The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II
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Title: The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II
Translator: John Payne
Release date: August 1, 2005 [eBook #8656]
Most recently updated: February 26, 2015
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8656
Credits: Produced by JC Byers and Cameron Fruit
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOOK OF THE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND ONE NIGHT, VOLUME II ***
Produced by JC Byers and Cameron Fruit
Editorial Note: Project Gutenberg also has the translation of this work by
Richard F. Burton in 16 volumes.
THE BOOK OF THE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND ONE NIGHT:
Now First Completely Done Into English
Prose and Verse, From The Original Arabic,
By John Payne
(Author of "The Masque of Shadows," "Intaglios: Sonnets," "Songs
of Life and Death,"
"Lautrec," "The Poems of Master Francis Villon of Paris," "New
Poems," Etc, Etc.).
In Nine Volumes:
VOLUME THE SECOND.
1901
Delhi Edition
Contents of The Second Volume.
9. The History of King Omar Ben Ennuman and His Sons Sherkan
and Zoulmekan
a. Story of Taj El Mulouk and the Princess Dunya
aa. Story of Aziz and Azizeh
b. Bakoun's Story of the Hashish-Eater
c. Hemmand the Bedouin's Story
THE BOOK OF THE THOUSAND NIGHTS
AND ONE NIGHT
THE HISTORY OF KING OMAR BEN ENNUMAN AND
HIS SONS SHERKAN AND ZOULMEKAN.
There reigned once in the City of Peace, (Baghdad), before the
Khalifate of Abdulmelik ben Merwan,[FN#1] a king called Omar ben
Ennuman, who was of the mighty giants and had subdued the kings
of Persia and the Emperors of the East, for none could warm
himself at his fire[FN#2] nor cope with him in battle, and when
he was angry, there came sparks out of his nostrils. He had
gotten him the dominion over all countries, and God had subjected
unto him all creatures; his commands were obeyed in all the great
cities and his armies penetrated the most distant lands: the East
and West came under his rule, with the regions between them, Hind
and Sind and China and Hejaz and Yemen and the islands of India
and China, Syria and Mesopotamia and the land of the blacks and
the islands of the ocean and all the famous rivers of the earth,
Jaxartes and Bactrus, Nile and Euphrates. He sent his ambassadors
to the farthest parts of the earth, to fetch him true report, and
they returned with tidings of justice and peace, bringing him
assurance of loyalty and obedience and invocations of blessings
on his head; for he was a right noble king and there came to him
gifts and tribute from all parts of the world. He had a son
called Sherkan, who was one of the prodigies of the age and the
likest of all men to his father, who loved him with an exceeding
love and had appointed him to be king after him. The prince grew
up till he reached man's estate and was twenty years old, and God
subjected all men to him, for he was gifted with great might and
prowess in battle, humbling the champions and destroying all who
made head against him. So, before long, this Sherkan became
famous in all quarters of the world and his father rejoiced in
him: and his might waxed, till he passed all bounds and magnified
himself, taking by storm the citadels and strong places.
Now King Omar had four lawful wives, but God had vouchsafed him
no son by them, except Sherkan, whom he had gotten of one of
them, and the rest were barren. Moreover he had three hundred and
threescore concubines, after the number of the days of the Coptic
year, who were of all nations, and he had lodged them all within
his palace. For he had built twelve pavilions, after the number
of the months of the year, in each thirty chambers, and appointed
to each of his concubines a night, which he lay with her and came
not to her again for a full year. As providence would have it,
one of them conceived and her pregnancy was made known, whereupon
the King rejoiced with an exceeding joy, saying, "Mayhap it will
be a son, in which case all my offspring will be males." Then he
recorded the date of her conception and made much of her. But
when the news came to Sherkan, he was troubled and it was
grievous to him, for he said, "Verily, there cometh one who shall
dispute the kingdom with me." So he said to himself, "If this
damsel bear a male child, I will kill it." But he kept this his
intent secret in his heart. Now the damsel in question was a
Greek girl, by name Sufiyeh,[FN#3] whom the King of Roum,[FN#4]
lord of Caesarea, had sent to King Omar as a present, together
with great store of rarities. She was the fairest of face and
most graceful of all his women and the most careful of his honour
and was gifted with abounding wit and surpassing loveliness. She
had served the King on the night of his lying with her, saying to
him, "O King, I desire of the God of the heavens that He grant
thee of me a male child, so I may rear him well and do my utmost
endeavour to educate him and preserve him from harm." And her
words pleased the King. She passed the time of her pregnancy in
devout exercises, praying fervently to God to grant her a goodly
male child and make his birth easy to her, till her months were
accomplished and she sat down on the stool of delivery. Now the
King had given an eunuch charge to let him know if the child she
should bring forth were male or female; and in like manner his
son Sherkan had sent one to bring him news of this. In due time,
Sufiyeh was delivered of a child, which the midwives took and
found to be a girl with a face more radiant than the moon. So
they announced this to the bystanders, whereupon the eunuch
carried the news to the King and Sherkan's messenger did the like
with his master, who rejoiced with exceeding joy; but after these
two had departed, Sufiyeh said to the midwives, "Wait with me
awhile, for I feel there is yet somewhat in my entrails." Then
she moaned and the pains of labour took her again but God made it
easy to her and she gave birth to a second child. The midwives
looked at it and found it a boy like the full moon, with
flower-white forehead and rose-red cheeks; whereupon the damsel
and her eunuchs and attendants rejoiced and she was delivered of
the afterbirth, whilst all who were in the palace set up cries of
joy. The other damsels heard of this and envied her; and the news
came to Omar, who was glad and rejoiced. Then he rose and went to
her and kissed her head, after which he looked at the boy and
bending down to it, kissed it, whilst the damsels smote the
tabrets and played on instruments of music; and he commanded that
the boy should be named Zoulmekan and the girl Nuzbet ez Zeman,
which was done accordingly. Then he appointed nurses, wet and
dry, and eunuchs and attendants to serve them and assigned them
rations of sugar and liquors and oil and other necessaries, such
as the tongue fails to set out. Moreover the people of Baghdad
heard of the children that God had vouchsafed to the King; so
they decorated the city and made proclamation of the good news.
Then came the amirs and viziers and grandees and wished the King
joy of his son and daughter, wherefore he thanked them and
bestowed dresses of honour and favours and largesse on them and
on all who were present, gentle and simple. Then he bade carry
great store of jewellery and apparel and money to Sufiyeh and
charged her to rear the children carefully and educate them well.
After this wise, four years passed by, during which time the King
sent every few days to seek news of Sufiyeh and her children; but
all this while, his son Sherkan knew not that a male child had
been born to his father, having news only of the birth of his
daughter Nuzhet ez Zeman, and they hid the thing from him, until
years and days had passed by, whilst he was busied in contending
with the men of war and tilting against the cavaliers.
One day, as the King was sitting on his throne, there came in to
him his chamberlains, who kissed the earth before him and said,
"O King, there be come ambassadors from the King of the Greeks,
lord of Constantinople the mighty, and they desire to be admitted
to pay their respects to thee: so if the King give them leave to
enter, we will admit them, and if not, there is no appeal from
his decree." He bade admit them, and when they entered, he turned
to them and asked them how they did and the reason of their
coming. They kissed the earth before him and replied, "O
illustrious King and lord of the long arm,[FN#5] know that King
Afridoun, lord of the lands of the Greeks and of the Nazarene
armies, holding the empire of Constantinople, hath sent us to
make known to thee that he is now waging grievous war with a
fierce rebel, the lord of Caesarea; and the cause of this war is
as follows. One of the kings of the Arabs, awhile since, chanced,
in one of his conquests, upon a treasure of the time of
Alexander, from which he carried away countless riches and
amongst other things, three round jewels, of the bigness of an
ostrich's egg, from a mine of pure white jewels, never was seen
the like. Upon each of these jewels were graven talismans in the
Greek character, and they had many properties and virtues,
amongst the rest that if one of them were hung round the neck of
a new-born child, no ailment would hurt him nor would he moan or
be fevered, so long as it was about his neck. When they came to
the hands of the Arabian King and he knew their virtues, he sent
the three jewels, together with other presents and rarities, as a
gift to King Afridoun, and to that end fitted out two ships, one
bearing the treasure and presents and the other men to guard them
against whoso should offer them hindrance on the sea, being
nevertheless assured that none would dare waylay them, for that
he was King of the Arabs, more by token that their way lay
through the sea in the dominions of the King of Constantinople
and they were bound to him, nor were there on the shores of that
sea any but subjects of the most mighty King Afridoun. The ships
set out and sailed till they drew near our city, when there
sallied out on them certain corsairs of the country and amongst
them troops of the King of Caesarea, who took all the treasures
and rarities in the ships, together with the three jewels, and
slew the men. When the news came to our King, he sent an army
against them, but they defeated it; then he sent another army,
stronger than the first, but they put this also to the rout;
whereupon the King was wroth and swore that he would go out
against them in person at the head of his whole army and not turn
back from them, till he had left Caesarea in ruins and laid waste
all the lands and cities over which its King held sway. So he
craves of the lord of the age and the time, the King of Baghdad
and Khorassan, that he succour us with an army, to the end that
glory may redound to him; and he has sent by us somewhat of
various kinds of presents and begs the King to favour him by
accepting them and accord us his aid." Then they kissed the earth
before King Omar and brought out the presents, which were fifty
slave-girls of the choicest of the land of the Greeks, and fifty
white male slaves in tunics of brocade, rich girdles of gold and
silver and in their ears pendants of gold and fine pearls, worth
a thousand dinars each. The damsels were adorned after the same
fashion and clad in stuffs worth much money. When the King saw
them, he rejoiced in them and accepted them. Then he commanded
that the ambassadors should be honourably entreated and summoning
his viziers, took counsel with them of what he should do.
Accordingly, one of them, an old man named Dendan, arose and
kissing the earth before King Omar, said, "O King, thou wouldst
do well to equip numerous army and set over it thy son Sherkan,
with us as his lieutenants; and to my mind it behoves thee to do
thus, for two reasons: first, that the King of the Greeks hath
appealed to thee for aid and hath sent thee presents, and thou
hast accepted them; and secondly, that no enemy dares attack our
country, and that if thy host succour the King of the Greeks and
his foe be put to the rout, the glory will fall to thee and the
news of it will be noised abroad in all cities and countries; and
especially, when the tidings reach the islands of the ocean and
the people of Western Africa, they will send thee presents and
tribute." When the King heard the Vizier's speech, it pleased him
and he approved his counsel: so he bestowed on him dress of
honour and said to him, "It is with such as thee that kings take
counsel and it befits that thou command the van of the army and
my son Sherkan the main battle." Then he sent for Sherkan and
expounded the matter to him, telling him what the ambassadors and
the Vizier had said, and enjoined him to take arms and prepare to
set out, charging him not to cross the Vizier Dendan in aught
that he should do. Then he bade him choose from among his troops
ten thousand horsemen armed cap-a-pie and inured to war and
hardship. Accordingly, Sherkan rose at once and chose out ten
thousand horsemen, in obedience to his father's commandment,
after which he entered his palace and mustered his troops and
distributed money to them, saying, "Ye have three days to make
ready." They kissed the earth before him and proceeded at once to
make their preparations for the campaign; whilst Sherkan repaired
to the armouries and provided himself with all the arms and
armour that he needed, and thence to the stables, whence he took
horses of choice breeds and others. When the three days were
ended, the troops marched out of Baghdad, and King Omar came
forth to take leave of his son, who kissed the earth before him,
and he gave him seven thousand purses.[FN#6] Then he turned to
the Vizier Dendan and commended to his care his son Sherkan's
army and charged the latter to consult the Vizier in all things,
to which they both promised obedience. After this, the King
returned to Baghdad and Sherkan commanded the officers to draw
out the troops in battle array. So they mustered them and the
number of the army was ten thousand horsemen, besides footmen and
followers. Then they loaded the beasts and beat the drums and
blew the clarions and unfurled the banners and the standards,
whilst Sherkan mounted, with the Vizier Dendan by his side and
the standards waving over them, and the army set out and fared
on, with the ambassadors in the van, till the day departed and
the night came, when they halted and encamped for the night. On
the morrow, as soon as God brought in the day, they took horse
and continued their march, nor did they cease to press onward,
guided by the ambassadors, for the space of twenty days. On the
twenty-first day, at nightfall, they came to a wide and fertile
valley, whose sides were thickly wooded and covered with grass,
and there Sherkan called a three days' halt. So they dismounted
and pitched their tents, dispersing right and left in the valley,
whilst the Vizier Dendan and the ambassadors alighted in the
midst. As for Sherkan, when he had seen the tents pitched and the
troops dispersed on either side and had commanded his officers
and attendants to camp beside the Vizier Dendan, he gave reins to
his horse, being minded to explore the valley and himself mount
guard over the army, having regard to his father's injunctions
and to the fact that they had reached the frontier of the land of
Roum and were now in the enemy's country. So he rode on alone
along the valley, till a fourth part of the night was passed,
when he grew weary and sleep overcame him, so that he could no
longer spur his horse. Now he was used to sleep on horseback; so
when drowsiness got the better of him, he fell asleep and the
horse paced on with him half the night and entered a forest; but
Sherkan awoke not, till the steed smote the earth with his hoof.
Then he started from sleep and found himself among trees; and the
moon arose and lighted up the two horizons. He was troubled at
finding himself alone in this place and spoke the words, which
whoso says shall never be confounded, that is to say, "There is
no power and no virtue but in God the Most High, the Supreme!"
But as he rode on, in fear of the wild beasts, behold, the trees
thinned and the moon shone out upon a meadow as it were one of
the meads of Paradise and he heard therein a noise of talk and
pleasant laughter such as ravishes the wit of men. So King
Sherkan dismounted and tying his horse to a tree, fared on a
little way, till he espied a stream of running water and heard a
woman talking and saying in Arabic, "By the virtue of the
Messiah, this is not handsome of you! But whoso speaks a word, I
will throw her down and bind her with her girdle." He followed in
the direction of the voice and saw gazelles frisking and wild
cattle pasturing and birds in their various voices expressing joy
and gladness: and the earth was embroidered with all manner of
flowers and green herbs, even as says of it the poet in the
following verses:
Earth has no fairer sight to show than this its blossom-time,
With all the gently running streams that wander o'er its
face.
It is indeed the handiwork of God Omnipotent, The Lord of every
noble gift and Giver of all grace!
Midmost the meadow stood a monastery, and within the enclosure
was a citadel that rose high into the air in the light of the
moon. The stream passed through the midst of the monastery and
therenigh sat ten damsels like moons, high-bosomed maids, clad in
dresses and ornaments that dazzled the eyes, as says of them the
poet:
The meadow glitters with the troops Of lovely ones that wander
there.
Its grace and beauty doubled are By these that are so passing
fair.
Virgins that, with their swimming gait, The hearts of all that
see ensnare;
Along whose necks, like trails of grapes, Stream down the tresses
of their hair:
Proudly they walk, with eyes that dart The shafts and arrows of
despair,
And all the champions of the world Are slain by their seductive
air.
Sherkan looked at the ten girls and saw in their midst a lady
like the moon at its full, with ringleted hair and shining
forehead, great black eyes and curling brow-locks, perfect in
person and attributes, as says the poet:
Her beauty beamed on me with glances wonder-bright: The slender
Syrian spears are not so straight and slight:
She laid her veil aside, and lo, her cheeks rose-red! All manner
lovelyness was in their sweetest sight.
The locks, that o'er her brow fell down, were like the night,
From out of which there shines a morning of delight.
Then Sherkan heard her say to the girls, "Come on, that I may
wrestle with you, ere the moon set and the dawn come." So they
came up to her, one after another, and she overthrew them, one by
one, and bound their hands behind them with their girdles. When
she had thrown them all, there turned to her an old woman, who
was before her, and said, as if she were wroth with her, "O
wanton, dost thou glory in overthrowing these girls? Behold, I am
an old woman, yet have I thrown them forty times! So what hast
thou to boast of? But if thou have strength to wrestle with me,
stand up that I may grip thee and put thy head between thy feet."
The young lady smiled at her words, although her heart was full
of anger against her, and said, "O my lady Dhat ed Dewahi, wilt
indeed wrestle with me, or dost thou jest with me?" "I mean to
wrestle with thee in very deed," replied she. "Stand up to me
then," said the damsel, "if thou have strength to do so." When
the old woman heard this, she was sore enraged and the hair of
her body stood on end, like that of a hedge-hog. Then she sprang
up, whilst the damsel confronted her, and said, "By the virtue of
the Messiah, I will not wrestle with thee, except I be naked." "O
baggage!" So she loosed her trousers and putting her hand under
her clothes, tore them off her body; then, taking a handkerchief
of silk, she bound it about her middle and became as she were a
bald Afriteh or a pied snake. Then she turned to the young lady
and said to her, "Do as I have done." All this time, Sherkan was
watching them and laughing at the loathly favour of the old
woman. So the damsel took a sash of Yemen stuff and doubled it
about her waist, then tucked up her trousers and showed legs of
alabaster and above them a hummock of crystal, soft and swelling,
and a belly that exhaled musk from its dimples, as it were a bed
of blood-red anemones, and breasts like double pomegranates. Then
the old woman bent to her and they took hold of one another,
whilst Sherkan raised his eyes to heaven and prayed to God that
the damsel might conquer the old hag. Presently, the former bored
in under the latter, and gripping her by the breech with the left
hand and by the gullet with the right, hoisted her off the
ground; whereupon the old woman strove to free herself and in the
struggle wriggled out of the girl's hands and fell on her back.
Up went her legs and showed her hairy tout in the moonlight, and
she let fly two great cracks of wind, one of which smote the
earth, whilst the other smoked up to the skies. At this Sherkan
laughed, till he fell to the ground, and said, "He lied not who
dubbed thee Lady of Calamities![FN#7] Verily, thou sawest her
prowess against the others." Then he arose and looked right and
left, but saw none save the old woman thrown down on her back. So
he drew near to hear what should pass between them; and behold,
the young lady came up to the old one and throwing over her a
veil of fine silk, helped her to dress herself, making excuses to
her and saying, "O my lady Dhat ed Dewahi, I did not mean to
throw thee so roughly, but thou wriggledst out of my hands; so
praised be God for safety!" She returned her no answer, but rose
in her confusion and walked away out of sight, leaving the young
lady standing alone, by the other girls thrown down and bound.
Then said Sherkan to himself, "To every fortune there is a cause.
Sleep fell not on me nor did the steed bear me hither but for my
good fortune; for of a surety this damsel and what is with her
shall be my prize." So he turned back and mounted and drew his
scimitar; then he gave his horse the spur and he started off with
him, like an arrow from a bow, whilst he brandished his naked
blade and cried out, "God is Most Great!" When the damsel saw
him, she sprang to her feet and running to the bank of the river,
which was there six cubits wide, made a spring and landed on the
other side, where she turned and standing, cried out in a loud
voice, "Who art thou, sirrah, that breakest in on our pastime,
and that with thy whinger bared, as thou wert charging an army?
Whence comest thou and whither art thou bound? Speak the truth,
and it shall profit thee, and do not lie, for lying is of the
loser's fashion. Doubtless thou hast strayed this night from thy
road, that thou hast happened on this place. So tell me what thou
seekest: if thou wouldst have us set thee in the right road, we
will do so, or if thou seek help, we will help thee." When
Sherkan heard her words, he replied, "I am a stranger of the
Muslims, who am come out by myself in quest of booty, and I have
found no fairer purchase this moonlit night than these ten
damsels; so I will take them and rejoin my comrades with them."
Quoth she, "I would have thee to know that thou hast not yet come
at the booty: and as for these ten damsels, by Allah, they are no
purchase for thee! Indeed, the fairest purchase thou canst look
for is to win free of this place; for thou art now in a mead,
where, if we gave one cry, there would be with us anon four
thousand knights. Did I not tell thee that lying is shameful?"
And he said, "The fortunate man is he to whom God sufficeth and
who hath no need of other than Him." "By the virtue of the
Messiah," replied she, "did I not fear to have thy death at my
hand, I would give a cry that would fill the meadow on thee with
horse and foot; but I have pity on the stranger: so if thou seek
booty, I require of thee that thou dismount from thy horse and
swear to me, by thy faith, that thou wilt not approach me with
aught of arms, and we will wrestle, I and thou. If thou throw me,
lay me on thy horse and take all of us to thy booty; and if I
throw thee, thou shalt be at my commandment. Swear this to me,
for I fear thy perfidy, since experience has it that, as long as
perfidy is in men's natures, to trust in every one is weakness.
But if thou wilt swear, I will come over to thee." Quoth Sherkan
(and indeed he lusted after her and said to himself, "She does
not know that I am a champion of the champions."), "Impose on me
whatever oath thou deemest binding, and I will swear not to draw
near thee till thou hast made thy preparations and sayest, 'Come
and wrestle with me.' If thou throw me, I have wealth wherewith
to ransom myself, and if I throw thee, I shall get fine
purchase." Then said she, "Swear to me by Him who hath lodged the
soul in the body and given laws to mankind, that thou wilt not
beset me with aught of violence, but by way of wrestling; else
mayst thou die out of the pale of Islam." "By Allah," exclaimed
Sherkan, "if a Cadi should swear me, though he were Cadi of the
Cadis, he would not impose on me the like of this oath!" Then he
took the oath she required and tied his horse to a tree, sunken
in the sea of reverie and saying in himself, "Glory to Him who
fashioned her of vile water!"[FN#8] Then he girt himself and made
ready for wrestling and said to her, "Cross the stream to me."
Quoth she, "It is not for me to come to thee: if thou wilt, do
thou cross over to me." "I cannot do that," replied he, and she
said, "O boy, I will come to thee." So she gathered her skirts
and making a spring, landed on the other side of the river by
him; whereupon he drew near to her, wondering at her beauty and
grace, and saw a form that the hand of Omnipotence had tanned
with the leaves of the Jinn and which had been fostered by Divine
solicitude, a form on which the zephyrs of fair fortune had blown
and over whose creation favourable planets had presided. Then she
called out to him, saying, "O Muslim, come and wrestle before the
day break!" and tucked up her sleeves, showing a fore-arm like
fresh curd; the whole place was lighted up by its whiteness and
Sherkan was dazzled by it. Then he bent forward and clapped his
hands and she did the like, and they took hold and gripped each
other. He laid his hands on her slender waist, so that the tips
of his fingers sank into the folds of her belly, and his limbs
relaxed and he stood in the stead of desire, for there was
displayed to him a body, in which was languishment of hearts, and
he fell a-trembling like the Persian reed in the hurricane. So
she lifted him up and throwing him to the ground, sat down on his
breast with buttocks like a hill of sand, for he was not master
of his reason. Then she said to him, "O Muslim, it is lawful
among you to kill Christians; what sayst thou to my killing
thee?" "O my lady," replied he, "as for killing me, it is
unlawful; for our Prophet (whom God bless and preserve!) hath
forbidden the slaying of women and children and old men and
monks." "Since this was revealed unto your prophet," rejoined
she, "it behoves us to be even with him therein; so rise: I give
thee thy life, for beneficence is not lost upon men." Then she
got off his breast and he rose and brushed the earth from his
head, and she said to him, "Be not abashed; but, indeed, one who
enters the land of the Greeks in quest of booty and to succour
kings against kings, how comes it that there is no strength in
him to defend himself against a woman?" "It was not lack of
strength in me," replied he; "nor was it thy strength that
overthrew me, but thy beauty: so if thou wilt grant me another
bout, it will be of thy favour." She laughed and said, "I grant
thee this: but these damsels have been long bound and their arms
and shoulders are weary, and it were fitting I should loose them,
since this next bout may peradventure be a long one." Then she
went up to the girls and unbinding them, said to them in the
Greek tongue, "Go and put yourselves in safety, till I have
brought to nought this Muslim's craving for you." So they went
away, whilst Sherkan looked at them and they gazed at him and the
young lady. Then she and he drew near again and set breast
against breast; but, when he felt her belly against his, his
strength failed him, and she feeling this, lifted him in her
hands, swiftlier than the blinding lightning, and threw him to
the ground. He fell on his back, and she said to him, "Rise, I
give thee thy life a second time. I spared thee before for the
sake of thy prophet, for that he forbade the killing of women,
and I do so this second time because of thy weakness and tender
age and strangerhood; but I charge thee, if there be, in the army
sent by King Omar ben Ennuman to the succour of the King of
Constantinople, a stronger than thou, send him hither and tell
him of me, for in wrestling there are divers kinds of strokes and
tricks, such as feinting and the fore-tripe and the back-tripe
and the leg-crick and the thigh-twist and the jostle and the
cross-buttock." "By Allah, O my lady," replied Sherkan, (and
indeed he was greatly incensed against her), "were I the chief Es
Sefedi or Mohammed Caimal or Ibn es Seddi,[FN#9] I had not
observed the fashion thou namest; for, by Allah, it was not by
thy strength that thou overthrewest me, but by filling me with
the desire of thy buttocks, because we people of Chaldaea love
great thighs, so that nor wit nor foresight was left in me. But
now if thou have a mind to try another fall with me, with my wits
about me, I have a right to this one bout more, by the rules of
the game, for my presence of mind has now returned to me." "Hast
thou not had enough of wrestling, O conquered one?" rejoined she.
"However, come, if thou wilt; but know that this bout must be the
last." Then they took hold of each other and he set to in earnest
and warded himself against being thrown down: so they strained
awhile, and the damsel found in him strength such as she had not
before observed and said to him, "O Muslim, thou art on thy
guard!" "Yes," replied he; "thou knowest that there remaineth but
this bout, and after each of us will go his own way." She laughed
and he laughed too: then she seized the opportunity to bore in
upon him unawares, and gripping him by the thigh, threw him to
the ground, so that he fell on his back. She laughed at him and
said, "Thou art surely an eater of bran; for thou art like a
Bedouin bonnet, that falls at a touch, or a child's toy, that a
puff of air overturns. Out on thee, thou poor creature! Go back
to the army of the Muslims and send us other than thyself, for
thou lackest thews, and cry us among the Arabs and Persians and
Turks and Medes, 'Whoso has might in him, let him come to us.'"
Then she made a spring and landed on the other side of the stream
and said to Sherkan, laughing, "It goes to my heart to part with
thee; get thee to thy friends, O my lord, before the morning,
lest the knights come upon thee and take thee on the points of
their lances. Thou hast not strength enough to defend thee
against women; so how couldst thou make head against men and
cavaliers?" And she turned to go back to the monastery. Sherkan
was confounded and called out to her, saying, "O my lady, wilt
thou go away and leave the wretched stranger, the broken-hearted
slave of love?" So she turned to him, laughing, and said, "What
wouldst thou? I grant thy prayer." "Have I set foot in thy
country and tasted the sweetness of thy favours," replied
Sherkan, "and shall I return without eating of thy victual
and tasting thy hospitality? Indeed I am become one of thy
servitors." Quoth she, "None but the base refuses hospitality; on
my head and eyes be it! Do me the favour to mount and ride along
the bank of the stream, abreast of me, for thou art my guest." At
this Sherkan rejoiced and hastening back to his horse, mounted
and rode along the river-bank, keeping abreast of her, till he
came to a drawbridge, that hung by pulleys and chains of steel,
made fast with hooks and padlocks. Here stood the ten damsels
awaiting the lady, who spoke to one of them in the Greek tongue
and said to her, "Go to him and take his horse's rein and bring
him over to the monastery." So she went up to Sherkan and led him
over the bridge to the other side and he followed her, amazed at
what he saw and saying in himself, "Would the Vizier Dendan were
with me, to look on these fair faces with his own eyes." Then he
turned to the young lady and said to her, "O wonder of beauty,
now art thou doubly bound to me, firstly, by the bond of
comradeship, and secondly for that thou carriest me to thy house
and I accept of thy hospitality and am at thy disposal and under
thy protection. So do me the favour to go with me to the land of
Islam, where thou shalt look upon many a lion-hearted prince and
know who I am." His speech angered her and she said to him, "By
the virtue of the Messiah, thou art keen of wit with me! But I
see now what depravity is in thy heart and how thou allowest
thyself to say a thing that proves thee a traitor. How should I
do what thou sayest, when I know that, if I came to thy King Omar
ben Ennuman, I should never win free of him? For he has not the
like of me among his women nor in his palace, all lord of Baghdad
and Khorassan as he is, with his twelve palaces, in number as the
months of the year, and his concubines therein, in number as the
days thereof; and if I come to him, he will not respect me, for
that ye hold it lawful to take possession of the like of me, as
it is said in your scripture, 'That which your right hand
possesses.'[FN#10] So how canst thou speak thus to me? As for thy
saying, 'Thou shalt look upon the champions of the Muslims,' by
the Messiah, thou sayst that which is not true; for I saw your
army, when it reached our country, these two days ago, and I did
not see that your ordinance was that of kings, but beheld you
only as a rabble of men collected together. And as for thy
saying, 'Thou shalt know who I am,' I did not show thee courtesy
of any intent to honour thee, but out of pride in myself; and the
like of thee should not say this to the like of me, even though
thou be Sherkan himself, King Omar ben Ennuman's son, who is
renowned in these days." "And dost thou know Sherkan?" asked he.
"Yes," replied she; "and I know of his coming with an army of ten
thousand horse, for that he was sent by his father with these
troops to the succour of the King of Constantinople." "O my
lady," rejoined Sherkan, "I conjure thee, as thou believest in
thy religion, tell me the cause of all this, that I may know
truth from falsehood and with whom the fault lies." "By the
virtue of thy faith," replied she, "were it not that I fear lest
the news of me be bruited abroad that I am of the daughters of
the Greeks, I would adventure myself and sally forth against the
ten thousand horse and kill their chief, the Vizier Dendan, and
take their champion Sherkan. Nor would there be any reproach to
me in this, for I have read books and know the Arabic language
and have studied good breeding and polite letters. But I have no
need to vaunt my own prowess to thee, for thou hast tasted of my
quality and proved my strength and skill and pre-eminence in
wrestling; nor if Sherkan himself had been in thy place to-night
and it had been said to him, 'Leap this river,' could he have
done so. And I could wish well that the Messiah would throw him
into my hands here in this monastery, that I might go forth to
him in the habit of a man and pull him from his saddle and take
him prisoner and lay him in fetters." When Sherkan heard this,
pride and heat and warlike jealousy overcame him and he was
minded to discover himself and lay violent hands on her but her
beauty held him back from her, and he repeated the following
verse:
Their charms, whatever fault the fair commit, A thousand
intercessors bring for it.
So she went up, and he after her; whilst he looked at her back
and saw her buttocks smiting against each other, like the billows
in the troubled sea; and he recited the following verses:
In her face an advocate harbours, who blots out her every fault
From the hearts of mankind, for he is mighty to intercede.
Whenas I look at her face, I cry in my wonder aloud, "The moon of
the skies in the night of her full is risen indeed!"
If the Afrit of Belkis[FN#11] himself should wrestle a fall with
her, Her charms would throw him forthright, for all his
strength and speed.
They went on till they reached a vaulted gate, arched over with
marble. This she opened and entered with Sherkan into a long
vestibule, vaulted with ten arches from each of which hung a lamp
of crystal, shining like the rays of the sun. The damsels met her
at the end of the vestibule, bearing perfumed flambeaux and
having on their heads kerchiefs embroidered with all manner
jewels and went on before her, till they came to the inward of
the monastery, where Sherkan saw couches set up all around,
facing one another and overhung with curtains spangled with gold.
The floor was paved with all kinds of variegated marbles, and in
the midst was a basin of water, with four-and-twenty spouts of
gold around it, from which issued water like liquid silver;
whilst at the upper end stood a throne covered with silks of
royal purple. Then said the damsel, "O my lord, mount this
throne." So he seated himself on it, and she withdrew: and when
she had been absent awhile, he asked the servants of her, and
they said, "She hath gone to her sleeping-chamber; but we will
serve thee as thou shalt order." So they set before him rare
meats and he ate till he was satisfied, when they brought him a
basin of gold and an ewer of silver, and he washed his hands.
Then his mind reverted to his troops, and he was troubled,
knowing not what had befallen them in his absence and thinking
how he had forgotten his father's injunctions, so that he abode
oppressed with anxiety and repenting of what he had done, till
the dawn broke and the day appeared, when he lamented and sighed
and became drowned in the sea of melancholy, repeating the
following verses:
I lack not of prudence and yet in this case I've been fooled; so
what shift shall avail unto me?
If any could ease me of love and its stress, Of my might and my
virtue I'd set myself free.
But alas! my heart's lost in the maze of desire, And no helper
save God in my strait can I see.
Hardly had he finished, when up came more than twenty damsels
like moons, encompassing the young lady, who appeared amongst
them as the full moon among stars. She was clad in royal brocade
and girt with a woven girdle set with various kinds of jewels,
that straitly clasped her waist and made her buttocks stand out
as they were a hill of crystal upholding a wand of silver; and
her breasts were like double pomegranates. On her head she wore a
network of pearls, gemmed with various kinds of jewels, and she
moved with a coquettish swimming gait, swaying wonder-gracefully,
whilst the damsels held up her skirts. When Sherkan saw her
beauty and grace, he was transported for joy and forgot his army
and the Vizier Dendan end springing to his feet, cried out,
"Beware, beware of that girdle rare!" and repeated the following
verses:
Heavy of buttocks, languorous of gait, With limber shape and
breasts right delicate,
She hides what passion in her bosom burns; Yet cannot I my heat
dissimulate.
Her maidens, like strung pearls, behind her fare, Now all
dispersed now knit in ordered state.
She fixed her eyes on him and considered him awhile, till she was
assured of him, when she came up to him and said, "Indeed the
place is honoured and illumined by thy presence, O Sherkan! How
didst thou pass the night, O hero, after we went away and left
thee? Verily lying is a defect and a reproach in kings,
especially in great kings; and thou art Sherkan, son of King Omar
ben Ennuman; so henceforth tell me nought but truth and strive
not to keep the secret of thy condition, for falsehood engenders
hatred and enmity. The arrow of destiny hath fallen on thee, and
it behoves thee to show resignation and submission." When Sherkan
heard what she said, he saw nothing for it but to tell her the
truth so he said, "I am indeed Sherkan, son of Omar ben Ennuman,
whom fortune hath afflicted and cast into this place: so now do
whatsoever thou wilt." She bowed her head a long while, then
turned to him and said, "Reassure thyself and be of good cheer;
for thou art my guest, and bread and salt have passed between us;
so art thou in my safeguard and under my protection. Have no
fear; by the virtue of the Messiah, if all the people of the
earth sought to harm thee, they should not come at thee till the
breath had left my body for thy sake; for thou art under my
protection and that of the Messiah." Then she sat down by his
side and began to sport with him, till his alarm subsided and he
knew that, had she been minded to kill him, she would have done
so on the past night. After awhile, she spoke in the Greek tongue
to one of her serving-women, who went away and returned in a
little with a goblet and a tray of food; but Sherkan abstained
from eating, saying in himself, "Maybe she hath put somewhat in
this meat." She knew what was in his thought; so she turned to
him and said, "By the virtue of the Messiah, the case is not as
thou deemest, nor is there aught in this food of what thou
suspectest! Were I minded to kill thee, I had done so before
now." Then she came to the table and ate a mouthful of every
dish, whereupon Sherkan came forward and fell to. She was pleased
at this, and they both ate till they were satisfied, after which
she let bring perfumes and sweet-smelling herbs and wines of all
colours and kinds, in vessels of gold and silver and crystal. She
filled a first cup and drank it off, before offering it to
Sherkan, even as she had done with the food. Then she filled a
second time and gave the cup to him. He drank and she said to
him, "See, O Muslim, how thou art in the utmost delight and
pleasure of life!" And she ceased not to drink and to ply him
with drink, till he took leave of his wits, for the wine and the
intoxication of love for her. Presently she said to the
serving-maid, "O Merjaneh, bring us some instruments of music."
"I hear and obey," replied Merjaneh, and going out, returned
immediately with a lute, a Persian harp, a Tartar flute and an
Egyptian dulcimer. The young lady took the lute and tuning it,
sang to it in a dulcet voice, softer than the zephyr and sweeter
than the waters of Tesnim,[FN#12] the following verses:
May Allah assoilzie thine eyes! How much is the blood they have
shed! How great is the tale of the shafts thy pitiless
glances have sped!
I honour the mistress, indeed, that harshly her suitor entreats;
'Tis sin in the loved to relent or pity a lover misled.
Fair fortune and grace to the eyes that watch the night,
sleepless, for thee, And hail to the heart of thy slave, by
day that is heavy as lead!
'Tis thine to condemn me to death, for thou art my king and my
lord. With my life I will ransom the judge, who heapeth
unright on my head.
Then each of the damsels rose and taking an instrument played and
sang to it in the Greek language. The lady their mistress, sang
also, to Sherkan's delight. Then she said to him, "O Muslim, dost
thou understand what I say?" "No," replied he; "it was the beauty
of thy finger-tips that threw me into ecstasies." She laughed and
said, "If I sang to thee in Arabic, what wouldst thou do?" "I
should lose the mastery of my reason," replied he. So she took an
instrument and changing the measure, sang the following verses:
Parting must ever bitter be; How shall one bear it patiently?
Three things are heavy on my heart, Absence, estrangement,
cruelty.
I love a fair to whom I'm thrall, And severance bitter is to me.
Then she looked at Sherkan and found he had lost his senses for
delight: and he lay amongst them insensible awhile, after which
he revived and recalling the singing inclined to mirth. Then they
fell again to drinking and ceased not from sport and merriment
till the day departed with the evening and the night let fall her
wings. Thereupon she rose and retired to her chamber. Sherkan
enquired after her and being told that she was gone to her
bedchamber, said, "I commend her to the safe-keeping of God and
to His protection!" As soon as it was day, a waiting-woman came
to him and said, "My mistress bids thee to her." So he rose and
followed her, and as he drew near her lodging, the damsels
received him with smitten tabrets and songs of greeting and
escorted him to a great door of ivory set with pearls and jewels.
Here they entered and he found himself in a spacious saloon, at
the upper end of which was a great estrade, carpeted with various
kinds of silk, and round it open lattices giving upon trees and
streams. About the place were figures, so fashioned that the air
entered them and set in motion instruments of music within them,
and it seemed to the beholder as if they spoke. Here sat the
young lady, looking on the figures; but when she saw Sherkan, she
sprang to her feet and taking him by the hand, made him sit down
by her and asked him how he had passed the night. He blessed her
and they sat talking awhile, till she said to him, "Knowest thou
aught touching lovers and slaves of passion?" "Yes," replied he;
"I know some verses on the subject." "Let me hear them," said
she. So he repeated the following verses:
Pleasure and health, O Azzeh, and good digestion to thee! How
with our goods and our names and our honours thou makest
free!
By Allah, whene'er I blow hot, she of a sudden blows cold, And no
sooner do I draw near, than off at a tangent flies she!
Indeed, as I dote upon Azzeh, as soon as I've cleared me of all
That stands between us and our loves, she turns and abandons
me;
As a traveller that trusts in the shade of a cloud for his
noontide rest, But as soon as he halts, the shade flits and
the cloud in the distance cloth flee.
When she heard this, she said, "Verily Kutheiyir[FN#13] was a
poet of renown and a master of chaste eloquence and attained rare
perfection in praise of Azzeh, especially when he says:
'If Azzeh should before a judge the sun of morning cite, Needs
must the umpire doom to her the meed of beauty bright;
And women all, who come to me, at her to rail and flite, God make
your cheeks the sandal-soles whereon her feet alight!'
"And indeed it is reported," added she, "that Azzeh was endowed
with the extreme of beauty and grace." Then she said to Sherkan,
"O king's son, dost thou know aught of Jemil's[FN#14] verses to
Butheineh?" "Yes," replied he; "none knows Jemil's verses better
than I." And he repeated the following:
"Up and away to the holy war, Jemil!" they say; and I, "What have
I to do with waging war except among the fair?"
For deed and saying with them alike are full of ease and cheer,
And he's a martyr[FN#15] who tilts with them and falleth
fighting there.
If I say to Butheineh, "What is this love, that eateth my life
away?" She answers, "Tis rooted fast in thy heart and will
increase fore'er."
Or if I beg her to give me back some scantling of my wit,
Wherewith to deal with the folk and live, she answereth,
"Hope it ne'er!"
Thou willst my death, ah, woe is me! thou willst nought else but
that; Yet I, I can see no goal but thee, towards which my
wishes fare.
"Thou hast done well, O king's son," said she, "and Jemil also
did excellently well. But what would Butheineh have done with him
that he says, 'Thou wishest to kill me and nought else?'" "O my
lady," replied he, "she sought to do with him what thou seekest
to do with me, and even that will not content thee." She laughed
at his answer, and they ceased not to carouse till the day
departed and the night came with the darkness. Then she rose and
went to her sleeping-chamber, and Sherkan slept in his place till
the morning. As soon as he awoke, the damsels came to him with
tambourines and other instruments of music, according to their
wont, and kissing the earth before him, said to him, "In the name
of God, deign to follow us; for our mistress bids thee to her."
So he rose and accompanied the girls, who escorted him, smiting
on tabrets and other instruments of music, to another saloon,
bigger than the first and decorated with pictures and figures of
birds and beasts, passing description. Sherkan wondered at the
fashion of the place and repeated the following verses:
My rival plucks, of the fruits of the necklets branching wide,
Pearls of the breasts in gold enchased and beautified
With running fountains of liquid silver in streams And cheeks of
rose and beryl, side by side.
It seemeth, indeed, as if the violet's colour vied With the
sombre blue of the eyes, with antimony dyed.[FN#16]
When the lady saw Sherkan, she came to meet him, and taking him
by the hand, said to him, "O son of King Omar ben Ennuman, hast
thou any skill in the game of chess?" "Yes," replied he; "but do
not thou be as says the poet." And he repeated the following
verses:
I speak, and passion, the while, folds and unfolds me aye; But a
draught of the honey of love my spirits thirst could stay.
I sit at the chess with her I love, and she plays with me, With
white and with black; but this contenteth me no way.
Meseemeth as if the king were set in the place of the rook And
sought with the rival queens a bout of the game to play.
And if I looked in her eyes, to spy the drift of her moves, The
amorous grace of her glance would doom me to death
straightaway.
Then she brought the chess-board and played with him; but instead
of looking at her moves, he looked at her face and set the knight
in the place of the elephant[FN#17] and the elephant in the place
of the knight. She laughed and said to him, "If this be thy play,
thou knowest nothing of the game." "This is only the first bout,"
replied he; "take no count of it." She beat him, and he replaced
the pieces and played again with her; but she beat him a second
time and a third and a fourth and a fifth. So she fumed to him
and said, "Thou art beaten in everything." "O my lady," answered
he, "how should one not be beaten, who plays with the like of
thee?" Then she called for food, and they ate and washed their
hands, after which the maids brought wine, and they drank.
Presently, the lady took the dulcimer, for she was skilled to
play thereon, and sang to it the following verses:
Fortune is still on the shift, now gladness and now woe; I liken
it to the tide, in its ceaseless ebb and flow.
So drink, if thou have the power, whilst it is yet serene, Lest
it at unawares depart, and thou not know.
They gave not over carousing till nightfall, and this day was
pleasanter than the first. When the night came, the lady went to
her sleeping-chamber, leaving Sherkan with the damsels. So he
threw himself on the ground and slept till the morning, when
the damsels came to him with tambourines and other musical
instruments, according to their wont. When he saw them, he sat
up; and they took him and carried him to their mistress, who came
to meet him and taking him by the hand, made him sit down by her
side. Then she asked him how he had passed the night, to which he
replied by wishing her long life; and she took the lute and sang
the following verses:
Incline not to parting, I pray, For bitter its taste is alway.
The sun at his setting grows pale, To think he must part from the
day.
Hardly had she made an end of singing, when there arose of a
sudden a great clamour, and a crowd of men and knights rushed
into the place, with naked swords gleaming in their hands, crying
out in the Greek tongue, "Thou hast fallen into our hands, O
Sherkan! Be sure of death!" When he heard this, he said to
himself, "By Allah, she hath laid a trap for me and held me in
play, till her men should come! These are the knights with whom
she threatened me: but it is I who have thrown myself into this
peril." Then he turned to the lady to reproach her, but saw that
she had changed colour; and she sprang to her feet and said to
the new-comers, "Who are ye?" "O noble princess and unpeered
pearl," replied the knight their chief, "dost thou know who is
this man with thee?" "Not I," answered she. "Who is he?" Quoth
the knight, "He is the despoiler of cities and prince of
cavaliers, Sherkan, son of King Omar ben Ennuman. This is he who
captures the citadels and masters the most impregnable strengths.
The news of him reached King Herdoub, thy father, by the report
of the old princess Dhat ed Dewahi; and thou hast done good
service to the army of the Greeks by helping them to lay hands on
this pestilent lion." When she heard this, she looked at the
knight and said to him, "What is thy name?" And he answered, "My
name is Masoureh son of thy slave Mousoureh ben Kasherdeh, chief
of the nobles." Quoth she, "And how camest thou in to me without
my leave?" "O our lady," replied he, "when I came to the gate,
neither chamberlain nor porter offered me any hindrance; but all
the gate-keepers rose and forewent me as of wont; though, when
others come, they leave them standing at the gate, whilst they
ask leave for them to enter. But this is no time for long talk,
for the King awaits our return to him with this prince, who is
the mainstay of the army of Islam, that he may kill him and that
his troops may depart whence they came, without our having the
toil of fighting them." "Thou sayest an ill thing," rejoined the
princess. "Verily, the lady Dhat ed Dewahi lied; and she hath
avouched a vain thing, of which she knows not the truth; for by
the virtue of the Messiah, this man who is with me is not
Sherkan, nor is he a captive, but a stranger, who came to us,
seeking hospitality, and we received him as a guest. So, even
were we assured that this was Sherkan and did we know that it was
he beyond doubt, it would suit ill with my honour that I should
deliver into your hands one who hath come under my safeguard.
Betray me not, therefore, in the person of my guest, neither
bring me into ill repute among men; but return to the King my
father and kiss the earth before him and tell him that the case
is not according to the report of the lady Dhat ed Dewahi." "O
Abrizeh," replied the knight Masoureh, "I cannot go back to the
King without his enemy." Quoth she (and indeed she was angry),
"Out on thee! Return to him with the answer, and no blame shall
fall on thee." But he said, "I will not return without him." At
this her colour changed and she exclaimed, "A truce to talk and
idle words; for of a verity this man would not have come in to
us, except he were assured that he could of himself make head
against a hundred horse; and if I said to him, 'Art thou Sherkan,
son of King Omar ben Ennuman?' he would answer, 'Yes.' Nathless,
it is not in your power to hinder him; for if ye beset him, he
will not turn back from you, till he have slain all that are in
the place. Behold, he is with me and I will bring him before you,
with his sword and buckler in his hands." "If I be safe from thy
wrath," replied Masoureh, "I am not safe from that of thy father,
and when I see him, I shall sign to the knights to take him
prisoner, and we will carry him, bound and abject, to the King."
When she heard this, she said, "The thing shall not pass thus,
for it would be a disgrace. This man is but one and ye are a
hundred. So, an ye be minded to attack him, come out against him,
one after one, that it may appear to the King which is the
valiant amongst you." "By the Messiah," rejoined Masoureh, "thou
sayest sooth, and none but I shall go out against him first!"
Then she said, "Wait till I go to him and tell him and hear what
he says. If he consent, it is well but if he refuse, ye shall not
anywise come at him, for I and my damsels and all that are in the
house will be his ransom." So she went to Sherkan and told him
the case, whereat he smiled and knew that she had not betrayed
him, but that the matter had been bruited abroad, till it came to
the King, against her wish. So he laid all the blame on himself,
saying, "How came I to venture myself in the country of the
Greeks?" Then he said to her, "Indeed, to let them tilt against
me, one by one, were to lay on them a burden more than they can
bear. Will they not come out against me, ten by ten?" "That were
knavery and oppression," replied she. "One man is a match for
another." When he heard this, he sprang to his feet and made
towards them, with his sword and battle-gear; and Masoureh also
sprang up and rushed on him. Sherkan met him like a lion and
smote him with his sword upon the shoulder, that the blade came
out gleaming from his back and vitals. When the princess saw
this, Sherkan's prowess was magnified in her eyes and she knew
that she had not overthrown him by her strength, but by her
beauty and grace. So she turned to the knights and said to them,
"Avenge your chief!" Thereupon out came the slain man's brother,
a fierce warrior, and rushed upon Sherkan, who delayed not, but
smote him on the shoulders, and the sword came out, gleaming,
from his vitals. Then cried the princess, "O servants of the
Messiah, avenge your comrades!" So they ceased not to come out
against him, one by one, and he plied them with the sword, till
he had slain fifty knights, whilst the princess looked on. And
God cast terror into the hearts of those who were left, so that
they held back and dared not meet him in single combat, but
rushed on him all at once; and he drove at them with a heart
firmer than a rock and smote them as the thresher smiteth the
corn, till he had driven sense and life forth of them. Then the
princess cried out to her damsels, saying, "Who is left in the
monastery?" "None but the porters," replied they; whereupon she
went up to Sherkan and embraced him, and he returned with her to
the saloon, after he had made an end of the mellay. Now there
remained a few of the knights hidden in the cells of the convent,
and when Abrizeh saw this, she rose and going away, returned,
clad in a strait-ringed coat of mail and holding in her hand a
scimitar of Indian steel. And she said, "By the virtue of the
Messiah, I will not be grudging of myself for my guest nor will I
abandon him, though for this I abide a reproach in the land of
the Greeks!" Then she counted the dead and found that he had
slain fourscore of the knights and other twenty had taken flight.
When she saw how he had dealt with them, she said to him, "God
bless thee, O Sherkan! The cavaliers may well glory in the like
of thee!" Then he rose and wiping his sword of the blood of the
slain, repeated the following verses:
How often in battle I've cleft the array And given the champions
to wild beasts a prey!
Ask all men what happened to me and to them, When I drove through
the ranks on the sword-smiting day.
I left ail their lions of war overthrown: On the sun-scorched
sands of those countries they lay.
When he had finished, the princess came up to him and kissed his
hand; then she put off her coat of mail, and he said to her, "O
my lady, wherefore didst thou don that coat of mail and bare thy
sabre?" "It was of my care for thee against yonder wretches,"
replied she. Then she called the porters and said to them, "How
came you to let the king's men enter my house, without my leave!"
"O princess," replied they, "we have not used to need to ask
leave for the king's messengers, and especially for the chief of
the knights." Quoth she, "I think you were minded to dishonour me
and slay my guest." And she bade Sherkan strike off their heads.
He did so and she said to the rest of her servants, "Indeed, they
deserved more than that." Then turning to Sherkan, she said to
him, "Now that there hath become manifest to thee what was
hidden, I will tell thee my story. Know, then, that I am the
daughter of Herdoub, King of Roum; my name is Abrizeh and the old
woman called Dhat ed Dewahi is my grandmother, my father's
mother. She it was who told my father of thee, and she will
certainly cast about to ruin me, especially as thou hast slain my
father's men and it is noised abroad that I have made common
cause with the Muslims. Wherefore it were wiser that I should
leave dwelling here, what while Dhat ed Dewahi is behind me; but
I claim of thee the like kindness and courtesy I have shown thee,
for my father and I are now become at odds on thine account. So
do not thou omit to do aught that I shall say to thee, for indeed
all this hath fallen out through thee." At this, Sherkan was
transported for joy and his breast dilated, and he said, "By
Allah, none shall come at thee, whilst my life lasts in my body!
But canst thou endure the parting from thy father and thy folk?"
"Yes," answered she. So Sherkan swore to her and they made a
covenant of this. Then said she, "Now my heart is at ease; but
there is one other condition I must exact of thee." "What is
that?" asked Sherkan. "It is," replied she, "that thou return
with thy troops to thine own country." "O my lady," said he, "my
father, King Omar ben Ennuman, sent me to make war upon thy
father, on account of the treasure he took from the King of
Constantinople, and amongst the rest three great jewels, rich in
happy properties." "Reassure thyself," answered she; "I will tell
thee the truth of the matter and the cause of the feud between us
and the King of Constantinople. Know that we have a festival
called the Festival of the Monastery, for which each year the
kings' daughters of various countries and the wives and daughters
of the notables and merchants resort to a certain monastery and
abide there seven days. I was wont to resort thither with the
rest; but when there befell hostility between us, my father
forbade me to be present at the festival for the space of seven
years. One year, it chanced that amongst the young ladies who
resorted to the Festival as of wont, there came the King's
daughter of Constantinople, a handsome girl called Sufiyeh.
They tarried at the monastery six days, and on the seventh,
the folk went away; but Sufiyeh said, 'I will not return to
Constantinople, but by sea.' So they fitted her out a ship, in
which she embarked, she and her suite, and put out to sea; but as
they sailed, a contrary wind caught them and drove the ship from
her course, till, as fate and providence would have it, she fell
in with a ship of the Christians from the Island of Camphor, with
a crew of five hundred armed Franks, who had been cruising about
for some time. When they sighted the sails of the ship in which
were Sufiyeh and her maidens, they gave chase in all haste and
coming up with her before long, threw grapnels on board and made
fast to her. Then they made all sail for their own island and
were but a little distant from it, when the wind veered and rent
their sails and cast them on to a reef on our coast. Thereupon we
sallied forth on them, and looking on them as booty driven to us
by fate, slew the men and made prize of the ships, in which we
found the treasures and rarities in question and forty damsels,
amongst whom was Sufiyeh. We carried the damsels to my father,
not knowing that the King's daughter of Constantinople was among
them, and he chose out ten of them, including Sufiyeh, for
himself, and divided the rest among his courtiers. Then he set
apart Sufiyeh and four other girls and sent them to thy father,
King Omar ben Ennuman, together with other presents, such as
cloth and stuffs of wool and Grecian silks. Thy father accepted
them and chose out from amongst the five girls the princess
Sufiyeh, daughter of King Afridoun; nor did we hear aught more of
the matter till the beginning of this year, when King Afridoun
wrote to my father in terms which it befits not to repeat,
reproaching and menacing him and saying to him, 'Two years ago,
there fell into thy hands a ship of ours, that had been seized by
a company of Frankish corsairs and in which was my daughter
Sufiyeh, attended by near threescore damsels. Yet thou sentest
none to tell me of this and I could not make the case public,
lest disgrace fall on my repute among the kings, by reason of my
daughter's dishonour. So I kept the affair secret till this year,
when I communicated with certain of the Frankish pirates and
sought news of my daughter from the kings of the islands. They
replied, "By Allah, we carried her not forth of thy realm, but we
have heard that King Herdoub took her from certain pirates." And
they told me all that had befallen her. So now, except thou wish
to be at feud with me and design to disgrace me and dishonour my
daughter, thou wilt forthright, as soon as this letter reaches
thee, send my daughter back to me. But if thou pay no heed to my
letter and disobey my commandment, I will assuredly requite thee
thy foul dealing and the baseness of thine acts.' When my father
read this letter, it was grievous to him and he regretted not
having known that Sufiyeh, King Afridoun's daughter, was amongst
the captured damsels, that he might have sent her back to her
father; and he was perplexed about the affair, for that, after
the lapse of so long a time, he could not send to King Omar ben
Ennuman and demand her back from him, the more that he had lately
heard that God had vouchsafed him children by this very Sufiyeh.
So when we considered the matter, we knew that this letter was
none other than a great calamity; and nothing would serve but
that my father must write an answer to it, making his excuses to
King Afridoun and swearing to him that he knew not that his
daughter was among the girls in the ship and setting forth how he
had sent her to King Omar ben Ennuman and God had vouchsafed him
children by her. When my father's reply reached King Afridoun, he
rose and sat down and roared and foamed at the mouth, exclaiming,
'What! shall he make prize of my daughter and she become a
slave-girl and be passed from hand to hand and sent for a gift to
kings, and they lie with her without a contract? By the virtue of
the Messiah and the true faith, I will not desist till I have
taken my revenge for this and wiped out my disgrace, and indeed I
will do a deed that the chroniclers shall chronicle after me.' So
he took patience till he had devised a plot and laid great
snares, when he sent an embassy to thy father King Omar, to tell
him that which thou hast heard so that thy father equipped thee
and an army with thee and sent thee to him, Afridoun's object
being to lay hold of thee and thine army with thee. As for the
three jewels of which he told thy father, he spoke not the truth
of them; for they were with Sufiyeh and my father took them from
her, when she fell into his hands, she and her maidens, and gave
them to me, and they are now with me. So go thou to thy troops
and turn them back, ere they fare farther into the land of the
Franks and the country of the Greeks; for as soon as you are come
far enough into the inward of the country, they will stop the
roads upon you, and there will be no escape for you from their
hands till the day of rewards and punishments. I know that thy
troops are still where thou leftest them, because thou didst
order them to halt there three days; and they have missed thee
all this time and know not what to do." When Sherkan heard her
words, he was absent awhile in thought then he kissed Abrizeh's
hand and said, "Praise be to God who hath bestowed thee on me and
appointed thee to be the cause of my salvation and that of those
who are with me! But it is grievous to me to part from thee and I
know not what will become of thee after my departure." Quoth she,
"Go now to thy troops and lead them back, whilst ye are yet near
your own country. If the ambassadors are still with them, lay
hands on them, that the case may be made manifest to thee, and
after three days I will rejoin thee and we will all enter Baghdad
together; but forget thou not the compact between us." Then she
rose to bid him farewell and assuage the fire of longing; so she
took leave of him and embraced him and wept sore; whereupon
passion and desire were sore upon him and he also wept and
repeated the following verses:
I bade her farewell, whilst my right hand was wiping my eyes, And
still with my left, the while, I held her in close embrace.
Then, "Fearest thou not disgrace?" quoth she; and I answered,
"No. Sure, on the parting-day, for lovers there's no
disgrace!"
Then Sherkan left her and went without the monastery, where they
brought him his horse and he mounted and rode down the bank of
the stream, till he came to the bridge, and crossing it, entered
the forest. As soon as he was clear of the trees and came to the
open country, he was aware of three horsemen pricking towards
him. So he drew his sword and rode on cautiously: but as they
drew near he recognized them and behold, it was the Vizier Dendan
and two of his officers. When they saw him and knew him, they
dismounted and saluting him, asked the reason of his absence,
whereupon he told them all that had passed between him and the
princess Abrizeh from first to last. The Vizier returned thanks
to God the Most High for his safety and said, "Let us at once
depart hence, for the ambassadors that were with us are gone to
inform their king of our arrival, and belike he will hasten to
fall on us and seize us." So they rode on in haste, till they
came to the camp, when Sherkan commanded to depart forthright,
and the army set out and journeyed by forced marches for five
days, at the end of which time they alighted in a thickly wooded
valley, where they rested awhile. Then they set out again and
fared on till they came to the frontiers of their own country.
Here they felt themselves in safety and halted to rest; and the
country people came out to them with guest-gifts and victual and
fodder for the cattle. They lay there and rested two days; after
which Sherkan bade the Vizier Dendan fare forward to Baghdad with
his troops, and he did so. But Sherkan himself abode behind with
a hundred horse, till the rest of the army had been gone a day,
when he mounted, he and his men, and fared on two parasangs'
space, till they came to a narrow pass between two mountains and
behold, there arose a great cloud of dust in their front. So they
halted their horses awhile, till the dust lifted and discovered a
hundred cavaliers, as they were fierce lions, cased in complete
steel As soon as they came within earshot of Sherkan and his men,
they cried out to them, saying, "By John and Mary, we have gotten
what we hoped! We have been following you by forced marches,
night and day, till we forewent you in this place. So alight and
lay down your arms and yield yourselves, that we may grant you
your lives." When Sherkan heard this, his eyes rolled and his
cheeks flushed and he said, "O dogs of Nazarenes, how dare ye
enter our country and set foot on our earth? And doth not this
suffice you, but ye must adventure yourselves and give us such
words as these? Do ye think to escape out of our hands and return
to your country?" Then he cried out to his hundred horse, saying,
"Up and at these dogs, for they are even as you in number!" So
saying, he drew his sword and drove at them, without further
parley, he and his hundred men. The Franks received them with
hearts stouter than stone, and they met, man to man. Then fell
champion upon champion and there befell a sore strife and great
was the terror and the roar of the battle; nor did they leave
jousting and foining and smiting with swords, till the day
departed and the night came with the darkness; when they drew
apart, and Sherkan mustered his men and found them all unhurt,
save four who were slightly wounded. Then said he to them, "By
Allah, all my life I have waded in the surging sea of war and
battle, but never saw I any so firm and stout in sword-play and
shock of men as these warriors!" "Know, O King," replied they,
"that there is among them a Frank cavalier, who is their leader,
and indeed he is a man of valour and his strokes are terrible:
but, by Allah, he spares us, great and small; for whoso falls
into his hands, he lets him go and forbears to slay him. By
Allah, an he would, he could kill us all!" When Sherkan heard
this, he was confounded and said, "To-morrow, we will draw out
and defy them to single combat, for we are a hundred to their
hundred; and we will seek help against them from the Lord of the
heavens." Meanwhile, the Franks came to their leader and said to
him, "Of a truth, we have not come by our desire of these this
day." "To-morrow," quoth he, "we will draw out and joust against
them, one by one." So they passed the night in this mind, and
both camps kept watch till the morning. As soon as God the Most
High brought on the day, King Sherkan mounted, with his hundred
horse, and they betook themselves to the field, where they found
the Franks ranged in battle array, and Sherkan said to his men,
"Verily, our enemies are of the same mind as we; so up and at
them briskly." Then came forth a herald of the Franks and cried
out, saying, "Let there be no fighting betwixt us to-day, except
by way of single combat, a champion of yours against one of
ours!" Thereupon one of Sherkan's men came out from the ranks and
spurring between the two parties, cried out, "Who is for
jousting? Who is for fighting? Let no laggard nor weakling come
out against me to-day!" Hardly had he made an end of speaking,
when there sallied forth to him a Frankish horseman, armed
cap-a-pie and clad in cloth of gold, riding on a gray horse, and
he had no hair on his cheeks. He drove his horse into the midst
of the field and the two champions fell to cutting and thrusting,
nor was it long before the Frank smote the Muslim with his lance
and unhorsing him, took him prisoner and bore him off in triumph.
At this, his comrades rejoiced and forbidding him to go out
again, sent forth another to the field, to whom sallied out a
second Muslim, the brother of the first. The two drove at each
other and fought for a little, till the Frank ran at the Muslim
and throwing him off his guard by a feint, smote him with the
butt-end of his spear and unhorsed him and took him prisoner.
After this fashion, the Muslims ceased not to come forth and the
Franks to unhorse them and take them prisoner, till the day
departed and the night came with the darkness. Now they had
captured twenty cavaliers of the Muslims, and when Sherkan saw
this, it was grievous to him, and he mustered his men and said to
them, "What is this thing that hath befallen us? To-morrow
morning, I myself will go out into the field and seek to joust
with their chief and learn his reason for entering our country
and warn him against fighting. If he persist, we will do battle
with him, and if he proffer peace, we will make peace with him."
They passed the night thus, and when God brought on the day, both
parties mounted and drew out in battle array. Then Sherkan was
about to sally forth, when behold, more than half of the Franks
dismounted and marched on foot, before one of them, who was
mounted, to the midst of the field. Sherkan looked at this
cavalier and behold, he was their chief. He was clad in a tunic
of blue satin and a close-ringed shirt of mail; his face was as
the full moon at its rising and he had no hair on his cheeks. In
his hand he held a sword of Indian steel, and he was mounted on a
black horse with a white star, like a dirhem, on his forehead. He
spurred into the midst of the field and signing to the Muslims,
cried out with fluent speech in the Arabic tongue, saying, "Ho,
Sherkan! Ho, son of Omar ben Ennuman, thou that stormest the
citadels and layest waste the lands, up and out to joust and
battle with him who halves the field with thee! Thou art prince
of thy people and I am prince of mine; and whoso hath the upper
hand, the other's men shall come under his sway." Hardly had he
made an end of speaking, when out came Sherkan, with a heart full
of wrath, and spurring his horse into the midst of the field,
drove like an angry lion at the Frank, who awaited him with calm
and steadfastness and met him as a champion should. Then they
fell to cutting and thrusting, nor did they cease to wheel and
turn and give and take, as they were two mountains clashing
together or two seas breaking one against the other, till the day
departed and the night brought on the darkness, when they drew
apart and returned, each to his people. As soon as Sherkan
reached his comrades, he said to them, "Never in my life saw I
the like of this cavalier; and he has one fashion I never yet
beheld in any. It is that, when he has a chance of dealing his
adversary a deadly blow, he reverses his lance and smites him
with the butt. Of a truth, I know not what will be the issue
between him and me; but I would we had in our army his like and
the like of his men." Then he passed the night in sleep, and when
it was morning, the Frank spurred out to the mid-field, where
Sherkan met him, and they fell to fighting and circling one about
the other, whilst all necks were stretched out to look at them;
nor did they cease from battle and swordplay and thrusting with
spears, till the day departed and the night came with the
darkness, when they drew asunder and returned each to his own
camp. Then each related to his comrades what had befallen him
with his adversary, and the Frank said to his men, "To-morrow
shall decide the matter." So they both passed the night in sleep,
and as soon as it was day, they mounted and drove at each other
and ceased not to fight till the middle of the day. Then the
Frank made a shift, first spurring his horse and then checking
him with the bridle, so that he stumbled and threw him; whereupon
Sherkan fell on him and was about to smite him with his sword and
make an end of the long strife, when the Frank cried out, "O
Sherkan, this is not the fashion of champions! It is only the
beaten[FN#18] who deal thus with women." When Sherkan heard this,
he raised his eyes to the Frank's face and looking straitly at
him, knew him for none other than the princess Abrizeh, whereupon
he threw the sword from his hand and kissing the earth before
her, said to her, "What moved thee to do this thing?" Quoth she,
"I was minded to prove thee in the field and try thy stoutness in
battle. These that are with me are all of them my women, and they
are all maids; yet have they overcome thy horsemen in fair fight;
and had not my horse stumbled with me, thou shouldst have seen my
strength and prowess." Sherkan smiled at her speech and said,
"Praised be God for safety and for my reunion with thee, O queen
of the age!" Then she cried out to her damsels to loose the
prisoners and dismount. They did as she bade and came and kissed
the earth before her and Sherkan, who said to them, "It is the
like of you that kings treasure up against the hour of need."
Then he signed to his comrades to salute the princess; so they
dismounted all and kissed the earth before her, for they knew the
story. After this, the whole two hundred mounted and rode day and
night for six days' space, till they drew near to Baghdad when
they halted and Sherkan made Abrizeh and her companions put off
their male attire and don the dress of the women of the Greeks.
Then he despatched a company of his men to Baghdad to acquaint
his father with his arrival in company with the princess Abrizeh,
daughter of King Herdoub, to the intent that he might send some
one to meet her. They passed the night in that place, and when
God the Most High brought on the day, Sherkan and his company
took horse and fared on towards the city. On the way, they met
the Vizier Dendan, who had come out with a thousand horse, by
commandment of King Omar, to do honour to the princess Abrizeh
and to Sherkan. When they drew near, the Vizier and his company
dismounted and kissed the earth before the prince and princess,
then mounted again and escorted them, till they reached the city
and came to the palace. Sherkan went in to his father, who rose
and embraced him and questioned him of what had happened. So he
told him all that had befallen him, including what the princess
Abrizeh had told him and what had passed between them and how she
had left her father and her kingdom and had chosen to depart and
take up her abode with them. And he said to his father, "Indeed,
the King of Constantinople had plotted to do us a mischief,
because of his daughter Sufiyeh, for that the King of Caesarea
had made known to him her history and the manner of her being
made a gift to thee, he not knowing her to be King Afridoun's
daughter; else would he have restored her to her father. And of a
verity, we were only saved from these perils by the lady Abrizeh,
and never saw I a more valiant than she!" And he went on to tell
his father of the wrestling and the jousting from beginning to
end. When King Omar heard his son's story, Abrizeh was exalted in
his eyes, and he longed to see her and sent Sherkan to fetch her.
So Sherkan went out to her and said, "The king calls for thee."
She replied, "I hear and obey;" and he took her and brought her
in to his father, who was seated on his throne, attended only by
the eunuchs, having dismissed his courtiers and officers. The
princess entered and kissing the ground before him, saluted him
in choice terms. He was amazed at her fluent speech and thanked
her for her dealing with his son Sherkan and bade her be seated.
So she sat down and uncovered her face, which when the king saw,
his reason fled and he made her draw near and showed her especial
favour, appointing her a palace for herself and her damsels and
assigning them due allowances. Then he asked her of the three
jewels aforesaid, and she replied, "O King of the age, they are
with me." So saying, she rose and going to her lodging, opened
her baggage and brought out a box, from which she took a casket
of gold. She opened the casket and taking out the three jewels,
kissed them and gave them to the King and went away, taking his
heart with her. Then the king sent for his son Sherkan and gave
him one of the three jewels. Sherkan enquired of the other two,
and the King replied, "O my son, I mean to give one to thy
brother Zoulmekan and the other to thy sister Nuzhet ez Zeman."
When Sherkan heard that he had a brother (for up to that time he
had only known of his sister) he turned to his father and said to
him, "O King, hast thou a son other than myself?" "Yes," answered
Omar, "and he is now six years old." And he told him that his
name was Zoulmekan and that he and Nuzhet ez Zeman were twins,
born at a birth. This news was grievous to Sherkan, but he hid
his chagrin and said, "The blessing of God the Most High be upon
them!" And he threw the jewel from his hand and shook the dust
off his clothes. Quoth his father, "What made thee change colour,
when I told thee of this, seeing that the kingdom is assured to
thee after me? For, verily, the troops have sworn to thee and the
Amirs and grandees have taken the oath of succession to thee; and
this one of the three jewels is thine." At this, Sherkan bowed
his head and was ashamed to bandy words with his father: so he
accepted the jewel and went away, knowing not what to do for
excess of anger, and stayed not till he reached the princess
Abrizeh's palace. When she saw him, she rose to meet him and
thanked him for what he had done and called down blessings on him
and his father. Then she sat down and made him sit by her side.
After awhile, she saw anger in his face and questioned him,
whereupon he told her that God had vouchsafed his father two
children, a boy and a girl, by Sufiyeh, and that he had named the
boy Zoulmekan and the girl Nuzhet ez Zeman. "He has given me one
of the jewels," continued he, "and kept the other two for them. I
knew not of Zoulmekan's birth till this day, and he is now six
years old. So when I learnt this, wrath possessed me and I threw
down the jewel: and I tell thee the reason of my anger and hide
nothing from thee. But I fear lest the King take thee to wife,
for he loves thee and I saw in him signs of desire for thee: so
what wilt thou say, if he wish this?" "Know, O Sherkan," replied
the princess, "that thy father has no dominion over me, nor can
he take me without my consent; and if he take me by force, I will
kill myself. As for the three jewels, it was not my intent that
he should give them to either of his children and I had no
thought but that he would lay them up with his things of price in
his treasury; but now I desire of thy favour that thou make me a
present of the jewel that he gave thee, if thou hast accepted
it." "I hear and obey," replied Sherkan and gave her the jewel.
Then said she, "Fear nothing," and talked with him awhile.
Presently she said, "I fear lest my father hear that I am with
you and sit not down with my loss, but do his endeavour to come
at me; and to that end he may ally himself with King Afridoun and
both come on thee with armies and so there befall a great
turmoil." "O my lady," replied Sherkan, "if it please thee to
sojourn with us, take no thought of them, though all that be in
the earth and in the ocean gather themselves together against
us!" "It is well," rejoined she; "if ye entreat me well, I will
tarry with you, and if ye deal evilly by me, I will depart from
you." Then she bade her maidens bring food; so they set the
tables, and Sherkan ate a little and went away to his own house,
anxious and troubled.
Meanwhile, King Omar betook himself to the lodging of the lady
Sufiyeh, who rose to her feet, when she saw him, and stood till
he was seated. Presently, his two children, Zoulmekan and Nuzbet
ez Zeman, came to him, and he kissed them and hung a jewel round
each one's neck, at which they rejoiced and kissed his hands.
Then they went to their mother, who rejoiced in them and wished
the King long life; and he said to her, "Why hast thou not told
me, all this time, that thou art King Afridoun's daughter, that I
might have advanced thee and enlarged thee in dignity and used
thee with increase of honour and consideration?" "O King,"
replied Sufiyeh, "what could I desire greater or more exalted
than this my standing with thee, overwhelmed as I am with thy
favours and thy goodness? And God to boot hath blessed me by thee
with two children, a son and a daughter." Her answer pleased the
King and he set apart for her and her children a splendid palace.
Moreover, he appointed for their service eunuchs and attendants
and doctors and sages and astrologers and physicians and surgeons
and in every way redoubled in favour and munificence towards
them. Nevertheless, he was greatly occupied with love of the
princess Abrizeh and burnt with desire of her night and day; and
every night, he would go in to her, and talk with her and pay his
court to her, but she gave him no answer, saying only, "O King of
the age, I have no desire for men at this present." When he saw
that she repelled him, his passion and longing increased till, at
last, when he was weary of this, he called his Vizier Dendan and
opening his heart to him, told him how love for the princess
Abrizeh was killing him and how she refused to yield to his
wishes and he could get nothing of her. Quoth the Vizier, "As
soon as it is dark night, do thou take a piece of henbane, the
bigness of a diner, and go in to her and drink wine with her.
When the hour of leave-taking draws near, fill a last cup and
dropping the henbane in it, give it to her to drink, and she will
not reach her sleeping chamber, ere the drug take effect on her.
Then do thou go in to her and take thy will of her." "Thy counsel
is good," said the King, and going to his treasury, took thence a
piece of concentrated henbane, which if an elephant smelt, he
would sleep from year to year. He put it in his bosom and waited
till some little of the night was past, when he betook himself to
the palace of the princess, who rose to receive him; but he bade
her sit down. So she sat down, and he by her, and he began to
talk with her of drinking, whereupon she brought the table of
wine and set it before him. Then she set on the drinking-vessels,
and lighted the candles and called for fruits and confections and
sweetmeats and all that pertains to drinking. So they fell to
drinking and ceased not to carouse, till drunkenness crept into
the princess's head. When the King saw this, he took out the
piece of henbane and holding it between his fingers, filled a cup
and drank it off; then filled another cup, into which he dropped
the henbane, unseen of Abrizeh, and saying, "Thy health!"
presented it to her. She took it and drank it off; then rose and
went to her sleeping-chamber. He waited awhile, till he was
assured that the drug had taken effect on her and gotten the
mastery of her senses, when he went in to her and found her lying
on her back, with a lighted candle at her head and another at her
feet. She had put off her trousers, and the air raised the skirt
of her shift and discovered what was between her thighs. When the
King saw this, he took leave of his senses for desire and Satan
tempted him and he could not master himself, but put off his
trousers and fell upon her and did away her maidenhead. Then he
went out and said to one of her women, by name Merjaneh, "Go in
to thy mistress, for she calls for thee." So she went in to the
princess and found her lying on her back, with the blood running
down her thighs; whereupon she took a handkerchief and wiped away
the blood and tended her mistress and lay by her that night. As
soon as it was day, she washed the princess's hands and feet and
bathed her face and mouth with rose-water, whereupon she sneezed
and yawned and cast up the henbane. Then she revived and washed
her hands and mouth and said to Merjaneh, "Tell me what has
befallen me." So she told her what had passed and how she had
found her, lying on her back, with the blood running down her
thighs, wherefore she knew that the King had played the traitor
with her and had undone her and taken his will of her. At this
she was afflicted and shut herself up, saying to her damsels,
"Let no one come in to me and say to all that I am ill, till I
see what God will do with me." The news of her illness came to
the King, and he sent her cordials and sherbet of sugar and
confections. Some months passed thus, during which time the
King's flame subsided and his desire for her cooled, so that he
abstained from her. Now she had conceived by him, and in due
time, her pregnancy appeared and her belly swelled, wherefore the
world was straitened upon her and she said to her maid Merjaneh,
"Know that it is not the folk who have wronged me, but I who
sinned against myself in that I left my father and mother and
country. Indeed, I abhor life, for my heart is broken and I have
neither courage nor strength left. I used, when I mounted my
horse, to have the mastery of him, but now I have no strength
to ride. If I be brought to bed in this place, I shall be
dishonoured among my women, and every one in the palace will know
that he has taken my maidenhead in the way of shame; and if I
return to my father, with what face shall I meet him or have
recourse to him? How well says the poet:
Wherewith shall I be comforted, that am of all bereft, To whom
nor folk nor home nor friend nor dwelling-place is left?"
Quoth Merjaneh, "It is for thee to command; I will obey." And
Abrizeh said, "I would fain leave this place privily, so that
none shall know of me but thou, and return to my father and
mother; for when flesh stinketh, there is nought for it but its
own folk, and God shall do with me as He will." "It is well, O
princess," replied Merjaneh. So she made ready in secret and
waited awhile, till the King went out to hunt and Sherkan betook
himself to certain of the fortresses to sojourn there awhile.
Then she said to Merjaneh, "I wish to set out to-night, but how
shall I do? For already I feel the pangs of labour, and if I
abide other four or five days, I shall be brought to bed here,
and how then can I go to my country? But this is what was written
on my forehead." Then she considered awhile and said, "Look us
out a man who will go with us and serve us by the way, for I have
no strength to bear arms." "By Allah, O my lady," replied
Merjaneh, "I know none but a black slave called Ghezban, who is
one of the slaves of King Omar ben Ennuman; he is a stout fellow
and keeps guard at the gate of our palace. The King appointed him
to attend us, and indeed we have overwhelmed him with favours. I
will go out and speak with him of the matter and promise him
money and tell him that, if he have a mind to tarry with us, we
will marry him to whom he will. He told me before to-day that he
had been a highwayman; so if he consent, we shall have our desire
and come to our own country." "Call him, that I may talk with
him," said the princess. So Merjaneh went out and said to the
slave, "O Ghezban, God prosper thee, do thou fall in with what my
lady says to thee." Then she took him by the hand and brought him
to Abrizeh. He kissed the princess's hands and when she saw him,
her heart took fright at him, but she said to herself, "Necessity
is imperious," and to him, "O Ghezban, wilt thou help us against
the perfidies of fortune and keep my secret, if I discover it to
thee?" When the slave saw her, his heart was taken by storm and
he fell in love with her forthright, and could not choose but
answer, "O my mistress, whatsoever thou biddest me do, I will not
depart from it." Quoth she, "I would have thee take me and this
my maid and saddle us two camels and two of the king's horses and
set on each horse a saddle-bag of stuff and somewhat of victual,
and go with us to our own country; where, if thou desire to abide
with us, I will marry thee to her thou shalt choose of my
damsels; or if thou prefer to return to thine own country, we
will send thee thither, with as much money as will content thee."
When Ghezban heard this, he rejoiced greatly and replied, "O my
lady, I will serve thee faithfully and will go at once and saddle
the horses." Then he went away, rejoicing and saying in himself,
"I shall get my will of them; and if they will not yield to me, I
will kill them and take their riches." But this his intent he
kept to himself and presently returned, mounted on one horse and
leading other two and two camels. He brought the horses to the
princess, who mounted one and made Merjaneh mount the other,
albeit she was suffering from the pains of labour and could
scarce possess herself for anguish. Then they set out and
journeyed night and day through the passes of the mountains, till
there remained but a day's journey between them and their own
country, when the pangs of travail came upon Abrizeh and she
could no longer sit her horse. So she said to Ghezban, "Set me
down, for the pains of labour are upon me," and cried to
Merjaneh, saying, "Do thou alight and sit down by me and deliver
me." They both drew rein and dismounting from their horses,
helped the princess to alight, and she aswoon for stress of pain.
When Ghezban saw her on the ground, Satan entered into him and he
drew his sabre and brandishing it in her face, said, "O my lady,
vouchsafe me thy favours." With this, she turned to him and said,
"It were a fine thing that I should yield to black slaves, after
having I refused kings and princes!" And she was wroth with him
and said, "What words are these? Out on thee! Do not talk thus in
my presence and know that I will never consent to what thou
sayst, though I drink the cup of death. Wait till I have cast my
burden and am delivered of the after-birth, and after, if thou be
able thereto, do with me as thou wilt; but, an thou leave not
lewd talk at this time, I will slay myself and leave the world
and be at peace from all this." And she recited the following
verses:
O Ghezban, unhand me and let me go freer Sure, fortune is heavy
enough upon me.
My Lord hath forbidden me whoredom. "The fire Shall be the
transgressor's last dwelling," quoth He:
So look not on me with the eye of desire, For surely to lewdness
I may not agree;
And if thou respect not mine honour and God Nor put away filthy
behaviour from thee,
I will call with my might on the men of my tribe And draw them
ail hither from upland and lea.
Were I hewn, limb from limb, with the Yemani sword, Yet never a
lecher my visage should see
Of the freeborn and mighty; so how then should I Let a whoreson
black slave have possession of me?
When Ghezban heard this, he was exceeding angry; his eyes grew
bloodshot and his face became of the colour of dust; his nostrils
swelled, his lips protruded and the terrors of his aspect
redoubled. And he repeated the following verses:
Abrizeh, have mercy nor leave me to sigh, Who am slain by the
glance of thy Yemani eye![FN#19]
My body is wasted, my patience at end, And my heart for thy
cruelty racked like to die.
Thy glances with sorcery ravish all hearts; My reason is distant
and passion is nigh.
Though thou drewst to thy succour the world full of troops, I'd
not stir till my purpose accomplished had I.
Thereupon Abrizeh wept sore and said to him, "Out on thee, O
Ghezban! How darest thou demand this of me, O son of shame and
nursling of lewdness? Dost thou think all folk are alike!" When
the pestilent slave heard this, he was enraged and his eyes
reddened: and he came up to her and smote her with the sword on
her neck and killed her. Then he made off into the mountains,
driving her horse before him with the treasure. In the agonies of
death, she gave birth to a son, like the moon, and Merjaneh took
him and laid him by her side, after doing him the necessary
offices; and behold, the child fastened to its mother's breast,
and she dead. When Merjaneh saw this, she cried out grievously
and rent her clothes and cast dust on her head and buffeted her
cheeks, till the blood came, saying, "Alas, my mistress! Alas,
the pity of it! Thou art dead by the hand of a worthless black
slave, after all thy prowess!" As she sat weeping, there arose a
great cloud of dust and darkened the plain; but, after awhile, it
lifted and discovered a numerous army. Now this was the army of
King Herdoub, the princess Abrizeh's father, who, hearing that
his daughter had fled to Baghdad, she and her maidens, and that
they were with King Omar ben Ennuman, had come out with his
troops to seek tidings of her from travellers who might have seen
her with King Omar at Baghdad. When he had gone a day's journey
from his capital, he espied three horsemen afar off and made
towards them, thinking to ask whence they came and seek news of
his daughter. Now these three were his daughter and Merjaneh and
Ghezban; and when the latter saw the troops drawing near, he
feared for himself; so he killed Abrizeh and fled. When they came
up and King Herdoub saw his daughter lying dead and Merjaneh
weeping over her, he threw himself from his horse and fell down
in a swoon. So all his company dismounted and pitching the tents,
set up a great pavilion for the King, without which stood the
grandees of the kingdom. At the sight of her lord the King,
Merjaneh's tears redoubled, and when he came to himself, he
questioned her and she told him all that had passed, how he that
had slain his daughter was a black slave, belonging to King Omar
ben Ennuman, and how the latter had dealt with the princess. When
King Herdoub heard this, the world grew black in his sight and he
wept sore. Then he called for a litter and laying his dead
daughter therein, returned to Caesarea and carried her into the
palace. Then he went in to his mother Dhat ed Dewahi and said to
her, "Shall the Muslims deal thus with my daughter? King Omar ben
Ennuman despoiled her by force of her honour and after this, one
of his black slaves slew her. By the Messiah, I will assuredly be
revenged for her and clear away the stain from my honour! Else I
shall kill myself with my own hand." And he wept passing sore.
Quoth his mother, "It was none other than Merjaneh killed her,
for she hated her in secret. But do not thou fret for taking
revenge for thy daughter, for, by the virtue of the Messiah, I
will not turn back from King Omar ben Ennuman, till I have slain
him and his sons; and I will assuredly do a deed, passing the
power of wise men and champions, of which the chroniclers shall
tell in all countries and places: but needs must thou obey me in
all I shall direct, for he who is firmly set on aught shall
surely compass his desire." "By the virtue of the Messiah,"
replied he, "I will not cross thee in aught that thou shalt say!"
Then said she, "Bring me a number of damsels, high-bosomed maids,
and summon the wise men of the time and let them teach them
philosophy and the art of conversation and making verses and the
rules of behaviour before kings, and let them talk with them of
all manner of science and edifying knowledge. The sages must be
Muslims, that they may teach the damsels the language and
traditions of the Arabs, together with the history of the Khalifs
and the pedigree of the Kings of Islam; and if we persevere in
this for the space of four years, we shall attain our end. So
possess thy soul in patience and wait; for, as one of the Arabs
says, 'It is a little thing to wait forty years for one's
revenge.' When we have taught the girls these things, we shall be
able to do our will with our enemy, for he is a doting lover of
women and has three hundred and threescore concubines, to which
are now added a hundred of the flower of thy damsels, that were
with thy late daughter. So, as soon as we have made an end of
their education, I will take them and set out with them." When
the King heard his mother's words, he rejoiced and came up to her
and kissed her head. Then he rose at once and despatched
messengers and couriers to the ends of the earth, to fetch him
Muslim sages. So they betook them to distant lands and brought
him thence the sages and doctors whom he sought. When they were
before him, he made much of them and bestowed on them dresses of
honour, appointing them stipends and allowances and promising
them much money, whenas they should have taught the damsels. Then
he committed the latter to their charge, enjoining them to
instruct them in all manner of knowledge, sacred and profane, and
all polite accomplishments; and they set themselves to do his
bidding.
As for King Omar ben Ennuman, when he returned from hunting, he
sought the princess Abrizeh, but found her not nor could any give
him news of her. This was grievous to him and he said, "How did
she leave the palace, unknown of any? Had my kingdom been at
stake in this, it were in a parlous case! Never again will I go
a-hunting till I have sent to the gates those who shall keep good
guard over them!" And he was sore vexed and heavy at heart for
the loss of the princess Abrizeh. Presently, his son Sherkan
returned from his journey; and he told him what had happened and
how the princess had fled, whilst he was absent a-hunting,
whereat he was greatly concerned. Then King Omar took to visiting
his children every day and making much of them and brought them
wise men and doctors, to teach them, appointing them stipends and
allowances. When Sherkan saw this, he was exceeding wroth and
jealous of his brother and sister, so that the signs of chagrin
appeared in his face and he ceased not to languish by reason of
this, till one day his father said to him, "What ails thee, that
I see thee grown weak in body and pale of face?" "O my father,"
replied Sherkan, "every time I see thee fondle my brother and
sister and make much of them, jealousy seizes on me, and I fear
lest it grow on me, till I slay them and thou slay me in return.
This is the reason of my weakness of body and change of colour.
But now I crave of thy favour that thou give me one of thine
outlying fortresses, that I may abide there the rest of my life,
for as the byword says, 'It is better and fitter for me to be at
a distance from my friend; for when the eye seeth not, the heart
doth not grieve.'" And he bowed his head. When the King heard
Sherkan's words and knew the cause of his ailment, he soothed him
and said to him, "O my son, I grant thee this. I have not in my
realm a greater than the fortress of Damascus, and the government
of it is thine from this time." So saying, he called his
secretaries of state and bade them make out Sherkan's patent of
investiture to the viceroyalty of Damascus of Syria. Then he
equipped Sherkan and formally invested him with the office and
gave him his final instructions, enjoining him to policy and good
government; and the prince took leave of his father and the
grandees and officers of state and set out for his government,
taking with him the Vizier Dendan. When he arrived at Damascus,
the townspeople beat the drums and blew the trumpets and
decorated the city and came out to meet him in great state,
whilst all the notables and grandees walked in procession, each
according to his rank.
Soon after Sherkan's departure, the governors of King Omar's
children presented themselves before him and said to him, "O our
lord, thy children's education is now complete and they are
versed in all polite accomplishments and in the rules of manners
and etiquette." At this the King rejoiced with an exceeding joy
and conferred bountiful largesse upon the wise men, seeing
Zoulmekan grown up and flourishing and skilled in horsemanship.
The prince had now reached the age of fourteen and occupied
himself with piety and devout exercises, loving the poor and wise
men and the students of the Koran, so that all the people of
Baghdad loved him, men and women. One day, the procession of the
Mehmil[FN#20] of Irak passed round Baghdad, previously to the
departure of the pilgrimage to the holy places[FN#21] and tomb of
the Prophet.[FN#22] When Zoulmekan saw the procession, he was
seized with longing to go on the pilgrimage; so he went in to his
father and said to him, "I come to ask thy leave to make the
pilgrimage."
But his father forbade him, saying, "Wait till next year, and I
will go with thee." When Zoulmekan saw that the fulfilment of his
desire was postponed, he betook himself to his sister Nuzhet ez
Zeman, whom he found standing at prayer. As soon as she had made
an end of her devotions, he said to her, "I am dying of desire to
see the Holy House of God at Mecca and to visit the Prophet's
tomb. I asked my father's leave, but he forbade me: so I mean to
take somewhat of money and set out privily on the pilgrimage,
without his knowledge." "I conjure thee by Allah," exclaimed she,
"to take me with thee and that thou forbid me not to visit the
tomb of the Prophet, whom God bless and preserve!" And he
answered, "As soon as it is dark night, do thou leave this place,
without telling any, and come to me." Accordingly, she waited
till the middle of the night, when she donned a man's habit and
went to the gate of the palace, where she found Zoulmekan with
camels ready harnessed. So they mounted and riding after the
caravan, mingled with the Irak pilgrims, and God decreed them a
prosperous journey, so that they entered Mecca the Holy in
safety, standing upon Arafat and performing the various rites of
the pilgrimage. Then they paid a visit to the tomb of the Prophet
(whom God bless and preserve) and thought to return with the
pilgrims to their native land; but Zoulmekan said to his sister,
"O my sister, it is in my mind to visit Jerusalem and the tomb of
Abraham the friend of God (on whom be peace)." "I also desire to
do this," replied she. So they agreed upon this, and he went out
and took passage for himself and her and they made ready and
set out with a company of pilgrims bound for Jerusalem. That very
night she fell sick of an ague and was grievously ill, but
presently recovered, after which her brother also sickened. She
tended him during the journey, but the fever increased on him and
he grew weaker and weaker, till they arrived at Jerusalem, where
they alighted at a khan and hired a lodging there. Here they
abode some time, whilst Zoulmekan's weakness increased on him,
till he was wasted with sickness and became delirious. At this,
his sister was greatly afflicted and exclaimed, "There is no
power and no virtue but in God the Most High, the Supreme! It is
He who hath decreed this." They sojourned there awhile, his
sickness ever increasing and she tending him, till all their
money was spent and she had not so much as a dirhem left. Then
she sent a servant of the khan to the market, to sell some of her
clothes, and spent the price upon her brother; and so she sold
all she had, piece by piece, till she had nothing left but an old
rug; whereupon she wept and exclaimed, "God is the Orderer of the
past and the future!" Presently, her brother said to her, "O my
sister, I feel recovery drawing near and I long for a little
roast meat." "O my brother," replied she, "I am ashamed to beg;
but tomorrow I will enter some rich man's house and serve him and
earn somewhat for our living." Then she bethought herself awhile
and said, "It is hard to me to leave thee and thou in this state,
but I must perforce go." "God forbid!" rejoined he. "Thou wilt be
put to shame; but there is no power and no virtue but in God!"
And he wept and she wept too. Then she said, "O my brother, we
are strangers and this whole year have we dwelt here; yet none
hath knocked at our door. Shall we then die of hunger? I know no
resource but that I go out and earn somewhat to keep us alive,
till thou recover from thy sickness; when we will return to our
native land." She sat weeping with him awhile, after which she
rose and veiling her head with a camel-cloth, which the owner had
forgotten with them, embraced her brother and went forth, weeping
and knowing not whither she should go. Zoulmekan abode, awaiting
her return, till the evening; but she came not, and the night
passed and the morning came, but still she returned not; and so
two days went by. At this he was greatly troubled and his heart
fluttered for her, and hunger was sore upon him. At last he left
the chamber and calling the servant of the inn, bade him carry
him to the bazaar. So he carried him to the market and laid him
down there; and the people of Jerusalem came round him and were
moved to tears at his condition. He signed to them for somewhat
to eat; so they took money from some of the merchants and bought
food and fed him therewith; after which they carried him to a
shop, where they laid him on a mat of palm-leaves and set a
vessel of water at his head. At nightfall, they all went away,
sore concerned for him, and in the middle of the night, he called
to mind his sister, and his sickness redoubled on him, so that he
abstained from eating and drinking and became insensible. When
the people of the market saw him thus, they took thirty dirhems
for him from the merchants and hiring a camel, said to the
driver, "Carry this sick man to Damascus and leave him at the
hospital; peradventure he may be cured and recover his health."
"On my head be it!" replied he; but he said to himself, "How
shall I take this sick man to Damascus, and he nigh upon death?"
So he carried him away and hid with him till the night, when he
threw him down on the fuel-heap in the stoke-hole of a bath and
went his way. In the morning, the stoker of the bath came to his
work and finding Zoulmekan cast on his back on the fuel-heap,
exclaimed, "Could they find no other place in which to throw this
dead man?" So saying, he gave him a push with his foot, and he
moved, whereupon quoth the stoker, "This is some one who has
eaten hashish and thrown himself down at hazard." Then he looked
at him and saw that he had no hair on his face and was endowed
with grace and comeliness; so he took pity on him and knew that
he was sick and a stranger. "There is no power and no virtue but
in God!" said he "I have sinned against this youth; for indeed
the Prophet (whom God bless and preserve!) enjoins hospitality to
strangers." Then he lifted him up and carrying him to his own
house, committed him to his wife and bade her tend him. So she
spread him a bed and laid a cushion under his head, then heated
water and washed his hands and feet and face. Meanwhile, the
stoker went to the market and buying rose-water and sherbet of
sugar, sprinkled Zoulmekan's face with the one and gave him to
drink of the other. Then he fetched a clean shirt and put it on
him. With this, Zoulmekan scented the breeze of recovery and life
returned to him; and he sat up and leant against the pillow. At
this the stoker rejoiced and exclaimed, "O my God, I beseech
Thee, by Thy hidden mysteries, make the salvation of this youth
to be at my hands!" And he nursed him assiduously for three days,
giving him to drink of sherbet of sugar and willow-flower water
and rose-water and doing him all manner of service and kindness,
till health began to return to his body and he opened his eyes
and sat up. Presently the stoker came in and seeing him sitting
up and showing signs of amendment, said to him, "How dost thou
now, O my son?" "Thanks be to God," replied Zoulmekan, "I am well
and like to recover, if so He please." The stoker praised the
Lord of All for this and going to the market, bought ten
chickens, which he carried to his wife and said to her, "Kill two
of these for him every day, one in the morning and the other at
nightfall." So she rose and killed a fowl, then boiling it,
brought it to him and fed him with the flesh and gave him the
broth to drink. When he had done eating, she brought hot water
and he washed his hands and lay back upon the pillow; whereupon
she covered him up and he slept till the time of afternoon-prayer.
Then she killed another fowl and boiled it; after which she cut
it up and bringing it to Zoulmekan, said, "Eat, O my son!"
Presently, her husband entered and seeing her feeding him, sat
down at his head and said to him, "How is it with thee now, O my
son?" "Thanks be to God for recovery!" replied he. "May He
requite thee thy goodness to me!" At this the stoker rejoiced
and going out, bought sherbet of violets and rose-water and made
him drink it. Now his day's earnings at the bath were five
dirhems, of which he spent every day two dirhems for Zoulmekan,
one for sweet waters and sherbets and another for fowls; and he
ceased not to entreat him thus kindly for a whole month, till
the trace of illness ceased from him and he was quite recovered
whereupon the stoker and his wife rejoiced and the former
said to him, "O my son, wilt thou go with me to the bath?"
"Willingly," replied he. So the stoker went to the market and
fetched an ass, on which he mounted Zoulmekan and supported him
in the saddle, till they came to the bath Then he made him alight
and sit down, whilst he repaired to the market and bought
lote-leaves and lupin-meal,[FN#23] with which he returned to the
bath and said to Zoulmekan, "O my son, in the name of God, enter,
and I will wash thy body." So they both entered the inner room of
the bath, and the stoker fell to rubbing Zoulmekan's legs and was
going on to wash his body with the lote-leaves and powder, when
there came to them a bathman, whom the keeper of the bath had
sent to Zoulmekan, and seeing the stoker rubbing and washing the
latter, said to him, "This is trespassing on the keeper's
rights." "By Allah," replied the stoker, "the master overwhelms
us with his favours!" Then the bathman proceeded to shave
Zoulmekan's head, after which he and the stoker washed and
returned to the latter's house, where he clad Zoulmekan in a
shirt of fine stuff and a tunic of his own and gave him a
handsome turban and girdle and wound a silken kerchief about his
neck. Meanwhile the stoker's wife had killed two chickens and
cooked them for him; so, as soon as Zoulmekan entered and seated
himself on the couch, the stoker arose and dissolving sugar in
willow-flower water, made him drink it. Then he brought the tray
of food and cutting up the chickens, fed him with the meat and
broth, till he was satisfied, when he washed his hands and
praised God for recovery, saying to the stoker, "It is to thee,
under God the Most High, that I owe my life!" "Leave this talk,"
replied the stoker, "and tell us the manner of thy coming to this
city and whence thou art; for I see signs of gentle breeding in
thy face." "Tell me first how thou camest to fall in with me,"
said Zoulmekan; "and after I will tell thee my story." "As
for that," rejoined the stoker, "I found thee lying on the
rubbish-heap, by the door of the stoke-house, as I went to my
work, near the morning, and knew not who had thrown thee down
there. So I carried thee home with me; and this all I have to
tell." Quoth Zoulmekan, "Glory to Him who quickens the bones,
though they be rotten! Indeed, O my brother, thou hast not done
good to one who is unworthy, and thou shalt reap the reward of
this. But where am I now?" "In the city of Jerusalem," replied
the stoker; whereupon Zoulmekan called to mind his strangerhood
and his separation from his sister and wept. Then he discovered
his secret to the stoker and told him his story, repeating the
following verses:
They heaped up passion on my soul, beyond my strength to bear,
And for their sake my heart is racked with weariness and
care.
Ah, be ye pitiful to me, O cruel that ye are, For e'en my foes do
pity me, since you away did fare!
Grudge not to grant unto mine eyes a passing glimpse of you, To
ease the longing of my soul and lighten my despair.
I begged my heart to arm itself with patience for your loss.
"Patience was never of my wont," it answered; "so forbear."
Then he redoubled his weeping, and the stoker said to him, "Weep
not, but rather praise God for safety and recovery." Quoth
Zoulmekan, "How far is it hence to Damascus?" "Six days'
journey," answered the stoker "Wilt thou send me thither?" asked
Zoulmekan. "O my lord," replied the stoker, "how can I let thee
go alone, and thou a young lad and a stranger? If thou be minded
to make the journey to Damascus, I will go with thee; and if my
wife will listen to me and accompany me, I will take up my abode
there; for it goes to my heart to part with thee." Then said he
to his wife, "Wilt thou go with me to Damascus or wilt thou abide
here, whilst I bring this my lord thither and return to thee? For
he is bent upon, going to Damascus, and by Allah, it is hard to
me to part with him, and I fear for him from the highway
robbers." Quoth she, "I will go with you." And he said, "Praised
be God for accord!" Then he rose and selling all his own and his
wife's gear, bought a camel and hired an ass for Zoulmekan; and
they set out and reached Damascus at nightfall after six days'
journey. They alighted there, and the stoker went to the market
and bought meat and drink. They had dwelt but five days in
Damascus, when his wife sickened and after a few days' illness,
was translated to the mercy of God. The stoker mourned for her
with an exceeding grief, and her death was no light matter to
Zoulmekan, for she had tended him assiduously and he was grown
used to her. Presently, he turned to the stoker and finding him
mourning, said to him, "Do not grieve, for we must all go in at
this gate."[FN#24] "God requite thee with good, O my son!"
replied the stoker. "Surely He will compensate us with his
bounties and cause our mourning to cease. What sayst thou, O my
son? Shall we walk abroad to view Damascus and cheer our
spirits?" "Thy will is mine," replied Zoulmekan. So the stoker
took him by the hand, and they sallied forth and walked on, till
they came to the stables of the Viceroy of Damascus, where they
found camels laden with chests and carpets and brocaded stuffs
and saddle-horses and Bactrian camels and slaves, white and
black, and folk running to and fro and a great bustle. Quoth
Zoulmekan, "I wonder to whom all these camels and stuffs and
servants belong!" So he asked one of the slaves, and he replied,
"These are presents that the Viceroy of Damascus is sending to
King Omar ben Ennuman, with the tribute of Syria." When Zoulmekan
heard his father's name, his eyes filled with tears and he
repeated the following verses:
Ye that are far removed from my desireful sight, Ye that within
my heart are sojourners for aye,
Your comeliness is gone and life no more for me Is sweet, nor
will the pains of longing pass away.
If God one day decree reunion of our loves, How long a tale of
woes my tongue will have to say!
Then he wept and the stoker said to him, "O my son, thou art
hardly yet recovered; so take heart and do not weep, for I fear a
relapse for thee." And he applied himself to comfort him and
cheer him, whilst Zoulmekan sighed and bemoaned his strangerhood
and separation from his sister and his family and repeated the
following verses, with tears streaming from his eyes:
Provide thee for the world to come, for needs must thou be gone;
Or soon or late, for every one the lot of death is drawn.
Thy fortune in this world is but delusion and regret; Thy life in
it but vanity and empty chaff and awn.
The world, indeed, is but as 'twere a traveller's halting-place,
Who makes his camels kneel at eve and fares on with the
dawn.
And he continued to weep and lament, whilst the stoker wept too
for the loss of his wife, yet ceased not to comfort Zoulmekan
till the morning. When the sun rose, he said to him, "Meseems
thou yearnest for thy native land?" "Even so," replied Zoulmekan,
"and I may not tarry here; so I will commend thee to God's care
and set out with these people and journey with them, little by
little, till I come to my country." "And I with thee," said the
stoker; "for I cannot bear to part with thee. I have done thee
service, and I mean to complete it by tending thee on the way."
At this, Zoulmekan rejoiced and said, "May God abundantly requite
thee for me!" Then the stoker went out and selling the camel,
bought another ass, which he brought to Zoulmekan, saying, "This
is for thee to ride by the way; and when thou art weary of
riding, thou canst dismount and walk." "May God bless thee and
help me to requite thee!" said Zoulmekan. "Indeed, thou hast
dealt with me more lovingly than one with his brother." Then the
stoker provided himself with victual for the journey, and they
waited till it was dark night, when they laid their provisions
and baggage on the ass and set out on their journey.
To return to Nuzhet ez Zeman, when she left her brother in the
khan and went out to seek service with some one, that she might
earn wherewith to buy him the roast meat he longed for, she fared
on, weeping and knowing not whither to go, whilst her mind was
occupied with concern for her brother and with thoughts of her
family and her native land. And she implored God the Most High to
do away these afflictions from them and repeated the following
verses:
The shadows darken and passion stirs up my sickness amain, And
longing rouses within me the old desireful pain.
The anguish of parting hath taken its sojourn in my breast, And
love and longing and sorrow have maddened heart and brain.
Passion hath made me restless and longing consumes my soul And
tears discover the secret that else concealed had lain.
I know of no way to ease me of sickness and care and woe, Nor can
my weak endeavour reknit love's severed skein.
The fire of my heart with yearnings and longing grief is fed And
for its heat, the lover to live in hell is fain.
O thou that thinkest to blame me for what betides me, enough; God
knows I suffer with patience whate'er He doth ordain.
I swear I shall ne'er find solace nor be consoled for love, The
oath of the children of passion, whose oaths are ne'er in
vain!
Bear tidings of me, I prithee, O night, to the bards of love And
that in thee I sleep not be witness yet again!
She walked on, weeping and turning right and left, as she went,
till there espied her an old man who had come into the town from
the desert with other five Bedouins. He took note of her and
seeing that she was charming, but had nothing on her head but a
piece of camel-cloth, marvelled at her beauty and said in
himself, "This girl is pretty enough to dazzle the wit, but it is
clear she is in poor case, and whether she be of the people of
the city or a stranger, I must have her." So he followed her,
little by little, till presently he came in front of her and
stopping the way before her in a narrow lane, called out to her,
saying, "Harkye, daughterling, art thou a freewoman or a slave?"
When she heard this, she said to him, "By thy life, do not add to
my troubles! "Quoth he, "God blessed me with six daughters, but
five of them died and only one is left me, the youngest of them
all; and I came to ask thee if thou wert of the people of this
city or a stranger, that I might take thee and carry thee to her,
to bear her company and divert her from mourning for her sisters,
If thou hast no parents, I will use thee as one of them, and thou
and she shall be as my two children." When she heard what he
said, she bowed her head for bashfulness and said to herself,
"Surely I may trust myself to this old man." Then she said to
him, "O uncle, I am a girl of the Arabs (of Irak) and a stranger,
and I have a sick brother; but I will go with thee to thy
daughter on one condition; that is, that I may spend the day only
with her and go to my brother at night. I am a stranger and was
high in honour among my people, yet am I become cast down and
abject. I came with my brother from the land of Hejaz and I fear
lest he know not where I am." When the Bedouin heard this, he
said to himself, "By Allah, I have gotten what I sought!" Then he
turned to her and said, "There shall none be dearer to me than
thou; I only wish thee to bear my daughter company by day, and
thou shalt go to thy brother at nightfall. Or, if thou wilt,
bring him to dwell with us." And he ceased not to give her fair
words and coax her, till she trusted in him and agreed to serve
him. Then he went on before her and she followed him, whilst he
winked to his men to go on in advance and harness the camels and
load them with food and water, ready for setting out as soon as
he should come up. Now this Bedouin was a base-born wretch, a
highway-robber and a brigand, a traitor to his friend and a past
master in craft and roguery. He had no daughter and no son, and
was but a wayfarer in Jerusalem, when, by the decree of God, he
fell in with this unhappy girl. He held her in converse till they
came without the city, where he joined his companions and found
they had made ready the camels. So he mounted a camel, taking
Nuzhet ez Zeman up behind him, and they rode on all night, making
for the mountains, for fear any should see them. By this, she
knew that the Bedouin's proposal was a snare and that he had
tricked her; and she gave not over weeping and crying out the
whole night long. A little before the dawn, they halted and the
Bedouin came up to Nuzhet ez Zeman and said to her, "O wretch,
what is this weeping! By Allah, an thou hold not thy peace, I
will beat thee to death, city faggot that thou art!" When she
heard this, she abhorred life and longed for death; so she turned
to him and said, "O accursed old man, O greybeard of hell, did I
trust in thee and hast thou played me false, and now thou wouldst
torture me?" When he heard her words, he cried out, "O insolent
wretch, dost thou dare to bandy words with me?" And he came up to
her and beat her with a whip, saying, "An thou hold not thy
peace, I will kill thee." So she was silent awhile, but she
called to mind her brother and her former happy estate and wept
in secret. Next day, she turned to the Bedouin and said to him,
"How couldst thou deal thus perfidiously with me and lure me into
these desert mountains, and what wilt thou do with me?" When he
heard her words, he hardened his heart and said to her, "O
pestilent baggage, wilt thou bandy words with me?" So saying, he
took the whip and brought it down on her back, till she well-nigh
fainted. Then she bowed down and kissed his feet; and he left
beating her and began to revile her, saying, "By my bonnet, if I
see or hear thee weeping, I will cut out thy tongue and thrust it
up thy kaze, city strumpet that thou art!" So she was silent and
made him no reply, for the beating irked her; but sat down, with
her arms round her knees and bowing her head, fell a-musing on
her case. Then she bethought her of her former ease and affluence
and her present abasement, and called to mind her brother and his
sickness and forlorn condition and how they were both strangers
in a foreign land; whereat the tears coursed down her cheeks and
she wept silently and repeated the following verses:
The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And
no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.
All things that to the world belong have each their destined end
And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.
How long must I oppression bear and peril and distress! Ah, how I
loathe this life of mine, that nought but these can show!
May God not prosper them, these days, wherein I am oppressed of
Fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe!
My purposes are brought to nought, my loves are reft in twain By
exile's rigour, and my hopes are one and all laid low.
O ye, who pass the dwelling by, wherein my dear ones are, Bear
them the news of me and say, my tears for ever flow.
When she had finished, the Bedouin came up to her and taking
compassion on her, bespoke her kindly and wiped away her tears.
Then he gave her a cake of barley-bread and said to her, "I do
not love to be answered, when I am angry: so henceforth give me
no more of these insolent words, and I will sell thee to an
honest fellow like myself, who will use thee well, even as I have
done." "It is well," answered she; and when the night was long
upon her and hunger gnawed her, she ate a little of the
barley-cake. In the middle of the night, the Bedouin gave the
signal for departure; so they loaded the camels and he mounted
one of them, taking Nuzhet ez Zeman up behind him. Then they set
out and journeyed, without stopping, for three days, till they
reached the city of Damascus, where they alighted at the Sultan's
khan, hard by the Viceroy's Gate. Now she had lost her colour and
her charms were changed by grief and the fatigue of the journey,
and she ceased not to weep. So the Bedouin came up to her and
said, "Hark ye, city wench! By my bonnet, an thou leave not this
weeping, I will sell thee to a Jew!" Then he took her by the hand
and carried her to a chamber, where he left her and went to the
bazaar. Here he went round to the merchants who dealt in
slave-girls and began to parley with them, saying, "I have with
me a slave-girl, whose brother fell ill, and I sent him to my
people at Jerusalem, that they might tend him till he was cured.
The separation from him was grievous to her, and since then, she
does nothing but weep. Now I purpose to sell her, and I would
fain have whoso is minded to buy her of me speak softly to her
and say to her, 'Thy brother is with me in Jerusalem, ill;' and I
will be easy with him about her price." Quoth one of the
merchants, "How old is she?" "She is a virgin, just come to the
age of puberty," replied the Bedouin, "and is endowed with sense
and breeding and wit and beauty and grace. But from the day I
sent her brother to Jerusalem, she has done nothing but grieve
for him, so that her beauty is fallen away and her value
lessened." When the merchant heard this, he said, "O chief of the
Arabs, I will go with thee and buy this girl of thee, if she be
as thou sayest for wit and beauty and accomplishments; but it
must be upon conditions, which if thou accept, I will pay thee
her price, and if not, I will return her to thee." "If thou
wilt," said the Bedouin, "take her up to Prince Sherkan, son of
King Omar ben Ennuman, lord of Baghdad and of the land of
Khorassan, and I will agree to whatever conditions thou mayst
impose on me; for when he sees her, she will surely please him,
and he will pay thee her price and a good profit to boot for
thyself." "It happens," rejoined the merchant, "that I have just
now occasion to go to him, that I may get him to sign me patent,
exempting me from customs-dues, and I desire of him also a letter
of recommendation to his father King Omar. So, if he take the
girl, I will pay thee down her price at once." "I agree to this,"
answered the Bedouin. So they returned together to the khan,
where the Bedouin stood at the door of the girl's chamber and
called out, saying, "Ho, Najiyeh!" which was the name he had
given her. When she heard him, she wept and made no answer. Then
he turned to the merchant and said to him, "There she sits. Do
thou go up to her and look at her and speak kindly to her, as I
enjoined thee." So he went up to her courteously and saw that she
was wonder-lovely and graceful especially as she was acquainted
with the Arabic tongue; and he said to the Bedouin, "Verily she
is even as thou saidst, and I shall get of the Sultan what I will
for her." Then he said to her, "Peace be on thee, O daughterling!
How dost thou?" She turned to him and replied, "This was written
in the book of Destiny." Then she looked at him and seeing him to
be a man of reverend appearance, with a handsome face, said to
herself, "I believe this man comes to buy me. If I hold aloof
from him, I shall abide with this tyrant, and he will beat me to
death. In any case, this man is comely of face and makes me hope
for better treatment from him than from this brute of a Bedouin.
Mayhap he only comes to hear me talk; so I will give him a fair
answer." All this while, she had kept her eyes fixed on the
ground; then she raised them to him and said in a sweet voice,
"And upon thee be peace, O my lord, and the mercy of God and His
blessing! This is what is commanded of the Prophet, whom God
bless and preserve! As for thine enquiry how I do, if thou
wouldst know my condition, it is such as thou wouldst not wish
but to thine enemies." And she was silent. When the merchant
heard what she said, he was beside himself for delight in her and
turning to the Bedouin, said to him, "What is her price, for
indeed she is illustrious!" At this the Bedouin was angry and
said, "Thou wilt turn me the girl's head with this talk! Why dost
thou say that she is illustrious,[FN#25] for all she is of the
scum of slave-girls and of the refuse of the people? I will not
sell her to thee." When the merchant heard this, he knew he was
dull-witted and said to him, "Calm thyself, for I will buy her of
thee, notwithstanding the defects thou mentionest." "And how much
wilt thou give me for her?" asked the Bedouin "None should name
the child but its father," replied the merchant. "Name thy price
for her." "Not so," rejoined the Bedouin; "do thou say what thou
wilt give." Quoth the merchant in himself, "This Bedouin is an
addle-pated churl. By Allah, I cannot tell her price, for she has
mastered my heart with her sweet speech and her beauty: and if
she can read and write, it will be the finishing touch to her
good fortune and that of her purchaser. But this Bedouin does not
know her value." Then he turned to the latter and said to him, "O
elder of the Arabs, I will give thee two hundred dinars for her,
in cash, clear of the tax and the Sultan's dues." When the
Bedouin heard this, he flew into a violent passion and cried out
at the merchant, saying, "Begone about thy business! By Allah,
wert thou to offer me two hundred dinars for the piece of
camel-cloth on her head, I would not sell it to thee! I will not
sell her, but will keep her by me, to pasture the camels and
grind corn." And he cried out to her, saying, "Come, thou
stinkard, I will not sell thee." Then he turned to the merchant
and said to him, "I thought thee a man of judgment; but, by my
bonnet, if thou begone not from me, I will let thee hear what
will not please thee!" "Verily," said the merchant to himself,
"this Bedouin is mad and knows not the girl's value, and I will
say no more to him about her price for the present; for by Allah,
were he a man of sense, he would not say, 'By my bonnet!' By
Allah, she is worth the kingdom of the Chosroes and I will give
him what he will, though it be all I have." Then he said to him,
"O elder of the Arabs, calm thyself and take patience and tell me
what clothes she has with thee." "Clothes!" cried the Bedouin;
"what should the baggage want with clothes? The camel-cloth in
which she is wrapped is ample for her." "With thy leave," said
the merchant, "I will lift her veil and examine her as folk
examine girls whom they think of buying." "Up and do what thou
wilt," replied the other, "and God keep thy youth! Examine her,
inside and out, and if thou wilt, take off her clothes and look
at her naked." "God forbid!" said the merchant; "I will but look
at her face." Then he went up to her, confounded at her beauty
and grace, and seating himself by her side, said to her, "O my
mistress, what is thy name?" "Dost thou ask what is my name now,"
said she, "or what it was formerly?" "Hast thou then two names?"
asked the merchant. "Yes," replied she, "my whilom name was
Nuzhet ez Zeman;[FN#26] but my name at this present is Ghusset ez
Zeman."[FN#27] When the merchant heard this, his eyes filled with
tears, and he said to her, "Hast thou not a sick brother?"
"Indeed, my lord, I have," answered she; "but fortune hath parted
us, and he lies sick in Jerusalem." The merchant's heart was
confounded at the sweetness of her speech, and he said to
himself, "Verily, the Bedouin spoke the truth of her." Then she
called to mind her brother and how he lay sick in a strange land,
whilst she was parted from him and knew not what was become of
him; and she thought of all that had befallen her with the
Bedouin and of her severance from her father and mother and
native land; and the tears ran down her cheeks and she repeated
the following verses:
May God keep watch o'er thee, belov'd, where'er thou art, Thou
that, though far away, yet dwellest in my heart!
Where'er thy footsteps lead, may He be ever near, To guard thee
from time's shifts and evil fortune's dart!
Thou'rt absent, and my eyes long ever for thy sight, And at thy
thought the tears for aye unbidden start.
Would that I knew alas! what country holds thee now, In what
abode thou dwell'st, unfriended and apart!
If thou, in the green o the rose, still drink o' the water of
life, My drink is nought but tears, since that thou didst
depart.
If sleep e'er visit thee, live coals of my unrest, Strewn betwixt
couch and side, for aye my slumbers thwart
All but thy loss to me were but a little thing, But that and that
alone is sore to me, sweetheart.
When the merchant heard her verses, he wept and put out his hand
to wipe away her tears; but she let down her veil, saying, "God
forbid, O my master!" The Bedouin, who was sitting at a little
distance, watching them, saw her cover her face and concluded
that she would have hindered him from handling her: so he rose
and running to her, dealt her such a blow on the shoulders with a
camel's halter he had in his hand, that she fell to the ground on
her face. Her eyebrow smote against a stone, which cut it open,
and the blood streamed down her face; whereupon she gave a loud
scream and fainted away. The merchant was moved to tears for her
and said in himself, "I must and will buy this damsel, though I
pay down her weight in gold, and deliver her from this tyrant."
And he began to reproach the Bedouin, whilst Nuzhet ez Zeman lay
insensible. When she came to herself, she wiped away her tears
and bound up her head: then, raising her eyes to heaven, she
sought her Lord with a sorrowful heart and repeated the following
verses:
Have ruth on one who once was rich and great, Whom villainy hath
brought to low estate.
She weeps with never-ceasing tears and says, "There's no recourse
against the laws of Fate."
Then she turned to the merchant and said to him, in a low voice,
"By Allah, do not leave me with this tyrant, who knows not God
the Most High! If I pass this night with him, I shall kill myself
with my own hand: save me from him, and God will save thee from
hell-fire." So the merchant said to the Bedouin, "O chief of the
Arabs, this girl is none of thine affair; so do thou sell her to
me for what thou wilt." "Take her," said the Bedouin, "and pay me
down her price, or I will carry her back to the camp and set her
to feed the camels and gather their droppings."[FN#28] Quoth the
merchant, "I will give thee fifty thousand dinars for her." "God
will open,"[FN#29] replied the Bedouin. "Seventy thousand," said
the merchant. "God will open," repeated the other; "she hath cost
me more than that, for she hath eaten barley-bread with me to the
value of ninety thousand dinars." Quoth the merchant, "Thou and
all thy people and thy whole tribe in all your lives have not
eaten a thousand dinars' worth of barley: but I will make thee
one offer, which if thou accept not, I will set the Viceroy of
Damascus on thee, and he will take her from thee by force." "Say
on," rejoined the Bedouin. "A hundred thousand," said the
merchant. "I will sell her to thee at that price," answered the
Bedouin; "I shall be able to buy salt with that." The merchant
laughed and going to his house, returned with the money and gave
it to the Bedouin, who took it and made off, saying, "I must go
to Jerusalem: it may be I shall happen on her brother, and I will
bring him here and sell him." So he mounted and journeyed to
Jerusalem, where he went to the khan and enquired for Zoulmekan,
but could not find him.
Meanwhile, the merchant threw his gaberdine over Nuzhet ez Zeman
and carried her to his house, where he dressed her in the richest
clothes he could buy. Then he carried her to the bazaar, where he
bought her what jewellery she chose and put it in a bag of satin,
which he laid before her, saying, "This is all for thee, and I
ask nothing of thee in return but that, when thou comest to the
Viceroy of Damascus, thou tell him what I gave for thee and that
it was little compared with thy value: and if he buy thee, tell
him how I have dealt with thee and ask of him for me a royal
patent, with a recommendation to his father King Omar Ben
Ennuman, lord of Baghdad, to the intent that he may forbid the
taking toll on my stuffs or other goods in which I traffic." When
she heard his words, she wept and sobbed, and the merchant said
to her, "O my mistress, I note that, every time I mention
Baghdad, thine eyes fill with tears: is there any one there whom
thou lovest? If it be a merchant or the like, tell me; for I know
all the merchants and so forth there; and an thou wouldst send
him a message, I will carry it for thee." "By Allah," replied
she, "I have no acquaintance among merchants and the like! I know
none there but King Omar ben Ennuman." When the merchant heard
this, he laughed and was greatly rejoiced and said in himself,
"By Allah, I have gotten my desire!" Then he said to her, "Hast
thou then been shown to him?" "No," answered she; "but I was
brought up with his daughter and he holds me dear and I have much
credit with him; so if thou wouldst have him grant thee a patent
of exemption, give me ink-horn and paper, and I will write thee a
letter, which, when thou reachest Baghdad, do thou deliver into
the King's own hand and say to him, 'Thy handmaid Nuzhet ez Zeman
salutes thee and would have thee to know that the changing
chances of the nights and days have smitten her, so that she has
been sold from place to place and is now with the Viceroy of
Damascus.'" The merchant wondered at her eloquence and his
affection for her increased and he said to her, "I cannot think
but that men have abused thine understanding and sold thee for
money. Tell me, dost thou know the Koran?" "I do," answered she;
"and I am also acquainted with philosophy and medicine and the
Prolegomena and the commentaries of Galen the physician on the
Canons of Hippocrates, and I have commented him, as well as the
Simples of Ibn Beltar, and have studied the works of Avicenna,
according to the canon of Mecca, as well as other treatises. I
can solve enigmas and establish parallels[FN#30] and discourse
upon geometry and am skilled in anatomy. I have read the books of
the Shafiyi[FN#31] sect and the Traditions of the Prophet, I am
well read in grammar and can argue with the learned and discourse
of all manner of sciences. Moreover I am skilled in logic and
rhetoric and mathematics and the making of talismans and
calendars and the Cabala, and I understand all these branches of
knowledge thoroughly. But bring me ink-horn and paper, and I will
write thee a letter that will profit thee at Baghdad and enable
thee to dispense with passports." When the merchant heard this,
he cried out, "Excellent! Excellent! Happy he in whose palace
thou shalt be!" Then he brought her ink-horn and paper and a pen
of brass and kissed the earth before her, to do her honour. She
took the pen and wrote the following verses:
"What ails me that sleep hath forsaken my eyes and gone astray?
Have you then taught them to waken, after our parting day!
How comes it your memory maketh the fire in my heart to rage?
Is't thus with each lover remembers a dear one far away?
How sweet was the cloud of the summer, that watered our days of
yore! 'Tis flitted, before of its pleasance my longing I
could stay.
I sue to the wind and beg it to favour the slave of love, The
wind that unto the lover doth news of you convey.
A lover to you complaineth, whose every helper fails. Indeed, in
parting are sorrows would rend the rock in sway.
"These words are from her whom melancholy destroys and whom
watching hath wasted; in her darkness there are no lights found,
and she knows not night from day. She tosses from side to side on
the couch of separation and her eyes are blackened with the
pencils of sleeplessness; she watches the stars and strains her
sight into the darkness: verily, sadness and emaciation have
consumed her and the setting forth of her case would be long. No
helper hath she but tears and she reciteth the following verses:
"No turtle warbles on the branch, before the break of morn, But
stirs in me a killing grief, a sadness all forlorn.
No lover, longing for his loves, complaineth of desire, But with
a doubled stress of woe my heart is overborne.
Of passion I complain to one who hath no ruth on me. How soul and
body by desire are, one from other, torn!"
Then her eyes brimmed over with tears, and she wrote these verses
also:
"Love-longing, the day of our parting, my body with mourning
smote, And severance from my eyelids hath made sleep far
remote.
I am so wasted for yearning and worn for sickness and woe, That,
were it not for my speaking, thou'dst scarce my presence
note."
Then she wept and wrote at the foot of the scroll, "This is from
her who is far from her people and her native land, the
sorrowful-hearted Nuzhet ez Zeman." She folded the letter and
gave it to the merchant, who took it and reading what was written
in it, rejoiced and exclaimed, "Glory to Him who fashioned thee!"
Then he redoubled in kindness and attention to her all that day;
and at nightfall, he sallied out to the market and bought food,
wherewith he fed her; after which he carried her to the bath and
said to the tire-woman, "As soon as thou hast made an end of
washing her head, clothe her and send and let me know.' Meanwhile
he fetched food and fruit and wax candles and set them on the
dais in the outer room of the bath; and when the tire-woman had
done washing her, she sent to tell the merchant, and Nuzhet ez
Zeman went out to the outer room, where she found the tray spread
with food and fruit. So she ate, and the tire-woman with her, and
gave what was left to the people and keeper of the bath. Then she
slept till the morning, and the merchant lay the night in a place
apart. When he awoke, he came to her and waking her, presented
her with a shift of fine silk, a kerchief worth a thousand
dinars, a suit of Turkish brocade and boots embroidered with red
gold and set with pearls and jewels. Moreover, he hung in each of
her ears a circlet of gold, with a fine pearl therein, worth a
thousand dinars, and threw round her neck a collar of gold, with
bosses of garnet and a chain of amber beads, that hung down
between her breasts to her middle. Now this chain was garnished
with ten balls and nine crescents and each crescent had in its
midst a beazel of ruby and each ball a beazel of balass ruby. The
worth of the chain was three thousand dinars and each of the
balls was worth twenty thousand dirhems, so that her dress in all
was worth a great sum of money. When she had put these on, the
merchant bade her make her toilet, and she adorned herself to the
utmost advantage. Then he bade her follow him and walked on
before her through the streets, whilst the people wondered at her
beauty and exclaimed, "Blessed be God, the most excellent
Creator! O fortunate man to whom she shall belong!" till they
reached the Sultan's palace; when he sought an audience of
Sherkan and kissing the earth before him, said, "O august King, I
have brought thee a rare gift, unmatched in this time and richly
covered with beauty and good qualities." "Let me see it," said
Sherkan. So the merchant went out and returning with Nuzhet ez
Zeman, made her stand before Sherkan. When the latter beheld her,
blood drew to blood, though he had never seen her, having only
heard that he had a sister called Nuzhet ez Zeman and a brother
called Zoulmekan and not having made acquaintance with them, in
his jealousy of them, because of the succession. Then said the
merchant, "O King, not only is she without peer in her time for
perfection of beauty and grace, but she is versed to boot in all
learning, sacred and profane, besides the art of government and
the abstract sciences." Quoth Sherkan, "Take her price, according
to what thou gavest for her, and go thy ways." "I hear and obey,"
replied the merchant; "but first I would have thee write me
a patent, exempting me for ever from paying tithe on my
merchandise." "I will do this," said Sherkan; "but first tell me
what you paid for her." Quoth the merchant, "I bought her for a
hundred thousand dinars, and her clothes cost me as much more."
When the Sultan heard this, he said, "I will give thee more than
this for her," and calling his treasurer, said to him, "Give this
merchant three hundred and twenty thousand dinars; so will he
have a hundred and twenty thousand dinars profit." Then he
summoned the four Cadis and paid him the money in their presence;
after which he said to them, "I call you to witness that I free
this my slave-girl and purpose to marry her." So the Cadis drew
up the act of enfranchisement, and the Sultan scattered much gold
on the heads of those present, which was picked up by the pages
and eunuchs. Then they drew up the contract of marriage between
Sherkan and Nuzhet ez Zeman, after which he bade write the
merchant a perpetual patent, exempting him from tax and tithe
upon his merchandise and forbidding all and several to do him let
or hindrance in all his government, and bestowed on him a
splendid dress of honour. Then all who were present retired, and
there remained but the Cadis and the merchant; whereupon quoth
Sherkan to the former, "I wish you to hear such discourse from
this damsel as may prove her knowledge and accomplishment in all
that this merchant avouches of her, that we may be certified of
the truth of his pretensions." "Good," answered they; and he
commanded the curtains to be drawn before Nuzhet ez Zeman and her
attendants, who began to wish her joy and kiss her hands and
feet, for that she was become the Viceroy's wife. Then they came
round her and easing her of the weight of her clothes and
ornaments, began to look upon her beauty and grace. Presently the
wives of the Amirs and Viziers heard that King Sherkan had bought
a damsel unmatched for beauty and accomplishments and versed in
all branches of knowledge, at the price of three hundred and
twenty thousand dinars, and that he had set her free and married
her and summoned the four Cadis to examine her. So they asked
leave of their husbands and repaired to the palace. When they
came in to her, she rose and received them with courtesy,
welcoming them and promising them all good. Moreover, she smiled
in their faces and made them sit down in their proper stations,
as if she had been brought up with them, so that their hearts
were taken with her and they all wondered at her good sense and
fine manners, as well as at her beauty and grace, and said to
each other, "This damsel is none other than a queen, the daughter
of a king." Then they sat down, magnifying her, and said to her,
"O our lady, our city is illumined by thy presence, and our
country and kingdom are honoured by thee. The kingdom indeed is
thine and the palace is thy palace, and we all are thy handmaids;
so do not thou shut us out from thy favours and the sight of thy
beauty." And she thanked them for this. All this while the
curtains were drawn between Nuzhet ez Zeman and the women with
her, on the one side, and King Sherkan and the Cadis and merchant
seated by him, on the other. Presently, Sherkan called to her and
said, "O queen, the glory of thine age, this merchant describes
thee as being learned and accomplished and asserts that thou art
skilled in all branches of knowledge, even to astrology: so let
us hear something of all this and give us a taste of thy
quality."
"O King," replied she, "I hear and obey. The first subject of
which I will treat is the art of government and the duties of
kings and what behoves governors of lawful commandments and what
is incumbent on them in respect of pleasing manners. Know then, O
King, that all men's works tend either to religion or to worldly
life, for none attains to religion save through this world,
because it is indeed the road to the next world. Now the world is
ordered by the doings of its people, and the doings of men
are divided into four categories, government (or the exercise
of authority), commerce, husbandry (or agriculture) and
craftsmanship. To government are requisite perfect (knowledge of
the science of) administration and just judgment; for government
is the centre (or pivot) of the edifice of the world, which is
the road to the future life since that God the Most High hath
made the world to be to His servants even as victual to the
traveller for the attainment of the goal: and it is needful that
each man receive of it such measure as shall bring him to God,
and that he follow not in this his own mind and desire. If the
folk would take of the goods of the world with moderation and
equity, there would be an end of contentions; but they take
thereof with violence and iniquity and persist in following their
own inclinations; and their licentiousness and evil behaviour in
this give birth to strife and contention. So they have need of
the Sultan, that he may do justice between them and order their
affairs prudently, and if he restrain not the folk from one
another, the strong will get the mastery over the weak. Ardeshir
says that religion and the kingship are twin; religion is a
treasure and the king its keeper; and the divine ordinances and
men's own judgment indicate that it behoves the folk to adopt a
ruler to hold the oppressor back from the oppressed and do the
weak justice against the strong and to restrain the violence of
the proud and the unjust. For know, O King, that according to the
measure of the ruler's good morals, even so will be the time; as
says the apostle of God (on whom be peace and salvation), 'There
are two classes, who if they be virtuous, the people will be
virtuous, and if they be depraved, the people also will be
depraved: even princes and men of learning.' And it is said by a
certain sage, 'There are three kinds of kings, the king of the
Faith, the king who watches over and protects those things that
are entitled to respect and honour, and the king of his own
inclinations. The king of the Faith constrains his subjects to
follow the laws of their faith, and it behoves that he be the
most pious of them all, for it is by him that they take pattern
in the things of the Faith; and the folk shall do obedience to
him in what he commands in accordance with the Divine ordinances;
but he shall hold the discontented in the same esteem as the
contented, because of submission to the Divine decrees. As for
the king of the second order, he upholds the things of the Faith
and of the world and compels the folk to follow the Law of God
and to observe the precepts of humanity; and it behoves him to
conjoin the sword and the pen; for whoso goeth astray from what
the pen hath written, his feet slip, and the king shall rectify
his error with the edge of the sword and pour forth his justice
upon all men. As for the third kind of king, he hath no religion
but the following his own lusts and fears not the wrath of his
Lord, who set him on the throne; so his kingdom inclines to ruin,
and the end of his arrogance is in the House of Perdition.' And
another sage says, 'The king has need of many people, but the
folk have need of but one king; wherefore it behoves that he be
well acquainted with their natures, to the end that he may reduce
their difference to concord, that he may encompass them one and
all with his justice and overwhelm them with his bounties.' And
know, O King, that Ardeshir, styled Jemr Shedid, third of the
Kings of Persia, conquered the whole world and divided it into
four parts and let make for himself four seal-rings, one for each
division of his realm. The first seal was that of the sea and the
police and of prohibition, and on it was written, 'Alternatives.'
The second was the seal of revenue and of the receipt of monies,
and on it was written, 'Culture.' The third was the seal of the
commissariat, and on it was written, 'Plenty.' The fourth was the
seal of (the Court of Enquiry into) abuses, and on it was
written, 'Justice.' And these remained in use in Persia until the
revelation of Islam. King Chosroes also, wrote to his son, who
was with the army, 'Be not over-lavish to thy troops, or they
will come to have no need of thee; neither be niggardly with
them, or they will murmur against thee. Do thy giving soberly and
confer thy favours advisedly; be liberal to them in time of
affluence and stint them not in time of stress.' It is said that
an Arab of the desert came once to the Khalif Mensour[FN#32] and
said to him, 'Starve thy dog and he will follow thee.' When the
Khalif heard his words, he was enraged, but Aboulabbas et Tousi
said to him, 'I fear that, if some other than thou should show
him a cake of bread, the dog would follow him and leave thee.'
Thereupon the Khalif's wrath subsided and he knew that the
Bedouin had meant no offence and ordered him a present. And know,
O King, that Abdulmelik ben Merwan wrote to his brother
Abdulaziz, when he sent him to Egypt, as follows: 'Pay heed to
thy secretaries and thy chamberlains, for the first will acquaint
thee with necessary matters and the second with matters of
etiquette and ceremonial observance, whilst the tribute that goes
out from thee will make thy troops known to thee.' Omar ben el
Khettab[FN#33] (whom God accept) was in the habit, when he
engaged a servant, of laying four conditions on him, the first
that he should not ride the baggage-beasts, the second that he
should not wear fine clothes, the third that he should not eat of
the spoil and the fourth that he should not delay to pray after
the proper time. It is said that there is no wealth better than
understanding and no understanding like common sense and prudence
and no prudence like the fear of God; that there is no offering
like good morals and no measure like good breeding and no profit
like earning the Divine favour;[FN#34] that there is no piety
like the observance of the limits of the Law and no science like
that of meditation, no devotion like the performance of the
Divine precepts, no safeguard like modesty, no calculation like
humility and no nobility like knowledge. So guard the head and
what it contains and the body and what it comprises and remember
death and calamity. Says Ali[FN#35], (whose face God honour!),
'Beware of the wickedness of women and be on thy guard against
them. Consult them not in aught, but be not grudging of
complaisance to them, lest they be tempted to have recourse to
intrigue.' And also, 'He who leaves the path of moderation and
sobriety, his wits become perplexed.' And Omar (whom God accept)
says, 'There are three kinds of women, first, the true-believing,
God-fearing woman, loving and fruitful, helping her husband
against fate, not helping fate against her husband; secondly, she
who loves and tenders her children, but no more; and thirdly, the
woman who is as a shackle that God puts on the neck of whom He
will. Men also are three: the first, who is wise, when he
exercises his judgment; the second, wiser than he, who, when
there falls on him somewhat of which he knows not the issue,
seeks folk of good counsel and acts by their advice; and the
third, who is addle-headed, knowing not the right way nor heeding
those who would instruct him.' Justice is indispensable in all
things; even slave-girls have need of justice; and highway
robbers, who live by violence, bear witness of this, for did they
not deal equitably among themselves and observe fairness in their
divisions, their order would fall to pieces. For the rest, the
chief of noble qualities is generosity and benevolence. How well
says the poet:
'By largesse and mildness the youth chief of his tribe became, And
it were easy for thee to follow and do the same.'
And quoth another:
'In mildness stability lies and clemency wins us respect, And
safety in soothfastness is for him who is soothfast and
frank;
And he who would get himself praise and renown for his wealth
from the folk, In the racecourse of glory must be, for
munificence, first in the rank.'"
And Nuzhet ez Zeman discoursed upon the policy and behaviour of
kings, till the bystanders said, "Never heard we one reason of
the duties of kings like this damsel! Mayhap she will favour us
with discourse upon some subject other than this." When she heard
this, she said, "As for the chapter of good breeding,[FN#36] it is
wide of scope, for it is a compend of perfections. There came in
one day to the Khalif Muawiyeh[FN#37] one of his boon-companions,
who spoke of the people of Irak and the goodness of their wit;
and the Khalif's wife Meisoun, mother of Yezid, heard him. So,
when he was gone, she said to the Khalif, 'O Commander of the
Faithful, prithee let some of the people of Irak come in to thee
and talk with them, that I may hear their discourse.' So the
Khalif said to his attendants, 'Who is at the door?' And they
answered, 'The Benou Temim.' 'Let them come in,' said he. So they
came in and with them Ahnaf ben Cais.[FN#38] Now Muawiyeh had
drawn a curtain between himself and Meisoun, that she might hear
what they said without being seen herself; and he said to Ahnaf,
'O Abou Behr,[FN#39] pray, near and tell me what counsel thou hast
for me.' Quoth Ahnaf, 'Part thy hair and trim thy moustache and
clip thy nails and pluck out the hair of thine armpits and shave
thy pubes and be constant in the use of the toothstick, for
therein are two-and-seventy virtues, and make the Friday
(complete) ablution as an expiation for what is between the two
Fridays.' 'What is thy counsel to thyself?' asked Muawiyeh. 'To
plant my feet firmly on the ground,' replied Ahnaf, 'to move them
with deliberation and keep watch over them with my eyes.' 'How,'
asked the Khalif, 'dost thou carry thyself, when thou goest in to
the common folk of thy tribe?' 'I lower my eyes modestly,' replied
Ahnaf, 'and salute them first, abstaining from what does not
concern me and being sparing of words.' 'And how, when thou goest
in to thine equals?' asked Muawiyeh. 'I give ear to them, when they
speak,' answered the other, 'and do not assail them, when they err.'
'And how dost thou,' said the Khalif, 'when thou goest in to thy
chiefs?' 'I salute without making any sign,' answered Ahnaf, 'and
await the response: if they bid me draw near, I do so, and if they
bid me stand aloof, I withdraw.' 'How dost thou with thy wife?'
asked the Khalif. 'Excuse me from answering this, O Commander of
the Faithful!' replied he; but Muawiyeh said, 'I conjure thee to
answer.' Then said Ahnaf, 'I entreat her kindly and show her
pleasant familiarity and am large in expenditure, for women were
created of a crooked rib.' 'And how,' asked the Khalif, 'dost thou
when thou hast a mind to lie with her?' 'I speak to her to perfume
herself,' answered the other, 'and kiss her till she is moved to
desire; then, if it be as thou knowest, I throw her on her back. If
the seed abide in her womb, I say, "O my God, make it blessed and
let it not be a castaway, but fashion it into a goodly shape!" Then
I rise from her and betake myself to the ablution, first pouring
water over my hands and then over my body and returning thanks to
God for the delight He hath given me.' 'Thou hast answered
excellently well,' said Muawiyeh; 'and now tell me what thou wouldst
have.' Quoth Ahnaf, 'I would have thee rule thy subjects in the fear
of God and do equal justice amongst them.' So saying, he withdrew
from the Khalif's presence, and when he had gone, Meisoun said,
'Were there but this man in Irak, he would suffice to it.' This
(continued Nuzhet ez Zeman) is a small fraction of the chapter of
good breeding. Know O King, that Muyekib was intendant of the
treasury during the Khalifate of Omar ben Khettab. 'One day
(quoth he) the Khalif's son came to me and I gave him a dirhem
from the treasury. Then I returned to my own house, and
presently, as I was sitting, there came to me a messenger,
bidding me to the Khalif. So I was afraid and went to him, and
when I came into his presence, I saw in his hand the dirhem I had
given his son. "Harkye, Muyekib," said he, "I have found somewhat
concerning thy soul." "What is it, O Commander of the Faithful?"
asked I; and he answered, "It is that thou wilt have to render an
account of this dirhem to the people of Mohammed (on whom be
peace and salvation) on the Day of Resurrection."' This same Omar
wrote a letter to Abou Mousa el Ashari,[FN#40] to the following
purport, 'When these presents reach thee, give the people what is
theirs and send the rest to me.' And he did so. When Othman
succeeded to the Khalifate, he wrote a like letter to Abou Mousa,
who did his bidding and sent him the tribute accordingly, and
with it came Ziad[FN#41] When the latter laid the tribute before
Othman, the Khalif's son came in and took a dirhem, whereupon
Ziad fell a-weeping. 'Why dost thou weep?' asked Othman. Quoth
Ziad, 'I once brought Omar ben Khettab the like of this, and his
son took a dirhem, whereupon Omar bade snatch it from his hand.
Now thy son hath taken of the tribute, yet have I seen none
rebuke him nor take the money from him.' And Othman said, 'Where
wilt thou find the like of Omar?' Again, Zeid ben Aslam relates
of his father that he said, 'I went out one night with Omar, and
we walked on till we espied a blazing fire in the distance. Quoth
Omar, "This must be travellers, who are suffering from the cold:
let us join them." So we made for the fire, and when we came to
it, we found a woman who had lighted a fire under a cauldron, and
by her side were two children, crying. "Peace on you, O folk of
the light!" said Omar, for he misliked to say, "folk of the
fire;"[FN#42] "what ails you?" Quoth she, "The cold and the night
irk us." "What ails these children that they weep?" asked he.
"They are hungry," replied she. "And what is in this cauldron?"
asked Omar. "It is what I quiet them with," answered she, "and
God will question Omar ben Khettab of them, on the Day of
Resurrection." "And what," rejoined the Khalif, "should Omar know
of their case?" "Why then," said she, "should he undertake the
governance of the people's affairs and yet be unmindful of them?"
Then Omar turned to me and said, "Come with me." So we both set
off running till we reached the treasury, where he took out a
sack of flour and a pot of fat and said to me, "Put these on my
back." "O Commander of the Faithful," said I, "I will carry them
for thee." "Wilt thou bear my burden for me on the Day of
Resurrection?" replied he. So I put the things on his back, and
we set off, running, till we came to the woman, when he threw
down the sack. Then he took out some of the flour and put it in
the cauldron and saying to the woman, "Leave it to me," fell to
blowing the fire; Now he had a great beard and I saw the smoke
issuing from the interstices thereof, till the flour was cooked,
when he threw in some of the fat and said to the woman, "Do thou
feed the boys whilst I cool the food for them." So they ate their
fill and he left the rest with her. Then he turned to me and
said, "O Aslam, I see it was indeed hunger made them weep; and I
am glad I did not go away without finding out the reason of the
light I saw."' It is said that Omar passed, one day, by a flock
of sheep, kept by a slave, and asked the latter to sell him a
sheep. 'They are not mine,' replied the shepherd. 'Thou art the
man I sought,' said Omar and buying him of his master, set him
free, whereupon the slave exclaimed, 'O my God, thou hast
bestowed on me the lesser emancipation; vouchsafe me now the
greater!'[FN#43] They say also, that Omar ben Khettab was wont to
give his servants sweet milk and eat coarse fare himself and to
clothe them softly and wear himself coarse garments. He gave all
men their due and exceeded in his giving to them. He once gave a
man four thousand dirhems and added thereto yet a thousand,
wherefore it was said to him, 'Why dost thou not favour thy son
as thou favourest this man?' He answered, 'This man's father
stood firm in fight on the day of Uhud.'[FN#44] El Hassan
relates that Omar once came (back from an expedition) with much
money and that Hefseh[FN#45] came to him and said, 'O Commander
of the Faithful, be mindful of the due of kinship!' 'O Hefseh,'
replied he, 'God hath indeed enjoined us to satisfy the dues of
kinship, but of our own monies, not those of the true believers.
Indeed, thou pleasest thy family, but angerest thy father.' And
she went away, dragging her skirts. Says Omar's son, 'I implored
God one year (after Omar's death) to show me my father, till at
last I saw him wiping the sweat from his brow and said to him,
"How is it with thee, O my father?" "But for God's mercy,"
answered he, "thy father had perished." Then said Nuzhet ez
Zeman, "Hear, O august King, the second division of the first
chapter of the instances of the followers of the Prophet and
other pious men. Says El Hassan of Bassora,[FN#46] 'Not a soul of
the sons of Adam goes forth of the world, without grieving for
three things, failure to enjoy what he has amassed, failure to
compass what he hoped and failure to provide himself with
sufficient provision for that to which he goes.[FN#47]' It was
said to Sufyan,[FN#48] 'Can a man be devout and yet possess
wealth?' 'Yes,' replied he, 'so he be patient under affliction
and return thanks, when God giveth to him.' When Abdallah ben
Sheddad was on his death-bed, he sent for his son Mohammed and
admonished him, saying, 'O my son, I see the messenger of death
calling me and so I charge thee to cherish the fear of God, both
in public and private. Praise God and be true in thy speech, for
the praise of God brings increase of prosperity, and piety in
itself is the best of provision,[FN#49] even as says one of the
poets:
I see not that bliss lies in filling one's chest; The God-fearing
man can alone be called blest.
For piety aye winneth increase of God; So of all men's provision
'tis surely the best.
When Omar ben Abdulaziz[FN#50] succeeded to the Khalifate, he
went to his own house and laying hands on all that his family and
household possessed, put it into the public treasury. So the
Ommiades[FN#51] betook themselves for aid to his father's sister,
Fatimeh, daughter of Merwan, and she sent to Omar, saying, 'I
must needs speak with thee.' So she came to him by night, and
when he had made her alight from her beast and sit down, he said
to her, 'O aunt, it is for thee to speak first, since it is at
thine instance that we meet; tell me, therefore, what thou
wouldst with me.' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' replied she, 'it
is thine to speak first, for thy judgment perceives that which is
hidden from the senses.' Then said the Khalif, 'Of a verity God
sent Mohammed as a mercy to some and a punishment to others; and
He chose out for him what was with him and withdrew him to
Himself, leaving the people a river, whereof the thirsty of them
might drink. After him he made Abou Bekr the Truth-teller Khalif
and he left the river in its pristine state, doing what was
pleasing to God. Then arose Omar and worked a work and furnished
forth a strife, of which none might do the like When Othman came,
he diverted a stream from the river, and Muawiyeh in his turn
sundered several streams from it. In like manner, Yezid and the
sons of Merwan, Abdulmelik and Welid and Suleiman[FN#52], ceased
not to take from the river and dry up the main stream, till the
commandment devolved upon me, and now I am minded to restore
the river to its normal condition.' When Fatimeh heard this,
she said, 'I came, wishing only to speak and confer with thee,
but if this be thy word, I have nothing to say to thee.' Then
she returned to the Ommiades and said to them, 'See what you
have brought on you by allying yourselves with Omar ben
Khettab.' [FN#53] When Omar was on his deathbed, he gathered his
children round him, and Meslemeh[FN#54] ben Abdulmelik said to
him, 'O Commander of the Faithful, wilt thou leave thy children
beggars and thou their protector? None can hinder thee from
giving them in thy lifetime what will suffice them out of the
treasury; and this indeed were better than leaving it to revert
to him who shall come after thee.' Omar gave him a look of wrath
and wonder and replied, 'O Meslemeh, I have defended them all the
days of my life, and shall I make them miserable after my death?
My sons are like other men, either obedient to God the Most High
or disobedient: if the former, God will prosper them, and if the
latter, I will not help them in their disobedience. Know, O
Meslemeh, that I was present, even as thou, when such an one of
the sons of Merwan was buried, and I fell asleep by him and saw
him in a dream given over to one of the punishments of God, to
whom belong might and majesty. This terrified me and made me
tremble, and I vowed to God that, if ever I came to the throne, I
would not do as the dead man had done. This vow I have striven to
fulfil all the days of my life, and I hope to be received into
the mercy of my Lord.' Quoth Meslemeh, 'A certain man died and I
was present at his funeral. I fell asleep and meseemed I saw him,
as in a dream, clad in white clothes and walking in a garden full
of running waters. He came up to me and said, "O Meslemeh, it is
for the like of this that governors (or men who bear rule) should
work."' Many are the instances of this kind, and quoth one of the
men of authority, 'I used to milk the ewes in the Khalifate of
Omar ben Abdulaziz, and one day, I met a shepherd, among whose
sheep were wolves. I thought them to be dogs, for I had never
before seen wolves; so I said to the shepherd, "What dost thou
with these dogs?" "They are not dogs, but wolves," replied he.
Quoth I, "Can wolves be with sheep and not hurt them?" "When the
head is whole," replied he, "the body is whole also."' Omar ben
Abdulaziz preached once from a mud pulpit, and after praising and
glorifying God the Most High, said three words and spoke as
follows, 'O folk, make clean your hearts, that your outward lives
may be clean to your brethren, and abstain from the things of the
world. Know that from Adam to this present, there is no one man
alive among the dead. Dead are Abdulmelik and those who forewent
him, and Omar also will die, and those who come after him.' Quoth
Meslemeh (to this same Omar, when he was dying), 'O Commander of
the Faithful, shall we set a pillow behind thee, that thou mayest
lean on it a little?' But Omar answered, 'I fear lest it be a
fault about my neck on the Day of Resurrection.' Then he gasped
for breath and fell back in a swoon; whereupon Fatimeh cried out,
saying, 'Ho, Meryem! Ho, Muzahim! Ho, such an one! Look to this
man!' And she began to pour water on him, weeping, till he
revived, and seeing her in tears, said to her, 'O Fatimeh, why
dost thou weep?' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' replied she, 'I
saw thee lying prostrate before us and thought of thy prostration
before God the Most High in death and of thy departure from the
world and separation from us. This is what made me weep.'
'Enough, O Fatimeh,' answered he; 'indeed thou exceedest.' Then
he would have risen, but fell down, and Fatimeh strained him to
her, saying, 'Thou art to me as my father and my mother, O
Commander of the Faithful! We cannot speak to thee, all of
us.'[FN#55] Again (continued Nuzhet ez Zeman), Omar ben Abdulaziz
wrote to the people of the festival at Mecca, as follows, 'I call
God to witness, in the Holy Month, in the Holy City and on the
day of the Great Pilgrimage, that I am innocent of your
oppression and of the wickedness of him that doth you wrong, in
that I have neither commanded this nor purposed it, neither hath
any report of aught thereof reached me (till now) nor have I had
knowledge of it; and I trust therefore that God will pardon it to
me. None hath authority from me to do oppression, for I shall
assuredly be questioned (at the Last Day) concerning every one
who hath been wrongfully entreated. So if any one of my officers
swerve from the right and act without law or authority,[FN#56] ye
owe him no obedience, till he return to the right way.' He said
also (may God accept of him), 'I do not wish to be relieved from
death, for that it is the supreme thing for which the true
believer is rewarded.' Quoth one of authority, 'I went one day to
the Commander of the Faithful, Omar ben Abdulaziz, who was then
Khalif, and saw before him twelve dirhems, which he bade take to
the treasury. So I said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful,
thou impoverishest thy children and reducest them to beggary,
leaving nothing for them. Thou wouldst do well to appoint
somewhat by will to them and to those who are poor of the people
of thy house." "Draw near to me," answered he. So I drew near to
him and he said, "As for thy saying, 'Thou beggarest thy
children; provide for them and for the poor of thy household,' it
is without reason, for God will replace me to my children and to
those who are poor of the people of my house, and He will be
their guardian. Verily, they are like other men; he who fears
God, God will provide him a happy issue, and he that is addicted
to sin, I will not uphold him in his disobedience." Then he
called his sons before him, and they were twelve in number. When
he beheld them, his eyes filled with tears and he said to them,
"Your father is between two things; either ye will be rich and he
will enter the fire, or ye will be poor and he enter Paradise;
and your father's entry into Paradise is liefer to him than that
ye should be rich. So go, God be your helper, for to Him I commit
your affair."' Quoth Khalid ben Sefwan,[FN#57] 'Yusuf ben
Omar[FN#58] accompanied me to Hisham ben Abdulmelik,[FN#59] and I
met him as he came forth with his kinsmen and attendants. He
alighted and a tent was pitched for him. When the people had
taken their seats, I came up to the side of the carpet (on which
the Khalif was reclining) and waiting till my eyes met his,
bespoke him thus, "May God fulfil His bounty to thee, O Commander
of the Faithful, and direct into the right way the affairs He
hath committed to thy charge, and may no harm mingle with thy
cheer! O Commander of the Faithful, I have an admonition for
thee, which I have gleaned from the history of the kings of time
past!" At this, he sat up and said to me, "O son of Sefwan, say
what is in thy mind." "O Commander of the Faithful," quoth I,
"one of the kings before thee went forth, in a time before thy
time, to this very country and said to his companions, 'Saw ye
ever any in the like of my state or to whom hath been given even
as it hath been given unto me?' Now there was with him one of
those who survive to bear testimony to the Faith and are
upholders of the Truth and walkers in its highway, and he said,
'O King, thou askest of a grave matter. Wilt thou give me leave
to answer?' 'Yes,' replied the King, and the other said, 'Dost
thou judge thy present state to be temporary or enduring?' 'It is
a temporary thing,' replied the King. 'Why then,' asked the man,
'do I see thee exult in that which thou wilt enjoy but a little
while and whereof thou wilt be questioned at length and for the
rendering an account whereof thou wilt be as a pledge?' 'Whither
shall I flee,' asked the King, 'and where is that I must seek?'
'Abide in thy kingship,' replied the other, 'and apply thyself to
obey the commandments of God the Most High; or else don thy
worn-out clothes and devote thyself to the service of thy Lord,
till thine appointed hour come to thee.' Then he left him,
saying, 'I will come to thee again at daybreak.' So he knocked at
his door at dawn and found that the King had put off his crown
and resolved to become an anchorite, for the stress of his
exhortation." When Hisham heard this, he wept till his beard was
drenched and putting off his rich apparel, shut himself up in his
palace. Then the grandees and courtiers came to me and said,
"What is this thou hast done with the Commander of the Faithful?
Thou hast marred his cheer and troubled his life!"' "But
(continued Nuzhet ez Zeman, addressing herself to Sherkan) how
many admonitory instances are there not that bear upon this
branch of the subject! Indeed, it is beyond my power to report
all that pertains to this head in one sitting; but, with length
of days, O King of the age, all will be well."
Then said the Cadis, "O King, of a truth this damsel is the
wonder of the time and the unique pearl of the age! Never in all
our lives heard we the like." And they called down blessings on
Sherkan and went away. Then said he to his attendants, "Prepare
the wedding festivities and make ready food of all kinds." So
they addressed themselves to do his bidding, and he bade the
wives of the amirs and viziers and grandees depart not until the
time of the wedding banquet and of the unveiling of the bride.
Hardly was the time of afternoon-prayer come, when the tables
were spread with roast meats and geese and fowls and all that the
heart can desire or that can delight the eye; and all the people
ate till they were satisfied. Moreover, the King had sent for all
the singing-women of Damascus and they were present, together
with all the slave-girls of the King and the notables who knew
how to sing. When the evening came and it grew dark, they lighted
flambeaux, right and left, from the gate of the citadel to that
of the palace, and the amirs and viziers and grandees defiled
before King Sherkan, whilst the singers and the tire-women took
Nuzhet ez Zeman, to dress and adorn her, but found she needed no
adorning. Meantime King Sherkan went to the bath and coming out,
sat down on his bed of estate, whilst they unveiled the bride
before him in seven different dresses; after which they eased her
of the weight of her dresses and ornaments and gave such
injunctions as are usually given to girls on their wedding-night.
Then Sherkan went in to her and took her maidenhead; and she at
once conceived by him, whereat he rejoiced with an exceeding joy
and commanded the sages to record the date of her conception. On
the morrow, he went forth and seated himself on his throne, and
the grandees came in to him and gave him joy. Then he called his
private secretary and bade him write to his father, King Omar ben
Ennuman, a letter to the following effect: "Know that I have
bought me a damsel, who excels in learning and accomplishment and
is mistress of all kinds of knowledge. I have set her free and
married her and she has conceived by me. And needs must I send
her to Baghdad to visit my brother Zoulmekan and my sister Nuzhet
ez Zeman." And he went on to praise her wit and salute his
brother and sister, together with the Vizier Dendan and all the
amirs. Then he sealed the letter and despatched it to his father
by a courier, who was absent a whole month, after which time he
returned with the old King's answer. Sherkan took it and read as
follows, after the usual preamble, "In the name of God," etc.,
"This is from the afflicted and distraught, him who hath lost his
children and is (as it were) an exile from his native land, King
Omar ben Ennuman, to his son Sherkan. Know that, since thy
departure from me, the place is become contracted upon me, so
that I can no longer have patience nor keep my secret: and the
reason of this is as follows. It chanced that Zoulmekan sought my
leave to go on the pilgrimage, but I, fearing for him the shifts
of fortune, forbade him therefrom until the next year or the year
after. Soon after this, I went out to hunt and was absent a whole
month. When I returned, I found that thy brother and sister had
taken somewhat of money and set out by stealth with the caravan
of pilgrims. When I knew this, the wide world became strait on
me, O my son; but I awaited the return of the caravan, hoping
that they would return with it. Accordingly, when the caravan
came back, I questioned the pilgrims of them, but they could give
me no news of them; so I put on mourning apparel for them, being
heavy at heart and sleepless and drowned in the tears of my
eyes." Then followed these verses:
Their image is never absent a breathing-while from my breast, I
have made it within my bosom the place of the honoured
guest,
But that I look for their coming, I would not live for an hour,
And but that I see them in dreams, I ne'er should lie down
to rest.
The letter went on (after the usual salutations to Sherkan and
those of his court), "Do not thou therefore neglect to seek news
of them, for indeed this is a dishonour to us." When Sherkan read
the letter, he mourned for his father, but rejoiced in the loss
of his brother and sister. Now Nuzhet ez Zeman knew not that he
was her brother nor he that she was his sister, although he paid
her frequent visits, both by day and by night, till the months of
her pregnancy were accomplished and she sat down on the stool of
delivery. God made the delivery easy to her and she gave birth to
a daughter, whereupon she sent for Sherkan and said to him, "This
is thy daughter: name her as thou wilt." Quoth he, "Folk use to
name their children on the seventh day." Then he bent down to
kiss the child and saw, hung about her neck, a jewel, which he
knew at once for one of those that the princess Abrizeh had
brought from the land of the Greeks. At this sight, his senses
fled, his eyes rolled and wrath seized on him, and he looked at
Nuzhet ez Zeman and said to her, "O damsel, whence hadst thou
this jewel?" When she heard this, she replied, "I am thy lady and
the lady of all in thy palace. Art thou not ashamed to say to me,
'O damsel'?[FN#60] Indeed, I am a queen, the daughter of a king;
and now concealment shall cease and the truth be made known. I am
Nuzhet ez Zeman, daughter of King Omar ben Ennuman." When Sherkan
heard this, he was seized with trembling and bowed his head
towards the earth, whilst his heart throbbed and his colour
paled, for he knew that she was his sister by the same father.
Then he lost his senses; and when he revived, he abode in
amazement, but did not discover himself to her and said to her,
"O my lady, art thou indeed the daughter of King Omar ben
Ennuman?" "Yes," replied she; and he said, "Tell me how thou
camest to leave thy father and be sold for a slave." So she told
him all that had befallen her, from first to last, how she had
left her brother sick in Jerusalem and how the Bedouin had lured
her away and sold her to the merchant. When Sherkan heard this
all was certified that she was indeed his sister, he said to
himself, "How can I have my sister to wife? By Allah, I must
marry her to one of my chamberlains; and if the thing get wind, I
will avouch that I divorced her before consummation and married
her to my chief chamberlain." Then he raised his head and said,
"O Nuzhet ez Zeman, thou art my very sister; for I am Sherkan,
son of King Omar ben Ennuman, and may God forgive us the sin into
which we have fallen!" She looked at him and seeing that he spoke
the truth, became as one bereft of reason and wept and buffeted
her face, exclaiming, "There is no power and no virtue but in
God! Verily we have fallen into grievous sin! What shall I do and
what answer shall I make my father and my mother, when they say
to me, 'Whence hadst thou thy daughter'?" Quoth Sherkan, "I
purpose to marry thee to my chief chamberlain and let thee bring
up my daughter in his house, that none may know thee to be my
sister. This that hath befallen us was ordained of God for a
purpose of His own, and there is no way to cover ourselves but by
thy marriage with the chamberlain, ere any know." Then he fell to
comforting her and kissing her head, and she said to him, "What
wilt thou call the child?" "Call her Kuzia Fekan,"[FN#61] replied
he. Then he gave her in marriage to the chief chamberlain, and
they reared the child in his house, on the laps of the slave-girls,
till, one day, there came to King Sherkan a courier
from his father, with a letter to the following purport, "In the
name of God, etc. Know, O puissant King, that I am sore afflicted
for the loss of my children: sleep fails me and wakefulness is
ever present with me. I send thee this letter that thou mayst
make ready the tribute of Syria and send it to us, together with
the damsel whom thou hast bought and taken to wife; for I long to
see her and hear her discourse; because there has come to us from
the land of the Greeks a devout old woman, with five damsels,
high-bosomed maids, endowed with knowledge and accomplishments
and all fashions of learning that befit mortals; and indeed the
tongue fails to describe this old woman and her companions. As
soon as I saw the damsels, I loved them and wished to have them
in my palace and at my commandment, for none of the kings
possesses the like of them; so I asked the old woman their price,
and she replied, 'I will not sell them but for the tribute of
Damascus.' And by Allah, this is but little for them, for each
one of them is worth the whole price. So I agreed to this and
took them into my palace, and they remain in my possession.
Wherefore do thou expedite the tribute to us, that the old woman
may return to her own country; and send us the damsel, that she
may strive with them before the doctors; and if she overcome
them, I will send her back to thee with the year's revenue of
Baghdad." When Sherkan read this letter, he went in to his
brother-in-law and said to him, "Call the damsel to whom I
married thee." So she came, and he showed her the letter and said
to her, "O my sister, what answer wouldst thou have me make to
this letter?" "It is for thee to judge," replied she. Then she
recalled her people and her native land and yearned after them;
so she said to him, "Send me and my husband the Chamberlain to
Baghdad, that I may tell my father how the Bedouin seized me and
sold me to the merchant, and how thou boughtest me of him and
gavest me in marriage to the Chamberlain, after setting me free."
"Be it so," replied Sherkan. Then he made ready the tribute in
haste and gave it to the Chamberlain, bidding him make ready for
Baghdad, and furnished him with camels and mules and two
travelling litters, one for himself and the other for the
princess. Moreover, he wrote a letter to his father and committed
it to the Chamberlain. Then he took leave of his sister, after he
had taken the jewel from her and hung it round his daughter's
neck by a chain of fine gold; and she and her husband set out for
Baghdad the same night. Now their caravan was the very one to
which Zoulmekan and his friend the stoker had joined themselves,
as before related, having waited till the Chamberlain passed
them, riding on a dromedary, with his footmen around him. Then
Zoulmekan mounted the stoker's ass and said to the latter, "Do
thou mount with me." But he said, "Not so: I will be thy
servant." Quoth Zoulmekan, "Needs must thou ride awhile." "It is
well," replied the stoker; "I will ride when I grow tired." Then
said Zoulmekan, "O my brother, thou shalt see how I will do with
thee, when I come to my own people." So they journeyed on till
the sun rose, and when it was the hour of the noonday rest, the
Chamberlain called a halt, and they alighted and rested and
watered their camels. Then he gave the signal for departure and
they journeyed for five days, till they came to the city of
Hemah, where they made a three days' halt; then set out again and
fared on, till they reached the province of Diarbekir. Here there
blew on them the breezes of Baghdad, and Zoulmekan bethought him
of his father and mother and his native land and how he was
returning to his father without his sister: so he wept and sighed
and complained, and his regrets increased on him, and he repeated
the following verses:
How long wilt thou delay from me, beloved one? I wait: And yet
there comes no messenger with tidings of thy fate.
Alack, the time of love-delight and peace was brief indeed! Ah,
that the days of parting thus would of their length abate!
Take thou my hand and put aside my mantle and thou'lt find My
body wasted sore; and yet I hide my sad estate.
And if thou bid me be consoled for thee, "By God," I say, "I'll
ne'er forget thee till the Day that calls up small and
great!"
"Leave this weeping and lamenting," said the stoker, "for we are
near the Chamberlain's tent." Quoth Zoulmekan, "Needs must I
recite somewhat of verse, so haply it may allay the fire of my
heart." "God on thee," cried the stoker, "leave this lamentation,
till thou come to thine own country; then do what thou wilt, and
I will be with thee, wherever thou art." "By Allah," replied
Zoulmekan, "I cannot forbear from this!" Then he set his face
towards Baghdad and began to repeat verses. Now the moon was
shining brightly and shedding her light on the place, and Nuzhet
ez Zeman could not sleep that night, but was wakeful and called
to mind her brother and wept. Presently, she heard Zoulmekan
weeping and repeating the following verses:
The southern lightning gleams in the air And rouses in me the old
despair,
The grief for a dear one, loved and lost, Who filled me the cup
of joy whilere.
It minds me of her who fled away And left me friendless and sick
and bare.
O soft-shining lightnings, tell me true, Are the days of
happiness past fore'er?
Chide not, O blamer of me, for God Hath cursed me with two things
hard to bear,
A friend who left me to pine alone, And a fortune whose smile was
but a snare.
The sweet of my life was gone for aye, When fortune against me
did declare;
She brimmed me a cup of grief unmixed, And I must drink it and
never spare.
Or ever our meeting 'tide, sweetheart, Methinks I shall die of
sheer despair,
I prithee, fortune, bring back the days When we were a happy
childish pair;
The days, when we from the shafts of fate, That since have
pierced us, in safety were!
Ah, who shall succour the exiled wretch, Who passes the night in
dread and care,
And the day in mourning for her whose name, Delight of the
Age[FN#62], bespoke her fair?
The hands of the baseborn sons of shame Have doomed us the wede
of woe to wear.
Then he cried out and fell down in a swoon, and when Nuzhet ez
Zeman heard his voice in the night, her heart was solaced and she
rose and called the chief eunuch, who said to her, "What is thy
will?" Quoth she, "Go and fetch me him who recited verses but
now." "I did not hear him," replied he; "the people are all
asleep." And she said, "Whomsoever thou findest awake, he is the
man." So he went out and sought, but found none awake but the
stoker; for Zoulmekan was still insensible, and, Nuzhet ez Zeman,
going up to the former, said to him, "Art thou he who recited
verses but now, and my lady heard him?" The stoker concluded that
the lady was wroth and was afraid and replied, "By Allah, 'twas
not I!" "Who then was it?" rejoined the eunuch. "Point him out to
me. Thou must know who it was, seeing that thou art awake." The
stoker feared for Zoulmekan and said in himself, "Maybe the
eunuch will do him some hurt." So he answered, "I know not who it
was." "By Allah," said the eunuch, "thou liest, for there is none
awake here but thou! So needs must thou know him." "By Allah,"
replied the stoker, "I tell thee the truth! It must have been
some passer-by who recited the verses and disturbed me and
aroused me, may God requite him!" Quoth the eunuch, "If thou
happen upon him, point him out to me and I will lay hands on him
and bring him to the door of my lady's litter; or do thou take
him with thine own hand." "Go back," said the stoker, "and I will
bring him to thee." So the eunuch went back to his mistress and
said to her, "None knows who it was; it must have been some
passer-by." And she was silent. Meanwhile, Zoulmekan came to
himself and saw that the moon had reached the zenith and felt the
breath of the breeze that goes before the dawn; whereupon his
heart was moved to longing and sadness, and he cleared his throat
and was about to recite verses, when the stoker said to him,
"What wilt thou do?" "I have a mind to repeat somewhat of verse,"
answered Zoulmekan, "that I may allay therewith the fire of my
heart." Quoth the other, "Thou knowest not what befell me, whilst
thou wert aswoon, and how I only escaped death by beguiling the
eunuch." "Tell me what happened," said Zoulrnekan. "Whilst thou
wert aswoon," replied the stoker, "there came up to me but now an
eunuch, with a long staff of almond-tre
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