the people of Damascus.\u201d When she heard him say \u201cof\nthe people of Damascus,\u201d she sobbed such a sob that she swooned away;\nand when she came to herself, she said, \u201cWoe is me for the people of\nDamascus and for those who are therein! Call him, O Shaykh, that he may\ndo our need.\u201d Accordingly, the old man put his head forth of the window\nand called the youth, who came to him from the mosque and sought leave\nto enter. The Muezzin bade him come in, and when he appeared before the\ndamsel, he knew her and she knew him; whereupon he turned back in\nbewilderment and would have fled at hap-hazard; but she sprang up to him\nand held him fast, and they embraced and wept together, till they fell\nto the floor in a fainting fit. When the Shaykh saw them in this\ncondition, he feared for himself and fared forth in fright, seeing not\nthe way for drunkenness. His neighbour the Jew met him and asked him,\n\u201cHow is it that I behold thee astounded?\u201d Answered the old man, \u201cHow\nshould I not be astounded, seeing that the damsel who is with me is\nfallen in love with the mosque servant and they have embraced and\nslipped down in a swoon? Indeed, I fear lest the Caliph come to know of\nthis and be wroth with me; so tell me thou what is thy device for that\nwherewith I am afflicted in the matter of this damsel.\u201d Quoth the Jew,\n\u201cFor the present, take this casting-bottle of rose-water and go\nforthright and sprinkle them therewith: an they be aswoon for this their\nunion and embrace, they will recover, and if otherwise, then take to\nflight.\u201d The Shakyh snatched the casting-bottle from the Jew and going\nup to the twain, sprinkled their faces, whereupon they came to\nthemselves and fell to relating each to other that which they had\nsuffered, since both had been parted, for the pangs of severance. Nur\nal-Din also acquainted Sitt al-Milah with that which he had endured from\nthe folk who would have killed[333] him and utterly annihilated him; and\nshe said to him, \u201cO my lord, let us for the nonce leave this talk and\npraise Allah for reunion of loves, and all this shall cease from us.\u201d\nThen she gave him the cup and he said, \u201cBy Allah, I will on no wise\ndrink it, whilst I am in this case!\u201d So she drank it off before him and\ntaking the lute, swept the strings and sang these couplets:\u2014\n\n O absent fro\u2019 me and yet present in place, \u273f Thou art far from mine eyes\n and yet ever nigh!\n Thy farness bequeathed me all sorrow and care \u273f And my troublous life\n can no joy espy:\n Lone, forlorn, weeping-eyelidded, miserablest, \u273f I abide for thy sake as\n though banisht I:\n Then (ah grief o\u2019 me!) far thou hast fared from sight \u273f Yet canst no\n more depart me than apple of eye!\n\nWhen she had made an end of her verse, she wept and the young man of\nDamascus, Nur al-Din, wept also. Then she took the lute and improvised\nthese couplets:\u2014\n\n Well Allah wots I never nam\u00e8d you \u273f But tears o\u2019erbrimming eyes in\n floods outburst;\n And passion raged and pine would do me die, \u273f Yet my heart rested wi\u2019\n the thought it nurst;\n O eye-light mine, O wish and O my hope! \u273f Your face can never quench\n mine eyes\u2019 hot thirst.\n\nWhen Nur al-Din heard these his slave-girl\u2019s verses, he fell a-weeping,\nwhile she strained him to her bosom and wiped away his tears with her\nsleeve and questioned him and comforted his mind. Then she took the lute\nand sweeping its strings, played thereon with such performing as would\nmove the staidest to delight and sang these couplets:\u2014\n\n Indeed, what day brings not your sight to me. \u273f That day I rem\u2019mber not\n as dight to me!\n And, when I vainly long on you to look, \u273f My life is lost, Oh life and\n light o\u2019 me!\n\nAfter this fashion they fared till the morning, tasting not the\nnourishment of sleep[334]; and when the day lightened, behold the eunuch\ncame with the she-mule and said to Sitt al-Milah, \u201cThe Commander of the\nFaithful calleth for thee.\u201d So she arose and taking by the hand her\nlord, committed him to the Shaykh, saying, \u201cThis is the deposit of\nAllah, then thy deposit,[335] till this eunuch cometh to thee; and\nindeed, O elder, my due to thee is the white hand of favour such as\nfilleth the interval betwixt heaven and earth.\u201d Then she mounted the\nmule and repairing to the palace of the Commander of the Faithful, went\nin to him and kissed ground before him. Quoth he to her, as who should\nmake mock of her, \u201cI doubt not but thou hast found thy lord;\u201d and quoth\nshe, \u201cBy thy felicity and the length of thy continuance on life, I have\nindeed found him!\u201d Now Al-Rashid was leaning back; but, when he heard\nthis, he sat upright and said to her, \u201cBy my life, true?\u201d She replied,\n\u201cAy, by thy life!\u201d He said, \u201cBring him into my presence, so I may see\nhim;\u201d but she said, \u201cO my lord, there have happened to him many\nhardships and his charms are changed and his favour faded; and indeed\nthe Prince of True Believers vouchsafed me a month; wherefore I will\ntend him the rest of the month and then bring him to do his service to\nthe Commander of the Faithful.\u201d Quoth Al-Rashid, \u201cSooth thou sayest: the\ncondition certainly was for a month; but tell me what hath betided him.\u201d\nQuoth she, \u201cO my lord (Allah prolong thy continuance and make Paradise\nthy place of returning and thine asylum and the fire the abiding-place\nof thy foes!), when he presenteth himself to serve thee, he will\nassuredly expound to thee his case and will name to thee his\nwrong-doers; and indeed this is an arrear that is due to the Prince of\nTrue Believers, by whom may Allah fortify the Faith and vouchsafe him\nthe victory over rebel and froward wretch!\u201d Thereupon he ordered her a\nfine house and bade furnish it with carpets and vessels of choice and\ncommanded them to give all she needed. This was done during the rest of\nthe day, and when the night came, she sent the eunuch with a suit of\nclothes and the mule, to fetch Nur al-Din from the Muezzin\u2019s lodging. So\nthe young man donned the dress and mounting, rode to the house, where he\nabode in comfort and luxury a full-told month, while she solaced him\nwith four things, the eating of fowls and the drinking of wine and the\nsleeping upon brocade and the entering the bath after horizontal\nrefreshment.[336] Furthermore, she brought him six suits of linen stuffs\nand took to changing his clothes day by day; nor was the appointed time\nof delay accomplished ere his beauty and loveliness returned to him;\nnay, his favour waxed tenfold fairer and he became a seduction to all\nwho looked upon him. One day of the days Al-Rashid bade bring him to the\npresence; so his slave-girl changed his clothes and robing him in\nsumptuous raiment, mounted him on the she-mule. Then he rode to the\npalace and presenting himself before the Caliph, saluted him with the\ngoodliest of salutations and bespake him with Truchman\u2019s[337] speech\neloquent and deep-thoughted. When Al-Rashid saw him, he marvelled at the\nseemliness of his semblance and his loquence and eloquence and asking of\nhim, was told that he was Sitt al-Milah\u2019s lord; whereupon quoth he,\n\u201cIndeed, she is excusable in her love for him, and if we had put her to\ndeath wrongfully, as we were minded to do, her blood would have been\nupon our heads.\u201d Then he accosted the young man and entering into\ndiscourse with him, found him well-bred, intelligent, clever,\nquick-witted, generous, pleasant, elegant, excellent. So he loved him\nwith exceeding love and questioned him of his native city and of his\nsire and of the cause of his journey to Baghdad. Nur al-Din acquainted\nhim with that which he would know in the goodliest words and concisest\nphrases; and the Caliph asked him, \u201cAnd where hast thou been absent all\nthis while? Verily, we sent after thee to Damascus and Mosul and all\nother cities, but happened on no tidings of thee.\u201d Answered the young\nman, \u201cO my lord, there betided thy slave in thy capital that which never\nyet betided any.\u201d Then he acquainted him with his case, first and last,\nand told him that which had befallen him of evil from Al-Muradi and the\nChief of Police. Now when Al-Rashid heard this, he was chagrined with\nsore chagrin and waxed wroth with exceeding wrath and cried, \u201cShall this\nthing happen in a city wherein I am?\u201d And the H\u00e1shim\u00ed vein[338] started\nout between his eyes. Then he bade fetch Ja\u2019afar, and when he came\nbetween his hands, he acquainted him with the adventure and said to him,\n\u201cShall this thing come to pass in my city and I have no news of it?\u201d\nThereupon he bade Ja\u2019afar fetch all whom the young Damascene had named,\nand when they came, he bade smite their necks: he also summoned him whom\nthey called Ahmad and who had been the means of the young man\u2019s\ndeliverance a first time and a second, and thanked him and showed him\nfavour and bestowed on him a costly robe of honour and made him Chief of\nPolice in his city.[339] Then he sent for the Shaykh, the Muezzin, and\nwhen the messenger came to him and told him that the Commander of the\nFaithful summoned him, he feared the denunciation of the damsel and\nwalked with him to the palace, farting for fear as he went, whilst all\nwho passed him by laughed at him. When he came into the presence of the\nCommander of the Faithful, he fell a-trembling and his tongue was\ntied,[340] so that he could not speak. The Caliph smiled at him and\nsaid, \u201cO Shaykh, thou hast done no offence; so why fearest thou?\u201d\nAnswered the old man (and indeed he was in the sorest of that which may\nbe of fear), \u201cO my lord, by the virtue of thy pure forefathers, indeed I\nhave done naught, and do thou enquire of my manners and morals.\u201d The\nCaliph laughed at him and ordering him a thousand dinars, bestowed on\nhim a costly robe of honour and made him headman of the Muezzins in his\nmosque. Then he called Sitt al-Milah and said to her, \u201cThe house wherein\nthou lodgest with all it containeth is a largesse to thy lord: so do\nthou take him and depart with him in the safeguard of Allah Almighty;\nbut absent not yourselves from our presence.\u201d Accordingly she went forth\nwith the young Damascene and when she came to the house, she found that\nthe Prince of True Believers had sent them gifts galore and good things\nin store. As for Nur al-Din, he sent for his father and mother and\nappointed for himself agents in the city of Damascus, to receive the\nrent of the houses and gardens and Wakalahs and Hammams; and they\noccupied themselves with collecting that which accrued to him and\nsending it to him every year. Meanwhile, his father and mother came to\nhim, with that which they had of monies and merchandise of price and,\nforegathering with their son, found that he was become of the chief\nofficers and familiars of the Commander of the Faithful and of the\nnumber of his sitting-companions and nightly entertainers, wherefore\nthey rejoiced in reunion with him and he also rejoiced in them. The\nCaliph assigned them solde and allowances; and as for Nur al-Din, his\nfather brought him those riches and his wealth waxed and his estate was\nstablished, till he became the richest of the folk of his time in\nBaghdad and left not the presence of the Commander of the Faithful or by\nnight or by day. He was vouchsafed issue by Sitt al-Milah, and he ceased\nnot to live the goodliest of lives, he and she and his father and his\nmother, a while of time, till Abu al-Hasan sickened of a sore sickness\nand departed to the mercy of Allah Almighty. Presently, his mother also\ndied and he carried them forth and shrouded them and buried and made\nthem expiations and funeral ceremonies.[341] In due course his children\ngrew up and became like moons, and he reared them in splendour and\naffection, while his wealth waxed and his case never waned. He ceased\nnot to pay frequent visits to the Commander of the Faithful, he and his\nchildren and his slave-girl Sitt al-Milah, and they abode in all solace\nof life and prosperity till there came to them the Destroyer of delights\nand the Sunderer of societies; and laud to the Abiding, the Eternal!\nThis is all that hath come down to us of their story.\n\n\n\n\n TALE OF KING INS BIN KAYS AND HIS DAUGHTER WITH THE SON OF KING\n AL-\u2019ABBAS.[342]\n\n\nThere was once, in days of yore and in ages and times long gone before,\nin the city of Baghdad, the House of Peace, a king mighty of estate,\nlord of understanding and beneficence and generosity and munificence,\nand he was strong of sultanate and endowed with might and majesty and\nmagnificence. His name was Ins bin Kays bin Rab\u00ed\u2019 al-Shayb\u00e1n\u00ed,[343] and\nwhen he took horse, there rode about him riders from the farthest parts\nof the two Iraks.[344] Almighty Allah decreed that he should take to\nwife a woman hight \u2019Af\u00edfah, daughter of Asad al-Sund\u00fasi, who was endowed\nwith beauty and loveliness and brightness and perfect grace and symmetry\nof shape and stature; her face was like the crescent moon and she had\neyes as they were gazelle\u2019s eyes and an aquiline nose like Luna\u2019s cymb.\nShe had learned cavalarice and the use of arms and had mastered the\nsciences of the Arabs; eke she had gotten by heart all the\ndragomanish[345] tongues and indeed she was a ravishment to mankind. She\nabode with Ins bin Kays twelve years, during which time he was not\nblessed with children by her; so his breast was straitened by reason of\nthe failure of lineage, and he besought his Lord to vouchsafe him a son.\nAccordingly the queen conceived, by permission of Allah Almighty; and\nwhen the days of her pregnancy were accomplished, she gave birth to a\nmaid-child, than whom never saw eyes fairer, for that her face was as it\nwere a pearl pure-bright or a lamp raying light or a candle gilt with\ngold or a full moon breaking cloudy fold, extolled be He who her from\nvile water dight and made her to the beholders a delight! When her\nfather saw her in this fashion of loveliness, his reason fled for joy,\nand when she grew up, he taught her writing and _belles-lettres_ and\nphilosophy and all manner of tongues. So she excelled the folk of her\ntime and surpassed her peers; and the sons of the kings heard of her and\nall of them longed to look upon her. The first who sought her to wife\nwas King Nabh\u00e1n[346] of Mosul, who came to her with a great company,\nbringing an hundred she-camels, laden with musk and lign-aloes and\nambergris and five score loaded with camphor and jewels and other\nhundred laden with silver monies and yet other hundred loaded with\nraiment of silken stuffs, sendal and brocade, besides an hundred\nslave-girls and a century of choice steeds of swift and generous breeds,\ncompletely housed and accoutred, as they were brides; and all this he\nhad laid before her father, demanding her of him in wedlock. Now King\nIns bin Kays had bound himself by an oath that he would not marry his\ndaughter save to him whom she should choose; so, when King Nabhan sought\nher in marriage, her father went in to her and consulted her concerning\nhis affair. She consented not and he repeated to Nabhan that which she\nsaid, whereupon he departed from him. After this came King Bahr\u00e1m, lord\nof the White Island, with treasures richer than the first; but she\naccepted not of him and he returned disappointed; nor did the kings\ncease coming to her sire, on her account, one after other, from the\nfarthest of the lands and the climes, each glorying in bringing more\nthan those who forewent him; but she heeded not any one of them.\nPresently, Al-\u2019Abb\u00e1s, son of King Al-\u2019Az\u00edz, lord of the land of Al-Yaman\nand Zab\u00edd\u00fan[347] and Meccah (which Allah increase in honour and\nbrightness and beauty!) heard of her; and he was of the great ones of\nMeccah and Al-Hij\u00e1z[348] and was a youth without hair on his side-face.\nSo he presented himself one day in his sire\u2019s assembly, whereupon the\nfolk made way for him and the king seated him on a chair of red gold,\ncrusted with pearls and gems. The Prince sat, with his head bowed\nground-wards and spake not to any: whereby his father knew that his\nbreast was straitened and bade the cup-companions and men of wit relate\nmarvellous histories, such as beseem the sessions of kings; nor was\nthere one of them but spoke forth the goodliest of that which was with\nhim; but Al-\u2019Abb\u00e1s still abode with his head bowed down. Then the king\nbade his sitting-companions withdraw, and when the chamber was private,\nhe looked at his son and said to him, \u201cBy Allah, thou cheerest me with\nthy coming in to me and chagrinest me for that thou payest no heed to\nany of the familiars nor of the cup-companions. What is the cause of\nthis?\u201d Answered the Prince, \u201cO my papa, I have heard tell that in the\nland of Al-Ir\u00e1k is a woman of the daughters of the kings, and her father\nis called King Ins bin Kays, lord of Baghdad; she is famed for beauty\nand loveliness and brightness and perfect grace, and indeed many of the\nkings have sought her in marriage; but her soul consented not unto any\none of them. Wherefore my thought prompteth me to travel herwards, for\nthat my heart cleaveth to her, and I beseech thee suffer me to go to\nher.\u201d His sire replied, \u201cO my son, thou knowest that I have none other\nthan thyself of children and thou art the coolth of mine eyes and the\nfruit of my vitals; nay, I cannot brook to be parted from thee a single\nhour and I purpose to seat thee on the throne of the kingship and\nespouse thee to one of the daughters of the kings, who shall be fairer\nthan she.\u201d Al-Abbas gave ear to his father\u2019s word and dared not gainsay\nhim; wherefore he abode with him awhile, whilst the love-fire raged in\nhis vitals. Then the king took rede with himself to build his son a\nHammam and adorn it with various paintings, so he might display it to\nhim and divert him with the sight thereof, to the intent that his body\nmight be solaced thereby and that the accident of travel might cease\nfrom him and he be turned from his purpose of removal from his parents.\nPresently he addressed himself to the building of the bath and\nassembling architects and artisans from all his cities and citadels and\nislands, assigned them a foundation-site and marked out its boundaries.\nThen the workmen occupied themselves with the building of the Hammam and\nthe ordinance and adornment of its cabinets and roofs. They used paints\nand precious minerals of all kinds, according to the contrast of their\ncolours, red and green and blue and yellow and what not else of all\nmanner tincts; and each artisan wrought at his craft and each painter at\nhis art, whilst the rest of the folk busied themselves with transporting\nthither vari-coloured stones. One day, as the Master-painter wrought at\nhis work, there came in to him a poor man, who looked long upon him and\nobserved his mystery; whereupon quoth the artist to him, \u201cKnowest thou\naught of painting?\u201d Quoth the stranger, \u201cYes;\u201d so he gave him tools and\npaints and said to him, \u201cLimn for us a rare semblance.\u201d Accordingly the\npauper stranger entered one of the bath-chambers and drew on its walls a\ndouble border, which he adorned on both sides, after a fashion than\nwhich eyes never saw a fairer. Moreover, amiddlemost the chamber he\nlimned a picture to which there lacked but the breath,[349] and it was\nthe portraiture of M\u00e1riyah, daughter to the king of Baghdad. Then, when\nhe had finished the portrait, he went his way and told none of what he\nhad done, nor knew any wight the chambers and doors of the bath and the\nadornment and ordinance thereof. Presently the chief artisan came to the\npalace and sought audience of the king who bade admit him. So he entered\nand kissing the earth, saluted him with a salam beseeming Sultans and\nsaid, \u201cO king of the time and lord of the age and the tide, may\nprosperity endure to thee and acceptance and eke thy degree over all the\nkings both morning and evening[350] exalted be! The work of the bath is\naccomplished, by the king\u2019s fair fortune and the purity of his purpose,\nand indeed, we have done all that behoved us and there remaineth but\nthat which behoveth the king.\u201d Al-Aziz ordered him a costly robe of\nhonour and expended monies galore, giving unto each who had wroughten\nafter the measure of his work. Then he assembled in the Hammam all the\nLords of his realm, Emirs and Wazirs and Chamberlains and Nabobs, and\nthe chief officers of his kingdom and household, and sending for his son\nAl-Abbas, said to him, \u201cO my son, I have builded thee a bath, wherein\nthou mayst take thy pleasance; so enter that thou mayst see it and\ndivert thyself by gazing upon it and viewing the beauty of its ordinance\nand decoration.\u201d \u201cWith love and gladness,\u201d replied the Prince and\nentered the bath, he and the king and the folk about them, so they might\ndivert themselves with viewing that which the workmen\u2019s hands had\nworked. Al-Abbas went in and passed from place to place and chamber to\nchamber, till he came to the room aforesaid and espied the portrait of\nMariyah, whereupon he fell down in a fainting-fit and the workmen went\nto his father and said to him, \u201cThy son Al-Abbas hath swooned away.\u201d So\nthe king came and finding his son cast down, seated himself at his head\nand bathed his face with rose-water. After awhile he revived and the\nking said to him, \u201cI seek refuge with Allah for thee, O my son! What\naccident hath befallen thee?\u201d The Prince replied, \u201cO my father, I did\nbut look on yonder picture and it bequeathed me a thousand qualms and\nthere befel me that which thou beholdest.\u201d Therewith the king bade fetch\nthe Master-painter, and when he stood before him, he said to him, \u201cTell\nme of yonder portrait and what girl is this of the daughters of the\nkings; else I will take thy head.\u201d Said the painter, \u201cBy Allah, O king,\nI limned it not, neither know I who she is; but there came to me a poor\nman and looked hard at me. So I asked him, Knowest thou the art of\npainting? and he answered, Yes. Whereupon I gave him the gear and said\nto him, Limn for us a rare semblance. Accordingly he painted yonder\nportrait and went away and I wot him not neither have I ever set eyes on\nhim save that day.\u201d Hearing this, the king ordered all his officers to\ngo round about in the thoroughfares and colleges and to bring before him\nall strangers they found there. So they went forth and brought him much\npeople, amongst whom was the pauper who had painted the portrait. When\nthey came into the presence, the Sultan bade the crier make public\nproclamation that whoso wrought the portrait should discover himself and\nhave whatso he wished. Thereupon the poor man came forward and kissing\nthe ground before the king, said to him, \u201cO king of the age, I am he who\nlimned yonder likeness.\u201d Quoth Al-Aziz, \u201cAnd knowest thou who she is?\u201d\nand quoth the other, \u201cYes, this is the portrait of Mariyah, daughter of\nthe king of Baghdad.\u201d The king ordered him a robe of honour and a\nslave-girl and he went his way. Then said Al-Abbas, \u201cO my papa, give me\nleave to seek her, so I may look upon her: else shall I farewell the\nworld, withouten fail.\u201d The king his father wept and answered, \u201cO my\nson, I builded thee a Hammam, that it might turn thee from leaving me,\nand behold, it hath been the cause of thy going forth; but the behest of\nAllah is a determinate decree.\u201d[351] Then he wept again and Al-Abbas\nsaid to him, \u201cFear not for me, for thou knowest my prowess and puissance\nin returning answers in the assemblies of the land and my good breeding\nand accomplishments together with my skill in rhetoric; and indeed for\nhim whose father thou art and whom thou hast reared and bred and in whom\nthou hast united praiseworthy qualities, the repute whereof hath\ntraversed the East and the West, thou needest not fear aught, more\nespecially as I purpose but to seek pleasuring and return to thee, an it\nbe the will of Allah Almighty.\u201d Quoth the king, \u201cWhom wilt thou take\nwith thee of attendants and what of monies?\u201d Replied Al-Abbas, \u201cO my\npapa, I have no need of horses or camels or weapons, for I purpose not\nwarfare, and I will have none go forth with me save my page \u2019Amir and no\nmore.\u201d Now as he and his father were thus engaged in talk, in came his\nmother and caught hold of him; and he said to her, \u201cAllah upon thee, let\nme gang my gait and strive not to divert me from what purpose I have\npurposed, for needs must I go.\u201d She replied, \u201cO my son, if it must be so\nand there be no help for it, swear to me that thou wilt not be absent\nfrom me more than a year.\u201d And he sware to her. Then he entered his\nfather\u2019s treasuries and took therefrom what he would of jewels and\njacinths and everything weighty of worth and light of load: he also bade\nhis servant Amir saddle him two steeds and the like for himself, and\nwhenas the night beset his back,[352] he rose from his couch and\nmounting his horse, set out for Baghdad, he and Amir, whilst the page\nknew not whither he intended.[353] He gave not over going and the\njourney was joyous to him, till they came to a goodly land, abounding in\nbirds and wild beasts, whereupon Al-Abbas started a gazelle and shot it\nwith a shaft. Then he dismounted and cutting its throat, said to his\nservant, \u201cAlight thou and skin it and carry it to the water.\u201d Amir\nanswered him with \u201cHearkening and obedience\u201d and going down to the\nwater, built a fire and broiled the gazelle\u2019s flesh. Then they ate their\nfill and drank of the water, after which they mounted again and fared on\nwith diligent faring, and Amir still unknowing whither Al-Abbas was\nminded to wend. So he said to him, \u201cO my lord, I conjure thee by Allah\nof All-might, wilt thou not tell me whither thou intendest?\u201d Al-Abbas\nlooked at him and in reply improvised these couplets:\u2014\n\n In my vitals are fires of desire and repine; \u273f And naught I reply when\n they flare on high:\n Baghdad-wards I hie me on life-and-death work, \u273f Loving one who distorts\n my right judgment awry:\n A swift camel under me shortcuts the wold \u273f And deem it a cloud all who\n nearhand espy:\n O \u2019\u00c1mir make haste after model of her \u273f Who would heal mine ill and\n Love\u2019s cup drain dry:\n For the leven of love burns the vitals of me; \u273f So with me seek my tribe\n and stint all reply.\n\nWhen Amir heard his lord\u2019s verses, he knew that he was a slave of love\nand that she whom he loved abode in Baghdad. Then they fared on night\nand day, traversing plain and stony way, till they sighted Baghdad and\nlighted down in its environs[354] and there lay their night. When they\narose in the morning, they removed to the bank of the Tigris where they\nencamped and sojourned a second day and a third. As they abode thus on\nthe fourth day, behold, a company of folk giving their beasts the rein\nand crying aloud and saying, \u201cQuick! Quick! Haste to our rescue, Ho thou\nthe King!\u201d Therewith the King\u2019s chamberlains and officers accosted them\nand said, \u201cWhat is behind you and what hath betided you?\u201d Quoth they,\n\u201cBring us before the King.\u201d So they carried them to Ins bin Kays; and\nwhen they saw him, they said to him, \u201cO king, unless thou succour us, we\nare dead men; for that we are a folk of the Ban\u00fa Shayb\u00e1n,[355] who have\ntaken up our abode in the parts of Bassorah, and Hodhayfah the wild Arab\nhath come down on us with his steeds and his men and hath slain our\nhorsemen and carried off our women and children; nor was one saved of\nthe tribe but he who fled; wherefore we crave help first by Allah\nAlmighty, then by thy life.\u201d When the king heard their speech, he bade\nthe crier proclaim in the highways of the city that the troops should\nbusk them to march and that the horsemen should mount and the footmen\nfare forth; nor was it but the twinkling of the eye ere the kettle-drums\nbeat and the trumpets blared; and scarce was the forenoon of the day\npassed when the city was blocked with horse and foot. Presently, the\nking reviewed them and behold, they were four-and-twenty thousand in\nnumber, cavalry and infantry. He bade them go forth to the enemy and\ngave the command of them to Sa\u2019ad ibn al-W\u00e1kid\u00ed, a doughty cavalier and\na dauntless champion; so the horsemen set out and fared on along the\nTigris-bank. Al-Abbas, son of King Al-Aziz, looked at them and saw the\nflags flaunting and the standards stirring and heard the kettle-drums\nbeating; so he bade his page saddle him a blood-steed and look to the\nsurcingles and bring him his harness of war, for indeed\nhorsemanship[356] was rooted in his heart. Quoth Amir, \u201cAnd indeed I saw\nAl-Abbas his eyes waxed red and the hair of his hands on end.\u201d So he\nmounted his charger, whilst Amir also bestrode a destrier, and they went\nforth with the commando and fared on two days. On the third day, after\nthe hour of the mid-afternoon prayer, they came in sight of the foe and\nthe two armies met and the two ranks joined in fight. The strife raged\namain and sore was the strain, whilst the dust rose in clouds and hung\nin vaulted shrouds, so that all eyes were blinded; and they ceased not\nfrom the battle till the night overtook them,[357] when the two hosts\ndrew off from the mellay and passed the night, perplexed concerning\nthemselves. When Allah caused the morning to morrow, the two hosts were\naligned in line and their thousands fixed their eyne and the troops\nstood looking one at other. Then sallied forth Al-H\u00e1ris ibn Sa\u2019ad\nbetween the two lines and played with his lance and cried out and\nimprovised these couplets:\u2014\n\n You in every way are this day our prey; \u273f And ever we pray\u00e8d your sight\n to see:\n The Ruthful drave you Hodhayfah-wards \u273f To the Brave, the Lion who sways\n the free:\n Say, amid you\u2019s a man who would heal his ills, \u273f With whose lust of\n battle shrewd blows agree?\n Then by Allah meet me who come to you \u273f And whoso is wronged shall the\n wronger be.[358]\n\nThereupon there sallied forth to him Zuhayr bin Hab\u00edb, and they wheeled\nabout and wiled a while, then they exchanged strokes. Al-Haris forewent\nhis foe in smiting and stretched him weltering in his gore; whereupon\nHodhayfah cried out to him, \u201cGifted of Allah[359] art thou, O Haris!\nCall out another of them.\u201d So he cried aloud, \u201cI say, who be a\nchampion?\u201d But they of Baghdah held back from him; and when it appeared\nto Al-Haris that consternation was amongst them, he charged down upon\nthem and overrolled the first of them upon the last of them and slew of\nthem twelve men. Then the evening caught him and the Baghdadis began\naddressing themselves to flight. No sooner had the morning morrowed than\nthey found themselves reduced to a fourth part of their number and there\nwas not one of them had dismounted from his horse. Wherefore they made\nsure of destruction and Hodhayfah rushed out between the two lines (now\nhe was reckoned good for a thousand knights) and cried out, \u201cHarkye, my\nmasters of Baghdad! Let none come forth to me but your Emir, so I may\ntalk with him and he with me; and he shall meet me in combat singular\nand I will meet him, and may he who is clear of offence come off safe.\u201d\nThen he repeated his words and said, \u201cHow is it I see your Emir refuse\nme a reply?\u201d But Sa\u2019ad, the Emir of the army of Baghdad, answered him\nnot, and indeed his teeth chattered in his mouth, when he heard him\nsummon him to the duello. Now when Al-Abbas heard Hodhayfah\u2019s challenge\nand saw Sa\u2019ad in this case, he came up to the Emir and asked him, \u201cWilt\nthou suffer me to answer him and I will be thy substitute in replying\nhim and in monomachy with him and will make my life thy sacrifice?\u201d\nSa\u2019ad looked at him and seeing knighthood shining from between his eyes,\nsaid to him, \u201cO youth, by the virtue of Mustaf\u00e0 the Chosen Prophet (whom\nAllah save and assain), tell me who thou art and whence thou comest to\nbring us victory.\u201d[360] Quoth the Prince, \u201cThis is no place for\nquestioning;\u201d and quoth Sa\u2019ad to him, \u201cO Knight, up and at Hodhayfah!\nYet, if his Satan prove too strong for thee, afflict not thyself in thy\nyouth.\u201d[361] Al-Abbas cried, \u201cAllah is He of whom help is to be\nsought;\u201d[362] and, taking his arms, fortified his purpose and went down\ninto the field, as he were a fort of the forts or a mountain\u2019s\ncontrefort. Thereupon Hodhayfah cried out to him, saying, \u201cHaste thee\nnot, O youth! Who art thou of the folk?\u201d He replied, \u201cI am Sa\u2019ad ibn\nal-Wakidi, commander of the host of King Ins, and but for thy pride in\nchallenging me, I had not come forth to thee; for thou art no peer for\nme to front nor as mine equal dost thou count nor canst thou bear my\nbrunt. Wherefore get thee ready for the last march[363] seeing that\nthere abideth but a little of thy life.\u201d When Hodhayfah heard this\nspeech, he threw himself backwards,[364] as if in mockery of him,\nwhereat Al-Abbas was wroth and called out to him, saying, \u201cO Hodhayfah,\nguard thyself against me.\u201d Then he rushed upon him, as he were a swooper\nof the Jinn,[365] and Hodhayfah met him and they wheeled about a long\nwhile. Presently, Al-Abbas cried out at Hodhayfah a cry which astounded\nhim and struck him a stroke, saying, \u201cTake this from the hand of a brave\nwho feareth not the like of thee.\u201d Hodhayfah met the sabre-sway with his\nshield, thinking to ward it off from him; but the blade shore the target\nin sunder and descending upon his shoulder, came forth gleaming from the\ntendons of his throat and severed his arm at the armpit; whereupon he\nfell down, wallowing in his blood, and Al-Abbas turned upon his host;\nnor had the sun departed the dome of the welkin ere Hodhayfah\u2019s army was\nin full flight before Al-Abbas and the saddles were empty of men. Quoth\nSa\u2019ad, \u201cBy the virtue of Mustafa the Chosen Prophet, whom Allah save and\nassain, I saw Al-Abbas with the blood upon his saddle-pads, in clots\nlike camels\u2019 livers, smiting with the sword right and left, till he\nscattered them abroad in every gorge and wold; and when he hied him back\nto the camp, the men of Baghdad were fearful of him.\u201d But as soon as\nthey saw this victory which had betided them over their foes, they\nturned back and gathering together the weapons and treasures and horses\nof those they had slain, returned to Baghdad, victorious, and all by the\nknightly valour of Al-Abbas. As for Sa\u2019ad, he foregathered with his\nlord, and they fared on in company till they came to the place where\nAl-Abbas had taken horse, whereupon the Prince dismounted from his\ncharger and Sa\u2019ad said to him, \u201cO youth, wherefore alightest thou in\nother than thy place? Indeed, thy rights be incumbent upon us and upon\nour Sultan; so go thou with us to the dwellings, that we may ransom thee\nwith our souls.\u201d Replied Al-Abbas, \u201cO Emir Sa\u2019ad, from this place I took\nhorse with thee and herein is my lodging. So, Allah upon thee, mention\nnot me to the king, but make as if thou hadst never seen me because I am\na stranger in the land.\u201d So saying, he turned away from him and Sa\u2019ad\nfared on to his palace, where he found all the courtiers in attendance\non the king and recounting to him that which had betided them with\nAl-Abbas. Quoth the king, \u201cWhere is he?\u201d and quoth they, \u201cHe is with the\nEmir Sa\u2019ad.\u201d So, when the Emir entered, the king looked, but found none\nwith him; and Sa\u2019ad, seeing at a glance that he longed to look upon the\nyouth, cried out to him, saying, \u201cAllah prolong the king\u2019s days! Indeed,\nhe refuseth to present himself before thee, without order or leave.\u201d\nAsked the king, \u201cO Sa\u2019ad, whence cometh this man?\u201d and the Emir\nanswered, \u201cO my lord, I know not; but he is a youth fair of favour,\namiable of aspect, accomplished in address, ready of repartee, and\nvalour shineth from between his eyes.\u201d Quoth the king, \u201cO Sa\u2019ad, fetch\nhim to me, for indeed thou describest to me at full length a mighty\nmatter.\u201d[366] And he answered, saying, \u201cBy Allah, O my lord, hadst thou\nbut seen our case with Hodhayfah, when he challenged me to the field of\nfight and the stead of cut-and-thrust and I held back from doing battle\nwith him! Then, as I thought to go forth to him, behold, a knight gave\nloose to his bridle-rein and called out to me, saying:\u2014O Sa\u2019ad, wilt\nthou suffer me to be thy substitute in waging war with him and I will\nransom thee with myself? And quoth I, By Allah, O youth, whence comest\nthou? and quoth he, This be no time for thy questions, while Hodhayfah\nstandeth awaiting thee.\u201d Thereupon he repeated to the king all that had\npassed between himself and Al-Abbas from first to last; whereat cried\nIns bin Kays, \u201cBring him to me in haste, so we may learn his tidings and\nquestion him of his case.\u201d \u201c\u2019Tis well,\u201d replied Sa\u2019ad, and going forth\nof the king\u2019s presence, repaired to his own house, where he doffed his\nwar-harness and took rest for himself. On this wise fared it with the\nEmir Sa\u2019ad; but as regards Al-Abbas, when he dismounted from his\ndestrier, he doffed his war-gear and reposed himself awhile; after which\nhe brought out a body-dress of Venetian[367] silk and a gown of green\ndamask and donning them, bound about his head a turband of Damietta\nstuff and zoned his waist with a kerchief. Then he went out a-walking in\nthe highways of Baghdad and fared on till he came to the bazar of the\ntraders. There he found a merchant, with chess before him; so the Prince\nstood watching him, and presently the other looked up at him and asked\nhim, \u201cO youth, what wilt thou bet upon the game?\u201d He answered, \u201cBe it\nthine to decide.\u201d Said the merchant, \u201cThen be it an hundred dinars,\u201d and\nAl-Abbas consented to him; whereupon quoth he, \u201cProduce the money, O\nyouth, so the game may be fairly stablished.\u201d Accordingly Al-Abbas\nbrought out a satin purse, wherein were a thousand dinars, and laid down\nan hundred dinars therefrom on the edge of the carpet, whilst the\nmerchant produced the like, and indeed his reason fled for joy when he\nsaw the gold in possession of Al-Abbas. The folk flocked about them, to\ndivert themselves with watching the play, and they called the bystanders\nto witness the wager and after the stakes were duly staked, the twain\nfell a-playing. Al-Abbas forebore the merchant, so he might lead him on,\nand dallied with him a full hour; and the merchant won and took of him\nthe hundred dinars. Then said the Prince, \u201cWilt thou play another\npartie?\u201d and the other said, \u201cO youth, I will not play again, save for a\nthousand dinars.\u201d Quoth the youth, \u201cWhatsoever thou stakest, I will\nmatch thy stake with its like.\u201d So the merchant brought out a thousand\ndinars and the Prince covered them with other thousand. Then the game\nbegan, but Al-Abbas was not long with him ere he beat him in the house\nof the elephant,[368] nor did he cease to do thus till he had beaten him\nfour times and won of him four thousand dinars. This was all the\nmerchant had of money; so he said, \u201cO youth, I will play thee another\ngame for the shop.\u201d Now the value of the shop was four thousand dinars;\nso they played and Al-Abbas beat him and won his shop, with whatso was\ntherein; upon which the other arose, shaking his clothes,[369] and said\nto him, \u201cUp, O youth, and take thy shop.\u201d Accordingly Al-Abbas arose and\nrepairing to the shop, took possession thereof, after which he returned\nto the place where he had left his servant \u2019Amir, and found there the\nEmir Sa\u2019ad, who was come to bid him to the presence of the king. The\nPrince consented to this and accompanied him till they came before King\nIns bin Kays, whereupon he kissed the ground and saluted him and\nexaggerated[370] the salutation. So the king asked him, \u201cWhence comest\nthou, O youth, and whither goest thou?\u201d and he answered, \u201cI come from\nAl-Yaman.\u201d Then said the king, \u201cHast thou a need we may fulfil to thee;\nfor indeed thou hast strong claims to our favour after that which thou\ndidst in the matter of Hodhayfah and his folk?\u201d And he commanded to cast\nover him a mantle of Egyptian satin, worth an hundred dinars. He also\nbade his treasurer give him a thousand dinars and said to him, \u201cO youth,\ntake this in part of that which thou deservest of us; and if thou\nprolong thy sojourn with us, we will give thee slaves and servants.\u201d\nAl-Abbas kissed ground and said, \u201cO king, Allah grant thee abiding weal,\nI deserve not all this.\u201d Then he put his hand to his pouch and pulling\nout two caskets of gold, in each of which were rubies whose value none\ncould estimate, gave them to the king, saying, \u201cO king, Allah cause thy\nwelfare to endure, I conjure thee by that which the Almighty hath\nvouchsafed thee, heal my heart by accepting these two caskets, even as I\nhave accepted thy present.\u201d So the king accepted the two caskets and\nAl-Abbas took his leave and went away to the bazar. Now when the\nmerchants saw him, they accosted him and said, \u201cO youth, wilt thou not\nopen thy shop?\u201d As they were addressing him, up came a woman, having\nwith her a boy bare of head, and stood looking at Al-Abbas, till he\nturned to her, when she said to him, \u201cO youth, I conjure thee by Allah,\nlook at this boy and have ruth on him, for that his father hath\nforgotten his skull-cap in the shop he lost to thee; so, an thou see fit\nto give it him, thy reward be with Allah! For indeed the child maketh\nour hearts ache with his excessive weeping, and the Lord be witness for\nus that, had they left us aught wherewith to buy him a cap in its stead,\nwe had not sought it of thee.\u201d Replied Al-Abbas, \u201cO adornment of\nwomankind,[371] indeed, thou bespeakest me with thy fair speech and\nsupplicatest me with thy goodly words! But bring me thy husband.\u201d So she\nwent and fetched the merchant, whilst a crowd collected to see what\nAl-Abbas would do. When the man came, he returned him the gold he had\nwon of him, art and part, and delivered him the keys of the shop,\nsaying, \u201cRequite us with thy pious prayers.\u201d Therewith the woman came up\nto him and kissed his feet, and in like fashion did the merchant her\nhusband: and all who were present blessed him, and there was no talk but\nof Al-Abbas. Thus fared it with him; but as for the merchant, he bought\nhim a head of sheep[372] and slaughtering it, roasted it and dressed\nbirds and other meats of various kinds and colours and purchased dessert\nand sweetmeats and fresh fruits; then he repaired to Al-Abbas and\nconjured him to accept of his hospitality and visit his home and eat of\nhis provaunt. The Prince consented to his wishes and went with him till\nthey came to his house, when the merchant bade him enter: so Al-Abbas\nwent in and saw a goodly house, wherein was a handsome saloon, with a\nvaulted ceiling. When he entered the saloon, he found that the merchant\nhad made ready food and dessert and perfumes, such as may not be\ndescribed; and indeed he had adorned the table with sweet-scented\nflowers and sprinkled musk and rose-water upon the food; and he had\nsmeared the saloon walls with ambergris and had burned aloes-wood\ntherein and Nadd. Presently, Al-Abbas looked out of the window of the\nsaloon and saw by its side a house of goodly ordinance, tall of base and\nwide of space, with rooms manifold and two upper stories crowning the\nwhole; but therein was no sign of inhabitants. So he said to the\nmerchant, \u201cVerily, thou exaggeratest in doing us honour; but, by Allah,\nI will not eat of thy meat until thou tell me what hath caused the\nvoidance of yonder house.\u201d Said he, \u201cO my lord, that was Al-Ghitrif\u2019s\nhouse and he passed away to the mercy of the Almighty and left no heir\nsave myself; whereupon the mansion became mine, and by Allah, an thou\nhave a mind to sojourn in Baghdad, take up thine abode in this house,\nwhereby thou mayst be in my neighbourhood; for that verily my heart\ninclineth unto thee with affection and I would have thee never absent\nfrom mine eyes, so I may still have my fill of thee and hearken to thy\nspeech.\u201d Al-Abbas thanked him and said to him, \u201cBy Allah, thou art\nindeed friendly in thy converse and thou exaggeratest in thy discourse,\nand needs must I sojourn in Baghdad. As for the house, if it please thee\nto lodge me, I will abide therein; so accept of me its price.\u201d Therewith\nhe put hand to his pouch and bringing out from it three hundred dinars,\ngave them to the merchant, who said in himself, \u201cUnless I take his\ndirhams, he will not darken my doors.\u201d So he pocketed the monies and\nsold him the mansion, taking witnesses against himself of the sale. Then\nhe arose and set food before Al-Abbas and they sat down to his good\nthings; after which he brought him dessert and sweetmeats whereof they\nate their sufficiency, and when the tables were removed they washed\ntheir hands with musked rose-water and willow-water. Then the merchant\nbrought Al-Abbas a napkin scented with the smoke of aloes-wood, on which\nhe wiped his right hand, and said to him, \u201cO my lord, the house is\nbecome thy house; so bid thy page transport thither the horses and arms\nand stuffs.\u201d The Prince did this and the merchant rejoiced in his\nneighbourhood and left him not night nor day,[373] so that Al-Abbas said\nto him, \u201cBy the Lord, we distract thee from thy livelihood.\u201d He replied,\n\u201cAllah upon thee, O my lord, name not to me aught of this, or thou wilt\nbreak my heart, for the best of traffic art thou and the best of\nlivelihood.\u201d So there befel strait friendship between them and all\nceremony was laid aside. Meanwhile[374] the king said to his Wazir, \u201cHow\nshall we do in the matter of yonder youth, the Yam\u00e1ni, on whom we\nthought to confer gifts, but he hath gifted us with tenfold our largesse\nand more, and we know not an he be a sojourned with us or not?\u201d Then he\nwent into the Harim and gave the rubies to his wife Afifah, who asked\nhim, \u201cWhat is the worth of these with thee and with other of the kings?\u201d\nQuoth he, \u201cThey are not to be found save with the greatest of sovrans\nnor can any price them with monies.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cWhence gottest thou\nthem?\u201d So he recounted to her the story of Al-Abbas from beginning to\nend, and she said, \u201cBy Allah, the claims of honour are imperative on us\nand the King hath fallen short of his devoir; for that we have not seen\nhim bid the youth to his assembly, nor hath he seated him on his left\nhand.\u201d When the king heard his wife\u2019s words, it was as if he had been\nasleep and awoke; so he went forth the Harim and bade kill poultry and\ndress meats of every kind and colour. Moreover, he assembled all his\ncourtiers and let bring sweetmeats and dessert and all that beseemeth\nthe tables of kings. Then he adorned his palace and despatched after\nAl-Abbas a man of the chief officers of his household, who found him\ncoming forth of the Hammam, clad in a jerkin[375] of fine goats\u2019 hair\nand over it a Baghd\u00e1di scarf; his waist was girt with a Rustaki[376]\nkerchief and on his head he wore a light turband of Damietta[377] stuff.\nThe messenger wished him joy of the bath and exaggerated in doing him\nhonour: then he said to him, \u201cThe king biddeth thee in weal.\u201d[378] \u201cTo\nhear is to obey,\u201d quoth Al-Abbas and accompanied the officer to the\nking\u2019s palace. Now Afifah and her daughter Mariyah were behind the\ncurtain, both looking at him; and when he came before the sovran he\nsaluted him and greeted him with the greeting of kings, whilst all\npresent gazed at him and at his beauty and loveliness and perfect grace.\nThe king seated him at the head of the table; and when Afifah saw him\nand considered him straitly, she said, \u201cBy the virtue of Mohammed,\nprince of the Apostles, this youth is of the sons of the kings and\ncometh not to these parts save for some noble purpose!\u201d Then she looked\nat Mariyah and saw that her favour was changed, and indeed her eyeballs\nwere as dead in her face and she turned not her gaze from Al-Abbas a\ntwinkling of the eyes, for that the love of him had sunk deep into her\nheart. When the queen saw what had befallen her daughter, she feared for\nher from reproach concerning Al-Abbas; so she shut the casement-wicket\nthat the Princess might not look upon him any more. Now there was a\npavilion set apart for Mariyah, and therein were boudoirs and bowers,\nbalconies and lattices, and she had with her a nurse, who served her as\nis the fashion with the daughters of the Kings. When the banquet was\nended and the folk had dispersed, the King said to Al-Abbas, \u201cI would\nfain have thee abide with me and I will buy thee a mansion, so haply we\nmay requite thee for thy high services; and indeed imperative upon us is\nthy due and magnified in our eyes is thy work; and soothly we have\nfallen short of thy deserts in the matter of distance.\u201d[379] When the\nyouth heard the king\u2019s speech, he rose and sat down[380] and kissing\nground, returned thanks for his bounty and said, \u201cI am the King\u2019s\nthrall, wheresoever I may be, and under his eye.\u201d Then he told him the\ntale of the merchant and the manner of the buying of the house, and the\nking said, \u201cIn very truth I would fain have had thee in my neighbourhood\nand by side of me.\u201d Presently Al-Abbas took leave of the king and went\naway to his own house. Now it chanced that he passed under the palace of\nMariyah, the king\u2019s daughter, and she was sitting at a casement. He\nhappened to look round and his eyes met those of the Princess, whereupon\nhis wit departed and he was ready to swoon away, whilst his colour\nchanged, and he said, \u201cVerily, we are Allah\u2019s and unto Him are we\nreturning!\u201d But he feared for himself lest severance betide him; so he\nconcealed his secret and discovered not his case to any of the creatures\nof Allah Almighty. When he reached his quarters, his page Amir said to\nhim, \u201cI seek refuge for thee with Allah, O my lord, from change of\ncolour! Hath there betided thee a pain from the Lord of All-might or\naught of vexation? In good sooth, sickness hath an end and patience\ndoeth away trouble.\u201d But the Prince returned him no answer. Then he\nbrought out ink-case[381] and paper and wrote these couplets:\u2014\n\n I cry (and mine\u2019s a frame that pines alw\u00e0y), \u273f A mind which fires of\n passion e\u2019er waylay;\n And eyeballs never tasting sweets of sleep; \u273f Yet Fortune spare its\n cause I ever pray!\n While from world-perfidy and parting I \u273f Like Bishr am with Hind,[382]\n that well-loved may;\u2014\n\n Yea, grown a bye-word \u2019mid the folk but aye \u273f Spend life unwinning wish\n or night or day.\n \u201cAh say, wots she my love when her I spied \u273f At the high lattice\n shedding sunlike ray?\u201d\n Her glances, keener than the brand when bared \u273f Cleave soul of man nor\n ever \u2019scapes her prey:\n I looked on her in lattice pierced aloft \u273f When bare her cheat of veil\n that slipped away;\n And shot me thence a shaft my liver pierced \u273f When thrall to care and\n dire despair I lay.\n Knowst thou, O Fawn o\u2019 the palace, how for thee \u273f I fared from farness\n o\u2019er the lands astray?\n Then read my writ, dear friends, and show some ruth \u273f To wight who wones\n black-faced, distraught, sans stay!\n\nAnd when he ended inditing, he folded up the letter. Now the merchant\u2019s\nwife aforesaid, who was the nurse of the king\u2019s daughter, was watching\nhim from a window, unknown of him, and when she saw him writing and\nreciting, she knew that some rare tale attached to him; so she went in\nto him and said, \u201cPeace be with thee, O afflicted wight, who acquaintest\nnot leach with thy plight! Verily, thou exposest thy life to grievous\nblight. I conjure thee by the virtue of Him who hath afflicted thee and\nwith the constraint of love-liking hath stricken thee, that thou\nacquaint me with thine affair and disclose to me the truth of thy\nsecret; for that indeed I have heard from thee verses which trouble the\nmind and melt the body.\u201d Accordingly he acquainted her with his case and\nenjoined her to secrecy, whereof she consented, saying, \u201cWhat shall be\nthe recompense of whoso goeth with thy letter and bringeth thee its\nreply?\u201d He bowed his head for shame before her and was silent; and she\nsaid to him, \u201cRaise thy head and give me thy writ\u201d: so he gave her the\nletter and she hent it and carrying it to the Princess, said to her,\n\u201cTake this epistle and give me its answer.\u201d Now the dearest of all\nthings to Mariyah was the recitation of poesy and verses and linked\nrhymes and the twanging of lute-strings, and she was versed in all\ntongues; wherefore she took the writ and opening it, read that which was\ntherein and understood its purport. Then she threw it to the ground and\ncried, \u201cO nurse, I have no answer to make to this letter.\u201d Quoth the\nnurse, \u201cIndeed, this is weakness in thee and a reproach to thee, for\nthat the people of the world have heard of thee and commend thee for\nkeenness of wit and understanding; so do thou return him an answer, such\nas shall trick his heart and tire his soul.\u201d Quoth she, \u201cO nurse, who\nmay be the man who presumeth upon me with this correspondence? Haply\n\u2019tis the stranger youth who gave my father the rubies.\u201d The woman said,\n\u201cIt is himself,\u201d and Mariyah said, \u201cI will answer his letter in such\nfashion that thou shalt not bring me other than it.\u201d Cried the nurse,\n\u201cSo be it.\u201d[383] Thereupon the Princess called for ink-case and paper\nand wrote these couplets:\u2014\n\n Thou art bold in the copy thou sentest! May be \u273f \u2019Twill increase the\n dule foreign wight must dree!\n Thou hast spied me with glance that bequeaths thee woe \u273f Ah! far is thy\n hope, a mere foreigner\u2019s plea!\n Who art thou, poor freke, that wouldst win my love \u273f Wi\u2019 thy verse? What\n seeks thine insanity?\n An thou hope for my favours and greed therefor; \u273f Where find thee a\n leach for such foolish gree?\n Then rhyme-linking leave and fool-like be not \u273f Hanged to Cross at the\n doorway of ignomy!\n Deem not that to thee I incline, O youth! \u273f \u2019Mid the Sons of the\n Path[384] is no place for me.\n Thou art homeless waif in the wide wide world; \u273f So return thee home\n where they keen for thee:[385]\n Leave verse-spouting, O thou who a-wold dost wone, \u273f Or minstrel shall\n name thee in lay and glee:\n How many a friend who would meet his love \u273f Is baulked when the goal is\n right clear to see!\n So begone and ne\u2019er grieve for what canst not win \u273f Albe time be near,\n yet thy grasp \u2019twill flee.\n Now such is my say and the tale I\u2019d tell; \u273f So master my meaning\n and\u2014fare thee well!\n\nWhen Mariyah had made an end of her verses, she folded the letter and\ndelivered it to the nurse, who hent it and went with it to Al-Abbas.\nWhen she gave it to him, he took it and breaking it open, read it and\ncomprehended its contents; and when he reached the end of it, he swooned\naway. After awhile, he came to himself and cried, \u201cPraise be to Allah\nwho hath caused her return a reply to my writ! Canst thou carry her\nanother missive, and with Allah Almighty be thy requital?\u201d Said she,\n\u201cAnd what shall letters profit thee, seeing that such is her reply;\u201d but\nhe said, \u201cPeradventure, she may yet be softened.\u201d Then he took ink-case\nand paper and wrote these couplets:\u2014\n\n Reached me the writ and what therein didst write, \u273f Whence grew my pain\n and bane and blight:\n I read the marvel-lines made wax my love \u273f And wore my body out till\n slightest slight.[386]\n Would Heaven ye wot the whole I bear for love \u273f Of you, with vitals\n clean for you undight!\n And all I do t\u2019 outdrive you from my thought \u273f \u2019Vails naught and \u2019gainst\n th\u2019 obsession loses might:\n Couldst for thy lover feel \u2019twould ease his soul; \u273f E\u2019en thy dear\n Phantom would his sprite delight!\n Then on my weakness lay not coyness-load \u273f Nor in such breach of troth\n be traitor-wight:\n And, weet ye well, for this your land I fared \u273f Hoping to \u2019joy the\n union-boon forthright:\n How many a stony wold for this I spanned; \u273f How oft I waked when men\n kept watch o\u2019 night!\n To fare fro\u2019 another land for sight of you \u273f Love bade, while length of\n way forbade my sprite:\n So by His name[387] who molt my frame, have ruth, \u273f And quench the\n flames thy love in me did light:\n Thou fillest, arrayed with glory\u2019s robes and rays, \u273f Heaven\u2019s stars with\n joy and Luna with despight.\n Then who dare chide or blame me for my love \u273f Of one that can all\n Beauty\u2019s boons unite?\n\nWhen Al-Abbas had made an end of his verses, he folded the letter and\ndelivering it to the nurse, charged her keep the secret. So she took it\nand carrying it to Mariyah, gave it to her. The Princess broke it open\nand read it and apprehended its purport; then cried she, \u201cBy Allah, O\nnurse, my heart is chagrined with exceeding chagrin, never knew I a\nsorer, because of this correspondence and of these verses.\u201d And the\nnurse made answer to her, \u201cO my lady, thou art in thy dwelling and thy\npalace and thy heart is void of care; so return him a reply and reck\nnot.\u201d Accordingly, the Princess called for ink-case and paper and wrote\nthese couplets:\u2014\n\n Ho thou who wouldst vaunt thee of cark and care; \u273f How many love-molten,\n tryst-craving be there?\n An hast wandered the wold in the murks of night \u273f Bound afar and anear\n on the tracks to fare,\n And to eyne hast forbidden the sweets of sleep, \u273f Borne by Devils and\n Marids to dangerous lair;\n And beggest my boons, O in tribe-land[388] homed \u273f And to urge thy wish\n and desire wouldst dare;\n Now, woo Patience fair, an thou bear in mind \u273f What The Ruthful promised\n to patient prayer![389]\n How many a king for my sake hath vied, \u273f Craving love and in marriage\n with me to pair.\n Al-Nabh\u00e1n sent, when a-wooing me, \u273f Camels baled with musk and Nadd\n scenting air.\n They brought camphor in boxes and like thereof \u273f Of pearls and rubies\n that countless were;\n Brought pregnant lasses and negro-lads, \u273f Blood steeds and arms and gear\n rich and rare;\u2014\n Brought us raiment of silk and of sendal sheen, \u273f And came courting us\n but no bride he bare:\n Nor could win his wish, for I \u2019bode content \u273f To part with far parting\n and love forswear;\n So for me greed not, O thou stranger wight \u273f Lest thou come to ruin and\n dire despair!\n\nWhen she had made an end of her verses, she folded the letter and\ndelivered it to the nurse, who took it and carried it to Al-Abbas. He\nbroke it open and read it and comprehended its contents; then took\nink-case and paper and wrote these improvised couplets:\u2014\n\n Thou hast told me the tale of the Kings, and of them \u273f Each was rending\n lion, a furious foe:\n And thou stolest the wits of me, all of them \u273f And shotst me with shaft\n of thy magic bow:\n Thou hast boasted of slaves and of steeds and wealth; \u273f And of beauteous\n lasses ne\u2019er man did know;\n How presents in mighty store didst spurn, \u273f And disdainedst lovers both\n high and low:\n Then I followed their tracks in desire for thee, \u273f With naught save my\n scymitar keen of blow;\n Nor slaves nor camels that run have I; \u273f Nor slave-girls the litters\n enveil, ah, no!\n But grant me union and soon shalt sight \u273f My trenchant blade with the\n foeman\u2019s woe;\n Shalt see the horsemen engird Baghdad \u273f Like clouds that wall the whole\n world below,\n Obeying behests which to them I deal \u273f And hearing the words to the foes\n I throw!\n An of negro chattels ten thousand head \u273f Wouldst have, or Kings who be\n proud and prow,\n Or chargers led for thee day by day \u273f And virgin girls high of bosom,\n lo!\n Al-Yaman land my command doth bear \u273f And my biting blade to my foes I\n show.\n I have left this all for the sake o\u2019 thee, \u273f Left Aziz and my kinsmen\n for evermo\u2019e;\n And made Al-Ir\u00e1k making way to thee \u273f Under nightly murks over rocks\n arow;\n When the couriers brought me account of thee \u273f Thy beauty, perfection,\n and sunny glow,\n Then I sent thee verses whose very sound \u273f Burns the heart of shame with\n a fiery throe;\n Yet the world with falsehood hath fals\u00e8d me, \u273f Though Fortune was never\n so false as thou,\n Who dubbest me stranger and homeless one \u273f A witless fool and a\n slave-girl\u2019s son!\n\nThen he folded the letter and committed it to the nurse and gave her\nfive hundred dinars, saying, \u201cAccept this from me, for by Allah thou\nhast indeed wearied thyself between us.\u201d She replied, \u201cBy Allah, O my\nlord, my aim is to bring about forgathering between you, though I lose\nthat which my right hand possesseth.\u201d And he said, \u201cMay the Lord of\nAll-might requite thee with good!\u201d Then she carried the letter to\nMariyah and said to her, \u201cTake this letter; haply it may be the end of\nthe correspondence.\u201d So she took it and breaking it open, read it, and\nwhen she had made an end of it, she turned to the nurse and said to her,\n\u201cThis one foisteth lies upon me and asserteth unto me that he hath\ncities and horsemen and footmen at his command and submitting to his\nallegiance; and he wisheth of me that which he shall not win; for thou\nknowest, O nurse, that kings\u2019 sons have sought me in marriage, with\npresents and rarities; but I have paid no heed unto aught of this; how,\nthen, shall I accept of this fellow, who is the ignoramus of his time\nand possesseth naught save two caskets of rubies, which he gave to my\nsire, and indeed he hath taken up his abode in the house of Al-Ghitrif\nand abideth without silver or gold? Wherefore, Allah upon thee, O nurse,\nreturn to him and cut off his hope of me.\u201d Accordingly the nurse\nrejoined Al-Abbas, without letter or answer; and when she came in to\nhim, he looked at her and saw that she was troubled, and he noted the\nmarks of anger on her face; so he said to her, \u201cWhat is this plight?\u201d\nQuoth she, \u201cI cannot set forth to thee that which Mariyah said; for\nindeed she charged me return to thee without writ or reply.\u201d Quoth he,\n\u201cO nurse of kings, I would have thee carry her this letter and return\nnot to her without it.\u201d Then he took ink-case and paper and wrote these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n My secret now to men is known though hidden well and true \u273f By me:\n enough is that I have of love and love of you:\n I left familiars, friends, and kin to weep the loss of me \u273f With floods\n of tears which like the tide aye flowed and flowed anew:\n Then, left my home myself I bore to Baghdad-town one day, \u273f When parting\n drave me there his pride and cruelty to rue:\n\n I have indeed drained all the bowl whose draught repression[390] was \u273f\n Handed by friend who bitter gourd[391] therein for drinking threw.\n And, oft as strove I to enjoin the ways of troth and faith, \u273f So often\n on refusal\u2019s path he left my soul to sue.\n Indeed my body molten is with care I\u2019m doom\u00e8d dree; \u273f And yet I hoped\n relenting and to win some grace, my due.\n But wrong and rigour waxed on me and changed to worse my case; \u273f And\n love hath left me weeping-eyed for woes that aye pursue.\n How long must I keep watch for you throughout the nightly gloom? \u273f How\n many a path of pining pace and garb of grief endue?\n And you, what while you joy your sleep, your restful pleasant sleep, \u273f\n Reck naught of sorrow and of shame that to your friend accrue:\n For wakefulness I watched the stars before the peep o\u2019 day, \u273f Praying\n that union with my dear in bliss my soul imbrue;\n Indeed the throes of long desire laid waste my frame and I \u273f Rise every\n morn in weaker plight with hopes e\u2019er fewer few:\n \u201cBe not (I say) so hard of heart!\u201d for did you only deign \u273f In phantom\n guise to visit me \u2019twere joy enough to view.\n But when ye saw my writ ye grudged to me the smallest boon \u273f And cast\n adown the flag of faith though well my troth ye knew;\n Nor aught of answer you vouchsafe, albe you wot full well \u273f The words\n therein address the heart and pierce the spirit through.\n You deemed yourself all too secure for changes of the days \u273f And of the\n far and near alike you ever careless grew.\n Hadst thou (dear maid) been doomed like me to woes, forsure hadst felt \u273f\n The lowe of love and Laz\u00e1-hell which parting doth enmew;\n Yet soon shalt suffer torments such as those from thee I bear \u273f And\n storm of palpitation-pangs in vitals thine shall brew:\n Yea, thou shalt taste the bitter smack of charges false and foul, \u273f And\n public make the privacy best hid from meddling crew;\n And he thou lovest shall approve him hard of heart and soul \u273f And\n heedless of the shifts of Time thy very life undo.\n Then hear the fond Salam I send and wish thee every day \u273f While swayeth\n spray and sparkleth star all good thy life ensue!\n\nWhen Al-Abbas had made an end of his verses, he folded the scroll and\ngave it to the nurse, who took it and carried it to Mariyah. When she\ncame into the Princess\u2019s presence, she saluted her; but Mariyah returned\nnot her salutation and she said, \u201cO my lady, how hard is thy heart that\nthou grudgest to return the salam! Accept this letter, because \u2019tis the\nlast that shall come to thee from him.\u201d Quoth Mariyah, \u201cTake my warning\nand never again enter my palace, or \u2019twill be the cause of thy\ndestruction; for I am certified that thou purposest my disgrace. So get\nthee gone from me.\u201d And she bade beat the nurse who went forth fleeing\nfrom her presence, changed of colour and \u2019wildered of wits, and gave not\nover going till she came to the house of Al-Abbas. When the Prince saw\nher in this plight, he became like a sleeper awakened and cried to her,\n\u201cWhat hath befallen thee? Acquaint me with thy case.\u201d She replied,\n\u201cAllah upon thee, nevermore send me to Mariyah, and do thou protect me,\nso the Lord protect thee from the fires of Gehenna!\u201d Then she related to\nhim that which had betided her with Mariyah which when Al-Abbas heard,\nthere took him the pride and high spirit of the generous and this was\ngrievous to him. The love of Mariyah fled forth of his heart and he said\nto the nurse, \u201cHow much hadst thou of Mariyah every month?\u201d Quoth she,\n\u201cTen dinars\u201d and quoth he, \u201cBe not concerned.\u201d Then he put hand to pouch\nand bringing out two hundred ducats, gave them to her and said, \u201cTake\nthis wage for a whole year and turn not again to serve anyone of the\nfolk. When the twelvemonth shall have passed away, I will give thee a\ntwo years\u2019 wage, for that thou hast wearied thyself with us and on\naccount of the cutting off the tie which bound thee to Mariyah.\u201d Also he\ngifted her with a complete suit of clothes and raising his head to her,\nsaid, \u201cWhen thou toldest me that which Mariyah had done with thee, Allah\nuprooted the love of her from out my heart, and never again will she\noccur to my thought; so extolled be He who turneth hearts and eyes!\n\u2019Twas she who was the cause of my coming out from Al-Yaman, and now the\ntime is past for which I engaged with my folk and I fear lest my father\nlevy his forces and ride forth in quest of me, for that he hath no child\nother than myself nor can he brook to be parted from me; and in like way\n\u2019tis with my mother.\u201d When the nurse heard his words, she asked him, \u201cO\nmy lord, and which of the kings is thy sire?\u201d He answered, saying, \u201cMy\nfather is Al-Aziz, lord of Al-Yaman, and Nubia and the Islands[392] of\nthe Banu Kaht\u00e1n, and the Two Sanctuaries[393] (Allah of All-might have\nthem in His keeping!), and whenever he taketh horse, there ride with him\nan hundred and twenty and four thousand horsemen, each and every smiters\nwith the sword, besides attendants and servants and followers, all of\nwhom give ear to my word and obey my bidding.\u201d Asked the nurse, \u201cWhy,\nthen, O my lord, didst thou conceal the secret of thy rank and lineage\nand passedst thyself off for a foreigner and a wayfarer? Alas for our\ndisgrace before thee by reason of our shortcoming in rendering thee thy\ndue! What shall be our excuse with thee, and thou of the sons of the\nkings?\u201d But he rejoined, \u201cBy Allah, thou hast not fallen short! Indeed,\n\u2019tis incumbent on me to requite thee, what while I live, though from\nthee I be far distant.\u201d Then he called his man Amir and said to him,\n\u201cSaddle the steeds.\u201d When the nurse heard his words and indeed she saw\nthat Amir brought him the horses and they were resolved upon departure,\nthe tears ran down upon her cheeks and she said to him, \u201cBy Allah, thy\nseparation is saddening to me, O coolth of the eye!\u201d Then quoth she,\n\u201cWhere is the goal of thine intent, so we may know thy news and solace\nourselves with thy report?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cI go hence to visit \u2019Ak\u00edl, the\nson of my paternal uncle, for that he hath his sojourn in the camp of\nKundah bin Hish\u00e1m, and these twenty years have I not seen him nor hath\nhe seen me; so I purpose to repair to him and discover his news and\nreturn. Then will I go hence to Al-Yaman, Inshallah!\u201d So saying, he took\nleave of the nurse and her husband and set out, intending for Akil, the\nson of his father\u2019s brother. Now there was between Baghdad and Akil\u2019s\nabiding-place forty days\u2019 journey; so Al-Abbas settled himself on the\nback of his steed and his servant Amir mounted also and they fared forth\non their way. Presently, Al-Abbas turned right and left and recited\nthese couplets:\u2014\n\n I\u2019m the singular knight and my peers I slay! \u273f I lay low the foe and his\n whole array:\n I fare me to visit my friend Al-Ak\u00edl, \u273f And in safety and\n Allah-lauds[394] shorten the way;\n And roll up the width of the wold while still \u273f Hears \u2019Amir my word or\n in earnest or play.[395]\n I spring with the spring of a lynx or a pard \u273f Upon whoso dareth our\n course to stay;\n O\u2019erthrow him in ruin and abject shame, \u273f Make him drain the death-cup\n in fatal fray.\n My lance is long with its steely blade; \u273f A brand keen-grided,\n thin-edged I sway:\n With a stroke an it fell on a towering hill \u273f Of the hardest stone, this\n would cleave in tway:\n I lead no troops, nor seek aid save God\u2019s, \u273f The creating Lord (to whom\n laud alw\u00e0y!)\n On Whom I rely in adventures all \u273f And Who pardoneth l\u00e2ches of freeman\n and thrall.\n\nThen they fell a-faring night and day, and as they went, behold, they\nsighted a camp of the camps of the Arabs. So Al-Abbas enquired thereof\nand was told that it was the camp of the Banu Zohrah. Now there were\naround them herds and flocks, such as filled the earth, and they were\nenemies to Al-Akil, the cousin of Al-Abbas, upon whom they made daily\nraids and took his cattle, wherefore he used to pay them tribute every\nyear because he lacked power to cope with them. When Al-Abbas came to\nthe skirts of the camp, he dismounted from his destrier and his servant\nAmir also dismounted; and they set down the provaunt and ate their\nsufficiency and rested an hour of the day. Then said the Prince to his\npage, \u201cFetch water from the well and give the horses to drink and draw\nup a supply for us in thy bag,[396] by way of provision for the road.\u201d\nSo Amir took the water-skin and made for the well; but, when he came\nthere, behold, two young men slaves were leading gazelles, and when they\nsaw him, they said to him, \u201cWhither wendest thou, O youth, and of which\nof the Arabs art thou?\u201d Quoth he, \u201cHarkye, lads, fill me my water-skin,\nfor that I am a stranger astray and a farer of the way, and I have a\ncomrade who awaiteth me.\u201d Quoth the thralls, \u201cThou art no wayfarer, but\na spy from Al-Akil\u2019s camp.\u201d Then they took him and carried him to their\nking Zuhayr bin Shab\u00edb; and when he came before him, he said to him, \u201cOf\nwhich of the Arabs art thou?\u201d Quoth Amir, \u201cI am a wayfarer.\u201d So Zuhayr\nsaid, \u201cWhence comest thou and whither wendest thou?\u201d and Amir replied,\n\u201cI am on my way to Al-Akil.\u201d When he named Al-Akil, those who were\npresent were excited; but Zuhayr signed to them with his eyes and asked\nhim, \u201cWhat is thine errand with Al-Akil?\u201d and he answered, \u201cWe would\nfain see him, my friend and I.\u201d As soon as Zuhayr heard his words, he\nbade smite his neck;[397] but his Wazir said to him, \u201cSlay him not, till\nhis friend be present.\u201d So he commanded the two slaves to fetch his\nfriend; whereupon they repaired to Al-Abbas and called to him, saying,\n\u201cO youth, answer the summons of King Zuhayr.\u201d He enquired, \u201cWhat would\nthe king with me?\u201d and they replied, \u201cWe know not.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cWho gave\nthe king news of me?\u201d and quoth they, \u201cWe went to draw water, and found\na man by the well. So we questioned him of his case, but he would not\nacquaint us therewith, wherefore we carried him willy-nilly to King\nZuhayr, who asked him of his adventure and he told him that he was going\nto Al-Akil. Now Al-Akil is the king\u2019s enemy and he intendeth to betake\nhimself to his camp and make prize of his offspring, and cut off his\ntraces.\u201d Said Al-Abbas, \u201cAnd what hath Al-Akil done with King Zuhayr?\u201d\nThey replied, \u201cHe engaged for himself that he would bring the King every\nyear a thousand dinars and a thousand she-camels, besides a thousand\nhead of thoroughbred steeds and two hundred black slaves and fifty\nhand-maids; but it hath reached the king that Al-Akil purposeth to give\nnaught of this; wherefore he is minded to go to him. So hasten thou with\nus, ere the King be wroth with thee and with us.\u201d Then said Al-Abbas to\nthem, \u201cO youths, sit by my weapons and my stallion till I return.\u201d But\nthey said, \u201cBy Allah, thou prolongest discourse with that which\nbeseemeth not of words! Make haste, or we will go with thy head, for\nindeed the King purposeth to slay thee and to slay thy comrade and take\nthat which is with you.\u201d When the Prince heard this, his skin bristled\nwith rage and he cried out at them with a cry which made them tremble.\nThen he sprang upon his horse and settling himself in the saddle,\ngalloped till he came to the King\u2019s assembly, when he shouted at the top\nof his voice, saying, \u201cTo horse, O horsemen!\u201d and couched his spear at\nthe pavilion wherein was Zuhayr. Now there were about the King a\nthousand smiters with the sword; but Al-Abbas charged home upon them and\ndispersed them from around him; and there abode none in the tent save\nZuhayr and his Wazir. Then Al-Abbas came up to the door of the tent\nwherein were four-and-twenty golden doves; so he took them, after he had\ntumbled them down with the end of his lance. Then he called out saying,\n\u201cHo, Zuhayr! Doth it not suffice thee that thou hast abated Al-Akil\u2019s\nrepute, but thou art minded to abate that of those who sojourn round\nabout him? Knowest thou not that he is of the lieutenants of Kundah bin\nHisham of the Banu Shayban, a man renowned for prowess? Indeed, greed of\nhis gain hath entered into thee and envy of him hath gotten the mastery\nof thee. Doth it not suffice thee that thou hast orphaned his\nchildren[398] and slain his men? By the virtue of Mustafa, the Chosen\nProphet, I will make thee drain the cup of death!\u201d So saying, he bared\nhis brand and smiting Zuhayr on his shoulder-blade caused the steel\nissue gleaming from his throat tendons; then he smote the Wazir and\nclove his crown asunder. As he was thus, behold, Amir called out to him\nand said, \u201cO my lord, come help me, or I be a dead man!\u201d So Al-Abbas\nwent up to him guided by his voice, and found him cast down on his back\nand chained with four chains to four pickets of iron.[399] He loosed his\nbonds and said to him, \u201cGo in front of me, O Amir.\u201d So he fared on\nbefore him a little, and presently they looked, and, behold, horsemen\nwere making to Zuhayr\u2019s succour, and they numbered twelve thousand\nriders led by Sahl bin Ka\u2019ab bestriding a coal-black steed. He charged\nupon Amir, who fled from him, then upon Al-Abbas, who said, \u201cO Amir,\nhold fast to my horse and guard my back.\u201d The page did as he bade him,\nwhereupon Al-Abbas cried out at the folk and falling upon them,\noverthrew their braves and slew of them some two thousand riders, whilst\nnot one of them knew what was to do nor with whom he fought. Then said\none of them to other, \u201cVerily, the King is slain; so with whom do we\nwage war? Indeed ye flee from him; but \u2019twere better ye enter under his\nbanners, or not one of you will be saved.\u201d Thereupon all dismounted and\ndoffing that which was upon them of war-gear, came before Al-Abbas and\nproffered him allegiance and sued for his protection. So he withheld his\nbrand from them and bade them gather together the spoils. Then he took\nthe riches and the slaves and the camels, and they all became his lieges\nand his retainers, to the number (according to that which is reported)\nof fifty thousand horse. Furthermore, the folk heard of him and flocked\nto him from all sides; whereupon he divided the loot amongst them and\ngave largesse and dwelt thus three days, and there came gifts to him.\nAfter this he bade march for Al-Akil\u2019s abiding place; so they fared on\nsix days and on the seventh they sighted the camp. Al-Abbas bade his man\nAmir precede him and give Al-Akil the good news of his cousin\u2019s coming;\nso he rode on to the camp and, going in to Al-Akil, acquainted him with\nthe glad tidings of Zuhayr\u2019s slaughter and the conquest of his\nclan.[400] Al-Akil rejoiced in the coming of Al-Abbas and the slaughter\nof his enemy and all in his camp rejoiced also and cast robes of honour\nupon Amir; while Al-Akil bade go forth to meet Al-Abbas, and commanded\nthat none, great or small, freeman or slave, should tarry behind. So\nthey did his bidding and going forth all, met Al-Abbas at three\nparasangs\u2019 distance from the camp; and when they met him, they\ndismounted from their horses and Al-Akil and he embraced and clapped\npalm to palm.[401] Then rejoicing in the coming of Al-Abbas and the\nkilling of their foeman, they returned to the camp, where tents were\npitched for the new-comers and skin-rugs spread and game slain and\nbeasts slaughtered and royal guest-meals spread; and after this fashion\nthey abode twenty days in the enjoyment of all delight of life. On this\nwise fared it with Al-Abbas and his cousin Al-Akil; but as regards King\nAl-Aziz, when his son left him, he was desolated for him with exceeding\ndesolation, both he and his mother; and when tidings of him tarried long\nand the tryst-time passed without his returning, the king caused public\nproclamation to be made, commanding all his troops to get ready to mount\nand ride forth in quest of his son Al-Abbas, at the end of three days,\nafter which no cause of hindrance or excuse would be admitted to any. So\non the fourth day, the king bade muster the troops who numbered\nfour-and-twenty thousand horse, besides servants and followers.\nAccordingly, they reared the standards and the kettle-drums beat; the\ngeneral and the king set out with his power intending for Baghdad; nor\ndid he cease to press forward with all diligence, till he came within\nhalf a day\u2019s journey of the city, when he bade his army encamp on the\nGreen Meadow. There they pitched the tents, till the lowland was\nstraitened with them, and set up for the king a pavilion of green\nbrocade, purfled with pearls and precious stones. When Al-Aziz had sat\nawhile, he summoned the Mamelukes of his son Al-Abbas, and they were\nfive-and-twenty in number besides ten slave-girls, as they were moons,\nfive of whom the king had brought with him and other five he had left\nwith the prince\u2019s mother. When the Mamelukes came before him, he cast\nover each and every of them a mantle of green brocade and bade them\nmount similar horses of one and the same fashion and enter Baghdad and\nask after their lord Al-Abbas. So they rode into the city and passed\nthrough the market-streets and there remained in Baghdad nor old man nor\nboy but came forth to gaze on them and divert himself with the sight of\ntheir beauty and loveliness and the seemliness of their semblance and\nthe goodliness of their garments and horses, for all were even as moons.\nThey gave not over going till they came to the palace,[402] where they\nhalted, and the king looked at them and seeing their beauty and the\nbrilliancy of their apparel and the brightness of their faces, said,\n\u201cWould Heaven I knew of which of the tribes these are!\u201d And he bade the\nEunuch bring him news of them. The castrato went out to them and\nquestioned them of their case, whereto they replied, \u201cReturn to thy lord\nand enquire of him concerning Prince Al-Abbas, an he have come unto him,\nfor that he left his sire King Al-Aziz a full-told year ago, and indeed\nlonging for him troubleth the King and he hath levied a division of his\narmy and his guards and is come forth in quest of his son, so haply he\nmay light upon tidings of him.\u201d Quoth the Eunuch, \u201cIs there amongst you\na brother of his or a son?\u201d and quoth they, \u201cNay, by Allah, but we are\nall his Mamelukes and the purchased of his money, and his sire Al-Aziz\nhath sent us to make enquiry of him. Do thou go to thy lord and question\nhim of the Prince and return to us with that which he shall answer\nthee.\u201d Asked the Eunuch, \u201cAnd where is King Al-Aziz?\u201d and they answered,\n\u201cHe is encamped in the Green Meadow?\u201d[403] The Eunuch returned and told\nthe king, who said, \u201cIndeed we have been unduly negligent with regard to\nAl-Abbas. What shall be our excuse with the King? By Allah, my soul\nsuggested to me that the youth was of the sons of the kings!\u201d His wife,\nthe Lady Afifah saw him lamenting for his neglect of Al-Abbas, and said\nto him, \u201cO King, what is it thou regrettest with this mighty regret?\u201d\nQuoth he, \u201cThou knowest the stranger youth, who gifted us with the\nrubies?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cAssuredly;\u201d and he, \u201cYonder youths, who have halted\nin the palace court, are his Mamelukes, and his father, King Al-Aziz,\nlord of Al-Yaman, hath pitched his camp on the Green Meadow; for he is\ncome with his army to seek him, and the number of his troops is\nfour-and-twenty thousand horsemen.\u201d Then he went out from her, and when\nshe heard his words, she wept sore for him and had compassion on his\ncase and sent after him, counselling him to summon the Mamelukes and\nlodge them in the palace and entertain them. The king hearkened to her\nrede and despatching the Eunuch for the Mamelukes, assigned unto them a\nlodging and said to them, \u201cHave patience, till the King give you tidings\nof your lord Al-Abbas.\u201d When they heard his words, their eyes ran over\nwith a rush of tears, of their mighty longing for the sight of their\nlord. Then the King bade the Queen enter the private chamber opening\nupon the throne-room and let down the curtain before the door, so she\nmight see and not be seen. She did this and he summoned them to his\npresence; and, when they stood before him, they kissed ground to do him\nhonour, and showed forth their courtly breeding and magnified his\ndignity. He ordered them to sit, but they refused, till he conjured them\nby their lord Al-Abbas: accordingly they sat down and he bade set before\nthem food of various kinds and fruits and sweetmeats. Now within the\nLady Afifah\u2019s palace was a souterrain communicating with the pavilion of\nthe Princess Mariyah: so the Queen sent after her and she came to her,\nwhereupon she made her stand behind the curtain and gave her to know\nthat Al-Abbas was son to the King of Al-Yaman and that these were his\nMamelukes: she also told her that the Prince\u2019s father had levied his\ntroops and was come with his army in quest of him and that he had\npitched his camp on the Green Meadow and had despatched these Mamelukes\nto make enquiry of their lord. Then Mariyah abode looking upon them and\nupon their beauty and loveliness and the goodliness of their raiment,\ntill they had eaten their fill of food and the tables were removed;\nwhereupon the King recounted to them the story of Al-Abbas and they took\nleave of him and went their ways. So fortuned it with the Mamelukes; but\nas for the Princess Mariyah, when she returned to her palace, she\nbethought herself concerning the affair of Al-Abbas, repenting her of\nwhat she had done; and the love of him took root in her heart. And, when\nthe night darkened upon her, she dismissed all her women and bringing\nout the letters, to wit, those which Al-Abbas had written her, fell to\nreading them and weeping. She left not weeping her night long, and when\nshe arose in the morning, she called a damsel of her slave-girls,\nShaf\u00edkah by name, and said to her, \u201cO damsel, I purpose to discover to\nthee mine affair and I charge thee keep my secret, which is that thou\nbetake thyself to the house of the nurse, who used to serve me, and\nfetch her to me, for that I have grave need of her.\u201d Accordingly,\nShafikah went out and repairing to the nurse\u2019s house, entered and found\nher clad in clothing other and richer than what she had whilome been\nwont to wear. So she saluted her and asked her, \u201cWhence hadst thou this\ndress, than which there is no goodlier?\u201d Answered the nurse, \u201cO\nShafikah, thou deemest that I have seen no good save of thy mistress;\nbut, by Allah, had I endeavoured for her destruction, I had acted\nrighteously, seeing that she did with me what she did and bade the\nEunuch beat me, without offence by me offered: so tell her that he, on\nwhose behalf I bestirred myself with her, hath made me independent of\nher and her humours, for he hath habited me in this habit and given me\ntwo hundred and fifty dinars and promised me the like every year and\ncharged me to serve none of the folk.\u201d Quoth Shafikah, \u201cMy mistress hath\na need for thee; so come thou with me and I will engage to restore thee\nto thy dwelling in safety and satisfaction.\u201d But quoth the nurse,\n\u201cIndeed her palace is become unlawful and forbidden to me[404] and never\nagain will I enter therein, for that Allah (extolled and exalted be He!)\nof His favour and bounty hath rendered me independent of her.\u201d Presently\nShafikah returned to her mistress and acquainted her with the nurse\u2019s\nwords and that wherein she was of prosperity; whereupon Mariyah\nconfessed her unmannerly dealing with her and repented when repentance\nprofited her not; and she abode in that her case days and nights, whilst\nthe fire of longing flamed in her heart. On this wise happened it to\nher; but as regards Al-Abbas, he tarried with his cousin Al-Akil twenty\ndays, after which he made ready for the journey to Baghdad and bidding\nbring the booty he had taken from King Zuhayr, divided it between\nhimself and his cousin. Then he sent out a-marching Baghdad-wards and\nwhen he came within two days\u2019 journey of the city, he summoned his\nservant Amir and said to him, \u201cMount thy charger and forego me with the\ncaravan and the cattle.\u201d So Amir took horse and fared on till he came to\nBaghdad, and the season of his entering was the first of the day; nor\nwas there in the city little child or old greybeard but came forth to\ndivert himself with gazing on those flocks and herds and upon the beauty\nof those slave-girls; and their wits were wildered at what they saw.\nSoon afterwards the news reached the king that the young man Al-Abbas,\nwho had gone forth from him, was come back with booty and rarities and\nblack slaves and a conquering host and had taken up his sojourn without\nthe city, whilst his servant Amir was presently come to Baghdad, so he\nmight get ready for his lord dwelling-places wherein he should take up\nhis abode. When the King heard these tidings of Amir, he sent for him\nand caused bring him before him; and when he entered his presence, he\nkissed the ground and saluted with the salam and showed his fine\nbreeding and greeted him with the goodliest of greetings. The King bade\nhim raise his head and, this done, questioned him of his lord Al-Abbas;\nwhereupon he acquainted him with his adventures and told him that which\nhad betided him with King Zuhayr and of the army that was become at his\ncommand and of the spoil he had secured. He also gave him to know that\nAl-Abbas was to arrive on the morrow, and with him more than fifty\nthousand cavaliers, obedient to his orders. When the king heard his\nwords, he bade decorate Baghdad and commanded the citizens to equip\nthemselves with the richest of their apparel, in honour of the coming of\nAl-Abbas. Furthermore, he sent to give King Al-Aziz the glad tidings of\nhis son\u2019s return and informed him of all which he had heard from the\nPrince\u2019s servant. When the news reached King Al-Aziz, he joyed with\nexceeding joy in the approach of his son and straightway took horse, he\nand all his host, while the trumpets blared and the musicians played, so\nthat the earth quaked and Baghdad also trembled, and it was a notable\nday. When Mariyah beheld all this, she repented in all possible\npenitence of that which she had done against Al-Abbas and the fires of\ndesire raged in her vitals. Meanwhile, the troops[405] sallied forth of\nBaghdad and went out to meet those of Al-Abbas, who had halted in a\ngarth called the Green Island. When he espied the approaching host, he\nstrained his sight and, seeing horsemen coming and troops and footmen he\nknew not, said to those about him, \u201cAmong yonder troops are flags and\nbanners of various kinds; but, as for the great green standard that ye\nsee, \u2019tis the standard of my sire, the which is reserved to him and\nnever displayed save over his head, and thus I know that he himself is\ncome out in quest of me.\u201d And he was certified of this, he and his\ntroops. So he fared on towards them and when he drew near them, he knew\nthem and they knew him; whereupon they lighted down from their horses\nand saluting him, gave him joy of his safety and the folk flocked to\nhim. When he came to his father, they embraced and each greeted other a\nlong time, whilst neither of them could utter a word, for the greatness\nof that which betided them of joy in reunion. Then Al-Abbas bade the\nfolk take horse; so they mounted and his Mamelukes surrounded him and\nthey entered Baghdad on the most splendid wise and in the highest honour\nand glory. Now the wife of the shopkeeper, that is, the nurse, came out,\nwith the rest of those who flocked forth, to divert herself with gazing\nupon the show, and when she saw Al-Abbas and beheld his beauty and the\nbeauty of his host and that which he had brought back with him of herds\nand slave-girls, Mamelukes and negroes, she improvised and recited these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n Al-Abb\u00e1s from the side of Ak\u00edl is come; \u273f Caravans and steeds he hath\n plunder\u00e8d:\n Yea; horses he brought of pure blood, whose necks \u273f Ring with collars\n like anklets wher\u2019er they are led.\n With dom\u00e8d hoofs they pour torrent-like, \u273f As they prance through dust\n on the level stead:\n And bestriding their saddles come men of war, \u273f Whose fingers play on\n the kettle-drum\u2019s head:\n And couched are their lances that bear the points \u273f Keen grided, which\n fill every soul with dread:\n Who wi\u2019 them would fence draweth down his death \u273f For one deadly lunge\n soon shall do him dead:\n Charge, comrades, charge ye and give me joy, \u273f Saying, \u201cWelcome to thee,\n O our dear comr\u00e0de!\u201d\n And who joys at his meeting shall \u2019joy delight \u273f Of large gifts when he\n from his steed shall \u2019light.\n\nWhen the troops entered Baghdad, each of them alighted in his tent,\nwhilst Al-Abbas encamped apart on a place near the Tigris and issued\norders to slaughter for the soldiers, each day, that which should\nsuffice them of oxen and sheep and to bake them bread and spread the\ntables: so the folk ceased not to come to him and eat of his banquet.\nFurthermore, all the country-people flocked to him with presents and\nrarities and he requited them many times the like of their gifts, so\nthat the lands were filled with his renown and the fame of him was\nbruited abroad among the habitants of wold and town. Then, as soon as he\nrode to the house he had bought, the shopkeeper and his wife came to him\nand gave him joy of his safety; whereupon he ordered them three head of\nswift steeds and thoroughbred and ten dromedaries and an hundred head of\nsheep and clad them both in costly robes of honour. Presently he chose\nout ten slave-girls and ten negro slaves and fifty mares and the like\nnumber of she-camels and three hundred of sheep, together with twenty\nounces of musk and as many of camphor, and sent all this to the King of\nBaghdad. When the present came to Ins bin Kays, his wit fled for joy and\nhe was perplexed wherewith to requite him. Al-Abbas also gave gifts and\nlargesse and bestowed robes of honour upon noble and simple, each after\nthe measure of his degree, save only Mariyah; for to her indeed he sent\nnothing. This was grievous to the Princess and it irked her sore that he\nshould not remember her; so she called her slave-girl Shafikah and said\nto her, \u201cHie thee to Al-Abbas and salute him and say to him:\u2014What\nhindereth thee from sending my lady Mariyah her part of thy booty?\u201d So\nShafikah betook herself to him and when she came to his door, the\nchamberlains refused her admission, until they should have got for her\nleave and permission. When she entered, Al-Abbas knew her and knew that\nshe had somewhat of speech with him; so he dismissed his Mamelukes and\nasked her, \u201cWhat is thine errand, O hand-maid of good?\u201d Answered she, \u201cO\nmy lord, I am a slave-girl of the Princess Mariyah, who kisseth thy\nhands and offereth her salutation to thee. Indeed, she rejoiceth in thy\nsafety and blameth thee for that thou breakest her heart, alone of all\nthe folk, because thy largesse embraceth great and small, yet hast thou\nnot remembered her with anything of thy plunder, as if thou hadst\nhardened thy heart against her.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cExtolled be He who turneth\nhearts! By Allah, my vitals were consumed with the love of her; and, of\nmy longing after her I came forth to her from my mother-land and left my\npeople and my home and my wealth, and it was with her that began the\nhardheartedness and the cruelty. Natheless, for all this, I bear her no\nmalice and there is no help but that I send her somewhat whereby she may\nremember me; for that I sojourn in her country but a few days, after\nwhich I set out for the land of Al-Yaman.\u201d Then he called for a chest\nand thence bringing out a necklace of Greek workmanship, worth a\nthousand dinars, wrapped it in a mantle of Greek silk, set with pearls\nand gems and purfled with red gold, and joined thereto a couple of\ncaskets containing musk and ambergris. He also put off upon the girl a\nmantle of Greek silk, striped with gold, wherein were divers figures and\nportraitures depictured, never saw eyes its like. Therewithal the girl\u2019s\nwit fled for joy and she went forth from his presence and returned to\nher mistress. When she came in to her, she acquainted her with that\nwhich she had seen of Al-Abbas and that which was with him of servants\nand attendants and set out to her the loftiness of his station and gave\nher that which was with her. Mariyah opened the mantle, and when she saw\nthat necklace (and indeed the place was illumined with the lustre\nthereof), she looked at her slave-girl and said to her, \u201cBy Allah, O\nShafikah, one look at him were dearer to me than all that my hand\npossesseth! Oh, would Heaven I knew what I shall do, when Baghdad is\nempty of him and I hear of him no news!\u201d Then she wept and calling for\nink-case and paper and pen of brass, wrote these couplets:\n\n Longsome my sorrows are; my liver\u2019s fired with ecstasy; \u273f And\n severance-shaft hath shot me through whence sorest pangs I dree:\n And howso could my soul forget the love I bear to you? \u273f You-wards my\n will perforce returns nor passion sets me free:\n I \u2019prison all desires I feel for fear of spies thereon \u273f Yet tears that\n streak my cheek betray for every eye to see.\n No place of rest or joy I find to bring me life-delight; \u273f No wine\n tastes well; nor viands please however savoury:\n Ah me! to whom shall I complain of case and seek its cure \u273f Save unto\n thee whose Phantom deigns to show me sight of thee?\n Then name me not or chide for aught I did in passion-stress, \u273f With\n vitals gone and frame consumed by yearning-malady!\n Secret I keep the fire of love which aye for severance burns; \u273f Sworn\n slave[406] to Love who robs my rest and wakes me cruelly:\n And ceaseth not my thought to gaze upon your ghost by night, \u273f Which\n falsing comes and he I love still, still unloveth me.\n\n Would Heaven ye wist the blight that I for you are doomed to bear \u273f For\n love of you, which tortures me with parting agony!\n Then read between the lines I wrote, and mark and learn their sense \u273f\n For such my tale, and Destiny made me an outcast be:\n Learn eke the circumstance of Love and lover\u2019s woe nor deign \u273f Divulge\n its mysteries to men nor grudge its secrecy.\n\nThen she folded the scroll and giving it to her slave-girl, bade her\nbear it to Al-Abbas and bring back his reply. So Shafikah took the\nletter and carried it to the Prince, after the doorkeeper had sought\nleave of him to admit her. When she came in to him, she found with him\nfive damsels, as they were moons, clad in rich raiment and ornaments;\nand when he saw her, he said to her, \u201cWhat is thy need, O hand-maid of\ngood?\u201d Presently she put out her hand to him with the writ, after she\nhad kissed it, and he bade one of his slave-girls receive it from\nher.[407] Then he took it from the girl and breaking the seal, read it\nand comprehended its contents; whereupon he cried, \u201cVerily, we be\nAllah\u2019s and unto Him we shall return!\u201d and calling for ink-case and\npaper, wrote these improvised couplets:\u2014\n\n I wonder seeing how thy love to me \u273f Inclined, while I in heart from\n love declined:\n Eke wast thou wont to say in verseful writ, \u273f \u201cSon of the Road[408] no\n road to me shall find!\n How oft kings flocked to me with mighty men \u273f And bales on back of\n Bukhti[409] beast they bind:\n And noble steeds of purest blood and all \u273f They bore of choicest boons\n to me consigned;\n Yet won no favour!\u201d Then came I to woo \u273f And the long tale o\u2019 love I had\n designed.\n I fain set forth in writ of mine, with words \u273f Like strings of pearls in\n goodly line aligned:\u2014\u2014\n Set forth my sev\u2019rance, griefs, tyrannic wrongs, \u273f And ill device\n ill-suiting lover-kind.\n\n How oft love-claimant, craving secrecy, \u273f How oft have lovers \u2019plained\n as sore they pined,\n \u201cHow many a brimming bitter cup I\u2019ve quaffed, \u273f And wept my woes when\n speech was vain as wind!\u201d\n And thou:\u2014\u201cBe patient, \u2019tis thy bestest course \u273f And choicest medicine\n for mortal mind!\u201d\n Then unto patience worthy praise cleave _thou_; \u273f Easy of issue and be\n lief resigned:\n Nor hope thou aught of me lest ill alloy \u273f Or aught of dross affect my\n blood refined:\n Such is my speech. Read, mark, and learn my say! \u273f To what thou deemest\n ne\u2019er I\u2019ll tread the way.\n\nThen he folded the scroll and sealing it, entrusted it to the damsel,\nwho took it and bore it to her mistress. When the Princess read the\nletter and mastered its meaning, she said, \u201cMeseemeth he recalleth\nbygones to me.\u201d Then she called for pens, ink, and paper, and wrote\nthese couplets:\n\n Love thou didst show me till I learnt its woe \u273f Then to the growth of\n grief didst severance show:\n I banisht joys of slumber after you \u273f And e\u2019en my pillow garred my wake\n to grow.\n How long in parting shall I pine with pain \u273f While severance-spies[410]\n through night watch every throe?\n I\u2019ve left my kingly couch and self withdrew \u273f Therefrom, and taught mine\n eyelids sleep t\u2019 unknow:\n \u2019Twas thou didst teach me what I ne\u2019er can bear: \u273f Then didst thou waste\n my frame with parting-blow.\n By oath I swear thee, blame and chide me not: \u273f Be kind to mourner Love\n hath stricken low!\n For parting-rigours drive him nearer still \u273f To narrow home, ere clad in\n shroud for clo\u2019:\n Have ruth on me, since Love laid waste my frame, \u273f \u2019Mid thralls enrolled\n me and lit fires that flame.\n\nMariyah rolled up the letter and gave it to Shafikah, bidding her bear\nit to Al-Abbas. Accordingly she took it and going with it to his door,\nproceeded to enter; but the chamberlains and serving-men forbade her,\ntill they had obtained her leave from the Prince. When she went into\nhim, she found him sitting in the midst of the five damsels before\nmentioned, whom his father had brought for him; so she gave him the\nletter and he tare it open and read it. Then he bade one of the damsels,\nwhose name was Khaf\u00edfah and who came from the land of China, tune her\nlute and sing anent separation. Thereupon she came forward and tuning\nher lute, played thereon in four-and-twenty modes: after which she\nreturned to the first and sang these couplets:\u2014\n\n Our friends, when leaving us on parting-day, \u273f Drave us in wolds of\n severance-grief to stray:\n When bound the camels\u2019 litters bearing them, \u273f And cries of drivers\n urged them on the way,\n Outrusht my tears, despair gat hold of me \u273f And sleep betrayed mine eyes\n to wake a prey.\n The day they went I wept, but showed no ruth \u273f The severance-spy and\n flared the flames alw\u00e0y:\n Alas for lowe o\u2019 Love that fires me still! \u273f Alack for pine that melts\n my heart away!\n To whom shall I complain of care, when thou \u273f Art gone, nor fain\n a-pillow head I lay?\n And day by day Love\u2019s ardours grow on me, \u273f And far\u2019s the tent that\n holds my fondest may:\n O Breeze o\u2019 Heaven, bear for me a charge \u273f (Nor traitor-like my troth in\n love betray!),\n Whene\u2019er thou breathest o\u2019er the loved one\u2019s land \u273f Greet him with\n choice salam fro\u2019 me, I pray:\n Dust him with musk and powdered ambergris \u273f While time endures! Such is\n my wish for aye.\n\nWhen the damsel had made an end of her song, Al-Abbas swooned away and\nthey sprinkled on him musked rose-water, till he recovered from his\nfainting-fit, when he called another damsel (now there was on her of\nlinen and raiment and ornaments that which undoeth description, and she\nwas a model of beauty and brightness and loveliness and symmetry and\nperfect grace, such as shamed the crescent moon, and she was a Turkish\ngirl from the land of the Roum and her name was H\u00e1fizah) and said to\nher, \u201cO Hafizah, close thine eyes and tune thy lute and sing to us upon\nthe days of severance.\u201d She answered him, \u201cTo hear is to obey\u201d and\ntaking the lute, tightened its strings and cried out from her head,[411]\nin a plaintive voice, and sang these couplets:\u2014\n\n My friends! tears flow in painful mockery, \u273f And sick my heart from\n parting agony:\n My frame is wasted and my vitals wrung \u273f And love-fires grow and eyes\n set tear-floods free:\n And when the fire burns high beneath my ribs \u273f With tears I quench it as\n sad day I see.\n Love left me wasted, baffled, pain-begone, \u273f Sore frighted, butt to\n spying enemy:\n When I recall sweet union wi\u2019 their loves \u273f I chase dear sleep from the\n sick frame o\u2019 me.\n Long as our parting lasts the rival joys \u273f And spies with fearful\n prudence gain their gree.\n I fear me for my sickly, langourous frame \u273f Lest dread of parting slay\n me incont\u2019nently.\n\nWhen Hafizah had ended her song, Al-Abbas cried to her, \u201cBrava! Verily,\nthou quickenest hearts from griefs.\u201d Then he called another maiden of\nthe daughters of Daylam, by name Marj\u00e1nah, and said to her, \u201cO Marjanah,\nsing to me upon the days of parting.\u201d She said, \u201cHearing and obeying,\u201d\nand recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n \u201cCleave to fair Patience! Patience \u2019gendereth weal\u201d: \u273f Such is the rede\n to us all sages deal:\n How oft I plained the lowe of grief and love \u273f Mid passions cast my soul\n in sore unheal.\n How oft I waked and drained the bitter cup \u273f And watched the stars, nor\n sleep mine eyes would seal!\n Enough it were an deal you grace to me \u273f In writ a-morn and garred no\n hope to feel.\n\n But Thoughts which probed its depths would sear my heart \u273f And start\n from eye-brows streams that ever steal:\n Nor cease I suffering baleful doom and nights \u273f Wakeful, and heart by\n sorrows rent piece-meal:\n But Allah purged my soul from love of you \u273f When all knew secrets cared\n I not reveal.\n I march to-morrow from your country and \u273f Haply you\u2019ll speed me nor fear\n aught unweal;\n And, when in person you be far from us, \u273f Would heaven we knew who shall\n your news reveal.\n Who kens if home will e\u2019er us two contain \u273f In dearest life with union\n naught can stain!\n\nWhen Marjanah had made an end of her song, the Prince said to her,\n\u201cBrava, O damsel! Indeed, thou sayest a thing which had occurred to my\nmind and my tongue was near to speaking it.\u201d Then he signed to the\nfourth damsel, who was a Cairene, by name Sitt al-Husn, and bade her\ntune her lute and sing to him upon the same theme. So the Lady of Beauty\ntuned her lute and sang these couplets:\u2014\n\n Patience is blest for weal comes after woe \u273f And all things stated time\n and ordinance show;\n Haps the Sultan, hight Fortune, prove unjust \u273f Shifting the times, and\n man excuse shall know:\n Bitter ensueth sweet in law of change \u273f And after crookedness things\n straightest grow.\n Then guard thine honour, nor to any save \u273f The noble knowledge of the\n hid bestow:\n These be vicissitudes the Lord commands \u273f Poor men endure, the sinner\n and the low.\n\nWhen Al-Abbas heard her make an end of her verses, they pleased him and\nhe said to her, \u201cBrava, O Sitt al-Husn! Indeed, thou hast done away\nanxiety from my heart and hast banished the things which had occurred to\nmy thought.\u201d Then he sighed and signing to the fifth damsel, who was\nfrom the land of the Persians and whose name was Marz\u00edyah (now she was\nthe fairest of them all and the sweetest of speech and she was like unto\na lustrous star, a model of beauty and loveliness and perfection and\nbrightness and justness of shape and symmetric grace and had a face like\nthe new moon and eyes as they were gazelle\u2019s eyes) and said to her, \u201cO\nMarziyah, come forward and tune thy lute and sing to us on the same\ntheme, for indeed we are resolved upon faring to the land of Al-Yaman.\u201d\nNow this maiden had met many of the monarchs and had foregathered with\nthe great; so she tuned her lute and sang these couplets:\u2014\n\n Friend of my heart why leave thou lone and desolate these eyne? \u273f Fair\n union of our lots ne\u2019er failed this sitting-stead of mine!\n And ah! who dwellest singly in the heart and sprite of me, \u273f (Be I thy\n ransom!) desolate for loss of friend I pine!\n By Allah! O thou richest form in charms and loveliness, \u273f Give alms to\n lover who can show of patience ne\u2019er a sign!\n Alms of what past between us tway (which ne\u2019er will I divulge) \u273f Of\n privacy between us tway that man shall ne\u2019er divine:\n Grant me approval of my lord whereby t\u2019 o\u2019erwhelm the foe \u273f And let my\n straitness pass away and doubtful thoughts malign:\n Approof of thee (an gained the meed) for me high rank shall gain \u273f And\n show me robed in richest weed to eyes of envy fain.\n\nWhen she had ended her song, all who were in the assembly wept for the\ndaintiness of her delivery and the sweetness of her speech and Al-Abbas\nsaid to her, \u201cBrava, O Marziyah! Indeed, thou bewilderest the wits with\nthe beauty of thy verse and the polish of thy speech.\u201d[412] All this\nwhile Shafikah abode gazing upon her, and when she beheld the\nslave-girls of Al-Abbas and considered the charms of their clothing and\nthe subtlety of their senses and the delicacy of their delivery her\nreason flew from her head. Then she sought leave of Al-Abbas and\nreturning to her mistress Mariyah, sans letter or reply, acquainted her\nwith what she had espied of the damsels and described to her the\ncondition wherein he was of honour and delight, majesty, venerance and\nloftiness of rank. Lastly, she enlarged upon what she had seen of the\nslave-girls and their case and that which they had said and how they had\nincited Al-Abbas anent returning to his own country by the recitation of\nsongs to the sound of the strings. When the Princess heard this her\nslave-girl\u2019s report, she wept and wailed and was like to leave the\nworld. Then she took to her pillow and said, \u201cO Shafikah, I will inform\nthee of a something which is not hidden from Allah the Most High, and\n\u2019tis that thou watch over me till the Almighty decree the accomplishment\nof His destiny, and when my days are ended, take thou the necklace and\nthe mantle with which Al-Abbas gifted me and return them to him. I deem\nnot he will survive me, and if the Lord of All-might determine against\nhim and his days come to an end, do thou give one charge to shroud us\nand entomb us both in one tomb.\u201d Then her case changed and her colour\nwaxed wan; and when Shafikah saw her mistress in this plight, she\nrepaired to her mother and told her that the lady Mariyah refused meat\nand drink. Asked the Queen, \u201cSince when hath this befallen her?\u201d and\nShafikah answered, \u201cSince yesterday\u2019s date;\u201d whereat the mother was\nconfounded and betaking herself to her daughter, that she might inquire\ninto her case, lo and behold! found her as one dying. So she sat down at\nher head and Mariyah opened her eyes and seeing her mother sitting by\nher, sat up for shame before her. The Queen questioned her of her case\nand she said, \u201cI entered the Hammam and it stupefied me and prostrated\nme and left in my head an exceeding pain; but I trust in Allah Almighty\nthat it will cease.\u201d When her mother went out from her, Mariyah took to\nchiding the damsel for that which she had done and said to her, \u201cVerily,\ndeath were dearer to me than this; so discover thou not my affair to any\nand I charge thee return not to the like of this fashion.\u201d Then she\nfainted and lay swooning for a whole hour, and when she came to herself,\nshe saw Shafikah weeping over her; whereupon she pluckt the necklace\nfrom her neck and the mantle from her body and said to the damsel, \u201cLay\nthem in a damask napkin and bear them to Al-Abbas and acquaint him with\nthat wherein I am for the stress of severance and the strain of\nforbiddance.\u201d So Shafikah took them and carried them to Al-Abbas, whom\nshe found in readiness to depart, being about to take horse for\nAl-Yaman. She went in to him and gave him the napkin and that which was\ntherein, and when he opened it and saw what it contained, namely, the\nmantle and the necklace, his chagrin was excessive and his eyes turned\nin his head[413] and his rage shot out of them. When Shafikah saw that\nwhich betided him, she came forward and said to him, \u201cO bountiful lord,\nverily my mistress returneth not the mantle and the necklace for\ndespite; but she is about to quit the world and thou hast the best right\nto them.\u201d Asked he, \u201cAnd what is the cause of this?\u201d and Shafikah\nanswered, \u201cThou knowest. By Allah, never among the Arabs nor the Ajams\nnor among the sons of the kings saw I a harder of heart than thou! Can\nit be a slight matter to thee that thou troublest Mariyah\u2019s life and\ncausest her to mourn for herself and quit the world for the sake of thy\nyouth?[414] Thou wast the cause of her acquaintance with thee and now\nshe departeth this life on thine account, she whose like Allah Almighty\nhath not created among the daughters of the kings.\u201d When Al-Abbas heard\nfrom the damsel these words, his heart burned for Mariyah and her case\nwas not light to him; so he said to Shafikah, \u201cCanst thou bring me in\ncompany with her, so haply I may discover her concern and allay whatso\naileth her?\u201d Said she, \u201cYes, I can do that, and thine will be the bounty\nand the favour.\u201d So he arose and followed her, and she preceded him,\ntill they came to the palace. Then she opened and locked behind them\nfour-and-twenty doors and made them fast with padlocks; and when he came\nto Mariyah, he found her as she were the downing sun, strown upon a T\u00e1if\nrug of perfumed leather,[415] surrounded by cushions stuffed with\nostrich down, and not a limb of her quivered. When her maid saw her in\nthis state, she offered to cry out; but Al-Abbas said to her, \u201cDo it\nnot, but have patience till we discover her affair; and if Allah (be He\nextolled and exalted!) have decreed her death, wait till thou have\nopened the doors to me and I have gone forth. Then do what seemeth good\nto thee.\u201d So saying, he went up to the Princess and laying his hand upon\nher bosom, found her heart fluttering like a doveling and the life yet\nhanging to her breast.[416] So he placed his hand on her cheek, whereat\nshe opened her eyes and beckoning to her maid, said to her by signs,\n\u201cWho is this that treadeth my carpet and transgresseth against me?\u201d[417]\n\u201cO my lady,\u201d cried Shafikah, \u201cthis is Prince Al-Abbas, for whose sake\nthou forsakest the world.\u201d When Mariyah heard speak of Al-Abbas, she\nraised her hand from under the coverlet and laying it upon his neck,\ninhaled awhile his scent. Then she sat up and her complexion returned to\nher and they abode talking till a third part of the night was past.\nPresently, the Princess turned to her hand-maid and bade her fetch them\nsomewhat of food, sweetmeats, and fruits, fresh and dry. So Shafikah\nbrought what she desired and they ate and drank and abode on this wise\nwithout lewdness, till night went and light came. Then said Al-Abbas,\n\u201cIndeed, the morn breaketh. Shall I hie to my sire and bid him go to thy\nfather and seek thee of him in wedlock for me, in accordance with the\nbook of Allah Almighty and the practice of His Apostle (whom may He save\nand assain!) so we may not enter into transgression?\u201d And Mariyah\nanswered, saying, \u201cBy Allah, \u2019tis well counselled of thee!\u201d So he went\naway to his lodging and naught befel between them; and when the day\nlightened, she recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n O friends, morn-breeze with Morn draws on amain: \u273f A Voice[418] bespeaks\n us,\n Up to the convent where our friend we\u2019ll sight \u273f And wine more subtile\n than the dust[419] we\u2019ll drain;\n Whereon our friend spent all the coin he owned \u273f And made the nursling\n in his cloak contain;[420]\n And, when we oped the jar, light opalline \u273f Struck down the singers in\n its search waylain.\n From all sides flocking came the convent-monks \u273f Crying at top o\u2019\n voices, \u201cWelcome fain!\u201d\n And we carousing sat, and cups went round, \u273f Till rose the Venus-star\n o\u2019er Eastern plain.\n No shame in drinking wine, which means good cheer \u273f And love and promise\n of prophetic strain![421]\n Ho thou, the Morn, our union sundering, \u273f These joyous hours to fine\n thou dost constrain.\n Show grace to us until our pleasures end, \u273f And latest drop of joy fro\u2019\n friends we gain:\n You have affection candid and sincere \u273f And Love and Joy are best of\n Faiths for men.\n\nSuch was the case with Mariyah; but as regards Al-Abbas, he betook\nhimself to his father\u2019s camp, which was pitched on the Green Meadow, by\nthe Tigris-side, and none might thread his way between the tents, for\nthe dense network of the tent-ropes. When the Prince reached the first\nof the pavilions, the guards and servants came out to meet him from all\nsides and walked in his service till he drew near the sitting-place of\nhis sire, who knew of his approach. So he issued forth his marquee and\ncoming to meet his son, kissed him and made much of him. Then they\nreturned together to the royal pavilion and when they had seated\nthemselves therein and the guards had taken up their station in\nattendance on them, the King said to Al-Abbas, \u201cO my son, get ready\nthine affair, so we may go to our own land, for that the lieges in our\nabsence are become as they were sheep lacking shepherd.\u201d Al-Abbas looked\nat his father and wept till he fainted, and when he recovered from his\nfit, he improvised and recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n I embraced him,[422] and straight I waxt drunk wi\u2019 the smell \u273f Of a\n fresh young branch wont in wealth to dwell.\n Yea, drunken, but not by the wine; nay, \u2019twas \u273f By draughts from his\n lips that like wine-cups well:\n For Beauty wrote on his cheek\u2019s fair page \u273f \u201cOh, his charms! take refuge\n fro\u2019 danger fell!\u201d[423]\n Mine eyes, be easy, since him ye saw; \u273f Nor mote nor blearness with you\n shall mell:\n In him Beauty showeth fro\u2019 first to fine \u273f And bindeth on hearts bonds\n unfrangible:\n An thou kohl thyself with his cheek of light \u273f Thou\u2019ll find but jasper\n and or in stelle:[424]\n The chiders came to reproach me when \u273f For him longing and pining my\n heart befel:\n But I fear not, I end not, I turn me not \u273f From his life, let tell-tale\n his tale e\u2019en tell:\n By Allah, forgetting ne\u2019er crossed my thought \u273f While by life-tie bound,\n or when ends my spell:\n An I live I will live in his love, an I die \u273f Of love and longing, I\u2019ll\n cry, \u201c\u2019Tis well!\u201d\n\nNow when Al-Abbas had ended his verses, his father said to him, \u201cI seek\nrefuge for thee with Allah, O my son! Hast thou any want thou art\npowerless to win, so I may endeavour for thee therein and lavish my\ntreasures in its quest.\u201d Cried Al-Abbas, \u201cO my papa, I have, indeed, an\nurgent need, on whose account I came forth of my mother-land and left my\npeople and my home and affronted perils and horrors and became an exile,\nand I trust in Allah that it may be accomplished by thy magnanimous\nendeavour.\u201d Quoth the King, \u201cAnd what is thy want?\u201d and quoth Al-Abbas,\n\u201cI would have thee go and ask for me to wife Mariyah, daughter of the\nKing of Baghdad, for that my heart is distracted with love of her.\u201d Then\nhe recounted to his father his adventure from first to last. When the\nKing heard this from his son, he rose to his feet and calling for his\ncharger of parade, took horse with four-and-twenty Emirs of the chief\nofficers of his empire. Then he betook himself to the palace of the King\nof Baghdad who, when he saw him coming, bade his chamberlains open the\ndoors to them and going down himself to meet him, received him with all\nhonour and hospitality and carried him and his into the palace; then\ncausing make ready for them carpets and cushions, sat down upon his\ngolden throne and seated the guest by his side upon a chair of gold,\nframed in juniper-wood set with pearls and jewels. Presently he bade\nbring sweetmeats and confections and scents and commanded to slaughter\nfour-and-twenty head of sheep and the like of oxen and make ready geese\nand chickens and pigeons stuffed and boiled, and spread the tables; nor\nwas it long before the meats were served up in vessels of gold and\nsilver. So they eat their sufficiency and when they had eaten their\nfill, the tables were removed and the wine-service set on and the cups\nand flagons ranged in ranks, whilst the Mamelukes and the fair\nslave-girls sat down, with zones of gold about their waists, studded\nwith all manner pearls, diamonds, emeralds, rubies and other jewels.\nMoreover, the king bade fetch the musicians; so there presented\nthemselves before him twenty damsels with lutes and psalteries[425] and\nviols, and smote upon instruments of music playing and performing on\nsuch wise that they moved the assembly to delight. Then said Al-Aziz to\nthe King of Baghdad, \u201cI would fain speak a word to thee; but do thou not\nexclude from us those who are present. An thou consent unto my wish\nthine is ours and on thee shall be whatso is on us;[426] and we will be\nto thee a mighty forearm against all unfriends and foes.\u201d Quoth Ins bin\nKays, \u201cSay what thou wilt, O King, for indeed thou excellest in speech\nand in whatso thou sayest dost hit the mark.\u201d So Al-Aziz said to him, \u201cI\ndesire that thou marry thy daughter Mariyah to my son Al-Abbas, for thou\nknowest what he hath of beauty and loveliness, brightness and perfect\ngrace and his frequentation of the valiant and his constancy in the\nstead of cut-and-thrust.\u201d Said Ins bin Kays, \u201cBy Allah, O King, of my\nlove for Mariyah, I have appointed her mistress of her own hand;\naccordingly, whomsoever she chooseth of the folk, to him will I wed\nher.\u201d Then he arose to his feet and going in to his daughter, found her\nmother with her; so he set out to them the case and Mariyah said, \u201cO my\npapa, my wish followeth thy word and my will ensueth thy will; so\nwhatsoever thou choosest, I am obedient to thee and under thy dominion.\u201d\nTherewith the King knew that Mariyah inclined to Al-Abbas; he therefore\nreturned forthright to King Al-Aziz and said to him, \u201cMay Allah amend\nthe King! Verily, the wish is won and there is no opposition to that\nthou commandest.\u201d Quoth Al-Aziz, \u201cBy Allah\u2019s leave are wishes won. How\ndeemest thou, O King, of fetching Al-Abbas and documenting the\nmarriage-contract between Mariyah and him?\u201d and quoth Ins bin Kays,\n\u201cThine be the rede.\u201d So Al-Aziz sent after his son and acquainted him\nwith that which had passed; whereupon Al-Abbas called for\nfour-and-twenty mules and ten horses and as many camels and loaded the\nmules with fathom-long pieces of silk and rugs of leather and boxes of\ncamphor and musk and the camels and horses with chests of gold and\nsilver. Eke, he took the richest of the stuffs and wrapping them in\nwrappers of gold-purfled silk, laid them on the heads of porters,[427]\nand they fared on with the treasures till they reached the King of\nBaghdad\u2019s palace, whereupon all who were present dismounted in honour of\nAl-Abbas and escorting him in a body to the presence of Ins bin Kays,\ndisplayed to the King all that they had with them of things of price.\nThe King bade carry all this into the store rooms of the Harim and sent\nfor the Kazis and the witnesses, who wrote out the contract and married\nMariyah to Al-Abbas, whereupon the Prince commanded slaughter one\nthousand head of sheep and five hundred buffaloes. So they spread the\nbride-feast and bade thereto all the tribes of the Arabs, men of tents\nand men of towns, and the banquet continued for the space of ten days.\nThen Al-Abbas went in to Mariyah in a commendable and auspicious hour\nand lay with her and found her a pearl unthridden and a goodly filly no\nrider had ridden;[428] wherefore he rejoiced and was glad and made\nmerry, and care and sorrow ceased from him and his life was pleasant and\ntrouble departed and he ceased not abiding with her in most joyful case\nand in the most easeful of life, till seven days were past, when King\nAl-Aziz resolved to set out and return to his realm and bade his son\nseek leave of his father-in-law to depart with his wife to his own\ncountry. So Al-Abbas spoke of this to King Ins, who granted him the\npermission he sought; whereupon he chose out a red camel,[429] taller\nand more valuable than the rest of the camels, and loading it with\napparel and ornaments, mounted Mariyah in a litter thereon. Then they\nspread the ensigns and the standards, whilst kettle-drums beat and the\ntrumpets blared, and set out upon the homewards way. The King of Baghdad\nrode forth with them and companied them three days\u2019 journey on their\nroute, after which he farewelled them and returned with his troops to\nBaghdad. As for King Al-Aziz and his son, they fared on night and day\nand gave not over going till there remained but three days\u2019 journey\nbetween them and Al-Yaman, when they despatched three men of the\ncouriers to the Prince\u2019s mother to report that they were bringing with\nthem Mariyah, the King\u2019s daughter of Baghdad, and returning safe and\nladen with spoil. When the Queen-mother heard this, her wit took wings\nfor joy and she adorned the slave-girls of Al-Abbas after the finest\nfashion. Now he had ten hand-maids, as they were moons, whereof his\nfather had carried five with him to Baghdad, as hath erst been set\nforth, and the remaining five abode with his mother. When the\ndromedary-posts[430] came, they were certified of the approach of\nAl-Abbas, and when the sun easted and their flags were seen flaunting,\nthe Prince\u2019s mother came out to meet her son; nor on that day was there\ngreat or small, boy or greybeard, but went forth to greet the king. Then\nthe kettle-drums of glad tidings beat and they entered in the utmost of\npomp and the extreme of magnificence; so that the tribes and the\ntownspeople heard of them and brought them the richest of gifts and the\nrarest of presents and the Prince\u2019s mother rejoiced with joy exceeding.\nThey butchered beasts and spread mighty bride-feasts for the people and\nkindled fires,[431] that it might be visible afar to townsman and\ntribesman that this was the house of hospitality and the stead of the\nwedding-festival, to the intent that, if any passed them by, it should\nbe of his own sin against himself. So the folk came to them from all\ndistricts and quarters and in this way they abode days and months.\nPresently the Prince\u2019s mother bade fetch the five slave-girls to that\nassembly; whereupon they came and the ten damsels met. The queen seated\nfive of them on her son\u2019s right hand and other five on his left and the\nfolk gathered about them. Then she bade the five who had remained with\nher speak forth somewhat of poesy, so they might entertain therewith the\ns\u00e9ance and that Al-Abbas might rejoice thereat. Now she had clad them in\nthe costliest of clothes and adorned them with trinkets and ornaments\nand moulded work of gold and silver and collars of gold, wrought with\npearls and gems. So they paced forward, with harps and lutes and zithers\nand recorders and other instruments of music before them, and one of\nthem, a damsel who came from the land of China and whose name was\nB\u00e1\u2019\u00fathah, advanced and screwed up the strings of her lute. Then she\ncried out from the top of her head and recited these couplets:\u2014\n\n Indeed your land returned, when you returned, \u273f To whilom light which\n overgrew its gloom:\n Green grew the land that was afore dust-brown, \u273f And fruits that failed\n again showed riping bloom:\n And clouds rained treasures after rain had lacked, \u273f And plenty poured\n from earth\u2019s re-opening womb.\n\n Then ceased the woes, my lords, that garred us weep, \u273f With tears like\n dragons\u2019 blood, our severance-doom,\n Whose length, by Allah, made me yearn and pine, \u273f Would Heaven, O lady\n mine, I were thy groom!\n\nWhen she had ended her song, all who were present were delighted and\nAl-Abbas rejoiced in this. Then he bade the second damsel sing somewhat\non the same theme. So she came forward and tightening the strings of her\nharp, which was of balass ruby,[432] raised her voice in a plaintive air\nand improvised these couplets:\u2014\n\n Brought the Courier glad news of our absentees,[433] \u273f To please us\n through those who had wrought us unease:\n Cried I, \u201cMy life ransom thee, messenger man, \u273f Thou hast kept thy faith\n and thy boons are these.\u201d\n An the nightlets of union in you we joyed \u273f When fared you naught would\n our grief appease;\n You sware that folk would to folk be true, \u273f And you kept your oaths as\n good faith decrees.\n To you made I oath true lover am I \u273f Heaven guard me when sworn from all\n perjuries:\n I fared to meet you and loud I cried, \u273f \u201cAha, fair welcome when come you\n please!\u201d\n And I joyed to meet you and when you came, \u273f Deckt all the dwelling with\n tapestries,\n And death in your absence to us was dight, \u273f But your presence bringeth\n us life and light.\n\nWhen she had made an end of her verse, Al-Abbas bade the third damsel\n(who came from Samarkand of Ajam-land and whose name was Rumm\u00e1nah) sing,\nand she answered, \u201cTo hear is to obey.\u201d Then she took the zither and\ncrying out from the midst of her head, recited and sang these\ncouplets:[434]\u2014\n\n My watering mouth declares thy myrtle-cheek my food to be \u273f And cull my\n lips thy side-face rose, who lily art to me!\n\n And twixt the dune and down there shows the fairest flower that blooms \u273f\n Whose fruitage is granado\u2019s fruit with all granado\u2019s blee.[435]\n Forget my lids of eyne their sleep for magic eyes of him; \u273f Naught since\n he fared but drowsy charms and languorous air I see.[436]\n He shot me down with shaft of glance from bow of eyebrow sped: \u273f What\n Chamberlain[437] betwixt his eyes garred all my pleasure flee?\n Haply shall heart of me seduce his heart by weakness\u2019 force \u273f E\u2019en as\n his own seductive grace garred me love-ailment dree.\n For an by him forgotten be our pact and covenant \u273f I have a King who\n never will forget my memory.\n His sides bemock the bending charms of waving Tamarisk,[438] \u273f And in\n his beauty-pride he walks as drunk with coquetry:\n His feet and legs be feather-light whene\u2019er he deigns to run \u273f And say,\n did any ride the wind except \u2019twere Solomon?[439]\n\nTherewith Al-Abbas smiled and her verses pleased him. Then he bade the\nfourth damsel come forward and sing, (now she was from the\nSundown-land[440] and her name was Balakhsh\u00e1); so she came forward and\ntaking the lute and the zither, tuned the strings and smote them in many\nmodes; then she returned to the first and improvising, sang these\ncouplets:\u2014\n\n When to the s\u00e9ance all for pleasure hied \u273f Thy lamping eyes illumined\n its every side;\n While playing round us o\u2019er the wine-full bowl \u273f Those necklace-pearls\n old wine with pleasure plied,[441]\n Till wits the wisest drunken by her grace \u273f Betrayed for joyance secrets\n sages hide;\n And, seen the cup, we bade it circle round \u273f While sun and moon spread\n radiance side and wide.\n We raised for lover veil of love perforce \u273f And came glad tidings which\n new joys applied:\n Loud sang the camel-guide; won was our wish \u273f Nor was the secret by the\n spy espied:\n And, when my days where blest by union-bliss \u273f And to all-parting Time\n was aid denied,\n Each \u2019bode with other, clear of meddling spy \u273f Nor feared we hate of foe\n or neighbour-pride.\n The sky was bright, friends came and severance fared \u273f And Love-in-union\n rained boons multiplied:\n Saying, \u201cFulfil fair union, all are gone \u273f Rivals and fears lest shaming\n foe deride:\u201d\n Friends now conjoin\u00e8d are: wrong passed away \u273f And meeting-cup goes\n round and joys abide:\n On you be Allah\u2019s Peace with every boon \u273f Till end the dooming years and\n time and tide.\n\nWhen Balakhsh\u00e1 had ended her verse, all present were moved to delight\nand Al-Abbas said to her, \u201cBrava, O damsel!\u201d Then he bade the fifth\ndamsel come forward and sing (now she was from the land of Syria and her\nname was Rayh\u00e1nah; she was passing of voice and when she appeared in an\nassembly, all eyes were fixed upon her), so she came forward and taking\nthe viol (for she was used to play upon all instruments) recited and\nsang these couplets:\u2014\n\n Your me-wards coming I hail to sight; \u273f Your look is a joy driving woe\n from sprite:\n With you love is blest, pure and white of soul; \u273f Life\u2019s sweet and my\n planet grows green and bright:\n\n By Allah, you-wards my pine ne\u2019er ceased \u273f And your like is rare and\n right worthy hight.\n Ask my eyes an e\u2019er since the day ye went \u273f They tasted sleep, looked on\n loverwight:\n My heart by the parting-day was broke \u273f And my wasted body betrays my\n plight:\n Could my blamers see in what grief am I, \u273f They had wept in wonder my\n loss, my blight!\n They had joined me in shedding torrential tears \u273f And like me a-morn had\n shown thin and slight:\n How long for your love shall your lover bear \u273f This weight o\u2019er much for\n the hill\u2019s strong height?\n By Allah what then for your sake was doomed \u273f To my heart, a heart by\n its woes turned white!\n An showed I the fires that aye flare in me, \u273f They had \u2019flamed Eastern\n world and earth\u2019s Western site.\n But after this is my love fulfilled \u273f With joy and gladness and mere\n delight;\n And the Lord who scattered hath brought us back \u273f For who doeth good\n shall of good ne\u2019er lack.\n\nWhen King Al-Aziz heard the damsel\u2019s song, both words and verses pleased\nhim and he said to Al-Abbas, \u201cO my son, verily long versifying hath\ntired these damsels, and indeed they make us yearn after the houses and\nthe homesteads with the beauty of their songs. These five have adorned\nour meeting with the charm of their melodies and have done well in that\nwhich they have said before those who are present; so we counsel thee to\nfree them for the love of Allah Almighty.\u201d Quoth Al-Abbas, \u201cThere is no\ncommand but thy command;\u201d and he enfranchised the ten damsels in the\nassembly; whereupon they kissed the hands of the King and his son and\nprostrated themselves in thanksgiving to the Lord of All-might. Then\nthey put off that which was upon them of ornaments and laying aside the\nlutes and other instruments of music, kept to their houses like modest\nwomen and veiled, and fared not forth.[442] As for King Al-Aziz, he\nlived after this seven years and was removed to the mercy of Almighty\nAllah; when his son Al-Abbas bore him forth to burial as beseemeth kings\nand let make for him perfections and professional recitations of the\nKoran. He kept up the mourning for his father during four successive\nweeks, and when a full-told month had elapsed he sat down on the throne\nof the kingship and judged and did justice and distributed silver and\ngold. He also loosed all who were in the jails and abolished grievances\nand customs dues and righted the oppressed of the oppressor; so the\nlieges prayed for him and loved him and invoked on him endurance of\nglory and continuance of kingship and length of life and eternity of\nprosperity and happiness. The troops submitted to him, and the hosts\nfrom all parts of the kingdom, and there came to him presents from each\nand every land: the kings obeyed him and many were his warriors and his\ngrandees, and his subjects lived with him the most easeful of lives and\nthe most delightsome. Meanwhile, he ceased not, he and his beloved,\nQueen Mariyah, in the most enjoyable of life and the pleasantest, and he\nwas vouchsafed by her children; and indeed there befel friendship and\naffection between them and the longer their companionship was prolonged,\nthe more their love waxed, so that they became unable to endure each\nfrom other a single hour, save the time of his going forth to the Divan,\nwhen he would return to her in the liveliest that might be of longing.\nAnd after this fashion they abode in all solace of life and satisfaction\ntill there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Severer of\nsocieties. So extolled be the Eternal whose sway endureth for ever and\naye, who never unheedeth neither dieth nor sleepeth! This is all that\nhath come down to us of their tale, and so the Peace!\n\n\n\n\n SHAHRAZAD AND SHAHRYAR.[443]\n\n\nKing Shahryar marvelled at this history[444] and said, \u201cBy Allah,\nverily, injustice slayeth its folk!\u201d[445] And he was edified by that\nwherewith Shahrazad bespoke him and sought help of Allah the Most High.\nThen said he to her, \u201cTell me another of thy tales, O Shahrazad; supply\nme with a pleasant story and this shall be the completion of the\nstory-telling.\u201d Shahrazad replied, \u201cWith love and gladness! It hath\nreached me, O auspicious King, that a man once declared to his mates, I\nwill set forth to you a means of security against annoy. A friend of\nmine once related to me and said:\u2014We attained to security against annoy,\nand the origin of it was other than this; that is, it was the\nfollowing[446]:\u2014\n\n\n\n\n TALE OF THE TWO KINGS AND THE WAZIR\u2019S DAUGHTERS.\u201d[447]\n\n\nI overtravelled whilome lands and climes and towns and visited the\ncities of high renown and traversed the ways of dangers and hardships.\nTowards the last of my life, I entered a city of the cities of\nChina,[448] wherein was a king of the Chosro\u00ebs and the Tobbas[449] and\nthe C\u00e6sars.[450] Now that city had been peopled with its inhabitants by\nmeans of justice and equity; but its then king was a tyrant dire who\ndespoiled lives and souls at his desire; in fine, there was no warming\noneself at his fire,[451] for that indeed he oppressed the believing\nband and wasted the land. Now he had a younger brother, who was king in\nSamarkand of the Persians, and the two kings sojourned a while of time,\neach in his own city and stead, till they yearned unto each other and\nthe elder king despatched his Wazir to fetch his younger brother. When\nthe Minister came to the King of Samarkand and acquainted him with his\nerrand, he submitted himself to the bidding of his brother and answered,\n\u201cTo hear is to obey.\u201d Then he equipped himself and made ready for\nwayfare and brought forth his tents and pavilions. A while after\nmidnight, he went in to his wife, that he might farewell her, and found\nwith her a strange man, lying by her in one bed. So he slew them both\nand dragging them out by the feet, cast them away and set forth on his\nmarch. When he came to his brother\u2019s court, the elder king rejoiced in\nhim with joy exceeding and lodged him in the pavilion of hospitality\nbeside his own palace. Now this pavilion overlooked a flower-garden\nbelonging to the elder brother and there the younger abode with him some\ndays. Then he called to mind that which his wife had done with him and\nremembered her slaughter and bethought him how he was a king, yet was\nnot exempt from the shifts of Time; and this affected him with exceeding\naffect, so that it drave him to abstain from meat and drink, or, if he\nate anything, it profited him naught. When his brother saw him on such\nwise, he deemed that this had betided him by reason of severance from\nhis folk and family, and said to him, \u201cCome, let us fare forth\na-coursing and a-hunting.\u201d But he refused to go with him; so the elder\nbrother went to the chase, whilst the younger abode in the pavilion\naforesaid. Now, as he was diverting himself by looking out upon the\nflower-garden from the latticed window of the palace, behold, he saw his\nbrother\u2019s wife and with her ten black slaves and ten slave-girls. Each\nslave laid hold of a damsel and another slave came forth and did the\nlike with the queen; and when they had their wills one of other they all\nreturned whence they came. Hereat there betided the King of Samarkand\nexceeding surprise and solace and he was made whole of his malady,\nlittle by little. After a few days, his brother returned, and finding\nhim cured of his complaint, said to him, \u201cTell me, O my brother, what\nwas the cause of thy sickness and thy pallor, and what is the reason of\nthe return of health to thee and of rosiness to thy face after this?\u201d So\nhe acquainted him with the whole case and this was grievous to him; but\nthey hid their affair and agreed to leave the kingship and fare forth\na-pilgrimaging and adventuring at hap-hazard, for they deemed that there\nhad befallen none the like of what had befallen them. Accordingly, they\nwent forth and as they journeyed, they saw by the way a woman imprisoned\nin seven chests, whereon were five padlocks, and sunken deep in the\nmidst of the salt sea, under the guardianship of an Ifrit; yet for all\nthis that woman issued out of the ocean and opened those padlocks and\ncoming forth of those chests, did what she would with the two brothers,\nafter she had practised upon the Ifrit. When the two kings saw that\nwoman\u2019s fashion and how she circumvented the Ifrit, who had lodged her\nin the abyss of the main, they turned back to their kingdoms and the\nyounger betook himself to Samarkand, whilst the elder returned to China\nand contrived for himself a custom in the slaughter of damsels, which\nwas, his Wazir used to bring him every night a girl, with whom he lay\nthat night, and when he arose in the morning, he gave her to the\nMinister and bade him do her die. After this fashion he abode a long\ntime, whilst the folk murmured and God\u2019s creatures were destroyed and\nthe commons cried out by reason of that grievous affair into which they\nwere fallen and feared the wrath of Allah Almighty, dreading lest He\ndestroy them by means of this. Still the king persisted in that practice\nand in his blameworthy intent of the killing of damsels and the\ndespoilment of maidens concealed by veils,[452] wherefore the girls\nsought succour of the Lord of All-might, and complained to Him of the\ntyranny of the king and of his oppression. Now the king\u2019s Wazir had two\ndaughters, sisters german, the elder of whom had read the books and made\nherself mistress of the sciences and studied the writings of the sages\nand the stories of the cup-companions,[453] and she was a maiden of\nabundant lore and knowledge galore and wit than which naught can be\nmore. She heard that which the folk suffered from that king in his\nmisusage of their children; whereupon ruth for them gat hold of her and\njealousy and she besought Allah Almighty that He would bring the king to\nrenounce that his new and accursed custom,[454] and the Lord answered\nher prayer. Then she consulted her younger sister and said to her, \u201cI\nmean to devise a device for freeing the children of folk; to wit, I will\ngo up to the king and offer myself to marry him, and when I come to his\npresence, I will send to fetch thee. When thou comest in to me and the\nking hath had his carnal will of me, do thou say to me:\u2014O my sister, let\nme hear a story of thy goodly stories, wherewith we may beguile the\nwaking hours of our night, till the dawn, when we take leave each of\nother; and let the king hear it likewise!\u201d The other replied \u201c\u2019Tis well;\nforsure this contrivance will deter the king from this innovation he\npractiseth and thou shalt be requited with favour exceeding and\nrecompense abounding in the world to come, for that indeed thou perilest\nthy life and wilt either perish or win to thy wish.\u201d So she did this and\nFortune favoured her and the Divine direction was vouchsafed to her and\nshe discovered her design to her sire, the Wazir, who thereupon forbade\nher, fearing her slaughter. However, she repeated her words to him a\nsecond time and a third, but he consented not. Then he cited to her a\nparable, which should deter her, and she cited to him a parable of\nimport contrary to his, and the debate was prolonged between them and\nthe adducing of instances, till her father saw that he was powerless to\nturn her from her purpose and she said to him, \u201cThere is no help but\nthat I marry the King, so haply I may be a sacrifice for the children of\nthe Moslems: either I shall turn him from this his heresy or I shall\ndie.\u201d When the Minister despaired of dissuading her, he went up to the\nking and acquainted him with the case, saying, \u201cI have a maiden daughter\nand she desireth to give herself in free gift to the King.\u201d Quoth the\nKing, \u201cHow can thy soul consent to this, seeing that thou knowest I\nabide but a single night with a girl and when I arise on the morrow, I\ndo her dead, and \u2019tis thou who slayest her, and again and again thou\nhast done this?\u201d Quoth the Wazir, \u201cKnow, O king, that I have set forth\nall this to her, yet consented she not to aught, but needs must she have\nthy company and she chooseth to come to thee and present herself before\nthee, albeit I have cited to her the sayings of the sages; but she hath\nanswered me with more than that which I said to her and contrariwise.\u201d\nThen quoth the king, \u201cSuffer her visit me this night and to-morrow\nmorning come thou and take her and kill her; and by Allah, an thou slay\nher not, I will slay thee and her also!\u201d The Minister obeyed the king\u2019s\nbidding and going out from the presence returned home. When it was\nnight, he took his elder daughter and carried her up to the king; and\nwhen she came before him she wept;[455] whereupon he asked her, \u201cWhat\ncauseth thee weep? indeed, \u2019twas thou who willedst this.\u201d She answered,\n\u201cI weep not but of longing after my little sister; for that, since we\ngrew up, I and she, I have never been parted from her till this day; so,\nan it please the King to send for her, that I may look on her, and\nlisten to her speech and take my fill of her till the morning, this were\na boon and an act of kindness of the King.\u201d So he bade fetch the damsel\nand she came. Then there befel that which befel of his union with the\nelder sister,[456] and when he went up to his couch, that he might\nsleep, the younger sister said to her elder, \u201cAllah, upon thee, O my\nsister, an thou be not asleep, tell us a tale of thy goodly tales,\nwherewith we may beguile the watches of our night, ere day dawn and\nparting.\u201d Said she, \u201cWith love and gladness;\u201d and fell to relating to\nher, whilst the king listened. Her story was goodly and delectable, and\nwhilst she was in the midst of telling it, the dawn brake. Now the\nking\u2019s heart clave to the hearing of the rest of the story; so he\nrespited her till the morrow; and, when it was the next night, she told\nhim a tale concerning the marvels of the lands and the wonders of\nAllah\u2019s creatures which was yet stranger and rarer than the first. In\nthe midst of the recital, appeared the day and she was silent from the\npermitted say. So he let her live till the following night, that he\nmight hear the end of the history and after that slay her. On this wise\nit fortuned with her; but as regards the people of the city, they\nrejoiced and were glad and blessed the Wazir\u2019s daughters, marvelling for\nthat three days had passed and that the king had not put his bride to\ndeath and exulting in that he had returned to the ways of righteousness\nand would never again burthen himself with blood-guilt against any of\nthe maidens of the city. Then, on the fourth night, she related to him a\nstill more extraordinary adventure, and on the fifth night she told him\nanecdotes of Kings and Wazirs and Notables. Brief, she ceased not to\nentertain him many days and nights, while the king still said to\nhimself, \u201cWhenas I shall have heard the end of the tale, I will do her\ndie,\u201d and the people redoubled their marvel and admiration. Also, the\nfolk of the circuits and cities heard of this thing, to wit, that the\nking had turned from his custom and from that which he had imposed upon\nhimself and had renounced his heresy, wherefor they rejoiced and the\nlieges returned to the capital and took up their abode therein, after\nthey had departed thence; and they were constant in prayer to Allah\nAlmighty that He would stablish the king in his present stead. \u201cAnd\nthis,\u201d said Shahrazad, \u201cis the end of that which my friend related to\nme.\u201d Quoth Shahryar,[457] \u201cO Shahrazad, finish for us the tale thy\nfriend told thee, inasmuch as it resembleth the story of a King whom I\nknew; but fain would I hear that which betided the people of this city\nand what they said of the affair of the King, so I may return from the\ncase wherein I was.\u201d She replied, \u201cWith love and gladness!\u201d Know, O\nauspicious king and lord of right rede and praiseworthy meed and prowest\nof deed, that, when the folk heard how the king had put away from him\nhis malpractice and returned from his unrighteous wont, they rejoiced in\nthis with joy exceeding and offered up prayers for him. Then they talked\none with other of the cause of the slaughter of the maidens, and the\nwise said, \u201cWomen are not all alike, nor are the fingers of the hand\nalike.\u201d Now when King Shahryar heard this story he came to himself and\nawaking from his drunkenness,[458] said, \u201cBy Allah, this story is my\nstory and this case is my case, for that indeed I was in reprobation and\ndanger of judgment till thou turnedst me back from this into the right\nway, extolled be the Causer of causes and the Liberator of necks!\u201d\npresently adding, \u201cIndeed, O Shahrazad, thou hast awakened me to many\nthings and hast aroused me from mine ignorance of the right.\u201d Then said\nshe to him, \u201cO chief of the kings, the wise say:\u2014The kingship is a\nbuilding, whereof the troops are the base, and when the foundation is\nstrong, the building endureth; wherefore it behoveth the king to\nstrengthen the foundation, for that they say, Whenas the base is weak,\nthe building falleth. In like fashion it besitteth the king to care for\nhis troops and do justice among his lieges, even as the owner of the\ngarden careth for his trees and cutteth away the weeds that have no\nprofit in them; and so it befitteth the king to look into the affairs of\nhis Ryots and fend off oppression from them. As for thee, O king, it\nbehoveth thee that thy Wazir be virtuous and experienced in the\nrequirements of the people and the peasantry; and indeed Allah the Most\nHigh hath named his name[459] in the history of Mus\u00e0 (on whom be the\nPeace!) when he saith:\u2014And make me a Wazir of my people, Aaron. Now\ncould a Wazir have been dispensed withal, Moses son of Imr\u00e1n had been\nworthier than any to do without a Minister. As for the Wazir, the Sultan\ndiscovereth unto him his affairs, private and public; and know, O king,\nthat the likeness of thee with the people is that of the leach with the\nsick man; and the essential condition of the Minister is that he be\nsoothfast in his sayings, reliable in all his relations, rich in ruth\nfor the folk and in tenderness of transacting with them. Verily, it is\nsaid, O king, that good troops be like the druggist; if his perfumes\nreach thee not, thou still smellest the fragrance of them; and bad\nentourage be like the blacksmith; if his sparks burn thee not, thou\nsmellest his evil smell. So it befitteth thee take to thyself a virtuous\nWazir, a veracious counsellor, even as thou takest unto thee a wife\ndisplayed before thy face, because thou needest the man\u2019s righteousness\nfor thine own right directing, seeing that, if thou do righteously, the\ncommons will do right, and if thou do wrongously, they also will do\nwrong.\u201d When the King heard this, drowsiness overcame him and he slept\nand presently awaking, called for the candles; so they were lighted and\nhe sat down on his couch and seating Shahrazad by him, smiled in her\nface. She kissed the ground before him and said, \u201cO king of the age and\nlord of the time and the years, extolled be the Forgiving, the\nBountiful, who hath sent me to thee, of His grace and good favour, so I\nhave incited thee to longing after Paradise; for verily this which thou\nwast wont do was never done of any of the kings before thee. Then laud\nbe to the Lord who hath directed thee into the right way, and who from\nthe paths of frowardness hath diverted thee! As for women, Allah\nAlmighty maketh mention of them also when He saith in His Holy\nBook:\u2014\u201cTruly, the men who resign themselves to Allah[460] and the women\nwho resign themselves, and the true-believing men and the true-believing\nwomen and the devout men and the devout women and truthful men and\ntruthful women, and long-suffering men and long-suffering women, and the\nhumble men and the humble women, and charitable men and charitable\nwomen, and the men who fast and the women who fast, and men who guard\ntheir privities and women who guard their privities, and men who are\nconstantly mindful of Allah and women who are constantly mindful, for\nthem Allah hath prepared forgiveness and a rich reward.\u201d[461] As for\nthat which hath befallen thee, verily, it hath befallen many kings\nbefore thee and their women have falsed them, for all they were more\nmajestical of puissance than thou, and mightier of kingship and had\ntroops more manifold. If I would, I could relate unto thee, O king,\nconcerning the wiles of women, that whereof I should not make an end all\nmy life long; and indeed, in all these my nights that I have passed\nbefore thee, I have told thee many tales of the wheedling of women and\nof their craft; but soothly the things abound on me;[462] so, an thou\nplease, O king, I will relate to thee somewhat of that which befel olden\nkings of perfidy from their women and of the calamities which overtook\nthem by reason of these deceivers.\u201d Asked the king, \u201cHow so? Tell on;\u201d\nand she answered, \u201cHearkening and obedience. It hath been told me, O\nking, that a man once related to a company the following tale of\n\n\n\n\n THE CONCUBINE AND THE CALIPH.\u201d[463]\n\n\nOne day of the days, as I stood at the door of my house, and the heat\nwas excessive, behold, I saw a fair woman approaching, and with her a\nslave-girl carrying a parcel. They gave not over going till they came\nup to me, when the woman stopped and asked me, \u201cHast thou a draught of\nwater?\u201d Answered I, \u201cYes, enter the vestibule, O my lady, so thou\nmayst drink.\u201d Accordingly she came in and I went up into the house and\nfetched two gugglets of earthenware, smoked with musk[464] and full of\ncold water. She took one of them and discovered her face, the better\nto drink; whereupon I saw that she was as the rising moon or the\nresplendent sun and said to her, \u201cO my lady, wilt thou not come up\ninto the house, so thou mayst rest thyself till the air cool and\nafterwards fare thee to thine own place?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cIs there none\nwith thee?\u201d and quoth I, \u201cIndeed I am a bachelor and have none\nbelonging to me, nor is there a wight in the site;\u201d[465] whereupon she\nsaid, \u201cAn thou be a stranger, thou art he in quest of whom I was going\nabout.\u201d So she went up into the house and doffed her walking dress and\nI found her as she were the full moon. I brought her what I had by me\nof food and drink and said to her, \u201cO my lady, excuse me: this is all\nthat is ready;\u201d and said she, \u201cThis is right good[466] and indeed \u2019tis\nwhat I sought.\u201d Then she ate and gave the slave-girl that which was\nleft; after which I brought her a casting-bottle of musked rose-water,\nand she washed her hands and abode with me till the season of\nmid-afternoon prayer, when she brought out of the parcel she had with\nher a shirt and trousers and an upper garment[467] and a gold-worked\nkerchief and gave them to me; saying, \u201cKnow that I am one of the\nconcubines of the Caliph, and we be forty concubines, each of whom\nhath a cicisbeo who cometh to her as often as she would have him; and\nnone is without a lover save myself, wherefore I came forth this day\nto get me a gallant and now I have found thee. Thou must know that the\nCaliph lieth each night with one of us, whilst the other\nnine-and-thirty concubines take their ease with the nine-and-thirty\nmasculines, and I would have thee company with me on such a day, when\ndo thou come up to the palace of the Caliph and sit awaiting me in\nsuch a place, till a little eunuch come out to thee and say to thee a\ncertain watch-word which is, Art thou Sandal? Answer Yes, and wend\nthee with him.\u201d Then she took leave of me and I of her, after I had\nstrained her to my bosom and thrown my arms round her neck and we had\nexchanged kisses awhile. So she fared forth and I abode patiently\nexpecting the appointed day, till it came, when I arose and went out,\nintending for the trysting-place; but a friend of mine met me by the\nway and made me go home with him. I accompanied him and when I came up\ninto his sitting-chamber he locked the door on me and walked out to\nfetch what we might eat and drink. He was absent until midday, then\ntill the hour of mid-afternoon prayer, whereat I was chagrined with\nsore concern. Then he was missing till sundown, and I was like to die\nof vexation and impatience; and indeed he returned not and I passed my\nnight on wake, nigh upon death, for the door was locked on me, and my\nsoul was like to depart my body on account of the assignation. At\ndaybreak, my friend returned and opening the door, came in, bringing\nwith him meat-pudding[468] and fritters and bees\u2019 honey, and said to\nme, \u201cBy Allah, thou must needs excuse me, for that I was with a\ncompany and they locked the door on me and have let me go but this\nvery moment.\u201d I returned him no reply; however, he set before me that\nwhich was with him and I ate a single mouthful and went out running at\nspeed so haply I might overtake the rendezvous which had escaped me.\nWhen I came to the palace, I saw over against it eight-and-thirty\ngibbets set up, whereon were eight-and-thirty men crucified, and under\nthem eight-and-thirty[469] concubines as they were moons. So I asked\nthe cause of the crucifixion of the men and concerning the women in\nquestion, and it was said unto me, \u201cThe men thou seest crucified the\nCaliph found with yonder damsels, who be his bed-fellows.\u201d When I\nheard this, I prostrated myself in thanksgiving to Allah and said,\n\u201cThe Almighty requite thee with all good, O my friend!\u201d For had he not\ninvited me and locked me up in his house that night, I had been\ncrucified with these men, wherefore Alhamdolillah\u2014laud to the Lord!\n\u201cOn this wise,\u201d (continued Shahrazad), \u201cnone is safe from the\ncalamities of the world and the vicissitudes of Time, and in proof of\nthis, I will relate unto thee yet another story still rarer and\nstranger than this. Know, O king, that one said to me: A friend of\nmine, a merchant, told me the following tale of\n\n\n\n\n THE CONCUBINE OF AL-MAAMUN.\u201d[470]\n\n\nAs I sat one day in my shop, there came up to me a fair woman, as she\nwere the moon at its rising, and with her a hand-maid. Now I was a\nhandsome man in my time; so that lady sat down on my shop[471] and\nbuying stuffs of me, paid the price and went her ways. I asked the girl\nanent her and she answered, \u201cI know not her name.\u201d Quoth I, \u201cWhere is\nher abode?\u201d Quoth she, \u201cIn heaven;\u201d and I, \u201cShe is presently on the\nearth; so when doth she ascend to heaven and where is the ladder by\nwhich she goeth up?\u201d[472] The girl retorted, \u201cShe hath her lodging in a\npalace between two rivers,[473] that is, in the palace of Al-Maam\u00fan\nal-H\u00e1kim bi-Amri \u2019llah.\u201d[474] Then said I, \u201cI am a dead man, without a\ndoubt;\u201d but she replied, \u201cHave patience, for needs must she return to\nthee and buy other stuffs of thee.\u201d I asked, \u201cAnd how cometh it that the\nCommander of the Faithful trusteth her to go out?\u201d and she answered, \u201cHe\nloveth her with exceeding love and is wrapped up in her and crosseth her\nnot.\u201d Then the slave-girl went away, running after her mistress;\nwhereupon I left the shop and followed them, so I might see her\nabiding-place. I kept them in view all the way, till she disappeared\nfrom mine eyes, when I returned to my place, with heart a-fire. Some\ndays after, she came to me again and bought stuffs of me: I refused to\ntake the price and she cried, \u201cWe have no need of thy goods.\u201d Quoth I,\n\u201cO my lady, accept them from me as a gift;\u201d but quoth she, \u201cWait till I\ntry thee and make proof of thee.\u201d Then she brought out of her pocket a\npurse and gave me therefrom a thousand dinars, saying, \u201cTrade with this\ntill I return to thee.\u201d So I took the purse and she went away and\nreturned not till six months had passed. Meanwhile, I traded with the\nmoney and sold and bought and made other thousand dinars profit on it.\nAt last she came to me again and I said to her, \u201cHere is thy money and I\nhave gained with it other thousand ducats;\u201d and she, \u201cLet it lie by thee\nand take these other thousand dinars. As soon as I have departed from\nthee, go thou to Al-Rauzah, the Garden-holm, and build there a goodly\npavilion, and when the edifice is accomplished, give me to know\nthereof.\u201d So saying, she left me and went away. As soon as she was gone,\nI betook myself to Al-Rauzah and fell to building the pavilion, and when\nit was finished, I furnished it with the finest of furniture and sent to\ntell her that I had made an end of the edifice; whereupon she sent back\nto me, saying, \u201cLet him meet me to-morrow about daybreak at the Zuwaylah\ngate and bring with him a strong ass.\u201d I did as she bade and, betaking\nmyself to the Zuwaylah gate, at the appointed time, found there a young\nman on horseback, awaiting her, even as I awaited her. As we stood,\nbehold, up she came, and with her a slave-girl. When she saw that young\nman, she asked him, \u201cArt thou here?\u201d and he answered, \u201cYes, O my lady.\u201d\nQuoth she, \u201cTo-day I am invited by this man: wilt thou wend with us?\u201d\nand quoth he, \u201cYes.\u201d Then said she, \u201cThou hast brought me hither against\nmy will and parforce. Wilt thou go with us in any case?\u201d[475] He cried,\n\u201cYes, yes,\u201d and we fared on, all three, till we came to Al-Rauzah and\nentered the pavilion. The dame diverted herself awhile with viewing its\nordinance and furniture, after which she doffed her walking-dress and\nsat down with the young man in the goodliest and chiefest place. Then I\nfared forth and brought them what they should eat at the first of the\nday; presently I again went out and fetched them what they should eat at\nthe last of the day and brought for the twain wine and dessert and\nfruits and flowers. After this fashion I abode in their service,\nstanding on my feet, and she said not unto me, \u201cSit,\u201d nor \u201cTake, eat,\u201d\nnor \u201cTake, drink,\u201d while she and the young man sat toying and laughing,\nand he fell to kissing her and pinching her and hopping over the\nground[476] and laughing. They remained thus awhile and presently she\nsaid, \u201cHitherto we have not become drunken; let me pour out.\u201d So she\ntook the cup, and crowning it, gave him to drink and plied him with\nwine, till he lost his wits, when she took him up and carried him into a\ncloset. Then she came out, with the head of that youth in her hand,\nwhile I stood silent, fixing not mine eyes on her eyes neither\nquestioning her of the case; and she asked me, \u201cWhat be this?\u201d \u201cI wot\nnot,\u201d answered I; and she said, \u201cTake it and throw it into the river.\u201d I\naccepted her commandment and she arose and stripping herself of her\nclothes, took a knife and cut the dead man\u2019s body in pieces, which she\nlaid in three baskets, and said to me, \u201cThrow them into the river.\u201d I\ndid her bidding and when I returned, she said to me, \u201cSit, so I may\nrelate to thee yonder fellow\u2019s case, lest thou be affrighted at what\naccident hath befallen him. Thou must know that I am the Caliph\u2019s\nfavourite concubine, nor is there any higher in honour with him than I;\nand I am allowed six nights in each month, wherein I go down into the\ncity and tarry with my whilome mistress who reared me; and when I go\ndown thus, I dispose of myself as I will. Now this young man was the son\nof certain neighbours of my mistress, when I was a virgin girl. One day,\nmy mistress was sitting with the chief officers of the palace and I was\nalone in the house, and as the night came on, I went up to the\nterrace-roof in order to sleep there, but ere I was ware, this youth\ncame up from the street and falling upon me knelt on my breast. He was\narmed with a dagger and I could not get free of him till he had taken my\nmaidenhead by force; and this sufficed him not, but he must needs\ndisgrace me with all the folk for, as often as I came down from the\npalace, he would stand in wait for me by the way and futtered me against\nmy will and follow me whithersoever I went. This, then, is my story, and\nas for thee, thou pleasest me and thy patience pleaseth me and thy good\nfaith and loyal service, and there abideth with me none dearer than\nthou.\u201d Then I lay with her that night and there befel what befel between\nus till the morning, when she gave me abundant wealth and took to\nmeeting me at the pavilion six days in every month. After this wise we\npassed a whole year, at the end of which she cut herself off from me a\nmonth\u2019s space, wherefore fire raged in my heart on her account. When it\nwas the next month, behold, a little eunuch presented himself to me and\nsaid, \u201cI am a messenger to thee from Such-an-one, who giveth thee to\nknow that the Commander of the Faithful hath ordered her to be drowned,\nher and those who are with her, six-and-twenty slave-girls, on such a\nday at Dayr al-Tin,[477] for that they have confessed of lewdness, one\nagainst other and she sayeth to thee, Look how thou mayst do with me and\nhow thou mayst contrive to deliver me, even an thou gather together all\nmy money and spend it upon me, for that this be the time of\nmanhood.\u201d[478] Quoth I, \u201cI know not this woman; belike it is other than\nI to whom this message is sent; so beware, O Eunuch, lest thou cast me\ninto a cleft.\u201d Quoth he, \u201cBehold, I have told thee that I had to say,\u201d\nand went away, leaving me in sore concern on her account. Now when the\nappointed day came, I arose and changing my clothes and favour, donned\nsailor\u2019s apparel; then I took with me a purse full of gold and buying a\nright good breakfast, accosted a boatman at Dayr al-Tin and sat down and\nate with him; after which I asked him, \u201cWilt thou hire me thy boat?\u201d\nAnswered he, \u201cThe Commander of the Faithful hath commanded me to be\nhere;\u201d and he told me the tale of the concubines and how the Caliph\npurposed to drown them that day. When I heard this from him, I brought\nout to him ten gold pieces and discovered to him my case, whereupon he\nsaid to me, \u201cO my brother, get thee empty gourds, and when thy mistress\ncometh, give me to know of her and I will contrive the trick.\u201d So I\nkissed his hand and thanked him and, as I was walking about, waiting, up\ncame the guards and eunuchs escorting the women, who were weeping and\nshrieking and farewelling one another. The Castratos cried out to us,\nwhereupon we came with the boat, and they said to the sailor, \u201cWho be\nthis?\u201d Said he, \u201cThis be my mate whom I have brought to help me, so one\nof us may keep the boat, whilst another doth your service.\u201d Then they\nbrought out to us the women, one by one, saying, \u201cThrow them in by the\nIsland;\u201d and we replied, \u201c\u2019Tis well.\u201d Now each of them was shackled and\nthey had made fast about her neck a jar of sand. We did as the neutrals\nbade us and ceased not to take the women, one after other, and cast them\nin, till they gave us my mistress and I winked to my mate. So we took\nher and carried her out into mid-stream, where I threw to her the empty\ngourds[479] and said to her, \u201cWait for me at the mouth of the\nCanal.\u201d[480] Then we cast her in alongside the boat, after we had loosed\nthe jar of sand from her legs[481] and done off her shackles, and\nreturned. Now there remained one woman after her: so we took her and\ndrowned her and the eunuchs went away, whilst we dropped down the river\nwith the craft till we came to the mouth of Khalij, where I saw my\nmistress awaiting me. We haled her up into the canoe and returned to our\npavilion on Al-Rauzah. Then I rewarded the sailor and he took his boat\nand went away; whereupon quoth she to me, \u201cThou art indeed the friend\never faithful found for the shifts of Fortune.\u201d[482] And I sojourned\nwith her some days; but the shock wrought upon her so that she sickened\nand fell to wasting away and redoubled in languor and weakness till she\ndied. I mourned for her with exceeding mourning and buried her; after\nwhich I removed all that was in the pavilion to my own house and\nabandoned the building. Now she had brought to that pavilion a little\ncoffer of copper and laid it in a place whereof I knew not; so, when the\nInspector of Inheritances[483] came, he rummaged the house and found the\ncoffer, with the key in the lock. Presently he opened it and seeing it\nfull of jewels and jacinths and earrings and seal-rings and precious\nstones (and \u2019twas a matter such as is not found save with kings and\nsultans), took it, and me with it, and he and his men ceased not to put\nme to the question with beating and torment till I confessed to them the\nwhole affair, from beginning to end. Thereupon they carried me to the\nCaliph and I told him all that had passed between me and her; and he\nsaid to me, \u201cO man, depart this city, for I release thee on account of\nthy courage and because of thy constancy in keeping thy secret and thy\ndaring in exposing thyself to death.\u201d So I arose forthwith and fared\nfrom his city; and this is what befel me.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n _NOTE._\n\n_Here end my labours with the Supplemental Tales of the Breslau text;\nand now I take the opportunity of introducing_ MR. CLOUSTON _to my\nreaders_.\n\n R. F. BURTON.\n\n\n\n\n Appendix.\n\n _VARIANTS AND ANALOGUES OF SOME OF THE TALES IN THE SUPPLEMENTAL\n NIGHTS._\n VOLS. I. AND II.\n\n\n BY W. A. CLOUSTON.\n\n AUTHOR OF \u201cPOPULAR TALES AND FICTIONS: THEIR MIGRATIONS AND\n TRANSFORMATIONS,\u201d ETC.\n\n\n _THE SLEEPER AND THE WAKER.\u2014Vol. I. p. 1._\n\nFew of the stories in the \u201cArabian Nights\u201d which charmed our marvelling\nboyhood were greater favourites than this one, under the title of \u201cAbou\nHassan; or, the Sleeper Awakened.\u201d What recked we in those days whence\nit was derived?\u2014the _story_\u2014the story was the thing! As Sir R. F. Burton\nobserves in his first note, this is \u201cthe only one of the eleven added by\nGalland, whose original has been discovered in Arabic;\u201d[484] and it is\nprobable that Galland heard it recited in a coffee-house during his\nresidence in Constantinople. The plot of the Introduction to\nShakspeare\u2019s comedy of \u201cThe Taming of the Shrew\u201d is similar to the\nadventure of Ab\u00fa al-Hasan the Wag, and is generally believed to have\nbeen adapted from a story entitled \u201cThe Waking Man\u2019s Fortune\u201d in\nEdward\u2019s collection of comic tales, 1570, which were retold somewhat\ndifferently in Goulart\u2019s \u201cAdmirable and Memorable Histories,\u201d 1607; both\nversions are reprinted in Mr. Hazlitt\u2019s \u201cShakspeare Library,\u201d vol. iv.,\npart 1, pp. 403\u2013414. In Percy\u2019s \u201cReliques of Ancient English Poetry\u201d we\nfind the adventure told in a ballad entitled \u201cThe Frolicksome Duke; or,\nthe Tinker\u2019s Good Fortune,\u201d from the Pepys collection: \u201cwhether it may\nbe thought to have suggested the hint to Shakspeare or is not rather of\nlater date,\u201d says Percy, \u201cthe reader must determine\u201d:\n\n Now as fame does report, a young duke keeps a court,\n One that pleases his fancy with frolicksome sport:\n But amongst all the rest, here is one, I protest,\n Which will make you to smile when you hear the true jest:\n A poor tinker he found lying drunk on the ground,\n As secure in a sleep as if laid in a swownd.\n\n The duke said to his men, William, Richard, and Ben,\n Take him home to my palace, we\u2019ll sport with him then.\n O\u2019er a horse he was laid, and with care soon convey\u2019d\n To the palace, altho\u2019 he was poorly arrai\u2019d;\n Then they stript off his cloaths, both his shirt, shoes, and hose,\n And they put him in bed for to take his repose.\n\n Having pull\u2019d off his shirt, which was all over durt,\n They did give him clean holland, this was no great hurt:\n On a bed of soft down, like a lord of renown,\n They did lay him to sleep the drink out of his crown.\n In the morning when day, then admiring[485] he lay,\n For to see the rich chamber both gaudy and gay.\n\n Now he lay something late, in his rich bed of state,\n Till at last knights and squires they on him did wait;\n And the chamberling bare, then did likewise declare,\n He desired to know what apparel he\u2019d ware:\n The poor tinker amaz\u2019d, on the gentleman gaz\u2019d,\n And admired how he to this honour was rais\u2019d.\n\n Tho\u2019 he seem\u2019d something mute, yet he chose a rich suit,\n Which he straitways put on without longer dispute;\n With a star on his side, which the tinker offt ey\u2019d,\n And it seem\u2019d for to swell him no little with pride;\n For he said to himself, Where is Joan my sweet wife?\n Sure she never did see me so fine in her life.\n\n From a convenient place, the right duke his good grace\n Did observe his behaviour in every case.\n To a garden of state, on the tinker they wait,\n Trumpets sounding before him: thought he this is great:\n Where an hour or two, pleasant walks he did view,\n With commanders and squires in scarlet and blew.\n\n A fine dinner was drest, both for him and his guests,\n He was placed at the table above all the rest,\n In a rich chair, or bed, lin\u2019d with fine crimson red,\n With a rich golden canopy over his head:\n As he sat at his meat, the musick play\u2019d sweet,\n With the choicest of singing his joys to compleat.\n\n While the tinker did dine, he had plenty of wine.\n Rich canary with sherry and tent superfine,\n Like a right honest soul, faith, he took off his bowl,\n Till at last he began for to tumble and roul\n From his chair to the floor, where he sleeping did snore,\n Being seven times drunker than ever before.\n\n Then the duke did ordain, they should strip him amain,\n And restore him his old leather garments again:\n \u2019Twas a point next the worst, yet perform it they must,\n And they carry\u2019d him strait, where they found him at first;\n Then he slept all the night, as indeed well he might,\n But when he did waken, his joys took their flight.\n\n For his glory to him so pleasant did seem,\n That he thought it to be but a meer golden dream;\n Till at length he was brought to the duke, where he sought\n For a pardon as fearing he had set him at nought;\n But his highness he said, Thou\u2019rt a jolly bold blade,\n Such a frolick before I think never was plaid.\n\n Then his highness bespoke him a new suit and cloak,\n Which he gave for the sake of this frolicksome joak;\n Nay, and five hundred pound, with ten acres of ground,\n Thou shalt never, said he, range the counteries round,\n Crying old brass to mend, for I\u2019ll be thy good friend,\n Nay, and Joan thy sweet wife shall my duchess attend.\n\n Then the tinker reply\u2019d, What! must Joan my sweet bride\n Be a lady in chariots of pleasure to ride?\n Must we have gold and land ev\u2019ry day at command?\n Then I shall be a squire I well understand:\n Well I thank your good grace, and your love I embrace,\n I was never before in so happy a case.\n\nThe same story is also cited in the \u201cAnatomy of Melancholy,\u201d part 2,\nsec. 2, memb. 4, from Ludovicus Vives in Epist.[486] and Pont. Heuter in\nRerum Burgund., as follows:\n\n\u201cIt is reported of Philippus Bonus, that good Duke of Burgundy, that the\nsaid duke, at the marriage of Eleonora, sister to the King of Portugal,\nat Bruges in Flanders, which was solemnized in the deep of winter, when\nas by reason of the unseasonable (!) weather he could neither hawk nor\nhunt, and was now tyred with cards, dice, &c., and such other domestical\nsports, or to see ladies dance, with some of his courtiers, he would in\nthe evening walk disguised all about the town. It so fortuned as he was\nwalking late one night, he found a country fellow dead drunk, snorting\non a bulk; he caused his followers to bring him to his palace, and there\nstripping him of his old clothes, and attiring him after the court\nfashion, when he waked, he and they were all ready to attend upon his\nexcellency, persuading him that he was some great duke. The poor fellow,\nadmiring how he came there, was served in state all the day long; after\nsupper he saw them dance, heard musick, and the rest of those court-like\npleasures; but late at night, when he was well tipled, and again fast\nasleep they put on his old robes, and so conveyed him to the place where\nthey first found him. Now the fellow had not made them so good sport the\nday before, as he did when he returned to himself; all the jest was to\nsee how he looked upon it. In conclusion, after some little admiration,\nthe poor man told his friends he had seen a vision, constantly beleeved\nit, would not otherwise be perswaded; and so the jest ended.\u201d\n\nI do not think that this is a story imported from the East: the\nadventure is just as likely to have happened in Bruges as in Baghd\u00e1d;\nbut the exquisite humour of the Arabian tale is wanting\u2014even\nShakspeare\u2019s Christopher Sly is not to be compared with honest Ab\u00fa\nal-Hasan the Wag.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThis story of The Sleeper and the Waker recalls the similar device\npractised by the Chief of the Assassins\u2014that formidable, murderous\nassociation, the terror of the Crusaders\u2014on promising novices. Von\nHammer, in his \u201cHistory of the Assassins,\u201d end of Book iv., gives a\ngraphic description of the charming gardens into which the novices were\ncarried while insensible from hashish:\n\nIn the centre of the Persian as well as of the Assyrian territory of the\nAssassins, that is to say, both at Alamut and Massiat, were situated, in\na space surrounded by walls, splendid gardens\u2014true Eastern paradises.\nThere were flower-beds and thickets of fruit-trees, intersected by\ncanals, shady walks, and verdant glades, where the sparkling stream\nbubbled at every step; bowers of roses and vineyards; luxurious halls\nand porcelain kiosks, adorned with Persian carpets and Grecian stuffs,\nwhere drinking-vessels of gold, silver, and crystal glittered on trays\nof the same costly materials; charming maidens and handsome boys of\nMuhammed\u2019s Paradise, soft as the cushions on which they reposed, and\nintoxicating as the wine which they presented. The music of the harp was\nmingled with the songs of birds, and the melodious tones of the\nsongstress harmonized with the murmur of the brooks. Everything breathed\npleasure, rapture, and sensuality. A youth, who was deemed worthy by his\nstrength and resolution to be initiated into the Assassin service, was\ninvited to the table and conversation of the grand master, or grand\nprior, he was then intoxicated with hashish and carried into the garden,\nwhich on awaking he believed to be Paradise; everything around him, the\nhouris in particular, contributing to confirm the delusion. After he had\nexperienced as much of the pleasures of Paradise, which the Prophet has\npromised to the faithful, as his strength would admit; after quaffing\nenervating delight from the eyes of the houris and intoxicating wine\nfrom the glittering goblets; he sank into the lethargy produced by\ndebility and the opiate, on awakening from which, after a few hours, he\nagain found himself by the side of his superior. The latter endeavoured\nto convince him that corporeally he had not left his side, but that\nspiritually he had been wrapped into Paradise and had there enjoyed a\nforetaste of the bliss which awaits the faithful who devote their lives\nto the service of the faith and the obedience of their chiefs.\n\n\n_THE TEN WAZIRS; OR, THE HISTORY OF KING \u00c1Z\u00c1DBAKHT AND HIS SON.\u2014Vol. I.\n p. 55._\n\nThe precise date of the Persian original of this romance (\u201cBakhty\u00e1r\nN\u00e1ma\u201d) has not been ascertained, but it was probably composed before the\nbeginning of the fifteenth century, since there exists in the Bodleian\nLibrary a unique Turk\u00ed version, in the Uygur language and characters,\nwhich was written in 1434. Only three of the tales have hitherto been\nfound in other Asiatic story-books. The Turk\u00ed version, according to M.\nJaubert, who gives an account of the MS. and a translation of one of the\ntales in the _Journal Asiatique_, tome x. 1827, is characterised by\n\u201cgreat sobriety of ornament and extreme simplicity of style, and the\nevident intention on the part of the translator to suppress all that may\nnot have appeared to him sufficiently probable, and all that might\njustly be taxed with exaggeration;\u201d and he adds that \u201capart from the\ninterest which the writing and phraseology of the work may possess for\nthose who study the history of languages, it is rather curious to see\nhow a T\u00e1t\u00e1r translator sets to work to bring within the range of his\nreaders stories embellished in the original with descriptions and images\nfamiliar, doubtless, to a learned and refined nation like the Persians,\nbut foreign to shepherds.\u201d\n\nAt least three different versions are known to the Malays\u2014different in\nthe frame, or leading story, if not in the subordinate tales. One of\nthose is described in the second volume of Newbold\u2019s work on Malacca,\nthe frame of which is similar to the Persian original and its Arabian\nderivative, excepting that the name of the king is Z\u00e1dbokhtin and that\nof the minister\u2019s daughter (who is nameless in the Persian) is Mahrwat.\nTwo others are described in Van den Berg\u2019s account of Malay, Arabic,\nJavanese and other MSS. published at Batavia, 1877; p. 21, No. 132 is\nentitled \u201cThe History of Ghul\u00e1m, son of Z\u00e1dbukht\u00e1n, King of Ad\u00e1n, in\nPersia,\u201d and the frame also corresponds with our version, with the\nimportant difference that the robber-chief who had brought up Ghul\u00e1m,\n\u201clearning that he had become a person of consequence, came to his\nresidence to visit him, but finding him imprisoned, he was much\nconcerned, and asked the king\u2019s pardon on his behalf, telling him at the\nsame time how he had formerly found Ghul\u00e1m in the jungle; from which the\nking knew that Ghul\u00e1m was his son.\u201d The second version noticed by Van\nden Berg (p. 32, No. 179), though similar in title to the Persian\noriginal, \u201cHistory of Prince Bakhty\u00e1r,\u201d differs very materially in the\nleading story, the outline of which is as follows: \u201cThis prince, when\nhis father was put to flight by a younger brother, who wished to\ndethrone him, was born in a jungle, and abandoned by his parents. A\nmerchant named Idr\u00eds took charge of him and brought him up. Later on he\nbecame one of the officers of state with his own father, who had in the\nmeanwhile found another kingdom, and decided with fairness, the cases\nbrought before him. He was, however, put in prison, on account of a\nsupposed attempt on the king\u2019s life, and would have been put to death\nhad he not stayed the execution by telling various beautiful stories.\nEven the king came repeatedly to listen to him. At one of these visits\nBakhty\u00e1r\u2019s foster-father Idr\u00eds was present, and related to his adopted\nson how he had found him in the jungle. The king, on hearing this,\nperceived that it was his son who had been brought up by Idr\u00eds,\nrecognised Bakhty\u00e1r as such, and made over to him the kingdom.\u201d\u2014I have\nlittle doubt that this romance is of Indian extraction.\n\n\n _STORY OF KING DADBIN AND HIS WAZIRS. Vol. I. p. 94._\n\nTHIS agrees pretty closely with the Turk\u00ed version of the same story\n(rendered into French by M. Jaubert), though in the latter the names of\nthe characters are the same as in the Persian, King D\u00e1d\u00edn and the Waz\u00edrs\nK\u00e1mg\u00e1r and K\u00e1rd\u00e1r. In the Persian story, the damsel is tied hands and\nfeet and placed upon a camel, which is then turned into a dreary\nwilderness. \u201cHere she suffered from the intense heat and from thirst;\nbut she resigned herself to the will of Providence, conscious of her own\ninnocence. Just then the camel lay down, and on the spot a fountain of\ndelicious water suddenly sprang forth; the cords which bound her hands\nand feet dropped off; she refreshed herself by a draught of the water,\nand fervently returned thanks to Heaven for this blessing and her\nwonderful preservation.\u201d This two-fold miracle does not appear in the\nTurk\u00ed and Arabian versions. It is not the cameleer of the King of\nPersia, but of King D\u00e1d\u00edn, who meets with the pious damsel in the\nwilderness. He takes her to his own house and one day relates his\nadventure to King D\u00e1d\u00edn, who expresses a wish to see such a prodigy of\nsanctity. The conclusion of the Persian story is quite dramatic: The\ncameleer, having consented, returned at once to his house, accompanied\nby the king, who waited at the door of the apartment where the daughter\nof K\u00e1mg\u00e1r was engaged in prayer. When she had concluded he approached,\nand with astonishment recognised her. Having tenderly embraced her, he\nwept, and entreated her forgiveness. This she readily granted, but\nbegged that he would conceal himself in the apartment while she should\nconverse with K\u00e1rd\u00e1r, whom she sent for. When he arrived, and beheld her\nwith a thousand expressions of fondness, he inquired how she had\nescaped, and told her that on the day the king banished her into the\nwilderness, he had sent people to seek her and bring her to him. \u201cHow\nmuch better would it have been,\u201d he added, \u201chad you followed my advice,\nand agreed to my proposal of poisoning the king, who, I said, would one\nday destroy you as he had done your father! But you rejected my advice,\nand declared yourself ready to submit to whatever Providence should\ndecree. Hereafter you will pay more attention to my words. But now let\nus not think of what is past. I am your slave, and you are dearer to me\nthan my own eyes.\u201d So saying, he attempted to clasp the daughter of\nK\u00e1mg\u00e1r in his arms, when the king, who was concealed behind the\nhangings, rushed furiously on him and put him to death. After this he\nconducted the damsel to his palace, and constantly lamented his\nprecipitancy in having killed her father.\u2014This tale seems to have been\ntaken from the Persian \u201cT\u00fat\u00ed N\u00e1ma,\u201d or Parrot-book, composed by\nNakhshab\u00ed about the year 1306;[487] it occurs in the 51st Night of the\nIndia Office MS. 2573, under the title of \u201cStory of the Daughter of the\nVaz\u00edr Kh\u00e1ssa, and how she found safety through the blessing of her\npiety:\u201d the name of the king is Bahram, and the Waz\u00edrs are called Kh\u00e1ssa\nand Khal\u00e1ssa.\n\n\n _STORY OF AYLAN SHAH AND ABU TAMM\u00c1M.\u2014Vol I. p. 112._\n\nThe catastrophe of this story forms the subject of the Lady\u2019s 37th tale\nin the text of the Turkish \u201cForty Vez\u00edrs,\u201d translated by Mr. E. J. W.\nGibb. This is how it goes:\n\nIn the palace of the world there was a king, and that king had three\nvez\u00edrs, but there was rivalry between them. Two of them day and night\nincited the king against the third, saying, \u201cHe is a traitor.\u201d But the\nking believed them not. At length they promised two pages much gold, and\ninstructed them thus: \u201cWhen the king has lain down, ere he yet fall\nasleep, do ye feign to think him asleep, and while talking with each\nother, say at a fitting time, \u2018I have heard from such a one that yon\nvez\u00edr says this and that concerning the king, and that he hates him;\nmany people say that vez\u00edr is an enemy to our king.\u2019\u201d So they did this,\nand when the king heard them, he said in his heart, \u201cWhat those vez\u00edrs\nsaid is then true; when the very pages have heard somewhat it must\nindeed have some foundation. Till now, I believed not those vez\u00edrs, but\nit is then true.\u201d And the king executed that vez\u00edr. The other vez\u00edrs\nwere glad and gave the pages the gold they had promised. So they took it\nand went to a private place, and while they were dividing it one of them\nsaid, \u201cI spake first; I want more.\u201d The other said, \u201cIf I had not said\nhe was an enemy to our king, the king would not have killed him; I shall\ntake more.\u201d And while they were quarrelling with one another the king\npassed by there, and he listened attentively to their words, and when he\nlearned of the matter, he said, \u201cDost thou see, they have by a trick\nmade us kill that hapless vez\u00edr.\u201d And he was repentant.\n\n\n _STORY OF KING SULAYMAN SHAH AND HIS NIECE.\n Vol. I. p. 131._\n\nThe Persian original has been very considerably amplified by the Arabian\ntranslator. In the \u201cBakhty\u00e1r N\u00e1ma\u201d there is not a word about the two\nbrothers and their fair cousin, the attempted murder of the infant, and\nthe adventures of the fugitive young prince. This story has also been\ntaken from the \u201cT\u00fat\u00ed N\u00e1ma\u201d of Nakhshab\u00ed, Night the 50th of the India\nOffice MS. 2573, where, under the title of \u201cStory of the Daughter of the\nKaysar of Roum, and her trouble by reason of her son,\u201d it is told\nsomewhat as follows:\n\nIn former times there was a great king, whose army was numerous and\nwhose treasury was full to overflowing; but, having no enemy to contend\nwith, he neglected to pay his soldiers, in consequence of which they\nwere in a state of destitution and discontent. At length one day the\nsoldiers went to the prime minister and made their condition known to\nhim. The vaz\u00edr promised that he would speedily devise a plan by which\nthey should have employment and money. Next morning he presented himself\nbefore the king, and said that it was widely reported the Kaysar of Roum\nhad a daughter unsurpassed for beauty\u2014one who was fit only for such a\ngreat monarch as his Majesty; and suggested that it would be\nadvantageous if an alliance were formed between two such great\npotentates. The notion pleased the king well, and he forthwith\ndespatched to Roum an ambassador with rich gifts, and requested the\nKaysar to grant him his daughter in marriage. But the Kaysar waxed wroth\nat this, and refused to give his daughter to the king. When the\nambassador returned thus unsuccessful, the king, enraged at being made\nof no account, resolved to make war upon the Kaysar; so, opening the\ndoors of his treasury, he distributed much money among his troops, and\nthen, \u201cwith a woe-bringing host, and a blood-drinking army, he trampled\nRoum and the folk of Roum in the dust.\u201d And when the Kaysar was become\npowerless, he sent his daughter to the king, who married her according\nto the law of Islam.\n\nNow that princess had a son by a former husband, and the Kaysar had said\nto her before she departed, \u201cBeware that thou mention not thy son, for\nmy love for his society is great, and I cannot part with him.\u201d[488] But\nthe princess was sick at heart for the absence of her son, and she was\never pondering how she should speak to the king about him, and in what\nmanner she might contrive to bring him to her. It happened one day the\nking gave her a string of pearls and a casket of jewels. She said, \u201cWith\nmy father is a slave who is well skilled in the science of jewels.\u201d The\nking replied, \u201cIf I should ask that slave of thy father, would he give\nhim to me?\u201d \u201cNay,\u201d said she, \u201cfor he holds him in the place of a son.\nBut if the king desire him, I will send a merchant to Roum, and I myself\nwill give him a token, and with pleasant wiles and fair speeches will\nbring him hither.\u201d Then the king sent for a clever merchant who knew\nArabic eloquently and the language of Roum, and gave him goods for\ntrading, and sent him to Roum with the object of procuring that slave.\nBut the daughter of the Kaysar said privily to the merchant, \u201cThat slave\nis my son; I have, for a good reason, said to the king that he is a\nslave; so thou must bring him as a slave, and let it be thy duty to take\ncare of him.\u201d In due course the merchant brought the youth to the king\u2019s\nservice; and when the king saw his fair face, and discovered in him many\npleasing and varied accomplishments, he treated him with distinction and\nfavour, and conferred on the merchant a robe of honour and gifts. His\nmother saw him from afar, and was pleased with receiving a secret\nsalutation from him.\n\nOne day the king had gone to the chase, and the palace remained void of\nrivals; so the mother called in her son, kissed his fair face, and told\nhim the tale of her great sorrow. A chamberlain became aware of the\nsecret, and another suspicion fell upon him, and he said to himself,\n\u201cThe harem of the king is the sanctuary of security and the palace of\nprotection. If I speak not of this, I shall be guilty of treachery and\nshall have wrought unfaithfulness.\u201d When the king returned from the\nchase, the chamberlain related to him what he had seen, and the king was\nangry and said, \u201cThis woman hath deceived me with words and deeds, and\nhas brought hither her desire by craft and cunning. This conjecture must\nbe true, else why did she play such a trick? And why did she hatch such\na plot? And why did she send the merchant?\u201d Then the king, enraged, went\ninto the harem, and the queen saw from his countenance that the\noccurrence of the night before had become known to him, and she said,\n\u201cBe it not that I see the king angry?\u201d He said, \u201cHow should I not be\nangry? Thou, by craft, and trickery, and intrigue, and plotting, hast\nbrought thy desire from Roum\u2014what wantonness is this that thou hast\ndone?\u201d And then he thought to slay her, but he forebore, because of his\ngreat love for her. But he ordered the chamberlain to carry the youth to\nsome obscure place, and straightway sever his head from his body. When\nthe poor mother saw this, she well-nigh fell on her face, and her soul\nwas near leaving her body. But she knew that sorrow would not avail, and\nso she restrained herself.\n\nAnd when the chamberlain took the youth into his own house, he said to\nhim, \u201cO youth, knowest thou not that the harem of the king is the\nsanctuary of security? What great treachery is this that thou hast\nperpetrated?\u201d The youth replied, \u201cThat queen is my mother, and I am her\ntrue son. Because of her natural delicacy, she said not to the king that\nshe had a son by another husband. And when yearning came over her, she\ncontrived to bring me here from Roum; and while the king was engaged in\nthe chase, maternal love stirred in her, and she called me to her and\nembraced me.\u201d On hearing this, the chamberlain said to himself, \u201cWhat is\npassing in his mother\u2019s breast? What I have not done I can yet do, and\nit were better that I preserve this youth some days, for such a rose may\nnot be wounded through idle words, and such a bough may not be broken by\na breath. For some day the truth of the matter will be disclosed, and it\nwill become known to the king when repentance may be of no avail.\u201d So he\nwent before the king and said, \u201cThat which was commanded have I\nfulfilled.\u201d On hearing this the king\u2019s wrath was to some extent removed,\nbut his trust in the Kaysar\u2019s daughter was departed; while she, poor\ncreature, was grieved and dazed at the loss of her son.\n\nNow in the palace-harem there was an old woman, who said to the queen,\n\u201cHow is it that I find thee sorrowful?\u201d And the queen told the whole\nstory, concealing nothing. This old woman was a heroine in the field of\ncraft, and she answered, \u201cKeep thy mind at ease; I will devise a\nstratagem by which the heart of the king will be pleased with thee, and\nevery grief he has will vanish from his heart.\u201d The queen said that, if\nshe did so, she should be amply rewarded. One day the old woman, seeing\nthe king alone, said to him, \u201cWhy is thy former aspect altered? And why\nare traces of care and anxiety visible on thy countenance?\u201d The king\nthen told her all. Then said the old woman, \u201cI have an amulet of the\ncharms of Sulayman, in the Syriac language, and in the writing of the\njinn (genii). When the queen is asleep, do thou place it on her breast,\nand whatever it may be, she will tell the truth of it. But take care,\nfall not thou asleep, but listen well to what she says.\u201d The king\nwondered at this and said, \u201cGive me that amulet, that the truth of this\nmatter may be learned.\u201d So the old woman gave him the amulet, and then\nwent to the queen and explained what she had done, and said, \u201cDo thou\nfeign to be asleep, and relate the whole of thy story faithfully.\u201d\n\nWhen a watch of the night was past, the king laid the amulet upon his\nwife\u2019s breast, and she thus began: \u201cBy a former husband I had a son, and\nwhen my father gave me to this king, I was ashamed to say I had a tall\nson. When my yearning passed all bounds, I brought him here by an\nartifice. One day that the king was gone to the chase I called him into\nthe house, when, after the way of mothers, I took him in my arms and\nkissed him. This reached the king\u2019s ears; he unwittingly gave it another\nconstruction, and cut off the head of that innocent boy, and withdrew\nfrom me his own heart. Alike is my son lost to me and the king angry.\u201d\nWhen the king heard these words he kissed her and exclaimed, \u201cO my life,\nwhat an error is this thou hast committed! Thou hast brought calumny\nupon thyself, and hast given such a son to the winds, and hast made me\nashamed!\u201d Straightway he called the chamberlain, and said, \u201cThat boy\nwhom thou hast killed is the son of my beloved and the darling of my\nbeauty! Where is his grave, that we may make there a guest-house?\u201d The\nchamberlain said, \u201cThat youth is yet alive. When the king commanded his\ndeath, I was about to kill him, but he said, \u2018That queen is my mother.\nThrough modesty before the king, she revealed not the secret that she\nhas a tall son. Kill me not; it may be that some day the truth will\nbecome known, and repentance profiteth not, and regret is useless.\u2019\u201d The\nking commanded them to bring the youth; so they brought him forthwith.\nAnd when the mother saw the face of her son, she thanked God and praised\nthe Most High, and became one of the Muslims, and from the sect of\nunbelievers came into the faith of Islam. And the king favoured the\nchamberlain in the highest degree, and they passed the rest of their\nlives in comfort and ease.\n\n\n _FIRUZ AND HIS WIFE.\u2014Vol. I. p. 185._\n\nThis tale, as Sir R. F. Burton remarks, is a rechauff\u00e9 of that of the\nKing and the Waz\u00edr\u2019s Wife in the \u201cMalice of Women,\u201d or the Seven Waz\u00edrs\n(vol. vi. 129); and at p. 308 we have yet another variant.[489] It\noccurs in all the Eastern texts of the Book of Sindib\u00e1d, and it is\ncommonly termed by students of that cycle of stories \u201cThe Lion\u2019s Track,\u201d\nfrom the parabolical manner in which the husband justifies his conduct\nbefore the king. I have cited some versions in the Appendix to my\nedition of the Book of Sindib\u00e1d (p. 256 ff.), and to these may be added\nthe following Venetian variant, from Crane\u2019s \u201cItalian Popular Tales,\u201d as\nan example of how a story becomes garbled in passing orally from one\ngeneration unto another generation:\n\nA king, averse from marriage, commanded his steward to remain single.\nThe latter, however, one day saw a beautiful girl named Vigna and\nmarried her secretly. Although he kept her closely confined in her\nchamber, the king became suspicious, and sent the steward on an embassy.\nAfter his departure the king entered the apartment occupied by him, and\nsaw his wife asleep. He did not disturb her, but in leaving the room\naccidentally dropped one of his gloves on the bed. When the husband\nreturned he found the glove, but kept a discreet silence, ceasing,\nhowever, all demonstration of affection, believing his wife had been\nunfaithful. The king, desirous to see again the beautiful woman, made a\nfeast and ordered the steward to bring his wife. He denied that he had\none, but brought her at last, and while every one else was talking gaily\nat the feast she was silent. The king observed it, and asked the cause\nof her silence, and she answered with a pun on her own name, \u201cVineyard I\nwas, and Vineyard I am. I was loved and no longer am. I know not for\nwhat reason the Vineyard has lost its season.\u201d Her husband, who heard\nthis, replied, \u201cVineyard thou wast, and Vineyard thou art: the Vineyard\nlost its season, for the lion\u2019s claw.\u201d The king, who understood what he\nmeant, answered, \u201cI entered the Vineyard; I touched the leaves; but I\nswear by my crown that I have not tasted the fruit.\u201d Then the steward\nunderstood that his wife was innocent, and the two made peace, and\nalways after lived happy and contented.\n\n * * * * *\n\nSo far as I am aware, this tale of \u201cThe Lion\u2019s Track\u201d is not popularly\nknown in any European country besides Italy; and it is not found in any\nof the Western versions of the Book of Sindib\u00e1d, generally known under\nthe title of the \u201cHistory of the Seven Wise Masters;\u201d how, then, did it\nreach Venice, and become among the people \u201cfamiliar in their mouths as\nhousehold words?\u201d I answer, that the intimate commercial relations which\nlong existed between the Venetian Republic and Egypt and Syria are amply\nsufficient to account for the currency of this and scores of other\nEastern tales in Italy. This is not one of those fictions introduced\ninto the south of Europe through the Ottomans, since Boccaccio has made\nuse of the first part of it in his \u201cDecameron,\u201d Day I. nov. 5; and it is\ncurious to observe that the garbled Venetian popular version has\npreserved the chief characteristic of the Eastern story\u2014the allegorical\nreference to the king as a lion and his assuring the husband that the\nlion had done no injury to his \u201cVineyard.\u201d\n\n\n _KING SHAH BAKHT AND HIS WAZIR AL-RAHWAN. Vol. I. p. 191._\n\nWhile the frame-story of this interesting group is similar to that of\nthe Ten Waz\u00edrs (vol. i. p. 55), insomuch as in both a king\u2019s favourite\nis sentenced to death in consequence of the false accusations of his\nenemies, and obtains a respite from day to day by relating stories to\nthe king, there is yet a very important difference: Like those of the\nrenowned Shahraz\u00e1d, the stories which Al-Rahwan tells have no\nparticular, at least no uniform, \u201cpurpose,\u201d his sole object being to\nprolong his life by telling the king an entertaining story, promising,\nwhen he has ended his recital, to relate one still \u201cstranger\u201d the next\nnight, if the king will spare his life another day. On the other hand,\nBakhty\u00e1r, while actuated by the same motive, appeals to the king\u2019s\nreason, by relating stories distinctly designed to exhibit the evils of\nhasty judgments and precipitate conduct\u2014in fact, to illustrate the\nmaxim,\n\n Each order given by a reigning king,\n Should after long reflection be expressed;\n For it may be that endless woe will spring\n From a command he paused not to digest.\n\nAnd in this respect they are consistent with the circumstances of the\ncase, like the tales of the Book of Sindib\u00e1d, from which the frame of\nthe Ten Waz\u00edrs was imitated, and in which the Waz\u00edrs relate stories\nshowing the depravity and profligacy of women and that no reliance\nshould be placed on their unsupported assertions, and to these the lady\nopposes equally cogent stories setting forth the wickedness and perfidy\nof men. Closely resembling the frame-story of the Ten Waz\u00edrs, however,\nis that of a Tamil romance entitled \u201cAlakeswara Kath\u00e1,\u201d a copy of which,\nwritten on palm leaves, was in the celebrated Mackenzie collection, of\nwhich Dr. H. H. Wilson published a descriptive catalogue; it is \u201ca story\nof the R\u00e1j\u00e1 of Alakepura and his four ministers, who, being falsely\naccused of violating the sanctity of the inner apartments, vindicate\ntheir innocence and disarm the king\u2019s wrath by relating a number of\nstories.\u201d Judging by the specimen given by Wilson, the well-known tale\nof the Lost Camel, it seems probable that the ministers\u2019 stories, like\nthose of Bakhty\u00e1r, are suited to their own case and illustrate the truth\nof the adage that \u201cappearances are often deceptive.\u201d Whether in the\nSiamese collection \u201cNonthuk Pakkaranam\u201d (referred to in vol. i. p. 191)\nthe stories related by the Princess Kankras to the King of Pataliput\n(Palibothra), to save her father\u2019s life, are similarly designed, does\nnot appear from Benfey\u2019s notice of the work in his paper in \u201cOrient und\nOccident,\u201d iii. 171 ff. He says that the title of the book, \u201cNonthuk\nPakkaranam,\u201d is taken from the name of a wise ox, Nonthuk, that plays\nthe principal part in the longest of the tales, which are all apparently\ntranslated from the Sanskrit, in which language the title would be\nNandaka Prakaranam, the History of Nandaka.\n\nMost of the tales related by the waz\u00edr Al-Rahwan are not only in\nthemselves entertaining, but are of very considerable importance from\nthe story-comparer\u2019s point of view, since in this group occur Eastern\nforms of tales which were known in Italy in the 14th century, and some\nhad spread over Europe even earlier. The reader will have seen from Sir\nR. F. Burton\u2019s notes that not a few of the stories have their parallels\nor analogues in countries far apart, and it is interesting to find four\nof them which properly belong to the Eastern texts of the Book of\nSindibad, with the frame-story of which that of this group has so close\nan affinity.\n\n\n _THE ART OF ENLARGING PEARLS.\u2014Vol. I. p. 197._\n\n \u201cQuoth she, I have a bangle; sell it and buy seed pearls with the price;\n then round them and fashion them into great pearls.\u201d\n\nFor want of a more suitable place, I shall here reproduce an account of\nthe \u201cMethod of making false pearls\u201d (nothing else being meant in the\nabove passage), cited, from Postl. Com. Dict., in vol. xxvi. of \u201cRees\u2019\nCyclop\u00e6dia,\u201d London, 1819:\n\n\u201cTake of thrice distilled vinegar two pounds, Venice turpentine one\npound, mix them together into a mass and put them into a cucurbit, fit a\nhead and receiver to it, and after you have luted the joints set it when\ndry on a sand furnace, to distil the vinegar from it; do not give it too\nmuch heat, lest the stuff swell up. After this put the vinegar into\nanother glass cucurbit in which there is a quantity of seed pearls\nwrapped in a piece of thin silk, but so as not to touch the vinegar; put\na cover or head upon the cucurbit, lute it well and put it in bal.\nMari\u00e6, where you may let it remain a fortnight. The heat of the balneum\nwill raise the fumes of the vinegar, and they will soften the pearls in\nthe silk and bring them to the consistence of a paste, which being done,\ntake them out and mould them to what bigness, form, and shape you\nplease. Your mould must be of fine silver, the inside gilt; you must\nalso refrain from touching the paste with your fingers, but use\nsilver-gilt utensils, with which fill your moulds. When they are\nmoulded, bore them through with a hog\u2019s bristle or gold wire, and then\nthread them again on gold wire, and put them into a glass, close it up,\nand set them in the sun to dry. After they are thoroughly dry, put them\nin a glass matrass into a stream of running water and leave them there\ntwenty days; by that time they will contract the natural hardness and\nsolidity of pearls. Then take them out of the matrass and hang them in\nmercurial water, where they will moisten, swell, and assume their\nOriental beauty; after which shift them into a matrass hermetically\nclosed to prevent any water coming to them, and let it down into a well,\nto continue there about eight days. Then draw the matrass up, and in\nopening it you will find pearls exactly resembling Oriental ones.\u201d (Here\nfollows a _recipe_ for making the mercurial water used in the process,\nwith which I need not occupy more space.)\n\nA similar formula, \u201cTo make of small pearls a necklace of large ones,\u201d\nis given in the \u201cLady\u2019s Magazine\u201d for 1831, vol. iv., p. 119, which is\nsaid to be extracted from a scarce old book. Thus, whatever mystery may\nsurround the art in Asiatic countries there is evidently none about it\nin Europe. The process appears to be somewhat tedious and complicated,\nbut is doubtless profitable.\n\nIn Philostratus\u2019 Life of Apollonius there is a curious passage about\npearl-making which has been generally considered as a mere \u201ctraveller\u2019s\ntale\u201d: Apollonius relates that the inhabitants of the shores of the Red\nSea, after having calmed the water by means of oil, dived after the\nshell-fish, enticed them with some bait to open their shells, and having\npricked the animals with a sharp-pointed instrument, received the liquor\nthat flowed from them in small holes made in an iron vessel, in which it\nhardened into real pearls.\u2014It is stated by several reputable writers\nthat the Chinese do likewise at the present day. And Sir R. F. Burton\ninforms me that when he was on the coast of Midian he found the Arabs\nwere in the habit of \u201cgrowing\u201d pearls by inserting a grain of sand into\nthe shells.\n\n\n _THE SINGER AND THE DRUGGIST\u2014Vol. I. p. 203._\n\nThe diverting adventures related in the first part of this tale should\nbe of peculiar interest to the student of Shakspeare as well as to those\nengaged in tracing the genealogy of popular fictions. Jonathan Scott has\ngiven\u2014for reasons of his own\u2014a meagre abstract of a similar tale which\noccurs in the \u201cBah\u00e1r-i-D\u00e1nish\u201d (vol. iii. App., p. 291), as follows:\n\n\n PERSIAN VERSION.\n\nA young man, being upon business in a certain city, goes on a hunting\nexcursion, and, fatigued with the chase, stops at a country house to ask\nrefreshment. The lady of the mansion receives him kindly, and admits him\nas her lover. In the midst of their dalliance the husband comes home,\nand the young man had no resource to escape discovery but to jump into a\nbasin which was in the court of the house, and stand with head in a\nhollow gourd that luckily happened to be in the water. The husband,\nsurprised to see the gourd stationary in the water, which was itself\nagitated by the wind, throws a stone at it, when the lover slips from\nbeneath it and holds his breath till almost suffocated. Fortunately the\nhusband presently retires with his wife into an inner room of the house,\nand thus the young man was enabled to make good his escape.\n\nThe next day he relates his adventure before a large company at a\ncoffee-house. The husband happens to be one of the audience, and,\nmeditating revenge, pretends to admire the gallantry of the young man\nand invites him to his house. The lover accompanies him, and on seeing\nhis residence is overwhelmed with confusion; but, recovering himself,\nresolves to abide all hazards, in hopes of escaping by some lucky\nstratagem. His host introduces him to his wife, and begs him to relate\nhis merry adventure before her, having resolved, when he should finish,\nto put them both to death. The young man complies, but with an artful\npresence of mind exclaims at the conclusion, \u201cGlad was I when I awoke\nfrom so alarming a dream.\u201d The husband upon this, after some questions,\nis satisfied that he had only told his dream, and, having entertained\nhim nobly, dismisses him kindly.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe story is told in an elaborate form by Ser Giovanni Fiorentino, in\n\u201cIl Pecorone\u201d (The Big Sheep, or, as Dunlop has it, The Dunce), which\nwas begun in 1378 but not published till 1554 (at Milan). It is the\nsecond novel of the First Day and has been thus translated by Roscoe:\n\n\n SER GIOVANNI\u2019S VERSION.\n\nThere were once two very intimate friends, both of the family of Saveli,\nin Rome; the name of one of whom was Bucciolo, that of the other, Pietro\nPaolo; both of good birth and easy circumstances. Expressing a mutual\nwish to study for a while together at Bologna, they took leave of their\nrelatives and set out. One of them attached himself to the study of the\ncivil law, the other to that of the canon law, and thus they continued\nto apply themselves for some length of time. But the subject of\nDecretals takes a much narrower range than is embraced by the common\nlaw, so Bucciolo, who pursued the former, made greater progress than did\nPietro Paolo, and, having taken a licentiate\u2019s degree, he began to think\nof returning to Rome. \u201cYou see, my dear fellow student,\u201d he observed to\nhis friend Paolo, \u201cI am now a licentiate, and it is time for me to think\nof moving homewards.\u201d \u201cNay, not so,\u201d replied his companion; \u201cI have to\nentreat you will not think of leaving me here this winter. Stay for me\ntill spring, and we can return together. In the meantime you may pursue\nsome other study, so that you need not lose any time;\u201d and to this\nBucciolo at length consented, promising to await his relative\u2019s own good\ntime.\n\nHaving thus resolved, he had immediate recourse to his former tutor,\ninforming him of his determination to bear his friend company a little\nlonger, and entreating to be employed in some pleasant study to beguile\nthe period during which he had to remain. The professor begged him to\nsuggest something he should like, as he should be very happy to assist\nhim in its attainment. \u201cMy worthy tutor,\u201d replied Bucciolo, \u201cI think I\nshould like to learn the way in which one falls in love, and the best\nmanner to begin.\u201d \u201cO very good!\u201d cried the tutor, laughing. \u201cYou could\nnot have hit upon anything better, for you must know that if such be\nyour object I am a complete adept in the art. To lose no time, in the\nfirst place go next Sunday to the church of the Frati Minori [Friars\nMinor of St. Francis], where all the ladies will be clustered together,\nand pay proper attention during service in order to discover if any one\nof them in particular happens to please you. When you have done this,\nkeep your eye upon her after service, to see the way she takes to her\nresidence, and then come back to me. And let this be the first\nlesson\u2014the first part\u2014of that in which it is my intention to instruct\nyou.\u201d Bucciolo went accordingly, and taking his station the next Sunday\nin the church, as he had been directed, his eyes, wandering in every\ndirection, were fixed upon all the pretty women in the place, and upon\none in particular, who pleased him above all the rest. She was by far\nthe most beautiful and attractive lady he could discover, and on leaving\nchurch he took care to obey his master and follow her until he had made\nhimself acquainted with her residence. Nor was it long before the young\nlady began to perceive that the student was smitten with her; upon which\nBucciolo returned to his master and informed him of what he had done. \u201cI\nhave,\u201d said he, \u201clearned as much as you ordered me, and have found\nsomebody I like very well.\u201d \u201cSo far, good,\u201d cried the professor, not a\nlittle amused at the sort of science to which his pupil had thus\nseriously devoted himself\u2014\u201cso far, good! And now observe what I have\nnext to say to you: Take care to walk two or three times a day very\nrespectfully before her house, casting your eyes about you in such a way\nthat no one may catch you staring in her face; look in a modest and\nbecoming manner, so that she cannot fail to notice and be struck with\nit. And then return to me; and this, sir, will be the second lesson in\nthis gay science.\u201d\n\nSo the scholar went and promenaded with great discretion before the\nlady\u2019s door, who observed that he appeared to be passing to and fro out\nof respect to one of the inhabitants. This attracted her attention, for\nwhich Bucciolo very discreetly expressed his gratitude by looks and\nbows, which being as often returned, the scholar began to be aware that\nthe lady liked him. He immediately went and told the professor all that\nhad passed, who replied, \u201cCome, you have done very well. I am hitherto\nquite satisfied. It is now time for you to find some way of speaking to\nher, which you may easily do by means of those gipsies who haunt the\nstreets of Bologna, crying ladies\u2019 veils, purses, and other articles for\nsale. Send word by her that you are the lady\u2019s most faithful, devoted\nservant, and that there is no one in the world you so much wish to\nplease. In short, let her urge your suit, and take care to bring the\nanswer to me as soon as you have received it. I will then tell you how\nyou are to proceed.\u201d\n\nDeparting in all haste, he soon found a little old pedlar woman, quite\nperfect in the trade, to whom he said he should take it as a particular\nfavour if she would do one thing, for which he would reward her\nhandsomely. Upon this she declared her readiness to serve him in\nanything he pleased. \u201cFor you know,\u201d she added, \u201cit is my business to\nget money in every way I can.\u201d Bucciolo gave her two florins, saying, \u201cI\nwish you to go for me to-day as far as the Via Maccarella, where resides\na young lady of the name of Giovanna, for whom I have the very highest\nregard. Pray tell her so, and recommend me to her most affectionately,\nso as to obtain for me her good graces by every means in your power. I\nentreat you to have my interest at heart, and to say such pretty things\nas she cannot refuse to hear.\u201d \u201cO leave that to me, sir,\u201d said the\nlittle old woman; \u201cI will not fail to say a good word for you at the\nproper time.\u201d \u201cDelay not,\u201d said Bucciolo, \u201cbut go now, and I will wait\nfor you here;\u201d and she set off at once, taking her basket of trinkets\nunder her arm. On approaching the place, she saw the lady before the\ndoor, enjoying the air, and curtseying to her very low, \u201cDo I happen to\nhave anything here you would fancy?\u201d she said, displaying her wares.\n\u201cPray take something, madam\u2014whatever pleases you best.\u201d Veils, stays,\npurses, and mirrors were now spread in the most tempting way before the\nlady\u2019s eyes. Out of all these things her attention seemed to be most\nattracted by a beautiful purse, which, she observed, if she could\nafford, she should like to purchase. \u201cNay, madam,\u201d exclaimed the crone,\n\u201cdo not think anything about the price\u2014take anything you please, since\nthey are all paid for already, I assure you.\u201d Surprised at hearing this,\nand perceiving the very respectful manner of the speaker, the lady\nrejoined, \u201cDo you know what you are saying? What do you mean by that?\u201d\nThe old woman, pretending now to be much affected, said, \u201cWell, madam,\nif it must be so, I shall tell you. It is very true that a young\ngentleman of the name of Bucciolo sent me hither; one who loves you\nbetter than all the world besides. There is nothing he would not do to\nplease you, and indeed he appears so very wretched because he cannot\nspeak to you, and he is so very good, that it is quite a pity. I think\nit will be the death of him, and then he is such a fine\u2014such an\nelegant\u2014young man, the more is the pity!\u201d On hearing this, the lady,\nblushing deeply, turned sharply round upon the little old woman,\nexclaiming, \u201cO you wicked creature! were it not for the sake of my own\nreputation, I would give you such a lesson that you should remember it\nto the latest day of your life! A pretty story to come before decent\npeople with! Are you not ashamed of yourself to let such words come out\nof your mouth?\u201d Then seizing an iron bar that lay across the doorway,\n\u201cIll betide you, little wretch!\u201d she cried, as she brandished it. \u201cIf\nyou ever come this way again, depend upon it, you will never go back\nalive!\u201d The trembling old trot, quickly bundling up her wares, scampered\noff, in dread of feeling that cruel weapon on her shoulders, nor did she\nonce think of stopping till she had reached the place where Bucciolo\nstood waiting her return. Eagerly inquiring the news and how she had\nsucceeded, \u201cO very badly\u2014very badly,\u201d answered the crone. \u201cI never was\nin such a fright in all my life. Why, she will neither see nor listen to\nyou, and if I had not run away, I should have felt the weight of a great\niron bar upon my shoulders. For my own part, I shall go there no more;\nand I advise you, signor, to look to yourself how you proceed in such\naffairs in future.\u201d\n\nPoor Bucciolo became quite disconsolate, and returned in all haste to\nacquaint the professor with this unlucky result. But the professor, not\na whit cast down, consoled him, saying, \u201cDo not despair; a tree is not\nlevelled at a single stroke, you know. I think you must have a\nrepetition of your lesson to-night. So go and walk before her door as\nusual; notice how she eyes you, and whether she appears angry or not,\nand then come back again to me.\u201d Bucciolo accordingly proceeded without\ndelay to the lady\u2019s house. The moment she perceived him she called her\nmaid and said to her, \u201cQuick, quick\u2014hasten after the young man\u2014that is\nhe, and tell him from me that he must come and speak with me this\nevening without fail\u2014without fail.\u201d The girl soon came up with Bucciolo,\nand thus addressed him: \u201cMy lady, signor, my lady, Giovanna, would be\nglad of your company this evening, she would be very glad to speak with\nyou.\u201d Greatly surprised at this, Bucciolo replied, \u201cTell your lady I\nshall be most happy to wait upon her,\u201d so saying, he set off once more\nto the professor, and reported the progress of the affair. But this time\nthe master looked a little more serious; for, from some trivial\ncircumstances put together, he began to entertain suspicions that the\nlady was (as it really turned out) no other than his own wife. So he\nrather anxiously inquired of Bucciolo whether he intended to accept the\ninvitation. \u201cTo be sure I do,\u201d replied his pupil. \u201cThen,\u201d said the\nprofessor, \u201cpromise that you will come here before you set off.\u201d\n\u201cCertainly I will,\u201d answered Bucciolo readily, and took his leave.\n\nNow Bucciolo was far from suspecting that the lady bore so near a\nrelationship to his respected tutor, although the latter began to be\nrather uneasy as to the result, feeling some twinges of jealousy which\nwere by no means pleasant. For he passed most of his winter evenings at\nthe college where he gave lectures, and not unfrequently remained there\nfor the night. \u201cI should be sorry,\u201d said he to himself, \u201cif this young\ngentleman were learning these things at my expense, and I must therefore\nknow the real state of the case.\u201d In the evening his pupil called\naccording to promise, saying, \u201cWorthy master, I am now ready to go.\u201d\n\u201cWell, go,\u201d replied the professor; \u201cbut be wise, Signor Bucciolo\u2014be\nwise, and think more than once what you are about.\u201d \u201cTrust me for that,\u201d\nsaid the scholar, a little piqued: \u201cI shall go well provided, and not\nwalk into the mouth of danger unarmed.\u201d And away he went, furnished with\na good cuirass, a rapier, and a stiletto in his belt. He was no sooner\non his way than the professor slipped out quietly after him, dogging his\nsteps closely, until, trembling with rage, he saw him stop at his own\nhouse-door, which, on a smart tap being given, was quickly opened by the\nlady herself and the pupil admitted. When the professor saw that it was\nindeed his own wife, he was quite overwhelmed and thought, \u201cAlas, I fear\nthis young fellow has learned more than he confesses at my expense;\u201d and\nvowing to be revenged, he ran back to the college, where arming himself\nwith sword and dagger, he then hastened to his house in a terrible\npassion. Arriving at his own door, he knocked loudly, and the lady,\nsitting before the fire with Bucciolo, instantly knew it was her\nhusband, so taking hold of Bucciolo, she concealed him hurriedly under a\nheap of damp clothes lying on a table near the window ready for ironing,\nwhich done, she ran to the door and inquired who was there. \u201cOpen\nquickly,\u201d exclaimed the professor. \u201cYou vile woman, you shall soon know\nwho is here!\u201d On opening the door, she beheld him with a drawn sword,\nand cried in well-affected alarm, \u201cO my dearest life, what means this?\u201d\n\u201cYou know very well what it means,\u201d said he. \u201cThe villain is now in the\nhouse.\u201d \u201cGood Heaven! what is that you say?\u201d exclaimed the lady. \u201cAre\nyou gone out of your wits? Come and search the house, and if you find\nanybody, I will give you leave to kill me on the spot. What! do you\nthink I should now begin to misconduct myself as I never before did\u2014as\nnone of my family ever did before? Beware lest the Evil One should be\ntempting you, and, suddenly depriving you of your senses, draw you to\nperdition!\u201d But the professor, calling for candles, began to search the\nhouse from the cellars upwards\u2014among the tubs and casks\u2014in every place\nbut the right place\u2014running his sword through the beds and under the\nbeds, and into every inch of the bedding\u2014leaving no corner or crevice of\nthe whole house untouched. The lady accompanied him with a candle in her\nhand, frequently interrupting him with, \u201cSay your beads\u2014say your beads,\ngood signor; it is certain that the Evil One is dealing with you, for\nwere I half so bad as you esteem me, I would kill myself with my own\nhands. But I entreat you not to give way to this evil suggestion: oppose\nthe adversary while you can.\u201d Hearing these virtuous observations of his\nwife, and not being able to discover any one after the strictest search,\nthe professor began to think that he must, after all, be possessed, and\npresently extinguished the lights and returned to the college. The lady,\non shutting the door after him, called out to Bucciolo to come from his\nhiding place, and then, stirring the fire, began to prepare a fine capon\nfor supper, with some delicious wines and fruits. And thus they regaled\nthemselves, highly entertained with each other, nor was it their least\nsatisfaction that the professor had just left them, apparently convinced\nthat they had learned nothing at his expense.\n\nProceeding to the college next morning, Bucciolo, without the least\nsuspicion of the truth, informed his master that he had something for\nhis ear which he was sure would make him laugh. \u201cHow so?\u201d demanded the\nprofessor. \u201cWhy,\u201d said his pupil, \u201cyou must know that last night, just\nas I had entered the lady\u2019s house, who should come in but her husband,\nand in such a rage! He searched the whole house from top to bottom,\nwithout being able to find me. I lay under a heap of newly-washed\nclothes, which were not half dry. In short, the lady played her part so\nwell that the poor gentleman forthwith took his leave, and we afterwards\nate a fine capon for supper and drank such wines\u2014and with such zest! It\nwas really one of the pleasantest evenings I ever spent in my life. But\nI think I\u2019ll go and take a nap, for I promised to return this evening\nabout the same hour.\u201d \u201cThen be sure before you go,\u201d said the professor,\ntrembling with suppressed rage, \u201cbe sure to come and tell me when you\nset out.\u201d \u201cO certainly,\u201d responded Bucciolo, and away he went. Such was\nnow the unhappy tutor\u2019s condition as to render him incapable of\ndelivering a single lecture during the whole day, and such was his\nextreme vexation and eagerness for evening, that he spent his time in\narming himself with sword and dagger and cuirass, meditating only upon\ndeeds of blood. At the appointed time came Bucciolo, with the utmost\ninnocence, saying, \u201cMy dear master, I am going now.\u201d \u201cYes, go,\u201d replied\nthe professor, \u201cand come back to-morrow morning, if you can, and tell me\nhow you have fared.\u201d \u201cI intend doing so,\u201d said Bucciolo, and departed at\na brisk pace for the house of the lady.\n\nArmed _cap-\u00e0-pie_, the professor ran out after him, keeping pretty close\nto his heels, with the intention of catching him just as he entered. But\nthe lady, being on the watch, opened the door suddenly for the pupil and\nshut it in her husband\u2019s face. The professor began to knock and to call\nout with a furious noise. Extinguishing the light in a moment, the lady\nplaced Bucciolo behind the door, and throwing her arms round her\nhusband\u2019s neck as he entered, motioned to her lover while she thus held\nhis enemy to make his escape, and he, upon the husband\u2019s rushing\nforward, slipped out from behind the door unperceived. She then began to\nscream as loud as she could, \u201cHelp, help! the professor has gone mad!\nWill nobody help me?\u201d for he was in an ungovernable rage, and she clung\nfaster to him than before. The neighbours running to her assistance and\nseeing the peaceable professor armed with deadly weapons, and his wife\ncrying out, \u201cHelp, for the love of Heaven!\u2014too much study hath driven\nhim mad!\u201d they readily believed such to be the fact. \u201cCome, good\nsignor,\u201d they said, \u201cwhat is all this about? Try to compose\nyourself\u2014nay, do not struggle so hard, but let us help you to your\ncouch.\u201d \u201cHow can I rest, think you,\u201d he replied, \u201cwhile this wicked\nwoman harbours paramours in my house? I saw him come in with my own\neyes.\u201d \u201cWretch that I am!\u201d cried his wife. \u201cInquire of all my friends\nand neighbours whether any one of them ever saw anything the least\nunbecoming in my conduct.\u201d The whole party with one voice entreated the\nprofessor to lay such thoughts aside, for there was not a better lady\nbreathing, or one who set a higher value upon her reputation. \u201cBut how\ncan that be,\u201d said he, \u201cwhen I saw him enter the house, and he is in it\nnow?\u201d In the meanwhile the lady\u2019s two brothers arrived, when she began\nto weep bitterly, exclaiming, \u201cO my dear brothers, my poor husband has\ngone mad\u2014quite mad, and he even says there is a man in the house. I\nbelieve he would kill me if he could; but you know me too well to listen\nfor a moment to such a story,\u201d and she continued to weep.\n\nThe brothers then accosted the professor in no gentle terms: \u201cWe are\nsurprised, signor\u2014we are shocked to find that you dare bestow such\nepithets on our sister. What can have led you, after living so amicably\ntogether, to bring these charges against her now?\u201d \u201cI can only tell\nyou,\u201d answered the professor, \u201cthat there is a man in the house. I saw\nhim enter.\u201d \u201cThen come, and let us find him. Show him to us,\u201d retorted\nthe incensed brothers, \u201cfor we will sift this matter to the bottom. Show\nus the man, and we will then punish her in such a way as will satisfy\nyou.\u201d One of the brothers, taking his sister aside, said, \u201cFirst tell\nme, have you really got any one hidden in the house? Tell the truth.\u201d\n\u201cHeavens!\u201d cried his sister, \u201cI tell you, I would rather suffer death.\nShould I be the first to bring a scandal on our house? I wonder you are\nnot ashamed to mention such a thing.\u201d Rejoiced to hear this, the\nbrothers, directed by the professor, at once commenced a search. Half\nfrantic, he led them at once to the great bundle of linen, which he\npierced through and through with his sword, firmly believing he was\nkilling Bucciolo, all the while taunting him at every blow. \u201cThere! I\ntold you,\u201d cried his wife, \u201cthat he was mad. To think of destroying our\nown property thus! It is plain he did not help to get them up,\u201d she\ncontinued, whimpering\u2014\u201call my best clothes!\u201d\n\nHaving now sought everywhere in vain, one of the brothers observed, \u201cHe\nis indeed mad,\u201d to which the other agreed, while he again attacked the\nprofessor in the bitterest terms: \u201cYou have carried matters too far,\nsignor; your conduct to our sister is shameful, and nothing but insanity\ncan excuse it.\u201d Vexed enough before, the professor upon this flew into a\nviolent passion, and brandished his naked sword in such a way that the\nothers were obliged to use their sticks, which they did so very\neffectively that, after breaking them over his head, they chained him\ndown like a maniac upon the floor, declaring he had lost his wits by\nexcessive study, and taking possession of his house, they remained with\ntheir sister all night. Next morning they sent for a physician, who\nordered a couch to be placed as near as possible to the fire, that no\none should be allowed to speak or reply to the patient, and that he\nshould be strictly dieted until he recovered his wits; and this regimen\nwas diligently enforced.[490]\n\nA report immediately spread through Bologna that the good professor had\nbecome insane, which caused very general regret, his friends observing\nto each other, \u201cIt is indeed a bad business; but I suspected yesterday\nhow it was\u2014he could scarcely get a word out as he was delivering his\nlecture, did you not perceive?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d said another, \u201cI saw him change\ncolour, poor fellow.\u201d And by everybody, everywhere, it was decided that\nthe professor was mad. In this situation numbers of his scholars went to\nsee him, and among the rest Bucciolo, knowing nothing of what had\nhappened, agreed to accompany them to the college, desirous of\nacquainting his master with last night\u2019s adventure. What was his\nsurprise to learn that he had actually taken leave of his senses, and\nbeing directed on leaving the college to the professor\u2019s house, he was\nalmost panic-struck on approaching the place, beginning to comprehend\nthe whole affair. Yet, in order that no one might be led to suspect the\nreal truth, he walked into the house along with the rest, and on\nreaching a certain apartment which he knew, he beheld his poor tutor\nalmost beaten to a mummy, and chained down upon his bed, close to the\nfire. His pupils were standing round condoling with him and lamenting\nhis piteous case. At length it came to Bucciolo\u2019s turn to say something\nto him, which he did as follows: \u201cMy dear master, I am as truly\nconcerned for you as if you were my own father, and if there is anything\nin which I can be of service to you, command me as your own son.\u201d To\nthis the poor professor only replied, \u201cNo, Bucciolo, depart in peace, my\npupil; depart, for you have learned much, very much, at my expense.\u201d\nHere his wife interrupted him: \u201cYou see how he wanders\u2014heed not what he\nsays\u2014pay no attention to him, signor.\u201d Bucciolo, however, prepared to\ndepart, and taking a hasty leave of the professor, he proceeded to the\nlodging of his friend Pietro Paolo, and said to him, \u201cFare you well. God\nbless you, my friend. I must away; and I have lately learned so much at\nother people\u2019s expense that I am going home.\u201d So saying, he hurried\naway, and in due course arrived in safety at Rome.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe affliction of the professor of Giovanni\u2019s sprightly tale will\nprobably be considered by most readers as well-merited punishment; the\nyoung gallant proved an apt scholar in the art of love, and here was the\ninciter to evil repaid with the same coin!\n\n * * * * *\n\nStraparola also tells the story, but in a different form, in his\n\u201cPleasant Nights\u201d (Piacevoli Notti), First Day, second novella; and his\nversion is taken into a small collection entitled \u201cTarlton\u2019s Newes out\nof Purgatorie,\u201d first published in or before 1590\u2014a catchpenny tract in\nwhich, of course, Dick Tarlton had never a hand, any more than he had in\nthe collection of jests which goes under his name.\n\n\n STRAPAROLA\u2019S VERSION.[491]\n\nIn Pisa, a famous cittie of Italye, there lived a gentleman of good\nlinage and landes, feared as well for his wealth, as honoured for his\nvertue, but indeed well thought on for both; yet the better for his\nriches. This gentleman had one onelye daughter, called Margaret, who for\nher beauty was liked of all, and desired of many. But neither might\ntheir sutes nor her owne prevaile about her father\u2019s resolution, who was\ndetermyned not to marrye her, but to such a man as should be able in\nabundance to maintain the excellency of her beauty. Divers yong\ngentlemen proffered large feoffments, but in vaine, a maide shee must\nbee still: till at last an olde doctor in the towne, that professed\nphisicke, became a sutor to her, who was a welcome man to her father, in\nthat he was one of the welthiest men in all Pisa; a tall stripling he\nwas and a proper youth, his age about foure score, his heade as white as\nmilke, wherein for offence sake there was left never a tooth. But it is\nno matter, what he wanted in person he had in the purse, which the poore\ngentlewoman little regarded, wishing rather to tie herself to one that\nmight fit her content, though they lived meanely, then to him with all\nthe wealth in Italye. But shee was yong, and forcst to follow her\nfather\u2019s direction, who, upon large covenants, was content his daughter\nshould marry with the doctor, and whether she likte him or no, the match\nwas made up, and in short time she was married. The poore wench was\nbound to the stake, and had not onely an olde impotent man, but one that\nwas so jealous, as none might enter into his house without suspition,\nnor shee doo any thing without blame; the least glance, the smallest\ncountenance, any smile was a manifest instance to him that shee thought\nof others better then himselfe. Thus he himselfe lived in a hell, and\ntormented his wife in as ill perplexitie.\n\nAt last it chaunced that a young gentleman of the citie, comming by her\nhouse, and seeing her looke out at her window, noting her rare and\nexcellent proportion, fell in love with her, and that so extreamelye, as\nhis passions had no meanes till her favour might mittigate his heart\nsicke discontent. The yong man that was ignorant in amorous matters, and\nhad never beene used to courte anye gentlewoman, thought to reveale his\npassions to some one freend that might give him counsaile for the\nwinning of her love, and thinking experience was the surest maister, on\na daye seeing the olde doctor walkinge in the churche that was\nMargaret\u2019s husband, little knowing who he was, he thought this the\nfittest man to whom he might discover his passions, for that hee was\nolde and knew much, and was a phisition that with his drugges might\nhelpe him forward in his purposes; so that seeing the olde man walke\nsolitary, he joinde unto him, and after a curteous salute, tolde him\nthat he was to impart a matter of great import to him, wherein, if hee\nwould not onely be secrete, but indevour to pleasure him, his pains\nshould bee every way to the full considered. You must imagine,\ngentleman, quoth Mutio, for so was the doctor\u2019s name, that men of our\nprofession are no blabs, but hold their secrets in their hearts bottome,\nand therefore reveale what you please, it shall not onely be concealed,\nbut cured, if either my art or counsaile may doo it. Upon this, Lyonell,\nso was the young gentleman called, told and discourst unto him from\npoint to point, how he was falne in love with a gentlewoman that was\nmarried to one of his profession, discovered her dwelling and the house,\nand for that he was unacquainted with the woman, and a man little\nexperienced in love matters, he required his favour to further him with\nhis advice. Mutio at this motion was stung to the hart, knowing it was\nhis wife hee was fallen in love withall, yet to conceale the matter, and\nto experience his wive\u2019s chastity, and that if she plaide false, he\nmight be revenged on them both, he dissembled the matter, and answered\nthat he knewe the woman very well, and commended her highly: but said\nshe had a churle to her husband, and therefore he thought shee would bee\nthe more tractable: Trye her, man, quoth hee, fainte harte never wonne\nfaire lady, and if shee will not be brought to the bent of your bowe, I\nwill provide such a potion as shall dispatch all to your owne content:\nand to give you further instructions for oportunitie, knowe that her\nhusband is foorth every afternoone from three till sixe. Thus farre I\nhave advised you, because I pitty your passions, as my selfe being once\na lover, but now I charge thee reveale it to none whomsoever, least it\ndoo disparage my credit to meddle in amorous matters.\n\nThe yong gentleman not onely promised all carefull secrecy, but gave him\nharty thanks for his good counsell, promising to meete him there the\nnext day, and tell him what newes. Then hee left the old man, who was\nalmost mad for feare his wife any way should play false: he saw by\nexperience brave men came to beseige the castle, and seeing it was in a\nwoman\u2019s custodie, and had so weeke a governor as himselfe, he doubted it\nwould in time be delivered up: which feare made him almost franticke,\nyet he drivde of the time great torment, till he might heare from his\nrival. Lionello he hastes him home and sutes him in his braverye, and\ngoes downe toward the house of Mutio, where he sees her at the windowe,\nwhome he courted with a passionate looke, with such humble salute as\nshee might perceive how the gentleman was affectionate. Margaretta,\nlooking earnestlye upon him, and noting the perfection of his\nproportion, accounted him in her eye the flower of all Pisa, thinkte\nherselfe fortunate if shee might have him for her freend, to supply\nthose defaultes that she found in Mutio. Sundry times that afternoone he\npast by her window, and he cast not up more loving lookes, then he\nreceived gratious favours, which did so incourage him that the next daye\nbetweene three and sixe hee went to her house, and knocking at the\ndoore, desired to speake with the mistris of the house, who hearing by\nher maid\u2019s description what he was, commaunded him to come in, where she\nintertained him with all courtesie.\n\nThe youth that never before had given the attempt to court a ladye,\nbegan his _exordium_ with a blushe; and yet went forward so well, that\nhee discourst unto her howe hee loved her, and that if it might please\nher to accept of his service, as of a freende ever vowde in all dutye to\nbee at her commaunde, the care of her honour should bee deerer to him\nthan his life, and hee would be ready to prise her discontent with his\nbloud at all times. The gentlewoman was a little coye, but, before they\npart, they concluded that the next day at foure of the clock hee should\ncome thither and eate a pound of cherries, which was resolved on with a\n_succado des labras_, and so with a loath to depart they tooke their\nleaves. Lionello as joyfull a man as might be, hyed him to the church to\nmeete his olde doctor, where he found him in his olde walke: What newes,\nsyr, quoth Mutio, how have you sped? Even as I can wishe, quoth\nLionello, for I have been with my mistrisse, and have found her so\ntractable, that I hope to make the olde peasant, her husband, looke\nbroadheaded by a paire of browantlers. How deepe this strooke into\nMutio\u2019s hart, let them imagine that can conjecture what jelousie is;\ninsomuch that the olde doctor askte when should be the time. Marry,\nquoth Lionello, to-morrow, at foure of the clocke in the afternoone, and\nthen Maister Doctor, quoth hee, will I dub the old squire knight of the\nforked order.\n\nThus they past on in that, till it grew late, and then Lyonello went\nhome to his lodging and Mutio to his house, covering all his sorrowes\nwith a merrye countenance, with full resolution to revenge them both the\nnext day with extremitie. He past the night as patiently as he could,\nand the next daye, after dinner, awaye hee went, watching when it should\nbee foure of the clocke. At the hour justly came Lyonello and was\nintertained with all courtesie; but scarce had they kist, ere the maide\ncryed out to her mistresse that her maister was at the doore; for he\nhasted, knowing that a horne was but a litle while in grafting.\nMargaret, at this alarum, was amazed, and yet for a shift chopt Lionello\ninto a great driefatte[492] full of feathers,[493] and sat her downe\nclose to her woorke. By that came Mutio in blowing, and as though hee\ncame to looke somewhat in haste, called for the keyes of his chambers,\nand looked in everye place, searching so narrowlye in everye corner of\nthe house, that he left not the very privie unsearcht. Seeing he could\nnot finde him, hee saide nothing, but fayning himselfe not well at ease,\nstaide at home; so that poor Lionello was faine to staye in the drifatte\ntill the olde churle was in bed with his wife; and then the maide let\nhim out at a backe doore, who went home with a flea in his eare to his\nlodging.\n\nWell, the next day he went againe to meete his doctor, whome he found in\nhis wonted walke. What newes? quoth Mutio, how have you sped? A poxe of\nthe olde slave, quoth Lyonello; I was no sooner in, and had given my\nmistresse one kisse, but the jelous asse was at the doore; the maide\nspied him, and cryed her maister; so that the poore gentlewoman, for\nvery shifte, was faine to put me in a driefatte of feathers that stoode\nin an olde chamber, and there I was faine to tarrie while[494] he was in\nbed and a-sleepe, and then the maide let me out, and I departed. But it\nis no matter; \u2019twas but a chaunce, and I hope to crye quittance with him\nere it be long. As how? quoth Mutio. Marry, thus, quoth Lionello: shee\nsent me woord by her maide this daye that upon Thursday next the olde\nchurle suppeth with a patient of his a mile out of Pisa, and then I\nfeare not but to quitte[495] him for all. It is well, quoth Mutio;\nfortune bee your frende. I thanke you, quoth Lionello: and so, after a\nlittle more prattle, they departed.\n\nTo bee shorte, Thursdaye came, and about sixe of the clocke, foorth goes\nMutio no further then a freendes house of his, from whence he might\ndescrye who went into his house; straight hee sawe Lionello enter in,\nand after goes hee, insomuche that hee was scarcelye sitten downe,\nbefore the mayde cryed out againe, my maister comes. The goodwife, that\nbefore had provided for after-claps,[496] had found out a privie place\nbetween two seelings of a plauncher,[497] and there she thrust Lionello,\nand her husband came sweting. What news, quoth shee, drives you home\nagaine so soone, husband? Marry, sweete wife, quoth he, a fearfull\ndreame that I had this night, which came to my remembrance, and that was\nthis: me thought there was a villaine that came secretlye into my house,\nwith a naked poinard in his hand, and hid himselfe, but I could not\nfinde the place; with that mine nose bled, and I came backe; and, by the\ngrace of God, I will seeke every corner in the house for the quiet of my\nminde. Marry, I pray you doo, husband, quoth she. With that he lockt in\nall the doors, and began to search every chamber, every hole, every\nchest, every tub, the very well; he stabd every feather bed through, and\nmade havocke like a mad man, which made him thinke all was in vaine; and\nhee began to blame his eies that thought they saw that which they did\nnot. Upon this he rest halfe lunaticke, and all night he was very\nwakefull, that towards the morning he fell into a dead sleepe, and then\nwas Lionello conveighed away.\n\nIn the morning when Mutio wakened, hee thought how by no meanes hee\nshould be able to take Lionello tardy: yet he laid in his head a most\ndangerous plot; and that was this: Wife, quoth he, I must the next\nMonday ride to Vycensa, to visit an olde patient of mine; till my\nreturne, which will be some ten dayes, I will have thee staye at our\nlittle graunge house in the countrey. Marry, very well content, husband,\nquoth she. With that he kist her, and was verye pleasant, as though he\nhad suspected nothing, and away hee flings to the church, where he\nmeetes Lionello. What, sir, quoth he, what news? is your mistresse yours\nin possession? No, a plague of the olde slave, quoth hee. I think he is\neither a witch, or els woorkes by magick; for I can no sooner enter into\nthe doores, but he is at my backe, and so he was againe yesternight; for\nI was not warm in my seate before the maide cryed, my maister comes; and\nthen was the poore soule faine to conveigh me betweene two seelings of a\nchamber, in a fit place for the purpose, wher I laught hartely to myself\ntoo see how he sought every corner, ransackt every tub, and stabd every\nfeather bed, but in vaine; I was safe enough till the morning, and then,\nwhen he was fast asleepe, I lept out. Fortune frownes on you, quoth\nMutio. I,[498] but I hope, quoth Lionello, this is the last time, and\nnow shee wil begin to smile; for on Monday next he rides to Vicensa, and\nhis wife lyes at the grange house a little [out] of the towne, and there\nin his absence I will revenge all forepast misfortunes. God send it be\nso, quoth Mutio; and so took his leave.\n\nThese two lovers longd for Monday, and at last it came. Early in the\nmorning Mutio horst himselfe and his wife, his maide and a man, and no\nmore, and away he rides to his grange house, wher, after he had brok his\nfast, he took his leave, and away towards Vicensa. He rode not far ere,\nby a false way, he returned into a thicket, and there, with a company of\ncuntry peasants, lay in an ambuscade to take the young gentleman. In the\nafternoon comes Lionello galloping, and as soon as he came within sight\nof the house, he sent back his horse by his boy, and went easily afoot,\nand there, at the very entry, was entertained by Margaret, who led him\nup the staires, and convaid him into her bedchamber, saying he was\nwelcome into so mean a cottage. But, quoth she, now I hope fortun shall\nnot envy the purity of our loves. Alas! alas! mistris, cried the maid,\nheer is my maister, and 100 men with him, with bils and staves. We are\nbetraid, quoth Lionel, and I am but a dead man. Feare not, quoth she,\nbut follow me: and straight she carried him downe into a low parlor,\nwhere stoode an olde rotten chest full of writinges; she put him into\nthat, and covered him with olde papers and evidences, and went to the\ngate to meet her husband.\n\nWhy, Signor Mutio, what meanes this hurly burly? quoth she. Vile and\nshameless strumpet as thou art, thou shalt know by and by, quoth he.\nWhere is thy love? All we have watcht him and seen him enter in. Now,\nquoth he, shall neither thy tub of feathers or thy seeling serve, for\nperish he shall with fire, or els fall into my handes. Doo thy worst,\njealous foole, quoth she, I ask thee no favour. With that, in a rage, he\nbeset the house round, and then set fire on it. Oh, in what perplexitie\nwas poore Lionello in that he was shut in a chest, and the fire about\nhis eares! and how was Margaret passionat, that knew her lover was in\nsuch danger! Yet she made light of the matter, and, as one in a rage,\ncalled her maid to her and said: Come on, wench, seeing thy maister, mad\nwith jelousie, hath set the house and al my living on fire, I will be\nrevengd on him: help me heer to lift this old chest where all his\nwritings and deeds are; let that burne first, and as soon as I see that\non fire I will walke towards my freends, for the old foole will be\nbeggard, and I will refuse him. Mutio, that knew al his obligations and\nstatutes lay there, puld her back and bad two of his men carry the chest\ninto the field, and see it were safe, himselfe standing by and seeing\nhis house burnd downe sticke and stone. Then, quieted in his minde, he\nwent home with his wife and began to flatter her, thinking assuredly\nthat he had burnt her paramour, causing his chest to be carried in a\ncart to his house in Pisa. Margaret, impatient, went to her mother\u2019s and\ncomplained to her and her brethren of the jealousie of her husband, who\nmaintaned her it to be true, and desired but a daies respite to proove\nit.\n\nWel, hee was bidden to supper the next night at her mother\u2019s, she\nthinking to make her daughter and him freends againe. In the meane time\nhe to his woonted walk in the church, and there, _pr\u00e6ter expectationem_,\nhe found Lionello walking. Wondring at this, he straight enquires what\nnewes. What newes, Maister Doctor, quoth he, and he fell in a great\nlaughing; in faith yesterday, I scapt a scouring, for syrrha, I went to\nthe grange-house, where I was appointed to come, and I was no sooner\ngotten up the chamber, but the magicall villeine, her husband, beset the\nhouse with bils and staves, and that he might be sure no seeling nor\ncorner should shrowde me, he set the house on fire, and so burnt it\ndowne to the ground. Why, quoth Mutio, and how did you escape? Alas,\nquoth he, wel fare a woman\u2019s wit; she conveighed me into an old chest\nfull of writings, which she knew her husband durst not burne, and so I\nwas saved and brought to Pisa, and yesternight, by her maide, let home\nto my lodging. This, quoth he, is the pleasantest jest that ever I\nheard; and upon this I have a sute to you: I am this night bidden foorth\nto supper, you shall be my guest, onely I will crave so much favour, as\nafter supper for a pleasant sporte, to make relation what successe you\nhave had in your loves. For that I will not sticke, quoth he, and so he\nconveyed Lionello to his mother-in-lawe\u2019s house with him, and discovered\nto his wive\u2019s brethren who he was, and how at supper he would disclose\nthe whole matter; For, quoth he, he knowes not that I am Margaret\u2019s\nhusband. At this all the brethren bad him welcome, and so did the mother\nto, and Margaret, she was kept out of sight. Supper time being come they\nfell to their victals, and Lionello was carrowst unto by Mutio, who was\nvery pleasant, to drawe him into a merry humor, that he might to the ful\ndiscourse the effect and fortunes of his love. Supper being ended, Mutio\nrequested him to tel to the gentlemen what had hapned between him and\nhis mistresse. Lionello, with a smiling countenance, began to describe\nhis mistresse, the house and street where she dwelt, how he fell in love\nwith her, and how he used the councell of this doctor, who in all his\naffaires was his secretarye. Margaret heard all this with a great feare,\nand when he came to the last point, she caused a cup of wine to be given\nhim by one of her sisters, wherein was a ring that he had given\nMargaret. As he had told how he had escapt burning, and was ready to\nconfirme all for a troth, the gentlewoman drunke to him, who taking the\ncup and seeing the ring, having a quick wit and a reaching head, spide\nthe fetch, and perceived that all this while this was his lover\u2019s\nhusband to whome hee had revealed these escapes; at this drinking the\nwine and swallowing the ring into his mouth he went forward. Gentlemen,\nquoth he, how like you of my loves and my fortunes? Wel, quoth the\ngentlemen; I pray you is it true? As true, quoth he, as if I would be so\nsimple as to reveal what I did to Margaret\u2019s husband; for, know you,\ngentlemen, that I knew this Mutio to be her husband whom I notified to\nbe my lover; and for that he was generally known through Pisa to be a\njealous fool, therefore, with these tales I brought him into paradice,\nwhich are follies of mine owne braine; for, trust me, by the faith of a\ngentleman, I never spake to the woman, was never in her companye,\nneyther doo I know her if I see her. At this they all fell in a laughing\nat Mutio, who was ashamde that Lionello had so scoft him. But all was\nwell; they were made friends; but the jest went so to his hart that he\nshortly after died, and Lionello enjoyed the ladye.\n\n * * * * *\n\nSer Giovanni\u2019s story, Roscoe observes, is \u201ccurious as having through the\nmedium of translation suggested the idea of those amusing scenes in\nwhich the renowned Falstaff acquaints Master Ford, disguised under the\nname of Brooke, with his progress in the good graces of Mrs. Ford. The\ncontrivances likewise by which he eludes the vengeance of the jealous\nhusband are similar to those recounted in the novel, with the addition\nof throwing the unwieldly knight into the river. Dunlop says that the\nsame story has been translated in a collection entitled \u2018The Fortunate,\nDeceived, and Unfortunate Lovers,\u2019 and that Shakspeare may probably also\nhave seen it in \u2018Tarlton\u2019s Newes out of Purgatorie,\u2019 where the incidents\nrelated in the Lovers of Pisa are given according to Straparola\u2019s story.\nMoli\u00e8re made a happy use of it in his \u2018Ecole des Femmes,\u2019 where the\nhumour of the piece turns upon a young gentleman confiding his progress\nin the affections of a lady to the ear of her guardian, who believed he\nwas on the point of espousing her himself.\u201d Two other French plays were\nbased upon the story, one of which was written by La Fontaine under the\ntitle of \u201cLa Ma\u00eetre en Droit.\u201d Readers of \u201cGil Blas\u201d will also recollect\nhow Don Raphael confides to Balthazar the progress of his amour with his\nwife, and expresses his vexation at the husband\u2019s unexpected return.\n\n * * * * *\n\nIt is much to be regretted that nothing is known as to the date and\nplace of the composition of the Breslau edition of The Nights, which\nalone contains this and several other tales found in the collections of\nthe early Italian novelists.\n\n\n _THE KING WHO KENNED THE QUINTESSENCE OF THINGS.\u2014Vol. I. p. 212._\n\nAlthough we may find, as already stated, the direct source of this tale\nin the forty-sixth chapter of Al-Mas\u2019\u00fadi\u2019s \u201cMeadows of Gold and Mines of\nGems,\u201d which was written about A.D. 943, yet there exists a much older\nversion\u2014if not the original form\u2014in a Sanskrit collection entitled,\n\u201cVet\u00e1lapanchavinsat\u00ed,\u201d or Twenty-five Tales of a Vampyre. This ancient\nwork is incorporated with the \u201cKath\u00e1 Sarit S\u00e1gara,\u201d or Ocean of the\nStreams of Story, composed in Sanskrit verse by Somadeva in the 11th\ncentury, after a similar work, now apparently lost, entitled, \u201cVrihat\nKath\u00e1,\u201d or Great Story, written by Gunadhya, in the 6th century.[499] In\nthe opinion of Benfey all the Vampyre Tales are of Buddhist extraction\n(some are unquestionably so), and they probably date from before our\nera. As a separate work they exist, more or less modified, in many of\nthe Indian vernaculars; in Hind\u00ed, under the title of \u201cBaital Pach\u00eds\u00ed\u201d;\nin Tamil, \u201cVedala Kadai\u201d; and there are also versions in Telegu,\nMahratta, and Canarese. The following is from Professor C. H. Tawney\u2019s\ncomplete translation of the \u201cKath\u00e1 Sarit S\u00e1gara\u201d (it is the 8th recital\nof the Vet\u00e1la):\n\n\n INDIAN VERSION.\n\nThere is a great tract of land assigned to Br\u00e1hmans in the country of\nAnga, called Vrikshaghata. In it there lived a rich sacrificing Br\u00e1hman\nnamed Vishnusv\u00e1min. And he had a wife equal to himself in birth. And by\nher he had three sons born to him, who were distinguished for\npreternatural acuteness. In course of time they grew up to be young men.\nOne day, when he had begun a sacrifice, he sent those three brothers to\nthe sea to fetch a turtle. So off they went, and when they had found a\nturtle, the eldest said to his two brothers, \u201cLet one of you take the\nturtle for our father\u2019s sacrifice; I cannot take it, as it is all\nslippery with slime.\u201d When the eldest brother said this, the two younger\nones answered him, \u201cIf you hesitate about taking it, why should not we?\u201d\nWhen the eldest heard that, he said, \u201cYou two must take the turtle; if\nyou do not, you will have obstructed your father\u2019s sacrifice, and then\nyou will certainly sink down to hell.\u201d When he told the younger brothers\nthis, they laughed and said to him, \u201cIf you see our duty so clearly, why\ndo you not see that your own is the same?\u201d Then the eldest said, \u201cWhat,\ndo you not know how fastidious I am? I am very fastidious about eating,\nand I cannot be expected to touch what is repulsive.\u201d The middle\nbrother, when he heard this speech of his, said to his brother, \u201cThen I\nam a more fastidious person than you, for I am a most fastidious\nconnoisseur of the fair sex.\u201d When the middle one said this, the eldest\nwent on to say, \u201cThen let the younger of you two take the turtle.\u201d Then\nthe youngest brother frowned, and in his turn said to the two elder,\n\u201cYou fools, I am very fastidious about beds; so I am the most fastidious\nof the lot.\u201d\n\nSo the three brothers fell to quarrelling with one another, and being\ncompletely under the dominion of conceit, they left that turtle, and\nwent off immediately to the court of the king of that country, whose\nname was Prasenajit, and who lived in a city named Vitankapura, in order\nto have the dispute decided. There they had themselves announced by the\nwarder, and went in, and gave the king a circumstantial account of their\ncase. The king said, \u201cWait here, and I will put you all in turn to the\nproof;\u201d so they agreed and remained there. And at the time that the king\ntook his meal, he had them conducted to a seat of honour, and given\ndelicious food fit for a king, possessing all the six flavours. And\nwhile all were feasting around him, the Br\u00e1hman who was fastidious about\neating alone of all the company did not eat, but sat there with his face\npuckered up with disgust. The king himself asked the Br\u00e1hman why he did\nnot eat his food, though it was sweet and fragrant, and he slowly\nanswered him, \u201cI perceive in this food an evil smell of the reek from\ncorpses, so I cannot bring myself to eat it, however delicious it may\nbe.\u201d When he said this before the assembled multitude, they all smelled\nit by the king\u2019s orders, and said, \u201cThis food is prepared from white\nrice and is good and fragrant.\u201d But the Br\u00e1hman who was so fastidious\nabout eating would not touch it, but stopped his nose. Then the king\nreflected, and proceeded to inquire into the matter, and found out from\nhis officers that the food had been made from rice which had been grown\nin a field near the burning _gh\u00e1t_ of a certain village. Then the king\nwas much astonished, and, being pleased, he said to him, \u201cIn truth you\nare very particular as to what you eat; so eat of some other dish.\u201d\n\nAnd after they had finished their dinner, the king dismissed the\nBr\u00e1hmans to their apartments, and sent for the loveliest lady of his\ncourt. And in the evening he sent that fair one, all whose limbs were of\nfaultless beauty, splendidly adorned, to the second Br\u00e1hman, who was so\nsqueamish about the fair sex. And that matchless kindler of Cupid\u2019s\nflame, with a face like the full moon of midnight, went, escorted by the\nking\u2019s servants, to the chamber of the Br\u00e1hman. But when she entered,\nlighting up the chamber with her brightness, that gentleman who was so\nfastidious about the fair sex felt quite faint, and stopping his nose\nwith his left hand, said to the king\u2019s servants, \u201cTake her away; if you\ndo not, I am a dead man: a smell comes from her like that of a goat.\u201d\nWhen the king\u2019s servants heard this, they took the bewildered fair one\nto their sovereign, and told him what had taken place. And the king\nimmediately had the squeamish gentleman sent for, and said to him, \u201cHow\ncan this lovely woman, who has perfumed herself with sandal-wood,\ncamphor, black aloes, and other splendid scents, so that she diffuses\nexquisite fragrance through the world, smell like a goat?\u201d But though\nthe king used this argument to the squeamish gentleman he stuck to his\npoint; and then the king began to have his doubts on the subject, and at\nlast, by artfully framed questions, he elicited from the lady herself\nthat, having been separated in her childhood from her mother and nurse,\nshe had been brought up on goat\u2019s milk.\n\nThen the king was much astonished, and praised highly the discernment of\nthe man who was fastidious about the fair sex, and immediately had given\nto the third Br\u00e1hman, who was fastidious about beds, in accordance with\nhis taste, a bed composed of seven mattresses placed upon a bedstead.\nWhite smooth sheets and coverlets were laid upon the bed, and the\nfastidious man slept upon it in a splendid room. But, before half a\nwatch of the night had passed, he rose up from that bed, with his hand\npressed to his side, screaming in an agony of pain. And the king\u2019s\nofficers, who were there, saw a red crooked mark on his side, as if a\nhair had been pressed deep into it. And they went and told the king, and\nthe king said to them, \u201cLook and see if there is not something under the\nmattress.\u201d So they went and examined the bottom of the mattresses one by\none, and they found a hair in the middle of the bedstead underneath them\nall. And they took it and showed it to the king, and they also brought\nthe man who was fastidious about beds, and when the king saw the state\nof his body, he was astonished. And he spent the whole night in\nwondering how a hair could make so deep an impression on his skin\nthrough seven mattresses.[500]\n\nAnd the next morning the king gave three hundred thousand gold pieces to\nthose three fastidious men, because they were persons of wonderful\ndiscernment and refinement. And they remained in great comfort in the\nking\u2019s court, forgetting all about the turtle, and little did they reck\nof the fact that they had incurred sin by obstructing their father\u2019s\nsacrifice.[501]\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe story of the brothers who were so very \u201cknowing\u201d is common to most\ncountries, with occasional local modifications. It is not often we find\nthe knowledge of the \u201cquintessence of things\u201d concentrated in a single\nindividual, as in the case of the ex-king of our tale, but we have his\nexact counterpart\u2014and the circumstance is significant\u2014in No. 2 of the\n\u201cCento Novelle Antiche,\u201d the first Italian collection of short stories,\nmade in the 13th century, where a prisoner informs the king of Greece\nthat a certain horse has been suckled by a she-ass, that a jewel\ncontains a flaw, and that the king himself is a baker. Mr. Tawney, in a\nnote on the Vet\u00e1la story, as above, refers also to the decisions of\nHamlet in Saxo Grammaticus, 1839, p. 138, in Simrock\u2019s \u201cQuellen des\nShakespeare,\u201d 1, 81\u201385; 5, 170; he lays down that some bread tastes of\nblood (the corn was grown on a battlefield); that some liquor tastes of\niron (the malt was mixed with water taken from a well, in which some\nrusty swords had lain); that some bacon tastes of corpses (the pig had\neaten a corpse); lastly, that the king is a servant and his wife a\nserving-maid. But in most versions of the story three brothers are the\ngifted heroes.\n\nIn \u201cM\u00e9lusine\u201d[502] for 5 Nov. 1885, M. Ren\u00e9 Basset cites an interesting\nvariant (in which, as is often the case, the \u201cLost Camel\u201d plays a part,\nbut we are not concerned about it at present) from Radloft\u2019s \u201cProben der\nVolksliteratur der t\u00fcrkischen Stamme des S\u00fcd-Siberiens,\u201d as follows:\n\n\n SIBERIAN VERSION.\n\nMeat and bread were set before the three brothers, and the prince went\nout. The eldest said, \u201cThe prince is a slave;\u201d the second, \u201cThis is\ndog\u2019s flesh;\u201d the youngest, \u201cThis bread has grown over the legs of a\ndead body.\u201d The prince heard them. He took a knife and ran to find his\nmother. \u201cTell me the truth,\u201d cried he\u2014\u201cwere you unfaithful to my father\nduring his absence? A man who is here has called me a slave.\u201d \u201cMy son,\u201d\nreplied she, \u201cif I don\u2019t tell the truth, I shall die; if I tell it, I\nshall die. When thy father was absent, I gave myself up to a slave.\u201d The\nprince left his mother and ran to the house of the shepherd: \u201cThe meat\nwhich you have cooked to-day\u2014what is it? Tell the truth, otherwise I\u2019ll\ncut your head off.\u201d \u201cMaster, if I tell it, I shall die; if I don\u2019t, I\nshall die. I will be truthful. It was a lamb whose mother had no milk;\non the day of its birth, it was suckled by a bitch: that is to-day\u2019s\newe.\u201d The prince left the shepherd and ran to the house of the\nhusbandman: \u201cTell the truth, or else I\u2019ll cut off your head. Three young\nmen have come to my house. I have placed bread before them, and they say\nthat the grain has grown over the limbs of a dead man.\u201d \u201cI will be frank\nwith you. I ploughed with my plough in a place where were [buried] the\nlimbs of a man; without knowing it, I sowed some wheat, which grew up.\u201d\nThe prince quitted his slave and returned to his house, where were\nseated the strangers. He said to the first, \u201cYoung man, how do you know\nthat I am a slave?\u201d \u201cBecause you went out as soon as the repast was\nbrought in.\u201d He asked the second, \u201cHow do you know that the meat which\nwas served to-day was that of a dog?\u201d \u201cBecause it has a disagreeable\ntaste like the flesh of a dog.\u201d Then to the third: \u201cHow come you to know\nthat this bread was grown over the limbs of a dead person?\u201d \u201cWhat shall\nI say? It smells of the limbs of a dead body; that is why I recognised\nit. If you do not believe me, ask your slave; he will tell you that what\nI say is true.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nIn the same paper (col. 516) M. Ren\u00e9 Basset cites a somewhat elaborate\nvariant, from Stier\u2019s \u201cUngarische Sagen und M\u00e4rchen,\u201d in which, once\nmore, the knowledge of the \u201cquintessence of things\u201d is concentrated in a\nsingle individual:\n\n\n HUNGARIAN VERSION.\n\nA clever Magyar is introduced with his companions in disguise into the\ncamp of the King of the T\u00e1t\u00e1rs, who is menacing his country. The prince,\nsuspicious, causes him to be carefully watched by his mother, a skilful\nsorceress. They brought in the evening\u2019s repast. \u201cWhat good wine the\nprince has!\u201d said she. \u201cYes,\u201d replied one, \u201cbut it contains human\nblood.\u201d The sorceress took note of the bed from whence these words\nproceeded, and when all were asleep, she deftly cut a lock of hair from\nhim who had spoken, crept stealthily out of the room, and brought this\nmark to her son. The strangers started up, and when our hero discovered\nwhat had been done to him, he cut a lock from all, to render his\ndetection impossible. When they came to dinner, the king knew not from\nwhom the lock had been taken. The following night the mother of the\nprince again slipped into the room, and said, \u201cWhat good bread has the\nprince of the T\u00e1t\u00e1rs!\u201d \u201cVery good,\u201d replied one, \u201cit is made with the\nmilk of a woman.\u201d When all were asleep, she cut a little off the\nmoustache of him who was lying in the bed from which the voice\nproceeded. This time the Magyars were still more on the alert, and when\nthey were apprised of the matter, they all cut a little from their\nmoustaches, so that next morning the prince found himself again foiled.\nThe third night the old lady hid herself, and said in a loud voice,\n\u201cWhat a handsome man is the prince of the T\u00e1t\u00e1rs!\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d replied one,\n\u201cbut he is a bastard.\u201d When all were asleep, the old lady made a mark on\nthe visor of the helmet of the one from whence had come the words, and\nthen acquainted her son of what she had done. In the morning the prince\nperceived that all the helmets were similarly marked.[503] At length he\nrefrained, and said, \u201cI see that there is among you a master greater\nthan myself; that is why I desire very earnestly to know him. He may\nmake himself known; I should like to see and know this extraordinary\nman, who is more clever and more powerful than myself.\u201d The young man\nstarted up from his seat and said, \u201cI have not wished to be stronger or\nwiser than yourself. I have only wished to find out what you had\npreconcerted for us. I am the person who has been marked three nights.\u201d\n\u201cIt is well, young man. But prove now your words: How is there human\nblood in the wine?\u201d \u201cCall your butler and he will tell you.\u201d The butler\ncame in trembling all over, and confessed that when he corked the wine\nhe had cut his finger with the knife, and a drop of blood had fallen\ninto the cask. \u201cBut how is there woman\u2019s milk in the bread?\u201d asked the\nking. \u201cCall the bakeress,\u201d he replied, \u201cand she will tell it you.\u201d When\nthey questioned her, she confessed that she was kneading the bread and\nat the same time suckling her baby, and that on pressing it to her\nbreast some milk flowed and was mixed with the bread. The sorceress, the\nmother of the king, when they came to the third revelation of the young\nman, confessed in her turn that the king was illegitimate.\n\n * * * * *\n\nMr. Tawney refers to the Chevalier de Mailly\u2019s version of the Three\nPrinces of Serendip (Ceylon): The three are sitting at table, and eating\na leg of lamb, sent with some splendid wine from the table of the\nemperor Bahr\u00e1m. The eldest maintains that the wine was made of grapes\nthat grew in a cemetery; the second, that the lamb was brought up on\ndog\u2019s milk; while the third asserts that the emperor had put to death\nthe son of the waz\u00edr, and that the latter is bent on vengeance. All\nthese statements turn out to be well-grounded. Mr. Tawney also refers to\nparallel stories in the Breslau edition of The Nights; namely, in Night\n458, it is similarly conjectured that the bread was baked by a sick\nwoman; that the kid was suckled by a bitch, and that the sultan is\nillegitimate; and in Night 459, a gem-cutter guesses that a jewel has an\ninternal flaw, a man skilled in the pedigrees of horses divines that a\nhorse is the offspring of a female buffalo, and a man skilled in human\npedigrees that the mother of the favourite queen was a rope-dancer.\nSimilar incidents occur in \u201cThe Sultan of Yemen and his Three Sons,\u201d one\nof the Additional Tales translated by Scott, from the Wortley-Montague\nMS., now in the Bodleian Library, and comprised in vol. vi. of his\nedition of \u201cThe Arabian Nights Entertainments,\u201d published at London in\n1811.\n\n * * * * *\n\nAn analogous tale occurs in Mr. E. J. W. Gibb\u2019s recently-published\ntranslation of the \u201cHistory of the Forty Vez\u00edrs\u201d (the Lady\u2019s Fourth\nStory, p. 69 ff.), the _motif_ of which is that \u201call things return to\ntheir origin.\u201d\n\n\n TURKISH ANALOGUE.\n\nThere was in the palace of the world a king who was very desirous of\nseeing Khizr[504] (peace on him!), and he would even say, \u201cIf there be\nany one who will show me Khizr, I will give him whatsoever he may wish.\u201d\nNow there was at that time a man poor of estate, and from the stress of\nhis poverty he said to himself, \u201cLet me go and speak to the king, that\nif he provide for me during three years, either I shall be dead, or the\nking will be dead, or he will forgive me my fault, or I shall on\nsomewise win to escape, and in this way shall I make merry for a time.\u201d\nSo he went to the king and spake these words to him.[505] The king said,\n\u201cAn thou show him not, then I will kill thee,\u201d and that poor man\nconsented. Then the king let give him much wealth and money, and the\npoor man took that wealth and money and went to his house. Three years\nhe spent in merriment and delight, and he rested at ease till the term\nwas accomplished. At the end of that time he fled and hid himself in a\ntrackless place and he began to quake for fear. Of a sudden he saw a\npersonage with white raiment and shining face, who saluted him. The poor\nman returned the salutation, and the radiant being asked, \u201cWhy art thou\nthus sad?\u201d But he gave no answer. Again the radiant being asked him and\nsware to him, saying, \u201cDo indeed tell to me thy plight, that I may find\nthee some remedy.\u201d So that hapless one narrated his story from its\nbeginning to its end, and the radiant being said, \u201cCome, I will go with\nthee to the king, and I will answer for thee.\u201d So they arose.\n\nNow the king wanted that hapless one, and while they were going some of\nthe king\u2019s officers who were seeking met them, and they straightway\nseized the poor man and brought him to the king. Quoth the king, \u201cLo,\nthe three years are accomplished; come now, and show me Khizr.\u201d The poor\nman said, \u201cMy king, grace and bounty are the work of kings\u2014forgive my\nsin.\u201d Quoth the king, \u201cI made a pact; till I have killed thee, I shall\nnot have fulfilled it.\u201d And he looked to his chief vez\u00edr and said, \u201cHow\nshould this be done?\u201d Quoth the vez\u00edr, \u201cThis man should be hewn in many\npieces and then hung up on butchers\u2019 hooks, that others may see and lie\nnot before the king.\u201d Said that radiant being, \u201cTrue spake the\nvez\u00edr;\u2014all things return to their origin.\u201d Then the king looked to the\nsecond vez\u00edr and said, \u201cWhat sayest thou?\u201d He replied, \u201cThis man should\nbe boiled in a cauldron.\u201d Said that radiant being, \u201cTrue spake the\nvez\u00edr;\u2014all things return to their origin.\u201d The king looked to the third\nvez\u00edr and said, \u201cWhat sayest thou?\u201d The vez\u00edr replied, \u201cThis man should\nbe hewn in small pieces and baked in an oven.\u201d Again said that elder,\n\u201cTrue spake the vez\u00edr;\u2014all things return to their origin.\u201d Then quoth\nthe king to the fourth vez\u00edr, \u201cLet us see what sayest thou?\u201d The vez\u00edr\nreplied, \u201cO king, the wealth thou gavest this poor creature was for the\nlove of Khizr (peace on him!) He, thinking to find him, accepted it; now\nthat he has not found him he seeks pardon. This were befitting, that\nthou set free this poor creature for the love of Khizr.\u201d Said that\nelder, \u201cTrue spake the vez\u00edr;\u2014all things return to their origin.\u201d Then\nthe king said to the elder, \u201cO elder, my vez\u00edrs have said different\nthings contrary the one to the other, and thou hast said concerning each\nof them, \u2018True spake the vez\u00edr;\u2014all things return to their origin.\u2019 What\nis the reason thereof?\u201d That elder replied, \u201cO king, thy first vez\u00edr is\na butcher\u2019s son; therefore did he draw to his origin. Thy second vez\u00edr\nis a cook\u2019s son, and he likewise proposed a punishment as became his\norigin. Thy third vez\u00edr is a baker\u2019s son; he likewise proposed a\npunishment as became his origin. But thy fourth vez\u00edr is of gentle\nbirth; compassion therefore becomes his origin, so he had compassion on\nthat hapless one, and sought to do good and counselled liberation. O\nking, all things return to their origin.\u201d[506] And he gave the king much\ncounsel, and at last said, \u201cLo, I am Khizr,\u201d and vanished.[507]\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe discovery of the king\u2019s illegitimate birth, which occurs in so many\nversions, has its parallels in the story of the Nephew of Hippocrates in\nthe \u201cSeven Wise Masters,\u201d and the Lady\u2019s 2nd Story in Mr. Gibb\u2019s\ntranslation of the \u201cForty Vez\u00edrs.\u201d The extraordinary sensitiveness of\nthe third young Br\u00e1hman, in the Vet\u00e1la story, whose side was scratched\nby a hair that was under the seventh of the mattresses on which he lay,\nRohde (says Tawney), in his \u201cGreichische Novellistik,\u201d p. 62, compares\nwith a story told by Aelian of the Sybarite Smindyrides, who slept on a\nbed of rose-leaves and got up in the morning covered with blisters. He\nalso quotes from the Chronicle of Tabari a story of a princess who was\nmade to bleed by a rose-leaf lying in her bed.[508]\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe eleventh recital of the Vet\u00e1la is about a king\u2019s three sensitive\nwives: As one of the queens was playfully pulling the hair of the king,\na blue lotus leaped from her ear and fell on her lap; immediately a\nwound was produced on the front of her thigh by the blow, and the\ndelicate princess exclaimed \u201cOh! oh!\u201d and fainted. At night, the second\nretired with the king to an apartment on the roof of the palace exposed\nto the rays of the moon, which fell on the body of the queen, who was\nsleeping by the king\u2019s side, where it was exposed by her garment blowing\naside; immediately she woke up, exclaiming, \u201cAlas! I am burnt,\u201d and rose\nup from the bed rubbing her limbs. The king woke up in a state of alarm,\ncrying out, \u201cWhat is the meaning of this?\u201d Then he got up and saw that\nblisters had been produced on the queen\u2019s body. In the meanwhile the\nking\u2019s third wife heard of it and left her palace to come to him. And\nwhen she got into the open air, she heard distinctly, as the night was\nstill, the sound of a pestle pounding in a distant house. The moment the\ngazelle-eyed one heard it, she said \u201cAlas! I am killed,\u201d and she sat\ndown on the path, shaking her hands in an agony of pain. Then the girl\nturned back, and was conducted by her attendants to her own chamber,\nwhere she fell on her bed and groaned. And when her weeping attendants\nexamined her, they saw that her hands were covered with bruises, and\nlooked like lotuses upon which black beetles had settled.\n\nTo this piteous tale of the three very sensitive queens Tawney appends\nthe following note: Rohde, in his \u201cGreichische Novellistik,\u201d p. 62,\ncompares with this a story told by Tim\u00e6us, of a Sybarite who saw a\nhusbandman hoeing a field, and contracted rupture from it. Another\nSybarite, to whom he told the tale of his sad mishap, got ear-ache from\nhearing it. Oesterley, in his German translation of the Bait\u00e1l Pach\u00eds\u00ed,\npoints out that Grimm, in his \u201cKinderm\u00e4rchen,\u201d iii. p. 238, quotes a\nsimilar incident from the travels of the Three Sons of Giaffar: out of\nfour princesses, one faints because a rose-twig is thrown into her face\namong some roses; a second shuts her eyes in order not to see the statue\nof a man; a third says, \u201cGo away; the hairs in your fur cloak run into\nme;\u201d and the fourth covers her face, fearing that some of the fish in a\ntank may belong to the male sex. He also quotes a striking parallel from\nthe \u201cElites des contes du Sieur d\u2019Onville:\u201d Four ladies dispute as to\nwhich of them is the most delicate. One has been lame for three months\nowing to a rose-leaf having fallen on her foot; another has had three\nribs broken by a sheet in her bed having been crumpled; a third has held\nher head on one side for six weeks owing to one half of her head having\nthree or more hairs on it than the other; a fourth has broken a\nblood-vessel by a slight movement, and the rupture cannot be healed\nwithout breaking the whole limb. [Poor things!]\n\n\n _THE PRINCE WHO FELL IN LOVE WITH THE PICTURE. Vol. I. p. 226._\n\nIn the Persian tales of \u201cThe Thousand and One Days,\u201d a young prince\nentered his father\u2019s treasury one day, and saw there a little cedar\nchest \u201cset with pearls, diamonds, emeralds, and topazes;\u201d on opening it\n(for the key was in the lock) he beheld the picture of an exceedingly\nbeautiful woman, with whom he immediately fell in love. Ascertaining the\nname of the lady from an inscription on the back of the portrait, he\nsets off with a companion to discover her, and having been told by an\nold man at Baghd\u00e1d that her father at one time reigned in Ceylon, he\ncontinued his journey thither, encountering many unheard-of adventures\nby the way. Ultimately he is informed that the lady with whose portrait\nhe had become enamoured was one of the favourites of King Solomon. One\nshould suppose that this would have effectually cured the love-sick\nprince; but no: he \u201ccould never banish her sweet image from his\nheart.\u201d[509]\n\nTwo instances of falling in love with the picture of a pretty woman\noccur in the \u201cKath\u00e1 Sar\u00edt S\u00e1gara.\u201d In Book ix., chap. 51, a painter\nshows King Prithvir\u00fapa the \u201ccounterfeit presentment\u201d of the beauteous\nPrincess Rapalat\u00e1, and \u201cas the king gazed on it his eye was drowned in\nthat sea of beauty her person, so that he could not draw it out again.\nFor the king, whose longing was excessive, could not be satisfied with\ndevouring her form, which poured forth a stream of the nectar of beauty,\nas the partridge cannot be satisfied with devouring the moonlight.\u201d In\nBook xii., chap. 100, a female ascetic shows a wandering prince the\nportrait of the Princess Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed, \u201cand Sundarasena when he beheld\nthat maiden, who, though she was present there only in a picture, seemed\nto be of romantic beauty and like a flowing forth of joy, immediately\nfelt as if he had been pierced with the arrows of the god of the flowery\nbow [_i.e._ K\u00e1ma].\u201d In chapter 35 of Scott\u2019s translation of the\n\u201cBah\u00e1r-i-D\u00e1nish,\u201d Prince Ferokh-Faul opens a volume, \u201cwhich he had\nscarcely done when the fatal portrait of the fair princess who, the\nastrologers had foretold, was to occasion him so many perils, presented\nitself to his view. He instantly fainted, when the slave, alarmed,\nconveyed intelligence of his condition to the sultan, and related the\nunhappy cause of the disorder.\u201d In Gomberville\u2019s romance of Polexandre,\nthe African prince, Abd-el-Malik, falls in love with the portrait of\nAlcidiana, and similar incidents occur in the romance of Agesilaus of\nColchos and in the Story of the Seven Waz\u00edrs (vol. vi.); but why\nmultiply instances? Nothing is more common in Asiatic fictions.\n\n\n _THE FULLER, HIS WIFE, AND THE TROOPER. Vol. I. p. 231._\n\nIn addition to the versions of this amusing story referred to on p.\n231\u2014all of which will be found in the second volume of my work on\n\u201cPopular Tales and Fictions,\u201d pp. 212\u2013228\u2014there is yet another in a\nPersian story-book, of unknown date, entitled \u201cShamsa \u00fa Kuhkuha,\u201d\nwritten by Mirza Berkhorder Turkman, of which an account, together with\nspecimens, is given in a recently-published little book (Quaritch),\n\u201cPersian Portraits: a sketch of Persian History, Literature, and\nPolitics,\u201d by Mr. F. F. Arbuthnot, author of \u201cEarly Ideas: a Group of\nHindoo Stories.\u201d\n\nThis version occurs in a tale of three artful wives\u2014or, to employ the\nstory-teller\u2019s own graphic terms, \u201cthree whales of the sea of fraud and\ndeceit: three dragons of the nature of thunder and the quickness of\nlightning; three defamers of honour and reputation; namely, three\nmen-deceiving, lascivious women, each of whom had from the chicanery of\nher cunning issued the diploma of turmoil to a hundred cities and\ncountries, and in the arts of fraud they accounted Satan as an admiring\nspectator in the theatre of their stratagems.[510] One of them was\nsitting in the court of justice of the kazi\u2019s embrace; the second was\nthe precious gem of the bazaar-master\u2019s diadem of compliance; and the\nthird was the beazle and ornament of the signet-ring of the life and\nsoul of the superintendent of police. They were constantly entrapping\nthe fawns of the prairie of deceit within the grasp of cunning, and\nplundered the wares of the caravan of tranquillity of hearts of\nstrangers and acquaintances, by means of the edge of the scimitar of\nfraud. One day this trefoil of roguery met at the public bath, and,\naccording to their homogeneous nature they intermingled as intimately as\nthe comb with the hair; they tucked up their garment of amity to the\nwaist of union, entered the tank of agreement, seated themselves in the\nhot-house of love, and poured from the dish of folly, by means of the\nkey of hypocrisy, the water of profusion upon the head of intercourse;\nthey rubbed with the brush of familiarity and the soap of affection the\nstains of jealousies from each other\u2019s limbs. After a while, when they\nhad brought the pot of concord to boil by the fire of mutual laudation,\nthey warmed the bath of association with the breeze of kindness, and\ncame out. In the dressing-room all three of them happened simultaneously\nto find a ring, the gem of which surpassed the imagination of the\njeweller of destiny, and the like of which he had never beheld in the\nstorehouse of possibility. In short, these worthy ladies contended with\neach other for possession of the ring, until at length the mother of the\nbathman came forward and proposed that they should entrust the ring to\nher in the meanwhile, and it should be the prize of the one who most\ncleverly deceived and befooled her husband, to which they all agreed,\nand then departed for their respective domiciles.\u201d[511]\n\nMr. Arbuthnot\u2019s limits permitted only of abstracts of the tricks played\nupon their husbands by the three ladies\u2014which the story-teller gives at\ngreat length\u2014and that of the kazi\u2019s wife is as follows:\n\nThe kazi\u2019s wife knows that a certain carpenter, who lived close to her,\nwas very much in love with her. She sends her maid to him with a message\nto say that the flame of his love had taken effect upon her heart, and\nthat he must make an underground passage between his house and her\ndwelling, so that they might communicate with each other freely by means\nof the mine. The carpenter digs the passage, and the lady pays him a\nvisit, and says to him, \u201cTo-morrow I shall come here, and you must bring\nthe kazi to marry me to you.\u201d The next day the kazi goes to his office;\nthe lady goes to the carpenter\u2019s house, and sends him to bring her\nhusband, the kazi, to marry them. The carpenter fetches him, and, as the\nkazi hopes for a good present, he comes willingly enough, but is much\nsurprised at the extreme likeness between the bride and his own wife.\nThe more he looks at her, the more he is in doubt; and at last, offering\nan excuse to fetch something, he rushes off to his own house, but is\nforestalled by his spouse, who had gone thither by the passage, and on\nhis arrival is lying on her bed. The kazi makes some excuses for his\nsudden entry into her room, and, after some words, goes back to the\ncarpenter\u2019s house; but his wife had preceded him, and is sitting in her\nplace. Again he begins the ceremony, but is attracted by a black mole on\nthe corner of the bride\u2019s lip, which he could have sworn was the same as\nthat possessed by his wife. Making more excuses, and in spite of the\nremonstrances of the carpenter, he hurries back to his house once more;\nbut his wife had again got there before him, and he finds her reading a\nbook, and much astonished at his second visit. She suggests that he is\nmad, and he admits that his conduct is curious, and returns to the\ncarpenter\u2019s house to complete the ceremony. This is again frequently\ninterrupted, but finally he marries his own wife to the carpenter, and,\nhaving behaved in such an extraordinary manner throughout, is sent off\nto a lunatic asylum.\n\nFor the tricks of the two other ladies, and for many other equally\ndiverting tales, I refer the reader to Mr. Arbuthnot\u2019s pleasing and\ninstructive little book, which is indeed an admirable epitome of the\nhistory and literature of Persia, and one which was greatly wanted in\nthese days, when most men, \u201clike the dogs in Egypt for fear of the\ncrocodiles, must drink of the waters of information as they run, in\ndread of the old enemy Time.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nI have discussed the question of the genealogy of this tale elsewhere,\nbut, after a somewhat more minute comparative analysis of the several\nversions, am disposed to modify the opinion which I then entertained. I\nthink we must consider as the direct or indirect source of the versions\nand variants the \u201cMiles Gloriosus\u201d of Plautus, the plot of which, it is\nstated in the prologue to the second act, was taken from a Greek play.\nIt is, however, not very clear whether Berni adapted his story from\nPlautus or the \u201cSeven Wise Masters\u201d; probably from the former, since in\nboth the lady is represented, to the captain and the cuckold, as a twin\nsister, while in the S. W. M. the crafty knight pretends that she is his\nleman, come from Hungary with tidings that he may now with safety return\nhome. On the other hand, in the S. W. M., as in Plautus, the lovers make\ntheir escape by sea, an incident which Berni has altered to a journey by\nland\u2014no doubt, in order to introduce further adventures for the\ndevelopment of his main plot. But then we find a point of resemblance\nbetween Berni and the S. W. M., in the incident of the cuckold\naccompanying the lovers part of their way\u2014in the latter to the\nsea-shore; while in Plautus the deceived captain remains at home to\nprosecute an amour and get a thrashing for his reward (in Plautus,\ninstead of a wife, it is the captain\u2019s slave-girl). It is curious that\namidst all the masquerade of the Arabian story the cuckold\u2019s wife also\npersonates her supposititious twin-sister, as in Plautus and Berni. In\nPlautus the houses of the lover and the captain adjoin, as is also the\ncase in the modern Italian and Sicilian versions; while in Berni, the S.\nW. M., the Arabian, and the Persian story cited in this note they are at\nsome distance. With these resemblances and variations it is not easy to\nsay which version was derived from another. Evidently the Arabian story\nhas been deliberately modified by the compiler, and he has, I think,\nconsiderably improved upon the original: the ludicrous perplexity of the\npoor fuller when he awakes, to find himself apparently transformed into\na Turkish trooper, recalls the nursery rhyme of the little woman \u201cwho\nwent to market her eggs for to sell,\u201d and falling asleep on the king\u2019s\nhighway, a pedlar cut off her petticoats up to the knees, and when she\nawoke and saw her condition she exclaimed, \u201cLawk-a-mercy me, this is\nnone of I!\u201d and so on. And not less diverting is the pelting the\nblockhead receives from his brother fullers\u2014altogether, a capital story.\n\n\n _TALE OF THE SIMPLETON HUSBAND.\u2014Vol. I. p. 239._\n\nThe \u201ccurious\u201d reader will find European and Asiatic versions of this\namusing story in \u201cOriginals and Analogues of some of Chaucer\u2019s\nCanterbury Tales,\u201d published for the Chaucer Society, pp. 177\u2013188 and\n(in a paper contributed by me: \u201cThe Enchanted Tree\u201d) p. 341\u2013364.\n\n\n _TALE OF THE THREE MEN AND OUR LORD ISA. Vol. I. p. 250._\n\nUnder the title of \u201cThe Robbers and the Treasure-Trove\u201d I have brought\ntogether many European and Asiatic versions of this wide-spread tale in\n\u201cChaucer Analogues,\u201d pp. 415\u2013436.\n\n\n _THE MELANCHOLIST AND THE SHARPER. Vol. I. p. 264._\n\nA similar but much shorter story is found in Gladwin\u2019s \u201cPersian\nMoonshee,\u201d and story-books in several of the Indian vernaculars which\nhave been rendered into English:\n\nA miser said to a friend, \u201cI have now a thousand rupees, which I will\nbury out of the city, and I will not tell the secret to any one besides\nyourself.\u201d They went out of the city together, and buried the money\nunder a tree. Some days after the miser went alone to the tree and found\nno signs of his money. He said to himself, \u201cExcepting that friend, no\nother has taken it away; but if I question him he will never confess.\u201d\nHe therefore went to his (the friend\u2019s) house and said, \u201cA great deal of\nmoney is come into my hands, which I want to put in the same place; if\nyou will come to-morrow, we will go together.\u201d The friend, by coveting\nthis large sum, replaced the former money, and the miser next day went\nthere alone and found it. He was delighted with his own contrivance, and\nnever again placed any confidence in friends.\n\n * * * * *\n\nOne should suppose a miser the last person to confide the secret of his\nwealth to any one; but the Italian versions bear a closer resemblance to\nthe Arabian story. From No. 74 of the \u201cCento Novelle Antiche\u201d Sacchetti,\nwho was born in 1335 and is ranked by Crescimbini as next to Boccaccio,\nadapted his 198th novella, which is a most pleasing version of the\nAsiatic story:\n\n\n ITALIAN VERSION.\n\nA blind man of Orvieto, of the name of Cola, hit upon a device to\nrecover a hundred florins he had been cheated of, which showed he was\npossessed of all the eyes of Argus, though he had unluckily lost his\nown. And this he did without wasting a farthing either upon law or\narbitration, by sheer dexterity; for he had formerly been a barber, and\naccustomed to shave very close, having then all his eyes about him,\nwhich had been now closed for about thirty years. Alms seemed then the\nonly resource to which he could betake himself, and such was the\nsurprising progress he in a short time made in his new trade that he\ncounted a hundred florins in his purse, which he secretly carried about\nhim until he could find a safer place. His gains far surpassed anything\nhe had realised with his razor and scissors; indeed, they increased so\nfast that he no longer knew where to bestow them; until one morning\nhappening to remain the last, as he believed, in the church, he thought\nof depositing his purse of a hundred florins under a loose tile in the\nfloor behind the door, knowing the situation of the place perfectly\nwell. After listening some time without hearing a foot stirring, he very\ncautiously laid it in the spot; but unluckily there remained a certain\nJuccio Pezzichernolo, offering his adoration before an image of San\nGiovanni Boccadoro, who happened to see Cola busily engaged behind the\ndoor. He continued his adorations until he saw the blind man depart,\nwhen, not in the least suspecting the truth, he approached and searched\nthe place. He soon found the identical tile, and on removing it with the\nhelp of his knife, he found the purse, which he very quietly put into\nhis pocket, replacing the tiles just as they were, and, resolving to say\nnothing about it, he went home.\n\nAt the end of three days the blind mendicant, desirous of inspecting his\ntreasure, took a quiet time for visiting the place, and removing the\ntile searched a long while in great perturbation, but all in vain, to\nfind his beloved purse. At last, replacing things just as they were, he\nwas compelled to return in no very enviable state of mind to his\ndwelling; and there meditating on his loss, the harvest of the toil of\nso many days, by dint of intense thinking a bright thought struck him\n(as frequently happens by cogitating in the dark), how he had yet a kind\nof chance of redeeming his lost spoils. Accordingly in the morning he\ncalled his young guide, a lad about nine years old, saying, \u201cMy son,\nlead me to church,\u201d and before setting out he tutored him how he was to\nbehave, seating himself at his side before the entrance, and\nparticularly remarking every person who should enter into the church.\n\u201cNow, if you happen to see any one who takes particular notice of me,\nand who either laughs or makes any sign, be sure you observe it and tell\nme.\u201d The boy promised he would; and they proceeded accordingly and took\ntheir station before the church.\n\nWhen the dinner-hour arrived, the father and son prepared to leave the\nplace, the former inquiring by the way whether his son had observed any\none looking hard at him as he passed along. \u201cThat I did,\u201d answered the\nlad, \u201cbut only one, and he laughed as he went past us. I do not know his\nname, but he is strongly marked with the small-pox and lives somewhere\nnear the Frati Minori.\u201d \u201cDo you think, my dear lad,\u201d said his father,\n\u201cthat you could take me to his shop, and tell me when you see him\nthere?\u201d \u201cTo be sure I could,\u201d said the lad. \u201cThen come, let us lose no\ntime,\u201d replied the father; \u201cand when we are there tell me, and while I\nspeak to him you can step on one side and wait for me.\u201d So the sharp\nlittle fellow led him along the way until he reached a cheesemonger\u2019s\nstall, when he acquainted his father, and brought him close to it. No\nsooner did the blind man hear him speaking with his customers than he\nrecognised him for the same Juccio with whom he had formerly been\nacquainted during his days of light. When the coast was a little clear,\nour blind hero entreated some moments\u2019 conversation, and Juccio, half\nsuspecting the occasion, took him on one side into a little room,\nsaying, \u201cCola, friend, what good news?\u201d \u201cWhy,\u201d said Cola, \u201cI am come to\nconsult you, in great hopes you will be of use to me. You know it is a\nlong time since I lost my sight, and being in a destitute condition, I\nwas compelled to earn my subsistence by begging alms. Now, by the grace\nof God, and with the help of you and of other good people of Orvieto, I\nhave saved a sum of two hundred florins, one hundred of which I have\ndeposited in a safe place, and the other is in the hands of my\nrelations, which I expect to receive with interest in the course of a\nweek. Now if you would consent to receive, and to employ for me to the\nbest advantage, the whole sum of two hundred florins, it would be doing\nme a great kindness, for there is no one besides in all Orvieto in whom\nI dare to confide; nor do I like to be at the expense of paying a notary\nfor doing business which we can as well transact ourselves. Only I wish\nyou would say nothing about it, but receive the two hundred florins from\nme to employ as you think best. Say not a word about it, for there would\nbe an end of my calling were it known I had received so large a sum in\nalms.\u201d Here the blind mendicant stopped; and the sly Juccio, imagining\nhe might thus become master of the entire sum, said he should be very\nhappy to serve him in every way he could, and would return an answer the\nnext morning as to the best way of laying out the money. Cola then took\nhis leave, while Juccio, going directly for the purse, deposited it in\nits old place being in full expectation of soon receiving it again with\nthe addition of the other hundred, as it was clear that Cola had not yet\nmissed the money. The cunning old mendicant on his part expected that he\nwould do no less, and trusting that his plot might have succeeded, he\nset out the very same day to the church, and had the delight, on\nremoving the tile, to find his purse really there. Seizing upon it with\nthe utmost eagerness, he concealed it under his clothes, and placing the\ntiles exactly in the same position, he hastened home whistling,\ntroubling himself very little about his appointment of the next day.\n\nThe sly thief Juccio set out accordingly the next morning to see his\nfriend Cola, and actually met him on the road. \u201cWhither are you going?\u201d\ninquired Juccio. \u201cI was going,\u201d said Cola, \u201cto your house.\u201d The former,\nthen taking the blind man aside, said, \u201cI am resolved to do what you\nask; and since you are pleased to confide in me, I will tell you of a\nplan that I have in hand for laying out your money to advantage. If you\nwill put the two hundred florins into my possession, I will make a\npurchase in cheese and salt meat, a speculation which cannot fail to\nturn to good account.\u201d \u201cThank you,\u201d quoth Cola, \u201cI am going to-day for\nthe other hundred, which I mean to bring, and when you have got them\nboth, you can do with them what you think proper.\u201d Juccio said, \u201cThen\nlet me have them soon, for I think I can secure this bargain; and as the\nsoldiers are come into the town, who are fond of these articles, I think\nit cannot fail to answer; so go, and Heaven speed you.\u201d And Cola went;\nbut with very different intentions from those imagined by his\nfriend\u2014Cola being now clear-sighted, and Juccio truly blind. The next\nday Cola called on his friend with very downcast and melancholy looks,\nand when Juccio bade him good day, he said, \u201cI wish from my soul it were\na good, or even a middling, day for me.\u201d \u201cWhy, what is the matter?\u201d \u201cThe\nmatter?\u201d echoed Cola; \u201cwhy, it is all over with me; some rascal has\nstolen a hundred florins from the place where they were hidden, and I\ncannot recover a penny from my relations, so that I may eat my fingers\noff for anything I have to expect.\u201d Juccio replied, \u201cThis is like all\nthe rest of my speculations. I have invariably lost where I expected to\nmake a good hit. What I shall do I know not; for if the person should\nchoose to keep me to the agreement I made for you, I shall be in a\npretty dilemma indeed.\u201d \u201cYet,\u201d said Cola, \u201cI think my condition is still\nworse than yours. I shall be sadly distressed, and shall have to amass a\nfresh capital, which will take me ever so long. And when I have got it,\nI will take care not to conceal it in a hole in the floor, or trust it,\nJuccio, into any friend\u2019s hands.\u201d \u201cBut,\u201d said Juccio, \u201cif we could\ncontrive to recover what is owing by your relations, we might still make\nsome pretty profit of it, I doubt not.\u201d For he thought, if he could only\nget hold of the hundred he had returned it would still be something in\nhis way. \u201cWhy,\u201d said Cola, \u201cto tell the truth, if I were to proceed\nagainst my relations, I believe I might get it; but such a thing would\nruin my business, my dear Juccio, for ever: the world would know I was\nworth money, and I should get no more money from the world; so I fear I\nshall hardly be able to profit by your kindness, though I shall always\nconsider myself as much obliged as if I had actually cleared a large\nsum. Moreover, I am going to teach another blind man my profession, and\nif we have luck you shall see me again, and we can venture a speculation\ntogether.\u201d So far the wily mendicant, to whom Juccio said, \u201cWell, go and\ntry to get money soon, and bring it; you know where to find me, but look\nsharp about you and the Lord speed you; farewell.\u201d \u201cFarewell,\u201d said\nCola; \u201cand I am well rid of thee,\u201d he whispered to himself; and going\nupon his way, in a short time he doubled his capital; but he no longer\nwent near his friend Juccio to know how he should invest it. He had\ngreat diversion in telling the story to his companions during their\nfeasts, always concluding, \u201cBy St. Lucia! Juccio is the blinder man of\nthe two: he thought it was a bold stroke to risk his hundred to double\nthe amount.\u201d\n\nFor my own part, I think the blind must possess a more acute intellect\nthan other people, inasmuch as the light, exhibiting such a variety of\nobjects to view, is apt to distract the attention, of which many\nexamples might be adduced. For instance, two gentlemen may be conversing\ntogether on some matter of business, and in the middle of a sentence a\nfine woman happens to pass by, and they will suddenly stop, gazing after\nher; or a fine equipage, or any other object is enough to turn the\ncurrent of their thoughts. And then we are obliged to recollect\nourselves, saying, \u201cWhere was I?\u201d \u201cWhat was it that I was observing?\u201d\u2014a\nthing which never occurs to a blind man. The philosopher Democritus very\nproperly on this account knocked his eyes out in order to catch objects\nin a juster light with his mind\u2019s eye.\n\nIt is impossible to describe Juccio\u2019s vexation on going to church and\nfinding the florins were gone. His regret was far greater than if he had\nactually lost a hundred of his own; as is known to be the case with all\ninveterate rogues, half of whose pleasure consists in depriving others\nof their lawful property.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThere are many analogous stories, one of which is the well-known tale of\nthe merchant, who, before going on a journey, deposited with a dervish\n1,000 sequins, which he thought it prudent to reserve in case of\naccidents. When he returned and requested his deposit, the dervish\nflatly denied that he ever had any of his money. Upon this the merchant\nwent and laid his case before the kazi, who advised him to return to the\ndervish and speak pleasantly to him, which he does, but receives nothing\nbut abuse. He informed the kazi of this, and was told not to go near the\ndervish for the present, but to be at ease for he should have his money\nnext day. The kazi then sent for the dervish, and after entertaining him\nsumptuously, told him that, for certain reasons, he was desirous of\nremoving a considerable sum of money from his house; that he knew of no\nperson in whom he could confide so much as himself; and that if he would\ncome the following evening at a late hour, he should have the precious\ndeposit. On hearing this, the dervish expressed his gratification that\nso much confidence should be placed in his integrity, and agreed to take\ncharge of the treasure. Next day the merchant returned to the kazi, who\nbade him go back to the dervish and demand his money once more, and\nshould he refuse, threaten to complain to the kazi. The result may be\nreadily guessed: no sooner did the merchant mention the kazi than the\nrascally dervish said, \u201cMy good friend, what need is there to complain\nto the kazi? Here is your money; it was only a little joke on my part.\u201d\nBut in the evening, when he went to receive the kazi\u2019s pretended\ndeposit, he experienced the truth of the saw, that \u201ccovetousness sews up\nthe eyes of cunning.\u201d\n\nA variant of this is found in the continental \u201cGesta Romanorum\u201d (ch.\ncxviii. of Swan\u2019s translation), in which a knight deposits ten talents\nwith a respectable old man, who when called upon to refund the money\ndenies all knowledge of it. By the advice of an old woman, the knight\nhas ten chests made, and employs a person to take them to the old man\nand represent them as containing treasure; and while one of them is\nbeing carried into his house the knight enters and in the stranger\u2019s\npresence demands his money, which is at once delivered to him.\n\n * * * * *\n\nIn Mr. Edward Rehatsek\u2019s translated selections from the Persian\nstory-book \u201cShamsa \u00fa Kuhkuha\u201d (see _ante_, p. 329), printed at Bombay in\n1871, under the title of \u201cAmusing Stories,\u201d there is a tale (No. xviii.)\nwhich also bears some resemblance to that of the Melancholist and the\nSharper; and as Mr. Rehatsek\u2019s little work is exceedingly scarce, I give\nit in extenso as follows:\n\nThere was in Damascus a man of the name of Zayn el-Arab, with the honey\nof whose life the poison of hardships was always mixed. Day and night he\nhastened like the breeze from north to south in the world of exertion,\nand he was burning brightly like straw, from his endeavours in the oven\nof acquisition in order to gain a loaf of bread and feed his family. In\ncourse of time, however, he succeeded in accumulating a considerable sum\nof money, but as he had tasted the bitter poison of destitution, and had\nfor a very long time carried the heavy load of poverty upon his back,\nand fearing to lose his property by the chameleon-like changes of\nfortune, he took up his money on a certain night, carried it out of the\ncity, and buried it under a tree. After some time had passed he began\nsorely to miss the presence of his treasure, and betook himself to the\ntree to refresh his eyes with the sight of it. But when he dug up the\nground at the foot of the tree he discovered that his soul-exhilarating\ndeposit was refreshing the palate of some one else. The morning of his\nprosperity was suddenly changed into the evening of bitterness and\ndisappointment. He was perplexed to what friend to confide his secret,\nand to what remedy to fly for the recovery of his treasure. The lancet\nof grief had pierced the liver of his peace, and the huntsman of\ndistress had tied up the wings and feet of the bird of his serenity. One\nday he went on some business to a learned and wise man of the city with\nwhom he was on a footing of intimacy. This man said to him, \u201cIt is some\ntime since I perceived the glade of your circumstances to have been\ndestroyed by the burning coals of restlessness, and a sad change to have\ntaken place in your health. I do not know the reason, nor what thorn of\nmisfortune has pierced the foot of your heart, nor what hardship has\ndawned from the east of your mind.\u201d Zayn el-Arab wept tears of sadness\nand said, \u201cO thou standard coin from the mint of love! the treachery of\nmisfortune has brought a strange accident upon me, and the bow of\ndestiny has let fly an unpropitious arrow upon my feeble target. I have\na heavy heart and great sorrow, and were I to reveal it to you perhaps\nit would be of no use and would plunge you also into grief.\u201d The learned\nman said, \u201cSince the hearts of intimate friends are like looking-glasses\nand are receiving the figures of mutual secrets, it is at all times\nnecessary that they should communicate to each other any difficulties\nwhich they have fallen into, that they may remove them by taking in\ncommon those steps which prudence and foresight should recommend.\u201d Zayn\nel-Arab replied, \u201cDear friend, I had some gold, and fearing lest it\nshould be stolen, I carried it to such and such a place and buried it\nunder a tree, and when I again visited the place, I perceived the\ngarment of my beloved Joseph to be sprinkled with the blood of the wolf\nof deception.\u201d The learned man said, \u201cThis is a grave accident, and it\nwill be difficult to get on the track of your gold. Perhaps some one saw\nyou bury it: he who has taken it will have to give an account of it in\nthe next world, for God is omniscient. Give me ten days\u2019 delay, that I\nmay study the book of expedients and stratagems, when mayhap somewhat\nwill occur to me.\u201d\n\nThat knowing man sat down for ten days in the school of meditation, and\nhow much so ever he turned over the leaves of the volume of his mind\nfrom the preface to the epilogue, he could hit upon no plan. On the\ntenth day they again met in the street, and he said to Zayn el-Arab,\n\u201cAlthough the diver of my mind has plunged deeply and searched\ndiligently in this deep sea, he has been unable to seize the precious\npearl of a wise plan of operation: may God recompense you from the\nstores of His hidden treasury!\u201d They were conversing in this way when a\nlunatic met them and said, \u201cWell, my boys, what secret-mongering have\nyou got between you?\u201d The learned man said to Zayn el-Arab, \u201cCome, let\nus relate our case to this crazy fellow, to see the flower of the plant\nthat may bloom from his mind.\u201d Zayn el-Arab replied, \u201cDear friend, you,\nwith all your knowledge, cannot devise anything during ten days: what\ninformation are we likely to gain from a poor lunatic who does not know\nwhether it is now day or night?\u201d The learned man said, \u201cThere is no\ntelling what he may say to us. But you know that the most foolish as\nwell as the most wise have ideas, and a sentence uttered at random has\nsometimes furnished a clue by which the desired object may be attained.\u201d\nMeanwhile a little boy also came up, and perceiving the lunatic stopped\nto see his tricks. The two friends explained their case to the lunatic,\nwho then seemed immersed in thought for some time, after which he said,\n\u201cHe who took the root of that tree for a medicine also took the gold,\u201d\nand having thus spoken, he turned his back upon them and went his way.\nThey consulted with each other what indication this remark might\nfurnish, when the little boy, who had overheard the conversation, asked\nwhat kind of a tree it was. Zayn el-Arab replied that it was a jujube\ntree. The boy said, \u201cThis is an easy matter: you ought to inquire of all\nthe doctors of this town for whom a medicine has been prescribed of the\nroots of this tree.\u201d They greatly admired the boy\u2019s acuteness and also\nof the lunatic\u2019s lucky thought.[512] The learned man was well acquainted\nwith all the physicians of the city and made his enquiries, till he met\nwith one who informed him that about twenty days ago he had prescribed\nfor a merchant of the name of Khoja Semender, who suffered from asthma,\nand that one of the remedies was the root of that jujube tree. The\nlearned man soon discovered the merchant\u2019s house, found him enjoying\nexcellent health, and said to him, \u201cAh, Khoja, all the goods of this\nworld ought to be surrendered to procure health. By the blessing of God,\nyou have recovered your health, and you ought to give up what you found\nat the root of that tree, because the owner of it is a worthy man and\npossesses nothing else.\u201d The honest merchant answered, \u201cIt is true, I\nhave found it, and it is with me. If you will describe it I will deliver\nit into your hands.\u201d The exact sum being stated, the merchant at once\ndelivered up the gold.\n\n * * * * *\n\nIn the \u201cKath\u00e1 Sarit S\u00e1gara,\u201d Book vi. ch. 33, we have probably the\noriginal of this last story: A wealthy merchant provided a Br\u00e1hman with\na lodging near his own house, and every day gave him a large quantity of\nunhusked rice and other presents, and in course of time he received like\ngifts from other great merchants. In this way the miserly fellow\ngradually accumulated a thousand d\u00edn\u00e1rs, and going into the forest he\ndug a hole and buried it in the ground, and he went daily to carefully\nexamine the spot. One day, however, he discovered that his hoard had\nbeen stolen, and he went to his friend the merchant near whose house he\nlived, and, weeping bitterly, told him of his loss, and that he had\nresolved to go to a holy bathing-place and there starve himself to\ndeath. The merchant tried to console him and dissuade him from his\nresolution, saying, \u201cBr\u00e1hman, why do you long to die for the loss of\nyour wealth? Wealth, like an unseasonable cloud, suddenly comes and\ngoes.\u201d But the Br\u00e1hman would not abandon his fixed determination to\ncommit suicide, for wealth is dearer to the miser than life itself. When\nhe was about to depart for the holy place, the king, having heard of it,\ncame and asked him, \u201cBr\u00e1hman, do you know of any mark by which you can\ndistinguish the place where you buried your d\u00edn\u00e1rs?\u201d He replied, \u201cThere\nis a small tree in the wood, at the foot of which I buried that money.\u201d\nThen said the king, \u201cI will find the money and give it back to you, or I\nwill give it you from my own treasury;\u2014do not commit suicide, Br\u00e1hman.\u201d\n\nWhen the king returned to his palace, he pretended to have a headache,\nand summoned all the physicians in the city by proclamation with beat of\ndrum. And he took aside every one of them singly and questioned them\nprivately, saying, \u201cWhat patients have you, and what medicines have you\nprescribed for each?\u201d And they thereupon, one by one, answered the\nking\u2019s questions. At length a physician said, \u201cThe merchant M\u00e1tridatta\nhas been out of sorts, O king, and this is the second day I have\nprescribed for him _n\u00e1gabal\u00e1_ [the plant _Uraria Lagopodioides_].\u201d Then\nthe king sent for the merchant, and said to him, \u201cTell me, who fetched\nyou the _n\u00e1gabal\u00e1_?\u201d The merchant replied, \u201cMy servant, your highness.\u201d\nOn hearing this, the king at once summoned the servant and said to him,\n\u201cGive up that treasure belonging to a Br\u00e1hman, consisting of a store of\nd\u00edn\u00e1rs, which you found when you were digging at the foot of the tree\nfor _n\u00e1gabal\u00e1_.\u201d When the king said this to him the servant was\nfrightened, and confessed immediately; and bringing the money left it\nthere. Then the king summoned the Br\u00e1hman and gave him, who had been\nfasting meanwhile, the d\u00edn\u00e1rs, lost and found again, like a second soul\nexternal to his body. Thus did the king by his wisdom recover to the\nBr\u00e1hman his wealth which had been taken away from the root of the tree,\nknowing that that simple grew in such spots.\n\n\n _TALE OF THE DEVOUT WOMAN ACCUSED OF LEWDNESS.\u2014Vol. I. p. 270._\n\nThis is one of three Arabian variants of Chaucer\u2019s Man of Law\u2019s Tale\n(the Story of Constance), of which there are numerous versions\u2014see my\npaper entitled \u201cThe Innocent Persecuted Wife,\u201d pp. 365\u2013414 of \u201cOriginals\nand Analogues of some of Chaucer\u2019s Canterbury Tales.\u201d\n\n\n _THE WEAVER WHO BECAME A LEACH BY ORDER OF HIS WIFE.\u2014Vol. I. p. 282._\n\nSomewhat resembling this, but much more elaborate, is the amusing story\nof Ahmed the Cobbler, in Sir John Malcolm\u2019s \u201cSketches of Persia,\u201d ch.\nxx., the original of which is probably found in the tale of Harisarman,\nbook vi. ch. 30, of the \u201cKath\u00e1 Sarit S\u00e1gara,\u201d and it has many European\nvariants, such as the German story of Doctor Allwissend, in Grimm\u2019s\ncollection, and that of the Charcoal Burner in Sir George Dasent\u2019s\n\u201cTales from the Fjeld.\u201d\u2014According to the Persian story, Ahmed the\nCobbler had a young and pretty wife, of whom he was very fond. She was\never forming grand schemes of riches and splendour, and was firmly\npersuaded that she was destined to great fortune. It happened one\nevening, while in this frame of mind, that she went to the public baths,\nwhere she saw a lady retiring dressed in a magnificent robe, covered\nwith jewels, and surrounded by slaves. This was the very condition she\nhad always longed for, and she eagerly inquired the name of the happy\nperson who had so many attendants and such fine jewels. She learned it\nwas the wife of the chief astrologer to the king. With this information\nshe returned home. Ahmed met her at the door, but was received with a\nfrown, nor could all his caresses obtain a smile or a word; for several\nhours she continued silent, and in apparent misery; at length she said,\n\u201cCease your caresses, unless you are ready to give me a proof that you\ndo really and sincerely love me.\u201d \u201cWhat proof of love,\u201d exclaimed poor\nAhmed, \u201ccan you desire that I will not give?\u201d \u201cGive over cobbling; it is\na vile, low trade, and never yields more than ten or twelve d\u00edn\u00e1rs a\nday. Turn astrologer; your fortune will be made, and I shall have all I\nwish and be happy.\u201d \u201cAstrologer!\u201d cried Ahmed\u2014\u201castrologer! Have you\nforgotten who I am\u2014a cobbler, without any learning\u2014that you want me to\nengage in a profession which requires so much skill and knowledge?\u201d \u201cI\nneither think nor care about your qualifications,\u201d said the enraged\nwife; \u201call I know is that if you do not turn astrologer immediately, I\nwill be divorced from you to-morrow.\u201d The cobbler remonstrated, but in\nvain. The figure of the astrologer\u2019s wife, with her jewels and her\nslaves, took complete possession of her imagination. All night it\nhaunted her: she dreamt of nothing else, and on awakening declared she\nwould leave the house if her husband did not comply with her wishes.\nWhat could poor Ahmed do? He was no astrologer; but he was dotingly fond\nof his wife, and he could not bear the idea of losing her. He promised\nto obey; and having sold his little stock, bought an astrolabe, an\nastronomical almanac, and a table of the twelve signs of the zodiac.\nFurnished with these, he went to the market-place, crying, \u201cI am an\nastrologer! I know the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the twelve\nsigns of the zodiac; I can calculate nativities; I can foretell\neverything that is to happen.\u201d No man was better known than Ahmed the\nCobbler. A crowd soon gathered round him. \u201cWhat, friend Ahmed,\u201d said\none, \u201chave you worked till your head is turned?\u201d \u201cAre you tired of\nlooking down at your last,\u201d cried another, \u201cthat you are now looking up\nat the stars?\u201d These and a thousand other jokes assailed the ears of the\npoor cobbler, who notwithstanding continued to exclaim that he was an\nastrologer, having resolved on doing what he could to please his\nbeautiful wife.\n\nIt so happened that the king\u2019s jeweller was passing by. He was in great\ndistress, having lost the richest ruby belonging to the king. Every\nsearch had been made to recover this inestimable jewel, but to no\npurpose; and as the jeweller knew he could no longer conceal its loss\nfrom the king, he looked forward to death as inevitable. In this\nhopeless state, while wandering about the town, he reached the crowd\naround Ahmed, and asked what was the matter. \u201cDon\u2019t you know Ahmed the\nCobbler?\u201d said one of the bystanders, laughing. \u201cHe has been inspired\nand is become an astrologer.\u201d A drowning man will catch at a broken\nreed: the jeweller no sooner heard the sound of the word astrologer than\nhe went up to Ahmed, told him what had happened, and said, \u201cIf you\nunderstand your art, you must be able to discover the king\u2019s ruby. Do\nso, and I will give you two hundred pieces of gold. But if you do not\nsucceed within six hours, I will use my influence at court to have you\nput to death as an impostor.\u201d Poor Ahmed was thunderstruck. He stood\nlong without being able to speak, reflecting on his misfortunes, and\ngrieving, above all, that his wife, whom he so loved, had, by her envy\nand selfishness, brought him to such a fearful alternative. Full of\nthese sad thoughts, he exclaimed aloud, \u201cO woman! woman! thou art more\nbaneful to the happiness of man than the poisonous dragon of the\ndesert!\u201d Now the lost ruby had been secreted by the jeweller\u2019s wife,\nwho, disquieted by those alarms which ever attend guilt, sent one of her\nfemale slaves to watch her husband. This slave, on seeing her master\nspeak to the astrologer, drew near; and when she heard Ahmed, after some\nmoments of abstraction, compare a woman to a poisonous dragon, she was\nsatisfied that he must know everything. She ran to her mistress, and,\nbreathless with fear, cried, \u201cYou are discovered by a vile astrologer!\nBefore six hours are past the whole story will be known, and you will\nbecome infamous, if you are even so fortunate as to escape with life,\nunless you can find some way of prevailing on him to be merciful.\u201d She\nthen related what she had seen and heard; and Ahmed\u2019s exclamation\ncarried as complete conviction to the mind of the terrified lady as it\nhad done to that of her slave. The jeweller\u2019s wife, hastily throwing on\nher veil, went in search of the dreaded astrologer. When she found him,\nshe cried, \u201cSpare my honour and my life, and I will confess everything.\u201d\n\u201cWhat can you have to confess to me?\u201d said Ahmed, in amazement. \u201cO\nnothing\u2014nothing with which you are not already acquainted. You know too\nwell that I stole the king\u2019s ruby. I did so to punish my husband, who\nuses me most cruelly; and I thought by this means to obtain riches for\nmyself and have him put to death. But you, most wonderful man, from whom\nnothing is hidden, have discovered and defeated my wicked plan. I beg\nonly for mercy, and will do whatever you command me.\u201d An angel from\nheaven could not have brought more consolation to Ahmed than did the\njeweller\u2019s wife. He assumed all the dignified solemnity that became his\nnew character, and said, \u201cWoman! I know all thou hast done, and it is\nfortunate for thee that thou hast come to confess thy sin and beg for\nmercy before it was too late. Return to thy house; put the ruby under\nthe pillow of the couch on which thy husband sleeps; let it be laid on\nthe side farthest from the door; and be satisfied thy guilt shall never\nbe even suspected.\u201d The jeweller\u2019s wife went home and did as she was\ninstructed. In an hour Ahmed followed her, and told the jeweller he had\nmade his calculations, and found by the aspect of the sun and moon, and\nby the configuration of the stars, that the ruby was at that moment\nlying under the pillow of his couch on the side farthest from the door.\nThe jeweller thought Ahmed must be crazy; but as a ray of hope is like a\nray from heaven to the wretched, he ran to his couch, and there, to his\njoy and wonder, found the ruby in the very place described. He came back\nto Ahmed, embraced him, called him his dearest friend and the preserver\nof his life, gave him two hundred pieces of gold, declaring that he was\nthe first astrologer of the age.\n\nAhmed returned home with his lucky gains, and would gladly have resumed\nhis cobbling, but his wife insisting on his continuing to practise his\nnew profession, there was no help but to go out again next day and\nproclaim his astrological accomplishments. By mere chance he is the\nmeans of a lady recovering a valuable necklace which she had lost at the\nbath, and forty chests of gold stolen from the king\u2019s treasury, and is\nfinally rewarded with the hand of the king\u2019s daughter in marriage.\n\n\n_STORY OF THE KING WHO LOST KINGDOM, WIFE, AND WEALTH.\u2014Vol. I. p. 319._\n\nIn the \u201cIndian Antiquary\u201d for June 1886 the Rev. J. Hinton Knowles gives\na translation of what he terms a Kashm\u00edr\u00ed Tale, under the title of\n\u201cPride Abased,\u201d which, he says, was told him by \u201ca Brahman named Mukund\nB\u00e1y\u00fa, who resides at Suth\u00fa, Sr\u00ednagar,\u201d and which is an interesting\nvariant of the Waz\u00edr Er-Rahwan\u2019s second story of the King who lost his\nRealm and Wealth:\n\n\n KASHMIRI VERSION.[513]\n\nThere was once a king who was noted throughout his dominions for daily\nboasting of his power and riches. His ministers at length became weary\nof this self-glorification, and one day when he demanded of them, as\nusual, whether there existed in the whole world another king as powerful\nas he, they plainly told him that there was such another potentate; upon\nwhich he assembled his troops and rode forth at their head, challenging\nthe neighbouring kings to fight with him. Ere long he met with more than\nhis match, for another king came with a great army and utterly defeated\nhim, and took possession of his kingdom. Disguising himself, the humbled\nking escaped with his wife and two boys, and arriving at the sea shore,\nfound a ship about to sail. The master agreed to take him and his family\nand land them at the port for which he was bound. But when he beheld the\nbeauty of the queen, he became enamoured of her, and determined to make\nher his own. The queen was the first to go on board the ship, and the\nking and his two sons were about to follow, when they were seized by a\nparty of ruffians, hired by the shipmaster, and held back until the\nvessel had got fairly under way. The queen was distracted on seeing her\nhusband and children left behind, and refused to listen to the master\u2019s\nsuit, who, after having tried to win her love for several days without\nsuccess, resolved to sell her as a slave. Among the passengers was a\nmerchant, who, seeing that the lady would not accept the shipmaster for\nher husband, thought that if he bought her, he might in time gain her\naffection. Accordingly he purchased her of the master for a large sum of\nmoney, and then told her that he had done so with a view of making her\nhis wife. The lady replied that, although the shipman had no right thus\nto dispose of her, yet she would consent to marry him at the end of two\nyears, if she did not during that period meet with her husband and their\ntwo sons; and to this condition the merchant agreed. In the meanwhile\nthe king, having sorrowfully watched the vessel till it was out of\nsight, turned back with his two boys, who wept and lamented as they ran\nbeside him. After walking a great distance, he came to a shallow but\nrapid river, which he wished to cross, and, as there was no boat or\nbridge, he was obliged to wade through the water. Taking up one of his\nsons he contrived to reach the other side in safety, and was returning\nfor the other when the force of the current overcame him and he was\ndrowned.\n\nWhen the two boys noticed that their father had perished, they wept\nbitterly. Their separation, too, was a further cause for grief. There\nthey stood, one on either side of the river, with no means of reaching\neach other. They shouted, and ran about hither and thither in their\ngrief, till they had almost wearied themselves into sleep, when a\nfisherman came past, who, seeing the great distress of the boys, took\nthem into his boat, and asked them who they were, and who were their\nparents; and they told him all that had happened. When he had heard\ntheir story, he said, \u201cYou have not a father or mother, and I have not a\nchild. Evidently God has sent you to me. Will you be my own children and\nlearn to fish, and live in my house?\u201d Of course, the poor boys were only\ntoo glad to find a friend and shelter. \u201cCome,\u201d said the fisherman\nkindly, leading them out of the boat to a house close by, \u201cI will look\nafter you.\u201d The boys followed most happily, and went into the\nfisherman\u2019s house; and when they saw his wife they were still better\npleased, for she was very kind to them, and treated them as if they had\nbeen her own children. The two boys went to school, and when they had\nlearned all that the master could teach them, they began to help their\nadoptive father, and in a little while became most expert and diligent\nyoung fishermen.\n\nThus time was passing with them, when it happened that a great fish\nthrew itself on to the bank of the river and could not get back again\ninto the water. Everybody in the village went to see the monstrous fish,\nand cut a slice of its flesh and took it home. A few people also went\nfrom the neighbouring villages, and amongst them was a maker of\nearthenware. His wife had heard of the great fish and urged him to go\nand get some of the flesh. So he went, although the hour was late. On\nhis arrival he found that all the people had returned to their homes.\nThe potter had taken an axe with him, thinking that the bones would be\nso great and strong as to require its use in breaking them. When he\nstruck the first blow a voice came out of the fish, like that of some\none in pain, at which the potter was greatly surprised. \u201cPerhaps,\u201d\nthought he, \u201cthe fish is possessed by a bh\u00fat.[514] I\u2019ll try again;\u201d\nwhereupon he struck another blow with his axe. Again the voice came\nforth from the fish, saying, \u201cWoe is me! woe is me!\u201d On hearing this,\nthe potter thought, \u201cWell, this is evidently not a bh\u00fat, but the voice\nof an ordinary man. I\u2019ll cut the flesh carefully. May be that I shall\nfind some poor distressed person.\u201d So he began to cut away the flesh\ncarefully, and presently he perceived a man\u2019s foot, then the legs\nappeared, and then the entire body. \u201cPraise be to God,\u201d he cried, \u201cthe\nsoul is yet in him.\u201d He carried the man to his house as fast as he\ncould, and on arriving there did everything in his power to recover him.\nA large fire was soon got ready, and tea and soup given the man, and\ngreat was the joy of the potter and his wife when they saw him\nreviving.[515] For some months the stranger lived with those good\npeople, and learnt how to make pots and pans and other articles, and\nthereby helped them considerably. Now it happened that the king of that\ncountry died, and it was the custom of the people to take for their\nsovereign whomsoever the late king\u2019s elephant and hawk should select.\nAnd so on the death of the king the royal elephant was driven all over\nthe country, and the hawk was made to fly about, in search of a\nsuccessor, and it came to pass that the person before whom the elephant\nsaluted and on whom the hawk alighted was considered as the\ndivinely-chosen one. Accordingly the elephant and the hawk went about\nthe country, and in the course of their wanderings came by the house of\nthe potter who had so kindly succoured the poor man whom he found in the\nbelly of the monstrous fish; and it chanced that as they passed the\nplace the stranger was standing by the door, and behold, no sooner did\nthe elephant and hawk see him than the one bowed down before him and the\nother perched on his hand. \u201cLet him be king! let him be king!\u201d shouted\nthe people who were in attendance on the elephant, and they prostrated\nthemselves before the stranger and begged him to accompany them to the\npalace.[516]\n\nThe ministers were glad when they heard the news, and most respectfully\nwelcomed their new king. As soon as the rites and ceremonies necessary\nfor the installation of a king had been observed, his majesty entered on\nhis duties. The first thing he did was to send for the potter and his\nwife and grant them some land and money. In this and other ways, such as\njust judgments, proper laws, and kindly notices of all who were clever\nand good, he won for himself the good opinion and affection of his\nsubjects and prospered in consequence thereof. After a few months,\nhowever, his health was impaired, and his physicians advised him to take\nout-door exercise. Accordingly, he alternately rode, hunted, and fished.\nHe was especially fond of fishing, and whenever he indulged in this\namusement, he was attended by two sons of a fisherman, who were clever\nand handsome youths.\n\nAbout this time the merchant who bought the wife of the poor king that\nwas carried away by the rapid river visited that country for purposes of\ntrade. He obtained an interview with the king, and displayed before him\nall his precious stones and stuffs. The king was much pleased to see\nsuch treasures, and asked many questions about them and the countries\nwhence they had been brought. The merchant satisfied the king\u2019s\ncuriosity, and then begged permission to trade in that country, under\nhis majesty\u2019s protection, which the king readily granted, and ordered\nthat some soldiers should be placed on guard in the merchant\u2019s\ncourtyard, and sent the fisherman\u2019s two sons to sleep in the premises.\n\nOne night those two youths not being able to sleep, the younger asked\nhis brother to tell him a story to pass the time, so he replied, \u201cI will\ntell you one out of our own experience: Once upon a time there lived a\ngreat and wealthy king, who was very proud, and his pride led him to\nutter ruin and caused him the sorest afflictions. One day when going\nabout with his army, challenging other kings to fight with him, a great\nand powerful king appeared and conquered him. He escaped with his wife\nand two sons to the sea, hoping to find a vessel, by which he and his\nfamily might reach a foreign land. After walking several miles they\nreached the sea-shore and found a ship ready to sail. The master of the\nvessel took the queen, but the king and his two sons were held back by\nsome men, who had been hired by the master for this purpose, until the\nship was under way. The poor king after this walked long and far till he\ncame to a rapid river. As there was no bridge or boat near, he was\nobliged to wade across. He took one of his boys and got over safely, and\nwas returning for the other when he stumbled over a stone, lost his\nfooting, and was carried down the stream; and he has not been heard of\nsince. A fisherman came along, and, seeing the two boys crying, took\nthem into his boat, and afterwards to his house, and became very fond of\nthem, as did also his wife, and they were like father and mother to\nthem. All this happened a few years ago, and the two boys are generally\nbelieved to be the fisherman\u2019s own sons. O brother, we are these two\nboys! And there you have my story.\u201d\n\nThe tale was so interesting and its conclusion so wonderful that the\nyounger brother was more awake than before. It had also attracted the\nattention of another. The merchant\u2019s promised wife, who happened to be\nlying awake at the time, and whose room was separated from the warehouse\nby a very thin partition, overheard all that had been said, and she\nthought within herself, \u201cSurely these two boys must be my own sons.\u201d\nPresently she was sitting beside them and asking them many questions.\nTwo years or more had made a great difference in the persons of both the\nboys, but there were certain signs which a hundred years could not\nefface from a mother\u2019s memory. These, together with the answers which\nshe elicited from them, assured her that she had found her own sons\nagain. Tears streamed down her face as she embraced them, and revealed\nto them that she was the queen, their mother, about whom they had just\nbeen speaking. She then told them all that had happened to her since she\nhad been parted from them and their poor father, the king; after which\nshe explained that although the merchant was a good man and very wealthy\nyet she did not like him well enough to become his wife, and proposed a\nplan for her getting rid of him. \u201cMy device,\u201d said she, \u201cis to pretend\nto the merchant that you attempted my honour. I shall affect to be very\nangry and not give him any peace until he goes to the king and complains\nagainst you. Then will the king send for you in great wrath and inquire\ninto this matter. In reply you must say it is all a mistake, for you\nregard me as your own mother, and in proof of this you will beg the king\nto summon me into his presence, that I may corroborate what you say.\nThen I will declare that you are really my own sons, and beseech the\nking to free me from the merchant and allow me to live with you in any\nplace I may choose for the rest of my days.\u201d\n\nThe sons agreed to this proposal, and next night, when the merchant was\nalso sleeping in the house, the woman raised a great cry, so that\neverybody was awakened by the noise. The merchant came and asked the\ncause of the outcry, and she answered, \u201cThe two youths who look after\nyour warehouse have attempted to violate me, so I screamed in order to\nmake them desist.\u201d On hearing this the merchant was enraged. He\nimmediately bound the two youths, and, as soon as there was any chance\nof seeing the king, took them before him and preferred his complaint.\n\u201cWhat have you to say in your defence?\u201d said the king, addressing the\nyouths; \u201cbecause, if what this merchant charges against you be true, I\nwill have you at once put to death. Is this the gratitude you manifest\nfor all my kindness and condescension towards you? Say quickly what you\nhave to say.\u201d \u201cO king, our benefactor,\u201d replied the elder brother, \u201cwe\nare not affrighted by your words and looks, for we are true servants. We\nhave not betrayed your trust in us, but have always tried to fulfil your\nwishes to the utmost of our power. The charges brought against us by\nthis merchant are unfounded. We have not attempted to dishonour his\nwife; we have rather always regarded her as our own mother. May it\nplease your majesty to send for the woman and inquire further into this\nmatter.\u201d\n\nThe king consented, and the woman was brought before him. \u201cIs it true,\u201d\nhe asked her, \u201cwhat the merchant, your affianced husband, witnesses\nagainst these two youths?\u201d \u201cO king,\u201d she replied, \u201cthe youths whom you\ngave to help the merchant have most carefully tried to carry out your\nwishes. But the night before last I heard their conversation. The elder\nwas telling the younger a tale, from his own experience, he said. It was\na story of a conceited king who had been defeated by another more\npowerful than he, and obliged to fly with his wife and two children to\nthe sea. There, through the vile trickery of the master of a vessel, the\nwife was stolen and taken away to far distant lands, where she became\nengaged to a wealthy trader; while the exiled king and his two sons\nwandered in another direction, till they came to a river, in which the\nking was drowned. The two boys were found by a fisherman and brought up\nas his own sons. These two boys, O king, are before you, and I am their\nmother, who was taken away and sold to the trader, and who after two\ndays must be married to him. For I promised that if within a certain\nperiod I should not meet with my husband and two sons I would be his\nwife. But I entreat your majesty to free me from this man. I do not wish\nto marry again, now that I have found my two sons. In order to obtain an\naudience of your majesty, this trick was arranged with the two youths.\u201d\n\nBy the time the woman had finished her story the king\u2019s face was\nsuffused with tears, and he was trembling visibly. When he had somewhat\nrecovered he rose from the throne, and going up to the woman and the two\nyouths embraced them long and fervently. \u201cYou are my own dear wife and\nchildren,\u201d he cried. \u201cGod has sent you back to me. I, the king, your\nhusband, your father, was not drowned as you supposed; but was swallowed\nby a great fish and nourished by it for some time, and then the monster\nthrew itself upon the river\u2019s bank and I was extricated. A potter and\nhis wife had pity on me and taught me their trade, and I was just\nbeginning to earn my living by making earthen vessels when the late king\nof this country died, and I was chosen king by the royal elephant and\nhawk\u2014I who am now standing here.\u201d Then his majesty ordered the queen and\nher two sons to be taken into the inner apartments of the palace, and\nexplained his conduct to the people assembled. The merchant was politely\ndismissed from the country. And as soon as the two princes were old\nenough to govern the kingdom, the king committed to them the charge of\nall affairs, while he retired with his wife to a sequestered spot and\npassed the rest of his days in peace.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe tale of Sarwar and N\u00edr, \u201cas told by a celebrated Bard from Baraut,\nin the Merath district,\u201d in vol. iii. of Captain R. C. Temple\u2019s \u201cLegends\nof the Panj\u00e1b\u201d (pp. 97\u2013125), though differing in form somewhat from the\nKashm\u00edr\u00ed version, yet possesses the leading incidents in common with it,\nas will be seen from the following abstract:\n\n\n PANJ\u00c1B\u00cd VERSION.\n\nAmba the r\u00e1j\u00e1 of P\u00fan\u00e1 had a beautiful wife named Aml\u00ed and two young\nsons, Sarwar and N\u00edr. There came to his court one day a fak\u00edr. The r\u00e1j\u00e1\npromised to give him whatsoever he should desire. The fak\u00edr required\nAmb\u00e1 to give up to him all he possessed, or lose his virtue, and the\nr\u00e1j\u00e1 gave him all, save his wife and two children, receiving in return\nthe blessings of the fak\u00edr. Then the r\u00e1j\u00e1 and the r\u00e1n\u00ed went away; he\ncarrying Sarwar in his bosom, and she with N\u00edr in her lap. For a time\nthey lived on the fruits and roots of the forest. At length the ran\u00ed\ngave her husband her (jewelled) bodice to sell in the b\u00e1z\u00e1r, in order to\nprocure food. He offered it to Kundan the merchant, who made him sit\ndown, and asked him where he had left the ran\u00ed, and why he did not bring\nher with him. Amb\u00e1 told him that he had left her with their two boys\nunder the banyan-tree. Then Kundan, leaving Amb\u00e1 in the shop, went and\ngot a litter, and proceeding to the banyan-tree showed the r\u00e1n\u00ed the\nbodice, and said, \u201cThy husband wishes thee to come to him.\u201d Nothing\ndoubting, the r\u00e1n\u00ed entered the litter, and the merchant sent it off to\nhis own house. Leaving the boys in the forest, he returned to Amb\u00e1, and\nsaid to him that he had not enough money to pay the price of the bodice,\nso the r\u00e1j\u00e1 must take it back. Amb\u00e1 took the bodice, and coming to the\nboys, learned from Sarwar how their mother had been carried away in a\nlitter, and he was sorely grieved in his heart, but consoled the\nchildren, saying that their mother had gone to her brother\u2019s house, and\nthat he would take them to her at once. Placing the two boys on his\nshoulders he walked along till he came to a river. He set down N\u00edr, and\ncarried Sarwar safely across, but as he was going back for the other,\nbehold, an alligator seized him. It was the will of God: what remedy is\nthere against the writing of Fate? The two boys, separated by the river,\nsat down and wept in their sorrow. In the early morning a washerman was\nup and spreading his clothes. He heard the two boys weeping and came to\nsee. He had pity on them and brought them together. Then he took them to\nhis house, and washed their faces and gave them food. He put them into a\nseparate house and a Br\u00e1hman cooked for them and gave them water.[517]\nHe caused the brothers to be taught all kinds of learning, and at the\nend of twelve years they both set out together to seek their living.\nThey went to the city of Ujjain, and told the r\u00e1j\u00e1 their history\u2014how\nthey had left their home and kingdom. The r\u00e1j\u00e1 gave them arms and\nsuitable clothing, and appointed them guards over the female\napartments.[518] One day a fisherman caught an alligator in his net.\nWhen he cut open its body, he found in it R\u00e1j\u00e1 Amb\u00e1, alive.[519] So he\ntook him to the r\u00e1j\u00e1 of Ujjain, and told how he had found him in the\nstomach of an alligator. Amb\u00e1 related his whole history to the r\u00e1j\u00e1; how\nhe gave up all his wealth and his kingdom to a fak\u00edr; how his wife had\nbeen stolen from him; and how after safely carrying one of his young\nsons over the river in returning for the other he had been swallowed by\nan alligator. On hearing of all these misfortunes the r\u00e1j\u00e1 of Ujjain\npitied him and loved him in his heart: he adopted Amb\u00e1 as his son; and\nthey lived together for twenty years, when the r\u00e1j\u00e1 died and Amb\u00e1\nobtained the throne.\n\nMeanwhile the beautiful R\u00e1n\u00ed Aml\u00ed, the wife of Amb\u00e1 had continued to\nrefuse the merchant Kundan\u2019s reiterated profers of love. At length he\nsaid to her, \u201cMany days have passed over thee, live now in my house as\nmy wife.\u201d And she replied, \u201cLet me bathe in the Ganges, and then I will\ndwell in thy house.\u201d So he took elephants and horses and l\u00e1khs of coin,\nand set the r\u00e1ni in a litter and started on the journey. When he reached\nthe city of Ujjain, he made a halt and pitched his tents. Then he went\nbefore R\u00e1j\u00e1 Amb\u00e1 and said, \u201cGive me a guard, for the nights are dark.\nHitherto I have had much trouble and no ease at nights. I am going to\nbathe in the Ganges, to give alms and much food to Br\u00e1hmans. I am come,\nr\u00e1j\u00e1, to salute thee, bringing many things from my house.\u201d\n\nThe r\u00e1j\u00e1 sent Sarwar and N\u00edr as guards. They watched the tents, and\nwhile the rain was falling the two brothers began talking over their\nsorrows, saying \u201cWhat can our mother be doing? Whither hath our father\ngone?\u201d Their mother overheard them talking, and by the will of God she\nrecognised the princes; then she tore open the tent, and cried aloud,\n\u201cAll my property is gone! Who brought this thief to my tent?\u201d The r\u00e1n\u00ed\nhad both Sarwar and N\u00edr seized, and brought before R\u00e1j\u00e1 Amb\u00e1 on the\ncharge of having stolen her property. The r\u00e1j\u00e1 held a court, and began\nto ask questions, saying, \u201cTell me what hath passed during the night.\nHow much of thy property hath gone, my friend? I will do thee justice,\naccording to thy desire: my heart is grieved that thy goods are gone.\u201d\nThen said the r\u00e1n\u00ed, \u201cBe careful of the young elephant! The lightning\nflashes and the heavy rain is falling. Said N\u00edr, \u2018Hear, brother Sarwar,\nwho knows whither our mother hath gone?\u2019 And I recognised my sons; so I\nmade all this disturbance, r\u00e1j\u00e1 [in order to get access to thee].\u201d[520]\nHearing this, R\u00e1j\u00e1 Amb\u00e1 rose up and took her to his breast\u2014Aml\u00ed and Amb\u00e1\nmet again through the mercy of God. The r\u00e1j\u00e1 gave orders to have Kundan\nhanged, saying, \u201cDo it at once; he is a scoundrel; undo him that he may\nnot live.\u201d They quickly fetched the executioners and put on the noose;\nand then was Kundan strangled. The r\u00e1n\u00ed dwelt in the palace and all her\ntroubles passed far away. She fulfilled all her obligations, and\nobtained great happiness through her virtue.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n TIBETAN VERSION.\n\nUnder the title of \u201cKrisa Gautami\u201d in the collection of \u201cTibetan Tales\nfrom Indian Sources,\u201d translated by Mr. Ralston from the German of Von\nSchiefner, we have what appears to be a very much garbled form of an old\nBuddhist version of our story. The heroine is married to a young\nmerchant, whose father gives him some arable land in a hill district,\nwhere he resides with Krisa Gautami his wife.\n\nWhen the time came for her to expect her confinement, she obtained leave\nof her husband to go to her parents\u2019 house in order that she might have\nthe attendance of her mother. After her confinement and the naming of\nthe boy, she returned home. When the time of her second confinement drew\nnear, she again expressed to her husband a desire to go to her parents.\nHer husband set out with her and the boy in a waggon; but by the time\nthey had gone half way she gave birth to a boy. When the husband saw\nthat this was to take place, he got out of the waggon, sat under a tree,\nand fell asleep. While he was completely overcome by slumber a snake bit\nhim and he died. When his wife in her turn alighted from the waggon, and\nwent up to the tree in order to bring him the joyful tidings that a son\nwas born unto him, he, as he had given up the ghost, made no reply. She\nseized him by the hand and found that he was dead. Then she began to\nweep. Meantime a thief carried off the oxen. After weeping for a long\ntime, and becoming very mournful, she looked around on every side,\npressed the new-born babe to her bosom, took the elder child by the\nhand, and set out on her way. As a heavy rain had unexpectedly fallen,\nall the lakes, ponds, and springs were full of water, and the road was\nflooded by the river. She reflected that if she were to cross the water\nwith both the children at once, she and they might meet with a disaster,\nand therefore the children had better be taken over separately. So she\nseated the elder boy on the bank of the river, and took the younger one\nin her arms, walked across to the other side, and laid him down upon the\nbank. Then she went back for the elder boy. But while she was in the\nmiddle of the river, the younger boy was carried off by a jackal. The\nelder boy thought that his mother was calling him, and sprang into the\nwater. The bank was very steep, so he fell down and was killed. The\nmother hastened after the jackal, who let the child drop and ran off.\nWhen she looked at it, she found that it was dead. So after she had wept\nover it, she threw it into the water. When she saw that the elder was\nbeing carried along by the stream, she became still more distressed. She\nhastened after him, and found that he was dead. Bereft of both husband\nand children, she gave way to despair, and sat down alone on the bank,\nwith only the lower part of her body covered. There she listened to the\nhowling of the wind, the roaring of the forest and of the waves, as well\nas the singing of various kinds of birds. Then wandering to and fro,\nwith sobs and tears of woe, she lamented the loss of her husband and her\ntwo children.\n\nShe meets with one of her father\u2019s domestics, who informs her that her\nparents and their servants had all been destroyed by a hurricane, and\nthat \u201che only had escaped\u201d to tell her the sad tidings. After this she\nis married to a weaver, who ill-uses her, and she escapes from him one\nnight. She attaches herself to some travellers returning from a trading\nexpedition in the north, and the leader of the caravan takes her for his\nwife. The party are attacked by robbers and the leader is killed. She\nthen becomes the wife of the chief of the robbers, who in his turn finds\ndeath at the hands of the king of that country, and she is placed in his\nzenana.\n\nThe king died, and she was buried alive in his tomb, after having had\ngreat honour shown to her by the women, the princes, the ministers, and\na vast concourse of people. Some men from the north who were wont to rob\ngraves broke into this one also. The dust they raised entered into Krisa\nGautami\u2019s nostrils, and made her sneeze. The grave-robbers were\nterrified, thinking that she was a demon (_vet\u00e1la_), and they fled; but\nKrisa Gautami escaped from the grave through the opening which they had\nmade. Conscious of all her troubles, and affected by the want of food,\njust as a violent storm arose, she went out of her mind. Covered with\nmerely her underclothing, her hands and feet foul and rough, with long\nlocks and pallid complexion, she wandered about until she reached\nSravast\u00ed. There, at the sight of Bhagavant, she recovered her intellect.\nBhagavant ordered Ananda to give her an over-robe, and he taught her the\ndoctrine, and admitted her into the ecclesiastical body, and he\nappointed her the chief of the Bhikshun\u00eds who had embraced\ndiscipline.[521]\n\nThis remarkable story is one of those which reached Europe long anterior\nto the Crusades. It is found in the Greek martyr acts, which were\nprobably composed in the eighth century, where it is told of Saint\nEustache, who was before his baptism a captain of Trajan, named\nPlacidus, and the same legend reappears, with modifications of the\ndetails, in many medi\u00e6val collections and forms the subject of several\nromances. In most versions the _motif_ is similar to that of the story\nof Job. The following is the outline of the original legend, according\nto the Greek martyr acts:\n\n\n LEGEND OF ST. EUSTACHE.\n\nAs Placidus one day hunted in the forest, the Saviour appeared to him\nbetween the antlers of a hart, and converted him. Placidus changed his\nname into Eustache, when he was baptized with his wife and sons. God\nannounced to him by an angel his future martyrdom. Eustache was\nafflicted by dreadful calamities, lost all his estate, and was compelled\nto go abroad as a beggar with his wife and his children. As he went on\nboard a ship bound for Egypt, his wife was seized by the shipmaster and\ncarried off. Soon after, when Eustache was travelling along the shore,\nhis two children were borne off by a lion and a leopard. Eustache then\nworked for a long time as journeyman, till he was discovered by the\nemperor Trajan, who had sent out messengers for him, and called him to\ncourt. Reappointed captain, Eustache undertook an expedition against the\nDacians. During this war he found his wife in a cottage as a\ngardener\u2014the shipmaster had fallen dead to the ground as he ventured to\ntouch her\u2014and in the same cottage he found again his two sons as\nsoldiers: herdsmen had rescued them from the wild beasts and brought\nthem up. Glad was their meeting again! But as they returned to Rome they\nwere all burnt in a glowing bull of brass by the emperor\u2019s order,\nbecause they refused to sacrifice to the heathen gods.[522]\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe story of Placidus, which forms chapter 110 of the continental \u201cGesta\nRomanorum,\u201d presents few and unimportant variations from the foregoing:\nEustatius came to a river the water of which ran so high that it seemed\nhazardous to attempt to cross it with both the children at the same\ntime; one therefore he placed upon the bank, and then passed over with\nthe other in his arms, and having laid it on the ground, he returned for\nthe other child. But in the midst of the river, looking back, he beheld\na wolf snatch up the child he had just carried over and run with it into\nthe adjoining wood. He turned to rescue it, but at that instant a huge\nlion approached the other child and disappeared with it. After the loss\nof his two boys Eustatius journeyed on till he came to a village, where\nhe remained for fifteen years, tending sheep as a hired servant, when he\nwas discovered by Trajan\u2019s messengers, and so on.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe story is so differently told in one of the Early English\ntranslations of the \u201cGesta Romanorum\u201d in the Harleian MSS. 7333\n(re-edited by Herrtage for the E.E.T. Soc., pp. 87\u201391) that it is worth\nwhile, for purposes of comparison, reproducing it here in full:\n\n\n OLD ENGLISH \u201cGESTA\u201d VERSION.\n\nAverios was a wise emperour regnyng in the cite of Rome; and he let crye\na grete feste, and who so ever wold come to that feste, and gete victory\nin the tournement, he shuld have his doughter to wyf, after his decesse.\nSo there was a doughti knyght, and hardy in armys, and specially in\ntournement, the which hadde a wyf, and two yong children, of age of thre\nyere; and when this knyght had herd this crye, in a clere\nmorowenyng[523] he entred in to a forest, and there he herd a\nnyghtingale syng upon a tre so swetly, that he herd never so swete a\nmelody afore that tyme. The knyght sette him doun undre the tre, and\nseid to him self, \u201cNow, Lord, if I myght knowe what this brid[524] shold\nbemene!\u201d[525] There come an old man, and seid to him, \u201cThat thou shalt\ngo within thes thre daies to the emperours feste, and thou shalt suffre\ngrete persecution or thou come there; and if thou be constant, and\npacient in all thi tribulacion, thy sorowe shal turne the[526] to grete\njoy; and, ser, this is the interpretacion of his song.\u201d When this was\nseid, the old man vanysshed, and the brid fly away. Tho[527] the knyght\nhad grete merveill; he yede[528] to his wif, and told her the cas.[529]\n\u201cSer,\u201d quod she, \u201cthe will of God be fulfilled, but I counsell that we\ngo to the feste of the emperour, and that ye thynk on the victory in the\ntournement, by the which we may be avaunced[530] and holpen.\u201d[531] When\nthe knyght had made all thing redy, there come a grete fire in the\nnyght; and brent[532] up all his hous, and all his goodis, for which he\nhad grete sorowe in hert; nevertheles, notwithstondyng all this, he yede\nforthe toward the see, with his wife, and with his two childryn; and\nthere he hired a ship, to passe over. When thei come to londe, the\nmaister of the shippe asked of the knyght his hire for his passage, for\nhim, and for his wif, and for his two childryn. \u201cDere frend,\u201d said the\nknyght to him, \u201cdere frend, suffre me, and thou shalt have all thyn, for\nI go now to the feste of the emperour, where I trust to have the victory\nin turnement, and then thou shalt be wele ypaied.\u201d \u201cNay, by the feith\nthat I owe to the emperour,\u201d quod that other, \u201chit shal not be so, for\nbut if[533] you pay now, I shal holde thi wif to wed,[534] tyll tyme\nthat I be paied fully my salary.\u201d And he seid that, for he desired the\nlove of the lady. Tho the knyght profren his two childryn to wed, so\nthat he myght have his wif; and the shipman seid, \u201cNay, such wordis\nbeth[535] vayn, for,\u201d quod he, \u201cor[536] I wol have my mede, or els I\nwolle holde thi wif.\u201d So the knyght lefte his wif with him, and kyst her\nwith bitter teris; and toke the two childryn, scil. oon on his arme and\nthat othir in his nek, and so he yede forth to the turnement. Aftir, the\nmaister of the shippe wolde have layn by the lady, but she denyed hit,\nand seid, that she had lever dey[537] than consente therto. So within\nshort tyme, the maister drew to a fer[538] lond, and there he deied; and\nthe lady beggid her brede fro dore to dore, and knew not in what lond\nher husbond was duellinge. The knyght was gon toward the paleis, and at\nthe last he come by a depe water, that was impossible to be passid,\nbut[539] hit were in certein tyme, when hit was at the lowist. The\nknygnt sette doun oo[540] child, and bare the othir over the water; and\naftir that he come ayen[541] to fecche over the othir, but or[542] he\nmyght come to him, there come a lion, and bare him awey to the forest.\nThe knyght pursued aftir, but he myght not come to the lion; and then he\nwept bitterly, and yede ayen over the water to the othir child; and or\nhe were ycome, a bere had take the child, and ran therwith to the\nforest. When the knyght saw that, sore he wepte, and seid, \u201cAllas! that\never I was bore, for now have I lost wif and childryn. O thou brid! thi\nsong that was so swete is yturned in to grete sorowe, and hath ytake\naway myrth fro my hert.\u201d Aftir this he turned toward the feste, and made\nhim redy toward the turnement; and there he bare him so manly, and so\ndoutely in the turnement, and that twies or thries, that he wan the\nvictory, and worship, and wynnyng of that day. For the emperour hily\navauncid him, and made him maister of his oste,[543] and commaundid that\nall shuld obey to him; and he encresid, and aros from day to day in\nhonure and richesse. And he went aftirward in a certain day in the cite,\n[and] he found a precious stone, colourid with thre maner of colours, as\nin oo partie[544] white, in an othir partie red, and in the thrid partie\nblak. Anon he went to a lapidary, that was expert in the vertue of\nstonys; and he seid, that the vertue of thilke[545] stone was this, who\nso ever berith the stone upon him, his hevynesse[546] shall turne in to\njoy; and if he be povere,[547] he shal be made riche; and if he hath\nlost anything, he shall fynde hit ayen with grete joy. And when the\nknyght herd this, he was glad and blith, and thought in him self, \u201cI am\nin grete hevynesse and poverte, for I have lost all that I had, and by\nthis stone I shal recovere all ayen, whether hit be so or no, God wote!\u201d\nAftir, when he must go to bataile of the emperour he gadrid\nto-gidre[548] all the oste, and among them he found two yong knyghtis,\nsemely in harneis,[549] and wele i-shape, the which he hired for to go\nwith him yn bataill of the emperour. And when thei were in the bataill,\nthere was not oon in all the bataill that did so doutely,[550] as did\ntho[551] two knyghtis that he hired; and therof this knyght, maister of\nthe ost, was hily gladid. When the bataill was y-do,[552] thes two yong\nknyghtes yede to her oste[553] in the cite; and as they sat to-gidir,\nthe elder seid to the yonger, \u201cDere frend, hit is long sithen[554] that\nwe were felawys,[555] and we have grete grace of God, for in every\nbatail we have the victory; and therfore I pray you, telle me of what\ncontre ye were ybore, and in what nacion? For I askid never this of the\nor now; and if thou wilt telle me soth,[556] I shall telle my kynrede\nand where I was borne.\u201d And when oo felawe spak thus to the othir, a\nfaire lady was loggid[557] in the same ostry;[558] and when she herd the\nelder knyght speke, she herkened to him; but she knew neither of\nhem,[559] and yit she was modir of both, and wyf of the maister of the\noste,[560] the which also the maister of the shippe withheld for\nship-hire, but ever God kept her fro synne. Then spake the yonger\nknyght, \u201cForsooth, good man, I note[561] who was my fader, or who was my\nmodir, ne[562] in what stede[563] I was borne; but I have this wele in\nmynde, that my fader was a knyght, and that he bare me over the water,\nand left my eldir brothir in the lond; and as he passid over ayen to\nfecche him, there come a lion, and toke me up, but a man of the cite\ncome with houndis, and when he saw him, he made him to leve me with his\nhoundis.\u201d[564] \u201cNow sothly,\u201d quod that othir, \u201cand in the same maner hit\nhappid with me. For I was the sone of a knyght, and had only a brothir;\nand my fader brought me, and my brothir, and my modir, over the see\ntoward the emperour; and for my fader had not to pay to the maister of\nthe ship for the fraught, he left my modir to wed; and then my fader\ntoke me with my yong brothir, and brought us on his bak, and in his\narmys, tyll that we come unto a water, and there left me in a side of\nthe water, and bare over my yong brothir; and or my fader myght come to\nme ayene, to bare me over, ther come a bere, and bore me to wode;[565]\nand the people that saw him, made grete cry, and for fere the bere let\nme falle, and so with thelke[566] poeple I duellid x. yere, and ther I\nwas y-norisshed.\u201d When the modir herd thes wordis, she seid, \u201cWithoute\ndoute thes ben my sonys;\u201d and ran to hem anon, and fil upon her[567]\nnekkes, and wepte sore for joy, and seid, \u201cA! dere sonys, I am your\nmodir, that your fader left with the maister of the shippe; and I know\nwele by your wordis and signes that ye beth true brethern. But how it is\nwith your fader, that I know not, but God, that all seth,[568] yeve[569]\nme grace to fynd my husbond.\u201d And alle that nyght thes thre were in\ngladnes. On the morow the modir rose up, and the childryn, scil. the\nknyghtis, folowid; and as thei yede, the maister of the oste mette with\nhem in the strete, and though he were her fader, he knew hem not,\nbut[570] as thei had manli fought the day afore; and therfor he salued\nhem honurably, and askid of hem what feir lady that was, that come with\nhem? Anon as his lady herd his voys, and perceyved a certeyn signe in\nhis frount,[571] she knew fully therby that it was her husbond; and\ntherfore she ran to him, and clypt him, and kyst him, and for joy fille\ndoun to the erth, as she had be ded. So aftir this passion, she was\nreised up; and then the maister seid to her, \u201cTelle me, feir woman, whi\nthou clippest me, and kyssist me so?\u201d She seid, \u201cI am thi wif, that thou\nleftist with the maister of the ship; and thes two knyghtis bene your\nsonys. Loke wele on my front, and see.\u201d Then the knyght byheld her wele,\nwith a good avisement,[572] and knew wele by diverse tokyns that she was\nhis wif; and anon kyst her, and the sonys eke; and blessid hiely God,\nthat so had visited hem. Tho went he ayen to his lond, with his wif, and\nwith his children, and endid faire his lif.\n\n * * * * *\n\nFrom the legend of St. Eustache the romances of Sir Isumbras, Octavian,\nSir Eglamour of Artois, and Sir Torrent of Portugal are derived. In the\nlast, while the hero is absent, aiding the king of Norway with his\nsword, his wife Desonelle is delivered of twins, and her father, King\nCalamond, out of his hatred of her, causes her and the babes to be put\nto sea in a boat; but a favourable wind saves them from destruction, and\ndrives the boat upon the coast of Palestine. As she is wandering\naimlessly along the shore, a huge griffin appears, and seizes one of her\nchildren, and immediately after a leopard drags away the other. With\nsubmission she suffers her miserable fate, relying on the help of the\nHoly Virgin. The king of Jerusalem, just returning from a voyage,\nhappened to find the leopard with the child, which he ordered to be\nsaved and delivered to him. Seeing from the foundling\u2019s golden ring that\nthe child was of noble descent, and pitying its helpless state, he took\nit into his palace, and brought him up as if he were his own son, at his\ncourt. The dragon with the other child was seen by a pious hermit, St.\nAntony, who, though son of the king of Greece, had in his youth forsaken\nthe world. Through his prayer St. Mary made the dragon put down the\ninfant. Antony carried him to his father, who adopted him and ordered\nhim to be baptized. Desonelle wandered up and down, after the loss of\nher children, till she happened to meet the king of Nazareth hunting.\nHe, recognising her as the king of Portugal\u2019s daughter, gave her a kind\nwelcome and assistance, and at his court she lived several years in\nhappy retirement. Ultimately she is re-united to her husband and her two\nsons, when they have become famous knights.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe following is an epitome of \u201cSir Isumbras,\u201d from Ellis\u2019s \u201cSpecimens\nof Early English Metrical Romances\u201d (Bohn\u2019s ed. p. 479 ff.):\n\n\n ROMANCE OF SIR ISUMBRAS.\n\nThere was once a knight, who, from his earliest infancy, appeared to be\nthe peculiar favourite of Fortune. His birth was noble; his person\nequally remarkable for strength and beauty; his possessions so extensive\nas to furnish the amusements of hawking and hunting in the highest\nperfection. Though he had found no opportunity of signalising his\ncourage in war, he had borne away the prize at numberless tournaments;\nhis courtesy was the theme of general praise; his hall was the seat of\nunceasing plenty; it was crowded with minstrels, whom he entertained\nwith princely liberality, and the possession of a beautiful wife and\nthree lovely children completed the sum of earthly happiness.\n\nSir Isumbras had many virtues, but he had one vice. In the pride of his\nheart he forgot the Giver of all good things, and considered the\nblessings so abundantly showered upon him as the proper and just reward\nof his distinguished merit. Instances of this overweening presumption\nmight perhaps be found in all ages among the possessors of wealth and\npower; but few sinners have the good fortune to be recalled, like Sir\nIsumbras, by a severe but salutary punishment, to the pious sentiments\nof Christian humility.\n\nIt was usual with knights to amuse themselves with hawking or hunting\nwhenever they were not occupied by some more serious business; and, as\nbusiness seldom intervened, they thus amused themselves every day in the\nyear. One morning, being mounted on his favourite steed, surrounded by\nhis dogs, and with a hawk on his wrist, Sir Isumbras cast his eyes on\nthe sky, and discovered an angel, who, hovering over him, reproached him\nwith his pride, and announced the punishment of instant and complete\ndegradation. The terrified knight immediately fell on his knees;\nacknowledged the justice of his sentence; returned thanks to Heaven for\ndeigning to visit him with adversity while the possession of youth and\nhealth enabled him to endure it; and, filled with contrition, prepared\nto return from the forest. But scarcely had the angel disappeared when\nhis good steed suddenly fell dead under him; the hawk dropped from his\nwrist; his hounds wasted and expired; and, being thus left alone, he\nhastened on foot towards his palace, filled with melancholy forebodings,\nbut impatient to learn the whole extent of his misfortune.\n\nHe was presently met by a part of his household, who, with many tears,\ninformed him that his horses and oxen had been suddenly struck dead with\nlightning, and that his capons were all stung to death with adders. He\nreceived the tidings with humble resignation, commanded his servants to\nabstain from murmurs against Providence, and passed on. He was next met\nby a page, who related that his castle was burned to the ground, that\nmany of his servants had lost their lives, and that his wife and\nchildren had with great difficulty escaped from the flames. Sir\nIsumbras, rejoiced that Heaven had yet spared those who were most dear\nto him, bestowed upon the astonished page his purse of gold as a reward\nfor the intelligence.\n\n A doleful sight then gan he see;\n His wife and children three\n Out of the fire were fled:\n There they sat, under a thorn,\n Bare and naked as they were born,\n Brought out of their bed.\n A woful man then was he,\n When he saw them all naked be,\n The lady said, all so blive,\n \u201cFor nothing, sir, be ye adrad.\u201d\n He did off his surcoat of pallade,[573]\n And with it clad his wife.\n His scarlet mantle then shore[574] he;\n Therein he closed his children three\n That naked before him stood.\n\nHe then proposed to his wife that, as an expiation of their sins, they\nshould at once undertake a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; so, cutting with his\nknife a sign of the cross on his bare shoulder, he set off with the four\ncompanions of his misery, resolving to beg his bread till they should\narrive at the Holy Sepulchre. After passing through \u201cseven lands,\u201d\nsupported by the scanty alms of the charitable, they arrived at length\nat a forest, where they wandered during three days without meeting a\nsingle habitation. Their food was reduced to the few berries which they\nwere able to collect; and the children, unaccustomed to such hard fare,\nbegan to sink under the accumulated difficulties of their journey. In\nthis situation they were stopped by a wide and rapid though shallow\nriver. Sir Isumbras, taking his eldest son in his arms, carried him over\nto the opposite bank, and placing him under a bush of broom, directed\nhim to dry his tears, and amuse himself by playing with the blossoms\ntill his return with his brothers. But scarcely had he left the place\nwhen a lion, starting from a neighbouring thicket, seized the child and\nbore him away into the recesses of the forest. The second son became, in\nlike manner, the prey of an enormous leopard; and the disconsolate\nmother, when carried over with her infant to the fatal spot, was with\ndifficulty persuaded to survive the loss of her two elder children. Sir\nIsumbras, though he could not repress the tears extorted by this cruel\ncalamity, exerted himself to console his wife, and, humbly confessing\nhis sins, contented himself with praying that his present misery might\nbe accepted by Heaven as a partial expiation.\n\n Through forest they went days three,\n Till they came to the Greekish sea;\n They grette,[575] and were full wo!\n As they stood upon the land,\n They saw a fleet sailand,[576]\n Three hundred ships and mo.[577]\n With top-castels set on-loft,\n Richly then were they wrought,\n With joy and mickle[578] pride:\n A heathen king was therein,\n That Christendom came to win;\n His power was full wide.\n\nIt was now seven days since the pilgrims had tasted bread or meat; the\nsoudan\u2019s[579] galley, therefore, was no sooner moored to the beach than\nthey hastened on board to beg for food. The soudan, under the\napprehension that they were spies, ordered them to be driven back on\nshore; but his attendants observed to him that these could not be common\nbeggars; that the robust limbs and tall stature of the husband proved\nhim to be a knight in disguise; and that the delicate complexion of the\nwife, who was \u201cbright as blossom on tree,\u201d formed a striking contrast to\nthe ragged apparel with which she was very imperfectly covered. They\nwere now brought into the royal presence; and the soudan, addressing Sir\nIsumbras, immediately offered him as much treasure as he should require,\non condition that he should renounce Christianity and consent to fight\nunder the Saracen banners. The answer was a respectful but peremptory\nrefusal, concluded by an earnest petition for a little food; but the\nsoudan, having by this time turned his eyes from Sir Isumbras to the\nbeautiful companion of his pilgrimage, paid no attention to his request.\n\n The soudan beheld that lady there,\n Him thought an angel that she were,\n Comen a-down from heaven;\n \u201cMan! I will give thee gold and fee,\n An thou that woman will sellen me,\n More than thou can neven.[580]\n I will give thee an hundred pound\n Of pennies that been whole and round,\n And rich robes seven:\n She shall be queen of my land,\n And all men bow unto her hand,\n And none withstand her steven.\u201d[581]\n Sir Isumbras said, \u201cNay!\n My wife I will nought sell away,\n Though ye me for her sloo![582]\n I weddid her in Goddislay,\n To hold her to mine ending day,\n Both for weal and wo.\u201d\n\nIt evidently would require no small share of casuistry to construe this\ndeclaration into an acceptance of the bargain; but the Saracens, having\nheard the offer of their sovereign, deliberately counted out the\nstipulated sum on the mantle of Sir Isumbras; took possession of the\nlady; carried the knight with his infant son on shore; beat him till he\nwas scarcely able to move; and then returned for further orders. During\nthis operation, the soudan, with his own hand, placed the regal crown on\nthe head of his intended bride; but recollecting that the original\nproject of the voyage to Europe was to conquer it, which might possibly\noccasion a loss of some time, he delayed his intended nuptial, and\nordered a fast-sailing vessel to convey her to his dominions, providing\nher at the same time with a charter addressed to his subjects, in which\nhe enjoined them to obey her, from the moment of her landing, as their\nlegitimate sovereign.\n\nThe lady, emboldened by these tokens of deference on the part of her new\nlord, now fell on her knees and entreated his permission to pass a few\nmoments in private with her former husband, and the request was\ninstantly granted by the complaisant Saracen. Sir Isumbras, still\nsmarting from his bruises, was conducted with great respect and ceremony\nto his wife, who, embracing him with tears, earnestly conjured him to\nseek her out as soon as possible in her new dominions, to slay his\ninfidel rival, and to take possession of a throne which was probably\nreserved to him by Heaven as an indemnification for his past losses. She\nthen supplied him with provisions for a fortnight; kissed him and her\ninfant son; swooned three times; and then set sail for Africa.\n\nSir Isumbras, who had been set on shore quite confounded by this quick\nsuccession of strange adventures, followed the vessel with his eyes till\nit vanished from his sight, and then taking his son by the hand led him\nup to some rocky woodlands in the neighbourhood. Here they sat down\nunder a tree, and after a short repast, which was moistened with their\ntears, resumed their journey. But they were again bewildered in the\nforest, and, after gaining the summit of the mountain without being able\nto descry a single habitation, lay down on the bare ground and resigned\nthemselves to sleep. The next morning Sir Isumbras found that his\nmisfortunes were not yet terminated. He had carried his stock of\nprovisions, together with his gold, the fatal present of the soudan,\nenveloped in a scarlet mantle; and scarcely had the sun darted its first\nrays on the earth when an eagle, attracted by the red cloth, swooped\ndown upon the treasure and bore it off in his talons. Sir Isumbras,\nwaking at the moment, perceived the theft, and for some time hastily\npursued the flight of the bird, who, he expected, would speedily drop\nthe heavy and useless burthen; but he was disappointed; for the eagle,\nconstantly towering as he approached the sea, at length directed his\nflight towards the opposite shore of Africa. Sir Isumbras slowly\nreturned to his child, whom he had no longer the means of feeding; but\nthe wretched father only arrived in time to behold the boy snatched from\nhim by a unicorn. The knight was now quite disheartened. But his last\ncalamity was so evidently miraculous that even the grief of the father\nwas nearly absorbed by the contrition of the sinner. He fell on his\nknees and uttered a most fervent prayer to Jesus and the Virgin, and\nthen proceeded on his journey.\n\nHis attention was soon attracted by the sound of a smith\u2019s bellows: he\nquickly repaired to the forge and requested the charitable donation of a\nlittle food; but was told by the labourers that he seemed as well able\nto work as they did, and they had nothing to throw away in charity.\n\n Then answered the knight again,\n \u201cFor meat would I swink[583] fain.\u201d\n Fast he bare and drow;[584]\n They given him meat and drink anon.\n And taughten him to bear stone:\n Then had he shame enow.\n\nThis servitude lasted a twelvemonth, and seven years expired before he\nhad fully attained all the mysteries of his new profession. He employed\nhis few leisure hours in fabricating a complete suit of armour: every\nyear had brought him an account of the progress of the Saracens; and he\ncould not help entertaining a hope that his arm, though so ignobly\nemployed, was destined at some future day to revenge the wrongs of the\nChristians, as well as the injury which he had personally received from\nthe unbelievers.\n\nAt length he heard that the Christian army had again taken the field;\nthat the day was fixed for a great and final effort; and that a plain at\nan inconsiderable distance from his shop was appointed for the scene of\naction. Sir Isumbras rose before day, buckled on his armour, and\nmounting a horse which had hitherto been employed in carrying coals,\nproceeded to the field and took a careful view of the disposition of\nboth armies. When the trumpets gave the signal to charge, he dismounted,\nfell on his knees, and after a short but fervent prayer to Heaven, again\nsprang into his saddle and rode into the thickest ranks of the enemy.\nHis uncouth war-horse and awkward armour had scarcely less effect than\nhis wonderful address and courage in attracting the attention of both\nparties; and when after three desperate charges, his sorry steed was\nslain under him, one of the Christian chiefs made a powerful effort for\nhis rescue, bore him to a neighbouring eminence, and presented to him a\nmore suitable coat of armour, and a horse more worthy of the heroic\nrider.\n\n When he was armed on that stead,\n It is seen where his horse yede,[585]\n And shall be evermore.\n As sparkle glides off the glede,[586]\n In that stour he made many bleed,\n And wrought hem wonder sore.\n He rode up into the mountain,\n The soudan soon hath he slain,\n And many that with him were.\n All that day lasted the fight;\n Sir Isumbras, that noble knight,\n Wan the battle there.\n Knights and squires have him sought,\n And before the king him brought;\n Full sore wounded was he.\n They asked what was his name;\n He said, \u201cSire, a smith\u2019s man;\n What will ye do with me?\u201d\n The Christian king said, than,\n \u201cI trow never smith\u2019s man\n In war was half so wight.\u201d\n \u201cI bid[587] you, give me meat and drink\n And what that I will after think,\n Till I have kevered[588] my might.\u201d\n The king a great oath sware,\n As soon as he whole were,\n That he would dub him knight.\n In a nunnery they him leaved,\n To heal the wound in his heved,[589]\n That he took in that fight.\n The nuns of him were full fain,\n For he had the soudan slain,\n And many heathen hounds;\n For his sorrow they gan sore rue;\n Every day they salved him new,\n And stopp\u00e8d well his wounds.\n\nWe may fairly presume, without derogating from the merit of the holy\nsisters or from the virtue of their salves and bandages, that the\nknight\u2019s recovery was no less accelerated by the pleasure of having\nchastised the insolent possessor of his wife and the author of his\ncontumelious beating. In a few days his health was restored; and having\nprovided himself with a \u201cscrip and pike\u201d and the other accoutrements of\na palmer, he took his leave of the nuns, directed his steps once more to\nthe \u201cGreekish Sea,\u201d and, embarking on board of a vessel which he found\nready to sail, speedily arrived at the port of Acre.\n\nDuring seven years, which were employed in visiting every part of the\nHoly Land, the penitent Sir Isumbras led a life of continued labour and\nmortification: fed during the day by the precarious contributions of the\ncharitable, and sleeping at night in the open air, without any addition\nto the scanty covering which his pilgrim\u2019s weeds, after seven years\u2019\nservice, were able to afford. At length his patience and contrition were\nrewarded. After a day spent in fruitless applications for a little food,\n\n Beside the burgh of Jerusalem\n He set him down by a well-stream,\n Sore wepand[590] for his sin.\n And as he sat, about midnight,\n There came an angel fair and bright,\n And brought him bread and wine;\n He said, \u201cPalmer, well thou be!\n The King of Heaven greeteth well thee;\n Forgiven is sin thine.\u201d\n\nSir Isumbras accepted with pious gratitude the donation of food, by\nwhich his strength was instantly restored, and again set out on his\ntravels; but he was still a widower, still deprived of his children, and\nas poor as ever; nor had his heavenly monitor afforded him any hint for\nhis future guidance. He wandered therefore through the country, without\nany settled purpose, till he arrived at a \u201crich burgh,\u201d built round a\n\u201cfair castle,\u201d the possessor of which, he was told, was a charitable\nqueen, who daily distributed a florin of gold to every poor man who\napproached her gates, and even condescended to provide food and lodging\nwithin her palace for such as were distinguished by superior misery. Sir\nIsumbras presented himself with the rest; and his emaciated form and\nsqualid garments procured him instant admittance.\n\n The rich queen in hall was set;\n Knights her served, at hand and feet,\n In rich robes of pall:\n In the floor a cloth was laid;\n \u201cThe poor palmer,\u201d the steward said,\n \u201cShall sit above you all.\u201d\n Meat and drink forth they brought;\n He sat still, and ate right nought,\n But looked about the hall.\n So mickle he saw of game and glee\n (Swiche mirthis he was wont to see),\n The tears he let down fall.\n\nConduct so unusual attracted the attention of the whole company, and\neven of the queen, who, ordering \u201ca chair with a cushion\u201d to be placed\nnear the palmer, took her seat in it, entered into conversation with him\non the subject of his long and painful pilgrimage, and was much edified\nby the moral lessons which he interspersed in his narrative. But no\nimportunity could induce him to taste food: he was sick at heart, and\nrequired the aid of solitary meditation to overcome the painful\nrecollections which continually assailed him. The queen was more and\nmore astonished, but at length left him to his reflections, after\ndeclaring that, \u201cfor her lord\u2019s soul, or for his love, if he were still\nalive,\u201d she was determined to retain the holy palmer in her palace, and\nto assign him a convenient apartment, together with a servant to attend\nhim.\n\nAn interval of fifteen years, passed in the laborious occupations of\nblacksmith and pilgrim, may be supposed to have produced a very\nconsiderable alteration in the appearance of Sir Isumbras; and even his\nvoice, subdued by disease and penance, may have failed to discover the\ngallant knight under the disguise which he had so long assumed. But that\nhis wife (for such she was) should have been equally altered by the sole\noperation of time; that the air and gestures and action of a person once\nso dear and so familiar to him should have awakened no trace of\nrecollection in the mind of a husband, though in the midst of scenes\nwhich painfully recalled the memory of his former splendour, is more\nextraordinary. Be this as it may, the knight and the queen, though\nlodged under the same roof and passing much of their time together,\ncontinued to bewail the miseries of their protracted widowhood.\n\nSir Isumbras, however, speedily recovered, in the plentiful court of the\nrich queen, his health and strength, and with these the desire of\nreturning to his former exercises. A tournament was proclaimed; and the\nlists, which were formed immediately under the windows of the castle,\nwere quickly occupied by a number of Saracen knights, all of whom Sir\nIsumbras successively overthrew. So dreadful was the stroke of his\nspear, that many were killed at the first encounter; some escaped with a\nfew broken bones; others were thrown headlong into the castle ditch; but\nthe greater number consulted their safety by a timely flight; while the\nqueen contemplated with pleasure and astonishment the unparalleled\nexploits of her favourite palmer.\n\n Then fell it, upon a day,\n The Knight went him for to play,\n As it was ere his kind;\n A fowl\u2019s nest he found on high;\n A red cloth therein he seygh[591]\n Wavand[592] in the wind.\n To the nest he gan win;[593]\n His own mantle he found therein;\n The gold there gan he find.\n\nThe painful recollection awakened by this discovery weighed heavily on\nthe soul of Sir Isumbras. He bore the fatal treasure to his chamber,\nconcealed it under his bed, and spent the remainder of the day in tears\nand lamentations. The images of his lost wife and children now began to\nhaunt him continually; and his altered demeanour attracted the attention\nand excited the curiosity of the whole court, and even of the queen, who\ncould only learn from the palmer\u2019s attendant that his melancholy seemed\nto originate in the discovery of something in a bird\u2019s nest. With this\nstrange report she was compelled to be satisfied, till Sir Isumbras,\nwith the hope of dissipating his grief, began to resume his usual\nexercises in the field; but no sooner had he quitted his chamber than\nthe \u201csquires\u201d by her command broke open the door, discovered the\ntreasure, and hastened with it to the royal apartment. The sight of the\ngold and the scarlet mantle immediately explained to the queen the whole\nmystery of the palmer\u2019s behaviour. She burst into tears; kissed with\nfervent devotion the memorial of her lost husband; fell into a swoon;\nand on her recovery told the story to her attendants, and enjoined them\nto go in quest of the palmer, and to bring him at once before her. A\nshort explanation removed her few remaining doubts; she threw herself\ninto the arms of her husband, and the reunion of this long separated\ncouple was immediately followed by the coronation of Sir Isumbras and by\na protracted series of festivities.\n\nThe Saracen subjects of the Christian sovereign continued, with unshaken\nloyalty, to partake of the plentiful entertainments provided for all\nranks of people on this solemn occasion; but no sooner had the pious Sir\nIsumbras signified to them the necessity of their immediate conversion,\nthan his whole \u201cparliament\u201d adopted the resolution of deposing and\ncommitting to the flames their newly-acquired sovereign, as soon as they\nshould have obtained the concurrence of the neighbouring princes. Two of\nthese readily joined their forces for the accomplishment of this\nsalutary purpose, and invading the territories of Sir Isumbras with an\narmy of thirty thousand men, sent him, according to usual custom, a\nsolemn defiance. Sir Isumbras boldly answered the defiance, issued the\nnecessary orders, called for his arms, sprang upon his horse, and\nprepared to march out against the enemy; when he discovered that his\nsubjects had, to a man, abandoned him, and that he must encounter singly\nthe whole host of the invaders.\n\n Sir Isumbras was bold and keen,\n And took his leave at the queen,\n And sighed wonder sore:\n He said, \u201cMadam, have good day!\n Sickerly, as you I say,\n For now and evermore!\u201d\n \u201cHelp me, sir, that I were dight\n In arms, as it were a knight;\n I will with you fare:\n Gif God would us grace send,\n That we may together end,\n Then done were all my care.\u201d\n Soon was the lady dight\n In arms, as it were a knight;\n He gave her spear and shield:\n Again[594] thirty thousand Saracens and mo.[595]\n There came no more but they two,\n When they met in field.\n\nNever, probably, did a contest take place between such disproportioned\nforces. Sir Isumbras was rather encumbered than assisted by the presence\nof his beautiful but feeble helpmate; and the faithful couple were upon\nthe point of being crushed by the charge of the enemy, when three\nunknown knights suddenly made their appearance, and as suddenly turned\nthe fortune of the day. The first of these was mounted on a lion, the\nsecond on a leopard, and the third on a unicorn. The Saracen cavalry, at\nthe first sight of these unexpected antagonists, dispersed in all\ndirections. But flight and resistance were equally hopeless: three and\ntwenty thousand unbelievers were soon laid lifeless on the plain by the\ntalons of the lion and leopard and by the resistless horn of the\nunicorn, or by the swords of their young and intrepid riders; and the\nsmall remnant of the Saracen army who escaped from the general carnage\nquickly spread, through every corner of the Mohammedan world, the news\nof this signal and truly miraculous victory.\n\nSir Isumbras, who does not seem to have possessed the talent for\nunravelling mysteries, had never suspected that his three wonderful\nauxiliaries were his own children, whom Providence had sent to his\nassistance at the moment of his greatest distress; but he was not the\nless thankful when informed of the happy termination of all his\ncalamities. The royal family were received in the city with every\ndemonstration of joy by his penitent subjects, whose loyalty had been\ncompletely revived by the recent miracle. Magnificent entertainments\nwere provided; after which Sir Isumbras, having easily overrun the\nterritories of his two pagan neighbours, who had been slain in the last\nbattle, proceeded to conquer a third kingdom for his youngest son; and\nthe four monarchs, uniting their efforts for the propagation of the true\nfaith, enjoyed the happiness of witnessing the baptism of all the\ninhabitants of their respective dominions.\n\n They lived and died in good intent;\n Unto heaven their souls went,\n When that they dead were.\n Jesu Christ, heaven\u2019s king,\n Give us, aye, his blessing,\n And shield us from care!\n\n * * * * *\n\nOn comparing these several versions it will be seen that, while they\ndiffer one from another in some of the details, yet the fundamental\noutline is identical, with the single exception of the Tibetan story,\nwhich, in common with Tibetan tales generally, has departed very\nconsiderably from the original. A king, or knight, is suddenly deprived\nof all his possessions, and with his wife and two children becomes a\nwanderer on the face of the earth; his wife is forcibly taken from him;\nhe afterwards loses his two sons; he is once more raised to affluence;\nhis sons, having been adopted and educated by a charitable person, enter\nhis service; their mother recognises them through overhearing their\nconversation; finally husband and wife and children are happily\nre-united. Such is the general outline of the story, though\nmodifications have been made in the details of the different\nversions\u2014probably through its being transmitted orally in some\ninstances. Thus in the Arabian story, the king is ruined apparently in\nconsequence of no fault of his own; in the Panj\u00e1b\u00ed version, he\nrelinquishes his wealth to a fak\u00edr as a pious action; in the Kashm\u00edr\u00ed\nand in the romance of Sir Isumbras, the hero loses his wealth as a\npunishment for his overweening pride; in the legend of St. Eustache, as\nin the story of Job, the calamities which overtake the Christian convert\nare designed by Heaven as a trial of his patience and fortitude; while\neven in the corrupted Tibetan story the ruin of the monarch is reflected\nin the destruction of the parents of the heroine by a hurricane. In both\nthe Kashm\u00edr\u00ed and the Panj\u00e1b\u00ed versions, the father is swallowed by a fish\n(or an alligator) in re-crossing the river to fetch his second child; in\nthe Tibetan story the wife loses her husband, who is killed by a snake,\nand having taken one of her children over the river, she is returning\nfor the other when, looking back, she discovers her babe in the jaws of\na wolf: both her children perish: in the European versions they are\ncarried off by wild beasts and rescued by strangers\u2014the romance of Sir\nIsumbras is singular in representing the number of children to be three.\nOnly in the Arabian story do we find the father carrying his wife and\nchildren in safety across the stream, and the latter afterwards lost in\nthe forest. The Kashm\u00edr\u00ed and \u201cGesta\u201d versions correspond exactly in\nrepresenting the shipman as seizing the lady because her husband could\nnot pay the passage-money: in the Arabian she is entrapped in the ship,\nowned by a Magian, on the pretext that there is on board a woman in\nlabour; in Sir Isumbras she is forcibly \u201cbought\u201d by the Soudan. She is\nlocked up in a chest by the Magian; sent to rule his country by the\nSoudan; respectfully treated by the merchant in the Kashm\u00edr\u00ed story, and,\napparently, also by Kandan in the Panj\u00e1b\u00ed legend; in the story of St.\nEustache her persecutor dies and she is living in humble circumstances\nwhen discovered by her husband.\u2014I think there is internal evidence,\napart from the existence of the Tibetan version, to lead to the\nconclusion that the story is of Buddhist extraction, and if such be the\nfact, it furnishes a further example of the indebtedness of Christian\nhagiology to Buddhist tales and legends.\n\n\n _AL-MALIK AL-ZAHIR AND THE SIXTEEN CAPTAINS OF POLICE.\u2014Vol. II. p. 3._\n\nWe must, I think, regard this group of tales as being genuine narratives\nof the exploits of Egyptian sharpers. From the days of Herodotus to the\npresent time, Egypt has bred the most expert thieves in the world. The\npolicemen don\u2019t generally exhibit much ability for coping with the\nsharpers whose tricks they so well recount; but indeed our home-grown\n\u201cbobbies\u201d are not particularly quick-witted.\n\n\n _THE THIEF\u2019S TALE.\u2014Vol. II. p. 42._\n\nA parallel to the woman\u2019s trick of shaving off the beards and blackening\nthe faces of the robbers is found in the well-known legend, as told by\nHerodotus (Euterpe, 121), of the robbery of the treasure-house of\nRhampsinitus king of Egypt, where the clever thief, having made the\nsoldiers dead drunk, shaves off the right side of their beards and then\ndecamps with his brother\u2019s headless body.\n\n\n _THE NINTH CONSTABLE\u2019S STORY.\u2014Vol. II. p. 46._\n\nThe narrow escape of the singing-girl hidden under a pile of _halfah_\ngrass may be compared with an adventure of a fugitive Mexican prince\nwhose history, as related by Prescott, is as full of romantic daring and\nhair\u2019s-breadth \u2019scapes as that of Scanderbeg or the \u201cYoung Chevalier.\u201d\nThis prince had just time to turn the crest of a hill as his enemies\nwere climbing it on the other side, when he fell in with a girl who was\nreaping _chian_, a Mexican plant, the seed of which is much used in the\ndrinks of the country. He persuaded her to cover him with the stalks she\nhad been cutting. When his pursuers came up and inquired if she had seen\nthe fugitive, the girl coolly answered that she had, and pointed out a\npath as the one he had taken.\n\n\n _THE FIFTEENTH CONSTABLE\u2019S STORY.\u2014Vol. II. p. 59._\n\nThe concluding part of this story differs very materially from that of\nthe Greek legend of Ibycus (fl. B.C. 540), which is thus related in a\nsmall MS. collection of Arabian and Persian anecdotes in my possession,\ndone into English from the French:\n\nIt is written in the history of the first kings that in the reign of a\nGrecian king there lived a philosopher named Ibycus, who surpassed in\nsagacity all other sages of Greece. Ibycus was once sent by the king to\na neighbouring court. On the way he was attacked by robbers, who,\nsuspecting him to have much money, formed the design of killing him.\n\u201cYour object in taking my life,\u201d said Ibycus, \u201cis to obtain my money; I\ngive it up to you, but allow me to live.\u201d The robbers paid no attention\nto his words, and persisted in their purpose. The wretched Ibycus, in\nhis despair, looked about him to see if any one was coming to his\nassistance, but no person was in sight. At that very moment a flock of\ncranes flew overhead. \u201cO cranes!\u201d cried Ibycus, \u201cknow that I have been\nseized in this desert by these wicked men, and I die from their blows.\nAvenge me, and demand from them my blood.\u201d At these words the robbers\nburst into laughter: \u201cTo take away life from those who have lost their\nreason,\u201d they observed, \u201cis to add nothing to their hurt.\u201d So saying,\nthey killed Ibycus and divided his money. On receipt of the news that\nIbycus had been murdered, the inhabitants of the town were exasperated\nand felt great sorrow. They caused strict inquiries to be made for the\nmurderers, but they could not be found. After some time the Greeks were\ncelebrating a feast. The inhabitants of the adjoining districts came in\ncrowds to the temples. The murderers of Ibycus also came, and everywhere\nshowed themselves. Meanwhile a flock of cranes appeared in the air and\nhovered above the people, uttering cries so loud and prolonged that the\nprayers and ceremonies were interrupted. One of the robbers looked with\na smile at his comrades, saying, by way of joke, \u201cThese cranes come\nwithout doubt to avenge the blood of Ibycus.\u201d Some one of the town, who\nwas near them, heard these words, repeated them to his neighbour, and\nthey together reported them to the king. The robbers were taken,\nstrictly cross-examined, confessed their crime, and suffered for it a\njust punishment. In this way the cranes inflicted vengeance on the\nmurderers of Ibycus. But we ought to see in this incident a matter which\nis concealed in it: This philosopher, although apparently addressing his\nwords to the cranes, was really imploring help from their Creator; he\nhoped, in asking their aid, that He would not suffer his blood to flow\nunavenged. So God accomplished his hopes; and willed that cranes should\nbe the cause that his death was avenged in order that the sages of the\nworld should learn from it the power and wisdom of the Creator.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThis ancient legend was probably introduced into Arabian literature in\nthe 9th century, when translations of so many of the best Greek works\nwhere made; and, no doubt, it was adapted in the following Indian\n(Muslim) story:[596]\n\nThere was a certain _pir_, or saint, of great wisdom, learning, and\nsanctity, who sat by the wayside expounding the Kur\u00e1n to all who would\nlisten to him. He dwelt in the out-buildings of a ruined mosque close\nby, his only companion being a maina, or hill-starling, which he had\ntaught to proclaim the excellence of the formula of his religion,\nsaying, \u201cThe Prophet is just!\u201d It chanced that two travellers passing\nthat way beheld the holy man at his devotions, and though far from being\nreligious persons yet tarried a while to hear the words of truth.\nEvening now drawing on, the saint invited his apparently pious auditors\nto his dwelling, and set before them such coarse food as he had to\noffer. Having eaten and refreshed themselves, they were astonished at\nthe wisdom displayed by the bird, who continued to repeat holy texts\nfrom the Kur\u00e1n. The meal ended, they all lay down to sleep, and while\nthe good man reposed, his treacherous guests, who envied him the\npossession of a bird that in their hands might be the means of enriching\nthem, determined to steal the treasure and murder its master. So they\nstabbed the sleeping devotee to the heart and then seized hold of the\nbird\u2019s cage. But, unperceived by them, the door of it had been left open\nand the bird was not to be found. After searching for the bird in vain,\nthey considered it necessary to dispose of the body, since, if\ndiscovered, suspicion would assuredly fall upon them; and carrying it\naway to what they deemed a safe distance they buried it. Vexed to be\nobliged to leave the place without obtaining the reward of their evil\ndeeds, they again looked carefully for the bird, but without success; it\nwas nowhere to be seen, and so they were compelled to go forward without\nthe object of their search. The maina had witnessed the atrocious deed,\nand unseen had followed the murderers to the place where they had buried\nthe body; it then perched upon the tree beneath which the saint had been\nwont to enlighten the minds of his followers, and when they assembled\nflew into their midst, exclaiming, \u201cThe Prophet is just!\u201d making short\nflights and then returning. These unusual motions, together with the\nabsence of their preceptor, induced the people to follow it, and\ndirecting its flight to the grave of its master, it uttered a mournful\ncry over the newly-covered grave. The villagers, astonished, began to\nremove the earth, and soon discovered the bloody corse. Surprised and\nhorror-stricken, they looked about for some traces of the murderers, and\nperceiving that the bird had resumed the movements which had first\ninduced them to follow it, they suffered it to lead them forward. Before\nevening fell, the avengers came up with two men, who no sooner heard the\nmaina exclaim, \u201cThe Prophet is just!\u201d and saw the crowd that accompanied\nit, than they fell upon their knees, confessing that the Prophet had\nindeed brought their evil deeds to light; so, their crime being thus\nmade manifest, summary justice was inflicted upon them.\n\n\n _TALE OF THE DAMSEL TUHFAT AL-KULUB.\u2014Vol. II. p. 70._\n\nAn entertaining story, but very inconsistent in the character of Iblis,\nwho is constantly termed, in good Muslim fashion, \u201cthe accursed,\u201d yet\nseems to be somewhat of a follower of the Prophet, and on the whole a\ngood-natured sort of fellow. His mode of expressing his approval of the\ndamsel\u2019s musical \u201ctalent\u201d is, to say the least, original.\n\n\n _WOMEN\u2019S WILES.\u2014Vol. II. p. 137._\n\nA variant\u2014perhaps an older form\u2014of this story occurs in the tale of\nPrince Fadlallah, which is interwoven with the History of Prince Calaf\nand the Princess of China, in the Persian tales of \u201cThe Thousand and One\nDays\u201d:\n\nThe prince, on his way to Baghd\u00e1d, is attacked by robbers, his followers\nare all slain, and himself made prisoner, but he is set at liberty by\nthe compassionate wife of the robber-chief during his absence on a\nplundering expedition. When he reaches Baghd\u00e1d he has no resource but to\nbeg his bread, and having stationed himself in front of a large mansion,\nan old female slave presently comes out and gives him a loaf. At this\nmoment a gust of wind blew aside the curtain of a window and discovered\nto his admiring eyes a most beautiful damsel, of whom he became\nimmediately enamoured. He inquired of a passer-by the name of the owner\nof the mansion, and was informed that it belonged to a man called\nMouaffac, who had been lately governor of the city, but having\nquarrelled with the k\u00e1z\u00ed, who was of a revengeful disposition, the\nlatter had found means to disgrace him with the khal\u00edf and to have him\ndeprived of his office. After lingering near the house in vain till\nnightfall, in hopes of once more obtaining a glimpse of this beauty, he\nretired for the night to a burying-ground, where he was soon joined by\ntwo thieves, who pressed upon him a share of the good cheer with which\nthey had provided themselves; but while the thieves were feasting and\ntalking over a robbery which they had just accomplished, the police\nsuddenly pounced upon them, and took all three and cast them into\nprison.\n\nIn the morning they were examined by the k\u00e1z\u00ed, and the thieves, seeing\nit was useless to deny it, confessed their crime. The prince then told\nthe k\u00e1z\u00ed how he chanced to fall into company of the thieves, who\nconfirmed all he said, and he was set at liberty. Then the k\u00e1z\u00ed began to\nquestion him as to how he had employed his time since he came to\nBaghd\u00e1d, to which he answered very frankly but concealed his rank. On\nhis mentioning the brief glance he had of the beautiful lady at the\nwindow of the ex-governor\u2019s house, the k\u00e1z\u00ed\u2019s eyes sparkled with\napparent satisfaction, and he assured the prince that he should have the\nlady for his bride; for, believing the prince to be a mere beggarly\nadventurer, he resolved to foist him on Mouaffac as the son of a great\nmonarch. So, having sent the prince to the bath and provided him with\nrich garments, the k\u00e1z\u00ed despatched a messenger to request Mouaffac to\ncome to him on important business. When the ex-governor arrived, the\nk\u00e1z\u00ed told him blandly that there was now an excellent opportunity for\ndoing away the ill will that had so long existed between them. \u201cIt is\nthis,\u201d continued he: \u201cthe prince of Basra, having fallen in love with\nyour daughter from report of her great beauty, has just come to Baghd\u00e1d,\nunknown to his father, and intends to demand her of you in marriage. He\nis lodged in my house, and is most anxious that this affair should be\narranged by my interposition, which is the more agreeable to me, since\nit will, I trust, be the means of reconciling our differences.\u201d Mouaffac\nexpressed his surprise that the prince of Basra should think of marrying\nhis daughter, and especially that the proposal should come through the\nk\u00e1z\u00ed, of all men. But the k\u00e1z\u00ed begged him to forget their former\nanimosity and consent to the immediate celebration of the nuptials.\nWhile they were thus talking, the prince entered, in a magnificent\ndress, and was not a little astonished to be presented to Mouaffac by\nthe treacherous k\u00e1z\u00ed as the prince of Basra, who had come as a suitor\nfor his daughter in marriage. The ex-governor saluted him with every\ntoken of profound respect, and expressed his sense of the honour of such\nan alliance: his daughter was unworthy to wait upon the meanest of the\nprince\u2019s slaves. In brief, the marriage is at once celebrated, and the\nprince duly retires to the bridal chamber with the beauteous daughter of\nMouaffac. But in the morning, at an early hour, a servant of the k\u00e1z\u00ed\nknocks at his door, and, on the prince opening it, says that he brings\nhim his rags of clothes and is required to take back the dress which the\nk\u00e1z\u00ed had lent him yesterday to personate the prince of Basra. The\nprince, having donned his tattered garments, said to his wife, \u201cThe k\u00e1z\u00ed\nthinks he has married you to a wretched beggar, but I am no whit\ninferior in rank to the prince of Basra\u2014I am also a prince, being the\nonly son of the king of Mosel,\u201d and then proceeded to recount all his\nadventures. When he had concluded his recital, the lady despatched a\nservant to procure a suitable dress for the prince, which when he had\nput on, she said, \u201cI see it all: the k\u00e1z\u00ed, no doubt, believes that by\nthis time we are all overwhelmed with shame and grief. But what must be\nhis feelings when he learns that he has been a benefactor to his\nenemies! Before you disclose to him your real rank, however, we must\ncontrive to punish him for his malicious intentions. There is a dyer in\nthis town who has a frightfully ugly daughter\u2014but leave this affair in\nmy hands.\u201d\n\nThe lady then dressed herself in plain but becoming apparel, and went\nout of the house alone. She proceeded to the court of the k\u00e1z\u00ed, who no\nsooner cast his eyes upon her than he was struck with her elegant form.\nHe sent an officer to inquire of her who she was and what she had come\nabout. She made answer that she was the daughter of an artisan in the\ncity, and that she desired to have some private conversation with the\nk\u00e1z\u00ed. When the officer reported the lady\u2019s reply, the k\u00e1z\u00ed directed her\nto be conducted into a private chamber, where he presently joined her,\nand gallantly placed his services at her disposal. The lady now removed\nher veil, and asked him whether he saw anything ugly or repulsive in her\nfeatures. The k\u00e1z\u00ed on seeing her beautiful face was suddenly plunged in\nthe sea of love, and declared that her forehead was of polished silver,\nher eyes were sparkling diamonds, her mouth a ruby casket containing a\nbracelet of pearls. Then she displayed her arms, so white and plump, the\nsight of which threw the k\u00e1z\u00ed into ecstasies and almost caused him to\nfaint. Quoth the lady, \u201cI must tell you, my lord, that with all the\nbeauty I possess, my father, a dyer in the city, keeps me secluded, and\ndeclares to all who come to ask me in marriage that I am an ugly,\ndeformed monster, a mere skeleton, lame, and full of diseases.\u201d On this\nthe k\u00e1z\u00ed burst into a tirade against the brutal father who could thus\ntraduce so much beauty, and vowed that he would make her his wife that\nsame day. The lady, after expressing her fears that he would not find it\neasy to gain her father\u2019s consent, took her leave and returned home.\n\nThe k\u00e1z\u00ed lost no time in sending for the dyer, and, after complimenting\nhim upon his reputation for piety, said to him, \u201cI am informed that\nbehind the curtain of chastity you have a daughter ripe for marriage. Is\nnot this true?\u201d Replied the dyer, \u201cMy lord, you have been rightly\ninformed. I have a daughter who is indeed fully ripe for marriage, for\nshe is more than thirty years of age; but the poor creature is not fit\nto be a wife to any man. She is very ugly, lame, leprous, and foolish.\nIn short, she is such a monster that I am obliged to keep her out of all\npeople\u2019s sight.\u201d \u201cHa!\u201d exclaimed the k\u00e1z\u00ed, \u201cyou can\u2019t impose on me with\nsuch a tale. I was prepared for it. But let me tell you that I myself am\nready and willing to marry that same ugly and leprous daughter of yours,\nwith all her defects.\u201d When the dyer heard this, he looked the k\u00e1z\u00ed full\nin the face and said, \u201cMy lord, you are welcome to divert yourself by\nmaking a jest of my daughter.\u201d \u201cNo,\u201d replied the k\u00e1z\u00ed, \u201cI am quite in\nearnest. I demand your daughter in marriage.\u201d The dyer broke into\nlaughter, saying, \u201cBy Allah, some one has meant to play you a trick, my\nlord. I forewarn you that she is ugly, lame, and leprous.\u201d \u201cTrue,\u201d\nresponded the k\u00e1z\u00ed, with a knowing smile; \u201cI know her by these tokens. I\nshall take her notwithstanding.\u201d The dyer, seeing him determined to\nmarry his daughter, and being now convinced that he had been imposed\nupon by some ill-wisher, thought to himself, \u201cI must demand of him a\nround sum of money which may cause him to cease troubling me any further\nabout my poor daughter.\u201d So he said to the k\u00e1z\u00ed, \u201cMy lord, I am ready to\nobey your command; but I will not part with my daughter unless you pay\nme beforehand a dowry of a thousand sequins.\u201d Replied the k\u00e1z\u00ed,\n\u201cAlthough, methinks, your demand is somewhat exorbitant, yet I will pay\nyou the money at once,\u201d which having done, he ordered the contract to be\ndrawn up. But when it came to be signed the dyer declared that he would\nnot sign save in the presence of a hundred men of the law. \u201cThou art\nvery distrustful,\u201d said the k\u00e1z\u00ed, \u201cbut I will comply in everything, for\nI am resolved to make sure of thy daughter.\u201d So he sent for all the men\nof law in the city, and when they were assembled at the house of the\nk\u00e1z\u00ed, the dyer said that he was now willing to sign the contract; \u201cBut I\ndeclare,\u201d he added, \u201cin the presence of these honourable witnesses, that\nI do so on the condition that if my daughter should not prove to your\nliking when you have seen her, and you should determine to divorce her,\nyou shall oblige yourself to give her a thousand sequins of gold in\naddition to the same amount which I have already received from you.\u201d\n\u201cAgreed,\u201d said the k\u00e1z\u00ed, \u201cI oblige myself to it, and call this whole\nassembly to be witnesses. Art thou now satisfied?\u201d \u201cI am,\u201d replied the\ndyer, who then went his way, saying that he would at once send him his\nbride.\n\nAs soon as the dyer was gone, the assembly broke up, and the k\u00e1z\u00ed was\nleft alone in his house. He had been two years married to the daughter\nof a merchant of Baghdad, with whom he had hitherto lived on very\namicable terms. When she heard that he was arranging for a second\nmarriage, she came to him in a great rage. \u201cHow now,\u201d said she, \u201ctwo\nhands in one glove! two swords in one scabbard! two wives in one house!\nGo, fickle man! Since the caresses of a young and faithful wife cannot\nsecure your constancy, I am ready to yield my place to my rival and\nretire to my own family. Repudiate me\u2014return my dowry\u2014and you shall\nnever see me more.\u201d \u201cI am glad you have thus anticipated me,\u201d answered\nthe k\u00e1z\u00ed, \u201cfor I was somewhat perplexed how to acquaint you of my new\nmarriage.\u201d So saying, he opened a coffer and took out a purse of five\nhundred sequins of gold, and putting it into her hands, \u201cThere, woman,\u201d\nsaid he, \u201cthy dowry is in that purse: begone, and take with you what\nbelongs to you. I divorce thee once; I divorce thee twice; three times I\ndivorce thee. And that thy parents may be satisfied thou art divorced\nfrom me, I shall give thee a certificate signed by myself and my nayb.\u201d\nThis he did accordingly, and his wife went to her father\u2019s house, with\nher bill of divorce and her dowry.\n\nThe k\u00e1z\u00ed then gave orders to furnish an apartment sumptuously for the\nreception of his bride. The floor was spread with velvet carpets, the\nwalls were hung with rich tapestry, and couches of gold and silver\nbrocade were placed around the room. The bridal chamber was decked with\ncaskets filled with the most exquisite perfumes. When everything was in\nreadiness, the k\u00e1z\u00ed impatiently expected the arrival of his bride, and\nat last was about to despatch a messenger to the dyer\u2019s when a porter\nentered, carrying a wooden chest covered with a piece of green taffeta.\n\u201cWhat hast thou brought me there, friend?\u201d asked the k\u00e1z\u00ed. \u201cMy lord,\u201d\nreplied the porter, setting the chest on the floor, \u201cI bring your\nbride.\u201d The k\u00e1z\u00ed opened the chest, and discovered a woman of three feet\nand a half, defective in every limb and feature. He was horrified at the\nsight of this object, and throwing the covering hastily over it,\ndemanded of the porter, \u201cWhat wouldst thou have me do with this\nfrightful creature?\u201d \u201cMy lord,\u201d said the porter, \u201cthis is the daughter\nof Omar the dyer, who told me that you had espoused her out of pure\ninclination.\u201d \u201cO Allah!\u201d exclaimed the k\u00e1z\u00ed, \u201cis it possible to marry\nsuch a monster as this?\u201d Just then, the dyer, well knowing that the kazi\nmust be surprised, came in. \u201cThou wretch,\u201d cried the k\u00e1z\u00ed, \u201chow dost\nthou dare to trifle with me? In place of this hideous object, send\nhither your other daughter, whose beauty is beyond comparison; otherwise\nthou shalt soon know what it is to insult me.\u201d Quoth the dyer, \u201cMy lord,\nI swear, by Him who out of darkness produced light, that I have no other\ndaughter but this. I told you repeatedly that she was not for your\npurpose, but you would not believe my words. Who, then, is to blame?\u201d\nUpon this the k\u00e1z\u00ed began to cool, and said to the dyer, \u201cI must tell\nyou, friend Omar, that this morning there came to me a most beautiful\ndamsel, who pretended that you were her father, and that you represented\nher to everybody as a monster, on purpose to deter all suitors that came\nto ask her in marriage.\u201d \u201cMy lord,\u201d answered the dyer, \u201cthis beautiful\ndamsel must be an impostor; some one, undoubtedly, owes you a grudge.\u201d\nThen the k\u00e1z\u00ed, having reflected for a few minutes, said to the dyer,\n\u201cBid the porter carry thy daughter home again. Keep the thousand sequins\nof gold which I gave thee, but ask no more of me, if thou desirest that\nwe should continue friends.\u201d The dyer, knowing the implacable\ndisposition of the k\u00e1z\u00ed, thought it advisable to content himself with\nwhat he had already gained, and the k\u00e1z\u00ed, having formally divorced his\nhideous bride, sent her away with her father. The affair soon got wind\nin the city and everybody was highly diverted with the trick practised\non the k\u00e1z\u00ed.\n\n * * * * *\n\nIt will be observed that in the Arabian story there are two clever\ndevices: that of the lady who tricks the boastful merchant, whose motto\nwas that men\u2019s craft is superior to women\u2019s craft, into marrying the\nugly daughter of the k\u00e1z\u00ed; and that of the merchant to get rid of his\nbad bargain by disgusting the k\u00e1z\u00ed with the alliance. The scene at the\nhouse of the worthy judge\u2014the crowd of low rascals piping, drumming, and\ncapering, and felicitating themselves on their pretended kinsman the\nmerchant\u2019s marriage\u2014is highly humorous. This does not occur in the\nPersian story, because it is the k\u00e1z\u00ed who has been duped into marrying\nthe dyer\u2019s deformed daughter, and she is therefore simply packed off\nagain to her father\u2019s house.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThat the tales of the \u201cThousand and One Days\u201d are not (as is supposed by\nthe writer of an article on the several English versions of The Nights\nin the \u201cEdinburgh Review\u201d for July 1886, p. 167) mere imitations of\nGalland[597] is most certain, apart from the statement in the preface to\nPetis\u2019 French translation, which there is no reason to doubt\u2014see vol. x.\nof The Nights, p. 166, note 1. Sir William Ouseley, in his _Travels_,\nvol. ii., p. 21, note, states that he brought from Persia a manuscript\nwhich comprised, _inter alia_, a portion of the \u201cHaz\u00e1r \u00fa Yek R\u00faz,\u201d or\nthe Thousand and One Days, which agreed with Petis\u2019 translation of the\nsame stories. In the Persian collection entitled \u201cShamsa \u00fa Kuhkuha\u201d\noccur several of the tales and incidents, for example, the Story of\nNasiraddoli King of Mousel, the Merchant of Baghd\u00e1d, and the Fair\nZeinib, while the Story of the King of Thibet and the Princess of the\nNaimans has its parallel in the Turkish \u201cKirk Vaz\u00edr,\u201d or Forty Vaz\u00edrs.\nAgain, the Story of Couloufe and the Beautiful Dilara reminds us of that\nof Haji the Cross-grained in Malcolm\u2019s \u201cSketches of Persia.\u201d But of the\nFrench translation not a single good word can be said\u2014the Oriental\n\u201ccostume\u201d and phraseology have almost entirely disappeared, and between\nPetis de la Croix and the author of \u201cGil Blas\u201d\u2014who is said to have had a\nhand in the work\u2014the tales have become ludicrously Frenchified. The\nEnglish translation made from the French is, if possible, still worse.\nWe there meet with \u201cpersons of quality,\u201d \u201cpersons of fashion,\u201d with\n\u201cseigneurs,\u201d and a thousand and one other inconsistencies and\nabsurdities. A new translation is much to be desired. The copy of the\nPersian text made by Petis is probably in the Paris Library and\nOuseley\u2019s fragment is doubtless among his other Oriental MSS. in the\nBodleian. But one should suppose that copies of the \u201cHaz\u00e1r \u00fa Yek R\u00faz\u201d\nmay be readily procured at Ispah\u00e1n or Tehr\u00e1n, and at a very moderate\ncost, since the Persians now-a-days are so poor in general that they are\neager to exchange any books they possess for the \u201ccirculating medium.\u201d\n\n\n _NUR AL-DIN AND THE DAMSEL SITT AL-MILAH. Vol. II. p. 151._\n\nThis is an excellent tale; the incidents occur naturally and the\nreader\u2019s interest in the fortunes of the hero and heroine never flags.\nThe damsel\u2019s sojourn with the old Muezzin\u2014her dispatching him daily to\nthe shroff\u2014bears some analogy to part of the tale of Ghanim the Slave of\nLove (vol. ii. of The Nights), which, by the way, finds close parallels\nin the Turkish \u201cForty Vaz\u00edrs\u201d (the Lady\u2019s 18th story in Mr. Gibb\u2019s\ntranslation), the Persian \u201cThousand and One Days\u201d (story of Aboulcasem\nof Basra,) and the \u201cBagh o Bah\u00e1r\u201d (story of the First Dervish). This\ntale is, in fact, a compound of incidents occurring in a number of\ndifferent Arabian fictions.\n\n\n _TALE OF KING INS BIN KAYS AND HIS DAUGHTER. Vol. II. p. 191._\n\nHere we have another instance of a youth falling in love with the\nportrait of a pretty girl (see _ante_, p. 328). The doughty deeds\nperformed by the young prince against thousands of his foes throw into\nthe shade the exploits of the Bedouin hero Antar, and those of our own\nfamous champions Sir Guy of Warwick and Sir Bevis of Hampton.\n\n\n _ADDITIONAL NOTES._\n\n\n FIRUZ AND HIS WIFE, _p. 301_.\n\nI find yet another variant of this story in my small MS. collection of\nArabian and Persian anecdotes, translated from the French (I have not\nascertained its source):\n\nThey relate that a lord of Basra, while walking one day in his garden,\nsaw the wife of his gardener, who was very beautiful and virtuous. He\ngave a commission to his gardener which required him to leave his home.\nHe then said to his wife, \u201cGo and shut all the doors.\u201d She went out and\nsoon returned, saying, \u201cI have shut all the doors except one, which I am\nunable to shut.\u201d The lord asked, \u201cAnd where is that door?\u201d She replied,\n\u201cThat which is between you and the respect due to your Maker: there is\nno way of closing it.\u201d When the lord heard these words, he asked the\nwoman\u2019s pardon, and became a better and a wiser man.\n\nWe have here a unique form of the wide-spread tale of \u201cThe Lion\u2019s\nTrack,\u201d which, while it omits the husband\u2019s part, yet reflects the\nvirtuous wife\u2019s rebuke of the enamoured sultan.\n\n\n THE SINGER AND THE DRUGGIST, _p. 305_.\n\nIf Straparola\u2019s version is to be considered as an adaptation of Ser\nGiovanni\u2019s novella\u2014which I do not think very probable\u2014it must be allowed\nto be an improvement on his model. In the Arabian story the singer is\nfirst concealed in a mat, next in the oven, and again in the mat, after\nwhich he escapes by clambering over the parapet of the druggist\u2019s roof\nto that of an adjoining house, and his subsequent adventures seem to be\nadded from a different story. In Ser Giovanni\u2019s version the lover is\nfirst hid beneath a heap of half-dried clothes, and next behind the\nstreet door, from which he escapes the instant the husband enters, and\nthe latter is treated as a madman by the wife\u2019s relatives and the\nneighbours\u2014an incident which has parallels in other tales of women\u2019s\ncraft and its prototype, perhaps, in the story of the man who compiled a\nbook of the Wiles of Woman, as told in \u201cSyntipas,\u201d the Greek version of\nthe Book of Sindibad. In Straparola the lover\u2014as in the Arabian story\u2014is\nconcealed three times, first in a basket, then between two boardings,\nand lastly in a chest containing law papers; and the husband induces him\nto recount his adventures in presence of the lady\u2019s friends, which\nhaving concluded, the lover declares the story to be wholly fictitious:\nthis is a much more agreeable ending than that of Giovanni\u2019s story, and,\nmoreover, it bears a close analogy to the latter part of the Persian\ntale, where the lover exclaims he is right glad to find it all a dream.\nStraparola\u2019s version has another point of resemblance in the Persian\nstory\u2014so far as can be judged from Scott\u2019s abstract\u2014and also in the\nArabian story: the lover discovers the lady by chance, and is not\nadvised to seek out some object of love, as in Giovanni;\u2014in the Arabian\nthe singer is counselled by the druggist to go about and entertain wine\nparties. Story-comparers have too much cause to be dissatisfied with\nJonathan Scott\u2019s translation of the \u201cBah\u00e1r-i-D\u00e1nish\u201d\u2014a work avowedly\nderived from Indian sources\u2014although it is far superior to Dow\u2019s garbled\nversion. The abstracts of a number of the tales which Scott gives in an\nappendix, while of some use, are generally tantalising: some stories he\nhas altogether omitted \u201cbecause they are similar to tales already well\nknown\u201d (unfortunately the comparative study of popular fictions was\nhardly begun in his time); while of others bare outlines are furnished,\nbecause he considered them \u201cunfit for general perusal.\u201d But his work,\neven as it is, has probably never been \u201cgenerally\u201d read, and he seems to\nhave had somewhat vague notions of \u201cpropriety,\u201d to judge by his\ntranslations from the Arabic and Persian. A complete English rendering\nof the \u201cBah\u00e1r-i-D\u00e1nish\u201d would be welcomed by all interested in the\nhistory of fiction.\n\n\n THE FULLER, HIS WIFE, AND THE TROOPER, _p. 329_.\n\nThe trick played on the silly fuller of dressing him up as a Turkish\nsoldier resembles that of one of the Three Deceitful Women who found a\ngold ring in the public bath, as related in the Persian story-book,\n\u201cShamsa \u00fa Kuhkuha:\u201d\n\nWhen the wife of the superintendent of police was apprised that her turn\nhad come, she revolved and meditated for some time what trick she was to\nplay off on her lord, and after having come to a conclusion she said one\nevening to him, \u201cTo-morrow I wish that we should both enjoy ourselves at\nhome without interruptions, and I mean to prepare some cakes.\u201d He\nreplied, \u201cVery well, my dear; I have also longed for such an occasion.\u201d\nThe lady had a servant who was very obedient and always covered with the\nmantle of attachment to her. The next morning she called this youth and\nsaid to him, \u201cI have long contemplated the hyacinth grove of thy\nsymmetrical stature; and I know that thou travellest constantly and\nfaithfully on the road of compliance with all my wishes, and that thou\nseekest to serve me. I have a little business which I wish thee to do\nfor me.\u201d The servant answered, \u201cI shall be happy to comply.\u201d Then the\nlady gave him a thousand dinars and said, \u201cGo to the convent which is in\nour vicinity; give this money to one of the kalandars there and say to\nhim, \u2018A prisoner whom the Am\u00edr had surrendered to the police has escaped\nlast night. He closely resembles thee, and as the superintendent of the\npolice is unable to account to the Am\u00edr, he has sent a man to take thee\ninstead of the escaped criminal. I have compassion for thee and mean to\nrescue thee. Take this sum of money; give me thy dress; and flee from\nthe town; for if thou remainest in it till the morning thou wilt be\nsubjected to torture and wilt lose thy life.\u2019\u201d The servant acted as he\nwas bid, and brought the garments to his mistress. When it was morning\nshe said to her husband, \u201cI know you have long wished to eat sweetmeats,\nand I shall make some to-day.\u201d He answered, \u201cVery well.\u201d His wife made\nall her preparations and commenced to bake the sweetmeats. He said to\nher, \u201cLast night a theft was committed in a certain place, and I sat up\nlate to extort confessions; and as I have spent a sleepless night, I\nfeel tired and wish to repose a little.\u201d The lady replied, \u201cVery well.\u201d\n\nAccordingly the superintendent of the police reclined on the pillow of\nrest; and when the sweetmeat was ready his wife took a little and\nputting an opiate into it she handed it to him, saying, \u201cHow long will\nyou sleep? To-day is a day of feasting and pleasure, not of sleep and\nlaziness. Lift up your head and see whether I have made the sweets\naccording to your taste.\u201d He raised his head, swallowed a piece of the\nhot cake and lay down again. The morsel was still in his throat when\nconsciousness left and a deep sleep overwhelmed him. His wife\nimmediately undressed him and put on him the garments of the kalandar.\nThe servant shaved his head and made some tattoo marks on his body. When\nthe night set in the lady called her servant and said, \u201cHyacinth, be\nkind enough to take the superintendent on thy back, and carry him to the\nconvent instead of that kalandar, and if he wishes to return to the\nhouse in the morning, do not let him.\u201d The servant obeyed. Towards dawn\nthe superintendent recovered his senses a little; but as the opiate had\nmade his palate very bitter, he became extremely thirsty. He fancied\nthat he was in his own house, and so he exclaimed, \u201cNarcissus, bring\nwater.\u201d The kalandars awoke from sleep, and after hearing several shouts\nof this kind, they concluded that he was under the influence of bang,\nand said, \u201cPoor fellow! the narcissus is in the garden; this is the\nconvent of sufferers, and there are green garments enough here. Arise\nand sober thyself, for the morning and harbinger of benefits as well as\nof the acquisition of the victuals for subsistence is approaching.\u201d When\nthe superintendent heard these words he thought they were a dream, for\nhe had not yet fully recovered his senses. He sat quietly, but was\namazed on beholding the walls and ceiling of the convent: he got up,\nlooked at the clothes in which he was dressed and at the marks tattooed\non his body, and began to doubt whether he was awake or asleep. He\nwashed his face, and perceived that the caravan of his mustachios had\nlikewise departed from the plain of his countenance.\n\nIn this state of perplexity he went out of the convent and proceeded to\nhis house. There his wife, with her male and female servants, was\nexpecting his arrival. He approached the house and placed his hand on\nthe knocker of the door, but was received by Hyacinth, who said,\n\u201cKalandar, whom seekest thou?\u201d The superintendent rejoined, \u201cI want to\nenter the house.\u201d Hyacinth continued, \u201cThou hast to-day evidently taken\nthy morning draught of bang earlier and more copiously than usual, since\nthou hast foolishly mistaken the road to thy convent. Depart! This is\nnot a place in which vagabond kalandars are harboured. This is the\npalace of the superintendent of the police; and if the symurgh looks\nwith incivility from the fastness of the west of Mount K\u00e1f at this\nplace, the wings of its impertinence will at once become singed.\u201d The\nsuperintendent said, \u201cWhat nonsense art thou speaking? Go out of my way,\nfor I do not relish thy imbecile prattle.\u201d But when he wanted to enter,\nHyacinth struck him with a bludgeon on the shoulder, which the\nsuperintendent returned with a box on the ear, and both began to wrestle\ntogether. At that moment the lady and her maid-servants rushed forth\nfrom the rear and assailed him with sticks and stones, shouting, \u201cThis\nkalandar wishes in plain daylight to force his way into the house of the\nsuperintendent. What a pity that the superintendent is sick, or else\nthis crime would have to be expiated on the gallows!\u201d In the meantime\nall the neighbours assembled, and on seeing the shameless kalandar\u2019s\nproceedings they cried, \u201cLook at that impudent kalandar who wants\nforcibly to enter the house of the superintendent.\u201d Ultimately the crowd\namounted to more than five hundred persons, and the gentleman was put to\nflight and pursued by all the little boys, who pelted him with stones\ntill they expelled him from the town.\n\nAt the distance of three farsangs from the town there was a village\nwhere the superintendent concealed himself in the corner of a mosque.\nDuring the evenings he went from house to house and begged for food to\nsustain life, until his mustachios again grew and the tattooed scars\ngradually began to disappear. Whenever anyone inquired for the\nsuperintendent at his house, he was informed by the servants that the\ngentleman was sick. After one month had expired, the grief of separation\nand the misery of his condition had again driven him back to the city.\nHe went to the convent because fear hindered him from going to the\nhouse. His wife happened one day to catch a glimpse of him from her\nwindow, and perceived him sitting in the same dress with a company of\nkalandars. She felt compassion for him, called the servant and said,\n\u201cThe superintendent has had enough of this!\u201d She made a loaf of bread\nand put some opiate into it, and said, \u201cWhen the kalandars are asleep,\nyou must go and place this loaf under the pillow of the superintendent.\u201d\nThe servant obeyed, and when the gentleman awoke in the middle of the\nnight he was surprised to find the loaf. He fancied that when his\ncompanions had during the night returned from begging, they had placed\nit there, and so he ate some of it. During the same night the servant\nwent there by the command of the lady, took his master on his back and\ncarried him home. When it was morning, the lady took off the kalandar\u2019s\nclothes from her husband and dressed him in his own garments, and began\nto make sweetmeats as on the former occasion. After some time he began\nto move, and his wife exclaimed, \u201cO superintendent, do not sleep so\nmuch. I have told you that we shall spend this day in joy and pleasure,\nand it was not fair of you to pass the time in this lazy way. Lift up\nyour head and see what beautiful sweetmeats I have baked for you.\u201d When\nhe opened his eyes, and saw himself dressed in his own clothes and at\nhome, the rosebush of his amazement again brought forth the flowers of\nastonishment, and he said, \u201cGod be praised! What has happened to me?\u201d He\nsat up, and exclaimed, \u201cWife, things have happened to me which I can\nscarcely describe.\u201d She replied, \u201cFrom the uneasy motions which you have\nmade in your sleep, it appears you must have had extraordinary dreams.\u201d\n\u201cDreams, forsooth,\u201d said he; \u201csince the moment I lay down I have\nexperienced the most strange adventures.\u201d \u201cCertainly,\u201d rejoined the\nlady, \u201clast night you have been eating food disagreeing with your\nconstitution, and to-day the vapours of it have ascended into your\nbrains, and have caused you all this distress.\u201d The superintendent said,\n\u201cYes, last night we went to a party in the house of Serjeant Bahman, and\nthere was roasted pillau, of which I ate somewhat more than usual, and\nthe vapour of it has occasioned me all this trouble.\u201d[598]\n\n * * * * *\n\nStrikingly similar to this story is the trick of the first lady on her\nhusband in the \u201cFabliau des Trois Dames qui trouverent un Anel.\u201d Having\nmade him drunk, she causes his head to be shaved, dresses him in the\nhabit of a monk, and carries him, assisted by her lover, to the entrance\nof a convent. When he awakes and sees himself thus transformed he\nimagines that God by a miraculous exercise of His grace had called him\nto the monastic life. He presents himself before the abbot and requests\nto be received among the brethren. The lady hastens to the convent in\nwell-feigned despair, and is exhorted to be resigned and to congratulate\nher husband on the saintly vow he has taken. \u201cMany a good man,\u201d says the\npoet, \u201chas been betrayed by woman and by her harlotry. This one became a\nmonk in the abbey, where he abode a very long time. Wherefore, I counsel\nall people who hear this story told, that they ought not to trust in\ntheir wives, nor in their households, if they have not first proved that\nthey are full of virtues. Many a man has been deceived by women and by\ntheir treachery. This one became monk against right, who would never\nhave been such in his life, if his wife had not deceived him.\u201d[599]\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe second lady\u2019s trick in the _fabliau_ is a very close parallel to the\nstory in The Nights, vol. v. p. 96.[600] She had for dinner on a Friday\nsome salted and smoked eels, which her husband bade her cook, but there\nwas no fire in the house. Under the pretext of going to have them cooked\nat a neighbour\u2019s fire she goes out and finds her lover, at whose house\nshe remains a whole week. On the following Friday, at the hour of\ndinner, she enters a neighbour\u2019s house and asks leave to cook the eels,\nsaying that her husband is angry with her for having no fire, and that\nshe did not dare to go back, lest he should take off her head. As soon\nas the eels are cooked she carries them piping hot to her own house. The\nhusband asks her where she has been for eight days, and commences to\nbeat her. She cries for help and the neighbours come in, and amongst\nthem the one at whose fire the eels had been cooked, who swears that the\nwife had only just left her house, and ridicules the husband for his\nassertion that she had been away a whole week. The husband gets into a\ngreat rage and is locked up for a madman.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe device of the third lady seems a reflection of the \u201cElopement,\u201d but\nwithout the underground tunnel between the houses of the wife and the\nlover. The lady proposes to her lover to marry him, and he believes that\nshe is only jesting, seeing that she is already married, but she assures\nhim that she is quite in earnest, and even undertakes that her husband\nwill consent. The lover is to come for her husband and take him to the\nhouse of Dan Eustace, where he has a fair niece, whom the lover is to\npretend he wishes to espouse, if he will give her to him. The wife will\ngo thither, and she will have done her business with Eustace before they\narrive. Her husband cannot but believe that he has left her at home, and\nshe will be so apparelled that he cannot recognise her. This plan is\naccordingly carried out. The lover asks the husband for the hand of his\nniece in marriage, to which he joyously consents, and without knowing it\nmakes a present of his own wife. \u201cAll his life long the lover possessed\nher, because the husband gave and did not lend her; nor could he ever\nget her back.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nLe Grand mentions that this _fabliau_ is told at great length in the\ntales of the Sieur d\u2019Ouville, tome iv. p. 255. In the \u201cFaceti\u00e6\nBebelian\u00e6,\u201d p. 86, three women wager which of them will play the best\ntrick on her husband. One causes him to believe he is a monk, and he\ngoes and sings mass; the second husband believes himself to be dead, and\nallows himself to be carried to that mass on a bier; and the third sings\nin it quite naked. (There is a very similar story in Campbell\u2019s \u201cPopular\nTales of the West Highlands.\u201d) It is also found, says Le Grand, in the\n\u201cConvivales Sermones,\u201d tome i. p. 200; in the \u201cDelices de Verboquet,\u201d p.\n166; and in the Faceti\u00e6 of Lod. Dom\u00e9nichi, p. 172. In the \u201cContes pour\nRire,\u201d p. 197, three women find a diamond, and the arbiter whom they\nselect promises it, as in the _fabliau_, to her who concocts the best\ndevice for deceiving her husband, but their _ruses_ are different.\n\n\n\n\n INDEX.\n\n\n Ab\u00e1r\u00edk (Al-), _pl._ of Ibr\u00edk, an ewer containing water for the\n Wuzu-ablution, 170.\n\n Abt\u00e1l (_pl._ of Batal) = champions, athletes (_tr._ \u201cbraves\u201d), 42.\n\n Ab\u00fa al-Taw\u00e1if (_pron._ \u201cAbut-taw\u00e1if\u201d), the Father of the (Jinn-)\n tribes, 84.\n\n Ab\u00fa Now\u00e1s (appearing in The Nights, a signal for an outburst of\n faceti\u00e6), 153.\n\n Adab = accomplishments, 68.\n\n \u2019Adi = an enemy (_tr._ \u201cfoe\u201d), 14.\n\n Afras = _lit._ a better horseman (_tr._ \u201cdoughtier\u201d), 105.\n\n Ahb\u00e1bu-n\u00e1 _pl. for sing._ = my beloved (_tr._ \u201cmy friends\u201d), 103.\n\n \u2019Ak\u00edl, first cousin of Mahommed, 164.\n\n Akw\u00e0 min dahni\u2019l-lauz = more strengthening than oil, 75.\n\n \u2019Al\u00e0 kulli h\u00e1l = \u201cwhatever may betide\u201d or \u201cwilly nilly,\u201d 283.\n\n \u2019Alam al-Din = \u201cFlag of the Faith,\u201d 4.\n\n Alaykum = \u201cPeace be on you\u201d (addressed to a single person), 52.\n\n \u2019Alkam = the bitter gourd, colocynth, 218.\n\n Allah, (\u201cAn alms, for the love of\u201d), 44.\n\n \u2014\u2014 be the judge between me and thee, 52.\n\n \u2014\u2014 decreed of old, 90.\n\n \u2014\u2014 \u201cEnter in the name of\u201d = Bismillah, 38.\n\n \u2014\u2014 Gifted of, 200.\n\n \u2014\u2014 I look to, for aid, 202.\n\n \u2014\u2014 is All-great, 125.\n\n \u2014\u2014 \u201cI seek refuge with\u201d _i.e._, Allah forfend, 9.\n\n \u2014\u2014 made easy to me, 53.\n\n \u2014\u2014 Men, who resign themselves to = _i.e._, Moslems who practice the\n Religion of Resignation, 271.\n\n Allah open to thee the door of subsistence, 44.\n\n \u2014\u2014 removed to the mercy of = he died, 78.\n\n \u2014\u2014 Take refuge with, from the Evil eye of her charms, 245.\n\n \u2014\u2014 This is the deposit of, then thy deposit = \u201cI commit him to thy\n charge under God,\u201d 184.\n\n \u2014\u2014 whom Allah save and assain, 173.\n\n Allah ya\u2019t\u00edk = Allah will give it thee, not I, 44.\n\n \u201cA mighty matter\u201d may also mean \u201cA masterful man\u201d (reading Imraam = man\n for Amran = matter), 204.\n\n Am\u00edn al-Hukm = \u201cFaithful of Command,\u201d 7.\n\n \u2019Anbar (_tr._ \u201cAmbergris\u201d), 67.\n\n \u2019Ank\u00e1 (Al-) = _lit._ \u201cThe long-necked\u201d (bird), 128.\n\n \u201cApr\u00e8s moi le d\u00e9luge,\u201d 123.\n\n Arab lovers jealous of their mistresses\u2019 nightly phantom, 179.\n\n Arab, of noble tribe, always first to mount his own mare, 248.\n\n Arja\u2019 = _lit._ return (_tr._ \u201cdesist\u201d), 105.\n\n Arzi-h\u00e1 = in its earth, its outlying suburbs (_tr._ \u201cenvirons\u201d), 198.\n\n Ash\u00edrah = clan, 225.\n\n At her last breath, when cured by the magic of love, 243.\n\n Atwash (Al-) = one notable for levity of mind, 16.\n\n A\u2019z\u00e1n-h\u00fa = _lit._ \u201cits ears\u201d (_tr._ \u201cits pegs\u201d), 159.\n\n Azn\u00e1n\u00ed = emaciated one, 214.\n\n\n Bah\u00e1r = ox-eye herb, 13.\n\n Bakar (Ox) and Taur (Bull), Moslem emblems of stupidity, 178.\n\n Balass ruby = of rare wood set with rubies, 251.\n\n Bal\u00e1t = the flags (slabs of limestone and sandstone), 21.\n\n Baliyah = bane and bale (to jingle with \u201cB\u00e1biliyah\u201d), 153.\n\n Ban\u00e1t al-haw\u00e1 = _lit._ daughters of love (_tr._ \u201ca merry girl\u201d), 137.\n\n Ban\u00fa Shayb\u00e1n = the King\u2019s own tribe, 199.\n\n Bar\u00e1ri = deserts, 16.\n\n Barber, the usual operator in circumcision, 116.\n\n Bashkh\u00e1nah (Al-) = the curtain, 165.\n\n Bathing after copulation kept up by both sexes in ancient Rome, 142.\n\n B\u00ed-adab\u00ed = being without Adab (= rudeness, etc.), 68.\n\n Bibars (_pron._ \u201cBaybars\u201d), 3.\n\n Bid\u2019ah = _lit._ an innovation, a new thing (_tr._ \u201caccursed custom\u201d),\n 266.\n\n Bi jildi \u2019l-bakar = a cow hide, 96.\n\n \u201cBil\u00e1d al-Maghrib (al-Aksa\u201d in full) = the Farthest Land of the Setting\n Sun (_tr._ \u201cSundown-Land\u201d), 252.\n\n Bishr and Hind (two well-known lovers), 211.\n\n \u201cBismillah\u201d = Enter in the name of Allah, 38.\n\n \u201cBismillah; in the name of the Lord\u201d = \u201cLet us go,\u201d etc., 85.\n\n Blackening faces a promise of Hell-fire, 42.\n\n Blood-feuds troublesome to travellers, 222.\n\n Br\u00e1hmani = Hindu, Indian, 111.\n\n Branchlet = a youth\u2019s slender form, 162.\n\n Breslau Ed. quoted, 3, 54, 55, 63, 67, 151, 183, 191, 259, 263, 275.\n\n Bridegroom offers coffee and Halw\u00e1 to friends after a \u201chappy night,\u201d\n 142.\n\n Brutality of a Moslem mob, 168.\n\n Bukhti = The Bactrian or double-humped dromedary, 235.\n\n Bunduki (adj. of Bunbuk) = Venetian, 204.\n\n Burka\u2019 = the face veil of Egypt, etc., 172.\n\n\n Calcutta Edition quoted, 137, 141.\n\n Carrion, animals that died without beingceremonially killed, 175.\n\n Chamber, a dangerous word in English, 129.\n\n Chapter of the Cow (Koran), 175.\n\n Chess rarely played for money in Europe, 205.\n\n \u201cChildren\u201d used for fighting men, 224.\n\n Circumcision, 90.\n\n Citadel of Lead = Capital of King Al-Shisban, 117.\n\n Couch of Circumcision, 111.\n\n Cranes of Ibycus, 59.\n\n \u201cCried out from her head\u201d = Sang in tenor tones which are always in\n falsetto, 238.\n\n Crucifixion by nailing to an upright board, 49.\n\n Cup-companions = the professional R\u00e1wis or tale reciters, 266.\n\n\n D\u00e1hiyat al-Daw\u00e1h\u00ed = a calamity of the Calamities, 119.\n\n Dara\u2019 or Dira\u2019 = armour (_tr._ \u201cjerkin\u201d), 209.\n\n Darb = lit. a road (_tr._ \u201cstreet\u201d), 8.\n\n Daur al-K\u00e1\u2019ah = the opening made in the ceiling for light (_tr._ \u201cthe\n opening of the saloon\u201d), 23.\n\n Daw\u00e1t = ink-case (containing the reed-pens, etc.), 211.\n\n Daylam (Al-) prison, 142.\n\n Dayr al-Tin = \u201cThe Convent of Clay,\u201d a Coptic monastery near Cairo,\n 284.\n\n Delights of Paradise promised by the Prophet, 244.\n\n Destiny, 61.\n\n Die thou and be thou an expiation for the shoe-latchet of Kulayb, 263.\n\n Dignity, permissible in royalty, affected by dames in Anglo-Egypt, 110.\n\n Dimity (_der._ from \u201cDamietta\u201d), 210.\n\n Divorce and marriage to Mahommed of the wife of Zayd (his adopted son),\n 197.\n\n \u201cDog or hog\u201d = a Jew or a Christian, 147.\n\n Dromedaries the only animals used for sending messages over long\n distances, 249.\n\n Du\u2019\u00e1 = supplication, prayer as opposed to \u201cSal\u00e1t\u201d = divine worship, 94.\n\n Dukh\u00e1n = _lit._ smoke, 126.\n\n Dukh\u00falak = _lit._ thy entering (_tr._ \u201cthy courtesy\u201d), 109.\n\n Durr\u00e1j (_tr._ Francolin), 60.\n\n\n Easterns startled by sudden summons to the presence of a king, 210.\n\n \u201cEmpty gourds,\u201d Eastern succedaneum for swimming corks, 286.\n\n \u201cEvery one cannot go to Corinth,\u201d 74.\n\n Exchange of salams a sign of safety, 86.\n\n Executioner, difficulty in Marocco about finding one who becomes\n obnoxious to the Th\u00e1r or blood-feud, 54.\n\n\n Fajj = mountain pass (Spanish, Vega = also a mountain plain), 117.\n\n Falling backwards in laughter rare amongst the Badawin, 202.\n\n Far\u00e1sah = _lit._ Knowing a horse (_tr._ \u201cVisnomy\u201d), 96.\n\n Farkalah (\u03c6\u03c1\u03b1\u03b3\u03ad\u03bb\u03bb\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd) = cattle whip, 47.\n\n Farkh Warak = a slip of paper, 114.\n\n Farsh = bed or straw-spread store room where apples are preserved, 113.\n\n Faww\u00e1k (chair of), 72.\n\n Fazl (Al-) the elder brother of Ja\u2019afar, 71.\n\n Fity\u00e1n (_pl._ of Fat\u00e0) = my fine fellows, 42.\n\n Flower = the breast, 252.\n\n Fumigating gugglets (with musk), 275.\n\n\n Gave her the hire of her going forth (_i.e._ Engaged her for a revel\n and paid her in advance), 44.\n\n Ghal\u00edl\u00ed = my yearning (_tr._ \u201cmy thirst\u201d), 102.\n\n Gharb\u00edyah (province in Egypt), 16.\n\n Ghatt\u00ed = \u201cCover it up,\u201d 158.\n\n Ghaur (or lowland) = the fall of the waist, 252.\n\n Ghur\u00e1b al-bayn = Raven of the wold or of parting, 126.\n\n Ghusl-ablution, 20.\n\n Giant Face (a parallel to the \u201cBodiless Head\u201d), 102.\n\n Guest-fires, 249.\n\n\n H\u00e6morrhage stopped by plunging the stump into burning oil, 168.\n\n H\u00e1jib = eyebrow or chamberlain, 252.\n\n Hal\u00e1wah = Sweetmeat, 127.\n\n Hal\u00e1wat al-Mift\u00e1h = Sweetmeat of the Key-money (_tr._ \u201c_douceur_ of the\n Key\u201d), 20.\n\n Halfah grass, 46.\n\n Hamd (Al-) = Allah-lauds, 221.\n\n Hamzah, uncle of Mahommed, 164.\n\n H\u00e1r\u00e1t (or quarters) closed at night with strong wooden doors, 9.\n\n Har\u00edsah = meat pudding, 277.\n\n Hatif = an ally, 234.\n\n Haur\u00e1ni = (native of Hauran), Job\u2019s country, 50.\n\n Haykal (Ar. and Heb.) = a large space, a temple (_tr._ \u201challowed\n fane\u201d), 175.\n\n He is of the lords of houses = folk of good family, 169.\n\n \u201cHell-flame but not shame,\u201d _proverb_, 148.\n\n Hib\u00e1 = dust.\n\n Hij\u00e1z (Al-) = The Moslem\u2019s Holy Land, (Cap. Meccah), 193.\n\n Him\u00e0 = the tribal domain (_tr._ \u201ctribe-land\u201d), 215.\n\n Hirfah = a trade, a guild, a corporation (_here_ the officers of\n police), 54.\n\n \u201cHis eyes turned in his head\u201d (to show the whites, as happens to the\n mesmerised), 242.\n\n Horse-thief chained to four pickets of iron, 224.\n\n House of the Elephant (at chess) = the Castle\u2019s square, 205.\n\n Hujjat = a legal deed (may also mean \u201can excuse\u201d), 27.\n\n Husn tadbir = _lit._ \u201cbeauty of his contrivance\u201d (_tr._ \u201cSeemliness of\n his stratagem\u201d), 29.\n\n\n I cannot fill my eye with the twain = cannot look at them long, 88.\n\n \u201cI commit him to thy charge under God,\u201d 184.\n\n \u201cIf his friend the Devil be overstrong for thee, flee him rather than\n be slain,\u201d 202.\n\n If my hand were changed = if my hand had lost its cunning, 78.\n\n \u201cI have not any eye that can look at him\u201d = \u201cI cannot bear to see him,\u201d\n 110.\n\n Ihramat li al-Sal\u00e1t = she pronounced the formula of Intention (Hiyat)\n (_tr._ \u201cthe Prohibition\u201d), 94.\n\n Ikl\u00edm = clime, 3.\n\n \u2019Il\u00e1j (Al-) = insertion (_tr._ \u201chorizontal refreshment\u201d), 185.\n\n Imam = Antistes or fugleman at prayer who leads off the orisons, 101.\n\n Inscriptions on metal trays sold to Europeans (also on table-cloths),\n 87.\n\n Iraks (two) = Ir\u00e1k Arab\u00ed (Chald\u00e6a) and \u2019Ajami (Western Persia), 191.\n\n \u2019Irk = vein (of our eye) _equiv. to_ \u201cthe apple of the eye,\u201d 144.\n\n Irregular use of inn, perpetuated in some monster hotels throughout\n Europe, 20.\n\n Irtiy\u00e1d = a place where the urine spray may not defile the dress (_tr._\n \u201ca place to make water\u201d), 13.\n\n Isaac of Mosul, the greatest of Arab Musicians, 70.\n\n I smell the scent of the Jinn, 125.\n\n \u201cI think not otherwise\u201d = \u201cI am quite sure,\u201d 119.\n\n I will lay down my life to save thee from sorrow\u2014a common-place\n hyperbole of love, 181.\n\n \u2019Iy\u00e1l-hu = _lit._ his family (_tr._ wives), 8.\n\n\n Jabal (Al-) al-Mukawwar = the Crescent Mountain (from Kaur = a park),\n 119.\n\n Jabhat = the lintel, opposed to the threshold (_tr. here_ \u201c\u2018forehead\u2019\n of his shop\u201d), 137.\n\n Jamal f\u00e1lij = the palsy-camel, 235.\n\n Jamrah = a bit of burning charcoal, 122.\n\n \u2014\u2014 = a live coal, 87.\n\n Jaz\u00edrah = insula, Island, used in the sense of \u201cpeninsula,\u201d 220.\n\n Jinns of Northern Europe, 86.\n\n Job (traditions of), 50.\n\n Juln\u00e1r = Gulnare, 100.\n\n\n Kamariyah (_der. from_ Kamar = Moon) = coloured glass windows, 39.\n\n K\u00e1sid = messenger, 37.\n\n Katl = killed (Irish \u201cKilt\u201d), 182.\n\n \u201cKay\u00e1sirah\u201d (C\u00e6sars) _opp. to_ Ak\u00e1sirah, 263.\n\n Kayraw\u00e1n = Curlew, 93.\n\n Kazi, ex-officio guardian of the orphans and their property, liable to\n punishment in case of fraud, 10.\n\n Khal\u00edj (Al-), The Canal (Grand Canal of Cairo), 286.\n\n Khayr kath\u00edr = This is right good (also \u201cabundant kindness\u201d), 275.\n\n Khorasan (including our Afghanistan), in a chronic state of rebellion\n in Al-Rashid\u2019s reign, 167.\n\n King consummates his marriage in presence of his virgin sister-in-law,\n 268.\n\n \u2014\u2014 Kulayb (\u201clittle dog\u201d) al-W\u00e1\u2019il, 263.\n\n \u2014\u2014 Nabh\u00e1n, 192.\n\n \u2014\u2014 of the Kingdoms (_i.e._ of the worlds visible and invisible), 6.\n\n Kissing the hand, the action of a servant or slave, 81.\n\n Kit\u00e1b = book, written bond, 27.\n\n Koran quoted\u2014\n ii. 148, 215.\n ii. 168, 175.\n xx. 30, 270.\n xxxiii. 35, 271.\n xxxiii. 38, 197.\n xlvii. 16, 177.\n lvi. 87, 88, 106.\n cxiii., cxiv., 101.\n\n\n La\u2019alla = peradventure (used to express expectation of possible\n occurrence), 20.\n\n Laban = milk soured (_tr._ \u201ccurd\u201d), 54.\n\n Lajlaj = tied (his tongue was), 186.\n\n La-nakhsifanna = I would assuredly, etc., 23.\n\n Lane quoted, 246.\n\n Last march (to the next world), 202.\n\n Laysa fi \u2019l-diy\u00e1ri dayy\u00e1r = \u201cnor is there a wight in the site\u201d (a\n favourite jingle), 275.\n\n Leather from Al-T\u00e1if, 242.\n\n Legal defects, (which justify returning a slave to the slave-dealer),\n 141.\n\n Lieutenant of the bench, 24.\n\n Lill\u00e1hi durrak = Gifted of Allah, 200.\n\n Lith\u00e1m = the coquettish fold of transparent muslin used by women in\n Stambul, 172.\n\n Love (for \u201csleep\u201d), 164.\n\n L\u00fal\u00faah = The Pearl or Wild Heifer, 95.\n\n\n Maam\u00fan (Al-) al-H\u00e1kim b\u2019Amri\u2019llah = The Secure, the Ruler by\n Commandment of Allah, 281.\n\n Mab\u00e1sim (_pl._ of Mabsim) = a smiling mouth, 162.\n\n Madmen in hot climates enjoy throwing off their clothes, 22.\n\n Majn\u00fan = \u201cA madman,\u201d 22.\n\n Making a picture (or statue), which artist cannot quicken, a process\n demanded on Doomsday, 194.\n\n Makr\u00fah = blameable, not actually damnable, 46.\n\n Mall\u00e1h (Al-) = the salting ground, 54.\n\n Malik (King), a title loosely applied in Arabic, 191.\n\n Mamrak, or small dome built over pavilions (also _Pers._ \u201cB\u00e1dhanj\u201d),\n 82.\n\n Mamrak = dome-shaped skylight, 39.\n\n M\u00e1riyah (Maria, Mary) a non-Moslem name, 194.\n\n Marj Sal\u00ed = cleft meadow (here and below) _tr._ \u201cGreen Meadow,\u201d 227.\n\n Mar\u00f2cco, earliest occurrence of name, 252.\n\n Maut ahmar = violent or bloody death (_tr._ \u201cred death,\u201d) 11.\n\n Ma\u2019\u00fazat\u00e1ni = The Two Preventives (two chapters from the Koran), 101.\n\n Maw\u00e1lid (_pl._ of Maulid) = _lit._ \u201cnativity festivals,\u201d (_here_\n \u201cfuneral ceremonies\u201d), 187.\n\n Maw\u00e1zi (_pl._ of Mauza\u2019) = _lit._ places, shifts (_tr._ \u201cpositions\u201d),\n 112.\n\n May God never requite thee for me with good (_i.e._ Damn your soul for\n leading me into this danger), 39.\n\n May I not be bereft of these steps = may thy visits never fail me, 110.\n\n Meccah and Al-Medinah = The two Sanctuaries, 220.\n\n Merchants wear dagger and sword, 38.\n\n Mizwad (or Mizw\u00e1d) = _lit._ provision bag, 222.\n\n Mohammed Ali Pasha (the \u201cGreat\u201d), 9.\n\n More cutting = more bewitching, 143.\n\n Morning and evening = day and night for ever, 195.\n\n Moslems think the more you see of them the more you like them, 208.\n\n Mu\u2019ajjalah = money paid down before consummation, 141.\n\n Mu\u2019ajjalah = coin paid contingent on divorce, 141.\n\n Mub\u00e1h = an action not sinful (_har\u00e1m_) or quasi-sinful (_makr\u00fah_)\n (_tr._ \u201clawfully\u201d), 12.\n\n Muhattak\u00e1t = usually \u201cwith torn veils,\u201d metaphor meaning in disgrace\n (_tr._ \u201cunveiled\u201d), 46.\n\n Mu\u2019\u00edn al-Din = \u201cAider of the Faith,\u201d 5.\n\n Mukaddam = Captain, 7.\n\n Mukhaddar\u00e1t = maidens concealed behind curtains and veiled in the\n Harem, 265.\n\n Mun\u00edr = \u201cThe brilliant,\u201d the enlightened, 100.\n\n Mus\u00e1fahah = clapping palm (of the hand), 225.\n\n Mustauda = strong box, 9.\n\n Mustar\u00e1h (Al-) = Chapel of Ease (a favourite haunting-place of the\n Jinn), 85.\n\n Mutahaddis\u00edn = novi homines, upstarts (_tr._ \u201cof the number of the\n new,\u201d) 82.\n\n Mutawall\u00ed = Prefect (of Police), 30.\n\n Muzfir (Al-) = the Twister, 95.\n\n\n Nadd, a compound perfume, 108.\n\n Nahnu = we (for I), 28.\n\n N\u00e1ihah = the pr\u00e6fica or myriologist, 171.\n\n \u201cNaked intercessor\u201d (one who cannot be withstood), 83.\n\n Nasr\u00edn = moss-rose, 115.\n\n Naww\u00e1b (_pl._ of N\u00e1ib) = a Nabob (_tr. lit._ \u201cdeputies\u201d), 8.\n\n N\u00e1zilah = descent (of calamity), 176.\n\n N\u00e1zir al-Maw\u00e1ris = \u201cInspector of Inheritances,\u201d 286.\n\n Necklace-pearls = the cup-bearer\u2019s teeth, 253.\n\n Ni\u2019am = Yes (an exception to the Abb\u00e9 Sicard\u2019s rule), 19.\n\n Night beset his back = darkened behind him, 197.\n\n Nik\u00e1 (_lit._ sand hill) = the swell of the throat, 252.\n\n N\u00fan al-taakid = the N of injunction, 23.\n\n Nuzhat-\u00ed = pleasance, 45.\n\n\n Ocular testimony demanded by Moslem law, 17.\n\n Oil, anointing with, for incipient consumption, 75.\n\n \u201cOn my shop\u201d = bit of boarding wherethe master sits, or on a stool in\n thestreet, 281.\n\n Orisons = the prayers of the last day andnight, 94.\n\n\n Palace between two rivers = In Rauzah-island, 281.\n\n Palace not the place for a religious andscrupulous woman, 229.\n\n Part and parts = more or less thoroughly, 152.\n\n Parturition and death easy compared withboth processes in the\n temperates of Europe, 23.\n\n Payne quoted, 28, 54, 67, 73, 85, 110, 112, 154, 191, _ib._, 200, 227,\n 231, 248, 251, 267, 275, 281.\n\n Perjury easily expiated amongst Moslems, 38.\n\n Pilgrimage quoted\u2014\n i. 62, 20\n i. 87, 71\n i. 100, 281\n i. 119, 54\n i. 127, 152\n i. 173, 9\n i. 321, 63\n i. 338, 220\n ii. 57, _ib._\n ii. 297, 222\n iii. 68, 59\n iii. 385, 22\n iii. 385, 51\n\n \u201cPlied him with wine,\u201d a favourite habit with medi\u00e6val Arabs, 50.\n\n Poetry (Persian,) often alludes to the rose, etc., 99.\n\n Police (Eastern), 6.\n\n Professional singers, becoming freed women and turning \u201crespectable,\u201d\n 254.\n\n Pummel of the saddle, 85.\n\n\n Quarters, containing rooms in which girls are sold, 71.\n\n Queen Shu\u2019\u00e1\u2019ah = Queen Sunbeam, 107.\n\n \u201cQuench that fire for him\u201d (_i.e._ hush up the matter), 15.\n\n\n Raas Ghanam = a head of sheep (form of expressing singularity common to\n Arabic), 207.\n\n Raba\u2019 = _lit._ spring quarters (_tr._ \u201ca lodging house\u201d), 19.\n\n Ras\u00edlah = a (she) partner (_tr._ \u201caccompanyist\u201d), 44.\n\n Rayh\u00e1nah, _i.e._ the \u201cBasil,\u201d mostly a servile name, 20.\n\n Red Camel (Ahmar), 248.\n\n Rikk\u00ed al-Saut = soften the sound (or \u201clower thy voice\u201d), 89.\n\n R\u00fah\u00ed = _lit._ my breath (_tr._ \u201cmy sprite\u201d), 120.\n\n Rustaki, from Rustak, a quarter of Baghdah, 209.\n\n\n Saff Kamar\u00edy\u00e1t min al-Zuj\u00e1j = glazed and coloured lunettes, 39.\n\n Sahb\u00e1 = red wine, 99.\n\n S\u00e1hils, or shore-lands, 3.\n\n S\u00e1kiyah = water-wheel, 47.\n\n Samm\u00e1r = reciters, 3.\n\n Sant\u00edr = psalteries, 246.\n\n Sat down (in sign of agitation), 211.\n\n Saw\u00e1k\u00ed = channels, 93.\n\n Severance-spies = stars and planets, 236.\n\n Shahrazad and Shahryar, 259.\n\n Shaking his clothes (in sign of quitting possession), 205.\n\n Shar\u00e1rah = a spark, 87.\n\n Shar\u00ed\u2019at, forbidding divorce by compulsion, 147.\n\n Sharif\u00ed = a sequin, 143.\n\n Shark\u00edyah (province in Egypt), 16.\n\n Sharr fi al-Haramayn = wickedness in the two Holy Places, 220.\n\n Shaw\u00e1hid (meaning that heart testifies to heart) _tr._ \u201chearts have\n their witnesses,\u201d 87.\n\n Shayb\u00e1n\u00ed (Al-) = \u201cOf the Shayb\u00e1n tribe,\u201d 191, 199.\n\n Shaykh al-Hujj\u00e1j = Shaykh of the Pilgrims, 63.\n\n \u201cShaykh al-Tawaif\u201d may mean \u201cShaykh of the Tribes\u201d (of Jinns), 117.\n\n Shayyan li \u2019ll\u00e1h = _lit._ (Give me some) Thing for (the love of) Allah\n (_tr._ \u201cAn alms, for the love of Allah\u201d), 44.\n\n Sh\u00e1zz = Voice (doubtful if girl\u2019s, nightingale\u2019s, or dove\u2019s), 244.\n\n \u201cShe heard a blowing behind her\u201d (a phenomena well known to\n spiritualists), 101.\n\n \u201cShe will double thy store of presents,\u201d 111.\n\n Shuhb\u00e1 (Al-) = Ash-coloured, verging upon white, 110.\n\n S\u00edd\u00ed = \u201cmy lord\u201d (here becomes part of a name), 151.\n\n Sijn al-Dam = the Prison of Blood, 161.\n\n Sim\u2019\u00e1n-son = son of Simeon, _i.e._ a Christian, 175.\n\n Singing and music blameable (Makr\u00fah), though not actually damnable, 46.\n\n Sir fi h\u00e1lik (_pron._ Sirfh\u00e1k) = Go about thy business, 44.\n\n Sirr (a secret), afterwards Kitm\u00e1n (concealment) = keeping a lover\n down-hearted, 218.\n\n Sitt al-Mil\u00e1h = Lady or princess of the Fair (ones), 155.\n\n Slaves fond of talking over their sale, 94.\n\n Sons of Adam = his Moslem neighbours, 30.\n\n Sons of the Path = Travellers, Nomads, Wild Arabs, 213.\n\n \u201cSon of the Road\u201d = a mere passer-by, a stranger, 235.\n\n \u201cSpoiling for a fight,\u201d 199.\n\n \u201cSqueezed my ribs,\u201d a bear-like attack, common amongst lower orders of\n Egypt and Syria, 47.\n\n Sunnah and Farz = The practice (of the Prophet) and the Holy Law\n (Koranic), 10.\n\n Surah = Koranic chapter; here possibly clerical error for S\u00farah\u2014sort\n (of food), 173.\n\n S\u00fasan = the lily (in Heb.), 116.\n\n Swooper of the Jinn, 202.\n\n\n T\u00e1b = \u201ctip-cat,\u201d 54.\n\n T\u00e1f (Al-) a suburb of Baghdah, 71.\n\n Tahz\u00edb = reforming morals, amending conduct, etc., 240.\n\n Tal\u00e1kan b\u00e1yinan = a triple divorce before witnesses, 148.\n\n Tamk\u00edn = gravity, assurance (_tr._ \u201cSelf-possession\u201d), 8.\n\n Tarfah = Tamarisk, 252.\n\n Tarjum\u00e1n = a dragoman (_tr._ \u201cTruchman\u201d), 185.\n\n Thaghr al-Kh\u00e1nakah = The narrows of the (Dervishes\u2019) convent, 74.\n\n Thieves with hands lopped off, 44.\n\n \u201cThine is ours and on thee shall be whatso is on us\u201d = we will assume\n thy debts and responsibilities, 247.\n\n This girl is a fat piece of meat (_i.e._ \u201cThere are good pickings to be\n had out of this job\u201d), 17.\n\n Thiy\u00e1b \u2019Am\u00fadiyah = striped clothes, 79.\n\n Those noble steps = thine auspicious visits, 82.\n\n Thou comest to bring us victory = \u201ccomest thou to our succour,\u201d 201.\n\n Thrust his finger up his fundament (a diabolical way of clapping hands\n in applause), 89.\n\n \u2019Tis more acceptable to me than a red camel, 248.\n\n Tobbas = \u201cSuccessors\u201d or the Himyaritic Kings, 263.\n\n \u201cTo-day wine, and to-morrow business,\u201d 177.\n\n Tohfah = a Choice Gift, 79.\n\n Tohfat al-Humak\u00e1 = Choice Gift of the Fools, 73.\n\n Tohfat al-Kul\u00fab = Choice Gift of the Hearts, 73.\n\n Tohfat al-Sud\u00far = Choice Gift of the Breasts (_i.e._ of the hearts),\n 84\u2013133.\n\n True believer imitates sayings and doings of the Apostle, 173.\n\n Turkum\u00e1niyah = Turcomanish (_tr._ \u201cdragomanish\u201d), 191.\n\n\n \u2019\u00dad = primarily \u201cwood\u201d; then a \u201clute\u201d (_tr._ here \u201cfuel\u201d), 178.\n\n \u2019Ud\u00fal (_pl._ of \u00c1dil) = men of good repute (_tr._ \u201cnotables\u201d), 25.\n\n \u2019Umm\u00e1r = the Jinn (_tr._ \u201cHaunters\u201d), 102.\n\n \u2019Urk\u00fab, a Jew of Yathrib, 164.\n\n \u2019Urs (Al-) w\u2019al-Tuh\u00far = \u201cthe wedding (which does not drop out of the\n tale) and the circumcision,\u201d 90.\n\n\n Veil me = protect my honour, 147.\n\n Veil (raiser of) means a fitting purchaser, 73.\n\n Violateth my private apartment, 243.\n\n Voice (mysterious), 51.\n\n\n Wak\u00e1lah (Egyptian term for a Khan), 153.\n\n Wakh\u00edmah = an unhealthy land, 87.\n\n Where am I, and where is the daughter, etc.? = \u201cWhat have I to do with,\n etc.,\u201d 7.\n\n \u201cWhoso journeyeth not enjoyeth not,\u201d 152.\n\n \u201cWhoso keeneth for himself is not like whoso is hired to keen.\u201d\n _Proverb_ = \u201cIf you want a thing done, etc.,\u201d 171.\n\n Wine and Wassail, loose talk, etc., a favourite subject with lewd\n Moslems, 34.\n\n Wine, carrion and pork lawful to Moslem if used to save life, 176.\n\n \u201cWith love and gladness,\u201d 137.\n\n Women, drowsy charms of, 252.\n\n\n Yad (Al-) al-bayz\u00e1 = _lit._ The white hand (_tr._ \u201clargesse\u201d), 123.\n\n Y\u00e1fis bin Nuh = Japhet, son of Noah, 111.\n\n Yaftah\u2019 Allah = Allah open (to thee the door of subsistence), 44.\n\n Y\u00e1 Khawand = \u201cO lord and master,\u201d 12.\n\n Y\u00e1 Mu\u2019arras = O fool and disreputable (_tr._ \u201cO pimp\u201d), 21.\n\n Ya\u2019tamid\u00fana hud\u00e0-hum = purpose the right direction (_tr._ \u201cthose who\n seek their salvation\u201d), 32.\n\n Y\u00e1 Z\u00ednat al-Nis\u00e1 = O adornment of womankind, 207.\n\n \u201cYe are quit of,\u201d etc. = You are welcome to it and so it becomes lawful\n (_hal\u00e1l_) to you, 161.\n\n Y\u00fanus = Ibn Hab\u00edb, a friend of Isaac of Musul, 71.\n\n\n Za\u2019am\u00fa = they opine, they declare (_tr._ \u201cThey set forth\u201d), 55.\n\n Zab\u00edd\u00fan (here probably a clerical error for Zab\u00edd, Capital of Tah\u00e1mah),\n 193.\n\n Zaf\u00e1ir al-Jinn = Adiantum capillus Veneris, 95.\n\n Zalamah (Al-) = the policeman (_tr._ \u201cmen of violence\u201d), 52.\n\n Zirtah = fart, 56.\n\n Zur ghibban, tazid hibban = visits rare keep friendship fair, 209.\n\n Zuwaylah Gate, 8.\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 1:\n\n Bresl. Edit., vol. xi. pp. 321\u201399, Nights dccccxxx-xl.\n\nFootnote 2:\n\n Arab. \u201cIkl\u00edm\u201d from the Gr. \u03ba\u03bb\u03af\u03bc\u03b1, often used as amongst us (_e.g._\n \u201cother climes\u201d) for land.\n\nFootnote 3:\n\n Bibars whose name is still famous and mostly pronounced \u201cBaybars,\u201d the\n fourth of the Baharite Mamelukes whom I would call the \u201cSoldans.\u201d\n Originally a slave of Al-S\u00e1lih, seventh of the Ayyubites, he rose to\n power by the normal process, murdering his predecessor, in A.D. 1260;\n and he pushed his conquests from Syria to Armenia. In his day \u201cSaint\u201d\n Louis died before Tunis (A.D. 1270.)\n\nFootnote 4:\n\n There are sundry S\u00e1hils or shore-lands. \u201cSahil Misr\u201d is the River-side\n of Cairo often extended to the whole of Lower Egypt (vol. i. 290):\n here it means the lowlands of Palestine once the abode of the noble\n Philistines; and lastly the term extends to the sea-board of Zanzibar,\n where, however, it is mostly used in the plur. \u201cSaw\u00e1hil\u201d = the Shores.\n\nFootnote 5:\n\n Arab. \u201cSamm\u00e1r\u201d (from Samar, = conversatio nocturna), = the\n story-teller who in camp or house whiles away the evening hours.\n\nFootnote 6:\n\n \u201cFlag of the Faith:\u201d Sanjar in old Persian = a Prince, a King.\n\nFootnote 7:\n\n \u201cAider of the Faith.\u201d\n\nFootnote 8:\n\n These policemen\u2019s tales present a curious contrast with the detective\n stories of M. Gaboriau and his host of imitators. In the East the\n police, like the old Bow Street runners, were and are still recruited\n principally amongst the criminal classes on the principle of \u201cSet a\n thief,\u201d &c. We have seen that the Barmecide Wazirs of Baghdad\n \u201canticipated Fourier\u2019s doctrine of the _passionel_ treatment of\n lawless inclinations,\u201d and employed as subordinate officers, under the\n Wali or Prefect of Police, accomplished villains like Ahmad al-Danaf\n (vol. iv. 75), Hasan Shuuman and Mercury Ali (ibid.) and even women\n (Dalilah the Crafty) to coerce and checkmate their former comrades.\n Moreover a gird at the police is always acceptable, not only to a\n coffee-house audience, but even to a more educated crowd; witness the\n treatment of the \u201cCharley\u201d and the \u201cBobby\u201d in our truly English\n pantomimes.\n\nFootnote 9:\n\n _i.e._ the Chief of Police, as the sequel shows.\n\nFootnote 10:\n\n About \u00a34.\n\nFootnote 11:\n\n _i.e._ of the worlds visible and invisible.\n\nFootnote 12:\n\n Arab. \u201cMukaddam:\u201d see vol. iv, 42.\n\nFootnote 13:\n\n \u201cFaithful of Command;\u201d it may be a title as well as a P.N. For\n \u201cAl-Am\u00edn,\u201d see vol. iv. 261.\n\nFootnote 14:\n\n _i.e._ \u201cWhat have I to do with, etc.?\u201d or \u201cHow great is the difference\n between me and her.\u201d The phrase is still popular in Egypt and Syria;\n and the interrogative form only intensifies it. The student of\n Egyptian should always try to answer a question by a question. His\n labours have been greatly facilitated by the conscientious work of my\n late friend Spitta Bey. I tried hard to persuade the late Rogers Bey,\n whose knowledge of Egyptian and Syrian (as opposed to Arabic) was\n considerable, that a simple grammar of Egyptian was much wanted; he\n promised to undertake it, but death cut short the design.\n\nFootnote 15:\n\n Arab. \u201cNaww\u00e1b,\u201d plur. of N\u00e1ib (lit. deputies, lieutenants) = a Nabob.\n Till the unhappy English occupation of Egypt, the grand old Kil\u2019ah\n (Citadel) contained the palace of the Pasha and the lodgings and\n offices of the various officials. Foreign rulers, if they are wise,\n should convert it into a fort with batteries commanding the town, like\n that of Hyderabad, in Sind.\n\nFootnote 16:\n\n For this famous and time-honoured building, see vol. i. 269.\n\nFootnote 17:\n\n Arab. \u201cTamk\u00edn,\u201d gravity, assurance.\n\nFootnote 18:\n\n Arab. \u201c\u2019Iy\u00e1l-hu,\u201d lit. his family, a decorous circumlocution for his\n wives and concubines.\n\nFootnote 19:\n\n Arab. \u201cDarb,\u201d lit. a road; here a large thoroughfare.\n\nFootnote 20:\n\n When Mohammed Ali Pasha (the \u201cGreat\u201d) began to rule, he found Cairo\n \u201cstifled\u201d with filth, and gave orders that each householder, under\n pain of confiscation, should keep the street before his house\n perfectly clean. This was done after some examples had been made and\n the result was that since that time Cairo never knew the plague. I am\n writing at Tangier where a Mahommed Ali is much wanted.\n\nFootnote 21:\n\n _i.e._ Allah forfend!\n\nFootnote 22:\n\n Arab. \u201cMustauda\u2019\u201d = a strong place where goods are deposited and left\n in charge.\n\nFootnote 23:\n\n Because, if she came to grief, the people of the street, and\n especially those of the adjoining houses would get into trouble. Hence\n in Moslem cities, like Damascus and Fez, the H\u00e1r\u00e1t or quarters are\n closed at night with strong wooden doors, and the guards will not open\n them except by means of a silver key. Mohammed Ali abolished this\n inconvenience, but fined and imprisoned all night-walkers who carried\n no lanterns. See Pilgrimage, vol. i. 173.\n\nFootnote 24:\n\n As Kazi of the quarter he was ex-officio guardian of the orphans and\n their property, and liable to severe punishment (unless he could pay\n for the luxury) in case of fraud or neglect.\n\nFootnote 25:\n\n Altogether six thousand dinars = \u00a33000. This sentence is borrowed from\n the sequel and necessary to make the sense clear.\n\nFootnote 26:\n\n _i.e._ \u201cI am going at once to complain of thee before the king unless\n thou give me due satisfaction by restoring the money and finding the\n thief.\u201d\n\nFootnote 27:\n\n The Practice (of the Prophet) and the Holy Law (Koranic): see vols. v.\n 36, 167, and i. 169.\n\nFootnote 28:\n\n In the corrupt text \u201cWho knew me not;\u201d thus spoiling the point.\n\nFootnote 29:\n\n Arab. \u201cMaut Ahmar\u201d = violent or bloody death. For the various coloured\n deaths, see vol. vi. 250.\n\nFootnote 30:\n\n _i.e._ for lack of sleep.\n\nFootnote 31:\n\n _i.e._ of the Kazi.\n\nFootnote 32:\n\n Arab. \u201cMub\u00e1h,\u201d in the theologic sense, an action which is not sinful\n (_har\u00e1m_) or quasi-sinful (_makr\u00fah_); vulgarly \u201cpermitted, allowed\u201d;\n so Shahrazad \u201cceased to say her say permitted\u201d (by Shahryar).\n\nFootnote 33:\n\n Arab. \u201cY\u00e1 Khawand\u201d; see vol. vii. 315.\n\nFootnote 34:\n\n _i.e._ we both make different statements equally credible, but without\n proof, and the case will go against me, because thou art the greater\n man.\n\nFootnote 35:\n\n Arab. \u201cIrtiy\u00e1d\u201d = seeking a place where to stale, soft and sloping, so\n that the urine spray may not defile the dress. All this in one word!\n\nFootnote 36:\n\n Arab. \u201cBah\u00e1r,\u201d the red _buphthalmus sylvester_ often used for such\n comparisons. In Algeria it is called \u2019Ar\u00e1wah: see the Jardin Parfum\u00e9,\n p. 245, note 144.\n\nFootnote 37:\n\n _i.e._ parties.\n\nFootnote 38:\n\n _i.e._ amongst men.\n\nFootnote 39:\n\n Almost as neat as \u201co\u00f9 sont les neiges d\u2019autan?\u201d\n\nFootnote 40:\n\n Arab. \u201c\u00c1di,\u201d one transgressing, an enemy, a scoundrel.\n\nFootnote 41:\n\n It was probably stuck in the ground like an amphora.\n\nFootnote 42:\n\n _i.e._ hush up the matter.\n\nFootnote 43:\n\n In Egypt; the former being the Eastern of the Seven Provinces\n extending to the Pelusium branch, and the latter to the Canobic. The\n \u201cBar\u00e1ri\u201d or deserts, _i.e._ grounds not watered by the Nile, lie\n scattered between the two and both are bounded South by the Kal\u00fab\u00edyah\n Province and Middle Egypt.\n\nFootnote 44:\n\n _i.e._ a man ready of wit and immediate of action, as opposed to his\n name Al-Atwash = one notable for levity of mind.\n\nFootnote 45:\n\n The negative is emphatic, \u201cI certainly saw a Jew,\u201d etc.\n\nFootnote 46:\n\n The \u201cIrish bull\u201d is in the text; justified by\u2014\n\n They hand-in-hand, with wand\u2019ring steps and slow\n Through Eden took their solitary way.\n\nFootnote 47:\n\n As we should say, \u201cThere are good pickings to be had out of this job.\u201d\n Even in the last generation a Jew or a Christian intriguing with an\n Egyptian or Syrian Moslemah would be offered the choice of death or\n Al-Islam. The Wali dared not break open the door because he was not\n sure of his game.\n\nFootnote 48:\n\n The Jew rose seemingly to fetch his valuables and ran away, thus\n leaving the Wali no proof that he had been there in Moslem law which\n demands ocular testimony, rejects circumstantial evidence and ignores\n such partial witnesses as the policeman who accompanied his Chief.\n This I have before explained.\n\nFootnote 49:\n\n Arab. \u201cRaba\u2019,\u201d lit. = spring-quarters. See Marba\u2019, iii. 79.\n\nFootnote 50:\n\n Arab. \u201cNi\u2019am,\u201d an exception to the Abb\u00e9 Sicard\u2019s rule. \u201cLa consonne N\n est l\u2019expression naturelle du doute chez toutes les nations, par ce\n que le son que rend la touche nasale, quand l\u2019homme incertain examine\n s\u2019il fera ce qu\u2019on lui demande; ainsi NE ON, NE OT, NE EC, NE IL, d\u2019o\u00f9\n l\u2019on a fait _non_, _not_, _nec_, _nil_.\u201d\n\nFootnote 51:\n\n For this \u201cHal\u00e1wat al-Mift\u00e1h,\u201d or sweetmeat of the key-money, the\n French _denier \u00e0 Dieu_, Old English \u201cGod\u2019s penny,\u201d see vol. vii. 212,\n and Pilgrimage i. 62.\n\nFootnote 52:\n\n Showing that car. cop. had taken place. Here we find the irregular use\n of the inn, perpetuated in not a few of the monster hotels throughout\n Europe.\n\nFootnote 53:\n\n For its rules and right performance see vol. vi. 199.\n\nFootnote 54:\n\n _i.e._ the \u201cBasil (issa),\u201d mostly a servile name, see vol. i. 19.\n\nFootnote 55:\n\n Arab. \u201cLa\u2019alla,\u201d used to express the hope or expectation of some event\n of possible occurrence; thus distinguished from \u201cLayta\u201d\u2014Would heaven!\n utinam! O si! etc.\u2014expressing desire or volition.\n\nFootnote 56:\n\n Arab. \u201cBal\u00e1t,\u201d in Cairo the flat slabs of limestone and sandstone\n brought from the Turah quarries, which supplied stone for the J\u00edzah\n Pyramids.\n\nFootnote 57:\n\n Arab. \u201cY\u00e1 Mu\u2019arras!\u201d here = O fool and disreputable; see vol. i. 338.\n\nFootnote 58:\n\n These unfortunates in hot climates enjoy nothing so much as throwing\n off the clothes which burn their feverish skins: see Pilgrimage iii.\n 385. Hence the boys of Eastern cities, who are perfect imps and\n flibbertigibbets, always raise the cry \u201cMajn\u00fan\u201d when they see a man\n naked whose sanctity does not account for his nudity.\n\nFootnote 59:\n\n Arab. \u201cDaur al-K\u00e1\u2019ah\u201d = the round opening made in the ceiling for\n light and ventilation.\n\nFootnote 60:\n\n Arab. \u201cLa-nakhsifanna\u201d with the emphatic termination called by\n grammarians \u201cN\u00fan al-taakid\u201d\u2014the N of injunction. Here it is the\n reduplicated form, the Nun al-Sak\u00edlah or heavy N. The addition of L\u00e1\n (not) _e.g._ \u201cL\u00e1 yazrabanna\u201d = let him certainly not strike, answers\n to the intensive or corroborative negative of the Greek effected by\n two negations or even more. In Arabic as in Latin and English two\n negatives make an affirmative.\n\nFootnote 61:\n\n Parturition and death in warm climates, especially the damp-hot like\n Egypt are easy compared with both processes in the temperates of\n Europe. This is noticed by every traveller. Hence probably Easterns\n have never studied the artificial Euthanasia which is now appearing in\n literature. See p. 143 \u201cMy Path to Atheism,\u201d by Annie Besant, London:\n Freethought Publishing Company, 28, Stonecutter Street, E.C., 1877;\n based upon the Utopia of the highly religious Thomas More. Also \u201cEssay\n on Euthanasia,\u201d by P. D. Williams, Jun., and Mr. Tollemache in the\n \u201cNineteenth Century.\u201d\n\nFootnote 62:\n\n _i.e._ he whose turn it is to sit on the bench outside the\n police-office in readiness for emergencies.\n\nFootnote 63:\n\n Arab. \u201c\u2019Ud\u00fal\u201d (plur. of \u2019\u00c1dil), gen. men of good repute, qualified as\n witnesses in the law-court, see vol. iv. 271. It is also used (as\n below) for the Kazi\u2019s Assessors.\n\nFootnote 64:\n\n About \u00a380.\n\nFootnote 65:\n\n Arab. \u201cKit\u00e1b\u201d = book, written bond. This officiousness of the\n neighbours is thoroughly justified by Moslem custom; and the same\n scene would take place in this our day. Like the Hind\u00fa\u2019s, but in a\n minor degree, the Moslem\u2019s neighbours form a volunteer police which\n oversees his every action. In the case of the Hind\u00fa this is required\n by the exigencies of caste, an admirable institution much bedevilled\n by ignorant Mlenchhas, and if \u201cdynamiting\u201d become the fashion in\n England, as it threatens to become, we shall be obliged to establish\n \u201cVigilance Committees\u201d which will be as inquisitorial as caste.\n\nFootnote 66:\n\n _e.g._ writing The contract of A. with B., daughter of Such-an-one,\n etc.\n\nFootnote 67:\n\n Arab. \u201cHujjat,\u201d which may also mean an excuse.\n\nFootnote 68:\n\n The last clause is supplied by Mr. Payne to stop a gap in the broken\n text.\n\nFootnote 69:\n\n The text idiotically says \u201cTo the King.\u201d\n\nFootnote 70:\n\n In the text \u201cNahnu\u201d = we, for I; a common vulgarism in Egypt and\n Syria.\n\nFootnote 71:\n\n This clause has required extensive trimming; the text making the\n Notary write out the contract (which was already written) in the\n woman\u2019s house.\n\nFootnote 72:\n\n Arab. \u201cHusn tadb\u00edr\u201d = lit. \u201cbeauty of his contrivance.\u201d Husn, like\n \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u1f78\u03c2, pulcher, beau and bello, is applied to moral and intellectual\n qualities as well as to physical and material. Hence the \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u1f78 \u03b3\u03ad\u03c1\u03c9\u03bd,\n or old gentleman which in Romaic becomes Calogero, a monk.\n\nFootnote 73:\n\n _i.e._ that some one told me the following tale.\n\nFootnote 74:\n\n Arab. \u201cMutawall\u00ed\u201d: see vol. i. 259.\n\nFootnote 75:\n\n _i.e._ his Moslem neighbours.\n\nFootnote 76:\n\n In the text is a fearful confusion of genders.\n\nFootnote 77:\n\n Her object was to sue him for the loss of the pledge and to demand\n fabulous damages.\n\nFootnote 78:\n\n Arab. \u201cYa\u2019tamid\u00fana hud\u00e0-hum\u201d = purpose the right direction, a skit at\n the devotees of her age and sex; and an impudent comment upon the\n Prefect\u2019s address \u201cO she-devil!\u201d\n\nFootnote 79:\n\n The trick has often been played in modern times at fairs, shows, etc.\n Witness the old Joe Miller of the \u201cMoving Multitude.\u201d\n\nFootnote 80:\n\n Apparently meaning the forbidden pleasures of wine and wassail, loose\n talk and tales of women\u2019s wiles, a favourite subject with the lewder\n sort of Moslem.\n\nFootnote 81:\n\n _i.e._ women\u2019s tricks.\n\nFootnote 82:\n\n The \u201cTurkoman\u201d in the text first comes in afterwards.\n\nFootnote 83:\n\n Arab. \u201cK\u00e1sid,\u201d the old Anglo-Indian \u201cCossid\u201d: see vol. vii. 340.\n\nFootnote 84:\n\n Being a merchant he wore dagger and sword, a safe practice as it\n deters attack and far better than carrying hidden weapons, derringers\n and revolvers which, originating in the United States, have now been\n adopted by the most civilised nations in Europe.\n\nFootnote 85:\n\n I have noted (vol. ii. 186, iv. 175) the easy expiation of perjury\n amongst Moslems, an ugly blot in their moral code.\n\nFootnote 86:\n\n _i.e._ Enter in the name of Allah.\n\nFootnote 87:\n\n _i.e._ Damn your soul for leading me into this danger!\n\nFootnote 88:\n\n Arab. \u201cSaff Kamar\u00edy\u00e1t min al-Zuj\u00e1j.\u201d The Kamar\u00edyah is derived by Lane\n (Introd. M.E.) from Kamar = moon; by Baron Von Hammer from\n Khum\u00e1rawayh, second of the Banu-Tul\u00fan dynasty, at the end of the ixth\n century A.D., when stained glass was introduced into Egypt. N.B.\u2014It\n must date from many centuries before. The Kamariyah are coloured glass\n windows about 2 feet high by 18 inches wide, placed in a row along the\n upper part of the Mashrab\u00edyah or projecting lattice-window, and are\n formed of small panes of brightly-stained glass set in rims of\n gypsum-plaster, the whole framed in wood. Here the allusion is to the\n \u201cMamrak\u201d or dome-shaped skylight crowning the room. See vol. viii.\n 156.\n\nFootnote 89:\n\n _i.e._ easily arrested them.\n\nFootnote 90:\n\n The reader will not forget the half-penitent Captain of Bandits in Gil\n Blas.\n\nFootnote 91:\n\n Arab. \u201cAbt\u00e1l\u201d = champions, athletes, etc., plur. of Batal, a brave: so\n Batalat = a virago. As the root Batala = it was vain, the form\n \u201cBatt\u00e1l\u201d may mean either a hero or a bad lot: see vol. viii. 335; x.\n 74, 75.\n\nFootnote 92:\n\n Arab. \u201cFity\u00e1n;\u201d plur. of Fat\u00e0: see vol. i. 67.\n\nFootnote 93:\n\n This was in popular parlance \u201cadding insult to injury:\u201d the blackening\n their faces was a promise of Hell-fire.\n\nFootnote 94:\n\n Arab. \u201cShayyan li \u2019ll\u00e1h!\u201d lit. = (Give me some) Thing for (the love\n of) Allah. The answer in Egypt is \u201cAllah ya\u2019t\u00edk:\u201d = Allah will give it\n thee (not I), or, \u201cYaftah \u2019Allah,\u201d = Allah open (to thee the door of\n subsistence): in Marocco \u201cSir f\u00ed h\u00e1lik\u201d (pron. Sirfh\u00e1k) = Go about thy\n business. In all cities there is formula which suffices the asker; but\n the Ghash\u00edm (Johnny Raw) who ignores it, is pestered only the more by\n his protestations that \u201che left his purse at home,\u201d etc.\n\nFootnote 95:\n\n _i.e._ engaged her for a revel and paid her in advance.\n\nFootnote 96:\n\n Arab. \u201cRas\u00edlah\u201d = a (she) partner, to accompany her on the lute.\n\nFootnote 97:\n\n Suggesting that they are all thieves who had undergone legal\n mutilation.\n\nFootnote 98:\n\n Arab. \u201cNuzhat-\u00ed:\u201d see vol. ii. 81.\n\nFootnote 99:\n\n Arab. \u201cMuhattak\u00e1t;\u201d usually \u201cwith torn veils\u201d (fem. plur.) here\n \u201cwithout veils,\u201d metaphor. meaning in disgrace, in dishonour.\n\nFootnote 100:\n\n For this reedy Poa, see vol. ii. 18.\n\nFootnote 101:\n\n I have repeatedly noticed that singing and all music are, in religious\n parlance, \u201cMakr\u00fah,\u201d blameable though not actually damnable; and that\n the first step after \u201cgetting religion\u201d is to forswear them.\n\nFootnote 102:\n\n _i.e._ to find the thief or make good the loss.\n\nFootnote 103:\n\n _i.e._ the claimants.\n\nFootnote 104:\n\n Arab. \u201cS\u00e1kiyah:\u201d see vol. i. 123.\n\nFootnote 105:\n\n The lower orders of Egypt and Syria are addicted to this bear-like\n attack; so the negroes imitate fighting-rams by butting with their\n stony heads. Let me remark that when Herodotus (iii. 12), after\n Psammenitus\u2019 battle of Pelusium in B.C. 524, made the remark that the\n Egyptian crania were hardened by shaving and insolation and the\n Persians were softened by wearing head-cloths, he tripped in his\n anthropology. The Iranian skull is naturally thin compared with that\n of the negroid Egyptian and the negro.\n\nFootnote 106:\n\n Arab. \u201cFarkalah,\u201d \u03c6\u03c1\u03b1\u03b3\u03ad\u03bb\u03bb\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd from flagellum; cattle-whip with leathern\n thongs. Lane, M.E.; Fleischer Glos. 83\u201384; Dozy _s.v._\n\nFootnote 107:\n\n This clause is supplied to make sense.\n\nFootnote 108:\n\n _i.e._ to crucify him by nailing him to an upright board.\n\nFootnote 109:\n\n _i.e._ a native of the Hauran, Job\u2019s country east of Damascus, now a\n luxuriant waste, haunted only by the plundering Badawin and the Druzes\n of the hills, who are no better; but its stretches of ruins and\n league-long swathes of stone over which the vine was trained, show\n what it has been and what it will be again when the incubus of Turkish\n mis-rule shall be removed from it. Herr Schuhmacher has lately noted\n in the Hauran sundry Arab traditions of Job; the village Naw\u00e1, where\n he lived: the Hammam \u2019Ayy\u00fab, where he washed his leprous skin; the\n Dayr Ayy\u00fab, a monastery said to date from the third century; and the\n Makan Ayyub at Al-Mark\u00e1z, where the semi-mythical patriarch and his\n wife are buried. The \u201cRock of Job,\u201d covered by a mosque, is a basaltic\n monolith 7 feet high by 4, and is probably connected with the solar\n worship of the old Ph\u0153nicians.\n\nFootnote 110:\n\n This habit \u201ctorquere mero,\u201d was a favourite with the medi\u00e6val Arabs.\n Its effect varies greatly with men\u2019s characters, making some\n open-hearted and communicative, and others more cunning and secretive\n than in the normal state. So far it is an excellent detection of\n disposition, and many a man who passes off well when sober has shown\n himself in liquor a rank snob. Among the lower orders it provokes what\n the Persians call Bad-mast\u00ed (le vin m\u00e9chant): see Pilgrimage iii. 385.\n\nFootnote 111:\n\n This mystery is not unfamiliar to the modern \u201cspiritualist;\u201d and all\n Eastern tongues have a special term for the mysterious Voice. See vol.\n i. 142.\n\nFootnote 112:\n\n Arab. \u201cAlaykum\u201d: addressed to a single person. This is generally\n explained by the \u201cSalam\u201d reaching the ears of Invisible Controuls, and\n even the Apostle. We find the words cruelly distorted in the\n Pentamerone of Giambattista Basile (partly translated by John E.\n Taylor, London: Bogue, 1848), \u201cThe Prince, coming up to the old woman\n heard an hundred Licasalemme,\u201d p. 383.\n\nFootnote 113:\n\n Arab. \u201cAl-Zalamah\u201d; the policeman: see vol. vi. 214.\n\nFootnote 114:\n\n _i.e._ in my punishment.\n\nFootnote 115:\n\n _i.e._ on Doomsday thou shalt get thy deserts.\n\nFootnote 116:\n\n _i.e._ what I could well afford.\n\nFootnote 117:\n\n Arab. Hirfah = a trade, a guild, a corporation: here the officers of\n police.\n\nFootnote 118:\n\n Gen. \u201ctip-cat\u201d (vol. ii. 314.) Here it would mean a rude form of\n tables or backgammon, in which the players who throw certain numbers\n are dubbed Sultan and Wazir, and demean themselves accordingly. A\n favourite bit of fun with Cairene boys of a past generation was to\n \u201cmake a Pasha;\u201d and for this proceeding, see Pilgrimage, vol. i. 119.\n\nFootnote 119:\n\n In Marocco there is great difficulty about finding an executioner who\n becomes obnoxious to the Th\u00e1r, _vendetta_ or blood-revenge. For\n salting the criminal\u2019s head, however, the soldiers seize upon the\n nearest Jew and compel him to clean out the brain and to prepare it\n for what is often a long journey. Hence, according to some, the local\n name of the Ghetto, Al-Mall\u00e1h, = the salting-ground.\n\nFootnote 120:\n\n Mr. Payne suspects that \u201claban,\u201d milk, esp. artificially soured, (see\n vol. vi. 201) is a clerical error for \u201cjubn\u201d = cheese. This may be;\n but I follow the text as the exaggeration is greater.\n\nFootnote 121:\n\n _i.e._ in relinquishing his blood-wite for his brother.\n\nFootnote 122:\n\n The Story-teller, probably to relieve the monotony of the Constables\u2019\n histories, here returns to the original cadre. We must not forget that\n in the Bresl. Edit. the Nights are running on, and that the charming\n queen is relating the adventure of Al-Malik al-Zahir.\n\nFootnote 123:\n\n Arab. \u201cZa\u2019am\u00fa\u201d = they opine, they declare; a favourite term with the\n Bresl. Edit.\n\nFootnote 124:\n\n Arab. \u201cZirtah\u201d the coarsest of terms for what the French nuns prettily\n termed _un sonnet_: I find _ung sonnet_ also in Nov. ii. of the Cent\n nouvelles Nouvelles. Captain Lockett (p. 32) quotes Strepsiades in The\n Clouds \u03b2\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u1fb7 \u03ba\u03bf\u03bc\u03b9\u03b4\u1fc6 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c0\u03c0\u03ac\u03be \u201cbecause he cannot express the bathos of\n the original (in the Tale of Ja\u2019afar and the old Badawi) without\n descending to the oracular language of Giacoma Rodogina, the\n engastrymythian prophetess.\u201d But Sterne was by no means so squeamish.\n The literature of this subject is extensive, beginning with\n \u201cPeteriana, ou l\u2019art de peter,\u201d which distinguishes 62 different\n tones. After dining with a late friend en gar\u00e7on we went into his\n sitting-room and found on the table 13 books and booklets upon the\n Crepitus Ventris, and there was some astonishment as not a few of the\n party had never seen one.\n\nFootnote 125:\n\n This tale is a replica of the Cranes of Ibycus. This was a Rhegium man\n who when returning to Corinth, his home, was set upon by robbers and\n slain. He cast his dying eyes heavenwards and seeing a flight of\n cranes called upon them to avenge him and this they did by flying over\n the theatre of Corinth on a day when the murderers were present and\n one cried out, \u201cBehold the avengers of Ibycus!\u201d Whereupon they were\n taken and put to death. So says Paulus Hieronymus, and the affecting\n old tale has newly been sung in charming verse by Mr. Justin H.\n McCarthy (\u201cSerapion.\u201d London: Chatto and Windus.)\n\nFootnote 126:\n\n This scene is perfectly true to Badawi life; see my Pilgrimage iii.\n 68.\n\nFootnote 127:\n\n Arab. \u201cDurr\u00e1j\u201d: so it is rendered in the French translation of\n Al-Mas\u00fadi, vii. 347.\n\nFootnote 128:\n\n A fair friend found the idea of Destiny in The Nights become almost a\n night-mare. Yet here we suddenly alight upon the true Johnsonian idea\n that conduct makes fate. Both extremes are as usual false. When one\n man fights a dozen battles unwounded and another falls at the first\n shot we cannot but acknowledge the presence of that mysterious \u201cluck\u201d\n whose laws, now utterly unknown to us, may become familiar with the\n ages. I may note that the idea of an appointed hour beyond which life\n may not be prolonged, is as old as Homer (Il. vi. 487).\n\n The reader has been told (vol. vii. 135) that \u201cKaz\u00e1\u201d is Fate in a\n general sense, the universal and eternal Decree of Allah, while\n \u201cKadar\u201d is its special and particular application to man\u2019s lot, that\n is Allah\u2019s will in bringing forth events at a certain time and place.\n But the former is popularly held to be of two categories, one Kaz\u00e1\n al-Muham which admits of modification and Kaz\u00e1 al-Muhkam, absolute and\n unchangeable, the doctrine of irresistible predestination preached\n with so much energy by St. Paul (Romans ix. 15\u201324); and all the world\n over men act upon the former while theoretically holding to the\n latter. Hence \u201cChinese Gordon\u201d whose loss to England is greater than\n even his friends suppose, wrote \u201cIt is a delightful thing to be a\n fatalist,\u201d meaning that the Divine direction and pre-ordination of all\n things saved him so much trouble of forethought and afterthought. In\n this tenet he was not only a Calvinist but also a Moslem whose\n contradictory ideas of Fate and Freewill (with responsibility) are not\n only beyond Reason but are contrary to Reason; and although we may\n admit the _argumentum ad verecundiam_, suggesting that there are\n things above (or below) human intelligence, we are not bound so to do\n in the case of things which are opposed to the common sense of\n mankind. Practically, however, the Moslem attitude is to be loud in\n confessing belief of \u201cFate and Fortune\u201d before an event happens and\n after it wisely to console himself with the conviction that in no way\n could he have escaped the occurrence. And the belief that this destiny\n was in the hands of Allah gives him a certain dignity especially in\n the presence of disease and death which is wanting in his rival\n religionist the Christian. At the same time the fanciful picture of\n the Turk sitting stolidly under a shower of bullets because Fate will\n not find him out unless it be so written is a freak of fancy rarely\n found in real life.\n\n There are four great points of dispute amongst the schoolmen in\n Al-Islam; (1) the Unity and Attributes of Allah; (2) His promises and\n threats; (3) historical as the office of Im\u00e1m; and (4) Predestination\n and the justice thereof. On the latter subject opinions range over the\n whole cycle of possibilities. For instance, the Mu\u2019tazilites, whom the\n learned Weil makes the Protestants and Rationalists of Al-Islam,\n contend that the word of Allah was created _in subjecto, erg\u00f2_, an\n accident and liable to perish, and one of their school, the K\u00e1diriyah\n (= having power) denies the existence of Fate and contends that Allah\n did not create evil but left man an absolutely free agent. On the\n other hand, the Jabariyah (or Mujabbar = the compelled) is an absolute\n Fatalist who believes in the omnipotence of Destiny and deems that all\n wisdom consists in conforming with its decrees. Al-Mas\u2019udi (chapt.\n cxxvii) illustrates this by the saying of a Moslem philosopher that\n chess was the invention of a Mu\u2019tazil, while Nard (backgammon with\n dice) was that of a Mujabbar proving that play can do nothing against\n destiny. Between the two are the Ashariyah; trimmers whose stand-point\n is hard to define; they would say, \u201cAllah creates the power by which\n man acts, but man wills the action,\u201d and care not to answer the query,\n \u201cWho created the will?\u201d (See Pocock, Sale and the Dabistan ii. 352).\n Thus Sa\u2019adi says in the Gulistan (iii. 2), \u201cThe wise have pronounced\n that though daily bread be allotted, yet it is so conditionally upon\n using means to acquire it, and although calamity be predestined, yet\n it is right to secure oneself against the portals by which it may have\n access.\u201d Lastly, not a few doctors of Law and Religion hold that Kaza\n al-Muhkam, however absolute, regards only man\u2019s after or final state;\n and upon this subject they are of course as wise as other people,\n and\u2014no wiser. Lane has treated the Moslem faith in Destiny very ably\n and fully (Arabian Nights, vol. i. pp. 58\u201361), and he being a man of\n moderate and orthodox views gives valuable testimony.\n\nFootnote 129:\n\n Arab. \u201cShaykh al-Hujj\u00e1j.\u201d Some Santon like Hasan al-Mar\u00e1bit, then\n invoked by the Meccan pilgrims: see Pilgrimage, i. 321. It can hardly\n refer to the famous Hajj\u00e1j bin Y\u00fasuf al-Sakaf\u00ed (vol. iv. 3).\n\nFootnote 130:\n\n Here the Stories of the Sixteen Constables abruptly end, after the\n fashion of the Bresl. Edit. They are summarily dismissed even without\n the normal \u201cBakhsh\u00edsh.\u201d\n\nFootnote 131:\n\n Bresl. Edit. vol. xi. pp. 400\u2013473 and vol. xii. pp. 4\u201350, Nights\n dccccxli-dcccclvii. For Kashghar, see vol. i. 255.\n\nFootnote 132:\n\n Mr. Payne proposes to translate \u201c\u2019Anbar\u201d by amber, the semi-fossilised\n resin much used in modern days, especially in Turkey and Somaliland,\n for bead necklaces. But, as he says, the second line distinctly\n alludes to the perfume which is sewn in leather and hung about the\n neck, after the fashion of our ancient pomanders (_pomme d\u2019ambre_).\n\nFootnote 133:\n\n _i.e._ The Caliph: see vol. i. p. 50.\n\nFootnote 134:\n\n Arab. \u201cAdab:\u201d see vol. i. 132, etc. In Moslem dialects which borrow\n more or less from Arabic, \u201cB\u00ed-adab\u00ed\u201d = being without Adab, means\n rudeness, disrespect, \u201cimpertinence\u201d (in its modern sense).\n\nFootnote 135:\n\n _i.e._ Isaac of Mosul, the greatest of Arab musicians: see vol. iv.\n 119.\n\nFootnote 136:\n\n The elder brother of Ja\u2019afar, by no means so genial or fitted for a\n royal frolic. See Terminal Essay.\n\nFootnote 137:\n\n Ibn Hab\u00edb, a friend of Isaac, and a learned grammarian who lectured at\n Basrah.\n\nFootnote 138:\n\n A suburb of Baghdad, mentioned by Al-Mas\u2019\u00fadi.\n\nFootnote 139:\n\n Containing the rooms in which the girl or girls were sold. See\n Pilgrimage i. 87.\n\nFootnote 140:\n\n Dozy quotes this passage but cannot explain the word Faww\u00e1k.\n\nFootnote 141:\n\n \u201cA passage has apparently dropped out here. The Khalif seems to have\n gone away without buying, leaving Ishac behind, whereupon the latter\n was accosted by another slave-girl, who came out of a cell in the\n corridor.\u201d So says Mr. Payne vol. ii. 207. The \u201craiser of the veil\u201d\n means a fitting purchaser.\n\nFootnote 142:\n\n _i.e._ \u201cChoice gift of the Fools,\u201d a skit upon the girl\u2019s name \u201cTohfat\n al-Kul\u00fab\u201d = Choice gift of the Hearts. Her folly consisted in refusing\n to be sold at a high price, and this is often seen in real life. It is\n a _Pundonor_ amongst good Moslems not to buy a girl and not to sleep\n with her, even when bought, against her will.\n\nFootnote 143:\n\n \u201cEvery one cannot go to Corinth.\u201d The question makes the assertion\n emphatic.\n\nFootnote 144:\n\n _i.e._ The Narrows of the (Dervishes\u2019) convent.\n\nFootnote 145:\n\n Arab. \u201cAkw\u00e0 min dahni \u2019l-lauz.\u201d These unguents have been used in the\n East from time immemorial whilst the last generation in England knew\n nothing of anointing with oil for incipient consumption. A late friend\n of mine, Dr. Stocks of the Bombay Establishment, and I proposed it as\n long back as 1845; but in those days it was a far cry from Sind to\n London.\n\nFootnote 146:\n\n The sequel will explain why she acted in this way.\n\nFootnote 147:\n\n _i.e._ Thou hast made my gold piece (10 shill.) worth only a doit by\n thy superiority in the art and mystery of music.\n\nFootnote 148:\n\n Arab. \u201cUadd\u00edki,\u201d Taadiyah (iid. of Ad\u00e1, he assisted) means sending,\n forwarding. In Egypt and Syria we often find the form \u201cWaddi\u201d for\n Addi, imperative.\n\nFootnote 149:\n\n Again \u201che\u201d for \u201cshe.\u201d\n\nFootnote 150:\n\n _i.e._ Honey and wine.\n\nFootnote 151:\n\n _i.e._ he died.\n\nFootnote 152:\n\n _i.e._ if my hand had lost its cunning.\n\nFootnote 153:\n\n Arab. \u201cThiy\u00e1b \u2019Am\u00fadiyah\u201d: \u2019Am\u00fad = tent-prop or column, and Khatt \u2019Am\u00fad\n = a perpendicular line.\n\nFootnote 154:\n\n _i.e._ a choice gift. The Caliph speaks half ironically, \u201cWhere\u2019s this\n wonderful present, etc?\u201d So further on when he compares her with the\n morning.\n\nFootnote 155:\n\n Again the usual pun upon the name.\n\nFootnote 156:\n\n Throughout the East this is the action of a servant or a slave,\n practised by freemen only when in danger of life or extreme need and\n therefore humiliating.\n\nFootnote 157:\n\n It had been thrown down from the Mamrak or small dome built over such\n pavilions for the purpose of light by day and ventilation by night.\n See vol. i. 257, where it is called by the Persian term \u201cB\u00e1dhanj.\u201d\n\nFootnote 158:\n\n The Nights have more than once applied this patronymic to Zubaydah.\n See vol. viii. 56, 158.\n\nFootnote 159:\n\n Arab. \u201cMutahaddis\u00edn\u201d = novi homines, upstarts.\n\nFootnote 160:\n\n _i.e._ thine auspicious visits.\n\nFootnote 161:\n\n He being seated on the carpet at the time.\n\nFootnote 162:\n\n A quotation from Al-Farazdat who had quarrelled with his wife Al-How\u00e1r\n (see the tale in Ibn Khallikan, i. 521), hence \u201cthe naked intercessor\u201d\n became proverbial for one who cannot be withstood.\n\nFootnote 163:\n\n _i.e._ Choice Gift of the Breasts, that is of hearts, the continens\n for the contentum.\n\nFootnote 164:\n\n Pron. \u201cAbuttaw\u00e1if,\u201d the Father of the (Jinn-) tribes. It is one of the\n Moslem Satan\u2019s manifold names, alluding to the number of his servants\n and worshippers, so far agreeing with that amiable Christian doctrine,\n \u201cFew shall be saved.\u201d\n\nFootnote 165:\n\n Mr. Payne supplies this last clause from the sequence.\n\nFootnote 166:\n\n _i.e._ \u201cLet us go,\u201d with a euphemistic formula to defend her from evil\n influences. Iblis uses the same word to prevent her being frightened.\n\nFootnote 167:\n\n Arab. \u201cAl-Mustar\u00e1h,\u201d a favourite haunting-place of the Jinn, like the\n Hamm\u00e1m and other offices for human impurity. For its six names\n Al-Khal\u00e1, Al-Hushsh, Al-Mutawazz\u00e1, Al-Kan\u00edf, Al-Mustar\u00e1h, and Mirh\u00e1z,\n see Al-Mas\u2019udi, chap. cxxvii., and Shir\u00edshi\u2019s commentary to Hariri\u2019s\n 47, Assembly.\n\nFootnote 168:\n\n Which, in the East, is high and prominent whilst the cantle forms a\n back to the seat and the rider sits as in a baby\u2019s chair. The object\n is a firm seat when fighting: \u201cacross country\u201d it is exceedingly\n dangerous.\n\nFootnote 169:\n\n In Swedenborg\u2019s \u201cArcana C\u0153lestia\u201d we read, \u201cWhen man\u2019s inner sight is\n opened, which is that of his spirit; then there appear the things of\n another life which cannot be made visible to the bodily sight.\u201d Also\n \u201cEvil spirits, when seen by eyes other than those of their infernal\n associates, present themselves by _correspondence_ in the beast\n (_fera_) which represents their particular lust and life, in aspect\n direful and atrocious.\u201d These are the Jinns of Northern Europe.\n\nFootnote 170:\n\n This exchange of salams was a sign of her being in safety.\n\nFootnote 171:\n\n Arab. \u201cShaw\u00e1hid,\u201d meaning that heart testifies to heart.\n\nFootnote 172:\n\n _i.e._ A live coal, afterwards called Zalzalah, an earthquake; see\n post p. 105. \u201cWakh\u00edmah\u201d = an unhealthy land, and \u201cShar\u00e1rah\u201d = a spark.\n\nFootnote 173:\n\n I need hardly note the inscriptions upon the metal trays sold to\n Europeans. They are usually imitation words so that infidel eyes may\n not look upon the formul\u00e6 of prayer; and the same is the case with\n table-cloths, etc., showing a fancy Tohgra or Sultanic sign-manual.\n\nFootnote 174:\n\n _i.e._ I cannot look at them long.\n\nFootnote 175:\n\n Evidently a diabolical way of clapping his hands in applause. This\n description of the Foul Fiend has an element of grotesqueness which is\n rather Christian than Moslem.\n\nFootnote 176:\n\n Arab. \u201cRikk\u00ed al-Saut,\u201d which may also mean either \u201clower thy voice,\u201d\n or \u201cchange the air to one less touching.\u201d\n\nFootnote 177:\n\n \u201cYour\u201d for \u201cthy.\u201d\n\nFootnote 178:\n\n _i.e._ written on the \u201cGuarded Tablet\u201d from all eternity.\n\nFootnote 179:\n\n Arab. \u201cAl-\u2019Urs w\u2019al-Tuh\u00far\u201d which can only mean, \u201cthe wedding (which\n does not drop out of the tale) and the circumcision.\u201d\n\nFootnote 180:\n\n I here propose to consider at some length this curious custom which\n has prevailed amongst so many widely separated races. Its object has\n been noted (vol. v. 209), viz. to diminish the sensibility of the\n glans, no longer lubricated with prostatic lymph; thus the part is\n hardened against injury and disease and its work in coition is\n prolonged. On the other hand \u201cpr\u00e6putium in coitu voluptatem (of the\n woman) auget, unde femina pr\u00e6putiatis concubitum malunt quam cum\n Turcis ac Jud\u00e6is\u201d says Dimerbroeck (Anatomie). I vehemently doubt the\n fact. Circumcision was doubtless practised from ages immemorial by the\n peoples of Central Africa, and Welcker found traces of it in a mummy\n of the xvith century B.C. The Jews borrowed it from the Egyptian\n priesthood and made it a manner of sacrament, \u201cuncircumcised\u201d being =\n \u201cunbaptised,\u201d that is, barbarian, heretic; it was a seal of\n reconciliation, a sign of alliance between the Creator and the Chosen\n People, a token of nationality imposed upon the body politic. Thus it\n became a cruel and odious protestation against the brotherhood of man,\n and the cosmopolitan Romans derided the verp\u00e6 ac verpi. The Jews also\n used the term figuratively as the \u201ccircumcision of fruits\u201d (Lev. xix.\n 23), and of the heart (Deut. x. 16); and the old law gives copious\n historical details of its origin and continuance. Abraham first\n amputated his horny \u201ccalotte\u201d at \u00e6t. 99, and did the same for his son\n and household (Gen. xvii. 24\u201327). The rite caused a separation between\n Moses and his wife (Exod. iv. 25). It was suspended during the Desert\n Wanderings and was resumed by Joshua (v. 3\u20137), who cut off two tons\n weight of prepuces. The latter became, like the scalps of the\n Scythians and North-American \u201cIndians,\u201d trophies of victory; Saul\n promised his daughter Michol to David for a dowry of one hundred, and\n the son-in-law brought double tale.\n\n Amongst the early Christians opinions concerning the rite differed.\n Although the Founder of Christianity was circumcised, St. Paul, who\n aimed at a cosmopolitan faith, discouraged it in the physical phase.\n St. Augustine still sustained that the rite removed original sin\n despite the Fathers who preceded and followed him, Justus, Tertullian,\n Ambrose and others. But it gradually lapsed into desuetude and was\n preserved only in the outlying regions. Paulus Jovius and Munster\n found it practised in Abyssinia, but as a mark of nobility confined to\n the descendants of \u201cNicaules, queen of Sheba.\u201d The Abyssinians still\n follow the Jews in performing the rite within eight days after the\n birth and baptise boys after forty and girls after eighty days. When a\n circumcised man became a Jew he was bled before three witnesses at the\n place where the prepuce had been cut off, and this was called the\n \u201cBlood of alliance.\u201d Apostate Jews effaced the sign of circumcision:\n so in 1 Matt. i. 16, fecerunt sibi pr\u00e6putia et recesserunt a\n Testamento Sancto. Thus making prepuces was called by the Hebrews\n Meshookim = recutitis, and there is an allusion to it in 1 Cor. vii.\n 18, 19, \u03bc\u1f74 \u1f10\u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c0\u03ac\u03c3\u03b8\u03b1\u03b9 (Farrar, Paul ii. 70). St. Jerome and others\n deny the possibility; but Mirabeau (Akropodie) relates how Father\n Conning by liniments of oil, suspending weights, and wearing the virga\n in a box gained in 43 days 7\u00bc lines. The process is still practised by\n Armenians and other Christians who, compelled to Islamise, wish to\n return to Christianity. I cannot however find a similar artifice\n applied to a circumcised clitoris. The simplest form of circumcision\n is mere amputation of the prepuce and I have noted (vol. v. 209) the\n difference between the Moslem and the Jewish rite, the latter\n according to some being supposed to heal in kindlier way. But the\n varieties of circumcision are immense. Probably none is more terrible\n than that practised in the Province Al-As\u00edr, the old Ophir, lying\n south of Al-Hij\u00e1z, where it is called Salkh, lit. = scarification. The\n patient, usually from ten to twelve years old, is placed upon raised\n ground holding in right hand a spear, whose heel rests upon his foot\n and whose point shows every tremour of the nerves. The tribe stands\n about him to pass judgment on his fortitude, and the barber performs\n the operation with the Jumbiyah-dagger, sharp as a razor. First he\n makes a shallow cut, severing only the skin across the belly\n immediately below the navel, and similar incisions down each groin;\n then he tears off the epidermis from the cuts downwards and flays the\n testicles and the penis, ending with amputation of the foreskin.\n Meanwhile the spear must not tremble and in some clans the lad holds a\n dagger over the back of the stooping barber, crying, \u201cCut and fear\n not!\u201d When the ordeal is over, he exclaims \u201cAllaho Akbar!\u201d and\n attempts to walk towards the tents soon falling for pain and nervous\n exhaustion, but the more steps he takes the more applause he gains. He\n is dieted with camel\u2019s milk, the wound is treated with salt and\n turmeric, and the chances in his favour are about ten to one. No\n body-pile or pecten ever grows upon the excoriated part which\n preserves through life a livid ashen hue. Whilst Mohammed Ali Pasha\n occupied the province he forbade \u201cscarification\u201d under pain of\n impalement, but it was resumed the moment he left Al-Asir. In Africa\n not only is circumcision indigenous, the operation varies more or less\n in the different tribes. In Dahome it is termed Addagwibi, and is\n performed between the twelfth and twentieth year. The rough operation\n is made peculiar by a double cut above and below; the prepuce being\n treated in the Moslem, not the Jewish fashion (loc. cit.). Heated sand\n is applied as a styptic and the patient is dieted with ginger-soup and\n warm drinks of ginger-water, pork being especially forbidden. The\n Fantis of the Gold Coast circumcise in sacred places, _e.g._, at Accra\n on a Fetish rock rising from the sea. The peoples of Sennaar, Taka,\n Masawwah and the adjacent regions follow the Abyssinian custom. The\n barbarous Bissagos and Fellups of North Western Guinea make cuts on\n the prepuce without amputating it; while the Baquens and Papels\n circumcise like Moslems. The blacks of Loango are all \u201cverp\u00e6,\u201d\n otherwise they would be rejected by the women. The Bantu or Caffre\n tribes are circumcised between the ages of fifteen and eighteen; the\n \u201cFetish boys,\u201d as we call them, are chalked white and wear only grass\n belts; they live outside the villages in special houses under an old\n \u201cmedicine-man,\u201d who teaches them not only virile arts but also to rob\n and fight. The \u201cman-making\u201d may last five months and ends in f\u00eates and\n dances: the patients are washed in the river, they burn down their\n quarters, take new names, and become adults, donning a kind of straw\n thimble over the prepuce. In Madagascar three several cuts are made\n causing much suffering to the children; and the nearest male relative\n swallows the prepuce. The Polynesians circumcise when childhood ends\n and thus consecrate the fecundating organ to the Deity. In Tahiti the\n operation is performed by the priest, and in Tonga only the priest is\n exempt. The Maories on the other hand fasten the prepuce over the\n glans, and the women of the Marquesas Islands have shown great cruelty\n to shipwrecked sailors who expose the glans. Almost all the known\n Australian tribes circumcise after some fashion: Bennett supposes the\n rite to have been borrowed from the Malays, while Gason enumerates the\n \u201cKurrawellie wonkauna\u201d among the five mutilations of puberty.\n Leichhardt found circumcision about the Gulf of Carpentaria and in the\n river-valleys of the Robinson and Macarthur: others observed it on the\n Southern Coast and among the savages of Perth, where it is noticed by\n Salvado. James Dawson tells us \u201cCircumciduntur pueri,\u201d etc., in\n Western Victoria. Brough Smyth, who supposes the object is to limit\n population (?), describes on the Western Coast and in Central\n Australia the \u201cCorrobery\u201d-dance and the operation performed with a\n quartz-flake. Teichelmann details the rite in Southern Australia where\n the assistants\u2014all men, women, and children being driven away\u2014form a\n \u201cmanner of human altar\u201d upon which the youth is laid for circumcision.\n He then receives the normal two names, public and secret, and is\n initiated into the mysteries proper for men. The Australians also for\n Malthusian reasons produce an artificial hypospadias, while the Karens\n of New Guinea only split the prepuce longitudinally (Cosmos p. 369,\n Oct. 1876); the indigens of Port Lincoln on the West Coast split the\n virga:\u2014Fenditur usque ad urethram a parte infera penis between the\n ages of twelve and fourteen, says E. J. Eyre in 1845. Missionary\n Sch\u00fcrmann declares that they open the urethra. Gason describes in the\n Dieyerie tribe the operation \u201cKulpi\u201d which is performed when the beard\n is long enough for tying. The member is placed upon a slab of\n tree-bark, the urethra is incised with a quartz-flake mounted in a gum\n handle and a splinter of bark is inserted to keep the cut open. These\n men may appear naked before women who expect others to clothe\n themselves. Miklucho Maclay calls it \u201cMika\u201d in Central Australia: he\n was told by a squatter that of three hundred men only three or four\n had the member intact in order to get children, and that in one tribe\n the female births greatly outnumbered the male. Those mutilated also\n marry: when making water they sit like women slightly raising the\n penis, this in coition becomes flat and broad and the semen does not\n enter the matrix. The explorer believes that the deed of kind is more\n quickly done (?). Circumcision was also known to the New World.\n Herrera relates that certain Mexicans cut off the ears and prepuce of\n the newly-born child, causing many to die. The Jews did not adopt the\n female circumcision of Egypt described by Huet on Origen:\u2014\u201cCircumcisio\n feminarum fit resectione \u03c4\u1fc6\u03c2 \u03bd\u03c5\u03bc\u03c6\u1fc6\u03c2 (sive clitoridis) qu\u00e6 pars in\n Australium mulieribus ita crescit ut ferro est co\u00ebrcenda.\u201d Here we\n have the normal confusion between excision of the nymph\u00e6 (usually for\n fibulation) and circumcision of the clitoris. Bruce notices this\n clitoridectomy among the Abyssinians. Werne describes the excision on\n the Upper White Nile and I have noted the complicated operation among\n the Somali tribes. Girls in Dahome are circumcised by ancient _sages\n femmes_, and a woman in the natural state would be derided by every\n one (See my Mission to Dahome, ii. 159). The Australians cut out the\n clitoris, and as I have noted elsewhere extirpate the ovary for\n Malthusian purposes (Journ. Anthrop. Inst., vol. viii. of 1884).\n\nFootnote 181:\n\n Arab. \u201cKayraw\u00e1n\u201d which is still the common name for curlew; the peewit\n and plover being called (onomatopoetically) \u201cB\u00edbat\u201d and in Marocco\n Yah\u00fadi, certain impious Jews having been turned into the Vanellus\n Cristatus which still wears the black skull-cap of the Hebrews.\n\nFootnote 182:\n\n Arab. \u201cSaw\u00e1k\u00ed,\u201d the leats which irrigate the ground and are opened and\n closed with the foot.\n\nFootnote 183:\n\n The eighth (in altitude) of the many-storied Heavens.\n\nFootnote 184:\n\n Arab. \u201cIhramat li al-Sal\u00e1t,\u201d _i.e._ She pronounced the formula of\n Intention (Niyat) without which prayer is not valid, ending with\n Allaho Akbar = Allah is All-great. Thus she had clothed herself, as it\n were, in prayer and had retired from the world pro temp.\n\nFootnote 185:\n\n _i.e._ the prayers of the last day and night which she had neglected\n while in company with the Jinns. The Hammam is not a pure place to\n pray in; but the Farz or Koranic orisons should be recited there if\n the legal term be hard upon its end.\n\nFootnote 186:\n\n Slaves, male as well as female, are as fond of talking over their sale\n as European dames enjoy looking back upon the details of courtship and\n marriage.\n\nFootnote 187:\n\n Arab. \u201cDu\u2019\u00e1,\u201d = supplication, prayer, as opposed to \u201cSal\u00e1t\u201d = divine\n worship, \u201cprayers.\u201d For the technical meaning of the latter see vol.\n iv. 65. I have objected to Mr. Redhouse\u2019s distinction without a\n difference between Moslems\u2019 worship and prayer: voluntary prayers are\n not prohibited to them and their praises of the Lord are mingled, as\n amongst all worshippers, with petitions.\n\nFootnote 188:\n\n Al-Muzfir = the Twister; Zaf\u00e1ir al-Jinn = Adiantum capillus veneris.\n L\u00fal\u00faah = The Pearl, or Wild Heifer: see vol. ix. 218.\n\nFootnote 189:\n\n Arab. \u201cBi jildi \u2019l-bakar.\u201d I hope that captious critics will not find\n fault with my rendering, as they did in the case of Fals ahmar = a red\n cent, vol. i. 321.\n\nFootnote 190:\n\n Arab. \u201cFar\u00e1sah\u201d = lit. knowing a horse. Arabia abounds in tales\n illustrating abnormal powers of observation. I have noted this in vol.\n viii. 326.\n\nFootnote 191:\n\n _i.e._ the owner of this palace.\n\nFootnote 192:\n\n She made the Ghusl not because she had slept with a man, but because\n the impurity of Satan\u2019s presence called for the major ablution before\n prayer.\n\nFootnote 193:\n\n _i.e._ she conjoined the prayers of nightfall with those of dawn.\n\nFootnote 194:\n\n _i.e._ those of midday, mid-afternoon and sunset.\n\nFootnote 195:\n\n Arab. \u201cSahb\u00e1,\u201d red wine preferred for the morning draught.\n\nFootnote 196:\n\n The Apostle who delighted in women and perfumes. Persian poetry often\n alludes to the rose which, before white, was dyed red by his sweat.\n\nFootnote 197:\n\n For the etymology of Juln\u00e1r\u2014Byron\u2019s \u201cGulnare\u201d\u2014see vol. vii. 268. Here\n the rhymer seems to refer to its origin; Gul (Arab. Jul) in Persian a\n rose; and An\u00e1r, a pomegranate, which in Arabic becomes N\u00e1r = fire.\n\nFootnote 198:\n\n _i.e._ \u201cThe brilliant\u201d, the enlightened.\n\nFootnote 199:\n\n _i.e._ the moral beauty.\n\nFootnote 200:\n\n A phenomenon well known to spiritualists and to \u201cThe House and the\n Haunter.\u201d An old Dutch factory near Hungarian Fiume is famed for this\n mode of \u201cobsession\u201d: the inmates hear the sound of footfalls, etc.,\n behind them, especially upon the stairs, and see nothing.\n\nFootnote 201:\n\n The two short Koranic chapters, The Daybreak (cxiii.) and The Men\n (cxiv. and last) evidently so called from the words which occur in\n both (versets i., \u201cI take refuge with\u201d). These \u201cMa\u2019\u00fazat\u00e1ni\u201d, as they\n called, are recited as talismans or preventives against evil, and are\n worn as amulets inscribed on parchment; they are also often used in\n the five canonical prayers. I have translated them in vol. iii. 222.\n\nFootnote 202:\n\n The antistes or fugleman at prayer who leads off the orisons of the\n congregation; and applied to the Caliph as the head of the faith. See\n vol. ii. 203 and iv. 111.\n\nFootnote 203:\n\n Arab. \u201c\u2019Umm\u00e1r\u201d _i.e._ the Jinn, the \u201cspiritual creatures\u201d which walk\n this earth, and other non-humans who occupy it.\n\nFootnote 204:\n\n A parallel to this bodiless Head is the Giant Face, which appears to\n travellers (who expect it) in the Lower Valley of the Indus. See Sind\n Re-visited, ii. 155.\n\nFootnote 205:\n\n Arab. \u201cGhal\u00edl\u00ed\u201d = my yearning.\n\nFootnote 206:\n\n Arab. \u201cAhb\u00e1bu-n\u00e1\u201d plur. for singular = my beloved.\n\nFootnote 207:\n\n _i.e._ her return.\n\nFootnote 208:\n\n Arab. \u201cArja\u2019\u201d lit. return! but here meaning to stop. It is much used\n by donkeyboys from Cairo to Fez in the sense of \u201cGet out of the way.\u201d\n Hence the Spanish arre! which gave rise to arriero = a carrier, a\n muleteer.\n\nFootnote 209:\n\n Arab. \u201cAfras\u201d lit. = a better horseman.\n\nFootnote 210:\n\n A somewhat crippled quotation from Koran lvi. 87\u201388, \u201cAs for him who\n is of those brought near unto Allah, there shall be for him easance\n and basil and a Garden of Delights (Na\u2019\u00edm).\u201d\n\nFootnote 211:\n\n _i.e._ Queen Sunbeam.\n\nFootnote 212:\n\n See vol. i. 310 for this compound perfume which contains musk,\n ambergris and other essences.\n\nFootnote 213:\n\n I can hardly see the sequence of this or what the carpets have to do\n here.\n\nFootnote 214:\n\n Here, as before, some insertion has been found necessary.\n\nFootnote 215:\n\n Arab. \u201cDukh\u00falak\u201d lit. = thy entering, entrance, becoming familiar.\n\nFootnote 216:\n\n Or \u201cAnd in this there shall be to thee great honour over all the\n Jinn.\u201d\n\nFootnote 217:\n\n Mr. Payne thus amends the text, \u201cHow loathly is yonder Genie Meimoun!\n There is no eating (in his presence);\u201d referring back to p. 88.\n\nFootnote 218:\n\n _i.e._ \u201cI cannot bear to see him!\u201d\n\nFootnote 219:\n\n This assertion of dignity, which is permissible in royalty, has been\n absurdly affected by certain \u201cdames\u201d in Anglo-Egypt who are quite the\n reverse of queenly; and who degrade \u201cdignity\u201d to the vulgarest\n affectation.\n\nFootnote 220:\n\n _i.e._ \u201cMay thy visits never fail me!\u201d\n\nFootnote 221:\n\n _i.e._ Ash-coloured, verging upon white.\n\nFootnote 222:\n\n _i.e._ \u201cShe will double thy store of presents.\u201d\n\nFootnote 223:\n\n The Arab boy who, unlike the Jew, is circumcised long after infancy\n and often in his teens, thus making the ceremony conform after a\n fashion with our \u201cConfirmation,\u201d is displayed before being operated\n upon, to family and friends; and the seat is a couch covered with the\n richest tapestry. So far it resembles the bride-throne.\n\nFootnote 224:\n\n _Tohfah._\n\nFootnote 225:\n\n _i.e._ Hindu, Indian.\n\nFootnote 226:\n\n Japhet, son of Noah.\n\nFootnote 227:\n\n Mr. Payne translates \u201cTake this and glorify thyself withal over the\n people of the world.\u201d His reading certainly makes better sense, but I\n do not see how the text can carry the meaning. He also omits the\n bussing of the bosom, probably from artistic reasons.\n\nFootnote 228:\n\n A skit at Ish\u00e1k, making the Devil praise him. See vol. vii. 113.\n\nFootnote 229:\n\n Arab. \u201cMaw\u00e1zi\u2019\u201d (plur of Mauza\u2019) = lit. places, shifts, passages.\n\nFootnote 230:\n\n The bed (farsh) is, I presume, the straw-spread (?) store-room where\n the apples are preserved.\n\nFootnote 231:\n\n Arab. \u201cFarkh warak,\u201d which sounds like an atrocious vulgarism.\n\nFootnote 232:\n\n The Moss-rose; also the eglantine, or dog-rose, and the sweet-briar,\n whose leaf, unlike other roses, is so odorous.\n\nFootnote 233:\n\n The lily in Heb., derived by some from its six (shash) leaves, and by\n others from its vivid cheerful brightness. \u201cHis lips are lilies\u201d\n (Cant. v. 13), not in colour, but in odoriferous sweetness.\n\nFootnote 234:\n\n The barber is now the usual operator; but all operations began in\n Europe with the \u201cbarber-surgeon.\u201d\n\nFootnote 235:\n\n _Sic_ in text xii. 20. It may be a misprint for Ab\u00fa al-Tawaif, but it\n can also mean \u201cO Shaykh of the Tribes (of Jinns)!\u201d\n\nFootnote 236:\n\n The capital of King Al-Shisban.\n\nFootnote 237:\n\n Arab. \u201cFajj,\u201d the Spanish \u201cVega\u201d which, however, means a\n mountain-plain, a plain.\n\nFootnote 238:\n\n _i.e._ I am quite sure: emphatically.\n\nFootnote 239:\n\n _i.e._ all the Jinn\u2019s professions of affection and promises of\n protection were mere lies.\n\nFootnote 240:\n\n In the original this apodosis is wanting: see vol. vi. 203, 239.\n\nFootnote 241:\n\n Arab. \u201cD\u00e1hiyat al-Daw\u00e1h\u00ed;\u201d see vol. ii. 87.\n\nFootnote 242:\n\n Arab. \u201cAl-jabal al-Mukawwar\u201d = Cha\u00eene de montagnes de forme demi\n circulaire, from Kaur, a park, an enceinte.\n\nFootnote 243:\n\n Arab. \u201cR\u00fahi\u201d lit. my breath, the outward sign of life.\n\nFootnote 244:\n\n _i.e._ K\u00e1f.\n\nFootnote 245:\n\n _i.e._ A bit of burning charcoal.\n\nFootnote 246:\n\n Arab. \u201cAl-yad al-bayz\u00e1,\u201d = lit. The white hand: see vol. iv. 185.\n\nFootnote 247:\n\n Showing the antiquity of \u201cApr\u00e8s moi le d\u00e9luge,\u201d the fame of all old\n politicians and aged statesmen who can expect but a few years of life.\n These \u201cburning questions\u201d (_e.g._ the Bulgarian) may be smothered for\n a time, but the result is that they blaze forth with increased\n violence. We have to thank Lord Palmerston (an Irish landlord) for\n ignoring the growth of Fenianism and another aged statesman for a\n sturdy attempt to disunite the United Kingdom. An old notion wants\n young blood at its head.\n\nFootnote 248:\n\n Suggesting the nursery rhyme:\n\n Fee, fo, fum,\n I smell the blood of an Englishman.\n\nFootnote 249:\n\n _i.e._ why not at once make an end of her.\n\nFootnote 250:\n\n The well-known war-cry.\n\nFootnote 251:\n\n Lit. \u201cSmoke\u201d pop. applied, like our word, to tobacco. The latter,\n however, is not here meant.\n\nFootnote 252:\n\n Arab. \u201cGhur\u00e1b al-bayn,\u201d of the wold or of parting. See vol. vii. 226.\n\nFootnote 253:\n\n Arab. \u201cHal\u00e1wah\u201d: see vol. iv. 60.\n\nFootnote 254:\n\n Here the vocative particle \u201cY\u00e1\u201d is omitted.\n\nFootnote 255:\n\n Lit. \u201cThe long-necked (bird)\u201d before noticed with the Rukh (Roc) in\n vol. v. 122. Here it becomes a Princess, daughter of Bahr\u00e1m-i-G\u00far\n (Bahram of the Onager, his favourite game), the famous Persian king in\n the fifth century, a contemporary of Theodosius the younger and\n Honorius. The \u201cAnk\u00e1\u201d is evidently the Iranian S\u00edmurgh.\n\nFootnote 256:\n\n \u201cChamber\u201d is becoming a dangerous word in English. Roars of laughter\n from the gods greeted the great actor\u2019s declamation \u201cThe bed has not\n been slept in! Her little chamber is empty!\u201d\n\nFootnote 257:\n\n Choice Gift of the breast (or heart).\n\nFootnote 258:\n\n From the Calc. Edit. (1814\u201318), Nights cxcvi.-cc., vol. ii., pp.\n 367\u2013378. The translation has been compared and collated with that of\n Langl\u00e8s (Paris, 1814), appended to his Edition of the Voyages of\n Sindbad. The story is exceedingly clever and well deserves\n translation.\n\nFootnote 259:\n\n It is regretable that this formula has not been preserved throughout\n The Nights: it affords, I have noticed, a pleasing break to the long\n course of narrative.\n\nFootnote 260:\n\n Arab. \u201cBan\u00e1t-al-haw\u00e1,\u201d lit. daughters of love, usually meaning an\n Anonyma, a fille de joie; but here the girl is of good repute, and the\n offensive term must be modified to a gay, frolicsome lass.\n\nFootnote 261:\n\n Arab. \u201cJabhat,\u201d the lintel opposed to the threshold.\n\nFootnote 262:\n\n Arab. \u201cGhatt\u00ed,\u201d still the popular term said to a child showing its\n nakedness, or a lady of pleasure who insults a man by displaying any\n part of her person.\n\nFootnote 263:\n\n She is compared with a flashing blade (her face) now drawn from its\n sheath (her hair) then hidden by it.\n\nFootnote 264:\n\n The \u201cMuajjalah\u201d or money paid down before consummation was about \u00a325;\n and the \u201cMu\u2019ajjalah\u201d or coin to be paid contingent on divorce was\n about \u00a375. In the Calc. Edit. ii. 371, both dowers are \u00a335.\n\nFootnote 265:\n\n _i.e._ All the blemishes which justify returning a slave to the\n slave-dealer.\n\nFootnote 266:\n\n Media: see vol. ii. 94. The \u201cDaylamite prison\u201d was one of many in\n Baghdad.\n\nFootnote 267:\n\n See vol. v. 199. I may remark that the practise of bathing after\n copulation was kept up by both sexes in ancient Rome. The custom may\n have originated in days when human senses were more acute. I have seen\n an Arab horse object to be mounted by the master when the latter had\n not washed after sleeping with a woman.\n\nFootnote 268:\n\n On the morning after a happy night the bridegroom still offers coffee\n and Halw\u00e1 to friends.\n\nFootnote 269:\n\n _i.e._ More bewitching.\n\nFootnote 270:\n\n Arab. \u201cShar\u00edf\u00ed\u201d more usually Ashrafi, the Port. Xerafim, a gold coin =\n 6s.\u20137s.\n\nFootnote 271:\n\n The oft-repeated Koranic quotation.\n\nFootnote 272:\n\n Arab. \u201c\u2019Irk\u201d: our phrase is \u201cthe apple of the eye.\u201d\n\nFootnote 273:\n\n Meaning that he was a Sayyid or a Shar\u00edf.\n\nFootnote 274:\n\n _i.e._ than a Jew or a Christian. So the Sultan, when appealed to by\n these religionists, who were as usual squabbling and fighting,\n answered, \u201cWhat matter if the dog tear the hog or the hog tear the\n dog\u201d?\n\nFootnote 275:\n\n The \u201cShar\u00ed\u2019at\u201d forbidding divorce by force.\n\nFootnote 276:\n\n _i.e._ protect my honour.\n\nFootnote 277:\n\n For this proverb see vol. v. 138. I have remarked that \u201cShame\u201d is not\n a passion in Europe as in the East; the Western equivalent to the\n Arab. \u201cHay\u00e1\u201d would be the Latin \u201cPudor.\u201d\n\nFootnote 278:\n\n Arab. \u201cTal\u00e1kan b\u00e1inan,\u201d here meaning a triple divorce before\n witnesses, making it irrevocable.\n\nFootnote 279:\n\n _i.e._ who had played him that trick.\n\nFootnote 280:\n\n The Bresl. Edit. (vol. xii. pp. 50\u2013116, Nights dcccclviii-dcccclxv.)\n entitles it \u201cTale of Abu al-Hasan the Damascene and his son S\u00edd\u00ed Nur\n al-D\u00edn \u2019Al\u00ed.\u201d S\u00edd\u00ed means simply \u201cmy lord\u201d, but here becomes part of\n the name, a practice perpetuated in Zanzibar. See vol. v. 283.\n\nFootnote 281:\n\n _i.e._ at the hours of canonical prayers and other suitable times he\n made an especial orison (du\u2019\u00e1) for issue.\n\nFootnote 282:\n\n See vol. i. 85, for the traditional witchcraft of Babylonia.\n\nFootnote 283:\n\n _i.e._ More or less thoroughly.\n\nFootnote 284:\n\n _i.e._ \u201cHe who quitteth not his native country diverteth not himself\n with a sight of the wonders of the world.\u201d\n\nFootnote 285:\n\n For similar sayings, see vol. ix. 257, and my Pilgrimage i. 127.\n\nFootnote 286:\n\n _i.e._ relying upon, etc.\n\nFootnote 287:\n\n The Egyptian term for a khan, called in Persia caravanserai\n (karw\u00e1n-ser\u00e1\u00ed); and in Marocco funduk, from the Greek; whence the\n Spanish \u201cfonda.\u201d See vol. i. 92.\n\nFootnote 288:\n\n Arab. \u201cBaliyah,\u201d to jingle with \u201cB\u00e1biliyah.\u201d\n\nFootnote 289:\n\n As a rule whenever this old villain appears in The Nights, it is a\n signal for an outburst of obscenity. Here, however, we are _quittes\n pour la peur_. See vol. v. 65 for some of his abominations.\n\nFootnote 290:\n\n The lines are in vols. viii. 279 and ix. 197. I quote Mr. Payne.\n\nFootnote 291:\n\n Lady or princess of the Fair (ones).\n\nFootnote 292:\n\n _i.e._ of buying.\n\nFootnote 293:\n\n Arab. \u201c\u00c1z\u00e1n-h\u00fa,\u201d lit. = its ears.\n\nFootnote 294:\n\n Here again the policeman is made a villain of the deepest dye; bad\n enough to gratify the intelligence of his deadliest enemy, a\n lodging-keeper in London.\n\nFootnote 295:\n\n _i.e._ You are welcome to it and so it becomes lawful (_hal\u00e1l_) to\n you.\n\nFootnote 296:\n\n Arab. \u201cSijn al-Dam,\u201d the Carcere duro inasprito (to speak Triestine),\n where men convicted or even accused of bloodshed were confined.\n\nFootnote 297:\n\n Arab. \u201cMab\u00e1sim\u201d; plur. of Mabsim, a smiling mouth which shows the\n foreteeth.\n\nFootnote 298:\n\n The branchlet, as usual, is the youth\u2019s slender form.\n\nFootnote 299:\n\n _Subaudi_, \u201cAn ye disdain my love.\u201d\n\nFootnote 300:\n\n In the text \u201csleep.\u201d\n\nFootnote 301:\n\n \u201cThem\u201d and \u201chim\u201d for \u201cher.\u201d\n\nFootnote 302:\n\n \u2019Urk\u00fab, a Jew of Yathrib or Khaybar, immortalised in the A.P. (i. 454)\n as \u201cmore promise-breaking than \u2019Urk\u00fab.\u201d\n\nFootnote 303:\n\n Uncle of Mohammed. See vol. viii. 172.\n\nFootnote 304:\n\n First cousin of Mohammed. See ib.\n\nFootnote 305:\n\n This threat of \u201c\u2019Orf with her \u2019ead\u201d shows the Caliph\u2019s lordliness.\n\nFootnote 306:\n\n Arab. \u201cAl-Bashkh\u00e1nah.\u201d\n\nFootnote 307:\n\n _i.e._ Amen. See vol. ix. 131.\n\nFootnote 308:\n\n When asked, on Doomsday, his justification for having slain her.\n\nFootnote 309:\n\n Khorasan which included our Afghanistan, turbulent then as now, was in\n a chronic state of rebellion during the latter part of Al-Rashid\u2019s\n reign.\n\nFootnote 310:\n\n The brutality of a Moslem mob on such occasions is phenomenal: no\n fellow-feeling makes them decently kind. And so at executions even\n women will take an active part in insulting and tormenting the\n criminal, tearing his hair, spitting in his face and so forth. It is\n the instinctive brutality with which wild beasts and birds tear to\n pieces a wounded companion.\n\nFootnote 311:\n\n The popular way of stopping h\u00e6morrhage by plunging the stump into\n burning oil which continued even in Europe till Ambrose Par\u00e9 taught\n men to take up the arteries.\n\nFootnote 312:\n\n _i.e._ folk of good family.\n\nFootnote 313:\n\n _i.e._ the result of thy fervent prayers to Allah for me.\n\nFootnote 314:\n\n Arab. \u201cAl-Ab\u00e1r\u00edk\u201d plur. of Ibr\u00edk, an ewer containing water for the\n Wuzu-ablution. I have already explained that a Moslem wishing to be\n ceremonially pure, cannot wash as Europeans do, in a basin whose\n contents are fouled by the first touch.\n\nFootnote 315:\n\n Arab. \u201cN\u00e1ihah\u201d, the pr\u00e6fica or myriologist. See vol. i. 311. The\n proverb means, \u201cIf you want a thing done, do it yourself.\u201d\n\nFootnote 316:\n\n Arab. \u201cBurka\u2019,\u201d the face veil of Egypt, Syria, and Arabia with two\n holes for the eyes, and the end hanging to the waist, a great contrast\n with the \u201cLith\u00e1m\u201d or coquettish fold of transparent muslin affected by\n modest women in Stambul.\n\nFootnote 317:\n\n _i.e._ donned petticoat-trousers and walking boots other than those\n she was wont to wear.\n\nFootnote 318:\n\n \u201cSurah\u201d (Koranic chapter) maybe a clerical error for \u201cS\u00farah\u201d (with a\n S\u00e1d) = sort, fashion (of food).\n\nFootnote 319:\n\n This is solemn religious chaff; the Shaykh had doubtless often dipped\n his hand abroad in such dishes; but like a good Moslem, he contented\n himself at home with wheaten scones and olives, a kind of sacramental\n food like bread and wine in southern Europe. But his retort would be\n acceptable to the True Believer who, the strictest of conservatives,\n prides himself on imitating in all points, the sayings and doings of\n the Apostle.\n\nFootnote 320:\n\n _i.e._ animals that died without being ceremonially killed.\n\nFootnote 321:\n\n Koran ii. 168. This is from the Chapter of the Cow where \u201cthat which\n dieth of itself (carrion), blood, pork, and that over which other name\n but that of Allah (_i.e._ idols) hath been invoked\u201d are forbidden. But\n the verset humanely concludes: \u201cWhoso, however, shall eat them by\n constraint, without desire, or as a transgressor, then no sin shall be\n upon him.\u201d\n\nFootnote 322:\n\n _i.e._, son of Simeon = a Christian.\n\nFootnote 323:\n\n Arab. and Heb. \u201cHaykal,\u201d suggesting the idea of large space, a temple,\n a sanctuary, a palace which bear a suspicious likeness to the Accadian\n \u00ca-kal or Great House = the old Egyptian Perao (Pharaoh?), and the\n Japanese \u201cMikado.\u201d\n\nFootnote 324:\n\n Wine, carrion and pork being lawful to the Moslem if used to save\n life. The former is also the sovereignest thing for inward troubles,\n flatulence, indigestion, etc. See vol. v. 2, 24.\n\nFootnote 325:\n\n Arab. \u201cN\u00e1zilah,\u201d _i.e._ a curse coming down from Heaven.\n\nFootnote 326:\n\n Here and below, a translation of her name.\n\nFootnote 327:\n\n \u201cA picture of Paradise which is promised to the God-fearing! Therein\n are rivers of water which taint not; and rivers of milk whose taste\n changeth not; and rivers of wine, etc.\u201d\u2014Koran xlvii. 16.\n\nFootnote 328:\n\n Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter,\n Sermons and soda-water the day after.\n\n _Don Juan_ ii. 178.\n\nFootnote 329:\n\n The ox (Bakar) and the bull (Taur, vol. i. 16) are the Moslem emblems\n of stupidity, as with us are the highly intelligent ass and the most\n sagacious goose.\n\nFootnote 330:\n\n In Arab. \u201c\u2019Ud\u201d means primarily wood; then a lute. See vol. ii. 100.\n The Muezzin, like the schoolmaster, is popularly supposed to be a\n fool.\n\nFootnote 331:\n\n I have noticed that among Arab lovers it was the fashion to be jealous\n of the mistress\u2019s nightly phantom which, as amongst mesmerists, is the\n lover\u2019s embodied will.\n\nFootnote 332:\n\n _i.e._ I will lay down my life to save thee from sorrow\u2014a common-place\n hyperbole of love.\n\nFootnote 333:\n\n Arab. \u201cKatl.\u201d I have noticed the Hibernian \u201ckilt\u201d which is not a bull\n but, like most provincialisms and Americanisms, a survival, an\n archaism. In the old Frisian dialect, which agrees with English in\n more words than \u201cbread, butter and cheese,\u201d we find the primary\n meaning of terms which with us have survived only in their secondary\n senses, _e.g._ killen = to beat and slagen = to strike. Here is its\n great value to the English philologist. When the Irishman complains\n that he is \u201ckilt\u201d we know through the Frisian what he really means.\n\nFootnote 334:\n\n The decency of this description is highly commendable and I may note\n that the Bresl. Edit. is comparatively free from erotic pictures.\n\nFootnote 335:\n\n _i.e._ \u201cI commit him to thy charge under God.\u201d\n\nFootnote 336:\n\n This is an Americanism, but it translates passing well \u201cAl-\u2019il\u00e1j\u201d =\n insertion.\n\nFootnote 337:\n\n Arab. (and Heb.) \u201cTarjum\u00e1n\u201d = a dragoman, for which see vol. i. 100.\n In the next tale it will occur with the sense of polyglottic.\n\nFootnote 338:\n\n See vol. 1 p. 35.\n\nFootnote 339:\n\n After putting to death the unjust Prefect.\n\nFootnote 340:\n\n Arab. \u201cLajlaj.\u201d See vol. ix. 322.\n\nFootnote 341:\n\n Arab. \u201cMaw\u00e1lid\u201d lit. = nativity festivals (plur. of Maulid). See vol.\n ix. 289.\n\nFootnote 342:\n\n Bresl. Edit., vol. xii. pp. 116\u2013237, Nights dcccclxvi-dcccclxxix. Mr.\n Payne entitles it \u201cEl Abbas and the King\u2019s Daughter of Baghdad.\u201d\n\nFootnote 343:\n\n \u201cOf the Shayb\u00e1n tribe.\u201d I have noticed (vol. ii. 1) how loosely the\n title Malik (King) is applied in Arabic and in medi\u00e6val Europe. But it\n is ultra-Shakespearian to place a Badawi King in Baghdad, the capital\n founded by the Abbasides and ruled by those Caliphs till their\n downfall.\n\nFootnote 344:\n\n _i.e._ Ir\u00e1k Arab\u00ed (Chald\u00e6a) and \u2019Ajami (Western Persia.) For the\n meaning of Al-Irak, which always, except in verse, takes the article,\n see vol. ii. 132.\n\nFootnote 345:\n\n See supra, p. 185. Mr. Payne suspects a clerical error for\n \u201cTurkum\u00e1niyah\u201d = Turcomanish; but this is hardly acceptable.\n\nFootnote 346:\n\n As fabulous a personage as \u201cKing Kays.\u201d\n\nFootnote 347:\n\n Possibly a clerical error for Zab\u00edd, the famous capital of the Tah\u00e1mah\n or lowlands of Al-Yaman.\n\nFootnote 348:\n\n The Moslem\u2019s Holy Land whose capital is Meccah.\n\nFootnote 349:\n\n A hinted protest against making a picture or a statue which the artist\n cannot quicken; as this process will be demanded of him on Doomsday.\n Hence also the Princess is called M\u00e1riyah (Maria, Mary) a non-Moslem\n name.\n\nFootnote 350:\n\n _i.e._ day and night, for ever.\n\nFootnote 351:\n\n Koran xxxiii. 38; this concludes a \u201crevelation\u201d concerning the divorce\n and marriage to Mohammed of the wife of his adopted son Zayd. Such\n union, superstitiously held incestuous by all Arabs, was a terrible\n scandal to the rising Faith, and could be abated only by the\n \u201cCommandment of Allah.\u201d It is hard to believe that a man could act\n honestly after such fashion; but we have seen in our day a statesman\n famed for sincerity and uprightness honestly doing things the most\n dishonest possible. Zayd and Abu Lahab (chap. cxi. i.) are the only\n contemporaries of Mohammed named in the Koran.\n\nFootnote 352:\n\n _i.e._ darkened behind him.\n\nFootnote 353:\n\n Here we have again, as so common in Arab romances, the expedition of a\n modified Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.\n\nFootnote 354:\n\n Arab. \u201cArzi-h\u00e1\u201d = in its earth, its outlying suburbs.\n\nFootnote 355:\n\n The king\u2019s own tribe.\n\nFootnote 356:\n\n _i.e._ he was always \u201cspoiling for a fight.\u201d\n\nFootnote 357:\n\n In the text the two last sentences are spoken by Amir and the\n story-teller suddenly resumes the third person.\n\nFootnote 358:\n\n Mr. Payne translates this \u201cAnd God defend the right\u201d (of plunder\n according to the Arabs).\n\nFootnote 359:\n\n Arab. \u201cLill\u00e1hi darruk\u201d; see vol. iv. 20. Captain Lockett (p. 28)\n justly remarks that \u201cit is a sort of encomiastic exclamation of\n frequent occurrence in Arabic and much easier to comprehend than\n translate.\u201d Darra signifies flowing freely (as milk from the udder)\n and was metaphorically transferred to bounty and to indoles or natural\n capacity. Thus the phrase means \u201cyour flow of milk is by or through\n Allah,\u201d _i.e._, of unusual abundance.\n\nFootnote 360:\n\n The words are euphemistic: we should say \u201ccomest thou to our succour.\u201d\n\nFootnote 361:\n\n _i.e._ If his friend the Devil be overstrong for thee, flee him rather\n than be slain; as\n\n He who fights and runs away\n Shall live to fight another day.\n\nFootnote 362:\n\n _i.e._ I look to Allah for aid (and keep my powder dry).\n\nFootnote 363:\n\n _i.e._ to the next world.\n\nFootnote 364:\n\n This falling backwards in laughter commonly occurs during the earlier\n tales; it is, however, very rare amongst the Badawin.\n\nFootnote 365:\n\n _i.e._ as he were a flying Jinni, swooping down and pouncing\n falcon-like upon a mortal from the upper air.\n\nFootnote 366:\n\n This may be (reading Imraan = man, for Amran = matter) \u201ca masterful\n man\u201d; but I can hardly accept it.\n\nFootnote 367:\n\n Arab. \u201cBunduk\u00ed,\u201d the adj. of Bunduk, which the Moslems evidently\n learned from Slav sources; Venedik being the Dalmatian corruption of\n Venezia. See Dubrovenedik in vol. ii. 219.\n\nFootnote 368:\n\n _i.e._ the castle\u2019s square.\n\nFootnote 369:\n\n In sign of quitting possession. Chess in Europe is rarely played for\n money, with the exception of public matches: this, however, is not the\n case amongst Easterns, who are also for the most part as tricky as an\n old lady at cribbage rightly named.\n\nFootnote 370:\n\n _i.e._ he was as eloquent and courtly as he could be.\n\nFootnote 371:\n\n Arab. \u201cY\u00e1 Z\u00ednat al-Nis\u00e1,\u201d which may either be a P.N. or a polite\n address as _Bella f\u00e9_ (Handsome woman) is to any feminine in Southern\n Italy.\n\nFootnote 372:\n\n Arab. \u201cRaas Ghanam\u201d: this form of expressing singularity is common to\n Arabic and the Eastern languages, which it has influenced.\n\nFootnote 373:\n\n This most wearisome form of politeness is common in the Moslem world,\n where men fondly think that the more you see of them the more you like\n of them. Yet their Proverbial Philosophy (\u201cthe wisdom of many and the\n wit of one\u201d) strongly protests against the practice: I have already\n quoted Mohammed\u2019s saying, \u201cZur ghibban, tazid Hibban\u201d\u2014visits rare keep\n friendship fair.\n\nFootnote 374:\n\n This clause in the text is evidently misplaced (vol. xii. 144.)\n\nFootnote 375:\n\n Arab. Dara\u2019 or Dira\u2019 = armour, whether of leather or metal; here the\n coat worn under the mail.\n\nFootnote 376:\n\n Called from Rustak, a quarter of Baghdad. For Rust\u00e1k town see vol. vi.\n 289.\n\nFootnote 377:\n\n From Damietta comes our \u201cdimity.\u201d The classical name was Tami\u00e1this\n apparently Coptic gr\u00e6cised: the old town on the shore famed in\n Crusading times was destroyed in A.H. 648 = 1251.\n\nFootnote 378:\n\n Easterns are always startled by a sudden summons to the presence\n either of King or Kazi: here the messenger gives the youth to\n understand that it is in kindness, not in anger.\n\nFootnote 379:\n\n _i.e._ in not sending for thee to court instead of allowing thee to\n live in the city without guest-rite.\n\nFootnote 380:\n\n In sign of agitation: the phrase has often been used in this sense and\n we find it also in Al-Mas\u2019udi.\n\nFootnote 381:\n\n I would remind the reader that the \u201cDaw\u00e1t\u201d (ink-case) contains the\n reed-pens.\n\nFootnote 382:\n\n Two well-known lovers.\n\nFootnote 383:\n\n On such occasions the old woman (and Easterns are hard de dolo\n vetularum) always assents to the sayings of her prey, well knowing\n what the doings will inevitably be.\n\nFootnote 384:\n\n Travellers, Nomads, Wild Arabs.\n\nFootnote 385:\n\n Whither they bear thee back dead with the women crying and keening.\n\nFootnote 386:\n\n Arab. Azn\u00e1n\u00ed = emaciated me.\n\nFootnote 387:\n\n Either the Deity or the Love-god.\n\nFootnote 388:\n\n Arab. \u201cHim\u00e0\u201d = the tribal domain, a word which has often occurred.\n\nFootnote 389:\n\n \u201cO ye who believe! seek help through patience and prayer: verily,\n Allah is with the patient.\u201d Koran ii. 148. The passage refers to one\n of the battles, Bedr or Ohod.\n\nFootnote 390:\n\n Arab. \u201cSirr\u201d (a secret) and afterwards \u201cKitm\u00e1n\u201d (concealment) _i.e._\n Keeping a lover down-hearted.\n\nFootnote 391:\n\n Arab. \u201c\u2019Alkam\u201d = the bitter gourd, colocynth; more usually \u201cHanzal.\u201d\n\nFootnote 392:\n\n \u201cFor Jaz\u00edrah\u201d = insula, island, used in the sense of \u201cpeninsula,\u201d see\n vol. i. 2.\n\nFootnote 393:\n\n Meccah and Al-Medinah. Pilgrimage i. 338 and ii. 57, used in the\n proverb \u201cSharr fi al-Haramayn\u201d = wickedness in the two Holy Places.\n\nFootnote 394:\n\n Arab. Al-hamd (o li\u2019llah).\n\nFootnote 395:\n\n _i.e._ play, such as the chase, or an earnest matter, such as war,\n etc.\n\nFootnote 396:\n\n Arab. \u201cMizwad,\u201d or Mizw\u00e1d = lit. provision-bag, from Z\u00e1d = viaticum;\n afterwards called Kirbah (pron. Girbah, the popular term), and Sakl.\n The latter is given in the Dictionaries as Ask\u00e1lah = scala, \u00e9chelle,\n stage, plank.\n\nFootnote 397:\n\n Those blood-feuds are most troublesome to the traveller, who may be\n delayed by them for months: and, until a peace be patched up, he will\n never be allowed to pass from one tribe to their enemies. A quarrel of\n the kind prevented my crossing Arabia from Al-Medinah to Maskat\n (Pilgrimage, ii. 297), and another in Africa from visiting the head of\n the Tanganyika Lake. In all such journeys the traveller who has to\n fight against Time is almost sure to lose.\n\nFootnote 398:\n\n _i.e._ his fighting-men.\n\nFootnote 399:\n\n The popular treatment of a detected horse-thief, for which see\n Burckhardt, Travels in Arabia (1829), and Notes on the Bedouins and\n Wahabys (1830).\n\nFootnote 400:\n\n Arab. \u201cAsh\u00edrah\u201d: see vol. vii. 121.\n\nFootnote 401:\n\n Arab. \u201cMus\u00e1fahah\u201d: see vol. vi. 287.\n\nFootnote 402:\n\n In the text, \u201cTo the palace of the king\u2019s daughter.\u201d\n\nFootnote 403:\n\n Arab. \u201cMarj Sal\u00ed\u2019\u201d = cleft meadow (here and below). Mr. Payne suggests\n that this may be a mistranscription for Marj Sal\u00ed\u2019 (with a S\u00e1d) = a\n treeless champaign. It appears to me a careless blunder for the Marj\n akhzar (green meadow) before mentioned.\n\nFootnote 404:\n\n The palace, even without especial and personal reasons, not being the\n place for a religious and scrupulous woman.\n\nFootnote 405:\n\n \u201c_i.e._ those of El Aziz, who had apparently entered the city or\n passed through it on their way to the camp of El Abbas.\u201d This is Mr.\n Payne\u2019s suggestion.\n\nFootnote 406:\n\n Arab. \u201cHatif\u201d; gen. = an ally.\n\nFootnote 407:\n\n Not wishing to touch the hand of a strange woman.\n\nFootnote 408:\n\n _i.e._ a mere passer-by, a stranger; alluding to her taunt.\n\nFootnote 409:\n\n The Bactrian or double-humped dromedary. See vol. iii. 67. Al-Mas\u2019udi\n (vii. 169) calls it \u201cJamal f\u00e1lij,\u201d lit. = the palsy-camel.\n\nFootnote 410:\n\n _i.e._ Stars and planets.\n\nFootnote 411:\n\n _i.e._ Sang in tenor tones which are always in falsetto.\n\nFootnote 412:\n\n Arab. Tahz\u00edb = reforming morals, amending conduct, chastening style.\n\nFootnote 413:\n\n _i.e._ so as to show only the whites, as happens to the \u201cmesmerised.\u201d\n\nFootnote 414:\n\n _i.e._ for love of and longing for thy youth.\n\nFootnote 415:\n\n _i.e._ leather from Al-T\u00e1if: see vol. viii. 303. The text has by\n mistake T\u00e1lif\u00ed.\n\nFootnote 416:\n\n _i.e._ she was at her last breath, when cured by the magic of love.\n\nFootnote 417:\n\n _i.e._ violateth my private apartment.\n\nFootnote 418:\n\n The voice (Sh\u00e1zz) is left doubtful: it may be girl\u2019s, nightingale\u2019s,\n or dove\u2019s.\n\nFootnote 419:\n\n Arab. \u201cHib\u00e1,\u201d partly induced by the rhyme. In desert countries the\n comparison will be appreciated: in Sind the fine dust penetrates into\n a closed book.\n\nFootnote 420:\n\n _i.e._ he smuggled it in under his \u2019Ab\u00e1-cloak: perhaps it was a better\n brand than that made in the monastery.\n\nFootnote 421:\n\n _i.e._ the delights of Paradise promised by the Prophet.\n\nFootnote 422:\n\n Again, \u201che\u201d for \u201cshe,\u201d making the lover\u2019s address more courtly and\n delicate.\n\nFootnote 423:\n\n _i.e._ take refuge with Allah from the evil eye of her charms.\n\nFootnote 424:\n\n _i.e._ an thou prank or adorn thyself: I have translated literally,\n but the couplet strongly suggests \u201cnonsense verses.\u201d\n\nFootnote 425:\n\n Arab. \u201cSant\u00edr:\u201d Lane (M. E., chapt. xviii) describes it as resembling\n the Kan\u00fan (dulcimer or zither) but with two oblique peg-pieces instead\n of one and double chords of wire (not treble strings of lamb\u2019s gut)\n and played upon with two sticks instead of the little plectra. Dozy\n also gives Sant\u00edr from \u03c8\u03b1\u03bb\u03c4\u03ae\u03c1\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd, the Fsaltr\u00fan of Daniel.\n\nFootnote 426:\n\n _i.e._ That which is ours shall be thine, and that which is incumbent\n on thee shall be incumbent on us = we will assume thy debts and\n responsibilities.\n\nFootnote 427:\n\n This passage is sadly disjointed in the text: I have followed Mr.\n Payne\u2019s ordering.\n\nFootnote 428:\n\n The Arab of noble tribe is always the first to mount his own mare: he\n also greatly fears her being put out to full speed by a stranger,\n holding that this should be reserved for occasions of life and death;\n and that it can be done to perfection only once during the animal\u2019s\n life.\n\nFootnote 429:\n\n The red (Ahmar) dromedary like the white-red (Sahab) were most valued\n because they are supposed best to bear the heats of noon; and thus\n \u201cred camels\u201d is proverbially used for wealth. When the head of Abu\n Jahl was brought in after the Battle of Bedr, Mahommed exclaimed,\n \u201c\u2019Tis more acceptable to me than a red camel!\u201d\n\nFootnote 430:\n\n _i.e._ Couriers on dromedaries, the only animals used for sending\n messages over long distances.\n\nFootnote 431:\n\n These guest-fires are famous in Arab poetry. So Al-Har\u00edr\u00ed (Ass. of\n Banu Haram) sings:\u2014\n\n A beacon fire I ever kindled high;\n\n _i.e._ on the hill-tops near the camp, to guide benighted travellers.\n Also the Lam\u00edyat al-Ajam says:\u2014\n\n The fire of hospitality is ever lit on the high stations.\n\n This natural telegraph was used in a host of ways by the Arabs of The\n Ignorance; for instance, when a hated guest left the camp they lighted\n the \u201cFire of Rejection,\u201d and cried, \u201cAllah, bear him far from us!\u201d\n Nothing was more ignoble than to quench such fire: hence in obloquy of\n the Faz\u00e1r tribe it was said:\u2014\n\n Ne\u2019er trust Faz\u00e1r with an ass, for they\n Once roasted ass-pizzle, the rabble rout:\n And, when sight they guest, to their dams they say,\n \u201cPiss quick on the guest-fire and put it out!\u201d\n\n (Al-Mas\u2019\u00fadi vi. 140.)\n\nFootnote 432:\n\n _i.e._ of rare wood, set with rubies.\n\nFootnote 433:\n\n _i.e._ whose absence pained us.\n\nFootnote 434:\n\n Mr. Payne and I have long puzzled over these enigmatical and possibly\n corrupt lines: he wrote to me in 1884, \u201cThis is the first piece that\n has beaten me.\u201d In the couplet above (vol. xii. 230) \u201cRayh\u00e1ni\u201d may\n mean \u201cmy basil-plant\u201d or \u201cmy food\u201d (the latter Koranic), \u201cmy\n compassion,\u201d etc.; and S\u00fas\u00e1ni is equally ancipitous \u201cMy lilies\u201d or \u201cmy\n sleep\u201d: see Bard al-Susan = les douceurs du sommeil in Al-Mas\u2019\u00fadi vii.\n 168.\n\nFootnote 435:\n\n The \u201cNik\u00e1\u201d or sand hill is the swell of the throat: the Ghaur or\n lowland is the fall of the waist: the flower is the breast anent which\n Mr. Payne appropriately quotes the well-known lines of Fletcher:\n\n \u201cHide, O hide those hills of snow,\n That thy frozen bosom bears,\n _On whose tops the pinks that grow_\n Are of those that April wears.\u201d\n\nFootnote 436:\n\n Easterns are right in regarding a sleepy languorous look as one of the\n charms of women, and an incitement to love because suggestive only of\n bed. Some men also find the same pleasure in a lacrymose expression of\n countenance, seeming always to call for consolation: one of the most\n successful women I know owes her exceptional good fortune to this\n charm.\n\nFootnote 437:\n\n Arab. \u201cH\u00e1jib,\u201d eyebrow or chamberlain; see vol. iii. 233. The pun is\n classical used by a host of poets including Al-Har\u00edr\u00ed.\n\nFootnote 438:\n\n Arab. \u201cTarfah.\u201d There is a Tarfia Island in the Guadalquivir and in\n Gibraltar a \u201cTarfah Alto\u201d opposed to \u201cTarfah bajo.\u201d But it must not be\n confounded with Tarf = a side, found in the Maroccan term for \u201cThe\n Rock\u201d Jabal al-Tarf = Mountain of the Point (of Europe).\n\nFootnote 439:\n\n For Solomon and his flying carpet see vol. iii. 267.\n\nFootnote 440:\n\n Arab. \u201cBil\u00e1d al-Maghrib (al-Aksa,\u201d in full) = the Farthest Land of the\n setting Sun, shortly called Al-Maghrib and the people \u201cMaghribi.\u201d The\n earliest occurrence of our name Morocco or Marocco I find in the\n \u201cMar\u00e1kiyah\u201d of Al-Mas\u2019udi (iii. 241), who apparently applies it to a\n district whither the Berbers migrated.\n\nFootnote 441:\n\n The necklace-pearls are the cup-bearer\u2019s teeth.\n\nFootnote 442:\n\n In these unregenerate days they would often be summoned to the houses\n of the royal family; but now they had \u201cgot religion\u201d and, becoming\n freed women, were resolved to be \u201crespectable.\u201d In not a few Moslem\n countries men of wealth and rank marry professional singers who,\n however loose may have been their artistic lives, mostly distinguish\n themselves by decency of behaviour often pushed to the extreme of\n rigour. Also jeune coquette, vieille d\u00e9vote, is a rule of the world,\n Eastern and Western.\n\nFootnote 443:\n\n Bresl. Edit., vol. xii. p. 383 (Night mi). The king is called as usual\n \u201cShahrb\u00e1n,\u201d which is nearly synonymous with Shahry\u00e1r.\n\nFootnote 444:\n\n _i.e._ the old Sindibad-N\u00e1meh (see vol. vi. 122), or \u201cThe Malice of\n Women\u201d which the Bresl. Edit. entitles, \u201cTale of the King and his Son\n and his Wife and the Seven Wazirs.\u201d Here it immediately follows the\n Tale of Al-Abbas and Mariyah and occupies pp. 237\u2013383 of vol. xii.\n (Nights dcccclxxix-m).\n\nFootnote 445:\n\n _i.e._ Those who commit it.\n\nFootnote 446:\n\n The connection between this pompous introduction and the story which\n follows is not apparent. The \u201cTale of the Two Kings and the Wazir\u2019s\n Daughters\u201d is that of Shahrazad told in the third person, in fact a\n rechauff\u00e9 of the Introduction. But as some three years have passed\n since the marriage, and the d\u00e9no\u00fbement of the plot is at hand, the\n Princess is made, with some art I think, to lay the whole affair\n before her husband in her own words, the better to bring him to a\n \u201csense of his duty.\u201d\n\nFootnote 447:\n\n Bresl. Edit. vol. xii. pp. 384\u2013412.\n\nFootnote 448:\n\n This clause is taken from the sequence, where the elder brother\u2019s\n kingdom is placed in China.\n\nFootnote 449:\n\n For the Tobbas = \u201cSuccessors\u201d or the Himyaritic kings, see vol. i.\n 216.\n\nFootnote 450:\n\n Kay\u00e1sirah, opp. to Ak\u00e1sirah, here and in many other places.\n\nFootnote 451:\n\n See vol. ii. 77. King Kulayb (\u201clittle dog\u201d) al-W\u00e1\u2019il, a powerful chief\n of the Banu Ma\u2019ad in the Kas\u00edn district of Najd, who was connected\n with the war of Al-Bas\u00fas. He is so called because he lamed a pup\n (kulayb) and tied it up in the midst of his Him\u00e0 (domain, place of\n pasture and water), forbidding men to camp within sound of its bark or\n sight of his fire. Hence \u201cmore masterful than Kulayb,\u201d A.P. ii. 145,\n and Al-Hariri Ass. xxvi. (Chenery, p. 448). This angry person came by\n his death for wounding in the udder a trespassing camel (Sorab) whose\n owner was a woman named Bas\u00fas. Her friend (Jas\u00fas) slew him; and thus\n arose the famous long war between the tribes W\u00e1\u2019il Bakr and Taghlib.\n It gave origin to the saying, \u201cDie thou and be an expiation for the\n shoe-latchet of Kulayb.\u201d\n\nFootnote 452:\n\n Arab. \u201cMukhaddar\u00e1t,\u201d maidens concealed behind curtains and veiled in\n the Harem.\n\nFootnote 453:\n\n _i.e._ The professional R\u00e1wis or tale-reciters who learned stories by\n heart from books like \u201cThe Arabian Nights.\u201d See my Terminal Essay, vol\n x. 163.\n\nFootnote 454:\n\n Arab. \u201cBid\u2019ah,\u201d lit. = an innovation, a new thing, an invention, any\n change from the custom of the Prophet and the universal practice of\n the Faith, whether it be in the cut of the beard or a question of\n state policy. Popularly the word = heterodoxy, heresy; but\n theologically it is not necessarily used in a bad sense. See vol. v.\n 167.\n\nFootnote 455:\n\n About three parts of this sentence have been supplied by Mr. Payne,\n the careless scribe having evidently omitted it.\n\nFootnote 456:\n\n Here, as in the Introduction (vol. i. 24), the king consummates his\n marriage in presence of his virgin sister-in-law, a process which\n decency forbids amongst Moslems.\n\nFootnote 457:\n\n Al-Mas\u2019udi (vol. iv. 213) uses this term to signify viceroy in\n \u201cShahry\u00e1r Sajast\u00e1n.\u201d\n\nFootnote 458:\n\n _i.e._ his indifference to the principles of right and wrong, which is\n a manner of moral intoxication.\n\nFootnote 459:\n\n _i.e._ hath mentioned the office of Wazir (in Koran xx. 30).\n\nFootnote 460:\n\n _i.e._ Moslems, who practise the Religion of Resignation.\n\nFootnote 461:\n\n Koran xxxiii. 35. This is a proemium to the \u201crevelation\u201d concerning\n Zayd and Zaynab.\n\nFootnote 462:\n\n _i.e._ I have an embarras de richesse in my repertory.\n\nFootnote 463:\n\n The title is from the Bresl. Edit. (vol. xii. pp. 398\u2013402). Mr. Payne\n calls it \u201cThe Favourite and her Lover.\u201d\n\nFootnote 464:\n\n The practice of fumigating gugglets is universal in Egypt (Lane, M.\n E., chapt. v.); but I never heard of musk being so used.\n\nFootnote 465:\n\n Arab. \u201cLaysa fi \u2019l-diy\u00e1ri dayy\u00e1r\u201d\u2014a favourite jingle.\n\nFootnote 466:\n\n Arab. \u201cKhayr Kathir\u201d (pron. Kat\u00edr) which also means \u201cabundant\n kindness.\u201d\n\nFootnote 467:\n\n Dozy says of \u201cHunayn\u00ed\u201d (Ha\u00edn\u00ed), Il semble \u00eatre le nom d\u2019un v\u00eatement.\n On which we may remark, Connu!\n\nFootnote 468:\n\n Arab. Har\u00edsah: see vol. i. 131. Westerns make a sad mess of this dish\n when they describe it as une sorte _d\u2019olla podrida_ (the hotch-pot),\n une p\u00e2t\u00e9e de viandes, de froment et de l\u00e9gumes secs (Al-Mas\u2019udi viii.\n 438). Whenever I have eaten it, it was always a meat-pudding, for\n which see vol. i. 131.\n\nFootnote 469:\n\n Evidently one escaped because she was sleeping with the Caliph and a\n second because she had kept her assignation.\n\nFootnote 470:\n\n Mr. Payne entitles it, \u201cThe Merchant of Cairo and the Favourite of the\n Khalif el Mamoun el Hakim bi Amrillah.\u201d\n\nFootnote 471:\n\n See my Pilgrimage (i. 100): the seat would be on the same bit of\n boarding where the master sits or on a stool or bench in the street.\n\nFootnote 472:\n\n This is true Cairene chaff, give and take; and the stranger must\n accustom himself to it before he can be at home with the people.\n\nFootnote 473:\n\n _i.e._ In Rauzah-island: see vol. v. 169.\n\nFootnote 474:\n\n There is no historical person who answers to these names, \u201cThe Secure,\n the Ruler by Commandment of Allah.\u201d The cognomen applies to two\n soldans of Egypt, of whom the later Abu al-Abbas Ahmad the Abbaside\n (A.D. 1261\u20131301) has already been mentioned in The Nights (vol. v.\n 86). The tale suggests the earlier Al-Hakim (Abu Ali al-Mans\u00far, the\n Fatimite, A.D. 995\u20131021), the God of the Druze \u201cpersuasion;\u201d and the\n tale-teller may have purposely blundered in changing Mans\u00far to Maam\u00fan\n for fear of offending a sect which has been most dangerous in the\n matter of assassination and which is capable of becoming so again.\n\nFootnote 475:\n\n Arab. \u201c\u2019Al\u00e0 kulli h\u00e1l\u201d = \u201cwhatever may betide,\u201d or \u201cwilly-nilly.\u201d The\n phrase is still popular.\n\nFootnote 476:\n\n The dulce desipere of young lovers, he making a buffoon of himself to\n amuse her.\n\nFootnote 477:\n\n \u201cThe convent of Clay,\u201d a Coptic monastery near Cairo.\n\nFootnote 478:\n\n _i.e._ this is the time to show thyself a man.\n\nFootnote 479:\n\n The Eastern succedaneum for swimming corks and other\n \u201clife-preservers.\u201d The practice is very ancient: we find these gourds\n upon the monuments of Egypt and Babylonia.\n\nFootnote 480:\n\n Arab. \u201cAl-Khal\u00edj,\u201d the name, still popular, of the Grand Canal of\n Cairo, whose banks, by-the-by, are quaint and picturesque as anything\n of the kind in Holland.\n\nFootnote 481:\n\n A few lines higher up it was \u201cher neck\u201d; but the jar may have slipped\n down.\n\nFootnote 482:\n\n We say more laconically \u201cA friend in need.\u201d\n\nFootnote 483:\n\n Arab. \u201cN\u00e1zir al-Maw\u00e1r\u00eds\u201d, the employ\u00e9 charged with the disposal of\n legacies and seizing escheats to the Crown when Moslems die intestate.\n He is usually a prodigious rascal as in the text. The office was long\n kept up in Southern Europe, and Camoens was sent to Macao as \u201cProvedor\n dos defuntos e ausentes.\u201d\n\nFootnote 484:\n\n Sir R. F. Burton has since found two more of \u201cGalland\u2019s\u201d tales in an\n Arabic text of The Nights, namely, Aladdin and Zeyn al-Asnam.\n\nFootnote 485:\n\n _i.e._ wondering; thus Lady Macbeth says:\n\n \u201cYou have displaced the mirth, broke the good meeting,\n With most _admired_ disorder.\u201d\u2014_Macbeth_, iii. 4.\n\nFootnote 486:\n\n Ludovicus Vives, one of the most learned of Spanish authors, was born\n at Valentia in 1492 and died in 1540.\n\nFootnote 487:\n\n There was an older \u201cT\u00fat\u00ed N\u00e1ma,\u201d which Nakhshab\u00ed modernised, made from\n a Sanskrit story-book, now lost, but its modern representative is the\n \u201cSuka Saptat\u00ed,\u201d or Seventy (Tales) of a Parrot, in which most of\n Nakhshab\u00ed\u2019s tales are found.\n\nFootnote 488:\n\n According to Lescallier\u2019s French translation of the \u201cBakhty\u00e1r N\u00e1ma,\u201d\n made from two MSS. = \u201cShe had previously had a lover, with whom,\n _unknown to her father_, she had intimate relations, and had given\n birth to a beautiful boy, whose education she secretly confided to\n some trusty servants.\u201d\n\nFootnote 489:\n\n There is a slight mistake in the passage in p. 313 supplied from the\n story in vol. vi. It is not King Shah Bakht, but the other king, who\n assures his chamberlain that \u201cthe lion\u201d had done him no injury.\n\nFootnote 490:\n\n Such was formerly the barbarous manner of treating the insane.\n\nFootnote 491:\n\n From \u201cTarlton\u2019s Newes out of Purgatorie.\u201d\n\nFootnote 492:\n\n A basket.\n\nFootnote 493:\n\n In the _fabliau_ \u201cDe la Dame qui atrappa un Pr\u00eatre, un Pr\u00e9v\u00f4t, et un\n Forestier\u201d (or Constant du Hamel), the lady, on the pretext that her\n husband is at the door, stuffs her lovers, as they arrive\n successively, unknown to each other, into a large tub full of feathers\n and afterwards exposes them to public ridicule.\n\nFootnote 494:\n\n Until.\n\nFootnote 495:\n\n Requite.\n\nFootnote 496:\n\n Accidents.\n\nFootnote 497:\n\n A boarding.\n\nFootnote 498:\n\n The letter I is very commonly substituted for \u201cay\u201d in 16th century\n English books.\n\nFootnote 499:\n\n Oesterley mentions a Sanskrit redaction of the Vampyre Tales\n attributed to Sivad\u00e1sa, and another comprised in the \u201cKath\u00e1rnava.\u201d\n\nFootnote 500:\n\n And well might his sapient majesty \u201cwonder\u201d! The humour of this\n passage is exquisite.\n\nFootnote 501:\n\n In the Tamil version (Babington\u2019s translation of the \u201cVed\u00e1la Kadai\u201d)\n there are but two brothers, one of whom is fastidious in his food, the\n other in beds; the latter lies on a bed stuffed with flowers, deprived\n of their stalks. In the morning he complains of pains all over his\n body, and on examining the bed one hair is found amongst the flowers.\n In the Hindi version the king asks him in the morning whether he had\n slept comfortably. \u201cO great King,\u201d he replied; \u201cI did not sleep all\n night.\u201d \u201cHow so?\u201d quoth he. \u201cO great King, in the seventh fold of the\n bedding there is a hair, which pricked me in the back, therefore I\n could not sleep.\u201d The youth who was fastidious about the fair sex had\n a lovely damsel laid beside him, and he was on the point of kissing\n her, but on smelling her breath he turned away his face, and went to\n sleep. Early in the morning the king (who had observed through a\n lattice what passed) asked him, \u201cDid you pass the night pleasantly?\u201d\n He replied that he did not, because the smell of a goat proceeded from\n the girl\u2019s mouth, which made him very uneasy. The king then sent for\n the procuress and ascertained that the girl had been brought up on\n goat\u2019s milk.\n\nFootnote 502:\n\n M\u00e9lusine: Revue de Mythologie, Litt\u00e9rature Populaire, Traditions, et\n Usages. Dirig\u00e9e par H. Gaidoz et E. Rolland.\u2014Paris.\n\nFootnote 503:\n\n The trick of the clever Magyar in marking all the other sleepers as\n the king\u2019s mother had marked himself occurs in the folk-tales of most\n countries, especially in the numerous versions of the Robbery of the\n King\u2019s Treasury, which are brought together in my work on the\n Migrations of Popular Tales and Fictions (Blackwood), vol. ii., pp.\n 113\u2013165.\n\nFootnote 504:\n\n A mythical saint, or prophet, who, according to the Muslim legend, was\n despatched by one of the ancient kings of Persia to procure him some\n of the Water of Life. After a tedious journey, Khizr reached the\n Fountain of Immortality, but having drank of its waters, it suddenly\n vanished. Muslims believe that Khizr still lives, and sometimes\n appears to favoured individuals, always clothed in green, and acts as\n their guide in difficult enterprises.\n\nFootnote 505:\n\n \u201cSpake these words to the king\u201d\u2014certainly not those immediately\n preceding! but that, if the king would provide for him during three\n years, at the end of that period he would show Khizr to the king.\n\nFootnote 506:\n\n Mr. Gibb compares with this the following passage from Boethius, \u201cDe\n Consolatione Philosophi\u00e6,\u201d as translated by Chaucer: \u201cAll thynges\n seken ayen to hir propre course, and all thynges rejoysen on hir\n retourninge agayne to hir nature.\u201d\n\nFootnote 507:\n\n In this tale, we see, Khizr appears to the distressed man in _white_\n raiment.\n\nFootnote 508:\n\n In an old English metrical version of the \u201cSeven Sages,\u201d the tutors of\n the prince, in order to test his progress in general science, secretly\n place an ivy leaf under each of the four posts of his bed, and when he\n awakes in the morning\u2014\n\n \u201cPar fay!\u201d he said, \u201ca ferli cas!\n Other ich am of wine y-drunk,\n Other the firmament is sunk,\n Other wexen is the ground,\n The thickness of four leav\u00e8s round!\n So much to-night higher I lay,\n Certes, than yesterday.\u201d\n\nFootnote 509:\n\n See also the same story in The Nights, vols. vii. and viii., which Mr.\n Kirby considers as probably a later version. (App. vol. x. of The\n Nights, p. 500.)\n\nFootnote 510:\n\n So, too, in the \u201cBah\u00e1r-i-D\u00e1nish\u201d a woman is described as being so able\n a professor in the school of deceit, that she could have instructed\n the devil in the science of stratagem; of another it is said that by\n her wiles she could have drawn the devil\u2019s claws; and of a third the\n author declares, that the devil himself would own there was no\n escaping from her cunning!\n\nFootnote 511:\n\n There is a similar tale by the Spanish novelist Isidro de Robles\n (circa 1660), in which three ladies find a diamond ring in a fountain;\n each claims it; at length they agree to refer the dispute to a count\n of their acquaintance who happened to be close by. He takes charge of\n the ring and says to the ladies, \u201cWhoever in the space of six weeks\n shall succeed in playing off on her husband the most clever and\n ingenious trick (always having due regard to his honour) shall possess\n the ring; in the meantime it shall remain in my hands.\u201d (See Roscoe\u2019s\n \u201cSpecimens of the Spanish Novelists,\u201d Chandos edition, p. 438 ff.)\n This story was probably brought by the Moors to Spain, whence it may\n have passed into France, since it is the subject of a _fabliau_, by\n Haisiau the trouv\u00e8re, entitled \u201cDes Trois Dames qui trouverent un\n Anel,\u201d which is found in M\u00e9on\u2019s edition of Barbazan, 1808, tome iii.\n pp. 220\u2013229, and in Le Grand, ed. 1781, tome iv. pp. 163\u2013165.\n\nFootnote 512:\n\n Idiots and little boys often figure thus in popular tales: readers of\n Rabelais will remember his story of the Fool and the Cook; and there\n is a familiar example of a boy\u2019s precocity in the story of the Stolen\n Purse\u2014\u201cCraft and Malice of Women,\u201d or the Seven Waz\u00edrs, vol. vi. of\n The Nights.\n\nFootnote 513:\n\n I have considerably abridged Mr. Knowles\u2019 story in several places.\n\nFootnote 514:\n\n A species of demon.\n\nFootnote 515:\n\n This is one of the innumerable parallels to the story of Jonah in the\n \u201cwhale\u2019s\u201d belly which occur in Asiatic fictions. See, for some\n instances, Tawney\u2019s translation of the \u201cKath\u00e1 Sarit S\u00e1gara,\u201d ch. xxxv.\n and lxxiv.; \u201cIndian Antiquary,\u201d Sept. 1885, Legend of Ahl\u00e1; Miss\n Stokes\u2019 \u201cIndian Fairy Tales,\u201d pp. 75, 76; and Steel and Temple\u2019s\n \u201cWide-Awake Stories from the Panj\u00e1b and Kashm\u00edr,\u201d p. 411. In Lucian\u2019s\n \u201cVera Historia,\u201d a monster fish swallows a ship and her crew, who live\n a long time in the extensive regions comprised in its internal\n economy. See also Herrtage\u2019s \u201cGesta Romanorum\u201d (Early English Text\n Society), p. 297.\n\nFootnote 516:\n\n In the Arabian version the people resolve to leave the choice of a new\n king to the royal elephant because they could not agree among\n themselves (vol. i., p. 323); but in Indian fictions such an incident\n frequently occurs as a regular custom. In the \u201cSivandhi Sthala\n Purana,\u201d a legendary account of the famous temple at Trichinopoli, as\n supposed to be told by Gautama to Matanga and other sages, it is\n related that a certain king having mortally offended a holy devotee,\n his capital and all its inhabitants were, in consequence of a curse\n pronounced by the enraged saint, buried beneath a shower of dust.\n \u201cOnly the queen escaped, and in her flight she was delivered of a\n male-child. After some time, the chiefs of the Chola kingdom,\n proceeding to elect a king, determined, by the advice of the saint, to\n crown whomsoever the late monarch\u2019s elephant should pitch upon. Being\n turned loose for this purpose, the elephant discovered and brought to\n Trisira-m\u00e1l\u00ed the child of his former master, who accordingly became\n the Chola king.\u201d (Wilson\u2019s Desc. Catal. of Mackenzie MSS., i. 17.) In\n a Manipur\u00ed story of two brothers, Turi and Basanta\u2014\u201cIndian Antiquary,\u201d\n vol. iii.\u2014the elder is chosen king in like manner by an elephant who\n meets him in the forest, and takes him on his back to the palace,\n where he is immediately placed on the throne. See also \u201cWide-Awake\n Stories from the Panj\u00e1b and Kashm\u00edr,\u201d by Mrs. Steel and Captain\n Temple, p. 141; and Rev. Lal Behari Day\u2019s \u201cFolk-Tales of Bengal,\u201d p.\n 100, for similar instances. The hawk taking part, in this story, with\n the elephant in the selection of a king does not occur in any other\n tale known to me.\n\nFootnote 517:\n\n So that their caste might not be injured. A dhob\u00ed, or washerman, is of\n much lower caste than a Br\u00e1hman or a Khshatriya.\n\nFootnote 518:\n\n A responsible position in a r\u00e1j\u00e1\u2019s palace.\n\nFootnote 519:\n\n \u201cAnd Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.\u201d\n R\u00e1j\u00e1 Amb\u00e1 must have been fully twelve years in the stomach of the\n alligator.\n\nFootnote 520:\n\n This device of the mother to obtain speech of the king is much more\n natural than that adopted in the Kashm\u00edr\u00ed version.\n\nFootnote 521:\n\n The story of Ab\u00fa S\u00e1bir (see vol. i. p. 81 ff.) may also be regarded as\n an analogue. He is unjustly deprived of all his possessions, and, with\n his wife and two young boys, driven forth of his village. The children\n are borne off by thieves, and their mother forcibly carried away by a\n horseman. Ab\u00fa Sabir, after many sufferings, is raised from a dungeon\n to a throne. He regains his two children and his wife, who had\n steadfastly refused to cohabit with her captor.\n\nFootnote 522:\n\n Introduction to the romance of \u201cTorrent of Portingale,\u201d re-edited (for\n the Early English Text Society, 1886) by E. Adam, Ph.D., pp. xxi-xxii.\n\nFootnote 523:\n\n Morning.\n\nFootnote 524:\n\n Bird.\n\nFootnote 525:\n\n Mean; betoken.\n\nFootnote 526:\n\n Thee.\n\nFootnote 527:\n\n _Tho_: then.\n\nFootnote 528:\n\n _Yede_: went.\n\nFootnote 529:\n\n Case.\n\nFootnote 530:\n\n _Avaunced_: advanced; promoted.\n\nFootnote 531:\n\n _Holpen_: helped.\n\nFootnote 532:\n\n _Brent_: burnt.\n\nFootnote 533:\n\n _But if_: unless.\n\nFootnote 534:\n\n _To wed_: in pledge, in security.\n\nFootnote 535:\n\n _Beth_: are.\n\nFootnote 536:\n\n _Or_: either.\n\nFootnote 537:\n\n _Lever dey_: rather die.\n\nFootnote 538:\n\n Far; distant.\n\nFootnote 539:\n\n Unless.\n\nFootnote 540:\n\n _Oo_: one.\n\nFootnote 541:\n\n _Ayen_: again.\n\nFootnote 542:\n\n _Or_: ere; before.\n\nFootnote 543:\n\n Army; host.\n\nFootnote 544:\n\n Part.\n\nFootnote 545:\n\n That.\n\nFootnote 546:\n\n Grief; sorrow.\n\nFootnote 547:\n\n Poor.\n\nFootnote 548:\n\n Gathered, or collected, together.\n\nFootnote 549:\n\n Arms; accoutrements; dress.\n\nFootnote 550:\n\n Bravely.\n\nFootnote 551:\n\n Those.\n\nFootnote 552:\n\n Done; ended.\n\nFootnote 553:\n\n Their lodgings; inn.\n\nFootnote 554:\n\n Since.\n\nFootnote 555:\n\n Comrades.\n\nFootnote 556:\n\n Truly.\n\nFootnote 557:\n\n Lodged.\n\nFootnote 558:\n\n Inn.\n\nFootnote 559:\n\n _Hem_: them.\n\nFootnote 560:\n\n Chief of the army.\n\nFootnote 561:\n\n _I note_: I know not.\n\nFootnote 562:\n\n Nor.\n\nFootnote 563:\n\n Place.\n\nFootnote 564:\n\n That is, by means of his hounds.\n\nFootnote 565:\n\n A wood.\n\nFootnote 566:\n\n Those.\n\nFootnote 567:\n\n _Her_: their.\n\nFootnote 568:\n\n Looks towards; attends to.\n\nFootnote 569:\n\n Give.\n\nFootnote 570:\n\n Excepting; unless.\n\nFootnote 571:\n\n Face; countenance.\n\nFootnote 572:\n\n Care; close examination.\n\nFootnote 573:\n\n _Palata_, Lat. (_Paletot_, O. Fr.), sometimes signifying a particular\n stuff, and sometimes a particular dress. See Du Cange.\n\nFootnote 574:\n\n Cut; divided.\n\nFootnote 575:\n\n Wept.\n\nFootnote 576:\n\n Sailing.\n\nFootnote 577:\n\n More.\n\nFootnote 578:\n\n Much.\n\nFootnote 579:\n\n Sultan.\n\nFootnote 580:\n\n Name.\n\nFootnote 581:\n\n Voice, _i.e._ command.\n\nFootnote 582:\n\n Slew.\n\nFootnote 583:\n\n Labour.\n\nFootnote 584:\n\n Drew.\n\nFootnote 585:\n\n Went.\n\nFootnote 586:\n\n Burning coal.\n\nFootnote 587:\n\n Pray; beg.\n\nFootnote 588:\n\n Recovered.\n\nFootnote 589:\n\n Head.\n\nFootnote 590:\n\n Weeping.\n\nFootnote 591:\n\n Saw.\n\nFootnote 592:\n\n Waving.\n\nFootnote 593:\n\n Began to climb.\n\nFootnote 594:\n\n Against.\n\nFootnote 595:\n\n More.\n\nFootnote 596:\n\n From an early volume of the \u201cAsiatic Journal,\u201d the number of which I\n did not \u201cmake a note of\u201d\u2014thus, for once at least, disregarding the\n advice of the immortal Captain Cuttle.\n\nFootnote 597:\n\n \u201cIt was no wonder,\u201d says this writer, \u201cthat his [_i.e._ Galland\u2019s]\n version of the \u2018Arabian Nights\u2019 achieved a universal popularity, and\n was translated into many languages, and that it provoked a crowd of\n imitations, from \u2018Les Mille et Un Jours\u2019 to the \u2018Tales of the Genii.\u2019\u201d\n\nFootnote 598:\n\n This is a version of The Sleeper and the Waker\u2014with a vengeance! Ab\u00fa\n Hasan the Wag, the Tinker, and the Rustic, and others thus practised\n upon by frolic-loving princes and dukes, had each, at least, a most\n delightful \u201cdream.\u201d But when a man is similarly handled by the \u201cwife\n of his bosom\u201d\u2014in stories, only, of course\u2014the case is very different,\n as the poor chief of the police experienced. Such a \u201cdream\u201d as his\n wife induced upon him we may be sure he would remember \u201cuntil that day\n that he did creep into his sepulchre!\u201d\n\nFootnote 599:\n\n I call this \u2018strikingly similar\u2019 to the preceding Persian story,\n although it has fewer incidents and the lady\u2019s husband remains a monk;\n she could not have got him back even had she wished; for, having taken\n the vows, he was debarred from returning to \u201cthe world,\u201d which a\n kalandar or dervish may do as often as he pleases.\n\nFootnote 600:\n\n \u201cThe Woman\u2019s trick against her Husband.\u201d\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n TRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTES\n\n\n 1. P. 20 footnote 1, changed \u201cdenier a Dieu\u201d to \u201cdenier \u00e0 Dieu\u201d.\n 2. P. 97, changed \u201cespie\u201d to \u201cespied\u201d.\n 3. P. 167, changed \u201cWe I will\u201d to \u201cWell I will\u201d.\n 4. P. 171, changed \u201cThe Raven o severance\u201d to \u201cThe Raven o\u2019\n severance\u201d.\n 5. Added missing footnote anchors on p. 191 and 213.\n 6. P. 238, changed \u201cWhen I recal sweet union\u201d to \u201cWhen I recall sweet\n union\u201d.\n 7. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling.\n 8. Retained anachronistic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as\n printed.\n 9. Footnotes have been re-indexed using numbers and collected together\n at the end of the last chapter.\n10. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.","title":"Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights \u2014 Volume 2 (of 6)","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":151427}